Current Affairs 27th March 2017

Current Affairs 27th March 2017 - Important Points

• MoPNG e-Seva  launched by - Union Petroleum Ministry
• 26 per cent decline in Indian student applications reported by - US Universities
• In 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games, India won - 73 medals
• Earth Hour observed on - 25th March 2017
• In the list given by Barron's World's Best CEO title bagged by - HDFC Bank MD Aditya Puri
• 2016-17 Santosh Trophy won by - West Bengal

Current Affairs 27th March 2017 - Details

MoPNG e-Seva  launched by - Union Petroleum Ministry

 Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan launched MoPNG e-Seva, a dedicated grievances redressal platform on Social Media for all queries and grievances relating to Oil and Gas Sector on 24th March 2017. The grievances will be dealt on real-time basis.

Key Highlights on MoPNG e-Seva

• This portal will be a single point of interface for all customers to reach out to the government for addressing their feedback or grievances related to Oil & Gas Sector on social media.
• It will also deliver 24 x 7 support to consumers.
• Issues on real-time basis will be addressed by a team of Nodal Officers from Oil Companies and Allied Services.
• For quick intervention and resolution of complaints, consumers can send their feedback or query with compulsory information like Full Name, Consumer ID, Location, Service Agency and Company Details on social media sites like Facebook or twitter.

26 per cent decline in Indian student applications reported by - US Universities

The universities in the United States of America have registered 26% decline in the number of applications from Indian students because of rising fears of hate crimes and anxiety over potential visa policy changes by the Trump administration. 

 The decline was observed in a survey conducted jointly by the National Association for College Admission Counselling and its subgroup International Association for College Admission Counselling along with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the Association of International Educators and Institute of International Education.

 Important Highlights 

•  This survey covered more than 250 American colleges and universities.
• This 26 percent decline is majorly in undergraduate applications and a 15 per cent decline is noticed in graduate applications by students from India for fall admissions.
• The full version of the survey report called ‘Open Doors 2016’ will be released by the end of March 2017. 
• The survey reported an overall average drop of 40 per cent in the application forms by international students.

 In 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games, India won - 73 medals

In the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games,India’s special athletes won 73 medals. The games were held between 18th March to 25th March 2017 in Austria.

Interesting Highlights

• It witnessed 2,600 athletes from more than 105 countries competing with each other.
• India dominated in three team events -Unified Floorball,Traditional Floorball and Floor Hockey (male).
• Indian athletes won 30 medals in these three games and the special women team also won 16 bronze medals.
• India took its tally to 73 medals by winning 8-0 against Austria at the end of the tournament.
• India bagged 10 medals in Alpine skiing, including 3 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze medals.
• The snowboarding team also won 8 medals that included 4 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals.
• Himachal’s Megha became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the games.
• It included seven disciplines including Alpine Skiing, Snow Boarding, Snow Shoeing, Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Floor Hockey and Floor Ball (and Unified floor Ball).
• The games were held in four cities of Austria, namely, Styria,Graz,Ramsau, and Schladming.
• The opening ceremony was held at Planai Stadium in Schladming, while the closing ceremony was held at Merkur Arena in Graz.

Earth Hour observed on - 25th March 2017

The eleventh edition of the Earth Hour was observed globally on 25th March 2017 from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm local time.  The focus of the global event was to engage people in critical climate conversations and solutions.

Key Highlights on Earth Hour 2017

• Millions of citizens from New York to New Zealand, Paris to Paraguay came together to celebrate the event.
• Over 350 ambassdors and influencers joined the Earth Hour 2017.
• Around 18,000 people having a potential reach of 12 million users, donated their facebook feed.
• To mark this occasion, iconic monuments, including India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Red Fort, Akshardham Temple, Qutab Minar, Safdarjung Tomb and Lotus Temple switched off their lights.
• It is a global environmental movement with a message to switch off non-essential lights for one hour. Every year, the event is observed on the last Saturday of March between 8:30 and 9:30 pm.
• The WWF considered as one of the world’s largest and independent conservation organizations, has over 5 million supporters in over 100 countries.
• Its primary objective is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and build a future in which human beings live in harmony with nature.

Do you know?

It was established on 29th April 1961 with the slogan - For a Living Planet.

In the list given by Barron's World's Best CEO title bagged by - HDFC Bank MD Aditya Puri 

 HDFC Bank Managing Director Aditya Puri got featured in the World's Best CEOs list of American financial magazine Barron’s on 25th March 2017. Puri ranked at 23rd position in the list beating social media giant Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg who got the 30th place. The top three positions in the list were secured by Mary Barra of General Motors, Gary Dickerson of Applied Materials and Stephen Hemsley respectively.

Key Points

• In 2014, trip to Silicon Valley made Puri a digital evangelist. 
• He transformed India’s second-largest private-sector bank HDFC into the digital spot for anything money-related. 
• Puri transformed HDFC from a start-up into one of the world’s highest-quality banks that now generates optimum returns by maintaining lending standards while expanding beyond corporate loans into a full-service retail bank. 
• Barron's is America's premier financial magazine. It provides in-depth analysis and commentary on the markets, updated on every working day online.

2016-17 Santosh Trophy won by - West Bengal

West Bengal lifted the Santosh Trophy for the 32nd time at the GMC Stadium, Bambolim, Goa on 26th March 2017. Manvir Singh from West Bengal struck in the 119th minute for a 1-0 win over Goa. With the win, West Bengal ended a six-year wait having last won title in 2011.

More on Santosh Trophy

• The Santosh Trophy is given for an association football knock-out competition.
• It is contested by the regional state associations and government institutions under AIFF (All India Football Federation).
• The Santosh Trophy was considered the top domestic championship in the country,before the start of the National Football League in 1996,.
• The competition is held every year with 31 teams who are divided into groups and who must qualify for the tournament proper through the preliminary round.
• The tournament is named after the president of the Indian Football Association at the time, Sir Manmatha Nath Roy Chowdhary of Santosh.
• Services won the 2015–16 edition of the tournament.