Current Affairs 2nd April 2019

Current Affairs 2nd April 2019 - Important Points

• Zuzana Caputova elected first female President of - Slovakia
• Manu Sawhney takes charge as ICC CEO on - 1st April 2019
• Anti-dumping duty imposed on import of solar cell component by - India
• Branches of Vijaya, Dena Bank to operate as outlets of Bank of Baroda starting from - 1st April 2019
• GRSE becomes first Indian shipyard to deliver - 100 warships
• IUCN lists Hump-backed Mahseer as - Critically Endangered
• Indian Open Badminton 2019 organised  in  - New Delhi
  Current Affairs 2nd April 2019 - Details

Manu Sawhney takes charge as ICC CEO on - 1st April 2019

India’s Manu Sawhney on April 1st, 2019 designated as the new Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Sawhney will work together with incumbent International Cricket Council Chief Executive Dave Richardson, who will step down following the World Cup in July 2019.  Sawhney, who was former MD of ESPN Star Sports, has already been serving alongside outgoing Chief Executive Richardson for the past 6 weeks to make sure a smooth transition. Richardson will remain with the International Cricket Council until July as originally prearranged to oversee the delivery of the World Cup in the UK.
Important Highlights

• Manu Sawhney was with ESPN Star Sports for 17 years and was accountable for scaling the business and  doubling yearly revenues.
• It was during his time with the company that ESPN Star Sports signed the global broadcast partnership deal with the ICC that ran from 2007-2015.
• Sawhney then shifted to Singapore Sports Hub as CEO and he is also a non-executive director and member of the Audit Committee of Manchester United Ltd.
• He was designated as the new Chief Executive of International Cricket Council in January 2019 following a 2-day interview process. His nomination was ratified by the International Cricket Council Board after an international search and appointment process led by the top body's chairman Shashank Manohar and the nominations committee.

Anti-dumping duty imposed on import of solar cell component by - India

India has imposed anti-dumping duty worth up to USD 1559/tonne on imports of a certain type of sheet
utilised in solar cell making from China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Thailand for 5 years to protect domestic players against cheap shipments. 
The news was shared by the Department of Revenue via a notification.
Important Highlights

• The duty, which is in the range of USD 537-USD 1559/tonne, will be forced on the imports of ‘Ethylene Vinyl Acetate sheet for solar module’ from the selected 4 nations.
• It shall be effective for a period of 5 years unless revoked/superseded/amended earlier.
• The Directorate General of Trade Remedies had started the probe in April 2018 after a complaint by a domestic firm.
• In its probe, the Directorate had decided that obligation of the duty is needed to offset dumping and injury resulted due to dumped imports from China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Thailand.
• The product is a polymer based element utilised in the production of solar Photo Voltaic modules. 
• The imports of the sheets from the 4 nations augmented to 6367 tonnes during the period of October 2016-September 2017 from 4674 tonnes in 2016-17. The imports raised at USD 1025 tonnes in 2015-16 and USD 594 tonnes in 2014-15.

GRSE becomes first Indian shipyard to deliver - 100 warships

State-owned Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd- GRSE has become the ‘1st Indian shipyard’ to manufacture and supply 100 warships. The 100th warship “IN LCU L-56” has been handed over to the
Indian Navy.
Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd had handed over its 99th warship, “ICGS Priyadarshini”, an advanced “Fast Patrol Vessel” to the Indian Coast Guard.
More about GRSE

• Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd, located in Kolkata, is a shipbuilding firm in India under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence.
• Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd primarily caters to the shipbuilding needs of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard. 
• Furthermore, to ship and  warship manufacturing capabilities, Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd is also busy in engine production and other engineering happenings.
• In 1934, Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd was merged under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 and was later assimilated by the Government of India from Macneill and Barry Limited on May 19th, 1960.
• In 2006, Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd was deliberated the status of Mini Ratna.
• Over the years, Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd has manufactured aout 780 platforms, including 100 warships to the Navy, the Coast Guard, and the Mauritius Coast Guard.

Zuzana Caputova elected first female President of - Slovakia

Zuzana Caputova has secured Slovakia’s presidential election, making her the nation’s 1st female leader of state. Ms Caputova defeated high-profile diplomat Maros Sefcovic, designated by the governing party. She won 58 percent of the vote, with Mr Sefcovic trailing on 42 percent. Mr Sefcovic is the vice president of the European Commission.
Slovakia

• Slovakia is a landlocked nation in Central Europe. It borders Poland to the North, Ukraine to the East, Hungary to the South, Austria to the West, and the Czech Republic to the Northwest. Slovakia is a member of the EU and NATO.
• Slovakia was the ‘other half’ of Czechoslovakia, which divided into 2 nations in 1993. Slovakia’s mostly spans around 49000 sq.kms is mountainous.
• The capital and largest city is Bratislava, and the 2nd largest city is Košice. The formal language  is  Slovak and  Euro is its national currency.

Branches of Vijaya, Dena Bank to operate as outlets of Bank of Baroda starting from - 1st April 2019

The RBI has informed that all branches of public sector banks Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will operate as branches of Bank of Baroda April 1st, 2019 onwards, and the projected merger Bank of Baroda with Dena and Vijaya Bank will be affected from April 1st.
Plan of Merger

• According to the proposed merger plan, stakeholders of Vijaya Bank will receive 402 equity shares of Bank of Baroda for every 1000 shares organised and the stakeholders of Dena Bank will get 110 equity shares of Bank of Baroda for every 1000 equity stake held.
• The boards of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will stance dissolved.
• The whole share capital of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will stance cancelled and the stkes of both these banks will also stand delisted from stock exchanges.
• After the merger of these state-operated banks, Bank of Baroda will become the 3rd largest bank in India next to the SBI and HDFC Bank.
• The combined bank will have more than 9500 branches, 13400 ATMs, 85000 workers to serve 12 crore customers.
• The bank will have a trade mix of Rupees 15 lakh crore of balance sheet, with credits and advances of Rupees 8.75 lakh crore and Rupees 6.25 lakh crore, correspondingly.

IUCN lists Hump-backed Mahseer as - Critically Endangered

International Union for Conservation of Nature- IUCN has itemized Hump-backed Mahseer as Critically Endangered in the Red List of Threatened Species.
Hump-backed Mahseer

• The Hump-backed Mahseer is a species of freshwater ray-finned fishes and is denoted to as tiger of the water.
• The Hump-backed Mahseer is originate only in the Cauvery river basin including Pambar, Kabini and  Bhavani rivers. There are approximately 16 species of mahseer in India.
• There is a necessity for strong willingness and co-operation from a range of shareholders in 3 states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka across the River Cauvery which is one of India’s most challenged rivers.
• Shoal is an international group working to protect freshwater species and has started “Project Mahseer” in partnership with other shareholders to permit conservation action for the hump-backed mahseer.
• Hornbill Great hornbill which was previously categorised as ‘Near Threatened’. It is now vulnerable due to high hunting burden in addition to habitat loss and deforestation.
• The wreathed hornbill has shifted from Least Concern to Vulnerable by International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Indian Open Badminton 2019 organised  in  - New Delhi

The Indian Badminton Tournament 2019 was organised at K.D.Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi from 26th -31st March 2019 and had a overall purse of $350000.
Champions of Indian Open Badminton 2019

• Men’s Singles title secured by Viktor Axelsen from Denmark.
• Women’s Singles title secured by Ratchanok Intanon from Thailand.
• Men’s Doubles title secured by Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin from Chinese Taipei.
• Women’s Doubles title secured by Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu from Indonesia.
• Mixed Doubles title secured by Wang Yilü and Huang Dongping from China.
• India’s Srikanth Kidambi lost to Viktor Axelsen of Denmark by 7-21, 20-22 in the men’s singles summit clash.