1. WB approves $100 million loan for job creation in Jordan
(i) Recently, the World Bank extended a $100 million loan to Jordan in order to help create 100,000 jobs for Syrian refugees and civilian population of Jordan.
(ii) Shortly before, Lebanon was also awarded $100 million to ensure universal school enrolment for the Lebanese children and Syrian refugees. World Bank President said the money for Jordan and Lebanon – both middle income countries – is from a special fund normally reserved for the poorest countries.
(iii) Cheap loan extended by Bank and other financial institutions are new tools used by the international community for creating jobs and educational opportunities so as to reduce the flow of refugees in Europe and neighbouring countries.
2. World Bank approves $250 million loan to Rajasthan
(i) Recently, the World Bank Board approved a $250 million development policy loan (DPL) for Rajasthan’s new 24×7 Power for All program. The loan has been extended to help the state upgrade performance of its electricity distribution sector under the scheme.
(ii) The First Programmatic Electricity Distribution Reform Development Policy Loan for Rajasthan will be the first in a series of two operations for a comprehensive turnaround of Rajasthan’s power distribution sector.
(iii) This operation will align the Indian government’s UDAY scheme (for ailing power DISCOM’s) with the Rajasthan government’s plans to improve the financial, operational and technical performance of its DISCOMs.
3. Mizoram signs pact with Japanese International Cooperative Agency for agriculture and irrigation development
(i) Mizoram government and Japanese International Cooperative Agency (JICA) recently signed an agreement on Capacity Enhancement for Sustainable Agriculture and Irrigation Development.
(ii) The agreement was signed between top officials of Agriculture, Minor Irrigation, Horticulture and Soil and Water Conservation departments in the presence of state chief secretary Lalmalsawma and from Japan’s JICA team leader Satoru Fujita and four other officials both from Tokyo and Delhi.
(iii) As per the agreement, JICA will undertake technical cooperation project in four rural development blocks in Aizawl, Kolasib, Serchhip and Champhai districts and training programmes will be conducted in Japan for officials and farmers from Mizoram with all expenses borne by the Japanese government.
4. SBI to set up special China desk to attract Chinese investors
(i) The Shanghai branch of State Bank of India (SBI) announced that it will set up a special Chinese desk to attract prospective investors from China under the ‘Make in India’ campaign.
(ii) The desk will provide advisory services and will be developed along the lines of the Japan desk that was set up in New Delhi.
(iii) In March 2016, the India-China Business and Investment Forum was held in the Chinese city Wuxi wherein over 20 Indian firms participated to introduce latest investment opportunities to their Chinese counterparts.
5. World Theatre Day observed on March 27
(i) Every year March 27 is observed as World Theatre Day which was initiated by the International Theatre Institute (ITI) and theatre communities across the globe.
(ii) To mark this occasion, many national and international theatre events are organised worldwide.
(iii) The salient feature of this day is the circulation of the World Theatre Day International Message through an eminent personality who would share his/her reflections on the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace.
(iv) Russian Dramatist Anatoly Vasiliev is the World Theatre Day International Message Author 2016. Vasiliev is an internationally acclaimed theatre director and professor of Russian theatre.
6. Indian-origin academician Surya Deva appointed as UN Advisor on Human Rights and Business
(i) Recently, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) appointed Indian-origin Professor Surya Deva as the Asia-Pacific representative of the UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises.
(ii) Deva will be one among the four-member working group. An Associate Professor at the City University of Hong Kong’s School of Law, Deva’s area of work and research has been business and human rights, corporate social responsibility, India-China constitutional law, and sustainable development.
(iii) He is one of the founding Editors-in-Chief of the Business and Human Rights Journal, and is part of the Editorial Board of the Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights. He recently wrote a paper for India’s National Framework on Business and Human Rights.
(iv) Among other achievements, in 2014, he was also elected a Member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Constitutional Law.
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