Daily Current Affairs: 07 March 2014

1) Pankaj Advani beats Kamal Chawla to lift 24th national snooker title: World champion Pankaj Advani (PSPB) won his sixth national snooker title with a commanding 6-3 win over Kamal Chawla of Railways in the 81st national snooker championship, in Lucknow on Friday. This was Pankaj Advani's overall 24th national title and it came against an opponent, who proved he was worthy of being in the final but fell short against the eight-time world champion. Pankaj Advani is the only Indian with a world title in snooker. 

2) 2014 Winter Paralympics kicks off in Sochi, Russia: The Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympic Games have opened with a heartwarming ceremony, paving the way for a show of extreme skills, tough challenges, and unbreakable spirit. The flame was again lit in the Russian city of Sochi on Friday, this time marking the start of the Winter Paralympics. 550 athletes from 45 nations will participate in 72 disciplines across 5 sports. Brazil, Turkey and Uzbekistan are making their debut in the Winter Paralympic Games.

3) RBI to issue new banking licences soon: RBI Governor: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expects to hand out new bank licences in a few weeks from now, its Governor Raghuram Rajan has said. As many as 25 applicants are in the fray for new banking licences, which are now being awarded after a span of a decade.

4) NDMC launched Stri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana: North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) launched a new health scheme Stri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna for women on 6 March 2014. The Scheme aims to bring services closer for those living in rural areas and unauthorized colonies. Under the scheme, health camps and mass awareness drives will be held in various areas of north Delhi. The medical services will be provided through various nodal centres, hospitals and mobile dispensaries marked for the programme.

5) Mathura gets world's tallest Krishna temple: The foundation stone of a 212-meter (700-foot) high Krishna temple, reputedly the world's tallest, will be laid on March 16. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will dedicate the temple coinciding with Holi festival. Called Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir, the temple complex will be spread over 5.5 acres along the Chatikara road which connects Vrindavan with the Delhi-Agra national highway.

6) Saudi Arabia declares Muslim Brotherhood 'terrorist group': Saudi Arabia has formally designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. An interior ministry statement also classified two jihadist groups fighting with the Syrian rebels - the Nusra Front and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant - as terrorist groups.

7) Japan: Bitcoin not a currency but taxable- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet said on Friday that bitcoin, the world’s most well-known form of virtual money, is not a currency, but would be taxable. Tokyo defined bitcoin as a product that is not handled by banks and securities houses. It also added that consumption tax would be levied on purchases of the virtual currency and income tax would be imposed on profits from its sale.

8) Rakesh Sharma takes over as Lakshmi Vilas Bank CEO & MD: Rakesh Sharma has taken over as MD and CEO of Lakshmi Vilas Bank with effect from Friday. This follows the demitting of office of the interim MD and CEO KSR Anjaneyulu.