NATIONAL:
69th Himachal Day being celebrated in the State :
· Himachal Pradesh is celebrating 69th Himachal Day today. On the occasion, a state-level function would be held at Ghumarvin town in Bilaspur district where Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will unfurl the national flag.
· After independence, the Chief Commissioner's Province of Himachal Pradesh came into existence on 15 April 1948, with the merger of 28 petty princely states.
· Himachal became a part C state on 26 January 1950 with the implementation of the Constitution of India and the Lt. Governor was appointed.
President Pranab Mukherjee to visit Tamil Nadu today :
· Mr Mukherjee will attend the convocation of Defence Services Staff College at Wellington.
· A total of 458 officers including 34 officers from 25 friendly foreign countries will be graduating from the portal of the college.
· The president will present medals to the award winners and hand over parchments to the foreign officers. Thereafter the Commandent will present a banner of excellence to the president.
Rama Navami being celebrated across the country:
· Rama Navami is being celebrated across the country today.
· The festival marks the birth of Lord Rama. President, Vice-President and Prime Minister have greeted the people on the occasion.
PM Narendra Modi launches National Agriculture Market portal eNAM:
· Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an electronic trading platform, the National Agriculture Market (eNAM), for farmers to sell their produce.
· It proposes to integrate 585 regulated agriculture produce market committees within a couple of years.
· eNAM will allow the farmers to sell their produce to the highest bidders and has been allocated a budget of 200 crore.
Delhi Government bans chewable tobacco for a year:
· The Delhi government has banned the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of all forms of chewable tobacco including gutkha and pan masala for one year.
· The ban is also applicable to unpackaged tobacco products and components of gutkha that "easily facilitate mixing by the consumer". This comes after the Supreme Court directed the government to ban gutkha in Delhi.
Government asks banks to compute pension post Dearness Releif hike:
· The government said that banks have been asked to calculate revised amount of pension following the recent 6% hike in Dearness Relief (DR).
· The Union Cabinet had on March 23, approved release of an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to central government employees and DR to pensioners from this year onwards to compensate for price rise.
Aadhaar, net banking-based I-T e-filing appeal system activated:
· Income Tax department has started the Aadhaar and net banking-based e-filing verification system for taxpayers to file the first appeal before a tax officer, on similar lines of online ITR filing.
· The facility of filing the appeal form, like filing Income Tax Returns (ITRs), can also be done using a digital signature on the official web portal of the tax department.
· The EVC works by way of generating a personalized OTP by using the Aadhaar database or the net banking identity of a filer or entity.
Government proposes 20k Crore Plan for Delhi congestion:
· The government has proposed a 20,000 crore plan to deal with the traffic congestion in Delhi by building eight radial roads.
· The roads will link the eastern and western peripheral expressways to help redirect traffic and improve air quality.
A first: transgenders to man a poll booth in Kolkata:
· Transgenders to man a polling booth in Kolkata. The Statesman Over 50 transgender voters in North Dinajpur.
· They have been deployed at a polling booth in Kolkata for the April 30 assembly polls, One booth in south Kolkata will be managed by a few members of the third gender.
· West Bengal has 758 members of the third gender enlisted as voters and two transgender candidates Out of the 6.5 crore voters in West Bengal.
· In the third gender there are two transgender candidates contesting from high-profile seats in Kolkata Bhawanipore and Jadavpur. Both have been fielded by LokJanshakti Party.
Delhi's odd-even phase 2 begins today:
· The second phase of the Delhi government's odd-even plan aimed at controlling air pollution and traffic congestion has started today.
· The odd-even restrictions will be in place until April 30. During this phase of the odd-even plan, parents driving children to school are exempted and exemptions from the previous phase like cars driven by single women and two-wheelers will continue.
Government reconstitutes Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) board; Ram Bahadur Rai appointed as Chairman:
· Government has reconstituted Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) board.
· Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma appoints a new 20-member team including classical dancer Sonal Mansingh, lyricist Prasoon Joshi, artist Vasudeo Kamath and Union Culture Ministry Secretary.
· Ram Bahadur Rai, Senior Journalist has been appointed as Chairman of the Board.
· The Ministry has also appointed Dr Sushmita Pandey, head of School of Studies in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology in Ujjain’s Vikram University, as chairman of National Monument Authority.
121-feet incense stick to witness the Kumbh Mela:
· A 121-feet incense stick will remain lit during the Kumbh Mela at Ujjain being held from April 22 to May 21 this year.
· Built from natural ingredients including milk, cow dung, cow urine and ghee at a cost of 3 lakh, the incense stick weighs 4,000 kg. It was first lit at the Simhasth pilgrimage at Ujjain last week.
Over 50% rural population defecate in open: National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)
· An estimated 52.1% people in rural areas defecate in the open, a survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) has found.
· The survey, which covered 3,788 villages, was conducted between May and June 2015. It also found that an estimated 7.5% people in urban areas defecate in the open, after covering 2,907 urban blocks.
Early Summer vacations declared in Telangana:
· The Telangana government has issued a notice to all schools in the state directing them to begin the summer vacations one week earlier than scheduled due to the heat wave which has claimed over 66 lives.
· The academic institutions will now be closed from April 16 to June 12 as against the previously scheduled April 24 to June 12.
Union Government imposes anti-dumping duty on N-Butyl Alcohol:
· The Union Government has imposed an anti-dumping duty of up to US 149 dollars on imports of N-Butyl Alcohol from five countries viz. European Union (EU), Malaysia, Singapore and US.
· In this regard, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has issued a notification based on the recommendation of Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD).
· DGAD in its investigation had found out that Normal Butanol, or N-Butyl Alcohol exported from five countries mentioned above was found to be below normal value compared to domestic value, thus causing material injury to domestic injury.
INTERNATIONAL:
South Korea’s opposition party wins general election:
· South Korea’s main opposition party won a surprise victory in general election, ending the 16-year parliamentary majority.
· The main opposition Minjoo Party won 123 in the 300-member National Assembly and Park’s Saenuri Party yesterday won 122 seats in the 300-member National Assembly.
· The splinter opposition People’s Party bagged 38 spots, and another six seats went to the Justice Party.
South Korea:
o Capital: Seoul
o Currency: Won
Germany unveils new laws for refugees:
· Germany unveiled new legal measures for migrants and refugees to integrate into German society to live and work in the country.
· The measures include language classes, lessons in German laws, and cultural basics.
· Further, a law requiring employers to give preference to German or European Union job applicants over asylum seekers will be suspended for three years.
Iran ends deal for clearing oil dues in rupees:
· Iran, no longer under sanctions, has terminated a three-year old system of getting paid for 45% of the oil import bill in rupees, while also ending free shipping of crude oil to India.
· Further, Iran has demanded refiners like Essar Oil and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals to clear nearly $6.5 billion of past dues in Euros, officials said.
El Salvador declares water shortage emergency for first time ever:
· El Salvador declared a water shortage emergency for the first time in its history, citing the effects of climate change and the El Nino phenomenon.
· President Salvador Sanchez Ceren said at a news conference that in the last four years, rainfall has decreased considerably in the Central American country.
· He said, water reserve levels in river have reached a critical state.
Powerful quake hits off Vanuatu:
· A 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of the Pacific nation of Vanuatu today, just hours after another strong tremor in the same area.
· No tsunami alert was issued. The United States Geological Survey said, the first quake, at 6.0-magnitude, struck at a depth of 10 kilometres, some 86 kilometres from the town of Port Orly.
· Vanuatu is part of the Ring of Fire, a zone of tectonic activity around the Pacific that is subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
India, US to collaborate on tackling offshore tax evasion:
· India and the United States have agreed to enhance collaboration on tackling offshore tax evasion and increase co-operation in sharing of cross-border tax information.
· Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew co-chaired the 6th US-India Economic and Financial Partnership on the sidelines of the annual Spring Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington.
China posts weakest quarterly growth in 7 years:
· China posted its slowest economic growth since the first quarter of 2009, with 6.7% year-on-year growth in its GDP in the quarter ended March.
· However, other indicators showed an improvement in the growth of retail sales, fixed-asset investment, and industrial output.
· Notably, the Chinese economy grew 6.9% in 2015, its weakest rate in a quarter of a century.
US, Philippines jointly patrol South China sea:
· US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that they have started joint patrols with the Philippines in the South China sea.
· He said US troops and military equipment will be sent to the island nation on regular rotations.
· This comes amid China's territorial claims in the region and opposition to US patrols in the South China sea.
Brazil Supreme Court rejects President plea to halt impeachment:
· Brazil's Supreme Court rejected President Dilma Rousseff's plea seeking to suspend an impeachment vote scheduled for Sunday.
· Rousseff's lawyers argued that there were procedural flaws in the impeachment process.
· This comes with reports claiming that the Opposition has the 342 votes in the 513-member Parliament required to push for Rousseff's impeachment and trial for breaking budget laws.
Fairness for Children report released by UNICEF:
· United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) released Innocenti Report Card 13, titled Fairness for Children: A league table of inequality in child well-being in rich countries.
· The report released in Paris presents an overview of inequalities in child well-being in 41 countries of the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
· It focuses on ‘bottom-end inequality’ – the gap between children at the bottom and those in the middle – and addresses the question ‘how far behind are children being allowed to fall?’ in income, education, health and life satisfaction.
APPOINTMENTS:
Soumen Mitra takes over as new Kolkata Police Commissioner:
· Soumen Mitra, a 1988-batch IPS officer took over as the new Police Commissioner of Kolkata after Rajeev Kumar was removed by the Election Commission.
· Rajeev Kumar, an IPS officer of the 1989 batch, rushed to his new office to take over as the ADG, Anti-Corruption Branch in the State police.
· With this change, Ram Phal Pawar, a 1988 batch IPS officer, who was holding the post of ADG, Anti-Corruption Branch in West Bengal, would now take over as ADG, CID in the State police.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma appointed chairman of IAMAI payments banks group:
· Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma has appointed as the chairman and Vodafone India business head Suresh Sethi as Vice chairman of the newly formed payments banks group Industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India(IAMAI).
· IAMAI Payments Banks is an innovative model of bringing unbanked population into the formal banking fold.
· It includes global companies such as Google, Facebook and LinkedIn as members, also counts six out of the ten payments banks’ primary licensees as members.
· IAMAI President: Dr. Subho Ray
Boxer Mary Kom appointed as AIBA ambassador:
· Olympic medal-winning boxer Mary Kom was named as one of the eight ambassadors for the upcoming World Championships by the International Boxing Association (AIBA).
· The 33-year-old, who missed out on an Olympic berth in last month’s Asian Qualifiers, is aiming to secure her second successive Olympic appearance through the world event scheduled from May 19 in Kazakhstan.
Sushila Karki: First female Chief Justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court:
· Sushila Karki has become the first female acting Chief Justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court ending the male domination in higher posts in the judiciary. She replaced Kalyan Shrestha.
· The Constitutional Council headed by the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli recommended the appointment of Karki.
· Her nomination is expected to be confirmed by a parliamentary committee, though this has not yet been formed because of bickering among political parties.
Susmita Pande appointed as chairperson of National Monument Authority:
· Union Government appointed Susmita Pande as the new chairperson of the National Monument Authority (NMA). She is professor a professor at Ujjain's Vikram University.
· She would succeed Himanshu Prabha Ray, the professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University whose term ended in September 2015. The position was lying vacant for five months after his demission from office.
· At the time of appointment, she was the head of the School of Studies in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology in Vikram University of Madhya Pradesh.
BANKING :
World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Sign First Co-Financing Framework Agreement:
· The World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Jin Liqun signed the first co-financing framework agreement.
· The AIIB expects to approve about USD 1.2 billion in financing, with World Bank joint projects anticipated to account for a sizable share in this year.
· Under the agreement, the World Bank will prepare and supervise the co-financed projects in accordance with its policies and procedures in areas like procurement, environment and social safeguards.
o World Bank HQ: Washington D.C, USA
o AIIB HQ: Beijing, China
BRICS bank sanctions $250 million loan for India:
· The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Development Bank, has sanctioned a $250 million loan for a renewable energy scheme in India.
· The project will result in the generation of 500 MW of renewable energy and savings of about 8 lakh tonnes of carbon emissions.
AWARDS AND HONOURS:
Cafe installs 600kg Rajinikanth chocolate statue:
· A cafe in Chennai has installed a 6 feet tall statue of actor Rajinikanth, made of 600 kilogram of chocolate.
· The statue was created by Chennai-based sculptor Srinath Balachandran after the cafe conducted a poll on how to pay tribute to Rajinikanth.
· This comes just after the actor was awarded a 'Padma Vibhushan' for his contribution to the film industry.
Sanders wins Time's most influential people poll:
· US Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has won the 'Time 100' poll for the Time Magazine's annual most influential people list.
· Sanders, with 3.3% votes, secured over three times the votes cast for his Democratic party rival Hillary Clinton.
· Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and US President Barack Obama were named in the top 5 of the list.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:
Jaypee offers 2,200-acre land to banks for loan settlement:
· Jaypee group offers 2200 acre land to banks in order to settle most of its loans.
· Banks have shown their interest to take over the land to avoid putting a non-performing asset (NPA) tag on the two Jaypee group companies namely Jaiprakash Associates Limited (JAL) and Jaypee Infra.
Infosys net profit up by 16.1% to 3,597 crore:
· IT major Infosys on Friday reported a net consolidated profit of 3,597 crore in the quarter ended March, a 16.1% rise over the corresponding period a year ago.
· Revenue increased by 23.40% year-on-year to 16,550 crore.
· Further, in the 2015-16 fiscal, Infosys registered a 9.4% growth in profit to 13,491 crore, while revenue rose by 17.1% to 62,441 crore.
Pepsi-Cola sign got historic landmark designation in New York:
· Iconic Pepsi-Cola sign on the banks of East River of New York was declared as a historic landmark after 25 years of discussion.
· The sign of 60 feet high and 120 feet long was built in 1936 and installed atop a Pepsi bottling plant in an industrial area bordering the East River in Long Island City.
· Its steel and porcelain letters and giant Pepsi bottle have long been part of the view from the East Side of Manhattan.
· The sign was restored in 1993 after being damaged in a winter storm.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:
Super computer Param Kanchenjunga launched at Sikkim National Institute of Technology (NIT) :
· The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Sikkim secured a rare distinction of having a super computer which is said to be the most powerful and fastest among all the 31 NITs and also in the entire North East region. The super computer, nick-named “Param Kanchenjunga” was formally launched by Sikkim Governor Shrinvas Patil at the NIT Sikkim campus at Ravangla in South Sikkim district.
· The super computer has been established jointly by the Pune-based Centre for Development of Advanced Computing ‘C-DAC’ and the NIT Sikkim at a cost of 3 crore rupees. It is expected to help achieve excellence in engineering education and research in the North East region.
BSNL to launch data sharing service facility for users across India:
· BSNL to launch data sharing facility for pre-paid customers across the country.
· It will allow bsnl four users to share data among themselves. No charges will be levied for availing this facility.
· Currently, the company has introduced a special tariff voucher (STV) for this service in south zone. The STV allows sharing of data among a group of people.
New FaceBook project aims at street-level connectivity:
· Aiming to provide cities with street-level internet connectivity, Facebook has announced a project called Terragraph.
· It is an antenna-based Wi-Fi delivery system that equips street lights and traffic signals with antennas that can deliver transmission rates up to 7 Gbps.
· Terragraph will use a 60 GHz frequency to deliver connectivity and the signal can travel about 200 to 250 meters.
WordPress adds share buttons for WhatsApp, Skype:
· Blogging website WordPress has updated its platform to include share buttons for WhatsApp, Telegram and Skype.
· Users have to manually integrate the new buttons into their blogs by clicking on the 'My Site' and then the 'Sharing' options on their dashboards.
· The platform already features share-button support for Twitter, Facebook and Reddit.
Indian Naval Warships Visit Colombo:
· Indian Naval Ships Tir and Sujata, along with Indian Coast Guard Ship Varuna, comprising the first training squadron, are scheduled to visit Colombo, Sri Lanka.
· The present deployment of the Training Squadron to Colombo would further cement the close relations between the two nations and the two navies.
· The Southern Naval Command (SNC) is the training command of the Indian Navy, which provides both basic and advanced training to officers and sailors of the Indian Navy.
SPORTS:
Bombay HC orders IPL matches to be shifted out of Maharashtra from April 30:
· Bombay High Court ordered all IPL matches after April 30to be shifted from drought affected Maharashtra Bombay. The state was earlier scheduled to host 20 matches.
· The Verdict came after a PIL questioned the hosting of matches in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur due to a severe drought in Maharashtra.
· The ruling affects 13 matches, including the final which was to be held in Mumbai on May 29.
· BCCI had supplied 40 lakh litres of water to stadiums per day for IPL tournaments so far, the judges asked whether it was ready to supply the same quantity to water-starved villages in and around Pune.
Gujarat defeat Pune by 7 wickets in IPL:
· Gujarat Lions registered a comprehensive 7-wicket win over the Rising Pune Supergiants in Rajkot.
· Batting first, the Pune side put up 163/5 on the board, with Faf du Plessis scoring 69(43).
· Ravindra Jadeja and Pravin Tambe picked up two wickets each. In response, the Lions reached the target in 18 overs, with Aaron Finch scoring 50(36).
PV Sindhu eliminated in Singapore Open 2016:
· Indian ace shuttler PV Sindhu was eliminated from the 2016 Singapore Open after she lost her second round match to China's He Bingjiao 21-11, 14-21, 14-21.
· Indian men's doubles duo of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar also lost 12-21, 12-21 in straight games to Indonesian pair, Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.
Table Tennis players Manika, Soumyajit qualify for Rio '16:
· Indian table tennis players Manika Batra and Soumyajit Ghosh have qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics after winning their respective groups in the South Asian division of the Asian Olympic Qualification event in Hong Kong.
· Manika, who has bagged two silver and two bronze medals at the Commonwealth, will be appearing in her first Olympics.
Warriors finish NBA season with record 73 wins:
· Defending champions Golden State Warriors completed the most successful regular season in NBA history after registering a record-breaking 73rd win of the 82-game season.
· The Warriors defeated Memphis Grizzlies 125-104 to break 1995-96 Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls' record of 72 wins and 10 losses. Notably, the Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was part of the 1995-96 Bulls roster.
Hockey India gives 10 Lakh for Maharashtra drought relief:
· Amid severe drought condition in parts of Maharashtra, Hockey India on Thursday donated 10 lakh to the state's Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for drought relief.
Srikanth, Jayaram move up in BWF ranking:
· K Srikanth and Ajay Jayaram moved up the ladder while Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu maintained their positions in the latest Badminton World Federation, World ranking.
· Despite losing in the opening round of the Malaysia Open Srikanth improved a place to reach the 13th spot, while Jayaram surged three places to the 21st position in men's singles.
· Commonwealth Games champion P Kashyap, who skipped the Malaysia Open because of injury, slipped two places to be at the 20th spot. Swiss Open winner H S Prannoy slipped a place to 23rd.
· In the women's singles ranking, Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu maintained their positions at World No. 8 and World No. 10.
· Indian men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy sunk a place to at 20th position, while Commonwealth Games silver medallist women's doubles duo of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa remained at 15th spot
OBITUARY:
British playwright Arnold Wesker passes away:
· Leading British playwright Sir Arnold Wesker, who came to prominence in the late 1950s with his gritty, working class dramas, has died aged 83.
· He first established his reputation with the Wesker Trilogy at the Royal Court theatre in central London.
· He wrote more than 40 plays, as well as short stories, essays and poetry over five decades.Sir Arnold Wesker.
· One of his most successful plays, Chips with Everything, was inspired by his own experiences in the RAF.
Hero Cycles co-founder S Munjal passes away:
· Satyanand Munjal, co-founder of Hero Cycles Corp, passed away aged 99 at his residence in Ludhiana, Punjab.
· Hero Cycles was set up in 1956 in Ludhiana by four Munjal brothers of which Satyanand was the eldest.
· Munjal was also known for his philanthropic acts including setting up of Hero DMC Heart Institute and Dayanand Medical College and Hospital.
Odd-even part 2 begins with public appeals, 'zero' peak time traffic
i. The second phase of the odd even vehicle rationing scheme came in force here on Friday morning with appeals to follow its provisions from the government matched by visible compliance from Delhi's citizens.
ii. That Friday happened to be a public holiday on the occasion of Ram Navami was also understood to be a significant reason behind the reduced volume of vehicular traffic in addition to odd even restrictions.Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Transport Minister Gopal Rai took to Twitter to make public appeals asking citizens to support the initiative.
Swaraj Abhiyan to start pilot run of its electoral plunge with MCD polls
i.On the first anniversary of its formation after breaking away from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan–led Swaraj Abhiyan decided to ‘experiment’ in electoral politics, beginning with a ‘pilot project’ in one ward during the upcoming by-elections to the Delhi Municipal Corporation.
ii.“Swaraj Abhiyan is not a political party but the upcoming by-election in MCD is an occasion to create a model of how it may intervene in electoral politics in the future,” the party said , as it took its first step to being a full-fledged political party.
Odisha CM inaugurates cheap meal centres
i.Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated opening of 100 more Aahar centres across the State as part of Government’s cheap meal programme for the poor.
Image result for Odisha CM inaugurates
ii.Patnaik dedicated the 100 Aahar centres to the public at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Cittack city. “Now the Aahar programme is extended to all the districts of the State.
iii.Above 60,000 people visiting urban pockets of the State will get cheap meals,” Patnaik said The CM asked the officials to ensure hygienic food and sanitation at the centres.
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IGNCA board reconstituted, Ram Bahadur Rai appointed as chairman
i. After Nehru Memorial Society, the Modi government reconstituted the management of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) bringing in veteran Hindi journalist Ram Bahadur Rai as its head in place of Chinmaya Gharekhan, a former diplomat.
ii. Appointment of Rai, a former news editor of Hindi daily Jansatta, as the President of the 20-member Board of Trustees of IGNCA, was announced by the Culture Ministry.
iii. IGNCA, considered a Congress legacy, was established in 1987 when Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister as a centre for research, academic pursuit and dissemination in the field of the arts. Gharekhan was appointed during the UPA-I rule.
iii.The reconstituted trust of IGNCA, an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture, will be functional with immediate effect. Besides Rai, the Board comprises 19 other members including classical dancers Sonal Mansingh and Padma Subrahmaniam, lyricist Prasoon Joshi and artist Vasudeo Kamath.
Narendra Modi launches village self-governance campaign
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Gramodaya se Bharatodaya Abhiyan (village self-governance) campaign on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar. The main aim of the Campaigned is to spread awareness about the various schemes that the Centre has launched keeping rural India in mind.
ii. The campaign include a 'social harmony programme' from 14 to 16 April under which villagers would pay tribute to Ambedkar and resolve to strengthen social harmony. Besides, 'Village Farmer Assemblies' would also be organised from 17-20 April to promote agriculture by providing information to farmers about various schemes of the government such as Fasal Bima Yojana and Soil Health Card scheme.
iii. On 19 April, a national meeting focusing on Panchayat and tribal development will be held at Vijaywada, while gram sabha meetings will be held from 21-24 April across the country. PM modi said While addressing a gathering at Ambedkar's birthplace Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.
iv.Prime minister also announced that 18,000 villages that do not have access to power will be electrified in 1,000 days, or even earlier. He also noted that optical fibre lines were being put in place in 2.5 lakh villages to ensure digital connectivity, and that the government has resolved to double farmers’ income by 2022.
India was world's largest remittance recipient in 2015
i. India remained the world’s largest recipient of remittances from abroad in 2015, despite a $1 billion drop from the previous year, the first such decline since 2009.
ii. According to world bank report India retained its top spot in 2015, attracting about $69 billion in remittances, down from $70 billion in 2014, the World Bank said in its annual report ‘Migration and Development Brief’. Other large remittance recipients in 2015 were China ($64 billion), the Philippines ($28 billion), Mexico ($25 billion) and Nigeria ($21 billion).
iii. According to the report, the growth of remittances in 2015 slowed from eight per cent in 2014 to 2.5 per cent for Bangladesh, from 16.7 per cent to 12.8 per cent for Pakistan, and from 9.6 per cent to 0.5 per cent for Sri Lanka.
World Bank and AIIB Sign First Co-Financing Framework Agreement
i. World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank President Jin Liqun signed the first co-financing framework agreement between the two institutions.
ii. Some 1.2 billion people in the world lack access to electricity and 2.4 billion people don't have access to basic sanitation services. The World Bank Group invested $18.8 billion in infrastructure in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015. The institution will leverage even more private finance through new partnerships, such as the Global, Infrastructure Facility, and the growing portfolios of the International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.
iii. The agreement outlines the co-financing parameters of World Bank-AIIB investment projects, and paves the way for the two institutions to jointly develop projects this year. In 2016, the AIIB expects to approve about $1.2 billion in financing, with World Bank joint projects anticipated to account for a sizeable share. Under the agreement, the World Bank will prepare and supervise the co-financed projects in accordance with its policies and procedures in areas like procurement, environment and social safeguards.
Barack Obama appoints MasterCard CEO Banga to key administration post
i. The White House released a list of names President Barack Obama will appoint to his new Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. The panel, established this year as part of Obama's $19 billion proposal to tighten defenses against hacking threats, seeks to tap industry experts outside the government for cybersecurity recommendations for both the public and private sectors.
ii. Among the names included are: General Keith Alexander, the director of the National Security Agency from 2005 to 2014; Uber chief security officer Joe Sullivan; MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga; and Peter Lee, corporate vice president for Microsoft Research. "I have charged the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity with the critically-important task of identifying the steps that our nation must take to ensure our cybersecurity in an increasingly digital world.
Flipkart Chief Product Officer Punit Soni Quits
i. Punit Soni, the chief product officer of Flipkart has quit his post at the startup a year after joining the company, according to three sources familiar with the development.
ii. Soni, a former Google executive with expertise in mobile technology, was the most high-profile recruitment made by the Bengaluru-based company. He helped build products such as Ping, a chat application on the mobile app, and relaunch its mobile website, Flipkart Lite. Along with Soni, his chief of staff Niket Des.Soni's recruitment in early 2015 was followed by other top hires, including chief technology officer Peeyush Ranjan and consumer experience head Surojit Chatterjee, both former Google executives from Silicon Valley.
iii. Last year Flipkart and its fashion unit Myntra also launched a mobile application, only strategy based, on the need to cater to a fast-growing customer segment that was transacting on their phones.
Mary Kom named AIBA ambassador for Women’s World Championship
i. Indian woman boxer M C Mary Kom added another honour to her list of accolades as she was named one of the eight ambassadors for the upcoming World Championships by the International Boxing Association (AIBA). An elated Mary Kom (51kg), who has five World Championship gold medals to her credit.
ii. The Manipuri is a tournament legend and AIBA had dubbed her ‘Magnificent Mary’ for her unprecedented gold medal count in it. The 33-year-old, who missed out on an Olympic berth in last month’s Asian Qualifiers, is currently training for the world event trials slated here on April 18 and 19.
iii. The AIBA-appointed ambassadors for the World Championship also include Nicola Adams of Great Britain, Team USA’s light flyweight Marlen Esparza, Adriana Arauja from the host country of this year’s Olympic Games Brazil, Bulgaria’s Stanimira Petrova and Morocco’s Khadija Mardi. The female officials chosen to be ambassadors are Algerian Kheira Siki Yakoub and Canada’s Jennifer Huggins.
Paytm's Vijay Shekhar Sharma to head IAMAI's Payments Banks Group
i. Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma will chair the newly formed Payments Banks Group at industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
ii. Vodafone India business head (M-Pesa) Suresh Sethi will be the Vice-Chairman of the Group, At present, six out of 10 payments banks' primary licenses are IAMAI members. IAMAI has more than 50 companies representing PPIs, wallets, aggregators, business correspondents, PoS Operators, among others as members.
iii. The Reserve Bank of India had granted payment licences in August last year, to companies including Paytm, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone. The business potential from serving millions of unbanked Indians to further the financial inclusion initiative of the government and the Reserve Bank had attracted most of the top business houses.
Susmita Pande appointed as chairperson of National Monument Authority
i. Union Government appointed Susmita Pande as the new chairperson of the National Monument Authority (NMA). She is professor a professor at Ujjain's Vikram University.
ii. She would succeed Himanshu Prabha Ray, the professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University whose term ended in September 2015. The position was lying vacant for five months after his demission from office.
iii. At the time of appointment, she was the head of the School of Studies in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology in Vikram University of Madhya Pradesh.
Delhi bans chewable tobacco for a year
i.Delhi bans chewable tobacco for a yeari. The Delhi government has banned for one year the sale, purchase and storage of all forms of chewable tobacco, including "guthka, pan masala, khaini and zarda", in the Capital.
ii. The Department of Food Safety on Thursday issued a notification in this regard on Wednesday.According to the notification,The manufacture, storage, distribution, or sale of tobacco which is either flavoured, scented or mixed... and whether going by the name or form of guthka, pan, masala, flavoured/scented tobacco, kharra, or otherwise... whether packaged or unpackaged and/or sold as one product, or though packaged as separate products, sold or distributed in such manner so as to easily facilitate mixing by the consumer is prohibited for a period of one year.''
Water levels in 91 major reservoirs alarmingly low
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i.Water levels in major reservoirs of the country are alarmingly low, weekly data released by Central Water Commission (CWC) shows.CWC, a technical organisation under the aegis of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, monitors live storage status of 91 major reservoirs in the country.
ii.Live storage capacity of these reservoirs is 157.799 BCM (Billion Cubic Meters), which is 62 per cent of the live storage capacity that is estimated to have been created in India.
iii. Live storage available in these reservoirs is 35.839 BCM, which is 23 per cent of the total live storage capacity of these reservoirs.The report states that current storage is 67 per cent of the storage of corresponding period of last year and 77 per cent of storage of average of last ten years
Online trading platform for farm goods launched
i. Online trading platform for farm goods launchedi. Prime Minister Narendra sowed the seeds for a farming revolution, with the launch of e-NAM, an online portal for trading in agriculture produce, which promises to liberate farmers from the clutches of middle-men and realise fair market value for their yields.
ii. “Farmers in India will now call the shots,” Modi said as he launched the National Agriculture Market portal (e-NAM). Terming it a ‘turning point’ for the country’s agriculture, Modi called upon all the States to come on board to help farmers reap the benefits of the trading platform.
iii. The e-NAM marketplace will initially enable farmers in eight States — Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Rajasthan and Haryana — to sell 25 commodities in 21 wholesale mandis.
1. BRICS bank disburses $250 million loan for renewable energy project to Canara Bank
1. India was among the first four countries to get a loan from the newly established BRICS New Development Bank which gave a USD 250 million funding to Canara BankBSE 3.31 % for a renewable energy project.
2. The China-based NDB has approved four green renewable energy projects from India, China, Brazil and South Africa entailing Bank financing of USD 811 million.
3. The project from India entails provisioning of a multi-tranche loan of USD 250 million to Canara Bank for lending to renewable energy ventures .
4. The project will result in generation of 500 MWs of renewable energy and savings of about 800,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.
5. The New Development Bank was formed by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa)leadership with the objective of funding infrastructure projects in emerging economies and to meet the aspirations of hundreds of millions of people through sustainable development.
6. The NDB which commenced operations in July, 2015, is headquartered in the eastern Chinese metropolis Shanghai and its initial authorised capital is USD 100 billion.
2. Second phase of odd-even scheme rolls out in Delhi
1. The second phase of the fortnight-long odd-even scheme today rolled out in Delhi with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealing to the people of the city to join hands and make the road-rationing plan a success.
2. The government has prepared a plan to implement Odd-even scheme with deployment of 5,000 civil defence volunteers, 400 ex-servicemen and 2,000 traffic police personnel.
3. Government has formed 120 teams of the enforcement wing of transport department which will prosecute those violating the odd-even rule with imposition of a fine of Rs. 2,000 on errant car drivers.
4. Under the scheme, odd-numbered cars are allowed to run on odd dates while even-numbered cars are allowed on even dates.
3. Delhi ranked 44th among world’s 50 ‘future-ready cities’
1. The national capital has been recognised as one of the 50 future-ready cities around the world that are embracing technology to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing and globalised future, according to a report by IT major Dell.
2. Delhi is ranked 44th on the list which is topped by San Jose, followed by San Francisco.
3. The ‘Future-Ready Economies Model’ scores large, high-growth global metropolitan areas based on attributes that enable people and organisations to access new tools and ideas that deliver better connectivity, better economic performance and a greater ability to attract talent.
4. The cities positioned in the list were evaluated along three dimensions — human capital, infrastructure and commerce.
4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Maritime India Summit 2016
1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Maritime India Summit 2016 (MIS 2016) in Mumbai. While inaugurating the summit, the PM invited investors to come to India.
2. Maritime India Summit 2016 is a maiden flagship initiative of the Ministry of Shipping, Government of India that provides a unique platform for participants to explore potential business opportunities in Indian Maritime Sector.
3. The two-day summit, which will conclude on 15 April 2016, will host forums to foster interaction between stakeholders through B2B and G2B meetings. It will also organise special sessions on investment opportunities in maritime sector, setting up of new ports and capacity augmentation of existing ports, development of inland waterways for cargo and passenger transportation, coastal shipping and other services related to Indian Maritime Sector.
5. British playwright Arnold Wesker died
1. Renowned British playwright Arnold Wesker was died with Parkinson's disease. He was 83.
2. He wrote more than 40 plays that were translated into 18 languages, first gained prominence with a trilogy about the lives of Jewish socialist intellectuals: Chicken Soup with Barley (1958), Roots (1959) and I’m Talking about Jerusalem (1960).
1. India was among the first four countries to get a loan from the newly established BRICS New Development Bank which gave a USD 250 million funding to Canara BankBSE 3.31 % for a renewable energy project.
2. The China-based NDB has approved four green renewable energy projects from India, China, Brazil and South Africa entailing Bank financing of USD 811 million.
3. The project from India entails provisioning of a multi-tranche loan of USD 250 million to Canara Bank for lending to renewable energy ventures .
4. The project will result in generation of 500 MWs of renewable energy and savings of about 800,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.
5. The New Development Bank was formed by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa)leadership with the objective of funding infrastructure projects in emerging economies and to meet the aspirations of hundreds of millions of people through sustainable development.
6. The NDB which commenced operations in July, 2015, is headquartered in the eastern Chinese metropolis Shanghai and its initial authorised capital is USD 100 billion.
2. Second phase of odd-even scheme rolls out in Delhi
1. The second phase of the fortnight-long odd-even scheme today rolled out in Delhi with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealing to the people of the city to join hands and make the road-rationing plan a success.
2. The government has prepared a plan to implement Odd-even scheme with deployment of 5,000 civil defence volunteers, 400 ex-servicemen and 2,000 traffic police personnel.
3. Government has formed 120 teams of the enforcement wing of transport department which will prosecute those violating the odd-even rule with imposition of a fine of Rs. 2,000 on errant car drivers.
4. Under the scheme, odd-numbered cars are allowed to run on odd dates while even-numbered cars are allowed on even dates.
3. Delhi ranked 44th among world’s 50 ‘future-ready cities’
1. The national capital has been recognised as one of the 50 future-ready cities around the world that are embracing technology to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing and globalised future, according to a report by IT major Dell.
2. Delhi is ranked 44th on the list which is topped by San Jose, followed by San Francisco.
3. The ‘Future-Ready Economies Model’ scores large, high-growth global metropolitan areas based on attributes that enable people and organisations to access new tools and ideas that deliver better connectivity, better economic performance and a greater ability to attract talent.
4. The cities positioned in the list were evaluated along three dimensions — human capital, infrastructure and commerce.
4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Maritime India Summit 2016
1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Maritime India Summit 2016 (MIS 2016) in Mumbai. While inaugurating the summit, the PM invited investors to come to India.
2. Maritime India Summit 2016 is a maiden flagship initiative of the Ministry of Shipping, Government of India that provides a unique platform for participants to explore potential business opportunities in Indian Maritime Sector.
3. The two-day summit, which will conclude on 15 April 2016, will host forums to foster interaction between stakeholders through B2B and G2B meetings. It will also organise special sessions on investment opportunities in maritime sector, setting up of new ports and capacity augmentation of existing ports, development of inland waterways for cargo and passenger transportation, coastal shipping and other services related to Indian Maritime Sector.
5. British playwright Arnold Wesker died
1. Renowned British playwright Arnold Wesker was died with Parkinson's disease. He was 83.
2. He wrote more than 40 plays that were translated into 18 languages, first gained prominence with a trilogy about the lives of Jewish socialist intellectuals: Chicken Soup with Barley (1958), Roots (1959) and I’m Talking about Jerusalem (1960).
