Current Affairs April 11, 2018 S.No Topic Page Number 1 Important Days 2 2 World News 3-4 3 National News 5-6 4 State News 7 5 Banking & Economy 8-9 6 Sports 10 7 Appointments & Resignations 11 8 Books & Authors 12 9 Science & Technology 13 1
Important Days National Safe Motherhood Day The National Safe Motherhood is celebrated on April 11th every year to create awareness on proper healthcare and maternity celebrities to pregnant and lactating women, It also seeks to create awareness about the institutional delivery, reducing anemia among women and better pre and postal natal health care and necessary for mothers. The theme of 2018 NSMD was "Respectful Maternity Care". 2
World News 2018 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) held from April 8-11 On 8th to 11th April 2018, the 2018 edition of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), also known as Asia s Davos was held in Hainan, China. The theme for 2018 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) is: An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the conference. Over 2,000 political and economic leaders, including heads of large multinational firms, took part in this annual session. First International conference on Water, Environment held in Kathmandu The first international conference on Water, Environment and Climate Change: Knowledge Sharing and Partnership was inaugurated in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nepal s Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun stressed upon the need of water security and said that it should be given the top priority. India and Vietnam mariti me security and counter-terrorism cooperation Vice Foreign Minister of Vietnam, Dang Dinh Quy met Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi and held discussions on India-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership and on ways to further boost ties. India, Vietnam discuss ways to boost tiesi. It is to be noted that in 2016, India and Vietnam formally upgraded their relationship status (from Strategic Partnership) to comprehensive strategic partnership. India-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership focuses on bilateral trade and Defence cooperation. During 2018, so far, there have been two high-level visits to India from the Vietnamese side. Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was one of the chief guests for the Republic Day Parade on January 26, 2018, while Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang also paid a visit to India in March 2018. 3
India signs MoU with World Expo 2020 Dubai On April 10, 2018, India and World Expo 2020 signed participants contract for India s pavilion in the prestigious World Expo 2020. World Expo 2020 will take place in Dubai, UAE for six months beginning October 2020. As per the terms of the contract, an India pavilion will be set up at Expo 2020 on an extra large plot (about one acre) in the Opportunity segment. The India Pavilion, which is to be developed in public-private partnership mode, will focus on country s advances in Space, Pharma, IT, Renewable Energy, Telecom sectors. Number of Central Government Ministries, State governments, and major industry associations and businesses groups have shown interest in partnering and participating in World Expo 2020. Binoy Kumar, Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce has been designated as Director General, World Expo 2020 Dubai. 4
National News First Meeting of the NITI Forum for North East held in Agartala The first meeting of the newly constituted NITI Forum for North East was held in Agartala, Tripura. The meeting was organized by the NITI Aayog, Ministry of DoNER and the North Eastern Council (NEC). In his inaugural address, Shri Rajiv Kumar said the focus of development projects in the NER will be based on the concept of HIRA (Highways, Inland Waterways, Railways and Airways) as spelled out by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He said emphasis will also be made on Education, Health and Skill Development in the region. He further said that Horticulture, Tourism, Food Processing, use of Bamboo and Made in North-East will be developed through five Mission Mode projects in a time-bound manner. New Website & Mobile APP of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Launched On April 10, 2018, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Thaawarchand Gehlot launched a new Website and Mobile App of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis. The new website and Mobile App will help the Commission in addressing the grievances/complaints of petitioners in an efficient manner. Earlier, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment had advised the Commission to undertake the task of preparing a new website as the erstwhile website was not userfriendly. Layout and interface of the new website is very user-friendly and is in accordance with Government of India Guidelines for official websites. National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Commission s Android Mobile App can be downloaded from the Google Play Store free of cost. The petitioners can file their grievances/complaints, etc. on-line on the website or through Commission s app and thereafter track their grievances/complaints. 5
Transgenders to be recognised as independent gender category in PAN The government has amended Income Tax rules that will now allow transgenders to be recognised as an independent category of applicants for obtaining a Permanent Account Number (PAN) for their tax-related transactions. The move is to help transgenders obtain their PAN card and help them link it with their Aadhaar cards. Till now, only male and female gender categories were available to be chosen on the PAN application form. VP inaugurates Scientific Convention on World Homoeopathy Day The Vice President of India Shri. M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the two-day Scientific Convention on World Homeopathy Day organized by the Ministry of AYUSH. The convention was attended by more than 1500 delegates, which included homoeopathic researchers, scientists from allied sciences, practitioners, students, industrialists as well as representatives of various homoeopathic associations. 6
State News Andhra CM Naidu inaugurates 'Happy Cities Summit 2018' in Amaravati Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Founder of Isha Foundation Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev has inaugurated a three-day long 'Happy Cities Summit 2018' in Amaravati. Around 1,000 delegates from India and abroad will take part in the Summit. This is first of its kind program in India. Haryana Government launches Water ATM policy for urban areas Haryana State Government has come up with Water ATM Policy to provide clean drinking water to people at public places. Distance between two water ATMs within a city would be 400 metres, which could be adjusted according to convenience of people. Spots for installation of water ATMs will be identified by the municipalities. Installation would be done mostly at public places such as bus-stands, parks, railway stations, parking areas and markets. Post installation, functioning of Water ATMs would be looked after by the municipality itself or by an agency. 7
Banking & Economy India to grow 7.3% this financial year, 7.6% in Next says ADB The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said, India s economic growth is set to rise to 7.3 per cent this fiscal and further to 7.6 percent in the next financial year, on back of GST and banking reforms. In its Asian Development Outlook (ADO), 2018, ADB said, Indian economy grew 6.6 percent in the last fiscal as it battled the lingering effects of demonetisation in 2016, businesses adjusting to GST in 2017, and a subdued agriculture. Intra-state e-way bill to be rolled out in five states from April 15 Intra-State E-way (Electronic Way) bill i.e. the E-way bill for movement of goods within the state will be rolled out from April 15, 2018, starting with 5 states. Five states in which Intra-State E-way bill will be rolled out from April 15, 2018 are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh. Karnataka is the only state which had rolled out Intra-State E-way bill system from April 1, 2018. In March 2018, Goods and Services Tax (GST) council had decided that Intra-State E-Way bill will be rolled out in a phased manner but not later than June 1, 2018. SBI Launches UK Subsidiary with 225 Mn Pounds Capital The SBI has announced the launch of its UK subsidiary, SBI (UK) Limited, with an initial capital commitment of 225 million pounds from its parent entity. India s largest state-owned bank, which celebrated the new subsidiary with a special event in London, becomes the first foreign bank in the UK to ring fence its retail division from its wholesale business. Uber launches new partner app in India On April 11, 2018, online cab aggregator platform Uber announced the launch of its new partner (driver) app in India. The new app is more simple as compared to previous version, provides a personalised experience, and has been designed to support Uber drivers on every moment of their journey. 8
Inputs collected by interacting with drivers via groups sessions, ride alongs and in person meetings have been incorporated in the new Driver app. Real-time Earnings Tracker, which lets drivers know-at a glance-how much they earned on their last trip, new Status bar providing real-time updates on market conditions around them and opportunities for more trips nearby and quick access to notifications and messages about upcoming earning opportunities are some of the key features of the new app. 9
Sports Ankur Mittal grabs bronze medal in shooting Shooter Ankur Mittal won a bronze medal in the men s double trap finals at the ongoing 21st Commonwealth Games. Ankur won the silver medal in the World Championships in Moscow 2017 and he also won silver and gold medal in the ISSF World Cup. India s tally at the Games has now increased to a total of 24, including 12 gold, four silver and eight bronze. Om Mitharval won bronze in 50m Pistol event Om Prakash Mitharval won the bronze medal in the men s 50m pistol event at Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. It was Mitharwal s second medal in the ongoing prestigious event. Australia won the gold medal and the silver medal went to Bangladesh. India is currently standing at the third spot with 22 medals, including eleven gold, four silver and seven bronze. Presence of Pakistan prompts Asia Cup shift from India to UAE The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) today shifted the 50-over Asia Cup from India to United Arab Emirates as the BCCI could not procure permission from the central government to host Pakistan. The tournament will now be held from September 13 to 28 in Dubai and Abu Dhabi after all the member nations of ACC agreed unanimously for the change during a meeting at its Kuala Lumpur headquarters. 10
Appointments & Resignations First India-Nordic summit to boost ties with 5 nations Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet leaders of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark & Iceland for the first India-Nordic Summit in Stockholm on April 17. Narendra Modi will be the first Indian PM to visit Stockholm since 1988. The six leaders will exchange views on regional and global issues such as environment and climate, trade and investment and discuss areas of future cooperation. Rajesh Ranjan appointed as DG of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Rajesh Ranjan has been appointed as the Director General (DG) of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Rajesh Ranjan is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1984 batch. He is currently the Special Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF). The order issued by Personnel Ministry states that, Rajesh Ranjan has been appointed as DG of CISF till 20th November 2020 that is the date of his superannuation. This post was vacant after OP Singh took charge as Director General (DG) of the Uttar Pradesh Police in January 2018. Wipro's Rishad Premji appointed Nasscom chairman Rishad Premji, Board member of Wipro Ltd. has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) for 2018-19. Premji has been a member of NASSCOM s Executive Council and was the Vice Chairman for the previous year. He succeeds Raman Roy, who served as Chairman of NASSCOM for the year 2017-18. 11
Books & Authors Vice President of India Releases Books Sarvapriya Atalji, Jannayak Atalji and Atal Jeevan Gatha The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that democracy is the ideal system of governance and Shri Atal ji has succeeded in preserving it. He was addressing the gathering after releasing the Books on former Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sarvapriya Atalji, Jannayak Atalji and Atal Jeevan Gatha. The Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Statistics & Programme Implementation, Shri Vijay Goel and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. 12
Science & Technology China launched Remote sensing satellites China has launched the first group of China s Yaogan-31 remote sensing satellites into space on 10th April. The satellites were carried by a Long March-4C rocket. The mission also sent a micro nanotechnology experiment satellite into orbit. The satellites will be used for electromagnetic environment surveys and other technology tests. ISRO to launch navigation satellite ISRO on 12th April will launch a navigation satellite IRNSS-1I, the 8th such satellite to be a part of NAVIC navigation satellite constellation, from Sriharikota. India s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its forty-third flight (PSLV-C41) in XL configuration, will launch IRNSS-1I Satellite. IRNSS-1I is expected to replace IRNSS-1A, the first of the seven navigation satellites. 13