Current Affairs April 2017 Summary

Current Affairs: April 2017
April 1, 2017
Government launch e-challan and m-parivahan apps for enforcement of traffic

rules
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
has launched two mobile applications e-challan and m-
parivahan to provide a comprehensive digital solution
for enforcement of traffic rules. These applications will
provide access to various services and information, and
enable citizens to report any traffic violation or road
accident.
Government unveils online vigilance clearance system, e-service book
The Union Government has launched the Online
Vigilance Clearance System and e-Service Book in New
Delhi. It was launched by Union Minister Jitendra Singh
in New Delhi. The online system aims to fast track
process of cases of vigilance clearance for senior-level
appointments in central government. Key Facts:
Initially, the system will be made available for board-level appointments done by Public
Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) for Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs). Later it will be
extended for senior appointments in banks and in government departments. It will reduce time
taken for vigilance clearance from three months to a day or two. All Central Government
www.talentsprint.com 1
Ministries have been asked to regularly update database of officers on the system which will act
as computerized database and provide the details of officers clearly.
Government, NDB ink $350 million loan pact
India has signed its first loan agreement with
the New Development Bank (NDB)/BRICS
Bank for $350 million to be used in the
development and upgradation of district roads
in Madhya Pradesh. The objective of the
project is the upgrade major district roads in
Madhya Pradesh to improve road connectivity of the interior areas of the state with the national
and state highway networks. The project will include upgradation, reconstruction and
rehabilitation of approximately 1,500 km of district roads to intermediate lane, all-weather
standards. It will also have road safety features and improved road maintenance and
management.
About New Development Bank: The NDB is a multilateral bank created by BRICS nations viz.
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The goal of the bank is to fund infrastructure
projects in emerging economies for sustainable development. It had started its operations in
July 2015 with initial authorized capital of $100 billion. It is headquartered in Shanghai, China.
In the NDB, each participant country has been assigned one vote, and none of the countries
have veto power. Renowned Indian banker Kundapur Vaman Kamath is the President (first) of
NDB.
IIT Madras, Indian Army ink MoU to strengthen critical technological areas
The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM) and
Indian Army have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) to identify the critical
technological areas that can be enhanced in the armed
forces. The MoU was signed by IITM Director Bhaskar
Ramamurthi and Deputy Chief of Army Staff (P&S) Lt.
Gen. Subrata Saha in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Key Facts
The MoU will facilitate IITM to achieve a better understanding of the critical technology
requirements of the Indian Army through seamless interaction between the Army officers and
IITM faculty. Under it, Indian Army will sponsor four officers for doctoral programmes besides
a five-day Technology Development Programme for 15 officers on a biannual basis. The IITM
faculty will work closely with the Indian Army to identify areas where the institute can
contribute positively to enhancing the capabilities.
Government lowers interest rates on Small saving schemes by 0.1%
The Union Finance Ministry has lowered
interest rates on all nine small saving schemes
by 0.1% for the April-June quarter as compared
to January-March quarter. These schemes
includes Public provident fund (PPF), National
Savings Certificate (NSC), Kisan Vikas Patra,
Sukanya Samriddhi Account, Senior Citizens Savings Scheme. It does not include Post Office
Savings Account. Key Facts: Investments in the PPF scheme will fetch lower annual rate of 7.9%
from previous rate of 8%. 5-year National Savings Certificate will also fetch lower annual rate of
7.9% from previous rate of 8. Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) investments will yield 7.6% Sukanya
Samriddhi Account Scheme, will offer 8.4% annually, from 8.5% at present. Senior Citizens
Savings Scheme will offer 8.4% for the 5-year. The interest rate is paid quarterly. Term deposits
of 1-5 years will fetch a lower 6.9-7.7 % that will be paid quarterly. The 5-year recurring deposit
has been pegged lower at 7.2%. However, interest on savings deposits has been retained at 4%
annually.
Simplified IT Returns forms for Salaried Employees Announced
The Government notified a new simplified Income-Tax
Return Forms, ITR, for individuals for the Assessment
Year 2017-18. The Central Board of Direct Taxes said, one
of the major reforms made in the forms is the designing
of a one page simplified ITR Form-1, called Sahaj. This
ITR Form-1 can be filed by an individual having income
up to 50 lakh rupees and who is receiving income from
salary, one house property and other income including interest. Simultaneously, the number of
ITR Forms have been reduced from the existing nine to seven forms. However, there is no
change in the manner of filing of ITR Forms as compared to last year. All these ITR Forms are to
be filed electronically.
Time limit ends for exchange of demonetised notes
The limited period window for exchange of defunct
500 and 1,000 rupee notes by Indians who were
abroad during demonetisation ended today.
However, additional time period of three months is
available to non-resident Indians, NRIs, with a rider
of exchanging of 25,000 rupees per individual. The
exchange window for NRIs will close on the 30th of
June.
El Salvador becomes worlds first country to ban metal mining
Central Americas smallest nation El Salvador became
first country in the world to ban metal mining
nationwide. In this regard, it has passed a law that bans
all mining for gold and other metals. The law imposes
broad prohibition on the extraction of minerals to
protect the nations allegedly quite fragile environment,
water reservoirs and reduce social tensions. Key Facts :The new law bans all exploration,
extraction and processing of metals both in open pits and mines It bans the use of cyanide and
mercury for mining. It does not apply to quarrying or the mining of coal, salt and other non-
metallic resources.
Ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrested over a corruption

scandal.
Ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye has been arrested and taken into custody over a
corruption scandal that led to her dismissal. The 65-
year-old leader was driven to a detention centre south
of Seoul after a court approved her arrest. She is
accused of allowing her close friend Choi Soon-sil to
extort money from companies, including Samsung, in
return for political favours. Ms Park, who was removed
from office earlier this month, denies the charges. She is the third former president of South
Korea to be arrested over criminal charges.
April 2, 2017
India becomes associate member of IEA
India, worlds 3rd largest energy consumer has joined
International Energy Association (IAE) as associate
member. India will also now have a greater say in global
energy issues. With India as a associate member, IEA
now formally covers 70% of the worlds energy
consumption, thus increasing its relevance.
Key Facts: Indias participation will enrich the energy efficiency and renewable sectors of IEA
members and other countries. India will gain from IEAs data gathering processes, survey
methodologies and range of energy data, which will enable India in the near future to set up its
own robust integrated database agency. It also gives an opportunity to India to be the voice of
the developing world and represent the interests of the emerging markets. It will enable India to
be involved in the key committees and dialogues of the IEA. About International Energy
Association (IEA) IEA is an inter-governmental organization established in 1974 as per
framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It was
established in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis after the OPEC cartel had shocked the world with a
steep increase in oil prices. Members: Presently it has 29 member countries. India is lone
associate member of IAE. Headquarters (Secretariat): Paris, France. Mandate: Its prime focus is
on the 3Es of effectual energy policy: energy security, economic development and
environmental protection. It also seeks to promote alternate energy sources (including
renewable energy), rational energy policies and multinational energy technology co-operation.
It acts as energy policy advisor to 29 member countries and also non-member countries like
China, India and Russia. Publications: World Energy Outlook report. Relevance: Today, IEA is
an important part of global dialogue on energy, providing research, statistics/data, analysis and
recommendations on the global energy sector. Over 70% of worlds energy consumption is now
under the IEA umbrella which increases its relevance in global energy governance manifold.
Barmer-Munawab, Pipad Road-Bilara rail routes declared as Green Corridors
The North Western Railway has declared the Barmer-
Munawab and Pipad Road-Bilara rail routes in
Rajasthan as Green Corridors. With this total number
of green corridors has increased to five. The 114-km-
long Manamadurai Rameswaram stretch of Southern
Railway was Indias first Green corridor. Okha-
Kanalus and Porbandar-Wasjaliya railway sections of Gujarat also have been declared green
corridors.
What is green corridor? The Green Corridor ensures zero toilet discharge on rail tracks as part
of its commitment to clean environment under the Swachh Rail-Swachh Bharat initiative.
Trains in the section have been equipped with bio-toilets to ensure zero discharge of human
waste on the rail tracks and preventing corrosion of the tracks.
India and Malaysia sign seven agreements to expand cooperation in areas like air
services and sports
India and Malaysia today signed seven agreements to
expand cooperation in areas like air services and sports.
The other areas in which MoUs were signed are Mutual
Recognition of Educational Qualifications and
expanding cooperation in development of Urea and
Ammonia manufacturing plants. The pacts were signed
after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Malaysian
counterpart Mohammed Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on
April 1,2017. In a joint statement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated continuing
cooperation of the two governments in the joint anti-terrorism efforts in view of emerging
security threats.
Five associates and Bharathiya Mahila Bank merge with SBI
Five associates and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank became
part of the State Bank of India today, catapulting the
country's largest lender to among the top 50 banks in
the world. State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank
of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore,
besides Bharatiya Mahila Bank merged with the SBI. The total customer base of the bank will
reach 75 crores with a branch network of around 24,000 and nearly 59,000 ATMs across the
country. The merged entity will have a deposit base of more than 26 lakh crore rupees and
advances level of 18.50 lakh crore rupees. Welcoming all the stakeholders of merged entities,
SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said the bank will strive to conclude the transition
process within a quarter
Indian economy expected to grow at 7.2 percent in 2017-18, says, Finance

Minister Arun Jaitley.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.2 percent in
2017-18 and 7.7 percent in 2018-19 according to IMF
estimates. Mr Jaitley said this while delivering the key note
address at the opening ceremony of the second New
Development Bank Annual Board of Governors' meeting in
New Delhi. "As per IMFs assessment in January 2017, Indias
growth in 2016 would be 6.6 per cent and is projected to grow
at 7.2 per cent and 7.7 per cent in 2017 and 2018. We have successfully implemented a slew of
reform measures, including one of the largest currency reform initiatives ever implemented,
which will move the Indian economy to a less cash trajectory, increase tax compliance and
reduce the threats from counterfeit currency". Mr Jaitley also said, despite the stagnant demand
in developed economies, emerging economies like BRICS continue to grow. He also said, India
requires 646 billion dollars over next few years to finance infrastructure development.
Enforcement Directorate launches offensive against Shell Companies
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched one
of its biggest crackdowns on shell companies
across the country. It conducted searches at 100
locations in sixteen states as part of its country-
wide operation against shell companies. Officials
said, multiple teams of the agency today raided the premises of about 300 shell firms in
prominent places like Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Patna, Ranchi, Ahmedabad,
Bhubaneswar and Bengaluru among others. They said, the action is being carried out under the
provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the Foreign Exchange Management
Act to check instances of money laundering and illegal foreign exchange transactions. The
action is part of the mandate given to the ED under a Special Task Force that was recently
created by the government on the directions of the Prime Minister's Office.
Scientists develop new way to fight drug resistant superbugs
Scientists from the University of Birmingham and
Newcastle University in the UK have new way of
removing antibodies from the blood stream. This
method has potential to reduce chronic infections
that may help humans in the fight against drug
resistant superbugs.
Key Facts: Scientists had used a process known as plasmapheresis that is somewhat like kidney
dialysis. It involved the removal, treatment, and return of blood plasma from circulation. It was
done five times in a week in order to remove antibody from two patients with bronchiectasis
who had suffered with chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections resistant to many
antibiotics. Using this process, scientists replaced antibodies in these patients with those from
blood donations. This treatment restored ability for the patients blood to kill their infecting
Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections
American singer and songwriter Bob Dylan accepts his Nobel literature award at
a private event with Swedish Academy.
American singer and song writer Bob Dylan has accepted his Nobel Prize for literature, more
than three months after the awards ceremony.
Swedish media reported that he received his
medal at a private event in Stockholm before a
scheduled concert in the city. No further details
were given. Swedish Academy officials
previously said the Dylan would not deliver his
Nobel lecture, a traditional condition of receiving 9 lakh dollar dollar prize money, at the event.
He is expected to deliver a taped version of the lecture later. If he does not deliver a lecture by
June, he will have to forfeit the prize money.
April 3, 2017
Tax evasion over Rs 5 crore will be non-bailable offence under new GST regime
Tax evasion of over five crore rupees under the
Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime would be
non-bailable offence with the police having the
authority to make an arrest without a warrant.
The Central GST (CGST) Act provides that if the
offences relating to taxable goods and/or services
where the amount of tax evaded or the amount of input tax credit wrongly availed or the
amount of refund wrongly taken exceeds 5 crore rupees, shall be cognizable and non-bailable.
In a 223-page Frequently asked questions(FAQ) on GST, the Central Board of Excise & Customs
(CBEC) said other offences under the act are non-cognizable and bailable. The government has
set a target date of 1st of July for roll out of the GST, which will subsume central excise, service
tax, VAT and other local levies.
Centre sanctions Rs. 98 crore for development of tourism sector in Assam
The Centre has sanctioned 98 crore rupees for the
development of the tourism sector in Assam.
Participating in the Namami Brahmaputra festival in
Guwahati this evening, Tourism minister Mahesh
Sarma said that Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal
did excellent work by organizing the event. The
minister has announced another two crore rupees from the Centre for the festival. He said that
rivers are the resources of the economic progress. He said that Guwahati is the gateway of the
North East. The minister also announced to take step for the development of 12 religious places
of Assam including the Kamakhya. Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal vowed to work hard for
the betterment of Assam. Earlier, spiritual leader Dalai Lama also visited the Namami
Brahmaputra festival and paid tribute to the Brahmaputra. However, due to rain and strong
wind the organizers were forced to cancel the cultural programs tonight.
Longest Tunnel Bridge Dedicated to Nation
The Prime Minister dedicated to the nation the
Chenani-Nashri Tunnel. The all-weather route
reduces the distance between Jammu and
Kashmir by 31 kilometers.The Prime Minister
said the Tunnel is symbolic of an ushering in of
a new era of development in the state. The
bridge cost nearly Rs 3720 Crores to make. This is the longest Tunnel Bridge in the World.
US Says it is ready to go alone in North Korea in the absence of China support
US President Donald Trump has said that the
United States is prepared to act alone if China
does not take a tougher stand against North
Korea's nuclear programme. In an interview to
the Financial Times, the US President said he
will discuss the growing threat from Kim Jong
Un's nuclear programme with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida this week. The two are
expected to discuss a number of issues, including North Korea, trade and territorial disputes in
the South China Sea during their meeting on Thursday and Friday.
Indias exports may cross $ 300 billion in FY 17
Indias merchandise export is expected to cross
$300 million during the current fiscal year,
according to a top official of the Federation of
India Export Organisations (FIEO). This is a
growth of 3-4 % over the previous fiscal year.
Exim Bank to raise $3 billion from global markets
The Indian Government owned export credit agency
Export- Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) is looking to
raise about $ 3billion from the international capital
markets in 2017-18. Of this, the EXIM bank plans to
raise $ 1 billion by introducing a Ten Year Bond issue in
the 144 A Regulation $ format (under the US Securities
Act)to raise funds from Qualified Institutional Buyers which are large institutional investors
including wealth and asset management firms.
Huge Pay Rise for RBI Governor and Deputy Governors
The salary base of RBI Governor Urjit Patel and his
deputies have been more than doubled as per the latest
Govt decision taken on April 2,2017. While the basic salary
of the RBI Governor will go up from Rs 90000 per month to
Rs 2.50 lacs per month, the salary of the Deputy Governors
will go up from Rs 80000 per month to Rs 2.25 lacs per month. It is worthwhile to note that even
after this hefty increase, the salaries of the RBI Governor and Deputy Governors do not
compare well with that of the Chief Executives of major Commercial Banks, especially the
Private Sector Banks.
Sindhu Wins Indian Open Badminton Tournament
Rio Olympics silver medallist P V Sindhu today produced
a superlative performance to beat reigning Olympic
champion Carolina Marin of Spain 21-19, 21-16 to lift her
maiden India Open Super Series title. In front of a
cheering home crowd at the Sirifort Sports Complex, the
third seeded Indian dominated the match from the start.
Sindhu had last defeated Marin in the BWF Super Series in Dubai last year.
Roger Fedrer Wins Miami Open beating Rafael Nadal
Roger Federer continued his recent mastery of
Rafa Nadal when he beat his great rival 6-3 6-4 in
the final of the Miami Open. Federer, peerless this
year after returning from a six-month injury
absence, broke once in each set on the Crandon
Park hardcourt for his fourth consecutive victory
over the Spaniard. Nadal still leads their career head-to-head record at 23-14, due entirely to his
superiority on clay. But Federer now leads 10-9 on hardcourt. Federer improved to 19-1 this
year, winning the Australian Open in five sets over Nadal, and Paribas Open in straight sets
over Stan Wawrinka. His only loss was at the hands of Russian Evgeny Donskoy in the second
round in Dubai.
World Autism Day April 2, 2017
The World Autism Day is observed on the 2nd April every year
in all the countries of the world to raise awareness about autism
and how to cope up with it. This year too, it was observed on
Sunday, 2nd April 2017. To comomerate the day, the Quitab
Minar in Delhi was lit up in blue on 2nd April 2017.
April 4, 2017
IISc ranked Indias top university in 2017 NIRF Survey
The Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bangalore was
adjudged as the best Indian university in the 2017
National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)
released by Union Human Resource Development
Ministry. This year it is second edition NIRF survey and
was released as part of the India Rankings 2017 for the
Educational Institutions.
What is NIRF Survey? NIRF survey is first of its kind of indigenous ranking framework for
higher education institutions in the country. It outlines a methodology to rank institutions
across the country based on the parameters broadly covering Teaching, Learning and
Resources, Research and Professional practices, Graduation Outcomes, Outreach and inclusivity
and Perception. It covers six categories of institutions including universities, engineering,
management, pharmacy, architecture and colleges. Background In the second edition of India
Rankings, a total of 2995 institutions had participated. It included 232 Universities, 1024
Engineering Institutions, 546 Management Institutions, 318 Pharmacy Institutions and 637
General Degree Colleges, and others. Many of these had participated in multiple disciplines,
adding to a total of 3319 participants across disciplines.
List of top 5 India Rankings 2017
Overall
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi
India and Malaysia Sign 7 Agreements
India and Malaysia have inked seven agreements to foster
deeper relationship between the two countries. The
agreements were exchanged in the presence of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and his Malaysian counterpart
Najib Abdul Razak in New Delhi who was on six day
state visit to India.
Signed agreements are:
Air Services Agreement: It is revised ASA with Malaysia signed by both countries in 1974.
MoU on Cooperation Fertilizers sector: It deals with development of proposed Urea and
Ammonia Manufacturing Plant in Malaysia and offtake of exisiting surplus urea from Malaysia
to India.
MoU on cooperation in Sports: It envisages cooperation through exchange of sportspersons,
instructors, information on sports regimen and training curricula, etc.
MoU for cooperation in training: It was signed between Malaysian Human Resource Fund
(HRDF and EDII, Ahmedabad. It envisages EDII, Ahmedabad to carry out training and other
capacity building programmes, as necessary on behalf of the Human Resource Development,
Malaysia.
MoU on Mutual Recognition of the Educational Qualifications: It was signed between
Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA). It
establishes recognition of equivalence of various degrees awarded by educational institutions in
both countries and envisages eventual signing of mutual recognition agreement.
MoU on collaboration in technology development in the field of Palm Oil: It was signed
between Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and Indias Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT).
MoU on implementation of 4th Generation Technology Park in Andhra Pradesh: It was
signed between MIGHT Technology Malaysia and AP Economic Development Board. The
Malaysian industry-government group for high power technology (MIGHT) will act as
facilitator to develop cluster in AP. As part of park, packing material will be made from
recycled agricultural materials. The Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has
launched Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh. The Scheme aims at
providing physical aids and assisted-living devices for senior citizens belonging to Below
Poverty Line (BPL) category.
Key Provisions of the Scheme: The scheme will be distribute free of cost physical aids and
assisted-living devices for senior citizens belonging to BPL category in Camp mode. It is the
first-of-its-kind Central Sector Scheme (CCS) in India, to be fully funded by the Union
Government. It is expected to benefit 5,20,000 Senior Citizens and its expenditure
implementation will be met from the Senior Citizens Welfare Fund.
Implementing Agency: Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation (ALIMCO), a PSU under
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It will also undertake one year free maintenance
of the devices.
Aids and Assisted-Living Devices to be provided under it: The eligible elderly beneficiary will
get walking sticks, elbow crutches, walkers/crutches, tripods/qadpods, hearing aids, wheelchair,
aificial Dentures and Spectacles depending upon their physical impairment.
Purpose: The assisted-living devices will help the Senior Citizens to overcome their age related
physical impairment and to lead a dignified and productive life with minimal dependence on
care givers or other members of the family. Identification of beneficiaries: It will be done by the
State Governments/UTs through a Committee chaired by the Deputy Commissioner/District
Collector. 30% of the beneficiaries in each district shall be women. The Committee can utilize
the data of BPL beneficiaries receiving Old Age Pension under the NSAP or any other Scheme
of the State/UTs for identification of senior citizens belonging to BPL category.
Government Approves Purchase of Barak Missiles
The government today approved procurement of a
fresh batch of Barak surface-to-air missiles for Naval
warships to enhance India's maritime capability. A
meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, approved capital
acquisition proposals totaling over 860 crore rupees,
including for the purchase of Barak missiles.
Uttarakhand hosts 19th commonwealth forestry conference
i. The 19th Commonwealth Forestry
Conference (CFC), 2017 begins at Forest
Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun,
Uttarakhand on April 3, 2017.
ii. The conference is inaugurated by
Uttarakhand Governor Dr. K.K. Paul at
Dehradun. The 5 day conference is conducted on a theme Forests for Prosperity and Posterity.
iii. The members from 49 Commonwealth countries will be present at the conference.
iv. The conference is organized by Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change
in coordination with the Commonwealth Forestry Association of United Kingdom.
v. The main topics to be discussed in the conference are about issues affecting climate change
and green cover.
vi. The 18th commonwealth forestry conference was held at Edinburgh, Scotland on June 28,
2010.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set up separate Enforcement Department
i. Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Santosh
Kumar Gangwar informed Lok Sabha that Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) is planning to set up a separate in-house
Enforcement Department which will be operational from
3rd April 2017.
ii. This Department will be responsible for framing broad policy related to enforcement and
take action against registered entities that violate it. It will function as centralised department to
deal with banks exclusively for enforcement action such as issuing warning or imposing
penalty.
New Chief Justice of Madras High Court Indira Banerjee
i. Indira Banerjee, former judge of the Delhi High Court has
been appointed as the Chief Justice of Madras High Court.
The appointment was made by the President of India Shri.
Pranab Mukherjee.
ii. She will sworn in as Chief Justice on April 5, 2017 after
taking oath of office from Tamil Nadu governor (in charge)
Vidyasagar Rao.
iii. Indira Banerjee will succeed Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, who was elected to the Supreme
Court on February 18, 2017.
iv. Banerjee would be the second woman next to Justice Kanta Kumari Bhatnagar who was the
Chief Justice from June to November in 1992 to head the charted court.
Scientists identify fungus that eats plastic
Scientists from Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have
identified a soil fungus Aspergillus tubingensis that uses
enzymes to rapidly break down plastic materials. The
plastic-eating fungus was found Islamabad, Pakistan. The
new discovery in an advance can help to deal with plastic
waste problem that threatens our environment in safer and more effective way
Key facts Scientists have found that Aspergillus tubingensis fungus which ordinarily lives in
the soil can also grows on the surface of plastics. In order to grow on plastics, it secretes
enzymes on the surface of the plastic which break the chemical bonds between the plastic
molecules, or polymers. This fungus also uses the physical strength of its mycelia (the network
of rootlike filaments) to break apart the polymers.
First bio-gas bus with flat Re 1 fare inaugurated in Kolkata
i. Phoenix India Research and Development Group in
Kolkata has designed a bus that will run on biogas
produced from cow dung.
ii. The company has tied-up with Ashok Leyland to
manufacture the 54-seater bus at a cost of Rs 13 lakh
approximately.
iii. The first bus will be flagged off on April 7, 2017 and will run between Ultadanga in the north
and Garia in the south in Kolkata.
iv. The ticket will be charged Re 1 for the 17.5 km stretch, which will be the cheapest mode of
transport for a passenger in the country.
v. Until today, the lowest fare in a Kolkata bus is Rs 6, which goes up to Rs 12 for 17 km ride.
The company has planned to launch 15 more buses on different routes in the city with the same
base fare.
vi. The company has got the permission to set up 100 fuel pumps in India. The first pump will
come up at Ultadanga.
India and six other South Asian countries of South Asia Subregional Economic
Cooperation (SASEC) have pledged to improve intra-regional connectivity to
boost trade and tourism.
India and six other South Asian countries of South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation
(SASEC) have pledged to improve intra-regional connectivity to boost trade and tourism.
Decision in this regard was taken at the Finance
ministers of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Maldives and Myanmar meeting held in New Delhi to
reshape SASEC. They also came out with the SASEC
Vision for 2025 and adopted operational plan 2016-25.
Key Facts SASEC Vision: It is a new strategic road map to guide the sub-regions development
through 2025. It reflects member nations commitment to tap into latent industrial demand and
promote sub-regional industry-to-industry links Operational plan 2016-25: It defines the
strategic objectives and operational priorities in transport, trade facilitation and energy as well
as for the development of economic corridor. The members are eying for $70 billion incremental
GDP and 20 million jobs by 2025 so that SASEC become better, stronger and faster to make
South Asia one of the fastest growing sub-regions in the world.
Mega-conference of World Parliamentarians hosted by Bangladesh
i. The 136th Mega-Conference of World
Parliamentarians has begun in Dhaka on April 1,
2017.The conference was inaugurated by Prime
Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. She will
also release a commemorative postage stamp and
launch Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) web
television.
ii. The main focus of this conference was to provide ways and means to end political and
economic inequality for upholding democracy and human rights.
iii. The mega-conference was organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Bangladesh
Jatiya Sangsad.
iv. About 1,348 delegates from 131 national parliaments were expected to participate in the
conference. The participants include 45 Speakers, 37 Deputy Speakers and more than 200
women MPs, are expected to make their proposals.
v. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi was the keynote speaker during the opening
session of the debates held on April 2, 2017.
vi. The 137th conference is to be held at St. Petersburg, Russia on 14-18 October 2017.
Lenin Moreno to sworn in as the Ecuador President
i. Ruling Party of Ecuador, Alianza PAIS candidate
Lenin Moreno won the Ecuadors presidential election
held on April 3, 2017.
ii. He defeated conservative former banker Guillermo
Lasso who demands a recount after three exit polls.
iii. Lenin Moreno was nominated as Presidential
candidate by former President Rafael Correa.
iv. Out of 94 percent of voting acts counted, the National Electoral Council declared Moreno has
defeated Lasso by 51 percent to 49 percent.
Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Kishori Amonkar passes away in

Mumbai.
Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Kishori Amonkar passed away at her home in Mumbai
on the 3rd April 2017. She was 84. Born on 10th April
1932 in Mumbai, Kishori Amonkar was recognized as one
of the foremost singers in the Hindustani tradition and as
an innovative exponent of the Jaipur gharana. While
learning the finer points and techniques of the Jaipur
gharana from her mother, Amonkar also developed her
own personal style, which reflects the influence of other gharanas and was generally regarded
as an individual variant of the Jaipur tradition. She was known primarily for her skillful
singing of classical khayal songs set in the traditional ragas of Hindustani music, but also
performed the lighter classical thumri, bhajan, devotional songs and film music.
Dawit Isaak to receive UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, 2017
i. Dawit Isaak, an imprisoned Eritrean-Swedish journalist
has been chosen for the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World
Press Freedom Prize 2017 dedicated to promoting press
freedom. The award is to be presented on May 3, 2017.
ii. Dawit Isaak is a Swedish-Eritrean playwright, journalist
and writer, born on October 28, 1964 in Asmara, Ethiopian
Empire.
iii. In 2016 it was won by Khadija Ismayilova of Azerbaijan.
April 5, 2017
No of beneficiaries under Ujjwala Yojana crosses 2 crore mark: Government
The number of beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala
Yojana for providing free of cost LPG (cooking gas)
connections to BPL households has crossed 2 crore mark
since its launch in May 2016. The success of the scheme
shows that how it is serving as a novel means of women
empowerment and achieving the goals of providing clean
fuel and a better life to the people.
About Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana
The Ujjwala Yojana was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2016 from
Maldepur Morh, Ballia in Uttar Pradesh.
Tagline for the scheme: Swachh Indhan, Behtar Jeevan.
Purpose of the scheme: Empower women and protect their health by shifting them from
traditional cooking based on unclean cooking fuels or on fossil fuels to clean cooking
gas.
Beneficiary: Under the scheme, an adult woman member of a BPL will be given deposit-
free LPG connection with financial assistance of Rs 1,600 per connection by the Centre.
Identification of beneficiaries: It will be through the Socio-Economic Caste Census
(SECC) in consultation with state governments and Union territories.
Implementing Ministry: The scheme is being implemented by the Union Ministry of
Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Targets: 8,000 crore has been earmarked for providing 5 crore LPG connections to poor
households within 3 years by 2019.
U.S Visa Curbs not to affect Indians: Nascom
IT industry body, Nasscom has said the latest memo
of the US on H-1B visas will have little impact on
Indian IT firms. It said this is because they have
already started applying for visas for higher-level
specialised professionals this year. The US
Citizenship and Immigration Services recently came out with a policy memorandum saying
that companies applying for visas must provide evidence to establish that the particular
position is one in a specialty occupation.
United States withdraws funding for United Nations Population Fund promoting
family planning in more than 150 countries.
The United States says, it is withdrawing funding for the United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA), an agency that promotes family planning in more
than 150 countries. The State Department says, the agency
supports or participates in a programme of coercive abortion
or involuntary sterilisation in China. But the UNFPA says,
this is an erroneous claim and that its work does not break
any US laws. In total, 32.5 million dollar funds will be withdrawn for the 2017 financial year.
This is the first of the promised cuts to US financial contributions to the UN by the Trump
administration. The UNFPA, like other UN agencies, is funded by governments voluntarily.
April 6, 2017
Indias is the worlds 7th largest tourism economy in terms of GDP, says WTTC
According to a new report released by World Travel
and Tourism Council (WTTC), Indias travel and
tourism sector ranks 7th in the world in terms of its
total contribution to the countrys Gross Domestic
Product (GDP).
Important Data about Indias Travel and Tourism
Sector revealed by WTTC Report:
Contribution to GDP: This sector generated Rs 14.1 trillion in 2016 which is equivalent to
6% of Indias GDP. In absolute terms, it is 7th largest in the world.
Job Creation: 3 million jobs were created in travel and tourism sector of India in 2016. On
account of this remarkable figure, India ranked 2nd in the world in terms of total
employment generated. Overall, the sector accounts for 9.3% of total jobs in India.
Composition: As mentioned in WTTC report, the major chunk of total figure came from
domestic travel which accounts for 88% of the sectors contribution to GDP in
2016.Visitor exports i.e. money spent by foreign travelers in India, was only 12% of
tourism revenues in 2016, culminating into 5.4% of the countrys total exports. This is
lower than global average of 6.6%. Supplementing this information is the data from the
UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) which ranked India at 40th position in the
world in terms of receiving international travelers. As per UNWTO data, India received
only 9 million international arrivals in 2016, which was tenth of that received by top-
ranking France.
Growth Rate: For the year 2016, Indias Travel and Tourism sector registered a growth of
5% the fastest amongst G20 countries.
India ranks 3rd in WADA doping charts
India was ranked third for the third year in a row in
a doping violation report published by the World
Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for 2015. In 2015, 117
Indian athletes were punished after testing positive
for banned substances. India followed the Russian
Federation (176) and Italy (129), the same position
as in the reports of 2013 and 2014. Background The chart was prepared by WADA after
compiling information of analytical findings and sanctions rendered till January 31, 2017 by
various accredited anti-doping bodies. It was the first set of Anti-Doping Rule Violation
statistics under the revised WADA Code and third such report in its history since 2013.
Key Facts: ADRV is a doping offence committed by an athlete or athlete support person,
resulting in certain consequences or sanctions. It is derived from adverse analytical findings
(AAFs) (known as positive results). A total of 229,412 samples were received and analysed in
2015 by WADA-accredited laboratories worldwide. Out of these, 2,522 samples were reported
as AAFs. The dope offenders belong to 80 sports and 121 nationalities. There were a total of
1,929 ADRVs (1,901 from athletes and 28 from athlete support personnel) out of which 1,649 are
analytical findings and 280 from evidence based intelligence non analytical findings. Out of
1649 are Analytical ADRVs, 1304 cases (79%) were of male and 345 female (21%); 390 (24%)
were from out of competition tests and 1259 in competition (76%); 1644 urine and five blood.
Among sports disciplines worldwide, bodybuilding has overtaken athletics in contributing the
highest number of dope cheats with 270 such cases. Athletics is second at 242, followed by
weightlifting (239), cycling (200), power lifting (110), football (108), rugby union (80), boxing
(66), wrestling (57) and basketball (39).
India related facts: The number of dope offenders from India has been increasing in the last
three years. India had 91 and 96 Anti-doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) in 2013 and 2014
respectively. Of the 117 Indian offenders of 2015, two were non-analytical ADRVs case. Out of
the remaining 115 analytical ADRVs, 78 are committed by male athletes and 37 were female.
Among individual sports, weightlifting has reported highest positive doping tests with a
whopping 56 Indian lifters (32 male and 24 female) punished for doping. Athletics contributed
second highest number of dope offenders with 21 (14 male and 7 female), followed by boxing
(8), wrestling (8), cycling (4), kabaddi (4), aquatics (3), power lifting (3), Judo (2), wushu (2),
rowing, hockey (1), football (1) , bodybuilding (1) and street and ball hockey (1). About World
Anti-Doping Agency WADA is global Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that aims at
harmonizing anti-doping regulations in all sports and countries. It is collective initiative led by
the International Olympic Committee. It was established in 1999 in Lausanne Switzerland
under so called Declaration of Lausanne to coordinate, promote and monitor the fight against
drugs in sports. Its headquarters is in Montreal, Canada.
Union Cabinet approves setting up of an independent Rail Development Authority

- Regulatory Mechanism in New Delhi.
Union Cabinet has approved setting up of an
independent Rail Development Authority (RDA) -
Regulatory Mechanism in New Delhi. The RDA will
have broad function of tariff determination, ensuring
fair play and level playing field for all stakeholders
investments. It will also work for the setting efficiency and performance standards and
dissemination of information. The initial corpus of the Authority will be fifty crore rupees. The
RDA will have a chairman and three members besides experts from relevant areas.
Government announces first ever expressway project in northeast to be

developed at cost of around 40 thousand crore rupees.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced expressway
project in the northeast. Announcing the first express
highway project in the region to be developed along the
Brahmaputra river in Assam Mr. Gadkari said in Guwahati
yesterday that northeast is Government's priority. He said
the 1,300 km-long express highway is likely to incur an
investment of 40,000 crore rupees. Making the
announcement at the closing ceremony of the 'Namami Brahmaputra' festival, the minister
requested the Assam Chief Minister to carry out land acquisition work for the modern road.
Aditya Birla Group gets RBI licence to start payments bank
Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd. has become the seventh
entity to receive a final licence from Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
for carrying out the business of payments bank in India.
Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd. is a 51:49 joint venture
(JV) between Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd. (ABNL) and telecom
operator Idea Cellular. Rajat Mukarji, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of Idea Cellular had
earlier mentioned that Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd. will be launched in the first half of
year 2017.
Japan officially recognises Bitcoin as currency
Japan has officially recognized bitcoin and digital
currencies as legal money along the lines of other fiat
currencies with effect from April 1, 2017. The
recognition comes after implementation of a new law
amending Banking Act in Japan for legalizing these
currencies. It will help in integration of digital
currency into legal banking system through regulatory scrutiny.
Key Facts The recognition means regulations governing banks and financial institutions will be
applicable to crypto-currency and digital currencies exchange platforms They will be also
required to comply with strict Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer
(KYC) requirements, along with annual audits. Other requirements include meeting the stated
capital and cyber security requirements to ensure consumer protection. It also makes these
digital currencies as property of value, meaning that they can be used for payment in the
broader marketplace and that it may be bought or sold.
RBI Board clears proposal to introduce Rs 200 notes
The board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
cleared a proposal to introduce banknotes of
Rs200 denomination. The decision was taken at
the RBI board meeting held in Mumbai in March
2017. The process of printing the new Rs 200
notes is likely to begin after June 2017 once the
government officially approves the new denomination. Earlier in November 2016, RBI had
announced the withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, amounting to around 86% of
currency in circulation of Rs 17.9 trillion. Since then, it has replaced these denominations with
the new Rs 2,000 and redesigned Rs 500 bank notes. RBI board: It has 14 members including
governor and four deputy governors. The board also has economic affairs secretary and
financial services secretary as its members.
ICICI Bank and Axis Bank sold Rs 1800 crore of loans of Ballarpur to Edelweiss
Asset Re-Company
i. Market leaders ICICI Bank and Axis Bank sold Rs 1800
crore worth loans of paper maker Ballarpur Industries to
Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company.
ii. This is the first time, a potential bad loan being sold off to
an Asset Reconstruction Company at book value.
iii. Axis Bank sold loans of Rs.1200 crore and ICICI Bank sold loans of Rs.600 crore.
iv. The loan sold is under 15:85 structure where 15 per cent is paid in cash and the balance 85%
is paid in securities receipts.
v. The bond is prepared as the amount will be repaid over five to seven years depending on the
rate of recovery.
vi. In February, 2017, Indias credit rating agency downgraded Ballarpur Industries debt by
assigning it a D-rating, which led to the selling of loan to Edelweiss.
Mahesh Kumar Jain named as IDBI bank MD and CEO
i. The Former MD and CEO of Indian Bank, Mahesh
Kumar Jain took charge as the MD and CEO of Industrial
Development Bank of India (IDBI) Bank on April 4, 2017.
ii. The former MD and CEO of IDBI Bank, K Kharat has
been transferred to Indian bank.
iii. The move was focused mainly on retail lending and resolution of bad assets if IDBI bank
which were the key priorities.
iv. On his first address to the employees, Jain said, maximum efforts should be put on the
resolution and recovery from stressed assets of the bank.
v. IDBI bank booked a net loss of Rs 1958 crore in April-December 2016. The losses were Rs 3665
crore in the year 2015-16.
vi. Jain was also a member of the steering committee on Risk Management of Indian Banking
Association (IBA) and was also the secretary and coordinator to Basant Seth Committee.
Indian Cricketer MS Dhoni named CEO of Gulf Oil for 1 day
i. The former Indian cricket team skipper MS Dhoni became an
acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gulf Oil India just for a
day on April 3, 2017.
ii. He took charge of Gulf Oil India at the Mumbai head office. He
was named CEO of the day by the company.
iii. The news was announced by Arun Pandey, Dhonis close
friend and commercial interest manager
iv. As a CEO of the company for the day, Dhoni has attended all the special meetings of the
company.
v. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was also named as the brand ambassador for Gulf Oil in the year
2011
Brayan Jimenez banned for life-time by FIFA
i. Brayan Jimenez, a former member of the FIFA Committee
for Fair Play and Social Responsibility was banned for life-
time by Federation International de Football Association
(FIFA) from April 3, 2017.
ii. He has been banned for offences which include bribery
and corruption. The information was shared by FIFA ethics committee.
iii. It has been stated that, Brayan Jimenez was involved in the biggest corruption scandal in the
history of the global soccer body.
iv. Brayan was also a Former Guatemalan football club chief. He headed the Guatemala FA
from 2009 to 2015.
v. The Guatemala FA has been found to have violated six articles of FIFA own code of ethics.
vi. The total bribe collected by Jimenez was hundreds of thousands of dollars as per the
statement given by U.S. district attorney
DGP Geetha Johri Gujarats first woman police chief
i. Director General of Police (DGP) Geetha Johri was
appointed as Police Chief (in-charge) of Gujarat on April
4, 2017. By this, Johari has become the 1st woman IPS
officer to be appointed as the Police Chief in Gujarat.
ii. The minister of state for home Pradeepsinh Jadeja
officially announced the appointment of Johri.
iii. Johri had replaced PP Pandey, who resigned as the DGP after his appointment was
challenged by former Police Julio Riberio in the Supreme Court.
iv. Johri, a 1982 batch IPS officer, is slated to retire on November 30 this year, giving her a short
tenure of less than eight months.
v. She was posted as managing director, Gujarat Police Housing Corporation, Gandhinagar
before this appointment.
vi. In 1990, Johri raided the den of slain underworld don Abdul Latif in the highly sensitive
Dariyapur area of Ahmadabad and managed to arrest one his key aides.
April 7, 2017
CCEA approves extension of implementation of CCTNS Project by one year
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has
approved t extension of the implementation phase of the Crime
and Criminals Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) Project
for another year beyond 31 March 2017. The proposal in this
regard was forwarded by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
The extension will help in achieving the remaining objectives of
the project comprehensively.
What is Crime and Criminals Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) Project?
CCTNS is a mission mode project under the National e-Governance Plan of Central
Government that aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system for enhancing the
efficiency and effectiveness of policing by adopting of principle of e-Governance. It seeks to
create nationwide networking infrastructure for evolution of IT-enabled-state-of-the-art
tracking system for investigation of crime and detection of criminals. It was originally approved
in 2009. Objective of CCTNS The core objective of CCTNS is to connect all the police stations so
that any of the police stations can contact any other police station. The interlinking of police
stations will facilitate collection, storage, retrieval, analysis and transfer the information among
police stations, state headquarters and central police organizations. Under it, approximately
14,000 police stations throughout the country will be automated along with 6000 higher offices
in police hierarchy. Scientific and technical organizations will be also connected with it.
Moreover, Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) also aims to integrate the CCTNS
project with the e-courts and e-prisons databases and with the other pillars of the criminal
justice system. It was added in 2015.
Union Cabinet approves Collaboration Agreement to support Belmont Forum

Secretariat
The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing of the Collaborative Agreement with
French National Research Agency (ANR), France. The
MoU will be signed for supporting the Belmont Forum
Secretariat from January, 2015 to December, 2017 at a
total estimated expenditure of 40,000 Euros. The
Cabinet also approved continued financial support to
Belmont Forum Secretariat beyond 2017.
About Belmont Forum: Belmont Forum is a high level group of the worlds major and
emerging funders of global environmental change research and international science councils. It
was established in 2009. It aims to accelerate delivery of the environmental research needed to
remove critical barriers to sustainability by aligning and mobilizing international resources. It
provides an opportunity to identify study and deliver international environmental research
priorities through trans-national research collaboration between natural and social scientists.
Members: India, Australia, Brazil, Canada, European Commission, France, Germany, Japan,
Netherland, South Africa, UK and US etc. India is represented by the Union Ministry of Earth
Science (MoES) since 2012.
The Union Cabinet has approved the MoU on Cooperation in the field of Mass
Media between India and Bangladesh.
Salient features of the MoU :Both countries will facilitate training and study tour of personnel in
the field of mass media and public relations. They will
encourage the exchange of experts in the field of Mass
Media They will also encourage cooperation between
educational, training and research institutions in field of
Mass Media & Communication and exchange of
publications generated by these institutions. They will
facilitate co-operation and sharing experiences in the field of regulations of the Mass Media
activities and statistical data relating to the Mass Media. They will also facilitate accredited
mass media representatives to set up offices in the creation of conditions necessary for
performance of professional duties on the basis of reciprocity.
Union Cabinet approves agreement between India and Bangladesh on Audio

Visual Co-Production
Salient features of the Agreement: It will cover co-
production of films, animations and documentary films. An
audio-visual co-production made under it, will be entitled
to all the benefits which may be accorded to any national
audio-visual work by both countries in accordance with
their respective laws and regulations. It will lead to
exchange of art and culture among the two countries and create goodwill and better
understanding among the peoples of both the countries. Facilitate utilization of Indian locales
for shooting, thus raising the prospect of India as a preferred film shooting destination across
the globe. Benefits Audio-visual Co-productions will provide an opportunity to create and
showcase our soft power. It will lead to generation of employment among artistic, technical as
well as non-technical personnel including post-production and its marketing, thus adding to the
GDP of both the countries. So far, India has entered into audio-visual co-production agreements
with Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, France, New Zealand, Brazil, Poland, Canada, Spain,
China and the Republic of Korea.
Union Cabinet approves MoU between India and Australia in field of Health and
Medicine
The Union Cabinet has approved the MoU between India and Australia on cooperation in the
field of Health and Medicine. The MoU will involve
cooperation through joint initiatives in the Health Sector
and strengthen bilateral ties between both countries. The
main areas of cooperation are Communicable diseases
such as Tuberculosis and Malaria. Non-Communicable
Diseases and Mental Health. Anti-Microbial Resistance
and responding to public health emergencies. Regulation of vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and
medical devices. Digital Health. Tobacco Control Any other area of cooperation decided
mutually by both countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays the foundation stone of a multi-modal terminal
on River Ganga at Sahebganj in Jharkhand; also dedicates to the nation a Solar
Power Facility.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation
stones of several development projects, including a multi-
modal terminal over River Ganga at Sahebganj in
Jharkhand. Speaking after laying the foundation stones, Mr
Modi said, these projects will provide employment to the
people of Jharkhand and skill development will also be boosted. He said, development is the
only key to improve lives of the people of the state. The Prime Minister said, their quicker
development will lead to speedier empowerment of people. He also dedicated to the nation
Solar Power Facility at the Sahebganj district court premises and Sahebganj district hospital.
RBI keeps Repo-rate unchanged at 6.25 per cent; Increases Reverse Repo-rate to
6 per cent; projects inflation at 4.5 per cent for first half of this fiscal
The Reserve Bank left its benchmark lending rate, Repo rate, unchanged at 6.25 per cent for the
fourth monetary policy review in a row today citing upside risk to
inflation. The RBI in its first bi-monthly monetary policy review of
2017-18, however increased the reverse repo rate -- which it pays
to banks for parking funds with it -- by 0.25 per cent to 6 per cent,
narrowing the policy rate corridor. The Marginal Standing Facility,
on the other hand, has been revised downwards by 0.25 per cent to
6.5 per cent. MSF is RBI's lending rate for banks against government securities. Later talking to
media, RBI Governor Dr. Urjit Patel said the policy decisions by the Monetary Policy
Committee are unanimous. "The MPC made a detailed assessment of macroeconomic and
financial conditions both domestically and globally on the basis of its judgement on the
evolving outlook. The MPC decided unanimously to keep the policy rate unchanged in this
review. It noted that inflation is said to understood the target of 5 per cent for Q-4 of 2016-17.
For 2017-18 inflation is projected to average 4.5 per cent in the first half of the year and 5 per
cent in the second half."Lok Sabha approves Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2017. The Lok
Sabha passed the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill,2017. The Bill seeks to amend the Customs
Act 1962, the Customs Tariff Act 1975, the Central Excise Act 1944, the Finance Act, 2001 and the
Finance Act, 2005 and to repeal certain enactments. Replying to the debate, Minister of State for
Finance Santosh Gangwar said, the amendments were necessitated due to the subsuming of
various excise duties in the GST law.
World Health Day is being observed with the theme 'Depression: Let's Talk.
Today is World Health Day. The theme for this year
is 'Depression: Let's Talk'. WHO is leading a one-
year global campaign on depression which is the
leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide.
World Health Day is celebrated on the 7th of April
every year to mark the anniversary of the founding of
the World Health Organization.
India takes control of Kudankulam Unit I
India has taken over full operational control of
Unit 1 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant
(KKNNP). India signed a joint statement on 6th
April 2017 with Russia on the final takeover of the
Unit, formally marking the full transition. The
agreement was signed between representatives of
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd and the ASE Group of Companies, a subsidiary of
ROSATOOM State Atomic Energy Corporation of Russia. All service and warranty services
have been fulfilled by both sides.
April 8, 2017
64th National Film Awards
The 64th National Film Awards for year 2016
were announced on 07 April 2017. Marathi
film Kasaav won the award in the Best
Feature Film category and Fireflies in the
Abyss won in the Non-Feature Film
Category. Telugu drama film Sathamanam
Bhavathi directed by Satish Vegesna was selected as the Best Popular film providing
wholesome entertainment.
Background:
Over 300 films vied for the honours this year. The winners in feature films category were
chosen by jury headed by Filmmaker Priyadarshan and winners in non-feature category were
chosen by jury headed nationally acclaimed cinematographer and writer Raju Misra.
The 64th National Film Awards in the various categories are as follows
Best Feature Film: Kasaav (Marathi)
Non-Feature Film: Fireflies in the Abyss
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Sathamanam Bhavathi (Telugu)
Best Direction: Rajesh (Ventilator)
Best Actor: Akhay Kumar (Rustom)
Best Actress: Surabhi Lakshmi (Minnaminungu)
Best Supporting Actress: Zaira Wasim (Dangal)
Best Child Artist: Adhish Praveen (Kunju Daivam), Saj (Noor Islam), Manohara (Railway
Children)
Best stunt choreography: Peter Hein (Pulimurugan)
Best Childrens Film: Dhanak (Hindi)
Best Film on social issue: Pink
Best Male Playback Singer: Sundara Iyer (Joker)
Best Female Playback Singer: Thume jaake
Best Screenplay (original): Syam Pushkaran (Maheshinte Prathikaram)
Best Screenplay (adapted): Sanjay Krishnaji patel (Dashakriya)
Best Editing: Rameshwar Ventilator
Sound designer: Jayadevan (Kaadu Pookunna Neram)
Best production design: 24 (Tamil)
Best Costume Designer: Sachin (Marathi film)
Best Environmental film including agriculture: The Tiger who crossed the line
Best Make-up Artist: MK Ramakrishna
Best Music Direction: Babu Padmanabha (Kannada Lama)
Special Mention: Kadvi Hawa (Hindi), Mukthi Bhavan (Hindi), Majirathi Keki (Assamese),
Sonam Kapoor (Neerja)
Special Jury award: Mohanlal( Pulimurugan), Janatha Garage and Munthirivallikal
Thalirkkumbol
Best feature films in regional languages: Madipur (Tulu), Joker (Tamil), Wrongside Raju
(Gujarati), Pelli Chupulu (Telugu), Dashakriya (Marathi), Bisarjan (Bengali), Maheshinte
Prathikaram (Malayalam), Ke Sara Sara (Konkini), Reservation (Kannada) and Neerja (Hindi)
Information and Broadcasting Minister M.Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates 47th

regional news unit of AIR in Vishakhapatnam.
Union Minister for Information and
Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu
commissioned the 47th Regional News Unit
of News Services Division of All India
Radio at Visakhapatnam this afternoon. A
10-minute news bulletin will be broadcast
in Telugu by this News Unit every day. This is the second Regional News Units in Andhra
Pradesh after Vijayawada. "Mr. Venkaiah Naidu said, eliminating regional and economic
imbalances is the prime goal of the Centre towards which, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is
working for. He also said radio has its own popularity and even honourable Prime Minister too
has chosen the services of radio via 'Man ki Baat' programme to share his views and address the
people of the country. The Minsiter emphasized that it is necessary for the news to be presented
as it happens and it should not be made or essayed. The Union Minister complimented the
initiatives and zeal displayed by Prasar Bharati towards commissioning of the RNU which was
actually sanctioned during the 11th Plan.
India moves up in Travel and Tourism Competitiveness
India has jumped 12 places to be ranked 40th globally
in travel and tourism competitiveness list released by
World Economic Forum. E-Visa, Road Safety and
Cleanliness has brought the result. The Minister said,
there was no effect of demonetization in tourism sector
and rather an increase of 6 per cent in revenue was
recorded. The World Economic Forum said, India continues to enrich its cultural resources,
protecting more cultural sites and intangible expressions through UNESCO World Heritage
lists and via a greater digital presence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed happiness on
India's ranking in Travel and Tourism Competitiveness list. In a tweet, Mr Modi said, it is a
great news for the tourism sector. He said, in last four years, India, have seen a total jump of 25
places in the world travel and tourism index and it reflects the importance government gives to
tourism.
India and Israel sign defence deal worth over 2 billion dollar for advanced
surface-to-air missile systems
India and Israel have signed a mega defence deal worth over 2 billion dollar for advanced
surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, to further tighten the
bilateral strategic partnership ahead of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's visit to Israel in July. The SAM systems
are designed to destroy hostile aircraft, missiles and drones
at a range of 70-km. Ministry of Defense sources said the
major deal was for the joint project between the Defence
Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the
Barak-8 medium-range SAM systems to initially include one regiment of 16 launchers and 560
missiles for the Indian Army.
USA Carries out Missile Attacks on Syria
Russia says, it has suspended its memorandum of
understanding on air safety over Syria with the United
States following the deadly US missile attack on the
Shairat airfield. Russian Foreign Ministry today said in
a statement that the memorandum on the prevention
of incidents and ensuring air safety during operations
in Syria reached with the US is suspended. The US has carried out a missile attack against
targets in Syria in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town in
Idlib province. A Pentagon official said, US warships launched between 50 to 60 Tomahawk
cruise missiles at Shayrat Airfiled where the warplanes that carried out the chemical attacks
were based. Several countries reacted on US missile strike in Syria. Australian Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull said the strike is a proportionate and calibrated response to the use of
chemical weapons. UK Government spokesman said, British Government fully support the US
action. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel have also expressed support to the strikes. Iran
denounced the strike and said such unilateral strikes and other measures will strengthen
terrorists in Syria and will complicate the situation in the region.
Cyber Physical Systems Launched
Department of Science and Technology (DST) has
launched Cyber Physical Systems (CPS)
programme dealing with self-driven cars,
autonomous unmanned vehicles and aircraft
navigation systems The programme is still at a
nascent stage. Rs. 3,000-crore has been has been conceived for it and it will first take root in
some of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). What is Cyber Physical Systems (CPS)? CPS
is an interdisciplinary field that deals with the deployment of computer-based systems that do
things in the physical world. For example, self-driven cars produced by Google and Tesla. It is a
mechanism controlled or monitored by computer-based algorithms, tightly integrated with the
internet and its users. It involves trans disciplinary approaches, merging theory of cybernetics,
design and process science and mechatronics. In it, physical and software components are
deeply intertwined, each operating on different spatial and temporal scales. Both exhibit
multiple and distinct behavioural modalities, and interact with each other in a myriad of ways
that change with context. Autonomous unmanned vehicles (UAVs) and aircraft navigation
systems and smart grids (where electricity is optimally distributed on the basis of calculations
in real time by micro-processors) also qualify as CPS.
April 9, 2017
India and Bangladesh Sign 22 Agreements
India and Bangladesh have signed 22 agreements in
various fields such as defence, nuclear cooperation,
judicial sector, earth sciences, navigation, peaceful
uses of outer space, to boost bilateral cooperation.
These agreements were signed in presence of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime
Minister Shiekh Hasina in New Delhi after delegation level talks. India also announced
concessional Line of Credit (LoC) of $4.5 billion to Bangladesh for projects in priority sectors.
Moreover, India also gave LoC of $500 million to Bangladesh for defence purchases. Some of the
agreements signed are MoU on Defence Cooperation Framework MoU on Bilateral Judicial
Sector Cooperation MoU for extending Defence LOC of $500 million. MoU on Cooperation in
the Field of Mass Media. MoU on Cooperation in the area of Cyber Security. MoU concerning
Cooperation on Aids to Navigation. MoU on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
MoU for Extending a 3rd Line of Credit (LoC) by GoI to GoB. Agreement on Cooperation in
Peaceful uses of Nuclear Energy. MoU on Co-operation in the field of Information Technology
and Electronics. MoU on establishing Border Haats across the border between India and
Bangladesh. Agreement for the Regulation of Motor Vehicle Passenger Traffic (Khulna-Kolkata
route). Inter-Agency Agreement on Cooperation regarding Nuclear Power Plant Projects in
Bangladesh MoU on Mutual Scientific Cooperation in the field of Earth Sciences for Research
and Development.
The Union Agriculture Ministry has joined hands with the National Remote
Sensing Centre (NRSC)
The Union Agriculture Ministry has joined hands with the National Remote Sensing Centre
(NRSC), a wing of Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) for geo-tagging agricultural
assets. In this regard, Agriculture Ministry under
the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY) and
NRSC have NRSC signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU).
Key Facts: The move will help bring transparency in governance due to real-time monitoring
and effective utilisation of agricultural assets such as ponds, crop area, warehouses and
laboratories etc. At present, officials provide information on the assets manually, so there is no
transparency. Geo-tagging will provide realistic status of assets. It will not only help in
monitoring and utilising assets but will be useful in formulating schemes for development in
the agricultural sector. It will also help in avoiding duplication of data. Utilisation of space
technology will help farmers to further get access to pesticide testing labs, storage
infrastructure, and market-related information.
Geotagging: It is the process of adding geographical identification like latitude and longitude to
various media such as a photo or video. It helps user to find a wide variety of location-specific
information from a device. It provides users the pinpoint location of the content of a given
picture.
Geomapping: It is a visual representation of the geographical location of geotagged assets
layered on top of map or satellite imagery.
India ranks 9th in corruption in business: EMEIA Fraud Survey
According to EY Europe, Middle East, India and Africa
(EMEIA) Fraud Survey 2017, India ranks 9th among 41
surveyed countries in bribery and corrupt practices in
businesses. Indias ranking has improved marginally
from the survey findings in 2015 when India was at the
6th position. It has improved due to better regulatory scrutiny and emphasis on transparency
and governance.
Key Facts: In this edition of the survey, India ranked behind Ukraine, Cyprus, Greece, Slovenia,
Croatia, Kenya, South Africa and Hungary,. The survey noted that nearly 78% respondents in
the India have mentioned that bribery and corrupt practices happen widely in businesses. The
findings in the survey also revealed that nearly 41% of Indian respondents are prepared to act
unethically to enhance their own career Over 13% respondents in India are prepared to provide
false information to improve their career or pay. 58% stated that loyalty towards company
prevents employees from reporting fraud, bribery or corruption. The uncertainties in business
environment, augmenting pressure to meet financial targets and aspirations to achieve
unprecedented career growth are driving employees to justify unethical workplace behaviour.
Organisations should encourage millennials (people born in the 1980s-90s) to strengthen their
moral compass, communicate importance of upholding ethical standards and develop
programmes to motivate future leaders make right choices in life. Globally, 1 in 5 respondents
said they would be prepared to act unethically for their careers. It calls for improved
enforcement action to restore confidence in businesses.
Russia accuses United States of violating international law by carrying out

military strikes in Syria.
Russian envoy at the United Nations has accused the United States of violating international
law by carrying out military strikes in Syria. Deputy
Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov told the UN Security
Council that Washington attacked the territory of
sovereign Syria. He described the attack as a flagrant
violation of international law and an act of aggression.
The Council held an emergency session yesterday after
the US launched a barrage of missile strikes on a Syrian air base in retaliation for a suspected
chemical attack.
In tennis, India enters the playoff of Davis cup World Group.
India, on the 8th April 2017, sealed their place in the
Davis Cup World Group Tennis Play-offs with Rohan
Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji routing their rivals with
clinical precision for an unassailable 3-0 lead against
Uzbekistan. Bopanna and debutant Balaji beat the Uzbek
pair of Farrukh Dustov and Sanjar Fayziev 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 in
the doubles rubber of Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group-I tie at the KSLTA stadium in Bengaluru.
The World Group Play-offs will be held in September.
April 10, 2017
President gives approval for Mental Health Care Act
President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to
the Mental Healthcare Act, 2016. Suicide attempts by
a mentally ill person will not be punishable under
this new law which got nod from the President on
Friday. A person who attempts suicide shall be
presumed to be suffering from mental illness at that time and will not be punished under the
Indian Penal Code. The law also prohibits use of shock therapy, without the use of muscle
relaxants and anaesthesia on a patient suffering from mental illness. Besides this, such patients
cannot be chained in any manner. The law aims to provide mental healthcare and services to
persons with mental illness and to protect their rights. A person with mental illness will have
the right to confidentiality in respect of his mental health, mental health care, treatment and
physical health care.
RBI allows Banks to invest in RIETs and Inv ITs
Banks will be allowed to invest in Real Estate Investment
Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts
(InvITs) by RBI. These Trusts are a structured business
model for entrepreneurs corporate to convert their capital
locked in assets through issue of units to investors. Banks
which are currently allowed to invest upto 20 % of their Net Owned Funds in Equity, Mutual
Funds and venture Capital, are allowed to invest in these Trusts within that limit. RBI will also
enable faster money transfer through the National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) route, by
increasing the number of cycles from 12 to 23. This will speeden up the transactions.
Ban on Cash Transactions of over Rs 2 lacs not applicable for Withdrawals
The Income Tax Department has clarified that the ban
on Cash Transactions of over Rs 2 lacs will not be
applicable on withdrawals from Banks,Post Offices
and Cooperative Bank account.
HDFC Bank launches its UPI on Indias first multi bank Payment App Chillr
HDFC Bank announced the launch of its
Unified Payment Interface (UPI) on Chillr.
This will be in addition to the Banks Mobile
App. Chillr will be allowed to link payment
from 44 banks now. Indias first multi bank
payment app Chilllr allows users to send and
receive money to and from any one in their Phone Book. It runs on the IMPS platform and is
linked to different Banks.
Mahavir Jayanti April 10, 2017
Mahavir Jayanti, the birth anniversary of 24th
and last Tirthankar Bhagwan Mahavir is being
celebrated across the country on 10th April 2017.
Mahavir Jayanti is considered to be one of the
most auspicious event for Jain people and holds
a lot of importance in their religious life.
Devotees of Lord Mahavir and his followers celebrate this festival by chanting prayers, offering
Prasad and participating in chariot processions.
Palm Sunday 9th April 2017
Palm Sunday is being celebrated by Christians all over the
world on 9th April 2017. In Tamil Nadu, special palm
procession and prayers will be held in Velankanni,
Tiruchirapalli, Nagercoil and Tirunelveli. "Palm Sunday is the
festival celebrated on the Sunday before Easter Sunday. It
signifies the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem. The holy week starting with Palm
Sunday will end with Easter Sunday. The churches in Tamil Nadu are decked up celebrating
Kurutholai Njayiru Palm Sunday today. Special prayers and holy masses in various languages
like English, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam are being held at the world famous Our Lady of
Health Annai Velankanni Shrine in Tamil Nadu.
Sudharshan Patnaik Selected to Represent India
Noted sand artist from Odisha Sudarsan Pattnaik has been
selected to represent India in 10th Moscow Sand Art
Championship 2017. With a theme "The World Around us",
the championship is scheduled to be held from 22nd April
to 28th in Moscow. Top sand sculptors from different parts
of the world are slated to take part in this championship. In
the 9th edition of the championship last year, Pattnaik had
won a gold medal for his sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi on World peace. Recently, he created
World's tallest sand castle at Puri beach, which was placed in Guinness Book of World Records.
Malala Yousafsai to be the Youngest UN Messenger of Peace
The Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafsai from Pakistan
has been selected by the United Nations to be the youngest UN
Messenger of Peace.
India seal a berth in Women's World League Semi-Final to be held in June this
year
India has sealed a berth in the Women's Hockey World
League Semi-Final to be held in June this year. The Indian
eves made the cut early this morning after they defeated
Belarus 4-0 to storm into the final of World League Round 2
in West Vancouver, Canada. Skipper Rani and Gurjit Kaur
scored a brace each in the game.
India win Asia/Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan by 4-1
India have won the Asia/Oceania Group I Davis Cup
Tennis tie against Uzbekistan in Bengaluru by a 4-1
margin. The hosts, won one of the two Reverse Singles
matches on the final day . They already sealed their
place in the Davis Cup World Group Play-offs with an
unassailable 3-0 lead. Ramkumar Ramanathan won the
first match against Sanjar Fayziev in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. But, Uzbekistan prevented a clean
sweep for India, when Temur Ismailov defeated Prajnesh Gunneswaran in straight sets 7-5, 6-3
in the second reverse singles.
April 11, 2017
Constitution 123rd Amendment Bill, 2017 passed in Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha has passed Constitution 123rd
Amendment Bill, 2017 which seeks to give
constitutional status to National Commission for
Backward Classes. The bill was passed by the
house with 360 MPs voting in favor and 2 against
the bill. Objectives of the Bill The Constitution 123rd Amendment Bill seeks to make the
following changes: It seeks to insert a new article 338B in the constitution which provides for
NCBC, its composition, mandate, functions and various officers. Insert a new article 342-A
which empowers the president to notify the list of socially and educationally backward classes
of that state / union territory. In case of a state, president will make such notification after
consultation with the Governor. Under the same article, it is proposed that parliament by
making a law can include or exclude the classes from the central list of backward classes. The
Lok Sabha has passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2016 by a voice vote to give more
thrust to road safety, controlling pollution and accidents. The bill seeks to amend the Motor
Vehicles Act, 1988 that provides for legal standards for motor vehicles, grant of driving licenses,
and penalties for violation of these provisions.
President Pranab Mukherjee picks winner of Lucky Grahak and Digi Dhan Vyapar
Yojana
President Pranab Mukherjee has picked up lucky
winners from the 100th draw of lots under the digital
payments promotion schemes Lucky Grahak Yojana and
Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana. Total the six winners were
selected three consumers and three merchants of
Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana.
The winners will be felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14 in Nagpur
(Maharashtra) on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti. Key Facts The winners were identified
through a random draw of eligible Transaction IDs by software developed by National
Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). Consumer section: The first mega prize of Rs. 1 crore
went to a customer of Central Bank of India. The second prize of Rs. 50 lakh went to Bank of
Baroda customer and third prize of Rs. 25 lakh went to customer of Punjab National Bank.
Selected customers had done transactions using their RuPay debit cards. Merchants Sections:
Top three merchants won prizes of Rs.50 lakh, Rs. 25 lakh and Rs. 12 lakh, respectively.
Election Commission cancels bye-poll to R K Nagar Assembly constituency in

Chennai over charges of large scale bribing of voters
In Tamil Nadu, the Election Commission last night
cancelled the bye-poll to the Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar
Assembly constituency in Chennai. EC in its order said,
in the face of large scale violations of model code of
conduct and charges of disbursal of huge amount of
money to voters, the commission cancelled the bye-poll
which was to be held on Wednesday. The poll panel further said, bye-poll would be held in due
course when the vitiating effect created by the distribution of money and gift items gets
removed with the passage of time and the atmosphere in the constituency becomes conducive
to the holding of free and fair election. The decision comes after the income tax department
conducted searches in the properties owned by Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar, on Friday.
Centre Releases Funds under MGNREGS
The Ministry of Rural Development has released nearly
23,500 crore rupees to the States as first tranche for this
Financial Year, under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme. The amount released
includes all pending liabilities as on 31st March, 2017. It
is also to ensure priority work on water conservation
measures. The Government is laying considerable emphasis on Water Conservation and Water
Management works under the scheme.
First UK rail freight service to China departs
The first rail freight service from United Kingdom to
China departed from Essex. Earlier the first freight train in
the opposite direction, from China to UK had arrived in
London in January 2017. The train service was launched
as part of Chinas ambitious One Belt, One Road (OBOR)
initiative that aims to revive the ancient Silk Road trading routes with the West dating back
more than 2,000 years.
India and Australia sign six agreements, including expanding counter-terrorism

cooperation
India and Australia have reaffirmed their commitment to a peaceful and prosperous Indo-
Pacific region, based on mutual respect and cooperation. In
a joint statement issued in New Delhi today, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Malcolm
Turnbull agreed to draw on the strengths of each other to
create jobs and investment and raise living standards. Mr
Modi said, he and the Australian Prime Minister have
decided to hold discussion on comprehensive economic partnership between the two countries.
India and Australia inked six agreements in areas including expanding counter-terrorism
cooperation, civil aviation security, sports, health and medicine and satellite navigation.
Pakistan sentences alleged RAW agent Kulbhushan Jadhav to death
Pakistans Field General Court Martial has sentenced to death
Indian national and alleged RAW (Research and Analysis
Wing) agent Kulbhushan Jadhav (46) who was arrested last
year on charges of spying. The death sentence was confirmed
by army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa after the Field General
Court Martial found him guilty of all the charges.
Background Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested in March 2016 by Pakistani security forces in the
restive Balochistan province after he reportedly entered from Iran. Pakistan has alleged that
Jadhav was a serving officer in the Indian Navy and deputed to the Research and Analysis
Wing (RAW), foreign (external) intelligence agency of India. Union External Affairs Ministry
had acknowledged that Jadhav served with the navy but has no link with government since his
premature retirement from Indian Navy. Earlier in 1999, Pakistan had hanged an Indian Sheikh
Shamim also on charges of spying. In 2013, another Indian national, Sarabjit Singh was also
sentenced to death (16 years) for spying in Pakistan. He was killed in jail after being attacked by
fellow inmates. However, these two previous cases were gone through civilian courts.
G-7 Energy Ministers fail to reach agreement on a joint statement on climate

change
Energy Ministers from the Group of Seven
industrialised nations, G-7, have failed to reach
agreement on a joint statement on climate change
after the United States expressed reservations.
Italian Minister for Economic Development, Carlo
Calenda, who chaired the meeting in Rome, said, the United States reserved its position on the
text about commitments made by G7 countries under the 2015 Paris climate accord. The accord
is a bedrock of international action against man-made global warming. Last month, President
Donald Trump signed an executive order rolling back some of the previous Democratic
administration's policies on carbon emissions and climate change. In another development, G-7
Foreign ministers met yesterday to forge a response to the deadly chemical attack in Syria. G-7
diplomats gathering in Lucca, Italy, hope to use outrage over the attack and wide international
support for the United States' retaliatory missile strikes to push Russia to abandon Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad and join a new peace effort for Syria.
Scientists discovers protein PorB that increases effectiveness of vaccines

against cancer
Scientists from Boston University School of
Medicine, US have discovered a protein called
PorB that could help make vaccinations more
effective and provide protection from diseases
such as cancer. In this study, researchers had
purified this protein, found on the exterior of
bacteria (neisseria meningidis). It helps to increase amount of antibody production and can
stimulate cells to kill offending agent and used it as an accessory to provide a better vaccination
response. Proteins are unusually any of a class of nitrogenous organic compounds which have
large molecules composed of one or more long chains of amino acids. They are an essential part
of all living organisms, especially as structural components of body tissues such as muscle, hair,
etc., and as enzymes and antibodies.
April 10: World Homoeopathy Day
The World Homoeopathy Day is observed every year on
April 10 to pay tribute to Dr. Christian Friedrich Samuel
Hahnemann, founder and father of Homeopathy system of
medicine. Observance of the day seeks to spread more
knowledge about this form of medicine in the mainstream
public health. This year it is 262nd birth anniversary of the
founder of Homoeopathy. On this occasion, AYUSH
Ministry, had organised International Convention on
World Homoeopathy Day with theme Enhancing Quality Research in Homoeopathy through
scientific evidence and rich clinical experiences.
April 12, 2017
Survey of India launches web portal Nakshe
The Survey of India (SOI) has launched new web portal
called Nakshe to make open series maps available to
Indians for free. The portal was launched by Union
Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences,
Harsh Vardhan on the occasion of 250th anniversary of
SOI. Features of Nakshe portal It will offer free download of 3,000 Topographic maps or Open
Series Maps (OSM) in a pdf format on 1:50,000 scale through Aaadhar enabled user
authentication process. The maps are meant for development activities in the country, and can
be also used to plan scientific expeditions, research and planning development projects.
Topographic maps or OSM comprise natural and man-made geographical features including
terrain or topography.
Align pay in PSBs to that in CPSEs: BBB
The Bank Board Bureau (BBB) has recommended that Government
should bring in reforms in the compensation process in public sector
banks (PSBs) on the lines of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).
BBB has suggested compensation reforms in PSBs so that best
practices can be introduced on the lines already prevalent in CPSEs. It
will play important role in attracting high-quality talent for non-executive directors and
chairmen. It will also maintain a level-playing field with the private sector with respect to role,
responsibility and remuneration.
Parliament passes HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control), Bill 2017
Parliament has passed the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control),Bill
2017 with the Lok Sabha approving it today. The Bill
has already been passed by the Raja Sabha. The Bill
seeks to provide for the prevention and control of
the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV and Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome, AIDS . It also provides for the protection of human rights of persons affected by the
virus and syndrome. Replying to a debate in the House, Health Minister J P Nadda said, the
government will provide free treatment to the people infected with HIV. He said, the
government has spent 2000 crore rupees on Anti Retroviral Therapy drugs for such patients last
year. Mr Nadda said, there is 22 thousand testing facilities for HIV and AIDS are functional in
the country. Mr Nadda termed the bill as patient-centric and progressive in nature.
Government to launch SAMPADA soon
The government will soon launch a scheme SAMPADA for food
processing sector to integrate current and new schemes aimed at
reducing food wastage and doubling farmers' income. Briefing
reporters in New Delhi today, Food Processing Minister
Harsimrat Kaur Badal said, the 'Scheme for Agro-Marine
Produce Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters (SAMPADA) with an outlay
of six thousand crore rupees will be implemented by 2019-20. The Minister said, it will include
ongoing schemes like mega food parks and cold chain projects.
Madhya Pradesh Bans Plastic Carry Bags
In Madhya Pradesh, the state government has
decided to ban plastic carry bags from the 1st of May
in the state. The decision was taken in a cabinet
meeting held in Bhopal under chairmanship of chief
minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Briefing media,
public relations minister Narottm Mishra said that this decision has been taken to save
environment and cows.
Colson Whitehead wins 2017 Pulitzer Prize for The Underground Railroad
Colson Whiteheads celebrated novel The
Underground Railroad has won the 2017 Pulitzer
Prize for fiction. The novel is about an escaped
slave that combined liberating imagination and
brutal reality. Earlier in November 2016, the
novel had received the National Book Award of
US. This makes Colson Whitehead first person to win Pulitzer and National Book Award for
fiction in last 20 years.
List of 2017 Pulitzer Prize Winners
Letters, Drama & Music Fiction: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. Drama:
Sweat by Lynn Nottage. History: Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its
Legacy, by Heather Ann Thompson. Biography or Autobiography: The Return: Fathers, Sons
and the Land in Between, by Hisham Matar. Poetry: Olio, by Tyehimba Jess (Wave Books)
General Nonfiction: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond.
Music: Angels Bone, by Du Yun.
G7 nations reject a call by Britain for sanctions against Russia in the wake of
recent deadly chemical attack in Syria
G7 nations have rejected a call by Britain for sanctions
against Russia in the wake of recent deadly chemical
attack in Syria. They said, the attack was carried out by
Moscow's ally, Syria. Italy's Foreign Minister said the
group did not want to back Russia into a corner and
preferred dialogue. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is now heading from the G7 meeting in
Italy to talks in Moscow. He insisted Syria's President could not play a part in the country's
future. Mr Tillerson will meet Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow but it is unclear
whether he will hold talks with President Vladimir Putin. Today Mr. Putin called for the UN to
hold an independent investigation into the chemical attack on the rebel-held Syrian town of
Khan Sheikhoun that left 89 people dead. Syria denied carrying out the chemical attack but the
US then carried out a retaliatory strike, firing 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase.
Indian Tourists Spend 12 Billion Dollars in the USA
Over a million Indian tourists have spent a
whopping 12 billion US dollars in the USA in 2015.
CEO and President of Brand USA Chris Thompson
told PTI that these 1.12 million Indian visitors'
spending ranks seven in the source market.
ESAF Small Finance Bank launches Social Deposit Scheme Hrudaya
Thrissur based ESAF Small Finance Bank has launched a
Social Deposit Scheme Called Hrudaya. The Deposit is
related with the Social Cause through which ESAF Bank
provides the customers an opportunity to be part of social
welfare measures. The deposits are used for the welfare
and development of the under privelaged sections of the
society. The minimum amount of deposit is Rs 15 lacs and the minimum period is two years.
The depositor will get to see firsthand how his money is used to develop the underprivileged
sections of the society. The deposit will be used for the development of the rural poor, farmers,
vegetable vendors, fishermen etc.
Flipkart buys E Bays India business and gets US$ 500 million Investment
Indias largest E Commerce Company buys E Bays India
business and closes $1.4 billion fund raising from Tencent,
E Bay and Microsoft. It is the largest funding done in the
Indian Internet Sector and currently values Flipkart at US$
11.6 billion
April 13, 2017
Government launches URJA MITRA APP
The Union Ministry of Power has
launched URJA MITRA app for
empowering citizens by real time
information sharing on power supply.
The app is a first of its kind which
provides a central platform, web-portal (www.urjamitra.com) as well as mobile app for state
power Distribution utilities to disseminate power outage information to rural/ urban power
consumers through SMS/ push/email notifications across the country.
Government sets up inter-ministerial panel to monitor UDAN
The Union Government has set up an Inter- Ministerial
Monitoring-cum-Coordination Committee to monitor
the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme.
UDAN is regional air connectivity scheme (RCS) which
seeks to make flying affordable by connecting un
served and under-served airports. Key Facts The
committee will be responsible for coordination among stakeholders, including state
governments for time-bound implementation of the scheme. It will also monitor schemes of
promotion of regional connectivity by way of revival of un served and under-served
airports/airstrips and UDAN. It will be chaired by Civil Aviation Secretary and will have
representations from the ministries of Finance, Defence, Home as well as Petroleum and
Natural Gas. Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman, representatives from the Directorate
General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security), officials of airlines
and states concerned will be also its part.
India and Georgia Sign Joint Statement
India and Georgia have signed a Joint Statement on the
launching of the Joint Feasibility Study on the Free Trade
Agreement between both countries. The statement was
signed by Union Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman and Georgias Minister of Economy and
Sustainable Development Giorgi Gakharia. Key Facts The
objective of the study is to further promote economic, trade and investment relations between
the two countries for creating favourable conditions for more comprehensive economic
cooperation. Upon the completion of the Joint Feasibility Study both countries may proceed to
negotiations on an FTA once the internal procedures are completed and the mandates on
negotiations are approved. In this regard, Joint Feasibility Study Group consisting of the
officials of the two countries has been established. It will provide an opportunity for more in-
depth and systematic examination of potential FTA. It will discuss possible scope of a potential
FTA and analyse sensitiveness of specific sectors and recommend possible ways to address
them.
Government Reduces number of Centrally Sponsored Schemes to 28
The Union Government has reduced the number of centrally
sponsored schemes (CSS) from 66 to 28 umbrella schemes,
effective from the financial year 2016-17. These schemes were
reduced based on the recommendation of the sub-group of
Chief Ministers on rationalization of centrally sponsored
schemes
Key Facts: Government has categorized 6 schemes as Core of the Core, 20 schemes as Core
Schemes and remaining two as Optional Schemes. If required government is also planning to
merge the related schemes and implement them as Umbrella Schemes with flexibility to states
to administer in the line with their requirements. Core schemes: For these schemes, the fund-
sharing pattern between the Centre and states would be 60:40 for general category states. For
the eight Northeastern and three Himalayan states, ratio is 90:10. Core-of-core Schemes: These
schemes are fully funded by the Centre. Some of the schemes included in this category are:
MGRNEA, National Social Assistance Plan and the National Programme for Persons with
Disabilities.
Daily Dynamic Pricing to be introduced for Petrol and Diesel
Petrol and Diesel prices will change every day in sync
with international rates in five select cities from 1st
May. Daily revision of petrol and diesel price will be
first implemented in Puducherry, Vizag in Andhra
Pradesh, Udaipur in Rajasthan, Jamshedpur in
Jharkhand and Chandigarh. Indian Oil Corporation-
IOC chairman B Ashok told a news agency that state-owned fuel retailers IOC, BPCL and HPCL
will launch it on a pilot basis and gradually extend it to other parts of the county
Open ended Non Bailable Warrant Issued Against Vijay Mallaya
A Delhi court today issued an open ended non-bailable
warrant against businessman Vijay Mallya in a case of
allegedly evading summons in a Foreign Exchange
Regulation Act (FERA) violation matter. Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate Sumit Dass passed the order after the
Enforcement Directorate submitted that non-bailable
warrant issued on November 4 last year by the court has not been executed and it needs more
time to do so. An 'open-ended NBW' does not carry a time limit for execution unlike 'NBW'. The
court, which put up the matter for next hearing on November 8, however, asked the agency to
file a progress report in this regard within two months.
Manappuram Finance launches co branded Cards with Yes Bank
Manappuram Finance has launched a co
branded Card with YES Bank, which is a
prepaid card. The maximum amount that
can be loaded on this card is Rs 50000 and
it can be used in POS Terminals also.
Customers can also withdraw cash from
any of the 3300 branches of Manappuram Finance. The card will be available for 20 lacs
customers of Manappuram Finance and will also be linked to their Gold Loan Account.
Russia Condemns US Attack on Syria
Russia has said, US violated the international law by
launching an air-strike on a Syrian military airfield
without providing any evidence of the use of chemical
weapons by the Damascus Government. In an
interview to a TV channel, President Vladimir Putin
said in Moscow that the air-strike was carried out on a
sovereign country, without an approval by the United Nations Security Council. Earlier, Mr
Putin had criticized the strike, comparing it to the military intervention in Iraq. Meanwhile, US
has said, its military's policy in Syria has not changed and emphasized that its priority is the
defeat of the Islamic State terror group. Speaking at his first news conference since last week's
attack on a Syrian airbase, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Washington had determined that a
measured military response could best deter the Syrian regime from using chemical weapons
again. The UN Security Council is to vote today on a draft resolution demanding that the Syrian
government cooperate with the investigation of the attack. US diplomats said Britain, France
and the United States put forward the measure which was slightly revised from a previous text
presented last week in response to the attack.
India beat Malaysia 5-1 to win fifth Asian School Hockey Championship in Bhopal
The Indian School team beat Malaysia 5-1 to lift the title
at the Fifth Asian School Hockey Championship in
Bhopal at the Aishbagh Stadium yesterday. For India
Alishan Mohammad scored two goals and Pratap Lakra
successfully converted a penalty corner and a penalty
stroke in the goal. Maninder Singh scored the fifth goal.
Malaysia managed to score its single goal through Akhimullah Anuar Esook
April 14, 2017
Haryana launched Operation Durga to ensure women Safety
Similar to that of Uttar Pradeshs anti-romeo squad, the
Haryana government has launched Operation Durga to
ensure women safety in the state. Under this operation,
teams formed by the Chief Ministers Flying Squad
visited public places such as schools, colleges, bus stands
and railway stations and caught persons indulging in
crime activities against women like eve-teasing, stalking,
harassment and other such activities. Since women are hesitant in reporting incidents involving
anti-social elements to the Police, the campaign, Operation Durga was launched so that flying
squads patrol those areas where such anti-social elements committed crimes against women.
CPC of Income Tax Unit gets a separate Pin Code
The Department of Post has allotted a unique pin code
for the Income Tax Departments Central Processing
Centre (CPC) based in Bengaluru so as to ensure that
the letters and mails sent by taxpayers to the CPC are
not lost or reach the centre late. The new pin code given
to CPC is 560500. Earlier, the CPC was using the pin
code 560100 which was marked for the entire city area of Bengaluru. The new pin code will
cater exclusively to the CPC of the Income Tax department and will help in addressing the
grievances of the taxpayers with respect to the issues of non-reaching of postal mails.
Jharkhand Police Launches Tare Zameen Par programme for under privileged
children
Jharkhand Police has initiated Tare Zameen Par programme to enlighten children in Naxal-
affected areas in the Palamau district of Jharkhand.
This programme is aimed to restore confidence in the
state police force and to encourage children to lead
happy lives. As a part of the programme, the state
police appealed the locals to donate bags, shoes, books
and clothes to improve the basic amenities of the
children in the Naxal-affected areas.
President gives approval for four GST Bills
President Pranab Mukherjee has given assent to four
supporting legislations on Goods and Services Tax
(GST). The four legislations are: The Central GST
Act, 2017, The Integrated GST Act, 2017, The GST
(Compensation to States) Act, 2017, and The Union
Territory GST Act, 2017. The above bills were
passed in Rajya Sabha on April 6th and in Lok Sabha on 29 March. Now with the Presidents
assent, these bills will pave way for the roll-out of GST regime from 1 July.
India- Australia Sports Partnership Launched
India and Australia have launched India-Australia Sports
Partnership (IASP) with a vision of increasing
cooperation in sports. IASP was launched jointly by the
visiting Australian Prime Minister Mr Malcolm Turnbull
and the Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports Mr
Vijay Goel in the presence of Sachin Tendulkar. Under
IASP, India and Australia will cooperate in four areas: athlete and coach training and
development, sport science, sport governance and integrity, and grassroots participation. Under
the framework of the new partnership, Victoria University and the University of Canberra will
help India to establish a National Sports University similar to that of the Australian Institute of
Sport
Union Cabinet Approves Setting up of Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy at

Vishakhapatnam
The Union Cabinet has approved setting up of Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE)
at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh as Institute of
National Importance through an Act of Parliament.
The Institute will have the governance structure as
well as legal mandate to grant degrees in a manner
similar to that enjoyed by Indian Institutes of
Technologies (IITs). Key Facts The enactment of separate Act will impart the required status to
the IIPE to become a Centre of Excellence in petroleum and energy studies. The Cabinet also
approved Rs 655.46 crore as capital expenditure to set up IIPE and contribution of Rs 200 crore
towards its Endowment Fund (in addition to a contribution of Rs 200 crore from Oil
Companies). The objective of setting up IIPE is to meet the quantitative and qualitative gap in
the supply of skilled manpower for petroleum sector and promote research activities needed for
the growth of the sector. IIPEs academic and research activities will derive strength from
proximity to sector-related activities such as Visakhapatnam refinery, KG-Basin and the
planned Petrochemical complex at Kakinada.
Rolls- Royce and DRDO to tie up
India and the UK have agreed to cooperate on developing
advanced defence products such as high end gas turbine
engines and air defence missile systems and to cooperate on
some aspects of aircraft carrier technology. Collaboration is
under way between Rolls Royce and the DRDO on the
engine technology
Government sets up Inter-Disciplinary Committee to examine framework for

Virtual Currencies
The Union government has constituted a time-bound inter-disciplinary committee to come up
with an action plan for dealing with virtual currencies
so as to fix the regulatory gaps in the existing
framework governing virtual currencies. The
committee is required to submit its report within three
months. Need The circulation of virtual currencies, of
late, has become a cause of concern. With respect to the virtual currencies, Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) has also cautioned the users, holders and traders of Virtual currencies about the
potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks through
press releases in December 2013 and February 2017.
EPFO Subcribers to get Loyalty Benefits
Retirement fund body EPFO's subscribers will get loyalty-
cum-life benefit of up to 50 thousand rupees at the time of
retirement for contributing to the scheme for 20 years or
more. A report:
"The EPFO board has decided that the benefit will also be
provided in case of permanent disability even if the
members have contributed for less than 20 years. The board has recommended such benefits in
view of a huge corpus of over 18 thousand crore rupees in the fund. At present, the dependents
of the deceased get a sum assured of up to 6 lakh rupees. Currently, there is also no provision of
minimum insurance and any benefit for surviving members or in cases of permanent disability
under the scheme
RBI tightens norms on Bank performance
The RBI has come out with a revised prompt corrective
action (PCA) framework for Banks, spelling out certain
thresholds, the breach of which could invite resolutions such
as a merger with another Bank or even shutting down of the
Bank. The revised norms, effective from April 1, 2017 has set
out three thresholds. The breach of the third one on capital, would identify the Bank as a likely
candidate for resolution through tools like amalgamation, reconstruction, winding up etc. The
framework would be renewed at the end of three years
Post merger, SBIs profit to surge in 3 years time
The head of State Bank of India, the countrys largest
Bank expects a boost to annual profit of as much as 30
billion Rupees ($465 million) in three years on cost and
efficiency gains from the absorption of Associate Banks.
Exports Climb 27.6 % in March 2017
The countrys goods exports rose for the seventh consecutive
month, recording a 27.6 % year on year growth in March
2017 , to $29.2 billion, thanks to a low base as well as a robust
performance by major sectors including petroleum products,
engineering goods, gems and jewellery. This is the highest
monthly growth in the last five years in exports of merchandise
USA hits Afghanistan with the largest non nuclear bomb
The United States dropped a massive GBU-43 bomb,
the largest non nuclear bomb it has ever used in
combat, in eastern Afghanistan on 13th April 2017 on a
series of caves used by ISIS militants. Known as the
mother of all bombs, the GBU -43 is a 9,797 kg GPS
guided ammunition and was first tested in March 2013. On the 13th April , it was dropped from
an MC-130 aircraft in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, close to the Pakistan border.
Justice Gita Mittal appointed Acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court
Justice Gita Mittal, the senior-most judge of Delhi High Court,
has been appointed as the acting Chief justice of Delhi High
Court with effect from April 14. Her appointment comes at the
backdrop of the retirement of current Chief justice Gorla Rohini.
President of India has appointed Justice Mittal as the Chief
Justice by exercising his powers conferred by article 223 of the
Constitution of India
Ravi Venkatesan made Co Chairman of Infosys
Infosys has announced the appointment of its Independent
Director Mr Ravi Venkatesan as the Co Chairman of the Company.
Mr. Venkatesan, a former chairman of Microsoft India, has been a
Director on the Board of Infosys since April 2011.
April 15, 2017
PM launches BHIM Aadhar Platform
Prime Minister has launched BHIM-Aadhaar
platform from Nagpur. BHIM-Aadhaar platform is
the merchant interface of the BHIM App that has
been launched for making digital payments using
the Aadhaar platform. BHIM App was launched in
December 2016 to provide a one-stop solution for all
digital payments. The App created a new world record by registering 1.9 crore downloads
within four months since its launch. the newly launched BHIM-Aadhaar platform will help
people to pay digitally using their biometric data like thumb imprint on a merchants biometric
enabled device like a smart phone or a biometric reader. The App needs to be installed only by
merchants and they need to connect their smart phones to the biometric scan machine to accept
the payments from customers. The customers who want to pay using this app needs to link
Aadhaar number and biometric fingerprint to complete a transaction.
127th Birth Anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Celebrated
127th birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Dr. B.R.Ambedkar was
celebrated at the Parliament House complex. The President, Vice
President and Prime Minister paid floral tributes to the statue of
Ambedkar present in the Parliament House Lawns. The
celebrations were organized by Dr. Ambedkar Foundation,
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
Advertising Standards Council of India comes out with new guidelines for
endorsement by celebrities
Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has come up with a set of guidelines for
celebrities endorsing products. As per the guidelines,
celebrities are personalities from the field of entertainment
and sports and also includes other well known
personalities like doctors, authors, activists and
educationists who gets compensation for appearing in
advertisements. Salient guidelines: Celebrities must
exercise due diligence to make sure that all description
claims and comparisons made in the advertisements that
they endorse are not misleading and deceptive. It will be the duty of the advertiser and the
advertising agency to make sure that celebrities are aware about the ASCI guidelines. ASCI
have barred celebrities to endorse product/treatment/remedy that is prohibited under The
Drugs & Magic Remedies Act (Objectionable Advertisements) and the Drugs & Cosmetic Act.
Celebrities should not endorse those products which by law require a health warning on its
packaging or advertisement. Celebrities seeking the advice of ASCI to ascertain whether the
advertisement potentially violates any provision of the ASCI code or not would be considered
of having completed due diligence. Also, the advertising advice of ASCI cannot be construed as
pre-clearance for an advertisement.
Nepal and China to hold first ever joint military exercise
Nepal and China is all set to hold their first ever joint
military exercise named Sagarmatha Friendship-2017
from April 17 to April 26. The 10 day long joint exercise
will focus on combating terror and disaster management.
Although, Nepal conducts joint exercises with other
countries like India and United States, this is the first time
it is holding a joint exercise with China. The joint exercise comes at the backdrop of Nepals
proposal of such exercise having focus on disaster management during Chinese Defence
Minister, General Chang Wanquans official visit to Nepal on March 24. Sagarmatha is the
Nepali name for Mt Everest, which stands in between both the countries. Even though the
bilateral military engagement between Nepal and China does not violate India-Nepal treaty of
peace and friendship (1950), the exercise does appear unconventional as Nepal has conducted
exercises with India earlier. Nepal can have military exercises with other countries without
violating the pact with India, but at the same time, military engagement with China is
worrisome as Chinas definition of terrorism includes Tibetan agitators as well. The 1950 India-
Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship is a bilateral pact between the Government of Nepal and
Government of India inked at Kathmandu on July 31, 1950. The treaty permits free movement
of people and goods between the two countries and a close relationship and collaboration on
matters of defence and foreign affairs. The treaty has 10 articles and envisages for eternal peace
and friendship between the two nations.
MOAB explained in full
GBU-43, nicknamed as the Mother of All Bombs, has been
dropped by the United States over an ISIS complex in
Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border. The bomb was dropped
using a Lockheed MC-130 transport plane. GBU-43 is one of the
largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in the battlefield. The bomb
has been dropped to destroy a system of tunnels and caves used by the ISIS fighters to move
around freely making easier for them to target US military advisers and the Afghan forces. The
strike was carried out with MOAB to maximize the destruction suffered by the IS fighters and
their facilities as well as to minimize the risk for Afghan and US forces conducting cleaning
operations in the area.
Facts about MOAB The official name used by the US Air Force for GBU-43 is the Massive
Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB).MOAB weighs 9,797 kgs and is a GPS-guided munitions.
MOAB is about 20 feet long and is capable of burrowing through 200 feet of earth and 60 feet of
concrete before detonating. According to Pentagon, MOAB is the largest non-nuclear bomb that
has ever been used in the combat. MOAB was first tested in March 2003 at the time of US led
invasion of Iraq. The test resulted in a huge mushroom cloud that could be seen as far away
from 32 km. MOAB, however, is not the largest bomb ever made. Russia in 2007 tested
Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power, nicknamed as the Father of All Bombs. It is
estimated to be 4 times more powerful than MOAB.
Russia, Syria and Iran warn US against launching new strikes on Syria
Russia, Syria and Iran have strongly warned the
United States against launching new strikes on Syria.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, along with
his Iranian and Syrian counterparts, at a trilateral
meeting in Moscow today denounced last week's
U.S. attack on Syria. They warned that any further
such action would entail grave consequences not only for regional but global security.
IT Department Launches II Phase of Operation Clean Money
The Income Tax department has launched the
second phase of the Operation Clean Money to
investigate over 60,000 individuals with an aim
to detect black money generation post
demonetisation. The Central Board of Direct
Taxes (CBDT), the policy-making body of the income tax department has detected flow of black
money into the banks amounting to over Rs 9,334 crore between November 9, 2016 and
February 28 this year. Under the second phase of Operation Clean Money, more than 60,000
persons including 1,300 high risk persons has been identified for detailed investigation. The
department has deducted more than 6,000 transactions of high value property purchase and
6,600 cases of outward remittances.
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana crosses loan targets
Loans disbursed under the Pradhan Mantri
Mudra Yojana (PMMY) have crossed its
target of Rs 1.8 lakh crore in the financial
year 2016-17. Loans extended currently
stands at Rs 1.80,087 crore. Of this, a majority
of the loans were awarded by banks (Rs 1.23
lakh crore). Non-banking financial institutions have lent about Rs 57,000 crore. In this years
budget, Rs 2.44 lakh crore has been set as a target for Mudra loans for the financial year 2017-18.
World Bank sanctions $375 million for Indias first water way project
The World Bank has sanctioned an
amount of $375 million for Indias first
Water Way Project I. Under this Project,
a navigable stretch of 1360 km on River
Ganga from Varanasi in UP to Haldia
in West Bengal. The loan has a maturity period of 17 years and a grace period of 7 years
Good Friday Observed on 14th April 2017
Good Friday was observed today by Christians all over the
globe to mark the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is also
referred to as Holy Friday or Easter Friday. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi remembered the service and sacrifice of
Jesus Christ. In a tweet, Mr Modi said, Jesus Christ life was
devoted to mitigating human suffering.
New Year Celebrated in Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala
New Year is being celebrated in various parts of the
country today. In Assam, the day is celebrated as
Rongali Bihu. The festival is also known as the
'Bohag Bihu' as it marks the beginning of the
Assamese month-Bohag. In Kerala, devotees throng
Krishna temples for pre-dawn auspicious Vishukani
Darshan on Vishu. The Tamil New year or Puthandu
is also being celebrated today with traditional fervor and gaiety in the state. Tamil New Year is
celebrated on the first of Chithirai Month. On the occasion of Maha Vishuba Sankranti all
temples across Odisha are witnessing beelines of devotees since early morning to have a
darshan of the deities at the beginning of the Odia New Year.
Pankaj Advani Wins his Sixth Asian Billiards Title
Sixteen-time world champion Pankaj Advani today
won his sixth Asian Billiards title and seventh
overall Asian championship. The ace cueist
defeated his compatriot Sourav Kothari 6-3 in an
entertaining final of the Asian Billiards
Championship in Chandigarh.
April 16, 2017
70th Himachal Day celebrated across Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh celebrated 70th Himachal Day
function in Chamba. Himachal Pradesh came into
existence by merging 30 odd princely states in 1948.
According to a 2005 Transparency International survey,
Himachal Pradesh was found to be the second least
corrupt state in the country.
Uttar Pradesh signs Power for All agreement with Union government
The Uttar Pradesh government has signed Power for
All pact with the Centre to provide 247 power supply
to all the households in the State. With this signing of the
agreement, Uttar Pradesh which was the only state in the
country which did not join the central government
scheme has finally joined in it. The previous government
in the state did not show interest in joining the Power for All initiative of the central
government. As a part of energy efficiency measures, 10,000 energy efficiency solar- panel
pumps will be distributed through Centres undertaking, Energy Efficiency Services (EESL). In
addition, it has been agreed to distribute energy efficient bulbs, tube lights and fans at cheaper
rates. Separately, the state government has also launched 1912 as the toll-free helpline for the
consumers in rural areas to communicate their grievances pertaining to power and electricity
Punjab Government prohibits VIP names on Plaques and Foundation Stones
Punjab government has prohibited the inclusion of names
of the government functionaries, including ministers and
MLAs, on foundation stones and inaugural plaques so as
to build a stronger connect with the people by shedding
the VIP culture. The state government has clarified that
though there is no bar on government functionaries and leaders attending or laying the
foundation stone of any project, the practice of inscribing their names on foundation stones or
plaques would be discarded with immediate effect. Further, the order has clarified that
henceforth all projects and programmes, including those inaugurated by the CM, would be
dedicated to the people of Punjab
Supreme Court asks Centre to conduct NEET in Urudu
The Supreme Court has asked the Central Government
to conduct the NEET exmas in Urudu as well from
2018-19. The students who aspire to join Medical
Courses like MBBS, BDS etc are required to write the
NEET exams
North Korea warns US of a nuclear attack in case of provocative action in the

region.
North Korea paraded its intercontinental ballistic missiles in a massive military display in
central Pyongyang today. The parade, the annual highlight of
North Korea's most important holiday, came amid growing
international worries that North Korea may be preparing for
its sixth nuclear test or a major missile launch, such as its first
flight test of an ICBM capable of reaching US shores. The
parade celebrates the birthday of the late grandfather Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founding
ruler. Earlier, North Korea warned the US not to take provocative action in the region, saying it
is ready to hit back with nuclear attacks.
PM launches cashless/less cash township models across 12 states
Prime Minister has launched 81 cashless/less cash
townships across 12 states in Nagpur. The 81 townships
included 56 in Gujarat and 25 in 11 states including
Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Bihar and Chhatisgarh. The model of
cashless/less cash township was developed by Gujarat
Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd (GNFC) across these States under the auspices of
National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. GNFCs township at Bharuch
(Gujarat) had become Indias first 100% cashless township after demonetization. It is expected
that these 81 townships will deliver 2.5 lakh cashless transactions per day, translating into 9
crore cashless transactions in a year. Cashless townships The townships for adopting GNFCs
model were selected based on a third-party assessment by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC).
The chosen 81 townships belonged to that of central public sector companies such as ONGC,
Indian Oil, NTPC, SAIL, BHEL, NMDC, CRPF, BSF and Police Lines and also to private sector
townships like Reliance, Essar, Adani, Birla Aditya, Welspun etc.
GRASIM gets nod to increase foreign stake
The major company in the Aditya Birla Group , Grasim
Industries has received the approval for raising the stakes of
foreign investors from 30% to 49 %. Foreign Institutional
Investors can raise their Investments from 30% to 49% of the
Paid Up Capital of Grasim Industries. FIIs, NROs and PIOs
can invest in the company through the Secondary Market
Hacked : $171 million stolen from Union Bank of India recovered
Details are just emerging of the biggest hack of $171
million in July 2016 which necessitated a seven
country hunt that had to be spearheaded at the top
levels of the government to reverse the theft.
Chairman of Union Bank of India Arun Tiwari as
well as Indias cyber security chief Dr Gulshan Rai worked in record time with RBI , bank
authorities and government agencies and succeeded in blocking of the funds and credited the
entire amount stolen in a record time of just six days. Investigations have been carried out by
different agencies and whatever was suggested to improve security has been implemented,
according to Mr Tiwari.
Saturns moon Enceladus may be habitable: NASA
NASA has announced that Saturns sixth-largest
moon Enceladus and Jupiters fourth-largest moon
Europa may be habitable as they have the necessary
ingredients required to sustain life. The key
ingredients of life are liquid water, a source of energy
for metabolism, and chemicals such as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and
sulphur. Findings were made by NASA with the help of Cassini-Huygens unmanned spacecraft
and the Hubble Telescope. Cassini-Huygens unmanned spacecraft was sent in 1997 to study
Saturn, its rings, and its moon. Salient findings: Saturns moon Enceladus has a higher
possibility of hosting life than Jupiters Europa as it has a form of chemical energy on which life
forms can feed. Enceladus is a small, icy moon which has an abundance of hydrogen molecules
in water plumes. 98% of the gas in the plumes was found to be water and 1% is hydrogen and
the remaining is a mixture of molecules of carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia.
Scientists find second Great Spot on Jupiter
Scientists have found second Great Spot in Jupiter which is
cold and high up. The Great Spot was found to be 24,000 km
across and 12,000 km wide. It is found to be in the upper
atmosphere and is much cooler than the hot surroundings.
Unlike the Great Red Spot which was identified in 1830, this
newly discovered Great Spot is continuously changing its
shape and size. The Great Cold Spot is believed to be caused
by magnetic forces responsible for Jupiters polar auroras. This phenomenon drives energy into
the atmosphere and creates a region of cooling in the boundary layer between the underlying
atmosphere and the vacuum of space. The Great Spot was discovered by a British-led team
using a telescope in the Southern Observatory in northern Chile. It was found to be much more
volatile than the slowly changing Great Red Spot and found to be thousands of years old.
Scientists have planned to study the Great Cold Spot using ground telescopes and NASAs Juno
spacecraft that is orbiting around Jupiter. The study has been published in Geophysical
Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.
ISRO to share technology for manufacturing of Lithium-ion batteries for

production of electric vehicles
The government has directed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to share battery
technology for mass production of Lithium-Ion
batteries for electric vehicles. The Vikram
Sarabhai Space Centre under ISRO has
developed indigenous technology to
manufacture high-power batteries for use in
two- and three-wheelers and their feasibility
tests conducted by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) was found to be
successful. This development is expected to push Indias electric vehicles (EV) industry. It has
been reported that many major automobile companies, battery manufacturers and public sector
undertakings like Indian Oil, BHEL, Mahindra Renault, Hyundai, Nissan, Tata Motors, High
Energy Batteries have approached ISRO for transfer of the battery technology so that it will
enable them to produce indigenous Lithium-Ion batteries.
Seabed Resident Event Profiler (SREP) robot developed by NIO
Scientists at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography
(NIO) have developed a robotic platform, Seabed
Resident Event Profiler (SREP) that is capable of being
stationed at any water depth from 0-200 metres to track
the oceanic processes. The robot has been designed to
regularly record the water column information at every
10 to 25 cm during every profile four times a day. The robot was tested during the recent
voyage of RV Sindhu Sadhana, the latest state of the art research vessel of NIO.
K Srikanth to face Sai Praneeth in all-India final of Singapore Superseries

Badminton
It will be all-Indian final in the Singapore Super Series badminton tournament. Indian shuttlers
B Sai Praneeth and K Srikanth both entered the
final of this tournament. Praneeth defeated
three-time South Korea Masters Grand Prix
Gold winner Lee 21-6, 21-8 in a lop-sided
semifinal. In another semi final match, Srikanth
defeated Indonesia's Anthony Ginthing 21-13,
21-14.
April 17, 2017
Depression in Bay of Bengal named Tropical Cyclone Maarutha
A deep depression in Bay of Bengal has intensified
into a tropical cyclone named Maarutha. This
cyclone is expected to hit Myanmar on 17 April 2017
and bring heavy rains in parts of that country.
Tropical Cyclone Maarutha is the first named storm
of 2017 Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclone
season.
Telangana passes bill to increase quota for backward Muslim communities to 12

from 4 percent; for STs to 10 percent from 6
Telangana Legislative Assembly and the Council today
passed the new Reservations Bill, 2017. The Bill
proposed to increase the BC-E quota to 12 % from the
present 4% where as it proposed increase quota for STs
to 10 per cent from the current 6 %. Replying to the
debate over the bill in the Assembly, Chief Minister
Chandrasekhar Rao exuded confidence that the Centre will approve the bill. He categorically
said, the hike is not proposed based on religion but only on backwardness of some Muslim
Communities and also Tribals based on their population and recommendations of various
commissions. He further said, the state government is ready to move the Supreme Court if the
Centre does not approve.The BJP supported increasing quota of STs but vehemently opposed
hike in BC-E reservations accusing that it is based on religion.
Supreme Court collegium recommends to the Centre, 51 names for appointment

as judges in 10 high courts
The Supreme Court collegium has recommended 51 names for appointment as judges in 10
high courts in the country. The collegium headed by
Chief Justice of India J S Khehar cleared the names after
finalising the memorandum of procedure for the
appointment of judges. The 51 names were cleared by
the collegium from a list of 90 names received from the various high court collegiums. Of the 51,
twenty are judicial officers and 31 are advocates. The collegium has recommended the names
for the high courts of Bombay, Punjab and Haryana, Patna, Hyderabad (for the states of
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh), Delhi and Chhattisgarh.
Maharashtra government to give seeds, fertilizers and pesticides free of cost to

small and marginal farmers
The Maharashtra government is planning to supply seeds, fertilisers and pesticides free of cost
to small and marginal farmers to reduce their losses.
Talking to reporters in Mumbai yesterday,
Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil said,
the idea is to keep production cost minimal so that
farmers do not feel the heat when market rates are
down.
Bhopal to get Indias first Private Railway Station
For the first time in India, Habibganj station in Bhopal
has been handed over to a private firm to run the station.
The station is being built like airport terminals, but the
trains at the station will continue to be run by the Indian
Railways only.
North Korea carried out a missile test over the weekend, but it was a failure
South Korea's Defence Ministry said this in a statement
adding that it is analysing the test for further details. US
Defence Department also confirmed the test and said,
the missile blew up almost immediately. The failed
launch took place near a submarine base in Sinpo in
South Hamgyong Province on the east coast of the country. It came a day after North Korea
showcased nearly 60 missiles - including what is suspected to be a new intercontinental ballistic
missile - at a military parade to mark the 105th birthday of its founder Kim Il-Sung. The attempt
was reportedly not an intercontinental ballistic missile that US President Donald Trump warned
would not be allowed to happen. The test occurred as a US naval strike force moves into the
region in a show of force.
In Syria, at least 100 people killed after a deadly explosion hits buses carrying
civilians evacuated from two- besieged towns
In International News, In Syria, at least 100 people were killed in a deadly explosion which
targeted buses carrying civilians evacuated from two
besieged government-held towns. The explosion hit at an
evacuation point in the al-Rashideen area near Aleppo
where dozens of buses were parked for over 30 hours as
the population transfer deal got stalled. The blast
targeted residents who were evacuated from the rebel-
besieged towns of Fouaa and Kefraya in Idlib province under a deal reached between the Syrian
government and rebels. State TV al-Ikhbariya said the attack was the result of a car bomb
carrying food aid to be delivered to the evacuees in the rebel-held area. No one has claimed
responsibility for the attack. The stalled population transfer has been resumed after the
explosion.
CBI to get new online system to deal with black money cases
CBI will get a new online system to assist it in probing cases
of illegal wealth or black money. It will be helpful in collating
data from various agencies including banks, Income Tax
department and Financial Intelligence Unit among others.
The move comes after a multi-disciplinary committee formed
by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) suggested
changes in the existing system. CVC exercises superintendence over the CBI in investigation of
corruption cases. CVC felt the need to improve the system for computation of disproportionate
assets, including development of a software to capture all the events related to income and
expenditure during the check period. CVC also observed that in the present system, data
availability with banks, FIU, taxation departments, etc are not being mandatorily obtained and
utilised for computation of disproportionate assets.
In Badminton; B Sai Praneeth lifts his maiden Super Series title in Singapore;
beats compatriot K Srikanth in Final
In Badminton, in the Men's Singles event, B Sai
Praneeth today lifted his first superseries title, as he
battled past compatriot Kidambi Srikanth to win the
Singapore Open. Praneeth returned in the match after
losing first game 17-21 as he won the last two games
21-17, 21-12.
Easter celebrated with religious fervor by Christians around the world
Easter was celebrated on 16th April 2017 with
religious fervor by Christians across the globe. It
signifies the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his
crucifixion and death at Calvary on Good Friday.
Easter is also being celebrated in different parts of
India. In Tamil Nadu, special mass is being held in
churches at Velankanni, Tiruchirapalli, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil and Thoothukudi on the occasion
Last known survivor of 19th Century is dead
Emma Marano of Italy, the oldest living person of the 19th
Century , died on 16th April 2017 at the age of 117. She was
born on 29th March 1899 in Italy. She lived through two
World Wars, the Great Depression, 10 pontiffs and 90
separate Italian Governments.
Internet Pioneer Robert Taylor Passes Away
Robert Taylor, a pioneer of Modern Computing and the
Internet has passed away at the age of 85. Rob Taylor
was instrumental in creating the internet and the modern
personal computer. Taylors engineering team was also
responsible for the development of Ethernet and a word
processing program, Microsoft Word. Taylor worked
with Pentagons Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in 1966 and was instrumental in
creating a single computer network to link ARPA-sponsored researchers at companies and
institutions. That shared network, ARPANET has evolved into the internet. Taylor also worked
at Xeroxs famous Palo Alto Research Center, or Parc, where he and his team created the Alto, a
pioneering personal computer. This technology was the inspiration for Microsofts Windows
software and the Apple computers. Taylor was awarded the National Medal of Technology and
Innovation in 1999. He was also awarded the Draper prize from the National Academy of
Engineering for the development of the first practical networked personal computers in 2004.
April 18, 2017
Government launches programme for capacity building of Elected Women

Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayats
The Ministry of Women and Child Development in collaboration with the Ministry of
Panchayati Raj has launched a nationwide programme
for capacity building of Elected Women
Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayats and a training
program for Trainers of women panchayat leaders at
Ranchi, Jharkhand. The Ministry of Women and Child
Development has launched the programme
representatives at the grassroots level in various fields like engineering (building of roads,
drains, latrines etc.), finance, social development, education, health, and environment among
others. In the first phase of the training, 40 master trainers of Jharkhand will be trained at the
State institute of Rural Development, Ranchi. In the second phase, around 3000 Elected Women
Representatives (EWRs) will be imparted training by the master trainers at the districts of
Simdega, Pakur and Chatra of Jharkhand. In subsequent phases, similar training modules will
be organised in different states throughout the country with the help of National Institute of
Rural Development, State Institutes of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Departments of
the States. At present, there are around 13 lakhs EWRs in panchayats throughout the country.
IIT Kharagpur plans to introduce Vastu Shashtra
IIT Kharagpur plans to introduce Vastu Shashtra to
the architecture students from this year August.
While the rudiments of Vastu Shastra will be
introduced to the first and second-year
undergraduate architecture students, detailed
grounding on the subject will be imparted to the post graduate and research scholars in
infrastructure. For the UG students, graded modules related to basic design and history of
architecture will be taught. For the PG level, modules imparting solar principles, sacred
diagrams, 9 circuit placements or the nabagraha mandal, sacred altars and design semiotics and
semantics will be taught.
Telengana increases quota for Muslims
The Telangana legislature has passed the Telangana
Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled
Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational
Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the
Services under the State) Bill, 2017, that seeks to
raise substantially the reservation for backward Muslims and scheduled tribes. The new
legislation will increase the reservation for socially and educationally backward Muslims from
the existing 4% to 12% and for Scheduled Tribes from 6% to 10% taking the total quotas in
government jobs and educational institutions in the state much beyond the 50 % ceiling set by
the Supreme Court. The total quota in the state will now increase to 62%.
INS Chennai dedicated to the Nation
The Indian Navys guided missile destroyer INS Chennai
was dedicated today to the city whose name it bears. It
was dedicated in accordance with the tradition of the
Navy at a function on-board the ship by Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister E K Palaniswamy. In his address, he asked
for ensuring safety of the state fishermen mid-sea so that
they could carry on with their traditional occupation peacefully.
Vistadome Coaches Flagged off
The trial run of the glass roofed coaches of the
Vistadome Coaches were flagged off in the Araku
Express from Vishakapatnam and Arakku on the
16th April 2017, by the Railway Minister Mr Suresh
Prabhu. The coaches are designed for wide view for
the passengers. Each coach costs Rs 1 crore to manufacture. It is equipped with LED lights,
rotatable seats and GPS System. The coaches include infotainment system, lounge, wide side
doors for the physically disabled and automatic sliding compartment door. The feature of the
coach is that it has got a electronically controlled opalescence that will give the passengers a
panoramic view of the scenery.
World Bank Expects Indias GDP to grow at 7.2%
In a new World Bank report titled Globalization
Backlash, the agency expects Indias gross domestic
product to spike to 7.2% in the financial year 2017-18
from 6.8% the previous fiscal. It has also forecasted
that the fiscal, inflation and external conditions in the
country to remain stable and Indias economic growth to rise gradually to 7.7% in 2019-20,
underpinned by a recovery in private investments. The agency has stated that despite
renewed weakness in private investment and sluggish external demand, India continued to
grow robustly until demonetisation slowed the growth, albeit modestly. It expects that
inflation would stabilise with the support of favourable investment climate and structural
reforms. The agency, however, has warned India against significant risks to its favourable
growth outlook. Among them, it has underlined uncertainties in the external environment, not-
so clear picture of the impact of demonetisation on small and informal firms, obstacles to
private investment and rapid hikes in the prices of oil and other commodities.
Supreme Court directs sale of Sahara Group's 34-thousand crore Aamby Valley
properties at Lonavala.
The Supreme Court today asked Bombay High Court's
official liquidator to sell the 34,000 crore rupees worth of
properties of the Aamby Valley owned by the Sahara
Group. It directed Sahara chief Subrata Roy to personally
appear before the court on 28th of this month. Taking
strong note of non-submission of over 5,000 crore rupees
by the Sahara group, the apex court also cautioned Roy from playing with the court's order. It
said, non-compliance of its order will invite the wrath of the law.
Wholesale inflation falls to 5.7 percent in March from 6.5 percent in the previous
month
Inflation, based on the wholesale price index, slipped to 5.7 per cent in March this year.
Wholesale Inflation fell as inflation in manufactured
goods eased, although food prices hardened. Wholesale
inflation, or WPI had stood at 6.55 per cent in February,
and at minus 0.45 per cent in March last year. According
to official data released today, food inflation rose to 3.12
per cent in March, from 2.69 per cent in February. This was mainly due to wholesale inflation in
vegetables climbing to 5.7 per cent. But fuel inflation declined to 18.16 per cent in March, from
21.02 per cent in February. Wholesale inflation in manufactured items dropped to 2.99 per cent
in March, from 3.66 per cent in February.
Turkey Referendum: President Erdogan wins sweeping powers
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the
referendum on granting him sweeping new powers by a
clear majority. The Yes vote garnered by Erdogan was
51.36% and No was 48.64%. while the supporters of
Erdogan has hailed the results, the two main opposition
parties have challenged the results.
US Vice-President Mike Pence says, America's era of strategic patience with

North Korea is over
US Vice-President Mike Pence has said, America's era of strategic patience with North Korea is
over. He made the remarks at a demilitarised zone,
the area dividing the two Koreas, during a visit to
South Korea to reaffirm ties. His visit comes amid
escalated tensions on the peninsula, with heated
rhetoric from both North Korea and the US. Mr Pence
reached Seoul on 17th April 2017, hours after North
Korea carried out a failed missile launch. US and South Korea today launched a joint air force
military exercise to ensure readiness against North Korea. Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe has urged North Korea to comply with UN resolutions and abandon its nuclear and
missile development. Addressing Parliament, Mr Abe said he would exchange views on North
Korea with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a summit meeting later this month.
Hanchinal Receives 6th M.S.Swaminathan Award
The Chairperson of the Plants Varieties and Farmers Rights
Authority, Rayapa Ramappa Hanchinal has won the prestigious
6th M.S. Swaminathan Award for his outstanding contribution to
the field of Agriculture, especially seed production technology.
Gayathri Gopichand wins singles and doubles crown at Pembangunan Jaya Raya
Junior Grand Prix
Gayatri Gopichand, daughter of National Badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, has bagged both
the singles and doubles crown at the Pembangunan Jaya Raya
Junior Grand Prix in Jakarta. Gayatri defeated her doubles
partner Samiya Farooqui to win the girls U-15 singles title.
Gayatri and Samiya defeated Indonesian pair of Kelly Larissa
and Shelandry Vyola to clinch the U-15 doubles title with a
straight game win. Both Gayatri and Samiya train under
Pullela Gopichand at his academy in Hyderabad.
April 19, 2017
Disabled persons granted exemption from standing during National Anthem in

movie halls
The Supreme Court has granted an exemption to six categories of disabled people from
standing when the national anthem is played before the screening of a film in theatres. The six
categories include people suffering from cerebral palsy, Parkinson disease, muscular dystrophy
and other categories of disability. The order comes at the backdrop of reported incidents of
people with disabilities facing the wrath of people trying to enforce patriotism during the
national anthem. In addition, the Court has also issued notice to the union government on the
plea seeking Vande Mataram to be made mandatory in schools. The Centre should file its reply
in a four weeks time on the plea. The reply should also ascertain the feasibility of singing the
national anthem and the national song in Parliament, assemblies, courts, schools and colleges
on working days.
Loan defaulter Vijay Mallya gets bail after being arrested in London by Scotland
Yard
Indian businessman Vijay Mallya, who has been declared a proclaimed offender, was today
granted bail three hours after being arrested by
Scotland Yard in London on India's request for his
extradition. He appeared before Westminster
Magistrates' Court in London which granted bail to
him. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said, Mallya
was arrested on an extradition warrant. The 61-year-
old liquor businessman is wanted in India for defaulting on loans. Mallya, whose now-defunct
Kingfisher Airlines owes more than 9,000 crore rupees to various banks, had fled India on
March 2, 2016. In January, an Indian court ordered a consortium of lenders to start the process
of recovering the loans. Responding to a query regarding Vijay Mallya, MEA Spokesperson
Gopal Baglay said, Mallya's arrest in London today was in connection with the request by India
to UK authorities for his extradition. He said, legal process in this regard is underway in the UK
and both governments are in touch in this context. The Government today asserted that it will
bring the fugitive businessman back to India and legal procedure will be followed.
Hindi made compulsory in CBSE Schools and Kendriya Vidyalaya
President Pranab Mukherjee has given his nod to
recommendations of a Parliamentary panel about making
Hindi compulsory in schools. With this students of schools
affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education
(CBSE) and Kendriya Vidyalayas may have to
compulsorily study Hindi till class X. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD)
has also been instructed to form a policy in consultation with the state governments to make the
language compulsory.
SBI overtakes ONGC as the most valued PSU Stock
State Bank of India (SBI) surpassed ONGC to become the
most valuable Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) in terms of
market valuation. SBIs Market Capitalisation was Rs
239,808 cr while ONGCs Market Capitalisaiton was Rs
236,003 Cr.
PNB Launches New Products for Customers on its Foundation Day
Punjab National Bank has launched three new
products for its customers on its 123rd Foundation
Day. The products were launched on 18th April 2017
by Ms Usha Anantha subramanian, the Banks MD and
CEO. The three products are : 1) Automated electronic
toll collection to facilitate hassle free toll collection 2) A
Creidt Card Mobile App and 3) A scheme for financing Grid Connected Roof Solar Power
Project
Australia abolishes 457 Visa Programme largely used by Indians
Australia has abolished the 457 Visa Programme used by
thousands of temporary foreign workers, a majority of them
Indians to address growing unemployment in that country.
Instead, Australia wants to adopt Australians first
approach to skilled migration. Since access to the skills is
important for the growth and investment of that countrys
businesses, it intends to replace the 457 visa programme by another visa programme, with new
restrictions. The new temporary visa will be designed in such a way it will help in recruiting the
best and brightest to fill critical skill gaps in the interest of that nation. The new visa will ensure
that foreign workers are not brought into Australia just because it is easy for the employers to
recruit a foreign worker than go to the trouble of hiring an Australian. There are about 95,757
workers in Australia on primary 457 visa programme. Worryingly, the majority of the visa
holders are from India followed by the UK and China. This announcement has come days after
Prime Minister Turnbull visited India where a range of issues, including national security,
counter-terrorism, education and energy, were discussed. Totally, six agreements were signed
during his visit.
UK Prime Minister calls for Early Elections in June 2017
UK Prime Minister Theresa May today called for an early
general election on June 8, saying it is the only way to
guarantee political stability for years ahead after Britain leaves
the European Union. Explaining the decision, Ms May
indicated that the move will help unite the political corridors of
the country.
US President Donald Trump signs an executive order to tighten H-1B visa

programme for highly skilled foreign workers
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to tighten the rules for technology
companies seeking to bring highly skilled foreign
workers to the United States. The order signed by
Mr Trump yesterday targets the H-1B visa
programme. The White House said the
programme undercuts American workers by
bringing in large numbers of cheaper foreign
workers, which drives down US wages. The order
directs US agencies to propose rules to prevent immigration fraud and abuse in the programme.
Agencies have also been asked to suggest changes so that the H-1B visas are granted to the
most-skilled or highest-paid applicants. Mr Trump said the order sends a powerful signal to the
world that the United States will defend its workers, to protect their jobs and put America first.
BRABO: First Made in India Industrial Robot
TAL Manufacturing Solutions, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Tata Motors has unveiled Indias first
conceptualized, designed and manufactured articulated
industrial robot called BRABO. BRABO stands for
Bravo Robot. The robot has been developed
indigenously for micro, small and medium enterprises
(MSME) in India. The robot is primarily developed to complement the human workforce and
repeatedly perform high volume, dangerous and time-consuming tasks ranging from handling
of raw materials to packaging of finished products. BRABO was designed and manufactured at
the TALs Pune factory. Other than the motors and drives for the Robo-arm, all the other parts
of the robot were indigenously manufactured in India. BRABO has four patents registered in its
name and TAL has also applied for an intellectual property (IP) certification for the robot.
Sagar Baheti: Indias first visually impaired athlete to complete Boston Marathon
Sagar Baheti has become the first visually impaired Indian
runner to complete the historic Boston Marathon. Bengaluru-
based 31 years old Baheti completed a distance of 42.16 km
distance in just over four hours. Supported by the
Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually
Impaired (MABVI), Baheti finished the 121st Boston
Marathon as one of 30,000 runners. The 2017 Boston Marathon has been recorded as the second
hottest marathon in a decade. Baheti, a businessman by profession was diagnosed with
Stargardts disease, a type of macular degeneration that eventually leads to blindness, in 2013.
With his participation in the marathon, Baheti expects to raise $10,000 for MABVI, an
organization that supports visually impaired persons by providing advanced low-vision
devices. Boston Marathon Historic Boston Marathon is the worlds oldest, most competitive and
the hardest marathon to qualify for. It is an annual event hosted in several cities in greater
Boston, United States. It is always held on the third Monday of April. It is one of the six
Marathon Majors held throughout the world.
Gururaja Bhat Award given to Prof. Narasimha Murthy
Dr. Paduru Gururaja Bhat Award 2017 has been conferred
upon Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, Chairman, Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan (BVB), Mysuru and former Head, Department of
Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore.
Murthy was selected for the award in consideration of his
contribution to Indian Archaeology, Ancient History and Numismatics. The award was
presented to Murthy by the Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation D.V.
Sadananda Gowda.
World Heritage Day observed on 18th April with the theme Sustainable Tourism
World Heritage Day is being obsereved today with
the theme sustainable tourism. The day aims to
spread awareness of the importance of protecting
and preserving various sites around the world that
have achieved world heritage status. Urban
Development minister M Venkaiah Naidu said that it's our duty to protect and preserve India's
rich wealth of heritage. "The World Heritage sites are officially recognised by the UN and the
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO. These sites are
classified as a natural or man-made structure that has international importances and hold
cultural and physical significance. There are total 1,052 heritage sites in all over the World. In
India, there are 35 World Heritage Sites including the very famous Taj Mahal in Agra, Nalanda
University, Mahabodhi Temple in Bihar and Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh.
April 20, 2017
Union Cabinet approves policy guidelines to allow state entities to directly

borrow bilateral loans
The Union Cabinet has approved the policy guidelines to permit financially sound State
Government entities to borrow directly from
bilateral ODA (Official development Assistance)
partners for the purpose of implementing vital
infrastructure projects. The approval is subject to
fulfilment of certain conditions and all
repayments of loans and interests to the funding
agencies. As a corollary to the new decision, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development
Authority (MMRDA) has been permitted to borrow directly from Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan for implementation of
Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) project.
Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura chosen for Krishi Karman Awards,
2015-16
The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has selected Tamil Nadu, Himachal
Pradesh and Tripura for the Krishi Karman awards for
their record performance in the production of food
grains during 2015-16. Apart from these states,
Meghalaya would get commendation prize for total food
grain production and would be given a cash award of Rs 1 crore. Tamil Nadu has been chosen
in large category (production more than 10 million tonnes), Himachal Pradesh in medium
category (1 to 10 million tonnes) and Tripura in small category (less than 1 million tonnes)
Union Cabinet decides to ban use of red beacon by VIPs from May 1
The Union Cabinet has put a ban on the use of red
beacons atop cars of VIPs. Only three categories were
exempted from the ban. They are the President, Vice-
President and Chief Justice of India. The exemption
also applies to the emergency service vehicles.
Accordingly, fire brigade, ambulance services, police
vehicles and other emergency services will be allowed to use the blue beacon. The decision will
come into force from May 1, 2017. In effect, the ban is applicable to the prime minister, union
ministers, chief ministers, state cabinet ministers, bureaucrats and judges of the High Court and
Supreme Court. The decision was taken to end VIP culture.
Union Cabinet clears Election Commissions proposal to buy VVPAT machines
The Union Cabinet has cleared the Election
Commissions proposal to buy new Voter Verifiable
Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines. The machines
are expected to be used in the 2019 General Elections.
The Union Cabinet has permitted the Election
Commission (EC) to procure 16,15,000 units, at an
estimated base price of Rs. 3,173.47 crore. So far, EC has sent at least 11 reminders to the Centre
seeking funds for procuring VVPAT machines. The Centre has chosen Bengaluru-based Bharat
Electronics Ltd (BEL) and Hyderabad-based Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) to
manufacture the VVPAT units. The government has also directed the Price Negotiation
Committee to negotiate the final unit price. It is expected that the two PSUs will need at least 30
months to produce over 16 lakh VVPATs.
Current Data on Indias steel import and export
According to Joint Plant Committees annual
report on steel sector for the time period 2016-17,
Indias import of total finished steel declined 36 %
to 7.4 million tonnes (MT). At the same time, steel
exports increased 102% to reach 8.2 million tonnes
(MT) in the said time period. The country also
fared well in terms of production as well. The
production of crude steel was 97.385 MT during April-March 2016-17, which is 8.5% increase
over the previous year steel production.
Global economy to grow 3.5% in 2017: IMF
The IMF has predicted that the global economy would grow
at 3.5% in 2017, up from 3.1 % last year, and 3.6% in 2018.
This years projection of IMF is marginally higher than what
was stated in their last update. The improvement in this
years projection springs up from good economic news in
Europe and Asia, notably from China and Japan. As per IMF, momentum in the global economy
has been building up since the middle of the last year making it reaffirm its previous forecasts
of higher growth for this year and next year. However, it has warned that despite these signs of
strength, many countries are likely to continue to struggle this year as well. IMF has warned
that weather conditions and civil unrest would threaten the low-income countries with mass
starvation. Particularly, in Sub-Saharan Africa, IMF expects the income levels to fall slightly.
Further, commodity exporters in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America are likely to
struggle with low levels of commodity prices since early 2016.
India Ranks Eighth in Global FDI Confidence Index
India has moved from the 9th to the 8th place in the
Global FDI Confidence Index for investors. The list
continues to be headed by the USA, with Germany and
China rounding off the top three. This report was
published by the A.T.Kearney Foreign Direct Investors
Confidence Index. Governance and regulatory issue s
weighed heavily in the investors minds before taking investment decisions. Indias focus on
transparency and ease of doing business have made India quite a popular choice for the Foreign
Direct Investors. Among the emerging economies, China and India are the top two performers.
Chris Gayle becomes first batsman to score 10000 T 20 runs
West Indian batting legend Chris Gayle became the first
batsman to score 10000 runs in the T 20 format. He reached
this landmark while playing for Royal Challengers
Bengaluru against Gujarat Lions in the IPL 2017 on 18th
April 2017. The second highest scorer is Brendon Mccullum
of New Zeeland, with 7596 runs. Gayle has also hit an
amazing 743 sixes in his T 20 career so far and he is far from being finished.
April 21, 2017
ISRO to test launch GSLV-Mk III-D1 in May 2017
ISRO is all set to undertake the first developmental flight of a
game-changer rocket (launching vehicle) that will have the
capacity to launch four-tonne class of satellites, from
Sriharikota spaceport. ISRO looks forward to conduct the
second developmental flight within this year. Significance
With the successful test launch, ISRO can carry out all the
launches within the country instead of depending on international agencies for the launch of
heavier satellites. Hence, the successful test launch will help in reducing ISROs dependency on
international launching vehicles. ISROs launch vehicles as of now have the capability to launch
satellites only up to 2.2 tonne. For the launch of heavier satellites, it had to depend upon the
international agencies. So, the ISRO rightly views operationalisation of this rocket as a game-
changer mission.
RGIA gets carbon neutrality status
The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at
Shamshabad has been given the carbon neutrality
status by Airports Council International (ACI) under
its Airport Carbon Accreditation programme. The
airports operator GMR Hyderabad International
Airport Ltd (GHIAL), a GMR Group-led consortium, has stated that it was conferred with the
carbon neutrality (level 3: neutrality) by the ACI at a ceremony held in Doha, Qatar. The ACI
Airport Carbon Accreditation programme was initiated in June 2009 and consists of four levels:
mapping (level 1), reduction (level 2), optimisation (level 3) and neutrality (level 3+). RGIA
achieved levels one and two in 2012. It achieved level 3 status in 2013. The level 3+ status which
it has achieved now is the fourth and highest accreditation under ACIs Carbon Accreditation
programme. RGIA adopted many sustainable measures like proactive energy conservation,
generation of renewable energy, carbon sinking through extensive greenbelt and various other
environment protection initiatives to achieve this status. ACI Airports Council International
(ACI) is the only global trade representative representing the worlds airport authorities. It is a
member of Air Transport Action Group (ATAG). It was established in 1991 and develops
standards, policies and ecommended practices for airports. The global body represents the
interests of airports with governments and international organisations.
Haryana extends accidental insurance cover to All citizens
The Pradhan Mantri Bhima Suraksha Yojna has been
implemented by the Haryana Government. The scheme is
available for one year and subject to renewal thereafter. The
scheme covers both accidental death and disability. The cover
for accidental death will be Rs 2 lacs and for disability , it will
be Rs 1 lac. The scheme is available to all the citizens in the
state between the ages of 18 and 70,provided they have an Aadhar linked Bank account. An
annual premium of Rs 12 will be deducted from the citizens Savings Bank account for this
purpose.
Government sells stake in NALCO
The government today raised 1,200 crore rupees through the
sale of 9.2 per cent stake in National Aluminum Company
Ltd, NALCO. In the disinvestment, the offer for sale was
pegged at 5 per cent of paid-up capital, but seeing the
overwhelming response from the market, the government
exercised the option to retain over-subion and raised the offer to 9.2 per cent yesterday. With
this transaction, the Government's shareholding in NALCO has come down to 65.37 per cent.
Supreme Courts allows auction of Taj Mansingh Hotel in Delhi
The Supreme Court has allowed e-auction of five-star
hotel Taj Mansingh in Delhi. The hotel is presently being
run by a Tata Group firm. The court allowed the plea of
New Delhi Municipal Council, NDMC, that the Tata
Group firm cannot have the right to refusal in the
auctioning of the hotel. The bench, however, asked NDMC to grant six months breathing time
to the company in vacating the hotel in case they lose out in the e-auction
EPF Interest Rate Approved at 8.65 %
Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya has said that the
Finance Ministry has approved 8.65 per cent interest rate
on EPF for 2016-17. He said, the government will
immediately issue a notification in this regard. The
ratification will enable the retirement fund body EPFO to
credit this rate of return into the accounts of over four
crore subscribers. The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation trustees had approved 8.65 per
cent rate on EPF in December last year.
India develops National Action Plan to combat Antimicrobial Resistance
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare
announced the finalization of Indias
comprehensive and multi-sectoral National
Action Plan at the Inter-Ministerial Consultation
on AMR containment held at New Delhi. The
consultation was attended by various ministers including Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food
and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan, and Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change Anil Madhav Dave. The Ministers signed a Delhi Declaration to contain Antimicrobial
Resistance (AMR). The Delhi Declaration calls for the support of all stakeholders including UN,
WHO, FAO and other UN agencies, civil society organizations etc., in developing and
implementing the national and state action plans on AMR. The National action plan has
objectives of enhancing awareness, strengthening surveillance, improving rational use of
antibiotics, reducing infections and promoting research
LHS 1140b: Another planet in habitable zone discovered
Astronomers have discovered yet another planet, called
LHS1140b, which is expected to be present in the Goldilocks
Zone. Its not so far away, either. It is found orbiting around
the star LHS 1140 some 39 light-years away. Goldilocks Zone
refers to a habitable zone where the temperature is neither too
high nor too low. The planet is found to be rocky, like the
Earth but is over six-times as massive as Earth and about 1.5-times larger and falls under the
category of Super Earth. Its gravitational pull will be three times stronger than that of the
Earth. Rocky planets within the habitable zone are the best candidates to find evidence of some
form of life.
Australia makes sweeping changes to Citizenship laws
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has made
sweeping changes to Citizenship laws unveiling
tighter requirements for new applicants. This
announcement follows the recent scrapping of the 457
visa program for foreign workers, which was used
majorly by the Indians. The 457 programme was scrapped to tackle the growing unemployment
in the country.
India contributes USD 2,50,000 to Election Assistance Division of UN
India has contributed USD 2,50,000 to the UN Election
Assistance Division to help other countries to hold
elections and develop their electoral systems. This is the
second time that India has contributed USD 2,50,000
towards electoral assistance and capacity building. The
first assistance was made in 2012
UNESCOs Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize 2017 winners
UNESCO has named Giuseppina Nicolini, Mayor of
Lampedusa (Italy) and the non-governmental
organisation SOS Mditerrane (France) as the winners
of Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize 2017 for their
work to save the lives of refugees and migrants and
welcome them with dignity. In the past, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize has been granted
to internationally renowned personalities like Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat, King Juan Carlos
of Spain, former US president Jimmy Carter and Shimon Peres. For the first time, the award
goes to a mayor.
Auction of Gandhi Stamps Fetches 500,000 Pounds
A set of four rare Postal Stamps featuring Mahatma Gandhi , has fetched an astonishing sum of
500,000 Pounds at an auction held in England. The
stamps were bought by an Australian collector. As
per authoritative records, only 13 of these 1948
Gandhi Rs10 Purple Brown and Lake Service
Stamps are in circulation now. Besides this set of
four , the other set of four is in the Royal Philatelic
Collection, owned by Queen Elizabeth II.
Video gaming to be featured as a full sport at the 2022 Asian Games
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) will feature Video
gaming as a full sport at the 2022 Asian Games.
According to OCA, the decision to include e-sports was
taken to reflect the rapid development and popularity
of this new form of sports participation among the
youth. Hence, e-sports would be introduced as a medal sport to the official program of the
Asian Games at Hangzhou, China. It will be included as a demonstration sport at the 2018
Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia. OCA has entered into a collaboration with Alisports, a
unit of Chinas Alibaba Group, to bring e-sports to the games. However, no details have come
out on the details of the video games that would be included. The Asian Games features a wide
range of traditional Olympic. It includes some of the more obscure sports like sepak takraw ( a
game that has features of soccer and volleyball), kabaddi, etc. It also includes a variety of
martial arts, contract bridge, jet-ski racing and sport climbing etc
April 22, 2017
April 21- Civil Services Day
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated
11th Civil Services Day programme. The Civil Services
Day function is organised by the Department of
Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances
(DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and
Pensions. In this edition, awards will be given to five
priority schemes, namely, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, Deendayal Upadhyaya
Gram Jyoti Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Start Up India/Stand Up India and
e-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM). Totally, 10 districts would be awarded this year
under the five priority schemes. The awards will be given in three groups. The first group
comprises of eight North-Eastern States and the three Hill States of Uttarakhand, Himachal
Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The second group consists of the seven Union Territories
and the third constitutes rest of the 18 states. Besides, two awards would be given to
Central/State organisations under Innovation category. Under this category, innovative work
carried out by the Central/State Government organisations in defined themes such as
environment conservation, disaster management, water conservation, energy, education, health,
women and child-centric initiatives etc. would be taken into cognizance.
Indian Navy successfully test fires land attack version of supersonic cruise
missile, Brahmos
The Indian Navy today successfully test fired the land attack version of supersonic cruise
missile, Brahmos. The long range missile was
fired from Indian Navy's ship Teg on a target
on land. Jointly developed by India and
Russia, the Brahmos Missile and its anti-ship
variant has already been inducted into the
Navy. Majority of the frontline ships of Indian Navy are capable of firing this missile. Land
Attack variant of BrahMos Missile provides Indian Naval Ships the capability to precisely
neutralise selected targets deep inland, far away from coast, from stand-off ranges at sea. With
this successful test-fire India is now in the club of select few nations having this capability.
Doctors asked to prescribe generic drugs
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has asked its
members to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
push for generic drugs. Welcoming Prime Minister's
move, IMA Secretary General Dr. RN Tandon said, the
association has written to its 3 lakh members to support it
whole-heartedly. Briefing reporters in New Delhi today, he also called for stronger laws against
spurious and sub-standard medicines in the country. Dr. Tandon said, the soul motive of IMA
is to make available generic medicines at modest price to the public and it is working for
promotion of drugs in the National List of essential Medicines which are price capped and
cheaper
Apex Court refuses to pass an order for reclaiming Kohinoor from the United
Kingdom or to stop it from being auctioned
The Supreme Court said it could not pass an order for reclaiming the Kohinoor from the United
Kingdom or to stop it from being auctioned. Disposing of a
plea seeking directions to bring the treasured diamond
back to India, a bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar
said it could not ask a foreign government not to auction a
property. The court made it clear that it could not pass an
order with regard to a property which was in another
country. The apex court referred to an affidavit filed by the Centre and said, the Government of
India continues to explore ways and means with the UK government on the issue
China announces names for six places in Arunachal Pradesh
China has unilaterally announced standardised
names for six places in Arunachal Pradesh. It is felt
that Chinese move comes as a retaliation against
Dalai Lamas visit to Arunachal Pradesh. Experts
feel that Chinas announcement is aimed at
reaffirming its territorial sovereignty over the region. According to the Chinese foreign
ministry, change of names was a legitimate action carried out in line with Chinese law. China
has named the six places in Arunachal Pradesh with Roman alphabet as Wogyainling, Mila Ri,
Qoidengarbo Ri, Mainquka, Bmo La and Namkapub Ri. The name Wogyainling is likely to be
given to the Ugyen Ling monastery (birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama), Qoidngarbo Ri is
likely to be the name given to Choten Karpo Ri, Mainquka is likely to be Mechuka in West Siang
district and Bmo La is likely to be Bumla. During the visit of Dalai Lama, Union minister of
state for home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, had categorically asserted that Arunachal Pradesh is an
inseparable and integral part of India.
Pakistan Leases Gwadar port to a State-run Chinese firm for 40 years
Pakistan has leased the operations of its strategic Gwadar
port to a State-run Chinese firm, the China Overseas Port
Holding Company (COPHC) for a period of 40 years.
COPHC is slated to carry out all the developmental work
on the port situated in the Balochistan province of
Pakistan. COPHC took over the operations of the port in
2013. Previously, the control of the Gwadar port was with Singapores PSA (Port of Singapore
Authority) International. As per the contract, 91% share of revenue collection from gross
revenue of terminal and marine operations as well as 85% share from gross revenue of free zone
operation will go to the COPHC. The provinces will not be given any share in the revenue
collection
Arun Jaitely raises H1B Visa Issues with USA
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley raised the issue of recent
executive orders on H-1B visa regime with US Commerce
Secretary Wilbur Ross in Washington DC. Mr Jaitely outlined
the significant contributions, the skilled Indian professionals
have made to the US economy and expressed the hope that the
US administration will take this aspect into consideration while taking any decision. US
President Donald Trump had recently signed an executive order for tightening the rules of the
H-1B visa programme to ensure that the visas are given to what he called the most-skilled or
highest paid petitioners. Mr Jaitley is on a five-day visit to the United States to attend the Spring
Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund as well as deliberations of G20
nations.
Rio Olympics silver medalist P.V.Sindhu moves to No. 3 in World Ranking
Ace shuttler PV Sindhu has been ranked No. 3 in the latest
BWF ranking. Sindhu who was at No.5 climbed up two
places on the basis of making the quarter-finals of the
recently-concluded Singapore Open Super Series. Sindhus
career best is when she reached World No. 2 two weeks
ago. As per the latest BWF ranking, London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal has been
ranked eighth. Kidambi Srikanth and B Sai Praneeth have been placed at 21st and 22nd
positions respectively.
April 23, 2017
Government Approves Guidelines on Service Charge in Hotels
Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs has approved the
Guidelines on Fair Trade Practices Related to Charging of
Service Charge from Consumers by Hotels and Restaurants.
As a part of the guidelines which has been issued in public
interest to protect the rights of consumers, the government
has said that Service charge on hotel and restaurant bills is totally voluntary, adding that
mandatory levy of service charge amounts to unfair trade practice. As per the guidelines, Hotels
and restaurants cannot decide on service charge and the column of service charge will be left
blank in the bill for the customers to fill up before making payment. The guidelines have also
stated that in a case of mandatory levy of service charge, customers can file a complaint in the
Consumer Court. However, at present, stringent action cannot be taken against the erring hotels
as the current Consumer Protection Act, 1986 does not empower the ministry to do so. But,
under the new Consumer Protection Bill, an authority is expected to be set up with powers to
take such actions.
India and South Korea sign MOU on Ship Building
A MoU has been signed between India and South Korea
for defence industry cooperation in shipbuilding. Under
the MoU, the two countries would recommend the
organisations for collaborating in the implementation of
specific projects. The MoUs signed will be valid for a time
period of 5 years and are automatically extendable for further successive five years at a time.
While South Korea is yet to name its recommended organisation, India has nominated
Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL), Visakhapatnam for the collaboration. HSL and the nominated
shipyard by South Korea will find and develop indigenous sources for the supply of majority of
the material and equipment for the construction of the warship. HSL has already teamed with
Hyundai Heavy Industries to build five fleet support ships and two strategic operating vessels.
In addition to the above project, Kangnam Corporation of South Korea is slated to provide
consultancy, design and technological assistance to Indias state-owned Goa Shipyard Limited
in building 12 mine countermeasures vessels
One Crore Assets Geo Tagged under MGNREGA
MGNREGA has reached a major milestone by geo
tagging one crore assets created under it. The
geotagged assets have been put in public domain.
The scale of assets created under MGNREGA is
massive and is estimated to be about 2.82 crore assets
since the financial year 2006-07. On an average, it works out to a creation of 30 lakh assets
annually. The type of assets created under MGNREGA includes water harvesting structures,
plantations, rural infrastructure, flood control measures, individual assets for sustainable
livelihood, community infrastructure etc. As per the Ministry of Rural Affairs, all assets created
under MGNREGA will be geotagged and special focus would be given to geotagging of Natural
Resource Management works primarily the water-related works. The geotagging exercise is
expected to usher in greater transparency and accountability at field level.
Chinas first cargo spacecraft successfully docks with the Tiangong-2 space lab
China has successfully docked its first cargo
spacecraft Tianzhou-1 with the Tiangong-2 space
lab. It is hailed as a major step towards Chinas
ambition of establishing a permanently manned
space station by 2022. China has an ambitious plan
of building a permanent space station by 2022, that will be in the orbit for at least 10 years.
Tiangong-2 (Heavenly Palace 2) space lab was home to two astronauts for a month in last
October. It was Chinas longest-ever manned space mission.T iangong-2 was put up into space
on September 15, 2016.China has prioritised advancing its space programme to strengthen
national security. Tianzhou-1 is a tube-like craft which is capable of carrying 6 tonnes of goods,
2 tonnes of fuel and can fly unmanned for three months. It is considered that the cargo
spacecraft has provided an important technological basis for building a space station. According
to Chinese sources, Tianzhou-1 will dock two more times with Tiangong-2 before falling back to
Earth. Despite its achievements, China still lags behind the United States and Russia. For
instance, in 2013, Chinas rover, Jade Rabbit which landed on moon faced many technical
difficulties.
Cuba and Moracco reestablish diplomatic ties after 37 years
Guided by the mutual will to develop friendly
relations, Cuba and Morocco has signed an
agreement to re-establish diplomatic ties after a
time period of 37 years. The two governments have
also agreed to forge political, economic and cultural
cooperation. The agreement to this effect was signed at the headquarters of the Permanent
Mission of Cuba to the United Nations. King Mohamed VI of Morocco has ordered the opening
of a Moroccan embassy in Havana. Cuba is one of the few Latin American countries in which
Morocco does not have any representation. It is expected that the relations between the
countries would be restored after the exchange of ambassadors. After Cubas diplomatic
reestablishment with Morocco, Israel, South Korea and Somalia remain the only countries
which do not have any ties with Cuba. The decision to re-establish diplomatic ties has been
made couple of weeks after King Mohammeds private visit to Cuba. The visit of King
Mohammed VI is the first ever made by a Moroccan king to Cuba.
April 22- World Earth Day
Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22. It was first
celebrated in 1970, and since then it is celebrated in more
than 193 countries by over a billion people every year.
Earth Day celebrations are coordinated globally by the
Earth Day Network. Earth Day 2017s Campaign is
Environmental & Climate Literacy. Environmental and
climate literacy was chosen as it is important for creating
green voters and advancing environmental and climate
laws and policies across the globe as well as to accelerate green technologies and jobs. Earth
Day Every year Earth Day is being observed on the 22nd April to build support for
environmental protection around the world. It aims to encourage people to carry out activities
that will benefit the Earth, such as recycling more, using solar power or plant trees.
Kapil Dev and Aamir Khan honoured with Dinanath Mangeshkar Award
Former Indian Cricket Captain Kapil Dev and film actor
Aamir Khan have been honoured with the Dinanath
Mangeshkar award. While Kapil Dev was honoured for
his contribution to Indian Cricket, Aamir Khan was
bestowed the honour for his film Dangal. The awards will
be given away at a ceremony to be held on April 24th.
April 24, 2017
Government makes it mandatory to procure minimum 75 per cent of metro train

cars and 25 per cent of critical equipment from within the country
The government has made it mandatory for the metro rail companies to procure minimum 75
per cent of train cars and 25 per cent of critical
equipment from within the country. Such a norm has
been made compulsory under the 'Make in India'
campaign. Urban Development Ministry has
incorporated these mandatory conditions in the metro
companies' tender documents which have been
circulated to them, making the new norms effective
immediately. At present, metros are operational in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Jaipur, Gurgaon,
Bengaluru and Chennai with a total route length of 326 kms.
Tamil Nadu farmers call off agitation
Tamil Nadu farmers who were protesting at Jantar
Mantar in Delhi have temporarily called off their
agitation till 25th of next month. Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister E. Palaniswami who was in Delhi in connection
with NITI Ayaog meeting, met farmers today and
assured them to take up the matter of loan waiver with the Prime Minister. After his assurance,
the farmers put off their protest. They were protesting from last 41 days and were demanding
immediate loan waiver for the farmers.
India tops Global Remittances in 2016
As per the Migration Development Brief released by
the World Bank , India is the worlds largest
remittance receiver for the year 2016. Remittances into
India were $ 62.7 billion, the highest in the World. This
remittances amount to 9 % of Indias GDP. The large
amount of remittances was mainly because of the huge
amount of migrant Indian population in the Gulf and other nations, from where the Indians
regularly send money back home. State wise, Kerala amounted to the largest recipient of the
remittances, with the remittance being 36.3% of the State Domestic Product
Rafael Nadal Wins his 10th Monte Carlo Open Tennis Championship
Spaniard Rafael Nadal won the Monte Carlo Masters
title for the 10th time. 4th seeded Nadal defeated his
compatriot Albert Vinolas in staright sets 6-1, 6-3 . He
thus becomes the first man to win a Masters tournament
for the tenth time, a feat not surpassed by anybody.
Nadal has also won 9 titles at the clay court French Open
Tennis championships. Rohan Bopanna along with his Uruguayan team-mate Pablo Cuevas
have lifted the Monte Carlo Masters title in Monaco . In the final of men's doubles event, the
unseeded Indo-Uruguayan duo defeated seventh-placed Spanish team of Feliciano Lopez and
Marc Lopez in a set game, 6-3, 3-6, 10-4.
April 25, 2017
K Viswanath wins Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2016
Veteran filmmaker and actor Kasinadhuni Viswanath has been
conferred Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2016 by the Ministry of
Information & Broadcasting. The award consists of a Swarn
Kamal (Golden Lotus), a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakhs and a shawl.
K Viswanath Viswanath was born in February 1930 in Andhra
Pradesh. As a director he has made fifty films on varied themes of art, music and dance. In 1992,
he received Padma Shri Award for his contribution to filmmaking. He has also won 5 National
Awards, 20 Nandi Awards of Andhra Pradesh government, 10 Filmfare Awards including
Lifetime Achievement Award.
In a first, Uttarakhand deploys drones to monitor forest fires
In a first, the Uttarakhand Forest Department has deployed
three drones for real-time monitoring of the forest fires. This is
the first time that drones are used to monitor forest fires in
India. Besides monitoring of forest fire, drones are already in
use for wildlife conservation for nest status, aviation ethology,
crocodile and water birds counting and monitoring.
India becomes worlds fifth largest military spender
According to Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute (Sipri), India has become worlds fifth-largest
military spender spending at $55.9 billion in 2016. The
US remains the worlds largest military followed by
China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. The other prominent
spenders in the top 15 include Japan, South Korea, and Australia. Global trends: Global
military spending amounted to 2.2% of the worldwide GDP. Military spending as a share of
GDP, was highest in the Middle East and lowest in the Americas. In Asia and Oceania, military
expenditure increased by 4.6% in 2016 spurned by many tensions in the region such claims of
territorial rights made by various countries in the South China Sea. The US is the top spender
whose military expenditure grew 1.7% between 2015 and 2016 to $611 billion. The growth in US
military expenditure suggests the end o the trend of decreases in spending that resulted from
the economic crisis and the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. Even now the
expenditure of US remains 20% lower than its peak in 2010. China spent $215 billion. Russia
spent $69.2 billion making it this editions third largest spender. Saudi Arabia which was the
third largest spender in 2015 is ranked at 4th position in 2016 with a spending of $63.7 billion.
Pakistan did not figure in the list of top 15 spenders and it spent $9.93 billion. Military
expenditure in Western Europe has increased for the second consecutive year. Falling oil
revenue forced many oil-exporting countries to reduce military spending.
India becomes World No.2 LPG importer
India has become worlds second largest LPG importer, a
position that was previously occupied by Japan. China
remains as the worlds top importer. According to
Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell, LPG imports in the
country has increased 23% during the financial year 2016-
2017 to about 11 million tonnes. The main reason behind the increase in the consumption of
LPG in India is due to the two government schemes coupled with free gas connections. From
May 2016, the government is providing free cooking gas connections to women from extremely
poor households, to reduce the use of polluting fuels such as wood and dried cow dung. This
has increased Indias active LPG users to about 200 million, which is 60% more than Japans
entire population. According to the World Health Organization, polluting fuels used for
cooking purposes results in 1.3 million premature deaths in India every year. India has set an
ambitious target of increasing LPG usage to cover 80% of the households by March 2019. As per
the present estimates of the oil ministry, demand for fuel will touch 35 million tonnes by 2031-
32 in India
India Post Payment Bank to open branches in 650 districts across the country
within four months
India Post Payment Bank branches will be opened in
650 districts across the country during next four
months. Addressing a press conference in Hyderabad
today, Secretary in the Postal Department, B V
Sudhakar informed that one branch in each district
will be set up initially to provide door step banking,
especially in rural areas. We have a report from our
correspondent: The Payment Bank is expected to contribute significantly to encourage digital
and inclusive services besides enabling door step banking in rural areas. The Government also
has proposals to strengthen postal services by setting up Micro ATMs at each of branch post
offices and also expanding the Passport Seva Kendras to 800 head post offices across the
country by March next year. Earlier, the Core System Integrator has been launched in
Hyderabad to integrate in all postal activities to improve speed and efficiency of postal services.
A new freight train connects Russia with China
A freight train connecting Russia with China arrived in
Ganzhou an inland city in Jiangxi province, carrying goods
from Moscow. The freight train travelled more than 7,000 km,
before reaching Ganzhou in eastern China. Significance for
China Jiangxi province is the former revolutionary heartland
of the Communist Party. This freight train connecting Russia
and China is expected to bring resources from Europe and boost local development.
US Astronaut Peggy Whitson breaks space record
US astronaut Peggy Whitson has broken the record for most
days in space. Dr Whitson already holds records for the most
spacewalks carried out by a woman astronaut and is the first
woman to command the International Space Station, twice.
Now she's beaten the record previously set by Jeff Williams,
who had a total of 534 days in space.
Newton wins Jury Prize for Best Film at the Hong Kong International Film
Festival
Hindi film Newton has won the Jury Prize for Best Film at the Hong Kong International Film
Festival. Earlier, the film had its world premiere at
Berlinale and got its first global recognition by winning
the Art Cinema award for the Forum section at Berlinale.
The film also went to 16th Annual Tribeca Film Festival.
Newton is a political comedy film directed by Amit
Masurkar. The story revolves around a clerk on election
duty in a conflict-ridden region of Chhattisgarh. The movie was shot in the jungles of
Chattisgarh. Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) The Hong Kong International Film
Festival was founded in 1976 and is Asias oldest international film festival. Every year, it
introduces Hong Kong, Chinese, Asian cinema and filmmakers to the world. It screens more
than 250 titles from over 55 countries at each edition of the festival.
Goldman Environmental Prize for Prafulla Samantra
Social activist Prafulla Samantra was announced one among six
winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize for his historic 12-
year legal battle that affirmed the indigenous Dongria Kondhs
land rights and protected the Niyamgiri Hills from a massive,
open-pit aluminum ore mine. The other five winners for this year
are: Mark Lopez (United States); Uro Macerl (Slovenia); Rodrigo Tot (Guatemala); Rodrigue
Katembo (Democratic Republic of Congo); and Wendy Bowman (Australia)
April 24: National Panchayat Diwas
In India, April 24th is celebrated as National
Panchayati Raj Diwas every year. This day
marks the passing of the Constitution (73rd
Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force
with effect from 24 April 1993. The passage of
73rd amendment is hailed as a defining
moment in history as it permits states to take steps to organize village panchayats and provide
them with necessary powers and authority necessary to facilitate them to function as units of
self-government. Every year on this day Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj organises National
Conference and awards best performing Gram Panchayats with The Panchayat
Shashakatikaran Puraskar/Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar.
National Youth Athletics Meet: Haryana is Champion
Haryana emerged champion beating Kerala at the
National Youth Athletics Meet. Kerala was at the
top place for the last five years. Haryana emerged
champions with 166.5 points. Kerala has finished
as the runners-up. However, Kerala managed to
retain the team crown for girls while Haryana boys topped and won the boys title. At the meet,
Rohit Yadav improved his personal best in javelin throw and has a set a new meet record. Pole
vaulter Nivya Antony of Kerala equaled her national youth record set at Coimbatore during the
junior nationals. The National youth athletics championships were held at the GMC Balayogi
Athletics Stadium, Gachibowli, from April 21 to 23. The meet saw the participation of about 505
athletes. The National youth athletics meet assumes importance as it was a selection meet for
selecting Indian teams to participate in the Asian Championships in May in Bangkok and the
World Youth Championships in Nairobi in July. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) had
requested the Director, Anti Doping Agency to depute technical delegates and officials for the
conduct of the meet and to prevent misuse of banned substances.
April 26, 2017
International Conference on Dara Shikoh to be held
The international conference on Dara Shikoh: Reclaiming
Spiritual Legacy of India will be held on April 27 and 28.
The conference will be organised by the Indian Council Of
Cultural Relations (ICCR). The conference will see the
participation of eminent scholars from the US, Iran,
Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and India.
The objective of the conference is to highlight Dara Shikohs contributions to bring about
spiritual homogenisation of Hinduism and Islam and his initiatives in building a cohesive social
and cultural edifice in India
IIITM-K develops app for coffee growers
Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-
Kerala (IIITM-K) has launched an application named Kaapi Soil
Health Management and Monitoring (Kshemam) app to provide
soil nutrient information and fertiliser recommendation for coffee
plantation owners. The app will help in proper identification of
optimum levels of fertiliser use. Farmers by entering information
like geographic coordinates or their administrative divisions can
check the soil property, nutrient status and fertiliser recommendations for their land. In
addition, the spatial variation of individual nutrients can also be thematically visualised with
the help of this app. By using this app, the farmers can generate fertiliser recommendation,
nutrient advisory and soil health card in English, Kannada, Tamil or Malayalam
GNFC wins Golden Globe Tigers award
Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd (GNFC) has
won the prestigious Golden Globe Tigers Award for Excellence
and Leadership in CSR for the year 2017 in the category of E-
Payment Leadership. GNFC has been awarded for the
implementation of digital transactions in its township at Bharuch
(Gujarat). Award was given to GNFC at Golden Globe Tigers
Night 2017 held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event saw the participation of global CSR
leaders from over 43 countries. This is the second award for GNFC in this category. It has
already won the Golden Peacock Award for its cashless innovation
GNFC:
Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers & Chemicals Limited is a state-owned manufacturer of
fertilizers and Chemicals. It was founded in 1976. It emerged as the first fertiliser company in
the country to adopt a cashless economy successfully. GNFCs township in Bharuch, Gujarat,
became the first 100% cashless township of India. Recently, Prime Minister had launched
GNFCs replicated cashless township model in 81 integrated townships across 12 states.
Cows to get Aadhar like ID
The central government has informed the Supreme Court
that it intends to provide unique identification number for
cows as suggested by an expert committee to track cattle
and prevent their trafficking. According to the August 2016
report submitted by the committee constituted by the
home ministry, the unique ID will have the details like cattles age, breed, sex, height, body
colour, horn type, tail switch, lactation profile (in case of milch cattles) and other special marks.
The IDs are proposed to be provided in the form of a polyurethane tag. In addition, the
registration proof has to be maintained by the owner of the cattle which should be transferred
to the next owner in case of legitimate transfer of the cattle. The committee has also
recommended that a state level data base may be uploaded to a website that links with a
national online database. The response of the government was submitted to Supreme Court
which was hearing the PIL filed by Akhil Bharat Krishi Gosewa Sangh
Indias first sea ropeway to connect Mumbai & Elephanta Island
Indias first and longest ropeway is planned to be
constructed by the Mumbai Port Trust to link Mumbai with
the famous Elephanta Island in the Arabian Sea. Elephanta
Island has got global recognition for its famed Elephanta
Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The 8-km long
ropeway will start from Sewri in Mumbais east coast and end at Elephanta Island at Raigad
district. The 40-minute ride by a 20-seater cable car is expected to boost tourism as it offers a
magnificent view of mudflats on the east coast especially during the flamingo season, the
mangroves as well as the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link to the north. At present, the islands are
accessible only by ferries from the mainland and takes around an hour for the 10-km cruise.
Other details like the cable height and capacity of cars are being worked out.
Sensex surges 287 points, Nifty hits a record high of 9,307; Rupee climbs to a
nearly 21-month high against the dollar
At the domestic stock markets, the Nifty closed above the 9,300-mark for the first time ever,
today, while the rupee hit a multi-month high
against the dollar. The Nifty at the National
Stock Exchange jumped 89 points, or 1 percent,
to a record closing high of 9,307, on broad-based
buying by investors. The Sensex at the Bombay
Stock Exchange surged 287 points, to 29,943. At the forex market, the rupee strengthened 18
paise, to a nearly 21-month high of 64.26 against the dollar. Gold declined 50 rupees, to 29,600
rupees per ten grams in Delhi. And Brent crude oil futures climbed 8 cents, to 51.68 dollars a
barrel
Indian Banks quarterly net profit more than triples
Indian Bank posted a standalone net profit of Rs 319.70
cr for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 marking an
increase of 241 % over the Rs. 93.62 Cr recorded in the
same period in the previous year, on higher net interest
income and CASA. The better performance is also
attributed to improvement in funds management and other income. Net Interest income rose 22
% to Rs 1385 cr, while total income rose to Rs 4602 cr from Rs 4522 cr.
Merging PSU Banks will help, says RBI Governor
Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel has said that the
Indian Banking system could be better off if some Public Sector
Banks are consolidated , to have fewer but healthier entities , as
it would help in dealing with the problem of stressed assets. He
said that since there were cooperative banks and micro financial
institutions to provide community level banking, some banks
can be merged, as a quid pro quo for timely government technical injection.
India and Armenia sign three agreements in the field of culture, youth affairs and
peaceful use of space
India has signed three agreements with Armenia for enhancing cooperation in the field of
culture, youth affairs and peaceful use of space.
Briefing media after Vice President Mohammed Hamid
Ansaris day-long engagement with top Armenian
leadership, Secretary East, Preeti Saran said, the visit in
the silver jubilee year of diplomatic relation has given a
new vigour to the bilateral relations.
US submarine arrives in South Korea amid worries of another North Korean

missile or nuclear test
US submarine has arrived in South Korea, amid worries of another North Korean missile or
nuclear test. The missile-armed USS Michigan is set to
join an incoming group of warships led by aircraft
carrier Carl Vinson. North Korea is celebrating its
army's 85th founding anniversary today. It has
previously marked similar occasions with missile
tests. Tensions have risen on the Korean peninsula in recent weeks as the US and North Korea
exchange heated rhetoric. Meanwhile in an unusual event, the entire US Senate has been asked
to attend a briefing on North Korea tomorrow at the White House.
April 25th- World Malaria Day
The WHO celebrated the 25th April as the World Malaria Day,
all over the world. India is trying to close the gap in Malaria
prevention
India win 16 medals, including three gold, at US Open Karate Championship
India finished with a rich haul of three gold, two
silver and 11 bronze medals at the US Open Karate
Championship held in Las Vegas. Shaifali Agarwal
and Abhishek Sengupta won a gold medal, a silver
in two different individual events. India also won
a gold medal in the team event. The Indian team was led by Sensei Yashpal Singh Kalsi.
101 years old woman wins sprinting Gold Medal at the World Masters Games in
Auckland
101 years old Man Kaur has won the 100 Meters Sprint Gold Medal at the World Masters
Games in Auckland on 24th April 2017. Including this, she
has won 17 Gold Medals so far. Man Kaur took up athletics
eight years ago , at the age of 93. She had no prior experience
in running until she was 93. She completed the 100 M sprint
in 74 sec. She was the only contestant in the 100 years plus
category at the event.
April 27, 2017
Uttar Pradesh Government cancels 15 Government Holidays
Uttar Pradesh state government has cancelled 15 public
holidays marking the birth or death anniversaries of
eminent personalities. Alternatively, on these days, the
school and college students would be taught about these
public figures through various programmes. Out of the
42 public holidays observed by the state, 17 pertained to
birth anniversaries. The move was taken at the backdrop of increasing concern over the
shrinking academic session due to increased holidays. It is held that in the state 220-day
academic session has been reduced to only 120 days due to the celebration of such holidays. The
previously ruled Samajwadi Party had declared holidays on the anniversaries of the following
personalities: Former PM Chandrashekhar (April 17), Maharishi Kashyap and Maharshi
Nishadraj Jayanti (April 5), Hazrat Ajmeri Garib Nawaj Urs (April 26), Maharana Pratap Jayanti
(May 9) and the death anniversary of Ambedkar (December 6). The state government would
soon publish the revised list of holidays.
Rajiv Bhatnagar Appointed CRPF Chief
IPS officer Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar has been appointed as the
Director-General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
The appointment has come two days after 25 CRPF personnel
were ambushed by Naxals in Chhattisgarhs Sukma district. The
CRPF was functioning without a head for the past two months after the retirement of K. Durga
Prasad on February 28, 2017. Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar is a 1983 batch IPS officer belonging to the
Uttar Pradesh cadre. He is the Director General of the Narcotics Control Bureau. In another key
appointment, IPS officer R.K. Pachnanda has been named the director general of the Indo-
Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). R.K. Pachnanda is a 1983 batch IPS officer of West Bengal cadre.
He will take charge after the retirement of Krishna Chaudhary in June-end.
Nita Ambani made member of IOCs important Commissions
Nita Ambani has been made member of two important
commissions of IOCs governing body. She has been
made as a member of the prestigious Olympic channel
and Olympic education Commission. Nita Ambani
already holds the distinction of being Indias first
woman International Olympic Committee member. She was elected as an individual member of
International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year. She will serve the IOC till she turns 70. IOC
has announced the composition of 26 commissions for 2017. The composition of the IOC
commissions for 2017 has seen a 70% increase in female participation since September 2013. The
commissions have also been constituted to reflect a broader geographical representation and
include a number of new faces. Nita Ambani has replaced International Paralympic Committee
President Philip Craven to be one of the 16 members of the Olympic Channel Commission
headed by United States Olympic Committee Chairman Lawrence Francis Probst. The Olympic
Channel is a digital channel which is estimated to cost about USD 600 million over the first
seven years. It was launched last year during Rio Games. The channel aims to promote Olympic
sports and values all round the year. The channel is based in Madrid. Nita Ambani is also
named in the 24-member Olympic Education Commission headed by Barry John Maister of
New Zealand. Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal continues to be on the IOC Athletes
Commission after her appointment in October last year.
India to host 18th World Road Meeting
The International Road federation (IRF)
has named India to be the host of the
18th World Road Meeting (WRM 2017).
WRM 2017 will be held on November 13,
2017. The theme of this years WRM is
Safe Roads and Smart Mobility: The Engines of Economic Growth. India has been chosen to
hold this event to reflect the growing importance of the country as a market for transport
infrastructure and services. Indias growing demand for surface transport and mobility requires
massive investments in the transport infrastructure. The WRM will provide an important
platform for potential investors to partner and participate in the immense opportunities that are
made available by the country. In addition, it will also provide a platform for sharing cutting-
edge research, best practices and experiences, from around the globe. The conference is
expected to be attended by over 4,000 delegates across the world and will include plenary
sessions with eminent and well-known speakers discussing important issues facing mobility
sector.
Somnath Temple, Charminar among new places chosen for Swachh iconic places
initiative
The government has announced the names of ten new Iconic places under the Phase II of
Swachh Iconic Places initiative. Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) is an
initiative of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation under
Swachh Bharat Mission. The ten new iconic places that will be
undertaken in Phase II of Swachh Iconic Places initiative are:
Gangotri, Yamunotri. Mahakaleshwar Temple (Ujjain), Char Minar (Hyderabad), Church and
Convent of St. Francis of Assissi (Goa), Adi Shankaracharyas abode Kaladi in Ernakulam,
Gomateshwar in Shravanbelgola, Baijnath Dham (Devghar), Gaya Tirth (Bihar) and Somnath
temple in Gujarat. The ten Iconic places that are already under implementation in Phase I are:
Ajmer Sharif Dargah, CST Mumbai, Golden Temple (Amritsar), Kamakhya Temple (Assam),
Maikarnika Ghat (Varanasi), Meenakshi Temple (Madurai) Shri Mata Vaishno Devi (Katra,
J&K), Shree Jagannath Temple (Puri), The Taj Mahal (Agra), Tirupati Temple (Tirumala).
SEBI allows options trading in commodity derivatives; Bars resident and non-
resident Indians from making investments through participatory notes
Capital market regulator, SEBI has allowed options trading in commodity derivatives. SEBI's
board approved the proposal at its meeting in Mumbai,
today. It also approved issuance of unified license to
brokers for trading in equities and commodities
markets. "Aiming to promote digitalization; SEBI today
said that investors will now be allowed to purchase
mutual funds worth upto 50,000 rupees through digital
wallets. In another decision, SEBI has now made it mandatory for companies raising over 100
crore rupees to appoint a monitoring agency. Earlier, companies raising more than 500 crore
rupees through IPOs or Initial Public Offer were required to appoint a monitoring agency.
Meanwhile, with an aim to curb the flow of illicit funds; SEBI has decided to bar resident as well
as non-resident Indians from making investments through participatory notes.
Sensex and Nifty both hit record closing highs; Rupee again scales a multi-month
peak against the dollar
The bulls were in full control of the domestic stock markets, today, as both the Sensex and the
Nifty hit record closing highs, while the rupee again
scaled a multi-month peak against the dollar. "The
Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange surged 190
points, or 0.6 percent, to a record closing high of 30,133.
This is the first time the Sensex has closed above the
30,000 mark. The Nifty at the National Stock Exchange
jumped 45 points, to settle at a fresh lifetime peak of 9,352. At the forex market, the rupee rose
for the third straight session, strengthening 15 paise, to a end near a fresh 21-month high of
64.11 against the dollar. But gold plunged 250 rupees, to 29,350 rupees per ten grams in Delhi.
And Brent crude oil futures slipped 0.2 per cent, to 51.99 dollars a barrel.
Rajasthan Passes State GST Bill
In Rajasthan, the state Assembly today passed the Rajasthan
Goods and Services Tax Bill 2017, becoming the third state
after Telangana and Bihar to pave the way for roll out of the
GST from July 1. Industry Minister Rajpal Singh Sekhawat
tabled the bill in the special session of house today. After a long discussion, the house adopted
the bill by voice vote.
Centre has no plans to impose tax on agricultural income, clarifies Finance

Minister Arun Jaitley
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has categorically stated that the Central Government has
no plan to impose any tax on agricultural income. In a statement,
Mr Jaitley said, he has read the paragraph in NITI Aayog's
Report entitled 'Income tax on Agriculture Income'. Clearing any
confusion on the subject, the Minister said, as per the
Constitutional Allocation of Powers, the Central Government has
no jurisdiction to impose tax on agricultural income.
China launches first indigenously built aircraft carrier
China has launched its first indigenously built aircraft
carrier following the 68th-anniversary celebrations of the
founding of the Chinese navy. It is Chinas second
aircraft carrier built in the north-eastern port of Dalian.
The new aircraft carrier will be able to operate Chinas
Shenyang J-15 fighter jets and will be more dedicated to
military and humanitarian operations. The design of the new aircraft carrier has been obtained
from Chinas first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, which was bought second-hand from Ukraine in
1998 and refitted in China.
Belgium Opens Honorary Consulate in GIFT
Belgium has become the first country to open an
honorary consulate office in Gujarat
International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City),
Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Belgium already has two
Consulates-General in Mumbai and Chennai,
and an honorary consulate in Kolkata. The consulate was inaugurated by Belgian Secretary of
State for Foreign Trade, Pieter De Crem. Hari Sankaran, Vice-Chairman and MD, Infrastructure
Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), has been nominated as Honorary Consul of the Kingdom
of Belgium to the state of Gujarat. Gujarat and Belgium have strong historic ties surrounding
the diamond industry. USA Deploys THHAD missile defence system in South Korea. US
military has started deploying the THAAD missile defence system in South Korea, amid high
tensions over neighbouring North Korea's nuclear and missile ambitions. China has expressed
its serious concern about the move. The Thaad system is designed to protect against threats
from Pyongyang. Hundreds of local residents protested against the deployment, as vehicles
carrying equipment arrived at the site in the south of the country. US has, in recent days,
deployed warships and a submarine to the Korean peninsula, amid fears that North Korea
could be planning further missile or nuclear tests.
Manpreet Kaur wins shot put gold at Asian Grand Prix, sets new national record
Shot putter Manpreet Kaur broke her own 2015 national
record at the Asian Grand Prix in Jinhua, China. Her
performance in the event has helped her to earn a gold
medal and qualify for the World Championships to be held
in London in August 2017. Her outstanding performance
in the first leg of the Asian Grand Prix has helped her to
reach No 1 spot in the world rankings. Manpreet kaurs performance at the event was
overwhelming. Her throw is adjudged as the best by any shotputter this year. In addition, her
throw was 32 centimeters more than the Rio Olympic gold medallist Michelle Carter. Kaur had
become the first Indian woman to qualify for the shot put event at the Rio Olympics. But she
managed to finish only 23rd in Rio. Overall, India managed to bag seven medals including one
gold, four silver and two bronze at the event. Two silver medals were secured by Tintu Lukka
and Jinson Johnson. Shot putter Om Prakash managed to claim bronze with a distance of
18.41m. Indias world junior champion in javelin, Neeraj Chopra managed to win silver. Long
jumper Neena Varakil has claimed silver and the national record holder in 100m sprint, Dutee
Chand bagged bronze for the team.
April 28, 2017
Bhubaneswar: First Indian city to win Pierre Lenfant Awards-2017
Bhubaneswar has become the first Indian city to win
Pierre Lenfant International Planning excellence
award-2017 instituted by the American Planning
Association (APA). Bhubaneswar has been chosen for
its good and advanced town planning and engaging its
residents in the planning process. The APA Awards jury has selected Five Excellence Award
recipients in total who will be honoured at the Awards Luncheon at APAs National Planning
Conference in New York on May 8.
Pierre Lenfant Awards: Pierre Lenfant was a French-born American architect and civil
engineer. He is credited for designing the layout of the streets of Washington, D.C. The
American Planning Association (APA) has named an award in his honour to recognize
excellence in international planning.
UNESCO to screen Indian short film as part of World Press Freedom Day
celebrations
UNESCO to screen Rahul V. Chittellas short film Azaad
as a part of World Press Freedom Day event that is
scheduled to be held from May 1-4 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The movie is about the dysfunctional relationship between
a father and his son. World Press Freedom Day is
celebrated by UNESCO to celebrate the principle of
freedom of the press. The theme for this years edition of
World Press Freedom Day is Critical Minds for Critical
Times: Medias role in advancing peaceful, just and
inclusive societies.
PM launches UDAN Scheme
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the
UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme from
Jubbarhatti, an airport on the outskirts of Shimla. Ude
Desh Ka Aam Nagrik means the common man flies.
He flagged of the first UDAN flight under Regional
Connectivity Scheme (RCS) on Shimla-Delhi sector.
UDAN flights on KadapaHyderabad, and Nanded-Hyderabad sectors were also flagged off.
Salient Highlights: Around 45 unserved and under-served airports are set to be connected
under UDAN scheme to make flying more affordable. The airports to be connected under
UDAN include Bhatinda, Bhavnagar, Durgapur, Jaisalmer, Puducherry, and Shimla. Under this
scheme, five operators will operate flights services on 128 routes that will connect 70 airports
through 19-78 seater aircrafts. The operators are Air India subsidiary Airline Allied Services, Air
Deccan, Air Odisha, Turbo Megha, and Spice Jet. As per the modalities of the scheme, airfare for
a one-hour journey of 500 km has been capped at an all-inclusive charge of Rs. 2,500. For longer
routes and flight duration, the pricing will vary. A single person will be entitled to buy 9 to 40
seats in a flight. However, only 50% of the seats will be sold at Rs 2500 per seat per hour. The
airlines can sell the rest of the tickets at market rates
IOC to build new oil terminal at Motihari to supply fuel to Nepal
The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has planned to build
a new oil terminal at Motihari in Bihar to supply fuel to
Nepal via the planned pipeline up to Amlekganj in
Nepal. The old terminal functioning at Raxaul in Bihar
will be shut down as it does not conform to the current
OISD (Oil Industry Safety Directorate) guidelines. The decision to shift the terminal from
Raxaul to Motihari has been taken keeping in mind the current safety guidelines.
IMF lauds Indias GST Bill
International Monetary Fund has said the ambitious Goods and
Services Tax to be implemented from July would help raise India's
medium-term growth to above eight per cent. Adding that the
reforms being done are expected to pay off in terms of higher
growth in the future, the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund told
PTI in an exclusive interview that the government has made significant progress on important
economic reforms that will support strong and sustainable growth going forward.
RBI to issue new Rs 5 and Rs 10 Coins
The RBI is set to issue new series of Rs 5 and Rs 10 coins.
These coins are legal tender as per the Coinage Act ,2011.
The Rs 10 Coins are being minted as part of the 125th
anniversary of the National Archives of India. The Rs 5
coins are being minted on the occasion of the 150th
anniversary of Allahabad High Court.
Scientists create Artificial Womb
Researchers have created a fluid-filled transparent container
called the Biobag to simulate how foetuses float in amniotic
fluid inside the uterus of their mothers. Researchers tested
five lambs with a biological age corresponding to 23-week
human premature babies in the artificially created womb like
device. The premature lambs were delivered by C-section
and were immediately placed into the womb-like device. To mimic a womb, researchers created
a temperature-controlled bag filled with a substitute for amniotic fluid. They used an electrolyte
solution to mimic amniotic fluid that the lambs swallow and take into their lungs. The
researchers then attached the umbilical cord to the device that exchanges carbon dioxide in
blood with oxygen. In early-stage animal testing, all the lambs appeared to grow normally
inside the system for three to four weeks. After four weeks, the lambs were seen opening their
eyes, started growing wool, breathe and swim. In a sum, the results were found very promising.
NASAs Cassini spacecraft successfully travels between Saturn and its rings
Recently, NASAs Cassini spacecraft completed its final
close flyby of Saturns moon Titan and has now started its
final set of 22 orbits before plunging into Saturn on
September 15, 2017, and thus completing its 20-year long
journey. Already, Cassini has dived successfully through
the space between Saturn and its rings, a region no
spacecraft has been before. It will perform another 21 dives through the same gap and will send
more detailed information about Saturn and its rings. These series of 22 manoeuvres that brings
Cassini closer to Saturns surface before plunging into it is called as the spacecrafts grand
finale. The spacecraft will provide the radar team with the final set of new images of the
hydrocarbon seas and lakes that are present in Titans North Polar Region.
ISRO launches solar calculator app
ISRO has launched a solar calculator app that can
calculate the benefits of installing solar panels in
different regions of the country. The app has been
created by the Space Application Center (SAC)
facility of ISRO following the Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy (MNRE)s request. The app
comes handy for installation of Photovoltaic (PV) for tapping of solar energy. Salient features
The App determines solar energy potential (in kWh/m2) at any given location, determination of
which is important for setting up of photovoltaic thermal power plants. The user can key in the
location or the app can get the location details through GPS. The app provides monthly and
yearly solar potential by processing data obtained from Indian Geostationary Satellites
(Kalpana-1, INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR). The app provides information about the azimuth and
elevation angles, and duration of day over different time periods in a year. It also calculates the
obstruction of sunlight due to terrain by employing Digital Elevation Model (DEM). In addition,
the app also suggests the optimum tilt angle for the installation of solar PV. The app provides
information using tables and visuals. The complete report provided by the app can be saved by
the user in the form of PDF. The app at present can be downloaded from New and Renewable
Energy section at vedas.sac.gov.in.
US tax reform: Trump introduces biggest tax reform plan in US history
US President Donald Trump has introduced biggest tax
reform plan in the history of United States. As per the
proposals of the new plan, major cuts have been made in the
income tax rate. the income tax rates have been slashed from
39.6% to 35%. The new plan has also sharply slashed the
business taxes. Steep discounts have been announced on
corporate profits that are brought back into the US. The new plan proposes for a 15% corporate
tax rate which is a sharp drop from the existing 35%. In addition, the new reforms aim to move
to a territorial tax system that provides relief to both small and large businesses. It is also
proposed to repeal the estate tax, the alternative minimum tax. In addition, tax relief will be
provided to the families with child and dependent care expenses. Further, the number of tax
brackets is expected to be brought down to three from seven. However, under the US law, only
the Congress is empowered to make major changes to the tax laws. Impact These reforms are
hailed as the biggest tax cut and largest tax reform in the history of the United States. According
to the economists, the new tax reforms are likely to add trillions of dollars to the deficit over the
next decade. As far as India is concerned, the reforms are expected to further push up stock
markets which have already responded positively.
Srishti Kaur wins Miss Teen Universe pageant
Srishti Kaur of India has been crowned Miss Teen
Universe 2017 at Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. She
won after beating 25 contestants from across the world. In
addition, she also bagged an award for the best national
costume. Her costume featured a peacock, the Indian
national bird. She succeeds Nieveles Gonzalez of Puerto
Rico as the Miss Teen Universe. Kaur had also won the title of Miss Teen Tiara International at
the beginning of this year beating 29 contestants. Kaur, a resident of Noida is currently
pursuing her education at London School of Fashion.
Jnanpith Award conferred on Prof Sanka Ghosh
President Pranab Mukherjee today conferred the 52nd Jnanpith
Award on eminent Bengali poet Professor Sankha Ghosh at a
function in New Delhi. He was awarded for his outstanding
contribution in the field of literature. Speaking on the occasion,
Mr Mukherjee said, an ardent writer of Bengali poetry, literary
works of Prof. Ghosh reflect a rare poetic style encompassing not
only a lyrical style but also a deep reflection of the social milieu.
Udaipur boy scores 360/360 in Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)
Kalpit Veerval has topped the Joint Entrance
Examination (JEE)-Main with a perfect 100 per cent
score. The results of the exam conducted for admission
to various engineering colleges were declared by the
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in New
Delhi today. Among girls Vrunda Nandkumar Rathi topped the exam
Veteran Hindi Actor Vinod Khanna passes away
Veteran Hindi Actor and BJP politician and the MP from
Gurdaspur constituency, Vinod Khanna passed away in
Mumbai on the 27th April 2017 due to bladder cancer. He was
an eminent actor and politician who rose to superstar status in
the early 80s and 90s.
April 29, 2017
Plan for common Engineering entrance exam put on hold
The Ministry of Human Resources and Development has put on
hold the plan for conducting a single entrance test for admission to
engineering courses throughout the country till a consensus is
reached with the states. The ministry feels that without reaching
consensus, the purpose of having a common engineering entrance
exam would not be served. Also, the ministry wants to discuss the
possibility of having common counselling provisions with the states. However, it is not fully
clear whether the consultation with the states will delay the implementation of the plan in 2018.
As per the sources, as soon as the consensus is built among the states, the centre will work out
the modalities of implementing the plan.
Kerala hosts countrys first ever transgender athletic meet
Kerala has conducted the countrys first-ever
transgender one-day athletic meet in
Thiruvananthapuram. The event saw the
participation of 132 participants belonging to 12
districts of the state. No participant representing Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts
participated in the event. The event was jointly organised by Kerala sports council and Sexual
Gender Minority Federation of Kerala. In the competition, six events were conducted, namely,
100 metres, 200 metres, and 400 metres running; 100x 4 relay race, high jump and shot put.
Tripartite MoU signed for broadband services to Post Offices
A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding has
been signed between BBNL, Department of Posts
and BSNL to provide broadband connectivity of
BharatNet to Post Offices in rural areas. BSNL
would provide broadband services. The
infrastructure expenses and the operational expenses would be paid by the Department of
Posts. BBNL would facilitate and coordinate the entire project.
US places India once again on IPR priority watch list
The US Trade Representatives (USTR) office has once
again placed India on the priority watch list in this
years Special 301 report despite the country rolling out
National IPR Policy last year. India has been placed in
priority watch list owing to USTRs view that India has
not made adequate changes in its intellectual property
(IP) laws and regulations. India has been placed on the Priority Watch List for decades now
and is likely to remain in the Priority Watch List category for having inadequate IPR laws and
patent protection.
Kazakhstan opens consulate in Chennai
Kazakhstan has opened its honorary consulate in
Chennai. The consulate will cover the states of
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. It will be
headed by well-known businessman Suraj
Shantakumar. This year marks the 25th anniversary
of the establishment of diplomatic relations
between India and Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has expressed confidence that the establishment of
the consulate in Chennai, which is a major industrial centre would promote the potential for
economic cooperation in a number of areas like IT industry, engineering, tourism, transport
infrastructure, as well as agricultural production.
India and Cyprus sign four agreements
India and Cyprus have signed four agreements
following delegation-level talks between Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and Cypriot President
Nicos Anastasiades in New Delhi. The two sides
discussed various bilateral and regional issues and
agreed on the need on the part of all countries to act decisively against those countries that
shelter and sustain violence factories in their regions. The two sides also called for the need for
early reforms of the United Nations Security Council. Cyprus reiterated its support to Indias
bid for inclusion a permanent member in the UNSC. Cyprus will also award its highest civilian
honour, the Grand Collar of the Order of Makarios III, on President Pranab Mukherjee.
Agreements
Both the countries signed::
An executive programme on culture, education and scientific cooperation for the years 2017 to
2020. A work plan under a programme of cooperation in agriculture for the period 2017-2018.
Agreement on cooperation in the area of merchant shipping. Agreement to boost air services
between the two countries.
E-taxi trial run to begin in Nagpur
The countrys first electric taxi trial in the country would be
launched in Nagpur from May 24. The first project of its kind
will be undertaken by Nagpur Municipal Corporation.
Mahindra and Mahindra is set to provide 200 taxis for the
initiative.
Indias first smart and green highway to be ready by August 2017
India's first smart and green highway, Eastern Peripheral
Expressway will be ready by August this year. The expressway
which is being built at a cost of 11 thousand crore rupees will de-
congest the national capital of traffic. Minister for Road
Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said this after making an
aerial survey of the expressway in Palwal, Haryana today. He said, once completed it will
reduce traffic congestion and will have the best automatic traffic management system. He said,
the expressway will have landscaping besides wayside amenities. Mr Gadkari said, at least 2.5
lakh trees will be on the both sides of the roads with solar panels. He said, 5 thousand 9
hundred crore rupees has been spent on land acquisition for the project. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi will dedicate it to the nation.
Poland supports Indias Permanent membership at UNSC
Poland has assured its support for Indias bid for
membership in the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group
(NSG) and a permanent seat in the expanded UN
Security Council. This was stated during the visit of
vice President Hamid Ansari to the Poland. Apart from discussing various bilateral and
multilateral issues, the two countries also signed an agreement in the agriculture sector. It was
also agreed upon that there exists scope to increase cooperation in railway, defence, mining,
agriculture, civil aviation, as well as in areas like food processing, solar energy, clean coal,
treatment of solid waste. Poland is a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
Major conflict with North Korea is possible : Donald Trump
President Donald Trump says a major conflict with North
Korea is possible in the standoff over its nuclear and missile
programmes. Trump, however, said he would prefer a
diplomatic outcome to the dispute. He said his administration
is preparing a variety of new economic sanctions while not taking the military option off the
table. Trump spoke just a day after he and his top national security advisers briefed US
lawmakers on the North Korean threat and one day before Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will
press the UN Security Council on sanctions to further isolate Pyongyang.
April 30, 2017
Ganga Swachhta Sankalp Divas to be celebrated on May 02, 2017
May 2, 2017 will be observed as Ganga Swachhta
Sankalp Divas by National Mission on Clean
Ganga (NMCG) at 12 locations, namely, Kanpur,
Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Bhagalpur,
Sahibganj, Kolkata, Raj Ghat (Hardoi), Bithoor,
Srinagar ( Uttarakhand), Vidhur Kuti (Bijnor) and Devprayag. Apart from these locations, with
the help of Ganga Vichaar Manch, local NGOs and volunteer support, the event is slated to be
organized at more than 30 other locations. The objective of the event is to spread awareness and
promote active involvement of the masses in Swachh Ganga. The event envisages developing a
sense of pride and ownership among masses and to actively support for Namami Gange
programme. Ganga Vichar Manch which is a volunteer wing of National Mission on Clean
Ganga (NMCG) would execute the event in close coordination with State Programme
Management Groups, State Government Departments/Agencies, District Administration and
other key stakeholders at each of the above locations.
Digi Yatra initiative to make flying simpler
The Ministry of Civil Aviation under the proposed Digi Yatra
initiative is looking forward to make boarding pass and security
check-ins digital at airports using Aadhaar and mobile phones. Under
this initiative, a digital mode for airport entry and verification of
passengers would be used. The move is aimed to ease the security and boarding procedure. In a
sum, the initiative aims to make the whole air travel experience completely digital. According to
the civil aviation minister Jayant Sinha, the proposed initiative would not require any
paperwork and the traveller will be securely identified through Aadhaar number, passport or
other documents. The ministry is now working on establishing a uniform set of standards and
protocols which can be applied across the system. The ministry expects to roll out the initiative
in the coming months.
Prime Minister inaugurates International Basava Convention
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled
translated volumes of Vachana in 23 Indian
languages on the occasion of Basava Jayanti. The 23
Vachana volumes were edited by late M M Kalburgi
and have been translated into other languages by
more than 200 people. Prime Minister also released the digital version of the work. This is the
first ever celebration of Basava Jayanti at the national level in New Delhi. The translated
volumes of Vachana was commissioned by the Basava Samithi at a cost of 2.5 crore rupees of
which the Karnataka government has contributed 1 crore rupees. The celebrations also coincide
with golden jubilee of Basava Samiti that was set up by former Vice President B D Jatti 1964 to
spread in Basavannas message.
First book village in the country to come up in Maharashtra
From May 4, Bhilar, a tiny hamlet in Satara
district of Maharashtra is all set to become
Indias first book village. The concept of book
village is inspired by Britains Hay-on-Wye,
which is a Welsh town located in the United
Kingdom, famous for its bookstores and
literature festivals. Under this initiative, tourists and locals can come and read books,
magazines, newspapers stacked at 25 artistically decorated locations around the village. The
books on wide-ranging subjects and 15,000 books in Marathi would be made available on these
premises. Some of the books that will be available for the readers are very rare and out of
publication, including novels, reference books about Maharashtra and Marathi culture written
by prominent authors. To make sure that the books are returned by the tourists, tourists will be
made to pay a nominal deposit.
India successfully carries out fresh user trial of Agni-III ballistic missile
India has successfully carried out a fresh user
trial of Agni-III ballistic missile from a defence
test facility in the Abdul Kalam Island. The
Strategic Forces Command carried out the test
with logistics support from Defence Research
Development Organisation (DRDO). The
objective of the test was to re-establish the operational effectiveness of the weapon system. Agni
III was inducted into the armed forces in June 2011. Already several successful tests have been
conducted making the missile a foolproof and a proven missile.
Government launches Test and Treat policy for HIV
Union Health Minister JP Nadda has launched
the Test and Treat policy for Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) patients. As per
this new policy, anyone who is tested and
found positive will get the necessary treatment
free of cost. Anyone found positive will be
provided with ART (Anti- Retroviral Therapy) irrespective of his CD count. The scheme will be
a centrally sponsored scheme. All men, women, adolescents and children who have been
diagnosed positively can benefit under this new policy. HIV destroys the CD4 T cells in the
human body and weakens the immunity levels. A person who has CD4 cell count below 200 is
considered to be at significant risk of developing serious illnesses. Before the announcement of
this new policy, the government was providing free treatment to people with a count of 400 and
below.
Indias Forex reserves increase by $1.25 billion

According to the Reserve Bank of Indias weekly
statistical supplement, Indias foreign exchange
(Forex) reserves have increased by $1.25 billion to
reach $371.13 billion from $369.88 billion as on
April 21, 2017. The current reserves are just short of
a lifetime high of USD 371.99 billion reached in the
week to September 30, 2016.
The components of Indias Foreign Exchange Reserves include:
Foreign currency assets (FCAs)
Gold Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)
RBIs Reserve position with International Monetary Fund (IMF)

RBI says, banks cannot refuse to accept faded or
scribbled notes according to its 'clean note policy'.
RBI has said, banks cannot refuse to accept faded
notes or those with scribbles. In a circular to banks,
RBI said such banknotes have to be treated as
soiled notes and dealt with according to its clean
note policy. The circular was issued after it
received complaints that many branches were not accepting banknotes, specifically of 500 and
2,000 denominations, with anything written on them or those either smudged with colour or
faded due to washing. The central bank clarified that its instructions on scribbling on notes was
a directive for staffers not to write on banknotes.
North Korea once again test-fires ballistic missile
North Korea has test-fired a ballistic missile
defying global pressure and warnings from the
United States and its main ally, China. The test
was conducted from the Pukchang region
present in the north of the North Korean
capital, Pyongyang. However, according to the
US and South Korean officials, the test has failed and it is North Koreas fourth successive
unsuccessful missile test since March. The missile launched is expected to be a medium-range
weapon known as a KN-17 and appears to have disintegrated within minutes of taking off.
Global Response: South Korea has said that the launch was a clear violation of UN resolutions
and warned North Korea of tougher UN sanctions. Earlier, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
had warned North Korea of catastrophic consequences if it fails to curb its nuclear and ballistic
missile programmes. Japan has condemned the test as unacceptable.

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Current Affairs: April 2017

Government launch e-challan and m-parivahan apps for enforcement of traffic

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

has launched two mobile applications e-challan and m-

parivahan to provide a comprehensive digital solution

for enforcement of traffic rules. These applications will

provide access to various services and information, and

enable citizens to report any traffic violation or road

Government unveils online vigilance clearance system, e-service book

The Union Government has launched the Online

Vigilance Clearance System and e-Service Book in New

Delhi. It was launched by Union Minister Jitendra Singh

in New Delhi. The online system aims to fast track

process of cases of vigilance clearance for senior-level

appointments in central government. Key Facts:

as computerized database and provide the details of officers clearly.

Government, NDB ink $350 million loan pact

India has signed its first loan agreement with

the New Development Bank (NDB)/BRICS

Bank for $350 million to be used in the

development and upgradation of district roads

in Madhya Pradesh. The objective of the

project is the upgrade major district roads in

rehabilitation of approximately 1,500 km of district roads to intermediate lane, all-weather

The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM) and

Indian Army have signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) to identify the critical

technological areas that can be enhanced in the armed

forces. The MoU was signed by IITM Director Bhaskar

Ramamurthi and Deputy Chief of Army Staff (P&S) Lt.

Gen. Subrata Saha in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Key Facts

contribute positively to enhancing the capabilities.

Government lowers interest rates on Small saving schemes by 0.1%

The Union Finance Ministry has lowered

interest rates on all nine small saving schemes

by 0.1% for the April-June quarter as compared

to January-March quarter. These schemes

includes Public provident fund (PPF), National

Savings Certificate (NSC), Kisan Vikas Patra,

Simplified IT Returns forms for Salaried Employees Announced

The Government notified a new simplified Income-Tax

Return Forms, ITR, for individuals for the Assessment

Year 2017-18. The Central Board of Direct Taxes said, one

of the major reforms made in the forms is the designing

of a one page simplified ITR Form-1, called Sahaj. This

ITR Form-1 can be filed by an individual having income

up to 50 lakh rupees and who is receiving income from

Time limit ends for exchange of demonetised notes

The limited period window for exchange of defunct

500 and 1,000 rupee notes by Indians who were

abroad during demonetisation ended today.

However, additional time period of three months is

available to non-resident Indians, NRIs, with a rider

of exchanging of 25,000 rupees per individual. The

exchange window for NRIs will close on the 30th of

El Salvador becomes worlds first country to ban metal mining

Central Americas smallest nation El Salvador became

first country in the world to ban metal mining

nationwide. In this regard, it has passed a law that bans

broad prohibition on the extraction of minerals to

protect the nations allegedly quite fragile environment,

Ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrested over a corruption