APRIL 2018 CURRENT AFFAIR - FUNDAMAKERS
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April 2018
Current Affair
1 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.com
Important Days
Date Day Extra Info
2 April World Autism Awareness Day “Empowering women and girls with autism”
International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in “Mine Action: Advancing Protection, Peace,
4 April Mine Action and Development”
5 April National Maritime Day “Indian Shipping – An Ocean of opportunity”
International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
6 April
“Universal health coverage: everyone, everywhere”
7 April World Health Day
12 April International Day of Human Space Flight
14 April Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti
17 April World Hemophilia Day “Sharing Knowledge Makes Us Stronger”
World Heritage Day (International Day For Monuments and
18 April
Sites)
21 April National Civil Services Day
22 April International Earth Day “End Plastic Pollution”
23 April World Book and Copyright Day “Quotes Wishes Slogans Greetings”
24 April National Panchayati Raj (PR) Diwas
25 April World Malaria Day “End Malaria for good”
26 April World Intellectual Property Day (WIP) “Innovation – Improving Lives”
International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day
26 April
“Occupational safety health (OSH)
28 April World Day for Safety and Health at Work
vulnerability of young workers”
Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical
29 April
Warfare, International Dance Day
24 April 2017
– 30 April World Immunization Week for 2017 “Protected Together, #VaccinesWork”
2017
MOU Industry/States/Others
S.No. Industry/State/ Industry/State/ Other Info
Organisation Organisation
1 SJVN Limited Ministry of Power To achieve 9200 Million Units power generation during
the 2018-19 under ‘Excellent’ category.
2 Adani Foundation ‘Room to Read’(Non-profit For Project ‘Utthan’ to develop the habit of reading
organization) among children of classes 1 to 5.
3 PHD Chamber of Indian Yoga Association (IYA) To promote yoga, health and spiritual tourism in the
Commerce and Industry Krishna Circuit in Uttar Pradesh.
(PHDCCI)
Top 34 global technology and securities firms, led by Microsoft and Facebook, have signed a Cybersecurity Tech Accord
to defend people from malicious attacks by cyber-criminals and nation-states.
India and World Expo 2020 signed participants contract for India’s pavilion in the prestigious World Expo 2020 held once
in 5 years.
2 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.comAppointments and Resignations
Name Post Institution
RishadPremji Chairman Nasscom
DebjaniGhosh President Nasscom
HimantaSarma President Badminton Association of India
RakeshBharti Mittal President Industry chamber Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII)
Former DoPT Secretary Chairman Banks Board Bureau (BBB)
BhanuPratap Sharma
Lieutenant General PP Malhotra Director General National Cadet Corps (NCC)
Prakash Apte part-time Chairman Kotak Mahindra Bank
Lt Gen Bipin Puri Senior Colonel Commandant Army Medical Corps (AMC)
Rahul Bhatia Interim Chief Executive Officer IndiGo
Mario Abdo Benitez President Paraguay
Mukhammedkaliy Abulgaziyev Prime Minister Kyrgyzstan
Prince Charles President Commonwealth Nations
Viktor Orban Prime Minister Hungary
Carlos Alvarado Quesada President Costa Rica
Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was elected chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia, which is currently
underway in China’s Hainan province. Ban replaced Japan’s Yasuo Fukuda.
The UN World Tourism Organization has appointed FC Barcelona’s Argentine star Lionel Messi as an ambassador
to promote responsible tourism.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has appointed its first ever woman firefighter. Taniya Sanyal from Kolkata is
currently training in the capital and will be joining her team in a month.
Senior advocate Indu Malhotra has become the first woman lawyer to be elevated directly from the Bar as the
Supreme Court Judge.
Former CIA Director Mike Pompeo has been sworn in as the 70th US secretary of state after the Senate voted to confirm
him, 57-42.
Awards and Recognitions
Award Name Person/Institution Extra Knowledge
2017 Saraswati Samman Sitanshu Yashaschandra
India Talent Management Award Rana Kapoor MD & CEO Yes Bank
2018 Fortune World’s Greatest ‘The Students’ of Marjory Stoneman Douglas and other
Leaders schools of US that witnessed gun violence.
BCCI’s CK Nayudu Lifetime Diana Edulji and Pankaj Roy (posthumously)
Achievement Award
Veteran actor Dharmendra and filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani will be conferred with the prestigious Raj Kapoor
Lifetime Achievement and Raj Kapoor Special Contribution awards, respectively.
Veteran filmmaker Rakesh Roshan will be felicitated with a Lifetime Achievement honour at the Dadasaheb Phalke Film
Foundation Awards for his contribution as a producer, director, screenwriter, editor and actor in Hindi films.
Vitabiotics, UK’s number leading vitamin company, has been honoured with The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in
Innovation for its Perfectil beauty Vitamin range.
Kutch-based Bhuj Mercantile Cooperative Bank has bagged the prestigious Banco Award for best performing cooperative
bank.
Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle (lifetime achievement) and veteran actor Anupam
Kher (Special Award) were conferred the ‘Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Smruti Pratishthan Awards’.
3 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.com The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been awarded the National Intellectual Property (IP) Award
2018 in the category ‘Top R&D Institution/Organisation for Patents and Commercialisation.
Leading Indian agrochemical company, Parijat Industries (India) Pvt Ltd, has recently been conferred with the top level
National Safety Awards, “Sarvashrestha Suraksha Puraskar” gold award for the year 2017.
RECOGNITIONS
President Ram Nath Kovind was conferred with the Condecoracion, the highest honour accorded to a non- citizen by the
government of Equatorial Guinea while his visit there.
Poet, litterateur, author, lyricist and activist Javed Akhtar has been awarded the ‘Shanti Doot’ award by one of the most
revered temples in India — the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Mandir in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
Actress Tamannaah Bhatia, who has worked in both the Hindi film industry and southern cinema, was felicitated with
Sridevi Award at the Zee Apsara Awards.
Electronic dance music artiste and music producer Anish Sood became the first Indian artiste to win the Best
Electronica/Dance Single at the 16th Annual Independent Music Awards (IMA) in London.
Mahir Pandhi, an aspiring model from New Delhi, has won “Top Model India”, which showcases diverse talent and breaks
stereotypes. The show gave a chance to 12 aspiring models to transform into supermodels.
Google paid tribute to “India’s first superstar” K.L. Saigal with a special Doodle to mark his 114th birth anniversary. Born
on April 11, 1904 in Jammu, Kundanlal Saigal was considered the first superstar of the Hindi film industry. He sang 200
film and non-film songs that continue to enthrall generations of music lovers even today.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, human rights lawyer Indira Jaising and architect Balkrishna Doshi have
been named by Fortune magazine as the World’s Greatest Leaders of 2018 at the 24th, 20th and 43rd places respectively.
65th National Film Awards for 2017
The 65th National Film Awards 2017 were announced on April 13, 2018 by the jury panel headed by eminent filmmaker Shri
Shekhar Kapur.
List of Awards
Best Feature Film: Village Rockstars (Assamese)
Best Actress: Sridevi for MOM
Best Actor: Ridhhi Sen for Nagar Kirtan
Best Director: Jayaraj for Bhayanakam
Best Supporting Actress: Divya Dutta for Irada
Best Supporting Actor: Fahad Fazil for Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum
Best Child Artiste: Bhanita Das for Village Rockstars
Best Popular Film:Baahubali: The Conclusion
Dada Saheb Phalke Award: Vinod Khanna
Best Action Direction:Baahubali 2
Best Choreography:Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (song: Gori Tu Latth Maar)
Best Special Effects:Baahubali: The Conclusion
Special Jury Award:Nagar Kirtan (Bengali)
Best Debut Film Of A Director: Sinjar (Jesari)
Best Short Film Fiction:Maiyat
Best Film On Family Values: Happy Birthday
Best Film for National Integration:Dhappa
Best Educational Film: The Girls We Were And The Women We Are
Best Anthropological Film: Name Place Animal Thing, Slave Genesis
Best Cinematography: Eye Test, Don
Best Adventure Film:Ladakh Chale Rickshaw Waale
Best Editing:Mrityubhoj
Best Music:Sword Of Liberty
Best Narration:The Lion Of Ladhakh
Best Book On Cinema: Matamgi Manipur
Best Critic On Cinema Award: Giridhar Jha, Special Mention to Sunil Mishra
Best Lyrics:March 22 (song: Mutthu Ratna)
Best Music Director: A R Rahman for Kaatru Veliyidai
Best Background Score: A R Rahman for MOM
Best Make-Up Artiste: Ram Razak for Nagar Kirtan
Best Costume: Govinda Mondal for Nagar Kirtan
Best Production Design: Santosh Rajan for Take Off
Best Editing:Village Rockstars
4 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.com Best Sound Designer and Re-Recordist: Samuel George, Justin A Jose for Walking With The Film
Best On Location Sound Recordist:Unrserved
Best Location Sound: Mallika Das for Village Rockstars
Best Original Screenplay:Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum
Best Adapted Screenplay:Bhayankam
Best Playback Singer (Female): Shasha Tirupati for Vaan Varuvaan) from Kaatru Veliyidai
Best Playback Singer (Male): Yesudas for Poyi Maranja Kaalam from Viswasapoorvam Mansoor
Special Mention Awards: Pankaj Tripathy for Newton
Best Regional Films Awards (Best Hindi Film) :Newton
Dada Saheb Phalke Awards 2018 Winners List
Best Actor(Male): Akshay Kumar for Padman (Jury) and for Toilet: Ek Prem Katha
Best Actor(Female): Bhumi Pednekar for Toilet Ek Prem Katha
Most versatile actress: Manisha Koirala
Lifetime achievement award: Rakesh Roshan
Saraswatibai Dadasaheb Phalke Best actress (Lifetime) award: Farida Jalal
Best actress in a leading role (Padman) – Sonam Kapoor
Best actor in a character role – Rajesh Sharma
Best Playback singer (Female) – Neeti Mohan
Best TV anchor- Aditya Narayan Jha
Best entertainer (TV) – Manish Paul
Best playback singer (Jury)- Bhumi Trivedi
Best Stage Anchor- Siddharth Kannan
Best producer (short films)- Sandip Marwah
Most Entertaining Film (Sonu ki Titu ki Sweety) – Luv Ranjan
Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Awards 2018
Excellence Awards are given out by Mumbai-based Dadasaheb Phalke Foundation. Until last year, the awards were known as
Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards.
Best actor (male): Shahid Kapoor
Best actor people’s choice award: Ranveer Singh
Entertainer of the year: Kartik Aryan
Best actress (critics): Aditi Rao Hydari
Lifetime achievement award: Simi Garewal
Pride of Indian cinema: Sanjay Dutt
Path breaking producer of the year: Anushka Sharma and Karnesh Sharma
Best director: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Outstanding performance male: Rajkummar Rao, Rana Daggubati
Outstanding performance female: Tamannaah Bhatia, Kriti Sanon
Promising face of the year: Aahana Kumra
Best actor (male) Marathi: Vaibhav Tatwawaadi
Best actor (female) Marathi: Pooja Sawant
Best fashion designer of the year: Sanjukta Dutta
Socially conscious performance of the year: Rani Mukherjee
Best comic role: Tusshar Kapoor
Entertaining performance in reality show (Bigg Boss): Hina Khan
Best actress drama award: Jennifer Winget
Best actor (male) Television: Karan Patel
Best reality show judge: Shilpa Shetty
Best talk show host: Karan Johar
Best lyricist: Manoj Muntashir
Best performance in a short film: Divya Khosla Kumar
5 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.com Iconic contribution towards music: Hans Raj Hans
Comic performer of the year: Sumona Chakraborty
Versatile singer: Rani Hazarika
Social and business entrepreneur of the year: Jaya Misra
Best talk show host award for ‘Koffee with Karan’: Karan Johar
Pulitzer Prize 2018
The Pulitzer Prize are awarded yearly in twenty-one categories for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online
journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States.
List of Awards
Pulitzer Prize For Public Service (Jointly awarded to): The New York Times(for reporting led by Jodi Kantor and Megan
Twohey) and The New Yorker (for reporting by Ronan Farrow)
Pulitzer Prize For Breaking News Reporting – Staff of The Press Democrat
Pulitzer Prize For Investigative Reporting – Staff of The Washington Post
Pulitzer Prize For Explanatory Reporting (Jointly awarded to): The staffs of The Arizona Republic and USA Today network
Pulitzer Prize For Local Reporting – Staff of The Cincinnati Enquirer
Pulitzer Prize For National Reporting (Jointly awarded to): The staffs of The New York Times and The Washington Post
Pulitzer Prize For International Reporting – Clare Baldwin, Andrew R.C. Marshall, and Manuel Mogato of Reuters
Pulitzer Prize For Feature Writing – Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, freelancing for GQ
Pulitzer Prize For Commentary – John Archibald, of the Alabama Media Group
Pulitzer Prize For Criticism – Jerry Saltz of New York magazine
Pulitzer Prize For Editorial Writing – Andie Dominick of The Des Moines Register
Pulitzer Prize For Editorial Cartooning – Jake Helpern and Michael Sloan, freelancing for The New York Times
Pulitzer Prize For Breaking News Photography – Ryan Kelly of The Daily Progress
Pulitzer Prize For Feature Photography – photography staff of Reuters
Pulitzer Prize For Fiction – Less, by Andrew Sean Greer
Pulitzer Prize For Drama – Cost of Living, by Martyna Majok
Pulitzer Prize For History – The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea, by Jack E. Davis
Pulitzer Prize For Biography – Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, by Caroline Fraser
Pulitzer Prize For Poetry – Half-light: Collected Poems 1965-2016, by Frank Bidart
Pulitzer Prize For General Nonfiction – Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America, by James Forman
Jr.
Pulitzer Prize For Music – DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar
Conference and Summits
Summit Place Extra Knowledge
1st Meeting of National Council on India’s
New Delhi
Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan
16th International Energy Forum Ministerial
New Delhi
Meeting
Global Logistics Summit New Delhi
Scientific Convention on World Homeopathy Day New Delhi
1st International SME Convention New Delhi
Organized by Taiwan External Trade Development
Taiwan Expo New Delhi
Council (TAITRA).
Theme: ‘Securing Global Supply Chains through
India-Wiesbaden Conference 2018 New Delhi Government- Industry Partnerships towards
Effective Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1540’.
Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities
New Delhi 8th-11th November, 2018.
(GITC), 2018
3rd 5G India Congress 2018 New Delhi
6 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.comAerocity, New To be held in October 2018. Theme: “NEW DIGITAL
India Mobile Congress
Delhi HORIZONS: Connect. Create. Innovate.”
1st International SME Convention 2018 New Delhi Theme: Business Beyond Borders
Secure India Conclave New Delhi
3rd Island Development Agency (IDA) Meeting New Delhi
Theme: “Healing the Heart of Healthcare: Leaving No
15th World Rural Health Conference New Delhi
One Behind”.
Home Expo India 2018 Greater Noida, UP
Amaravati,
Happy Cities Summit 2018
Andhra
Pradesh
First Meeting of the ‘NITI Forum for North East’ Agartala, Tripura
DefExpo India- 2018 Kancheepuram,
Tamil Nadu
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting London, United
(CHOGM) Kingdom
First Regional Conference of Eastern States on Kolkata
Water Resources
Regional Conference on “Urban Development: Ahmedabad,
Technological Solutions and Governance Gujarat
Challenges
23rd Western Zonal Council Meeting Gandhinagar,
Gujarat
10th Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) Jaipur, Rajasthan
First India-Nordic summit Stockholm,
Sweden
International conference on human rights Nepal Theme: ‘Identifying challenges and assessing progress:
addressing impunity and
human rights in South Asia’
First international conference on ‘Water, Kathmandu, Nepal
Environment and Climate Change: Knowledge
Sharing and Partnership’
India-Nepal Inter Governmental Committee (IGC) Kathmandu, Nepal Indian side led by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia.
Meeting
6th Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and Tehran, Iran Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba attended the conclave
Conclave of Chiefs to deepen engagement between navies of the two
countries.
15th SCO Defence Ministers Meeting Beijing, China.
The 1st regional workshop on star rating of garbage- free cities, organized by the Ministry of Housing
and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in collaboration with the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) was inaugurated in New Delhi.
Morocco will host the 2021 annual meetings of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
International News
India will be the partner country for International Frankfurt Trade Fair, Ambiente 2019 to be held during February 8-12,
2019 in Germany. India will take over the partner country globe from the Netherlands.
The Russian military has successfully tested its latest intercontinental ballistic missile “Sarmat”. Sarmat is intended to replace
the Soviet-designed Voyevoda, the world’s heaviest ICBM known as “Satan” in the West.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Minister Sheikh Hasina announced she will be abolishing the quota system for government jobs.
The decision is being viewed as a victory for tens of thousands of students and job-seekers who came out in protest against
the reservation policy for special groups.
O’Connell Tower of Ireland has reopened to the public here after 47 years following a bomb attack. It is the tallest tower of
Ireland.
China has aimed at making the free trade port system and operational mode of Hainan “more mature” by 2035.
7 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.com Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has inaugurated the first unit of 969- MW Neelum Jehlum Hydropower
Project built with the financial and technical support of China in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Nepal observed the famous Bisket Jatra in Bhaktapur and other parts of Kathmandu valley. The nine day annual festival
marks beginning of Nepali New Year.
According to the annual State of Global Air Report, published the Health Effects Institute(HEI), more than 95% of the world’s
population is breathing unhealthy air. India has largest numbers of people (560 million) exposed to household air pollution in
2016 followed by 416 million in China.
Three-time Oscar winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg has created history by becoming the first director whose films have
globally taken in over $10 billion.
NASA has launched its newest planet-hunting spacecraft, Transit Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) from Cape Canaveral in
Florida to find thousands of new worlds beyond our Solar System.
‘Stranger Things’ star Millie Bobby Brown, 14, has become the youngest person to be named as one of the world’s 100 most
influential people by TIME.
Singapore Airlines is set to launch the world’s first non-stop flight, Airbus A350-900ULR (Ultra Long-Range), with almost 20
hours in the air, by the end of this year connecting Singapore to New York.
Argentina’s central bank (Central Bank of Argentina) has raised interest rates by 300 bps from 27.25 per cent to 30.25 per
cent to fight inflationary pressures.
National News
Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli arrived in India on a three-day State visit. During his visit, he was presented an
Honorary degree at GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in the capital city of Uttarakhand Dehradun.
PM Modi announced that on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti a “Gram Swaraj Abhiyan” would be organised starting from
14th April to 5th May, 2018. This Abhiyan is being undertaken for reaching out to poor households, spreading awareness
about government welfare schemes and other people centric initiatives.
The Central government has banned the import of Oxytocin and asked the customs department to prevent any attempt to
smuggle it into the country.
The government has amended Income Tax rules that will now allow transgenders to be recognised as an independent
category of applicants for obtaining a Permanent Account Number (PAN) for their tax-related transactions.
The Centre released Rs 23,443 crore to the states under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS) as part of the its early spending push. Funds released would be used to undertake priority work under water
conservation measures.
Union Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation Minister, Suresh Prabhu launched digital initiatives by Export Inspection
Council (EIC) for ease of export at New Delhi.EIC is the official export certification body of Government of India and has
launched this flagship project of Digital India Initiative to keep pace with changing dynamics of the world.
The Union Minister for Railways and Coal Shri Piyush Goyal launched UTTAM App for Coal Quality Monitoring. UTTAM stands
for – Unlocking Transparency by Third Party Assessment of Mined Coal (uttam.coalindia.in). The Ministry of Coal and Coal
India Limited (CIL) developed UTTAM,aims to provide an App for all citizens and coal consumers to monitor the process of
Third Party Sampling of coal across CIL subsidiaries.
The Union Home Minister ShriRajnath Singh launched the web-based application ‘e-FRRO’ (e-Foreigners Regional
Registration Office).
Ministry of Tourism in close collaboration with Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) launched “Adopt
a Heritage Project” to provide world class tourist facilities at the various natural/cultural heritage sites, monuments and
other tourist sites to make them tourist friendly, enhance their tourist potential and cultural importance in a planned and
phased manner across the country.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched ‘Project Dhoop’, an initiative aimed at shifting the school
assembly time to noon to ensure maximum absorption of Vitamin D in students through natural sunlight.
All tobacco products and cigarette packs will have a national toll-free number printed on them from September 2018 to assist
users to quit addiction. The number is – 1XXX-XX-2356.
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has launched the much-awaited ‘Virtual ID’ which will be a random 16-digit
number mapped to a person’s Aadhaar number.
The UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) has recently replaced existing QR code on eAadhaar having resident’s
demographic details now with a secured digitally-signed QR Code which contains demographics along with photograph of the
Aadhaar holder.
Gobardhan Yojna, a central government scheme for managing and converting cattle dung and solid waste into manure and
biogas, launched nationally from Haryana’s Karnal District on April 30.
Gobar is an acronym for Galvanising Organic Bio Agro Resources. Through the scheme, the government aims to ensure
cleanliness in villages and generate energy by converting cattle dung and solid agricultural waste into compost and biogas.
The scheme was announced by Finance Minister ArunJaitley in his budget speech this year. The government aims to cover
nearly 700 districts under the scheme in this financial year.
To provide seamless vehicular movement for enhancing trade, business, health, education and tourism between Indian,
Myanmar and Thailand, the National Highways Authority of India has signed an agreement for upgradation of Yagyi – Kalewa
8 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.comsection of highway (Milepost 40/0 to Milepost 115/5) in Myanmar to two lane with earthen shoulder.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has signed an agreement with the Ministry of External Affairs, for preparation of a
Detailed Project Report (DPR) on the first phase for development of the Kalay Airport as a green airport in Myanmar.
One-stop bill payment platform Bharat BillPay registered a 75 per cent year-on- year growth in the number of transactions at
31.5 million in March this year. The platform had recorded 18 million transactions in the same month last year.
E-way bill requirement for intra-state movement of goods has been rolled out in 5 states i.e. Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra
Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala. The electronic e-way bill for inter-state movement of goods valued over Rs 50,000 was rolled
out on April 1.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in March, took oath for his new term on April 15, 2018. He
has been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.
The Minister of Commerce & Industry Shri Suresh Prabhu launched the FIEO GlobalLinker– a digital platform for MSME
exporters to digitise their businesses and join a global community of growing businesses. Federation of Indian Export
Organisations (FIEO).
The Bombay High Court has barred Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) from using water from Pavana dam for
maintaining Pune ground for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 matches till further orders.
Karan Johar has become the first-ever Bollywood filmmaker to get a place at the famous Madame Tussauds. The process has
begun in London and it will take about six months for the wax figurine to be ready.
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the two-day Civil Services Day event in New Delhi on April 20.
The Government has inaugurated the new office of Central Project Monitoring Unit for the e-Vidhan project of the
Government at the Parliament House Annexe.
4 Indians feature on Time’s ‘100 Most Influential People’ of 2018- Virat Kohli, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Bollywood star
Deepika Padukone and Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal.
The Centre Government has approved the ordinance to award death sentence to the rapists of children below the age of 12.
The government has cleared the amendment in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar released three books based on Mahatma Gandhi’s Champaran movement of 1917 namely -
Mister M K Gandhi Ki Champaran Diary, Champaran Andolan 1917 and Pir Muhammad Munis: Kalam Ka Satyagrahi.
Diu Smart City has become the first city in India that runs on 100% renewable energy during daytime setting a new
benchmark for other cities to become clean and green. Diu had been importing 73% of its power from Gujarat until last year.
Suresh Prabhu, chairs the first meeting of the think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E- commerce.
Central government has launched m-Awas Mobile App for allotment of General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) in
Delhi. This allotment of government accommodation will be carried out through Automated System of Allotment (ASA). This
app is developed by National Informatics Center (NIC).
The HRD ministry launched 2nd Unnat Bharat Abhiyan. IIT Delhi has been designated to function as the national coordinating
institute for this programme. Under the programe students from 750 higher educational institutions from across the country
will adopt villages and visit them to get acquainted with lifestyle of people there and the problems faced by them.
Government of India has awarded Letter of Intent (LoI) to 9 agencies for 22 monuments under “Adopt a Heritage: Apni
Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan” scheme to protect, preserve and market the heritage of India.
The power ministry data shows that all 5,97,464 inhabited villages in the country have been electrified under Modi
government.
On April 29, 2018, Sikkim Chief Minister and Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) founder Pawan Kumar Chamling surpassed
record for former West Chief Minister Jyoti Basu to become the longest serving CM of any Indian state. Chamling has been CM
since December 12, 1994 and completed his 24th year.
The National Disaster Response Authority (NDMA) conducted its first-ever Mock Exercise on Bio- Disasters at the Lok Nayak
Jayaprakash Airport in Patna. The aim of the 5 days training programme was enhancing the preparedness of Airport
Emergency Handlers (AEHs) to respond to CBRN emergencies at the airports.
The Dalmia Bharat Group has adopted the Red Fort for five years under the government’s “Adopt a Heritage” scheme.
PM Narendra Modi launched the Van Dhan Scheme of Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED during the celebrations of
Ambedkar Jayanti at Bijapur, Chattisgarh on 14th April, 2018 for socio-enconomic development of the tribals living in forests.
Under Van Dhan, 10 Self Help Groups of 30 Tribal gatherers would be constituted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a summer internship linked to the ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign from May 1, 2018 to
July 31, 2018. The internship is an initiative of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS), Ministry of Human
Resource Development (MHRD) and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS).
Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani inaugurated the National Media Faculty Development Centre at the Indian
Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) in New Delhi.
Swedish-Swiss multinational giant ABB has commissioned India’s first industrial solar microgrid at its Vadodara
manufacturing facility in Gujarat. The Vadodara factory is ABB’s largest facility in India.
9 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.comState News
Andhra Pradesh
The Andhra Pradesh government will soon constitute a Happiness Commission that will take up a series of programmes to
promote “happiness” in the state. AP became the second state in the country to introduce an exclusive ministry for happiness
in April 2017. Madhya Pradesh is the first.
East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh is all set to become the country’s first ‘LED street light district’.
Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures (TLMAL) has inaugurated Indias first metal-to- metal bonding facility at Adibatla,
Hyderabad.
In a first of its kind in India initiative, IT major Tech Mahindra has established Andhra Pradesh Cyber Security Operations
Centre (APCSOC) in Vijayawada which is equipped with predictive threat analytics capabilities.
Assam
The two-day Assam Spring Festival began at the Manas National Park where visitors will get to experience the state’s local
food, music, handloom and handicrafts.
M Venkaiah Naidu launched a health scheme of the Assam government named Atal Amrit Abhiyan that offers free medical
care of up to Rs 2 lakh for every individual from Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL) families. Rs 400
crore has been earmarked for the scheme in the financial year 2018-19
Bihar
Prime Minister NarendraModi launched India’s first all-electric high-speed locomotive in Bihar.The electric locomotive, with
a 12,000 horsepower (HP) was flagged off from Bihar’s Madhepura loco factory.
Chhattisgarh
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has approved establishment of the first multipurpose “Van DhanVikas Kendra” on the pilot
basis for establishment in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh.
Chhattisgarh bagged the ‘State of the Year’ Award under the ‘business leader’ category as part of the India Business
Leadership for the remarkable increase in business and services activities in various sectors.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first health centre under Ayushman Bharat Scheme in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur
on April 14.
Delhi
With an aim to combat the rising levels of air pollution in Delhi-NCR region, petrol pumps in the capital from 1st April 2018
started supplying ultra-clean Bharat Stage VI grade fuel (both petrol and diesel).
This move makes New Delhi the first city in the country to switch from BS-IV grade fuels to BS-VI (equivalent to fuel meeting
Euro-VI emission norms).
The Delhi government launched the “Mission Buniyaad” scheme to improve learning levels of children from classes 3 to 9.
Gujarat
Gujarat govt. approved setting up a 5,000 MW capacity solar park at the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR), which
would be the largest such entity in the world after its completion.
Gujarat government has come up with a project named ‘Pocket Cop’ under which smartphones containing database of people
with a criminal background would be distributed to 4900 police personnel in the state to improve crime detection rate.
Haryana
Haryana state government has decided to provide special benefits, including nutritional support, to tuberculosis patients in
an effort to eliminate the infectious disease by 2025.
Haryana government has come up with Water ATM Policy to provide clean drinking water to people at public places in cities.
Residents of cities in Haryana can now look forward to having a water ATM every 400 metres.
The Haryana government has made international shooter Gauri Sheoran as brand ambassador for its Measles and Rubella
(MR) vaccination campaign.
Himachal Pradesh
With an aim to promote breastfeeding, Himachal Pradesh Government launched Mother’s Absolute Affection (MAA)
programme in the state. The aim of the programme was to make people aware about the importance of breastfeeding.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur announced that the Suketi Fossil Park in Sirmaur district will be developed
through Asian Development Bank (ADB) assistance.
10 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.comJammu Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district has been shortlisted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s excellence award for
promoting digital payments and cashless economy.
Kerala
In an effort to boost agricultural production and attract more people to farming, Kerala state government is planning to
launch a community radio at Kuttanad, also known as the `rice bowl’ of Kerala, to keep them abreast of the latest
developments in the sector. The Kuttanad Farm Radio will reportedly be the first community radio in the country.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched Pravasi pension scheme. The scheme gives those hailing from Kerala but
living outside the state or country, a pension of Rs. 2,000 a month. People over the age of 60 years are eligible for the pension.
To avail the scheme, one needs to pay Rs. 100 every month for five years.
Madhya Pradesh
Six years after it applied for the Geographical Indications (GI) tag for Kadaknath, a chicken breed whose black meat is in
demand in some quarters, Madhya Pradesh has got the coveted label.
Madhya Pradesh has bagged the Most Film Friendly State Award by the central government for its efforts to ease filming in
the state by creating a well-structured website, film friendly infrastructure and more.
Prime Minister NarendraModi launched the Rashtriya Gram SwarajAbhiyan in Mandla in Madhya Pradesh. He unveiled a
Road Map for overall development of tribals in the state during the next five years.
Maharashtra
India received its first LNG cargo from the US under a long-term supply deal when a ship carrying super- cooled natural gas
arrived at Dabhol in Maharashtra.
Mumbai, also known as the financial capital of India, has added another feather to its cap, becoming the first city of the
country to have as many as eight women police station in-charges.
The Centre, Maharashtra Government and World Bank signed a 420 million dollar project to help small and marginals
farmers in the Marathwada and Vidarbha region of the State.
Maharashtra state government has introduced free chemotherapy facility in 10 districts from June. The state government will
include more districts once the scheme is rolled out in these districts successfully.
Maharashtra government has made Aadhaar cards mandatory to avail any state-run free nutrition scheme in a bid to bring in
transparency and enable beneficiaries to get their entitlements directly in a convenient and seamless manner.
The Maharashtra government led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has set up an institution named ‘QUEST’ in Mumbai to
evaluate and quantify special development budget allocations and their impact on tribal development.
An exhibition titled “Dhvani se Śabd aur Chinh” was inaugurated at National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai on April 21, 2018
speaking about artists who practiced in Southern states as well as artists who were born there or had family trees and moved
up North to become the greatest practitioners and pedagogues.
The Maharashtra government signed an MoU with the British Council to strengthen educational and cultural cooperation.
Manipur
Manipur celebrated much-awaited five-day Shirui Lily State Festival in the Ukhrul district headquarters. The festival aims to
spread awareness and conserve the endangered state flower ‘Shirui Lily’, while also promote the hill district as a potential
tourist destination.
Odisha
People across Odisha celebrated Utkal Divas on 1st April 2018 to commemorate the formation of the state in 1936.
Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship ShriDharmendraPradhan, inaugurated the
world-class Interpretation Centre and tourist facilities at Konark Sun Temple at Konark.
Tamil Nadu
In a bid to use technology for farmers’ benefit, the Tamil Nadu Government has come out with a bi-lingual mobile application
‘Uzhavan’ (farmer) that will allow ryots to have access to nine types of services, including details about their crop insurance.
Telangana
Telangana government has announced 2 percent reservation in state government jobs for sportspersons.
Uttar Pradesh
The much awaited India’s longest elevated road was finally inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The
10.3 km long Hindon Elevated Road’s primary objectivity was to ease traffic movement from Ghaziabad to New Delhi and vice
versa.
11 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.com The Uttar Pradesh Government launched the Ganga Hariteema Yojana, also known as Ganga Greenery scheme, on in the 27
districts of Uttar Pradesh that are located on the bank of river Ganga.
Uttar Pradesh Government has ordered all government hospitals and orphanages to establish SHISHU SWAGAT KENDRA-
PALNA and put up cradles in front of their buildings so that parents can give up unwanted babies safely.
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched a campaign called “Devbhoomi dialogue” at his official residence
calling upon them to look for self-employment opportunities in their chosen fields.
West Bengal
The West Bengal government has rolled out Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s dream project ‘Rupashree’ which provides one
time financial support to the marriages of poor women.
West Bengal government has given its approval to State Forest Department to apply for coveted Ramsar Site recognition
under Ramsar Convention to Sunderban Reserve Forest.
Finance and Banking News
Reserve Bank of India has decided to set up Data Sciences Lab to improve its forecasting, surveillance and early warning
detection abilities which will aid policy formulation.
The Reserve Bank of India switched back to the gross domestic product (GDP)-based measure to offer its growth estimates
from the gross value added (GVA) methodology, citing global best practices.
The State Bank of India (SBI) will be investing a total of Rs 80 billion in the Arun III hydropower project of Nepal, which has
900 megawatts (MW) electricity production capacities.
The National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has come out with a ‘Prompt Corrective Action (PCA)
Framework’ framework for regional rural banks (RRBs), much like the revised one the RBI unveiled for scheduled
commercial banks nearly a year ago.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has slapped Rs 9 crore penalty on Bank of Baroda for “failing” to adhere to anti-money
laundering norms, and not having an effective system to report suspicious transactions linked to the Rs 6,000 crore scam in
its Delhi-based branch.
RBI imposed monetary penalty worth Rs. 3 crore on IDBI Bank for not complying with the outlined norms related to
reporting of bad loans.
ICICI Bank has launched a cross-border remittance facility “Social Pay” that can be used by NRIs for sending money to their
friends and family in India through social media like WhatsApp and e-mail.
IndusInd Bank has become the first lender to start using WhatsApp enterprise solution to provide basic banking services to
customers. Using the widely-used messaging service, customers can check their balance, obtain a mini statement, check
reward points as well as update Aadhaar.
Jio Payments Bank Limited has commenced operations as a payments bank with effect from April 3, 2018.Telecom major
BhartiAirtel was the first to begin payment bank services in November 2016.
RBI dropped Axis Bank, which has been one of the largest importers of bullion, from the list of lenders allowed to ship in gold
and silver for the current fiscal year.
SIDBI launched ‘Samridhhi- the virtual assistant’ on banks revamped universal loan portal www.udyamimitra.in. A
‘Bankability Kit’ (brought in partnership with Bank of Baroda and IDBI Bank) was also launched.
Leading public sector bank, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) as part of their ‘Customer First’ initiative launched Internet of Things
(IoT)-based customer feedback application on a pilot basis at its Cathedral branch in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Three trade receivable discounting systems (TReDS)—digital invoice discounting platforms—approved so far by the RBI
have jointly implemented a blockchain solution, which is expected to help reduce frauds in bills discounting or receivable
financing.
The platforms—RXIL, A.TReDS and M1xchange—had been set up to bring together buyers, sellers and financiers for
discounting the MSME invoices and provide them with timely funding.
This is billed as India’s first live blockchain implementation in the enterprise financial segment.US-based MonetaGo has
designed and implemented the production solution.
National E-Repository Limited (NERL), a group company of National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX ),
has brought in ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank on board as the repository participants for pledge finance.
As part of the drive to double income of farmers by 2022, the government has raised the authorised capital of NABARD by six
times to Rs 300 billion (from Rs 50 billion) to help it increase its lending to the rural economy.
Central Vigilance Commission has asked banks to give details of any fraud worth over Rs. 3 crore to devise a preventive
mechanism. This data is originally lying with respective banks and the Reserve Bank of India.
Kotak Mahindra Bank has surpassed SBI to become India’s second-most-valued lender after HDFC Bank in terms of market
capitalisation.
The Centre has announced the release of Rs. 120.92 crores as co-contribution towards its Atal Pension Yojana scheme.
According to the TRA Brand Trust Report 2018, State Bank of India was the most-trusted bank (both public and private
sector) in the country and ICICI topped the chart among the private ones.
12 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.com ssVikram Raichura, CEO of VivaConnect along with Radhika Raichura, announced their new venture ‘INFIN8’. INFIN8 offers a
quick and easy process of connecting potential borrowers with multiple lenders through both online (APP and Web) and
offline, through India’s most premium number 8080808080.
The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal for the promulgation of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance 2018 that
seeks to confiscate properties and assets of economic offenders, like Nirav Modi, who flee the country to avoid facing criminal
prosecution.
Private sector lender ICICI Bank has introduced first of its kind ‘digital form’ which will help open current accounts in a few
hours.
Private sector lender Yes Bank has received Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval to open two representative offices in
London and Singapore. Its first representative office was opened in Abu Dhabi in April 2015
Total deposits in Jan Dhan accounts crossed Rs 80,000 crore mark with more people joining the flagship financial inclusion
programme. The deposits, which have been steadily rising since March 2017, were at Rs 80,545.70 crore on April 11, 2018.
National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has announced the launch of its “e – Gsec” platform for facilitating the non-
competitive bidding in Government of India Dated Securities (G-Sec) and Treasury Bills (T-Bills).
HDFC Bank has launched Interactive Robotic Assistant (IRA) 2.0, an interactive humanoid at its Koramangala Branch in
Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Reserve Bank of India has announced that it is withdrawing the restriction that limited foreign investors to only investing in
government and corporate bonds with tenures of three years or more.
India collected Rs 7.41 trillion in taxes in the first year of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for the period ending March 31,
2018.
MOUs
A Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) tailor-made to suit the requirements of serving soldiers, pensioners and families, was
signed between the Indian Army and HDFC Bank on the defence salary package.
SoftBank has signed a $930-million deal with China’s energy conglomerate Golden Concord (GCL) to produce and sell solar
equipment in India. The project will have a 4 gigawatt-capacity and will produce solar ingots, silicon wafers, batteries, and
components.
A Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) was signed between the Indian Army and Axis Bank on the Defence Salary Package on
13 Apr 2018.Under the current MoU, the Army personnel will get free personal accident death cover and free permanent total
disability cover of Rs 30 lakh and free educational cover of up to Rs 2 Lakh for children between the age of 12 and 20 years.
Recently, Indian Army has also signed a MoU with HDFC bank.
The Indian Army renewed its MOU with Axis Bank, to offer ‘Power Salute’, a salary account, exclusively designed for the Army
personnel.
Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has entered into an agreement for information utility services with the National E-Governance
Services Limited (NeSL) to enable high-quality, authenticated information about debts and defaults; which will have more
transparency in maintaining the list of borrowers, debtors, creditors and loan defaulters.
First bi-monthly policy review of fiscal
This is the fourth policy review in succession that the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) six-member Monetary Policy
Committee (MPC) has kept the repo, or short-term interest rate for commercial banks, unchanged.
The RBI also revised downwards inflation in Q4 of FY18 from 5.1 per cent to 4.5 per cent.
RBI estimated that the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for FY20 will range from 7.4 to 7.9 percent.
Current Monetary Policy Rates:
Repo Rate: Unchanged at 6%
Revrese Repo Rate: Unchanged at 5.75%
Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate: Unchanged at 6.25%
Bank Rate: Unchanged at 6.25%
Cash Reserve Ratio: Unchanged at 4%
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): Unchanged at 19.5%
Business News
Private sector lender IndusInd Bank has received RBI’s approval to buy the securities services arm of IL&FS.
After conducting a seven-month-long pilot in India, Amazon Business announced the expansion of its Global Selling
programme by launching B2B selling for Indian exporters.
UC Browser has launched India’s first women-only news channel where they aim to show women related content, based on
relationships, education, health, fashion and lifestyle.
M-commerce play, Myntra has acquired Witworks, a Bengaluru based technology startup, focused on producing smart
wearable devices and their underlying software.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s largest IT outsourcing company has emerged as the first Indian listed
13 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.comcompany to cross the $100-billion mark in terms of market capitalisation (m-cap).
US wireless carriers T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp. have inked about a $26 billion deal to form a combined entity under
the name T-Mobile. The agreement would leave just three major wireless carriers in the US namely- T-Mobile, Verizon and
AT&T.
Economy News
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) noted that the Indian economy is set to expand by:
7.3% in 2018-19
7.6% in 2019-20
The World Bank has predicted a growth rate of
7.3 percent in 2018
7.5 percent in 2019 and 2020.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects India’s economy to grow at
7.4 per cent in 2018 from 6.7 per cent in 2017
7.8 percent in 2019.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said it expects India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at
7.3-7.7 per cent during the 2018-19 financial year.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel has said the country’s economy growth is expected to
accelerate at 7.4 percent in the current fiscal year to March 2019 after a “resilient performance” in the
second half of the previous year.
India has been recording the highest growth rate amongst the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
(BRICS) economies, as per report of KPMG titled “India Soars Higher”. As per the report, Indian economy is
likely to grow at 7.4 per cent in 2018.
Global credit rating agency Fitch has projected India’s growth at 7.3 per cent in current the fiscal and further to
7.5 per cent in 2019-20. It has affirmed India’s sovereign rating at ‘BBB-‘ with ‘stable’ outlook, saying that the
country’s medium-term growth potential is strong. ‘BBB-‘ rating indicates lowest investment grade.
India is now the world’s sixth largest economy, displacing France according to International Monetary Fund’s
World Economic Outlook (WEO) report. The five economies ahead are the United States, China, Japan, Germany
and United Kingdom.
The Indian economy likely to witness a GDP growth of 7.5 per cent this financial year (2018-19), says a
Deutsche Bank research report.
Apps Launches/ Portal/Helpline
APP/Portal Company/Organisation Features/Use
Kamao (earn) AU Small Finance Bank Encourage stakeholders to refer prospective
customers, who want to open deposit accounts or get
loans, on the app and win rewards.
DARPAN (Digital Department of Posts
Advancement Of Rural Post
Office For A New India)
‘Study in India’ Portal HRD Ministry Promote Indian education to 200,000 international
students by 2023
Projects
Council of Ministers has given nod to form a Company for Managing Rs 770 crore World Bank funded Cold Dam Water lifting
Schemes. The firm is being called Shimla Jal Prabhandhan Nigam Limited (SJPNL).
India’s second moon mission Chandrayaan-2 which is expected to be launched around October-November 2018, is likely to
cost Rs 800 crore. It includes Rs 200 crore for launching and Rs 600 crore for the satellite.
Defence News
The fifth Indo-Kyrgyzstan joint training exercise KHANJAR V culminated after a Joint Tactical Validation Exercise and a
closing ceremony held at Counter Insurgency Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte, Mizoram.
Indo-Korean joint anti-piracy, search and rescue exercise ‘SAHYOG- HYEOBLYEOG 2018‘ was conducted off the Chennai coast.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted its biggest ever combat exercise (Gagan Shakti, 2018) along Pakistan and China borders.
The Indian and Malaysian armies begins two week long joint military exercise ‘Harimau Shakti’ from April 30 in dense forests
14 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.comof Sengai Perdik in Hulu Langat distric of Malaysia as part of efforts to bolster defence cooperation.
Two days Coastal Security Exercise ‘Sagar Kavach’ held in Kerala to strengthen and assess the loopholes in the coastal
security mechanism along Kerala shores.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by the Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, accorded approval to Capital Acquisition
Proposals of the Services valued at over Rs 3,687 crore.
Science & Technology
Nasa’s Hubble Space Telescope has discovered the farthest individual star ever seen – an enormous blue stellar body
nicknamed Icarus located over halfway across the universe.
The star, harboured in a very distant spiral galaxy, is so far away that its light has taken nine billion years to reach Earth.
NASA is all set for its first interplanetary launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on May 5 with the Mars-bound
InSight lander.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-1I or
IRNSS-1I from SatishDhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island.The IRNSS-1I will replace the IRNSS-1A which was rendered
ineffective as the onboard atomic clocks had failed.
Sports News
Tournament Winner Runner Up
South East Asian Women Handball Championship
India Beat Bangladesh
(held at K.D. Singh Babu Stadium in Lucknow, UP)
Santosh Trophy football tournament (held at the
Vivekananda YuvabharatiKrirangan (Salt Lake Kerala Beat Bengal
Stadium) in Kolkata, West Bengal)
11th Barcelona Open 2018 Rafael Nadal Stefanos Tsitsipas
Monte Carlo Masters 2018 Rafael Nadal (Spain) Kei Nishikori (Japan)
German Ferrari driver
Bahrain Grand Prix 2018
Sebastian Vettel
2018 Monterrey Open Spanish GarbiñeMuguruza
Miami Open (Men’s Singles trophy) American John Isner
Miami Open title (Women’s Singles trophy) American Sloane Stephens
Munkhbold (Mongolia); Differently-
Asian Armwrestling Championship Firuz (Tajikistan) abled Indian arm wrestler Shrimant Jha
clinched the bronze medal
16th Federation Cup Junior National athletics
Championship
Karolina Pliskova (Czech
Stuttgart Open 2018 Coco Vandeweghe
Republic)
Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2018 Lewis Hamilton
Badminton Asian Championships 2018 (men’s) Kento Momota (Japan)
Badminton Asian Championships 2018
Tai Tzu Ying (China)
(women’s)
Sports
Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj was adjudged ‘Sportsperson of the Year’ while ace shuttlersKidambi
Srikanth and P V Sindhu bagged the best senior male and female athletes at the Telangana Sports Journalists Association
annual awards for 2017.
Pullela Gopichand was given ‘best coach of the year’ award while triple Olympian and former national Hockey player N
Mukesh Kumar was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at the event.
Both Indian captains of men and women’s cricket team, ViratKohli and Mithali Raj were named among Wisden’s leading
cricketers of the year.
Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth became World number 1 in men’s singles category after Badminton World Federation
updated its weekly rankings. He overtook World Champion Danish Viktor Axelsen at the top of rankings with 76,895 points.
Ankita Raina became only the third Indian woman tennis player to breach the top-200 rankings in singles.
Son of Dreams was unveiled to be the Official Mascot of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.
Indian tennis’ ageless wonder Leander Paes became the most successful doubles player in the history of Davis Cup as he
15 P.D-78A, 2nd Floor, Near Sector - Q Chauraha Aliganj Lucknow. Ph: 9598-3333-44. visit: www.fundamakers.comcombined with Rohan Bopanna to not only grab a record 43rd win but also bring the country back in the tie against China.
The 2018 Asia Cup, that was earlier scheduled to be held in India, has now been moved out to the United Arab Emirates.
India clinched the title of team champion in the 8th South Asian Judo Championship held in Kathmandu, Nepal. India ended
their campaign in the tournament with a total of 12 Gold medals and three Bronze medals.
All 104 International Cricket Council (ICC) member countries will be granted T20I status. Currently, only the 18 member
countries are eligible to play T20Is. All Women’s team matches will be awarded T20 International status on July 1, 2018. All
the men’s team matches will be given T20 International status on January 1, 2019.
India ended the 56th Belgrade International Boxing Tournament held in Serbia with three gold, five silver and five bronze
medals in all. The three gold medalists include Sumit Sangwan (91kg), Nikhat Zareen (51kg) and Himanshu Sharma (49kg).
21st Commonwealth Games
The 2018 Commonwealth Games was held at the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia from 4 to 15 April 2018. Carrara Stadium
was chosen as the venue to host the opening ceremony. The 2022 Commonwealth Games is scheduled to be held in
Birmingham, England.
PV Sindhu was India’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony of the of the 21st edition game while Mary Kom carried India’s
flag at closing ceremony in Gold Coast.
Australia topped the medal table winning the most golds (80) and most medals overall (198). England and India finished
second and third respectively. With 26 Gold medals and a total of 66 medals, India finished 3rd for the tournament
Schemes and Policy
Scheme Name Information Outlay
Interest Rate: 2.5%
Tenor: 8 years with exit option in 5th, 6th and 7th
Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2018 year Minimum Size: 1 gram of gold.
Series-I Maximum Size: 4 KG for individual, 4 Kg for HUF and
20 Kg
for trusts and similar entities per fiscal (April-March)
To be Implemented from April 2018-Marc h 2022 Total cost- Rs. 7255.50 crore
Restructured Rashtriya Gram
Aim: Making rural local bodies self-sustainable, Central Share -Rs. 4500 crore
Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) scheme
financially stable and more efficient. State Share -Rs. 2755.50 crore.
Rs 1,290 crore (with Rs 950 crore
National Bamboo Mission (NBM)
as central share)
Gobardhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio
Launched at national level from Karnal, Haryana
Agro Resources Dhan) Scheme
Government based BHIM app has introduced a new cashback scheme for customers as well as merchants. The app now offers a
cashback of Rs 51 for new customers on successful completion of their first transaction, however, the merchants will be able to
get a total of Rs 1,000 for opting BHIM app.
Committee
Head of
Purpose
Committee
The committee headed by former HRD Secretary VinaySheelOberoi will examine the conduct of
Class 10 and Class 12 examinations by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in
Vinay Sheel Oberoi
order to prevent leak of question papers and revisit all aspects related to security checks built
into the system to ensure question papers reach examinees without tampering.
The West Bengal government set up a 18-member committee chaired by eminent film
Goutam Ghosh director GoutamGhosh with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the patron to commemorate
100 years of Bengali cinema.
Human Resource Development Ministry constituted the committee under the
Bhupendrasinh Chudasama Chairmanship of Gujarat Education Minister ShriBhupendrasinhChudasama to suggest
the ways to make the maths subject easy.
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