April Current Affairs

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urrent Affairs April 2018 for RBI and NABARD
01.04.18
1. NASA to send first mission to study 'heart' of Mars: Scheduled to launch on May 5, InSight -
a stationary lander - will also be the first NASA mission since the Apollo moon landings to place
a seismometer, a device that measures quakes, on the soil of another planet.“In some ways,
InSight is like a scientific time machine that will bring back information about the earliest stages
of Mars' formation 4.5 billion years ago,” said Bruce Banerdt, principal investigator for InSight.
2. Mithali Raj adjudged 'Sportsperson of the Year' at the Telangana Sports Journalists
Association annual awards for 2017.
3. Tamil film director C.V. Rajendran passes away
4. E-Way Bill for Inter-State movement of goods comes into force: With the beginning of the
financial year 2018-19, the e-way Bill System for Inter-State movement of goods comes into
force; An E-way Bill will be required for moving goods worth over 50,000 rupees from one state
to another.
5. Permanent Indus Commission meet begins in Delhi: The IWT covers the water distribution
and sharing rights of six rivers — Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. The treaty
specifies that waters from the three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — are
reserved for Pakistan, while waters from eastern rivers — Ravi, Sutlej and Beas — are for
reserved for India.
6. First US shale (liquefied natural gas) gas reaches India; GAIL's Dabhol terminal receives
cargo in Maharashtra.
7. Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri
Dharmendra Pradhan, inaugurated the world-class Interpretation Centre and tourist facilities at
Konark Sun Temple at Konark today which coincides with Utkal Divas celebrationsin Odisha.
02.04.18
1. World Autism Awareness Day: 2 April: The 2018 World Autism Awareness Day observance
at United Nations Headquarters New York will focus on the importance of empowering women
and girls with autism and involving them and their representative organizations in policy and
decision making to address these challenges.
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2. Kerala lifts their sixth Santosh Trophy: Kerala have lifted their sixth Santosh Trophy Football
title. In a thrilling final at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, they held their nerves to beat
defending champions and 32-time winners Bengal via penalty shootout.
3. Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni and billiards champion Pankaj Advani are among the 41
prominent personalities who will be conferred with the prestigious Padma awards of 2018 by
President Ram Nath Kovind in New Delhi today.
4. India replaces Vietnam to become second largest producer of mobile phones after China.
5. Miami Open: American John Isner won his first ever Masters 1,000 title with a 6-7 (4-7) 6-4
6-4 victory over German Alexander Zverev in the Miami Open final.
6. Gail arm to invest Rs 3,000 cr to double the capacity at its liquefied natural gas (LNG) Dabhol
terminal.
7. IGNCA to Set up 6 New Regional Centres: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA),
an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture proposes to start 6 new regional centres of
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) at Ranchi, Vadodara, Goa, Thrissur,
Jammu/Srinagar and Puducherry in addition to its existing three regional centres at Varanasi,
Guwahati and Bengaluru.
8. Trishul Special Olympics & Paralympics Games for Special Children: Air Force Wives Welfare
Association along with Special Olympics Bharat, conducted the opening ceremony of Trishul
Special Olympics & Paralympic Games for Special Children today at Western Air Command
Sports ground, Subroto Park at 1600 hrs.
9. Now 97.05 lakh subscribers base under Atal Pension Yojana: At the end of Financial Year
2017-18, 97.05 lakh subscribers have enrolled under Atal Pension Yojana.
10. 130 Higher Educational Institutions are running self-defense programmes for women: The
University Grants Commission (UGC) had set up a Task Force under the Chairmanship of Prof.
Meenakshi Gopinath, Ex-Member, UGC to review the existing arrangements for the safety and
security of girls and women in particular and of the entire youth in general on campuses of
institutions of higher learning. The Task Force submitted its report titled as “SAKSHAM-
Measures for Ensuring the Safety of Women and Programmes for Gender Sensitization on
Campuses” to the UGC on 30th October, 2013.

11. More than Rs. 200 Cr released for the scheme for improving quality in educational
development and preparation of teachers: The focus of the Government is on improving
quality in educational development and preparation of teachers and their working conditions in
classrooms, schools and colleges, as also their continuous professional development.
 The Scheme Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching
(PMMMNMTT) aims at addressing comprehensively all issues related to teachers,
teaching, teacher preparation, professional development, curriculum design, and
developing assessment & evaluation methodology, research in developing effective
Pedagogy.
12. Several landmark initiatives launched by the Government to improve quality of Higher
Education : The Central Government, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India
Council for Technical Education (AICTE) are constantly endeavouring to improve quality of
higher education and make higher education practical in the country.
 The Central Government has launched several initiatives viz. National Institutional
Ranking Framework (NIRF), Impacting Research Innovation & Technology (IMPRINT),
Uchhatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY), Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), Study
Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM), National Academic
Depository (NAD), Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP), Pandit
Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT),
National Digital Library, Campus Connect Programme etc. in the field of higher
education for qualitative development of education in the country.
13. ‘Monument Mitras’ to adopt heritage sites/monuments to provide world class tourist
amenities: Tourism Minister: 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 project primarily focuses on providing basic amenities that include cleanliness, public
convenience, drinking water, ease of access for tourists, signage etc. and advanced amenities
like TFC, Souvenir shop, Cafeteria etc.
14. MoTA has been providing skill development and vocational training to tribal population
under various schemes
Ministry of Tribal Affairs provides recurring grants under the Scheme of VTC for running
Vocational Training Centres(VTCs) by the State Governments / NGOs. The scheme is
implemented through the State Government.

15. With 99.49 lakh new tax filers, income tax returns surge 26% in 2017-18 :The number of
new income-tax filers increased nearly a crore in 2017-18, taking the total income tax returns
filed to 6.84 crore, up 26% from 5.43 crore in the previous year. The higher filings allowed the
government to meet the direct tax collections target for the financial year and almost reach the
slightly higher revised numbers for the year. The number of new income tax filers increased
99.49 lakh in 2017-18.
16. Highway construction hits record 10,000 km in FY18
17. Govt expands ambit of emission standards for five industries to fight foul air : The Union
environment ministry has expanded the ambit of emission standard norms of sulphur dioxide
(SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) for five industries - ceramic, foundry industries (furnaces based
on fuel), glass, lime kiln and reheating furnace - and asked states to ensure their
implementation.
18. Infrastructure conglomerate GMR and tobacco company ITC Ltd are currently bidding to
adopt the Taj Mahal under the ‘Adopt a Heritage’ project.
19. India’s longest elevated road was recently inaugurated in Uttar Pradesh. The Hindon
Elevated Road will be connecting Raj Nagar Extension in Ghaziabad to UP Gate.
03.04.18
1. The exiled government of Tibet has launched a year-long ‘Thank you India” campaign to
mark the 60th year of the arrival of the spiritual leader Dalai Lama to India.
2. SIDBI Celebrates its Foundation day with launch of ' Samridhi’
SIDBI celebrated its foundation day on April 2 as day of Sampark (connect), Sanwad
(interaction), Suraksha (security) and Sampreshan (disseminate).
• Chairman Managing Director of SIDBI Shri Mohammad Mustafa launched a series of

initiatives from its Lucknow bank headquarters.
• Chairman SIDBI also launched Samridhhi- the virtual assistant on banks revamped universal
loan portal www.udyamimitra.in.
• During the day, a ‘Bankability Kit’ (brought in partnership with Bank of Baroda and IDBI
Bank) was also launched.
3. India is now the world’s No 1 almond importer: India has toppled China and Spain to
emerge as the world’s largest consumer of Almond in recent times.

4. President receives copy of special issue of ‘Think India’ journal on Deen Dayal Upadhyay
from Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, MP, in the presence of Shri D P Tripathi, MP, and editor of the
special issue.
5. Mamata Banerjee govt rolls out ‘Rupashree’ for marriages of poor women: 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.
6. Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan-launched
The Ministry of Human Resource Development has launched the Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan
(RAA), a convergent framework across School Education and Higher Education aiming to
encourage children towards learning Science and Mathematics.
• One of the interventions under RAA is strengthening of school Science and Mathematics
laboratories, through the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA).
• Under RMSA, an amount of Rs. 179.73 crore has been approved in 2017-18, for in-service
training of science and maths teachers.
7. Delhi becomes first city to roll-out Euro VI fuel
With an aim to combat the rising levels of air pollution in Delhi-NCR region, petrol pumps in the
capital 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.
• Other cities like Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad along with 13 major cities,
including Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune, will also switch over to cleaner
BS-VI grade fuel from January 1 next year.
• However, BS- VI fuel will be rolled out in rest of the country by April 2020.
8. Former Intel executive Debjani Ghosh assumes charge as Nasscom President
9. Mangaluru Airport Adjudged India’s Cleanest
The Mangalore International Airport has been adjudged the cleanest airport in the country.
In the survey conducted across 53 airports in the country by AAI, Mangaluru airport was
adjudged the cleanest.

10. Six monuments in North Eastern States identified for listing under World Heritage Site
As many as 6 monuments/historical sites in the North Eastern states have been identified
tentatively for listing under World Heritage Site.
Details of monuments/sites identified/placed under tentative list for listing under world
heritage in the north eastern states are given below:
1. Apatani Cultural Landscape, Arunachal Pradesh
2. Iconic Saree Weaving Clusters of India
3. Moidams – the Mound – Burial System of the Ahom Dynasty, Assam
4. Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh
5. River Island of Majuli in midstream of Brahmaputra River in Assam
6. Thembang Fortified Village, Arunachal Pradesh
11. Suresh Prabhu Launches Digital Initiative for Ease of Export: Union Commerce and Industry
and Civil Aviation Minister, Suresh Prabhu today launched digital initiatives by Export Inspection
Council (EIC) for ease of export at New Delhi today.
 Minister said that India’s potential for agricultural and food export will get a great boost
due to these digital initiatives.
12. Deendayal Antodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission: Alleviating rural
poverty & fostering diversified livelihoods through sustainable community institutions of
poor
Deendayal Antodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) is a flagship

programme of the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) that seeks to alleviate rural poverty
through building sustainable community institutions of the poor.
 The centrally sponsored programme is implemented in partnership with the State

governments. The Mission, launched in 2011, has seen a rapid expansion in the last
three years. During FY 17-18, 820 additional blocks were covered under the “Intensive”
strategy.
 Cumulatively, the Mission is being implemented in 4,459 blocks spread across 586
districts of 29 States and 5 Union Territories (UTs).

13. Tobacco farmers lobby seeks Centre's intervention to stop cigarette smuggling : The
Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA) has submitted its appeal to various
ministries such as the prime minister's office, health and family welfare, agriculture, commerce
and industry, and labour.
14. IBC panel recommends changes to revamp insolvency resolution process :The Insolvency
and Bankruptcy panel has recommended changes to the insolvency resolution framework in its
report which was released by the ministry of corporate affairs.
 The panel has recommended changes to the insolvency resolution framework to make it
flexible for Resolution Professionals to raise interim finance.
 The panel's recommendations on interim finance states that interest should be
calculated till one year after the liquidation date or repayment whichever is earlier.
Currently, the interest is calculated only till the liquidation date.
04.04.18
1. NIRF India Rankings 2018’ for Higher Education Institutions: The Union Minister of Human
Resource Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar, released the NIRF India Rankings 2018 in
various categories on the basis of performance of Higher Educational Institutions in a
programme held in New Delhi.
 Minister of State Human Resource Development, Dr. Satya Pal Singh released the report
on the NIRF Rankings during the event. 69 top institutions in 9 categories were given
awards at today’s event.
 In this third edition of India Rankings, a total of 2809 institutions have participated in 9
categories.
Given below is the list of winners in various categories:
 Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru in overall category

 Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in management category.
 Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru in overall in university category
 Miranda House, Delhi in college category
 National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Mohali in pharmacy
category
 All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi in medical category
 Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in architecture category
 National Law School of India University, Bengaluru in law category
 Indian Institute of Technology Madras in engineering category

2. RBI drops Axis Bank from list of bullion importers: RBI has dropped Axis Bank from a list of
banks it has cleared to import gold and silver in the current financial year that began April 1.
 Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia were among the 16 banks allowed
to import bullion.
 Two other small banks Karur Vyasa and South Indian Bank, were also dropped from the
RBI list.
3. India ranked 37th in the global startup ecosystem in 2017, according to a report released by
global startup ecosystem map Start up blink. The list, measuring startup ecosystem strength
and activity, was topped by the United States followed by the United Kingdom.
4. 21st Commonwealth Games to begin today: The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially
known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Gold Coast 2018, is an
international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that will be held on the
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, between 4 and 15 April 2018.
 It will be the fifth time Australia has hosted the Commonwealth Games.
 A total of 275 events will be held in 19 sports.
 Opening ceremony will be held in Carrara Stadium.
 The official motto for the 2018 Commonwealth Games is "Share the Dream".
 Borobi was named as the mascot of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
5. India to be partner country for Ambiente 2019: India will be the partner country for
International Frankfurt Trade Fair, Ambiente 2019 to be held during February 8-12, 2019.
6. M L Srivastava, Joint Secretary (Akademies) at the culture ministry has been appointed as the
protem chairman of the Lalit Kala Akademi.
7. MoU between Indian Army and HDFC Bank: A Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) was
signed between the Indian Army and HDFC Bank on the Defence Salary Package on 03 Apr
2018.
8. Indo-Kyrgyzstan joint training exercise KHANJAR-V concludes
The fifth Indo-Kyrgyzstan Joint Training Exercise KHANJAR-V culminated on 29 March, after a
joint tactical validation exercise and a closing ceremony held at Counter Insurgency Jungle
Warfare School.

9. Jio Payments Bank begins operations: The Reserve Bank has said that Jio Payments Bank has
commences its banking services from April 3. Reliance Industries Ltd was one of the 11
applicants which were issued in-principle approval for setting up a payments bank in August
2015.
10. Financial assistance to Women Entrepreneurs in 2016-17
Government has provided financial assistance to women entrepreneurs in setting up 14,768

projects in 2016-17 under Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)
aimed at generating employment in rural and urban areas of the country.
 The maximum number of 1,484 projects were from Assam, followed by 1,387 in Uttar
Pradesh, 1,248 in Tamil Nadu, 942 in Odisha, and 915 in Bihar, besides other States/UTs
with varying number of projects.
 Under the PMEGP scheme women entrepreneurs are provided 25% and 35% subsidies
for the project set up in urban and rural areas respectively.
11. Performance of National Social Assistance Programme(NSAP)
Under the National Social Assistance Programme Government is committed towards extending
direct transfers to over 30 million old age, widow and differently abled beneficiaries belonging
to below poverty line families.
 The cash transfers being facilitated under the National Social Assistance Programme
are an important subset of overall social security net including food security and
health insurance extended by the Government to families facing deprivation.
12. Government produces thematic creatives on niche products under ‘Incredible India 2.0’:
Shri. K. J. Alphons
The Ministry of Tourism, as part of its on-going activities, annually releases global print,
electronic and online media campaigns in important and potential markets overseas, under the
Incredible India brand-line, to promote various tourism destinations and products of the
country including Wellness and Wildlife Tourism.
13. Government targets to increase India’s share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals to 1% in world’s
International tourist arrivals by 2020 and 2% by 2025: Tourism Minister
14. The Cabinet today approved rightsizing of antitrust watchdog Competition Commission of
India by halving the number of its members to three. CCI currently has one chairperson and six
members. It will now have one chairperson and three members..

15. International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action: 4 April
International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is observed all over the
world on 4 April.
 This day is observed to create awareness about the threat of mines, unexploded
grenades and other explosive hazards.
 The theme for International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action
2018 is ‘Advancing Protection, Peace and Development.’
16. Second lead-up Conference to 3rd Annual Meeting of Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank (AIIB) on ‘Enhancing Port and Coastal Infrastructure’ is being held Visakhapatnam. The
Regional Conference is being organized by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India in
collaboration with AIIB, CII and Research and Infrastructure System (RIS) for Developing
Countries.
The panel discusses various issues relating to trade promotion through sea route, building-up
robust port & coastal infrastructure and revising & relaxing maritime regulatory issues to
promote blue economy in India.
What is AIIB?
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank with a mission
to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia and beyond.
It is headquartered in Beijing.
It commenced operations in January 2016 and has now grown to 84 approved members from
around the world.
The capital of the bank is $100 billion, equivalent to 2⁄3 of the capital of the Asian Development
Bank and about half that of the World Bank.
05.04.18
1. Trial run of first India-Bangladesh container train flagged off
The trial run of the first container train between India and Bangladesh was flagged off from
Kolkata city.
 The train left for Bangladesh with 60 containers loaded with almost 1,200 tonnes of de-
oiled cake, used as a raw material for animal feed.
 It will pass through Sealdah, Naihati, Ranaghat and Gede in India and Darsana and
Ishurdi in Bangladesh before reaching Bangabandhu West station, 117 kilometres off
capital city of Dhaka.

2. SBI Life gets new MD & CEO: SBI Life Insurance has appointed Sanjeev Nautiyal as its new
Managing Director and CEO.
3. Himanta Biswa Sarma Elected BAI President: Assam Health and Education Minister Himanta
Biswa Sarma was unanimously elected the Badminton Association of India (BAI) President
during its annual general body meeting in Goa.
4. IndusInd Bank gets RBI nod to acquire IL&FS arm: Private sector lender IndusInd Bank said it
has received RBI's approval to buy the securities services arm of IL&FS. In March 2017, the bank
entered an agreement with Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services, the promoter
shareholder of IL&FS Securities Services Ltd (ISSL), to acquire 100 per cent stake in ISSL.
5. Doha Bank sets up first branch in Chennai: Qatar-based Doha Bank has set up the first
branch in the Chennai taking the total number of branches in the country to three, a top official
said.
6. High Powered Committee to examine the system of conducting Class X and Class XII exam
The Ministry of Human Resource Development has constituted a High Powered Committee to
examine the entire system of conducting Class X and Class XII examination conducted by the
CBSE with a view to prevent leakages. Shri Vinay Sheel Oberoi, Retd. Secretary (Higher
Education), MHRD will be the Chairperson of the 7 member High Power Committee. The High-
Powered Committee will submit its report by on or before 31.05.2018.
7. IndusInd first bank to use WhatsApp for basic services: 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.
8. Union Cabinet Approves Protection Of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018

The Union Cabinet has approved the Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018,
aimed at protection and promotion of human rights in India.
The Bill seeks to amend the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
The Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018 aims to strengthen the human rights
institutions of India for effective discharge of their mandates, roles and responsibilities.

9. National Maritime Day- April 5: The National Maritime Day is observed on April 5. The
theme of 55th edition of the National Maritime Day 2018 celebrations is “Indian Shipping – An
Ocean of opportunity”.
10. 1st Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement Released By RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept interest rates unchanged and the central bank forecast
economic growth in the current year at 7.4 per cent.
Repo rate unchanged at 6.0%.
Consequently, the Reverse Repo Rate (RRR) under the LAF remains at 5.75%, and the Marginal
Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.25%.
11. Subrata Bhattacharjee Appointed As Next Ambassador Of India To Serbia
12. Commonwealth Games 2018: Bermuda’s Duffy Wins First Gold: World champion Flora
Duffy of Bermuda stormed to victory in the women’s triathlon to win the first gold medal of the
21st Commonwealth Game. Kenya set to host 2019 Commonwealth Games.
13. Sri Lankan PM Defeats No-Confidence Motion In Parliament: Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe defeated a no-confidence motion in parliament.
Sri Lanka Capitals: Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Currency: Sri Lankan rupee
14. India: Third Most Vulnerable Country To Cyber Threats

India emerged as the third most vulnerable country in terms of risk of cyber threats, such as
malware, spam and ransomware, in 2017.
In 2017, 5.09% of global threats detected were in India.
The U.S. (26.61%) was most vulnerable to such attacks, followed by China (10.95%), according
to ‘Internet Security Threat Report’.
As per the report, India continues to be second most impacted by spam and bots, third most
impacted by network attacks, and fourth most impacted by ransomware.

15. MAA Programme Launched By Himachal Pradesh Health Minister Vipin Parmar
The Mother’s Absolute Affection (MAA) programme was launched in Himachal Pradesh with an
aim to promote breastfeeding. It was launched by Himachal Pradesh Health Minister Vipin
Parmar. It aims to create awareness among people about the importance of breastfeeding.
Himachal Pradesh Capital-Shimla, Dharamshala (In winter) Chief Minister- Jai Ram Thakur
Governor- Acharya Dev Vrat
16. NASA Successfully Tests Supersonic Mars Landing Parachute

A supersonic parachute that will help NASA missions to land on Mars, was successfully launched
into the sky.
The Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment (ASPIRE) was launched from
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in the US.
The Mars rover is scheduled to launch in two years, on a mission to find signs of ancient life on
the Red Planet.
17. Julius Maada Bio Elected Sierra Leone President: In Sierra Leone, the Election Commission
has declared main opposition candidate Julius Maada Bio as the West African nation’s new
president.
Sierra Leone Capital: Freetown Currency: Leone
18. Prime Minister to inaugurate International Energy Forum in New Delhi: India will host the
16thInternational Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial Meeting from 10-12th April 2018 in New
Delhi. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will formally inaugurate the Meeting on 11th April
2018.
Petroleum Ministers from 42 countries would attend the Meeting.The biennial IEF
Ministerial Meetings are the world's largest gathering of Energy Ministers who engage in a
dialogue on global energy issues.
19. Bengal dairy farmers to get an additional subsidy of Rs 2 per litre : The state government
has decided to give an additional subsidy of Rs 2 per litre (over and above the procurement
price) to dairy farmers who sell milk to the government through cooperatives. At present the
procurement price of milk is Rs 25 per litre.

20. Tighter reporting of remittances under LRS to prevent abuse: Wealthy individuals who
transfer money often to offshore entities for investments and other purposes face tighter
scrutiny. Reserve Bank of India will put in system in place whereby banks will have to report
individual transactions under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) on a daily basis to
ensure that the individual remitter does not breach the limit of remitting $250,000 a year
through transactions with multiple banks.
21. India has overtaken Japan to become the world’s second largest producer of crude steel in
February. Growth is attributed to Centre’s steps to curb imports, ‘Make in India’ among others.
Key facts: At present, China is the largest producer of crude steel in the world, accounting for
more than 50% of the production.
06.04.18
1. Indian, Korean Coast Guards Hold Joint Exercise Off Chennai Coast: The Indo-Korean joint
anti-piracy, search and rescue exercise ‘SAHYOG- HYEOBLYEOG 2018’ was conducted off the
Chennai coast.
2. Coal Ministry Launches UTTAM App For Quality Monitoring: The Union Minister for
Railways and Coal Shri Piyush Goyal has launched UTTAM App for Coal Quality Monitoring.
UTTAM stands for – Unlocking Transparency by Third Party Assessment of Mined
Coal (uttam.coalindia.in). UTTAM is an example of leveraging technology to ensure
transparency and efficiency in coal quality monitoring process to bring coal governance closer
to people. It is to facilitate a bidirectional channel between Coal India Limited and a common
citizen.
3. Flipkart Partners With MakeMyTrip: The Online travel portal MakeMyTrip has formed a
partnership with Flipkart to allow customers to book domestic flight tickets and other travel
services directly through the e-commerce firm’s portal.
Additionally, under the tie-up, all offerings of three of MakeMyTrip’s brands – MakeMyTrip,
Goibibo and redBus – will now be available to Flipkart consumers.
4. Russia, Turkey, Iran Vow To Secure Syria’s Territorial Integrity: The presidents of Russia,
Turkey and Iran have vowed to secure the territorial integrity of Syria during a trilateral summit
in Ankara.

5. Qatar Introduces National Service For Women: Qatar is introducing national service for
women for the first time. Women aged over 18 will be able to volunteer for national service
which comes into immediate affect, while men will now serve a year instead of three months in
the military service. Every Qatari male between 18 and 35 is required to perform a compulsory
military service while the national service for females is voluntary.
Qatar Capital: Doha Currency: Qatari riyal Prime Minister: Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al
Thani
6. FIEO And PayPal Inks Mou: Digital payments company PayPal and exporters’ body
the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) have tied up to promote exports,
leveraging the technology platform. PayPal will work with FIEO to educate SMEs on how to
leverage global opportunities, help them receive money in a safe and timely manner with
PayPal products.
7. Japanese Animation Director Isao Takahata Passed Away
8. India: World’s Second Largest Producer Of Crude Steel: India has overtaken Japan to
become the world’s second largest producer of crude steel in February, according to the Steel
Users Federation of India (SUFI). At present, China is the largest producer of crude steel in the
world, accounting for more than 50% of the production..
9. Nepal’s New PM Visits India For First Time: Nepal’s new Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli is on
the first foreign visit of his latest term to India.
10. Global Logistics Summit Held In New Delhi: It was organized by the Department of
Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, along with Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and the World Bank Group.
07.04.18
1. World Health Day – APRIL 7: The World Heath day is observed on 7tha April on every year.
With an aim to spread awareness about health and well being, the first ever World Health
Day was observed in 1948 by the WHO. The 2018 theme is, “Health for All”.
2. ICICI Bank 1st To Get Swift’s New Cross-Border Payment Service: The Global financial
messaging cooperative SWIFT announced that ICICI Bank has become its first Indian client to go
live with an improved cross-border payments service. The cross-border payments service refers
to the gpi (Global Payment Innovation) Tracker.

SWIFT’s gpi tracker enables tracking of real-time payments across correspondent banks and has
a facility to track the payments instructions across the correspondent banks globally.
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication provides a network that
enables financial institutions worldwide to send and receive information about financial
transactions in a secure, standardized and reliable environment.
SWIFT Headquarters: La Hulpe, Belgium, CEO: Gottfried Leibbrandt
ICICI Bank, MD & CEO: Chanda Kochhar Headquarters:Mumbai, Maharashtra Tagline: ‘hum hai
na’, ‘khayaal aapka’
3. Maharashtra Govt, Central Govt & World Bank Sign 420 Million Dollar Project
The Government of India, Government of Maharashtra and the World Bank has signed a US$
420 million project.It aims to help Small and Marginal farmers in the Marathwada and Vidarbha
regions of Maharashtra. The $420 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (IBRD), has a 6-year grace period, and a maturity of 24 years.
4. Uttarakhand’s Second Mega Food Park Inaugurated At Udham Singh Nagar

Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated
Uttarakhand’s second Mega Food Park at Udham Singh Nagar.The mega food park– Himalayan
Mega Food Park Private Ltd,
5. RBI Revises Limits For Investment In Debt Instruments By FPI: The Reserve Bank of India has
revised the limits on investment in debt instruments by foreign portfolio investors (FPI).
The revision comes into effect immediately. And, the revision is done in consultation with the
Government of India.
1. The limit for FPI investment in Central Government securities (G-secs) is 5.5% for 2018-
2019
2. The limit for FPI investment in state development loans (SDLs) is 2%
3. The overall limit for FPI investment in corporate bonds is 9%
4. The allocation of increase in G-sec limit over the two sub-categories – ‘general’ and
‘long-term’ – 50:50.

6. Mithali Raj Becomes Most Capped Player In Women’s ODIs: Indian skipper, Mithali Raj
marked her name in record books after becoming the most capped player in women’s ODI
cricket.She also holds the records of being highest run-getter in women’s ODIs.
7. NCBS Team Wins Award From American Society Of Naturalists: A team of evolutionary
biologists from city-based National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) Bangalore, Karnataka
have been awarded the 2018 Presidential Award from the American Society of Naturalists
(ASN). This is the first time researchers in Asia have been presented with the award.
8. IAF To Conduct Biggest Combat Exercise Along Pakistan, China Borders

The composite exercise is named Gagan Shakti. For the first time, the indigenous Light Combat
Aircraft Tejas will be taking part in the exercise and will perform both the offensive and
defensive roles.
9. Ministry of Tribal Affairs to launch first ever “Van Dhan Vikas Kendra”
The Ministry of Tribal affairs has approved establishment of the first multipurpose “Van Dhan
Vikas Kendra” on pilot basis for establishment in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh State.This first
model Van Dhan Vikas Kendra is being implemented for training of 300 beneficiaries with a
total outlay of Rs 43.38 lakhs for training, providing equipment’s & tools for primary level
processing and infrastructure & building for housing the Kendra.
 The scheme aims at economic development of tribals involved in collection of Minor
Food Produces (MFPs) by helping them in optimum utilization of natural resources and
provide them sustainable livelihood. Under it, 10 Self Help Groups (SHGs) of 30 Tribal
gatherers will be constituted.
 The SHGs will then be trained and provided with working capital to add value to
products they collect from forest. They will be able to market their products, by
working under leadership of collector, not only within states but also outside states.
 The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) will be

provide all required training and technical support to SHGs. They will be trained on
sustainable harvesting, collection, primary processing and value addition. They will be
formed into clusters to aggregate their stock in tradable quantity and link them with
facility of primary processing in Van Dhan Vikas Kendra.
 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra will be established under scheme will provide skill upgradation
and capacity building training and setting up of primary processing and value addition
facility. It will be used for training of beneficiaries by providing them equipment and
tools for primary level processing and infrastructure and building for housing.

 The SHGs will supply their stock after primary processing to State Implementing
Agencies or can directly tie up with corporate secondary processor. Big corporates will
create secondary level value addition facility at district level and tertiary level value
addition facility at state level under the PPP model.
 The PPP model will be based on utilizing Private entrepreneur skills in undertaking
processing as well as marketing of the produce. The central and state governments will
provide necessary support by creating infrastructure and providing enabling
environment for undertaking value addition of systematic scientific lines.
10. Khadi Store Locator App Launched: The 9th National Board of Khadi and Village Industries
Commission (KVIC) met in New Delhi. The Minister of State for MSME, Giriraj Singh chaired the
meeting.
11. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended NAM ministerial conference in
Azerbaijan.
12. The Union government has banned imports of the hormone oxytocin to stop its misuse in
the livestock industry, where activists say it causes hormonal imbalances and shortens the lives
of milk animals.
13. The Reserve Bank has deferred the implementation of the Indian Accounting Standards
(Ind AS) by one year as many banks are not prepared to migrate to the new accounting system.
The earlier deadline for banks to switch to the Ind AS was from April 1 2018.
13. India is hosting the 16th International Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial Meeting in New Delhi.
The International Energy Forum (IEF) is an inter-governmental arrangement set up in 1991. It
is based in Riyadh. There are 72 member countries of IEF, including India, covering all six
continents, which are signatories to the Charter of the IEF. Its membership accounts for 90% of
global supply and demand for oil and gas. India is the world’s third-largest energy
consumer after the US and China.
08.04.18
1. 4th National Workshop for Training on Autism Started in New Delhi
The three day National Workshop for Training of Master Trainers on AutismTools- INCLEN and
ISAA for Diagnosis and Management of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children has started in
VigyanBhawan, New Delhi. The workshop is organised by the National Trust under Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment in collaboration with AIIMS, New Delhi.The objective of this
workshop is to make Doctors from across the country aware about Autism Tools to describe the

diagnostic criteria as well as to clinically evaluate a child with suspected autism spectrum
disorder using Autism Tools.
2. Gram Swaraj Abhiyan on Ambedkar Jayanti
The Prime Minister has 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.
 As a special initiative during the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, universal coverage under seven
welfare programmes including Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Saubhagya, Ujala
scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana,
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Mission Indradhanush in 21058 identified
villages with large number of underprivileged households across the country has been
contemplated.
3. ICICI Bank: Govt changes its nominee on the Bank Board: The Centre has replaced its
nominee on ICICI Bank’s Board with effect from April 5.
 Lok Ranjan, a joint secretary at Department of Financial Services in the Finance Ministry,
has replaced Government nominee Amit Agrawal.
 This move comes at a time when this private sector lender is facing a controversy over
alleged irregularities in grant of Rs 3,250 crore loan to Videocon group.
4. CWG 2018: Deepak Lather becomes India’s youngest weightlifting medallist
5. Leander Paes becomes most successful player in Davis Cup: India’s Leander Paes created a
new world record by becoming the most successful doubles player in Davis Cup history, winning
his 43rd such match.
6. RBI to set up Data Sciences Lab: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its release said that it has
decided to set up Data Sciences Lab to improve its forecasting, surveillance and early warning
detection abilities which will aid policy formulation.
The lab will constitute of experts and budding analysts, internal as well as lateral, who are
trained inter alia in Computer Science, Data Analytics, Statistics, Economics, Econometrics
and/or Finance.

7. Federal Bank ties up with Fortune Wealth to offer PIS services: Federal Bank Ltd has entered
into a partnership with Fortune Wealth Management Company Ltd for providing Portfolio
Investment Scheme (PIS) services to NRIs.
8. Gobardhan Yojna' to be launched from Karnal on Apr 30: Gobardhan Yojna, a central
government scheme for managing and converting cattle dung and solid waste into manure and
biogas, will be launched nationally from Haryana's Karnal 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 central and state governments would provide funds in the ratio of 60:40.
9. India’s Foreign Exchange Reserves Hit A Life-Time High

The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit a life-time high of $424.361 billion after rising by
$1.828 billion in the week to March 30. The country’s reserve position with the IMF also
increased by $2.8 million to $2.083 billion. Foreign-exchange reserves (also called forex
reserves or FX reserves) is money or other assets held by a central bank or other monetary
authority.
09.04.18
1. Dharmendra Pradhan Launches PMUY Scheme In Delhi: Union Minister Dharmendra

Pradhan launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) scheme in Delhi and distributed new
LPG connections and cylinders to beneficiaries. The target of Ujjwala connections has been
increased from the existing target of 5 crore to 8 crore by 2020.
2. CM Biplab Deb Launches State Component Of PMKVY

Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb of Tripura launched State Component of Pradhan Mantri
Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 2.0 under Directorate of Skill Development. Tripura is the first
state in the North East to implement the state component of PMKVY through Directorate of
Skill Development (DSD).
3. Patna Tops In 4G Connectivity Among 20 Largest Cities

Patna tops in 4G connectivity among 20 of India’s largest cities. It has emerged ahead of the
likes of Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi.

Four cities from India’s central and eastern regions—Patna, Kanpur, Allahabad, Kolkata, Bhopal
and Lucknow—made it to the top 10.
4. UP Government Launches Ganga Hariteema Yojana: In Uttar Pradesh Ganga Hariteema

Yojana is being launched in 27 districts of the state located on the bank of river Ganga.
The objectives of the schemes include enhancing green cover in the catchment areas of the
river Ganga and to control the land erosion. Plantation will be carried out in one-kilometre
areas from the banks of river under the scheme. The scheme is also known as Ganga Greenery
scheme. The scheme was launched by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a function organized on
the bank of Sangam the confluence of rivers of Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati.
5. TamilNadu Government Launches ‘Uzhavan’ Mobile App: Chief Minister K Palaniswami has
launched the bi-lingual ‘Uzhavan’ (farmer) app .
The app can be used by farmers to get information on farm subsidies, book farm equipment
and related infrastructure and get details on their crop insurance, besides receiving weather
forecast for the next four day
He also launched the ‘Amma Bio-Fertiliser’ scheme, named after late Chief Minister J
Jayalalithaa. The initiative was aimed at better management of nature farming, and help boost
and maintain soil fertility.
6. Deutsche Bank Names Christian Sewing New CEO: Deutsche Bank AG has appointed
Christian Sewing as the chief executive officer. Deutsche Bank AG is a German investment bank
and financial services company. Headquarters: Frankfurt, Germany
7. UAE provides $200m to Lebanese Army, security forces: The UAE has announced financial
support of $200 million to be split equally between the Lebanese armed and the security forces
to contribute to the stability and welfare of the country.
Lebanon Capital: Beirut Currency: Lebanese pound Prime Minister: Saad Hariri
UAE Capital: Abu Dhabi Currency: United Arab Emirates dirham Prime Minister:Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum

8. Desert Tiger 5: UAE, Malaysia Joint Military Exercise: The Desert Tiger 5, joint military
exercise was held in Dubai, UAE.
9. Bahrain Grand Prix 2018: Sebastian Vettel: Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel won the Bahrain Grand
Prix.
10. Assam's Spring Festival begins in Manas National Park
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.
 The National park which is also a tiger and rhino reserve covers five districts of Assam --
Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang, Udalguri and Barpeta.
11. RBI switches back to GDP scale to measure economy: The Reserve Bank 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 government had started
analysing growth estimates using GVA methodology from January 2015 and had also changed
the base year to 2018 from January.Deputy Governor Viral Acharya said that the switch to GDP
is mainly to conform to international standards.
GDP: It is the total value of goods produced and services provided within a country’s borders in
a specific time period.
GVP: It is the measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area, industry or
sector of an economy. It is the grand total of all revenues, from final sales and (net) subsidies,
which are incomes into businesses.
10.04.18
1. Conference on Water, Environment and Climate Change to begin in Nepal: An international

conference on ‘Water, Environment and Climate Change: Knowledge Sharing and Partnership’
will start in Kathmandu. Capital: Kathmandu, Currency: Nepalese rupee, Prime minister:
Khadga Prasad Oli, President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari.
2. 8th Theatre Olympics Concludes in Mumbai
After a glorious run of 51 days across 17 cities of India, the historic event 8th Theatre Olympics
drew to a colourful close in Mumbai.

 The 8th Theatre Olympics was inaugurated by Hon’ble Vice President of India, Shri
Venkaiah Naidu on 17th February 2018 at the majestic Red Fort in New Delhi. This
edition of Theatre Olympics brought together around 25,000 artists under the theme
“Flag of Friendship”. The event witnessed 450 shows from more than 30 countries
performed across 17 cities
 The 51-day long 8th Theatre Olympics, the biggest international theatre festival held in
India for the first time.
3. World Homoeopathy Day: 10 April: A two-day scientific convention is being organized in

New Delhi by Ministry of AYUSH on the occasion of World Homoeopathy Day, on 10-11th April
2018. The Vice President Shri. M. Venkaiah Naidu will be the chief guest at the function while
Minister of State (I/C) for AYIJSH Shri Shripad Yesso Naik will preside.
This day is observed to commemorate the birth anniversary of the founder of Homoeopathy Dr.
Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann. The theme of this convention is "Innovate: Evolve;
Progress: Exploring Science since 40 years”.
4. UN body names Messi responsible tourism ambassador
The UN World Tourism Organization said it has appointed FC Barcelona's Argentine star Lionel
Messi as an ambassador to promote responsible tourism.
 The UN body defines “responsible tourism” as tourism that “helps maximise the sector's
benefits while minimising its potentially negative impact on the environment, cultural
heritage and societies across the globe”
 World Tourism Organization chief: Zurab Pololikashvili
5. 11 public sector banks placed under RBI’s PCA Framework: The 11 banks already under the
NPA framework are IDBI Bank, Bank of India, UCO Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas
Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Dena Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, United Bank of India,
Corporation Bank and Allahabad Bank.
6. India, Swaziland Sign Two Agreements On Health, Visa Waiver

The King of Swaziland Mswati III informed that, Swazi embassy will be established in New Delhi
and an embassy in Swaziland to facilitate easier cooperation.
President Kovind is on a three-nation state visit to the African countries- Equatorial Guinea,
Swaziland and Zambia.

Capitals: Mbabane (executive), Lobamba (legislative) Currency: South African rand, Swazi
lilangeni
7. NITI Forum For North East Holds First Meeting: The first meeting of newly constituted NITI
Forum for North East was held in Agartala.
The meeting was chaired by Rajeev Kumar, the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog and the co-
Minister of State (Independent Charge), Minister of State for Development of North Eastern
Region (DoNER), Jitendra Singh.
As a part of it, Pakyong Airport has been opened in Sikkim and it is planning to start Rajdhani
Express trains to New Delhi.
Tripura Capital:Agartala, Chief Minister: Biplab Kumar Deb, Governor: Tathagata Roy
8. Singapore And China Sign Deal To Boost Cooperation On Belt And Road Initiative
9. Ban Ki-Moon To Head Boao Forum For Asia: Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has
been elected as the new chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia. Ban Ki-moon replaces
former Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda.
The Federation of Chambers of Commerce of India (FICCI) is one of the founding members of
BFA and famous Industrialist Ratan Tata was one of the board members. The Boao Forum for
Asia (BFA) is a non-profit organisation that hosts high-level forums for leaders from
government, business and academia in Asia and other continent.
Boao Forum for Asia, Headquarters: Beijing, China
10. Anushka Sharma To Get Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Award: The award will be given by
an organisation called Dadasaheb Phalke Foundation, a Mumbai-based organisation, which is
different from the Government of India instituted Dadasaheb Phalke Award, awarded during
National Awards ceremony held annually in New Delhi.
The prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India’s highest cinematic honour.
11. As per the latest statistics of Airports Council International, IGI Airport jumped six notches
to be in the top 20 busiest airports in the world for 2017 in terms of traffic volume. It jumped
from 22nd rank in 2016 to 16th.
Delhi has also been ranked first in airport service quality for airports above 40 million
passengers per annum along with the Mumbai airport. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Airport (ATL) was ranked the busiest airport in the world.

11.04.18
1. Andhra CM Naidu inaugurates 'Happy Cities Summit 2018' in Amaravati

2. India and World Expo 2020 signed participants contract for India’s pavilion in the prestigious
World Expo 2020 held once in 5 years. Focus will be given to India’s advances in Space, Pharma,
IT, Renewable Energy, Telecom sectors.
3. Transgenders to be recognised as independent gender category in PAN
4. Nepal President inaugurates International Conference on Human Rights: The conference is

organized by the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal.
5. The Vice President of India Releases Books ‘Sarvapriya Atalji’, ‘Jannayak Atalji’ and ‘Atal
Jeevan Gatha’.
7. Wipro's Rishad Premji appointed National Association of Software and Services Companies
(NASSCOM) for 2018-19.
8. Haryana Government Launches Water ATM Policy For Urban Areas
9. Manu Bhaker: Brand Ambassador MR Vaccination Campaign

India’s teen shooter Manu Bhaker will be the brand ambassador of Haryana’s Measles and
Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign. The campaign would be launched by state’s Chief Minister
Manohar Lal Khattar. She recently won women’s 10m air pistol gold medal at the
ongoing Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
10. Modi Launches India’s Most Powerful Electric Locomotive In Bihar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveils India’s first 12,000 horsepower electric locomotive from
Bihar’s Madhepura locomotive factory. The train is first Make-in-India project completed by
Alstom at Madhepura’s Electric Locomotive Factory. Alstom is a French multinational
company operating worldwide in rail transport markets.
11. Eighth Regional 3R Forum In Asia And Pacific Was Held In Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
The mantra of 3R – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle – Is at the heart of any vision towards the
sustainable development of mankind.
The event will be inaugurated by Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Sh.
Hardeep S. Puri, Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Sh.Tadahiko Ito,
State Minister, Ministry of the Environment, Japan.

The overall theme is “Achieving Clean Water, Clean Land and Clean Air through 3R and
Resource Efficiency – A 21st Century Vision for Asia-Pacific Communities”.
12. Hungarian PM Viktor Orban Wins Third Term

Hungary, President: János Áder, Capital: Budapest, Currency: Hungarian forint
13. SBI To Invest Rs 80 Bn In Hydropower Project Of Nepal: 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 SJVN, which has been awarded with the construction of the mega power project of Nepal
will make the formal agreement soon.
The Everest Bank Limited also will invest 3.60 Billion Rupees (2.25 Billion INR) in the Arun
III. Everest Bank Limited is the Commercial Bank of Nepal, which is joint venture of Punjab
National Bank, India.
15. India to grow 7.3% this fiscal, fastest across Asia: ADB : India’s economic growth is
expected to rebound to 7.3 % this fiscal and further to 7.6 % in 2019-20 with increased
productivity post GST and investment revival due to banking reform, the Asian Development
Bank (ADB).
The ADB’s growth projection of 7.3 % this fiscal is same as that of rating agency Fitch, but RBI’s
forecast is 7.4 %.
12.04.18
1. World's largest solar park to come up in Gujarat: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has
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.
 The project will contribute significantly in achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
target of producing 175 gigawatt of electricity through renewable energy sources by
2022.
2. Jitendra Singh launches online dashboard to monitor public grievances on real time
basisThe Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of
North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic

Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh launched an online dashboard developed by Department
of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).
3. Prime Minister to inaugurate DefExpo 2018 in Chennai on April 12
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Tamilnadu on April 12. He will inaugurate the
10th edition of Defence Expo, DefExpo-2018 in Chennai at Tiruvidanthal, in Kancheepuram
district. The tag line of DefExpo this year is “‘India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub”
to showcase India’s capability in export of defence systems and components.
4. ISRO puts navigation satellite INRSS-1I into orbit: The Indian Space Research Organisation's
navigation satellite INRSS-1I was launched by PSLV-C41 and successfully placed in the
designated orbit.
ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru. Chairman: Kailasavadivoo Sivan
5. FSSAI launches initiative to address Vitamin D deficiency
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has 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.
 The project was launched at National Bal Bhavan here, and saw participation of around
600 students from NCERT, NDMC and North MCD Schools.
 The initiative has been conceptualised by McCannHealth and supported by Kwality (Ltd).
6. Cabinet approves Headquarters Agreement between India and International Solar Alliance (ISA)
and authorizing the Ministry of External Affairs for signing the Headquarter Agreement.
7. HRD Ministry is setting up a committee to reduce the fear of math: Human Resource
Development Ministry has constituted the committee under the Chairmanship of Gujarat
Education Minister Shri Bhupendra sinh Chudasama to suggest the ways to make the maths
subject easy.
8. Yes Bank forms tie-up with Euronet India: Payment and transaction processing solutions
provider, Euronet India, said it has partnered with Yes Bank to modernise the bank’s core
payment infrastructure. Euronet will support the bank in switching transactions between end
points, driving payment channels and card management services, among others.

9. Indian Consortium and Saudi Aramco Sign MoU for Ratnagiri Mega Refinery
An Indian Consortium consisting of IOCL, BPCL and HPCL and Saudi Aramco signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop and build an integrated refinery and
petrochemicals complex, Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (RRPCL) in the State of
Maharashtra.
10. Economic Freedom Index 2018: India ranks 130
India jumped 13 places to achieve the 130th spot in this year's Index of Economic Freedom
published by the Heritage Foundation, an American think-tank.
 As per the latest edition, India moved up to the 130th spot, up from 143 in 2017.
 India's economic freedom score was 54.5.
 Hong Kong topped the index followed by Singapore and New Zealand.
11. India, Morocco Sign Pact To Promote Mineral Exploration
12. UAE Approves Issuance Of Law On Equal Wages, Salaries For Men & Women
Capital: Abu Dhabi, Currency: United Arab Emirates dirham
13. J&K Bank Launches Scheme For Industrial Units: Add On Working Capital GST
14. The SBI Launched UK Subsidiary: SBI (UK) Limited: The SBI has announced the launch of its
UK subsidiary, SBI (UK) Limited, with an initial capital commitment of 225 million pounds from
its parent entity.
15. C.S. Ghosh Re-Appointed As Bandhan CEO: Chandra Shekhar Ghosh has been re-appointed
as managing director and CEO of Bandhan Bank. He has been appointed for a period of three
years.
Bandhan Bank Ltd. is an Indian banking and financial services company headquartered in
Kolkata, West Bengal. Bandhan Bank Chairman: Ashok Lahiri
16. Kidambi Srikanth World No 1, first Indian to reach top spot in men’s badminton

13.04.18
1. PM to inaugurate Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial at Alipur Road in Delhi. This is the
place where Dr. Ambedkar attained Mahaparinirvana on 6th December 1956.
2. AIIB decides to invest $140M to improve Rural Connectivity in India
Approximately 1.5 Million rural residents in State of Madhya Pradesh are going to directly
benefit from improved livelihoods, education and mobility with the USD $ 140-Million loan
approved by the Board of Directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in a
Meeting held recently in Beijing.
3. AAI to develop Myanmar's Kalay Airport: 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.
4. NHAI signs agreement for its First International Project
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 section of highway (Milepost 40/0 to
Milepost 115/5) in Myanmar to two lane with earthen shoulder.
5. Jayant Sinha to head Task Force for UAV technology: The Government has decided to
constitute a Task Force under the chairmanship of Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil
Aviation for fast-tracking the roll-out of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology.
6. Bhanu Pratap Sharma appointed chairman of Bank Board Bureau
The government has appointed former DoPT Secretary Bhanu Pratap Sharma as Chairman of
the Banks Board Bureau (BBB).
 He replaces Vinod Rai, who was appointed as the first chairman of BBB for a two year
term.
 Sharma has been appointed for two years.
7. Government Sets Up Committee To Review The Enforcement Of CSR Provisions

The government has set up a 12-member panel to review the enforcement of CSR provisions
under the companies law, 2013. The 12-member panel is headed by Regional Director (Western
Region) Manmohan Juneja.

9. DefExpo 2018: Boeing Signs Deal With HAL

Boeing India has signed an agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), and Mahindra
Defence Systems (MDS) at the Defence Expo 2018 to manufacture Super Hornet fighter aircraft
in India.The companies will manufacture F/A-18 Super Hornet for India’s armed forces.
Currencies: United States Dollar, Indonesian rupiah, East Timor centavo coins
10. China Holds Biggest Ever Military Drill In South China Sea
11. IPS Officer Rajesh Ranjan Appointed DG Of CISF: Senior IPS officer Rajesh Ranjan has been
appointed as Director General of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), raised in 1969, works under the command of
the Union Home Ministryand also secures nuclear and aerospace installations in the country.
12. Sanjiv Mehta To Take Over As HUL Chairman: Sanjiv Mehta, who is currently chief
executive officer and managing director of Hindustan Unilever Ltd, will take over as interim
chairman in addition to his existing roles.
14. Next Ambassador Of India To The Republic Of Korea:Sripriya Ranganathan

Sripriya Ranganathan has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of
Korea. South Korea Capital: Seoul, Currency: Won, President: Moon Jae-in
15. K T Irfan, Rakesh Babu Sent Home From CWG: Indian race walker K T Irfan and triple
jumper V Rakesh Babu were sent home of breaching the event’s strict no needle policy.
14.04.18
1. Union Home Minister launches e-FRRO scheme
The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh launched the web-based application ‘e-FRRO’ (e-
Foreigners Regional Registration Office).
 He said the e-FRRO scheme is aimed at building a centralized, transparent online

platform for the foreigners to avail visa related services and to provide Faceless,
Cashless and Paperless services to the foreigners with user friendly experience.

2. Bangladesh Ends Reservation in Govt Jobs: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said
she has decided to scrap the quota system in government services after thousands of students
marched across the country in protest.
3. RBI slaps Rs.3 Cr monetary penalty on IDBI bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed monetary penalty worth Rs. 3 crore on IDBI Bank for
not complying with the outlined norms related to reporting of bad loans.
 The penalty was imposed on account of non-compliance with the directions issued on
Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms.
4. Third India-Russia Military Industrial Conference: The third India-Russia Military Industrial
Conference was held on the side-lines of DefExpo 2018 at Thiruvidanthai, Kancheepuram
district on the East Coast Road near Chennai.
5. Anand Kirti from Colombo will get Ambedkar Award: Prof. Bhante Anand Kirti from
Colombo, Sri Lanka will get Dr. Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar International Award.
6. MoU Between Indian Army and Axis Bank
A Memorandum of Undersanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Army and Axis Bank on
the Defence Salary Package on 13 Apr 2018.
7. 65th National Film Awards for 2017 announced
The 65th National Film Awards 2017 were announced by the Chairpersons of the juries on
Feature Films, Best Writing on Cinema and members of Dadasaheb Phalke Award and Non-
Feature films.
Veteran Hindi film actor Shri Vinod Khanna was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his
contribution to Indian Cinema.
Some of the other prominent winners in various categories for this year National Film Awards
included Assamese movie ‘Village Rockstars’ in Best Feature Film category and ‘Baahubali - The
Conclusion’ in the Best Popular Film providing Wholesome Entertainment category.
8. United Nations Launches UN Road Safety Trust Fund

The United Nations’ Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed announced the launch of
the ‘UN Road Safety Trust Fund’.

It aims to stimulate action that can save lives and prevent injuries and sufferings associated
with road accidents. As per the UN data over 1.3 million drivers, passengers and pedestrians die
each year on the roads.
The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the development arm of the UN in Europe,
is designated as the Secretariat for the Trust Fund. A contribution of USD 1500 to the fund will
help save one life and prevent 10 serious injuries.
15.04.18
1. Delhi Launches 'Mission Buniyaad' To Improve Students' Learning Skills
The Delhi government has launched the "Mission Buniyaad" scheme to improve learning levels
of children from classes 3 to 9.
 Primary education falls within the ambit of the Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCDs)
while the Delhi government is supposed to offer education from classes 6 to 12.
 Under the programme which will run from April to June for class 3 to 5 in MCD schools
and class 6 to 9 in government schools, children will undergo a reading level assessment
based on which they will be enrolled in specialised classes.
2. RK Singh inaugurates Solar Lamp Assembly & Distribution Center
Shri R K Singh, Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Government of
India, on the occasion of 127th Birth Anniversary of Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar
launched a number of initiatives for the welfare of the underprivileged.
 Of the several initiatives launched, Shri Singh inaugurated Assembly & Distribution
Centre for Solar Study Lamps at Mahuli village in Arrah.
 In this centre, local women Self Help Group (SHG) will assemble Solar Study Lamps and
distribute them to underprivileged students who do not have access to electricity.
3. India Mobile Congress 2018 to be held in New Delhi
India is going to host its second India Mobile Congress (IMC) between 25-27 October at the
national capital.
 It will be hosted by the Department of telecommunications and the Cellular Operators

Association of India (COAI).

4. PM inaugurates Health and Wellness Centre to mark the launch of Ayushman Bharat
On the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a Health and
Wellness Centre, to mark the launch of the Union Government’s ambitious Health Assurance
Programme – Ayushman Bharat.
 The Centre was inaugurated at Jangla Development Hub, in the aspirational district of
Bijapur in Chhattisgarh.
 He inaugurated a bank branch at Jangla and distributed loan sanction letters under the
Mudra Scheme to select beneficiaries. He also interacted with Rural BPO employees.
5. President Receives first copy of book ‘Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: Vyakti Nahin Sankalp’
Editor of the book, Shri Kishor Makwana
6. Noted artist Ram Kumar passes away. He was known for his abstract landscapes.
7. CWG2018: Anish Bhanwala becomes India’s youngest gold medallist
Karnal’s 15 years old Anish Bhanwala created history by becoming the youngest ever gold
medallist at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) for India.
 The 15-year-old bagged the top prize in the men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event in Gold
Coast, Australia.
16.04.18
1. Petroleum ministry to observe Ujjwala Diwas on April 20
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has decided to celebrate April 20, 2018 as
the Ujjwala Diwas, as a part of the as a part of the ‘Gram Swaraj Abhiyan’.
 Around 15000 LPG Panchayats will be organized across the country to promote learning
through peer group interaction – ‘Kuch seekhein, Kuch Sikhayein’.
2. Home Expo India 2018 to be inaugurated on Apr 16
The seventh edition of Home Expo India 2018, organised by Export Promotion Council for
Handicrafts (EPCH), will be inaugurated on 16th April at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater
Noida.

 Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani will inaugurate the fair, while Ajay Tamta, Minister
of State for Textiles, will be the guest of honour.
 Home Expo India 2018 is expected to generate business deals for direct import.
 EPCH is the nodal export promotion body for handicrafts in India.
3. Maharashtra govt launches centre for tribal development
The Maharashtra government has set up an institution to evaluate and quantify special
development budget allocations and their impact on tribal development.
 Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched the institution — QUEST — in Mumbai.

 Known as Quality Evaluation for Sustainable Transformation centre, the state has taken
the first initiative in the country to ensure development in lives of tribal people through
the projects undertaken is also quantified.
4. Government Increase FAME-India Scheme By 6 Months

The government has announced extension of phase 1 of the FAME-India scheme entailing
incentives for mass adoption of electric and strong hybrid vehicles by six months till September-
end or till its second phase is approved.
The extension is deemed to have taken effect on April 1, 2018.The phase 1 of the scheme was
initially proposed for two years till March 31, 2017 but was extended twice for six months up to
March 31, 2018.
The FAME-India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (hybrid &) Electric vehicles in India)
scheme is intended tosupport the hybrid/electric vehicles market development and its
manufacturing ecosystem to achieve self-sustenance.
5. Union Home Ministry Launches E-FRRO Scheme

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh launched the web-based application ‘e-FRRO’ (e-
Foreigners Regional Registration Office).
The e-FRRO scheme is aimed at building a centralized, transparent online platform for the
foreigners to avail visa related services and to provide Faceless, Cashless and Paperless services
to the foreigners with user friendly experience.
Using the e-FRRO application, foreigners can apply online on the portal and obtain the services
through email/post without appearing in person at the FRO/FRRO office.

6. Montenegro: Milo Djukanovic Sweeps Back Into Power

Political heavyweight Milo Djukanovic swept back into power in the presidential election after a
two-year absence. The pro-Western economist led Montenegro to independence from Serbia in
2016 and into NATO last year.
Montenegro, Capital: Podgorica, Currency: Euro.
7. Dharmendra to receive Raj Kapoor Lifetime 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, Maharashtra culture minister Vinod Tawde announced.
8. Concluding ceremony of Commonwealth Games held at Gold Coast
The concluding ceremony of the Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast Australia, on 15
April 2018.
 More than 4500 athletes from 71 nations competed for 275 Commonwealth gold
medals over the course of the Games.
 Australia remained on the top of Medal table with 198 medals followed by England with
136 and India got third position with 66 medals.
 Australia won 80 Golds, 59 Silver and 59 Bronze medals.
 India secured 26 Golds, 20 Silver and 20 Bronze medals.
9. Saina first Indian shuttler to win two singles gold in Commonwealth Games
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal defeated compatriot PV Sindhu 21-18, 23-21 in women's
singles final to clinch a gold medal in women’s badminton singles final at the 21st
Commonwealth Games.
10. Arun Jaitley takes oath as Rajya Sabha member for new term: Mr. Jaitley was administered
the oath of office in the Rajya Sabha Chairperson M. Venkaiah Naidu’s chambers.
 He was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh last month.
11. NPCIL, NSDC partner to spur Centre's Skill India mission
Aiming to contribute towards economic and sustainable development of communities, the

National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU) with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to provide skill training to
500 youth and women at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu.
 The skill development project will be executed by NSDC through its approved training
partners near Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP),
 It is the single largest nuclear power station in India, situated in the Tirunelveli district of
the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
17.04.18
1. East Godavari, first district with complete LED street lighting: East Godavari district in
Andhra Pradesh is all set to become the country’s first ‘LED street light district’. AP is already
ranked the best State in implementation of energy efficiency and conservation programmes by
the World Bank.
2. First regional conference of eastern states on Water Resources
The first regional conference of eastern states on Water Resources was held in Kolkata on April
16 to address the outstanding water issues of these states.
 The conference deliberated on finding a solution to mitigate intra and intra-basin issues
relating to water resources in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.
 The issue of interlinking of rivers also come-up for discussion at the conference.
3. India To Set Up Natural Gas Trading Hub

In order to boost the consumption of natural gas in the country, Government is considering the
establishment of aGas Trading Hub / Exchange (GTHE).
In the Hub, natural gas can be traded, and supplied through a market-based mechanism instead
of multiple formula driven prices. A hub is also used as a central pricing point for a network that
could aid better price discovery for domestic as well as imported gas.
China also plans to launch a natural gas trading hub in Chongqing this year.
The world’s biggest natural gas hub is the Henry Hub in the US state of Louisiana.
4. SIDBI Ties Up With CSC To Promote MSEs In 115 Districts

Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) has planned to promote micro enterprises in
115 aspirational districts across the country to contribute in their development.

The bank has tied up with Common Service Centre (CSC) to meet this objective.
Micro enterprises promotion programme (MEPP) will be conducted in those districts.
It was announced by Sidbi Chairman and Managing Director Mohammad Mustafa.
Last month, Sidbi signed a memorandum of understanding with CSC e-governance

Services (CSCeGS) to takeUdyami Mitra portal to the unserved and the underserved MSMEs.
SIDBI
Headquarters: Lucknow
CEO: Dr. Kshatrapati Shivaji
5. Government Revises Target To Complete PMGSY

The government has advanced its target year for completion of phase one of Pradhan Mantri
Gram Sadak YojanaPMGSY to 2019 from 2022.
The scheme has been able to provide connectivity to more than One lakh 50 thousand
habitations.
The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), was launched by the Govt. of India to provide
connectivity to unconnected Habitations as part of a poverty reduction strategy.
The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana 1 (PMGSY) is a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
6. India ranks 10th on new Commonwealth innovation index
India has ranked 10th on a new Commonwealth Innovation Index, topped by the UK, Singapore
and Canada.
 The index was launched as part of a new Commonwealth Innovation Hub on the
sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London.
 It has been created in partnership with the United Nations World Intellectual Property
Organisation (WIPO) and its annual Global Innovation Index (GII).
7. France Announces 50 Million Euro Humanitarian Aid For Syria

France Capital: Paris, Currency: Euro, CFP Franc, President: Emmanuel Macron

8. World Bank forecasts 7.3 pc growth for India this year
The World Bank has forecasted a growth rate of 7.3 per cent for India this year and 7.5 per cent
for 2019 and 2020. It has also noted that the country's economy has recovered from the effects
of demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax.
9. Pakistan Successfully Test Fires Enhanced Version Of Babur Cruise Missile

10. India Signs Loan agreement with World Bank for usd 48 million for Meghalaya
A Loan Agreement for IBRD loan of USD 48 million for the “Meghalaya Community - Led
Landscapes Management Project (MCLLMP)” was signed with the World Bank. The Objective of
the Project is to strengthen community-led landscapes management in selected landscapes in
the State of Meghalaya.
11. Kotak Mahindra becomes second-most-valued bank
Uday Kotak-led Kotak Mahindra Bank has pipped SBI to become India’s second-most-valued
lender after HDFC Bank in terms of market capitalisation.
 Kotak Mahindra Bank is now also among the top 10 most-valued companies on the BSE.
 Kotak Mahindra Bank now has a market capitalisation of 2,22,970.4 crore rupees.
 HDFC Bank remained the country’s most-valuable bank with a market capitalisation of
5.04 lakh crore rupees.
12. NERL Brings In ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank As Repository Participants

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.
NERL has signed the agreement with both the banks where they will offer pledge finance
against eNWRs created on NERL’s repository platform commodities stored in warehouses
registered with Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA).
13. RBI Tightens Monitoring Of Liberalised Remittance Scheme

The Reserve Bank has tightened reporting norms for the Liberalised Remittance Scheme
(LRS) under which an individual can transfer up to $2,50,000 abroad in a year.
The LRS transactions are currently permitted by banks based on the declaration made by the
remitter.

In order to improve monitoring and also to ensure compliance with the LRS limits, it has been
decided to put in place a daily reporting system by Authorised Dealer (AD)banks of transactions
undertaken by individuals under LRS, which will be accessible to all the other ADs.
14. CII Fix India’s GDP Growth At 7.3-7.7% For 2018-19

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) expects India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to grow
at 7.3-7.7 percent during the 2018-19 financial year. The Confederation of Indian Industry is a
business association in India. CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-
managed organization.
CII Headquarters: New Delhi, India, President:Rakesh Bharti Mittal
15. Government Raises NABARD’s Authorised Capital To Rs 300 Billion

The government has raised the authorised capital of Nabard by six times to Rs 300 billion to
help it increase its lending to the rural economy. It has been decided as a part of the drive to
double income of farmers by 2022.
Nabard was set up in 1982 to promote sustainable and equitable agriculture and rural
development.
NABARD Headquarters: Mumbai, Chairman : Harsh Kumar Bhanwala
16. Bhuj Mercantile Coop Bank bags Banco Award
Kutch-based Bhuj Mercantile Cooperative Bank has bagged the prestigious Banco Award for
best performing cooperative bank.
 The bank was adjudged best among the 1500 cooperative banks from across the
country.
 Banco Award given anually to the top performing cooperative banks recognise and
encourage best practices in the cooperative banking sector.
17. 2018 Pulitzer Prize winners for journalism
 Pulitzer prize for public service: jointly awarded to The New York Times, and The New
Yorker.
 Pulitzer prize for feature photography: photography staff of Reuters

18. Veteran journalist S Nihal Singh no more: Veteran journalist S Nihal Singh breathed his last
at the National Heart Institute following illness. He was 88.
 He was the founding editor of The Indian Post in 1987.

 He was awarded the prestigious International Editor of the Year Award in New York for
opposing the Emergency imposed by former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
19. World Haemophilia Day – April 17

Every April 17 World Haemophilia Day is recognised worldwide to increase awareness of
haemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders.
World Haemophilia Day was started in 1989 by the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH).
The theme for 2018 is sharing knowledge.
18.04.18
1. First Meeting of National Council under POSHAN Abhiyaan
First meeting of National Council on India's Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan to be
held on April 18, 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
 It will see the participation of Shri Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman NITI Aayog, Shri Amitabh
Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog apart from representatives of various ministries of the Central
and State Governments.
 The POSHAN Abhiyaan targets reduction in the level of under-nutrition and other
related problems by ensuring convergence of various nutrition related schemes.
2. DARPAN-PLI App launched by Shri Manoj Sinha
Hon’ble Minister of Communications Shri Manoj Sinha launched here the DARPAN-PLI App,
which will help in collection of premium for PLI and RPLI policies at Branch Post Offices
anywhere in India, with online updation of the policies.
 Further, with launch of this App, indexing of maturity claims in respect of PLI and RPLI
polices can be done at Branch Post Office itself.
 Shri Sinha said, with a view to achieve total digitisation of postal operations in the
country, under the IT Modernisation Plan, Department of Posts has launched DIGITAL

ADVANCEMENT OF RURAL POST OFFICE FOR A NEW INDIA (DARPAN) Project, which
aims at connecting all 1.29 lakh Rural Branch Post Offices in the country to enable them
to do online Postal and Financial Transactions.
3. Suresh Prabhu launches digital platform for MSME Exporters
The Minister of Commerce & Industry Shri Suresh Prabhu launched the FIEO Global Linker- a
digital platform for MSME exporters to digitise their businesses and join a global community of
growing businesses in New Delhi.
 FIEO GlobalLinker is setup with a view to make the business growth of SMEs simpler,
more profitable and enjoyable.
 It is a growing global network currently comprising over 140,000 SME firms, who are
seeking business collaboration and growth opportunities through the use of their
electronic business card and digital profiles created on the platform.
 FIEO is available free of cost and it offers exporters a range of features and benefits.
4. Sushma Swaraj and Shri Prakash Javadekar to launch ‘Study in India’ portal of HRD Ministry
In another ground-breaking initiative, the ‘Study in India’ portal (www.studyinindia.gov.in) of

HRD Ministry will be launched at the India Habitat Centre on 18th April 2018 by the Minister of
External Affairs, Smt. Sushma Swaraj in the presence of Minister of Human Resource
Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar.
 The portal will enable students from 30 countries across South Asia, Africa, CIS and
Middle East to select and apply for different courses from 150 select Indian institutions
which are high on NAAC and NIRF ranking.
 The Study in India is aimed at making India a preferred destination for the foreign
students to pursue their education.
5. India-Wiesbaden Conference 2018 held in New Delhi
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in cooperation with Germany and the United Nations
Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) hosts the India-Wiesbaden Conference 2018 in New
Delhi.
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will be the industry
partner for the event.

The title of the Conference is ‘Securing Global Supply Chains through Government-Industry
Partnerships towards Effective Implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
Resolution 1540’.
The Wiesbaden Process was initiated by the Government of Germany in 2012 to strengthen the
implementation of UNSC 1540 through Government-Industry partnerships.
6. TRAI Launches Beta Portal For Comparing Telcos’ Tariffs

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has unveiled the beta version of a portal that
aims to bring on one platform, the tariffs offered by telecom operators in different service
areas.
It is expected to provide more transparency and information on multiple tariff offerings by

telecom operators, helping consumers at large.
The beta version of tariff data is made available on the Trai website www.trai.gov.in.
TRAI
Headquarters: New Delhi
Chairman: Ram Sewak Sharma
7. ‘Gagan Shakti’: Indian Air Force Conducts Mega Drill

The ongoing nationwide mega-combat exercise of the Indian Air Force or IAF began
in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district to examine the strategic preparedness of its infrastructure
in the area.
8. UK Joins International Solar Alliance

The United Kingdom has joined the India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA) ahead of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s four-day visit to Britain.
At an event held at the London Stock Exchange as part of the Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting 2018 (CHOGM), Britain formally announced its membership of the
alliance. The UK becomes the 62nd country to join ISA.

ISA is an inter-governmental treaty-based organisation that aims to mobilise $1 trillion in

funds for future solar generation, storage and technology across the world. It was launched by
Modi in 2015.
ISA
Head: H.E. Upendra Tripathy
Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana
9. World heritage day: 18 April
Every year, 18th April is celebrated Worldwide as World Heritage Day to create awareness
about Heritage among communities.
 This year the theme is “Heritage for Generations” emphasizing on inter-generational

transfer of knowledge.
 UNESCO established 18 April as the International Day for Monuments and Sites in 1983.
10. Indian PM Modi in Sweden for first India-Nordic summit
Indian Prime Minister Modi is in Sweden, where he will meet with the five Nordic prime
ministers for the first India-Nordic Summit.
 The Nordic countries are generally considered to refer to Denmark, Finland, Iceland,
Norway and Sweden.
 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven have
held talks that focused on trade, growth, global security and climate.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Swedish counterpart, Stefan Lofven has agreed upon
a joint action plan (JAP) and an Innovation Partnership for both countries.
It is to take forward a wide range of initiatives in defence, trade and investment,

counterterrorism, renewable energy, smart cities, women’s skill development, space and
science and healthcare.
The JAP is described as a “win-win partnership” for New Delhi and Stockholm.

The Swedish government will start the Innovation Partnership by providing up to 50 million
Swedish kronor (Over $59 million) for innovation cooperation with India in the field of smart
cities and sustainability.
Sweden
Capital: Stockholm
Currency: Swedish Krona
11. Lt Gen PP Malhotra Takes Over As Director-General Of NCC

Lieutenant General PP Malhotra assumed charge as Director General of National Cadet Corps
(NCC), the largest uniformed youth organization in the world.
The National Cadet Corps is the Indian military cadet corps with its headquarters at New Delhi.
19.04.18
1. GITC 2018’ to be held in New Delhi: “Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities (GITC),
2018” will be held in New Delhi during 8th to 11th November, 2018.
2. Govt plan a Rs 637-crore Clean Air Programme
The Modi government has finalised a Rs 637-crore National Clean Air Programme to improve
the air quality in India.
3. Bihar has highest rate of crime against SC/STs
According to latest data released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Bihar has the
highest rate of crimes against Schedule Caste/Schedule Tribe population.
 As per NCRB data, crime against SC/ST is lowest in West Bengal.

 Madhya Pradesh reported the highest rate of crime (43.4%) against SCs specifically,
while West Bengal had the lowest at 6%.
 Rajasthan reported the highest rate of crime (12.9%) against STs specifically, while West
Bengal had the lowest at 1.6%.

4. Vice President Launches Atal Amrit Abhiyan
The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that there is a need to create
health coverage schemes that provide widest coverage to the young, aged and infirm and those
suffering from both critical acute and chronic ailments.
 He was addressing the gathering after launching the Atal Amrit Abhiyan by Assam
Government, which seeks to provide access to quality medical care to 3.2 crore people,
in Guwahati, Assam.
 The Governor of Assam, Prof. Jagadish Mukhi and the Chief Minister of Assam, Shri
Sarbananda Sonowal were present on the occasion.
5. India Forms Committee To Reform Higher Defence Planning

In an effort to improve higher defence management, the government has constituted a new
committee headed by the National Security Advisor.
According to a government notification, the Defence Planning Committee (DPC) headed

by NSA Ajit Doval, will prepare a draft national security strategy.
The committee will also develop a capability development plan, work on defence diplomacy
issues and improving defence manufacturing in India. The DPC will submit its reports to the
Defence Minister.
6. UP Govt Orders Govt Hospitals And Orphanages To Establish SHISHU SWAGAT KENDRA-
PALNA
In 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.
This will help in tackling the problem of abandoning the infant at the roadside.
The ‘Palna’ scheme will also help bridge the gap between the number of children available for
adoption and the burgeoning list of adoptive parents.
Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath

7. Bisket Jatra being celebrated in Nepal
In Nepal the famous Bisket Jatra is being celebrated in Bhaktapur and other parts of Kathmandu
valley.
 The nine day annual festival marks beginning of Nepali new year.
 The Jatra begins four days before the start of new year. It is believed that the festival
started during Malla dynasty.
8. India To Grow At 7.4% In 2018: IMF

According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), India’s economic growth will accelerate in the
current and next fiscal years.
India’s economy is forecast to grow 7.4% in the current fiscal from 6.7% in FY18 and accelerate
further in FY20 to 7.8%, shows the IMF’s latest forecast.
Global growth is seen stable at 3.9% over the current and next calendar years, almost
unchanged from 3.6% in 2018.
IMF
Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
CEO: Christine Lagarde
9. India Wins Election To Crucial NGO Committee In UN

India has won an election to a crucial non-governmental organisation committee in the UN
after garnering the highest number of votes besides getting elected by acclamation to other
subsidiary bodies in five separate polls.
The UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held elections to a number of its
subsidiary bodies.
The ECOSOC focuses on advancing the three dimensions of sustainable development –

economic, social and environmental.

10. SBI India's most trusted bank
The TRA Brand Trust Report 2018 said the State Bank of India was the most trusted bank (both
public and private sector) in the country.
 ICICI Bank topped the chart among the private ones.

 51 brands from the Banking and Financial Services Institutions sector got listed among
the 1,000 most trusted brands in the country this year.
11. Nabard approves Rs 14,690 cr funding to Rajasthan
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has extended total credit
support of Rs 14,690 crore to Rajasthan for 2017-18.
 Rajasthan has been one of the biggest beneficiaries under the Rural Infrastructure
Development Fund (RIDF) of NABARD.
12. An MoU Signed Between GIFAS (France) And SIDM (India)World

The Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) and the Groupement des Industries
Françaises Aeronautiques et Spatiales (GIFAS) signed a memorandum of understanding on the
sidelines of a major industrial mission in India in the field of aerospace and defence
organised by GIFAS with the support of SIDM.
13. India And UK Sign 10 Agreements In Several Sectors Including Cyber-Relationship And
Ganga Rejuvenation
On rejuvenation of River Ganga, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the UK-
based Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) signed the Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU).
14. Former US 1st Lady Passes Away
Former US first lady Barbara Bush has passed away.
As the first lady, from 1989 to 1993, she embraced the cause of universal literacy and founded a
foundation for family literacy.
15. Indian animation pioneer and multiple National Award winner Bhimsain Khurana Passes
Away.

20.04.18
1. First Ever International SME Convention-2018 in New Delhi
One hundred and fifty participants from 31 countries and 400 entrepreneurs from India will
participate in the four day International SME convention being held in New Delhi from 22ndto
24th April.
 The Ministry of MSME has engaged with over 35 International Trade Development
organisations to attract and invite able and willing entrepreneurs.
 The convention has specific focus on inclusion of MSMEs in the Make in India program &
empowering women entrepreneurs.
2. Parcel Directorate inaugurated by Shri Manoj Sinha
Minister of State for Communications (Independent Charge) and Minister of State for Railways
Shri Manoj Sinha has Inaugurated the newly created Parcel Directorate in the Department of
Posts.
 The global decline in letter mail, and India being no exception to this trend, has been
offset by an increase in packets and parcels.
 This is primarily on account of the e-commerce boom in India, with e-tailers requiring
integrated collection, aggregation, sorting, transmission and delivery systems.
 The parcel market (logistics and distribution but excluding fulfilment and merchandise
value) in the country is growing at a rate of 15% per annum and is expected to reach Rs.
60,000 Crore by 2026 from the existing Rs. 18,000 Crore.
3. Chhattisgarh to Distribute Free Smartphones to Over 50 Lakh People
The BJP government in Chhattisgarh will start distributing smartphones to over 50 lakh people
for free from May under the Sanchar Kranti Yojana (SKY), months ahead of assembly polls in the
state.
 Women heads of households will be the priority recipients of the smartphones.

 The Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society (CHiPS) has started the preparation for the
distribution of phones, as per the announcement made by the chief minister last year to
reduce the digital divides.

4. Government Launches ‘Study In India’ To Attract Foreign Students

The Union Government has launched a programme to draw more foreign students to India by
projecting 160 premier universities and institutes, including IITs and IIMs, as the ideal
destination for higher education.
The ‘Study in India’ programme is similar to the initiative launched by Australia, Malaysia,
Singapore and Canada — aims at boosting the country’s share of international students and,
subsequently, improve the global reputation and rankings of Indian educational institutions.
‘Study in India’, with a sanctioned budget of Rs150 crore for two years, will promote India as a
top destination for higher education.
With ‘Study in India’, the government hopes the country will start attracting 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh
international students by the year 2022.
5. Assam Government’s Cashless Health Scheme Launched

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has launched a health scheme ‘Atal Amrit Abhiyan’ of the
Assam government.
It offers free medical care of up to Rs 2 lakh for every individual from Below Poverty Line (BPL)
and Above Poverty Line (APL) families.
The cashless scheme, ‘Atal Amrit Abhiyan’, will cover 92 per cent of the state’s population with
annual income below Rs 5 lakh.
The state government has allocated Rs 400 crore for the scheme in the financial year 2018-
19. It is estimated that the number of Indians falling below poverty line due to health spending
run as high as 63 million.
Assam
Capital: Dispur
Chief Minister: Sarbananda Sonowal
Governor: Jagdish Mukhi

6. Rajasthan Govt Introduces Loan-Waiver Scheme For Farmers

The Rajasthan government has introduced a loan-waiver scheme for farmers under which crop
loan of up to Rs 50,000 will be waived as per the budget announcement of Chief Minister
Vasundhara Raje.
The scheme has been launched under which cooperative banks will hold camps for waiving
loans up to Rs. 50,000 of small and marginal farmers.
Rajasthan
Capital: Jaipur
Chief Minister: Vasundhara Raje
Governor: Kalyan Singh
7. Saudi Arabia opens 1st movie theater in 35 years
The opening of the first movie theater in Saudi Arabia has been highly anticipated across the
country, after over 35 years of prohibition for religious reasons.
 The first film screening is to be in the capital Riyadh, where a mixed Saudi and foreign
audience watched the Marvel superhero film "Black Panther".
8. China Proposes Construction Of India-Nepal-China Economic Corridor

China Capital: Beijing Currency: Renminbi President: Xi Jinping
9. World Bank: 19-crore Indian adults don’t have bank account: India has 19 crore adults
without a bank account despite the success of the ambitious Jan Dhan Yojana, making it the
world’s second largest unbanked population after that of China, the World Bank said.
 Besides, almost half of the bank accounts remained inactive in the past year, the
multilateral financial institution said in a report, even as it lauded the Government’s
financial inclusion scheme, the Jan Dhan Yojana, for bringing in additional 31 crore
Indians into formal banking system by March 2018.
 It also said the country’s adult population with a bank account has more than doubled
to 80 per cent since 2011.
 The Jan Dhan Yojana was launched by the Modi government in 2014.

10. Standard Chartered ties up with Zoho
Standard Chartered Bank has announced an alliance with Zoho, a software products company,
to offer solutions to enhance corporate banking experience.
 The bank’s business account holders can now pay their suppliers and automate
reconciliation right from Zoho Books, Zoho’s cloud accounting software.
11. India is world’s sixth largest economy
India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) clocked in at $2.6 trillion for 2017, according to the
database of the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) for April 2018.
 India is now the world’s sixth largest economy, displacing France.

 The five economies ahead are the United States, China, Japan, Germany and United
Kingdom.
IMF
CEO: Christine Lagarde
12. UK-India Tech Alliance Launched By Nasscom, TechUK

The National Association of Software & Services Companies (NASSCOM) and techUK has
launched the UK-India Tech Alliance. The Alliance is aimed at increasing collaboration on skills
and new technologies, assisting policy development and encouraging innovation.
13. Madhya Pradesh conferred Most Film Friendly Award, State of Uttarakhand is given a
Special Mention Certificate to recognize the efforts made by the State of Uttarakhand towards
creating a film friendly environment.
15. Rakesh Roshan to get lifetime achievement honour at the Dadasaheb Phalke Film
Foundation Awards for his contribution as a producer, director, screenwriter, editor and actor
in Hindi films.
16. World’s Greatest Leaders In 2018: Mukesh Ambani Ranks 24

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, human rights lawyer Indira Jaising and
architect Balkrishna Doshiare among Fortune magazine’s ‘fifty greatest leaders’ of 2018. It
featured the three Indians at the 24th, 20th and 43rd places respectively.

The first rank in this year’s list has gone to “The Students” of Marjory Stoneman Douglas and
other schools in the US that suffered from gun violence.
17. Deepika Padukone, Virat Kohli In TIME’s 100 Most Influential People List
Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, Indian cricket
captain Virat Kohli and Microsoft’s Indian-born CEO Satya Nadella have been named in TIME
magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world this year.
18. Shrimant Jha Bags Bronze At Asian Armwrestling C’ship in Kazakhstan.
19. VP Releases a Book titled 'Bhavdiye'
The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has advised the youth to protect preserve
and celebrate Indian culture and traditions and youth that are both present and future of this
country can achieve their life's goals with hard work and dedication.
 He was addressing the gathering after releasing a Book titled 'Bhavdiye' based on
Compilation of Letters written by Shri Kedar Nath Sahani.
21.04.18
1. Regional Conference on “Urban Development: Technological Solutions and Governance

Challenges”: Two day Regional Conference on “Urban Development: Technological Solutions
and Governance Challenges” concluded in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
 The Conference was organized by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India in

collaboration with the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India
(ASSOCHAM), Gujarat Council along with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB),
Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), an autonomous
research organization under the Ministry of External Affairs.
2. Gujarat Launches Pocket Cop Project

The Gujarat police unveiled the Pocket Cop project, which will enable quicker verification of
passport applicants, and search of accused persons, among others.
The project was inaugurated by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar.
Gujarat, Capital: Gandhinagar, Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani, Governor: Om Prakash Kohli

3. BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Washington D.C
The first meeting of the BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was held in the
sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings on 19th April, 2018 in Washington D.C.
 Ministry of Finance, Government of India was represented in the meeting by Shri

Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (EA).
 The main issues that the meeting discussed were related to enhancing the project
pipelines of New Development Bank (NDB) evenly across member countries, expansion
of NDB’s membership, the proposal of the South African Presidency for setting up a
working group on illicit financial flows and a BRICS Task Force on Public Private
Partnership.
 Issues related to BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) as well as BRICS Bond
Fund were also discussed.
4. Swaziland King Changes His Country’s Name To ‘Kingdom Of ESwatini’

The king of Swaziland has announced that his country’s name has changed to eSwatini.
The declaration by King Mswati III was made during celebrations marking the monarch’s
birthday as well as 50 years of independence from British colonial rule.
eSwatini meaning – “place of the Swazi”. It is the Swazi language name for the country.
eSwatini has a population of about 1.3 million people, suffers the highest HIV rate in the world,
with 27 percent of adults infected.
Swaziland
Capitals: Mbabane, Lobamba
Currency: South African rand, Swazi lilangeni
5. Kyrgyzstan Parliament Names New Prime Minister

Kyrgyzstan’s parliament named Mukhammedkaliy Abylgaziyev prime minister after his
nomination by the Social Democratic party.
Kyrgyzstan Capital: Bishkek Currency: Kyrgyzstani som

6. Commonwealth Heads Of Government Summit Concludes

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) concluded in London, United
Kingdom. The two-day summit was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II, saw in attendance 53
heads of Government including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was the first time an
Indian Prime Minister had attended CHOGM since 2009. Commonwealth countries
unanimously agree to take action on cyber security by 2020.
Prince Charles is to be the next head of the Commonwealth, Commonwealth leaders decided at
the end of the summit.
The theme of the summit was ‘Towards a Common Future‘.
Points to Remember
 The Commonwealth is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that are

mostly former territories of the British Empire.
 Patricia Scotland is the Secretary General of the Commonwealth.
7. TCS first Indian company with $100 billion market cap: Tata Consultancy Services has
touched $100 billion mark in market capitalisation as its share price surged nearly 7%.
 The IT major is the first listed Indian company to achieve this milestone.
 TCS is the leading the chart as the most valued firm followed by Reliance Industries Ltd,
HDFC Bank, ITC and HUL in the top-five list.
8. Yes Bank Gets RBI Nod To Open Offices In London And Singapore
Private sector lender YES Bank has got approval from the Reserve Bank of India to open two
international representative offices.
As part of its international expansion, YES Bank had opened its first overseas office in Abu
Dhabi in 2015 followed by the debut of IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) at GIFT City, Gandhinagar in the
same year.
YES Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, MD & CEO: Bank Rana Kapoor

9. Miguel Diaz-Canel named Cuba's new president
Points to Remember
 Cuba is a country located in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf
of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean meet.
 Havana is the capital of Cuba.
 Peso is the currency of Cuba.
10. Karan Johar Is The First Indian Filmmaker In Madame Tussauds Collection
Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with smaller museums in a number of other
major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud.
11. The second session of National Archives of India (NAI)’ s Book reading series -“Archives
Reads”
The Second Book reading session of 'Archives Reads' was organised by NAI with Author & Prof
Deepak Kumar, former Professor, JNU reading from his latest publication “Trishanku Nation –
Memory, Self and Society in Contemporary India".
12. Daniel Ricciardo Wins Chinese Grand Prix 2018

Daniel Ricciardo won the Chinese Grand Prix 2018. He plays for Red Bull. The event took place
at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China.
13. Mascot Of FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Unveiled

Chinese dragon Son of Dreams was unveiled as official Mascot of the FIBA Basketball World Cup
2019. FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 will take place in eight Chinese cities from August 31
until September 15.
14. Former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajinder Sachar passes away
15. Kerala’s Veteran Journalist T V R Shenoy Passes Away

22.04.18
1. Union Cabinet clears ordinance on death penalty to child rapists
In the wake of outrage over the brutal rape and murder of a minor in Kathua, Jammu &
Kashmir, the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved an
ordinance to allow courts to pronounce the death penalty to those convicted of raping children
up to 12 years of age.
 Ordinance approved by the Cabinet also prescribes the minimum punishment in case of
rape of women to increase from rigorous imprisonment of 7 years to 10 years,
extendable to life imprisonment.
 In case of rape of a girl under 16 years, minimum punishment has been increased from
10 years to 20 years, extendable to imprisonment for rest of life, which means
imprisonment till that person’s natural life.
2. Cabinet approves the restructured Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj
Abhiyan
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi
gave its approval for restructured Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj
Abhiyan (RGSA).
 The Scheme will be implemented during the period from 01.04.2018 to 31.03.2022 at
the total cost of Rs. 7255.50 crore with the Central Share of Rs. 4500 crore and that of
State Share of Rs. 2755.50 crore.
 This scheme will extend to all States and UTs of the Country and will also include
institutions of rural local government in non-Part IX areas, where Panchayats do not
exist,
 The scheme will have both Central Component - National Level activities including
"National Plan of Technical Assistance", "Mission Mode project on e-Panchayat",
"Incentivization of Panchayats" and State component - Capacity Building of Panchayati
Raj Institutions (PRIs).
3. Dhvani se Sabd aur Chinh Exhibition inaugurated at NGMA, Mumbai
An exhibition titled "Dhvani se Sabd aur Chinh” was inaugurated at National Gallery of Modern
Art, Mumbai. It identifies 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.

4. Two-day festival will be organized on 23-24 April on National Panchayati Raj Divas
The Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar said in New
Delhi that a two-day event has been organized this year on National Panchayati Raj Din.
 On April 23, an interactive group discussion cum workshop will be organized in Jabalpur
in Madhya Pradesh called "Panchayat Ki Choupal Mein Charcha".
 It is important that this year is also the 25th anniversary of the 73rd Constitution
Amendment.
5. Vijay Goel Launches Central Project Monitoring Unit For E-Vidhan Project
Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Statistics and Programme
Implementation, Shri Vijay Goelinaugurated the new office of Central Project Monitoring
Unit for the e-Vidhan project of the Government.
e-Vidhan is a mission mode project to digitize and make the functioning of State Legislatures in
India paperless. It is a part of the broader Digital India Programme of the Government and is
likely to contribute to the cleanliness & environment by reducing the use of papers to a great
extent.
The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is the Nodal Ministry for the project.
6. Malaria Summit 2018 held in London
Malaria Summit 2018 was held recently in London.
 Leaders from 15 Commonwealth counties, along with The Prince of Wales and Bill
Gates, gathered in London to re-focus and reignite global efforts to beat malaria for
good.
7. Global Findex Report 2017: The World Bank has released the Global Findex Report
2017 indicating that 55 percent of new bank accounts opened globally are from India itself.
China tops the list of unbanked population with 225 million adults who do not have a bank
account, followed by India at 2nd (190 million), Pakistan at 3rd (100 million) and Indonesia at
4th (95 million). Men still are ahead of women to have an account in a bank. Globally, 69
percent of adults now have an account at a bank or have enrolled themselves on a mobile
money provider. The report was produced by the World Bank with funding from the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation and in collaboration with Gallup Inc.

8. RBI Revises KYC Guidelines

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has updated its know your customer (KYC) guidelines putting
responsibility on Aadhaar for customer verification and due diligence by banks and financial
institutions.
Till now, an Officially Valid Document for address proof together with Permanent Account
Number issued by the Income Tax department and a recent passport size photograph were the
key KYC documents.
But in the amended Customer Due Diligence procedure, the Aadhaar number, the PAN or Form
No. 60 need to be obtained from an individual who is eligible for applying for the biometric ID.
The move is aimed at ensuring that no account is opened in an anonymous or fictitious name.
9. Taipei Opens WTC In Delhi To Boost Ties With India

Taipei World Trade Centre (TWTC) launched its office in Delhi. It has been established with an
aim to strengthen trade ties with India.
TAITRA is the official body of the Taiwan government for trade promotion. Bilateral trade
between India and Taiwan has increased to $6.3 billion in December 2017.
Taiwan’s first ever expo will showcase cutting-edge technology and smart city solutions in Delhi.
TWTC
Chairman: James C.F Huang
Taiwan
Capital: Taipei
Currency: New Taiwan dollar
10. IOB inks information utility pact with NeSL: Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), one of the leading
public sector banks, entered into an agreement for information utility services with the
National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL). The NeSL became India's first information
utility (IU) for bankruptcy cases under the 'Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2016' in
October 2017.

11. President receives the first copy of book “Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduism’s greatest
thinker”
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, received the first copy of the book “Adi
Shankaracharya: Hinduism’s Greatest Thinker”, from the author Shri Pavan Varma, at
Rashtrapati Bhavan,
12. India Wins 10 Gold Medals At South Asian Judo Championship

The eighth edition of South Asian Judo Championship was held at Kathmandu, Nepal.
13. World Earth Day – April 22

The Earth Day is observed every year on April 22. The aim is to encourage people to do things
that will benefit the Earth, such as recycling more, using solar power or plant trees.
The theme of 2018 is earth day 2018 theme is ‘End Plastic Pollution’.
23.04.18
1. World Book Day – April 23

World Book Day is celebrated to provide the people with many ideas and plans to make them
aware about the situation and condition in the World.
The theme of 2018 is ‘Reading, it’s my right!’.
2. Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) – 2018
The 6th edition of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and Conclave of Chiefs is being hosted
by Iran at Tehran from 23 to 25 April 2018.
3. In hunt for MD and CEO, Axis Bank appoints global leadership advisory firm Egon Zehnder
Private sector lender Axis Bank said it has appointed global leadership advisory firm Egon
Zehnder to appoint a new Managing Director and CEO for the bank.
 The move follows Shikha Sharma, the current Managing Director and CEO of the bank,
deciding to step down from the post after December 31 this year.
 Axis Bank had on April 9 announced that Sharma had decided to cut short her fourth
term and leave at the end of the year.

4. PM Modi awarded Manipur’s Karang – India’s first cashless island
Prime Minister Narendra Modi honoured bureaucrats for making Manipur’s Karang the first
cashless island of the country, and implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and other
priority initiatives of the Centre.
 Modi awarded civil servants for smooth implementation of four priority programmes —
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban and Rural),
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, and for promoting digital payments.
 Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra and Madhya Pradesh’s Neemuch were awarded for the
implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin).
 Puducherry and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Telangana, got the PM’s
award for implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).
 West Tripura and Maharashtra’s Beed were awarded for the implementation of the
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.
5. Bengal’s Digambarpur is India’s best Gram Panchayat: West Bengal’s Digambarpur Gram
Panchayat has bagged the Centre’s award for the best Gram Panchayat in the country.
 A survey was conducted to find out the best Gram Panchayat in the country and in a
letter to the state government the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has stated that
Digambarpur has come up as the best out of 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats in the country.
6. Nitish Kumar Launches 3 Books On Mahatma Gandhi's Champaran Movement: Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar released three books based on Mahatma Gandhi's Champaran
movement of 1917.
 Nitish Kumar released the books titled- 'Mister M K Gandhi Ki Champaran Diary' written
by Arvind Mohan, 'Champaran Andolan 1917' edited by Ashutosh Partheshwar and 'Pir
Muhammad Munis: Kalam Ka Satyagrahi' collected and edited by Srikant.
 The Champaran movement is acknowledged as the first Satyagraha movement inspired
by Mahatma Gandhi.
7. World's oldest person Nabi Tajima passes away at 117
The world's oldest person, a 117-year-old Japanese woman, has died. Nabi Tajima died of old
age in a hospital in southern Japan.
8. Rafael Nadal from Spain beats Kei Nishikori to win Monte Carlo Masters

24.04.18
1. Suresh Prabhu to Chair First Meeting of Think Tank on Framework for National Policy on E-
Commerce
Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, will chair the first meeting
of the think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce to be held on April 24th,
2018.
 Senior officers of the ministries/ departments of the Government of India involved in

different aspects of e-commerce; high level representatives from the industry bodies, e-
commerce companies, telecommunication companies and IT companies; Reserve Bank
of India; and independent experts have been invited to participate in the meeting.
 The think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce has been
established recently by the Department of Commerce.
 It will provide a credible forum for an inclusive and fact-based dialogue leading to
recommendations for informed policy making, so that the country is adequately
prepared to take advantage of the opportunities, and meet the challenges, that would
arise from the next wave of advancements in digital economy.
2. National Panchayati Raj Day: 24 April
National Panchayati Raj Day is the national day of India celebrated by Ministry of Panchayati Raj
on 24 April annually.
 Then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh inaugurated the first National Panchayati
Raj Day in 2010.
3. Diu Smart City becomes first to run on 100% Renewable Energy during Daytime
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.
4. AFSPA revoked in Meghalaya: The Centre has revoked The Armed Forces (Special Powers)
Act (AFSPA) from Meghalaya since April 1.
 Earlier the AFSPA was effective in 20 km area along the Assam-Meghalaya border.
 In Arunachal Pradesh, the impact of AFSPA was reduced to eight police stations instead
of 16 police stations and in Tirap, Longding and Changlang districts bordering Assam.

 The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 is effective in whole of Nagaland, Assam,
Manipur (excluding seven assembly constituencies of Imphal) and parts of Arunachal
Pradesh.
5. Uttarakhand To Get 1,700 Crore Rupees Aid From ADB

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed in principle to give an aid of 1,700 crore rupees
to Uttarakhand.
It aims for infrastructure development and creation of sewerage treatment facilities in urban
areas.
This was conveyed to Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat by the country director of ADB’s
India Regiment Mission Kenichi Yokoyama.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19

December 1966 with 67 member countries.
ADB
Headquarters: Manila, Philippines
President: Takehiko Nakao
Uttarakhand
Capital: Dehradun
Governor: Krishan Kant Paul
6. India Pitches For Independent BRICS Credit Rating Agency

India has pressed the BRICS nations to set up an independent rating agency of the five-member
group.
7. Iran Bans Bank From Use Of Cryptocurrency

Iran has banned the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by its banks and financial
institutions.
Iran Capital: Tehran, Currency: Iranian rial, President: Hassan Rouhani

8. India highest recipient of remittances in 2017
India retained the top position as recipient of remittances with its diaspora sending about USD
69 billion back home last year, the World Bank said. India was followed by China the
Philippines, Mexico, Nigeria and Egypt.
9. India’s GDP To Reach $5 Trillion By 2025

India is poised to remain the fastest growing large economy in the world, and its GDP is
expected to reach $5 trillion by 2025.
Subhash Chandra Garg is leading the Indian delegation for the annual Spring Meeting of the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
In 2018, we expect India to grow at over 7.4%,” economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra
Garg told the 97th meeting of the Development Committee of the World Bank in Washington.
Transformational reforms such as Goods and Services Tax (GST), and initiatives such as
Insolvency and Bankruptcy code, recapitalisation of banks, and unclogging of infrastructure
investments will support such elevated growth.
10. Mario Abdo Benitez elected as Paraguay's president.
Capital: Asunción, Currency: Paraguayan guaraní
25.04.18
1. 2 Day Secure India Conclave underway in New Delhi
The two-day Secure India Conclave got underway in New Delhi on 24 April 2018. The conclave is
being organised by Global Counter Terrorism keeping in view Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
vision of New India : Secure India 2018.
2. Rajnath Singh chairs third meeting of Island Development Agency
The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, chaired the third meeting of the Island
Development Agency (IDA) In Delhi.

 The Island Development Agency reviewed the progress made towards preparation of
Development Plans for identified Islands (four in A&N Islands i.e. Smith, Ross, Long, Avis
and five in Lakshadweep i.e. Minicoy, Bangaram, Thinnakara, Cheriyam, Suheli).
 For these Islands, Final Site Suitability Reports have been prepared, Carrying Capacity
determined and Environmental zoning carried out to ensure sustainable development.
3. PM launches Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, at a public
meeting, in Mandla in Madhya Pradesh.
 He unveiled a Road Map for overall development of tribals during the next five years.
 He laid the foundation stone of an LPG bottling plant of Indian Oil Corporation at
Maneri, Mandla District. He also launched a Local Government Directory.
 The Prime Minister felicitated the Sarpanches of villages which have achieved 100
percent smokeless kitchens, 100 percent vaccination under Mission Indradhanush, and
100 percent electrification under Saubhagya Scheme.
4. Railways to hand over century-old heritage bridge to UP government
In a bid to save its heritage structures, the Railways has decided against dismantling the 113-
year old Lord Curzon Bridge in Allahabad and will hand it over the Uttar Pradesh government
for its preservation.
5. Mobile App (m-Awas) for allotment of General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA)
through Automated System of Allotment (ASA) launched
Sh. Hardeep Puri, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs (I/C) launched a Mobile App
(m-Awas) for allotment of Government accommodations in General Pool Residential
Accommodation (GPRA) in Delhi under the control of the Directorate of Estates. Secretary,
Housing and Urban Affairs, Sh. Durga Shanker Mishra and other senior officers of the ministry
were also present on the occasion. The application has been developed by NIC.
6. Mega vaccination campaign against Measles-Rubella to be initiated in Punjab
The State-wide Vaccination Campaign against Measles-Rubella is all set to be initiated

in Punjab from 1st May onwards as a part of a National strategy to eliminate Measles and
control Rubella in the country.
Capital:Chandigarh, Governor: P. Singh Badnore, Chief Minister:Captain Amarinder Singh

7. Nitin Gadkari inaugurates 29th Road Safety Week in New Delhi
Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated the 29th Road Safety Week at
Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
Besides administering Road Safety oath, Gadkari also released a book named “Have a Safe
Journey” and also awarded school students.
8. Government of India and World Bank Signs Agreement to Improve Rural Road Network in
Madhya Pradesh: The Government of India, the Government of Madhya Pradesh and
the World Bank signed a $210 million loan agreement for the Madhya Pradesh Rural
Connectivity Project.
The Project will cover 10,510 km stretch of rural roads in Madhya Pradesh that fall under the
Chief Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana (CMGSY) program.
Madhya Pradesh Capital: Bhopal, Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Governor: Anandiben
Patel
9. 15th SCO Defence Ministers meeting in China
India is participating in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers

Meeting for the first time.
 The 15th SCO Defence Ministers Meeting was held at Beijing in China on 24 April 2018.
 Speaking at the meeting, Raksha Mantri Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted India’s
keen interest in developing an expanded partnership with the broader Eurasian region.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, and security
organisation, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China by the
leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation Charter was signed in June 2002 and entered into force on 19
September 2003. These countries, except for Uzbekistan, had been members of the Shanghai
Five group, founded on 26 April 1996 in Shanghai. India and Pakistan joined SCO as full
members on 9 June 2017 at a summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Headquarters: Beijing, China, Secretary General: Rashid Alimov
Founded: 26 April 1996

10. Canada and EU to co-host meeting of women foreign ministers
Canada and the European Union will host the world’s first 2-Day female foreign
ministers’ meeting in September 2018 in Canada. The announcement was made by the
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.
11. Paytm Payments Bank registers 100M KYC wallets
Paytm Payments Bank announced that it now has over 100 million KYC wallets, against the
constant campaigning done by bank about the benefits of the Know Your Customer
(KYC) system.
12. India signs loan agreement with World Bank for US$ 125 million for “Innovate in India for
Inclusiveness Project”: A Loan Agreement for IBRD credit of US$ 125 (equivalent) for the “Innovate in
India for Inclusiveness Project” was signed with the World Bank in New Delhi.
13. Egyptian photojournalist wins 2018 World Press Freedom Prize: Egyptian photojournalist
Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known as Shawkan, is the recipient of the 2018 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World
Press Freedom Prize. Abu Zeid, a freelance photographer who has worked for photo agencies such as
Demotix and Corbis, is one of the longest-detained journalists in Egypt.
14. Sunderban Reserve Forest to obtain Ramsar site status: The Sunderban Reserve Forest,
spread of 4,260 sq. km. with over 2,000 sq. km. of mangrove forests and creeks, is likely to be declared a
Ramsar Site. West Bengal government gave its approval to the State Forest Department to apply for
recognition under the Ramsar Convention.
The Indian Sunderbans, with 2,114 sq. km. of mangrove forests, comprise almost 43% of the mangrove
cover in the country according to a 2017 Forest Survey of India report.
15. Panathinaikos banned from European football for three years by UEFA: Greek giants
Panathinaikos have been banned from European competition for three years by UEFA for failing to
pay their debts, European football’s governing body announced on Tuesday.
16. World Malaria Day – April 25

World Malaria Day is observed on April 25 every year to recognise the global effort to control
malaria and also to spread awareness about the around the world.
As per the World Malaria Report that was released in November 2017, there were 216 million
cases of malaria in 2016 whereas in 2015 211 million cases were reported.
The theme for this year’s Malaria Day is ‘Ready to beat Malaria’.

26.04.18
1. Foreigners can now travel to Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur without a permit
Foreign tourists, except those from Pakistan, China and Afghanistan, would now be allowed to
visit some of the most pristine locations of the country.
 The home ministry has decided to relax the six-decade-old Protected Area Permit
regime from Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur for five years with effect from April 1.
 Under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958, all areas falling between the Inner
line and the International Border of some states were declared as protected areas.
2. Human Resource Development Ministry Launches Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0
Human Resource Development Ministry has launches Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 in New Delhi.
 Addressing the launching ceremony at AICTE headquarters through video message,

Minister of Human Resource Development Shri Prakash Javadekar said that the students
are the real agents of change who can develop, empower and brighten the future of the
country.
 Shri Javadekar said that Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 is in line with Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi's vision to transform India, in which students from colleges and
universities will go to nearby villages to get acquainted with the life of the village people
and the problems faced by them in day to day life.
 Union HRD minister: Prakash Javadekar
 Minister of State for HRD: Satya Pal Singh
3. Exercise HARIMAU SHAKTI 2018: As part of ongoing Indo-Malaysian defence cooperation, a

joint training exercise HARIMAU SHAKTI will be conducted in the dense forests of Sengai Perdik,
Hulu Langat, Malaysia from 30th April 18 to 13th May 18.
4. NITI Aayog To Launch Atal New India Challenge: NITI Ayog’s Atal Innovation
Mission(AIM) will launch Atal New India Challenge.
Under AIM, grants of up to Rs 1 crore and mentorship will be given to the winning ideas.
AIM is in collaboration with five ministries and it will invite prospective innovators to design
market-ready products, using cutting edge technologies across 17 identified focus areas such as
Smart Mobility, Predictive Maintenance of Rolling Stock and Waste Management.
CEO, NITI Aayog: Shri Amitabh Kant, Mission Director, AIM: Shri Ramanathan Ramanan.

5. Central Security Exercise “Sagar Kavach” Held In Kerala: A two-day coastal security
exercise ‘Sagar Kavach’ began to strengthen and assess the loopholes in the coastal
security mechanism along Kerala shores.
Apart from the Coast Guard, the Navy, Coastal Police and Marine Enforcement wing and various
other security stakeholders were also participating in the exercise.
6. GI Tag For Telangna’s Adilabad Dokra, Warangal Dhurries

Adilabad Dokra, an ancient metal craft that is popular in the state’s tribal regions, and Warangal
durries or rugs, which are woven in handloom clusters in Warangal and Pochampally among
other areas, have now been declared unique to the region.
They were granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the GI registry in Chennai.
In Telangana, the Silver Filigree of Karimnagar, Hyderabadi Haleem and Narayanpet Handloom
Sarees already enjoy the GI tag among other crafts.
In Andhra, the famous ‘Tirupati laddu’ at the Sri Venkateswara temple atop Tirumala already
has the GI tag, along with the Banganapalle mango and the Durgi stone carvings, among others.
7. Bangladesh's first satellite Bangabandhu-1 to go aloft on May 7.
8. PNB to hire detective agencies to locate untraceable borrowers
Fraud-hit Punjab National Bank (PNB) has invited applications for empanelment of detective
agencies to locate its untraceable borrowers.
 In its efforts to recover NPAs, the PNB has also resorted to 'Gandhigiri' wherein its staff
hope to 'name and shame' defaulting borrowers to recover up to Rs 150 crore worth
bad loans every month.
 The Delhi-headquartered bank has been at the receiving end of the over Rs 13,000 crore
fraud involving diamond merchants Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.
10. India’s Ranking In Press Freedom Falls To 138: India’s ranking in the Press Freedom
Index has fallen two places to 138 in a ranking of 180 countries.
Norway topped the list of having the world’s freest press for the second year in a row followed
by Sweden and Netherlands.

North Korea(180) remained the most repressive country followed by Eritrea, Turkmenistan,
Syria and then China. The report was compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Reporters Without Borders (RWB), or Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), is an international non-
profit, non-governmental organization that promotes and defends freedom of information and
freedom of the press. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Headquarters: Paris, France.
11. Govt Enters Agreement With World Bank On Biotech: The mission has been approved at a
cost of USD 250 million for five years with 50 per cent funding through the World Bank Loan.
The aim is to make India a hub for design and development of novel, affordable and effective
biopharmaceutical products.
12. GOI To Tie Up With US And Finland For Pollution-Forecast System

India is tying up with the United States and Finland to develop a pollution-forecast system. It
will help anticipate particulate matter (PM) levels at least two days in advance and at a greater
resolution.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) will be coordinating this exercise. The new system, to be
jointly developed with expertise from the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the U.S.’
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The current system that is based out of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune,
which runs the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), can
forecast pollution trends (PM levels) in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Pune one day
in advance.
13. India To Host Asian Weightlifting In 2019

India will host the Asian weightlifting championship for the first time in history next year 2019.
14. TV actor Amita Udgata passes away
15. Vice President Releases the Book ‘Smart Cities Unbundled’
The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the Smart Cities Mission is the
beginning of India’s urban renaissance.
 He was addressing the gathering after releasing the Book ‘Smart Cities Unbundled’
authored by Dr. Sameer Sharma. The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs
(I/C), Shri Hardeep Singh Puri and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

16. World Intellectual Property Day: 26 April
World Intellectual Property Day is observed annually on 26 April.
 The event was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in
2000 to "raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on
daily life".
 26 April was chosen as the date for World Intellectual Property Day because it coincides
with the date on which the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property
Organization entered into force in 1970.
27.04.18
1. Rajnath Singh chairs 23rd meeting of Western Zonal Council at Gandhinagar
The 23rd meeting of the Western Zonal Council was held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat today under
the Chairmanship of the Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh. The Zonal Councils are
mandated to discuss and make recommendations on any matter of common interest in the
field of economic and social planning.
2. Historic Inter-Korean Summit begins in truce village of Panmunjom
North Korea’s Kim Jong-un pledges ‘new history’ with South Korea North Korean leader Kim
Jong-un has pledged a “new history” in relations with his neighbour as he became the first
leader to set foot in South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
South Korean leader Moon Jae-in and Mr Kim shook hands at the border. Mr Kim said it was the
“starting point” for peace, after crossing the military line that divides the peninsula.
3. India and Nepal IGC Meet Begins in Kathmandu: India-Nepal Inter Governmental
Committee (IGC) meeting on trade, transit and cooperation to Control Unauthorised Trade
begins in Kathmandu today.
4. NSE Launches E-Gsec Platform For Bringing Retail Participation In Government Securities
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).
This will allow retail investors to invest in Government Securities and hold them in
existing demat accounts.

Static:
Chairman of the Board of Directors of NSE – Mr. Ashok Chawla
Managing Director and CEO of NSE. – Mr. Vikram Limaye
5. Nabard targets to disburse over Rs. 10000 cr in 2017-18 in Telengana
6. Microsoft is India’s most attractive employer, followed by Amazon
Technology giant Microsoft India has been declared the most attractive employer brand,
followed by e-commerce giant Amazon India.
The winners were named by HR service provider Randstad’s Employer Brand Research (REBR)
2018.
7. Square to Acquire Website Builder Weebly for $365 Million
8. Twitter co-founder invests in Delhi-based AI startup Visit
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has invested in his “personal capacity” in a Delhi-based health
startup that uses an artificial intelligence-based bot in its app as he wants to contribute to a
future where AI is seen as a “positive enhancement of humanity”.
It introduced an artificial intelligence-based ‘chatbot’ that acts as a digital assistant to provide
“smart help” to patients in accessing consultation from doctors.
9. CSIR bags National Intellectual Property (IP) Award 2018
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is awarded the National Intellectual
Property (IP) Award 2018 in the category “Top R&D Institution / Organization for Patents and
Commercialization”.
 The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) is a contemporary R&D

organization.
 CSIR has been ranked 9th in the world amongst the 1207 government institutions, with
an overall global ranking of 75 in the world, covering 5250 institutions.
10. Santosh Gangwar gives away NSCI Safety Awards – 2017: Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar,
Minister of State (Independent charge) Ministry of Labour & Employment said that his Ministry
is committed towards job security, wage security, social security and safety and health of each
and every worker.

Altogether 70 organizations have been pronounced as winners of the awards in four awards
categories – Sarva Shreshtha Suraksha Puraskar, Shreshtha Suraksha Puraskar, Suraksha
Puraskar and Prashansa Patra.
These Awards are adjudged and declared every year by the National Safety Council, an
autonomous society set up by the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India.
11. Indu Malhotra first woman lawyer to be Supreme Court judge: The government is learnt to
have cleared the appointment of senior advocate Indu Malhotra as a judge of the Supreme
Court.
12. Govt to acquire RBI’s stake in National Housing Bank
The government will soon acquire the stake of Reserve Bank of India in housing finance
regulator National Housing Bank (NHB).
 The stake transfer would be cash neutral and there would be no cash outgo. RBI
currently holds 100 per cent stake in the NHB.
 The Finance Bill 2018 has amended the National Housing Bank Act, 1987, for
transferring RBI’s stake in the NHB to the government.
13. Mike Pompeo sworn in as US Secretary of State after Senate Confirmation
14. UN chief Antonio Guterres appoints Christine Schraner Burgener of Switzerland as special
envoy on Myanmar
15. 2021 Champions Trophy to be held in India
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to convert the 2021 Champions Trophy into
a World T20 event scheduled in India.
 Earlier it was an eight-team ODI tournament.

 ICC Chief Executive Dave Richardson said the global body had “unanimously agreed”
that the 2021 meet in India would now be a 16-team event in the shortest format.
15. Indian girls win under 12 South Asian Regional qualifying Tennis tournament defeating
Nepal in final

28.04.18
1. 15th World Rural Health Conference held in New Delhi: The Vice President of India, Shri M.
Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 15th World Rural Health Conference held in New Delhi.
 He said that approximately half of the global population lives in rural areas, but those
areas are served by only 38% of the total nursing workforce and by less than a quarter
of the total physician workforce.
 Its Theme is “Healing the Heart of Healthcare: Leaving No One Behind”.
2. Israeli Modern Art Exhibition to be inaugurated in the Capital
The National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi in collaboration with the Embassy of Israel in
India and the Petach Tikva Museum of Art, Israel is organizing an exhibition titled ‘To the End of
Land’-contemporary art from Israel on the occasion of 25 years of diplomatic relations between
the two countries.
 The exhibition will be inaugurated on 28th of April, 2018 at the National Gallery of
Modern Art, New Delhi.
 The exhibition is a collection of art creations of 19 Israeli artists, including the
internationally acclaimed Shahar Marcus who will perform at the exhibition opening.
3. Kerala CM launches Pravasi Pension Scheme
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan formally launched the Pravasi Pension Scheme of the
Kerala Pravasi Welfare Board at a programme.
 The programme was organised by the All India Malayalee Association (AIMA), Telangana
unit.
 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.
4. PM Modi Releases Commemorative Postage Stamp On Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released a commemorative postage stamp on former Uttar
Pradesh chief minister Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna.

5. Cabinet Approves Long Term Agreements For Supply Of Iron Ore To Japan And South Korea
The Union Cabinet has approved a long-term agreement for export of iron to Japan and South
Korea through state-owned trading firm MMTC.
Cabinet approves renewal of long-term agreements for supply of iron ore (lumps and fines) to
Japanese steel mills and POSCO, South Korea for another five years (from April 2018 to March
2023) through MMTC.
6. Government Launches Seed Import-Export Portal

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has launched a portal to facilitate export-import of
seeds and planting material.
A seed import-export portal has been developed for making the trade process easy.
Radha Mohan Singh said all prohibitions imposed on the export of seeds of different varieties
have been removed so as to encourage export of seeds.
7. Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons Inaugurates ICI In Noida

The Indian Culinary Institute (ICI) was inaugurated by Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons in
Noida. The institute aims to preserve, document, promote and disseminate Indian cuisine. The
other campus was being set up in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati. ICI offers various courses ranging
from diploma, under graduation, post graduation to research in Culinary Arts.
8. Nitin Gadkari Releases A Book Named “Have A Safe Journey”

Inaugurating “Road Safety Week”, Union Minister for Transport Nitin Gadkari pledged for ‘Road
Safety’. Minister Gadkari released a book named “Have a Safe Journey”.
The book is a compilation of winning stories of the contest along with stories by some
bestselling Indian authors.
This book is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Mahindra Truck
and Bus Division and Natural Habitat Preservation Centre.
9. Morocco to host 2021 annual meetings of World Bank, IMF
Morocco has been designated to host the 2021 annual meetings of the World Bank (WB) and
the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

10. Google most trusted Internet brand in India: Report: Online search engine Google is the
most trusted Internet brand in India, followed by Facebook, a report said.
11. World Bank Loan For BioPharma Mission

The government has secured a loan from the World Bank to develop new vaccines, medical
devices and medicines.
The mission was launched by Ministry of Science & Technology in 2017 at total cost of US $250
million for five years with 50% funding through World Bank Loan.
The money will be disbursed over five years and is part of the Department of Biotechnology-led
National Biopharma Mission.
he agreement was signed between project implementing agency, Biotechnology Industry

Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a PSU of Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of
Finance and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
World Bank
President: Jim Yong Kim
12. ADB To Give 1700 Crore Aid To Uttarakhand

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed in principle to give an aid of Rs 1,700 crore to
Uttarakhand for infrastructure development and creation of sewerage treatment facilities in
urban areas.
ADB, Headquarters: Philippines, President: Takehiko Nakao
13. Rs 10,012 Cr Aid Given To UP In 2017-18: Nabard
14. IndusTowers To Merge With Bharati Infratel

Bharti Infratel Ltd, the tower arm of India’s largest telecom operator, and Indus Towers has
agreed to merge their businesses to create the world’s largest tower company outside China.
The merger will help Bharti Airtel Ltd, Vodafone India Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd, which came
together in 2007 to form Indus Towers, easily pare their stakes in the combined entity to raise
funds to invest in their struggling telecom operations and cut debt.

17. NHAI Inks Pact With Macquarie

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has signed its first toll-operate-transfer (ToT)
agreement with Sydney-based Macquarie Group.
NHAI Headquarters: New Delhi, Chairman: Deepak Kumar
18. Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle and veteran actor
Anupam Kher were among the prominent personalities who were conferred the 'Master
Deenanath Mangeshkar Smruti Pratishthan Awards' on the occasion of his 76th death
anniversary .
19. Shooter Gauri Sheoran Made Brand Ambassador For Haryana’s Health Programmes .
29.04.18
1. Andhra Govt holds Cyber Security Summit in Visakhapatnam
The Andhra Pradesh government and MasterCard, along with Fintech valley, held the Andhra
Pradesh Cyber Security Summit in Visakhapatnam.
2. Sikkim Chief Minister Becomes India’s Longest-Serving CM

Sikkim chief minister Pawan Chamling created history by becoming the longest-serving CM in
India.
He surpassed Jyoti Basu, 5-term Bengal CM from June 21, 1977 to November 6, 2000.
In 1993, Mr Chamling formed the Sikkim Democratic Front Party. Chamling, who first took
office on December 12, 1994, has led SDF to five successive electoral victories.
With the slogan “New Sikkim, Happy Sikkim”, he launched policies and programmes to
transform the state.
Sikkim
Capital: Gangtok
Governor: Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil

3. Dalmia Bharat Adopts Red Fort And Gandikota Fort

The Ministry of Tourism signed an MoU with Dalmia Bharat and the Archaeological Survey of
India to adopt the iconic Red Fort monument in New Delhi and Gandikota Fort in Kadapa
district of Andhra Pradesh under the ‘Adopt a Heritage’ project.
The ‘Adopt a Heritage’ scheme was launched by President Ram Nath Kovind on World Tourism
Day in 2018. TheWorld Tourism Day is observed on September 27 every year.
Under the project, it will construct, landscape, illuminate and maintain activities related to
provision and development of tourist amenities.
The ministry has also awarded the Letters of Intent to nine agencies for 22 monuments of
Phase-IV of the scheme, including the Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh, Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan,
Mehrauli Archeological Park and Gol Gumbad in Delhi.
4. India-China Informal Summit
Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and President of People's Republic of China Mr. Xi
Jinping held their first Informal Summit in Wuhan on April 27-28, 2018.
5. Narinder Chauhan appointed Ambassador of India to the Czech Republic.
7. Krishan Kumar appointed as the Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Norway
8. Rajiv Kumar Nagpal appointed Ambassador of India to Venezuela.
9. Sitanshu Yashaschandra’s "Vakhar" chosen for Saraswati Samman
Eminent Gujarati poet Sitanshu Yashaschandra’s poetry collection "Vakhar" has been chosen
for the Saraswati Samman for 2017, the K K Birla Foundation has announced.
10. HDFC Bank Unveils IRA 2.0

HDFC Bank has announced the launch of IRA 2.0, its interactive humanoid. In its new avatar, IRA
will enhance user experience for customers visiting the Koramangala branch in Bengaluru.
IRA will interact with customers, answer bank-related queries, frequently asked questions, and
guide them inside the branch with voice-based navigation.
HDFC Bank also launched its virtual assistant ‘EVA’ on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

IRA 2.0 has been developed by HDFC Bank in collaboration with its technology partners Invento
Makerspaces and Senseforth Technologies.
HDFC Bank first launched a humanoid for customer service in January 2017 at the bank’s
Kamala Mills Branch in Mumbai.
HDFC Bank, Headquarters: Mumbai, CEO: Aditya Puri
11. Former PM Manmohan Singh Launches Economist Rao’s Book

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has released a book by former Planning Commission
and Finance Commission member C H Hanumantha Rao. Mr Rao is presently one of the most
creative thinkers, social activist, and distinguished economist in India.
The name of the book is ‘My Journey from Marxism-Leninism to Nehruvian Socialism’.
12. Barcelona Clinches Its 25th La Liga Title.
13. Rafael Nadal Wins 11th Barcelona Title

Rafael Nadal defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas for 11th Barcelona Open title. This was his 55th title
on clay and it was the 77th title overall.
Nadal has also won his 11th Monte-Carlo Masters title last week. He is now the only man in ATP
history to have won 400 matches on clay and 400 matches on hard court.
14. Indian Fencer Wins Silver Medal At Reykjavik Tournament

India’s CA Bhavani Devi won a silver medal in the sabre event of the Tournoi World Cup Satellite
Fencing Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland.
30.04.18
1. Kavinder Gupta to be new Jammu and Kashmir deputy CM
BJP has decided to replace its Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh in the restive Jammu and
Kashmir.
 Speaker of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Kavinder Gupta is going to be the

2. Budgam shortlisted for PM Modi's excellence award
Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district has been shortlisted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
excellence award for promoting digital payments and cashless economy.
3. BCCI to honour Diana Edulji with CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award
Along with Edulji, former India opener late Pankaj Roy will also be awarded posthumously.
4. Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes wins Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
5. World Immunization Week: 24 April- 30 April 2018
World Immunization Week 2018 is celebrated from April 24 to April 30.
 Immunization is considered to be one of the most cost-effective and successful plans in

the health industry.
 World Immunization Week aims at highlighting the collective effort which is needed to
ensure that every person gets protection from diseases which can be prevented from
vaccines.
 Theme for the year 2018 is “Protected Together, Vaccines Work”.
6. Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Awards 2018
Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Awards 2018 were held on April 29 in Mumbai.
 Best Actor: Akshay Kumar, for Padman (Jury) and for Toilet: Ek Prem Katha
 Best Actress: Bhumi Pednekar, for Toilet: Ek Prem Katha
 Best Actress in a leading role: Sonam Kapoor, for Padman
 Lifetime Achievement Award: Rakesh Roshan
 Most Versatile Actress: Manisha Koirala
 Saraswatibai Dadasaheb Phalke Best Actress (Lifetime) award: Farida Jalal
 Best Debut Director award : Konkona Sensharma
 Best Playback Singer Male: Armaan Malik
 The Best Playback Singer Female: Neeti Mohan
7. The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) and the Indian Yoga Association
(IYA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate interaction and

cooperation between the two organisations to promote wellness, spiritual and cultural tourism
in the Krishna Circuit.
Krishna Circuit: Krishna Circuit is among the thirteen thematic circuits identified for
development under Swadesh Darshan Scheme.
Twelve destinations have been identified for development under Krishna circuit namely Dwarka
(Gujarat), Nathdwara, Jaipur & Sikar (Rajasthan), Kurukshetra (Haryana), Mathura, Vrindavan,
Nandgaon, Gokul, Barsana, & Govardhan (Uttar Pradesh) and Puri (Odisha).
8. Leisang in Manipur has become the last village to be added to the national power grid under
the Rural Electrification Scheme.
Government of India has launched the scheme “Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana” for
rural electrification.
The erstwhile Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) scheme for village
electrification and providing electricity distribution infrastructure in the rural areas has been
subsumed in the DDUGJY scheme.
Rural Electrification Corporation is the Nodal Agency for implementation of DDUGJY
9. As part of 2562nd Buddha Jayanti celebrations, International Buddhist Conference was held
in Lumbini, the birth place of Gautama Buddha.
The basic objective of the conference was to disseminate teachings of Gautam Buddha and
spread the messages of nonviolence, brotherhood, co-existence, love and peace to the
international community.

April Current Affairs

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FOR RBI GRADE B PHASE 2 STUDY MATERIALS, VISIT WWW.CRACKGRADEBEXAMS.

urrent Affairs April 2018 for RBI and NABARD

3. Tamil film director C.V. Rajendran passes away

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16. Highway construction hits record 10,000 km in FY18

2. SIDBI Celebrates its Foundation day with launch of ' Samridhi’

• Chairman Managing Director of SIDBI Shri Mohammad Mustafa launched a series of

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6. Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan-launched

9. Mangaluru Airport Adjudged India’s Cleanest

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1. Apatani Cultural Landscape, Arunachal Pradesh

2. Iconic Saree Weaving Clusters of India

3. Moidams – the Mound – Burial System of the Ahom Dynasty, Assam

4. Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh

5. River Island of Majuli in midstream of Brahmaputra River in Assam

6. Thembang Fortified Village, Arunachal Pradesh

Deendayal Antodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) is a flagship

 The centrally sponsored programme is implemented in partnership with the State

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Given below is the list of winners in various categories:

 Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru in overall category

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8. Indo-Kyrgyzstan joint training exercise KHANJAR-V concludes

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10. Financial assistance to Women Entrepreneurs in 2016-17

Government has provided financial assistance to women entrepreneurs in setting up 14,768

11. Performance of National Social Assistance Programme(NSAP)

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1. Trial run of first India-Bangladesh container train flagged off

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8. Union Cabinet Approves Protection Of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018

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10. 1st Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement Released By RBI

Repo rate unchanged at 6.0%.

11. Subrata Bhattacharjee Appointed As Next Ambassador Of India To Serbia

14. India: Third Most Vulnerable Country To Cyber Threats

In 2017, 5.09% of global threats detected were in India.

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Governor- Acharya Dev Vrat

16. NASA Successfully Tests Supersonic Mars Landing Parachute

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7. Japanese Animation Director Isao Takahata Passed Away

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SWIFT Headquarters: La Hulpe, Belgium, CEO: Gottfried Leibbrandt

4. Uttarakhand’s Second Mega Food Park Inaugurated At Udham Singh Nagar

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8. IAF To Conduct Biggest Combat Exercise Along Pakistan, China Borders

 The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) will be

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1. 4th National Workshop for Training on Autism Started in New Delhi

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4. CWG 2018: Deepak Lather becomes India’s youngest weightlifting medallist

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 Gobar is an acronym for Galvanising Organic Bio Agro Resources.

9. India’s Foreign Exchange Reserves Hit A Life-Time High

1. Dharmendra Pradhan Launches PMUY Scheme In Delhi: Union Minister Dharmendra

2. CM Biplab Deb Launches State Component Of PMKVY

3. Patna Tops In 4G Connectivity Among 20 Largest Cities

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4. UP Government Launches Ganga Hariteema Yojana: In Uttar Pradesh Ganga Hariteema