Daily GK Updates - 18th April, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. District plan to acelerate growth by 3%: Govt has decided to set up a district plan to accelerate growth of districts by 3%.An addition of 3% growth at the district level will ensure that 5 trillion dollars target for the Indian economy becomes achievable.The initiative will begin with 6 districts, including Sindhudurg & Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, VaLt Gen PP Malhotra takes over as DG NCC

2. Lieutenant General PP Malhotra has assumed the charge as Director General of National Cadet Corps (NCC):, the largest uniformed youth organization in the world.Prior to assuming his present appointment, he was the Chief Engineer of the Army’s premier Northern Command.Lt Gen Malhotra’s distinguished professional career includes various regimental, staff and command appointments.ranasi in UP, Muzaffarpur in Bihar, Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh & Solan in HP.

3. Digital platform for MSME exporters launched:Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu launched FIEO GlobalLinker- A digital platform for MSME exporters to digitise their businesses & join a global community of growing businesses.It will help in expanding India’s multi-focused export strategy & also aid in connecting art & artisans to market.

4. HRD Ministry to launch Study In India portal:HRD Ministry will launch ‘Study in India’ portal that aims to target foreign students to be admitted in Indian institutes

It will enable students from 30 countries to apply for different courses from 150 Indian institutions.study in India programme’s objective is to target foreign students by branding India as an attractive education destination.

5. DARPAN-PLI App launched by Manoj Sinha: MoS for Communication, Manoj Sinha launched DARPAN-Postal Life Insurance App in New Delhi.The App will help in collection of premium for Postal & Rural postal life insurance policies at Branch Post offices anywhere in India, with online updation of policies.It will help Department of Posts in providing better after-sales service to customers, particularly those living in rural areas.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. World Heritage Day celebrated: World Heritage Day is an annual event celebrated on 18 April of each year.The day aims to spread awareness of the importance of protecting & preserving various sites around that have achieved world heritage status.This year’s theme is Heritage for Generations emphasizing on inter-generational transfer of knowledge.There are 36 sites in India that have been declared as World Heritage.

2. India, Sweden to cooperate in Smart Cities: India & Sweden have agreed to deepen their cooperation in Smart Cities initiative, transport & energy sectors.The 2 countries will exchange knowledge & explore cooperation on smart cities, including transit-oriented urban development, air pollution control & waste management.Both sides will also exchange know-how & explore cooperation in areas of electro-mobility as well as renewable fuels

3. US to restrict movement of Pakistani diplomats:US has notified Pak that the diplomats at their embassy in Washington & consulates in other cities would not be able to travel beyond 40 kms of their offices without permission from May 1.Diplomats would need to apply for permission at least 5 days ahead of an intended travel outside the imposed 40 kms radii.

4. India ranked 10th in Innovation Index: India was ranked 10^th on a new Commonwealth Innovation Index which was topped by UK, Singapore & Canada.The index has been created in partnership with United Nations World Intellectual Property Organisation & its annual Global Innovation Index. It is aimed at providing a tool that allows member states, organisations & citizens to benchmark themselves against 53 countries of Commonwealth.

OTHER UPDATES

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Facebook introduces new privacy choices:Facebook would begin rolling out changes to how it handles private data this week to comply with forthcoming EU rules.Under the new policy, FB users will be asked to review & make choices about ads they receive, including whether they want Facebook to use data from third parties.FB has recently been rocked by disclosures about hijacking of personal data on tens of millions of its users.

2. India to grow at 7.4% in 2018:IMF in the latest World Economic Outlook has projected India to grow at 7.4% in 2018 & 7.8% in 2019.India in 2018 & 2019 would re-emerge as one of the fastest growing major economies.IMF said the implementation of GST will help reduce internal barriers to trade, increase efficiency & improve tax compliance.

SPORTS:

1. Bihar, NE states recommended for Ranji Trophy: Sourav Ganguly-led technical committee of BCCI has unanimously recommended reinstatement of Bihar & inclusion of northeastern states in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy.The northeastern states played BCCI U-19 tournaments last season as the Board wanted to gradually integrate them into the system.Ranji Trophy 2018-19 season is proposed to have 4 Groups with the introduction of pre-quarterfinals.