NATIONAL
UPDATES:
1. Red Alert for Tamil Nadu as Cyclone Fani may land
on 30th April: Meteorological
department in Chennai issues a warning that a low-pressure system south of the
‘Bay of Bengal’ would turn into a cyclonic storm which has been named ‘Fani’. The
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a ‘red alert’ in Tamil Nadu
and Puducherry for 30th April and 1st May 2019. A 'yellow alert' has
been issued for Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur and Malappuram on 29th April 2019.
2. ICMR Launches Malaria Elimination Research Alliance: The Indian Council of Medical Research has
launched the ‘Malaria Elimination Research Alliance (MERA)
India which is a conglomeration of partners working on malaria control in
order to eliminate the disease from India by 2030. The National
Vector Borne Diseases Control Program (NVBDCP) of India has also developed
a comprehensive framework to achieve the target of “Malaria free India by
2030”.
3. Indian Army Inks MoU with NHPC to Build Tunnels on
China, Pakistan Borders: Indian
Army signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with National
Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Limited, to build four underground
tunnels along China and Pakistan borders for storage of
ammunition and other war-related equipment. Three tunnels will be built along
the Chinese border and one tunnel will be built along
the Pakistan border. The tunnel can store 175-200
metric tonnes of ammunition and the cost of this pilot project is
around Rs 15 crore.
4. CPWD Constitutes 8-member Committee To Chart
Out Design Policy: The Central Works
Public Department (CPWD) has constituted an expert committee to formulate
a design policy for building construction and infrastructure development.
The committee has been set up under the chairmanship of CPWD's Additional
Director General M K Sharma. The move is aimed at reviving building
construction and infrastructure development at all levels in the CPWD which
comes under the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.The committee has been
asked to submit its report to Director General Prabhakar
Singh within 30 days.
INTERNATIONAL
UPDATES:
1. Sri Lanka suspends visa on arrival programme after serial
blasts: According to Sri Lankan
tourism ministry, Sri Lankan Govt. suspended plans to grant visa on arrival to
citizens of 39 countries after the recent bombings in which 359 people were
killed. Sri Lankan government did not want the facility to be misused as
investigations found foreign links to the attacks on Easter. Last month, Sri
Lanka had announced the plan to allow visa-free entry to tourists from 39
countries, including European Union members, Australia and the United States,
during the low season from 1st May (not include China and India).
2. UAE based Etihad Airways becomes the first
major airline to operate the plastic-free flight: UAE based flag carrier ’Etihad Airways’ has become
the first major airline in the Gulf region to operate a flight without any
single-use plastics on board. The objective is to raise awareness about
pollution on Earth. The first flight named ‘EY484’ (without use of plastics)
landed in Brisbane, Australia. Etihad Airways has pledged to reduce single-use
plastic usage by 80% across the entire organization by the end of 2022.
3. NASA's InSight detects first likely 'quake' on
Mars:
US space agency NASA's robotic Mars InSight lander has recorded a likely
marsquake for the first time ever. This
is the first recorded trembling that appears to have come from inside the
planet, as opposed to being caused by forces above the surface, such as wind. Scientists
still are examining the data to determine the exact cause of the signal.
4. World Veterinary Day: 27 April: The World
Veterinary Day 2019 is observed on 27th April. It is an opportunity
to celebrate the contributions of veterinarians to the health of
animals and society. The theme for the day is the “Value of Vaccination”. The
day is initiated by the World Veterinary Association.
OTHER
UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Jhulan Goswami wins CSJS award for best
sportsperson of 2018: Former captain
of India national women’s cricket team ‘Jhulan Goswami’ awarded
the “Sportsperson of the Year” at the Calcutta Sports Journalists’
club (CSJC) in Kolkata, West Bengal. Sukumar Samajpati (former India
winger) and Sambaran Banerjee (Bengal’s Ranji Trophy winning captain) honoured
‘Lifetime Achievement’ awards.
2. India bags one gold, two silver
medals at Asian Boxing Championship: India bagged one gold and two silver
medals at the Asian Boxing Championships in Bangkok. Boxer Amit Panghal picked
up his second successive gold medal of the year in the 52-kilogram category. Panghal
defeated Korea's Kim Inkyu Korea. National champion Deepak Singh and Kavinder
Singh Bisht in 56 kg category signed off with silver medals after close losses. Deepak lost to Mirzahmedov of Uzbekistan
while Bisht was also defeated by an Uzbek.
3. Pankaj Advani wins inaugural Asian Snooker
Tour title: India's Pankaj Advani
defeated Ehsan Heydari Nezhad of Iran 6-4 to claim the inaugural Asian Snooker
Tour title. The Indian had earlier defeated Aung Phyo of Myanmar in the
semifinal. Advani had earlier won the second leg of the Tour in China.
4. ISSF World Cup: Abhishek Verma Wins Gold In 10m Air
Pistol: Abhishek Verma won
the 10m air pistol gold medal at the ISSF World Cup at Beijing, China.
He clinched the top spot with a total score of 242.7. Russia's Artem
Chernousov took silver. His brilliant performance in the Shooting World
Cup Final also secured a fifth Olympic quota for India.
5. Asian Boxing Championships: India Wins 13
Medals: India won 13
medals, including 2 gold, 4 silver, and 7 bronze at the Asian
Boxing Championships in Bangkok. Boxers Pooja Rani and Amit
Panghal gave India 2 gold medals. While the men won 1 gold, 3 silver,
and 3 bronze, the women bagged 1 gold, 1 silver, and 4 bronze medals.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. Siddhartha Mohanty takes over as COO of LIC Housing
Finance: LIC Housing Finance
appointed Siddhartha Mohanty as its chief operating officer. Prior to taking over as the position, he was executive director
with LIC of India. Mohanty started his career as a direct recruit
officer with LIC of India in 1985 and has risen through the ranks to this
senior position.
2. Aegon Life Insurance has collaborated with
MobiKwik to launch a smart digital insurance product: Digital financial services
company ‘Mobikwik’ collaborated with Aegon Life Insurance (pioneer of
digital insurance in India) to launch a Rs 20 smart digital insurance product. The
main objective for this initiative is to improve the insurance penetration in
India (currently at 3.7%) that is to drive financial inclusion for the masses. The
company has created 3 variants of the amount assured between Rs. 1 lakh, Rs.1.5
lakh and Rs. 2 lakhs at no extra cost. The insurance product launched is termed
as the Aegon Life Group Term Plus Plan.
3. Bimal Jalan panel on RBI's capital size to
submit the report by June: A
high-level panel led by former RBI governor Bimal Jalan, set up to decide the
appropriate capital reserves that the central bank should maintain, is likely
to submit its report by June. The six-member Jalan panel was appointed on
December 26, 2018, to review the Economic Capital Framework for the RBI. The
committee was to submit its report in 90 days from the first day of its meeting,
which was held on January 8. The panel has got an extension beyond its
three-month term.
4. RBI Introduces ₹ 20 Banknote In Mahatma Gandhi
(New) Series: The Reserve Bank
of India will shortly issue ₹ 20 denomination banknotes in the
Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, bearing the signature of Shri Shaktikanta Das,
Governor, Reserve Bank of India. The new denomination has the motif of
Ellora Caves on the reverse, depicting the country's cultural heritage.
The base colour of the note is Greenish Yellow. The dimension of the
banknote will be 63 mm x 129 mm.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. Microsoft
Becomes World’s Third Company To Be Worth $1 Trillion: Microsoft has reached a valuation of one
trillion dollars for the first time after posting an increase in
profits. It makes the software giant only the third publicly-traded
company in history to reach the threshold
after Apple and Amazon passed it
in 2018. Microsoft’s current valuation also means that it has again
taken over Apple as the world’s most valuable company.
HONOURS AND AWARDS
1. Pakistan’s ‘Dawn’ journalist Cyril Almeida
named IPI’s World Press Freedom Hero:
The International Press Institute has declared Cyril Almeida (Dawn
editor and columnist in Pakistan) the recipient of its 71st World
Press Freedom Hero award. The institute lauded Almeida for his ‘tenacious
coverage of the Pakistani state’s patronage of militant groups’. The awards
will be presented in a ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland on 5th June
2019. Almeida is a Rhodes scholar with a law degree from Oxford University.
2. Salim,
Helen and Bhandarkar get Deenanath Mangeshkar Award 2019: The prestigious Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award
2019 was awarded to Madhur Bhandarkar (National Award-winning
filmmaker), Salim Khan (scriptwriter) and Helen (dancing
diva). This year, the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award for music and
art has been given to classical dancer Sucheta Bhide-Chapekar. Anandmayee
Puraskar was given to Pandit Suresh Talwalkar of Taalyogi Ashram. The event was
organized by Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Smruti Pratishthan charitable trust,
Pune.
3. Rana Dasgupta Wins 2019 Tagore Literary Prize: The second edition of Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize was awarded
to author Rana Dasgupta for
his 2010 novel “Solo“, a tale of
estrangement and the ultimate failure of material existence. The Rabindranath
Tagore Literary Prize for social achievement was
awarded to Yohei Sasakawa, for
“his incredible efforts to uproot leprosy and great contribution to world
peace”.
OBITUARIES
1. Mark Medoff, the writer of 'Children of a
Lesser God' passes away: Mark Medoff
(79-years) passed away in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Medoff wrote 30 plays and is
best known for the groundbreaking Children of a Lesser God, the story of a
young deaf woman and her love affair with her speech teacher.
2. Terry Rawlings, British Film Editor Passes
Away:
Terry Rawlings, a British film and sound editor has passed
away. He was an Oscar nominee for his work on Best Picture winner “Chariots of
Fire”. He was born in 1933. The 5-time BAFTA nominee also received
a career achievement award from the American Cinema Editors society
in 2006.
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