Current Affair of April 2019

National

1. According to whitepaper ‘Current State of Cybercrime-2019’, released by RSA Security (is an American computer and network security company of parent organization Dell Technologies), social media fraud has increased by 43% in 2018. It says the trend will continue in 2019 because of ease of using, absence of fees and multiple other benefits of these platforms.

2. According to recent media reports, not much progress has been made in making cities safer for women even one year after launch of Safe City programme. It highlights poor guidelines and improper utilization of funds and focus on general elections as main reasons for it.

3. Government’s Think tank Niti Ayog has agreed to the proposal of the Dental Council of India which had sought to allow dentists to practice as general physicians after a bridge course.

4. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has distributed over 3,100 special kits SAECKs for collecting blood and semen samples, besides other evidence, to carry out immediate investigations into sexual assault cases among states and Union Territories.

5. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has said that in order to curb fake, sub-standard and expired drugs drug names and expiry date during tendering will be in Hindi/regional language along with English.

6. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Ministry of AYUSH and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for cooperation in research and education in areas of traditional systems of medicine and its integration with modern science.

7. The Supreme Court on Tuesday admitted for consideration a plea by a couple to lift the ban on Muslim women’s entry into mosques across the country. Based on the plea by a Pune-based Muslim couple the Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre, the Waqf Board and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB).

8. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts near-normal monsoon, at 96% of long period average. IMD in its first stage operational forecast for the southwest monsoon season (June to September) rainfall has made.

9. The report by the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) in the US has made the following observations about the healthcare system in India:
i. India has a shortage of an estimated 600,000 doctors and 2 million nurses.
ii. Lack of properly trained staff to administer antibiotics is preventing patients from accessing life-saving drugs.
iii. Even when antibiotics are available, patients are often unable to afford them.
iv. Further unqualified doctors prescribing antibiotics in improper amounts to the patients can be harmful or expensive for them.
v. About 65% of health expenditure is out-of-pocket in India.

10. After the alerts from the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has asked manufacturers of 7 common antibiotics to ensure that information related to symptoms/side effects is made available to the general public.

11. The Ministry of Commerce and Industries has urged the Health Ministry to frame law banning manufacture and sale of e-cigarettes in the country as in the absence of the domestic legislation, it would not be possible to put a blanket ban on its imports.

12. The United Nations Population Fund has released the State of World Population 2019 report.
i. India’s population grew at an average annual rate of 1.2 per cent between 2010 and 2019 to 1.36 billion. It was more than double the annual growth rate of China.
ii. India’s population in 2019 stood at 1.36 billion. The population has grown from 942.2 million in 1994 and 541.5 million in 1969.
iii. China’s population stood at 1.42 billion in 2019. China’s population increased from 1.23 billion in 1994 and 803.6 million in 1969.
iv. China’s population grew at an average annual rate of 0.5 per cent between 2010 and 2019.
v. The total fertility rate per woman was 5.6 in 1969. It dropped to 3.7 in 1994 and 2.3 in 2019.

13. The Press Council of India (PCI) has issued the guidelines for the media to give objective reports about the election and cautioned it against the phenomenon of paid news.

15. British Prime Minister Theresa May reiterated the UK government’s long-standing expression of 'deep regret' over the April 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre and called the massacre a ‘shameful scar’ on British Indian history. But the words of PM May fell short in issuing a formal apology.

16. The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings have been released by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The rankings list the best institutions and universities of India.

17. The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to increase the random matching of paper trail machine slips with EVM results from one to five polling booths in each assembly segment for the multiphase Lok Sabha polls. The Supreme Court has said that the move will bring more “credibility” and "integrity" to the electoral process.

18. The first vote for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections was cast in Arunachal Pradesh by service voters from a remote Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) unit located in the eastern tip of the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Votes through postal ballots have been cast from Lohitpur for many constituencies in India and the ballot papers have been dispatched.

19. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has barred parties, candidates and others from publishing political advertisements on polling day and a day prior to it in each of the seven phases of Lok Sabha polls unless their contents are pre-certified by screening committees.

20. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in the field of standardisation and conformity assessment.

21. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the recent Asian Development Outlook report has made the following observations in the forecast for the financial year 2019-20:

22. Social Media Platform WhatsApp has launched an India-focused fact-checking feature to combat fake news and rumours starting with the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.

23. The government has proposed setting up bureaucrat-led committees that would sit and decide on complaints against the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and Information Commissioners (ICs).

24. The Election Commission of India (ECI) in a first of its kind initiative has reached out to over 150 community radio stations across the country to educate and inform the voters ahead of the general elections.

International

1. Lebanon’s capital Beirut has set a new Guinness World Record for most number of national flags displayed in one city for 24 hours.

2. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena used his emergency powers to issue an order to ban burqa, veil or covering of face in public places in any manner which prevents anyone from being identified.

3. 5th Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Media Summit on Climate Action and Disaster Preparedness began from 25- 26 April 2019 in Kathmandu, Nepal. It was attended by more than 200 participants including political leaders, UN agencies representatives, NGOs, Experts of climate change and disaster management, scientists and media persons.

4. Second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) was held in Beijing, China. It will serve as stocktaking exercise for China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It saw participation of 126 countries and 29 international organisations, increase from 60 countries and international organisations seen in in first edition of BRF 2017. India did not participate in this edition as well as in first edition of BRF.

5. US President Donald Trump announced that USA will not abide by and will never ratify Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), a UN treaty aimed at regulating global arms trade.

6. Britain pledged £4 million to support global anti-slavery projects, from sexually exploited girls in Ethiopia to migrant workers in Malaysia and Mauritius. It also committed about 200 million pounds in aid funding to combat modern-day slavery overseas, and given millions of pounds to nations from Albania to Vietnam.

7. UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) announced that Qatar will officially abolish its Exit Visa system for all foreign workers by the end of 2019. Amnesty International (human rights group) report accused that Qatar, which will be hosting 2022 World Cup was failing to implement reforms and stop widespread labour abuse. As a result Qatar revived its pledge to reform labour section, and introduced a minimum monthly minimum of 750 riyals ($206) and also agreed to work closely with ILO.

8. World Immunization Week 2019 is being observed from 24-30 April with the theme Protected Together: Vaccines Work. World Immunisation Week 2019 celebrates Vaccine Heroes from around the world from parents and community members to health workers and innovators who help ensure we are all protected, at all ages, through the power of vaccines.

9. Indonesia has released a special commemorative stamp on the theme of Ramayana to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of its diplomatic ties with India.

10. Reports suggest that the US could terminate the sanctions waivers it granted to some importers of Iranian oil after it re-imposed sanctions on Iran last year.

11. Iran and Pakistan have agreed to set up a joint border reaction force following to counter the increasing number of deadly attacks by militant groups on their frontier.

12. The Arab League has pledged to pay $100 million a month to the Palestinian National Authority to plug the resulting gaps since Israel has blocked tax transfers earlier in the year. The Arab League has taken the measure to ensure Palestine can be isolated from the political and financial pressure it faces.

13. The Egyptians are voting for the constitutional amendments which were overwhelmingly approved by the Egyptian Parliament.
i. The amendments extend presidential terms from four to six years.
ii. The amendments incorporate a transitional article which would give the “current president” the right to two new terms totalling 12 years.
iii. The president would be allowed to pick the heads of judicial bodies and to oversee a new council charged with looking after the affairs of judges.
iv. The amendments confer a political role for the army to “protect” the constitution, democracy and the “civilian” nature of the state — code for preventing rule by Islamists.

15. Indian Navy warships INS Kolkata and tanker INS Shakti will take part in the Chinese international fleet review to be held at Qingdao on April 23. The International Fleet Review is being held by China to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army’s Navy. More than 60 countries are expected to join the commemorative event on 23 April.

16. The London School of Economics (LSE) has announced the establishment of the Amartya Sen Chair in Inequality Studies to honour the Nobel laureate who has also served as the Professor of Economics at LSE.

17. The United States Department of Justice has released the special counsel Robert Mueller’s report. The report looks into alleged Russian collusion in the 2016 Presidential elections which saw incumbent US President Donald Trump rise to power.

18. Nepal’s first satellite NepaliSat-1 was launched into space from the Virginia-based station of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US.
i. NepaliSat-1 will start rotating around the Earths orbit to collect information about the country’s topography and Earths magnetic field.
ii. The satellite also bears the Nepal flag and logo of Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST).
iii. The satellite is equipped with a 5MP camera to capture Nepal’s topography and a magnetometer to collect data related to the Earth’s magnetic field.
iv. The images and data will be sent by satellite to the ground station at NAST.

19. President of Israel Reuven Rivlin has formally handed Benjamin Netanyahu his letter of appointment to start building a coalition government following last week’s general election.

20. World Health Organisation (WHO) has released new recommendations on 10 ways through which countries can use digital health technology which is accessible via mobile phones, tablets and computers to improve people’s health and essential services.

21. President Donald Trump has vetoed the resolution from the US Congress which directed him to end U.S. support for the civil war in Yemen.

22. 150 Indian peacekeepers serving with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) were honoured with medals of honour by the United Nations for their dedicated service and sacrifice.

23. Sri Lanka’s first satellite Raavana-1 was launched into space from NASA’s Flight Facility on Virginia’s east shore.

24. Bangladesh observed Mujibnagar Day on 17th April. On the Occasion Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina paid tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, in Dhanmondi, Dhaka.

25. Iran’s Parliament has overwhelmingly approved a bill labelling U.S. forces in the Middle East as terrorist groups. This comes days after U.S. designation of Iran's Revolutionary Guard as terrorist organisation formally took effect.

26. The Ministry of External Affairs has set up an Indo-Pacific division in the foreign office. The Indo-pacific division is intended to give a coherent architecture to the Indo-Pacific policy articulated by PM Narendra Modi at the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2018.

27. The report by the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) in the US has made the following observations about the antibiotics and their access:
i. Majority of the world’s annual 5.7 million antibiotic-treatable deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
ii. In low- and middle-income countries the mortality burden from treatable bacterial infections far exceeds the estimated annual 700,000 deaths from antibiotic-resistant infections.
iii. Even after the discovery of a new antibiotic, regulatory hurdles and substandard health facilities delay or altogether prevent widespread market entry and drug availability.

28. Mohammed Ishtaye was sworn in as the new Palestinian Prime Minister. He along with 24 ministers took the oath of office before President Mahmoud Abbas.

29. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) voted unanimously voted for the resolution to completely end its peacekeeping operations in Haiti on October 15. The resolution also called for establishing a political mission to support government efforts to promote order and development in Haiti situated in Latin America.

30. The Ministry of Commerce and Industries is arranging a mini-ministerial meeting of developing countries on May 13-14 to discuss the future of the multilateral body, World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the development agenda.

31. The UK Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in association with Home Office have released the Online Harms White Paper.
The White paper sets out a programme of action to tackle content or activity that harms individual users, particularly children, or threatens our way of life in the UK, either by undermining national security or by undermining our shared rights, responsibilities and opportunities to foster integration. Public consultation has been called on for the white paper.

32. President Trump Administration of US has announced its intent to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Quds Force, as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) in accordance with Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The designation is expected to take effect from April 15.

33. International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwanda Genocide was observed on 7th April on 7th April in memory of the victims of the genocide in Rwanda.
1994 Rwanda Genocide was the genocide against the Tutsi community directed by members of the Hutu majority government during the 100-day period from 7 April to 15 July 1994.

34. David Malpass who held a senior role at the US Treasury and was the undersecretary for international affairs has been appointed as the President of World Bank. He was nominated by the US president Donald Trump. David Malpass had also held senior roles in the US Treasury during the Reagan and George HW Bush administrations.

35. India has evacuated its entire contingent of peacekeeping forces comprising of 15 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel from Tripoli after the situation in the war-hit nation suddenly worsened.

36. The Global Cooling Coalition was launched at the first Global Conference on Synergies between the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement held at Copenhagen, Denmark.

37. The US House of Representatives has voted to end US involvement in Yemen’s civil war. The resolution to end the American Involvement in the civil war was approved by 247 to 175 votes. The resolution directs the US President to remove US Armed Forces from hostilities in or affecting the Republic of Yemen within 30 days. The resolution rejects the US Presidents support for the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen.

38. Japan has revealed the name of the era which will define the new emperor’s reign when he ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne next month following a historic abdication. The era has been named as ‘Reiwa’.

39. The Ministry of External Affairs has signed an MoU with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Consultancy Service (NABCONS) for setting up India-Africa Institute of Agriculture and Rural Development (IAIARD) in Malawi.

40. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) makes the following observations in the 2019 Global Report on Food Crises report:
i. More than 113 million people across 53 countries experienced “acute hunger” last year because of wars and climate disasters, with Africa the worst-hit region.
ii. Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan and Syria were among the eight nations accounting for two-thirds of the total number of people worldwide exposed to the risk of famine.
iii. African Nations were "disproportionally" affected as close to 72 million people on the continent suffered acute hunger.

41. India and Bolivia have signed an agreement for the development and industrial use of lithium, a prime component used to power electric vehicles and cell phones during the state visit of the President Ram Nath Kovind to Bolivia.

42. During the state visit of the President Ram Nath Kovind to Bolivia, Bolivia has signed the framework agreement to join the International Solar Alliance.

43. During the state visit of the President Ram Nath Kovind to Bolivia the following 9 MoUs were signed:
i. Agreement on Exemption of Visa for Diplomatic and Official Passport holders to facilitate entry into either country of Diplomatic and Official Passport Holders without a visa for a maximum of 90 days in any period of 180 days.
ii. Agreement to promote the development of academic cooperation in the training of diplomats, including structure and content and to update on international relations in the framework of the programmes and activities of the Parties.
iii. Agreement to provide technical advice to deepen necessary studies; contribute to establish continuous cooperation between public and private companies on issues related to planning, construction and operation of the Corridor.

44. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has approved a new rule for expats under which foreign workers will now be able to sponsor their family members if they fulfil certain income criteria and has scrapped the previously listed ‘professions’ criterion.

45. Zuzana Caputova has won Slovakia’s presidential election, making her the country’s first female head of state. Ms Caputova defeated high-profile diplomat Maros Sefcovic, nominated by the governing party. She won 58% of the vote, with Mr Sefcovic trailing on 42%. Mr Sefcovic is the vice president of the European Commission.

46. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously adopted a French-drafted resolution which ordered countries worldwide to step up the fight against terrorism financing by ensuring they have laws that make it a serious crime to fund terrorist acts.

Business, Economy & Banking

1. With wheat production at record high, government has raised import duty on wheat from existing 30% to 40% to support local farmers interest. The higher duty will help offtake of domestically produced grain by discouraging milers to import wheat but to buy local produce and help protect farm prices. The oversupply in domestic market due to back to back bumper production of food grains has put wheat prices under pressure.

2. IT service management company Financial Software Services (FSS) has launched real time voice banking platform called FSS voice commerce. It uses machine-learning language processing techniques and offers meaningful, contextual, and personalized banking interactions to customers.

3. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) set up Suresh Mathur Committee to review regulatory framework on micro insurance, and to recommend measures to increase demand for such products. It was formed because of less than desired offtake of micro insurance products despite of their inherent benefits in the country. India was seen to be an exciting market and a pioneer in micro insurance sector in world, but its market penetration remains low.

4. The Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) Authority in a major success has recovered deposits worth Rs 1,514 crore from Kolkata-based Peerless General Finance and Investment Company. This money of depositors was pending with the company for the last 15 years.

5. In the backdrop of the US refusal to extend the sanctions waiver for India to import crude from Iran, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has taken steps necessary steps to end the imports from Iran.

6. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sold its entire stakes in the National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) and National Housing Bank (NHB) for Rs 20 crore and Rs 1,450 crore respectively.

7. The Ministry of Finance has asked all the departments to undertake a review of government guarantees given by respective ministries to their Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) or entities.

8. Asian Tea Alliance, a union of five tea-growing and consuming countries was launched in Guizhou in China. The members of the alliance are the Indian Tea Association, China Tea Marketing Association, Indonesian Tea Marketing Association, Sri Lanka Tea Board and Japan Tea Association.

9. The government has issued orders to suspend the Line of Control (LoC) trade between Jammu & Kashmir and Pak Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
i. The LoC trade was initiated to facilitate the exchange of goods of common use between local populations across the LoC in Jammu & Kashmir.
ii. On the contrary, the reports indicated that Cross LoC trade routes were being misused by the Pakistan based elements for funnelling illegal weapons, narcotics and fake currency etc.
iii. NIA probes also indicated that a significant number of trading agencies engaged in LoC trade are operated by persons closely associated with banned terror organisations involved in fueling terrorism/separatism.

10. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has issued the guidelines for monetisation of non-core assets of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and immovable enemy properties.

11. For the first time in three years, India was the net importer of steel during the financial year 2018-19. This was attributed to India losing market share among its traditional steel buyers and an increase in imports of higher-quality steel domestically.

12. The Report of the Financial Sector Assessment Programme for India by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) makes the following recommendations:
i. The level of non-performing loans in India remains high and the IMF has favoured bolstering the level of capitalisation of some banks, particularly government-owned banks.
ii. Together with capitalisation, the report asks for resolution and the recognition of Non-performing loans as part of the process of cleaning up the banking system of non-performing loans,

13. Hong Kong’s equity market has overtaken Japan to be the world’s third largest in value, behind only the U.S. and mainland China. This is due to the rebound witnessed in Hong Kong stocks after their worst year since 2011.

15. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the World Economic Outlook 2019 April report has made the following forecasts:
i. The global growth will be 3.3% in 2019, down from 3.6% in 2018 and 4% in 2017.
ii. The reduced growth rates are attributed to lower global expansion in the second half of 2018 caused by U.S.-China trade tensions, macroeconomic stress in Turkey and Argentina, tighter credit policies in China and financial tightening plus normalisation of monetary policy in advanced economies.

16. As per the report of the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief, India has retained its position as the world’s top recipient of remittances (money sent back home by its nationals working abroad) in 2018.

17. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued guidelines for banks to set up new currency chests. The guidelines include:
i. Area of the strong room/ vault of at least 1,500 sq ft. For those situated in hilly/ inaccessible places, the strong room/ vault area of at least 600 sq ft.
ii. The new chests should have a processing capacity of 6.6 lakh pieces of banknotes per day. Those situated in the hilly/ inaccessible places, a capacity of 2.1 lakh pieces of banknotes per day.

18. NITI Aayog together with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) has released a report titled “India’s Electric Mobility Transformation: Progress to Date and Future Opportunities”. The report analyses the opportunities for the automobile sector and government under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles II (FAME II) scheme.

19. The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and global transport infrastructure operator Roadis will jointly set up a platform to invest up to $2 billion of equity in road projects in India. The platform would target toll-operate-transfer models and acquisitions of existing road concessions.

20. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has slashed the key interest rate, repo rate by 25 basis points or 0.25 per cent to 6 per cent and has decided to maintain the neutral policy stance.

21. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) make the following observations:
i. Amid slender increases in new orders and production, manufacturing activities slowed down to a six-month low in March, reflecting a loss of growth momentum.
ii. The PMI slipped from 54.3 in February to 52.6 in March. The PMI score at 52.6 was a six-month low and it highlights a loss of growth momentum.
iii. Even though the operating conditions in the Indian manufacturing industry are improving, there was has been a widespread slowdown in growth.

22. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has brought changes to the bad loan divergence rule. The Bad loan divergence practice mandated by RBI aims at improving transparency in asset classification. The Changes brought in by the RBI.

23. The Supreme Court has struck down a February 2018 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular which gave lender banks six months to resolve their stressed assets or move under the Insolvency Code against private entities who have defaulted in loans worth over Rs 2000 crore.

24. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in consultation with the government of India has set the limits for Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for the first half of the financial year 2019-20 (April 2019 to September 2019) at Rs 75000 crore.

25. The statement from the Finance Ministry states that GST collections scaled to a record high of Rs 1.06 trillion in March. The revenue collection was Rs 97,247 crore in the month of February.

26. A study by the global investment banking, securities and investment management firm, Goldman Sachs has stated that Brexit has cost Britain nearly 2.5% of GDP.

27. India’s external debt has witnessed a decline of 1.6% to US$ 521.2 billion at end-December 2018 over its level at end-March 2018, on account of the decrease in commercial borrowings and trade credit.

28. The output from the eight core sectors which include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity witnessed a growth of 2.1 per cent in February, compared to the corresponding month last year as per the data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industries.

29. Kandhamal Haldi a variety of turmeric indigenous to southern Odisha earns Geographical indication (GI) tag.

30. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has stated that all branches of public sector lenders Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will function as branches of Bank of Baroda (BoB) from April 1, 2019, and the proposed merger Bank of Baroda with Dena and Vijaya Bank will be affected from April 1.

31. The Chairman of the Fifteenth Finance Commission N K Singh has pitched for a fiscal council to enforce fiscal rules and better manage public debt.

32. Oxfam India’s latest report Mind the Gap – State of Employment in India makes the following observations:
i. Lack of quality jobs and increasing wage disparity are key markers of inequality in the Indian labour market.
ii. The report states that the regressive social norms continue to hamper women’s participation in the workforce, pointing at the decline in rural jobs.
iii. The report states that women are paid 34 per cent less than similarly qualified male workers for performing the same tasks. In 2015, 92 per cent of women and 82 per cent of men earned a monthly wage less than Rs 10,000 in India.

Government Schemes

1. The Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee of the National Mission for Transformative Mobility led by Niti Aayog chief executive officer Amitabh Kant has decided to incorporate localisation conditions to avail benefits under the FAME-II Scheme.

2. The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of the ongoing Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) programme phase-4 consisting of five rocket flights during 2021-2024.
i. The government had notified the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 on January 2, 2018.
ii. As per provisions of the Electoral Bond scheme, electoral bonds may be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India.
iii. A person being an individual can buy electoral bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.

3. RailWire Wi-Fi by RailTel is now live at 1600 railway stations across the country. The Santacruz railway station in Mumbai became the 1600th station to become a RailWire Wi-Fi zone.

4. A study from the Research Institute for Compassionate Economics (r.i.c.e) study on the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna (PMUY) makes the following observations:
i. Most rural households with LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections still use chulhas with firewood or dung cakes which are the detriment of rural health.
ii. 85% of Ujjwala beneficiaries in rural Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan still use solid fuels for cooking, due to financial reasons as well as gender inequalities.
iii. In the four States surveyed, there was a substantial increase in LPG ownership due to the scheme, with 76% of households now owning an LPG connection.

5. In its election manifesto for the Lok Sabha Elections 2019, the Congress party has announced a Minimum Income scheme Nyuntam Aay Yojna (Nyay) as a surgical strike against poverty.

Awards & Honours

1. Six grassroots environmental activists from around the world received prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize 2019. They were honored at award ceremony held at San Francisco Opera House in California, US where Al Gore former US Vice President and environmental activist presented keynote address.

2. Gagandeep Kang becomes first Indian woman scientist to be awarded Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS), United Kingdom.

3. The Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2019 was awarded to author Rana Dasgupta for his 2010 novel “Solo” which is a tale of estrangement and the ultimate failure of material existence. It is the second edition of the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize.

4. The winners of the 2019 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced. The winners in the category of Letters, Drama and Music are listed below:
i. Fiction: The Overstory, by Richard Powers (W.W. Norton).
ii. Drama: Fairview, by Jackie Sibblies Drury.
iii. History: Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, by David W. Blight (Simon & Schuster).
iv. Biography: The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke, by Jeffrey C. Stewart (Oxford University Press).
v. Poetry: Be With, by Forrest Gander (New Directions).
vi. General Nonfiction: Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America, by Eliza Griswold (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).
vii. Music: Prism, by Ellen Reid.

5. Telugu poet K Siva Reddy has been selected for the prestigious Saraswati Samman, 2018. He has been awarded for his work Pakkaki Ottigilite which is a collection of poetry.

6. The 2019 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize has been awarded to Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. The jury has recognised their exceptional courage in reporting on alleged human rights violations in the Myanmar’s state of Rakhine.

7. Russia has awarded PM Narendra Modi with ‘Order of St Andrew the Apostle’ to PM Narendra Modi for promoting the bilateral special and privileged strategic partnership.

8. Alice G. Vaidyan, Chairman and Managing Director of the General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India, India’s reinsurance major, has been awarded the Freedom of the City of London in recognition of her work to promote insurance ties between India and the UK.

9. Rio Paralympics silver medallist Deepa Malik was named as the recipient of the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2019 in recognition of her inspiring achievements. Deepa Malik had won the silver medal in shot put event in Rio in 2016.

10. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) or Namami Gange has received the distinction of “Public Water Agency of the Year” by Global Water Intelligence at the Global Water Summit in London.

11. India’s education technology startup ‘Dost Education’ has bagged a $25,000 Next Billion Edtech Prize 2019 along with two other winners from Tanzania and Egypt. Ubongo (Tanzania) and PraxiLabs (Egypt) were the other two winners.

12. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu conferred President’s Certificate of Honour and Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman Awards at New Delhi.

13. United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been conferred with the prestigious Zayed medal by President of the UAE Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. PM Modi has been awarded in recognition of efforts in giving “a big boost” to bilateral relations between both the countries.

Sports

1. Barcelona FC has won Spanish La Liga title 2019 by defeating Levante FC by 1-0 goals. In the final match held at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain. the lone winning goal for Barcelona was scored by club’s Argentine superstar and team captain Lionel Messi at 61st minute. This was Barcelona’s overall 26th La Liga league title in club history and eight in last 11 years.

2. India finished top of medal tally at ISSF World Cup Rifle/ Pistol 2019 edition held in Beijing, China. Even after drawing a blank on final day India still topped the chart for second consecutive ISSF World Cup, third time in last two years. In last edition of Shooting World Cup held in New Delhi, India jointly topped standings with Hungary.

3. India’s Bajrang Punia is first Indian wrestler to be invited by American wrestling body for a special fight at iconic Madison Square Garden in New York, US. He will be among other top wrestlers selected by American governing body for 6 May 2019 tournament.

4. All India Football Federation (AIFF) recommended names of National team footballers Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Jeje Lalpekhlua for the prestigious Arjuna Award 2019.

5. India finished Asian Wrestling Championships tournament held in Xian, China with a total of 16 medals which included eight (one gold, three silver and four bronze) won by men’s freestyle wrestlers, four bronze by women and three silver and one bronze by Greco-Roman wrestlers.

6. The Services have lifted the Santosh Trophy, beating Punjab 1-nil in the final at Ludhiana. On their way to finals, Punjab had defeated Goa 2-1 and Services had defeated Karnataka 4-3 in the semis via a penalty shootout.

7. Cricketer Mithali Raj has been named as the goodwill ambassador of the Indian team for the Street Child Cricket World Cup. She will join former captain Saurav Ganguly and IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals in supporting the team India for the Street Child Cricket World Cup.

8. The winners of the Singapore Open 2019 are listed below:
i. Men’s Singles: Kento Momota (Japan)
ii. Women’s Singles: Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan)
iii. Men’s Doubles: Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda (Japan)
iv. Women’s Doubles: Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara (Japan)
v. Mixed Doubles: Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Thailand)

9. India finished its campaign at the Cologne Boxing World Cup 2019 with a haul of five medals. The Cologne Boxing World Cup 2019 was held at Cologne, Germany.

10. The Wisden has named Virat Kohli as the Leading Cricketer of the Year for 2018.

11. The 2019 Malaysia Open Badminton tournament was held at Axiata Arena in Malaysia from 2 to 7 April 2019 and has a total purse of $700,000.

12. The ESPN Multi-Sport Awards recognised achievements across 11 categories, of which winners across 10 categories were selected by an independent 14-member jury.

13. The Indian Badminton Tournament 2019 was held at K. D. Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi from 26 to 31 March 2019 and had a total purse of $350,000.

References:
gktoday.in

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