INTERNATIONAL
Cuba gets its first non-Castro President
Cuba has selected First Vice President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez
as the sole candidate to succeed Raul Castro as president of Cuba. Miguel is
the first leader outside the Castro dynasty to lead the country since the 1959
revolution. Raul Castro will remain head of the Communist party, designated by
the constitution as “the superior guiding force of society and the state”.
US senate narrowly confirms Trump's new NASA Chief
Jim Bridenstine, a congressman from Oklahoma, US Navy veteran and former
pilot, was confirmed on a 50-49 vote and will become the 13th administrator of
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) seven months after
Trump named him to lead the agency.
Swaziland King changes his country's name to 'Kingdom of
eSwatini'
Swaziland’s King Mswati III, Africa’s last absolute monarch officially
changed the name of his country to the ‘Kingdom of eSwatini’. Accordingly, the
country, a member of the Commonwealth, will now be known by its historic name
of eSwatini, a Swazi language name that stands for ‘place of the Swazi’.
Armenia's Parliament voted to appoint former President Serge
Sargisyan as PM
Armenia's parliament has voted to appoint the
country's former President Serzh Sargsya as prime minister, despite pressure
from tens of thousands of protesters who accuse him of a power grab. Members of
parliament voted 77-17 in favour of Sargsyan's appointment, as demonstrators
rallied in the capital, Yerevan, and several other cities for a fifth day
against the move.
France announces 50 Million Euro Humanitarian aid for Syria
France will contribute 61.9 million dollars toward
urgent humanitarian aid for Syria. The funds will be allocated to NGOs and U.N.
agencies working on the ground in Syria, including the U.N. office for
humanitarian affairs.
Pakistan SC disqualifies Nawaz Sharif from public office for
life
The Supreme Court had disqualified Nawaz Sharif as the President of the
ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) under Article 62 of the
constitution. The verdict was delivered unanimously by a five-judge bench led
by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar. It came against cases involving
determination of time duration for disqualification of a lawmaker under the
Constitution.
INDIA & WORLD
India’s growth rate highest among BRICS nations: KPMG Report
India has been recording the highest growth rate amongst the Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) economies, as per report of KPMG
titled “India Soars Higher”.
India, World’s 6th largest economy at $2.6 Trillion: IMF
India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the worth of the economy, 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 Top 5 economies of the world are:
1. The
United States,
2. China,
3. Japan,
4. Germany
and,
5. The
United Kingdom
India ranks 10th on new Commonwealth innovation index
India has been ranked 10th in the Commonwealth innovation index. 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.
AWARDS & HONOURS
New York Times, New Yorker won Pulitzer
The New York Times and The New Yorker won the Pulitzer Prize for public
service. The Washington Post won the Pulitzer in the investigative category for
relentless reporting that influenced the outcome of the 2017 Senate race in
Alabama.
Pulitzer Prizes 2018 Announced
The Pulitzer Prizes for 2018 has
been announced.
Following are the winners of the Pulitzer Prize 2018.
1.
Fiction: Andrew Sean Greer’s “Less”
has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Greer’s novel tells the comic story of
a middle-aged novelist.
2. Drama:
Cost of Living, by Martyna Majok.
3.
History: The Gulf: The Making of
an American Sea, by Jack E. Davis (Liveright/W.W. Norton).
4.
Biography: Prairie Fires: The
American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, by Caroline Fraser (Metropolitan
Books).
5. Poetry:
Half-light: Collected Poems 1965-2016, by Frank Bidart (Farrar, Straus and
Giroux).
Rana Kapoor felicitated with ‘India Talent Management Award
2018’
Rana Kapoor, MD & CEO, YES BANK has been awarded with the ‘India
Talent Management Award’ for fostering an entrepreneurial spirit and best
practices at one of India’s fastest growing banks.
Dharmendra to be conferred Raj Kapoor Lifetime Achievement award
Veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra will be conferred with the
prestigious Raj Kapoor Lifetime Achievement award and filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani
will be conferred with the Raj Kapoor Special Contribution award. Maharashtra
Culture Minister Vinod Tawde announced the names of the winners.
SPORTS & GAMES
Daniel Ricciardo wins Chinese Grand Prix 2018
The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that took place
at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China. Red Bull's Daniel
Ricciardo won the race ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen.
Boxer Satish Kumar bags silver at CWG
Boxer Satish Kumar clinched silver after losing to England’s Frazer
Clarke in the men’s super heavyweight category (+91 kg) to take India’s medal
tally to 59 at CWG 2018. The 28-year-old became the first Indian to win silver
in the men’s super heavyweight category at CWG.
Manika Batra wins historic singles gold in TT at CWG 2018
Manika Batra became the first-ever Indian woman to bag gold in the women’s
table tennis singles’ event in Commonwealth Games history. The 22-year-old
paddler from Delhi defeated Singapore’s Mengyu Yu in the final to bag her third
medal at CWG 2018.
CWG 2018 Concludes: Australia Tops Medal Tally, India Third
India finished third in the medals tally at the Commonwealth Games 2018
with 66 medals (26 Gold, 20 Silver and 20 Bronze). Only Australia with 198
medals and England with 136 were ahead. India's 26 Golds was also third, behind
Australia (80) and England (45). India's combined 66 medals is its third-best
showing in the history of the Games.
ECONOMY
India to Grow at 7.4% in 2018: IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest World Economic
Outlook (WEO) has projected India to grow at 7.4% in 2018 and 7.8% in 2019. It
also held that India will again emerge as world’s fastest-growing major economy
at least for the next two years (2019 and 2020).
World Bank Projects India’s Growth Rate At 7.3% for 2018-19
The World Bank has projected a growth rate of 7.3% for India this year
and 7.5% for 2019 and 2020. The bank also noted that Indian economy has
recovered from the effects of demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax.
CII Pegs India's GDP growth at 7.3-7.7% for 2018-19
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has announced that it expects
India's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at 7.3-7.7% during the 2018-19
financial year.
PERSONS IN NEWS
APPOINTMENTS
Dilip Chenoy takes over as FICCI Secretary General
Dilip Chenoy was appointed as the Secretary-General of industry body
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). He has replaced
Sanjaya Baru. Chenoy was working as Director General of the industry body.
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. Prior to assuming his present appointment, he was the Chief
Engineer of the Army’s premier Northern Command.
VISITORS
PM Modi completes three-nation Europe tour
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi was on the
three-nation visit of Europe to Sweden, the UK and Germany. He has signed
various important agreements and attended various conferences during the visit.
MISCELLANEOUS
World’s Greatest Leaders in 2018: Mukesh Ambani ranks 24
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, human rights lawyer Indira
Jaising and architect Balkrishna Doshi have been named by Fortune magazine as
the World’s Greatest Leaders of 2018. The Fortune’s 2018 ranking of the 50
Greatest Leaders featured the three Indians at the 24th, 20th and 43rd places
respectively.
Millie Bobby Brown youngest most Influential person by TIME’s
‘Stranger Things’ star Millie Bobby Brown, 14, has become the youngest
person to be named as one of the world’s 100 most influential people by TIME. 4
Indians featured on Time’s ‘100 Most Influential People’ of 2018- Virat Kohli,
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Bollywood star Deepika Padukone and Ola co-founder
Bhavish Aggarwal.
India has second largest unbanked population: World Bank
The Global Findex Report released by World Bank, about 190 million
Indian adults still don’t have a bank account, second only to China, despite
the account ownership more than doubling from 35 per cent in 2011 to 80 per
cent in 2017.
K-Pop Group BTS won TIME 100 Reader Poll
South Korean pop group BTS has won the online reader’s poll for TIME ‘Person
of the Year 2018’. South Korean President Moon Jae-in finished second with 5%
votes, followed by former US President Barack Obama with 3% votes.
Steven Spielberg becomes 1st director to gross $10b at global
BO
Three-time Oscar winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg has created history
by becoming the first director whose films have globally taken in over $10
billion. His latest film Ready Player One has helped the 71-year-old achieve
this milestone. The Lord of the Rings filmmaker, Peter Jackson, and
Transformers Michael Bay are the next two highest grossing directors.
ATP men’s singles ranking: Yuki Bhambri breaks into top-100
after 2 years
Indian tennis star Yuki Bhambri broke back into the top-100 of ATP men’s
singles ranking for the first time since February 2016. As per the latest
ranking, he jumped 22 places to his career-best rank of 83. This is also the
best rank that any Indian has achieved in the ATP singles chart since Somdev
Devvarman touched a career-high of 62 in July 2011.
Bengaluru Highest Paying city for Talent: Report
The garden city of Bengaluru is found to be the highest paying city in
the country, with an average annual cost to company (CTC) for talent across all
levels and functions standing at about Rs 11 lakh, according to Randstad
Insights, the research and analysis division of Randstad India. Pune stands
second at around Rs 10 lakh, followed by Delhi NCR and Mumbai with an average
annual CTC figure of a little under Rs 10 lakh and around Rs 9 lakh,
respectively.
Indian Swimmer Double Crosses Bangla Channel, Sets World
Record
Pune-based 17-year-old swimmer Sampanna Ramesh
Shelar has set a world record to double cross the Bangla Channel.
BOOKS IN NEWS
'Winning Like Sachin:
Think & Succeed Like Tendulkar' authored by Devendra Prabhudesai
The anecdote finds a mention in a new book, winning like Sachin: Think
& Succeed like Tendulkar, authored by Devendra Prabhudesai. Published by
Rupa Publications, the book offers insights into the winning attributes and
lessons from the cricketing icons life.
Book titled 'Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Vyakti Nahin Sankalp'
released
President of India Ram Nath Kovind received the first copy of the book
written over Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar. The book Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Vyakti
Nahin Sankalp, is a portrait of Ambedkar's inspiring life.
COMMITTEES
India forms committee to reform higher defence planning
The Union Government formed a new integrated
institutional mechanism, Defence Planning Committee (DPC) to reform the process
of higher defence planning. The committee is expected to drive the country’s
military and national security strategy, draft capability development plans and
guide and accelerate defence equipment acquisitions.
Union Government to
constitute Task Force for fast-tracking Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Technology
The Union Government announced to constitute a Task Force under the
Chairmanship of Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, for
fast-tracking the roll-out of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology.
DAYS & DATES
April 19: World Liver Day
The World Liver Day (WLD) is observed every year on April 19 to build
awareness and understanding importance of liver in human body and how liver
ailments can be treated. The 2018 theme for WLD is ‘Riding New Waves in Liver
Diagnosis, Staging & Treatment’.
April 18: World Heritage Day
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'. The theme emphasizes on inter
generational transfer of knowledge.
April 17: World Haemophilia Day
Every April 17 World Haemophilia Day is recognised worldwide to increase
awareness of haemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders. The theme of
WHD 2018 is 'Sharing Knowledge Makes Us Stronger'.
BANKING AWARENESS
SBI India’s most
trusted bank, ICICI tops in private sector: Brand Trust Report 2018
TRA Brand Trust Report 2018 on Wednesday said the State Bank of India
was the most-trusted bank (both public and private sector) in the country and
ICICI topped the chart among the private ones.
Bandhan Bank among top 50 Most Valuable Brand in India
Kolkata-based Bandhan Bank Ltd became one of the top 50 most valuable
publicly traded firms in India. The market capitalization of Bandhan Bank was
at Rs 64,000 crore, claiming 50th rank, according to BSE data. Tata Consultancy
Services Ltd is the most valuable company in India, followed by Reliance
Industries Ltd and HDFC Bank Ltd.
Kotak Mahindra becomes second-most-valued bank; Top- HDFC
Kotak Mahindra Bank pipped SBI to become India’s second-most-valued
lender after HDFC Bank in terms of market capitalisation. HDFC Bank remained
the country’s most-valuable bank with a market capitalisation of Rs. 5.04 lakh
crore.
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