National News
1. Important Cabinet Approvals- 04th April 2018
i. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given the following set of approvals. The important Cabinet Approvals are given as follows-
ii. The Cabinet has approved-
1. Cooperation Arrangement between India and Afghanistan for cooperation in the field of food safety and related areas,
2. MoU between India and Iran on the establishment of an expert group on trade remedy measures
Find More Cabinet Approvals Here
2. Cabinet Approves Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018
i. The Union Cabinet has given its approval to the Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018 for better protection and promotion of human rights in the country.
ii. Salient Features of the Bill are as follows:
It proposes to include “National Commission for Protection of Child Rights” as deemed Member of the Commission;
It proposes to add a woman Member in the composition of the Commission;
It proposes to enlarge the scope of eligibility and scope of selection of Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission as well as the State Human Rights Commission; and
It proposes to incorporate a mechanism to look after the cases of human rights violation in the Union Territories.
International News
3. EAM Sushma Swaraj on 3-Day Visit to Azerbaijan
i. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has begun her three-day visit to Azerbaijan to participate in the Mid-Term Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Baku.
ii. Ms Swaraj held bilateral consultations with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-
President of Azerbaijan- Ilham Aliyev, Capital- Baku, Currency- Azerbaijani manat.
4. Russia Starts Building Turkey's 1st Nuclear Power Plant
i. The Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) was awarded a construction licence for Akkuyu NPP, Turkey's first nuclear power plant, which is being built in Mersin province, in southern Turkey. JSC Akkuyu Nuklear is the Russian-owned company which is responsible for the project.
ii. The USD20 billion project to build the four-unit, 4800 MWe plant is part of Erdogan's '2023 Vision' marking 100 years since the founding of modern Turkey and is intended to reduce the country's dependence on energy imports.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-
Turkey Capital- Ankara, Currency- Turkish lira, President- Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Economy/Business News
5. 1st Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement Released by RBI
i. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.0%.
ii. 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%. India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth marginally upward to 6.6% from 6.5% in the first advance estimates.
iii. Retail inflation, measured by the year-on-year change in the CPI, fell from a high of 5.1% in January to 4.4% in February due to a decline in inflation in food and fuel. CPI inflation excluding food and fuel remained unchanged at 5.2%.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for Syndicate Bank PO 2018 Exam-
Dr Urjit Patel is the 24th Governor of RBI.
RBI Headquarters in Mumbai.
6. Flipkart Partners With MakeMyTrip to Offer Travel Services
i. Homegrown e-commerce giant Flipkart has forged a strategic partnership with online travel company MakeMyTrip to offer travel services on its platform.
ii. Additionally, the services of MakeMyTrip's other brands, Goibibo and redBus, will be available to Flipkart consumers as part of the deal.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-
Flipkart CEO- Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Headquarters- Bengaluru.
Appointments
7. Subrata Bhattacharjee Appointed as Next Ambassador of India to Serbia
i. Subrata Bhattacharjee has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Serbia.
ii. He is an IFS poffice of 1989 batch. He is currently Joint Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs
Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-
Serbia Capital- Belgrade, Currency- Serbian dinar.
8. SBI Life Appoints Sanjeev Nautiyal As New MD & CEO
i. SBI Life Insurance has appointed Sanjeev Nautiyal as its new Managing Director and CEO. He replaces Arijit Basu, who takes over a key role in the State Bank of India Group.
ii. Nautiyal started his career with State Bank of India in 1985 as a probationary officer in the bank’s Lucknow Circle.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-
SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture life insurance company between State Bank of India and and BNP Paribas Cardif.
It headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
9. Himanta Biswa Sarma Elected BAI President
i. 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.
ii. Ajay Kumar Singhania was elected the Secretary General of BAI. Mr Sarma had taken over as the interim BAI President in 2017 after the demise of Akhilesh Das Gupta. He will serve for four years.
Sports News
10. CWG 2018: Mirabai Chanu Wins India’s First Gold Medal
i. Weightlifter and current world champion Mirabai Chanu has clinched India’s first gold medal of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Mirabai Chanu becomes the first Indian to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2018.
ii. After finishing with the best lift of 86 kg in the snatch round, the 23-year-old finished with a total score of 196 points. She competed in the 48 kg category.
11. CWG 2018: Weight Lifter P. Gururaja Wins Silver
i. On the first day of competitions at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018, in Australia, India began their campaign with a Silver Medal in Weightlifting. In the 56 kilogram category, P Gururaja lifted a total weight of 249 kg to finish second in the event.
ii. The 25-year old Gururaja equalled his personal best. Malaysia took the Gold, while Sri Lanka settled for the Bronze.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-
Australia Capital- Canberra, Currency- Australian Dollar, Prime Minister- Malcolm Turnbull
