APRIL MONTH- CURRENT AFFAIRS

 Hindon Elevated Road, India’s longest elevated road was inaugurated in Ghaziabad, Uttar
Pradesh by CM Yogi Adityanath. It connects UP Gate to Rajnagar Extension and will make it
easier to commute between Delhi and Ghaziabad. The elevated six-Lane road is
approximately 10Km Long. It is built on 227 Pillars.

 Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been re-elected as the president of Egypt.

 Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has launched ‘181-Sakhi’ toll-free women
helpline to intensify women safety in the state. 181-Sakhi is a scheme of universalization of
women helpline and is launched under the Ministry of Women and Child Development,
Government of India.

 The Chhattisgarh government has decided to honour the famous film director Shyam
Benegal with the first 'Kishore Sahu Memorial National Award'.

 Tata Motors has partnered with auto component manufacturer Wabco India to offer safety
technologies in its commercial vehicles. Through this collaboration the company becomes
first OEM to provide a range of safety Technologies in its vehicles.

 India has replaced Vietnam to become 2nd largest producer of mobile phones in 2017. A/c
to data provided by Indian Cellular Association, Annual production of mobile phones in India
increased from 3 million units in 2014 to 11 million units in 2017.
The top three mobile producing countries are:
1.China
2.India
3.Vietnam

 To ensure safe future for young women, West Bengal government has launched a scheme
called “Rupashree”. Under this scheme government provides one-time financial support for
marriage of poor girls. Before marriage an amount of Rs 25,000 will be credited to girl’s bank
account. The scheme will benefit about six lakh women from the economically backward
section with family annual income not exceeding Rs. 1.5 Lakh.

 India has received 1st liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo comprising 1.2 Lakh tones of the Gas
from United States. The cargo has landed at the Dabhol regasification terminal in
Maharashtra. The recent consignment of LNG has been imported from US under a long-term
contract of 20 years. This USD 32 Billion contract was signed between India’s GAIL and
America’s Dominion Energy Cove Point project in Maryland and Cheniere Energy Inc.’s
Sabine Pass Project in Louisiana.
 Union Government launched Swachh Bharat Summer Internship (SBSI) 2018 aimed at
engaging college youth with Swachhata work in villages in coming Summer vacation. The
initiative launched by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, in association with Ministry
of Human Resource Development. PM Modi made this announcement in the 43rd edition of
his monthly radio broadcast, Mann Ki Baat.

 Rivigo, a home-grown logistics start-up that owns as well as acts as an aggregator of trucks,
is tying up with YES Bank, IDFC, and 10 other financial institutions to make cheaper funds
available to truck owners and operators on its platform. The startup aims to disrupt India’s
Truck Market which according to a 2015 Govt. Estimate compromises over 9 million trucks
and is largely unorganised.

 Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj was adjudged ‘Sportsperson of the Year’
while ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth and P V Sindhu bagged the best senior male and female
athletes at the Telangana Sports Journalists Association annual awards for 2017 in
Hyderabad.

 As per decision of GST council, the e-way Bill System for Inter-State movement of goods
across the country is being introduced from April 1, 2018. From this date, the businesses and
transporters moving goods worth over Rs. 50,000 from one state to another will have to
carry an electronic or e-way bill. The e-way bill will apply to inter-state transportation of
goods worth over Rs. 50,000 through road, railways, airways and vessels.

 Tibetans started the year-long celebrations under “Thank You India” event to mark 60 years
of the Dalai Lama’s arrival in India in Mcleodganj of Himachal Pradesh. The yearlong event
has been planned by the Central Tibetan Administration, the Tibetan Government in exile
headquarter in Mcleodganj.

 Indians are consuming almonds like never before, leaving behind China and Spain to emerge
as the world’s largest consumer of the nut in recent times. India has emerged as the largest
importer of almonds from the US.

 United Nations declared 2 April as World Autism Awareness Day to highlight the need to
help improve the quality of life of those with autism so they can lead full and meaningful
lives as an integral part of society.
Theme 2018: "Empowering Women and Girls with Autism".

 Delhi became the first city in India to supply ultra-clean Bharat Stage (BS) VI grade fuel (both
petrol and diesel) with an aim to combat the rising levels of air pollution in Delhi-NCR region.
BS-VI fuel will be rolled out in rest of the country by April 2020.

 Debjani Ghosh, former MD of Intel South Asia, is the new president of Nasscom. She has
replaced R.Chandrashekhar upon completion of his term.
 Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth appointed as a Deputy Collector in the Andhra Pradesh
state government by the CM of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu.

 Mangalore International Airport has been adjudged the cleanest airport in the country 23rd
annual day celebrations of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in New Delhi.

 Kerala will host the Asia’s largest start-up conclave ‘Huddle Kerala’. The initiative is
envisaged to provide a platform for start-ups to pitch their products and interact with a wide
array of technology and industry leaders from around the world.

 Ajit Singh has been appointed as the head of Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of BCCI.

 According to report released by global startup ecosystem map Startupblink, India was
ranked 37th out of 125 countries in global startup ecosystem in 2017.
Top 5 Countries are:-
United States (1st)
United Kingdom (2nd)
Canada (3rd)
Israel (4th)
Germany (5th).

 Reliance Industries Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani has been ranked 19th on Bloomberg
Billionaires Top 100 Index as he becomes the 3rd richest Asian on the list. With a net worth
of approximately $38.3 billion.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has added $21.8 billion to his fortunes this year and takes the top
spot, Microsoft founder Bill Gates was ranked 2nd.

 SoftBank had signed a $930-million deal with China's energy conglomerate Golden Concord
(GCL) to produce and sell solar equipment in India. GCL will invest for a 40% stake in the
joint venture, with SoftBank taking the rest.

 Hyderabad has been ranked the top city in the short-term Momentum Ranking of JLL’s
annual ‘Global City Momentum Index’. The report identifies urban economies and real
estate markets which are currently undergoing the most rapid growth.

 5th Indo-Kyrgyzstan joint training exercise ‘Khanjar V’ culminated with a ‘Joint Tactical
Validation Exercise’ in Mizoram.

 Carlos Alvarado, has been elected as the next president of Costa Rica.

 Kerala has lifted their sixth Santosh Trophy Football title. In a thrilling final at the Salt Lake
Stadium in Kolkata, they beat defending champions and 32-time winners Bengal via penalty
shootout.

 Union Minister of HRD, Prakash Javadekar released the NIRF India Rankings 2018 in various
categories on the basis of performance of higher educational institutions.
Top 5 India Rankings 2018 in Overall Category:
1. Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
2. Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
3. Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
4. Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
 5. Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

 21st edition of the Commonwealth Games begun in Gold Coast, Australia, with a colourful
opening ceremony. Carrara Stadium has been chosen as the venue to host the opening
ceremony.
These Games marked the 5th time that Australia has hosted the games. India was
represented at the opening ceremony by a contingent of over 200 athletes who were led by
flag-bearer P V Sindhu.

 Jio Payments Bank Limited has commenced operations as a payments bank. Reserve Bank
has issued a licence to the bank under Section 22 (1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to
carry on the business of payments bank in India.
Telecom Major Bharti Airtel was the first to begin payment bank service in November.

 Indian Army has signed a MoU with HDFC Bank on the Defence Salary Package. At present
Indian army has MoUs on defence salary package with public and private sector Banks.

 RBI has dropped Axis Bank from the list of bullion Importers it has cleared to import gold and
silver in the current fiscal that began April 1. Two other banks, Karur Vysya and South Indian
Bank, were also dropped from the list.SBI, PNB, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are among the 16
banks allowed to import bullion.

 The 114th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) between India and Pakistan
was held in New Delhi.

 SBI Life Insurance has appointed Sanjeev Nautiyal as its new Managing Director and CEO. He
replaces Arijit Basu.

 At the end of Financial Year 2017-18, 97.05 lakh subscribers have enrolled under Atal
Pension Yojana.

 According to recently published Internet Security Threat Report, India emerged as 3rd most
vulnerable country in terms of risk of cyber threats, such as malware, spam and ransomware
in 2017.India has moved up by one place over previous year. The report was published by
security solutions provider Symantec .United States (with 26.61% global threats) was most
vulnerable country to such cyber-attacks, followed by China (10.95%) in 2017.

 According to Steel Users Federation of India (SUFI), India has overtaken Japan to become
world’s 2nd largest producer of crude steel in February 2018.China is the largest producer of
crude steel in the world, accounting for more than 50% of the production.

 Flipkart has forged a strategic partnership with online travel company MakeMyTrip to offer
travel services on its platform. Additionally, the services of MakeMyTrip other brands,
Goibibo and redBus, will be available to Flipkart consumers as part of the deal.

 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.
 55th edition of National Maritime Day was celebrated all over India. NMD is celebrated on
5th April every year since 1964.
Theme: ‘Indian Shipping – An Ocean of opportunity’.

 Union Minister for Railways and Coal Piyush Goyal launched UTTAM App for Coal Quality
Monitoring.
UTTAM stands for –Unlocking Transparency by Third Party Assessment of Mined Coal.

 Global Logistics Summit was held in New Delhi. It was organised by the Department of
Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, along with FICCI (Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce & Industry) and the World Bank Group.

 Leading private lender ICICI Bank announced the launch of a service 'Social Pay' that enables
Non Resident Indians (NRIs) to send money to a beneficiary in India using social media
platforms like WhatsApp and e-mail.

 Cab aggregator Ola will offer in-trip insurance cover to riders, who can avail the service by
paying Re 1 for intra-city travel.

 World Health Day is a global health awareness day organized globally on 7th April. With an
aim to spread awareness about health and well-being, the first-ever World Health Day was
observed in 1948 by the WHO.
Theme: Universal health coverage: everyone, everywhere
Slogan: “Health for All”

 Union Government & Maharashtra Government have signed US $420 million loan
agreement with World Bank for Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture to help small and
marginal farmers in Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra.

 Union Government will launch Gobar-Dhan Yojna, a central government scheme nationally
from Karnal district of Haryana by end of April 2018.
GOBAR is acronym for Galvanising Organic Bio Agro Resources.
The government aims to cover nearly 700 districts under the scheme in this financial year
(2018-19).The scheme focuses on managing and converting cattle dung and solid waste from
farms and fields to useful compost, biogas and bio-CNG.

 India, South Korea joint anti-piracy, search and rescue exercise ‘Sahyog-Hyeoblyeog 2018’
was conducted in Bay of Bengal off the Chennai coast in Tamil Nadu.

 US based Company Orion Span will open the world’s first luxury hotel in space in 2021.
Named ‘Aurora Station’, the hotel will cost $9.5 million (over ₹61 crore) for a 12-day stay,
inclusive of launching shuttle price.

 Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj has become the most capped player in
women’s ODI cricket after turning out for the 192nd time against England.

 New Delhi has topped a global list of cities with the best value on 5-star hotels, offering an
average price of Rs. 9,433 a night to Indian travellers in the first half of 2015, according to a
survey by 'Hotel Price Index' (HPI)
 Subrata Bhattacharjee has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic
of Serbia

 Linguist from University of Hyderabad have discovered two endangered languages Walmiki
and Malhar predominantly spoken in remote regions of Odisha. They were discovered by
Prof Panchanan Mohanty as part of activity of Centre for Endangered Languages and Mother
Tongue Studies.
Walmiki: It is spoken in district of Koraput of Odisha and on bordering districts of Andhra
Pradesh.
Malhar: It is spoken in a remote and isolated hamlet about 165 km away from Bhubaneswar,
Odisha.

 Uttar Pradesh Government has launched Ganga Hariteema Yojana (also known as Ganga
Greenery scheme) in 27 districts of the state located on the bank of river Ganga. The scheme
aims at enhancing green cover in catchment areas of river Ganga and control land erosion.

 Tamil Nadu Government launched bi-lingual ‘Uzhavan’ (farmer) mobile application in a bid
to use technology for benefit of farmers. It was launched by CM K Palaniswami in Chennai.

 Soft Drinks Industry Levy also known as soft drinks sugar tax or sin tax or sugar tax came into
force in United Kingdom as part of government’s plan to combat obesity and sugar related
disease. With introduction of sugar levy, UK joins few countries, including Mexico, France
and Norway that have introduced similar fat taxes.

 Patna tops in 4G connectivity among 20 of India’s largest cities. It has emerged ahead of the
likes of Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi, according to the report of OpenSignal, a wireless
coverage mapping company.

 Indian Air Force started "Gaganshakti 2018" biggest combat exercise along the borders of
Pakistan and China.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli laid the foundation
of Petroleum pipeline between Motihari in Bihar and Amlekhganj of Nepal, which is the first
international petroleum pipeline in South Asia.

 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has placed 11 public sector banks (PSBs) out of 21 State-owned
banks under its Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework because of deteriorating
performance.
The 11 banks under PCA framework are:- IDBI Bank, UCO Bank, Bank of India (BOI), Central
Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Dena Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), Bank of
Maharashtra (BoM), United Bank of India, Corporation Bank and Allahabad Bank. PCA is
process or mechanism to ensure that banks don’t go bust.

 8th edition of Theatre Olympics concluded in Mumbai, Maharashtra after glorious run of 51
days across 17 cities of India and showcasing rich heritage and culture across length and
breadth of the country.
 India has agreed to build strategic railway link between Raxaul in Bihar and Kathmandu in
Nepal to facilitate people-to-people (P2P) contact and bulk movement of goods. Both
Countries Prime Ministers agreed to construct the new electrified rail line which will be
financed by India.

 Deutsche Bank AG named Christian Sewing as the Chief Executive officer of the Bank. He has
replaced John Cryan. Sewing will take over with immediate effect.

 Maharashtra government has announced that cancer patients would be provided free
chemotherapy treatment at their district hospitals.

 Viktor Orban has won the third consecutive term as Prime Minister of Hungary.

 The Goa government has decided to launch its own app-based taxi service to some key
tourist destinations. Currently, the tourist taxi operators run their business Individually in
Goa.

 Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched ‘Project Dhoop’ to address
rising incidence of Vitamin D deficiencies (VDD), particularly amongst the young people. The
project aims to encourage schools to shift their morning assembly to around noon-time,
mainly between 11 am to 1 pm to ensure maximum absorption of Vitamin D in students
through natural sunlight.

 Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was elected as Chairman of Boao Forum for Asia
replacing Japan’s Yasuo Fukuda. Former governor of People’s Bank of China Zhou Xiaochuan
was appointed vice-chairman. Boao Forum, known as “Asian Davos” underway in China’s
Hainan province.

 PM Narendra Modi flagged off India's first all-electric high-speed locomotive in Bihar. The
1st big Make-in-India project completed by France's Alstom, the train has the country's most
powerful engine with 12,000 horsepower and a maximum speed of 120 km/hr. India now
joined the elite list countries including Russia, China, Germany and Sweden that have 12000
HP and above electric Locomotives.

 State Bank of India (SBI) has announced the launch of its UK subsidiary, SBI (UK) Limited,
with an initial capital commitment of 225 million pounds from its parent entity.

 Apple has announced its global facilities are now powered by 100% clean energy, including
data centres, offices and retail stores in 43 countries.

 Bharti Enterprises Vice-Chairman Rakesh Bharti Mittal assumed office of the President of
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2018-19.

 M Sathiyavathy took charge as member of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Vinay
Mittal is the Chairman of UPSC
Other Key Members of UPSC-
Arvind Saxena, Prof. Pradeep Kumar Joshi, Air Marshal A. S. Bhonsle (Retd.), Bhim Sain Bassi,
Sujata Mehta, Manoj Soni, and Smita Nagaraj.
 The UN World Tourism Organization appointed Lionel Messi as an ambassador to promote
responsible tourism.

 11th World Hindi Conference (विश्ि ह द िं ी सम्मेलन) will be hosted by Mauritius in its capital
city Port Lois in August 18-20, 2018. It will be organised by Ministry of External Affairs,
Government of India in association with Government of Mauritius.
Theme: “Vaishvik Hindi Aur Bharatiya Sanskriti “.

 India and World Expo 2020 Dubai have signed participant’s contract for India’s pavilion in
prestigious World Expo 2020 held once in 5 years. The contract provides for setting up of
India pavilion at Expo 2020 on extra-large plot (about one acre) in Opportunity segment.

 10th edition of a biennial exhibition of weapons and military hardware - DefExpo India- 2018
has begun at Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu. The event underscored India’s first attempt to
project itself as a major military manufacturer.

 Rishad Premji, Board member of Wipro Ltd. has been appointed as the Chairman of the
National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) for 2018-19.

 AIIMS professor Balram Bhargava was appointed the Director General of Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR) and Secretary of the Department of Health Research.

 Payment and Transaction Provider Euronet India has partnered with Yes Bank to modernise
the bank’s core payment infrastructure. Euronet will support bank in switching transaction
between end points, driving payments channels and card management services.

 Kriti Sanon received the Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Award for her performance in the
2017 film ' Bareilly Ki Barfi '. Ranvir Singh received the Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Award
for his contribution as Actor for Padmavat. Anushka Sharma also received the Dadasaheb
Phalke Excellence Award for her contribution to films as a producer.

 India ranked 130th out of 186 economies in recently released Index of Economic Freedom
2018 that measures the degree of economic freedom in the countries of the world. In this
edition of index, India with score of 54.5 jumped 13 places from 143rd rank in previous year
(2017) with a score of 52.6 points.
Top 5 countries are:
Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia

 India, world’s 3rd-largest energy consumer after US and China hosted 16th International
Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial Meeting from 10-12th April 2018 in New Delhi.
Theme: “The Future of Global Energy Security: Transition, Technology, Trade and
Investment”.

 Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina has decided to scrap the quota system in government services
after thousands of students marched across the country in protest against a controversial
policy of setting aside jobs for special groups.

 Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani approved setting up a 5,000 MW capacity solar park at the Dholera
Special Investment Region (SIR), which would be the largest such entity in the world after its
completion.
 Indian Consortium and Saudi Aramco Sign MoU for Ratnagiri Mega Refinery in Maharashtra.

 India and Morocco have signed an MOU in the field of Mining and Geology for a period of 5
years.

 Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of Rs 3 crore on IDBI bank for non-compliance
to the Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms

 Union Finance Ministry has reconstituted Banks Board Bureau (BBB) and appointed former
bureaucrat Bhanu Pratap Sharma as its chairman. It will replace earlier BBB headed by
former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai as its two-year term ended in
March 2018.

 Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have approved $140 million loan for project
aimed at improving rural roads (connectivity) in Madhya Pradesh. It was approved at
meeting of Board of Directors of AIIB recently held in Beijing, China.

 National Highways Authority of India has signed an agreement for the upgradation of Yagyi –
Kalewa section of highway in Myanmar to two lanes with an earthen shoulder. The aim is to
provide seamless vehicular movement for enhancing trade, business, health, education and
tourism among India, Myanmar and Thailand.

 Virat Kohli and Mithali Raj named among Wisden’s leading cricketers of the year. Kohli was
named leading male cricketer for the 2nd successive year. Mithali Raj, who led India to the
final of ‘Women’s World Cup’ and emerged as the all-time leading run-scorer in women’s
ODI, was named standout female cricketer of the year.

 Boeing India has signed an agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), and Mahindra
Defence Systems (MDS) to manufacture Super Hornet fighter aircraft in India.

 Sripriya Ranganathan has been appointed as the new Ambassador of India to the Republic of
Korea.

 On the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti , PM Modi launched the 1st phase of the
government's ambitious Ayushman Bharat healthcare programme by inaugurating its first
wellness centre in Bijapur (Chhattisgarh) .This is a National Health Protection Scheme , which
is aimed at creating a network of 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres at an estimated cost
of ₹1200 crore. It provide cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year.

 Union Government has constituted 13-member task force to prepare road map and fast-
track implementation of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology or drones in the country.
It will be headed by Minister of State (MoS) for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha and will have
representatives from government, PSUs, industry and sectoral experts.

 Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched the web-based application e-FRRO (e-Foreigners
Regional Registration Office) scheme under which foreigners can avail, various visa and
immigration-related services online. This will facilitate hassle-free travel to India for
foreigners.

 Katrina Kaif’s wax statue was unveiled at Madame Tussauds in New York.
 India finished 3rd 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 maximum medals came from shooting (16), followed by wrestling (12) and
weightlifting (9).India's best remains 101 in New Delhi (2010), followed by 69 in Manchester
(2002).

 25th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018, also known as CHOGM 2018 is to
begin in London CHOGM is a biennial (held for every 2 years ) summit meeting of the heads
of government of the Commonwealth of Nations. India is being represented by :Narendra
Modi (PM of India)

 Bill Gates has emerged as the world's most admired man in UK-based research firm
YouGov’s survey. Angelina Jolie has been named the World's most admired woman .PM
Narendra Modi was named world's 8th most admired man according to this survey

 National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) signed a MoU with the Nuclear Power
Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to provide skill training to 500 youth and women at
Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu.

 The 29th Arab League Summit started in Dhahran in Saudi Arabia.

 Veteran actor Dharmendra has been chosen for Maharashtra government’s Raj Kapoor
Lifetime Achievement Award.

 East Godavari becomes the first district with complete LED street lighting

 Union Government has signed Loan Agreement with World Bank for IBRD loan of US $48
million for Meghalaya Community – Led Landscapes Management Project (MCLLMP) The
project aims to strengthen community-led landscapes management in selected landscapes
in Meghalaya by 2023.

 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 Rs64, 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.

 Pulitzer Prizes for 2018 has been announced in the USA.

Winners of the Pulitzer Prize 2018-
1. Fiction-: Andrew Sean Greer’s “Less”
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
5. Poetry-: Half-light: Collected Poems 1965-2016, by Frank Bidart (Farrar, Straus and
Giroux).
Note- I have provided the complete list on WhatsApp group.

 Union Ministry of Communications has launched DARPAN-PLI application for seamless

collection of premium for Postal Life Insurance (PLI) and Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI)
policies. The app launched under DARPAN Project will help in collection of premium of these
 two policies at branch post offices anywhere in India, with online updating of the policies.

 Lieutenant General PP Malhotra assumed charge as Director General of National Cadet

Corps (NCC).

 India has won 6 elections to United Nations Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc) bodies,
five of them unanimously. They are :-
1.Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) Committee
2.Commission on Population and Development
3.Commission for Social Development
4.Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
5.Council to the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
6.United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Office for Project Services
(UNOPS)

 Sanjiv Mehta has been appointed as the chairman of Hindustan Unilever Limited

 Union Government has formed Defence Planning Committee (DPC), a new integrated
institutional mechanism that will drive country’s military and security strategy and guide
defence equipment acquisitions. It will be under the chairmanship of National Security
Advisor Ajit Doval.

 Indian Government has launched the ‘Study in India’ initiative to attract international
students to study in India. It will enable students from 30 countries across South Asia, Africa
and West Asia to select and apply for different courses from 150 select Indian institutions
which are high on NAAC and NIRF ranking.

 Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has launched a health scheme of the Assam government
named Atal Amrit Abhiyan that offers free medical care of up to 2 lakh rupees for every
individual from Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL) families. State
government has earmarked 400 crore rupees for the scheme in the financial year 2018-19.

 As per the 2018 Commonwealth Innovation Index, India fetched 10th position in the index
topped by the United Kingdom, Singapore and Canada. The index was launched on the side-
lines of the ongoing Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) as part of a
new Commonwealth Innovation Hub.

 Madhya Pradesh was conferred the award for the Most Film Friendly State for its efforts
towards easing filming in the State by creating a well-structured website and film-friendly
infrastructure.

 Dilip Chenoy has been appointed as Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers
of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

 Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched integration of e-SANAD

portal and NAD – National Academic Depository in a bid to make education system in India
more transparent.
About e-SANAD: e-Sanad is project aimed at online submission and verification of
documents with ultimate object to extend contact less, cashless, faceless and paperless
document attestation service.
 Global Findex Report released by World Bank, about 190 million Indian adults still don’t have
a bank account, 2nd only to China, despite the account ownership more than doubling from
35 per cent in 2011 to 80 per cent in 2017.

 TRA Brand Trust Report 2018 stated that State Bank of India is the most-trusted bank (both
public and private sector) in the country and ICICI topped the chart among the private ones.

 Swaziland’s King Mswati III, officially changed the name of his country Swaziland to the
‘Kingdom of eSwatini’.

 The United Kingdom becomes the 62nd country to join International Solar Alliance.

 1st International SME (Small, Medium Enterprises) convention held at New Delhi. It was
organised by Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.

 Britain’s Prince Charles will succeed his mother Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of the
Commonwealth after the heads of government agreed on his succession.

 ‘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. Four Indians featured on Time’s
‘100 Most Influential People’ of 2018- Virat Kohli, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Deepika
Padukone and Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal.

 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.

 C Haridas has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Indian Overseas Bank
(IOB).

 Miguel Diaz-Canel has been elected as the President of Cuba.

 India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 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 6th largest economy, displacing France.
Top 5 economies of the world are:-
1. The United States
2. China
3. Japan
4. Germany
5. The United Kingdom

 48th International Earth Day was observed on(22nd April).The world's first ever Earth Day
was celebrated on 22nd April 1970 , in the United States of America to increase public
awareness about environmental problems.

 Union Cabinet has approved promulgation of Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance to

provide death penalty for rapists of girls below 12 years. The ordinance amends Indian Penal
Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO)
 Act and Indian Evidence Act.

 India and Finland have reached an agreement on the tax dispute with Nokia under Mutual
Agreement Procedure (MAP) system. This involves payment of Rs 1,600 crore, a sum that
was deposited with government by Nokia in March 2018.

 BCCI has formed a four-member internal complaints committee for prevention of sexual
harassment against women at the workplace. It include BCCI employee Karina Kripalani,
former cricketer Saba Karim, Rupawati Rao and an external member in the form of Veena
Gowda.

 Barcelona thrashed Seville 5-0 to lift their 4th straight and 30th overall Copa del Rey title, an
annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams.

 World Book Day or World Book and Copyright Day was observed on (23rd April).
1st World Book Day was celebrated on 23 April 1995. Athens chosen as the World Book
Capital 2018. Sharjah named World Book Capital for the year 2019.

 Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT outsourcing company created history by
becoming the 1st Indian company to reach $100 billion market capitalisation (m-cap)
milestone. With this, TCS joined the ranks of the world’s 100 most valued organizations and
now ranks 97th. TCS has also overtaken outsourcing and consultancy giant Accenture which
has market cap of $98.20 billion.

 Madras High Court became 1st court in south India and overall 8th in the country to
introduce e-court fee payment facility. It was jointly launched by CM Edappadi K.
Palaniswami and Chief Justice Indira Banerjee at High Court in Chennai as well as at its
Madurai Bench.

 World's debt reached a record $164 trillion in 2016, which is worth 225% of the world's
Gross Domestic Product, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).China alone
contributed more than 40% to the increase in global debt since 2007.

 A group of 50 alumni from the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) across the
India have quit their jobs to form a political party titled Bahujan Azad Party to fight for the
rights of SCs, STs and OBCs.The group first aims to contest 2020 Bihar Assembly elections
and then 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

 First meeting of the BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was held in
Washington D.C. USA.

 Rafael Nadal has won 11th Monte Carlo Masters title. With this, the world number one
Nadal has become 1st male tennis player in the Open Era to win the same title 11 times in
his career.

 According to recently released Migration and Development Brief by World Bank, India has
retained top position as recipient of remittances with about $69 billion in 2017. India was
followed by China ($64 billion).
Global remittances: -it grew 7% to US $613 billion in 2017, from US $573 billion in 2016.
 Diu Smart City has become 1st city in India to run on 100% renewable energy during
daytime. With this, it has set new benchmark for other cities to become clean and green.

 Canada and the European Union will host the world’s first 2-Day female foreign ministers’
meeting in September 2018 in Canada.

 Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed in principle to give an aid of 1,700 crore rupees
to Uttarakhand for infrastructure development and creation of sewerage treatment facilities
in urban areas.

 Sanjay Bhattacharya has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Turkey.

 Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, AFSPA has been removed completely from Meghalaya.
The AFSPA act, empowers security forces to conduct operations and arrest anyone
anywhere without prior notice. In Arunachal Pradesh, the AFSPA has been reduced from 16
police stations areas bordering Assam to eight police stations.

 Union Government has signed a Loan Agreement with the World Bank for IBRD credit of US$
125 for Innovation in India for Inclusiveness Project.

 Two-day coastal security exercise ‘Sagar Kavach’ to strengthen and assess the loopholes in
the coastal security mechanism was held along Kerala coast.

 The Coal Ministry appointed Suresh Kumar as the part-time Chairman and Managing
Director of Coal India Ltd.

 The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has appointed Taniya Sanyal as its first woman
firefighter.

 Tata Sons appointed former Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar as Tata Group’s President, Global
Corporate Affairs.

 The United Nations’ cultural agency awarded the World Press Freedom Prize to an
imprisoned Egyptian photographer Abu Zeid.

 India's ranking has dropped two spots to 138 among 180 countries in the World Press
Freedom Index 2018 released by non-government organisation Reporters without Borders.
Norway topped the list for the 2nd consecutive year followed by Sweden.

 Union government has cleared the appointment of senior advocate Indu Malhotra as
Supreme Court Judge. With this, Mrs. Malhotra is set to become the 1st woman lawyer to be
directly appointed as a Supreme Court judge.

 Microsoft India has been declared the most attractive employer brand, followed Amazon
India. The winners were named by HR service provider Randstad's Employer Brand Research
(REBR) 2018.

 Mario Abdo Benitez won the presidential election conducted in Paraguay.

 Jammu and Kashmir has become the first state to approve the recommendations of the 7th
Pay Commission.

 World Malaria Day was observed on April 25 every year. The theme for this year’s Malaria
Day was ‘Ready to beat Malaria’.

 Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has granted First Licence to Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals
Ltd for Liquid Chlorine on all India basis as per Indian Standard (IS) 646:1986. This is the First
Licence granted on All India basis.

 Haryana government has appointed international shooter Gauri Sheoran the brand
ambassador for its two health-related programmes.

 1st Informal Summit between India’s PM Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping
was held in Wuhan. The purpose of meeting was to exchange views on overarching issues of
bilateral and global importance and to elaborate their respective visions and priorities for
national development in context of current and future international situation.

 Gujarati poet, playwright and academic Sitanshu Yashaschandra was selected for 2017
Saraswati Samman for his collection of verses (poetry) titled “Vakhar” published in 2009. It
was 27 edition of the award.

 Google Arts & Culture in partnership with Ministry of Tourism has unveiled 360-degree
virtual reality (VR) video for global ‘Incredible India’ tourism campaign. As part of it, Google
Arts & Culture will provide users with immersive 360-degree view of India’s heritage,
festivity, spirituality and adventure.

 Dalmia Bharat Group has adopted Delhi's Red Fort for 5 years. With this, Dalmia Bharat
Group has become the 1st-ever corporate company to sign an MoU under the government’s
“Adopt a Heritage" project.

 National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) arm India Index Services & Products Ltd (IISL) has launched
Nifty equity savings index which will serve as benchmark for equity saving funds offered by
various mutual funds.

 Sikkim CM Pawan Chamling became the longest-serving Chief Minister in India, surpassing
the record of Jyoti Basu, who served as West Bengal CM from 1977 to 2000. Chamling, who
belongs to the Sikkim Democratic Front, became the CM in December 1994.

 Former PM Manmohan Singh, released a book ‘My Journey from Marxism-Leninism to

Nehruvian Socialism’, by former Planning Commission and Finance Commission member C H
Hanumantha Rao.

 Vistara has become the 3rd Indian carrier to be a member of the International Air Transport
Association (IATA), the trade association of more than 280 airlines. The two other Indian
carriers that are IATA members include Air India and Jet Airways.

 Assam government has appointed senior IPS officer Kuladhar Saikia as the new Director
General of Police of the state. He will replace Mukesh Sahay.
 Maharashtra Government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the
British Council to strengthen educational and cultural cooperation between the two nations.

 Former Indian football Team captain Bhaichung Bhutia has launched his political party
'Hamro Sikkim'.

 Narinder Chauhan has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Czech
Republic.

 Krishan Kumar has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Norway.

 Rajiv Kumar Nagpal has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Venezuela.

 India and Pakistan are going to take part in a Counter-Terror Military Exercise alongside
member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Russia's Ural Mountains
in September. This will be the 1st time since Independence that the two nations will
together participate in a military exercise.

 International Buddhist Conference was held in Lumbini, Nepal on 29 and 30 April 2018 to
commemorate 2562nd Buddha Jayanti.

 One97 Communications Limited, the owner of digital payment major, Paytm, announced the
launch of its offline payments solution -the Paytm Tap Card, in line with the company's
vision to provide seamless payments solutions for non-internet customers.

 Rafael Nadal has won his 11th Barcelona Open title on clay. This was his 55th title on clay -
and the 77th overall in his illustrious career.