National News

1. LED lights installed in India under Street Lighting National Programme:

 Under this programme government replaced 21 lakhs conventional bulbs with energy
efficient LED bulbs for the Street lighting.
 Rajasthan became the largest recipient of LED street lights under this programme.
 It was implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (under Ministry of Power).
 EESL is a joint venture is the joint venture of various Public sector power companies.

2. The construction of Eastern Peripheral Expressway gets 60% completed:

 It is 135 Km under construction expressway between Kundli and Palwal of the

Haryana state.
 It is the first access controlled expressway after which vehicles of other states would
not need to enter Delhi while transit.
 It is slated to be completed in August this year.

3. India set to sign FTA with the Eurasian Economic Union:

 The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is expected to sign between India and trade bloc
during the PM Modi’s visit to St Petersburg,Russia.
 EEU consists of five Soviet Union nations which include Armenia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
 EEU HQ is in Moscow, Russia and its Chairman is Tigran Sargsyan (Armenia).

4. Breeding centre for great Indian Bustard to be set up in Rajasthan:

 It will be the first such captive breeding centre for the Indian bustard in India.
 The two facilities will be open one in Kota and another in Jaisalmer.
 Great Indian Bustard is the state bird of Rajasthan and is critically endangered bird
according to IUCN’s conservation status.

5. DPT launches new portal ‘Tarang Sanchar’:

 The web portal www.tarangsanchar.gov.in is launched to share information on

Mobile towers and their Electromagnetic emission compliances.
 It will allow people to know the working of mobile towers anywhere in the country and
to track their radiation emissions. They will be able to check compliance status of
these towers.
 It will help to alleviate misconceptions of people related to health risks arising out of
mobile towers.

6. Odisha launched state’s Startup web Portal:

 In order to make Odisha the top 3 startup destination in the country, the state CM
Naveen Patnaik launched the new startup web portal.
  It will be one stop destination for investors which is aimed to ease the process of
registration and other related documentation. The portal will also avail benefits under
Odisha startup policy.

7. Railways ready to launch Humsafar express this month:

 Humsafar Coach will have 3-tier in all the coaches.

 It will be the first such train in India.
 Indian Railways make profit only in operating 3-tier coaches.

8. World’s tallest railway bridge to be constructed over Chenab River:

 It will connect Katra with Kauri in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
 The total length will be 1.315 km and it will be made of blast proof steel to withstand
explosions.
 The bridge will be 35 meters higher than Eiffel Tower of Paris which is expected to
complete by 2019.

9. New Chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chosen:

 Congress Lok Sabha MP Mallikarjun Kharge appointed as the new PAC Chairman by
the Speaker of Lok Sabha.
 He replaced congress leader KV Thomas.

10. Sports Minister asked NADA to adopt zero tolerance policy towards ‘doping’:

 He talked on the possibility to make doping in sports a criminal offence.

 He also directed NADA to sensitise players through various awareness campaigns
and seminars about side effects of using harmful banned substances.
 Last year in Rio Olympics 2016, wrestler Narsingh Yadav was banned for using
banned substance ‘Methandienone’. This banned drug is known to increase protein
synthesis and muscle strength.
 National Anti Doping Agency is the Indian watchdog agency in sports whose primary
responsibility is to implement the anti-doping rules made by WADA and to regulate
programmes related to drug abuse.

International News

1. Nepal Chief Justice impeached:

 Sushila Karki was suspended by Parliament through impeachment after accusing her
to interfere with executive powers.
 She is the Nepal’s first woman Chief Justice.

2. New Nickel Zinc batteries successfully developed by Research lab in US:

 US Naval Research Lab developed this new type of batteries which would be a safe
alternate to Li-Ion batteries.
  Li-Ion batteries are prone to explosion and can catch fire due to overheating.
 This new Ni-Zn batteries would not be prone to short circuit and fail like conventional
such batteries.
 It uses 3D Zn sponge in place of powdered Zn anode (positively charged electrode).

3. California based SpaceX company launched its first satellite for US military:

 The aerospace company launched this secretive satellite which is known as NROL-
26.
 It is a spy satellite which is carried by Falcon 9 rocket.
 The company was founded in 2002 with the goal to decrease operational costs in
space technologies and to colonise the Mars planet.

4. NASA’s first inflatable Greenhouse could enable water recycling on Mars:

 NASA Scientists have designed an inflatable greenhouse that could be used one day
by astronauts to grow fresh food and produce oxygen on Mars or Moon.
 The first-of-its-kind sample involves an inflatable, deployable greenhouse that can
support plant and crop production for nutrition, air revitalization, water recycling and
waste recycling.

Finance & Economics

1. New Index of Industrial Production (IIP) to be launched soon:

 India is ready to unveil new IIP with the base year of 2011-12.
 Currently, IIP is calculated on the base year 2004-05.
 This index is made on the basis of monthly industrial data mainly from the books of
accounts.
 New IIP index will be launched Chief Statistician and Ministry of Statistics and
Program Implementation (MOSPI) Secretary Mr. TCA Anant.

2. Union Cabinet cleared package to resolve NPA problem:

 In order to tackle problem of Non-Performing assets the cabinet cleared various

measures which includes ordinance, disinvestment of ITDC hotels, policy approval to
give preference to domestic steel and iron products, approval of national Steel Policy
2017 and international status to Vijaywada Airport.
 The policy approval of giving preference to domestically manufactured iron and steel
products is for their use in government infrastructure projects.

3. India expected to achieve 7.1% growth in 2017: UN report:

 A United Nations (UN) on 1 April 2017 released its annual flagship report titled 'The
Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2017'.
 The report was released by UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific (ESCAP).
 The report says India is expected to achieve 7.1 per cent economic growth in 2017
as re-monetization restores consumption and infrastructure spending increases.
  It also said India's growth would edge up to 7.5 per cent next year. These targets will
be met by higher private and public consumption and increased infrastructure
spending.

4. Economic Agreements between India and Sri Lanka:

 An MOU was signed between the two nations on energy and infrastructure projects.
 One LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) plant in Colombo and one solar plant in
Trincomalee to be set up.
 India will also set up joint Industrial Zones and Special Economic Zones in the island
nation Sri Lanka.

Defence

1. Government to set up All-women IRB in J&K:

 In order to counter notorious women stone pelters in the Kashmir Valley, GOI
decided to set up All-women Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB).
 The candidates will be drawn from the local youths with 60% reservation to people
living in border areas.
 Its 75% expenditure will be contributed by the Central Government.
 Last year Government sanctioned five IRBs for the State.

2. Court grants Rs 55 lakh as compensation to Air Force Pilot:

 Wing Commander Sanjeet Singh Kaila was injured in a MiG-21 fighter jet crash in
2005. He then moved the court seeking the compensation citing the violation of his
‘fundamental right to life’.
 The Delhi High Court in the judgment announced the compensation of Rs 55 lakh in
which Rs 5 lakh would be paid by Government and the rest by Hindustan
Aeronautics Ltd.
 Right to life is the Fundamental right under Article 21 of Indian Constitution.

3. Advanced version of BrahMos missile test fired successfully:

 Indian Army has successfully tested land attack BrahMos missile. It is an advanced
version of the cruise missile.
 It was test fired from a mobile autonomous launcher in the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands.

4. India conducted successful test of the advanced BrahMos Block III Land Attack
Cruise Missile (LACM):
  The test was carried in the Andaman and Nicobar Island which will shape India’s
future policy in the Indian Ocean.
 The current range of this supersonic missile is set at 450 Km and is expected to
increase up to 600 Km. The current long range is the result of India’s entry into
Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) last year in June. Before being its
member, the range of BrahMos was set up to 290 Km due to the obligations set by
the Regime.
 BrahMos is capable to launch from land, sea, sub-sea and air. It is inducted in 2007.

5. Trial of Agni-II Ballistic Missile fails to meet desired parameters:

 India flight-tested Agni-II Intermediate Range Surface-to-Surface Ballistic Missile

from Abdul Kalam Island in Bhadrak district of Odisha.
 The user trial failed and it did not meet all the desired parameters.

 The test was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) as part of a
training exercise.

Awards, Recognition and Appointments

1. 52nd Jnanpith Award for Bengali Poet Sankha Ghose:

 He was presented with monetary award of Rs 11 lakhs and bronze replica of

Goddess Saraswati.

 He was also the winner of Sahitya Academy Award as well as conferred with Padma
Bhushan in 2011.
 Jnanpith Award is the India’s prestigious literary award which was awarded annually
by Bharatiya Jnanpith. It was constituted in 1961.
 It was awarded in literature written in any of languages included in the Eighth
schedule of Indian Constitution plus English. Unlike, Bharat Ratna, it was not
awarded posthumously.

2. INSA Medal for Young Scientist Award 2017 announced to scientist of Tezpur
University:

 Sanjay Pratihar of Tezpur University is chosen for this prestigious medal.

 He contributed to multi-metal complexes.

3. Indore cleanest city of 2017 in India:

 The survey was carried out by Clean India Mission (Swachh Bharat Abhiyan) – an
initiative launched in 2015 to make India defecation free by 2019 on the occasion of
150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
 The survey is based on three indicators namely open defecation free, solid wste
management and waste collection.
 Total 434 cities are included in this year’s survey.
 The dirtiest city is Gonda of Uttar Pradesh.
 Mysuru skips to 5th spot this year. It was No.1 in 2016 and 2014.
4. Braj Bihari Kumar to succeed economist S K Thorat as ICSSR Chairman:

 The Union government has appointed Braj Bihari Kumar, editor of quarterly journals
Dialogue and Chintan Srijan, as the new Chairman of the Indian Council of Social
Science Research (ICSSR).
 Kumar’s name was finalized for the top position by the Union Ministry of Human
Resource Development.

5. Shabana Azmi starrer 'The Black Prince' awarded at film fest in Houston:

 Hollywood film 'The Black Prince', starring Indian actress Shabana Azmi and singer-
poet Satinder Sartaaj, was on 3 May 2017 awarded the Special Jury Remi Award at
the 50th annual World Fest - Houston International Film Festival.
 'The Black Prince' is a historic biopic on the emotional life story of the last king of
Punjab - Maharajah Duleep Singh and his fragile relationship with Queen Victoria,
who was Godmother to his children.
 Maharajah Duleep Singh was also named as the Black Prince of Perth shire.

Important Days

1. Basava Jayanti celebrated on May 1:

 It is observed in the memory of 12th Century Kannada poet, philosopher and Social
reformer Basavanna during the reign of King Bijjala I of Karnatka (Kalachuri
dynasty).
 He spread his social awareness messages through Poetry known as Vachanaas. He
was against social ills like gender and social discrimination, superstitions etc.
 PM Modi released the copy of his Vachanaas in 23 Indian languages on this
occasion.

2. International Workers’ Day on May 1:

 Every year this day is celebrated on 1st May. It is also known as May Day.
 It was originated in 1884 when workers of US and Canada demonstrated to limit their
workings to eight hour a day.
 This day is commemorated by Socialist and Communist parties only. Though India is
a welfare state, so it is not celebrated as National Day.