Current Affairs - April 8, 2018 Current Affairs

Union Ministry of Tribal affairs has approved establishment of the first multipurpose "Van Dhan Vikas Kendra" in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh for value addition of Forest Produce. Van Dhan Vikas Kendra will be an important part of Central Government's scheme of "Mechanism for marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support price (MSP) and development of Value chain for MFP". This scheme is for socio economic development of tribals living in forests, for whom, collecting Minor Forest Produce (MFP) is a major source of livelihood. The first "Van Dhan Vikas Kendra" in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh will provide skill upgradation and capacity building training and will have primary processing and value addition facility. Initially, this Kendra will have processing facility for Tamarind brick making, Mahua flower storage facility and chironjee cleaning and packaging.

India defeated Bangladesh to win the fifth South East Asian Women Handball Championship at Lucknow. A total of five countries participated in the tournament. While Nepal finished as runner-ups in the five-country tournament, Bangladesh settled for the third spot and a bronze medal.

Reserve Bank of India has decided to set up Data Sciences Lab to improve its forecasting, surveillance and early warning detection abilities which will aid policy formulation. RBI said the lab will comprise experts and budding analysts, who are trained in Computer Science, Data Analytics, Statistics, Economics, Econometrics and Finance. The unit will become operational by December 2018.

The Indian women's hockey team registered a comprehensive victory over Malaysia by 4-1 in their second match of Pool A. This was the first win of the Indian team at the Gold Coast 2018 XXI Commonwealth Games campaign. Two goals from Gurjit Kaur and a goal each from skipper Rani and Lalremsiami led Indians to secure its first victory in the championship. India started the first quarter with electric pace and made chances inside the first minute itself. The team looked to press their opposition high up the pitch, which saw them regain possession quickly and make circle entries inside Malaysia's striking circle. India won three Penalty Corners in the first quarter, the last of which was converted successfully by drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur to give India a crucial lead in the 6th minute. India's defense made sure that the team maintained their lead at the end of the quarter.

The global financial messaging cooperative, SWIFT (Society for World Interbank Financial Telecommunication System platform) announced that ICICI Bank has become its first Indian client to go live with an improved cross-border payments service. The improved cross-border payments service which is being referred to is the gpi (Global Payment Innovation) Tracker, which has been extended to cover all payment instructions sent across the SWIFT network. SWIFT's gpi tracker enables real-time payments tracking across correspondent banks and has a facility to track the payments instructions across the correspondent banks globally. At a later stage, SWIFT is also planning to add another feature that has an ability to stop and recall payment in case of a fraud or when a duplicate payment has been sent erroneously.

Global hospitality chain Airbnb announced that New Delhi and Maharashtra have been recognised as the most hospitable city and state respectively, according to its Hospitality Index. As per the index, the most hospitable states were Maharashtra, Goa, Delhi, Karnataka and Kerala. New Delhi led the charts as the most hospitable city in the country, followed closely by Jaipur, Cochin and Mumbai.

The World Health Day (WHD) is observed every year on 7 April to mark the anniversary of the founding of World Health Organization (WHO) and to spread awareness about health and well being. As this year (2018) is WHO's 70th Anniversary year too, the organization has appealed the world leaders to live up to the pledges they made and agreed to in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in 2015 and for taking concrete actions to progress towards Health For All. The 2018 theme "Universal health coverage: everyone, everywhere" is an indication that nations around the world are aspiring to provide higher accessibility of healthcare to their citizens.

Indian women's cricket team captain Mithali Raj become the most capped player in women's ODI cricket after turning out for the 192nd time against England. Raj, who is also the highest run-getter in WODIs, overtook former England captain Charlotte Edwards, who had appeared in 191 WODIs. Indian fast bowler Jhulan Goswami is the third-most capped WODI player.

The RH-300 MKII sounding rocket developed by IRSO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) was successfully launched from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launch. The rocket was launched by VSSC under Sounding Rocket Experiment (SOUREX) programme for atmospheric studies. It utilizes this rocket to study the Equator.

The Global Logistics Summit (GLS-2018) was held in New Delhi on April 5-6 to improve logistics and connectivity which are vital for increasing intra-state and international trade flows. It was organised by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, along with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and the World Bank Group. The Summit acts as a platform to hold discussions for global experts, academics, government officials and private sector and industry representatives. According to the Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, 56 new airports will be ready for operation in the next few years.

TRAI has proposed the concept of Public Data Office Providers, aimed at enhancing Wi-Fi connectivity and cutting internet costs by up to 90%. TRAI recommended an ambitious model of a public Wi-Fi grid that also aims to push broadband proliferation in the country. The grid or the mesh conceptualised by TRAI entails multiple providers coming together on one platform.

The Tamil Nadu government launched Amma Free Wi-Fi zones in 5 cities of Tamil Nadu. This scheme was announced by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in September 2016. It was said that Wi-Fi zones will be set up in 50 spots, mainly in larger bus terminals, parks and commercial complexes. Amma Free Wi-Fi zones have been introduced at the following five locations: Labour Statue, Marina, Chennai; Central bus stands, Salem and Tiruchirappalli; Gandhipuram bus stand in Coimbatore and Mattuthavani bus stand, Madurai.

The joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise 'Chakravath 2018' is organised by the Indian Navy in coordination with the Kerala government at Kochi Airport. The exercise is conducted by the Southern Naval Command from April 5 to 8. The highlight of the 4-day disaster management exercise is Skill Demo, which was conducted in the Mattancherry Channel off the BTP Jetty. The skill demo showcased the capabilities and prowess of the Armed Forces, as well as all state agencies, in tackling an emergency using all available resource.

A digital payments company PayPal and the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for promotion of outbound shipments among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). As per the terms of the MoU, PayPal will work with FIEO to educate SMEs on how to leverage global opportunities, help them receive money in a safe and timely manner with PayPal products and inform them of global best practices. The programmes and seminars undertaken for this purpose will not only create awareness but will also address some commonly faced challenges by SMEs. Through activities carried out under the scope of this MoU, FIEO will be able to reach out to cottage industries, MSMEs, artisans and clusters, even in distant areas to develop their orientation towards exports.

Deepak Lather from Haryana has become the youngest Indian weightlifter to claim a Commonwealth Games medal by clinching a bronze in the men's 69kg weightlifting category at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG-2018) in Gold Coast, Australia on April 6. He lifted a total of 295kg (136kg+159kg). The youngster, competing in his first Commonwealth Games, holds the distinction of being the youngest to hold the national record as well. He held the 62kg category national record at 15. Lather trained at the Army Sports Institute as a diver before being pushed into weightlifting by the coaches there. Earlier, Mirabai Chanu (48kg) and Sanjita Chanu (53kg) won gold medals in the women's competition and P Gururaja claimed a silver in the men's 56kg category. The Indian weightlifters have so far claimed four medals in the event.