Current Affairs - April 27, 2018 Current Affairs

The Sunderban Reserve Forest, spread of 4,260 sq. km. with over 2,000 sq. km. of mangrove forests and creeks, is likely to be declared a Ramsar Site soon. The Indian Sunderbans, with mangrove forests, comprise almost 43% of the mangrove cover in India. There are currently 26 sites in India recognised as Ramsar wetland sites of international importance.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched Pravasi pension scheme. The scheme gives those hailing from Kerala but living outside the state or country, a pension of 2,000 a month. People over the age of 60 years are eligible for the pension. The scheme is not applicable for state and central government employees.

Mario Abdo Benitez has been elected as the new president of Paraguay. Mario Abdo Benitez won the presidential election conducted on 22nd April 2018. He belongs to the ruling Colorado Party. He had secured 46.5% of the votes, with 96% of 21,000 polling stations reported. Efrain Alegre of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party came second with 42.7% of the votes. Mario Abdo Benitez's 5 year term begins on 15th August 2018.

Indian will host the prestigious Asian Weightlifting Championship in 2019. The Championship was awarded to India at the Executive Board Meeting and Congress of the Asian Weightlifting Federation held on April 22 at Urgench, Uzbekistan. The last edition of the Asian Championship was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, from April 23-29.

A two-day coastal security exercise 'Sagar Kavach' began on 24th April to strengthen and assess the loopholes in the coastal security mechanism along Kerala shores. The Coast Guard, the Navy, Coastal Police and Marine Enforcement wing are participating in the exercise. 3 ships of the navy, 10 of Coastguard, four fishing boats, besides 20 coastal police stations are taking part in the drill.

Indus Towers and Bharti Infratel Ltd announced that, they have agreed to combine operations in a deal that will create the world's second-largest mobile masts company measured by numbers of towers. The combined company will lag only China Tower. It will still be listed on Indian bourses. It will have a presence throughout India with more than 163,000 towers. Bharti Airtel will have a stake of 33.8 % to 37.2 % in the combined entity. The combined entity will be called Indus Towers. The new Indus Towers board will have 11 members: three members from Bharti Airtel, three from Vodafone, one from KKR or Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and four independent members.

Italy's Liberation Day also known as the Anniversary of the Liberation, Anniversary of the Resistance is a national Italian holiday. It commemorates the end of the Italian Civil War and the end of Nazi occupation of Italy during World War II.

World Malaria Day is observed every year on 25th April to highlight global efforts to control malaria. The theme for World Malaria Day 2018 is: Ready to beat malaria. In May 2007, at the 60th session of the World Health Assembly declared the World Malaria Day to be celebrated on 25th April every year.

The two-day Secure India Conclave got underway in New Delhi on 24th April. The conclave is being organised by Global Counter Terrorism keeping in view Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of New India : Secure India 2018. The event presents a unique encapsulation of prevalent issues in India's internal security.

Senior lawyer Indu Malhotra was sworn in as the judge of the Supreme Court in the presence of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. The appointment was made by the President Ram Nath Kovind. Malhotra has now become the first woman lawyer to be directly appointed as a Supreme Court judge. In 2007, Mrs Malhotra was only the second woman to be appointed a senior advocate by the apex court, three decades after Leila Seth first made history.

Bangladesh and Nepal have launched a trial bus service between their capitals through India. The proposed commercial bus service comes under the purview of BBIN (Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal) Motor Vehicles Agreement. Currently, passengers use the Lalmonirhat-Burimari-Changrabandha-Siliguri route to go to Kathmandu.

India's Jeremy Lalrinnunga (56 kg) won a silver and a bronze medal and broke two national records at the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championship at Urgench, Uzbekistan. Jeremy Lalrinnunga gave his best total of 250 kg and won the silver in youth section and a bronze medal in the junior section. He is 15 years old. He made national records in youth boys and junior men with 250 kg lift. India's Sidhant Gogoi won a bronze medal with a lift of 243 kg in youth boys section. Jhilli Dalabehera (48 kg) won silver medal in junior women after lifting 166 kg (73+93), Sneha Soren (48 kg) lifted 145 kg (63+82) and won bronze medal in Youth Girls. Jacob Vanlaltluanga won a bronze medal in the 62kg youth boys with a total lift of 239 kg (108 kg (Silver medal) in Snatch + 131 kg in Clean and Jerk).

World Intellectual Property Day was observed all over the world on April 26th to create awareness on the role that intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright) play in encouraging innovation and creativity. This day was declared by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2000. 26 April marks the date on which the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization came to force in 1970. The theme for World Intellectual Property Day 2018 is - Powering change: Women in innovation and creativity.

Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR) 2018 stated that, Microsoft India is the most attractive employer brand in India this year. Microsoft India is followed by Amazon India. The Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR) 2018 survey was conducted by Randstad, a HR service provider. The survey also stated that salary and employee benefits remain as major factors among the local workforce in all profiles. On a sectoral basis, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) ranked as the top employer brand for the IT industry. Larsen & Toubro was ranked as top employer for infrastructure & construction and Hindustan Unilever for FMCG. The top 10 most attractive employers brands in 2018 also features: Hindustan Unilever, IBM India, ITC Group, Mercedes-Benz India, Samsung India and Sony India. Salary and employee benefits, work-life balance, job security, career progression and strong management are the top five influencing factors for the workforce for selecting an employer. The survey also revealed that workers prefer to work for companies in sectors like IT & ITeS (69 percent), Automotive (68 percent) and Retail & FMCG (67 percent).

Tony Daniel, the technical committee chairman of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and the executive vice-president of Kerala State Athletics Association (KSAA), passed away in Kochi, Kerala. Tony Daniel was 66 years old. He was born in Ernakulam, Kerala. He represented Kerala State and University at the national championships in junior and senior categories between 1968 and 1972. He was the State Sprint Champion in 1970. He was the Secretary of Kerala Athletics Association for eight years. He was the Deputy Competition Manager during the Commonwealth Games, Delhi 2010 and Competition Director (Athletics) in South Asian Games, Guwahati 2016.

Egyptian photo journalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid won the 2018 Press Freedom Prize awarded by the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO on 23rd April. The prize, the Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize, will be awarded on May 2 to mark World Press Freedom Day. The $25,000 World Press Freedom Prize was established in 1997 to honor Guillermo Cano Isaza who was a journalist.