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April 2019
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A2Z April 2019 Current Affairs PDF www.aspirantszone.com
MOU/Agreement Countries
 India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development Consultancy Service (NABCONS) for setting up the India-Africa Institute of Agriculture and Rural
Development (IAIARD) in Malawi, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa.
 India and Sri Lanka have agreed to increase cooperation in security and defence spheres in several areas, including
regional security, curbing drug smuggling and human trafficking. The issues came up for discussion when Defence
Secretary Sanjay Mitra called on Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirsena in Colombo during his official visit.
 India and Sweden launched a joint programme that will work towards addressing a range of challenges around
smart cities and clean technologies among others.
 The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, was apprised about an MoU signed in
February, 2019 between India and Republic of Korea. Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications,
Government of India and The Ministry of Science and ICT (Korea Post), Government of the Republic of Korea have
mutually agreed to jointly issue Postage Stamps on the theme “Queen Hur Hwang-ok of Korea”.
 India joined hands with Japan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to implement 2 projects in Africa as it seeks to
extend its footprint on the continent where strategic rival China has made deep inroads.
 The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its ex-post facto approval to the Memoranda of
Understanding (MoU) between India and Bolivia on cooperation in the field of geology and mineral resources and
traditional systems of medicine and homeopathy. The MoUs were signed in Bolivia in March 2019.
MOU Industry/States/Others
 Indian Army signed an MoU with National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited (NHPC) to construct tunnels on
borders with China and Pakistan for storage of ammunition and other war-related equipment.
 BSE and India International Exchange (India INX) have signed a memorandum of understanding with Moscow
Exchange (MOEX) to connect investor community and companies in both countries besides allowing a capital
formation platform.
 Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT) Delhi to collaborate in the field of standardisation and conformity assessment. This partnership is
aimed at making the process of standardization more effective.
 The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) announced its collaboration with American conglomerate
General Electric (GE) to set up a lab that will develop advanced services technology for aircraft engine components.
The ‘Cold Spray’ SMART (Surface Modification and Additive Research Technologies) Laboratory is the first-of-its-
kind being installed in any academic institute in India.
 BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with
HDFC Bank to spread awareness about the benefits of listing on BSE Startups platform.
 The country’s largest power producer NTPC has signed a term loan agreement for Rs 2,000 crore with Canara Bank.
The loan facility is extended at an interest rate linked to three months MCLR of the Bank. This loan has a door to
door tenure of 15 years and will be utilised to part finance the capital expenditure of the NTPC.
 Karnataka Bank has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company to
distribute the latter’s life insurance products. The bank will be able to provide a wide choice of life insurance
products to its customers across 836 branches, supported by the products of Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company.

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 Tata Consultancy Services has partnered with Google Cloud to build industry-specific cloud solutions. TCS’ solutions
on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) will help enterprises build secure, cloud-native analytics platforms that enable high
levels of personalization, and are cost effective, easy to maintain, and future ready.
 Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Syndicate Bank, one of the oldest and leading public sector bank, have
signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for financing Earth Moving & Construction Equipment
manufactured by BEML.
 Wirecard, the global innovation leader in digital financial technology, announced an expanded partnership with RBL
Bank to promote financial inclusion in India.
 Niti Aayogs Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Unicef India signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to provide an open
platform to promote participation, skilling and empowerment among young children across different communities.
The plan will be implemented through Atal Tinkering Lab initiative to orient the burgeoning innovation ecosystem
towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on child rights.
Appointments and Resignations

Name Post Other Info
Gargi Kaul Defence Finance Secretary, India
David Malpass 13th president of the World Bank Group
LV Subrahmanyam Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh
Vikram Nath First Chief Justice of the newly-constituted Andhra
Pradesh High Court
Chandra Shekhar Rajan Managing Director of IL&FS
Keshav Murugesh Chairman of Nasscom
Sana Dua Brand Ambassador of Jammu and Kashmir election She is Femina Miss India
department for general polls 2017 runner up
Rajendra Kumar Nayak 52nd Controller General of Defence Accounts
(CGDA)
Graham Reid Chief Coach of the Indian men’s hockey team Former Australian field
hockey player
Praful Patel First Indian to be elected as a member of FIFA
Executive Council
Vikramjit Singh Sahney President of International Chamber of Commerce
(ICC) – India
Shiv Das Meena Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD) of National
Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC)
Padmaja Alaganandan Chief People Officer of PwC
Sanjay Manohar Managing Director of McAfee India
Manish Maheshwari Managing Director of Twitter India
Mayoori Kango Google India industry head
Manu Sawhney International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive
Romanian Doru Isac Technical Director of All India Football Federation
(AIFF)
Rajesh Kumar Yaduvanshi Punjab National Bank Executive Director
Karnam Sekar MD and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank From July 1

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Vipin Anand Managing Director of LIC of India

Vijay Chandhok MD and CEO of ICICI Securities
Kaushik Shaparia CEO of Deutsche Bank India
Gursimran Singh Vice President of the Delhi Hockey Association (DHA)
Rajan Anandan Managing Director of Sequoia Capital India He was former Google’s
Vice President for South
East Asia and India
Jitendra Chaddah Chairman of India Electronics and Semiconductor
Association
M.S. Dhoni Ambassador of redBus
Najma Akhta First woman vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia
University (JMI)
Gagandeep Kang First Indian woman to be elected to the Fellow of
the Royal Society (FRS)
Mukesh Kumar Judo Union of Asia general secretary
Bibhu Kalyan Nayak Chair of International Hockey Federation (FIH) First Indian to be appointed
Health and Safety Committee to this position
Rima Das Ambassador of Toronto International Film Festival’s She is Assamese Filmmaker
‘Share Her Journey’
Former Cricketer Ravi Corporate Ambassador to the Indian Business
Shastri Community of Dubai based Ras Al Khaimah
Economic Zone (RAKEZ)
Vikas Khanna (Chef) Brand Ambassador of Indo-American Arts Council
(IAAC)
Gen.(Retd.) Dalbir Singh India High Commissioner To Seychelles He is former Army Chief
Suhag
Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel for 5th term
Jean Michel Lapin Prime Minister of Haiti
Mohammed Ishtaye Prime Minister of Palestinian
Abdelkader Bensalah Interim President of Algeria
Volodymyr Zelenskiy President of Ukraine
RESIGNATIONS:
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down from his post
Kirstjen Nielsen, the US secretary of homeland security, stepped down from his post.
Mali’s Prime Minister Abdoulaye Idrissa Maiga and his cabinet resigned
Assocham Secretary General U K Varma resigned
Uber Asia Pacific Head Amit Jain has resigned from the company after a four-year stint at the US-based ride-
hailing company.
Shaji Farooq, president of Wipro’s banking financial services and insurance (BFSI) business unit, has stepped
down
Japan’s emperor Akihito abdicated

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Awards and Recognitions

Award Name Person/Institution Extra Knowledge
Zayed medal Narendra Modi Got award by President of the
UAE Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al
Nahyan
‘Order of St Andrew the Apostle’ Narendra Modi Awarded by Russia
Honorary Doctorate in Philanthropy Shah Rukh Khan
by The University of Law, London
Asian Tour For Contribution To Golf In Dr Pawan Munjal He is Chairman of Hero
Asia MotoCorp
‘D. Litt in Astrology’ by National Dr Sohini Sastri He is Indian Astrologer
American University, USA
Saraswati Samman 2018 Telugu Poet K Siva Reddy for his collection of poetry
titled Pakkaki Ottigilite
Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant Award Sunil Kumar Gautam for his book titled ‘Samvidhan
Kavya‘
World Summit on the Information “Utkarsh Bangla” and “Sabooj Sathi” These are two schemes of the
Society (WSIS) awards of the United West Bengal government
Nations
Freedom of the City of London Alice G Vaidyan She is Chairman and Managing
Director of the General
Insurance Corporation (GIC) of
India
Celent Model Bank 2019 Award Fincare Small Finance Bank (SFB)
Gold Award for ‘Digital Marketing Bajaj Finance Ltd. Awarded for its Fixed Deposit
Excellence in Financial Service’ digital campaign at DIGIXX
2019 Awards by Adgully
‘The Economic Times Best Brands Max Bupa
2019’ award
AIMA Managing India Award 2019 for Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)
outstanding PSU of the year.
‘Global Slag Company of the Year’ Tata Steel
award
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Nobel Award Sudhanshu Kumar (Digital Sukoon
(Best Digital Agency of the Year 2019) founder)
“Public Water Agency of the Year” by National Mission for Clean Ganga
Global Water Intelligence at the (NMCG)
Global Water Summit in London
Next Billion Edtech Prize 2019 India’s education technology
startup, Dost Education
2019 Citi Journalistic Excellence Teena Thacker
Award
Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize Rana Dasgupta For his 2010 novel “Solo” which
2019 is a tale of estrangement and
the ultimate failure of material

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existence.
National Intellectual Property Award Benny Antony Category - Top Individual for
for 2019 Patents and Commercialization
John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Vikram Patel
Health Award
71st World Press Freedom Hero Cyril Almeida He is an assistant editor and
award columnist at Pakistani daily
‘Dawn’
The haunting image of a little girl crying helplessly as she and her mother are taken into custody by US border
officials won the prestigious World Press Photo Award.
Dr A K Singh, director at Life Sciences, DRDO has been honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award 2019 during
4th APJ Abdul Kalam Innovation Conclave at Chandigarh University, Mohali.
Jailed Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo won a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for
uncovering Rohingya killings in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal were awarded Pulitzer Prizes for their separate investigations
of President Donald Trump and his family. The Times won the prestigious journalism award for explanatory
reporting for its probe of the Trump family’s finances that “debunked his claims of self-made wealth and
revealed a business empire riddled with tax dodges.
A total of 150 Indian peacekeepers serving with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) have received medals
of honour for their dedicated service and sacrifice. The medals were given to the 150 Indian peacekeepers
serving in United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Malakal during a ceremony filled with parades
and performances by a piped band.
Malayalam film Bhayanakam (Fear) directed by Jayaraj won the best cinematography award at the Beijing
International Film Festival. The cinematography was done by Nikihil S Praveen.
Prominent scientist and businessman Yusuf Hamied is among a host of Indian-origin experts honoured in the
2019 list of new fellows of the UK’s Royal Society.
All India Radio, Publication Division and Children’s Film Society of India were given Swacchta Pakhwada Awards-
2019
With an aim to honour renowned India-born economist Amartya Sen, the London School of Economics and
Political Science, has announced a Chair in Inequality Studies in his name.
National Award-winning filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, popular scriptwriter Salim Khan and yesteryears
dancing diva Helen were honoured with the prestigious Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award at a ceremony in
Mumbai.
Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award for music and art has been given to classical dancer Sucheta Bhide-
Chapekar
Derek C Lalchhanhima, Mizoram Boy Who Tried To Save A Chicken Receives PETA India’s ‘Compassionate Kid’
Award 2019
Conference and Summits

Summit Place  Extra Knowledge
Army Commanders’ Conference New Delhi
4th Resilient Cities Asia-Pacific Congress 2019 New Delhi 
Naval Commanders’ Conference of 2019 New Delhi
8th edition of Home Expo India 2019 Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh

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National Cardiology Conference 2019 Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Artificial Intelligence Summit Dubai, UAE Theme - Media Solutions for
Sustainable Future: Saving
Lives, Building Resilient
Communities
5th Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Kathmandu, Nepal
Media Summit on Climate Action and
Disaster Preparedness
Nepal-India Franchise Investment Summit Kathmandu, Nepal To be held in May 2019
World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle Jordan
East and North Africa (MENA) 2019
2020 G20 summit Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
International News
 China sent a new data relay satellite into orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan Province. The
Tianlian II-01 satellite was launched by a Long March-3B carrier rocket.
 Japan has unveiled the name of the new imperial era that will begin when Prince Naruhito becomes head of the
world’s oldest hereditary monarchy next month. Reiwa, comprising of two Chinese characters that can be read
“order” and “peace”, replaces Heisei (“achieving peace”), the title of the current era under Naruhito’s father,
Emperor Akihito.
 Chicago has created history by electing an African-American woman as its mayor for the first time. Lori Lightfoot, a
56-year-old former federal prosecutor and practicing lawyer who has never before held elected office, won the
city’s mayoral race by a huge margin. She will also be Chicago’s first openly gay mayor.
 South Korea launched the world’s first fully-fledged 5G mobile networks.
 London became the first city in the world to implement a special Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) that would charge
an entry fee for older vehicles if they do not meet the emission standards. In an attempt to reduce air pollution and
protect public health, the ULEZ will be operational for 24 hours and seven days a week.
 China has successfully tested the world’s first armed amphibious drone boat which the Chinese military analysts
claimed could be used in land assault operations and is capable of forming a combat triad with aerial drones and
other drone ships.
 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have together launched a private blockchain with a
pseudo-token. The new token, called “Learning Coin” and only accessible within the IMF and World Bank, has a
purpose to teach relevant individuals within the organizations about blockchain.
 Global IT spending is projected to total $3.79 trillion in 2019, an increase of 1.1 per cent from 2018, the latest
forecast by Gartner Inc. said recently.
 NepaliSat-1, Nepal’s first satellite has been launched into space, which will soon start rotating around the Earths
orbit to collect information about the country’s topography and Earths magnetic field.
 Sri Lanka’s first satellite ‘Raavana-1’ was launched into space today from NASA’s Flight Facility on Virginia’s east
shore. ‘Raavana 1’ weights around 1.05 kg and the lifespan of the satellite is around one and a half years.
 NASA astronaut Christina Koch is set to spend the longest duration in space by a woman, surpassing the previous
record of 288 days in spaceflight by astronaut Peggy Whitson.

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 Asian Tea Alliance (ATA), a union of five tea-growing and consuming countries was launched in Guizhou, China.
 The world’s first malaria vaccine has been launched in Malawi after concerted efforts of over 30 years to protect
children from the deadly disease that claims over 435,000 lives globally every year.
 Israel said it would name a new community on the Golan Heights after U.S. President Donald Trump as an
expression of gratitude for his recognition of its claim of sovereignty over the strategic plateau.
 Iran and Pakistan have agreed to set up a joint border “reaction force” following a number of deadly attacks by
militant groups on their frontier, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced after talks with visiting Pakistani
Prime Minister Imran Khan.
 The UAE’s flag carrier Etihad Airways has become the first airline in the Gulf region to operate a flight without any
single-use plastics on board, in a bid to raise awareness about pollution on Earth Day. According to the Abu Dhabi-
based national airline of the UAE, the flight EY484 landed in Brisbane on April 22, Earth Day.
 Russia has successfully tested the world’s first floating nuclear power plant (NPP), Akademik Lomonosov, a
subsidiary of Rosatom nuclear corporation stated.
 Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena used his emergency powers to issue an order to ban burqa, veil or
covering of face in public places in any manner which prevents anyone from being identified.
 Despite strong economic growth in 2018, undernourishment rose for the third year in a row, with 821 million
people in the world now facing chronic food deprivation, says 2019 Global Food Policy Report prepared by US-
based International Food Policy Research Institute.
 India’s decision to skip the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) may have led to the exclusion of the Bangladesh- China-
India- Myanmar (BCIM) Economic corridor from the list of projects covered by the China-led Belt and Road Initiative
(BRI) umbrella.
 If no action is taken, drug-resistant diseases could cause 10 million deaths each year by 2050 and damage to the
economy as catastrophic as the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, a new report by United Nations (UN) has warned.
National News
 WhatsApp launched an India-focused fact-checking feature to combat fake news and rumours starting with the
run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. The messaging platform said that its Indian users, numbering more than 200
million, can now report uncertain information or rumours they have received to a WhatsApp number (+91-9643-
000-888) and check its authenticity.
The response will indicate if information is classified as ‘true’, ‘false’, ‘misleading’, ‘disputed’ or ‘out of scope’, and
include any other related information. WhatsApp will review pictures, video links or texts in Hindi, Telugu, Bengali,
Malayalam and English.
This tip line feature has been developed by WhatsApp in collaboration with India-based media skilling startup
PROTO.
 A small village, Phayeng, in the North Eastern state of Manipur, has been tagged as India’s first carbon-positive
settlement. It is a first of its kind project in the South Asian country.
 UAE announced that India will be the Guest of Honour country at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, ADIBF
2019, held from 24th to 30th of April.
 The Union Cabinet approved the ongoing GSLV continuation programme phase 4 consisting of five GSLV flights
during 2021-24. This will enable the launch of 2-tonne class of satellites for geo-imaging, navigation, data relay
communication and space sciences.

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 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, has approved a proposal to extend the duration of New Urea Policy-
2015, from April 1 till further orders.
 India was a net importer of steel during the 2018-19 fiscal year, the first time in three years, as the country lost
market share among its traditional steel buyers and imports jumped on demand for higher-quality steel
domestically.
 The Election Commission (EC) launched a new mobile application for near-realtime availability of voter turnout
during elections across the country. The beta version of the “Voter Turnout” app, available on Android Playstore,
currently shows the state-wise and constituency-wise voter turnout in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
 The 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy which killed thousands of people is among the world’s “major industrial accidents” of
the 20th century, a UN report has said, warning that 2.78 million workers die from occupational accidents and
work-related diseases each year.
 From 2020, the CBSE students with visual impairment will be allowed to use magnifying glasses and portable video
magnifiers during the Class X final examination.
 Indonesia released a special commemorative stamp on the theme of Ramayana to mark the 70th anniversary of
diplomatic ties with India. The stamp, designed by renowned Indonesian sculptor Padmashri Bapak Nyoman Nuart,
features a scene from Hindu epic Ramayana in which Jatayu valiantly fought to save Sita.
 BuyUcoin, which is the second oldest Cryptocurrency Exchange in India, announces the launch of a new and unique
platform for wholesale cryptocurrency trading which allows its users to trade on a large scale with low price
fluctuations.
 Taking a cue from European languages, several of which have the same (Roman letter–based) script, Srinivasa
Chakravathy’s team at IIT Madras has, over the last decade, developed a unified script for 9 Indian languages,
named the Bharati script. The team has now gone a step further since developing the script: it has developed a
method for reading documents in Bharati script using a multi-lingual optical character recognition (OCR) scheme.
 Indian Army claimed that one of its teams spotted mysterious footprints of mythical creature “Yeti” close to Nepal’s
Makalu Base Camp. During an expedition, the Mountaineering Expedition team came across mysterious marks
measuring 32X15 inches, which the Army believed are of the mythical beast Yeti.
 Cyclone ‘Fani’ intensified into a ‘severe cyclonic storm’ and headed towards the Odisha coast.
State News
Andhra Pradesh
 In a first, The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) opened a visitors’ gallery with 5,000 capacity at Andhra
Pradesh’s Sriharikota island. The gallery has a clear line of sight to two launch pads and large screens to explain
launcher and satellite features.
 The National Green Tribunal has slapped an interim penalty of Rs 100 crore on the Andhra Pradesh government for
inaction to prevent illegal sand mining in the state. A bench, headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar
Goel, directed the chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh to forthwith prohibit all unregulated sand mining.
Assam
 A district in western Assam is going the digital way to attract the first-time voters towards the election process and
ensure their participation. The district administration of Bongaigaon has developed a ‘Sankalp’ mobile phone
application to especially reach out to the first-time voters.

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 The Guwahati Railway Station has become the first ever railway station in the Indian Railways to get an ISO
certification from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for “providing passenger amenities in a clean and green
environment.”
 Assam’s most awaited festival the Rongali Bihu, also known as ‘Bohaag Bihu’ which marks the beginning of the new
Assamese calendar year was celebrated.
Delhi
 In a bid to become world’s first 100 per cent green energy metro rail network, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
(DMRC) started its operations through the support of solar energy on Violet line in between the Jawaharlal Nehru
Stadium metro station to Central Secretariat station.
Haryana
 India’s first-of-its-kind ‘Voter Park’ was inaugurated in Gurugram, aimed at increasing voter awareness and
educating people about the electoral process.
Kerala
 India’s future forward real estate company, Talenmark announced that their ambitious and iconic structure
deemed to be “The Biggest Cultural Center of India” is under construction in Calicut, Kerala.
Madhya Pradesh
 The Centre has approved a proposal to change the name of a village in Madhya Pradesh from ‘Durjanpur’ to
‘Shivdham’.
Maharashtra
 India’s first foreign interactive and exotic world park was inaugurated by EsselWorld in Mumbai.
Nagaland
 In an attempt to set a new Guinness World Records in the category of ‘largest traditional Konyak dance display,’
around 5,000 Konyak community women, all decked up in colourful traditional attire, danced to the tune of a
ceremonial song at Nagaland, coinciding with the Aoleang festival. The theme of this year’s Aoleang, also called
Mini Hornbill festival, was ‘Empowering women for cultural heritage.’
Odisha
 ‘Kandhamal Haldi’, a variety of turmeric indigenous to southern Odisha, has earned the Geographical indication (GI)
tag from Intellectual Property India, an organisation functioning under the auspices of the Union ministry of
commerce & industry.
Rajasthan
 Hero Future Energies Global (HFE), the clean energy arm of Hero Group, will invest around $200 million in a solar
project in Rajasthan. The project will be supported by International Finance Corporation (IFC), which will invest
around $43.3 million (Rs 300 crore).
Tamil Nadu
 The Tamil Nadu government has renamed the iconic Chennai Central Railway Station as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr MGR
Central Railway Station. The station was renamed after the receipt of ‘no objection’ from the Union Home Ministry.

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Telangana
 For the second successive year, Telangana has been ranked first in e-learning training programme of Department of
Personal and Training (DoPT) of the Government India. During the financial year 2018-19, Dr MCR HRD Institute
enrolled over 20,000 field staff in different districts of the State to impart training on 12 soft skill modules and
three domain-specific modules on RTI, office procedures, finance and accounts, apart from sustainable
development goals.
Tripura
 Garia Festival celebrated in Tripura
Finance and Banking News

 The Reserve Bank of India is the first central bank in the Asia-Pacific region to begin an explicit interest rate easing
cycle buoyed by benign food inflation and easier global financial condition.
 Bank of Baroda will acquire Vijaya and Dena Bank to create India’s second largest public sector bank behind State
Bank of India (SBI) effective from April 1. This is the first threeway merger of banks in India. The combined bank will
have a geographical reach of more than 9,500 branches, more than 13,400 ATMs with 85,000 employees serving
120 million customers.
The government in September last year announced the first-ever three-way consolidation of banks in India, with a
combined business of Rs 14.82 lakh crore, making it the third-largest bank after State Bank of India (SBI) and HDFC
Bank.
 The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which runs the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) network, has
slashed usage fees for small transactions to expand the system’s adoption among banks and payment service
providers (PSPs).
For UPI transactions up to Rs. 1,000, the charge has been cut to 10 paise from 25 paise. The charge for transactions
above Rs. 1,000 has been retained at 50 paise.
Private sector Kotak Mahindra Bank recently became the first lender to inform its customers that UPI transactions
of more than 30 in a month will incur charges. For transactions up to Rs. 1,000, the cost will be Rs. 2.5 per
transaction and Rs. 5 for those above Rs. 1,000.
 SBI General Insurance has launched a product to protect businesses from financial and reputational losses due to
cyber attacks. In the initial phase, the focus will be on SMEs and mid-market businesses, but later the product can
cater to larger business conglomerates as well.
 Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) announced the launch of an industry-first debit card-based authentication solution
on NPCI’s e-Mandate API platform. Kotak has become the first Destination Bank to go live with both Net Banking
and Debit Card-based e-mandate authentication.
 Bank of Maharashtra got Rs 205 crore capital from govt
 The Bimal Jalan panel examining the RBI’s policy of distributing its reserves may suggest a guiding principle for
surplus transfers as well as a specific timeframe for its application while keeping in mind the public policy mandate
of the RBI. These surplus reserves account for about 28 per cent of the central bank’s total assets.
 HDFC Bank ranked No. 1 in India by Forbes
 RBL Bank has partnered with credit profiler CreditVidya to improve the lender’s customer experience. Through this
partnership, the private sector lender will be able to gain significant insights into its customer base.

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 PAISALO Digital Limited signed the first co-origination loan agreement with State Bank of India, the first agreement
of its kind in the country that State Bank of India has signed. Introducing a platform for the last mile customer, the
loan ticket is designed at Rs 10,000 to 2 lakh.
 The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), an arm of Reserve Bank of India, has
launched a 5G Use Cases Lab for banking and financial sector. The 5G technology, along with blockchain, will be
progressively adopted by banks.
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued Rs 50 denomination banknotes bearing the signature of Governor
Shaktikanta Das. The design of these notes is similar in all respects to Rs 50 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi (new)
series.
 ACI Worldwide, a global provider of realtime electronic payment and banking solutions, announced that Canara
Bank has successfully rolled out major new functionality to support EMV card acquiring across its ATM network and
Aadhaar Authentication, leveraging ACI’s UP Retail Payments solution to achieve market firsts.
 Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has partnered with M1Xchange Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS)
platform for MSME bill discounting.
 India’s largest app for financial services, ETMONEY announced that it has integrated unified payment interface
(UPI) as a payment method on its platform as it looks to double its monthly user base by the end of the year.
 Srei Equipment Finance Ltd (SEFL) and India’s third-largest lender Bank of Baroda have inked a co-lending
arrangement for infrastructure equipment.
 State-owned Allahabad Bank said the government has increased its authorised capital by Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 8,000
crore.
 The total deposits in bank accounts opened under the Jan Dhan scheme, which was launched about five years ago
by the Modi-government, are set to cross Rs 1 lakh crore soon. The total balance in the Jan Dhan accounts, which
has been steadily rising, was at Rs 97,665.66 crore as on April 3, as per the latest government data. The total
number of Jan Dhan accounts have crossed 35.39 crore.
 Money Loji, a modern money lending platform, has launched its App, which offers quickest and the most secure
loans to salaried professionals for an immediate requirement with flexible repayment options starting from 7 days
to a maximum of 90 days.
 State Bank of India announced the country’s first ‘Green Car Loan’ (Electric Vehicle) to encourage customers to buy
electric vehicles. The new scheme will offer loan at 20 basis points lesser than the interest rate on the existing car
loan schemes.
 The banking ombudsman received 24.9% more customer complaints in FY18 over the previous year, said the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is said to have recommended stringent norms on opening and running of current
accounts of corporate borrowers in an attempt to check fund diversion. Current accounts can “only be opened”
with the main bank in a lending consortium while other lenders having collection accounts will have to transfer
funds at the end of the day to the current account with the consortium lead.
 With investigations into Nirav Modi scam in full swing, Punjab National Bank (PNB) has unearthed yet another
default from its London branch. The bank has moved the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) against Tarapur Textiles
Park for defaulting an amount worth $13 million.

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Business News
 Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management (RNAM) joined hands with Google to enable the customers of Reliance
Mutual Fund to carry out voice-based financial transactions. RNAM becomes the first company in India, to provide
a conversational interface that would help customers regarding funds transactions.
 IT major HCL Technologies said that its acquisition of US-based Strong-Bridge Envision has been completed.
 The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that it has approved the acquisition of up to 66.15 per cent of the
total equity shareholding of Mindtree by Larsen and Toubro Limited (L&T).
 The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has given approval to Paytm Money the investment and wealth
management platform of the mobile payments company to start offering broking services. It had applied for the
licence in October last year.
 Google parent Alphabet has beat Amazon to launch one of the first commercial drone delivery businesses.
Alphabet made its first delivery in Canberra after getting approval from the country’s civil aviation authority.
 Google has introduced a new open platform called “Anthos” to run and manage apps from anywhere. Based on the
Cloud Services Platform that Google announced in 2018, “Anthos” lets users run applications on existing on-
premise hardware investments or in the Public Cloud.
 Amazon India has joined hands with Mumbai-based crowdfunding company Ketto to help its sellers raise funding
for business expansion, product development and even for medical assistance. Under this initiative, Amazon will
solicit interest from sellers to apply to Ketto for participation in the program.
As a part of the programme named “Amazon Wings” to empower the sellers in India, the company will allow its
sellers to use Ketto’s platform and raise small ticket funds beginning from INR 50K at a subsidized fee for initiating
fundraisers.
 Global ride-sharing major Uber launched “Uber Vouchers” for businesses globally including in India. Developed on
the “Uber for Business (U4B)” platform, the “Vouchers” are now being made available in most countries where
Uber operates.
 Bharti Airtel has confirmed that it has received in-principal approval from the telecom department on the merger
of Tata Teleservices (TTSL) with Airtel.
 Aiming to make Google Pay more useful for Indian users, Google announced its partnership with MMTC-PAMP
India for buying and selling gold through the application. MMTC-PAMP India is an internationally recognised metal
and mining service provider.
 PayU, an online payment service provider and Naspers’ fintech arm, announced the acquisition of Wibmo, a Silicon
Valley startup that works on digital payment security and payment enablement on smartphones. The deal was
valued at around $70 million.
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given 12 years to Life Insurance Corp to reduce its stake in IDBI Bank.
 Bharti Airtel in collaboration with FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) launched a mobile app, My Circle, to help women
in case they face any problem or a panic situation.
 Bajaj Finserv through its lending arm Bajaj Finance Ltd. has launched a unique proposition through its campaign
#BijliOnEMI wherein customers buying air-conditioners on EMI can avail an Insta Credit loan in their Bajaj Finserv
Wallet which they can use to pay their electricity bills on EMI.
 Google and Apple have blocked the download of TikTok from Play Store and App Store respectively in India,
following a request from the government to ban access to the Chinese short video-sharing app that has been
downloaded over 230 million times in the country.

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 Kolkata-based Bandhan Bank said it has received approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the
proposed acquisition of Gruh Finance.
 Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited has been certified with ISO 31000. ISO 31000:2018 is an
international risk management standard. The standard provides guidelines, principles, framework, and a process
for managing risk.
 Indiabulls Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Indiabulls Integrated Services, received preliminary approval
from insurance regulator IRDAI to foray into the life insurance business.
 Airtel Payments Bank announced a two-wheeler insurance policy in partnership with Bharti Axa General Insurance.
Customers can also avail towing services at no extra cost on claim intimation in the event the insured vehicle breaks
down.
 Tata Technologies has inked a pact with China’s FutureMove Automotive to develop connected mobility solutions
for automotive manufacturers in China and other markets.
 India Post has partnered with IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to become a multi-service digital hub,
modernize the delivery of mail and packages, enhance customer experience and launch innovative services.
 Reliance retail has become the first Indian retail company to clock more than Rs 1 lakh crore in annual revenues.
 In a bid to enable financial inclusion and ease of buying for the Indian masses, Aegon Life Insurance, pioneer of
digital insurance in India and MobiKwik, India’s leading FinTech Company; have joined hands to launch an Rs 20
smart digital insurance product.
 Max Bupa, one of India’s leading standalone health insurance players, and HDFC Bank, one of India’s leading private
sector banks, announced the launch of ‘digital first’ propositions for the bank’s 40+ million customers, spread
across its 5,000+ branches.
Economy News
 Developing economies across Asia are among the most vulnerable to natural disasters and have suffered damages
estimated at 644 billion dollars since 2000, according to Asian Development Bank (ADB). Of these, weather-related
hazards caused the greatest share at 507 billion dollars (or 79 per cent) while geophysical hazards accounted for
the remaining 137 billion dollars (or 21 per cent), as per a recent ADB report titled ‘Asian Development Outlook
2019: Strengthening Disaster Resilience.’
 The Reserve Bank of India injected a total liquidity of Rs 2.98 lakh crore in the market in 2018-19.
 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its global growth forecast for 2019 to 3.3 per cent from the
previous level of 3.5 per cent in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO).
 The RBI lowered the GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.2 per cent from the earlier estimate of 7.4 per
cent amid probability of El Nino effects on monsoon rains and uncertain global economic outlook.
 Indian economy to grow at 7.2 pc in FY 19 due to rising consumption: ADB. Growth is expected to inch up further to
7.3 per cent in FY 2020
 India’s GDP expected to accelerate moderately to 7.5% in 2019-20: World Bank. The real GDP growth is estimated
at 7.2 per cent in FY18/19
 Fitch Ratings kept India’s sovereign rating unchanged at the lowest investment grade of BBB– with a stable outlook.
Fitch expects growth of 6.8 per cent in the fiscal year ending March 2020 (FY 20) and 7.1 per cent in FY 21
 India has retained its spot as the world’s top remittance recipient with its diaspora sending $79 billion back home in
2018, the World Bank has said in its report, World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief.
 Banks close FY19 with 13.24% credit growth, deposits up 10.03%

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 Gross revenue on account of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in March totalled Rs 106,577 crore, marking 15.6 per
cent growth over the revenue in same month of previous year.
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in consultation with the government of India has set the limits for Ways and Means
Advances (WMA) for the first half of the financial year 2019-20 (April 2019 to September 2019) at Rs.75000 crore.
 The Reserve Bank of India came out with guidelines for banks to set up new currency chests, which include
minimum area of 1,500 square feet for strong room. For those situated in hilly/ inaccessible places, the strong
room/ vault area of at least 600 sq ft.
 In a bid to further improve the cash position of banks, the RBI provided additional 2 per cent liquidity window to
the lenders by tweaking liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) norms. The LCR indicates the proportion of highly liquid
assets held by banks to ensure their ability to meet short-term obligations.
 The government has retained the interest rate for General Provident Fund (GPF) and other related schemes at 8
per cent for the April-June quarter. The rate is in line with that of Public Provident Fund. The interest rate on GPF
was at 8 per cent in the January-March quarter of 2018-19.
 The Finance Ministry is believed to have met the revised fiscal deficit target of 3.4 per cent in the last fiscal 2018-19
largely by cutting expenditure, withdrawals from small savings accounts to meet the food subsidy and higher GST
collections.
 The automobile industry produced a total 3.09 crore vehicles during April to March 2019 as against 2.9 crore in the
corresponding period of previous year, marking a growth of 6.26 per cent, the Society of Indian Automobile
Manufacturers (SIAM) said.
 The travel spend in India is expected to grow at 13 per cent to a total of $136 billion by 2021, said a new report by
Bain & Company and Google India. According to the “How Does India Travel” report, the Indian traveller spent
around $94 billion in 2018 on around 2 billion domestic and international trips, thus, helping India’s travel and
tourism industry achieve unprecedented scale.
 India’s population grew at an average annual rate of 1.2 per cent between 2010 and 2019 to 1.36 billion, more than
double the annual growth rate of China, according to a report by the United Nations Population Fund. India’s
population in 2019 stood at 1.36 billion, growing from 942.2 million in 1994 and 541.5 million in 1969.
1st Bi-monthly Monetary Policy

Repo Rate: 6%
Reverse Repo Rate: 5.75%
Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate: 6.25%
Bank Rate: 6.25%
Science & Technology

 The Indian Space Research Organisation placed Defence Research Development Organisation-developed electronic
intelligence satellite Emisat and 28 foreign satellites in orbits. Emisat, weighing 436kg, is meant for helping the
military locate hostile radars. This comes days after India test-fired an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile in the Mission
Shakti operation.
PSLV-C45 carrying Emisat, 28 foreign satellites and three scientific instruments lifted off from the second launch
pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. This will be the 71st launch vehicle mission for Sriharikota. The
satellite that weighs 436 kg will monitor and provide locations for enemy radar sites deep in their territory.

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 After plans to land American astronauts on the Moon by 2024, four years ahead of its previous schedule, NASA now
proposes to put humans on Mars by 2033. At a congressional hearing on NASA’s budget in fiscal year 2020, NASA
administrator Jim Bridenstine cited the goal of putting astronauts on Mars by 2033.
 Scientists have detected the most ancient type of molecule in our universe in space for the first time ever. Helium
hydride ion (HeH+) was the first molecule that formed when, almost 14 billion years ago, falling temperatures in
the young universe allowed recombination of the light elements produced in the Big Bang.
 A site containing the 220-million-year-old fossilised remains of nearly a dozen dinosaurs has been discovered in
western Argentina. According to Martinez, of the University of San Juan, the fossils are approximately 220 million
years old, belonging to “an era of which we know little”.
 Global warming has caused the Indian economy to be 31 percent smaller than it would otherwise have been,
according to a Stanford study which shows how earth’s temperature changes have increased inequalities.
 India’s retail mall space is set to rise to 95 million square feet (msf) by 2021 from 75 msf now in the top 7 cities of
the country with NCR, Hyderabad and Bengaluru leading the supply, according to a report by Reed Exhibitions India
titled ‘Malls of India’.
 The country’s pharmaceutical exports rose by 11 per cent to USD 19.2 billion in 2018-19, mainly driven by higher
demand in regions such as North America and Europe, as per a commerce ministry data.
 Markets regulator SEBI has reduced the minimum subscription requirement as well as defined trading lots for Real
Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs). REITs have to offer their units in lots
worth at least Rs 50,000 in initial and follow on public offers.
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that it has divested its entire stake in Nabard and National Housing Bank (NHB)
for Rs. 20 crore and Rs. 1,450 crore. The divestment, RBI said, was based on the recommendations of the
Narasimham Committee-II.
 The Finance Ministry has approved 8.65 per cent rate of interest on Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) for 2018-19
as decided by retirement fund body EPFO, benefitting more than 6 crore formal sector workers.
 The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue Rs. 20 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series,
bearing the signature of Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India.
The new denomination has the motif of Ellora Caves on the reverse, depicting the country’s cultural heritage. The
base colour of the note is Greenish Yellow. The dimension of the banknote will be 63 mm x 129 mm.
 Indian economy will grow below its potential in 2019-20, said a report from the Hong Kong-based The Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU) while warning it is set to lower its own current estimate of 7.2 per cent for the country’s GDP
growth rate in its next forecast round.
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the “ombudsman scheme” for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs)
to non deposit-taking NBFCs with asset size of at least Rs 100 crore. The decision comes after the central bank in its
“Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies” released earlier this month after the monetary policy meet
said that it has decided to extend the ambit of the ombudsman scheme.
Defence News
 Australia concluded a seven-nation Indian Ocean military exercise in Sri Lanka where China has invested in strategic
ports and loaned huge amounts to build other infrastructure. Some 1,000 Australian security personnel in four
naval ships and a military aircraft participated in the biggest joint exercise yet with their Sri Lankan counterparts,
Canberra’s top envoy in Colombo.

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 India and the US have set up the first ever secure communication link between the naval headquarters in New
Delhi and the US Central as well as Pacific Naval Commands under the landmark Indo-US COMCASA pact reached
last year. The US has also activated the Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module GPS system in some of C-130
and C-17 transport aircraft as a result of the implementation of the COMCASA (Communications, Compatibility &
Security Agreement).
 Military forces of India and Singapore got together to participate in a joint exercise in Babina Cantonment in Jhansi.
The three-day exercise, ‘Bold Kurukshetra–2019’, is being conducted to develop military technology, boost
maritime security and bolster the nations’ fight against terrorism.
 In a major boost to India’s firepower, country’s first indigenously designed and developed Dhanush artillery gun
was inducted in the Indian Army. The Dhanush gun system is based on the designs of the Bofors howitzer which
was inducted in the Army in the 1980s and would be the third type of artillery gun to be inducted into the force
after the K-9 Vajra and the M-777 ultra-light howitzers.
 The 16th edition of the joint military exercise between Morocco and the United States named “African Lion 2019”
was held from March 16 to April 7, 2019 in southern Morocco in the cities of Agadir, Tifnit, Tan-Tan, Tata, and Ben
Guerir near Marrakech.
 NIRBHAY, the long-range, sub-sonic, cruise missile was successfully tested with a sharper ‘terrain hugging
capability’. The indigenously developed missile was test-fired from the ITR, Chandipur, off the Odisha coast.
 Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat commissioned the Indian Coast Guard Ship Veera at a ceremony held at
Naval Jetty at the dockyard in the city. Veera, third in the series of offshore patrol vessels of the Coast Guard, was
built by L&T at its shipbuilding facility at Kattupalli in Chennai.
 The Indian Navy undertook the second edition of the bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and
Vietnam Peoples’ Navy, (IN – VPN BILAT EX) at/ off Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. Conduct of the bilateral exercise on an
annual basis would give a further fillip to the existing strong bilateral relation between the two countries.
 Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba launched the third ship of Project 15B, a guided missile destroyer Imphal, at
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Mumbai.
 The Indian Navy ships Kolkata and Shakti arrived at Qingdao in China to participate in the International Fleet Review
(IFR) as a part of the 70th anniversary celebrations of People Liberation’s Army (PLA-Navy).
 India has rebuilt Chhyoiphel Kundeling Monastery in Nepal. Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche inaugurated newly
reconstructed Monastery at Lisankhu village in Sindhupalchok district
Sports News
Tournament Winner Other Info
2019 Super Cup title FC Goa Beat Chennaiyin FC
Santosh Trophy 2019 Services Beat Punjab
Asian Wrestling Championships with a gold in Bajrang Punia
the 65kg freestyle category
Asian Boxing Championships (81-kg weight Pooja Rani Held in Bangkok, Thailand
category)
Asian Boxing Championships (52-kg weight Amit Panghal
category)
Asian Snooker Tour title Pankaj Advani
20th Victor Dutch Badminton International title Mumbai shuttler Harsheel Dani

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2019
Gold in 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event at the Manu Bhaker and Saurabh
ISSF World Cup in Beijing Chaudhary
2019 Masters title Tiger Woods
Bahrain Grand Prix 2019 Lewis Hamilton
Chinese Grand Prix 2019 Lewis Hamilton
Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2019 Valtteri Bottas
Stuttgart’s Porsche Grand Prix 2019 Petra Kvitova
Malaysia Open (men’s singles title) Lin Dan
ATP Miami Open title 2019 Roger Federer He is from Switzerland
Monterrey Open title Spain’s Garbine Muguruza
Sports
 International Cricket Council (ICC) has joined hands with Interpol to fight corruption in sport
 International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket for Good in partnership with UNICEF announced #OneDay4Children, a
tournament-wide campaign focussed on bringing the world of cricket together as one team to help build a better
world for every child, at the World Cup.
 Chandigarh hosted the 18th Asian Billiards, the 20th Under-21 Asian Snooker Championship and the 3rd Ladies
Asian Snooker Championship from April 27 to May 3.
 India’s Bajrang Punia has regained the world number one spot in the men’s 65-kilogram freestyle category
rankings. The rankings were released by United World Wrestling.
 Arjuna awardee and star Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar won the outstanding achievement as a player award at the
fourth edition of the annual India Golf Industry Association (GIA) awards
 India have retained the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Championship Mace as they secured the number
one spot on the ICC Test Team Rankings while New Zealand have ensured second place.
 The Indian football team moved up 2 places to 101 in the latest FIFA rankings released recently.
 Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli became only the second Indian player after Suresh Raina to
score 8,000 runs in T20 cricket during the Indian Premier League match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
 Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been named as the ‘leading cricketer of the year’ for the third year in a row by the
Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack for his performance in the 2018 English summer.
Indian Women team batter Smriti Mandhana was named as the ‘leading women cricketer in the world’.
Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan was named as the ‘leading T20 cricketer of the year’ for the second consecutive
year.
 Rio Paralympics silver medallist Deepa Malik has been named as the recipient of the New Zealand Prime Minister’s
Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2019.
 Saurav Ghosal became the first Indian male squash player to enter the top 10 in the latest PSA world rankings.
Indian women squash players Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal had earlier reached top-10 in the world rankings.
 Roland-Garros, BNP Paribas and BIGBEN announced Rohit Thakur as the winner of second edition of India leg of the
Roland-Garros eSeries, an e-sport competition played on the Tennis World Tour video game.
 Meena Kumari Maisnam continued her fine run to win gold medal in the 54 kg at the Boxing World Cup in Cologne.

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 Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj has been named the goodwill ambassador of Team India at the
Street Child Cricket World Cup (SCCWC).
 Bajrang Punia became the first wrestler from India to fight at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York.
 Indonesian Eni Nuraeni was named by Asian Athletic Association (AAA) as the best athletic coach in Asia for short-
haul run category this year.
 Australia’s Claire Polosak became the first woman to officiate in a men’s one-day international in the World Cricket
League Division 2 final match between Namibia and Oman in Windhoek.
 France’s Stephanie Frappart became the first woman to referee a French Ligue 1 match.
 Isaak Hayik of Or Yehuda, Israel, has set a new world record as the oldest active player in a professional soccer
match after tending the goal for Ironi Or Yehuda in game against Maccabi Ramat Gan.
 Asian champion shot putter Manpreet Kaur has been banned for four years by the National Anti-Doping Agency
(NADA) for flunking four dope tests in 2017.
 Papua New Guinea (PNG) gained their ODI status and a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 after a
comprehensive victory against the already-qualified Oman.
 American Dave Bautista retires from wrestling
 Former Australian player Shane Watson has announced his retirement from the Big Bash League (BBL) as he wants
to spend more time with his family.
 The United States of America sealed One-Day International status for the very first time with a third straight victory
at the World Cricket League Division Two event in Namibia.
12th Asian Airgun Championships 2019 in Taiyuan, Taipei
Gold Medal
 10m Air Rifle Men Individual: Divyansh Singh Panwar

 10m Air Rifle Men Team: Divyansh Singh Panwar,Ravi Kumar,Deepak Kumar
 10m Air Pistol Men Team: Saurabh Chaudhary, Ravinder Singh & Abhishek Verma
 10m Air Rifle Women Individual: Elavenil Valarivan
 10m Air Rifle Women Team: Elavenil Valarivan, Apurvi Chandela, Meghana Sajjanar
 10m Air Pistol Women Individual: Manu Bhaker
 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team: Manu Bhaker & Saurabh Chaudhary
 10m Air Rifle Men Junior Team: Yash Vardhan, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar,Keval Jashvantbhai Prajapati
 10m Air Rifle Men Junior Individual: Yash Vardhan
 10m Air Pistol Men Junior Individual: Sarabjot Singh
 10m Air Pistol Men Junior Team: Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Singh Cheema,Vijayveer Sidhu
 10m Air Rifle Women Junior Individual: Shreya Agrawal
 10m Air Rifle Women Junior Team: C Kavi Rakshna, Shreya Agrawal, Mehuli Ghosh
 10m Air Pistol Women Junior Individual: Esha Singh
 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team Junior: Esha Singh, Vijayveer Sidhu
 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team Junior: Shreya Agrawal, Yash Vardhan

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Committees
Head of Committee Purpose
Chander Shekhar The Government of India (GoI) has set up a tribunal, headed by Justice Chander Shekhar
of the Delhi High Court, to adjudicate if there exists sufficient cause to ban the Jama’at-
e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JeI) and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front – Yasin
Malik (JKLF-Y) faction.
Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel The National Green Tribunal formed a committee to look into the alleged erosion of
Yamuna floodplain due to movement of heavy vehicles in Haryana’s Sonipat district.
Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel The NGT has formed a Central Monitoring Committee to prepare and enforce a national
plan to make over 350 river stretches across the country pollution free as it has caused
serious threat to safety of water and environment. The NGT directed the Central
Monitoring Committee to give its report by July 31.
Suresh Mathur The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) set up to review
regulatory framework on micro insurance, and to recommend measures to increase
demand for such products.
Rankings
Index India’s Rank Other Information
2019 Index of Cancer 19 1st – Australia.
Preparedness (ICP) Prepared by Economist Intelligence
Unit (EIU)
World Press Freedom Index 2019 140 1st – Norway.
 India rose to 17th position in global startup ecosystem in 2019, up from the 37th spot in 2017, as per StartupBlink.
The country list was topped by the US, followed by the UK and Canada.
Rankings (Persons,Cities,Organisations and Others)

 Arunachalam Muruganantham, known as the maker of low-cost sanitary napkins in India with his invention of
cellulose-based pads, has made it to Fortune magazine’s 2019 list of the world’s greatest leaders. Muruganantham
ranks 45th in the list released by the American publication.
 Shanghai claimed that it has become the world’s first district using both 5G coverage and broadband gigabit
network as China seeks to establish lead over the US and other countries in the race to develop next generation
cellular mobile communications.
 The Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Madras, topped the national ranking of higher institutes released by the
ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD). The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and IIT-Delhi
were ranked second and third in the list respectively. Of the top 10 institutes, seven are IITs.
 India’s asset management companies (AMCs) own assets under management (AUM) worth Rs24.46 trillion
according to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).

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 The quality of air in Varanasi, is positioned 3rd on the WHO’s (World Health Organisation) list of 15 most polluted
cities in the world, by the ‘Political Leaders Position and Action on Air Quality in India 2014-2019’ report, released
by Climate Trends. Kanpur (in Uttar Pradesh) is the most polluted city in the world and is positioned 1 on the list.
 Hong Kong’s equity market has overtaken Japan to be the world’s third largest in value, behind only the U.S. and
mainland China.
 Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani has featured in the TIME magazine’s list of 100 most influential
people. Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, who led the legal battle for LGBTQ rights in India, also featured
in the list. The “Time 100 Most Influential People 2019” named the world’s most influential pioneers, leaders,
titans, artists and icons of the year.
 Watches and jewellery maker Titan Company is the fourth fastest growing luxury company in the world with a
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.7 per cent during the financial years 2015-2017, a Deloitte report said
recently. Titan is a joint venture between the Tata Group and state-run Tamil Nadu Industrial Development
Corporation (TIDCO).
Loans from Banks

 Exim Bank has provided soft loans of USD 266.60 million to Rawanda for various projects.
Books
Book Author Other Info
Kundan: Saigal’s Life & Music Sharad Dutt Biography of K L Saigal
Ashakiranam Autobiography of noted social worker Penned by Dr. Chandrasekhar in English
Sankurathri Chandrasekhar with title ‘A Ray of Hope’ the
autobiography was translated into Telugu
by Godavarthi Satyamurthy.
Politics of Jugaad: The Saba Naqvi
Coalition Handbook
 One of India’s homegrown startup publishing houses Garuda Prakashan is all set to launch its next 2 books ‘#Modi
Again’ and ‘Saffron Swords – Centuries of Indic Resistance to Invaders’ after the success of its recently launched
books – ‘Urban Naxals’ by Vivek Agnihotri and ‘Thank you India’ by Maria Writh.
Aabhas’ “#Modi Again: Why Modi is right for India, An Ex-Communist’s Manifesto” is the story of someone who
was raised on communist ideology but grew to question the dogmas he was taught in the education system.
Manoshi’s “Saffron Swords: Centuries of Indic Resistance to Invaders” is another book of timeless tales. It fills in the
gap in the current education system which treats invasions of India as one long saga of defeat for Indian people.
Saffron Swords’ is a book on 52 unsung warriors of India from the last 1300 years. It celebrates the glory of our
ancestors who offered stiff resistance, won battles and fought till their last breath against Islamic invaders and
British.

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Obituaries
Name Profession Other Info
Rama Sengupta Paul Mountaineer She led the first successful all-women
expedition to Kedarnath Dome in Garhwal
Himalaya
Dr SK Shivakumar Scientist Renowned space scientist and former
Indian Space Research Organisation
Satellite Center (ISAC) director
Viharidas Gopaldas Patel Economist and ‘Father of
Entrepreneurship
Movement’
Pradeep Choubey Hindi Poet
Pungam Kannan Former Indian Footballer
D Babu Paul Eminent scholar, writer and
former additional chief
secretary
B. A. Sanadi Kannada writer
Silamboli Su Chellappan Tamil scholar and orator
Dilip Sarkar Politician
K M Mani Politician From Kerala
Drupad Borgohain Politician From Assam
Chaudhary Vidyasagar Politician From Himachal Pradesh
HK Khan Former Chief Secretary of
Gujarat
Paripooranand Painuli Politician and freedom
fighter
JK Ritheesh Actor and former politician
Navtej Hundal Actor
Anandavally Malayalam film actress and
dubbing artist
J. Mahendran Tamil Director
Kartik Rath Dramatist Eminent theatre organiser and playwright
Colonel Raj Kapoor Director The director who introduced Shah Rukh
Khan with the television show Fauji
Amar Paul Bengali folk singer
S. Muthiah Historian, Writer Chronicler of Chennai history, cartographer

and journalist
Jerrie Cobb NASA’s 1st female astronaut
candidate
Ian Cognito (Paul Barbieri) British comedian
Lorraine Warren American paranormal
investigator and author
Nadja Regin Serbia-born actress Worked in James Bond films

22 www
Bibi Andersson Swedish actress

Sydney Brenner Pioneer of molecular biology
Elriesa Theunissen-Fourie Former South Africa Women
all-rounder
Con de Lange Cricketer Represented Scotland
Arie Irawan Malaysian professional golfer
Important Days
Date Day Extra Info

1 – 7 April Prevention of Blindness Week
2 April World Autism Awareness Day Theme 2019: “Assistive Technologies, Active
Participation”
4 April International Day for Mine Awareness Theme 2019: “United Nations Promotes SDGs
and Assistance in Mine Action – Safe Ground – Safe Home”
5 April National Maritime Day Theme 2019: “Indian Ocean-An Ocean of
opportunity”
6 April International Day of Sport for
Development and Peace
7 April World Health Day Theme 2019: “Universal Coverage: Everyone,
Everywhere”
7 – 13 April World Allergy Week 2019
10 April World Homoeopathy Day
11 April National Safe Motherhood Day Theme 2019: “Midwives for Mothers”
12 April International Day of Human Space Flight
14 April Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti

17 April World Hemophilia Day Theme 2019: “Reaching out – connect to your
community”
18 April World Heritage Day (International Day Theme 2019: “Rural Landscapes”
For Monuments and Sites)
18 April World Liver Day
21 April World Creativity and Innovation Day
21 April National Civil Services Day
22 April International Mother Earth Day Theme 2019: “Protect Our Species”
23 April World Book and Copyright Day Theme 2019: “Share a story”
24 April National Panchayati Raj (PR) Diwas
25 April World Malaria Day Theme 2019: “End Malaria for Good”
26 April World Intellectual Property Day (WIP) Theme 2019: “Reach for Gold: IP and Sports”
26 April International Chernobyl Disaster
Remembrance Day
28 April World Day for Safety and Health at Work Theme 2019: “Safety and Health and the
Future of Work”

23 www
29 April International Dance Day Theme 2019: “Dance and Spirituality”

29 April Day of Remembrance for all Victims of
Chemical Warfare
30 April International Jazz Day
24 – 30 April World Immunization Week Theme 2019: “Protected Together: Vaccines
Work!”

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VISIT www.aspirantszone.com for New Pattern Questions in each section.
QUIZ ZONE:
 Quantitative Aptitude
 Reasoning
 English
 Computer
 Weekly CA Quiz
 Daily Current Affairs Quiz
 Static GK
 Banking Awareness
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A2Z Current Affairs PDF

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Appointments and Resignations

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Vipin Anand Managing Director of LIC of India

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Awards and Recognitions

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Conference and Summits

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National Cardiology Conference 2019 Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

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Finance and Banking News

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1st Bi-monthly Monetary Policy

Science & Technology

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12th Asian Airgun Championships 2019 in Taiyuan, Taipei

 10m Air Rifle Men Individual: Divyansh Singh Panwar

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Rankings (Persons,Cities,Organisations and Others)

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Loans from Banks

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S. Muthiah Historian, Writer Chronicler of Chennai history, cartographer

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Bibi Andersson Swedish actress

Date Day Extra Info

14 April Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti

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29 April International Dance Day Theme 2019: “Dance and Spirituality”

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VISIT www.aspirantszone.com for New Pattern Questions in each section.

For any queries, contact us freely at aspirantszone@gmail.com

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