01-02 April 2018 - Daily Current Affairs
Kerala lifts their sixth Santosh Trophy
- Kerala has won the 72nd edition of premier domestic football tournament ‘Santosh Trophy’ by defeating 32-time winners Bengal via penalty shootout in the final (Locked 2-2 after extra time) at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.
- Kerala goalkeeper V Mithun put up a stellar show in the tie-breaker to help his side win 4-2.
Note:
- Santosh Trophy is an annual Indian football tournament started in 1941.
- It is knock-out competition contested by the regional state associations and government institutions under the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
Season | Host | Winner | Runner-up |
2017–18 | Kolkata | Kerala | West Bengal |
2016–17 | Goa | West Bengal | Goa |
2015–16 | Nagpur | Services | Maharashtra |
John Isner lifts Men's Singles trophy of Miami Open
- American professional tennis player John Isner (32-year) has won Miami open 2018, defeating Alexander Zverev (Germany) in the final 6-7(4–7), 6-4, 6-4 at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, United States.
- In 2019, the event will move to the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens north of Miami.
Note:
- The 2018 Miami Open is a professional men and women's tennis tournament being played on outdoor hard courts.
- It was the 33rd edition of the Miami Open and of the Premier Mandatory category on the 2018 WTA Tour.
The complete list of Miami Open 2018 Title:
Category | Winner | Runner Up |
Men's Singles | John Isner (USA) | Alexander Zverev (Germany) |
Women's Singles | Sloane Stephens (USA) | Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) |
Men's Doubles | Mike Bryan & Bob Bryan (USA) | Karen Khachanov & Andrey Rublev (Russia) |
Women's Doubles | Ashleigh Barty (Australia) & CoCo Vandeweghe (USA) |
Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) & Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic) |
Important Dates
2nd April: World Autism Awareness Day
- The ‘World Autism Awareness Day’ has been observed across the world on 2nd April every year to raise awareness about people with autism throughout the world.
- The 2018 theme for the day is " Empowering Women and Girls with Autism".
- World Autism Day is also one of only four official health-specific UN Days adopted on 18th December 2007.
- The day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly through the resolution 62/139.
Note: Autism is a lifelong, developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how they experience the world around them.
Banking & Finance
RBI changes the methodology for bond valuation to check manipulation
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has changed the methodology used by debt market players, including banks and primary dealers, for their valuation.
- Now, security/bond valuation will be based on the weighted average price of the last half-an-hour of trading on the last trading day of every quarter against the last traded price earlier.
- The methodology as to how the bonds are valued is crucial for mark-to-market (MTM) purposes.
Indian Oil Corp to invest Rs 1.4 lakh crore to double refining capacity
- Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) plans to invest about Rs 1.43 lakh crore to its oil refining capacity to 150 million tonnes and boost petrochemical production by 2030.
- Currently, the company owns and operates 11 out of the country's 23 refineries, a total capacity of 80.7 million tonnes per annum.
- IOC is expanding refining capacity to meet fuel demand, which is expected to nearly double by 2040.
National Affairs
West Bengal Govt. introduces 'Rupashree scheme’ for the marriage of poor girls
- The West Bengal govt . has introduced a new scheme ‘Rupashree’ to provide marriage assistance to girls coming from economically weaker families with a budgetary allocation of Rs 1500 crore.
- The scheme proposes to extend one-time financial assistance worth Rs 25,000 to the family of the girl whose annual income is up to Rs 1.5 lakh.
- The monetary assistance will be provided at the time of marriage after the girl has attained the age of 18 years.
- A woman is required to fill the application form before her marriage and submit it to the office of Block Development Officer or Municipality Office to avail benefits under Rupashree.
Note: The state government had earlier introduced a scheme called ‘Kanyashree scheme’ to promote education among women but Rupashree scheme complements it with marriage assistance.
India replaces Vietnam to become the second largest producer of mobile phones
- India replaced Vietnam to become the second-largest producer of mobile phones in 2017.
- According to Indian Cellular Association data, the annual production of mobile phones in India increased 11% percent of global from 3 million units (in 2014) to 11 million units (in 2017).
- The top three mobile producing countries are China, India, and Vietnam.
Obituaries
Veteran film director C.V. Rajendran passes away
- Veteran Tamil film director C.V. Rajendran (81-year) passed away after a prolonged illness.
- Mr. Rajendran had worked with several big names like Sivaji Ganesan, Jaishankar, Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan.
- His first directorial career was in 1967 with the Tamil film Anubavam Pudhumai starring R Muthuraman.
- He directed a few memorable films like Kalatta Kalyanam, Sumathi En Sundari and Raja starring Sivaji Ganesan and Jayalalithaa and Ponoonjal.
- Rajendran also produced two films, Vietnam Colony (1994) and Once More (1997).Former Guatemala dictator Efrain Rios Montt passes
Former Guatemala dictator Efrain Rios Montt passes away
- Former Guatemala dictator Rios Montt (91-year) passed away at home.
- Mr. Montt ruled Guatemala between 1982 and 1983 and his military government practiced large-scale violations of human rights and spread counter-insurgency terror among the peasantry.
- Rios Montt was held responsible for the murders of 1771 indigenous Ixil-Maya people in Guatemala.
- According to the United Nations, around 200000 people died (or disappear) during Guatemala's long civil war, ended in 1996.
Honors & Awards
Mithali Raj adjudged 'Sportsperson of the Year'
- Indian women's cricket team captain ‘Mithali Raj’ has been adjudged 'Sportsperson of the Year' at the Telangana Sports Journalists Association annual awards for 2017 in Hyderabad.
- Ace shuttlers ‘Kidambi Srikanth’ (best senior male) & ‘P V Sindhu’ bagged the best female athletes.
- Former Indian cricketer V V S Laxman presented 'best coach of the year' award to Gopichand (second time)
- The ‘Triple Olympian’ and former national Hockey player ‘N Mukesh Kumar’ was honored with the Lifetime Achievement award.
Dhoni & Advani to be conferred with Padma awards
- Today, Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni and billiards champion Pankaj Advani are among the 41 prominent personalities conferred with the Padma awards of 2018 by President Ram Nath Kovind in New Delhi.
- This year, 84 Padma awards were announced, 43 of them received the award from the President last month.
- The Padma awards list comprises Padma Vibhushan (3), Padma Bhushan (9)and Padma Shri (73) awards.
Note: The awards are given in different fields and disciplines such as art, literature and education, sports, medicine, social work, science and engineering, public affairs, civil service, trade and industry.