Weekly Current Affairs One Liners (23 April - 30 April) 2018: Download Now

The one liner of the week is a recap of the important happenings that occurred Weekly Current Affairs One Liners (23 April - 30 April) 2018: Download Now

The important happenings of the week covered in this segment include the Paytm Payments Bank register over 100 million KYC wallets, National Kharif Conference 2018, International Buddhist Conference held in Lumbini, Nepal, HARIMAU SHAKTI 2018,First woman Judge to be elevated directly from the Bar : Indu Malhotra. etc.

BANKING & ECONOMY

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has liberalised External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) Policy by including more sectors in the window in a bid to facilitate cheaper access of overseas funds to Indian companies.
The India Index Services & Products Ltd (IISL), an arm of the National Stock Exchange’s (NSEs), has launched Nifty equity savings index that will serve as benchmark for equity saving funds offered by various mutual funds.
Paytm Payments Bank has managed to successfully register over 100 million KYC wallets, against the constant campaigning done by the bank about the benefits of the Know Your Customer (KYC) system.
The Global credit rating agency Fitch kept India’s sovereign rating unchanged at 'BBB' - with stable outlook.
Development bank, Nabard has provided an assistance of Rs 10,012 crore to Uttar Pradesh during 2017-18 to facilitate overall development with special focus on agricultural credit.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has announced the launch of its e-Gsec platform which will allow retail investors to invest in govt securities and hold them in existing demat accounts.
The Union Govt has entered into agreement with World Bank for flexible financing arrangement to accelerate research towards early development for biopharmaceuticals under National Biopharma Mission.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will be giving an aid of Rs 1,700 crore to Uttarakhand for infrastructure development and creation of sewerage treatment facilities in urban areas.
The Union Govt, Madhya Pradesh Govt and World Bank have signed $210 million loan agreement for Madhya Pradesh Rural Connectivity Project.
The Union Govt (Ministry of Finance) has signed a Loan Agreement with the World Bank for IBRD credit of US$ 125 (equivalent) for Innovate in India for Inclusiveness Project.
Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), one of the leading public sector banks, entered into an agreement for information utility services with the National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL).

NATIONAL NEWS

The NITI Aayog launched Atal New India Challenge under Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) with an aim to bring-in innovations and technologies relevant to the people.
India’s first-ever nationwide conference on the archaeology, anthropology and sociology of food is going to be held in Mumbai, Maharashtra from on May 05-06, 2018.
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) granted the first Licence to Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd for Liquid Chlorine on all India basis as per Indian Standard (IS) 646:1986.
The National Disaster Response Authority (NDMA) has conducted its first ever mock exercise aimed at enhancing preparedness of Airport Emergency Handlers (AEHs) to respond to CBRN emergencies at the Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport in Patna.
The HRD ministry launched the second edition of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan under which students from 750 higher educational institutions across the country will adopt villages and visit them to get acquainted with lifestyle of people there and the problems faced by them.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan at Ramnagar, tribal-dominated district of Madhya Pradesh on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day (Apr 24).
The Ministry of Tourism has awarded Letters of Intent to 9 agencies for 22 monuments under Phase-IV of Adopt a Heritage Project: Apni Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan Scheme.
The 2018 Secure India Conclave organised by Global Counter Terrorism keeping in view Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of New India: Secure India 2018, held in New Delhi.

STATE NEWS

The National Kharif Conference 2018 has been held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
The 23rd meeting of Western Zonal Council has been held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat under the chairmanship of Union home minister Rajnath Singh.
The Asia Pacific Regional Workshop of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), jointly hosted by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and UNCCD has been held in New Delhi.
The second edition of Shirui Lily Festival 2018 has been celebrated at Ukhrul district in Manipur on Apr 28, 2018.
Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the 29th Road Safety Week at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu chaired the first meeting of the think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce in New Delhi.
Chennai based Geographical Indication Registry has awarded Geographical Indication (GI) Tag to two more craft forms from Telangana viz. Adilabad dokra and Warangal Dhurries.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has relaxed six-decade-old protected area permit (PAP) regime to allow foreign tourists to access border areas of Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur for five years with effect from Apr 01, 2018 with protected area permit (PAP).
Bengaluru Smart City in collaboration with the Electronics City Township Authority (ELCITA) is testing prototype of an intelligent traffic management solution to improve traffic management in the city.
Diu Smart City becomes the first city in India to run on 100% renewable energy during daytime.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Google Arts & Culture in partnership with Ministry of Tourism unveiled 360-degree virtual reality (VR) video for global 'Incredible India' tourism campaign.
International Buddhist Conference held in Lumbini, Nepal on Apr 29-30, 2018 to commemorate 2562nd Buddha Jayanti with the theme 'Lumbini Nepal: The birthplace of Lord Buddha and the fountain of Buddhism and world peace'.
The first Informal Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping held in Wuhan.
The Office of United States (US) Trade Representative (USTR) once again placed India on 'Priority Watch List' in its annual Special 301 Report on the state of intellectual property protection.
The Haryana govt has appointed international shooter, Gauri Sheoran as the brand ambassador for its Measles and Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign.
Canada will be hosting the world's small but growing band of female foreign ministers for talks ahead of this year's UN General Assembly.
Iran’s central bank has banned the country’s banks from dealing in cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, over money-laundering concerns.
In the annual Spring Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said that India is poised to remain the fastest growing large economy in the world and its GDP is expected to reach $5 trillion by 2025.

SCIENCE & DEFENCE

The joint venture carrier between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, Vistara has become the 3rd Indian carrier to be a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a global body of 280 airlines.
The Bhabha Atomic Reseach Centre (BARC) has developed Bhabha Kavach, a next-generation bulletproof jacket that is cheaper, lightweight.
Scientists identified a new species of frog called Fejervarya goemchi in the highland plateaus of the Western Ghats parts of Goa.
The Indian Navy inducted Landing Craft Utility (LCU) INLCU L53 at Port Blair.
Bilateral joint training exercise HARIMAU SHAKTI 2018 between India and Malaysia has been conducted in the dense forests of Sengai Perdik, Hulu Langat, Malaysia.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman cleared capital acquisition proposals of DRDO’s NAG missile system (NAMIS) for Indian Army and 127 mm calibre guns for Indian Navy.
The multi-nation counter-terrorism exercise "Peace Mission" is going to be held at the Ural mountains of Russia in Sept 2018, which will take place under the framework of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Indigenously developed light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas has successfully test fired Derby air-to-air beyond visual range missile (BVRM) off the Goa coast.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is tying up with US and Finland to develop new pollution-forecast system that will help anticipate particulate matter (PM) levels at least two days in advance and at greater resolution.
Researchers discovered the world’s smallest land fern named Malvi’s adder’s-tongue fern (Ophioglossum malviae) in Ahwa forests of Western Ghats in Gujarat’s Dang district.
The two-day coastal security exercise, 'Sagar Kavach' to strengthen and assess the loopholes in the coastal security mechanism was held along Kerala coast.
Scientists discovered a giant mosquito with a wingspan of 11.15 centimeters in China’s Sichuan province.

APPROVALS & MOUS

The Union Cabinet approved renewal of long-term agreements (LTAs) for export of iron ore (lumps and fines) of grade +64% Fe content to Japan and South Korea for another five years (2018 to 2023) through state-owned trading firm MMTC.
The Union Cabinet approved MoU between India and Sao Tome and Principe for Cooperation in field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy.
FMCG major ITC joined hands with NITI Aayog to train 2 lakh farmers to increase their income and raise productivity of major crops in 25 "aspirational districts" across seven states in the country by 2022.
National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) and Department of Telecommunications (DoT) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on technical knowledge sharing for establishing nationwide Time Stamping and Time Synchronization network (TSTSN) and traceability of Time signal to UTC NPL Time.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved restructured National Bamboo Mission (NBM), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) during remaining period of 14th Finance Commission (2018-20) with an outlay of Rs. 1290 crore.
The Union Cabinet given approval for the inclusion of certain areas in Rajasthan under Fifth Schedule to Constitution so that tribals living there can avail benefit of protective measures under its provisions.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for increase in Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Raw Jute for 2018-19 season.
The Union Cabinet approved Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between India and World Health Organisation (WHO) represented by its Regional Office for South-East Asia acting through its country office in India.
The Dalmia Bharat Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union Tourism Ministry to take up Red Fort (Delhi) and Gandikota Fort (Andhra Pradesh) under the 'Adopt a Heritage' project.
The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) and Indian Yoga Association (IYA) signed an MoU to facilitate interaction and cooperation between two organisations to promote wellness, spiritual and cultural tourism in Krishna Circuit.
The Govt of Maharashtra has signed an MoU with the British Council to strengthen educational and cultural cooperation.
The Justice Rajesh Bindal committee has submitted its recommendation to Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) on legal issues related to inter country removal & retention of children.

RANKING & REPORTS

According to World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) 2018 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), India has been placed at 138th rank out of 180 nations surveyed worldwide in terms of press freedom in 2017.

Norway topped the list, followed by Sweden and the Netherlands.

According to recently released Migration and Development Brief by World Bank, India retained top position as recipient of remittances with about $69 billion in 2017.

AWARDS

A video reporter from Srinagar, Nadiya Shafi has won the 2018 Martha Farrell Award for Excellence in women’s empowerment.
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) awarded National Intellectual Property (IP) Award 2018 in category "Top R&D Institution/Organization for Patents and Commercialization".
Gujarati poet, playwright and academic Sitanshu Yashaschandra has been selected for 2017 Saraswati Samman for his collection of verses (poetry) titled "Vakhar" published in 2009.
Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known as Shawkan, won the 2018 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize.
Singing legend, Asha Bhosle has been honoured with the Lifetime 26th P C Chandra Puraskaar 2018 at the Science City auditorium in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Siddhant Banthia from Pune won the Indian leg of the junior French Open wild card tournament in New Delhi.
Bengal's Digambarpur Gram Panchayat (GP) has bagged the Centre’s award for the best Gram Panchayt in the country.

SPORTS

World record holder Shahzar Rizvi has claimed India’s first medal at the 2018 World Cup organised by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) at Changwon, South Korea.
Indian fencer C A Bhavani Devi from Tamil Nadu won a silver medal in the sabre event of the Tournoi World Cup Satellite Fencing Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Prajnesh Gunneswaran from Chennai clinched first ever singles tennis title on the ATP Challenger circuit.
Spanish professional tennis player, Rafael Nadal has lifted 11th Barcelona Open tennis title and extended his record of 46 consecutive sets won on clay.
India clinched the title of team champion in the 8th series of South Asian Judo Championship held in Army Physical Training Center, Lagankhel, Nepal.
Rafael Nadal romped to a record-extending 11th Monte Carlo Masters title by brushing aside an outclassed Kei Nishikori to retain the world number one ranking.
Mohamed Salah has been crowned the Premier League’s Players’ of the Year, with his incredible 41-goal debut season at Liverpool beating out strong competition from Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne.

APPOINTMENTS

First woman Judge to be elevated directly from the Bar : Indu Malhotra
Brand ambassador of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign in Sonipat district : Anu Kumari

BOOKS

The book "My Journey from Marxism-Leninism to Nehruvian Socialism" authored by C H Hanumantha Rao, who is former Planning Commission and Finance Commission member, has been launched by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has released three books based on Mahatma Gandhi's Champaran movement of 1917.

'Mister M K Gandhi Ki Champaran Diary' written by Arvind Mohan.
'Champaran Andolan 1917' edited by Ashutosh Partheshwar.
'Pir Muhammad Munis: Kalam Ka Satyagrahi' collected and edited by Srikant.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Apr 29: International Dance Day
Apr 29: Ayushman Bharat Diwas
Apr 26: World Intellectual Property Day "Powering Change: Women in Innovation & Creativity"
Apr 25: World Malaria Day 'Ready to Beat Malaria'
Apr 24: National Panchayati Raj Day