Current Affairs 10th April 2018

National News

1. PM Modi Launches India's 1st All-Electric High-Speed Train

Narendra Modi 

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off India's first all-electric high-speed locomotive in Bihar.

ii. The first big Make-in-India project completed by France's Alstom, the train has the country's most powerful engine with 12,000 horsepower and a maximum speed of 120 km/hr. The average cost of one high-speed locomotive is around Rs25 crore.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     Piyush Goyal is the present Railway Minister of India.

·                     John Mathai was the first Railway Minister of Independent India.

2. VP Venkaiah Naidu Inaugurates Scientific Convention on World Homeopathy Day

i. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated a scientific convention on the World Homeopathy Day in New Delhi. The day is observed to commemorate the birth anniversary of Homoeopathy founder Dr Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann (10 April 1755).
ii. The theme of the two-day convention is Innovate: Evolve, Progress: Exploring Science since 40 years. 

3. 1st NITI Forum Meet at Agartala

i. Tripura hosted the first meeting of the NITI Forum- a unit of NITI Aayog in Agartala. In this meeting, Chief Ministers of all Northeastern States, Minister of Development of North Eastern Region and senior officials of NITI Aayog and Union Government joined the conclave.

ii. The ‘NITI Forum for North East’ was constituted in February 2018 with an aim to ensure the sustainable economic growth of the North Eastern Region of the country. The meeting was chaired by the vice-chairman of the NITI Aayog, Rajeev Kumar.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     Tripura CM- Biplab Kumar Deb, Governor- Tathagata Roy, Capital- Agartala.

4. Transgenders to be Recognised as Independent Gender Category in PAN Form

i. The government has amended Income Tax rules that will now allow transgenders to be recognised as an independent category of applicants for obtaining a Permanent Account Number (PAN) for their tax-related transactions.

ii. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which frames the policy for the department, issued a notification that provides a new tick box for the transgenders to apply for the PAN.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     Sushil Chandra is the present Chairman of CBDT.

·                     It headquarters in New Delhi.

International News

5. Singapore and China Signed MoU Along Belt and Road Initiative

i. Singapore and China signed an MoU in Beijing, China to promote greater collaboration between Singapore and Chinese companies in third-party markets along the Belt and Road. 

ii. Under the MOU, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), NDRC (China's lead agency for BRI) and Enterprise Singapore will form a working group to identify sectors and markets of mutual interest, and organise business matching activities and forums to facilitate third-party market cooperation between Singapore and Chinese companies along the Belt and Road.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a mega project initiated by China to connect countries across Europe, Africa and Asia together via ancient land and sea trade routes.

6. Nepal President Inaugurates International Conference on Human Rights in South Asia

i. President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari inaugurated an International Conference on Human Rights in South Asia in Kathmandu. The conference is organized by the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal.

ii. The representatives of Human Rights Commissions and institutions, human rights activists from 20 countries including India are participating in the 3-day event. The theme of the conference is "Identifying Challenges, Assessing Progress, Moving Forward: Addressing Impunity and Realizing Human Rights in South Asia".

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     Nepal Capital- Kathmandu, Currency- Nepalese rupee, President- Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister- Khadga Prasad Oli. 

7. Conference on Water, Environment and Climate Change Begins in Nepal

i. An international conference on ‘Water, Environment and Climate Change: Knowledge Sharing and Partnership’ started in Kathmandu, Nepal. 

ii. The basic objective of the conference is to bring together professionals, government and non-government institutions to discuss and deliberate on challenges related to water and environmental issues.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     Nepal Capital- Kathmandu, Currency- Nepalese rupee, President- Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister- Khadga Prasad Oli. 

8. President 3-Nation Visit: 2 Agreements Signed With Swaziland

i. President Ram Nath Kovind, on a three-nation Africa visit, held delegation-level talks with Swaziland King Mswati III in Mbabane. India and Swaziland signed two agreements on health and visa waiver.

ii. President Kovind was conferred with 'Order of the Lion', the highest award of Swaziland. After concluding the visit to Swaziland, President Kovind will visit Zambia, in the third and final leg of his visit.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     Swaziland King- Mswati III, Capitals- Mbabane, Lobamba.

Banking News

9. SBI Launches UK Subsidiary With 225 mn Pounds Capital

i. The SBI has announced the launch of its UK subsidiary, SBI (UK) Limited, with an initial capital commitment of 225 million pounds from its parent entity.

ii. India's largest state-owned bank, which celebrated the new subsidiary with a special event in London, becomes the first foreign bank in the UK to ringfence its retail division from its wholesale business.
10. SBI to Invest Rs 80 bn in Hydropower Project of Nepal

i. The State Bank of India will be investing a total of Rs 80 billion in the Arun III hydropower project of Nepal, which has 900 megawatts (MW) electricity production capacities.
ii. The SJVN, which has been awarded the construction of the mega power project of Nepal, has made an informal agreement with the SBI to acquire the investment as a loan and soon will make the formal agreement.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

·                     SBI Chairman- Rajnish Kumar, Headquarters- Mumbai, Established on- 01st July 1955.

CWG 2018

11. CWG 2018: Heena Sidhu Wins Gold in 25m Pistol Event

i. Indian shooter Heena Sidhu set Commonwealth Games record to win gold in women's 25m pistol shooting event. This is Sidhu's second medal at CWG 2018, after winning silver in women's 10m air pistol.

ii. Another Indian shooter Annu Singh came sixth in the same event. With this result, India has won three golds and overall eight medals in shooting.