Current Affairs 12th April 2018

National News

1. ISRO Launches Navigation Satellite IRNSS-1I

i. The Indian Space Research Organisation launched the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-1I, the eighth such satellite to be a part of a constellation. It was launched from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

ii. IRNSS-1I is expected to replace IRNSS-1A, the first of the seven navigation satellites that was rendered ineffective after its three rubidium atomic clocks failed. The seven satellites are part of the NavIC navigation satellite constellation.

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

·                     Dr. K Sivan is Chairman of ISRO.

·                     Headquarters of ISRO- Bengaluru.

2. India, Morocco Sign Pact to Promote Mineral Exploration

i. India has inked a pact with Morocco under which focus would be laid on the evaluation of potential mineral resources and promoting exploration and mining through the participation of both public and private sector.

ii. The MoU was signed in New Delhi after the bilateral discussions between Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and his counterpart Aziz Rabbah of Morocco.

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

·                     Morocco Capital- Rabat, Currency- Moroccan dirham.

3. Important Cabinet Approvals- 11th April 2018

i. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given the following set of approvals. The important Cabinet Approvals are given as follows-
ii. The Cabinet has approved-
1. MoU between India and the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland on the return of Illegal Migrants.
2. Revision of pay and allowances of Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories.
3. Headquarters (Host country) Agreement between India and the International Solar Alliance.
4. Exploration and Exploitation of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) from areas under Coal Mining Lease allotted to Coal India Limited (CIL) and its Subsidiaries.

4. IGI Among World’s Top 20 Busiest Airports

i. Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport has climbed six positions to reach on 16th Position to enter the club of the top 20 airports across the world, the Airport Council International’s preliminary report on airport traffic for 2017.

ii. IGI's passenger traffic grew by 14.1% year over year. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport in the United States with 104 million passengers secured the top spot, followed by Beijing at the second position and Dubai at the third.

5. Indian Consortium and Saudi Aramco Sign MoU for Refinery in Maharashtra

i. An Indian consortium consisting of IOCL, BPCL and HPCL signed an MoU with Saudi Aramco on the sidelines of the16 International Energy Forum Ministerial.
ii. According to the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, the project cost is estimated at around Rs3 lakh crore ($44 billion). The refinery will be capable of processing 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day (60 million tonnes per annum). The plan is to finish the project by 2025.

6. FSSAI Launches Initiative to Address Vitamin D Deficiency

i. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched 'Project Dhoop', an initiative aimed at shifting the school assembly time to noon to ensure maximum absorption of Vitamin D in students through natural sunlight.

ii. The project was launched in New Delhi and saw the participation of around 600 students from NCERT, NDMC and North MCD Schools. 

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

·                     Pawan Agarwal is the CEO of FSSAI.

7. World's Largest Solar Park to Come Up in Gujarat

i. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani approved setting up a 5,000 MW capacity solar park at the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR), which would be the largest such entity in the world after its completion.

ii. The proposed solar power generation project would be set up in 11,000 hectares of land with an investment of Rs 25,000 crore.

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

·                     Om Prakash Kohli is the present Governor of Gujarat.

·                     Sardar Sarovar Dam is situated in Gujarat.

International News

8. Bangladesh Ends Reservation in Government

Sheikh Hasina

i. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has decided to scrap the quota system in government services after thousands of students marched across the country in protest against a controversial policy of setting aside jobs for special groups.

ii. The students began the protests against discriminatory quotas for government jobs, leaving scores of people injured at the Dhaka University.

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

·                     Bangladesh PM- Sheikh Hasina, Capital- Dhaka, Currency- Bangladeshi Taka. 

9. India-Timor Leste Sign MoU in Field of Public Health

i. India and Timor Leste have signed an MoU in the field of public health to extend affordable healthcare to the people of the Southeast Asian nation. Krishan Pal Gurjar, the minister of state for social justice and empowerment has recently concluded a four-day visit to Timor Lest.

ii. The MoU was being discussed for more than five years and would open avenues of cooperation between the two countries.

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

·                     The capital of Timor Leste is Dili.

·                     Timor Leste President- Francisco Guterres, Prime Minister- Mari Alkatiri.

Economy News

10. India's GDP to Grow 7.3% This Fiscal, 7.6% in Next: ADB

i. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected that India’s economic growth is set to rise to 7.3% this fiscal and further to 7.6% in the next financial year, on back of GST and banking reforms. 

ii. According to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO), 2018, Indian economy grew 6.6% in the last fiscal and it would remain the fastest-growing country across Asia.

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

·                     President of ADB- Takehiko Nakao, ADB Headquarters- Manila, Philippines, Opened on- 19th December 1966. 

Appointments

11. IPS Officer Rajesh Ranjan Appointed DG of CISF

i. Senior IPS officer Rajesh Ranjan was appointed as Director General of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

ii. Mr Ranjan is at present Special Director General, Border Security Force (BSF). He has been appointed as the chief of the CISF till 2020.

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

·                     CISF was first founded in 1969.

·                     It Headquarters in New Delhi.

Sports News

12. India's Kidambi Srikanth Becomes World No. 1 Badminton Player

i. Kidambi Srikanth has become the first Indian male badminton player to attain the world number one ranking since Prakash Padukone in the 1980s.

ii. Srikanth had become the first-ever Indian to win four Superseries titles in a year in 2017. It helped India win gold at the mixed team event at the Commonwealth Games for the first time ever.

CWG 2018

13. Sushil Kumar Wins Gold in Wrestling

i. Indian wrestler and Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar bagged his third straight Commonwealth Games gold medal after winning the men's Freestyle 74 kg event.

ii. The 34-year-old wrestler won the final 10-0, having dominated all previous opponents with scorelines of 11-0, 10-0, and 4-0. Sushil has a silver and a bronze in Olympics and was crowned world champion in 2010.

14. Rahul Aware Wins India's 1st Wrestling Gold

i. Rahul Aware bagged India's first wrestling gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2018 after beating Canada's Steven Takahashi in the final of men's Freestyle 57 kg event.

ii. Before the final, the 26-year-old had claimed two dominating victories with the scorelines 11-0 and 10-0, while he defeated Pakistan's Muhammad Bilal 12-8 in the semi-final.