Daily Current affairs - April 7th and 8th, 2018 for all competitive exams
The World Health Day is a global health
awareness day organized globally on 7th April.
- World
Health Day is one of the eight official health campaigns which are marked
by the World Health Organization.
- The
theme of World Health Day is: Universal health coverage: everyone,
everywhere. The slogan is “Health for All”.
In 1948, the World Health Organization held the First World
Health Assembly. The Assembly decided to celebrate 7th April of each year,
with effect from 1950, as the World Health Day.
The World Health Day is celebrated to create “awareness of
a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern for the World
Health Organization (WHO)”.
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Union government banned imports of Oxytocin
The Union
government has banned imports of the hormone oxytocin to stop its misuse in the
livestock industry, where activists say it causes hormonal imbalances and
shortens the lives of milch animals.
- The
government has also asked customs officials to step up vigilance against
those likely to try and smuggle oxytocin into India.
- The
government has decided to rely on domestic production to satisfy
requirements of the hormone.
Oxytocin has
also been dubbed the hug hormone, cuddle chemical, moral molecule, and the
bliss hormone due to its effects on behavior, including its role in love and
in female reproductive biological functions in reproduction.
Oxytocin is
a hormone that is made in the brain, in the hypothalamus. It is transported
to, and secreted by, the pituitary gland, which is located at the base of the
brain. It acts both as a hormone and as a brain neurotransmitter. The release
of oxytocin by the pituitary gland acts to regulate two female reproductive
functions: Childbirth and Breast-feeding.
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Khadi store locator app launched by Giriraj Singh
Minister of State for Micro, Small & Medium
Enterprises (Independent Charge), Giriraj Singh launched a mobile phone
application for locating Khadi stores in the country.
- The
app was launched during 9th meeting of National Board of Khadi and Village
Industries Commission (KVIC) in New Delhi.
- The
app will help in locating 4000 Khadi stores across India.
- Currently,
there are more than 8000 Khadi stores in India. Location for the remaining
4000 stores will also be available on the Khadi store locater app by the
end of April 2018.
- It
is to be noted that nearly 7 lakh privately owned household units are
engaged in manufacturing Khadi and Village Industries products in India.
GoI implementing Mahila Shakti Kendra Scheme
Government of
India is implementing Mahila Shakti Kendra scheme to empower rural women
through community participation.
- The
scheme is envisaged to work at various levels, and at the National level
(domain based knowledge support) and State level (State Resource Centre
for Women) technical support to the respective governments on issues
related to women is provided.
- It
is envisioned as a one-stop convergence support service for empowering
rural women with opportunities for skill development, employment, digital
literacy, health and nutrition.
It will aim
to improve declining child sex ratio, ensure survival and protection of the
girl child, ensuring her education and empowering her to fulfil her
potential. It will provide an interface for rural women to approach the
government for getting their entitlements and for empowering them through
training and capacity building.
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MoTA planning to launch first ever Van Dhan Vikas Kendra
Ministry of
Tribal Affairs is planning to launch first ever “Van Dhan Vikas Kendra” at
Bijapur, Chhattisgarh for value addition of Forest Produce. Value addition
assumes critical importance in ensuring remunerative prices to the tribals in
this approach.
- This
first model Van Dhan Vikas Kendra is being implemented for training of 300
beneficiaries with a total outlay of Rs 43.38 lakhs for training,
providing equipments & tools for primary level processing and
infrastructure & building for housing the Kendra.
It provides
skill upgradation and capacity building training and setting up of primary
processing and value addition facility. The selection of the tribal
beneficiaries and formation of the SHGs under this has been undertaken by
TRIFED.
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TRAI proposes Wi-Fi grid to bring down cost of internet by 90%
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) put
forth a concept of open architecture-based public Wi-Fi grid to bring down the
cost of the internet by 90%.
- Public
Wi-Fi grid proposed by TRAI entails various providers coming together to
address aspects like services, access, payment, and authentication.
- TRAI
has already tested this concept on pilot basis and findings from the same
have been presented to Union Telecom Ministry to demonstrate the proof of
concept of such architecture.
TN CM launches app for farmers
Chief Minister Edappadi K.Palaniswami launched
‘Uzhavan’, a mobile app for farmers, at the Secretariat.
- The
app would provide complete real-time information about agricultural
operations and offer nine services, including details on crop insurance.
- Through
the app, the farmers could get weather updates for the next four days and
price information about agricultural inputs, it added.
The app, available on Google Play Store, would provide
information on subsidies available for schemes under various categories —
seeds, machinery, solar pump set, shade net, poly house, pack house, hi-tech
nursery, small nursery, new tissue culture lab, anti-bird net, plastic
mulching, beehives, pre-cooling chamber, reefer van, mobile vendor cart,
low-cost onion storage and mushroom cultivation.
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TN government rolls out Amma free Wi-Fi zones
On 5th April 2018, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K
Palaniswami launched the Amma Free Wi-Fi zones initiative.
- This
scheme was announced by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in
September 2016. It was said that Wi-Fi zones will be set up in 50 spots,
mainly in larger bus terminals, parks and commercial complexes.
- Amma
Free Wi-Fi zones have been introduced at the following five locations:
Labour Statue at Marina, Chennai, Central Bus stand at Salem, Central Bus
stand at Tiruchirapalli, Gandhipuram Bus Stand in Coimbatore, Mattu
Thavani Bus Stand in Madurai
Users of Amma Free Wi-Fi zones will be offered 20 minutes
of free internet service per day. After that the users will be charged Rs 10
per hour.
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West Bengal and Karnataka to implement pilot
project to reduce man-animal conflict
The Centre along with Karnataka and West Bengal
governments will set up a Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) mitigation project.
- Gorumara wildlife division in north Bengal and Kodagu
in Karnataka has been selected as a potential sites to implement the
Indo-German project.
- The project will use newly developed instruments and
other mitigation measures with the cooperation of officials from Germany.
- The agreement on technical cooperation was signed
between India and Germany in October 2017.
- In the past three years over 1,600 people were killed
by man – animals conflicts across the country.
Forest ministry had in January sanctioned over
Rs 10 crore for ‘immunology contraception’ of wild boars, nilgais, Rhesus
Macaque Monkeys and Asian elephants.
Technical support will be given by the Wildlife
Institute of India (WII), Dehradun and National Institute of Immunology.
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Gobardhan Yojana launched to support farmers
The Haryana government has launched
the 'Gobardhan Yojana' to provide for the sale of organic manure and
cow urine with an aim to benefit farmers.
- A provision of Rs 11 crore has been made to provide
benefits of various projects under this scheme.
- The Gobardhan Yojana would help in doubling the income
of farmers and next time, the MSP would be given with additional benefit
of 50% over the cost of production.
Nutrition scheme launched for pregnant women,
infants
Officials of Krishna district have launched
‘Poushtikaharam-Memu Saitam’ (PMS) scheme for pregnant and lactating women and
children enrolled in the Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) to bring down infant
mortality during deliveries.
- The aim of the PMS is to increase haemoglobin levels
among pregnant and lactating women and decrease malnourishment in
children.
- The staff in the AWCs will make door-to-door visits,
enrol pregnant and lactating mothers and children and provide the laddus in
all the 3,812 centres in the district, said Collector B. Lakshmikantam.
Maharashtra government and TATA hospital ties
up for palliative care
The state government of Maharashtra is joining
with Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) to create a palliative care system.
- TMH will train at least 40 doctors and nurses over the
next two months.
- The programme will extend from the current 8 to 17
districts in this year.
- The palliative care programme was launched in 2013 to
provide symptomatic pain management to terminally ill patients.
- Lack of funding, trained staff, high number of
vacancies and poor funding has hampered the programme.
In 2013-14 the state government presented a
budget of Rs 6.7 crore, while in 2014-15, a reformed proposal of Rs 4.8 crore
was presented.
The government will also tie up with
pharmaceutical company Cipla along with Tata Hospital to train doctors and
nurses.
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Centre, Maharashtra govt & World Bank sign
420mn dollar Project
The Centre, Maharastra Government and the World
Bank have signed a 420 million dollar project to help small and
marginals farmers in the Marathwada and Vidarbha region of the state.
- The Maharashtra Project for Climate Resilient
Agriculture will be implemented in rural areas largely dependent upon
rain-fed agriculture.
- The project will take up a series of activities at the
farm and watershed level.
India and South Korea to sign pact for
seafarers and boost bilateral ties
India and South Korea will boost bilateral ties
in ports and shipping space.
- Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said both countries will
sign pacts to provide Indian seafarers employment on over 500 Korean
ships.
- Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, Water
Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Gadkari
will be on a four-day visit to Korea beginning from Monday.
- Both the nations are also eyeing partnerships in
shipbuilding, waterways and smart transportation, among others.
The agreement will allow Indian seafarers to
work on Korean ships. Koreans now own more than 500 foreign going ships.
Apart from job opportunities, the agreement will also allow recognition of
maritime education and training, certificates for seafarers issued by the
governments of both the countries.
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Qatar introduces national service for women
Qatar has introduced national service for women
for the first time as per a law issued by Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad
al-Thani.
- On 4th April 2018, the Law No. 5 of 2018 on national
service was issued by Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
- According to the law, women above the age of 18 can
volunteer for national service. Men between the ages of 18 and 35 are
required to perform compulsory military service, and now the service
period has been increased from three months to one year.
- The new law also states that men must apply for
compulsory enlistment in the military service within 60 days of turning 18
years.
- Persons who are caught avoiding military service will
be imprisoned up to three and a fine of up to 50,000 Qatari riyals will be
imposed.
Qatar
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Capital
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Doha
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Currency
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Riyal
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President
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Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani
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Japan signed a $90 million aid agreement with
Cambodia
Japan has signed a grant and loan agreement with
Cambodia for economic and electricity transmission projects.
- Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Kono and
Cambodia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Prak Sokhonn signed the $4.6 million
grant and $86 million loan.
- The project will be undertaken in Cambodia’s capital
city Phnom Penh.
Hun Sen praised Japan for its financial
assistance on Sunday but lashed out at critics. During a meeting with Hun
Sen, foreign minister Kono said Japan would help Cambodia to become an upper
middle-income country by 2030. Kentaro Sonoura, advisor to Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe, urged Cambodia’s political rivals to hold talks to end
the political crisis.
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Indian Navy conducts joint Humanitarian
Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise ‘Chakravath’
Chakravath,
a joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) exercise was
organised by the Indian Navy in coordination with the Kerala government. It is for the first time that the yearly exercise is being
conducted in Kochi.
- Kerala chief minister Pinarayi
Vijayan inaugurated an exhibition at the Sagara Hall of Cochin Port
Trust (CoPT).
- Various national and state level agencies, NGOs and
vendors displayed a large range of disaster relief equipment.
- The CM also attended the skill Demo exercise, which was
conducted in the Mattancherry Channel off the BTP Jetty.
- The exercise showcased the capabilities of the Armed
Forces and all state agencies, in tackling an emergency using all
available resource.
- ‘Chakravath’ is being conducted by the Southern Naval
Command, here from April 5 to 8.
It is a
multi-agency humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) exercise to
review the response mechanism in the event of a cyclonic storm.
Participants:
Chakravat’ meaning ‘cyclone’ will see participation by the three Services,
the Coast Guard, State administration, State Disaster Management Authority,
National Disaster Response Force, Fisheries Department, Coastal Police, and
members of the fishing community.
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IAF to conduct biggest combat exercise along
Pakistan, China borders
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is going to
conduct its biggest ever combat exercise named Gagan Shakti,
2018 along Pakistan and China borders.
- Depending upon the order of the Air Force Chief, the
Air Force will mobilise its assets in the war scenario within 48 hours of
the orders.
- For the first time, the indigenous Light Combat
Aircraft Tejas will be taking part in the exercise and will perform both
the offensive and defensive roles.
- The aim of this exercise is real time coordination,
deployment and employment of Air Power in a short & intense battle
scenario. During Gaganshakti IAF will exercise the entire machinery to
validate its concept of operations and war waging capability.
ISRO to launch navigation satellite IRNSS-1I on
April 12
The Indian Space Research
Organisation will launch the IRNSS-1I satellite in the NavIC navigation
satellite constellation on April 12.
- According to ISRO’s website Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle (PSLV-C41) will take off from Satish Dhawan Space
Centre in Sriharikota at 4.04am carrying IRNSS-1I.
- The launch will be PSLV’s 20th flight with ‘XL’
configuration.
ISRO had launched IRNSS-1H in August 2017 as a
replacement, but the mission failed after the heat shield covering the
satellite failed to separate.
PSLV had placed GSAT-6A.in orbit, However, Isro
lost communication with the satellite.
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Flipkart uses AI to tackle address frauds,
complexities
Flipkart said that its data scientists had
developed an innovation that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make sense of
complex Indian addresses as well as detect and prevent address frauds.
- The home-grown online retail giant said the innovation
correctly classifies and identifies Indian addresses and resolves
inconsistencies with a 98% accuracy rate.
Flipkart, which has a registered customer base of more than
100 million, said “randomly typed alphanumeric characters as customer
addresses” is one peculiar fraud. In order to avail price discounts or with
possible fraudulent intent, there are instances where orders are placed with
such addresses. These are referred as “monkey-typed addresses,” said Dr.
Babu. Flipkart said when such addresses remain undetected, it would lead to
activation of a number of stages in the operations chain. This includes order
management system to supply chain leading to ship the corresponding packed
item to the delivery hub for dispatch. This results in avoidable
misutilisation of resources, according to the company.
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CISCO to launch incubator for startups in
Kerala
Global IT networking giant Cisco will launch an
incubator for startups at the Indian Institute of Information Technology and
Management (IIITM-K) in association with NASSCOM Foundation.
- The announcement was made at ‘Huddle Kerala’, a two-day
conclave for startups in Kovalam.
- Harish Krishnan, India chief of CISCO, said that
‘thingQbator’ will assist startups whose ideas are at the core of the
domain of ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) and blockchain technology.
- Incubators on a similar model are being planned in other
states as well, but the first one would roll out in Kerala.
Unicorn India Ventures has already invested in
four companies that took part in deliberations at ‘Huddle Kerala’ and that it
planned to invest in two more startups very soon.
Sea Fund is another investor which has
expressed interest in the state’s emerging and innovative startups.
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Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS)
The Reserve
Bank has deferred the implementation of the Indian Accounting Standards (Ind
AS) by one year as many banks are not prepared to migrate to the new accounting
system. The earlier deadline for banks to switch to the Ind AS was from April 1
2018.
- The implementation of IndAS for public sector banks
requires an amendment to the Banking Regulation Act. The schedule in BR
Act relating to financial statement disclosures needs to be changed to the
IndAS format.
Ind AS or
Indian Accounting Standards govern the accounting and recording of financial
transactions as well as the presentation of statements such as profit and
loss account and balance sheet of a company. Ind AS has been evolved as a
compromise formula that tries to harmonise Indian accounting rules with the
IFRS.
Section 29
of the BR Act deals with the accounts and balance sheets of public sector
banks. Private sector banks are covered by the Companies Act, which is based
on the new accounting standards.
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ICICI bank 1st to get Swift’s new cross-border payment service
Global financial messaging cooperative, SWIFT
(Society for World Interbank Financial Telecommunication System platform)
announced that ICICI Bank has become its first Indian client to go live with an
improved cross-border payments service.
- The improved cross-border payments service which is
being referred to is the GPI (Global Payment Innovation) Tracker, which
has been extended to cover all payment instructions sent across the SWIFT
network.
- SWIFT’s GPI tracker enables real-time payments tracking
across correspondent banks and has a facility to track the payments
instructions across the correspondent banks globally.
ICICI Bank
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Headquarters
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Mumbai
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CEO
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Chanda Koacher
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Tagline
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We Keep You Going
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Indian Bank launches PFMS & also launched ‘Bharat QR’, a
mobile payment collection
Indian Bank has introduced Public Financial
Management System (PFMS) and has launched ‘Bharat QR’ facility.
- Indian Bank, Managing Director and CEO, Kishor Kharat
launched these initiatives in Chennai.
- Indian Bank has introduced public financial management
system aimed to benefit government agencies for utilising payment service.
- PFMS will help government agencies for processing
payments, tracking, monitoring, accounting, reconciliation.
The facility was being used for NREGA (National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act) transactions in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, at
present.
‘Bharat QR’ is a mobile payment collection scheme to accept
digital payments. Using this scheme, a merchant will receive Bharat QR
sticker. This will enable customers to make payments through the QR facility.
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Indian Bank
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Headquarters
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Chennai
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CEO
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Kishor Kharat
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Tagline
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Your Tech-friendly bank
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Patna tops in 4G connectivity among 20 largest
cities: Report
Patna tops in 4G connectivity among 20 of
India’s largest cities. It has emerged ahead of the likes of Bengaluru, Mumbai
and Delhi, according to the report of OpenSignal, a wireless coverage
mapping company.
- Four cities from India’s central and eastern
regions—Patna, Kanpur, Allahabad, Kolkata, Bhopal and Lucknow—made it to
the top 10 while popular tech hubs like Bengaluru are at 10, followed by
Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.
CBDT forms Working Group to assess tax risks of HNWIs migrating
abroad
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has
constituted a five-member working group to examine the taxation aspects related
to High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) who are migrating abroad to other
jurisdictions.
- This Working Group will be headed by Pragya Sahay
Saksena, a joint secretary with Foreign Tax & Tax Research Division of
CBDT.
- As per media reports, 23000 Indian millionaires (in
dollar terms) have left India since 2004, which is alarmingly the highest
in percentage terms among all countries.
According to Ruchir Sharma, head of emerging markets and
chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, in 2017
alone, 7000 millionaires left India.
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International Conference on human rights to be
hosted by Nepal
The International Conference on Human Rights will
be held next week at Nepal.
The conference will address issues concerning
human rights and impunity in South Asia.
- 50 representatives from 20 countries including India,
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Philippines are expected to participate.
- National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Nepal
is hosting the three-day international conference with the theme
‘Identifying challenges and assessing progress: addressing impunity and
human rights in South Asia’.
Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari will
inaugurate the conference on April 9. Various papers on key issues like women
rights, rights of the marginalized communities, freedom of speech,
transitional justice, labor migration among others will be presented during
the closed sessions.
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Machilipatnam to celebrate beach festival next
month
Law Minister K. Ravindra announced that the beach
festival would be celebrated here in the first week of May.
- In a review meeting with officials of various
government departments here, Mr. Ravindra said that the State government
had spent nearly Rs. 4 crore for the beautification of Manginapudi Beach
near Machilipatnam.
- The tourism department will play the lead role in
organising the beach festival. Walking track and approach road are some of
the facilities developed as a part of the beautification.
Sushma Swaraj attended NAM Mid-Term Ministerial Conference in
Baku
Union External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj
embarked on a three-day official visit to Azerbaijan’s capital city Baku to
participate in Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Conference.
- NAM Mid-Term Ministerial Conference was held in Baku on
5th and 6th April 2018.
- Theme of this conference was “Promoting international
peace and security for sustainable development”.
Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman visits
France to seek strategic partner
The crown prince of Saudi Arabia is making his
first official visit to France. The prince is hoping to profit from his
shake-up of the conservative kingdom.
- Mohammed bin Salman is looking for a “strategic
partnership” with French President Emmanuel Macron.
- The 32-year-old prince has started major reforms to
shed the kingdom’s austere image.
- Changes include giving women the right to drive,
introducing concerts and promising movie theaters.
France may think of investing in sectors like
technology, renewable energy, health and tourism that Saudi Arabia wants to
develop.
The countries may also include developing a
UNESCO heritage desert site. Prince Mohammed finished his three-week-long
trip to the United States, after a three-day visit to Britain. His US travels
gained him more than $2.3 billion in arms sales and $1.3 billion in
artillery.
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Indian-origin MP elected as the leader of
Singapore’s main opposition party
Pritam Singh, an Indian-origin lawmaker in
Singapore was elected as the new secretary-general of the city-state’s main
opposition Workers’ Party.
- 41 year old lawyer Singh, took over from veteran Member
of Parliament (MP) Low Thia Khiang, 61.
- Singh was elected to Parliament in May 2011.
- He moved up from the assistant secretary-general post
unopposed when cadres elected their party chief at the biennial Central
Executive Council elections, in the first change of leadership in 17
years.
The election of Singh means that the Workers’
Party will have a new leader when Parliament reopens next month after a
mid-term break. MP Sylvia Lim retained the party’s chairmanship unopposed.
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Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to receive
honorary doctorate from GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology
Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli will
receive a honorary doctorate degree from GB Pant University of Agriculture and
Technology in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand.
- The convocation ceremony will be attended by
Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat and governor KK Paul at the Gandhi
Hall of the university.
- PM Oli said that both India and Nepal are
agriculture-based economies and should work together in boosting agricultural
output.
South Africa pacer Morne Morkel to retire from International
cricket
South African fast bowler Morne Morkel bid adieu
to international cricket at the conclusion of South Africa-Australia test
series.
- 33-year-old Morne Morkel had announced his retirement
from International Cricket in February 2018 itself, after South
Africa-Australia test series, stating that the demanding schedule has put
a lot of strain on his family life.
- Morne Morkel made his international Test debut against
India back in 2006.
- In his career, Morkel has played 86 Tests, 117 One Day
Internationals (ODIs) and 44 T20Is, picking up 309, 188 and 47 wickets
respectively.
- He also played for Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils
and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Indian Women’s Hockey Team defeats world no.2
England
The Indian Women’s Hockey Team has kept their
semifinal dreams of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games alive as they
defeated England 2-1 victory.
- World No. 2 England had taken the lead in the 1st
minute of the match with skipper Alexandra Danson scoring the first goal.
- Navneet Kaur (42′) and Gurjit Kaur (48′) scored to
secure the victory which puts them in a strong position to qualify for the
next round with a tally of six points.
- They now have a pool match to play against South Africa
on 10 April 2018.
Leander Paes becomes most successful player in
Davis Cup
Indian tennis' ageless wonder Leander
Paes became the most successful doubles player in the history
of Davis Cup as he combined with Rohan Bopanna to not only
grab a record 43rd win but also bring the country back in the
tie against China.
- Forced to play together by AITA, 44-year-old Paes
and Bopanna downed a fighting Chinese pair of Mo Xin Gong and Ze
Zhang in the do-or-die doubles rubber of the Asia/Oceania Group-I
tie.
