NATIONAL NEWS
Election Commission launches 'Voter Turnout' app
The Election Commission (EC) launched a new mobile application for near-realtime availability of voter turnout during elections across the country. The beta version of the "Voter Turnout" app, available on Android Playstore, currently shows the state-wise and constituency-wise voter turnout in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
- The app would increase transparency of voter turnout information among public while ensuring easy availability of the same for the media.
In a first, Delhi Metro runs on solar power; gets 27 MW power from Rewa project
In a bid to become world's first 100 per cent green energy metro rail network, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) started its operations through the support of solar energy on Violet line in between the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium metro station to Central Secretariat station.
- The DMRC has received 27 megawatts (MW) solar power from Madhya Pradesh's Rewa Solar Power Project, which will gradually increase it to 99 MW. The rail corporation has a plan to run all its operations with the help of solar energy by 2021.
India ranked 140th in World Press Freedom Index 2019
India has dropped two places on a global press freedom index to be ranked 140th out of 180 countries in the annual Reporters Without Borders analysis released recently, with the lead up to the ongoing Indian general elections flagged as a particularly dangerous time for journalists.
- The World Press Freedom Index 2019', topped by Norway, finds an increased sense of hostility towards journalists across the world, with violent attacks in India leading to at least six Indian journalists being killed in the line of their work last year.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Mali's prime minister, cabinet resigns
Just months before the presidential elections, Mali's Prime Minister Abdoulaye Idrissa Maiga and his cabinet resigned recently. Maiga "presented to the president his resignation along with that of the members of his government.
- President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has reportedly accepted Maiga's decision to quit. This comes a month after a horrific massacre of Fulani community members carried out by the Dogon ethnic group in which nearly 160 people were killed.
- Extra info.:
Mali Capital: Bamako
Currency: Franc
Sri Lanka's 1st satellite 'Raavana-1' launched into space
Sri Lanka’s first satellite ‘Raavana-1’ was launched into space today from NASA’s Flight Facility on Virginia’s east shore. ‘Raavana 1’ weights around 1.05 kg and the lifespan of the satellite is around one and a half years.
- The launch marks Sri Lanka’s entry into the global space age. The satellite was designed and built at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan by two Sri Lankan research engineers.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Book on Jallianwala Bagh poem 'Khooni Vaisakhi' released in UAE
India's Ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri has commended the launch of a book containing english translation of the Punjabi poem, Khooni Vaisakhi, saying the 100-year old classic ballad about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre is now reaching a global audience.
- The poem was translated by Suri whose grandfather revolutionary poet and novelist Nanak Singh, a Jallianwala Bagh survivor, wrote it after witnessing first-hand the events of April 13, 1919.
- The book was also released in New Delhi, marking 100 years since the Jallianwala Bagh massacre that took place in Amritsar.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Bank of Baroda, Srei Equipment Finance tie up for infra equipment loans
Srei Equipment Finance Ltd (SEFL) and India’s third-largest lender Bank of Baroda have inked a co-lending arrangement for infrastructure equipment. The partnership will enable Kolkata-based Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd’s equipment finance segment and Bank of Baroda to team up and expand their respective customer base.
- As part of the strategic tie-up, the companies will use iQuippo, a digital marketplace for initiation of loans, loan dues’ collection, and auction and valuation of equipment. Srei, owned by the Kanoria family, unveiled the iQuippo platform in 2016 for consolidating and digitalising the uneven infrastructure equipment industry.
- Extra info.:
Bank of Baroda Headquarters: Vadodara
CEO: P. S. Jayakumar
SPORTS
Chandigarh to host Asian Billiards, Snooker C'ships
Chandigarh will host the 18th Asian Billiards, the 20th Under-21 Asian Snooker Championship and the 3rd Ladies Asian Snooker Championship from April 27 to May 3, officials of the Punjab Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) said in Chandigarh.
- The participating countries include India, China, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Qatar, Syria, Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Iran and others.
Bajrang regains top spot in world wrestling rankings
India's Bajrang Punia has regained the world number one spot in the men's 65-kilogram freestyle category rankings. The rankings were released by United World Wrestling.
- Punia, who won Gold in the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games as well as a silver in the World Championships last year, secured 58 points ahead of Akhmed Chakaev of Russia.
- Extra info.:
United World Wrestling Headquarters: Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland
APPOINTMENTS
DHA appoints Gursimran Singh as Vice President
Gursimran Singh has been appointed Vice President of the Delhi Hockey Association (DHA). Singh, whose appointment was announced in the presence of DHA General Secretary Mahesh Dayal, is a National-level hockey player.
- Gursimran Singh represented the CBSE national team in 2011 and participated in the National School Games in 2012. In 2013, Singh played in the Hockey India Junior National Championship as one of the youngest players in the tournament, and in 2017, he represented India in the 44 Pesta Indoor Hockey Tournament in Malaysia.
Deutsche Bank appoints Kaushik Shaparia as CEO to succeed Ravneet Gill
Deutsche Bank appointed Kaushik Shaparia as the chief executive officer for India to succeed Ravneet Gill. Gill left the bank to head private lender YES Bank earlier this year. His appointment will be effective from May 2019.
- Shaparia served as Asia Pacific Head of Corporate Banking Coverage within Institutional and Treasury Coverage, as well as Global Head of Subsidiary Coverage and has a 30-year experience at the bank.
- Extra info.:
Deutsche Bank Headquarters: Frankfurt, Germany
Gagandeep Kang becomes first Indian woman to be elected Royal Society Fellow
The Royal Society of London has announced a list of 51 eminent scientists elected to its fellowship in the year 2019. Among these are Gagandeep Kang, who is now with the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad. Dr. Kang is the first Indian woman to be elected to the Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).
- Princeton professors Manjul Bhargava and Akshay Venkatesh have also been elected to the FRS.
IMPORTANT DAYS
International Day for Monuments and Sites
The International Day for Monuments and Sites also known as World Heritage Day is an international observance held on 18 April each year around the world with different types of activities, including visits to monuments and heritage sites, conferences, round tables and newspaper articles.
- The theme for this year’s celebrations is ‘Rural Landscapes’, which is related to the theme of the 2019 ICOMOS Scientific Symposium on Rural heritage that will take place in Marrakesh, Morocco in October.
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