NATIONAL NEWS
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Singapore first nation to ratify 15-nation economic cooperation agreementSingapore has become the first country to complete the official process for ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.
- The trade pact, which is the world's largest, was signed by all 10 ASEAN members and key partners including China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand at the 4th RCEP leaders summit in November 2020.
- The agreement will complement Singapore's existing network of FTAs, boost its trade and investment flows and expand the country's economic space.It will further help broaden and deepen Singapore's economic linkages and connectivity with the region
BANKING & FINANCE
ADB approves USD 484 mn loan to improve transport connectivity at CKIC in Tamil NaduThe Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it has approved a USD 484-million loan to improve transport connectivity and road maintenance in the Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC) in Tamil Nadu.
- The project will upgrade about 590 km of state highways in the CKIC influence areas.
- Climate change adaptation measures will be incorporated in the highway upgrades, including improved drainage, raised road embankments in critical sections, and resizing of bridges and culverts.
Fintech platform U Gro Capital has partnered with SBM Bank India to launch credit cards for small businesses. The 'GRO Smart Business' credit cars is powered by RuPay along with EnKash.
- These are a range of secured credit cards specially designed for underbanked micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). These can be availed by the U GRO Capital borrowers against a fixed deposit with SBM Bank India.
- The card has a 'Tap-To-Pay' feature enabling contactless payments for users and can also be used to withdraw cash from the ATM's. Customers will be able to withdraw upto a certain limit of the total credit limit.
- It has zero joining and annual fees and finance charges of 1.99% per month. The card has a limit of 90% of the FD amount.
Bharti Axa Life and Fincare Small Finance Bank have joined hands for a bancassurance partnership under which the bank will sell insurance policies to its customers.
- Under the partnership, Bharti AXA Life Insurance will offer its comprehensive suite of life insurance products, including protection, savings and investment plans, to the customers of Fincare Small Finance Bank across its 747 branches and digital network presence across the country.
MSME-focused digital lending platform FlexiLoans.com announced its partnership with PayPal, a leader in digital payments, to provide freelancers, women entrepreneurs, sole proprietors, and MSMEs collateral-free business loans.
- Through this partnership, PayPal further reiterates its commitment to democratise access to financial services by bringing its global best practices and credit solution capabilities to Indian merchants who sell cross-border using PayPal.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it has revised its inflation-forecasting model to better capture how fiscal and monetary policy interact with real-economy elements.
- Dubbed as the Quarterly Projection Model 2.0, the RBI’s economists describe the framework as a forward-looking, open economy, calibrated, new-Keynesian gap model. The previous version had often been criticised for over-estimating upside risks to inflation.
- The RBI said the new model is broken into three blocks: The first, or fiscal block, decomposes the government’s primary deficit into structural and cyclical components. The second, or fuel block, takes into account India’s complex system of pricing. The balance of payments block recognizes the costs associated with spurts in volatility in the exchange rate.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Flipkart ties up with Adani Group to boost infrastructure, logisticsHomegrown e-commerce platform Flipkart announced a strategic and commercial partnership with the Adani Group.
- Flipkart will work with Adani Logistics Limited to strengthen its supply chain infrastructure and improve services for its customers.
- Adani Logistics will construct a 534,000 sq. ft fulfilment centre in its upcoming logistics hub in Mumbai that will be leased to Flipkart. Additionally, the facility will enhance local employment and create 2,500 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs.
SPORTS
Nethra Kumanan, the first Indian woman sailor to qualify for OlympicsNethra Kumanan is the first-ever female sailor from India to qualify for sailing in the Olympics when she finished first in the laser radial class at the Mussanah Open. The discipline, hard work and dedication for sailing is something that the 22-year old learnt from the classical Indian dance, Bharatnatyam.
- Ranked 71 in the world in her class, Nethra was the top seed at the Mussanah Open and she justified her top billing winning the event by a comfortable margin.
The Pakistan Cricket Board will be launching its own ‘Hall of Fame’ to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of their stalwarts from yesteryears.
- As part of the initial launch, six members from the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame — Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Zaheer Abbas — will be inducted into the PCB ‘Hall of Fame’.
- There will be three more inductions each year from 2021 with the inductees to be chosen by an independent panel and announced on October 16, the day when the country made its Test debut in 1952.
APPOINTMENTS
Sonu Sood Appointed Brand Ambassador for Punjab's Anti-COVID Vaccination Programme Actor Sonu Sood has been made the brand ambassador for Punjab’s anti-coronavirus vaccination programme.
- During the coronavirus-induced lockdown last year, the actor had helped migrants reach their home states.
AWARDS
Education Minister RP 'Nishank' presents AICTE Lilavati Awards 2020 on women empowerment to winnersUnion Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' presented the AICTE Lilavati Awards 2020 on women empowerment to the winners in New Delhi.
- Based on the theme 'Women Empowerment’, AICTE finalized the winners from a total of 456 entries who competed across 6 sub themes, which include, Women's Health, Self-Defense, Sanitation and Hygiene, Literacy, Women Entrepreneurship and Legal Awareness.
As many as 15 Indian universities made it to the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2020, also known as Shanghai Ranking. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore has been listed in the 501-600 bracket globally while it tops the list of Indian universities.Harvard University has topped the global list.
- Also, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) found a place in the top 10 Indian universities for the first time. It has been placed at 8th rank and is placed in the 801-900 bracket globally.
- Indian Institute of Science (IISc).,World Rank: 501 – 600,National Rank: 1
- IIT Madras, World Rank: 601 – 700, National Rank: 2
- University of Calcutta,World Rank: 601 – 700, National Rank: 3
- University of Delhi,World Rank: 601 – 700, National Rank: 4
- IIT Delhi,World Rank: 701 – 800, National Rank: 5
- IIT Kharagpur,World Rank: 701 – 800, National Rank: 6
- Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU),World Rank: 701 – 800, National Rank: 7
- Aligarh Muslim University (AMU),World Rank: 801 – 900, National Rank: 8
- Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT),World Rank: 801 – 900, National Rank: 8
- AIIMS,World Rank: 901 – 1,000, National Rank: 10
ENVIRONMENT
Tropical cyclone Seroja rips across 1000 kilometers stretch of Western AustraliaTropical cyclone Seroja has ripped across a 1,000km stretch of Western Australia, leaving a trail of damage.
- The category three storm made landfall near the town of Kalbarri with windspeed of up to 170km/h. Residents reported smashed houses, fallen trees and downed power lines.
OBITUARIES
Dashnami parampara Mahamandaleshwar Shri Bharti Bapu passes awayThe renowned Mahant of Dashnami parampara Mahamandaleshwar Shri Bharti Bapu passed away at Bharti Ashram in Sarkhej area of Ahmedabad. He was 93. Noted shooting coach Sanjay Chakraverty passes away
Noted shooting coach Sanjay Chakraverty died in Mumbai. He was 79.
- He has given India some of its finest shooters, including guiding the likes of Olympic medallist Gagan Narang and Anjali Bhagwat.
- He trained many shooters who are Rajiv Khel Ratna & Arjuna Awardees.
Prince Philip, the longest serving royal consort in British history who was a constant presence at Queen Elizabeth II’s side for decades, died. He was 99.
- The Duke retired from official royal duties in 2017 after years of service in the armed forces and then as a consort to the monarch, with several charity endeavours.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Parkinson’s DayApril is Parkinson’s Awareness Month with World Parkinson’s Day recognised on 11 April each communities from around the world come together to raise awareness about the neurodegenerative disorder.
- The day marks the birthday of Dr James Parkinson from London, who was the first person to systematically described the six individuals with the symptoms of Parkinson Disease.
National Safe Motherhood Day is celebrated on April 11 each year to raise awareness to achieve the target of reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100000 live births.
- The theme of this year’s celebrations of Safe Motherhood Day is ‘Stay at home during coronavirus, keep mother and newborn safe from coronavirus’
- It is an initiative of the White Ribbon Alliance (WRAI) to raise awareness about adequate access to care during pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal services.
The United Nations (UN) celebrates the International Day of Human Space Flight on April 12 each year.
- The day remembers the first human space flight on April 12, 1961.
- The day also aims to promote aspirations to explore and maintain outer space for peaceful purposes.
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