NATIONAL NEWS
Himachal Pradesh is Building 'Forest Ponds' to Harvest Rainwater to Replenish GroundwaterForest ponds are being constructed in Himachal Pradesh to check the depletion of groundwater and to harvest rainwater.
- Under the Parvat Dhara scheme, the government has initiated rejuvenation of water sources and recharging aquifers through the forest department with an outlay of Rs 20 crore.
- The department spent Rs 2.76 crore in 2020-21 for the construction of 110 big and small ponds, 600 check dams and 12,000 contour trenches along with plantation to store water and recharge the aquifers.
BANKING & FINANCE
RBI imposes Rs 3 crore penalty on ICICI BankThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 3 crore on ICICI Bank for certain rule violations.
- The penalty has been imposed for contravention of certain directions issued by the RBI on ‘Prudential Norms for Classification, Valuation and Operation of Investment Portfolio by Banks’.
Bajaj Finance Limited, a non-bank lender has received a debt investment of $150 million/ INR 1,132 crore from World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC). This will make it its third funding deal with the consumer finance company.
- The loan is sanctioned for five years to essentially support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).
- Bajaj Finance will direct 3 times of its IFC’s loan towards the MSME segment thus enabling combined funding of $600 million/INR 4,530 crore towards MSME.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Wipro overtakes HCL Tech to become third most-valued Indian IT firmIT major Wipro, regained the position as India's third most-valued information technology (IT) company, surpassing HCL Technologies in terms of market capitalisation (market-cap).
- Wipro stood at number 12 in the overall m-cap ranking with an m-cap of Rs 2.65 trillion. HCL Technologies, meanwhile, slipped to number 13 with an m-cap of Rs 2.62 trillion.
- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which is at number one position in IT companies market-cap rank, stands strong with a market-cap of Rs 11.47 trillion, followed by Infosys (Rs 5.72 trillion), data shows.
ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS
Motilal Oswal PE buys minority stake in Fincare Small Finance Bank for about ₹185 croreMotilal Oswal Private Equity (MOPE) has picked up a minority stake in Fincare Small Finance Bank for $25 million (about ₹185 crore) through a secondary acquisition.
- The deal provides partial exit to True North Fund V LLP, one of the key investors in the firm.
- The deal was done by India Business Excellence Fund–III, a fund managed and advised by MOPE.
SPORTS
Hamilton wins Portuguese Grand Prix 2021Lewis Hamilton claiming his 97th career victory with a win at the Portuguese Grand Prix over Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Mercedes teammate Valteri Bottas.
- The victory for Hamilton is his second of the season and puts him eight points ahead of Red Bull's Verstappen in the title standings.
Australian Ducati rider Jack Miller edged out teammate Francesco Bagnaia to claim his first MotoGP win in five years at the Spanish Grand Prix.
- Miller and teammate Pecco Bagnaia completed a Ducati 1-2 followed by Yamaha star Franco Morbidelli.
Former Sri Lanka seamer and coach Nuwan Zoysa was banned from all cricket for six years after being found guilty of trying to fix matches and failing to disclose corrupt approaches from a suspected Indian bookie.
- The ban on Zoysa, a left-arm seamer, is backdated to October 31, 2018, when he was provisionally suspended.
Apple announced a first-of-its-kind carbon removal initiative called the Restore Fund that will make investments in forestry projects to remove carbon from the atmosphere while generating a financial return for investors.
- The Restore Fund, launched in partnership with Conservation International and Goldman Sachs, expected to have its first projects targeted later this year.
- The fund aims to remove one million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually from the atmosphere, equal to the amount spewed by more than 200,000 passenger vehicles.
Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj created a national record in 50m backstroke while winning his second gold of the Uzbekistan Open Championship in Tashkent.
- The 20-year-old clocked 25.11 seconds to bag the top prize at the FINA-accredited Olympic qualifying event.
- It was Srihari’s third national record in two days as the Bengaluru swimmer had rewritten the national marks twice in 100m backstroke, his pet event.
India gymnast Pranati Nayak, who had claimed a bronze in vault at the Asian Artistic Gymnastic Championships in 2019, is set to compete at the Tokyo Olympics after qualifying through the continental quota.
- The 26-year-old from West Bengal is the second reserve behind Sri Lanka's Elpitiya Badalge Dona Milka Geh for the Asian quota and became eligible to compete from the zone following the cancellation of the 9th Senior Asian Championships, which was scheduled to be held from May 29-June 1 in Hangzhou, China, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
APPOINTMENTS
PV Sindhu, Michelle Li Named Athlete Ambassadors for IOC's 'Believe in Sports' CampaignWorld champion and Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu and world no 11 Canada’s Michelle Li have been nominated as athlete ambassadors for International Olympic Committee’s ‘Believe in Sports’ campaign, the Badminton World Federation said.
- As part of the campaign, Sindhu and Li will be engaging with the badminton athlete community through online webinars and social media messages to highlight the risks involved and educate them on how best to safeguard and protect themselves in light of opportunities to manipulate their competition.
Justice (Retd) P C Pant, who is a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has also been appointed its Acting Chairperson with effect from April 25 this year.
- Prior to his appointment as member, NHRC on April 22, 2019, he was a Judge of the Supreme Court from August 13, 2014 to August 29, 2017, it mentioned.
THDC India Ltd said Vijay Goel has assumed the additional charge as its chairman and managing director from May 1, 2021 .
- Goel is also discharging the responsibility of director (personnel) of THDCIL.
- He joined the company in 1990 as a senior personnel officer (SPO) from NHPC Ltd.
AWARDS
Japan to confer Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays decoration to Bengaluru teacherBengaluru teacher Shyamala Ganesh, the former director of the Japanese Language School, will be conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays.
- The decision to confer the decoration is the first of its kind since the establishment of the Consulate-General of Japan in Bengaluru.
- Ms. Ganesh is also former President of the Bengaluru Chapter of Ohara-ryu Ikebana, and helped popularise not just the language but also other cultural traditions such as Ikebana, Japanese flower arrangements, and hosting exchange events.
SCIENCE& TECHNOLOGY
World's largest aeroplane by Stratolaunch completes second test flightThe world’s biggest airplane – longer than an American football field and with a wingspan of three Boeing 747s – completed its second test flight from Mojave Air and Space Port in California.
- Built by Stratolaunch, the plane named Roc – with a wingspan of 117 metres and powered by 6 Boeing 747 engines – is being groomed to carry and launch supersonic vehicles high up in the sky.
- Roc rose as high as 14,000 feet and traveled at a top speed of 199 mph during a flight that lasted three hours and 14 minutes.
OBITUARIES
Aeronautical scientist Manas Bihari Verma passes awayAeronautical scientist Manas Bihari Verma died of heart attack at his native place in Darbhanga district of Bihar. He was 78.
- Mr Verma played a vital role in the development of the Light Combat Aircraft - Tejas. He was close associate of former President APJ Abdul Kalam. In 2018, he was conferred Padma Sri.
Parul Debi Das, first female IAS officer from Assam, passed away in Guwahati.
- Parul Debi Das had also served in Meghalaya for a short time in the late 80s.
- She had retired from service as the Additional Chief Secretary of Assam.
Former Union Minister and Former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Jagmohan passed away in New Delhi. He was 94.
- A civil servant, Jagmohan also served as Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and Goa. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha once and represented New Delhi in Lok Sabha thrice.
- In the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cabinet, he served as the Union Minister for Communications, Urban Development, Tourism and Culture. He was honoured with Padma Shri in 1971, Padma Bhushan in 1977 and Padma Vibhushan in 2016.
Renowned AIR Newsreader Sushil Javeri passed away in Ahmedabad, Gujarat due to COVID-19.
- Mr. Javeri famous for his immaculate English baritone voice received his early education at Craig School at Ealing in London and joined AIR drawing inspiration from the historic broadcasts of Melville de Mellow.
- He served in News Services Division of All India Radio for nearly four decades.
Veteran politician and Kerala Congress (B) chairman R. Balakrishna Pillai, 87, died at a private hospital at Kottarakara in Kollam district.
- Mr. Pillai was chairman of the Kerala State Welfare Commission for Forward Communities. He enjoyed Cabinet rank privileges.
- He was also long a member of the Board of Directors of the Nair Service Society (NSS) and chairperson of the Kerala Congress (B).
The 1982 Asian Games gold medallist rider Colonel Gulam Mohammad Khan (Retired) died in Pune.
- The renowned rider, 74, had joined the Indian Military Academy in 1973.A year later he was judged the Best Rider of the Academy and awarded Polo and Riding colors.
- From 1980 – 1990 he captained the ASC team, during which time his team won the National title six times and he became individual National Champion (Eventing) four times.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Press Freedom DayEvery year May 3rd is observed as World Press Freedom Day to inform the international community that freedom of the press and freedom of expression are fundamental human rights .
- The theme for this year's World Press Freedom Day is “Information as a Public Good”.
- The UNESCO and the Government of Namibia hosted the 2021 global conference from 29 April -3 May in Windhoek. The prime focus of this conference included the threat of extinction faced by local news media around the world because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
International Firefighters' Day is observed each year on 4th May.
- The day is celebrated to honour the work of firefighting professionals, who dedicate their lives to the protection of people and property.
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