Current
Affairs Daily Updates: 04 April 2018
1. NIRF India Rankings 2018 released: IISc Bengaluru adjudged best
institution in India
Union
Minister of Human Resource Development, Prakash Javadekar released the NIRF
India Rankings 2018 in various categories on the basis of performance of higher
educational institutions.
Top
10 India Rankings 2018 in Overall Category:
1.
Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
2.
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
3.
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
4.
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
5.
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
6.
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
7.
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
8.
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
9.
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
10.
Anna University, Chennai
2. Commonwealth Games 2018 starts at Gold Coast in Australia
The
21st edition of the Commonwealth Games will begin in Gold Coast, Australia,
with a colourful opening ceremony. This will be a momentous day for the city as
the biggest event in its history begins. Carrara Stadium has been chosen as the
venue to host the opening ceremony. These Games will mark the 5th time that
Australia has hosted the games. India will be represented at the opening
ceremony by a contingent of over 200 athletes who will be led by flag-bearer P
V Sindhu.
3. Mumbai becomes first Indian city with 8 women police station in-charge
Mumbai,
also known as the financial capital of India, has added another feather to its
cap, becoming the first city of the country to have as many as eight women
police station in-charges.
4. Arun jaitley re-appointed as leader of RS
Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley was once again appointed as the Leader of the Rajya Sabha
(RS) following his re-election to the House. In June 2014, Mr Jaitley was
appointed the leader of the House in Rajya Sabha. The Leader of the House is a
Rajya Sabha member who is either a cabinet minister or another nominated
minister.
5. 4 April: International Mine Awareness Day
The
General Assembly declared that 4 April of each year shall be observed as the
International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. Theme for
International Mine Awareness Day 2018 is Advancing protection, Peace and
Development.
6. Government Launches Digital Platforms For Ease Of Farm Export
In
line with the Digital India Initiative, the government has developed three
online portals to make it easier to export farm products from India and reduce
transaction costs. The digital platforms, developed by the Export Inspection
Council, have integrated the entire export food chain by linking primary
production, chain catch, aquaculture pond, dairy farms and apiaries. It aims
for credible inspection and certification and to strengthen the confidence on
Indian produce.
7. Turkey Launches First-Ever
Nuclear Plant
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin launched
the construction of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant. The $20 billion dollar
Akkuyu nuclear power plant project is located in the Mediterranean Mersin
region. The power station will provide 10 percent of the electricity needs of
Turkey. Turkey’s Energy Minister: Berat Albayrak
8. India-Japan-US Trilateral Talks Held in New Delhi
The
crucial dialogue between the three
leading democratic powers (viz. India, Japan and the USA) of the Indo-Pacific
region was held in New
Delhi. The India-Japan-US trilateral was launched in December 2011. It
was elevated to ministerial level in September 2015. The last ministerial
dialogue was held in New York in September 2017.
9. MoU Between Indian Army and HDFC
Bank
A
Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) was signed between the Indian Army and HDFC
Bank on the Defence Salary Package on 03 Apr 2018. The first MoU between HDFC
Bank and the Indian Army was signed in 2011 and was renewed on 13 Mar 2015. The
current MoU is tailor made to suit the requirements of serving soldiers,
pensioners and families. Under the current MoU apart from other benefits the
Army personnel will get free personal accident death cover and free permanent
disability cover of Rs 30 lakhs, free educational cover of upto Rs 1 Lakh per
year for four years for education of dependent child in case of
accidental death of defence personnel and 100% processing fees waived for Car
Loans and Personal Loans.
10. Trial Run Of 1st India-Bangladesh Container Train Flagged Off
The
trial run of the first container train between India and Bangladesh was flagged
off from Kolkata city. The train left for Bangladesh with 60 containers loaded
with almost 1,200 tonnes of de-oiled cake, used as a raw material for animal
feed. Currently, the trade between India and Bangladesh is largely road-based. It
takes almost a month for an Indian truck to reach Bangladesh through the
congested Petrapole-Benapole border, with customs clearance alone taking nearly
25 days.
11. HRD Ministry Constitutes Committee To Prevent Exam Paper Leakages
The
Ministry of Human Resource Development constituted a High Powered Committee to
examine the entire system of conducting Class X and Class XII examination
conducted by the CBSE with a view to preventing leakages. Mr Vinay Sheel
Oberoi, Retd. Secretary (Higher Education), MHRD will be the Chairperson of the
7 member High Power Committee.
