Daily Current Affairs 20th April 2018 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.
NATIONAL NEWS
SJVN signs MoU with Ministry of Power; will strive to achieve 9200 Million Units in FY 2018-19
SJVN Limited, the operator of one of the largest Hydro Power Plants in the country i.e. 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of Power, Govt. of India for the year 2018-19, here today.
- As per the targets set in the MOU, SJVN shall strive to achieve 9200 Million Units generation during the year under ‘Excellent’ category.
- Further, SJVN will have Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) target of Rs. 900 crore and Turnover target of Rs. 2175 crore under Excellent category along with other targets related to operational efficiency and Project monitoring.
Vice President inaugurates 2-day event of 12th Civil Services Day
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the two-day Civil Services Day event in New Delhi on April 20.
- The day is celebrated for the civil servants to rededicate themselves to the cause of citizen and renew their commitments to public service and excellence in work.
- He also inaugurated an exhibition put up by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances on identified priority programmes and innovations.
- The Vice President also released a book Emulating Excellence- Takeaways for Replication’.
Two day Regional Conference on “Urban Development: Technological Solutions and Governance Challenges” concludes in Ahmedabad
Two day Regional Conference on “Urban Development: Technological Solutions and Governance Challenges” concluded in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
- The Conference was organized by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India in collaboration with the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Gujarat Council along with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), an autonomous research organization under the Ministry of External Affairs.
- The Conference was the third lead-up event to the 3rd Annual Meeting of AIIB scheduled to be held on 25th and 26th June, 2018 in Mumbai.
- Before this Conference, two Regional Conferences have already been held at Kolkata and Vishakhapatnam on the themes of Mass Rapid Transport Systems and Port and Coastal Infrastructure respectively.
- In total, eight such Regional Conferences will be held on different themes at different places in the country.
Vijay Goel launches Central Project Monitoring Unit for e-Vidhan project at Parliament House Annexe
Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Statistics and Programme Implementation, Shri Vijay Goel inaugurated the new office of Central Project Monitoring Unit for the e-Vidhan project of the Government at the Parliament House Annexe.
- e-Vidhan is a mission mode project to digitize and make the functioning of State Legislatures in India paperless.
SHISHU SWAGAT KENDRA- PALNA in UP Govt. hospitals
In Uttar Pradesh, Government has ordered all government hospitals and orphanages to establish SHISHU SWAGAT KENDRA- PALNA and put up cradles in front of their buildings so that parents can give up unwanted babies safely.
Gujarat govt launches Pocket Cop Project
In a bid to improve crime detection rate, the Gujarat government has come up with a project under which smartphones containing database of people with a criminal background would be distributed to 4900 police personnel in the state.
- The project ‘Pocket Cop’ was launched by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar.
- Under the project, smartphones with data connectivity will be given to 4,900 police personnel, including every police station in-charge, investigating officer, PCR van, and those involved in passport verification.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Prince Charles will be the next head of the Commonwealth Nations
Prince Charles will be the next head of the Commonwealth, succeeding, his mother Queen Elizabeth.
- The Queen has been head of the Commonwealth since coming to the throne in 1952, but the position is not automatically held by the British monarch.
Millie Bobby Brown youngest most Influential person by TIME’s
‘Stranger Things’ star Millie Bobby Brown, 14, has become the youngest person to be named as one of the world’s 100 most influential people by TIME.
- The Time magazine unveiled its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world Thursday, including record numbers of 45 women and 45 people under the age of 40.
- 4 Indians featured on Time’s ‘100 Most Influential People’ of 2018- ViratKohli, Microsoft CEO SatyaNadella, Bollywood star DeepikaPadukone and Ola co-founder BhavishAggarwal.
BANKING & ECONOMY
INFIN8: A new revolution in finance sector
VikramRaichura, CEO of VivaConnect along with RadhikaRaichura, announced their new venture ‘INFIN8’.
- INFIN8 offers a quick and easy process of connecting potential borrowers with multiple lenders through both online (APP and Web) and offline, through India’s most premium number 8080808080.
India contributing to global growth in financial inclusion: World Bank report
The Global Findex Report, 2017 released by the World Bank showed that number of account holders in the country has risen from 35 percent of the adults in 2011 and 53 percent in 2014 to 80 percent in 2017.
- The report states that about 51.4 crore accounts have been opened globally from 2014 to 2017.
- Among MUDRA loan beneficiaries, women account for almost 75 percent. At 48%, India tops in bank users with inactive accounts.
IMF projects India’s growth at 7.4 pct in 2018
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects India to re-emerge as one of the fastest growing major economies in the 2018 – 2019 period, projecting the country’s growth rate at 7.4 percent in 2018.
- Further, the international financial organisation forecasted a rate of growth of 7.8 percent for 2019.
SPORTS
Para-athlete Shrimant Jha bags bronze at Asian Armwrestling C’ship
Differently-abled Indian arm wrestler Shrimant Jha clinched the bronze medal at the Asian Armwrestling Championship, which is being held from April 16 to April 22 in Kazakhstan.
- The 25-year-old, resident of Naxal-hit Chhattisgarh finished behind Tajikistan’s Firuz and Magolia’s Munkhbold to settle for the bronze in the 80kg senior category.
16th Federation Cup Jr National athletics ch’ship begins in Coimbatore
Over 800 athletes from 32 states across the country will take part in the 16th Federation Cup Junior National athletics championship, beginning at Coimbatore on April 20, 2018.
- The meet will serve as the selections trials for the 18th Asian Junior Athletic Meet to be held at Gifu, Japan, in June.
- The three-day event will see 440 boys and 352 girls in the age group of 16 to 20 years take part in 44 events.
FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 unveils official fan-chosen mascot Son of Dreams
Son of Dreams was unveiled to be the Official Mascot of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 during a ceremony at the Wukesong Indoor Stadium in China’s capital of Beijing
- This was made official on April 18 – 500 days before the first-ever 32-team edition of FIBA’s flagship competition tips off on August 31, 2019.
AWARDS
World’s Greatest Leaders in 2018: Mukesh Ambani ranks 24, thanks to Jio
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, human rights lawyer Indira Jaising and architect Balkrishna Doshi have been named by Fortune magazine as the World’s Greatest Leaders of 2018.
- The Fortune’s 2018 ranking of the 50 Greatest Leaders featured the three Indians at the 24th, 20th and 43rd places respectively.
- The 2018 Fortune World’s Greatest Leaders list has been topped by ‘The Students’ of Marjory Stoneman Douglas and other schools of US that witnessed gun violence.
OBITUARY
Filmmaker BhimsainKhurana dies at 81
Creator of DD’s classic animation EkChidiya and film Gharaonda director Bhimsain breathed his last at the age of 81.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Liver Day observed – April 19
World Liver day is observed on the 19 April every year to spread awareness about the second largest organ in the body.
- Liver diseases can be caused by hepatitis A, B, C, alcohol and drugs. Viral Hepatitis occurs due to consumption of contaminated food and water, unsafe sexual practices and drug abuse.
- If it is not treated on time, these can lead to Liver Cirrhosis and Liver Cancer.
- According to WHO, liver diseases are the 10th most common cause of death in India.
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