Daily Current Affairs for 14th April 2018 ( English)

2.       The second edition of India Mobile Congress (IMC-2018) organised by Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) will be held in New Delhi on October 25-27, 2018. The theme of second edition of IMC is NEW DIGITAL HORIZONS Connect, Create, innovate. It expects participation of more than 200,000 professionals. The exhibition would feature more than 1,300 exhibitors. The first IMC held in September 2017 was attended by around 2,000 delegates, 32,000 visitors, 152 speakers, 100 exhibitors and 100 start-ups.

3.       India’s forex (foreign exchange) reserves have touched record high of $424.864 billion in April 2018 according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The surge was due to massive spike in foreign currency assets (FCAs), a key component of the reserves.

4.       A 13-member task force has been constituted by the Union Government to prepare road map and fast-track implementation of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology or drones in the country.

5.     Prime Minister Modi launched first of 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres, planned under the recently launched Ayushman Bharat Scheme, at Jangla village in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14, 2018. Ayushman Bharat Scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet on March 21, 2018 with budgetary support of Rs 10500 crore.

6.     Tripura State Government approved Rs 50.67 crore to set up an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) at Bodhjungnagar, located 15 km away from Agartala on April 12, 2018. Bodhjungnagar is one of North Eastern region’s biggest industrial zones. Decision to set up IIIT at Bodhjungnagar in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode was taken in 2012. However, the project could not take off due to non clearance of funds from the previous Left Front government. The institute would be set up on 52.08 acres land and the total project cost would be Rs 128 crore.

7.      ‘QUEST’, a centre to evaluate and quantify special development budget allocations and their impact on tribal development was launched by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis . ‘QUEST’ stands for Quality Evaluation for Sustainable Transformation. Maharashtra has become the first among all Indian states to kick start such initiative.

8.     Andhra transforming its capital into world class city in its de facto capital Amaravati. Nearly 3840 apartments in 61 towers are under construction in the Amaravati capital region.

9.     National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has signed a MoU  with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to provide skill training to 500 youth and women at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. As per the terms of the MoU, firstly, NSDC will conduct a baseline survey in 19 villages in Tirunelveli district to assess nature and extent of talent gap and will accordingly identify job roles for the training.Thereafter, NSDC will impart training through its approved training partners near KKNPP. The objective is to provide gainful employment (wage and self-employment) to nearly 70 percent of the trained candidates post-training.

10.  6th edition of Heat Action Plan (HAP) aimed at protecting city dwellers from scorching temperatures during summer was launched by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), in Gujarat. Key elements of this year’s HAP are expanding use of cool roofs, increasing access to drinking water, reflective paint on buildings to lower inside temperatures and training medical professionals to help protect patients during extreme heat.  AMC has been implementing HAP since 2013. Ahmedabad is the first city to prepare and implement heat action plan. The plan has been designed and will be implemented in partnership with Gandhinagar-based Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH) and US based Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) along with other groups and NGOs.

11.  A power plant worth Rs 502 crore will be set up in Bandhwari village of Gurugram district, Haryana, to produce electricity from waste under the Integrated Solid Waste Management Scheme. The plant will be set up by August 2019.

2.     Union External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj met the Afghan Defence Minister Lieutenant-General Tariq Shah Bahramee in New Delhi and agreed to make efforts in combating terrorism in the South Asian region. Lieutenant-General Tariq Shah Bahramee was in India to attend 10th edition of Defence Expo 2018 in Tamil Nadu. During the course of this visit, he also met Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. During the meeting, Ms. Sushma Swaraj and Lieutenant-General Tariq Shah Bahramee pushed for efforts to combat the menace of opium cultivation and drugs trafficking which is the main source of funding terrorism against the people of Afghanistan.

3.       Indian companies and Russian Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) signed 7 MoUs at the DefExpo 2018 held in Thiruvidanthai, Chennai On 13th April 2018.

4.     The state of cooperation between Kazakhstan and India in the energy sector was discussed and analysed at the 16th International Energy Forum held in New Delhi from 10th to 12th April 2018. The talks were focused on “The future of global energy security – transition, technology, trade and investment”, and how Kazakhstan and India can improve cooperation in the energy sector within the framework of the IEF and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).