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CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS
National Fire Service Week
- National Fire Service Week is celebrated every year in India from 14th April to 20th April.
- It is observed as a part to pay homage to those brave Fire Fighters, who sacrificed their lives in line to their duty on 14th April, 1944.
- Industries observe this day / week as Fire Service day / Week and conducts Training, Drills and Rehearsals to demonstrate the Preparedness to combat emergencies.
National Panchayati Raj Day
- National Panchayati Raj Day is celebrated every year on 24 April in India. On this day Constitution came into force with effect from 24 April, 1993.
- In 2010 the first National Panchayati Raj Day was celebrated. A new part in the Constitution Part IX was added by passing 73rd Amendment Act from Article 243 to 243 (O) titled “The Panchayats” and a new Eleventh Schedule consisting of 29 subjects within the functions of Panchayats were also added.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE
Government raises authorised capital of Allahabad Bank to Rs. 8,000 crore
- State-owned Allahabad Bank the government has increased its authorised capital by Rs. 5,000 crore to Rs. 8,000 crore.
- The central government after consultation with the Reserve Bank of India has increased the authorised capital of the bank from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 8,000 through Gazette Notification.
- The increase in authorised capital will help enable the bank to raise further fund up to a maximum ceiling of Rs. 8,000 crore.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Allahabad Bank CEO | SS Mallikarjuna Rao |
| Headquarters | Kolkata |
| Tagline | A Tradition of Trust |
SEBI reduces minimum subscription requirement for InvITs, REITs
- Markets regulator Sebi has reduced the minimum subscription requirement as well as defined trading lots for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs).
- REITs have to offer their units in lots worth at least Rs. 50,000 in initial and follow on public offers.
- The minimum value of a single lot should be Rs. 1 lakh in the case of InvITs.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) |
| SEBI Headquarters | Mumbai |
| SEBI Chairman | Ajay Tyagi |
Deposits in Jan Dhan bank accounts set to cross Rs. 1 lakh crore
- The total deposits in bank accounts opened under the Jan Dhan scheme are set to cross Rs. 1 lakh crore soon.
- Government data claimed that the cumulative balance in 35.29 crore accounts under the flagship programme of the Modi government reached Rs. 97,665.66 crore as on April 3.
- The Modi government launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) on August 28, 2014, with universal banking access in focus.
- More than half of the Jan Dhan account holders are women, while nearly 59 per cent accounts are from rural and semi-urban areas.
- Four years after its launch, the government enhanced the accident insurance cover under the scheme to Rs 2 lakh from the earlier Rs. 1 lakh in 2018. The overdraft limit in Jan Dhan was doubled to Rs. 10,000 in September 2018.
RBI has Rs. 3 lakh crore in excess reserves, says BofAML
- The Bimal Jalan committee formed to study the RBI’s capital structure is likely to identify excess reserves of up to Rs. 3 lakh crore ($43million), Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) said.
- Capping overall reserves at 20% from 25.5% will release Rs. 1.96 lakh crore.
- There’s no restriction which prevents RBI from transferring the money to government
| USEFUL INFO |
| RBI Headquarters | Mumbai |
| RBI Governor | Shaktikant Das |
| RBI Deputy Governor | BP Kanungo, N S Vishwanathan, Viral Acharya and Mahesh Kumar Jain |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS
Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards announces its 2019 winners list
- Winners in the sixth annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the awards programme to recognise innovation in business throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region.
- Among the winners of the 2019 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are 18 organisations in India. In total, they’ll receive 43 Stevie Awards: 10 Gold Stevies, 19 Silver and 14 Bronze. This high number of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevies is evidence of the great performance of organisations in India.
- Among the top overall winners are PT Petrokimia Gresik (Indonesia) with eight Gold, nine Silver and 15 Bronze Stevie Awards and SM Supermalls (Philippines) with three Gold, 25 Silver and 20 Bronze Stevie wins.
All India Radio, Publication Division & Children’s Film Society of India given Swacchta Pakhwada Awards-2019
- All India Radio, Publication Division and Children’s Film Society of India were given Swacchta Pakhwada Awards-2019 in New Delhi.
- Secretary in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry Amit Khare gave away the awards. Director General of All India Radio F. Sheheryar and Director General (News) Ms. Ira Joshi received the Award for All India Radio.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION
LSE names a professorship after economist Amartya Sen
- The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has announced the creation of the Amartya Sen Chair in Inequality Studies, named in honour of the India-born economist, philosopher and Nobel laureate, who was Professor of Economics at LSE from 1971-82.
- Sen won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998 and National Humanities Medal in 2012, and is the recipient of many other honors. He works in welfare economics, development economics, social choice theory, economic theory, and political philosophy.
Assocham Secretary General U K Varma resigns
- Uday Kumar Varma, a former bureaucrat who took over as the Secretary General of Assocham in August last year, has resigned from the post.
- Verma resigned from the industry chamber last week and Assocham Deputy Secretary General Saurabh Sanyal is discharging the duties of secretary general at present.
| USEFUL INFO |
| The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) |
| Headquarters | New Delhi |
| President | BalKrishan Goenka |
| Founded | 1921 |
Michelin-star chef Vikas Khanna named IAAC brand ambassador
- Michelin-star chef Vikas Khanna has been named brand ambassador of a leading cultural organisation which will organise the annual New York Indian Film Festival next month that showcases the celebrity chef’s film ‘The Last Color’ and Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer ‘Photograph’.
- The IAAC will present the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), North America’s longest-running and most prestigious Indian film festival from May 7 to 12. Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has accepted to join the IAAC board.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERENCE
India nominated as Guest of Honour at 29th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair
- India has been nominated as the “Guest of Honour” country at the 29th edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF).
- India’s selection as the guest of honour reflects the strong relations between the leadership and the people of the UAE and India.
- Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Navdeep Singh Suri added that 30 publishing houses from India will take part in the fair.
- Books on the life and struggle of Mahatma Gandhi will be on display as part of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations.
- An annual fair is a major event in the publishing sector in the Middle East and North Africa. It will conclude on the 30th of this month.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE
India hands over 100 motorized wheelchairs to Afghan National Army
- Indian Ambassador Vinay Kumar presented 100 motorized wheelchairs to the Afghan National Army(ANA).
- India also remains committed to extending medical relief and assistance to the ANA personnel.
- Till date, Indian Army has also trained 4880 ANA personnel in various professional, educational and military training programs, including training ANA doctors and medical technicians
CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU
Ministry of AYUSH in MoU with CSIR
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Ministry of AYUSH and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for cooperation in research and education in areas of traditional systems of medicine and its integration with modern science.
- Under the MoU, both the organisations will jointly pursue R&D covering fundamental research; AYUSH specific diagnostic tools; linking microbiome, gene expression and prakriti; multi-ingredient herbal formulations, including their standardisation; exploring modern scientific methods for integration with traditional Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM); linking disease signatures; preserving and protecting traditional knowledge related to the Indian systems of healthcare through the existing TKDL platform; and, Development of international standardised terminologies (disease-morbidity codes) in Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani (ASU), Database on Medicinal plants, Foods, etc.
BEML ties-up with Syndicate Bank for financing of equipment
- Syndicate Bank and BEML have signed a MoU for financing Earth Moving & Construction Equipment manufactured by BEML.
- Under the MOU, BEML will nominate Syndicate Bank as a preferred financer for financing its customers.
- The customers under the tie-up arrangement will be provided loans in the range of Rs. 20 lakh to Rs. 3 crore and preferential pricing by Syndicate Bank. Financing Equipment of BEML will be covered under ‘SPECIAL’ scheme of the Bank.
- Syndicate Bank and BEML expect to book business worth Rs.100 crore by March 2020.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Syndicate Bank Headquarters | Manipal, Karnataka, |
| Tagline | Faithful Friendly. |
| MD & CEO | Mrutyunjay Mahapatra |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS
Fognini Beats Lajovic To Win Monte-Carlo Title
- Fabio Fognini became the first Italian to win an ATP Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, defeating Dusan Lajovic.
- Fognini earns 1000 ATP Rankings points and receives €958,055 in prize money. Lajovic gains 600 points and €484,950 for his run to the championship match.
- Fognini is the eighth player to win his first Masters 1000 title over the past 17 events at the elite level.
India’s Bajrang Punia wins Gold in Asian Wrestling C’ship
- India clinched one gold, one silver and bronze at the Asian Wrestling Championship in China’s Xian.
- World number one Bajrang Punia logged 10 points in a row in the gold medal bout to reclaim his Asian Championship crown. He defeated Kazakhstan’s Sayatbek Okassov.
- Another Indian Parveen Rana, lost to Bahman Mohammad Teymouri of Iran in the final 0-3 in 79kg category securing a silver medal. In 97 Kg category Satywart Kadian, picked a bronze medal defeating Haobin Gao of China by 8-2.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY
S. Muthiah chronicler of Chennai passed away
- Chronicler of Chennai, writer, journalist and teacher S. Muthiah has passed away
- Muthiah did his schooling in Colombo. After getting a Master’s degree in the US, he return-ed to Sri Lanka and worked with the Times of Ceylon
- His classic work on Chennai’s rich history and heritage titled Madras Discovered was published in 1981