1. National Safe Motherhood day is being observed today. The objective of the day is to create awareness on proper healthcare and maternity facilities to pregnant and lactating women. 2. India was elected to four important United Nations (UN) agencies. These agencies are United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP), Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) and the Governing Council of UN-Habitat. 3. Social Progress Index (SPI) 2015 was released by the US-based non-profit organisation Social Progress Imperative. On population-weighted basis, the SPI score for the whole world stands at 61 and at 64.39 when SPI scores are based on simple average of countries. India with a score of 53.06 is ranked 101st and is placed in the Low Social Progress Group. In 2014, India with a score of 50.24 was ranked 102 out of 132 countries. 4. Shooter Apurvi Chandela Apurvi seals Rio 2016 berth with World Cup bronze. She notched up the 10m air rifle bronze in the ongoing ISSF World Cup (Rifle/Pistol) in Changwon, Korea. Apurvi shot a total of 185.6 in the finals, to finish behind Pejcic Snjezana of Croatia, who won gold, and Ivana Maksimovic of Serbia, who clinched the silver medal. 5. France will partner India in a study for upgrading the speed on the Delhi-Chandigarh rail line to 200 km per hour and help in the re-development of Ambala and Ludhiana railway stations. France will also help in development of Smart Cities in India to be identified by the host government. These were among the outcomes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s talks with French President Francois Hollande. 6. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat announced fresh measures to provide relief to rain-hit farmers in the state including free distribution of seeds among them and an increased subsidy on ginger and turmeric seeds. 7. India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City near here became operational today and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled rules and regulations for this global financial hub. 8. Delhi-based JK Organisation has appointed Bharat Hari Singhania as its new president. He succeeds Gaur Hari Singhania, who died in February. www.competension.com Current Affairs – April, 2015 (Vol. 1) 9. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed ban on all construction activities in the National Capital Region (NCR) that do not follow the guidelines provided by the then Union Ministry of Environment and forest in 2010. 10. Syndicate Bank and Life Insurance Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding to implement the ‘Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana’. LIC will provide a life cover of ₹2 lakh in case of death of the insured person at a nominal premium of ₹330 per annum. 1. An asteroid named after Malala Yousafzai. Amy Mainzer, astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, named Asteroid 316201 after Malala. 2. Ace Indian shooter Jitu Rai won a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Changwon, South Korea. He had already qualified for the 2016 Olympics after winning won silver in the 50m Free Pistol event in 2014 at the World Championships in Granada, Spain. 3. India and France signed 17 agreements, including on the stalled nuclear project in Jaitapur in Maharashtra, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with French President Francois Hollande. 4. State-owned Punjab National Bank on Sunday opened 121 ATMs across the country to commemorate its 121th foundation day. With this, its ATM network has grown to 6,421, the bank said in a statement. 5. SBI cuts home loan interest rate by up to 0.25% 6. In a new twist to the high profile SEBI-Sahara case, the Indian capital markets regulator has approached a US court with a USD 12-million claim on proceeds from sale of a corporate jet owned by a Sahara Group firm. 7. Yuki Bhambri on 11 April 2015 has won the 15,000 US Dollar ITF Futures tournament title. In the final he recorded a straight-set win over Dzmitry Zhyrmont of Belarus played at Karshi, Uzbekistan. 8. Supreme Court ordered free treatment for acid attack victims. All the private hospitals in the country are directed to provide for full and free medical treatment to acid attack victims. 9. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated first Songs and Dances of the North East, a cultural festival in New Delhi. The day long festival was organized by Government of Meghalaya and sponsored by the North Eastern Council (NEC). 10. Arun Kumar Jha was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). www.competension.com 2 Current Affairs – April, 2015 (Vol. 1) 11. Lewis Hamilton wins 2015 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix. 12. Indian men’s football team climbed 26 places to occupy the 147th position in the April edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking out of 209 football playing nations or regions. 1. PM Narendra Modi gifted painting titled Tree of Life to French President Francois Hollande during his visit to France. The painting is the work of Bhaskar Mahapatra, an Odisha artist. 2. In order to make supply of healthy and hygienic food to the needy children in all the government schools, Puducherry government has drawn their guidelines for implementing the ‘Anna Dhanam’ scheme in the state. 3. Gujarat government launches industrial tourism to showcase development. In a first of its kind initiative in the country, Gujarat government is promoting a tour package covering major industrial installations which have earned global acclaim for the state. 4. Larsen & Toubro (L&T), the engineering major, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with French firm Areva for cooperation to maximise localisation for the 9,900-MW Jaitapur nuclear plant in Maharashtra. 5. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has commissioned a second 600 MW thermal unit in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir Champa District for the Dainik Bhaskar Power Limited. 6. Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB), a regional rural bank headquartered in Dharwad, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Life Insurance Corporation of India under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana’ which aims at providing insurance cover to all the Aadhar-linked savings account holders of the bank in the age group of 18 to 50 years. 7. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis, the top-seeded Indo-Swiss pair won the 731000 US dollar WTA Family Circle Cup doubles title. This was third consecutive team title for the IndoSwiss pair. Earlier, they won the Miami Open Tennis women’s doubles title on 5 April 2015 and Indian Wells Open title on 21 March 2015. 1. The popular ‘Vividh Bharati’ services of All India Radio (AIR) will now be available to listeners in and around Delhi on mobile handsets with the launch of FM transmission of the channel by Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley. 2. NASA offers $18,000 to people to stay in bed for its ‘Bed Rest’ research which is designed to study the effects of prolonged exposure to micro-gravity and requires participants to remain horizontal for a period of 70 days. www.competension.com 3 Current Affairs – April, 2015 (Vol. 1) 3. Japan court blocks restarting of two nuclear reactors. The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) last December approved the restarting of the reactors, saying they met tougher safety standards introduced after Japan’s tsunami-sparked nuclear disaster at Fukushima in 2011. 4. Flipkart has decided to pull out of an ongoing discussion with Airtel to join the Airtel Zero platform. The move follows criticism that the deal would violate the principles of net neutrality. 5. FDI inflows into services sector grew by about 47 per cent to $2.64 billion in April-January last fiscal. 6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have been voted among the 100 most influential people in the world in an online poll by readers of Time magazine. Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged the winner of this year’s Time 100 readers’ poll. 7. Ramesh Abhishek will continue to head the Forward Market Commission (FMC) till its merger with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India). FMC is the regulator of commodity exchanges engaged in future trading. 8. State Government of Haryana decided to accord Yoga guru Baba Ramdev the status equivalent to a Cabinet Minister. 9. The World Bank has said India continues to be the leading nation in remittances pulling in USD 70 billion from its global migrant workforce in 2014. 10. Mobile commerce platform Paytm inked MoU with National Centre for Trade Information (NCTI) to promote Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). 11. Nobel laureate German novelist Gunter Grass died in Luebeck, Germany. He was 87. 1. Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decided to rename Tourist Visa on ArrivalElectronic Travel Authorization (TVoA-ETA) scheme as e-Tourist Visa (eTV) scheme. 2. Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai sworn in as first lady judge of Sikkim HC. Her oath of the office was administered by the Governor Srinivas Patil at Ashirwad Hall at Raj Bhavan in Gangtok. 3. Nokia buys Alcatel-Lucent for €15.6 billion. 4. The government has formed an inter-ministerial committee headed by cabinet secretary to review the Official Secrets Act in context of demands to declassify files related to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s death or disappearance. RAW, IB, Union home ministry and PMO officials will be part of the panel. www.competension.com 4 Current Affairs – April, 2015 (Vol. 1) 5. Online restaurant guide Zomato announced the acquisition of MaplePOS, a cloud-based point of sale product for restaurants developed by a group of techies from Delhi. 6. The Chinese Government quashed the bid of Taiwan to become a full member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for lack of appropriate name. 7. Assamese film director, actor Bidyut Chakraborty died. He was 55. 8. Union Government forms task force to expedite work on inter-linking of rivers. The Task Force will be chaired by former Secretary of Ministry of Water Resources B N Navalawala and comprises experts and senior officials. 9. Information technology group Tech Mahindra partnered with U.S.-Israeli Comverse Inc to set up a research and development centre in Israel. 10. India defeated South Korea 4-1 (6-3) on penalties to win the bronze medal in the 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament. 1. Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar was inducted as one of the five new members into the prestigious Laureus Sports Academy in a glittering annual award ceremony at the Shanghai Grand theatre. 2. Canada and India have signed with a series of agreements and promises that will send Canadian uranium to the South Asian nation, liberalize visas for Canadian travellers, “soon” ratify a long-awaited foreign investment deal and lay a road map to complete stalled trade talks. 3. App-based taxi aggregator Ola said it has raised USD 400 million (about Rs. 2,500 crore) from a clutch of investors led by DST Global as it eyes expansion into smaller cities across India. 4. Hitachi Automotive sets up auto parts facility in Tamil Nadu. 5. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Russian company INTMA signed a MoU to set up a gas-based power project in Kazakhstan. 6. Former Nepal PM Surya Bahadur Thapa died. 7. Professors Susanta Lahiri and Kattesh V. Katti awarded Hevesy Medal Award 2015 for their outstanding contributions in the fields of radio and nuclear chemistry. 8. India successfully test-fired nuclear weapons-capable Agni-III ballistic missile from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. Although the missile has a strike range of more than 3,000 k.m. www.competension.com 5 Current Affairs – April, 2015 (Vol. 1) 9. Leaders of six Janata Parivar parties announced their decision to merge into one larger entity. Mulayam Singh Yadav will be the head of new party. 10. Dr. Mohan Kumar was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to France. He is a 1981batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer. He will succeed Arun Kumar who was appointed Ambassador to the United States. 1. Microsoft’s Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella was honoured with the White House Champions of Change. 2. Narendra Modi gifted Miniature Painting titled Guru Nanak Dev to Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. The painting is the work of Virendra Bannu, a Jaipur-based artist. 3. RBL Bank (formerly Ratnakar Bank) has launched India’s first golf-centric credit card. The card — based on the premium MasterCard World platform — has been launched in association with the Indian Golf Union (IGU). 4. India’s ‘Parrot Lady’ is to return home, after Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper handed over to his counterpart, Narendra Modi, the 800-year-old Indian sandstone sculpture of a woman holding a parrot. 5. Bharatiya Janata Party Rohini legislator Vijender Gupta was appointed the leader of opposition in the Delhi assembly. 6. RBI to launch Rs. 10 coins on centenary of Gandhi’s return from South Africa. 7. United Nation (UN) peace envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar has resigned, after losing support from Gulf countries for his mission in the conflict-riven nation. 8. The East China Normal University (ECNU), one of the prestigious universities in China, announced the appointment of Dr. Vishal Sikka, Chief Executive Officer of Infosys, as Advisory Professor. 9. India ranks below Bhutan, Sri Lanka in broadband reach: TRAI 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Canada has generated business worth more than 1.6 billion Canadian dollars, according to official figures released by the Harper government in Toronto. 2. World Heritage Day 2015 observed globally. 3. Maharashtra Government decided to discontinue Guard of Honour to ministers. www.competension.com 6 Current Affairs – April, 2015 (Vol. 1) 4. India’s second largest state-owned oil explorer company, Oil India Limited (OIL) has commissioned 54 MW wind energy projects saddled between Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. 5. Palladam Hi-Tech Weaving Park (PHWP) has bagged the ‘Best National Park Award’ under the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks in the country. 6. Zeena Johar, SughaVazhvu Healthcare Founder and journalist and author Rahul Pandita are the two Indians named 2015 Yale World Fellows in US. They are among 16 people named by Yale University as its 2015 World Fellows, the signature global leadership development initiative at the prestigious US institution. 7. Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) Sings MoU with Private Sector Dighi Port Limited which will facilitate construction of 34 km of railway link between Roha and Dighi Port in Raigad district of Maharashtra. The project cost is estimated around Rs. 723 crore. 8. Andhra Pradesh Government has signed a MoU with the IISL Company to replace the existing streetlights in 13 municipalities with LED lights in the state. 9. Hinduja brothers – S P Hinduja and G P Hinduja – have won the Business Leader of the Year 2015 award at the prestigious 5th Asian Awards. 10. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal approved release of Gharials in Sutlej and Beas rives in the state to promote eco-tourism. Initially, 10 Gharials (last surviving species of the family Gavialidae) will be released in the Harike Wildlife Sanctuary as a part of ‘Gharial Recovery Action Plan’. 1. Ashish Jakhar from Haryana on 17 April 2015 set a national youth record in boys’ hammer throw event and won gold medal in the 12th National Youth Athletics Championships held in Bambolim, Goa. 2. LIC buys Rs 300 crore Infosys shares in Q4. 3. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has suspended the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) for indefinite period. 4. Supreme Court has appointed Vivek Priyadarshi to head an investigating team to further probe the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 6 spot-fixing and betting scandals. 5. Maharashtra government sets up task forces on agriculture development and poverty alleviation. 6. Vankadarath Saritha, a 30-year-old driver became first woman bus driver to be inducted in Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). www.competension.com 7 Current Affairs – April, 2015 (Vol. 1) 7. Nasim Zaidi assumed charge as the 20th Chief Election Commissioner succeeding H.S. Bramha who retired after completing his term. 8. Rajya Sabha member Sitaram Yechury was elected as the next general secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist). He is the fifth general secretary of the 50-year-old party. 1. Indian Navy’s new destroyer, INS Visakhapatnam, with enhanced capability to operate in nuclear, biological and chemical atmosphere, launched in Mumbai. 2. Former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar appointed as chief advisor of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s Anti-Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU) for a term of one year. 3. Largest private sector lender ICICI Bank in collaboration with Tech Mahindra launched a payment service ‘Tap-n-Pay’ based on the near-field communications (NFC) technology, enabling customers make over-the-counter payments without using cash. 4. IDBI Bank has tied up with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch Rupay Platinum Debit card with upgraded features. 5. Chhurim Sherpa, first woman to climb the Everest summit twice in a week. 6. The Kerala government launched a major campaign “Subodham” to help people in the state overcome alcohol, drug and other substance abuse. 7. Promising Bengal batsman Ankit Keshri passed away owing to an injury sustained during a Cricket Association of Bengal’s senior one-day knock-out match. 8. Novak Djokovic wins Monte Carlo Masters. 9. India’s Y Pranjala clinched the Asian Junior Tennis championship title after a come-frombehind victory over top seed Chinese Zheng Wushuang at New Delhi. 10. Lewis Hamilton wins Bahrain Grand Prix of Formula One. 11. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and teen idol Zyan Malik were honoured at the 5th Asian Awards. Khan was awarded with the prestigious Outstanding Contribution to Cinema award. Previous winners in the cinema category included Irrfan Khan (2014), Anupam Kher (2013) and Yash Chopra (2011). Like us on : www.facebook.com/Competension www.competension.com 8