Explanation:
On April 10, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled India’s first 12000 horsepower electric locomotive from Bihar’s Madhepura locomotive factory. This locomotive, which is so far India’s most powerful locomotive has been developed at Madhepura’s Electric Locomotive Factory and is the first big Make-in-India project completed by Alstom of France. It has a hauling capacity of 6000 tonnes and can attain maximum speed of 120 km/hr. Railway officials have confirmed that it will be used to transport coal and iron ore. Being 100% electric locomotive, it will not only bring down operating costs for the Indian Railways but will also cut down greenhouse gas emissions. With the launch of this locomotive, India has joined the league of countries – Russia, China, Germany and Sweden – that have successfully run 12000 horsepower and above capacity electric Locomotives.

Explanation:
Eighth ‘Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific’ was held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh from 10th – 12th April, 2018. 3R stands for – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. During the course of this event, participants engaged in high-level discussions on policies, shared useful information and committed to support implementation of 3R projects in member countries. Theme of this event was ‘Achieving Clean Water, Clean Land and Clean Air through 3R and Resource Efficiency – A 21st-Century Vision for Asia-Pacific Communities’. The Eighth Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific was hosted by Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and co-organised by Environment Ministry of Japan, and the United Nations Centre for Regional Development of the Division for Sustainable Development/United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 500 delegates, including 40 mayors of cities from around the world and mayors of more than 100 cities across India participated in this event. The event concluded with the signing and adoption of ‘Indore 3R Declaration on Achieving Clean Water, Clean Land and Clean Air’ in cities.

Explanation:
On April 10, 2018, Education Minister of Mauritius, Leela Devi Dookhun Luchoomun released the logo and website of 11th World Hindi Conference in New Delhi. 11th World Hindi Conference is scheduled to be held in Mauritius from 18th to 20th August 2018. Education Minister of Mauritius stated that a sub-committee has been formed which will keep collecting information and will update the newly released website. World Hindi Conference is a world conference on Hindi language, which brings together Hindi scholars, writers and laureates from different parts of the world. 1st World Hindi Conference was held in January 1975 in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

Explanation:
First meeting of newly constituted ‘NITI Forum for North East’ was held in Agartala, Tripura on April 10, 2018. First meeting of NITI Forum for North East was chaired by Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog – Rajeev Kumar and the Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Jitendra Singh. Discussions at this meeting revolved around ways to boost development projects in North Eastern States of India. ‘NITI Forum for North East’ was constituted in February 2018. It was constituted with an aim to ensure sustainable economic growth of the North Eastern Region (NER) of India and review the development status in the North Eastern region at periodic intervals.

Explanation:
On April 10, 2018, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the two-day “Scientific Convention on World Homeopathy Day” in New Delhi. The two-day convention has been organized by Union Ministry of AYUSH. The inaugural function was presided over by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH Shripad Yesso. Nearly 1500 delegates including homoeopathic researchers, practitioners, scientists from allied sciences, industrialists, students as well as representatives of various homoeopathic associations will be attending this convention. The theme of this convention is “Innovate: Evolve; Progress: Exploring Science since 40 years”.World Homeopathy Day is observed on April 10 every yeaer to commemorate the birth anniversary of the founder of Homoeopathy, Dr. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann.

Explanation:
Haryana State Government has come up with Water ATM Policy to provide clean drinking water to people at public places. Distance between two water ATMs within a city would be 400 metres, which could be adjusted according to convenience of people. Spots for installation of water ATMs will be identified by the municipalities. Installation would be done mostly at public places such as bus-stands, parks, railway stations, parking areas and markets. Post installation, functioning of Water ATMs would be looked after by the municipality itself or by an agency. This responsibility may also be handed over to a company willing to look after it as a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative.

Explanation:
On April 10, 2018, Vice Foreign Minister of Vietnam, Dang Dinh Quy met Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi and held discussions on India-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership and on ways to further boost ties. It is to be noted that in 2016, India and Vietnam formally upgraded their relationship status (from Strategic Partnership) to “comprehensive strategic partnership. India-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership focuses on bilateral trade and Defence cooperation. During 2018, so far, there have been two high-level visits to India from the Vietnamese side. Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was one of the chief guests for the Republic Day Parade on January 26, 2018, while Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang also paid a visit to India in March 2018.

Explanation:
On April 9, 2018, India and Bangladesh signed six pacts including one for the construction of a 129.5 km-long oil pipeline between Siliguri and Parbatipur. India-Bangladesh Friendship pipeline between Siliguri (on Indian side) & Parbatipur (on Bangladesh’s side) is aimed at transporting 1 million tonnes diesel per annum from India to Bangladesh. Other pacts include, an MoU on cooperation between Prasar Bharati and Bangladesh Betar, agreement between Department of Atomic Energy, India and Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and an MoU for setting up an Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Urdu Chair in Dhaka University. Other two MoUs were pertaining to projects for setting up language labs in 500 schools in Bangladesh and upgrade different roads in Rangpur city. All these MoUs were signed during the course of India’s Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale’s visit to Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Explanation:
Officials of Union Commerce Ministry are in Peru for the second round of negotiations for proposed free trade agreement (FTA) to boost two-way commerce between both the countries. Under FTA, the partner countries reduce or eliminate duties on most of the goods traded between them. Besides, related norms and rules are also eased to promote trade in services and increase bilateral investments. FTA with Peru, is part of India’s efforts to enhance its engagements with regions like Africa, South America and Central Asia in wake of uncertainties in its traditional markets, including the US and Europe. As per Federation of India Export Organisations (FIEO), Peru holds huge potential for exports and thus having an FTA with Peru would be beneficial for Indian exporters. Motor vehicle, cars, iron and steel products, cotton yarn and fabrics are the main items exported from India to Peru, while imports from Peru include bulk minerals and ores, gold, fertilisers crude and zinc.

Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) Bank has launched ‘Add on Working Capital GST’, a special financing scheme to help the state industry cope with the delay in reimbursement of Goods and Services Tax (GST) under special tax relief. This scheme was launched by J&K Finance Minister Syed Altaf Bukhari in the presence of Minister for Industry and Commerce Chander Parkash Ganga. By ensuring healthy cash flow, this scheme will provide relief to industrial units in J&K that are facing stressed liquidity position due to Goods and Services Tax regime. Under this scheme, revolving credit facility will be extended at most competitive rate of 9 per cent and that too with minimum documentation.

Tech Mahindra has partnered with Balbix, a breach avoidance platform provider, to launch the security industry’s first AI (Artificial intelligence)-powered continuous threat assessment and prioritised actionable risk intelligence platform. Tech Mahindra along with Balbix provides intelligent security operations center (iSOC). Using this, cyber-breaches can be predicted and proactively avoided by continuously monitoring IT inventories. iSOC can prioritise actionable intelligence for proactive handling of identified critical risks. It also prevents security incidents and decreases compliance verification cycles from months to minutes. iSOC also enhances reporting by accurately measuring overall breach risk and cyber-resilience. The Tech Mahindra and Balbix platform uses deep learning and specialised AI algorithms to predict how attacks can occur and propagate. It offers actionable insights to reduce breach.

Google Home and Home Mini Bluetooth speakers have been launched in India. Google Assistant-powered speakers will be available on Flipkart and in 750 retail stores in India. Google Home is priced at Rs 9,999 and Home Mini at Rs 4,499 in India. They were launched at Google’s I/O 2016 conference. This is the first time Google has launched its speakers in India. Google Home and Home Mini can be activated by saying ‘Ok Google’. Google Home works with Android TVs also and can be used to control Netflix. Google Home and Home Mini are offered with six months of ad-free music experience by Saavn and Gaana. They will answer user’s questions like how long will it take to reach a place, horoscope, weather, etc. Google has tied up with NDTV, Times of India, Aaj Tak and Dainik Bhaskar in India for news content. Google Home can also be connected with Google Chromecast. It also works with Youtube.

Indian shooter Manu Bhaker has been named the brand ambassador of Haryana’s Measles and Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign. This campaign will be launched by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on 25th April 2017. Vaccination for around 85 lakh children aged between nine months and 15 years will be done in this campaign. This campaign will continue for 5-6 weeks. Decision regarding this was taken in a meeting of State Level Steering Committee for Measles Rubella Campaign chaired by Chief Secretary, D S Dhesi. As part of this campaign, immunisation will be done in 22,626 government and private schools, 25,771 Anganwadi centres, construction sites, brick kilns, poultry farms, other high risk zones and urban areas.

On 10th April 2018, Balram Bhargava was appointed the Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Secretary of the Department of Health Research. Balram Bharagava is currently Professor/Senior Consultant Cardiologist at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He has been appointed the DG of ICMR for a 3 year term or until 60 years of age, as per an order issued by the Personnel Ministry. Also, scientist Renu Swaroop has been appointed the Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology. Renu Swaroop is at present senior adviser in the Department of Biotechnology. She has been appointed as Secretary for a two year term or until 60 years of age.

On 9th April 2018, former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was elected chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia. Ban Ki-moon replaces Japan’s Yasuo Fukuda. His appointment took place at the annual session of the forum named the “Asian Davos”. The annual session takes place between 8th and 11th April 2018. Also, former governor of the People’s Bank of China Zhou Xiaochuan was appointed vice-chairman of Boao Forum for Asia. Over 2,000 political and economic leaders, including heads of large multinational firms, take part in this annual session

On 9th April 2018, Labour Secretary M Sathiyavathy took charge as a member of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). U P Singh has been given additional charge as secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment. He is a senior IAS officer. He is currently secretary in Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. M Sathiyavathy is an IAS officer of 1982 batch of Union Territories cadre. Vinay Mittal, chairman of the UPSC, administered her oath. She was the first woman chief of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). She was joint director general in the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Controller, ISRO Satellite Centre, Department of Space, member secretary, Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles, and additional secretary and financial adviser, Ministry of Civil Aviation.

On 10th April 2018, Nasscom (National Association of Software and Services Companies) announced that it has appointed Rishad Premji as its chairman for 2018-19. Rishad Premji is Wipro’s Chief Strategy Officer and Board member. Also, Keshav Murugesh, CEO of WNS Group, has been appointed the vice chairman for 2018-19. Rishad Premji has been a member of Nasscom’s Executive Council. He was the vice chairman of Nasscom for 2017-18. Rishad Premji replaces Raman Roy, Chairman and Managing Director of Quatrro Global Services.

On 8th April 2018, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban won a third consecutive term as Prime Minister. Viktor Orban is 54 years old. He will serve a third consecutive term as Hungarian Prime Minister. Hungary’s National Election Office said that, Viktor Orban’s party Fidesz won nearly half of the votes, with 93% of votes counted. Fidesz is expected to win a two-thirds majority in parliament. Hence Viktor Orban might have a two-thirds majority for the third time.

A study by National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded researchers at the University of California (UC), Davis, states that more than a quarter of total available nitrogen is derived from the weathering of Earth’s bedrock. The results of this study has been published in the journal Science. The study says that, up to 26 % of the nitrogen in ecosystems is obatined from rocks, and remaining is obtained from atmosphere. This study states that rock weathering is a major source of nitrogen to soils and ecosystems worldwide. This research was co-funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Cliff carvings of Buddha that are 1,200 years old have been discovered in eastern Tibet. The regional cultural relics protection research institute said that, the Cliff carvings of Buddha were found in Acur township in Chagyab County of the Qamdo City. The discoveries date back to the Tibetan Tubo Kingdom era. This era is said to be the most powerful period in Tibet’s history. The carvings are inscribed on cliffs that are around 10 metres in total. The carvings are said to be made in 9th century, based on their style.

FC Goa in collaboration with the Forca Goa Foundation, is introducing “FC Goa Soccer Schools”, a soccer programme for kids. FC Goa is a professional football franchise. The FC Goa Soccer Schools programme will be launched on 20th April 2018. This programme is aimed at developing football in Goa and to provide opportunity to more children to play football. The schools will function from 20th April 2018 to 20th May 2018 (one month), for children from 8 to 14 years of age. FC Goa Head of Youth Development Derrick Pereira has developed a special coaching plan to develop the technical skills of children. The programme will be conducted at two venues: one in North Goa and another in South Goa. Children will be grouped into U10, U12 and U14 for the programme, based on their ages.

On 6th April 2018, Government of India, Government of Maharashtra and the World Bank signed a US$ 420 million project to benefit Small and Marginal farmers in the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra. This project will help to increase climate resilient practices in agriculture and to make farming a profitable activity. This project will benefit more than 7 million people over an area of 3.0 million ha. It will cover 5,142 villages in the 15 most climate vulnerable districts of the region. The $420 million loan provided by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a grace period of 6 years. Its maturity period is 24 years. The Agreements for the Maharashtra Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture were signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Indian government. Bijay Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Department signed on behalf of Maharashtra government. Junaid Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank, India, signed on behalf of the World Bank. This project will be implemented in rural areas that are mainly dependent on rain-fed agriculture.

On 6th April 2018, Chhattisgarh won the ‘State of the Year’ Award under the ‘business leader’ category at the India Business Leader Awards (IBLA) in New Delhi. The India Business Leader Awards (IBLA) was organised by CNBC-TV18 channel. Union Information Technology and Electronics Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad presented the award to Chhattisgarh Minister Prem Prakash Pandey. Chhattisgarh was awarded for remarkable increase in business and services activities in various sectors. Chhattisgarh’s growth has been attributed to various policy decisions taken by Chhattisgarh Government in business sector and its effective implementation. Prem Prakash Pandey said that, Chhattisgarh occupies 4th rank in World Bank’s list of ‘Ease of doing Business’.

Rakesh Kumar Vats has been given the additional charge of chairman of NPPA (National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority) with immediate effect. Rakesh Kumar Vats replaces Bhupendra Singh as Chairman of NPPA. Bhupendra Singh has been appointed as chairperson of National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention under the Cabinet Secretariat. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet had issued an order regarding this. Rakesh Kumar Vats is an Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The NPPA fixes and revises prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations. It enforces prices and availability of the medicines in India. It also overlooks the prices of decontrolled drugs to prevent them from hitting high levels. It also recovers the amount overcharged by manufacturers for controlled drugs from customers.

Station (TERLS), in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The RH300 sounding rocket was developed by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). It has been developed as part of a study to enhance available atmospheric data and refine the models used for tropical weather prediction. This is the 21st launch of RH300 sounding rocket. This launch is part of a study done by VSSC under the Sounding Rocket Experiment (SOUREX) programme. It uses the RH-300 MKII sounding rocket to study the Equatorial E and lower ionosphere regions of atmosphere. As a result of this experiment, due to chemi-luminescence a long trail of interleaved pattern of white and blue light will be seen in the skies of Thiruvananthapuram and nearby areas. The trail will be photographically captured from four stations in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli. Objective of the experiment is to measure neutral wind in the dynamo region (80-120 km) of equatorial ionosphere using Electron Density and Neutral Wind Probe (ENWi) and perform cross-validation using an independent Tri Methyl Aluminium (TMA) release technique. The Electron Density and Neutral Wind Probe (ENWi) is indigenously developed. Earlier atmospheric studies with TMA were performed using sounding rockets of foreign countries. On 2nd May 1965 a Centaure rocket was launched for this purpose. After a long time, the TMA experiment is now conducted with indigenously developed payload and rocket.

On 7th April 2018, Niranjan Thomas Alva, the husband of former Rajasthan governor Margaret Alva, passed away following a chest infection at Ramaiah Hospital in Bengaluru. Niranjan Thomas Alva was 78 years old. He was a Supreme Court lawyer. He was the son of the first parliamentarian couple, Joachim Alva and Violet Alva.

On 7th April 2018, Assamese film-maker Munin Barua died after fighting cancer, at his home, in Guwahati, Assam. Munin Barua was 72 years old. He was popularly known as Bhaimon da. He had received National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Assamese in 2005. He had also received the state award for best director for the year 2001-02 and the Lifetime Achievement Award 2017 from Prag Cine Awards. He had also scripted several plays for mobile theatre. He had also directed a few TV serials.

On 7th April 2018, World Health Day 2018 was celebrated all over the world. World Health Day is celebrated all over the world on 7th April every year to mark the founding of World Health Organization (WHO). WHO was founded on 7 April 1948. This day is a global health awareness day. World Health Day 2018 is the 70th anniversary of formation of World Health Organization (WHO). The theme for World Health Day 2018 is: Universal health coverage: everyone, everywhere. The slogan is “Health for All”.

On April 5, 2018, Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Piyush Goyal launched UTTAM App for Coal Quality Monitoring. Abbreviation UTTAM stands for ‘Unlocking Transparency by Third Party Assessment of Mined Coal’. UTTAM App has been developed by Union Ministry of Coal and Coal India Limited (CIL) for all citizens and coal consumers to monitor the process of Third Party Sampling of coal across CIL subsidiaries. It has been designed with an aim to make the citizens, a stakeholder in coal governance and ensure accountability, transparency, effectiveness and efficiency in coal ecosystem.

On April 4, 2018, Union External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj embarked on a three-day official visit to Azerbaijan’s capital city Baku to participate in Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Conference. NAM Mid-Term Ministerial Conference was held in Baku on 5th and 6th April 2018. Theme of this conference was “Promoting international peace and security for sustainable development”.Before the conference, on April 4, 2018, Ms. Sushma Swaraj held bilateral consultations with her Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov and discussed bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. Ms. Swaraj also called on Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva. This was the first-ever bilateral visit of an Indian External Affairs Minister to Azerbaijan.

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has constituted a five-member working group to examine the taxation aspects related to High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) who are migrating abroad to other jurisdictions. This Working Group will be headed by Pragya Sahay Saksena, a joint secretary with Foreign Tax & Tax Research Division of CBDT. As per media reports, 23000 Indian millionaires (in dollar terms) have left India since 2004, which is alarmingly the highest in percentage terms among all countries. According to Ruchir Sharma, head of emerging markets and chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, in 2017 alone, 7000 millionaires left India. CBDT is concerned that this trend poses a substantial tax risk as these HNWIs may treat themselves as non-residents for taxation purposes in India even though they may have strong personal and economic ties India. The working group will not only look into the tax implications arising out of such migration but will also recommend country’s policy stance for the same.

On April 4, 2018, Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting constituted a 10-member committee to regulate online portals, including news websites, entertainment sites and media aggregators. The committee includes Secretaries of the departments of Home, Electronics and Information and Technology, Legal Affairs, and Industrial Policy and Promotion. CEO of MyGov and one representative each of the Press Council of India and National Broadcasters’ Association will also be part of this committee. In context of this news, it is important to note that in India, print and electronic media, both are regulated but online media does not come under the ambit of any regulatory mechanism. The committee will recommend measures to bring online information dissemination under regulation and will look at international best practices on such existing regulatory mechanism. Besides, it will also propose a policy for foreign direct investment in online media.

On April 5, 2018, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) put forth a concept of open architecture-based public Wi-Fi grid to bring down the cost of the internet by 90%. Public Wi-Fi grid proposed by TRAI entails various providers coming together to address aspects like services, access, payment, and authentication. TRAI has already tested this concept on pilot basis and findings from the same have been presented to Union Telecom Ministry to demonstrate the proof of concept of such an architecture. TRAI Chairman R S Sharma believes that Broadband proliferation across the country is an important pillar of Digital India and Wi-Fi is the cheapest option owing to low cost of equipment and free spectrum.

Jammu’s first tulip garden has been set up at Sanasar in Ramban district of Jammu region. This is the first tulip garden in Jammu region. A tulip garden is present in Srinagar region of Jammu and Kashmir. This tulip garden has been set up at Sanasar health resort. Minister of State for Tourism, Priya Sethi said that, the tulip garden was opened for public on 29th March 2018. The tulip garden was developed by the Floriculture Department. There are no time restrictions for visiting the garden. Also, no fee is charged from visitors. This garden has been set up on half an acre of land near the Sanasar lake. Red, yellow and white tulips have been grown in the garden this year.

On April 6, 2018, Minister of State for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (Independent Charge), Giriraj Singh launched a mobile phone application for locating Khadi stores in the country. The app was launched during 9th meeting of National Board of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in New Delhi. The app will help in locating 4000 Khadi stores across India. Currently, there are more than 8000 Khadi stores in India. Location for the remaining 4000 stores will also be available on the Khadi store locater app by the end of April 2018. It is to be noted that nearly 7 lakh privately owned household units are engaged in manufacturing Khadi and Village Industries products in India.

Union Ministry of Tribal affairs has approved establishment of the first multipurpose “Van Dhan Vikas Kendra” in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh for value addition of Forest Produce. Van Dhan Vikas Kendra will be an important part of Central Government’s scheme of “Mechanism for marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support price (MSP) and development of Value chain for MFP”. This scheme is for socio economic development of tribals living in forests, for whom, collecting Minor Forest Produce (MFP) is a major source of livelihood. The first “Van Dhan Vikas Kendra” in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh will provide skill upgradation and capacity building training and will have primary processing and value addition facility. Initially, this Kendra will have processing facility for Tamarind brick making, Mahua flower storage facility and chironjee cleaning and packaging.

On 5th April 2018, the Tamil Nadu government launched Amma Free Wi-Fi zones in 5 cities of Tamil Nadu. On 5th April 2018, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami launched the Amma Free Wi-Fi zones initiative. This scheme was announced by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in September 2016. It was said that Wi-Fi zones will be set up in 50 spots, mainly in larger bus terminals, parks and commercial complexes. Amma Free Wi-Fi zones have been introduced at the following five locations:
• Labour Statue at Marina, Chennai
• Central Bus stand at Salem
• Central Bus stand at Tiruchirappalli
• Gandhipuram Bus Stand in Coimbatore
• Mattu Thavani Bus Stand in Madurai
Users of Amma Free Wi-Fi zones will be offered 20 minutes of free internet service per day. After that the users will be charged Rs 10 per hour. This scheme will be implemented in 50 spots by Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (TACTV). Cost of this project is Rs 8.50 crore.

Qatar has introduced national service for women for the first time as per a law issued by Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. On 4th April 2018, the Law No. 5 of 2018 on national service was issued by Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. According to the law, women above the age of 18 can volunteer for national service. Men between the ages of 18 and 35 are required to perform compulsory military service, and now the service period has been increased from three months to one year. The new law also states that men must apply for compulsory enlistment in the military service within 60 days of turning 18 years. Persons who are caught avoiding military service will be imprisoned up to three and a fine of up to 50,000 Qatari riyals will be imposed.

Indo-Korean joint anti-piracy, search and rescue exercise ‘SAHYOG-HYEOBLYEOG 2018’ was held on April 5, 2018 off the Chennai coast. The exercise was a part of a proposed establishment of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Indian Coast Guard and South Korea Coast Guard to improve maritime security in Indian Ocean Region. As a part of this exercise, ships of the Indian Coast Guard and Korean Coast Guard ship ‘BADARO’ jointly undertook tactical manoeuvres and drills to counter piracy and carry out maritime law enforcement tasks. Along with ICG Shaurya, C-423, C-431, Indian Coast Guard also deployed a Dornier aircraft to carry out sea-air coordinated search. In addition to the drills, experts from both sides held skilled academic discussions to share each other’s experiences on varied topics for mutual benefit.

India has become the ninth most affected country in the world and second most affected country in Asia-Pacific Japan region in cryptojacking activities, as per the ‘Internet Security Threat Report’ presented by Symantec, a security solutions provider. The secret use of a computing device to mine cryptocurrency with the use of malware is called Cryptojacking. According to the ‘Internet Security Threat Report’ by Symantec, Cryptojacking increased by 8,500% throughout the world in 2017. India is one among the top five countries as a source for IoT (Internet of Things) attacks.

On April 6, 2018, global financial messaging cooperative, SWIFT (Society for World Interbank Financial Telecommunication System platform) announced that ICICI Bank has become its first Indian client to go live with an improved cross-border payments service. The improved cross-border payments service which is being referred to is the gpi (Global Payment Innovation) Tracker, which has been extended to cover all payment instructions sent across the SWIFT network. SWIFT’s gpi tracker enables real-time payments tracking across correspondent banks and has a facility to track the payments instructions across the correspondent banks globally. At a later stage, SWIFT is also planning to add another feature that has an ability to stop and recall payment in case of a fraud or when a duplicate payment has been sent erroneously.

Indian Bank has introduced Public Financial Management System (PFMS) and has launched ‘Bharat QR’ facility. Indian Bank, Managing Director and CEO, Kishor Kharat launched these initiatives in Chennai. Indian Bank has introduced public financial management system aimed to benefit government agencies for utilising payment service. PFMS will help government agencies for processing payments, tracking, monitoring, accounting, reconciliation. The facility was being used for NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) transactions in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, at present. ‘Bharat QR’ is a mobile payment collection scheme to accept digital payments. Using this scheme, a merchant will receive Bharat QR sticker. This will enable customers to make payments through the QR facility. Merchants should place the stickers at the shop. Customers can scan that and pay through any digital transaction mode.

On 5th April 2018, MakeMyTrip Limited, and Flipkart announced that they have entered into a partnership regarding online bookings in the travel segment. Various brands of MakeMyTrip like MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, and redBus, will utilize the customer base of Flipkart to increase online travel bookings. Initially, domestic flight booking will be made available in Flipkart, which will be launched soon. Later hotel booking and bus ticket booking will also be made available on Flipkart.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will also hold the additional portfolio of Information, Public Relations and Languages, now. A notification issued on this regard stated that, Harayana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki has allocated the portfolio of Information, Public Relations and Languages to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar with immediate effect. Earlier this portfolio was held by Haryana Women and Child Development Minister Kavita Jain.

HCL Technologies has acquired C3i Solutions for USD 60 million, in a move to enhance HCL’s growth in life sciences and consumer services. C3i Solutions is a wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary of Merck & Co, which is known as MSD outside the US and Canada. It offers multi-channel customer engagement services for life sciences and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries. C3i’s expertise in the clinical, pharmacovigilance, and pharma sales support domains will help HCL offer more patient-centric services and enhanced services to its life sciences customers. HCL Technologies will acquire 100 % stock of Telerx Marketing that operates as C3i Solutions, through HCL’s step down subsidiary – HCL America Inc.

On April 3, 2018, South African fast bowler Morne Morkel bid adieu to international cricket at the conclusion of South Africa-Australia test series. 33-year-old Morne Morkel had announced his retirement from International Cricket in February 2018 itself, after South Africa-Australia test series, stating that the demanding schedule has put a lot of strain on his family life. Morne Morkel made his international Test debut against India back in 2006. In his career, Morkel has played 86 Tests, 117 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 44 T20Is, picking up 309, 188 and 47 wickets respectively. He also played for Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

On 6th April 2018, International Day of Sport for Development and Peace was celebrated all over the world. In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly declared 6 April as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. This day commemorates the inauguration of first Olympic Games of the modern era, in Athens in 1896. This day is celebrated to highlight the contribution of sports and physical activity to education, human development, healthy lifestyle and a peaceful world. On this day, people are encouraged to promote the ways through which sport can help countries, communities and individuals to live a peaceful and prosperous life. For the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace 2018, Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) has launched the online campaign #PlayforGlobalGoals.

Cabinet approves closure of loss making Burn Standard Company Limited – a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE). Burn Standard Company Limited is a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under Union Ministry of Railways. The decision for closure has been taken on account of poor financial performance of the company for more than 10 years, despite financial assistance and other support provided by Government. Indian Government will provide one-time grant of Rs. 417.10 crore to Burn Standard Company Limited for severance package of employees and for clearing the current liabilities.

Union Cabinet has approved rightsizing the Competition Commission of India (CCI) from One Chairperson and Six Members (totalling seven) to One Chairperson and Three Members (totalling four). Presently CCI has a Chairperson and four Members. Rightsizing will be executed by not filling existing vacancies of two Members and one more additional vacancy, which is expected in September, 2018. This decision of rightsizing is in line with Governments objective of “Minimum Government – Maximum Governance”.

Union Cabinet has been apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Federal Transport Authority – Land & Maritime of the United Arab Emirateson Technical Cooperation in Rail Sector. This MoU was signed on February 10, 2018. It envisages cooperation in the areas of regulation, safety and technical investigation of accidents, station redevelopment and any other area jointly identified by the parties to the MoU. Activities undertaken under the scope of this MoU will enable Indian Railways and UAE’s Federal Transport Authority to interact and share the latest developments and knowledge in the railway sector.