Current Affairs Updates - 27th April 2018

Current Affairs Updates - 27th  April 2018

Current Affairs Updates for 27th  April 2018 have some catchy headlines which includes India's Rank in Press Freedom, Launch of Startup Week in Maharashtra, Second Edition of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, Shooter Gauri Sheoran Made Brand Ambassador of Haryana's Health Programmes and others. These are very important for the upcoming Government Examinations like Bank, IBPS PO, IBPS CLERK, SSC CGL, SSC CHSL and Railway. Aspirants should go through all these details. 

Important Days

48th Foundation Day of HUDCO celebrated on 25th April 2017

• He said that HUDCO is playing an important role in taking financial inclusion forward in the country, as it is taking care of the housing finance needs of the economically deprived sections

Banking, Economic & Financial Affairs

Development bank Nabard said it has provided an assistance of Rs 10,012 crore to Uttar Pradesh during 2017-18 to facilitate overall development with special focus on agricultural credit. 

• Panda said digital transformation of RFIs and rural enterprises, development plans for Bundelkhand region, crop residue management in western UP and irrigation infrastructure and its command management would be on the priority list of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard)for 2018-19. 

The International Monetary Fund will systematically address corruption and its impact on economic growth with all its member countries under new guidelines 

• We know that corruption hurts the poor, hinders economic opportunity and social mobility, undermines trust in institutions and causes social cohesion to unravel

The NSE's arm India Index Services & Products Ltd (IISLNSE 0.00 %) launched Nifty equity savings index that will serve as a benchmark for equity saving funds offered by various mutual funds. 

• Similar to the investment philosophy of equity savings funds, this index will capture the performance of a portfolio having exposure to equity, equity arbitrage and debt instruments.

Rankings & Indexes

Technology giant Microsoft India has been declared the most attractive employer brand, followed by e-commerce giant Amazon India. 

• The winners were named by HR service provider Randstad's Employer Brand Research (REBR) 2018. Other names in the list include Hindustan Unilever, IBM India, ITC Group, Larsen & Toubro, Mercedes-Benz India, Samsung India, Sony India and Tata Consultancy Services.

India ranks 138 in World Press Freedom Index, slips two places since 2017. Norway tops the list.

• India slipped in the annual World Press Freedom Index for the second straight year, falling two places to rank 138th among 180 countries in the latest list 

National Affairs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives on a two-day visit to China

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during an informal summit on Friday and Saturday in Wuhan city. 

Ola sets up ‘Safety Council’ for road safety

• Ride-hailing firm Ola said that it had set up a first-of-its-kind ‘safety council’ which would work with the government and other key stakeholders to develop solutions for addressing road safety challenges. 

The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), under NITI Aayog, will launch a challenge tomorrow in which grants of up to Rs 1 crore and mentorship will be given to the winning ideas 

• Under the Atal New IndiaNSE -1.63 % Challenge, in collaboration with five ministries, AIM will invite prospective innovators to design market-ready products, using cutting edge technologies across 17 identified focus areas such as Smart Mobility, Predictive Maintenance of Rolling Stock and Waste Management 

The Union Cabinet gave approval for inclusion of certain areas in Rajasthan under the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution so that the tribes living there can avail the benefit of protective measures under its provisions.

• The areas comprising three complete districts — Banswara, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh, nine tehsils, one block and 46 complete gram panchayats covering 227 villages in district Udaipur, Rajsamand, Chittorgarh, Pali and Sirohi of Rajasthan would be included in the Scheduled Areas, according to an official statement.

Cabinet approves Minimum Support Price (MSP) for raw jute for 2018-19, restructured National Bamboo Mission

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for raw jute for 2018-19 and the centrally-sponsored scheme of National Bamboo Mission (NBM) under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) during the remaining period of Fourteenth Finance Commission (2018-19 and 2019-20).

Defence & Railway News

The Indian and Malaysian armies will hold a two-week military exercise  'Harimau Shakti' in the dense forests of Sengai Perdik in Hulu Langat district of Malaysia

• The exercise is aimed at bolstering cooperation and coordination between the armed forces of both the nations and to share the expertise of both the contingents in conduct of counter-insurgency operations in jungle terrain

The Indian Navy has commissioned the third ship of the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk-IV project, INLCU L53, at Port Blair in Andaman.

• The vessel was designed and constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) as part of a contract for a total of eight planned LCU Mk IV Class vessels for the navy.

Brand Ambassadors

Shooter Gauri Sheoran made brand ambassador for Haryana's health programmes

• The Haryana government has appointed international shooter Gauri Sheoran the brand ambassador for its two health-related programmes.

Schemes / Programme

HRD ministry launches 2nd edition of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan

• The HRD ministry launched the second edition of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan under which students from 750 higher educational institutions from across the country will adopt villages and visit them to get acquainted with lifestyle of people there and the problems faced by them.

Agreements/ MoUs Signed

CSIR and DoT enter into MoU for establishing a nationwide Time Stamping & Time Synchronization network 

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on technical knowledge sharing for establishing a nationwide Time Stamping & Time Synchronization network and traceability of Time signal to UTC NPL Time, was signed between Council of Scientific and Industrial Research -National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) and Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications.

The government gave an ex-post facto approval for an agreement signed between India and an African island nation, Sao Tome and Principe, to increase cooperation in the field of medicinal Plants.

• The memorandum of understanding was signed on March 14 this year. The MoU assumes significance as there is global increase in traditional and alternative health care systems.

Summit /Conference / Events

The second edition of Manipur’s Shirui Lily festival began at Shirui village in Ukhrul district on Tue. April 24.

• The main reason for the festival was to spread awareness about conservation of the endangered Shirui Lily and promote the district of Ukhrul as a tourist destination in Northeast region.

The Maharashtra government announced the launch of 'Startup Week 2018' in June this year, with a view to encourage and enable the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

• Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar said the startup week, to be held between June 25 and 29, will provide the new companies a platform to showcase their innovative products and services to the state government.

Awards & Honours: Sports

India's Jeremy Lalrinnunga (56 kg) broke two national records to win a silver and a bronze medal at the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championship at Urgench, Uzbekistan.

• Lalrinnunga registered his best total of 250 kg to win the silver in youth section and a bronze medal in the junior section.

Awards & Honours: Miscellaneous

BCCI nominate Shikhar Dhawan, Smriti Mandhana for Arjuna award

• The 32-year-old Dhawan is presently playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Sunrisers Hyderabad. The 21-year-old Mandhana had played a key role in India reaching the final of the ICC Women's World Cup in England.