Current Affairs Updates - 1st April

Current Affairs Updates - 1st April

Today we have once again brought to our readers a set of important and Latest Current Affairs Updates in this Current Affairs Updates of 1st April. Some of the important news are NASA to send first mission to study ‘heart’ of Mars, Kadaknath chicken gets Geographical Indication tag, and other similar news. You may also like the Daily Current Affairs Quiz and the One Liner Static and GK Note Down points for better performance in the examination.

Banking, Economic & Financial Affairs

Long term capital gains tax to come into effect from April 1

• Several Budget proposals, including the reintroduction of tax on long term capital gains (LTCG) exceeding Rs 1 lakh from sale of shares, will kick in from April 1, the beginning of 2018-19 financial year.

Rivigo ties up with IDFC, YES Bank, for truck loans

• Rivigo, a homegrown logistics start-up that owns as well as acts as an aggregator of trucks, is tying up with YES Bank, IDFC and 10 other financial institutions to make cheaper funds available to truck owners and operators on its platform.

National Affairs

CM Shivraj promises ‘Pucca house’ for all labourers in Madhya Pradesh by 2022

• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that a state-wide campaign will be launched from April 1-14 for registration of unorganized labourers. 
• Also, Pucca houses will be constructed for the all labourers registered under Chief Minister’s Unorganized Labourer Welfare Scheme by year 2022.

India gets first US LNG shipment at Dabhol under long-term deal

• India received its first LNG cargo from the US under a long-term supply deal when a ship carrying super-cooled natural gas arrived at Dabhol in Maharashtra. 

Madhya Pradesh’s Kadaknath chicken gets Geographical Indication tag

• Six years after it applied for the Geographical Indications (GI) tag for Kadaknath, a chicken breed whose black meat is in demand in some quarters, Madhya Pradesh has got the coveted label. 

Science & Technology

China sent twin satellites into space with a single carrier rocket, adding two more members for its domestic BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS).

• The Long March-3B carrier rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 1:56 a.m. 
• The launch was the 269th mission for the Long March rocket family.

NASA to send first mission to study ‘heart’ of Mars

• Scheduled to launch on May 5, InSight — a stationary lander — will also be the first NASA mission since the Apollo moon landings to place a seismometer, a device that measures quakes, on the soil of another planet.

Defence & Railway News

Nilgiri Mountain Railways welcomes all to have scenarist and eye soothing journey with its new special train services from today till 24th June this year to cater to popular demand during summer holidays. 

• The Southern Railway has informed that the special services will be provided on Saturdays and Sundays during the period.
• The 28 km stretch between Mettupalayam and Coonoor is expected to provide the tourists with a lifetime experience, which will rekindle the romance of train journeys.

Agreements/ MoUs Signed

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and United Kingdom and Northern Ireland regarding cooperation and Exchange of Information for the Purposes of Combating International Criminality and Tackling Serious Organised Crime.

• India and U. K. already have an agreement concerning the investigation and prosecution of crime and the tracing, restraint and confiscation of the proceeds and instruments of crime (including crimes involving currency transfers) and terrorist funds, which was signed in 1995.

Summit /Conference / Events

Ministry of Women and Child Development holds First National Conclave on Psychological Trauma, Child Protection, and Mental Illnesses 

• With an aim to provide a comprehensive synthesis of research, service provision, and clinical practice in addressing psychological trauma and subsequent mental illnesses in Indian children and adolescents.

Prakash Javadekar Inaugurates Smart India Hackathon Grand Finale 2018-Software Edition

• Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the Smart India Hackathon Grand Finale 2018 – Software edition in New Delhi .

Awards & Honours: Miscellaneous

Shekhar Kapur to head jury for 65th National Film Awards

• Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has been appointed the chairperson of the central jury panel for the 65th National Film Awards