ONE LINER OF THE DAY 30th April 2018.

1.Gujarati poet, playwright and academic Sitanshu Yashaschandra was selected for 2017 Saraswati Samman for his collection of verses (poetry) titled “Vakhar” published in 2009. It was 27 edition of the award.

2.In November 2005 the UN decided to observe a memorial “Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare” on April 29 each year. The date April 29 was chosen for this observance because it was when the Chemical Weapons Convention came into force.

3.Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi netted a hat-trick as Barcelona defeated Deportivo to clinch the La Liga for the seventh time in 10 years and the 25th time in their history.

4.The next Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in the holy city of Varanasi from January 21 to 23, 2019.The theme of the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is “Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New India”.The Ministry of External Affairs will also organize four Know India Programmes and online “Bharat Ko Jaaniye Quiz”.

5.World Immunization Week 2018 is celebrated from April 24 to April 30. Immunization is considered to be one of the most cost-effective and successful plans in the health industry.Theme 2018: “Protected Together, #VaccinesWork”

6.As part of Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, Ayushman Bharat Diwas is being celebrated across the country on 30th April.During the event, information regarding Ayushman Bharat Scheme is being provided to people during health camps organised in rural areas.The Ayushman Bharat programme seeks to provide easily available and affordable medical facilities in the remote parts of the country.

7.Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and President of People's Republic of China Mr. Xi Jinping held their first Informal Summit in Wuhan on April 27-28, 2018.The aim of the summit is to exchange views on overarching issues of bilateral and global importance, and to elaborate their respective visions and priorities for national development in the context of the current and future international situation.

8.Ms. Narinder Chauhan (IFS: 1985) has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Czech Republic.She is expected to take up the assignment shortly. Presently she is Ambassador of India to the Republic of Serbia.

9.Shri Krishan Kumar (IFS: 1984) has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Norway.He is expected to take up the assignment shortly. She is presently Ambassador of India to the Czech Republic.

10.Shri Rajiv Kumar Nagpal has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.He is expected to take up the assignment shortly. He is presently Ambassador of India to Iceland.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 29th April 2018.

1.Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a summer internship linked to the ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign. Three ministries of the Indian government have announced the ‘Swachh Bharat Summer internship’.The internship is an initiative of the Sports, Human Resource Development (HRD) and Water Ministry.

2.The International Buddhist Conference got underway in Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha.The conference aims to disseminate teachings of Buddha and spread the messages of nonviolence, brotherhood, co-existence, love and peace to the international community.Representatives from 16 countries including U.S., Japan, India, China, Indonesia and Sri Lanka will attend the conference.

3.Reserve Bank of India said it is withdrawing a restriction that limited foreign investors to only investing in government and corporate bonds with tenures of three years or more, a move that could bolster the domestic bond market.

4.Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling became the longest-serving Chief Minister in India, surpassing the record of Jyoti Basu, who served as West Bengal CM from 1977 to 2000.Chamling became the Chief Minister in December 1994 and belongs to the Sikkim Democratic Front.

5.Jammu and Kashmir Assembly speaker Kavinder Gupta has been appointed as the Deputy- CM of the state. Seven others ministers were also sworn in the state's PDP-BJP government led by Mehbooba Mufti.

6.Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district has been shortlisted for PM Modi’s excellence award for promoting digital payments and cashless economy.Digital payments facility has been installed at 670 places across the district so far.In order to ensure successful implementation of the digital payments, the district administration has trained hundreds of local residents at Common Services Centers.

7.HDFC Bank launched IRA 2.0, its interactive humanoid at the Koramangala Branch in Bengaluru. The interactive humanoid in its advance version is aimed to enhance user experience for customers visiting in the branch.HDFC Bank has developed IRA (Interactive Robotic Assistant) 2.0 in collaboration with its technology partners Invento Makerspaces and Senseforth Technologies.

8.The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is an annual international campaign to promote safe, healthy and decent work.It is held on 28 April and has been observed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) since 2003.The theme for World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2018 is: Occupational safety health (OSH) vulnerability of young workers.

9.According to the Deutsche Bank research report, the Indian economy is witnessing a "cyclical upswing" and the country is likely to clock a GDP growth of 7. 5% this financial year.The Reserve Bank expects India's economic growth rate to strengthen to 7.4% in the current fiscal, from 6.6% in 2017-18, on account of revival in investment activity.

10.RBI has further liberalized norms for external commercial borrowing that will allow Indian companies to access cheaper funds from overseas markets.According to new norms, RBI has stipulated a uniform all in cost ceiling of 450 bps over benchmark rate.RBI also decided to increase the ECB Liability to Equity Ratio for ECB raised from direct foreign equity holder under automatic route to 7:1.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 28th April 2018.

1.India-Nepal Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting on trade, transit and cooperation to Control Unauthorised Trade started in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Indian side is led by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia.

2.The government has secured a loan of about Rs. 1,600 crore from the World Bank to develop new vaccines, medical devices and medicines.The money will be disbursed over five years and is part of the Department of Biotechnology-led National Biopharma Mission.The goal is to have 6 to 10 new products in the next five years and it will create a slew of jobs.

3.Mike Pompeo was sworn in as the secretary of state, shortly after the Senate confirmed the former CIA director’s nomination as America’s top diplomat at a crucial time when the US is involved in several high stakes negotiations around the world.

4.Swedish-Swiss multinational giant ABB has commissioned India’s first industrial solar microgrid at its Vadodara manufacturing facility in Gujarat. The Vadodara factory is ABB’s largest facility in India.

5.Mumbai is hosting a conference that will look at food from point of views of history, archaeology and sociology.Titled “ArchaeoBroma”, the conference, to be held on May 5 and 6, is being touted as India’s first-ever national meet on “food as culture”.It will be organised by the India Study Centre Trust and the Centre for Extra-Mural Studies of the University of Mumbai.

6.The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 15th World Rural Health Conference held in New Delhi.He said that approximately half of the global population lives in rural areas, but those areas are served by only 38% of the total nursing workforce and by less than a quarter of the total physician workforce.Its Theme is “Healing the Heart of Healthcare: Leaving No One Behind”.

7.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Christine Schraner Burgener of Switzerland as his new special envoy on Myanmar.

8.Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle and veteran actor Anupam Kher were among the prominent personalities who were conferred the 'Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Smruti Pratishthan Awards' on the occasion of his 76th death anniversary .

9.Global credit rating agency Fitch affirmed India’s sovereign rating at ‘BBB-‘ with ‘stable’ outlook, saying that the country’s medium-term growth potential is strong. ‘BBB-‘ rating indicates lowest investment grade.

It projected India’s growth at 7.3 per cent in current the fiscal and further to 7.5 per cent in 2019-20.

10.Gujarati poet, playwright and academic Sitanshu Yashaschandra has been selected for the 2017 Saraswati Samman for his collection of verses titled Vakhar.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 27th April 2018.

1.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.Sector-wise, Tata Consultancy Services is most favoured in IT, while Larsen & Toubro tops Infrastructure & Construction and Hindustan Unilever emerges the winner in FMCG.

2.The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) under the NITI Aayog launched the Atal New India Challenge on April 26.Under the Atal New India Challenge, AIM will invite prospective innovators/MSMEs/start-ups to design market-ready products.Applicants showing capability, intent and potential to productize technologies will be awarded grants up to Rs. 1 crore.

3.The Haryana government has appointed shooter Gauri Sheoran as the Brand Ambassador for its Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign & Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK).Under the MR campaign, about 80 lakh children aged between 9 months and 15 would be vaccinated.RBSK is an initiative aimed at covering defects at birth, deficiencies, diseases, and disability.

4.The government will soon acquire the stake of Reserve Bank of India in housing finance regulator National Housing Bank (NHB).The stake transfer would be cash neutral and there would be no cash outgo. RBI currently holds 100 per cent stake in the NHB.The Finance Bill 2018 has amended the National Housing Bank Act, 1987, for transferring RBI’s stake in the NHB to the government.

5.Senior lawyer Indu Malhotra was sworn in as the judge of the Supreme Court in the presence of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. The appointment was made by the President Ram Nath Kovind.Malhotra has now become the first woman lawyer to be directly appointed as a Supreme Court judge.  In 2007, Mrs Malhotra was only the second woman to be appointed a senior advocate by the apex court, three decades after Leila Seth first made history.

6.The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to convert the 2021 Champions Trophy into a World T20 event scheduled in India.Earlier it was an eight-team ODI tournament.ICC Chief Executive Dave Richardson said the global body had “unanimously agreed” that the 2021 meet in India would now be a 16-team event in the shortest format.

7.NITI Aayog and ITC will collaborate in the area of agriculture and allied sectors in order to strengthen farming systems.The partnership is for a period of four years till April 2022 .The prime objective is to increase net returns from farming through reduction in costs of production and increasing productivity of major crops in each of the identified district.

8.The Dalmia Bharat Group has adopted the Red Fort for five years under the government’s “Adopt a Heritage” scheme.The conglomerate beat IndiGo Airline and GMR group to win the Rs 25-crore deal, making it the first corporate house to adopt a historical monument in India.

9.The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi launched the Van Dhan Scheme of Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED, during the celebrations of Ambedkar Jayanti at Bijapur, Chattisgarh.The Van Dhan scheme along with others like Jan Dhan and Gobar-Dhan schemes had the potential to change the tribal-rural economic system. Under Van Dhan, 10 Self Help Groups of 30 Tribal gatherers would be constituted.

10.Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released a book titled ‘My Journey from Marxism-Leninism to Nehruvian Socialism’ authored by former Planning Commission and Finance Commission member C H Hanumantha Rao.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 26th April 2018.

1.The International Monetary Fund will systematically address corruption and its impact on economic growth with all its member countries under new guidelines.The new policy also tackles how rich countries contribute to corruption in the developing world by failing to prevent bribery and money laundering.The IMF will not investigate specific instances of corruption.

2.As part of ongoing Indo-Malaysian defence cooperation, a joint training exercise Harimau Shakti will be conducted in the dense forests of Sengai Perdik, Hulu Langat, Malaysia.

3.India slipped in the annual World Press Freedom Index 2018 for the second straight year, falling two places to rank 138th among 180 countries in the latest list.Norway once again topped the list, while North Korea found itself at the bottom.

4.The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 15th World Rural Health Conference held in New Delhi.Theme: “Healing the Heart of Healthcare: Leaving No One Behind”.

5.BCCI recommended Indian cricketers Smriti Mandhana and Shikhar Dhawan for the Arjuna Award.Shikhar Dhawan currently opens the innings for the Indian Premier League (IPL) side Sunrisers Hyderabad.Last year, the BCCI had recommended Cheteshwar Pujara and Harmanpreet Kaur for the award given by the Government of India’s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

6.Exercise ‘Sagar Kavach’ is being conducted to strengthen and assess the loopholes in the coastal security mechanism along Kerala shores.Along with Coastal Police and Marine Enforcement wing, Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy is also participating in Exercise ‘Sagar Kavach’.

7.According to the Development bank NABARD, 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.his has been achieved through commercial banks, RRBs and cooperatives, infrastructure development through dedicated funds, strengthening of rural financial institutions, women empowerment through Self Help Groups, micro-finance and several other new initiatives.

8.26 April 2018: World Intellectual Property Day.Theme 2018: Powering change: Women in innovation and creativity

9.The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was on Thursday awarded the National Intellectual Property (IP) Award 2018 in the category ‘Top R&D Institution/Organisation for Patents and Commercialisation.

10.The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the Smart Cities Mission is the beginning of India’s urban renaissance.He was addressing the gathering after releasing the Book ‘Smart Cities Unbundled’ authored by Dr. Sameer Sharma.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 25th April 2018.

1.A Loan Agreement for IBRD credit of US$ 125 (equivalent) for the “Innovate in India for Inclusiveness Project” was signed with the World Bank in New Delhi.The Objectives of the project is to nurture indigenous innovation, foster local product development and accelerate commercialization process by bridging critical skill and infrastructure gaps to promote affordable and innovative healthcare products generation for inclusive development and increasing competitiveness in India.

2.World Malaria Day is observed on April 25 every year to recognise the global effort to control malaria and also to spread awareness about the around the world.The theme for this year’s Malaria Day is ‘Ready to beat Malaria’.

3.Manipur’s much-awaited five-day Shirui Lily State Festival, commenced in the Ukhrul district headquarters. The festival will continue till 28th of April 2018.The festival, organized by the State Tourism Department, aims to spread awareness and conserve the endangered state flower ‘Shirui Lily’, while also promote the hill district as a potential tourist destination.

4.The Home Ministry has decided to relax the six-decade-old Protected Area Permit regime from Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur for five years. Foreign tourists, except those from Pakistan, China and Afghanistan, will now be allowed to visit some of the most pristine locations of the country which, so far, were out of bounds for them without a special permit.Under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958, all areas falling between the Inner line and the International Border of some states were declared as protected areas.

5.Morocco has been designated to host the 2021 annual meetings of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

6.Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched Pravasi pension scheme.The scheme gives those hailing from Kerala but living outside the state or country, a pension of 2,000 a month.People over the age of 60 years are eligible for the pension.The scheme is not applicable for state and central government employees.

7.External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will co-chair the 6th round of India-Mongolia Joint Consultative Committee meeting with her Mongolian counterpart in Ulaanbaatar.The meeting will discuss trade, economic, cultural and scientific co-operation.Mrs Swaraj became the first Indian External Affairs Minister to visit the Mongolia in 42 years.

8.A two-day coastal security exercise ‘Sagar Kavach’ began on 24th April to strengthen and assess the loopholes in the coastal security mechanism along Kerala shores.The Coast Guard, the Navy, Coastal Police and Marine Enforcement wing are participating in the exercise.3 ships of the navy, 10 of Coastguard, four fishing boats, besides 20 coastal police stations are taking part in the drill.

9.World Malaria Day is observed on April 25 every year to recognise the global effort to control malaria and also to spread awareness about the around the world. The theme for this year’s Malaria Day is ‘Ready to beat Malaria’

10.External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj co-chaired the 6th round of India-Mongolia Joint Consultative Committee meeting with her Mongolian counterpart Damdin Tsogtbaatar in Ulaanbaatar.The meeting discussed trade, economic, cultural and scientific co-operation. Mrs Swaraj became the first Indian External Affairs Minister to visit the nation in 42 years.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 24th April 2018.

1.The nation celebrates the National Panchayati Raj Diwas (24th Aril) as this date marks a defining moment in the history of decentralization of political power to the grassroots level.Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Mandla in Madhya Pradesh on the National Panchayati Raj Day. He launched the Rashtriya Gramin Swaraj Abhiyan, at a public meeting, and addressed Panchayati Raj representatives across the country.

2.Jailed Egyptian photographer Mahmoud Abu Zeid, popularly known as Shawkan won the 2018 Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO).

3.The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed in principle to give an aid of 1,700 crore rupees to Uttarakhand for infrastructure development and creation of sewerage treatment facilities in urban areas.This was conveyed to Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat by the country director of ADB’s India Regiment Mission Kenichi Yokoyama at a meeting in Dehradun.

4.President of ADB- Takehiko Nakao, ADB Headquarters- Manila, Philippines, Opened on- 19th December 1966. 

5.State-run Bank of India (BoI) has entered into an agreement with National E-Governance Services (NeSL) for information utility (IU) arrangement under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).As per the agreement, BoI will avail NeSL service to expedite corporate insolvency resolution process.

6.India has retained its position as the top remittances receiving country with its diaspora sending about $69 billion back home in 2017, according to the report of the World Bank. Remittances to India picked up sharply by 9.9% to $69 billion in 2017, reversing the previous year’s dip.

7.Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj have attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) defence ministers’ and Foreign Ministers meeting in Bejing, China, respectively.

8.Canada and the European Union will host the world’s first 2-Day female foreign ministers’ meeting in September 2018 in Canada. The announcement was made by the Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.Female Foreign ministers from about 30 countries will be invited to the gathering, which is aimed at deepening global discussion on women’s empowerment.

9.Iran has banned the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by its banks and financial institutions.As per the central bank of Iran, the ban was necessary since all cryptocurrencies have the capacity to be turned into a means for money-laundering and financing terrorism and in general can be turned into a means for transferring criminals' money.

10.India and the World Bank signed a $210 million loan agreement for the Madhya Pradesh Rural Connectivity Project. The Project is expected to improve the durability, resilience and safety of the gravel surfaced rural roads and enhance the capacity of the state to manage its rural roads network.The Project will cover 10,510 km stretch of rural roads in Madhya Pradesh that fall under the Chief Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana (CMGSY) program

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 23rd April 2018.

1.Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel has said the country’s economy growth is expected to accelerate at 7.4 percent in the current fiscal year to March 2019 after a “resilient performance” in the second half of the previous year.

2.Total deposits in Jan Dhan accounts has crossed Rs 80,000 crore mark with more people joining the flagship financial inclusion programme.The deposits, which have been steadily rising since March 2017, were at Rs 80,545.70 crore on April 11, 2018.Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana accounts had come into focus during the demonetisation period when the deposits witnessed a meteoric rise.

3.Private sector lender ICICI Bank has introduced a ‘digital form’ which will help open current accounts in a few hours.Deemed to be first of its kind service by any lender in India, digital forms are expected help the bank secure more clients as its helps in ‘ease of doing business’ and help increase the bank’s market share.

4.The Union Home Ministry completely revoked the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from Meghalaya while diluting it in other regions of Arunachal Pradesh.

Until September 2017, 40% of Meghalaya was under AFSPA.  It is now applicable only in 8 police stations in Arunachal, down from 16 police stations in 2017.

5.World Book and Copyright Day is celebrated globally this year on 23 April to provide the people with many ideas and plans to make them aware of the situation and condition in the World. The World Book Capital for 2018 is Athens, Greece.

6.India is poised to remain the fastest growing large economy in the world, and its GDP is expected to reach $5 trillion by 2025, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg has told the World Bank in the 97th meeting of the Development Committee of the World Bank in Washington, USA.

7.India is poised to remain the fastest growing large economy in the world, and its GDP is expected to reach $5 trillion by 2025, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg has told the World Bank in the 97th meeting of the Development Committee of the World Bank in Washington, USA.

8.Indian Space Research Organisation is gearing up to launch a slew of important satellites in the coming months.Some of these satellites are significant as they will help military keep an eye on our neighbours & safeguard our land & sea borders.ISRO will launch a dedicated satellite, Gsat-7A, for Indian Air Force & an advanced remote sensing satellite, Risat-2A, for surveillance purpose.

9.Conservative former senator Mario Abdo Benítez has been elected as the president of Paraguay.Capital: Asunción.Currency: Paraguayan guaraní.

10.With the objective to sensitise people about road safety, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is organizing the 29th edition of Road Safety Week from 23rd to 30th April.During the week, creating awareness about various causes of road accidents & measures to prevent them will be highlighted through various activities.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 22nd April 2018.

1.In a unique initiative to establish direct contact with the youth, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched a campaign called “Devbhoomi dialogue” at his official residence calling upon them to look for self-employment opportunities in their chosen fields.

2.The World Earth Day (WED) is celebrated on 22nd April not only to spread awareness of the need for conservation but also to take action to protect the environment.This day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970 and has ever since been an annual event. The theme for World Earth Day 2018 is 'End Plastic Pollution'.

3.In a bid to pursue equal employment opportunities, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has appointed its first ever woman firefighter.Taniya Sanyal from Kolkata is currently training in the capital and will be joining her team in a month.

4.Prime Minister Narendra Modi honoured bureaucrats for making Manipur’s Karang the first cashless island of the country, and implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and other priority initiatives of the Centre.

5.Kyrgyz lawmakers on April 20 named Mukhammedkaliy Abylgaziyev as their country’s new prime minister following his nomination by the Social Democratic Party (SDPK), which controls the majority coalition within Kyrgyzstan’s parliament.

6.West Bengal’s Digambarpur Gram Panchayat has bagged the Centre’s award for the best Gram Panchayat in the country.A survey was conducted to find out the best Gram Panchayat in the country and in a letter to the state government the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has stated that Digambarpur has come up as the best out of 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats in the country.

7.The Reserve Bank of India has revised "Know Your Customer" or the KYC guidelines. The KYC norms have been revised following the government's decision to update the 'Prevention of Money Laundering' rules in June 2017. The RBI made linking of national biometric ID Aadhaar to bank accounts mandatory. However, it said this will be subject to the final decision of the Supreme Court on making of Aadhaar mandatory.itsTill now, an Officially Valid Document for address proof together with Permanent Account Number issued by the Income Tax department and a recent passport size photograph were the key KYC documents. But in the amended Customer Due Diligence procedure, the Aadhaar number, the PAN or Form No. 60 need to be obtained from an individual who is eligible for applying for the biometric ID.

8.The TIME Magazine released the 100 Most Influential People List of 2018 designating individuals whose time is now. The 2018 list features the names of four self-made Indians- Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella.The list also features the US President Donald Trump. The list of 100 Most Influential People of 2018 includes the names of actress Nicole Kidman, 'Wonder Women' starrer Gal Gadot, Prince Harry and his fiance Meghan Markle and singers Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez.

9.Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani has been named by Fortune magazine as the World’s Greatest Leaders of 2018.Ambani was ranked No.24 behind likes of South Korean President Mon Jae-in, Chinese vice premier Liu He and French President Emmanuel Macron.

10.The world's oldest person, a 117-year-old Japanese woman, has died. Nabi Tajima died of old age in a hospital in southern Japan.Tajima, born on 4 August, 1900, was the last known person born in the 19th century.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 21st April 2018.

1.The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that translating “legislative intent” into “programmatic content” and demonstrating to the common citizens what “Surajya” actually looks like in day to day administration, the civil services have an enormous opportunity today.He was delivering the inaugural address at the 2-day event of the 12th Civil Services Day in New Delhi.The Vice President said that a clean, competent, people-friendly, proactive administrative leadership is the need of the hour.

2.Miguel Díaz-Canel was officially named as the new leader of Cuba, one day after a secret vote in the country's National Assembly.It's the first time in nearly six decades that Cuba is being led by a man not named Castro.

3.The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Saturday approved a restructured Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) scheme aimed at making rural local bodies self-sustainable, financially stable and more efficient.The Scheme will be implemented during the period from 01.04.2018 to 31.03.2022 at the total cost of Rs. 7255.50 crore with the Central Share of Rs. 4500 crore and that of State Share of Rs. 2755.50 crore.

4.Human rights activist and former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Justice Rajinder Sachar (94) passed away at a New Delhi hospital.Justice (retd.) Sachar was the Chief Justice from August 6, 1985, to December 22, 1985.

5.The Union Cabinet on Saturday approved a proposal for the promulgation of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance 2018 that seeks to confiscate properties and assets of economic offenders, like Nirav Modi, who flee the country to avoid facing criminal prosecution.The ordinance was approved at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the sources said. It will come into effect after the assent of the President.The provisions of the ordinance will apply for economic offenders who refuse to return, persons against whom an arrest warrant has been issued for a scheduled offence as well as wilful bank loan defaulters with outstanding of over Rs. 100 crore.A fugitive economic offender is one who has left the country to avoid facing prosecution, or refuses to return to face prosecution.

6.The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, received the first copy of the book “Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduism’s Greatest Thinker”, from the author Shri Pavan Varma, at Rashtrapati Bhavan .

7.Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), one of the leading public sector banks, on Friday entered into an agreement for information utility services with the National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL).The NeSL became India’s first information utility (IU) for bankruptcy cases under the ‘Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2016’ in October 2017.

8.Malaria Summit 2018 was held recently in London.Leaders from 15 Commonwealth counties, along with The Prince of Wales and Bill Gates, gathered in London to re-focus and reignite global efforts to beat malaria for good.While significant progress has been made in recent years, a child under five still dies from malaria every two minutes and in 2016, for the first time in years, the number of malaria cases in the world went up. 

9.The Civil Service Day is celebrated on 21 April every year.The purpose for this day is to rededicate and recommit themselves to the cause of the people.It is observed by all Civil Services. This day gives civil servants the opportunity for introspection and thinking about future strategies.

10.The Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar said in New Delhi that a two-day event has been organized this year on National Panchayati Raj Din.On April 23, an interactive group discussion cum workshop will be organized in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh called "Panchayat Ki Choupal Mein Charcha".

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 20th April 2018.

1.US Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump-nominated Representative Jim Bridenstine to serve as NASA’s 13th administrator.His confirmation following a vote in the Senate ends the longest span of time that NASA has operated without a permanent leader.

2.World Liver day is observed on the 19 April every year to spread awareness about the second largest organ in the body.Liver diseases can be caused by hepatitis A, B, C, alcohol and drugs. Viral Hepatitis occurs due to consumption of contaminated food and water, unsafe sexual practices and drug abuse.

3.Yes Bank has received the Reserve Bank of India’s approval to open two representative offices in London and Singapore.The opening of these new offices will help in further diversification and expansion of financial services to the NRI diaspora.Yes Bank opened its first representative office in Abu Dhabi in April 2015.

4.Son of Dreams was unveiled to be the Official Mascot of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 during a ceremony at the Wukesong Indoor Stadium in China’s capital of BeijingThis was made official on April 18 – 500 days before the first-ever 32-team edition of FIBA’s flagship competition tips off on August 31, 2019.

5.To beat the cash crunch, SBI is allowing debit cardholders withdraw money from its Point of Sale terminals without any charges.According to RBI, a customer can withdraw Rs 1,000 in tier 1 & 2 cities, whereas Rs 2,000 can be withdrawn in tier 3 to tier 6 cities per day per card.SBI has over 6 lakh PoS machines of which nearly 5 lakh machines are enabled to dispense cash to its customers..

6.VikramRaichura, CEO of VivaConnect along with RadhikaRaichura, announced their new venture ‘INFIN8’.INFIN8 offers a quick and easy process of connecting potential borrowers with multiple lenders through both online (APP and Web) and offline, through India’s most premium number 8080808080.

7.Indian Olympic Association has decided to bid for 2026 Youth Olympics as well as the 2032 Summer Olympics.The bidding process for 2026 Youth Olympics is likely to start in early part of 2020.Besides India, Thailand has also expressed interest to host the 2026 Youth Olympics.IOC chief Thomas Bach, who is on a 2 day visit to India, said India has the capability to host big Olympic events.

8.Indian Olympic Association has decided to bid for 2026 Youth Olympics as well as the 2032 Summer Olympics.The bidding process for 2026 Youth Olympics is likely to start in early part of 2020.Besides India, Thailand has also expressed interest to host the 2026 Youth Olympics.IOC chief Thomas Bach, who is on a 2 day visit to India, said India has the capability to host big Olympic events.

9.According to World Bank, India has 19 crore adults without a bank account, making it the world’s 2nd largest unbanked population.India’s adult population with a bank account has more than doubled to 80% since 2011.Jan-Dhan Yojana has brought an additional 310 million Indians into formal banking system by March 2018.China has world’s largest unbanked population, followed by India & Pak.

10.Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Statistics and Programme Implementation, Shri Vijay Goel inaugurated the new office of Central Project Monitoring Unit for the e-Vidhan project of the Government at the Parliament House Annexe.e-Vidhan is a mission mode project to digitize and make the functioning of State Legislatures in India paperless.