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1) The US House of Representatives has voted to end US involvement in Yemen’s civil war. The resolution to end the American Involvement in the civil war was approved by 247 to 175 votes. The resolution directs the US President to remove US Armed Forces from hostilities in or affecting the Republic of Yemen within 30 days. The resolution rejects the US Presidents support for the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen. Yemen Civil War: The roots of the civil war can be traced to the failure of a political transition which was supposed to bring stability to Yemen following an Arab Spring uprising which forced the longtime authoritarian president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to hand over power to his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, in 2011. President Hadi struggled to deal with a variety of problems, including attacks by jihadists, a separatist movement in the south, continuing loyalty of security personnel to Saleh, as well as corruption, unemployment and food insecurity. The Houthis and security forces loyal to Saleh in a bid to regain power attempted to take control of the entire country, forcing Mr Hadi to flee abroad in March 2015. Alarmed by the unfolding events which they believed to be backed militarily by regional Shia power Iran, Saudi Arabia and eight other mostly Sunni Arab states began an air campaign aimed at restoring Mr Hadi’s government. The war has led to a military stalemate. Even though the government and the Houthis agreed to a ceasefire, they are yet to start withdrawing, raising fears that the deal will collapse. Even though the resolution has been passed with an overwhelming majority at the House of Representatives, Mr Trump is expected to veto the legislation. White House has called the resolution as flawed and warned it would harm bilateral relations in the region.

2) The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and global transport infrastructure operator Roadis will jointly set up a platform to invest up to $2 billion of equity in road projects in India. The platform would target toll-operate-transfer models and acquisitions of existing road concessions. Roadis is a fully owned subsidiary of the Public Sector Pension Investment Board which is one of Canada’s largest pension funds. NIIF Funds: Currently, NIIF is managing the capital invested through three funds, namely: NIIF Master Fund: It focuses mainly on core infrastructure and operating assets. NIIF Fund of Funds: It invests in funds managed by third-party managers in the infrastructure and associated sectors. NIIF Strategic Fund: It is a diversified investment strategy, including greenfield projects and debt platforms. NIIF’s role in infrastructure funding has acquired great significance in recent years, in the backdrop of most public-sector banks are struggling to cope with toxic assets and IL&FS, a key infrastructure refinancer until last year been ridden by the crisis.

3) Scientists from the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) have discovered a new enzyme which helps in breaking cell walls of bacteria. This discovery offers the potential for a new drug delivery system to arrest the anti-bacterial resistance through existing antibiotic drugs. Why the discovery is of great significance? A lot of antibiotics are available in the market to combat various diseases like cholera typhoid, leprosy. Now there is a growing concern over the bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics, which means that small infections can also become a threat to a patient. The researchers have discovered a new enzyme “Murein EndopeptidiaseK” which would cut the bacteria cell wall. The enzyme Murein EndopeptidiaseK would act on the protein of the cell wall of the bacteria and it can be a potential drug target. This discovery of a new enzyme will ensure the cell wall synthesis would not occur. Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology: Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) is a biotechnology research establishment in Hyderabad and operates under the aegis of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). CCMB is also a designated “Center of Excellence” by the Global Molecular and Cell Biology Network, UNESCO.

4) The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) will be organizing a NuGen Mobility Summit, 2019, at Manesar, NCR, from 27th to 29th November 2019. About the Summit: The objective of the Summit is to provide a platform for sharing new ideas, learnings, global experiences, innovations and future technology trends for faster adoption, assimilation and development of advanced automotive technologies for a smarter and greener future. The summit will help in building a platform for bringing together all stakeholders in the automotive industry to understand global advancements in technologies. The summit aims to bring together the automotive OEMs, professionals, researchers, academic experts, vehicle system suppliers, test equipment supplier, quality managers, product planners, component developers, SAE members and students from all over the world. Track demonstrations, drive-touch-feel activity and lab demonstrations on upcoming vehicle technologies like connected mobility, autonomous vehicles, electric mobility, alternate fuels, intelligent transportation system, hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen IC engine, vehicle dynamics, advanced materials and lightweight, end of life vehicles and recycling are the uniqueness of this event. International Centre for Automotive Technology, Manesar: International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), Manesar is a division of NATRIP Implementation Society (NATIS) under the Department of Heavy Industries, Government of India. It provides services for testing, validation, design and homologation of all categories of vehicles and has a mission to assist the automotive industry in adopting cutting edge technologies in vehicle evaluation and component development to ensure reliability, durability and compliance to the current and future regulations in new generation mobility solutions.

5) Independent weather forecaster Skymet has made the following predictions about the Southwest Monsoons: India could face its third consecutive below-normal monsoon this season, and the rainfall is expected to be 93% of the long-period average. With all likelihood of El Niño playing a disruptive role, there is only a 30% chance of normal rain during this year’s southwest monsoon, which delivers about 70% of the country’s annual rainfall and there is a 55% probability of below normal rainfall this year. June-to-September southwest monsoon season is expected to begin on a lean note and the deficit is expected to spill over into July. Rainfall is expected to get better in the second half of the season as the El Niño phenomenon is expected to weaken. August and September are likely to witness normal showers and Odisha, Chhattisgarh and coastal Andhra Pradesh are most likely to see normal rains throughout the season.

6) South Korea launched the world’s first nationwide 5G mobile networks on 11 pm April 3, 2019. Three top telecom providers SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus launched the 5G services. South Korea launched the 5G services two days ahead of the schedule as there were speculations that US mobile carrier Verizon might start its 5G services early. Verizon began rolling out its 5G services in Chicago and Minneapolis on April 3, a week ahead of schedule. Reports suggest the 5G network in South Korea was launched in South Korea two hours ahead of the US. Benefits of 5G: 5G will provide smartphones with near-instantaneous connectivity, 20 times faster than 4G. This allows users to download entire movies in less than a second. 5G will deliver vastly increased capacity, lower latency, and faster speeds. 5G networks will operate in a high-frequency band between 28 GHz and 60 GHz. This range is known as the millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum and the sub-6 GHz range that LTE calls home will also be used. As a result, a lot of bandwidth will be available to users. In addition to greater bandwidth, the new 5G networks will have a dense, distributed network of base stations in the small cell infrastructure. This will allow more processing to happen on the edge, leading to lower latencies. The 5G technology is crucial for the future development of devices such as self-driving vehicles and is expected to bring about $565 billion in global economic benefits by 2034.

7) United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been conferred with the prestigious Zayed medal by President of the UAE Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. PM Modi has been awarded in recognition of efforts in giving “a big boost” to bilateral relations between both the countries. The statement issued by the UAE states that PM Modi has provided “exceptional leadership” in forging a new “strategic” relationship between the two nations. It lauds Modi’s foreign policy and the way New Delhi reached out to the Islamic world. Zayed Medal: The ‘Order of Zayed’ is the highest civil decoration instituted by the UAE. It consists of a collar cantered by a medallion bearing the name ‘Zayed’ who is the founding father of the United Arab Emirates. The Order of Zayed is awarded to Heads of Government/Head of State for their international relations with UAE.

8) International Mine Awareness Day and Assistance in Mine Action 2019 was observed on April 4 with the theme ‘United Nations Promotes SDGs – Safe Ground – Safe Home’. The Theme ‘United Nations Promotes SDGs – Safe Ground – Safe Home’ highlights the fact that “All people have the right to live in security, and not fear their next step” and calls for mine action, which “clears paths and creates safe ground on which homes can be built or rebuilt” and “changes mindsets so that people know how to protect themselves”. The theme links mine action, sport and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by showing how clearing minefields, bring communities together and raises awareness about mine victims, and survivors of armed conflict. Further, the United Nations has launched “Safe Ground”, a new strategy and campaign to “ensure that no one, no State, and no war zone is left behind”. Genesis: The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 8 December 2005 declared that 4 April of each year shall be observed as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. The day calls for the establishment and development of national mine-action capacities in countries where mines and explosive remnants of war constitute a serious threat to the safety, health and lives of the civilian population, or an impediment to social and economic development at the national and local levels.

9) Japan has revealed the name of the era which will define the new emperor’s reign when he ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne next month following a historic abdication. The era has been named as ‘Reiwa’. Reiwa: “Reiwa” consists of two characters: “Rei”, which can have meanings related to “order” but also “auspicious” and “Wa”, usually translated as “peace” or “harmony”. Japan is still using imperial calendars for private and public documents as well as computer records. Hence the new era has a huge impact on daily life and people tend to recall major events in public and private life by when they fell in a certain era. 2019 was known as Heisei 31, or the 31st year of current Emperor Akihito’s rule. The name for the new imperial era, Reiwa was taken for the first time from an ancient Japanese book instead of from Chinese classics. The era of “Reiwa” begins on May 1, a day after 85-year-old Emperor Akihito abdicates and hands over the Chrysanthemum throne to his eldest son. Crown Prince Naruhito.

10) Indian Army built the longest suspension bridge over Indus river in Leh in just 40 days and the bridge is named as Maitri Bridge. Maitri Bridge: The bridge was constructed by the combat engineers of ‘Sahas aur Yogyata’ regiment of ‘Fire and Fury Corps’ of the Indian Army. The bridge is 260-feet long. This cable suspension bridge is expected to give a major boost to connectivity in remote areas in Ladakh. The bridge is constructed using around 500 tonnes of bridge equipment and construction material. Maitri Bridge has been dedicated to the people of India to commemorate the 20th year of Kargil Vijay Divas. The bridge is part of the central government plans to all-weather road connectivity in the region.

11) The Indian Oil Corporation has stated that Supply of ultra-clean BS-VI grade petrol and diesel has begun in cities adjoining the national capital. The rest of the country will follow suit from April 2020. New Delhi is the first city in the country to leapfrog from BS-IV grade petrol and diesel to BS-VI fuels. Bharat Stage Norms: Bharat Stage norms are standards set by the government to regulate emission of air pollutants from motor vehicles. The norms set the limit for the release of air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, particulate matter (PM) and sulphur oxides from vehicles using internal combustion engines. The Bharat stage norms are based on Euro norms. Difference between BS-IV and BS-VI Norms: The extent of sulphur is the major difference between the Bharat stage IV and Bharat stage VI norms. Bharat stage IV fuels contain 50 parts per million (ppm) sulphur whereas Bharat Stage-VI grade fuel only has 10 ppm sulphur. Bharat Stage VI will bring PM in diesel cars down by 80 per cent when compared to Bharat stage IV. Bharat Stage VI will bring down nitrogen oxides from diesel cars by 70 per cent and in petrol cars by 25 per cent. In 2015 India had decided to leapfrog to BS-VI emission norm compliant petrol and diesel from April 2020, from the BS-IV grade by skipping BS-V norms. While the deadline for the rest of the country stands, the same for Delhi, which is choking on thick toxic smog, was brought forward.

12) The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in the field of standardisation and conformity assessment. Key Features of the MoU: BIS and IIT-Delhi will be setting up a Centre of Excellence in the field of Standardisation, Testing and Conformity Assessment with the BIS branding at IIT-Delhi campus and have also agreed to appoint a Chair in the field of standardisation and conformity assessment. IIT Delhi will provide infrastructure support for research and development projects of relevance to standardisation and BIS will provide financial support to IIT Delhi for projects. Both the institutions will jointly organise training and short-term education programmes on standardisation and conformity assessment, besides exploring the possibility of the hiring of IIT Delhi faculty as consultants on a secondment basis. IIT-Delhi will also introduce topics on standardisation in its academic courses for which BIS will provide inputs. The MoU will remain in force for a period of five years and can be extended further. The MoU will also explore the possibility of using laboratory facilities available at IIT Delhi for catering to the requirements of various conformity assessment schemes of the BIS. Around 50 faculty members of IIT-Delhi are part of the technical committees of BIS and hoped that the memorandum would strengthen the collaboration further.

13) The United States Department of State on Tuesday approved the sale of 24 multi-role MH-60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters to India at a price of $2.4 billion (Rs 16,516 crore). Sale of MH 60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters: The Lockheed Martin-built helicopters will replace India’s ageing fleet of British-made Sea King helicopters. MH-60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters will provide the Indian defence forces with the capability to perform anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions. MH-60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters are designed to operate from frigates, destroyers, cruisers and aircraft carriers along with the ability to perform secondary missions including vertical replenishment, search and rescue, and communications relay. MH-60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters will add would add lethal capabilities of the Indian Navy, which experts say is also the need of the hour given the aggressive behaviour of China in the Indian Ocean region. MH-60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters are considered as the most capable naval helicopter available today and are currently deployed with the US Navy as the primary anti-submarine warfare anti-surface weapon system for open ocean and littoral zones.

14) The United States Department of State on Tuesday approved the sale of 24 multi-role MH-60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters to India at a price of $2.4 billion (Rs 16,516 crore). Sale of MH 60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters: The Lockheed Martin-built helicopters will replace India’s ageing fleet of British-made Sea King helicopters. MH-60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters will provide the Indian defence forces with the capability to perform anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions. MH-60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters are designed to operate from frigates, destroyers, cruisers and aircraft carriers along with the ability to perform secondary missions including vertical replenishment, search and rescue, and communications relay. MH-60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters will add would add lethal capabilities of the Indian Navy, which experts say is also the need of the hour given the aggressive behaviour of China in the Indian Ocean region. MH-60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters are considered as the most capable naval helicopter available today and are currently deployed with the US Navy as the primary anti-submarine warfare anti-surface weapon system for open ocean and littoral zones.

15) In its election manifesto for the Lok Sabha Elections 2019, the Congress party has announced a Minimum Income scheme Nyuntam Aay Yojna (Nyay) as a surgical strike against poverty. Key Facts about the Proposed Scheme: The Nyay scheme is targeted towards 5 crore families who are the poorest 20 per cent in India. Nyay scheme guarantees each family a cash transfer of Rs. 72,000 a year and as far as possible the money will be transferred to a bank account of a woman in the family. There will a design phase (3 months), followed by pilot and testing phases (6-9 months) before the rollout of the plan. The scheme will be implemented in phases and the estimated cost will be less than 1 per cent of the GDP in the first year, and less than 2 per cent of the GDP in the second year and thereafter. As the nominal GDP grows and the families move out of poverty, the cost will decline as a proportion of the GDP. If brought to power, Congress announces the appointment of an independent panel of economists, social scientists and statisticians to oversee the design, testing, rollout and implementation of the programme. The programme will move from one stage to the other only after a go-ahead from the panel. The Nyay scheme would be a joint scheme of the central and state governments. Nyay scheme will be funded through new revenues and rationalisation of expenditure. Current merit subsidy schemes that are intended to achieve specific objectives will be continued. Economists say that income-support schemes of this type cannot coexist with subsidies on account of the resultant fiscal burden. On a standalone basis, the proposed scheme, for 5 crore households, will add 1.9 per cent of GDP to the fiscal deficit and the projected outlay could be higher than India’s health budget estimated at about 1.4 per cent of GDP.

16) The Ministry of External Affairs has signed an MoU with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Consultancy Service (NABCONS) for setting up India-Africa Institute of Agriculture and Rural Development (IAIARD) in Malawi. India-Africa Institute of Agriculture and Rural Development: IAIARD would be a Pan-African Institute wherein trainees not only from Malawi but also from other African countries, will receive training to develop their human resources and build their capacity. IAIARD will impart training in the areas of micro-financing and agro-financing, among others. The expenditure on faculty from India, the travel, logistics and training course expenses for students from other African countries will be borne by the Government of India for an initial period of three years. IAIARD is the first of its kind initiative undertaken in an African country by India. IAIARD will further strengthen the bilateral relations with Malawi and India’s relations with the African Union. NABARD Consultancy Services: NABARD Consultancy Services (Nabcons) is a fully owned subsidiary promoted by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Nabcons is engaged in providing consultancy in all spheres of agriculture, rural development and allied areas. Nabcons leverages on the core competence of the NABARD in the areas of agricultural and rural development, especially multidisciplinary projects, banking, institutional development, infrastructure, training, etc., internalized for more than two decades.

17) A government notification has stated that the national highway from Baramulla to Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir has been put out of bounds for civilian traffic twice a week till May 31. During this time no civilian vehicles will be permitted on the national highway on Sundays and Wednesdays. Why the Ban is being implemented? The ban is being implemented to facilitate the unhindered movement of security forces’ convoys and eliminate the possibility of fidayeen or suicide terror attacks during the ongoing Lok Sabha election process. The ban on civilian traffic would be effective from Baramulla to Udhampur through Srinagar, Qazigund, Jawahar-Tunnel, Banihal and Ramban and would be in force on the two days from 4 am to 5 pm. In case of any emergency requiring passage of a civilian vehicle, the police and administrative officials would take appropriate decisions in line with the provisions of movement of civilian traffic during curfews. Recent Attacks: After the February 14, Pulwama terror attack targeting a CRPF convoy which had left more than 40 soldiers dead, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had announced that no civilian traffic would be allowed during the movement of the paramilitary forces. Further, on March 30 in a suspected terror attack, a car had burst into flames after hitting a paramilitary forces’ truck, with the driver of the car having gone untraceable.

18) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the recent Asian Development Outlook report has made the following observations in the forecast for the financial year 2019-20: India’s growth forecast was lowered for 2019-20 to 7.2% from 7.6% estimated earlier due to moderation in global demand and likely shortfall in revenue on the domestic front. Despite the downgrade in growth rate, India will remain the fastest growing economy, as China is projected to grow at 6.3% in 2019. ADB has cut the growth estimate to 7% from 7.3% projected in December last year for the just-concluded fiscal (2018-19). Growth is expected to rebound to 7.2% in 2019-20 and 7.3% in 2020-21 as policy rates are cut and farmers receive income support, bolstering domestic demand. This growth turn around will reverse two years of the declining trend as reforms to improve the business and investment climate take effect. The growth forecast for India has some downside risks such as moderation in global demand as financial conditions tighten, uncertainty arising out of global trade tensions, and the weak economic outlook in industrial countries. The growth could suffer if tax revenue falls short or any disruption affects the ongoing resolution of the twin balance sheet problem of bank and corporate balance sheets. Since India will remain one of the fastest-growing major economy in the world, it has a golden opportunity to cement recent economic gains by becoming more integrated in global value chains, and the young workforce, improving business climate, renewed focus on export expansion.

19) The US-based organisation Health Effects Institute (HEI) has released the State of Global Air 2019. The findings of the Study are: Overall long-term exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution contributed to nearly five million deaths from stroke, diabetes, heart attack, lung cancer, and chronic lung disease in 2017. Out of these, three million deaths are directly attributed to PM 2.5, half of which were from India and China. South Asia viz. Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan is the most polluted region, with over 1.5 million air-pollution-related deaths. China and India together were responsible for over half of the total global attributable deaths from air pollution in 2017. The life of a South Asian child born today is shortened by two years and six months growing up in current high levels of air pollution, while the global life expectancy loss is 20 months. Worldwide, air pollution is responsible for more deaths than many better-known risk factors such as malnutrition, alcohol use and physical inactivity. More people globally die from air pollution-related diseases than from road traffic injuries or malaria every year. Nearly half of the world’s population, a total of 3.6 billion people — were exposed to household air pollution in 2017. Rapid phasing out of fossil fuels could prevent three million premature deaths annually worldwide. Findings about India: Exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution contributed to over 1.2 million deaths in India in 2017. Air pollution is the third highest cause of death among all health risks, ranking just above smoking in India. In India, 60 per cent of the population still uses solid fuels. This underscores the importance of achieving success in government initiatives to address the problem. Household air pollution can be a major source of impact in outdoor air, with indoor pollution emitted to the outdoor air being the largest cause of health impacts from among all sources in India, contributing to one in four outdoor air pollution-related deaths. The report notes that India has initiated major steps to address pollution sources like the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, accelerated Bharat Stage VI clean vehicle standards and the new National Clean Air Programme. These and other future initiatives have the potential if fully implemented as part of a sustained commitment to air quality, to result in significant health benefits in coming years.

20) The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was partially removed from three of nine districts of Arunachal Pradesh but would remain in force in the areas bordering Myanmar. The State of Arunachal Pradesh had inherited AFSPA since the day of its formation. AFSPA enacted by Parliament in 1958 and was applied to the entire State of Assam and the Union Territory of Manipur. After Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland came into being, the Act was appropriately adapted to apply to these states as well. Controversial Provisions of AFSPA: Section 4 of the AFSPA empowers an authorised officer in a disturbed area with certain powers. The authorised officer has the power to open fire at any individual even if it results in death if the individual violates laws which prohibit (a) the assembly of five or more persons; or (b) carrying of weapons. However, the officer has to give a warning before opening fire. The authorised officer is also empowered to (a) arrest without a warrant; and (b) seize and search without any warrant any premise in order to make an arrest or recovery of hostages, arms and ammunition. AFSPA mentions that individuals who have been taken into custody have to be handed over to the nearest police station as soon as possible. There is no prescribed time limit for detention. Prosecution of an authorised officer requires prior permission of the Central government. Observations made by Various Committees: Justice Santosh Hegde Committee found four out of six deaths it was inquiring in Manipur have similar patterns of cause of death and could be cases of fake encounters. Justice Santosh Hegde Committee report also concluded that AFSPA has not been able to achieve peace in the Northeast, and on the contrary, it has widened the distance between the people of these areas and the mainland. J.S. Verma Committee (2012) and the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee (2005) have found the law arbitrary and have recommended the repeal of AFSPA.

21) The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) make the following observations: Amid slender increases in new orders and production, manufacturing activities slowed down to a six-month low in March, reflecting a loss of growth momentum. The PMI slipped from 54.3 in February to 52.6 in March. The PMI score at 52.6 was a six-month low and it highlights a loss of growth momentum. Even though the operating conditions in the Indian manufacturing industry are improving, there was has been a widespread slowdown in growth. Factory orders and production expanded at the slowest pace since September last while job creation eased in March. Softer increases were registered in new orders, production, input buying and employment. The deceleration was accompanied by subdued inflationary pressures, with rates of increase in input costs and output charges below their respective long-run averages. Manufacturing sector expansion in India retreated in March, with metrics for factory orders, production, exports, input buying and employment all decreasing. The report ahead of the RBI’s first monetary policy for the ongoing fiscal year to be announced on April 4 makes a strong case for the rate cut.

22) The World Autism Awareness Day 2019 was celebrated on April 2nd with the theme ‘Assistive Technologies, Active Participation’. The theme highlights the integral role technology plays in the development of people with any form of disability including autism. Technology is not only important for development it also ensures that people with disabilities enjoy their basic human rights and helps them tackle any issues they face as a member of the society. The theme ‘Assistive Technologies, Active Participation’ also highlights the fact that assistive technologies are expensive and inaccessible to a large population living with autism. There is also a lack of guidance about the usage of assistive technologies and their efficiency throughout the globe. Autism: Autism is a neurodevelopment disorder of variable severity which causes disruption in communication and social interaction. Autism is also characterized by repetitive behaviour and thoughts. Genesis of the World Autism Awareness Day: The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) announced April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day in 2008. The day aims to make sure that no one, including people living with autism, are left behind. The day aims to make healthcare and technology more accessible to people living with autism.

23) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has brought changes to the bad loan divergence rule. The Bad loan divergence practice mandated by RBI aims at improving transparency in asset classification. The Changes brought in by the RBI are: NPA Disclosure Norms: Banks are required to disclose divergence when the additional provisioning for NPAs assessed by RBI exceeds 10% of the reported profit before provisions and contingencies for the reference period, instead of the earlier rule of 15% of the published net profits after tax. The second condition which prescribed the norms on divergence on gross non-performing assets (NPAs) continues to be a material divergence of 15 per cent, as found by the RBI auditors and as reported by the bank has left unchanged. Why the change in norms? It was found that some banks, on account of low or negative net profit after tax were forced to disclose divergences even where the additional provisioning assessed by the RBI was small. This was contrary to the regulatory intent that only material divergences should be disclosed.


24) The Supreme Court has struck down a February 2018 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular which gave lender banks six months to resolve their stressed assets or move under the Insolvency Code against private entities who have defaulted in loans worth over Rs 2000 crore. The RBI had defended the circular by citing public interest and “in the interest of the national economy to see that evergreening of debts does not carry on indefinitely”. RBI had argued that huge amounts that are due should come back into the economy for further productive use”. Observations made by the Supreme Court: The Court accepted the argument made by the petitioners that the applying the 180-day limit to all sectors, without going into the special problems faced by each sector, would “treat unequals equally” and is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. The RBI circular sourced its power from Section 35AA of the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act of 2017. It states that central government may, by order, authorise the Reserve Bank to issue directions to any banking company or banking companies to initiate insolvency resolution process in respect of a default, under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016”. But the RBI circular missed two vital factors viz. authorisation of the government and the general nature of the circular which did not concern a “specific default”. The Judgment even recorded submission that Rs 34,044 crore of their non-performing assets was primarily due to government policy changes, failure to fulfil commitments by the government, delayed regulatory response and non-payment of dues by DISCOMs and were hardly caused by mismanagement. Hence the power companies had asked the circular to be quashed as it was in the nature of “one-solution-fits-all".

25) A group of science experts of the Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology in Kerala are gearing up to launch ‘Café Scientifique’ to promote science among the public in an interesting way. What is Café Scientifique? Café Scientifique envisages bringing science back into popular culture by demystifying scientific research for the public and empowering non-scientists to comfortably assess science and technology issues, particularly those that impact social policymaking. Café Scientifique is a grassroots public science initiative based on the French Café Philosophique model. Under Café Scientifique, meetings of science enthusiasts would be organised every month at a café or a convenient place, where one or more scientists are invited to talk to the public about new developments in science. Various topics such as the universe, climate change, evolution, genetics and human-animal relations will be discussed in every monthly gathering. The project aims to make science relevant, powerful and important to the public, especially the younger generations.

26) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in consultation with the government of India has set the limits for Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for the first half of the financial year 2019-20 (April 2019 to September 2019) at Rs 75000 crore. What is Ways and Means Advances (WMA)? Ways and Means Advances is the temporary loan facility provided by the RBI to the centre and state governments. The WMA scheme was introduced in 1997 to meet any temporary mismatches in the receipts and payments of the government. The WMA needs to be vacated after 90 days. The interest rate for WMA is currently charged at the repo rate. The limits for WMA are decided by the RBI and in consultation with the Government of India. Further, the RBI provides an overdraft facility when the WMA limit is breached. The overdraft is not allowed beyond 10 consecutive working days. The interest rate on overdrafts would be 2 per cent more than the repo rate. WMA Scheme for State Governments: For the State Governments, there are two types of WMA – Special and Normal WMA. Special WMA is provided against the collateral of the government securities held by the State Government. After the exhaustion of the special WMA limit, the State Government are provided with a normal WMA which is based on a three-year average of actual revenue and capital expenditure of the state.

27) Social Media Platform WhatsApp has launched an India-focused fact-checking feature to combat fake news and rumours starting with the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. Curbing Fake News: Users can check the authenticity of the information or rumours received on the platform by reporting the forward to the WhatsApp number +91-9643-000-888. The response will indicate if the information is classified as ‘true’, ‘false’, ‘misleading’, ‘disputed’ or ‘out of scope’, and include any other related information. Pictures, video links or texts in Hindi, Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam and English will be reviewed by WhatsApp. This tip line feature has been developed by WhatsApp in collaboration with India-based media skilling startup PROTO. The tip line feature will help to create a database of rumours to study misinformation during elections as part of a research project commissioned and assisted by WhatsApp. As more data flows in, WhatsApp will be able to identify the most susceptible or affected issues, locations, languages, regions, etc. The verification reports Whatsapp sends back will encourage the users to send more signals for analysis.

28) The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) makes the following observations in the 2019 Global Report on Food Crises report: More than 113 million people across 53 countries experienced “acute hunger” last year because of wars and climate disasters, with Africa the worst-hit region. Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan and Syria were among the eight nations accounting for two-thirds of the total number of people worldwide exposed to the risk of famine. African Nations were “disproportionally” affected as close to 72 million people on the continent suffered acute hunger. The key factors which drove the hunger were Conflict and insecurity along with economic turbulence and climate-related shocks like drought and floods. In countries on the verge of famine, up to 80 per cent of the populations were dependent on agriculture. They need both emergency humanitarian aid for food and measures to help boost agriculture. The strain put on countries hosting a large number of refugees, including war-torn Syria as well as Bangladesh, which has received more than a million Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar has been highlighted in the report. The overall situation slightly improved in 2018 compared to 2017 when 124 million people suffered acute hunger. This reduction in numbers was partially owed to the fact that some countries in Latin America and the Asia Pacific region, for instance, were less affected by weather disasters that had struck in previous years. The year-on-year trend of more than 100 million people facing famine was unlikely to change in the face of continued crises. High levels of acute and chronic malnutrition in children living in emergency conditions remained of grave concern. The Global Food Crises Report is an annual study launched three years ago which takes stock of the countries facing the greatest difficulties in tackling hunger.

29) The statement from the Finance Ministry states that GST collections scaled to a record high of Rs 1.06 trillion in March. The revenue collection was Rs 97,247 crore in the month of February. Record Revenue Mobilisation: The record revenue collection was attributed to increased compliance and increase in the number of returns filed. Total gross GST revenue collected in March 2019 stood at Rs 1,06,577 crore of which Central GST is Rs 20,353 crore, State GST is Rs 27,520 crore, Integrated GST is Rs 50,418 crore and cess is Rs 8,286 crore. The number of summary sales returns GSTR-3B filed for the month of February up to March 31 stood at 7.59 million. The GST revenue collection in March 2019 records an impressive 15.6 per cent growth over March 2018 collection of Rs 92,167 crore. The monthly average of GST revenue during 2018-19 stood at Rs 98,114 crore which is 9.2 per cent higher than the previous fiscal.

30) A study by the global investment banking, securities and investment management firm, Goldman Sachs has stated that Brexit has cost Britain nearly 2.5% of GDP. Findings of the Study: Britain’s economy has lost nearly 2.5 per cent of GDP relative to its growth path prior to the mid-2016 referendum on exiting the European Union (EU) and has lagged other advanced economies as uncertainty dents investment. Policy makers in the UK are still struggling to chalk out the Brexit modalities. The resulting uncertainty over the future political and economic relations with the EU has resulted in real costs for the UK economy and has a spillover effect on other economies. Brexit uncertainty has been a major driver of economic output losses as they are concentrated in investment. Goldman Sachs predicts that the Brexit cost stood at around 600 million pounds ($785 million) per week since the referendum. Further, in a no-deal Brexit scenario it predicts a 15 per cent chance of, Britain witnessing output losses with a ”substantial” global confidence shock marked by sharp sterling depreciation. The study notes that the Brexit will have spillover effects and European countries would be most exposed to this scenario and estimates an output loss of around 1 per cent of real GDP.

31) After the successful test of A-SAT through Mission Shakti, India’s defence capability has got a further boost with the successful launch of the ElectroMagnetic Intelligence Satellite (EMISAT). About EMISAT: EMISAT was jointly developed by ISRO and DRDO, two frontline research agencies of the country. EMISAT will allow India to intercept the radars by detecting the electromagnetic rays from “enemy radar”. EMISAT will cater to India’s strategic defence needs by strengthening the armed forces ability to intercept radar signals and gauge a variety of parameters and understand various details. EMISAT will allow India to know what kind of radar is at work on the other side, based on the spectrum and we will be able to read the distance between the radar and Indian assets too. The satellite has been placed in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an orbit about 700 km from Earth as the objective is to detect low power radar signals. Such radars are typically used to track by low-altitude air-borne vehicles, including aircraft and drones. The Ministry of Defence had initiated the development of the satellite under the project titled Kautilya, which was first openly acknowledged in 2013-14. But the DRDO has since maintained secrecy about the project.

32) As per the directions issued by the Supreme Court to prepare a parking plan for the capital the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA). Assessment of the Problem: Some Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) have demarcated parking lots and are levying extra charges for keeping a second or third car. Hence free parking on public land continues to be a city-wide menace. A serious crisis of night-time parking exists which in turn is leading to obstruction on roads and problems with the movement of emergency vehicles, including ambulances, fire engines, etc.” Lack of regulation or charges over parking on public land adds to the menace, as most car owners, in order to avoid parking charges, shift to parking on the streets adding to congestion on the road. Multi-Level Car Parks (MLCPs) remain under-utilised because there is no parking charge on public land and parking in residential areas is not regulated or priced. As a result, there is no incentive to use the multi-level parking lots or to pay for these. Recommendations of the EPCA: Joint management of parking spaces to “ensure that there is coordination between different road types — service roads and residential lanes and commercial and mixed land use areas. Parking spill over from residential buildings will require management and multiplicity of responsibility is at the core of the problems of governance in the city and parking regulations must not add to this- Pricing for residential parking should be determined jointly by the local agency and RWA/shop-keepers association and it must be based on the principle of charging differential and higher rates for additional cars. The local parking plan must ensure that there is provision for movement of emergency vehicles and green areas, parks and footpaths may not be allowed to be used for parking. The Delhi Police may be directed to greatly improve enforcement against illegal and unauthorised parking through state-of-the-art equipment, including cameras and automated challans. The report notes that MLCPs are working at a loss, and these are just operational costs which “do not account for the price of land, which is exorbitant as these parking lots are located in prime residential areas.

33) India’s external debt has witnessed a decline of 1.6% to US$ 521.2 billion at end-December 2018 over its level at end-March 2018, on account of the decrease in commercial borrowings and trade credit. Further: There had been a valuation gain in external debt as at end December 2018 due to the depreciation of the US dollar vis-a-vis the Indian rupee and other major currencies (viz., SDR, yen, euro, and pound sterling), were placed at US$ 20.6 billion. If the valuation effect was excluded the external debt as at end December 2018 would have been US$ 541.8 billion. Commercial borrowings were the largest component of external debt with a share of 37.4%, followed by NRI deposits (24.1%) and short term trade credit (19.9%). The long-term debt (with an original maturity of above one year) was placed at US$ 417.3 billion at end-December 2018. The share of long-term debt in total external debt at the end of December was 80.1%. It was lower than its level of 80.7% at the end of March 2018. The share of short-term debt (with an original maturity of up to one year) in total external debt increased to 19.9% at end-December 2018 from 19.3% at end-March 2018. US dollar denominated debt continued to be the largest component of India’s external debt with a share of 45.9% at end December 2018, followed by the Indian rupee (24.8%), SDR (5.1%), yen (4.9%) and euro (3.1%). The outstanding debt of both government and non-government sectors had decreased at end-December 2018, in comparison to end-March 2018, however, increased in comparison to end-September 2018.

34) India Meteorological Department (IMD) has finally declared that weak El Nino conditions are prevalent in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. IMD predicts that these conditions are likely to persist in the early part of the summer season and likely to weaken thereafter. The initial impact of a weak El Nino can already be seen with the rising temperatures and heat waves across the country. Till Mid March IMD was maintaining that “warm ENSO neutral conditions are prevailing over equatorial Pacific Ocean” and that they are likely to remain near to the El Nino threshold value during the next two months. The current declaration marks the departure from its earlier predictions. It is said that the prediction for El Nino has come after a delay since weather agencies in other countries had declared weak El Nino conditions at the beginning of 2019 viz. Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA) in January had said that El Nino conditions were prevailing and that there was 80 per cent chance of an El Nino phenomenon staying till spring season of 2019. Climate Prediction Centre (CPC) of the National Weather Service in the United States of America also concluded that weak El Nino conditions had formed in the equatorial Pacific Ocean around the same time as Japan. Further an update by the CPC on March 14, 2019 states that “weak El Niño conditions are likely to continue through the Northern Hemisphere spring 2019 with an 80 per cent probability and summer with a 60 per cent probability”.

35) India and Bolivia have signed an agreement for the development and industrial use of lithium, a prime component used to power electric vehicles and cell phones during the state visit of the President Ram Nath Kovind to Bolivia. Forging Partnerships: India and Bolivia agreed to forge a mutually beneficial partnership to facilitate Bolivian supplies of lithium Carbonate to India and foster joint ventures for lithium battery/cell production plants in India. This agreement will make Bolivia, which is known to have one-fourth of the world’s lithium reserves, one of the major provider of metal for India’s e-mobility and e-storage needs. The agreement facilitates mechanisms for the commercialization of Lithium Carbonate and Potassium Chloride produced in Bolivia by Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos Corporación (YLB – Corporación). Why the agreement can be a game changer? Bolivia is estimated to hold over 60 per cent of the world’s reserves for lithium, which is required for lithium-ion batteries for portable electronics, and electric vehicles, but has not yet started producing it commercially. India is the second largest manufacturer of mobile phones in the world and has the ambitious goal of 30 per cent electric vehicles by 2030. But India imports all its lithium-ion batteries since India has no known sources of lithium, and zero lithium-ion battery manufacturing capabilities currently. As a result, India is heavily dependent on China, Taiwan and Japan for import, especially of batteries required for portable electronics. With the MoU number of Indian companies setting up production capabilities in Bolivia goes up, as well as the import of lithium to India. Domestic production is also set to see a boost, from the automotive perspective. Further, the arrival of hybrids and electric vehicles from as early as 2020 onwards, will force manufacturers to look at local production. This agreement could turn out to be the backbone for the recently launched FAME India policy (Faster Adoption and Manufacture of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles) and will also give a substantial push to India’s ambition to have at least 30 per cent of its vehicles run on electric batteries by 2030.

36) During the state visit of the President Ram Nath Kovind to Bolivia, Bolivia has signed the framework agreement to join the International Solar Alliance. International Solar Alliance: International Solar Alliance (ISA) aims to provide a common platform to address the specific solar technology deployment needs of the solar resource-rich countries located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Availability of abundance of solar energy in these countries can be utilised to generate cost-effective solar power to address the challenges of the lack of universal energy access, energy equity and affordability. International Solar Alliance will not duplicate the efforts that other bodies like International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), International Energy Agency (IEA), Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), United Nations bodies, bilateral organizations etc. rather it will establish networks and develop synergies with them and supplement their efforts in a sustainable and focused manner. ISA has launched three major programmes: Scaling Solar Applications for Agriculture Use, Affordable Finance at Scale, and Scaling Solar Mini-grids to help in achieving the overall goal of increasing solar energy deployment in the ISA member countries for achieving universal energy access and speeding up economic development. Further ISA is planning to launch two more programmes: Scaling Solar Rooftops and Scaling Solar E-mobility and Storage. International Solar Alliance is the first body that will have a secretariat in India. India plays a significant role in the alliance in terms of being a host as well as a major contributor for achieving the target of 1 TW of solar energy by 2030 which would require $1 trillion to achieve with a target to produce 100 GW of solar energy by 2022, would account for a tenth of ISA’s goal.

37) The Election Commission of India (ECI) in a first of its kind initiative has reached out to over 150 community radio stations across the country to educate and inform the voters ahead of the general elections. To facilitate the collaboration a workshop was organised by India International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Management (IIIDEM), in partnership with Seeking Modern Applications for Real Transformation (SMART), at IIIDEM, Dwarka. The Workshop was organised for training and capacity building of the community radios for voter education and awareness. How Community Radios can contribute? They can play a vital role in motivating and mobilising the voters, enlisting them into the electoral roll, mobilising them to go to the polling booth, educating them about their rights and responsibilities, and making them an informed and educated voter. Community radio stations can further strengthen democracy by developing content in local dialects and deepening the process of voter education and awareness up to the grass root levels. Community radios are one of the best mediums to reach out to the last voter of the country. The Election Commission envisions to make community radio stations an integral part of the voter education programme and the workshops were just the beginning of a long term and sustained engagement between Election Commission and Community Radio Stations.

38) The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has approved a new rule for expats under which foreign workers will now be able to sponsor their family members if they fulfil certain income criteria and has scrapped the previously listed ‘professions’ criterion. Indians in UAE: According to the data from the Indian Embassy, Indians in the UAE constitute the largest part of population of the country. Approximately 3.3 million non-resident Indians constitute about 30 per cent of the total population of the UAE. What did the old criteria say? Male expats could sponsor their immediate family members such as wife and children if he earned a monthly salary of Dh 4,000 (approximately Rs 75,000) or Dh 3,000 (Rs 56,000) plus accommodation provided by his company and had to be employed in certain categories for him to be eligible to sponsor his family. Similarly a female resident could sponsor her family only if she was a teacher, engineer or a health professional and earned Dh 4,000 per month and if she worked in any other sector, she needed to have a minimum monthly salary of Dh 10,000 (Rs 1.88 lakhs) and a special approval from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs. The new rules have done away with the profession criterion. The UAE has taken the decision aimed at enhancing family stability of foreign workers and social cohesion, as well as attracting highly skilled workers while maintaining a healthy balance between professional and personal lives.

39) The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched an electronic intelligence satellite ‘Emisat’ for the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) along with 28 third party satellites. About the Launch: The notable aspects of the launch were a new variant of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV); switching off and on the fourth stage engine couple of times; and the use of the fourth stage as an orbital platform carrying three experimental payloads. PSLV first placed the 436 kg Emisat into a 749 km orbit. Then the rocket was brought down to put the 28 satellites into orbit, at an altitude of 504 km. Then the rocket was brought down further to 485 km where the fourth stage/engine transformed into a payload platform carrying three experimental payloads: Automatic Identification System (AIS) from ISRO – for maritime satellite applications capturing messages transmitted from ships. Automatic Packet Repeating System (APRS) from AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation), India – to assist amateur radio operators in tracking and monitoring position data. Advanced Retarding Potential Analyser for Ionospheric Studies (ARIS) from Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) – for the structural and compositional studies of the ionosphere. For the first time, the launch also demonstrated new technology of putting payloads into three different orbits with a new variant of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket.

40) The state of Odisha celebrates Odisha Divas or Utkala Divas every year on April 1st to commemorate the state formation day. On this day 82 years ago, Orissa (now Odisha) was established as a province of British India. Odisha Timeline: In 1912, Bihar and Orissa had been separated from Bengal to form the Bihar and Orissa Province. In 1936, Bihar and Orissa Province was itself split to form Bihar Province and Orissa Province. On 1 April 1936, the new province Orissa came into being with Sir John Austin Hubback, Indian Civil Servant (ICS), as the Governor. Orissa was the first linguistic province in the country. After Independence, the area of Orissa was almost doubled and the population was increased by a third with the addition of 24 former princely states. The name of the state was changed from Orissa to Odisha, and the name of its language from Oriya to Odia, in 2011. Known centuries ago as Kalinga, the state of Odisha has displayed exemplary courage in resisting the might of the Mauryas in the Kalinga War. Home to Lord Jagannath, state of Odisha has a fifth of India’s coal, a quarter of its iron ore, a third of its bauxite reserves and much of the country’s art and culture.

41) State-owned Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) has become the “first Indian shipyard” to build and deliver 100 warships. The 100th warship ‘IN LCU L-56’ has been handed over to the Indian Navy. GRSE had handed over its 99th warship, ‘ICGS Priyadarshini’, an advanced ‘Fast Patrol Vessel’ to the Indian Coast Guard. Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd: Based in Kolkata, Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) is a shipbuilding company in India under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence. GRSE primarily caters to the shipbuilding requirements of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard. In addition to its ship and warship building capabilities, GRSE is also engaged in engine production and other engineering activities. In 1934, GRSE was incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 and was later acquired by the Government of India from Macneill & Barry Limited on May 19, 1960. In 2006, GRSE was conferred the status of Mini Ratna. Over the years, GRSE has built around 780 platforms, including 100 warships to the Navy, the Coast Guard, and the Mauritius Coast Guard.

42) Zuzana Caputova has won Slovakia’s presidential election, making her the country’s first female head of state. Ms Caputova defeated high-profile diplomat Maros Sefcovic, nominated by the governing party. She won 58% of the vote, with Mr Sefcovic trailing on 42%. Mr Sefcovic is the vice president of the European Commission. Slovakia: Slovakia is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia is a member of the European Union and NATO. Slovakia was the “other half” of Czechoslovakia, which split into two countries in 1993. Slovakia’s which spans about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi) is mostly mountainous. The capital and largest city is Bratislava, and the second largest city is Košice. The official language is Slovak and Euro is its national currency.