Preface Dear Readers, The ‘Current Affairs’ section is an integral part of any examination. This edition of Manthan has been developed by our team to help you cover all the important events of the month for the upcoming exams like Banking, Insurance, CLAT, MBA etc. This comprehensive bulletin will help you prepare the section in a vivid manner. We hope that our sincere efforts will serve you in a better way to fulfil aspirations. Happy Reading! Best Wishes Team CL Contents 1. POLITY AND GOVERNANCE .................................................................................. 1–28 • National • International 2. ECONOMY AND FINANCE ................................................................................... 29–48 • Economy News • Banks in News • Firms in News 3. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ........................................................................... 49–54 • Inventions/Discoveries • Health/ Disease 4. ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT ......................................................................... 55–57 5. SPORTS ................................................................................................................ 58–62 • Sports Personalities in News • Sport Events 6. AWARDS............................................................................................................... 63–65 7. PERSONS IN NEWS ............................................................................................ 66–66 8. MISCELLANEOUS ............................................................................................... 67–70 9. IMPORTANT DAYS .............................................................................................. 71–73 10. QUESTIONNAIRE ................................................................................................ 74–108 • Questions • Answer Key & Explanation MANTHAN Current Affairs Supplement –April, 2018 POLITY AND GOVERNANCE National Permanent Indus Commission meet took place in New Delhi • India and Pakistan went ahead with talks on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) at the 114th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) took place in New Delhi. • The Permanent Indus Commission is a bilateral commission consisting of officials from India and Pakistan, created to implement and manage the goals and objectives and outlines of the Indus Waters Treaty. Indus Water Treaty was signed in September 1960, according to this treaty, waters of the three western rivers (the Jhelum, the Chenab, and the Indus itself) were allocated to Pakistan, and those of the three eastern rivers (the Ravi, the Beas, and the Sutlej) were allocated to India. First International Justice Conference • Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs and Law and Justice P.P. Chaudhary embarked on an official visit to Marrakech, Morrocco, for the first International Justice Conference. • The conference is being organised by parliamentary constitutional monarchy Morrocco in celebration of the judicial reforms undertaken by it in 2017. Six monuments or historical sites in North Eastern States identified for listing under World Heritage Site • As many as 6 monuments/historical sites in the North Eastern states have been identified tentatively for listing under World Heritage Site. • They are; 1. Apatani Cultural Landscape, Arunachal Pradesh, 2. Iconic Saree Weaving Clusters of India, 3. Moidams – the Mound – Burial System of the Ahom Dynasty, Assam, 4. Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh, 5. River Island of Majuli in midstream of Brahmaputra River in Assam, 6. Thembang Fortified Village, Arunachal Pradesh. India-Japan-US trilateral in New Delhi • New Delhi will host the strategically important trilateral dialogue between India, Japan and the US. • The India-Japan-US trilateral was launched in December 2011 when Hillary Clinton was the Secretary of State. For the first several rounds the trilateral was held at the director or assistant secretary level. The inaugural ministerial trilateral was held on September 29, 2015, in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Session. It was hosted by the then US Secretary of State John Kerry. The External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida represented their respective countries. The last ministerial dialogue was also held in New York in September 2017. MANTHAN April, 2018 Page : 1 MANTHAN Current Affairs Supplement –April, 2018 West Bengal introduces 'Rupashree' marriage assistance for girls • The West Bengal government has introduced a new scheme "Rupashree" for marriage assistance to girls coming from economically weaker families with a budgetary allocation of Rs 1,500 crore. • A one-time assistance of Rs 25,000 to the family of the girl with an annual income upto Rs 1.5 lakh at the time of marriage after attaining the age of 18 years". Keshari Nath Tripathi is the present Governor of West Bengal and Mamata Banerjee is the current and 8th Chief Minister of West Bengal. She is the first woman to hold the office. The British East India Company cemented their hold on the region following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, and Calcutta served for many years as the capital of British India. Arun jaitley re-appointed Leader of House in Rajya Sabha • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been re-appointed as Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha. • Article 80 of the Constitution lays down the maximum strength of Rajya Sabha as 250, out of which 12 members are nominated by the President and 238 are representatives of the States and of the two Union Territories. The present strength of Rajya Sabha, however, is 245, out of which 233 are representatives of the States and Union territories of Delhi and Puducherry and 12 are nominated by the President. Jaitley previously held the cabinet portfolios of Commerce and Industry and Law and Justice in the Vajpayee government (1998–2004) and served as the Minister of Defence in the Narendra Modi government as additional charge. From 2009 to 2014 he served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. He is a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India. India, Korea Coast Guards held joint exercise on April 5 • The Indian Coast Guard and the Korea Coast Guard was held a joint exercise off Chennai on April 5. • The joint exercise, named Sahyog - Hyeoblyeog 2018 is part of a proposed establishment of a MoU between the two Coast Guards to improve maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region. NIRF India Rankings 2018’ for Higher Education Institutions released • The Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar has released the NIRF India Rankings 2018 in various categories on the basis of performance of Higher Educational Institutions in a programme held in New Delhi. • The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, retained its position as India’s top-ranked university for the third year in a row. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was ranked second, followed by Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in the third place. • IIT-Madras was first among the engineering colleges, IIM-Ahmedabad the best management school. AIIMS- Delhi topped among medical institutions. Cabinet gives node to right size CCI to 4 members • The Cabinet approved rightsizing of antitrust watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) by halving the number of its members to three. • CCI currently has one chairperson and six members. • It will now have one chairperson and three members. Devender Kumar Sikri is the current Chairperson of the CCI. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) was established under the Competition Act, 2002 for the administration, implementation and enforcement of the Act, and was duly constituted in March 2009. MANTHAN April, 2018 Page : 2 MANTHAN Current Affairs Supplement –April, 2018 I&B sets up panel to frame regulations for online news portals • The Information and Broadcasting Ministry set up a committee to frame laws to regulate online media and news portals. The ten-member committee will be headed by Information and Broadcasting Secretary. • The committee will “analyse the international scenario” for similar regulations and will also have to define the scope of what all can be regulated in online news and media sphere. Smriti Zubin Irani is the current Information and Broadcasting and Textiles Minister in the Government of India. Election Commission will set up pink polling booths for the first time in Karnataka • The Election Commission (EC) will set up sakhi or pink polling booths for the first time in Karnataka. • These pink polling booths will have completely female staff including presiding officers, polling officers, micro observers and security personnel. • The pink booths are aimed at empowering women and increasing their participation in the poll process". Prime Minister to inaugurate International Energy Forum in New Delhi • India is set to host the 16thInternational Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial Meeting from 10-12th April 2018 in New Delhi. • The biennial IEF Ministerial Meetings are the world's largest gathering of Energy Ministers who engage in a dialogue on global energy issues. International Energy Forum countries account for more than 90 percent of global oil and gas supply and demand. The IEF is promoted by a permanent Secretariat based in the Diplomatic Quarter of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Uttarakhand’s second Mega Food Park inaugurated at Udham Singh Nagar • Union Food Processing Industries Minister Smt. HarsimratKaurBadal has inaugurated the second Mega Food Park in Uttarakhand at MahuakheraGanj in Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar