Weekly Current Affairs (Mar 26 to Apr 1)

First-ever conference was held here bringing together various constituencies that have an interest in India and discussing the latest developments and the best practices of doing business in India.
On March 26 Bangladesh celebrated its Independence day.
Karnataka bank has launched a novel card product ‘MoneyPlantTM Rupay’ international platinum debit card as part of its efforts to provide more privileges to its premium customers.
Railways will set up Wi-Fi hotspot kiosks at about 500 stations and help people access an array of online services, including various government schemes.
India's navy announced Friday it successfully fired its first surface-to-air missile from its aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.
India has become the third largest aviation market in terms of domestic passenger traffic, beating Japan.
The Border Security Force on Saturday received its first woman field officer after a convocation ceremony conducted in the BSF academy at Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior Tanushree Pareek, a resident of Rajasthan, led the passing-out parade at the BSF Academy as the first woman field officer.
Pujara achieved the landmark for scoring the most runs in a Test season, surpassing the mark of 1269 by Gautam Gambhir which he achieved in the 2008/09 season.
Four startups from T-Hub, one of the largest start-up ecosystem builders in India, have bagged global awards.
The 25th Annual Hyderabad Software Exporters Association (HYSEA) Awards brought IT multinationals, medium enterprises and startups of the city on one platform.
Paytm set to become a member of the self-regulatory voluntary organisation Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)
India’s most well-known business personalities congregated at CNBC-TV18’s India Business Leader Awards (IBLA) 2016-17 in New Delhi.
The archaeology department of Telangana has discovered the world's largest capstone after excavating an ancient human burial site in Siddipet district.
Photojournalist Raghu Rai was conferred with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry for “his remarkable contribution to the field.”
Indian auto parts maker Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd (MSSL) had completed the buyout of Finland's PKC Group for 571 million euros ($619.4 million).
West Bengal on Sunday lifted the Santosh Trophy for the 32nd time after Manvir Singh struck in the 119th minute for a 1-0 win over Goa, extending their domination in the premier domestic football tournament.
American financial magazine Barron's has listed the name of HDFC Bank Managing Director Aditya Puri’s name in its list of world’s 30 best CEOs.
The Business Standard Annual Awards for Corporate Excellence was held in Mumbai.
The list of state with highest seeded Aadhaar numbers was topped by Andhra Pradesh which had linked 87.73 per cent of its Jan-Dhan accounts with Aadhaar numbers followed by Tripura at 87.08 per cent and Telangana 83.56 percent.
Rafael Nadal celebrated his 1,000th tour level match with a come-from-behind victory over German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber to reach the fourth round of the Miami Open.
General Insurance Corporation (GIC Re) is likely to be the first PSU insurer to tap the capital market as the Finance Ministry has started scouting for merchant bankers to manage its Initial Public Offering (IPO), yet not officially released.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has joined the 36th scientific mission to Antarctica, organised by the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR).
Veteran actor Anupam Kher was honored with the Kala Ratan Award by Vice President Hamid Ansari at Punjab University, Chandigarh.
World Theatre Day is observed globally on 27th March every year. World Theatre Day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI), France.
Australia fast bowler Shaun Tait has announced his retirement from international cricket. Tait who last played for Australia in a Twenty20 international against India in January 2016, cited his chronic elbow trouble as the reason for quitting the game.
FIFA confirmed that the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata will be the venue of the final of the FIFA Under 17 World Cup to be held later in 2017.
India’s special athletes gave an impressive performance and won 73 medals in the recently concluded 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games held in Austria.
Odisha became the first state in the country to carry financial inclusion and extend banking services to unbanked areas through Self Help Groups (SHGs).
R Ashwin has set another record of the most wickets (79) in a Test season. Ashwin eclipsed Dale Steyn’s tally of 78 which was set in 2007/08.
Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) has been adjudged the ‘Best Small Bank for 2016’.
The Gem and Jewelry Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) hosted the International Diamond Conference in Mumbai.
Vijaya Bank entered into an MoU with Piaggio Vehicles for providing financial support for the purchase of vehicles under Small Road Transport Operators (SRTO) scheme in Bengaluru.
The Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) launched Mobile Clinic Services for the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Syndicate Bank digitally inaugurated 40 ‘Ananya’ transformed branches. Project Ananya is a two-year large-scale transformation project undertaken by the bank to provide customers with ‘best in class’ services while improving and modernizing the whole bank.
Indian-origin British director Gurinder Chadha has been honoured with the Sikh Jewel Award for 2017 for her immense contribution to British cinema.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel beat Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes in a straight fight as Formula 1's new era started at the Australian Grand Prix.
ICICI Bank announced a partnership with mobile app firm Truecaller for a new UPI-based mobile payment service.The new feature called as Truecaller Pay, and it will allow users of the app to instantly create a UPI ID, send money to any UPI ID or a mobile number registered with the BHIM app.
The country's premier medical institute, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences here, got a new director today with the appointment of Dr Randeep.
Leading communication app Truecaller has tied up with Google to integrate the tech giant's video calling app Duo within the Truecaller app.
Shuttlers Purva Barve and Varun Kapur handed India double delight by winning their respective age group sections in the Li Ning-Israel Open 2017.
Indian-American Vanita Gupta has been appointed as president and CEO of ‘The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’, becoming the first woman to head the prestigious organization.
The apex policy making body for indirect taxes, CBEC is being rechristened as the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) in the run up to the Goods and Services Tax regime to be rolled out from July 1.
Promising Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty clinched the $20,000 Vietnam Open International challenger badminton doubles title after defeating Thai pair of Trawut Potieng and Nanthakam Yordphaisong in a final in Hanoi, Vietnam.
State-run Engineers India Ltd on said that Shazia Ilmi Malik has been appointed as additional director (non-official part-time independent).
Society for Transformation, Inclusion, and Recognition through Sports (STAIRS) announced that Mr. Siddhartha Upadhyay, its founder and secretary general has been appointed to the governing body of Sports Authority of India.
The government is gearing up to roll out Aadhaar Pay , a digital payment platform for merchants, with 20 banks expected to go live at the launch on April 14.
Airports Authority of India won Dainik Bhaskar's India Pride Awards - 2016 -17 for "Excellence in Infrastructure Development" in the category of Public Sector Undertaking - Central.
Television viewership ratings agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) on Tuesday appointed Mukul Mudgal, former chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana high court, as head of its independent disciplinary committee—BARC India Disciplinary Council (BDC).
Trade body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) today said the Vice-Chairman of auto-major Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Vikram Kirloskar,has been appointed as its Chairman, Southern Region, for the period 2017-18.
Indian Railways is all set to launch an alternative train accommodation scheme ‘Vikalp’ from April 1. Under this scheme, the wait-listed passengers will get an option of selecting alternative train on the same route.
United Nations Chief Antonio Guterres has appointed former South Carolina Governor David Beasley to head the Rome-based World Food Programme (WFP).
Advertising agency network Cheil bagged a record 14 awards at ADFEST 2017 that concluded in Pattaya, Thailand.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development authority of India (IRDAI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 20 lakh on ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company on various charges.
Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani has been inducted into the international advisory board of global think-tank the Atlantic Council.
Vijaya Bank on Monday entered into an MoU with Piaggio Vehicles for providing financial support for the purchase of vehicles under Small Road Transport Operators (SRTO) scheme in Bengaluru.
The Union Defence Ministry has approved most of the proposals of a committee of experts, headed by Lt. Gen. D.B. Shekatkar (Retd) to bring host of reforms in the military and improve financial management.
Home of the Brave", which traces the early history of the Rashtriya Rifles counter-insurgency force in Jammu and Kashmir has been released has been released here by the Indian Army chief, General Bipin Rawat.
The country’s fast-growing e-commerce industry Paytm is all set to become a member of the self-regulatory voluntary organization Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) from April, 2017.
Veteran actor Anupam Kher will be honoured with the Kala Ratan Award by Vice President Hamid Ansari.
As per Central Electricity Authority, the Designated Authority of Government of India for Cross Border Trade of Electricity, 1st time India has turned around from a net importer of electricity to Net Exporter of electricity.
The Mental Healthcare Bill 2016, that provides for mental healthcare and services for persons with mental illness, and also decriminalises suicide, secured parliamentary approval on Monday with the Lok Sabha's assent to the legislation.
India’s off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin received Garfield Sobers Trophy for being named the ICC Cricketer of the Year as well as the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh.
ICICI Bank has announced a partnership with mobile app firm Truecaller for a new UPI-based mobile payment service.
Gastroenterology and laparoscopic surgeon Dr C Palanivelu received the prestigious Dr. B. C. Roy Award from the Indian President, Pranab Mukherjee, under the 'Eminent Medical Person' category.
The Govardhan Eco Village of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) at Wada taluka has received an award instituted by Water Digest, a news portal on water management.
President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Sunaina Singh, currently head of the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Hyderabad, as the new vice chancellor of Nalanda University.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that mobile manufacturing company Oppo Mobiles India Private Limited will be the new team sponsor of the Indian cricket team from April 1, 2017 for a period of five years.
The 9th World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) will be held in Vancouver, Canada between September 9 and September 15 2017. The theme will be 'Weaving new connections'.
The International Hockey Federation and Government of Odisha on Monday officially confirmed that the Men's Hockey World League Final 2017 and Men's Hockey World Cup 2018 will be held in Bhubaneswar.
Amazon, the USA based e-commerce giant made its entry in UAE by acquiring Souq.com, the Middle East’s largest online retailer.
India has finished at the top of the ICC Test rankings for the second successive year after beating Australia 2-1 in the four-Test series. As a result of being No. 1 by the cut-off date of April 1, India will be presented with a cash award of $1 million by the ICC.
ALTBalaji, the digital platform of Balalji Telefilms Ltd, has announced a partnership with mobile wallet major MobiKwik.
India has become a net exporter of electricity for the first time.
United Bank Limited (UBL), one of the Pakistan's largest banks, announced Monday that it had appointed Sima Kamil as the new president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the bank, to replace outgoing CEO Wajahat Hussain.
Indian-American Vanita Gupta, who headed civil rights division in the Department of Justice in the Obama Administration, has been appointed as president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, becoming the first woman to head the prestigious organisation.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are jointly working on the development of Dual Frequency (L and S band) Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging Satellite named as NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR).
Priti Patel, the UK Government's Secretary of State for International Development and first ever UK-India diaspora Champion, has been awarded India's highest honour for members of the Indian diaspora.
The 3rd G-20 Framework Working Group (FWG) Meeting under the G-20 German Presidency was held in Varanasi on 28th and 29th of March, 2017.
State Bank of India has said that it will offer credit cards to every account holder who has a balance of Rs 20,000-25,000, without going into credit history.
India’s S V Sunil named player of the year for 2016 in Asian Hockey Awards.
India and Nepal have renewed the fuel supply agreement between Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) for another five years.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting, M Venkaiah Naidu has said that the Online Film Certification System of CBFC would facilitate the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of Ease of Doing Business and Digital India.
The Government of India signed a contract for the Discovered Small Fields (DSF) Bid 2016 with GEM Laboratories for extracting Hydrocarbons at Neduvasal, in Tamil Nadu.
Sunaina Singh appointed as new Vice Chancellor of Nalanda University.
Former South Carolina Gov. David Beasley was appointed Wednesday to head the U.N. World Food Program, the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide as it assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries every year.
In the Historic move, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will formally open the longest road tunnel of South Asia- Chenani-Nashri Tunnel on 2nd April 2017.
Axis Bank has tied up with Wells Fargo, the third largest American bank by assets, to offer real time remittances from the Indian diaspora to their relatives back home.
SBI Card launched a unique credit card ‘SBI Card Unnati’ targeted at all SBI customers, including Jan Dhan account-holders across the country.
Montenegro is set to become Nato's newest member after the US Senate voted overwhelmingly to ratify the tiny Balkan nation's entry.
The Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh has become the first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot, which has been named Bhoorsingh the Barasingha.
Drawing a strong line on environmental issues, the Supreme Court banned the sale and registration of Bharat Stage III (BS-III) vehicles from April 1, when BS-IV emission norms will come into force across the country.
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson breaks Sunita Williams’ spacewalking record.
Odisha-based installation artist Sitaram Swain has been chosen as the Glenfiddichs Emerging Artist of the Year 2017.
Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat was on Wednesday conferred the rank of honorary General of the Nepal Army by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari at a special ceremony at the President's official residence Sheetal Niwas.
RBI says payment systems to remain closed on April 1.
Japan-based Nomura’s India head of equities business Prabhat Awasthi is taking over as country head with effect from 1 April 2017.
Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba unveiled an integrated aviation meteorological system which is expected to bring accuracy in weather monitoring mechanism in the Indian Navy.
Political stalwarts Sharad Pawar, Murli Manohar Joshi and the late Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma, cricketer Virat Kohli and Bollywood singer Anuradha Paudwal were among the 39 people who were conferred this year's Padma awards.
Interest rates on small savings schemes cut by 0.1%
India has joined the International Energy Agency as an associate member, a development that the IEA said makes the prestigious Paris-based body more relevant and reflects the country's move to the centre stage of the global energy dialogue.
President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Namami Brahmaputra, India's largest river festival.
Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu released the book titled “Indian Railway- The weaving of a National Tapestry” jointly authored by Shri Bibek Debroy (Member, NITI Aayog) Sri Sanjay Chadha (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce) & Ms. Vidya Krishnamurthi.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh launched a scheme allowing distribution of LED tubelights and energy-efficient fans as part of an initiative to promote energy saving.
National Bulk Handling Corporation (NBHC), India’s leading provider of integrated commodity and collateral management services of agri-commodities announced appointment of Maninder Singh Juneja as the managing director and CEO.
El Salvador (Smallest Country in Central America) – has approved a law prohibiting all metal mining in an attempt to protect the environment and natural resources.
Indian-origin South African billionaire Iqbal Surve has been appointed as chairperson of the country’s BRICS Business Council and has underlined the need for strengthening trade ties with countries like India and China.
Senior bureaucrat Vanaja N Sarna was appointed as chairperson of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).
Rajiv Kumar Chander, a 1983 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, was appointed the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the UN offices in Geneva.
82nd establishment day of RBI.
SBI gets new logo and enters in the league of top 50 Global Banks.
Kotak Mahindra Bank launches 8-11 app to double customer base.
Axis bank ties up with Wells Fargo for US remittances.
Malaysian Prime minister Najib Razak visits India.
Kanha tiger reserve becomes first in India to get official mascot.