11th APRIL CURRENT AFFAIRS IN ENGLISH

1. Nepal President inaugurates International Conference on Human Rights

 

Inaugurating an International Conference on Human Rights in South Asia in Kathmandu, Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari said that understanding of human rights should not be confined to speeches and writings but it should also be part of our daily lives.

• The conference is organized by the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal.
• The theme of conference is “Identifying Challenges, Assessing Progress, Moving Forward: Addressing Impunity and Realizing Human Rights in South Asia”.

2. Andhra CM Naidu inaugurates 'Happy Cities Summit 2018' in Amaravati

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Founder of Isha Foundation Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev has inaugurated a three-day long 'Happy Cities Summit 2018' in Amaravati.

• Around 1,000 delegates from India and abroad will take part in the Summit.
• This is first of its kind program in India.

3. Govt. bans imports of hormone oxytocin

The Union government has banned imports of oxytocin to stop its misuse in the livestock industry, where activists say it causes hormonal imbalances and shortens the lives of milch animals.

• Often called the ‘love hormone’, oxytocin is released naturally in human bonding activities such as, childbirth and breastfeeding.
• The government has decided to rely on domestic production to satisfy requirements of the hormone.

4. Transgenders to be recognised as independent gender category in PAN

 

The government has amended Income Tax rules that will now allow transgenders to be recognised as an independent category of applicants for obtaining a Permanent Account Number (PAN) for their tax-related transactions.

• The move is to help transgenders obtain their PAN card and help them link it with their Aadhaar cards.
• Till now, only male and female gender categories were available to be chosen on the PAN application form.

5. VP inaugurates “Scientific Convention on World Homoeopathy Day”

The Vice President of India Shri. M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the two-day “Scientific Convention on World Homeopathy Day” organized by the Ministry of AYUSH.

• The convention was attended by more than 1500 delegates, which included homoeopathic researchers, scientists from allied sciences, practitioners, students, industrialists as well as representatives of various homoeopathic associations.

6. First Meeting of the ‘NITI Forum for North East’ held in Agartala

The first meeting of the newly constituted ‘NITI Forum for North East’ was held in Agartala, Tripura.

• The meeting was organized by the NITI Aayog, Ministry of DoNER and the North Eastern Council (NEC).
• In his inaugural address, Shri Rajiv Kumar said the focus of development projects in the NER will be based on the concept of “HIRA” (Highways, Inland Waterways, Railways and Airways) as spelled out by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
• He said emphasis will also be made on Education, Health and Skill Development in the region.
• He further said that Horticulture, Tourism, Food Processing, use of Bamboo and Made in North-East will be developed through five Mission Mode projects in a time-bound manner.

7. India Signs MOU With World EXPO 2020 Dubai

India and World Expo 2020 signed participants contract for India’s pavilion in the prestigious World Expo 2020 held once in 5 years.

• The contract provides for the setting up of India pavilion at Expo 2020 on an extra large plot (about one acre) in the ‘Opportunity’ segment. This is tune with the great opportunity for economic activity that India provides today on the way to becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025.  
• Focus will be given to India’s advances in Space, Pharma, IT, Renewable Energy, Telecom sectors.

8. Wipro's Rishad Premji appointed Nasscom chairman

Rishad Premji, Board member of Wipro Ltd. has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) for 2018-19.

• Premji has been a member of NASSCOM’s Executive Council and was the Vice Chairman for the previous year.
• He succeeds Raman Roy, who served as Chairman of NASSCOM for the year 2017-18.

9. VP Releases Books ‘Sarvapriya Atalji’, ‘Jannayak Atalji’ and ‘Atal Jeevan Gatha’

 

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that democracy is the ideal system of governance and Shri Atal ji has succeeded in preserving it.

• He was addressing the gathering after releasing the Books on former Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, ‘Sarvapriya Atalji’, ‘Jannayak Atalji’ and ‘Atal Jeevan Gatha’.
• The Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Statistics & Programme Implementation, Shri Vijay Goel and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.