21th APRIL CURRENT AFFAIRS IN ENGLISH

1. BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Washington D.C

The first meeting of the BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was held in the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings on 19th April, 2018 in Washington D.C.

• Ministry of Finance, Government of India was represented in the meeting by Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (EA).
• The main issues that the meeting discussed were related to enhancing the project pipelines of New Development Bank (NDB) evenly across member countries, expansion of NDB’s membership, the proposal of the South African Presidency for setting up a working group on illicit financial flows and a BRICS Task Force on Public Private Partnership.
• Issues related to BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) as well as BRICS Bond Fund were also discussed.

2. Regional Conference on “Urban Development: Technological Solutions and Governance Challenges”

Two day Regional Conference on “Urban Development: Technological Solutions and Governance Challenges” concluded in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

• The Conference was organized by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India in collaboration with the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Gujarat Council along with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), an autonomous research organization under the Ministry of External Affairs.
• The Conference was the third lead-up event to the 3rd Annual Meeting of AIIB scheduled to be held on 25th and 26th June, 2018 in Mumbai.
• Before this Conference, two Regional Conferences have already been held at Kolkata and Vishakhapatnam.
• In total, eight such Regional Conferences will be held at different places in the country.

3. Vice President inaugurates 2-day event of 12th Civil Services Day

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that translating “legislative intent” into “programmatic content” and demonstrating to the common citizens what “Surajya” actually looks like in day to day administration, the civil services have an enormous opportunity today.

• He was delivering the inaugural address at the 2-day event of the 12th Civil Services Day in New Delhi.
• The Vice President said that a clean, competent, people-friendly, proactive administrative leadership is the need of the hour.

4. SJVN signs MoU with Ministry of Power

SJVN Limited, the operator of one of the largest Hydro Power Plants in the country i.e. 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of Power, Govt. of India for the year 2018-19.

• As per the targets set in the MOU, SJVN shall strive to achieve 9200 Million Units generation during the year under ‘Excellent’ category.
• Further, SJVN will have Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) target of Rs. 900 crore and Turnover target of Rs. 2175 crore under Excellent category along with other targets related to operational efficiency and Project monitoring.

5. TCS first Indian company with $100 billion market cap

Tata Consultancy Services has touched $100 billion mark in market capitalisation as its share price surged nearly 7%.

• The IT major is the first listed Indian company to achieve this milestone.
• TCS is the leading the chart as the most valued firm followed by Reliance Industries Ltd, HDFC Bank, ITC and HUL in the top-five list.

6. Miguel Diaz-Canel named Cuba's new president

Miguel Díaz-Canel was officially named as the new leader of Cuba, one day after a secret vote in the country's National Assembly.

• It's the first time in nearly six decades that Cuba is being led by a man not named Castro.
• Díaz-Canel, 57, was selected by a vote of 603-1 as the unopposed candidate to replace Raul Castro, 86.

Points to Remember

• Cuba is a country located in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean meet.
• Havana is the capital of Cuba.
• Peso is the currency of Cuba.

7. Prince Charles to be next head of Commonwealth

 

Commonwealth leaders have formally announced that Prince Charles will become the next head of the organisation after the Queen.

• The role is not hereditary, but the Queen used the Commonwealth heads of government gathering in London to say it was her “sincere wish” to be succeeded by her son.

Points to Remember

• The Commonwealth is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire.
• Patricia Scotland is the Secretary General of the Commonwealth.

8. Former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajinder Sachar passes away

 

Human rights activist and former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Justice Rajinder Sachar (94) passed away at a New Delhi hospital.

• Justice (retd.) Sachar was the Chief Justice from August 6, 1985, to December 22, 1985.
• After his retirement, he was associated with rights group People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

9. The second session of NAI’s Book reading series -“Archives Reads”

The Second Book reading session of 'Archives Reads' was organised by NAI with Author & Prof Deepak Kumar, former Professor, JNU reading from his latest publication “Trishanku Nation – Memory, Self and Society in Contemporary India".

• Speaking on the occasion, Director General, National Archives of India (NAI), Shri Pritam Singh, said that the rich archives available with NAI is a treat for students, researchers, historians and authors.
• He said this book reading series would help inculcate archival awareness among the masses, to bring prominent historians closer to the young readers.