24th APRIL CURRENT AFFAIRS IN ENGLISH

1. World Book Day: 23 April

World Book Day or World Book and Copyright Day is a yearly event on April 23rd, organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), to promote reading, publishing and copyright.

• In the United Kingdom, the day is recognized on the first Thursday in March.
• World Book Day was celebrated for the first time on 23 April 1995.
• In 2018, World Book Day's theme is “Reading, it's my right”.

2. Suresh Prabhu to Chair First Meeting of Think Tank on Framework for National Policy on E-Commerce

Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, will chair the first meeting of the think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce to be held on April 24th, 2018.

• Senior officers of the ministries/ departments of the Government of India involved in different aspects of e-commerce; high level representatives from the industry bodies, e-commerce companies, telecommunication companies and IT companies; Reserve Bank of India; and independent experts have been invited to participate in the meeting.
• The think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce has been established recently by the Department of Commerce.
• It will provide a credible forum for an inclusive and fact-based dialogue leading to recommendations for informed policy making, so that the country is adequately prepared to take advantage of the opportunities, and meet the challenges, that would arise from the next wave of advancements in digital economy.

3. AFSPA revoked in Meghalaya

The Centre has revoked The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) from Meghalaya since April 1.

• Earlier the AFSPA was effective in 20 km area along the Assam-Meghalaya border.
• In Arunachal Pradesh, the impact of AFSPA was reduced to eight police stations instead of 16 police stations and in Tirap, Longding and Changlang districts bordering Assam.
• The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 is effective in whole of Nagaland, Assam, Manipur (excluding seven assembly constituencies of Imphal) and parts of Arunachal Pradesh.

4. National Panchayati Raj Day: 24 April

National Panchayati Raj Day is the national day of India celebrated by Ministry of Panchayati Raj on 24 April annually.

• Then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh inaugurated the first National Panchayati Raj Day in 2010.

5. Diu Smart City becomes first to run on 100% Renewable Energy during Daytime

Diu Smart City has become the first city in India, that runs on 100% renewable energy during daytime setting a new benchmark for other cities to become clean and green.

• Diu had been importing 73% of its power from Gujarat until last year.
• It has now adopted a two-pronged approach whereby a 9 MW solar park spread over 50 hectares rocky barren land has been developed besides installing solar panels on the roof tops on 79 government buildings thereby generating 1.3 MW annually.
• To further enhance its solar capacity, Diu offers its residents a subsidy of Rs 10, 000-50,000 for installing 1-5KW roof top solar panels.
• Diu is saving about 13,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year. Due to low-cost solar energy, power tariffs have been cut in residential category by 10% last year and 15% this year.

6. International SME Convention – 2018 begins in New Delhi

Delegates from 37 countries are participating in the first ever International SME Convention being held in New Delhi from 22nd to 24th April 2018.

• Some of the participating countries are Australia, Austria, France, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, South Africa and UAE.
• The Convention will be also hosting over 400 entrepreneurs from India.
• During the 2 days’ Convention a Khadi fashion show called “Transcending Boundaries” will be held.

7. India highest recipient of remittances in 2017

India retained the top position as recipient of remittances with its diaspora sending about USD 69 billion back home last year, the World Bank said.

• Remittances to India picked up sharply by 9.9 per cent, reversing the previous year's dip, but were still short of USD 70.4 billion received in 2014.
• India was followed by China the Philippines, Mexico, Nigeria and Egypt.

8. BoI ties up with NeSL

Bank of India has entered into an agreement with National e-Governance Services Ltd (NeSL) for availing NeSL’s  Information Utility (IU) service to expedite the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process.

• This is in compliance with the the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.
• MD&CEO of Bank of India, Dinabandhu Mohapatra, said the operationalisation of IUs will mark a new era in Indian banking and the IU infrastructure will strengthen lenders.

9. Mario Abdo Benitez elected as Paraguay's president

Conservative candidate Mario Abdo Benitez of Paraguay's ruling Colorado Party narrowly defeated his opposition in the country's presidential elections.

• The group has dominated the country's political landscape for more than 70 years.
• Benitez vowed to focus on Paraguay's persistent poverty by stimulating foreign investment.