1. From April 1, the petrol pumps in New Delhi started supplying ultra-clean Bharat Stage (BS) VI grade fuel (both petrol and diesel) with an aim to combat the rising levels of air pollution in Delhi-NCR region. The newly introduced fuel is estimated to reduce the amount of sulphur released by 80%, from 50 parts per million to 10 ppm. As per the analysts, the emission of Nox (nitrogen oxides) from diesel cars is also expected to reduce by nearly 70% and 25% from cars with petrol engines. Other cities like Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad along with 13 major cities, including Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune, will also switch over to cleaner BS-VI grade fuel from January 2019. However, BS- VI fuel will be rolled out in rest of the country by April 2020.
2. Sreekumaran Thampi, the renowned Lyricist and director, has been chosen for the prestigious J.C. Daniel Award for 2017 in recognition of his sterling contributions to the Malayalam film industry. The J.C. Daniel Award, which is Kerala's highest award in Malayalam cinema.
3. The 7th Moscow Conference on International Security (MCIS – 2018) will be held in Moscow, Russia from April 4.
4. India is now the second-largest mobile phone producer in the world after China, as per information shared by Indian Cellular Association (ICA) with the Government of India (GoI). ICA referred to data available from market research firm IHS, China's National Bureau of Statistics and Vietnam General Statistics Office.
5. The Kerala football team has won the 72nd edition of Santosh Trophy Football tournament 2018 by defeating West Bengal in the final by 4-2 via penalties at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on April 1. It is their sixth Santosh Trophy Football title.
6. The West Bengal government has rolled out a new scheme 'Rupashree' from April 1, 2018 in order to provide marriage assistance to girls coming from economically weaker families with a budgetary allocation of Rs 1500 crore.
7. Asia' s largest startup ecosystem congregation "Huddle Kerala" will be held at Kovalam near the Kerala capital 'Thiruvananthapuram' from April 6 and 7, 2018 to provide a platform for start-ups to pitch their products and interact with a wide array of technology and industry leaders from around the world.
8. Debjani Ghosh, former managing director of Intel South Asia, has been appointed the new President of National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM). She succeeded R Chandrashekhar.
9. Prakash Javadekar, the Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD), has recently released INDIA RANKINGS 2018 for Higher Educational Institutions and presented awards to the institutions under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF-2018). In it, the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) in Bengaluru has been adjudged the overall best institution in the country. Apart from this, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) – has been adjudged the best engineering college and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM – A) the best management institution. Delhi University's Miranda House was the best college and National Law School of India University, Bengaluru (NLSIU – B) the best law school in the country. In the medical college category.
10. Rosemary DiCarlo, the US diplomat, has been appointed as the head of UN political affairs, one of the most high-profile positions at the United Nations (UN). With this, DiCarlo has become the first woman to head this position.
11. The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Mid-Term Ministerial Conference 2018 will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan on April 5-6 under the theme "Promoting International Peace and Security for Sustainable Development". The Non-Aligned Movement includes 120 states. Seventeen states and 10 international organizations hold observer status of NAM. In 2019, the Republic of Azerbaijan will host the 18th Summit of the NAM and will chair NAM in 2019-2022.
12. India has been ranked 37th out of 125 countries in global startup ecosystem in 2017, according to latest report released by global startup ecosystem map Startupblink. The Startupblink is a global startup ecosystem map with tens of thousands of registered startups, coworking spaces, and accelerators.
13. Star weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu from Manipur has clinched the first gold for India at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG-2018) with a power-packed performance in the women's 48 kg weightlifting category in Gold Coast, Australia on April 5. In a remarkable performance.
14. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), often called Summer Davos, will be held at Boao, a coastal town in the southern island province of Hainan from April 8 to 11 with theme 'Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity'. It is modeled after the World Economic Forum (WEF) held annually in Davos, Switzerland. It has its fixed address in Bo'ao, Hainan province, China, although the Secretariat is based in Beijing.
15. As per latest survey conducted by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) across 53 airports, the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) has been declared as the cleanest and best-maintained airport in the country.
16. India's longest elevated road, which is also known as "Hindon Elevated Road", has been inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Ghaziabad. The expressway is a 10.3 km long elevated road that connects Raj Nagar Extension in Ghaziabad to the border of Delhi at UP Gate near Vaishali. It reduces an hour-long journey to just 18 minutes.
17. Julius Maada Bio has recently taken oath as the new President of Sierra Leone in the capital Freetown on April 4, 2017.
18. Indo-Korean joint anti-piracy, search and rescue exercise 'Sahyog-Hyeoblyeog 2018' was conducted off the Chennai coast, in Tamil Nadu on April 6. The Korean Coast Guard ship 'BADARO' took part in the exercise.
19. Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Railways and Coal, has launched UTTAM App for Coal Quality Monitoring. UTTAM stands for – Unlocking Transparency by Third Party Assessment of Mined Coal (uttam.coalindia.in).
20. Weightlifter Sanjita Chanu from Manipur has clinched the India's second gold at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG-2018) in the women's 53 kg weightlifting category in Gold Coast, Australia on April 6. She lifted a total of 192kg (84 kg in Snatch + 108 kg in Clean and Jerk).
21. The Indian Air Force (IAF) will carry out one of its biggest combat exercises named 'Gaganshakti 2018' from 8th April to check its operational preparedness with a focus on dealing with any possible security challenges from China and Pakistan.
22. The Uttar Pradesh Government has launched the Ganga Hariteema Yojana (also known as Ganga Greenery scheme) on 7th April 2018 in 27 districts of the state located on the bank of river Ganga. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has launched the scheme at Allahabad in a function organised on the bank of Sangam the confluence of rivers of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati.
23. The World Health Day (WHD) is observed every year on 7 April to mark the anniversary of the founding of World Health Organization (WHO) and to spread awareness about health and well being.
24. The Kamuthi Solar Power Project is a solar park spread over an area of 2,500 acres in Kamuthi, Tamil Nadu. The project was commissioned by Adani Power. With a generating capacity of 648 MW at a single location, it is the world's sixth largest (as of 2018) solar park.
25. The joint military exercise "Desert Tiger 5" was recently held between United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia in Dubai, UAE.
26. Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma will be honoured with the 2018 Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Award for her successful movies as a producer.
27. In a bid to use technology for farmers' benefit, the Tamil Nadu government has launched mobile application named 'Uzhavan' (farmer) app that will allow ryots to have access to 9 types of services including details about their crop insurance.
28. The Maharashtra government has tied up with Tata Trusts to finance the state's first poultry company to be run and owned by tribal women.
29. India's first high-speed electric locomotive has been flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Madhepura Electric Locomotive Factory in Bihar on April 10, 2018. It has a 12000 horsepower (HP) engine with a maximum speed of 110 km per hour. The first big Make-in-India project is developed & completed in collaboration with French firm Alstome.
30. Ban Ki-moon, the former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, has been elected as the new Chairman of Boao Forum for Asia (BFA). He succeeded Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. The BFA is a non-profit organisation i.e. committed to promote regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries closer to their development goals. The 2018 BFA conference, often called Summer Davos, was held at Boao, a coastal town in the southern island province of Hainan from April 8 to 11 with theme 'Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity'.
31. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched a unique initiative 'Project Dhoop' to encourage schools to shift their morning assembly to around noon-time, mainly between 11 am to 1 pm, to ensure maximum absorption of Vitamin D in students through natural sunlight.
32. The first international conference on 'Water, Environment and Climate Change: Knowledge Sharing and Partnership' has started in Kathmandu, Nepal on April 10, 2018.
33. Indian women's Table Tennis team has created history by clinching their first-ever Gold medal at the 21st Commonwealth Games 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia. Indian paddlers Manika Batra, Madhurika Patkar and Mouma Das won the final tie 3-1 against Singapore's Tianwei Feng, Yihan Zhou and Mengyu Yu. Manika Batra led Table tennis team's victory was historic as Singapore had never lost since 2002.
34. In its latest Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2018, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has stated that India's economic growth is set to rise to 7.3% in 2018-19 and grow at 7.6% further in FY20 on the back of structural reforms such as GST and clean banking. In its report.
35. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has recently approved setting up a 5000 MW capacity solar park at the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR), which would be the largest such entity in the world after its completion.
36. Rishad Premji, the chief strategy officer and board member of Wipro Ltd, has been appointed as the new Chairman of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) for 2018-19. He succeeded Raman Roy.
37. India with an economic freedom score of 54.5 points has been ranked 130th in the latest annual Index of Economic Freedom released by a top American think-tank the Heritage Foundation. As per 2018 Index, India is developing into an open-market economy, but traces of its past autarkic policies remain. The Index covers 12 freedoms – from property rights to financial freedom – in 186 countries. The index is topped by Hong Kong, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland and Australia.
38. The 10th edition of a biennial exhibition of weapons and military hardware "DefExpo India- 2018" has started at Tiruvidanthal, Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu on April 11, 2018.
39. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched the navigation satellite IRNSS-1I into the orbit with the help of PSLV-C41 launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on April 12, 2018. IRNSS-1I is the 8th such satellite to be a part of the NavIC navigation satellite constellation. It is expected to replace IRNSS-1A, the first of the seven navigation satellites, which was rendered ineffective after its three rubidium atomic clocks failed. The IRNSS 1I mission is critical for the space agency as it is ISRO's second attempt to replace the IRNSS 1A satellite, after the failure of the IRNSS 1H mission in August 2017. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is a constellation of seven satellites that provides indigenously developed regional GPS services called NavIC.
40. Veena Sahajwalla, an Indian-origin scientist in Australia, has launched the world's first microfactory that can transform the components from electronic waste items such as smartphones and laptops into valuable materials for re-use.
41. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has installed the Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology lab at the Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management campus, which is likely to reduce effects of exposure and radiation compared to the 3G/4G systems. This will be the first-of-its-kind 5G radio laboratory in India that will be inaugurated on April 13, 2018.
42. Indian shooter Anish Bhanwala from Haryana has created history by becoming the country's youngest ever gold medal winner in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) at the age of just 15. He achieved the feat after winning gold medal with a Games record in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol event at the Belmont Shooting Centre. He created a Games record with a score of 30 to finish at the top of the podium in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games on April 13, 2018.
43. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has decided to scrap the quota system in government services after thousands of students marched across the country in protest against a controversial policy of setting aside jobs for special groups.
44. At the 65th National Film Awards for 2017, the Indira Gandhi Award For Best Debut Film Of A Director was given to the Jasari language movie 'Sinjar' directed by Pampally.
45. On 13th April 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has tightened reporting norms for the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) under which an individual can transfer upto $ 2,50,000 US Dollars abroad in a year. The central bank has made it mandatory for banks to file a daily report of all such transactions. In a notification, RBI stated that these daily reports will be accessible to all other banks and make the verification easier. The purpose of this move is to improve monitoring and also to ensure compliance with the LRS limits. Currently, the LRS transactions are permitted by authorised dealer (AD) banks based on the declaration made by the remitter as there is no way to verify the claim independently. Now, as per new norms, banks will be required to upload daily transaction-wise information undertaken by them under LRS. Under the LRS, Indians are currently allowed to invest overseas $250,000 a year per person.
46. The 2018 India Mobile Congress will be held at Aerocity in New Delhi from October 25th to 27th. It is one of the biggest marquee Mobile, Internet and Technology events in Asia, organized by Department of Telecommunications and Cellular Operators Association of India.
47. Manika Batra has created history by becoming the first Indian woman table tennis player to win a singles gold at the Commonwealth Games. She defeated Yu Mengyu of Singapore 4-0 in the final at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 on April 14, 2018.
48. In Athletics, 20-year old Neeraj Chopra has become the first Indian javelin thrower to claim a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, pulling off a season's best effort of 86.47 metres in the final, at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 on April 14, 2018.
49. Ram Kumar (94), the noted Indian painter, has passed away on April 14, 2018. He was known for his abstract landscapes. A modernist, he was associated with the Progressive Artists' Group comprising M.F.Husain, F.N.Souza, H.A.Gade, S.H.Raza and others. The seminal group gave a new direction to Indian art by introducing a fresh idiom. Kumar was honored with Padma Shri by in 1972 and Kalidas Samman by the Madhya Pradesh government in 1986.
50. Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje, the former Himachal Pradesh governor and Madhya Pradesh High Court judge, has been elected as the new international president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Gurugram on April 14, 2018 for which voting was held for the first time in over five decades.
51. The Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project is located in Sasan village in Singrauli district in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The power plant is operated by Sasan Power Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Power. Sasan UMPP along with the coal mine is the largest integrated coal-cum-power plant in the World. It is India's first domestic coal-based UMPP.
52. The New York Times and The New Yorker have jointly won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service on April 16 for explosive reporting that brought down Harvey Weinstein and spawned a cultural watershed on the issue of sexual harassment. The prestigious prize was awarded to the Times team led by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey and New Yorker contributor Ronan Farrow, for reports that ruined the career of the Hollywood mogul and sparked movements such as #MeToo and Time's Up.
53. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM 2018) has started in London, United Kingdom with theme 'Towards a Common Future' from April 16. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take part in the event on 19th and 20th of April. The biennial event has brought together delegates from 53 Commonwealth nations.
54. The World Bank has projected India's growth rate at 7.3% for 2019 and 7.5% for 2020.
55. The International Monetary Fund in the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) has projected India to grow at growth rate at 7.4% in 2018 and 7.8% in 2019, up from 6.7% in 2017. The report stated that India in 2018 and 2019 would re-emerge as one of the fastest growing major economies.
56. The World Heritage Day (WHD), also known as the International Day for Monuments and Sites, has been celebrated every year on April 18 ever since 1982. The purpose of the day is to spread awareness of the importance of protecting and preserving various sites around the world that have achieved world heritage status. As of 2018, India has 36 World Heritage.
57. The first meeting of National Council on India's Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan has started in New Delhi on April 18, 2018. The mandate of the National Council on India's Nutritional Challenges is to provide policy directions to address countries nutritional challenges through coordinated inter-sectoral action.
58. The United Kingdom has formally joined the India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA) on April 17, 2018. The announcement was made an event held at the London Stock Exchange as part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 (CHOGM). With this, UK became the 62nd signatory member of the ISA. The UK's partnership will involve providing expertise and advice to the alliance, but no monetary contributions. ISA is an inter-governmental treaty-based organisation that aims to mobilise $1 trillion in funds for future solar generation, storage and technology across the world by 2030.
59. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has launched the digital platform 'Pocket Cop Project' in order to ensure that the police force of the state is equipped with modern day technology. Under the project, every officer in charge of the police station, Investigating Officer, PCR van and officials handling the passport verification process shall be equipped with a smartphone enabled with internet connectivity.
60. The Tilaiya Dam is a concrete gravity dam build across the Barakar River at Tilaiya in Koderma district of Jharkhand.
61. The 2018 Global Malaria Summit was held alongside the 25th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London, United Kingdom on April 18 to make game-changing commitments towards beating malaria at a time when efforts to end the preventable disease had stalled. The summit expected the world leaders to renew their financial and political commitments to continue the fight against malaria. There was no India representative to participate in the summit because there is no India commitment.
62. As per the database of IMF's World Economic Outlook (WEO) for April 2018, India is the world's 6th largest economy with record Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $2.6 trillion for 2017. The five economies ahead are the United States, China, Japan, Germany and United Kingdom. This is the first time India crossed the $2.5 trillion yardstick used to distinguish between the big economies and the rest if the world. Further, the IMF has said that India is expected to grow at 7.4% in 2018 and 7.8% in 2019, up from 6.7% in 2017. Apart from this, the World Bank has also forecasted India's GDP growth from 6.7% in 2017 to 7.3% in 2018 and to subsequently stabilise at 7.5% in 2019 and 2020.
63. The meeting of the Council of foreign ministers of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will be held in Beijing, China on April 24, 2018. The Indian delegation will be represented by Union External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. Ms Swaraj is on 6-day visit to China and Mongolia. These are the first SCO meetings after India and Pakistan were admitted into the 8-member group in which China and Russia play an influential role. The foreign ministers meeting is part of the preparations of the SCO summit scheduled in June 2018 that will also be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Qingdao.
64. The World Earth Day (WED) is celebrated every year on April 22 worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The day was proposed at the UNESCO conference in 1969 and the first Earth Day celebrations took place in 1970. The person credited for organising the event 48 years ago is US Senator Gaylord Nelson. The 2018 campaign theme 'End Plastic Pollution' will provide the information and inspiration needed to fundamentally change human attitude and behavior about plastics.
65. Nabi Tajima (117), the world's oldest Japanese supercentenarian, has passed away in Kikai, Japan on April 21, 2018. She was born on August 4, 1900, and reportedly had more than 160 descendants, including great-great-great grandchildren.
66. The Chinese dragon 'Son of Dreams' has been declared the official mascot of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China.
67. King Mswati III of Swaziland, who is the Africa's last absolute monarchy, has officially changed the name of his country to the 'Kingdom of eSwatini' to mark 50 years since independence from British rule. Meaning "Land of the Swazis", eSwatini is the Swazi language name for the tiny state landlocked between South Africa and Mozambique.
68. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has created history by becoming the first listed Indian IT company to hit the $100 billion market capitalisation (m-cap) mark. On April 23, 2018, the market value of the company stood at Rs 6.53 lakh crore. TCS breached the Rs 3,500 ($52.87) per share mark for the first time, reaching $100 billion in market capitalisation.
69. The Basava Sagar Dam is a dam constructed across the Krishna River at Siddapur Village in Bijapur District of Karnataka. It is previously known as Narayanpur Dam.
70. 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.
71. The World Malaria Day (WMD) is observed every year on April 25 to recognize global efforts to control malaria, which affects and claims millions of lives annually. Malaria is caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. "Ready to beat malaria"
72. The bilateral joint training exercise "Harimau Shakti 2018" will be conducted between India and Malaysia in the dense forests of Sengai Perdik in Hulu Langat district of Malaysia from April 30 to May 13, 2018. The Indian Army will be represented by 4 Grenadiers, one of the oldest infantry battalions which have rich operational experience in conventional as well as counter- insurgency warfare. The aim of the exercise is to bolster cooperation and coordination between armed forces of both the nations and to share the expertise of both the contingents in conduct of counter insurgency operations in jungle terrain.
73. The Jalaput Dam is a hydroelectric dam built on the Machkund River, a tributary of the Godavari River, and stands as a boundary between the states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
74. India's first-ever nationwide conference on the archaeology, anthropology and sociology of food will be held in Mumbai, Maharashtra from on May 5 and 6, 2018. The conference titled "ArchaeoBroma" is being touted as India's first-ever national meet on "food as culture".
75. India has been ranked 138th out of 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI), which is compiled by Reporters Without Borders. Norway topped the list of having the world's freest press for the second year in a row, followed by Sweden and The Netherlands. On the other hand, North Korea remained the most repressive country followed by Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Syria and then China.
76. Vistara, the joint venture carrier between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, has become the 3rd Indian carrier to be a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a global body of 280 airlines.
77. The World Intellectual Property Day (WIPD) is observed every year on April 26 to highlight the role of intellectual property rights, such as patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and copyright, in spurring innovation and creativity. The 2018 theme is "Powering Change: Women in Innovation and Creativity".
78. Indu Malhotra, a renowned arbitration expert, has become the first woman lawyer to be directly promoted as a judge of the Supreme Court (SC). She took oath of office and secrecy as Supreme Court judge in New Delhi on April 27, 2018. With Malhotra joining the bench, the strength of the Supreme Court is now 25, against the sanctioned strength of 31, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). In 2007, Ms Malhotra, was only the second women to be appointed a senior advocate by the apex court, three decades after Leila Seth made the history. In 1989, Justice M Fathima Beevi became the first woman to be appointed as a judge of the apex court. Thereafter, Justice Sujata V Manohar, Justice Ruma Pal, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai made it to the top court as judges.
79. The Dudhsagar Waterfalls is amongst India's tallest waterfalls with a height of 310 m and an average width of 30 metres. It is a four-tiered waterfall located on the Mandovi River in Goa. It is 60 km from Panaji by road and is located in the Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary and Mollem National Park among the Western Ghats. The waterfall forms the border between Karnataka and Goa states. The area is surrounded by a deciduous forests with a rich biodiversity.
80. The 2nd edition of Shirui Lily Festival 2018 has recently concluded at Ukhrul district in Manipur on April 28, 2018. The festival is sponsored by the Department of Tourism, Government of Manipur to spread awareness about conservation of the endangered Shirui Lily and promote the district of Ukhrul as a tourist destination in Manipur. The festival is also being supported by NEC and aims to promote afforestation and sustainable tourism efforts in the state.
81. The Sipat Super Thermal Power Station is located at Sipat in Bilaspur district, Chhattisgarh. The power plant, which is also known as Rajiv Gandhi Super Thermal Power Station, is one of the coal based power plants of NTPC.
82. On April 29, the 2018 International Buddhist Conference was held in Lumbini, the birth place of Gautama Buddha. It was organised as part of 2562nd Buddha Jayanti celebrations.
83. The multi-nation counter-terrorism exercise "Peace Mission" will be held at the Ural mountains of Russia in September 2018, which will take place under the framework of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
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