NATIONAL

PM launches low-cost regional lights:

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the lives of the middle class were being transformed, while inaugurating the first flight under the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme for regional connectivity.

The Prime Minister inaugurated the first UDAN flight on the Shimla-Delhi route, Kadapa-Hyderabad and Nanded-Hyderabad sectors through a video conference from Shimla.

President to visit Punjab on May 2:

President Pranab Mukherjee will go on a one-day visit to Punjab on May 2. He will be the Chief Guest at the 8th Convocation of Lovely Professional University, Chaheru, in Kapurthala district.

 

 

Aayog unveils 3-yr plan for power and energy:

    The draft of Three Year Action Agenda for FY18-FY20 released by the NITI Aayog, recommended a number of targets and policy guidelines. Energy efficiency was a key role in the formulation of the agenda.

Thermal power plants with unsatisfactory energy efficiency levels should go through renovation and modernisation. Old polluting power plants near populated areas should be phased out by 2019.

Haryana: “Ballabhgarh” renamed as “Balramgarh”

    Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that Ballabhgarh would now be known as “Balramgarh”. The government had earlier renamed Gurgaon as “Gurugram” and Mewat as “Nuh”. It had accepted requests from villagers to rename several villages.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL

China plans a new city worth $290 billion near Beijing:

    Chinese government announced its plan of building a new city, about two hours drive from Beijing, China’s capital that is about to cap its population at 23 million by 2020.

It would be based on urban designing to check congestion and air pollution. Morgan Stanley expects the investment in infrastructure and relocation to run about 2 trillion Yuan ($290 billion) in the first 15 years.

 

Tax treaty to boost eco ties between India, Cyprus: Arjun Ram Meghwal

    India and Cyprus expressed confidence that the recent revision in tax agreement between the two will provide a boost to investment flows.

The pending issue of revision of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) has been resolved said by the Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal, at the India-Cyprus business session organised by industry chambers.

Banking & Business

BRICS bank grants $300 mn loan to Brazil’s renewable sector:

The New Development Bank, jointly founded by the BRICS countries, and the Brazilian Development Bank have decided to give a loan of $ 300 million to develop the South American country’s renewable energy sector.

The loan agreement was signed by Xian Zhu, vice president and chief operations officer of the NDB and Marcelo Siqueira, legal director of Brazilian Development Bank.

 

India slips on freedom index:

India has slipped three notches in the World Press Freedom Index 2017, a report released by global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders.

In the list of 180 countries mapped by the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), India stands at 136, down from last year’s 133rd rank.

Science & Technology

Cassini finishes first dive between Saturn rings:

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has successfully executed its historic first-ever dive through the narrow gap between the planet Saturn and its rings, marking the beginning of the ‘Grand Finale’ of the 20-year-long journey. The spacecraft is in the process of beaming back science data collected during its passage.

 

India successfully test-fires Agni III missile:

    India successfully test-fired its intermediate-range ballistic missile Agni-III from Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast by DRDO. Agni-III has a strike range of more than 3,000 km and capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes.

 

AWARDS

IIT-M scholar wins GYTI 2017 Award:

    Students and Research Scholars of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) got the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Awards 2017. Dr Vikram Singh, former Research Scholar in the Department of Chemistry, IIT Madras, won the BIRAC GYTI Award for his project ‘White Light Emission from Vegetable Extracts’.

 

APPOINTMENTS

Nita Ambani made member of IOC’s Olympic Channel Commission:

    India’s first woman International Olympic Committee member Nita Ambani has made it to two important commissions of the global sport’s governing body, including the prestigious Olympic channel.

Ms. Ambani has replaced International Paralympic Committee President Philip Craven, who was a member of the commission till last year.

 

 

Syrian refugee and Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini becomes UNHCR ambassador:

    The UN refugee agency has chosen as a goodwill ambassador a Syrian teenage girl Yusra Mardini, 19, who helped save a boat carrying fellow refugees and later became an Olympic swimmer. She was appointed as UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.

 

 

SPORTS

Neeraj qualifies for Worlds:

    Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, the under-20 World record-holder, qualified for the World championships with an impressive 83.32m effort that fetched him the silver at the Asian Grand Prix’s.

 

 

OBITUARY

Veteran actor-MP Vinod Khanna no more:

Veteran actor and Member of Parliament Vinod Khanna – the dashing Bollywood star best known for his roles in films such as “Amar Akbar Anthony”, “Qurbaani” and “Insaaf”, died at the age of 70 due to cancer.

 

 

 

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