NATIONAL NEWS

Government Launches 'Sangathan Se Samriddhi' Scheme

• Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh launched the 'Organization to Prosperity' campaign on 18 April.

• It will empower marginal rural households by bringing all eligible rural women into Self Help Groups (SHGs).

• The government is targeting to bring the existing 9 crore to 10 crore women under the ambit of SHGs.

• The government has set a target that every woman associated with self-help groups should be able to earn one lakh rupees annually.

• Self-help groups (SHGs) are informal associations of people who choose to come together to find ways to improve their living conditions.

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh Launches ‘YUVA PORTAL’

• Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr.Jitendra Singh launched the Youth Portal in New Delhi.

• It aims to connect and identify potential youth start-ups.

• Science and Technology Minister Dr Jitendra Singh also launched the One Week - One Laboratory programme.

• The event emphasises the need for broad-based participation from stakeholders in the industry for startups to remain sustainable.

• Each of the 37 CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) laboratories is dedicated to a different specialised area of work.
• The One Week - One Lab program will provide an opportunity to CSIR laboratories to showcase their work.

UGC Issues New Regulations for Students’ Grievance Redressal

• UGC released new regulations for the grievance redressal of students.

• The new regulation proposed the establishment of the Students Grievances Redressal Committee(s) (SGRC) in all Higher Education institutions (HEIs).

• As per the regulations, the Universities are requested to appoint Ombudsperson within 30 days of notifications.

• The Vice-Chancellors/ Principals have been requested to take necessary measures for the publicity of Regulations.

• The regulations have a detailed mechanism for the constitution of SGRCs and their composition and the appointment of the Ombudsperson.

• These regulations will be called the University Grants Commission (Redressal of Grievances of Students) Regulations, 2023.
• The regulations will apply to all higher education institutions established under a Central Act or a State Act.
• The main objective of the regulation is speedy redressal of grievances of the students enrolled in any institution.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India-Russia Business Dialogue 2023

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov attended the inaugural session of ‘India-Russia Business Dialogue’ 2023 in New Delhi.

• The participants in the business forum discussed issues of further enhancing Russian-Indian practical cooperation, including the Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC).

• The External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced that India and Russia have crossed the bilateral trade target of 30 billion dollars before the target year of 2025.

• He also referred to the expansion of the network under the scheme of settlement of international trade in Indian Rupees through the Special Rupee Vostro Account System.
• India and Russia are paying special attention to the issues of mutual access of products to the markets of both the countries.

World's Largest 'Narco-State'

• Syria has become the world's largest 'narco-state' and most of its foreign exchange earnings come from the production and export of Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine commonly referred to as ‘poor man's coke’.

• Drug trafficking, is especially Captagon, which is a significant part of Syria's economy.

• It accounts for more than 90 percent of the country's foreign exchange earnings according to criteria to be classified as a narco-state.

BANKING

SIDBI Launches Pilot Scheme ‘Mission 50K-EV4ECO’

• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched the pilot financing scheme Called the Mission 50K-EV4ECO for better financing terms in the electric vehicle space (EVS) and strengthening the whole ecosystem.
• It is to strengthen the EV ecosystem, including uptake for two, three and four-wheelers through direct and indirect lending.
• The pilot scheme, which is the precursor to EVOLVE scheme by SIDBI-World Bank, has two components –direct lending and indirect lending.
• This pilot will be followed by scaling up support to the ecosystem from multilateral support.
• Under direct lending, SIDBI will directly give loans to eligible Micro Small and medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for the purchase of electric vehicles.
• The indirect scheme targeted at NBFCs, including small unrated focused and emerging NBFCs, actively engaged in EV financing, will reach out to the last mile by inducing access to funds as also reducing landed cost.

Singara Chennai Card

• Chennai Metro Rail Ltd in association with the State Bank of India (SBI) launched the Singara Chennai Card (NCMC – National Common Mobility Card).
• The technology for the RuPay NCMC cards has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
• The card has a unique feature of a Stored Value Area which can be used to store a maximum amount of 2000 rupees that can be used for ticket purchases in Offline mode
• The Singara Chennai cards can be used in Chennai metro stations, and at other metros that accept RuPay NCMC cards.
• In the future, consumers would be able to use the card for travel on buses, suburban railways, for toll, parking, smart city and retail shops, in many parts of the country.

SPORTS

Asian Wrestling Championship 2023

• India participated in the 36th edition of Asian Wrestling Championship to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan from 09 to 14 April 2023.

• The event was originally planned to be held in New Delhi, India.

• A total of 331 wrestlers from 22 countries participated in this competition, out of which 30 wrestlers were from India.

• Indian wrestlers were successful in winning a total of 14 medals in the championship. This includes one gold, three silver and ten bronze medals.
• With these achievements, India secured the 7th position in the medal tally.
• The top three nations in the medal table based on gold medals were Kazakhstan, Japan and Iran.

AWARDS & PRIZES

Malcolm Adiseshiah Award 2023

• Economist Utsa Patnaik was selected for the 2023 Malcolm Adiseshiah Award.

• The award is given every year by the Malcolm and Elizabeth Adiseshia Trust.

• The prestigious National Award is conferred on nominations received by outstanding social scientists selected by a national level jury specially constituted for the purpose.

• The jury unanimously selected Professor Patnaik as the recipient of the award this year.
• The previous winner of the prize was Indian economist Prabhat Patnaik, who won it in 2022.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Interim CEO of Karnataka Bank

• Karnataka Bank has appointed Sekhar Rao as the interim Managing Director and CEO after the completion of the tenure of the current CEO.

• Mahabaleshwar M S, the current Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD and CEO) of Karnataka Bank, left the office on 14 April after the successful completion of his second term of three years.

• Rao takes over as interim MD and CEO with effect from 15 April 2023, subject to RBI approval on 12 April 2023.

• He has been appointed for a period of three months or till the appointment of a regular MD and CEO, whichever is earlier.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Heritage Day

• World Heritage Day, also known as the International Day for Monuments and Sites is observed every year on 18 April.

• It aims to celebrate the diversity of World Heritage and promote recognition of the value of preserving cultural heritage for future generations.

• The theme of World Heritage Day 2023 is ‘Heritage of Change’, which addresses issues related to traditional knowledge and knowledge systems in the context of climate action.

• The day emphasises the role of cultural heritage in supporting appropriate protections for vulnerable communities in climate action and responding to the United Nations Decade of Action.
• The idea of celebrating World Heritage Day was proposed by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in 1982.