Latest Current Affairs – April 12 2018

1. Bhanu Pratap Sharma appointed Banks Board Bureau chairman

The government of India has appointed Bhanu Pratap Sharma as the new Chairman of Banks Board Bureau, which primarily recommends senior executive appointments in state-run banks. Sharma will replace former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai, whose term ended on March 31. Notably, Sharma is the former Secretary of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

2. Bangladesh ends reservation in govt jobs after protests

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced that she will be scrapping reservation in government jobs. This comes after tens of thousands of students and job-seekers came out in protest against the 56% reservation for special groups. However, she said the government will make special arrangements for jobs for minorities and people with disabilities.

3. Startups with up to ₹10 cr investment to get tax concession

The government has allowed startups to avail tax concession if total investment including funding from angel investors does not exceed ₹10 crore. Several startups and investors had raised concerns over the ‘angel tax’ saying it could discourage investments. The tax was levied on capital raised by startups in excess of the fair market value of their shares.

4. Hindustan Unilever appoints CEO Sanjiv Mehta as Chairman

India’s largest FMCG company Hindustan Unilever has appointed CEO and MD Sanjiv Mehta as its new Chairman. Mehta will succeed Harish Manwani, who will retire at the end of June after serving as the Non-Executive Chairman for 13 years. Further, Mehta has also been reappointed as MD and CEO for another five years after his current term ends in October.

5. Mithali Raj becomes 1st woman ever to hit 50 fifties in ODIs

Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj has become the first-ever woman to smash 50 fifties in ODI cricket, achieving the feat against England on Thursday. The 35-year-old, who is the most capped Women’s ODI player, slammed 74* off 124 balls to help India win the series 2-1. Mithali is the leading run-getter with 6,373 runs in 194 Women’s ODIs.

6. Rashid Khan Wisden’s 1st leading T20 cricketer in the world

World number one T20I bowler Rashid Khan has become the first cricketer to be named the Leading Twenty20 Cricketer in the World by Wisden. The 19-year-old was the highest wicket-taker in professional T20 cricket in 2017, picking up 80 wickets in 56 matches. “Rashid is imbued with a chutzpah that enables him to thrive in new environments,” wrote Wisden.

7. Sushil took just 80 sec to win India’s 14th gold at CWG 2018

Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar won the men’s Freestyle 74 kg event final in just 80 seconds to bag India its 14th gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2018. He took a lead of 10-0 against South Africa’s Johannes Botha and clinched the victory by technical superiority. The medal was Sushil’s third consecutive gold at the Commonwealth Games.

8. RBI fines IDBI Bank ₹3 crore for failing to report bad loans

The RBI has imposed a penalty of ₹3 crore on IDBI Bank for failing to comply with norms related to reporting bad loans. In July 2017, IDBI Bank had under-reported ₹6,816.6 crore of bad loans for FY16, which were subsequently identified by the RBI. The central bank has mandated banks to disclose divergences that exceed 15% of the reported number.

9. England pacer Shrubsole 1st woman ever to be on Wisden cover

England’s fast bowler Anya Shrubsole has become the first woman to feature on the cover of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, an annual cricket reference book published in the UK. Shrubsole is pictured on the 2018 edition holding the Women’s World Cup 2017 trophy. The 26-year-old helped England win the World Cup final by registering figures of 6/46 against India.

10. India’s Kidambi Srikanth becomes world no. 1 badminton player

Kidambi Srikanth has become the first Indian male badminton player to attain the world number one ranking since Prakash Padukone in the 1980s. The 25-year-old, who had become the first-ever Indian to win four Superseries titles in a year in 2017, recently helped India win gold at the mixed team event at the Commonwealth Games for the first time ever.

11. Rahul Aware wins India’s 1st wrestling gold at CWG 2018

Rahul Aware bagged India’s first wrestling gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2018 after beating Canada’s Steven Takahashi in the final of men’s Freestyle 57 kg event on Thursday. Before the final, the 26-year-old had claimed two dominating victories with the scorelines 11-0 and 10-0, while he defeated Pakistan’s Muhammad Bilal 12-8 in the semi-final.

12. ISRO successfully launches replacement navigation satellite

The Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully launched the IRNSS-1I navigation satellite, which will replace the IRNSS-1A which was rendered ineffective after its atomic clocks failed. The satellite was launched with PSLV-C41 rocket from Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh. This was ISRO’s second attempt to send a replacement satellite as the one in August 2017 had failed.

13. Kohli named Wisden’s leading cricketer for 2nd straight year

Team India captain Virat Kohli has been named Wisden’s leading male cricketer for the second year in a row. With this, Kohli has become the third cricketer after Virender Sehwag and Kumar Sangakkara to be honoured with the award multiple times. Meanwhile, Mithali Raj, who recently became the most capped women’s ODI player, was named Wisden’s leading female cricketer.

14. Index of Economic Freedom 2018: India ranks 130th

India jumped 13 places to achieve the 130th spot in this year’s Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation, an American think-tank. India’s economic freedom score was 54.5, making its economy the 130th freest in the 2018 Index. The firm noted that India’s overall score increased by 1.9 points, led by improvements in judicial effectiveness, business freedom, government integrity, and fiscal health.

The top three ranked countries are Hong Kong, Singapore, and New Zealand respectively.

15. India hosts 16th International Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial Meeting

India will host the 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial (IEF—16) in New Delhi. IEF16 is the largest gathering of Energy Ministers from across the globe, industry leaders and heads of key international organizations who will debate the future of global energy. Hosted by India and co-hosted by China and Korea, IEF16 aims to focus on how global shifts, transition policies and new technologies influence market stability and future investment in the energy sector.

16. India, Morocco sign MoU to promote mineral exploration

India has inked a pact with Morocco under which focus would be laid on evaluation of potential mineral resources and promoting exploration and mining through participation of both public and private sector. The focus of the MoU is on the development of the geological infrastructure for Geoscience Maps and geochemical maps, strengthening geological research and evaluation of the potential of mineral resources, promoting exploration and mining through participation of both public & private sector etc.

Morocco:

• Capital: Rabat
• Currency: Moroccan dirham