Latest Current Affairs – April 29 2018

1. Google India to launch mentorship program for tech startups

Google is launching a three-month mentoring program in India for startups focussing on artificial intelligence and machine learning. With the program, the company aims “to build a bridge between startups and the industry ecosystem”. The mentorship initiative named ‘Solve For India’ was initially launched in the pilot mode last year in India along with Google Developers’ Launchpad Accelerator team.

2. Indian boxers win 3 gold, 5 silver, 5 bronze at International Championship

The Indian contingent finished the Belgrade International Boxing Tournament with three gold medals, five silver medals, and five bronze medals. Sumit Sangwan, an Asian silver-medallist, defeated Ecuador’s Castillo Torres to claim the gold in the 91 kg category. Himanshu Sharma (49 kg category) and Nikhat Zareen (51 kg category) were the other two gold-winners for the Indian boxing contingent.

3. Sikkim Chief Minister becomes India’s longest-serving CM

Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling has beccme the longest-serving Chief Minister in India, surpassing the record of Jyoti Basu, who served as West Bengal CM from 1977 to 2000. Chamling became the Chief Minister in December 1994 and belongs to the Sikkim Democratic Front. “I dedicate this landmark…to my most beloved people of Sikkim,” he said.

4. Nadal wins 44th straight set on clay to win 400th clay match

World number one and 16-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal won his 44th consecutive set on clay and registered his 400th win on the surface. Nadal achieved the feat by defeating world number 10 David Goffin 6-4, 6-0 in the Barcelona Open semi-final. The 31-year-old is the fourth man to win 400 matches on clay.

5. Zimbabwe legalises cannabis for medicinal, scientific use

Zimbabwe has become the second African nation to legalise the production of cannabis for medicinal or scientific purposes. Individual producers must be citizens of the country whose activities will be subject to routine audits by the Health Ministry. Prior to its legalisation, production or possession of cannabis in Zimbabwe was punishable by up to 12 years in prison.

6. All villages in India are now electrified

The target of electrifying every single village of India has been achieved, that too before the deadline set by Prime Minster Narendra Modi. PM Modi had set a target of 1000 days to achieve this target on 15th August 2015. 18,452 villages now have power. Prime Minister Modi congratulated Team India for this feat and the next target has also already been set ensuring electricity reaches every house in every village.

7. Sudhakar Reddy unanimously re-elected CPI general secretary

Veteran leftist leader G Sudhakar Reddy was unanimously re-elected as the CPI general secretary for the third consecutive term. The 76-year old Reddy, a two-time member of Lok Sabha, was first elected as party general secretary in 2012.

8. India, Pakistan, China to join multi-nation military exercise in Russia

In a first, arch rivals India and Pakistan will be part of a multi-nation counter-terror exercise in Russia in September, which will also be joined by China and several other countries. The military exercise will take place under the framework of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a China-dominated security grouping which is increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO.

The military drill will be held in the Ural mountains of Russia and almost all SCO member countries will be part of it. The main aim of the exercise, Peace Mission, will be to enhance counter-terror cooperation among the eight SCO member countries.

• The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• India and Pakistan were admitted as observers of the grouping in 2005. Both the countries were admitted as full members of the bloc last year.

9. Lewis Hamilton wins Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku

Lewis Hamilton has emerged victorious after a chaotic race during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. His Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was second, with Force India’s Sergio Pérez in third. His championship rival Sebastian Vettel finished only fourth in a race he had largely controlled. The win for Hamilton has moved him in front of Vettel in the world championship for the first time this season, with a four-point advantage.