1. Powerful earthquake rocks Nepal, nearly 900 killed

i. A powerful earthquake measuring 7.9 on Richter scale struck Nepal today, as nearly 900 people were killed and over 1000 people were injured in the disaster.

ii.The quake and a series of serious aftershocks delivered a severe blow to Nepal, one of the world’s poorest and least-developed nations, and one that has faced a recent wave of political turmoil amid debate over a new constitution.

iii.The quakes also jolted parts of North and Northeast India. The earthquake with epicentre at Lamjung, around 80 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu, had its impact in several cities in Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Prades.

iv. The tremors were also felt across vast stretches of east and northeast India. It was also felt in China, Bhutan and as far as Pakistan and Bangladesh.

v. Kathmandu’s Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was completely damaged in the quake. The nearly two-century old 9-storey landmark Dharhara tower in the centre of the capital collapsed and several people are feared trapped.

2. Today is World Malaria Day

i. World Malaria Day is observed today globally.

ii. The theme from 2013 to 2015 is Invest in the future, Defeat
malaria to call attention to efforts to finish the job 2015.

iii. World Malaria Day was established and approved at the 60th World Health
Assembly (WHA) in March 2007.

iv. On World Malaria Day advocates and citizens around the world raise
awareness of malaria as a disease that is preventable and treatable and
mobilize action to end the ravages of malaria.

v. Worldwide, more than 1200 children die every day from Malaria, the
United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF said in its report.

vi. According to the recent report by the World Health Organization, since
2000, Malaria deaths worldwide declined by 47 percent.

3. Assam awarded as Best e-Panchayat state

i. Assam has been awarded as the Best e-Panchayat state.

ii. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the award to state Rural
Development minister yesterday in New Delhi.

iii. Commissioner of Assam Rural Development said that 8 Panchayat Raj
Institutes also got Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Shasaktikaran award .

iv. These are – Morigaon Zila Parishad, Agomoni Anchalik Parishad,Boitamari
Anchalik Parishad, Ketri Gaon Panchayat, Mayong Gaon Panchayat, Chandrapur Gaon
Panchayat, Baghara Gaon Panchayat and Halakula Gaon Panchayat.

4.
BOB join hands with UAE Exchange for NRI money transfer

i. India’s leading Indian public sector bank, Bank of
Baroda has join hands with UAE Exchange to offer an instant cash transfer
facility to NRI customers.

ii. As per the agreement, customers can send money to
their desired bank accounts in Bank of Baroda in India, within minutes.

iii. Bank of Baroda has a network of more than 5,000
branches across Europe, US, Africa, Asia and Australia and in financial centres
like New York, London, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

iv. UAE Exchange, a global
remittance and foreign exchange company, serves over 7.9 million customers
worldwide and currently has over 750 branches across 32 countries

5. Suvidhaa
Infoserve applies for payment bank licence

i. Suvidhaa Infoserve Ltd, has applied to RBI for payment
bank license in the country.  

ii. Suvidhaa Infoserve Ltd, is  a e-commerce group with the flagship company
of the Rs 6,500-crore .

iii. “Suvidhaa is the largest non-bank entity offering
domestic remittance service and other payment services in India and its head
office located in Mumbai.

Note: i. As of now, RBI has received 41 payments bank
applications and final decision will be taken by RBI very soon.

ii. Payments banks
are supposed to provide services including remittance and money transfer
services to migrant workers, unorganised sector labourers, self-employed
persons, small traders and businessmen, etc.

6.
ICICI
Bank launches app for Apple’s iWatch

i. After HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank has also launched an
application for iWatch, on expectations that those wearable payment solutions
would pick-up soon.

ii. The application will enable customers of ICICI Bank to
view their transactions and do limited transactions such pay utility bill and
recharge prepaid mobile.

iii. Apple’s iWatch will be on sale on April 24 in UK, US,
Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong and Japan although it is
not very clear when the Apple would launch the iWatch in India.

Note: i. HDFC Bank was the first to announce the launch of this
application about a week ago.

ii. In a mail to all its customers a week ago, Aditya
Puri, MD and CEO of HDFC Bank said, “Your Bank is set to become the first
Indian bank whose Mobile Banking App will be available on the Apple Watch which
is to be launched in India later this month. You shall be able to conduct up to
11 popular transactions on your Apple Watch with our Watch Banking
service.”

7. India & Bangladesh join hands to protect
spectacled Langur

i. India and Bangladesh have decided to take concerted conservation efforts
to protect the rare spectacled Langur found in Patharia Hills Reserve Forest on
either side of the fenced border along Karimganj district of Assam’s Barak
Valley.

ii. This is the only forest in Assam, where the Spectacled Monkey is found
while Mizoram and Tripura are the other two states in the country where it
inhabits.

Note: Spectacled Monkey is popularly known as the ‘Chasme vala bandar’
because they have a white spectacle like patches around the eyes. The Patheria
Hills reserve Forest is spread over an area of around seven thousand hectares
on the Indian side.

8. Italy celebrates 70th anniversary of anti-Nazi uprising

i. Italy is
celebrating the 70th anniversary of a partisan uprising against the Nazis and
their Fascist allies at the end of World War II.

ii. President Sergio Mattarella marked Liberation
Day on Saturday by laying a wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier in Rome.

iii. The
anniversary marks the day in 1945 when the Italian resistance movement
proclaimed an insurgency as the Allies were pushing German forces out of the
peninsula.

9. Sabeen Mahmud, Pakistani human rights
activist shot dead in Karachi

i. Sabeen Mahmud, a Pakistani human rights activist has been shot dead in
Karachi after hosting a talk on allegations of torture in the province of
Balochistan.

ii. She was shot when she walked home with her mother, who was also
attacked.
iii. She was a director of The Second Floor (T2F) cafe which organises
debates and art events.

10. NTPC & Andhra Pradesh join hands for 250
MW solar power plant

i. Thermal power producer NTPC and Andhra Pradesh power utilities signed a
power purchase agreement (PPA) for procurement of power from the 250-megawatt
solar power plant being set up in the State.

ii. The agreement is for the first phase of the 1,000-megawatt ultra solar
power project being set up by NTPC in Anantapur district of Rayalaseema.

iii. The power generation cost may further come down with regard to the
remaining 750 mw capacity as that portion of the project would be undertaken
through global bidding process unlike in the first phase where only the
domestic vendors were involved.

iv, NTPC plans to be a 1,28,000 megwatt company and is targeting to have 28
per cent of its installed capacity from non-fossil fuel sources.

11. UP Govt allows to accept documents in Urdu now

i. The state government of Uttar Pradesh has allowed all the government
offices of the state to accept the letters and applications from public in Urdu
and also reply the applicants in the same language.

ii. The state government has now directed all districts authorities and
head of departments to ensure that Urdu is used as second official language in
government functioning without any laxity.

iii. The Language Department has issued the directives in this regard
referring to Supreme Court’s 2014 order upholding the declaration of Urdu as
the second official language in the State.

iv. Important rules and notifications, government orders and references
related to public importance will also be published now in Urdu. Besides,
important government advertisements and signboards will be displayed in the
language.

12. Andhra govt allots Rs 27,000 cr for massive
drive to harvest rain water

i. The Andhra Pradesh government has allotted 27,000 crore rupees for a
massive drive to harvest rain water under the Neeru-Chettu (water and tree)
programme.

ii. Under the programme, a water tank would be dug at every village to tap
rain water and store it for various uses. Of the Rs.27,000 crore, Rs.15,000
crore would be drawn from the NREGS.

iii. The government is drafting an action plan to change the face of
villages. Under 14th Finance Commission grants, cement concrete roads and
drains would also be built in all villages.

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