April 15th, 2018

1. PM Modi to leave on a 5-day visit to Sweden & UK.
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  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave on a five-day visit to Sweden and the UK.
  • The visit to the two nations aims at enhancing bilateral cooperation in key areas like trade, investments and Science & technology.
  • On the first leg of his visit, the Prime Minister will attend the first-ever India-Nordic Summit at Stockholm, which will be co-hosted by India and Sweden.
  • Cooperation in key sectors like trade, investments, environment, renewable energy among others will be in focus during the summit, in which leaders of Nordic countries – Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland will be attending.
  • Mr. Modi will also hold bilateral discussions with his Swedish counterpart Stefan Lofven as well as the leaders of Nordic countries to build broad understanding for enhancing business and trade and enhance cooperation in the field of Science and Technology.
  • In London, Mr. Modi will take part in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting being hosted by the UK. He will also hold bilateral discussions with British Prime Minister, Theresa May during the visit.

2. CWG 2018: India ends the campaign in the third spot with 26 Gold Medals, 20 Silver, and 20 Bronze.
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  • Indian competitors have ended their campaign at the 21st Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in the third spot, with 26 Gold, 20 Silver and as many Bronze medals.
  • The lone Gold came to Saina in women’s singles badminton, in which star shuttlers P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal were pitted against each other in the final.
  • In men’s singles final, recently crowned world No.1 Kidambi Srikanth let slip a strong start to lose in three games to Malaysian icon Lee Chong Wei, who claimed his third individual gold in Commonwealth Games. Srikanth settled for the Silver.
  • In Men’s doubles also, Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty claimed a Silver losing to English pair of Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge.
  • Another Silver came in squash when the duo of Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Joshna Chinappa lost to Joelle King and Landers-Murphy of New Zealand in women’s doubles final.
  • The two Bronze medals were won in Table Tennis. In an all-India affair, Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran beat Achanta Sharath Kamal and Mouma Das in three games in the mixed doubles match.
  • In Men’s singles, Achanta Sharat Kamal defeated Samuel Walker of England for the second Bronze.
  • In the overall analysis, the Indian contingent will return with 66 medals, just two medals more than the total of 64 they won in the last Games held in 2014 at Glasgow.
  • But the Gold medal tally of 26 this time is significantly higher than the figure of 15 won in the last edition.
  • Eleven days after the spectacular Opening, the Games have come to an end today as a colorful closing Ceremony is underway.
  • Veteran Boxer M C Mary Kom, who claimed a Gold on her Commonwealth Games debut, will be India’s flag-bearer at the closing ceremony.
  • However, The host nation Australia topped the medal table for the fourth time in the past five Commonwealth Games, with 198 medals (80 gold, 59 silver, and 59 bronze) holding first position and England in the second position with 136 medals (45 Gold, 45 Silver, and 46 Bronze).
  • Followed by India in the third position with 66 medals (26 Gold, 20 Silver, and 20 Bronze) and Canada in the fourth position with 82 medals (15 Gold, 40 Silver and 27 Bronze).

3. Saina first Indian shuttler to win two singles gold in Commonwealth Games.
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  • Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal defeated compatriot PV Sindhu 21-18, 23-21 in women’s singles final to clinch a gold medal in women’s badminton singles final at the 21st Commonwealth Games.
  • Saina, who already had a singles gold medal in Commonwealth Games to her name, thus also became the first Indian shuttler to have won two singles gold medals in badminton in Commonwealth Games.
  • Saina had previously won a gold medal in 2010 Commonwealth Games which were hosted by India.

4. FM Arun Jaitley takes oath as Member of Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.
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  • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took oath as Member of Rajya Sabha. He was recently elected as Member of Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.
  • Vice President and Chairman of Rajya Sabha M Venkaiah Naidu administered the oath to Mr. Jaitley in his Chamber in Parliament House.

5. Himachal Pradesh celebrates 71st Himachal day today.
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  • Himachal Pradesh celebrated its 71st Himachal day with much fanfare and gaiety.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tweet congratulates the people of Himachal for the 70th anniversary of its formation.
  • The main event held at ridge maidan in Shimla, where the ceremonial parade was presented by state police. Chief Minister Jairam Thakur unfurled the national flag and took the salute of a Parade presented by police, home guards and NCC cadets.
  • A number of cultural events are being organized across the state.

6. L&T, BEL Ink MoU for Defence Products and Systems.
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  • In line with the efforts to indigenize the defense sector under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) signed a MoU to cater to the needs of evolving domestic and export markets for defense products and systems.
  • The MoU seeks to leverage the capabilities of both the firms for meeting the growing requirements of the Indian Armed Forces. The MoU also intends to leverage the well-developed supply chain, vast experience and expertise of BEL and L&T to synergize and enhance exports in the defense sector.

7. NPCIL joins hands with NSDC to support Skill India Mission.
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  • The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) signed a MoU with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to provide skill training to 500 youth and women at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu.
  • The skill development project will be executed by NSDC through its approved training partners near Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP), the single largest nuclear power station in India, situated in the Tirunelveli district of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

8. 29th Arab League Summit starts in Dahran in Saudi Arabia.
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  • The 29th Arab League Summit started in Saudi Arabia amid rising tension as world powers face off over Syria and the growing influence of Iran in the region.
  • In the annual gathering of Arab leaders, Saudi Arabia hopes to push for a unified stand against Iran.
  • The Summit starts a day after the US, UK, and France launched air strikes on war-torn Syria against alleged chemical attack carried on by Assad’s regime in Eastern Ghouta last week.

9. Senior artist Ram Kumar has passed away. He was 94.
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  • A modernist, he was associated with the Progressive Artists’ Group comprising M.F.Husain, F.N.Souza, H.A.Gade, S.H.Raza, and others.
  • He was known for his abstract landscapes.

10. President Kovind Receives the first copy of book ‘Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Vyakti Nahin Sankalp’.
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  • President Shri. Ram Nath Kovind, received the first copy of the book ‘Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Vyakti Nahin Sankalp’ from the Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, who formally released it at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan to mark Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary.
  • Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt Sumitra Mahajan, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Thaawar Chand Gehlot, and the editor of the book, Shri Kishor Makwana, were also present in the event.