INDIA & WORLD
India ranks 136 in World Press Freedom Index 2017
In the list of 180 counties mapped, India stands at 136, down from last year’s 133, colour coded again in red to show the situation as difficult. India has slipped three notches in the World Press Freedom Index 2017, a report released by global media watchdog Reporters without Borders. In this index including 72 countries Russia, India, China are in the situation as difficult. Norway ranked 1st in the Index, Sweden 2nd, Finland 3rd position in the list. While North Korea ranked 180, at the bottom of the Index.
Bill Gates praises PM Modi for Swachh Bharat Mission
Microsoft Co-founder and the World’s richest person, Bill Gates has Praised PM Narendra Modi for the Swachh Bharat Mission. Bill Gated specially mentioned the mission’s aim of building 75 million toilets across India, and at present 30% of India’s villages are now open defecation free. Clean India started with 42% of Indians but today it achieved more than 60% successfully.
Indo-French Naval Exercise “Varuna” Commences
The Indian Navy has began a joint maritime exercise with the French Navy at the Mediterranean Sea to further deepen combat coordination between the two Navies. Guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai, stealth frigate INS Trishul and fleet tanker INS Aditya are taking part in the ‘Varuna’ exercise which will continue till April 30. The ‘Varuna’ series of exercises began in 2000 and have grown into an institutionalized form of interaction between the two navies.
India becomes World’s fifth largest military spender
As per figures revealed by Stockholm International peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India has become World’s fifth largest military spender in the year 2016. India’s military expenditure for 2016 was $ 55.9 billion, which marks 8.5% growth over 2015 figure. United States of America with $ 611 billion. China with $ 215 billion, and Russia with $ 69.2 billion.
India replaces Japan as No. ‘2’ LPG Importer
Import of LPG, which is mostly used as cooking fuel in India, during 2016-17 was 11 million tonnes. This marks a growth of 23% as compared to previous year. During the same period. Japan imported 10.6 million tonnes LPG, marking a 3.2% reduction as compared to previous year. In context of this news, it is to be noted that Japan is deliberately cutting back on usage of LPG as cooking fuel and is moving to cheaper alternatives such as Natural Gas. China has retained its position as world’s top LPG importer.
Time releases list of 100 Most Influential People of 2017
Time Magazine on 20 April 2017 released the annual list of 100 most influential people of 2017. This years list included the names of Presidents, Prime Ministers, CEOs and celebrities for the power of their inventions, the scale of their ambitions, the genius of their solutions to problems that could not be solved before. This year only two Indians to feature on the list Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Paytm founder vijay Shekhar Sharma.
Gandhi Stamps sold at 500,0000 pounds at an auction in UK
A set of four rare stamps, featuring the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi has fetched 5 lakh pounds at an auction which is so far, the highest price ever paid for Indian Stamps. The auction was held in United Kingdom, the purchaser is a private australian stamp collector. As per authoritative issue records, only 13 of these 1948 Gandhi 10 – rupee purple Brown and Lake ‘Service’ stamps are in circulation.
China renames six places in Arunachal Pradesh on its official map
China has announced its official names for six places in Arunachal Pradesh and has strong protests with India over the Dalai Lama’s visit to the frontier state. It was aimed at declare China’s claim over Arunachal Pradesh. The official names of six place using at the Roman alphabet one Wo Gyainling, Mila Ri, Qoidengarbo Ri, Mainquka, Bumo La, and Namka Pub Ri.
Australia Abolishes Work Visa Policy 457 Used Largely By Indian
Australian Govt will replace its popular 457 Visa that brings temporary foreign workers to the country with a new version that will recruit only the “best and the brightest in the nation interest” The move to abolish the Visa, used by over 95,000 temporary workers, a majority of them Indians, aims at tackling the growing unemployment in the country.
Alia Bhatt features on Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list
Actress Alia Bhatt has featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list. She is the only Bollywood Actress who has made it to this year. The actress has got a place in Forbes Under 30 Asia list. Alia got her name in the elite list after doing some of the highest earning films and gave best performances in recent times. Alia Bhatt has been acted in over 20 high earning Bollywood movies.
CISCO launches 5th Global Cyber Range lab in Gurugram
US-based tech giant CISCO has launched its fifth global range lab in Gurugram, Haryana with an aim to train Indian firms and govt. agencies on real-world cyber attacks., The facility was inaugurated by National Cyber Security Coordinator Gulshan Rai. CISCO has four other such labs in Australia. CISCO will also launch a security operations centre (SOC) in Pune, its fourth after the US, Poland and Japan in the next few months. It would be linked to other CISCO SOC’s across the world.
“Colours of Northern & Southern States of India”
Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri inaugurated cultural programme “Colours of the Northern Southern States of India” at Kathmandu. The two day event is organised by Indian Cultural Centre (ICC), Embassy of India on the occasion of Baisakhi and Nepali New year 2017. A troupe from India performs Bhangra and Giddha and students of ICC present Bharatnatyam and Hindustani music during the programme.
India, Australia signs on Sports Partnership
India and Australia on 12 April, 2017 started a partnership aimed at increasing cooperation in sports, in the presence of visiting Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and batting great Sachin Tendulkar. Also involved in the launch was Sports Minister Vijay Goel. It will advance India – Australia Cooperation in four areas – athlete and coach training and development, sport science, sport governance and integrity and grassroots participation.
Narendra Modi Becomes Most followed World Leader – Instagram
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has just topped the list, beating US President Donald Trump to bag the first spot. PM Modi has 101 posts and 6.9 million followers currently. He is also the most “Effective World leader”, an assessment made on the number of likes and comments he receives on his posts. US president Donald Trump came in second with 6.4 million followers and pope Francis came third with 3.7 million followers. There are 325 Instagram accounts of heads of state, Government and foreign ministers and whose activity was monitored over the past year.
Pak Military court awarded death sentence to Kulbhushan Jadhav
Over a year after Indian Navy Officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, was arrested, a military court in Pakistan has sentenced him to death for “espionage and subversive activities, triggering sharp reaction from India which called it “premeditated Murder”. The Pakistan Army announced that its Chief, General Qamar Ahmed Bajwa, on 10th April 2017 approved Jadhav’s execution after a Field General Court Martial found him guilty of all charges.
India Ranks 9th among 41 countries in corruption in Business
India has ranked 9th out of 41 countries in bribery and corrupt practices in business as per the EY (Ernst & Young) Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) Fraud Survey 2017. The ranking has improved marginally since 2015 in which India ranked 6th. Improvement in India’s rank has been attributed to emphasis on transparency in governance and better regulatory scrutiny. Countries which rank higher than Indian are : Ukraine, Cyprus, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Kenya, South Africa and Hungary.
India’s travel and tourism sector ranks 7th in the world
India’s travel and tourism sector ranks 7th in the terms of its total contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic product (GDP), according to a new report of the World Travel and Tourism council (WTTC), 2016. India’s travel and tourism sector generated Rs. 14.1 trillion (USD 208.9 billion) in 2016. Which is the World’s 7th largest in terms of absolute size the sum is equivalent to 9.6% of India’s GDP. The USA, China and Germany at the first, second and third positions respectively.
IISC ranked best educational institution by HRD Ministry
The Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bangalore, the first Indian institution to make it to the top 10 in a global ranking, has been ranked at the top in the annual national rankings released by the HRD Ministry. Seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITS) have also made it to the list of top 10 educational institutions released under the national Institutional RAnking Frame Work (NIRF), the other two being Banaras Hindu University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. IISc figured at the top in Overall and Universities, the domestic rankings were announced by HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar.
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