Current Affairs April 2010- III

·        The World Bank has sanctioned USD 4.9-billion (over Rs 22,000 crore) loans to India in 2009-10 for 14 schemes and projects undertaken by the government. In the last financial year (April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010), the World Bank has extended 14 loans to the government schemes or projects with total assistance of USD 4,901.8 million.(Go for April CA Part -I,II)

·        Lin Dan wins Asian badminton men's singles title, while compatriot Xuerui Li won the title in the women's singles at the Siri Fort stadium in Delhi.

·        To mark the completion of 60 years of diplomatic relations with India, the 'Year of Germany in India' will be held in 2011.

·        The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, announced that India has decided to set up a 'Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership'. The centre will consist of four schools dealing with advanced nuclear energy system studies, nuclear security, radiation safety, and the application of radioisotopes and radiation technology in the areas of healthcare, agriculture and food.

·        Veteran Hindustani vocalist Dr Chandrashekhar Rele passed away.

·        Bollywood actress Vidya Balan, parliamentarian Priya Dutt and boxer MaryKom were among those who were honoured with the 'Tejaswini' award for young women achievers. The awards, an initiative of the Young FICCI Ladies Organisation, honours women for their achievements in various fields, from social activism to entrepreneurship.

·        Pankaj Advani completed a hat-trick of titles at the Asian Billiards championship after edging past Singapore's Peter Gilchrist 6-5 in the closely fought final.

·        Ratan Tata retains his position as India Inc’s top dog. The Economic Times Corporate Dossier magazine not only voted Mr Tata as India Inc’s Most Powerful CEO for 2009, second year running, but also India Inc’s CEO of the Decade.

·        Maharashtra has outnumbered Britain and Mexico in receiving queries under the RTI Act, the State Information Commission has said. "In 2009, Maharashtra received 4,40,728 queries of RTI while Britain received 90,000 and Mexico 1,25,000 under a similar legislation," the Commission said in a recent report.

·        Globally renowned management guru C K Prahalad passed away.

·        Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata launched ‘Kamorta’ the first Anti Submarine Warfare Corvette (ASWC) for the Indian Navy on April 19.

·        Surat, which polishes almost more than 95 per cent of the world's diamonds, is poised to become the assorting and trading hub for the precious jewel stone in the next 3-4 years.

·        Indian government has constructed four schools in remote Nepalese districts at a cost of Rs 37.75 million and extended an additional grant of Rs 11 million for building another educational institution in the country.

·        The Tamil Nadu government announced a self-employment scheme with a project outlay of Rs 100 crore, targeting 10,000 persons even as it brought 15 vocations under the ambit of government subsidy for this purpose

·        Noted Indian author Amitav Ghosh has won the prestigious Dan David Prize for his remarkable reworking of the great tradition of the Western novel in transnational terms.

·        Indonesia aims to double its bilateral trade with India to around USD 20 billion in the next five years.

·        The government is understood to have approved India's commitment to opening up trade in commercial services and investment with members of the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), including China. APTA, earlier known as the Bangkok Agreement, is the oldest but least known Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) among the developing countries of Asia Pacific. Signed in 1975, its members include Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, South Korea and Sri Lanka.

·        Bangladesh has lifted a four-decade ban on Indian films in a bid to boost attendances at cinemas.

·        A leading Indian-origin Labour MP, Virendra Sharma has been chosen for the V K Krishna Menon Award 2010, for his outstanding contribution towards political, social and economic advancement of the deprived sections of the British community.

·        The United Nations has honoured President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives with its highest award for environmental leadership. Nasheed was among six people to receive the 2010 Champions of the Earth award at the Business 4 Environment conference in Seoul.