NEWS 14-04-2024. News For 15th-Apr (Monday) Summary of March *NATIONAL* 1.India's indigenously built Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) began fuel loading, marking a major step towards the country's self-reliant nuclear program and clean energy goals. This 500 MWe reactor places India as the second nation after Russia to potentially operate a commercial fast breeder reactor. 2.Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has begun oil production from its first-ever deepwater development project.The oil was offloaded from a Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel Swarna Sindhu .This project is estimated to contribute around 7% to India's overall oil and gas production. 3.India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) comprising Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein have signed a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA). The FDI in India will increase by $100 billion over the next 15 years generating 1 million jobs. 4.Govt has announced the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on 11, March 2024. Its purpose is to grant Indian citizenship to refugees belonging to 6 communities (Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, and Parsis)*, who have fled religious persecution from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and entered India on or before December 31, 2014. 5.PM Narendra Modi, during the Viksit Bharat Viksit North East programme in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh on March 09, 2024, virtually dedicated the Sela Tunnel project to the nation. Constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at an altitude of 13,000 feet. 6.PM Modi has been awarded the 'Order of the Druk Gyalpo', Bhutan's highest civilian honour. 7.Delhi Chief Minister & Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested by Enforcement Directorate in Delhi liquor policy scam case. 8.The Election Commission has introduced home voting for voters above 85 years and PWDs with 40% disability. 9.India's foreign exchange reserves soared to a two-year high of $636.1 billion, with a $10.47 billion increase marking the highest weekly rise since July 2023. 10.Govt inaugurated India’s first integrated oil palm processing unit at Arunachal Pradesh. This is a significant stride in the nation’s journey towards self-reliance in edible oil. 11.According to the data released by the ECI, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) encashed electoral bonds worth a staggering 6,060.5 crore between Apr 2019, and Jan, 2024. *INTERNATIONAL* 1.Shehbaz Sharif became the new Prime Minister of Pakistan. He wax re-elected for a second term on March 3, 2024. 2.Sri Lanka awarded an energy deal to India on 1st March 2024, scrapping previously awarded contract with the Chinese firm and gave the project to an Indian company instead.This deal involves building three solar and wind hybrid power plants. 3.France became the first country in the world to enshrine a woman's right to abortion in its constitution. 4.Krystyna Pyszkova from the Czech Republic has became the new Miss World 2024, the event was held in Mumbai, India. 5.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Bank Indonesia (BI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for establishing a framework to promote the use of local currencies, the Indian Rupee (INR) and the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR)) for cross-border transactions. 6.India will provide Rs.10,000 crore as financial support to Bhutan over next five years to bolster cooperation in areas like energy & space. 7.Mumbai has overtaken Beijing as Asia's Billionaire Capital, according to the latest report from the Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute.(92 Billionaires) 8.Russian President Vladimir Putin clinched his sixth term extending his tenure to a total of 24 years in power. *SPORTS* 1.Legendary golfer Tiger Woods has been selected to receive the Bob Jones Award, the highest honour bestowed by the United States Golf Association (USGA). 2.India's Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeated Nodirbek of Uzbekistan to stake his claim for the top honours at the Prague Masters chess tournament in Prague. 3.Indian badminton stars Satwiksairaj & Chirag Shetty have won the BWF French Open men's doubles title, defeating Chinese Taipei's Lee Jhe & Yang Po in the final. 4.Cricketer Yashasvi Jaiswal, the young Indian opener, has been named the ICC Men's Player of the Month. He became the third - youngest batter in the world to record two double centuries in Tests, after the legendary Sir Donald Bradman and Vinod Kambli. 5.England's James Anderson became the 3rd bowler after Muralidaran and Shane Warne to take 700 wickets in test matches. 6. Virat Kohli became the first Indian Cricketer to score 12,000 runs in T20 Cricket. 7. Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy 2024 after beating Vidarbha by 169 runs. *DEFENCE* 1.The Indian Navy established its first squadron of MH-60R helicopters, designated as INAS 334 *Seahawks*. The Indian Navy plans to receive a total of 24 MH-60Rs, with six already delivered. 2.DRDO has successfully conducted the maiden flight test of *Agni-5 missile with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV)* technology. 3.Foundation stone for *3 Semiconductor projects* were laid down - 2 in Gujrat & 1 in Assam worth approx 1.25 trillion Rs. 4.According to *Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)*, India continues to be the world’s largest arms importer with Russia. India accounted for 9.8% of the total global arms import during 2019-2023 period. 5.According to the data released by the ECI, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) encashed electoral bonds worth a staggering 6,060.5 crore between Apr 2019, and Jan, 2024. 6.Govt inaugurated India’s first integrated oil palm processing unit at Arunachal Pradesh. This is a significant stride towards self-reliance in edible oil. 7.Russian President Vladimir Putin clinched his sixth term extending his tenure to a total of 24 years in power. 8.Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy 2024 after beating Vidarbha by 169 runs. 9.India's foreign exchange reserves soared to a two-year high of $636.1 billion. < < Back