CURRENT AFFAIRS 17TH APRIL 2018

CURRENT AFFAIRS 17TH APRIL 2018

1. Pakistan test fired enhanced version of Babur cruise missile
  • Pakistan successfully test fired an enhanced version of indigenously-built Babur cruise missile ‘Babur Weapon System-1 (B)’,
  • This version of Babur can deliver conventional and non-conventional weapons.
  • It is prepared with advanced aerodynamics and avionics (Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM) & all time Digital Scene Matching and Area Co-relation (DSMAC) technologies) which enables it to strike targets both at land and sea with high accuracy.
2. Kotak Mahindra becomes second-most-valued bank
  • Kotak Mahindra Bank replaced SBI to become India’s second-most-valued lender after HDFC Bank in terms of market capitalisation.
  • Kotak Mahindra Bank has a market capitalisation of 2,22,970.4 crore rupees. This bank is now among the top 10 most-valued companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
  • HDFC Bank remained the country’s most-valuable bank with a market capitalisation of 5.04 lakh crore rupees.
3. Bengaluru- Highest paying city of India
  • According to Randstad Insights, the garden city of Bengaluru is the highest paying city of India with average annual cost to company (CTC) for talent across all functions standing at about Rs 11 lakh.
  • Pune stands second at around Rs 10 lakh, followed by Delhi NCR with an average annual CTC figure of a little under Rs 10 lakh and Mumbai at around Rs 9 lakh.
4. CII set India's GDP Growth at 7.3-7.7% for 2018-19
  • Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has announced that India's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at 7.3-7.7% during the 2018-19 financial year.
  • This is based on strengthening demand in the rural economy, agricultural activities as well as better global growth climate.
5. NASA set to launch Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is all set to launch Transit Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which is designed to detect more exoplanets (Earth-like worlds around stars beyond our solar system).
  • TESS will be launched aboard SpaceX’s Flacon 9 rocket from Florida, US.
  • Like Kepler space telescope, TESS will use a detection method called transit photometry.
  • Using this technique, TESS will spend two years to scan 200000 pre-selected stars that are closer and brightest as seen from Earth.
  • The pre-launch cost of TESS mission is $200 million.
6. Biannual Army Commanders Conference held in New Delhi
  • Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre delivered opening address of The Biannual Army Commanders Conference.
  • The conference was chaired by Chief of the Army Staff, General Bipin Rawat.
  • Discussions will be made on the management of the security dynamics and mitigation of future security threats.
7. April 17- World Hemophilia Day
  • World Haemophilia Day is recognised worldwide to increase the awareness of haemophilia and other bleeding disorders on every April 17.
  • The theme of World Haemophilia Day 2018 is 'Sharing Knowledge Makes Us Stronger'.
  • World Haemophilia Day was started in 1989 by World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) which chose to bring the community together in glory of WFH founder Frank Schnabel’s birthday.
8. Veteran journalist S. Nihal Singh passes away
  • 88 year old veteran journalist S. Nihal Singh passed away at the National Heart Institute.
  • He was the founding editor of The Indian Post in 1987.
  • He has been awarded with the prestigious International Editor of the Year Award in New york by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.