Daily Current Affairs Update of 12 April 2015 | General Knowledge

Daily Current Affairs Update of 12 April 2015 | General Knowledge

1. Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela won Bronze medal in the 10-metre air rifle event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Rifle and Pistol World Cup in Changwon, South Korea.

2. During the official visit of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to France, India and France signed 17 agreements after the summit talks between India’s PM and France’s President Francois Hollande at Elysee Palace (Paris). A major breakthrough was achieved in the French Rafale jet deal with agreement on France selling 36 Rafale jet fighters to India. The original deal was for 126 fighter aircraft under Indian Air Force (IAF’s) Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft project in 2007.

3. India and France signed an agreement on the stalled nuclear project in Jaitapur in Maharashtra. This nuclear project involves Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), Larsen & Toubro (India) and Areva (France). The Jaitapur Nuclear Project has been stuck for long because of differences over the cost of the power generated. Under this project French company Areva is to set up six nuclear reactors with a total power generation capacity of about 10,000 MW whereas India's leading engineering and construction company, L & T has to build important tools for the plant.

4. The youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner and girls' education campaigner Malala Yousafzai now has an asteroid named after her. Amy Mainzer, astronomer at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, named Asteroid 316201 after Malala. Mainzer discovered the asteroid in the Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter which gives her the right to name it. It orbits the Sun every 5.5 years.

5. Thane in Mumbai, Maharashtra was named as the National Earth Hour Capital 2015. It was named so after it emerged as winner among the three finalists from India viz., Thane, Rajkot and Pune, in the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) 2015 conducted by World Wildlife Fund (WWF). For its city mobility plan and solar and waste-to-energy initiatives, Pune received a special mention from the jury.

Daily Current Affairs Update of 12 April 2015 | General Knowledge

6. India was designated to chair the ninth meeting of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) council to be held for two days starting from 10 June 2015. The meeting will be held in Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates. The eighth meeting of the Council took place in November 2014 in Abu Dhabi.

7. Air Chief Marshal Hrushikesh Moolgavkar, who was Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force (IAF) from 1976 to 1978, passed away at the age of 95 in Pune. He was among the first three Indian pilots to fly faster than sound.

8. Hinduja Group's IndusInd Bank entered into an agreement with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to buy Royal Bank of Scotland's diamond and jewellery financing business in India and the related deposit portfolio. RBS India's diamond and jewelery financing loan book is about Rs. 4500 crore in size.

9. Arun Kumar Jha was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Mumbai. Jha, a 1985-batch officer of Indian Economics Service, is presently working as Director General, National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

10. Former Australian captain and legendary cricket commentator Richie Benaud has died at the age of 84. A pioneering leg-spin bowler, Benaud played in 63 Tests, 28 as captain, before retiring in 1964 to pursue a career in journalism and broadcasting.