HRD to integrate e-SANAD portal and National Academic Depository integrated

  • In a bid to make the education system in India more transparent, The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched the integration of the e-SANAD and the National Academic Depository (NAD).
  • The integration of the two portals was launched by Union External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, and Minister of State for HRD, Dr. Satyapal Singh.

Niranjan Patnaik appointed as Congress’s new Odisha state president

  • The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has named senior party leader Niranjan Patnaik as the president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC).
  • The Congress removed Prasad Harichandan as the party’s state president.
  • This is the second time that Patnaik is serving as the party’s state president. He previously held the post from June 2011 to May 2013.
  • To assist Patnaik in the state, the Congress has appointed party legislators Naba Kishore Das and Chiranjib Biswal, as well as former Lok Sabha member Pradeep Majhi, as working presidents.

Sahara can auction off parts of Aamby Valley: Supreme Court

  • The Supreme Court has allowed the Sahara Group to auction off parts of its Aamby Valley project in Maharashtra.
  • The sales process will be monitored by a court-appointed receiver and an official liquidator According to the SC order, the group must deposit the proceeds into the Sebi-Sahara account by May 15th.
  • The court is looking to recover some money against Sahara’s outstanding amount of Rs. 7,585 crore (without interest).
  • The court has said that if the Sahara Group fails to sell its property by May 15, it would proceed with the plan submitted by the Bombay HC liquidator to auction off five land parcels on June 2.

Facebook to put 1.5 billion users out of reach of new EU privacy law

  • Facebook is moving more than 1.5 billion users out of the reach of European privacy law.
  • The new law - the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - is set to come into effect on May 25.
  • Facebook is shifting the responsibility (for all users outside the US, Canada and the EU) from its international HQ in Ireland to its main offices in California. This means that Facebook would not be governed by the new law, which allows European regulators to fine companies for collecting or using personal data without users’ consent.

TCS makes huge Q4 profit, rewards shareholders with a 1:1 bonus issue

  • Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) posted staggering Q4 results which surpassed analyst estimates both on revenue and profitability.
  • The TCS board rewarded shareholders with a 1:1 bonus issue, which is the third bonus share offering since it was listed in 2004.
  • The company also recommended a final dividend of Rs. 29 per share.
  • TCS’s brand value has grown 14% from $9 billion in 2017 to over $10 billion this year.
  • Net profit improved 5.7% to $1.07 billion in the March quarter, up from $1.01 billion in the preceding three months, while operating margin improved by 20 basis points from 25.2% to 25.4% in the October-December period.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in London

  • The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 (CHOGM 2018) was held in London, United Kingdom.
  • It was the 25th meeting of the Commonwealth nations’ heads of government, and the first since UK’s decision to withdraw from the European Union (EU).
  • The theme was ‘Towards a common future’ and it focused on 4 main things: prosperity, security, fairness and sustainability.

NASA launches planet-hunting spacecraft TESS on SpaceX rocket

  • TESS, the planet-hunting spacecraft designed by NASA, was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
  • The satellite cost $337 million and aims to scan 85% of the skies for cosmic bodies where life may exist.
  • TESS is expected to discover 20,000 planets beyond our solar system, including more than 50 Earth-sized planets and up to 500 planets less than twice the size of the Earth.

India is world’s 6th largest economy, says IMF

  • According to the database of the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) for April 2018, India is the world’s 6th largest economy.
  • India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the worth of the country’s economy, was pegged at $2.6 trillion for 2017.
  • India moves into up to 6th spot, taking the place previously held by France.
  • The five economies ahead of India in terms of GDP are the United States of America, China, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom.

NHAI launches mobile apps for faster toll payment

  • NHA has launched apps to make the toll system function more smoothly.
  • The apps - MyFASTag and FASTag Partner - will make it easier to purchase and recharge FASTags, which have been among the major challenges faced by the Electronic Toll Collection project.
  • ‘MyFASTag’ is a consumer app for the purchase or recharge FASTags, and ‘FASTag Partner’ is a merchant app.
  • On a related note, the NHAI chairman said that from October 1st, all lanes of all 371 NHAI toll plazas in the country will become FASTag enabled.
  • One lane in every toll plaza will be FASTag-dedicated, and no other form of payment will be allowed in this lane.