Notes:
King Mswati III of Swaziland, who is the Africa’s last absolute monarchy, has officially changed the name of his country to the ‘Kingdom of eSwatini’ to mark 50 years since independence from British rule. Meaning “Land of the Swazis”, eSwatini is the Swazi language name for the tiny state landlocked between South Africa and Mozambique. Unlike some countries, Swaziland did not change its name when it gained independence in 1968 after being a British protectorate for more than 60 years. The change was unexpected, but King Mswati has been referring to Swaziland for years as eSwatini. It was the name the king used when he addressed the UN general assembly in 2017 and at the state opening of the country’s parliament in 2014.

Notes:
The 2018 Secure India Conclave has started in New Delhi on April 24, 2018, which is being organised by Global Counter Terrorism keeping in view Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of New India : Secure India 2018. Several sessions on Left Wing Extremism, internal security situation on Jammu and Kashmir, cyber security and other areas will be chaired by eminent personnel during the 2-day summit. The event will present a unique encapsulation of prevalent issues in India’s internal security and would serve as a current and exhaustive update for those attending the conclave.

Notes:
Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, chaired the first meeting of the think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce in New Delhi on April 24th, 2018. The think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce has been established recently by the Department of Commerce. It will provide a credible forum for an inclusive and fact-based dialogue leading to recommendations for informed policy making, so that the country is adequately prepared to take advantage of the opportunities, and meet the challenges, that would arise from the next wave of advancements in digital economy. Approx representatives of 50 organizations participated in the meeting. The think tank will explore options for providing a fillip to entrepreneurship in digital economy. It will identify specific policy interventions for nurturing domestic firms and create jobs in e-commerce.

Notes:
World record holder Shahzar Rizvi claimed India’s first medal at the 2018 World Cup organised by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) at Changwon, South Korea. He won the silver in the 10 meter air pistol event. Rizvi missed the gold by 0.2 points to Russia’s Artem Chernousov. Samuil Donkov of Bulgaria won the Bronze. With Rizvi’s silver, India gets eight more finals left to play over the next five competition days. 

Notes:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Raw Jute for 2018-19 season. The MSP for Fair Average Quality of Raw Jute has been increased to Rs 3700 per quintal for 2018-19 season from Rs 3500 per quintal in 2017-18 season. The MSP of Raw Jute is expected to ensure appropriate minimum prices to the farmers and step up investment in Jute cultivation and thereby production and productivity in the country. The increased MSP is based on recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). It takes into account the cost of production, overall demand-supply, domestic and international prices, terms of trade across sectors and the likely impact of MSP on rest of the economy.

Notes:
The bilateral joint training exercise “Harimau Shakti 2018” will be conducted between India and Malaysia in the dense forests of Sengai Perdik in Hulu Langat district of Malaysia from April 30 to May 13, 2018. The Indian Army will be represented by 4 Grenadiers, one of the oldest infantry battalions which have rich operational experience in conventional as well as counter- insurgency warfare. The aim of the exercise is to bolster cooperation and coordination between armed forces of both the nations and to share the expertise of both the contingents in conduct of counter insurgency operations in jungle terrain.

Notes:
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched the 2nd edition of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan under which students from 750 higher educational institutions from across the country will adopt villages and visit them to get acquainted with lifestyle of people there and the problems faced by them. The ministr advised the students to involve local village people at every stage of problem identification and solvinyg issues relating to health, cleanliness, waste management, plantation, financial inclusion, women and child development. Under the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, the institutions have been selected on a Challenge Mode and the scheme has been extended to 750 reputed Higher Educational Institutes, both public and private of the country.

Notes:
Nadiya Shafi, a video reporter from Srinagar, has won the 2018 Martha Farrell Award for Excellence in women’s empowerment. The award is in recognition of Nadiya’s commitment towards gender equality and leading gender discussions clubs in her hometown defying patriarchal norms. Beside this, the ‘best organisation for gender equality’ award went to Maharashtra-based Resource and Support Centre for Development (RSCD) for sustained efforts towards promoting inclusion of women in political processes across 30 districts of Maharashtra. The award is instituted in the memory of Dr. Martha Farrell, who was killed in Kabul in a terrorist attack in 2015 while leading a gender training workshop for the Aga Khan Foundation. It carries a cash prize of Rs 1.50 lakh and is co-sponsored by Rizwan Adatia Foundation (RAF) and Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), and supported by Martha Farrell Foundation (MFF).

Notes:
The 2nd edition of Shirui Lily Festival 2018 has recently concluded at Ukhrul district in Manipur on April 28, 2018. The festival is sponsored by the Department of Tourism, Government of Manipur to spread awareness about conservation of the endangered Shirui Lily and promote the district of Ukhrul as a tourist destination in Manipur. The festival is also being supported by NEC and aims to promote afforestation and sustainable tourism efforts in the state.

Notes:
The book “My Journey from Marxism-Leninism to Nehruvian Socialism” has been authored by C H Hanumantha Rao, who is former Planning Commission and Finance Commission member. Mr Rao is presently one of the most creative thinkers, social activist, and distinguished economist in India. The book has been launched by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A period, on which Professor Rao does not comment on much, that is the period of 1975 Emergency, which was imposed by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. But it is quite clear from this book that he was not very happy with Emergency and the suspension of human rights and civil rights in the country.