April 3 Current affairs

State :

Tamilnadu :

T.N. Governor Banwarilal Purohit heads for Delhi

• Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit  evening left for New Delhi, in a context in which various political parties and groups in the State are intensifying agitations over the Cauvery issue.

Dr. Mohan presents ₹5 lakh to CM’s Public Relief Fund

• Dr. Mohan presented him a cheque of ₹5 lakh for the Chief Minister’s Public Relief fund. He presented ₹2.5 lakh of the Harold Rifkin award and contributed ₹2.5 lakh from his own money for the relief fund, the release said.
• Dr. Mohan is the first Indian to receive the award. The award is given annually to an individual whose efforts have increased awareness of diabetes.

Recruitment Board in a quandary

• The Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB) is in a quandary over the ruling.

Kerala :

New plant species found in Western Ghats

• Researchers from the University College here have reported the discovery of a new plant species from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. Classified as a sedge, the grass-like plant has been named Fimbristylis agasthyamalaensis, after the locality from which it was found.

Telangana :

IIT-H ranked 9th in country

• The Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H) has been ranked No. 9 among all engineering institutes as per the India Rankings 2018 conducted by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

Jr NTR named ambassador for Telugu broadcast of IPL

• One of the biggest film stars of south India, Junior NTR, has been named the official ambassador for the Telugu broadcast of Vivo IPL-2018 here on April 3.

Andhra Pradesh: 

Registration payments through challans

• Deputy Chief Minister (revenue) K.E. Krishna Murthy said payments for registration of lands have to be hereafter made through challans but not Demand Drafts (DDs) due to the scope for fraud in the form of multiple registrations that were done showing same DDs.

India:

IISc tops HRD Ministry’s rankings of national institutes for 2018

• The Ministry of Human Resource Development released its ranking of national institutes for 2018 on April 3. The MHRD has adopted the National Institutional Ranking Framework, which ranks the best colleges and universities in India.

Indian envoy meets Pakistani NSA

• Official sources said the meeting between Mr. Bisaria and Mr. Janjua had been scheduled a week earlier. “The Indian High Commissioner sensitised the Pak NSA on issues of India’s concern. Constructive discussions took place on improving the bilateral relationship,” sources added.

‘Over 9,000 km of NH laid ’

• Over 9,829 km of National Highways was constructed during the financial year 2017-18, recording a growth of 20% over the previous year, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on April 3.

World:

India can play a more weighty role in Indo-Pacific region: U.S.

• The U.S. said that India has the “capability and potential” to play a more weighty role in the Indo-Pacific region.

‘China appreciates N. Korea’s peace efforts’

• China appreciates North Korea’s ”important efforts” to ease tension on the Korean peninsula, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the North’s Foreign Minister on April 3, hours after he called on all sides to stay focussed on talks.

Business :

Amazon unveils ‘B2B selling’ to help Indian exporters

• On April 3, Amazon Business announced the expansion of its ‘Global Selling’ programme by unveiling business-to-business selling for Indian exporters.

IndusInd Bank in pact with WhatsApp to connect customers

• Private sector lender IndusInd Bank has announced a pilot with WhatsApp enterprise solution in India to communicate with its customers.

Royal Enfield draws up a ₹ 800-crore capital expenditure plan for 2018-19

• Motorcycle maker Royal Enfield has drawn up a ₹ 800-crore capital expenditure programme for the year 2018-19. The capital expenditure programme will include the commencement of construction of Phase-2 of the Vallam Vadagal plant in Tamil Nadu this year.

Sports:

Philander bowls South Africa to record win against Australia

• Vernon Philander grabbed six wickets in a devastating spell of seam bowling as South Africa crushed Australia by a record 492 runs to clinch the four-match series 3-1 on April 3.