Dear Readers, Here we have given the list of Important Weekly Current Affairs of Apr 01st to 07th Apr 2024. Candidates those who are preparing for Upcoming SBIClerk 2024 and other competitive exams can make use of it.

Weekly Current Affairs April 01st to 07th PDF Download

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

• World Autism Awareness Day is celebrated annually on April 2nd.
• International Day for Mine Awareness 2024 is observed all over the world on April 4^th, 2024.
• Every year, National Maritime Day in India is celebrated on the 5th of April.
• World Health Day 2024 is observed worldwide on 7th April.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has postponed the implementation of norms on exchange-traded currency derivatives (ETCDs) linked to the Indian rupee until May 3, 2024, in response to investor concerns.
• The Income Tax (I-T) Department has slapped Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB), Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) with demand notices for ₹770 crore for the assessment year 2022-23 on account of certain additions and disallowances.
• Nearly 7 crore (36.91 million ) demat accounts were added in the fiscal year 2024, marking the largest increase ever, averaging over 30 lakh accounts a month, driven by a rally in the market.
• Canara Bank, a Public Sector Bank has unveiled a series of new products and services aimed at enhancing customer experience and streamlining banking operations.
• The Credit Default Swap (CDS) trade between State Bank of India (SBI) and Standard Chartered Bank India is significant as it marks the first transaction of its kind following the issuance of fresh guidelines by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regarding CDS instruments.
• As a part of its efforts to curb growing cyber fraud, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is considering establishing a Digital India Trust Agency (DIGITA) to stop the mushrooming of illegal lending apps.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) topped the league table of equity offerings, with the private lender being the manager of 43 issues in FY24, a year when companies raised about ₹2.9 trillion through a total of 400 issuances.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is expected to provide clarity on exchange-traded currency derivatives (ETCD) following a central bank circular that caused panic due to limitations on their use for hedging purposes.
• Axis Bank announced the introduction of digital US dollar fixed deposit (FD) for Non-Resident Indian (NRI) customers at the IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) at GIFT City, Gujarat.
• Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched the new version of the SEBI Complaint Redress System (SCORES 2.0).
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a monetary penalty on 64 banks and Nonbank financial companies (NBFCs) during the financial year, for a cumulative amount of ₹74.1 crore.
• Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions in India posted a record 57% rise in volume and 44% rise in value in Financial Year 2023-24, compared to the previous financial year.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has shifted its methodology for conducting auctions of government securities under the market borrowing program of the Government of India from uniform pricing to multiple price auctions.
• Outward remittances under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) in the April-January period of financial year 2023-24 (FY24) increased 24 per cent year-on-year to $27.42 billion.
• Axis Capital has appointed Atul Mehra as the managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO).
• Tata Group's global trading and distribution arm, Tata International has appointed Rajeev Singhal as its Managing Director (MD).
• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the transaction involving Axis Bank’s additional 6% stake buy in Max Life Insurance, a private life insurer.
• Domestic mutual funds (MFs) injected a record Rs 45,120 crore into domestic stocks in March 2024 marking their highest-ever buying in a month.
• The World Bank has upgraded its economic growth forecast for India for the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25) by 20 basis points to 6.6%.
• City Union Bank (CUB) has achieved a milestone in FY24 as the old private sector bank’s total business crossed the ₹1 lakh crore mark for the first time.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed all banks to provide adequate incentives to their branches in financing the Self Help Groups (SHGs) and establish linkages with them, making the procedures simple and easy.
• Suryoday Small Finance Bank, small finance banks in India and Magma HDI General Insurance Company, a prominent player in India’s general insurance sector have entered into a corporate agency agreement to offer health insurance to Suryoday Bank’s Commercial Vehicle Loan customers.
• The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has confirmed that there are no changes in the new income tax regime for individuals for the current fiscal year.
• PhonePe, a fintech firm, has collaborated with The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to enable its users to make payments through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Singapore.
• With a strong capital adequacy base and higher interest rates, the activity of raising debt capital -- tier I and tier II bonds by banks declined sharply in Financial Year 2023-24.
• Credit rating agencies expect banks’ credit growth to slow a mite to about 14-15% in Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) against the estimated 16% in FY24 amid elevated lending rates and global headwinds.
• Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) net investments in the debt market surged to $14.58 billion in FY 2024, marking the highest net inflow in the past 6 years.
• The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) measures to curb bank finances in some segments of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) appear to have slowed down growth for finance companies.
• AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) finalised the acquisition of Fincare Small Finance Bank on April 1, 2024, marking the first merger among small finance banks.
• The Master circular on Housing Finance is to consolidate the framework of rules/ regulations and clarification on Housing Finance issued to banks by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from time to time.
• The role of primary (urban) co-operative banks (UCBs) in providing housing finance has been reviewed from time to time.

• Zimbabwe has launched a new gold-backed currency called ZiG, short for "Zimbabwe Gold", to stabilize its economy.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced its decision to permit Small Finance Banks (SFBs) to utilize permissible rupee interest derivative products.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed allowing cash deposit facility at Cash Deposit Machines (CDMs) through Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which is currently accessible only through the use of debit cards.
• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has agreed with a fintech Onion Life Private Limited to use the latter’s technology platform KarmaLife for a pilot to provide micro loans to gig workers.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to allow eligible foreign investors in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) to invest in Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs), aiming to broaden non-resident participation in these bonds.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed allowing the linking of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) through third-party Unified Payments Interface (UPI) applications, enhancing flexibility for Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) wallet holders to make UPI payments.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is planning to make certain modifications to the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) framework to facilitate better management of liquidity risk by banks.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed allowing non-bank payment system operators (PSOs) to offer CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) wallets to make CBDC-R (Retail) more accessible to a broader segment of users.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that a mobile application of the Retail Direct portal is being developed to improve further ease of access by retail investors to the government securities market.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 1 crore on IDFC First Bank Limited for non-compliance with certain directions issued by the central bank on ‘Loans and Advances – Statutory and Other Restrictions’.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

• India plans to build its first privately managed strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) by 2029-30, granting the operator the freedom to trade all of the stored oil
• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will come out with a new production-linked incentive scheme for component manufacturing after the elections.

• The government’s food subsidy expenses for FY24 were around Rs 2.2 trillion, Rs 8,000 crore more than the revised estimate (RE), and the outgo for FY25 would need to be revised upward by more than Rs 35,000 crore from the budget estimate (BE).
• Pension regulator PFRDA has mandated 2-factor Aadhaar Authentication for access to the Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) system for conducting National Pension System (NPS) related activities.
• India's Smart Meter National Program (SMNP) is aiming to replace 25 crore conventional electricity meters with prepaid smart meters, along with upgrading infrastructure such as feeders and transformers, with an estimated capital expenditure of Rs 1.5 lakh crore slated for implementation over the next fiscal years
• The manufacturing sector in India closed out FY24 with a "stellar performance" in March, a private survey showed, as companies stepped up hiring in response to strong production and new orders
• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has floated a consultation paper to seek comments from the stakeholders on the proposed National Broadcasting Policy, which will be released by the Information & Broadcasting Ministry
• With more states opening up or facilitating trade of agricultural commodities on the government’s electronic – National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), trade on the digital wholesale platform crossed Rs 78,424 crore in FY24, up 5% on the year.

• The linking of the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) beneficiary ID with the Ayushman Bharat Health Account ID will be mandatory with effect from 1st April 2024
• The 125th anniversary of the iconic Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KSO) was celebrated on 1 April 2024 by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), to remember the history of KSO, felicitate its scientists, and honour its legacy was a milestone for astronomy in India
• Over 60 products from across India have received Geographical Indication (GI) tags, marking the largest batch of GI tags awarded at once.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• Taiwan was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, the strongest in the last 25 years.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

• Tripura’s two iconic products -‘Matabari pera prasad’ offered at the famous Tripureswari temple and ‘Rignai pachara’ textiles, representing a traditional hand-woven attire meticulously crafted by skilled artisans using indigenous materials have been bestowed with the coveted Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

• The Technology Development Board (TDB) under the science & technology ministry has partnered with a private entity to establish a commercial plant for recycling lithium-ion batteries (LIB) and e-waste using indigenous technology in Uttarakhand.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

• The coal sector has exhibited the highest growth of 11.6 % (provisional) among the eight core industries for February 2024 as per the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI)) (Base Year 2011-12) released by Ministry of Commerce & Industries
• Tata Steel has decided to cease operations of the coke ovens at its Port Talbot plant in Wales, UK.
• The net foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, inflows minus outflows, declined 38.4 per cent year-on-year to $15.41 billion in the first 10 months of this financial year due to an increase in the repatriation of capital
• Ekam Eco Solutions Pvt Ltd, a research spin-off of IIT Delhi’s works on sanitation, along with DCB Bank, launched a composting facility at Goa University
• The latest estimate by Goldman Sachs has stated that India’s share of the global electric passenger vehicle market may go up to 7.1 per cent by 2040 from the current level of 1 per cent in 2024
• The Centre's dividend receipts from CPSEs have exceeded the revised budget estimate by 26 per cent to about ₹63,000 crore, with PSU behemoths like Coal India, ONGC, Powergrid and GAIL making handsome payouts in the current fiscal.
• The value of mobile devices produced in India for both export and domestic markets in the financial year 2023-24 soared to Rs 4.1 trillion ($49.16 billion), up at least 17 year-on-year (Y-o-Y), according to preliminary estimates by the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) which represents most of the mobile players in the country.
• Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue for March 2024 witnessed the second highest collection ever at ₹178,484 lakh crore, with an 11.5 per cent year-on-year growth.
• The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ended FY24 on a strong high, setting new records for both the volume and value of transactions undertaken during March 2024
• Adani Green Energy Ltd has commissioned 2,000 MW of solar capacity at the giant Khavda solar park in Gujarat that has made it the first company in India with over 10,000 MW of renewable energy capacity
• After effecting changes in 54 individual derivative stocks, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) revised the lot sizes of indices too
• India is aiming to reach Rs 1 trillion in marine product exports in the next two years by increasing its processing capacity and a shift to higher value-added products
• Production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for 14 sectors have attracted over Rs 1.06 lakh crore investments till December 2023 with pharma and solar modules accounting for nearly half of the total.
• India's manufacturing industry expanded at a fast pace in the last 16 years due to accelerating demand.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

• Vineet Jain, managing director of the Times Group, received the Exchange4Media News Broadcasting Awards (ENBA) Lifetime Achievement Award 2023 for his significant contributions to Indian television news
• REC Limited, a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Power and a leading NBFC has been bestowed with the SKOCH ESG Award 2024 in the 'Renewable Energy Financing' category
• SJVN Limited has won two prestigious awards at the 15th CIDC Vishwakarma Awards 2024, instituted by the Construction Industry Development Council

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

• Lindy Cameron, former chief of the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) National Cyber Security Centre, is expected to be appointed as the country’s new high commissioner to India.
• Joyshree Das Verma took over as the 41st National president of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), the oldest women-led and women-centric business chamber of SouthEast Asia for 2024-25.
• Ride-hailing platform Uber has promoted Pradeep Parameswaran, previously the Asia Pacific head, to a global role overseeing business development.
• President Emeritus and Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), Rakesh Mohan has been appointed by the World Bank Group to serve on the World Bank Group’s Economic Advisory Panel.
• Cleartrip, a Flipkart company, has onboarded Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its new brand ambassador.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

• J&K Bank announced its partnership with Paymart India Pvt Ltd to introduce a Virtual ATM (VATM) facility.

• Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur has signed an MoU with stainless steel manufacturer Jindal Stainless to advance metallurgical research and development
• The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) announced a tie-up with the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to strengthen regulation around misleading ads.
• SJVN Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology Patna (IIT Patna) to use advanced geological models in SJVN's tunnelling projects, thus significantly reducing time and cost overruns
• India's top refiner Indian Oil Corp has entered a pact with Panasonic Energy to form a joint venture to manufacture lithium-ion cells in India

• The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) announced that Sanjay Nayar, the Founder-Chairman of Sorin Investment Fund and a veteran of global financial markets, has taken over the role of President.
• Judith Suminwa Tuluka has been appointed as the first woman Prime Minister of Congo.

• Star Health and Allied Insurance Ltd has tied up with PhonePe to offer comprehensive insurance policies with monthly and annual EMI options
• Social media giant Meta announced its collaboration with the Press Trust of India (PTI) under its third-party fact-checking programme in India

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND REPORTS

• Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd head Mukesh Ambani continues to be the richest Indian and has now broken into the world's top 10 wealthiest persons in the latest Forbes 2024 Billionaire List.
• Surpassing Deendayal Port Authority in Gujarat, the State-owned Paradip Port in Odisha has emerged as India's largest major port in terms of cargo volume with a cargo throughput of 145.38 million tonnes in FY24

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS

• The 14-day bilateral tri-service exercise 'Tiger Triumph-24' between India and the United States (US) has concluded.

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) will conduct the Gagan Shakti-2024 exercise from April 1 to April 10, 2024.
• Defence exports from India have touched an all-time high of Rs 21,083 crore in the financial year 2023-2024, with consignments reaching 85-plus countries in the neighbourhood and beyond.
• The Indian Army has initiated the induction of control and reporting systems under 'Project Akashdeep' to enhance its air defence capabilities.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Microsoft and OpenAI plan to invest $100 billion in the development of the Stargate AI supercomputer.

• Astronomers are looking forward to posting high-resolution telescopes on the moon and in orbit around it, including one from India called Probing ReionizATion of the Universe using Signal from Hydrogen (PRATUSH).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTALS

• Shri Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched the myCGHS app for iOS ecosystem of devices.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

• Keita Nakajima won the Hero Indian Open by four shots with a total of 17-under, setting a new record.
• Top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden won the $10,404,205 ATP Masters tennis tournament in Miami by defeating second seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek
• Hardik Singh and Salima Tete were named the Player of the Year for 2023 among men and women respectively at the sixth annual Hockey India awards even as the federation announced the revival of the Hockey India League (HIL) in January 2025
• In Tennis, Italy’s Jannik Sinner won the Men’s Singles title of the Miami Open tournament in the United States
• In Miami Open Tennis, unseeded American player Danielle Collins has won the Women’s Singles title
• Tokyo Olympics medallist Mirabai Chanu became the only Indian weightlifter to qualify for the Paris Olympics this year after competing successfully at the IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand.
• In the concluding match of the league, Odisha FC clinched the title in style with an impressive 6-0 win over Kickstart FC at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar.
• Commonwealth Games medallist weightlifter Bindyrani Devi clinched the bronze medal in the women's 55kg event at the IWF World Cup
• Joseph Schooling, who famously beat his idol Michael Phelps in Rio to become Singapore’s first and only Olympic champion, was retiring from competitive swimming
• In Table Tennis, the WTT Feeder Varazdin 2024 event is set to begin in Croatia

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

• Former Asian Games athlete and a torchbearer at the 1982 Delhi edition, Deanna Syme Tewari, passed away in Dubai at the age of 85.
• Subedar Thanseia, a distinguished World War II veteran of the Indian Army, whose actions at the crucial Battle of Kohima against formidable odds, contributed to a pivotal victory for the Allied forces, has passed away at the age of 102.
• South African footballer and Olympian Luke Fleurs has been killed in a hijacking in Johannesburg at the age of 24.