World Heritage Day, also known as International Day for Monuments and Sites (IDMS), is celebrated annually on April 18 to honour and preserve our heritage. Ancient monuments and buildings are global treasures. They require proper nurturing to last for years. Across the world, there are countless remarkable sites and monuments, many of which beautifully show the specific countries’ culture. World Heritage Day brings together individuals, organisations, societies and governments to unite to raise awareness about the importance of historical sites and to promote their protection. In this article, we’ll explore the history, significance, and top five Indian heritage sites.

With expected rise in domestic demand, International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday upped its growth projection for India by 30 basis points to 6.8 per cent for the current fiscal year. However, it has not made any changes to its projections for FY26.

The agency has pegged GDP growth for FY24 at 7.8 per cent.

“Growth in India is projected to remain strong at 6.8 percent in 2024 and 6.5 percent in 2025, with the robustness reflecting continuing strength in domestic demand and a rising working-age population,” IMF said in its latest edition of World Economic Outlook (WEO), made public on Tuesday. For the current fiscal, the projection is 50 basis points higher than projection made in October and 30 basis points higher than projection made in December.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan will be honoured with the Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar award, the Mangeshkar family announced on Tuesday.

The family and the trust instituted the award in the memory of Lata Mangeshkar, who died on February 6, 2022, following multiple organ failure.

Bachchan, 81, will receive the recognition on April 24, the memorial day of their father and theatre-music veteran Deenanath Mangeshkar.

This award, known as the Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Puraskar, is given every year to an individual who has made a path-breaking contribution towards the nation, its people and society.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into a record 125 Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with Indian taxpayers in 2023-24.

This includes 86 Unilateral APAs (UAPAs) and 39 Bilateral APAs (BAPAs), the finance ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

This marks the highest ever APA signings in any financial year since the launch of the APA programme, it said.

The number of APAs signed in 2023-24 also represents a 31 per cent increase compared to the 95 APAs signed during the preceding financial year.

In a major capability boost for the Air Force’s fighter fleet, India is planning to carry out the first test of the 120–130 km strike range Astra Mark 2 air-to-air missile in next few months.

The Astra Mark-1 air-to-air missile with strike range of around 90–100 kms is already in the Indian Air Force and is already integrated with the LCA Tejas and the Su-30 MKI fighter jets.

The work on developing the 120-130 km strike range Astra Mark-2 air-to-air missile is going on and we are looking to carry out the first test firing in the next few months, defence officials told ANI.

Models and influencers generated through artificial intelligence will compete in a "Miss AI" beauty pageant with a prize money of $20,000. According to Forbes, this is the world's first AI beauty pageant and the contestants will be judged based on their looks, the heft they command online and the technical skill that went into creating them. The AI influencers' social clout will be assessed based on their engagement numbers with fans, rate of growth of audience and utilisation of platforms, the outlet further said citing a release from World AI Creator Awards (WAICA).

The pageant will see AI-generated ladies go head-to-head in front of a panel of judges, including two AI influencers.

The Central Govt has assigned additional charge as Secretary of Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) to Saurabh Garg (IAS) on Tuesday.

According to an order issued from the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), Garg has been given additional charge of the post upon completion of tenure of Dr GP Samanta on April 15 and till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Garg is a 1991-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Odisha cadre. Presently, he is serving as Secretary of the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment.

India has allowed limited shipments of onions to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Sri Lanka, after banning its export in response to rising prices.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, through the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), issued a notification late Monday evening, permitting the export of an additional 10,000 metric tons (MT) of onions to the UAE (above 24,000 tonne already allowed) and 10,000 tonne to Sri Lanka.

In December last year, the government banned onion exports until March 2024. According to a DGFT notification, onion exports were permitted only with prior approval from the central government.

In August, the government imposed a 40 per cent duty on onion export to check price rise and improve supplies in the domestic market. It subsequently set a Minimum Export Price (MEP) of $800 per tonne on a free-on-board basis starting from October 29.

Kuwait’s Emir has appointed Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Ahmad al-Sabah as the new prime minister of Kuwait. This decision follows the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah on April 7. Sheikh Mohammad submitted his cabinet’s resignation on April 6, following the election of a new parliament on April 4. His resignation was a procedural move after a new parliament was elected.

The new prime minister Sheikh Ahmad is a Kuwaiti economist and has served as Minister of Finance and Communications from 1999 to 2005, before serving as Minister of Health, Minister of oil and Minister of Information from 2006 to 2011.

World Haemophilia Day, observed annually on April 17 by the World Federation of Hemophilia (WHF), aims to raise awareness about the rare genetic bleeding disorder. This global event provides a platform to educate people about haemophilia and other bleeding disorders while also encouraging improved accessibility for those affected. Its primary goals include raising funds to support patients.

Haemophilia can cause continuous bleeding both internally and externally, due to the absence of blood clotting proteins. As of now, while there is no cure for this condition, various treatments are available to manage the condition. As we observe World Haemophilia Day, let’s explore its theme, history, symptoms, causes and types of this disorder.