The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised its GDP growth forecast for India, raising it to 7% for the current fiscal year (2023-24) from its previous projection of 6.7%.

According to the ADB's April edition of the Asian Development Outlook, the robust growth will be driven by strong public and private sector investment demand, as well as a gradual improvement in consumer demand. However, the growth estimate for the 2024-25 fiscal year is lower than the 7.6% projected for 2022-23.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Jagjit Pavadia, a former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, has been re-elected to the Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). He also said that India scored the highest number of votes among all the elected members of the anti-narcotics body.

Pavadia (70), who has already served as President of the Board from 2021 to 2022, has been re-elected for the term 2025-2030.

Taking to X on Monday night, Jaishankar said, "Today, India’s nominee Ms Jagjit Pavadia has been re-elected to the International Narcotics Control Board at elections held in New York, for the term 2025-2030."

The largest private sector lender HDFC Bank on Wednesday inaugurated a branch in Lakshadweep’s Kavaratti island. The bank is the only private sector lender to have a presence in Lakshadweep, according to a statement.

The bank seeks to serve customers wherever they are and looks forward to serving the financial needs of individuals, families, and businesses in Lakshadweep, the bank’s retail branch banking group head S Sampathkumar said. The branch was inaugurated by Captain Lovekesh Thakur, Commanding Officer, Indian Navy and K P Muthukoya, a well-known resident, in the presence of bank officials, the statement said.

This branch is aimed at upgrading the banking infrastructure in the Union Territory by offering a wide range of services with a focus on personal banking, and digital banking which also includes customised digital solutions including QR-based transaction to retailers.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) conducted the Pre-Cyclone Exercise for the season April-June 2024 under the chairmanship of Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General, IMD in hybrid mode at Mausam Bhavan in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The exercise was part of a biennial exercise conducted to take stock of the preparedness of various stakeholders in disaster management during the pre- and post-cyclone seasons.

"India has one of the best early warning systems and weather forecasting models," said the DG IMD.

Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (CSIR-IMMT) for Technical & Knowledge cooperation for Critical Minerals. The MoU was signed by Shri Sadashiv Samantaray, Director (Commercial), NALCO & CEO, KABIL and Dr. Ramanuj Narayan, Director, CSIR-IMMT, in the presence of Shri Sridhar Patra, CMD, NALCO & Chairman, KABIL, at NALCO Corporate Office in Bhubaneswar, today.

Under the MoU, KABIL will leverage the technical expertise and services of CSIR-IMMT to undertake various projects, including the design and analysis of metallurgical test work-plans, development and review of process flowsheets, and the selection of process technologies for mineral processing, beneficiation, and metal extraction. Furthermore, the agreement will also embark on joint research and facilitate the exchange of scientific information between the two entities.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has secured the 45th rank in Engineering and Technology in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject for 2024. With an overall score of 79.1 out of 100, the institute has improved on its 2023 performance in the same subject by two places.

The QS World University Rankings by Subject identifies the world’s strongest universities in individual subject areas, covering 55 disciplines as of 2024.

The results were released on Wednesday by the QS, a UK based ranking agency. Apart from engineering and technology, the premier technology institution from the city has been ranked in other subject areas too such as Natural Sciences, Computer Science, Management, Humanities and Social Sciences among all.

Barring official confirmation, Harendra Singh is set to replace Janneke Schopman as coach of the Indian women’s hockey team. The reported reason for the delay is due to the model code of conduct being in place for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

The reason for Model Code of Conduct affecting the big announcement is because Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey is a candidate in the upcoming elections. The former India player is a Biju Janta Dal candidate and set to contest from Sundargarh constituency in Odisha.

As per reports, Harendra played a role in pruning the preliminary 60-member assessment squad down to a core group of 33 players during the trials held on 6-7 April.

India currently has 67 unicorns, which is lower as compared with 68 such startups last year, according to the latest Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2024. It, however, said India produced more offshore unicorns than any other country, co-founding 109 unicorns outside of India compared with 67 in India.

“India’s start-up ecosystem has slowed, with the number of unicorns down for the first time since the launch of Hurun list,” according to the report.

Explaining reasons for the slowdown in India, Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher of Hurun India, said, “India currently has 67 unicorns. India’s start-up ecosystem has slowed, with the number of unicorns down for the first time since the launch of our list. This is primarily fuelled by lack of investment into start-ups despite the recent stock market record highs. Another factor is that founders from India produced more offshore unicorns than any other country, co-founding 109 unicorns outside of India compared with 67 in India.”

Fintech firm PhonePe on Wednesday said it has partnered with Nepal's digital wallet service eSewa and the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) Pokhara to promote digital payments through UPI on the Himalayan country's payment processor Fonepay Network. The partnership is a part of the Fewa New Year Festival which will be held from April 11-14 in Nepal.

Over 3,000 merchants will participate in the festival with more than 1,00,000 visitors expected to visit.

PhonePe in a statement said it will run on-ground activation aimed at raising awareness about digital payments among local merchants while demonstrating the convenience of digital payments for customers.

The General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/65/271 of 7 April 2011, declared 12 April as the International Day of Human Space Flight “to celebrate each year at the international level the beginning of the space era for mankind, reaffirming the important contribution of space science and technology in achieving sustainable development goals and increasing the well-being of States and peoples, as well as ensuring the realization of their aspiration to maintain outer space for peaceful purposes.”

12 April 1961 was the date of the first human space flight, carried out by Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet citizen. This historic event opened the way for space exploration for the benefit of all humanity.

The General Assembly expressed its deep conviction of the common interest of mankind in promoting and expanding the exploration and use of outer space, as the province of all mankind, for peaceful purposes and in continuing efforts to extend to all States the benefits derived there from.