Popular Tamil actor and comedian Visweswara Rao breathed his last on April 2. The noted artist was battling cancer and was undergoing treatment for years. Rao has worked in over 300 Tamil and Telugu movies in his career. He started his career as a child artist and has worked in over 150 films. As per reports, his mortal remains were kept at his house in Siruseri, Chennai for the public and for people from the industry to pay their last respects. It has been reported that the last rites were performed this morning.

Visweswara Rao hailed from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. When he started getting recognition as a child artist when he was six years old, his family moved to Chennai. The actor is known for his role as Manju’s father in the Tamil film ‘Pithamagan’ which has been written and directed by Bala. This Suriya starrer went on to become a box office success and it bagged critical acclaim and multiple awards, such as the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, Filmfare Awards South, and the National Film Awards to name a few. The actor is also known for playing a role in R Madhavan’s ‘Evano Oruvan’ where he acted as the annoying shop owner.

The International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is observed on April 4, annually to raise public attention towards mine action activities, the land mines, its threats to the safety of mankind and how to work towards its elimination. Mining materials pose a major threat to the health, lives and safety of the people. United Nations-supported platforms, like every year on this day, organise and carry out initiatives to reduce the threat caused by mines and explosives. As per UN, on an average, one person is killed or injured by such explosive devices every hour. It also have an impact on children.

The Democratic Republic of Congo appointed Judith Suminwa Tuluka as the African nation’s first woman Prime Minister. President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo made the appointment. He fulfilled a campaign promise and took an important step towards the formation of a new government after being re-elected late last year. The authorities face a raft of challenges including a worsening conflict and humanitarian crisis in eastern regions and the management of Congo’s considerable mineral wealth.

In his first term, Mr Tshisekedi had assured to root out endemic corruption, rebuild the economy, tackle deep inequalities and curb the eastern insecurity. Critics say he fell short on all the counts.

The iconic Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KSO), one of India’s oldest solar observatories in the world celebrated its 125th anniversary on 1st April, a PIB press release stated.

A.S. Kiran Kumar, former Chairman of ISRO and Chairperson of the Governing Council of IIA then unveiled the KSO 125 logo for the anniversary celebrations along with a booklet detailing the history and the research highlights of the Observatory.

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Pollution Control Vessel Samudra Paheredar with an integral helicopter, made a port call at Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, on Tuesday as part of its ongoing overseas deployment to Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.

Prior to Ho Chi Minh, the vessel had visited Manila, Philippines to demonstrate diplomatic maritime engagements in the ASEAN region.

During the three-day visit, the crew will engage in professional interactions focussing on marine pollution response, maritime search and rescue, and maritime law enforcement.

State-owned Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) on Tuesday said that it has recorded its highest-ever annual loan sanctions and disbursements in fiscal 2023-24. The company has sanctioned loans amounting to Rs 37,354 crore and disbursed loans worth Rs 25,089 crore during the fiscal year 2023-24, an IREDA statement said.

According to the statement, this has led to a significant growth of 26.71 per cent in the loan book, which now stands at Rs 59,650 crore compared to Rs 47,076 crore a year ago.

The annual loan sanctions grew 14.63 per cent to Rs 37,354 crore in 2023-24 from Rs 32,587 crore in 2022-23.

Sandeep Jain, an alumnus of IIT-Kanpur and an auto-component manufacturer, has been elected as the President of the Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) for the term 2024-25. His appointment was unanimously approved during a meeting of the Central Executive Committee held in New Delhi, marking a significant transition from his prior role as the Vice President of FISME.

The organization conducts annual elections to elect one third of its Central Executive Committee members, who then choose the President for the upcoming year. Jain succeeds Prashant Patel, a manufacturer of Dyes and Chemicals with operations in Ahmedabad and Surat.

Atul Mehra, joint MD of JM Financial, has been appointed the managing director and chief executive officer at rival investment bank Axis Capital, in one of the biggest transitions in recent years in the world of Indian deal-makers.

The proposed move was first reported by Moneycontrol on January 20.

"Atul will be overseeing both the Investment Banking and Institutional Equities businesses of Axis Capital," an official announcement on April 1 said.

Over 60 products from across India, including the famous Banaras Thandai, have been given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. This is the first time such a large number of GI tags have been given at a go, a senior official from the Geographical Indications registry said. He also said that more States were coming forward and filing applications to get a GI tag for some of their traditional and historic products.

Six traditional crafts from Assam — Asharikandi terracotta craft, Pani Meteka craft, Sarthebari metal craft, Jaapi (bamboo headgear of rural Assam), Mishing handloom products, and the Bihu dhol — have bagged the GI tag.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has rolled out the 'One Vehicle, One FASTag' initiative starting from Monday, April 1, 2024.

This initiative of NHAI aims to discourage the use of a single FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to one vehicle.

NHAI decided to launch this initiative due to recent reports of multiple FASTags being issued for the same vehicle and issuance of FASTags without completing the mandatory KYC process, violating the guidelines set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).