• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its release on Thursday said that it has decided to set up Data Sciences Lab to improve its forecasting, surveillance and early warning detection abilities which will aid policy formulation. In a statement, the central bank has decided to gainfully harness the power of Big Data analytics by setting up a Data Sciences Lab in-house. The lab will constitute of experts and budding analysts, internal as well as lateral, who are trained inter alia in Computer Science, Data Analytics, Statistics, Economics, Econometrics and/or Finance. 

• The release says policy making not only benefits from data collected through regulatory returns and surveys but also from large volumes of structured and unstructured real-time information. RBI said the lab will comprise experts and budding analysts, who are trained in Computer Science, Data Analytics, Statistics, Economics, Econometrics and Finance. The unit is likely to become operational by December 2018.

• Mr Takahata was nominated for an Oscar in 2015 for The Tale of the Princess Kaguya but is best known for his film Grave of the Fireflies.

• He founded Studio Ghibli with iconic director Hayao Miyazaki in 1985.

• It became a world-renowned animation studio, producing blockbusters such as Castle in the Sky, and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

• Mr Takahata started his career in animation in 1959 at Japan's Toei studio, where he met Mr Miyazaki, who is usually seen as the face of Studio Ghibli.

• World champion weightlifter Mirabai Chanu rose to the occasion on Day 1 of the 2018 Commonwealth Games to win a gold in the women's 48kg.

• Mirabai Chanu went on a record-smashing spree, claiming three of them in a power-packed performance, to secure India's first gold. In a remarkable performance,

• Chanu smashed the Commonwealth and the Games record in snatch, pulling off clean lifts in all her three attempts (80kg, 84kg and 86kg).

• Private life insurer SBI Life Insurance has appointed Sanjeev Nautiyal as its new managing director and chief executive, replacing Arijit Basu who moves back to parent SBI Group to take up a key role.

• Nautiyal began his career with State Bank in 1985 as a probationary officer in the Lucknow circle and has since then held various roles in fields like credit, HR, and international banking.

• The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to the human rights protection bill for "better protection and promotion of human rights in the country", a statement said.

• The Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018, was cleared in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday comfortably won the no-confidence motion against him in Parliament.

• In the 225 member Parliament, 122 members voted against the motion while 76 voted in favour of it.

• Turkey, Russia and Iran on Wednesday said they were committed to achieving a "lasting ceasefire" that will "protect civilians" in Syria, in a joint statement issued following a summit in Ankara hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

• Erdogan, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Russia's Vladimir Putin reaffirmed their commitment to reviving the political process for peace and cooperating for "the achievement of a lasting ceasefire between the conflicting parties," a joint communique said.

• India, Japan and the United States participated in the ninth trilateral meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday. The meeting focused on connectivity, counter-terrorism and other regional and global issues, a joint press release issued after the talks informed.

• “The officials reviewed the outcomes of the Trilateral Infrastructure Working Group that met in Washington in February and agreed to continue to collaborate to promote increased connectivity in the Indo-Pacific,” the press release stated.

• A Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) tailor-made to suit the requirements of serving soldiers, pensioners and families, was signed between the Indian Army and HDFC Bank on the defence salary package on Tuesday.

• The first MoU between HDFC Bank and the Indian Army was signed in 2011 and was renewed on 13th March 2015. The signing in ceremony was chaired by the Director General (MP&PS), Lt Gen S K Saini and was attended by the top dignitaries of HDFC Bank headed by Smita Bhagat, Head Government Business and Branch Banking.

The opening ceremony of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games at Carrara Stadium is underway as 4,000 performers, including the Bangarra Dance Theatre and Ricki-Lee Coulter, put on a display for 35,000 spectators.