Today's Current Affairs 28th April 2024

INTERNATIONAL

Rajnath Singh: Talks with China smooth, India won't yield

• Rajnath Singh, the Defence Minister, stated that discussions between India and China are progressing smoothly in a positive atmosphere, affirming India's firm stance. He is currently in Ahmedabad campaigning for BJP candidates in the Lok Sabha elections, emphasizing India's enhanced military strength and its commitment to fostering friendly relations with neighboring nations.

NATIONAL

Only 8% women candidates in first two Lok Sabha phases

• Only eight percent of the total 2,823 candidates in the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections were women, highlighting a significant gender bias issue, according to political activists who suggest that discussions about women's empowerment lack substance. The first phase saw 135 women candidates, while the second phase had 100, totaling 235 women candidates across both phases.

Village Defence Guard member killed in J&K gunfight

• An unidentified exchange of fire between gunmen and a Village Defence Guard member resulted in the member's death on Sunday morning in Panara village, located in the Basantgarh area of Udhampur district in Jammu and Kashmir.

Nainital Forest Fire

• Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced on Saturday that Indian Army and Air Force helicopters are aiding in containing forest fires in the state. The fires, which have ravaged for more than 36 hours, have now reached Nainital, causing substantial damage to green cover. Additionally, a large fire erupted in the Ladiyakata region of the Nainital Air Force Centre on Friday, persisting for over 36 hours and spreading rapidly through dense mountainous forests. 

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Arvinder Singh Lovely steps down as Delhi Congress chief.

• Party officials announced that Arvinder Singh Lovely, the Delhi Congress president, has resigned from his position. In his resignation letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lovely mentioned the alliance with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party for the 2024 Lok Sabha election as one of the factors contributing to his resignation. 

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2024: April 28

• World Day for Safety and Health at Work, celebrated annually on April 28th worldwide, aims to promote global efforts in preventing occupational accidents and diseases. 

    AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

T.N. CM Stalin rewards chess grandmaster D. Gukesh with ₹75 lakh

• On Sunday, April 28, 2024, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin presented a ₹75 lakh incentive to chess prodigy D. Gukesh, who emerged as the youngest victor of the recently concluded FIDE Candidates tournament held in Canada. 

• Stalin handed over the cheque to the grandmaster in the former’s camp office in Chennai , in the presence of Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin and the chess player’s parents. 

BANKING AND ECONOMY

S&P Global Ratings: Banks may need to slow loan growth in FY25.

• According to S&P Global Ratings, Indian banks are expected to maintain strong credit growth, profitability, and asset quality in the current fiscal year due to robust economic growth. However, they may need to reduce their loan growth as deposit growth, particularly in retail deposits, is not matching the pace. In the Asia-Pacific 2Q 2024 Banking Update, S&P Global Ratings Director SSEA Nikita Anand stated that the sector's credit growth is anticipated to moderate to 14% in FY25 from 16% in FY24 if deposit growth remains sluggish.