- Nishan-e-Pakistan award conferred on Xi Jinping
- Pakistan on Tuesday conferred its top civilian award ‘Nishan-e-Pakistan’ on Chinese President Xi Jinping for his outstanding contribution in promotion of relationship between the two countries.
- The ceremony was organised at the President House where President Mamnoon Hussain conferred the award on Mr. Xi.
- Japan’s maglev train sets world record: 603 kph
- A Japan Railway maglev train hit 603 kilometers per hour (374 miles per hour) on an experimental track in Yamanashi Tuesday, setting a decisive new world record.
- The train spent 10.8 seconds traveling above 600 kilometers per hour, during which it covered 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles).
- MakeMyTrip acquires travel start-up Mygola
- Online travel company MakeMyTrip has announced that it has acquired certain assets of Mygola.com and the entire Mygola team has joined MakeMyTrip.
- The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
- Mygola was started in 2009 by Anshuman Bapna and Prateek Sharma. It has raised capital from Helion Ventures, Blumberg Capital, 500 start-ups and numerous angels.
- Government retains interest rate for GPF at 8.7% for current fiscal
- The government has retained the rate of interest for General Provident Fund (GPF) and other related schemes at 8.7 per cent for the current fiscal.
- The 8.7 per cent interest will apply on Provident Funds of central government employees, railways and defence forces, according to the notification issued by the Finance Ministry. The rate of interest will be effective from April 1, 2015.
- The interest rate for senior citizens savings scheme was hiked from 9.2 per cent to 9.3 per cent and for Sukanya Samriddhi Account, the special deposit scheme for girl child, the interest rate has been hiked from 9.1 per cent to 9.2 per cent, respectively.
- The interest earning for Kisan Vikas Patra has been retained at 8.7 per cent.
- Kudermukh and Rajaji National Parks Declared as Tiger Reserves
- The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has accorded final approval to two national parks for being declared as tiger reserves.
- The NTCA has accorded final approval to Kudermukh National Park in Karnataka and Rajaji National Park in Uttarkhand for being declared as tiger reserves by respective states.
- International Mother Earth Day observed with theme It’s Our Turn to Lead
- International Mother Earth Day was observed globally on 22 April 2015 with the theme It’s our turn to lead.
- The theme highlights the need for change and seeks to inform the communities and leadership that action needs to be taken on climate by promoting a goal of environmental awareness through developing sustainable initiatives and galvanizing every human to pledge Acts of Green.
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