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• It was on this day in 1919 when SS Loyalty, the first ship of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd, set sail for the United Kingdom from Mumbai (then British Bombay).


• This marks a crucial step for India shipping history as the sea routes then were controlled by the British.

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• President Solih’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which is led by ex-President Mohamed Nasheed, is the chief constituent in the ruling alliance.


• The MDP is looking to consolidate the gains it made last year by contesting independently, aiming for a parliamentary majority.


• Over 2.6 lakh Maldivians have registered to vote in the poll, in which nearly 400 candidates are contesting for 87 seats in Parliament.

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• Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has warned Beijing to back off from a disputed island in the South China Sea, warning of possible military action if China "touches" it amid rising tensions over the key waterway.


• Mr. Duterte, aiming to attract trade and investment from the Asian superpower, has mostly withheld his early criticism of Beijing's expansive claims to the sea a point of regional contention because trillions of dollars of goods pass through it.

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• Khalifa Haftar's order to the self-styled Libyan National Army came as UN chief Antonio Guterres was in Tripoli.


• Armed groups from the western city of Misrata, which back the government, have vowed to stop any advance.


• Libya has been riven by violence and division since long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011.

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• Mexico's economy minister urged US President Donald Trump on Thursday not to mix the issue of illegal immigration into the two countries' trade relationship, after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Mexican cars.


• "For the Mexican government, it is very important to keep migration issues and trade issues separate," Economy Minister Graciela Marquez Colin told a press conference.

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• The United States and Turkey have been at loggerheads over Ankara's decision to purchase the S-400s, which are not compatible with NATO systems.


• Washington has warned that going forward with the deal could result in US sanctions.

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• India and Pakistan are not expected to hold any more meetings on the Kartarpur corridor before the country’s general elections as Islamabad is yet to respond to issues raised by New Delhi, people familiar with developments said.


• India called off the second meeting with Pakistan to discuss modalities for the corridor, which was scheduled for April [latex]2^{nd}[/latex], over the inclusion of pro-Khalistan activists such as Gopal Chawla and Bisan Singh in a Pakistani committee to facilitate Sikh pilgrims.

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• Ministry of Finance dismisses the Election Commission of India’s version that the invisibility afforded to benefactors was a “retrogade step” and would wreck transparency in political funding.


• Electoral bonds scheme allows anonymity to political donors to protect them from “political victimisation,” the government informed the Supreme Court.

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• NaMo TV made its debut on March [latex]31^{st}[/latex] on DTH platforms, and created a stir among political parties regarding the content it aired.


• For most parties, NaMo TV is a propaganda tool for Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the Lok Sabha election and is in violation of the model code of conduct. They have brought this to the notice of the Election Commission

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• An Allahabad high court registrar’s note has directed the court staff to “pay the highest respect” to the judges and stop whenever they see them walking past in the court gallery.


• The notice warned the staff that “any deviation in this regard will be viewed seriously”.

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• A pre-election survey conducted by Lokniti in the last week of March suggests that three decisions of the National Democratic Alliance government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi taken between January {latex]7^{th}[/latex] and February [latex]26^{th}[/latex] might have the ability to change the course of what could have been a close election.


• The CSDS-Lokniti-The Hindu-Tiranga TV-Dainik Bhaskar Pre-Poll Survey 2019 found that 43% of the respondents favoured Mr. Modi as Prime Minister

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• RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the GDP growth for 2019-20 in the policy had been projected at 7.4 per cent in the range of 7.2-7.4 per cent, but since then there were some signs of weakening in domestic investment, which was visible in the production and imports of capital goods.


• The “GDP projection for 2019-20 is kept at 7.2 per cent, 6.8 to 7.1 per cent for the first half of 2019-20 and 7.3 to 7.4 per cent for the second half”.

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• Reserve Bank of India decided to cut its benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 6% to keep prices under check and to support growth.


• The rate cut, the second announced by the central bank in 2019, was anticipated by economists and the markets. It is seen to indicate a falling rate environment.

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• England move up one place on the strength of convincing Euro 2020 qualifier wins against the Czech Republic and Montenegro last month while Croatia, who reached the 2018 World Cup final before losing to France, retreat one place to fifth.


• The top three positions are unchanged with World Cup winners France in second spot ahead of Brazil, in third.

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• Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting was furious with the Feroz Shah Kotla ground staff, who provided the home team with a pitch that proved to be more helpful for the Sunrisers Hyderabad during the IPL encounter between two teams.


• Sunrisers comfortably beat Delhi Capitals by five wickets on a track where run-scoring was difficult and suited the visiting team bowlers even more.

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• UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan made the announcement about the Zayed Medal, the highest decoration awarded to kings, presidents and heads of states, being given to Modi.


• The United Arab Emirates announced it will award its highest civilian honour to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “pivotal role” in boosting the strategic relationship between the two countries.

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• Vinod Dasari has been appointed as the new CEO of Royal Enfield. He will be replacing Siddhartha Lal, who will continue to be the MD for the company. Prior to joining Royal Enfield, Vinod Dasari was the CEO and MD of Ashok Leyland since 2011.


• He will be replacing Siddhartha Lal, who will continue to be the Managing Director at Royal Enfield.

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• Ex-Bollywood actress and Managing Director of Performics (A Performance Marketing Agency), Mayoori Kango has been appointed as the Industry head of Google India.


• She will lead Google engagement with Publicis (Parent Company of Performics) and DAN.

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• NASA hopes to accelerate its efforts to explore space – with an aim to send astronauts to Mars by 2033, said NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine.


• The new goal could be made possible by NASA’s new mission to explore the moon by 2024 – giving the space agency an opportunity to test new technologies.


• NASA’s budget includes a new ‘Lunar Gateway’ space station which will orbit the moon by the mid-2020s.