Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on April 19  met IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva and discussed a range of issues, including impact of geopolitical situation on global growth.

During the meeting held on the sidelines of the ongoing annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the IMF chief highlighted India's well-targeted policy mix that has helped the country's economy remain resilient even with a limited fiscal space.

She also appreciated India's help to Sri Lanka in tackling its economic crises and assured that the IMF would continue to actively engage with the island nation.

With regard to Indian policy on economic revival, Sitharaman highlighted the government's commitment to support economic growth through capital expenditure (capex) and underlined that the country's accommodative fiscal stance accompanied by major structural reforms and strong monetary policies have helped in its post-pandemic recovery.

India is expected to record the highest growth rate among large economies of the world. As per the Economic Survey, the country may log 8-8.5 per cent GDP growth in the current fiscal.

To achieve high growth, the government has raised capex by 35.4 per cent for the financial year 2022-23 to Rs 7.5 lakh crore to continue the public investment-led recovery of the pandemic-hit economy.

The capex last year was pegged at Rs 5.5 lakh crore. Congratulating India on its successful vaccination programme to control the spread of COVID-19, Georgieva also appreciated New Delhi for extending relief to other vulnerable countries to fight the pandemic.

Sitharaman also met Sri Lankan finance minister Ali Sabry on the sidelines of IMF-WB Spring Meetings and discussed current economic situation and its approach towards addressing the prevailing challenges in Sri Lanka.

The finance minister assured her Sri Lankan counterpart that as a close friend and good neighbour, India will try to extend all possible cooperation and assistance.

Q1. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 19 has  said that the  India annually produces milk worth of

1.  Rs 8.5 lakh crore
2.  Rs 7.4 lakh crore
3.  Rs 6.5 lakh crore
4.  Rs 5.9  lakh crore
5. None of These

Q2. The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on April 19  met Kristalina Georgieva and discussed a range of issues,  she is the managing director  of

1.  World Bank
2.  IMF
3.  WTO
4.  ADB
5.  None of These

Q3. The BRICS Summit in 2022 will be  hosted by

1. India
2.  Brazil
3.  South Africa
4.   China
5. None of These

Q4. Lt Gen MK Pande has been confirmed as the next chief of the Indian Army ,  he belong to

1.   JAT Regiment
2.  J&K Light Infantary
3.  Sikh Regiment
4.  Corps of Engineers
5.  None of These

Q5. Name the country with which India has  signed seven Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) for projects to be built under the Indian grant assistance scheme for the High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) through local bodies ?

1.  Bangladesh
2.  Sri Lanka
3.  Bhutan
4.   Maldives
5.  None of These

Answers

1---------------------- Rs 8.5 lakh crore

2---------------------- IMF

3----------------------  China

4---------------------- Corps of Engineers

5----------------------  Maldives

After attending the BRICS Sherpas meeting virtually last week, India will attend the BRICS Summit, to be hosted by China virtually. It is likely to be held towards the end of June. The Summit will be attended by PM Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and the heads of state of Brazil and South Africa.

Although India-China's standoff - over issues concerning the Line of Actual Control - remains a prickly matter, the Summit will be an important one diplomatically, according to experts. Prior to it, India will also attend an in-person Quad Summit on May 24 in Tokyo.

Both Quad and BRICS are diametrically opposite groupings. In Quad the US has positioned itself against China and wants to focus on Indo-Pacific and has also managed to rally support against Russia by the other members (Australia, Japan) barring India. India has maintained that it wants a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

BRICS on the other hand has Russia and China at centre-stage and is seen as a grouping which is against the US. With sanctions imposed on Russia and China being continuously criticised by the US, India will be at odds here too. The issue gets compounded as India and China have not had very cordial relations since the Galwan conflict.

In both the groupings India has so far maintained its own position - which is of neutrality. Close on the heels of the BRICS Summit is the G7 Summit, which is scheduled to take place between June 26th and 28th.

India has yet to receive a formal invite for this, though since the past three G7 meetings it has always been invited. It is a tightrope for India when it comes to diplomacy, however, it has managed well so far having its way without antagonising any grouping.

Meanwhile, during the BRICS Sherpa meet (April 13), discussions were held on various matters, said the Ministry of External Affairs. Those who attended the meeting agreed to further strengthen solidarity and cooperation to address multiple challenges faced globally, including the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recovery.

The Indian Army is set to get its first chief from the Sappers (Corps of Engineers), with Lt Gen MK Pande being confirmed on April 18 as the next in command.

Born on May 6, 1962, Lt Gen Manoj C Pande was commissioned on December 24, 1982 in the Corps of Engineers (Bombay Sappers) of the Indian Army.

Sappers are combat support arms providing mobility for their own forces and denying mobility for enemy forces. Infantry, Mechanised Infantry, Artillery and Armoured are the Combat Arms of the Army.

Lt Gen Manoj Pande, an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, was commissioned in December 1982 in the Corps of Engineers (Bombay Sappers).

In his distinguished 39-year military career, he held important and challenging command and staff appointments in different operational environments. His Line of Control exposure includes the command of 117 Engineer Regiment during Operation Parakram in the sensitive Pallanwala Sector of Jammu and Kashmir. He commanded an Engineer Brigade in the Western Theatre, as part of the Strike Corps, an Infantry Brigade along the Line of Control.

He has also held tenures at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in recent years, starting with the command of a mountain division in the high altitude area of Western Ladakh, command of a corps deployed along the LAC and in counter insurgency operations area of the Eastern Command.

Post this, he went for the tri-service experience as the General Officer Commander in Chief (GoC-in-C) of the Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN) which is the only tri-service operational command. From there, he was promoted as the GoC-in-C of the Eastern Army Command. 

He was CINCAN from June 2020 to May 2021 and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command from June 2021 to January 2022.

His staff exposures include Brigade Major of a Mountain Brigade in the North East, Assistant Military Secretary (AMS) in Military Secretary’s Branch, Colonel Q of a Mountain Division in High Altitude Area and Brigadier General Staff (Operations) at Headquarters Eastern Command.

He has served as Chief Engineer in the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. He has also been posted as Additional Director General in the Military Operations Directorate at Army Headquarters, Chief of Staff Headquarters Southern Command and Director General Discipline Ceremonial & Welfare at the Army Headquarters.

Lt Gen Pande is a graduate of Staff College, Camberley (United Kingdom) and attended the Higher Command (HC) and National Defence College (NDC) Courses.

He is also the Colonel Commandant, Bombay Sappers. There are three groups of Sappers -- Bombay, Madras and Bengal Engineering Group. Sappers are combat support arms providing mobility for their own forces and denying mobility for enemy forces.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who was being projected as the next foreign minister, chose not to join the Cabinet. He was present at the Oath ceremony on April 19  as nine members of his party were sworn in, including Sherry Rehman. It is learned that Bhutto may join the Cabinet at a later date.

Thirty-one federal ministers, three ministers of state and three advisors took oath in Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif’s, Cabinet. The new Cabinet consists members of allied political parties.

Those who took oath included 14 ministers from Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-B), nine from Pakistan Peoples Party, and four from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, amongst others.

Sharif took over as the new PM after Imran Khan was removed in a no-confidence motion on April 11.

Hina Rabbani Khar, 44, is slated to be the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. This will be Khar’s second stint as Foreign Minister as she was the FM from 2008 to 2011 under the leadership of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani The swearing-in of the new cabinet got delayed amidst talks over ministerial berths among the ruling coalition led by Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

President Arif Alvi, who was to administer the oath to the new cabinet, went on leave  citing health issues. This pushed the swearing-in by a day. Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani presided over the ceremony at the Presidency and administered the oath to the new Cabinet.

The cabinet formation took more than a week after Sharif assumed his charge as the Prime Minister. Sharif is said to have held consultations with his allies for the distribution of ministries.

Meanwhile, some allies are unhappy with the new list of ministers while some are staging protests for their own issues. Balochistan National Party (BNP) has stayed away from the process as they have accused the government of not controlling violence in Balochistan.

Similarly, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has demanded immediate general elections as he was unhappy with the distribution of ministries. Meanwhile, Hamza Shehbaz Sharif, son of the incumbent prime minister, was elected as chief minister of Punjab on Apr.16 in a controversial provincial assembly vote.

Governor of Punjab Omar Sarfraz Cheema, from Imran Khan’s PTI, refused to administer the oath to the chief minister due to rules violations in his election. The Governor has been dismissed, but President Alvi is yet to sign the dismissal summary.

European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen will pay an official visit to India on April 24-25, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on   April 19  .

The MEA said in a statement that this will be her first visit to India as the President of the European Commission. During her visit, the President of the European Commission will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

She will also meet President Ram Nath Kovind and other dignitaries. The President of the European Commission has been invited as the Chief Guest for this year's edition of Raisina Dialogue and will address the inaugural session on April 25.

The India-EU Leaders' Meeting in May 2021 set new milestones with the decision to resume trade talks and the launch of the India-EU Connectivity Partnership.

The forthcoming visit of the President of the European Commission will be an opportunity to review progress and further intensify the multifaceted partnership with the EU. 

India and Maldives have signed seven Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) for projects to be built under the Indian grant assistance scheme for the High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) through local bodies.

The MoUs were signed by Abdulla Shahid and Indian High Commissioner Munu Mahawar.

The projects are worth a total grant of 26.8 million Rufiyaa (equivalent to approximately $1.7 million).

The projects include establishing a mental health centre at Addu Equatorial Hospital, a speech a therapy unit at Kulhudhufushi Regional Hospital, a prosthetics and orthotics manufacturing workshop at Hulhumale Hospital, preservation of cultural places in Noonu Landhoo Maabudhuge and Thaa Dhiyamigili Ganduvaru, development of a multi-sports complex in Noonu Manadhoo and developing youth centres in Gaafu Alif Gemanafushi and Alif Dhaalu Dhigurah.

The announcement to undertake seven new projects for implementation under this scheme was made during the official visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to Addu City last month. Apart from the projects launched today, eighteen projects are currently underway under this grant scheme.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Naval Staff of India Admiral R Hari Kumar met Minister Shahid .

Shanti Sethi, a trailblazing Indian-American Navy veteran, has joined US Vice President Kamala Harris's office as her executive secretary and defence advisor.

Sethi, the first Indian-American commander of a major US Navy combat ship, recently joined Vice President Harris' office.

In her new role, Sethi coordinates National Security Advisor documentation across the Office of the Vice President .

Sethi commanded the guided-missile destroyer, USS Decatur, from December 2010 to May 2012. She was also the first female commander of a US naval vessel to visit India.

When she joined the Navy in 1993, the combat exclusion law was still in effect so she was limited in what she could do. However, when she was an officer, the Exclusion Act was lifted.

Sethi was born in Reno, Nevada. Her mom was born in Canada and became a naturalised US citizen at the age of 12, while her father immigrated to the US from India in the early 1960s.

Harris, the daughter of an Indian immigrant from Chennai, scripted history in 2021 by becoming the first-ever woman Vice President of the United States.

The 57-year-old former Senator from California is also the first Black and first South Asian American vice president.