1. *The Haridwar Kumbh Mela commenced on Thursday (April 1) in Uttarakhand* . Amid surge in COVID-19 cases, new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were issued by the state government to contain the spread of the virus.
2. *The Delhi-Meerut Expressway, which will reduce travel time between the two cities from about three hours to just 45 minutes, has been finally opened for the public from Thursday (April 1).* The 96 km-long 14-lane Expressway will also reduce the travel time of commuters from Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Haridwar, and Dehradun to Delhi.
3. *Mumbai-Ahmedabad Tejas Express suspended amid COVID-19 surge for a month from April 02* .
4. *Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Thursday (April 1) hinted at imposing strict restrictions in the city in order to curb the rising cases of COVID-19.* He has said that malls, temples and other public spaces which attract large gatherings may be temporarily closed.
5. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy disbursed Rs 254 crore to 12,039 eligible families under the YSR Bima scheme (insurance).
6. *Assam registers 77.21% voting in 2nd phase on 39 seats and in Bengal: Over 80% voter turnout, violence in second phase.*
7. *Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has extended the last date for submissions of the assignments for the Term-end Examination (TEE), June 2021.*
8. *Late actor Kader Khan’s son Abdul Quddus passed away in Canada on Thursday (April 1).* The cause of death was not immediately known. Quddus was the eldest son of Khan with his first wife. He worked as a security officer at an airport in Canada.
9. *Lt Gen Manjinder Singh assumes charge as Chief of Staff of Western Command* at Chandimandir on Thursday. *Lt Gen Amardeep Singh Bhinder takes over as chief of South Western Command*.
10. *First batch of women sepoys: Ready, and geared up to serve While the Indian army will get its first batch of women soldiers in the rank-and-file in early May,* CMP Centre and School, where they are training at present revealed they are being pushed as hard as their male counterparts and that their recruitment.
11. *ITBP recovers IEDs in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon:*
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) unearthed and destroyed twin Improvised Explosive Device (IEDs) in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district on Thursday. “During a search operation, twin IEDs 15 kg and 5 kg unearthed and destroyed on the spot.
12. The Defence Research and Development Organisation has developed a lightweight bullet-proof jacket that weighs nine kilogram and meets the qualitative requirements of the Indian Army.
13. *The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has released an official notification inviting applications to fill 19 vacancies at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Thiruvananthapuram. The positions available include Junior Research Fellow (JRF), Senior Project Associate (SPA), and Research Associate (RA).*
14. India launched COVID-19 vaccination for all people aged 45 years and above from Thursday
*✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS*
1. *India condemns Myanmar violence at UN Security Council meeting; UN envoy warns of civil war*.
2. In a dramatic U-turn, the Pakistani cabinet on Thursday (April 1) deferred the import of sugar and cotton from India. The Pakistani flip flop comes, even as on Wednesday, Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet had given approval for import of white sugar from India up to 500,000 MT till 30th June and import of cotton till the same deadline.
3. *The government of India has announced scholarships to 2000 descendants of the Liberation War fighters of Bangladesh under its new Muktijoddha Scholarship scheme.*
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