1) Bhopal to have India's first privately-run railway station
•For the first time in Indian Railway history Habibganj station in Bhopal has been handed over to the private firm to be operated by it.
•The station building will be developed in line with airport terminals. However, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu clarified that trains at the station will still be run by the Railways.
2) Manipur CM launched DARPAN web applications to check corruption
•Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh launched two web applications to check corruption and keep track of government activities.
•The two web applications were Anti-Corruption Cell and Digital Application for Review by Public And Nation (DARPAN). The two web applications would monitor all government funded projects and ensure transparency and accountability. DARPAN would upload details of projects right from the initial stage till sanction of the fund, progress of work and photos the work sites.
3) Maharashtra, first state to stage special drive for transgenders to register as voters
•Maharashtra has become the first state to launch a special awareness drive to ensure that transgenders in the state register as voters in greater numbers.
•The state branch of the Election Commission of India (ECI) launched the drive on April 15, celebrated as Third Gender Day. According to ECI officials, despite the approximate population of third genders in Maharashtra being pegged at more than 10 lakh, only about 1,700 are registered voters.
4) Over 50 Indians in Forbes’ under 30 list of super achievers
•Over 50 Indians, including gymnast Dipa Karmakar, Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik and actress Alia Bhatt, are among Forbes’ list of super achievers from Asia under the age of 30 who are “pushing boundaries of innovation“.
•The second Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ Asia list 2017 features 300 impressive young entrepreneurs 30 in 10 categories, including entertainment, finance and venture capital, retail, social entrepreneurs and enterprise technology, under the age of 30 years.
•India has 53 achievers on the list, second only to China which has 76 honorees. Leading the pack from India are Karmakar, who became the first Indian female gymnast to ever compete in the Olympics during the last games held in Rio de Janeiro and the first Indian gymnast to compete in 52 years.
•The other names were Srikanth Bolla, founder of Bollant Industries and Sharath Gayakwad, India’s first Paralympic swimmer, coach and Arjuna award winner who has won 96 medals. The youngest Indians on the list are brothers Sanjay, 15, and Shravan Kumaran, 17, who founded GoDimensions, a mobile app developer five years ago.
5) Prakash Javadekar launched RUSA Portal, Mobile App
•Human Resource and Development Minister Prakash Javadekar launched the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) portal and mobile app in New Delhi.
•The portal is a one-stop for States’ Higher Education Plans, decision of the States’ Higher Education Councils and details of the resources. The mobile application will ensure that all projects under RUSA are tracked for 24x7.
6) Sai Praneeth wins Singapore open Badminton
•Sai Praneeth has won the title match of Men's singles at Singapore Open Badminton beating his compatriot Kidambi Srikanth. Returning in the match after losing first game 17-21 Praneeth won last two games 21-17, 21-12.
•Praneeth was the first to make it to the summit clash after he executed his plans brilliantly to completely blow away his opponent in a 38-minute match. He thrashed three-time Korea Masters Grand Prix Gold winner Lee 21-6 21-8 in a lop-sided semifinal match.
