• International

US to designate IRG as terrorist organization

• The US will designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRG) as a terrorist organization.
• The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was formed after the 1979 Islamic revolution with a mission to defend the clerical regime.
• IRGC is in charge of Iran’s ballistic missiles and nuclear programmes.
• The IRGC has an estimated 125,000-strong military with army, navy and air units.

• International

Bolivia joins International Solar Alliance

• Bolivia joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
• Bolivia’s President Evo Morales signed the Solar Alliance Framework agreement during the visit of President Ram Nath Kovind to Bolivia.
• The International Solar Alliance (ISA), is an initiative by India and France, whose major aim is to fight climate change and global warming.

• Economy and Business

RBI sets WMA Limit for Government

• The Reserve Bank of India has decided that the limits for Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for the first half of the financial year 2019-20 will be Rs 75000 crore.
• The interest rate on WMA will be Repo Rate and overdraft will be 2% above the Repo Rate. RBI may trigger fresh floatation of market loans when the Government of India utilises 75% of the WMA limit.

• Appointments

Investigation head for Myanmar appointed

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Nicholas Koumjian of the US as head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar.
• Koumjian will be the first head of the Myanmar mechanism, which was established by the Human Rights Council on 27 September 2018.
• At present, he is serving as the International Co-Prosecutor for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.

• Appointments

The board of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) has redesignated Vineet Nayyar

• The board of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) has redesignated Vineet Nayyar as its executive Vice-Chairman and appointed CS Rajan as Managing Director.
• Vijay Chandok appointed as Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Securities.
• Vipin Anand has taken charge as Managing Director of LIC of India on 1 April 2019.

• Science and Tech

CCMB scientists make major breakthrough

• Researchers at the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) proclaimed new discovery on new antimicrobial approaches.
• They are studying the cell growth in bacteria and have discovered a new enzyme ‘Murein EndopeptidiaseK’ which would cut the bacteria cell wall.
• The researchers had identified a new enzyme which would act on the protein of cell wall in Escherichia coli (E. coli).

• States

A village with carbon-positive tag

• Phayeng in Manipur has become India’s first carbon-positive settlement.
• A village is given the carbon-positive tag if it sequesters more carbon than it emits, slowing the accumulation of greenhouse gases and mitigating the effects of climate change.
• As part of the carbon-positive village project, Phayeng will receive a grant of ₹10 crore in phases to facilitate afforestation.

• Miscellaneous

India’s first A.I enabled motorcycle

• Revolt Intellicorp will manufacture India’s first AI-enabled electric motorcycle in June 2019.
• Revolt Intellicorp has been founded by Micromax’s co-founder Rahul Sharma.
• The headquarters of the company is at Gurgaon.
• The manufacturing facility of the company is located in Manesar.