India has gifted 35 ambulances and 66 school buses to various organisations across Nepal in a sign of deepening partnership with the neighbouring nation.

• At the handover ceremony, held at the Embassy of India in Kathmandu, Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava presented the keys to these essential vehicles in presence of Finance Minister of Nepal Barsha Man Pun.
• Srivastava said these gifts “symbolise India’s steadfast support for Nepal’s development journey, particularly in enhancing healthcare and education accessibility”.
• The Nepalese Finance Minister expressed gratitude for India’s ongoing development projects, “recognising their pivotal role in fostering bilateral relations and enhancing people-to-people connectivity”, said a press statement from the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

The government has set the target of producing 170 million tonnes of coal from captive and commercial coal blocks in the country during the current financial year.

• In FY24, captive and commercial coal blocks produced 147.12 million tonnes (MT) of dry fuel, 26 per cent higher from 116 MT produced in FY23.
• Out of the total output of 147.2 MT in FY24, power sector captive mines produced around 121.3 MT, captive mines of the non-power sector produced 8.4 MT while commercial mines generated 17.5 MT of fuel.
• The country's coal import rose to 244.27 MT in the April-February period of FY24 from 227.93 MT in the year-ago period, according to data compiled by B2B e-commerce company mjunction.

The Supreme Court has appointed Justice Aniruddha Bose as the Director of The National Judicial Academy (NJAC), Bhopal.

The Chief Justice, DY Chandrachud announced the decision of appointment during the ceremonial bench conducted honoring the retiring justice. Justice Bose, who is demitting office on April 10, will now be heading the NJAC, Bhopal. CJI, during the ceremonial bench proceedings

Mr. Bose graduated from St Xavier’s College and Surendranath Law College, and enrolled as an advocate in the Calcutta High Court in 1985, becoming a permanent judge in 2004 and the Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice in 2018.

Justice Bose’s retirement is one of four in the Supreme Court this year, with Justice Ajjikuttira Somaiah Bopanna, Justice Hima Kohli, and CJI Chandrachud also set to retire. Justice Sanjiv Khanna is set to become the 51st CJI on November 11.

Senior IPS officer Anurag Kumar was appointed to the post of Joint Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), according to a Personnel Ministry order.

• He is a 2004 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
• He is currently working in the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D).
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment as the Joint Director (JD) in the CBI for a tenure upto February 24, 2027, it said.

United States President Joe Biden hosted a trilateral defence summit with Japan and the Philippines in the White House. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accompanied him.

• This is the first trilateral defence summit among the three nations where the U.S. has pledged its commitment to defend both nations in times of need.
• The three Indo-Pacific maritime nations of the U.S., the Philippines, and Japan share historic ties based on democracy, freedom, and respect for international law and human rights.
• The agenda of the trilateral summit was to bolster an open and free Indo-Pacific as per the rules of international law and order. In doing so, the three nations aim to contribute to regional and global prosperity.
• The summit follows a series of meetings between dignitaries from the three countries in 2023, laying a framework based on development, economic security, humanitarian assistance, defence, and maritime security agenda.

Former Cricket Australia (CA) chairman Jack Clarke has sadly passed away at the age of 70 in Adelaide, Australia.

• The news of his demise was announced by Cricket Australia on X, sending shockwaves through the cricketing community.
• In a heartfelt tribute, Cricket Australia expressed deep sorrow over the loss of Clarke, highlighting his significant contributions to Australian cricket.
• Clarke served as a Board member of Cricket Australia and as an International Cricket Council (ICC) delegate. He was also a beloved figure at the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA).

India's foreign exchange reserves (forex) increased $2.98 billion to $648.562 billion for the week ended April 5, data released by the the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday, April 12.

• This is the seventh consecutive week of a jump in overall reserves. In the previous reporting week, the forex kitty had increased by $2.951 billion to $645.583 billion, which was an all-time high.
• In September 2021, the country's forex kitty reached an all-time high of $642.453 billion, a level that was breached in March this year.
• The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global events, but there has been a steady accretion over the past few months.

World Quantum Day is an international, community-driven event on April 14 to spark interest and generate enthusiasm for quantum mechanics. 

The National Quantum Coordination Office, part of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, is excited to participate in World Quantum Day, along with agencies across the Federal government.

What is Quantum Mechanics?

Quantum mechanics is the science of atoms and particles–the building blocks of the world. Using quantum mechanics, scientist and engineers have created revolutionary technologies that impact our everyday lives. For example, the semiconductor chips in our smartphones and computers operate in part using quantum mechanics. LASERS, LED lights, and LED monitors were developed based on our understanding of quantum mechanics. 

India celebrates World Quantum Day 2024 on April 14, 2024, with aspirations to become a global leader in various fields of Quantum Science and Technology.

India welcomed the Taliban regime’s recent move to restore property rights to Afghan Hindus and Sikhs calling it a positive development.

The Taliban regime has reportedly set up a commission to ensure return to owners the rights of private land which were seized by warlords during the tenure of the previous dispensation in Kabul.

Taliban authorities were reported to be working to restore private land to Hindu and Sikh minorities, reclaiming these properties from those linked to the previous West-backed regime.

• HAL is close to completing an earlier MoD order for 40 Tejas Mark 1 fighters (two squadrons).
• Following that, the MoD placed an order in February 2021 for 83 Tejas Mark 1A fighters (four squadrons) worth Rs 45,700 crore.
• The six Tejas squadrons already ordered will now be supplemented by five squadrons (97 Tejas Mark 1A), taking the number of indigenous Tejas fighters to 11 squadrons.