1. Former IAS Officer Sanjay Kothari took oath as Chief Vigilance Commissioner

• Sanjay Kothari took oath as Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). The oath was administered by President Ram Nath Kovind on 25 April 2020 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
• Kothari, an officer from the 1978 batch from Haryana, was named as new CVC by a high powered committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February this year. In the same meeting, ex-Broadcasting Secretary Bimal Julka was appointed as the next Chief Information Commissioner (CIC).
• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, and others were also present at the ceremony. Social distancing was also ensured there as chairs were kept apart. 

Foot notes: About Chief vigilance Commision
The Central Vigilance Commission was established in February 1964. The anti-corruption watchdog is headquartered in New Delhi. The autonomous body is free of control from any executive authority. It is responsible for monitoring all vigilance activities in the Central government. It will also advise various authorities in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work. 

Objectives: To address governmental corruption
First executive: Nittoor Srinivasa Rau
Current executive: K. V. Chowdary

2. World Malaria Day is observed on 25 April

• World Malaria Day is an international event observed on 25 April every year. The day aims to spread awareness about malaria disease globally. It will also promote efforts to prevent malaria around the world.
• The theme of World Malaria Day 2020 is "Zero Malaria Starts with Me." The movement aims to drive action and making change using the resources available.
• World Malaria Day was initiated from Africa Malaria Day which was first held in 2008. The event Africa Malaria Day had been observed since 2001 by African governments.

3. Govt reconstituted National Shipping Board; to be headed by ex DG Shipping “Malini Shankar”

• The Ministry of Shipping has given its consent for the reconstitution of the 16-member National Shipping Board (NSB), the highest advisory body on matters related to Indian shipping and its development or other matters arising out of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958.
• The reconstituted board will be headed by former Director General of Shipping Malini Shankar.

Foot Notes: About Ministry of Shipping
Minister of State (MoS)–Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya
Department– Directorate General of Shipping

4. Ashok Leyland acquired 3.36% share in subsidiary Hinduja Leyland Finance

• Ashok Leyland Ltd under the flagship of Hinduja Groups has acquired 3.36% which is 1.57 crore shares of Rs.10 of the equity of its subsidiary Hinduja Leyland Finance Ltd (HLFL) for the cost of Rs.119 per equity share.
• The regulatory filings at stock exchange said that the shareholding of Ashok Leyland has gone up to 65.45% to 68.81% in the Hinduja Finance.
• The proposed acquisition is at arm’s length basis and a part of the 6.99% approved by the board of directors in the meeting on 21st March. It will be completed in tranches before July 31.

Foot Notes: About Hinduja Group
Hinduja Group is an Indian conglomerate company based in Mumbai involved in activities like foundries, imports and exports, trading, motors, bankings, healthcare and call centers.
Headquarters– London, United Kingdom
Founder– Parmanand Hinduja
Ashok Leyland CEO– Vipin Sondhi
Hinduja Leyland Finance CEO– Sachin Pillai

5. Country's foreign exchange reserves surge by over 3 billion dollars

• Country's foreign exchange reserves surged by USD 3.09 billion to USD 479.57 billion in the week to April 17 due to an increase in foreign currency assets.
• According to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India, in the reporting week ended April 17, foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves, rose USD 1.55 billion to USD 441.88 billion. 
• The RBI data showed that gold reserves increased USD 1.54 billion to USD 32.68 billion in the reporting week.

Foot Notes: About RBI 
Founded: 01 Apr 1935
Headquarters: Mumbai, India
Governor: Shaktikanta Das

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6. FIH Pro League Season 2 extended by one year

• The International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced that the second edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League is being extended through to June 2021 due to ongoing uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 global health pandemic.
• The second edition of the Pro League was initially set to run from January to June 2020.
• Around one-third of the planned matches were completed between January and early March.
• India is currently fourth on the table with 10 points from two wins and as many number of losses and draws behind Belgium, Australia and the Netherlands.

Foot notes: About FIH (International hockey federation)
Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland
President: Narinder Batra
Founded: 7 January 1924, Paris, France
CEO: Thierry Weil 

7. Former Australian cricketer Graeme Watson dies at 75

• Former Australian cricketer Graeme Watson who was fighting cancer, has died at the age of 75.
• Primarily a middle-order batsman and a medium-pace bowler, he featured in five Tests from 1967 to 1972 and two ODIs in 1972.
• The all-rounder earned the national call during the 1966-67 tour of Rhodesia and South Africa.

8. Vodafone Idea ties up with Paytm to launch ‘Recharge Saathi’

• Vodafone Idea and Paytm, digital payments andfinancial services platform, have launched ‘Recharge Saathi’ programme which helps individuals and small businesses to earn an additional income.
• The program will enable any Paytm customers (following a registration) to start selling Vodafone and Idea recharges on the Paytm app.
• They can start selling mobile recharges by downloading and registering on the Paytm app. 
• Vodafone Idea will also give an assured cashback to merchant partners for multiple recharges.
• Individuals and small businesses, such as pharmacists, milk booth operators, newspaper vendors, and individuals, would be able to earn up to ₹5,000 every month under the program.

Foot Notes: 

About Paytm
Founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Founded: August 2010, Noida
CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma 
Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Parent organization: One97 Communications

About Vodafone Idea:
CEO: Ravinder Takkar 
Headquarters: Gandhinagar, Gujrat

9. Andhra govt relaunches ‘zero interest’ loan scheme for women self-help groups

• The Andhra Pradesh government revived the ''zero interest'' loan scheme for women self-help groups (SHGs) in the state. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy re-launched the scheme by releasing a sum of Rs 1,400 crore for the SHGs. 
• The decision is expected to benefit over 8.78 lakh SHGs in the state involving over 93.80 lakh women. Under the scheme, each SHG will receive sums ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 towards the interest component on their loans.
• The zero interest scheme was first launched by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy in united Andhra Pradesh in 2011, under which the state government bore the interest burden on loans extended to the women SHGs.

Foot notes:
About Andhra Pradesh:
Governor: Biswabhusan Harichandan
Chief Minister: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
Capitals: Amaravati, Hyderabad
About SHGs(Self Help Groups):
A self-help group (SHG) is a financial intermediary committee usually composed of 10 to 20 local women or men between 18 to 40 years. Most self-help groups are located in India, though SHGs can be found in other countries, especially in South Asia and Southeast Asia. SHG is nothing but a group of people who are on daily wages, they form a group and from that group one person collects the money and gives the money to the person who is in need.

10. The International Delegate’s Day: 25 April

• The International Delegate’s Day is observed every year on 25 April.
• This day is observed to raise awareness of the role of the representatives and delegates of the Member States to the United Nations.
• International Delegate's Day marks the anniversary of the first day of the San Francisco Conference, also known as the United Nations Conference on International Organization. 
• On 25 April 1945, delegates from fifty countries came together for the first time in San Francisco.