1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Leaves On 5-Day Visit To Sweden & UK.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a five-day official visit to Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK) today.

The visit of the prime minister to the two nations aims at enhancing bilateral cooperation in key areas like trade, investments and science and technology.

Apart from bilateral visits to the two countries, Prime Minister Modi will attend the India-Nordic Summit and Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sweden and the United Kingdom respectively.

At the invitation of Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, Prime Minister Modi will undertake his first visit to Sweden on April 16 to 17. He is scheduled to arrive in Stockholm on April 16 evening and will have a number of meetings on April 17, including an audience with the King of Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustaf, and consultations with Prime Minister Lofven, according to Ministry of External Affairs statement.

Prime Minister Modi will address a gathering of select Swedish business leaders and will also meet Indian community in Sweden.

On the sidelines of the India-Nordic Summit, Prime Minister Modi will have separate bilateral meetings with Prime Ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway respectively.

The Prime Minister will visit the UK from April 17 to 20 for a bilateral visit and attend CHOGM. The forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Modi`s visit to the UK will focus on enhancing India-UK tech partnership.

The visit will see a number of deliverables in the area of skill development, healthcare, cybersecurity, innovation, traditional medicine, and education. The India-UK CEOs Forum will also take place during this visit. Also, the UK will formally convey their readiness to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

Prime Minister Modi will attend the CHOGM in London from April 19 to 20. The meetings of the Commonwealth Heads of Government usually take place every two years and serve to shape the organisation`s agenda for the next two years.

 The CHOGM is a multilateral organisation known for its focus on the development issues that confront the Small States and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), many of whom have deep historical and bilateral ties with India. (ANI)

2. Union Minister Smriti Irani Inaugurates 7th Edition Of Home Expo India 2018.

The 7th edition of Home Expo India 2018 began at the India Expo Centre and Mart in Greater Noida.

Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani inaugurated the three day fair. Being organized by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts, the fair is a three segmented categories show comprising Housewares, Textiles and Furniture under one roof at the same time making it a One-Stop Expo for every visitor. 

Over 650 Indian exporters of all the three categories will be displaying exquisite products of House-ware, decorative, furnishing, flooring and textiles and furniture and furniture accessories. 

Speaking at the fair Smriti Irani expressed confidence that the Indian products will be able to cater to the needs and demands of consumers from around the world.

Home Expo India 2018 is expected to generate business deals for direct import. EPCH is the nodal export promotion body for handicrafts in India and plays an important role of a catalyst between the exporters, buyers and the government with the main objective of boosting trade in Handicrafts and also project Indias image in the global market as a reliable supplier.

3. Subramanian Swamy backs RSS Chief on Air India disinvestment plan.

As it appears, Narendra Modi and BJP have enough problems to deal with ahead of 2019 parliamentary elections. The party can’t clearly think of 2019 as a cakewalk now -- an idea it used to have in the first half of this government’s term. If those problems, highlighted by the opposition parties, were not enough, there is friendly fire coming from BJP’s own camp. In a tweet, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has supported RSS’ Mohan Bhagwat’s demand to scrap Air India stake sale calling it losing the family silver and also asked Jayant Sinha to be ‘dropped’.

How damaging can Swamy’s latest salvo be to the Modi government? First, let’s look at Swamy’s target -- Jayant Sinha. Remember, the BJP’s maverick leader has been gearing up against Sinha for a while now. In June 2017, Swamy said Sinha should be kept out of the Air India stake sale process.

"I would like MoS (Minister of State) for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha to recuse himself from the process of Air India`s disinvestment as there is a conflict of interest," BJP`s Rajya Sabha MP and a known economist Swamy had told IANS last year. "He has in the past worked with foreign companies which might be hired to evaluate Air India`s assets or other companies which might be interested in buying a stake in the airline. He should recuse himself from this situation," Swamy was quoted as saying.

Swamy indeed has a point here. Prior to his plunge into politics, Sinha had worked with a few foreign institutions in certain profiles that can be used by critics to raise charges of conflict of interest. Sinha has worked in the past as a management consultant and investment fund management professional.

4. Veteran Journalist S Nihal Singh Passes Away.

Noted journalist and former Chief Editor of The Statesman and The Indian Express, Surendra Nihal Singh passed away here at his residence on Monday evening.

He was due to turn 89 later this month.

Born on April 30, 1929, in Rawalpindi, Nihal Singh, as he was popularly known, was an authority on foreign affairs.

For the past few months, the veteran columnist was suffering from renal failure and breathed his last at about 5 pm today.

Cremation would take place at the Lodhi Road electric crematorium tomorrow at 12 noon, family members said. His wife predeceased him and he was survived by his sister-in-law Indoo Nihal Singh.

Son of Gurmukh Nihal and Lachchmi (Devi) Singh, he was awarded the prestigious International Editor of the Year Award in New York for his role in opposing former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s emergency in mid-1975.

He was a foreign correspondent in Moscow, London, the United States, and Indonesia, and most of his assignments were for The Statesman. 

He took over as the Resident Editor of The Statesman at Delhi in 1973 before becoming the Chief Editor of the newspaper in Kolkata in 1975.

During 1981-82, he was the Editor-in-chief, The Indian Express, and also the founding editor of The Indian Post, Mumbai, in 1987.

His last assignment was as the Editor of the Khaleej Times, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 1994. After his return to Delhi, he became a noted columnist and contributed to a number of dailies, including The Tribune.

5. Venkaiah Naidu Launches Assam Govts Cashless Health Scheme.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today launched a health scheme of the Assam government that offers free medical care of up to Rs 2 lakh for every individual from Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL) families.

The cashless scheme, `Atal Amrit Abhiyan`, will cover 92 per cent of the state`s population with annual income below Rs 5 lakh, he said.

Congratulating the Assam government for the pro-poor scheme, Naidu said, "It is estimated that the number of Indians falling below poverty line due to health spending run as high as 63 million. The need of the hour is to safeguard people from this catastrophic health expenditure by providing comprehensive care."

If the scheme is implemented in its letter and spirit, it will help the poor to a great extent, Naidu said.

"I am very happy to be here to formally launch this historic scheme. I call this historic. It will go down in the history of not just the state, but the country as a whole. I compliment the Assam government for launching this noble scheme because health is wealth," the vice president said.

6. Dilip Chenoy Takes Over As FICCI Secretary General.

Dilip Chenoy was appointed on Tuesday as the Secretary General of industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) from succeeding Sanjaya Baru. Chenoy was working as Director General of the industry body till now.

“Sanjaya Baru, the current Secretary General, has decided to step down. The FICCI Committee has appointed Chenoy to succeed Sanjaya Baru. Dilip had joined FICCI earlier as Director General and worked with Baru over the past few months,” said Rashesh Shah, President FICCI in a statement issued Tuesday.

Shah also said Baru had made significant contribution to FICCI and the organisation had benefited from his leadership of the organisation.

The post of Director General of FICCI was vacant for almost two years until Chenoy came in on January this year. Prior to this he was working as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for almost five years, from May 2010 till October 2015.

As the Director General of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) from 2004 till 2010, Chenoy was one of most influential voices in the auto industry. He also had a brief stint with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

7. US Senate Narrowly Confirms Trump`s New NASA Chief.

The US Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed President Donald Trump`s pick to head the space agency NASA, over objections from Democrats who warned he lacked a technical background.

Jim Bridenstine, a congressman from Oklahoma, US Navy veteran and former pilot, was confirmed on a 50-49 vote, and will become the 13th administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration seven months after Trump named him to lead the agency.

Bridenstine, 42, has expressed an interest in returning humans back to the moon, spoken of closer ties between NASA and the commercial space industry, and has voiced skepticism about human-caused climate change.

He was a strong supporter of Trump during the 2016 presidential race. Senate Democrat Bill Nelson, a former astronaut from Florida, was unenthusiastic in his welcome for Bridenstine.

"The @NASA administrator should be a consummate space professional -- not a politician," Nelson tweeted.

"He or she must also be a leader who has the ability to bring us together on a shared vision for future space exploration."

NASA`s previous full-time administrator, former astronaut Charles Bolden, resigned in January 2017.

The confirmation came as Trump complained in a tweet that Democrats are "`slow walking` all of my nominations."

His pick for Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, is expected to be voted on next week.

8. Karan Johar, 1st Indian Filmmaker In Madame Tussauds Collection.

Karan Johar says becoming the first director from India to have his wax statue featured at the legendary Madame Tussauds was a great honour for him.

The 45-year-old filmmaker took to Twitter to make the announcement, where he shared his photograph holding a `Madame Tussauds` briefcase in his hand and with his palm imprint in wax in another one, alongside a copy of his autobiography, "An Unsuitable Boy".

"Honoured to be the first filmmaker from India at the prestigious @MadameTussauds... Thank you to the entire team in London who worked tirelessly... Will have further details about when and where soon!" Johar tweeted.

9.Indian Animation Expert Bhimsain Khurana Passes Away.

Indian animation pioneer and multiple National Award winner Bhimsain Khurana is dead. He was 82. Khurana, known for films like “Gharaonda” and for iconic animation shorts like “Ek Anek Ekta” — with the unforgettable — “Ek chidiya, anek chidiya” song — died at a hospital here on Tuesday while undergoing dialysis, a family source told IANS.

A decorated filmmaker, Khurana is survived by his wife Neelam, sons Himaanshu and Kireet, daughters-in-law Youla and Tehzeeb and grandchildren Kabeer, Nivritti and Mohak. A prayer meet will be held here Friday evening at ISKCON here. Khurana obtained his diploma in Fine Arts and Classical Music from Lucknow University. In 1970, he made his debut with his first animation short “The Climb”, which earned him the Silver Hugo Award in the Chicago Film Festival.

Soon after, he directed and produced several animations and ad films. He further established his repute as a director and producer with his landmark animation short “Ek Anek Ekta”, which won him a National Award. He ventured into feature film production with “Gharaonda”, which got Filmfare Awards. This was followed by two other successful films – “Doooriyan” and “Tum Laut Aao”.

Khurana also tried his hand at TV show production. His first tryst was in 1985 with popular sitcom “Choti Badi Baatein”, based on superstitions. He also made documentaries. In 1991, he made computer-aided animation serial “Lok Gatha”, based on folk tales, and then a 26-episode series “Vartaman”, aired on Doordarshan.

Khurana was also a writer and penned six books. His banner Climb Films has been running since the last 31 years.