 The Home Ministry has decided to relax the six-decade-old Protected Area Permit regime from Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur for five years. Foreign tourists, except those from Pakistan, China and Afghanistan,will now be allowed to visit some of the most pristine locations of the country which, so far, were out of bounds for them without a special permit. Under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958, all areas falling between the Inner line and the International Border of some states were declared as protected areas. The protected areas currently include whole of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, besides parts of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. |
| Source- DD News |
 Dadahaheb Phalke Excellence Awards 2018 honoured the individuals from the entertainment industry for their outstanding contribution towards the growth and development of cinema and/or television. |
| S.No. | Category | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Best actor (male) | Shahid Kapoor |
| 2. | Best actor people's choice award | Ranveer Singh |
| 3. | Entertainer of the year | Kartik Aryan |
| 4. | Best actress (critics) | Aditi Rao Hydari |
| 5. | Lifetime achievement award | Simi Garewal |
| 6. | Pride of Indian cinema | Sanjay Dutt |
| 7. | Path-breaking producer of the year | Anushka Sharma and Karnesh Sharma |
| 8. | Best director | Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari |
| 9. | Outstanding performance male | Raj Kumar Rao, Rana Daggubati |
| 10. | Outstanding performance female | Tamannahh Bhatia, Kriti Sanon |
| 11. | Promising face of the year | Aahana Kumra |
| 12. | Best actor (male) Marathi | Vaibhav Tatwawaadi |
| 13. | Best actor (female) Marathi | Pooja Sawant |
| 14. | Best fashion designer of the year | Sanjukta Dutta |
| 15. | Socially conscious performance of the year | Rani Mukherjee |
| 16. | Best comic role | Tusshar Kapoor |
| 17. | Entertaining performance in reality show Bigg Boss | Hina Khan |
| 18. | Best actress drama award | Jennifer Winget |
| 19. | Best actor (male) Television | Karan Patel |
| 20. | Best reality show judge | Shilpa Shetty |
| 21. | Best talk show host | Karan Johar |
| 22. | Best lyricist | Manoj Muntashir |
| 23. | Best performance in a short film | Divya Khosla Kumar |
| 24. | Iconic contribution towards music | Hans Raj Hans |
| 25. | Comic performer of the year | Sumona Chakraborty |
| 26. | Versatile singer | Rani Hazarika |
| 27. | Social and business entrepreneur of the year | Jaya Misra |
 Diu Smart City has become the first city in India, that runs on 100% renewable energy during daytime setting a new benchmark for other cities to become clean and green. Diu had been importing 73% of its power from Gujarat until 2017. To further enhance its solar capacity, Diu offers its residents a subsidy of Rs10, 000-50,000 for installing 1-5KW rooftop solar panels. Diu is saving about 13,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year. |
| Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB) |
 West Bengal has once again topped in the country with Digambarpur Gram Panchayat (GP) bagging the Centre’s award for the best Gram Panchayat in the country. The survey was conducted by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. Digambarpur GP at Patharpratima block in South 24-Parganas has come up as the best out of 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats in the country. |
| Source- DD News |
 With an aim to strengthen trade ties with India, Taipei World Trade Centre (TWTC) launched its office in Delhi, ahead of Taiwan’s first ever expo that will showcase cutting-edge technology and smart city solutions in Delhi in May 2018. Presence of TWTC in Delhi will further help strengthen business ties with India. Bilateral trade between India and Taiwan has increased to $6.3 billion in December 2017. |
| Source- The Livemint |
 The Union Cabinet approved the promulgation of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance 2018, which would empower the government to seize the domestic assets of those deemed by a relevant court to be fugitive economic offenders. The Ordinance has a provision for a ‘Special Court’ under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 to declare a person as a Fugitive Economic Offender. |
| Source- The Hindu |
 Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the two-day Civil Services Day event in New Delhi. The Day focuses on the topic ‘Evolving Strategies for Transforming Aspirational Districts’. The Vice President also released a book 'Emulating Excellence- Takeaways for Replication'. The day is celebrated for the civil servants to rededicate themselves to the cause of citizen and renew their commitments to public service and excellence in work. |
| Source- DD News |
 The Indian Government has launched the ‘Study in India’ initiative to attract international students to study in India. The website of Study in India can be accessed at www.studyinindia.gov.in. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for Human Resources Development Satya Pal Singh jointly launched the initiative in New Delhi. The portal will enable students from 30 countries across South Asia, Africa and West Asia to select and apply for different courses from 150 select Indian institutions which are high on NAAC and NIRF ranking. The Study in India is aimed at making India a preferred destination for the foreign students to pursue their education. |
| Source- AIR World Service |
 The Union Government has stated that the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana or PMGSY is well on its way to achieving the target by March 2019. The scheme, since its inception in 2000, has been able to provide connectivity to more than One lakh 50 thousand habitations. Sensing the importance and urgency of rural roads for national development, the target date for completion of PMGSY-I has been preponed from 2022 to 2019. |
| Source- AIR World Service |
.jpg) The seventh edition of Home Expo India 2018, organised by Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), was inaugurated at India Expo Centre & Mart in Greater Noida. Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani inaugurated the fair, while Ajay Tamta, Minister of State for Textiles, was the guest of honour. Home Expo India 2018 is expected to generate business deals for direct import. |
| Source- DD News |
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