April 1
Budget proposals kicked in from April 1
The Union Budget proposals, including a standard deduction of Rs 40,000 in lieu of transport allowance and medical reimbursement, kicked in from April 1, the beginning of 2018-19 financial year.
E-way bill rolled out
As per the electronic way bill system, businesses and transporters have to produce before a GST inspector e-way bill for moving goods worth over Rs 50,000 from one state to another.
April 2
Process of filing petitions for H-1B visa begins
The process of filing petitions for H-1B, considered as the most sought-after work visa among highly skilled Indian professionals, begins amidst unprecedented scrutiny by the Trump Administration.
April 4
I&B ministry withdraws order on fake news
The information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry withdrew its contentious press release on fake news after a directive from the prime minister's office (PMO). "PIB Press Release titled 'Guidelines for Accreditation of Journalists amended to regulate Fake News' issued on 02 April 2018 stands withdrawn," the ministry said in a brief statement.
April 4
Kerala women clinch national U-23 T20 title
Kerala women scripted history by clinching the national under-23 Twenty20 title in Mumbai. They beat Maharashtra by five wickets in the final. This is the first time Kerala have won a national cricket title in men's or women's section. Kerala, led by Sajana S and coached by Suman Sharma, reigned supreme by winning all five games in the Super League.
April 5
Blackbuck lands 'Tiger' Salman in jail for 5 years
Court convicts Bollywood superstar Salman Khan in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case. Salman Khan gets 5 years in jail, a penalty of Rs 10,000.
Record-breaking Mirabai Chanu claims India's first CWG gold
World champion weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (48kg) went on a record-smashing spree, claiming three of them in a power-packed performance, to secure India's first gold medal at the 21st Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia.
April 6
RH300 sounding rocket launched from Kerala
The RH300 sounding rocket, developed by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) as part of a study to enrich available atmospheric data, launched from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS).
April 8
Former Brazilian president surrenders, refutes corruption charges
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva turned himself in to police, ending a day-long standoff to begin serving a 12-year prison sentence for corruption that derails his bid to return to power. Lula was flown by police to the southern city of Curitiba, where he was tried and convicted late last year, and taken to the federal police headquarters there to serve his sentence.
April 10
PM laid foundation stone for NH-2 stretch in Bihar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for a Rs 882 crore highway project on NH 2 stretch in Bihar. The cost of the project will be Rs 882 crore. This section of NH-2 is part of the Delhi- Kolkata section of the Golden Quadrilateral.
April 11
Over 250 killed in military plane crash in Algeria
More than 250 people were killed when a military plane crashed in a field near Algeria's capital Algiers, with witnesses saying they saw a wing catch fire shortly after the plane took off.
Amended Kerala Minimum Wages Act gets HC nod
The Kerala High Court granted sanction to the Wage Protection System (WPS), stipulating payment of salary in select labour sectors through bank accounts in order to ensure minimum wages for employees. It has also been made mandatory to upload salary particulars on the Labour Department’s website.
April 12
India's own 'GPS' in orbit after perfect PSLV launch
India early put into orbit navigation satellite IRNSS-1I, a part of Indian satellite navigation system NavIC, in copy-book style. The 1,425 kg satellite was carried into space by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket's 'XL' variant. Simply put, NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation, earlier the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System or IRNSS) is the Indian 'GPS'.
Kidambi Srikanth becomes numero uno
Kidambi Srikanth became the first Indian male shuttler to achieve the world No. 1 ranking in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) chart released on April 12. Legendary Prakash Padukone was revered as the world No. 1 player during his heyday before the modern day computerised ranking system was introduced.
April 13
National Film Awards 2018
The National Film awards were announced by Shekhar Kapur, the head of the Jury for feature films.
Veteran actor Vinod Khanna was honoured with the Dada Saheb Phalke Award while Jayaraj secured the Best Director for Malayalam movie Bhayanakam.
Click here for the full list of winners
April 15
Ricciardo pulls off a thrilling win in Chinese GP
Daniel Ricciardo made a string of thrilling overtaking moves to snatch a surprise Chinese Grand Prix victory. The Australian, who started sixth after almost missing qualifying, made the most of fresher tyres to finish 8.8 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas in a Mercedes.
April 16
Commonwealth Games 2018
India finished a creditable third behind hosts Australia and England in the Commonwealth Games which came to a close at Gold Coast on April 16. It was an improvement from the fifth spot in the previous edition at Glasgow and the fact that the number of gold medals witnessed an increase from 15 to 26 was a big plus for the Indians.
Click here for in-depth coverage
April 17
Modi arrives in Sweden, first PM to visit Nordic nation in 30 years
Prime minister Narendra Modi arrived at Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, the first bilateral visit by an Indian premier to the Nordic nation in 30 years. Swedish prime minister Stefan Lofven received Modi at the airport. Modi is on the first leg of his five-day foreign tour which will also take him to the UK where he will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
April 18
CPM's 22 party congress begins
CPM begins its 22nd Party Congress in Hyderabad. The 5-day crucial meet is aimed at determining its political course for the next three years.
Amazon.com Inc has launched an international shopping feature
Amazon.com Inc has launched an international shopping feature that will enable customers across the world to shop more than 45 million items that can be shipped to their country from the United States.
The international shopping feature, which is available on a mobile browser and the mobile app for both iOS and Android devices, has been extended to users to purchase products outside their home markets and is available in five languages, including Spanish, English, simplified Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese and German.
April 20
CPM delegate demands secret voting on tactical line
The difference of opinions on the political tactical line in the CPM reached such a level that an unprecedented demand for voting through secret ballot on it was raised by a delegate at the party's ongoing congress in Hyderabad. The demand, which has never been witnessed earlier at a CPM congress, was raised by a delegate from Maharashtra, who referred to the recent massive farmers' agitation there in his speech on the first day of debate on the draft political resolution.
Ex-BJP minister Maya Kodnani acquitted in 2002 Gujarat riot case
The Gujarat High Court on Friday acquitted former BJP minister Maya Kodnani in the 2002 Naroda Paitya riots case in which 97 people were killed by a mob. The court, however, upheld the conviction of former Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi in the case, one of the worst incidents of communal violence triggered by the Godhra train burning.
April 21
Cabinet clears death penalty for raping minors
An ordinance to award death penalty to those convicted of raping minors up to 12 years of age has been approved by the Union Cabinet. The decision came amid the outrage over the incidents of rape of minors in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao and Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua, the government plans to bring the ordinance to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
April 22
Sushma Swaraj meets Chinese counterpart Wang Yi
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to discuss bilateral ties and step up the pace of high-level interactions to improve the relationship. She was on a four-day visit to take part in the foreign ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Sitaram Yechury CPM general secretary
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) unanimously re-elected Sitaram Yechury as its general secretary for another three years and he pledged to take steps to oust the government of prime minister Narendra Modi on the last day of the party's 22nd Congress held in Hyderabad.
April 23
Mohamed Salah crowned PFA Player of the Year
Mohamed Salah was crowned the Premier League's Players' Player of the Year, with his incredible 41-goal debut season at Liverpool beating out strong competition from Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne.
April 24
PM launches Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, a scheme that seeks to strengthen the country's panchayati raj system and address critical gaps that hinder its success.
The Central government scheme aims at making rural local bodies self-sustainable, financially stable and more efficient.
April 26
BCCI reccomends Dravid for Dronacharya, Kohli for Khel Ratna
The BCCI has recommended former India captain Rahul Dravid for the prestigious Dronacharya award and nominated Virat Kohli for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna honour.
April 27
Indu Malhotra sworn in as Supreme Court judge
Senior lawyer Indu Malhotra was sworn in as Supreme Court judge, amid raging controversy over the Narendra Modi government returning recommendation on justice K M Joseph. She was administered the oath of office by chief justice Dipak Misra. She will have a tenure of a little over three years.
South, North Korea hold historic first summit in decade
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean president Moon Jae-in met at the heavily fortified demilitarised zone between the countries in the first summit for the two Koreas in over a decade.
April 28
India, China agree on joint economic Afghan project
India and China on Saturday agreed on a joint economic project in Afghanistan, sources said after a two-day summit between prime minister Narendra Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping here. The long-standing border issue also figured in the meeting where Modi and Xi decided to give "strategic guidance" to their armies to prevent a Doklam-like military stand-off in 2017.
April 29
Sudhakar Reddy gets 3rd term as CPI boss
S Sudhakar Reddy has been elected general secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) for a third term. There are eight new faces in the 31-member Executive Committee and four in the Secretariat. From Kerala, CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran and Binoy Viswam will be in the Central Secretariat. Pannyan Ravindran will be the chairman of the Central Control Commission.
Diana Edulji declines BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award
BCCI's Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Diana Edulji has decided against accepting the Col. C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award. "However, since I am a member of the Supreme Court-appointed committee of administrators of the BCCI, I do not think it is appropriate for me to accept this honour at this juncture,” she said in a statement.
April 30
Messi hat-trick powers Barcelona to La Liga title
A hat-trick by Lionel Messi has earned Barcelona a 4-2 victory over Deportivo, crowning the Catalans as the La Liga 2017-2018 champions just a week after winning Spain's Copa del Rey.
