IMF bails out cash-strapped Pakistan in nick of time, to pay $6 billion over next 3 years

  • Pakistan and the IMF have reached a new agreement securing a $6 billion bailout for the cash-strapped country, following months of painstaking negotiations between the two sides.
  • A government report published on Friday warned that Pakistan’s growth rate is set to hit an eight-year low, with the country’s GDP rate likely to sink to 3.3 percent.
  • The agreement marks Pakistan’s 22nd bailout with the Fund, as the country struggles to stave off a looming balance-of-payments crisis.

India, Vietnam to strengthen cooperation in atomic energy, defence and security

  • India and Vietnam agreed to further strengthen cooperation in defence and security, peaceful uses of atomic energy and outer space, oil and gas and renewable energy.
  • Vietnam is an important trade partner of India and their bilateral trade stood at nearly USD 14 billion last year having nearly doubled from USD 7.8 billion three years ago.

Retail inflation inches up to 2.92% in April

  • Retail inflation rose marginally to 2.92% in April, mainly due to spike in food prices.
  • The inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) 2.86% in the previous month and 4.58% in April 2018, said the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
  • The RBI mainly factors in the CPI-based inflation while arriving at its monetary policy.

Shrinking Moon generating lunar quakes: study

  • The Moon is shrinking as its interior cools — getting over 50 metres skinnier through the last several hundred million years — and causing quakes on the lunar surface, a study has found.
  • The Moon is steadily shrinking, causing wrinkling on its surface and quakes, according to an analysis of imagery captured by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.