Current Affairs 04th & 05th April 2021| Current Affairs News

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day for Awareness on Mine and Assistance in Mine Action: Observed on Apr 04

• The United Nations’ International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is celebrated on April 4 each year.
• 2021 Theme – “Perseverance, Partnership, and Progress”
• The day was declared by the UNGA on 8 December 2005, to raise awareness about landmines and progress toward their eradication.

National Maritime Day – Observed on Apr 05

• On this day in 1919, the Indian shipping started when SS Loyalty, the first ship of The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd, sailed to London (UK) from Mumbai.
• India celebrates National Maritime Day every year on April 5. In 1959, India became an associate of International Maritime Organization which is for maritime protection and to prevent pollution from ships.
• The World Maritime Theme for 2021 is devoted to seafarers, highlighting their central role which is very important for the way forward for the shipping sector.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

TRIFED unveils “Sankalp se Siddhi”- Village and Digital Connect Drive

• TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs has now launched “Sankalp se Siddhi” – Village and Digital Connect Drive.
• It is a 100 day drive which was started from 1st of this month.
• The drive will entail 150 teams visiting ten villages each of which 10 in each region from TRIFED and State Implementation Agencies, visiting ten villages each.
• The main aim of this drive is to activate the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras in these villages.
• Ministry of Tribal Affairs in a statement said that 100 villages in each region and 1500 villages in the country will be covered in the next 100 days.
• The visiting teams will also identify locations and shortlist potential Van Dhan Vikas Kendras for clustering as TRIFOOD, and Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries- SFURTI units as larger enterprises.

Center announces Birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar on April 14 as public holiday from 2021

• The government has declared Ambedkar Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar which falls on 14 April every year, as a public holiday with effect from 2021, under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
• On 14 April 2021, India will celebrate the 130th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar. 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov came to New Delhi for two-day visit to India

• Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov will begin a two-day visit to India.
• The visit will present an opportunity to discuss aspects of bilateral ties and review preparations for the pending India-Russia annual summit later this year.
• The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi had said that the visit will be a unique opportunity to discuss important aspects of our bilateral ties, also to review preparations for the next India Russia annual summit and also perhaps discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest.
• Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the Russian Foreign Minister, during his visit, will hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
• After India, Mr Lavrov will visit Pakistan from April 6-7.

Three Rafale fighter jets – Fourth batch land in India from France

• The fourth batch of three IAF Rafales landed in India on March 31, 2021, after a direct ferry from Istres Air Base in France.
• These Rafales were refuelled mid-air by UAE Air Force tankers.
• Five extra Rafale jets are scheduled to be ferried to India by the end of April 2021.
• With this new arrival of the three jets, the total Rafale fleet with Indian Air Force has increased to 14.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

Uttar Pradesh govt inaugurates unique gift scheme to promote covid vaccination

• Uttar Pradesh government has launched a unique gift scheme to promote covid vaccination in the state.
• Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked officials to make all preparations to deal with the growing number of Corona infections.
• World Health Day on 7th April, the state government will conduct a lucky draw for those who have taken the vaccine.
• Additional chief secretary health Amit Mohan Prasad said that in those districts where more than 25,000 beneficiaries have taken both doses of vaccine they will be eligible for this gift scheme.
• 4 gifts will be given to the beneficiaries after the lucky draw.
• Where more than 25,000 or more than 50,000 beneficiaries have taken both the doses of vaccines, the number of gifts will be increased to 6 and 8.

Foot marchers of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ reach Dhaman, Gujarat

• Mahatma Gandhi during his historic Dandi March of 1930, left for Daman from Wanj in the morning of 3rd April.
• The foot marchers of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav have reached Dhaman on the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi.
• Dandi Padyatris are getting a warm welcome at every turn passing by.
• Women children and local residents are welcoming the Padyatris by eradicating the wall of caste and religion.
• In Dhaman, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang joined the Padyatris and traveled on foot to Navsari.
• During the Dandi March of 1930, Mahatma Gandhi left for Dhaman in the morning of 3rd April.
• Dandi Padyatris of Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav are proceeding on the same route.
• There is a lot of enthusiasm in the atmosphere.
• There are paths decorated with flowers, children and girls dressed as Gandhi and Bharat Mata are also involved in the yatra.
• Women are showering flowers to welcome the padyatris.
• Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang joined padyatris in Dhaman and walked up to Navsari on the historic path of Mahatma Gandhi.

Maharashtra: Shistura Hiranyakeshi in Sindhudurg Became Fifth Biological Heritage Site  

• The Maharashtra government has declared an area at Amboli in Western ghats in Sindhudurg district as a biodiversity heritage site, following the discovery of a rare freshwater fish species.
• The new freshwater fish species called ‘Schistura Hiranyakeshi’ was discovered in a pond at the Mahadev Temple at Amboli in Sawantwadi tehsil of Sindhudurg district by Tejas Thackeray (son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray), long with his team.
• The 2.11 hector area has been declared as ‘Shistura Hiranyakeshi Biological Heritage Site’, under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, making it the fifth area in Maharashtra.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

CRISIL reported India’s GDP rate at -7% for FY21 and 11% for FY22

• Rating Agency CRISIL has projected India’s GDP growth rate as under:
• For FY21= -7%
• For FY22= +11%
• CRISIL is a subsidiary of American company S&P Global.

UNESCAP reports India’s Economic Growth Rate at 7% in 2021-22 

• The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) has estimated the GDP growth rate of India at 7% in 2021-22, in its latest report titled Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2021.
• For the previous fiscal 2020-21, UNESCAP estimated a contraction of 7.7% for India on account of the pandemic’s impact on normal business activity.

NPCI transfers Bharat Bill Payments business to its new subordinate company NBBL

• The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has transferred all its Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) transaction business to NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NPCI.
• All licensed bill processors on the Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units (BBPOU), i.e. the banks and payment aggregators, have been directed to start accounting their billing transactions under NBBL from April 1 2021.
• The decision to set up a separate subsidiary for bill payment business aims to scale growth of the interoperable bill platform by giving it increased autonomy in operations and on boarding of new billers.
• BBPS is an interoperable bill payments platform set up in 2013, for use by banks, fintech companies and biller merchants to automate bill collection and request solutions.

Facebook and Google jointly plans to launch 2 new undersea internet cables from US West Coast to Singapore and Indonesia

• Technology giant Facebook and Google have planned to lay two huge subsea cables, called Echo and Bifrost, to provide vital new connections between the Asia-Pacific region and North America.
• The Echo and Bifrost trans-Pacific cables will link the U.S. West Coast to Singapore and Indonesia, and increase the data capacity between the regions by 70% and improve internet reliability.
• Facebook will be investing in both cables, but Google will invest only in Echo.
• Google and Facebook have partnered with leading regional and global partners to implement the project, including Indonesian firms Telin and XL Axiata, and Singapore-based Keppel.
• The Echo project is to be completed by late 2023, while Bifrost is set to be finished by late 2024.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENT AND RESIGNATION NEWS

KPSC appointed Shivashankarappa S Sahukar as New chairman  

• Shivashankarappa S Sahukar, Member, Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), has been appointed as the chairman of KPSC, with immediate effect.
• He will replace former IAS officer Shadakshari Swamy, who retired.
• “Governor Vajubhai Vala appointed Shivashankarappa S Sahukar as chairman of KPSC with immediate effect and until further orders under Article 316 (1) of the Constitution of India,” a notification issued by the State Government.
• Shivashankarappa joined KPSC as a member on September 3, 2019.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BOOKS & AUTHORS

New Book  ‘Manohar Parrikar: Brilliant Mind, Simple Life’ Authored by Nitin Gokhale

• On March 31, 2021, A new book named ‘Manohar Parrikar: Brilliant Mind, Simple Life’ authored by Nitin Gokhale.
• The book was published by Bloomsbury.

About the book :

• The book is a tribute to Parrikar, India’s former defence minister and four-time chief minister of Goa, the first IIT-ian to become a chief minister
• The book highlights the journey of the contribution of Parrikar to nation-building and his service to the Goan society, from being an IIT student to a social worker and to India’s defence minister.

About Nitin Gokhale :

• Gokhale is a renowned author, founder of a specialised defence related website BharatShakti.in. and StratNewsGlobal.com and media trainer.

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu Releases Book ‘Suparipalana

• Vice President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has released a book titled ‘Suparipalana’,
• The book has been written by retired civil servant Dr Shailendra Kumar Joshi.
• It was published by Shri Maruthi.
• Suparipalana is the Telugu translation of “Echo T Calling: Towards People-Centric Governance”, written by former Telangana Chief Secretary, Shri S K Joshi.
• Shri Annavarapu Brahmaiah has translated this book into Telugu.

About the book :

The book Covers, about administration, public policy, and Governance in India and also includes various topics such as “laughter is the best medicine” to “the relevance of swadeshi in the modern perspective”.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS

South Asian Wushu Championship Kerala-based Aniyan Midhun Wins Gold

• On March 30 & 31, 2021, Aniyan Midhun of Kerala won the gold medal in the 70-kg category at the South Asian Wushu Championship 2021.
• It was held in Nepal.
• He is the first Wushu player from southern India to reach the Indian team.

About Aniyan Midhun :

• Midhum belongs to Nattika village in Thrissur district of Kerala.
• Midhun is a black belt in karate and he is also a national champion in wushu as well as kickboxing. In fact, the 28-year-old was introduced to wushu when he was in fifth standard and hasn’t looked back since. 
• He is currently training with veteran coach Kuldeep Handu who is an Arjuna Award winner and the Indian wushu head coach.
• He is also a state-level boxer and when he is not competing in competitions, he trains close to 70 students back home in Thrissur.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

Ex Union Minister and Gujarat MLA Digvijaysinh Zala passes away 

• Former Union Environment Minister and Gujarat MLA Digvijaysinh Zala passed away.
• He was 88.

About Digvijaysinh Zala :

• The Environment ministry under Prime minister Indira Gandhi, he became the first Environment Minister of the country from 1982 to 1984.
• Zala was an MLA from Wankaner for the years 1962-67 as an independent candidate and as a member of the Swatantra Party from 1967-71.
• He joined the Congress and became a Member of Parliament from Surendranagar for two terms from 1979 to 1989.

About Gujarat :

• Capital: Gandhinagar
• Governor: Acharya Devvrat
• Chief minister: Vijay Rupani

Veteran actress Shashikala passes away

• Veteran actress Shashikala Om Prakash Saigal (née Jawalkar) passed away.
• She was 88.

About Shashikala :

• Born in Solapur, Maharashtra.
• She made her first big-screen appearance in the 1945 movie “Zeenat”, directed by legendary actor Noor Jehan’s husband Syed Shaukat Hussain Rizvi.
• She then appeared in supporting roles in classics like “Gumrah” (1963), “Waqt” (1965), “Anupama” (1966) and “Phool Aur Patthar” (1966) and returned to playing a vamp in the Shammi Kapoor-Sadhana-starrer “Chhote Sarkar” (1974).
• Shashikala also worked in television and was part of popular shows like Sonpari and Jeena Isi ka Naam Hai.

Achievements :

• Shashikala was conferred with the Prestigious Padma Shri, the country’s fourth-highest civilian award in the year 2007 for her contribution to the Indian cinema.
• In 2009, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the V Shantaram Awards.

• Shashikala received eight nominations for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award and won the award twice for 1962 film `Aarti` and 1963 `Gumrah`.

Japanese Nobel laureate Isamu Akasaki, inventor of blue LED Passed away

• On April 02, 2021, Japanese physicist Isamu Akasaki passed away.
• He was 92.

About Isamu Akasaki :

• Akasaki, born in 1929 in Kagoshima in southern Japan.

Achievements :

• He is a co-winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in physics for inventing the world’s first efficient blue light-emitting diodes.
• In 2014, he shared the Nobel Prize with Japanese physicist Hiroshi Amano, professor at the university, and Japanese-born American Shuji Nakamura, professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
• Akasaki was honored in 1997 by the Japanese government with the Medal with Purple Ribbon, an honor bestowed on those who have made contributions to academic and artistic developments.

Daily CA On Apr 03 :

• India’s biggest floating solar power plant with a capacity of 100 MW will be set up at Ramagundam in Telangana.
• External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has said that India remains committed to further building the momentum of regional cooperation under the BIMSTEC framework and make the organization stronger, vibrant, more effective and result-oriented.
• In the Union Territory of Puducherry the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) here advised political parties not to utilize the service of Children in Electioneering.
• The virtual meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Bay of Bengal Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) grouping finalised a major Connectivity master plan for the Bay of Bengal region.
• Spicy, Juicy, Lip-smacking Good Indian Food at 7 day long India Food Week in Beijing
• Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the medium of instruction up to the primary school level must be the mother tongue or the local language.
• Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan has been conferred the ‘Kalinga Ratna’ award for the year 2021.
• In spite of a tumultuous fiscal, BSE StAR MF processed over 9.38 crore transactions amounting to 3,33,095 cr in the financial year 2020-21.
• A second extension, the senior-most deputy governor BP Kanungo retired from the Reserve Bank on completion of his one-year extension.
• The World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have approved a loan for USD 300 million (about Rs 2,190 crore) canal-based drinking water projects in Punjab.
• Dutch development bank FMO will invest $137 million (about Rs.1,000 crore) in India’s Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF), managed by EverSource Capital, while the fund aims to raise a total of $940 million.
• Jeh Wadia has stepped down as the managing director of Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Company, the flagship firm of Wadia Group confirmed.
• Piramal Enterprises Ltd (PEL) has appointed Khushru Jijina to its board as Executive Director, Financial Services.
• Mallika Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director of Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE) Ltd, has been named chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), according to an order issued by the Personnel Ministry.
• ONGC’s Finance Director Subhash Kumarhas assumed additional charge of the post of Chairman and Managing Director following superannuation of Shashi Shanker on March 31.
• Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao felicitated village, mandal, and zilla parishad members, who bagged the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar (DDUPSP) awards.
• On March 27, 2021 Adani Transmission Limited (ATL) signed a definitive agreement with Essel InfraProjects Limited (EIL) to acquire Warora-Kurnool Transmission Limited (WKTL) for an enterprise value of Rs 3,370 crore.
• To monitor the rural drinking water supply systems in villages, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has decided to take the digital route to use sensor-based IoT devices 
• Solar Physicists of ARIES have developed a New Novel Technique called CMEs Identification in Inner Solar Corona (CIISCO) to detect and track the accelerating solar eruption in the lower corona.
• On March 31, 2021, Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu released noted bureaucrat and former Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh Mohan Kanda’s book, ‘Agriculture in India: Contemporary challenges in the context of doubling farmers’ income
• The 2023 Women’s World Cup of football will be spread across nine cities in Australia and New Zealand.
• An Indian Women discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur booked for the Tokyo Olympic Games after she sent the discus to 65.06 metres in her first and only legal throw at the 24th Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships held in Patiala.

Daily CA on April 04 & 05 :

• International Day for Awareness on Mine and Assistance in Mine Action: Observed on Apr 04
• National Maritime Day – Observed on Apr 05
• TRIFED unveils “Sankalp se Siddhi”- Village and Digital Connect Drive
• Center announces Birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar on April 14 as public holiday from 2021
• Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov came to New Delhi for two-day visit to India
• Three Rafale fighter jets – Fourth batch land in India from France
• Uttar Pradesh govt inaugurates unique gift scheme to promote covid vaccination
• Foot marchers of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ reach Dhaman, Gujarat
• Maharashtra: Shistura Hiranyakeshi in Sindhudurg Became Fifth Biological Heritage Site  
• CRISIL reported India’s GDP rate at –7% for FY21 and 11% for FY22
• UNESCAP reports India’s Economic Growth Rate at 7% in 2021-22
• NPCI transfers Bharat Bill Payments business to its new subordinate company NBBL
• Facebook and Google jointly plans to launch 2 new undersea internet cables from US West Coast to Singapore and Indonesia
• KPSC appointed Shivashankarappa S Sahukar as New chairman 
• Vice President Venkaiah Naidu Releases Book ‘Suparipalana
• South Asian Wushu Championship Kerala-based Aniyan Midhun Wins Gold
• Ex Union Minister and Gujarat MLA Digvijaysinh Zala passes away
• Veteran actress Shashikala passes away
• Japanese Nobel laureate Isamu Akasaki, inventor of blue LED Passed away