CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS
World Hemophilia Day- 17th April:
- World Hemophilia Day was started by the World Federation of Hemophilia (WHF) and is annually observed on the 17th of April.
- World Hemophilia Day is aimed at raising awareness about haemophilia and other bleeding disorders.
- This year, the theme of the day has been kept as ‘Access for All: Partnership. Policy. Progress. Engaging your government, integrating inherited bleeding disorders into national policy.’
- It also helps to raise funds for patients who cannot afford haemophilia treatment as well as attract volunteers for the World Federation of Hemophilia.
- The international community started observing WHD in 1989 and April 17 was chosen to recognize Frank Schnabel the founder of WHF.
World Heritage Day- 18th April
- Every year, the world observes April 18 as World Heritage Day.
- Also known as The International Day for Monument and Sites, it is an internationally recognised day to raise awareness about preserving the history, diversity, and vulnerability of world heritage sites and monuments.
- The theme for World Heritage Day 2022 is “Heritage and Climate”.
- The International Day for Monuments and Sites was proposed by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) on 18 April 1982 and approved by the General Assembly of UNESCO in 1983.
- The aim is to promote awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage of humanity, their vulnerability and the efforts required for their protection and conservation.
- Later in 1983, UNESCO adopted the idea during the 22nd General Conference.
- In order to restore and conserve historical cities, and dying ancient tribes, World Heritage Day is being observed.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS
40th edition of Hunar Haat inaugurated in Mumbai:
- The 40th edition of Hunar Haat was inaugurated by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur in Mumbai.
- The event is being held at MMRDA Ground, Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, from April 16 to April 27.
- It is a platform to preserve, protect and promote local artisans and craftsmen.
- At least 1,000 artisans and craftsmen from all over the country are participating in the 40th edition of the initiative.
- Aatmanirbhar Bharat is being strengthened by initiatives like
- In this 40th edition of HunarHaat, more than a thousand craftsmen and artisans coming from 31 states put up 400 stalls.
SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ phase II launched to shield 28 lakh street vendors:
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ program in additional 126 cities across 14 States/ UTs.
- Despite the challenges posed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020-21, the program was hugely successful in providing social security benefits to lakhs of street vendors and their families and thereby protecting them from risks and vulnerabilities of life and livelihoods.
- Street vendors have always been at the receiving end of the social and economic system for years and the Covid-19 pandemic further aggravated their economic and social conditions. Keeping this in view, the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) – a central sector scheme has come as a big relief for them.
- ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’, an additional program of PMSVANidhi was launched on 4th January 2021 in 125 cities in Phase 1, covering approximately 35 lakh street vendors and their families.
- 5 lakh scheme sanctions have already been extended to them including 16 lakh insurance benefits under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana and 2.7 Lakh pension benefits under Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana, amongst other such benefits.
NITI Aayog to launch National Data and Analytics Platform:
- The NITI Aayog is planning to launch a National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP) in May to provide government data in a user-friendly format, to promote data-driven decision making and research.
- Conceived in 2020, the platform aims to standardise data across government sources and provide flexible analytics that makes it easy for users to analyse information using multiple datasets.
- The portal will help policymakers, academics and researchers to easily analyse data without having to process it.
- The portal will have 200 datasets from more than 46 ministries at the time of the launch.
- New datasets will be added up to the village level in the future.
- Presently, many government departments have public dashboards with options to download data, some are available as image files while others are in PDF format, making it difficult to compile information.
India’s 1st Internet Radio Radio Aksh For Visually Challenged Launched in Nagpur:
- Country’s first-ever radio channel for the visually impaired, named ‘Radio Aksh’ has been launched in Nagpur, with the Blind Relief Association Nagpur and Samdrushti Kshamata Vikas Avam Anusandhan Mandal (Saksham) serving as the pioneers of the concept that will help the visually-impaired gain seamless access to education resources and audiobooks.
- This concept was created as a substitute for audiobooks provided by Samdrushti Kshamata Vikas Avam Anusandhan Mandal to the visually impaired on their digital devices, access to which was cut off due to the COVID-19 pandemic due to restrictions on travelling.
CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS
20th edition of India-France Joint Staff talks held in Paris
- On April 12-13, 2022, The 20th edition of India-France Joint Staff talks was held in Paris, France.
- The meeting was co-chaired by Assistant Chief of Integrated Staff & Air Vice Marshal B Manikantan and Head of Bilateral Cooperation South/Staff HQ Brigadier General Eric Peltier.
- The discussions focused on new initiatives under the ambit of existing bilateral defence cooperation mechanism and strengthening ongoing defence engagements.
Key Highlights :
- The India-France Joint Staff talks has been established to enhance defence cooperation between the two countries through regular talks at the strategic and operational levels.
- It came close on the heels of India and France inking a roadmap to enhance bilateral exchanges on the blue economy
- The roadmap aims to forge a common vision of ocean governance based on the rule of law and to cooperate on sustainable and resilient coastal and waterways infrastructure.
- This partnership marks a significant step-forward in India-France cooperation for maritime security.
- The 20th edition of India-France Joint talks came amidst, both nations have inked a roadmap to enhance their bilateral exchanges on the blue economy and forge a common vision of ocean governance based on the rule of law and cooperate on sustainable and resilient coastal and waterways infrastructure.
- The agreement was signed during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s three-day visit to France with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.
About France :
- President: Emmanuel Macron
- PM : Jean Castex
- Capital: Paris
- Currency : Euro, CFP franc
CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE
PhonePe partners with Extreme IX to reduce latency during transactions
- PhonePe, one app for all things money, and Extreme IX, an Indian internet exchange point, have joined hands to form a partnership that will enable a faster digital payments experience for over 370 million PhonePe users.
- PhonePe has become the first digital payments platform to participate in an Internet Exchange in India.
- This industry first partnership will help decrease latency for PhonePe users irrespective of their location or ISP in India.
- The partnership will allow PhonePe customers across India to easily and swiftly administer their day to day financial transactions.
- Extreme IX has 30 points of presence in five cities in India.
- More than 450 networks which includes Internet Service Providers and prominent Content Delivery Networks like Netflix, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Akamai to name a few, are connected to Extreme IX fabric.
About Phonepe :
- Founded : 2015
- Headquarters : Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
- Co Founder & CEO : Sameer Nigam
About Extreme IX :
- Executive Director : Raunak Maheshwari
Centre infuses ₹5,000 crore into 3 state-run insurance companies – NICL, OICL & UIICs
- The Center has raised the authorized capital of ₹5,000 crore in three public sector insurance companies namely Oriental Insurance Company Limited (OICL), National Insurance Co. Ltd. (NICL) and United India Insurance Co. Ltd. (UICL) – to enable subscription of capital.
- Of that ₹5,000 crore, ie ₹3,700 crore in NICL, ₹1,200 crore in OICL and Rs 100 crore in UICL which will be used to subscribe to the share capital of the respective public sector general insurance companies and issuance of shares to the Centre against the subscription.
- A notification issued by the finance ministry stated that for NICL the authorized capital will now be ₹15,000 crore from 7,500 crore, for OICL it will be ₹7,500 crore from ₹5,000 crore and for UICL, authorized capital has been raised to ₹7,500 crore from ₹5,000 crore.
About OICL :
- Founded : 12 September 1947
- Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
- Chairman & MD : Sh. Anjan Dey
About NICL :
- Founded : 1906
- Headquarters : Kolkata, West Bengal, India
- Chairman & MD : Suchitha Gupta
About UICL :
- Founded : 18 February 1938
- Headquarters : Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Chairman & MD : Satyajit Tripathy
CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS
Llyod appoints Sourav Ganguly as brand ambassador for Eastern Indian markets
- The consumer durables brand of electrical goods major Havells India, Lloyd has appointed Sourav Ganguly as its brand ambassador for the Eastern Indian markets.
- As a part of the association, Sourav will endorse Lloyd’s range of consumer durables, through promotion, advertising and marketing.
- The brand sees Sourav Ganguly as an inspiration that portrays a rare blend of talent, class, intelligence, and popularity that complements Lloyd’s legacy and brand ethos.
About Sourav Ganguly :
- Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is an Indian cricket administrator, commentator and former national cricket team captain who is the 39th and current president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
- He is popularly honoured as Maharaja of Indian Cricket.
- He is currently a part of the Supreme Court of India appointed Justice Mudgal Committee probe panel for the IPL Spot fixing and betting scandal’s investigations.
Awards & Honors :
- Ganguly was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004, one of India’s highest civilian awards.
- He was awarded with the Banga Bibhushan Award from the Government of West Bengal on 20 May 2013.
About Havells India Limited :
- Founded : 1958
- Headquarters : Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
- Chairman & MD : Anil Rai Gupta
CURRENT AFFAIRS : AWARDS & HONORS
Prabhat Patnaik selected for Malcolm Adiseshiah Award 2022
- Renowned Indian economist and political commentator Prabhat Patnaik has been selected for the 2022 Malcom Adiseshiah Award.
- The award is annually given by the Malcolm and Elizabeth Adiseshiah Trust to an outstanding social scientist selected from nominations received by a specially constituted national jury.
About Prabhat Patnaik :
- Prabhat Patnaik was born on 19 September 1945 in Jatni, Odisha.
- He is an associate professor at the newly established Centre for Economic Studies and Planning (CESP) at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.
- He was the vice-chairman of Kerala State Planning Board from June 2006 to May 2011.
- His specialization is macroeconomics and political economy, areas in which he has written a number of books and articles.
- Some of his books includes Time, Inflation and Growth (1988), Economics and Egalitarianism (1990), Whatever Happened to Imperialism and Other Essays (1995), Accumulation and Stability Under Capitalism (1997), The Retreat to Unfreedom (2003), The Value of Money (2008) and Re-envisioning Socialism (2011).
Awards & Honors :
- In 2012, Prabhat was awarded honorary Doctor of Science in Economics from School of Oriental and African Studies at University of London.
About Malcom Adiseshiah Award :
- The Award carries a citation and a cash prize of 2 lakhs & It will be presented at a special function in Chennai.
- The first Malcolm Adiseshiah Award was given in 2001 and so far we have given 21 awards.
- The award was named after educator & Indian development economist Malcom Sathiyanathan Adiseshiah
CURRENT AFFAIRS : MOU & AGREEMENTS
Six MoUs signed on second day of waterways conclave in Assam
- Six Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements were signed at the Waterways Conclave-2022, which concluded, in Dibrugarh in presence of Union minister of ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
About the MoUs :
- Signed between the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and the Gauhati Universiy (GU) for research and development, consultancy, investment, etc., in inland waterways.
- Signed between IWAI and m/s Rajesh Auto Merchandise Pvt Limited for operation and maintenance of temporary terminal at Maia in West Bengal.
- Signed between IWAI and m/s Jimex International for operation and maintenance of temporary terminal at Maia in West Bengal.
- Signed between IWAI and Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited for transportation of their cargo using inland water transport.
- Signed between IWAI and Tata Steel Jamhedpur for transportation of their steel cargo using inland water transport.
- Signed between the government of Tripura and the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) for co-opeartion of survey of vessels and training of personnel.
About Waterways Conclave-2022 :
- Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is organizing Waterways Conclave 2022 on 11th-12th April in Dibrugarh, Assam.
- Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and AYUSH, Government of India will be inaugurating the Conclave.
- FICCI is the industry partner of the Conclave.
- It is focused on harnessing the domestic and international potential of waterways ecosystem in the Northeastern region of India and will be held in physical and hybrid format.
NHPC signs MoU with Himachal Pradesh to develop green hydrogen project
- State-owned NHPC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the district administration of Chamba, Himachal Pradesh for development of green hydrogen technologies to produce hydrogen.
- Group General Manager of the NHPC AK Pathak and Chamba Deputy Commissioner DC Rana signed the MoU.
- This project will be executed by NHPC Renewable Energy Limited (NREL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NHPC.
About the MoU :
- As per the MoU, NHPC shall develop a pilot green hydrogen mobility project including hydrogen production.
- NHPC shall upscale hydrogen production on a commercial scale to supply the hydrogen needs for sectors like mobility, transportation, heating, and micro grid.
- The research and development department of NHPC and Chamera-II Power Station of NHPC will be part of the project.
- Under the project, a 300 kilowatt solar plant will be set up and its energy will be utilised for electrolysis of water to generate green hydrogen.
- About 9 to 12 litres of water would be utilised to produce one kilogram of hydrogen fuel.
- Further hydrogen will be stored in cylinders in compressed form which will be used to run vehicles.
About NHPC :
- Founded : 1975
- Headquarters : Faridabad, India
- Chairman & MD : Shri Abhay Kumar Singh
- It is an Indian government hydropower board under the ownership of the Ministry of Power, Government of India.
CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS
Trishakti Corps conducts Ex Kripan Shakti in WB
- The Trishakti Corps conducted Ex Kripan Shakti, an Integrated Fire Power exercise at Teesta Field Firing Ranges (TFFR) near Siliguri (WB).
Aim :
- To coordinate and synergize the capabilities of the Indian Army and the Central Armed Police Forces to fight an integrated battle.
- The exercise was reviewed by Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich, AVSM, General Officer Commanding Trishakti Corps.
- The exercise was also witnessed by other dignitaries from Army, Border Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, local civil administration as well as school children and NCC cadets
- Units of the Trishakti Corps demonstrated their ability to hit hard and swiftly with precision during the exercise.
- The firing involved employment and firing of all arms and weapon systems including guns, mortars, infantry combat vehicles, helicopters and employment of Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance platforms to execute the ‘Sensor to Shooter’ concept.
- The execution of integrated response by the troops of Indian Army from the Kripan Division and Central Armed Police Forces on a simulated enemy airborne was undertaken with utmost professionalism highlighting the joint synergies.
- The swift action by Special Heliborne troops and rapid deployment of arty guns and equipment by helicopters was done with clock work precision.
Indian Army inducts domestically developed specialist vehicles
- Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General MM Naravane has inducted the first set of domestically developed specialist vehicles into service, at a ceremony organised in the city of Pune.
- The vehicles that were inducted include the Tata Advanced System Limited (TASL) developed Quick Reaction Fighting Vehicle Medium (QRFV), the Infantry Protected Mobility Vehicle (IPMV), and the Ultra-Long-Range Observation System.
- The Indian Army also inducted Bharat Forge’s Monocoque Hull Multi-Role Mine-Protected Armoured Vehicle.
- The induction of these indigenously developed systems, by TASL and Bharat Forge, would greatly enhance the operational capabilities of [the] Indian Army in future conflicts.
Note :
- TASL is the first private sector company to manufacture and provide the armed forces with wheeled armoured vehicles that are combat-ready.
- The IPMV was co-developed with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
About TASL :
- Founded : 2007
- Headquarters : Hyderabad, Telengana, India
- Chairman : Natarajan Chandrasekaran
- It is an Indian aerospace, defense, military engineering & construction and technology company.
CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Neptune: Ukraine’s homemade cruise missile
- Neptune is a Ukrainian anti-ship cruise missile capable of destroying targets within a range of 300 km.& was developed by the Luch design bureau.
About Neptune missile :
- Its design is based on the Soviet Kh-35 anti-ship missile, with substantially improved range and electronics.
- The 16-ft long engine-powered missiles can travel at speeds of up to 560mph (900 km/h) and at heights of between nine and 30ft above the surface.
- The system is designed to defeat surface warships and transport vessels with a displacement of up to 5,000 tons, either in convoys or moving individually.
- It is Weighing 870 kg and carrying a 150kg warhead
- It uses an internal navigation system to home on its target and will fly 10-15 meters above the water on its way to the target but will drop to 3-10 meters on its final approach so as to counter any ship defenses.
- The cruise missile system entered service with the Ukrainian Navy in March 2021
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS
Danish Open swimming: Olympian Sajan Prakash wins gold:
- Ace Indian swimmer Sajan Prakash won the gold medal in the men’s 200m butterfly event at the Danish Open 2022 in Copenhagen.
- Meanwhile, In the men’s 1500m freestyle event, 16-year-old Vedaant Madhavan, son of Indian actor R Madhavan, achieved his personal best time of 15.57.86 to clinch the silver medal in the 10-swimmer final.
- At the last Asian Games in 2018, Sajan Prakash finished fifth in the 200m butterfly event after becoming the first Indian swimmer since 1986 to qualify for the finals.
New Zealand pacer Hamish Bennett announces retirement from all forms of cricket:
- New Zealand pacer Hamish Bennett has announced that the 2021/22 season will be the last of his 17-year-old career.
- The 35-year-old has represented the New Zealand U-19 side, the senior men’s team, and domestic teams Wellington and Canterbury.
- Hamish Bennett made his international debut in October 2010 and represented New Zealand in one Test, 19 One Day International (ODIs) and 11 Twenty-20 Internationals (T20Is).
- Overall, he picked up 33 wickets in ODIs and 10 wickets in T20Is.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES
Veteran television producer & actor Manju Singh passes away:
- Veteran television producer and actor Manju Singh passed away due to cardiac arrest.
- Singh was one of the pioneers in the Indian television industry who had produced many remarkable shows like ‘Show Time, Ek Kahaani, Adhikar, Swaraj and others.
- She also starred in filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s 1979 cult classic ‘Gol Maal’ as Amol Palekar’s sister named Ratna.
Daily CA on April 19:
- World Hemophilia Day was started by the World Federation of Hemophilia (WHF) and is annually observed on the 17th of April.
- Every year, the world observes April 18 as World Heritage Day.
- The 40th edition of Hunar Haat was inaugurated by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur in Mumbai.
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ program in additional 126 cities across 14 States/ UTs.
- The NITI Aayog is planning to launch a National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP) in May to provide government data in a user-friendly format, to promote data-driven decision making and research.
- Country’s first-ever radio channel for the visually impaired, named ‘Radio Aksh’ has been launched in Nagpur, with the Blind Relief Association Nagpur and Samdrushti Kshamata Vikas Avam Anusandhan Mandal (Saksham) serving as the pioneers of the concept that will help the visually-impaired gain seamless access to education resources and audiobooks.
- On April 12-13, 2022, the 20th edition of India-France Joint Staff talks was held in Paris, France & the meeting was co-chaired by Assistant Chief of Integrated Staff & Air Vice Marshal B Manikantan and Head of Bilateral Cooperation South/Staff HQ Brigadier General Eric Peltier.
- PhonePe, one app for all things money, and Extreme IX, an Indian internet exchange point, have joined hands to form a partnership that will enable a faster digital payments experience for over 370 million PhonePe users.
- The Center has raised the authorized capital of ₹5,000 crore in three public sector insurance companies namely Oriental Insurance Company Limited (OICL), National Insurance Co. Ltd. (NICL) and United India Insurance Co. Ltd. (UICL) – to enable subscription of capital.
- The consumer durables brand of electrical goods major Havells India, Lloyd has appointed Sourav Ganguly as its brand ambassador for the Eastern Indian markets.
- Renowned Indian economist and political commentator Prabhat Patnaik has been selected for the 2022 Malcom Adiseshiah Award.
- Six Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements were signed at the Waterways Conclave-2022, which concluded, in Dibrugarh in presence of Union minister of ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
- State-owned NHPC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the district administration of Chamba, Himachal Pradesh for development of green hydrogen technologies to produce hydrogen.
- The Trishakti Corps conducted Ex Kripan Shakti, an Integrated Fire Power exercise at Teesta Field Firing Ranges (TFFR) near Siliguri (WB).
- Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General MM Naravane has inducted the first set of domestically developed specialist vehicles into service, at a ceremony organised in the city of Pune.
- Neptune is a Ukrainian anti-ship cruise missile capable of destroying targets within a range of 300 km.& was developed by the Luch design bureau.
- Ace Indian swimmer Sajan Prakash won the gold medal in the men’s 200m butterfly event at the Danish Open 2022 in Copenhagen.
- New Zealand pacer Hamish Bennett has announced that the 2021/22 season will be the last of his 17-year-old career.
- Veteran television producer and actor Manju Singh passed away due to cardiac arrest.
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