Current Affairs 11th & 12th April 2021| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

National Safe Motherhood Day – Observed on Apr 11

• In 2003, the Government of Indiadeclared April 11, the anniversary of Kasturba Gandhi’s birth, as National Safe Motherhood Day. 
• The declaration was made at the request of White Ribbon Alliance India (WRAI), an alliance of 1800 organizations.
• The goal of the National Safe Motherhood Program is to reduce maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality and to improve the maternal and neonatal health through preventive and promotive activities as well as by addressing avoidable factors that cause death during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum period.

World Parkinson’s Day: Observed on April 11

• Every year, April 11is observed as World Parkinson’s Day to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease, which is a progressive nervous system disorder.
• The day marks the birthday of Dr James Parkinson from London, who was the first person to systematically describe the six individuals with the symptoms of Parkinson Disease.
• Apart from this, the month of April is observed as the Parkinson’s Awareness Month.

International Day of Human Space Flight – Observed on Apr 12

• The United Nations (UN) celebrates the International Day of Human Space Flighton April 12 each year.
• The day remembers the first human space flight on April 12, 1961.
• Statue of Yuri Gagarin, the world’s first cosmonaut to have travelled in outer space.
• 12 April, of the anniversary of the first human space flight by Yuri Gagarin.
• It was proclaimed at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly on 7 April 2011, a few days before the 50th anniversary of the flight.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

MoS in PMO Dr. Jitendra Singh promotes ‘Teeka Utsav’

• Minister of State in PMO Dr. Jitendra Singh called for celebrating the Teeka Utsav by facilitating vaccination among those who are entitled to receive the jab.
• Dr Singh, in the four days, the drive has to be carried out at multiple levels including personal level, social level and administrative level.
• He said, as responsible citizens, it is the obligation of each person to act as a catalyst in the Vaccination Drive.
• He said, those who have recovered from COVID should take upon the responsibility to spread awareness about the disease.

PM aware people to follow four principles ‘Each One, Vaccinate One’ , ‘Each One , Treat One’ , ‘Each One, Save One’ to fight in pandemic situation

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to everyone to follow a fourfold principle as the nation kick-starts four day special vaccination drive, Teeka Utsav.
• Emphasising on the need to follow both personal and social hygiene, Mr. Modi urged citizens to imbibe these four principles which include ‘Each One, Vaccinate One’, ‘Each One , Treat One’ , ‘Each One, Save One’ , and people led creation of Micro Containment Zones.
• The Prime Minister said the ‘Teeka Utsav’ is the beginning of the second big war against Corona Pandemic.
• He also urged citizens to ensure zero wastage of COVID vaccines and asked those eligible to be vaccinated to get their jabs.
• Modi said during this time we have to move towards optimum utilization of the country’s vaccination capacity.
• He added that this will also in a way increase our vaccination capacity.
• The Prime Minister asserted that the Nation’s success in the fight against the pandemic will be determined by the fact that people don’t step outside their houses without pressing needs.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Sanskrit learning app ‘Little Guru’ to be unveiled in Bangladesh 

• A Sanskrit learning app will be launched in Bangladesh by the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) of the High Commission of India.
• The Sanskrit learning app is part of the campaign being run by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) to promote Sanskrit language among students, religious scholars, Indologists and historians across the world.
• The Sanskrit learning app ‘Little Guru’ is based on an interactive platform which will make Sanskrit learning easy, entertaining and fun.
• This app will help people who are already learning Sanskrit or those who are desirous to learn Sanskrit to do so in an easy manner based on games, competition, rewards, peer to peer interactions, etc.
• This App combines education with entertainment, said a press release issued by the High Commission of India.

“Little Guru” app launched at Indian Embassy in Beijing

• The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) celebrated its 71st Foundation Day.
• Swami Vivekanand Cultural Centre at Indian Embassy in Beijing celebrated ICCR Foundation Day in the presence of a huge gathering of ICCR scholars in China and their disciples who learnt Indian dance and music.
• The ICCR has unveiled ‘Little Guru’ app, world’s first Gamified Sanskrit learning App which was jointly launched in Beijing by Ambassador Vikram Misri and renowned Chinese scholar on Sanskrit and India studies, Professor Wang Bangwei.
• Many Sanskrit Professors from Peking University and the students were also present.
• Ambassador Vikram Misri highlighted ICCR’s role in promoting cultural, academic, and intellectual exchanges between India and the rest of the world.
• He said nearly 300 students in China in the last few years have availed ICCR scholarships and hoped that more Chinese students will avail of these scholarships.
• Appreciating the launch of the Sanskrit Guru App, Prof. Wang said that outside India, China has a very long history of Sanskrit research along with studies on Buddhism.
• He said, Sanskrit is a basic language of Indian culture and heritage and a way to introduce Indian culture to people adding that India and Chinese scholars can collaborate in this field to deepen understanding between the two peoples.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

LG RK Mathur initiates National Training programme on Packaging in Leh

• In Leh, Ladakh Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur has launched a National Training programme on Packaging. 
• This programme is organized under ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ in association with National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) and Indian Institute of Packaging for products from UT Ladakh.
• LG RK Mathur mentioned, with most women participation annually India is doing over fifty thousand crore home based business.
• While taking examples from Punjab and Kolhapuri leather goods and shoes, Mr. Mathur appealed that Ladakh has lots of potential in leather products.
• He advised the participants to look back to traditional handicrafts and other products for inspiration and earn money.
• He said, Likir village in Leh will be developed as Crafts Village to promote home made products, while Raj Niwas will have an exhibition of Ladakhi products to popularize them.
• Mr Mathur said, Ladakh handicrafts have a scope of a hundred crore rupees turnover in the coming Ten years of time.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

Flipkart make partnership with Adani Group, to create 2,500 direct jobs

• Flipkart informed it has entered into a commercial partnership with the Adani Group to strengthen logistics and data centre capabilities of the Walmart-owned company and create about 2,500 direct jobs.
• In this two-pronged partnership, Flipkart will work with Adani Logistics Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, to strengthen its supply chain infrastructure and further enhance its ability to serve its rapidly growing base of customers, a statement said.
• It added that Flipkart will also set up its third data centre at Adaniconnex’s Chennai-based facility, leveraging the latter’s expertise and industry-leading data centre technology solutions.
• Adaniconnex is a new joint venture formed between EdgeConneX and Adani Enterprises Ltd.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENT AND RESIGNATION NEWS

ICMR appointed BP Acharya as advisor to NARFBR

• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has appointed retired Telangana bureaucrat BP Acharya, as the advisor of the National Animal Resource Facility for BioMedical Research (NARFBR) that is coming up over an area of 100 acres at the Genome valley near Shamirpet.
• Acharya had served as the Special Chief Secretary before retirement and also as the DG of MCRHRD Institute of Telangana.
• The ICMR said that this appointment is in recognition of Acharya’s efforts to create the world-class life sciences cluster in the Genome Valley and his contribution to the sector.
• The NARFBR project is being developed with an investment of Rs 300 crore and will cater to the pharma and biopharma/vaccine industry in the country in their preclinical animal trials.

Ouhoumoudon Mahadou vow as new Prime Minister of Niger

• Niger President Mohamed Bazoum has appointed Ouhoumoudou Mahamadouas the new Prime Minister of the country effective from April 03, 2021.
• Prior to this, the 66-year-old Mahamadou served as a minister in charge of the finance and mining portfolios.
• He replaces Brigi Rafini, who served as the Prime Minister of Niger from 2011 to 2021.

About Niger:

• Capital: Niamey
• Currency: West African CFA franc

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Chloe Zhao becomes first Asian woman to win top prize in DGA Awards history

• Filmmaker Chloe Zhao won the top prize at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards for her feature film “Nomadland”, further bolstering the movie’s frontrunner status for the upcoming Oscars.
• The Beijing-born filmmaker became the first Asian woman to win the trophy for best feature directing at the 73rd edition of the awards, which were held, reported Deadline.
• She is also the second woman to earn the top DGA Award, after Kathryn Bigelow won for her 2009 movie “The Hurt Locker”.
• The filmmaker beat out acclaimed directors David Fincher (“Mank”), Aaron Sorkin (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”), Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”) and Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”) to win the marquee award.
• “Nomadland” features Academy Award winner Frances McDormand as a woman who leaves home to travel around the American West after losing her job.

Andhra CM Jagan Mohan Reddy to honour best performing volunteers With awards 

• Elaborate arrangements have been made for honouring gram and ward volunteers with Seva Mitra, Seva Ratna and Seva Vajra Awards on the eve of Ugadi.
• Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will present the awards to the best performing volunteers at an award ceremony organized at Murali Resorts in Poranki of Penamaluru Constituency near Vijayawada. 
• Special Chief Secretary (Village and Ward Secretariats department) Ajay Jain will give introduction to the award ceremony followed by screening of a short documentary on the volunteers.
• The Chief Minister will address the gathering and launch cash incentive distribution and release a booklet.
• The objective of the awards is to recognize the efforts and services rendered by the village and ward volunteers and encourage them to do better.
• A total 2,22,900 volunteers under three categories will be felicitated.

Education Minister RP ‘Nishank’ give out AICTE Lilavati Awards 2020 on women empowerment to winners

• Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ presented the AICTE Lilavati Awards 2020 on women empowerment to the winners in New Delhi.
• Mr Pokhriyal welcomed the initiative of All India Council for Technical Education, AICTE for instituting the Lilawati Awards and stressed that such innovative steps shall be a great motivation for girls to join higher education.
• He said, this initiative will pave a path towards equality in education and innovation for women.
• He also informed that the Government has launched the Udaan scheme which aims to enable girls of weaker socio-economic status at school level to gain access to higher education.
• He said, the government has also started Pragati Yojana to give young women opportunity to further their technical education.
• The Education Minister highlighted that the new National Educational Policy has greatly emphasized on gender equality and students should participate in such initiatives to promote women empowerment.
• Based on the theme ‘Women Empowerment’, AICTE finalized the winners from a total of 456 entries who competed across 6 sub themes, which include, Women’s Health, Self-Defense, Sanitation and Hygiene, Literacy, Women Entrepreneurship and Legal Awareness.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : ACQUISITION & MERGERS

Axis Bank becomes co-promoter of Max Life Insurance           

• On April 06, 2021, Axis Bank Ltd informed it has become co-promoters of Max Life Insurance Company Limited, after completion of the acquisition of 12.99% stake collectively by the Axis Entities in the company.
• Axis Bank and its two subsidiaries Axis Capital Limited and Axis Securities Limited will collectively own 12.99% stake in Max Life after the consummation of the deal.
• The Axis Entities have a right to acquire an additional stake of up to 7% in Max Life, in one or more tranches, subject to regulatory approvals.
• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) gave its formal approval in February of 2021.

About Max Life Insurance :

• CEO: Prashant Tripathy
• Founder: Analjit Singh
• Founded: 2001
• Headquarters : New Delhi

About Axis Bank :

• CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 1993, Ahmedabad

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SUMMITS & CONFERENCES

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attends Second Virtual G20 Finance Ministers

• Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman participated virtually in the Second G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting.
• It was held under the Italian Presidency here to discuss policy responses to global challenges to restore strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.
• The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors discussed Updates of the G20 Action Plan in response to COVID-19.
• In that Meeting They also discussed supporting the financing needs of the most vulnerable economies, the progress on the international taxation agenda, promoting greener transitions and the pandemic related financial regulation issues.
• Nirmala Sitharaman urged all G20 members to ensure equitable access and widespread distribution of vaccines.
• Nirmala Sitharaman reflected on the global growth projections and underlined the need for continued coordination amidst the persistence of uncertainties associated with the virus.
• The Finance Minister said that the G20 Action Plan has served as a good guidance tool and shaping recovery is the mainstay of its current update.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : ENVIRONMENT

Avian species count reaches 1,340 : New Species Three-banded rosefinch Discovered in Arunachal Pradesh

• Scientists from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) Speckled a New Avian Species three-banded rosefinch.
• It was made in the hilly, coniferous forests of the Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh, about 3800 meters above sea level.
• India’s avian biodiversity count to a total of 1,340 species.
• It Belongs to the Family – Fringillidae
• This is seed-eating passerine birds with a distinctively conical bill.
• The team comprises BNHS assistant director Girish Jathar and researchers Atharva Singh and Himadri Sekhar Mondal.
• They published their findings in the latest issue of the journal Indian Birds
• The three-banded rosefinch was the fifth new species recorded during the year 2021.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS

Sports Minister inaugurates Khelo India State Centre of Excellence for Rowing discipline in Srinagar

• On April 10, 2021, Union Minister for Sports & Youth Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju inaugurated Khelo India State Centre of Excellence for Rowing discipline at the Jammu & Kashmir Sports Council Water Sports Academy in Srinagar.
• There are currently 24 KISCEs across 23 States and Union Territories and each of them focuses on Olympics sports discipline.
• This is one of the two KISCEs from Jammu & Kashmir itself, with the Maulana Azad Stadium for Fencing discipline in Jammu.
• A consolidated amount of Rs. 5.08 crores have been approved for the 2 centres in Jammu & Kashmir.

About KISCEs :

• KISCEs is an ongoing endeavour to scale-up existing centres from the States and Union Territories to the world standard level keeping in mind the big picture of getting India excelled at the Olympics.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

UK’s Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, Passes away at 99

• On April 09, 2021, Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Passed away.
• He was 99.

About Prince Philip :

• Prince Philip was the longest-serving consort of any British monarch.
• He served 69 years supporting the Queen and retired from the royal service in 2017.
• He was officially known as The Duke of Edinburgh.
• He was a Greek prince and he married Elizabeth in 1947.
• He played a key role in modernising the British monarchy in the post-World War 2 period

About UK :

• Queen: Queen Elizabeth II
• Capital: London
• Prime minister: Boris Johnson

Daily CA On April 10 :

• The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is celebrating its 71st Foundation Day on April 09.
• World Homeopathy Dayis celebrated every year on April 10 to spread awareness about homoeopathy and its contribution to the world of medicine.
• 10th April is celebrated as ‘Survey Day‘ throughout India. This dayhas a special significance in the History of Surveying as it is on this day that Major William Lambton started the GTS(Great Trigonometrical Survey).
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India and the Netherlands are working together for a supply chain in Indo-pacific region.
• India and the Netherlands have announced the launch of the strategic partnership in the water sector to further intensify ongoing cooperation and better coherence in the area.
• NITI Aayog will launch the first-of-its kind Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) handbook in India.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with the Defence Minister of Kazakhstan Lieutenant General Nurlan Yermekbayev in New Delhi.
• ICCR Foundation Day was celebrated at Indian Embassy in Seoul Ambassador Sripriya Ranganathan, highlighted the role of ICCR in promotion of Cultural Diplomacy and India’s Soft Power.
• Jeep India has tied up with Axis Bank to launch Jeep Financial Services, which will curate financial solutions for Jeep customers and Jeep brand dealers.
• Actor-producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas has been announced as one of the presenters for the 74th British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards.
• IT services major Wipro Limited announced it has appointed former Walmart executive Subha Tatavarti as its chief technology officer.
• On April 06, 2021, Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC) acquired 9 per cent stake in Kerala Infrastructure Fund Management Ltd.
• On April 08, 2021, India formally handed over Rs 100 crore patrol vessel “PS Zoroaster” to Seychelles. The virtual summit was held between Indian PM Narendra Modi and Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan.
• On April 09, 2021, Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the 103rd Meeting of the Development Committee through video conferencing.
• On April 09, 2021, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’  launched NanoSniffer, the world’s first Microsensor-based Explosive Trace Detector (ETD).
• A new book Akhtari: The Life and Music of Begum Akhtar to remember about the life and singing experience of indian singer Begum Akhtar.
• In a historic first for the country, Four Indian sailors qualified for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. The pair of Ganapathy Chengappa, Varun Thakkar, and Vishnu Saravanan made the cut during an ongoing Asian Qualifiers in Oman on April 8, 2021.
• On April 07, 2021, FIFA suspended the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) and Chadian Football Association (FTFA) after concerns over the governance of the two member associations.

Daily CA On April 11 & 12 :

• In 2003, the Government of Indiadeclared April 11, the anniversary of Kasturba Gandhi’s birth, as National Safe Motherhood Day. 
• Every year, April 11is observed as World Parkinson’s Day to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease, which is a progressive nervous system disorder.
• The United Nations (UN) celebrates the International Day of Human Space Flighton April 12 each year. The day remembers the first human space flight on April 12, 1961.
• Minister of State in PMO Dr. Jitendra Singh called for celebrating the Teeka Utsav by facilitating vaccination among those who are entitled to receive the jab.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to everyone to follow a fourfold principle as the nation kick-starts four day special vaccination drive, Teeka Utsav.
• A Sanskrit learning app will be launched in Bangladesh by the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) of the High Commission of India.
• The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) celebrated its 71st Foundation Day. The ICCR has unveiled ‘Little Guru’ app, world’s first Gamified Sanskrit learning App which was jointly launched in Beijing by Ambassador Vikram Misri and renowned Chinese scholar on Sanskrit and India studies, Professor Wang Bangwei.
• In Leh, Ladakh Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur has launched a National Training programme on Packaging. 
• Flipkart informed it has entered into a commercial partnership with the Adani Group to strengthen logistics and data centre capabilities of the Walmart-owned company and create about 2,500 direct jobs.
• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has appointed retired Telangana bureaucrat BP Acharya, as the advisor of the National Animal Resource Facility for BioMedical Research (NARFBR) that is coming up over an area of 100 acres at the Genome valley near Shamirpet.
• Niger President Mohamed Bazoum has appointed Ouhoumoudou Mahamadouas the new Prime Minister of the country effective from April 03, 2021.
• Filmmaker Chloe Zhao won the top prize at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards for her feature film “Nomadland”, further bolstering the movie’s frontrunner status for the upcoming Oscars.
• Elaborate arrangements have been made for honouring gram and ward volunteers with Seva Mitra, Seva Ratna and Seva Vajra Awards on the eve of Ugadi.
• Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ presented the AICTE Lilavati Awards 2020 on women empowerment to the winners in New Delhi.
• On April 06, 2021, Axis Bank Ltd informed it has become co-promoters of Max Life Insurance Company Limited, after completion of the acquisition of 12.99% stake collectively by the Axis Entities in the company.
• Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman participated virtually in the Second G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting.
• Scientists from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) Speckled a New Avian Species three-banded rosefinch.
• On April 10, 2021, Union Minister for Sports & Youth Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju inaugurated Khelo India State Centre of Excellence for Rowing discipline at the Jammu & Kashmir Sports Council Water Sports Academy in Srinagar.
• On April 09, 2021, Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Passed away.