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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS
National Maritime Day- 5th April:
- National Maritime Day is annually observed on April 5, 2022.
- The theme of National Maritime Day 2022 is ‘Sustainable Shipping beyond Covid-19’.
- Every year, the day is commemorated to support the global economy, which is the most well-organized, safe, and environmentally responsible way of delivering commodities from one end of the globe to the other.
- National Maritime Day was first celebrated on April 5, 1964.
- The saga of Indian shipping first started on April 5, 1919, when the SS Loyalty, the first ship of The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd travelled from Mumbai to the United Kingdom (London).
- On this day an award called “Varuna” is conferred to those who made an outstanding contribution to the Indian maritime sector.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS
RPF arrests touts for illegal ticketing under Operation Upalabdh:
- The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has arrested 1,459 touts and blocked 366 IRCTC agent IDs and 6,751 personal IDs as part of a month-long pan-India drive against illegal ticketing.
- The drive, ‘Operation Upalabdh’, was conducted following the restoration of long-distance train services as the festival and summer rush was expected to bring about a sharp rise in the demand for reserved train seats
- The Railway Protection Force (RPF) geared up its efforts and launched a pan-India drive against activities of touts in the month of March 2022.
- The field units of the RPF gathered inputs from the field, digital and the cyber world, collated, verified and analysed the information, and started the drive across the nation from March 1, 2022.
- The drive was immensely successful and resulted in the arrest of 1,459 touts, out of which 341 were authorised IRCTC agents but also indulged in touting of railway tickets.
Flipkart Foundation launched for growth of rural area and women:
- Walmart-backed E-commerce giant Flipkart announced that it has constituted Flipkart Foundation.
- The Foundation will focus on supporting improved market access for under-served communities, entrepreneurship, skill development, community development, livelihood opportunities and environmental responsibility, with an aim to impact 20 million lives directly and indirectly over the next decade.
- The Foundation was launched in Delhi by the union minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar, Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma and Minister of State for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.
- Flipkart Foundation is our commitment to engage with diverse stakeholders to enable transformational development work for society and the economy.
- The Foundation will address several critical societal concerns ranging from art and craft revival to employment opportunities for the underserved, to disaster relief.
CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Bangladesh signs deal with Adani group for Indian Economic Zone
- The Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) signed an agreement with the Indian company Adani Ports and SEZ Limited to set up an Indian Economic Zone at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) in Mirsarai of Chattogram.
- The signing of the non-binding agreement called term-sheet between the two entities in Mumbai indicated that the development of the Indian Economic Zone (IEZ) will start in full swing soon.
- The Indian Economic Zone will provide facilities for Indian investors in Bangladesh.
- The Indian Economic Zone is being built on 857 acres of land with an estimated cost of Taka 964 crore supported by an Indian Line of Credit worth USD 115 million.
- The project involves land development, construction of connecting roads, security system, water supply, telecommunication, and water treatment plant facilities for the Indian companies investing in Bangladesh.
- A memorandum of understanding was signed between Bangladesh and India in June 2015 to establish an Indian economic zone.
- Among the Government to Government economic zones being set up in Bangladesh, the Indian Economic Zone is going to be the second largest one after the Japanese Economic Zone.
About Bangladesh :
- Capital: Dhaka
- Currency: Bangladeshi taka
- President: Abdul Hamid
- Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina
About BEZA :
- Formed : 2010
- Governing Chairman : Sheikh Hasina (Prime Minister of Bangladesh)
- Executive Chairman : Shaikh Yusuf Harun
CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE
FICCI Economic Outlook Survey Projects India’s GDP growth rate for FY23 at 7.4%
- The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) Economic Outlook Survey has estimated India’s GDP to grow at 7.4% in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) with a minimum and maximum growth estimate of 6.0 per cent and 7.8 per cent, respectively.
- The survey showed, “rising international commodity prices are the biggest risk emanating from the ongoing conflict as Russia and Ukraine are global suppliers of key commodities.
- According to the survey, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to start a rate hike cycle in the second half of 2022, while a repo rate hike of 50-75 bps is expected by the end of the current fiscal.
- The median growth forecast for agriculture and allied activities has been put at 3.3 percent for 2022-23.
- Industry and services sectors are estimated to grow by 5.9 per cent and 8.5 per cent, respectively.
About FICCI :
- Established : 1927
- Headquarters : New Delhi, India
- President : Sanjiv Mehta
- Secretary General : Dilip Chenoy
Aegon Life partners with Ahalia Finforex to offer insurance cover to unserved segment
- Aegon Life, a digital life insurance company, has partnered Ahalia Finforex, a Kerala-based diversified financial services firm, to provide life insurance access to the unorganized and unserved segments residing in tier 2, tier 3, and tier 4 towns.
- The move is a significant step towards its vision to make every household financially secure.
- The exclusive partnership between Aegon Life and Ahalia Finforex provides insurance coverage to over 5 lakh Ahalia customers via the insurer’s Group Credit Life product.
- It allows borrowers to access loans without putting an undue financial burden on their dependents.
- In the event of the borrower’s death, Aegon Life protects their family from loan repayment with the insurance cover covering the loan amount.
- Customers can avail of this product with a one-time affordable premium, making it easily accessible.
- With this partnership, both will cater to the unserved populace in small towns, helping them access insurance cover against the loans, which could weigh on them in the untimely demise of the borrower.
About Aegon Life :
- Founded: 2008
- Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- MD & CEO : Satishwar Balakrishnan
- Aegon Life Insurance Company (formerly known as Aegon Religare Life Insurance Company) is an Indian life insurance company offering individual and group insurance online and offline.
- It is a joint venture between Dutch Aegon N.V., a multinational insurance, pensions and asset management company, and The Times Group (also called Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd), one of India’s largest media conglomerates.
About Ahalia Finforex :
- MD : N Bhuvanendran
- Headquarters : Ernakulam, Kerala
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS
HDFC to merge with HDFC Bank to create third most valuable company in the country:
- HDFC Limited will merge with HDFC Bank, creating a banking behemoth.
- The merger is set to make the company the third most valuable in the country.
- HDFC will acquire a 41 percent stake in HDFC Bank through the transformational merger.
- HDFC Limited Chairman Deepak Parekh has described it as a merger of equals.
- Mergers will enhance diversity of assets of the combined entity and will help expand the customer base and build a product portfolio in the housing loan category.
- The merger also triggered stock markets, as shares of HDFC and HDFC Bank witnessed heavy buying and settled with nearly 10 percent gains.
SBI signs MoU with Border Security Force to offer special benefits through CAPSP Scheme:
- State Bank of India (SBI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Border Security Force to offer special benefits to the serving and retired BSF personnel and family pensioners through the Central Armed Police Salary Package (CAPSP) Scheme.
- The MoU will ensure extensive benefits to the security forces including complimentary Personal and Air Accidental Insurance (Death) cover, additional cover in case of on-duty death, and Permanent Total Disability/ Partial Disability cover.
- The MoU will support child education and the marriage of girl children of deceased BSF personnel.
- The retired personnel will be eligible for complimentary Personal Accidental (Death) Insurance, irrespective of age, whereas family pensioners will be eligible for a bouquet of benefits.
- Bank will offer zero-balance savings bank accounts with a host of complimentary benefits and waiver of service charges to BSF personnel.
- Bank will also provide attractive interest rates and concession on processing charges for serving personnel on Home, Car, Education, and Xpress Credit Personal loans.
CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS
Vinay Mohan Kwatra appointed as India’s new Foreign Secretary
- On April 04, 2022, The Indian government appointed senior Indian Foreign Service officer Vinay Mohan Kwatra as the new foreign secretary.
- He replaced incumbent Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, a 1984-batch IFS officer who will superannuate on April 30, 2022.
Roles of India’s Foreign Secretary :
- The Foreign Secretary of India is the administrative head of the External Affairs Ministry.
- Foreign Secretary is also the principal advisor to the External Affairs Minister on all the matters of policy and administration within the Ministry.
About Vinay Mohan Kwatra :
- Vinay Kwatra is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1988 batch having more than 32 years of experience in the foreign service.
- He has held significant positions in India’s diplomatic missions in Beijing, Washington DC.
- He has also served as the Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office from 2015 to 2017.
- From August 2017 to February 2020, Vinay Mohan Kwatra served as the Ambassador of India to France.
- In 2020, he was appointed as India’s Ambassador to Nepal.
Vikas Kumar takes charge as 3rd MD of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)
- Vikas Kumar, a 1988-batch officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service has been appointed as the new Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
- Kumar is taking over the post from Dr. Mangu Singh, whose tenure ended on March 31, 2022.
- He will hold the post for a term of five years.
- Kumar is the third managing director of the DMRC after E Sreedharan and Mangu Singh.
About Vikas Kumar :
- Kumar, who was holding the position of the Director (Operations) in the DMRC, has over three decades of experience in rail-based urban transportation projects.
- Before joining the DMRC, He worked with the Indian Railways in various capacities in September 2004.
- He has been associated with the urban transporter for more than 17 years in key management positions.
Awards & Honors :
- Kumar has also been the recipient of various awards such as the General Manager’s Award, Operations Shield (in Indian Railways) and the Managing Director’s Award (in DMRC).
About DMRC :
- Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
- Chairman : Manoj Joshi
- Began Operation :24 December 2002
CURRENT AFFAIRS : AWARDS & HONORS
64th Annual Grammy Awards 2022
- The 64th Annual Grammy Awards were held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021.
- This was the first time a Grammy Awards ceremony was held in Sin City.
- In Grammy 2022 the number of categories had been bumped to 86, which was more than last year’s 84 categories.
- Jon Batiste received the most nominations with eleven, followed by Doja Cat, H.E.R., and Justin Bieber with eight each.
- Batiste also received the most awards with five.
- Indian music composer, Ricky Kej also won the Grammy Award for his album Divine Tides, for the Best New Age Album. He won the award jointly with rock legend Stewart Copeland.
- This is the second Grammy Award win for Kej.
- He won the first one at the 57th Grammy in 2015 for Winds of Samsara in collaboration with South African flautist Wouter Kellerman.
About Grammy Awards :
- The Grammy Awards are given out by the Recording Academy or National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, an organisation that has been around since 1957.
- Grammys are the premiere awards for music, much like the Oscars or Academy Awards are for cinema.
Journalist Aarefa Johari Wins Chameli Devi Jain Award
- Mumbai-based Scroll.in reporter Aarefa Johari has won the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Mediaperson 2021.
- The award, administered by the Media Foundation.
- The winner was decided by a three-member jury, comprising Nirupama Subramanian from the Indian Express, writer Githa Hariharan and Ashutosh from SatyaHindi.
About Chameli Devi Jain Award :
- The Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Women Mediaperson is an Indian journalism award named after Chameli Devi Jain, an Indian independence activist who became the first Jain woman to go to prison during India’s independence struggle.
- It is a prestigious recognition for women mediapersons in India who have reported on themes such as social development, politics, equity, gender justice, health, war and conflict, and consumer values.
- The award was instituted in 1980 by Verghese and the family of Chameli Devi.
Note :
- Neerja Chowdhury won the inaugural award in 1981.
- In 2015, Supriya Sharma of Scroll.in became the first online journalist to receive the award
CURRENT AFFAIRS : MOU & AGREEMENTS
Assam Cabinet approves MoU with French agency for biodiversity conservation
- The Assam Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the environment and forest department of the State and Agence Francaise de Development, a French funding agency, to foster bilateral dialogue in the field of environment.
- The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
About the MoU :
- The MoU which will enhance cooperation between the forest department and international stakeholders of Africa, Asia and France regarding biodiversity conservation in the Indo-Pacific region.
- The Cabinet also approved the modified guidelines for issuance of caste certificates, including the nature of documents required for establishing eligibility for getting such documents for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, other backward classes and more other backward classes.
- According to the guidelines, no National Register of Citizens (NRC) document would be asked for the application for caste certificate and no inquiry would be required if the authorities are satisfied with the certificate of the applicant’s father. If any inquiry is required, it will be limited to caste status only and will be completed within 45 days.
- The council of Ministers also approved raising ₹15 crore as loan assistance from NABARD for 15 projects of the Public Works Department (Roads).
- The projects include 12 embankment cum roads and three rural bridges in Golaghat, Barpeta, Darrang, Dhemaji, Goalpara, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, West Karbi Anglong, Charaideo and Baksa districts.
- The Cabinet also decided to set up 13 ‘Adarsha Vidyalayas‘ to increase coverage of schools and 97 model schools to improve education in tea garden areas.
About Assam :
- Capital: Dispur
- Governor : Jagdish Mukhi
- Chief minister: Himanta Biswa Sarma
CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur launches new rare Chemical Reference Materials to strengthen anti-doping Testing
- Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur launched six new and rare Reference Materials (RMs), the highest form of chemical required for anti-doping analysis in all World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratories throughout the world.
- The 6 RMs were developed in less than a year by the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) in collaboration with the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Guwahati and the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Jammu.
- The RMs were launched during the 15th Governing Body Meeting of NDTL, in the presence of Sports Secretary Smt. Sujata Chaturvedi and other senior officials of the Sports Ministry.
- With the development of these RMs, NDTL has gained the accolade of being one of the few labs in the world, wherein such RMs have been developed.
- Out of the six Reference Materials launched, three each were synthesized in collaboration with NIPER-Guwahati and CSIR-IIIM, Jammu.
Additional Info :
- The research for these Reference Materials started in 2021 when NDTL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with both the national scientific organizations in order to indigenously synthesise and develop 20 such Reference Materials of prohibited substances, in a phased manner, over a period of 2-3 years.
- These R&D activities between NDTL & NIPER-G and CSIR-IIIM, Jammu have been undertaken with the active support and funding of the Government of India.
About WADA :
- Founded: 10 November 1999
- Headquarters: Montreal, Canada
- President : Witold Bańka
About Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports :
- Union Minister : Anurag Thakur
- Minister of State : Nisith Pramanik
CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTAL
Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur launches Broadcast Seva Portal:
- Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has launched the Broadcast Seva Portal in New Delhi.
- The portal will provide a single point facility to the stakeholders to request for required permission, registrations and licences.
- Government has harnessed technology to bring transparency in the system and make it more accountable.
- The Broadcast Seva Portal will reduce the turnaround time of applications and at the same time help applicants track the progress.
- This portal will reduce the human interface and will be a major step towards Ease of Doing Business.
- The 360-degree digital solution will facilitate the stakeholders in seeking permissions, applying for registration, tracking applications, calculating fees and executing payments.
- This portal will provide its services under the wider umbrella efforts of Digital India to all stakeholders to private satellite TV channels, teleport operators, community and private radio channels.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS
Centre sanctions Rs 3.65 crores for international exposure trips of Indian Athletics, Yachting teams:
- The Centre has sanctioned three crore 65,00,000 rupees for international exposure trips of Indian Athletics and Yachting teams.
- These exposure tours have been scheduled this month ahead of the World Athletics Championship, the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games-2022.
- The Indian Athletics middle and long-distance teams will undergo training-cum-competition in Colorado Spring in the United States of America from 15th April to 6th June 2022.
- Similarly, the Indian Athletics 400-metre and 4×100 metres teams will undergo training-cum-competition in Antalya in Turkey from 10th April to 6th June this year.
- Meanwhile, the Indian Yachting Team will get training and participate in events in Spain and France this April.
2022 Miami Open Tennis Tournament Overview:
- The 2022 Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters, and currently branded as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) tennis tournament was the 37th edition of the men’s and women’s event, held from March 22 to April 3, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida.
- It is part of the men’s ATP Tour Masters 1000 circuit, and part of the women’s WTA 1000 circuit.
- The Miami Open is usually held between March and April.
Complete list of Winners:
| Award | Winner | Runner-Up |
| Men’s Single | Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) | Casper Ruud (Norway) |
| Women’s Single | Iga Świątek (Poland) | Naomi Osaka (Japan) |
| Men’s Double | Hubert Hurkacz / John Isner | Wesley Koolhof / Neal Skupski |
| Women’s Double | Laura Siegemund / Vera Zvonareva | Veronika Kudermetova / Elise Mertens |
Daily CA On April 06 :
- National Maritime Day is annually observed on April 5, 2022.
- The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has arrested 1,459 touts and blocked 366 IRCTC agent IDs and 6,751 personal IDs as part of a month-long pan-India drive against illegal ticketing.
- Walmart-backed E-commerce giant Flipkart announced that it has constituted Flipkart Foundation.
- The Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) signed an agreement with the Indian company Adani Ports and SEZ Limited to set up an Indian Economic Zone at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) in Mirsarai of Chattogram.
- The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) Economic Outlook Survey has estimated India’s GDP to grow at 4% in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) with a minimum and maximum growth estimate of 6.0 per cent and 7.8 per cent, respectively.
- Aegon Life, a digital life insurance company, has partnered Ahalia Finforex, a Kerala-based diversified financial services firm, to provide life insurance access to the unorganized and unserved segments residing in tier 2, tier 3, and tier 4 towns.
- HDFC Limited will merge with HDFC Bank, creating a banking behemoth.
- State Bank of India (SBI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Border Security Force to offer special benefits to the serving and retired BSF personnel and family pensioners through the Central Armed Police Salary Package (CAPSP) Scheme.
- On April 04, 2022, The Indian government appointed senior Indian Foreign Service officer Vinay Mohan Kwatra as the new foreign secretary & he replaced incumbent Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, a 1984-batch IFS officer who will superannuate on April 30, 2022.
- Vikas Kumar, a 1988-batch officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service has been appointed as the new Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
- The 64th Annual Grammy Awards were held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada & it recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021.
- Mumbai-based Scroll.in reporter Aarefa Johari has won the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Mediaperson 2021.
- The Assam Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the environment and forest department of the State and Agence Francaise de Development, a French funding agency, to foster bilateral dialogue in the field of environment.
- Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur launched six new and rare Reference Materials (RMs), the highest form of chemical required for anti-doping analysis in all World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratories throughout the world.
- Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has launched the Broadcast Seva Portal in New Delhi.
- The Centre has sanctioned three crore 65,00,000 rupees for international exposure trips of Indian Athletics and Yachting teams.
- The 2022 Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters, and currently branded as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) tennis tournament was the 37th edition of the men’s and women’s event, held from March 22 to April 3, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida.