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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS
International Day of Human Space Flight -12 April
- The United Nations (UN) celebrates the International Day of Human Space Flight on April 12 each year.
- The day remembers the first human space flight on April 12, 1961.
- The day was proclaimed at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly on April 7, 2011, a few days before the 50th anniversary of the flight.
- In the Soviet Union, the day is observed as the International Day of Aviation and Cosmonautics.
- April 12, 1961, was the date of the first human space flight, carried out by Yuri Gagarin.
- In 2011 the UN declared April 12 as the International Day of Human Space Flight to remember the first human space flight and to promote the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes and to the benefit of humankind.
National Safe Motherhood Day- April 11
- National Safe Motherhood Day is observed every year on April 11.
- It is aimed at raising awareness about the care that a pregnant woman needs before, during, and after childbirth.
- In 2003, the Indian government designated the day of Kasturba Gandhi’s birthday, April 11, as National Safe Motherhood Day in response to the proposal of
- The Main Aim 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 2022:
- World Parkinson’s Day belongs to the Parkinson’s community.
- This year, on 11 April, Parkinson’s UK is supporting 2 activities, chosen and led by a group of dedicated and passionate volunteers: Poems for Parkinson’s and Light Up Blue for Parkinson’s.
- This year, the theme is integrated healthcare.
- The day marks the birthday of Dr James Parkinson from London, who was the first person to systematically described the six individuals with the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS
President Ramnath Kovind Inaugurates Madhavpur Ghed Fair:
- President Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated a five-day fair at Madhavpur Ghed village in Gujarats Porbandar district.
- This fair is held to celebrate the wedding of Lord Krishna and Goddess Rukmani at Madhavpur Ghed, a famous pilgrimage spot.
- The fair was suspended for two years due to Covid-induced restrictions.
- Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat, chief minister (CM) Bhupendra Patel, Sikkim CM Prem Singh Tamang, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma and other ministers were also present at the inaugural function.
- The famous Madhavray temple was originally built in the village in the 13th century.
- Every year, the five-day fair begins on Ram Navami, which falls on April 10 this year.
PM Modi virtually addressed 14th Foundation Day of Umiya Mata Temple:
- Prime Minister Modi was virtually addressing the 14th foundation day celebrations of Umiya Mata Temple in Junagadh on Ramnavami.
- The inauguration of the temple was also done by Mr.Modi in 2008, when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Umiya Mata Temple – a religious place in Junagadh of Gujarat has now become the center of social consciousness.
- The temple is serving the poor people of the society through free health care services along with religious and social activities.
GoI launched the Broadcast Seva platform to increase transparency:
- The Broadcast Seva Portal was developed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to improve the convenience of doing business in the broadcast industry.
- This will be an online portal option for broadcasters to quickly file and process applications for various types of licences, permissions, registrations, and other things.
- The digital approach, will make it easier for stakeholders to obtain authorization, apply for registration, track applications, calculate fees, and make payments.
- Private satellite TV channels, teleport operators, MSOs (multiple system operators), and community and private radio channels will all benefit from this.
- End-to-end processing, integration with payment systems, E-Office, and stakeholder ministries, analytics, reporting, and management information systems.
- The new platform, according to Apurva Chandra, secretary, ministry of I&B, has significant upgrades over the previous version and has been incorporating comments from stakeholders throughout a one-month testing period.
CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Ecuador Becomes First Country to Recognise Animal Legal Rights
- Ecuador, in South America, has made history by becoming the first country to recognise the legal rights of individual wild animals.
About Estrellita case :
- Estrellita was one-month-old when she was taken away from the forest illegally; for 18 years thereafter, she was kept as a pet.
- Estrellita was then seized by local authorities and suffered a sudden cardio-respiratory arrest within a month of being relocated to a zoo, where she died.
- Meanwhile, her owner, librarian Ana Beatriz Burbano Proaño filed a habeas corpus petition, a legal mechanism to determine if the detention of an individual is valid.
- She asked for Estrellita to be returned to her and for the court to declare that the monkeys rights had been violated.
- It is important to note that owning wild animals is illegal in Ecuador.
- The court also called for Ecuador’s ministry of wildlife to create more rules and procedures to ensure that the constitutional rights of wild animals are respected.
About Ecuador :
- President: Guillermo Lasso
- Capital: Quito
- Currency: United States Dollar
CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE
Tata AIA Life Insurance tie up with CSC for making insurance accessible to rural India
- One of India’s fastest growing life insurers, Tata AIA Life Insurance Co Ltd, has partnered with Common Services Centers (CSC), under the Ministry of Electronics & IT to engage its network of over 4 lakh Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) at the last mile for distribution of life insurance plans.
- The partnership will allow Tata AIA Life Insurance to augment its reach to around 95% of gram panchayats, building in-roads to make life insurance accessible to the remotest areas of Bharat.
- Through its network, CSC will offer Tata AIA Life POS Smart Income Plus plan that provides the dual advantage of a life cover combined with savings.
- The plan offers guaranteed payouts of 120% of the Annualized Premium under the Regular Income Benefit option and a life cover to help protect loved ones.
- Under this plan, one can go for a sum assured up to INR 24,97,000.
- By paying premiums for 7 years, customers can enjoy a life cover for 15 years.
About Tata AIA Life Insurance :
- Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited (Tata AIA Life) is a joint venture company, formed by Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. and AIA Group Ltd. (AIA).
- Founded: 23 August 2000
- CEO: Naveen Tahilyani
- Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
About Common Services Centers :
- Founded : 16 July 2009
- Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
- Chairman : Ajay Prakash Sawhney
- MD : Dr. Dinesh Kumar Tyagi
- CEO : Sanjay Kumar Rakesh
CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla To Be India’s G20 Chief Coordinator
- Foreign secretary Harshvardhan Shringla has been appointed Chief Coordinator G20 Summit.
- His appointment is effective from May 01, 2022 & will hold the post till Dec 2023.
Note :
- The G20 Summit would be the largest multilateral occasion hosted by India in recent times and can entail all P5 (US-Russia-China-UK-France) delegations concurrently in India,
- As many as 10,000 international delegates are expected to attend the 2023 Summit and it would require monumental coordination efforts.
About Harsh Vardhan Shringla :
- Harsh Vardhan Shringla is an Indian Foreign Service Officer who served as the 33rd Foreign Secretary of India from 29 January 2020 to 30 April 2022.
- He served as the Ambassador of India to the United States of America, Ambassador to Thailand and High Commissioner to Bangladesh.
- He has served in the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi as Joint Secretary (Director General) responsible for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Maldives.
- He served as Director of the Northern Division dealing with Nepal and Bhutan and as Deputy Secretary of the Europe West Division.
- Shringla’s tenure as Foreign Secretary coincided with India’s election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC).
- He oversaw the election campaign with India receiving 184 out of 192 votes polled.
- A key priority of the Shringla was the promotion of the 3 Ts Trade, Tourism and Technology.
About G20 :
- Founded: 26 September 1999
- Chairman: Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia
- The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU).
- To address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation, and sustainable development.
Dr Manoj Soni appointed as Chairman of UPSC
- Dr Manoj Soni was appointed as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
- He has been appointed to replace the previous UPSC chairman Pradip Kumar Joshi.
- Dr Soni will have a tenure of upto June 27, 2023.
- He is the 31st chairman of the UPSC.
About Dr Manoj Soni :
- Earlier, he had served three terms as vice-chancellor (VC)- two consecutive terms as VC of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University (BAOU) for six years (2009-2015), and one term as VC of The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (The MSU of Baroda) for three years (2005-2008).
- He has also been a member of the quasi-judicial body constituted by the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Act.
- He has authored a book, Understanding the Global Political Earthquake.
Awards & Recognition :
- Honorary Mayor-President of the City of Baton Rouge by the Mayor-President of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.A. in 2013, for his exemplary leadership in empowering disadvantaged sections of society with IT literacy.
- In 2015, Dr Soni was conferred with the World Education Congress Global Award for Distance Learning Leadership by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, London, UK.
Note :
- At the age of 40, he became the VC of The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, which made him the youngest ever VC in the country.
- For the first time, a person (Dr Soni) from Gujarat has been elected as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
About UPSC :
- Established : 1 October 1926
- Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
CURRENT AFFAIRS : AWARDS & HONORS
Veteran Bengali Author Amar Mitra Wins Prestigious 2022 O. Henry Prize for short stories
- Famous Bengali author Amar Mitra was awarded with the prestigious 2022 O. Henry Prize for short stories.
- He has won for his work titled The Old Man of Kusumpur, originally written in Bengali with the title Gaonburo, 45 years back in 1977.
- A list of 20 authors, who have been awarded the coveted prize in 2022.
- The English translation of the story by Anish Gupta, a senior journalist, appeared in the web magazine, The Common, in 2021.
About Amar Mitra :
- Mitra was born in Kolkata and is a well known writer of Bengali literature.
Awards :
- Sahitya Akademi – 2006
- Bankim Puraskar 2001
- Katha Award for Short Story 1998
- Sarat Puraskar2002
- Gajendrakumar and Sumathnath Award2010
About O. Henry Award :
- The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to short stories of exceptional merit.
- The award is named after the American short-story writer Henry.
- It was first presented in 1919 and funded by the Society of Arts and Sciences.
- It is the oldest prominent award for short fiction in America.
- Earlier, many Nobel laureates, including Alice Munro, William Faulkner and others, have received the award.
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu confers Sangeet Natak Akademi and Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowships and Awards
- Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship and Sangeet Natak Awards for the year 2018 and National Awards of Lalit Kala Akademi to eminent artists at a special function held in New Delhi.
- Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship was given to four artists while 40 others were honoured with Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards.
The 4 fellows are :
- Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain
- Jatin Goswami
- Dr. Sonal Mansingh
- Thiruvidaimarudur Kuppiah Kalyanasundaram.
- Lalit Kala Akademi Awards were given to 23 personalities including 3 fellows.
- Himmat Shah
- Jyoti Bhatt
- Shyam Sharma.
- Sangeet Natak Akademi has also organised a festival of Performing Arts which is being held at Kamani Auditorium and Meghdoot Complex, Rabindra Bhavan in New Delhi till 19th of April.
About Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards :
- The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India’s National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama.
- It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists.
- The awards are given in the categories of music, dance, theatre, other traditional arts and puppetry, and for contribution/scholarship in performing arts.
CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS
DRDO & Indian Army Successfully flight-test of anti-tank guided missile Helina in Pokhran
- Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) & Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) jointly conducted the successful flight-test of the indigenously developed helicopter launched Anti-Tank Guided Missile HELINA at high-altitude ranges.
- The flight trials were conducted from an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and the missile was fired successfully engaging a simulated tank target.
- The missile is guided by an Imaging Infra-Red (IIR) Seeker operating in the Lock on Before Launch mode.
About HELINA :
- HELINA is one of the most advanced anti-tank weapons in the world.
- It has a maximum range of 7 kilometers and has been designed and developed for integration on weaponized versions of the ALH.
- It has been developed by Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad under the Missiles and Strategic Systems (MSS) cluster of the DRDO.
- The missile system has all-weather, day and night capability and can defeat battle tanks with conventional armour as well as explosive reactive armour.
- It has been developed for integration with choppers in both the Army and the Air Force.
- The Air Force version of Helina is sometimes referred to as Dhruvastra.
About DRDO :
- Founded: 1958
- Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
- Chairman : Dr G. Satheesh Reddy
About Indian Army :
- Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee : General Manoj Mukund Naravane
- Chief of the Army Staff : General Manoj Mukund Naravane
CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Pakistan successfully conducts test flight of ballistic missile Shaheen-III
- Pakistan’s Army conducted a successful flight test of the surface-to-surface medium-range ballistic missile Shaheen-III.
Aim :
- To revalidate various design and technical parameters of the weapon system.
About Shaheen-III :
- Shaheen-III is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 2,750 kilometres, which makes it capable of reaching the farthest point in India’s northeast and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- It is solid-fuelled and equipped with the Post-Separation Altitude Correction (PSAC) system.
- Solid fuel is suited for rapid response capabilities, while the PSAC feature provides it the ability to adjust the warhead trajectory for greater accuracy and evading anti-ballistic missile defence systems
Note :
- The missile was first tested in March 2015.
- In 2021 the Pakistan Army conducted a successful test launch of an “enhanced-range” version of the indigenously-developed Babur Cruise Missile 1B.
About Pakistan :
- Prime minister: Imran Khan
- Capital: Islamabad
- President: Arif Alvi
- Currency: Pakistani rupee
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS
Babar Azam, Rachael Haynes Named ICC Players of The Month For March 2022:
- Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was voted as the ICC ‘Men’s Player of the Month’ for March, while Australian opener Rachael Haynes bagged the honour among women.
- Azam amassed 390 runs in the three-Test series, which the hosts lost 0-1. Azam received the award ahead of West Indies Kraigg Brathwaite and Australia Test skipper Pat Cummins, and in doing so, became the first player to win the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award on two occasions, after being crowned back in April 2021.
- Rachael Haynes had a formidable set of displays on the road to Australia’s seventh ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup trophy.
- She scored 429 runs in eight games at an average of 61.28.
- She overcame fellow nominees Sophie Ecclestone (England) and Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa) for the award.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES
Actor-screenwriter Shiv Kumar Subramaniam passes away:
- Actor-screenwriter Shiv Kumar Subramaniam has passed away.
- Subramaniam was last seen in the movie Meenakshi Sundareshwar. Hichki, Rocky Handsome, and Kaminey were some of the other films he had starred in.
- He started his career by writing a screenplay for the 1989 film Parinda which was directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra.
- He won the Filmfare Award for Best Story for Hazaron Khawaishein Aisis.
- Subramaniam was honoured with the Filmfare Awards for his work as a writer for films like Parinda and Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi.
- He had also achieved popularity for roles in TV shows like Kismat and Mukti Bandhan
Daily CA on April 13:
- The United Nations (UN) celebrates the International Day of Human Space Flight on April 12 each year.
- National Safe Motherhood Day is observed every year on April 11.
- World Parkinson’s Day belongs to the Parkinson’s community.
- President Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated a five-day fair at Madhavpur Ghed village in Gujarat’s Porbandar district.
- Prime Minister Modi was virtually addressing the 14th foundation day celebrations of Umiya Mata Temple in Junagadh on Ramnavami.
- The Broadcast Seva Portal was developed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to improve the convenience of doing business in the broadcast industry.
- Ecuador, in South America, has made history by becoming the first country to recognise the legal rights of individual wild animals.
- One of India’s fastest growing life insurers, Tata AIA Life Insurance Co Ltd, has partnered with Common Services Centers (CSC), under the Ministry of Electronics & IT to engage its network of over 4 lakh Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) at the last mile for distribution of life insurance plans.
- Foreign secretary Harshvardhan Shringla has been appointed Chief Coordinator G20 Summit & his appointment is effective from May 01, 2022 & will hold the post till Dec 2023.
- Dr Manoj Soni was appointed as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) & He has been appointed to replace the previous UPSC chairman Pradip Kumar Joshi.
- Famous Bengali author Amar Mitra was awarded with the prestigious 2022 O. Henry Prize for short stories & he has won for his work titled The Old Man of Kusumpur, originally written in Bengali with the title Gaonburo, 45 years back in 1977.
- Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship and Sangeet Natak Awards for the year 2018 and National Awards of Lalit Kala Akademi to eminent artists at a special function held in New Delhi.
- Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) & Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) jointly conducted the successful flight-test of the indigenously developed helicopter launched Anti-Tank Guided Missile HELINA at high-altitude ranges.
- Pakistan’s Army conducted a successful flight test of the surface-to-surface medium-range ballistic missile Shaheen-III.
- Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was voted as the ICC ‘Men’s Player of the Month’ for March, while Australian opener Rachael Haynes bagged the honour among women.
- Actor-screenwriter Shiv Kumar Subramaniam has passed away.