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URRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS
World Book and Copyright Day -23rd April
- Every year on April 23, World Book and Copyright Day is observed to promote the love of reading.
- World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote reading, publishing, and copyright.
- The first World Book Day was celebrated on 23 April in 1995, and continues to be recognized on that day.
- Guadalajara, Mexico, will be the World Book Capital in 2022, with a year-long programme focusing on the role of books and reading in inspiring social change, combating violence, and cultivating a culture of peace.
English Language and Spanish Language Day-23rd April 2022:
- UN Spanish Language Day is observed annually on 23 April.
- The event was established by the UN’s Department of Public Information in 2010, seeking “to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the organization”.
- English Language Day at the UN is celebrated on 23 April, the date traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare.
- The Day is the result of a 2010 initiative by the Department of Global Communications, establishing language days for each of the Organization’s six official languages.
- The purpose of the UN’s language days is to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the Organization.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS
NITI Aayog to organize a day-long national workshop on Innovative Agriculture on April 25:
- As part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, NITI Aayog is organizing a day-long national workshop on Innovative Agriculture.
- The workshop is expected to bring together stakeholders working in the field of innovative agriculture and natural-farming practices from India and abroad.
- Deliberations will be held in key areas related to the promotion of natural farming, its role in soil health restoration, and climate change mitigation.
- The workshop will be addressed by Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Parshottam Rupala, Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Member Dr. Ramesh Chand, and CEO Amitabh Kant.
- Natural farming practices are mostly in harmony with the principles of agroecology advocated by the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO.
- It offers viable solutions to improve the livelihood of farmers while reducing the environmental impact of chemical agriculture.
Govt sets target to increase the number of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras to 10,000 by March 2024:
- The Union Government has set a target to increase the number of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras to 10,000 by March 2024.
- Chemicals and Fertilizers Ministry said that the government has invited applications to open Janaushadhi Kendras in three thousand five hundred 79 Blocks of four hundred six districts of 26 States and Union Territories.
- It highlighted that under the scheme, seven hundred 39 districts of the country have been covered and eight thousand six hundred ten stores have been opened till March.
- About fifteen thousand crore rupees have been saved by the general public under this scheme.
- Any Individuals, Unemployed Pharmacists, Government nominated agencies, NGOs, trusts, and Societies can apply for
- The applications have been invited through an online process. Interested applicants
- can apply on PMBI’s website – gov.in
India Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Conference 2022 to be held on April 25:
- The 7th edition of the India Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Conference 2022 will be held in New Delhi.
- The theme of the three-day conference is – Vision 2047: Transformative roadmap for the future.
- The conference aims at bringing together the pharma industry and medical device manufacturing players, stakeholders, and academia to deliberate upon the future roadmap of the industry in the next 25 years.
- In addition to this, industry players would also deliberate on how to strengthen the manufacturing industry.
- The government will also bring a policy for research and innovation for the patented drug manufacturing industry, for which a brainstorming session will also be held at the conference.
- Mandaviya expressed hope that this conference will prove to be fruitful for stakeholders to set an effective roadmap for the industries.
PM Modi inaugurates development projects worth Rs 22,000 crore in Gujarat:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone and inaugurated the various development projects worth 22,000 crore rupees at a special function organised at Dahod in Gujarat.
- This includes the manufacturing project of 9,000 HP Electric Locomotives at the Railway Production Unit in Dahod.
- The project will be completed at the cost of around 20,000 crore rupees.
- Dahod workshop- established in 1926 for periodic overhaul of steam locomotives will be upgraded to electric locomotive manufacturing unit with infrastructural improvements.
- It will provide direct and indirect employment to over 10,000 people.
Apple announces partnership for protection, conservation of mangroves in Maharashtra:
- Apple has announced a new partnership with the Applied Environmental Research Foundation and Conservation International to protect the mangrove ecosystem and the livelihoods that depend on it in the Raigad district of Maharashtra.
- Apple awarded a grant to the Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF) in 2021 to work with the local community to protect a 2,400-hectare mangrove forest in the region.
- The region provides an important buffer against the most dangerous impacts of climate change.
- The goal of the partnership is to help transition the local economy to one that relies on keeping mangroves intact and healthy.
CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE
BHIM UPI goes live at NeoPay terminals in UAE
- NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of the National Payment Corporation of India, has announced that BHIM UPI is now live at NEOPAY terminals across the UAE.
- It will empower millions of Indians who travel to the UAE, to safely and conveniently make payments using BHIM UPI.
- In 2021, NIPL and NEOPAY, the payment subsidiary of Mashreq Bank, partnered, to create the acceptance infrastructure in the UAE.
- With this Indian tourists can now make seamless payments through BHIM UPI across NEOPAY enabled shops and merchant stores.
- This partnership will play a key role in transforming the P2M payment experience for Indian travelers in the UAE.
- The implementation of BHIM UPI in the UAE is a stepping stone toward providing a major boost to digital payments in the country.
- NIPL is consistently working towards simplifying digital payments and driving digital public goods across the globe with our cutting-edge solutions.
About NIPL :
- Established : 2020
- CEO : Ritesh Shukla
- Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra
SEBI Issues Rs 2 Crore Recovery Notice To Former NSE Chief Ravi Narain
- Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) sent a fine of ₹2.06 crore to former National Stock Exchange (NSE) chief Ravi Narain in a case related to governance lapses at the stock exchange.
- SEBI directed Narain to pay ₹2.06 crore, which includes interest and recovery cost, within 15 days.
- Also in the same matter, SEBI imposed a penalty of Rs 3 crore on Narain’s successor Chitra Ramkrishna in the key appointment as well as for sharing confidential information of the company with an unidentified person.
About SEBI :
- Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Chairperson : Madhabi Puri Buch
- It was established on 12 April 1988 and given Statutory Powers on 30 January 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992.
CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS
Govt Appoints C Muhammed Faizi as Member of Haj Committee of India
- In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3, 4, 5 and 6 read with Section 15 (1) of the Haj Committee Act, 2002(35 of 2002), the Central Government, has appointed C Muhammed Faizi as a member of the Haj Committee of India for a period of 3 years with effect from April 21, 2022 up to March 31, 2025.
- Ministry of Minority Affairs, in a gazette notification, mentions the appointment of Faizi as a member of the Haj Committee of India “under sub-section (11), of Section 4 of Haj Committee Act, 2002″.
- The Ministry of Minority Affairs is the nodal ministry to conduct the Haj pilgrimage in India.
- Haj pilgrimage for the Indian pilgrims is conducted either through the Haj Committee of India (HCoI), which is a statutory organization under the administrative control of the Ministry of Minority Affairs or through the Haj Group Organisers (HGOs) dully approved by the Ministry.
About Haj Committee of India :
- Haj Committee of India is a statutory body under the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
- It is set up under the provisions of the Haj Committee Act, 2002.
- It is a body corporate having perpetual succession.
- It has the responsibility of making arrangements for the pilgrimage of Muslims for Hajj, and for matters connected therewith.
About Ministry of Minority Affairs :
- Minister : Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
- Minister of State : John Barla
CURRENT AFFAIRS : AWARDS & HONORS
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy gets John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award 2022
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is among five people being named as recipients of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for acting to protect democracy.
- Zelenskyy was chosen because of the way he has “marshaled the spirit, patriotism and untiring sacrifice of the Ukrainian people.”
Other 4 people :
- Republican U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming
- Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson
- Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers and Fulton County, Georgia,
- Elections worker Wandrea Shaye Moss.
- Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, will present the awards May 22 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.
About John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award 2022 :
- The award was created by the family of the late president to honor public figures who risk their careers by embracing unpopular positions for the greater good, and is named after Kennedys 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Profiles in Courage.
Sir David Attenborough bestowed as champions of the Lifetime Achievement award 2021
- The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced that Sir David Attenborough is the recipient of the Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication to research, documentation, and advocacy for the protection of nature and its restoration.
- This Lifetime Achievement Award is given in a historic year for the global environmental community.
- 2022 marks fifty years since the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, which was one of the first international meetings on the environment.
- Previous laureates include environmental justice advocate Robert Bullard (2020), environment and indigenous rights defender Joan Carling (2018) and plant biologist José Sarukhán Kermez (2016).
- The four other Champions of the Earth award categories are Entrepreneurial Vision, Policy Leadership, Science and Innovation, and Inspiration and Action.
About Sir David Attenborough :
- Atten borough’s career as a broadcaster, natural historian, author, and environmental advocate spans over seven decades.
- He is most famous for his work with the BBCs Natural History Unit, including documentaries such as Life on Earth, the Living Planet, Our Planet and Our Blue Planet.
- He has been a long-time and staunch supporter of environmental multilateralism.
- He is the only person to have won BAFTAs in all of the categories black and white, colour, high-definition, 3D and 4K resolutions.
About the UNEP Champions of the Earth :
- The UN Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth honours individuals, groups, and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment.
- The annual Champions of the Earth Award is the UNs highest environmental honour.
- UNEP established Champions of the Earth in 2005 as an annual awards programme to recognize outstanding environmental leaders from the public and private sectors, and from civil society.
About UNEP :
- Established : 5 June 1972
- Headquarters : Nairobi, Kenya
CURRENT AFFAIRS : MOU & AGREEMENTS
IIT Delhi Inks MoU with POSOCO for Research on India’s Power Sector
- IIT Delhi inked MoU with Power System Operation Corporation Limited (Posoco)-NRLDC.
- The agreement was made to encourage research on issues relating to India’s power sector and strengthen collaboration between academia and industry.
- The MoU was signed on the IIT Delhi campus by NRLDC (POSOCO) Chief Rajiv Kumar Porwal and FITT Chief Operating Officer Col Naveen Gopal (Retd).
Goal :
- To improve academia-industry interaction with the objective of knowledge sharing and capacity building through collaboration as well as to promote research on topics related to India’s power sector.
Additional Info :
- Previously, IIT Delhi collaborated with Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to address water security challenges in Delhi.
- As per this partnership, both organizations will work together on specified research and development initiatives in the areas of water supply and distribution, wastewater transportation, treatment, recycling, reuse, and disposal.
About POSOCO :
- Founded: March 2009
- Headquarters: New Delhi, India
- Chairman and Managing Director : Mr.S.R Narasimhan
- Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) is a wholly owned Government of India Schedule A enterprise under the Union Ministry of Power.
- It is responsible to ensure the integrated operation of the National electricity Grid in a secure manner.
- It consists of five Regional Load Despatch Centres (RLDCs) and the National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC) under The Electricity Act, 2003.
NITI Aayog, UNICEF sign pact on SDGs focusing on children
- Government think tank NITI Aayog and UNICEF India signed a statement of intent (SoI) on sustainable development goals (SDGs) with a focus on children.
- The SoI seeks to formalise a framework of cooperation to launch the first report on the State of Indias Children: Status and Trends in Multidimensional Child Development.
- The SoI has been signed by Sanyukta Samaddar, NITI Aayogs nodal officer, and Hyun Hee Ban, UNICEF India chief of social policy, in the presence of Rajiv Kumar, vice chairman, NITI Aayog.
- Under the SDGs, UNICEF India and NITI Aayog are formulating a comprehensive measure to understand the multi-dimensional attainments and deprivations among children across health and nutrition, education, water and sanitation and household living standards.
- The effort will contribute to the realisation of Indias commitments on the 2030 Agenda and provide a set of policy recommendations for concerted action in terms of accelerating progress towards the SDGs to leave no child behind and achieving their holistic development.
- The project will undertake a whole-of-society approach involving all stakeholders ranging from Union ministries, state governments, civil society organisations, and child rights collectives.
- The new initiative with UNICEF is built on the ethos of SDG attainments for children and ensuring that no child is left behind.
About NITI Aayog :
- Formed: 1 January 2015
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- Chairperson: Narendra Modi
- CEO : Amitabh Kant
About UNICEF :
- Headquarters : New York City, USA
- Head : Catherine M. Russell
OneWeb inks pact with ISRO for satellite launches
- Bharti group-backed OneWeb and New Space India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, have entered into an agreement that will help ensure OneWeb completes its satellite launch programme.
- The launches will add to low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications firm OneWeb’s total in-orbit constellation of 428 satellites ie.66 percent of the planned total fleet to build a global network that will deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity
- This launch contract follows a separate agreement announced in March 2022 between OneWeb and SpaceX to enable the company to resume satellite launches
- The first launch with New Space India is expected in 2022 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota, AP.
About OneWeb :
- OneWeb, the LEO satellite communications company, is owned in part by the UK government.
- Founded: 2012
- Headquarters location: London, United Kingdom
- CEO: Neil Masterson
About New Space India Limited :
- Founded : 6 March 2019
- Headquarters : Bangalore, Karnataka
- NSIL is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of Government of India and commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Objective :
- To scale up industry participation in Indian space programmes.
CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS
IAF, Indian Navy inks pact with DRDO to acquire CHAFF to shield warships fighter aircrafts
- The Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy have tied up with the Defence Research Development Organisation to get the CHAFF technology, which protects the warship from an anti-ship missile during hostilities.
- With this, India is the second country after the United States to develop this ability.
What is CHAFF?
- CHAFF is a critical defence technology used to protect fighter aircrafts or naval ships from enemy radar-guided missile during war.
Significance :
- It lies in the fact that very less quantity of CHAFF material deployed in the air acts as a decoy to deflect enemy’s missiles to ensure safety of the fighter aircraft or naval ships.
- The DRDO has developed this advanced CHAFF technology to defend naval Ships and fighter aircrafts against modern day broadband (including high frequency) radar threat.
- The technology includes all three variants of CHAFF rockets namely Short Range Chaff Rocket (SRCR), Medium Range Chaff Rocket (MRCR) and Long Range Chaff Rocket (LRCR).
- The DRDO has also developed advanced CHAFF cartridge-118/I for the Indian Air Force having major advantages over the chaff available worldwide in terms of its better efficacy against higher frequency radar threat in modern warfare scenario.
About IAF :
- Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee : General Manoj Mukund Naravane
- Chief of the Air Staff : Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari
About Indian Navy :
- Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
- Chief of the Naval Staff : Admiral R. Hari Kumar
About DRDO :
- Founded: 1958
- Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi
- Chairman : Dr G. Satheesh Reddy
CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES
Versatile Malayalam Screenwriter and producer John Paul passes away:
- Versatile Malayalam Screenwriter and producer John Paul passed away in Kochi.
- He was 71.
- John Paul has penned screenplays for several Malayalam films like Chamaram, Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam, Kattathekilikoodu, Yatra, Malootty, besides several other critically acclaimed movies and commercial entertainers.
- He also authored several books related to Malayalam cinema.
- The veteran screenwriter has won several awards including the national award for the best environmental film, the film critics award for script and documentaries, and a special jury award instituted by the International Federation of Film Critics among others.
- Several noted film personalities have condoled the death of John Paul.
Daily CA on April 24 :
- Every year on April 23, World Book and Copyright Day is observed to promote the love of reading.
- UN Spanish Language Day is observed annually on 23 April.
- As part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, NITI Aayog is organizing a day-long national workshop on Innovative Agriculture.
- The Union Government has set a target to increase the number of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras to 10,000 by March 2024.
- The 7th edition of the India Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Conference 2022 will be held in New Delhi.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone and inaugurated the various development projects worth 22,000 crore rupees at a special function organised at Dahod in Gujarat.
- Apple has announced a new partnership with the Applied Environmental Research Foundation and Conservation International to protect the mangrove ecosystem and the livelihoods that depend on it in the Raigad district of Maharashtra.
- NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of the National Payment Corporation of India, has announced that BHIM UPI is now live at NEOPAY terminals across the UAE.
- Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) sent a fine of ₹2.06 crore to former National Stock Exchange (NSE) chief Ravi Narain in a case related to governance lapses at the stock exchange.
- In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3, 4, 5 and 6 read with Section 15 (1) of the Haj Committee Act, 2002(35 of 2002), the Central Government, has appointed C Muhammed Faizi as a member of the Haj Committee of India for a period of 3 years with effect from April 21, 2022 up to March 31, 2025.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is among five people being named as recipients of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for acting to protect democracy.
- The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced that Sir David Attenborough is the recipient of the Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication to research, documentation, and advocacy for the protection of nature and its restoration.
- IIT Delhi inked MoU with Power System Operation Corporation Limited (Posoco)-NRLDC & the agreement was made to encourage research on issues relating to India’s power sector and strengthen collaboration between academia and industry.
- Government think tank NITI Aayog and UNICEF India signed a statement of intent (SoI) on sustainable development goals (SDGs) with a focus on children.
- Bharti group-backed OneWeb and New Space India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, have entered into an agreement that will help ensure OneWeb completes its satellite launch programme.
- The Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy have tied up with the Defence Research Development Organisation to get the CHAFF technology, which protects the warship from an anti-ship missile during hostilities.
- Versatile Malayalam Screenwriter and producer John Paul passed away in Kochi.