April 2021 Daily News Current Affairs

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Apr 30, 2021

Apr 30 is observed as Ayushman Bharat Diwas, being observed since 2018. Under Ayushman Bharat / Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), Health Insurance of 5 lakh rupees per family is given to a family.
1. Apr 30 is also Observed as International Jazz Day, declared by UNESCO in 2011.
Visits from India (April 2021) -
1. Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria Visited France.
2. Army Chief MM Naravane Visited Bangladesh.
Last week of April is observed annually as World Immunization Week, to raise awareness about immunization.
1. WHO unveiled plans to vaccinate 50 Million children by 2030, as ongoing pandemic has disrupted access to routine vaccinations for children.

2021 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships (Kielce, Poland) -

Medal Table -

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	India	8	0	3	11
2	Russia	3	5	3	11
3	Uzbekistan	3	1	6	10
4	Kazakhstan	2	4	4	10
5	Ukraine	1	3	2	6

India remained at top, with 11 Medals (8 Gold, 3 Bronze).

India and Russia announced establishment of a new 2+2 dialogue at foreign and defence minister level, to enhance co-operation.
1. So far, India has this mechanism with US, Japan, and Australia.
Book Akhtari: The Life and Music of Begum Akhtar, edited by Yatindra Mishra has been released.
Visits to India (April 2021) -
1. John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, visited India.
2. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Visited India.
3. Kazakhstan Defence Minister Nurlan Yermekbayev visited India.
4. Foreign Minister of Bahrain, Abdullatif bin Rashid AlZayani visited India.
5. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian visited India -
  1. To assist India in its First human spaceflight mission Called Gaganyaan, French space agency CNES signed agreement with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). ISRO will also be using French expertise in setting up its own space station.
President promulgated The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and conditions of Service) Ordinance 2021, which dissolved appellate authorities under nine acts and transferred their functions to high courts. Acts are -
1. Cinematograph Act 1952
2. Copyrights Act 1957
3. Trade Marks Act 1999
4. Customs Act 1962
5. Airports Authority of India Act 1994
6. Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act 1999
7. Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act 2002
8. Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act 2001
9. Patents Act 1970
As per a Bank of America Report, India needs USD 401 billion in capital investment, to save over 100 GW of energy and 1.1 billion tonne of greenhouse gasses between 2015 and 2030, to meet measures to control pollution under Paris climate agreement.
1. India's Carbon Emission Check Progress -
  1. As per 3rd Biennial Report submitted to UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), India’s emission intensity of GDP reduced by 24 % between 2005 and 2016, achieving its goal to reduce emission intensity of GDP by 20-25 % from 2005 levels, much earlier than target year of 2020.
  2. In 2015, India raised ambition in its nationally determined contributions (NDC) to reduce emission intensity of its GDP by 33-35 % below 2005 levels, by 2030.
  3. India’s share of non-fossil fuel-based energy has already reached 38 %, against NDC target of 40 % by 2030.
  4. India announced to achieve 175 GW renewable energy capacity by 2022, which was subsequently enhanced to 450 GW by 2030.
  5. India has however, not yet announced a net zero emission target like many other major economies, which mostly aim to achieve it by 2050.
General Conferences (Apr 21-30, 2021) -
1. UK became first country to regulate use of self-driving vehicles at slow speeds (Up to 60 KMPH) on motorways.
2. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal will represent Delhi and India at World Cities Culture Forum 2021, with theme The Future of Culture.
3. Australian Govt revoked Victorian state government's deal to join China's Belt and Road Initiative, stating it as inconsistent with Australian foreign policy.
4. Govt annouced to bring around 9 million hectares of land under mustard cultivation and raise its production to around 17 million tonnes by 2025-26.
5. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman virtually inaugurated first 3D printed house in India at IIT Madras.
6. Ghana Govt, Bharti Airtel and Millicom International Cellular announced execution of agreement for transfer of Airtel Tigo, to Government of Ghana.
7. First ever UN Food Systems Summit will be be held in September 2021, to strategize the actions for positive change in Agri-food systems in World, to realize vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Apr 29, 2021
1. Apr 29 - International Dance Day. It marks birth anniversary of Jean-Georges Noverre (born on 29 April 1727), a French dancer, and creator of modern ballet, and great reformer of dance.
2. India retained its position as 3rd biggest military spender in world in 2020, according to SIPRI Military Expenditure Report -
  1. Top 5 - US ($778 billion), China ($252 billion), India ($72.9 billion), Russia ($61.7 billion) and UK ($59.2 billion).
  2. Globally, military spending in 2020 rose to $1981 billion, rise of 2.6 % compared to 2019.
3. 2020 Asian Weightlifting Championships (Tashkent (Uzbekistan)) -
  1. India ranked at 8th place in Big (Total result) Ranking, with 1 Gold and 1 Bronze. China remained at top.
  2. India ranked at 5th place in all medals - Big (Total result) and Small (Snatch and Clean & Jerk), with 4 Gold and 1 Bronze. China remained at top.
  3. Jhilli Dalabehera won gold for India in Women's 45 kg Category.
4. Marine ecosystem conservation Programme Blue Nature Alliance has been launched, Including 5 organizations such as Conservation International and Global Environment Facility (GEF). It Aims to -
  1. Conserve 18 million square kilometres of ocean in 5 years.
  2. Protect 5% of world’s ocean in 5 years.
  3. Help achieve 30% ocean conservation by 2030.
5. Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul has been awarded Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize (named after former Czech dissident and later President), for her fight for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia.
  1. It is awarded annually for civil society action in defence of human rights by Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
6. Punjab Govt approved hike in assistance under Ashirwad scheme, from 21000 to 51000 per beneficiary.
  1. Earlier in 2017, assiatance was enhanced from 15000 to 21000, and scheme was renamed from Shagun to Ashirward scheme.
  2. Under this, state Govt provides financial assistance for girl's marriage, belonging to low income groups.
Apr 28, 2021
1. Cabinet Approvals (Apr 28, 2021)
  1. MOUs -
    1. UK - Customs Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters
2. Apr 28 - World Day for Safety and Health at Work, observed annually since 2003.
  1. It is also observed as Workers' Memorial Day.
3. European Parliament ratified post-Brexit trade deal between European Union and United Kingdom, clearing hurdle towards ratification of EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which will ensure post-brexit continuation of tariff and quota-free trade.
4. China's first Mars rover has been named Zhurong, after a traditional fire god. The rover, currently aboard China's Mars probe Tianwen-1, will land on Mars in May 2021.
5. China launched core module of its space station into orbit, with Long March-5B Y2 rocket carrying Tianhe module. It will be part of Tiangong space station, to be completed by 2022.
  1. Also, Chinese space-mining start-up Origin space launched a robot prototype called NEO-01 into low orbit, that can scoop up scape debris, using a big net.
6. Microsoft and UK Govt partnered to build most powerful forecast weather and climate change supercomputer in world, to be operational by 2022.
7. Archery World Cup 2021 (Leg 1 - Guatemala) -
  1. India won 3 Gold Medals -
    1. Atanu Das (Men's individual)
    2. Deepika Kumari (Women's individual)
    3. Komalika Bari, Ankita Bhakat, Deepika Kumari (Women's Team)
  2. Also, India won 1 Bronze in Mixed Team event (Ankita Bhakat, Atanu Das).
8. Indian firms Reliance's Jio Platforms and e-learning startup Byju's have been featured in Time Magazine's 2021 list of 100 most influential companies.
9. RBI capped tenure of Whole-time directors, MD and CEOs of commercial banks to 15 years.
10. RBI joined Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) as a Member, which was Launched at Paris One Planet Summit in 2017.
  1. NGFS is group of central banks willing to share best practices and contribute to development of environment and climate risk management in financial sector.
11. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military exercise DEFENDER-Europe 21 began in Albania, with participation from US and several european nations.
12. Govt appointed T V Somanathan as new Finance Secretary of India, replacing Ajay Bhushan Pandey.
13. ICICI Bank launched digital banking platform, especially for retail merchants, called Merchant Stack.
14. Krithi K Karanth, Scientist at Bengaluru-based Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS), has been named as first Indian and Asian woman for 2021 'WILD Innovator Award, given by WILD ELEMENTS Foundation.
Apr 27, 2021
1. 19th edition of Indian and French Navy bilateral exercise VARUNA 2021 concluded in Arabian Sea.
2. DRDO conducted First Trials of 5th generation Python-5 Air-to-Air Missile, onboard Indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).
3. India, Japan and Australia launched Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI), to build resilient supply chains in Indo-Pacific region, to reduce dependence on China.
  1. India was represented virtually by Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal.
4. President appointed Rajesh Bindal as Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, after retirement of T. B. Radhakrishnan.
5. 2021 Barcelona Open Men's Tennis -
  1. Singles - Rafael Nadal (Spain). He defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece).
  2. Doubles - Colombia's Juan Sebastián Cabal AND Robert Farah
6. Chandler Good Government Index 2021 -
  1. India ranked 49th in list.
  2. Top 3 - Finland (1), Switzerland (2), Singapore (3)
  3. Neighbors - China (40), Pakistan (90), Sri Lanka (74)
Apr 26, 2021
1. Apr 26 is observed as World Intellectual Property Day, established by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2000. On 26 Apr in 1970, WIPO had come in force. 2021 Theme is Intellectual property and small businesses: Taking big ideas to market.
  1. Apr 26 is also observed as UN International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day, Proclaimed in 2016. It aims to raise awareness of consequences of 1986 Chernobyl disaster and risks of nuclear energy.
2. Government nominated Ajay Seth (Economic Affairs Secretary) as a Director on Central Board of RBI, replacing Tarun Bajaj (who was recently appointed as Revenue Secretary). About RBI Board -
  1. Official Directors (Full-time) - Governor and not more than four Deputy Governors
  2. Non-Official Directors -
    1. 10 Directors Nominated by Government and 2 government Officials.
    2. 4 Directors - one each from four local RBI boards.
3. Jnanpith winning noted author Amitav Ghosh's new book The Living Mountain, will be released in 2022.

Apr 25, 2021

Apr 25 is observed as World Malaria Day, established by World Health Organization in 2007. 2021 Theme is Zero malaria starts with me (2019-2021).
1. Apr 25 also marks International Delegate’s Day. It was first observed in 2020, on 75th anniversary of San Francisco Conference (1945).
2. Apr 25 is also observed as World Penguin Day.

93rd Academy Awards (Oscars 2021) -

Awardees -

Category	Winner
Best Picture	Nomadland
Best Actress in a Leading Role	Frances McDormand (Nomadland)
Best Actor in a Leading Role	Anthony Hopkins ( The Father)
Best Direction	Chloé Zhao (Nomadland). This made Chinese-born filmmaker Chloe Zhao first Asian woman and only second woman ever to win Best Director at Oscars.
Best Supporting Actor	Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)
Best Supporting Actress	Youn Yuh-jung (Minari)
Best Original Score	Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross for Soul
Best Original Song	Fight for You from Judas and the Black Messiah
Best Animated Feature Film	Soul
Best Intrnational Feature Film / Foreign Language Film	Another Round (Denmark)
Best Animated Short Film	If Anything Happens I Love You
Best Documentary Feature	My Octopus Teacher
Best Documentary Short	Colette
Best Cinematography	Erik Messerschmidt, for Mank
Best Film editing	Mikkel E.G. Nielsen for Sound of Metal

Facts -
1. Oscars are most prestigious honour in Film Industry globally.
2. Hosted in Los Angles (California), US.
3. Most awards this year - Nomadland (3)
4. Most nominations - Mank (10)

India's Rumana Sinha Sehgal won Nelson Mandela World Humanitarian Award 2021 by Diplomatic Mission Global Peace, for her contribution to field of developing innovative and functional green products by recycling varied materials and non-biodegradable materials.
RBI approved appointment of former Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty as part-time chairman and additional director of HDFC Bank.

Apr 24, 2021
1. April 24 is Observed as -
  1. International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace, observed since 2019.
  2. World Day for Laboratory Animals.
  3. Apr 24, 2021 is also observed as World Veterinary Day. It is observed on Last Saturday of April.
2. National Panchayati Raj Day in India. It began in 2010. It marks passing of Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24 April 1993. On this occasion -
  1. PM Narendra Modi dedicated SVAMITVA Scheme to entire nation. He also launched distribution of e-property cards to 4.09 lakh property owners.
    1. Central Sector Scheme Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas’ (SVAMITVA) was launched by PM on 24th April 2020, in pilot phase. It aims at socio-economic empowerment of rural mass and making them self-reliant.
    2. It was approved for implementation at an outlay of 566 crores, over 5 years (2020-2025). It will cover approx 6.62 lakh villages.
  2. PM also confered National Panchayat Awards 2021, in mentioned categories -
    1. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar (224 Panchayats)
    2. Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar (30 Gram Panchayats)
    3. Gram Panchayat Development Plan Award (29 Gram Panchayats)
    4. Child-friendly Gram Panchayat Award (30 Gram Panchayats)
    5. e-Panchayat Puraskar (12 States) -
      1. Uttar Pradesh ranked at top, followed by Assam and Chhattisgarh at 2nd Odisha, Tamil Nadu at 3rd.
3. As per 3rd edition of Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Ranking -
  1. Top 3 -
    1. University of Manchester (UK)
    2. University of Sydney (Australia)
    3. RMIT University (Australia)
  2. India -
    1. Top 3 Indian Universities -
      1. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (81st)
      2. JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research (101 - 200)
      3. Lovely Professional University (101 - 200)
4. RBI decided not to activate countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) framework, analyzing current situation.
  1. RBI had in February 2005 put in place CCyB guidelines, to strengthen banking sector.
5. BRO's Project DANTAK completed its Diamond Jubilee (60 Years) in Bhutan, which was established on April 24, 1961.
  1. Amid importance of connectivity in socio-economic development and growth of Bhutan, DANTAK was tasked to construct motorable roads in Bhutan.
Apr 23, 2021
1. Apr 23 is observed as UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day. It is being observed since 1995. For 2021, Tbilisi (Capital of Georgia) is declared as World Book Capital.
  1. Apr 23 is also observed as Global English Language Day and Spanish Language Day.
  2. April 23 also observed as Khongjom Day in Indian state of Manipur, commemorating warriors who fought in 1891 Anglo-Manipur war.
    1. War was fought between 31 March and 27 April of 1891. It resulted in victory of British.
    2. The war has its significance in Indian history for bravery of soldiers that fought against three sides of British attack, that is, from Silchar, Kohima and Myanmar. Battle was fought at the Kheba hills of Khongjom in Manipur, hence named Khongjom Day.
2. South Korean electronics maker LG exited loss-making mobile phone business, to focus on other products / services.
3. FirstRand Bank, South Africa's second largest bank announced to exit its India Operations, few days after Citigroup announced to exit retail business in India.
4. Asian Development Bank (ADB) partnered with Global NGO Habitat for Humanity International to help microfinance institutions (MFIs) deliver housing loans to low-income families in rural and peri-urban areas of India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Philippines.
5. As per International Energy Agency (IEA) report, Global CO2 emissions will surge by 1.5 billion tonnes in 2021, to 33 billion tonnes.
  1. This will be 2nd largest increase in history. Key driver is coal demand which will grow by 4.5.
Apr 22, 2021
1. Apr 22 is observed as World Earth Day, Being Observed Since 1970. 2021 Theme is Restore Our Earth. On this occasion -
  1. NASA launched four astronauts to International Space Station. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled Crew Dragon spacecraft with NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, along with JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, for a 6 month mission.
  2. CII’s Indian Green Building Council launched ‘IGBC Mission on Net Zero’.
  3. Apr 22, 2021 is also observed as International Girls in ICT Day, observed annually on fourth Thursday in April.
  4. Indian Firm Wipro announced its goal to achieve Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 2040, in line with objective of Paris Agreement to cap temperature rise to 1.5 C.
2. Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy released first installment worth 672 crores under Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme for 2021-22. A total of 10.88 lakh students will benefit from this.
  1. This Scheme was launched to provide scholarships to students, who are unable to pay their fees because of financial issues.
3. National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) appointed Rekha M Menon (Accenture) as its Chairperson for 2021-22. She is first woman to take this role at NASSCOM.
Apr 21, 2021
1. World Press Freedom Index 2021 report by Reporters Without Borders (180 countries) -
  1. Norway topped the index for 5th consecutive year.
  2. Top 5 - Norway (1), Finland (2), Sweden (3), Denmark (4), Costarica (5)
  3. Bottom 3 - Turkmenistan (178th), North Korea (179th), Eritrea (178th)
  4. India's rank remained unchanged at 142nd.
  5. Neighbours - China (177th), Bangladesh (152), Pakistan (145), Sri Lanka (127th).
2. Apr 21 is marked as National Civil Services Day.
  1. It was on this day in 1947, That First Home Minister Sardar Shri Vallabhai Patel addressed first batch probationers of Administrative Services.
  2. Apr 21 is also observed as World Creativity and Innovation Day.
3. Indian PM Narendra Modi attended 2021 Leaders' virtual Climate Summit, organized by US. Representatives from 38 Nations attended. Notable pledges made by Large Economies -
  1. US -
    1. Announced to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% - 52%, relative to the level of 2005, by 2030.
    2. Submitted a new Nationally Determined Contribution to UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
  2. India Reaffirmed its target of installing 450 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030.
  3. European Union announced to reduce emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and by 100% by 2050.
  4. China Reaffirmed its pledges to peak its emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060.
4. Australia announced grant of AUD 1.4 million (8.12 crores INR) under Australian-India Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative Partnership (AIIPOIP), an initiative under Shared Vision for Maritime Cooperation in Indo-Pacific.
  1. AIIOIP is a four-year grant program (2020-2024). The grant round one of this initiative will be commissioned in 2021.
  2. India launched Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) at East Asia Summit in Bangkok in 2019, with focu on 7 pillars. Australia is leading partner on maritime ecology pillar.
5. India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) G C Murmu has been appointed as External Auditor of Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), based at The Hague (Netherlands).
6. India got elected to 3 UN Economic and Social Council bodies - Executive Board of UN Women, Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice- CCPCJ, and Executive Board of World Food Programme.
  1. UN ECOSOC is one of 6 major organs of UN, responsible for coordinating social and economic fields of UN.
7. Mountaineer Priyanka Mohite became first Indian woman to scale 10th highest mountain in world, Mt Annapurna (8091 Metres).
  1. She also holds record of being first Indian woman to scale Mt Makalu, 5th highest mountain in world (8485 meters).
8. Albert Pahimi Padacké has been appointed as new Prime Minister of African Nation Chad.
  1. Also, Mahamat Déby has been named interim President of Chad, after earlier president Idriss Déby was killed during clashes with rebels.
9. NASA’s Perseverance Rover successfully generated oxygen from thin atmosphere of Mars for first time ever.
  1. Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Rover, generated about 5 grams (equivalent to 10 minutes of breathable oxygen).
  2. It came a day after first flight of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter on MARS.
  3. It is part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission, that includes rover Perseverance and small robotic helicopter Ingenuity.
10. Energy Transition Index Report 2021 released by World Economic Forum -
  1. Top 3 - Sweden (1), Norway (2), Denmark (3)
  2. India ranked 87th out of 115 Nations in List.
  3. Neighbors - China (68), Pakistan (104), Bangladesh (97), Sri Lanka (69)
Apr 20, 2021
1. Apr 20 is observed as UN Chinese Language Day, being observed since 2010.
2. Miguel Díaz-Canel is named as new first secretary of Cuban Communist Party, most powerful position in Carribean Nation Cuba.
3. Cabinet Approvals (April 20, 2021) -
  1. General -
    1. Approved amendments to Finance Bill 2021, to clarify and rationalise proposals further and address concerns. Amendments will provide equity and inclusiveness to all taxpayers.
    2. Approved Bangalore Metro Rail Project Phase 2A (Central Silk Board Junction to K.R. Puram) and Phase 2B (K.R. Puram to Airport via Hebbal Junction) of total length 58.19 km, with cost 14788 Crores.
  2. MOUs -
    1. MOU between Competition Commission of India (CCI) and Administrative Council for Economic Defense of Brazil (CADE).
    2. Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between Institute of Chartered Accounts of India (ICAI) and CPA ("Certified Practising Accountant") Australia.
    3. MoU between Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ).
    4. MoU between Director General of Trade Remedies (India) and Bangladesh Trade & Tariff Commission, for establishment of a framework of cooperation in area of trade remedial measures.
  3. CCEA Approvals -
    1. Approved proposal of Department of Fertilizers for formulation of exclusive subsidy policy for Urea produced through coal gasification route by Talcher Fertilizers Limited (TFL).
      1. Considering strategic energy security, urea self-sufficiency of India and country's vast coal reserves, it has been decided go ahead with Talcher Fertilizer Limited plant based on coal gasification technology.
      2. The project shall improve availability of fertilizer to farmers thereby boosting development of eastern region and will save transport subsidy for supply of urea in eastern India.
      3. It would assist in reducing Urea imports of approx 12.7 LMT per annum.
4. General Events / Conferences (Apr 11 - 20, 2021) -
  1. La Soufrière, A Volcano in Carribean Nation Saint Vincent and Grenadines, erupted and covered Saint Vincent in ash. It was lying dormant since last 4 decades.
  2. Haryana Govt alloted 140 acres land to e-commerce firm Flipkart, for setting up its largest fulfilment centre in Asia, in Manesar. Flipkart also partnered with Adani group,to strengthen its supply chain infrastructure.
  3. India hosted 30th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change, Held virtually. Grouping comprises of Brazil, South Africa, India and China.
  4. Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank presented AICTE Lilavati Awards 2020, based on the theme “Women Empowerment, in six sub-themes.
  5. Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Google, in association with India’s citizen engagement program MyGov, announced a hackathon to encourage and find innovative solutions for conserving freshwater usage, and address water scarcity problems in India.
  6. India's 40th Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (40-ISEA), successfully returned to Cape Town (South Africa) after completing journey of about 12,000 nautical miles in 94 days.
  7. India’s first Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) arrived at H-Energy’s Jaigarh Terminal Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, from Singapore. This will also be first year-round Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Maharashtra.
  8. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched a 'National Nursery Portal', to connect nursery operators with consumers.
  9. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu Released a Commemorative Postage Stamp in memory of former chief of the Brahma Kumaris, Rajyogini Dadi Janki.
  10. J&K's Udhampur district secured top position at National level for successfully implementing the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) during 2020-21, by constructing roads of maximum length of 560.49 km in 2020-21.
  11. Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal chaired first meeting of National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC), which was formed bt Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), to advise Government on measures needed to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing startups in country.
  12. Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways approved 50 crores for developing all-weather ROPAX (Roll-on/Roll-off Passenger) Jetty and allied infrastructure connecting Kaninali in Bhadrak district & Talachua in Kendrapara district (Odisha) under Sagarmala initiative.
  13. India Energy Dashboards Version 2.0 has been launched by NITI Aayog, to provide single-window access to energy data for country. NITI Aayog launched the Version 1.0 in May 2017.
5. New Book The Cursed Inheritance, authored by Sutapa Basu has been released.
6. New Book Wanderers, Kings, Merchants: The Story of India through Its Languages, authored by Peggy Mohan has been released.
7. Indian Agro Firm LT Foods became first globally to be certified with highest level of Rice Quality verification L3, by UN-backed Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) ecolabel. LT Foods produces Rice under Brand Name Daawat.
  1. L3 SRP certification is the highest level of verification for sustainable cultivation of rice.

Apr 19, 2021

Russian Space Agency Roscosmos will launch Luna 25 Moon Mission on 1 October, 2021, towards icy South pole of Moon.
1. This comes After 45 years since Russia's landing on Moon, when Luna 24 Landed on moon in August 1976.
2. Roscomos also plans to Launch its Own Space Station in 2025.
Italy launched its first-ever mega food park and food processing unit in India, at Fanidhar in Mehsana district of Gujarat, as first Indian-Italian food park project.
Apr 19 is observed as World Liver Day.
NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity became first aircraft to take a flight on Mars, when it hovered in Mars air up to 10 feet, for around 39 seconds.
1. It is part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission, that includes rover Perseverance and small robotic helicopter Ingenuity.
2021 Monte-Carlo Masters Men's Tennis Title (France) -
1. Singles - Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)
2. Doubles - Croatia's Nikola Mektić AND Mate Pavić
Harry Potter Series Creator British Author JK Rowling's new book The Christmas Pig, will be released Later in 2021.

Red Bull's Belgian-Dutch F1 racer Max Verstappen won Emilia Romagna Grand Prix -

F1 Season 2021 -

Grand Prix	Winner	Race date
Bahrain Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (UK)	28 March
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch)	18 April
Portuguese Grand Prix		2 May
Spanish Grand Prix		9 May
Monaco Grand Prix		23 May
Azerbaijan Grand Prix		6 June
French Grand Prix		20 June
Styrian Grand Prix		27 June
Austrian Grand Prix		4 July
British Grand Prix		18 July
Hungarian Grand Prix		1 August
Belgian Grand Prix		29 August
Dutch Grand Prix		5 September
Italian Grand Prix		12 September
Russian Grand Prix		26 September
Japanese Grand Prix		10 October
United States Grand Prix		24 October
Mexico City Grand Prix		31 October
São Paulo Grand Prix		7 November
Australian Grand Prix		21 November
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix		5 December
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix		12 December

2021 Senior Asian Wrestling Championships held in Almaty (Kazakhstan) -
1. India won 14 medals and stood 3rd in medal table, Including 5 Gold, 3 Silver & 6 Bronze.
  1. Gold Winners -
    1. Ravi Kumar Dahiya – 57 kg Men’s freestyle
    2. Vinesh Phogat – 53 kg Women’s freestyle
    3. Anshu Malik – 57 kg Women’s freestyle
    4. Sarita Mor – 59 kg Women’s freestyle
    5. Divya Kakran – 72 kg Women’s freestyle
2. Iran and Kazakhstan topped medal tally with 17 medals each.
Microsoft acquired AI speech tech firm Nuance for $19.7 billion, as its second-biggest acquisition after LinkedIn ($26 billion). It will help Microsoft’s prowess in voice recognition and will give it a boost in the health care market.
1. Nuance is known for its Dragon software which helps to transcribe speech using deep learning.
Italian Actor-Director Roberto Benigni will receive Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement at 78th Venice International Film Festival, to be held in September 2021.
Elon Musk led Space X won $2.89 billion contract by NASA to build a spacecraft that would carry astronauts to the moon by 2024.
1. Lander would be used as a part of NASA’s Artemis Programme, which would safely land two astronauts on lunar surface.
2. Also, NASA will land first person of color (term used for non-whites) in addition to the first woman on the moon with Artemis program.
Henley Passport Index 2021 -
1. India stands at number 84 on list, as Indian citizens can visit Visa-Free or Visa-on-Arrival in over 58 places.
2. Top 3 - Japan (1), Singapore and Germany (2), South Korea (3)
8th Indo-Kyrgyz Joint Special Forces Exercise “Khanjar” began at Special Forces Brigade of National Guards of Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek.

Apr 18, 2021
1. Apr 18 is observed as World Heritage Day, also as International Day of Monuments and sites. It was proclaimed by UNESCO in 1983. 2021 Theme is Complex Pasts: Diverse Futures.
  1. On this occasion, Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurated first Online Exhibition on Ramayana, the Epic by Maharishi Valmiki.
2. RBI has set up a Committee to undertake comprehensive review of working of Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) and recommend suitable measures for enabling ARCs to meet growing requirements of financial sector. The committee will be headed by Sudarshan Sen (former RBI Executive Director).
3. RBI cancelled licence of Amravati (Maharashtra) based Bhagyodaya Friends Urban Co-operative Bank, as the bank does not have adequate capital and earning prospects.
  1. Under cancellation of licence and liquidation of a Bank, process of paying depositors is carried out as per DICGC Act 1961, which entitles depositers to receive up to INR 5 Lakh of their deposited money.
4. Shivalik Small Finance Bank commenced operations as a small finance bank, after it received approval from RBI for the same.
  1. Shivalik Mercantile Co-operative Bank was granted in-principle approval by RBI for transition into a small finance bank in January 2020, under Scheme on voluntary transition of Urban Co-operative Bank into a Small Finance Bank.
5. Walmart-owned e-commerce Firm Flipkart acquired Travel booking firm Cleartrip for $40 million.
Apr 17, 2021
1. World Bank Group entity International Finance Corporation (IFC) partnered with American private equity investment firm JC Flowers, to help Indian domestic lenders resolve their distressed assets and free up capital for new lending. Under this, IFC will invest up to $100 million in JC Flowers India Fund.
2. 6th Annual Raisina Dialogue Held in virtual format, along with Chief Guests Paul Kagame (President of Rwanda) and Mette Frederiksen (PM of Denmark). Theme for 2021 Edition is "#ViralWorld: Outbreaks, Outliers and Out of Control.
  1. Since its inception in 2016, Raisina Dialogue has emerged as India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, hosted by Observer Research Foundation.
3. Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal launched Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), that aims to provide assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry, and commercialization.
  1. Scheme was announced by PM Narendra Modi in January 2021, during Prarambh: Startup India International Summit, marking 5 year anniversary of Startup India initiative.
  2. 945 Crores corpus will be divided over 4 years for providing seed funding to eligible startups through eligible incubators across India.
  3. Earlier in March 2021, Govt had constituted an expert advisory committee which was responsible for overall execution and monitoring of Startup India Seed Fund Scheme. It was chaired by H K Mittal.
4. Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 323, the first unit of indigenously built ALH Mk III aircraft, has been commissioned into Indian Navy, at INS Hansa (Goa).
  1. Squadron will operate 3 ALH Mk III, a multirole helicopter with Shakti engine manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
5. India's Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) signed agreement on Technical Cooperation titled Cities Combating Plastic Entering the Marine Environment.
6. India's overall exports (merchandise & services) during FY 21 (2020-21) are estimated at USD 493.19 Billion, compared to USD 528.37 Billion during FY 20 (2019-20), showing negative growth of (-) 6.66 percent.
  1. Overall trade deficit during FY 21 estimated at 12.74 billion USD, compared to 77.76 Billion USD In FY 20.
7. Apr 17 is observed as World Hemophilia Day, observed by World Federation of Hemophilia.
Apr 16, 2021
1. New Zealand Cricket Awards 2020-21 -
  1. Kane Williamson won New Zealand Cricket's Top Honor Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for fourth time consecutively.
  2. International Test Player of the Year: Kane Williamson
  3. International Men’s ODI Player of the Year - Devon Conway
  4. International Men’s T20 Player of the Year - Devon Conway
  5. International Women’s ODI Player of the Year - Amy Satterthwaite
  6. International Women’s T20 Player of the Year - Amelia Kerr
  7. Redpath Cup for first-class batting - Kane Williamson
2. Industrial / Misc. Awards (April 2021) -
  1. Vinod Sam Peter directed Marathi film Puglya won best foreign language film award at Moscow International Film Festival 2021.
3. American Banking firm Citigroup announced to exit retail banking in India and 12 other countries, to focus on its wealth management business.
4. New Zealand became first country to introduce a law that will require banks, insurers and investment managers to report impacts of climate change on their business.
  1. All banks / Insurerers with assets / AUM over than NZ$1 billion ($703 million), and all equity and debt issuers listed on stock exchange, will have to make disclosures.
  2. This is inline with New Zealand's aim to get to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
5. Book India's Power Elite: Class, Caste and Cultural Revolution, by Sanjay Baru has been released.
6. Apr 16 is observed as World Voice Day.
7. Cricketer Suresh Raina's Memoir Believe — What Life and Cricket Taught Me, will be released in 2021. It has been co-written by Bharat Sundaresan.
Apr 15, 2021
1. Apr 15 is observed as World Art Day, being observed since 2012.
2. April 15 is observed as Himachal Day.
  1. It came into being as a centrally administered territory on 15 April 1948, after integration of thirty erstwhile princely states.
  2. Himachal Pradesh became a union territory on 1 November 1956.
  3. Later, on 25 Jan 1971, Himachal Pradesh became 18th state of India.
3. Guillermo Lasso has been elected as new President of Ecuador (South American Nation).
4. Siddharth Singh Longjam has been appointed as Director-General of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
5. To commemorate 50th anniversary of first One-Day International, five ODI cricketers of the decade have been named in 2021 edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.
  1. 2011 to 2020 - Virat Kohli (India).
  2. 2001 to 2010 - Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)
  3. 1991 to 2000 - Sachin Tendulkar(India)
  4. 1981 to 1990 - Kapil Dev (India)
  5. 1971 to 1980 - Viv Richards (West Indies)
  6. About First ODI -
    1. First ODI was played on 5 January 1971 between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground. When first three days of Test Match were washed out, officials decided to play a one-off one day game consisting of 40 eight-ball overs per side.
  7. Also, in 2021 Edition of Awards -
    1. England all-rounder Ben Stokes named Cricketer of the Year for 2nd successive time.
    2. Dom Sibley (Eng), Zak Crawley (Eng), Jason Holder(WI), Mohammed Rizwan (Pakistan) and Darren Stevens (ENG) are named Wisden Cricketers of Year in 2021 edition of Wisden Almanack.
    3. Australia's Beth Mooney named as Leading Women's Cricketer in the World.
    4. West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard named Leading T20 Cricketer in World.
6. Egypt announced discovery of a ‘Lost Golden City’ that was buried under sands of capital of Luxor in Egypt for past 3000 years.
  1. This has been identified as most important discovery since unearthing of King Tutankhamun’s tomb approximately 100 years ago.
  2. The 3400-year-old royal city was built by Amenhotep III, abandoned by his heretic son, Akhenaten, and contains well preserved remains.
7. Inclusive Internet Index 2021, released by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in partnership with Facebook -
  1. India has been ranked at 49th spot, along with Thailand.
  2. Top 5 - Sweden (1), US (2), Spain (3), Australia (4), Hong Kong (5)
8. Amazon launched $250 million Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund, to invest in startups focusing on technology innovations in SMB (small and medium business) digitization, agriculture and healthcare in India.
  1. This was announced during Amazon Sambhav online Summit on theme Unlocking Infinite Possibilities for India.
9. RBI announced setting up of a regulatory review authority, RRA 2.0, to review its regulations internally and in consultation with other stakeholders.
  1. Deputy governor M Rajeshwar Rao has been appointed as head of RRA, which would be set up for 1 year initially.
  2. RBI had earlier set up an RRA on April 1, 1999 for reviewing regulations, based on feedback from public and financial institutions.
Apr 14, 2021
1. April 14th is Birth Anniversary of B R Ambedkar. He campaigned against social discrimination towards Dalits. He was independent India's first law and justice minister, and architect of Constitution of India. His Birth anniversary is observed as Social Justice Day, announced in 2018. Note that UN World Day of Social Justice is observed on Feb 20.
  1. On this occasion -
    1. Govt declared April 14 (B R Ambedkar's Birth Anniversary) as public holiday.
    2. A rare short film made on Dr. B R Ambedkar in 1968 has been acquired by National Film Archive of India. Film is in Marathi, titled ‘Mahapurush Dr. Ambedkar’.
    3. PM Modi released four books based on B R Ambedkar's life, written by Kishor Makwana. Books are - Dr. Ambedkar Jivan Darshan, Dr. Ambedkar Vyakti Darshan, Dr Ambedkar Rashtra Darshan, and Dr. Ambedkar Aayam Darshan.
    4. Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna introduced a resolution in US House of Representatives for a second consecutive year to honour BR Ambedkar.
  2. April 14 is also observed as World Chagas Disease Day, to increase awareness of Chagas disease. It is observed since 2020.
  3. Apr 14 is also observed as National Fire Service Day in India.
2. Principal Scientific Adviser K VijayRaghavan launched Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System (MANAS) App, to promote wellbeing across age groups. MANAS is a comprehensive and scalable wellbeing platform, to augment mental well-being of Indians.
3. Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) Secretary & Chairman NIXI inaugurated 3 initiatives for National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) -
  1. IPv6 Expert Panel (IP Guru) - It will extend support to Indian entities who find it technically challenging to migrate and adopt IPv6.
  2. NIXI Academy - It will educate Indians to learn technologies like IPv6 which are normally not taught in Educational Institutes.
  3. NIXI-IP-INDEX - NIXI has developed an IPv6 index portal for Internet community, which will showcase IPv6 adoption rate in India and across world.
4. Ministry of Agriculture and Microsoft India signed MoU for a pilot project in 100 villages of 6 states (Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh), to develop farmer interface for well-organized agricultural activities.
5. Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep S Puri launched EatSmart Cities Challenge and Transport 4 All Challenge.
  1. EatSmart Cities Challenge aims to motivate Smart Cities to develop a plan that supports healthy and sustainable food environment.
  2. Transport4All Digital Innovation Challengeaims to develop digital solutions that will make public transport safe, affordable and reliable.
  3. Both are open to All Smart Cities, capitals of States /UTs and all cities with population over 5 lakh.
6. NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Embassy of Denmark partnered to support various initiatives of NITI Aayog and develop global innovation Green economy partnerships addressing SDG goals, as part of Indo-Danish bilateral Green strategic partnership.
  1. AIM's Other collaborations -
    1. With Bayer, a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of healthcare and nutrition, to work towards mission’s innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives across country.
    2. With Dassault Systemes Foundation, to work towards providing a digitally rich ecosystem of Innovation in India.
    3. With Centre for Innovations in Public Systems (CIPS), to reinforce innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, by developing a database of innovations in public systems for improving public services.
    4. With All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), to empower Atal Tinkering Lab school students for world class future ready innovation skills across country. It will begin with connecting 7200+ Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) in schools with 2500+ Institution’s Innovation Councils (IICs) in higher educational institutions across India.
Apr 13, 2021
1. Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) launched LITTLE GURU application, which specializes in Sanskrit learning. It has been developed in association with Gamapp Sportswizz Tech Private Limited.
  1. It was launched in Bangladesh by Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) of High Commission of India.
2. Larsen & Toubro secured engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract from a consortium under Public Investments Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), for 1.5 GW Sudair Solar photovoltaic (PV) Project, considered to be largest solar project in Saudi Arabia.
3. International Monetary Fund (IMF) authorised USD 650 billion expansion in is lending resources, to provide more support for vulnerable countries amid coronavirus pandemic.
  1. This is highest such expansion in IMF History. Earlier in 2008 Global financial crisis, IMF had increased its resources by USD 250 billion.
4. Apr 13 is anniversary of Jallianwala Bagh massacre, when on 13 April 1919, Reginald Dyer ordered troops of British Indian Army to fire into a crowd of unarmed Indian civilians, killing over 1000 people.
Apr 12, 2021
1. Apr 12 is marked as International Day of Human Space Flight. It commemorates Yuri Gagarin’s historic spaceflight on Apr 12, 1961.
  1. Day was proclaimed by UN in 2011. In 1957, first human made earth satellite Sputnik I was launched into outer space. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit earth successfully.
2. Multinational Military Exercise SHANTIR OGROSHENA 2021 (Front Runner of the Peace) hosted by Bangladesh, to commemorate birth centenary of Bangladesh ‘Father of the Nation’ Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and mark 50 years of Bangladesh liberation from Pakistan.
  1. Other Nations to participate in Exercise - India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka.
  2. Theme of exercise is Robust Peace Keeping Operations.
  3. Military observers from USA, UK, Turkey, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Singapore were in attendance throughout exercise.
3. Singapore became first country to complete official process for ratification of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.
  1. RCEP is world's largest trade pact, which was signed by all 10 ASEAN members and key partners including China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand at 4th RCEP leaders summit in November 2020.
  2. India has so far kept itself away from the pact.
4. 74th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) Winners -
  1. Best Film - Nomadland
  2. Best Director - Chloé Zhao (Nomadland)
  3. Best Actor - Anthony Hopkins (The Father)
  4. Best Actress - Frances McDormand (Nomadland)
  5. Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)
  6. Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Youn Yuh-jung (Minari)
  7. Outstanding British Film - Promising Young Woman
  8. Best Short Film - The Present
  9. Best Original Music - Soul
  10. Best Film (Other than English) - Another Round
  11. Best Documentary - My Octopus Teacher
  12. Best Animated Film - Soul
  13. Rising Star - Bukky Bakray
  14. Facts -
    1. Nomadland won most awards (4), including Best Film, Director, Actress and Cinematography.
5. Noted filmmaker Guneet Monga has been conferred with honour of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans I’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres), the second-highest French civilian honour.
  1. She served as Executive Producer on Period. End of Sentence, which won 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject.
6. Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan honoured Indian-origin businessman Yusuffali MA and 11 other individuals with Abu Dhabi's top civilian award for their contributions to community.Yusuffali is CMD of Abu Dhabi-based retail chain LuLu Group.
7. Airtel Payments Bank launched Rewards123 savings account, which provides customers with additional perks and rewards.
8. National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) appointed Poonam Gupta as its new director general, as first woman to hold the post.
Apr 11, 2021
1. President appointed Sushil Chandra as Chief Election Commissioner of India, replacing Sunil Arora.
  1. Election Commission of India comprises of a Chief Election Commissioner and 2 Election Commissioners.
  2. Sushil Chandra is New and current (24th) Chief Election Commissioner and one Election Commissioner is Rajiv Kumar. Other post falls vacant after elevation of Sushil Chandra as CEC.
2. On 11 Apr 2021, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan completed 100 years of of founding. On 11 April 1921, Emirate of Transjordan was established with Abdullah as Emir, after Independence from United Kingdom.
3. National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) secured Euro 68.87 million (Rs 600 cr) loan from Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest bank, for onward lending to cooperatives in India.
  1. An agreement was also signed between Indian Chamber of Commerce and NCDC, to boost farmers linkages with markets.
4. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated e-SANTA, an electronic platform to connect aqua farmers and buyers. It will enable farmers to get a better price and exporters to directly purchase quality products from farmers, enhancing speed and traceability.
5. Competition Commission of India Approvals (April 2021) -
  1. Approved acquisition of 89.6% shareholding of Gangavaram Port by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones.
    1. Earlier in March, APSEZ announced plans to acquire 58.1% stake in GPL, for 3600 Crores.
  2. Approved acquisition by Tata Digital Limited of up to 64.3% of the total share capital of Supermarket Grocery Supplies Private Ltd (SGS) and SGS’ sole control over Innovative Retail Concepts Private Limited.
6. NITI Aayog (in partnership with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Ashoka University) launched Poshan Gyan, a national digital repository on health and nutrition.
  1. It introduces a unique crowdsourcing feature that allows anyone to submit communication material for inclusion on website, followed by a review by a designated committee.
7. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launched Aahaar Kranti mission, aimed at spreading awareness about a nutritionally balanced diet and understand importance of accessibility to all local fruits and vegetables, with motto Good Diet-Good Cognition.
8. Apr 11 is observed as National Safe Motherhood Day in India.
  1. In 2003, Govt. marked M K Gandhi's Wife Kasturba Gandhi's birth anniversary on April 11 as National Safe Motherhood Day.
  2. April 11 is also observed globally as World Parkinson's Day.
Apr 10, 2021
1. Apr 10 is observed as World Homoeopathy Day. It marks Birth anniversary of Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of Homoeopathy. He was born on 10 April 1755.
2. Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank Launched an implementation plan for school education called Students’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement Through Quality Education - (SARTHAQ).
  1. Education Minister also launched MyNEP2020 Platform of NCTE Web Portal, to invite inputs for preparing draft for development of National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) and National Mission for Mentoring Program membership (NMM).
3. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched Madhukranti Portal, an initiative of National Bee Board (NBB), developed for online registration to achieve traceability source of Honey and other beehive products on a digital platform.
4. General Events / Conferences (Apr 1 - 10, 2021) -
  1. India announced scholarships to 2000 descendants of Liberation War fighters of Bangladesh under its new Muktijoddha Scholarship scheme. The scheme was launched in 2017, during visit of Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina to India.
  2. Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam listed itself at BSE and raised 150 Crores by issuing Municipal Bond on Private Placement Basis using BSE BOND. This is first-ever green bond issuance by any Municipal Corporation in India.
  3. Alignment and Awareness Event for Publicity of DSIR - Promoting Innovations in Individuals, Startups and MSMEs (DSIR-PRISM) scheme held at IIT Delhi.
  4. India contributed USD 300000 to UN agency for gender equality and women empowerment. India also contributed additional $500,000 to UN Trust Fund for Counter-Terrorism.
  5. Tribal Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (TRIFED) launched Sankalp Se Siddhi 100-day Village & Digital Connect Drive.
  6. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurated Gorakhpur zoo, named after Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan.
  7. India - Netherlands Virtual Summit attended by Indian PM Narendra Modi and Netherlands PM Mark Rutte. Both Nations agreed on instituting a Strategic Partnership on Water, to further deepen water sector cooperation.
Apr 09, 2021
1. Apr 9 is observed as CRPF's Valour Day.
  1. A CRPF contingent on April 9, 1965 fought against Pakistanis in Rann of Kutch,eliminating 34 Pakistani Soldiers, losing 6 CRPF Soldiers.
2. Literary honour Devishankar Awasthi Award has been awarded to Hindi journalist and critic Ashutosh Bhardwaj, for his work ‘Pitra-Vadh’.
3. Govt appointed S Ramann as CMD of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
4. Key RBI Announcements on Developmental and Regulatory Policies -
  1. Enhanced limit of maximum end-of-day balance for payment banks from 1 to 2 lakh, to further financial inclusion and expand ability of payment banks to cater to customers' needs.
  2. Expanded Direct Membership of Centralised Payments Systems such as RTGS and NEFT facilities, to non-bank payment system firms. Until now, CPSs were limited to banks only.
  3. Decided to extend fresh support of 50,000 crore to All India Financial Institutions for new lending in 2021-22 -
    1. NABARD - 25,000 crores
    2. NHB - 10000 crores
    3. SIDBI - 15000 crores.
  4. Proposed to constitute a Committee to review working of Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARC) in financial ecosystem and recommend measures for enabling ARCs to meet growing requirements of financial sector.
  5. Accepted Recommendation of an Advisory Committee (Under Sudhir Shrivastava), to revise Ways and Means Advances (WMA) limits to 47010 crores for all states, against current limit of 32225 crores.
  6. To promote optimal utilisation of payment instruments by enabling interoperability amongst issuing entities, RBI proposed to make interoperability mandatory for full-KYC PPIs and for all acceptance infrastructure. To incentivise migration of PPIs to full-KYC, it is proposed to increase limit of outstanding balance in such PPIs from 1 to 2 lakh.
  7. Enhanced loan limit from 50 to 75 lakh per borrower against pledge/hypothecation of agricultural produce backed by Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (NWRs)/electronic-NWRs(e-NWRs) issued by warehouses regulated by Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA).
  8. To measure extent of financial inclusion in country, RBI will periodically publish a Financial Inclusion Index. FI Index will be published annually in July for financial year ending previous March.
5. FIFA suspended Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) and Chadian Football Association (FTFA), amid claims of mis-administration.
6. Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou has been named as new prime minister of Niger (West Africa).
7. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos topped Forbes’ annual world’s billionaires list for fourth consecutive year.
  1. Top 5 -
    1. Jeff Bezos (177 billion)
    2. Elon Musk (151 billion)
    3. Bernard Arnault (150 billion)
    4. Bill Gates (124 billion)
    5. Mark Zuckerberg (97 billion)
  2. India’s Mukesh Ambani ranked 10th globally, with net worth USD 84.5 billion.
8. Govt appointed Tarun Bajaj as new Revenue Secretary under Ministry of Finance.
  1. Also, Ajay Seth has been named as new Economic Affairs Secretary, replacing Tarun Bajaj.
9. RBI monetary policy committee (headed by Governor Shaktikanta Das) kept key lending rates unchanged for sixth consecutive policy review meeting. MPC Rates as of now -
  1. Repo Rate - 4.00 %
  2. Reverse Repo - 3.35 %
  3. Bank Rate - 4.25 %
  4. CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) - 4 %
  5. SLR(Statutory Liquidity ratio) - 18.00 %
  6. Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate - 4.25 %
Apr 08, 2021
1. Barakah nuclear power plant in Al Dhafrah region of Abu Dhabi began commercial operations, as first nuclear power plant in UAE.
  1. It is being been built by Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).
  2. Upon completion, It will have four reactors with 5.600 megawatts (MW) of total capacity, which will meet 25% of UAE’s demand and will save 21 million tons of annual CO2 emisisons.
2. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved USD 484 Million loan to improve road maintenance and transport connectivity in Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor- CKIC in Tamil Nadu.
  1. This Corridor is part of India’s East Coast Economic Corridor. It stretches from West Bengal to Tamil Nadu and connects India to production networks of Southeast and East Asia.
3. Supreme Court unveiled Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court’s Efficiency (SUPACE), designed to make research easier for judges.
4. Noted Female Athlete Dutee Chand will be honoured with Inaugural Chhattisgarh Veerni Award, on occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti (April 14th).
5. Apr 8 is observed as International Romani Day, to celebrate Romani culture and raise awareness of issues facing Romani people.
6. Indian Navy participated (for the first time) in multi-lateral maritime exercise La Pérouse, conducted in Eastern Indian Ocean Region. The exercise was attended by France, Australia, Japan US Navies.
  1. La Pérouse joint exercise was initiated by France in 2019. Its First edition included ships from Australia, Japan and US.
  2. It is named after the eighteenth century French Naval explorer.
Apr 07, 2021
1. Cabinet Approvals (Apr 07, 2021) -
  1. General -
    1. New Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes Approved -
      1. Approved Ministry of New & Renewable Energy's proposal for implementation of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV (Photo Voltic) Modules, for achieving manufacturing capacity of Giga Watt (GW) scale in high efficiency solar PV modules, with outlay of 4500 crores.
      2. Approved Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for White Goods (Air Conditioners and LED Lights), with outlay of 6238 crores over 5 years, to attract global investments, generate large scale employment opportunities and enhance exports.
        Over 5 years, this PLI Scheme will lead to investment of 7920 Crores, Production worth 1.68 Lakh Crores, exports worth 64400 Crores, revenues of 49300 crores and will create 4 lakh direct / indirect employment.
      3. Status of Production-Linked Incentive Schemes -
        In Budget 2021-22, Finance Minister announced outlay of INR 1.97 Lakh Crores for Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes for 13 sectors, to boost manufacturing and generate employment.
        
        Minimum production in India as a result of PLI Schemes is expected to be over US$ 500 billion in 5 years.
        
        First 3 PLI Schemes were approved in March 2020, followed by another 10 New PLI Schemes in November 2020. Of these, previous 3 Schemes have been notified, and 6 of 10 New Schemes have been approved by Cabinet.
        Electronic/Technology Products – MeitY
        
        Pharmaceuticals drugs – D/o Pharmaceuticals
        
        Telecom & Networking Products - D/o Telecommunications
        
        Food Products -Ministry of Food Processing Industries
        
        White Goods (ACs & LED) – DPIIT
        
        High Efficiency Solar PV Modules -MNRE
        
        Another 4 Schemes in process of obtaining Cabinet approval -
        Automobiles & Auto Components – D/o Heavy Industry
        
        Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery – D/o Heavy Industry
        
        Textile Products: MMF segment and technical textiles – M/o Textiles
        
        Specialty Steel -M/o Steel
  2. MOUs -
    1. Cabinet apprised of a MoU signed between India's National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) and Japan's Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere (RISH), for Academic and Research Cooperation.
2. Apr 7 is observed as World Health Day, with 2021 theme Building a Fairer and Healthier World for Everyone. It marks establishment of World Health Organization, on Apr 7, 1948.
  1. April 7 is also observed as International Day of Reflection on 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
3. President promulgated Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2021, to amend Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.
  1. It aims to provide efficient alternative insolvency resolution framework for corporate persons classified as MSMEs under the Code, for quicker and cost-effective outcomes.
4. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda launched Anamaya Tribal Health Collaborative, supported by Piramal Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). It will converge efforts of various Government agencies to enhance health and nutrition status of tribal communities of India.
5. PM Narendra Modi released Hindi translation of book Odisha Itihaas, written by Utkal Keshari Harekrushna Mahtab. It has been translated into Hindi by Shankarlal Purohit.
6. NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)s flagship 295 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) have been adopted sby Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) across country, for inculcating scientific research and innovation culture among students.
7. Provisional Direct Tax collections for FY 21 (2020-21) stood at 9.45 lakh crores, (Corporation Tax 4.57 lakh crores and Personal Income Tax 4.88 lakh crores).
  1. Also, provisional figures for indirect tax collections (GST & non-GST) for FY 21 (2020-21) stand at 10.71 lakh crores, as compared to 9.54 lakh Crores for FY 20 (2019-20), registering growth of 12.3%.
Apr 06, 2021
1. Apr 6 is observed as International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.
  1. Apr 6 is also known as World Table Tennis Day, observed since 2015.
2. India retained top spot with 25.5 billion real-time payment transactions, followed by China with 15.7 billion transactions.
  1. In 2020, transaction volume in India for Online transactions stood at 38.4 %, while paper-based payments were 61.4 %.
  2. By 2025, Online payments share in India will rise to 71.7 %, leaving paper-based transactions at 28.3 %.
3. 15 Indian universities named in Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2020, also known as Shanghai Ranking.
  1. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore has been listed in 501-600 bracket globally, while it tops among Indian universities.
4. Wisdom For Start-ups From Grownups: Discovering Corporate Ayurveda, new Book By R Gopalakrishnan& R Narayanan has been released.
5. New Book Cinema Through Rasa, by Prachand Praveer has been released.
6. Geneva-based World Trade Organization revised upwards growth forecast of global merchandise trade in FY 22 (2021-22) to 8 %, after fall of 5.3 % in FY 21 (2020-21), amid COVID-19 pandemic.
7. Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation (RRECL) commissioned India’s first farm-based solar power project under Kusum scheme in Kotputli, having 1 megawatt capacity.
  1. It is first of 623 farm-based solar projects selected by RRECL for generating 722 MW capacity in state under first phase of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evem Utthan Mahabhiyan (Kusum) scheme.
  2. Kusum scheme was launched by Centre to help farmers generate solar energy.
8. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu Released Book Neelimarani – My Mother, My Hero, written by By Achyuta Samanta.
9. New Leaders Elected In Vietnam (South East Asia) -
  1. Nguyn Xuân Phúc - President
  2. Võ Th Ánh Xuân - Vice President
  3. Pham Minh Chính - Prime Minister
10. Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu has been elected as New President of Kosovo (partially recognised nation in Southeastern Europe).
  1. Also, Albin Kurti was recently named as prime minister of Kosovo.
11. Dutch development bank FMO will invest $137 million in Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF), managed by EverSource Capital, that invests in India’ green energy space.

Apr 05, 2021

Apr 5 is observed as National Maritime Day in India, being observed since 1964.
1. The saga of India shipping started on April 5, 1919, when SS Loyalty, the first ship of The Scindia Steam Navigation Company travelled from Mumbai to United Kingdom (London).
Lawrence Gussman Professor Emeritus of Computer Science, Alfred V. Aho won 2020 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) A.M. Turing Award, known informally as the “Nobel Prize of computing.”
1. He shares the award with his long-time collaborator Jeffrey David Ullman.
2. Aho and Ullman began working together at Bell Labs in 1967 and their early efforts included developing efficient algorithms for analyzing and translating programming languages.
3. Turing Award carries a $1 million prize, with financial support provided by Google. It is named for Alan M. Turing, the British mathematician who articulated the mathematical foundation and limits of computing.
Apr 5 is observed as UN International Day of Conscience, being observed by UN since 2020.
IIT Khagragpur Professor Suman Chakraborty has been selected for 30th GD Birla Award for Scientific Research, for his outstanding contribution to engineering science and its applications in developing technologies for affordable healthcare.
1. About the award -
  1. Instituted in 1991 by K K Birla Foundation, this award recognises eminent Indian scientists below age of 50 years, for their outstanding contributions to science / technology. It carries cash prize of 5 lakh.
  2. Awards Institited by K K Birla Foundation in 1991 -
    1. Saraswati Samman - For literary work in any Indian language
    2. Vyas Samman - For prose/poetry work in Hindi
    3. Bihari Puraskar - For prose/poetry work in Hindi/Rajasthani, only authors from Rajasthan are eligible
    4. Shankar Puraskar - For a work in Hindi concerning Indian philosophy, culture and/or art.
    5. Vachaspati Puraskar - For any work in Sanskrit.
    6. G.D. Birla Award for Scientific Research
Miami Open 2021 Tennis (US) -
1. Men's Singles - Hubert Hurkacz (Poland), Defeating Jannik Sinner (Italy)
2. Women's Singles - Ashleigh Barty (Australia), Bianca Andreescu (Canada)
3. Men's Doubles - Croatia's Nikola Mektić AND Mate Pavić
4. Women's Doubles - Japan's Shuko Aoyama AND Ena Shibahara
Persons Resigned / Retired (April 2021) -
1. RBI deputy governor B.P. Kanungo retired after completing his term. Other in-service RBI Deputy Governors - T. Rabi Sankar, M. Rajeshwar Rao and M. D. Patra.
World Bank approved USD 32 million project to improve management capacity and quality of health services in Mizoram, titled Mizoram Health Systems Strengthening Project.
World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) approved loan for USD 300 million for canal-based drinking water projects in Punjab.
1. Project will be co-financed as USD 105 million by each of IBRD (World Bank), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Rest (USD 90 Million) by Punjab government.
New book Manohar Parrikar: Brilliant Mind, Simple Life authored by Nitin Gokhale has been released. It is based on Life of Manohar Parrikar, India’s former defence minister and four-time chief minister of Goa.
Odisha-born Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan received Kalinga Ratna Samman 2021, conferred by Sarla Sahitya Sansad.

27th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (US) Winners -

Category	Winner
Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries	Mark Ruffalo (I Know This Much Is True)
Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries	Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen's Gambit)
Male Actor in a Drama Series	Jason Bateman (Ozark)
Female Actor in a Drama Series	Gillian Anderson (The Crown)
Male Actor in a Comedy Series	Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso)
Female Actor in a Comedy Series	Catherine O'Hara (Schitt's Creek)
Male Actor in a Leading Role	Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom)
Female Actor in a Leading Role	Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom)
Male Actor in a Supporting Role	Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)
Female Actor in a Supporting Role	Youn Yuh-jung (Minari)

Apr 04, 2021
1. Apr 4 is observed as International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
2. As per Govt Data, Rs 2.74 Lakh Crore Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPI) inflows were received in Indian equity markets During FY 21 (2020-21).
3. India attracted total FDI inflow of US$ 72.12 billion during April to January 2021 (highest ever for first 10 months of a financial year). It is 15% higher as compared to first ten months of 2019-20 (US$ 62.72 billion).
  1. During Concerned Period, Singapore leads FDI investment in India (30.28%), followed by USA (24.28%) and UAE (7.31%).
4. President appointed Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana as New (48th) Chief Justice of India. He replaced Sharad Arvind Bobde.
  1. CJI of India is appointed by Preasident of India, in exercise of powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of Constitution of India.
5. Under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G), 92% target of completion has been achieved in 1st phase of the scheme (from 2016-17 to 2018-19).
  1. As against existing Permanent Wait List (PWL) identified using SECC database of 2011, 2.14 crore beneficiaries have been found to be eligible (Trimmed down from 2.95 crore households initially).
  2. 1.92 crores (90%) houses have been sanctioned and 1.36 crore houses are completed. Target of 1 crore houses was set for completion in 1st phase, against which 92% has been achieved. PMAY-G aims at Housing for All by 2022.
6. State of India's National Super Computing Mission (NSM) -
  1. Completion of Phase II of NSM in September 2021 will take India’s computing power to 16 Petaflops (PF). MoUs are signed with a 14 premier institutions, for establishing Supercomputing Infrastructure.
  2. Phase III, initiated this year, will take computing speed to around 45 Petaflops. It will include 3 systems of 3 PF each and one system of 20PF as a national facility.
  3. PARAM Shivay, first supercomputer assembled indigenously, was installed in IIT (BHU), followed by PARAM Shakti, PARAM Brahma, PARAM Yukti, PARAM Sanganak at IIT-Kharagpur IISER, Pune, JNCASR, Bengaluru and IIT Kanpur respectively.
  4. A 200 AI PF Artificial Intelligence supercomputing system has been installed in C-DAC, to handle large-scale AI workloads. PARAM Siddhi HPC-AI supercomputer has achieved global ranking of 62 in TOP 500 most powerful supercomputer systems in world.
  5. NSM was launched to enhance research capabilities by connecting them to form a Supercomputing grid, with National Knowledge Network (NKN) as backbone.
7. Misc. MOUs (April 2021) -
  1. Spices Board (Under Ministry of Commerce and Industry) and UNDP India’s Accelerator Lab signed MoU, to build a blockchain based traceability interface for Indian spices to enhance transparency in supply chain and trade.
  2. Tourism Ministry signed MoU with Travel Firms Cleartrip and Ease My Trip, to provide extensive visibility to accommodation units which have self-certified themselves on SAATHI (System for Assessment, Awareness & Training for the Hospitality Industry) on OTA platform.
  3. Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) and IIT-Kanpur partnered to boost tech-based startups and boost entrepreneurial ecosystem.
  4. Tribals empowerement agency TRIFED began project Sustainable Livelihoods For Tribal Households in India, with LINK Fund, a philanthropic foundation which is mandated to eradicate extreme poverty and mitigate effects of climate change.
  5. Army signed MoU for Ladakh Ignited Minds project, with HPCL and National Integrity and Educational Development Organisation (NIEDO), aimed at securing better future for youth of Ladakh.
8. Chintan Vaishnav has been appointed as new Mission Director for Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), a flagship initiative of Government, under NITI Aayog. He replaced Ramanathan Ramanan, who led AIM as its first Mission Director since June 2017.
9. Obituaries (April 2021) -
  1. Digvijaysinh Jhala - Former Deputy Union Environment Minister in Indira Gandhi Govt (1982-84).
  2. Shashikala Saigal - Noted Indian actress.
  3. P. Balachandran - Noted Malayalam screenwriter and actor.
  4. Isamu Akasaki - Noted Japanese Physicist and a co-winner of 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics. He was recognized for invention which contributed to bright and energy-saving white light sources, known as LED lamps.
  5. Prince Philip (Duke of Edinburgh) - Member of British royal family, as husband of Elizabeth II (UK Queen).
  6. Fatima Rafiq Zakaria - Padma Shri awardee Noted journalist.
  7. Chandra Naidu - India’s first female cricket commentator. She was daughter of India’s first Test captain CK Naidu.
  8. Satish Kaul - Noted Hindi and Punjabi actor, best known for his role in Mahabharat.
  9. Sanjay Chakravarty - Noted shooting coach, who trained some of finest Indian shooters including Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang and many others.
  10. Kakarla Subba Rao - Noted Radiologist and Padma Shri Awardee. He served as first director of Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (Hyderabad).
  11. GVG Krishnamurty - Former election commissioner.
  12. Balbir Singh Junior - Former Indian hockey Player.
  13. Yogesh Praveen - Noted historian and Padma Shri Awardee.
  14. Ibn Abdur Rehman - Noted Pakistani peace and human rights Activist.
  15. Ganjam Venkatasubbiah - Noted Kannada writer and awardee of Padma Shri and Sahitya Akademi Award.
  16. Vivek - Noted Tamil Actor.
  17. Narendra Kohli - Noted Hindi Writer. He was winner of Vyas Samman and Padma Shri.
  18. Sumitra Bhave - Noted National award-winning film director, known for her work in Marathi cinema.
  19. Bachi Singh Rawat - BJP leader from Uttarakhand and former Union Minister. He had served as Minister of State for Science and Technology in Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
  20. Ahmed Hussain - Former Indian Footballer.
  21. Charles Geschke - American Computer Scientist, co-founder of Adobe and co-developer of Portable Document Format (PDF) technology.
  22. Ranjit Sinha - Former CBI Chief.
  23. Bhumidhar Barman - Former Assam Chief Minister.
  24. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan - Noted Indian Islamic scholar and peace activist. In 1993, he asked Muslims to relinquish claims over Babri Masjid site.
  25. Shankha Ghosh - Noted poet and critic from West Bengal, and awardee of Padma Bhushan, Jnanpith Award and Sahitya Akademi Award.
  26. Kishore Nandlaskar - Noted Hindi and Marathi actor.
  27. Maidavolu Narasimham - Former (13th) RBI Governor. He is Considered father of Indian banking reforms, as he headed two committees in 1991 and 1998, that had critical influence on country’s banking reforms.
  28. Walter Frederick Mondale - Former (42nd) vice president of USA.
  29. Suhas Kulkarni - Former Indian international Table Tennis player.
  30. Rajan Mishra - Noted singer of khyal style of Indian classical music, belonging to Brother duo Rajan and Sajan Misra.
  31. Amit Mistry - Gujarati and Hindi film actor.
  32. Mohan M Shantanagoudar - Supreme Court judge.
  33. Shravan Rathod - Noted music composer and part of duo Nadeem-Shravan.
  34. Manoj Das - Noted writer, who wrote in Odia and English. He was an awarde of Saraswati Samman, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan.
  35. Dadudan Gadhvi (also known as Kavi Dad) - Noted Gujarati poet and folk singer, and an awardee of Padma Shri (2021).
  36. Rohit Sardana - Noted Journalist.
  37. Soli Sorabjee - Noted Indian jurist, who served as Attorney-General for India. He was an Awardee of Padma Vibhushan.
  38. Jagdish Khattar - Noted businessman, credited for steering Maruti Udyog as a leader in Automobile sector.
  39. Krishnamurthy Santhanam - Noted Nuclear Scientist, and Padma Bhushan awardee.
  40. Michael Collins - Noted American astronaut, who was part of Apollo 11 Program to Moon in 1969, while his crewmates Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made first landing on Moon surface.
  41. John Konrads - Noted Australian Olympian swimmer.
  42. Manzoor Ahtesham - Noted Hindi writer and Padma Shri Awardee.
10. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launched Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP), the revised next generation Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) digital platform.
  1. Also, Health Minister approved National Policy for Rare Diseases 2021, aimed at reduceing high cost of treatment for rare diseases and increase focus on domestic research. Financial support of up to 20 lakh under Rastriya Arogya Nidhi Scheme has been proposed for treatment of those rare diseases that require only one-time treatment.
11. Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic Updates (April 2021) -
  1. Carnivac-Cov, world's first-ever COVID-19 vaccine for animals has been registered by Russia.
  2. Carl Bildt (former Prime Minister of Sweden) has been appointed as WHO Special Envoy for Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator).
  3. Punjab Govt named Bollywood actor and philanthropist Sonu Sood Ambassador for Punjab’s COVID vaccination programme.
  4. Govt. approved Pharma Firm Dr. Reddy's application for emergency use authorisation to Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, as 3rd vaccine to receive emergency use approval in India after locally manufactured Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and Oxford-Astrazeneca's Covishield.
  5. Amid Ongoing second wave of Pandemic, Govt announced free food grains @ 5 Kg per person per month to nearly 80 Crore beneficiaries under National Food Security Act 2013 (NFSA), for May and June 2021, on same pattern as earlier “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY)” . Govt will bear full expenditure of over 26000 Crores for the same.
  6. Australia cancelled Pitch Black 2020 multilateral air combat training exercise, amid ongoing pandemic.
  7. Google announced 135 crores funding support for India’s pandemic battle, amid raging 2nd wave of Covid-19 Pandemic.
  8. Norway announced USD 2.4 million support for medical services in India, amid 2nd wave of Covid-19 Pandemic.
Apr 03, 2021
1. Book Agriculture in India: Contemporary Challenges - in the Context of Doubling Farmers Income authored by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Mohan Kanda has been released by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.
2. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced formation of wholly-owned subsidiary firm NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd.
3. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has set out new guidelines for digital payment apps limiting their share in the overall volume of transactions on unified payment interface (UPI) at 30%, to enforce parity in fast-growing digital payments industry.
  1. PhonePe and Google Pay, with market share of around 40% each, will have to now moderate new customer acquisition and reduce transaction volume to within prescribed limits by end of 2022.
  2. Also, PhonePe became first company to cross one billion transactions on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) infrastructure.
4. Eduard Heger has been appointed as New prime minister of Slovakia (Central Europe).
5. Govt Announced to issue 14-digit identification number called Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN), to every plot of land in India, by March 2022.
Apr 02, 2021
1. Apr 2 is observed as World Autism Awareness Day, proclaimed in 2007.
  1. Apr 2 is also observed as International Children's Book Day (ICBD).
2. Govt approved forming Capacity Building Commission, under National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB), also known as ‘Mission Karmayogi’, to train civil servants.
  1. Former Quality Council of India (QCI) chief Adil Zainulbhai has been appointed as chairperson of this new Commission.
3. Misc. Appointments (April 2021)-
  1. CMD of Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE) Limited, Mallika Srinivasan has been named as chairperson of Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB).
  2. Subhash Kumar has been named CMD of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
  3. Shabir Hussein Shekhadam Khandwawala has been named new BCCI Anti-Corruption Unit chief.
  4. DCB Bank received RBI approval for re-appointment of Murali M. Natrajan as MD & CEO.
  5. Vanita Gupta has been appointed as Associate Attorney General of US, as first Indian-American to serve in this role.
  6. Vaishali S Hiwase has been named as woman officer to be appointed as Officer Commanding in Border Roads Organisation (BRO), to be responsible for providing connectivity through an Indo-China border road.
  7. Bajaj Auto named Neeraj Bajaj as its new Chairman.
  8. Arun Raste has been named as MD and CEO of National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX).
  9. Amit Banerjee has been named as CMD of PSU Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML).
  10. Amitabh Chaudhry has been re-appointed as MD & CEO of Axis Bank.
4. Maharashtra government declared area at Amboli in Western ghats in Sindhudurg district as a biodiversity heritage site, where a rare freshwater fish species named Schistura Hiranyakeshi was discovered recently.
5. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu released book Suparipalana written by retired civil servant Shailendra Joshi. It is Telugu translation of Echo T Calling: Towards People-Centric Governance written by former Telangana Chief Secretary S K Joshi.
6. West Central Railway became Indian Railways’ First Zone to get fully electrified, with 3012 Route Km electrified network.
7. Global Gender Gap Report 2021 by World Economic Forum -
  1. India slipped 28 places, to rank 140th among 156 countries.
  2. Top 3 - Iceland (1), Finland (2), Norway (3)
  3. Bottom 3 - Afghanistan (156), Yemen (155), Iraq (154)
  4. Neighbors - Pakistan (153), China (107), Bangladesh (65), Sri Lanka (116)
8. Facebook and Google will build new subsea cables from US to Singapore and Indonesia, called Echo and Bifrost that will provide vital new connections between Asia-Pacific region and North America.
9. Govt announced infusion of 14500 crores into 4 Public Sector Banks - Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of India and UCO Bank, by issuing non-interest bearing bonds.
10. State Bank of India raised $1 billion from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to extend loans to the supply chain of the Japanese automobile industry in India.
11. Axis Bank entered into a Share Purchase Agreement for sale of 100 % stake in its subsidiary Axis Bank UK Limited to OpenPayd Holdings Ltd.
12. Rajasthan launched Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme, for providing health insurance worth Rs 5 lakh for each family of state. With this, Rajasthan became first state to provide health insurance to all its residents.
13. Odisha government proposed 2nd biosphere reserve in state at Mahendragiri, a hill ecosystem having rich biodiversity.
  1. Similipal Biosphere Reserve is Odisha’s first such reserve, notified in 1996.
Apr 01, 2021
1. Journalist turned filmmaker Vinod Kapri’s book 1232 km: The Long Journey Home will be released in May 2021.
2. Mukhmeet S. Bhatia has been appointed as Director General of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).
3. GST revenue collected in March 2021 stood at record 1.24 Lakh crores, a new record. Out of this - CGST (22973 crores, SGST 29329 crores, IGST 62842 crores, and Cess is 8757 crores.
4. Labour Bureau Launched two all-India surveys - Survey of Migrant Workers and Quarterly Establishment based Employment Survey (AQEES).
  1. Labour Bureau has been tasked with five major All India Surveys by Government -
    1. Survey of Migrant Workers
    2. Survey on Domestic Workers
    3. Survey on Employment generated in Transport Sector
    4. Survey of Employment Generated by Professionals
    5. Quarterly Establishment based Employment Survey (AQEES).
  2. These surveys have been developed by Labour Bureau under technical guidance of an expert group chaired by S. P. Mukherjee and co-chaired by Amitabh Kundu.
5. Odisha Day (Utkala Dibasa) is observed on 1 April, in memory of formation of state as a separate state out of Bihar, Bengal and Odisha provinces with addition of Koraput and Ganjam from Madras Presidency on 1 April 1936.
6. Misc. Defence News (April 2021) -
  1. To help Armed Forces to conduct successful operations, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat operationalised 3rd Joint Logistics Node (JLN) in Mumbai, to strenthen logistics support.
  2. DRDO lab Defence Laboratory Jodhpur (DLJ) developed an Advanced Chaff Technology to safeguard naval ships against enemy missile attack. These Include three indigenously developed variants namely Short Range Chaff Rocket (SRCR), Medium Range Chaff Rocket (MRCR) and Long Range Chaff Rocket (LRCR).
  3. India gifted 50 metre patrol vessel P S Zoroaster to Seychelles Coast Guard.
7. Government constituted Expert Committees to review existing rules and regulations on safety, health and working conditions standards, pertaining to factories, docks and construction work.
  1. Factories and Dock Works - Headed by R. K. Elangovan (DG, DGFASLI, Mumbai).
  2. Building & Other Construction Works - Headed by P.L.N. Murthy (L &T Hydrocarbon)
  3. Fire Safety - Headed by D. K. Shami (Fire Advisor to Government).
8. Misc. Sports News (April 2021) -
  1. India won Road Safety world T20 Cricket series, by beating Sri Lanka. It was hosted in Raipur (Chhattisgarh).
  2. India's Aniyan Midhun won gold at South Asian Wushu Championships in Nepal, in 70-kg category.
  3. AIBA Men’s World Boxing Championships 2023 will be held in Tashkent (Uzbekistan Capital).
  4. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju inaugurated Khelo India State Centre of Excellence for Rowing discipline at J & K Sports Council Water Sports Academy in Srinagar.
  5. 4 Indian sailors qualified for upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2021, Including pair of Ganapathy Chengappa, Varun Thakkar, and Vishnu Saravanan. Earlier, Nethra Kumanan became first Indian woman sailor for qualifying for Olympics.
  6. Indian WWE Wrestler Great Khali has been inducted into WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
  7. 18 year old Sonam Malik became India’s youngest woman wrestler to qualify for Tokyo Olympic Games.
  8. Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu created world record in Clean and Jerk Category, after she lifted 119 kg at Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent.
  9. Former Zimbabwe Cricketer Heath Streak And Sri lanka's Dilhara Lokuhettige have been banned by ICC for 8 years from cricket, amid charges of corrupt approaches.
  10. Water Sports and Adventure Institute (WSAI), established by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) at Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand, has been inaugurated.
  11. Tamil Nadu’s Arjun Kalyan became India’s 68th Chess Grandmaster. Viswanathan Anand became India’s first Grandmaster, in 1988.
  12. 2021 Khelo India Youth Games will be held in Nov - Dec 2021, on venues in Haryana and Delhi.
9. Misc. Science News / Events (April 2021) -
  1. New novel bacterial strain discovered aboard International Space Station (ISS) has been named Methylobacterium ajmalii, in honour of renowned Indian biodiversity scientist Ajmal Khan.
  2. Researchers discovered a new species of butterflies namely sinhala ramaswamii sadasivan 2021, as new taxon of Lycaenid butterfly belonging to Nacaduba genus. It is first time a butterfly species was discovered by an all-Indian research team from Western Ghats.
  3. Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched NanoSniffer, world’s first Microsensor based Explosive Trace Detector (ETD) developed by NanoSniff Technologies, an IIT Bombay incubated startup.
  4. A New species of flowering plants belonging to genus `Argyreia', recently discovered in south Maharashtra's Kolhapur district, has been named after NCP chief Sharad Pawar, as Argyreia sharadchandrajii.
  5. Scientists from Nainital based Aryabhatta Research Institute of observational sciencES (ARIES) discovered farthest gamma-ray emitting Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 (NSL1) galaxy known so far.
    1. Researchers studied around 25000 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and devised a method to find high-z NLS1 galaxies, that were unknown till now.
    2. Upon observation, researchers confirmed that they have found a genuine NLS1 galaxy at a high redshift of 1.34, which is about 31 billion light-years away from us.
    3. Researchers confirmed that newly found farthest gamma-ray emitting NLS1 galaxy was formed when Universe was 4.7 billion years old, which is currently 13.8 billion years old.
  6. UAE named Noura al-Matroushi as its first female astronaut.
  7. Foundation stone for an Integrated Solar Dryer and Pyrolysis pilot plant has been installed at CSIR- Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) Chennai, to offer an innovative approach for smart cities to transform urban organic waste into biochar and energy.
    1. Pilot is part of Indo-German project ‘Pyrasol’, which was awarded to CSIR-CLRI by Indo-German Science & Technology Centre.
10. Misc. Corporate News / Events (April 2021) -
  1. BharatPe launched lending product to provide instant liquidity to distributors, wholesalers, traders and dealers, Called Distributor to Retailer (D2R) Finance. It would offer collateral-free loans of up to 50 lakh for a period of seven days to 30 days.
  2. ICICI Bank and Axis Bank tied up with global e-commerce major Amazon and cards major Visa to launch a retail payments entity, to rival state-owned NPCI.
  3. Finance Ministry stated that Businesses with turnover over 5 crores will have to furnish six-digit HSN or tariff code on the invoices issued for supplies of taxable goods and services from April 1, 2021.
  4. SBI Funds Management Pvt. Ltd became first mutual fund house in India to cross 5 lakh crore average assets under management (AAUM) mark.
  5. Edtech Startup Byju's acquired tutorial chain Aakash Educational Services (AESL) for $950 million.
  6. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) acquired residual 25 % stake in Adani Krishnapatnam Port, for 2800 crores. With this, APSEZ will increase its stake from 75 to 100 % in Krishnapatnam Port.
  7. Axis Bank became co-promoters of Max Life Insurance, after acquisition of 12.99% stake collectively by Axis Entities in Max Life.
  8. Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX launched India's first Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) Marketplace, to feature exclusive artwork from artists.
  9. Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched a digital initiative “PNB@Ease” under which every transaction undertaken by a bank branch will be initiated and authorised by customers themselves.
  10. RBI imposed penalty of 40 Lakh on Himachal Pradesh State Co-operative Bank, for non-compliance with regulatory directions in Review of Frauds - Guidelines on Monitoring and Reporting System.
  11. RBL Bank and Mastercard partnered to launch mobile-based consumer-friendly payment solution Pay by Bank App, as a first-of-its-kind payment functionality in India. This will enable RBL customers to contactlessly transact across world through their mobile banking application.
  12. Gautam Adani Led Adani Group became India's third group to cross USD 100 billion market capitalisation, after Tata Group and Reliance Industries.
  13. Investment app ETMONEY launched India's first Aadhaar-based SIP payments feature, enabling anyone to start a SIP and set up automatic payments using Aadhaar based OTP verification.
  14. Facebook signed First Deal in India, to buy renewable energy from a local firm's 32 MW wind power project in southern Karnataka, as part of larger portfolio that Facebook and Mumbai-based CleanMax are working on.
  15. Rating agency Fitch kept sovereign rating of India unchanged at ‘BBB-‘ with a negative outlook.
  16. Aceware FinTech launched Kerala’s first neobank, Ace Money Neobank, in partnership with Yes Bank and ICICI Bank.
  17. Coal India signed its first solar power purchase agreement for sale of 100 Megawatt (MW) solar power with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL). CIL aims at 3000 MW of solar power generation by 2024.
  18. RBI imposed penalty of 40 Lakh on Himachal Pradesh State Co-operative Bank, for non-compliance with regulatory directions related to Frauds Monitoring and Reporting.
  19. HDFC Bank named top arranger of corporate bond deals in 2020-21 (FY21), followed by Axis Bank and ICICI Bank.
  20. Paytm Launched video-based wealth community, wherein users can interact with subject-matter experts on financial topics.
  21. As per Budget announcement, Govt infused 200 crores in IFCI Ltd, increasing its holding to 63.8 % (from 61.02 %).

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