Weekly One Liner Current Affairs April 8 to April 14 : Quick Revision

National Current Affairs

  • Manoj Panda, ex-director at at the Institute of Economic Growth has become full-time member of the 16th Finance Commission. The 16th Finance Commission held its first meeting under the Chairmanship of Arvind Panagariya to discuss its terms of reference on February 14.
  • India lifted export restrictions on essential items for the Maldives for fiscal year 2024-25, including eggs, potatoes, onions, rice, wheat flour, sugar, and dal.
  • In 2024, India observes 105th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. The Amritsar Massacre, also known as the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre happened on April 13, 1919.
  • Uttarakhand state is proactively assessing and mitigating Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) with two expert panels monitoring five high-risk glacial lakes.
  • Lindy Cameron, former CEO of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, has been appointed as the first woman high commissioner to India.
  • Sam Pitroda's new book "The Idea of Democracy" explores into democracy's state and challenges in India and the US.
  • China has surpassed India as the primary importer of Russian crude oil via sea.
  • President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated a two-day Homoeopathy Symposium in New Delhi on World Homoeopathy Day (April 10, 2024).
  • The Suvidha portal, developed by the Election Commission of India, ensures fair election processes. It handles permissions for various activities, offers online and offline applications, tracks requests in real time, and promotes transparency in expenditures.
  • Indian government has launched a new platform CDP-SURAKSHA to disburse subsidies to horticulture farmers under the Cluster Development Programme (CDP).
  • Adani Green Energy Limited, an Adani Group company, is building the world’s largest renewable energy park in Khavda, Kutch district of Gujarat.
  • India now controls Sittwe Port in Myanmar, a strategic move to boost maritime presence and connectivity, marking its second overseas port acquisition after Chabahar in Iran.
  • Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is India's top-ranked university in QS World University Rankings. It rank is 20th(Development Studies). India has 69 universities listed, making it the second most represented country in Asia after China.
  • Punjab's Malerkotla district launched the 'Booth Raabta' website to improve voter engagement and access to election information.
  • Vedanta group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) entered into a pact with VEXL Environ Projects for setting up a pilot project for converting waste products into usable resources.
  • US tops with 703 unicorns, China follows with 340, and India is third globally with 67 unicorns as per the Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2024.
  • Air India and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) signed an agreement to develop the Bengaluru airport as an aviation hub.
  • The European Union (EU) and India launched a startup initiative for Battery Recycling Technologies for EVs, aiming to match European and Indian SMEs in clean technologies.
  • Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEM) and Shell India Markets (SIMPL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on establishing new public Electric Vehicles charging stations across India.
  • Anurag Kumar (IPS) has been appointed as Joint Director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
  • Sushil Sharma has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of SJVN Limited.
  • French carmaker Citroën became the first multinational car manufacturer in India to export domestically made electric vehicles to
    the international market.
  • Managing director(MD) and chief executive officer(CEO) of the Paytm Payments Bank, Surinder Chawla, has resigned citing personal reasons.
  • Moody's Analytics projects India's economy to expand by 6.1% in 2024
  • Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has entered into an agreement with a fintech Onion Life Private Limited to use the
    latter’s technology platform KarmaLife to provide micro loans to gig workers.
  • HDFC becomes first private bank to open branch in Lakshadweep(Kavaratti Island).
  • The Asian Development Bank (ADB) upgraded India’s GDP growth forecast for 2024-25 (FY25) to 7% from 6.7%.
  • RBI has imposed a penalty of ₹1 crore on IDFC First Bank, LIC Housing Finance non-compliance with certain directions on ‘Loans and Advances – Statutory and Other Restrictions’.
  • ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company ties up to Policybazaar to offer insurance products on the platform.
  • Revolut India gets RBI nod to issue Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) including prepaid cards and prepaid wallets in the country.
  • Suryoday Small Finance Bank appoints Deepak Kumar Sharma as Additional Director
  • RBL Bank has appointed Murali Ramakrishnan as Non-Executive independent director for 4 years.
  • The US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) has appointed Tarun Bajaj as the head of the US-India Tax Forum.
  • Sachidananda Mohanty has been appointed as a Member of the University Grants Commission (UGC) for a period of three years.
  • Indian Coast Guard Director General Rakesh Pal inaugurated the Indian Coast Guard Aquatic Centre at ICGS Mandapam near Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu.
  • The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 2024 Global Hepatitis Report reveals that India is second only to China in the number of Hepatitis B and C infections, with 3.5 crore cases.
  • An international team of researches ranked countries in the 'World Cybercrime Index.' India is 10th, with advance fee payment frauds being common. Russia topped the list, and was followed by Ukraine, China, the US, Nigeria and Romania.
  • Loan disbursal under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana(PMMY) reached a record high of Rs 5.20 lakh crore in the year ended March 2024.
  • India and Mauritius revised their tax treaty amending the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA)to prevent abuse and evasion, adding Article 27B to define 'entitlement to benefits.'
  • India aims to raise nuclear power production to 1 lakh MW by 2047, a major increase from the current 8,000 MW. Atomic Energy Commission Chairman is A K Mohanty.
  • The Gujarat Council on Science and Technology (GUJCOST) has been designated as the Nodal Centre for the ‘Space Science and Technology Awareness Training (START)‘program by the ISRO.
  • Tata Advanced Systems (TASL), a Tata subsidiary, launched India's first private-built military-grade earth observation satellite, TSAT-1A, with Satellogic, using SpaceX Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Centre, Florida.
  • Valerie Adams, has been named the International Event Ambassador for the 16th edition of the Tata Consultancy Services World 10K Bengaluru.
  • India has been identified as the country with the highest percentage of doping offenders, according to the 2022 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report.
  • Air India has appointed Jayaraj Shanmugam as the Head of Global Airport Operations.
  • Gopi Thotakura is making history as the first Indian pilot to venture into space as a tourist, on Blue Origin’s NS-25 mission.
  • Ministry of Defence holds first tri-service conference 'Parivartan Chintan'in New Delhi on April 8.
  • Indian Army gets portable Russia-made Igla-S Man Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS).
  • A two-day Coastal security exercise 'Sagar Kavach' conducted off Lakshadweep Islands from April 1-2.
  • The Trishakti Corps of the Indian Army executed a rigorous Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) exercise in Sikkim.
  • The fifth edition of the India-Uzbekistan Joint Military Exercise DUSTLIK on April 15, 2024, in Termez District, Uzbekistan.

International Current Affairs

  • The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) will hold its first clean economy investor forum in Singapore on June 5-6. IPEF's pillars include trade, supply chain resilience, clean economy, and fair economy. It was launched in May 2022.
  • Simon Harris became Ireland's youngest ever prime minister, succeeding Leo Varadkar.
  • Peter Pellegrini won Slovakia's presidential election recently.
  • IT giant Wipro has appointed Srinivas Pallia as its new CEO, following the resignation of Thierry Delaporte.
  • Zimbabwe launches new gold-backed currency called ZiG - the name stands for "Zimbabwe Gold".
  • The United States and Britain announced new partnership to work together to address concerns about the safety of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
  • British national Russ Cook, known as the “Hardest Geezer,” completes 352-day trek covering 10,000+ miles, 16 countries, 19 million steps, raising funds for charity.
  • Israel deployed C-Dome defense system against aerial threat near Eilat for the first time, marking a significant development.
  • Russia successfully tested its Angara-A5 space rocket for the first time on April 11, 2024.
  • Nobel prize-winning physicist Peter Higgs, who proposed the existence of ‘god particle’, that helped explain how matter formed after the Big Bang, has died at age 94. Higgs won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work.

 

SPORTS

  • Six-time world champion boxer M C Mary Kom stepped down as India's chef-de-mission for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
  • Sumit Nagal becomes first ever Indian to win main draw match in Monte Carlo Masters by defeating 35th ranked Matteo Arnaldi.
  • Kamindu Mendis and Maia Bouchiernamed ICC Players of the Month for March.
  • Former Indian hockey player and Dronacharya awardee Harendra Singh has been selected by Hockey India as the coach of the senior national women’s hockey team replacing Janneke Schopman.
  • Inaugural season of the National Women’s Hockey League 2024 – 2025 scheduled to be held in Ranchi from April 30 to May 9,

 

AWARDS & HONOURS

  • The JCB Prize for Literature announced its 7th edition jury: chair Jerry Pinto, filmmaker Shaunak Sen, art critic Deepthi Sasidharan, translator Tridip Suhrud, and artist Aqui Thami.
  • Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital’s research team has been honoured with the prestigious ‘Best Scientific Poster Award’.
  • Miraj, a small town Maharashtra, famed for sitar and tanpura craftsmanship, earns Geographical Indication (GI) tags for its musical instruments.
  • Gagandeep Kang of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation received the 2024 John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award for scientific research that has improved the health and well-being of those facing health inequities worldwide.
  • India's Chandrayaan-3 mission team was awarded the prestigious 2024 John L ‘Jack’ Swigert Jr. Award for Space Exploration, an honour bestowed by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in recognition of outstanding contributions to space exploration.
  • The late Russian dissident Aleksei Navalny and his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, will receive the Freedom Prize of the Media from a leading German forum, the Ludwig Erhard Summit.
  • Ashneer Grover, former MD of the fintech company BharatPe, ventures into fintech again with new app ZeroPe after his 2022 exit.
  • GAIL (India) Limited has been honored with the prestigious 15th CIDC Vishwakarma Award in the ‘Achievement Award for Best Construction Projects’ category for its remarkable accomplishment in the Barauni – Guwahati Natural Gas Pipeline project (BGPL).

 

IMPORTANT DAYS

  • World Health Day : April 7th. The theme for World Health Day is “My Health, My Right”,
  • April 9th, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) celebrates its Bravery Day, or Valour Day.
  • World Homoeopathy Day : 10 April. Dr Samuel Hahnemann is the founder of homoeopathy. The theme for World Homeopathy Day is “Homeoparivar : One Health, One Family.
  • World Parkinson's Day : 11 April
  • National Safe Motherhood Day : April 11
  • International Day of Human Space Flight celebrated on 12 April to honour the first person, Yuri Gagarin, to go to space.
  • World Chagas Disease Day : 14 April. Chagas disease, also called American trypanosomiasis, is a communicable parasitic diseasecaused by the parasite protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi.
  • World Quantum Day 2024 : 14 April