NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurates scientific convention on ‘Homoeopathy: People’s
Choice for Wellness’: The Union Minister of AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal has
inaugurated a two-day scientific convention on the theme ‘Homoeopathy: People’s
Choice for Wellness’ in New Delhi. The convention has been organised jointly by
the three apex bodies under the Ministry of Ayush namely, the Central Council
for Research in Homoeopathy, the National Commission for Homoeopathy and the
National Institute of Homoeopathy to mark the occasion of the World Homoeopathy
Day. Key points of the convention:
a)
This
convention is an opportunity to review the achievements in the field of Homoeopathy
and to formulate future strategies for the development of Homoeopathy.
b)
There
is an imminent need to initiate a dialogue among the major stakeholders of
Homoeopathy to address much-needed practice standards in clinical research
informatics, data standards in clinical research, policy issues, educational
standards, and instructional resources.
c)
This
can be achieved by merging clinical care delivery and research as a part of a
changing paradigm in global healthcare delivery in the context of rapid innovations
in technology. A necessity to identify and propose strategic actions toward an
effective and efficient inclusion of Homoeopathy in integrative care is
indispensable.
2.
Union Minister Bhupender Yadav chairs the 20th NTCA meeting: The 20th NTCA in
Arunachal Pradesh is chaired by Bhupender Yadav. The 20th Meeting of the
National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was held in Pakke tiger reserve in
Arunachal Pradesh and was led by Union Minister for Environment, Forest &
Climate Change Bhupender Yadav.
Key Points: The first-ever
NTCA meeting was held in Arunachal Pradesh, outside of the National Capital. He
also released a technical manual on MEE of Tiger Reserves in India, as well as
standard operating procedures for tiger reintroduction and supplementation in
the wild, a forest fire audit protocol for tiger reserves, and a standard
operating procedure for tiger reintroduction and supplementation in the wild.
3.
Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra Tea will get GI Tag from European Commission: Himachal Pradesh’s
Kangra Tea will soon get a European Commission Geographical Indication Tag (GI
Tag); this tag helps Kangra tea to get an opportunity to enter the European
market. Kangra tea received the Indian GI tag in 2005. Since 1999, the
cultivation and development of tea have improved constantly in the Kangra
region of Himachal Pradesh. The development and cultivation of Kangra tea is
being promoted and looked after by four departments iTea Board of India
Regional office Palampur, cooperative and agriculture departments of the state
and CSIR, IHBT Palampur and Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Agriculture University,
Palampur.
Note: Himachal Pradesh Capital: Shimla
(Summer), Dharamshala (Winter); Himachal Pradesh Governor: Rajendra Arlekar;
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister: Jai Ram Thakur.
4.
UIDAI tieup with ISRO for technical collaboration: Unique
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), MeitY has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), ISRO, Hyderabad for
technical collaboration. NRSC will develop a Bhuvan-Aadhar portal for providing
information and locations about the Aadhaar centres across India. The portal
will provide the facility of complete geographic information, retrieval,
analysis, and reporting for Aadhaar centres with a high-resolution backdrop of
natural-colour satellite images. UIDAI has, so far, issued Aadhaar numbers to
more than 132 crore residents and facilitates over 60 crore residents who have
updated their Aadhaar.
Note: ISRO Founded: 15 August 1969; ISRO
Headquarters: Bengaluru; ISRO Chairman: S Somanath.
5.
Eminent scholar-academician Manoj Soni new UPSC chairman: Currently a
Member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Dr Manoj Soni has been
appointed the chairman of the country’s premier government recruiting agency.
He has been associated with the Swaminarayan sect’s Anoopam Mission, at Mogri
in Anand district, since a young age and received diksha (initiation) as a
nishkarma karmayogi (selfless worker) on Jan 10, 2020. Dr Soni has been
appointed to replace the previous UPSC chairman Pradip Kumar Joshi. Prior to
this assignment, Soni has also served as the vice-chancellor of two
universities and has earned several national and international awards and
recognitions.
6.
Ambedkar Jayanti 2022: 14th April: Ambedkar Jayanti (also known as Bhim
Jayanti) is celebrated on 14 April to commemorate the birth anniversary of
Babasaheb Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar. The Day has been observed as an official public
holiday throughout India since 2015. In 2022, we are marking the 131st birth
anniversary of Babasaheb. Dr Ambedkar is known as the Father (chief architect)
of the Indian Constitution. He was the first Law and Justice Minister of the
country after the independence. Dr Bhim has been bestowed with the country’s
highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna in 1990 posthumously.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Fourth US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in Washington DC: Secretary of State
Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III welcomed
Ministers of Defense Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Dr S. Jaishankar to
Washington, D.C. for the fourth US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. A virtual
conference between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joseph Biden
preceded the Dialogue. With a shared commitment to democracy and pluralism, a
multifaceted bilateral agenda, and growing convergence of strategic interests,
the United States and independent India are celebrating 75 years of diplomatic
relations. Both countries seek to maintain a resilient, rules-based international
order that protects sovereignty and territorial integrity, upholds democratic
values, and promotes peace and prosperity for all.
Important Points Of Discussion
Between Ministers:
a)
The
Ministers analysed the broader consequences of the deepening humanitarian
catastrophe in Ukraine, as well as their own attempts to respond to it. They
demanded an immediate halt to hostilities.
b)
The
Ministers were unanimous in their condemnation of civilian deaths. They
emphasised that the modern global order is based on the UN Charter,
international law, and all states’ sovereignty and territorial integrity.
c)
The
Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to work closely together at the UN
Security Council and in international organisations. The US reiterated its
support for India’s permanent membership in a reconstituted UN Security Council
as well as its admission to the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
d)
The
United States welcomed India’s commitment to participate in multilateral
peacekeeping training in 2022, expand joint capacity-building efforts with
third-country partners, and launch a new joint National Investigation Officers
Training of Trainers course in partnership with the United Nations, recognising
India’s distinguished history of leading peacekeeping missions.
2.
World Chagas Disease Day: 14th April: World Chagas Disease Day is observed on
14 April to raise public awareness and visibility among people about Chagas
Disease (also called American trypanosomiasis or silent or silenced disease)
and the resources needed for the prevention, control or elimination of the
disease. The theme for 2022 is finding and reporting every case to defeat
chagas disease. It is often termed a “silent and silenced disease” as the
infected majority have no symptoms or extremely mild symptoms. There are
approximately 6-7 million people infected with Chagas disease worldwide, with
10,000 deaths, every year. It is one of 11 official global public health
campaigns marked by WHO.
History of the day: The WHO approved
the designation of Chagas Disease Day on May 24, 2019, at the 72nd World Health
Assembly. The first World Chagas Disease Day was observed on 14 April 2020. The
day has been named after Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano Chagas, the Brazilian doctor
who diagnosed the first case on 14 April 1909.
Note: Headquarters of WHO: Geneva,
Switzerland; Director General of WHO: Tedros Adhanom; WHO was founded: 7 April 1948.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
ICC Players of the Month for March 2022: Babar Azam, Rachael Haynes crowned: The International
Cricket Council (ICC) announced that Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and
Australia’s run-machine Rachael Haynes were named the ICC Men’s and Women’s
Players of the Month for March 2022. Fans can continue to vote every month for
their favourite male and female cricketers across all formats of international
cricket as part of the ICC Player of the Month initiative.
In the men’s category: Azam had several
thrilling batting displays in Pakistan’s multi-format series against Australia
recently. He amassed 390 runs in the three-Test series, which the hosts lost
0-1. Azam received the award ahead of West Indies’ Kraigg Brathwaite and
Australia Test skipper Pat Cummins, and in doing so, became the first player to
win the ICC Men’s ‘Player of the Month’ award on two occasions, after being
crowned back in April 2021.
Among the women category: Rachael Haynes
had a formidable set of displays on the road to Australia’s seventh ICC Women’s
Cricket World Cup trophy. She scored 429 runs in eight games at an average of
61.28, her feats at the top of the order proving crucial to her side’s unbeaten
run to the final, where they thrashed England to lift the trophy at
Christchurch in New Zealand. She overcame fellow nominees Sophie Ecclestone
(England) and Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa) for the award.
Note: ICC Chairman: Greg Barclay; ICC CEO:
Geoff Allardice; ICC Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates; ICC Founded: 15
June 1909.
2.
Ravichandran Ashwin becomes 1st player to get retired out in IPL History: Rajasthan Royals
all-rounder, Ravichandran Ashwin became the first player in IPL history to get
retired out during the high-octane clash against Lucknow Super Giants. Ashwin
played a crucial knock of 28-run off 23 balls to revive Rajasthan’s innings
from a tricky stage when they were four down for 67. During the penultimate
over, the veteran all-rounder made a sacrificing call of getting himself
retired out to make way for Riyan Parag in the middle who has a slightly better
ability to clear the boundary rope in the final overs. It did not happen before
in the history of the tournament which started way back in 2008 but Ashwin
being a trendsetter made the big decision so that Parag can come and attack the
bowlers at the business end of the innings.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
Vikas Siri Sampat-1111 scheme introduced by the KVGB: P Gopi Krishna,
Chairman, during the launch of the ‘Vikas Siri Sampat-1111′ plan in Dharwad
announced that the 1,111-day deposit pays 5.70 percent interest to the general
public and 6.20 percent to senior citizens. This scheme allows for a minimum
deposit of ten thousand rupees and a maximum deposit of two crore rupees. Key
Points:
a)
Customers
should take advantage of the lower interest rate while it lasts because it is
only available for a limited time, according to Gopi Krishna.
b)
He
noted that the bank’s purpose is to encourage customers to save, and he
anticipates a positive response throughout the current fiscal year.
c)
In
the Karnataka districts of Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Belagavi, Bagalkot,
Vijayapura, Uttara Kannada, Udupi, and Dakshina Kannada, the bank has 629
branches.
d)
The
bank’s whole business in 2021-22 was Rs 30,750 crore. The entire amount of
deposits was Rs 17,647 crore, with advances totaling Rs 13,103 crore.
Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank: Canara Bank
sponsors the Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank, an Indian Regional Rural Bank. It
is owned by the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India. The bank has
629 branches across Karnataka, mostly in North and Western Karnataka, that
provide retail banking services to rural customers.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
IndusInd Bank’s ‘Indus Merchant Solutions’ App won Digital CX Awards 2022: ‘Indus Merchant Solutions’, a mobile app for
merchants of IndusInd Bank, got the Digital CX Awards 2022 for ‘Outstanding
Digital CX – SME Payments’. The Digital CX Awards is organized by Digital
Banker, a globally trusted financial news service provider. Indus Merchant
Solutions being adjudged as a winner is a testament to its strength in offering
customers a seamless banking experience, which aligns with the Bank’s ethos of
’customer-centricity.
About the ‘Indus Merchant Solutions’: ‘Indus Merchant
Solutions’ was launched in November 2021. It is a mobile application (app) to
enable merchants, retailers, and professionals to various facilities such as
Accepting instant cashless payments through multiple digital modes, Tracking
inventory via in-built dashboards, Apply for an exclusive Point of Sale (POS)
machine to facilitate card-based payments, Avail small ticket business loans
from the Bank, etc.
About the Digital CX Awards: The Digital CX
Awards is organised by Digital Banker, a globally trusted financial news
service provider that recognises the world’s leading Financial Services
Organisations (FSO) that blend the best of technology, and innovation, with the
power of their people to provide a superior customer experience and reinvent their
industry. This year, the awards received over 600 submissions from 127 marquees
FSOs across the globe.
Note: IndusInd Bank Founded: 1994; IndusInd
Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; IndusInd Bank MD & CEO: Sumant
Kathpalia; IndusInd Bank Tagline: We Make You Feel Richer.
2.
Veteran Bengali Author Amar Mitra Wins Prestigious O. Henry Award: Veteran Bengali
author Amar Mitra was awarded this year’s O.Henry prize for a short story he
wrote 45 years back. He bagged the award for his short story titled ‘Gaonburo’-
a Bengali short fiction, which was translated into English (The Old Man Of
Kusumpur) earlier. The translated work was published in an American magazine in
2020. Mitra was awarded the Sahitya Academy
OBITUARIES
1.
Actor-screenwriter Shiv Kumar Subramaniam passes away: Actor-screenwriter
Shiv Kumar Subramaniam has passed away, he was known for his roles in the
serial Mukti Bandhan and Meenakshi Sundareshwar. He started his career by
writing a screenplay for the 1989 film Parinda which was directed by Vidhu
Vinod Chopra. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Story for Hazaron Khawaishein
Aisis. He has worked in films like 2 States, Hichki, Nail Polish, Rocky
Handsome and more.
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