NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. PM
Modi laid the foundation stone for Who Global Center For Traditional Medicines:
The
World Health Organization launched its Global Centre for Traditional Medicine
at a site in Gujarat, aimed at unlocking its potential by blending ancient
practices with modern science. During the event, the WHO chief Tedros
Ghebreyesus spoke in Hindi which surprised all. The WHO chief Tedros
Ghebreyesus and Prime Minister of Mauritius Shri Pravind Kumar Jugnauth were
present at the event.
Traditional medicines products abound
globally and the centre will go a long way in bringing the promise of traditional
medicine to fruition. The New Centre will focus on data, innovation and
sustainability and will optimize the use of traditional medicine. He noted that
the WHO global centre for traditional medicine is a truly global project.
Through this centre, India will be able to take its knowledge of traditional
medicine to the world and similarly, the world will come to India.
2.
Nation’s first portable solar rooftop system unveiled in Gandhinagar: The first portable
solar rooftop system in India has been inaugurated at Swaminarayan Akshardham
temple complex in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The 10 Photovoltaic PV Port system has
been manufactured by New Delhi-based Servotech Power Systems Ltd and designed
by the German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The systems have been installed under the initiative of
the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to develop renewable energy
cities across India.
The PV Ports have been manufactured by New
Delhi-based Servotech Power Systems Ltd (SPSL), a leading maker of high-end
solar products like LEDs, oxygen concentrators and EV charging equipment under
the Make in India project, it added. The PV Port system is highly
cost-effective, requires low maintenance, has a long shelf life of 25-30 years,
can be easily installed by a single person and is ideal for the Indian climate.
3.
Supreme Court reconstitutes expert committee for Delhi-Dehradun Corridor
project: The
Supreme Court of India has reconstituted the expert committee to monitor the
compensatory afforestation and other mitigation measures for the Delhi-Dehradun
Economic Corridor Expressway project. The independent 12-member expert
committee was formed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to be headed by
Sukhbir Singh Sandhu Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand. About the committee:
a)
The
Director-General of Forests, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate
Change will be the Chairperson of the reconstituted Committee.
b)
Chandra
Prakash Goyal is currently appointed as the Director-General of Forests and
Special Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest
and Climate Change.
c)
Apart
from the new Chairperson, the Supreme Court has also included Anil Prakash
Joshi (founder of Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation
Organisation) and Vijay Dhamsana (environmentalist) as additional members in
the committee.
4.
Ayushman Bharat-Health & Wellness Centre Scheme marked 4th year
anniversary; The
Union Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya, organised a week-long celebration under
the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, marking the fourth anniversary of Ayushman
Bharat- Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) from April 16 to April 22. The
inauguration of the first AB-HWC on 14th April 2018, at Jangla, a serene
village in the Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh.
Key Points:
a)
On
April 16, 2022, a record of more than 3 lakh teleconsultations were done under
the eSanjeevani platform of AB-HWCs. This is the highest number of
telecommunications done on a single day, surpassing its earlier record of 1.8
Lakh teleconsultations per day.
b)
On
the second day, i.e. On April 17, 2022, Yoga sessions were organised in all the
AB-HWCs to highlight the integration of health and wellness in service
provision at AB-HWCs.
c)
The
third day begins with organising ‘Block Health Melas’ from 18 April to 22
April, in at least one block in each district of the State/Union Territories
(UTs). Each Block Health Mela would be for one day and each block in the
State/UTs is to be covered.
d)
The
Block Health Melas provide screening for early diagnosis of Tuberculosis (TB),
Hypertension, diabetes, basic health care services with drugs and diagnostics
along with teleconsultation with relevant health specialists.
e)
The
Government of India is committed to establishing 1,50,000 AB-HWCs by December
2022. Of which 1,17,400 HWCs have been already established, also more than 1
Lakh Centres have registered for the e-Sanjeevani HWCs portal.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Shanti Sethi appointed as Kamala Harris’s defence advisor: Indian-American
Navyveteran Shanti Sethi has been appointed as USA Vice President Kamala
Harris’s Defence Adviser. Shanti Sethi is the first Indian-American commander
of a major US Navy combat ship. Shanti Sethi commanded the guided-missile
destroyer, USS Decatur, from December 2010 to May 2012. She joined the Navy in
1993. When she joined the Navy in 1993, the combat exclusion law was still in
effect so she was limited in what she could do. However, when she was an
officer, the Exclusion Act was lifted.
Recently, US Senate has confirmed the
appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson (the first Black woman) to Supreme Court
Judge.
2.
Cyrus S. Poonawalla tops Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022: Chairman and
Managing Director of Serum Institute of India (SII), Dr Cyrus S. Poonawalla has
topped the Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022 and became the richest
billionaire in the healthcare sector 2022. He has topped the list with a new
value of USD 26 billion (up 41%). Cyrus Poonawalla is followed by Thomas Frist Jr
& Family of HCA Healthcare, Li Xiting and Xu Hang of Mindray at the 2nd
position with a net value of USD 19 billion. Dilip Shanghvi & Family, of
the Sun Pharmaceuticals, is at the 5th position with a net worth of USD 18
billion.
Country-Wise: China (34) has the most
healthcare industry billionaires, followed by the United States of America
(16), Switzerland (15), Germany (11), and India (9).
3.
International Mother Earth Day: 22th April: World Earth Day, also known as
International Mother Earth Day, is celebrated every year on April 22. The day
focuses on the global climate crisis that is worsening with each passing day.
World Earth Day 2022 will mark the 52nd Anniversary of the day since it started
being observed in 1970. Earth Day was renamed officially by the UN in 2009 as
International Mother Earth Day. The theme of Earth Day 2022 is to ‘Invest in
our planet’.
History of Earth Day: Earth Day was
first celebrated on April 22, 1970. This was when the peace activist John Mc
Connell proposed to honour Mother Earth and the concept of peace during a
UNESCO conference in San Francisco. Notably, World Earth Day was earlier
decided to be celebrated on March 21, 1970, as the day one of spring in the
Northern Hemisphere. Thereafter, US Senator Gaylord Nelson proposed to hold
nationwide environmental enlightenment on April 22, 1970, which was later
renamed ‘Earth Day.
Note: UNEP Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya;
UNEP Head: Inger Andersen; UNEP Founder: Maurice Strong; UNEP Founded: 5 June
1972, Nairobi, Kenya.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Indian GM D Gukesh won 48th La Roda International Open chess tournament title: Indian Grandmaster
Dommaraju Gukesh has clinched the 48th La Roda International Open chess
tournament title in Castile-La Mancha, Spain. He defeated Israel’s Victor
Mikhalevski in the final round. GM Haik M. Martirosyan from Armenia placed
second with 7.5 points. Indian GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa finished third followed
by Raunak Sadhwani (India), Manuel Lopez Martinez Josep (Spain) and Ramon
Martinez (Venezuela).
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
Reserve Bank of India capped lending limits of NBFCs: The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) has tightened the rules for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs)
relating to their large exposures. RBI capped aggregate exposure of NBFCs which
are in the upper layer toward one entity at 20% of the capital base. The limit
can only be extended by another 5% with the board’s approval.
For a particular borrower group, the cap is
at 25%, with an additional 10% if exposure is towards infrastructure. The
upper-layer NBFCs are typically the top 10 ones in terms of asset size.
However, NBFCs that are into infrastructure finance can have exposure of 25 per
cent, with an option of an additional 5 per cent of Tier I capital to a single
counterparty. For a group of connected counterparties, infrastructure companies
can have an exposure of 35 per cent of Tier-I capital. These norms will come
into effect from October 1, 2022.
Note: RBI Founded: April 1, 1935; RBI
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; RBI Governor: Shaktikanta Das
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
IMF cuts India’s GDP growth forecast for FY23 to 8.2%: The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed the gross domestic product (GDP) growth
forecast for India in FY23 to 8.2 per cent in its latest World Economic Outlook
report, released on April 19, 2022. Earlier in January report, this was
estimated at 9 per cent. IMF has also cut India’s FY24 GDP growth forecast to
6.9 per cent. Earlier this was 7.1 per cent. In the case of the global economy,
IMF has cut the growth forecast for the calendar year 2022 to 3.6 per cent from
4.4 per cent.
2.
World Bank cuts global economy growth forecast to 3.2%: The World Bank has
lowered the global growth forecast for 2022 to 3.2%. Earlier this was estimated
at 4.1%. The downward revision is due to the impact of Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine on the world economy. The reason for lowering the projection is that
people are facing reduced commercial activity and trade, and the debt crisis
and currency depreciations have placed a heavy burden on the poor. The world is
also facing reversals in development in education, health and gender equality.
Note: World Bank Founded: July 1944, United
States; World Bank Headquarters: Washington DC, USA; World Bank President:
David Robert Malpass; World Bank Member Countries: 189 (including India).
3.
Wipro named Satya Easwaran as country head of India: IT major Wipro has
announced the appointment of Satya Easwaran as the Country Head for India. He
will be in charge of strengthening Wipro’s business in India across segments
through strategic consulting, transformation and modernisation engagements. He
will help clients leverage Wipro’s capabilities and investments in cloud,
digital, engineering R&D, data/analytics and cybersecurity. “India is a
strategic market for Wipro.
Note: Wipro CEO: Thierry Delaporte; Wipro
Founder: M.H. Hasham Premji; Wipro Founded: 29 December 1945, India; Wipro
Owner: Azim Premji; Wipro Headquarters: Bengaluru.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
IndusInd Bank won global ‘Celent Model Bank’ Award for its EPH initiative: IndusInd Bank has
been awarded the global ‘Celent Model Bank’ award under the category of
‘Payments System Transformation’ for building a best-in-class Enterprise
Payments Hub (EPH). The award recognises the Bank’s outstanding journey in
creating a cloud-based central payments hub. The award is given by Celent, leading
research and advisory firm focused on technology for financial institutions
globally. This payment hub is capable of seamlessly processing high transaction
loads originating across all forms of payment instructions, and across all
originating client touchpoints.
Note: IndusInd Bank Founded: 1994; IndusInd
Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; IndusInd Bank MD & CEO: Sumant
Kathpalia; IndusInd Bank Tagline: We Make You Feel Richer.
DEFENCE
1.
National Level Pollution Response Exercise ‘NATPOLREX-VIII’ of Indian Coast
Guard begins: The
Indian Coast Guard (ICG) kicked off the 8th edition of the two-day National
Level Pollution Response Exercise, ‘NATPOLREX-VIII’, on April 19, 2022, off
Mormugao harbour, Goa. The marine spill preparedness exercise was inaugurated
by Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar. The exercise is being attended by more than
85 participants from 50 agencies, including 29 observers from 22 friendly
foreign countries & International Organisations and two Coast Guard ships
from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The objective of the Exercise:
a)
The
objective of NATPOLREX-VIII is to enhance the preparedness and response
capability of all the stakeholders in combating marine spills.
b)
It
aims at validating the procedures and guidelines as contained in the National
Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP) at the national and regional
levels under the aegis of SACEP MoU to which India is a member state.
c) During the exercise, various components of NOSDCP were invoked to validate and improve the contingency plans and evaluate the preparedness of the resource agencies as well as stakeholders to meet any marine spill disaster at sea.
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