NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Joint
Military Exercise ‘Ex KAVACH’ concludes at Andaman & Nicobar Command: Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) has conducted a large-scale
Joint Military Exercise ‘Ex KAVACH’ involving the assets of the Army,
Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. KAVACH exercise began on 23rd
February 2023 and concluded on April 7, 2023 Aim: Fine-tuning
joint warfare capabilities & SOPs and enhancing interoperability and
operational synergy between the forces ANC is the first integrated theatre
command in India with headquarters at Port Blair.
2. PM Modi launches multiple
projects in Telangana, Tamil Nadu: PM Modi has dedicated to
the nation the multiple projects like Secunderabad-Mahabubnagar
electrification, re-development project of Secunderabad railway station, 13 new
MMTS services, 6 national highway stretches and construction work of
AIIMS Bibinagar He flagged off the prestigious Vande Bharat Express train from
Secunderabad to Tirupati at Secunderabad Railway Station He inaugurated the New
Integrated Terminal Building Phase -I at the Chennai Airport in Tamil Nadu.
3. Ladakh’s
wood carving gets Geographical Indication (GI) Tag: Among
the arts and crafts of Ladakh, woodcarving, which has been there for
centuries and is passed down to generations as a means of invaluable cultural
inheritance is to be granted Geographical Indication (GI) tag It is the
importance, uniqueness, and unparallel craftsmanship of this art that earned it
recognition by being the first local art Wood carving (Shingkos) in
Ladakh is part of the five major fields of knowledge in the traditional
education system of Ladakh
4. Indian
Navy conducted the Prasthan exercise off Mumbai Coast.: Prashthan exercise is held every 6 months under Indian
Navy and involves the participation of all stakeholders in the maritime domain It
is an important element of ensuring offshore security and aims to integrate the
efforts of all maritime stakeholders It was conducted on the Greatdrill
Chaaya platform, which is about 30 nm South West of Mumbai Harbour Personnel
from Maharashtra Police, Customs, Fisheries Department, Mumbai Port
Authority, etc also participated in it
5. J&K
LG Manoj Sinha inaugurates Tulip Garden at Sanasar in Ramban district: Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has inaugurated
the largest Tulip Garden of Jammu region at Sanasar tourist
destination in Ramban district of Jammu division As a Tourism Mission initiative,
75 new destinations, 75 Sufi/religious sites, 75 new cultural heritage sites
and 75 new tracks are being developed in J&K to open up new economic
avenues. Tulip Garden is spread over 40 Kanals of land with 2.75 Lakh Tulip
Bulbs of 25 different varieties
6. Kiren
Rijiju releases 1st edition of Dogri version of Constitution of India: Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Kiren Rijiju has
released the first edition of the Dogri version of the Constitution of India at
University of Jammu. The minister also remarked that although the task has been
accomplished a bit late after enshrining Dogri language in the 8th Schedule of
the Constitution back in 2003 but furthering its impact among people should not
be delayed any further.
7. Kerala tops GI tag list in FY 2022-23: Kerala has topped the list of states in the country with most
number of products securing the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in financial
year 2022-23. Between April 2022 and March 2023, 12 products were selected for recognition
with two of them from overseas. Besides the 6 products from Kerala, Mithila
Makhanafrom Bihar was selected for Cl recognition followed by Alibag white
onion from Maharashtra. Tandur Redgram from Telangana the local variety of pea,
Ladakh Raktsey Karpo Apricot from Ladakh and Gamosa handicrafts from Assam were
also chosen for the honours. In the fiscal year 2021-22, as many as 50 products
from domestic and overseas market were selected for the recognition, with Uttar
Pradesh topping the list with seven GI tags followed by Uttarakhand at six. Handcraft
products like Chunar Glaze Pottery, Banaras Zardozi, Mirzapur Pital Bartan,
Banaras Wood Carving, Banaras Hand Block Print, Rataul Mango, Mau saree were
selected for the GI recognition from Uttar Pradesh.
8. Amit Shah unveils 54 feet tall statue of Lord Hanuman
at Gujarat: Union Home Minister Amit
Shah on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti has unveiled a 54-feet-tall
statue of Lord Hanuman at Sarangpur temple in Botad district, Gujarat. The idol
is located in the Sarangpur Temple, a popular pilgrimage site for devotees of
Lord Hanuman. The idol is 54 feet tall, making it one of the tallest idols of
Lord Hanuman in the country. Shah also inaugurated the temple’s new community
kitchen. The new community kitchen has the capacity to serve around 4,000
pilgrims at a time, making it easier for devotees to get food during their
visit to the temple.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. IGl ranked world’s 9th busiest airport: Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport has broken into the
club of the world’s 10 busiest airports by passengers
handled, as per Airports Council International (ACI). The global trade
association of airports ranked the Delhi Airport at the ninth spot for 2022,
just ahead of Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport. The global trade association
of airports ranked the Delhi airport at the 9th spot for 2022, the airport
handled almost 5.95 crore passengers. The airport was ranked as the 13th
busiest for 2021 and 17th busiest for 2019. The Delhi airport is India’s
largest and is the only airport from South and Southeast Asia to feature in
ACI’s list of the 10 busiest airports. The Atlanta airport in the United States
retained its position as the world’s busiest airport, having handled 9.37 crore
passengers last year. In fact, five of the 10 busiest airports for 2022 are in
the US. These include Dallas, Denver, Chicago, and Los Angeles, apart from
Atlanta. Dubai, Istanbul, and London Heathrow were the other airports in the
top-10 list. The Delhi airport is currently undergoing an expansion project and
will soon add a fourth runway and additional passenger handling capacity at
terminals. The airport will soon have a capacity to handle over 10 crore
passengers a year, catapulting it into a select league of airports globally. China
is the world’s second-largest aviation market after the US.
2. India elected to UN Statistical Commission for 4-year
term: India has been elected
to the UN Statistical Commission for a four-year term. India, along with
South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and China, was in the fray for two seats
in the Asia Pacific states category. In the second round, China and South Korea
got 25 votes each. South Korea was elected for the second seat through a draw
of lots after two inconclusive rounds of secret balloting. India elected to the
highest UN statistical body for a 4-year term beginning on 1 January 2024.
India’s expertise in the field of statistics, diversity & demography has
earned it a seat on the UN Statistical Commission. India won in the
just-completed UN Statistical Commission election, securing 46 out of 53 votes,
ahead of South Korea (23) China (19), and the UAE (15). India was elected as a
member of this commission 20 years ago in 2004.
3. Aleksander Ceferin re-elected UEFA president until
2027: Aleksander Ceferin was
re-elected unopposed as UEFA president at the Ordinary Congress of
European Soccer’s governing body in Lisbon. The Slovenian has been re-elected
to a four-year term that will last until 2027. Ceferin was elected as UEFA’s
seventh president in 2016 to replace Michel Platini, who was barred from
football administration in 2015 for ethics violations and was forced to resign
from UEFA in 2016 after losing an appeal against his ban.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Kim Cotton becomes 1st female to umpire in ICC Men’s T201 cricket: New Zealand’s Kim Cotton has become the 1st woman on-field umpire in a full-member men’s T201 during New Zealand’s second match against Sri Lanka in Dunedin, New Zealand. Cotton has previously officiated in 54 women’s T20Is, both as an on-field and TV umpire, besides 24 women’s ODIs since 2018. Cotton first marked her presence in the men’s game as a TV umpire in 2020 during a tied contest between India and New Zealand in Hamilton. Cotton has also officiated in three T20 World Cups and an ODI World Cup since 2018, including the finals in 2020, 2022 and 2023.