1) World Liver Day observed globally on 19 April
•Liver diseases can be caused by hepatitis A, B, C, alcohol and drugs. Viral Hepatitis occurs due to the consumption of contaminated food and water, unsafe sexual practices and drug abuse. As per World Health Organisation (WHO), liver diseases are 10th most common cause of death in India.
2) UN Chinese Language Day observed globally on 20 April
•The 1st Chinese Language Day was celebrated in 2010 on the 12th of November, but since 2011 the date has been on the 20th of April. The day celebrates multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as promote equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the organization.
3) “National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of India” launched
The National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of India has been classified in the following 5 broad domains:
•Oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage
•Performing arts
•Social practices, rituals and festive events
•Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe
•Traditional craftsmanship
The National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of India has been classified in the above 5 broad domains keeping in view the UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
4) GoI launches dashboard for combating and containing Covid-19
•Government of India has launched a dashboard containing information of human resources for combating and containing Covid-19. This dashbaord has been created as an online portal on the website “covidwarriors.gov.in”. This portal is a compilation of data of doctors including AYUSH doctors, nurses and other health care professionals. It also constitutes information of volunteers from Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMGKVY), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKs), NCC NSS, ex Servicemen etc. So, the online portal contains state wise as well as district wise availability of the human resources from various groups including the contact details of the nodal officers.
•The ground level administration at state, district or municipal levels will use this online portal to prepare Crisis Management/Contingency Plans considering the available manpower, in coordination with nodal officers for each group. The volunteers from these groups can perform various tasks like enforcing social distancing at various places such as banks, ration shops, mandis and for providing help to elderly, divyang and orphanages.
5) Digital directory titled “Covid FYI” launched
•Covid FYI platform has been developed to bring the right information to the right people, ensuring authenticity and credibility of the information by providing only official information from Government organisations.
6) UP govt join hands with Google to geotag community kitchens
•The State Government mobilized state resources on a massive scale to establish the kitchens. This initiative was done through NGO’s and religious organizations. For these initiatives, Remote Sensing Application Centre (RSAC) has developed the application to learn about the location of the community kitchens. The application was developed by feeding data of the latitudes and longitudes of the community kitchen. Apart from this, Google will also provide the centres in its application.
7) Fitch slashes India’s GDP growth forecast to 1.8%
•Fitch Solutions has also reduced the real GDP forecast of China for the financial year 2020 from 2.6% to 1.1%, stating the impact of a worsening global economic outlook on China’s economy.
8) A book titled “Shuttling to the Top: The Story of P.V. Sindhu”, released
•The book has been published by HarperCollins Publishers India. Sindhu is India’s first and only woman athlete to win silver at the Olympics as well as the only Indian named in Forbes” list of world”s top 10 highest-paid female athletes.
