VISION

 Insights IAS PT 2021 Exclusive Geography PDF

1)  World Heritage Day observed globally on 18 April

•World Heritage Day observed globally on 18 April every year. The day is observed to raise awareness about the cultural heritage that we see around us. It is also aimed at promoting historical monuments and sites through which we can actually preserve the cultural integrity of a community as well.

•This year’s theme “Complex Pasts: Diverse Futures” reflects on the need to acknowledge global calls for greater inclusion and recognition of diversity.

2)  World Liver Day observed globally on 19 April

•World Liver day is observed on the 19 April every year to spread awareness about the second largest organ in the body. The liver is the second largest and the most complex organ in the body, with the exception of the brain. Liver diseases can be caused by hepatitis A, B, C, alcohol and drugs. Viral Hepatitis occurs due to consumption of contaminated food and water, unsafe sexual practices and drug abuse.

3)  Gender Samvaad event launched by Ministry of Rural Development

•The Ministry of Rural Development recently launched the Gender Samvaad Event. It is a joint initiative between DAY-NRLM and IWWAGE. The main objective of the Gender Samvaad event was to create awareness of gender-related interventions under the DAY-NRLM. DAY-NRLM is Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihood Mission. IWWAGE is Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy.

4)  Railways to run ‘Oxygen Express’ trains via green corridors

•Following a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases, the Indian Railways will run ‘Oxygen Express’ trains transporting liquid medical oxygen and oxygen cylinders across the country via green corridors to meet growing demand from states. Green corridors are being created to ensure fast movement of these trains.

•Empty tankers will begin their journey from Kalamboli and Boisar railway stations in and near Mumbai to load liquid medical oxygen from Vizag, Jamshedpur, Rourkela and Bokaro, the national transporter.

5)  NASA Awards $2.9 billion contract to SpaceX

•The United States space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has picked Elon Musk’s SpaceX for its Artemis programme, to develop the first commercial lander and take the next two US astronauts to the moon. The total value of this contract is $2.89 billion.

6)  Italy launches first ever mega food park in India

•Italy has launched its first-ever mega food park project in India, at Fanidhar in the Mehsana district of Gujarat. The project aims to create synergy between agriculture and industry of the two countries and focuses on the research and development of new and more efficient technologies in the sector.

•With this Italy also aims to explore the great opportunities offered by the Indian market. This is the first Italian-Indian food park project, an initiative in the food-processing field, which serves as a pillar of the partnership between India and Italy.

7)  Indian expedition to Antarctica returns to Cape Town

•The 40th Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (40-ISEA) hosted by the Ministry of Earth Sciences successfully returned to Cape Town after completing a journey of about 12,000 nautical miles in 94 days, including stopovers.

•This achievement concludes four successful decades of India’s scientific endeavour in the continent of peace and cooperation. The team reached its destination Bharati station on February 27 and Maitri station on March 8 in Antarctica. Bharati and Maitri are India’s permanent research base stations in Antarctica.

8)  Rating Agencies downgrade India’s GDP forecasts for FY22

•With the resurgence of COVID-19 cases posing risks to economic recovery, the leading brokerages have downgraded India’s GDP growth projections for the current fiscal year 2021-22. Current fiscal year to as low as 10 per cent on local lockdowns threatening fragile recovery.

9)  India’s Mirabai Chanu creates a new Clean and Jerk world record in Tashkent

•Mirabai Chanu set a new World Record in the women’s 49kg Clean and Jerk with a massive 119 kg lift at Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent. The 26-year-old Indian won the bronze medal at the event. The gold medal went to Hou Zhihui of China who created a new world record in snatch. Asian Games, held once every 4yrs, is the 2nd largest multi-sport event after Olympics.

10)  Max Verstappen Wins Emilia Romagna F1 Grand Prix 2021

•Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) won the Emilia Romagna F1 Grand Prix 2021, in Imola, Italy. This win is his first victory of the season. The race was the second round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship.

•The seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) finished second, following a crash and sustaining damage involving Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas. Lando Norris (McLaren – Great Britain) took third place.

📰 Railways to map festivals along the tracks to prevent fatalities

 Shankar IAS Target 2021 Government Schemes-I PDF

APTI PLUS Current Affairs Monthly Magazine April 2021

1)  World Hemophilia Day: 17 April

•World Hemophilia Day observed globally on 17 April every year. This day is observed to raise awareness for hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. The date was chosen in honour of the World Federation of Hemophilia founder Frank Schnabel birthday. This year is the 30th edition of World Haemophilia Day.

•The theme for 2021 World Hemophilia Day is “Adapting to Change: Sustaining care in a new world”. The day is being held since 1989, which marks the birthday of Frank Schnabel, founder of the World Federation of Hemophilia.

2)  8th Indo-Kyrgyz Special Forces Exercise ‘Khanjar’ Flags off

•The 8th Indo-Kyrgyz Joint Special Forces Exercise “Khanjar” was inaugurated at the Special Forces Brigade of National Guards of the Kyrgyz Republic in Bishkek, the capital of the host Kyrgyzstan. Initiated first in 2011, the two-week-long special operations exercise focusses on high-altitude warfare, mountain warfare and counter-extremism exercises.

•The Indian contingent for the exercise and felicitated their role as a bridge in promoting the shared mountain and nomadic heritage of both nations. A ceremonial parade graced the occasion along with a display of equipment’s and weapons and a visit to the training arena and barracks.

3)  PM Modi released 4 books related to Babasaheb Ambedkar

•PM Narendra Modi has paid tribute to India’s first law minister and the architect of the Indian Constitution Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar on his birth anniversary and released four books based on his life. PM Modi has addressed the 95th Annual Meet and National Seminar of Vice-Chancellors of the Association of Indian Universities via video conferencing and launched four books related to Dr BR Ambedkar, written by Kishor Makwana.

4)  RBL Bank Mastercard partner to offer first-of its-kind payment functionality

•RBL Bank and Mastercard have announced their partnership to launch a mobile-based consumer-friendly payment solution ‘Pay by Bank App’, a first-of-its-kind payment functionality in India. RBL Bank account holders can now enjoy contactless transactions across the world through their mobile banking application both in-store and online. This functionality will be available at all Mastercard accepting merchants, worldwide that accept contactless and online payments.

1)  World Voice Day: 16 April

•The World Voice Day (WVD) is celebrated globally on April 16 every year to demonstrate the enormous importance of the voice in the daily lives of all people. The Day is a global annual event dedicated to recognizing the boundless limits of the human voice. The mission is to share the excitement of the voice phenomenon with people, scientists, and other funding bodies.

•The theme of 2021 is ONE WORLD|MANY VOICES.

2)  NITI Aayog launches ‘Poshan Gyan’, a digital repository on health, nutrition

•NITI Aayog, in partnership with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Centre for Social and Behaviour Change, Ashoka University launched called “Poshan Gyan”, a national digital repository on health and nutrition. The website can be accessed through eh following link: https://poshangyan.niti.gov.in/

3)  India sign MoU with France for cooperation on Gaganyaan Mission

•The Indian space agency, ISRO has signed an agreement with the space agency of France CNES for cooperation in its first human space mission, Gaganyaan. CNES will train Indian flight physicians and CAPCOM mission control teams at French facilities. The Gaganyaan orbital spacecraft project was kicked off in August 2018. It originally intended to send astronauts from Indian soil to mark the 75th anniversary of India’s independence in 2022.

4)  India ranks 49th in Inclusive Internet Index 2021

•The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), in partnership with Facebook, has released the Inclusive Internet Index 2021. India has been ranked at 49th spot globally. It shares its rank with Thailand. This index measures the extent to which the internet is available and affordable by region, and highlights additional insight into how people around the world are using the web.

Top 5 Countries:

1.Sweden

2.United States

3.Spain

4.Australia

5.Hong Kong

5)  ‘Aahaar Kranti’ mission launched by Health Ministry

•Union Health Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan has launched Aahaar Kranti, a mission dedicated to spreading awareness about nutrition. It is designed to address the peculiar problem of hunger and diseases in abundance, being faced by India and the world. Studies show that India produces as much as two times the amount of calories it consumes.

•However, many in the country are still malnourished. The root cause of this strange phenomenon is a lack of nutritional awareness. Keeping this in mind, Aahaar Kranti has been launched with the motto of Uttam Aahaar- Uttam Vichaar or Good Diet-Good Cognition.

•The movement proposes to address the problem by working to rouse the people to the values and richness of India’s traditional diet, to the healing powers of local fruits and vegetables and to the miracles of a balanced diet. Vijnana Bharati, Global Indian Scientists and Technocrats Forum, Vigyan Prasar, and Pravasi Bharatiya Academic and Scientific Sampark have come together to launch this mission.

6)  Piyush Goyal Launches “e-SANTA”, an Electronic Marketplace For Aqua Farmers

•Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal has inaugurated e-SANTA, an electronic marketplace, to provide a platform for connecting aqua farmers and buyers. e-SANTA aims to raise income, lifestyle, self-reliance, quality levels, traceability, of aqua farmers.

7)  RBI to set up Regulations Review Authority for one year

•The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will be set up a new Regulations Review Authority (RRA 2.0) from May 1, 2021, to review the regulations, circulars, reporting systems and compliance procedures of the central bank for streamlining them and making them more effective. The RRA will be set up for a period of one year unless the timeline is extended by the RBI.

8)  Prime Minister of Haiti Joseph Jouthe Resigns

•Prime Minister of Haiti, Joseph Jouthe has resigned following a situation of unrest in the country due to an increase in killing and kidnapping cases over the past few days. Joseph Jouthe served as the Prime Minister of Haiti from March 4, 2020, until April 14, 2021. President Jovenel Moise has nominated Claude Joseph as the new prime minister of Haiti.

📰 Adolescent girls grappled with increased pressure to get married, more gender-based violence during pandemic: Study