VISION

1)  National Maritime Day 2022 observed on 5th April

•National Maritime Day in India is observed on 5 April every year. This year is the 59th edition of the National Maritime Day. The National Maritime Day is celebrated every year day to illustrate the awareness in supporting intercontinental commerce and the global economy as the most well-organized, safe and sound, environmentally responsive approach of transporting goods from one corner to another corner of the world.

•On this day ‘NMD Award of Excellence’ is usually given during the celebrations and there is a trophy and citation, given to recognize and honour individuals for their lifetime distinguished and exceptional achievements and performances in the Indian Maritime sector at a senior level.

•The theme of the National Maritime Day is “Sustainable Shipping beyond Covid-19’’.

2)  Viktor Orban wins Fourth Term as Prime Minister of Hungary

•Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban won a fourth successive term in office by a landslide victory in the country’s general elections for 2022. His right-wing Fidesz party secured 53.1% of the total 98% of the count complete. The 58-year-old is already the longest-serving head of government in the EU, since assuming the role of Prime Minister in May 2010.

•The 58-year-old, already the longest-serving head of government in the EU, was challenged by six united opposition parties seeking to roll back the “illiberal” revolution Orban’s Fidesz party has pursued during 12 consecutive years in office.

3)  UN Human Rights Council names Tuvalu negotiator Dr Ian Fry as climate expert

•The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has appointed Dr Ian Fry as the world’s first independent expert for human rights and climate change. Dr Fry has been appointed for a period of three years. He holds dual citizenship of Tuvalu and Australia. The first to hold the post will be Ian Fry, who holds both Australian and Tuvaluan nationality.

•He has negotiated on behalf of least developed countries including at the 2015 Paris climate conference where he helped ensure that human rights were part of the final package.

•The position of Special Rapporteur for human rights and climate change was created by UNHRC in October 2021. The new independent expert will have the mandate to “study and identify how the adverse effects of climate change, including sudden and slow-onset disasters, affect the full and effective enjoyment of human rights and make recommendations on how to address and prevent these adverse effects”.

4)  Flipkart Foundation launched for growth of rural area and women

•Homegrown e-commerce giant, The Flipkart Group has constituted and launched the Flipkart Foundation, a new platform with a focus on development in rural areas and providing equitable access to growth opportunities for women and other disadvantaged communities. The Flipkart Foundation aims to positively influence 20 million lives directly and indirectly in the coming decade across a wide array of areas by utilising Flipkart’s learnings over the years.

5)  SEBI has announced an ideathon Manthan to foster innovation in the securities business

•As she launched an ideathon to promote innovation, Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch said that India is ideally positioned to harness technology in the securities market to give bespoke solutions at a very low cost to individuals across the country.

6)  A new book titled “Queen of Fire” authored by Devika Rangachari

•Award-winning children’s writer and historian, Devika Rangachari has authored a new novel titled “Queen of Fire”, which explores the story of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi. The book focuses on the journey of Rani Lakshmibai as a queen, soldier, and statesman. The book provides a detailed account on how the queen took over the kingdom as a widow and joined the revolutionaries to rebel against the East India Company. Devika Rangachari is a historian who has conducted post-doctoral research on gender in early medieval Indian history.

7)  RBI fixed WMA limit for States/UTs at Rs 47,010 crores

•The Reserve Bank reduced the Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for states and union territories to Rs 47,010 crore from Rs 51,560 crore on Friday, citing an improvement in the economic scenario. WMAs are short-term loans provided by the RBI to the government to help it deal with any discrepancies between receipts and payments.

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1)  Arunabha Ghosh appointed by UN Chief to high-level expert group on net-zero emissions commitments

•United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres appointed Arunabha Ghosh (India) to a High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities. Arunabha Ghosh is the CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), a climate and energy think tank. He has been appointed to the Government of India’s G20 Finance Track Advisory Group for India’s G20 Presidency in 2023. In 2021, he was appointed as Co-Chair of the T20 Task Force on climate and energy for Indonesia’s G20 2022.

•The group was launched by Antonio Guterres on 31 March 2022. Dr Ghosh will be among three Asians (and the only South Asian) serving on the expert group. It will be chaired by former Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna. The 16-member expert group comprises independent experts, drawn from different countries.

2)  4th edition of India Boat & Marine Show (IBMS) concludes in Kochi

•The 4th edition of the India Boat & Marine Show (IBMS) was held at Bolgatty Palace in Kochi in Kerala. IBMS is India’s only and most influential Boat and Marine industry related exhibition. The event is organised by Kochi-based Cruz Expo. The IBMS 2022 showcased leading international brands as well as indigenous boat manufacturers from across the country. Around 45 exhibitors from all over India and two international exhibitors participated in the expo.

•Several PSUs and agencies like Cochin Port Trust, Indian Cost Guard, Indian Navy and Cochin Shipyard took part in the expo. The focus of the IBMS expo 2022 was the requirements for MSME in the marine and boating sector.

•The event showcase leading international brands as well as indigenous boat manufacturers from across the country. In addition to marinas, engines, navigational and other systems and equipment, mainstream craft such as motorboats, speed boats, jet skies, kayaks, water scooters, scuba diving and fishing boats & trawlers and other marine equipment will be on display.

3)  India’s unemployment rate falls to 7.6% in March from 8.1% in Feb 2022

•As per the data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the overall unemployment rate in India fell to 7.6 per cent in March 2022. This rate was 8.10 per cent in February 2022. The report also stated that though the overall unemployment rate in the country is falling, it is still high for a “poor” country like India. The decrease in the ratio shows that the economy is getting back on track after being hit by COVID-19 for two years.

•Haryana recorded the highest unemployment rate in March 2022, at 26.7 per cent. It was followed by Rajasthan (25%) and Jammu and Kashmir (25 %), Bihar (14.4%), Tripura (14.1%) and West Bengal (5.6%). Chhattisgarh has registered an unemployment rate of 0.6 per cent this March, which is the lowest so far. CMIE is a Mumbai-based independent non-government entity that serves both as an economic think-tank as well as a business information company.

4)  Ministry of Culture launches ‘Temple 360’ website

•The Minister of State for Culture and External Affairs, Meenakshi Lekhi has launched a website ‘Temple 360’. During an event organized by the Ministry of Culture at IGNCA Ampitheatre, Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts, New Delhi under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

5)  FICCI estimate India’s GDP growth rate for FY23 at 7.4%

•The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has estimated India’s GDP to grow at 7.4 per cent in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23). The Ficci’s Economic Outlook Survey was released on April 03, 2022. The report has stated that rising prices due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict is the biggest challenge to the global economic recovery.

•According to the survey, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to start a rate hike cycle in the second half of 2022, while a repo rate hike of 50-75 bps is expected by the end of the current fiscal. The RBI is expected to continue supporting the ongoing economic recovery by keeping the repo rate unchanged in its April policy review.

6)  A new book “Crunch Time: Narendra Modi’s National Security Crises” by Sreeram Chaulia

•Dr Sreeram Chauliahas authored a new book titled “Crunch Time: Narendra Modi’s National Security Crises”. The book was released by Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs at the India International Centre in New Delhi, Delhi. The book highlights the much needed public faith in the state to protect the country from security threats posed by India’s external adversaries. The book analyses PM Modi’s series of decision-making moves during the crises with China and Pakistan.

7)  Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement signed by India-Australia

•India and Australia signed an Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IndAus ECTA), hailing it as a watershed moment and one of the biggest economic doors there is to open in the world. It will provide zero-duty access to 96 per cent of India’s exports to Australia, including shipments from key sectors like engineering goods, gems and jewellery, textiles, apparel, and leather.

8)  Four agreements and launch multiple projects signed between India- Nepal

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese colleague Sher Bahadur Deuba met in New Delhi, initiating a number of projects and signing four important agreements across a variety of fields. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) and Nepal Oil Corporation Ltd. signed agreements on Nepal becoming the 105th member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), technical cooperation in railways, petroleum product delivery, and technical experience sharing in the petroleum sector.

9)  Vikas Kumar named as Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation

•Vikas Kumar has been appointed as the new Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). He succeeds Mangu Singh, whose tenure ended on March 31, 2022. Singh was the managing director of DMRC since January 1, 2012, and his famed tenure ended. Kumar is the third managing director of the DMRC after E Sreedharan and Mangu Singh. He will hold the post for a term of five years.

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