Welcome to Fdaytalk Current Affairs Week Series. Let’s learn complete current affairs from April 19 to 24 April 2021, Weekly Current Affairs. In this session, we are going to cover National, International, Science and Technology, Sports, Awards and obituaries events for the week of April 19 to 24 April 2021.
Event 1) The Gallantry Awards Portal organized an “Innovative Braveheart Tribute” competition in which participants from all over India were invited to recommend unique and innovative tributes to salute the Brave hearts of the nation.
• The objective of the competition is to find a series of befitting tribute messages for the Gallantry Awardees. The competition to be held from 15th April to 15th May 2021.
• To participate in the competition, visit the Gallantry Awards website.
• Gallantry Awards were given to defence personnel for their remarkable service, awards were categorised as Param Vir Chakra, Ashoka Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Vir Chakra and Shaurya Chakra.
• Param Vir Chakra is India’s highest military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime.
• Ashoka Chakra is India’s highest peacetime military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is equivalent to the Param Vir Chakra and is awarded either to military or civilian personnel.
Event 2) Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Prahlad Singh Patel addressed a webinar ‘India’s Heritage: Powering Tourism’ organized by the Ministry of Tourism on the occasion of World Heritage Day 2021 that is on April 18.
• He also inaugurated the Online Exhibition on Ramayana, the Epic by Maharishi Valmiki which is the very first online exhibition on the Ramayana.
• The theme of World Heritage Day 2021 is “Complex Pasts: Diverse Futures”.
Event 3) Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution launched the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS).
• The Fund aims to provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry, and commercialization.
• SISFS announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16th January 2021 in his Grand Plenary address of ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’, marking the 5-year anniversary of the Startup India initiative.
• Corpus amount of Rs 945 Crore to be divide over the next 4 years for providing seed funding to eligible startups through eligible incubators across, this scheme expected to support an estimated 3,600 startups through 300 incubators.
Event 4) Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 323, the first unit of the indigenously built ALH Mk III aircraft commissioned into the Indian Navy in the presence of Minister of State for Defence, Shripad Naik and Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar at INS Hansa, Goa on 19 Apr 21.
• ALH Mk III, a multirole helicopter with a Shakti engine manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), it has an all-glass cockpit and used for Search and Rescue, Special Operations and Coastal Surveillance.
• 16 Mk III aircraft were under procurement and aircraft to be delivered in a phased manner to the Indian Navy.
• INAS 323 is commanded by Commander Samik Nundy.
Event 5) The Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), an autonomous think tank, under the Indian Army established a joint initiative with Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Mangalore, formerly known as Manipal University, to conduct a PhD programme for Army Officers.
• CLAWS taken initiative to further enhance the professional military education of officers. CLAWS recognised as a sub-centre of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) by virtue of which 5 CLAWS faculties will serve as co-supervisors.
• CLAWS will also initiate the selection process and conduct mandatory research methodology classes, as per guidelines given by the UGC and MAHE, Mangalore.
Event 6) the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH India on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety signed an agreement on Technical Cooperation titled ‘Cities Combating Plastic Entering the Marine Environment’ in New Delhi.
• This project is envisaged under the contours of the Joint Declaration of Intent regarding cooperation in the field of ‘Prevention of Marine Litter’ signed between India and Germany in 2019.
• The project aimed at enhancing practices to prevent plastic from entering the marine environment will be undertaken at the national level (at MoHUA), select states (Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Andaman & Nicobar Islands) and in the cities of Kanpur, Kochi and Port Blair for a period of 3.5 years.
• It is estimated that 15 to 20% of all plastics are entering oceans via riverine ecosystems of which 90% are contributed by 10 of the world’s most polluting rivers, 2 of these river systems are located in India, (Ganga and Brahmaputra).
Event 7) First Oxygen Express rakes left from Mumbai to Vizag to take Oxygen, Indian Railways geared up to run Oxygen Express in response to going Covid-19, Mumbai Division built a ramp overnight within 24 hours at Kalamboli goods yard to facilitate loading/unloading of tankers in/from flat wagons.
• The Ro-Ro service with 7 empty tankers departed from Kalamboli goods yard for the Visakhapatnam steel plant.
Event 8) The Ministry of Tourism organised the 85th webinar titled “Khajuraho-Temples of Architectural Splendour” in the Dekho Apna Desh Webinar series.
• Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series is an effort to showcase India’s rich diversity under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
• Khajuraho temples were built between 950-1050 AD by the Chandela Dynasty.
Event 9) The Union Cabinet has given its ex post facto approval to the MoU between the Director-General of Trade Remedies, India and the Bangladesh Trade & Tariff Commission, Bangladesh on the establishment of a framework of cooperation in the area of trade remedial measures signed on 27th March 2021 at Dhaka.
• The main objective of the MOU is to promote cooperation between the two countries in the area of Trade Remedies, covering the broad activities related to exchange of information, undertaking capacity building activities and activities in accordance with various provisions of the World Trade Organization in the area of anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures in bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh.
Event 10) The Union Cabinet approved the MoU between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ).
• The ICAI and CA ANZ aim to establish a mutual co-operation framework for the advancement of accounting knowledge, professional and intellectual development, advancement of the interests of their respective members and contribute positively to the development of the accounting profession in Australia, New Zealand and India.
• ICAI is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament of India, The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949′, to regulate the profession of Chartered Accountancy in India.
• CA ANZ emerged from the merger of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants in October 2014.
Event 11) The Cabinet approved the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between the Institute of Chartered Accounts of India (ICAI) and the CPA (“Certified Practising Accountant”) Australia.
• Under the Agreement both will work together to establish a mutual co-operation framework for the advancement of accounting knowledge, professional and intellectual development, advancement of the interests of their respective members and contribute positively to the development of the accounting profession in Australia and India.
• CPA Australia is one of the world’s largest accounting bodies with a membership of more than 160,000 members working in 150 countries and regions around the world and offer services in education, training, technical support and advocacy.
Event 12) Union Cabinet approved the MoU between the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Administrative Council for Economic Defense of Brazil (CADE).
• According to Section 18 of the Competition Act 2002, CCI can enter into any MoU or arrangement with any agency of any foreign country for the purpose of discharging its duties or performing its functions under the Act.
Event 13) Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for the formulation of an exclusive subsidy policy for Urea produced through the coal gasification route by Talcher Fertilizers Limited (TFL).
• The project will improve the availability of fertilizer to farmers thereby boosting the development of the eastern region and will save transport subsidy for the supply of urea in the eastern part of the country.
• This project helps in reducing Urea imports to 12.7 LMT per annum leading to savings in foreign exchange.
• Talcher Fertilizers Ltd (TFL) is a Joint Venture Company of 4 PSUs i.e., Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCF), GAIL Ltd. (GAIL), Coal India Ltd. (CIL) and Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd.
• TFL is reviving the erstwhile Talcher plant of Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd. (FCIL) by setting up a new greenfield Urea Plant with an installed capacity of 12.7 Lakh Metric Ton per annum (LMTPA).
Event 14) Prime Minister participated in the Leaders’ Summit on Climate at the invitation of US President Joseph R. Biden, the summit to be held virtually from 22 to 23 April 2021.
• Prime Minister addressed in a session of “Our Collective Sprint to 2030”.
• US President Joseph R. Biden announced that the US would cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% to 52% by 2030 relative to 2005.
• Leaders’ Summit on Climate hosted by the USA in which 40 heads of states and government were invited including India’s Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin President of Russia and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Event 16) Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch the distribution of e-property cards under the SWAMITVA scheme on 24th April 2021 (National Panchayati Raj Day) through video conferencing.
• Narendra Modi also confers the National Panchayat Awards 2021 on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj day.
• The National Panchayat Awards 2021 were conferred under the following categories: Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar (to 224 Panchayats), Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar (to 30 Gram Panchayats), Gram Panchayat Development Plan Award (to 29 Gram Panchayats), Child-friendly Gram Panchayat Award (to 30 Gram Panchayats) and e-Panchayat Puraskar (to 12 States).
• SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) was launched by Narendra Modi on 24th April 2020 as a Central Sector Scheme to promote a socio-economically empowered and self-reliant rural India.
• The pilot phase of the SVAMITVA Scheme implemented during 2020–2021 in the States of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and select villages of Punjab and Rajasthan.
• SVAMITVA Scheme to cover around 6.62 Lakh villages of the entire country during 2021-2025.
Event 17) Air Vice-Marshal PS Karkare took charge as Senior Officer-in-charge of Administration of Headquarters Western Air Command.
• He was graduated from Defence Services Staff College and the College of Defence Management (CDM).
• Prior to this, he was served as Air Commodore Air Force Works at Air Headquarters (Vayu Bhavan).
Event 18) Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health chaired the “Reaching Zero” forum on malaria elimination to celebrate World Malaria Day, through a video conference.
• World Malaria Day is observed every year on 25th April, this year theme was “Reaching the Zero Malaria target.’’
• Theme World Malaria Day 2021: Reaching the Zero Malaria target.
• India achieved remarkable success in reducing malaria cases by 84.5% and deaths by 83.6% which has been recognized by World Malaria Reports of 2018, 2019, and 2020.
• 18 Global leaders endorsed the Malaria Elimination roadmap of Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance at the East Asia Summit held in Malaysia in 2015. It set the goal of ensuring that the Region becomes free of malaria by 2030.
Lets Learn about Science and Technology of the week 19 to 24 April 2021
Event 19) Defence Bio-Engineering & Electro Medical Laboratory (DEBEL), Bengaluru of DRDO developed a SpO2 (Blood Oxygen Saturation) supplemental Oxygen Delivery System for soldiers posted at extreme high-altitude areas.
• The system delivers supplemental oxygen based on the SpO2 levels and prevents the person from sinking into a state of Hypoxia.
• Hypoxia means it is a state in which the amount of oxygen reaching the tissues is inadequate to fulfil all the energy requirements of the body.
Lets Learn about International events of the week 19 to 24 April 2021
Event 20) Saudi Arabian rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul honoured with the prestigious 8th Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
• She was awarded the cash prize of $72,238 in an online ceremony for “outstanding civil society action in defence of human rights.
• Loujain al-Hathloul jailed for campaigning to allow women to drive in Saudi Arabia, she released in February 2021 after spending 1,001 days in prison.
Event 21) Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel swore as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba replacing Raul Castro. The Secretary of the Communist Party is the most powerful position in one party ruling Cuba.
• 89-year-old Raúl Castro, the brother of the late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro stepped down as head of the Cuban Communist Party. Presidency handed to a much younger Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez. Some of the facts about Cuba,
• Cube Capital: Havana.
• Government: Unitary Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist republic.
• First Secretary and President: Miguel Díaz-Canel.
• Vice President: Salvador Valdés Mesa.
• Prime Minister: Manuel Marrero Cruz.
• Legislature: National Assembly of People’s Power.
Event 22) India ranked at 142nd out of 180 countries on the Press freedom index 2021
• 2021 World Press freedom index produced by RSF, Reporters Without Borders, is a French non-government organization.
• In 2016, India’s rank was 133, RSF reports say India is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists trying to do their job properly.
• The present chairman of RSF: Pierre Haski.
Event 23) Former Minneapolis police Drek Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter by jury, sentenced 40-year jail.
• He used his knee to pin the neck of an African American George Floyd to the ground and killing him.
• Floyd death sparked ‘Balck Lives Matter’ protests for racial justice across America.
Lets Learn about Sports events of the week 19 to 24 April 2021
Event 24) Belgian-Dutch F1 racer Max Verstappen won Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, Italy.
• The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is a Formula One Grand Prix held at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, which is also abbreviated as “Imola” after the town in which it is situated.
Event 25) Weightlifter Jhilli Dalabehera won the gold medal in the women’s 45kg field at the Asian weightlifting championships in Tashkent.
• She won a silver medal at the 2019 Asian Weightlifting Championships held at Ningbo, China.
Event 26) Wrestler Deepak Punia won a Silver medal in the men’s 86kg freestyle summit clash at the Asian wrestling championships in Almasty, Kazakhstan.
Event 27) Fabio Quartararo of France wins Portuguese MotoGP World Championship; last month he also won the Doha Grand Prix, Qatar.
Event 28) 18 years-old Arjun Kalyan won GM round-robin “Rujna Zora-3 2021” tournament at Arandjelovac in Serbia.
• He became India’s 68th Grandmaster in Chess after defeating GM Kosic Dragan of Montenegro.
Event 29) Wing Commander Shantanu, Indian Air Force selected to represent India at the World Rowing Asia/ Oceania Continental Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta which is to be held in May 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
• He began rowing in April 2019 and was chosen by The Rowing Federation of India for the October 2019 Asian Rowing Training Camp and Championship in South Korea.
• He finished 5th in Asia at the time, making him the first Indian paraplegic to participate in the sport.
Obituary of the week 19 to 24 April 2021
Event 30) M.A Hegde chairman of the Karnataka Yakshagana Academy passed away at the age of 73 years due to Covid-19 complications
• He was a Sanskrit scholar who retired as principal of a college in Siddapur, Karnakata
• He had written over 15 Yakshagana parasangs (scripts) including ‘Dharma Durantha’, ‘Seetha Viyoga’, ‘Jagruti’,’ Trishanku Charitre’ and ‘Sabarimala Ayyappan.’
• M.A Hegde edited Yakshagana Prasanga ‘Aadi Parva’ and also written books on the issues of Alankara Tatwa, Indian philosophy and Brahmasutra.
Event 31) Baboolal Goverdhan Joshi, renowned hockey statistician and historian passed away at the age of 67 years due to COVID-19 related complications.
• B.G.Joshi kept records of players debuts, goals, goal assists and so on and also maintained records of global hockey.
Event 32) A.N.Dyaneswaren, former president of Tamil Nadu Basketball Association passed away at the age of 78 years due to cardiac arrest.
• He served as president of Tamil Nadu Basketball Association from 1983 to 1989 and also chairman from 1989 to 2008.
• He was Vice-captain of the Indian men’s team in the Asian championships in Seoul in 1967.
Event 33) Kannada writer G.Venkatasubbaiah passed away at the age of 107 years due to illness.
• Ganjam Venkatasubbiah was a renowned Kannada and Sanskrit scholar, honoured with numerous awards Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award, Rajyotsava Award, Karnataka Sahitya Academy Honorary Award and etc.
• He also received the Padmashri award in 2017.
Event 34) National film award winner Sumitra Bhave passed away at the age of 78 years due to illness.
• She worked with Sunil Sukthankar, the duo were predominantly known in Marathi cinema and Marathi theatre. Sunil Sukthankar is an actor and a lyricist.
• The duo won various national and international awards, at the 64th National Film Awards, their feature film Kaasav won the prestigious President Golden Lotus National Award.
Event 35) Bhumidhar Barman former Chief Minister of Assam passed away at the age of 89 years due to illness.
• He belongs to the Congress party, served as Chief Minister of Assam from 22 April 1996 to 14 May 1996 for 23 days after the death of his predecessor Hiteswar Saikar.
• Bhumidhar Barman elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly 7 times, the first time elected in 1967. Some of the facts of Assam,
• Present Chief Minister of Assam: Sarbananda Sonowal.
• Present Governor of Assam: Jagdish Mukhi.
Event 36) Shankha Ghosh, Indian poet and critic passed away at the age of 89 years due to illness at his house in Kolkata.
• He was a renowned poet, won numerous awards including the prestigious Jnanpith Award in 2016.
• Shankha Ghosh pen name was Kuntak, his first poem was Dinguli Raatguli (First Story)
• He also won Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977 for Baabarer praarthanaa, Sahitya Akademi Award for translation of Taledanda (Kannada) Play into Bengali named Raktakalyan in 1999.
• He was also honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2011 for his work.
Event 37) Wahiduddin Khan, an Indian Islamic scholar and peace activist passed away at the age of 96 years due to COVID-19 complications.
• Wahiduddin Khan born in Village Badharia, Uttar Pradesh in 1925, he was known for writing a commentary on the Quran and translating it into contemporary English.
• He was named one of the world’s 500 Most Influential Muslims.
• He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2000 and also Padma Vibhushan in 2021.
• Wahiduddin Khan received the Demiurgus Peace International Award, under the patronage of the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.
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