INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2021 held in Boao townThe Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2021 was held in Boao, south China’s Hainan Province.
- This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Boao Forum for Asia. With the theme — A World in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation.
- This year’s conference responded to the latest concerns of countries and regions in Asia and provided an important platform for various parties to discuss ways to improve global governance and cooperation.
BANKING & FINANCE
RBI Restricts American Express, Diners Club from Onboarding New Customers from May 1The Reserve Bank has restricted American Express Banking Corp and Diners Club International Ltd from onboarding new domestic customers onto their card networks from May 1 for violating data storage norms.
- These entities have been found non-compliant with the directions on Storage of Payment System Data.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Cost of vaccinating India's entire population above 18 years 0.36% of GDP: India Ratings and ResearchIndia Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) stated that the cost of vaccinating all citizens above the age of 18 years against Covid-19 will amount to Rs. 67,193 crores. It is to be noted that of total Rs. 67,193 crores, states together will incur Rs.46,323 crores.
- India Ratings, in a note, stated that “may cost ₹67,193 crore, of which the Union government will incur ₹20,870 crore and state governments together will incur ₹46,323 crore”.
- As the second wave of Covid-19 sweeps the country with alarming speed and severity, the government has announced a liberalised and accelerated Phase 3 strategy of Covid-19 vaccination. Under this scheme, all persons above 18 years of age will be eligible to get Covid-19 vaccine doses from May 1. All persons above 18 years of age, from May 1, will be eligible to get Covid-19 vaccine shots.
- The report stated that “This means that the total size of the population that will now be eligible for vaccination would be 84.19 crore out of the total population of 133.26 crore,”.
India exported agricultural commodities worth Rs 2.74 lakh crore till February of the 2020-21 fiscal, up by 16.88 per cent from Rs 2.31 lakh crore in the year-ago period, notwithstanding the pandemic, the agriculture ministry said.
- Similarly, imports of agriculture and allied commodities increased by 3 per cent to Rs 1,41,034 crore during April-February period of 2020-21 from 1,37,014 crore in the year-ago period.
- Despite COVID-19, balance of trade in agriculture has favourably increased to Rs 1,32,579.69 crore from Rs 93,907.76 crore in the said period.
Despite the Covid-19 situation world over, the country’s export of essential agricultural commodities for the April 2020-February 2021 period has increased by 18.49% to ₹2.74 lakh crore as compared with ₹2.31 lakh crore in the same period last year.
- Imports too have shown a rise of 2.93% to ₹1.41 lakh crore during the period.
Fitch Ratings said the resurgence of COVID-19 infections may delay India's economic recovery, but won't derail it, as it kept the sovereign rating unchanged at 'BBB-' with a negative outlook.
- It projected a 12.8 per cent recovery in GDP in the fiscal year ending March 2022 (FY22), moderating to 5.8 per cent in FY23, from an estimated contraction of 7.5 per cent in 2020-21.
SPORTS
World Youth Boxing C'ships: Indian women boxers create history with seven gold medalsIn the World Youth Boxing championships, Indian women boxers put up sensational performances as they created history with seven gold medals in Kielce, Poland.
- All the women finalists Gitika, Naorem Babyrojisana Chanu, Poonam, Vinka, Arundhati Choudhary, T Sanamacha Chanu and Alfiya Pathan registered their wins and finished on the top of the podium.
- Apart from the eight finalists, three others won bronze medals at the tournament, a performance which betters the 10 medals that India won in its best-ever show not too long back in the 2018 edition in Hungary.
Tamil Nadu teenager Arjun Kalyan became India's 68th Chess Grandmaster when he crossed the 2500 ELO mark after beating Dragan Kosic in the fifth round of GM Round Robin “Rujna Zore-3” in Serbia.
- The 18-year-old B. Com. student defeated GM Kosic Dragan of Montenegro in the fifth round to achieve the feat.
APPOINTMENTS
Accenture's Rekha Menon takes over as first woman chairperson of NasscomThe National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) announced the appointment of Rekha M Menon, Chairperson and Senior Managing Director at Accenture in India as its Chairperson for 2021-22.
- She is the first woman to take on the role in the association's 30-year history.
- The IT industry’s apex body has also named Krishnan Ramanujan as vice-chairperson for 2021-22.
AWARDS
Rumana Sinha Sehgal awarded prestigious ‘Nelson Mandela World Humanitarian Award 2021’Software-engineer turned social entrepreneur, Rumana Sinha Sehgal has been awarded the prestigious ‘Nelson Mandela World Humanitarian Award 2021’ by the Diplomatic Mission Global Peace.
- The proud Hyderabadi is also the recipient of the Nationwide Award -under 50- Business Leader 2021 for social entrepreneurship by Business Mint. At the Influencer Summit in January this year, she also received the ‘International Influencer of the year 2021’.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars makes oxygen from planet's carbon dioxide atmosphereNASA's Perseverance rover on Mars has made oxygen from the planet's carbon dioxide atmosphere. It is the second successful technology demonstration on the mission, which flew a mini-helicopter.
- The generation of oxygen was performed by a toaster-sized unit in the rover called Moxie - the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment.
- It made 5 grams of the gas - equivalent to what an astronaut at Mars would need to breathe for roughly 10 minutes.
OBITUARIES
Chad's President Idriss Deby passes awayThe President of the Republic of Chad, Idriss Deby Itno, has passed away, following a confrontation with rebels after which he suffered wounds on the battlefield.
- He had ruled the central African nation for more than three decades and was even declared winner of the 2021 presidential election, paving the way for him to stay in power for six more years.
Veteran actor-filmmaker Lalit Behl, known for featuring in acclaimed films like 'Titli' and 'Mukti Bhawan', passed away due to COVID-19 related complications.He was 71.
- A known stage actor, Lalit began his career directing and producing Doordarshan telefilms like Tapish, Aatish, Sunehri Jild and worked on the TV show Afsane as an actor.
- Some of his recent works include the 2014 drama Titli, directed by his son, Mukti Bhawan, Amazon Prime Video series Made in Heaven and Judgementall Hai Kya in 2019.
Music composer Shravan Rathod of Nadeem-Shravan fame died of Covid-19 related complications at the age of 66.
- The iconic composer duo Nadeem-Shravan (Nadeem Saifi and Shravan Rathod), were among the most sought-after composers of the 90s.
- Together they composed some of the iconic hits for movies such as Aashiqui (1990), Saajan (1991), Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993), Pardes (1997) and Raja Hindustani (1996), among others.
Popular Gujarati and Hindi film actor Amit Mistry passed away due to cardiac arrest. He was 47.
- He was best known for his work in movies like Shor in the City, Saat Phero Ke Hera Pheri, Kya Kehna, TV shows including Madam Sir, Tenali Rama, and web series Bandish Bandits.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Climate Activist Aakash Ranison releases New Book on The Climate CrisisAakash Ranison, climate activist and blogger, has released a book called Climate Change Explained - For One And All.
- A new e-book explains the impact of climate change and aims to motivate readers to reduce its outcome with the help of simple sustainable solutions.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Book and Copyright DayWorld Book and Copyright Day is celebrated every year on April 23 to promote reading, publishing, and copyright.
- This is the 25th edition of World Book Day after UNESCO decided to commemorate a day and dedicate it to reading and books in the UNESCO's General Conference held in Paris 1995.
- Keeping Covid-19 in mind, the theme for World Book and Copyright Day 2021 is 'To share a story'.
National Panchayati Raj Day is celebrated on April 24 every year in India.
- Every year on this National Panchayati Raj Day Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj organises National Conference and awards best performing Gram Panchayats with 'The Panchayat Shashakatikaran Puraskar/Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar'.
World Veterinary Day is widely observed annually on the last Saturday of April, every year across the world. This year, it falls on April 24.
- The theme of World Veterinary Day 2021 is 'The Veterinarian Response to the Covid-19 Crisis'
The International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace observed every year on 24 April.
- The day aims to spread knowledge about the advantages of multilateralism and diplomacy for peace, including through educational and public awareness-raising activities.
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