Current Affairs in English – April 6, 7 2023

April 6-7, 2023

India:

a) Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry:

* The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has created a committee to tackle the problem of incomplete real estate projects.

* The committee, consisting of 14 members and chaired by Amitabh Kant, will focus on stalled legacy projects and make recommendations on how to complete them.

* The committee was formed in response to a recommendation made by the Central Advisory Council under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.

b) NPS:

* The Indian government has formed a committee to explore ways of enhancing the pension benefits of government employees under the National Pension System (NPS).

* The committee will be headed by the finance secretary and consists of three other members: the secretaries of the Department of Personnel and Training, the special secretary in the Department of Expenditure, and the Chairman of the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA).

* The committee will examine whether any changes are necessary to NPS for government employees and suggest measures to enhance the pension benefits of NPS-covered government employees while maintaining fiscal prudence.

c) NRAI:

* Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, who held the position of Senior Vice-President, took over as the President of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).

* This change occurred as the previous president, Raninder Singh, went on a long leave after the Sports Ministry issued a directive stating that the heads of national sports federations (NSFs) cannot hold office for more than 12 years, as per the National Sports Code. Raninder Singh, who was re-elected as the NRAI president in September 2021, went on leave following this directive.

d) KAVACH:

* On April 5, 2023, the Andaman & Nicobar command, which is India’s sole tri-services unit, held a collaborative military drill named Exercise ‘KAVACH.’ The soldiers performed multiple exercises such as amphibious landing, air landing operations, heliborne operations, and swift insertion of special forces commandos.

* The weaponry and equipment of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard were utilized by the soldiers participating in ‘EX-KAVACH.’ The primary objective of this joint service exercise was to enhance the coordination and joint warfighting capabilities of the various services.

e) GI:

* According to data shared by the GI Registry, Kerala has secured the highest number of Geographical Indication (GI) tags for products among all states in India in FY23.

* Several products from Kerala, including Attappady Aattukombu Avara (beans), Attappady Thuvara (red gram), Onattukara Ellu (sesame), Kanthaloor Vattavada Veluthuli (garlic), and Kodungallur Pottuvellari (snap melon) have been recognized with the GI tag.

f) IGI:

* According to the Airports Council International (ACI) World, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport has been ranked as the ninth busiest airport in the world in 2022, handling approximately 59.5 million passengers every year.

* This is a noteworthy achievement for the IGI Airport as it had secured the 13th position in 2021 and the 17th position in 2019, before the pandemic. In a separate release, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said it is the only airport to figure in the top 10 list from South and South East Asia.

g) Shah Rukh Khan:

* Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who is basking in the glory of the success of the blockbuster ‘Pathaan’, has proved he is the ultimate king. The actor won the 2023 TIME100 Reader Poll, beating the likes of royal-couple Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Argentinian player Lionel Messi, and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg.

* It is the readers of the magazine who voted for the world-renowned personalities they believe deserve a spot on TIME’s annual list of the most influential people. Securing the lead position in Time Magazine’s poll for its annual TIME100 list, SRK bagged over 1.2 million votes. The American publication said that the actor bagged 4 per cent of votes in the poll.

h) Nagri Dubraj:

* Chhattisgarh’s Nagri Dubraj, an aromatic rice variety, has been granted a geographical indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indication Registry. This will provide the brand with a unique identity and open up a wide market for it.

* Efforts have been made by authorities in Chhattisgarh for a long time to obtain the GI tag for Nagri Dubraj. The Indira Gandhi Agricultural University played a vital role in obtaining the rights, as it maintained regular communication with the relevant authorities. Additionally, the rice is produced by a self-help group of women.

i) UN Economic and Social Council:

* India was elected by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) as a member of the UN Statistical Commission, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, and the Programme Coordinating Board of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). In a highly competitive election for membership to the Statistical Commission, India secured an overwhelming 46 out of 53 votes in a secret ballot.

j) ISA:

* The International Seabed Authority will start accepting applications in July for deep-sea mining. Deep-sea mining would extract cobalt, copper, nickel, and manganese.

* The ISA has the authority to issue permits to companies that wish to conduct mining operations in international waters, but the lack of a mining code has resulted in uncertainties about the application review process.

k) Apple-BKC:

* Apple iPhone maker’s first company-owned store in the country will be opened at Mumbai. The store will be named as Apple-BKC.

* The move is part of the company’s landmark move to place big bets on the South Asian nation for everything from manufacturing to sales.

l) Defence Ministry:

* The Defence Ministry, on 5 April 2023, extended the emergency acquisition powers to the three defense forces by six months to tackle China’s threat.

* The forces now have the power to buy weapons to strengthen preparedness along the China border. It gives power to the armed forces to equip themselves with the necessary weaponry to handle any conflict or aggression by the enemies on all sides.

m) Ten nuclear reactors:

* The union government, on 5 April 2023, gave its approval for installation of ten nuclear reactors in the country.

* As per the approval, ten indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors of 700 MW each will be set up in Karnataka, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. These reactors are planned to be set up in ‘fleet mode’ progressively by the year 2031 at a cost of Rs. 1,05,000 crores.

n) Amazon India and the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry:

* Amazon India and the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry on 5 April 2023, signed a pact to boost India’s creative economy.

* As part of the pact, Amazon and the I&B ministry will help build pathways to promote creative talent in India, create capacity across eminent film and TV institutes, and globally showcase Made in India creative content.

o) India Grid Trust:

* India Grid Trust on 5 April 2023, commissioned its first battery energy storage system (BESS) project at the Dhule substation in Maharashtra.

* IndiGrid is the first infrastructure investment trust in the Indian power sector. It owns 17 power projects consisting of 46 transmission lines with more than 8,416 ckms (circuit kilometres) length 100 MW (AC) of solar generation capacity.

p) Ladakh Wood Carving:

* Ladakh Wood Carving of Ladakh (UT) received Geographical Indication (GI) Tagging, a first of its kind in the Jammu region.

*  The process for GI Tagging of these products was started by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in consultation with and support from the Department of Handicrafts and Handloom in December 2020.

q) New space policy:

* The Union Cabinet approved a new space policy for 2023 on 6 April 2023. It also approved the establishment of the world’s third Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatories (LIGO) gravity wave observatory at Hingoli in Maharashtra at a cost of Rs 2,600 crore.

* The project will be piloted by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

r) Union government:

* Union government announced to extend the ceasefire agreement with three Naga groups for a period of one year.

* The groups include the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-NK (NSCN-NK), National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Reformation (NSCN-R) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland-K-Khango (NSCN-K-Khango). It will be effected from 28th April, 2023 to 27th April, 2024.

s) ‘Gaj Utsav-2023’:

* The President of India Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the ‘Gaj Utsav-2023’ at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam on April 7, 2023.

* The celebration encompasses Elephants’ role in ecology, as an integral part of our religion, mythology, and literature. The festival is being organized by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

t) Tripura:

* Tripura emerged as the best performer among the northeastern state in e-procurement and was awarded jointly by the Ministry of Finance and Electronic & Information Technology on 6 April 2023.

* It was recognized for good performance in various sectors like Soubhagya Yojana, empowerment of panchayats, etc. Tripura has made e-procurement in the purchase of all services above Rs 25,000 mandatory.

u) SAI:

* The Sports Authority of India (SAI) integrated Khelo India Games Certificates with DigiLocker on 6 April 2023.

* The Khelo India Games participating athletes and other stakeholders will now be able to access their certificates of merit and participation from the Khelo India Youth Games 2022 in Madhya Pradesh onwards. DigiLocker is an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY).

Tamil Nadu:

a) Industries Minister Thangam:

* Industries Minister Thangam told the Assembly that a Tidal Park will be set up in Trichy ,Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs 600 crore to increase IT development in the state. This will provide employment to 10,000 people in the IT sector.

* Also, Defense Electronics and Defense Industrial Park worth Rs.100 crore in 250 acres in Tiruvallur District, Diesel Innovation Centers worth Rs.10 crore in Chennai and Coimbatore under the name Diesel Biome, Tidal Park in Karaikudi Rasipuram worth Rs.70 crore and World Class Technology Park to be set up in Panjapur.

World:

a) Iran and Saudi Arabia:

* The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia on 6 April 2023 held their first official meeting in over seven years. The meeting took place in China’s Beijing.

*  This comes after the two countries agreed to end years of tensions and restore ties in a deal brokered by China last month. Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran seven years ago after crowds stormed its embassy in Tehran.

b) Nuclear weapons:

* Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak confirmed on 5 April 2023, that Israel has nuclear weapons.

* The Dimona nuclear research facility, officially called the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, is widely believed to house Israel’s alleged nuclear weapons program. Israel is estimated to have about 200 nuclear warheads.

c) Chile:

* Chile is keen to partner with India in exploring the possibilities offered by the discovery of the estimated 5.9-million-tonne reserve of lithium in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.

* Chile is the world’s largest producer of lithium, accounting for nearly 48% of the world’s total lithium reserves. India is looking to reduce its dependence on Chinese imports.

d) ‘100 Most Influential Women in US Finance’:

* Barron’s prestigious annual ‘100 Most Influential Women in US Finance’ list includes five Indian-origin women executives who have attained prominent positions in the financial services industry and have played a role in shaping its future.

* These women are Anu Aiyengar from J.P. Morgan, Rupal J. Bhansali from Ariel Investments, Sonal Desai from Franklin Templeton, Meena Flynn from Goldman Sachs, and Savita Subramanian from Bank of America. The fourth annual version of the list, released last month, recognized these women and 95 others for their accomplishments and influence in the US finance industry.

e) International Day of Sport for Development and Peace:

* On April 6, the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) is celebrated to acknowledge the significance of sports and physical activity in our personal lives and communities worldwide.

* Sports play a crucial role in our society by keeping us physically active, promoting competition, and improving our overall fitness. Participating in sports can enhance self-assurance and offer valuable life lessons.

f) World Health Day:

* Every year on April 7th, the World Health Day is celebrated to bring global attention to a specific health issue that impacts people worldwide. This day is also significant as it coincides with the founding day of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1948.

* This year marks the 75th anniversary of WHO. Each year, the WHO chooses a theme for the World Health Day, and various activities and events are organized to promote awareness of the issue. The aim is to encourage governments, organizations, and individuals to take action to improve global health and well-being.

g) Order of the White Eagle:

* The highest decoration of Poland, the Order of the White Eagle, was presented to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky by the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, during a meeting between the two leaders at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.

h) Dr. Nitya Abraham:

* An Indian-American physician and professor Dr. Nitya Abraham has been honoured with the Young Urologist of the Year Award conferred by the American Urological Association (AUA). 

* Dr. Abraham is an Associate Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Program Director for the Montefiore Urology residency programme.

* She is among the honorees of the 2023 Young Urologist of the Year Award. Abraham is among members selected by their colleagues who serve on the Young Urologists Committee and endorsed by their respective Section/Society to receive the special honour for 2023.

i) Murugesvaran ‘Subby’ Subramaniam:

* British-Hindu Murugesvaran ‘Subby’ Subramaniam has been appointed as Warrant Officer of the UK’s Royal Air Force, the aerial warfare and space force announced.

* The role involves advising the Chief of the Air Staff on matters related to RAF personnel. Subramaniam takes over from Warrant Officer Jake Alpert.

J) Kenichi Umeda:

* Kenichi Umeda has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd. He takes over from Satoshi Uchida, who has completed his term as Managing Director.

* Umeda comes with over 27 years of industry experience across various global markets and will be responsible for growing and strengthening Suzuki Motorcycle India’s position in the Indian and overseas markets.

k) Tsutsumu Otani:

* Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India has announced the appointment of Tsutsumu Otani, currently the Vice President at Honda Motor Co., Japan, as the new President, CEO & Managing Director.

* He will take over from Atsushi Ogata, who will be relocating to Shanghai, China, to serve as the Executive General Manager at Shanghai Branch, Honda Motor (China) Investment Co. Ltd. starting April 1, 2023. The company issued a statement to this effect.

l) Reza Ameri:

* Iran, on 4 April 2023 appointed an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the first time since 2016. Iran’s newly appointed ambassador Reza Ameri had also served in Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

* The UAE downgraded relations with Iran after Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran in January 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

m) SAM:

* Facebook parent Meta released an artificial intelligence (AI) model Segment Anything Model (SAM) that can pick out the different items within the photographs.

* It can identify the objects within images and videos – even in cases where it had not encountered those items in its training. By using SAM, the objects can be selected by clicking on them or writing text prompts.

Sports:

a) FIFA:

* The Indian men’s football team, on 6 April 2023, moved up five places to be at the 101st spot in the Fédération Internationale de football association (FIFA) rankings on 6 April 2023.

* Argentina topped the FIFA ranking for the first time in 6 years. France is in the 2nd with Brazil at No. 3 while Belgium is in fourth place, with England in fifth, followed by the Netherlands and Croatia.

b) Kim Cotton:

* New Zealand’s Kim Cotton, on 5 April 2023, became the 1st woman on-field umpire in a full-member men’s T20 during New Zealand’s second match against Sri Lanka in Dunedin, New Zealand.

* She has previously officiated in 54 women’s T20ls besides 24 women’s ODIs since 2018. She first marked her presence in the men’s game as a TV umpire in 2020 during India & New Zealand T20 series in Hamilton.

c) MS Dhoni & Yuvraj Singh:

* MS Dhoni, the former captain of the Indian cricket team who led the team to victories in the T20 and ODI World Cups and the 2013 Champions Trophy, along with Yuvraj Singh, the Player of the Tournament in the 2011 ODI World Cup, have been named among the five Indians to be awarded honorary life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

* Dhoni, who was also a wicketkeeper-batsman, played 538 international matches across formats and scored over 17,000 runs. The MCC, which is based in London and founded in 1787, is one of the most prestigious cricket clubs in the world and is responsible for the Laws of Cricket. The club has a long history of awarding honorary life memberships to players who have made significant contributions to the sport.

* FIFA announced that it had withdrawn Peru’s hosting rights to the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2023™. The decision was made following extensive discussions between FIFA and the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF). The reasons for the withdrawal of Peru’s hosting rights were not immediately clear, but FIFA officials cited concerns over the country’s ability to meet the requirements for hosting such a major tournament.

* At the Ordinary Congress of European Soccer’s governing body held in Lisbon, Aleksander Ceferin was re-elected as the UEFA president unopposed. The Slovenian, who was first elected as UEFA’s seventh president in 2016, will serve another four-year term until 2027. Ceferin succeeded Michel Platini in 2016 after the latter was banned from football administration due to ethics violations and lost his appeal against the ban, leading to his resignation from UEFA.