Current Affairs 13,14 & 15 April 2024

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 13,14 & 15 April 2024, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2024 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

Our Current Affairs April 2024 events will help you to get more marks in Banking, Insurance, SSC, Railways, UPSC, CLAT and all State Government Exams. Also, try our Latest Current Affairs Quiz and Monthly Current Affairs 2024 PDF which will be a pedestrian to crack your exams.

Read Current Affairs in CareersCloud APP, Course Name – Learn Current Affairs – Free Course – Click Here to Download the APP

We are Hiring – Subject Matter Expert | CA Video Creator | Content Developers(Pondicherry)

Click here for Current Affairs 12 April 2024

Click here for Affairscloud Hindu Free Vocabs telegram channel

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

NTPC Launches New Edition of Girl Empowerment Mission On April 9, 2024, NTPC Limited (formerly National Thermal Power Corporation) launched the latest edition of the Girl Empowerment Mission (GEM), its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.

• The new GEM will add around 3000 underprivileged children at 42 locations of NTPC. With this, the mission will expand to benefit a total of 10,000 girls.

Note: This is in line with Government of India’s “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” campaign, which aims to empower girls by nurturing their potential and providing opportunities for growth, and tackle gender inequality.
Key Points:
i.To date, 7,424 girls have benefited from the program, with participation increasing annually.
ii.In 2023, 2,707 girls joined workshops at 40 NTPC locations across 16 states in India.
iii.GEM started as a pilot project in 2018 with three locations and has since expanded nationwide.

• Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, GEM continues to offer holistic skill development, confidence-building, and mentorship to participants.

iv.The program aims to empower girls as catalysts for change, impacting themselves, their families, communities, and the nation.
About NTPC Limited:
NTPC Limited is a Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) under the Ministry of Power.
It received Maharatna status in 2010.
Chairman & Managing Director– Gurdeep Singh
Headquarter– New Delhi, Delhi
Establishment– 1975

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

USD 4.2 trillion needed in Investments to close Development Financing Gap in SDGs: UN DESA’s FSDR 2024i.On April 9, 2024, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) released the 9th edition of ‘Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2024 (FSDR 2024)-Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development‘ on the theme ‘Financing for Development at a Crossroads’.
ii.As per it, to overcome or close the development financing gap, an estimated USD 4.2 trillion in investments are required, as compared to USD 2.5 trillion before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
iii.The report highlights the necessity of economic transitions for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) which will require investments at unprecedented scale.
iv.This report is a joint product of the members of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development (IATF).
v.Debt servicing costs for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are estimated at USD 40 billion between 2023 and 2025, up over 50% i.e. USD 26 billion from 2022.
About United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA):
The Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Economic and Social Affairs, appointed by the UN Secretary-General, is the head of UN DESA.
Head– USG Li Junhua
Headquarters– New York, United States (US)
Establishment– 1948
>> Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

Karnataka Bank Partners with FISDOM to Offer Stock Broking Services & 3-in-1 Accounts
Karnataka Bank Ltd, a leading private sector Bank partnered with FISDOM to offer stock broking services and 3 in 1 Accounts (Savings, Demat, and Trading accounts) through the “KBL Mobile Plus”, the mobile banking app of Karnataka Bank.

• The partnership focuses on enhancing the current value proposition of enabling customers by providing seamless access to stocks and mutual funds.
• It will empower customers to access investment opportunities and trading functionalities within a single, user-friendly interface.
• The 3-in-1 facility consolidates savings, demat, and trading accounts, simplifying account management
• It also eliminates the need for multiple platforms, ensuring a smoother investment journey.

Note: FISDOM is a digital wealth management platform of Finwizard Technology Private Limited. It offers investors a 360-degree wealth management platform for mutual funds and Insurance.

CAMS Receives RBI’s Nod to Operate as an Online Payment Aggregator
Computer Age Management Services Ltd (CAMS), India’s largest mutual fund transfer agency, has received a Certificate of Authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator.

CAMS obtained in-principle authorisation from RBI in February 2023.

• CAMS applied for the certificate of authorisation following the regulatory guidelines ‘Guidelines on Regulation of Payment Aggregators and Payment Gateways’ (Guidelines) issued in March 2020.
• CAMSPay, CAMS’s payment business unit, boasts 15 years of experience in the payment solutions industry.
• It caters to a diverse portfolio of clients, including mutual funds, insurance companies, banks, and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs).

Note: In March 2024, CAMSPay registered over 1.2 million mandates for the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) autopay.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Moody’s Analytics forecasts India’s GDP to grow 6.1% in 2024According to Moody’s Analytics report titled “APAC Outlook: Listening Through the Noise,” India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to decrease to 6.1% in 2024 from 7.7% growth recorded in 2023.
Key Points:
i.The report mentioned that output in India remains 4% lower than it would have been without the COVID-19 pandemic and its various aftershocks including: supply disruptions and military conflicts abroad.
ii.As per the report, economies in South and South-East(SE) Asia region will witness some of the strongest output gains in 2024; but their performance is flattered due to delay in post-pandemic rebound.
iii.The report estimated that overall APAC(Asia-Pacific) region will show a growth of 3.8% in 2024 whereas global economy will show the growth of 2.5%.
iv.The report highlighted that there is more uncertainty for China and India in terms of inflation.
v.As per the report, India’s Consumer Price inflation rate is around 5% which is close to inflation target range of 2% to 6% set by Reserve Bank of India(RBI). It shows no sign of a trend towards slowing price pressures.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Indian Microbiologist Gagandeep Kang Honoured with John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award 2024On 11th April 2024, The Toronto (Canada) based Gairdner Foundation honoured Indian microbiologist and virologist Gagandeep Kang with the John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award 2024 for her achievements in global health research. She is the first Indian woman to get this award.
Reason for Award: She was honoured for her extensive cohort-based epidemiological, environmental and clinical trial research on enteric diseases in children and their effects on life course, with a significant impact on vaccine development and health policy in India and internationally
Note: This was a part of the 2024 Canada Gairdner Awards which celebrates the world’s best biomedical and global health researchers.
About Gagandeep Kang:
i.Gagandeep Kang is an adjunct professor at Christian Medical College(CMC), Vellore, Tamil Nadu.
ii.She is also the Director of enteric, diagnostics, genomics and epidemiology at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
iii.She has contributed to the development and introduction of two Indian rotavirus vaccines: Rotavac and Rotasiil, into the National Immunisation Program.
About John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award:
The John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award is annually awarded to the researchers who used rational, scientifically based research which has improved the health and well-being of people who face health inequities across the globe.
About Canada Gairdner Awards:
i.The Gairdner Foundation was established in 1957 with a donation from philanthropist James A Gairdner. It is a non-profit organization that recognises outstanding achievements in biomedical research worldwide.
ii.Canada Gairdner Awards has been annually presented by the Gairdner Foundation (Canada) since 1957.

• Recipients also collect Canadian Dollar (CDN) 100,000 each and a medal.

iii.Annually, 8 awards are given: 5 Canada Gairdner International Awards for biomedical research, 1 John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award, specifically for impact on global health issues, and 2 Canada Gairdner Momentum Awards, recognizing mid-career Canadian investigators.

Mathematician Avi Wigderson Wins the 2023 ACM A.M. Turing AwardThe Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has named Israeli mathematician and computer scientist Avi Wigderson as the recipient of the 2023 ACM A.M. Turing Award, which is often called the “Nobel Prize of Computing”.

• He is a Herbert H. Maass Professor in the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, New Jersey, the United States of America (USA).

Reason for award: He was recognised for foundational contributions to the theory of computation, including reshaping the understanding of randomness in computation and mathematics, and for his intellectual leadership in theoretical computer science.

• The award carries a cash prize of USD 1 million.

About Avi Wigderson:
i.In 1986, Avi Wigderson was appointed as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
ii.He was promoted as Associate Professor in 1987 and later promoted as Professor at the Computer Science Institute of the Hebrew University.
iii.In 1993, he became the Chairman of the Computer Science Institute at Hebrew University.
iv.In 1999, he joined the Faculty as a Professor at IAS in Princeton, New Jersey.
Awards/Honours:
i.In 1994, he won the Rolf Nevanlinna Prize for computer science, which is awarded by the International Mathematical Union every 4 years.
ii.He also won the Levi L Conant Prize (2008); the Gödel Prize (2009); and the Donald E Knuth Prize (2019).  and the Abel Prize (2021).
iii.In 2021, he received the Abel Prize, an important honor for lifetime achievements in the field of mathematics. He shared the award with László Lovász of Hungary.
About ACM A.M. Turing Award:
i.The award was named after Alan M. Turing, a British mathematician who is considered the father of modern computer science.
ii.The award recognises significant contributions to the computing field since its establishment in 1966.
iii.It honours computer scientists and engineers for creating systems and theoretical foundations crucial to the advancement of Information Technology (IT).
iv.It is ACM’s most prestigious award, acknowledging lasting and substantial technical contributions to the computing field.
vi.The financial support for the award is provided by Google Inc.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Central Government Appoints Ashish Kumar Chauhan, Sridhar Vembu as Members of UGC for 3 yearDepartment of Higher Education, Ministry of Education has notified the appointment of Ashish Kumar Chauhan, Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO), National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Sridhar Vembu, CEO, Zoho Corporation as members of the University Grants Commission(UGC) for a period of 3 years.
Other Key appointments:
i.It has also appointed Retd. Professor Sachidananda Mohanty, Former Vice Chancellor(VC), Central University of Odisha.
ii.Professor Shashikala Gulabrao Wanjari, VC of National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration(NIEPA), New Delhi, Delhi as members of UGC for tenure of 3 years or till further orders
Note: With these appointments, total members in UGC increases from 4 to 8.
About Ashish Kumar Chauhan:
i.Ashish is the acting Chancellor of University of Allahabad, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
ii.In July 2022, SEBI appointed him as MD and CEO of NSE for 5 years.
iii.He was one of the founding members of National Stock Exchange(NSE).
iv.He worked in BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) as Deputy CEO in 2009. Later, he was appointed as CEO of BSE in 2012.

• During his tenure, BSE got listed in 2016.

v.He played an important role in setting up of India International Exchange(India INX) , India’s 1st international exchange in 2017 at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
About Sridhar Vembu:
i.He started his career as wireless engineer with Qualcomm company in San Diego, California, United States of America(U.S.A.).
ii.In 1996, he established AdventNet, which subsequently became Zoho Corporation when it was renamed in 2009.
iii.He was appointed as member of National Security Advisory Board in 2021.
iv.He was honoured with Padma Shri, India’s 4th highest civilian honour in 2021 for Trade and Industry.
About University Grants Commission(UGC):
The Sargent Report of 1944 proposed for the first time to form the national system of education in India.
UGC was established by an Act of Parliament in 1956
Chairman: Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar
Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi

Vo Thi Anh Xuan Appointed as Interim President of Vietnam Vietnam’s Vice-President Vo Thi Anh Xuan (54 years old) was appointed Interim President of Vietnam on 21st March 2024.

• Vo Thi Anh Xuan succeeds Vo Van Thuong, who resigned from the post of President on 20th March 2024. He has been serving as the President of Vietnam since March 2023.
• She will serve as the acting president until Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) elects a new president.

Note:  Previously in 2021-2026 term, Vo Thi Anh Xuan held the post of Interim president of Vietnam in January 2023, before Vo Van Thuong was elected as President replacing Nguyen Xuan Phuc who resigned from the post on 17th January 2023.
About Vo Thi Anh Xuan :
i.Vo Thi Anh Xuan hails from Tinh Bien District, An Giang Province, Vietnam.
ii.She is an alternate member of the 11th Party Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) , a member of the 12th and 13th Party Central Committee, and a delegate to the 14th and 15th National Assembly.
ii.In April 2021, she was elected as Vice President of Vietnam. At the age of 51 becoming the youngest Vice President of Vietnam.
About Vietnam:
Prime Minister– Pham Minh Chinh
Capital– Hanoi
Currency– Vietnamese dong

Bjarni Benediktsson Took Office as PM of Iceland; PM Katrín Jakobsdóttir Resigned Bjarni Benediktsson, chairman of Iceland’s Independence Party took office as Prime Minister (PM) of Iceland on 9 April 2024.  He succeeds Katrín Jakobsdóttir, who resigned as PM of Iceland to run for President of Iceland.

• He has been serving as the Minister for Foreign Affairs since October 2023.
• He has previously served as PM of Iceland from January to November 2017.

Note: Katrín Jakobsdóttir has been serving as the PM of Iceland since 2017. She also resigned as Chairperson of the Left-Green Movement.
About Bjarni Benediktsson:
i.Bjarni Benediktsson started his career as a District Court attorney in 1998.
ii.He was first elected to the Icelandic parliament Althingi as a member of Southwest Iceland in 2003.
iii.He has been serving as the leader of the Independence Party since 2009.
v.He served as the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs from 2013 to 2017 and from 30 November 2017 to 14 October 2023.
About Katrín Jakobsdóttir:
i.Katrín Jakobsdóttir was the 2nd woman to serve as the PM of Iceland after Jóhanna Sigurðardótti.
ii.She has been a Member of Althingi for the Reykjavík North Constituency since 2007.
iii.She has also served as Minister of Education, Science and Culture and Minister of Nordic Cooperation between 2009 and 2013.
iv.She served as the Chairman of the Left-Green Movement from 2013 till her resignation in 2024.
About Iceland:
President–  Guðni Th. Jóhannesson
Capital– Reykjavík
Currency– Icelandic Króna (ISK)

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

IndusInd International Holdings Acquires 60%  Stake in Invesco Asset Management India
IndusInd International Holdings Limited (IIHL), the Mauritius-based Investment Holding Company of the Hinduja Group, has acquired a 60% stake in Invesco Asset Management India (IAMI).

• IAMI is the domestic arm of United States of America(USA)-based global investment management firm Invesco.
• This acquisition is part of the agreement to form a Joint Venture(JV) in which IIHL will hold 60%  and IAMI will hold 40% and both will have sponsor status.

Note:IIHL is the promoter entity of IndusInd Bank, the fifth-largest private-sector bank in India.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Russia Launched 1st Angara-A5 Heavy Lift Space Rocket from Vostochny CosmodromeOn 11th April 2024, Russian space agency Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities(ROSCOSMOS) successfully launched the 1st Angara-A5 space rocket from the launch pad in Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia.

• This will replace Proton M as Russia’s heavy-lift rocket, which has been in operation since the mid-1960s.

Key Points:
i.The rocket was launched into space, reaching more than 25,000 kilometres per hour (Km/hr) in minutes.
ii.The rocket successfully placed the test payload into the low orbit.
Significance:
Angara-A5 was launched ahead of the celebration of Russia’s Cosmonaut Day on 12th April 2024 which marks the 63rd anniversary of the day on which Soviet Union’s Yuri Gagarin became the first man in outer space.
Gagarin onboard the Vostok 3KA-3 (Vostok 1) spacecraft was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 12th April 1961.
About Angara-A5:
i.Angara-A5 is a 54.5-metre three-stage heavy lift space rocket weighing about 773 tonnes. It is capable of carrying payloads up to 24.5 tonnes into lower orbit.
ii.The rocket uses oxygen and kerosene as fuel instead of toxic heptyl making it more environmentally friendly than its antecedents.
ii.It is a part of the Angara Rocket Series, developed and manufactured by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Centre based in Moscow, Russia.

• The Angara rocket family is named after the Angara River, which flows out of Lake Baikal in Siberia.

Note: The first and second test flights of Angara-A5 took place from the northern Plesetsk Cosmodrome in 2014 and 2020 respectively.
Project Angara:
i.Russia conceptualised the Angara Project in 1991 after the break-up of the Soviet Union.
ii.The project was started to reduce Russia’s dependence on Baikonur Cosmodrome which it has leased from Kazakhstan (until 2050).
About Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities(ROSCOSMOS):
Director-General(DG)- Yuri Ivanovich Borisov
Headquarters- Moscow, Russia
Established in 1992

Israel Deploys C-Dome Defence System for First time
Israel has deployed its ship-mounted defence system ‘C-Dome’ for the first time in Eilat, the southernmost city of Israel.

• The C-Dome is a naval version of the Iron Dome air defence system used to shield against rocket and missile attacks.
• On 8th April 2024, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) successfully intercepted the suspicious aerial target crossing into Israeli territory using the C-Dome defence system.

Note: The C-Dome Defence System was developed by the state-owned defence company Rafael Advanced Defence Systems.

SPORTS

Badminton: India’s Anupama and Tharun Win Singles Titles at Kazakhstan International Challenge 2024 India’s Anupama Upadhyaya and Tharun Mannepalli won the women’s and men’s singles titles, respectively, at the Kazakhstan International Challenge 2024 Badminton tournament in Uralsk, Kazakhstan, from 2nd to 6th April 2024.
Indian Winners:
i.Tharun Mannepalli of Telangana defeated Soong Joo Ven (Malaysia) in the men’s singles final.

• It marks Tharun’s first title on the senior circuit.
• He was the runner-up in the Badminton national championship in 2023.

ii.Former Junior World No. 1 Anupama Upadhyaya (Uttarakhand) defeated Isharani Baruah in the all-Indian women’s singles finals.

• It marks her second international title in 2024 after winning the Polish Open(Poland).
• She has previously won the India International Challenge 2021, the Tajikistan International Series 2023, and the Polish Open (2022 and 2024).

iii.The Indian pair Sanjai Srivatsa Dhanraj and Maneesha K clinched second place in the mixed doubles after they lost to Malaysia’s Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien.
Winners of Kazakhstan International Challenge 2024:

About Kazakhstan International Challenge:
i.The Kazakhstan International Challenge 2024 (officially known as Condensate Kazakhstan International Challenge) is the Continental Level (Grade 3) event of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
ii.It was organised by the Kazakhstan National Badminton Federation with sanction from the BWF.
Note: BWF major events come under Grade 1 while BWF world tour events come under Grade 2.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Human Space Flight 2024 – April 12 The United Nations (UN) International Day of Human Space Flight is annually observed across the globe on 12 April to celebrate the beginning of the space era for mankind and underscores the pivotal role of space science and technology in advancing sustainable development goals (SDGs) and enhancing the welfare of nations and individuals.

• It also emphasises the commitment to preserving outer space for peaceful purposes.

Background:
i.On 7 April 2011, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/65/271 and declared April 12 of every year International Day of Human Space Flight.
ii.The 1st ever International Day of Human Space Flight was observed on 12 April 2011.
About United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA):
Director– Aarti Holla-Maini
Headquarters– Vienna, Austria
Established in– 1958
>> Read Full News

International Day for Street Children 2024 – April 12 The International Day for Street Children (IDSC) is annually observed across the globe on 12 April to raise awareness about the challenges faced by millions of children living on the streets worldwide.

• The observance of IDSC is led by the Consortium for Street Children (CSC). Each year the CSC decides on a theme for IDSC to promote the needs of street children globally.

The theme of International Day for Street Children 2024 is, “Belonging.”
Background:
i.The 1st-ever International Day for Street Children was launched by CSC on 12th April 2011.
ii.Since 2012, the Day has been celebrated globally to acknowledge the humanity, dignity, and defiance exhibited by street children in the face of trouble.
>> Read Full News

*******

List of Less Important News – Click Here

Current Affairs Today (AffairsCloud Today)