Current Affairs 24 April 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 24 April 2021, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2021 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.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

MeitY announces #FOSS4GOV, Innovation Challenge to boost adoption of Free & Open Source SoftwareMinistry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has announced an Innovation Challenge #FOSS4GOV to accelerate the adoption of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in Government.

• It calls on FOSS innovators, technology entrepreneurs and Indian Startups to submit open source product innovations in CRM (Customer Relationship Management) & ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning).
• The innovations will be applied in Govtech in the areas of Health, Education, Agriculture, Urban Governance.
• India’s largest-government projects (including Aadhaar, UPI) and many other technology start-ups have been built using FOSS.

Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS)

• FOSS is free software & open-source software i.e. anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way. The source codes are openly shared so that people are encouraged to voluntarily improve the design of the software.
• India’s COVID-19 contact tracing app ‘Aarogya Setu’ is an Open Source Software.

About Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY)
Union Minister – Ravi Shankar Prasad (Lok Sabha – Patna Sahib, Bihar)
Minister of State – Sanjay Dhotre (Lok Sabha – Akola, Maharashtra)
>>Read Full News

CEA,  CEEW launch Dashboard for Information on Renewable Projects in IndiaThe Central Electricity Authority (CEA) & CEEW’s CEF (Council on Energy, Environment and Water – Centre for Energy Finance) have launched the ‘India Renewables Dashboard’. The dashboard will provide detailed operational information on Renewable Energy (RE) projects in India.

• The dashboard is supported by the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation & was launched by Sandesh Kumar Sharma, member (planning) of CEA.
• It captures daily generation data at the state, regional and national levels for aggregate 93 GigaWatts (GW) of installed RE capacity in India.

Key Stats
i.According to the India Renewables Dashboard (as on April 20, 2021),

• India’s Solar Power Generation was 172.3 Million kilowatt hour (kWh) & Total Wind Power Generation was 168.3 Million kWh
• Solar & Wind power constituted a combined 8.3% share for two sources in Total electricity generation (on April 20, 2021).
• India’s highest daily generation figures recorded in the past 1 year for solar and wind energy are 216.5 million kWh & 444.5 million kWh.

Fact
India Targets 175 GW Renewable Energy by 2022 – 100 GW Solar, 60 GW Wind, 10 GW Bio-Energy, 5 GW Small Hydro.
About  Central Electricity Authority (CEA)
It comes under the Ministry of Power
Chairperson – P.S. Mhaske
Head Office – New Delhi
Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)
CEO – Arunabha Ghosh
Head Office – New Delhi
>>Read Full News

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India’s Demographic Growth Transition will overtake China’s by 2035 : Central Bank of ChinaAccording to a report by People’s Bank of China (PBOC), China’s Central Bank, India’s Demographic Advantage (% of Younger Population) will overtake China’s Demographic Advantage by 2035.

• The reason for the fall in China’s Demographic Advantage is due to its strict Birth policies, which has created the problems of ageing population and a declining work-force.
• The report has called for China to liberalise its birth policy to tackle the problem of ageing population, it has to compete with a demographically young India & US (which has a young population due to immigrants).
• India has one of the youngest populations in an ageing world. Around 90% of its population are under the age of 60, out of which ~ 35% is under 19 years old.

Highlights from the report
The report states that the economic gap between India & China is narrowing.

• The labour force of India will exceed China’s by hundreds of million in the years ahead.
• By 2050, India will have a large percentage of young population which indicates abundant workforce and greater growth potential beyond 2050.
• The report states that the US will benefit from its immigration policies, which will ensure that it has a strong & abundant workforce.

About People’s Bank of China (PBoC)
Governor – Yi Gang
Headquarters – Beijing, China
Established Date – December 1, 1948
>>Read Full News

Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2021 held in ChinaThe Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2021 took place in Boao, South China’s Hainan Province from April 18-21, 2021. The meeting was held in offline mode, while several global leaders participated virtually in it.
i.Theme – A World in Change : Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation.
ii.Participants – Around 2500 participants from 60 countries participated in the event. Asian Leaders such as Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea, Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka & Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh virtually participated in the meeting.
iii.Report released – During the meeting,an annual report on Asian Economy was released.
Boao Forum for Asia (BFA)

• It is a Non-Profit Organisation formed in 2001. It is celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2021.
• It was initiated by 25 Asian countries & Australia (increased to 28 in 2006). India is also a member of BFA.
• It aims to promote regional economic integration and aims to bring Asian Countries closer to their development goals.
• Boao, Hainan Province, China serves as the permanent site of BFA headquarters.
• It is modelled on the World Economic Forum held annually in Davos, Switzerland. It is sometimes known as Asian Davos.

About Boao Forum for Asia (BFA)
Secretary General – Li Baodong
Headquarters – Beijing, China

BANKING & FINANCE

BRICS’ NDB Issued USD 1.5 billion Benchmark BondIn April 2021, the New Development Bank (NDB) of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) issued a USD 1.5 billion benchmark bond with 5 years of maturity. This is the 3rd USD benchmark bond offering of NDB in the international markets.
Purpose: NDB will use the total earnings of the Bond for financing sustainable development activities and to provide COVID-19 Emergency Program Loans to the member countries (BRICS).
Summary of the Bond :

About New Development Bank (NDB):
Establishment – 2014 (Operational from 2016)
Headquarters -Shanghai, China
President – Marcos Prado Troyjo
>>Read Full News

 HSBC India ties up with Google Pay and Visa for tokenization on its credit cardHSBC India has partnered with Google Pay(GPay) and Visa to provide a secured tokenization on its credit cards.

• Because of this partnership, contactless payments can be done by linking HSBC credit cards in Google Pay and it will help to avoid physical contact for payment.
• This is done based on the principle of NFC(Near Field Communication),QR pay and in-app purchase

Note:
The main objective of this partnership is to provide enhanced security and convenience for the card holders
About HSBC India:
Chief Executive Officer: Surendra Rosha
Headquarters: Mumbai,Maharashtra
About Google Pay:
Parent company: Google
Founders: Sujith Narayanan and Sumit Gwalani
>>Read Full News

BFSL, Mastercard Launched World’s 1st QR on Card Program – ConQR to Support SMEsOn April 22, 2021, The Mastercard and Bank of Baroda Financial Solutions (BFSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda came together to launch World’s 1st QR on Card Program, ‘ConQR’ – a Mastercard QR on Card solution to simplify digital payments of Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
About ConQR:

• The ConQR Credit Card will have a Bharat QR Code on the card face (as part of the card personalisation process), and it will works based on a Mastercard patented technology.
• The QR Code will also carry the small businesses’ details thus making it easier for small businesses to receive digital payments.
• Availability: ConQR card will be first offered to small businesses that currently use BoB’s acceptance solutions, and later it will be available to all existing and new customers of BoB.

About BOB Financial Solutions Limited:
Establishment – 1994
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD&CEO – Shailendra Singh
>>Read Full News

Indian Bank Partners with Chennai Angels to support Start-upsIn order to extend support to Start-ups under the program ‘IND Spring Board’, Indian Bank made an agreement with The Chennai Angels, an angel investment group on April 22, 2021.
About IND Spring Board:

• Purpose: To support Start-ups for the expansion of their commercial production.
• Credit Facility to start-up: Under this programme, Indian Bank will provide credit facilities of up to Rs 50 crore for working capital requirements and also provide term loan requirements for acquiring fixed assets for their unit.

About Angel Investors:
An angel investor (also known as a private investor, seed investor, or angel funder) is a high-net-worth individual who provides financial service for small startups or entrepreneurs, typically in exchange for ownership equity in the company.
About Indian Bank:
Establishment– 1907
MD&CEO – Padmaja Chunduru
Headquarters– Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Tagline– Your Own Bank
>>Read Full News

RBI Cancelled the Licence of Bhagyodaya Friends Urban Co-operative BankThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the license of Bhagyodaya Friends Urban Co-operative Bank Limited, Maharashtra in April 2021, as the bank doesn’t have adequate capital to fund its depositors in full and as it did not comply with the various provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
Restriction: After the license has been cancelled, the bank is prohibited from acceptance of deposits and repayment of deposits.
Paying the depositors (as per the provisions of the DICGC Act, 1961):

• More than 98 per cent of the depositors of the Bhagyodaya Friends UCB will receive the full amounts of their deposits from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).
• After Liquidation, every depositor would receive a deposit insurance claim amount of his/her deposits up to a monetary ceiling of Rs 5 lakh from the DICGC.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Establishment – 1st April 1935
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor – Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors – Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, and M Rajeshwar Rao
>>Read Full News

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

India Ratings Reduced India’s GDP Growth Forecast for FY22 to 10.1%  from 10.4%On April 23, 2021, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) have reduced India’s GDP growth forecast of FY22 to 10.1 per cent, from its earlier projection of 10.4 per cent.

• The agency stated that the vaccination efforts for the pandemic will cost 12 per cent of the GDP to the union government and 0.24 per cent to the state governments.
• It expects retail and wholesale inflation to average 5.0 per cent and 5.9 per cent, respectively, in FY22

The revised growth forecast by SBI Research:
On April 23, 2021, SBI Research also reduced India’s growth forecast for FY22 to 10.4 per cent from 11 per cent of the earlier predictions and it forecasted 14.3 per cent of nominal GDP.
S&P Global Ratings Projection:
S&P Global Ratings in its report on Asia-Pacific Financial Institution projected Indian economy growth for FY22 at 11 per cent.
About India Ratings and Research(Ind-Ra):
It is a 100% owned subsidiary of the Fitch Group.
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO– Rohit karan Sawhney
>>Read Full News

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

Vibha Harish Founder of Bengaluru based Cosmix Featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2021i.Forbes launched the 6th annual Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list. 25 years old Vibha Harish, the founder of Cosmix, a Bengaluru based health supplement brand is featured on the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2021 list.
ii.HarshilMathur the co-founder and CEO of Razorpay, a leading Fintech Unicorn, is featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2021 list under the Finance & Venture Capital category.
iii.The 2021 list features 300 young Entrepreneurs and Trailblazers under the age of 30 from across Asia who faced the challenges of the pandemic and found new opportunities amid the new normal.
iv.The list is announced for 10 categories each honouring 30 individuals under the age of 30.
>>Read Full News

Rumana Sinha Sehgal won the Nelson Mandela World Humanitarian Award 2021

Rumana Sinha Sehgal, Software engineer turned entrepreneur from Hyderabad, Telangana, won the Nelson Mandela World Humanitarian Award 2021 by the Diplomatic Mission Global Peace. She was virtually awarded for her contribution to the field of developing innovative and functional green products by recycling varied materials and non biodegradable materials.
Other Awards:

• Nationwide Award -under 50- Business Leader 2021 of Social entrepreneurship.
• International Influencer of the year 2021’ at the Influencer Summit in January 2021.
• ReXKarmaveer Chakra (silver) and Global Fellowship award 2019 for her work in the zone of women and child empowerment.
• She was crowned as the ‘Mrs Universe Successful 2018’.

Filmmaker Roberto Benigni won Venice Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement award

Oscar award winning Italian director as well as an actor Roberto Benigni has been conferred with the Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 78th Venice International Film Festival. His career best movie was Life is Beautiful, which was released in the year 1997 film which fetched him the best actor and best international film Oscars.

Maharashtra’s Priyanka Mohite becomes first Indian woman to scale Mt Annapurna

A 28-year-old Priyanka Mohite from Maharashtra becomes the first Indian woman to scale Mt Annapurna(8,091 metres), the 10th highest mountain peak in the world. She also climbed the world’s highest peak Mount Everest (8,849 metres) in 2013, Mount Lhotse (8,516 metres) in 2018, Mount Makalu (8,485 metres) and also Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 metres) in 2016.

• Annapurna is a massif in the Himalayas located in Nepal.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

Rekha Menon becomes 1^st woman Chairperson of NASSCOMAccenture India’s Chairperson and Senior Managing Director Rekha Menon has been appointed as the Chairman of IT industrial body ,National Association of Software and Services Companies(NASSCOM) for 2021-22.
Highlights:

• Rekha Menon becomes the 1^st woman Chairperson of NASSCOM.Prior to this appointment she served as the Vice Chairperson of NASSCOM for the year 2020-21
• She succeeds UB Pravin Rao who is now a Chief Executive Officer and Whole Time Director of Infosys.
• NASSCOM also announced its Executive council which has 40 percent representation by women leaders.

Note:
Krishnan Ramanujan,President and Head of Business & Technology Services,Tata Consultancy Services(TCS) has been appointed as the Vice Chairperson for 2021-22.
About National Association of Software and Services Companies(NASSCOM):
Establishment: 1st March 1988
President: Debjani Ghosh
Headquarters: Noida,Uttar Pradesh

Atanu Chakraborty to become Part-time Chairman of HDFC bankOn 23^rd April 2021,As per the information received from HDFC bank , the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has approved the appointment of Atanu Chakraborty as the part-time Chairman of the bank.

• He has been appointed for a period of 3 years with effect from May 5 ,2021 or the date of his taking charge ,whichever is later.

About Atanu Chakraborty:
i.Atanu Chakraborty was a 1985 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre.
ii.He was a retired secretary of the Department of  Economic Affairs Ministry in April 2020.
iii.He also served as secretary of Department of Investment and Public Asset Management(DIPAM).
Note:
As per the recent information from management of bank, he will also be appointed to handle additional post of Independent Director of HDFC bank once the decision is taken by board of directors in upcoming meeting.
About HDFC bank:
Establishment:1994
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer: Sashidhar Jagdishan
Headquarters: Mumbai,Maharashtra
Tagline: We understand your world

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Roscosmos, Russia’s Space Agency to Launch its Own Space Station in 2025Roscosmos, the Space Agency of Russia is set to launch its own Space Station in 2025. Roscosmos’s work on the first module of the new space station is in progress. The space module is being assembled by the Energia corporation with the cost estimation of 5 billion USD.

• This is associated with Moscow’s consideration of withdrawing from the International Space Station(ISS)programme as its agreement with the international partners expires in 2024.
• The decision on the withdrawal is not yet finalised.

International Space Station(ISS):
i.The International Space Station(ISS), launched in 1998, is one of the most ambitious international collaborations in the history of Humans.
ii.ISS was launched in collaboration with Russia, The United States of America, Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency.
Russia’s mission to Moon:
Russia is to launch a new series of missions to take Russia to the moon.
Luna 25, the first mission of the new series, is scheduled to launch in October 2021. 

Ashok Leyland delivers 1st set of Light Bulletproof Vehicles to IAF

Hinduja Group owned Ashok Leyland delivered the first batch of Light BulletProof Vehicles (LBPV) to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The LBPVs have been developed using ‘Transfer of Technology’ from Lockheed Martin to Ashok Leyland.

• The vehicles are completely indigenised and developed in India. They are an adapted version of Lockheed Martin’s CVNG (Common Vehicle Next-Generation).
• They are capable of providing protection to crew members from both ballistic and blast threats.

SPORTS

Tennis : Stefanos Tsitsipas wins 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters TitleStefanos Tsitsipas of Greece defeated Russia’s Andrey Rublev to win the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters Title, an ATP Masters 1000 title. It is his Maiden Masters 1000 Title.

• In the Doubles Category, Croatian Pair of Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic won the Doubles Title by defeating Neal Skupski & Daniel Evans of UK.
• The Monte-Carlo Masters tournament was held from April 10-18, 2021 at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France.

Monte-Carlo Masters

• It is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players and is played on clay courts.
• It is one of the 9 ATP Masters 1000 events held annually.
• It has been held since 1897.

About Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP)
CEO – Massimo Calvelli
Headquarters – London, United Kingdom

OBITUARY

Former US Vice President Walter Mondale passed away at 93

Former United States(US) politician and lawyer Walter Mondale passed away at the age of 93.He was born on January 5,1928 in Minnesota,US.

• He served as the 42^nd Vice President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under the President of Jimmy Carter.
• He also served as U.S Ambassador to Japan from 1993-1996 under President Bill Clinton.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Book and Copyright Day 2021 – April 23i.World Book and Copyright Day is annually observed across the globe on 23rd April to promote the benefits of reading, publishing and copyright. The annual observance of the world book and copyright day is organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
ii.The year 2021 marks the observance of the 25th edition of UNESCO’s World book day.
UNESCO adopted the resolution during its 28th session of the General Conference held in Paris in 1995 and proclaimed the 23rd April of every year as the World Book and copyright day to pay tribute to the books of authors and encourage everyone to read.
iii.The 23rd April is a symbolic date of the world literature, which marks the death anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, all who died on the 23rd April 1616.
>>Read Full News

UN English Language Day and UN Spanish Language Day – April 23i.The United Nations(UN)’s English Language Day and Spanish Language Day are annually observed across the Globe on 23rd April to promote the use of both English and Spanish respectively as the official language of the organisation.
ii.UN Spanish language day– 23rd April marks the death anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes, the genius of Spanish literature.
iii.UN English language day – 23rd April marks both the birth and death anniversary of the famous English playwright William Shakespeare, who was known as “Bard of Avon”.
>>Read Full News

International Girls in ICT Day 2021 – April 22i.The International Girls in ICT Day is annually observed across the globe on the 4th Thursday in April to bring attention to the critical needs of the girls and women in the ICT sector.
ii.The year 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the International Girls in ICT(Information and communication technologies) day.
iii.The International Girls in ICT Day 2021 was observed on 22nd April 2021.
On 8th April 2011, The International Telecommunication Union(ITU) announced that Every year the 4th Thursday in April will be observed as the international Girls in ICT day.
iv.The first annual International Girls in ICT Day was observed on 28th April 2011.
About International Telecommunication Union (ITU):
ITU is a specialized agency of the United Nations for information and communication technologies.
Secretary-general– Houlin Zhao
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
>>Read Full News

Administrative Professionals Day 2021 – April 21Administrative Professionals Day is annually observed across many countries on 21st April to recognise the work of the administrative professionals towards the seamless functioning of the offices.  The day is also known as Secretaries Day or Admin Day.
The day recognizances the administrative professionals like secretaries, administrative assistants, executive assistants, personal assistants, receptionists, client services representatives and others.

• The day is celebrated on various dates in United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Australia, South Africa, Brazil.

Administrative Professional Week:
i.In 1952, the Professional Secretaries Week was created and the first Secretaries week was observed from 1st June to 7th June and the first Administrative professional day was observed on 4th June 1952.
ii.In 1955 the Secretaries week was moved to the last week of April and the Wednesday of the week was observed as the Administrative professionals day.
iii.In 2000 the week was officially renamed as the Administrative professionals week with an aim to include the wide range of job titles of the administrative staff in the modern economy.

STATE NEWS

Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren announced the “Health Safety Week” from April 22 to 29 Hemant Soren, Chief Minister(CM) of Jharkhand, announced “Health Safety Week”, a weeklong lockdown from 22nd April to 29th April to control the spread of COVID-19 in Jharkhand.
Health Safety Week:
i.The Health Safety week will be followed from 6.am on 22nd April to 6 am on 29th April.
ii.During the Health Safety Week agricultural, industrial, construction activities and mining work will function as usual.
iii.The essential and medical services will also continue to function and identified private, central and state government offices will remain open.
iv.The government has also imposed Section 144 across the state, prohibiting the assembly of 5 or more persons at a place.
About Jharkhand:
Tiger Reserve–  Palamau Tiger Reserve
Wildlife sanctuary– Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, Lawalong Wildlife Sanctuary, Mahuadanr Wildlife Sanctuary, Koderma Wildlife Sanctuary

Haryana Launches ‘COVID Emergency Loan Scheme’ for Entrepreneurs supplying Oxygen, MedicinesHaryana Government has launched the ‘Haryana COVID Emergency Loan Scheme’ for new and old entrepreneurs supplying medicines, oxygen and other medical facilities to COVID-19 patients in the state.

• It has allocated a fund of INR 500 Crore for this purpose.
• The state government will also help existing units which provide oxygen, beds, ventilator etc to increase their production.
• The interest on the loan taken by the bank will be borne by the State government for one year.

Government approves HARIHAR Policy
The Haryana government also approved the ‘HARIHAR’ (Homeless Abandoned and Surrendered Children Rehabilitation Initiative Haryana) policy.

• It aims to provide employment, education and financial benefits to abandoned & surrendered children (who have completed 18 years from the child care institutions of the state).
• Economically Weaker Section (EWS) status to abandoned and surrendered children.
• Financial assistance upto the age of 25 years.
• The benefits of the policy will be available to them upto the age of 25 years.

About Haryana
Chief Minister – Manohar Lal Khattar
Governor – Satyadeo Narain Arya
Capital – Chandigarh
>>Read Full News

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