Daily Current affairs - April 23rd and 24th, 2017 for all competitive exams
World Book and Copyright Day (WBCD) is being
observed on 23rd April 2017. The day seeks to raise awareness about
the importance of reading and promote publishing and the protection of
copyright around the globe.
- The
event is organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO).
- Conakry, the capital of Guinea has been designated World Book Capital 2017.
Panchayati
Raj Diwas:
National
Panchayati Raj Day is the national day of India celebrated by Ministry of
Panchayati Raj on 24 April annually.
- This
date marks a defining moment in the history of decentralization of
political power to the grassroots level.
- The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24th April, 1993 has institutionalized Panchayati Raj through the village, Intermediate and District level Panchayats
Centre
mulls nodal body for transport
The Union government is planning to establish a single unified transport ministry by merging the Ministries of Aviation, Railways, Surface Transport
- and
Shipping so as to ensure greater ease of doing business and boost India’s
trade. In this regard, inter-ministerial discussions have already started
discussions for establishing a ‘Logistics and Integrated Transport Board’ as a nodal body at the central level for all
transport-related matters across modes.
- The
Board is likely to be chaired by a Union Cabinet Minister or a Secretary
to Government of India.
- It
will include top officials from other Ministries concerned such as
Finance, Commerce & Industry, External Affairs and Home, as well as
senior representatives from the Indian industry and legal experts,
especially to address competition aspects.
Soon,
underwater tunnels will connect Howrah with Kolkata
The
construction of the first underwater metro tunnel in the
country deep under the bed of the Hooghly river has begun.
- Two
tunnels will be built. By the end of July, two tunnels running parallel
will connect the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata located on either side
of the Hooghly.
- The
tunnels are being dug at a depth of 30 metres below the earth’s surface
and 13 metres below the riverbed.
New
guidelines for inland fisheries
The Union
government has issued guidelines for the States on framing a Bill on inland
fisheries and aquaculture, amid mounting concern over the pollution and
encroachment of waterbodies in Kerala and the long- standing demand to protect
the traditional rights and livelihood security of inland fishers.
- The
guidelines were issued by the Department of Animal Husbandry,
Dairying and Fisheries (DADF) under the Union Ministry
of Agriculture to address the inadequacies in the existing regulations by
States.
- According
to the guidelines, encroachment or reclamation of rivers, lakes and
wetlands and pollution of water sources is to be treated as a punishable
offence. Dumping of solid waste in lakes, wetlands and lagoons has also
been recommended for punishment.
Haryana launches mobile app 'Kilkari' to create
awareness among pregnant women
The National Health Mission (NHM)
in Haryana launched a mobile-based application named 'Kilkari' to
create awareness among pregnant women, parents and health workers on the
importance of ante and post natal care.
- From
the second trimester of pregnancy, till the child is one-year-old, the
application will deliver 72 times appropriate audio messages to registered
mobile numbers on pregnancy, child and childbirth care every week.
Maharashtra govt signs MoU with Railways to expand
green cover
In a bid to expand the green cover,
the Maharashtra government recently signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Railways, under which trees will be
planted on the land adjacent to the railway tracks in the state.
Plenary
Meeting of the Development Committee (DC) and IMFC of the World Bank Group and
the IMF
Plenary
Meeting of the Development Committee (DC) of the World
Bank Group and the IMF and the Restricted Session of the
International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) were recently held in Washington D.C.
- The
meetings comprised of discussion sessions on the ‘Forward Look’ exercise
carried-out by the World Bank focusing on ‘A Vision for the World Bank
Group in 2030 – Progress and Challenges’, Progress Report on the
Shareholding Review and a paper on ‘A Stronger World Bank Group for All’.
- The IMFC
has 24 members, drawn from the pool of 187 governors. Its structure mirrors that of the Executive Board and its
24 constituencies. As such, the IMFC represents all the member
countries of the Fund.
A
step forward for Indo-Bangladesh ties
The Tripura
government has commenced the land acquisition process for the construction of India-Bangladesh Friendship Bridge over
river Feni that demarcates boundaries between the two countries in south
Tripura.
- The
process for acquiring land for a four-lane approach road and a connecting
road on Indian side in southern Tripura has also begun.
‘Mother
of all marches’ in Venezuela:
The Mother of
All Marches, also known as the Mother of All Protests, was a day of protests
held on 19 April 2017 in Venezuela against their president Nicolas Maduro and
the chavist regime.
- The
protests began after the Supreme Tribunal of Justice dissolved the
National Assembly and took over its legislative powers, on 29 March, 2017,
in what was called a self-coup.
Tiangong-2:
China’s first cargo spacecraft docks with orbiting space lab
China’s first
cargo spacecraft-Tianzhou-1 cargo resupply spacecraft, docked successfully with
the Tiangong-2 space lab recently, marking a major step towards Beijing’s goal
of establishing a permanently manned space station by 2022.
- The
Tiangong-2 space laboratory, or Heavenly Palace 2, was home to two
astronauts for a month last October in China’s longest ever manned space
mission.
China, Iran sign first agreement on reconfiguration
of Arak reactor
China and Iran have signed the first
agreement on the reconfiguration of Iran's Arak reactor.
- The
deal was concluded between the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI)
and a Chinese company at the official ceremony in the Austrian capital
Vienna.
3D-printing
conquers glass:
Scientists
have developed a novel way to 3D-print objects using glass, an advance that
could be used to make very small optical components for complex computers.
- The
process is known as Stereolithography. Stereolithography is a
form of 3D-printing technology used for creating models, prototypes,
patterns and production parts in a layer by layer fashion using
photopolymerisation, a process by which light causes chains of molecules
to link, forming polymers.
Engaging
Asia arbitration summit:
The summit was
recently held in New Delhi.
- The
Summit brings together lawyers and corporates from participating countries
to discuss Asia’s potential in driving worldwide growth in commercial
arbitration.
- It
provides participants an opportunity to discuss the surge in arbitration
in Asia, especially among economic powers such as India and China, and
Southeast Asia.
Moushumi Chatterjee gets BFJA lifetime achievement
award
Veteran actress Moushumi Chatterjee has
received the lifetime achievement award, at the 80th Bengal Film
Journalists' Association (BFJA) awards.
- The
BFJA, the oldest association of film scribes in the country was founded in
1937. Bengali film actor Prosenjit Chatterjee was given the best
actor award for his role in "Sankhachil", while Rituparna
Sengupta was given the best actress crown for her role in
"Rajkahini" along with Paoli Dam for "Natoker Moto"
(2015).
'Newton' wins best film honor at Hong Kong
International Film Festival
Bollywood film "Newton" has
won the best film honor at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. The
lead actor of the film is Raj Kumar Rao.
- Amit
Masurkar-directed "Newton", is a political satire. It had its
world premiere at the 67th Berlin Film Festival where it won the
International Federation of Art Cinemas (CICAE) award in its Forum
segment.
Cricket removed from 2018 Asian Games programme
One of the sports to miss out from
the programme list of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and
Palembang is cricket.
- Apart
from cricket, skateboarding, sambo and surfing are among the
other sports which have been removed from the programme in order
to reduce the burden on Indonesian organisers.
- This
measure was taken as a part of the series of changes aimed at reducing the
total number of events from 493 to 431.
Monte Carlo Masters: Nadal wins Men's Singles; Bopanna
and Cuevas lift men's doubles
Rafael Nadal has won the Men's Singles title
of Monte Carlo Masters Tennis tournament 2017. He defeated Albert
Vinolas at a summit clash in Monaco. With this Rafael claimed a
record 10th Monte Carlo Masters title.
- Earlier, India's Rohan Bopanna and his Uruguayan partner Pablo Cuevas lifted the men's doubles crown at the Monte Carlo Masters after win over Spain's Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez in Monaco.
