NATIONAL NEWS

Chhattisgarh's Nagri Dubraj Rice Variety to Get GI Tag

• The Geographical Indications Registry has granted Geographical Indication (GI) tag to Nagari Dubraj, a fragrant rice from Chhattisgarh, to give a unique identity to the brand.

• The Morena and Rewa Mango (both Madhya Pradesh) have also been given the GI Tag.

• This will give a new identity to these products in the national and international market.

• The origin of Dubraj is believed to be from Shringi Rishi Ashram area of Sihawa.

• Its reference is found in Valmiki Ramayana. Sihawa area is considered to be the source of Dubraj in various research papers.
• The rice is of local variety and its grains are small, the rice is very soft to eat after cooking.

Va Tech Wabag Bags Order from Chennai Metro Water

• VA Tech Wabag Ltd, a Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN)-headquartered water technology focussed on municipal and industrial users, has bagged a design, build, operate (DBO) order from Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB).

• It is for building a 400 million litres per day (MLD) sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant at a total cost of about ₹4,400 crore.

• The project will be executed by WABAG in a joint venture with Metito Overseas Ltd.

• Once completed, the project will be the largest desalination plant in South East Asia.

• The project makes Chennai “Desalination Capital of India” with a production of about 750 MLD of desalinated water.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

First US State to Pass Resolution Condemning Hinduphobia

• The United States (US) Georgia Assembly has passed a resolution condemning Hinduphobia, making it the first American state to take such a legislative measure.
• Condemning Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu bigotry, the resolution stated that Hinduism is one of the world’s largest and oldest religions with over 1.2 billion adherents in over 100 countries.
• The resolution was introduced by Representatives Lauren McDonald and Todd Jones from Forsyth County in the suburbs of Atlanta, home to one of the largest Hindu and Indian-American diaspora communities in Georgia
• The resolution observed that the American-Hindu community has been a major contributor to diverse sectors such as medicine, science and engineering, information technology, hospitality, finance, academia, manufacturing, energy, and retail trade, among others.

Saudi Arabia Launches New National Airline Riyadh Air

• Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced the creation of a new national airline called Riyadh Air.

• Riyadh Air will serve more than 100 destinations around the world by 2030.

• Riyadh Air will be Saudi Arabia’s second national carrier alongside Saudi.

• Riyadh Air is wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has more than $600 billion in assets.

• The new airline is expected to add $20 billion to Saudi Arabia’s non-oil GDP growth and create more than 200,000 jobs both directly and indirectly.

BANKING

DBS Bank India Launches ‘DigiPortfolio’

• DBS Bank India has launched an innovative investment solution, ‘digiPortfolio’, on its digibank platform.

• DigiPortfolio uses both technology and human expertise to create a set of investment options curated by Morningstar that match the risk preferences of different investors.

• The platform is an easy, one-stop solution for users to invest money with ready-made baskets of mutual funds.

• The ‘digiPortfolio’ provides instant access to investors with two plans starting at a minimum investment of Rs 10,000 and going up to Rs 50,000.

• These plans include features such as portfolio construction, monitoring, and rebalancing services, powered by Morningstar.
• There are no extra charges, like sales or transaction fees.

Government Sanctions Loans of More than 40,600 crore

• The Government has sanctioned loans of more than 40,600 crore rupees to over 1.8 lakh women entrepreneurs under the Stand-Up India Scheme.

• The scheme has created an eco-system which provides a supportive environment for setting up green field enterprises by availing loans from bank branches of all scheduled commercial banks.

• It was launched on April 5, 2016, to promote entrepreneurship among women, Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) categories.

• It has been launched to help them start a greenfield venture in manufacturing, services or business sector and agriculture allied activities.

• The objective is to encourage all bank branches to extend loans to SC, ST and women for setting up their own greenfield enterprises.
• The Stand-up India scheme is based on the third pillar of the National Mission for Financial Inclusion namely ‘Funding the Unfunded’.

SPORTS

Financial Assistance For 12 Para Shuttlers

• Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) of the Sports Ministry has approved financial assistance to 12 Para-Badminton players including Pramod Bhagat and Manasi Joshi to participate in the upcoming Brazil Para-Badminton International Tournament.

• Brazil Para-Badminton International tournament is a Level 2 event and part of the Paris Paralympics pathway for 2023.

• The funding has been approved under the Ministry's Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) and will provide financial assistance to athletes and their support staff.
• The funding will include an out-of-pocket allowance (OPA) for athletes and support staff for travel, visas, insurance costs, boarding and lodging, their entry fees for competition and other daily financial needs.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Vice Chief of The Naval Staff

• Vice-Admiral Mr Sanjay Jasjit Singh became the new Vice-Chief of Naval Staff (VCNS) of the Indian Navy.

• Mr Sanjay Jasjit Singh succeeds Mr S N Ghormade.

• Mr Sanjay Jasjit Singh was commissioned in 1986 in the Executive Branch of the Navy.

• Prior to taking over as the Vice Chief of Naval Staff, he was Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations).
• He was awarded the Nao Sena Medal in 2009, and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2020.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

A New Book ‘Gandhi: Siasat Aur Sampradaya’

• A new Hindi book titled ‘Gandhi: Siasat Aur Communalism’ has been authored by journalist-turned-author Piyush Babele, who currently heads the media department of the Madhya Pradesh Congress.

• The book quotes from Dr. Ambedkar's book Pakistan or the Partition of India and other sources to refer to the events leading up to the partition of India in 1947.

• The book aims to break the myth spread by the Hindu right wing that Mahatma Gandhi was responsible for the partition.

• The book is published by New Delhi based Genuine Publications and Media Private Limited.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Fish Vaccine Development

• Hyderabad based Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) entered into a partnership with the Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA), Bhubaneswar, an Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Institute for the commercial development of vaccines against Hemorrhagic Septicemia, also called Aeromonas Septicemia, Ulcer Disease or Red-Sore Disease in freshwater fish.

• Currently there are no fish vaccines available in India on a commercial scale to prevent aquaculture infections.

• IIL is the first in India to get fish vaccines.

• Hemorrhagic Septicemia in freshwater fishes is caused by Aeromonas hydrophila, an opportunistic pathogenic bacterium.
• This infection is the scourge of fresh and brackish water fish farming worldwide.

First of 3,000 Internet Satellites to Space in 2024

• Amazon.com plans to launch its first internet satellites to space in the first half of 2024 as it prepares to vie with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and others to provide broadband internet globally.

• Amazon’s satellite internet unit, Project Kuiper, will begin mass-producing the satellites later 2023.

• This will be the first of over 3,000 satellites the technology giant plans to launch in low-Earth orbit in the next few years.

• The 2024 deployment target would keep Amazon on track to fulfil a regulatory mandate to launch half its entire Kuiper network of 3,236 satellites by 2026.
• With plans to pump more than $10 billion into the Kuiper network, Amazon sees its experience producing millions of devices from its consumer electronics powerhouse as an edge over rival SpaceX.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Maritime Day

• National Maritime Day is celebrated every year on 05 April.

• It is a day celebrated to show gratitude to the men who spend many months in the sea, carrying out the bulk of India’s trade and commerce at a global level.

• World Maritime theme for 2023 is ‘MARPOL at 50 – Our commitment goes on’.

• India also became a member of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in 1959.

• IMO is responsible for maritime protection and preventing pollution from ships.

International Day of Conscience

• International Day of Conscience is observed each year on 5 April.

• It is to promote peace, justice and sustainable development, and the day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2019.

• Conscience refers to the inner voice that guides our moral and ethical decisions, encouraging us to act with integrity and empathy toward others.
• The theme for the year 2023 is ‘Building a Culture of Peace’.
• The day emphasises the importance of promoting a culture of peace and non-violence, in which respect for diversity and human rights is given priority.

OBITUTARY

San Francisco Drag Performer Heklina

• San Francisco drag performer Heklina passed away in London.

• Heklina, whose real name was Stephen Grijelko, was a prominent member of the San Francisco drag community since 1996.

• She was best known for hosting the weekly series "Mother", which became a popular fixture in the city's drag scene.

• In 2015, Heklina co-opened Oasis, a popular drag venue in San Francisco, which became a centre for the city's LGBTQ community.