NATIONAL NEWS

NTPC to Blend Green Hydrogen in PNG

• Power generator National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) announced to supply Green Hydrogen for blending in the Piped Natural Gas (PNG) network of Gujarat Gas Ltd (GGL) at NTPC Kawas.

• Green hydrogen will be produced by using electricity from the existing 1 MW floating solar project of NTPC Kawas.
• GGL is India’s largest City Gas Distribution Company.
• It is to bring forward the decarbonization of the cooking sector and achieving self-sufficiency in the energy requirements.

NEC Laboratories and TNAU

• NEC Laboratories, an entity of NEC Corporation India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tamil Nadu Agricultural University TNAU.

• It is to offer solutions for early detection of diseases in crop using artificial intelligence AI and machine learning.
• Under the MoU, NEC aims to help identify the disease and deficiency categories, and provide remedies through agricultural experts.
• NEC would develop a mobile application with artificial intelligence and TNAU would provide expert guidance and assist in data collection to detect the diseases.
• According to UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization, farmers globally lose 40 per cent of their crops to insects and diseases every year.

DAHD to Implement One Health Framework

• The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Government of India has launched a pilot project in the state of Uttarakhand to implement the One Health Framework by One Health Support Unit.

• The key objective of the Unit is to develop a national One Health roadmap based on the learnings of the pilot project implementation.

• Inter-ministerial One Health committee under the chairmanship of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India has been established to lead the implementation of the One Health Support Unit.

Clean Energy Ministerial Senior Officials Meeting

• On 06 April 2022, India to host the two-day Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) senior officials’ meetings.

• The meeting is being organised to review the work of various work streams in Clean Energy Policies.

• The meeting will also be used to prepare the agenda for the upcoming Clean Energy Ministerial Meeting in September 2022.
• The Government of the India and the United Kingdom lead the plenary dialogue on the future of Energy Transition.
• The Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) is a high-level global forum of 29 member countries to promote policies and programs that advance clean energy technology through sharing of knowledge and best practices with a focus on transition to a global clean energy future.
•  It brings together the world’s leading economies, international organisations and companies to achieve a mission.

Indian Railways and India Post

• Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that a Joint Parcel Product (JPP) of India Post and Indian Railways is being developed, wherein first-mile and last-mile connectivity will be provided by the Department of Posts.

• The JPP aims to target business-to-business and business-to-customer market by providing complete parcel handling solution.

• The JPP by the Railways and India Post has commenced on a pilot project-basis. The first service of the pilot project has commenced on March 31, 2022, from Surat to Varanasi.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India contributes to UN Democracy Fund

• India has contributed USD 150,000 to the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) for 2022.

• It is committed to supporting the Fund in complementing other UN efforts in strengthening democratic governance worldwide, which is the Permanent Mission of India to the UN.

• India is a founding partner of the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF), a fund that supports projects that strengthen the voice of civil society, promote human rights, and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes.

• India is the third-largest contributor of the fund.
• Since its inception, India has contributed more than USD 32 million to the fund.

BANKING

Cooperative Bank for Dairy Industry

• The Chief Minister of Karnataka Established the 'Nandini Ksheera Samridhi Cooperative Bank' is a revolutionary initiative.

• It will provide greater financial strength for the milk producers.

• This is a special programme to establish their own bank which would provide greater financial aid for them and improve their economic condition.
• The Union Minister for Home and Cooperation Amit Shah presided over the event and launched the logo.
• The state government has provided Rs 100 crore as its share capital and the Milk Federation and Cooperatives would contribute Rs 260 crore as their share of capital for the proposed cooperative bank.

ECONOMY NEWS

India’s Economy by ADB

• Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released Asian Development Bank Outlook 2022 which projected India’s economy to expand by 7.5% in the financial year 2022-2023 and by 8 % in the next FY 2023-2024.

• It has also projected South Asian economies to collectively grow by 7%.
• GDP forecast is to grow by 7.5 per cent in FY2022 and 8 per cent in FY2023 driven by strong investment growth.
• The developing Asian economies are estimated to grow by 5.2% in 2022 and 5.3% in 2023.

SPORTS

Official Mascot for FIFA World Cup 2022

• FIFA has announced La'eeb as the official mascot for the FIFA World Cup 2022 which will be held from November 21 to December 18 in Doha.
• The mascot was unveiled on the night of the draw in Doha.
• The word "La'eeb" in Arabic corresponds to "super-skilled player".
• As per FIFA, La'eeb comes from a parallel world for mascots.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

President of Serbia

• Aleksandar Vucic won the presidential election for the second time in 2022.

• He is from the Serbian Progressive Party.
• The State Election Commission declared that he defeated Zdravko Ponos, by obtaining 59.5% of votes.
• He has vowed to maintain Serbia’s close economic and military ties to Moscow.
• He was born on 05 March, 1970 and politician by profession.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Sport for Development and Peace

• The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace is celebrated every year on 06 April.

• The day was first celebrated in the year 1896, the first ever modern Olympics were held.

• It is celebrated to recognize the positive role of sport and physical activity in people’s lives.
• The theme for the day 2022 is ‘Securing a Sustainable and Peaceful Future for All: The Contribution of Sport’.

World Health Day

• World Health Day is celebrated every year on 07 April.

• World Health Organization observes the day to spread awareness about the importance of general health and well-being around the world.

• The day first celebrated on the year 1950.
• The theme for the year 2022 is ‘Our planet, our health’.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

A New Book by Ashwini Shrivastava

• Ashwini Shrivastava authored a new book titled ‘Decoding Indian Babudom’.
• The book was released by Vitasta Publishing Private Limited.S
• This is a first-of-its-kind book by a journalist covering the bureaucratic system of India.
• It highlights India’s administrative system and functioning of governance from a common man’s point of view.