NATIONAL NEWS

First State to Adopt ‘Water Budget’

• Kerala has adopted a water budget, the first of its kind in the country, to deal with the problem of water scarcity in summer.

• Despite the abundance of rivers, streams, backwaters and rainfall, many parts of Kerala face severe water scarcity during summer.

• The water budget will help the state to ascertain the demand and supply of water resources and apportion it accordingly.

• The first phase of the water budget covers 94-gram panchayats in 15 block panchayats, and the details were unveiled by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

• The water budget will be prepared by a committee of various experts along with officials from the Center for Water Resources Development and Management and the State Water Resources Department.

A Help Program Launched in the State of Uttarakhand

• The Chief Minister (CM) of Uttarakhand, Mr. Pushkar Singh Dhami launched ‘A-HELP’ (Accredited Agent for Health and Extension of Livestock Production) programme at Survey of India Auditorium Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

• Under this program trained A-HELPs will give their vital contribution in preventing various infectious diseases of animals, artificial insemination under Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM), tagging of animals and animal insurance.

• Under RGM, livestock breed improvement programs will be conducted with the help of a large number of trained A-HELP workers who are interested in performing Artificial Insemination by providing them additional training.

• The programme will ensure economic upliftment of livestock owners along with active participation and involvement of women power.

• The A-HELP will serve as the organic link between the livestock farmers and the veterinary services and become ‘first port of call’ in times of need for the farmers.

Bhavanapadu Port in Srikakulam Renamed as Mulapeta Greenfield Port

• The Andhra Pradesh (AP) government has renamed the proposed Bhavanapadu port in the Srikakulam district as Mulapeta greenfield port at the request of the locals.

• Chief Minister (CM) Shri YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will lay a foundation stone for this nearly Rs 4,000 crore project on April 19, 2023.

• The state government took this decision as farmers from Mulapeta and Vishnuchakram villages requested for the name change since Bhavanapadu village has no scope in the proposed port area, considering all the lands of Mulpeta and some from Vishnuchakram have been earmarked for acquisition.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

EU-India Aviation Summit

• The two-day European Union (EU)-India Aviation Summit began in New Delhi.

• During the summit, a declaration of intent was signed by the Airport Authority of India with Eurocontrol.

• A letter of intent memorandum of understanding was also signed by DGCA with the European Union Aviation Safety for closer cooperation.

• The Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel Jyotiraditya Scindia addressed the summit virtually.

• The summit focused on the EU-India air transport relationship and the mutually shared challenges and opportunities of the two regions.

• The theme of the summit was COVID recovery of air traffic, increasing sustainability, maintaining safety and development of unmanned aircraft systems.

BANKING

Canara Bank Partners with NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd

• Canara Bank in partnership with NPCI Bharat BillPay (NBBL) has launched cross-border inward bill payment services for Indians based in Oman.

• NRIs can now leverage the robust platform offered by the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) to make bill payments on behalf of their families through the Musandam Exchange.

• This initiative signifies a milestone for Canara Bank as the first public sector bank in India to offer inbound cross-border bill payments through BBPS.

• Musandam Exchange, managed by Canara Bank, is also the first exchange house in Oman to go live on cross-border inbound bill payments.

• The cross-border bill payment service is already live in Kuwait, facilitating inbound remittances across utilities like electricity, water, mobile phone, gas, credit card bills, and more.

HDFC Bank Signs Agreement with Export Import Bank of Korea

• HDFC Bank has signed a ‘Master Inter Bank Credit Agreement’ with Export Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) for a USD 300 million line of credit.

• The pact was signed by the two entities at GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec) City in Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar.

• This agreement will help HDFC Bank raise foreign currency funds which it would extend to Korea-related businesses.

• This line of credit would be utilised by HDFC Bank towards funding requirements of companies having equity participation by Korean companies as well as companies having business relationship with Korean companies.

• It will also be utilised towards funding requirements of consumers for the purchase of cars manufactured by Korea related companies.

AWARDS & PRIZES

Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar Award

• Legendary singer Asha Bhosle will be honoured with the Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar Award on April 24 and the award ceremony will coincide with her father's death anniversary.

• The award was instituted by the Mangeshkar family and trust in the memory of Lata Mangeshkar, and is given to a person who has made a significant contribution to the nation, its people and society.

• Veteran ghazal singer Pankaj Udhaswill be honoured with the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award for his contribution to Indian music.

• Gauri Theaters of Prashant Damle Fan Foundation will be given the Best Drama of the Year award for their play ‘Niyam Va Ati Lagoo’.

• Sadguru Seva Sangh Trust will be honoured for his social service.

• Granthali Prakashan will receive the Vag Vilasini Award for his contribution to literature.

• Actor-director Prasad Oak and actor Vidya Balan will both be presented with special awards for their contribution to cinema and theatre.

DEFENCE

India-Thailand Defence Dialogue

• The 8th India-Thailand Defence Dialogue was held in Bangkok on 20 April.

• They reviewed defence cooperation between the two countries and explored new initiatives to further strengthen bilateral ties.

• The two sides also exchanged views on regional and global issues of common interest.

• India and Thailand share a strategic partnership and defense is a major pillar of this cooperation.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ISRO to Launch Singapore's Teleos-2 Satellite

• ISRO will launch Singapore's TeLEOS-2 satellite using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.

• TeLEOS-1, Singapore's first commercial Earth observation satellite, was launched by ISRO in 2015 and since then, ISRO has launched nine satellites for Singapore.

• TeLEOS-2 is an Earth observation satellite built by ST Engineering that will carry a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) capable of providing 1-metre resolution data.

• The satellite will have a 500 GB onboard recorder and 800 Mbps downlink.
• The satellite will provide valuable data to various sectors, including hotspot monitoring, haze management, aviation accidents, etc.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Chinese Language Day

• United Nations Chinese Language Day is observed every year on 20 April.

• Its purpose is to celebrate the Chinese language, one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

• The day also aims to create a platform for people around the world to learn the Chinese language.

• The day creates general awareness about the Chinese language and promotes multilingual culture and diversity among the people.

• The day also aims to remember the contribution of Cangzi, a mythological figure who is believed to have invented Chinese characters.