NATIONAL NEWS

Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar Gujarat.
• The Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and Director-General of World Health Organization Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus were also attended the summit.
• It was organized by the Government of India and Ministry of AYUSH.
• The Ministry of AYUSH has taken several major steps to encourage startup culture in the field of Traditional Medicines.
• The three-day Global AYUSH Investment & Innovation Summit will help to uncover investment potential and give a support to innovation, research & development, start-up ecosystem and the wellness industry.

7th edition of Raisina Dialogue

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the seventh edition of the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.

• President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen will be the chief guest at the Dialogue.

• Several former Prime Ministers of different countries and other dignitaries will also participate in the event.
• The three-day Dialogue is based on the theme ‘Terranova, impassioned, impatient, imperilled’.
• There are six broad thematic pillars of the Dialogue including Rethinking Democracy, End of Multilateralism, Water Caucuses, Achieving Green Transitions.
• Raisina Dialogue will have around 100 sessions with over 210 speakers from 90 countries.

National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign 2022-23

• Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singhr Tomar inaugurated National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign 2022-23 at NASC Complex, New Delhi.

• The objective of this conference was to review and assess the crop performance during the preceding crop seasons and to fix crop-wise targets for Kharif season in consultation with State Governments.

• As per Advance Estimates (2021-22), total food grains production in the country is estimated at 3160 lakh tonnes.
• Of the total production target of 328 million tonnes 163.15 million tonnes is set for Kharif season crops and 164.85 million tonnes for the Rabi season crops.
• Total food grain production has increased by 25% in last 6 years from 251.54 to 316.01 million tonnes.

BANKING

SIDBI Cluster Development Fund

• The Maharashtra government has been approved Rs 600 crore by SIDBI under the SIDBI Cluster Development Fund (SCDF).
• It is to upgrade or revive its industrial training institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics run by the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training under the Department of Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
• SIDBI’s engagement with Maharashtra is based on the recommendations by the Expert Committee on MSMEs headed by UK Sinha for MSME development and promotion including the use of Priority Sector Shortfall (PSS) funds.
• This was intended to create a low-cost lending window for state governments for infrastructure projects in clusters.

International Sustainability Platform at GIFT City

• NSE IFSC Ltd, a subsidiary of National Stock Exchange (NSE) announced to launch an international sustainability platform, at Gujarat’s GIFT City.

• This is a first of its kind ESG (environmental, social and governance) platform in India, NSE IFSC.

• The platform will facilitate listing and trading a variety of sustainability products including green bonds, voluntary carbon, sustainable bonds, green real estate investment trusts (REITs), green equity, among others and channelize the flow of sustainable finance to India and other markets.
• The sustainability platform will use Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) or Blockchain to ensure integrity, speed, tracking and traceability of transactions.
• Ecube Investment Advisors, a Blockchain products startup are also engaged with NSE IFSC to make the platform operational.

AWARDS & PRIZES

NMDC Conferred at PRSI Awards 2022

• The National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd. (NMDC) won the first position in four categories at the Public Relations Awards 2022 conferred by Public Relations Society of India (PRSI).

• NMDC is a state-controlled mineral producer of the Government of India. It is fully owned by the Government of India under the Ministry of Steel.

• The conference was conducted on the theme of ‘Emerging Trends in Modern Public Relations’.
• The mining major was conferred with this honor for their Corporate Website, Annual Report, Layout and Design of Newsletter and CSR Corporate Video.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

CEO of Aditya Birla Capital

• Non-bank lender Aditya Birla Capital has appointed Vishakha Mulye as the chief executive officer with effect from June 01.

• She succeeded Ajay Srinivasan.

• She will be the first woman to serve as director of Birla Group’s apex decision-making body Aditya Birla Management Corporation Private Ltd.
• Prior to this Mulye was the executive director of ICICI Bank in charge of the whole-sale banking portfolio.

Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog

• Dr. Suman K Bery has been appointed new Vice Chairperson of NITI Aayog. He will take charge as Vice Chairperson of NITI Aayog from 01May.

• He will succeed Dr. Rajiv Kumar.

• Earlier he had served as Director-General of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in New Delhi.
• NCAER is one of the country’s leading independent non-profit policy research institutions.
• He also served as a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, National Statistical Commission and Reserve Bank of India’s Technical Advisory Committee on Monetary Policy.

President of France

• Emmanuel Macron has won a second term in France's presidential election with 58.2 per cent of the vote.

• He defeated Marine Le Pen.

• 44-year-old Macron set to become the first president to secure a second term in office.

IMPORTANT DAYS

English Language Day

• English Language Day is celebrated every year on 23 April.
• The day is observed to spread awareness and respect for the history, culture and achievements of six UN working languages namely English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish and Russian.
• In 2010, the Department of Global Communications decided to observe April 23 as English Language Day.
• It is also celebrated for the birthday and date of death of world-famous playwright William Shakespeare.

National Panchayati Raj Day

• National Panchayati Raj Day is celebrated every year on 24 April.

• The National Panchayati Raj Day, which is also commonly known as National Local Self-government Day, is celebrated in India by Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

• On April 24, 1993 Panchayati Raj was established through the Constitution Act, 1992 and it came into force from that day.
• The Ministry of Panchayati Raj awards the best performing Panchayats or States or UTs across the country in recognition of their good work for improving delivery of services and public goods.

World Book and Copyright Day 2022

• World Book and Copyright Day 2022 will be celebrated every year on 23 April across the world.

• This day will be observed to promote the benefits of reading, writing books, translating, publishing and copyright.

• This day also helps to promote the importance and benefits of reading.
• Guadalajara, Mexico will be the world Book Capital for the year 2022.

OBITUARY

Veteran Congress Leader K Sankaranarayanan

• Former Governor of various states and senior Congress leader K Shankaranarayanan passed away at Palakkad in Kerala at the age of 89.

• The veteran Congress leader served as Governor in six states, including Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Nagaland.

• He was a minister on multiple occasions in Kerala's UDF governments led by former Chief Ministers A K Antony and K Karunakaran.

Noted writer Padma Shri Binapani Mohanty

• Odisha’s renowned writer Padma Shri Binapani Mohanty passed away.

• She was born on 11 November 1936.

• She started her teaching career as a lecturer in Economy in 1960.
• Binapani Mohanty was conferred with the Padma Shri in 2020 for her contribution to Odia literature.
• She also was awarded the Adibadi Jagannath Das Puraskar – the highest literary award by the Odisha Sahitya Akademi, in 2019.
• She also received the Sahitya Akademy award in 1990 and Sarala Puraskar in 2010.
• She had founded an organisation of Odia women writers named ‘Odisha Lekhika Sansad.’

Former President of Kenya Mwai Kibaki

• Former Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki, who led the East African nation for more than a decade has died at the age of 90.

• He served as the country's third president from December 2002 to April 2013.
• Kibaki left a legacy of strong growth in the regional economic powerhouse, launching major infrastructure projects and boosting the struggling health and education sectors.