APRIL 2021
1st APRIL 2021
1. Govt further extends Emergency Credit
Line Guarantee Scheme to June 30, 2021
The Central
Government has
extended
the Emergency
Credit Line
Guarantee Scheme
(ECLGS 3.0) by
another three months till June 30, 2021, or till
such time that an amount of Rs. 3 lakh crore is
sanctioned under the Scheme.
Additionally, the government has also
introduced certain modifications in the ECLGS
scheme to further contribute towards economic
revival.
The limit of credit has been enhanced to 40 per
cent of outstanding loans as of February 29,
2020. This limit was 20 per cent earlier.
The scheme would now also cover borrowers
with total credit outstanding up to Rs 500 crore,
with overdues for 60 days or less on February
29 2020, as compared to 30 days overdue
earlier.
The tenor of loans granted under ECLGS 3.0 is
6 years with a moratorium period of 2 years on
repayment of principal. In ECLGS 2.0, the tenor
was five years with a 12-month moratorium.
Further, the scheme has also introduced
providing an incentive to MLIs (member lending
institutions) to enable the availability of
additional funding facility to the eligible
beneficiaries.
The ECLGS was announced as part of
the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package of
Central Government to provide fully
guaranteed and collateral-free additional credit
to MSMEs, business enterprises, individual
loans for business purposes and MUDRA
borrowers.
2. Government announces Rs 14,500 crore
capital infusion in 4 PSBs
The Central
Government has
announced to infuse Rs
14,500 crore in four state-owned lenders
SANKAR APRIL 2021
namely Bank of India, Central Bank of India,
Indian Overseas Bank and UCO Bank in
2020-21, by issuing non-interest bearing bonds
to these banks.
This infusion will complete the government’s
total capital infusion of Rs 20,000 crore in
public sector banks for the current financial
year 2020-21. Earlier in December 2020, it
infused Rs 5,500 crore in Punjab and Sind
Bank.
The Recapitalisation bonds will be issued
with six different maturities, and the special
securities would be “at par” for the amount as
per the application made by the eligible banks.
Banks require capital to meet the mandatory
reserve requirements laid out by the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI), make provisions for bad
loans and kick-start the lending cycle when
demand revives in the economy.
3. Utkal Divas or Odisha Day is celebrated
on 1 April
Utkal Divas or
Utakala Dibasha is
celebrated on April
1 every year to
remember the
formation of the Odisha state after a struggle
to be recognised as an independent state.
Under British rule, Odisha was part of the
Bengal presidency, which consisted of the
present-day Bihar, West Bengal, and Odisha.
The state was originally called Orissa but the
Lok Sabha passed the Orissa Bill, and
Constitution Bill (113rd amendment), in
March 2011 to rename it Odisha.
The new province of Odisha was formed after
people’s continued struggle, which finally paid
off on April 1, 1936. Sir John Hubbak was the
first governor of the state. Notable leaders from
that movement are Utkala Gouraba,
Madhusudan Das, Utkala Mani, Gopabandhu
Das, Fakir Mohan Senapati, Pandita Nilakantha
Das, and many others.
 Chief Minister of Odisha: Naveen
Patnaik.
 Odisha Capital: Bhubaneswar.
 Odisha Governor: Ganeshi Lal.
1
 APRIL 2021

4. SBI inks USD 1 billion loan agreement Private sector lender Axis Bank has entered
with Japan Bank into a Share Purchase Agreement for sale of
India’s largest 100 per cent stake in its subsidiary, Axis Bank
lender, State Bank of UK Limited to OpenPayd Holdings Ltd.
India, has raised $1
billion from Japan The agreement was entered on March 31,
Bank for International 2021, and the transaction is subject to approval
Cooperation (JBIC) to extend loans to the by the UK Financial Regulator, the Prudential
supply chain of the Japanese automobile Regulation Authority (PRA).
industry in India.
The consideration or the value for the
The loan is in the form of refinancing against transaction would be the completion net asset
the funding support provided to the value (book value of the bank on the date of
manufacturers, suppliers and dealers completion), plus a fixed premium
of Japanese automobiles in India. of $5,500,000.

This collaboration between SBI and JBIC will
help the bank in extending loan facility to the
entire supply chain at a time when people are
preferring a personal mode of transport.
Now the total loan facility between SBI and
JBIC has become $2 billion. Earlier in October
2020, SBI inked a similar agreement for $1
billion with JBIC.
 SBI Chairperson: Dinesh Kumar Khara.
 SBI Headquarters: Mumbai.
 SBI Founded: 1 July 1955.
5. RBI extends deadline for processing auto-
Axis Bank expects the sale to be completed by
September 30, 2021 subject to the approval
of ‘Change in Control’, received from the UK
Financial Regulator, the PRA.
 Axis Bank Commenced operations:
1994. Axis Bank Headquarters: Mumbai,
Maharashtra.
 Axis Bank Tagline: Dil Se Open.
 Axis Bank MD and CEO: Amitabh
Chaudhry.
7. Govt pegs market borrowing at Rs 7.24

debit payments by 6 months lakh crore in 1st half of FY22

The Reserve Bank of The government has
India (RBI) has decided to borrow Rs
extended the timeline for 7.24 lakh crore in
processing recurring the first half of 2021-
online transactions by 6 22 fiscal (FY22) to
months to September meet resources to
30, 2021. revive the economy hit by coronavirus
pandemic. This borrowing is 60.06 per cent of
Earlier in December 2020, RBI had directed all the estimated gross issuances for fiscal 2021-
banks including RRBs, NBFCs, and payment 22.
gateways that the processing of recurring
transactions (domestic or cross-border) using According to Budget 2021-22, the estimated
cards or Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) gross borrowing is pegged at Rs 12.05
or Unified Payments Interface (UPI) would not lakh crore in the financial year beginning April
be continued beyond March 31, 2021, if they do 01, 2021. The government raises money from
not comply with Additional Factor of the market to fund its fiscal deficit through
Authentication (AFA). dated securities and treasury bills.
 RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das;
 Headquarters: Mumbai;
 Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata. 8. World Bank raises GDP growth projection
for India to 10.1% for FY22
The World Bank has
6. Axis Bank to sell UK revised upward the GDP
growth projections for India
arm to tech platform
by 4.7 percentage points

SANKAR APRIL 2021 2

 APRIL 2021

to 10.1 per cent for the financial year 2021-22, off to a thrilling start with victory in the Bahrain
due to a strong rebound in private consumption Grand Prix 2021.
and investment growth. Earlier the bank had
pegged the GDP growth at 5.4 per cent for Hamilton after his 96th career win. Max
FY22. Verstappen (Red bull) and V
Bottas (Mercedes ) stand 2nd and 3rd Position
Apart from this, the World Bank has forecast Respectively.
the economy to contract by 8.5 per cent in
FY21 (2020-21). The multilateral agency has
also projected economic growth at 5.8 per 11. PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline extended
cent for India during FY23 (2022-23).
 World Bank Headquarters: Washington, to June 30
D.C., United States. The central
 World Bank Formation: July 1944. government has
 World Bank President: David Malpass. extended the
deadline for linking
the Aadhaar
9. AYUSH Ministry in collab with Vinoba number with the permanent account number
(PAN) to June 30, 2021, in view of the
Seva Pratishthan organizes ‘Ayurveda difficulties arising out of the COVID-19
Parav’ pandemic.

In a bid to promote The earlier deadline was March 31. The

Ayurveda as the
mainstream
treatment for the
prevalent lifestyle-related diseases, Vinoba
SevaPratisthan (VSP), in collaboration with
the Ministry of AYUSH, has successfully
organized a 3-day “Ayurveda Paravin
Bhubaneswar.
This unique initiative aims to not only ensure
greater acceptance of Ayurveda among the
masses but also to popularize Ayurveda as the
main line of treatment for the current lifestyle
diseases.
The Ministry of AYUSH provided full-fledged
support to this programme. During this Parv,
nearly 25 research papers were presented by
experts and researchers. The initiative
generated tremendous response as thousands
of patients turned up and showed their trust
towards Ayurveda medication. They did get
their diagnosis and consequent medicine.
 Minister of State (IC) of the Ministry of
AYUSH: Shripad Yesso Naik.
10. Lewis Hamilton won Bahrain Grand Prix
2021
Mercedes star Lewis
Hamilton got his bid
for an eighth world title
government had said those who miss the
deadline will be liable to pay a penalty of up
to Rs 1,000 and their PAN will become invalid.
The date for issue of notice under Section 148
of Income Tax Act,1961, the passing of
consequential order for direction issued by
the Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) and
processing of equalisation levy statements has
also been extended to 30th April 2021.
The government passed the Finance Bill 2021
in the Lok Sabha last week where it inserted a
new section 234H under which a person shall
be liable to pay a late fee of up to Rs 1,000 in
case of non-linking of their PAN with Aadhaar.
 UIDAI Founded: 28 January 2009;
 UIDAI Headquarters: New Delhi.
 UIDAI CEO: Saurabh Garg.
2nd APRIL 2021
1. Centre withdraws order cutting interest
rates on small savings schemes
The government has
withdrawn its order
slashing interest
rates on small
savings
schemes, including National Savings
Certificates (NSC) and Public Provident
Fund (PPF), for the first quarter of 2021-22.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 3

 APRIL 2021

Earlier on March 31, 2021, the Finance Ministry
had announced a sharp cut in interest rates for
small savings schemes by 50-110 basis
points. Interest rates for small savings
schemes are notified on a quarterly basis.
However, the orders issued were withdrawn by
the government on April 01, 2021. This marks
the fourth consecutive quarter that the
government has maintained the rates on such
schemes that are effective from April 1 and
remain in effect till June 30, 2021.
2. Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam in Uttar Pradesh
lists itself at BSE
Ghaziabad Nagar
Nigam listed itself
at BSE and
successfully
raised Rs. 150
Crores by issuing
Municipal Bond on Private Placement Basis
using BSE BOND. This is the first-ever green
bond issuance by any Municipal Corporation in
the country.
The money will be used for the construction of
a tertiary sewage treatment plant at
Indirapuram in Ghaziabad. The money will be
used to fund the project partly which is
worth Rs 240 crore. This treatment plant will
enable the sewage water to be used for
industries after treatment.
Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam is the second
Municipal Corporation to raise funds in the state
of Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, Lucknow Municipal
Corporation had listed itself at BSE.
April 01, 2021. He is serving as Director
(Finance) at ONGC.
Kumar succeeds incumbent CMD, Shashi
Shanker, who superannuated on March 31,
2021.
 Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
Headquarters: Vasant Kunj, Delhi.
 Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
CEO: Shashi Shanker (1 Oct 2017–).
 Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
Founder: Government of India.
 Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
Founded: 14 August 1956.
4. Mukhmeet S. Bhatia takes over as
Director-General of ESIC
Senior IAS
officer, Mukhmeet S.
Bhatia took over the
charge of Director
General of Employees’ State Insurance
Corporation (ESIC) on April 04, 2021. He is a
1990 IAS Officer of the Jharkhand cadre.
Earlier, he has worked as the Additional
Secretary in the Department of Economic
Affairs, Ministry of Finance. ESIC is a
Statutory and an Autonomous Body under the
Ministry of Labour and Employment.
 Employees’ State Insurance Corporation
Founded: 24 February 1952.
 Employees’ State Insurance Corporation
Headquarters: New Delhi.

 Uttar Pradesh Capital: Lucknow. 5. Indian Army to participate in Military

 Uttar Pradesh Governor: Anandiben
Patel. Uttar Pradesh Chief minister: Yogi Exercise SHANTIR OGROSHENA 2021
Adityanath. A multinational
Military Exercise
named ‘SHANTIR
OGROSHENA’
3. Subhash Kumar takes additional charge 2021 (Front Runner of
as CMD of ONGC the Peace) is
Subhash Kumar has scheduled to be held in Bangladesh from April
assumed the additional 04 to 12, 2021.
charge as Chairman and
Managing Director The theme of the exercise is “Robust Peace
(CMD) of Oil and Keeping Operations”. The exercise is being
Natural Gas held to commemorate the birth centenary of
Corporation (ONGC) on Bangladesh ‘Father of the
Nation’ Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

SANKAR APRIL 2021 4

 APRIL 2021

Rahman and mark glorious 50 years of  UNESCAP Headquarters: Bangkok,

liberation of the country. Thailand.

The Indian Army is also participating in this

multinational exercise, along with a contingent 8. India ranks 140th in WEF’s gender gap
of the Royal Bhutan Army, Sri Lankan Army
and Bangladesh Army. index 2021
India has slipped 28
The Indian contingent will comprise 30 places to
personnel including Officers, JCOs and Jawans rank 140 among 156
of a Battalion from The DOGRA Regiment. countries in the Global
Gender Gap Report
USA, UK, Turkey, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2021, by World Economic Forum. In 2020,
Kuwait and Singapore will also attend the India ranked 112th among 153 countries.
exercise as Military observers.
Iceland has topped the index as the most
6. 4th batch of three Rafale fighter jets land gender-equal country in the world for the 12th
in India time. Afghanistan is the worst-performing
The fourth batch country in the report.
of three Rafale
fighter jets landed Iceland, Finland, Norway, New Zealand,
in India after flying Rwanda, Sweden, Ireland and Switzerland.
non-stop
from Istres Air Base France, in a further boost The Global Gender Gap Report 2021 is
to the strike capability of the Indian Air Force the 15th edition of the annual publication by
(IAF). The Rafale fighter jets were provided WEF.
mid-air refuelling by air force tankers of
the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Global Gender Gap Index was first
introduced by the World Economic Forum in
The three Rafale fighter aircraft which took off 2006 to compare countries’ gender gaps across
from France for India were scheduled to land at four dimensions: economic opportunities,
the Jamnagar airbase. The planes equipped education, health and political leadership.
with the Hammer missiles have enhanced
their capability to carry out air-to-ground strikes  World Economic Forum
like the one in Balakot. Headquarters: Cologny, Switzerland.
 World Economic Forum Founder: Klaus
Schwab.
7. UNESCAP: India’s Economic Growth Of  World Economic Forum
Founded: January 1971.
7% in 2021-22
The United
Nations 9. Facebook and Google to build new cables
Economic and under the sea called ‘Echo’ and ‘Bifrost’
Social
Commission for Facebook and
Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) said in the Google are planning
latest update that, India’s is estimated to record to build new subsea
economic growth of 7% in 2021-22, over a cables from the US to
contraction of 7.7% witnessed in the previous Singapore and
fiscal on account of the pandemic’s impact on Indonesia.
normal business activity.
Facebook has partnered with leading regional
It also noted that maintaining low borrowing and global partners to build two new subsea
costs while keeping non-performing loans in cables Echo and Bifrost that will provide vital
check would be a challenge. new connections between the Asia-Pacific
region and North America.
 UNESCAP Founded: 28 March 1947.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 5


While Google is only investing in Echo. These
cables will increase overall transpacific capacity
by 70 per cent.
These projects are still subject to regulatory
approvals, when completed, these cables are
expected to deliver much-needed Internet
capacity, redundancy, and reliability. The
announcements come at a time when the
Covid-19 pandemic has increased the need for
reliable Internet access.
 Google CEO: Sundar Pichai.
 Google Founded: 4 September 1998,
California, United States.
 Google Founders: Larry Page, Sergey
Brin.
 Chief Executive Officer of Facebook:
Mark Zuckerberg.
 Facebook Headquarters: California, US.
10. Paytm Money opens new R&D centre in
Pune
Online investment
platform Paytm
Money has set up a new R&D facility in Pune,
Maharashtra, which will drive product
innovation, especially in the area of equity,
mutual funds, and digital gold.
The company added that it plans to hire over
250 engineers and data scientists to build new
wealth products and services.
Paytm Money aims to achieve over 10 million
users and 75 million yearly transactions in
FY21, with the majority of users coming from
small cities and towns.
 Paytm HQ: Noida, Uttar Pradesh;
 Paytm Founder & CEO: Vijay Shekhar
Sharma.
 Paytm Money CEO: Varun Sridhar.
11. Legendary Actor Rajinikanth to be
honoured with 51st Dadasaheb Phalke
Award
The legendary
actor Rajinikanth has
been selected to be
honoured with the 51st
Dadasaheb Phalke
SANKAR APRIL 2021
APRIL 2021
Awards, the highest film honour in India.
The iconic actor Rajinikanth will receive the
Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2019 for his
stupendous contribution to Indian cinema.
Rajinikanth will receive the Dadasaheb Phalke
Award on May 3, 2021.
Rajinikanth is the 12th South Indian to get this
award. Legends like Dr Rajkumar, Akkineni
Nageshwar Rao, K Balachander have been
awarded before. The legendary actor has been
honoured with the Padma Bhushan and
Padma Vibhushan in the past.
12. World Autism Awareness Day: 02 April
The World Autism
Awareness Day is
observed
internationally on 2
April every year, to
raise awareness
about people
with Autism Spectrum Disorder
(ASD) throughout the world.
The 2021 World Autism Awareness Day
observance will address these issues through
a virtual event that will include moderated panel
discussions with individuals on the autism
spectrum who have themselves experienced
the challenges and seen these new
opportunities in the employment market.
The very first World Autism Day was observed
in the year 2008 on April 2. It was adopted by
the United Nations General Assembly on 18
December 2007. World Autism Day is one of
only seven official health-specific UN Days.
13. International Children’s Book Day: 02
April
International
Children’s Book
Day (ICBD) is
organised annually
on 2nd
April since 1967, by the International Board
on Books for Young People (IBBY), an
international non-profit organization, to inspire a
love of reading and to call attention to children’s
books. Theme 2021: “The Music of
Words.” Each year a different National Section
of IBBY has the opportunity to be the
6
 APRIL 2021

international sponsor of ICBD and decide upon The central government has declared April
a theme. The IBBY United States is the 14, Dr BR
sponsor for International Children’s Book Day Ambedkar’s birthday
2021. a public holiday. Dr B
R Ambedkar was the
 International Board on Books for Young sculptor of the Indian
People Founder: Jella Lepman. Constitution and the
 International Board on Books for Young country already
People Founded: 1953, Zürich, celebrates his birthday as Ambedkar
Switzerland. Jayanti every year.
 International Board on Books for Young
People Headquarters: Basel, The government has announced that from this
Switzerland. year 14th April will be declared as a public
holiday. It will be Ambedkar’s 130th birth
3rd APRIL 2021 anniversary on April 14, 2021.

1. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched

“MyNEP2020” platform of NCTE Web Portal 3. Maharashtra: Amboli named as a
Union Education
biodiversity heritage site
Minister, Ramesh
The Maharashtra
Pokhriyal
government has
‘Nishank’ has
declared an area
launched
at Amboli in Western
ghats in Sindhudurg
district, where a rare
the “MyNEP2020” Platform of National Council
freshwater fish species was discovered, as a
for Teacher Education (NCTE) Web Portal
biodiversity heritage site.
which will be operational from April 1 to May
15, 2021.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray”s son Tejas
Thackeray, who is a wildlife researcher, and
The platform seeks to invite
his team had discovered the new freshwater
suggestions/inputs/membership from the
fish species – Schistura Hiranyakeshi” near
stakeholders for preparing a draft for the
Amboli in Sawantwadi tehsil of Sindhudurg
development of National Professional
district.
Standards for Teachers (NPST) and National
Mission for Mentoring Program membership
The State government issued a notification
(NMM).
declaring the area at Amboli as a biodiversity
heritage site. Schistura is a small and colourful
This exercise of digital consultation envisages
fish that lives in water and streams in an
the participation of teachers, education
abundance of oxygen.
professionals, academicians, and other
 Maharashtra Governor: Bhagat Singh
stakeholders in preparing the documents on
Koshyari.
teacher policy for sustainable and positive
change in the Teacher’s Education Sector.  Maharashtra Capital: Mumbai.
 Maharashtra CM: Uddhav Thackeray.
For preparing the documents on the above two
major recommendations of NEP 2020, NCTE
will work in close consultation with 4. Mallika Srinivasan appointed chairperson
individuals/organizations. The expert committee
of PESB
will extensively review the inputs collected
Chairman and
during the consultation period and will finally
Managing Director of
formulate the drafts for public review.
Tractors and Farm
Equipment (TAFE)
Limited, Mallika
2. GoI declares 14th April, the birthday of Dr Srinivasan has been
B R Ambedkar as a public holiday appointed as the

SANKAR APRIL 2021 7

 APRIL 2021

chairperson of the Public Enterprises appointed chairman of Capacity Building

Selection Board (PESB), an order issued by
the personnel ministry.
This is for the first time that a private sector
specialist has been appointed as the head of
the PESB, responsible for the appointment of
top management posts in the Central Public
Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
has approved the appointment of Srinivasan as
the chairperson of PESB for a period of three
years from the date of assumption of charge, or
until the attainment of the age of 65 years.
 Minister of Personnel, Public Grievances
and Pensions: Narendra Modi.
 Minister of State in the Ministry of
Personnel, Public Grievances and
Pensions: Jitendra Singh.
5. Urjit Patel appointed as additional
director of Britannia
Former Reserve Bank
of India Governor Dr
Urjit Patel has been
appointed
as Additional
Director of Britannia
Industries with effect from 31st March 2021 for
the tenure of 5 years. The company has
announced that its board of directors has
approved the appointment.
Commission.
The government has approved a commission
under National Programme for Civil Services
Capacity Building (NPCSCB), also known
as ‘Mission Karmayogi’, to train civil servants
at all levels.
The approved Capacity Building Commission
will coordinate with and supervise all the
government offices, training institutes to
monitor and evaluate the implementation of
plans and create shared resources. The
Commission will comprise of a Chairperson and
two Members.
7. Lightweight Bullet Proof Jacket
developed by DRDO lab
Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh has
congratulated DRDO and
DMSRDE Kanpur for
developing a LightWeight Bullet Proof
Jacket. India needs more such innovative
product design and development to realize the
dream of Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
DMSRDE Kanpur, a DRDO laboratory has
developed a LightWeight Bullet Proof
Jacket weighing 9 kg meeting the qualitative
requirements of the Indian Army.

The Board of Directors of the company at their
meeting held 31 March 2021, approved the
appointment of Dr Urjit Patel, as an additional
director of the company in the category of non-
executive and independent director with effect
from 31 March 2021 for a term of 5 years i.e.,
up to 30th March 2026, subject to the approval
of the shareholders of the company.
The Front Hard Armour Panel jacket was tested
successfully at TBRL Chandigarh and met
relevant BIS standards.
 Chairman DRDO: Dr G Satheesh
Reddy.
 DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi.
 DRDO Established: 1958.

 Britannia CEO: Varun Berry; 8. ICICI Bank, PhonePe Tie Up For Issuance
 Britannia Headquarters: Bengaluru;
Of FASTags
 Britannia Founded: 1892.
ICICI Bank and
PhonePe announced
6. Adil Zainulbhai appointed chairman of their partnership for the
issuance
Capacity Building of FASTag using UPI on the PhonePe App.
This integration allows over 280 million
Commission
registered PhonePe users to order and track
the ICICI Bank FASTag conveniently on the
Former Quality Council app.
of India (QCI) chief Adil
Zainulbhai has

SANKAR APRIL 2021 8

 APRIL 2021

PhonePe users, who may be customers of any He is the first Wushu player from southern India
bank, will have a fully digitised experience as to reach the Indian team. Midhun is a black belt
they don’t have to visit physical stores or toll in karate and he is also a national champion in
locations to buy a FASTag. wushu as well as kickboxing.

ICICI Bank is the first bank to partner with In fact, the 28-year-old was introduced to
PhonePe for the issuance of FASTag. NPCI, wushu when he was in the fifth standard and
IHMCL and NHAI are working together to make hasn’t looked back since. He is currently
toll payments fully digital. training with veteran coach Kuldeep
 ICICI Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Handu who is an Arjuna Award winner and the
Maharashtra. Indian wushu head coach.
 ICICI Bank MD & CEO: Sandeep
Bakhshi.
11. Vice President releases book
 ICICI Bank Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal
Apka. ‘Suparipalana’ by Dr Shailendra Joshi
 CEO of Phonepe: Sameer Nigam
 Headquarters location of Phonepe: Vice President Venkaiah
Bengaluru, Karnataka. Naidu has released a
book ‘Suparipalana’ by
retired civil servant
9. GST revenue collection in March 2021 Dr Shailendra Joshi.
India’s economic
recovery is gathering The book ‘Suparipalana’ is the Telugu
steam. The GST translation of “Echo T Calling: Towards
collections for the People-Centric Governance”, written by
month of March have former Telangana Chief Secretary, Shri S K
topped Rs 1.23 lakh Joshi.
crore, setting a new record since the
implementation of Goods and Services Tax The translator of the book is Shri Annavarapu
in July 2017. Brahmaiah and the publisher is Shri Maruthi.

The gross GST revenue collected in the month

of March 2021 rose to a record of ₹ 1,23,902 12. West Central Railway becomes first fully
crore of which CGST is ₹ 22,973 crore, SGST
is ₹ 29,329 crore, IGST is ₹ 62,842 crore and electrified Indian Railways zone
Cess is ₹ 8,757 crore. Indian Railways’ West
Central Railway zone
List of GST Collection previous months gets fully electrified!,
 February 2021: Rs 1,13,143 crore after CCRS Inspection
 January 2021: ₹ 1,19,847 crore and Commissioning of
 December- Rs 1,15,174 crore electrification of Kota –
 Novemeber: ₹1.04 lakh crore Chittaurgarh railway
 October 2020: ₹ 1,05,155 crore section (Srinagar – Jalindri) in the state of
Rajasthan.

10. Aniyan Midhun wins gold at South Asian West Central Railways has become the first
fully electrified railway zone in the country. The
Wushu tourney zonal railway now boasts a 3012 Route Km
Aniyan Midhun of electrified network.
Nattika won the gold
at the South Asian According to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal,
Wushu trains passing through this railway section can
Championship that now be operated at a faster speed.
concluded Electrification of this railway section will provide
in Nepal on March 31. The 28-year-old youth various benefits such as saving fuel, reduction
represented the country in the 70-kg category in travel time, as well as environmental
in the championship. protection.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 9

 APRIL 2021

4th APRIL 2021 & 5th APRIL 2021 treatment before the patient is admitted to the
hospital.
1. Russia registers world’s 1st Covid
vaccine Carnivac-Cov for animals  Chief Minister of Rajasthan: Ashok
The world’s first Gehlot; Governor: Kalraj Mishra.
animal vaccine
against the novel
coronavirus has 3. India’s biggest floating solar power plant
been registered
in Russia, the to be set up in Telangana
country’s agriculture The biggest
safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor. The floating solar power
vaccine for animals, developed by a unit of plant in India is to be
Rosselkhoznadzor (Federal Service for set up
Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance), at Ramagundam in
was named Carnivac-Cov. Telangana. It is
expected to be opened
The immunity lasts for six months after the in May 2021. The cost
vaccination, but the dose’s developers are of the project has been estimated as Rs 423
continuing to analyse this. The use of this crores. The power plant will have 4.5 lakh
vaccine, as per Russian scientists, can prevent photovoltaic panels.
the development of virus mutations. The use of
this vaccine, as per Russian scientists, can The solar power plant is being set up at
prevent the development of virus mutations. It the Ramagundam Thermal Power Plant
is the world’s first and only product for reservoir. The solar power plant is to be set up
preventing Covid-19 in animals. in 450 acres of the reservoir.

The project is commissioned by NTPC

(National Thermal Power Corporation).
2. Rajasthan becomes the 1st state to
NTPC aims to reduce its carbon footprints and
provide free health insurance to all increase its green energy production to 30% of
Rajasthan becomes its capacity through this solar power plant.
the first state in the
country where the state The capacity of the solar power plant is 100
government is MW.
providing free health  Telangana Capital: Hyderabad.
insurance facility to  Telangana Governor: Tamilisai
all the citizens of the Soundararajan.
state. This plan was announced by Chief  Telangana Chief minister: K.
Minister Ashok Gehlot in the state budget of Chandrashekar Rao.
2021-22. The State began the registration for
its cashless ‘mediclaim’ scheme Chiranjeevi
Health Insurance Scheme. 4. PhonePe becomes 1st player to cross
billion-transaction mark on UPI
Each family will get annual health insurance up Bengaluru-based digital
to 5 lakhs. Registrations have started for
payments and financial
the Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme services
from 1 April, while the scheme will start company, PhonePe has
benefiting the residents after its implementation become the first company
on May 1. to cross one billion
transactions on Unified
In this health insurance cover, 1576 Payments Interface (UPI) infrastructure.
packages and procedures for the treatment of
various diseases have been included. The cost The company achieved the feat in March
of treatment related to OPD, examination, 2021, when the total transactions clocked
medicines and related package of 15 days after around 1.3 billion on its platform, across the
discharge will also be included in the free

SANKAR APRIL 2021 10

 APRIL 2021

payment instruments offering of wallet, cards as
well as UPI.
PhonePe, which first achieved market
leadership on UPI in December, last year, has
seen its transaction count grow steadily, on the
back of rising merchant payments. Overall UPI
transactions processed by PhonePe grew from
902.03 million in December 2020 to 975.53
million in February 2021.
 CEO of Phonepe: Sameer Nigam
 Headquarters location of Phonepe:
Bengaluru, Karnataka.
5. NPCI transfers Bharat Bill Payments
business to its new subsidiary NBBL
The National
Payments
Corporation of
India (NPCI) has
transferred all
its Bharat Bill
Payment System (BBPS) transaction business
to NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL), a
wholly-owned subsidiary of NPCI.
All licensed bill processors on the Bharat Bill
Payment Operating Units (BBPOU), i.e. the
banks and payment aggregators, have been
directed to start accounting their billing
transactions under NBBL from April 1 2021.
The decision to set up a separate subsidiary for
bill payment business aims to scale growth of
the interoperable bill platform by giving it
increased autonomy in operations and
onboarding of new billers. BBPS is an
interoperable bill payments platform set up in
2013, for use by banks, fintech companies and
biller merchants to automate bill collection and
request solutions.
 National Payments Corporation of
India MD & CEO: Dilip Asbe.
 National Payments Corporation of India
Headquarters: Mumbai.
 National Payments Corporation of India
Founded: 2008.
6. Digit Insurance roped Virat Kohli as brand
ambassador
Digit Insurance has
roped in cricketer Virat
Kohli as its brand
ambassador. Kohli has
also invested in Digit Insurance in the past.
Digit Insurance, a general insurance company
that became the first unicorn of 2021 with a
valuation of $1.9B.
With this association, the company aims to
carry the message of ‘making insurance
simple’ through the cricketer. Digit was able to
get the Indian Men’s Cricket Team Captain to
invest in the company before he planned to
become the face for the brand.
7. Dr. Harsh Vardhan approves National
Policy for Rare Diseases, 2021
Union Health
Minister Dr. Harsh
Vardhan has
approved National
Policy for Rare
Diseases, 2021. The
policy aims to lower
the high cost of treatment for rare diseases,
with an increased focus on indigenous research
& local production of medicines.
The Policy also focuses on early screening and
prevention through primary and secondary
health care infrastructure such as Health and
Wellness Centres and District Early
Intervention Centres.
A provision for financial support up to Rs.20
lakh under the Umbrella Scheme of Rashtriya
Arogya Nidhi is proposed for treatment of
those rare diseases that require a one-time
treatment (diseases listed under Group 1 in the
policy). Benefits to be extended to about 40%
of the population eligible under PM Jan Arogya
Yojana.
8. Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan
Harichandan Receives Kalinga Ratna
Samman
Odisha-born Andhra
Pradesh
Governor Biswabhusan
Harichandan received
the Kalinga Ratna
Samman for 2021.
Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu conferred
Biswabhusan with the prestigious award in
Cuttack on the occasion of the 40th annual

SANKAR APRIL 2021 11

 APRIL 2021

day of the Sarala Sahitya Sansad at the This day is celebrated to highlight the
Sarala Bhawan. importance of conscience and the role of
conscience in stopping people from harming
The Kalinga Ratna Samman carries a silver idol others orally, physically, sexually, or mentally.
of Goddess Saraswati, a copper plaque and a
shawl. International Conscience Day is celebrated to
highlight that everyone has self-respect and the
right to live with peace and security. Anti-
humanity acts are defined by scholars on this
9. IIT Kanpur develops touch-sensitive day and they are condemned so the general
watch for the visually impaired public would hate and avoid such acts.
A professor and a
research associate at 11. International Mine Awareness Day: 4
the Indian Institute of
Technology, Kanpur, April
(IIT-K) have developed a
novel touch-sensitive The United Nations’
watch for the use of International Day for
visually impaired people to sense time Mine Awareness
accurately. and Assistance in
Mine Action is celebrated on April 4 each
The watch was developed by prof Siddhartha year. On 8 December 2005, the General
Panda and Vishwaraj Srivastava of IIT Assembly declared that 4 April of each year
Kanpur. shall be observed as the International Day for
Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine
The watch we have developed is a haptic watch Action. It was first observed on 4 April 2006.
with a tactile interface that makes it easy for
visually impaired people to read the time easily. This year, the United Nations will promote mine
action by highlighting how “Perseverance,
The watch has tactile hour indicators of Partnership, and Progress” have carried the
different shapes that make it easy for visually sector through this challenging year.
impaired people to recognise them.

The user has to touch and scan the touch- 12. A book titled ‘Manohar Parrikar: Brilliant
sensitive watch’s hour indicators and with the Mind, Simple Life’ by Nitin Gokhale
help of different vibration patterns, the watch
communicates back the time information that is A new book
easily perceived by the user. This way, the titled ‘Manohar
person is able to read the time. Parrikar: Brilliant
Mind, Simple
10. International Day of Conscience: 5 April Life’ authored
by Nitin
Gokhale was
The United
released. The book is published
Nations declares April
by Bloomsbury. It is an attempt to capture
5 as International Day
Parrikar’s persona — the man, the politician
of Conscience. This
and the patriot.
day serves to remind
people to self-reflect, follow their conscience,
and do the right things. Gokhale is a renowned author, media trainer
and founder of a specialised defence related
website BharatShakti.in. and
This Day is observed every year on 5th April
StratNewsGlobal.com.
and the first International Conscience
Day was observed in 2020. So in the current
year 2021, the second United Nations (UN) Through this book, the author presents the
International Day of Conscience celebrations journey of the contribution of Parrikar to nation-
are being held across the world. building and his service to the Goan society,
from being an IIT student to a social worker and

SANKAR APRIL 2021 12

 APRIL 2021

to India’s defence minister. The book is a this, Shashikala bagged two Filmfare awards
tribute to Parrikar, India’s former defence for her work in Aarti and Gumrah.
minister and four-time chief minister of Goa, the
first IIT-ian to become a chief minister. 15. Samajwadi Party founder member
Bhagwati Singh passes away
13. Japanese Nobel laureate Isamu Akasaki Founder member of
the Samajwadi Party and
passes away former UP minister Bhagwati
Japanese Singh passed away. He was
Physicist Isamu 89-year-old.
Akasaki, a co-winner
of the 2014 Nobel The last rites of Singh will not
Prize in be done as he had pledged to donate his body
Physics, has passed to the King George Medical University.
away. Akasaki, a professor at the university,
had been recognized for the invention which
has contributed to bright and energy-saving 16. J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha
white light sources, widely known as LED
lamps. inaugurates Tulip Festival

He was honoured in 1997 by the Japanese In the Kashmir

government with the Medal with Purple Valley, Tulip
Ribbon, an honour bestowed on those who
have made contributions to academic and
artistic developments.

In 2014, Akasaki, a professor at Meijo Festival in Srinagar was inaugurated by

University, shared the Nobel Prize in Physics Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. Over 15
with physicist Hiroshi Amano, a professor at lakh flowers of more than 64 varieties are in full
the University of Nagoya, and Japan-born bloom on the foothills of the Zabarwan
American Shuji Nakamura, a professor at the Mountains.
University of California, Santa Barbara. He
worked with Amano to produce gallium nitride The five-day-long Tulip Festival in Asia’s largest
crystals and succeeded in 1989 in creating the tulip garden at the foothills of Zabarwan hills on
world’s first blue LED. the banks of world-famous Dal Lake in
Srinagar.
14. Veteran film and TV actress Shashikala
passes away The Tulip Garden was opened for tourists and
Veteran film and the general public on the 25th of March.
TV
Last year the Tulip Festival could not be held
because of the unprecedented situation
of COVID-19.
actress Shashikala Om Prakash
Saigal passed away. She was more popularly However, this time, the Tulip Festival is being
known by her first name, Shashikala has organized on a large scale to attract more and
famously appeared as various supporting more tourists.
characters in over 100 films.
The Tulip Festival, to be held from 3rd to 7th of
Shashikala was honoured with the April, will showcase Kashmiri folk music apart
prestigious Padma Shri by the Indian from a painting competition.
government for her unparalleled contribution to
the world of cinema and arts in 2007.
6th APRIL 2021
She was also conferred with the
1. World Bank, AIIB approve loan for USD
coveted Lifetime Achievement Award at the
V. Shantaram Awards in 2009. Apart from 300 million projects to Punjab

SANKAR APRIL 2021 13

 APRIL 2021

The World Bank and Asian Infrastructure India after his term ended on 2 April, cutting
Investment Bank short all expectations
(AIIB) have approved of an extension of his
the loan for USD 300 tenure.
million (about Rs
2,190 crore) canal- He was appointed
based drinking water deputy governor
projects in 2017 for three
in Punjab. The project is aimed at ensuring years. His term was extended by one more
quality drinking water and minimise water year in 2020. The other deputy governors of the
losses for Amritsar and Ludhiana. RBI are Rajeshwar Rao, M.K. Jain and
Michael Patra.
The entire project will be co-financed
by IBRD (World Bank) – USD 105
million, Asian Infrastructure Investment 4. Shabir Khandwawala appointed new BCCI
Bank – USD 105 million and the Punjab
government – USD 90 million. ACU chief
 President of Asian Infrastructure Shabir Hussein
Investment Bank: Jin Liqun. Shekhadam
 Headquarters of AIIB: Beijing, China. Khandwawala, who
 AIIB established: 16 January 2016. has served as the
 Punjab CM: Captain Amarinder Singh. Gujarat Director
 Punjab Governor: V.P.Singh Badnore. General of Police (DGP) before, is the
new BCCI Anti-Corruption Unit chief.

2. World Bank approves USD 32 million The 70-year-old, a 1973 batch IPS officer,
takes over from Ajit Singh whose tenure ended
projects to Mizoram on March 31.
The World
Bank Board of After retiring as Gujarat DGP in late 2010,
Executive Directors Khandwawala worked with the Essar Group as
has approved a USD an advisor and was also part of the central
32 million projects to government’s Lokpal Search Committee.
improve management capacity and quality of
 Secretary of BCCI: Jay Shah.
health services in Mizoram.
 President of BCCI: Sourav Ganguly.
 Headquarters of BCCI: Mumbai,
The project titled “Mizoram Health Systems
Maharashtra;
Strengthening Project” will strengthen the
governance and the management structure of  Founded: December 1928.
the Mizoram Health department and its
subsidiaries. 5. TRIFED launches “Sankalp se Siddhi”-

This project will support the state government’s Village and Digital Connect Drive
efforts to deliver quality healthcare for the poor
and vulnerable and those located in remote Tribal Co-operative
areas. Marketing
 World Bank Headquarters: Washington, Federation of India
D.C., United States. (TRIFED) has
 World Bank Formation: July 1944. launched Sankalp
 World Bank President: David Malpass. Se Siddhi – Village & Digital Connect Drive. It
 Chief Minister of Mizoram: Pu is a 100-day drive which was started on the 1st
Zoramthanga; Governor: P.S. of April.
Sreedharan Pillai.
The drive entails 150 teams visiting 10 villages
each of which 10 in each region from TRIFED &
3. RBI deputy governor BP Kanungo retires State Implementation Agencies, visiting 10
BP Kanungo has stepped down from the post villages each.
of the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of

SANKAR APRIL 2021 14

 APRIL 2021

The main aim of this drive is to activate the Van contributions to any branch of science or
Dhan Vikas Kendras. Ministry of Tribal Affairs technology. It carries a cash prize of ₹5 lakh.
in a statement said that 100 villages in each
region and 1500 villages in the country will be The recipient is chosen by a selection board,
covered in the next 100 days. whose present head is professor Chandrima
Shaha, the president of the Indian National
They will also identify tribal artisans and other Science Academy (INSA).
groups and empanel them as suppliers so that
they can have access to larger markets through
the Tribes India network – both physical outlets 8. Tashkent to host 2023 AIBA Men’s World
and TribesIndia.com.
Boxing Championships
It is expected that Sankalp Se Siddhi will aid in President of the
effecting a complete transformation of the tribal International Boxing
ecosystem across the country. Association
 Minister of Tribal Affairs: Arjun Munda. (AIBA) Umar
Kremlev during his visit to Uzbekistan officially
6. Alfred Aho Wins the 2020 ACM Turing announced that AIBA Men’s World Boxing
Award Championships will take place in Tashkent in
2023.
Lawrence Gussman
Professor Emeritus The city of Tashkent is awarded the 2023 AIBA
of Computer Men’s World Boxing Championships after the
Science, Alfred V. successful bid presentation by the Boxing
Aho has won the Federation of Uzbekistan. The AIBA Board of
2020 Association Directors voted in favour of the major event
for Computing Machinery (ACM) A.M. Turing candidate city.
Award, known informally as the “Nobel Prize  Uzbekistan Capital: Tashkent.
of computing.” Aho shares the award with his  Uzbekistan President: Shavkat
long-time collaborator Jeffrey David Ullman. Mirziyoyev.
 Uzbekistan Currency: Uzbekistani soʻm.
The Turing Award carries a $1 million
prize, with financial support provided
9. Hurkacz beats Sinner to win Miami Open
by Google, Inc. It is named for Alan M. Turing,
Hubert Hurkacz of
the British mathematician who articulated the
Poland won the biggest
mathematical foundation and limits of
title of his career by
computing.
beating 19-year-
7. Suman Chakraborty to get 30th GD Birla old Jannik Sinner of
Italy 7-6 (4), 6-4 in
Award for Scientific Research the Miami Open
Professor Suman final. Hurkacz became his country’s first
Chakraborty has Masters 1000 champion.
been selected for
the 30th GD Birla The world number 37 is the lowest-ranked
Award for Scientific player to win a Masters event since Tomas
Research for his Berdych in Paris in 2005.
outstanding contribution to engineering science
and its applications in developing technologies
for affordable healthcare. He is a faculty
10. International Day of Sport for
member at the Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT), Kharagpur’s department of mechanical Development and Peace: 6 April
engineering.

Instituted in 1991, the award recognises

eminent Indian scientists below the age of
50 for their original and outstanding

SANKAR APRIL 2021 15

 APRIL 2021

The United Nations celebrates the 6th of Usman for which he won the Kerala Sahitya
April every year as the International Day of Akademi Award and Kerala Professional
Sport for Development and Peace. Sport has Nataka Award in the year 1989.
historically played an important role in all
societies, be it in the form of competitive sport, Balachandran has scripted many films including
physical activity or play. Sports also presents a Ulladakkam (1991),
natural partnership for the United Nations (UN) Pavithram (1994),
system. Agnidevan (1995),
Punaradhivasam
Sport can help promote fairness, team building, (2000), and Kammatti
equality, inclusion and perseverance. Sport and Paadam (2016). His
physical activity can also help us get through directorial debut is
times of crisis, like COVID-19, by reducing Ivan Megharoopan
anxieties and improving physical and mental (2012). He has also acted in a few films, the
health. most notable being Trivandrum Lodge (2012).

The professional sport also provides 7th APRIL 2021

employment and income to many people
around the world and an integral sector to the 1. India completes arch of world’s highest
economic success of many communities and railway bridge in J&K
regions. The construction of the
arch of the world’s
highest railway
11. Nation celebrates 58th edition of
bridge that soars 359
National Maritime Day metres above the bed
of the Chenab river in Jammu and
National Maritime Kashmir was completed.
Day in India is
observed on 5 The 1.3-kilometre-long bridge aims to boost
April every year. This connectivity to the Kashmir Valley and it is
year is the 58th edition being constructed at a cost of ₹ 1,486 crores as
of the National Maritime Day. The National part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla
Maritime Day is celebrated every year day to Railway Link (USBRL) project.
illustrate the awareness in supporting
intercontinental commerce and the global
economy as the most well-organized, safe and Features of the Arch of the iconic Chenab
sound, environmentally responsive approach of
transporting goods from one corner to another Bridge:
corner of the world.  The construction of the Chenab
bridge was declared as a national
The National Maritime Day was first celebrated project in 2002.
on April 5, 1964. The saga of India shipping  Indian Railways is constructing the
first started on April 5, 1919, when the SS iconic Arch Bridge on River Chenab
Loyalty, the first ship of The Scindia Steam as a part of the USBRL project to
Navigation Company Ltd travelled from Mumbai connect the Kashmir valley to the rest of
to the United Kingdom (London). On this day an the nation.
award called “Varuna” is conferred to those  This bridge is 1315m long.
who made an outstanding contribution to the  This is the highest Railway Bridge in the
Indian maritime sector. world being 359m above the river bed
level.
 The most sophisticated ‘Tekla’ software
12. Malayalam screenwriter P. Balachandran used for structural detailing.
 Structural steel was suitable for -10°C to
passes away 40°C temperature.
Malayalam screenwriter, filmmaker, dramatist  Bridge designed to withstand high wind
and actor, P. Balachandran has passed away. speed up to 266 Km/Hour.
He is best known for the play Paavam

SANKAR APRIL 2021 16

 APRIL 2021

2. Carl Bildt appointed WHO special envoy 4. Cabinet Appoints Tarun Bajaj as new
for ACT-Accelerator Revenue Secretary
Tedros Adhanom The Central
Ghebreyesus, the Government has
director-general of the approved the
World Health appointment
Organization (WHO), of Tarun Bajaj as the
appointed Carl new Revenue
Bildt as WHO Special Envoy for the Access Secretary under the Ministry of Finance.
to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-
Accelerator). Prior to this, Bajaj, a 1988 batch Haryana-cadre
IAS officer, was serving as the Economic
Bildt succeeds Ngozi Okonjo- Affairs Secretary since April 30, 2020.
Iweala and Andrew Witty in the special envoy
role. He will help lead the collective advocacy The cabinet has also approved the appointment
for the ACT-Accelerator in his new role, of Ajay Seth, a 1987 batch Karnataka-cadre
mobilising support and resources so it can IAS officer, as new Economic Affairs
deliver against its strategy for 2021. Secretary in place of Bajaj.

The ACT-Accelerator is a groundbreaking

global collaboration to accelerate development, 5. Chintan Vaishnav appointed as Mission
production, and equitable access to novel
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) tests, Director of Atal Innovation Mission
treatments and vaccines, according to the Noted socio-
WHO website. technologist, Dr Chintan
Vaishnav has been
It brings together governments, scientists, appointed the mission
businesses, civil society, and philanthropists director of Atal
and global health organizations. Innovation Mission
(AIM), the government’s
These include the Bill & Melinda Gates flagship initiative
Foundation, CEPI, FIND, Gavi, The Global under NITI Aayog.
Fund, Unitaid, Wellcome, the WHO and the
World Bank. Vaishnav will take over from Ramanathan
Ramanan later this month. Ramanan has been
leading AIM as its first mission director since
3. Justice N V Ramana to assume charge as June 2017.

next CJI Vaishnav is currently at the Massachusetts

The senior-most Institute of Technology (MIT), US. He holds a
Supreme Court PhD in technology, management, and policy
judge from MIT.
Justice Nuthalapati
Venkata
Ramana has been 6. DRDO develops Advanced Chaff
appointed as the next Chief Justice of India
(CJI). Technology to safeguard naval ships

Justice Ramana would succeed incumbent The Defence

CJI Sharad Arvind Bobde to take over as Research and
the 48th CJI. He would assume charge of the Development
office from April 24, 2021, till August 26, 2022. Organisation
(DRDO) has developed
 Supreme Court of India Established: 26 an Advanced Chaff Technology to safeguard
January 1950. naval ships against missile attack.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 17

 APRIL 2021

The development of Advanced Chaff  Policy Repo Rate: 4.00%

Technology by the DRDO lab is another step  Reverse Repo Rate: 3.35%
towards Atmanirbhar Bharat.  Marginal Standing Facility Rate: 4.25%
 Bank Rate: 4.25%
Chaff is a passive expendable electronic  CRR: 3%
countermeasure technology used worldwide to  SLR: 18.00%
protect naval ships from enemy’s radar
and Radio Frequency (RF) missile seekers.
9. Jeff Bezos tops Forbes’ Annual Billionaire
The importance of this development lies in the
fact that a very less quantity of chaff material list fourth year in a row
The Amazon.com
deployed in the air acts as a decoy to deflect
the enemy’s missiles for the safety of the ships. Inc founder, Jeff
Bezos has topped Forbes’
annual world’s billionaires
 Chairman DRDO: Dr G Satheesh
list for the fourth
Reddy.
consecutive year. India’s
 DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi. richest billionaire Mukesh Ambani ranked
 DRDO Established: 1958. at 10th position with a total net worth of USD
84.5 billion.
7. IMF revises GDP growth forecast of India
The 35th edition Forbes World’s Billionaires list
to 12.5% for FY22 was released on April 06, 2021, comprising a
International Monetary record-breaking 2,755 billionaires. The list is
Fund (IMF) has raised its prepared based on the wealth using stock
growth forecast for the prices and exchange rates from March 5, 2021.
Indian economy by 100
basis points to 12.5 per cent for the fiscal Top five billionaires on the list :
year 2021-22. GDP growth for FY23 is pegged
at 6.9 per cent.

The revised forecast was published in the IMF’s

World Economic Outlook. India is the only
country among major world economies that is
projected to grow at a double-digit rate during
FY22.
8. RBI Monetary Policy: Policy Rate
unchanged
The six-member
monetary policy
committee of
the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) headed
by
Governor Shaktikanta Das, has decided to
keep key lending rates unchanged for the fifth
consecutive time, in its April 2021 policy review
meeting held between April 5 to 7, 2021. 10. World Health Day observed globally on 7
April
The Reserve Bank of India is likely to keep The World Health Day is
policy rates unchanged amid the uncertainty a global health awareness
created by a fresh surge in coronavirus day celebrated on 7
infections. April every year. On April
The key decisions taken in the Monetary 7th every year,
governmental as well as
Policy Committee meeting are: non-governmental health organizations

SANKAR APRIL 2021 18

 APRIL 2021

organize events that focus on promoting

healthier habits of living. 13. Gita Press president Radheshyam
Khemka passes away
From exciting activities to pledges and support The president of Gita
plans, these events aim to create awareness Press, Radheshyam
about what can increase the life expectancy of Khemka, passed
people around the world. The Theme of World away. He is credited
Health Day 2021: “Building a fairer, healthier for taking the Sanatan
world for everyone”. literature to the masses.
 President of the World Health
Organisation: Tedros Adhanom. Khemka for 38 years was the editor of the
 Headquarters of WHO: Geneva, prominent ‘Kalyan’ magazine printed at the
Switzerland. press. He last edited the magazine’s April 2021
 WHO founded: 7 April 1948. issue. Gita Press is the world’s largest
publisher of Hindu religious texts.
11. International Day of Reflection on the 8th APRIL 2021
1994 Rwanda Genocide 1. Dr Harsh Vardhan and Arjun Munda
International Day launches Tribal Health Collaborative
of Reflection on
the 1994 Genocide ‘Anamaya’
against the Tutsi in The Union Minister
Rwanda observed for Health and Family
globally on 7 Welfare, Dr Harsh
April every year. Vardhan and the
Union Minister of
Tribal Affairs,
The International Day of Reflection on the 1994
Shri Arjun
Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda was
Munda jointly launched ‘Anamaya’, the Tribal
announced by the United General Assembly in
Health Collaborative on April 07, 2021, through
2003.
video conference. The initiative is supported
by Piramal Foundation and Bill and Melinda
On April 7th, the date where the genocide
Gates Foundation (BMGF).
against members of the Tutsi began. For
approximately 100 days, over 800,000 Tutsi
Anamaya is a multi-stakeholder initiative to
were assassinated.
enhance the health and nutrition status of the
tribal communities of India by converging efforts
 UNESCO formation: 4 November 1946. of various Government agencies and
 UNESCO Headquarters: Paris, France. organisations.
 UNESCO Director-General: Audrey
Azoulay. As part of this Collaborative, the Ministry will
undertake several activities such as setting up
the National Council on Tribal Health to drive
12. Former Union Minister and Gujarat MLA
policy initiatives in tribal health, the
Digvijaysinh Zala establishment of a Health Cell to closely
monitor healthcare delivery in the tribal areas
passes away and devising mechanisms to implement the
Former Union Tribal Health Action Plan.
Environment Minister and
an MLA from Wankaner in
Gujarat, Digvijaysinh
2. CJI launches top court’s AI-driven
Zala has passed away.
The veteran Congress research portal
leader became the first
Environment Minister of India under the then ‘SUPACE’
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1982 to The Supreme
1984. Court of India has

SANKAR APRIL 2021 19

 APRIL 2021

launched it’s Artificial Intelligence studied law at the University of Pristina in

portal “SUPACE” (Supreme Court Portal for Kosovo and earned a doctorate
Assistance in Courts Efficiency). Through from Pittsburgh University in the US.
this portal, the SC intends to leverage machine  Kosovo Capital: Pristina.
learning to deal with the vast amounts of data  Kosovo Currency: Euro.
received at the time of filing of cases.
5. Govt Appoints S Ramann as SIDBI CMD
Justice L Nageshwara Rao, who is also the
chairman of the SC’s Artificial Intelligence The government has
Committee, delivered the opening address appointed S
during the virtual launch of SUPACE. Ramann as Chairman
and Managing
Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde was the Director of Small
first-ever chairman of the Artificial Intelligence Industries
Committee. Development Bank of
India (SIDBI). Ramann,
CJI Bobde first spoke of the use of AI to assist a 1991-batch Indian Audit & Accounts Service
the Supreme Court soon after he took oath as officer, is currently the CEO of National E-
the Chief Justice in 2019. Governance Services Ltd, India’s first
Information Utility.

3. Vietnam National Assembly selects PM & The appointment is for a period of three years
from the date of his assuming the charge or
President
until further orders. Banks Board Bureau, the
Vietnam’s legislature voted to make Pham
headhunter for state-owned banks and financial
Minh Chinh, a member of the Communist party
institutions, had recommended his name for the
with a history as a
post.
security official, the
 SIDBI set up on 2nd April 1990;
country’s
next Prime  SIDBI Headquarters: Lucknow, Uttar
Minister. Outgoing Pradesh.
Prime 6. RBI to release Financial Inclusion Index
Minister Nguyen
Xuan Phuc was appointed the new President. (FI Index) annually

The votes of the nearly 500 members of the

The Reserve Bank of
National Assembly rubber-stamped the
India has announced
leadership picks the Communist party made
that it will periodically
during its national congress in January.
publish a “Financial
 Vietnam Capital: Hanoi.
Inclusion Index” (FI Index) annually in July for
 Vietnam Currency: Vietnamese dong. the financial year ending previous March.
4. Kosovo’s parliament elects Vjosa Osmani
The FI Index would be based on multiple
as president parameters and shall reflect the broadening
and deepening of financial inclusion in the
country, a statement on regulatory and
Kosovo’s parliament
developmental policies of RBI.
elected Vjosa
Osmani as the
Financial Inclusion has been a thrust area for
country’s new
the government, the Reserve Bank and other
president. Osmani
regulators, with significant progress made over
received 71 votes from the lawmakers at the
the years. To measure the extent of financial
third round of voting in the Assembly of
inclusion in the country, the Reserve Bank
Kosovo.
proposes to construct and publish a Financial
Inclusion Index (FI Index) based on multiple
While 82 deputies participated in the vote in the
parameters.
120-member parliament, 11 votes were
declared invalid. The 38-year-old politician

SANKAR APRIL 2021 20

 APRIL 2021

7. RBI increases WMA limits for the State 9. RBI enhances Loan limit under Priority
Governments/UTs Sector Lending against eNWR/NWR

The Reserve Bank The Reserve Bank of

of India has India has enhanced
increased the limit the loan limit from Rs
for Way and Means 50 lakh to Rs 75
Advances (WMA) for the State lakh per borrower
Governments/UTs from Rs. 32,225 crore (fixed against the pledge/hypothecation of agricultural
in February 2016) to Rs. 47,010 crore based produce backed by Negotiable Warehouse
on the recommendation of a committee headed Receipts (NWRs)/electronic-NWRs(e-
by Shri Sudhir Shrivastava. This represents NWRs) issued by the warehouses registered
an increase of about 46%. and regulated by Warehousing Development
and Regulatory Authority (WDRA).
RBI has extended the enhanced interim WMA
limit of ₹ 51,560 crores (a 60 per cent increase The Priority Sector loan limit backed by other
in the current limits allowed by the Reserve Warehouse Receipts will continue to be ₹50
Bank during the last fiscal to help states/UTs to lakh per borrower. The circular in this regard
tide over the difficulties faced by them during will be issued separately.
the pandemic) for a further period of six months
i.e., from April 1, 2021, up to September 30, With a view to encourage farm credit to
2021. individual farmers against pledge/hypothecation
of agricultural produce and leverage the
inherent safety of NWRs/(e-NWRs) issued by
8. RBI enhances maximum balance limit per warehouses registered and regulated by
WDRA.
account in Payments Banks  Warehousing Development and
Regulatory Authority Established: 2010.
The Reserve  Warehousing Development and
Regulatory Authority HQ: New Delhi.
Bank of
India has
enhanced the
limit of maximum 10. Bharti Airtel sells 800 MHz spectrum in
balance at end of
three circles to Reliance Jio
the day maintained in Payments Bank from Rs
Bharti Airtel has
1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh per individual customer.
entered into an
agreement
The step has been taken to encourage the
with Reliance Jio
efforts of Payments Bank for financial inclusion
Infocomm to
and to expand their ability to cater to the needs
transfer ‘Right to
of their customers, including MSMEs, small
Use’ for some of
traders and merchants.
its 800 MHz spectrum in three circles to
the Mukesh Ambani-led firm.
The extant “Guidelines for Licensing of
Payments Banks” issued on November 27,
Following this agreement, Bharti Airtel will
2014, allow payments banks to hold a
receive a consideration of ₹1,037.6 crores from
maximum balance of ₹ 1 lakh per individual
Reliance Jio for the proposed transfer. In
customer.
addition, Reliance Jio will assume future
liabilities of ₹459 crores relating to the
Based on a review of the performance of
spectrum.
payments banks and with a view to
encouraging their efforts for financial inclusion
As per the agreement, which is subject to
and to expand their ability to cater to the needs
statutory approvals, Reliance Jio will acquire
of their customers, including MSMEs, small
the right to use spectrum in the 800MHz band
traders and merchants.
in Andhra Pradesh (3.75 MHz), Delhi (1.25

SANKAR APRIL 2021 21

 APRIL 2021

MHz) and Mumbai (2.50 MHz) circles through was being run and a breakdown in
spectrum trading. communication.
 Bharti Airtel CEO: Gopal Vittal.  President of FIFA: Gianni Infantino;
 Bharti Airtel Founder: Sunil Bharti Mittal.  Founded: 21 May 1904.
 Bharti Airtel Founded: 7 July 1995.  Headquarters: Zürich, Switzerland.
 Reliance Industries Ltd Founder:
Dhirubhai Hirachand Ambani.
 Reliance Industries Ltd Chief Executive 13. India’s first female cricket commentator
Officer(CEO): Mukesh Dhirubhai
Ambani. Chandra Naidu passes away
 Reliance Industries Ltd India’s first female
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra. cricket
commentator Chandra
Naidu passed away.
She was the daughter
11. PM Modi to release Hindi version of
of the country’s first
‘Odisha Itihaas’ by Dr Harekrushna Mahtab Test captain CK Naidu.
Prime
Minister Narendra She had done her first commentary during a
Modi will release the match between national champions Bombay
Hindi translation of the (now Mumbai) and MCC in Indore in 1977. She
book ‘Odisha had also penned a book titled ‘CK Nayudu: A
Itihaas’, written Daughter Remembers’ on her late father, who
by Utkal Keshari was a distinguished cricketer.
Harekrushna Mahtab, on 9th April at
the Ambedkar International Center.
14. Renowned journalist, Padma awardee
The event marking the release of the Hindi
version has been organised by the Fatima Rafiq Zakaria passes away
Harekrushna Mahtab Foundation. Fatima Rafiq Zakaria, a
Padma Shri awardee,
renowned journalist,
academician and
12. FIFA suspends Pakistan and Chad
chairman of Maulana
football federations Azad Educational
FIFA has suspended Trust and Khairul Islam
the Pakistan Trust Mumbai, passed
Football Federation away. She was awarded
(PFF) and Chadian the Padma Shri in
Football recognition of her work in education in 2006.
Association (FTFA) with immediate effect due
to claims of outside interference. The Ms Zakaria, who had played an eminent role in
suspension will be lifted once the relevant the field of education, was also honoured with
government decisions have been repealed. the Sarojini Naidu Integration Award for
Journalism in 1983.
A group of football officials led by Ashfaq
Hussain, which was elected by the Supreme 9th APRIL 2021
Court in 2018 to run the PFF but was not
1. Narendra Singh Tomar launches
recognised by FIFA, took over the headquarters
recently and seized control from the FIFA Madhukranti portal
Normalisation Committee headed by Haroon The Union Minister of
Malik. Agriculture and
Farmers’
The Chadian Ministry of Youth and Sports had Welfare, Narendra
stripped the country’s FA of its powers on Singh
March 10 following concerns over the way it Tomar launched a
portal ‘Madhukranti’ and Honey Corners on

SANKAR APRIL 2021 22

 APRIL 2021

April 07, 2021, with the aim to bring an increase clearing corporations and select development
in income of farmers, employment generation financial institutions.
and increase in exports. Madhukranti portal is
an initiative of the National Bee Board (NBB). The RBI noted that over the last few years, the
role of non-bank entities in payment space such
The portal is being developed for online as prepaid payment instrument (PPI)
registration to achieve traceability source of issuers, card networks, white label ATM
Honey and other beehive products on a digital (WLA) operators, Trade Receivables
platform. Discounting System (TReDS) platforms, has
grown in importance and volume, as they have
The portal will also check the source of innovated by leveraging technology and
adulteration and contamination in honey. It will offering customised solutions to users.
have an end-to-end record to track the source
of honey. Honey Corner is a specially designed
space in National Agricultural Cooperative 4. India-Japan signed MoU for Academic
Marketing Federation of India Ltd
(NAFED) stores dedicated to the sale of honey. and Research Cooperation
The Union Cabinet recently
apprised an MoU
2. RBI raise G-SAP for orderly G-Sec market (Memorandum of
Understanding) signed
The Reserve between India and Japan.
Bank of India has
announced to The MoU was signed between the National
conduct the open Atmospheric Research Laboratory
market purchase (NARL) that operates under the Department of
of government securities of Rs 1 lakh Space, GoI and the Research Institute for
crore under the G-sec Acquisition Sustainable Humanosphere called the
Programme (G-SAP 1.0) in the first quarter RISH that operates under the Kyoto
of 2021-22. University of Japan.

The objective of this is to have a stable and According to the MoU signed, the NARL and
orderly evolution of the yield curve. Under this RISH will continue their cooperation in the
scheme the first purchase of government areas of technology, atmospheric sciences,
securities for an aggregate amount of Rs. collaborative scientific experiments and other
25,000 crore under G-SAP 1.0 will be related modelling studies.
conducted on April 15, 2021.
They will exchange scientific materials,
information, publications, students, faculty
members and researchers.
3. RBI decides to open up RTGS, NEFT
facilities for payment system operators The MoU will allow the countries to utilize the
In a major move in the facilities such as Middle and Upper atmosphere
online payments radar in Japan, Mesosphere-Stratosphere-
segments, Troposphere radar, Equatorial Atmosphere
the Reserve Bank of Radar in Indonesia.
India (RBI) has  Japan Capital: Tokyo;
decided to allow  Japan Currency: Japanese yen;
payment system  Japan Prime minister: Yoshihide Suga.
operators to take direct membership
of Centralised Payment Systems (CPS), such
5. Nirmala Sitharaman attends 2nd Virtual
as RTGS and NEFT.
G20 Finance Ministers
Membership in Centralised Payment Systems Union Minister for
(CPS) RTGS and NEFT for entities other than Finance & Corporate
banks are so far limited to banks, with a few Affairs, Nirmala
exceptions, such as specialised entities like Sitharaman has

SANKAR APRIL 2021 23

 APRIL 2021

participated virtually in the Second G20 Institute of Advanced Studies and is writing
Finance Ministers and Central Bank independently.
Governors (FMCBG) meeting.

This meeting held under the Italian 7. CRPF Valour Day: 09 April
Presidency to discuss policy responses to Central Reserve
global challenges to restore strong, sustainable, Police Force
balanced and inclusive growth. (CRPF) Valour Day
(Shaurya Diwas) is
The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank observed on 9
Governors discussed Updates of the G20 April every year, as a
Action Plan in response to COVID-19. tribute to the brave men of the Force. 2021
marks the 56th CRPF Valour Day.
They also discussed supporting the financing
needs of the most vulnerable economies, the It was on this day in 1965, a small contingent of
progress on the international taxation agenda, CRPF created history by defeating an invading
promoting greener transitions and the Pakistani army, several time larger, at the
pandemic related financial regulation issues. Sardar Post located in the Rann of Kutch,
Gujarat. The CRPF men eliminated 34
Smt. Sitharaman urged all G20 members to Pakistani soldiers and captured four alive. In
ensure equitable access and widespread the conflict, CRPF lost six personnel who had
distribution of vaccines. attained martyrdom.
 Central Reserve Police Force
Smt. Sitharaman reflected on the global growth Headquarters: New Delhi, India.
projections and underlined the need for  Central Reserve Police Force
continued coordination amidst the persistence Formed: 27 July 1939.
of uncertainties associated with the virus.
 Central Reserve Police Force
Motto: Service and Loyalty.
The Finance Minister said that the G20 Action
 CRPF director general: Kuldiep Singh.
Plan has served as a good guidance tool and
shaping recovery is the mainstay of its current
update. 8. A book titled exam warriors updated
version released by PM Modi
6. Devishankar Awasthi Award 2020 The updated version
of Prime
awarded to Ashutosh Bhardwaj
Minister Narendra
The
Modi’s book
famous Devishankar
named ‘Exam
Awasthi Award has
Warriors’ was
been awarded to the
launched. The book gives out various
prolific Hindi prose,
suggestions to both students and parents to
journalist, and
deal with the examination pressure and stress.
critic Ashutosh
Bhardwaj. This honour has been given to him
The book raises awareness on topics like
for his work ‘Pitra-Vadh’. He was elected by
mental health, the role of technology and time
the selection committee of Ashok Vajpayee,
management. The book has new Mantras and
Nandkishore Acharya, and Rajendra Kumar.
a range of interesting activities. The book
reaffirms the need to remain stress-free before
Ashutosh Bhardwaj has been a native English
an exam.
journalist and his experiences of Bastar have
been well discussed in both Hindi and English.
This book has been published in English under
the name of ‘The Death Trap’. Apart from this, 9. India contributes USD 500,000 to UN Trust
his work on important topics like modernism
Fund for counter-terrorism
and nationalism has been well-known in Indian
India has contributed an
novels. He has also been a fellow of the Shimla
additional $500,000 to
the United Nations Trust

SANKAR APRIL 2021 24

 APRIL 2021

Fund for Counter-Terrorism, taking the
country’s donation to the UN office set up to
combat terrorism to over $1 million.
With this amount, India’s total contribution to it
so far is $1.05 million. The UN Office of
Counter-Terrorism, established
in 2017, enhances coordination and coherence
across the Global Counter-Terrorism
Coordination Compact entities to ensure the
balanced implementation of the four pillars of
the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
In line with General Assembly
resolution 71/291 that established UNOCT in
June 2017, the UN Trust Fund for Counter-
Terrorism was transferred to UNOCT.
10. The Great Khali formally inducted in
many people as possible. It will also focus on
zero wastage of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Currently, three states are receiving a
maximum number of COVID-19 doses. They
are Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.
COVAXIN and COVISHIELD are the two major
COVID-19 vaccines that are currently
administered in India.
So far, India has shipped 64 million doses of
vaccines to 84 countries in the Caribbean,
Africa, and Asia. The major recipient countries
of the Indian COVID-19 vaccines are Mexico,
Canada, and Brazil.
The GoI has planned to cover 250 million
people included in the “high priority” category
by July 2021 under its vaccination programme.

WWE Hall of Fame 2021

The Great Khali has 2. India gifts Rs 100 crore patrol vessel “PS
been inducted into
the WWE Hall of Fame Zoroaster” to Seychelles
Class of 2021. The India formally handed
Great Khali went on to over Rs 100 crore patrol
battle many of WWE’s vessel “PS
most legendary Superstars, including John
Cena, Batista, Shawn Michaels and fellow
2021 Inductee Kane, whom he defeated to Zoroaster” to Seychelles during the virtual
pick up his first win on The Grandest Stage of summit between Indian PM Narendra Modi and
Them All, WrestleMania. Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan.

Standing 7-foot-1 and tipping the scales at 347
pounds, Khali made his titanic presence felt
from the moment he first entered the WWE
Universe in 2006, standing toe-to-toe with the
legendary Undertaker and bulldozing over The
Deadman, a rare sight between the ropes. The
official name of “The Great Khali” is Dalip
Singh Rana.
10th APRIL 2021
1. Tika Utsav: COVID-19 Vaccination Drive
Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi recently
appealed to the Chief
Ministers of the States
to organise “Tika
Utsav”.
Tika Utsav is a vaccine festival. It is to be held
between April 11, 2021, and April 14, 2021. The
main objective of the festival is to vaccinate as
The PS Zoroaster is the fourth made-in-India
patrol boat developed for Seychelles since
2005. The other vessels gifted by India
include PS Topaz (2005), PS Constant (2014),
Patrol Boat Hermes (2016).
The 48.9-metre patrol boat has been built
by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and
Engineering at an estimated cost of Rs 100
crore.
The vessel has a top speed of 35 knots and an
endurance of 1,500 nautical miles.
It will be used for multi-purpose operations,
such as patrolling, anti-smuggling and anti-
poaching operations, and search and rescue.
 Seychelles Capital: Victoria.
 Seychelles Currency: Seychellois rupee.
 Seychelles Continent: Africa.
3. Niger President Bazoum Names
Mahamadou as New Prime Minister

SANKAR APRIL 2021 25

 APRIL 2021

Niger President Mohamed of the Development Committee Plenary, via

Bazoum appointed Ouhoumoudou video conferencing. During the meeting, she
Mahamadou to head shared the measures taken to combat COVID-
his new cabinet as the 19 including social support measures for the
country’s new prime poor and vulnerable, and relief measures for
minister. He was firms in statutory and regulatory compliance
previously served as a matters.
minister in charge of
the finance and mining World Bank Group (WBG) and International
portfolios. Monetary Fund Support for Debt Relief Under
the Common Framework and Beyond;
He was the chief of
staff to former COVID-19 pandemic: World Bank Group
President Mahamadou Support for Fair and Affordable Access to
Issoufou between 2015 and 2021. He was Vaccines by Developing Countries;
sworn as Niger’s first democratic transition of
power since independence in 1960. From COVID-19 Crisis Response to Resilient
 Niger Capital: Niamey. Recovery – Saving Lives and Livelihoods while
 Niger Currency: West African CFA franc. Supporting Green, Resilient and Inclusive
Development (GRID).

4. SBI MF becomes first mutual fund As a part of the meeting, Sitharaman also
informed that the Government of India has
company to cross Rs 5 lakh crore AAUM announced Aatma Nirbhar Packages of Rs
SBI Funds 27.1 trillion, which amounts to more than 13%
Management Pvt. of the GDP. These packages would provide
Ltd has informed that it social protection to the poor and vulnerable as
has become the first well as push forward the economic reforms.
mutual fund house in
India to cross the Rs. 5
lakh crore average 6. Dutee Chand selected for inaugural
assets under Chhattisgarh Veerni Award
management (AAUM) mark. SBI MF has seen Indian sprinter, Dutee
a growth of 35% during the financial year 2020- Chand has been chosen for
21, with its average AUM increasing from Rs the inaugural edition of
3.73 lakh crore to Rs 5.04 lakh crore. the Chhattisgarh Veerni
Award, by the Chhattisgarh
The company, which is a joint venture between state government. The
India’s largest lender, State Bank of India, and award, which recognises the
Europe’s largest asset manager, Amundi. The contribution of Indian women
fund house’s SIP book has increased to ₹1,382 in different fields, including sports, will be given
crores from ₹1,180 crores over the last year virtually on April 14, 2021.
recording a growth of 17%.
 SBI Funds Management Founded: 7 The Odisha sprinter became the first Indian
February 1992. woman to win a gold medal at the World
University Games held in Italy in 2019. She is a
silver-medalist in 100 and 200 metres at the
5. Nirmala Sitharaman attends 103rd 2018 Jakarta Asian Games. Apart from this,
Dutee holds the national record of 11.22 secs in
Development Committee Meeting of World 100m.
Bank-IMF 7. World Homeopathy Day: 10 April
Union Minister for World Homeopathy
Finance & Corporate Day is celebrated
Affairs Smt. Nirmala every year on April
10 to spread
awareness about
Sitharaman participated in the 103rd Meeting homoeopathy and

SANKAR APRIL 2021 26

 APRIL 2021

its contribution to the world of medicine. The ETD has been developed by NanoSniff
Technologies, an IIT Bombay incubated
The day marks the birth anniversary of German startup. It is being marketed by Vehant
physician Dr Christian Friedrich Samuel Technologies, a spin-off from a former IIT
Hahnemann, who is considered the founder of Delhi incubated startup Kritikal Solutions.
the system of alternative medicine called
Homeopathy. The year 2021 marks the 266th
birthday of Hahnemann. 10. Indian Army Officer Bharat Pannu
The Central Council for Research in Breaks 2 Guinness World Records
Homoeopathy (CCRH), Ministry of AYUSH, Indian Army’s Lieutenant
organised a two-day scientific conference on Colonel, Bharat
the occasion of #WorldHomoeopathyDay Pannu has earned two
from April 10 & 11, 2021 in New Delhi. Guinness World
Records for his fastest
The theme of the conference solo cycling feats from
is “Homoeopathy – Roadmap for Integrative October 2020. The first
Medicine” record was created when
Lt Col Pannu cycled
Objective: exchange of experience by from Leh to Manali (472 km distance) on
policymakers and experts to identify strategic October 10, 2020, in just 35 hours and 25
actions towards an effective and efficient minutes.
inclusion of Homoeopathy in integrative care.
Lt Col Pannu created a second record when he
cycled the 5,942-km-long ‘Golden Quadrilateral’
8. Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth route, which connects Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai
and Kolkata, in 14 days, 23 hours and 52
II, passes away minutes.
Prince
Philip, the 11th APRIL 2021 & 12th APRIL 2021
husband
of Queen 1. Ramesh Pokhriyal launches
Elizabeth implementation plan ‘SARTHAQ’
II, has passed Union Education
away. The 99-year-old royal passed away just Minister Ramesh
months before his 100th birthday in June. He Pokhriyal chaired a
had retired from public duties in 2017 at the age high-level meeting on
of 96. the implementation of
the National
He was the longest-serving royal consort in Education Policy
British history who was a constant presence at 2020 and released an implementation plan for
Queen Elizabeth II’s side for decades. school education called ‘Students’ and
Teachers’ Holistic Advancement through
Quality Education (SARTHAQ)’.
9. Union Education Minister Ramesh
SARTHAQ, developed by the Department of
Pokhriyal launches “NanoSniffer” School Education and Literacy, is an
The Union indicative and suggestive implementation plan
Education for school education and was released as part
Minister, Ramesh of the celebrations leading to the Amrit
Pokhriyal Mahotsav on 75 years of India’s
‘Nishank’ launched independence.
the world’s
first Microsensor
The plan keeps in mind the concurrent nature
based Explosive Trace Detector
of education and adheres to the spirit of
(ETD) called “NanoSniffer”.
federalism. States and UTs are given the
flexibility to adapt this plan with local

SANKAR APRIL 2021 27

 APRIL 2021

contextualisation and also modify it as per their with Dubai police and heads their training
needs and requirements. division. The two are set to head to NASA’s
Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, for
training. In 2019, Hazzaa Al-Mansoori became
2. Singapore becomes first country to ratify the UAE’s first astronaut. He spent a week on
the International Space Station.
mega free trade agreement ‘RCEP’  President of UAE: Sheikh Khalifa bin
Singapore ratified Zayed Al Nahyan.
the Regional  Capital of UAE: Abu Dhabi; Currency:
Comprehensive United Arab Emirates dirham.
Economic
Partnership (RCEP)
agreement, the 4. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launches
world’s largest free
‘mask abhiyan’ against Covid-19
trade agreement, led by China. In doing so,
Odisha Chief
Singapore became the first among 15
Minister Naveen
participating countries to ratify RCEP.
Patnaik has launched a
14-day “Mask
The RCEP must first be ratified by at least six
Abhiyan” as part of
ASEAN and three non-ASEAN member states
efforts to prevent the
to come into effect. Once implemented, RCEP
spread of coronavirus in
would be the world’s largest free trade
view of rising cases and
agreement, covering around one-third of the
urged people to strictly follow the safety
world’s population and about 30% of the world’s
guidelines. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik
economy.
sought their cooperation in turning the use of
mask into a habit to tackle the current
RCEP is a multi-nation trade pact, comprising resurgence of the virus. Bringing an
10 ASEAN economies as well as Australia, amendment to the Odisha Covid-19
China, Japan, New Zealand and South Regulations under the Epidemic Diseases
Korea. Act-1897.
The RCEP was signed by the 15 participating In order to ensure that the 14 days mask
countries in November 2020. Abhiyan gives results, the state government
yesterday enhanced the fines for the violators
India had opted out of it in 2019. from 1,000 rupees to 2000
 Singapore Currency: Singapore dollar. rupees. Meanwhile, the state’s covid-19 active
 Capital of Singapore: Singapore. caseload mounted further to about 6000 with
 PM of Singapore: Lee Hsien Loong. the detection of 1282 fresh cases yesterday,
even as the state surpassed a milestone in
administering more than 40 lakh vaccine doses
3. United Arab Emirates names its first
as of date.
female astronaut  Chief Minister of Odisha: Naveen
The United Arab Patnaik. Odisha Capital: Bhubaneswar.
Emirates named  Odisha Governor: Ganeshi Lal.
the next two
astronauts in its
space programme 5. Punjab appoints Sonu Sood as state’s
on 10th April, covid vaccination ambassador
including the country’s first female Bollywood actor Sonu
astronaut. Noura al-Matroushi is the UAE’s Sood has been made the
first female astronaut. The announcement gave brand ambassador
no biographical information about her or her for Punjab’s anti-
male counterpart, Mohammed al-Mulla. coronavirus vaccination
programme. During the
Al-Matroushi works as an engineer at the Abu coronavirus-induced
Dhabi-based National Petroleum lockdown last year, the
Construction Co. Al-Mulla serves as a pilot actor had helped migrants reach their home

SANKAR APRIL 2021 28

 APRIL 2021

states. Consultancy. The Indian Institute of Science

Sood catapulted to the national spotlight for
feeding thousands of underprivileged people
amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During his
meeting with Punjab Chief Minister, the actor
presented his book ‘I am no Messiah’, which
he said captures the experiences of his journey
from Moga to Mumbai.
 Punjab CM: Captain Amarinder Singh.
 Punjab Governor: V.P.Singh Badnore.
(IISc Bangalore) has secured the top position
among the best higher education institutes in
India, while Calcutta University became the
best varsity in the country, as per the
published Academic Ranking of World
Universities (ARWU 2020).
The Indian institutes are not even in the top 100
list, the best higher education institute, (IISc
Bangalore) is in the category of 501- 600.

6. Airtel Payments Bank announces Best Institute Ranking Index

‘Rewards123’ savings account
Airtel Payments
Bank launched its
new ‘Rewards123’
savings
account, which
provides customers with perks and rewards.
The Rewards123 Savings Account is built
specifically that allows you to get access to a
variety of perks when you save and transact
digitally.
The company claims that its newly introduced
saving account is designed to offer consistent
value, with assured rewards on different types
of digital transactions throughout the year.
 Rank 1: Harvard University
 Rank 2: Stanford University
 Rank 3: University of Cambridge
 Category of 501- 600- IISc Bangalore
Regional Best Institute Ranking Index
 Rank 1: IISc Bangalore
 Category 2-4: IIT Madras
 Category 2-4: University of Calcutta
About the Academic Ranking of World
Universities:
Since 2003, ARWU has been presenting the
world top universities annually based on

Airtel Payments Bank says that its Rewards123 transparent methodology and objective third-
savings bank account will give multiple benefits party data. It has been recognized as the
to users with annual earnings of up to ₹960.
precursor of global university rankings and
In addition to that, users will get 1% cashback
when they load ₹1,000 through UPI in their the most trustworthy one.
account. Users will get a maximum of ₹10 per
month as a part of this benefit.
8. India-Netherlands Virtual Summit
 Airtel Payments Bank’s MD and CEO: Prime Minister of
Nubrata Biswas. India Narendra Modi and
 Airtel Payments Bank Prime Minister of the
Headquarters: New Delhi. Netherlands Mr Mark
 Airtel Payments Bank Founded: January Rutte, held a Virtual
2017. Summit. During the India-
Netherlands virtual
Summit, the two leaders reviewed the existing
7. Academic Ranking of World Universities bilateral engagements and also exchanged
views on further expanding and diversifying the
2020 published relationship in trade and economy, water
management, agriculture sector, smart cities,
The 2020 Academic science & technology, healthcare and space.
Ranking of World
Universities (ARWU) is released Apart from this the two Prime Ministers also
by ShanghaiRanking agreed on instituting a ‘Strategic Partnership

SANKAR APRIL 2021 29

 APRIL 2021

on Water’ to further deepen the Indo-Dutch As a producer, Guneet has several critically
cooperation in the water-related sector and acclaimed films to her credit. The list includes
upgrading the Joint Working Group on the Masaan, Lunchbox, Haraamkhor, Peddlers;
water to Ministerial-level. Oscar-winning short film documentary —
Period, End of Sentence, among others.
They also exchanged views on regional and
global challenges such as climate change,
counter-terrorism and the Covid-19 11. Kiren Rijiju inaugurates Khelo India
pandemic and agreed to leverage the
emerging convergences in new areas like Indo- State Centre of Excellence in Srinagar
Pacific, Resilient Supply Chains and Global Union Minister for
Digital Governance. Sports & Youth
 Netherlands Capital: Amsterdam; Affairs, Kiren
 Currency: Euro. Rijiju inaugurated
the Khelo India
9. Indian Business Tycoon Yusuffali MA State Centre of
Excellence
Gets Top Civilian Award In UAE
(KISCE) for Rowing discipline at the Jammu
Crown Prince of Abu
& Kashmir Sports Council Water Sports
Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed
Academy at the Nehru Park in the world-
Bin Zayed Al
famous Dal Lake in Srinagar.
Nahyan has honoured
Indian-origin
This is one of the two KISCEs from Jammu &
businessman Yusuffali
Kashmir. The other being the Maulana Azad
MA and 11 other
Stadium for Fencing discipline in Jammu.
individuals with Abu
Dhabi’s top civilian award for their noble and
charitable contributions to the community. There are currently 24 KISCEs across 23
States and Union Territories and each of them
focuses on Olympics sports discipline. This is
The prestigious award was given to Mr
an ongoing endeavour to scale up existing
Yusuffali, who was born in Kerala, for his
centres from the States and Union Territories to
outstanding contribution to Abu Dhabi’s
the world standard level keeping in mind the big
business, industry and support to various
picture of getting India to excel at the Olympics.
philanthropic initiatives.

Mr Yusuffali, the Chairman and Managing

Director of Abu Dhabi-based LuLu Group which 12. National Safe Motherhood Day: 11 April
operates hypermarkets and retail companies in National Safe
many countries, was honoured on Friday by the Motherhood Day is
Crown Prince. observed on April
11 every year.
National Safe
Motherhood Day is
10. Guneet Monga conferred with Knight of
an initiative of
the Order of Arts and Letters honour the White Ribbon Alliance India (WRAI), to
Acclaimed enforce that women must have availability and
filmmaker, Guneet adequate access to care during pregnancy
Monga to be childbirth and postnatal services.
conferred with honour
of the Knight of the The day also marks the birth anniversary of
Order of Arts and Kasturba Gandhi, the wife of the father of
Letters (Chevalier Nation Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi.
dans I’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres). It is the
second-highest civilian French honour and At the request of WRAI, an alliance of 1800
has earlier been awarded to big Hollywood organizations, in 2003, the Government of India
names like Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, declared April 11th, the anniversary
and Bruce Willis. of Kasturba Gandhi’s birth, as National Safe
Motherhood Day. India is the 1st country in the

SANKAR APRIL 2021 30

 APRIL 2021

world to have socially declared a National Safe his popular Bollywood films include Ram
Motherhood Day. Lakhan, Pyaar Toh Hona Hi Tha and Aunty
 White Ribbon Alliance India was No 1 etc.
launched in 1999.
13th APRIL 2021
13. World Parkinson’s Day: April 11
Every year, April 11 is 1. Sanskrit learning app ‘Little Guru’
observed as World
Parkinson’s Day to unveiled in Bangladesh
raise awareness of A Sanskrit learning
Parkinson’s disease, app ‘Little Guru’ has
which is a progressive launched in Bangladesh
nervous system disorder. by the Indira Gandhi
Cultural Centre
The day marks the birthday of Dr James (IGCC) of the High Commission of India.
Parkinson from London, who was the first
person to systematically described the six The Sanskrit learning app is part of the
individuals with the symptoms of Parkinson campaign being run by the Indian Council of
Disease. Cultural Relations (ICCR) to promote the
Sanskrit language among students, religious
scholars, Indologists and historians across the
world.
14. International Day of Human Space Flight
observed globally on 12 April The Sanskrit learning app ‘Little Guru’ is based
The International on an interactive platform that will make
Day of Human Sanskrit learning easy, entertaining and fun.
Space Flight is
observed globally This app will help people who are already
on April 12 every learning Sanskrit or those who are desirous to
year. The UN learn Sanskrit to do so in an easy manner
General Assembly based on games, competition, rewards, peer to
passed a resolution on April 7, 2011, had peer interactions, etc.
declared April 12 to be celebrated
as International Day of Human Space Flight. This App combines education with
entertainment, said a press release issued by
On 12 April 1961, was the date of the 1st the High Commission of India.
human space flight was carried out by Yuri  Prime Minister of Bangladesh: Sheikh
Gagarin, a Soviet citizen, who became the first Hasina; Capital: Dhaka; Currency: Taka.
person to journey into outer space.  President of Bangladesh: Abdul Hamid.

This historic incident opened the way for space

2. Ghaziabad issues India’s first municipal
exploration for the benefit of all mankind. 12
April was also the date of the 1st Space green bonds
Shuttle STS-1 of Columbia launched in 1981, Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam
which is also commemorated on this date. (GNN) has announced
15. Veteran actor Satish Kaul passes away successfully raising and
Veteran listing India’s first Green
actor Satish Municipal bond
Kaul, who had 300 issue. GNN raised ₹150 crores at a cost of 8.1
Punjabi and Hindi per cent.
films to his credit
and played the role Money will be used to clean up dirty water by
of Lord Indra in setting up a tertiary water treatment plant and
the TV show Mahabharat, passed away. supply piped water through water meters to
places like Sahibabad. Ghaziabad is debt-free
The actor began his career in the early ’70s, and has maintained a revenue surplus position
juggling between Hindi and Punjabi films. While in the last few years, according to India
Ratings.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 31

 APRIL 2021

Bharti Axa Life and Fincare Small Finance

3. Poonam Gupta to head NCAER as its first Bank have joined hands for
woman DG a bancassurance partnership under which the
Poonam Gupta will bank will sell
be the new director- insurance policies to
general of the policy its customers. This
think tank National alliance will make life
Council of Applied insurance solutions
Economic Research (NCAER). reachable to over 26.5
lakhs customers of
Gupta will succeed the current head of the think Fincare Small Finance Bank and provide
tank, Shekhar Shah, to become the first financial security to them.
woman to hold the post. Currently, Gupta is the
lead economist at the World Bank in Under the partnership, Bharti AXA Life
Washington DC. Insurance will offer its comprehensive suite of
life insurance products, including protection,
Prior to joining the World Bank in 2013, she savings and investment plans, to the customers
was the Reserve Bank of India Chair Professor of Fincare Small Finance Bank across its 747
at the National Institute of Public Finance branches and digital network presence across
and Policy (NIPFP) and a professor of the country.
macroeconomics at the Indian Council for
Research on International Economic Relations  MD and CEO of Bharti AXA Life
(ICRIER). Insurance: Parag Raja;
 NCAER Headquarters: New Delhi.  MD & CEO Fincare Small Finance Bank:
 NCAER Founded: 1956. Rajeev Yadav.

4. Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra 6. Axis Bank becomes co-promoter of Max

named as next Chief Election Commissioner Life Insurance

The incumbent
Election Axis Bank
Commissioner Ltd informed it has
(EC) Sushil become co-
Chandra has been promoters of Max
named to become the Life Insurance Company Limited, after
next Chief Election completion of the acquisition of 12.99% stake
Commissioner collectively by the Axis Entities in the company.
(CEC) of India. He will assume charge with Axis Bank and its two subsidiaries Axis Capital
effect from April 13, 2021. He will replace Limited and Axis Securities Limited will
incumbent CEC, Sunil Arora, who will retire on collectively own a 12.99% stake in Max Life
April 12, 2021. after the consummation of the deal.

The Election Commission of India consists of The Axis Entities have a right to acquire an
three members, namely Chief Election additional stake of up to 7% in Max Life, in one
Commissioner and two Election or more tranches, subject to regulatory
Commissioners. The two ECs are Rajiv Kumar approvals. Insurance Regulatory and
and Sushil Chandra. Development Authority of India (IRDAI) gave
 Election Commission Formed: 25 its formal approval in February of 2021.
January 1950;
 Election Commission  Max Life Insurance CEO: Prashant
Headquarters: New Delhi; Tripathy;
 First executive of Election  Max Life Insurance Founded: 2001;
Commission: Sukumar Sen.  Max Life Insurance Headquarters: New
Delhi;
5. Bharti AXA Life and Fincare SFB join  Axis Bank CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry;
hands for bancassurance partnership  Axis Bank Headquarters: Mumbai;
 Axis Bank Founded: 1993.
SANKAR APRIL 2021 32

7. Nomura slashes India’s GDP forecast to
12.6% in FY22
The Japanese
brokerage
company Nomura has revised the GDP
forecast of India in the financial year 2021-22
(FY22) to 12.6 per cent from the previous
estimate of 13.5 per cent, amid rising
coronavirus cases and higher inflation.
Nomura has pegged the calendar year GDP
growth at 11.5 per cent, a decline from 12.4
per cent estimated earlier.
8. 74th Edition of BAFTA Awards 2021
announced
The British Academy
Film Awards
(BAFTAs) for the year
2021, has been announced by the British
Academy of Film and Television Arts. BAFTA
2021 is the 74th edition of the annual award to
honour the best national and foreign films of
2020 and early 2021.
Most Nominations
 American drama “Nomadland” (7)
 British coming-of-age drama “Rocks” (7)
Most Awards
 Nomadland (4)
List of Winners of BAFTA 2021
 Best Film: Nomadland
 Best Director: Chloe Zhao (Nomadland)
 Best Actor in a Leading Role: Anthony
Hopkins (The Father as Anthony)
 Best Actress in a Leading Role: Frances
McDormand (Nomadland as Fern)
 Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Daniel
Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah as
Fred Hampton)
 Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Youn
Yuh-Jung (Minari as Soon-JA)
SANKAR APRIL 2021
APRIL 2021
 Best Original Screenplay: Promising
Young Woman (Emerald Fennell)
 Best Adapted Screenplay: The Father
(Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller)
 Best Short Animation: The Owl and the
Pussycat (Mole Hill and Laura Duncalf)
 Best Short Film: The Present (Farah
Nabulsi)
 Best Animated Film: Soul (Pete Docter
and Dana Murray)
 Best Documentary: My Octopus Teacher
(Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig
Foster)
 Best Film Not in the English Language
(Another Round)
 Best Casting: Rocks (Lucy Pardee)
 Best Cinematography: Nomadland
(Joshua James Richards)
 Best Costume Design: Ma Rainey’s Black
Bottom (Ann Roth)
 Best Editing: Sound of Metal (Mikkel E.G.
Nielsen)
 Best Makeup and Hair: Ma Rainey’s Black
Bottom (Matiki Anoff, Larry M. Cherry,
Sergio Lopez-Rivera and Mia Neal)
 Best Original Music: Soul (Jon Batiste,
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)
 Best Production Design: Mank (Donald
Graham Burt and Jan Pascale)
 Best Sound: Sound of Metal (Jaime
Baksht, Nicolas Becker, Phillip Bladh,
Carlos Cortés and Michelle Couttolenc)
 Best Special Visual Effects: Tenet (Scott
R. Fisher, Andrew Jackson and Andrew
Lockley)
 Outstanding British Film: Promising Young
Woman (Emerald Fennell, Ben Browning,
Ashley Fox and Josey McNamara)
 Outstanding Debut by a British Writer,
Director or Producer: His House (Remi
Weekes (Writer/Director))
 Rising Star Award: Bukky Bakray
9. Lilavati Awards 2020 announced
The Union Education
Minister, Ramesh
Pokhriyal
Nishank recently
presented the AICTE
Lilavati Awards,
2020 in New Delhi. The awards were presented
based on the theme “Women Empowerment”.
33
 APRIL 2021

The winners were selected by AICTE (All India The clinical trials of SPUTNIK V in India is
Council for Technical Education) in six sub- being done by Dr Reddy’s Lab. The Hyderabad
themes. based, multinational Indian pharma
company, Dr Reddy’s Lab has also inked an
agreement with the Russian Direct
List of winners: Investment Fund, RDIF for the supply of the
 SWEAT (Sona Women Russian vaccine in India.
Entrepreneurship and Training) from
Sona College of Technology, Tamil Nadu The Subject Expert Committee of the Indian
won the award under the ‘Women drug regulator had yesterday recommended
Entrepreneurship’ sub theme. SPUTNIK V for emergency use authorisation.
 Another college from Tamil Nadu,
Paritrana from St. Joseph’s College of The vaccine has displayed robust results in its
Engineering won the award for the ‘Self clinical trials in the country.
Defense’ sub theme.
 Under the ‘Literacy’ sub RDIF has claimed effectiveness of 91.6 per
theme, Bharatiya Vidyapeeth of the cent for the Sputnik V vaccine. Dr Reddy’s had
Institute of Management and applied for emergency use of Sputnik-V in
Entrepreneurship Development Pune February this year.
won the award.  Russia President: Vladimir Putin.
 The Lilavati Award under the “Women’s  Russia Capital: Moscow.
Health” sub theme was won by the  Russia Currency: Russian Ruble.
WIT Women Health Coalition from
Walchand Institute of Technology, 11. 102 years of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
Maharashtra. The Jallianwala
 Radiant Seetha from Thiagarajar Bagh
Polytechnic College won the contest in massacre, also
the ‘Legal Awareness’ sub theme. known as
 Under the ‘Sanitation & Hygiene’ sub- the Amritsar
theme, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar College massacre, took
of Pharmacy, Nagpur, Maharashtra won place on 13 April
the award. 1919. This year we commemorate the 102nd
anniversary of the terror that shook the entire
country to a standstill.
 AICTE Chairman: Professor Anil
Dattatraya Sahasrabudhe; The Jallianwalabagh garden has been
 AICTE Headquarters: New Delhi; converted into a memorial. And thousands of
people on this day come to pay their respects
 AICTE Established: 1945.
to the martyred men, women, who were killed
on that fateful day for the nation.

10. Russian Vaccine Sputnik V gets Acting Brigadier-General Reginald

emergency use authorisation in India Dyer ordered troops of the British Indian Army
The Central drug to fire their rifles into a crowd of unarmed Indian
regulator, DCGA has civilians in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar,
approved emergency Punjab. General Dyer, the British India army
use authorisation of officer, felt the people gathering for such a
cause was anti-national.
the Russian Vaccine,
Sputnik V. It has now
become the third vaccine to get emergency use He ordered the 50 of his troops consisting of
authorisation from the drug regulator Sikh, Gurkha, Baluchi, and Rajput to open fire
after Covishield and Covaxin. on the unarmed men and women. The resulting
figures would make you go numb as 379
The Vaccine was developed by Gamaleya men and women were killed for no fault of
National Research Institute of Epidemiology theirs and 1100 injured.
and Microbiology last year in Russia.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 34

 APRIL 2021

as joint secretary in the sports ministry and is

12. Legendary shooting coach Sanjay also the CEO of the currently suspended
Chakravarty Passes away National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL).
Legendary shooting
coach Sanjay He will replace Navin Agarwal who listed the
Chakravarty passed away creation of Athletes Biological Passport (ABP)
due to Covid-19. The for around 60 elite Indian sportspersons as one
Dronacharya awardee had of the highlights of his tenure.
trained some of the finest
Indian shooters including Abhinav Bindra,  NADA Headquarters location: New
Gagan Narang, Anjali Bhagwat and Suma Delhi;
Shirur, Deepali Deshpande, Anuja Jung and  NADA Founded: 24 November 2005.
Ayonika Paul.
3. Rajnath Singh inaugurates IAF
th
14 APRIL 2021 Commanders’ Conference 2021
1. Maharashtra gets India’s first floating Defence
Minister Rajnath
LNG storage and regasification unit Singh has inaugurated
India’s first Floating the First bi-annual
Storage and Indian Air Force, IAF
Regasification Unit Commanders’
(FSRU) has arrived at Conference 2021 at Air Headquarters Vayu
H-Energy’s Jaigarh Bhawan in New Delhi.
Terminal in
the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, on the The conference is attended by the Air Officers
west coast of India. Commanding-in-Chief of all Commands of IAF,
all Principal Staff Officers and all Director
FSRU based LNG Terminals aim at providing Generals posted at Air Headquarters.
the ability to enhance the pace of natural gas
import capability in an environment-friendly and The conference of apex level leadership is
efficient manner”. The port is the first aimed at addressing the issues of IAF’s
deepwater, 24×7 operational private port in operational capabilities in the times to come.
Maharashtra.
A series of discussions would be conducted
Höegh Giant will deliver regasified LNG to the over a period of three days to address
56-km long Jaigarh-Dabhol natural gas strategies and policies related to capabilities
pipeline, connecting the LNG terminal to the that would give IAF a significant edge over its
national gas grid. The facility will also deliver adversaries.
LNG through truck loading facilities for onshore
distribution, the facility is also capable to reload Various welfare and Human Resource
LNG onto small-scale LNG vessels for measures to improve HR and administrative
bunkering services. efficiency will also be discussed. The
 Maharashtra Governor: Bhagat Singh Conference provides a forum to the senior
Koshyari. leadership of the IAF to discuss critical issues
 Maharashtra Capital: Mumbai. pertaining to Operations, Maintenance and
 Maharashtra CM: Uddhav Thackeray. Administration.
 Air Chief Marshal: Rakesh Kumar Singh
2. Siddharth Longjam appointed new NADA Bhadauria.
DG
4. PM Modi Inaugurates 6th Raisina
IAS officer, Siddharth Dialogue
Singh Longjam will Prime Minister Narendra
take over as Modi has inaugurated
the National Anti- the 2021 “Raisina
Doping Agency’s
Director-General. Longjam is currently serving

SANKAR APRIL 2021 35


Dialogue”, through video-conferencing.
The Raisina Dialogue 2021 is the sixth
edition of the annual dialogue, organised
from April 13 to 16, 2021, in full digital form for
the first time due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Raisina Dialogue is India’s flagship conference
on geopolitics and geoeconomics, organised
annually since 2016.
The theme for the 2021 conference
is “#ViralWorld: Outbreaks, Outliers and Out
of Control”.
The four-day dialogue is jointly organised by
the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the
think-tank Observer Research Foundation.
 Minister of External Affairs: S.
Jaishankar.
5. Kane Williamson awarded Sir Richard
Hadlee medal
New Zealand star
cricketer Kane
Williamson was
recently awarded the
Sir Richard Hadlee medal. It was his 4th Sir
Richard Hadlee award in 6 years.
On the other hand, the Women’s team all-
rounder Amelia Kerr was also honoured along
with the upcoming star Devon Conway at the
New Zealand Cricket Awards for the 2020-21
season. Meanwhile, Devon Conway was
awarded the Men’s Player of the year award in
both ODIs and T20s.
Whereas the 21-year old Fin Allen was
honoured with the Super Smash player of the
year award for his staggering strike rate of 193.
6. Seville to be host city for Laureus World
Sports Awards 2021
The Spanish city of
Seville will host
the 22nd Laureus
World Sports
Awards in a virtual ceremony owing to the
raging COVID-19 pandemic.
The awards show, featuring presentations and
related news stories will be available to the
SANKAR APRIL 2021
APRIL 2021
world’s media and broadcast extensively on
Laureus social media platforms.
The winners of Laureus World Sports Awards
are selected by a jury comprising 69 members
of the Laureus World Sports Academy. The
last was in Barcelona in 2007, which is a long
time.
Among the many big names who have had a
year to remember and who will be in contention
for the awards are Rafael Nadal, Lewis
Hamilton, LeBron James, Robert Lewandowski
(Sportsman), Naomi Osaka, Federica Brignone
(Sportswoman).
7. Bhuvneshwar Kumar wins the ICC men’s
Player of the Month award for March.
India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has won
the ICC Player of the
Month award for his
superlative show in
the recent limited
over series
against England in
March. Bhuvneshwar
became the third successive Indian recipient of
the award since its inception early this year.
South African Lizelle Lee, who played four
ODIs against India where she scored a century
and two half-centuries to move to the top of
Women’s ODI batting rankings, was named
the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for
March.
8. World Chagas Disease Day: 14 April
The World Chagas
Disease Day is
observed on 14
April to raise public
awareness and
visibility among people
about Chagas Disease
(also called American trypanosomiasis or
silent or silenced disease) and the resources
needed for the prevention, control or elimination
of the disease.
The WHO approved the designation of Chagas
Disease Day on May 24, 2019, at the 72nd
World Health Assembly. It is one of 11 official
36
 APRIL 2021

global public health campaigns marked by worn by both men and some women to cover
WHO. their heads.

The first World Chagas Disease Day was

observed on 14 April 2020. The day has been 11. Hockey Player Balbir Singh Junior
named after Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano passed away
Chagas, the Brazilian doctor who diagnosed Balbir Singh
the first case on 14 April 1909. Junior, who was a
member of the silver
 Headquarters of WHO: Geneva, medal-winning 1958
Switzerland. Asian Games Indian
 Director general of WHO: Tedros hockey team passed
Adhanom. away.
 WHO founded: 7 April 1948.
In 1962, he joined the Army as an emergency
commissioned officer. He played for the
9. Ambedkar Jayanti: 14 April Services hockey team in the national
tournaments at Delhi. Singh retired as a Major
Ambedkar Jayanti ( in 1984 and later settled in Chandigarh.
also known as Bhim
Jayanti) is an annual
festival observed
on 14 April to 12. Eminent Historian Yogesh Praveen
commemorate the passes away
birth anniversary Eminent Historian and an
of Babasaheb Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar who expert on Awadh
was born on 14 April 1891. especially
Lucknow Yogesh
The Day has been observed as an official Praveen. Through his
public holiday throughout India since 2015. In books and articles, he
2021, we are marking the 130th birth enabled the public to know about the rich
anniversary of Babasaheb. Dr Ambedkar is heritage and culture of Avadh. He was
known as the Father (chief architect) of the awarded Padma Shri in 2019.
Indian Constitution.
The titles of his books like ‘Dastan-e-Avadh’,
He was the first Law and Justice Minister of the ‘Tajdare-Avadh’, ‘Bahar-e-Avadh’, ‘Gulistan-e-
country after the independence. Dr Bhim has Avadh’, ‘Doobta Avadh’, ‘Dastan-e-Luknow’ and
been bestowed with the country’s highest ‘Aapka Lucknow’ tell a long-lasting affair he had
civilian honour, Bharat Ratna in with the city.
1990 posthumously.
13. ‘Lost golden city of Luxor’ discovered by

10. International Turban Day: April 13 archaeologists in Egypt

‘Lost golden city of
The International Luxor’ discovered by
Turban Day is archaeologists
celebrated every in Egypt. The 3,400-
year on April 13 year-old royal city was
since 2004 to bring built by Amenhotep III, abandoned by his
awareness of the heretic son, Akhenaten, and contains
strict requirement on Sikhs to put the turban as stunningly preserved remains.
a mandatory part of their religion.
Egyptologist Betsy Bryan has called the
The 2021 Turban Day marks the 552nd birth discovery ‘the second most important one since
anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and the the tomb of Tutankhamun’.
festival of Baisakhi. The turban, also known as
“dastar” or “pagri” or “pag” refer to the garment Akhenaten, who left the ‘golden city’ for a new
capital at Amarna, encouraged a startlingly

SANKAR APRIL 2021 37

 APRIL 2021

different style of Egyptian art. Here he is shown The platform will help the farmers to get a
with his wife, Nefertiti, and three daughters. better price and the exporters to directly
purchase quality products from the farmers and
15th APRIL 2021 & 16th APRIL 2021 enhancing traceability.
1. Mental-Health Digital Platform MANAS
Launched 3. US President Biden announces complete
The Principal
Scientific Adviser to troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
the Government of US President Joe Biden has announced that
India, Prof. K Vijay all American troops would be withdrawn
Raghavan launched from Afghanistan by September 11 this year,
a mobile app called “MANAS” to cater mental thus bringing to end the
well-being of citizens on scalable, secure and country’s longest war.
digital platforms.
US troops, as well as
MANAS stands for Mental Health and forces deployed by
Normalcy Augmentation System. our NATO (North
Atlantic Treaty
MANAS is an initiative of the Office of the Organization) Allies
Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government and operational
of India. It has been jointly executed by partners, will be out of Afghanistan before
NIMHANS Bengaluru, AFMC Pune and C-DAC the 20th anniversary of that heinous attack
Bengaluru. on September 11 (2001).

The app MANAS is developed under the Prime
Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation
Advisory Council (PM-STIAC), to promote
wellbeing across age groups.
Biden and his team are refining national
strategy to monitor and disrupt significant
terrorist threats not only in Afghanistan, but
anywhere they may arise — Africa, Europe,
the Middle East, and elsewhere.

Before making the announcement, Biden had

2. Piyush Goyal Launches “e-SANTA”, an spoken with former US presidents Barack
Electronic Marketplace For Aqua Farmers Obama and George Bush.
Union Minister for
Commerce and The US and the Taliban signed a landmark
Industry, Piyush deal in Doha on February 29, 2020, to bring
Goyal has lasting peace in war-torn Afghanistan and allow
inaugurated e- US troops to return home from America’s
SANTA, an electronic longest war.
marketplace, to provide a platform for
connecting aqua farmers and buyers. e-SANTA
aims to raise income, lifestyle, self-reliance, 4. Indian-American Congressman
quality levels, traceability, of aqua farmers.
Introduces Resolution “To Honour” BR
e-SANTA stands for Electronic Solution for Ambedkar
Augmenting NaCSA farmers’ Trade-in An Indian-American
Aquaculture. Congressman has
introduced a resolution
Here, the term National Centre for in the US House of
Sustainable Aquaculture (NaCSA) is an Representatives for a
extension arm of the Marine Products Export second consecutive
Development Authority. year to honour Bhimrao
Ambedkar, the architect
It will act as an alternative marketing tool of India’s Constitution, on his 130th birth
between farmers & buyers by eliminating anniversary so that young leaders around the
middlemen. world can be inspired by his vision for equality.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 38

 APRIL 2021

The resolution states that Dr Ambedkar’s The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will be set up
contributions to economics, political science, a new Regulations
civil rights, religious harmony, and Review Authority
jurisprudence have had a profound impact (RRA 2.0) from May 1,
around the world, promoting democratic values, 2021, to review the
unfettered equality, and justice for peoples of all regulations, circulars,
castes, races, genders, religions, and reporting systems and
backgrounds. compliance procedures
of the central bank for
streamlining them and
5. Himachal Day is observed on 15th April making them more effective. The RRA will be
Himachal Day is set up for a period of one year unless the
observed on 15th timeline is extended by the RBI.
April in Himachal
Pradesh. The state M Rajeshwar Rao, Deputy Governor, RBI will
became a full- be the head of the Regulations Review
fledged state on this Authority.
day.
RRA will be tasked with making regulatory and
Four districts of Mandi, Chamba, Mahasu and supervisory instructions more effective by
Sirmour were integrated with over two dozen removing redundancies and duplications if any.
princely states, leading to the formation of
Himachal Pradesh as a Union Territory in It must be noted that prior to this, a similar RRA
1948. was set up by RBI on April 1, 1999, for a
period of one year to review the regulations,
Decades later, in 1971, Himachal circulars, reporting systems, based on the
Pradesh became the 18th state in India with feedback from the public, banks, and financial
Shimla as its capital. institutions.
 Chief Minister of HP: Jairam Thakur;
 Governor of HP: Bandaru Dattatraya.  RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das;
 Headquarters: Mumbai;
 Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.
6. Pohela Boishakh (Subho Noboborsho)
2021 8. Punjab National Bank launches digital
Pohela Boishakh, also initiative PNB@Ease
known as Bengali New
Year, is the traditional Punjab National
New Year day of the Bank (PNB) has
Bengali people. The launched a digital
festival date is set according to the lunisolar
Bengali calendar as the first day of its first initiative “PNB@Ease” under which every
month Baishakh. However, the festival falls transaction undertaken by a bank branch will be
on April 14 or April 15 every year in India. initiated and authorised by customers
themselves. This facility will enable the
In Bengali, Pohela stands for ‘first’ and customers to avail all banking services under
Boishakh is the first month of the Bengali one roof.
calendar. The festival is celebrated with
processions, fairs and family time. Bengalis all On its 127th foundation day, PNB announced
over the world celebrate New Year by on this other digital initiatives such as the instant
day by greeting each other by saying Shubho opening of online saving accounts via video-
Nobobarsho. KYC, insta pre-approved loan, insta Demat
account and insurance facility through internet
and mobile banking services. PNB’s 127th
7. RBI to set up Regulations Review Foundation Day celebrated on Apr 12, 2021.
Authority for one year

SANKAR APRIL 2021 39

 APRIL 2021

This facility will enable the customers to avail all Joseph Jouthe served as the Prime Minister of
banking services under one roof, he said, Haiti from March 4, 2020, until April 14,
adding, PNB@Ease outlets would boost the 2021. President Jovenel Moise has
bank’s distribution capability and lower the cost nominated Claude Joseph as the new prime
of customer acquisition. minister of Haiti.

The service can range from savings accounts  Haiti Capital: Port-au-Prince
opening to availing various loans and more,  Currency: Haitian gourde.
without visiting a branch or help from the bank
employees.
11. India sign MoU with France for
 Punjab National Bank cooperation on Gaganyaan Mission
Headquarters: New Delhi.
 Punjab National Bank MD and CEO: S. The Indian space
S. Mallikarjuna Rao. agency, ISRO has
 Punjab National Bank Founded: 19 May signed an agreement
1894, Lahore, Pakistan. with the space agency
of France CNES for
9. Amazon launches $250-million Venture cooperation in its first
human space
Fund for Digitizing SMEs in India mission, Gaganyaan. CNES will train Indian
flight physicians and CAPCOM mission control
The e-commerce teams at French facilities.
giant Amazon has
launched a $250 The Gaganyaan orbital spacecraft project was
million (Rs 1,873 kicked off in August 2018. It originally intended
crore) venture fund to send astronauts from Indian soil to mark
called “Amazon the 75th anniversary of India’s independence
Smbhav Venture Fund”, to invest in Indian in 2022.
startups and entrepreneurs, with a focus
on digitizing SMEs. The launch of the Amazon CNES will provide equipment developed by it,
Smbhav Venture Fund aims to attract the best tested and still operating aboard
ideas and empower entrepreneurs in the the International Space Station (ISS) to
country to partner in this vision. Indian crews.

As a part of its first investment through the
‘Smbhav’ fund, Amazon invested in Gurugram-
based M1xchange which connects SMEs with
banks and financiers.
 Amazon.com Inc founder and CEO, Jeff
Bezos.
 Amazon.com Inc Founded: 5 July 1994.
 Amazon.com Inc Headquarters: Seattle,
Washington, United States.
It will also supply fireproof carry bags made in
France to shield equipment from shocks and
radiation.
The agreement provides for the CNES to
support the implementation of a scientific
experiment plan on validation missions,
exchange information on food packaging and
the nutrition programme, and above all the use
by Indian astronauts of French equipment,
consumables and medical instruments.

10. Prime Minister of Haiti Joseph Jouthe  ISRO Chairman: K.Sivan.

Resigns  ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru,
Karnataka.
Prime Minister of Haiti,  ISRO established: 15 August 1969.
Joseph Jouthe has
resigned following a 12. India ranks 49th in Inclusive Internet
situation of unrest in the
country due to an increase in killing and Index 2021
kidnapping cases over the past few days.

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 APRIL 2021

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), in Welfare and Women and Child Development
partnership and developmental organizations.
with Facebook, has
released the Inclusive 14. ‘Aahaar Kranti’ mission launched by
Internet Index Health Ministry
2021. India has been Union Health
ranked at 49th spot Minister, Dr Harsh
globally. It shares its rank with Thailand. Vardhan has
launched Aahaar
This index measures the extent to which the Kranti, a mission
internet is available and affordable by region, dedicated to spreading awareness about
and highlights additional insight into how people nutrition. It is designed to address the peculiar
around the world are using the web. problem of hunger and diseases in abundance,
being faced by India and the world.
Top 5 Countries: Sweden, United States,
Spain, Australia and Hong Kong. The movement proposes to address the
problem by working to rouse the people to the
The ‘Inclusive Internet Index’ surveyed 120 values and richness of India’s traditional diet, to
countries, representing 98 per cent of global the healing powers of local fruits and
GDP and 96 per cent of the global population. vegetables and to the miracles of a balanced
diet. Vijnana Bharati, Global Indian Scientists
The overall Index score is based on four and Technocrats Forum, Vigyan Prasar, and
parameters, which are: Availability, Pravasi Bharatiya Academic and Scientific
Affordability, Relevance and Readiness Sampark have come together to launch this
categories. The Inclusive Internet Index is mission.
commissioned by Facebook and developed by
The Economist Intelligence Unit. 15. Marathi film Puglya wins Best Foreign
Feature at Moscow Film Fest
13. NITI Aayog launches ‘Poshan Gyan’, a The Marathi
film “Puglya” has won
digital repository on health, nutrition the Best Foreign
NITI Aayog, in Language Feature
partnership with Bill award at Moscow
and Melinda Gates International Film
Foundation and Festival, 2021. The film
Centre for Social and Puglya has been directed and produced
Behaviour Change, by Vinod Sam Peter under the
Ashoka University banner Abraham Films.
launched called “Poshan Gyan”, a national
digital repository on health and nutrition. The So far, this film has won over 45 awards and
website can be accessed through eh following recognitions at various international film
link: https://poshangyan.niti.gov.in/ festivals. The film is yet to be released in India.
The film revolves around a pug and two boys,
The unique feature of the repository is that it who are around 10 years old.
has a crowdsourcing feature that allows anyone
to submit communication material for inclusion
on the website, followed by a review by a 16. A ‘Healthy normal’ Monsoon forecasts
designated committee. by Skymet
Skymet has released
Poshan Gyan repository enables the search of its monsoon forecast
communication materials on 14 thematic areas for 2021. Skymet
of health and nutrition across diverse expects the
languages, media types, target audiences and upcoming monsoon to be ‘healthy normal’ to
sources. the tune of 103% (with an error margin of +/-
5%) of the long period average (LPA) of 880.6
Content for the repository has been sourced mm for the 4-month period from June to
from the Ministries of Health and Family September.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 41

 APRIL 2021

The North India plains along with a few parts Prasad launched the “Online Grievance
of northeast India are at risk of being rain Management Portal of National Commission
deficient through the season. for Scheduled Castes (NCSC)”.

The Indian Ocean Dipole, characterised by a NCSC Grievance Management portal would
temperature gradient in the western and make it easier for Scheduled Castes population
eastern Indian Ocean. It is expected to be of our country to register their complaint from
slightly on the negative. Usually a positive any part of the country.
dipole aids the monsoon.
The portal shall enable them to file their
During the season in India, the monsoon application and other atrocity and services
in 2019 and 2020 was only the third time in a related grievances online and to get them
century of back-to-back years of above normal addressed in a time bound manner.
rainfall.
NCSC aims to streamline the grievance
redressal specially of the Scheduled Caste
17. World Voice Day: 16 April population through this portal.
The World Voice Day
(WVD) is celebrated The portal designed in collaboration with
globally on April 16 every the Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space
year to demonstrate the Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG-
enormous importance of N), a Centre of Excellence under the Ministry of
the voice in the daily lives Electronics and Information Technology,
of all people. Government of India will facilitate an end-to-end
e-filing of complaints and grievances and their
The Day is a global annual event dedicated to tracking.
recognizing the boundless limits of the human
voice. The mission is to share the excitement of
the voice phenomenon with people, scientists, 20. HGCO19 an mRNA Vaccine Candidate
and other funding bodies. India’s mRNA-based
covid-19 vaccine
The theme of 2021 is ONE WORLD|MANY candidate-
VOICES. World Voice Day found its HGCO19, developed by
beginnings in 1999 as Brazilian National Pune-based
Voice Day. biotechnology company
Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd has received
additional government funding for its clinical
18. Former election commissioner G.V.G. studies.
Krishnamurthy passes away
Former election The department of biotechnology
commissioner, GVG (DBT), ministry of science & technology on
Krishnamurty passed Tuesday announced approval of additional
away due to age-related funding awarded under Mission Covid
ailments. An Indian Suraksha—The Indian covid-19 Vaccine
Legal Service officer, Development Mission by DBT’s dedicated
Krishnamurty became Mission Implementation Unit at Biotechnology
the election commissioner in October 1993 to Industry Research Assistance Council
September 1996. (BIRAC).

After multiple rounds of evaluation of all the

applications that were submitted in response to
19. “Online Grievance Management Portal”
the ‘Request for Expression of Interest
launched (REOI)’ under Mission COVID Suraksha for the
Union Minister for development of covid-19 vaccine candidate(s)’.
Communication & IT and
Law & Justice Ravi 17th APRIL 2021
Shankar

SANKAR APRIL 2021 42

 APRIL 2021

 Australia’s Beth Mooney is ‘Leading

1. 8th Indo-Kyrgyz Special Forces Exercise Women’s Cricketer in the World’.
‘Khanjar’ Flags off  West Indies all-rounder Kieron
The 8th Indo-Kyrgyz Pollard was adjudged the ‘Leading T20
Joint Special Forces Cricketer in the World’.
 Meanwhile, Jason Holder, Mohammed
Rizwan, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley,
and Darren Stevens have been
Exercise “Khanjar” was inaugurated at the awarded the Wisden Cricketers of the
Special Forces Brigade of National Guards of Year 2021.
the Kyrgyz Republic in Bishkek, the capital of
the host Kyrgyzstan.
3. Lifetime Achievement Award received by
Initiated first in 2011, the two-week-long special Roberto Benigni
operations exercise focusses on high-altitude Director Roberto
warfare, mountain warfare and counter- Benigni will be
extremism exercises. receiving the Golden
Lion for Lifetime
The Indian contingent for the exercise and Achievement at
felicitated their role as a bridge in promoting the the 78th Venice
shared mountain and nomadic heritage of both International Film Festival, which runs from
nations. A ceremonial parade graced the September 1 to 11. The organisers confirmed
occasion along with a display of equipment’s the news about the two-time Oscar-winning
and weapons and a visit to the training arena actor-director.
and barracks.
The filmmaker had starred in and directed the
 Kyrgyzstan Capital: Bishkek. holocaust comedy-drama film Life Is Beautiful
 Kyrgyzstan President: Sadyr Japarov. (1997), for which he received the Academy
 Kyrgyzstan Currency: Kyrgyzstani som. Awards for Best Actor (the first for a non-
English speaking male performance) and
Best International Feature Film.
2. Wisden Award 2021 announced
To perpetuate He was last seen in Matteo Garrone’s live-
the 50th action Pinocchio, for which he won a David di
anniversary of the Donatello Award.
first One-Day
International, five
ODI cricketers of 4. RBL Bank Mastercard partner to offer
the decade have
been listed in Wisden Almanack’s 2021 first-of its-kind payment functionality
edition. RBL Bank and Mastercard have announced
their partnership to launch a mobile-based
One cricketer has been selected from each consumer-friendly
decade between 1971 and 2021, with the payment solution ‘Pay
Indian captain been granted the award for the by Bank App’, a first-
2010s. of-its-kind payment
functionality in India.
List of winners:
 India captain Virat Kohli Wisden RBL Bank account holders can now enjoy
Almanack’s ODI player of the 2010s. contactless transactions across the world
 Sachin Tendulkar is the ODI Cricketer through their mobile banking application both
of the 1990s. in-store and online. This functionality will be
 Kapil Dev was named as the ODI available at all Mastercard accepting
Cricketer for the 1980s. merchants, worldwide that accept contactless
 England all-rounder Ben Stokes is and online payments.
‘Leading Cricketer of the Year’.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 43

 APRIL 2021

To provide enhanced security, ‘Pay by Bank Constitution Babasaheb Bhimrao

App’ ensures that Bank customer’s payment
credentials are never exposed to the merchant,
making the transaction completely secure.
Customers will continue to receive the
Mastercard consumer protection benefits that
they currently enjoy on their debit cards.
 RBL Bank Founded: August 1943;
 RBL Bank Headquarters: Mumbai;
 RBL Bank MD & CEO: Vishwavir Ahuja.
 Mastercard Headquarters: New York,
United States.
 Mastercard President: Michael Miebach.
Ambedkar on his birth anniversary and
released four books based on his life.
PM Modi has addressed the 95th Annual Meet
and National Seminar of Vice-Chancellors of
the Association of Indian Universities via video
conferencing and launched four books related
to Dr BR Ambedkar, written by Kishor
Makwana.
The four books to be released by the prime
minister are Dr Ambedkar Jivan Darshan, Dr
Ambedkar Vyakti Darshan, Dr Ambedkar
Rashtra Darshan, and Dr Ambedkar Aayam
Darshan.

5. NASA to launch SpaceX Crew 2 on April

7. Suresh Raina’s memoir ‘Believe’ to
22
release in 2021
The National
Aeronautics and A book titled ‘Believe –
Space What Life and Cricket
Administration is Taught Me’, the much-
set to launch four astronauts to awaited Suresh
the International Space Station on World Raina autobiography is set to
Earth Day (April 22). NASA is to launch the hit the bookstands in May
mission along with SpaceX. It is the second 2021. The book is Co-
crewed operational flight of Crew Dragon authored by Raina and sports author Bharat
Spacecraft. Sundaresan, the biography will be published
by the prestigious publishing house, Penguin
The mission will transport four scientists to the India.
International Space Station. The astronauts to
travel to the International Space Station are The book expected to follow Raina’s lightning-
from NASA, JAXA and ESA. JAXA is the fast rise in the Indian cricket team and the
Japanese Space Agency and ESA is European hardships that he encountered on the way to
Space Agency. becoming a record-breaking batsman. The
book should also help unwind the story of
 Acting Administrator of NASA: Steve Raina’s early days as a budding cricketer in
Jurczyk. UP.
 Headquarters of NASA: Washington
D.C., United States. 8. World Hemophilia Day: 17 April
 NASA Founded: 1 October 1958.
 SpaceX founder & CEO: Elon Musk. World Hemophilia
 SpaceX Founded: 2002. Day observed globally
 SpaceX Headquarters: California, on 17 April every
United States of America. year. This day is
observed to raise
awareness for
6. PM Modi released 4 books related to hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. The
Babasaheb Ambedkar date was chosen in honour of the World
Federation of Hemophilia founder Frank
PM Narendra Schnabel birthday. This year is the 30th
Modi has paid tribute edition of World Haemophilia Day.
to India’s first law
minister and the architect of the Indian

SANKAR APRIL 2021 44

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The theme for 2021 World Hemophilia Day

is “Adapting to Change: Sustaining care in a 11. Microsoft buys AI speech tech company
new world”. The day is being held since 1989, Nuance for $19.7 billion
which marks the birthday of Frank Schnabel,
founder of the World Federation of Hemophilia. Microsoft has made its second-biggest
acquisition
 World Federation of Hemophilia after LinkedIn. The
Founder: Frank Schnabel. tech giant has bought AI
 World Federation of Hemophilia speech tech
Founded: 1963. firm Nuance for $19.7
 World Federation of Hemophilia billion. The move will
Headquarters location: Montreal, help Microsoft’s prowess in voice recognition
Canada. and will give it a boost in the health care
market.
9. India sign MoU with France for
Nuance is known for its Dragon software which
cooperation on Gaganyaan Mission helps to transcribe speech using deep learning.
In 2016, Microsoft had purchased LinkedIn for
Renowned $26 billion.
radiologist, Dr Kakarla
Subba Rao, who served The acquisition will combine solutions and
as the first director expertise to deliver new cloud and AI
of Nizam’s Institute of capabilities across healthcare and other
Medical Sciences industries, and represent the latest step
(NIMS), Hyderabad, has in Microsoft’s industry-specific cloud
passed away. strategy.

Rao was conferred Padma Shri in 2000, by the Nuance provides the AI layer at the healthcare
Government of India for his contributions to the point of delivery and is a pioneer in the real-
field of medicine. world application of enterprise AI.

He was the founder president of the Telugu Nuance’s products include multiple clinical
Association of North America (TANA), an speech recognition software as a service
umbrella organisation for Telugu speaking (SaaS) offerings built on Microsoft Azure. The
people in the United States. firm’s solutions work with core healthcare
systems, and are currently used in 77% of U.S.
hospitals.
10. Former CBI Chief Ranjit Sinha passes
away  Microsoft CEO: Satya Nadella;
 Microsoft Headquarters: Redmond,
Former Central Washington, United States;
Bureau of  Nuance CEO: Mark D. Benjamin;
Investigation  Nuance Headquarters: Massachusetts,
(CBI) Director Ranjit United States;
Sinha has passed  Nuance Founded: 1992, United States.
away. He was a 1974-batch IPS officer of the
Bihar cadre, who served as CBI Director from 3 18th & 19th APRIL 2021
December 2012 to 2 December 2014.
1. Gender Samvaad event launched by
Prior to being appointed as CBI Director, Sinha Ministry of Rural Development
had headed Director General of Indo-Tibetan The Ministry of Rural
Border Police (ITBP) force, the Railway Development recently
Protection Force and several other senior launched the Gender
positions in the CBI in Patna and Delhi. Samvaad Event. It is a
joint initiative
between DAY-NRLM

SANKAR APRIL 2021 45

 APRIL 2021

and IWWAGE. of Murali M. Natrajan as the Managing

The main objective of the Gender Samvaad
event was to create awareness of gender-
related interventions under the DAY-NRLM.
DAY-NRLM is Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana
National Rural Livelihood Mission.
IWWAGE is Initiative for What Works to
Advance Women and Girls in the Economy.
Director & CEO, for a further period of one
year from April 29, 2021. He was appointed as
MD and CEO of DCB Bank in May 2009. Prior
to joining DCB, Natrajan has worked with
foreign banks Standard Chartered & Citibank.
 DCB Bank Headquarters: Maharashtra.
 DCB Bank Founded: 1930.

It provides opportunities to understand the best 4. Rating Agencies downgrade India’s GDP
practices of other states to improve women forecasts for FY22
agencies. With the resurgence
of COVID-19 cases
For instance, facilitating women’s access to posing risks to
land rights and their engagement in Farmer economic recovery, the
Producer Organisations, establishing strong leading brokerages have downgraded India’s
institutions for public service delivery, best GDP growth projections for the current fiscal
practices around food, nutrition, health and year 2021-22. Current fiscal year to as low
water and sanitation. as 10 per cent on local lockdowns threatening
 Union Minister of Rural Development: fragile recovery.
Narendra Singh Tomar.
Given below in the GDP growth forecast by
several rating agencies for FY22:
2. Italy launches first ever mega food park in
FY22(revised FY22(previous
India Agencies
estimate) estimate)
Italy has launched its
first-ever mega food Nomura 12.6% 13.5%
park project in
India, at Fanidhar in JP Morgan 11% 13%
the Mehsana district
of Gujarat. The UBS 10% 11.5%
project aims to create synergy between
agriculture and industry of the two countries Citi Research 12% 12.5%
and focuses on the research and development
of new and more efficient technologies in the
sector.
5. Indian expedition to Antarctica returns to
With this Italy also aims to explore the great Cape Town
opportunities offered by the Indian market. This
is the first Italian-Indian food park project, an The 40th Scientific
initiative in the food-processing field, which Expedition to
serves as a pillar of the partnership between Antarctica (40-
India and Italy. ISEA) hosted by
 Italy Capital: Rome; the Ministry of Earth Sciences successfully
 Italy Currency: Euro; returned to Cape Town after completing a
 Italy President: Sergio Mattarella. journey of about 12,000 nautical miles in 94
days, including stopovers.
3. RBI approves re-appointment of Murali
This achievement concludes four successful
Natarajan as DCB Bank MD and CEO decades of India’s scientific endeavour in the
Private sector lender, DCB continent of peace and cooperation.
Bank has received approval
from the Reserve Bank of The team reached its destination Bharati
India for the re-appointment station on February 27 and Maitri

SANKAR APRIL 2021 46

 APRIL 2021

station on March 8 in Antarctica. Bharati and

Maitri are India’s permanent research base 8. India Clinches 14 medal at 2021 Senior
stations in Antarctica. Asian Wrestling Championship

 Minister of Earth Sciences: Dr Harsh The 2021 Senior

Vardhan. Asian Wrestling
Championships was
held from April 13 to
6. NASA Awards $2.9 billion contract to
18, 2021 in Almaty,
SpaceX Kazakhstan.

The United States space The event was the 34th edition of the Asian
agency National Wrestling Championships. India won 14 medals
Aeronautics and Space to stand in the third spot on the medal table.
Administration
(NASA) has picked Elon The medals include 5 Gold, 3 Silver & 6 Bronze
Musk’s SpaceX for its Medals. Iran and Kazakhstan topped the medal
Artemis programme, to tally with 17 medals each.
develop the first commercial lander and take
the next two US astronauts to the moon.
9. India’s Mirabai Chanu creates a new
The total value of this contract is $2.89 billion. Clean and Jerk world record in Tashkent

SpaceX will develop a spacecraft ‘SpaceX Mirabai Chanu set a

Starship’ to land next to two US astronauts, new World Record in
including a women astronaut at the lunar south the women’s 49kg
pole region, by 2024. Clean and Jerk with a
massive 119 kg
NASA also aims to bring the first person of lift at Asian
colour to the moon’s surface as part of the Weightlifting
Artemis programme. Championships in Tashkent. The 26-year-old
Indian won the bronze medal at the event.
Between 1969 and 1972, the US brought 12
astronauts to the moon. The gold medal went to Hou Zhihui of
China who created a new world record in
snatch. Asian Games, held once every 4yrs, is
7. Max Verstappen Wins Emilia Romagna F1
the 2nd largest multi-sport event after
Grand Prix 2021 Olympics.

Max Verstappen (Red

10. World Heritage Day observed globally on
Bull –
Netherlands) won 18 April
the Emilia Romagna
F1 Grand Prix 2021, in Imola, Italy. World Heritage
Day observed globally
This win is his first victory of the season. The on 18 April every
race was the second round of the 2021 year. The day is
Formula One World Championship. observed to raise
awareness about the cultural heritage that we
The seven-time Formula One champion Lewis see around us.
Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) finished
second, following a crash and sustaining This year’s theme “Complex Pasts: Diverse
damage involving Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Futures” reflects on the need to acknowledge
Bottas. Lando Norris (McLaren – Great Britain) global calls for greater inclusion and recognition
took third place. of diversity.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 47

 APRIL 2021

The International Council on Monuments

and Sites (ICOMOS) in 1982 announced, 18 13. Former Footballer Ahmed Hussain
April as the World Heritage Day. This was Passes Away
approved by the General Assembly of
UNESCO in 1983, with an aim of enhancing Former India
awareness about the importance of cultural International Football
heritage, monuments and conserving them. defender, Ahmed
Hussain Lala has
 UNESCO formation: 4 November 1946; passed away due to COVID-19. He
 UNESCO Headquarters: Paris, France; represented India in the 1956 Melbourne
 UNESCO Director-General: Audrey Olympics, where India finished fourth. Besides,
Azoulay; he was also part of the Indian team that won
 Headquarters of International Council on the gold medal in the 1951 Asian Games.
Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS): Paris,
France; Ahmed also took part in the 1958 Asian
 International Council on Monuments and Games in Tokyo, Japan, in which India
Sites (ICOMOS) Founded: 1965; finished fourth. In Club Football, Ahmed played
 President of International Council on for Hyderabad City Police, Mohun Bagan and
Monuments and Sites: Toshiyuki Kono. Mohammedan Sporting Club. In his career, he
had won two Santosh Trophy, three Durand
Cups and six Rovers Cups.
11. World Liver Day observed globally on 19
April 14. Veteran Tamil actor and comedian Vivek
World Liver day is passes away
observed on the 19
April every year to Renowned Tamil actor
spread awareness and
about the second largest organ in the body. comedian Vivek has
The liver is the second largest and the most passed away. He was
complex organ in the body, with the exception launched by legendary
of the brain. filmmaker K
Balachander in the late 1980s. He went on to
Liver diseases can be caused by hepatitis A, become one of the most sought after comedy
B, C, alcohol and drugs. Viral Hepatitis occurs actors of Tamil cinema in the 1990s and
due to consumption of contaminated food and retained a stronghold in the industry.
water, unsafe sexual practices and drug abuse.
The actor was awarded the Padma Shri in
2009 for his excellent work in Tamil cinema. He
12. Adobe co-founder and PDF developer acted in over 200 movies. He was last seen
Charles Geschke passes away in Dharala Prabhu, which was the Tamil
remake of the Hindi film Vicky Donor.
American computer
scientist Charles 15. Railways to run ‘Oxygen Express’ trains
Geschke, best known as
the co-founder of via green corridors
graphics and publishing
software company Adobe Following a surge in
Inc, has passed away. Geschke co-founded the number of Covid-
Adobe company in 1982 with fellow mate John 19 cases, the Indian
Warnock. Railways will
run ‘Oxygen Express’
Geschke, who was widely known as Chuck, trains transporting liquid medical oxygen and
also helped in developing the popular Portable oxygen cylinders across the country via green
Document Format (PDF). corridors to meet growing demand from states.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 48

 APRIL 2021

Green corridors are being created to ensure 6,003 villages in Punjab have been declared
fast movement of these trains. ‘Har Ghar Jal’, which means every rural
household has access to water through the tap.
Empty tankers will begin their journey
from Kalamboli and Boisar railway To ensure transparency and accountability,
stations in and near Mumbai to load liquid Punjab has set up a well-equipped digital 24×7
medical oxygen from Vizag, Jamshedpur, call centre with Interactive Voice
Rourkela and Bokaro, the national Responsive System. This analog grievance
transporter. redressal system was upgraded in December
2020. Last year, the redressal rate was
 Union Minister of Railways: Piyush 97.76%.
Goyal;
 Indian Railways Founded: 16 April 1853, The pending complaints daily monitoring is
India; done by sending reminders to the Executive
 Indian Railways Headquarters: New Engineer via SMS, What’s App messages, e-
Delhi. mail and over the phone.
 Punjab CM: Captain Amarinder Singh.
 Punjab Governor: V.P.Singh Badnore.
20th APRIL 2021
1. Piyush Goyal launches the Startup India 3. New Zealand Makes World’s 1st Climate
Seed Fund Scheme Change Law For Financial Firms
Union Minister Piyush New Zealand is about
Goyal launched to become the
the Startup India world’s first
Seed Fund Scheme country to bring a law
(SISFS). The Fund into force that
aims to provide demands
financial assistance to startups for proof of environmental accountability from financial
concept, prototype development, product trials, firms by asking them to report on how their
market-entry, and commercialization. businesses affect climate change.

The government has approved Rs. 945 Crore
corpus for the fund, which will be divided over
the next 4 years beginning April 01, 2021, for
providing seed funding to eligible startups
through eligible incubators across India. The
scheme is expected to support an estimated
3,600 startups through 300 incubators.
2. Punjab All Set to become ‘Har Ghar Jal’
State by 2022
Punjab State reiterated
the commitment of the
State to achieve the
‘Har Ghar Jal’ target
by 2022 as planned.
Punjab has 34.73 lakh rural household, out of
which 25.88 lakh (74.5%) have tap water
supply.
In 2021-22, the State plans to provide 8.87 lakh
tap connections, thereby providing tap
connection to every rural household. So far, 4-
districts, 29 blocks, 5,715 panchayats and
The aim is to bring the financial sector on board
with the efforts being made towards achieving
the country’s target of becoming carbon neutral
by 2050.
The New Zealand government first revealed its
plans to compel the financial sector to make
disclosures in September last year, informing
that those unable to disclose would have to
give explanations.
 Prime minister of New Zealand: Jacinda
Ardern.
 Capital of New Zealand: Wellington.
 The currency of New Zealand: New
Zealand dollar.
4. Henley Passport Index 2021 released
Amid the
rising COVID-19
cases and
subsequent
restrictions on travel
overseas, when many
countries are banning individuals from worst-hit

SANKAR APRIL 2021 49


nations, the Henley Passport Index on April
17 released its list of the most powerful
passports.
India stands at number 84 on the list, as the
Indian citizens can visit Visa-Free or Visa-on-
Arrival in over 58 places. Japan, Singapore
and Germany, South Korea stand in Top 3
respectively.
The Henley Passport Index releases list
which measures the world’s most travel-
friendly passports. The index ranks the
countries based on how strong their passport
is.
 International Air Transport Association
Headquarters: Montreal, Canada.
 International Air Transport Association
Founded: 19 April 1945.
 International Air Transport Association
Leader: William M. Walsh.
 Henley & Partners Headquarters
location: London, United Kingdom.
 Henley & Partners Founded: 1997.
 Henley & Partners Chairman: Christian
Kalin.
 Henley & Partners CEO: Juerg Steffen.
5. RBI sets up committee to review working
of ARCs
The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) has
constituted a six-
member panel to carry
out a comprehensive
review of the working of Asset Reconstruction
Companies (ARCs) in the financial sector
ecosystem.
The panel will be headed by former Executive
Director of RBI, Sudarshan Sen.
Other members of the panel include:
 Vishakha Mulye – Executive Director,
ICICI Bank;
 P N Prasad – former Dy. Managing
Director, SBI;
 Rohit Prasad – Professor of Economics,
MDI, Gurgaon;
 Abizer Diwanji – Partner, Ernst & Young;
 R Anand – Chartered Accountant
SANKAR APRIL 2021
APRIL 2021
6. DRDO develops supplemental oxygen
delivery system for soldiers
Defence Research and
Development
Organisation has developed
a SpO2-based supplemental
oxygen delivery system
for soldiers serving in
extremely high altitude areas & COVID-19
patients.
This automatic system delivers supplemental
oxygen based on the SpO2 (blood oxygen
saturation) levels & prevents the person from
sinking into a state of hypoxia, which is fatal
in most cases.
 Chairman DRDO: Dr G Satheesh
Reddy.
 DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi.
 DRDO Established: 1958.
7. LIC ties up with Paytm to handle digital
payments
State-run Life
Insurance
Corporation of India
(LIC) has appointed homegrown payments
player Paytm to facilitate its digital payments.
Following a tie-up with another payment
gateway earlier, the country’s largest life insurer
has sought a new deal as the majority of its
payments have moved to digital modes.
The new agreement requires an easy payment
process, a broader range of payment options,
and more players (wallets, banks, etc) in
payment channels. LIC has witnessed an
upsurge in e-payments following the COVID-19
pandemic.
The PSU insurer collects premiums worth
Rs 60,000 crore via digital mode, which doesn’t
comprise payments made through banks.
 LIC Chairperson: M R Kumar;
 LIC Headquarters: Mumbai;
 LIC Founded: 1 September 1956;
 Paytm HQ: Noida, Uttar Pradesh;
 Paytm Founder & CEO: Vijay Shekhar
Sharma; Paytm Founded: 2009.
50
 APRIL 2021

of its official working languages throughout the

8. ‘The Christmas Pig’: JK Rowling to organization.
release new children’s book in October
11. Veteran Kannada writer Ganjam
JK Rowling has a new book
coming this autumn, a festive Venkatasubbiah passes away
children’s story with all new
characters. The story is about a Veteran Kannada
boy named Jack and his writer Ganjam
toy Dur Pig, who goes missing Venkatasubbiah, who
on Christmas Eve. also was a
grammarian, editor,
The book is set to be released worldwide on lexicographer and
Oct. 12. “The Christmas Pig” is Rowling’s first literary critic, has
children’s novel since Harry Potter. passed away. He was 107. He was commonly
known as a walking encyclopedia of Kannada
language and culture, in his literary circles.
9. Stefanos Tsitsipas Wins Monte Carlo 2021
Title 12. National Award-winning filmmaker
Stefanos Sumitra Bhave passes away
Tsitsipas has won his
first ATP Masters Acclaimed Marathi
1000 series after a filmmaker, Sumitra
flawless performance Bhave has passed
against Andrey away. Sumitra Bhave
Rublev in Monte Carlo. The Greek star had was popular as a duo
lost his previous two finals at this level, with with filmmaker Sunil
Rafael Nadal denying him in Toronto and Sukthankar in Marathi
Novak Djokovic beating him in Madrid. cinema and Marathi theatre. She was known for
her out-of-the-box content and also for the way
Rublev beat 11-time Monte Carlo champion she handled social issues in her films.
Nadal in the quarter-finals. Rublev knocked
out Roberto Bautista Agut, Rafael Nadal and The duo of Sumitra and Sunil together directed
Dan Evans en route to the final but could not several popular films like Doghi, Dahavi Fa,
find a way past Tsitsipas. Vastupurush, Devrai, Badha, Ek Cup Chya,
Samhita, Astu, Kaasav, among others.
10. UN Chinese Language Day observed They have won National Film Awards in Best
globally on 20 April Non-Feature Film on Family Welfare, Best
Educational / Motivational / Instructional Film,
UN Chinese Best Film on Other Social Issues, Best Feature
Language Day is Film categories.
observed globally
on April 20 every 13. Former Union Minister Bachi Singh
year. The day has
been chosen to pay tribute to Cangjie, who is a Rawat Passes Away
mythical figure who is presumed to have
invented Chinese characters about 5,000 years The senior BJP leader
ago. and former Union
Minister Bachi Singh
The 1st Chinese Language Day was celebrated Rawat has passed away.
in 2010 on the 12th of November, but since He was a four-time MP from the Almora-
2011 the date has been on the 20th of April. Pithoragarh constituency in Uttarakhand. He
The day celebrates multilingualism and cultural had served as the Union Minister of State for
diversity as well as promote equal use of all six

SANKAR APRIL 2021 51

 APRIL 2021

Science and Technology in the Atal Bihari The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS
Vajpayee government. Jagan Mohan Reddy recently released the first
tranche of Rs 672 crores under
21st APRIL 2021 the Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme for
the year 2021-22. This reimbursed the fees for
1. Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurates first-ever 10.88 lakh students.
online exhibition on Ramayana
The Union Minister of So far, a total of Rs 4, 879 crores have been
State for Tourism and disbursed under the Jagananna Vidya Deevena
Culture ( I/C), Prahlad Scheme.
Singh Patel virtually
inaugurated the first- The main objective of the Jagananna Vidya
ever Online Exhibition Deevena Scheme is to provide scholarships to
on Ramayana, the all the students who are not able to pay their
Epic by Maharishi fees because of their financial burden.
Valmiki, on the occasion of World Heritage
Day 2021. The scheme mainly focuses on students
seeking higher education. It aims to provide fee
The online exhibition has been titled “Rama reimbursement to more than 14 lakh students
Katha: The Story of Rama Through Indian of the state.
Miniatures”. It showcases 49 miniature
paintings collections from different art schools The scheme will directly credit the amount into
of India, from the 17th through the 19th century. the accounts of students’ mothers. Earlier, the
The collection of the painting has been taken money was transferred to the owners of the
from National Museum, New Delhi. colleges.
 Andhra Pradesh Governor:
Biswabhusan Harichandan;
2. Miguel Díaz-Canel to succeed Raúl Castro  Andhra Pradesh Chief minister: Y. S.
Jaganmohan Reddy.
as the President of Cuba
Miguel Mario Diaz-
Canel has been 4. JMM first party to declare name of
officially sworn in as electoral bonds donor
the ‘First Secretary The Jharkhand Mukti
of the Communist Morcha (JMM) is the
Party of Cuba’, first party that has
following the declared the name of
resignation of Raul the entity which made donations to it
Castro. The Secretary of the Communist Party through electoral bonds. A declaration of a ₹1
is the most powerful position in one party crore donation was made in the party’s 2019-
ruling Cuba. 20 contribution report.
Díaz-Canel now holds Cuba’s two most According to the contribution report of the ruling
important positions, head of the party and party in Jharkhand, the donation was made by
president of the state. aluminium and copper manufacturing company
Hindalco.
 Cuba Capital: Havana;
 Cuba Continent: North America; In a new report, the association said the most
 Cuba Currency: Cuban peso. common and popular source of income for
national and regional political parties in 2019-20
were donations through electoral bonds.
3. AP launched
This raises the question as to whether political
Jagananna Vidya parties are aware of the identity of the donors
Deevena Scheme who have contributions through electoral
bonds, as can be seen in this case.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 52

 APRIL 2021

 Chief Minister of Jharkhand: Hemant

Soren; 7. NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter Takes Flight
 Governor: Shrimati Droupadi Murmu. On Mars

NASA successfully
5. India Ranks 142 in World Press Freedom
flew its tiny
Index 2021 helicopter Ingenuity
on Mars, the first
India has been placed powered flight on
at 142nd another planet and a feat a top engineer
position among 180 called “our Wright brothers’ moment.”
countries in the
latest World Press Freedom Index Data and images from the autonomous flight
2021, released on April 20, 2021. India was were transmitted 173 million miles (278 million
at 142nd position in 2020 as well. kilometres) back to Earth where they were
received by NASA’s array of ground antennas
Norway has retained its top spot for the fifth and processed more than three hours later.
year running, followed by Finland and
Denmark at second and third place Ingenuity was on autopilot for its entire flight,
respectively. Eritrea is at the bottom of the out of sight, direct control, or contact with the
index at 180th place. men and women on Earth who had ordered it
aloft—because radio signals take too long to
The index is published every year by the travel between the planets for any human
international journalism not-for-profit operator to intervene.
body, “Reporters Without Borders (RSF)”, to
evaluate the press freedom situation in 180 The mini 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) copter even
countries and territories. carried a bit of wing fabric from the Wright Flyer
that made similar history at Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina, in 1903.
6. India-Germany enter into agreement to
prevent plastic waste entering oceans  Acting Administrator of NASA: Steve
Jurczyk.
The Government of  Headquarters of NASA: Washington
India and D.C., United States.
Germany have signed  NASA Founded: 1 October 1958.
an agreement for
Technical Cooperation in
enhancing practices to prevent plastic from
entering the marine environment at a virtual
ceremony in New Delhi. 8. World Creativity and Innovation Day: 21

The project titled ‘Cities Combating Plastic April

Entering the Marine Environment’ will be
implemented for a period of three and a half
years.
The outcome of the project is completely in line
with the objectives of Swachh Bharat Mission-
Urban focusing on sustainable solid waste
management and Prime Minister Modi’s vision
to phase out single-use plastic by 2022.
 Germany Capital: Berlin,
 Currency: Euro,
 Chancellor: Angela Merkel.
World Creativity and
Innovation Day is
observed globally on 21
April every year. This day is celebrated to raise
awareness around the importance of creativity
and innovation in problem-solving with respect
to advancing the United Nations sustainable
development goals, also known as the “global
goals”.
The main objective of the day is to encourage
people to use new ideas, make new decisions,
and do creative thinking. Creativity is what
makes the world go ‘round.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 53

 APRIL 2021

World Creativity and Innovation Day (WCID) He served as Vice

was founded on 25 May 2001 in Toronto, President from 1977 to
Canada. The founder of the day was the 1981 under
Canadian Marci Segal. Segal was studying President Jimmy
creativity in 1977 at the International Center for Carter. He also served
Studies in Creativity. as U.S. ambassador to
Japan from 1993 to 1996 under Bill Clinton.
9. National Civil Services Day: 21 April
12. Priyanka Mohite becomes first Indian
In India, ‘Civil Services
Day is celebrated woman to scale Mt Annapurna
on April 21 every year.
It is a day to appreciate Priyanka Mohite from Satara in
the tremendous work western Maharashtra has scaled Mt
done by officers Annapurna, the 10th
engaged in public highest mountain peak
administration, in in the world, becoming
various departments of the first Indian woman
the central and state climber to achieve the
governments. feat.

The Government of Mount Annapurna is

India chose April 21 as the National Civil a massif in the Himalayas located in Nepal that
Service Day as on this day the country’s first includes one peak over 8,000 metres and is
home minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai considered to be one of the toughest mountains
Patel addressed the newly appointed to climb.
Administrative Services Officers in 1947.
13. ITBP Water Sports & Adventure Institute
The historic occasion took place at the Metcalf
House in Delhi. In his address, he called Civil inaugurated in Tehri
Servants, the ‘Steel Frame of India’.
Water Sports and
Adventure Institute
10. Former RBI Governor Maidavolu (WSAI) has been
Narasimham passes away established by
the Indo-Tibetan
The former Reserve Bank of India Border Police (ITBP) at Tehri Dam in
(RBI) Governor Maidavolu Narasimham, has Uttarakhand.
passed away. He was famously known as
the “Father of Indian Banking Reforms”. The institute was inaugurated on Friday by
Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat and Sports
He was the 13th Governor of RBI and served Minister Kiren Rijiju.
from May 2, 1977, to November 30, 1977. He
was known for being the chair of two high- ITBP’s Mountaineering and Skiing Institute at
powered committees on banking and financial Auli will independently run this institution, which
sector reforms. will impart training in aero, water and land-
related sports and adventure activities.

11. Former US Vice President Walter  ITBP Founded: 24 October 1962.

 ITBP Headquarters: New Delhi, India.
Mondale Passes Away
 ITBP DG: S S Deswal.
Former American politician, diplomat, and
22nd APRIL 2021
lawyer Walter Mondale, who served as
the 42nd Vice President of the United 1. India elected to 3 bodies of U.N.
States, has passed away.
Economic and Social Council

SANKAR APRIL 2021 54

 APRIL 2021

India has been elected by acclamation, to three  Australia Capital: Canberra.

bodies of the UN  Australia Currency: Australian dollar.
Economic and Social  Australia PM: Scott Morrison.
Council (ECOSOC), for
a three-year term
beginning January 1, 3. Care Ratings Projects India’s GDP growth
2022. These UN Bodies
forecast at 10.2% for FY22
are:
Care Ratings has revised
downwards the GDP growth
 Commission on Crime Prevention and forecast of India to 10.2 per
Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) cent in 2021-22
 Executive Board of the UN Entity for Gender (FY22). Earlier this was estimated
Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN between 10.7-10.9 per cent.
Women)
 Executive Board of the World Food This cut in the GDP is based on the fact that
Programme (WFP) economic activities are getting affected across
the country due to curbs imposed by states
Important takeaways for all competitive amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

exams: 4. ICRA Slashes India’s GDP Forecast by

 UN Economic and Social Council President: 0.5% to 10.5% in FY22
Munir Akram; The domestic rating
 UN Economic and Social Council agency ICRA has cut the
Headquarters: New York, USA. growth estimate of India
for 2021-22 by 0.5 per
cent on the upper end
2. Australia announces partnership with
and now expects the economy to grow 10-10.5
India for Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative per cent in 2021-22 as against 10-11 per
Australia has announced a grant of Rs 81.2 cent estimated earlier. The downward revision
million (AUD 1.4 million) under the Indo- in the forecast follows the lockdowns and
Pacific Oceans restrictions which are getting imposed once
Initiative (IPOI). again due to rising COVID-19 cases.

IPOI was proposed by

5. Puma ropes in Washington Sundar,
Indian Prime Minister
Modi at the East Asia Devdutt Padikkal as brand ambassadors
Summit in November
2019 and Australia is Global sportswear
co-leading New Delhi in the marine ecology brand Puma has
pillar of the initiative. signed long-term
endorsement deals
The initiative will help to support a free, open with
and prosperous Indo-Pacific. cricketers Washington
Sundar and Devdutt
The Australia-India Indo-Pacific Oceans Padikkal. Puma India, which recently
Initiative Partnership forms the core of announced its partnership with Royal
this “shared vision” of both countries. Challengers Bangalore, has been consistently
investing in India’s sports ecosystem.
To apply for the grant, the company or
organization should be located in either India or The duo will be joining the company’s roster of
Australia and have partners in either of the two brand ambassadors that include Indian
countries. captain Virat Kohli; wicketkeeper-batsman
KL Rahul; women’s national cricketer,
Up to $350,00 is anticipated to be available for Sushma Verma and veteran cricketer Yuvraj
allocation in 2020-21. All applications will be Singh.
assessed on a competitive basis.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 55

 APRIL 2021

 UNEP Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya.

6. Tamil Nadu’s Arjun Kalyan becomes 68th
 UNEP Head: Inger Andersen.
Indian Grandmaster  UNEP Founder: Maurice Strong.
 UNEP Founded: 5 June 1972, Nairobi,
Tamil Nadu’s, Arjun Kenya.
Kalyan became India’s
68th Chess
Grandmaster when he 8. International Girls in ICT Day: 22 April
crossed the 2500 ELO
mark after beating Dragan Kosic in the fifth International
round of GM Round Robin “Rujna Zore-3” in Girls in ICT
Serbia. Day marked
annually on
Arjun is coached by IM the fourth
Saravanan and Ukrainian GM Aleksandr Thursday in
Goloshchapov and began playing chess at the April. This year
age of nine and got his FIDE rating a year International Girls in ICT Day is observed
later. Viswanathan Anand became the on 22nd April 2021. International Girls in ICT
country’s first Grandmaster, in 1988. Day aims to inspire a global movement to
increase the representation of girls and women
in technology.
 The World Chess Federation, known as
FIDE headquarters: Lausanne
Today, let’s recommit to the goal of equal
(Switzerland).
access for young women and girls to
opportunities in science, technology,
7. International Mother Earth Day: 22 April engineering and math.

Earth Day or The United Nations International

International Mother Telecommunication Union (ITU) is highlighting
Earth Day is the need to promote technology career
observed globally opportunities for girls and women in the world’s
on 22 April every fastest-growing sector.
year. The Day will be
celebrated all over the world to spread
9. Eminent Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh
awareness for Earth’s wellbeing and to
encourage people to support environmental passes away
protection.
Noted Bengali
World Earth Day 2021 will mark the 51st poet, Shankha
Anniversary of the day since it started being Ghosh has passed
observed in 1970. Earth Day was renamed away following COVID-
officially by the UN in 2009 as International 19 complications. He
Mother Earth Day. was known by his pen name Kuntak.

The theme of 2021 International Mother Earth He was honoured with numerous awards for his
Day is Restore Our Earth. contribution to Bengali literature, some of which
includes: Padma Bhushan in
It was in the year 1970 when about 20 million 2011, the Jnanpith Award in 2016, and
Americans realized that protecting Mother Earth the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977 for his
is an absolutely crucial need. Hence, it was this book ‘Babarer Prarthana‘, as well
year when Earth Day was observed for the very as Saraswati Samman and Rabindra
first time. Puraskar among other awards.

Every year billions of people across the world

participate in different activities such as planting
trees, cleaning campaigns, and others to offer
their bit to Mother Nature.
10. Chad President Idriss Deby passes away

SANKAR APRIL 2021 56

 APRIL 2021

The President of the Republic of Chad, Idriss India was also selected as a member of the
Deby Itno, has passed executive council of the OPCW representing
away, following a the Asia group for another two-year term.
confrontation with rebels
after which he suffered
wounds on the battlefield. 2. Rekha Menon takes over as first woman

He had ruled the central chairperson of Nasscom

African nation for more than
three decades and was even declared winner
Accenture India’s
of the 2021 presidential election, paving the
chairperson, Rekha M
way for him to stay in power for six more years.
Menon has been
Deby first won elections in 1996 and
appointed as chairperson
2001. After this, he continued to win in 2006,
of the National
2011, 2016, and 2021.
Association of Software
and Services Companies
11. Veteran actor Kishore Nandlaskar (NASSCOM), becoming the first woman to take
the top role in the software lobby group’s 30-
passes away year history.
Veteran actor Kishore
Nandlaskar, who was a She succeeds U B Pravin Rao, chief operating
popular face in both officer of Infosys as Nasscom’s chairperson.
Marathi and Hindi films, TCS President Krishnan Ramanujam will be
has passed away due the vice-chairperson.
to COVID-19  NASSCOM Headquarters: New Delhi.
complications.  NASSCOM Founded: 1 March 1988.
The actor made his debut with Marathi film in
1982 titled ‘Navare Sagle Gadhav’ and went to
act in movies like ‘Bhavishyachi Aishi Taishi: 3. S&P Projects India’s GDP Growth
The Prediction’, ‘Gaon Thor Pudhari Chor’ Forecast at 11% in FY22
and ‘Jara Japun Kara’. The S&P Global
Ratings has estimated
In Hindi films, Nandlaskar is known for his roles the Indian economy to
in Khakee (2004), Vaastav: The Reality grow at 11 per cent in the
(1999), Singham (2011), Jis Desh Mein current fiscal, i.e. 2021-22 (FY22).
Ganga Rehta Hain (2000), Simmba
(2018) and many more. He was last seen in the In terms of the sovereign rating, S&P currently
Mahesh Manjrekar web series ‘1962: The War has a ‘BBB-‘ rating on India with a stable
In The Hills’. outlook. Earlier, for 2020-21, the S&P estimated
the Indian economy to contract 8 per cent.
23rd APRIL 2021

4. Fitch Ratings Affirms India’s Sovereign

1. CAG GC Murmu selected as external
Rating at ‘BBB-‘
auditor for Hague Rating agency Fitch
India’s Comptroller and Ratings has kept the
Auditor General sovereign rating of India
(CAG), GC Murmu has unchanged at ‘BBB-‘ with
been chosen as the a negative outlook.
external auditor by the
Hague- Earlier, Fitch had estimated GDP contraction
based Conference of State Parties of the of 7.5 per cent in 2020-21 and growth of 12.8
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical per cent in the fiscal year FY22, followed
Weapons (OPCW), for a three-year term by 5.8 per cent in FY23.
starting 2021.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 57

 APRIL 2021

Conference (COP26) that will take place

5. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to Cancel in November 2021 in Glasglow.
Licence of Sambandh Finserve
Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) has issued a 7. Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference
show-cause notice prior
to cancelling the 2021 held
licence of fraud- The opening
hit Sambandh Finserve ceremony of
Pvt Ltd. after its the Boao Forum
networth eroded below the regulatory minimum for Asia Annual
and financial situation worsened beyond Conference
redemption over the recent months. Sambandh 2021 was held in
is registered as an NBFC-MFI. Boao, south China’s Hainan Province.

The Managing Director and CEO of The theme of the conference – “A World in
Sambandh, Deepak Kindo, who was allegedly Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global
the main perpetrator of the fraud, has been Governance and Advance Belt and Road
arrested by Economic Offence Wing, Cooperation”.
Chennai.
The forum, now celebrating its 20th
According to the RBI norms, NBFC is required anniversary, has not only played a unique role
to maintain minimum capital levels consisting of in pooling consensus and putting forward
Tier-I and Tier-II capital, of not less than 15 per valuable “Boao proposals,” but also engaged
cent of their aggregate risk-weighted assets. countries in addressing global issues and
 Sambandh Finserve Private Limited promoting world development and prosperity.
founded: 1992;
 Sambandh Finserve Private Limited
Headquarters: Odisha. 8. India Ranks 87th in WEF Global Energy
Transition Index 2021
India is placed at the 87th position among 115
6. PM Modi Participates in Leaders’ Summit countries in the 2021
Energy Transition
on Climate
Index (ETI).
Prime Minister
Shri Narendra
The report is published
Modi participated
by the World
in the “Leaders’
Economic Forum (WEF), prepared in
Summit on
collaboration with Accenture to track nations
Climate”, hosted
on the current performance of their energy
by the President of the U.S.A. Joe Biden.
systems across various aspects.
The two-day conference has been organised
Sweden has topped the 10th edition of the
virtually on 22-23 April 2021, which coincides
index, followed by Norway (2nd) and Denmark
with the fifth anniversary of the opening of
(3rd), Switzerland (4), Austria (5).
the Paris Agreement on climate change for
signature.
The top 10 countries in the index are Western
and Northern European countries: Finland (6),
The theme of the summit: Our Collective
the United Kingdom (7), New Zealand (8),
Sprint to 2030.
France (9) and Iceland (10).
A total of 40 national leaders have been invited
Zimbabwe is the last ranked country in the
by Biden to attend this two-day virtual climate
index.
summit.
9. NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover extracts
The Summit is being held in the run-up to
first oxygen from Red Planet
the United Nations Climate Change

SANKAR APRIL 2021 58

 APRIL 2021

According to NASA a toaster-size experimental Day is observed annually on 23 April.

instrument aboard Perseverance called
the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource For English, 23 April has been chosen to mark
Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) accomplished both the birthday and date of death of William
the task. Mars’ atmosphere is 96 per Shakespeare.
cent carbon dioxide.
For the Spanish Language, the Day was
MOXIE works by chosen because the day is also observed
separating oxygen as Hispanic Day in Spain, meaning the
atoms from carbon Spanish speaking world.
dioxide molecules,
which are made up of
one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. 12. Renowned Qawwali Singer Farid Sabri
MOXIE is expected to extract oxygen at least
nine more times over the course of a Martian Passes Away
year (nearly two years on Earth). Qawwali singer Farid
 Acting Administrator of NASA: Steve Sabri, of the famous
Jurczyk. Sabri Brothers duo,
 Headquarters of NASA: Washington has passed away.
D.C., United States. Sabri Brothers (Farid
 NASA Founded: 1 October 1958. Sabri and Amin
Sabri) were known for their evergreen numbers
like ‘Der Na Ho Jaye Kahin Der Na Ho Jaye’
10. World Book and Copyright Day: 23 April and ‘Ek Mulakat Zaruri Hai Sanam’.
The World Book and
Copyright Day (also The brothers and their father Saeed Sabri
known as performed qawwali at several events held in
‘International Day of Indian and abroad.
the Book’ and ‘World
Book Day’), is an
annual event organized on April 23 by 13. Padma awardee winning Indian Islamic
the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to Scholar Maulana Wahiduddin passes away
promote reading, publishing, and copyright. Noted Indian Islamic
scholar, spiritual leader
April 23 is chosen because it marks the birth and author Maulana
and death of several prominent authors. For Wahiduddin Khan has
instance, William Shakespeare, Miguel de passed away due
Cervantes, and Josep Pla died on April 23 to Covid-19
and Manuel Mejia Vallejo and Maurice complications.
Druon were born on April 23.
He has written over 200 books on several
As a part of the Day, UNESCO selects the aspects of Islam and is best known for having
World Book Capital every year for a one-year written a commentary on the Quran and its
period, effective 23 April each year. The World translation in English, Hindi and Urdu.
Book Capital for 2021 is Tbilisi, Georgia.
 Director-General of UNESCO: Audrey He was the recipient of several notable honours
Azoulay. like Padma Vibhushan (2021), Padma
 UNESCO formation: 4 November 1946. Bhushan (2000) and the Rajiv Gandhi
 UNESCO Headquarters: Paris, France. National Sadbhavna Award (2009).

11. UN English Language Day & UN Spanish

Language Day 24th APRIL 2021
1. RBI allows commercial
The UN English banks to pay up to 50%
Language Day and UN
Spanish Language of pre-Covid dividends

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 APRIL 2021

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
allowed commercial banks to pay dividends approved the appointment of former Economic
on equity shares for FY21, from the profits for Affairs Secretary, Atanu Chakraborty, as the
the fiscal ended March 31, 2021, subject to part-time chairman and additional independent
certain conditions and limits. director of the private sector lender HDFC
Bank. He retired as Secretary of the
The new notification of RBI allows commercial Department of Economic Affairs in April 2020.
banks to pay dividends not more than 50 per
cent of the amount determined as per Prior to that, he served as Secretary of the
the dividend payout ratio prescribed. This Department of Investment and Public Asset
means that banks may pay dividends up to Management (DIPAM).
50% of what they paid before the Covid
scenario. Chakraborty, a 1985 batch IAS officer of
Gujarat cadre, has been appointed for a period
of three years with effect from May 5, 2021 or
2. Ind-Ra Projects India’s GDP Growth Rate the date of his taking charge, whichever is later.
 Headquarters of HDFC Bank: Mumbai,
at 10.1% in FY22 Maharashtra.
India Ratings and  MD and CEO of HDFC Bank: Sashidhar
Research (Ind- Jagdishan(Succeeds Aditya Puri).
Ra) has revised  The tagline of HDFC Bank: We
downwards the GDP understand your world.
growth forecast of India in FY22 (2021-22)
to 10.1 per cent.
5. Rumana Sinha Sehgal won the Nelson
Earlier Ind-Ra estimated this at 10.4 per
cent. The downward revision is due to the Mandela World Humanitarian Award 2021
second wave of COVID-19 infections and the Rumana Sinha
slower pace of vaccination. Sehgal, Software
engineer turned
For FY21 (2020-21), the economy is estimated entrepreneur from
to have contracted by 7.6 per cent. Ind-Ra is a Hyderabad, Andhra
wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fitch Group. Pradesh, won the Nelson
Mandela World
Humanitarian Award
3. SBI Research Projects India’s GDP 2021 by the Diplomatic
Mission Global Peace.
Growth Rate at 10.4% for FY22
The State Bank of She was virtually awarded for her contribution
India (SBI) to the field of developing innovative and
Research has revised functional green products by recycling varied
India’s GDP growth rate materials and non-biodegradable materials.
for FY22 (2021-22)
to 10.4%. Nationwide Award -under 50- Business Leader
2021 of Social entrepreneurship.
Earlier it estimated this at 11%. The downward
projection has been taken in view of the International Influencer of the year 2021’ at
increasing COVID-19 related curbs across the Influencer Summit in January 2021.
states.
ReXKarmaveer Chakra (silver) and Global
Fellowship award 2019 for her work in the zone
4. RBI approves Atanu of women and child empowerment. She was
crowned as the ‘Mrs Universe Successful
Chakraborty as HDFC 2018’.
Bank’s part-time
chairman ]6. World Veterinary Day 2021: 24 April

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 APRIL 2021

The World Veterinary Day is observed on India celebrates the first National Panchayati
the Fourth Saturday Raj Day or the National Local Government Day
of April every year. In on April 2010.
2021, the day falls
on April 24, 2021. The 24th April 1993 marks a defining moment in
theme of the 2021 the history of decentralization of power to the
World Veterinary Day grassroots, with the institutionalization of
is ‘Veterinarian Panchayati Raj, through the Constitution (73rd
response to the COVID-19 crisis.’ Amendment) Act, 1992 which came into force
with effect from that day.
The day was created by the World Veterinary
Association (WVA) in 2000 to celebrate the Ministry of Panchayati Raj commemorates the
contributions of veterinarians to the health of 24th April of every year as the National
animals and society. Panchayati Raj Day(NPRD), as the 73rd
Constitutional Amendment came into force on
this date. Rajasthan was the first state that
7. International Day of Multilateralism and carried the Panchayati Raj System in
1959 during the times of late Prime Minister
Diplomacy for Peace Jawarharlal Nehru.
The International Day
of Multilateralism
and Diplomacy for 9. World Day for Laboratory Animals: 24
Peace observed
globally on 24 April. April
The World Day For
‘International Day of Multilateralism and Animals In Laboratories
Diplomacy for Peace’ was first observed by the (WDAIL); also known
United Nations (UN) on April 24, 2019. as World Lab Animal
Day or World Day for
The day aims to spread knowledge about the Laboratory Animals, is observed every year
advantages of multilateralism and diplomacy for on 24 April. The day was instituted in 1979 by
peace, including through educational and public the National Anti-Vivisection Society
awareness-raising activities. (NAVS), as an “international day of
commemoration” for animals in laboratories.
The Assembly proclaimed the day while
considering that preserving the values of WDAIL aims to end the suffering of animals in
multilateralism and international cooperation is laboratories around the world and promote their
fundamental to promote and support the three replacement with advanced scientific non-
pillars of the UN – Peace and Security, animal techniques. Apart from this, the “World
Development and Human Rights. Week for Animals In Laboratories” (Lab Animal
Week) is celebrated from April 20 to 26.
The Day is a reaffirmation of the UN Charter
and its principles of resolving disputes among
countries through peaceful means. 10. Music Composer Shravan Rathod of
“Nadeem-Shravan” Fame Passes Away
8. National Panchayati Raj Day: 24 April Veteran music
Nation composer Shravan
celebrates National Rathod of Nadeem-
Panchayati Raj Day Shravan fame has
on 24 April every passed away due to
year. The Ministry of coronavirus
Panchayati Raj complications. The
organizes the iconic composer duo Nadeem-Shravan
National Panchayati (Nadeem Saifi and Shravan Rathod), were
Raj day or the National Local Self Government among the most sought-after composers of the
Day. 90s. Together they composed some of the
iconic hits for movies such as Aashiqui (1990),

SANKAR APRIL 2021 61

 APRIL 2021

Saajan (1991), Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke

(1993), Pardes (1997) and Raja Hindustani 1. PM Modi Launches Extension of
(1996), among others. ‘SVAMITVA scheme’ Across India
Prime Minister
The Nadeem-Shravan duo parted ways in the Shri Narendra
2000s, however, they again reunited to Modi launched the
compose for David Dhawan-directed Do Knot distribution of e-
Disturb in 2009. property cards under
the SVAMITVA
scheme on National
11. Veteran Gujarati and Hindi Film Actor Panchayati Raj Day on April 24, 2021, through
video conferencing. SVAMITVA stands
Amit Mistry Passes Away for Survey of Villages and Mapping with
Popular Gujarati and Hindi Improvised Technology in Village Areas.
film actor Amit Mistry, who
was last seen in the The launch marked the rollout of the
Amazon Prime Video implementation of the SVAMITVA scheme
series “Bandish
across the entire country. About 4.09 lakh
Bandits”, has passed
property owners were given their e-property
away. The actor was a cards during the event, in more than 5
prominent face in the thousand villages.
Gujarati theatre circuit.

He was also known for his memorable

performances in Bollywood films like Kya 2. Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana
Kehna, Ek Chalis Ki Last Local, 99, Shor In The takes oath as 48th CJI
City, Yamla Pagla Deewana and A Gentleman Justice Nuthalapati
as well as TV-like Tenali Rama, Ssshhh…Koi Venkata Ramana was
Hai, Maddam Sir and Shubh Mangal Savadhan, sworn in as the 48th
besides OTT shows. Chief Justice of India
(CJI) on April 24, 2021.
Justice Ramana was
12. Aakash Ranison launches his E-Book administered the oath of
office by President Ram Nath Kovind at a
“Climate Change Explained – For One And brief ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
All”
The climate activist- He succeeds Justice Sharad Arvind
author, Aakash Bobde who demitted office on April 23, 2021.
Ranison has come out Justice Ramana will serve as the Chief Justice
with a new e-book till 26 August 2022.
titled “Climate Change
Explained – for one and
3. 19th India-Franch Naval Exercise
all”, on the occasion of
Earth Day. “VARUNA” begins

Through the e-book, the author explains the The 19th edition of
impact of climate change and aims to motivate the Indian and
readers to reduce its outcome with the help of French Navy
simple sustainable solutions. bilateral
exercise ‘VARUNA-2021’ conducted in
The book is a mix of facts, data, and the Arabian Sea from 25 to 27 April 2021.
information about climate change, having topics
like “Greenhouse effect, global warming, During the three day exercise, the units of both
Carbon footprint” and their effects on earth in the navies will undertake high tempo-naval
the near future. operations at sea, which will include advanced
air defence and anti-submarine exercises,
25th & 26th APRIL 2021 intense fixed and rotary wing flying operations,

SANKAR APRIL 2021 62

 APRIL 2021

tactical manoeuvres, surface and anti-air 5 lakhs from the DICGC subject to the
weapon firings, underway replenishment and provisions of the DICGC Act, 1961.
other maritime security operations.

The Indian Navy will participate with its guided- 6. National Panchayat Awards 2021
missile stealth destroyer INS Kolkata, guided-
missile frigates INS Tarkash and INS The National Panchayat
Talwar, Fleet Support Ship INS Deepak, with Awards 2021 was
Seaking 42B and Chetak integral helicopters, a conferred by PM Modi.
Kalvari class submarine and P8I Long Range Prime Minister will
Maritime Patrol Aircraft. transfer the award money
(as Grants-in-Aid)
The French Navy will be represented by through the click of a
the Aircraft Carrier Charles-de-Gaulle with button, ranging from Rs.5
Rafale-M fighter, E2C Hawkeye aircraft and lakh to Rs.50 lakh.
helicopters Caïman M and Dauphin embarked,
Horizon-class Air defence destroyer Chevalier The amount will be directly transferred to the
Paul, Aquitaine-class multi-mission frigate FNS bank account of the Panchayats concerned in
Provence with a Caïman M helicopter real-time. This is being done for the first time.
embarked and Command and supply ship war.
The National Panchayat Awards 2021 are
4. Government Extends ‘Vivad se Vishwas’ being conferred under the following
scheme Deadline till 30 June 2021 categories:
The government has  Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat
once again extended Sashaktikaran Puraskar to 224
the deadline for making panchayats,
payment under the
 Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav
direct tax dispute
Gram Sabha Puraskar to 30-gram
settlement
panchayats, Gram
scheme ‘Vivad Se Vishwas’ by two months till
 Panchayat Development Plan Award to
June 30, 2021 to provide relief to the taxpayers
29-gram panchayats, Child-friendly
facing hardships amid the pandemic.
Gram
 Panchayat Award to 30 Gram
This is the fourth time that the deadline is being
Panchayats and e-Panchayat Puraskar
extended by the Ministry of Finance, since the
to 12 states.
launch of the scheme. The deadline was
extended for the first time from March 31, 2020,
to June 30, 2020, followed by December 31, 7. World Malaria Day: 25 April
2020, and then again till March 31, 2021.
The World Malaria
5. RBI cancels licence of Bhagyodaya Day (WMD) is
observed globally
Friends Urban Co-operative Bank on 25 April each year
to recognize the
The Reserve Bank of India efforts of the people
(RBI) has cancelled the worldwide to control malaria. The Day was
licence of Maharashtra- established in May 2007 at the 60th session of
based Bhagyodaya the World Health Assembly, WHO’s the
Friends Urban Co- decision-making body. The theme of World
operative Bank Malaria Day 2021 is ‘Reaching the zero
Limited due to inadequate capital. malaria target’.

On liquidation, every depositor is entitled to World Malaria Day was developed from Africa
receive deposit insurance claim amount of Malaria Day which was first held in 2008. It is
his/her deposits up to a monetary ceiling of Rs basically an occasion that had been observed

SANKAR APRIL 2021 63

 APRIL 2021

since 2001 by African governments. They Property Organization entered into force
worked towards the progress goal which aimed in 1970.
toward controlling malaria and reduces its
mortality in African countries.  Headquarters of the World Intellectual
Property Organization: Geneva,
Switzerland.
8. International Delegate’s Day: 25 April
 CEO of World Intellectual Property
Organization: Daren Tang.
International
Delegate’s
Day observed 10. International Chernobyl Disaster
globally on 25
April every year. Remembrance Day
This day is observed
to raise awareness of the role of the The International
representatives and delegates of the Chernobyl Disaster
Member States to the United Nations. Remembrance Day is
observed every year
International Delegate’s Day marks the on April 26 to raise awareness of the
anniversary of the first day of the San Francisco consequences of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster
Conference which is also known as the United and the risks of nuclear energy in general.
Nations Conference on International
Organization. On 25 April 1945, delegates The United Nations (UN) proclaimed the day on
from 50 countries came together for the first April 26, 2016, that marked the 30th
time in San Francisco. anniversary of the 1986 nuclear disaster. On
this day in 1986, a reactor exploded at
The conference happened after the devastation the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in
of the second world war. The delegates aimed Ukraine with devastating consequences.
to set up an organization that would restore
world peace and imposes rules on the post-war
11. Supreme Court judge MM
world order. On 2 April 2019, the United
Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Shantanagoudar passes away
proclaimed 25 April as International
Delegate’s Day. Supreme Court judge Justice Mohan M
Shantanagoudar passed away.
9. World Intellectual Property Day: 26 April
Justice Shantanagoudar
was elevated as a judge of
World Intellectual
the Supreme Court on
Property Day is
February 17, 2017. He
observed globally
would have remained in
on April 26 every year. It
office till May 5, 2023.
was established by
the World Intellectual
27th APRIL 2021
Property Organization (WIPO) in 2000 to
“raise awareness of how patents, copyright, 1. China names its first-ever Mars rover
trademarks and designs impact on daily life”
and “to celebrate creativity and the contribution “Zhurong”
made by creators and innovators to the China has named its
development of societies across the world”. first-ever Mars
rover “Zhurong” after an
Theme 2021: ‘Intellectual property and small ancient fire god ahead of
businesses: Taking big ideas to market’. a landing attempt on the Red Planet in May.

WIPO proclaimed, 26 April was chosen as the The China National Space Administration
date for World Intellectual Property Day (CNSA) revealed the name at the sixth China
because it coincides with the date on which the Space Day held in Nanjing. The Chinese name
Convention Establishing the World Intellectual

SANKAR APRIL 2021 64

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for Mars, “Huoxing,” literally means “fire
star.”
 China Capital: Beijing.
 China Currency: Renminbi.
 China President: Xi Jinping.
submarine, KRI Nanggala-402, went missing
while conducting a torpedo drill north of the
island of Bali.
The Navy’s Deep-Submergence Rescue Vessel
(DSVR) left from Visakhapatnam.

2. Goldman Sachs Downgrade India’s GDP  Indonesia President: Joko Widodo;

Growth Forecast to 10.5% for FY22  Indonesia Capital: Jakarta;
Wall Street  Indonesia Currency: Indonesian rupiah.
brokerage, Goldman
Sachs revised
5. 93rd Academy Awards (Oscars Awards
downward the GDP
growth forecast of 2021) announced
India for the fiscal year
2021-22 (FY22) to 10.5 per cent from the The 93rd Academy
earlier estimate of 10.9 per cent. Awards
ceremony, also
The downward revision is due to the increasing known as the Oscars
number of pandemic cases and a host of key Award, took place in Los Angeles on April 25,
states announcing stricter lockdowns, thus 2021.
affecting economic activities.
The award is presented annually by
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
3. RBI Caps Tenure of Private Banks MD &
Sciences (AMPAS). 2021 Oscars honoured
CEO at 15 Years the best films of 2020 and early 2021.

The Reserve Bank of American drama ‘Nomadland’ won most

India (RBI) has capped honours with three awards. Chloe Zhao, who
the tenure of Managing directed “Nomadland”, was crowned best
Director and Chief director, and with this, she became the only
Executive of commercial banks to 15 second woman to claim the title and the first
years. The same limit will also be applicable to woman of colour to win that award.
whole-time directors (WTD). This means that
the same incumbent cannot hold the post for Indian film personalities Irrfan Khan and
more than 15 years. Bhanu Athaiya were honoured in the “In
Memoriam” montage showcased at the event.
The revised instructions will be applicable to all
the Private Sector Banks including Small
Complete List of Winners:
Finance Banks (SFBs) and wholly owned
1. Best Picture: Nomadland
subsidiaries of Foreign Banks. However, it will
not be applicable to foreign banks operating as
2. Best Director: Chloe Zhao, Nomadland
branches in India. 3. Best Actress: Frances
McDormand, Nomadland
4. Best Actor: Anthony Hopkins, The
4. India Joins Rescue Ops For Missing Father
5. Best Supporting Actress: Youn Yuh-
Indonesian Submarine “KRI Nanggala-402”
jung, Minari
6. Best Supporting Actor: Daniel
The Indian Navy has
Kaluuya, Judas And The Black Messiah
joined the rescue
operation for an 7. Best Original Screenplay: Promising
Indonesian submarine Young Woman
and its 53-person crew 8. Best Adapted Screenplay: The Father
that went missing more 9. Best Animated Feature Film: Soul
than 4 days ago. Indonesia had sought 10. Best International Feature Film: Another
assistance from India after its 44-year-old Round

SANKAR APRIL 2021 65

 APRIL 2021

11. Best Original Score: Soul

12. Best Original Song: Fight For You, Judas 8. A new book title “Living Mountain” by
And The Black Messiah Amitav Ghosh
13. Best Documentary Feature: My Octopus
Teacher “The Living
14. Best Documentary Short: Colette Mountain” is a new
15. Best Live Action Short: Two Distant story by Jnanpith
Strangers winner and
16. Best Animated Short: If Anything Happens internationally
I Love You renowned author Amitav Ghosh, written during
17. Best Sound: Sound Of Metal the course of the pandemic. It is a fable for the
18. Best Production Design: Mank current times: a cautionary tale of how humans
19. Best Cinematography: Mank have systematically exploited nature, leading to
20. Best Makeup And Hair: Ma Rainey’s Black an environmental collapse.
Bottom
21. Best Costume Design: Ma Rainey’s Black HarperCollins Publishers India will publish The
Bottom Living Mountain as a special standalone edition
22. Best Film Editing: Sound Of Metal in January 2022 under its prestigious Fourth
23. Best Visual Effects: Tenet Estate imprint. The book will also be published
24. Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Tyler simultaneously in Hindi, and as an ebook and
an audiobook.
Perry

9. Veteran Indian Nuclear Scientist

6. Rafael Nadal clinches 12th Barcelona
Krishnamurthy Santhanam Passes away
Open title
Indian nuclear
Rafael
scientist Krishnamurthy
Nadal beat Stefanos
Santhanam, who played
Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 to
a noteworthy role in the
win his 12th Barcelona
1998 nuclear tests
Open title. It was
at Pokhran, has passed
Nadal’s 87th career title, and his 61st title on
away.
clay.
He was deeply associated with Defence
This is the second tournament where Nadal has
Research and Development
captured 12 or more titles. The 13-time Roland
Organization(DRDO), Department of Atomic
Garros champion will return to No. 2 in the
Energy (DAE) and Institute for Defence
FedEx ATP Rankings.
Studies and Analyses (IDSA).

7. Manchester City won League Cup football

10. Doyen of Indian Classical Music Pandit
tournament
Rajan Mishra Passes Away
Manchester
Renowned Hindustani
City won
classical singer, from
the League
‘Banaras Gharana’ of
Cup for a record-
India, Pandit Rajan
equalling fourth time in succession with a
Mishra, has passed away.
deserved victory over a
He was a vocalist in
disappointing Tottenham Hotspur side at
the khyal style of Indian
Wembley.
classical singing. Mishra was
awarded Padma Bhushan in the field of art
City’s victory equalled Liverpool’s achievement in 2007. Pandit Rajan Mishra was also a
in the early 1980s of winning the competition
recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi
four years in a row.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 66

 APRIL 2021

Award, the Gandharwa National Award and

the National Tansen Samman. 1. Shivalik Small Finance Bank Limited
Begins Operations
11. Former Maruti Suzuki MD Jagdish The UP-based Shivalik
Small Finance Bank
Khattar Passes Away Limited commenced
operations as a Small
Jagdish Khattar, the Finance Bank (SFB) with
former Managing effect from April 26, 2021.
Director of Maruti
Suzuki, has passed It must be remembered that the Shivalik
away. He had served at Mercantile Co-operative Bank (SMCB) is the
Maruti Suzuki India first urban co-operative bank (UCB) in India to
Limited from 1993 to 2007. He is credited for receive licence from RBI to operate as a Small
establishing Maruti as India’s largest car Finance Bank (SFB).
company.
The bank has received the licence from RBI
Khattar joined Maruti in July 1993 as Director, under Section 22 (1) of the Banking
and was eventually elevated as Managing Regulation Act, 1949 to carry on the business
Director in 1999, first as government nominee, of small finance bank in India.
and then in May 2002, as Suzuki Motor
Corporation nominee. Shivalik SFB area of operation is Uttar
Pradesh, Delhi, and parts of Madhya
After his retirement from Maruti in October Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
2007, Khattar launched an entrepreneurial  Shivalik Small Finance Bank Limited MD
venture named Carnation Auto. and CEO: Suveer Kumar Gupta.

12. UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David

2. Oxford Economics Projects India’s FY22
Beckham leads global vaccination drive
GDP Growth Forecast to 10.2%
The Global forecasting
UNICEF Goodwill
firm Oxford
Ambassador, David
Economics has revised
Beckham, is fronting a
downwards the GDP
global initiative to inspire
growth forecast for India
confidence in vaccines
to 10.2 per
and encourage parents
cent for fiscal 2021-22.
around the world to
vaccinate their children
Earlier it predicted this at 11.8 per cent. The
against deadly diseases.
downward revision is based on the country’s
serious health burden, weak vaccination rate
In a powerful video released ahead of World
and lack of a convincing government strategy to
Immunization Week, Beckham talks about the
contain the pandemic.
loss of everyday activities due to COVID-19,
such as hugs with family, spending time with
friends, and being with the people we love, and 3. PESB selects Amit Banerjee as CMD of
encourages parents to vaccinate themselves so
that they can be safe. BEML

 UNICEF Headquarters: New York, Public Enterprise

United States of America. Selection
 UNICEF Executive Director: Henrietta H. Board selected Amit
Fore. Banerjee as Chairman
and Managing Director
(CMD) of Bharat Earth Movers Limited,
28th APRIL 2021] (BEML) an Indian Public Sector Undertaking.

SANKAR APRIL 2021 67


The PESB announced on meeting held on April
26, 2021. Currently, he is serving as Director
(Rail & Metro), BEML Limited.
In his professional career spanning over three
decades in BEML, Shri Banerjee has worked in
R&D and manufacturing functions. His
experience involves the design & development
of various products like SSEMU, Metro cars,
Catenary Maintenance Vehicle, etc.
 Bharat Earth Movers Limited
Headquarters: Bengaluru;
 Bharat Earth Movers Limited
Founded: May 1964.
4. Arun Raste named new MD & CEO of
NCDEX
Market
regulator Securities and
Exchange Board of
India (SEBI) has given
approval to the
appointment of Arun Raste as MD and CEO
of National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange
Limited (NCDEX) for a period of 5 years.
Raste is currently associated with the National
Dairy Development Board (NDDB) as an
Executive Director and prior to NDDB, he has
worked with organisations like IDFC First
Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NABARD, ACC
Cement, and a non-profit NGO IRFT.
 NCDEX Founded: 15 December 2003.
 NCDEX Headquarters: Mumbai.
 NCDEX Owner: Government of India
(100%).
5. DRDO develops single crystal blades for
helicopter engines
The Defence
Research and
Development
Organisation
(DRDO) has developed single-crystal blades
technology for helicopters and has supplied 60
of these blades to Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited (HAL) as part of their indigenous
helicopter development programme for engine
application. The DRDO will develop a total
SANKAR APRIL 2021
APRIL 2021
of five sets (300 blades) of single-crystal
blades.
This is part of a programme taken up by
the Defence Metallurgical Research
Laboratory (DMRL) to develop five sets of
single-crystal high-pressure turbine (HPT)
blades using a nickel-based superalloy.
 Chairman DRDO: Dr G Satheesh
Reddy.
 DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi.
 DRDO Established: 1958.
6. India third highest military spender in
2020
India has retained its
position as the third
biggest military
spender in the world in
2020, according to new data titled ‘SIPRI
Military Expenditure Database’ published by
the Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute (SIPRI) on April 26, 2021.
As per the new report, the top five biggest
spenders in 2020 were the United States
($778 billion), China ($252 billion), India
($72.9 billion), Russia ($61.7 billion) and the
United Kingdom ($59.2 billion) respectively.
These five nations together accounted for 62
per cent of global military expenditure.
Globally, the military spending in 2020 rose
to $1981 billion. This value is an increase of
2.6 per cent in real terms as compared to 2019.
7. Uttar Pradesh won e-panchayat award
The Uttar Pradesh
government won
the “E-Panchayat
Puraskar 2021”, ranking
first in Category I. It was
followed by Assam and Chhattisgarh at the
second position, while Odisha and Tamil Nadu
stood third.
Every year, the Union Ministry of Panchayati
Raj awards those states, which ensure
maximum use of information technology to
keep a tab on the work done by gram
panchayats.
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 APRIL 2021

 UP Capital: Lucknow;  International Labour Organization

 UP Governor: Anandiben Patel; Founded: 1919.
 UP Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath.
10. Workers’ Memorial Day: 28 April
8. Jhumpa Lahiri Comes Out With New
The Workers’
Novel ‘Whereabouts’ Memorial Day, also
known as
Renowned American International
author Jhumpa Commemoration Day
Lahiri has launched for Dead and Injured Workers occurs every
her new novel year on 28 April. The day has been organized
titled “Whereabouts”. The book is an English worldwide by the International Trade Union
translation of the Italian novel ‘Ias Dove Mi Confederation since 1996.
Trovo’ which was written by the author Jhumpa
Lahiri itself and published in 2018. Theme 2021: ‘Health and Safety is a
fundamental workers‘ right.’
The novel has been translated into English by
the author herself. The book is about an Its purpose is to remember workers killed in
unnamed female protagonist over 45 years as incidents at work or by diseases caused by
she looks at her life, glancing, sideways, back work and honour the victims of occupational
and forth, chronicling life, relationships and accidents and diseases by organizing
burden of relationships, in short, succinct worldwide mobilizations and awareness
chapters. campaigns on this date.

9. World Day for Safety and Health at Work: 11. Renowned Gujarati poet and folk singer
28 April Dadudan Gadhvi Passes Away

World Day for Veteran Gujarati poet and

Safety and Health folk singer Dadudan
at Work is observed Pratapdan Gadhvi has
globally on 28 passed away. He was 80
April every year. This day is observed to years old. He was also
promote the prevention of occupational known as Kavi Dad.
accidents and diseases globally and raise
awareness to ensure health and safety at the He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2021 for his
workplace. contribution in literature and education.
Besides, he had written songs for 15 Gujarati
The theme for 2021 is “Anticipate, prepare films.
and respond to crises – Invest Now in
Resilient Occupational Safety and Health 29th APRIL 2021
Systems”.
1. China Launches Robot Prototype ‘NEO-
The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is
01’ Clear Space Debris
an annual international campaign to promote
The Chinese
safe, healthy and decent work. It is persisted 28
government has
April and has been observed by
launched a robot
the International Labour Organization (ILO)
prototype named
since 2003.
as ‘NEO-01’, in the Earth’s low orbit, on
its Long March 6 rocket.
 Headquarters of International Labour
Organization: Geneva, Switzerland.
The 30kg robot prototype has been
 President of International Labour developed by Shenzhen-based space mining
Organization: Guy Ryder. start-up ‘Origin Space’.

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To observe small celestial bodies in deep Japanese Sportswear brand ASICS announced
space and to experiment with space debris that it has
removal techniques. appointed Ravindra
Jadeja, the all-rounder of
NEO-01 will use a large net to capture debris the Indian cricket team and
left behind by other spacecraft and then burn it Chennai Super Kings as its
using its electric propulsion system. brand ambassador. The
company, which focuses on
sporting gear for the running category.
2. ADB Projects India’s GDP to grow 11% in
ASICS has been working with young and fresh
FY22 athletic talent across various genres of sports.
The Manila- In India, ASICS is promoted by actor Tiger
based Asian Shroff. In Asia, ASICS currently has over 55
Development Bank stores across India, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
(ADB) has projected the
growth rate of India’s economy, in its latest
flagship Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 5. Indian Army signs MoU with HPCL &
2021, as follows: NIEDO for Ladakh Ignited Minds project
 FY22 (2021-22): 11% Ladakhi youth
 FY23 (2022-23): 7% Army under the aegis
of Fire and Fury
Corps signed MoU
ADB has based the rate on the “strong” vaccine for Ladakh Ignited
Minds project with
drive being undertaken across the country, corporate partner Hindustan Petroleum
however, it has also cautioned that the recent Corporation Limited (HPCL) and executing
agency National Integrity and Educational
surge in COVID cases may put the country’s Development Organisation (NIEDO) HQ 14
Corps Leh.
economic recovery at “risk”.
The project Ladakh Ignited Minds: A Centre of
 President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa; Excellence and Wellness has been
Headquarters: Manila, Philippines. conceptualized to secure a better future for the
 ADB Established: 9 December 1966. youth of UT of Ladakh.

The programme under the aegis of Fire and

3. IHS Markit Estimates GDP Growth Rate of Fury Corps of the Indian Army would be
executed by National Integrity & Educational
India at 9.6% for FY22 Development Organisation (NIEDO) a Kanpur-
London-based financial based NGO.
services company IHS
Markit has projected  Governors & Administrators of Ladakh:
the GDP growth rate of Radha Krishna Mathur.
the Indian economy to
grow at 9.6 per cent in FY22 (2021-22).
6. DRDO Conducts Maiden Trial of Python-5
The revision is based on factors like ongoing
lockdown and mobility curbs coupled with fears Air to Air Missile Using LCA Tejas
of an extension, time-wise and across more
Indian cities. The Defence
Research and
Development
4. Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja becomes Organisation
(DRDO), successfully
ASICS brand ambassador test-fired the 5th
generation Python-5 Air-to-Air Missile

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(AAM) from Tejas aircraft, at Goa. This adds The Foundation’s distinctive approach to
the Python-5 Air-to-Air Missile (AAM) in the air- addressing climate change is the “Power of
to-air weapons package of India’s indigenously Three,” recognising the interconnectedness
developed Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas. of animal-kind, humankind, and plantkind for
the future planetary wellness of our shared
The trials also aimed to validate the enhanced home.
capability of the already integrated
Derby Beyond Visual Range (BVR) AAM on
Tejas. Python-5 air-to-air missile (AAM) has 9. International Dance Day observed
been manufactured by Rafael Advanced globally on 29 April
Defense Systems of Israel and is one of the
most sophisticated guided missiles in the world. The International
Dance Day is
7. India Ranks 49th in Chandler Good observed globally
on 29 April every
Government Index 2021 year. The day
celebrates the value and importance of the
India has been placed dance and encourages participation and
at 49th position among education in this art form through events and
104 nations in the festivals.
Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI)
2021. The day 29 April has been chosen as it marks
the birth anniversary of Jean-Georges Noverre
Finland has topped the CGGI Index 2021 (1727–1810), who is known as the creator of
and Venezuela is the last ranked country at modern ballet.
104.
The theme of International Dance Day
The Chandler Good Governance Index is 2021: ‘Purpose of dance’.
released by the Chandler Institute of
Governance headquartered in Singapore. The day was created in 1982, by the Dance
Committee of the International Theatre Institute
The index is prepared based on seven (ITI), the main partner for the performing arts of
pillars namely leadership and foresight, strong UNESCO.
institutions, robust laws and policies, attractive
market place, financial stewardship, helping  International Theatre Institute
people rise, global influence and reputation. Founded: 1948.
 Headquarters of International Theatre
Institute: Paris, France.
8. Krithi Karanth becomes 1st Indian woman
to get ‘Wild Innovator 10. Noted Odia and English Author Manoj
Award’ Das Passes Away
Dr. Krithi K Karanth, Chief Eminent Indian
Conservation Scientist at educationist, popular
Bengaluru-based Centre for columnist and prolific
Wildlife Studies (CWS), has author, who wrote in
been chosen as the first Odia and
Indian and Asian woman for the 2021 ‘WILD English, Manoj Das has passed away. The first
Innovator Award’. book of Das was of poetry called ‘Satavdira
Artanada’, in Odia, which was published when
This award given by the ‘‘WILD ELEMENTS he was in high school.
Foundation” brings together a coalition of
innovators, advocates and partners to “disrupt He was honoured with Padma Shri in 2001 and
the status quo and identify solutions to global Padma Bhushan in 2020 for his contributions in
sustainability and conservation,”. the field of literature and education.

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30th APRIL 2021 The banking services under Merchant Stack will
include zero-balance current account,
1. RBI joins network for greening financial instant credit facilities, ‘digital store
system management’ facility, loyalty
The Reserve Bank of programme, and value-added services like
India (RBI) has joined alliances with e-commerce and digital
the Central Banks and marketing platforms.
Supervisors Network
for Greening the
Financial System (NGFS) as a member. 3. HDFC Bank top arranger of corporate

The central bank joined the NGFS on April 23, bond deals in FY21
2021. Green finance assumed significance in HDFC Bank has
the context of climate change. emerged as the top
arranger of corporate
bond deals in 2020-21 (FY21). Axis
The RBI expects to benefit from the
Bank came in second, while ICICI Bank
membership of NGFS by learning from and
third. However, for the last quarter of FY21, i.e
contributing to global efforts on green finance,
January- March 2021, Axis Bank was the top
which has assumed significance in the context
arranger of corporate bond deals while HDFC
of climate change.
was second in the last quarter.
Launched at the Paris One Planet Summit on
Axis Bank managed 16 deals worth Rs. 106.6
December 12, 2017, the NGFS is a group of
billion while HDFC Bank had 19 deals worth
central banks and supervisors willing to share
around Rs 70.4 billion.
best practices and contribute to the
development of environment and climate risk  Headquarters of HDFC Bank: Mumbai,
management in the financial sector, while Maharashtra.
mobilising mainstream finance to support the  MD and CEO of HDFC Bank: Sashidhar
transition towards a sustainable economy. Jagdishan(Succeeds Aditya Puri).
 The tagline of HDFC Bank: We understand
your world.

4. TV Somanathan named finance secretary

2. ICICI Bank launches Digital banking
by ACC
Platform ‘Merchant Stack’
The Appointments
The ICICI Bank has
Committee of the
announced the launch of a
Cabinet (ACC) has
digital and contactless
approved the
banking platform, especially
appointment of T V
for retail merchants.
Somanathan as the
new Finance Secretary. He will replace Ajay
The service, called ‘Merchant Stack’, is Bhushan Pandey who superannuated in
targeted at the over 2 crore retail merchants in February 2021.
the country, covering grocers, supermarkets,
large retail store chains, online businesses and
Somanathan, a 1987 batch IAS officer of Tamil
large e-commerce firms.
Nadu cadre, was currently serving as the
Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry
Retail merchants can avail the ‘Merchant Stack’ of Finance. Earlier, he has served as a joint
services on InstaBIZ, the mobile banking secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office.
application of ICICI Bank for businesses.
Somanathan was awarded the Gold Medal for
The wide range of banking, as well as value- the Best IAS trainee of his cohort. He holds a
added services, will enable merchants to meet PhD in Economics from Calcutta University and
their banking requirements seamlessly so that is a chartered accountant, chartered
they can continue to serve their customers in management accountant and chartered
the challenging times during the pandemic. secretary.

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from the Baltics and Africa to the critical Black

5. Niraj Bajaj named Bajaj Auto Chairman Sea and Balkan regions.
Bajaj Auto has
announced the
appointment of Neeraj 7. Ayushman Bharat Diwas: April 30
Bajaj as its
new Chairman of the Every year,
Board with effect from the Ayushman
May 1, 2021. The Bharat Diwas is
automaker has also celebrated on April
announced Rahul Bajaj as its Chairman 30 in India. The
Emeritus. This will be taken up at the ensuing Ayushman Bharat
annual general meeting for the approval of the Diwas is celebrated to achieve twin missions.
shareholders.
They are to promote health and wellness to the
Rahul Bajaj, Non-executive Chairman of the poor and also to provide insurance benefits to
Company, having been at the helm of the them.
Company since 1972 and the Group for five
decades, considering his age, has tendered his The day aims to promote affordable medical
resignation as a non-executive director and facilities in remote areas of the country based
Chairman of the Company with effect from on the Socio-Economic Caste Census
close of business hours on 30 April 2021. database. It will also promote health and
wellness and provide insurance benefits to the
poor.
6. NATO military exercises launched in
Albania
8. International Jazz Day: 30 April
North Atlantic Treaty
The International
Organization
Jazz Day is celebrated
(NATO) has launched
on 30 April every year
joint military
to highlight the
importance of jazz and
exercises “DEFENDER-Europe
21” in Albania with thousands of military forces its diplomatic role in
uniting people in all corners of the globe. The
from the United States and other countries in
2021 celebration marks the 10th Anniversary
the first such large-scale drills since World War
of International Jazz Day.
II in the Western Balkans.
The day was created on the idea of jazz pianist
Albania is playing a critical part in the
and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie
DEFENDER-Europe 21 exercise with Joint
Hancock.
Logistics Over-the-Shore operations taking
place.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed 30
DEFENDER-Europe is an annual large-scale
April as International Jazz Day in November
U.S. Army-led, multinational exercise,
2011. The day was designated to bring together
defensive in nature and focused on deterring
communities, schools, artists, historians,
aggression, which this year focuses on building
academics, and jazz enthusiasts from across
operational readiness and interoperability with
the world to celebrate and learn about the art of
NATO and a greater number of allies and
jazz and its impact.
partners over a wider area of operations than
ever before.
 Director-General of UNESCO: Audrey
Around 28,000 U.S., allied and partner forces Azoulay.
from 26 nations will conduct nearly  UNESCO formation: 4 November 1946.
simultaneous operations across more than 30  UNESCO Headquarters: Paris, France.
training areas in more than a dozen nations

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9. Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurates India’s 10. American Astronaut-Pilot Michael

first 3D printed house at IIT-M Collins Passes Away

The Union Finance The American

Minister, Nirmala astronaut, Michael
Sitharaman virtually Collins, who was the
inaugurated the command module
first 3D printed pilot for the Apollo 11
house in India at mission to the moon, has passed away, after
the Indian Institute losing his battle to cancer.
of Technology Madras (IIT-M). The concept of
this 3D printed house was conceived by former During the three-man Apollo 11 crew mission
IIT-M alumni. in 1969, Collins kept the command module
flying while the other two members, Neil
The single-storey home has been built in just Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first
five days over an area of about 600 sq. humans to walk on the moon.
ft using ‘Concrete 3D Printing” technology.
Collins spent seven years of his career as an
The house is by IIT-Madras based start- astronaut with NASA.
up ‘TVASTA Manufacturing Solutions’, within
the campus, in association with Habitat for
Humanity’s Terwilliger Centre for Innovation in
Shelter.

The 3D Printed House would help to meet the

deadline of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
vision of the ‘housing for all’ scheme by
2022.

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