Daily Current Affairs: April 18 & 19, 2021

Daily Current Affairs (April 18 & 19, 2021) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK, and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness, and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

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Important Days

International Day for Monuments and Sites – 18 April

• The International Day for Monuments and Sites, also known as the World Heritage Day, is observed globally on 18 April. The aim of celebrating this day is to promote awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage, the vulnerability of sites and monuments, and the efforts required for the protection and conservation.
• The International Day for Monuments and Sites was proposed by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) on 18 April 1982 and approved by the General Assembly of UNESCO in 1983.
• 2021 Theme: “Complex Pasts: Diverse Futures”

World Liver Day – 19 April

• World Liver Day is observed every year on 19 April to spread awareness about liver-related diseases. The liver is the second largest and the most complex organ in the body except for the brain. It is a key player in your body’s digestive system.

National News

Union Tourism and Culture Minister inaugurates the first-ever online exhibition on Ramayana

• Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture (I/C), Prahlad Singh Patel, has inaugurated the first-ever online exhibition (www.nmvirtual.in/Virtual_Tour/Ramayan) on Ramayana.
• He addressed a webinar, ‘India’s Heritage: Powering Tourism’, on the World Heritage Day 2021. The online exhibition showcases forty-nine miniature paintings collections of the National Museum, New Delhi, from different art schools of India.

Union Ministry of Tourism signs an MoU with Cleartrip and Ease My Trip

• Union Ministry of Tourism signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cleartrip and Ease My Trip to provide extensive visibility to accommodation units that have self-certified themselves on SAATHI (System for Assessment, Awareness & Training for the Hospitality Industry) on the OTA platform.
• The MoU also outlines both parties to encourage units to register on NIDHI (National Integrated Database Of Hospital Industry) and thereby on Saathi and encourage the local tourism industry with appropriate safeguards for curbing the spread of covid-19.

Union Ministry of Rural Development launches Gender Samvaad event

• Gender Samvaad event is a joint attempt between Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) and the Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy (IWWAGE) to create a common platform to share experiences emerging from this effort organised by the Union Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.
• The joint attempt is to generate greater awareness on gender-related interventions under DAY-NRLM across the country and best practices, with a focus on hearing voices from the states and the field. The Gender Samvaad event was launched by Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary of Rural Development as part of the ongoing Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Italy launches its first-ever mega food park and food processing unit in India

• Italy launched its first-ever mega food park project in India involving food processing facilities amid efforts from both sides to further ties between the two nations.
• This pilot project named “The Mega Food Park” was launched with the signing of a Letter of Intent between the ICE Office in Mumbai and Fanidhar Mega Food Park in Gujarat.
• The main aim of this project is to develop a synergy between the agriculture and industry of both countries. It also focuses on the research and development of newer, efficient technologies in the sector.

Italy

• Capital: Rome
• President: Sergio Mattarella
• Prime Minister: Mario Draghi

International News

8^th India-Kyrgyz joint special forces exercise ‘Khanjar’ begins at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

• The eighth India-Kyrgyz joint special forces exercise ‘Khanjar’ was inaugurated at the Special Forces Brigade of National Guards of the Kyrgyz Republic in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The exercise was first initiated in 2011. The two-week-long exercise ‘Khanjar’ focuses on high-altitude, mountains, and counter-extremism.

Kyrgyzstan:

• Capital: Bishkek
• Currency: Kyrgyzstani Som
• President: Sadyr Japarov

Banking and Economy

Airtel Payments Bank becomes the first payments bank in the country to enable a Rs. 2 lakh day-end balance account limit

• In line with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) guidelines, Airtel Payments Bank became the first payments bank in the country to enable a day-end balance account limit of Rs. 2 lakhs. Customers having an account with Airtel Payments Bank will now be able to save more with this increased limit.
• The bank deposits are insured under the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the RBI.

Airtel Payments Bank

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• CEO: Anubrata Biswas
• Founded: January 2017

Appointments

The Hindu Group appoints senior journalist Krishna Prasad as its Editorial Officer

• Senior Journalist Krishna Prasad was appointed as the first-ever Group Editorial Officer by The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited (THGPPL), ) — publisher of The Hindu, The Hindu Business Line, Frontline and Sportstar.
• Former Editor-in-Chief of the Outlook magazine and former Editor of Vijay Times, Krishna Prasad, will lead and enable greater synergies across the different print publications and digital offerings, by coordinating content efforts across all publications of The Hindu Group.

RBI re-appoints Murali Natarajan as the MD and CEO of DCB Bank

• Private sector lender, DCB Bank had received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the re-appointment of Murali M Natrajan as the MD & CEO for a further period of one year from 29 April 2021.
• Murali Natarajan was appointed as the MD and CEO of DCB Bank in May 2009. Before joining DCB, Natrajan has worked with foreign banks such as Standard Chartered and Citibank.

DCB Bank

• Founded: 1930
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Awards and Recognitions

22-year-old J&K author Soliha Shabir was named in India’s World Records

• Soliha Shabir from Dalgate in Srinagar was named in “India’s World Records” as the youngest and first author in Jammu and Kashmir, who has recreated the life of Habba Khatoon’s poetry.
• Zoon is the first book that has recreated the theme of Habba Khatoon’s poetry and essence. Shabir has so far written three books — In the lawn of dark, Obsolete – The poem market and Zoon – The Heart of Habba Khatoon.

Books and Authors

JK Rowling is set to release a new children’s book titled ‘The Christmas Pig’

• Harry Potter author JK Rowling is set to release a new children’s book titled “The Christmas Pig”. The Scottish author’s latest book will be released simultaneously in 20 different countries and multiple languages on 12 October.
• The Christmas Pig is to be released by Hachette Children’s Group imprint Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Obituary

Founder of Adobe and developer of PDFs Charles “Chuck” Geschke passes away at 81

• Charles “Chuck” Geschke, the co-founder of the major software company Adobe Inc. who helped develop the Portable Document Format technology (PDFs) died at the age of 81.

Former Indian Olympian footballer Ahmed Hussain passes away at 89

• Former Indian footballer Ahmed Hussain passed away at the age of 89. He represented India at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. He was also a part of the Mohammedan Sporting side that won the 1960 Aga Khan Gold Cup in Dhaka, a first by an Indian side.
• He had won two Santosh Trophies, three Durand Cups, and six Rovers Cups.

CEO of Angel Broking Vinay Agrawal passes away at 57

• Vinay Agrawal, Chief Executive Officer and whole-time Director of the brokerage firm Angel Broking passed away. He had experience of nearly two decades in various domains, including finance and operations, business development, product development, and e-broking.

International hockey umpire Anupama Puchimanda passes away at 41

• Former Karnataka State hockey player and international umpire Anupama Puchimanda passed away due to COVID-19. In 2006, she became the first woman umpire from India to officiate at the Commonwealth Games. She was the first woman referee from India to officiate in 88 international hockey matches.

Renowned Hindi author Narendra Kohli passes away at 81

• Eminent writer and litterateur of the Hindi world Veteran Narendra Kohli passed away due to COVID complications. He was born in Pakistan in 1940 his family migrated to Bihar after the partition.
• He arrived on the national scene with his writings about the characters of Ramayana and Mahabharat. His eight-volume writing about Mahabharat, Mahasamar, is considered a masterpiece.
• His emphasis was always on the revival of culture through his writings. He wrote more than 100 books, including novels, essays, satire, and memoir.

Former Assam CM Bhumidhar Barman passes away at 91

• Former Assam Chief Minister Bhumidhar Barman passed away at 91 after a prolonged illness. Bhumidhar Barman was the Chief Minister of Assam for a brief period from April 1996 to May 1996. He was MLA for seven terms and had held important departments in Former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s cabinet.

Former Bihar Education Minister Mewalal Chaudhry passes away

• Former Bihar Education Minister and Janata Dal (United) MLA Mewalal Chaudhry passed away due to COVID 19.
• He was a sitting Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Bihar’s Tarapur constituency and was removed as the state’s Education Minister on corruption charges.

Sports News

Star India retains media rights for Pro Kabaddi League till 2025

• Star India has been the media rights partner for Pro Kabaddi League for the first 7 seasons. Star India has retained its media rights for the Pro Kabaddi League for 180 crores annually after it emerged as the successful bidder in the fresh media rights auction for the next five seasons from 2021-2025.

Deepak Punia bagged a silver medal in 68 kg at the Asian Wrestling Championships

• World Championships silver medallist Deepak Punia settled for a silver medal in the Asian Wrestling Championships held in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He secured a place in the Olympics lost to the World Champion Hassan Yazdani in the 86 kg freestyle final.
• Sanjeet bagged the bronze medal for India in the 92 kg India, thus ended the Asian Wrestling Championships with seven medals in the men’s freestyle event and an overall tally of five gold, three silver, and six bronze medals. 

Mirabai Chanu creates a new world record at Asian Weightlifting Championships

• Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu set a new world record in Clean and Jerk as she lifted 119 kg at the Asian Weightlifting Championships here in Tashkent.
• She also created a new national record as she lifted a total of 205 kg (86 kg Snatch + 119 kg Clean and Jerk), which also won her the bronze medal at the showpiece event.

Can you score 20/20 in Today’s Current Affairs Quiz? Attempt the Current Affairs Quiz of  April 18 & 19, 2021, now from the link given below. 

Daily Current Affairs Quiz – April 18 & 19, 2021