1. 7th April : World Health Day
i. 7th April is celebrated each year globally as World Health Day under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO).
ii. The day aims to draw attention to important health issues facing the world each year.
iii. This time the themes of World Health Days for 2016 is Halt the rise: beat diabetes.
iv. In 1948, World Health Assembly was first held in Geneva by the WHO where it was decided to celebrate the World Health Day annually on 7th of April. It was first celebrated worldwide in the year 1950 as the World Health Day.
v. World Health Day is celebrated worldwide by the government, non-government, NGOs including various health organizations at many places by organizing programmes relating to the public health issues and awareness. Varieties of activities are done in the conference of health workers to encourage people to maintain their health.
2. PM chairs meeting of CSIR Society
i. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, chaired a meeting of the CSIR society in New Delhi.
ii. The Prime Minister was given an overview of the work done by CSIR in addressing national challenges, and its recognition as a major Indian innovator.
iii. Members mentioned the potential that exists for a large number of start-ups to emerge from the research being done by CSIR labs.
iv. They stressed the importance of converting lab research to commercial applications. Medical device manufacturing, energy, and waste management were some of the areas mentioned where CSIR could play a key role.
v. The Prime Minister called for laying down parameters to assess the performance of CSIR labs; and a mechanism whereby there could be internal competition among various labs. He called upon the scientific community at CSIR to list at least one hundred problems being faced by people in various parts of India, and take up the challenge of solving them technologically within a specified time period.
3. 3rd phase of Mission Indradhanush begins today
i. The third phase of Union Health Ministry’s universal vaccination programme Mission Indradhanush began on 7 April, 2016.
ii. It will cover 216 Districts across several States including Bihar, Gujarat, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
iii. Under it, children against seven vaccine preventable diseases will be vaccinated against seven preventable diseases.
iv. The last two phases nearly 39 lakh children have been fully immunised across the country.
v. Mission Indradhanush depicts 7 colours of the rainbow which aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated, or are partially vaccinated against 7 vaccine preventable diseases. The diseases include diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B. Under this universal vaccination programme, all vaccines will be made available free of cost.
4. ECoR becomes largest freight loading railway zone
i. East Coast Railway (ECoR) has emerged as the largest freight loading railway zone of Indian Railways in 2015-16. ECoR loaded 173.49 million tonnes of freight compared to 161.91 million tonnes achieved in the corresponding period previous year and registered an increase of 7.1 per cent, its officials said.
ii. On the earnings side, ECoR earned about Rs 15,978.28 crore which is 14.13 per cent more than the corresponding period of previous financial year, they said.
iii. In coal loading, ECoR carried 79.4 rakes per day from its jurisdiction against 72.7 rakes per day in last fiscal.
iv. The coal loading from Talcher was 40.8 rakes per day followed by Visakhapatnam Port 8.7 rakes, Gangavaram Port 7.7 rakes, Paradeep Port 11.7 rakes, Dhamara 9.5 rakes and at other places 1.1 rakes per day during 2015-16.
v. In iron ore loading, it loaded 14 rakes per day in 2015-16 – 5.2 rakes per day from iron ore belts under Khurda Road Division and 8.8 rakes day from KK Line under Waltair Division. Altogether East Coast Railways has carried 131.2 rakes loading per day from its jurisdiction against 122.4 rakes per day in 2014-15 financial year. These include coal, iron ore, cement, food grains, POL and other commodities.
5. Irani unveils bronze bust of Aryabhatta at UNESCO HQ
i. A bronze bust of ancient Indian mathematician and astronomer Aryabhatta has been unveiled at the UNESCO Headquarters.
ii. The bust, sculpted by renowned Indian sculptor Ram Sutar, was unveiled yesterday by HRD Minister Smriti Irani.
iii. She was in the French capital to attend the high-level segment of the ‘International Conference on Zero’ held from April 4-5.
iv. Sutar was recently awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in India, for his contribution to the world of art.
v. The two-day conference, organised by the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO, was held to share the rich and remarkable history of mathematics through participation of some of the brilliant minds, resonating with the UNESCO’s mandate to advance, transfer and share knowledge for the greater global good.
6. NTPC Suspends Power Generation From Farakka
i. Partial suspension of power generation at the NTPC’s Farakka plant in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district owing to shortage of water is likely to continue till April 10.
ii. The power producer was forced to temporarily shut five units (1,600 MW) of its 6 units (2,100 MW) at Farakka after water level at Farakka feeder canal receded due to “diversion of water to Bangladesh as per the international treaty and one unit of 500 MW is under operation.
iii. Total allocation to West Bengal from NTPC stations is 786 MW, which can be fully met by the company from its stations, if power is requisitioned by the state.
iv. NTPC Limited (previously known as National Thermal Power Corporation Limited is an Indian central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Power, Government of India, engaged in the business of generation of electricity and allied activities.
7. Gujrat CM Anandiben Patel launches ‘Maa Annapurna Yojna’
i. Gujarat chief Minister Anandiben Patel officially launched the state-wide implementation of National Food Security Act, which has been renamed as Maa Annapurna Yojna (Scheme) by the state government.
ii. Under the Maa Annapurna Yojna, 3.82 crore people of Gujarat will be benefited. Each of them will get rice at Rs 3 per Kg and wheat at Rs 2 per Kg.
iii. Out of 35 kg given at subsidised rates during Congress rule, only 16 kg of food-grain was given at those rates, while for the remaining 19 kg, government used to charge Rs 7.70. Now, PM Modi removed this condition and has announced to give the entire 35 kg of food-grain at subsidised rates.
iv. only 11 states had implemented the National Food Security Act and that too they had not implemented totally.
v. The number of states has increased from 11 to 21, including Gujarat, which will implement it by April 1, 2016,” Paswan told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting organised here with Food Corporation of India (FCI) officials of Gujarat.
8. Santosh Gangwar Inaugurates 3 Mega Projects in Nagaland
i. Union Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar inaugurated 3 mega textile projects in Nagaland.
ii. These 3 projects included Apparel and Garment Making Centre in Dimapur, Muga P3 Basic Seed Station Kobulong in Mokokchung district and newly approved Integrated Eri Silk Development Project under North East Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS).
iii. The Union Minister of State for Textiles formally launched the three mega projects at District Industries Centre Complex in Dimapur district in the presence of Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang.
iv. The Apparel and Garment Making Centre for Nagaland was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 1, 2014 during his maiden visit to the state for inauguration of Hornbill Festival.
v. As per Gangwar the project will benefit more than 5,000 cultivators engaged in plantation of these three varieties of silk.
9. Future Group Has Acquired FabFurnish
i. Future Group has acquired online home furnishings and décor business company FabFurnish for an undisclosed amount.
ii. The buyout could range between Rs.15 crore and Rs. 20 crore in cash. But the Future Group will retain the FabFurnish brand and will use the store’s online platform to take its Home Town retail stores online.
iii. This is the first consumer startup acquisition made by Future Group led by Kishore Biyani and also marks the first exit for Berlin based investor Rocket Internet which also backs Foodpanda and Jabong.
iv. But this acquisition will make the India’s largest home décor e-marketplace.
v. The take over also include the FabFurnish’s management team and about 100 employees who are likely to join the Future Group.
10. Foundation stone for Haryana’s first Horticulture University laid in Karnal
i. Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singhlaid the foundation stone of Haryana State University of Horticultural Sciences at Karnal.
ii. It is the first Horticulture University in the state that will cater the needs to support the gap between research, teaching and extension activities in the state.
iii. The Horticulture University will be built on 118 acres to disseminate latest technology and horticulture education to the young generation.
iv. It will help in improving productivity levels by promoting adaptation of appropriate crop diversification to suit the agro climatic conditions of the region.
v. It will also act as a skill development centre in order to cater the larger demand for skilled (trained) manpower in the production, post-harvest and processing industries.
11. ASCI upholds 51 complaints against misleading ads
i. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) upheld complaints against 51 out of 102 advertisements.
ii. The advertising industry watchdog’s Consumer Complaint Council (CCC) found the claims in various categories advertisers to be either misleading or false or not adequately / scientifically substantiated and hence violating ASCI’s Code.
iii. Out of 51 advertisements against which complaints were upheld, 13 belonged to the Education category, 12 to the Food & Beverages category, followed by 11 in the Healthcare category, 6 in the E-commerce category and 9 advertisements from other categories.
iv. In education category advertisements of Rice Education, Adamas Career, Tathagat, Think & Learn etc. were upheld, while in Healthcare segment advertisement of the brands such as Emami, Dabur India, Patanjali Ayurved, Mosons and Uttam Dawakhana were upheld.
v. Advertisements of following ecommerce brands were also upheld PortMart, Xeroin Retail, Amazon, Ibibo Group and HolidayIQ.Apart from these, advertisements from Balaji Telefilms, Viacom18 and Times on India were also upheld.
12. CP Gurnani appointed as Nasscom chairman
i. CP Gurnani, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Tech Mahindra, is the new Chairman of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) for 2016-17 with effect from Wednesday.
ii. He would focus on programmes aimed at making India a digital and innovation hub.
iii. He identified start-ups, cyber security and analytics as emerging areas for the Indian IT industry. “Nasscom of tomorrow is representative of product companies, start-ups, among others and not just service providers.’’
iv. According to Nasscom projections, IT industry, which directly employs 3.9 million professionals, is expected to grow at about 14 per cent during the present financial year with a likely intake of 2.5 lakh new employees. In 2015-16, industry crossed $100 billion mark in exports.
v. Referring to ongoing programmes, Nasscom is working closely with State governments with regard to innovation hubs in various cities including Bengaluru, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kolkata and Pune.
13. S Balaji Arunkumar new KoPT deputy chairman
i. S Balaji Arunkumar, An IRTS officer of 1997 batch, has taken over as deputy chairman of Kolkata Dock System under Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) with effect from April 4.
ii. He was senior general manager of Container Corporation of India, Chennai, before assuming his new charge.
iii. R P S Kahlon lost his job as chairman of KoPT after he was arrested on alleged graft charges on March 9 from a hotel in the city.
iv. He had allegedly received bribe from a private firm that handles containers at Kolkata Dock System (KDS).
v. M T Krishna Babu, the chairman of Visakhapatnam Port Trust, has taken over as the new chairman of KoPT as an additional charge.
14. Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson named as new PM of Iceland
i. Iceland ruling coalition Government has named Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson (53) as the new Prime Minister after igmundur Gunnlaugsson had stepped down .
ii. Prior to this, he was Agriculture and Fisheries Minister (since 2013) and deputy leader of the Progressive Party of the Ireland.
iii. Earlier from May 2013 to December 2014 he also had served as Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources.
iv. Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson’s appointment comes after Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson had stepped down as PM in the wake of the leaked Panama Papers. The leaks of Panama Papers from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca, a law firm specialises in setting up offshore companies showed Gunnlaugsson owned an offshore firm with his wife.
v. Gunnlaugsson was the first casualty after the explosive leaks of confidential documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca surfaced. The leak had disclosed up to 11 million documents revealing how the rich and powerful people across the world hide their wealth, potentially to evade taxes.
15. India Men win Asian Nations Cup Chess tournament
i. Indian men have won the 2016 Asian Nations Cup Chess tournament by defeating Vietnam in the final round by 3-1 score played in Abu Dhabi.
ii. In the final round match, Indian Grandmasters S P Sethuraman and K Sasikiran won on the 2nd and 4th boards while, B Adhiban and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi drew their respective matches on top and 3rd boards.
iii. With this win India gained 17 points, two more than World and Olympiad champions China. India drew Mongolia and beat the rest of the teams in a 22-team tournament.
iv. It was overall third time, Indian men won the event earlier they had won at Esfahan, Iran in 2005 and Kolkata 2009.
v. In the women’s section, top seed China won the title with 15 points followed by Uzbekistan (14 points) at second Kazakhstan (13 points) at third position respectively. Indian women finished fourth position with 12 points.
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