17th & 18th April Daily Current Affairs

World Hemophilia Day 2022 observed on 17th April

• World Hemophilia Day is observed globally on 17 April every year. This day is observed to raise awareness for hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. The date was chosen in honour of the World Federation of Hemophilia founder Frank Schnabel birthday.
• This year is the 31st edition of World Haemophilia Day. This year, the theme of the day has been kept as ‘Access for All: Partnership. Policy. Progress. Engaging your government, integrating inherited bleeding disorders into national policy.’
• The day is being held since 1989, which marks the birthday of Frank Schnabel, founder of the World Federation of Hemophilia.

World Heritage Day 2022: 18th April

• Every year on April 18, the United Nations commemorates World Heritage Day. The Day is observed to preserve the human heritage and recognize the efforts of the organizations working for it.
• Monuments and ancient buildings are an asset to the world. They make for the rich heritage of the nation. Since 1983, the International Council on Monuments and Sites has set a theme around which events are centred on the day. The theme for World Heritage Day 2022 is “Heritage and Climate”.
• 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.

NITI Aayog to launch National Data and Analytics Platform   

• In May, the NITI Aayog plans to launch the National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP), which would give government data in a user-friendly manner and encourage data-driven decision-making and research. The platform, which was conceived in 2020, aims to standardise data across government sources and provide flexible analytics that allow users to easily analyse data using numerous datasets.

PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates 108 ft tall statue of Lord Hanuman ji in Gujarat

• The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has unveiled a 108 ft statue of Lord Hanuman ji in Morbi, Gujarat, at the Ashram of Bapu Keshvanand ji, via video conferencing, on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. This statue is the second among the four statues being built in the four directions across the country, as part of the ‘Hanumanji Char Dham’ project.
• The first such grand statue of Hanuman Ji was inaugurated in the North in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh in 2010. The statue at Morbi has been set up in the West. The third statue will be set up in the South at Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. Similarly, the final statue will be established in East in West Bengal.

Agricultural imports from India suspended by Indonesia 

• Indonesia has stopped imports of agricultural products from India, citing a failure by New Delhi officials to register laboratories that evaluate food safety and issue certificates of analysis (COA), causing worry among cereal exporters.
• In an order to the head of its Agricultural Quarantine Centre, the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture stated that its authority to accredited laboratories for testing the safety of fresh food from India and issuing the COA has been revoked.
• COAs issued by laboratories indicating that clear exports of fresh food of plant origin were certified in 2019 would not be recognised, according to the Ministry, although certificates issued on or before March 24 will be legitimate.
• Indonesian exporters have been notified of the order. The news came after Indonesia issued a notice to exporters requiring them to give extra information to the COA.
• The notification was sent three to four months ago by Indonesia.
• While countries like Vietnam and Thailand were able to register their laboratories providing COAs well ahead of time, Indian authorities were unable to meet the deadline.

Manipur to host the highest Indian national flag at INA complex

• Manipur chief minister, N Biren Singh announced that a 165-foot-high Indian national flag, the tallest in the Northeast, would be hoisted at the Indian National Army (INA) headquarters complex in Moirang in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, for which a pole had already been erected.
• According to Singh, as part of the 100-day action plan, union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit the state and unfurl the Indian national flag.
• He was speaking at the INA Martyr’s Memorial Complex in Moirang, 45 kilometres south of Imphal, where the 78th Anniversary of Flag Hoisting Day was observed.
• The state government had already purchased land for the construction of the new INA memorial hall and construction work had begun.
• Various performers presented cultural programmes such as Dhol-Dholok Cholom and Thang Ta during the observation.

Vikram Dev Dutt named as Air India Asset Holding CMD

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, approved Vikram Dev Dutt’s appointment as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India Asset Holding (AIAHL), with effect from 27th January 2022, in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary to the Government of India.
• Prior to this, Dutt was in-charge of Air India as a CMD till the airline was handed over to the Tata Group. Air India Asset Holding (AIAHL) was set up in 2019 by the government

Paytm is the official digital payments partner for Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya

• Paytm has become an official digital payments partner for the prime ministers’ museum. It is offering its payment gateway, EDC (Electronic Data Capture) machines and QR code payment options to make way for superfast, convenient and secure transactions.
• The museum, which is a tribute to former Prime Ministers of India, will be opened to the public on April 21, 2022. PM Modi also purchased the first ticket of the museum before its inauguration.

SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ phase II launched to shield 28 lakh street vendors

• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has expanded the ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ programme to 126 cities in 14 states and union territories. The program’s implementing partner is the Quality Council of India (QCI).
• ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ is a PMSVANidhi add-on initiative that began on January 4, 2021 in 125 cities with the goal of mapping the socioeconomic profile of PMSVANidhi participants and their families.
• It determines whether or not beneficiaries are eligible for several Central welfare initiatives (8) and promotes links to these programmes.
• To assist over 50 lakh street sellers in metropolitan regions, including those from surrounding peri-urban/rural areas, who were vending on or before March 24, 2020.
• To encourage digital transactions by offering cash-back incentives of up to Rs. 1,200 per year.

Hunar Haat” 40th edition organised in Mumbai

• Union minister Anurag Thakur will open the 40th edition of “Hunar Haat,” a forum to preserve, protect, and promote local artists and craftsmen.”Hunar Haat” is bolstering Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for “voice for local” and “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”.
• The 40th edition of the project, which was inaugurated by Union Ministers for Information and Broadcasting, Youth Affairs and Sports, will bring together at least 1,000 artisans and craftsmen from across the country.
• “Hunar Haat” has offered employment to over 9 lakh artists and craftsmen in just six years, in addition to promoting ancestral arts and crafts even in distant corners of the country.
• More than half of these recipients are women.
• Women craftsmen make up more than half of the recipients.

India gets elected in 4 UN ECOSOC Bodies 2022

• India has been elected to the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s (ECOSOC) four major bodies, including the Commission on Science and Technology for Development.
• To the Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Ambassador Preeti Saran has been re-elected.

IMA honours Shoojit Sircar with Director Of The Year award

• Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, presented the 2021 AIMA Managing India Awards (AIMA) in multiple categories in Delhi. In the films category, Shoojit Sircar was honoured with the Director Of The Year award for Sardar Udham.
• This year, the 12th edition of the AIMA Managing India Awards is being organised physically, coinciding with the 7th National Leadership Conclave.
• Every year, AIMA presents the Director Of The Year award, which recognises an individual “who has exemplified the spirit of filmmaking and created a masterpiece out of it”. As per the description of the award, it is given to those directors “who have created a masterpiece that is pathbreaking and is worth watching over and over again”.

UDAN scheme selected for PM Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2020

• The Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN (UdeDeshkaAamNagrik), the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has been selected for Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2020 under the category “Innovation (General) – Central”.

Danish Open swimming: Sajan Prakash wins gold

• Top Indian swimmer Sajan Prakash won the men’s 200m butterfly gold at the Danish Open swimming meet in Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Competing in his first international meet this year, Prakash stopped the clock at 1.59.27 to stand atop the podium. Earlier, the swimmer from Kerala had clocked 2.03.67 in the heats to qualify for the ‘A’ final.
• 16-year-old, Vedaant Madhavan bagged the silver medal in the men’s 1500m freestyle event, who is the son of actor R Madhavan clocked 15.57.86 to finish second in the 10-swimmer final.

New Zealand pacer Hamish Bennett announced retirement from all forms of cricket

• The 35-year-old, New Zealand pacer (fast bowler) Hamish Bennett, has announced his retirement from his 17-year-old cricket career with the 2021/22 season as the last one.
• Before retiring, Bennett represented New Zealand in T20I against Bangladesh in Mirpur, Pakistan in September 2021.
• Hamish Bennett made his international debut in October 2010 and represented New Zealand in one Test, 19 One Day International (ODIs) and 11 Twenty-20 Internationals (T20Is). Overall, he picked up 33 wickets in ODIs and 10 wickets in T20Is.

India’s 1st Internet Radio “Radio Aksh” For Visually Challenged Launched In Nagpur

• India’s first-ever radio channel for the visually impaired, named ‘Radio Aksh’ has been launched in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Nagpur’s 96-year-old institution, The Blind Relief Association Nagpur (TBRAN) and Samdrushti Kshamata Vikas Avam Anusandhan Mandal (Saksham) are the organisations behind this idea.

• Click On the Link to Read & Download 15^th April Daily Current Affairs:

https://blog.o2academia.org/post/15thapril

• Click On the Link to Read & Download 16^th April Daily Current Affairs:

https://blog.o2academia.org/post/16thapril

• Click On the Link to Read & Download April Daily Current Affairs:

https://blog.o2academia.org/month/april-2022