14th April, 2023

1. Doordarshan has announced to telecast the ‘DHAROHAR BHARAT KI – Punruthaan ki Kahaani), a two-part documentary, to showcase the rich heritage of India.
2. India’s first semi-high-speed regional rail services have been named ‘RAPIDX’ by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).
3. G20-Science20 conference on ‘Clean Energy for Greener Future’ was held in Agartala, Tripura on the theme of “Disruptive Science for Innovative and Sustainable Development”.
4. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
5. The Central Government is in the process of establishing a first-of-its-kind National Public Health Museum to showcase models, specimens and studies related to public health.
6. 2nd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting (ETWG) under India’s G20 Presidency has concluded successfully in Gandhinagar.
7. In the financial year of 2022-2023, procurement of goods and services from the Government-e-Marketplace (GeM) has crossed Rs 2 lakh crore mark.
8. France has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Paris as a guest at the annual Bastille Day parade in July.
9. Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has hailed the achievement of around 40,000 water bodies having been developed under the Mission Amrit Sarovar in the last 11 months.
10. Gond painting of Madhya Pradesh from Dindori and Sharbati wheat from Madhya Pradesh have received the GI tag.
11. Eravikulam National Park (ENP) in Kerala has set up a new Fernarium inside the park.
12. Bengaluru-based Raman Research Institute (RRI) has joined hands with the Indian Navy to develop secure maritime communications using quantum technologies.
13. Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) organized a large-scale Joint Military Exercise ‘Ex KAVACH’ involving the assets of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
14. India has achieved the highest defence exports in FY 2022-23 to Rs 16,000 crores approx.
15. NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) has released a breath-taking image of the Crab Nebula, a celestial object.
16. International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a new four-year extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of around USD 15.6 billion as part of a USD 115 billion total support package for Ukraine.
17. Italy has banned OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot.
18. Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre of UAE has announced that the Rashid Rover, onboard the HAKUTO-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander, is scheduled to land on the Moon on 25th April 2023.
19. Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released the Business Environment Rankings (BER) 2023.
20. World of Statistics organization has released the ranking of the world’s “most criminal countries”.
21. Stanford University has released the “Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2023”.
22. RBI has released a draft circular on “Fair lending practice, penal charges on loan accounts”.
23. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has achieved the best-ever annual production during the financial year 2022-23.
24. GST collection crossed Rs 18 trillion in FY23 – a record since the inception of GST on 1st July 2017.
25. Central Government has notified amnesty scheme for small businesses, non-filers of final returns, and taxpayers whose Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration has been cancelled.
26. According to NASSCOM’s ‘India’s Tech SMEs: Rising in the Global Digital Arena’ report, revenue for the Indian tech small and medium enterprises (SME) sector is expected to grow by double digits to $40 billion by FY30.
27. April 1 – Utkal Divas or Odisha Day (separation of the Odisha from the Bihar on 1 April 1936)
28. International Day for Street Children
29. Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur launched a mobile app — Know Your Medicine – to increase awareness about risks associated with use of nutritional supplements.
30. Madrid Spain Masters Super 300 badminton tournament 2023 – Men’s singles: Kenta Nishimoto (Japan); Women’s Singles: Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Indonesia)
31. “The Great Bank Robbery” book has been authored by Sabyasachee Dash and V. Pattabhi Ram.
32. Keshub Mahindra (chairman emeritus of the Mahindra Group) has passed away at 99.
33. Former India cricketer Salim Durani has passed away. He was the first cricketer to receive the Arjuna Award.

National News

1. Doordarshan has announced to telecast the ‘DHAROHAR BHARAT KI – Punruthaan ki Kahaani), a two-part documentary, to showcase the rich heritage of India.
   • The documentary will be anchored by popular digital media presenter Kamiya Jani.
     Source: PIB
2. India’s first semi-high-speed regional rail services have been named ‘RAPIDX’ by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).
   • The trains will run on the first Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor and will bring down the travel time between Delhi to Meerut significantly.
     Source: Economic Times
3. G20-Science20 conference on ‘Clean Energy for Greener Future’ was held in Agartala, Tripura on the theme of “Disruptive Science for Innovative and Sustainable Development”.
   • The meeting was chaired by Prof Ashutosh Sharma, President, Indian National Science Academy and Co-Chair, Science 20.
   • Science20 Engagement Group, comprising the national science academies of the G20 countries, was initiated during Germany’s Presidency in 2017.
   • The S20 meetings are presided over by India in 2023, and the upcoming meetings will be held in Lakshadweep and Bhopal, focusing on Universal Holistic Health and Connecting Science to Society and Culture respectively.
   • The Summit Meeting will be held in Coimbatore in July.
     Source: PIB
4. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
   • The Central Bureau of Investigation was established by a resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India dated 1st April 1963.
     Source: PIB
5. The Central Government is in the process of establishing a first-of-its-kind National Public Health Museum to showcase models, specimens and studies related to public health.
   Source: LiveMint
6. 2nd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting (ETWG) under India’s G20 Presidency has concluded successfully in
   • The 1st ETWG was held in Bengaluru from Feb. 5-7, 2023.
   • The 3rd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting is scheduled to take place in Mumbai from May 15-17, 2023.
     Source: PIB
7. In the financial year of 2022-2023, procurement of goods and services from the Government-e-Marketplace (GeM) has crossed Rs 2 lakh crore mark.
   • According to the Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, India has crossed total exports of $750 billion for the 2022-23 and the final figure is expected to cross $765 billion.
     Source: PIB
8. France has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Paris as a guest at the annual Bastille Day parade in July.
   • This would be the first time in over a decade that an Indian Prime Minister will attend the annual military parade, since Manmohan Singh was invited as the Bastille Day parade guest in 2009. However, the visit is still being discussed.
   • July 14 is the anniversary of the storming of the infamous Bastille prison in 1789 – a turning point for the success of the French Revolution.
     Source: The Hindu
9. Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has hailed the achievement of around 40,000 water bodies having been developed under the Mission Amrit Sarovar in the last 11 months.
   • There is a target of constructing 50,000 Amrit Sarovars by August 15, 2023.
   • The Mission was launched on April 24, 2022, for developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of the country as part of the “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”.
   • The total number of Amrit Sarovars to be developed under the scheme is around 50,000, which was set to be completed by August 15 this year.
   • IMF approved a new four-year extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of around USD 15.6 billion as part of a USD 115 billion total support package for Ukraine.
     Source: Business Standard

State News

1. The National Park is famous for being the natural habitat of Nilgiri tahr in Munnar.
   Source: Hindustan Times
2. Gond painting of Madhya Pradesh from Dindori and Sharbati wheat from Madhya Pradesh have received the GI tag.
   • Eravikulam National Park (ENP) in Kerala has set up a new Fernarium inside the park.
     Source: The Hindu

Defence News

1. The MOU was signed with the Weapons and Electronics Systems Engineering Establishment (WESEE), the R&D establishment of the Indian Navy.
   • Bengaluru-based Raman Research Institute (RRI) has joined hands with the Indian Navy to develop secure maritime communications using quantum technologies.Source: The Hindu
2. Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) organized a large-scale Joint Military Exercise ‘Ex KAVACH’ involving the assets of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.

   Source: PIB

3. India has achieved the highest defence exports in FY 2022-23 to Rs 16,000 crores approx.

Source: PIB

International News

1. NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) has released a breath-taking image of the Crab Nebula, a celestial object.
   • The nebula is located 6,500 light-years away from Earth.
   • Nebula means a bright area in the night sky that is caused by a mass of dust or gas or by a large cloud of stars that are far away.

2. International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a new four-year extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of around USD 15.6 billion as part of a USD 115 billion total support package for Ukraine.
   Source: Hindustan Times
3. Italy has banned OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot.
   • Italian government has introduced a draft bill to impose penalties up to Rs 90 Lakh on public and private entities, that use foreign languages, especially English, instead of Italian in official communications.
     Source: CNBC TV
4. Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre of UAE has announced that the Rashid Rover, onboard the HAKUTO-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander, is scheduled to land on the Moon on 25th April 2023.
   Source: News on Air

Reports And Indices

1. Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released the Business Environment Rankings (BER) 2023.
   • Total – 82 countries
   • Parameters – 91 indicators
   • Top – Singapore, Canada, and Denmark
   • Of the 17 economies in the Asian region, India is ranked 10th in the 2023- 27 forecast period, up from 14th in 2018-22 period.

2. World of Statistics organization has released the ranking of the world’s “most criminal countries”.
   • Total – 135
   • Top – Venezuela (1), followed by Papua New Guinea (2), Afghanistan (3), South Africa (4), Honduras (5)
   • India stood at 77th rank while the US (55th) and UK (65th) were ahead of India in the criminal ranking country.
   • Japan is at the 135th rank.
   • Separately, the World Population Review (WPR) ranked Afghanistan in the fourth spot on the list of countries with the highest crime rate in 2023. India was ranked at 71^st.
     Source: LiveMint
3. Stanford University has released the “Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2023”.
   • Total – 127 countries
   • Total investments in AI startups in India stood at $3.24 billion in 2022, placing it ahead of South Korea, Germany, Canada and Australia, among others.
   • India has been ranked behind the US, China, the UK and Israel.
   • AI startups in India received total funding of $7.73 billion during 2013-2022, making it the sixth leading country with the most AI investments during the period. Nearly 40% of this investment was made last year.
     Source: Official report of Stanford University’s index and LiveMint

Banking And Economy

1. RBI has released a draft circular on “Fair lending practice, penal charges on loan accounts”.
   • Purpose – to regulate banks for overcharging borrowers in the guise of penal interest rates and has come up with proposals to protect borrowers from unjustified rates
   • Penalty should be levied as a charge and not as a compounding interest rate.
   • It has also stipulated that penalty will not be applied as ‘penal interest’ that is added to the rate of interest charged on the advances.
     Source: Economic Times
2. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has achieved the best-ever annual production during the financial year 2022-23.
   • The company recorded over 19.4 million tonnes of hot metal and around 18.3 million tonnes crude steel production.
     Source: News on Air
3. GST collection crossed Rs 18 trillion in FY23 – a record since the inception of GST on 1st July 2017.
   • This was also a significant year in terms of the average monthly collections that crossed Rs 1.51 trillion for the fourth time in March.

1. Central Government has notified amnesty scheme for small businesses, non-filers of final returns, and taxpayers whose Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration has been cancelled.
   • In February, the GST recommended that for GST taxpayers whose registration has been cancelled for non-filing of returns be given amnesty by allowing them to file applications for revocation within a specified date.
   • Separately, the CBIC has also rationalised late fee for delayed filing of annual return in (Form GSTR-9) for 2022-23 onwards, for small businesses with turnover up to Rs 20 crore.
   • Those with an aggregate turnover of up to Rs 5 crore in FY23, would be charged late fee of Rs 50 per day, subject to a maximum of an amount calculated at 0.04% of his turnover.
     Source: Business Standard
2. According to NASSCOM’s ‘India’s Tech SMEs: Rising in the Global Digital Arena’ report, revenue for the Indian tech small and medium enterprises (SME) sector is expected to grow by double digits to $40 billion by FY30.
   • The sector is expected to contribute 7–9% to the overall FY23 tech industry revenue at $15 billion – $20 billion, higher than the pre-pandemic share of the tech industry at 4-6%.
     Source: Economic Times

Important Days

1. April 1 – Utkal Divas or Odisha Day (separation of the Odisha from the Bihar on 1 April 1936)
   Source: The Quint
2. April 12 –
   • International Day for Street Children
   • International Day of Human Space Flight
   • 35th Foundation Day of SEBI (Estb. April 12, 1988)
   • On this day, SEBI released its new logo.

Source: UN and ANI

Sports

1. Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur launched a mobile app — Know Your Medicine – to increase awareness about risks associated with use of nutritional supplements.
   • The application has been developed by the National Anti-Doping Agency.
     Source: Hindustan Times
2. Madrid Spain Masters Super 300 badminton tournament 2023 – Men’s singles: Kenta Nishimoto (Japan); Women’s Singles: Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Indonesia)
   Source: BWF website

Miscellaneous

1. “The Great Bank Robbery” book has been authored by Sabyasachee Dash and Pattabhi Ram.
   Source: The Hindu Business Line
2. Keshub Mahindra (chairman emeritus of the Mahindra Group) has passed away at 99.
   Source: Times of India
3. Former India cricketer Salim Durani has passed away. He was the first cricketer to receive the Arjuna Award.

   Source: Sportstar

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