28th-30th April, 2023

1. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying has notified the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 under Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960.
2. National Health Authority (NHA) has become a participant in the Health Claims Exchange (HCX) Ecosystem by onboarding on the HCX – Sandbox Environment.
3. Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) scientists have studied the Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) waves, a form of plasma waves observed in the Earth’s magnetosphere, at the Indian Antarctic station, Maitri.
4. Union Health Ministry, in collaboration with Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, has requested states/UTs to develop 100 food streets in 100 districts across the country.
5. Indian Railways launched the Puri-Gangasagar Divya Kashi Yatra (under the Bharat Gaurav Train) from Pune on April 28.
6. The next Bharat Gaurav Train from Secunderabad will connect pilgrimage circuit of Mata Vaishnodevi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, etc.
7. Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Commerce and Industry has launched the Indiahandmade portal in Gujarat.
8. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released National Health Accounts Estimates for India (2019-20).
9. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) celebrated its 18th Foundation Day on 2nd March 2023 on “Empowering Girl Child” at Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya, New Delhi.
10. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 6th edition of Advantage Healthcare India 2023 (One Earth One Health) at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
11. Bureau of Civil Aviation (BCAS) commemorated its 37th raising day in New Delhi.
12. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has approved eight projects worth around Rs 638 crore to clean Ganga for Mahakumbh to be organized in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh in 2025.
13. The ‘Second meeting of ‘G20 Digital Economy Working Group’ (DEWG) was organized at Hyderabad.
14. India-Russia Inter-governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) meeting was co-chaired by Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry from Russia and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar.
15. India and the UK held the second meeting of the India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue in London. This is the first in-person financial dialogue since 2017.
16. IIT-Bombay is introducing a new form of convocation called Commencement Ceremony, for the first time.
17. 13th Meeting of India Thailand Joint Trade Committee (JTC) was held in New Delhi.
18. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has undertaken to translate its web-based application Food Safety and Compliance System (FoSCoS) in Hindi and all the regional languages.
19. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot launched ‘Mehangai Rahat’ camps in Sanganer district’s Mahapura village.
20. Manamadurai pottery from Tamil Nadu has earned a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
21. Khongjom Day is celebrated in Manipur, to honour the martyrs who fought in 1891 Anglo Manipuri War, at Khongjom in Thoubal district of Manipur.
22. Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the Farm Machinery Technology Summit, organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Tractor and Mechanization Association (TMA).
23. Ministry of Food Processing Industries organized a 2-day Millets Fair-cum-Exhibition at the ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, Rajasthan as part of the Millet Mahotsav series.
24. India has successfully carried out the maiden flight trial of a sea-based endo-atmospheric interceptor missile from a ship off the coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal.
25. NASA’s retired Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, almost 21 years after its launch.
26. Europe’s most powerful nuclear reactor, Olkiluoto 3, has started functioning normally.
27. Exercise INIOCHOS-23, a multi-national air exercise, is hosted by the Hellenic Air Force of the air force of Greece.
28. European Union’s Parliament is working on the “Markets in Crypto Act (MiCA)”.
29. WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with Immunization Agenda 2030 have launched “The Big Catch-up”, a targeted global initiative to boost vaccination among children.
30. Ukraine has received the U.S.-made ‘Patriot’ surface-to-air guided missile systems.
31. Jitgadhi festival is observed in Nepal to mark the victory over the British government, then East India Company, by the Nepal Army.
32. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) released the Global Food Policy Report 2023.
33. United Nations’ High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism launched a new report titled “A Breakthrough for People and Planet: Effective and Inclusive Global Governance for Today and the Future”.
34. World Bank has released the “World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies” report.
35. Indian iron ore miner NMDC Ltd is exploring lithium reserves in Perth, Australia
36. ITC Ltd has defeated HDFC to become the seventh largest firm by m-cap (market capitalisation) on Bombay Stock Exchange as on April 28, 2023.
37. April 26 – World Intellectual Property Day; Theme – Women and IP: Accelerating innovation and creativity
38. Satwik SaiRaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have become the first Indian Men’s Doubles pair to win the Badminton Asia Championships 2023 Title.
39. China won the gold medal in Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship 2023 held in Dubai, UAE.
40. 2023 Sudirman Cup will take place at Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre, China from 14-21 May.
41. The 400-year-old Danish Fort in Tharangambadi, Tamil Nadu will be revamped.
42. Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched ‘Reflections’, a book authored by eminent banker Shri Narayanan Vaghul (considered as the architect of modern banking in India).

National News

1. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying has notified the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 under Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960.
   • These rules supersede the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules, 2001.
     Source: PIB
2. National Health Authority (NHA) has become a participant in the Health Claims Exchange (HCX) Ecosystem by onboarding on the HCX – Sandbox Environment.
   • NHA announced HCX as a new initiative under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) in 2022.
   • NHA has developed a national Health Claims Exchange (HCX) to enable interoperability of health claims.
   • It will help in exchanging claims-related information among various stakeholders, including payers, providers, beneficiaries, regulators, and observers.
   • The interested participants can submit an online application to express their interest to access the HCX sandbox on https://sbxhcx.abdm.gov.in/.

Source: PIB

3. Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) scientists have studied the Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) waves, a form of plasma waves observed in the Earth’s magnetosphere, at the Indian Antarctic station, Maitri.
   • India has three research stations in Antarctica, namely Bharati, Dakshin Gangotri and Maitri.
   • Himadri is India’s first permanent Arctic research station located at Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway.
     Source: PIB and PIB
4. Union Health Ministry, in collaboration with Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, has requested states/UTs to develop 100 food streets in 100 districts across the country.
   • This pilot project aims to encourage other states to come up with such streets across the country for ensuring hygienic and safe food practices.
   • This unique initiative will be implemented through National Health Mission (NHM), in convergence with Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and with technical support from FSSAI.
   • The financial assistance for the initiative to States/UTs in the form of 1 crore per food street per districts will be given to fill up critical gaps.
   • This assistance will be provided under National Health Mission (NHM) in the ratio of 60:40 or 90:10.

5. Indian Railways launched the Puri-Gangasagar Divya Kashi Yatra (under the Bharat Gaurav Train) from Pune on April 28.
   • The train will cover Puri, Kolkata, Gaya, Varanasi and Prayagraj.
   • These theme-based trains have been conceptualised to showcase the rich cultural and religious heritage of Bharat to domestic and international tourists.
   • As of March 2023, 26 trips of Bharat Gaurav Trains have been operated covering around 22 states and four Union Territories.

6. The next Bharat Gaurav Train from Secunderabad will connect pilgrimage circuit of Mata Vaishnodevi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, etc.
   • Already, Ganga Pushkarala Yatra: Puri-Kashi-Ayodhya Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train are being operating at the Secunderabad railway station.
     Source: The Hindu
7. Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Commerce and Industry has launched the Indiahandmade portal in Gujarat.
   • Purpose – to provide more than 35 Lakh Handloom weavers & 27 Lakh Handicraft artisans direct access to consumers while eliminating the middlemen
     Source: PIB

8. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released National Health Accounts Estimates for India (2019-20).
   • NHA estimates for 2019-20 is the 7th consecutive NHA estimates report, since 2013-14.
   • It is prepared by National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC) since 2014.

9. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) celebrated its 18th Foundation Day on 2nd March 2023 on “Empowering Girl Child” at Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya, New Delhi.
   • NCPCR invited girl children from bordering villages of 75 districts across the country for the programme.
   • Union Minister of WCD and Minority Affairs launched “Child Rights Champions World” a dedicated feature on NCPCR’s website on child rights literacy.
   • Chairperson of NCPCR – Shri Priyank Kanoongo
     Source: PIB
10. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 6th edition of Advantage Healthcare India 2023 (One Earth One Health) at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
    • The health ministers from foreign countries like Bangladesh, Armenia, Bhutan, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, Maldives, Nigeria, Russia and Somalia are expected to participate in the summit.
      Source: ANI
11. Bureau of Civil Aviation (BCAS) commemorated its 37th raising day in New Delhi.
    • The organization now has pan-India presence with 20 regional offices.

12. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has approved eight projects worth around Rs 638 crore to clean Ganga for Mahakumbh to be organized in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh in 2025.
    • Of them, four projects amounting to around Rs 407 crore were approved for removing pollution in the Shamli district, Uttar Pradesh to clean River Hindon, which is a tributary of River Yamuna.
    • One project is for the development of seven ghats, which are Dashashmedh Ghat, Quila Ghat, Gyan Ganga Ashram Ghat and Saraswati Ghat in Uttar Pradesh.
    • In Bihar, a project to construct three Sewage Treatment Plants have been approved to prevent the flow of polluted water into River Kiul which is a tributary of Ganga.
    • In Madhya Pradesh, a Sewage Treatment Plant was approved at a cost of about Rs 93 crore to prevent the flow of polluted water into River Kshipra, sub-tributary of Yamuna.
    • Akhand Param Dham ghat will be constructed at a cost of over Rs 2 crore at Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

13. The ‘Second meeting of ‘G20 Digital Economy Working Group’ (DEWG) was organized at Hyderabad.
    • The third in-person meeting of Digital Economy Working Group is planned to be organised in the month of June 2023 at Pune, Maharashtra.
      Source: G20’s website
14. India-Russia Inter-governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) meeting was co-chaired by Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry from Russia and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar.
    • The IRIGC-TEC is the primary institutional mechanism supervising economic cooperation.
    • It comprises six working groups on economic and trade cooperation, modernisation and industrial cooperation, energy, tourism and culture, science and technology, and IT.

15. India and the UK held the second meeting of the India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue in London. This is the first in-person financial dialogue since 2017.
    • The Dialogue focused on six themes: (1) Banking (2) Payments and Cryptoassets, (3) Insurance and reinsurance, (4) Capital Markets (5) Asset Management, and (6) Sustainable Finance.
    • Chair of India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP) – Mr Bill Winters CBE (Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered) and Mr Uday Kotak (MD & CEO Kotak Mahindra Bank)
    • IUKFP has released a report on ‘Harnessing the power of FinTech and data’. UK-India FinTech Joint Working Group will implement the recommendations of the report.
      Source: PIB
16. IIT-Bombay is introducing a new form of convocation called Commencement Ceremony, for the first time.
    • Director of IIT Bombay – Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri
    • IIT Bombay will confer the award of the Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) to Rohini Godbole, Honorary Professor, Centre for High Energy Physics, IISC Bangalore, in 2023.
      Source: News on Air
17. 13th Meeting of India Thailand Joint Trade Committee (JTC) was held in New Delhi.
    • India is working on connecting the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) of India with the Prompt Pay Service of Thailand and the settlement of trade transactions in local currency.

18. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has undertaken to translate its web-based application Food Safety and Compliance System (FoSCoS) in Hindi and all the regional languages.
    • FoSCoS is a one-point stop for FBOs for their interface with the food safety regulator for all types of compliances.

Source: News on Air and FSSAI’s FoSCoS

State News

1. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot launched ‘Mehangai Rahat’ camps in Sanganer district’s Mahapura village.
   • These camps will be organised across the state from April 24 to June 30 so that the benefits of various welfare schemes of the state government reach the beneficiaries.
     Source: Indian Express
2. Manamadurai pottery from Tamil Nadu has earned a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
   • Manamadurai is a small village in Sivagangai district. The Vaigai river flows through it.
     Source: The Hindu
3. Khongjom Day is celebrated in Manipur, to honour the martyrs who fought in 1891 Anglo Manipuri War, at Khongjom in Thoubal district of Manipur.
   Source: News on Air

Agriculture and Rural Development

1. Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the Farm Machinery Technology Summit, organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Tractor and Mechanization Association (TMA).
   • An amount of Rs.6120.85 crore has been released to the states from 2014-15 to 2022-23 for various activities like training, testing, setting up of Custom Hiring Centres, hi-tech hubs and Farm Machinery Banks (FMBs) under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM).
   • There are about 85% small farmers in the country.
     Source: PIB
2. Ministry of Food Processing Industries organized a 2-day Millets Fair-cum-Exhibition at the ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, Rajasthan as part of the Millet Mahotsav series.
   • Rajasthan is the largest producer of millet in India contributing more than 16% share in India’s production.
   • In addition to the Millets Mahotsav, a mega-food event “World Food India 2023” will be organized by the Ministry from 3rd to 5th Nov 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
     Source: PIB

Defence News

1. India has successfully carried out the maiden flight trial of a sea-based endo-atmospheric interceptor missile from a ship off the coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal.
   • The endo-atmospheric missiles are the ones that operate within the earth’s atmosphere that covers an altitude below 100 km.
     Source: Economic Times

International News

1. NASA’s retired Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, almost 21 years after its launch.
   • From 2002 to its decommissioning in 2018, RHESSI observed solar waves from its low-Earth orbit, helping scientists understand the underlying physics of how such powerful bursts of energy are created.
     Source: NASA
2. Europe’s most powerful nuclear reactor, Olkiluoto 3, has started functioning normally.
   • The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant is in Finland.
     Source: Reuters
3. Exercise INIOCHOS-23, a multi-national air exercise, is hosted by the Hellenic Air Force of the air force of Greece.
   • Indian Air Force (IAF) is also participating in this exercise with four Su-30 MKI and two C-17 aircraft.
     Source: ANI
   • European Union’s Parliament is working on the “Markets in Crypto Act (MiCA)”.
     • The legislation seeks to reduce risks for consumers buying crypto assets. The legislations will make the providers liable if they lose investors’ crypto assets.
       Source: CNBC
   • WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with Immunization Agenda 2030 have launched “The Big Catch-up”, a targeted global initiative to boost vaccination among children.
     • Purpose – to reverse the declines in childhood vaccination recorded in over 100 countries, which are driven by the COVID-19 pandemic
       Source: WHO’s website
   • Ukraine has received the U.S.-made ‘Patriot’ surface-to-air guided missile systems.
     Source: The Hindu
4. Jitgadhi festival is observed in Nepal to mark the victory over the British government, then East India Company, by the Nepal Army.
   • A Nepal Army led by Colonel Ujir Singh Thapa conquered the Jitgadhi fort in 1872 by taking down the British Army.
     Source: News on Air

Reports and Indices

1. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) released the Global Food Policy Report 2023.
   • 205 million people across 45 countries experienced crisis-level acute food insecurity or worse in 2022.
   • The number of undernourished is likely to increase by 196 million people, raising the total to 768 million by 2021.
   • An annual investment of $300-400 billion is required to make food systems more resilient and sustainable.
   • Three solutions suggested by the report to make food systems more reliable, which are crisis prediction and preparation; building resilience before and during crises; and making crisis response supportive and inclusive of vulnerable groups.
   • Investing in early warning systems is essential to save lives, livelihoods, and money.
     Source: IFPRI’s report
2. United Nations’ High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism launched a new report titled “A Breakthrough for People and Planet: Effective and Inclusive Global Governance for Today and the Future”.

3. World Bank has released the “World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies” report.
   • About 184 million people (including 37 million refugees) — 2.3% of the world’s population — are migrants. Almost half of them is in low- and middle-income countries.
   • The report offers a framework based on a “match and motive” matrix that focuses on two factors: how closely migrants’ skills and attributes match the needs of destination countries and what motives underlie their movements.
   • The framework aims to maximize the development impacts of cross-border movements on both destination and origin countries and on migrants and refugees themselves.
     Source: World Bank

Banking and Economy

1. Indian iron ore miner NMDC Ltd is exploring lithium reserves in Perth, Australia
   • NMDC is the majority owner of a mine located in Mt Bevan in Australia.

2. ITC Ltd has defeated HDFC to become the seventh largest firm by m-cap (market capitalisation) on Bombay Stock Exchange as on April 28, 2023.
   • Reliance has the highest m-cap on BSE in India, followed by TCS.
   • In the Banks-Private category, HDFC Bank has the highest m-cap, followed by ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra.
   • In the Banks-Public category, SBI has the highest m-cap, followed by Bank of Baroda, and Punjab National Bank.
     Source: MoneyControl and LiveMint

Important Days

1. April 26 – World Intellectual Property Day; Theme – Women and IP: Accelerating innovation and creativity
   Source: WIPO’s website

Sports

1. Satwik SaiRaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have become the first Indian Men’s Doubles pair to win the Badminton Asia Championships 2023 Title.
   • Men’s Singles – Anthony Ginting (Indonesian)
   • Women’s Singles – Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan)
     Source: PIB and Olympics.com
2. China won the gold medal in Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship 2023 held in Dubai, UAE.
   Source: BWF website
3. 2023 Sudirman Cup will take place at Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre, China from 14-21 May.
   Source: The Hindu

Miscellaneous

1. The 400-year-old Danish Fort in Tharangambadi, Tamil Nadu will be revamped.
   Source: New Indian Express
2. Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched ‘Reflections’, a book authored by eminent banker Shri Narayanan Vaghul (considered as the architect of modern banking in India).
   Source: PIB

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