National
22 April: Earth Day will be observed:
i. Earth Day is being celebrated every year on 22 April, and encourages people to look after the planet by being environmentally friendly.
ii. Today Google Doodle marks annual environmental awareness event, over a billion people are expected to take part in the event in more than 190 countries around the Glob.
iii. The theme for this year Earth Day is “Trees for the Earth”.
iv. According to the Earth Day Network, the planet is losing 15 billion trees each year. Their goal is to therefore plant 7.8 billion trees by Earth Day 2020 – one for every person on the planet.
When did it start?
a) The idea for Earth Day came after a particularly bad oil spill disaster took place in California in 1969.
b) Politicians and activists banded together to push for environmental reform, and held the first Earth Day on 22 April, 1970.
c) Twenty-million Americans reportedly took part in demonstrations across the country, and the day is now credited with spawning the global green movement.
Union Cabinet approves signing the Paris Agreement adopted at 21st CoP on earth day:
i. The Union Cabinet gave its approval for signing the Paris Agreement adopted at the 21st Conference of Parties of UNFCCC held in Paris in December 2015.
ii. In this regard, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar will sign the agreement on behalf of India.
Key insights of the Paris Agreement:
a) Rights of Developing Countries: Acknowledges the development imperatives of developing countries and their rights to development.
b) Sustainable Development: It recognizes the importance of sustainable lifestyles and sustainable patterns of consumption.
c) Implementation of the Convention: It reflects the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities especially in the light of different national circumstances.
d) Financial support from Developed countries: They have been urged to scale up their level of financial support with a complete road map. The sole purpose the financial support from developed countries is to achieve the goal of mitigating climate change jointly providing US 100 billion dollars by 2020.
6 Indians in TIME’s 100 most influential people:
i. TIME released the list of 100 most influential people on Thursday which featured six Indians including RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and actress Priyanka Chopra.
ii. Tennis ace Sania Mirza, environmentalist Sunita Narain along with Flipkart Co-founders Sachin and Binny Bansal were other Indians on the list. The list also featured Indian-origin Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
iii. Time’s annual list, released on Thursday, includes pioneers like American composer Lin Manuel-Miranda, leaders like IMF head Christine Lagarde and icons like Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio who are “exploring the frontiers of art, science, society, technology and more.”
iv. Terming Rajan as “India’s prescient banker,” Time said he is among a rare breed of “economic seers” who has “steered” India through the global crisis and fallout, “playing a large role in making it one of the emerging-market stars of the moment.
v. While serving as the youngest chief economist of the IMF from 2003 to 2006, Time said Rajan predicted the subprime crisis that would lead to the Great Recession, standing up to critics like former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who labeled him a “Luddite”.
vi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was among the probable contenders for the list, was not in the final list determined by Time’s editors. Modi was among Time’s 100 most influential people in the world last year.
Central Government launches Twitter Seva to address grievances:
i. The Commerce and Industry Ministry launched a new service, ‘Twitter Seva’, to address issues and grievances of startups, exporters and importers, and other stakeholders.
ii. For this, an institutionalised mechanism with a special Twitter cell has been created in the ministry manned by a set of dedicated officers of the ministry.
iii. Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the ministry would try to respond to the queries within 48 to 72 working hours.
iv. Issues related to manufacturing policy, industrial corridors, investment promotion, Make in India, Start up India, FDI, intellectual property rights will be addressed by the DIPP.
v. Under this, anyone who is desirous of assistance from the ministry can use the hashtag – ‘#mociseva’.
Goa to host International seminar on wheat products:
i. The eighth International Seminar on Wheat and Wheat Products is scheduled to be held in Panaji, Goa, on July 17-18.
ii. The theme for this year’s seminar is ‘New Ideas and Innovation for Growth’,” chairman,Wheat Products Promotion Society (WPPS), Ratan Gupta, said.
iii. WPPS has been organising a number of seminars for past many years on relevant themes concerning wheat value chain encompassing farm to plate.
Intel starts ‘Unnati Kendras’ in 10 Telangana towns:
i. Chip maker Intel India said it has launched its ‘Unnati Kendras’, an initiative aimed at providing digital literacy and delivering government-related content to people, across 10 towns in Telangana. A part of Intel India’s `Ek Kadam Unnati Ki Aur’ programme.
ii. Intel would collaborate with Common Service Centres (CSCs), facilities launched primarily for the delivery of e-services of the government in rural areas, for the initiative.
iii. Each Unnati Kendra will be equipped with Intel powered devices, local language content, and relevant training modules for non-urban citizens in the state.
iv. The centres would also be used as platforms for delivering Government-related content to the citizens – digital literacy, financial inclusion and healthcare.
Business & Economy
India world’s top FDI destination in ’15: Report:
i. India has overtaken China as the world’s top destination for foreign direct investment by attracting greenfield capital investment worth $63 billion in 2015.
ii. Greenfield investments are a form of FDI in which a company starts a venture in a foreign nation by setting up new operational facilities.
iii. “India replaced China as the top destination for FDI by capital investment following a year of high-value project announcements specifically across the coal, oil and natural gas and renewable energy sectors,” the report said.
iv. Of the top 10 destination states for FDI in 2015, India claims five places, with the top place going to Gujarat, which attracted USD 12.4 billion.
FDI inflows up 37 percent to $39.32 bn in 2015:
i. Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country increased by 37 per cent to USD 39.32 billion during 2015.
ii. The foreign investment inflows stood at USD 28.78 billion in 2014, according to data by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
iii. Computer hardware and software sector attracted the highest FDI, followed by services, trading business, automobile industry and chemicals.
iv. Singapore emerged as the biggest FDI source, followed by Mauritius, US, Netherlands and Japan.
v. The government has taken several steps to promote investments through a liberal FDI policy. It has relaxed norms in several sectors, including single brand retail, e-commerce and construction.
International
Paris Climate Agreement To Be Signed By world leaders on Earth Day 2016:
i. Leaders from about 130 nations are gathering at the United Nations to sign the historic climate deal reached in Paris last December.
ii. The signing happens on the 46th anniversary of Earth Day. Since 1970, every year people around the world observe the day by doing different activities to clean up the environment.
iii. On April 22, 1970, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson organized the first Earth Day with a “national teach-in on the environment.”
iv. Both China and the United States – the world’s top carbon dioxide emitters – have promised to sign the agreement at the upcoming UN ceremony on Earth Day.
Awards & Honors
Pulitzer Prize 2016 Given away:
i. The Sympathizer, a debut novel of Vietnamese American professor Viet Thanh Nguyen has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
ii. While, Associated Press has won two prestigious Pulitzer prize in Public Service for coverage for an investigation of severe labour abuses tied to the supply of seafood to American supermarkets and restaurants.
A few important names of 2016 Pulitzer Prize Winners:
a) Books, Drama and Music
Fiction: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen.
Drama: Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
History: Custer’s Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America by T.J. Stiles.
Biography: Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan,.
Poetry: Ozone Journal by Peter Balakian.
Music: In for a Penny, In for a Pound by Henry Threadgill.
b) Journalism
Public Service: Associated Press.
Breaking News Reporting: Los Angeles Times Staff.
Investigative Reporting: Leonora LaPeter Anton and Anthony Cormier of the Tampa Bay Times and Michael Braga of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
International Reporting: Alissa J. Rubin of The New York Times.
Pulitzer Prize: It honours the extraordinary work in US journalism, drama, literature and other areas. It also brings welcome attention and recognition to newspapers and websites.
Mahatma Gandhi’s granddaughter Tara Gandhi gets top French honour:
i. Mahatma Gandhi’s granddaughter Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee was on Wednesday conferred with the Order of Arts and Letters, one of France’s top honours.
ii. “This honour comes in recognition of Bhattacharjee’s remarkable work for promoting peace, solidarity, culture, education, and development,” the French Embassy said.
iii. On behalf of the French President Bhattacharjee, 82, was conferred the Officier de lOrdre des Arts et Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) honour here late last evening by French Ambassador Francois Richier.
iv. Some noted Indian recipients of this honour in the past include Bharti Kher, Subodh Gupta, Shahrukh Khan, Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Aishwarya Rai, Raghu Rai, Ebrahim Alkazi, Habib Tanveer, and Upamanyu Chatterjee. PTI ANS
About Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee:
a) The daughter of late Devadas Gandhi and the late Lakshmi Devadas Gandhi, is the widow of the late Jyoti Prasad Bhattacharjee, a leading economist.
b) For the past 28 years, she has been working for the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust, founded by Mahatma Gandhi in memory of his wife to serve needy women and children of rural India.
About the Award: The LOrdre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) is a French government distinction for “persons who have distinguished themselves by their creativity in the field of art, culture and literature or for their contribution to the influence of arts in France and throughout the world.”
Amitav Banerji, an Indian diplomat honoured by Cyprus:
i. Amitav Banerji, an Indian diplomat in the UK has been conferred with one of the highest awards of Cyprus for his work in a number of senior roles within the Commonwealth Secretariat for over two decades.
ii. Amitav Banerji, 63, was presented with his Commander of the Order of Merit at a ceremony at the Cyprus High Commission.
iii. Born in 1953, Banerji graduated from Georgetown University and went on to do his Masters from the Delhi School of Economics.
iv. He joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1975 and served in different capacities for 15 years, including postings to Pakistan, Spain and Malaysia.
Science & Technology
ISRO Scientists develop world’s lightest material Silica Aerogel:
i. Scientists from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have indigenously developed world’s lightest synthetic material called ‘silica aerogel’ or ‘blue air’.
ii. It was developed by the team of scientist from ISRO’s e Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. Silica Aerogel is the lightest synthetic material ever made by man.
Key Properties of Silica Aerogel:
a) It is light in weight and can be delicately placed on a flower head.
b) Excellent thermal resistance and acts as a good insulator.
c) The matrix of aerogel is made up of 99 per cent air.
Important applications of Silicia Aerogal:
a) It can used as filler in soldiers’ uniforms to save lives of soldiers at the Siachen glacier.
b) It can be used to insulate rocket engines as it can be used both in space and on Earth.
c) It can be also painted on windows in to keep buildings cool or warm.
d) ISRO is going to use this material on moon rover in Chandryaan-2 mission of India.
ISRO to launch satellite by Bengaluru students:
i. A nanosatellite developed by 250 students of PES University in Bengaluru will soon be launched by Indian Space Research Organization, along with one of its space missions.
ii. The satellite named PISAT, will take high resolution pictures of Earth from space. It will revolve around Earth at a distance of 680-720 km.
iii. PES students and professors will control it from a commanding and control station that has been established in the university campus.
Short News
I. Satellite communication provider TechnoSatComm has been awarded a 10-year contract by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to provide free Wi-Fi to Delhi Metro commuters. Mumbai-based broadcast firm Ping Networks has partnered with the company as the main licensee for providing content.
II. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has rolled out cashless payment mechanism ‘FASTag’ at 275 of 350 toll plazas on national highways across the country, to ensure smoother vehicle movement.
III. The People magazine has named Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston as ‘World’s Most Beautiful Woman’ for 2016. The 47-year-old actress also appears on the cover of the magazine’s 27th annual ‘World’s Most Beautiful’ double issue.
Iv. In an attempt to show the minimal environmental impact of coal mining operations, Western Coalfields, a unit of Coal India, has created a 15-acre eco-park between the Saoner and Gondegaon mines in Maharashtra.
V. Wax figures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi took up residence at the Madame Tussauds museums in London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok.
VI. Former WWF wrestler and American entertainer Joan Marie Laurer, popularly known as Chyna, passed away aged 45. Chyna, who was billed as the “Ninth Wonder of the World”, is the only female player to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship, and the only female wrestler to participate in the King of the Ring and Royal Rumble events.
VII. Environmentalist RK Pachauri, accused of sexual harassment by his former women colleagues, has stepped down as a member of the Governing Council of TERI “to get engaged in other interests”. TERI had decided to “sever” its association with Pachauri even though his employment contract expires in 2017.
VIII. English director Guy Hamilton, best known for directing four ‘James Bond’ movies, passed away aged 93. The ‘James Bond’ films directed by him include ‘Live and Let Die’ (1973) and ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ (1974).
IX. Google India has emerged as the most attractive employer in the country for the second consecutive year, followed by Mercedes-Benz, according to a survey by human resource consulting firm Randstad.
X. Russia will sign a joint manufacturing contract with India for 200 Ka-226T light utility multirole helicopters before the end of the year, the head of the Russian state technology corporation Rostecs international cooperation department said.