Daily Current Affairs and GK | 15 April 2021

Topic: Awards and Rewards

1. Guneet Monga awarded second-highest civilian French honor.

• Guneet Monga has been conferred with the honor of the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans I'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres).
• It is the second-highest civilian French honor.
• She also won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject.
• In 2008, she established a production company called Sikhya Entertainment.
• French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Dria has conferred the award.
• Hollywood stars like Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Bruce Willis, among others, have already been honored with this award.
• Indian stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, Anurag Kashyap, Kalki Koechlin, Nandita Das, and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia have also received this award.

Topic: Miscellaneous

2. Punjab Government announced Sonu Sood as brand ambassador for COVID vaccination drive.

• Bollywood Actor Sonu Sood has been appointed as the brand ambassador for Punjab’s Covid vaccination program.
• Ranveer Singh has become the brand ambassador of the Justdial.
• Suresh Raina has become the brand ambassador of Elista.
• Punjab:
  • Punjab is a state in the northwest region of India.
  • Its capital is Chandigarh.
  • Its Governor is V. P. Singh Badnore.
  • Its Chief Minister is Captain Amarinder Singh.

Topic: Banking System

3. Airtel Payments Bank announced to launch a savings account 'Rewards123'.

• Airtel Payment bank is going to launch a new savings account, 'Rewards123', for its customers.
• The account Rewards123 will give many certain offer rewards on different types of digital transactions throughout the year.
• The account Rewards123 can be open through Airtel Thanks App using Video KYC, and those who are already a customer of the bank can upgrade their account.
• Airtel Payments Bank:
  • Airtel Payments Bank is a public limited payment bank, which provides services on recharge, utility payments.
  • It is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel.
  • Its CEO is Anubrata Biswas.
  • Its headquarters is in New Delhi.
  • It was founded in January 2017.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

4. National Commission for Scheduled Castes’ Online Grievance Management Portal launched.

• On the occasion of the 130^th birth anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched the Online Grievance Management Portal of National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC).
• It has been launched to receive the complaints of Scheduled Caste victims in online mode. The Portal will enable Scheduled Castes people to register their complaints from any part of the country and to get them addressed in a time-bound manner.
• The portal is designed with the help of the Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG-N).
• It also provides the facility to upload any documents and audio/video files.
• National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC):
  • It is a constitutional body that provides safeguards against the exploitation of SCs.
  • It was set up under Article 338 of the Constitution of India.
  • President of India appoints the Chairman and other members of NCSC.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Art and Culture     

5. Tamizh Puthandu, Rongali Bihu, Naba Barsha, Vaisakhadi festivals celebrated in different parts of the country.

• President Ram Nath Kovind greeted people on the occasion of Tamizh Puthandu, Rongali Bihu, Naba Barsha, and Vaisakhadi.
• These are the name of the New Year festivals in the different parts of the country.
• Tamizh Puthandu:
  • It is celebrated every year on April 14 in Tamil Nadu. It is celebrated as Tamil New Year.
  • It is the first day, according to the Tamil solar calendar, Chittirai.
  • It is also celebrated in Sri Lanka.
• Rongali Bihu:
  • It is observed as the first day of the Assamese New Year.
  • It is also called Bihu and Bohag Bihu.
  • Its celebration begins on April 14 and will end on April 20, 2021.
  • Rangoli Bihu, Magh Bihu, and Maghar Domahi are three types of Bihu festivals in Assam.
• Naba Barsha:
  • It is the first day of the Bengali Calendar.
  • It is celebrated as the Bengali New Year.
  • It is celebrated on April 14 or 15 in West Bengal and Bangladesh.
• Vaisakhi:
  • It is a festival for the harvest season.
  • It is celebrated as the beginning of the Hindu solar New Year.
  • It is celebrated every year on 13 or 14 April.
  • It is mainly celebrated in the state of Punjab.

Topic: International News

6. Former banker Guillermo Lasso won Presidential election of Ecuador.

• A former banker, Guillermo Lasso, has won Ecuador’s presidential election. He belongs to the “Creating Opportunities party”.
• He has won 52.4% of the vote, while his opponent, Arauz, won 47.6% of the total vote.
• He is a three-time presidential candidate. He was in the second position in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections.
• He said that he would work to defend the rights of women and he will also end discrimination against LGBT people.
• He has to face the twin challenges of economic distress and health crisis.
• He will assume office on 24 May 2021. He will take the place of current President Lenin Moreno.
• Ecuador:
  • It is a country in South America.
  • It shares its border with Colombia, Peru, and the Pacific Ocean.
  • Its capital is Quito.
  • The President of Ecuador is head of state and head of the army. He is appointed for a term of four years.

Topic: Important Days

7. World Chagas Disease Day: 14 April

• The World Chagas Disease Day is observed every year on 14 April to raise awareness about Chagas Disease.
• In 2019, WHO had adopted this day at the 72^nd World Health Assembly.
• The first World Chagas Disease Day was observed on 14 April 2020. It has been named after Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano Chagas, the Brazilian doctor.
• Chagas disease:
  • It is also known as American trypanosomiasis.
  • Around 6 million to 7 million people in the world are infected with this disease.
  • It mainly transmits to humans through insects known as Triatominae. 
  • It can lead to heart problems and digestive complications.
  • It is mainly prevalent in Latin America.

Topic: Personality in News

8. Former Chief Election Commissioner GVG Krishnamurty passed away.

• Former Election Commissioner GVG Krishnamurty died at the age of 86.
• He was the Election Commissioner from October 1, 1993 to September 30, 1996.
• He will be remembered for his exemplary contribution during his tenure.
• Election Commission:
  • The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional body.
  • It is the body responsible for the conduct of Union and State election procedures in India.
  • The Commission consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.
  • Sushil Chandra is the current Chief Election Commissioner of India.

Topic: MoUs / Agreements

9. NITI Aayog and Atal Innovation Mission signed a pact with Dassault Systemes Foundation.

• NITI Aayog and Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) have signed a pact with Dassault Systemes Foundation to work together to provide a digital-rich ecosystem to the aspiring young minds in India.
• Atal Tinkering Labs always make a vital contribution to promote creativity and imagination among school children.
• Dassault Systemes Foundation always works dedicatedly to change the future of education and research through its 3D technology.
• Dassault Systemes Foundation will jointly work with Atal Tinkering Labs program in three broad areas.
• The three projects are based on - self-paced learning content, hackathons and challenges, and inter-country academia collaborations.
• According to the agreement, Dassault Systemes Foundation will provide design and manage all the innovative challenges.
• Atal Tinkering Labs will promote problem-solving skills and an innovation culture between students and teachers.

Topic: National News

10. Mental Wellbeing Digital platform ‘MANAS’ has been launched by Prof. K Vijay Raghavan.

• A Mental health digital platform, ‘MANAS App’, was launched by Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government, Prof. K Vijay Raghavan.
• The platform aims to promote wellbeing across age groups.
• MANAS stands for Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System.
• It is recognized as a national program by the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).
• It has been jointly developed by Nimhans Bengaluru, AFMC Pune, and C-DAC Bengaluru.

(Source: New on AIR)

Topic: Sports

11. Pakistani Captain Babar Azam became No. 1 ODI batsman after replacing Virat Kohli.

• Babar Azam leaves behind Virat Kohli in the International Cricket Council’s ODI ranking table to become the No.1 batsman.
• Virat Kohli had occupied the top position for nearly three and a half years.
• He became the fourth batsman of Pakistan to reach the top of the ODI batting ranking after Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, and Mohammad Yousuf.
• In the ICC bowling ranking, New Zealand bowler Trent Boult ranked top and Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Kiwi pacer Matt Henry ranked second and third respectively.
• Jasprit Bumrah has ranked fourth in the ICC ranking.

(Source: New on AIR)