Daily Current Affairs and GK | 18 and 19 April 2021

Topic: Important Days

1. World Heritage Day: 18 April

• It is celebrated every year on 18 April to spread awareness about the protection and conservation of rich cultural heritage.
• It is also celebrated to mark the efforts of organizations involved in the conservation of heritage.
• World Heritage Day was suggested by the International Council of Mountains and Sights in 1982 and it was adopted at the 22^nd session of the UNESCO Conference in 1983.
• World Heritage Sites are the places/monuments/areas that are included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO.
• There are a total of 1,121 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world and 38 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India. 

Topic: Books and Authors

2. Suresh Raina’s memoir ‘Believe’ to be released in May 2021.

• Suresh Raina’s autobiography ‘Believe: What Life and Cricket Taught Me’ will be unveiled in May 2021.
• He has written his memoir with Bharat Sundaresan. It will be published by Penguin Random House India.
• In this book, he has written about the challenges he faced during the journey of his life.
• He has also written about the lessons he learned from senior colleagues like Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sourav Ganguly.
• In this book, he wrote about the highs and lows of his cricketing career.

Topic: Space and IT

3. 2021 Lyrid meteor shower active from 16 April to 25 April.

• 2021 Lyrid meteor shower is coming. Lyrid meteor shower occurs once a year and is active each year from April 16 to 25.
• Lyrid meteor shower radiate from the constellation Lyra the Harp, near brightest star Vega. Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra.
• The source of Lyrid meteors is Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1). Earth crosses the orbital path of Comet Thatcher every year in late April.
• Lyrid meteor shower ends meteor drought. Meteor drought (meteor shower drought) lasts from January to mid-April every year.
• There are no major meteor showers during January to mid-April every year. This is called meteor drought. Important meteor showers are given below.

• An ionized gas trail that glows for a few seconds after the meteor has passed is called a meteor train.  

Topic: Corporates/Companies

4. IndianOil enters into partnership with Consumerfed for sale of 5 kg LPG cylinders.

• IndianOil has entered into a partnership with Consumerfed for the sale of 5 kg LPG cylinders.
• 5 kg LPG cylinders are sold under Chhotu brand. Chhotu brand cylinders will be sold through Consumerfed’s extensive network of Thriveni outlets.
• Chhotu brand cylinders has a vast clientele in Kerala. It has a market share of over 75 percent in Kerala.
• Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IndianOil) is one of the Maharatna public sector companies. It is the largest commercial oil company in India.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

5. Roberto Benigni to get Lifetime Achievement award of Venice Film festival.

• Roberto Benigni will get the Lifetime Achievement award of the Venice Film festival.
• He has won Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at 78^th Venice International Film Festival.
• Festival’s Director, Alberto Barbera, proposed Benigni’s name for the award. Venice Film festival runs from September 1-11.
• Roberto Benigni is an Italian director-actor. He has won Oscar two times. He is known for his Holocaust drama ‘Life is Beautiful’.
• He won the best actor and best international film Oscars for ‘Life is Beautiful’.
• His other films: ‘Night on Earth’, ‘Coffee and Cigarettes’ and ‘To Rome with Love’. Matteo Garrone’s live-action ‘Pinocchio’ is his recent film.
• Venice Film festival or Venice International Film Festival is oldest film festival of the world.
• It is one of the Big Three film festivals. Cannes Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival are other two film festivals included in the category of Big Three film festivals.

Topic: International News

6. Electronic visa (e-visa) facility for foreigners from 156 countries restored.

• Electronic visa (e-visa) facility for foreigners from 156 countries has been restored by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• The facility has been restored only for foreigners visiting India for purposes of business, conferences, and for medical reasons. E-visa for tourists is yet to be restored.
• E-visa facility is available to 171 countries. As of now, it has been restored only for 156 countries.
• Electronic visa (e-visa) facility has not been restored in case of foreigners from China, the U.K., Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and others.
• Earlier visa restrictions were relaxed on October 22, 2020. An e-visa is provided in five categories. These categories are tourist, business, conference, medical, and medical attendant.
• Entry through e-visas is allowed only at 28 designated international airports.

Topic: Sports

7. Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2021 winners were announced.

• In the 2021 edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, Virat Kohli has been announced the One Day International cricketer of the decade for the 2010s.
• To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the first One-Day International, five ODI cricketers of the decade have been named in the edition of 2021.
• Muttiah Muralitharan has been named the ODI Cricketer of the 2000s. Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev have been named for the 1990s and 1980s.
• Viv Richards has been named the ODI cricketer of the year for the 1970s.
• Australia’s Beth Mooney has won the award of ‘Leading Women’s Cricketer in the World’ and Ben Stokes has won the ‘Leading Men’s Cricketer in the World’ award.
• Jason Holder, Mohammed Rizwan, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, and Darren Stevens have received the award of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year 2021.
• Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack is also known as the bible of cricket. It is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom.

Topic: Defence

8. India and Kyrgyzstan started eighth edition of Exercise “Khanjar”.

• Special Forces of India and Kyrgyzstan started the eighth edition of the Exercise “Khanjar” on 16 April. It is being organised in Bishkek.
• The two-week military exercise will be focused on high-altitude warfare and counter-terror drills.
• The first edition of the “Khanjar” exercise was started in 2011. It is a joint military exercise.
• India and Kyrgyzstan had signed an agreement to hold joint military exercises in 2018.
• Kyrgyzstan:
  • It is bordered by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China.
  • Its capital and largest city is Bishkek.
  • Som is the currency of Kyrgyzstan.
  • Sadyr Japarov is the current President of Kyrgyzstan.

Topic: Sports

9. Mirabai Chanu won bronze medal at Asian Weightlifting Championships.

• Mirabai Chanu has won the bronze medal at the Asian Weightlifting Championships.
• She lifted 205 kg (86 kg snatch + 119 kg Clean and Jerk). Her previous best was 203kg in the National championships in Kolkata.
• She has set a new World Record by lifting 119 kg Clean and Jerk in the 49kg women’s category.
• Hou Zhihui of China has won the Gold medal while Jiang Huihua clinched the silver medal in this event.
• India’s Jhilli Dalabehera won the gold medal in the 45kg category at the 2021 Asian Weightlifting Championship.
• Asian Weightlifting Championships:
  • It is being held since 1969 for men and 1988 for women.
  • It is organised by the Asian Weightlifting Federation for the players of Asian countries.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Personality in News

10. Co-founder of Adobe, Charles ‘Chuck’ Geschke passed away.

• The co-founder of Adobe, Charles ‘Chuck’ Geschke, died at the age of 81.
• He also helped in the development of the Portable Document Format (PDF) technology.
• He founded the software company Adobe along with John Warnock in 1982.
• He was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 2009.
• Adobe PostScript was the first product of Adobe.
• Adobe:
  • It is an American software company.
  • Its headquarters is located in San Jose, California.
  • Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Acrobat Acrobat Reader are some famous tools of Adobe.
  • Shantanu Narayen is the current CEO of Adobe.

Topic: Personality in News

11. PM paid homage to former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar on his Jayanti.

• The nation paid homage to Chandra Shekhar on his 94^th birth anniversary.
• Chandra Shekhar Singh was the eighth Prime Minister of India between November 10, 1990, and June 21, 1991. He headed the Janata Dal government in 1990.
• He is remembered for his simplicity and commitment to social empowerment.
• Chandra Shekhar:
  • He was born on 19 April 1927.
  • He was a famous leader of the socialists.
  • He is the first Indian Prime Minister who has never held any Government office.
  • He was a member of Rajya Sabha from 1962 to 1977, 1962 to 1968.

(Source: News on AIR)