Daily Current Affairs and GK | 26 April 2023

Topic: Sports

1. Sifan Hassan won her debut marathon on 23^rd April 2023.

• She won the women’s title on debut. She is a Dutch middle-distance athlete.
• She won the 2023 TCS London Marathon. She finished three seconds ahead of second-placed Alemu Megertu of Ethiopia. Kenya’s Jepchirchir finished third.
• Hassan has won Olympic gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres.
• Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum won the men’s title with record time.
• Kelvin Kiptum finished nearly three minutes ahead of second-placed Geoffrey Kamworor.
• Kiptum ran the fastest-ever debut marathon in Valencia last year.
• Switzerland’s Marcel Hug won the elite men’s wheelchair race.
• Australia’s Madison de Rozario won the women’s wheelchair race.

Topic: State News/Bihar

2. Bihar portion of the Barauni Guwahati Pipeline (BGPL) under the Pradhanmantri Urja Ganga project has been successfully completed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

• The completion of the pipeline will connect six districts in Bihar to the National Gas Grid.
• The aim of the Pradhanmantri Urja Ganga project is to provide a continuous supply of environment-friendly and affordable natural gas across the country.
• Completion of the Bihar portion of the BGPL will provide access to clean and affordable natural gas to households, industries, and transportation sectors in the six districts of Bihar.
• The project will boost economic growth and improve the quality of life for the people in the region.
• Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi in Varanasi.

Topic: National News

3. Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the National Technology Centre for Ports Waterways and Coasts (NTCPWC).

• He inaugurated NTCPWC, IIT - Discovery Campus at Chennai in Tamil Nadu on 24 April 2023.
• NTCPWC has been established in IIT Chennai at a cost of 77 crore rupees under the Sagarmala Programme.
• NTCPWC acts as a technological arm of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
• It develops cutting-edge technologies and application products to provide solutions to various challenges faced by the Ports and Shipping Sector.
• It can undertake 2D and 3D investigations of research and consultancy nature for the Port, Coastal and Waterways sector across all disciplines.

Topic: Sports

4. Spain's Carlos Alcaraz defeated Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas and won the Barcelona Open on 23^rd April 2023.

• Alcaraz won his third ATP Tour title of the year and the ninth overall.
• Alcaraz won in Barcelona Open for the second consecutive year.
• It was Tsitsipas's fourth consecutive loss to Alcaraz.
• Alcaraz was defeated by Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the Miami Open.
• In December, Alcaraz became the youngest year-end world number 1 since the ATP rankings began.
• 2023 Barcelona Open was a men's tennis tournament played in Barcelona, Spain, from 17 to 23 April 2023. It was the 70th edition of the Barcelona Open.
• Barcelona Open is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players. It is played on clay courts.

Topic: Books and Authors

5. A new book ‘A Resurgent Northeast: Narratives of Change’ launched.

• This book is written by Ashish Kundra, who is an IAS officer and senior bureaucrat.
• This book is on the history of Northeast India and its people.
• The book was launched in the presence of Kiren Rijiju, Hardeep Singh Puri, Pema Khandu, Amitabh Kant and others.
• The book was launched at an event in New Delhi. The event began with a performance by the famous vocal quartet of Tetseo sisters.
• In this book, senior bureaucrat-author Ashish Kundra has written about the transformational changes that are happening in the remotest parts of the Northeast.

Topic: National News

6. The 18^th round of talks between senior military commanders between India and China was held on 23^rd April 2023.

• This was the 18th round of talks between senior military commanders since the start of the April 2020 LAC crisis.
• The 18th round of talks was held on the Chinese side of the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point.
• India and China had a frank and in-depth discussion on the two remaining friction areas on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• The talk was held before the first visit by the Chinese Defence Minister to New Delhi since the start of the border crisis.
• Both sides agreed that restoring peace in border areas would enable progress in strained relations.
• However, as per the statement issued after the talks, there is no breakthrough on the two remaining friction points in Demchok and Depsang.
• The talks followed the 1st in-person meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) since July 2019.
• 1st in-person meeting of WMCC was held in Beijing in February.
• China’s new Defence Minister, General Li Shangfu, will this week make his 1st visit to India for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers’ meeting.
• This is the first high-level military visit since the LAC crisis began.
• Line of Actual Control:
  • It is a line that separates India-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.
  • The major disagreement between India and China is on the western side of LAC.
  • India-China LAC is divided into three parts:
    • Arunachal and Sikkim Border
    • Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh Border
    • Ladakh Border

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

7. 'UDAN 5.0', the fifth round of regional connectivity scheme has been launched by the government.

• On 21 April, the 5th round of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) has been launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
• It has been launched to further enhance connectivity in remote and regional areas of the country and to achieve last mile connectivity.
• The main features of Udan 5.0 are as follows:
  • In this round, the focus is on Category-2 (20-80 seats) and Category-3 (>80 seats).
  • The 600 km limit of the first phase has been done away with and there is no restriction for the distance between the origin and destination of the flight.
  • For both priority and non-priority areas, the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to be provided will be capped at a distance of 600 km, as against the earlier upper limit of 500 km.
  • No predetermined route will be given and only the network and individual route proposals offered by the airlines will be considered.
  • Airlines will have to submit an action/business plan 2 months after the issue of LOA, in which they will present their aircraft acquisition plan/availability of aircraft, crew, slots etc. at the time of technical proposal.
  • A route shall not be assigned to an airline more than once, whether on different networks or within the same network.
  • To prevent monopoly on a route, exclusivity will be withdrawn if the average quarterly PLF exceeds 75% in four consecutive quarters.
  • To further incentivize prompt operations, 25% of the Performance Guarantee will be encashed for each month there is a delay of up to 4 months.
  • Airlines will have to start operations within 4 months of being granted the route. Earlier this time limit was 6 months.
• UDAN Scheme:
  • The scheme was launched in April 2017 under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
  • It is a flagship scheme of the central government, which was launched with the objective of connecting regional routes, promoting balanced regional development and making flights affordable for the common people.
  • The Udan scheme is a major component of the National Civil Aviation Policy, which was launched in June 2016.

Topic: State News/ Himachal Pradesh

8. India's first DNA database created by Himachal Pradesh for unidentified bodies.

• Himachal Pradesh has become the first Indian state to develop a DNA database for unidentified bodies.
• In April 2022, the process of creating this database had started.
• So far, the database has information on 150 DNA samples taken from unidentified bodies.
• The database comes as a relief to families who keep running from pillar to post with photographs and other details in the hope of finding bodies of their loved ones.
• A database containing DNA details will help extensively in such cases.
• DNA Profile Databasing & Matching Technology (Smallpond TM Software from USA) was procured in 2022 at a cost of Rs.55 Lakhs.
• It has a capacity of around 20,000 DNA profiles which can be further expanded.
• The State Forensic Science Laboratory, Junga was the first laboratory to acquire this technology and the facility is at par with international standards.
• With this feature, a private, local database of DNA profile information can be created and maintained that enables efficient matching of new DNA profiles with existing DNA profiles.
• The database will also help in criminal investigation of heinous crimes, identification of disaster victims, missing persons, repeat offenders, etc.

Topic: International News

9. Mongolia will have its first oil refinery, developed and funded with Indian assistance by 2025.

• The first phase of Mongol Oil Refinery will be completed by the end of this year with an Indian soft loan of $1.2 billion.
• Mongolia is completely dependent on Russia for its energy imports.
• The refinery will assist Mongolia in meeting 70% of its local demand.
• With plans to begin shipping coking coal to India by 2024, Mongolia also hopes to entice investment from India in its mining and metals industries.
• Mongolia also has major rare earth metals deposits, which could be important to India's ambitions to build state-of-the-art technological capabilities in semiconductors and green mobility.
• This refinery project is in full swing and consists of four packages.
• The first package, or EPC 1, is now over 70% complete and remaining will be completed within this year.
• The remaining three packages have gone through the tender process and Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited, a Hyderabad-based company, has been selected for it.

Topic: Geography

10. Certain places in USA recorded unsual warming due to "heat domes".

• The southwestern and eastern parts of the United States recorded temperatures as warm as those seen in late June or early July, and the unusual warming has been caused by phenomena called 'heat domes'.
• 'Heat domes' are natural phenomena associated with unusually warm periods in India, Bangladesh, China and some other Asian countries.
• This season's first "heat domes" has triggered a heatwave in 48 US states and increased the risk of wildfires.
• Heat Domes:
  • A heat dome is a type of high-pressure system that forms over a large area in the atmosphere, and causes extremely hot and dry weather conditions.
  • The system traps the warm air and prevents it from rising up and flowing down to cool.
  • This air then compresses and heats up, forming a dome-shaped area of warm air that can persist for days or weeks.
• Cause of Heat Domes: Several meteorological elements work together to form a large high-pressure system in the atmosphere, which forms the heat dome.
• Impact of Heat Domes: This can impact on human health such as elderly individuals, children and people with pre-existing health conditions. Heat exhaustion can progress to heat stroke, a medical emergency that can cause organ damage and even death.
• Combat with Heat Domes: Reducing greenhouse emissions, investing in green infrastructure, implementing building codes and standards, and enhancing public education and outreach.

Topic: State News/ Rajasthan

11. Mehngai Rahat Camp launched in Rajasthan on 24^th April.

• Rajasthan government’s flagship initiative called Mehngai Rahat camp has been launched by CM Ashok Gehlot from Sanganer's Mahapura Gram Panchayat in Jaipur.
• It has been launched to provide benefits of various welfare schemes to eligible people in the state.
• These camps will be organized in the state from April 24 to June 30.
• Registration has been made mandatory to join all the public welfare schemes.
• For this, 2700 Mehngai Rahat camp will be organized daily.
• After free registration, the Chief Minister's Guarantee Card will be made available to the eligible beneficiaries on the spot.
• 2,000 permanent relief camps will be organized by district administration at government offices and public places.
• Two-day Mehngai Rahat camp will be organised along with ‘Prashashan Gaon ke Sang’ in each gram panchayat and along with ‘Prashashan Shaheron ke Sang’ in each city ward.
• In this way, the two-day camps will be organised in 11,283-gram panchayats and 7,500 wards.
• The registration will be done for these schemes:
  • One crore people are being given relief from inflation by giving minimum social security pension of ₹1,000 per month.
  • Gas cylinder will be given for Rs 500 under the Mukhyamantri Gas Cylinder Yojana.
  • Domestic consumers to get 100 units of electricity free per month under the Mukhyamantri Nishulk Bijli Yojana.
  • Agriculture consumers will get 2000 units of electricity free per month under the Mukhyamantri Nishulk Krishi Bijli Yojana.
  • All beneficiaries coming under the ambit of National Food Security will get a free Annapurna food packet every month under the Mukhyamantri Nishulk Annapurna Food Packet Scheme.
  • Free treatment of ₹ 25 lakh will be given under the Chief Minister Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme.
  • ₹10 lakh will be given under Chief Minister Chiranjeevi Accident Insurance.
  • Additional employment of 25 days will be given under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA scheme and Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme.
  • A maximum of 2 milch animals are being insured for ₹40,000 each per animal owner under the Mukhyamantri Kamdhenu Pashu Bima Yojana.

Topic: Important Days

12. World Intellectual Property Day 2023: 26 April

• Every year on April 26, World Intellectual Property Day is observed.
• The day is observed with the aim of highlighting the importance of Intellectual Property (IP) and how it encourages creativity and innovation.
• The theme of World Intellectual Property Day 2023 is “Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity”.
• In 2000, WIPO's member states agreed to commemorate World Intellectual Property Day on April 26.
• This date marks the anniversary of the coming into existence of the WIPO Convention in 1970.
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO):
  • It was established in 1967.
  • It is one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations.
  • It is responsible for promoting intellectual property across the globe.
  • The headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Its Director General is Daren Tang.