Daily Current Affairs and GK | 28 April 2021

Topic: Space and IT

1. World’s most powerful climate-change forecasting supercomputer to be built in United Kingdom.

• The world’s most powerful climate-change forecasting supercomputer will be built by Microsoft and Met Office in the United Kingdom.
• It will provide information about severe weather conditions including extreme storms, floods, and snow.
• It will be one of the top 25 supercomputers in the world. The United Kingdom government has provided financial assistance for this project.
• It will also be used for advanced climate change modeling, which will help improve the forecast of wind and temperature.
• It will help in the preparedness against local storms and heavy rains.
• Japan uses supercomputer ‘Fugaku’ for the prediction of tsunami flooding. The United States is also developing a computer to study climate change and severe weather.
• United Kingdom:
  • It is a group of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland nations.
  • It is located in northwestern Europe.
  • Its capital is London and the currency is the Pound sterling.
  • Boris Johnson is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Topic: Important Days

2. World Immunization Week 2021: 24-30 April

• World Immunization Week is celebrated every year in the last week of April.
• Its main aim is to promote the use of vaccines to protect people from disease.
• ‘Vaccines bring us closer’ is the theme of this year’s World Immunization Week.
• Immunization is the process through which the immune system of an individual becomes immunized against disease-causing agents.
• The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) was started in 1978. In 1985, it was renamed as Universal Immunization programme.
• The Government of India had launched Mission Indradhanush to increase the coverage of immunization in India.
• Many diseases like smallpox and polio can be controlled by the use of Vaccines.
• According to the data, about 20 million children in the world are not getting the vaccine they need.

Topic: Sports

3. Rafael Nadal wins his 12^th Barcelona Open title.

• Rafael Nadal has won his 12^th Barcelona Open title by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas by 6-4, 6-7, 7-5.
• The match lasted for 3 hours and 38 minutes. It is one of the longest best of three ATP matches of this year.
• He has won seven titles of the Barcelona open in the last 10 editions.
• He will play in ATP Masters 1000 tournaments next month.
• Barcelona Open:
  • It is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players.
  • It is being organized in Barcelona since 1953.
  • It is played on clay court.

Topic: New Developments

4. CSIR-CMERI developed Oxygen enrichment technology

• CSIR-CMERI has developed oxygen enrichment technology for the effective treatment of COVID-19 patients.
• CSIR-CMERI, Durgapur, in collaboration with MSME-DI, Raipur, has organized a Webinar on ‘Oxygen Enrichment' Technology on 25^th April.
• It can be placed easily in the isolation ward of the hospital. It is equipped with an oil-free reciprocating compressor.
• It can deliver medical air in the range of up to 15 LPM with oxygen purity of more than 90%.
• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR): CSIR is India’s largest research and development organization and an autonomous body.
• CMERI is a laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Topic: Important Days

5. Workers’ Memorial Day: 28 April

• Workers’ Memorial Day is an international day in remembrance of those workers who lost their lives or became injured or disabled due to their work.
• It is celebrated every year on 28 April and it is also known as International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured.
• It was adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on 28 April 1996.
• In 2021, the theme of this day is “Health and Safety is a fundamental workers’ right”.
• World Day for Safety and Health at Work is also celebrated every year on 28 April.

Topic: Space and IT

6. A community service center will be set up for collection of data from Aditya-L1 Mission.

• A dedicated community service center will be established for the collection of data from Aditya-L1 mission.
• The data will be collected on a web-based interface so that users can easily access the data.
• The service center will be called Aditya-L1 Support Cell (AL1SC). It is jointly developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES).
• AL1SC will be set up at the campus of ARIES in Uttarakhand. It will provide co-aligned data from other observatories around the world.
• It will also help in capacity building by establishing periodic training of the national user community on data analysis and proposal preparation.
• It will also help ISRO in the development of analysis software for handling scientific data.
• Aditya’s mission or Aditya L1 mission is a proposed mission to study the sun, its corona, photosphere, and its magnetic emissions. It is India’s first solar space mission.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Reports and Indices

7. India has been placed on 49^th Position in Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI).

• India has been placed in 49^th position in the Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI).
• Finland is on the top position in this ranking, followed by Switzerland and Singapore.
• Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI) provides ranking to 104 countries’ governments.
• This Index is used by the government in monitoring and benchmarking their capabilities. It helps in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the government.
• It is developed by the Chandler Institute of Governance.
• It ranks country based on seven pillars. The pillars are as follows:
  • Leadership and foresight
  • Robust laws and policies
  • Strong institutions
  • Financial stewardship
  • Attractive marketplace
  • Global influence and reputation
  • Helping people rise

Topic: International News

8. WHO announces global immunization strategy to save 50 million lives.

• WHO has announced a global immunization strategy to save 50 million people’s lives by 2030.
• WHO, in association with UNICEF and the vaccine alliance Gavi, has developed this strategy.
• Many life-threatening diseases like measles, yellow fever, and diphtheria outbreak will be controlled by this strategy.
• According to WHO, more than one-third of the countries are still facing the problem of routine immunization services.
• In more than sixty countries, mass vaccination campaigns have been postponed. It has put 228 million people at risk of communicable disease.
• World Health Organization (WHO):
  • It is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health.
  • It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
  • It was established on 7 April 1948.
  • Its current President is Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Topic: Personality in News

9. Renowned Gujarati poet Dadudan Gadhvi passed away.

• Noted Gujarati poet Dadudan Gadhvi passed away at the age of 81.
• He will be remembered for his contribution to the field of folk literature.
• He had received the Gujarat Gaurav award and Jhaverchand Meghani Award.
• In 2021, He was awarded the Padma Shri award for his contribution to the field of literature and education.
• He is also known as Kavi Dad. His famous works are Terva (four volumes), Chittaharnu Geet, Shri Krishna Chhandavali and Ramnam Barakshari.

Topic: Agriculture

10. India’s Organic food products export increased by 50 percent in 2020-21.

• India’s Organic food export increased by 50% in 2020-21 than last fiscal year.
• During FY 2020-21, the export of organic food products has grown by 39% in terms of quantity. 888,179 metric tonnes (MT) organic products were exported in 2020-21.
• Oil cake meal has been the major commodity of export, it is followed by oilseeds, fruit pulps and purees, cereals & millets.
• India’s organic products have been exported to more than 58 countries.
• At present, only those organic products are exported from India, which are produced, processed, packed, and labelled as per the requirements of the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP).