Daily Current Affairs and GK | 30 April 2021

Topic: Awards and Prizes

1. Uttar Pradesh bagged e-panchayat award.

• The Uttar Pradesh government has won the “E-Panchayat Puraskar 2021”. It has got the first rank in Category I.
• Assam and Chhattisgarh are on the second position, while Odisha and Tamil Nadu stood third in this Category.
• This award is given to states by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj for the maximum use of Information technology.
• Uttar Pradesh government has been awarded for the implementation of the e-application of the Centre.
• The recognition will help in implementing e-Governance activities across the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
• Every year National Panchayat Awards is given on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj.
• Uttar Pradesh:
  • It is the most populous state in India and ranks 4^th in terms of area.
  • The Chief Minister of the state is Yogi Adityanath and Governor is Anandiben Patel.
  • Its capital is Lucknow.
  • Deputy CMs: Dinesh Sharma and Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Topic: Miscellaneous

2. Finance Minister inaugurated India’s first 3D printed house at IIT Madras.

• Union Finance Minister has inaugurated India’s first 3D printed house at IIT Madras.
• It is built by TVASTA Manufacturing Solutions in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Centre for Innovation in Shelter.
• It has used indigenous methodologies for the construction and design of this house.
• It is built in 600 square foot area at IIT-M. It has one bedroom, hall, and kitchen.
• It is developed with ‘Concrete 3D Printing” technology. It is a 3D printing technology that uses 3D printers to deposit the concrete material for building structure.

Topic: Important Days

3. International Dance Day is celebrated annually on 29 April.

• International Dance Day is celebrated annually on 29 April, which is the birth anniversary of Jean-Georges Noverre.
• Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) founded International Dance Day in 1982.
• Jean-Georges Noverre is known as the creator of modern ballet. Noverre was a French choreographer.
• His treatise, Lettres sur la danse et sur les ballets, written in 1760, is still valid and revered by modern dancers.
• International Theatre Institute (ITI) is the world’s largest performing arts organization established in 1948 by UNESCO and theatre and dance experts. It is headquartered in Paris, France.

Topic: International News

4. China adopted a new anti-espionage regulation.

• China announced a new anti-espionage regulation due to the worsening of relations with the world’s major powers.
• Under this new regulation, the national security authority will identify companies and organisations susceptible to foreign infiltration.
• The susceptible companies and organizations will be protected from the threats of foreign spies and intelligence agencies.
• As per the new regulation, the susceptible companies and organizations will be responsible for the implementation of the measures against foreign espionage.
• According to regulation, people going on business trips to the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand will have to share the travel destinations, agenda, and meeting details.
• People holding sensitive important files will have to leave their electrical devices at home before going abroad.
• The new regulation will come into force from 1 July. The communist party of China will celebrate its 100^th anniversary on this day.

Topic: Appointments

5. PESB selects Amit Banerjee for the post of CMD of BEML Limited.

• Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has selected Amit Banerjee for the post of Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of BEML Limited.
• He is currently serving as Director (Rail & Metro Business) of BEML Limited.
• BEML CMD DK Hota was superannuated on January 31. Since then, BEML Limited’s Director (Mining & Construction) MV Rajasekhar has been holding the additional charge of the CMD’s post.
• Banerjee has played a key role in the phased indigenisation of rolling stock aggregates.
• Under his guidance, his team received the “Raksha Mantri Award” for the design and development of Austenitic Stainless Steel EMU & Intermediate metro cars for Delhi Metro.
• BEML Limited is a Miniratna PSU under the Ministry of Defence. It is the biggest Defence, Mining & Construction and Rail Coach Manufacturer in India.

Topic: International News

6. UK becomes 1^st country to announce regulation for use of self-driving vehicles at slow speeds on motorways.

• UK has become the 1^st country to announce the regulation for the use of self-driving vehicles at slow speeds on motorways.
• Britain’s transport ministry is working on updating the country’s Highway Code for the safe use of self-driving vehicle systems.
• The Ministry added that it would start with Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS).
• ALKS uses sensors and software to keep cars within lane and enable them to accelerate and brake without driver input.
• UK government wants to be at the forefront of launching autonomous driving technology.
• As per the transport ministry, around 40% of new UK cars could have self-driving capabilities by 2035.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

7. Krithi K Karanth selected for 2021 ‘WILD Innovator Award’.

• Chief Conservation Scientist Krithi K Karanth will be conferred the 2021 ‘WILD Innovator Award’. She is the first Indian and Asian woman who will receive this award.
• The award is given by the ‘WILD ELEMENTS Foundation’.
• The main aim of this award is to bring innovators and other stakeholders on one platform to identify the solution of global sustainability and conservation.
• Dr. Krithi K Karanth is the Chief Conservation Scientist at the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS) in Bengaluru.
• The ‘WILD ELEMENTS Foundation’ had invited the innovators of the world to create and deploy an initiative on sustainability and conservation.

Topic: Space and IT

8. China launches first module of its space station.

• Tianhe module, the core module of China’s space station, was launched on 29 April.
• The core module was launched by the Long March-5B Y2 rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site.
• Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site is located on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan.
• The core module is named “Tianhe”, or “Harmony of the Heavens”. It will serve as Tiangong’s management and control hub.
• Tiangong is the name of the space station. It means a heavenly palace. Tianhe is the largest spacecraft developed by China. 

• The space station, Tiangong, will be in a T shape with the core module at the centre and a lab capsule on each side.
• It will operate in the low-Earth orbit at an altitude from 340 km to 450 km. It has a lifespan of 10 years.
• The space station, Tiangong, would be China’s first self-developed space station. International Space Station (ISS) is the only other station in service.
• ISS is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies. These space agencies are NASA (US), Roscomos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada).

Topic: National News

9. NTIPRIT organized a webinar on “NavIC — Opportunities for the Telecom Industry”.

• National Telecommunications Institute for Policy Research, Innovation and Training (NTIPRIT), in association with ISRO and telecom industry, organized a webinar on “NavIC — Opportunities for the Telecom Industry”.
• It was inaugurated by Union Telecom Secretary and Chairman Digital Communications Commission Anshu Prakash.
• ISRO’s Scientific Secretary said that the NavIC system should be made mandatory for mobile phones released in Indian markets.
• Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS):
  • It will help in navigation within 1500 km from the Indian boundary.
  • It is also known as NavIC.
  • It provides a position accuracy of over 20m.
  • It is an indigenous positioning system that is under the control of India.
• National Telecommunications Institute for Policy Research Innovation and Training (NTIPRIT):
  • It is the apex training institute of the Department of Telecommunications.
  • It is responsible for the conduction of induction Training for probationary officers.
  • It is also involved in capacity building and conduction of Regional and International Training.

Topic: Important Days

10. Ayushman Bharat Diwas: 30 April

• Ayushman Bharat Diwas is celebrated every year on 30 April.
• The main objective of this day is to promote affordable medical facilities in remote areas of the country.
• More than 75,532 Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (HCW) are operational in India.
• Ayushman Bharat:
  • It was launched in 2018 in Ranchi, Jharkhand, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  • It provides a health cover of Rs 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary health care hospitalization.
  • National Health Authority is the implementing agency of this scheme.
  • The beneficiary households are identified based on the criteria of Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 for rural and urban.