Daily Current Affairs and GK | 4 and 5 April 2021

Topic: Important Days

1. International Day for Mine Awareness: 4 April

• International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is celebrated every year on 4 April.
• It is observed to raise awareness about the threat posed by landmines and to develop mine-action programs by the government.
• On 8^th December 2005, the General Assembly had declared that 4 April of each year would be observed as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. It was first observed on 4 April 2006.
• The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is continuously working to save lives, provide humanitarian assistance, and support displaced and refugees.
• 164 countries had signed the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention in 1997.
• Daniel Craig was the first UN Advocate for the Elimination of Mines and Explosive Hazards.

Topic: Important Days

2. National Maritime Day: 5 April

• National Maritime Day is celebrated to create awareness regarding support to intercontinental commerce and the worldwide economy.
• This day is being observed since 1964.
• The first ship SS loyalty, introduced by the Scindia steam navigation company, traveled from Mumbai to the United Kingdom in 1919.
• Varuna Award is conferred on this day to recognize the people who made an outstanding contribution to the Indian maritime sector.
• World Maritime Day is observed every year on the Thursday of last week in September.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

3. “Sankalp se Siddhi” - Village and Digital Connect Drive launched by TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

• “Sankalp se Siddhi” - Village and Digital Connect Drive was launched by TRIFED under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
• “Sankalp se Siddhi” - Village and Digital Connect Drive started on the first day of April month. It will continue for 100 days.
• The drive aims to activate the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras in villages. It will cover 100 villages in each region and 1500 villages in the country.
• Under the drive, the teams will identify Van Dhan Vikas Kendras for clustering as TRIFOOD and SFURTI Units.
• SFURTI stands for Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries.
• TRIFOOD Scheme is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Food Processing Industry, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED. It was started in August 2020.
• Under this scheme, a tertiary value addition center will be set up in Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh and Raigad in Maharashtra at the cost of approximately Rs.11 crores.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: National News

4. National Policy on Rare Diseases 2021 approved by Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan.

• Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan approved the National Policy on Rare Diseases 2021. 
• The National Policy on Rare Diseases 2021 aims to lower high treatment costs for rare diseases and focus more on indigenous research with the help of a national consortium.
• The policy also provides for the creation of a national hospital based registry of rare diseases.
• The focus of the policy is also on early screening and prevention through primary and secondary health care infrastructure.
• It also aims to strengthen tertiary health care facilities for the prevention and treatment of rare diseases by designating eight health facilities as Centre of Excellence.
• One-time financial support of up to 5 crore rupees will be provided to these Centers.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

5.  A major connectivity master plan for the Bay of Bengal region finalized at the virtual meeting of Foreign Ministers of BIMSTEC.

• A major connectivity master plan for the Bay of Bengal region has been finalized at the virtual meeting of Foreign Ministers of BIMSTEC.
• The plan would be taken up for adoption in the next BIMSTEC Summit to be hosted by Sri Lanka.
• Three MoUs/agreements were also endorsed at the meeting. The MoUs were related to the following topics.
  • Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal matters
  • Cooperation between diplomatic and training academies
  • Establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility in Colombo
• BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation):
  • It is an international organization of seven countries for multi-sectoral technical and economic cooperation.
  • It was founded on 6 June 1997 and is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
  • Its members are Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

6. 2023 Men’s boxing World Championships to be organized in Uzbekistan capital Tashkent.

• 2023 Men’s boxing World Championships to be organized in Uzbekistan capital Tashkent.
• International Boxing Association (AIBA) President Umar Kremlev said that Tashkent would be the host city.
• Boxing Federation of Uzbekistan won the bid. 2023 AIBA Men’s boxing World Championships will be 22^nd edition. It will be for the first time held in Uzbekistan. It is held biennially.
• 2021 AIBA World Boxing Championships will take place from 10 April to 24 April in  Belgrade, Serbia.
• Umar Kremlev is the current President of International Boxing Association (AIBA). It was founded in 1946. It is headquartered in Switzerland. 
• Uzbekistan:
  • It is a Central Asian nation. Its capital is Tashkent and the currency is Uzbekistani Som.
  • It is bordered by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan.
  • Shavkat Mirziyoyev is the current President of Uzbekistan.

Topic: Reports and Indices

7. UNESCO releases its “World in 2030: Public Survey Report”.

• On 31 March, UNESCO released its “World in 2030: Public Survey report”.
• The report is based on responses from over 15,000 people worldwide in 2020.
• As per the report, climate change and loss of biodiversity were by far the most selected challenges. 67% of respondents selected them.
• Other selected challenges are violence and conflict (44%), discrimination and inequality (43%), and lack of food, water and housing (42%).
• The report shows that education is to solution to every single challenge. World in 2030 survey was held from May to September 2020. 
• UNESCO:
  • The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Paris, France.
  • It was established on 16 November 1945.

Topic: Sports

8. Hubert Hurkacz of Poland wins Miami Open title.

• Hubert Hurkacz of Poland has won the Miami Open title after defeating Jannik Sinner of Italy.
• In women singles, World No 1 Ashleigh Barty won the Miami Open title by defeating Bianca Andreescu.
• In men’s doubles, Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic won the title while in women’s doubles Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara won the title.
• Miami Open:
  • It is also known as Miami Open.
  • It is a tennis tournament usually held between March and April in Miami Gardens, Florida.
  • It is played on Hard court (outdoors).

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

9. India won 20 medals in Dubai Para-Badminton International 2021.

• Pramod Bhagat has won two gold medals in the 3rd Sheikh Hamdan bin Al Maktoum Dubai Para-Badminton International 2021.
• Krishna Nagar and Prem Kumar Ale won the two gold medals in combined SH6 and the mixed doubles WH1-WH2 categories.
• India has topped the tally with 20 medals including 4 gold, 6 silver and 10 bronze.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Appointments

10. Dr. Chintan Vaishnav appointed new Mission Director for AIM.

• Dr. Chintan Vaishnav has been appointed as the new Mission Director for Atal Innovation Mission (AIM).
• He will replace Mr. Ramanathan Ramanan who was the first Mission director for AIM since June 2017.
• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM):
  • It is a flagship initiative of NITI Aayog to promote innovation and entrepreneurship.
  • Atal Tinkering Labs, Atal Incubation Centres, Atal New India Challenges, Mentors of Change, ARISE, etc. are some of the major initiatives under this mission.
  • Till now, AIM has established 7259 Atal Tinkering Labs in schools across 650 districts.