Daily Current Affairs and GK | 7 April 2021

Topic: Indian Polity

1. President appointed Justice N V Ramana as 48^th CJI of India.

• President Ram Nath Kovind has accepted the recommendation made by CJI SA Bobde.
• Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana has been appointed as the 48^th Chief Justice of India.
• He will assume the charge on 24 April 2021 and will have a term till 26 August 2022.
• He was elevated to Supreme Court in 2014. Prior to this, he was the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.
• Chief Justice of India:
  • As per Article 124 (2), the President of India appoints the Chief Justice of India and other judges of the Supreme Court.
  • In the Second Judges case 1993, Supreme Court ruled that the senior most judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed as CJI.
  • Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India and consisting of four senior most judges of Supreme Court recommends the name for the office of CJI.
  • The Chief Justice of India remains in office till he attains the age of 65 years.
  • He can be removed from his office on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a special majority.
  • Functions:
    • CJI is known as Master of Roster. He decides the number of judges that will hear a particular case.
    • He is the administrative head of the court.
    • He appoints court officials.
  • The salary of the Chief Justice of India is Rs. 2,80,000 per month.
  • Harilal J Kania was the first CJI and SA Bobde is the 47^th CJI of India.

Topic: Important Days

2. World Health Day 2021: 7 April

• World Health Day is celebrated every year on 7 April World Health Organization was established on this day in 1948.
• The year 2020 was declared as the International Year of Nurse and Midwife by the World Health Assembly.
• Theme for World Health Day 2021- “building a fairer, healthier world for everyone”
• Related facts (as per WHO website):
  • For the first time in 20 years, global poverty levels are predicted to rise and hinder the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Up to 60% of people living in some countries of the Asia Pacific Region lack coverage with essential health services.
  • More than 1 billion people living in informal settlements or slums are facing increased challenges in preventing infection and transmission of the coronavirus.
  • The Asia-Pacific region as a whole account for nearly 82.5 million or 32% of the world’s international migrants.
  • 5.9 million children in the Asia-Pacific Region are at risk of not returning back to school due to the disruption to education and the economic impact of the pandemic.
  • 52% of the Asia-Pacific population remains unconnected to the internet.

Topic: Appointments

3. New secretaries and special secretaries appointed by Centre.

• Tarun Bajaj has been appointed as Revenue Secretary. He was serving as secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs. 
• Ajay Seth has been appointed Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs.
• Gyanesh Kumar has been appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. Other appointments of secretaries are listed below in the next table.

Topic: International News

4. Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a new law that allows him to run for President again.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a new law that allows him to run for President’s post again.
• The provisions of the law are based on amendments to the Constitution. One of these amendments relates to the limit of the number of the presidential term of a person.
• This will apply to the incumbent President, irrespective of the tenure he had previously held. Now the incumbent President can contest two more elections.
• Russia:
  • Russia is an intercontinental country located in Eastern Europe and North Asia.
  • Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of area, with a total area of about 17 million square kilometers.
  • The capital of Russia is Moscow and the currency is the Russian ruble.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Banking System

5. RBI deputy governor BP Kanungo retires.

• RBI deputy governor BP Kanungo has retired on 2^nd April.
• His term as deputy governor started in April 2017 for a three-year term ending April 2, 2020. Then, his term was extended by one year.
• After the retirement of BP Kanungo, RBI is left with three deputy governors. Their names are Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Patra and Rajeshwar Rao.
• Shaktikanta Das is the current governor of RBI. He took charge in December 2018 for three year term after the resignation of Urjit Patel.
• RBI can have a maximum of four deputy governors. Out of the four deputy governors, two are usually chosen from executive directors of RBI. One is nominated from among the Chairpersons of PSBs. One is an economist.

Topic: Defence

6. Private sector firms allowed by DRDO to develop and produce missile systems.

• Private sector firms have been allowed by DRDO to develop and produce missile systems.
• This has been done under the Development cum Production Partner (DCPP) programme.
• Under the DCPP programme, the private sector can co-develop missile systems with DRDO and produce them.
• Private sector firms have submitted bids for the Vertically-launched Short-range Surface to Air Missile system (VL-SRSAM) project.
• Private sector industries, including Tata and Baba Kalyani industries, were helped by DRDO in developing ATAGS howitzer. ATAGS howitzer is likely to be the main artillery gun for the Indian Army.
• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO):
  • It was established in 1958. It is involved in developing critical defense technologies and products to meet the requirements of the Indian Armed Forces.
  • It works under the Ministry of Defence.
  • Chairman: G. Sateesh Reddy
  • Headquarters: New Delhi

Topic: International News

7. Third High Joint Commission meeting conducted between India and Bahrain.

• The Third High joint commission meeting was held between India and Bahrain on 7 April in New Delhi.
• Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani jointly co-chaired the meeting.
• India and Bahrain discussed their collaboration in different areas, including oil and gas, trade and investment, defence and security, food security, healthcare, renewable energy, space, IT, human resource, education and culture.
• Bahrain:
  • It is a country in the Persian Gulf. It is Asia’s third smallest nation.
  • Capital: Manama
  • Currency: Bahraini Dinar
  • Prime Minister: Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa

Topic: Important Days

8. International Day of Sport for Development and Peace celebrated on 6 April.

• The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace is celebrated every year on 6 April across the world.
• It provides an opportunity to understand the importance of sports and physical activity that play a vital role in communities and people’s life.
• In 2013, the United Nations proclaimed the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace to be observed on 6 April.
• In the year 1896, the first-ever Olympic Games were conducted in Athens, Greece.
• Every four years, Olympic Games are normally conducted and Summer and Winter Olympics are conducted alternatively every two years in the four-year period.
• National Sports day is celebrated every year on 29 August in India on the birth anniversary of Major Dhyan Chand.

Topic: National News

9. World’s highest railway bridge: The arch closure of Chenab Bridge completed.

• The Indian Railways has completed the construction of the arch of the world’s highest railway bridge.
• It is 359 metres above the bed of the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The aim of the 1.3-kilometre-long bridge is to improve connectivity to the Kashmir Valley.
• It is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link project and build with a total expense of ₹1,486 crores.
• The bridge is 35 meters higher than Paris’s Eiffel Tower.
• The bridge is 1315m long.
• Chenab Rail Bridge:
  • It has been designed by firms from Finland and Germany.
  • It has been executed by the Konkan Railway.
  • It is the seventh-largest arch-shaped bridge in the world.
  • It can withstand wind speed up to 266kmph and has a lifespan of 120 years.
• Chenab River:
  • It originates from the Lahaul- Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh and flows through Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Pakistan.
  • It is formed by the confluence of rivers Chandra and Bhaga at Tandi.
  • The ancient name of Chenab is Asikini.

(Source: Ministry of Railways)

Topic: Companies/ Corporates

10. WazirX launched India’s first NFT marketplace for Indian artists.

• India’s first marketplace for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) for artists has been launched by cryptocurrency exchange WazirX.
• Indian artists will get a place for the exchange of digital assets and intellectual properties, including art pieces, audio files, videos, programs, and even tweets apart from other digital goods and services.
• The company will not put any charge on its customer for creating and listing NFTs on the platform.
• An NFT is a kind of asset that is non-fungible in nature, which means it is a unique digital asset that is not interchangeable.
• WazirX:
  • It was founded in 2017.
  • Its Headquarters is located in Mumbai.