Current Affairs and General Knowledge Today (Apri 01-06, 2017) for TNPSC, TRB, TET, TN Police Exams.
India’s first International Centre for Foot and Mouth Disease (ICFMD) Launched In Odisha
The Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh has inaugurated India’s first International Centre for Foot and Mouth Disease (ICFMD) at Argul in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on April 1, 2017. The research centre has been constructed in joint collaboration of UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and Union government’s Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to conduct research on viral disease of cattle and buffaloes. The centre has the facility for safe handling and storage of live Foot and Mouth disease virus that essentially is required for control of the disease. The samples from all over the country will be collected in this research centre to find a cure of the disease. Notably, India is suffering a loss of Rs. 23 thousand crore annually due to Foot and Mouth disease of cattle and buffalos.
19th edition of Commonwealth Forestry Conference (CFC) held in Uttarakhand
The 19th edition of Commonwealth Forestry Conference (CFC) has started at Forest Research Institute in Dehradun, Uttarakhand with the theme “Forests for Prosperity and Posterity” on April 3, 2017.
Lok Sabha passes Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill 2017
The Lok Sabha (06.04.2017) passed the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill,2017 which seeks to amend the Customs Act 1962, the Customs Tariff Act 1975, the Central Excise Act 1944, the Finance Act, 2001 and the Finance Act, 2005 and to repeal certain enactments. The Customs Act is proposed to be amended to include warehouse in the definition of customs area" to ensure that an importer would not be required to pay the proposed integrated goods and services tax at the time of removal of goods from a customs station to a warehouse.
136th Mega-Conference of World Parliamentarians held in Dhaka, Bangladesh
The 136th Mega-Conference of World Parliamentarians has begun in Dhaka on April 1, 2017.The conference was inaugurated by Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. This mega-conference has been organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad. The main focus of this conference was to provide ways and means to end political and economic inequality for upholding democracy and human rights.
Sunaina Singh has been appointed the new vice chancellor of Nalanda University (NU)
Sunaina Singh has been appointed the new vice chancellor of Nalanda University (NU). She is expected to take up the new assignment soon. Currently, she is vice chancellor of the English and Foreign Language University (EFLU), Hyderabad. The headquarters of NU is at Rajgir, Bihar.
Vanaja N. Sarna, appointed the new chairman of the CBEC
Vanaja N. Sarna, a 1980 batch officer of Indian Revenue Service (IRS), has been appointed the new chairman of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). She succeeded Najib Shah. The CBEC is the apex body for framing policy and administrative issues related to indirect tax, and central excise duty.
Rajiv Kumar Chander the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the UN offices in Geneva (UNOG)
Rajiv Kumar Chander, who is from 1983 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, has been appointed the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the UN offices in Geneva (UNOG) on March 30, 2017. He will succeed Ajit Kumar, who is from 1979 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) at the Geneva office in May, 2017.
Justice Indira Banerjee appointed the new Chief Justice of Madras High Court
Justice Indira Banerjee has been appointed the new Chief Justice of Madras High Court. With this, Justice Banerjee would be the second woman next to Justice Kanta Kumari Bhatnagar (June – November, 1992) to head the charted court. Prior to this appointment, Banerjee was a judge of the Delhi High Court.
BP Kanungo appointed new Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
BP Kanungo appointed recently taken charge as the new Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a period of three years in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He succeeded R Gandhi. Prior to this appointment, Kanungo was holding the position of Executive Director of RBI.
MP Government has launched “e-nagarpalika” app to provide municipal services online
The Madhya Pradesh government has recently launched mobile app ‘MP e-nagarpalika’ to provide various municipal services online. The app would offer 378 services like online payment of property tax, seeking building permission, birth/ marriage/death certificates etc. It will also register complaints related to garbage, water, streetlights etc. Online payment gateway would be available on this app.
PowerTex India Scheme Launched for small powerloom weavers
Union Textiles Minister, Ms. Smriti Irani launched PowerTex India Scheme on 1stApril 2017 at Bhiwandi in Thane district of Maharashtra. It is a gamut of schemes aimed at development of powerloom sector in India with a special focus on small powerloom weavers. The scheme was simultaneously launched at 45 locations across India.
Mizoram, the 27th state to join UDAY scheme
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Government of India (GoI) and Mizoram under the scheme Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY). The agreement was signed for operational improvement of the State’s Power Distribution Department. By this agreement Mizoram would get an overall net benefit of approximately Rs.198 crores by participating in UDAY.
K Prithika Yashini becomes India’s first-ever Transgender a Police Official,
K Prithika Yashini has become the India’s first-ever transgender person to become a police official, when she took charge as sub-inspector in Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu. In terms of judgement of the Madras High Court delivered in November 2015, directions were given to the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB) to appoint K Prithika Yashini as a sub-inspector of police as she is entitled to get the job. The judgement further directed the TNUSRB to include transgender people as a “third category”, apart from the usual category of “male” and “female”.
2017 International Mine Awareness Day (IMAD) - March 04, 2017
The International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is observed every year on April 4 to raise awareness about landmines and progress toward their eradication. The day also highlights the deadly threat that mines pose to civilians’ lives and nations’ development. The 2017 theme is “Needs driven. People Centred”.
World Autism Awareness Day (AWWD) - March 02, 2017
The World Autism Awareness Day (AWWD) is an internationally recognised day observed every year on April 2 to highlight the need to help improve the quality of life of those with autism so they can lead full and meaningful lives as an integral part of society. The 2017 theme is “Toward Autonomy and Self-Determination”.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) celebrated 82nd Establishment Day on 1st April 2017
Having commenced operations from 1st April 1935, India’s central bank, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) celebrated 82nd Establishment Day on 1st April 2017. Establishment of RBI was recommended by Hilton Young Commission to the then British Government. RBI functions in accordance with provisions laid out in Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
P V Sindhu Wins the 2017 Women’s singles India Super Series Title
Rio Olympics silver medallist P V Sindhu from India has won the 2017 Women’s singles India Super Series tournament by defeating reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the final by 21-19, 21-16 at Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi. Beside this, Viktor Axelsen of Denmark clinched the men’s singles title of the tournament by defeating Chinese Taipei’s Tien Chen Chou in straight games.
Virat Kolhi named Wisden's Leading Cricketer in the World for 2016
Indian captain Virat Kolhi has been named Wisden's Leading Cricketer in the World for 2016. Kohli amassed 1,215 Test runs at an average of 75.93 last year. 10 ODI appearances fetched him 739 runs at 92.37, while he scored 641 T20 International runs at 106.83. Only six batsmen have ever scored more international runs in a calendar year than Kohli but none of them have come close to the Indian captain's average. Wisden said, Kohli, who features on the cover of the 2017 edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, is also the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2016, an accolade put in place in 2003 when Ricky Ponting became the first honouree.
Roger Federer Wins 2017 Men’s Singles Miami Open Title
Roger Federer, a Swiss professional tennis player, has won the 2017 Men’s Singles Miami Open Tennis Tournament by defeating Rafael Nadal in the final by 6-3 6-4 in the final at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, United States. Apart from this, Johanna Konta from Great Britain has won the 2017 Miami Open – Women’s Singles title by defeating Caroline Wozniacki in the final by 6–4, 6–3.
2017 National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings
The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore has topped the 2017 National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings for higher educational institutions in overall ranking. IIT Madras stood at 2nd position, followed by IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The institutes are ranked by the National Bureau of Accreditation (NBA) based on their teaching and learning resources, graduation outcome, perception, outreach and inclusivity and research productivity. This year, the project has more than 800 new participants and some new categories has also been introduced in medicine and law. Apart from this, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has topped the list in India Rankings 2017 in engineering category, followed by IIT Bombay and Kharagpur. Whereas, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad bagged the first rank in management category while Miranda House, Delhi was ranked the top college. The 2017 India Rankings for higher educational institutions has been released by Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi on April 3, 2017.