Current Affairs Quiz 26th April 2022 : Daily GK Update Quiz

Exp. Palli village became India’s 1st carbon-neutral panchayat

Palli village in Samba district of Jammu has become the nation’s first carbon neutral panchayat, fully powered by solar energy.

This project (500 KW solar plant) with the help of villagers was completed in a record time of three weeks. The solar project was completed at a cost of Rs 2.75 crore.

1,500 solar panels were placed in a total area of 6,408 sq mt to provide clean electricity to 340 houses in the model panchayat under the central government’s ‘Gram Urja Swaraj’ programme.

Exp. Mumbai got India’s 1st digital bus service with ‘Tap In, Tap Out’ feature

Maharashtra State Tourism, Environment & Protocol Minister Aditya Thackeray has inaugurated the India’s first completely digital bus from the Gateway of India to the Churchgate route with a unique ‘Tap-in Tap-out’ feature.

Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) is the nation’s first bus service that is completely digital. At the initial stage, the ‘Tap-in Tap-out’ feature will be available in two buses only.

This service will be introduced on all 10 buses on this route in the coming days, with plans to expand it to all 438 routes in the near future.

The words “Digital Bus” will be written on the front of these buses. Passengers will be able to board the bus only if they have downloaded the app or have a smartcard that allows for cashless payment.

Exp. Asia’s biggest international food and hospitality fair AAHAR 2022 began in New Delhi

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) in alliance with the India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) is organizing Asia’s biggest international food and hospitality fair AAHAR 2022 in New Delhi.

APEDA has also created stalls for exporters from the NorthEast Region, Himalayan states, women entrepreneurs, Start-Ups, and exporters of millets. More than 80 exporters will participate in the fair from different segments.

Exp. Kerala signed MoU with Netherlands for “Cosmos Malabaricus” Project to illustrate Kerala’s history

The Kerala government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Netherlands for the ‘Cosmos Malabaricus Project’, which aims to illustrate the historical significance of Kerala using the 18th century documents.

In addition, the agreement aims to establish painting academics in Kerala’s Kollam and Malappuram.

The Cosmos Malabaricus project is being jointly implemented by the Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR), the National Archives of the Netherlands, and the Leiden University in the Netherlands.

The project is expected to be completed in six years. The MoU was signed in the presence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Netherlands Ambassador to India Marten van den Berg.

The project focuses on the Dutch documents on Malabar from the 18th century, which are often regarded as the most comprehensive source of information on the period in Kerala between 1643 and 1852.

Exp. India participated as the Guest of Honour at the Paris Book Festival 2022

India has been designated as Guest of Honour Country at the Paris Book Festival 2022 which was organized from 21st to 24th April 2022.

The National Institute of Design (NID) has designed the India Pavilion. Digital and physical exhibitions displayed in various Indian languages representing the works of 65 Indian publishers.

Indian presentations were sold/exhibition of 10 illustrated children’s books in French translation published by National Book Trust, India (NBT).

Exp. Emmanuel Macron re-elected as President of France

The French President Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron belonging to La République En Marche! (The Republic On The Move) party has won a second term as president of France with 58.2% of the vote.

He set to become the first president after Jacques Chirac who secured a second term in office. He defeated Marine Le Pen of Rassemblement national Party who secured 41.8% of the vote in an election.

In the 2017 election, La pen has secured 34% and got defeated by Macron who secured 66% of the vote.

Exp. Raghav Chadha, Radhika Gupta among World Economic Forum’s Class of Young Global Leaders list 2022

Aam Aadmi Party leader, Raghav Chadha, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, and Edelweiss Mutual Fund CEO Radhika Gupta, were named in the World Economic Forum’s 2022 list of Young Global Leaders who are under 40.

The list has been released days ahead of the annual WEF meeting in Davos from 22nd to 26th May 2022.

This list is described by the WEF as the planet’s most promising 109 Young Global Leaders who are under the age of 40 and are involved in various activities like health equity, green energy, education reforms, refugee rights, etc.

The Young Global Leaders to the Class of 2022 list also include athlete Manasi Joshi, Ritesh Malik founder of Innov8 Coworking, Suhail Sameer CEO of Bharat Pe, Vineeta Singh CEO of Sugar Cosmetics, and Jaideep Bansal CEO of Global Himalayan Expedition.

Exp. Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 Billion

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, agreed to acquire Twitter for $44 billion, ending a drama that included hostile takeover threats before handing him personal control of one of the world’s most powerful social media networks.

According to Twitter, the publicly traded corporation will now become a private entity owned by Musk, who negotiated a $54.20 per-share purchase price. Earlier, Musk had acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter.

Musk secured $46.5 billion in funding last week to complete the deal, and Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, predicted earlier in the day that the board would likely approve his offer because no other buyer could be found.

Exp. SEBI reconstituted its Market Data Advisory Committee; headed by M S Sahoo

SEBI has restructured the advisory committee on market data that recommends policy measures pertaining to areas like securities market data access and privacy.

The committee is headed by M S Sahoo (Professor at National Law University, Delhi and former chairperson, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)).

The panel will now have 21 members. Nithin Kamath; Ranjit Pawar; Sreekanth Nadella; Suhas Tuljapurkar are also included in the committee.

Exp. Meghalaya’s e-proposal system won prestigious UN award- World Summit on the Information Society Forum (WSIS) Prizes, 2022

The Meghalaya state planning department’s key initiative of an e-proposal system has won a coveted UN Award – World Summit on the Information Society Forum (WSIS) Prizes, 2022 in the category of ‘the role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of Information and Communication Technologies for development’.

The e-proposal system is a part of Meghalaya Enterprise Architecture (MeghEA) which helped to eliminate 75% physical work of files.

Exp. Max Verstappen, Elaine Thompson-Herah named Laureus Sportsman & Sportswoman of the Year 2022

F1 champion Max Verstappen has been named the 2022 Laureus Sportsman of the Year while Jamaican Olympic sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah has been named Sportswoman of the Year.

The awards recognise the greatest sporting achievements of 2021, one of the highlights of which was the European Championship victory by the Italian Men’s Football Team who won their second Laureus Team of the Year Award as a result.

Other awardees:

Exp. 24 April: World Day for Laboratory Animals

World Day for Laboratory Animals, also known as World Day for Animals In Laboratories or World Lab Animal Day is annually observed across the globe on 24th April to highlight the movement to end the suffering of animals in laboratories around the world and their replacement with advanced scientific non-animal techniques.

The World Day for Laboratory Animals was instituted in 1979 by the Animal Defenders International (ADI)’s campaign partner in the United Kingdom, the National AntiVivisection Society (NAVS), to commemorate the suffering of millions of animals in laboratories all over the world.

The week surrounding the WDLA is referred to as Lab Animal Week or World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week. The lab Animal week is annually celebrated from 20th to 26th April.

Exp. 24-30 April: WHO’s World Immunization Week

World Immunization Week is celebrated worldwide in the last week of April, to highlight the collective action required and to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all age groups against disease.

In May 2012, the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the WHO, endorsed World Immunization Week.

The world’s first “World Immunization Week” was observed in 2012, which witnessed the simultaneous participation of more than 180 countries and territories worldwide.

Theme 2022: ‘Long Life for All’

Exp. 26 April: World Intellectual Property Day

World Intellectual Property Day, also called World IP Day, is celebrated on 26 April with an objective to highlight the importance of intellectual property (IP) and how it encourages creativity and innovation.

The day was finalised by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) to create awareness how IP can be used by the youth to create a better and more sustainable future.

WIPO’s member states finalised 26 April to mark World Intellectual Property Day celebrations in 2000. The date marks the anniversary the WIPO Convention came into existence in 1970.

Theme 2022: ‘IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future.’

Exp. 26 April: International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day

International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day is observed every year on April 26 to raise awareness of the consequences of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and the risks of nuclear energy in general.

The day not only informs us about the man-made disaster but also educates human beings about the risks of nuclear energy in general.

Built-in 1977, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was used to make electricity for the then Soviet Union, or in modern-day Pripyat, Ukraine. Before the horrifying incident, in 1982 the Chernobyl plant had a partial meltdown of reactor 1, which caused some damage and it took a few months to repair. This incident wasn’t reported until the Chernobyl disaster happened.

In 1986, an explosion at the nuclear power plant spread a radioactive cloud over the large territories of Belarus, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation. The seriousness of the disaster can be known by the fact that around 8.4 million people in the three European nations were exposed to the radiation.

After the 30th anniversary of the accident, on December 8, 2016, the United Nations adopted the resolution and proclaimed April 26 as the International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day.

Exp. Structural biologist M. Vijayan passed away

Eminent structural biologist M. Vijayan, DAE Homi Bhabha Professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), passed away in Bengaluru.

Prof. Vijayan, who was instrumental in the development of macromolecular crystallography in India, was 80.

Born in Cherpu, Thrissur, in 1941, Prof. Vijayan graduated from the Kerala Varma College, and continued his studies in Allahabad University, before pursuing his PhD in X-ray Crystallography from IISc, Bangalore.

A recipient of the Padma Shri and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, Prof. Vijayan was the president of the Indian National Science Academy from 2007 to 2010.