23rd April 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• World Book Day or World Book and Copyright Day is being observed today.
• • This day is organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), to promote reading, publishing and copyright.
  • The first World Book Day was celebrated on 23 April 1995.
  • Important Points to Note :
  • • Wroclaw, the largest city in Poland chosen as the World Book Capital 2016
    • Incheon was the World Book Capital 2015
• Today (23rd April) is UN English Language Day.
• • The event was established by the UNESCO in 2010.
  • April 23 was chosen as the date for the English language because it is the birth  anniversary of greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist William Shakespeare.
• Cuba has lifted a decade-old policy that prevented Cubans from entering or leaving the country by a cruise ship or commercial vessel. 
  
• • The reversal followed an outrage over the policy in the US which threatened to delay Carnival Cruise Line's inaugural voyage to Cuba. 
  • Note : The Adonia vessel is the first American cruise ship to Cuba in 50 years.
• Nepal's first woman President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will pay an official visit to India next month.
• • This will be her first overseas trip after assuming charge.

MOUs & Agreements

• At least 171 nations, including India, have signed the Paris climate agreement at the UN headquarters. 
• • The pact, negotiated last year, is aimed at reducing carbon emissions to combat global warming. 
  • Important Points Note : 
  • • The signing ceremony set the record for the most countries to sign an international treaty on one day.
    • Previously set in 1982, when 119 countries signed an agreement.

National Affairs

• Manipur observes Khongjom Day today.
• • The Day is observed every year remembering the war heroes of Anglo-Manipur War, 1891 who had sacrificed their lives fighting against the British to protect freedom of Manipur.
  • President Pranab Mukherjee was the chief guest at the main function, which was held at Khebaching of Khongjom in Thoubal District.
• The Centre has amended the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to expedite the process of dispensation of justice to victims of atrocities. 
• • The provisions include completion of investigation and filing of chargesheet within 60 days. 
  • There is also a provision of admissible relief amount to SC/ST women for offences of grievous nature, on conclusion of trial.
• Thazhathangady Juma Mosque, a mosque of Kerala has decided to allow the entry of Muslim women for the first time in its history. 
• • Note : Believed to be over a thousand years old, it is one of the oldest mosques in India.
• The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is going to build Exclusive Holiday homes for its jawans. 
• • ITBP Director General Krishna Chaudhary has laid the foundation stone for the first holiday home in Mussoorie. 
  • ITBP jawans reportedly can stay at the holiday homes with their families for ₹200 a night. 
  • Important Note : This is the first such initiative by any paramilitary force.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch an ambitious Rs 8,000 crore Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana scheme to provide 5 crore free LPG connections to BPL families using the money saved from 1.13 crore cooking gas users voluntarily giving up their subsidies.
• • Modi will launch this scheme at Ballia in Uttar Pradesh on May 1 and do a repeat function at Dahod in Gujarat on May 15.
• Government has set-up a Sub Committee to interact with the trade and industry on the imposition of Central Excise Duty on jewellery.
• • This committee will consider all issues related to compliance procedure for excise duty, operating procedures and all other relevant issues.
  • The Committee will be headed by : Ashok Lahiri (former Chief Economic Advisor)

Awards & Honors

• TIME magazine in a first has released a list of 100 Most Influential Animals of 2016.
• • 'Cecil', the lion killed by an American dentist, topped the list. 
  • The list was curated by top animal experts including PETA president Ingrid Newkirk. 
  • The list in its top ten featured the bear from the film 'The Revenant', Zika mosquitoes and 'Angry Birds'.
• Actor Manoj Bajpayee is set to be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Award in the Best Actor category (Critics’ Choice) for his performance as a homosexual professor in the biographical drama, 'Aligarh'.

Business & Economy

• The World Bank has announced that it will lend Ecuador $150 million to speed up the aid to victims of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the country's northern coast. 
• • It also offered to restructure Ecuador's other loans to free up resources to deal with the emergency.
• 'Scoot', a low-budget carrier owned by Singapore Airlines, will launch in India in May. 
• • The airline will operate flights to Amritsar and Jaipur while in Chennai it will take over Tigerair's Singapore-Chennai operations. 
• India is expected to overtake the US as the second largest smartphone market by 2017, according to a report by financial services firm Morgan Stanley. 
• Mumbai based Mahindra & Mahindra has become the first Indian company to join EP100, a global energy campaign headed by The Climate Group, an international non-profit group that will work with the world’s most influential businesses in setting commitments to double their energy productivity.

Science & Technology

• Japan has  tested its own stealth plane.
• • With this move, the country has became the 4th nation in the world to test stealth jets. 
• Twitter India has collaborated with data journalism website IndiaSpend to provide users with real-time air pollution updates in Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai. 
• • Users can tweet #Breathe followed by their location to instantly receive data about the air quality index of their respective areas and its possible health impacts.

New Appointments

• The Indian Olympic Association has named Bollywood actor Salman Khan as India's Goodwill Ambassador representing the Indian contingent at the 2016 Rio Olympics. 
• • This reportedly is the first time a Bollywood actor was chosen as India's Goodwill Ambassador. 
  • Note : The Olympics are scheduled to take place in Rio, Brazil between 5th August to 21st August 2016.
• Centrum group, one of the largest domestic financial services company appointed Jaspal Bindra, ex-Asia Pacific CEO Standard Chartered Bank, as its new Executive Chairman.
• • He is going to replace Chandir Gidwani.

Sports

• Tajamul Islam, a 7-year-old girl from Kashmir's Bandipora district, is set to become the first Indian to participate in the World Kickboxing Championship.

 

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