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Current Affairs Today – April 24 2016

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Current Affairs Today-24

INDIAN AFFAIRS

PM lays foundation stone for India’s biggest power plant in Jharkhand

PM lays foundation stone for India’s biggest power plant in Jharkhand and addresses Panchayati Raj Sammelan that is being celebrated on 24th April of every year.

Power plant: Patratu Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited
General Manager: B Narayan
Joint Venture of National Thermal Power Corporation and Jharkhand Government
Total Capacity: 8000MW and Prime Minister lays the foundation for first phase of 4000MW capacity.

PM inaugurates Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts

Prime Minister inaugurates Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices and expressed that people have high belief and hope in the Judiciary.
Held: New Delhi

Points delivered by Prime Minister:

  • Large no of cases pending in various courts
  • He recommended finding the solutions to the pending cases
  • Government to remove the archaic laws from the statute books

Kerala, Thazhathangady Juma Mosque opens doors to women for the first time

juma

Kerala’s Thazhathangady Juma mosque, almost thousand years old but one that was visited only by men.
  • The women in the community were never allowed to take a look at the inside of the mosque.
  • For the First time in its History, Juma mosque has opened its doors to all women on April 24 and May 8.

UDAY bonds fetch Rs.99,000 crore

Eight states have issued bonds worth over Rs.98,959.96 crore under UDAY(Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana)scheme in 2015-16 which was unveiled by Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy in November 2015.

Aim of UDAY : To improve operational and financial efficiency of state power distribution companies.

  • The special bonds (non-SLR special securities) issued by RBI
  • These securities have been issued by the state governments under the Government Securities Act, 2006

Under the scheme,

  1. Rajasthan issued Rs 37,349 crore
  2. Uttar Pradesh issued Rs 24,332 crore
  3. Chhattisgarh issued Rs 870 crore
  4. Punjab issued Rs 9,860 crore
  5. Jammu & Kashmir issued Rs 2,140 crore,
  6. Bihar issued Rs 1,551 crore,
  7. Jharkhand issued Rs 5,553 crore
  8. Haryana issued Rs 17,300 crore

Keys:

  • Jharkhand become the first state to sign MoU on UDAY scheme with the central government.
  • So far total 16 states have agreed to join UDAY Scheme

J P Nadda inaugurates first of its kind Central Government CGMP compliant facility in Himachal Pradesh

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda inaugurated the first of its kind Current Good Manufacturing Practise (CGMP) compliant facility for manufacture of DPT and TT vaccine at the Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh.

  • He also launched the website of CRIjp-nadda

About Central Research Institute :

  • CRI has been working as one of the few pioneer institutions in the field of vaccine manufacturing
  • Japanese encephalitis vaccine, Rabies vaccine and Typhoid vaccine, which were earlier manufactured in the Institute

Army completes amphibious exercise ‘Jal Prahar’

Indian military has completed an amphibious exercise ‘Jal Prahar‘ which was began on March 17 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Aim: To validate and fine-tune its strategy to take over enemy land via sea

  • All three wings of the armed forces Army, Air Force and Navy participated  in the participated in the Jal Prahar exercise

Andaman and Nicobar :

  • Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is the first integrated theatre command in India with headquarters at Port Blair.
  • It is located in Bay of Bengal

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Cuba removes ban on Cubans entering or leaving the country by sea

The Cuban government adjusted its migration policy and lifted a restriction that prevented Cubans from entering or leaving the country by cruise ship or commercial vessel opening the way for U.S. cruise operator Carnival Corp to set sail for the country from Miami next week

  • Previously Cuba did not allow Cuban-born individuals living elsewhere to travel to the island by a commercial vessel.

Cuba:

  • Capital: Havana
  • Prime minister: Raúl Castro
  • Currency: Cuban peso

BUSINESS

Uber partners with FICCI, Gujarat Tourism for soft skill training

uber

Uber has entered into a partnership with Gujarat Tourism and FICCI in Ahmedabad to facilitate soft skill training for Uber driver-partners.
  • The training is designed and conducted by Ace Driving & Road Safety Education Pvt Ltd on areas of Safe Driving and Interpersonal Skills of the drivers,in order to improve the overall rider experience in Gujarat.
  • It will be optional to all Uber drivers.Those who attend the training will be certified by FICCI and Gujarat Tourism under this program.

Reliance buys Iranian oil after six-year hiatus

Reliance Industries Ltd, has bought crude oil from Iran after a 6-year break.

  • RIL,which operates the world’s biggest refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat, is looking at quickly ramping up purchases to the earlier levels of about 5 million tonnes a year.
  • Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) and Essar Oil Ltd are the main buyers of Iranian oil in India

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Manoj Bajpayee to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke award for Aligarh

Veteran Actor Manoj Bajpayee will be awarded with the Dadasaheb Phalke award in the Best Actor Category (Critics’ Choice) for his contribution in Hansal Mehta’s Biographical drama,“Aligarh”. The Award will be presented on 1st May 2016.

Kendra Sangeet Natak Akademi Samman for 3 Odiya artists

Eminent three Odisha Artists have been selected for prestigious “Kendra Sangeet Natak Akademi Samman”.

Three Personalities:

  1. PrefullaKar – Light Music performer
  2. AlokKanungo – Odissi Dancer
  3. SadasivPradhan – Chhau Dancer

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Congo Republic president Denis Sassou Nguesso names Clement Mouamba as PM 
  • Congo’s President Denis Sassou Nguesso named former finance minister Clement Mouamba as prime minister, bringing a one-time opposition leader into the government.
  • The appointment comes a month after Sassou Nguesso was elected to a five-year term that extends his long rule over the oil producing country.

Salman Khan named goodwill ambassador for India at Rio Olympics

salman-khan

Bollywood actor Salman Khan named goodwill ambassador for India at Rio Olympic Games.
  • The announcement was made in the presence of Olympic medalists and Rio star athletes such as boxer M C Mary Kom, hockey captain Sardar Singh, and shooter Apurvi Chandela, among others.
About IOC:
The Indian Olympic Association is responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international athletic meets and for managing the Indian teams at the events
  • President – Narayana Ramachandran
  • Secretary-General –  Rajeev Mehta
  • Headquarters- New Delhi

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Sahapedia, India’s first open source encyclopedia to the Art and culture is now live

Sahapedia is an open source resource on the Arts, Cultures and heritage of India. The Meaning of “Saha” in Sanskrit meant as“Together with” that is used to explore the together the richness of our cultural landscapes.Knowledge around each subject is complex and has many shapes.

Brainchild: SudhaGopalakrishnan, who headed India’s National Mission for Manuscripts

Delhi Government Announces App-Based Premium Bus Service

Delhi Government announced app based premium bus service scheme in order to encourage private car owners to switch to public transport.
  • It is expected to start in the city from middle of June while registration for it would start from June 1 this year.
  • The premium buses will be fully air-conditioned with no passengers allowed to stand.
  • However, the ticket rates would be higher than those in existing bus services in the city.
  • To ensure the safety of women passengers, Buses will have to be equipped with Wi-Fi and GPS.

SPORTS

Seven-year-old Tajamul Islam set to become first Indian participant at World Kickboxing Championship
seven
Tajamul Islam, a seven-year-old girl, is set to become the first Indian to represent the country at the World Kickboxing Championship in Andria, Italy, from November 14 to 19.
  • Tajamul, who hails from a small village in North Kashmir’s Bandipora district, will be the first Kashmiri girl to take part in kickboxing at the international level.