1) 11th Civil Services Day function held in New Delhi
•The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the two-day 11th Civil Services Day program (20-21 April) in New Delhi. Civil Services Day is celebrated in India every year on 21st April.
•The function is being organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions. First such function was held in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 21 April 2006.
2) Narendra Modi, Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma in Time’s ‘most influential people’ list
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma were the only two Indians to make it to an annual list of ‘100 most influential people in the world’ 2017, released by the Time magazine.
•The list features pioneers, artists, titans, leaders and icons from around the world honored for “the power of their inventions, the scale of their ambitions, the genius of their solutions to problems that no one before them could solve.” The magazine has also included US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Theresa May in the new list of 100 most influential people.
3) Sri Lanka to host the 14th Edition of United Nations International Day of Vesak 2017
•The 14th Edition of United Nations International Day of Vesak 2017 will be hosted by Sri Lanka from 12-14 May 2017.
•Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest for UN Vesak Day. Narendra Modi will inaugurate UN Vesak Day in Colombo on May 12, 2017. Vesak Day is regarded by all Buddhist traditions as the anniversary of the birth of the Buddha. The theme of this edition is ‘Buddhist teachings for social justice and sustainable world peace’.
4) Mongolia launched its first satellite Mongol Sat-I
•Mongolia launched its first satellite named Mongol Sat-I, part of its efforts to make use of new technology to diversify its resource-dependent economy.
•It is 1227 Megahertz satellite. The satellite was launched in partnership with Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS). The Satellite helps with space research, map making and preparing for natural disaster.
5) Italian mayor wins UNESCO Peace Prize
•The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) has awarded its Peace Prize to Giuseppina Nicolini, the mayor of the Italian island of Lampedusa, for her commitment to saving the lives of migrants and refugees, media reported.
•Since becoming Mayor in 2012, Nicolini has been an outspoken defender of refugee and migrant rights.
6) Video gaming to be featured at 2022 Asian Games
•Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has announced Video gaming as full sports at the 2022 Asian Games which is scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China from 10-25 September 2022.
•OCA has entered into the collaboration with Alisports, a unit of China's Alibaba Group. Main Aim of launching this video gaming is to bring the rapid development and popularity of this new form of sports participation among the youth. It will also be a demonstration sport at the 2018 Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia.
