1) International Mother Earth Day: 22 April
•Earth Day or International Mother Earth Day is observed globally on 22 April every year. The Day will be celebrated all over the world to spread awareness for Earth’s wellbeing and to encourage people to support environmental protection. World Earth Day 2021 will mark the 51st Anniversary of the day since it started being observed in 1970. Earth Day was renamed officially by the UN in 2009 as International Mother Earth Day.
•The theme of 2021 International Mother Earth Day is Restore Our Earth.
2) International Girls in ICT Day: 22 April
•International Girls in ICT Day marked annually on the fourth Thursday in April. This year International Girls in ICT Day is observed on 22nd April 2021. International Girls in ICT Day aims to inspire a global movement to increase the representation of girls and women in technology. Today, let’s recommit to the goal of equal access for young women and girls to opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math.
•The United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is highlighting the need to promote technology career opportunities for girls and women in the world’s fastest-growing sector.
3) Care Ratings Projects India’s GDP growth forecast at 10.2% for FY22
•Care Ratings has revised downwards the GDP growth forecast of India to 10.2 per cent in 2021-22 (FY22). Earlier this was estimated between 10.7-10.9 per cent. This cut in the GDP is based on the fact that economic activities are getting affected across the country due to curbs imposed by states amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.
4) ICRA Slashes India’s GDP Forecast by 0.5% to 10.5% in FY22
•The domestic rating agency ICRA has cut the growth estimate of India for 2021-22 by 0.5 per cent on the upper end and now expects the economy to grow 10-10.5 per cent in 2021-22 as against 10-11 per cent estimated earlier. The downward revision in the forecast follows the lockdowns and restrictions which are getting imposed once again due to rising COVID-19 cases.
5) India elected to 3 bodies of U.N. Economic and Social Council
India has been elected by acclamation, to three bodies of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), for a three-year term beginning January 1, 2022.
•Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ)
•Executive Board of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
•Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP)
6) Tamil Nadu’s Arjun Kalyan becomes 68th Indian Grandmaster
•Tamil Nadu’s, Arjun Kalyan became India’s 68th Chess Grandmaster when he crossed the 2500 ELO mark after beating Dragan Kosic in the fifth round of GM Round Robin “Rujna Zore-3” in Serbia. Arjun is coached by IM Saravanan and Ukrainian GM Aleksandr Goloshchapov and began playing chess at the age of nine and got his FIDE rating a year later. Viswanathan Anand became the country’s first Grandmaster, in 1988.
7) Australia announces partnership with India for Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative
•Australia has announced a grant of Rs 81.2 million (AUD 1.4 million) under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI). IPOI was proposed by Indian Prime Minister Modi at the East Asia Summit in November 2019 and Australia is co-leading New Delhi in the marine ecology pillar of the initiative.
