1) World Laughter Day 2021: 02 May
•World Laughter Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of May every year. It is a day to raise awareness about laughter and its many healing benefits. In 2021, the day falls on 02 May 2021. World Laughter Day was first celebrated on May 10, 1998, in Mumbai upon the initiation of Dr Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement.
2) World Press Freedom Day observed globally on 3 May
•World Press Freedom Day is observed globally on 3 May every year. It is also known as World Press Day. The day also pays tribute to journalists who have lost their lives. They risk their lives at times or may even have to face tough situations in order to bring the news from different corners of the world in front of the public.
•This year’s World Press Freedom Day theme “Information as a Public Good”. The theme is of urgent relevance to all countries across the world. It recognizes the changing communications system that is impacting our health, our human rights, democracies and sustainable development.
3) India, Russia to establish a ‘2+2 ministerial dialogue’
•India and Russia have agreed to establish a ‘2+2 Ministerial Dialogue’ at the Foreign & Defence Minister level between the two countries. Russia is the 4th country and 1st Non-Quad member country with which India has established the ‘2+2 Ministerial dialogue’ mechanism. India has such a mechanism with the US, Japan and Australia. It is expected to boost the bilateral strategic partnership between India & Russia.
4) Indian Navy launches Operation Samudra Setu-II
•The Indian Navy has launched Operation Samudra Setu-II to help in faster transportation of medical oxygen and other requirements from other countries to India, amid its worsening COVID-19 pandemic. As a part of operation ‘Samudra Setu II’, seven Indian Naval ships have been deployed for shipment of liquid medical oxygen-filled cryogenic containers and associated medical equipment from various countries. These warships are Kolkata, Kochi, Talwar, Tabar, Trikand, Jalashwa and Airavat.
•In 2020, the Indian Navy launched Operation Samudra Setu, as part of the Vande Bharat Mission, to repatriate approximately 4,000 stranded and distressed Indian citizens from the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Iran.
5) Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun honour to Shyamala Ganesh
•The Japanese Government recently awarded the “Order of Rising Sun” to a Bengaluru based Japanese teacher, Shyamala Ganesh. She is a Japanese teacher at the Septuagenarian institution and also at the Ohara School of Ikebana in RT Nagar, Bengaluru. She has tutored more than hundreds of students since its inception 38 years ago. Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement.
6) T Rabi Sankar named RBI deputy governor
•Reserve Bank of India (RBI) executive director T Rabi Sankar has been named as the fourth Deputy Governor of the central bank. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment. He is in charge of the payments system, fintech, information technology and risk management at the RBI. He succeeds BP Kanungo as the deputy governor, who retired on April 2 after getting a one-year extension in his position.
•Sankar has long experience across a wide spectrum of central banking functions, particularly, exchange rate management, reserves portfolio management, public debt management, monetary operations, development, regulation and surveillance of financial markets and of payment systems, and managing the Bank’s IT infrastructure.
7) GST revenues touch all-time high of ₹1.41 lakh crore in April
•Gross revenues from the Goods and Services Tax hit a record high of ₹1.41 lakh crore in April 2021 in India, suggesting economic activity may not yet be as badly affected amidst the ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as last year.
•April’s GST collections surpassed the previous highest collections of ₹1.24 lakh crore in March 2021 by 14%, and mark the seventh month in a row since October that GST revenues have crossed ₹1 lakh crore.
8) Wipro overtakes HCL Tech to become third most-valued Indian IT firm
•Wipro regained its position as the 3rd largest Indian IT services company by market capitalization of ₹ 2.65 trillion by suppressing HCL Technologies’ ₹ 2.62 trillion market cap. TCS remains at the top of the list with a market cap of ₹ 11.51 trillion followed by Infosys.
•Wipro has also announced its commitment to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2040, in line with the objective of the Paris Agreement to cap temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius. The country’s third-largest largest software services company has set an intermediate target of 55 per cent reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 in absolute emission levels compared to its base year of 2016-17 (April-March).
9) Lewis Hamilton wins Portuguese Grand Prix
•Lewis Hamilton overtook title rival Max Verstappen and Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas to win the Portuguese Grand Prix. Verstappen finished second, while Bottas, who started from pole, came in a disappointing third place. Sergio Perez took the flag in fourth, with Lando Norris fifth for McLaren.
•The reigning Formula One champion dropped to third in the opening laps but made two impressive moves in nine race-winning laps to claim his second victory of the season.
