1) HAL and Israel Aerospace have teamed up to convert civil aeroplanes into mid-air refuellors
•In a significant development, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to convert civil passenger aircraft to Multi Mission Tanker Transport (MMTT) aircraft in India. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has been looking to procure new mid-air refuellers for sometime.
2) NCW Launches Anti-Human Trafficking Cell
•The National Commission for Women launched an Anti-Human Trafficking Cell to improve effectiveness in tackling cases of human trafficking, raising awareness among women and girls, capacity building and training of Anti Trafficking Units and increasing responsiveness of law enforcement agencies. The Cell has been set up with an aim of increasing awareness among law enforcement officials and facilitating their capacity building.
3) Madhya Pradesh government launched Mukhyamantri Udyam Kranti Yojana
•Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan will launch the Udyam Kranti Yojana. According to officials, the MP Mukhyamantri Udyam Kranti plan was announced for the first time in November 2021, as per the MSME department’s gazette announcement, but it was never executed. Loans ranging from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 50 lakh would be offered to youth under this scheme for self-employment.
4) Arya.ag joins United Nations Global Compact Network India
•Arya.ag, an integrated grain commerce platform, has joined the United Nations Global Compact India, voluntarily adhering to universal sustainability principles and taking actions to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
5) Ministry of Sports releases USD 72,124 to UNESCO Fund for Elimination of Doping
•The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, has contributed an amount of USD 72,124 towards the UNESCO Fund for Elimination of Doping in Sport 2022. This is double the amount of the minimum agreed value. As per the resolution of 7COP held at Paris between 29-31 September 2019, the State Parties had agreed for contributing 1% of the regular budget of their respective nations to UNESCO towards the Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sport.
6) China successfully launches new satellite Gaofen-3 03 for Earth Observation
•China successfully launched a new Earth observation satellite Gaofen-3 03 on April 07, 2022, from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on board a Long March-4C rocket. The new satellite will become part of its land-sea radar satellite constellation by forming a network with the orbiting Gaofen-3 and Gaofen-3 02 satellites.
7) “Tiger of Drass: Capt. Anuj Nayyar, 23, Kargil Hero” authored by Meena Nayyar & Himmat Singh Shekhawat
•Meena Nayyar, Mother of Captain Anuj Nayyar and Himmat Singh Shekhawat, a part of Rashtriya Riders, a biking group that pays homage to martyrs and their families has authored a new book titled “Tiger of Drass: Capt. Anuj Nayyar, 23, Kargil Hero”, published by HarperCollins Publishers India.
•The book features the story of Capt. Anuj Nayyar (23 years old), who martyred during the 1999 Kargil War while fighting to secure the Drass sector which was critical to the success of Operation Vijay and India’s victory in Kargil. Captain Anuj Nayyar was honoured with the Maha Vir Chakra (posthumously), the second-highest gallantry award in 2000.
8) RBI Monetary Policy 2022: key rates unchanged
•The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent. MPC committee keeps the reverse repo rate unchanged at 3.35 per cent as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine added to a rise in inflation. The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee headed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das kept the repo rate unchanged for the 11th consecutive time. The repo rate or the short-term lending rate was the last cut on May 22, 2020. Since then, the rate remains at a historic low of 4 per cent.
The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and bank rates remain unchanged:
•Policy Repo Rate: 4.00%
•Reverse Repo Rate: 3.35%
•Marginal Standing Facility Rate: 4.25%
•Bank Rate: 4.25%
•CRR: 4%
•SLR: 18.00%
9) Astronomers detect identical twin of Jupiter
•Astronomers have discovered an identical twin of Jupiter dubbed as K2-2016-BLG-0005Lb, Which has a similar mass and is at a similar location (420 million miles away) from its star as Jupiter is from our Sun (462 million miles away). The study has been published as a preprint on ArXiv.org and submitted to the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
