1. Defense Research Development Organization and Indian Navy Successfully Test Fired Interceptor Ballistic Missile
The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and the Indian Navy successfully conducted the maiden flight test of the sea-based Endo-Atmospheric Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) interceptor off the coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal on April 21, 2023 . The objective of the test was to target and destroy the effect of an enemy ballistic missile threat. This could place the Indian Navy in an elite group of nations with BMD capabilities. Earlier, DRDO had successfully demonstrated the capability of the surface-based BMD system and thus achieved the capability to neutralize incoming ballistic missile threats from the enemy.
2. ISRO successfully put into orbit two satellites of Singapore with PSLV-C55 rocket
Indian Space Research Organisation-ISRO successfully sent two satellites of Singapore into space. Singapore’s two satellites Teleios-2 and Numilite-4 were sent into an annular orbit of 586 km by Polar Launch Vehicle-PSLVC-55 from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota . The launch was carried out by New Space India Limited, the commercial arm of ISRO.
3. Indian-origin Radha Iyengar Plumb elected as Deputy Defense Secretary by the US Senate
The US Senate has recently appointed Indian-origin Radha Iyengar Plumb as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense . Radha currently serves as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. The Senate voted in his name by a margin of 68-30. Radha was nominated for the top post of the Pentagon in June 2022. He served as deputy chief of staff to the Deputy Secretary of Energy in 2014–2015.
4. Cuba’s National Assembly approves new term for President Miguel Dias-Canel
Cuba ‘s National Assembly has approved a new five-year term for President Miguel Diaz-Canel . Of the total 462 members of the House, 459 voted in favor of extending Dias-Kanell’s term for another five years. Salvador Valdés Mesa has also been re-elected as Vice President.
5. Sonam Wangchuk receives the prestigious Santokba Humanitarian Award
Sonam Wangchuk , a distinguished engineer, innovator, educationist and sustainable development reformer, has been conferred with the prestigious Santokba Humanitarian Award . The award has been instituted by Sri Ramakrishna Exports (SRK), a leading company in diamond crafting and exports, and its philanthropic marketplace Sri Ramakrishna Knowledge Foundation (SRKF). Wangchuk is the founder-director of the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL).
6. Nagaland gets NMC nod to set up its first medical college
With the National Medical Commission (NMC) giving its nod for setting up the 100-seat Nagaland Institute of Medical Sciences and Research , the northeastern state will set up its first medical college since it attained statehood in 1963, 60 years ago. Announcing the NMC’s approval for setting up the Nagaland Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Kohima, Health and Family Welfare Minister P. Paiwang Konyak on Wednesday said the new medical college would start from the academic session 2023-24. Out of 100 MBBS seats, 85 will be kept for Nagaland resident students, while the remaining 15 seats will be reserved for candidates from other states.
7. Indian Army and Tezpur University sign an agreement for Chinese language training
Indian Army and Tezpur University signed an agreement for Chinese language training for Indian Army personnel . The duration of the course will be 16 weeks, and will be conducted at Tezpur University.
8. Center dedicates to the nation a network of over 250 mobile towers to provide 4G telecom services in border areas of Arunachal Pradesh
254 4G mobile towers were dedicated to the nation in Arunachal Pradesh . Union Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnav , Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu were also present at the event. These 254 towers will connect 336 villages through digital connectivity. Many of these areas lacked communication facilities since independence. About 70 thousand consumers will get the benefit of this service. In a release of the Ministry of Communications, it was informed that the Central Government has approved the installation of two thousand six hundred five 4G mobile towers in three thousand seven hundred and twenty one villages of Arunachal Pradesh. An amount of Rs 2 thousand 675 crore has been approved for these towers.
9. NASA’s Lucy mission captures images of Jupiter Trojan meteors
NASA’s Lucy mission is on a 12-year journey to observe nine Jupiter trojans and two main-belt asteroids , making it the first mission to visit them. Despite being more than 330 million miles (530 million kilometers) from the spacecraft, Lucy was recently able to capture views of four Jupiter Trojan asteroids. The asteroids are relatively small in size, but Lucy used its highest resolution imager, L’LORRI, to take images that will help the team choose exposure times for close observations of the targets.
10. Asha Bhosle will be awarded the Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar Award
Renowned singer Asha Bhosle will be honored with the Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award, instituted by the Mangeshkar Family and Trust in memory of Lata Mangeshkar . The award ceremony will be held on 24 April. Lata Mangeshkar’s younger sister Asha Bhosle will be the recipient of the award. The Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award is an annual award presented to someone who has made significant contributions to the nation, its people and society. The award was first presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
11. City Union Bank launches India’s first voice biometric authentication banking app
City Union Bank Limited (CUB) has introduced a new feature that allows customers to use voice-based recognition while login to the bank’s mobile banking app , with an aim to improve security. The bank is planning to extend this facility to net banking users as well, and the development process is currently underway. The voice-based login option will be joined by other existing authentication methods such as User ID/PIN, Face ID, and fingerprint authentication, giving customers the flexibility to choose from a variety of options.
12. Thave Festival organized in Bihar
Department of Tourism and Department of Art and Culture organized Thawe Festival in Gopalganj , Bihar on 15th and 16th April . The festival was organized with the aim of promoting tourism in Gopalganj and increasing the attraction towards Thave Durga Temple. Thave Festival is a festival held every year in Gopalganj, Bihar. The festival aims to promote tourism in the area and encourage people to discover Thawe Durga Temple, one of the main attractions of the area. The festival is organized every year since 2012 and includes various cultural and entertainment activities.
13. China launches Fengyun-3 satellite
China has made a significant achievement by successfully launching the Fengyun-3 meteorological satellite . The satellite was launched using a Chang Zheng-4B carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Cosmodrome located in Gansu Province. The Fengyun-3 satellite is primarily designed to monitor and provide critical information on severe weather conditions, including heavy rainfall that can result in natural disasters such as landslides and floods.
14. Kenya Launches Its First Operational Earth Observation Satellite “Taifa-1”
Kenya launched its first operational Earth observation satellite “ Taifa-1 ” on a rocket from Elon Musk ‘s rocket company SpaceX from Vandenberg Base in California . The launch rocket carried 50 payloads from various countries, including Turkey, under SpaceX’s ‘rideshare programme’. Taifa-1 was designed and developed by SayariLabs and EnduroSat and the satellite was built over two years at a cost of 50 million Kenyan shillings ($372,000). The satellite’s primary purpose is to collect agricultural and environmental data, including floods, droughts and wildfires, to help Kenya deal with disaster management and food insecurity.
15. The Maharashtra government has decided to set up a new commission to decide about the backwardness of the Maratha community.
The Maharashtra government has decided to set up a new commission to decide about the backwardness of the Maratha community . Chief Minister Eknath Shinde called a meeting of various cabinet level ministers in this regard and discussed it. Mr. Shinde said that the state government will file a curative petition in the Supreme Court for the reservation of socially and economically backward classes for Marathas.
16. New policy of Jail Department of Maharashtra, prisoners are allowed to meet their relatives outside the jail
Maharashtra ‘s prisons department has announced a new policy under which both male and female undertrials and female prisoners will be allowed to meet their children, grandchildren and siblings outside jail. State’s Additional Director General of Police – Prisons Amitabh Gupta said that the objective of this policy is that the prisoners should be accepted on behalf of their families and treated at par with them. He said that the objective of this initiative is to strengthen family harmony and bond between the prisoners and their relatives.
17. India’s Jyothi Surekha Vennam won two gold medals in the compound mixed team and individual events at the Archery World Cup Stage One in Antalya, Turkey.
Indian archer Jyoti Surekha Vennam has won the individual gold medal in the compound event at the World Cup Stage 1 in Antalya, Turkey . Jyothi Surekha Vennam topped the podium after defeating Colombia’s Sara Lopez 149-146 in the title match. Indian pair of Jyoti Surekha Vennam and Ojas Praveen Deotale won the compound mixed team gold have also won. The Indian pair defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chen Yi Hsan and Kem Chieh Lun. This is India’s second World Cup gold medal in the compound mixed team. Earlier, the pair of Jyoti and Abhishek Verma had won their first gold medal at the World Cup in Paris 2022. In the women’s compound individual event, Jyoti Surekha has reached the semi-finals. The Indian recurve archery team also entered the finals.
18. Argentina to host FIFA U-20 World Cup
Argentina will host the FIFA U-20 World Cup . Earlier , Indonesia was the host of this tournament, but after FIFA snatched the hosting from Indonesia, Argentina got the hosting rights for argentina. Let us tell you that amidst the political uproar over Israel’s participation, FIFA decided to host under The hosting of the T20 World Cup was snatched from Indonesia. FIFA said that Indonesia was not ready to organize the event, after which the said decision was taken.
19. Bhubaneswar to host 2023 Intercontinental Football Tournament in June
The four-team Intercontinental Football Cup will be held from June 9 to 18 in Bhubaneswar , Odisha . This will be the third edition of the tournament, with the first two cups being held in Mumbai (2018) and Ahmedabad (2019). Hosts India will be participating in the tournament along with Lebanon, Mongolia and Vanuatu . Significantly, Bhubaneswar was one of the venues for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
20. Gary Ballance retires from all forms of cricket
इंग्लैंड क्रिकेट टीम के पूर्व क्रिकेटर गैरी बैलेंस ने क्रिकेट के सभी प्रारूपों से संन्यास की घोषणा कर दी है। बैलेंस ने हाल ही में अपने मूल देश जिम्बाब्वे के साथ अपने करियर को फिर से शुरू किया था। बैलेंस ने साल 2014 और साल 2017 के बीच इंग्लैंड के लिए 23 टेस्ट मैचों में चार शतक बनाए थे। उनका यह रिकॉर्ड उस अवधि में डेब्यू करने वाले कई अन्य खिलाड़ियों के मुकाबले काफी शानदार था।
21. 22 अप्रैल : पृथ्वी दिवस
प्रतिवर्ष 22 अप्रैल को पृथ्वी दिवस (Earth Day) मनाया जाता है। इस साल पृथ्वी दिवस (Earth Day) की थीम Invest In Our Planet यानी हमारे ग्रह में निवेश करें, रखी गई है। विश्व पृथ्वी दिवस मनाने की शुरुआत सबसे पहले 1970 में अमेरिकी सीनेटर गेलॉर्ड नेल्सन ने की थी।
