National & International Appointments
1. Mallika Srinivasan appointed as Chairperson of PESB
- Mallika Srinivasan has been appointed as the Chairperson of Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB).
- Her tenure will be valid for a period of 3 years from the date of assumption of charge, or until the attainment of the age of 65 years.
- Prior to this, she was the chairman and Managing Director (MD) of Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE) Limited
- This is for the first time that a specialist from private sector has been appointed as the head of the PESB.
Important Dates
2. International Mine Awareness Day: 4 April
- International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is observed every year on April 4
- Theme 2021: Perseverance, Partnership, and Progress
- This day was declared by United Nation General Assembly on 8 December 2005 to raise awareness about landmines and progress toward their eradication.
- In April 2015, the UN Secretary-General designated the renowned actor Daniel Craig as the 1st UN Global Advocate for the Elimination of Mines and Explosive Hazards.
Sports
3. Aniyan Midhun wins gold at South Asian Wushu Championship
- Aniyan Midhun (28 years) has bagged gold medal in the 70-kg category at the South Asian Wushu Championship 2021.
- The championship was held in Nepal.
- He is the first Wushu player from southern India in the ten-member Indian team.
- He belongs to Nattika village in Thrissur district of Kerala
- Wushu (Chinese Kungfu) is a hard and soft and complete martial art, as well as a full-contact sport.
Books & Authors
4. Nitin Gokhale authors ‘Manohar Parrikar: Brilliant Mind, Simple Life’
- Book titled ‘Manohar Parrikar: Brilliant Mind, Simple Life’, authored by Nitin Gokhale has been released.
- It is a tribute to Parrikar (India’s former defence minister and four-time chief minister of Goa, the first IIT-ian to become a chief minister), capturing his persona.
- Book is published by Bloomsbury.
- Through this book, the author presents the journey of the contribution of Parrikar to nation-building and his service to the Goan society.
Obituaries
5. Japanese Nobel laureate Isamu Akasaki passes away
- Japanese Physicist Isamu Akasaki (92 years) passed away due to pneumonia.
- He is a co-winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics with physicist Hiroshi Amano, a professor at the University of Nagoya, and Japan-born American Shuji Nakamura, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara for 'revolutionary' LED lamp.
- He is a professor at Meijo University
- He was honored in 1997 by the Japanese government with the Medal with Purple Ribbon.
National & International Appointments
6. Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel names as Additional Director of Britannia
- Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel has been appointed as the Additional Director of Britannia Industries with effect from March 31, 2021
- His appointment has been approved by Board of Britannia Industries in the category of Non-Executive and Independent Director.
- He has been appointed for a period of 5 years
- He served as the Governor of RBI from September 2016 to December 2018.
- CEO of Britannia: Varun Berry.
International Affairs
7. Facebook and Google to launch undersea internet cables from US
- Facebook, along with Google have planned to lay two huge subsea cables to provide vital new connections between Asia-Pacific and North America
- Cables are termed as Echo and Bifrost and will link U.S. West Coast to Singapore and Indonesia, increasing the data capacity between the regions by 70% and improving reliability
- Facebook will be investing in both cables, but Google will invest only in Echo
- Echo project is to be completed by late 2023, while Bifrost by 2024
National Affairs
8. NPCI transfers Bharat Bill Payments business to its new subsidiary NBBL
- National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has transferred all its Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) transaction business to NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL)
- NBBL is a new wholly owned subsidiary of NPCI
- All licensed bill processors on BBP Operating Units (banks and payment aggregators) have been directed to start accounting their billing transactions under NBBL
- The new subsidiary is set up to scale growth of interoperable bill platform
Defense
9. Fourth batch of three Rafale fighter jets land in India from France
- The fourth batch of three IAF Rafales landed in India, after a direct ferry from Istres Air Base in France.
- These IAF Rafales were refuelled mid-air by UAE Air Force tankers.
- Five extra Rafale jets are scheduled to be ferried to India by the end of April 2021.
- With this new arrival of the three jets, the total Rafale fleet with Indian Air Force has increased to 14.
Obituaries
10. Samajwadi Party founder member Bhagwati Singh passes away
- Founder member of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and former UP minister Bhagwati Singh (89 years) passed away at a degree college in Lucknow’s Bakshi ka Talab area
- The last rites of Singh will not be done as he had pledged to donate his body to the King George Medical University
- He was a member of the Parliament of India representing Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament from 2004 to 2010.
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