Latest Current Affairs – April 28 2018
1. No free rice to ‘unclean’ Puducherry villages: Kiran Bedi
Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi has passed an order stating that free rice will not be distributed in villages which haven’t received certification of being free from garbage and open defecation. Villages will be given four weeks to obtain certificates and the rice supplies, which benefit around half of Puducherry’s population, will be “kept on hold and in safe storage”.
2. Red Fort ‘adopted’ by Dalmia Group for ₹25 crore
The Dalmia Bharat Group has adopted Delhi’s Red Fort at a reported amount of ₹25 crore for 5 years, becoming the first-ever corporate to adopt a monument under the government’s “Adopt a Heritage” project. The firm, which will be responsible for maintaining and revamping the monument, beat IndiGo and the GMR group to win the contract.
3. Gates launches $12 million challenge to create flu vaccine
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has launched a $12 million Grand Challenge to encourage people to create a vaccine that could protect against all strains of flu. “We seek to fund ideas that are bold and innovative,” the funding website read. The Challenge has been launched in collaboration with the family of Google Co-founder Larry Page.
4. Largest known child sacrifice site discovered in Peru
Archaeologists in northern Peru have discovered a burial site with skeletons of 140 children, aged 5-14 at the time of death. The children along with 200 llamas, were ritually sacrificed about 550 years ago after repeated flooding events, the National Geographic study found. Until now, the largest known child sacrifice event was in Mexico City with 42 bodies, noted researchers.
5. CSIR wins National Intellectual Property (IP) Award 2018
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is awarded the National Intellectual Property (IP) Award 2018 in the category “Top R&D Institution / Organization for Patents and Commercialization”.
The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) is a contemporary R&D organization. It has been ranked 9th in the world amongst the 1207 government institutions, with an overall global ranking of 75 in the world, covering 5250 institutions. Pioneer of India’s intellectual property movement, CSIR today is strengthening its patent portfolio to carve out global niches in select technology domains.
6. NDMA conducts its first-ever Mock Exercise on Bio-Disasters at Patna airport
A five-day Day training programme, aimed at enhancing the preparedness of Airport Emergency Handlers (AEHs) to respond to Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense (CBRN) emergencies at the airports, concluded at the Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport in Patna. The training programme was conducted in collaboration with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS).
NDMA jointly with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also conducted its first-ever full-scale Biological Management Emergency Exercise. The exercise was based on a suspected Ebola outbreak scenario.
7. Gujarati poet Sitanshu Yashaschandra chosen for 2017 Saraswati Samman
Eminent Gujarati poet Sitanshu Yashaschandras poetry collection “Vakhar” has been chosen for the Saraswati Samman for 2017. Born in 1941 in Bhuj, Yashaschandra is one of the most eminent representatives of contemporary Gujarati literature. A poet, playwright, translator and academic, he has authored three books of poetry, “Vakhar” being one of them.
Instituted in 1991, the prestigious award recognises an “outstanding” literary work every year written in any Indian language and published during the last 10 years.
Last year Saraswati Samman was given to Konkani novelist Mahabaleshwar Sail. The recipients of the award are given a cash prize of Rs 15 lakhs, a citation and a plaque.
8. India-China Informal Summit held in Wuhan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in New Delhi after a two-day informal summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan. The Prime Minister was received at the airport by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Both the leaders expressed their support for the work of the Special Representatives on the India-China Boundary Question and urged them to intensify their efforts to seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement.
The leaders of two Asian giants held six meeting in 24 hours discussing trade, tourism, people to people connect and other regional and global issues agreeing to strengthen mutual relations in days to come.
9. International Buddhist Conference commenced in Nepal
In Nepal an International Buddhist Conference to commemorate 2562nd Buddha Jayanti has started in Lumbini, the birth place of Gautama Buddha. The basic objective of the conference is to disseminate teachings of Buddha and spread the messages of nonviolence, brotherhood, co-existence, love and peace to the international community. Representatives from 16 countries including United States of America, Japan, India, China, Indonesia and Sri Lanka are attending the conference.
