Today's Current Affairs 11th April 2023

NATIONAL

Exercise Cope India 23 between the Indian Air Force, United States Air Force begins

Exercise Cope India 23 has started between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the United States Air Force (USAF) on Monday. This 11 days exercise is being held at  Air Force Stations Arjan Singh (Panagarh), Kalaikunda and Agra. The exercise aims at enhancing mutual understanding between the two Air Forces and sharing their best practices,

Both sides will field the C-130J and C-17 aircraft, with the USAF operating an MC-130J, as well. The exercise also includes the presence of Japanese Air Self Defence Force aircrew, who will participate in the capacity of observers.

This exercise is being held after a gap of 4 years because of Covid – 19 pandemic, The previous edition of the exercise was held in 2019 at air basis in Kalaikunda amd Panagarh.

OBITUARY

Theatre veteran Jalabala Vaidya passes away

Jalabala Vaidya, legendary theatre actor, died in Delhi on Sunday after a battle with respiratory ailments, said her daughter and theatre director Anasuya Vaidya Shetty. She was 86.

Born in London to Indian author and freedom fighter Suresh Vaidya and English classical singer Madge Franckeiss, Jalabala Vaidya started out as a journalist, writing for various national newspapers and magazines in Delhi.

She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi's Tagore Award, the Delhi Natya Sangh Award, the Andhra Pradesh Natya Akademi Honour, Honorary Citizenship of the City of Baltimore, USA, and in February, the Delhi Government's Varisht Samman for her lifelong contribution to the performing arts.

Jalabala Vaidya was briefly married to well-known journalist and columnist, C.P. Ramachandran, but soon after, met and married her lifelong partner in the arts and life, poet-playwright Gopal Sharman.

She co-founded the Akshara National Classical Theatre in New Delhi with Sharman. It is an exquisite arts complex and much-loved hub of theatre performances, designed and built by Sharman, where she played the lead role in more than 20 plays, including 'Full Circle', 'Larflarflarf', 'The Ramayana', 'Let's Laugh Again’ 'The Bhagavad Gita', 'The Cabuliwala', 'Gitanjali', 'The Strange Case of Billy Biswas', etc.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

VLCC appoints Vikas Gupta as CEO with immediate effect

Beauty and skincare brand VLCC has appointed Vikas Gupta as CEO with immediate effect.

The announcement comes after investment firm Carlyle, a global investment firm, announced a strategic partnership with VLCC through the acquisition of a majority stake in the company in December 2022.

Prior to joining VLCC, Gupta was the CEO of SuperStore by Nykaa. Before that he was the chief customer and marketing officer for Flipkart between 2019-21, VLCC said in its release.

Gupta started his career as a management trainee with Hindustan Unilever (HUL) in 1998 and spent 21 years with Unilever, leading brand marketing for Lux, Dove, Dirt Is Good brands and was executive director of home care for Unilever Indonesia, VLCC.

Amit Jain, managing director and head, Carlyle India Advisors said, “We are excited to welcome Vikas as the Group's CEO. He brings muti-decadal, global experience in building leading consumer brands and digital platforms.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Safe Motherhood Day

Every year National Safe Motherhood Day is celebrated on April 11 with an aim to raise awareness of good healthcare and safety of all mothers or expecting mothers. It is an initiative undertaken by the government of India, aimed at reducing maternal and neonatal death rates.

The annual observance of National Safe Motherhood Day started with the efforts of the White Ribbon Alliance India (WRAI), which works to draw the attention of the government towards the importance of good healthcare facilities for mothers, especially during pregnancy.

The WRAI’s main objective was to spread awareness about the importance of healthcare habits and the availability and accessibility of healthcare programmes for women during pregnancy, childbirth, and post-natal care.

Thus, due to WRAI’s continuous efforts, the Indian government declared April 11 as National Safe Motherhood Day in 2003. The day also marks the birth anniversary of Kasturba Gandhi, the wife of Mahatma Gandhi, and a great freedom fighter and social reformer.

Since then, the day has been observed by people with various awareness programmes and events being conducted throughout the nation.

196th birth anniversary of Jyotirao Govindrao Phule

The nation is remembering renowned social reformer, thinker, writer and anti- caste activist Mahatma Jyotiba Phule on his 196th birth anniversary. Jyotiba Phule, who played a significant role in eradicating untouchability and promoting girl education, was born on April 11, 1827. Rajasthan government has declared a public holiday across the state on the occasion. It has been an optional holiday till now. Effective 2023, 11 April will be a compulsory state government holiday in Rajasthan.

About Jyotirao Govindrao Phule: Jyotirao Govindrao Phule was born in Maharashtra. Belonging to Mali caste, which the varna system classified as Shudra, Phule’s family was employed in farming and gardening. He dedicated his life towards education and upliftment of oppressed, eradication of untouchability and the caste system. Jyotiba Phule and his wife, Savitribai Phule, strongly promoted the women's education in India. They were the first to facilitate schooling for women in India in Pune around173 years ago.

World Parkinson’s Day

Every year on April 11th, World Parkinson’s Day raises awareness for this progressive nervous system disorder. It’s also a day to help the general public understand the reality of this disease for those who have it.

According to recent statistics from the Parkinson’s Foundation, over 10 million people in the world have this disease. This neurodegenerative disorder occurs when neurons in the brain break down or die. When these nerve cells die, it reduces dopamine levels in the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that sends messages from one nerve cell to another. Low dopamine levels cause abnormal brain activity, which results in impaired movement. This is why tremors are usually the first symptom of Parkinson’s disease.

The first World Parkinson's Day (WPD) was held in April 1997. It was set up by the European Parkinson’s Disease Association (now known as Parkinson’s Europe) and co-sponsored by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The date commemorates the birthday of Dr James Parkinson.

Each year there are now many World Day celebrations around the world as people come together on 11 April to raise awareness of Parkinson’s. Activities include online awareness campaigns, webinars, conferences, wellbeing events, fundraisers and much more.

BANKING AND ECONOMY

ICICI Bank to offer EMI facility for UPI transactions above Rs 10,000

ICICI Bank has introduced an equated monthly instalment (EMI) facility for UPI payments made by scanning QR code. The facility will be available for customers who are eligible for the bank’s ‘buy now pay later’ scheme – PayLater.

Customers can pay transaction amount above Rs 10,000 in the form of instalments in three, six, or nine months. The EMI facility for PayLater will shortly be extended for online shopping as well, the bank said in a statement The facility can be availed of across a host of categories such as electronics, groceries, fashion apparel, travel, and hotel bookings.

Bijith Bhaskar, Head- Digital Channels & Partnership, ICICI Bank, said “We have seen that maximum payments these days are made through UPI. In addition, we have observed that customers are increasingly opting for UPI transactions from PayLater, the Bank’s ‘buy now, pay later’ service.

ICICI Bank introduced PayLater facility in 2018 to enable customers to buy small ticket items immediately in a completely digital and paperless manner. PayLater facility enables customers to shop online, pay bills, and pay to any merchant UPI ID at physical stores instantly.

Kotak General Insurance ties up with actyv.ai to sell insurance products to MSMEs

Kotak Mahindra General Insurance has announced its partnership with actyv.ai to offer bitesized insurance products to new-age micro, small and medium enterprises. Kotak GeneralInsurance will leverage actyv.ai’s AI-powered platform to provide insurance solutions to support the business sustainability of small businesses, the company said in a press statement.

Through actyv.ai’s technology stack and Kotak General Insurance’s customized insurance products, this partnership will offer innovative insurance products to the enterprise and close to one lakh supply chain partner ecosystem to focus on driving growth without worrying about business risks,

Kotak's head of multi-line business Jagjeet Singh Siddhu said his company was excited to join hands with actyv.ai to offer small OTC products like shopkeeper policy, critical illness and personal accident policy via end-to-end digital platform. "We believe that technology plays a vital role in selling BFSI products to masses and businesses. This partnership will offer basic insurance to the last mile of the industrial value chain like never before."