Today's Current Affairs 16th April 2023

INTERNATIONAL

Bangladesh: Dhaka records highest temperature in 58 years

The extraordinary heat wave in Bangladesh continues over large parts of the country with the meteorological department predicting its continuation over the next few days. Capital city Dhaka had its hottest day on Saturday in 58 years with the temperature rising to 40.4 degrees Celsius. It is the highest temperature since 1965 when the highest temperature was recorded at 42 degrees Celsius.

The mid-western city of Chuadanga recorded a maximum temperature of 42.2 degrees on Saturday. Overall, Bangladesh experienced its highest temperature of 44.5 degrees at Jashore in 1964. On Saturday, a severe heatwave was experienced in several districts of Bangladesh including Dhaka, Faridpur, Manikganj, Bagerhat, Pabna, Jashore, Chuadanga, and Kushtia.

NATIONAL

Rajasthan's Nandini Gupta Crowned As Femina Miss India 2023

Femina Miss India World 2023 is Nandini Gupta of Rajasthan. Shreya Poonja of Delhi joined her as the first runner-up, and Thounaojam Strela Luwang of Manipur took second place. Nandini, 19, is from Kota, one of the largest teaching centres for engineering and medical students in the nation. The beauty with brains, Nandini has a degree in business management and is committed to overcoming obstacles. This year's first runner up was Delhi native Shreya Poonja, and the second runner up was Thounaojam Strela Luwang.

The big finale of the 59th season of the most renowned pageant in India was held in a historic ceremony at the Indoor Stadium, Khuman Lampak, in Imphal, Manipur, the stunning city that served as the ideal setting for the mesmerising event.

SSC GD Exam to be held in 13 regional languages

In a new milestone, the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to conduct the Constable (General Duty) examination for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in 13 regional languages, in addition to Hindi and English.

With this decision, now the languages for the Constable GD exam will include Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Urdu, Punjabi, Manipuri and Konkani apart from English and Hindi.

The landmark initiative has been taken to give a major push to the participation of local youth in the CAPF and encourage regional languages. Due to the decision, it is expected that more candidates will appear for the exams in their native or regional language, increasing their chances of being chosen.

For facilitating the conduct of the exam in multiple languages in addition to English and Hindi, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Staff Selection Commission (SSC) would sign an addendum to the existing MoU.

The Staff Selection Commission’s Constable GD exam is one of its flagship tests, drawing thousands of applicants from all over the nation. The conduct of the exam in 13 regional or native languages will be seen in effect from January 1, 2024, onwards.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Voice Day

World Voice Day (WVD) is a worldwide annual event that takes place on April 16 devoted to the celebration of the phenomenon of voice The aim is to demonstrate the enormous importance of the voice in the daily lives of all people. Voice is a critical aspect of effective and healthy communication, and World Voice Day brings global awareness to the need for preventing voice problems, rehabilitating the deviant or sick voice, training the artistic voice, and researching the function and application of voice. A goal of World Voice Day is to encourage all those who use their voice for business or pleasure to learn to take care of their voice, and know how to seek help and training, and to support research on the voice.

This celebration started in Brazil in 1999 as the Brazilian National Voice Day. It was the result of a mixed initiative of physicians, speech-language pathologists and singing teachers that belonged to the former association ‘Sociedade Brasileira de Laringologia e Voz – SBLV’ (Brazilian Society of Laryngology and Voice), under the presidency of Dr. Nedio Steffen. This Brazilian initiative was followed by other countries, such as Argentina and Portugal, and the Brazilian National Voice Day became the International Voice Day. In the United States, the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery officially recognized this celebration in 2002 and in that year the event obtained the name ‘World Voice Day’.

SUMMIT'S & MOU's

India signs MoU with World Food Programme for sending wheat to Afghanistan

India signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with World Food Programme (WFP) to send 10,000 metric tonnes of wheat to the people of Afghanistan. The signing ceremony between the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the United Nations (WPF) was held in Mumbai. The WFP assured that it had the required infrastructure on the ground to ensure speedy wheat delivery to Afghanistan’s most vulnerable sections. The WFP has a massive supply chain and logistics infrastructure in Afghanistan that could help in ensuring that the food supply reaches those who need it the most and no one is excluded. The MoU also ensures that the assistance is coordinated and delivered in an effective and efficient manner, and that it reaches the most vulnerable sections of the Afghan population.

The WFP is a humanitarian organization that is part of the United Nations system. It was established in 1961 and has its headquarters in Rome, Italy. The WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency focused on combating hunger and promoting food security.

NHAI signs MoU with Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve to enable FAST tag

National Highway Authority of India has signed an MoU with the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, spread across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to facilitate seamless and efficient entry process for vehicles entering into the forest area.

Road Transport and Highways Ministry said, the initiative aims to provide FASTag based payment system at Forest entry points. It will extend the benefit of collection of Ecosystem Management Coordination fee through FASTag at various entrance points of the Tiger Reserve.

The Ministry said, with this, visitors can avoid long queues and delays. This partnership between Indian Highways Management Company Limited and the Forest Department is a significant step towards promoting sustainable tourism and preserving natural resources by curbing vehicular emissions at the forest entry points.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Shri Amit Shah presented "Maharashtra Bhushan" award for the year 2022 to Dr. Appasaheb Dharmadhikari

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah presented "Maharashtra Bhushan" award for the year 2022 to Dr. Appasaheb Dharmadhikari in Raigarh, Maharashtra today, On this occasion, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis and many other dignitaries were present. This is the first time that two persons from the same family have been honored with this award.

Appasaheb Dharmadhikari is a renowned social reformist. He inherited a reputation from his late father Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari. The Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari Pratishthan runs several social welfare activities such as child rites class, health camp, blood donation camp, de-addiction, area cleaning, tree plantation, environment conservation, refilling of wells, distribution of educational materials are carried out. His work continues uninterruptedly. Taking note of his work, Appasaheb was also honored with the Padma Shri.

Taking note of this social work of Appasaheb, D. Y. Patil University awarded an honorary doctorate degree to Dharmadhikari. Former Governor Vidyasagar Rao appointed him as the state's cleanliness ambassador. In 2017, the central government conferred the civil honor of Padma Shri. The European International Institute honored Appasaheb with the Living Legend Award. Considering his career so far, the state government has selected him for the Maharashtra Bhushan Award.

BANKING AND ECONOMY

Chennai Metro launches Singara Chennai Card in association with SBI

Chennai Metro Rail Ltd on Friday launched the Singara Chennai Card (NCMC – National Common Mobility Card) in association with SBI, as banking partner. Currently, the Singara Chennai cards can be used in Chennai metro stations, and at other metros that accept RuPay NCMC cards, including the MMRDA Mumbai Line 2A & 7; Bangalore Metro; Delhi Metro Airport Line; Kanpur Metro; and for BEST Buses in Mumbai and Kadamba Transport Buses in Goa.

In future, consumers would be able to use the card for travel on buses, suburban railways, for toll, parking, smart city and retail shops, in many parts of the country.