Current Affairs - April 23, 2017 Current Affairs

Sulkhan Singh appointed as new Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh on 21st April 2017. Uttar Pradesh DGP Javeed Ahmed has been transferred.

Aamir Khan and cricket icon Kapil Dev will receive the 75th Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Awards. The Other awardees include Kishore Deshpande, who will be presented with Anadmayee Puraskar for his work in social service, Vishwanath Karad, founder, Vishwashanti Kendra will be presented with Samarpit Jeevan Puraskar.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) conducted a first-of-its-kind State-level mock exercise on forest fire in Uttarakhand. It is aimed at assessing the efficacy of integrating the preparedness and response mechanisms of the forest department with those of the district administration.

A state-run Chinese company will handle the operations of Pakistan's strategic Gwadar port for a period of 40 years. Minister for Ports and Shipping Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo said the China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) would carry out all the development work on the port on the Arabian Sea. The COPHC has 91 per cent share of revenue collection from gross revenue of terminal and marine operations and 85 per cent share from gross revenue of free zone operation

The Central Government has raised Rs. 1,200 crore by divesting 9.2% of paid-up capital in National Aluminum Company Ltd. (NALCO). With this disinvestment, Government's shareholding in NALCO has become 65.37%.

Sulkhan Singh was appointed as the new director general of police, replacing Javeed Ahmed who has been posted as DG, PAC by the Yogi Adityanath-led state government. Sulkhan Singh, the 1980 batch IPS officer, would be heading the police department of Uttar Pradesh. He was currently posted in the Training Department of UP police.

The rupee weakened by 9 paise to 64.65 against the dollar in early trade at the Inter- bank Foreign Exchange market on increased demand for the American currency from importers and banks.

India and South Korea signed an agreement today to firm up bilateral cooperation in defence shipbuilding. MoU conceived under the umbrella of the special strategic partnership, the two sides will nominate one shipyard.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has mooted an idea of developing the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardev Batadrava as an international tourist spot and plans to place it in the national and international tourist circuit. The state government plans to develop the birthplace on the lines of the Golden Temple of Amritsar.

India has made a quarter-million-dollar contribution to the UN programme for helping countries to hold elections and develop their electoral systems. This is the second Indian contribution of $250,000 to the programmes for electoral assistance and capacity building.

MasterCard has unveiled its brand new payment card that has a built-in biometric fingerprint scanner, allowing customers to authorize payments with their fingerprint, without requiring a PIN code or a signature.

P.V. Sindhu moved to number 3. Slipping to number five. Sindhu earned two spots in the latest ranking on the basis of making the quarterfinals of the recently concluded Singapore Open Super Series.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to set up yoga wellness centres in 40 districts of the state. Out of 40 centres, 23 will be set up at Ayurvedic hospitals, 12 at homeopathic and 7 at Unani hospitals and colleges. For setting up of wellness centres in the remaining 35 districts, the state government plans to get assistance from union government.

Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal and H.E. Mr. Ignasius Jonan, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Republic of Indonesia met on 20th April, 2017 for the 1st 'India Indonesia Energy Forum', held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The global economy is forecast to grow 3.1% in 2016 compared with 3.2% estimated in the April WEO, with Brexit responsible for the reduction. The 2017 growth estimate has also been trimmed by 0.1 percentage point, to 3.4%.

The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in April 2017 selected Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu for the Krishi Karman Awards 2015-16. The objective of these awards is to encourage and motivate the states to enhance production and productivity of rice, wheat, pulses and coarse cereals and oilseeds.

The UN announced the launch of inaugural World Ocean Festival from June 4, 2017. The festival will be held in New York City. The festival will aim to show world leaders gathering for the UN conference the urgency for taking action. As part of the festival, activists and enthusiasts will take to the streets and waterways of New York City to raise their voices to reverse the declining health of our oceans.

Every year, the Civil Services Day is observed on April 21. In the event, 8 break away sessions were held on the replication initiatives awarded by the Prime Minister and 4 Priority Programmes, the names of which include; 'PradhanMantri Jan DhanYojana', 'Swachh Bharat (Gramin)', 'SwachhVidyalaya' and 'Soil Health Card'.

The 2017 BRICS Film Festival will be held in Chengdu, southwest China. There will be 30 films from BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) screened during the festival, including an anthology by five directors from the aforementioned countries.

Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for procurement of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) Units for use in the General Elections, 2019.