Current Affairs - April 29, 2017 Current Affairs

Pranab Mukherjee represented CII President's Award for Lifetime Achievement to Mr. Rahul Bajaj Chairman, Bajaj Auto Ltd.

India won six medals in the second leg of the Asian Grand Prix Athletics Meet in Jiaxing, China. India had won seven medals, including a gold and 4 silver in the first leg.

Belgium has become the first country to open an honorary consulate office in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). The consulate was inaugurated by Belgian Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Pieter De Crem, at an event where Ajay Pandey, Managing Director and Group CEO, GIFT City.

India and Cyprus today signed four pacts for air services and cooperation in merchant shipping. The agreement was exchanged between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Cyprus's Finance Minister Harris Georgiades in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades. The two countries also signed an agreement on Executive Programme on Culture Education and Scientific Cooperation (EPCEC) for the year 2017-2020.

The Noida-based company, Paytm will invest Rs 10,000 crore in its banking and financial services for the next three years and hopes to get the final approval for its payments bank operations. Payments banks can accept deposits from individuals and small businesses of up to Rs 1 lakh per account.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is going to launch five communication satellites by the end of 2017. The main aim behind the launch is to improve the communication system within the country. The specific use of the satellites would be to improve the number of available transponders for communications. The move is expected to significantly enhance India's communication capability.

Paris is the host city for the 2020 European Athletics Championships. The 26th edition of the tournament will take place at the Charlety Stadium here from August 26 to 30, 2020.

World's largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp was adjudged the 'Indian MNC of the year' by All India Management Association. Hero MotoCorp sold more than 6.6 million two-wheelers in FY'17, is the only Indian two-wheeler company to have a manufacturing facility in Latin America.

Prof. Sankha Ghosh, an eminent Bengali poet and literary critic, has been conferred the 52nd edition of the Jnanpith Award (2016) by President Pranab Mukherjee at a function in New Delhi on April 27, 2017. He was awarded for his outstanding contribution in the field of literature. Excerpt of Ghosh's classic creations are Adim lata -gulmomay, Murkho Baro, Samajik Noy and Baborer Prarthana.

Google's India-born CEO Sundar Pichai received a $200 million compensation package last year for running the internet company that makes nearly all the money for Alphabet Inc. Alphabet also gave the award to Pichai in January 2016, a few months after he succeeded Larry Page as Google's CEO.

B B Vyas was appointed as the chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. He had served as the principal secretary to the Jammu and Kashmir Governor and former Chief minister Omar Abdullah.

The Indian short film "Azaad" will be screened by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organisation (UNESCO) as part of 2017 World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) event, which will be held from May 1-4, 2017 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The movie is written and directed by Rahul V. Chittella, which tells the story of the dysfunctional relationship between a father and his son.

An android App for the computation of solar energy potential has been developed by Space Applications Centre (SAC), ISRO, Ahmedabad at the behest of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Govt. of India. It provides solar energy potential gives monthly and yearly solar potential processed using Indian Geostationary Satellite data.

Yashwanth Naidu, a deaf and Dumb Cricketer from Andhra Pradesh, has been declared Man of the Tournament in the T-20 Asia Cup for his controlled bowling at Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare 2017 was observed on 29 April 2017 by the United Nations. This will provide an opportunity to pay tribute to the victims of chemical warfare, as well as to reaffirm the commitment of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to the elimination of the threat of chemical weapons.

The indian city Mumbai will become the first city in the country to operate public buses without conductors. The city is set to launch an intelligent transportation system (ITS) that involves smart card-based access for passengers and ticket vending machines. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking will procure 50 air-conditioned mini-buses.

JP Nadda has launched the Test and Treat policy for providing treatment to patients suffering from Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). It will provide Anti- Retroviral Therapy (ART) treatment to the patients free of cost.

Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR Refugees. UNHCR Goodwill Ambassadors are some of the most recognisable public faces of the UN agency. They help take its work to every corner of the world through their influence, dedication and hard work.

Kerala organised the country's first transgender one-day athletic meet in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Sports Minister AC Moideen inaugurated the event at the Central Stadium. 132 participants from 12 districts participated in six sporting events, including sprint in 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 4x100 m relay, shot put and long jump.

World Immunization Week 2017 theme is "Vaccines work". It aims to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease. Immunization saves millions of lives and is widely recognized as one of the world's most successful and cost-effective health interventions.

Eastern Peripheral Expressway is India's first smart and green Highway. It is replete with smart and intelligent highway traffic management system (HTMS) and video incident detection system (VIDS) besides a closed tolling system. It has been built at a cost of Rs.11000 crore.

India has been ranked 136th out of 180 countries in the annual World Press Freedom Index (WPFI-2017). The 2017 WPFI compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The index is topped by Norway, followed by Sweden, Finland and Denmark. China has acquired 176th position among 180 nations.