Current Affairs, April 2021
29th April, Current Affairs:
• Polling for the eighth and final phase
of Assembly elections in West Bengal is conducted today.
•
Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech has slashed the price of
Covaxin to Rs 400 per dose for state governments. Earlier, the company had
fixed a price of Rs 600 per dose.
28th April, Current Affairs:
• The UK has become the first country to
announce regulation of the use of self-driving vehicles at slow speeds on
motorways.
• Serum Institute of India reduce the price of Covishield. It
will cost states ₹ 300 instead of ₹ 400.
26th April, Current Affairs:
• The 93rd Academy Awards were held on
April 25. The ceremony was broadcast from two locations in Los Angeles, The
Dolby Theatre and Union Station. Nomadland won big at the Oscars as it won
the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress awards. Anthony Hopkins won
the Best Actor for The Father.
• The Karnataka Government announced
lockdown across the State for 14 days starting from 9 pm tomorrow.
25th April, Current Affairs:
• Mahavir Jayanti, the birth anniversary
of 24th and last Jain Tirthankar Bhagwan Mahavir is being celebrated across
the country today.
• The Delhi government has decided to extend the
lockdown till 3rd May in the wake of rising cases in the national capital.
• Bharat Biotech has announced the cost of COVAXIN for State governments and
Private Hospitals. It will cost 600 rupees per dose for State Governments
and 1200 rupees per dose for Private Hospitals.
24th April, Current Affairs:
• At least 10 people died and eight are
still missing after an avalanche occurred near the Indo-China border in
Uttarakhand's Chamoli district today.
• Justice Nuthalapati Venkata
Ramana today took oath as the 48th Chief Justice of India. President Ram
Nath Kovind administered him the oath of office at a brief ceremony held at
the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches
distribution of e-property cards under SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and
Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme.
22nd April, Current Affairs:
• Earth Day is observed today. This year,
we mark the 51st Earth Day and earthday.org calls on everyone to "be a part
of the change".
• The registration process for COVID vaccination to all
above 18 years will start from 28th of this month. All those eligible can
register on Co-Win portal - cowin.gov.in.
• Election Commission has said
that 79.09 per cent voting has been recorded in the sixth phase of assembly
polls in West Bengal held today.
• NASA's Perseverance rover makes
history by converting some carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere into
oxygen, the first time this has happened on another planet.
21st April, Current Affairs:
• Civil Services Day being observed
today. It is a day to appreciate the tremendous work done by officers
engaged in public administration, in various departments of the central and
state governments.
• Ram Navami is being celebrated with religious fervor
and enthusiasm in different parts of country today.
• The central
government on Tuesday said nearly 0.04 per cent of people who have taken the
second dose of Covaxin have tested positive for Covid-19. The percentage of
those who tested positive after taking the second dose of Covishield is 0.03
per cent.
• The 2021 World Press Freedom Index produced by Reporters
Without Borders (RSF), a French NGO, has placed India at 142nd rank out of
180 countries.
• From May 1, Serum Institute of India (SII) will be
selling Covishield to State governments at ₹400 dose and to private
hospitals at ₹600 dose.
20th April, Current Affairs:
• American space agency NASA has
successfully flown a small helicopter on Mars. The drone helicopter, called
Ingenuity, was airborne for less than a minute on a historic flight on Mars.
• Miguel Díaz-Canel will succeed Raúl Castro as the Cuban Communist Party’s
first secretary, the most powerful position on the island.
19th April, Current Affairs:
• The Covid-19 vaccination drive will
open for all persons above the age group of 18 from May 1. The decision was
taken during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• British
Prime Minister Boris Johnson today cancelled his visit to India, due on
April 25-26, “in view of the prevailing COVID situation”, both governments
announced.
• The Capital would be placed under a six-day “total curfew”
starting Monday night till early next Monday morning.
16th April, Current Affairs:
• Scam-accused billionaire Nirav Modi's
extradition to India has been cleared by the British government. UK Home
Secretary Priti Patel signed the extradition order on Thursday.
• Save
the Elephant Day is being celebrated today.
15th April, Current Affairs:
• US President Joe Biden has formally
announced his decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan before
September 11.
• Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal today announced weekend curfew
in Delhi to break the COVID-19 transmission chain.
• The wholesale
price-based inflation shot up to over 8-year high of 7.39 % in March on
rising crude oil and metal prices.
14th April, Current Affairs:
• The government has postponed CBSE Board
Exams for class 12th and exams for class 10th stands cancelled. The
announcement taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with the
Education Minister and top officers.
• The Nation is remembering the
Chief Architect of Indian Constitution Babsaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar on his
130th birth anniversary today.
13th April, Current Affairs:
• India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the
ICC Player of the Month award for his superlative show in the limited overs
series against England in March.
• Various regions of the country are
celebrating traditional New Year today in the form of Ugadi, Gudi Padava,
Chaitra Sukladi, Cheti Chand, Vishu, Puthandu and Bohag Bihu.
12th April, Current Affairs:
• The Expert panel of the Central drug
regulator, DCGA has recommended emergency use authorisation to the Russian
Vaccine, Sputnik-V. After necessary approval from the DCGA, Sputnik-V will
be the third vaccine to get emergency use authorisation from the drug
regulator after Covishield and Covaxin.
• President Ram Nath Kovind
appointed Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra to take over as Chief
Election Commissioner from Sunil Arora, whose tenure ended on April 12.
•
Gig-economy Western “Nomadland” won four prizes including best picture at
the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).
11th April, Current Affairs:
• India has banned export of the
anti-viral drug Remdesivir amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.
• India has started four-day special vaccination drive "Tika Utsav"
announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.
• India has achieved the
landmark of administering over 10 crore vaccine doses in a record time of 85
days surpassing the vaccination rate of all other countries in the world
including that of the USA and China.
• World Parkinson's Day is being
observed today.
• Emirati national Nora al-Matrooshi selected has made
history in the United Arab Emirates as the country's first female astronaut.
10th April, Current Affairs:
• As per Election Commission's data,
76.16 per cent polling has been recorded till 5 PM in the 4th Phase of
Assembly polls held in West Bengal today.
• Over one lakh 45 thousand new
cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the country in the last 24 hours. It
is the highest single-day spike since outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic till
now.
9th April, Current Affairs:
• The Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip,
Queen Elizabeth II's husband, has died today at the age of 99.
• The 14th
edition of Indian Premier League begins today with Mumbai Indians opening
their title defence against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chepauk
grounds in Chennai.
7th April, Current Affairs:
• World Health Day is being observed
today.
• North Korea will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics this
year to protect its athletes amid the coronavirus pandemic.
• In view of
the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, the Chhattisgarh government today
announced a lockdown in Raipur district with effect from 9th April 9 to 19th
April.
• India has the third highest number of billionaires in the world
after the U.S. and China, according to a new list by the prestigious Forbes
magazine. Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani reclaimed his spot as
Asia’s richest person, dethroning Chinese business tycoon Jack Ma who was
the richest person in the region a year ago.
• Forbes’ 35th annual list
of the world’s billionaires is topped by Amazon CEO and Founder Jeff Bezos
for the fourth year in a row.
• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) voted unanimously to leave the policy repo
rate unchanged at 4%.
6th April, Current Affairs:
• Polling for the single-phase elections
in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, as well as the Union Territory of Puducherry along
with the Lok Sabha by-polls for Kanniyakumari seat in Tamil Nadu and
Malappuram seat in Kerala, is conducted today. Polling is also being held in
Assam and West Bengal for the Third Phase of Assembly Elections.
•
Justice NV Ramana has been appointed as the next Chief Justice of India by
President Ram Nath Kovind. He will take oath on April 24.
• Russian
President Vladimir Putin gave final approval to legislation allowing him to
hold office for two additional six-year terms, giving himself the
possibility to stay in power until 2036.
• Delhi will start a 10 pm to 5
am night curfew from now till April 30 due to steep rise in Covid cases.
4th April, Current Affairs:
• Easter is being celebrated across the
globe today.
• Twenty-two jawans were killed and 31 sustained injuries in
an encounter with Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district.
• The
Maharashtra government on Sunday announced new restrictions including a
night curfew in the state and a "strict lockdown" over the weekends from
Friday 8 pm to Monday 7 pm amid an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases.
• The Australian women’s cricket team has surpassed Ricky Ponting’s famous
side from 2003 and created ODI history by winning a world record 22nd
straight game in the format.
2nd April, Current Affairs:
• Good Friday is being observed today. It
commemorates the day of crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
• World Bank has
raised Indian GDP growth prediction for 2021-22 fiscal to 10.1 percent from
5.4 percent projected in January.
1st April, Current Affairs:
• West Bengal recorded 80.43% voter
turnout till 6 pm on Thursday in the second phase of polling in assembly
elections while Assam recorded 73.03% turnout.
• Actor Rajinikanth will
be conferred with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award. This announcement
was made by Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar today.
• Government has extended the last date for linking of Aadhaar number with
PAN upto 30th June this year.
• The fourth batch of three Rafale fighter
jets arrived in India from France yesterday.
• Lieutenant General
Manjinder Singh took over as the Chief of Staff, Headquarters Western
Command.
• Team India captain Virat Kohli has retained his top spot in
the ICC rankings for ODI batsmen released today. Kohli has 870 points in his
kitty.
• Odisha celebrates 86th statehood day as ‘Utkala Dibasa’.
•
Covid-19 vaccination for everyone aged above 45 years began today. The
comorbidities clause has been removed to make the system simpler.
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