National:
1. Foreign Trade Policy 2023
Why in news - Piyush Goyal today launched the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 on March 31, 2023.
Key points –
• Aim - FTP seeks to take India's exports to 2 trillion dollars by 2030.
• It is based on 4 pillars:
(i) Incentive to Remission
(ii) Export promotion through collaboration - Exporters, States, Districts, Indian Missions
(iii) Ease of doing business, reduction in transaction cost and e-initiatives
(iv) Emerging Areas – E-Commerce Developing Districts as Export Hubs and streamlining Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies (SCOMET) policy.
• It encourages recognition of –
(i) New towns through “Towns of Export Excellence Scheme”
(ii) Exporters through “Status Holder Scheme”.
• 4 Towns of Export Excellence (TEE) designated - Faridabad, Mirzapur, Moradabad, and Varanasi. (Now, total TEE - 43).
INTERNATIONAL:
1. Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Bird Flu
Why in news - A man in northern Chile has tested positive for avian influenza A (H5N1) bird flu.
Key points –
• Case reported from the coastal city of Tocopilla.
• Caused by - 2.3.4.4b lineage of the virus.
• This is the 1st human case of bird flu in Chile and the 2nd one in South America (1st - Ecuador).
• The virus can be transmitted from birds or marine mammals to humans, but there is no known human-to-human transmission.
2. Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
Why in news - Britain struck a deal to join an 11-country trans-Pacific trade pact.
Key points –
• Britain would become the 12th member, and the first to join since the partnership since its inception.
• It is Britain’s largest post-Brexit trade deal which makes it the first European nation to join the CPTPP.
About CPTPP (2018) –
• A free trade agreement (FTA) around the Pacific rim.
• 11 countries – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
• Combined GDP - $13.6 trillion (once Britain joins).
• It does not have a single market for goods or services.
• It evolved out of the now-defunct Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) after former US President Donald Trump scrapped U.S. involvement.
GOVERNMENT SCHEMES:
1. New India Literacy Program (NILP)
Why in news – The government has launched a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme namely, “New India Literacy Programme” (NILP).
Key points –
• Period - 2022-23 to 2026-27.
• Financial outlay - Rs.1037.90 crore (Central share - Rs.700.00 crore and State - Rs.337.90).
• Aim - to cover a target of 5 crore non-literates in the age group of 15 years and above.
• It is based on volunteerism for teaching and learning.
• The teaching learning material and resources have been made available on DIKSHA platform of NCERT.
• It has 5 components:
(i) Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
(ii) Critical Life Skills
(iii) Vocational Skills Development
(iv) Basic Education
(v) Continuing Education.
2. Settlement of International Trade in Indian Rupee
Why in news - India and Malaysia can now use the Indian rupee to settle trade in addition to other currencies.
Key points –
• India International Bank of Malaysia (IIBM), Kuala Lumpur has operationalised this mechanism by opening a special Rupee Vostro account in Union Bank of India.
• Vostro accounts are used to make payments in domestic currency.
SCIENCE – TECHNOLOGY:
1. 'Ultramassive' Black Hole
Why in news - An 'ultramassive' black hole has been discovered which is 33 billion times the mass of the sun.
Key points –
• To assess the size of the black hole, the scientists studied a natural phenomenon called gravitational lensing.
• Gravitational lensing - Supermassive objects, like galaxies, can have a gravitational pull that is so intense that it bends rays of light.
• Discovered by - Hubble telescope.
• Black hole -A region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape its event horizon.
• Active Black hole - Matter pulled in close to the black hole heats up and releases energy in the form of light, X-rays, and other radiation.
2. NASA’s Moon to Mars Program
Why in news – Amit Kshatriya was appointed as the first head of NASA's newly-established Moon to Mars Program.
Key points –
• Amit Kshatriya is an Indian-American software and robotics engineer.
• Moon to Mars Program office – to help prepare NASA to carry out our bold missions to the Moon and land the first humans on Mars.
3. RLV LEX
Why in news – ISRO successfully demonstrated a precise landing experiment for a Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) test.
Key points –
• At - Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, Karnataka.
• RLVs - Space planes/shuttles which can travel to low earth orbit to deliver payloads and return to earth for use again.
• ISRO’s RLV-LEX looks like an aircraft. It consists of a fuselage, a nose cap, double delta wings, and twin vertical tails.
IMPORTANT DAYS:
1. World Autism Awareness Day 2023
Why in news – It is observed on April 2.
Key points –
• Theme - 'Transformation: Toward a Neuro-Inclusive World for All'.
• Autism - It is a neuro-developmental condition that affects a person's capacity for social contact and communication.
• Boys are more likely than girls to have this condition.
STATES/UTs:
1. Lakes Development Program
Why in news – Telangana launched the program to rejuvenate and develop as many as 50 water bodies in and around Hyderabad.
Key points –
• The lakes have been adopted by real estate developers under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) scheme.
POINTERS:
• When was International Transgender Day of Visibility 2023 celebrated – March 31.
• ONGC donated how many crores to PM CARES to the fight against Covid-19 - Rs 100 crore.
• In which country the resolution was passed against Hinduphobia – USA (Georgia).
• In which city the Space Science Laboratory was inaugurated – Ahmedabad.
• Who won the 20th edition of Delhi International Open Chess title - Aravindh Chithambaram.
• Which state became the first state in the country to achieve 100% electrification of its railway network – Haryana.
• India's foreign exchange reserves reached how many billion dollars in April 2023 - $ 578.78 billion.
• Who was appointed as the Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources State in USA - Richard Verma.
• Which bank announced the launch of WhatsApp banking service for customers - India Post Payments Bank.
• Military hardware worth how many crore rupees was exported from India in 2022-23 – Rs 15920 crore.