NATIONAL:
1. AAP Now National Party
Why in news - The Election Commission (EC) recognized the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a national party on April 10, 2023.
Key Points –
• EC revoked the national party status of the All India Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI).
• Current national parties (6) - BJP, Congress, CPI(M), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), National People’s Party (NPP) and the AAP.
• It also granted “recognised state political party” status to the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) in Nagaland, Voice of the People Party in Meghalaya, and the Tipra Motha in Tripura.
• ECI has laid down the technical criterion for a party to be recognised as a national party.
• A party may gain or lose national party status from time to time, depending on the fulfilment of these laid-down conditions.
Definition of National Party –
• A political party would be considered a national party if –
(a) it is ‘recognized’ in four or more states; or
(b) if its candidates polled at least 6% of total valid votes in any four or more states in the last Lok Sabha or Assembly elections and has at least four MPs in the last Lok Sabha polls; or
(c) if it has won at least 2% of the total seats in the Lok Sabha from not less than three states.
INTERNATIONAL:
1. The Pentagon Leaks
Why in news - Several classified documents, some even marked “top secret” including maps, charts and photographs surfaced on the internet.
Key Points –
• The documents first appeared on the anonymous image board 4chan in March 2023.
• Bellingcat (intelligence research firm) stated that the documents appeared on a Minecraft Discord server before being public.
• Minecraft (computer game) is a virtual world made of blocks where players can explore, create and fight off monsters.
• Discord is a platform where users chat about games, investing and other topics in mostly private, invitation-only groups called servers.
• Snowden revelations (June 2013) - A former contractor for the CIA Edward Snowden leaked to the media details of extensive internet and phone surveillance by American intelligence.
ECONOMY:
1. GI Tag to 5 Handicraft Products
Why in news - GI tag has been given to 5 handicraft products of Madhya Pradesh.
Key Points –
• They are –
(a) Gond Painting of Dindori
(b) Carpet of Gwalior
(c) Batik Print of Ujjain
(d) Stone Craft of Jabalpur Bhedaghat
(e) Saree of Waraseoni of Balaghat
About GI Tags –
• Given by - Department of Industry Promotion and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Primarily an agricultural, natural or manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory.
• Valid for a period of 10 years.
• It can be renewed from time to time for a further period of 10 years each.
• Administered by - Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 which came into force with effect from September 2003.
SCIENCE – TECHNOLOGY:
1. Uranium -241
Why in news - Physicists in Japan discovered a new isotope of uranium with atomic number 92 and mass number 241, i.e Uranium-241.
Key Points –
• To find uranium-241, the researchers accelerated uranium-238 nuclei into plutonium-198 nuclei using the KEK Isotope Separation System (KISS).
• In a process called multinucleon transfer, the two isotopes exchanged protons and neutrons, resulting in nuclear fragments with different isotopes.
• The researchers identified uranium-241 which could have a half-life of 40 minutes.
“Magic Number” Nuclei –
• It contains a certain number of protons or neutrons that result in a highly stable nucleus.
• Lead (82 protons) is the heaviest known ‘magic’ nucleus.
AWARDS & HONOURS:
1. Best Production/Process Development Award
Why in news - Bharat Biotech was honored with the award as a part of the Vaccine Industry Excellence (ViE) awards.
Key Points –
• It was honored at the World Vaccine Congress 2023 held in Washington, USA.
• Bharat Biotech was the only Indian company among the VIE award nominees.
• Bharat Biotech developed the world’s first intranasal Covid-19 vaccine, iNcovacc, and its intramuscular vaccine, Covaxin.
2. International Prize in Statistics 2023
Why in news – Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao (CR Rao) would receive the 2023 International Prize in Statistics.
Key Points –
• He is a prominent Indian-American mathematician and statistician.
• He would be honored in July 2023 at the biennial International Statistical Institute World Statistics Congress in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
• His remarkable works –
(a) Cramer-Rao lower bound
(b) Rao-Blackwell Theorem
(c) “Information geometry”
• Information geometry has been used to aid the understanding and optimization of Higgs boson measurements at the Large Hadron Collider.
• It is equivalent to the Nobel Prize in the field of Statistics.
• First International Prize in Statistics (2017) - David R Cox.
IMPORTANT DAYS:
1. World Homeopathy Day 2023
Why in news – It is celebrated on April 10 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Samuel Hahnemann.
Key Points –
• Theme - Homoeoparivar- Sarvajan Swasthya, One Health, One Family.
• German physician Dr. Christian Fredrich Samuel Hahnemann is the founder of homeopathy.
• Homeopathy works on the principle of “like cures like.”
• It believes that any disease can be treated by artificially causing symptoms resembling it with doses of natural substances.
• In India, World Homeopathy Day is celebrated under the aegis of the Ministry of AYUSH.
STATES/UTs:
1. TN REACH
Why in news – Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TDCO) has developed TN REACH.
Key Points –
• TN REACH - Tamil Nadu Regional Aerial Connectivity Through Helicopters.
• Aim - to provide inter-city and town connectivity using over 80 unused helipads across the state.
SPORTS:
1. Orleans Masters Badminton Tournament
Why in news – India's Priyanshu Rajawat has won the title of Orleans Masters Super 300 badminton tournament.
Key Points –
• Host Country – France.
• Priyanshu defeated World No. 49 Magnus Johannesen of Denmark.
• He was part of India’s victorious Thomas Cup campaign in 2022.
POINTERS:
• In which country has China's yuan replaced the dollar as the most traded currency – Russia.
• What is the percent increase in obesity among Indians between 2019 and 2022 as per Apollo annual "Health of the Nation" report - 50%.
• Which player holds the record for most hat-tricks in T20 cricket - Rashid Khan.
• Which state government has declared the birth anniversary of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule as a public holiday – Rajasthan.
• According to the estimates from the latest tiger census, what is the number of tigers in India by the year 2022 - 3167.
• Which state government has launched the Sanjivani project to support dairy farmers - Himachal Pradesh.
• Where did the Ministry of AYUSH organize a scientific conference on World Homeopathy Day - New Delhi.
• Which country launched the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative program – USA.
• Which organization released the World Energy Transitions: Outlook 2030 report - International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
• Which space agency is set to launch the JUICE mission to explore Jupiter - European Space Agency.