1. KRI NANGGALA

The Indian Navy dispatched its deep submergence rescue vessel (DSRV) from Visakhapatnam to support the Indonesian Navy in the search and rescue efforts for its submarine KRI Nanggala that went missing with 53 personnel aboard.

About:

• KRI Nanggala (402) is a diesel-electric attack submarine of the Indonesian Navy, one of two Cakra-class submarines (Type 209 design).
• On 21 April 2021, it went missing in deep waters during a SUT torpedo drill north of Bali.
• The boat is named after the Nanggala, a divine and powerful short spear that was owned by Prabu Baladewa (the elder brother of Kresna), a recurring character in wayang puppet theatre.

Deep submergence rescue vessel (DSRV)?

• India is amongst the few countries in the world capable of undertaking search and rescue of a disabled submarine through a DSRV.
• Indian Navy’s DSRV system can locate a submarine up to 1,000-metre depth utilising its state-of-the-art side scan sonar and remotely operated vehicle.
• After the submarine is successfully located, another sub module of DSRV — the submarine rescue vehicle (SRV) — links with the submarine to rescue the trapped personnel. The SRV can also be used to provide emergency supplies to the submarine.

Source : The Hindu

2. #FOSS4GOV INNOVATION CHALLENGE

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has announced #FOSS4GOV Innovation Challenge to accelerate adoption of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) In Government.

About:

• The #FOSS4GOVInnovation Challenge calls upon FOSS innovators, technology entrepreneurs and Indian Startups to submit implementable open source product innovations in CRM and ERP with possible applications for Govtech in Health, Education, Agriculture, Urban Governance etc.
• India is well positioned to become a vibrant hub for Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) innovations, due to the large number of 4G data subscribers in India, 96% of whom access the digital world via open-source based mobile operating systems (primarily Android).
• Some of India’s largest-government projects (including Aadhaar) and many technology start-ups have also been built using FOSS.
• Acknowledging the huge potential of FOSS, the Government of India had issued a Policy on Adoption of Open Source Software in 2015.

Source : PIB

3. ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

US President Joe Biden is preparing to formally acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, the systematic killing and deportation of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire that occurred more than a century ago.

About:

• While Turkey disagrees, the consensus among historians is that during the Armenian Genocide, between 1915 to 1922, in the First World War, thousands of Armenians perished due to killings, starvation and disease, when they were deported by Ottoman Turks from eastern Anatolia.
• It is difficult to estimate the total number of Armenians who died during the genocide, but the Armenian diaspora says that approximately 1.5 million died.
• Some researchers have asserted and drawn comparisons between the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide and this acknowledgement or wider acknowledgement of it in the international community may be unwelcome and unpalatable for Turkey.
• Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day is marked annually on April 24.

Armenia?

• Armenia is a landlocked country located in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.
• It is a part of the Caucasus region; and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the Lachin corridor under a Russian peacekeeping force, and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.
• Its Capital is Yerevan.

Source : Indian Express

4. VANITA GUPTA

Civil rights lawyer Vanita Gupta made history, when the United States Senate voted to confirm her as Associate Attorney General, making her the first Indian American to serve as the US Justice Department’s third-highest ranking official.

About:

• Vanita Gupta (born 1974) is an American civil rights attorney.
• She is the president and chief executive officer of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
• From 2014 to 2017, she served as the principal deputy assistant attorney general and head of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she was the chief civil rights prosecutor for the United States.
• Formerly, she was a civil rights lawyer and the deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, where she oversaw its national criminal justice reform efforts.
• On January 7, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Gupta to serve as Associate Attorney General. She was confirmed by the Senate on April 21, 2021.

Source : Indian Express

5. SPECIAL TASK FORCE TO MONITOR J&K GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

The J&K government constituted a Special Task Force (STF) for identifying and scrutinising the government employees who are involved in any cases related to posing threat to the security or anti-national activities.

About:

• The STF will have the ADGP, (CID), J&K, as its chairman and the IGP, representatives of the Home Department; Department of Law, Justice Member and Parliamentary Affairs and the concerned department as its members.
• The STF will scrutinise cases of employees suspected of activities requiring action under Article 311(2)(C) of the Constitution.
• The STF has been tasked to compile records of such employees and engage with other members of the Terror Monitoring Group (TMG) for identifying such other employees.
• The move comes as a number of government employees in the past were found expressing their political opinion in public space on the Kashmir conflict.

Article 311(2) in The Constitution Of India 1949

No such person as aforesaid shall be dismissed or removed or reduced in rank except after an inquiry in which he has been informed of the charges against him and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of those charges. Provided further that this clause shall not apply

• where a person is dismissed or removed or reduced in rank on the ground of conduct which has led to his conviction on a criminal charge; or
• where the authority empowered to dismiss or remove a person or to reduce him in rank ins satisfied that for some reason, to be recorded by that authority in writing, it is not reasonably practicable to hold such inquiry; or
• where the President or the Governor, as the case may be, is satisfied that in the interest of the security of the State, it is not expedient to hold such inquiry

Source : The Hindu

6. GENDER BIAS AND INCLUSION IN ADVERTISING IN INDIA

A study was released by UNICEF and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (GDI) titled “Gender bias and inclusion in advertising in India”.

Key findings:

• The research measures over 1,000 television and YouTube advertisements aired across India in 2019. The ads analysed were those that received the most reach.
• An analysis of Indian advertisements has shown that while they are superior to global benchmarks insofar as girls and women have parity of representation in terms of screen and speaking time, their portrayal is problematic as they further gender stereotypese. They are more likely than male characters to be shown as married, less likely to be shown in paid occupation, and more likely to be depicted as caretakers and parents.
• The study finds that women characters dominate screen time (59.7%) and speaking time (56.3%), but one of the drivers of this is their depiction for selling cleaning supplies and food and beauty products to women consumers.
• While male characters are more likely to be shown making decisions about their future than female characters (7.3% compared with 4.8%), the latter are twice as likely to be shown making household decisions than male characters (4.9% compared with 2.0%).
• Female characters are more likely to be shown doing the following activities than male characters — shopping (4.1% compared with 2.3%); cleaning (4.8% as against 2.2%); and being involved in the purchase or preparation of meals (5.4% against 3.9%).
• For characters where intelligence is part of their character in the ad, male characters are more likely to be shown as smart than female characters (32.2% compared to 26.2%).
• Female characters are nine times more likely to be shown as “stunning/very attractive” than male characters (5.9% compared with 0.6%). Female characters are also invariably thin, but male characters appear with a variety of body sizes in Indian advertising.

Source : The Hindu

7. EARTH DAY

Earth Day was celebrated on April 22.

About:

• Earth day is an international event celebrated around the world to pledge support for environmental protection.
• This year’s theme for Earth Day is ‘Restore Our Earth’. This year’s theme focuses on natural processes, emerging green technologies, and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems.
• The year 2021 marks the 51st anniversary of the annual celebrations. This year, seven major climate-related events are taking place in parallel on April 22, including the Leaders’ Summit on Climate hosted by the United States, and the Exponential Climate action Summit on Financing the Race to Zero emissions.

Timeline:

• Earth Day was first observed in 1970, when 20 million took to the streets to protest against environmental degradation. The event was triggered by the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, as well as other issues such as smog and polluted rivers.
• In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 as ‘International Mother Earth Day’.

Source : Indian Express

8. CIVIL SERVICES DAY

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wished all Civil Servants on the occasion of Civil Services Day.

About:

• When observed: 21st April every year.
• Why 21st April: On this day, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the first batch of probationers at the All India Administrative Service Training School at Metcalfe House, New Delhi in 1947. In his speech he called civil servants as the steel frame of India.
• Objective: To make civil servants re-dedicate themselves to the cause of the citizens and renew their commitment to public service.

Source : PIB

9. CODEX COMMITTEE ON SPICES AND CULINARY HERBS (CCSCH)

The Fifth session of Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH), established under Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), began virtually with India as the Host and Spices Board India serving as the secretariat of Committee.

Codex Committee On Spices And Culinary Herbs (CCSCH):

• To develop and expand worldwide standards for spices and culinary herbs, CCSCH was formed in 2013 with support of more than a hundred countries with India as the host country and Spices Board India as the Secretariat for organising the sessions of the committee.
• Since its inception, the CCSCH has been successful in developing harmonised global Codex standards for spices and herbs.
• In its past four sessions, the committee developed and finalized standards for four spices, viz. dried or dehydrated forms of black/white/green pepper, cumin, thyme, and garlic. 

Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC)

• Set up in 1963, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body established jointly by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), within the framework of the Joint Food Standards Programme to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade.

Source : PIB