Daily Current Affairs- 14 April

Today's Current Affairs 14th April 2023

INTERNATIONAL

Ghana becomes first country to approve Oxford’s malaria vaccine

Ghana has made history by becoming the first country to approve a highly effective malaria vaccine developed by scientists at the University of Oxford in the UK. The vaccine, called R21/Matrix-M, has exceeded the World Health Organization’s target of 75% efficacy, making it a significant milestone in the fight against malaria.

The mosquito-borne disease kills more than 600,000 people each year, most of them children in Africa, and scientists have been trying for years to develop vaccines. This is the first time a major vaccine has been approved first in an African country before rich nations,

The first malaria vaccine, Mosquirix from British drugmaker GSK, was endorsed by the WHO last year after decades of work. But a lack of funding and commercial potential thwarted the company’s capacity to produce as many doses as were needed.

GSK has committed to producing up to 15 million doses of Mosquirix every year through to 2028, well under the roughly 100 million doses a year of the four-dose vaccine the WHO says is needed, long term, to cover around 25 million children.

Ghana, Kenya and Malawi were all involved in the pilot program for the roll-out of Mosquirix, and have begun introducing it more widely in recent months.

Since it began in 2019, 1.2 million children across the three countries have received at least one dose of the Mosquirix vaccine

The WHO said last month that, in the areas where the vaccine has been given, all-cause child mortality has dropped by 10 per cent, a sign of its impact The research has also found that the effectiveness of GSK’s vaccine is approximately 60 percent, and significantly wanes over time, even with a booster dose .

Juice mission blasts off to Jupiter to look for signs of life

The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched a new space mission to study the moons of Jupiter. On 14 April 2023, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission blasted off from French Guiana. on the north-eastern shoulder of South America.

The discovery of sub-surface saltwater oceans on Jupiter’s moons has pushed them high up the list of solar system venues to explore for signs of life and habitability. . If hydrothermal vents – found on ocean floors all over Earth – exist on the Jovian moons, they may provide enough warmth for life to thrive in the darkness.

Juice will spend eight years winding its way to its destination hundreds of millions of miles from Earth. Its route to Jupiter will be far from direct, drawing on multiple gravity assists around Earth and Venus to propel it towards its goal. On arrival in 2031, the spacecraft will survey Jupiter and its icy moons with a suite of 10 advanced instruments.

Among the questions scientists hope to answer is why Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is shrinking, why its third largest moon, Io, is the most volcanically active body in the solar system, and whether there could be, or has ever been, life on Jupiter’s ocean-bearing moons.

TCG Anadolu, Turkey’s Largest Warship and World’s 1st Drone Carrier

Turkey commissioned its largest warship  in a much-anticipated inauguration ceremony. The TCG Anadolu, being touted as the world’s first Unmanned Combat Aerial Aircraft (UCAV) carrier, saw the prototype of the latest Bayraktar TB3 sitting on its deck.

The ship will be Turkey’s first aircraft carrier and the first ship in the world with an air wing made primarily of unmanned aircraft, Turkish media Daily Sabah reported. The ship was delivered to the Turkish Navy three months before the official inauguration ceremony.

On the day of the inauguration, the prototype of Turkey’s recent UAV from the Bayraktar family, the latest Bayraktar TB3, was lifted off to the carrier’s flight deck. A video of the startling maneuver was published online. The Bayraktar TB3 is set to become operational from this deck by 2024.

This development comes weeks after Selcuk Bayraktar, the CTO of Baykar Technologies, shared pictures of the Bayraktar TB3 on the production line. According to the reports, the TB3 will fly alongside the Bayraktar Kizilelma, a carrier-capable “unmanned fighter jet” which will become operational by 2025.

NATIONAL

Telangana CM KC Rao to Unveil 125-Ft Tall Statue of B R Ambedkar In Hyderabad

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will unveil the 125-ft tall statue of B R Ambedkar in Hyderabad on April 14 to celebrate on a grand scale the birth anniversary of the architect of the Constitution. Flower petals would be showered from a helicopter on the statute paying floral tributes to Ambedkar. His grandson Prakash Ambedkar is invited as the sole chief guest at the event

The Chief Minister previously said that the statue to be inaugurated by him will be India’s tallest statue of Ambedkar. It has been built next to the State Secretariat, opposite to Buddha statue, and located beside the Telangana Martyrs Memorial. He said it will inspire people every day and motivate the entire State administration.

Arrangements are made to ensure that over 35,000 people from all 119 constituencies attend the Ambedkar statue unveiling meeting with 300 people from each constituency. As many as 750 state-run Road Transport Corporation buses will be operated to bring the public to the event.

PM Modi Inaugurates Northeast's 1st AIIMS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday dedicated to the nation newly built AIIMS Guwahati on the first day of Assam's spring festival - Rongali Bihu. It is pertinent to note that the hospital is the first AIIMS in northeast India. PM Modi inspected the campus of AIIMS Guwahati and subsequently inaugurated it and three medical colleges at Nalbari, Nagaon and Kokrajhar. As per an official PMO release, the operationalization of AIIMS, Guwahati will mark a momentous occasion for the state of Assam and the entire Northeast region.

Notably, the foundation stone of this Hospital was also laid by the Prime Minister in May 2017, the release added. AIIMS Guwahati is a state-of-the-art hospital with a capacity of 750 beds including 30 AYUSH beds and has been built at a cost of more than Rs 1120 crores.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of the Assam Advanced Health Care Innovation Institute (AAHII). A AHII, to be built at a cost of about Rs. 546 crore, will facilitate cutting-edge inventions and R&D in medicine and healthcare, identify the nation's unique problems related to health and promote the development of new technologies for solving those problems

The Bharat Gaurav Tourist train tour on Ambedkar Circuit flagged off from New Delhi today,14 April

The Bharat Gaurav Tourist train tour on Ambedkar Circuit was flagged off on April 14 by Shri G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Culture and DONER,  & Dr. Virendra Kumar, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment today  from Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station. Passengers of the Yatra will visit prominent places associated with the life of Baba Saheb B R Ambedkar

The special Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train will be on an eight-day tour starting from Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station with visits covering the important places associated with the life of Baba Saheb Ambedkar including New Delhi, Mhow, Nagpur and Buddhist sites likeSanchi, Sarnath, Gaya, Rajgir and Nalanda.

To poularise this special initiative, a group of stakeholders including tour operators, tour guides, journalists, Buddhist associations, Gautam Buddha University members and Yuva Tourism Club members, have been invited for a first-hand experience of this specially organised trip

IMPORTANT DAYS

Ambedkar Jayanti

Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti is observed on 14 April to commemorate the memory of B. R. Ambedkar, Indian politician and social reformer. It marks Ambedkar's birthday who was born on 14 April 1891. His birthday is also referred to as 'Equality Day' by some in India.

Ambedkar Jayanti processions are carried out by his followers at Chaitya Bhoomi in Mumbai and Deeksha Bhoomi in Nagpur. It is a customary for senior national figures, such as the President, Prime Minister and leaders of major political parties, to pay homage at the statue of Ambedkar at the Parliament of India in New Delhi. It is celebrated throughout the world especially by dalits, adivasi, labour workers, women and also those who embraced Buddhism after his example. In India, large numbers of people visit local statues commemorating Ambedkar in procession with lot of fanfare. In 2020, the first online Ambedkar Jayanti was celebrated in the world

Since 2015, It has been a public holiday in most indian states all government institutions including schools and universities are closed on this day.

Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu

Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu is one of the biggest festivals of Assam and marks the first day of Hindu unisolar calendar, and the beginning of Assamese new Year. The 7-day festival will be celebrated from April 14, 2023 (Friday) to April 20, 2023 (Thursday) this year. Bihu is celebrated thrice in a year. Bohag Bihu marks the beginning of the seeding period and falls in the second week of April every year. The other two - Kati Bihu and Magh Bihu are celebrated in October and January respectively. Rong means joy in Assamese and Rongali Bihu is the time for joy and happiness for Assamese community as they celebrate each day of the festival with great fervour and enthusiasm.

Bohag Bihu signals the start of the seeding season. During Bohag Bihu celebrations, traditional musical instruments like dhol, pepa, gogona, toka, taal are played and young men and women dance to the traditional tunes.The first day of the Hindu solar calendar is celebrated in states of Punjab as Baisakhi, Tamil Nadhu as Puthandu, Vishu in Kerala, Pohela Baisakh in West Bengal and so on. While the traditions of the spring harvest festival across the country differ slightly, the spirit remains the same.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

All India Management Association's (AIMA) 13th Managing India Awards ceremony

Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla Group, won the prestigious 'Business Leader of the Decade' award at All India Management Association's (AIMA) 13th Managing India Awards ceremony on Tuesday. The annual event to facilitate the titans of the industry, held in New Delhi, also recognised contributions of several other leaders and institutions.

Birla, who is credited for taking control of the diversified group and successfully consolidating its operations since his early days, won the award for his contributions to the Indian industry over the last decade. Tata Steel Chairman T V Narendran was facilitated with 'AIMA-JRD Tata Corporate Leadership' award. Leading engineering services company ABB India bagged the 'MNC in India of the Year' award.

Rahul Kanwal, News Director, India Today and Aajtak and Executive Director of Business Today, won the award for his 'Outstanding Contribution to Media' in the latest edition of AIMA Managing India Awards. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India, was recognised for 'Outstanding PSU of the Year' award.