GK Update 14th April 2021

1. Maharashtra gets India’s first floating LNG storage and regasification unit

  • India’s first Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) has arrived at H-Energy’s Jaigarh Terminal in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, on the west coast of India.
  • FSRU based LNG Terminals aim at providing the ability to enhance the pace of natural gas import capability in an environment-friendly and efficient manner”. The port is the first deepwater, 24×7 operational private port in Maharashtra.
  • Höegh Giant will deliver regasified LNG to the 56-km long Jaigarh-Dabhol natural gas pipeline, connecting the LNG terminal to the national gas grid. The facility will also deliver LNG through truck loading facilities for onshore distribution, the facility is also capable to reload LNG onto small-scale LNG vessels for bunkering services.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Maharashtra Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
  • Maharashtra Capital: Mumbai.
  • Maharashtra CM: Uddhav Thackeray.

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2. Siddharth Longjam appointed new NADA DG

  • IAS officer, Siddharth Singh Longjam will take over as the National Anti-Doping Agency’s Director-General. Longjam is currently serving as joint secretary in the sports ministry and is also the CEO of the currently suspended National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL).
  • He will replace Navin Agarwal who listed the creation of Athletes Biological Passport (ABP) for around 60 elite Indian sportspersons as one of the highlights of his tenure.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • NADA Headquarters location: New Delhi;
  • NADA Founded: 24 November 2005.

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3. Rajnath Singh inaugurates IAF Commanders’ Conference 2021

  • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the First bi-annual Indian Air Force, IAF Commanders’ Conference 2021 at Air Headquarters Vayu Bhawan in New Delhi.
  • The conference is attended by the Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief of all Commands of IAF, all Principal Staff Officers and all Director Generals posted at Air Headquarters.
  • The conference of apex level leadership is aimed at addressing the issues of IAF’s operational capabilities in the times to come.
  • A series of discussions would be conducted over a period of three days to address strategies and policies related to capabilities that would give IAF a significant edge over its adversaries.
  • Various welfare and Human Resource measures to improve HR and administrative efficiency will also be discussed. The Conference provides a forum to the senior leadership of the IAF to discuss critical issues pertaining to Operations, Maintenance and Administration.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Air Chief Marshal: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria.

4. PM Modi Inaugurates 6th Raisina Dialogue

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 2021 “Raisina Dialogue”, through video-conferencing.
  • The Raisina Dialogue 2021 is the sixth edition of the annual dialogue, organised from April 13 to 16, 2021, in full digital form for the first time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Raisina Dialogue is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics, organised annually since 2016.
  • The theme for the 2021 conference is “#ViralWorld: Outbreaks, Outliers and Out of Control”.
  • The four-day dialogue is jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the think-tank Observer Research Foundation.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Minister of External Affairs: S. Jaishankar.

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5. Kane Williamson awarded Sir Richard Hadlee medal

  • New Zealand star cricketer Kane Williamson was recently awarded the Sir Richard Hadlee medal. It was his 4th Sir Richard Hadlee award in 6 years.
  • On the other hand, the Women’s team all-rounder Amelia Kerr was also honoured along with the upcoming star Devon Conway at the New Zealand Cricket Awards for the 2020-21 season. Meanwhile, Devon Conway was awarded the Men’s Player of the year award in both ODIs and T20s.
  • Whereas the 21-year old Fin Allen was honoured with the Super Smash player of the year award for his staggering strike rate of 193.

6. Seville to be host city for Laureus World Sports Awards 2021

  • The Spanish city of Seville will host the 22nd Laureus World Sports Awards in a virtual ceremony owing to the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The awards show, featuring presentations and related news stories will be available to the world’s media and broadcast extensively on Laureus social media platforms.
  • The winners of Laureus World Sports Awards are selected by a jury comprising 69 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy. The last was in Barcelona in 2007, which is a long time.
  • Among the many big names who have had a year to remember and who will be in contention for the awards are Rafael Nadal, Lewis Hamilton, LeBron James, Robert Lewandowski (Sportsman), Naomi Osaka, Federica Brignone (Sportswoman).

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7. Bhuvneshwar Kumar wins ICC Players of the Month award

  • India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has won the ICC Player of the Month award for his superlative show in the recent limited over series against England in March. Bhuvneshwar became the third successive Indian recipient of the award since its inception early this year.
  • South African Lizelle Lee, who played four ODIs against India where she scored a century and two half-centuries to move to the top of Women’s ODI batting rankings, was named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for March.

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8. World Chagas Disease Day: 14 April

  • The World Chagas Disease Day is observed on 14 April to raise public awareness and visibility among people about Chagas Disease (also called American trypanosomiasis or silent or silenced disease) and the resources needed for the prevention, control or elimination of the disease.
  • The WHO approved the designation of Chagas Disease Day on May 24, 2019, at the 72nd World Health Assembly. It is one of 11 official global public health campaigns marked by WHO.
  • The first World Chagas Disease Day was observed on 14 April 2020. The day has been named after Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano Chagas, the Brazilian doctor who diagnosed the first case on 14 April 1909.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Headquarters of WHO: Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Director general of WHO: Tedros Adhanom.
  • WHO founded: 7 April 1948.

9. Ambedkar Jayanti: 14 April

  • Ambedkar Jayanti ( also known as Bhim Jayanti) is an annual festival observed on 14 April to commemorate the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar who was born on 14 April 1891.
  • The Day has been observed as an official public holiday throughout India since 2015. In 2021, we are marking the 130th birth anniversary of Babasaheb. Dr Ambedkar is known as the Father (chief architect) of the Indian Constitution.
  • He was the first Law and Justice Minister of the country after the independence. Dr Bhim has been bestowed with the country’s highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna in 1990 posthumously.

10. International Turban Day: April 13

  • The International Turban Day is celebrated every year on April 13 since 2004 to bring awareness of the strict requirement on Sikhs to put the turban as a mandatory part of their religion.
  • The 2021 Turban Day marks the 552nd birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and the festival of Baisakhi. The turban, also known as “dastar” or “pagri” or “pag” refer to the garment worn by both men and some women to cover their heads.

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11. Hockey Player Balbir Singh Junior passed away

  • Balbir Singh Junior, who was a member of the silver medal-winning 1958 Asian Games Indian hockey team passed away.
  • In 1962, he joined the Army as an emergency commissioned officer. He played for the Services hockey team in the national tournaments at Delhi. Singh retired as a Major in 1984 and later settled in Chandigarh.

12. Eminent Historian Yogesh Praveen passes away

  • Eminent Historian and an expert on Awadh especially Lucknow Yogesh Praveen. Through his books and articles, he enabled the public to know about the rich heritage and culture of Avadh. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2019.
  • The titles of his books like ‘Dastan-e-Avadh’, ‘Tajdare-Avadh’, ‘Bahar-e-Avadh’, ‘Gulistan-e-Avadh’, ‘Doobta Avadh’, ‘Dastan-e-Luknow’ and ‘Aapka Lucknow’ tell a long-lasting affair he had with the city.

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13. ‘Lost golden city of Luxor’ discovered by archaeologists in Egypt

  • ‘Lost golden city of Luxor’ discovered by archaeologists in Egypt. The 3,400-year-old royal city was built by Amenhotep III, abandoned by his heretic son, Akhenaten, and contains stunningly preserved remains.
  • Egyptologist Betsy Bryan has called the discovery ‘the second most important one since the tomb of Tutankhamun’.
  • Akhenaten, who left the ‘golden city’ for a new capital at Amarna, encouraged a startlingly different style of Egyptian art. Here he is shown with his wife, Nefertiti, and three daughters.

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