General Knowledge & Current Affairs
April 2022 -1st to 10th
- Train service between Jayanagar (Bihar) in India and Kurtha in Nepal, a stretch of 34.5 km, to start from April 2
- Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meets PM Modi in New Delhi
- President Ram Nath Kovind arrives at Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan
- Nepal’s PM Sher Bahadur Deuba arrives in India on three-day visit
- Punjab Assembly passes unanimous resolution seeking transfer of Chandigarh to state; Chandigarh is joint capital of Punjab & Haryana
- National Medical Commission (NMC) recommends replacing Hippocratic Oath with ‘Maharshi Charak Shapath’
- India sees warmest March in 122 years, lowest rainfall since 1908: India Meteorological Department
- PM Modi and Nepal’s PM Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurate 35 kms train service between Jayanagar (Bihar) in India and Kurtha in Nepal
- President Ram Nath Kovind and Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow hold delegation-level talks in capital Ashgabat
- World Health Organization (WHO) suspends UN supply of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccine for Covid-19 following deficiencies found during inspection
- Lok Sabha passes Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill that seeks to take measurements of convicts and other persons for purposes of identification and investigation in criminal matters
- Vinay Mohan Kwatra appointed as India’s new Foreign Secretary
- President Ram Nath Kovind arrives in Amsterdam on 3-day tour of the Netherlands
- Parliament passes Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill; existing 3 Municipal Corporations of Delhi to be unified into one Municipal Corporation of Delhi
- Parliament passes Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill 2022; will authorise taking measurements of convicts and other persons for the purposes of identification and investigation in criminal matters and to preserve records.
- IMF lauds India’s PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana program which prevented extreme poverty in country during Covid Pandemic
- Netherlands: President Ram Nath Kovind meets PM Mark Rutte in Amsterdam
- DRDO flight-tests Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) booster used in missiles off the coast of Odisha
- SFDR-based propulsion enables the missile to intercept aerial threats at very long range at supersonic speeds
- Precaution dose of COVID vaccines allowed to those over 18 years of age from April 10 at private vaccination centres
- Government to supply fortified rice through targeted public distribution system
- 365 new medical procedures to be covered under AB-PMJAY (Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana)
- Have no powers, up to voters to decide if freebies offered by political party are viable: EC tells SC
- SC upholds new restrictions on receiving foreign funds under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA)
- Mizoram government issuing identity cards to Myanmar’s refugees who came after military takeover in February 2021
- Bengali author Amar Mitra wins O. Henry prize for his 1977 short story ‘Gaonburo’ (The Old Man of Kusumpur)
- Pakistan: President Arif Alvi dissolves National Assembly on advice of PM Imran Khan; election to be held within 90 days
- Sri Lanka: All Cabinet Ministers resign; PM Mahinda Rajapaksa remains in office
- Ukraine: Russia targets Black Sea port city of Odessa
- South Sudan: Rival leaders, President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar, agree on setting up unified armed forces command
- Afghanistan: Taliban announce ban on poppy cultivation; country world’s biggest opium producer
- Turkmenistan to promote implementation of stalled 1,800km TAPI gas pipeline that will pass through Afghanistan, and Pakistan and culminate in India
- Public emergency declared in Sri Lanka after hundreds tried to storm the house of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo
- UK media watchdog suspends Khalsa TV licence over Khalistani propaganda
- In a first, Russia registers nasal version of Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine
- World Autism Awareness Day observed on April 2; theme: ‘Inclusion in the Workplace’
- Hungary: PM Viktor Orban of Fidesz party wins fourth term in office
- Imran Khan nominates Pakistan’s former chief justice Gulzar Ahmed as caretaker PM
- Grammy Awards ceremony held at Las Vegas: Jon Batiste wins 5 Grammys including the ‘Album of the Year’
- Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa sacks brother and Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa
- International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action observed on April 4; theme: “Safe Ground, Safe Steps, Safe Home”
- UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases 3,000-page report on how humanity can avoid compounding catastrophe if nations take sufficient action to do so
- Sri Lanka: Ruling coalition loses majority; newly-appointed Finance Minister Ali Sabry resigns
- International Day of Conscience celebrated by UN on April 5
- Amazon signs agreement with three rocket companies for up to 83 launches under its Project Kuiper internet satellites
- EU declares a number of Russian diplomats working in Brussels “persona non grata” and orders them to leave host nation Belgium
- Sri Lanka: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa revokes state of emergency declared on April 1
- Serbia: Aleksandar Vučić of Serbian Progressive Party re-elected President
- International Day of Sport for Development and Peace observed on April 6; theme: “Securing a Sustainable and Peaceful Future for All: The Contribution of Sport”
- Russia suspended from UN Human Rights Council by 193-member UN General Assembly; voting: 93 in favour, 24 against, 58 abstentions, including India
- World Health Day celebrated on April 7; theme: ‘Our planet, our health’
- International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda observed by UN on April 7
- SpaceX launches 3 space tourists to International Space Station for $55 mn each from Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida (US) for one week stay
- Motion picture academy bans Will Smith from attending Oscars for 10 years following his slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards on March 27
- Pakistan: Supreme Court restores National Assembly, orders no-confidence vote against PM Imran Khan’s government on April 9
- US Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson as Supreme Court Judge, first Black woman to be elevated to the post
- Ukraine: 39 people dead in after rockets hit a railway station in the city of Kramatorsk
SPORTS - India win 3 golds at Thailand Open Boxing championships in Phuket; Govind Sahani (men’s 48kg), Ananta Pralhad Chopde (men’s 54kg) and Sumit (men’s 75kg)
- India’s Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Saurav Ghosal win gold medal at WSF World Doubles Squash championships
- mlan Borgohain of Assam creates new national record in men’s 200 m at Federation Cup athletics tournament in Kerala
- India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $2 billion in the week to March 25 to $617.648 billion
- Vikas Kumar takes charge as new managing director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)
- India, Australia ink Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement; over 95% of Indian goods to get duty free access
- India’s exports rose 40% in 2021-22 to hit a record $417.8 billion
- Tata Group to launch e-commerce super app ‘Neu’ on April 7
- India’s trade deficit rises 88% to $192.41 billion in FY22: Govt data
- HDFC Bank to merge with housing finance firm HDFC Ltd
- Indian Oil, L&T and ReNew Power to set up JV to develop green hydrogen business in the country
- Parliament passes Chartered Accountants, Cost and Works Accountants and Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill to strengthen disciplinary mechanism under these Acts
- IndiGo cofounder Rakesh Gangwal donates ₹100 crore to alma-mater IIT-Kanpur
- Online pre-owned car retailing platform Spinny launches Spinny Max to sell luxury segment pre-owned cars
- MakeMyTrip’s fintech arm TripMoney buys majority stake in BookMyForex
- Diagnostic chain Manipal HealthMap announces acquisition of Hyderabad-based Medcis Pathlabs Pvt Ltd
- Real estate consultant Anarock acquires 75% stake in myHQ, a booking platform for co-working spaces for Rs 125 crore
- Indian economy to grow 7.5% in 2022-23, 8% in 2023-24: Asian Development Bank Outlook 2022
- Govt.-owned Union Bank of India launches super-app UnionNXT and digital transformation project SMBHAV
- Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ties up with Israel Aerospace Industries to convert civilian aircrafts to multi mission tanker transport aircrafts
- Google rolling out toll prices on Maps in India to help users make the choice between toll roads and regular roads
- Flipkart launches ‘Flipkart Health+’ app to provide access to medicines and healthcare services
- IDFC to sell its mutual fund business to consortium led by Bandhan Financial Holding Limited for Rs 4,500 crore
- Bandhan Financial is the holding company of Kolkata-based private sector lender Bandhan Bank
- Infosys and Rolls-Royce launch ‘Aerospace Engineering and Digital Innovation Centre’ in Bengaluru
- Tata Group company Tata Digital launches super app Tata Neu; brands BigBasket, 1mg, Croma, AirAsia, IHCL, Qmin, Starbucks, Tata Cliq, Tata Play, and Westside available
- Tata Motors unveils concept of new electric SUV Curvv
- Suzuki Motorcycle India launches 250cc sports adventure tourer V-Strom SX motorcycle priced at Rs 2.11 lakh
- Bounce Infinity commences production of its E1 electric scooter from its manufacturing facility in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan
- Deal to sell bankrupt SsangYong Motor Co by its owner Mahindra & Mahindra to Edison Motors Co of South Korea terminated
- TRAI scraps charge on USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Services Data) messages for mobile banking, payment services
- Price of Serum Institute’s Covishield, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin cut to Rs 225 per dose for private hospitals
- RUSSSIA
Russia said it would scale back its attacks on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, and another northern city, Chernihiv, to concentrate on eastern Ukraine. Russia said it had achieved its goals near Kyiv, despite having conspicuously failed to capture the city. - TUNISIA
Tunisia’s president, Kais Saied, dissolved parliament, which has been suspended since last year, after lawmakers met virtually to rescind decrees that he has used to consolidate his grip on power. - CONGO
Eight UN peacekeepers were killed when their helicopter crashed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The government said rebels from the M23 group shot it down, which M23 denied. EL SALVADOR
Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, imposed a state of emergency after 87 people were killed in a three-day explosion of gang violence. The government said it had arrested more than 1,000 gangsters.- SOLOMON ISLANDS
The Solomon Islands said it had come to a security agreement with China. Leaked details suggest that Chinese ships, soldiers and police will visit “to protect the safety” of Chinese inhabitants and projects. Australia and New Zealand, which have been the
islands’ main security partners, responded with alarm. SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka’s festering economic crisis spiralled into high political drama as fuel supplies dwindled, food shortages worsened and power cuts stretched on, leading to protests that demanded the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president. Rajapaksa dismissed most of his cabinet and imposed, and then lifted, a state of emergency.- PAKISTAN
Imran Khan, Pakistan’s prime minister, pulled off a last-minute trick to avoid a no-confidence vote by dissolving parliament and calling for fresh elections. The opposition took the matter to the Supreme Court, arguing that Khan’s move was unconstitutional. - SERBIA
Aleksandar Vucic won a second term as Serbia’s president. His government has refused to join sanctions on Russia. Dependent on Russian gas, Serbia has tried not to annoy Putin while still hoping to join the EU one day. - LITHUANIA
Lithuania ended imports of Russian gas, the first country in the EU to do so. The Baltic nation has been weaning itself off Russian energy for years by building a terminal to import liquefied natural gas from other suppliers. - COSTA RICA
Rodrigo Chaves of Social Democratic Progress Party won the presidential election in Costa Rica. Chaves, an economist, positioned himself as an anti-establishment outsider.
- Adidas unveils ‘Al Rihla’ — the official match ball for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar
- La’eeb unveiled as official mascot for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022; La’eeb is an Arabic word meaning super-skilled player
- Australia (356/5) beat England (285/10 in 43.4) by 71 runs in final at Christchurch, NZ to win seventh Women’s World Cup title
- Paris Marathon: Judith Jeptum (2:19:48) of Kenya win’s women’s race, Deso Gelmisa (2:05:07) of Ethiopia wins men’s race
- M. Sreeshankar improves his own national record in men’s long jump with a jump of 8.36m
- Miami Open tennis: Poland’s Iga Swiatek defeats Japan’s Naomi Osaka to win women’s singles title
- Arjun Erigaisi wins Delhi International Open chess tournament
- India win 3 golds at Thailand Open Boxing championships in Phuket; Govind Sahani (men’s 48kg), Ananta Pralhad Chopde (men’s 54kg) and Sumit (men’s 75kg)
- India’s Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Saurav Ghosal win gold medal at WSF World Doubles Squash championships
- Amlan Borgohain of Assam creates new national record in men’s 200 m at Federation Cup athletics tournament in Kerala
