17 April 2018 - Daily Current Affairs

Honors & Awards

Andrew Sean Greer wins the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Today, the winners of the 2018 Pulitzer Prizes has announced from the World Room at Columbia University’s School of Journalism by Administrator Dana Canedy.
San Francisco author ‘Andrew Sean Greer’ has won the Pulitzer Prize 2018 for his novel ‘Less’.
Half-light: Collected Poems 1965-2016, by Frank Bidart (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux) has won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar (30-year) has won the Pulitzer Prize for music for his album ‘Damn’(released in April 2017)
Drama: Cost of Living, by Martyna Majok.
History: The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea, by Jack E. Davis.

Note:

The Pulitzer Prize is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States(US).
It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of American (Hungarian-born) ‘Joseph Pulitzer’.
Prizes are awarded yearly in twenty-one categories and each winner receives a certificate and a USD 15,000 cash award (raised from USD 10,000 in 2017).

Important Dates

17 April: World Haemophilia Day

The World Haemophilia Day is being observed worldwide on 17^th April to increase awareness of haemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders.
The theme of WHD 2018 is 'Sharing Knowledge Makes Us Stronger'.

Note:

In 1989, The World Haemophilia Day was started by the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) which chose to bring the community together on April 17 in honour of WFH founder Frank Schnabel’s birthday.

International Affairs

UN launches road safety trust fund to improve road safety worldwide

United Nations’ Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has announced to launch the ‘UN Road Safety Trust Fund’ to stimulate action that can save lives and prevent injuries & sufferings associated with road accidents.
The Road Safety Trust Fund will serve as a catalyst for much-needed progress towards the road safety targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The development arm of the UN in Europe ‘UN Economic Commission for Europe’ (UNECE) is designated as the Secretariat for the Trust Fund.
As per the UN data, more than 1.3 million drivers, passengers, and pedestrians die each year on the roads
A contribution of USD 1500 to the fund could help save one life and prevent 10 serious injuries.

Note: The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization tasked to promote international cooperation and to create and maintain international order.

Principal organs of the United Nations

UN General Assembly	Deliberative assembly of all UN member states
UN Secretariat	Administrative organ of the UN
International Court of Justice	Universal court for international law
UN Security Council	For international security issues
UN Economic and Social Council	For global economic, and social affairs
UN Trusteeship Council	For administering trust territories (Inactive As of 1994)

World Bank projects India’s growth rate at 7.3% for 2018-19

The World Bank has projected a growth rate of 7.3% for India this year and 7.5% in two years’ time (for 2019 and 2020).
India requires a decisive structural reform momentum that succeeds in stimulating investment and export growth while maintaining macroeconomic stability.
The bank also noted that Indian economy has recovered from the effects of demonetization and the Goods and Services Tax.
The World Bank also said that, India should strive to accelerate investments and exports to take advantage of the recovery in global growth.

5. France announces 50 million Euro humanitarian aid for Syria

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced to contribute 61.9 million dollars toward urgent humanitarian aid for Syria.
The funds will be allocated to NGOs and U.N. agencies working on the ground in Syria, including the U.N. office for humanitarian affairs.
According to United Nations estimates, around 13 million people including six million children are in need of humanitarian aid in Syria.

National Affairs

6. India signs a loan agreement with world bank for USD 48 Million for Meghalaya

India signs a loan agreement with World Bank for USD 48 million for Meghalaya Community - Led Landscapes Management Project (MCLLMP).
The Objective of the Project is to strengthen community-led landscapes management in selected landscapes in the State of Meghalaya.
The closing date for the Project is 30th June 2023.

The Project consists of three components:

(i) Strengthening Knowledge and Capacity for Natural Resource Management;
(ii) Community-led landscape planning and implementation and
(iii) Project Management and Governance.

7. Govt revises target to complete Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana from the year 2022 to 2019

According to the union Govt, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana is well on its way to achieving the target by March 2019.
The target date for completion of PMGSY-I has been preponed from 2022 to 2019.
Under the program, over five lakhs fifty thousand kilometers of road length has been constructed.
The pace of construction under the PM Gram Sadak Yojana roads reached an 8 year high of 134 km per day (in 2017-18) as against an average of 73 km (during 2011 to 2014.)

Note:

The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is a nationwide plan in India to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages
The PMGSY is under the authority of the Ministry of Rural Development and was begun on 25 December 2000.
The PMGSY is managed by the National Rural Roads Development Agency (NRRDA).

WPI inflation eases to 2.47 % in March as food articles turn cheaper

According to the Commerce Ministry data, food articles showed deflation at 0.29% in March as against 0.88 % in the preceding month.
Inflation, based on wholesale prices, eased marginally to 2.47% in March (previous month-2.48%) on cheaper food articles, especially pulses and vegetables.
The WPI inflation in March last year was at 5.11%.
Inflation in 'fuel and power' basket rose to 4.70% in March from 3.81% in the previous month.
Retail inflation slipped to a five-month low of 4.28% in March, on account of decline in food prices.

Note:

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is the price of a representative basket of wholesale goods.
The purpose of the WPI is to monitor price movements that reflect supply and demand in industry, manufacturing, and construction.

Haryana govt to honor all 22 medallists of Commonwealth Games from the state

The Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar will honor all 22 medallists of the 21^st Commonwealth Games from the state at a programme on 26^th April 2018.
The gold medal winners will get a cash award of Rs 1.5 crore, silver medal winners Rs 75 lakh, and bronze medallists Rs 50 lakh.

Obituaries

Veteran journalist S Nihal Singh passes away

Veteran journalist S Nihal Singh (88-year) passed away at the National Heart Institute following the illness.
Mr. Singh had worked with several leading newspapers including The Indian Express, The Statesman and Khaleej Times.
He was the founding editor of The Indian Post (in 1987).
He was awarded the prestigious International Editor of the Year Award in New York for opposing the Emergency imposed by former prime minister Indira Gandhi.