02 April 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. World Autism Awareness day being observed today

The ‘World Autism Awareness Day’ has been observed across the world on 2nd April every year to raise awareness about people with autism throughout the world.
The 2019 theme for the day is "Assistive Technologies, Active Participation".
In 2008, The United Nations General Assembly unanimously declared 2nd April as World Autism Awareness Day.

Note:

Autism is a lifelong, developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how they experience the world around them.
Currently, studies say one in 59 children have autism.

Source: UN.org

Banking and Finance

2. Reserve Bank to inject USD 5 billion more liquidity into the banking system

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will inject long-term liquidity worth 5 billion US Dollars into the banking system through a dollar-rupee buy-sell swap for a tenure of three years on April 23.
The RBI statement stated that the move intends to meet the durable liquidity needs of the system.
It stated that the auction is meant to give RBI greater flexibility in managing banking system cash while helping absorb any potential large dollar inflows, which could make the rupee rise sharply.
The swap will be the nature of a simple buy/sell foreign exchange swap from the Reserve Bankside. Under the swap, a bank would sell US dollars to the RBI and simultaneously agree to buy the same amount of US dollars at the end of the swap period.
The auction would be a multiple-price based auction -- successful bids will get accepted at their respective quoted premium.
The minimum size of each bid should be USD 10 million and in multiples of USD 1 million thereafter. It is the second such auction within a month.

Note:

Liquidity is a measure of the ability and ease with which assets can be converted to cash.
Liquid assets are those that can be converted to cash quickly if needed to meet financial obligations; examples of liquid assets generally include cash, central bank reserves, and government debt.

Source: AIR News

National Appointment

3. Air Marshal NS Dhillon appointed as new Strategic Forces Command chief

Fighter pilot Air Marshal NS Dhillon has been appointed as the new Strategic Forces Command Chief.
The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) is tasked to look after the strategic nuclear arsenal of the country and is a part of India's Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) headed by PM Narendra Modi.
Dhillon graduated from the National Defence Academy (NDA) in Khadakwasla in Pune and later attended Defence Services Staff College in Wellington Cantonment and National Defence College in New Delhi.

Note:

on January 4, 2003, The SFC was created by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government.
Air Marshal Teja Mohan Asthana became the first commander-in-chief of the SFC.

Source: The Hindustan Times

Science & Defence

4. China successfully launches second generation data relay satellite

China has successfully launched the first of its new-generation data relay satellites into orbit to provide data relay, measurement and control services for its manned spacecraft.
The Tianlian II-01 satellite was launched by a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre.
The Tianlian II network will be markedly more advanced in mission planning, system management and operations than the first-generation network composed of Tianlian I satellites.
The satellite is developed by the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Source: The Economic Times

Obituaries

5. Renowned dramatist Kartik Chandra Rath passes away

Eminent theatre organiser and playwright Kartik Chandra Rath (70-years) passed away at his residence (Cuttack) following a brief illness.
Mr Rath has penned over a hundred plays and directed over 500 plays in his career as a dramatist.
His play "Bhagwan Jane Manisha" staged at the National Theatre festival in Allahabad way back in the 1980s gave him an opening as a dramatist from where he scripted a passionate career as a dramatist.
He was the recipient of Kendra Sangeet Natak Akademi award and Odishi Sangeet Natak Akademi award.

Source: Business Standard

6. Noted Tamil Director J. Mahendran passes away

Noted film director J. Mahendran (79-years) passed away following a brief hospitalization.
He was also a part of the Blue Ocean Film and Television Academy (BOFTA) in Chennai where he heads the filmmaking and direction course.
Mahendran has directed several memorable films including Mullum Malarum, Johnny and Nenjathai Killadhey.
Recently, He was seen in Vijay Sethupathi’s Seethakaathi, the Rajinikanth-starrer Petta and Boomerang, starring Atharvaa Murali.

Source: The Hindu

7. Tripura BJP MLA Dilip Sarkar passes away

BJP MLA Dilip Sarkar (61-years) passed away at a private hospital in following prolonged illness in Delhi.
Sarkar was suffering for quite some time from liver and kidney related problems and was admitted to Apollo hospital in Delhi.
Mr. Sarkar had won from the Badharghat seat three times on the Congress ticket and was also minister of state for PWD in the state in the Congress government in 1988.
Sarkar had won the 2018 Assembly election from Badharghat seat on BJP ticket.

Source: Indian Express

International Affairs

8. India, Chile agree to work together to defeat terrorism

India and Chile signed three memoranda of understanding (MoU)s for cooperation in the fields of mining, culture and Empowerment of persons with disabilities.
The agreements would further enhance engagement in economic, social and cultural fields between the two countries.
President Ram Nath Kovind who was on an official visit to Chile said this after a brief Tete-a-Tete with his Chilean counterpart.
Chile is the sixth largest trading partner of India in the Latin American region.
Later President participated in India-Chile Business Forum and interacted with young scientists at the University of Chile.

Note:

Mr Kovind was on a three-day visit to Chile on the third leg of his three-nation tour including Croatia and Bolivia.
The Republic of Chile is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Source: AIR News

Appointments

9. Manu Sawhney takes charge as ICC Chief Executive

Media professional Manu Sawhney took charge as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
He will work alongside Dave Richardson, who will step down after the World Cup in July 2019.
Sawhney was with ESPN Star Sports for 17 years and was responsible for scaling the business and doubling annual revenues.

Source: The Times of India

Sports

10. Sam Curran youngest player to claim a hat-trick in IPL history

KXIP's Sam Curran (20 years and 302 days) has become the youngest player to take a hat-trick in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Delhi Capitals.
In 2009, Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians) had taken a hat-trick at the age of 22 years and 6 days.
England all-rounder Curran removed Harshal Patel (0), Kagiso Rabada (0) and Sandeep Lamichhane (0) to take the 1st hat-trick of the 2019 Indian Premier League in Mohali.

Source: Sports Star

11. Lewis Hamilton wins Bahrain Grand Prix 2019

Formula One world champion British racing driver Lewis Hamilton claimed a dramatic victory for Mercedes in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
He took advantage of Ferrari boy Charles Leclerc's wretched misfortune.
Leclerc came home third as the race finished behind a Safety Car.
Bottas stayed on top in the driver's championship, one point ahead of Hamilton.
Valtteri Bottas won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Note:

The Bahrain Grand Prix is a Formula One Championship race in Bahrain sponsored by Gulf Air.
It made history as the first Formula One Grand Prix to be held in the Middle East.
The Bahrain Grand Prix was given the award for the "Best Organised Grand Prix" by the FIA.

Source: BBC