Daily Current Affairs – 25 April 2023

This post contains the current affairs for 25 April 2023. These current affairs are important for banking exams, insurance exams and other competitive exams like IBPS PO and Clerk, SBI PO and Clerk, RBI Assistant and Grade B, etc. You can also attempt our Current Affairs Quiz after reading our daily current affairs.

National

PM Modi flags off Kerala’s first and country’s 15th Vande Bharat Express train

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first Vande Bharat train of Kerala on April 25, 2023, from the Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway station.
• This is the 15th Vande Bharat Express Train in service in the country.
• The train will ply between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod and cover 11 districts during its entire journey.
• These districts include Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod.
• Apart from this, Indian Railways have planned to produce 120 advanced Vande Bharat Express trains by August, 2023.
• For this, a contract has been signed between Russia and Indian Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL).
• The centre has sanctioned Rs 600 crore to set up the coach factory at Latur in Maharashtra, to begin the operations of manufacturing the new semi-high speed train at the earliest.

Centre launches e-commerce portal ‘Indiahandmade.com’ for artisans & weavers with 0% commission from sellers

• The Central Government has launched an e-commerce portal named ‘Indiahandmade.com’, for artisans and weavers, so that they can sell their handloom and handicraft products directly to customers without any middlemen, and get fair remuneration.
• The portal will not charge any commission from sellers. It shall also provide free shipping with a return option to customers along with multiple payment gateways to pay online.
• Products from more than 35 lakh handloom weavers and 27 lakh handicraft artisans will be displayed on the portal from options like clothing, home decor, jewellery, accessories, and other products handmade by skilled artisans.

Ratan Tata felicitated with Australia’s highest civil honour

• Ratan Tata has been awarded with the highest civil honour of Australia, Order of Australia (AO), on April 22, 2023.
• He has been awarded for his longstanding commitment to Indo-Australian ties specifically in the areas of trade, investment, and philanthropy.
• Australia’s High Commissioner to India Barry O’Farrell conferred the honour on Ratan Tata, the titan of biz, industry and philanthropy.

Centre launches ‘Operation Kaveri’ to rescue Indian Citizens stranded in war-torn Sudan

• The central government of India had launched a rescue operation named ‘Operation Kaveri’ to bring back its stranded citizens from conflict-ridden Sudan.
• Through this operation, the government aims to evacuate over 3,000 Indian citizens presently located throughout Sudan.
• It must be remembered that a clash broke out across Sudan on 15 April 2023, due to armed conflict between paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces.

India-US Joint Air Exercise Cope India 2023 culminates

• The sixth edition of India-US Air Exercise, Cope India-2023, came to an end on 24 April 2023.
• The two-week long exercise was held between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and United States Air Force (USAF) at Air Force Stations Kalaikunda and Panagarh in West Bengal and Agra in Uttar Pradesh from 10 April 2023.
• The Japanese Air Self Defence Force also participated in the exercise as observers. 
• A total of 24 fighter aircrafts, 8 transport planes and 2 force multipliers from both air forces participated in the exercise.
• The IAF participated with aircraft like Rafale, Tejas, Su-30MKI, Jaguar, C-17 and C-130. 
• The USAF participated with the F-15 ‘Strike Eagle’ fighter, C-130, MC-130J, C-17 and the B1B, strategic bomber aircraft. 
• The exercise provided valuable opportunity for the participants of all countries to exchange ideas and imbibe best practices through interactions, exchanges & combined missions.

Rajesh Kumar Singh assumes charge as Secretary of DPIIT

• Senior IAS officer Rajesh Kumar Singh has taken over as the Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
• He replaces Anurag Jain, who has been appointed as Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• Prior to this, Singh was serving as Secretary in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
• Singh is an Indian Administrative Service officer of 1989 Batch from Kerala cadre

Sumant Kathpalia re-appointed as MD & CEO of IndusInd Bank

• The Board of Directors of the private lender IndusInd Bank has reappointed Sumant Kathpalia as the managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO) of IndusInd Bank Limited for a period of two years with effect from 24 March, 2023.
• Kathpalia was first appointed as the MD & CEO of IndusInd Bank in March 2020.
•  IndusInd Bank Limited Headquarter – Mumbai

RBI Impose monetary penalty of Rs 44 lakh on 4 cooperative banks

• The Reserve Bank has imposed penalties worth total of Rs 44 lakh on four cooperative banks.
• A penalty of Rs 16 lakh has been imposed on Chennai-based The Tamil Nadu State Apex Co-operative Bank, as it failed to transfer eligible amounts to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) within the prescribed period. It also failed to report a fraud to NABARD within the prescribed timeline and reported the same with delay.
• A penalty of Rs 13 lakh has been imposed on Bombay Mercantile Co-operative Bank as it failed to transfer eligible amount to DEAF within the prescribed period and transferred the same with delay.
• A penalty of Rs 13 lakh has been imposed on Janata Sahakari Bank, Pune for non-compliance with directions on ‘Interest Rate on Deposits’.
• Finally, a monetary penalty of Rs 2 lakh has been imposed on Baran Nagrik Sahkari Bank, Baran, Rajasthan for contravention of certain norms.

Reliance Retail sign JV with Haryana-based Circle E Retail for toy manufacturing

• Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries and one of the leading toy distributors, has entered into a joint venture with a Haryana-based firm, Circle E Retail, for local manufacturing of toys, to vertically integrate its toy business.
• The brand currently owns iconic British toy brand Hamleys and home-grown toy brand Rowan.
• Reliance Retail will have control over the entire aspects of the toy ecosystem, right from designing and manufacturing to retailing of the product.
• This new business venture will cater for both the toys brands, Hamleys and Rowan, owned by Reliance Retail..
• Circle E Retail has a specialisation in toy manufacturing, having modern manufacturing unit in Haryana with a licence to manufacture and distribute a wide range of toys.

Pakistani-Canadian Columnist and Writer, Tarek Fatah passes away at 73

• Renowned Pakistan-born Canadian journalist, political activist, author and famous television personality Tarek Fatah has passed away, after a long-drawn battle with cancer.
• He was 73.
• Tarek Fatah was born in Karachi, Pakistan in 1949 and migrated to Canada in the early 1980s.
• He was famous for his progressive views on Islam and his fiery stance on Pakistan.
• He called himself an ‘Indian born in Pakistan’ and a ‘Punjabi born into Islam’.
• He also authored several books including, ‘Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State’ and ‘The Jew is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths that Fuel Muslim Anti-Smitism.’

World Malaria Day 2023: 25 April

• The World Malaria Day (WMD) is observed globally on 25 April each year to recognize the efforts of the people worldwide to control malaria.
• The Day was established in May 2007 at the 60th session of the World Health Assembly, WHO’s decision-making body.
• Theme of World Malaria Day 2023 is ‘Reaching the Zero Malaria Target’.
• WMD is one of eight official global public health campaigns currently marked by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with World Health Day, World Blood Donor Day, World Immunization Week, World Tuberculosis Day, World No Tobacco Day, World Hepatitis Day and World AIDS Day.

International Delegate’s Day 2023: 25 April

• The International Delegate’s Day is observed on April 25, to raise awareness of the role of representatives and delegates of the Member States to the United Nations, in preventing war and conflict and paving the way for peaceful and prosperous societies through dialogue and collaboration, particularly during the most difficult of times.
• United Nations (UN) organized the first official International Delegate’s Day on April 25, 2020.
• The day acknowledge the 850 delegates who participated in the San Francisco Conference seventy-six years ago in 1945, followed by signing of the Charter of the United Nations.
• The agreement resulted in the creation of the United Nations, an organization that now comprises 193 Member States.

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