National
Draft Standards for Road-Trains
⇒ Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, under the leadership of Nitin Gadkari, published Draft Standards for Road-Trains.
The Automotive Industry Standards Committee has amended its AIS-113 Standard to include the safety requirements of Road-Trains.
The Automotive Industry Standards Committee has representatives from the relevant Ministries, Testing Agencies, Industry stakeholders, BIS etc.
The standards have been prepared after examining European benchmarks, keeping in mind Indian operating conditions.
Road-Trains will revolutionize the transport of goods and reduce the overall logistic costs.
Rajasthan presented their Jal Jeevan Mission Annual Action Plan
⇒ The State of Rajasthan presented their Jal Jeevan Mission Annual Action Plan on 24 April 2021 with details of the saturation plan for the financial year 2021-22. The state also presented the plan to ensure every rural household with tap water connection by 2024.
Rajasthan has 1.01 Crore rural households, out of which 19.61 lakh (19.3%) are getting tap water supply. In 2020-21, about 6.77 lakh new tap connections were provided in the rural areas.
Plan for 2021-22:
In 2021-22, the State plans to provide 30 lakh tap connections. In 2021-22, Rajasthan is likely to get Rs 5,500 Crore as Central fund under JJM.
Maharashtra presented their Jal Jeevan Mission Annual Action Plan
⇒ The State of Maharashtra presented their Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Annual Action Plan on 22 April 2021 with details of the plan for the financial year 2021-22. The state also presented the saturation plan for the whole State to provide tap water connection to every rural household.
Maharashtra has 1.42 Crore rural households, out of which 91 lakh (64%) are getting tap water supply.
Action Plan for 2021-22:
In 2021-22, the State plans to provide 27.45 lakh tap connections. The State proposes to make 13 districts, 131 blocks, and 12,839 villages ‘Har Ghar Jal’ aiming at 100% coverage.
In 2021-22, the State is likely to get about Rs 3,000 Crore of Central funds under JJM.
International
China's first Mars rover, 'Zhurong'
⇒ China had announced the name of its first Mars rover as Zhurong. In Chinese tradition it means the mythical god of fire and war.
The solar-powered rover is aboard the Tianwen-1 probe that was launched in July 2020. It was reached the red planet’s orbit on February 24.
Landing:
The six-wheeled robot Zhurong touched down on the vast Martian plain Utopia Planitia on May 14, 2021.
After successful landing, China became the second country in the world to successfully land a rover on Mars after the US. The Soviet Union also landed a probe on Mars, but the mission only a partial success as they lost contact soon after landing.
Survey:
Zhurong rover will spend about 93 Mars days (about 90 Earth days) surveying an area of the planet known as Utopia Planitia. It will study Mars’s surface soil and atmosphere and look for signs of ancient life.
Important Day
'World Malaria Day' 2021
⇒ ‘World Malaria Day’ is observed every year on 25th April.
Theme:
The theme for the World Malaria Day 2021 is “Reaching the Zero Malaria target.”
“Reaching Zero” forum:
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare on 23 April 2021 chaired the “Reaching Zero” forum on malaria elimination to celebrate World Malaria Day. The event was co-hosted by WHO and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria.
12th National Panchayati Raj Day
⇒ National Panchayati Raj Day is celebrated every year on 24 April. The first National Panchayati Raj Day was celebrated in the year 2010.
Death
Supreme Court Judge, Justice Mohan M Shantanagoudar
⇒ Supreme Court Judge, Justice Mohan M Shantanagoudar passed away on 25 April 2021 in Gurugram. He was 62.
Justice Shantanagoudar was appointed Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court in May 2003. He was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on February, 17, 2017.
Former India and Mohun Bagan winger, Pronab Ganguly
⇒ Former India and Mohun Bagan winger Pronab Ganguly died on 23 April 2021. He was 75.
He is best remembered for his double strike against East Bengal in the club’s 1969 IFA Shield win. Ganguly was a member of the Indian team in the Merdeka Cup in 1969.
He was conferred with the Mohun Bagan’s Lifetime Achievement award in 2020.