CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 20th APRIL, 2023

CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 20^th APRIL, 2023

1. United Nations Chinese Language Day is annually observed across the globe on 20 April to celebrate the Chinese language as well as to promote equal use of all 6 official languages throughout the organization. The theme of Chinese Language Day 2023 is “Chinese Wisdom for a Green World”.  
2. SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built and designed to send astronauts to the Moon, Mars and beyond, on 17 April 2023, made its first test flight.
3. In the first-ever census conducted for the exotic and colourful birds in the country, forest officials in Odisha’s Bhitarkanika have sighted 179 mangrove pitta birds, which are known for their exotic and vibrant colours.
4. Group of Seven (G7) countries on 16 April, 2023 committed to work towards ensuring carbon-free electricity production by 2035.
5. On 19 April, India Steel 2023 was inaugurated at the Mumbai Exhibition Centre in Goregaon, Mumbai, with Union Minister of Steel Jyotiraditya Scindia presiding over the event.
6. The Investment Board of Nepal has approved the investment proposal from India’s Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) to build a 669 Mega Watt Lower Arun Hydro project in Nepal.
7. IIT Indore, in partnership with NASA-Caltech and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, has designed an inexpensive camera setup that can capture multispectral images of four chemical species in a flame using a single DSLR camera.  
8. State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest lender, has announced the re-introduction of its retail term deposit scheme ‘Amrit Kalash’.
9. Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh launched the YUVA PORTAL in New Delhi, which aims to connect and identify potential young Start-Ups. He also introduced the ‘One Week – One Lab’ programme during the event.
10. National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), on 14 April 2023, signed an MoU with the Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, aimed at streamlining the entry process for vehicles into the forest area.  
11. Vedanta partners with 20 Korean firms to establish a manufacturing hub, aimed to boost India’s electronics manufacturing industry and reduce dependence on imports.
12. In the 2023 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, Suryakumar Yadav won the honour of Wisden Almanack’s Leading T20I Cricketer and Harmanpreet Kaur became the first Indian woman to win the Wisden Cricketer of the Year award.
13. Boria Majumdar, a renowned sports historian and popular TV show host, unveiled a new book called ‘Sachin@50 – Celebrating A Maestro’, which will be officially released on the occasion of legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s 50^th  birthday on 24 April, 2023.
14. The 2^nd India-Peru Joint Commission Meeting was held in New Delhi on 15 April, 2023 which was co-chaired by Secretary (East) in the External Affairs Ministry, Saurabh Kumar, and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru, Ignacio Higueras.
15. The US and UAE retained the first and second places respectively in the important export destinations for India during the financial year 2022-23.
16. Ministry of Tourism organised the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Millets Food Festival from 13-19 April, 2023 in Mumbai.