Important Current Events of April 2014
National News
- India successfully test-fired its first indigenously developed air-to-air missile, Astra, from a Sukhoi-30MKI combat jet on May 4, 2014 over the Arabian Sea.
- The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has established a Sport Integrity Unit to investigate the cases related to fraud in sports.
- The World Bank has projected am economic growth rate of 5.7 percent in fiscal year 2014-15 for India.
- The Supreme Court has recognized ‘transgender’ as the third category of sex. It has also recognized transgender as socially and economically backward and entitled to job and education quota.
- An investigation by the Enforcement Directorate into suspected illegal expenditure in the ongoing Lok Sabha election reveals that Chennai has emerged as the centre of ‘doubtful’ transaction.
- Agni-I, surface-to-surface nuclear-capable ballistic missile has been successfully test-fired for its full 700 km range from Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast.
- Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court, has been sworn as the 414st Chief Justice of India (CJI).
- Justice Ms. Gorla Rohini has been sworn as the first woman Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.
- Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram has been appointed as the new Finance Secretary.
- Suresh Kumar Reddy has been appointed as the first Indian Ambassador to ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) and other East Asia summit.
- The Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) has appointed a three-member panel to probe into the allegations of betting and spot-fixing during IPL-6. The members of the panel are Jai Narayan Patel, R.K. Raghavan and Ravi Shastri.
- The Supreme Court has given verdict that Muslim women are entitled to maintenance after divorce.
- The maiden Prithvi Defence Vehicle has been test-fired from Wheeler Island, Odisha, meeting all the mission objectives.
- The Supreme Court has banned ‘jallikattu’ (bull fighting) and bullock cart racing in Tamil Nadu on the grounds of animal cruelty.
- Hon’ble President Pranab Mukherjee has approved dissolution of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and a fresh proclamation of Central Rule in the state.
- A law passed by Kerala in 2006 to prevent the Tamil Nadu from raising the water level in it from 136 feet to 142 feet has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, which vindicates Tamil Nadu’s stand on Mullaperiyar dam.
International News
- Indian-American professor, Rajendra Singh has been named as one of the 10 Solar Champions of Change by the White House, the US.
- Libya’s interim Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani quits after an alleged armed attack on his family.
- Sudarshan Seneviratne has been appointed as Sri Lanka’s new High Commissioner to India.
- Bluefin 21, a robotic submarine, has been launched to solve the mystery of the disappeared Malaysian plane MH370.
- Legendary Nobel-winning Colombian writer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez , has died at the age of 87. His works, One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera are widely acclaimed.
- Abdelaziz Bouteflika has won the 4th term as the President of Algeria.
- Canada has announced suspending its funding to Commonwealth over the Secretariat’s silence on alleged war crimes and rights abuse in Sri Lanka.
- The 6th round of India-China Strategic Dialogue was held at Beijing between Foreign Secretary Ms. Sujatha Singh and Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Mr. Liu Zhenmin.
- Acting President Oleksandar Turchynov of Ukraine has unveiled reform road map with the provision of elected councils for regions and rights for Russian speakers.
- The Netherlands has celebrated its first-ever ‘King’s Day’ in honour of Willem Alexander.
- India has replaced Japan as the 3rd largest economy in 2011, according to the data released by the International Comparison Program of the World Bank. The US has retained the top spot followed by China.
- Rajeev Suri has been named as the new CEO, replacing Stephen Elop.
- Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has ordered all US military officers to leave the country by the end of the month and cancelled military program.
- Panamanian Vice-President Juan Carlos Varela has won the presidential election.
- The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the US’s first case of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Cormavirus (MERS-CoV).
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared polio ‘public health emergency’, warning that Pakistan, Cameroon and the Syrian Arab Republic posed the greatest risk of spreading wild poliovirus in 2014.
- The world’s highest tunnel for high speed train in northwest China at an altitude of 3607.4 metres has become operational.
Sports Updates
- Indian shooter Manavjit Singh Sandhu has won the men’s trap Gold in the Shotgun World Cup in Tucson, USA.
- India has been ranked 3rd in ICC Test team ranking in the April 1, 2014 cutoff date. South Africa is in top position and Australia in second.
- Atletico Madrid claim a berth in the last four of Champion League for the 1st time in 40 years after they eliminate Bercelona 2-1 at the Calderon, Madrid, Spain.
- India’s opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has been named one of the five Cricketers of the Year by Wiseden for his performance in 2013.
- Baroda has defeated Uttar Pradesh by 3 runs to win the Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 final in Mumbai.
- Bengaluru FC has won the I-League 2013-14 championship after gaining a 2-1 victory over Sporting Club de Goa.
- Stanislas Wawrinka defeated Roger Federer to win Monte Carlo Rolex Masters for the first time in a rare all Swiss final.
- Paralympic swimmer Sharath Gayakwad of India has won two Bronze and one Silver medal at the IDM Berlin 2014.
- Liverpool striker Luis Suarez won England’s Professional Footballers’ Association’s Player of the Year Award.
- Anirban Lahiri of India has grabbed his 4th Asian Tour title and the 1st outside India at the CIMB Indonesian Masters golf in Jakarta.
- Joshna Chinappa of India has clinched her 9th WSA World Tour Title of her career after winning Richmond squash Open in Virginia, the US.
- Donna Vekic of Croatia won the BMW Malaysian Open 2014 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Balwant Singh, striker of Churchill Brothers, has been chosen for the ‘Best Indian Player of the Year’ and Ashley Westwood ‘Best Coach of the Year’ at the Football Players Association of Indian awards function.
- The BCCI has banned Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) after Lalit Modi has been declared President of RCA by the Supreme Court appointed election observer.
- Tyson Gay, who tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid, received one-year ban from USADA (US Anti-Doping Association) and returns his 2012 Olympic Silver medal.
- Sania Mirza and Cara Black have won their 1st title of the season with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Eva Hardinova and Valeria Solovyeva in the final of the final of the ATP/ WTA Portugal Open in the Oeiras, Portugal.
- With 16 goals so far, Christiana Ronaldo has broken the record for the most goals in a European Cup or Champions League season.
Prize and Award Winners
- Legendary poet and lyricist Sampooran Singh Kalra alias Gulzar has been selected for the 45th Dada Saheb Phalke award for the year 2013.
- Indian origin Vijay Seshadri has won Pulitzer Prize 2014 in Poetry category for his work 3 Sections.
- The Queen of Britain has conferred the rank of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire on former chairman of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata.
- Indian-Canadian director Mr. Richie Mehta’s Hindi film Siddharth is the surprise winner at the Beijing film festival. The film is based on the story of a man’s search for his missing son.
- Mathangi Sathyamurthy, Karnataka musician, has been selected for M.S. Subbulakshmi Award 2014.
- N.R. Narayan Murthy, the founder and executive Chairman of Infosys, has been honoured with the 2014 Canada India Foundation Chchalani Global Indian Award in Toronto, Canada.
Winners of 61st National Film Awards:
- Best Popular Film - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
- Best Feature Film – Ship of Theseus
- Best Actor – Rajkumar Rao and Suraj Venjaramoodu
- Best Actress – Geetanjali Thapa
Science and Technology
- A beautiful made granary, with walls of mud-bricks, which are still in a remarkably good condition, has been discovered in the just-concluded excavation at Rakhigarhi village, a Harappan Civilization site in Haryana.
- A team of scientists from USA and Mexico carry out the world’s first successful vaginal implants in four women.
- A new technology that creates digital embryos by virtually mixing two people’s DNA has been developed, which allows parents a glimpse of their baby’s health and physical characteristics before it has ever been conceived.
- The world’s largest ever swarm of genetically modified mosquitoes has been released in Brazil to combat infectious diseases.
- A new planet, Kepler-186f, has been discovered using NASA’s Kepler telescope. The Planet, dubbed as the Earth’s twin, has been habitable with its own atmosphere and solid surface where liquid water and possibly life can exist.
- Archaeologists have discovered a 5600-year-old preserved tomb and mummy predating the Pharaonic First Dynasty in Egypt.
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