2nd April 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• World Autism Awareness Day is being observed today (2nd April 2015)
• It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly resolution "62/139.
• This day was adopted on 18 December 2007, it was proposed by Qatar, and supported by all UN member states.
• 2016 Theme : "Autism and the 2030 Agenda: Inclusion and Neurodiversity"
• Note : It is estimated that more than 80% of adults with autism are unemployed.
• Today (2nd April) is International Children's Book Day.
• This day is a yearly event sponsored by the International Board on Books for Young People, an international non-profit organization.
• April the 2nd was chosen to mark this day for young literature lovers as it's the same date as Hans Christian Andersen's birthday, the author of many famous children's stories like The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling.
  
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Riyadh (capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia) today on a 2-day visit to Saudi Arabia.
• Issues of strategic partnership, counter terrorism, energy and trade high on agenda.
• The World Health Organisation has confirmed a new case of Ebola in Liberia, three months after the country was declared free from transmissions. 
• Note : Liberia was first declared Ebola-free in May, but new cases emerged on two occasions. 

MOUs

• India and Sri Lanka have signed an MOU to supply 150 boats and fishing equipment to the fishermen of Mullaitivu.
• Indian High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha and Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development W.M.M.R. Adikari signed the MoU in the presence of Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Mahinda Amaraweera at the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development.
• Note : The Government of India will gift 150 boats and other fishing equipment to 300 beneficiaries in Mullaitivu.
• To strengthenand promote business ties with Australia, FICCI inked a MoU with AIBC.
• The agreement signed during the Invest in India in Melbourne Australia..
• The MoU strengthens the ongoing relationship between the two organisations to further promote, facilitate and grow the trade and investment relationship between Australia and India.
• FICCI  - Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry
• AIBC - Australia Indian Business Council 

National Affairs

• Varanasi's Municipal Corporation has tied up with the Airports Authority of India to introduce an automated waste collection system in the city. 
• In the first phase, the automated waste collection drive will be launched in 14 wards of the city for three years. 
• Note : The daily waste generated in the overpopulated holy city is around 650 metric tonnes.
• The Delhi Government today extended till May 31 its Power Amnesty Scheme, wherein consumers from 'jhuggi jhopri' clusters are charged ₹250 monthly for the period they have not paid their dues. 
• About 68,000 cases have reportedly been settled under the ‘Bijli Bill Vivad Samadhan Scheme’, which addresses grievances pertaining to electricity theft. 
• Note : It has been extended several times previously.

Awards & Honors

• Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh was recently presented with the 'Maharashtrian of the Year' award by the state's CM Devendra Fadnavis. 
• Note : Earlier, Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar were honoured with the Marathi publication Lokmat's award.
• PEN America announced that it will confer the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award upon imprisoned Egyptian novelist and journalist Ahmed Naji.

Deaths

• Indian television actress Pratyusha Banerjee (24) passed away.
• She was best known for her portrayal of Anandi in 'Balika Vadhu'.
• Veteran journalist and writer Babu Bharadwaj (68) passed away. 
• He had been a part of prominent print and television media in Kerala. 
• Note : Kalapangalkkoru Grihapadam, a novel penned by him, won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award in 2006.

Business & Economy

• The Lucknow Metro will get a loan of €450 million (around ₹3,500 crore) from the European Investment Bank for its Phase-1A project. 
• An agreement in this regard was signed in Brussels on March 30 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 
• The 22.878-kilometer long Lucknow Metro Phase-1A project was approved at a cost of ₹6,928 crore last December.
• Germany's Development Bank is going to provide loan of Rs. 3,750crore for Metro system in Nagpur city.  
• Air India has announced the launch of non-stop flights to Vienna from New Delhi. 
• A 256-seater Boeing 787-800 with 18 business class seats will now operate on the Delhi-Vienna-Delhi route thrice a week on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. 
• The service will replace the existing five weekly services to Vienna in codeshare with Austrian Airlines.
• Chief Secretary of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Anand Prakash, recently launched a semi-submarine ocean safari. Called the 'Coral Safari', the semi-submarine will take 100 passengers into the sea in a fully air-conditioned cabin. 
• A product of Heaven on Ocean Tourism Private Limited, the safari will let tourists explore the underwater corals and rare species of fishes around the islands.

New Appointments

• Vietnam's Parliament today swore in the Public Security (Police) Minister General Tran Dai Quang as the Communist country's President. 
• Quang is the only candidate put forward for the Presidency and he was backed by 460 of the 465 lawmakers in the Parliament. 
• Note : Vietnam is led by the coalition of the President, Prime Minister, and Communist Party Chief.
• Rajiv Gauba took over as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Urban Development.
• Congress senior MLA J Geeta Reddy was appointed as the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Telangana.
• Important Note : She will be the first woman legislator to be appointed for the post in India.
• Kallol Roy, an expert in nuclear reactor, appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bhartiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd (BHAVINI), which is building 500 Mw prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam near Chennai.

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