Top Current Affairs 08 April 2022

Top Current Affairs 08 April 2022

This post contains the current affairs for 08 April 2022. 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

India’s trade deficit rises by 87.5 percent to USD 192.41 bn in FY22

• According to the data released by Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s trade deficit in 2021-22 rose by 87.5 percent to USD 192.41 billion.
• The trade deficit in 2020-21 was $102.63 billion.
• The total exports during 2021-22 increased to a record high of $417.81 billion, while imports increased to $610.22 billion, which led to a trade gap of $192.41 billion.

Tribal Festival ‘Sarhul’ being celebrated in Jharkhand

• Sarhul is the most popular tribal festivals celebrated across the Jharkhand region to mark the beginning of New Year.
• The festival is celebrated every year in the first month of the Hindu calendar, i.e. in the month of Chaitra, on three days after the appearance of the new moon. It is celebrated till the month of June or “Jeth”.
• The Oraon, the Munda and the Ho tribes, of the Jharkhand region celebrate this festival.
• Sarhul means worship of trees and signifies the advent of the spring season or “Phaagun”

Committee

Government forms Advisory Committee for Semicon India; Head-Union Minister of Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has formed an advisory committee of experts for Semicon India programme.
• The Semicon India programme was approved by the Union Cabinet in December 2021 for the development of a sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in the country, in line with the vision of PM Narendra Modi to make India a global leader in Semiconductor manufacturing, Design & innovation.
• The Advisory Committee will be chaired by the Union Minister of Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, while the Minister of State, Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), Rajeev Chandrashekhar will be the Vice-Chairperson. 

Defence

HAL and Israel Aerospace joins hand to turn civil aircraft into mid-air refuellers

• Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to convert civil passenger aircraft to “Multi Mission Tanker Transport” (MMTT) aircraft in India.
• This initiative will help India to become self-dependant in refuelling the jets mid-air.
• At present, the Indian Air Force and Navy jets depend on Russian-made IL-78 to refuel mid-air.
• Once, HAL converts the pre-owned civil aircraft into air refueling aircraft with cargo and transport capabilities, these planes will replace the the IL-78 mid-air refueller..

International

China successfully launches new satellite Gaofen-3 03 for Earth Observation

• China successfully launched a new Earth observation satellite Gaofen-3 03 on April 07, 2022 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre onboard a Long March-4C rocket.
• The new satellite will become part of its land-sea radar satellite constellation by forming a network with the orbiting Gaofen-3 and Gaofen-3 02 satellites.
• They will then capture reliable, stable synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, to help Beijing safeguard its maritime rights and interests.
• The Earth Observation (EO) satellites produce a large number of SAR images every day, which are characterised by all-weather operation, high spatial resolution, among other things.

Ranking

Elon Musk tops Forbes Billionaires List 2022, Mukesh Ambani richest Indian (10th)

• Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk has topped the Forbes Billionaires List 2022 to emerge as the richest person in the world. His total estimated net worth is $219 billion.
• He is followed by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos and Louis Vuitton chief Bernard Arnault respectively.
• Top Indian – Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani has been retained as the richest Indian in the list with a net worth of $90.7 billion. He is ranked at 10th position globally.
• Top Women in the list – Cosmetics giant L’Oréal’s founder’s granddaughter, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, has been listed as the richest woman in the world in 2022, with a net worth of $74.8 billion.
• A total of 2,668 billionaires have been ranked in the 36th edition of the annual ranking of world’s richest people by Forbes.

Award

Hindi Poet Prof. Ramdarash Mishra selected for Saraswati Samman 2021

• Noted Hindi poet and litterateur Prof Ramdarash Mishra has been selected for the Saraswati Samman, 2021.
• He has been selected for this prestigious literary award for his Hindi poetry collection ‘Mein to Yahan Hun’, which was published in 2015.
• Saraswati Samman is a prestigious and highest literary award in India instituted by K K Birla Foundation in 1991.
• The award carries Rs 15 lakh, a citation and a plaque. 

Books & Author

A book on making of NASSCOM ‘The Maverick Effect’ written by Harish Mehta

• A new book titled “The Maverick Effect” has been released, which has been written by Harish S. Mehta, the founding member and the first Chairman of NASSCOM.
• The book tells the untold story of how in the 1970s and 80s a ‘band of dreamers’ joined hands to create NASSCOM, which paved the way for the IT revolution in India.

Sports

Ministry of Sports releases USD 72,124 to UNESCO Fund for Elimination of Doping in Sport in 2022

• The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, has contributed an amount of USD 72,124 towards UNESCO Fund for Elimination of Doping in Sport in 2022.
• This is double the amount of the minimum agreed value.
• As per the resolution of 7COP held at Paris between 29-31 September, 2019, the State Parties had agreed for contributing 1% of the regular budget of respective nation to UNESCO towards the Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sport.
• In 2021, India contributed USD 28172 towards the UNESCO Fund.
• The contributed fund will be used to support the implementation of the Fund’s Operational Strategy 2020-2025.

Appointment

Aleksandar Vucic re-appointed as Serbian President for second 5-year term

• The incumbent Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has won the 2022 presidential and parliamentary elections with landslide victory to secure second five-year term.
• Vucic was first appointed as the President in May 2017.