Why in news?

• Prime Minister greeted the Sikhs on the special occasion of Khalsa Saajna Diwas which marks the anniversary of the beginning of Khalsa Panth.

About Khalsa Panth

• The term ‘Khalsa’ means sovereign or free.
• On this day in 1699, tenth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh Ji established the Khalsa Panth.
• It was established in order to teach the followers that no ritual or superstition is above Almighty and one should not fall for any superstition.

Why in news?

• Himachal Day is observed on the 15th of April in Himachal Pradesh. The state became a full-fledged state on this day.
• Four districts of Mandi, Chamba, Mahasu and Sirmour were integrated with over two dozen princely states, leading to the formation of Himachal Pradesh as a Union Territory in 1948.Decades later, in 1971, Himachal Pradesh became the 18th state in India with Shimla as its capital.
• It was on this day in 1948 that Himachal Pradesh was created as a province of India. The day is marked with a grand parade in the capital city of Shimla. Local events are also organised in the cities, towns, and villages to mark the day.

Why in news?

• World Art Day is observed every year on 15 April This day is being celebrated all over the world to emphasize the importance of art that nurtures creativity, innovation and cultural diversity for all peoples across the globe.
• The day was declared by the International Association of Art (IAA),an NGO working in official partnership with UNESCO.
• The date has been selected in honour of the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, the famous painter of the Mona Lisa.
• He was chosen as a symbol of world peace, freedom of expression, tolerance, brotherhood and multiculturalism as well as art’s importance to other fields.

Why in news?

• The Government of Uttarakhand is set to implement the ‘Him Prahari’ Scheme which is meant for ex-servicemen and youngsters.
• The scheme is aimed at stopping the migration of people from Uttarakhand and will focus on areas where migration occurs at a rapid phase so that people stay put, and not move out.
• The Uttarakhand Govt is seeking the cooperation of the Union Government to implement the scheme in areas bordering the Uttarakhand.
• The scheme will also prioritise settling ex-servicemen in areas bordering the state.
• The estimated expenditure of the scheme is around Rs 5.45 crore.
• The Him Prahari Scheme was announced by the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) Uttarakhand unit in its 2022 Election Manifesto.

Why in news?

• Tashi Gyaltson, Chairman/Chief Executive Councillor, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, LAHDC, Leh inaugurated the Community Museum in Gya – Sasoma villages of Leh district in Ladakh. This is a first of its kind museum in India.
• The Community Museum is a joint collaboration between National Museum Institute(NMI), New Delhi, Delhi and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council(LAHDC), Leh, Ladakh.
• The Museum aims to preserve and take forward the rich cultural heritage of the region.
• Gya-Sasoma villagers in Leh have contributed to a variety of articles and collections to establish the Community Museum in traditional Ladakhi house.
• Along with the villagers, women associations of the villages, Department of Museology NMI and LAHDC, Leh has participated in the establishment of the community Museum.
  • Gya, situated on the Leh-Manali National Highway, is the first village and oldest inhabitation in Upper Ladakh.

Features of the Museum

• The traditional house, where the Museum is established has several architectural spaces and features.
• The museum features several traditional utility items, textiles, dresses and the antiquities of the day-to-day life of Gya-Sasoma.

Why in news?

• The country has announced a pre-emptive default on all its foreign debt totalling $51 billion as a “last resort” while the island nation struggles to cope with a grave economic crisis. This has led to a situation called Sovereign Default.
• The immediate debt default was to ensure “fair and equitable treatment of all creditors” ahead of an International Monetary Fund assisted recovery programme for the nation.
• Sovereign Default- It refers to the failure of the government of a sovereign entity to pay back principal and interest payments when they are due.
• Consequences of default – Disposing of the debts reduces the total debt owed by a state to its creditors, and subsequently, the principal and interest repayments.
• It receives a lower credit rating, becoming less attractive to investors, and it will become difficult for the state to access new funds from the international bond market.
• Sri Lanka is not the first country to default in its external loans. In 2020 Lebanon, Argentina, Belize, Zambia, Suriname, defaulted. Greece became the first developed country to default on its debt to the IMF in 2015.

Why in news?

• Supreme Court directed FTII not to exclude candidates suffering from colour blindness from film making and editing courses.

About Colour blindness:

• Inability to distinguish between certain colours– usually greens and reds, and sometimes blues as well.
• Causes: Most cases are people born with the condition (congenital colour blindness), but some can develop it later in life.
• Medical conditions like glaucoma, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s etc may increase the risk.
• The most common kinds of color blindness are genetic and mostly men are affected by it (since it is passed down through X chromosome and men have only 1 X chromosome).

Why in news?

• Tragedy stuck recently at Tirkut Hills close to Baidyanath Temple in Jharkhand’s Deogarh after some cable cars in a ropeway collided with each other.
• Also known as Baidyanath Jyotirlinga temple, Deoghar temple is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga in India.
• A Jyotirlinga is a shrine where Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of a fiery column of light.
• The other 11 Jyotirlingas are
  • Somnath in Gujarat,
  • Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh,
  • Mahakaleswar at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh,
  • Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh,
  • Kedarnath in Uttrakhand,
  • Bhimashankar at Pune in Maharashtra,
  • Viswanath at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh,
  • Tryambakeshwar at Nashik in Maharashtra,
  • Aundha Nagnath at Aundha in Hingoli District in Maharashtra,
  • Rameshwar at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu and
  • Grushneshwar at Ellora near Aurangabad, in Maharashtra.

Why in news?

• 103 years ago, on 13^thApril 1919, the horrific Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place. To date, it is one of the country’s darkest days i n history. On this day, General Reginald Dyer of the British Empire ordered his troops to fire upon the people who were protesting peacefully at Jallianwala Bagh.
• The firing by the troops killed around 379 people and the entire nation was shocked due to this incident.

Background

• Thousands of people had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh to celebrate Baisakhi and to protest peacefully against the arrest of two leaders, Saifuddin Kitchlew, and Satyapal. But at that time processions and public meetings were banned in India and the villagers were unaware of it.
• Dyer entered the venue with his troops and blocked the only entrance. Then he passed the order of shooting at the unarmed civilians. After the incident, Dyer stated that his act was not to disperse the meeting but to punish the Indians who were present at the venue for disobedience. According to the official figures provided by the British government, 379 people were killed with thousands severely injured. But, as per the Congress, more than 1,000 Indians lost their lives that day.

The aftermath of the incident

• Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore condemned this unjust attack on the peaceful protestors and renounced their Kaiser-i-Hind medal and British Knighthood
• There were protests across the country against the incident. The actions of Dyer were criticized by many including former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. After this incident, the Hunter commission was set up to investigate the incident, and Dyer was removed from duty after the commission submitted its report. Dyer passed away on 23^rdJuly 1927 due to a cerebral haemorrhage.

Why in news?

• SVANidhi se Samriddhi program was started to provide social security benefits to street vendors for their holistic development and socio-economic upliftment.
• SVANidhi se Samriddhi, additional program of PM SVANidhi (Prime Minister Street Vendors AtmaNirbhar Nidhi), launched in January 2021 in 125 cities in Phase 1, covering approximately 35 Lakh Street vendors and their families.
• Later, post success of phase 1, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched the program expansion with an aim to cover 28 Lakh Street vendors and their families, with a total target of 20 Lakh scheme sanctions for FY 2022-23.
• Quality Council of India (QCI) is the implementing partner for the programme.
• Benefits of the scheme
  • Vendors can avail working capital loan of up to Rs. 10,000, which is repayable in monthly instalments in the tenure of one year.
  • Interest subsidy @ 7% per annum on regular repayment of loan.
  • No penalty on early repayment of loan.
  • Promotes digital transactions through cash back incentives up to an amount of Rs. 100 per month.
  • Vendors can avail the facility of escalation of the credit limit on timely/ early repayment of loan.
• PM SVANidhi, a Central Sector Scheme, was launched in June 2020, aims to provide an affordable working capital loan to Street Vendors.
• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is the implementing agency.