• Reuters photographer Mohammed Salem won the prestigious 2024 World Press Photo of the Year award for his image of a Palestinian woman cradling the body of her five-year-old niece in the Gaza Strip.
• The picture was taken on Oct. 17, 2023, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where families were searching for relatives killed during Israeli bombing of the Palestinian enclave.
• Salem’s winning image portrays Inas Abu Maamar, 36, sobbing while holding Saly’s sheet-clad body in the hospital morgue.
• Salem, a Palestinian aged 39, has worked for Reuters since 2003. He also won an award in the 2010 World Press Photo competition.

OTHER WINNERS:

• GEO photographer Lee-Ann Olwage of South Africa won the story of the year category with images documenting dementia in Madagascar.
• The long-term projects category was won by Alejandro Cegarra of Venezuela for the series “The Two Walls” for The New York Times/Bloomberg.
• Ukrainian photographer Julia Kochetova won the open format award with “War is Personal“, which documented the war in her country by weaving together pictures, poetry, audio and music in documentary style.

• World Malaria Day is observed across the globe on April 25 to spread awareness about the deadly mosquito-borne disease. The day highlights the efforts to end malaria and to educate people to prevent its spread.
• This year the World Malaria Day 2024 theme is “Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world”.
• It was established by WHO Member States at the World Health Assembly in 2007.
• Malaria is caused by the Plasmodium parasites that spread to humans through the bites of infected female Anopheles The disease is caused by five parasitic species, P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae, P. ovale and P. knowlesi. The first four are specific for humans, while P. knowlesi causes malaria in macaque monkeys.

• The government has released Rs 100 crore to clear the mounting Himcare payments in hospitals.
• Due to the pending payments of over Rs 300 crore under the scheme, several hospitals were struggling to provide healthcare under the scheme to the Himcare cardholders.

ABOUT HIMCARE

• For providing the cashless treatment coverage on the analogy of Ayushman Bharat to the left-out families, the State is implementing Mukhya Mantri Himachal Health Care Scheme (HIMCARE) since 1st January, 2019.
• Under HIMCARE Scheme, cashless treatment coverage up to Rs. 5.00 lakh per year per family is being provided in the empanelled hospitals. In case of more than five members, the remaining members are being enrolled as a separate unit subject to the capping of five members for each such additional unit.

• The Indian Embassy lauded Kuwait’s ministry of information for starting a Hindi programme in Kuwait Radio on FM 93.3 and AM 96.3 every Sunday.
• The Indian Embassy in Kuwait noted that this step taken will further strengthen the ties between the two nations.

INDIA & KUWAIT RELATIONS

• India has been a natural trading partner of Kuwait, and until 1961, the Indian rupee was the legal tender in Kuwait.
• Kuwait remains a reliable supplier of crude oil &LPG to India, meeting our crucial energy needs.
• The year 2021-22 marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
• Indian ambassador to Kuwait- Adarsh Swaika

• Bengaluru to witness Zero Shadow Day on April 24, a celestial event where the sun reaches its peak and casts no shadows.
• In the Silicon Valley of India, this unique astronomical event is expected to occur between 12:17 pm and 12:23 pm.
• The event spanning 6- 8 minutes involves the disappearance of shadows.

ABOUT ZERO SHADOW DAY

• Zero Shadow Day occurs when the sun is positioned directly overhead, resulting in objects casting no shadows at noon. This phenomenon typically occurs in regions located near the equator, where the sun’s angle is almost perpendicular to the Earth’s surface.

• India successfully launched a new version of Medium-Range Ballistic Missile capable of striking targets at distances exceeding 250 km.
• The new variant of a Medium-Range Ballistic Missile was carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command.
• The user launch has proven the operational capability of the Command and validated new technologies.

ABOUT MEDIUM-RANGE BALLISTIC MISSILE

• A medium-range missile is defined by having a maximum range of between 1,000 and 3,000 kilometres.
• Agni-I is the medium range missile of India.

• The Government of India, in collaboration with SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd (SBI Card) and telecom operators, is developing an innovative solution to combat the growing threat of cyber fraud and phishing attacks involving stolen one-time passwords (OTPs).
• The Centre is testing a solution that will allow banks to track the registered address as well as geolocation of a customer and where an OTP is getting delivered. In case of any discrepancy between the two locations, the customer can be alerted of a possible phishing attack.

ABOUT INDIA’S CYBER SECURITY

• India has the second-largest telecom market in the world, with over 1.16 billion subscribers.
• The Government of India has taken several steps to strengthen cybersecurity, including the establishment of The National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) and The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).

ABOUT THE NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY COORDINATOR (NCSC)

• Established in 2014 under the National Security Council Secretariat.
• It Coordinates with international partners to enhance global cyber security cooperation.

ABOUT THE INDIAN COMPUTER EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM (CERT-IN)

• Operational since 2004 under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• It Serves as the national nodal agency for responding to cyber security incidents.
• Monitors and analyses cyber threats, vulnerabilities, and incidents.
• Provides alerts, advisories, and guidelines to enhance cyber security preparedness.
• Conducts cyber security drills and training programs for government and critical sector organizations.

• Indian Bank has entered into a strategic partnership with Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd. (TPSSL) to boost solar energy adoption by providing financial support to residential consumers for installations.
• The collaboration aims to provide financial support under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana scheme for installations up to 3 KW, and from 3-10 KW under the regular scheme.
• Residential consumers can avail loans up to ₹2 lakh at an annual interest rate of 7%, with a nominal margin money requirement of 10% and collateral-free financing. The repayment tenure is 10 years.
• For installations exceeding 3-10 KW, eligible applicants can avail loans up to ₹6 lakh with a margin money requirement of 20%. Interest rate ranges from 8.4% to 10.8% per annum.
• This initiative is poised to make a profound impact on the widespread adoption of solar solutions.

ABOUT PM SURYA GHAR MUFT BIJLI YOJANA SCHEME

• It aims to provide free electricity to households in India.
• The PM-Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana provides a CFA of 60% of system cost for 2 kW systems and 40% of additional system cost for systems between 2 to 3 kW capacity.
• The scheme envisaged to generate up to 300 units of free electricity every month which would translate to benefits of ₹15,000-18,000 annually for households.
• India had aimed to install 40 GW of rooftop solar by 2022 but has only achieved approximately 12 GW thus far.

• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on the occasion of Earth Day unveiled its Climate Strategy 2030 document which aims to address India’s need for green financing.
• NABARD’s Climate Strategy 2030 is structured around four key pillars which include:-
• Accelerating green lending across sectors
• Playing a broader market-making role
• Internal green transformation
• Strategic resource mobilisation
• According to NABARD, India requires approximately $170 billion annually to reach a cumulative total of over $2.5 trillion by 2030, the current green finance inflows are critically insufficient.

LEADING REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS: –

• DLF the only Indian real estate company featured in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the past three years, it exemplified commitment to environmental, social, and governance excellence.
• Remsons Industries Ltd., an auto ancillary manufacturer had received Gold Medal in the Ecovadis Sustainability Assessment. This medal recognises Remsons Industries as one of the top 5% of all evaluated companies globally, reaffirming its commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) excellence.

• Recently, Strasbourg, France, was designated the World Book Capital for 2024, while Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will hold the title in 2025.
• A city designated as UNESCO World Book Capital must promote books and reading across national borders and organize activities for all ages and groups.

LIST OF UNESCO WORLD BOOK CAPITAL CITIES:

• Tbilisi (Georgia) in 2021
• Guadalajara (Mexico) in 2022
• Accra (Ghana) in 2023
• Strasbourg (France) in 2024