Answer- B

• National Panchayati Raj Day is celebrated on April 24 to mark the passing of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992, that institutionalised Panchayati Raj.
• The Panchayati Raj system, a branch of the Indian Government, is a decentralised system of governance in which local bodies are empowered to self-governance.
• The Ministry of Panchayati Raj was created in 2004 to look after all matters relating to the Panchayati Raj and Panchayati Raj Institutions and is headed by a minister of cabinet rank.
• The Ministry of Panchayati Raj will host a national colloquium on ‘Governance at the Grassroots after Three Decades of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment’ at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

Answer – C

• 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.

Answer – B

• 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.

Answer- A

• “Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know” a film by Chidanand Naik, a student of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), has been selected in the ‘La Cinef” Competitive section of 77th Cannes Film Festival, France. The festival is to be held from 15th to 24th May 2024.
• The section is an official section of the festival aimed at encouraging new talents and recognises films from film schools across the world.
• The film is among 18 shorts (14 live-action and 4 animated films) selected from a total of 2,263 films submitted by film schools all over the world. This is the only Indian film selected in the ‘La Cinef’ section of Cannes.
• The Jury will hand over La Cinef prizes at a ceremony preceding the screening of the awarded films on 23rd May in the Buñuel Theatre.
• This FTII film is a production of the TV Wing One-year program where four students from different disciplines i.e. Direction, Electronic Cinematography, Editing, and Sound worked together for one project as a year-end coordinated exercise.

The film is directed by Chidananda S Naik, shot by Suraj Thakur, edited by Manoj V and sound by Abhishek Kadam.

Answer: D

• C-DOT, the premier Telecom R&D Centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India and Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur (IIT-J) signed an agreement for “Automated Service Management in 5G and Beyond Networks Using AI”.
• The agreement is signed under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) of the DoT, which is designed for providing funding support to domestic companies and institutions involved in technology design, development, commercialization of telecommunication products and solutions to enable affordable broadband and mobile services in rural and remote areas.
• The primary objective is to develop AI frameworks for automated network management, fault detection, and diagnostic techniques by utilizing continuous information generated within the network like 5G.
• The service will establish a real time 5G and Beyond testbed (in compliance with O-RAN) for the demonstration of the developed automated network management and slicing techniques in conjunction with specific application use-cases such as smart metering, remotely operated vehicles, etc.

ANSWER: C

• India is showcasing its innovative technologies and power generation practices, at the 26th World Energy Congress, being held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from 22nd April, 2024 to 25th April, 2024.
• The India Pavilion at the Congress aims to be a hub for showcasing innovative technologies and power generation practices, reinforcing India’s commitment to environmental conservation on the global stage.
• Central Public Sector Enterprises under the Ministry of Power, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Ministry of Coal and Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas are participating in the India Pavilion, giving a collective testimony to India’s leadership in global energy transition.
• The Pavilion has been jointly inaugurated by Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India, Shri Pankaj Agarwal and Ambassador of India to the Netherlands Reenat Sandhu, on 22nd April, 2024.

ABOUT 26TH WORLD ENERGY CONGRESS

• The 26th World Energy Congress is expected to be a critical turning point for leadership on clean and inclusive energy transitions worldwide.
• Themed ‘Redesigning Energy for People and Planet’, the four-day gathering marks the World Energy Council’s centenary in world energy.

ABOUT WORLD ENERGY COUNCIL INDIA

• World Energy Council India is a country member of World Energy Council (WEC), a global body established in 1923, with the aim of promoting sustainable supply and use of energy.
• WEC India is one of the earliest country members of World Energy Council, having joined the Council in 1924. WEC India functions under the patronage of Ministry of Power, Government of India and with the support of the Ministries of Coal, New & Renewable Energy, Petroleum & Natural Gas and External Affairs.

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: B

Answer- D

• The Himachal Gyan Vigyan Samiti began a campaign against drug abuse in the state. The campaign will go on till June 28.
• Under the campaign, the samiti has prepared a plan to run a state-wide drive against drug abuse.
• A two-day training workshop on the causes and effects of addiction, and prevention measures was organised at Saksharta Bhawan, Mandi, on April 21 and 22.
• In the workshop, 75 master-trainers were trained.
• The workshop was organised by the samiti in collaboration with District Child Protection Unit (Mandi), Gunjan Sanstha (Kangra), Saksharta Samiti (Mandi) and State Resource Center (Shimla).
• The workshop was inaugurated by Nela Ward, Mandi, Councillor Rajender Mohan.