Current Affairs 28th April 2017

Current Affairs 28th April 2017 - Important Points

• Poet Sankha Ghosh awarded with - Jnanpith Award by president
• First country to ban metals mining - El Salvador
•  World Day for Safety and Health at Work observed globally on - 28th April 2017
• First Indian city to win Pierre L'Enfant Awards-2017 - Bhubaneswar
• BS Sandhu appointed as state’s DGP - Haryana Government 
• World Immunization Week 2017 observed - globally

Current Affairs 28th April 2017 - Details

Poet Sankha Ghosh awarded with - Jnanpith Award by president

Sankha Ghosh, eminent Bengali poet and literary critic was honoured with the 52nd Jnanpith Award on 27th April 2017 by President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, the President stated that the professor, who also received the Sahitya Akademi award and the Padma Bhushan, is the most deserving recipient of this award. The President also expressed his full trust in Ghosh as a teacher of reputation and stated that the poet would have undoubtedly had a positive influence on his students minds 

More about Sankha Ghosh

• Born on 6th February 1932 in Chandpur (presently in Bangladesh), Ghosh is one of the most prolific writers in the Bengali language.
• He is regarded as a leading authority in his own right on the works of Rabindranath Tagore.
• He completed his undergraduate studies in Arts in the Bengali language from Kolkata’s Presidency College and subsequently his masters from the University of Calcutta.
• He previously taught at several educational institutions including in colleges affiliated to the University of Calcutta, Jadavpur University, Delhi University,  Visva-Bharati University and the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies at Shimla.

First country to ban metals mining - El Salvador

El Salvador became the first country in the world to ban metal mining in April 2017. The El Salvador unicameral legislature passed the ban with the support from a sweeping coalition. The law was favoured by nearly 80 percent of the El Salvadorian population. The law bans "prospection, exploitation, extraction,processing, or exploration, of metallic minerals in El Salvador." The law entered into force after being signed by Salvador Sanchez Ceren, the President.

Interesting Highlights

• After the Salvadoran Civil War (15th October 1979 to 16th January 1992), the government began trying to rebuild the large-scale mining industry.
• The country received a flurry of exploration permit applications, when global gold prices started to climb in the early 2000s.
• Rapid industrialization and population growth in the country caused extreme environmental degradation in 1990s.
• More than 90% of the country’s ground water was chemically contaminated and no amount of boiling, filtering or chlorination would make it potable by the early 2000s.
• NRA President Antonio Saca instituted a nationwide moratorium on metal mining permits in March 2008.

 World Day for Safety and Health at Work observed globally on - 28th April 2017

The World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2017 was observed across the world on 28th April 2017 with the theme 'Optimize the collection and use of OSH data'. This year, ILO’s campaign aims on the critical need for countries to improve their capacity to collect and utilize reliable occupational safety and health (OSH) data.

Key Highlights

• Every day, 6300 people die because of occupational accidents or work-related diseases which means that there are more than 2.3 million deaths per year. 
• 317 million accidents occur on the job annually; many of these result in the extended absence from work. 
• The economic burden of poor occupational safety and health practices is estimated at 4 percent of global Gross Domestic Product every year.
• The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted on 25th September 2015 also calls for the same in its Sustainable Development Goal 8.
• Sustainable Development Goal 8 provides for the promotion of 'inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

 First Indian city to win Pierre L'Enfant Awards-2017 - Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha was selected for the Pierre L'Enfant Planning Excellence and Achievement Awards-2017 on 27th April 2017. The city was selected for the award for good and advanced town planning and engagment of its residents in the planning process. Bhubaneswar will receive the APA award along with other four awardees on 8th May 2017. 

 List of awardees

• Daniel Burnham Award for a comprehensive plan.
• National Planning Excellence Award for Planning Landmark.
• National Planning Excellence Award for Planning Pioneers.
• Advancing diversity & social change in honor of Paul Davidoff.

 BS Sandhu appointed as state’s DGP - Haryana Government 

The Haryana government appointed senior IPS officer Baljit Singh Sandhu as the new Director General of Haryana Police on 27th April 2017. This major reshuffle is being seen as an effort by the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government to pacify a section of their party’s dissident MLAs and to put a fresh face in front of the public. It was a long-standing issue among a section of the ruling party MLAs that the state and district level officers do not spare time to address their problems. 

Important Highlights 

• Baljit Singh was previously serving as the Chairman and MD of Haryana Police Housing Corporation in Panchkula. 
• The Haryana government had appointed KP Singh, a 1985-batch IPS officer as the state’s Chief of police on 13th April 2016. 
• Other major reshuffling includes appointment of 1985-batch officers, K Selvaraj and Rajwant Pal Singh as the DGP Railways and OSD Rules and as the Commandant General (Home Guard) and Director (Civil Defence).

World Immunization Week 2017 observed - globally

World Immunization Week 2017 is observed across the globe between 24th April and 30th April 2017. The theme for this is ‘VaccinesWork'. It aims to raise awareness about the critical importance of full immunization throughout life, and its role in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Key highlights- WHO Aims :

• To highlight the importance of immunization as a top global health investment priority.
• To Promote understanding of the action steps required to achieve the Global Vaccine Action Plan.
• To Showcase immunization’s role in sustainable development and global health security.
• The Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) focuses to prevent millions of deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases by 2020 through universal access to immunization.