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Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai has become only the 6th person to receive honorary Canadian citizenship for advocating girls’ education. The Pakistani activist was welcomed to the seat of Canada’s democracy by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. At age 19, Yousafzai is the youngest person to speak to Canadian members of parliament and senators in a joint session. She is also the youngest to receive honorary Canadian citizenship — a privilege previously granted to five others including Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi.

Notes:
Achim Steiner from Germany, an expert in environmental issues and politics, has been named as the new administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He will succeed Helen Elizabeth Clark, a former New Zealand Prime Minister. Previously, he served at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and headed the UN office in Kenya. The UNDP focuses on poverty reduction, HIV/AIDS, democratic governance, energy and environment, social development, and crisis prevention and recovery. The headquarters of UNDP is located in New York City, United States.

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The International Day of Human Space Flight is celebrated every year on April 12 to mark the beginning of the space era for mankind, reaffirming the important contribution of space science and technology in achieving sustainable development goals and increasing the well-being of States and peoples, as well as ensuring the realization of their aspiration to maintain outer space for peaceful purposes. On 12th April 1961 the first human space flight was carried out by Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet citizen. This historic event opened the way for space exploration for the benefit of all humanity.

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The Andhra Pradesh government will launch a unique programme ‘Ammaku Vandanam’ in schools to pay tribute to mothers and to respect motherhood. The programme will be implemented in high schools on the annual day of every academic year or on any other day decided by the School Management Committee (SMC). Under the programme, the school children will take the blessings of their mothers and may also do ‘paada pooja’ (washing her feet). The state government has allocated Rs 2.50 crore for organising the programme. Of this, the government will release Rs. 1.25 crore, while the remaining amount has to be pooled by the headmasters and teachers from the alumni/donors/CSR.

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The National Safe Motherhood Day (NSMD) is observed every year on April 11 to create awareness on maternity care for pregnant and lactating women. The NSMD is an initiative of White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, India (WRAI). The focus of year 2017 is to ensure that women must have the availability and adequate access to care during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal services.

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The Union Government has recently constituted an Inter-Disciplinary Committee to examine the existing framework with regard to Virtual Currencies. The Committee will take stock of the present status of Virtual Currencies both in India and globally. It will also examine the existing global regulatory and legal structures governing these Currencies. The committee will also suggest measures for dealing with such currencies including issues relating to consumer protection and money laundering. The Committee will be chaired by Dinesh Sharma, the Special Secretary of Economic Affairs, and will submit its report within 3 months.

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The Government of India (GoI) has signed an agreement with China to extend the term of Hindi language course functioning at a leading Chinese University since 2012. The MoU was signed by Consul General of Shanghai Consulate Prakash Gupta on behalf of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) President Cao Deming in Shanghai. Under the terms of the agreement, the MoU envisaged appointing a Hindi language professor by ICCR in consultation with SISU to teach the language to Chinese and international students at the University. Initially, the MoU was signed on October 29, 2012 for a period of five years by (then) Ambassador of India to China and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and SISU Executive Vice President Feng Qinghua.

Notes:
The Andhra Pradesh government has re-launched ‘Adarana scheme’ for improving traditional occupations. The scheme is for the uplift and all-round development of people belonging to the Backward Classes. The scheme will offer modern tools, technology, marketing, and financial support to artisans and those pursuing traditional occupations to raise their income levels and provide employment in the rural areas. ‘Adarana’ had been launched with this objective during the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) rule.