Longevity India Initiative

• The Indian Institute of Science (IISC) on April 19, 2024 Introduced the Longevity India Initiative, an expansive project intended at leading ageing research in India.
• The program aims to deepen our understanding of aging through basic and applied research, develop solutions to improve quality of life, and extend the human 'healthspan' by addressing age-related issues.
• A large-scale clinical trial will be conducted by researchers from several IISc departments, physicians, industry partners, philanthropists, and civic society as part of the Longevity India Initiative.
• The study seeks to identify biomarkers of aging.

IREDA opened the GIFT City Office to Support the Green Energy Project

• The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) has opened an office in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), Gandhinagar, on April 19, 2024.
• It will provide foreign currency debt financing for green hydrogen and renewable energy industrial projects.
• IREDA's GIFT City office will focus on providing debt choices in foreign currencies, enabling natural hedging and significantly lowering financing costs for green hydrogen and renewable energy projects.
• This step is especially important in light of India's ambitious National Green Hydrogen Mission, which intends to produce more than 5 million Metric Tons of hydrogen Per year (MTPA) by 2030.

A New Artificial Intelligence Assistant to be Launched by Meta

• Meta Platforms, the parent corporation of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, announced the debut of Meta AI, a new artificial intelligence (AI) assistant, on April 19, 2024.
• Meta AI, which is powered by the company's most recent AI model, Llama 3, has been integrated into Meta's popular social networking and messaging platforms.
• The goal is to providing users with a highly intelligent and free AI experience.
• Meta AI includes a number of advanced features intended to improve user interactions and enable easy access to information.
• Integration with Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger allows users to use the AI assistant directly from these apps.
• Real-time information retrieval allows the assistant to deliver current replies to user requests. A generative AI (GenAI) image maker that allows users to create graphics based on text input.

US Blocked Resolution for Full UN Membership for Palestine

• A UN Security Council proposal that would have allowed Palestine to become a full member of the UN was rejected by the US on April 19, 2024.
• Twelve of the 15 members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution, with the United Kingdom and Switzerland abstaining.
• The United States vetoed it. France, Japan, and South Korea, all US allies, endorsed the resolution.
• The proposal would have proposed that the 193-member UN General Assembly, which has no veto power, admit Palestine as the 194th member of the United Nations.
• Some 140 nations have already recognized Palestine, thus admittance would have been authorized by a significantly larger number of countries.

List of World’s Best Airports Released

• Skytrax, a British consultant organization, has issued a list of the worlds’ 100 greatest airports for 2024, on April 19, 2024.
• Qatar's Hamad Airport (Doha) has surpassed Singapore's Changi Airport, which had previously been the world's number one airport 12 times.
• Singapore's Changi Airport is ranked second, Seoul (South Korea) is third, and Tokyo (Japan) is fourth.
• Five Indian airports have also been named to the list of the world's top 100 airports for 2024.
• The ranking ranks Delhi airport 36th, Bengaluru airport 59th, Hyderabad airport 61st, Goa's Manohar Airport 92nd, and Mumbai airport 95th.

People above 16 years can undergo Legal Sex Change in Sweden

• Sweden's parliament has established a law to facilitate gender change onApril 19, 2024. The legal age for gender transformation has been reduced from 18 to 16 years.
• People under the age of 18 must receive permission from their parents, doctors, and the National Board of Health and Welfare to change their gender.
• In Sweden's 349-seat parliament, the measure was approved by 234 votes to 94 votes against.
• The Nordic country was the first to establish legal gender reassignment in 1972, and the new idea, which aims to allow self-identification and simplify the procedure, ignited heated debate.
• Beyond decreasing the age, the new legislation aims to make it easier for people to change their legal gender.

House of Representatives Passed a Legislation to Ban TikTok

• Legislation was enacted by the House of Representatives on April 19, 2024, which would prohibit TikTok from operating in the United States if its Chinese owner did not sell its shares within a year.
• In response to national security concerns raised by both Democrats and Republicans regarding the app's owner, the Chinese technology company ByteDance Ltd., a stand-alone bill with a shorter, six-month selling limit passed the House in March by an overwhelming bipartisan vote.
• After discussions, the amended bill was approved by a vote of 360 to 58 and now heads to the Senate.
•  During that time, the corporation will now have nine months to sell, plus an extra three months if a deal is already underway.

SBI NCMC Card Recharge Enabled by Bharat Bill Pay

• In order to facilitate online reloading of State Bank of India (SBI) National Common Mobility Cards (NCMC) via the Bharat BillPay network, the National Payments Corporation of India and its wholly-owned subsidiary, NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited, joined on April 19, 2024.
• This initiative seeks to offer NCMC subscribers a convenient and seamless top-up service while avoiding long lines.
• The NCMC recharge feature is already available for SBI NCMC cards for transit systems such as Noida Metro, Nagpur Metro, MMRDA Line 2A & 7, Chennai Metro, Kanpur Metro, and Parliament Canteen through SBI's Bharat BillPay-enabled app, SBI Unipay.
• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of the Government of India developed the National Common Mobility Card, an interoperable transportation card.

Lowest Limbo Skating World Record set by Takshvi Vaghani

• Takshvi Vaghani  on April 19, 2024 made history by breaking the world record for the lowest limbo skating over 25 metres.
• The 6-year-old prodigy from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, pushed the limits of human agility by gliding across the 25-meter distance at a scant 16 cm (6.29 in) above ground.
• With her light movements and flawless balance, she broke the previous world record held by Manasvi Vishal of Pune, who skated the same distance at a height of 16.5 centimeters.

Dinesh K Tripathi

• Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, PVSM, AVSM, NM, who is currently serving as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, was appointed as the next Chief of the Naval Staff on April 19, 2024.
• It will be in effect beginning April 30, 2024. Admiral R Hari Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, the current Chief of Naval Staff, is set to retire on April 30, 2024.
• He is a communication and electronic warfare specialist with nearly 39 years of distinguished service.
• Prior to becoming Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, he was the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Naval Command.

World Liver Day 2024

• In an effort to raise awareness of the value of liver health and encourage preventative actions against liver disorders, World Liver Day 2024 was celebrated on April 19, 2024.
• The liver is a unique organ that is essential for many biological activities such as immunity, digestion, and metabolism.
• Excessive fat accumulation in the liver, known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is an increasing problem that, if left untreated, can result in major health complications.
• This year's theme, "Keep your liver healthy and disease-free," emphasizes the need of preventative measures and frequent health check-ups.
• World Liver Day, established by the World Health Organization, was first formally observed on April 19, 2012.

AFMS and IIT Kanpur to Develop Tech for Monitoring Soldier’s Health

• The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) signed on Move on April 19, 2024.
• They will work together on research and development of technology to solve health challenges faced by soldiers in challenging terrain.
• Under this agreement, AFMS and IIT Kanpur will collaborate to undertake research and create novel technology to address the health concerns that soldiers face in harsh situations.
• IIT Kanpur will contribute technical expertise for the development of AI diagnostic models at the Armed Forces Centre for Computational Medicine.
• This center is the first of its sort among Indian medical colleges.

DRDO Handed Over Indigenous Flight Control Module to HAL

• The first batch of domestic leading-edge actuators and airbrake control modules were given to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on April 19, 2024 by the DRDO.
•  DRDO's Aeronautical Development Agency, in partnership with Hyderabad's Research Centre Imarat and Bengaluru's Central Manufacturing Technology Institute, took a critical step toward self-reliance in aeronautical technologies.
• The successful completion of flight trials for leading edge actuators and airbrake control modules has paved the way for production clearance, allowing HAL to prepare to equip the Mk-1A variant of the LCA Tejas.
•  LCA-Tejas' secondary flight control system, which includes leading edge slats and airbrakes, now features cutting-edge servo-valve-based electro-hydraulic servo actuators and control modules.