• Dutee Chand, the Jakarta Asian Games silver-medalist in 100 and 200 metres, will receive Chhattisgarh Veerni Award.
• Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the inaugural edition of the awards ceremony will be held virtually on April 14.
• The award, instituted by the Chhattisgarh state government, recognises contribution of Indian women in different fields, including sports.
• According to a press release of the Chhattisgarh government, Dutee has been shortlisted for the award for her contribution in sports.
• In 2019, the Odisha sprinter became the first Indian woman to win gold medal at the World University Games held in Italy.

• Tropical cyclone Seroja has ripped across a 1,000km stretch of Western Australia, leaving a trail of damage. The category three storm made landfall near the town of Kalbarri yesterday with windspeed of up to 170km/h. Residents reported smashed houses, fallen trees and downed power lines.
• The Bureau of Meteorology said while the storm had weakened, damaging gusts were still expected today, with peak winds of 110km/hour.

• Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) of High Commission of India has launched Sanskrit learning app titled as ‘Little Guru’ in Bangladesh.
• The app is part of the campaign being run by ICCR to promote Sanskrit language among students, religious scholars, Indologists and historians across the world.
• It is based on an interactive platform which will make Sanskrit learning easy, entertaining and fun, using games, competition, rewards, peer to peer interactions, etc.

• Sonu Sood, who has been on a mission to help the needy ever since the lockdown was announced to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic last year, has been appointed as the Covid vaccine campaign ambassador by the Punjab government. On Sunday, April 11, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh declared him the Brand Ambassador of the Punjab Government for its Covid-19 vaccination programme.
• Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh made the announcement a day after meeting Sonu, who called on him at his residence on Saturday, April 10. “There is no one more ideally suited to inspire and influence people to take the vaccine. There is a lot of hesitancy among people here in Punjab. Sonu’s popularity among them and his exemplary role in helping tens of thousands of migrants reach safely home since the pandemic broke out last year will help counter their reservations.

• The United Arab Emirates named the next two astronauts in its space program, including the country's first female astronaut.
• Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai who also serves as the autocratically ruled country's prime minister and vice president.
• He identified Noura al-Matroushi as the UAE's first female astronaut, with her male counterpart as Mohammed al-Mulla.
• Al-Mulla, born in 1988, serves as a pilot with Dubai police and heads their training division.
• Dutee, who holds the national record of 11.22 secs in 100m, is aiming to achieve Tokyo Olympics qualification time of 11.15 secs in the coming months.
• Earlier this week, she was selected to represent the country in 4x100m relay team at next month’s World Relays in Poland.

• India has established a bilateral air bubble arrangement with Sri Lanka for operation of special international passenger flights between the two countries.
• With this, India now has such pacts with 28 countries, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, the Maldives, Nigeria, Qatar, the UAE, the U.K. and the USA.
• Under an air bubble pact between two countries, special international passenger flights can be operated by their airlines into each other's territories under restrictive conditions.

• Union Minister of Education Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' presented the AICTE Lilavati Awards 2020 on women empowerment to the winners in New Delhi.
• Aim: To create awareness about issues like sanitation, hygiene, health, nutrition, literacy, employment, technology, credit, marketing, innovation, skill development, natural resources and rights among women
• Award covers multidisciplinary areas such as women's health, self-defence, sanitation, literacy, entrepreneurship and legal awareness.

• NITI Aayog will launch the first-of-its kind Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) handbook in India tomorrow.
• ODR is the resolution of disputes outside courts, particularly of small and medium-value cases, using digital technology and techniques of alternate dispute resolution such as negotiation, mediation, and arbitration.Supreme Court Judge, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud will deliver the opening address and launch the handbook.

• Provisional figures of Direct Tax collections for the Financial Year 2020-21 depicts net collections of Rs. 9.45 lakh crore.
• Net Direct Tax (NDT): Corporation Tax at Rs.4.57 lakh crore and Personal Income Tax including Security Transaction Tax(STT) at Rs. 4.88 lakh crore.
• NDT represent 104.46% of Revised Estimates of Rs.9.05 lakh crore of Direct Taxes for F.Y. 2020-21.
• Gross collection of Direct Taxes (before adjusting for refunds) stands at Rs. 12.06 lakh crore.

• Veteran actor Satish Kaul who essayed the role of Lord Indra in the popular TV show Mahabharata and who acted in around 300 Punjabi and Hindi films passed away on Saturday due to Covid-19 related complications.
• Satish Kaul breathed his last at the Bhagwan Ram Charitable Hospital in Ludhiana here. He was 74.
• Satish Kaul was admitted to the hospital on April 8, and was facing breathing issues. He developed a fever six days ago. He had tested positive for Covid-19 and his oxygen saturation level was dipping. His condition worsened and he passed away at 74.

Download Daily GK PDF of 12 April 2021