DO YOU KNOW

On April 14, 2012, the wreck of the Atlantic liner Titanic came under UNESCO protection as it has now lain at the bottom of the Atlantic for 100 years. As per the 2009 UN Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, after a century all wrecks fall under the jurisdiction of UNESCO. On April 14, 1912, the passenger liner Titanic, on its maiden voyage, had hit an iceberg and sank to almost 4,000 meters in waters off Newfoundland, leading to loss of life of 1,514 people on board.

The Pamban Bridge is a cantilever bridge on the Palk Strait and connects Rameswaram on the Pamban Island to mainland India. The bridge spans a 2 km-straight between mainland and island and is the only surface transport link between the two. The Pamban Bridge was India’s first sea bridge and is the second longest in the country after the Bandra-Worli Sea Link at a length of about 2.3 km.

On April 8, 2012, a cruise ship, MS Balmoral, carrying 1,309 passengers, the same number as were on the Titanic, left on a voyage to recreate the exact journey the famous vessel took on its ill-fated maiden voyage 100 years ago. Passengers from 28 countries paid between 2,799 pounds and 5,995 pounds per person for the privilege of retracing the route of the ship involved in probably the world's most famous maritime disaster. The Balmoral left Southampton port, tracing Titanic’s exact route—via Cherbourg in France and Cobh on the south coast of Ireland—and arriving at the spot where liner sank.

Rongali Bihu (spring festival) is celebrated in Assam in April and marks the beginning of the Assamese New Year.

In financial year 2011-12, bank credit grew by 19.3%, surpassing the 16% target set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Outstanding bank loans touched Rs 47.04 lakh crore as on March 31, 2012. The deposits grew by 17.4%.

India’s first 4G service was launched by Bharti Airtel in Kolkata on April 10, 2012. The service offers 40 Mbps speed for download and 20 Mbps for upload. India is one of the first countries in the world to commercially deploy the cutting-edge TD-LTE technology. Bharti Airtel is one of the founding members of the Global TD-LTE Initiative (GTI) which was launched at the Mobile World Congress, 2011.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been named among the 100 most influential persons in the world by the prestigious Time magazine, in its 2012 list that also includes US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and billionaire investor Warren Buffet.
Apart from Banerjee, advocate Anjali Gopalan, who works for the rights of gays and transgendered in India, is the only other Indian in the list. The 2012 list is topped by American basketball sensation Jeremy Lin.

National Dairy Plan, which was launched on April 19, 2012, aims to increase the productivity of milch animals by adopting focused, scientific and systematic processes and help provide rural milk producers with greater access to the organized milk processing sector.

In 2011-12, India’s exports rose 21% from the previous year to $303.7 billion, higher than the government’s target of $300 billion. Imports rose faster at 32.1% to $488.6 billion, mainly due to oil and gold imports, raising the trade deficit to $184.9 billion, from $ 118.6 billion in 2010-11. Pharmaceuticals, petroleum and engineering powered the export growth.

World Health Day is observed on April 7.

National Safe Motherhood Day is observed on April 11.

Earth Day is observed on April 22.

World Book and Copyright Day is observed on April 23.

National Panchayati Raj Day is observed on April 24.

Synriam is India’s first indigenously developed anti-malarial drug. It beats all currently available options on the counts of affordability, compliance and relief. The drug is the result of first successful public-private partnership on pharmaceutical research and development in India. Ranbaxy and the Ministry of Science paid Rs 5 crore each for the development of the drug.

On May 13, 2012 the Indian Parliament completes 60 years of its first sitting

Padder Sapphire mines are located in Doda district of J&K. The Kashmir Sapphire is a characteristic deep blue with a cornflower tinge and resembles the feathers of a peacock. The rare quality gemstone from Padder fetches the highest possible price per carat.

As per the latest data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the per capita of India was Rs 60,972 in 2010-11. Goa tops the list with per capita income of Rs 192,652, followed by New Delhi (Rs 175,812) and Chandigarh (Rs 128,634).