- Manipur observed the ‘Khongjom Day’ on April 23, 2020. The day is observed to pay tribute to the warriors who fought in the 1891 Anglo-Manipur war, which was an armed conflict between the Kingdom of Manipur and the British Government. The war took place between March 31 and April 27 and ended with the victory of the Britishers.
- The English Language Day is celebrated on April 23, 2020. English Language Day was established by UN’s Department of Public Information in 2010. The day aims to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity. The date April 23 is traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare.
- China named its first Mars exploration mission as ‘Tianwen-1’ on April 24, 2020, the day it marked the 50th anniversary of the launch of its first-ever satellite ‘Dong Fang Hong-1’ in 1970. Tianwen-1 means heavenly questions or questions to heaven.
- The National Panchayati Raj Day 2020 was observed on April 24, 2020. The observance marks the day the 73rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution came into effect. The amendment had given constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj institutions.
- A professor from IIT-Roorkee has developed software that can reportedly detect COVID-19 within 5 seconds through an X-ray scan. The software can help in an accurate preliminary screening of suspected COVID-19 patients. The technology awaits official approval from ICMR.
- Sri Lanka is seeking to enter into a currency swap agreement worth USD 400 million with the Reserve Bank of India to boost the foreign reserves and ensure the financial stability of the country which is badly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Chairman of the International Cricket Council, Shashank Manohar, who is expected to step down in June, might get a few months’ term extension. Manohar’s term was expected to end in June.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Swamitva Scheme on April 24, 2020 during his video conference with all the gram panchayat sarpanch.
