How many Indians won the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award?

The Japanese scientists have successfully created the first-ever artificial crater on an asteroid 'Ryugu'. It's a step towards shedding light on how the solar system evolved. The announcement comes after the Hayabusa2 probe fired an explosive device at the Ryugu asteroid early this month to blast a crater in the surface and scoop up material. The aim of blasting the crater on Ryugu is to throw up "fresh" material from under the asteroid's surface that could shed light on the early stages of the solar system. The asteroid is thought to contain relatively large amounts of organic matter and water from some 4.6 billion years ago when the solar system was born. The Ryugu asteroid is around 340 million kilometers from Earth.

The two ships are scheduled to visit Chinese port of Qingdao from 21 to 26 April to participate in an International Fleet Review to celebrate the 70th anniversary of People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy. INS Kolkata is the lead ship of the Kolkata-class stealth guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy. INS Shakti is tanker and supply ship. Over 60 countries would join the commemorative event for the PLA Navy's 70th founding anniversary on April 23.

The 3rd edition of Namaste Thailand festival, organised by the Royal Thai Embassy with an aim to strengthen bilateral ties and increase cultural exchange between India and Thailand, began at Select Citywalk in New Delhi. The festival will feature stage performances by Thai artists.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has been awarded Best Capital City in the Solid Waste Management in the Swachh Survekshan 2018 rankings. Swachh Survekshan was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). The Swachh Survekashan survey ranks cities on various sanitation parameters. The GHMC was also at the 27th place among 4,041 cities. The GHMC said that as a part of the Swachh Survekshan 2019, maintaining the timing of toilets, i.e., from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. and proper signage will be an important parameter. As a part of this, the GHMC has requested the Hyderabad Metro Rail to ensure that public toilets in all metro corridors are open from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Acclaimed Bengali writer Ramapada Chowdhury (95), whose story 'Abhimanyu' was made into a Hindi movie 'Ek doctor ki maut', has passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal on July 29, 2018. 'Abhimanyu' was based on the life and work of Dr Subhas Mukhopadhyay who created India's first and the world's second test-tube baby in 1978. Director Tapan Sinha turned the story into a award winning Hindi film 'Ek doctor ki maut' in 1990. Mrinal Sen's Hindi film 'Ek din achanak' (1989) was also based on Chowdhury's story 'Beej'. Chowdhury had penned famous literary works such as 'Pratham Prahar' (1954), 'Banpalashir padabali' (1960), 'Ekhoni' (1969), 'Kharij', 'Bari badle jay' (1988), 'Abhimanyu' (1982). His last book 'Har.

Sulagitti Narasamma (97), the renowned social worker and Padma Shri awardee, has passed away in Bengaluru on December 26, 2018. Born in 1920, she hailed from a community that was at the time referred to as 'untouchable'. She is best known for extending free of cost midwife services to women at a time when medical help was hard to come by in rural areas. It is believed that she learned the art from her grandmother, Marigemma, at a very young age. She had helped deliver more than 15,000 babies in Krishnapura, a remote village in Pavagada taluk in Karnataka. Her work received special recognition in Krishnapura & was conferred an honorary doctorate by the Tumkur University in 2014. She was also conferred with the Padma Shri by President Ram Nath Kovind on March 20, 2018.

US-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies or HyperloopTT launched the first full-scale transportation capsule which will be operational in 2019. The name of the capsule is: "Quintero One". It is a 32-metre 5 tonne capsule that has 72 sensors, 75,000 rivets and 7,200 square metres of fibre. It was constructed completely out of a specially made dual-layer smart composite material called "Vibranium" made by HyperloopTT. It can move at speeds of more than 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) per hour and has a capacity to hold 30 to 40 passengers at a time.

Veteran cricket coach Ramakant Achrekar, who trained Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli, among others, passed away following a heart attack. He was 87 and breathed his last at his home in Dadar. Achrekar, honoured with Padma Shri in 2010 and Dronacharya Award in 1990, was instrumental in shaping the careers of Tendulkar, Kambli and over a dozen other top cricket stars.

5th Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Media Summit on Climate Action and Disaster Preparedness was held in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal with a theme of "Media Solutions for Sustainable Future: Saving Lives, Building Resilient Communities". The aim of this two day summit was to address the key issue of utilizing media's full potential of accelerating climate action and disaster preparedness and connect different stakeholders to media professionals for collaboration and joint practical projects.