Daily GK Updates - 15th March, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Central Government declares coronavirus as ‘notified disaster’: The Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to treat Covid-19 as a “notified disaster”. This will enable the states to spend a larger chunk of funds from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to fight the pandemic virus. The step has been taken for the purpose of providing assistance under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 4 lakhs to families of those who die of Coronavirus. Earlier this week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared coronavirus a pandemic and Europe as its epicentre.

2. Cabinet hiked dearness allowance of central government employees by 4%: The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved to release an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners w.e.f. 01 January 2020.  The Modi Government has approved 4 percent increase in DA/DR over the existing rate of 17 percent of the Basic Pay/Pension, to compensate for price rise. The new rate will become 21 percent of Basic Pay/Pension. The increase is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission.

3. Phool Dei Festival Celebrated in Uttarakhand: Uttarakhand celebrates the traditional harvest festival “Phool Dei”. Phool Dei is celebrated on the first day of Chaitra or in mid-March (according to Gregorian calendar). It is known as the harvest festival of Uttarakhand which welcomes the spring season (Chaitra) in the state. On this traditional festival young girls pluck the first flowers of the season to decorate their houses with flowers and the term ‘Dei’ refers to ceremonial pudding which is the key food in the festival that is made from jaggery, Whiteflour & curd, are offered to everyone.

Note: Governor of Uttarakhand: Baby Rani Maurya.

4. Manipur Government announces two new schemes for sportspersons & artistes: The Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has announced two new schemes for the welfare of the sportspersons and artistes of the state. The two schemes are:

‘Chief Minister’s Akhannaba Sanaroisingi Tengbang’ (CMAST) – for the welfare of  sportspersons and coaches of the state

‘Chief Ministergi Artiste Singgi Tengbang’ (CMAT) – for welfare of the artistes of the state

These schemes are the biggest schemes, the state government had ever launched and will be effective from April 2020. An estimated amount of Rs 736 lakhs has been projected for CMAST while Rs 570 lakhs for CMAT.

Note: Governor of Manipur: Najma Heptulla.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Island of Niue declared world’s first ‘Dark Sky nation’: The island of Niue has become the world’s first whole country recognised as a ‘Dark Sky Place. The International Dark-Sky Association’s (IDA) has approved the island’s application for the protection of its sky, land and sea. The title of ‘Dark Sky nation’ recognises an area with exceptional quality of starry nights and a commitment to protecting the environment. Niue is a small island nation in the South Pacific Ocean. Niue is home to around 1,600 inhabitants and is one of the world’s smallest independent nations.

2. HAL planning to set up bases in four countries to push exports: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is looking at setting up logistics bases in Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. These bases will be set up as part of initiatives to woo the countries to buy India's light combat aircraft Tejas and military helicopters. HAL is focusing on boosting exports in sync with the government's priority and identified South East Asia, West Asia and North Africa to sell key platforms like Tejas, helicopter Rudra and light helicopter Dhruv.

3. World Consumer Rights Day: 15 March: The World Consumer Rights Day is observed every year on 15 March 2020 to raise global awareness about consumer rights and needs and protect consumers across the globe against market abuses. Celebrating World Consumer Rights Day is a chance to demand that the rights of all consumers are respected and protected, and to protest against market abuses and social injustices which undermine those rights. The theme for 2020 World Consumer Rights Day: “The Sustainable Consumer”. The first World Consumer Rights Day was observed in 1983 and become an important occasion for mobilizing citizen action. In India, we also observe National Consumer Day on the 24th of December every year.

4. Microsoft launches website to track COVID-19: Microsoft has launched a web portal to track the spread of COVID-19 worldwide. The web portal has been launched by Microsoft’s Bing team. The portal aims to track the spread of novel coronavirus in the world. The website is accessible at “bing.com/covid” and provides up-to-date infection statistics for each country. The web portal displays the information by aggregating data from sources like the World Health Organization (WHO), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Note: Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft: Satya Nadella; Microsoft Founded: April 4, 1975; Headquarters of Microsoft: Washington, United States.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Achanta Sharath Kamal clinches men's singles title of Oman Open: Indian paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal wins the ITTF Challenger Plus Oman Open. The 37-year-old Indian veteran beat top-seeded Marcos Freitas of Portugal 4-2 in the final played in Muscat. The last time when Sharath bagged a title at ITTF event was in 2010 when he won Egypt Open.

Note: Oman Capital: Muscat; Currency: Omani rial.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Prashant Kumar appointed as the new MD & CEO of Yes Bank: RBI appointed Prashant Kumar, former chief financial officer and deputy MD of SBI as the MD and CEO of the Yes Bank.

Sunil Mehta, former non-executive chairman of PNB, has been appointed as non-executive chairman. Other Board members include Mahesh Krishnamurthy and Atul Bheda, both as Non-Executive Directors. All members of the board, except additional directors, will be appointed for a period of one year or until an alternate board is reconstituted.

Note: Headquarters of Yes Bank: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Yes Bank established: 2004.

2. RBI reduces Limits on exposure to group of borrowers for UCB to 25%: The Reserve Bank of India has reduced the prudential exposure limits for Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs) for group of connected borrowers/parties from 40% to 25%. Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs) were permitted to have exposures up to 15 per cent and 40 per cent of their capital funds to a single borrower and a group of borrowers, respectively. On a review, RBI has mandated that, henceforth, the prudential exposure limits for UCBs for a single borrower/party and a group of connected borrowers/parties shall be 15 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively, of their tier-I capital.

Note: RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

3. Shri Debasish Panda, nominated on RBI Central Board: The Central Government has nominated Shri Debasish Panda as a Director on the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India. He is a Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, New Delhi. The nomination of Shri Debasish Panda is effective from March 11, 2020 and until further orders. There are two government nominated Directors on the board of RBI. The other one is Shri Atanu Chakraborty.

Note: RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

4. Lava launches World’s first ‘no internet’ payment service in India: The Noida-based Smartphone manufacturer Lava, has launched a payment app named Lava Pay which doesn’t requires an active internet connection for fund transfer. Lava claims it to be the world’s first ‘no internet’ payment service. The app will help boost Digital India initiative of the Government as well as bringing financial inclusivity for a large population of the county.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. A.K. Sherwani and Rohini Mohan awarded with Chameli Devi Jain Award 2020: Rohini Mohan (Bengaluru-based freelancer) and Arfa Khanum Sherwani (of The Wire) have been jointly awarded Chameli Devi Jain Award 2020 for outstanding woman journalist. The annual award, Chameli Devi Jain Award recognizes social concern, dedication, courage and compassion. It received over 40 entries from all over India representing the print, broadcast and online media. Sherwani was chosen for her reporting from conflict situations in Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh while Rohini was chosen for her report on the NRC exercise in Assam.