NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Centre forms 11 empowered groups and task force to deal with Covid-19 outbreak:
Prime
Minister Modi government has constituted ten empowered groups and a strategic task
force in order to deal with coronavirus spread and its aftermath. These 11
groups, which together have 68 bureaucrats, have been set up under the Disaster
Management Act. All the empowered groups has senior representatives from PMO
and Cabinet Secretariat to ensure seamless coordination. Each group has been
empowered to formulate plans to minimise the impact of the disease and to take
all necessary steps for their time bound implementation. The six member
strategic task force will deal exclusively with the issues related to the
lockdown. Of these 11 empowered groups, 9 are headed by secretary level
officers, one by Member, NITI Aayog and one by CEO, NITI Aayog. In case of any
need of guidance, these groups may seek guidance from Union Cabinet Secretary.
2.
National Book Trust to launch Corona Studies Series Book: National Book Trust
(NBT) will launch Corona Studies Series books to provide relevant reading
materials for all age-groups for the post-Corona readership needs. It will be
the long-term contribution to prepare and engage readers with the various
aspects of the Corona times by bringing out affordable books in various Indian
languages in the identified subject areas. It will also provide suitable
platform to authors and researchers willing to contribute in this genre.
Books for the following segments will be
prepared by the Study Group:
1. Corona Virus (Covid 19) Affected
Families
2. Elderly People
3. Parents with Special Focus on
Mothers/Women
4. Children and Adolescents
5. Professionals and Workers
6. Corona Warriors: Medical and Essential
Services Providers
7. Differently-abled, Special Needs and
Mentally Challenged Population
Note: Chairman of National Book Trust,
India: Govind Prasad Sharma; The National Book Trust, India was established in
1957.
3.
Government of India launches coronavirus risk-tracking app “Corona Kavach”: Government of
India has launched a coronavirus risk-tracking app in India and is named
“Corona Kavach”. The app has been developed by the Union Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology and the Union Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare. The app uses a person’s location to assess whether they are in
the high-risk geographical zone or not. It will track the data of the users
every one hour to alert them of whether they have crossed paths with any person
who has tested positive for the infection. The app is now available for
download on Google Play Store for Android phones.
Note: Union Minister of Health and Family
Welfare: Harsh Vardhan.
Union Minister of Electronics and
Information Technology: Ravi Shankar Prasad
4.
Northern Railways makes first prototype of hospital isolation coach for
COVID-19 Patients: The
Northern Railways zone of the Indian Railways has successfully made the first
prototype of hospital isolation coach, to battle the COVID-19 outbreak in the
country. There are 10 isolation wards in each coach. The Northern Railways has
removed the middle berth from one side of the coach while all three berths have
been removed in front of the patient berth to build an isolation cabin
prototype. As per the Railways, after clearance, when the prototype will be
finalized, 10 railway coaches per week will be converted into isolation wards
for Covid-19 patients by each Zonal Railway.
Note: Union Minister of Railways: Piyush
Goyal.
5. UP
CM Yogi Adityanath Constitutes ‘Team-11’ to Fight COVID-19 Spread: Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath has set up “Team-11”, which comprises of 11
inter-departmental committees to fight the coronavirus spread, by tackling multiple
issues ranging from ensuring medicare to victims to the supply of essentials
and tackle long marches of jobless workers back home. Each of the 11 committees
will be headed by a senior bureaucrat of the state while the ‘Team 11’ will be
headed by the Chief Minister himself.
6.
Nagaland CM launches Self Declaration COVID-19 Nagaland App: Chief Minister of
Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio has launched the Self Declaration COVID19 Nagaland App
(Ncovid-19) which will be mandatory for any person who has entered into
Nagaland after 6th March 2020. The app is crucial for tracking and surveillance
of high-risk cases and can be downloaded from the following website
“nagalandhealthproject.org.”
Note: Chief Minister of Nagaland: Neiphiu
Rio; Governor of Nagaland: R. N. Ravi.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX wins NASA award for planned lunar space station: National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has picked up a new space capsule
from SpaceX to ferry cargo and supplies to the agency’s planned lunar space
station. SpaceX will get a portion of a $7 billion NASA contract to use its
biggest rocket, Falcon Heavy, to send a new “Dragon XL” spacecraft to the Lunar
Gateway, an outpost of NASA that will orbit the moon. The Dragon XL spacecraft
will carry research supplies that will help astronauts to collect lunar samples
on the surface of the moon.
Note: Administrator of National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA): Jim Bridenstine.
Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C.,
United States.
2.
North Korea ‘successfully’ tests ‘super-large’ rocket launcher: North Korea has
conducted another test of super-large multiple rocket launchers and it was
successful. The launch was aimed at examining the strategic and technical
features of the “super-large multiple rocket launchers”, which have been tested
a number of times since last August.
3.
Earth Hour 2020: 28 March: Every year, the Earth Hour is celebrated worldwide on
the last Saturday of the March month to show support for fight against climate
change and commitment towards better planet. Earth Hour 2020 is scheduled for
March 28, 2020. The Day is a worldwide movement organized by the World Wide
Fund for Nature (WWF), encouraging individuals, communities, corporates, and
households to turn off their lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. It was
started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 to raise awareness
for energy consumption and effects on the environment.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Indian shot putter Navin Chikara suspended for four years: The Athletics
Integrity Unit of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)
has suspended Indian shot putter Navin Chikara for four years for using a
prohibited substance and failing an out-of-competition dope test. He has been
suspended for for using a prohibited substance and his four-year suspension
starts from July 27, 2018.
Note: The headquarters of IAAF is located
in Monaco; President of IAAF: Sebastian Coe.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. BP
Kanungo Reappointed as Deputy Governor of RBI for a period of one year: The Appointments
Committee of Cabinet has approved the extension of the tenure of BP Kaunungo as
the Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a period of one year
with effect from April 3, 2020. The three year tenure of BP Kaunungo was to end
on 3 April 2020. Besides Kanungo, the other three deputy governors of the RBI
are NS Vishwanathan, M.K. Jain and Michael Patra.
2.
India’s GDP growth estimated at 4.5% for FY’20; 2.6% for FY’21: SBI report: According to the
SBI Ecowrap report released by the State Bank of India (SBI), the GDP growth
rate of India for the financial year 2020-21 is likely to fall to 2.6 percent
due to the ongoing 21-day lockdown. The GDP growth estimate for the current
fiscal, i.e. 2019-20 is estimated at 4.5 percent.
3.
New logo has been revealed by PNB ahead of merger: The Punjab National
Bank has launched a new logo ahead of its merger with the Oriental Bank of
Commerce and the United Bank of India. This new logo bears the distinct
signages of all the three PSU banks namely the Punjab National Bank, the United
Bank of India and the Oriental Bank of Commerce. In the process of
amalgamation, the Punjab National Bank will be the transferee while the Oriental
Bank of Commerce and the United Bank of India will be the transferor banks.
After the merger, PNB will become the second largest lender in India after the
State Bank of India (SBI).
Note: MD & CEO Of Punjab National Bank:
S.S. Mallikarjuna Rao.
4. ICICI
Bank launches banking services on WhatsApp: ICICI Bank has rolled out the
banking services on WhatsApp which will enable the banks’ retail customers to
undertake a slew of banking requirements from their home amid lockdown in the
country due to COVID-19 pandemic. To avail the services on Whatsapp, customers
have to message ‘Hi’ from their registered mobile number to the Bank’s verified
WhatsApp profile number 9324953001. Through this, one can check their savings
account balance, last three transactions, credit card limit, pre-approved
instant loan offers and block/unblock credit & debit card in a secure
manner with end-to-end encryption.
Note: Managing Director & CEO of ICICI
Bank: Sandeep Bakhshi.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
Ranveer Singh Wins Best Actor Award at Critics’ Choice Film Awards 2020: The winners of the
Critics’ Choice Film Awards 2020 were announced digitally on 28 March 2020. The
event was supposed to be held on March 14, but was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 outbreak. The awards is honoured across eight languages including
Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, Gujarati and Kannada in the
categories comprising of Best Film, Best Actor (Male), Best Actor (Female),
Best Director and Best Writing.
Winners in Hindi Language
Best Actor (Male) – Ranveer Singh (Gully
Boy)
Best Actor (Female) – Geetika Vidya Ohlyan
(Soni)
Best Director – Zoya Akhtar (Gully Boy)
Best Film – Gully Boy
Best Writing – Anubhav Sinha and Gaurav
Solanki (Article 15)
OBITUARIES
1.
Veteran US civil rights leader Joseph Lowery passes away: Veteran US civil
rights leader Joseph Lowery who helped in establishing the Atlanta-based
Southern Christian Leadership Conference, passed away. The Atlanta-based
Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an African-American civil rights
organisation was set up to promote racial equality. He was born on October 6,
1921, in Huntsville, Alabama, US and was awarded the “Presidential Medal of
Freedom”, the nation’s highest civilian honour, by former President Barack
Obama in 2009.
No comments:
Post a Comment