NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Integrated geospatial platform “SAHYOG” rolled out by DST: An Integrated
Geospatial Platform “SAHYOG” has been rolled out by the Department of Science
and Technology (DST), Government of India, to help in decision making during
the present COVID-19 outbreak and support with area-specific strategies in
order to handle the socio-economic impact in the recovery phase. The mobile
application SAHYOG, as well as the web portal
(https://indiamaps.gov.in/soiapp/) prepared and managed by the Survey of India
will collect COVID-19 specific geospatial datasets through community engagement
complementing AAROGYA-SETU. It is expected to bolster the public health
delivery system of the State as well as Central Governments and facilitate the
necessary geospatial information support to citizens and agencies by collecting
the COVID-19 specific geospatial datasets via community engagement.
2. UP
Becomes First State to get ICMR nod for ‘Pool Testing’ of COVID-19 Samples: Uttar Pradesh has
become the first Indian state to receive the approval of the Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR) for conducting “Pool Testing” of samples of COVID-19
suspects in order to increase the rate of sample testing in the state. This
decision assumes significance in the wake of the rising coronavirus cases in
state. Pool Testing will fasten the screening process and also bring down cost
of testing.
Pool Testing: In pool testing, upto five
samples will be combined together and examined in a single test. Till now, one
sample is being tested at a time. If the result of a collection of samples
comes negative, then that means all the samples in that group are negative.
However, if the result of one collection is found positive, then each of those
samples is tested individually. Telephonic consultation facility has also been
started as part of which people can call on toll free number 18001805145.
Note: Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh: Yogi
Adityanath; Governor of Uttar Pradesh: Anandiben Patel
3.
Goa Becomes First State to use ayurveda to boost COVID-19 patients’ immunity: Chief Minister
Pramod Sawant led Government of Goa is going to start the use of ayurvedic
treatment for COVID-19 patients and suspects to boost their immunity. With
this, the state has become the first in the country to make use of Ayurveda,
along with the use of allopathy, in treatment of COVID-19 patients. Though
Ayurveda cannot cure COVID-19, but it will certainly boost patients’ immunity.
The treatment will be done in consultation with the team of doctors treating
COVID-19 cases in Goa. The government has also launched an app in association
with the AYUSH Ministry, which covers all related information for the awareness
among the general public regarding treatment, immunity booting, diet and
related data. The contacts of Ayurvedic doctors are also given in the app.
Note: Capital of Goa: Panaji; Chief
Minister of Goa: Pramod Sawant; Governor of Goa: Satya Pal Malik.
4.
YSR Nirman and COVID-19 portals launched by Andhra Govt: YSR Nirman and
COVID-19 portals have been launched by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh to
fight against the Coronavirus pandemic. The YSR Nirman is a web platform that
assists the various departments to acquire cement and connects the various
stakeholders such as Cement Manufacturers Association, manufacturing companies
and government departments. The AP Industries COVID- 19 portal enables the MSME
manufacturers as well as suppliers within the State to register themselves. The
manufacturers and suppliers with UAM and GST can register themselves within the
portal in order to create and supply essential items associated with COVID-19.
Note: Governor of Andhra Pradesh: Biswa
Bhusan Harichandan.
5.
Jim Corbett becomes India's first quarantine facility for animals: India's oldest
National Park Jim Corbett, situated in Uttarakhand's has built isolation wards
for animals. The step is taken after the reports of a Malayan tiger being
tested positive for COVID-19 in the US. Cameras installed in the vicinity of
the national park will record the cold and cough symptoms of animals and any
animal with symptoms will be quarantined. 10 quarantine centres are being
prepared within the premises to contain animals.
6.
UGC Constitutes Expert Panel to Promote Online Learning Amid Nationwide
Lockdown: The
University Grants Commission (UGC) has constituted two expert committees to
study the impact of coronavirus pandemic on academic calendar and examination
of Universities and to promote online learning, amid national lockdown due to
COVID-19. The first committee on the alternative academic calendar and
examination for the universities is being headed by the RC Kuhad,
Vice-Chancellor of Central University of Haryana. The 7-member panel will work
on how the prescribed syllabus can be completed, what type of examination
system would be followed. The second committee on pooling e-resources and enhancing
online education systems will be headed by Nageshwar Rao, the Vice-Chancellor
of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). UGC will issue
guidelines for universities in consultation with Union HRD Ministry, based on
the recommendation of the committee. Online learning and e-education is need of
the hour for students, teachers and education system as a whole and is the only
way out in the present circumstances.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Second G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held: Union Minister for
Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the virtual
session of the 2nd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG).
The meeting was held under the presidency of Saudi Arabia with its prime
objective to discuss the global economic outlook amid advancing COVID-19
pandemic crisis. G20 members shared an Action Plan to combat COVID-19 in order
to protect lives, safeguard people’s jobs and incomes, preserve financial
stability, revive growth and recover stronger.
Note: The Group of Twenty (G20) is the
premier forum for international economic cooperation which brings together the
leaders of both developed and developing countries from every continent.
The members of the G20 group are Argentina,
Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy,
Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Republic of Korea, Turkey,
the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union (EU).
2.
44th session of World Heritage Committee of UNESCO postponed: The 44th session of
the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has been postponed due to the impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic. The session would have been hosted by the Chinese
government in Fuzhou of eastern China’s Fujian Province from 29th June to 9th
July 2020. The announcement of the decision was made by China’s Ministry of
Education.
Note: President of China: Xi Jinping;
Capital: Beijing; Currency: Chinese Yuan.
Director General of UNESCO: Audrey Azoulay.
3.
World Voice Day: 16 April: The World Voice Day (WVD) is celebrated globally on
April 16 every year to demonstrate the enormous importance of the voice in the
daily lives of all people. The theme of 2020 is ‘Focus on Your Voice’.
OTHER UPDATES:
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
SBI to waive service charges for all ATM transactions: India’s largest
lender, State Bank of India has made an announcement to waive service charges
for all ATM transactions made on SBI ATMs and on the other bank ATMs on account
of exceeding the free number of transactions up to 30th June 2020. So, any
customer having a debit card from a SBI bank will be allowed to withdraw cash
from any other bank’s ATM without incurring any additional charges till 30th
June, 2020. Earlier, India's largest bank waived charges for non-maintenance of
average monthly balance (AMB) for all 44.51 crore savings bank accounts and has
removed SMS charges as well.
Note: Chairperson of State Bank of India:
Rajnish Kumar; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 July 1955.
2.
Tata AIA becomes the first Life Insurance to announce Additional Benefits
Related to COVID-19: Tata
AIA Life Insurance has announced additional benefits for its Policyholders and
Agents under which its individual policyholders will get COVID-19 related
additional benefit up to Rs 500,000 at no additional cost. Apart from this, all
‘active’ Agents of Tata AIA Life Insurance along with their spouse and children
will be reimbursed up to Rs 25,000 in case of hospitalisation due to COVID-19.
This is a first of its kind initiative in India. This benefit is applicable for
all valid death claims with a date of death on or before June 30 2020.
Note: MD & CEO, Tata AIA Life
Insurance: Rishi Srivastava; Headquarters of Tata AIA Life Insurance: Mumbai;
Tata AIA Life Insurance Founded: 2000.
3.
Vineet Arora appointed as MD & CEO of Paytm General Insurance Ltd: Digital payments major Paytm has appointed
Vineet Arora as the managing director and chief executive officer of Paytm General
Insurance Ltd. He served as the MD and CEO of Aegon Life Insurance Company, was
part of the India Leadership team and was senior general manager at ICICI
Securities Ltd previously. He will lead the efforts to provide industry-leading
solutions in the general insurance space, where Paytm continues to explore
options to enter the sector.
Note: MD & CEO of Paytm Payments Bank
Ltd: Satish Kumar Gupta; Paytm founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma; Paytm
Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh; Paytm founded: 2010.
4. Ajay
Mahajan appointed as the MD & CEO of CARE ratings: CARE Ratings
appointed Ajay Mahajan as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the
company for five years on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration
Committee of the Board. He started his career with Bank of America in 1990 as
the country head of the global markets group and led an initiative to start an
NBFC there, Yes Bank and finally, IDFC. He replaces Rajesh Mokashi, who
resigned in December 2019. After his appointment, TN Arun Kumar who was the
interim CEO will revert to position of Chief Ratings Officer.
Note: CARE Rating Founded: 1993; Care
Rating Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
BUSINESS AND ECONMY
1.
IMF released World Economic Outlook report: The International Monetary Fund
(IMF) has released the “World Economic Outlook” report 2020 amid COVID-19
pandemic. The report is published twice a year depicting growth rates of the
global economies. As per the report, India’s GDP growth rate is reduced from
5.8% to 1.9% in the fiscal year 2020-21 while the global economy is projected
to contract sharply by 3% in 2020, much worse than during the 2008–09 financial
crisis.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
Abdelouahab Aissaoui wins 13th International Arab fiction prize 2020: Algerian writer
Abdelouahab Aissaoui wins 13th International Arab fiction prize 2020. They
awarded for his novel ‘The Spartan Court’ published by Dar Min in 2018. He will
receive USD 50,000 and funding will be provided for the English translation.
‘The Spartan Court’ is a historical novel that relates the power struggle
between Ottoman and French colonial powers in Algeria where it interconnects
the lives of 5 characters in Algiers at the beginning of the 19th century (1815
to 1833).
Note: International Arab fiction prize:
International Arab fiction prize s the most prestigious and important literary
prize in the Arab world. The Prize is run with the support of The Booker Prize
Foundation in London and is funded by the Department of Culture and Tourism,
Abu Dhabi (DCT).
2.
Tata Power wins Edison Award for its social innovation campaign: Tata Power bags
Edison Award for social innovation. The company bags the awards for its ‘Club
Enerji #Switchoff2SwitchOn’ campaign. It has brought about 533 participating
schools across India, saving over 29.8 million units of power since its
inception in 2007.
Edison Award: The Edison Awards honours the
world’s best innovations and innovators. It is to honour excellence in new
product and service development, marketing, design and innovation. The award
winners represent products and services, leadership and excellence in
innovation around four criteria: Concept, Value, Delivery, and Impact. It is
established in 1987 in the memory of Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931).
Note: CEO of TATA Power: Praveer Sinha;
TATA Power Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.
DEFENCE
1. US
approves sale of Anti-ship Missiles & Torpedoes to India: The United States
has announced the sale of Harpoon air-launched anti-ship missiles and Mark 54
lightweight torpedoes to India in order to enhance India’s deterrent
capabilities against “regional threats” and also to strengthen its homeland
defence. Harpoon missile system would be integrated into the P-8I
anti-submarine warfare aircraft, enhancing the inter-operability with the
United States and other allied forces. The induction of MK 54 Lightweight
Torpedo will enhance India’s capability to conduct anti-submarine warfare
missions. The Defense Security
Cooperation Agency has stated that the sale of 10 AGM-84L Harpoon Block II
air-launched missiles, 16 MK 54 All Up Round Lightweight Torpedoes and three MK
54 Exercise Torpedoes are estimated to cost USD 155 million.
OBITUARIES
1.
Film, TV and theatre actor Ranjit Chowdhry passes away: Veteran film,
television and theatre actor Ranjit Chowdhry passed away at the age of 65.
Ranjit was best known for his work in movies Baton Baton Mein, Mississippi
Masala, Khubsoorat, Bandit Queen and Kaante. The late actor made his screen
debut in the movie Khatta Meetha in 1978 and was best known for his role in the
Rekha starrer Khubsoorat in 1980. He had also worked in Hollywood movies like
Mississippi Masala, Lonely in America as well as US TV series like Prison
Break.
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