NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
DRDO rolls out new products to enable COVID-19 disinfection process: The Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has rolls out new products namely “Automatic
Mist Based Sanitiser Dispensing Unit” and “UV Sanitisation Box and Hand-held UV
device” to enable COVID-19 disinfection process. Automatic Mist Based Sanitiser
Dispensing Unit is based on water mist aerator technology. UV Sanitisation Box
will be used for the purpse of disinfecting personal belongings such as mobile
phone, tablets, purse, currency, cover of office files, etc. While the hand
held device will be used for disinfecting office and house hold objects such as
chairs, files, postal delivered items and food packets.
Note: Chairman of Defence Research and
Development Organisation: G Satheesh Reddy; Headquarters of DRDO: New Delhi.
2.
National Conference on Kharif crops 2020 held: The National
Conference on Kharif crops 2020 was held through video conference to discuss
various issues and to list out measures in consultation with the States about
their preparedness for Kharif cultivation amid the lockdown situation. The
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar addressed
the conference and emphasized on achieving the aim of kharif target and take up
doubling of farmers’ income in the mission mode.
3.
Agriculture Minister launches Mobile App “Kisan Rath” to facilitate
transportation of foodgrains and perishables during lockdown: The Union Minister
of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launched a
mobile application named ‘Kisan Rath’ in New Delhi on 17 April 2020. The app
has been developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). It will help
farmers & traders to search transport vehicles for Primary and Secondary
transportation of Agriculture & Horticulture produce. The Primary
transportation would include movement from Farm to Mandis, FPO Collection
Centre and Warehouses etc. Secondary Transportation would include movement from
Mandis to Intra-state & Inter-state mandis, Processing units, Railway
station, Warehouses and Wholesalers etc.
4.
Government Announces Compensation of Rs 10 lakhs to all Postal employees in
case they succumb to COVID-19: Amid the nationwide lockdown due to
COVID-19 pandemic, the Postal employees including Gramin Dak Sevaks are
performing various departmental duties as well as serving the social cause in
the crisis times. The Central Government has decided to provide a compensation
of Rs 10 lakh each to all Postal employees including Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS)
who gets infected with COVID-19 while on duty. The guidelines will come into
effect immediately (15 April 2020) and continue for the entire period till the
crises of COVID-19 is over.
5.
Delhi Government Launches Mobile App ‘Assess Koro Na’ for door-to-door
coronavirus survey in containment zones: The Delhi government has launched a
mobile app named ‘Assess Koro Na’ for door-to-door survey in COVID-19
containment zones to speed up decision-making by analysing real-time data of a
person, in the efforts to contain the virus. The first phase of the app-based
assessment will be launched in South Delhi. Government has notified total 68
containment zones in New Delhi. Through this app, the collected data can be
uploaded in real-time on the servers for its immediate analysis.
Note: Chief Minister of Delhi: Arvind
Kejriwal’ Lieutenant Governor of Delhi: Anil Baijal.
6.
CBDT refunds over five thousand 204 crore rupees to help MSMEs: According to CBDT
(Central Board of Direct Taxes), Income tax refunds to over eight lakh small
businesses worth over five thousand 204 crore rupees have been issued in the
last ten days. These income tax refunds will help MSMEs to carry on their business
activities without pay cuts and layoffs in this pandemic situations. The
Income-tax department has issued nearly 14 lakh refunds up to five lakh each
till date to help taxpayers.
7.
CSIR-NAL develops Personal Protective Coverall Suit: CSIR-National
Aerospace Laboratories has developed Personal Protective Coverall Suit in
association with MAF Clothing Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru. The polyproplylene spun
laminated multi-layered non-woven fabric based suit has been developed for the
front line health workers i.e. Doctors, Nurses, Paramedical staff and Health
Care workers working round the clock on COVID-19 mitigation.
8.
NIT-K Researchers develops disinfect chamber ‘Zero-Cov’ for PPE Kits,
vegetables, currency notes among others: A team of researchers at National
Institute of Technology-Karnataka has developed a cost-effective disinfectant
chamber, Zero-Cov. This out-of-the-box disinfectant chamber could disinfect
personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, surgical masks, currency note,
vegetables, packed food and other day-to-day items without causing them damage.
The chamber, made out of an old refrigerator, uses Ultraviolet (UV)-C radiation
to destroy or inactivate all surface contamination like bacteria and viruses
including novel coronavirus, up to 99.9 %, within 15 minutes.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Indian High Commission (UK) hosts virtual COVID-19 meet for businesses: The Indian High
Commission in United Kingdom has organised a virtual roundtable COVID-19 meet
for businesses “Covid-19: Issues, Challenges and Way Forward” to address
concerns around the economic impact of the coronavirus lockdown in the United
Kingdom. The “Covid-19: Issues, Challenges and Way Forward” meet also
deliberated on the issues faced by Indian businesses across various sectors
such as financial services, hospitality, healthcare, information technology and
IT services.
2.
International Day for Monuments and Sites (World Heritage Day): 18 April: The International
Day for Monuments and Sites (World Heritage Day) is observed on 18 April each
year to promote awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage of humanity,
their vulnerability and the efforts required for their protection and
conservation. The International Day for Monuments and Sites was proposed by the
International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) on 18 April 1982 and
approved by the General Assembly of UNESCO in 1983. Theme 2020- ‘Shared
Cultures, Shared Heritage, Shared Responsibility’.
Note: UNESCO formation: 4 November 1946;
UNESCO Headquarters: Paris, France; UNESCO Director-General: Audrey Azoulay.
Headquarters of International Council on
Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS): Paris, France; International Council on Monuments
and Sites (ICOMOS) Founded: 1965; President of International Council on
Monuments and Sites: Toshiyuki Kono.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Laver Cup Tennis Tournament Postponed to 2021 due to French Open Cash: The fourth edition
of the Laver Cup has been postponed from September 2020 to 2021 due to schedule
conflicts with other tennis events caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The
tournament was originally scheduled to be held from Sep 25-27 in 2020 in
Boston. However, the French Open tennis tournament has been shifted from May
2020 to September 2020, and therefor Laver Cup has been shifted to September
24-26, 2021. The Laver Cup Team Europe vs Team World men’s team tournament,
founded by Roger Federer’s management company.
2.
Rohit Sharma appointed as the brand ambassador of ‘CricKingdom’: Rohit Sharma has
been appointed as the brand ambassador of ‘CricKingdom’ which is a cricket
academy based in Dubai. The online platform, CricKingdom will connect student,
coaches, academies and facilities into an integrated ecosystem.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
RBI announces measures to mitigate impact of COVID-19: On 17 April 2020,
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das took several important
decisions to ensure adequate liquidity in the system to ease the financial
stress caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Key Decisions: (1) RBI has slashed the Reverse Repo
rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%; (2) The repo rate has been kept
unchanged at 4.40%; (3) RBI has also announced the launch of (Targeted
Long Term Repo Operation) TLTRO 2.0 to address the liquidity needs of the NBFCs
and microfinance institutions TLTRO 2.0 will be undertaken in tranches, with an
amount of Rs 50,000 crore to begin with. The Banks availing these funds will be
required to deploy the same within one month and should be invested in
investment grade bonds, commercial paper, and non-convertible debentures of
NBFCs with at least 50 percent of the total amount availed going to midsized
NBFCs and MFIs; (4) A special re-financing facility of Rs 50,000 crore
has also been announced for financial institutions like Nabard (25,000 cr),
National Housing Bank (10,000 cr) and Sidbi (15,000 cr); (5) The
Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) requirement of scheduled commercial banks has
been brought down from 100 percent to 80 percent with immediate effect. This
will help banks to have more capitals to deploy in the market. This requirement
shall be gradually restored back in two phases, i.e. 90 percent by October 1,
2020 and 100 percent by April 1, 2021.
2.
RBI increases WMA limit for states by another 30%: The Reserve Bank of
India has provided relief to state governments by raising their short-term
borrowing limit by an additional 30%. This is estimated to create a space for
Rs 12,000 crore for the state governments looking to raise money. Now, it has
been decided to increase the WMA limit of states by 60% over and above the
level as on 31st March 2020. The RBI gives temporary loan facilities Ways and
Means Advances (WMA) to the central and state governments.
BUSINESS AND ECONMY
1.
Sporting Motorcycle brand ‘Norton’ acquired by TVS Motor Company: TVS Motor Company
has announced the acquisition of Britain's iconic sporting motorcycle
‘Norton’ with TVS Motor Company’s
overseas subsidiary TVS Motor Singapore Pte. Ltd in an all-cash deal for 16
million pounds (Rs 153 crore). Norton, a 122 year-old motorcycle company was
founded by James Lansdowne Norton in Birmingham and went on to become the most
popular British motorcycle brands of all time and is considered one of the most
emotive marques.
2.
Goldman Sachs downgrades India from ‘overweight’ to ‘marketweight’: Goldman Sachs has
downgraded its stance on the Indian market from ‘overweight’ to ‘marketweight’
due to “delayed recovery and extended valuations.” Goldman Sachs says that the
domestic equities could underperform, unless India unleashes a big stimulus
package.
OBITUARIES
1.
Former Odisha minister Saharai Oram passes away: Former Odisha
Minister Saharai Oram (78-years) passed away at Barbil in Keonjhar district,
Odisha. He was first elected to the Odisha Assembly from Champua constituency
(in 1971) as an Utkal Congress candidate. Mr. Oram not only worked for the
welfare of the poor, orphans and destitute but also contributed towards
promoting tribal and folk culture.
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