NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Launches ‘COVID INDIA SEVA’ to Address COVID-19
Related Queries: The
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan has launched an
interactive platform called ‘COVID INDIA SEVA’ to provide real time solutions
to Covid-19 related queries. The interactive platform aims at providing
transparent e-governance service to citizens by answering their queries swiftly
in real-time at large scale, especially during crisis situations like the
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. People can pose their queries to the COVID INDIA
SEVA twitter handle @CovidIndiaSeva, and get them responded to in almost real
time. The initiative will establish a direct channel of communication between
the government and the public to interact and exchange information.
2.
Rajasthan govt launches “Aayu & Sehat Sathi” app: The state government of Rajasthan has
partnered with healthcare startup MedCords to launch ‘Aayu & Sehat Sathi
app to fight against COVID-19. This app helps state people to consult doctors
online 24x7 and place orders for their medicine requirement in the wake of a
lockdown due to COVID-19. Indian startup “MedCord” is fully adopted 7 districts
of Rajasthan (Kota, Udaipur, Sri Ganganagar, Bikaner, Ajmer, Pali and Jaipur).
The app also contains a built-in comprehensive coronavirus guide for the users.
The service is provided through the app and the helpline number – 7816811111
supports Hindi and English language. The helpline number helps the feature
phone users to consult doctors from anywhere in India.
Note: CM of Rajasthan: Ashok Gehlot;
Capital of Rajasthan: Jaipur; Governor of Rajasthan: Kalraj Mishra.
3.
Gujarat govt gives green signal to “Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan”: Gujarat Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani has given the green signal for the third edition of his
government’s ‘Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan’ amid Coronavirus lockdown.
It is a conservation plan to deepen water bodies in the state before the
monsoon. The scheme will see the deepening of lakes, check dams and rivers by
removing silt. This will be done till June 10, 2020 with people’s participation
as well as under MNREGA. The scheme was started in 2018 after a weak monsoon.
Note: Governor of Gujarat: Acharya Dev
Vrat; Capital: Gandhinagar
4.
NBRI creates alcohol-based herbal sanitizer:
In the wake of growing demand for sanitizers amid COVID-19 outbreak, the
National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) has created an alcohol-based
herbal sanitizer. An alcohol-based herbal sanitizer has been developed under
the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR-Aroma Mission following
the guidelines of World Health Organisation. This newly made herbal sanitizer
constitutes Tulsi essential oil as herbal constituent and isopropyl alcohol.
The Tulsi essential oil is a strong natural antimicrobial agent while the
isopropyl alcohol will be helpful in killing germs. The alcohol-based herbal
sanitizer will be available under the brand name of ‘Clean Hand Gel’. The
impact of herbal sanitizer will last for about 25 minutes, preventing skin from
dehydrating.
Note: Director of National Botanical
Research Institute: Dr. S.K. Barik.
5.
Pune Municipal Corporation Develops Mobile App ‘Saiyam’ to track Home
Quarantined Citizens: The Pune Municipal Corporation a mobile application
named ‘Saiyam’ under Smart Cities Mission (SCM), to effectively track the
home-quarantines citizens and ensure they are actually staying in the home. The
city administration has appointed dedicated teams for five zones to check on
people who have recently returned from international trips and those discharged
after treatment for COVID-19. All the Home Quarantined citizens have been
mandated to download the app and install it. Citizens’ movements has been
marked as Red, Yellow or Green where: (1) Red signifies that the person has
ventured out for longer duration; (2) Yellow signifies that the person has
limited movements and (3) Green signifies that the person is confined to house
limits
6.
MoRTH launches dashboard with list of Dhabas & Truck Repair Shops: A dashboard
containing list of Dhabas and Truck Repair Shops has been launched by the
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) on its website. The dashboard
consists of list as well as details of Dhabas and Truck repair shops available
across the country during the nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic.
NHAI’s centralized call number 1033 has also been enabled.
Note: Union Minister for Road Transport and
Highways: Nitin Jairam Gadkari.
7.
Audio Book Titled “How the Onion Got Its Layers” by Sudha Murty to be Released
on April 23: Veteran
author Sudha Murty’s first book in an audio format titled “How the Onion Got
Its Layers” is all set to be released on April 23, on the World Book Day. The
book is a latest offering for children to help them in knowing answers of
several questions related to the bulb like many layers of onions and why it
brings tears to the eyes when cut. It is an initiative to use this lockdown
time to do something new or even learn something. The book will also be
available as an e-book.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Lebanon legalizes cannabis farming for medicinal use: The Lebanese
parliament has passed the legislation to legalize the cannabis cultivation for
medical and industrial purposes. Earlier, the farming of cannabis was illegal
in Lebanon, but now the cannabis farming would be regulated within the country.
Legalizing the cultivation of Cannabis is expected to produce high value-added
medicinal products. It is also a potentially lucrative export for Lebanese
economy which is in dire need of foreign currency as it is grappled with a
financial crisis.
Note: Prime Minister of Lebanon: Hassan
Diab; Capital of Lebanon: Beirut; Currency: Lebanese pound.
2.
Saudi Arabia organizes G-20 Extraordinary Agriculture Ministers Meet: The G-20
Extraordinary Agriculture Ministers Meeting was held through Video
Conferencing. The meeting was held on the issue of COVID-19 as well as its
impact on food security, safety and nutrition. Union Agriculture Minister
Narendra Singh Tomar participated in the Extraordinary virtual meeting of G-20
Agriculture Ministers organised under the presidency of Saudi Arabia.
3.
Earth Day: 22 April: Earth Day or International Mother Earth Day is
observed globally on 22 April every year. Earth Day 2020 will be celebrated all
over the world to spread awareness for Earth’s wellbeing and to encourage
people to support environmental protection. World Earth Day 2020 will mark the
50th Anniversary of the day since it started being observed in 1970. Earth Day
was renamed officially by the UN in 2009 as International Mother Earth Day. The
theme of Earth Day 2020: Climate Action.
4.
WhatsApp partners WHO to create 'Together at Home' sticker pack: WhatsApp partnered
with the World Health Organization (WHO) to create a new sticker pack titled
''Together At Home” designed to reflect the moments and emotions people are
going through in the coronavirus pandemic. The sticker pack is available within
WhatsApp, including with text localized for 10 languages - Arabic, French,
German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
SAI & BAI hold online badminton coaching development programme: In accordance with
the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the Badminton Association of India (BAI)
held the 1st session of its Online Coach Development Programme. The highly
enriching session saw an overwhelming response from over 800 participants from
making it one of the highest-participated online coach development conferences
ever held. The online programme will be held 5 days a week for three weeks. The
entire course has been divided into 39 topics.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. N
Kamakodi reappointed as MD & CEO of City Union Bank: N Kamakodi will be reappointed as the MD &
CEO of City Union Bank Ltd. City Union Bank has received approval for this
reappointment from the Reserve Bank of India. His reappointment is for a
further period of three years. The reappointments will be effective from 1 May
2020. Kamakodi joined the bank as Deputy General Manager in 2003 and was later
elevated as General Manager in 2005. In 2006, he was appointed as Executive
Director and since 2011, he was serving the bank as its Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer.
Note: City Union Bank Founded: 31 October
1904; City Union Bank Headquarters: Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu; City Union Bank
Chairman: R. Mohan.
2.
Paytm Payments Bank inks partnership with Mastercard: Paytm Payments
Bank has partnered with Mastercard for the issuance of virtual and physical
debit cards for secure online transactions. Customers will also be able to
request a physical card to perform contactless in-store transactions. Along
with this, customer will also be able to withdraw cash at more than 1 m million
ATM terminals. With this latest addition to the suite of services, the Bank can
bring more than 500 million Indians into the mainstream economy.
Note: MD and CEO of Paytm Payments Bank
Ltd: Satish Kumar Gupta; Paytm Payments Bank Ltd Headquarters: Noida, Uttar
Pradesh.
3.
Paytm Payments Bank launches DBT scheme: Paytm Payments Bank Ltd. (PPBL) now
implemented the option to avail benefits of Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT),
which is Government of India scheme to transfer the subsidies of various social
welfare schemes like LPG gas subsidy, MNREGA payments, Old Age Pension,
Scholarships directly into the beneficiary’s bank account. Paytm Payments Bank
Ltd. (PPBL) has crossed Rs1,000 crore in deposits and has total of 57 million
savings account holders at present during covid-19.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
David Li becomes new CEO of Huawei India: David Li has been appointed as the
Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Telecommunications India. He has replaced Jay
Chen who has been promoted to handle Asia Pacific level business role. Li
joined Huawei in 2002 and has experience of working in the India market,
including in roles like Vice President of sales and HR during different phases
of his career. He was serving as CEO of Huawei Cambodia before returning to
India to take on his new role.
Note: Headquarters of Huawei: Shenzhen,
China; CEO of Huawei: Ren Zhengfei.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
Adam Higginbotham Wins 2020 William E. Colby Award for ‘Midnight in Chernobyl’:
Adam
Higginbotham has been awarded with the 2020 William E. Colby Military Writers’
Award for his book “Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s
Greatest Nuclear Disaster”. The $5,000 prize is presented annually by the
Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont for an outstanding book on military
or intelligence history. The award was established in 1999 and recognizes “a
first work of fiction or non-fiction that has made a major contribution to the
understanding of intelligence operations, military history, or international
affairs”.
OBITUARIES
1.
Former Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase passes away: Former Fiji Prime
Minister Laisenia Qarase has passed away after a short illness. He was 79. He
was the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji and served from 2000 to 2006. He was a
civil servant before becoming a politician and the prime minister of Fiji in
2000. He became the prime minister of Fiji after the removal of Mahendra
Chaudhry’s government. In 2006, he was removed from power in military coup by
Frank Bainimarama and later imprisoned.
Note: Prime Minister of Fiji: Frank
Bainimarama; Capital of Fiji: Suva; Currency: Fijian dollar.
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