Daily GK Updates - 30th April, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Madhya Pradesh Government Launches ‘Jeevan Amrit Yojana’ scheme to boost immunity system of citizens: The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched a unique scheme named ‘Jeevan Amrit Yojana’, to help in boosting immunity system of citizens of the state in order to fight the deadly coronavirus. Under this scheme, the State Government will distribute packet of special Trikut Churna-kadha free of cost to the citizens, which is very effective in increasing immunity and has to be taken three to four times daily. Trikut, an ayurvedic product made of three spices, has been prepared by Madhya Pradesh Laghu Vanopaj Sangh in collaboration with the Department of AYUSH. 50 gms packet each of the kadha has been prepared which consists of peepal, ginger and black pepper. The state will distribute the packets free of cost to one crore people in rural and urban areas of the state.

Note: Madhya Pradesh (CM): Shivraj Singh Chouhan; Capital of Madhya Pradesh: Bhopal; Governor of Madhya Pradesh: Lalji Tandon.

2. ADB to support Maharashtra with $346 mn loan for power sector: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 346 million (around Rs 2,616 crore) loan to Maharashtra state government to provide reliable power connections in rural areas of Maharashtra. The loan will support the state government’s high voltage distribution system (HVDS) program for new grid-connected rural agricultural customers in Maharashtra.

 Note: President of Asian Development Bank: Masatsugu Asakawa; ADB was established in 1966.

3. Ayushman Bharat Diwas: 30th April: Nation celebrates Ayushman Bharat Diwas on 30th April. The day aims to promote affordable medical facilities in remote areas of the country based on the Socio-Economic Caste Census database. It will also promote health and wellness and provide insurance benefits to the poor. This day is of national importance to mark the launch of Ayushman Bharat Yojana, which is also known as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).

Note: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH): Shripad Yesso Naik.

4. Suresh N Patel takes oath as vigilance commissioner of India: Suresh N Patel took oath as the Vigilance Commissioner in the anti-corruption watchdog CVC. He took the oath of office by Central Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari through video conference. He will have a tenure of over two years, till late December 2022, in the CVC. Sharad Kumar is working as the other vigilance commissioner. The tenure of a vigilance commissioner is of four years or till the incumbent attains the age of 65 years. Suresh N. Patel was the MD & CEO of Andhra Bank and was an Executive Director in OBC. He is a Permanent Invitee to the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems (BPSS) of RBI and a member of the Advisory Board for Banking and Financial Frauds (ABBFF) prior to his appointment as Vigilance Commissioner.

Note: Central Vigilance Commission formed: February 1964; Central Vigilance Commission Headquarters: New Delhi.

5. Rajiv Kumar Takes Charge as Chairperson of PESB: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the appointment of former finance secretary Rajiv Kumar as the chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), with effect from 29 April 2020. He has been appointed to the post for a period of three years. Kumar is a 1984-batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre who retired as the finance secretary in February 2020. He succeeds Kapil Dev Tripathi who has recently taken over as the Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind.

Note: PESB is a high powered body constituted by Government of India for the selection and placement of personnel in the public sector undertakings.

Director of Public Enterprises Selection Board: Kailash Dan Ratnoo; Secretary of Public Enterprises Selection Board: Kimbuong Kipgen.

6. Book titled ‘Sayajirao Gaekwad III: The Maharaja of Baroda’ released: Uma Balasubramaniam's latest historical epic biography titled, 'Sayajirao Gaekwad III: The Maharaja of Baroda' has been released. It focuses on his ascendancy to the throne, his liaison with the British government in India, his extraordinary administration, and his noteworthy reforms. This book has been written with an intention to enlighten people about one of India's forgotten kings, who worked towards building a modernized India and India's fight for freedom.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. USCIRF releases 2020 annual report on international religious freedom: On April 28, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 2020 annual report, which serves to provide an overview of what is happening in regard to religious freedom around the world, and make policy recommendations to Congress, the administration, and the State Department.

In the 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommends 14 countries to the State Department for designation as “countries of particular concern” (CPCs) because their governments engage in or tolerate “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations.” These include nine that the State Department designated as CPCs in December 2019—Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan—as well as five others—India (first time since 2004), Nigeria, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam.

Instead of using its own “Tier 2” category, as in past reports, the 2020 Annual Report also recommends 15 countries for placement on the State Department’s Special Watch List (SWL) for severe violations. These include four that the State Department placed on that list in December 2019—Cuba, Nicaragua, Sudan, and Uzbekistan—as well as 11 others—Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Central African Republic (CAR), Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and Turkey.

Note: USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on threats to religious freedom; headquarter: Washington D.C.

2. TS Tirumurti appointed as Permanent Representative of India to UN: The Government of India has appointed T.S. Tirumurti as India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He is currently serving as Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and was a 1985 batch Indian Foreign Service officer. He replaces Syed Akbaruddin. Govt also appointed Jaideep Mazumdar as India's ambassador to Austria who is presently serving as Indian envoy to Philippines. Joint Secretary Deepak Mittal was also appointed as India's Ambassador to Qatar, while Piyush Srivastava goes to Bahrain in the same capacity. Both of them are 1998 batch Indian Foreign Service officers.

Note: Qatar Capital: Doha; Currency: Qatari riyal; Prime Minister of Qatar: Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdelaziz Al Thani.

King of Bahrain: Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa; Capital of Bahrain: Manama; Currency of Bahrain: Bahraini Dinar.

Austria Capital: Vienna; Currency: Euro; President: Alexander Van der Bellen

3. International Jazz Day: 30 April: The International Jazz Day is celebrated on 30 April every year to highlight the importance of jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe. The day aims to create awareness around the world of the virtues of jazz as a force of peace, unity, dialogue, and enhanced cooperation among people, and an educational tool. This Day was declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2011. This year is the 9th edition of International Jazz Day. Cape Town, South Africa has been designated the Global Host City for International Jazz Day 2020. The day was introduced by jazz pianist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock.

Note: Director-General of UNESCO: Audrey Azoulay; UNESCO formation: 4 November 1946; UNESCO Headquarters: Paris, France.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Former Karnataka cricketer J Arunkumar named USA head coach: Former Karnataka cricketer, J. Arunkumar has been appointed the head coach of the USA national team. He was the successor of interim coach James Pamment. He has worked with the Karnataka team for several years and as batting coach for Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League. He scored over 7,200 runs in first-class cricket and over 3,000 runs in List ‘A’ games.

Note: Headquarters of USA cricket: Colorado, United States (US); Chairman of USA cricket: ParaagMarathe; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of USA cricket: Iain Higgins.

2. Deepak Agarwal banned by ICC from all cricket for 2 years:  Deepak Agarwal has been banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) from all cricket for a period of 2 years. He has been banned by the ICC after he accepted one charge of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. Deepak will be free to continue his involvement in cricket from 27 October 2021.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Government sets up IFSCA to regulate financial services: The government has established International Financial Services Centres Authority to regulate all financial services in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs). The unified authority will be headquartered in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Currently, banking, capital markets and insurance sectors in IFSC are regulated by multiple regulators like RBI, SEBI, and IRDAI. It will comprise a chairperson, members nominated by regulators, 2 members from the central government.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Moody’s cuts India’s GDP growth estimate for CY2020 to 0.2%: Moody’s Investors Service has cut India’s GDP growth forecast for the calendar year 2020 to 0.2% from its earlier estimate of 2.5%. For 2021, Moody’s has predicted India’s GDP growth rate to be 6.2%. As per Moody’s only three countries are projected to witness economic growth in 2020 these are China, India, and Indonesia. Moody’s has cut its growth projection for India amid the nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Note: Headquarters of Moody’s: New York, United States (US); President and CEO of Moody’s: Raymond Whitehead McDaniel, Jr.

2. Neeraj Vyas Appointed as Interim MD and CEO of PNB Housing Finance: PNB Housing Finance has appointed Neeraj Vyas as the interim Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company with effect from 28 April 2020, for a period of eight months. The incumbent MD & CEO, Sanjaya Gupta, has stepped down from his active duties of the post on 28 April, 2020. His tenure was to end on May 4, 2020. Till now Vyas was serving as an independent director on the company’s board. He has resigned as the independent director to take charge as the Executive Director and interim MD and CEO. Previously, Vyas has worked as Deputy MD and COO of State Bank of India and has 36 years of banking experience.

Note: PNB Housing Finance Limited is headquartered in New Delhi.

OBITUARIES

1. Veteran Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor passes away: Veteran Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor passed away in Mumbai with wife Neetu Kapoor by his side on 30 April 2020. He was 67. The actor was undergoing treatment for cancer in the US for almost a year. He made his screen debut in 1970 with film “Mera Naam Joker” as a child artist and also received National Film Award for the role. His first lead role as an adult came in 1973 with the film Bobby for which he was awarded with Filmfare Best Actor Award. He played leading roles in many films between 1973 and 2000. He won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor in 2011 for Do Dooni Chaar, and for Kapoor & Sons, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2017. He was honoured with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.