Daily GK Updates - 24th April, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. UNODC Launches ‘Lockdown Learners’ Series for Indian students & teachers: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) has launched a ‘Lockdown Learners’ series in India for online dialogues between students and educators on COVID-19 and its impact on Sustainable Development Goals, peace and rule of law. The United Nations body has launched the dialogues under its flagship Education for Justice initiative. The aim of this initiative is to sensitise students on concerns of vulnerable groups as well as emerging issues such as cybercrime, misinformation, gender-based violence, discrimination, corruption among others. It will also provide a platform for students to receive mentorship and knowledge support through activity-based learning, and use their talent and skills to promote awareness and share their ideas and solutions to address some of these problems

Note: Note: Director-General of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes: Ghada Fathi Waly.

2. ‘Serve-the-Seniors Initiative’ helpline launches by JKSLSA: Jammu and Kashmir State Legal Services Authority (JKSLSA) has launched a helpline under ‘Serve-the-Seniors Initiative’. The objective of starting this helpline, comprising is to help and facilitate the senior citizens who live alone and are unable to step out to get medicines, groceries and other essentials in this hour of crisis.

Note: Lt. Governors of Jammu and Kashmir: Girish Chandra Murmu.

3. CSIR develops ‘Feluda’, a low-cost paper strip COVID-19 test: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) has developed ”Feluda” a low-cost COVID-19 test strip. The test is developed by 7-member team of researchers at CSIR-IGIB led by Dr Souvik Maiti and Dr Debojyoti Chakraborty.  The test like pregnancy test strips and is expected to cost around Rs 500 against the usual RT-PCR test that costs Rs 4,500 in private labs. The test uses the cutting-edge gene-editing tool- Crispr-Cas9 to target and identify the genomic sequences of the novel coronavirus in the samples of suspected individuals.

Note: Director-General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research: Shekhar C. Mande.

Director of Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology: Anurag Agrawal.

4. Defence Minister launches First Covid-19 Mobile Testing Laboratory: Raksha Mantri, Rajnath Singh has launched India’s 1st COVID-19 sample collection mobile Lab through video conference. India’s 1st COVID-19 sample collection mobile Lab launched has been named as “Mobile BSL-3 VRDL Lab”. This Lab has been developed by Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), in collaboration with ESIC, Hyderabad 15 days with due permission of ICMR. The Mobile Viral Research Lab is the combination of a BSL 3 lab and a BSL 2 lab to meet international guidelines with electrical controls, LAN, Telephone cabling, and CCTV.

Note: Chairman of Defence Research and Development Organisation: G Satheesh Reddy; Headquarters of DRDO: New Delhi.

5. National Panchayati Raj Day: 24 April: In India, the National Panchayati Raj Day (National Local Self-Government day) is observed annually on 24 April by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to celebrate the Panchayati Raj System in the country. The first National Panchayati Raj Day or the National Local Government Day was declared by the then Prime Minister of India Shri Manmohan Singh, on 24 April 2010. PM Modi address Gram Panchayats through video conferencing and launch e-GramSwaraj Portal and Swamitva Scheme, this year.

Note: Union Minister of Panchayati Raj: Narendra Singh Tomar.

Rajasthan was the 1st state with Panchayati Raj in 1959

6. NBT & FICCI organizes WEBINAR on Post-COVID Publishing Scenario: National Book Trust, India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has organized a WEBINAR on Post-COVID Publishing Scenario in New Delhi. This webinar was organized on the occasion of WORLD BOOK & COPYRIGHT DAY and featured the participation of Union Minister of HRD Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’.

Note: Chairman of National Book Trust (NBT): Prof. Govind Prasad Sharma

Union Minister for Human Resource Development: Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’.

7. Union HRD Minister launched #MyBookMyFriend campaign: Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has launched a campaign “#MyBookMyFriend”. The campaign “#MyBookMyFriend” has been launched on social media on the occasion of World Book Day. #MyBookMyFriend campaign will run for 7 days and during this time all people are urged to join this campaign. Citing the importance of books, the minister urged all the students to read some books of interest in addition to course books during the period of lockdown. He also appealed to the students to share the book which they are reading at the moment using #MyBookMyFriend on social media.

8. HP to adopt three-pronged strategy to tackle coronavirus: Himachal Pradesh government is all set to adopt a three-pronged strategy to tackle the menace of coronavirus. Under this, three types of institution will be recognized. Asymptotic people would be kept in Covid care centres, moderate symptomatic people would be kept in Covid Health Centres and severe symptomatic would be kept in Covid Hospitals. Health department had also set up Whatsapp number 01792227328 to provide other health services in addition to Covid19.

9. Manipur govt commemorates ‘Khongjom Day’: Manipur Government commemorated ‘Khongjom Day’ at Khongjom War Memorial Complex, remembering the people who valiantly fought in the Anglo-Manipuri War in 1891 on Arpil 23. This day is commemorated to pay tribute to the war heroes of Anglo-Manipuri War 1891 who had sacrificed their lives fighting against the British to protect freedom of Manipur. The site is about 35 KM south of Imphal in Thoubal district where the battle was fight between Manipuri and British.

10. DRDO designed UV-C Light based sanitisation box and device: DIPAS and INMAS, DRDO laboratories have designed and developed Ultraviolet C Light based sanitisation box and hand held UV-C (ultraviolet light device (with wavelength 254 nanometres). The UV-C box is designed for disinfecting personal belongings like mobile phone, tablets, purse, currency, cover of office files, etc. The hand-held device having 8-watt UV-C lamp disinfects office and household objects like chairs, files, postal delivered items etc.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Indian High Commission in Bangladesh holds webinar on trade promotion: Indian High Commission in Bangladesh, and India Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI) has jointly organized a webinar on trade promotion. Riva Ganguly Das, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh called upon the business leaders of India and Bangladesh to share innovative ideas in response to the emerging economic scenario amid Corona pandemic in the world.

Note: Prime Minister of Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina; Capital: Dhaka; Currency: Taka.

2. International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace: 24 April: The International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace is marked on 24 April since 2019. The day was declared by the UN General Assembly in December 2018 and was observed for the first time on 24 April 2019. The Assembly proclaimed the day while considering that preserving the values of multilateralism and international cooperation is fundamental to promote and support the three pillars of the UN - Peace and Security, Development and Human Rights. The Day is a reaffirmation of the UN Charter and its principles of resolving disputes among countries through peaceful means.

Note: Secretary-General of the United Nations: Antonio Guterres.

3. SpaceX successfully launches 60 Starlink satellites: SpaceX successfully launched a new batch of 60 Starlink satellites into orbit and nailed a rocket landing at sea to cap the mission with Falcon 9 rocket. It was launched from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The launch marked the 84th Falcon 9 flight, making SpaceX's workhorse rocket the most flown U.S. rocket in use.

4. Iran Successfully Launches Military Satellite ‘Noor’ into Orbit: The Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the country’s armed forces, successfully launched a small military spacecraft into orbit named Noor on 22 April 2020. Noor can be translated to Light, in Farsi. The small military craft flew into orbit on top of a multi-stage Qased rocket. This successful launch is likely to increase Tehran’s capability to strike enemy targets.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. World Games unveil new logo for 2022 edition: The 11th edition of World Games which is to be held in Birmingham, Alabama, US (United States) has unveiled an updated logo and title after being delayed a year because of the Coronavirus pandemic. The Olympic-style competition for sports and events that are not on the Summer Games program will now be known as The World Games 2022. The event was initially scheduled for July 2021, but it will now be held in July 2022 to accommodate the one-year postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Note: International World Games Association Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland; International World Games Association President: Jose PerurenaLopez; International World Games Association Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Joachim Gossow.

2. Iran’s Alireza Firouzja beats Magnus Carlsen in Banter Blitz Cup final: 16-year-old Iranian refugee, Alireza Firouzja beats World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in the final of the Banter Blitz Cup 2020 and to claim the $14,000 prize. Firouzja, an Iranian now living in Paris, is the second-youngest player to reach a rating of 2700 from Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), the body that governs international chess competition. He is ranked 21st in the world.

Note: FIDE Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland; FIDE President: Arkady Dvorkovich; FIDE Founded: 20 July 1924.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Fitch Ratings predicts India’s GDP growth for FY21 at 0.8%: Fitch Ratings has reduced the GDP growth rate prediction for India for FY21 (2020-21) to 0.8%. For FY22 (2021-22), Fitch Ratings has predicted the GDP growth for India at 6.7%. The predictions were made in the latest Global Economic Outlook (GEO) report released by Fitch Ratings.

2. Fitch Ratings Expects Global Economy to Shrink by 3.9% in 2020: The Rating agency Fitch Ratings has slashed the global growth forecast and expects the world GDP to fall by 3.9 percent in 2020, citing COVID-19-induced recession is crushing the global economy. The sharp downward revision is driven by a massive decline in Asian economies, led by China and India, both of which are estimated to post growth rate of less than 1 percent this year.

3. India’s GDP growth likely to range between -0.9 to 1.5 pc in FY21: CII: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has projected India’s GDP to range between -0.9 percent to 1.5 percent in the current financial year 2020-21. The industry body released a paper titled ‘A plan for economic recovery’ in which it has laid out its growth expectation under three scenarios and suggested “urgent” fiscal interventions. In the baseline scenario, GDP is expected to grow at just 0.6 percent on an annual basis due to restriction on economic activities. In the optimistic scenario, GDP is forecast to register a growth of 1.5 percent in the best case, based on faster pick-up post the lockdown period. In case of a more prolonged outbreak, where the restrictions in existing hot-spot regions get extended, while new regions are identified as ‘hot-spots’ leading to intermittent stop and start in economic activity, GDP is likely to decline by -0.9 percent.

OBITUARIES

1. Renowned thespian Usha Ganguly passes away: Eminent theatre director, actor and activist, Usha Ganguly passed away at her residence in south Kolkata due to massive cardiac attack. She was 75. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for direction in 1998. She has also been honoured by the West Bengal Government as the best actress for the play Gudia Ghar. She was credited for introducing an alternative Hindi theatre in West Bengal, in the 1970s and 1980s.

2. Former Rajya Sabha MP Basanta Das passes away: Former Rajya Sabha member from Odisha Basanta Das passed away following a prolonged illness. He was Rajya Sabha member from 1990 to 1996 as Janata Dal nominee. He was also chairman of Bhawanipatna Municipality from 1985 to 1990.

Daily GK Updates - 23rd April 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Ordinance to Amend Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 receives Cabinet’s approval: The promulgation of an Ordinance to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 has received the Union Cabinet’s approval. It has been approved by the cabinet, keeping in view the recent instances with the most critical service providers i.e. members of healthcare services being targeted and attacked by miscreants, thereby obstructing them from doing their duties during the current COVID-19 pandemic. It intends to make such acts of violence cognizable and non-bailable offences and also ensure that during any situation akin to the current pandemic, there is zero tolerance to any form of violence against healthcare service personnel as well as damage to property.

2. Union HRD Minister launches national program VidyaDaan 2.0 in New Delhi: The Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal’Nishank’ has launched VidyaDaan 2.0 program on 22 April via video conferencing in New Delhi to invite e-learning content contributions. VidyaDaan is a content contribution tool, launched as a national program, for individuals & organizations, across the country to donate or contribute e-learning resources, for both school and higher education, to ensure continuity of quality learning. The programme has been launched due to the increasing requirement for e-learning content for students (both school and higher education) in the backdrop of situation arising out of Covid- 19. The content will be used on the DIKSHA app of MHRD to pass on the resource to millions of children across the country to continue their learning anytime and anywhere. Contents may range from, explanation videos, presentations, competency-based items, quizzes etc., for any grade (from grade 1 to 12), for any subject as specified by the states/UTs. Contributions can be made by educationists, subject experts, schools, colleges, Universities, Institutes, government and non-government organisations, individuals, etc.

3. Karnataka govt launches Mobile app “Apthamitra” as well as helpline number to fight COVID-19: Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has inaugurated a helpline number and a mobile app named ‘Apthamitra’ to empower the people of the state in the fight against COVID-19. The Apthamitra helpline is an exclusive toll free Number 14410 dedicated to deal with only Covid-19-related queries including telemedicine, counselling and facilitating testing and treatment for those in need. It will work from 8 AM to 8 PM. Similarly, the app is for those, seeking advice for telemedicine from doctors directly. The two platforms will help to reach out to people, especially those staying in Corona hotspot areas, to identify those having influenza-like illness (ILI), Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI), COVID-19-like symptoms or having high risk of getting infected. The initiative will enable to identify persons with low risk but having some symptoms similar to COVID-19 and provide them telemedicine support with over-the-counter medicines and counsel them about the need to go through self-quarantine.

Note: Governor of Karnataka: Vajubhai Vala; Chief Minister of Karnataka: B. S. Yediyurappa.

4. IIIT-Delhi Develops Mobile App ‘WashKaro’ to warn about COVID-19: Researchers at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-Delhi) have developed an app named ‘WashKaro’ to warn people about a coronavirus containment zone nearby as well as help them to check whether a news item about the pandemic is genuine or fake. The app has been developed by a team led by professor Ponnurangam Kumaraguru and Dr Tavpritesh Sethi along with five students. The app uses Bluetooth technology for communication and does not need internet or location services. The containment zones are mapped on the app and if you enter the area, it will alert you that you are entering a zone. The app also has a feature ‘onAIr’, which makes use of the Artificial Intelligence technology to cross-reference news with WHO documents.

Note: Director of IIIT-Delhi: Ranjan Bose

5. NIF boost New variety of Anthurium developed by Kerala’s innovator: D Vasini Bai, Kerala's women innovator has developed 10 varieties of Anthurium, a flower with high market value by cross-pollination. National Innovation Foundation has facilitated mass multiplication and large scale production through tissue culture technique at IIHR to meet the demand. Anthurium is one of the best domestic flowering plants that purify the surrounding air removing harmful airborne chemicals like formaldehyde, ammonia, toluene, xylene, and allergens.

6. BRO builds bridge to connect Kasowal enclave with rest of India: Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed new permanent bridge on the river Ravi connecting Kasowal enclave in Punjab to the rest of the country replacing pontoon bridge. The 484-meter bridge is built by 141 Drain Maintenance Coy of 49 Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) of Project Chetak. The bridge is built at a cost of Rs 17.89 crore excluding the approaches. The pontoon bridge used to be dismantled every year prior to the Monsoon due to the limited load capacity.

Note: Chief Minister of Punjab: Capt. Amarinder Singh; Governor of Punjab: V.P. Singh Badnore.

Director General Border Roads (DGBR): Lt Gen Harpal Singh.

7. ARCI develop NanoBlitz 3D for mapping material’s nano-mechanical property: Scientists from International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) and Nanomechanics Inc., Oak Ridge, USA have jointly developed an advanced tool “NanoBlitz 3D” which can be used for the mapping of nano-mechanical properties of materials such as multi-phase alloys, composites, and multi-layered coatings. It will also help in carrying out advanced data analysis like identifying and quantifying the mechanical properties of constituent phases, features or components of multi-phase alloys, composites as well as multi-layered coatings.

Note: Director of International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI): G. Padmanabham.

8. Ministry of Home Affairs issues SOP for seafarers: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has specified a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for sign in and sign-off of seafarers on ships. MHA has also issued graded relaxations of Indian seafarers at Indian ports. As per the SOP, Indian seafarers on the vessel would have to undergo the COVID-19 test before returning to their home. After the test, seafarer shall be kept in the quarantine facility by the Port State Health Authorities till the time test report is not received.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. TCS to power Israel's first fully digital bank: India's largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will launch Israel's first fully digital bank. TCS is the first to receive a banking license in Israel in over 40 years and is to be launched in 2021 with industry leading TCS BaNCS Global Banking Platform that helps banks offering innovative products and services. The fully digital bank will have no physical branches and provide Israeli citizens with all the services that regular banks offer. The TCS BaNCS universal financial solution is designed to help financial services institutions enhance end-customer experience, enabling them to embrace open and innovative technologies that embody true digital customer engagement.

Note: Israel Capital: Jerusalem, Currency: Israeli new shekel; Prime Minister of Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu.

2. World Press Freedom Index 2020 released: The World Press Freedom Index 2020 has been released by the media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders (RWB). It is compiled by means of a questionnaire in 20 languages that is completed by experts all over the world. India has been ranked at 142nd position out of 180 countries. India has dropped two places from last year’s ranking. Norway ranks first for the fourth consecutive year and Finland and Denmark in second and third place. The index is released annually since 2002 measuring the level of media freedom in 180 countries.

3. UN English Language Day & UN Spanish Language Day: 23 April: The UN English Language Day and UN Spanish Language Day is observed annually on 23 April. They are one of the six official languages used by the United Nations throughout the Organization. Each language has been assigned a day of celebration by UN’s Department of Public Information in 2010 to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the Organization. For English, 23 April has been chosen to mark both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare. For Spanish Language, the Day was chosen because the day is also observed as Hispanic Day in Spain, meaning the Spanish speaking world.

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

4. World Book and Copyright Day: 23 April: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) organises the World Book Day every year on 23 April to promote reading, publishing, and copyright in the society. The day is also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book. The theme of 2020 World Book Day is ‘SHARE A STORY’. April 23 was approved by UNESCO’s General Conference 1995 held in Paris to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors. It is also the date on which several prominent authors like William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes, and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. In United Kingdom, the day is observed on first Thursday of March.

5. International Girls in ICT Day 2020: 23 April 2020: Every year the International Girls in ICT Day is observed on the fourth Thursday of April. It is an initiative backed by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Member States. In 2020, the day was observed virtually on 23rd April. 2020 theme: ‘Inspiring the Next Generation’. It provides an initiative to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider studies and careers in the growing field of information and communication technologies (ICT).

Note: International Telecommunication Union (ITU) headquarter- Geneva, Switzerland

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. P.V. Sindhu selected as ambassador for BWF’s “I Am badminton” awareness campaign: Indian badminton champion, P.V. Sindhu has been selected as one of the ambassadors for Badminton World Federation (BWF)’s “I am badminton” awareness campaign. Other people who have been selected as ambassadors by BWF are- Michelle Li from Canada, Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong  from China, Jack Shephard from England, Valeska Knoblauch from Germany, Chan Ho Yuen from Hong Kong and Marc Zwiebler from Germany’s Germany, who is Athletes’ Commission Chair. The campaign provides a platform for players to express their love and respect for badminton by advocating and committing to clean and honest play.

Note: Headquarters of Badminton World Federation: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Badminton World Federation Founded: 5 July 1934; President of Badminton World Federation: Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI increases deployment time limit under TLTRO 2.0 to 45 days from 30 days: RBI has extended the time available for banks for deployment of funds under the TLTRO 2.0 scheme from 30 working days to 45 working days from the date of the operation. Under TLTRO 2.0 the banks which have borrowed the funds are required to deploy this fund in specific sectors as advised by RBI. The time limit for this deployment of the fund is now 45 days from the date of borrowing. Funds that are not deployed within this extended time frame will be charged interest at the prevailing policy repo rate plus 200 bps for the number of days such funds remain un-deployed.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Facebook buys 9.9% stake in Reliance Jio for Rs 43,574 crore: Social Media giant Facebook on April 22, 2020 has bought 9.9% stake in Reliance Jio for $5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crore). With this investment, Facebook has become the largest minority shareholder of Reliance Jio, the telecom unit of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). This is also the largest investment for a minority stake by a technology company anywhere in the world as well as the largest FDI in the technology sector in India. Following the Facebook’s investment, the Jio Platform has been valued at Rs 4.62 lakh crore ($65.95 billion). Jio Platform is the parent of phone and data unit Reliance Jio Infocomm including various other digital app platforms like JioMart, Jio-Saavn and JioCinema.

Note: Chief Executive Officer of Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg; Facebook Headquarters: California, US.

2. Bajaj Auto’s Rakesh Sharma Appointed as President of IMMA: Rakesh Sharma, the Executive Director (ED) at Bajaj Auto, has been appointed as the new President of International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (IMMA) on 22 April 2020. Sharma succeeds Johannes Loman, Director of PT Astra International Tbk and Executive Vice President Director PT Astra Honda Motor (AHM) Indonesia and will hold the office of IMMA President for two years. He had been holding office as vice-president in IMMA, since May 2019.

Note: IMMA Founded: 1947; IMMA Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.

Daily GK Updates - 22nd April 2020

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.

Daily GK Updates - 21st April 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Government forms high-level task force for vaccine and drug testing of COVID-19: The Central Government has formed a high-level task force for vaccine and drug testing for COVID-19. The task force is headed by Prof K. VijayRaghavan (principal scientific advisor to the Prime Minister). The objective of this task force is to speed up national and international efforts towards vaccine development to treat Covid-19. The department of biotechnology would also act as a nodal agency “to identify the pathway for vaccine development, monitor the progress of efforts at both national and international levels in this area and provide government facilitation where needed.

2. Health Ministry Uses Traffic Lights Colour Code to Map Country’s COVID-19 and Virus-free Zones: According to the latest data from the Union Health Ministry, the colour code- Red, Orange, Green– will now be used on the country’s map to highlight COVID-19 and virus-free zones. The government has decided to divide all districts across the country into three zones including hotspots (red zone), non-hotspots (orange zone) and green zones. This step will help in planning and managing the Covid-19 pandemic as well as partial opening up of economic activities during the extended period of the nationwide lockdown.

(1) Red Zone – Any district reporting more than six cases would be classified as hotspot district or red zone; (2) Orange Zone – Districts where new cases are emerging or showing a sign of decline has been classified as non-hotspots or orange zone; (3) Green Zone – Districts not reporting any cases across the country has been classified as Green zone. So far the government has identified 170 hotspot districts, 207 non-hotspot districts and 359 green zones. This number may decrease or increase as per the situation.

3. New chief justices recommended for Bombay, Meghalaya & Orissa High Courts:  New Chief Justices for the Bombay, Orissa and Meghalaya High Courts (HC) have been recommended by the Supreme Court (SC) Collegium led by the chief justice of India, Sharad Arvind Bobde.

S. No.	Name	High court
1	Dipankar Datta	Bombay High Court
2	Biswanath Somadder	Meghalaya High Court
3	Mohammad Rafiq	Orissa High Court

Justice Dipankar Datta is presently a judge at the Calcutta High Court. He will replace the current Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court Bhushan Dharmadhikari. Justice Biswanath Somadder is presently a judge at the Allahabad High Court. He will replace Mohammad Rafiq. Justice Mohammad Rafiq is presently a Judge at the Meghalaya High Court. He will replace Sanju Panda as Chief Justice of Orissa High Court.

4. BRO Constructs Daporijo Bridge over Subansiri River in Arunachal Pradesh: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed Daporijo bridge over Subansiri river in Arunachal Pradesh, to provide adequate movement of supplies to about 3,000 troops deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China, amid lockdown due to COVID-19. Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Shri Pema Khandu inaugurated it over video conferencing on April 21, and the same was open for traffic movement immediately. The 430 feet long bailey bridge at Daporijo has been constructed in Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh in a record time of 27 days to allow easy availability of supplies to 451 villages near it. The BRO was given a two-month deadline to finish the project but they finished the job in a month despite the COVID-19 threat. The bridge has even been upgraded from class 24 tons to class 40 tons which means that it can bear the weight of heaviest loads such as artillery guns that can then be taken to forward areas along the LAC.

Note: Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh: Pema Khandu; Governor: B.D. Mishra.

5. “e-sanjeevani-opd” facility rolled out in Himachal Pradesh: Himachal Pradesh government has rolled out “e-sanjeevani-opd” for free online medical consultation to sick people who were feeling uncomfortable to visit hospitals in view of COVID-19 pandemic. The ‘e-sanjeevani-opd’ service will provide free online medical consultation to sick people at their residence throughout the state. To reap the benefits of ‘e-sanjeevani-opd’, a person should have a computer, laptop, tablet along with webcam mike, speaker as well as internet connection. To provide the free online medical consultation, a team of 16 doctors of various medical colleges of state will be available on all working days. This free online health service has been started throughout the state and now people can consult to take health advice from the doctors of different medical colleges from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM on all working days.

Note: Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh: Jairam Thakur; Governor: Bandaru Dattatraya.

6. Madhya Pradesh announced CM COVID-19 Yoddha Kalyan Yojana: The state Government of Madhya Pradesh has launched the ‘Chief Minister COVID-19 Yoddha Kalyan Yojana’ to benefit the Anganwadi workers and Assistants of the state. Under the scheme, the state government will provide a special health insurance cover of Rs 50 lakhs. The benefit of this scheme will be given to the warriors under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), which was launched by the central Government.

Note: Madhya Pradesh Capital: Bhopal; Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chauhan; Governor: Lal Ji Tandon

7. Kapil Dev Tripathi appointed Secretary to the President of India: Former IAS officer Kapil Dev Tripathi has been appointed as the Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed Mr Tripathi as Secretary to the President on contract basis, for a term co-terminus with the tenure of the President. Kapil Dev Tripathi is a 1980-batch retired IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. Prior to this, he worked as the Chairman of Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB).

8. Civil Services Day: April 21: In India, the ‘Civil Services Day’ is celebrated on April 21 every year as a thanks giving day to all the Civil Servants for their service to the society and also for Civil Servants to ‘rededicate themselves to the cause of citizen and renew their commitments to public service’. The day April 21 has been chosen to commemorate the day when the first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers in 1947 at Metcalf House, Delhi. In his address, he called Civil Servants, the ‘Steel Frame of India’. The day was celebrated for the first time on 21 April 2006.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 5th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of New Development Bank held: Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman represented India in the 5th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of New Development Bank which was held through video-conference. During the meeting, she lauded the efforts made by New Development Bank in establishing itself as a credible Global Financial Institution, living up to its mandate successfully by taking more sustainable and inclusive measures. FM Sitharaman appreciated NDB’s effort on fast tracking of financial assistance of about $5 billion to BRICS countries including Emergency Assistance of $1 billion India to combat COVID-19 pandemic.

Note: The New Development Bank was formed in 2014 by the BRICS countries i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

President of New Development Bank: K V Kamath.

2. China begins testing of digital currency – DC/EP: People’s Bank of China (Central Bank of China) has started testing its digital currency named Digital Currency Electronic Payment, DC/EP. It is built with Blockchain and Cryptographic technology. The currency is pegged 1:1 to the Chinese National Currency – the RenMinBi (RMB). China’s official digital currency is undergoing testing and has not been officially released.

3. World Creativity and Innovation Day: 21 April: The World Creativity and Innovation Day (#WCID) is celebrated on April 21 every year to raise awareness around the importance of creativity and innovation in problem solving and encourage creative multidisciplinary thinking at the individual and group levels. The United Nations recognised the day in April 2017 and the first UN World Creativity and Innovation Day was celebrated on April 21, 2018. The World Creativity and Innovation Week is observed from April 15-21.

Note: Secretary-General of the United Nations: Antonio Guterres.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Charles Leclerc wins Chinese Virtual Grand Prix: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc won his second successive Formula One esports race with victory in a virtual Chinese Grand Prix. Red Bull’s Thai driver Alexander Albon and F2 racer and Guanyu Zhou finished as second and third. The 28-lap race was the 3rd in a series designed to give fans something to watch after Covid-19 stalled F1. Leclerc also won a “Race for the World” esports charity event that raised more than $71,000 for Covid-19 charity. Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the actual F1 races are not being held. In its place, Formula 1 has announced new F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix series. The virtual races will run in place of every postponed Grand Prix. The series will use the official F1 2019 PC video game, developed by Codemasters.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI increases WMA limit for Central Govt to Rs 2 lakh cr from 1.2 Lakh cr for H1FY21: In an important revision, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in consultation with Indian Government has increased the limit for Ways and Means Advances (WMA) by 66% for Central Government (UTs) to Rs 2,00,000 crore from Rs 1,20,000 crore for the remaining part of first half of the financial year 2020-21 i.e H1 FY21 (April 2020 to September 2020) to tackle the financial crisis arisen due to COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, RBI increased the WMA limit of state governments by 60%. With this move states would get greater financial support to undertake COVID-19 containment and mitigation efforts.

2. ICICI Bank launches voice banking services on Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant: ICICI bank has rolled out a new feature of voice banking services on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for its customers. It will enable customers to #BankWithTheirVoice and get answers to banking queries, check account balance & transactions, credit card due date and more. The service is available 24x7, without any branch visit. The company’s new voice banking service uses an multi-channel chatbot called iPal to allow users to interact with virtual assistants on Alexa or Google Assistant-powered devices. ICICI Bank had recently launched a WhatsApp chat-based ICICIStack which provides uninterrupted banking services for both retail and business customers.

Note: Managing Director & CEO of ICICI Bank: Sandeep Bakhshi; ICICI Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

3. Fifteenth Finance Commission Advisory Council meet to be held: The Economic Advisory Council of the Fifteenth Finance Commission will meet on 23-24 April 2020 through video-conference It will be presided by N. K. Singh (15th Finance Commission Chairman), and attended by the 5 Members of the Council including Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Dr. Sajjid Z Chinoy, Dr. Prachi Mishra, Mr. Neelkanth Mishra and Dr. Omkar Goswami on 23rd April 2020. The meeting with the remaining Members of the Council will be held on 24th April 2020.

OBITUARIES

1. BMW India CEO & President Rudratej Singh Passes Away: Rudratej Singh, the current President and CEO of BMW Group India has passed away in a sudden massive cardiac arrest. He was 46. Rudratej was the first Indian to lead the BMW India operations and was appointed as the head of India operations from August 1, 2019. Prior to BMW India, Rudratej 'Rudy' Singh who had over 25 years of experience holding multiple leadership positions in auto and other industries was the Global President at Royal Enfield and Unilever India. Meanwhile, BMW Group India has appointed Chief Financial Officer Arlindo Teixeira as the interim President.

2. Nigerian President’s Chief of Staff Abba Kyari passes away: Abba Kyari (67 years), chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari passes away due to COVID-19. He had been considered by some as Nigeria's most powerful government figure. He was also chief executive officer of the United Bank for Africa Plc and served on the boards of both Unilever Nigeria Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp.’s Nigerian unit. In 2015, he was appointed as the chief of staff to the Nigerian president.

Daily GK Updates - 20th April 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Government launches Dashboard ‘COVID Warriors’ Containing Details of Healthcare Professionals and Volunteers for combating Covid-19: The Union Government has launched an online portal https://covidwarriors.gov.in which consists of details of AYUSH doctors, nurses and other health care professionals, volunteers from NYKs, NCC NSS, PMGKVY, ex Servicemen etc. The dashboard contains state wise and district wise availability of the large pool of human resources from various groups along with contact details of the nodal officers, in order to help in combating and containing COVID-19. The dashboard aims at helping various ground level administration at state, district or municipal levels to prepare Crisis Management/Contingency Plans based on the available manpower. The information uploaded on a dashboard will be regularly updated.

2. Kerala-based Research institute develops low-cost diagnostic kit ‘Chitra GeneLAMP-N’ that can confirm Covid-19 in 2 hrs: Trivandrum, Kerala-based Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science and Technology has developed a low cost diagnostic test kit that can confirm COVID-19 cases in just two hours. The test kit has been named Chitra GeneLAMP-N. The diagnostic test kit can detect coronavirus in 10 minutes, and the ‘sample to result’ (from RNA extraction in swab to RT-LAMP detection time) time take less than two hours. The new diagnostic kit is cost-effective as each test will cost the lab Rs. 1,000, which is less than the minimum cost of COVID-19 tests being carried out at present. A total of 30 samples can be tested in a single batch and the machines are estimated to cost Rs 2.5 lakh. The test kit is funded by the Department of Science & Technology.

3. CeNS develops TriboE masks that use electrostatics of materials to restrict the entry of infections but without any external power: A team of researchers at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bangalore, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), have developed a unique face masks, called TriboE Mask. The interesting thing about this mask is that it can hold electric charges to restrict the entry of infections and that too without any external power. The mask works on the principle of electrostatics, wherein when two non-conducting layers are rubbed against each other, the layers develop positive and negative charges instantly and continue to hold the charges for some time, to deactivate or possibly even kill the germs. TriboE mask is three-layered, comprising of nylon cloth sandwiched between polypropylene layers. When the layers are rubbed against each other, static electricity is produced, which is expected to restrict the possible transmission of infections.

4. Uttar Pradesh Government sets up panel, headed by Agriculture Production Commissioner, to provide jobs to 5 lakh migrant workers: The state government of Uttar Pradesh under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has constituted a committee to provide employment to the 5 lakh migrated laborers who reached the state during last 45 days, and got stuck due to COVID-19. The committee will be headed by Agriculture Production Commissioner (APC). The current APC of Uttar Pradesh is Shri Alok Sinha. Apart from APC, the principal secretaries of Rural development, Panchayati Raj, MSME and Skill development will be the members of this committee. The Committee will recommend how maximum opportunities of employment may be generated at local level and strengthen rural economy. It will arrange loan fairs for bank loans and suggest employment under one district one product program (ODOP), to provide employment to the maximum people.

5. Kerala’s Pathanamthitta Distrcit Administration Launches Tiranga Vehicle for Rapid Screening of Symptoms: The Pathanamthitta district in Kerala has come up with an innovative ‘Rapid Screening Vehicle-1 (RSV – 1)’, as an initiative to help reduce the risk of exposure of health workers as they go out to screen people. The vehicle called TIRANGA (Total India Remote Analysis Nirogya Abhiyaan) will have three people (medical volunteer, a non-medical volunteer and a driver), two of them asking questions to a person standing outside. The vehicle is equipped with thermal scanning, an infrared thermometer mounted on the bonnet, a two-way microphone system by which people inside and outside the vehicle can talk to each other, a mobile camera that will click photos of their identity cards and so on. The vehicle has been painted with tricolour so that people would immediately recognise it as an initiative of the government and leave the health workers alone. Screening will be done in containment zones and buffer zones and in the camps for migrant workers and destitute people.

6. IIA connects Li abundance in interstellar space to new Li-rich red giants: Researchers Team at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have discovered hundreds of Li-rich giant stars indicating that Lithium is being produced in the stars and accounts for its abundance in the interstellar medium. The researchers determined the evolutionary phase of these giants by analyzing relative positions of stars using their temperature and luminosity and from Kepler Space Telescope. This will eliminate theories such as nucleosynthesis.

7. INST develops electro-catalyst from fish gills: Ramendra Sundar Dey and his team from Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali have recently come up with an efficient, low-cost electro-catalyst from fish gills that can help develop environmentally friendly energy conversion devices. This bio-inspired carbon nanostructure can help overcome the bottleneck in the realization of several renewable energy conversion and storage technologies such as fuel cell, biofuel cell, and metal−air battery.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Bank-IMF Development Committee meeting held: The 101st Meeting of the Development Committee Plenary was held through video conference on. The items on the agenda included update on World Bank Group Response to the COVID-19 Emergency, and the Covid-19 Debt Initiative: International Call for Action in Support of IDA Countries. The next meeting of the Development Committee is currently scheduled for October 17, 2020, in Washington, DC.

2. UN Chinese Language Day: 20 April: UN Chinese Language Day is observed on April 20 annually. The UN Department of Public Information established the day in 2010 to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as promote equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the organization. April 20 has been chosen to pay tribute to Cangjie, a mythical figure who is presumed to have invented Chinese characters about 5,000 years ago.

Note: Secretary-General of the United Nations: Antonio Guterres.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. BCCI creates ‘Team Mask Force’ to spread awareness against COVID-19: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has created a video to promote wearing masks in public places and help the country to fight against COVID-19 pandemic. The ‘Team Mask Force’ has been formed to spread awareness about wearing masks in public places. It features Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly, Mithali Raj, etc. The tag line by BCCI for this is “TeamIndia is now #TeamMaskForce! Join #IndiaFightsCorona and download @mygovindia’s @SetuAarogya mobile application Mobile phone.”

Note: BCCI President: Sourav Ganguly; Headquarter of BCCI: Mumbai.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. GoI amends extant FDI policy due to the current pandemic: The Government of India has amended the extant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy for curbing opportunistic takeovers/acquisitions of Indian companies due to the COVID-19 of Consolidated FDI Policy, 2017. As per the new change, an entity of a country which shares land border with India or where the beneficial owner of an investment into India is situated can invest only under the Government route. The decision will take effect from the date of FEMA notification.

BUSINESS AND ECONMY

1. Fitch slashes India’s GDP growth forecast to 1.8%: Fitch Solutions has slashed India’s economic growth forecast to 1.8% from 4.6% for the financial year 2020-21 stating large-scale loss of income across the economy due to domestic outbreak of COVID-19. It has predicted the contraction in fixed investments as capital expenditure has been reduced by businesses to conserve cash amid elevated economic uncertainty. Fitch Solutions has also reduced the real GDP forecast of China for the financial year 2020 from 2.6% to 1.1%.

2. Cognizant hit by ‘Maze’ ransomware attack: IT services company Cognizant has been hit by ‘Maze’ ransomware attack that has caused disruptions to some of its clients. Ransomware logs users out of their systems through forced encryption of data and asks them to pay a ransom if they want to access the encrypted data. The Maze ransomware was discovered in 2019.

Note: Headquarters of Cognizant: New Jersey, United States.