Deepak Bhardwaj = Cleared 6 Government Jobs

FULL CA – APRIL 2020

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SUMMIT/EVENTS/CONFRENCES ETC

DELHI

 National Conference on Kharif crops 2020 - held through video conference.  5th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of New Development Bank – video conference - Nirmala Sitharaman represented India

USA, CANADA, JAPAN, CHINA, AUSTRAILA

 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO - postponed - was scheduled to be held in Fuzhou, China

CENTRAL AND MIDDLE EAST ASIA

 G20 Trade and Investment Ministers meeting - Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal participated virtually - to tackle covid-19 - Saudi Arabia has assumed presidency of G20 for the year 2020  G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) virtual meeting - Union finance & corporate affairs minister, Nirmala Sitharaman participated - to discuss the impact of COVID-19 in the global economy & coordinate efforts to respond to this global challenge  Virtual 2nd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) – Saudi arabia - Nirmala Sitharaman

 G-20 Extraordinary Agriculture Ministers Meeting - Video Conferencing – attended by Narendra Singh Tomar - presidency of Saudi Arabia

STATE/NATIONAL NEWS Kerala  Kerala based SCTIMST, an institute of National Importance under the Department of Science and Technology - partnered with ‘Wipro 3D’ - to build a portable and lightweight emergency ventilator system based on Artificial Manual Breathing Unit (AMBU)  Kerala - 1st state - to start clinical trial of plasma therapy  Kerala - deployed a robot - ‘KARMI-Bot’ - to serve food and medicines to COVID-19 patient  Administration of Pathanamthitta district, Kerala - launched - a vehicle called ‘Tiranga’ (Total India Remote Analysis Nirogya Abhiyaan) - for rapid screening of COVID-19 symptoms

 Andhra Pradesh (AP) - to buy a novel contraption, ‘Portable Multi-feed Oxygen Manifold (MOM)’ - developed by Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam (NDV) - to address the need for oxygen supply to covid-19 patients  25 lakh poor with white ration cards in Andhra Pradesh to get house sites under Navaratnalu- Pedalandariki Illu programme  Andhra Pradesh – launched - YSR Nirman  Andhra Pradesh - launched - Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme  YSR Zero Interest Loan scheme - women SHG members can avail a loan of maximum Rs 40,000  Andhra Pradesh - to extend financial assistance of Rs.2,000 to each of the discharged COVID 19 patients

Telangana

 Hyderabad - India’s first Mobile Virology Diagnostics and Research Laboratory (MVRDL)

Karnataka  Karnataka - launched – Apthamitra helpline

Tamilnadu

 Tropical Butterfly Conservatory - developed in Tamil Nadu - to create awareness among the public about the importance of the butterfly and its ecology

Gujarat

 Gujarat - launched - Umbare Aanganwadi (doorstep Aanganwadi) - to reach out to children during the lockdown  The government of Gujarat - third edition of ‘Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan’

Madhya Pradesh

 Madhya Pradesh - launched - Chief Minister COVID-19 Yoddha Kalyan Yojana  Madhya Pradesh - Chief Minister COVID-19 Yoddha Kalyan Yojana  Madhya Pradesh - launched - Jeevan-Shakti Yojana

Rajasthan

 Government of Rajasthan has + MedCords - to launch ‘Aayu & Sehat Sathi app to fight against COVID-19

Punjab  Border Roads Organisation (BRO) – constructed – a bridge – on ravi - to link Kasowal enclave in Punjab with rest of India

Delhi

 Delhi - launched - Operation SHIELD - to curb the spread of COVID-19  Delhi - launched - 5T action plan to fight COVID-19

Uttar Pradesh

 Uttar Pradesh - 1st state to start “Pool Testing” of Covid-19 samples  Uttar Pradesh - 1st state - facility of virtual courts - hearing cases through video conferencing.  Uttar Pradesh Government + Google - to formed geotag community kitchens - 12 lakh food packets on a daily basis.

Jharkhand

 COBOT-Robotics Robots to serve food, medicine to COVID-19 patients – by two hospitals in Jharkhand

 Jharkhand - launched - Muhkya Mantri Didi Kitchen (MMDK) - for providing free food to the needy

Orissa

 Odisha state government + UNICEF - launched a creative skill competition programme - “Mo Prativa” (My talent) - to keep children engaged in some creative work during 21-days lockdown due to coronavirus (COVID-19)

Assam

 Assam - Rs.50 lakh insurance cover to journalists who are reporting during the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak  Assam - launched - Dhanwantari scheme - for home delivery of medicines

Manipur

 Government of Manipur - launched - Electronic format of comic textbooks for Class III, IV and V  Imphal East District Administration of Manipur – launched – initiative - ‘Food Bank’ - to provide immediate aid in the form of free food to the poor and needy  Manipur - “Khongjom Day” - observed to remembering the people who valiantly fought in the Anglo-Manipuri War in 1891

Arunachal Pradesh

 Arunachal Pradesh - A new species of green pit viper found - named Salazar  Daporijo bridge - completed by the BRO in Arunachal Pradesh  Border Roads Organisation - constructed - 430 feet long bailey “Daporijo bridge” in AP - over the Subansiri River

Jammu and Kashmir

 Jammu and Kashmir - decided to halt the Darbar Move  Jammu and Kashmir State Legal Services Authority (JKSLSA) - launched - a helpline under ‘Serve-the-Seniors Initiative’

 Himachal Pradesh - will provide free online medical consultation to sick people through e-sanjeevani-opd  Himachal Pradesh - “e-sanjeevani-opd” - for free online medical consultation to sick people

AIIMS Rishikesh + BEL (Bharat Electronics Limited) = to set up India’s 1st remote health monitoring system in Uttarakhand - to monitor COVID-19 patients

GOVT SCHEMES+OTHERS NATIONAL NEWS INCLUDING

 Govt extended benefits of 2% interest subvention (IS) to banks and 3% prompt repayment incentive (PRI) to all farmers upto Rs 3 lakh till May 31

 Department of Revenue under Ministry of Finance has postponed the implementation of uniform stamp duty for capital market instruments by 3 months from 1 April 2020 to 1 July 2020 - the stamp duty rates levied by Maharashtra will be taken as a benchmark

 Central govt redefines Perks and Privileges of ex-CMs of J&K

 Ministry of Commerce and Industry - extended the existing foreign trade policy (2015-20) for one year till March 2021

 Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) - advised National Informatics Centre (NIC) - to assist the States /UTs in limited registration of BS-IV vehicles all over India except Delhi/National Capital Region (NCR)

 Narendra Singh Tomar, the Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj - launched - three new features of National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) Platform - to enable farmers to sell their harvested produce directly from warehouse

 NHAI constructed 3,979 km of National Highways in FY 2019-20 – highest till now

 Ministry of Human Resource Development – designated DigiLocker as the sole National Academic Depository (NAD)

 Madhuban - biofortified variety of Carrot

 Jammu & Kashmir + Tata Technologies - accorded sanction for establishment of two Centres for Invention, Innovation, Incubation and Training (CIIIT)

 EMC 2.0, PLI AND SPECS - three schemes - to boost large-scale electronics manufacturing in India EMC 2.0 - Electronics Manufacturing Clusters. SPECS - Scheme for Promotion of manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors. PLI - Production Linked Incentive Scheme.

 Atal Innovation Mission + NITI Aayog + National Informatics Centre - launched = Collaborative CAD Software (CollabCAD)

 Prasar Bharti - new channel DD Retro = dedicated to old classics of Doordarshan

 IFFCO - organizing - Break the CORONA Chain Social Awareness Campaign

 production target for foodgrains = 298.3 million tones for 2020-21 crop year (July-June)

 Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) - developed - sensitive and low-cost sensor called ‘bug sniffer’ to rapidly detect bacteria

 Jim Corbett National Park - India's first quarantine facility for animals

 #DekhoApnaDesh - launched by the Indian Tourism Ministry = to provide information on many destinations and culture & heritage of Incredible India

 Human Resource Development Ministry - launched - VidyaDaan 2.0 - for inviting e-learning content contributions in New Delhi

 PM Narendra Modi - launched Swamitva yojana - drones will be used in mapping of properties in village

 710 mt - coal production target for the Financial Year 2020-21

 Government - declared - banking industry as a public utility service till 21 October

 Finance ministry - established - International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA),Gandhinagar

 NTPC - launched - Hydrogen Fuel bus and car project for Leh and New Delhi

 National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) - to distribute 6 lakh metric tonnes of pulses under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana

 Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ – launched -#MyBookMyFriend - on the occasion of World Book Day.

INTERNATIONAL

 As per UNCTAD - World will go into recession except India and China due to COVID-19 - exporting countries will face $2 trillion to $3 trillion drop in investment from overseas in the next two years. Also, United Nations (UN) asked USD 2.5 trillion rescue package  The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) - adopted - four resolutions - UNSC is currently under China’s Presidency  United Nation’s COP 26 climate change summit which was planned to take place from 9-19 November 2020, in Glasgow, Scotland postponed till 2021  United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) - a resolution – ‘Global solidarity to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)’, co-sponsored by 188 nations including India

 Harold Tropical Cyclone - hit Fiji along with Solomon Islands and Vanuatu  Volcano Anak Krakatau - located in Indonesia  Abdul Majed - hanged in Dhaka - killer of former President of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman  Emirates - first airline to launch the blood test for coronavirus for its passengers  Matterhorn Mountain in Swiss Alps lights up with Indian flag in show of solidarity with India in its fight against the coronavirus  Vietnam - The Chairmanship of ASEAN for 2020  Lebanese - legalized the cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial purposes  Iran - launched - first military satellite Noor - orbiting 425 km above the earth’s surface  Thailand - found - largest number of nests of rare leatherback sea turtles in two decades on beaches  World Food Programme - released - Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC 2020)  China - condemned India for putting additional restrictions on FDI  South Korea - decided - to strap electronic wristbands on people ignoring home-quarantine orders  Japan - largest holder of the US government securities

 Australia - launched - coronavirus tracking app COVIDSafe  Saudi Arabia - abolished flogging as a form of punishment  G20 - launched - Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator

BANKING, FINANCE AND ECONOMY RBI IN NEWS

 RBI has revised norms for appointment & reappointment of MD & CEO - As per new norms, Proposal of reappointment should be submitted 6 months in advance instead 4 months (earlier) and the proposal for appointment of new MD & CEO or CEO should consist of a panel of at least 2 names in the order of preference (earlier was 3 names)  RBI announced additional measures - relax the export norms, increase in Ways & Means (WMA) limit & implement the counter cyclical capital buffer (CCyB) to tackle the economic fallout of COVID-19

 RBI - increased - FPI limit in corporate bonds from 9% to 15% for FY21 (2020-2021), The changes were made under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999). At present an investor can invest Rs 3.17 lakh crore in Indian corporate bonds through FPI  RBI - launched - twitter campaign with Amitabh Bachchan - urging bank customers to adopt digital modes of payment  Reserve Bank of India cancelled - license of the Mapusa Urban Co-operative Bank of Goa Ltd  As per RBI - Bank credit growth decelerated to an over five-decade low of 6.14% per cent in this FY19-20  RBI - launched - Order Books, Inventories and Capacity Utilization Survey (OBICUS) on the manufacturing sector  Reserve Bank of India – increased - Ways and Means Advances (WMA) to 2.0 lakh crore for April-September  RBI - to provide Rs 50,000 crore support to SIDBI, NHB &NABARD  Sri Lanka and RBI - currency swap agreement worth USD 400 million

OTHER BANK NEWS

 ICICI + WhatsApp- to provide banking service to its customers through Whataspp  ICICI bank - new feature of voice banking services on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for their customers - #BankWithTheirVoice  SBI - waived service charges for all ATM transactions made on SBI ATMs and on the other bank ATMs up to 30th June 2020  SBI lists green bonds of USD 100 million (about Rs 750 crore) under its USD 10 billion global medium term note programme on India INX  Govt nominated Indian Overseas Bank IOB & HDFC Bank for collecting donations of PM CARES Fund  HDFC Bank - #HDFCBankSafetyGrid campaign - to encourage social distancing in Public places  HDFC Bank - launched - Safety Grid campaign - to encourage and reinforce social distancing while waiting at shops  Jana Small Finance Bank – launched - DigiGen platform  YES Bank – bancassurance for 5 years - with Max Life Insurance

 Singapore’s Caladium Investment - raised - stake in Bandhan Bank by 1.1 percent from 3.39% to 4.49%  Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) + Mastercard - to issue virtual and physical debit cards

ECONOMY ETC

 BhartPe + ICICI lombard - to launch ‘COVID-19 protection insurance cover’ for shopkeepers - premium starts from Rs 199 with a sum assured of Rs 25,000 and value-added benefits and people aged between 18-65 can avail this  Centre reduced small savings schemes interest rates for Q1 FY20-21 - PPF interest lowered to 7.1%  PhonePe - launched - India’s first COVID-19 insurance policy - Corona Care with Bajaj Allianz – SI - 50,000 - premium of Rs 156 for people who are under 55 years of age  IRDAI - All standard health insurance policies to cover COVID-19 hospitalization treatment including “Arogya Sanjeevani” - Coverage between 1 Lakh to 5 Lakh in multiples of 50,000 for age group of 18-65  IMF MD Kristalina Georgieva - named 12 people including Raghuram Rajan to her external advisory group

 Milton Friedman - coined = the term Helicopter Money  According to the IMF, Asia's economy is likely to suffer zero growth in 2020 for the first time in 60 years  Tata AIA Life Insurance - 1st life Insurance Company - to announce additional benefits related to COVID-19 for Policyholders and Agents at no additional cost.  Bajaj Allianz + GOQii - launched BAGIC GOQii Co-pay Option  Nokia + Airtel - $1 billion deal to enhance network capacity  Transcorp - received RBI nod - to issue co-branded prepaid cards, wallets  Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will launch the first fully digital bank of Israel

 Vodafone idea + Paytm - launched = Recharge Saathi program - help individuals and small businesses to earn

additional income

SOME SPECIFIC GROUPS/CHANNELS FOR SEBI, RBI, IBPS&RRB, FCI, RBI ASSISTANT AND QUIZ GROUP -

AWARDS, PERSONS IN NEWS Appointments  Government - extended - appointment of Madhabi Puri Buch as a whole-time member (WTM) of SEBI by 6 months  Anurag Srivastava - spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs  Viswanathan Anand - World Wide Fund (WWF) India ambassador  Birupaksha Mishra - Executive Director of Union Bank of India  Kapil Dev Tripathi - Secretary to the President of India  Moon Jae-in - won the Presidential elections of South Korea  Sanjay Kothari - Central Vigilance Commissioner of India  Dipankar Datta - new Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court  Manisha Singh - Indian-American diplomat - nominated by the US President as America's next envoy to the OECD

BRAND AMBASSADORS AND CEO, MD ETC

 Lakshminarayanan - MD of Sundaram Home Finance – will replace Srinivas Acharya  Paytm Money CEO-MD - Pravin Jadhav resigned  Parag Raja - MD and CEO of Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company  Anamika Roy Rashtrawar - MD and CEO of IFFCO Tokio  Mahabaleshwara M S - MD and CEO Karnataka Bank  Sanjay Agarwal - MD and CEO of AU Small Finance Bank  MS Dhoni - Brand Ambassador of PokerStars  CMD and MD - P. K. Purwar - additional charge as CMD of MTNL  Paytm General Insurance Ltd MD and CEO - Vineet Arora  MD and CEO of “CARE Ratings” - Ajay Mahajan  Rohit Sharma - brand ambassador of CricKingdom  Shiv Das Meena - CMD of Housing and Urban Development  P V Sindhu - ambassadors for Badminton World Federation (BWF)’s “I am badminton” awareness campaign

 N Kamakodi - MD & CEO of City Union Bank Ltd  Rakesh Sharma - International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (IMMA) President for a 2-year tenure

AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS

 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship 2020 - ARMMAN, an India-based non-profit organization (NPO) - exceptional work in the maternal and child health space in India  PETA’s “Hero to Animals Award” - Naveen Patnaik - for feeding community animals - allocated Rs 54 lakhs from a relief fund for the same  Kobe Bryant - inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame  Ben Stokes - Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for 2019 - In Women's category - Ellyse Perry - Wisden's Leading T20 Cricketer - Andre Russell.  Democratic nominee for the US Presidential Elections 2020 - Joe Biden  Bhaichung Bhutia - featured in #WeWillWin campaign of FIFA

 Tata Power - Edison Award under the social innovation category  William E. Colby Award - Adam Higginbotham’s book “Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster”

ACQUISITIONS/MERGERS/MOUS

 HDFC Trustee company - acquires - 5.45% stake in SpiceJet  HDFC - acquired 6.43 per cent stake in Reliance Capital  HUL - acquired - Horlicks for India - from GSK - 375.6 mln Euro (Rs. 3045 Crore)  Insurance Australia General (IAG) - sold - 26% stake in the SBI General Insurance Co Ltd - for USD 310 million (about Rs 2,325 crore) to Napean Opportunities LLP (an affiliate of Premji invest)  Trishikhar ventures – acquisition under the green channel route - 18.95 % stake in Religare health insurance Company Limited (RHICL)

 IndiGrid - will acquire - Gurgaon Palwal Transmission Limited (GPTL) for Rs 1,080 crore  Axis Bank - will acquire 29 percent stake in Max Life Insurance  Ashok Leyland - acquired - 3.36% share in Hinduja Leyland Finance Ltd (HLFL)

MOU’s Between Organizations

 Adani Green Energy Limited - Joint Venture (JV) - French oil and gas company Total S.A - for solar power generation in India  Larsen & Toubro + Indian Army - for setting up an advanced IT-enabled system to operate the Armed Forces network  TVS Motor Singapore Pvt. Ltd - acquired - United Kingdom’s motorcycle brand ‘Norton’ for £16 million  United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) + Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) - to empower consumers to contribute to the global development agenda

 US subsidiary of NIIT (National Institute of Information Technology) - agreement - US-based education technology (EdTech) company

SPORTS NEWS

CRICKET

 Australian Test spinner Stephen O’Keefe - retires from 1st class cricket  India women's cricket team - qualified - for the Women's Cricket World Cup 2021 to be held in New Zealand  IPL 2020 suspended indefinitely due to Covid-19  Former Pakistan Captain Sana Mir – Retired  Pakistan Cricket Board - banned - Umar Akmal from all forms of cricket for a period of 3 years

CHESS  Banter Blitz Cup 2020 - Alireza Firouzja beats Magnus Carlsen - $14,000 prize

BOXING  India - will host Asian Boxing Championships for men and women in November-December 2020  India - lost the hosting rights of the men’s World boxing championship 2021

OTHERS

 134th Edition (conducted since 1877) of Wimbledon Tennis Tournament – cancelled - for the first time since WWII (World War II) - next edition from June 28 to July 11, 2021.  32nd edition of Tokyo Olympics - will be held in Tokyo, Japan from July 23 to August 8, 2021- Paralympics from August 24 to September 5, 2021

 Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) - announced - 3rd edition of Asian Youth Games - will be hosted in Shantou, China -from November 20 to 28, 2021  three mascots namely Congcong, Lianlian and Chenchen (Collectively called as ‘smart triplets’) which represents the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Hangzhou in eastern China revealed in a digital ceremony in Hangzhou, China  2021 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, USA postponed to July 7 to 17, 2022  Kobe Bryant - American Basketball player - inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield, Massachusetts, United States  International Weightlifting Federation’s IWF bans Thailand for 3 years & Malaysia for 1 year from weightlifting at Tokyo Olympics  Mascot for Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games - Feifei  Cycle race tournament - Tour de France - postponed  Jhuma Khatun - banned for 4 years - associated with Middle-distance running  Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc wins - Formula One Esports Chinese Virtual Grand Prix championship

OBITUARIES ENTERTAINMENT

 American singer-songwriter, record producer and bassist - Emmy award-winning - Adam Schlesinger - won Grammy awards for 3 times  American singer & 3-time Grammy awardee - Bill Withers - 81 - in Los Angeles  Tim Brooke-Taylor - British Comedian  John Prine - American folk singer  Gene Deitch - Oscar-winning animator, film director and producer – Tom&jerry

 Malayalam Music composer M.K. Arjunan(Arjunan Master) - 84  Shanti Hiranand Chawla - Padma Shri awardee Classical Singer  MK Arjunan master - Malayalam music composer 34 Copyright © 2020 BANKERSHALA (spread the knowledge) - All Rights Reserved– DEEPAK BHARDWAJ = CLEARED 6 GOVERNMENT JOBS

 Sasi Kalinga - Malayalam actor  Ranjit Chowdhry – Actor  Usha Ganguly - theatre director, actor and activist - was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1998 - founder of Rangakarmee theatre group  Irrfan Khan - actor - won the National award for Paan Singh Tomar  Bijay Mishra - playwright and lyricist of Odisha

POLITICS/POSITIONS ETC

 Spanish Princess - Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma - first royal to pass away due to Covid-19  Libya’s former Prime Minister - Mahmoud Jibril el-Warfally - 67  Hazarilal Raghuwanshi - Former Madhya Pradesh minister  Hiphei - Former Speaker of the Mizoram Assembly and veteran politician  M.V. Rajashekaran - Former Union Minister and Congress leader

 Ashok Desai - former Attorney General and senior advocate  Rudratej Singh - BMW Group President and CEO  Saharai Oram - Veteran tribal leader and former Odisha Minister  R V Bhuskute - Freedom fighter - participated in the Quit India Movement  Rifat Chadirji - Father of modern Iraqi architecture  Basanta Das - Former Rajya Sabha member from Odisha  Devanand Konwar - was the former governor of Bihar, Tripura and West Bengal

POET/ARTIST/JOURNALIST ETC

 Historian and educationist Professor Arjun Dev – 81 - served as a historian at the NCERT  Nobel Prize- winning physicist - Philip Warren Anderson – 96 - passed away in Princeton, New Jersey, US  Padma Shri awardee for his contribution in field of Arts and Former ‘Hazoori Raagi’ Bhai - Nirmal Singh

 World-renowned virologist - Gita Ramjee – 63 - in Johannesburg, South Africa - She was the stellar vaccine scientist and an HIV prevention research leader  Rudratej Singh - BMW Group President and CEO

SPORTS

 Tony Lewis – 78 - one of the men behind the Duckworth- Lewis- Stern (DLS) method - He received an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to cricket and mathematics in 2010.  Stirling Moss - British Formula One racing driver  Peter Bonetti - Former England and Chelsea goalkeeper  Sir Stirling Moss - motor-racing driver

IMPORTANT DAYS

 March 31 - The International Transgender Day of Visibility - to celebrate transgender people to raise awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide and their contributions to society - theme - #MoreThanVisibility.  April 2 - World Autism Awareness Day - one of the seven health-based UN (United Nations) days - As per WHO report 1 in 160 children around the world lives with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Theme - “The Transition to Adulthood”.  April 4 - International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 2020 - to create awareness on landmines, other threats and progress towards their eradication  April 5 - National Maritime Day 2020 - to raise awareness in supporting intercontinental commerce and the global economy as the most well- organized, safe & sound, environmentally responsive approach of transporting goods - World Maritime Day 2020 - September 24, 2020 (last Thursday of September annually)  April 5 - International Day of Conscience 2020 - to recognize the need to establish stability, well-being, peaceful and friendly relations on the basis of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, irrespective of

race, gender, language or religion & also to remind people to self-reflect, follow their conscience, & do the right things  April 6 - International Day of Sport for Development and Peace 2020 - to recognize the power of sport in promoting social change, community development and to encourage peace and understanding - FIFA + UN + WHO - #BeActive campaign” launched on the UN International Day of Sport for Development and Peace - to encourage people to be #HealthyAtHome as the world comes together in the fight against COVID-19  April 9 - Valour Day or Shaurya Diwas of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)  April 9 - Play True Day  April 10 - World Homeopathy Day - theme - Enhancing the scope of Homoeopathy in Public Health  April 11 - National Safe Motherhood Day - birth anniversary of Kasturba Gandhi  April 12 - International Day of Human Space Flight  April 13 - 101st anniversary of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre  13 April – 36th Siachen day  14 April - World Chagas Disease Day - to increase awareness of Chagas disease - celebrated for 1st time

 15 April - World Art Day  17 April - World Hemophilia Day - theme - Get + Involved  18 April - World Heritage Day 2020 - theme - Shared Culture’, ‘Shared heritage’ and ‘Shared responsibility  19 April - World Liver Day observed globally  21 April - World Creativity and Innovation Day  21 April - National civil services day  22 April - Earth Day or International Mother Earth Day - theme - Climate Action.  23 April - World Book and Copyright Day - World Book Capital for 2020: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - slogan - “KL Baca – caring through reading”  23 April - English Language Day - marks the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare.  24 April - International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace  25 April - World Malaria Day - theme - Zero malaria starts with me  25 April - International Delegate’s Day  25 April - World Veterinary Day

 29 April - International Dance Day  24 to 30 april - World Immunization Week - theme - Vaccines work for All - Theme of the World Intellectual Property Day 2020 - Innovate for a Green Future

COMMITTEES/ REPORTS/MEETINGS

 World Bank - report - “South Asia Economic Focus” forecasting - regional growth will get dropped to a range between 1.8% and 2.8% in 2020, down from 6.3%  Gartner 2019 Digital Workplace Survey – INDIA - most digitally dexterous country in the world

INDEX

 2020 World Press Freedom Index - released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) - Norway - topped - North Korea - last position – 180th - India 142nd - Pakistan and China - at 145th and 177th

STATE WISE RANKING

 Tamil Nadu - topped - micro-irrigation (MI) under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) - Karnataka topped in cumulative coverage of MI from 2015-20

Festivals

 Maha Bishuba Pana Sankranti - Odia New Year

DEFENCE/EXERCISES

 United States - sale of Harpoon air-launched anti-ship missiles and Mark 54 lightweight torpedoes to India  The Indian Navy’s Naval Aircraft Yard (Kochi) - formed Air Evacuation Pod (AEP) for the safe evacuation of COVID-19 patients  CISF - launched - e-office application named e-karyalay

BOOKS

 Two new books – “How Contagion Works: Science, Awareness and Community in Times of Global Crisis” by Italian physicist Paolo Giordano AND “Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs” by Michael Osterholm and Mark Olshaker providing a better understanding of COVID-19 will release in May 2020  Backstage: The Story Behind India’s High Growth Years - by Padma Vibhushan - Montek Singh Ahluwalia  Sridevi: The Eternal Screen Goddess – by Satyarth Nayak  Jim Carrey - author of the book Memoirs and Misinformation

 “Shuttling to the Top: The Story of P.V. Sindhu” – by Sports journalist, V. Krishnaswamy  Sudha Murty - author of How the Onion Got Its Layers

SCIENCE/TECH

 NASA - first human base camp Artemis on the Moon's south pole by 2024  NASA - marked - 50th anniversary of Apollo 13  NASA’s plan to setup Artemis - First human base camp on Moon’s South Pole by 2024  NASA - new mission - Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE), a very large radio telescope - to study how the sun generates & releases the giant space weather storms (solar particle storms) into planetary space  NASA - discovered - Earth-size exoplanet - Kepler–1649c - 300 light-years  CIRES satellite of NASA - will give early warning signals of Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes

 Expedition 62 - recently completed by NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir, and Oleg Skripochka  NASA - developed - high-pressure ventilator called VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally) - to treat COVID-19 patients

 DRDO + ESIC medical college & hospital, Sanathnagar (Hyderabad) - developed India's first COVID-19 sample collection mobile lab Mobile BSL-3 VRDL Lab  DRDO - new products - "Automatic Mist Based Sanitiser Dispensing Unit" and "UV Sanitisation Box and Hand- held UV device" - to enable COVID-19 disinfection process

 Indian Railways’ coach producing unit Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala - developed - a low-cost ventilator ‘Jeevan’ - to combat covid-19 crisis - The cost of “Jeevan” is around Rs 10,000 without the compressor and it will not rise over Rs 30,000 even after adding a few more indicators  Solid-state sensor - developed by the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS) - to detect the heavy metal ions in water

 Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) Scientists + Nano mechanics Inc, USA - developed - an advanced tool NanoBlitz 3D.  Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) - named - first Mars Exploration mission as Tianwen-1  Shilpa Medicare - launched - generic version of cancer drug Dasatinib  More than 1,300 pigs have died across five districts of assam due to classical swine fever  Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Banglore - developed – TriboE Mask - can hold electric charges to restrict the entry of infections  First-ever digital geological map of the moon - released - by the Geological Survey of United States  Scientists - confirmed - largest hole in the ozone layer which was 1 million sq km wide over the Arctic has now healed  Durgapur-based Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) – developed - HCARD robotic device to assist frontline health care workers

GOOGLE/FB/MICROSOFT/APPLE/IBM IN NEWS

 Apple + Google - to build a Bluetooth-based COVID contact tracing platform  Google - new Braille keyboard for Android smartphones  Google - launched = Nearby Spot - to assist users to find local stores selling essentials like groceries that are open, amid the lockdown  TalkBack - virtual braille keyboard launched by Google

 Facebook + Indian fact checking website “Boom” - to launch a third party fact checking system in Bangladesh  Facebook - acquired - 9.99% stake in Reliance Jio - for USD 5.7 billion (about Rs 43,574 crore)  Facebook - launched - Messenger Rooms feature for group video chat

IITs in news

 Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru - developed - a prototype of an indigenous ventilator under project “Praana” - to help patients with lung damage due to COVID-19 infection  IIT Roorkee + AIIMS-Rishikesh - low-cost portable ventilator ‘Prana-vayu’ - costing just Rs.25,000  Aerobiosys Innovations + IIT-Hyderabad - low-cost ventilator - ‘Jeevan Lite’  IIT Bombay - developed a ‘smart stethoscope’ which can hear heartbeats from a distance  IIT-Bombay - developed - digital stethoscope AyuSynk  IIT Bombay, NIT Srinagar and IUST Awantipora - developed a low-cost ventilator – Ruhdaar  IIT Mandi - developing a magnetic RAM to enable higher data storage  IIT Ropar - launched – WardBot - to deliver Food & Medicines to COVID-19 patients  IIM Kozhikode - developed - website 'COVID FYI' (covidfyi.in) - one-stop digital directory for all COVID-19 related services and help  NIT Karnataka - developed = a disinfectant chamber called Zero-Cov Slytherin, one of the characters of Harry Potter  Vilokana - AI search engine developed by IIITM-K for COVID-19 studies

 COVID-19 may affect the Central Nervous System causing loss of smell and taste - study was conducted by IIT Jodhpur

LOANS ISSUED BY BANKS

 The World Bank - USD 1 billion to India - for the proposed a 4-year COVID-19 emergency response  World Bank - 82 million US dollars (585 crore rupees) for Roads in Himachal Pradesh  Asian Development Bank - loan agreement worth of $60 million - Aavas Financiers Ltd - to provide housing finance to women in low-income communities  Asian Development Bank - $2.2 billion to india for Covid-19  Asian Development Bank - increased - COVID-19 Response Package from $6.5 billion to $20 Billion  Asian Development Bank - loan of USD 1.5 billion - to India - to Fight Coronavirus  UNCTAD - to cancel over 1 trillion USD of debt owed by developing countries

CORONA RELATED NEWS, APPS & WEB PORTALS

 COVIDCARE APP - Arunachal Pradesh  Andhra Pradesh - launched - mobile app Covid Pharma  Corona Sahayata App , GARUR APP - Bihar  COVA Punjab app - Punjab  Corona Mukt Himachal App - Himachal Pradesh  Corona Watch App - Karnataka  Corontine App - IIT BOMBAY  Puducherry - NAADI app for COVID-19  Madhya Pradesh - launched - Top Parent mobile app  Haryana - launched - HelpMe mobile application - to provide all the necessary services to the needy in the state  CUPB COVID-19 information portal - launched by Central University of Punjab  Delhi Government - launched = ‘Assess Koro Na’ mobile application

 Uttar Pradesh - launched - Annapurna & Supply Mitra Portals  Jharkhand - mobile application PRAGYAAM - to issue e-passes to everyone associated with the delivery of essential services during the national lockdown to combat COVID-19  Chhattisgarh - launched - portal Padhai Tunhar Dwar  District - Janjgir-Champa of Chhattisgarh - developed a Rakhsa Sarv app to track the quarantined people  Chhattisgarh - launched - website Cghaat - to provide home delivery of fruits and vegetables during the lockdown  Nagaland CM - Neiphiu Rio - launched - Self Declaration COVID-19 application - mandatory for any person who entered Nagaland after March 6, 2020.  Department of Personnel and Training - launched – iGOT  Ministry of HRD - launched Bharat Padhe Online - for Crowd Sourcing of Ideas in order to improve the online education ecosystem of India  Ministry for HRD - launched - web-portal YUKTI - Young India Combating COVID with Knowledge, Technology, and Innovation

 Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) - “Companies Fresh Start Scheme, 2020” and revised the “LLP Settlement Scheme, 2020” - to provide relief to law-abiding companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) from the COVID 19 impact.  ICCR: “United Against Corona- Express through Art” - Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) - launched - a competition organized by ICCR, announced by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) - “United Against Corona - Express through Art” - to unite citizens across the world. The competition was and this soft-power initiative is being.  Ministry of Tourism - launched - ‘Stranded in India’ portal - to help foreign tourists stuck in India  Government of India - coronavirus tracking app - Corona Kavach - developed by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) & the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW)  Government of India (GoI) has launched - 1st comprehensive COVID-19 tracking app called Aarogya Setu (A bridge of health) - developed by the National Informatics Center (NIC) + Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) & it is available in 11 launguages

 Geo-fencing app - to trigger emails and SMS alerts to an authorised government agency, if a person has jumped quarantine or has escaped from isolation, based on the person’s mobile phone’s cell tower location  Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ the Union Minister of HRD - launched - MHRD All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) COVID-19 Student Helpline Portal to address the difficulties faced by students due to closure of colleges & hostels - website - https://helpline.aicte-india.org  NCC volunteer cadets to fight COVID-19 under ‘Exercise NCC Yogdan - Only senior division cadets above 18 years can be part of the initiative  COVID- 19 National Preparedness Survey 2020 – released by Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions - conducted in 410 districts – to develop a comparative analysis of COVID- 19 preparedness across States  Sanjay Dhotre - Minister of State (Mos) Electronics & Information Technology, Communications and Human Resource Development - launched - “Hack the Crisis – India” online Hackathon - organised by ‘Hack A Cause – India’ and ‘Ficci Ladies Organization Pune’ - key focus is to develop Non-Medical Solutions to deal with the aftermath of Coronavirus - to solve the problems arised due to COVID-19 crisis

 Central Civil Services officers association - an initiative - ‘Caruna [Civil Services Associations Reach to Support in Natural Disasters]’ - to asssit and supplement the government’s efforts to battle against Corona Virus (COVID-19)  Finance Ministry issues Rs 17, 287 crores to states to tackle COVID-19 - Rs 17,287.08 crore to the states to consolidate their financial resources - Rs 11,092 crore given to the States for the State Disaster Response Mitigation Fund (SDRMF) - remaining Rs 6,195.08 crore has been released to 14 states under the distribution of ‘Revenue Deficit Grants’  National Health Authority (NHA) + Uber India - to provide 24/7 free UberMedic transport services to India’s frontline healthcare workers and hospitals engaged in the treatment of COVID-19 patients  DARPG’s (Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances) for COVID- 19 Grievances - launched by Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh - to ensure timely response for COVID-19 related grievances  United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) - a Lockdown Learners series in India under its flagship “Education for Justice” initiative.

 Government of India - launched - dashboard covidwarriors.gov.in containing information of human resources for combating and containing Covid-19  Dr Harsh Vardhan – started an interactive platform ‘COVID India Seva’ - to address citizen’s queries on coronavirus.  Pune Municipal Corporation - developed - mobile application Saiyam - to effectively track the home-quarantine citizens and to ensure they stay in the home.  National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) - created - alcohol-based herbal sanitizer  National Book Trust + FICCI - organized a WEBINAR on Post-COVID Publishing Scenario in New Delhi  Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-Delhi) - developed a mobile app - ‘WashKaro’ - helps to warn the people about a coronavirus containment zone nearby  two scientists of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) Dr Souvik Maiti and Dr Debojyoti Chakraborty - developed – Feluda - a low-cost COVID-19 test strip

 100 crore ‘Action Covid-19 Team’ (ACT) – by Founders of leading startups, independent advisors, investors, supporters & blue-chip venture capital firms - to seed over 50 initiatives to support companies who work on products & services to combat COVID-19 pandemic  ICMR approves TB machines for COVID-19 testing - Truenat beta CoV test on Truelab workstation will be used for screening test of COVID-19  COVID-19 testing, treatment free for 50 crore eligible citizens Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries  Central government constitutes 10-member group headed by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant to fight corona  Prime Minister - video conference with 130 heads of India’s diplomatic missions and urged them to assist Indian nationals who are stranded in various countries that are severely affected by the outbreak COVID-19 pandemic  The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting - dedicated Twitter handle for sharing news and updates about the coronavirus - #IndiaFightsCorona and uses the handle @CovidnewsbyMIB  first station to install the Walk Through Mass Sanitizing Tunnel - Ahmedabad Station  team of 15 Indian doctors and healthcare professionals - sent by India to Kuwait  Charak - Indian Railways’ Coach Rehabilitation Workshop mobile doctor booth

 Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar - launched = Kisan Rath mobile application - to facilitate transportation of food grains and perishables during lockdown.  Doodh Duronto Special trains to transport essential commodities during the lockdown BY South-Central Railway  An initiative – CovidGyan - launched by Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Indian Institute of Science, and Tata Memorial Centre.  The government - approved - use of Rice to be converted into ethanol in order to manufacture alcohol-based hand sanitiser  Rs 10 lakh – compensation in case of death to all postal employees succumbing to COVID-19 on duty  Indian Agricultural Research Institute - developed - PUSA decontamination and sanitizing tunnel  Spitting in public - now an offence under Section 51 (b) of Disaster Management Act  Ministry of Health and Family Welfare - launched - 'COVID INDIA SEVA’ Platform  Ministry of Labor and Employment - 20 control rooms = to address wage related grievances arising in the backdrop of Covid-19  Wormivet - herbal medication - developed by National Innovation Foundation India (NIF) for livestock owners

 India - received 1.70 lakh PPE kits from china  The government of India is planning to set up a chain of 20 lakh retail shops called Suraksha Stores  Ministry of Human Resource - launched Samadhan - to invite ideas and innovations that can help fight against the novel coronavirus  Indian Air Force (IAF) - launched ‘Operation Sanjeevani’ and air-lifted 6.2 tonnes of essential medical supplies to Maldives via transport aircraft C-130J  Central government - regulated 24 classes of medical devices notified under Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Drugs & Cosmetics Rules, 1945.  The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) – launched - Lifeline Udan flights - for movement of medical and essential supplies across India  The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) - developed - a bio suit with self-sealing seam to keep the medical, paramedical and other personnel engaged in combating COVID-19, safe from the deadly virus  PIB sets up COVID-19 fact check unit to prevent dissemination of fake facts and news related to the COVID-19

 Jclean weather Technology private limited - developed - “Scitech Airon negative ion generator” - to control viral, bacterial and fungal infections in closed environments can clean the air & disinfect areas caused by COVID-19 positive cases & suspects - devoped under Department of Science and Technology’s (DST) NIDHI-PRAYAS program  Bengaluru based startup Bione - launched - India’s 1st home screening test kit for COVID-19 - approved by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - catridge provided can read the results within 5-10 minutes  COVSACK - kiosk developed by the DRDO - to make the process of collecting COVID-19 samples free of infection spread  Virologist Minal Dakhave Bhosale, the research and development chief of Mylab Discovery Solutions in Pune, headed the team which designed corona virus testing kit called ‘Mylab PathoDetect COVID-19 Qualitative PCR kit’ in just 6 weeks and it can provide results in just 2.5hour  CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories + MAF Clothing Pvt. Ltd - developed - Personal Protective Cover all Suit  Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Medical Science and Research, ahmedabad - first authorized study centre to carry out plasma research under trial

 Rajnath Singh - launched - India’s 1st COVID-19 sample collection mobile Lab through Mobile BSL-3 VRDL Lab

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