MONTHLY DIGEST- CURRENT AFFAIRS CAPSULE-MARCH 2020
.12.2018
CURRENT AFFAIRS.2018 CAPSULE -MARCH 1ST - MARCH 31ST 2020
.11.2018SL NO TOPICS PAGE NO 1 IMPORTANT DAYS 2 2 ECONOMY 3 RBI news Other banks Financial news Merger and acquisition Loan and allocation Ratting and survey
3 COMMITTEE AND ITS HEAD 12 4 STATE NEWS 12 5 NATIONAL NEWS 17
6 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 27
7 NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT 28
AND CONFERENCE
8 RANKING 30
9 BILATERAL 32 10 AWARDS AND HONOURS 32 11 PERSON IN NEWS 34 12 SPORTS 36 13 DEFENCE 39 14 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 40 15 BOOKS AND AUTHORS 42 16 OBITUARIES 43
MONTHLY DIGEST- CURRENT AFFAIRS CAPSULE-MARCH 2020
IMPORTANT DAYS March 1 Zero Discrimination Day Theme: Zero Discrimination Against Women And Girls .12.2018 The Day was launched by UNAIDS in 2014 March 3 World wildlife day Theme: “Sustaining all life on Earth”. March 3 World Hearing Day.2018 Theme: Hearing for life: Don’t let hearing loss limit you. March 4 National Safety Day
March 6 National Dentist’s Day March 7 Jan Aushadhi Diwas.11.2018 Janaushadhi week is being celebrated across the country from 1st March to 7th March. March 8 International Women’s Day Theme: “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights”. March 10 51st CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) Raising Day March 12 World Kidney Day Theme: Kidney Health for Everyone Everywhere- from Prevention to Detection and Equitable access to care. March 13 World Sleep Day Theme: “Better Sleep, Better Life, Better Planet” March 14 Pi Day Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant and its value up to five decimal places 3.14159. March 14 The International Day of Action Theme:“Women, Water, and Climate Change” for Rivers March 15 World Consumer Day Theme: The Sustainable Consumer. March 16 National Vaccination Day March 18 Global Recycling Day Theme: “Recycling Heroes” March 18 Ordnance Factories Day March 20 World day of theatre for children and Young People March 20 International Day of Happiness Theme: “Happiness For All Together”.
March 20 World Sparrow Day Theme: I LOVE Sparrows March 20 World Oral Health Day March 21 World Down Syndrome Day Theme: We Decide March 21 International Day of Forests Theme of the year 2020: “Forests and Biodiversity” The IDF was organized by the United Nations Forum on Forests and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO). March 21 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination March 21 World Poetry Day 2020 March 22 World Water Day Theme: “Water and Climate Change”. March 23 World Meteorological Day The theme of WMD 2020 is “Climate and Water”. World Meteorological Organization:Founded-1950 Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland March 24 International Day for the Right The day is observed to pay tribute to Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero, to the Truth Concerning Gross who was murdered on March 24, 1980. He was actively involved in Human Rights Violations and for condemning human rights violations of the most vulnerable people the Dignity of Victims March 24 World Tuberculosis Day Theme: ‘It’s time’. India is committed to eliminate the prevalence of TB by 2025. The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a joint initiative “Find. Treat. All. #EndTB” March 24 International Day for Achievers (IDA) March 27 World Theatre Day
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March 28: Earth Hour 2020 Every year, the Earth Hour is celebrated worldwide on the last Saturday of the March month to show support for fight against.12.2018 climate change and commitment towards better planet. To mark the event, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is encouraging everyone to switch lights off from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm. .2018 ECONOMY NEWS What Is Financial Liquidity? RBI Financial liquidity refers to how easily Highlights of Seventh Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement -2019-20 assets can be converted into cash. Policy rate New Rate.11.2018 Previous Rate Change in Basis Assets like stocks and bonds are very points (bps) liquid since they can be converted to Repo Rate 4.40% 5.15% 75 cash within days. However, large Reverse Repo 4% 4.90% 90 assets such as property, plant, and Rate equipment are not as easily converted Marginal 4.65% 5.40% 75 to cash. For example, your checking Standing Facility account is liquid, but if you owned land Rate(MSF) and needed to sell it, it may take Bank Rate 4.65% 5.40% 75 weeks or months to liquidate it, CRR 3% 4% 100 making it less liquid. SLR 18.25% 18.25%
RBI announced that it will undertake a six-month US Dollar sell/buy swaps RBI conducted two sell-buy swap auctions to inject cumulatively US dollar liquidity into the forex market to the tune of US$ 2.71 billion on March 16 and 23. As RBI announced that it will undertake a six-month US Dollar sell/buy swaps to provide liquidity to the foreign exchange market. What is RBI’s dollar-swap window all about? RBI will provide $2 billion on March 23 to the banks that need it through a swap. The central bank will give dollars and the buyer will give rupees and the transaction will be reversed on September 25. It is a 6-month sell-buy swap from RBI. This is the second time RBI has come out with the dollar-swap window this month. How does this dollar-swap work? RBI, in this case, is trying to replenish the dollars in the market. Banks have witnessed huge outflows of dollars as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sell their shares. Since 24 February, they have been net sellers of Indian shares in all sessions and have sold $4.7 billion worth of such shares in the period. Reserve Bank pledges Rs 1 lakh crore in the battle against coronavirus RBI announced the infusion of ₹1 lakh crore into the system in phases, through the LTRO (long-term repo operations). LTRO (long-term repo operations) ? Under LTRO, RBI will conduct term repos of one-year and three-year tenors of appropriate sizes for up to a total amount of Rs 1 lakh crore at the current repo rate. Repos that have a specified maturity date (usually the following day or week) are term repo. A dealer sells securities to a counterparty with the agreement that he will buy them back at a higher price on a specific date. While the RBI’s current windows of liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) and marginal standing facility (MSF) offer banks money for their immediate needs ranging from 1-28 days, the LTRO supplies them with liquidity for their 1- to 3-year needs. LTRO operations are intended to prevent short-term interest rates in the market from drifting a long way away from the policy rate, which is the repo rate. RBI allows banks to put EMIs on hold for three months The Reserve Bank permitted all commercial banks (including regional rural banks, small finance banks and local area banks), co-operative banks, all-India Financial Institutions, and NBFCs (including housing finance companies and micro-finance institutions) (“lending institutions") are being permitted to allow a moratorium of three months on payment of instalments in respect of all term loans outstanding as on March 1, 2020.
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RBI announces fresh purchase of Rs 30,000 crore govt securities to boost liquidity The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced additional purchase of government securities worth Rs 30,000 crore through.12.2018 open market operations (OMO) to boost liquidity and enhance investor confidence in the financial markets that remain under stress over COVID-19 related disruptions. The central bank issued.2018 a statement on March 20 saying that it will conduct purchase of government securities under OMOs for an aggregate amount of Rs 30,000 crores in two tranches of Rs 15,000 crore each in the March 24 and March 30 2020. Earlier, the RBI had conducted open market operations in the form of purchase of Rs 10,000 crores of the government securities.11.2018 through a multi-security auction using the multiple price method. What are open market operations (OMOs)? Open market operations or OMOs are conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by way of sale and purchase of G-Secs (government securities) to and from the market with an objective to adjust the rupee liquidity conditions in the market on a durable basis. When the Reserve Bank feels that there is excess liquidity in the market, it resorts to sale of securities thereby sucking out the rupee liquidity. Similarly, when the liquidity conditions are tight, RBI may buy securities from the market, thereby releasing liquidity into the market. RBI doubles the variable rate repo auction amount to ₹50,000 cr The Reserve Bank has doubled the amount of the 12-day variable rate term repo auction scheduled to Rs 50,000 crore. The RBI also going to conduct a 3-day variable rate term repo auction for Rs25,000 crore on March 31 As a special case, Standalone Primary Dealers (SPDs) were also allowed to participate in these auctions along with other eligible participants. RBI offers Rs 11,722 cr to banks through repo auction The Reserve Bank of India has offered Rs 11,772 crore to banks through a 12-day variable rate repo auction. Before the auction, the RBI enhanced the amount of auction to Rs 50,000 crore from Rs 25,000 crore Rs 1,340 crore to recapitalise Regional Rural Banks for next financial year The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved utilization of Rs 670 crore as Central Government share for the scheme of Recapitalisation of RRBs (i.e. 50 per cent of the total recapitalisation support of Rs 1,340 crore). RRB banks were formed under the RRB Act, 1976 with an objective to provide credit and other facilities to small farmers, agricultural labourers and artisans in rural areas. As per the law, the Centre holds 50 per cent stake in RRBs, while 35 per cent and 15 per cent are with the concerned sponsor banks and state governments RRBs have to provide 75 per cent of their total credit under Priority Sector Lending. As per central bank guidelines, it is mandatory for RRBs to meet regulatory requirement of capital to risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR) of 9%. On the basis of the CRAR position of RRBs, as on March 31 of every year, NABARD identifies RRBs that require recapitalization assistance to maintain CRAR of 9%. There are total 45 RRB at present. RBI extends priority sector classification for bank loans to NBFCs for on-lending for FY2020-21 The Reserve Bank of India has extended the priority sector classification for bank loans to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) for on-lending for Financial Year 2020-21. Earlier, the priority sector lending classification for on-lending to NBFCs was available till March 31, 2020. The existing loans disbursed under the on-lending model will continue to be classified under Priority Sector till the date of repayment or maturity. Further, the bank credit to registered NBFCs (other than Micro Finance Institutions) and Housing Finance Companies (HFC) for on-lending will be allowed up to an overall limit of 5 percent of individual bank’s total priority sector lending. As per the revised norms, on-lending by NBFCs for 'term lending' component under agriculture will be allowed up to Rs 10 lakh per borrower. In case of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) the limit will be Rs 20 lakh per borrower. In the housing sector, the limit has been enhanced from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh per borrower for classification of the loan as priority sector lending.
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Priority sector lending intends to provide institutional credit to those sectors and segments which find it difficult to get credit. Such sectors include agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), export credit, Education,.12.2018 housing, social infrastructure, renewable energy and others, according to the RBI. RBI revises exposure limits.2018 for urban cooperative banks to single, group borrowers The Reserve Bank of India revised exposure limits for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) to a single borrower and a group of borrowers to 15 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively, of tier-1 capital. The RBI had earlier permitted UCBs to have exposures up to 15 per cent and 40 per cent of their capital funds to a single borrower.11.2018 and a group of borrowers, respectively. While the revised exposure limits will apply to all fresh loans, the banks will have to bring down their existing exposures down to the revised limits by 31 March 2023. UCBs should have at least 50% of their aggregate loans and advances of not more than ₹25 lakh, or 0.2%, of their tier I capital, whichever is higher, up to a maximum of ₹1 crore, per borrower. UCBs which do not, at present, comply with these norms need to conform by 31 March 2024. RBI also revised the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) target for UCBs from 40% to 75% of the adjusted net bank credit (ANBC), or Credit Equivalent Amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure (CEOBSE). These norms will also have to be fulfilled by 31 March 2024. RBI rolls out norms for Ind-AS implementation by NBFCs, ARCs The Reserve Bank came out with regulatory guidelines for implementation of Indian Accounting Standards (Ind-AS) by Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) while preparing their financial results from financial year (FY) 2019-20 onwards. RBI extends regulatory restrictions on PMC Bank by 3 months till June The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended regulatory restrictions on Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank for three more months till June 22, 2020. The RBI had put a six-month regulatory restriction on the bank on September 23, 2019, after finding out certain financial irregularities, hiding and misreporting of loans given to real estate developer HDIL(Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited). RBI extended authorisation to Vakrangee Ltd for white label ATMs till Mar 31, 2021 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the validity of Authorization to Vakrangee Limited till March 31, 2021 to set up, own and operates the White Label ATMs (WLA) Business in India. White Label ATM – ATMs set up, owned and operated by non-bank entities are called white label ATMs.Tata Communications Payment Solutions Limited (Indicash) is the first company authorized by RBI to open WLAs in the country. Brown Label ATM – Brown Label ATM are those Automated Teller Machines where hardware and the lease of the ATM machine is owned by a service provider–but cash management and connectivity to banking networks is provided by a sponsor bank. Green Label ATM – ATM is provided for Agricultural Transaction Orange Label ATM – Provided for Share Transactions Yellow Label ATM – Provided for E-commerce PINK label ATM – Such ATM are monitored by guards who ensure that only women access these ATM. The sole purpose of such ATM is to mitigate the problem of women standing in long queues of ATM RBI introduces new guidelines for non-bank payment aggregators Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued new guidelines for the payment aggregators (PAs) to provide an ease for payments industry players with effect from April 1, 2020.The new rules are for non-bank PAs are RBI has reduced the minimum capital requirements (MCR) for PAs at the time of application for the licence to Rs 15 crore from Rs 100 crore. However, the net worth needs to be increased to Rs 25 crore within three years of operations. Means the PAs who apply for authorisation on 01/04/2020 they need to achieve Rs 25 cr net-worth by March 31, 2023, and thereafter. -On the other hand, existing PAs shall achieve a net-worth of Rs 15 crore by March 31, 2021, and a net- worth of ₹25 crores by the end of the third financial year, i.e., on or before March 31, 2023, and thereafter. They also need to adhere to strict security guidelines, all KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti Money Laundering) rules.
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PAs are prohibited from allowing online transactions to be done with ATM pin as the second factor of authentication. PAs having foreign .12.2018 direct investment (FDI) will be guided by the consolidated FDI policy of the government and the relevant foreign exchange management regulations. PAs are mandated to .2018set up designated nodal offices to deal with customer grievance. PAs are intermediaries which integrate with e-commerce companies and connect them with banks. They receive payments on behalf of these companies and transfer the money to their accounts. For example Billdesk, CCAvenue, Firstdata, Techprocess Razorpay, Cashfree, Paytm Payment Gateway. PA is a company incorporated.11.2018 in India under the Companies Act, 1956 / 2013.
The Union Cabinet approved 4% hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) for central government employees to 21% from 17%, costing the exchequer an additional ₹14,595 crore. GST on mobile phones and specified parts were increased to 18% from 12%. Government has invited bids for the sale of its entire 52.98% stake in the country’s second biggest State- owned oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). Global cryptocurrency exchange, Binance announced a $50 million blockchain fund for India along with WazirX, a homegrown crypto start-up, which it acquired last year. CoinDCX, a cryptocurrency trading platform has launched its crypto-referral initiative in India. TCS again overtakes Reliance Industries to become most valued firm by market capitilisation. RBI said the level of forex reserves at $487.24 billion as on March 6, 2020, remains comfortable to meet any exigency. RBI to inject liquidity worth Rs 3.74 lakh crore into the system.
Other banks Union Cabinet approved Yes Bank reconstruction plan The Cabinet approved the reconstruction scheme proposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for private sector lender Yes Bank that will be led by State Bank of India (SBI). State Bank of India (SBI) will invest for 49 per cent equity in Yes Bank for nearly Rs 2,450 crore. Other participants in the plan include HDFC Ltd, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, RK Damani, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and the Azim Premji Trust. There will be a three year lock-in period for all the investors. However, the lock-in period for SBI would be only for the 26 per cent of the shareholding. A lock-up period, also known as a lock in, lock out, or locked up period, is a predetermined amount of time following an initial public offering where large shareholders, such as company executives and investors representing considerable ownership, are restricted from selling their shares. A total ₹12,000 crore will be infused by all investors. Authorised capital has been raised to Rs 6,200 crore from Rs 1,100 crore. SBI will invest ₹7,250 crore. HDFC and ICICI Bank will invest ₹1,000 crore each, while Axis Bank will put in ₹600 crore. YES Bank gets Rs 60k-cr line of credit from RBI to resume operations The Reserve Bank has opened an emergency line of credit of around ₹60,000 crore to Yes Bank to meet any liquidity crisis in paying back its depositors. The move comes after 16 years when a similar credit line was opened for Global Trust Bank in 2004. SBI raises $100 million via green bonds The country’s largest lender State Bank of India stated it has raised USD 100 million green bonds, the first such bond by any state-owned bank in this fiscal. A green bond is a type of fixed-income instrument that is specifically earmarked to raise money for climate and environmental projects. NABARD extended financial support of Rs 42,313 cr in FY 2019-20 for rural infra Apex agriculture financial institution NABARD has extended Rs 42,313 crore financial support during 2019-20 for building rural infrastructure. NABARD has released Rs 10,935 crore to support the Centre''s programmes to provide “housing for all by 2022” under Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana – Gramin as well as clean water and sanitation under Swachh Bharat Mission – Gramin.
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NABARD infuses Rs 1.46 lakh crore in rural banking system in 2019-20 National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) said it has infused Rs 1.46 lakh crore in the rural banking system.12.2018 during 2019-20. Rs 87,069 crore has been extended to cooperative banks and regional rural banks in short-term refinance. In addition,.2018 long- term refinance of Rs 59,502 crore has also been provided to these banks as well as other financial institutions. India Post to launch free digital locker service For the first time in India, the Department of Posts is introducing a free digital parcel locker service in the city to enable customers.11.2018 collect their consignment from specified post offices at their convenience. The facility will be available in two post offices — the Nabadiganta IT Post Office in Sector 5 of Salt Lake City and another in New Town SBI pares savings account interest rate to 3%, scraps minimum balance fine In major rate revision, State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to pay interest at a flat 3 % per annum for savings bank deposit accounts with balances above Rs 1 lakh. The charges on maintaining average balance have now been waived off on all 445.1 million SBI savings bank accounts. Currently, customers need to maintain average balance of Rs 3,000 in a metro region, Rs 2,000 in semi- urban areas and Rs 1,000 in rural areas. Andhra Bank opens Covid-19 emergency credit line Andhra Bank has opened an emergency credit line by launching a new short-term loan facility. The Covid-19 Emergency Credit Line (CECL) is being offered to agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and corporates to meet temporary liquidity mismatches. Indian Bank announced five special emergency loan schemes due to outbreak of COVID19 IND-COVID Emergency Credit Line: It will provide additional funding of up to 10 per cent of the working capital limits both fund based and non-fund based limits with a maximum limit of 100 crore rupees. IND- MSE COVID Emergency Loan— (INDMSE-CEL): It will give additional funding of 10 per cent of fund based working capital (FBWC) limit with maximum Rs 50 lakh, available for all Micro and Small Enterprises and upto 60 months tenor. SHG-COVID – SAHAYA LOAN: Under this each member can avail a soft loan of Rs. 5000 I.e., Rs. 1 lakh per SHG. The loan is for 36 months with 6 months moratorium IND-COVID Emergency Salary Loan: Offering loans to salaried employees up to an amount equal to 20 times of their latest monthly gross salary, with a cap of Rs 2 lakh to meet urgent medical and other expenditure. The IND country's COVID biggest- Emergency lender Pension State Bank Loan of:It India is offering said it loans will provide to pensioners 0.25 per for cent an ofamount its annual equal profit to 15 for times 2019 -20 to fighttheir the monthly coronavirus pension, outbreak with a maximumin India. limit of Rs 2 lakh. State-owned BSNL in partnership with State Bank of India launched a UPI-based payment platform, Bharat InstaPay. Karur Vysya Bank (KVB), a Scheduled Commercial Bank in India, has launched India’s 1st prepaid wallet card ‘Enkasu’ (My cash in Tamil) in Karur, Tamil Nadu (TN) under its Quit cash movement.
SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) launches mobile app 'SEBI SCORES' in an effort to improve the ease
of doing business so that investors can conveniently lodge their grievances in SEBI Complaints Redress System (SCORES).
RBL Bank (Ratnakar Bank) and Zomato launched a co-branded credit card, powered by Mastercard
Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Limited launched iSelect+ Term Plan to provide
a shield against all uncertainties of life
Paytm subsidiary Paytm Insurance Broking has secured a brokerage licence from sector regulator Insurance
Regulatory and Authority of India (IRDAI).
Tata AIA Life Insurance to provide football coaching to under-privileged girls under its ‘Bachhpan Ka Rakshakaran’ program n association with Mumbai based Non-profit ‘Oscar Foundation’. Clix Capital Services, a digital lender, has come up with ‘Maya’, an AI-enabled chatbot to enhance customer experience including EMI-related queries. Cashfree, has launched UPI Stack for Businesses, allowing businesses to collect and disburse UPI payments. IDBI Bank has stated it will offer a uniform three-month moratorium on standard term loan repayments to all its borrowers. Canara Bank has launched a new loan scheme ― ‘Canara Credit Support-Covid-19’ ― with immediate effect to 7support its customers to tide over the liquidity/ cash flow mismatches in the wake of disruption in business operations due to the outbreak of Covid-19. MONTHLY DIGEST- CURRENT AFFAIRS CAPSULE-MARCH 2020
Financial news NPCI to double the UPI transaction limit; users can withdraw up to ₹2 lakh The National Payments Corporation.12.2018 of India (NPCI) will double the transaction limit for payments through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) at stores run by ‘verified merchants’ to Rs 2 lakh from April 1 2020. The move is expected to boost.2018 digital payment players such as Paytm, Google Pay and PhonePe etc. New GSTR to be implemented from Oct 1, 2020 The implementation of new GST return (GSTR) system and e-invoicing with QR code has been postponed to 1st October 2020 while the present return system (GSTR-1, GSTR-2A & GSTR-3B) will be continued until September 2020. .11.2018 Know Your Supplier (KYS) Facility In the 39th GST Council meeting, a new facility called Know Your Supplier (KYS) was introduced. The new facility called ‘Know Your Supplier’ (KYS) was introduced to enable every registered person to obtain some basic information about their suppliers. The suppliers can be either with whom they conduct or propose to do business in future. SIDBI to launch a special train ‘Swavalamban express’ on June 5, 2020, for new entrepreneurs The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) said it will start Swavalamban Express on June 5 this year for budding entrepreneurs. The Swavalamban Expresswill start from June 5 and will travel to 11 enterprising cities starting from Lucknow and thereafter to Jammu, Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata and finally to Varanasi in a span of 15 days covering 7,000 km The train journey will also focus on the Prime Minister(PM) Narendra Modi’s vision of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25. SIDBI-Headquarters- Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, MD– Mohammad Mustafa Paytm Bank to issue virtual debit cards to customers After Rupay debit cards Paytm Payments Bank Limited(PPBL) announced to issue Visa virtual debit cards to its customers. It targets to issue over 10 million new digital debit cards in 2020-21. Visa virtual debit cards would enable its customers to transact at all merchants accepting payments through cards. Customers can also make international transactions using the card. What is Neo-Bank? It is like a normal bank where there are accounts to put money, borrow funds & make transfers but are solely online & do not relate to any traditional banks. ICICI Lombard introduced ‘COVID-19 Protection cover’ for Coronavirus positive case ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India ) Lombard, a private sector non-life insurance company has introduced a 1 year-long “COVID-19 Protection Cover” at a premium of Rs. 149. The health cover of policy is priced at a premium of Rs 149 and provides a sum insured of Rs 25,000 including value added benefits. The age group of 18-75 years is eligible for COVID-19 protection cover. ICICI Lombard, BharatPe launch COVID-19 insurance cover for shopkeepers Called the Covid-19 Protection Insurance Cover, the premium starts at Rs 199 and provides a sum insured of Rs25,000. Value-added benefits such as Health Assistance and CHAT/Virtual assistance, tele-consultation and ambulance assistance are also a part of the offering. It provides coverage across the age group of 18-65 years. The insurance is available on the BharatPe app. Star Health and Allied Insurance launched 'Star Novel Coronavirus' Star Health and Allied Insurance launched 'Star Novel Coronavirus' policy to cover all those who test positive for novel coronavirus (Covid-19) and require hospitalisation. The policy will provide a lump sum payment to any insured between age 18 to 65 years The policy is available under two sum insured options of Rs 21,000 and Rs 42,000 at premiums of Rs 459 plus GST and Rs 918 plus GST, respectively. Govt introduces ‘Companies Fresh Start’ scheme The Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) has come up with the ‘Companies Fresh Start Scheme 2020’ to enable companies make good of any filing-related defaults, irrespective of duration of default, and make a fresh start as a fully compliant entity.
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To provide a similar facility to Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), the MCA has also revised the ‘LLP Settlement Scheme, 2020’. The USP of both the.12.2018 schemes is a one-time waiver of additional filing fees for delayed filings by the companies or LLPs with the Registrar of Companies during the currency of the Schemes, i.e. during the period starting from April.2018 1 and ending on September 30. IRDAI bans capital gearing treaties by insurers The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has asked insurer not to enter any fresh capital gearing treaties.” Capital gearing refers.11.2018 to the amount of debt a company has relative to its equity. Companies with high capital gearing will have a large amount of debt relative to their equity. It has been observed that some of the insurers have entered into capital gearing treaties in various forms, including Quota Share Reinsurance Treaty. Those insurers who are having such treaties on their books should submit a board-approved action plan for phasing out the treaties along with time lines to the Authority on or before June 30, 2020, in such a manner that solvency norms as required are adhered to. Govt allows non-refundable advance withdrawals under EPFO The notification GSR 225(E) amends the EPF Scheme 1952 to allow the withdrawal of non-refundable advance by EPF members in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic in the country. The notification permits withdrawal not exceeding the basic wages and dearness allowance for three months or up to 75 % of the amount standing to member's credit in the EPF account. FDI inflows recorded highest ever for fiscal year 2018-19 The total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow was over 318 billion US dollars between 2014 and September 2019 representing nearly 50 percent of the cumulative FDI in India since April 2000. In 2018-19, the FDI inflow stood at a record 62 billion US dollars, highest ever recorded for a fiscal year. SIDBI to provide loans up to Rs 50 lakh to MSEs manufacturing medical supplies to fight COVID-19 Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) stated it will provide loans up to Rs 50 lakh to Micro And Small Enterprises (MSEs) that are manufacturing medical supplies for fighting the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The SIDBI Assistance to Facilitate Emergency (SAFE) response against coronavirus scheme will offer loans to MSEs at a fixed interest rate of 5 per cent and with a maximum loan repayment tenure of five years. The loans offered are collateral-free and will be sanctioned within 48 hours of applying and submission of documents. MSEs can apply online for availing loans under the scheme.
MoU,Merger and acquisition Microsoft India & NASSCOM Foundation launches ‘Innovate for accessible India campaign’ to empower people with disabilities Microsoft India and NASSCOM Foundation launched the ‘Innovate for Accessible India’ campaign. The initiative has been launched in partnership with Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Science and Technology and ERNET, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) and other departments. The major objective of ‘Innovate for Accessible India’ campaign is to empower divyaang people with the tools and technology. DBS Bank India ties up with Bharti AXA to roll out insurance plan covering COVID-19 DBS Bank India Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DBS (Development Bank of Singapore) Bank Ltd, has entered into the partnership with Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Ltd to launch a complimentary insurance plan covering COVID-19 The plan covers all medical conditions including Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19), under which a cover of Rs 5000 per day is available for a period of 30 days if DBS customers are hospitalized for 10 days. APEDA signs MoU with SFAC for development of agriculture sector Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) have signed an Memorandum of Understanding. The MoU aims for the development of agriculture and allied sectors as well as its exports for bringing better value to the stakeholders.
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IIT Mandi inks pact with NABARD for setting up 3 FPOs in Himachal Pradesh IIT(Indian Institute of Technology) Mandi and Enabling Women of Kamand (EWOK) Society have signed a tripartite pact with the.12.2018 National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development (NABARD) for setting up three FPOs in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district. NABARD has sanctioned.2018 an amount of Rs 35 lakhs to IIT Mandi and EWOK Society for three Farmer Producer Organisation (FPOs) to be established in the next three years DAY -NULM signed MoU with Amazon for E-Marketing of Products Made by SHG Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY- NULM) functions under the Ministry of Housing .11.2018 and Urban Affairs(MoHUA) signed MoU (Memorandum of Understandings) with Amazon for electronic marketing (e-Marketing) of products made by Self Help Groups (SHGs) across the Country. About Amazon Saheli: The Saheli store is a dedicated storefront on Amazon.in to display and sell products of women entrepreneurs to thousands of Amazon customers across the country. Pine Labs + Zest Money Merchant commerce platform Pine Labs has partnered with consumer lending fintech Zest Money to provide in-store, digital equated monthly instalment (EMI) options to customers. TCS+ DLF(Delhi Land and Joied hand to establish a Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for IT sector in Uttar Pradesh Finance) (UP) and Haryana respectively. Hyderabad Metro Rail HMRL in partnership with Paytm has launched a QR-code-based metro ticketing Limited (HMRL) + Paytm system at Rasoolpura metro station Hyderabad. ICICI Prudential AMC + ICICI Prudential AMC ties up Saraswat Co-op Bank to distribute its products with the Saraswat Co-op Bank bank’s customers. Uber eats + Zomato Uber sold its food delivery business UberEats India to food-tech giant Zomato for $206 million. Microsoft + Accenture Microsoft and Accenture joins hand to provide tech support to social enterprise start- ups HIL (India) Limited + HIL (India) Limited, Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, in association with Union Bank Union Bank of India launched Customer Payment Portal in New Delhi to collect the payment from the customers through various online modes CRPF + Aditya Mehta The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding Foundation (MoU) with Aditya Mehta Foundation (AMF), to train its specially-abled troops in areas of cybersecurity & AI Flipkart + Aegon Flipkart partners with Aegon to sell quick-access life insurance policies Intel + CBSE Intel and CBSE join hands to digitally empower 1 lakh students with AI IIT Bombay + DST+ Intel IIT Bombay, DST, Intel India announce third edition of startup accelerator programme India Plugin HAL + Blue Ray HAL inks pact with Blue Ray Aviation for supply of two Dornier Do-228 multi-role aircraft Oil India Ltd + Oil India Ltd (OIL), the country’s second-largest national oil explorer, announced it Numaligarh Refinery has signed an agreement with Numaligarh Refinery for sale and purchase of crude oil. IIT-Kanpur + L&T IIT-Kanpur, L&T Technology Services Sign MoU For Research In Cyber Security Technology Programs
The CCI has given its nod to the acquisition of additional equity shares in Hero FinCorp Limited by Otter Limited (an investment company registered in Mauritius) & Link Investment Trust(a private trust registered in India). CCI approves acquisition of 35% equity stake in Teesta Urja Ltd by Greenko Mauritius a Mauritius-based company. HDFC Mutual Fund, has bought 3.4 crore shares of domestic carrier SpiceJet from the open market, which accounts for 45 per cent stake in the private airline. Chennai Port Trust (ChPT) acquired 67% stake of its subsidiary Kamarajar Port Ltd. (KPL) for ₹2,383 crore. Power generating firm NTPC concluded the acquisition of Centre’s entire stake in two hydropower generating firms, THDC India and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), at Rs 11,500 crore.
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LOAN and fund allocation World Bank has unveiled a 14 billion dollar aid package that will provide fast-track funds to help countries combat the.12.2018 coronavirus outbreak. The government has decided to pump Rs 200 crore into Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI), the country's oldest term.2018 lending institution. To deal with the social, economic as well the financial impacts of the COVID-19, the G20 countries have all decided to put in together $ 5 trillion funds in the world economy. The Government of India, Government of Himachal Pradesh(HP) & the World Bank signed a loan agreement of US$80.11.2018 million (about Rs 600 crore) to improve water management practices & also to increase agricultural productivity in selected Gram Panchayats (Village Councils) in HP. The European Central Bank announced a surprise 750-billion-euro scheme to purchase government and corporate bonds, as it joined other central banks in stepping up efforts to contain the economic damage from the coronavirus. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced a $6.5 billion package for its developing member countries to fight the coronavirus pandemic. World Bank and the Asian Develo•pment Bank gave USD 588 million to Pakistan to fight coronavirus pandemic China has provided USD 500 million loan to Sri Lanka from its development bank to help the country’s economy. Alphabet Inc will donate more than $800 million (645 million pounds) in funds towards producing medical supplies used to fight COVID-19 The United Nations (UN) called for a USD 2.5-trillion aid package to help developing countries weather the COVID-19 pandemic, including debt cancellation and a health recovery “Marshal Plan“. Facebook announced a $100 million investment to support journalism during the global coronavirus pandemic. The US announce financial assistance of 174 million US Dollars to 64 countries including 2.9 million US Dollars to India US President Donald Trump signed into law the historic $2 trillion rescue package to help the Americans and secure the country’s economy ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic that has infected nearly 100,000 people across the nation. Asian Development Bank (ADB) will invest $100 million equivalent into the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India’s Fund of Funds. United Nations has launched a 2 billion dollar global humanitarian response plan to fight Corona Virus in the world’s poorest countries ITC is setting up a Contingency Fund of Rs 150 crore to address and manage the challenges arising out of the Covid-19 epidemic.
Ratings and Survey Rating Agency India Growth Forecast for 2020-21 Fitch 4.6% Moody’s 2.5% OECD Interim Economic Outlook 5.1 % Forecasts Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 5.2%
CRISIL 5% Nomura India Ratings (Ind-Ra) 5.6% ICRA 4%
According to United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) India study,Female labour-force participation in India has declined from 34 per cent in 2006 to 24.8 per cent in 2020. FICCI-IBA survey Says Proportion of Banks Reporting Rise in NPA Levels Increases From 26% To 28% In July to December 2019
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Committee And Its Head Head Committee Amit Shah .12.2018The government has reconstituted the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) with Union Home Minister Amit Shah as its chairperson. Pravin Kutumbe .2018Insurance Regulation and Development Authority (IRDAI) instituted a 16-member committee headed by Pravin Kutumbe to further strengthen its guidelines on corporate governance. GD Sharma Jammu and Kashmir Government sets up a commission named as “J&K Socially and .11.2018Educationally Backward Classes Commission” will be headed by Justice (retired) GD Sharma to examine the social and educational backwardness of various backward classes people, dalits, in the Union Territory. Nirmala Sitharaman Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared the formulation of COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force, to be led by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Nand Kishore Singh An 8-member committee headed by 15th Finance Commission Chairman Nand Kishore Singh,has set up by Finance Commission(FC) to review the fiscal consolidation road map of state & central governments. V K Paul Govt. set up a committee under Dr V K Paul to guide the people in preventive & control activities of COVID-19. Bibek Debroy The committee chaired by Sh. Bibek Debroy had inter-alia recommended Concessioning of commercial operation of train service like Rajdhani/Shatabdi to private parties. Railways already proposed to initiate 150 passenger trains through private operators in PPP (Public-private partnership) mode on 100 routes by 2022. “Tejas” train, run by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), have been introduced on two routes namely Delhi-Lucknow and Mumbai-Ahmedabad. Injeti Srinivas A 12-member high level panel was set up to prepare an investigation manual for the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) chaired by the Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas. Ranjana Prakash Desai The government constituted a Delimitation Commission, to be headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, to redraw Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies of the Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir and the northeastern states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland Sunil Joshi Former India spinner Sunil Joshi was named chairman of the national selection panel by the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) in Mumbai. Naresh Chandra Saxena Tribal affairs ministry constitutes committee under NC Saxena on Community Forest Resources (CFR) Guidelines under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA). HighLevel Committee chaired by Home Minister approves over Rs. 5,751 crore to eight States for calamity damage relief The High Level Committee, HLC under the Chairmanship of Home Minister Amit Shah has approved additional Central assistance of over 5 thousand 7 hundred 51 crore rupees under National Disaster Response Fund, NDRF to eight States, which were affected by floods, landslides, cyclone, drought last year. These 8 states are Maharashtra (1758cr) ,Rajasthan(1120cr), West Bengal(1090cr), Bihar(953cr), Kerala(460cr),Odisha(179cr),Nagaland(177cr) and Karnataka(11cr).
State news Himachal Pradesh Government launched Police Station Visitor Survey System and e-Night Beat Checking System Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister (CM) Jai Ram Thakur launched Police Station Visitor Survey System and e-Night Beat Checking System for Himachal police in Shimla. e-Night Beat Checking System helps the state police department to track the suspected vehicles & criminals who move in the night. Police Station Visitor Survey System system helps in creating a database of the complaints & visitors visiting the Police Stations, Police Posts and all other police units.
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Jammu & Kashmir announces Rs 5 lakh Free Health Insurance under Ayushman Bharat Jammu & Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu has sanctioned J&K Health Scheme to provide free cost of Universal.12.2018 Health Coverage of Rs 5 lakh as health insurance to all the residents of UT in convergence with Ayushman Bharat- PMJAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana). As per the decision of.2018 the Administrative Council, all employees, pensioners and their family members are also covered under the Jammu & Kashmir Health Scheme. The employees shall continue to get Rs 300 per month as medical allowance to take care of OPD treatment. September 23, 2018, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Ayushman Bharat, world's largest government-funded hea.11.2018lthcare scheme in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi. The Centre's flagship scheme has been renamed as PM Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). The scheme will become operational from September 25 on the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay. Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Scheme (AB-NHPS) will have a defined benefit cover of Rs 5 lakh per family (on a family floater basis) per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. Identification of the illegible families for getting registered for the Health Scheme will be made on the basis of socio-economic census 2011. J’khand third State to launch star rating for industries The state government of Jharkhand will launch its “Star Rating Program” to rate industries based on the amount of pollutants generated by them. The program will be implemented by the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) in association with the University of Chicago Trust. With this, it became the 3rd state in India to launch this system for industries after Maharashtra & Odisha. Manipur Government announces schemes to benefit sportspersons, artistes Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has announced new schemes to provide benefits to the sportspersons and artistes in the state who have brought laurels to the nation. The state government announced two new schemes- CMAST scheme and CMAT scheme. CMAST scheme: Chief Ministers Akhannaba Sanaroisingi Tengbang Under the scheme, suitable employment will be provided in government services to the sportspersons winning medals in international events, based on the criteria that will be laid down by the state government. The scheme also includes cash rewards for those who participate and win medals in the Olympics. The gold, silver and bronze Olympic medal winners will be given Rs 1 crore, Rs 75 lakh and Rs 50 lakh respectively, while the participants will be given Rs 10 lakh. Under the scheme, the state government will also provide incentive up to Rs 2 lakh per annum to around 250 local clubs. CMAT scheme: Chief Ministers Artiste Singgi Tengbang The scheme has been formed to encourage artists in literary arts, visual arts and performing arts. Under the scheme, the pension will be extended to around 1000 artists in the state who are aged 60 years or above. UP CM inaugurates 13 projects worth Rs 2,821 crore in Noida Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated and laid foundation stones for 23 development projects worth Rs 2,821 crore at Gautam Buddh Nagar in Noida.The projects inaugurated included A multi-level car parking with space for 7,000 vehicles at Rs 500 croread underground parking for 276 cars and 42 two-wheelers at Rs 32.25 crore. A government hospital at Rs 344 crore. Three power sub stations,A footover bridge,four pink toilets ROPAX services inaugurated at Alibag, Maharashtra Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Shipping and Chemical and Fertilizers inaugurated ROPAX services at Alibag, Maharashtra. It is a Water Transport Service Project under Eastern Waterfront Development from BhauchaDhakka in Mumbai to Mandwa in Maharashtra. Assam Government to construct 33 stadiums under Uttaran scheme The Assam Government plans to construct 33 stadiums across the state under the Uttaran Scheme.300 crores will be provided to construct these stadiums.
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The Government has decided to provide an amount of Rs.50,000 to 1000 players and Rs.75,000 will be given to 2500 clubs. CM Yogi Adityanath launched.12.2018 3 schemes during ‘Kaushal Satrang’ programme held in Lucknow, UP Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched three ambitious schemes for skill development and employment generation.2018 for the state youths, during the ‘Kaushal Satrang’ programme held at Lucknow, UP. The schemes are Kaushal Satrang, CM Yuva Hub and CM Apprenticeship scheme. Kaushal Satrang will have seven components which will provide opportunities to the youth. In this regard, UP govt has inked.11.2018 MoU with IIT (Indian Institutes of Technology)-Kanpur and other placement agencies for the employment of 2 Lakh youth and to train the state’s youth for world level competitions. Yuva Hub’ scheme was allocated Rs 1,200 crore in the state budget and it aims at providing employment to thousands of skilled youth by assisting in project concept and financial help for one year of operation. It will also facilitate setting up of 30,000 startups in the state. IIM (Indian Institutes of Management) Lucknow is the knowledge partner of this scheme. CM apprenticeship scheme will provide a stipend of Rs 2500 to the youth of the state. Karnataka becomes the first state to invoke provisions of Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 Karnataka became the first state in the country to notify regulations titled “The Karnataka Epidemic Diseases, COVID-19 Regulations, 2020” to prevent the outbreak and spread of the novel coronavirus under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. Andhra Pradesh ranked 1st in country for overall implementation of Poshan Abhiyan Andhra Pradesh ranked 1st in country for the overall implementation of Poshan Abhiyan On the other hand,Tamil Nadu tops the list of the states in terms of the number of participants in the programme. The Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition or POSHAN Abhiyan or National Nutrition Mission was launched in 2018. It is implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. AIM: To achieve improvement in the nutritional status of Children from 0-6 years, Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers in a time bound manner with fixed targets & aims to bring down stunting of children in the age group of 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by the year 2022. Poshan Pakhwada 2020 is ‘Men for Nutrition – Increasing Male Engagement in POSHAN Abhiyaan to Improve Nutritional Indicators‘. Gujarat tops in domestic solar rooftop installations in 2020 Gujarat ranks first in the list for domestic solar rooftop installations, throughout the country with 64 percent of domestic solar installations. Maharashtra is the second state to top in the domestic solar rooftop installations State news one liners Jammu & Kashmir Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) administrative council approved the implementation of Dairy cooperative scheme for dairy cooperative society with the support & sponsorship of the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). Centre has proposed Rs. 1,01,428 crore budget, highest ever budget anticipation, for the Union territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) for the 2020-21 fiscal. In Jammu and Kashmir, Lt. Governor G.C. Murmu launched Student Health Card scheme for school children launched in J&K The historic City Chowk, the commercial hub in old Jammu, was renamed as ‘Bharat Mata Chowk’ Jammu and Kashmir Forest Department, under the “Green J&K” program planted 32 lakh saplings of various varieties across the Union Territory. Amul has extended support to dairy cooperatives in Jammu and Kashmir to help the region achieve self- sufficiency in dairy products. Gujarat Gujarat becomes the first state in India to introduced taser guns( conducted electrical weapon) to find an alternative between “ineffective lathis” and “deadly guns”.
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A Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) was signed between Gujarat Government and PAL-V ,a Dutch Flying car-maker to set up a manufacturing plant in Gujarat. Uttarakhand .12.2018
Uttarakhand government.2018 cancelled reservation in promotion for state government employees. Gairsain situated in Chamoli district became the summer capital of Uttarakhand. Dehradun is the winter capital of Uttarakhand Uttarakhand state is going to become the first state of the country to measure Gross Environment Product (GEP) for quantifying.11.2018 ecological growth measurement. Dehradun Railway Station has become friendly for visually challenged persons with the introduction of signages and maps in Braille.
Punjab Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh was named the “Greatest Leader of All Time” in a poll conducted by ‘BBC World Histories Magazine’. The Punjab government's Food and Drug Administration said it has prohibited online supply of food from Food Business Operators (FBOs) not possessing hygiene rating. Punjab Government launched “Cova Punjab” mobile app to spread awareness on Coronavirus. Haryana
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar gave his nod to rename Amin village here to Abhimanyupur after Mahabharta warrior Arjuna's son Abhimanyu.
Rajasthan Rajasthan police launched a mobile app " RajCopcitizens app " to enable individuals and company employees in the state take permission for venturing out in necessary conditions. Rajasthan government hikes dearness allowance for employees, pensioners from 12% to 17% Delhi
The Delhi district administration introduced a colour-coding mechanism to streamline the process of issuing electronic passes (e-passes) for those working to provide essential services in the national capital. CM Kejriwal has released a dedicated helpline number ‘1031’ for those who require the e-pass. Uttar Pradesh
Citing the inability to construct EWS houses under the PM Awas Yojana, UP government has increased the amount from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh. ‘Recovery of Damage to Public Properties Ordinance 2020‘ for recovery of losses due to damage to public property during violent protests was passed by the Uttar Pradesh cabinet headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath The Uttar Pradesh government has announced a grant of ₹900 per month for the upkeep of a stray cow to individuals who look after any such animal. Uttar Pradesh's Jewar airport has been included in the world’s 100 strategic global infrastructure projects for the year 2020. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will transfer 611 crore rupees in the accounts of 15 lakh MNREGA labourers. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has set up “Team-11” to beat corona Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathhas announced to provide one month free food grains to poor people along with Rs 1,000 as compensation to daily wage workers who have been affected due to the outbreak of corornavirus. Jharkhand
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren government launched an app – VeggiGo – for people to place order for essential commodities.
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The Jharkhand Government has launched a mobile app PRAGYAAM to issue e-passes to everyone associated with delivery of essential services during the national lockdown to combat COVID-19. Bihar .12.2018 Bihar government raised the country’s first tribal women police battalion named the ‘Bihar Police Swabhiman Vahini’ with.2018 a strength of 675 constables West Bengal
India post launches India’s 1st digital parcel locker service in Kolkata, West Bengal. National Security Guard.11.2018 (NSG) Regional Hub campus inaugurated at Kolkata. West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) has launched a helpline number through which psychiatrists and paediatricians would provide consultation to children who are suffering from stress amid lockdown Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh, the state government has unveiled a mascot named “chilli chacha” for better marketing of the popular spice. The mascot was launched in the first such “chilli festival” organised in Khargone district, which is the largest producer of chillies in the state Centre notified 870 sq km around the National Chambal Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh(MP) as eco- sensitive zone (ESZ) to prohibit polluting activities . It is the home to gangetic dolphins and 75 per cent population of critically endangered species gharial Madhya Pradesh Cabinet approved to form trust for ‘Ram Van Gaman Path’ project,Which seeks to retrace the route believed to have been taken by Lord Ram during his life in forest. Indore, India’s cleanest city, has opted to deploy drones to sprinkle chemicals in a bid to sanitise it against the coronavirus outbreak. Odisha
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that Odisha is the 1st state to own a separate department for Self Help Groups named as”Department of Mission Shakti”. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched Mo Jeebanprogramme and urged people to take a pledge to stay indoors. Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the NIGHA App through which citizens can lodge complaints against leaders who are resorting to Model Code of Conduct violations. Telangana.
A dedicated monitoring cell was opened under Mission Bhagiratha to invite grievances and issues of supply of drinking water for the state of Telangana MR Hyderabad International Airport has declared itself as a Single-Use Plastic (SUP)-free airport. Goa
Goa govt launches chatbot to create awareness about coronavirus Goa became first Indian state to launch a digital self-assessment tool called Test Yourself Goa for COVID- 19 without having to physically visit a healthcare facility. Maharashtra
Maharashtra Government (govt) has approved the implementation of “happy hours” for auto rickshaws, reducing 15% of fare prices from 12 pm to 4 pm, barring the minimum fare for first 1.5 km, as recommended by Khatua panel. The Maharashtra Government renamed the Aurangabad Airport as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Airport, the son of Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Mumbai Central station to be renamed as Nana Shankarsheth Mumbai Central railway station
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Karnataka The Karnataka Government (govt) launched ‘Namaste over Handshake’ campaign in order to avoid the spread of COVID-19 (CoronaVirusDisease.12.2018 -19) Lt General Milind Hemant Thakur inaugurated the renovated Animal Memorial in Bengaluru, Karnataka .2018 Tamil Nadu Sanitary personnel employed by urban and rural civic bodies in the State Tamil Nadu will be called as ”cleanliness workers” (Thooimai Paniyalargal in Tamil) to honour their work. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.11.2018 Edappadi K Palaniswami today launched the Tamil Nadu Health System Reform Programme (TNHSRP) in Chennai. The Rs 2,857.03 crore scheme will be implemented with funding support from the World Bank. A ‘Modi Kitchen’ with a capacity to serve 500 meals every day has started functioning in Kovai (Coimbatore), Tamil Nadu Kerala
Kerala High Court banned all forms of agitations by student groups in school and college campuses in the state that disrupt the functioning of educational institutions Kerala to launch digital literacy drive named “I am also digital” in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to create public-awareness about e-governance and use of various digital platforms through which wide ranges of services are being delivered.
North-East The Tripura government has decided to provide Rs 5000 under the ‘Mukhyamantri Yuba Yogayog Yojana’ scheme for buying a smartphone. Tripura State Government and AAI(Airport Authority of India) has signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of six equipment hiring centers in Manu Block under the Dhalai District of Tripura Ministry of Home Affairs has sanctioned Rs.365 crores for constructing New Integrated Check Post (ICP) of About 130 km at Sabroom, Tripura. This is the second Integrated Check Post to be built along the Indo-Bangla border. Government of India (GOI) has approved Tripura capital Agartala and West Bengal’s Ghojadanga as authorised land immigration check posts to enter or exit India. The Assam government has decided to provide 1 thousand rupees each to 2.78 lakh construction workers who had to suffer due to lockdown. Festival Celebrated at Festival Celebrated at Chapchar Kut Mizoram Namaste Orchha festival Madhya Pradesh ‘Hola Mohalla’ Punjab Yog mahotsav Rishikesh Phool Dei Uttarakhand ‘Fagli’ festival Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur Dist. Chapchar Kut Mizoram Ugadi marks the New Year as per Hindu calendar in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. This year Ugadi is on March 25. NATIONAL NEWS Rs 1.70 lakh crore relief package announced for the poor to help them fight against Corona Virus The government announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore(₹1.7 trillion) relief package aimed at providing a safety net for those hit the hardest by the Covid-19 lockdown, along with insurance cover for frontline medical personnel. The relief package, under a newly framed Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Yojana, aims to alleviate the financial pain faced by migrant workers, farmers, urban and rural poor and women. About 800 million(80 Crore) people will get free cereals and cooking gas apart from cash through direct transfers for three months. The 21-day lockdown began on March 25. Insurance scheme for health workers fighting COVID-19 in Government Hospitals and Health Care Centres The government announced a special insurance scheme for health workers fighting Covid-19. The scheme will provide an insurance cover of ₹50 lakh and will benefit 22-lakh health workers.
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All government health centres, wellness centres and hospitals of Centre as well as States would be covered under this scheme. PM Garib Kalyan Ann (अअअअ.12.2018) Yojana Government of India would not allow anybody, especially any poor family, to suffer on account of non- availability of foodgrains.2018 due to disruption in the next three months. 80 crore individuals, i.e, roughly two-thirds of India’s population would be covered under this scheme. Each one of them would be provided double of their current entitlement over next three months. Pulses: Under the package, the government.11.2018 will provide 5 kg of wheat or rice and 1 kg of pulses free every month for the next three months. Under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, Benefit to farmers: The first instalment of Rs 2,000 due in 2020-21 will be front-loaded and paid in April 2020 itself under the PM KISAN Yojana.It would cover 8.7 crore farmers The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme (PM-KISAN) provides Rs 6000 on yearly basis. Subsequently in over 3 installments annually. Cash transfers Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana: A total of 20.40 crores PMJDY women account-holders would be given an ex-gratia of Rs 500 per month for next three months. Gas cylinders: Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, gas cylinders, free of cost, would be provided to 8 crore poor families for the next three months. MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, MGNREGA regular wages will be hiked from ₹182 per day to ₹202 per day with effect from 1 April, 2020.That means the 20 rupees Wage increase under MNREGA will provide an additional Rs 2,000 benefit annually to a worker. This will benefit approximately 13.62 crore families. Self-Help groups: Women organised through 63 lakhs Self Help Groups (SHGs) support 6.85 crore households. Limit of collateral free lending would be increased from Rs 10 to Rs 20 lakhs. Support for senior citizens (above 60 years), widows and Divyang: To the eligible senior citizens, widows and handicapped, a one-time amount ₹1,000 will be transferred in two installments over the next three months, benefitting 30 million people (3 Cr people). Help to low wage earners in organised sectors: The government will bear the cost of EPF contribution of both employer and employee (24 per cent) for the next three months. However, this is only for those establishments which have up to 100 employees and 90 per cent of them earn less than Rs 15,000. This is like to benefit around 4.8 crore employees The central government will direct state governments to use the existing welfare fund with ₹31,000 crore reserves to provide assistance to 35 million construction workers to protect them from economic disruption. District Mineral Fund The State Government will be asked to utilise the funds available under District Mineral Fund (DMF) for supplementing and augmenting facilities of medical testing, screening and other requirements in connection with preventing the spread of CVID-19 pandemic as well as treating the patients affected with this pandemic. Govt launches chatbot on WhatsApp to create awareness about coronavirus, curb misinformation The Ministry of Health and MyGov, along with WhatsApp, have launched a helpline number to raise awareness and answer questions about the COVID-19 pandemic. WhatsApp users across the country can reach out to the ministry of health on +91 9013151515 for credible information and to verify any uncertain information on precautionary measures or treatment practices. Besides this, the government has also set up 2 helpline numbers, +91-11-23978046 and 1075 (toll-free) & an email id ([email protected]) to resolve the queries of Indian citizens. Google has also initiated a campaign named ‘Do the Five. Help stop Coronavirus’ in its search home page that lists out the five things people should follow to prevent coronavirus & also issued Push Notifications on the Google App for Android & iPhone Operating System (iOS) users in India.
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WhatsApp launched Coronavirus Information Hub, donated $1 million to IFCN Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp launched the “WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Hub” globally, in partnership.12.2018 with WHO (World Health Organization), UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). WhatsApp also donated.2018 $1 million dollars to Poynter Institute’s International Fast-Checking Network (IFCN) in order to avoid fake information about the disease. IOC becomes 1st company to begin supply of BS-VI fuel across country Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the nation's biggest oil firm, has begun the supply of the world's cleanest petrol and diesel BS-VI grade.11.2018 fuel across the country. The government had set April 1 as the deadline for starting supply of Euro-VI emission compliant fuels. India adopted Euro-III equivalent (or Bharat Stage-III) fuel with a sulphur content of 350 ppm in 2010 and then took seven years to move to BS-IV that had a sulphur content of 50 ppm. From BS-IV to BS-VI it took just three years. BS-VI has a sulphur content of just 10 ppm and emission standards are as good as CNG. NPR exercise, Census 2021 updation postponed indefinitely due to coronavirus National Population Register (NPR) exercise and 1st Phase of Census 2021 has been deferred indefinitely after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of 21-day lockdown The Census 2021 was scheduled to be conducted in two phases: Phase I:House listing and housing census during April-September, 2020. Phase II: Population enumeration during February 9 to 28, 2021. The updation of NPR was also proposed to be done along with the Phase I of Census 2021 in all the states/UTs, except Assam. Second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) launched The second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission was launched by Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in New Delhi. The programme will be implemented from 2020-2021 to 2024-2025 in a mission mode with a total outlay of ₹1,40,881 crore. Phase II will ensure that effective solid and liquid waste management (SLWM) is instituted in every gram panchayat of the country. Since the launch of the mission in 2014, over 10 crore toilets have been built in rural areas. Over 5.9 lakh villages in 699 districts of 35 states/UTs have declared themselves open defecation free (ODF). PM- Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana reached 8,69,79,391 beneficiaries As of March 17, 2020, a financial benefit under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) has been released to 8 Crore 69 lakh 79 thousand 391 Indian beneficiaries. The funds are transferred directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries identified by the State Governments and are not released State-wise. Under this scheme, the small and marginal farmers get Rs. 6000 in three instalments of Rs 2000 each. Indian Railways to electrify all broad gauge routes by December 2023 Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal informed that Indian Railway(IR) Ministry plans to electrify all broad gauge(BG) routes by December 2023 it is planned to electrify a total of 28,810 km of broad gauge(BG) route from 2019-24 Cabinet approves inclusion of 12,500 AYUSH Health-Wellness Centres in National Ayushman Mission Union Cabinet has approved the inclusion of 12,500 AYUSH Health and Wellness Centre (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-rigpa and Homoeopathy-HWC) component of Ayushman Bharat in the National AYUSH Mission (NAM). The outlay for its operationalisation isRs 3399.35 crore,of which Rs2209.58 crore is Central Share and Rs1189.77 crore is State share for a period of five years (from financial years 2019-20 to 2023-24). Govt says Rs 5,275 crore remains unspent under MPLAD scheme A cumulative amount of Rs 5,275.24 crore remained unspent under Members of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme as on March 4, 2020. The government released Rs 53,704.75 crore under MPLAD scheme out of which Rs 51,267.75 crore was spent as on March 4, 2020. Under MPLAD scheme, each Member of Parliament has the choice to suggest to the District Collector for development works to the tune of Rs 5 crore per annum to be taken up in his/her constituency.
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MoCA flagged off first-ever Indore-Kishangarh flight under UDAN The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) flagged off the first-ever thrice-weekly flight from Indore (Madhya Pradesh) to Kishangarh.12.2018 (Ajmer, Rajasthan) under the UDAN(Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme of the Government of India. R K Singh Launched New .2018Website of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy The Minister of State (I/C) for Power and New and Renewable Energy and Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri R K Singh launched the new website of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy The website has additional.11.2018 portals such as ‘Akshay Urja Portal’ and ‘India Renewable Idea Exchange’ (IRIX). 2 language (English & Hindi) interfaces are provided on the website to make the contents accessible to the wider public. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) server hosts the website. PM-KUSUM Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evem Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) Scheme for farmers for installation of solar pumps and grid connected solar and other renewable power plants in the country. The scheme aims to add solar and other renewable capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022 with total central financial support of Rs. 34,422 Crore including service charges to the implementing agencies. Banihal to Katra railway link to be completed by 2022 Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal announced that Banihal to Katra railway link to be completed by 2022 which is part of the Udhampur- Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project.This completion will pave the way for the creation of Indian rail from Kanyakumari to Baramulla. Govt sanctioned Rs 20,466.94 crore loan to women under ‘Stand up India scheme’: Anurag Singh According to the Minister of State (MoS) for Finance & Corporate Affairs,Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, the central government has sanctioned a loan of Rs 20,466.94 crores to over 91,000 accounts up to March 10,2020 since inception of the Stand-Up India scheme, as it counted the work being done for the empowerment of women. About Stand Up India scheme: It was launched on April 5, 2016, to promote entrepreneurship for economic empowerment and job creation. To set up a new venture, it is mandatory for every branch of the scheduled commercial bank to give a loan of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore to a person belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) and at least one woman. Statue of Unity and Konark temple finds place on ‘iconic sites’ list Union culture and tourism minister Prahlad Singh Patel said the central government has included grand Konark Sun Temple, the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) world heritage site in Odisha & Statue of Unity in Gujarat in the Iconic Tourist Sites list, taking the total number of such places from 17 to 19. A total of 17 iconic tourist sites were identified by the government of India in 2019. It includes- Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri (Uttar Pradesh), Ajanta and Ellora (Maharashtra), Humayun’s Tomb, Red Fort and Qutub Minar (Delhi), Colva (Goa), Amer Fort (Rajasthan), Somnath and Dholavira (Gujarat), Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh), Hampi (Karnataka), Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu), Kaziranga (Assam), Kumarakom (Kerala) and Mahabodhi Temple (Bihar). Govt set up an ambitious target to achieve sales of around 70 lakh hybrid and electric vehicles in 2020 The government has set an ambitious target to achieve sales of around 70 lakh hybrid and electric vehicles by the end of 2020. Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India, FAME scheme was initiated in 2015. the scheme was formulated to promote the manufacturing of electric and hybrid vehicle technology under the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020. The 1st Phase of FAME India Scheme was implemented by 4 focus areas namely- Demand Creation, Technology Platform, Pilot Project & Charging Infrastructure. In the 2nd phase of the scheme, it is aimed to support through demand incentives about seven thousand E-buses, 5 lakh E-3 wheelers, 55 thousand E-4 wheelers passenger cars and 10 lakh E-2
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wheelers. He said the creation of charging infrastructure will be supported to address the anxiety among users of electric vehicles. Heavy Industries Minister,.12.2018 Prakash Javadekar Rs 1.83 lakh crore spent under MNREGA in 2017-2020 Rs 1.83 lakh crore .2018 is spent under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, (MNREGA) in 2017-2020 As on 9th March 2020, 526.97 lakh families have been provided employment, against 603.81 lakh families seeking employment under the scheme MGNREGA .11.2018 Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (NREGA), later renamed as the "Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act", MGNREGA), is an Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'. This act was passed in September 2005. It aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant's residence, and minimum wages are to be paid. If work is not provided within 15 days of applying, applicants are entitled to an unemployment allowance. MGNREGA is to be implemented mainly by gram panchayats (GPs). Govt approves Rs 7,660 crore green highway project in four states of HP, RJ, UP & AP The Centre government has given its approval for the construction of 780 km of green highways at a cost of Rs 7,660 crore. The project aims to rehabilitation and upgradation of various National Highways (NHs) covering a total length of over 780 km in four states of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. Cabinet approves Minimum Support Price for Copra for 2020 season The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for copra for 2020 season on the on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). The MSP for Fair Average Quality (FAQ) of milling copra has been increased to 9,960/- per quintal for 2020 season from Rs. 9,521/- per quintal in 2019. India is number one in production and productivity of Copra in the World. India’s 2019 thermal coal imports rose 12.6% to 197.84 million tonnes; coking coal import declined In accordance with the government data, in 2019, India’s thermal coal imports rose 12.6% to 197.84 million tonnes. Imports of coking coal, which is used mainly in the manufacturing of steel – fell marginally to 51.33 million tonnes from 51.63 million tonnes in 2018. As per govt data, Indonesia accounted around 60% of India’s thermal coal imports in the April- December, 2019 period while South Africa accounted for 22% and Russia and Australia accounting for over 5% each. Govt proposes to create 75 lakh Self Help Groups in two years to support women to earn livelihood Government is planning to create a total of 75 lakh Self Help Groups by 2022 to enable more women to get livelihood. Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar stated this while addressing a programme on Women’s Empowerment to mark International Women’s Day in New Delhi SC allows cryptocurrency trading, quashes RBI ban The Supreme Court on Wednesday lifted the ban imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on virtual currency trading, including cryptocurrencies. The three-judge bench headed by Justice Rohinton Nariman quashed the central bank’s order while hearing petitions challenging the April 2018 circular imposing the ban on financial service providers. What is Cryptocurrency? A cryptocurrency (or crypto currency) is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets. Cryptocurrency is used to move money between bank and a client which usually runs on a blockchain technology. Blockchain is a type of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).
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DST sanctions Rs 7.25 crore to IIT-Mandi to establish Technology Innovation Hub The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has sanctioned Rs 7.25 crore to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi to.12.2018 establish a Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) at the institute. This is under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS). Govt has formed committee.2018 to finalise modalities of Kisan Rail The government has formed a committee under the Ministry of Agriculture which also includes representatives of the Indian Railways to work out the modalities of 'Kisan Rail'. The Union Budget 2020-21 proposes setting up of Kisan Rail to build a national cold supply chain for perishables including.11.2018 meat, milk and fish. The Kisan rail will be set up by the Indian Railways through the PPP arrangement. Refrigerated Parcel Vans: The Railways has developed a new design of refrigerated parcel vans with the carrying capacity of 17 tonnes for the transportation of highly perishable parcel traffic. It was procured through Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala. The Indian Railways currently has a fleet of nine such refrigerated vans and they can be booked on a round- trip basis. LPG scheme PM Ujjwala Yojana closed, but only 3 States have become kerosene-free A parliamentary committee headed by BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) member Ramesh Bidhuri has said only three States and five Union Territories have become kerosene-free, though the government in September last met the target of 8 crore LPG connections under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. -As of September 7, 2019, the govt has met the target of 96.9% coverage nationwide, except in Jammu and Kashmir. Only three States — Haryana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh — and the Union Territories of Delhi, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, Andaman & Nicobar Island and Puducherry have become kerosene-free. Crime Multi-Agency Centre and National Cybercrime Training Centre were launched on 35th Inception Day of NCRB The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) celebrated its 35th Inception Day on March 12, 2020. Shri Nityanand Rai, Union Minister of State for Home was the chief guest of the occasion launched Crime Multi-Agency Centre (Cri-MAC) and National Cybercrime Training Center (NCTC) in New Delhi. Cri-MAC is a Platform to share information between various police forces on serious crimes & other issues related to inter-state coordinationNCTC(The National Cybercrime Training Center) provides professional-quality e-learning services on cybercrime investigation to police officers, judges, prosecutors and other stakeholders. The role of NCRB was praised for networking 15,933 police stations and 8,208 higher police officers across the country under the CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems) project. Centre invokes ‘Epidemic Act’ and ‘Disaster Management Act’ to prevent spread of coronavirus The Centre has decided to invoke Epidemic Act 1897, an act to provide for prevention of the spread of“dangerous epidemic diseases,” to combat novel coronavirus in India. All the states and union territories of India are advised to invoke the provisions of Section 2 of the Epidemic Disease Act 1897. Section 2 of the Act states: “When at any time the State Government (now Centre) is satisfied that the State or any part thereof is visited by, or threatened with, an outbreak of any dangerous epidemic disease, the State Government, if it thinks that the ordinary provisions of the law for the time being in force are insufficient for the purpose, may take, or require or empower any person to take, such measures and, by public notice, prescribe such temporary regulations to be observed by the public or by any person or class of persons as it shall deem necessary to prevent the outbreak of such disease or the spread thereof, and may determine in what manner and by whom any expenses incurred (including compensation if any) shall be defrayed.” Section 3 of the Act states: “Any person disobeying any regulation or order made under this Act shall be deemed to have committed an offence punishable under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).” Section 4 of the Act states: “No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie against any person for anything done in good faith under the act.” The Act was formulated pre-independence mainly to control plague in the late 1800s.
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Karnataka becomes the first state to invoke provisions of Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 Apart from this, Disaster Management (DM) Act 2005 also invocated, and powers exercised by the home secretary (Ajay.12.2018 Kumar Bhalla) for being the Chairman of the National Executive Committee (NEC) under section 10 of the DM Act (2005) have been delegated to the Ministry of Health and Family welfare. .2018 NDLS to be redeveloped as World Class Station; a first of its kind New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) will be converted into a world-class railway station with an estimated outlay of Rs 6500 crore. Ministry of Railways has.11.2018 entrusted the work of redevelopment of this station to Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) under PPP mode. Centre notifies new POCSO rules making law for sexual offences against children more stringent The Union government has notified the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Rules, 2020 which enables implementation of recent amendments to the Act under which provisions of punishment for child abuse has been made more stringent. It include mandatory police verification of staffs in schools and care centers, procedures for reporting sexually abusive material (pornography), provision of child rights education at the appropriate age among others. In addition, the state Government’s have also been asked to provide information about child helpline services through toll free number 1098. Any person who has get any pornographic material involving a child or any information regarding such pornographic material being stored, distributed or displayed, should report the contents to the special juvenile police unit (SJPU) or police official, or as the case may be, cyber-crime portal (cybercrime.gov.in) and upon such record of report, the SJPU or police take corrective action as per the directions of the Government issued from time to time. The POCSO Act was enacted in 2012 to provide a robust legal framework for the protection of children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography, while safeguarding the interests of children at every stage of the judicial process. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla launches ‘Suposhit Maa Abhiyaan’ in Kota Lok Sabha speaker Shri Om Birla launched Suposhit Maa Abhiyan in Kota, Rajasthan. The Scheme aims to create malnutrition-free India. Under the programme, more than 1000 women are to be given 17 kg of food kit/per month for 12 month. It is applicable only to one pregnant woman per family. The Scheme is launched to help India achieve its target of “Malnutrition Free India” by 2022. Government Launches Humsafar Mobile App For Doorstep Diesel Delivery Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar launched 'Humsafar' mobile App by which housing societies, hotels and hospitals in the national capital region will soon be able to get diesel delivered at their doorsteps GoI to create 75 lakh Self Help Group by 2022 Minister of Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar announced that more than 17 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs) are to be developed by 2022. Currently, there are more than 60 lakh self help groups in the country mobilizing 6 crore women. Sanitary pad disposal bags mandatory from January 2021 Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar said the Centre would make it mandatory for sanitary pad manufacturers to provide bio-degradable bags for the disposal of each pad from January 2021 He also stated that the waste pickers should be called as ‘Swachhta Sevika’ from this International Women’s Day. MSDE launches Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) in IIM-Bengaluru The Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) programme, launched by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), with support from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, welcomed the first batch consisting of 74 students, in an orientation ceremony at IIMB This fellowship is a part of SANKALP (Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion) programme of the ministry to boost skill development at the district level.
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March 8 International Women’s Day celebrated across India The 2020 theme for IWD was “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights”. Vigyan Jyoti scheme gets.12.2018 appreciation during Women’s day celebration TIFAC launched Vigyan Jyoti scheme Technology Information.2018 Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) launched the Vigyan Jyoti scheme on 8th March 2020. Vigyan Jyoti is an initiative that will create a level-playing field for the meritorious girls in high school to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in their higher education. .11.2018 Under the scheme, Selected women from more than 500 districts will be given opportunities to attend science camps at Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), NITs, and other leading institutions of science and technology education where women are not adequately represented. On the occasion of Women’s Day, PM Modi handed over his social media accounts to women achievers whose life and work is inspiring and launched “She Inspires Us” campaign. Railways has conducted a 10-day gender equality campaign on the theme “Each for Equal” across it’s 17 zones focusing on gender equality. Union Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Science and Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan launched a new Helpline no 011-26565285 here for use of women students, researchers, entrepreneurs and scientists to get their queries answered and doubts cleared related to programs of Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST). The movie “Hidden Figure” was screened during the celebration. Indian Army (IA) organized a demonstration on Self Defence themed “Stronger You Stronger Society” for the local women at Dhamdhama Anchlik College in Nalbari District of Assam.The demonstration was conducted by Rifleman Ramesh Karki, an international taekwondo player of the Indian Army along with two local girls, Priyanka and Jinti Rajbonshi, players of International repute from the local region. Union Culture Ministry made all ticketed monuments maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) free of cost for the women on International Women Day i.e. on March 8, 2020. Thinlas Chorol sets up first women’s travel company in Ladakh On the eve of International Women's Day, a young woman Thinlas Chorol in Ladakh has introduced woman trekking guide in the male dominated trekking industry. To train the other women as trekking guide , she setup the first women's travel company fully operated by women only. Every trekking season from April to September, she train 20 to 30 rural women to work as trekking guide. NRIs can now acquire up to 100 pc stake in Air India The Union Cabinet approved an amendment to the foreign direct investment policy on civil aviation, allowing non-resident Indians (NRIs) to acquire 100 per cent equity stake in Air India under the automatic route. Earlier, only 49 per cent was available for sale to NRIs in Air India. Now, they can purchase 100 per cent There is no change in the limit for overseas investors in the national carrier, including foreign airlines, which remains at 49%, directly or indirectly. All level crossings on National Highways to be replaced by bridges, underpasses The Indian Government has targeted to replace all level crossings on National Highways with road over bridges or under bridges under the Setu Bharatam scheme before the end of the year 2020. The Setu Bharatam Scheme is being implemented by the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry to ensure a smooth flow of traffic on the national highways and reduce road accidents by at least 50 percent by 2020. Govt approves facial recognition system for identification of bodies Govt has given approved to the automated facial recognition system (AFRS) for identification of unrecognised bodies, missing children and criminals. Automated facial recognition system (AFRS) will be implimented by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Indian Railways turns old train coaches into restaurant Indian Railways’ Eastern Railway zone has converted two over-aged railway coaches into a restaurant in the circulating area of Asansol railway station, West Bengal.
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Termed as ‘Restaurant on Wheels’ it can be accessed by both railway passengers and general public as well. The effort is likely to generate.12.2018 non -fare revenue of approximately ₹50 lakh in the next five years. Star Rating Programme for Light Commercial Air Conditioners and Deep Freezers launched On March 2, 2020, in.2018 its 19th foundation day, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) operating under Ministry of Power launched star rating programme for Light Commercial Air Conditioners (LCAC) and Deep Freezers. At the celebration of the foundation day of BEE, the Urja Dakshata Information Tool (UDIT) was launched. .11.2018 It is an online platform that explains the energy efficiency platform in India. India joins Indian Ocean Commission as the fifth Observer India joined the Indian Ocean Commission as the fifth observer. The other four observers in the grouping are Malta, China, European Union and OIF (International Organization of La Francophonie). It will boosts Indian cooperation with France that has strong presence in the WIO and lends depth to India’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) policy of PM Narendra Modi 2015. About IOC: Established in 1982, IOC is an inter-governmental organization that coordinates maritime governance in the south-western Indian Ocean. It consists of Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion (France) and Seychelles. Ministry of Women and Child Development organizes discussion on “The Future of Work: Women in India’s Workforce” Union Ministry of Women and Child Development organised a discussion on “The Future of Work: Women in India’s Workforce”, in association with World Bank in New Delhi. Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani inaugurated the programme along with Dr. Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director India, World Bank. The WCD minister announced a diet plan for women & lactating mothers for the 1st time, formulated by Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) . 10 projects sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana Food Processing Industries minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal launched 10 projects worth rupees Rs 301.54 crore with total grant-in-aid of Rs 67.29 crore under the ‘Agro Processing Cluster Scheme’ of Kisan Sampada Yojana of Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI). From this 10 project, 8 projects spread over eight districts of Tamil Nadu under the cluster scheme worth Rs 230 crore Other Announcment 100 % FDI permitted under the automatic route in Food Processing Industries. 100% FDI allowed through approval routes for trading including e-commerce in respect of food products manufactured and/or produced in India. 100% Income Tax exemption from profit derived activities such as post-harvest value addition agriculture by FPO’s having annual turnover up to Rs.100 crores. Tourism minister launched Multilingual version of “Incredible India” website & Mobile app in New Delhi The Minister of State (MoS) for Tourism & Culture, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel has launched the multilingual version of ‘Incredible India’ website and mobile app in New Delhi The website was earlier hosted in only 2 languages i.e. English & Hindi and now it has been launched in 3 new languages i.e. Chinese, Arabic and Spanish. Ministry of Finance (FinMin) has released figures related to various schemes having special provisions for empowerment of women. Stand-Up India Scheme:More than 81% account holders under Stand Up India Scheme are women. Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY):More than 15.75 crore loans extended to women, thereby 70% of the total loan borrowers are Women. Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY):20.33 crore beneficiaries out of 38.13 crore beneficiaries are women which amounts to 53 %. Atal Pension Yojana (APY):43% out of a total of around 2.15 crore subscribers under APY are women. PMJJBY(Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana ):40.70% enrollments are of women Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY): 50% enrollments are of women.
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Helpline number for women being launched An helpline number has been launched for women students, researchers, entrepreneurs and scientists on international women’s.12.2018 day on March 8. The Helpline No. 011-2656 5285 would clear doubts cleared related to programs of Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST). Now, this Helpline .2018 will provide handholding to women scientists in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and will be available during office hours (09:30 am to 05:30 pm) during working days Manikaran Power becomes first member of India’s gas trading platform The gas trading platform.11.2018 of Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) has found its first member in Manikaran Power Ltd (MPL). Called the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX), it will be India’s first gas trading platform. IGX would offer spot and forward contracts at Dahej, Hazira and Kakinada. While Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) operates a LNG terminal at Dahej, Shell operates another one at Hazira. Kakinada is the landfall point for natural gas being produced from the Krishna Godavari basin Mumbai Metro Line-III gets Rs 2,480 crore loan from JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed an agreement with the central government to provide an official development assistance (ODA) loan of 39,928 million yen (around Rs 2,480 crore) for Mumbai Metro Line-III. Overall, JICA has so far extended concessional ODA loans worth over 1 trillion yen (around Rs 60,000 crore) for the development of metro systems in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Government of India launches coronavirus tracking app Corona Kavach The Government of India has launched a coronavirus risk-tracking app called ‘Corona Kavach.’ Jointly developed by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare National news One liner The central government permitted airlines operating in India to provide in-flight Wi-Fi services to passengers, according to official notification. In an effort to contain the continued spread of the novel coronavirus, the government suspended all tourist and medical visas till April 15. An investment of Rs 6.16 lakh crore has been approved so far under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and the committed central assistance is Rs 1.65 lakh crore. Till March 13, 2020, India's rooftop solar energy capacity stands at 1,922 mega watt (MW) and so far over Rs 1,874 crore has been released as central financial assistance towards installation of capacities in the sector In a major relief to the residents of Lachen in north Sikkim, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) opened a 360-feet long bailey suspension bridge over the Teesta river for traffic in Munshithang near Chungthang town. The Northern Railway has successfully made the first prototype of hospital isolation coach for COVID- 19 patients. ‘Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund’ (PM CARES Fund)’ launched to secure donations for fight against covid-19 Akshay Kumar joins Covid-19 fight with a Rs 25 cr donation to PM's relief fund. The Election Commission has allowed usage of indelible ink by health authorities for stamping ‘home quarantined’ on the hands of those suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus, easing its policy of using the ink only for voting purposes. National Teleconsultation Centre has been launched by the Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan. A single IVRS number 91-9115444155 will connect to multiple telephone lines established in the Centre established in AIIMS, New Delhi.
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International news SAARC corona emergency fund for COVID-19 India has proposed setting.12.2018 up of a common electronic platform for all SAARC nations to share expertise and best practices in jointly combating the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Narendra.2018 Modi has proposed the formulation of a common strategy to tackle COVID- 19(Coronavirus) in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region during the video conference with SAARC representatives. India has granted $10 million fund to the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Corona Emergency Fund..11.2018 Sri Lanka has pledged to contribute $5 million Governments of Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan have pledged to contribute $1.5 million, $1 million and $1 million respectively to the fund. Maldives and Bhutan also pledged to provide $200,000 and 100,000 respectively. The remaining one nation of SAARC- i.e Pakistan is yet to declare its contribution for the fund. SAARC: Establishment– 8 December 1985, Headquarters– Kathmandu, Nepal Secretary–General– H. E. Mr Esala Ruwan Weerakoon Members (8)– Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. WEF launches COVID action platform for collective action by business community With the coronavirus epidemic hurting economic activities globally, the World Economic Forum launched a new platform with the support of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to convene the global business community for a collective action on the COVID-19 response. Extraordinary Virtual G20 Leaders' Summit An Extraordinary Virtual G20 Leaders' Summit was convened on 26 March 2020 to discuss the challenges posed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic The Saudi Arabian King Salman chaired the G20 summit on Corona Virus through a video conference. To deal with the social, economic as well the financial impacts of the COVID-19, the G20 countries have all decided to put in together $ 5 trillion funds in the world economy. The G20 is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union. Present Leader: Salman of Saudi Arabia (2020) The members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. UN appeals for USD 877 million to help Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh The United Nations appealed for nearly USD 900 million to help hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees and vulnerable host communities in Bangladesh this year. The UN refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration and other partners launched a joint appeal for USD 877 million (789 million euros) Sri Lanka to lead science, technology and innovation sector in BIMSTEC Sri Lanka will lead the science, technology and innovation sector in the BIMSTEC and a facility for technology transfer is planned to be opened in the future. This was agreed during the 20th Session of the senior officials’ meeting chaired by Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha in Colombo Luxembourg becomes first country to make all public transport free In an attempt to reduce traffic jams, Luxembourg has become the first country in the world to make all public transport free from February 29. This is the first time that the decision to offer free public transport has covered an entire country, the transport ministry stated. Saudi Arabia starts issuance of permanent premium residency permit to foreigners As Saudi Arabia officially started the issuance of Permanent Premium Residency Permit to Foreigners, Indian investor Yosuffali M A, Chairman of the Lulu group became one of the first to be given the permanent residency permit by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Premium Residency, informally known as Saudi Green Card, is a residence permit in Saudi Arabia that grants expatriates the right to live, work and own business and property in the Kingdom without need for a sponsor.
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The introduction of the Premium Residency comes as a part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 reform plan, which was announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to boost the Saudi economy. CSW64 of UN adopted political.12.2018 declaration on womens rights The UN's 64th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW64) was held on 9 March 2020 in New York, US. During.2018 the meeting, the United Nations adopted a stripped-down political declaration on women's rights. The adopted declaration will be in line with the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action of 1995, which sought to promote women's emancipation and advancement around the world. ‘A New era for girls: Taking.11.2018 stock on 25 years of progress’ report released UNICEF along with Plan International and United Nations Women has released a report titled “A New era for girls: Taking stock on 25 years of progress”. The report is issued in the context of the Generation Equality campaign and to mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. European commission launches global coalition for biodiversity to raise public awareness In view of the crucial UN (United Nations) summit on biodiversity (also known as Convention on Biological Diversity-COP15) to be held in Kunming, China in October 2020) and on the occasion of the World Wildlife Day on March 3, 2020, the European Commission has launched a new global coalition for biodiversity called ‘United for Biodiversity’ in Monaco. Iran seeks financial assistance from IMF for the first time since 1962 to counter coronavirus pandemic For the first time since 1962, the Islamic Republic of Iran is seeking financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund. IMF’s KGeorgieva has stated that countries affected by #COVID19 will be supported via Rapid Financial Instrument. Central Bank requested access to this facility immediately. Bangladesh celebrates 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman On March 17, 2020, Bangladesh celebrated 100th birth anniversary of “Jatir Pita” Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. PM Modi participated in the celebrations through video conferencing. Sheikh Mujbur Rahman was a Bangladeshi politician. He is called the father of Bangladesh. He was the first president of Bangladesh and later he served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh between 1971 and 1975. He was assassinated in 1975. ULA’s Atlas 5 launches AEHF-6 communications satellite in its first mission for U.S. Space Force A United Launch AllianceAtlas 5 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying a $1.4 billion Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-6) communications satellite for the U.S. Space Force. North Macedonia Officially Joins NATO North Macedonia is now part of the NATO family, a family of 30 nations and almost 1 billion people. About NATO:The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 North American and European countries. Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium Intenational news One liner North Korea ‘successfully’ tests ‘super-large’ multiple rocket launcher Abbott (A US Medical Company) gets approval to launch 5-minute COVID-19 test, called ID NOW COVID- 19.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT AND CONFERENCE WINGS INDIA 2020 A 4 day (March 12-15) biennial event WINGS INDIA 2020 themed as ‘Flying For All’ is an International Exhibition & Conference on Civil Aviation sector held at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad, is organized by Ministry of Civil Aviation & Airports Authority of India(AAI) & Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). 3rd edition of WION Global Summit 2020 held in Dubai,UAE WION (World Is One News), the India’s first International News Channel,has organized its 3rd edition of Global summit 2020 based on the theme “Navigating and negotiating global imperatives” at The Oberoi, in Dubai, UAE ( United Arab Emirates).
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7th World Cities Summit (WCS) 2020 rescheduled to 20 – 24 June 2021 Singapore The theme for WCS 2020 is ”Liveable and Sustainable Cities: Adapting to a Disrupted World”. Singapore Government.12.2018 invited Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to the WCS-2020. National Conference on Women in Police and CAPFs held in New Delhi Union Minister for Women.2018 and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani inaugurated the “National Conference on Women in Police and CAPFs (Central Armed Police Forces)” in New Delhi, India. Themes of the Conference 2020: ‘Cyber Stalking and Bullying of Women: Steps for Protection” and ‘Challenges faced by CAPF Women in Operational Areas”. The Conference was organized.11.2018 by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR & D). She also released a hand-out- ‘BPR & D Mirror- Gender Bender’ and also the book titled “To Greater Heights”. RAISE 2020 has postponed to October 2020 Due to novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, the Indian government postponed the country’s 1st summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), ‘RAISE 2020– Responsible Artificial intelligence (AI) for Social Empowerment’ to October 5-6, 2020. It was to be conducted between April 11 & 12, 2020 in New Delhi by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Summit And Conference Held at 5th BIMSTEC Summit 2020 to be held in Colombo,Sri Lanka ICONSAT (International Conference on Nano Science and Technology) Kolkata Fourth Global Ayurveda Festival Kochi, Kerala Theme Ayurveda Medical Tourism: Actualizing India’s credibility. India Pharma & India Medical Device 2020 GANDHINAGAR, GUJARAT 35th edition of AAHAR– the Food and Hospitality fair New Delhi 108th Indian Science Congress in 2021 Pune Themed on ‘Science and Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment‘ World Productivity Congress Bangalore Theme: “Industry 4.0 – Innovation and Productivity” Indian Army’s International Seminar Pragyan Conclave 2020 New Delhi 6th edition of ET global business summit 2020 New Delhi Theme: ‘Collaborate to Create: Sustainable Growth in a Fractured World’ First regional edition of “Divya Kala Shakti Event” (Witnessing the Abilities in Chennai, Tamil Nadu Disabilities) (TN) “EKAM Fest”: A week long Exhibition-cum-Fair, organized by National Handicapped New Delhi Finance Development Corporation (NHFDC) under Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment 6th International Day of Yoga (IDY) is to be celebrated on 21st June at Leh, Ladakh 11th National Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) conference 2020 New delhi. Theme: ‘Empowering Youth for Technology Led Farming’ There are a total of 717 KVKs spread across the country Biological Diversity-COP15 UN (United Nations) summit on biodiversity to be held in Kunming, China in October 2020 India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF)has been organizing India Smart Utility Week 2020 New Delhi (ISUW) UNGCNI organizes 3rd Gender equality summit 2020 in New Delhi UNGCNI (United Nations Global Compact Network India) organizes 3rd Gender equality summit 2020 in New Delhi theme “India Inc. For Generation Equality: Decade of Action” The summit, aims to create a strong roadmap towards gender equality at workplaces in India During the Summit, a theme paper on “Rethinking Gender Representation across Value Chains” was released in association with Grant Thornton India.The paper showcases that, the estimated income of Female workforce in India is a just one-fifth of male income & is also among the world’s lowest (144th ) one.
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The summit saw the presentation of top Best Innovative Practices Awards ‘Women at Work – Place’. Award Name Won by Public Sector .12.2018 ONGC(Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) Private Sector Nestle, Runner’s Up – Zensar NGO (Non-Governmental.2018 Organization) Sector Bharti Foundation Academic Sector Salipur School Special Jury Recognition Award First Steps Babywear Pvt Ltd
.11.2018 Ranking
INDEX Topped by India position Report by World Happiness Report Finland 8th United Nations (UN) 2020 Economic Freedom Singapore 120th Heritage Foundation Index 2020 Inclusive Internet Index Sweden 46th EIU(Economist Intelligence Unit) 2020 India topped among South Asian Countries ‘Freedom in the World Finland 83rd Freedom House, U.S 2020” ‘Women On Board Norway 12th My Hiring Club and Sarkari-Naukri 2020’
Bengaluru continues to record highest number of digital transactions Bengaluru accounted for the highest number of digital transactions in India in 2019, followed by Chennai, Mumbai and Pune. United Payments Interface (UPI) was the most preferred mode of payment followed by debit cards, immediate payment service (IMPS), and credit cards, in terms of volume share of digital transactions. In 2019, these four payment modes recorded a combined transaction volume of over 20 trillion and a combined value of over Rs54 trillion. UPI is also the fastest payment mode to hit 1 billion monthly transactions Maharashtra led the pack among the top 10 states with the highest number of digital transactions. National Payment Council of India (NPCI) operated UPI recorded around 10.8 billion transactions in 2019 At USD 83.5 bn, India has 3rd highest trade-related illicit financial flow globally US-based think tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI) recently released a report titled “Trade-related Illicit Financial Flows in 135 Developing Countries: 2008-2017”. As per the report, five countries with the largest gaps were China ($457.7 billion), followed by Mexico, India, Russia and Poland. India has the third-highest trade-related illicit financial flow escaping the government’s tax net, with $83.5 billion (Rs 6.14 trillion), equivalent to 3.05 per cent of GDP). Bloomberg Billionaires Index As per Bloomberg Billionaires Index,Alibaba Group Holding Ltd Founder Jack Ma overtakes Mukesh Ambani(Chairman & Managing Director of Reliance Industries) & becomes Asia’s richest man with networth of $44.8 billion Mukesh Ambani share has dropped by $5.8 billion to $41.8 billion due to coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic which led to collapse in oil markets. Amazon CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Jeff Bezos continues to be the world’s richest man even though he lost $5.6 billion. UoH bags top score in QS World University Subject ranking The University of Hyderabad (UoH) has scored in 25 subjects and ranked in three in the QS World University Subject rankings for 2020. The three subjects in which UoH has secured high rankings are: Chemistry 301-350; Biological Sciences 451-500; and Physics & Astronomy 501-550.
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Indira Gandhi and Amrit Kaur got place in ‘100 Influential Women of the Century’ of the Times Magazine Time magazine released a list titled ‘Spotlights Influential Woman Who Were Often Overshadowed’. Former Prime Minister.12.2018 Indira Gandhi and freedom fighter Amrit Kaur have been included in the list of 100 influential women of the last century by Time magazine. Time magazine has published.2018 Amrit Kaur and Indira Gandhi as Woman of the Year for the years 1947 and 1976 respectively in a special edition of the magazine. WEF’s Young Global Leade rs list 2020 World Economic Forum (WEF) announced its new list of 115 Young Global Leaders (YGL), where 5 Indians Byju Raveendran, Gaurav .11.2018Gupta, Swapan Mehra, Vinati Mutreja & Tara Singh Vachani are named in the list. Byju Raveendran- He is Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BYJU’S Gaurav Gupta- He is the co-founder & Chief Operating Officer(COO) of Zomato Swapan Mehra- CEO of Iora Ecological Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is a global leader in climate action & ecosystem conservation in India. Vinati Mutreja- Vinati Mutreja is Managing Director (MD) & CEO of specialty chemical company Vinati Organics Tara Singh Vachani- She is the MD of Antara Senior Living, which focuses on improving the lives of seniors India ranks second in KPMG's tech innovation survey Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG)’s global Technology(Tech) industry innovation survey ranked India in 2nd position which is shared with China as the most promising country for developing globally impactful disruptive technologies. The United States (US) topped the survey. Bengaluru ranked 9th, Singapore tops in Cities which leads the tech innovation hubs Animal Protection Index 2020 World Animal Protection released the 2nd edition of global Animal Protection Index (API) 2020, where India gained C grade with other 8 countries which indicates India is one of the better-performing countries. Tragically no country gained A grade. About World Animal Protection:It aims to create a world where animals live free from suffering Headquarters– London, United Kingdom “Wealth Report 2020” released by Knight Frank LLP According to the “Wealth Report 2020”released by Knight Frank LLP India had 5,986 UHNWIs Ultra high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) in 2019 and they expected to increase by 73% in the coming 5 years. This will almost double the current count to 10,354. United States (US) topped the Report with 240575 UHNWI’s followed by China with 61,587 & Germany with 23,078. UHNWIs are people who are having a net worth of at least $30 million(mn) and above. 1st UNDP Gender Social Norms Index 2020 Asper report 90 % or 9 in 10 of the world’s population has some bias against women. Pakistan 99.81 %. The highest number of bias against women was in Pakistan The countries with the least bias towards women are Andorra India among top suppliers of pharma drugs used in trafficking In accordance with the “Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2019”, by International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) released by United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), India is named among the top manufacturers of illicit and licit drugs that are smuggled to other countries. BRAC retains its position as the top NGO of the world for the 5th consecutive year Bangladesh-based international development organization BRAC has retained its position as the top NGO of the world for the 5th consecutive year.The rankings for 2020 were announced by the Geneva-based organization NGO Adviser. Taylor Swift tops Google’s 2020 list of most-searched woman in music Singer Taylor Swift has been named as Google’s most-searched for woman in music of 2020. According to Google, Swift topped the list of searches among women in music, while tennis player Serena Williams was the most-searched for female athlete
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Bilateral UK has become the first co-chair of the Governing Council on the India-led global climate initiative The Government of United.12.2018 Kingdom (UK) has become the first co-chair of the Governing Council on the India-led global climate initiative ‘Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)’,which was created by the Prime.2018 Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on September 23, 2019 during the UN (United Nations) Climate Summit in New York, US(United States). The secretariat of the Coalition will be in New Delhi. India will offer financial assistance of Rs 480 crore to the CDRI to help support research projects, establish secretariat and.11.2018 meet the recurring expenditure for a period of 5- years from 2019-20 to 2023- 24. UK is going to host crucial UN climate change conference 2020 (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2020 India –Nepal: India will provide 107.01 million Nepali Rupees for the construction of three new school buildings. These schools will be built in Darchula, Dhanusha and Kapilvastu districts. India- Bangladesh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken part in the 100th birth anniversary celebrations of Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman through video conferencing. India and Belgium: Extradition treaty between India and Belgium has signed, which will enable the countries to surrender any person found in its territory who is accused of or convicted in an extraditable offence in the territory of the other party. India and Côte d’lvoire : Cabinet clears MoU between India and Côte d’lvoire on cooperation in the health sector India and Germany:The Union Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding signed between India and Germany for technological cooperation in the railway sector. TCIL signs MoU with The Gambia for MEA’s eVBAB Network Project Telecommunications consultants India Limited (TCIL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Gambia. This MoU is signed for the participation in MEA’s (eVBAB) e-VidyaBharati and e-ArogyaBharati Network Project for tele-medicine and tele-education in Africa.
Awards and Honors Praveen Rao Telangana State Agricultural University Vice Chancellor Praveen Rao wins Dr MS Swaminathan Award for the period 2017- 2019. Shri Jadav Payeng Padma Assam environmental activist Jadav Payeng, the Forest Man of India will be conferred with the prestigious Swami Vivekananda Karmayogi Award instituted by My Home India. Yvonne Farrell and Irish architects Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara have been awarded the 2020 Shelley McNamar Pritzker Architecture Prize Captain Amarinder Singh The Bhartiya Chhatra Sansad (BCS) conferred ‘Adarsh Mukhya Mantri Puraskar’ (Ideal Chief Minister Award) upon Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh Jadav Payeng Named as the 128th Commonwealth Points of Light Award winner. Sarbananda Sonowal Sarbananda Sonowal receives Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee Award 2020 for Politics Amgoth Tukaram A young mountaineer Amgoth Tukaram from Telangana has scaled Australia’s highest peak Mount Kosciuszko(2,228 metres) Bhawna Dehariya Indian Mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya hails from Madhya Pradesh (MP) has successfully scaled Mount Kosciuszko, the highest mountain peak in Australia on the occasion of Holi. Satyarup Siddhanta Satyarup Siddhanta entered ‘Limca Book of Records’ (LBR) for his extraordinary achievements, as the first Indian to climb the highest volcanoes of each of the 7 continents. Pusarla Venkata Won BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) Indian Sportswoman of the year award 2019 Sindhu(PV Sindhu ) Dr Jaimanti Bakshi Dr Jaimanti Bakshi, Professor & Unit Head II, Department of Otolaryngology and Head Neck surgery at PGIMER (Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research), Chandigarh was awarded with “Best Citizens of India”. The award was given by “GEPRA” (Global Economic Progress and Research Association) during the National Unity conference held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN) . Zoya Akhter Film Director Zoya Akhter honoured with IIFTC Tourism Impact Award 2020 during the 8th India International Film Tourism Conclave (IIFTC) held in Mumbai
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Ruchika Tomar Indian-origin American author Ruchika Tomar is named as the winner of the annual PEN/Hemingway Award 2020 for her 1st novel (debut) ”A Prayer for Travelers”. Arfa Khanum .12.2018Indian journalists Arfa Khanum Sherwani, senior editor of the news website ‘The Wire’ Sherwani,Rohini Mohan and Bengaluru-based freelancer Rohini Mohan jointly won the “Chameli Devi Jain Award .20182019” for outstanding Women media persons. Prachi Salve,Pradeep Centre for Media Studies (CMS) announced that Prachi Salve of IndiaSpend and Pradeep Dwivedi Dwivedi of DainikJagran as the first winner of Road Safety (RS) Media Fellowship 2019, for their work in contribution towards reporting on road safety. Maker Village,Kochi .11.2018Maker Village Kochi won the ISGF (India Smart Grid Forum) Award for the best incubator in recognition of its efforts to boost the country’s startup ecosystem and encourage innovation. Abel Prize Laureates 2020 The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters named Israeli-American Hillel Furstenberg from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel and Russian-American Gregory Margulis from Yale University, USA as winners of the Abel Prize 2020. Abel Prize is a Norwegian prize awarded annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians 2019 Airport Service Quality(ASQ) awards Kempegowda International Airport (Bangalore, India) was adjudged as the Best Airport. The award is given by the Airports Council International (ACI) India’s first Living Culinary Arts and Museum of WGSHA enters Limca Book of Records Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration (WGSHA) of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) entered the Limca Book of Records (LBR) for establishing “India’s First Living Culinary Arts Museum” at WGSHA, Manipal, Karnataka. ‘Nari Shakti Puraskar’(Women Shakti Award) for 2019 President Ram Nath Kovind honoured 15 women with ‘Nari Shakti Puraskar’(Women Shakti Award) for 2019 at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. COP26 postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic On April 1, 2020, the United Nations announced that the Conference of Parties (COP 26) that was to be held in Glasgow in November 2020 has been pushed to 2021. This is being done over the threat of COVID-19 virus and its impact on the world Name Key Accomplishment Bina Devi or ‘Mushroom Mahila’ from Munger Popularizing mushroom cultivation , Bihar Arifa Jan Restored the culture and heritage of Jammu and Kashmir- Founder of Numdha Handicrafts Chami Murmu or ‘Lady Tarzan’ of Jharkhand Planted trees & protected local wildlife Sardarni Mann Kaur or ‘Miracle from Achievements in athletics Chandigarh'(103) Kalavati Devi- ‘lady mason’ Built over 4000 toilets & & created awareness regarding the From Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh ills of open defecation Tashi & Nungshi Malik First female twins to scale Mount Everest in 2013 & also are founders of Nungshi Tashi Foundation which aims to develop mountaineering as sport & to empower girls. Padala Bhudevi from Srikakulam, Andhra Working for development of Tribal People Through a CAVS Pradesh (Chinnai Adhivasi Vikas Society), established in 1996 & also helped women to develop entrepreneurship.. AvaniChaturvedi,Bhawna Kanth & Mohana First Indian Women Pilots to take a solo flight in MIG-21 in Singh Jitarwal (Indian Air Force) 2018 Kaushiki Chakroborty (Kolkata, West Bengal) Khayal and Thumri exponent. Nilza Wangmo First one to serve Ladakh cuisines in her Alchi Kitchen Restaurant & represented Ladakhi recipes in 5-star hotels in India Those who received awards have contributed in safeguarding women’s rights & also pushed the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.
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Nita Ambani features in 10 most influential women in sports Nita Ambani, the owner of Mumbai Indians cricket team franchise, has been named in the list of 10 most influential women in sports.12.2018 for 2020 alongside likes of tennis superstar Serena Williams and gymnast Simone Biles .2018PERSON IN NEWS World Janez Jansa became the new prime minister of Slovenia Denys Shmygal becames Ukraine’s new prime minister Muhyiddin Yasin .11.2018sworn in as Malaysia’s new Prime Minister Ashraf Ghani sworn in as Afghanistan President for second term Seema Verma Indian-American Seema Verma named as key member of coronavirus task force in US
India ShivrajSingh Chouhan Shivraj Singh Chouhan took oath as Chief Minister(CM) of Madhya Pradesh(MP)for the 4th time. Ranjan Gogoi The government nominated former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi to Rajya Sabha. Bimal Julk appointed as new Chief Information Commissioner Ajay Bhushan Pandey Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey appointed as Union Finance Secretary Ajay Tyagi Ajay Tyagi will continue to be the head of India’s capital and commodities markets regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for another six months. Ashwani Lohani Former Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani Appointed Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation Sanjay Kumar Panda Appointed as India’s Ambassador to Turkey. Bhushan P Appointed as the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. Dharmadhikari Nupur Kulshrestha Nupur Kulshrestha becomes the 1st woman to be promoted as Deputy Inspector General(DIG )of Indian Coast Guard. Hirdesh Kumar Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir JananiNarayanan(Tamil were named in the International Panel of ICC (International Cricket Council) Nadu),Vrinda Rathi Development Umpires (Mumbai) Lt Gen KJS Dhillon Lt Gen KJS Dhillon to take charge as DG of Defence Intelligence Agency, Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (DCIDS), under the Chief of Defence staff (CDS) in the Department of Military Affairs SS Deswal Director General Indo Tibetan Border Police(ITBP), Shri Surjeet Singh Deswal was given an additional charge to serve as a Director General of Border Security Force(BSF). Sumant Kathpalia Sumant Kathpalia will serve as the MD and CEO of IndusInd bank. He wil succeed Romesh Sobti. Debasish Panda Central Government nominates Debasish Panda as Director central board of RBI Noel Quinn HSBC has appointed Noel Quinn as its permanent chief executive officer. Karan Bajwa Google Cloud appoints Karan Bajwa as MD of Google Cloud in India. Sudhanshu Pandey Appointed as new CMD of MMTC(Metals & Minerals Trading Corporation) Anurag Mehrotra Anurag Mehrotra was appointed as the Chief Executive officer for the New joint venture formed by Mahindra and Ford Prashant Kumar MD & Chief Financial Officer(CEO) of Yes Bank Sanjeev Nautiyal SBI Life Insurance has re-appointed Sanjeev Nautiyal as managing director and chief executive officer of the company. Amrish Rau Appointed as CEO of Pine Labs, a leading merchant commerce platform company. Dayapatra Nevatia IT services firm Mindtree has appointed Dayapatra Nevatia as its Chief Operating Officer. Ravinder Singh Dhillon Appointed as CMD of Power Finance Corporation Rajiv Bajaj Re-appointed as MD & CEO of Bajaj Auto for 5 years
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Pekka Lundmark Nokia Chief Executive Rajeev Suri will step down in September and is to be replaced by Pekka Lundmark RBI appoints R Gandhi & .12.2018Ananth Gopalakrishnan as additional directors of Yes Bank Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed 2 additional directors namely – Rama Subramaniam Gandhi (former RBI Deputy Governor).2018 & Ananth Narayan Gopalakrishnan (Associate Professor of S P Jain Institute of Management & Research) on the board of private sector lender Yes Bank for a period of 2- years with effect from March 26, 2020. YES Bank:Headquarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra .11.2018BRAND AMBASSADOR Shardul Thakur Indian cricketer Shardul Thakur appointed as the brand ambassador of Tata Power Virat Kohli iQOO (i Quest On and On) named Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador. PV Sindhu PV Sindhu is appointed as the brand ambassador for Andhra Pradesh government’s anti-graft helpline or anti-corruption helpline– 14400 Actor Disha Patani & The Washington Apple Commission appoints Actor Disha Patani & celebrity chef celebrity chef Sanjeev Sanjeev Kapoor as brand ambassadors in India & the Commission launched a Kapoor campaign called #WashingtonApplesKuchKhaasHai featuring its brand ambassadors. India is a key market for Washington apples. Harbhajan Singh Cricketer Harbhajan Singh becomes brand ambassador of Indian online leather accessory brand Brune & Bareskin as the company goes into offline retail with its first store in Jalandhar. Amitabh Bachchan Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was appointed as the first-ever ambassador of the IDFC FIRST Bank. Salman Khan Smartphone brand realme appointed Bollywood actor Salman Khan as its brand ambassador. Akshay Kumar PepsiCo India has appointed actor Akshay Kumar as the new brand ambassador for its snacks brand Kurkure Akshay Kumar, Ileana Cavinkare appointed Akshay Kumar, Ileana D’Cruz as brand ambassadors for Indica D’Cruz hair colour Randeep Hooda Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) appointed actor Randeep Hooda as its new wildlife ambassador species that swim Kareena Kapoor Kareena Kapoor Khan signed contract for 2 years as Puma’s brand ambassador
Resignation Kamal Nath Madhya Pradesh (MP) Chief Minister (CM) Kamal Nath submitted his resignation letter to MP Governor Lalji Tandon The Legislative Assembly of MP has 230 MLAs, of which 24 seats are vacant. A majority of House of 206 MLAs will require the support of 104 MLAs. After the resignation of Jyotiraditya Scindia and his associated 22 MLA’s (Member of Legislative Assembly) from Congress party. Kamal Nath was unable to prove the majority. Rahul Kothari Rotomac former director Rahul Kothari and son of Rotomac promoter Vikram Kothari have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the manipulation of bank statements to obtain bank funds. N S Vishwanathan RBI Deputy Governor N S Vishwanathan has decided to step down by March 31 due to ill health.RBI is headed by the governor, currently Shaktikanta Das. There are three deputy governors B. P. Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, and Michael Patra. Arundhati Arundhati Bhattacharya resigns from CRISIL (Credit Rating Information Services of Bhattacharya India Limited).She is the first woman to be the chairperson of the State Bank of India.
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SPORTS TOISA Sportsperson of Year award Shuttler PV Sindhu claiming.12.2018 the Sportsperson of the Year award at the fourth Times of India Sports Awards (TOISA), powered by BHIM-UPI. .2018
.11.2018
112th edition of All England Open 2020 held at Birmingham arena, England Event Winner Runners-up Men’s Singles Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) Chou Tien-chen (Chinese Taipei) Women’s Singles Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei) Chen Yufei (China) Men’s Doubles Hiroyuki Endo (Japan) Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (Indonesia) Yuta Watanabe (Japan) Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Indonesia) Women’s Doubles Yuki Fukushima(Japan) Du Yue (China) Sayaka Hirota (Japan) Li Yinhui (China) Mixed Doubles Praveen Jordan (Indonesia) Dechapol Puavaranukroh (Thailand) Melati Daeva Oktavianti (Indonesia) Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Thailand) Ranji Trophy 2019-20 Under the captainship of Jaydev Unadkat,Saurashtra team won the maiden Ranji Trophy title by defeating Bengal team at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot, Gujarat. Chandigarh competed in the Ranji Trophy for the first time. Most runs-Rahul Dalal (1,340) Most wickets-Jaydev Unadkat (67) ICC Women’s T20 World cup 2020 ICC (International Cricket Council) Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 , the 7th ICC Women’s T20 World Cup tournament was held in Australia Australia women’s cricket team defeated the Indian women’s cricket team and won the title for the 5th time. Final match was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women’s Day (8 March). The 16-year-old Indian opener Shafali Verma created history by becoming the youngest player to play World Cup final. Australia’s Alyssa Healy became the fastest half-century cricketer in any ICC final across formats (both men and women). ICC launches 12-month long campaign called “100% Cricket” to promote women’s cricket On the ocasion of International Women’s Day(March 8, 2020)the International Cricket Council (ICC) has launched a 12-month campaign called “100% Cricket” with the aim to promote women’s cricket. This will create a lot of excitement for ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021, which is scheduled to be held in New Zealand in March 2021.
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Asian/Oceanian Olympic qualifying event 2020 held in Amman, Jordan The Asian/Oceanian Boxing Olympic Qualifiers event 2020 was held at the Prince Hamzah Hall in Amman, Jordan. .12.2018 A total of 9 Indian boxers qualified in this event for Tokyo 2020 Olympics China emerged as top.2018 of the medals standings with 6 medals (4 gold,2 bronze) in this event, while India ranked 9th with 8 medals (2 Silver, 6 Bronze). S.No Qualified boxer of India Category Medal won 1 Amit Panghal Men’s Flyweight (52 kg) Bronze 2 Manish Kaushik .11.2018 Men’s Lightweight (63 kg) – 3 Vikas Krishan Yadav Men’s Welterweight (69 kg) Silver 4 Ashish Kumar Men’s Middleweight (75 kg) Bronze 5 Satish Kumar Men’s Super heavyweight (+91 kg) Bronze 6 Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom Women’s Flyweight (51 kg) Bronze 7 Simranjit Kaur Baatth Women’s Lightweight (60 kg) Silver 8 Lovlina Borgohain Women’s Welterweight (69 kg) Bronze 9 Pooja Rani Women’s Middleweight (75 kg) Bronze First Khelo India University Games 2020 Concluded The Khelo India University Games concluded in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Panjab University (PB) emerged as the winner of Khelo India University Games 2020 with 45 medals (17 Gold,18 Silver,10 Bronze).It was followed by Savitribai Phule Pune University (2nd with 37 medals) and Punjabi University, Patiala(3rd with 32 medals). Through the Khelo India program, talented players will be identified in priority sports disciplines and will be provided annual financial assistance of Rs.5 lakh per annum for a period of 8 years. FIH rankings Men's Hockey Rankings 1-BELGIUM 2-AUSTRALIA 3-NETHERLANDS 4-INDIA Women's Hockey Rankings: 1-NETHERLANDS 2-AUSTRALIA 9-INDIA Delhi shooting World Cup postponed The upcoming combined shooting World Cup in New Delhi has been postponed due to the global novel Coronavirus outbreak. The tournament, sanctioned by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), was to be held from March 15 to 25 in the capital’s Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. Indian chess Grand Master Humpy ranked World No.2 Koneru Humpy Women’s World Rapid Chess Champion and Indian chess Grand Master (GM) Koneru Humpy ranked at no 2.World Women''s Chess Champion Ju Wenjun ranked at top. Another Indian female chess players GM Harika Dronavalli maintaining her ninth rank Koneru Humpy recently won the prestigious Cairns Cup in the US. Hockey India 3rd annual awards 2019 in New Delhi Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award Mr. Harbinder Singh 2019 Hockey India Dhruv Batra Player of the Year 2019 (Male) Mr. Manpreet Singh Hockey India Dhruv Batra Player of the Year 2019 (Female) Ms. Rani Rampal FIH Men’s Player of the Year 2019 Mr. Manpreet Singh FIH Men’s Rising Star of the Year Mr. Vivek Sagar Prasad FIH Women’s Rising Star of the Year Ms. Lalremsiami Hockey India Jugraj Singh Award for Upcoming Player of the Year Mr. Vivek Sagar Prasad 2019 (Men – Under 21) Hockey India Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year 2019 Mr. Mandeep Singh Hockey India President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement Department of Sports & Youth Services, 2019 Government of Odisha Hockey India Jaman Lal Sharma Award for Invaluable Contribution Sports Authority of India 2019 Hockey India Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the Year 2019 Mr. Harmanpreet Singh
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Hockey India Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year 2019 Mr. Krishan B. Pathak
The World Games Athlete.12.2018 of the Year 2019 Ms. Rani Rampal Hockey India:Headquarters– New Delhi, President– Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad All England Championships(Badminton).2018 winner Women’s singles:Tai Tzu Ying(Taiwan) Men’s singles: Victor Axelsen( Denmark) Kieron Pollard Cricket Kieron Pollard becomes first player to play 500 T20 matches.He played his .11.2018 500th match agianst Sri Lanka. Dwayne Bravo is second in the list with 453 matches under his belt so far. Andrew Malcolm Cricket New Zealand(NZ) all-rounder Andrew Malcolm Ellis (37) announced his Ellis retirement Wasim Jaffer Cricket Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer announces retirement from all forms of cricket.He hails from Mumbai, Maharashtra. Sachin Tendulkar Cricket Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar joined WHO’s #SafeHandsChallenge to promote the importance of washing hands amid the coronavirus outbreak. Tiger Woods Golf American golfer Tiger Woods will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2021 Achanta Sharath Table Tennis Won the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) Challenger Plus Oman Kamal Open 2020 men’s singles title Rafael Nadal Tennis Rafael Nadal(Spain) wins Mexican Open title after beating Taylor Fritz(USA) Novak Djokovic Tennis Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic bests Stefanos Tsitsipas to lift fifth Dubai Championships title Tasnim Mir , Badminton won a bronze medal each in the girls’ singles Badminton event at the Yonex Mansi Singh Dutch Junior International 2020 Shivpal Singh javelin India’s Javelin throw player Shivpal Singh (24) qualified for the 2020 Tokyo thrower Olympics after he achieved the Olympic qualifying mark in the ACNW (Athletics Central North West) League Meeting 2020 held in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Navin Chikara shot putter The integrity unit of the global athletics body has suspended Indian shot putter Navin Chikara for four years afterfailing on Dope test. Prachi choudhary runner Indian runner Prachi choudhary from Uttar Pradesh suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA)after testing positive for Oxandrolone, a anabolic steroid. Sport one liners ATK FC (Football Club) won the ISL (Indian Super League) trophy for the 3rd time following a 3-1 win against Chennaiyin FC in the final match held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Margao, Goa. Indian football heavyweights Mohun Bagan clinched their second I-League title with a 1-0 win over Aizawl FC at Kalyani, West Bengal . The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committee jointly announced that it would not send any of its athletes to participate in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 which is scheduled on July 24, 2020 in Japan, due to the spread of Coronavirus The World Athletics Council fined the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) USD 10 million for breaching the sport's anti-doping rules 68th All India Police Athletic Championship-2019 began at Bhanu in Panchkula District of Haryana . International Olympic Committee's (IOC) president Thomas Bach has confirmed that Mumbai is set to host the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) session in 2023. IOC: Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland Badminton Asia Championships 2020 shifted to Manila, Philippines from Wuhan,China due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiuju inaugurated the five-day Khelo India Winter games at famous tourist destination Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir.
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GAME venue GAME Venue Women’s Cricket World Cup.12.2018 2021 New Zealand 2022 winter Olympic Beijing, China Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup India Women’s Junior Hockey World South Africa. 2021 .2018 Cup Khelo India Winter Games 2020 Ladakh AIBA Team World Cup in 2020 Russia Commonwealth Shooting And Chandigarh Commonwealth Games 2022 Birmingham,UK. Archery Championshipswill 2022 2022 Asian .11.2018 Football India FIFA U-17 Women’s Football India. Confederation (AFC) Women’s World Cup 2020 Asian Cup
DEFENCE India 2nd largest arms importer in 2015-19: SIPRI Report In accordance with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) annual report titled “Trends in international arms transfers, 2019”, India is the world’s second largest arms importer during 2015-19 with its global share of 9.2% after Saudi Arabia, who has topped the ranking with global share of 12%. On the other hand, India ranked 23rd in terms of world’s largest arms exporters, and its main clients being Myanmar (46%), Sri Lanka (25%), and Mauritius (14%). United States (US) topped the list in this section with a share of 36%. SIPRI:Headquarter– Stockholm, Sweden Rank Exporters (Share of arms exports) Importers (Share of arms imports) 1 United States (36%) Saudi Arabia (12%) 2 Russia (21%) India (9.2%) 3 France (7.9%) Egypt (5.8%)
Indian Coast Guard conducts 9th edition of rescue exercise ‘SAREX-2020’ in Goa Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has conducted a 2-day 9th edition of national level search and rescue exercise ‘SAREX-2020’ in the sea at Vasco,South Goa district Theme ‘Harmonization of Maritime and Aeronautical Search and Rescue (HAMSAR)’ Defence Acquisition Council clears acquisition of 83 Tejas aircraft for IAF The Defence Ministry's Defence Acquisition Council(DAC) gave its green signal for the procurement of 83 indigenous Tejas fighter jets for Indian Air Force with expected cost of ₹39,000 crores. The Light Combat Aircraft Tejas indigenously-designed by Aircraft Development Agency (ADA) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is going to be the backbone of Indian Air Force in future While orders of 40 Tejas aircraft had been placed with HAL in initial configurations, the DAC paved the way for procurement of 83 of the more advanced Mk1A version of the aircraft from HAL Defence Acquisition Council also approved the acquisition of indigenous defence equipment for about ₹1,300 crore. The proposals were for procurement of aerial fuses and twin-dome simulators for Hawk Mk32 aircraft for the IAF. Chairman and Managing Director of HAL R Madhavan HAL plans logistics bases in Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Sri Lanka State-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is looking at setting up logistics bases in Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Sri Lanka as part of initiatives to woo the countries to buy India's light combat aircraft Tejas and military helicopters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set an ambitious defence export target of $5 billion dollars in the next five years and asked all the key military manufacturers to work hard to achieve the target. The Indian Air Force has already placed an order for 40 Tejas and is likely to seal a contract "very soon" with HAL for another 83 aircraft at a cost of around Rs 38,000 crore. New helicopters to replace Sea King 42/42A helicopters After signing a $3-billion defence deal related to the acquisition of Seahawk multi-role helicopters for the Indian Navy and Apache attack helicopters for the Army, the Indian Navy has announced that 24
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MH-60R multi-role hel icopters (MRH) will be procured under the Buy (Global) category through Foreign Military Sales. During the visit by President.12.2018 Trump,India and the US have concluded defence deals for 24 MH-60R MRH and six AH-64E Apache helicopters. The Indian Navy said .2018the MH -60R MRH are a replacement for the Sea King 42/42A helicopters, inducted in the 1970s. India, US sign Rs 1200 cr deal for missile protection suites for new VVIP planes India has signed a Rs 1,200 crore deal with the United States for buying protection suites to protect the two new Boeing VVIP.11.2018 planes from missile attacks that will be used to ferry the President and the Prime Minister. The missile protection suites on the two Boeing-777 extended range planes to be code named ‘Air Force One’ would provide it the capability to fend off any missile attacks. Defence Ministry signs Rs 880 cr contract for 16,479 Light Machine Guns with Israeli firm The Ministry of Defence signed the capital acquisition contract with Israel Weapons Industries for procurement of 16,479 Light Machine Guns (LMGs) at a cost of Rs 880 crore with the approval of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The contracted Negev 7.62X51 mm LMG is a combat-proven weapon and is currently used by several countries SC grants permanent commission to women in Indian Navy A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud pronounced the judgment, directing the Centre to grant permanent commission to serving women officers in the Navy in three months with increments Defence One liners The government stated that India’s share in contracts awarded by the Union Defence Ministry for the procurement of defence equipment has increased from 39.06% (2015-16) to 75.03%(2019-20). Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed that a total of Rs 26.12 crore is spent as legal expenses by the Armed Forces (Army, Navy & Air Force) from April 2019- February 2020. The Minister of State for Defence, Shripad Naik has been decided to set up two Defence industrial corridors in the country, one in Uttar Pradesh and another in Tamil Nadu. The 10th biannual Juniper Cobra exercise between the IDF(Israel Defense Forces) and United States European Command (EUCOM) was suspended United States (US) Navy and Armyhas successfully tested its common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB), a first unarmed prototype of a hypersonic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Indian Navy has set up a Quarantine Camp at INS Vishwakarma in Eastern Naval Command The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) canceld annual military exercise African LionT Army Chief General MM Naravanelaunched ‘Operation Namaste’ to combat the spread of COVID-19. India and France, For the first time, have conducted joint patrols from the Reunion Island.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Digital Solutions Exchange “GOKADDAL” launched in India The World’s first Digital Solutions Exchange in the cloud “GOKADDAL” has been launched in India. GOKADDAL is a cloud-based solutions exchange platform which focuses on four A’s i.e. Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Analytics and Augmentative Technologies. The Dubai based emerging technology company “GOKADDAL Technologies” is a part of Merkado group. ‘Wonderchicken’-Scientists at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom (UK) have discovered a fossil of the world’s oldest known modern bird skull dating to about 66.8m – 66.7m years ago.Scientists dubbed the creature as ‘Wonderchicken‘. Scientists from INST develops starch-based ‘hemostat’ material to stop rapid blood loss during accidents Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) Mohali, Punjab developed a starch-based ‘hemostat’ material which absorbs excess fluid by concentrating the natural clotting factors in the blood that stops the rapid blood loss. Swiss scientists discover rain of molten iron on distant exoplanet ‘WASP-76b’ A team of Scientists from the Astronomy Department of the University of Geneva (Switzerland) along with the teams in Portugal, Italy and Spain, have detected liquid iron rain on the highly heated exoplanet WASP-76b. Newly Discovered insect species named after singer Lady Gaga
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A newly discovered species of treehopper has been named “Kaikaia Gaga” after American singer Lady Gaga. The species was named by Brendan Morris, PhD candidate in entomology from University of Illinois, United States (US). .12.2018 The species were found near the Pacific coast of Nicaragua. ARCI- Hyderabad develops.2018 cost effective Solar Receiver Tube Technology Scientists at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad (Telangana), has developed a cost-effective ‘solar receiver tube technology’. The tubes developed absorbs solar energy and converts the heat to required application. ARCI develops Fuel Cell Technology.11.2018 for Disaster Management Scientist of International Advanced Research for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI) developed Fuel Cell Technology named as Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) for Disaster Management. New explosive detection device, developed by DRDO & IISc Bangalore A new explosive detection device called RaIDer-X was unveiled at the National Explosive Detection Workshop (NWED-2020) held in Pune on March 1, 2020. The new explosive detection device RaIDer-X has been jointly developed by the High Energy Material Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. This device is capable of detecting explosives from a distance. ISRO suspended launchingof India’s Geo Imaging Satellite GISAT-1 The launch of India’s first Geo Imaging Satellite-1 (GISAT-1) by GSLV-F10 (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-F10), planned for March 05, 2020, is postponed due to technical reasons. The Indian space agency said GISAT-1 would provide real time image of large area of region of interest at frequent intervals. It will also enable quick monitoring of natural disasters, episodic events and any short term events. Doctors use gene editing tool Crispr inside body for first time Scientists have used the gene editing tool Crispr-Cas9 inside a person’s body for the first time, a new development in efforts to operate on DNA to treat diseases. CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) is a tool for locating and cutting DNA at a specific spot Chandrayaan-3 will be launched in the first half of 2021: Jitendra Singh A possible schedule for the launch of Chandrayaan-3 is planned to be implemented in the first half of 2021. Chandrayaan-3 will be designed to increase design, capacity with a cost of around Rs 610 crore, including Rs 360 crore for the launch rocket. Microsoft, US CDC tie-up to create ‘Clara’, a COVID-19 self-screening bot The U.S. Centers for Disease Control(CDC) and Prevention has partnered up with CDC Foundation and Microsoft Azure’s Healthcare Bot service to create Clara, the “coronavirus self-checker.” the bot is currently only available in the US on the CDC website. ONE LINERS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Researchers at IIT Madras have developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered drone that can counter ‘Rogue Drones'.(means misbehaving, out of control, unauthorised Drone) National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) Limited & i-TIC foundation the Technology Business Incubator (TBI) of IIT Hyderabad signed an agreement to support Deep-Tech Start-Ups India’s 1st Global Hyperloop Pod Competition will be organized by -IIT-Madras Ranchi University will launch its own Community Radio Station — Aap Sabka Radio on International Women’s Day. IIT Bombay makes glass substrates for 5G devices, consumer electronics CSIR-National Physical Laboratory has developed a bi-luminescent security ink to Curb Fake Printing of Passports and Counterfeiting of Currency Notes Mahindra Ecole Centrale College of Engineering, promoted by Tech Mahindra, have developed a district- wise tracking app to help locate COVID-19 cases in the country. A new hand-sanitizer has been developed by the scientists of CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) based in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. Microsoft has launched a new interactive map on its search engine Bing to help users track the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in various regions.
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Microsoft has launched a web portal to track the spread of COVID-19 worldwide. The web portal has been launched by Microsoft’s Bing team. “Fabiosys Innovations.12.2018“, a start -up incubated at IIT-Delhi makes anti-infection fabric to curb hospital infections Tribal Cooperative Marketing.2018 Development Federation of India (TRIFED) launched ‘Tech For Tribals’ program to bring technology to tribal entrepreneurs After Mumbai, Google announced that it plans to open cloud region in Delhi that is expected to be operational by 2021. Google India unveils .11.2018women skill development programme ‘DigiPivot’ in association with Avtar & the Indian School of Business(ISB) Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital in collaboration with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has set up India’s first 100 bedded centre at Seven Hills Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra for positive COVID 19 patients. The National Institute of Virology (NIV) has given its nod to Pune (Maharashtra) based Mylab Discovery Solutions Pvt Ltd to make diagnostic test kits (also known as Mylab PathoDetect COVID-19 Qualitative PCR kit) for novel coronavirus (COVID-19). NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) announced the name of the 5th Mars (red planet) rover as Perseverance. A research team of Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Science and Technology (SCTIMST),Thiruvananthapuram develops Flow Diverter Stents Technology named as Chitra Flow Diverter for the treatment of aneurysms of the blood vessels of the brain. Facebook launches ‘Pragati’ to boost women entrepreneurship in India Industrial technology giant Rolls-Royce has collaborated with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT- M) to promote joint research programmes. The International Telecommunications Union, (ITU) is launching a “Global Network Resiliency Platform” to help protect telecoms networks during the COVID-19 crisis. “Racerfly“ a start-up group of IIT Guwahati's student develop drone to sanitise large areas IIT Bombay develops two apps “Corontine” and “Safe” to track violations by those in quarantine A body suit developed by India’s premier research and development organisation DRDO can protect doctors and other health workers attending on Covid-19 patients. IIT Gandhinagar launches Project ‘Isaac’ inspired by Sir Isaac Newton, to engage students in creative projects during Corona lockdown. Book and Author Book Author Book on Biju babu ‘The Adventures of the Released Kalinga Foundation Trust and Creative Warehouse Daredevil Democrat’ ‘Messiah Modi: A Tale of Great expectations’ Tavleen Singh ‘Invincible – A Tribute to Manohar Parrikar’ Tarun Vijay “My Encounters in Parliament” Bhalchandra Mungekar “An Extraordinary Life: A biography of Manohar Sadguru Patil and Mayabhushan Nagvenkar Parrikar” ‘Lady, You’re the Boss!’ Apurva Purohit “The 12 Commandments Of Being A Woman” Tahira Kashyap Khurrana “Chronicles of Change Champions” The book is written with the 25 innovative initiative taken under the “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” (BBBP) scheme at the state and district level. Released by Smriti Zubin Irani “The Death of Jesus” J M Coetzee ‘Corona Studies Series’ Released by National Book Trust, under the Ministry of Human Resource Development(MHRD) Books authored by Mirza Waheed and Santanu Das win The Hindu Prize 2019 The winners of The Hindu Prize for Fiction and Non-fiction for 2019 have been announced.
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Tell Her Everything by Mirza Waheed and India, Empire, and First World War Culture: Writings, Images and Songs by Santanu Das have been awarded the literary prize, in the fiction and non-fiction categories, respectively. .12.2018 OBITUARY Nimmi .2018Veteran Hindi film actress Chandan Singh RetiredAir Vice Marshal and recipient of MahaVir ChakraChandan Singh Rathore passed away. Paravai Muniyamma Tamil Folk Singer and Actress Joseph Echols Lowery .11.2018Joseph Echols Lowery, co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and known as the “Dean” of the American Civil Rights Movement, passed away. Sethuraman Tamil actor Dadi Janki Rajyogini Dadi Janki, the chief administrator of Brahmakumari spiritual organisation passed away. SatishGujral Renowned artist and architectSatishGujral passed away K Anbazhagan Kalyanasundaram Anbazhagan, DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) party General Secretary for 43 years, passed away Javier Perez de Cuellar Former UN chief and Peruvian Prime Minister Javier Pérez de Cuéllar passed away. Potturi Venkateswara Veteran Telugu journalist Potturi Venkateswara Rao passes away Rao Joginder Singh Saini Veteran athletics coach and Dronacharya awardee Joginder Singh Saini passed away.
Balbir Singh Kullar Former India hockey star and Olympic bronze medallist Balbir Singh Kullar passes away Jack Welch General Electric Co’s former chief executive officer Jack Welch passed away. Dana Zatopkova a former Czechoslovak javelin-thrower Santu Mukhopadhyay a Veteran Bengali actor Max von Sydow Swedish actor. He was known for his character who played a game of chess with death in the movie “Seventh Seal”, directed by Ingmar Bergman and also the Three- Eyed Raven (Fictional Character) in “Games of Thrones” and the horror classic film “The Exorcist”. M. R. Viswanathan Famous actor, director and stage artiste Meenakshisundaram Ramasamy Viswanathan from Tamil Nadu, popularly known as Visu passed away. P.K. Banerjee Indian football legend Roger Mayweather The former American world champion boxer and trainer, Roger Mayweather passed away Jairam Kulkarni Marathi Actor Patil Puttappa Patil Puttappa a veteran Karnataka's journalist, writer, Khadi Activist, and a former Rajya Sabha member passed away Puthussery Sahitya Akademi awardee, Malayalam poet Puthussery Ramachandran passed away Ramachandran Miscellaneous Shilpa Shetty Kundra partners with Fit India Fit India, has partnered with Bollywood actor and fitness iconShilpa Shetty Kundra to provide her premium 21- Day Weight Loss Programme, including diet tips, free of cost on the Shilpa Shetty App (SS App), during the 21-day lockdown owing to Covid-19. Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh hospital tests serving robot The Sawai Man Singh (SMS)Government Hospital in Jaipur is conducting a series of trials on a humanoid robot to check if could be pressed into service for delivering medicines and food to the COVID-19patients admitted there, helping to keep the doctors and nursing staff at a safe distance to protect them against the dreaded coronavirus. National Book Trust of MHRD Launches #StayHomeIndiaWithBooks initiative National Book Trust of HRD Ministry, in its efforts to encourage people to read books while at home, is providing its select and best-selling titles for FREE Download as part of its initiative of #StayHomeIndiaWithBooks!. In the wake of Preventive Measures of the Government of India to contain the spread of Covid-19, and to encourage people to #StayIn and #StayHome
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