Current Affairs 18th APRIL 2020

Current Affairs

18th APRIL 2020

April 17: World Hemophilia Day

Every year April 17 is celebrated as World Hemophilia Day. The day is observed by the World Federation of Hemophilia. Apart from the organization, several other international organizations mark the World Hemophilia Day.

Theme: Get + involved virtually and stay safe

Government Action Plan to monitor the COVID -19 Outbreak

The Government of India has made an action plan for strengthening of surveillance networks to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in India. The information was passed by the Union Health Ministry.

Action plan:

1. An action plan has been prepared by the GOI to strengthen surveillance with the help of the World Health Organization's (WHO) national polio surveillance network team.
2. The Ministry discussed the micro-plan for clusters and outbreak containment of COVID-19 at district-level was discussed.
3. India has received 5 lakh testing kits, including rapid antibody test kits, from two Chinese firms for better monitoring and surveillance.
4. The Ministry stated that 2 lakh rapid COVID-19 test kits received from China are not for early diagnosis, but for surveillance purposes.

 ‘Cghaat’ website

Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel inaugurated the online delivery website 'Cghaat' on 16 April. Cghaat will facilitate doorstep delivery of fruits and vegetables during the extended lockdown phase due to contain COVID-19 spread.

Cghaat

1. The web portal, cghaat.in, has been developed by Chhattisgarh government's agency Chips.
2. The fruit and vegetable vendors who are interested to provide services can register online through this portal.
3. After registering, they can provide home delivery against online orders placed as soon as they receive Collector's permission.
4. Cghaat service is available free of charge to vendors.
5. Customers interested in purchasing from the portal can also register free of charge and choose the vendor of their choice.
6. Other essential items such as milk, groceries, forest-produce, etc is set to be delivered soon through the portal.
7. The portal will come in handy for people who practice physical distancing and will also minimize the chances of crowding at the shops.

Chhattisgarh: Formation: 1 November 2000

Governor: Anusuiya Uikey

Chief Minister: Bhupesh Baghel

Official language: Chhattisgarhi, Hindi

Tree: Sal tree

Flower: Lady's Slipper

Bird‎: ‎Hill Myna

Animal‎: ‎Wild Asian Buffalo

RBI cuts Reverse Repo rate to 3.75% and announced Rs. 50,000 crore for LTRO

The Reserve Bank of India announced a slew of measures after GoI extended the lock down till May 3, 3030. The Apex bank cut the reverse repo rate to 3.75%. It cut the repo rate to 4.4% from 5.15%. Also, the central bank has announced Rs 50,000 crore for Long Term Repo Operation (LTRO).

49th round of OBICUS by RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the 49th round of quarterly OBICUS (Order books, inventories, and capacity utilization survey) of the manufacturing sector. The survey includes the period of January-March 2020.

OBICUS:

1. The OBICUS survey will provide valuable input for monetary policy formulation.
2. The Central Bank has conducted the OBICUS of the manufacturing sector on a quarterly basis since 2008.
3. The data collected in the survey includes quantitative data on new orders received during the reference quarter, backlog of orders, pending orders, total inventories with a breakup between work-in-progress (WiP) and finished goods (FG) inventories and item-wise production.
4. RBI also stated that the company level data collected during the survey will be treated as confidential and never disclosed. 
5. In the 48th round of the OBICUS for the quarter, October-December 2019 over 704 manufacturing companies were covered. The last survey showed that capacity utilization (CU) had declined to 68.6% in the third quarter of 2019-20 from 69.1% in the previous quarter.
6. The orders that were received in the third quarter of the year 2019-20 were less when compared with the previous quarter.

RBI: Reserve Bank of India

Established: 1st April, 1935

Act: Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934

Currency: Indian rupee

Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Governor: Shaktikanta Das

Grand Master Viswanathan Anand named ambassador of WWF India

Chess Master Viswanathan Anand has been appointed as the new Ambassador for World Wide Fund (WWF) India's Environment Education program.

Viswanathan Anand:

Viswanathan Anand was born on 11 December 1969 at Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu. In 1983. He won the National Sub-Junior Chess Championship. He won the Asian Junior Chess Championship in 1984, which earned him the International Master norm.
In 2007, Anand entered the (Fédération Internationale des Échecs) FIDE World Championship Tournament in Mexico as the world's top-ranked player. Anand stood as the World Chess Champion from 2007 to 2013. He won the World Chess Championship five times in 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012. He became one of the 6 players who broke the 2800 mark on the FIDE rating list.
In 1985, he was conferred the Arjuna Award for Outstanding Indian sportsperson in Chess. In 1987, he was awarded the Padma Shri. He received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in the years 1991-92. In 2000 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan and he was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2007.

WWF:  World Wide Fund for Nature

Formation: 29 April 1961; 58 years ago as World Wide Fund

Headquarters: Gland, Vaud, Switzerland

President: Pavan Sukhdev

Director General: Macro Lambertini

Short Notes

Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) is currently developing an inactivated virus vaccine for COVID-19.  These inactivated vaccines are known for their safety and easy production.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposed to release its full $1 trillion lending capacity to support countries that battle the COVID-19 outbreak. The IMF described the COVID-19 pandemic as a crisis like no other crisis ever. The announcement was made by the IMF head Kristalina Georgieva.

The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar addressed the "National Conference on Kharif crops 2020" through a video conference.

State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) is to deliberate on model bid documents for the development and operation of underground mines. CIL has decided to augment its dry-fuel output to coal through mine operators.

the Delhi Government launched “Assess Koro Na” application to conduct door to door survey. The application has been launched in COVID-19 containment zones.

India is to attend BRICS foreign ministers meet by the end of April 2020. The members will discuss economic fallout due to the spread of COVID-19.

The Government of India launched the “Krishi Rath” application to help farmers to transport their agriculture produce to the mandis.

International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) President Tamas Ajan, 81 years old, resigned in the wake of allegations of corruption and doping violations. The IWF Executive Board accepted the resignation of the IWF president. Ursula Papandrea will be the acting president of IWF.

Read More »

Current Affairs 19th APRIL 2020

Current Affairs

19th APRIL 2020

April 18: World Heritage Day

• Every year April 18 is observed as the World Heritage Day. The day is also celebrated as the International Day of Monuments and sites.

Theme: Shared Culture, Shared Heritage and Shared Responsibility

• The International Council on Monuments and Sites in 1982 announced April 18 as World Heritage Day. It was approved by the UNESCO in 1983. The organization was established based on the principles of Venice Charter framed in 1964.

Automatic Sanitizer Dispensing Unit and Ultra-violate Sensitization Box developed by DRDO to combat COVID-19

• Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) developed Automatic Mist Based Sanitizer Dispensing Unit and UV Sanitization Box and Hand-held UV device to fight against COVID-19.

Automatic Sanitizer Dispensing Unit:

• Centre for Fire Explosive & Environment Safety (CFEES), Delhi has developed an automatic mist based sanitizer dispensing unit. It is a contactless sanitizer dispenser that sprays alcohol-based hand rub sanitizer solution for sanitization of hands while entering the buildings/office complexes, etc. It is based on water mist aerator technology, which was developed for water conservation.
• It operates without contact and is activated through an ultrasonic sensor. A single fluid nozzle with a low flow rate is used to generate aerated mist to dispense the hand rub sanitizer. The sanitizer will sanitize the hands with minimum wastage. Using an atomizer, only 5-6 ml sanitizer is released for 12 seconds in one operation.

Ultra-Violate Sanitization Box:

• Defense Institute of Physiology & Allied Sciences (DIPAS) and Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS) have designed & developed Ultraviolet C Light-based sanitization box and handheld UV-C (ultraviolet light with wavelength 254 nanometers) device.
• The UV-C will destroy genetic material in COVID-19. The radiation warps the structure RNA which prevents the viral particles from making more copies of themselves. This is environment friendly and is a contact-free effective sanitization method.

DRDO: Defense Research Development Organization

Formed: 1958
Headquarters: New Delhi
Minister: Rajnath Singh
Agency Executive: Dr. G.Satheesh Reddy
Motto: Strength’s Origin is in Science

67 Indian firms approves by CDSCO for rapid antibody testing kits

• Central Drug Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has approved as many as 67 Indian firms for antibody rapid testing kits for testing COVID-19.
• Out of 67 companies, 5 are using indigenous kits and 62 other companies are importing antibody rapid testing kits from other countries, such as China, South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, and Israel.
• Out of the total number, 10,477 patients are active cases and 1,489 patients have been cured, discharged and migrated. COVID-19 took a death toll of 414.

CDSCO: Central Drug Standard Control Organization
Headquarters: New Delhi

Minister: Harsh Vardhan

Parent Department: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Delhi Government to begin clinical trial of plasma enrichment technique  

• Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the Doctors will conduct the clinical trial of plasma enrichment technique to treat severely-ill coronavirus patients soon.

Clinical trial of plasma enrichment technique:

• Under the method, Plasma from the blood of the people who have recovered from COVID-19 will be collected. It is believed that it might contain antibodies to the virus that causes the disease and might be effective against the infection.
• If the trial is successful, the method will be implemented to save the lives of serious COVID-19 patients.
• The method was used in the past to treat diseases such as polio, measles, mumps, 1918 flu epidemic, and in previous outbreaks of respiratory infections namely H1N1 influenza, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

‘Kisan Rath’ Mobile Application launched to facilitate Transportation of food grain

• Agriculture Ministry launched Kisan Rath Mobile App.
• Aim: To facilitate transportation of food grains.
• This application was developed by National Informatics Centre. The central government to ensure farmers and traders can find transport for Agriculture and Horticulture produce.

KISHAN RATH Mobile Application:

• The Kisan Rath App will greatly facilitate farmers' FPOs and Cooperatives in the country to find a suitable transport facility to transfer their agriculture produce from the farm gate to markets. The Government has exempted random selection of test samples, subsequent batch testing after the expiry validity of test reports, updating of CMVR, COP & Type approval applicable to Tractors, Power Tillers, Combine Harvesters and other self-propelled agricultural machinery till 31.12.2020. 
• Testing of tractors as per revised BIS Standard IS 12207-2019 and Implementation of new technical critical specifications of 51 agricultural machineries has also been deferred till 31.12.2020.During lock down period, the Government has agreed to extend the validity of the license of Seed dealers which are expired or going to be expired till 30.09.2020.
• The validity of import permissions till September 2020 after consideration of the requirement of seed/planting material of the importing parties. 
• They extend the validity of all pack-houses, processing units and treatment facilities whose validity is expiring up to 30th June 2020 for a period of one year without a physical inspection of such facility through a simplified procedure to facilitate the export of agriculture products.

5,204 crore rupee refunds to help MSME by CBDT

• CBDT informed the Income-tax refunds are obtained over eight lakh small businesses worth over 5,204 crore rupees issued in the last ten days. Income tax refunds will help MSME to carry on their business activities without pay cuts and layoffs in COVID-19 pandemic situations. 
• Income tax department issued nearly 14 lakh refunds up to five lakh each to date to help taxpayers. CBDT will issue refunds worth of seven thousand 760 crore rupees.

Revised draft of Electricity (Amendment) bill, 2020

• The Ministry of Power has made changes to the Electricity (Amendment) bill, 2020. This is being done to promote electricity generation from renewable sources.

Main Point of Bill:

1. Launch of National Renewable Energy Policy.
2. Electric contract enforcement authority is to be created.
3. Privatization of discoms using franchises and sub-licenses.
4. Power Tariff is to be determined without subsidy.
5. Payment security has been made necessary to schedule distribution of electricity and also to facilitate cross border trade.

Short Notes

• Home Ministry extended regular and e-visas of all foreigners who are stranded in India due to the coronavirus lockdown till May 3 on a gratis basis. The Home Ministry also said the visa granted to those foreigners, except diplomats and UN officials, who are supposed to come to India, will remain suspended till May 3.
• Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has announced that it is to finance $500 million projects in India to help the country improve its health care systems. With this, AIIB has doubled its funds under the COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility.
• Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief Aide Abba Kyari died of COVID-19 on April 17, 2020.

Read More »

Latest Current Affairs: 7 April 2020

Current Affairs

7^th APRIL 2020

April 7: World Health Day

April 7 is marked as the World Health Day. The day is marked to celebrate the work of midwives and nurses for their role in keeping the world safety and healthy. This year, 2020, has added significance of marking the World Health Day for the year being celebrated as International Year of Nurse and Midwife.

The World Health Day is marked by World Health Organization along with several other organizations. On the world health day, the State of World Nursing Report, 2020 is to be released. Every year, the theme of the World Health Day is selected by WHO. This year the day is to be marked under the theme.

Theme: Support Nurses and Midwives

Cabinet: Ordinance to cut salary of PM and MPs by 30% approved

• The Union Cabinet approved to cut the salary of Prime Minister and other MPs by 30%. Apart from them, the salaries of president, governor and vice president are also to be cut.
• The amount cut from the members are to go to consolidated fund of India. The Cabinet has also approved that the MPLADS are to be suspended for 2 years that is between 2020-21 and 2021-22. With this move, Government of India has saved 7,900 crores.

A Tiger tests positive of COVID-19 in the US: Zoos on high alert in the country

• The Central Zoo Authority of the United States asked all the zoos to stay on high alert after a tiger tested positive of COVID-19. This is the first time COVID-19 infections are reported on an animal.
• A four-year-old Malayan tiger in the Bronx Zoo of New York has tested positive of Corona Virus.  It is still not known how the disease will develop in cats.
• This is because different species behave differently. Till date there is no evidence that animals play a major role in COVID-19 transmission.
• Also, there is no evidence that a human can be infected by the virus from animals.

Lifeline UDAN

• The Lifeline UDAN was launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to help India fight against COVID-19.
• Under this initiative, flights were operated in transporting essential equipment and medicines all over the country.
• The Lifeline UDAN initiative was a huge success as in just 5 days of its launch, more than 15.4 tonnes of essential supplies have been transported in 62 aircrafts.
• The products transported included masks and gloves, consumables, etc. In order help public to track Lifeline Udan flights, the status of the flights were uploaded in a portal. The portal was developed by National Informatics Centre.
• The initiative provided a special focus to the north-eastern region and to the Ladakh region. For the ease of flight operation, the flight hubs were set up in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Established by Government of India to support startups working on COVID-19: CAWACH

• The Department of Science and Technology has set up a Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health crisis. The center is to be established at Rs. 56.
• The CAWACH is being established by the DST to support the start-ups. It is to be implemented by SINE, IIT Bombay. The initiative will help identify innovative solutions to address the country’s need in diagnostics, ventilators and therapeutics.
• The Programme will also guide the startups if in need at various stages. The expertise of DST will be deployed to support the startups in order to fast track the journey and scale up across geographies.

Testing, treatment is free for Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries

• National Health Authority (NHA) announced that more than 50 crore eligible citizens under the health insurance scheme of  Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) will avail free testing through private labs and treatment for COVID-19 in empanelled hospitals to increase the supply of testing and treatment facilities in the country.

Central government constitutes 10-member group headed by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh kant to fight corona

• In order to deal with this coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, the central government has constituted a 10-member group under the chairmanship of NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Amitabh Kant.
• The work of this group will primarily identify issues through 3 groups of stakeholders, then present effective measures to address solutions to the issues related to the formulation of plans for counter-activities related to COVID-19. The 3 groups includes

1. The UN agencies, World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB)
2. Civil Society Organisations and development partners
3. Industry associations – CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), FICCI ( Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India), NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies).

• NITI Aayog write to the over 92,000 NGOs (Non-governmental organizations) / CSOs (civil society organization) registered on its ‘Darpan’ portal to help the government identify hotspots, the elderly, the differently-abled, children & other vulnerable groups to fight against the virus.
• Other members of Committee include Dr Vijayaraghavan, PSA, Kamal Kishore (Member, NDMA); Sandeep Mohan Bhatnagar (Member, CBIC); Anil Malik (AS, MHA); Vikram Doraiswami, (AS, MEA); P. Harish (AS, MEA); Gopal Baglay (JS, PMO); Aishvarya Singh (DS, PMO); Tina Soni (DS, Cabinet Secretariat); and Sanyukta Samaddar (Adviser, SDG, NITI Aayog).

Short Notes

• Hockey India donates additional 75 lakh rupees towards PM-CARES Fund.
• Ministry of Human Resource and Development had launch “MHRD AICTE COVID-19 Student Helpline portal”.
• The state of Tamil Nadu has topped the all-India level for micro-irrigation (MI), under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), with a coverage of 2,06,853.25 ha for the year financial year 2019-20.
• Naveen Patnaik conferred PETA’s “Hero to Animals Award”for feeding community animals.
• Start-up Aerobiosys Innovations at IIT-Hyderabad develops low-cost ventilator called ‘Jeevan Lite’

Read More »