Latest Current Affairs: 6 April 2020.[Arvind parmar]

 Latest Current Affairs: 6 April 2020.[Arvind parmar]

Current Affairs

6^th APRIL 2020

Home minister Amit shah approves Rs 11,092 crore for all states to deal with coronavirus

• The Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah has approved the release of Rs. 11,092 crores to all States under the State Disaster Risk Management Fund (SDRMF) for 2020-21 after the Chief Ministers raised the issue of lack of funds in the state during a meeting through video conferencing with Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi.

Bione launches India’s 1st home screening test kit for COVID-19

• To take the test using the kit one has to clean the finger with an alcohol swab and use the lancet provided to finger-prick & the provided cartridge reads the results within 5-10 minutes.
• The prices of the kit ranges from Rs. 2,000 to 3,000 & it will be delivered within 2-3 days of ordering.
• The easy-to-use kit will be deployed in the market after quality checks & approvals from the regulatory authority.
  
• Regardless of the results in the screening kit, the company advises people to undergo laboratory testing if someone shows signs of coronavirus.
• Earlier the company had also developed a Microbiome test kit to check gut dysbiosis and also genetic tests to predict susceptibility to contagious diseases.

ICMR: Indian Council of Medical Research

Formation: 1911 (as IRFA – Indian Research Fund Association), 1949 renamed to ICMR
Headquarters: New Delhi

Latest Current Affairs: 6 April 2020.[Arvind parmar]

Coronavirus: IIT Roorkee in association with AIIMS-Rishikesh prepares low-cost portable ventilator ‘Prana-vayu’

• IIT (Indian Institute of Technology)- Roorkee, Uttarakhand in collaboration with AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Science) Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, has developed a low-cost portable ventilator called ‘Prana-vayu’ costing just Rs.25,000.
• The commercial product will be around 1.5 feet by 1.5 feet for better portability.
• This closed loop ventilator equipped with state-of-the-art facilities & can prove useful in ensuring the safety of coronavirus (Covid-19) patients.
• The ventilator is based on the controlled operation of the prime mover to deliver the required amount of air to the patient. Its automatic process regulates the pressure and flow rate according to breathing and release. The ventilator also has an arrangement that can control the tidal volume and breathe per minute.
• The ventilator is beneficial for patients of all ages, especially the elderly, with being useful in major obstructions of the respiratory tract.
• The research began at the Tinkering Laboratory in IIT-Roorkee by a team of  IIT Roorkee consists of Prof. Akshay Dvivedi and Prof. Arup Kumar Das who received online support from Debendra Tripathi from AIIMS, Rishikesh.

Latest Current Affairs: 6 April 2020.[Arvind parmar]

SEBI whole time member (WTM) Madhabi Puri Buch gets 6 month extension

• The Government has extended the appointment of Madhabi Puri Bach as a whole time member (WTM) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) by a period of 6 months (till October 4, 2020).
  
• She was appointed as a WTM of SEBI for a period of 3 years in April 2017 whereas all the appointed members and Chairman of SEBI were only men from the public sector, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).

Madhabi Puri Bach: She was not only the first woman to be appointed as a WTM of SEBI but also the first person from the private sector. In SEBI, she handles a range of departments from market and market intermediaries regulation to integrated surveillance and economic and policy analysis.

2022 Asian Games mascot “smart triplets” unveiled at digital ceremony in Hangzhou, China

• The official mascots of the 19th Asian Games, to be from 10 to 25 September 2022, were unveiled at a 20 minutes digital launch ceremony in Hangzhou, China. The ceremony was conducted online due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• There are three mascots namely Congcong, Lianlian and Chenchen, which represents the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage sites of Hangzhou in eastern China.
  
• These three mascots for the XIX Asiadare collectively known as the “smart triplets”.
• Congcong– It represents the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City. It takes yellow, the colour of earth and bumper harvest, as the main tone.
• Lianlian– It represents the West Lake and green is its main tone as green stands for life and nature.
• Chenchen– It represents the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal with blue color as the main tone as latter represents science and technology.

Asian Games 2022:

It should be noted that these will be the third Asian Games to be hosted by China following Beijing 1990 and Guangzhou 2010.

Motto: Heart to Heart, @Future

Location: Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

Latest Current Affairs: 6 April 2020.[Arvind parmar]

Short Notes

• Hockey India donates additional 75 lakh rupees towards PM-CARES Fund.
• US President Donald Trump had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to supply hydroxychloroquine tablet that can be used to treat COVID-19 patients..

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Best Current Affairs: 24 March 2020.[ Arvind parmar ]

Current Affairs 

24^th March 2020

21^st March:  World Tuberculosis Day

·         World Tuberculosis Day, observed on 24 March each year, is designed to build public awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to eliminate the disease.

·         In 2012, 8.6 million people fell ill with TB, and 1.3 million died from the disease, mostly in low and middle-income countries

·         World TB Day is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with World Health Day, World Blood Donor Day, World Immunization Week, World Malaria Day, World No Tobacco Day, World Hepatitis Day and World AIDS Day

WHO: World Health Organization

Formation: 7 April 1948; 71 years ago

Type: United Nations specialized agency Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
Director General: Tedros Adhanom

21^st March: World Forest Day

·     The International Day of Forests was established on the 21st day of March, by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on November 28, 2012.

·     Each year, various events celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests, and trees outside forests, for the benefit of current and future generations.

Theme: Forests and Biodiversity

Crisil has lowered india’s growth rate for FY 21 to 5.2% from its previous prediction of 5.7%.

•  The COVID-19 pandemic will leave he economy crippled next fiscal putting down the growth to a low of 5.2% from previous prediction of 5.7%
• However this forecast from Crisil is much higher than those from some other analysts.

CRISIL: Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited

Founded: 1987

Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

MD & CEO: Ashu Suyash

Gujarat Police becomes first in India to introduce taser guns

·        The Gujarat Police is equipped with taser guns in order to ensure safety and security of the public. By introducing the taser guns as part of police weapons, Gujarat becomes the first state in India.

·        The taser guns were used in agencies such as the UK Metropolitan Police, the Los Angeles Police Department and the New York Police Department.

·        The taser guns have been introduced to find an alternative between “ineffective lathes” and “deadly guns”.

·        The taser guns (electrical weapon) use compressed nitrogen to fire, by sending electricity through attached wires, which disrupt voluntary control of muscles

IOC becomes 1st company to begin supply of BS-VI fuel across country

• Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation’s biggest oil firm, began the supply of the world’s cleanest petrol and diesel across the country. All 28,000 petrol stations of IOC’s across the country are dispensing BS-VI (Bharat Stage- VI) ultra-low Sulphur grade fuel in order to reduce the pollution from vehicles in the air.
• India has switched to the cleanest fuel as other fuel retailers such as Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) are also supplying BS-VI grade fuel.
• The Government of India had set April 1, 2020 as the deadline for starting supply of Euro- VI (equivalent to BS-VI grade) fuels in all petrol stations.
• The BS-VI has a low Sulphur content of 10 ppm (parts per million) & emission standards are as good as CNG (Compressed Natural Gas).
• India adopted Euro-III equivalent (or Bharat Stage-III) fuel with a Sulphur content of 350 ppm in 2010 and then took 7 years to move to BS-IV that had a Sulphur content of 50 ppm & from BS-IV to BS-VI it took 3 years.

Gujarat Government signs an MoU with Dutch company of Flying car-maker PAL-V

• 
• Flying car-maker PAL-V (Personal Air Land Vehicle) of the Netherlands will set up a manufacturing plant in Gujarat.
• A Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) was signed in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister (CM) Vijay Ramniklal Rupani between state industries Principal Secretary MK Das and Carl Maasbommel, Vice President of PAL-V’s international business development.
• The PAL-V flying car is designed with 2 engines. The car runs at a speed of 160 kilometers (Km) on road and can fly at a speed of 180 kilometers. The car can turn into a flying vehicle in just 3 minutes & covers a distance of 500 km.

Short Notes

• The oldest fossil of a modern bird, dating from the age of dinosaurs has been discovered whose nicknamed: WONDERCHICKEN
• The government has fixed the maximum cost for testing sample of COVID-19 at Rs. 4500.
•  India’s largest lender State Bank of India became the first bank to open an emergency credit facility for borrowers affected by the Coronavirus Outbreak.
• Coronavirus outbreak: India’s 1st AI summit ‘RAISE 2020’ postponed to October
• Supreme Court has removed Shyamkumar from Cabinet berth. He was serving as the forest minister of Manipur.
• Recently, the government has approved Production Incentive Scheme (PLI) to boost domestic manufacturing in Electronic Manufacturing.
• Bridge constructed by BRO over Teesta River in North Sikkim opened for traffic
• Rajiv Bajaj has been appointed as Managing Director and CEO of Bajaj Auto.
• Ajay Kumar appointed as India’s High Commissioner to Uganda.

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Best Current Affairs: 23 March 2020.[www.arvind parmar]

Current Affairs 23^rd March 2020[www.arvind parmar]

21^st March:  World Poetry Day

·         World Poetry Day is celebrated on 21 March. It was declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999.

Aim: "Support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increase the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard”

·         Its purpose is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world

·         A decision to proclaim 21 March as World Poetry Day was adopted during UNESCO’s 30th session held in Paris in 1999.

UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural OrganizationFormation: 4 November 1946; 73 years agoType: United Nations specialized AgencyHeadquarters: Paris, FranceDirector General: Audrey AzoulayParent Organization: United Nations Economic and Social Council

23^rd March:  Shaheed Diwas or Martyrs Day

·         Every year, March 23 also known as Shaheed Diwas or Sarvodaya Day is observed as Martyrs Day as a tribute to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru. The Government of India declared March 23 as Shaheed Diwas.

·         They fought for the freedom of India from the colonial rulers and sacrificed their lives on March 23, 1931. They were hanged to death by the British for the assassination of British Police Officer John Saunders.

·         Not to be confused with the Martyrs Day observed on January 30, the day Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. Every year, March 23 also known as Shaheed Diwas or Sarvodaya Day is observed as Martyrs Day as a tribute to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru.

·         Today, March 23, 2020 is the occasion of 90th Shaheed Diwas. 

India, France conduct joint patrols from Reunion Island

·         India and France have conducted joint patrols from the reunion island for the first time.

·         India has so far carried out Coordinated Patrols (CORPAT) only with maritime neighbors and had rejected a similar offer by the US.

·         Reunion Island is located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar and 175 km southwest of Mauritius govern by France.

Reunion Island

France:Capital: Paris

Official Language: French

Legislature:        Upper House:    Senate

                             Lower House:   National Assembly

Currency: Euro

Driving side: Right

Calling Code: +33

Motto: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

Navroz: The Iranian New Year

·         Navroz, the Iranian New Year, Persian New Year or the Parsi New Tear was observed on March 20 in India.

·         While the festival is a holy festival for the Zorastian, some Muslim and Iranian communitues, it is celebrated by several faiths across the world.

·         Navroz maeks the first day of spring and while it usually takes place on March 21, the date may vary by a day before or after depending on where it is celebrated.

·         Navroz marks the first day of the month of Farvardin on the Iranian calendar.

Government has fixed prices for face masks and sanitizer

·         Government is keeping a close watch on the prices of every essential commodity.

·         Under the essential commodities act no extra charges can be levied on the fabric used for manufacturing of masks.

No.	Item	Charge (Rs.)
1	2 Layered Masks	8
2	3 Layered Masks	10
3	200 milliliter bottle of Hand sanitizer	100

·         The prices would remain the same till 30^th June this year.

RBI to inject additional Rs. 30,000 crore to maintain financial stability in wake of COVID-19 outbreak.

·         In the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Apex Bank has decided to ensure that all market segments function normally with turnover and liquidity.

·         The central bank will conduct purchase of government securities under open market operation (OMOs) for an aggregate amount of Rs. 30,000 cr in two parts of Rs. 15,000 cr each in March.

·         The auctions would be conducted on March 24 and March 30.

RBI: Reserve Bank of India

Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Established: 1 April 1935; 84 years ago
Governor: Shaktikanta Das
Currency: Indian Rupee

Bank rate: 5.40%
Interest on reserves: 4.00%

Cabinet okay Rs. 48,000 crore plan for electronic manufacturing

·         The Union Cabinet has cleared three schemes involving a total incentive of around Rs. 48,000 crore to boost electronics manufacturing in the country, Telecom and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday.

·         The government is expecting to generate manufacturing revenue potential of Rs. 10 lakh crore and create direct and indirect jobs for 20 lakh people by 2025 through these schemes.

·         The Cabinet in its meeting held on Friday also approved incentives for medical devices to reduce dependency on import of electronic products for medical care in the country.

Short Notes[www.arvind parmar]

• World Oral Health Day is observed every year om 20 March.
•  80 district in lock down to contain vireos spread in India.
• Maoists kill 17 policeman in Chhattisgarh.
• India’s largest lender State Bank of India became the first bank to open an emergency credit facility for borrowers affected by the Corona-virus Outbreak.
• Supreme Court has removed Shyamkumar from Cabinet berth. He was serving as the forest minister of Manipur.
• Rajiv Bajaj has been appointed as Managing Director and CEO of Bajaj Auto.
• Ajay Kumar appointed as India’s High Commissioner to Uganda.

Read More »

Current Affairs 23 March 2020: World Happiness Report 2020[www. Arvind parmar]

The World Happiness Report is an annual publication of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

March 20 was designated as the World Happiness Day by General assembly in 2012

It contains articles, and rankings of national happiness based on respondent ratings of their own lives, which the report also correlates with various life factors. As of March 2019.

In July 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 65/309 Happiness: Towards a Holistic Definition of Development inviting member countries to measure the happiness of their people and to use the data to help guide public policy.

On April 2, 2012, this was followed by the first UN High Level Meeting called Wellbeing and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm, which was chaired by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Prime Minister Jigme Thinley of Bhutan, a nation that adopted gross national happiness instead of gross domestic product as their main development indicator.

The first World Happiness Report was released on April 1, 2012 as a foundational text for the UN High Level Meeting: Well-being and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm, drawing international attention. The report outlined the state of world happiness, causes of happiness and misery, and policy implications highlighted by case studies.

In 2013, the second World Happiness Report was issued, and since then has been issued on an annual basis with the exception of 2014. The report primarily uses data from the Gallup World Poll.

 Each annual report is available to the public to download on the World Happiness Report website.

Method of Ranking

The rankings of national happiness are based on a Cantril ladder survey. Nationally representative samples of respondents are asked to think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a 10, and the worst possible life being a 0.

They are then asked to rate their own current lives on that 0 to 10 scale. The report correlates the results with various life factors.

In the reports, experts in fields including economics, psychology, survey analysis, and national statistics, describe how measurements of well-being can be used effectively to assess the progress of nations, and other topics.

Each report is organized by chapters that delve deeper into issues relating to happiness, including mental illness, the objective benefits of happiness, the importance of ethics, policy implications, and links with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) approach to measuring subjective well-being and other international and national efforts.

Topics of Annual Report

World Happiness Reports were issued in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 (an update), 2017 and 2018. In addition to ranking countries happiness and well-being levels, each report has contributing authors and most focus on a subject. The data used to rank countries in each report is drawn from the Gallup World Poll, as well as other sources such as the World Values Survey, in some of the reports.

The Gallup World Poll questionnaire measures 14 areas within its core questions:

(1)    Business & economic
(2)             Citizen engagement
(3)             Communications & technology
(4)             Diversity (social issues)
(5)             Education & families
(6)             Emotions (well-being)
(7)             Environment & energy
(8)             Food & shelter
(9)             Government and politics
(10)         Law & order (safety)
(11)         Health
(12)         Religion & ethics
(13)         Transportation
(14)         Work.

World Happiness Index 2020

The World Happiness Report ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. The 2020 report features the happiness score averaged up to March 2019. As per the 2020 Happiness Index, Finland is the happiest country in the world two times in a row. Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway hold the next top positions. The report was published on 20 March 2020 by UN.

Top 20 Counties or Region according to World Happiness Index 2020.

Overall Rank	Country or Region	Score out of 10
1	Finland	7.809
2	Denmark	7.646
3	Switzerland	7.560
4	Iceland	7.504
5	Norway	7.488
6	Netherlands	7.449
7	Sweden	7.353
8	New Zealand	7.300
9	Austria	7.294
10	Luxembourg	7.238
11	Canada	7.232
12	Australia	7.223
13	United Kingdom	7.165
14	Israel	7.129
15	Costa Rica	7.121
16	Ireland	7.094
17	Germany	7.076
18	United States	6.940
19	Czech Republic	6.911
20	Belgium	6.864

Other important countries ranking according to index:

Overall Rank	Country or Region	Score out of 10
21	UAE	6.791
62	Japan	5.871
66	Pakistan	5.693
73	Russia	5.546
82	Malaysia	5.384
84	Indonesia	5.286
87	Maldives	5.198
92	Nepal	5.137
94	China	5.124
130	Sri Lanka	4.327
133	Myanmar	4.308
144	India	3.573
152	South Sudan	2.817
153	Afghanistan	2.567

Performance India from 2017 to 2020:

Year	Rank	Score
2020	144	3.573
2019	140	4.015
2018	133	4.190
2017	122	4.315

Philosophical Concern

From a philosophical perspective, critics argue that measuring the happiness of a group of people is misleading because happiness is an individual matter. They state the Dalai Lama, Gandhi, Tolstoy and several others, happiness is an individual choice that is independent of the society, its structures and enabling or dis-enabling conditions and not something to be measured using variables that can only capture a nation's well-being. This means therefore that one cannot really talk of a happy or unhappy nation, but of happy or unhappy individuals.

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