Weekly Current affairs of April 2nd week 2020

We bring you the complete and important daily Current Affairs of  MARCH 2020 Quiz to achieve more marks in Banking, Insurance, UPSC, SSC, CLAT, Railways and all other competitive Exams. We prepare it based on our daily current affairs.Hope you like it.Current Affairs of March 2020 with Latest Current affairs March 2020 PDF for preparation of Bank Exam – PO & clerk, SSC, Railways & Insurance. Our Current Affairs of April 2020 PDF covers various sections like National March Current Affairs 2020, business & economy, Indian and International affairs 2020, defense, environment current affairs, persons and many for competitive exams preparing aspirants.

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Current Affairs  April 2nd week 2020

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Global Trade to fall by 13%-32% in 2020 due to COVID-19: WTO

About WTO
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland,
Director General– Roberto Azevedo

India to export 90,000 tonnes of surplus wheat to Afghanistan, Lebanon under G2G arrangement

India on 9th April said it would export 50,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan and 40,000 tonnes of the grain to Lebanon under government-to-government (G2G) trading arrangements.

About Lebanon

• Capital: Beirut
• Currency: Lebanese pound
• Population: 68.5 lakhs (2018)

India exported 5 tonnes of drug including hydroxychloroquine to Israel

About Israel

• Capital: Jerusalem
• Currency: Israeli Shekel

Easter festival is celebrated on 12 April

Apple and Google collaborate to launch COVID-19 contact-tracing tech

Apple and Google collaborated to enable the use of Bluetooth technology to help governments and health agencies reduce the spread of the virus, with user privacy and security central to the design.

UNSC met for 1st time to discuss COVID-19 impact through video-conference

The United Nation Security Council (UNSC)

About UNSC:
Current Presidency– Dominican Republic
Members– 15 Countries
Headquarters– New York, United States (US)

COVID-19 risked 400 mn Indian workers to face poverty: ILO Monitor 2nd edition Report

(ILO) has released a report titled ‘ILO Monitor 2nd edition: COVID-19 and the world of work- Updated estimates and analysis’ which has also stated that about 400 million people working in the informal economy in India are at risk of falling deeper into poverty due to the coronavirus crisis.

SAARC Development Fund allocates USD 5 million for COVID-19 projects

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Development Fund (SDF) has allocated USD 5 million (about Rs 38 crore) for COVID-19 projects in 8 member countries, in an effort to mitigate the financial losses and severe socio-economic impact of the pandemic.

About SAARC:
8 members– Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Headquarters– Kathmandu, Nepal
Secretary General– Esala Ruwan Weerakoon

USAID announces $2.9 million aid to India to fight Coronavirus

The US (United States) Government, through its aid agency USAID (United States Agency for International Development), has announced a grant of USD (United States Dollar) 2.9 million to India to fight against Coronavirus.

About USAID:
Headquarters– Washington D.C., US (United States).
Motto– “From the American people”.

BANKING & FINANCE

MaxLifeIns, YES Bank extended bancassurance tie-up for 5 years; Dedicated FY21 as “Year of the Customer”

About Max Life Insurance:
It is a joint venture between Max Financial Services Ltd and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance.
Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Prashant Tripathy
Tagline– KaroJyadakaIraada
About Yes Bank:
Establishment– 2004
Headquarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO– Prashant Kumar
Tagline– Experience our Expertise

World Bank sees FY21 India growth at 1.5-2.8%

India is likely to record its worst growth performance since the 1991 liberalisation this fiscal year as the coronavirus outbreak severely disrupts the economy.

Note: India GDP projected F21

• Moody-2.5%
• India Ratings & Research-3.5%
• ICRA-2%
• Goldman Sachs-1.6%
• ADB– 4%
• UN- 4.8%

Jana Small Finance Bank Launches “DIGIGEN” – Simple Digital Banking for Savings Account & Fixed Deposits

Flipkart partners with ICICI lombard & Go Digit to offer two COVID-19 health insurance policies

Flipkart Private Limited, an e-commerce marketplace in partnership with ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited and Go Digit General Insurance, has launched two health insurance policies namely – ‘Covid-19 Protection Cover’ & ‘Digit Illness Group Insurance’ that specifically cover coronavirus (COVID-19) on its platform.

About Flipkart Private Limited:
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
Fintech and Payments Group Head– Ranjith Boyanapalli
About ICICI Lombard:Parent organization– ICICI ( Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Bank
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO– Bhargav Dasgupta
About Digit general insurance:
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka

Bank of Baroda initiated four schemes for agri sector to tackle COVID-19 impact

Following are the four schemes launched by bank:

• Additional Assurance to SHGs- COVID19
• Baroda Emergency Credit Line for Farmer Producer Organization (FPO/FPC)
• Baroda Special Scheme for existing Agriculture Investment Credit borrowers
• Baroda Special Scheme for existing BKCC borrowers impacted by COVID-19

SIDBI offers emergency working capital of up to Rs 1 crore to SMEs

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has announced that it will provide emergency working capital of up to Rs 1 crore to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The SIDBI Assistance to Facilitate Emergency response against coronavirus (SAFE) loan limit has been increased to 2 crores from Rs 50 lakhs.

RBI relaxed the norms of State/UT to avail overdraft

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to increase the number of days that a State/UT can continue to overdraft to 21 working days from the current stipulation of 14 working days as they are facing cash flow mismatches due to coronavirus.

Airtel Payments Bank joined hands with Bharti AXA to offer COVID-19 insurance plans

Airtel Payments Bank has collaborated with Bharati AXA General Insurance to offer financial protection for COVID-19 via two different health insurance plans. The plan named “Bharti AXA Group Health Assure Policy”offers a lump sum benefit of Rs 25,000 and the other plan “Group Hospital Cash”will offer a daily benefit of starting Rs 500.

Force majeure’ not applicable to COVID-19 death claims in life insurance policies

In a move to reassure COVID-19 health policy holders, the Life Insurance Council of India has confirmed that the clause of ‘Force Majeure’ will not apply in case of COVID-19 death claims and it is applicable for both state-run and private life insurance players.

What is Force majeure?
Originated as a term in French law in the 1880s, it states that in the event of any force majeure or disaster that affects the normal functioning of the life insurer then it can temporarily suspend the claims by making the contract null or invalid. Force majeure events include an Act of God or natural disasters, war or war-like situations, labour unrest or strikes, epidemics, pandemics, etc.

PNBHF enters into agreement with JICA, Citibank to raise USD 100 million 

The Punjab National Bank Housing Finance (PNBHF) has signed an agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to raise USD 75 million (about Rs 566 crore) & with Citibank for USD 25 million (about Rs 188 crore) to provide loans to affordable housing segment so as to improve the lives of low-income households &  to promote sustainable economic growth in India.

About PNBHF:
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Sanjay Gupta
About JICA:
Headquarters– Tokyo, Japan
President– KITAOKA Shinichi
About Citibank:
Headquarters– New York, United States
CEO– Mary McNiff

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

World Bank South Asia Economic Focus report: Indian economy grows at 1.5-2.8% in FY21 while South Asian at 1.8 – 2.8%

About World Bank:
Headquarters– Washington, D.C., United States
Member countries– 189
President– David Malpass
Subsidiaries– 5: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and  International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

India becomes top Hydroxychloroquine producer & exporter with 70% annual global share

Originally hydroxychloroquine is an anti-malarial drug.

CPI inflation likely to ease from 4.8% in Q1 to 4.4% in Q2: RBI’s MPR

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its monetary policy report (MPR) has projected Consumer price index (CPI) based inflation to decline from 4.8% in Q1: 2020-21 to 4.4% in Q2, 2.7% in Q3 and 2.4% in Q4. 

Goldman Sachs lowers India’s growth forecast for FY 21 to 1.6% from 3.3%

About Goldman Sachs:
Headquarters– New York, United States
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– David M. Solomon

India’s FY21 GDP projected at 4.8%;Asia-Pacific needs $880 mn/year health emergency fund amid COVID19: UN report

In accordance with the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) report

About UN-ESCAP:
Establishment– 1947
Headquarters– Bangkok, Thailand
Members States– 53 members (including India) and 9 associate members.
Executive Secretary– Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

China’s central bank increases its stake to 1% in HDFC; SAMA also bought 0.7% stake

People’s Bank of China (PBOC) increased its stake in Housing Development Finance Corp Limited (HDFC) to 1.01% from 0.8%on behalf of the Chinese sovereign wealth fund SAFE. With this, now China’s central bank holds 1,74,92,909 crore equity shares in HDFC Ltd in accordance with the quarterly (ending March 2020) shareholding pattern disclosure by the latter to the stock exchanges.

IndiGrid to acquire Gurgaon-Palwal Transmission Limited 

The Board of the Investment Manager of IndiGrid, India’s first Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) in the power sector, has  approved the acquisition of Gurgaon-Palwal Transmission Limited (GPTL), Sterlite power with a value of Rs 1,080 crore.

About GPTL:
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
Managing Director (MD)– Pratik Agarwal
About IndiGrid:
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Whole time director– Harsh Shah

Apple acquires Dark Sky weather app 

CCI approves Hitachi’s acquisition of 80.1% stake in ABB’s power grid business

Hitachi

Headquarters– Chiyoda, Tokyo
President & CEO– Toshiaki Higashihara

ABB

Headquarters– Zurich, Switzerland
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Björn Rosengren

About CCI:
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
Chairman– Ashok Kumar Gupta

CCI approves 100% acquisition of GMR Kamalanga Energy Limited by JSW Energy Limited

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved 100% acquisition of Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao (GMR) Kamalanga Energy Limited (Ltd) by Jindal South West (JSW) Energy Ltd under section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

UGC constitutes 2 expert committees for examination & online education: COVID-19

 1st Committee- It is a 7 member committee headed by the vice-chancellor of the Central University of Haryana- R.C. Kuhad, to look after the examination & academic calendar of students as Indian education system came to a standstill due to suspended classes, postponed examinations, and closed campuses. Based on the recommendations of the committee, the UGC will publish guidelines for universities.

2nd Committee- It is formed in relation to students, teachers and the education system as a whole & also to promote online education.
About UGC:
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
Chairman– Dhirendra Pal(D.P.) Singh

Sara Ali khan appointed as the ambassador of JBL

James Bullough Lansing (JBL)

DPIIT constitutes 25-member development council for pulp, paper and allied industries headed by A S Mehta

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), a central government department under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has constituted a 25-member Development Council for the development of pulp, paper and allied industries (DCPPAI) headed by A S Mehta, the President of J K Paper Ltd, New Delhi, with an objective to increase the growth of this sector.

About Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT):Headquarters– New Delhi
About Ministry of Commerce and Industry:Headquarters– New Delhi
Union Minister– Piyush Goyal

Karnataka Bank gets RBI nod to reappoint Mahabaleshwara M S as MD and CEO for 3 years

Note: About Karnataka Bank

Headquarters: Mangalore

Tagline: Your Family Bank Across India”

RBI: AU Small Finance Bank appoints R V Verma as part-time chairman and Sanjay Agarwal re-appointed as MD and CEO

About AU Small Finance Bank:
AU Small Finance Bank is an Indian Scheduled Commercial bank that was founded as vehicle finance company AU financiers (India) Limited in 1996 and converted to a small finance bank on April 19, 1997.
Headquarters– Jaipur, Rajasthan.
Tagline– Chalo Aage Badhe.

Anamika Roy Rashtrawar appointed as MD & CEO of IFFCO Tokio General Insurance

About IFFCO Tokio General Insurance:

Headquarters– Gurugram, Haryana.

Chairman– Mr. K. Srinivasa Gowda.

Parag Raja appointed as MD & CEO of Bharti AXA Life Insurance

About Bharti AXA Life Insurance:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra.

UB Pravin Rao appointed as Chairman & Rekha Menon as vice chairperson of NASSCOM

About NASSCOM:
Headquarters– Noida, Uttar Pradesh
President– Debjani Ghosh (1st women president of NASSCOM)

Shafali Verma named as brand ambassador by PepsiCo

Beverage Major PepsiCo has named Shafali Verma, 16 years old, Indian Women Cricketer, as one of its brand ambassadors for one year. Pepsi will be Shafali’s first contract with a major brand. The beverage firm recently signed Bollywood star Salman Khan as its face for 2 years.

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

ICMR nods: Kerala becomes the first state to commence clinical trial plasma therapy treatment

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has given approval to Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, to commence convalescent plasma therapy, which uses antibodies from the blood of cured patients, to treat critically ill COVID- 19 cases on a trial basis. Therefore, Kerala becomes the first state in the country to start clinical trial plasma therapy treatment

IFFCO organizes continual awareness campaigns ‘Break the CORONA Chain’ on ground zero 

Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) one of India’s biggest cooperative societies has continuously organized a social awareness campaign,‘Break the CORONA Chain’ on Ground zero in different states across the country to highlight the preventive and precautionary measures among the people.

About IFFCO:
Headquarters– New Delhi
Chairman– Balvinder Singh Nakai

Delhi CM announces Operation ‘Shield’ to fight Covid-19

Delhi government has come up with a term for its strategy to contain the spread of novel coronavirus – Operation “Shield”. As per the government strategy, SHIELD stands for sealing, home quarantine, isolation and tracing, essential supply, local sanitation and door-to-door checks.

Madhya Pradesh railways designs mobile doctor booth called ‘CHARAK’ for zero-contact check-ups

The West Central Railway’s Coach Rehabilitation Workshop (CRWS) in Madhya Pradesh’s (MP) Bhopal city,has created a  mobile doctor booth called “CHARAK” to eliminate the possibility of physical contact between the doctor and the coronavirus (COVID-19) infected patient.

About Indian Railways:Headquarters– New Delhi
Union Minister– Piyush Goyal

Hindustan Unilever joins hands with UNICEF to launch ‘BreakTheChain’ campaign against coronavirus

About Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL):Chairman and Managing Director– Sanjiv Mehta
About United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF):
Headquarters– New York, United States
Executive Director– Henrietta Holsman Fore

HRD Ministry along with AICTE initiated “Samadhan” challenge for students to fight covid-19

In order to empower innovation among students the Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in collaboration with Forge and InnovatioCuris launched a mega online challenge – SAMADHAN.

India’s 40.59% environment-related crimes reported in Rajasthan during 2014-16: CAG

In accordance with the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for the year ended March 31, 2018, 40.59% of the crimes related to the environment in the country were committed in Rajasthan (RJ) during 2014-16. The major crimes were violation of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and Wildlife Protect Act, 1972 which resulted in using of forest land for non-forest purposes without approval of government and capturing, poisoning, snaring or trapping of wild animals respectively.

Cabinet approved 30% salary cut of PM, Ministers, MPs for FY 20-21 to manage COVID-19; MPLAD suspended for 2 yrs

MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) 

This announcement was made by Prakash Javadkar, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting.

NHAI achieved record 3,979 km highways construction in FY 19-20

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has achieved the highest ever highway construction feat with an accomplishment of 3,979 km of national highways in the financial Year 2019-20.

About NHAI:
Establishment– 1995
Administrative control– Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH)
Chairman– Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu

Telangana govt deploys ‘Covid-19 Monitoring System’ app

The Public Health and Family Welfare Department of the government (govt) of Telangana deployed India’s first automated “COVID- 19 Monitoring System Application”. The application (app) was developed by startup Vera Smart Healthcare and launched by Telangana Director of Public Health Dr G Srinivas Rao.

About Telangana:
Capital– Hyderabad.
Chief Minister (CM)– K. Chandrashekar Rao.
Governor– Tamilisai Soundararajan.

HRD Ministry has designated DigiLocker as National Academic Depository (NAD)

DigiLocker, an online document wallet has been designated as the sole National Academic Depository (NAD) by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) to enable educational institutions to store digital copies of academic awards, mark sheets and certificates on the cloud-based service.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS 

Ben Stokes becomes first English player since 2005 to be named Wisden’s Leading Cricketer

Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2020 edition, named Ben Stokes of England and Ellyse Perry of Australia as the Leading male and female cricketer of the World 2020 respectively.

Jeff Bezos tops, Mukesh Ambani ranked 17th: 34th Forbes billionaires List 2020

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” launched web-portal YUKTI in New Delhi

Union Minister for Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” has launched a web-portal YUKTI-Young India Combating COVID with Knowledge, Technology and Innovation in New Delhi that will monitor and record the efforts and initiatives of MHRD. Its objective is to keep a high-quality learning environment for the academic community during this COVID-19 threat.

Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog & National Informatics Centre (NIC) jointly launches CollabCAD in ATL schools

Atal Innovation Mission, NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog and National Informatics Centre (NIC) jointly launched CollabCAD in ATL (Atal Tinkering Lab) schools. The CollabCAD online tool was launched via social media by Shri R Ramanan, Mission Director Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog.

About NITI Aayog:
Headquarters– New Delhi.
Chairperson– Narendra Modi.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Amitabh Kant.
Vice Chairperson– Rajiv Kumar.
About NIC:
Headquarters– New Delhi.
Director General– Neeta Verma.

DST funds SBPL to develop Immunodiagnostic kits & Active Virosome Vaccine: COVID-19

The Department of Science &Technology (DST) has funded a Pune based startup, Seagull BioSolutions Private Limited (SBPL) is supported under Seed Support System of the Technology Development Board (TDB) to develop Immunodiagnostic kits & Active Virosome (AV)-Vaccine for COVID-19 emergencies.

NIF developed herbal dewormer “wormivet” for livestock owners

National Innovation Foundation India (NIF) 

This dewormer will treat endoparasite (worm) infestation among livestock which was found to be unique.

About NIF:
Establishment– 2000
Chairperson– PS Goel
Headquarter– Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Centre launched Aarogya Setu IVRS for non-smart phones in collaboration with TN govt and IIT-Madras

“Aarogya Setu Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS)”.

Biofortified carrot variety ‘Madhuban Gajar’ developed by Vallabhhai Vasrambhai Marvaniya- farmer scientist

developed by Vallabhhai Vasrambhai Marvaniya, a farmer scientist from Junagadh district, Gujarat which benefits local farmers.

Bharat Biotech ties-up with FluGen & US virologists to develop intranasal vaccine for coronavirus ‘CoroFlu’

Bharat Biotech International Ltd, a leading vaccines & bio-therapeutics manufacturers in India, has joined hands with US (United States) FluGen Inc and virologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Wisconsin,US , to begin the development and testing of a new intranasal vaccine for COVID-19 called ‘CoroFlu’.

About Bharat Biotech International Ltd:Headquarters– Hyderabad,Telangana
Chairman and Managing Director– Krishna M Ella
About FluGen Inc:
President and CEO– Paul Radspinner

Housing & Urban Affairs ministry releases revised version of Swachhata app to answer queries related to coronavirus

About Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA):Headquarters– New Delhi
Minister of State (Independent Charge)– Hardeep Singh Puri

CSIR- National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) Pune ties up with BEL to produce medical devices

In measures to mitigate the COVID-19 outbreak the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) constituent Lab, CSIR-NCL (National Chemical Laboratory) Pune, Maharashtra has developed two new medical components in collaboration with Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Pune

Which are

Digital IR Thermometer

Oxygen enrichment unit (OEU)

About CSIR
Establishment– 1942
President– Narendra Modi
Director General– Shekhar C. Mande
Headquarter– New Delhi
About BEL
Establishment– 1954
Headquarter– Bengaluru, Karnataka
Chairman & Managing Director (CMD)– Venkateswara Gowtama Mannava

COVID-19: JNCASR develops antimicrobial coating to stop spread of viruses 

The Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore, an autonomous institute under Department of Science and Technology (DST) developed an antimicrobial coating, which controls the spread of deadly influenza virus and COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

The technology has been developed by Prof. Jayanta Haldar’s group at JNCASR including Mr. Sreyan Ghosh, Dr. Riya Mukherjee and Dr. Debajyoti Basak.

Indian Immunologicals ties up with Australian university to develop vaccine for Coronavirus

Hyderabad- based Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), a subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), has inked agreement with Australia’s Griffith University to develop a Live Attenuated SARS CoV-2 Vaccine or COVID- 19 vaccine using the latest codon de-optimisation technology.

Larsen & Toubro gets big contract from Indian Army to install state-of-the-art IT enabled network

The  Smart World and Communication Business Unit (SW&C BU) of Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T), an Indian multinational conglomerate company, has received a large order from the Indian Army to install state-of-the-art IT(Information Technology) based state-of-the-art systems, which will be used to operate the armed force network under the ‘Network of Spectrum (NFS)’.

About Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T):
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
CMD– SN Subrahmanyan
About Indian Army:
Headquarters– New Delhi
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS)– General Manoj Mukund Naravane.

DRDO & Wipro 3D team together to create full face shield for healthcare personnel treating coronavirus patients

About Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO):Headquarters– New Delhi
Chairman– Dr G. Satheesh Reddy
About Wipro 3D:
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka

DRDO develops Personnel Sanitisation Enclosure & Full Face Mask: COVID-19

the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed Personnel Sanitisation Enclosure (PSE), Full Face Mask (FFM) for healthcare professionals against the COVID-19 pandemic.

DST set up CAWACH at SINE, IIT-B for supporting startups with funding to tackle COVID-19

The National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) of Department of Science and Technology (DST) has formulated Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH) with an outlay of Rs.56 crore to source and support startups that address COVID-19 challenges by way of funding. The funding varies between Rs 50 lakhs to Rs 200 lakhs per startup.

SPORTS

India to host Asian Boxing Championships 2020 in Nov-Dec: BFI

Boxing Federation of India’s (BFI)

About Boxing Federation of India’s (BFI):Headquarters– New Delhi

FIFA’s ranking 2020: Indian football team static at 108th position; Belgium on top

About FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association):Motto– For the Game. For the World
Headquarters– Zürich, Switzerland
President– Gianni Infantino

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Human Space Flight 2020: April 12

National Pet Day 2020: April 11

11th April: National Pet Day

11th April: National Safe Motherhood day

12th April: International Day of Human Space Flight 2020

World Homeopathy Day 2020: April 10

This year the day marks the 265th birth anniversary of the father of the Homeopathy systems of medicines Dr. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann, German physician, who discovered the way to heal through the use of homeopathy.

Theme of the year 2020: “Enhancing the scope of Homeopathy in Public Health”.

WADA celebrates Play True Day 2020 

Theme of the year 2020: ‘Play Safe on Play True Day 2020’.

About WADA:
Headquarters– Montreal, Canada.
President– Witold Banka.

55th Anniversary of CRPF Valour Day 2020: April 9

About CRPF:

Headquarters– New Delhi.
Motto– Service and Loyalty.

International Romani Day 2020: April 8

The International Romani Day is observed on April 8 globally to raise awareness of the issues faced by Romani people and to celebrate Romani culture.

World Health Day 2020: April 7

Theme of the year 2020: Support nurses and midwives.

International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda: April 7

The International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda is observed every year on April 7, since 2004 to commemorate the murder of more than 1 million people, majorly consist of Tutsi, Twa & moderate Hutu- group of African Great lakes region & others who opposed the genocide in Rwanda and also to reflect on the suffering of those who survived. This year marks its 26th anniversary.

About Rwanda
Capital– Kigali
Currency– Rwandan Franc
President– Paul Kagame

OBITUARY

Japanese filmmaker Obayashi, who portrayed war’s horrors, passed away at 82

Formula one great Sir Stirling Moss passed away at 90

Padma bhushan awardee and  Former Attorney General Ashok Desai passed away at 77

Padma Shri classical singer Shanti Hiranand passes away

Indian-American veteran journalist Brahm Kanchibotla passed away at 66

Grammy winner, american folk singer, songwriter John Prine passed away at 73

Italian Olympic 800 meters finalist Donato Sabia passed away at 56

1960s ‘James Bond’ girl Honor Blackman passed away at 94

Former Real Madrid, Atletico and Barcelona coach Radomir Antic passed away at 71

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Actor Jim Carrey & writer Dana Vachon authored a novel “Memoirs and Misinformation”

Canadian American comedian & actor Jim Carrey and writer Dana Vachon authored a novel “Memoirs and Misinformation” a fearless and semi-autobiographical novel about the reconstruction of personality. It is published by Alfred A Knopf, publishing house.

The Book titled ‘The Wizenard Series: Season One’- created by Kobe Bryant & authored by Wesley King

The book ‘The Wizenard Series: Season One’ is created by American Basket baller Kobe Bryant & authored by Wesley King.

 It is published by Kobe Bryant’s Granity Studios(April 1, 2020).

The Pulitzer Prize winner, American reporter Mary Jordan authors a book- ‘The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump’

STATE NEWS

Manipur Govt introduces ‘Food Bank’ initiative for poor and needy people

About Manipur:Capital– Imphal
Governor– Najma Heptulla
Chief Minister– N. Biren Singh
National Parks– Keibul Lamjao National Park

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal launches “Operation SHIELD” in 21 Containment Areas against COVID-19

Odisha became the first State to extend lockdown till April 30

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announces 5T plan to control the spread of  COVID-19

Delhi Chief Minister(CM) Arvind Kejriwal announced a 5T plan which includes- Testing, Tracing, Treatment, Teamwork & Tracking and monitoring to control the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

About Delhi:
Governor– Anil Baijal
State bird– House Sparrow
State animal– Nilgai