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Current Affairs Today – 16th April 2020
NEWS AT A GLANCE
- The State Bank of India (SBI) has made an announcement that the bank will waive service charges for all ATM transactions made on SBI ATMs.
- The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) stated that it has already issued over 10.2 lakh refunds totalling to around Rs.4,250 crore as of 14 April 2020.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its report on the Asia-Pacific region stated that Asia’s economic growth in 2020 will grind to a halt for the first time in 60 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Tata AIA Life Insurance has announced additional benefits related to COVID-19 for Policyholders and Agents at no additional cost.
- The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has announced a training program on COVID-19 from 17 April 2020 for healthcare professionals from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries.
- The Government of India decided to divide all districts across the country into hotspots, non-hotspots and green zones.
- The Central Government’s mobile app, Aarogya Setu, has become the world’s fastest app to reach 50 million downloads in just 13 days.
- Jim Corbett National Park , the India’s oldest forested wildlife sanctuary located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand, has become the India’s 1st quarantine centre for animals with symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19).
- Uttar Pradesh (UP) Government has launched two portals namely the Annapurna portal and the Supply Mitra portals for the convenience of the food needs for the people of the state during the COVID-19 crisis.
- Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Jagan Mohan Reddy launches ‘YSR Nirman’ an online platform on April 6 to help various departments of the State to procure cement from suppliers for government works such as Polavaram irrigation project, housing and roads & also display availability of cement demand and supply on a real-time basis.
- North Korea launched multiple short-range anti-ship cruise missiles into the sea. Also, Sukhoi jets fired air-to-surface missiles as part of its ongoing military exercises. The information was passed by South Korea’s military.
- Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting on 15 April. The meeting was held under the Saudi Arabian Presidency.
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in partnership with the State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based payment platform, Bharat InstaPay to enable all types of channel partners of BSNL to digitize their payment transactions on a round the clock basis/ real- time basis.
- Ajay Mahajan has been appointed as Managing Director & Chief Executive of credit rating agency “CARE Ratings”.
- Paytm has appointed Vineet Arora as new managing director and chief executive officer of Paytm General Insurance Ltd.
- PokerStars India has appointed former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its new brand ambassador.
- The Aditya Birla group’s Hindalco Industries Ltd. has acquired Aleris Corporation through its wholly owned subsidiary Novelis Inc. for an enterprise value of $2.8 billion (Rs 21,295 crores). Hindalco is now one of the world’s largest aluminium makers.
- Algerian writer Abdelouahab Aissaoui wins 13th International Arab fiction prize 2020.
- Tata Power bags Edison Award for social innovation.
- A team of researchers from National Institute of Technology-Karnataka (NIT-K) at Surathkal, has designed a disinfection chamber called ‘ZERO-COV’ to disinfect personal protective equipment (PPE) tools, surgical masks, vegetables, packaged food items, currency notes and other day-to-day items within 15 minutes.
- Film, television and theatre actor Ranjit Chowdhry has passed away. Ranjit was best known for his work in movies Baton Baton Mein, Mississippi Masala, Khubsoorat and Bollywood/Hollywood.
NEWS IN DETAILS
BANKING AND FINANCE CURRENT AFFAIRS
SBI to waive service charges for all ATM transactions
- The State Bank of India (SBI) has made an announcement that the bank will waive service charges for all ATM transactions made on SBI ATMs.
- The decision will also be implemented on the other bank ATMs on account of exceeding the free number of transactions up to 30th June 2020.
- Therefore, any customer having a debit card from a State Bank of India will be allowed to withdraw cash from any other bank’s ATM without incurring any additional charges till 30th June, 2020.
- The decision to waive service charges was taken by the State Bank of India in view of the announcement made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stating “no charge will be levied on cash withdrawals by a bank’s customer from the ATM of any other bank till 30th June 2020”.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
CBDT refunded Rs.4,250 crore to help taxpayers in COVID-19 pandemic situation
- The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) stated that it has already issued over 10.2 lakh refunds totalling to around Rs.4,250 crore as of 14 April 2020.
- The move is in pursuance to the Government of India’s decision to issue pending income tax refunds up to Rs.5 lakh in order to help taxpayers in a COVID-19 pandemic situation, on 8 April.
Highlights:
- CBDT refunded over and above the 2.50 crore refunds already issued in FY 2019-20 till 31 March 2020 totalling up to Rs.1.84 lakh crore.
- About more than 1.75 lakh refunds are in the process of issuance in the upcoming days.
- The refunds by CBDT will be credited directly to the taxpayer bank account in 5-7 business days from issuance.
- Also, around 1.74 lakh refund cases, email responses are awaited from taxpayers regarding reconciliation with their outstanding tax demand for which a reminder email has been sent. The taxpayers have been asked to respond within 7 days so that the refund can be processed accordingly.
- CBDT has requested taxpayers to check and respond to their email and login to their e-filing account to respond to the I-T Department immediately.
- The CBDT also clarified the necessary routine process-related communications to the taxpayers to seek a response on defective ITRs, prima facie adjustments and where confirmation is sought about certain claims made by them. It is expected that a quick response from the taxpayer would enable the I-T Department to process their refunds expeditiously.
Extra Shots:
Central Board of Direct Taxes:
- CBDT was set up under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963. It functions as a Division of the Ministry dealing with matters relating to levy and collection of direct taxes.
- Formed on: 1944
- Chairperson of CBDT: Pramod Chandra Mody
IMF reports that COVID-19 pandemic will bring Asia’s 2020 growth to halt for 1st time in 60 years
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its report on the Asia-Pacific region stated that Asia’s economic growth in 2020 will grind to a halt for the first time in 60 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Report Highlights:
- The IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department directed the policymakers to offer targeted support to households and firms hardest-hit by travel bans, social distancing policies and other measures aimed at containing the pandemic.
- IMF forecasted a 7.6% expansion in Asian economic growth in 2021 on the assumption that containment policies succeed. It also said that the outlook is highly uncertain.
- It also stated that The impact of the coronavirus on the region will be severe, across the board, and unprecedented.
- It suggested that the Asian countries need to use all policy instruments in their toolkits.
- Asia is set to fare better than other regions that suffered economic contractions. The projection is expected to be worse than the 4.7% average growth rate throughout the global financial crisis.
Extra Shots:
International Monetary Fund (IMF):
- IMF promotes international monetary co-operation and facilitates international trade. It aims to foster sustainable economic growth, make resources available to members experiencing balance of payments difficulties.
- Formed on: 27 December 1945
- Headquarters: Washington, D.C., The US
- Managing Director: Kristalina Georgieva
- Chief Economist: Gita Gopinath
- Membership: 189 countries
- Official language: English
Tata AIA Life Insurance offers additional benefits related to COVID-19
- Tata AIA Life Insurance has announced additional benefits related to COVID-19 for Policyholders and Agents at no additional cost.
- Now, Tata AIA becomes 1st life Insurance Company in India to do so.
- Tata AIA Life Insurance will give an additional amount up to Rs. 5 lakhs for death claims due to COVID-19.
- Active Tata AIA Life Insurance agents and their families to get medical reimbursement up to Rs. 25,000 for COVID 19 related hospitalisation.
- This benefit is applicable for all valid death claims with a date of death on or before June 30 2020.
Extra Shots:
Tata AIA Life Insurance
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Founded: 2000
- MD & CEO: Rishi Srivastava
NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
MEA launched COVID-19 training program for healthcare professionals from SAARC countries
- The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has announced a training program on COVID-19 from 17 April 2020 for healthcare professionals from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries.
Training Programme:
- The training program is carried out by the Central government’s Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) program.
- The training program is in line with PM Modi’s vision on #PrepareNotPanic for #SAARCfightsCoronoa, @MEAIndia announces e-@ITECnetwork training programs on #COVID19 for healthcare professionals for @SAARCsec countries starting 17 April 2020.
- The program was suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an India-initiated video conference of SAARC leaders on 15 March. As per the suggestion, the health professionals of the member nations came together to jointly fight the coronavirus pandemic.
- Also, India proposed setting up of a common electronic platform for all SAARC nations to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. All the SAARC countries will share expertise and best practices to jointly combat the spread of coronavirus.
Extra Shots:
ITEC Programme:
- The ITEC Programme was established as per the decision of the Union Cabinet of India on 15 September 1964. The ITEC program was aimed to establish relations of mutual concern and inter-dependence based on commonly held ideals and aspirations and on solid economic foundations. The program is fully funded by GoI.
Health Ministry Colour code districts to help manage COVID-19 pandemic
- The Government of India decided to divide all districts across the country into hotspots, non-hotspots and green zones.
- The announcement was made by Lav Agarwal, joint secretary of the Health Ministry.
Highlights:
- The aim is to help manage the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also help the partial opening up of economic activities during the extended period of the nationwide lockdown.
- The move also aims to help in the management of hotspots and the spread of the pandemic. The health and family welfare ministry has launched a new set of guidelines for the second phase of lockdown till 3 May.
- As of 15 April, the Ministry has identified 170 hotspot districts, 207 non-hotspot districts reporting cases and 359 green zone districts not reporting any cases across the country.
- These numbers will increase or decrease based on fresh cases of COVID-19 infection.
- The new guidelines by the Ministry are aimed to help the central and state governments to allow some economic activities in select areas.
- The economic activities in the green zone districts will be allowed but restricted in the red zones, which will continue to have the current lockdown measures.
How are the zones divided?
- The Ministry of Health stated that reporting a single case of an area makes the area a hotspot. If any district reports more than 6 COVID-19 positive cases, it would be classified as a hotspot district or red zone. If there are COVID-19 positive cases, it will be classified as green zones.
Aarogya Setu app became worlds fastest app to reach 50 million downloads
- The Central Government’s mobile app, Aarogya Setu, has become the world’s fastest app to reach 50 million downloads in just 13 days.
- The information was passed by the NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on 15 April.
- The app was developed for tracking COVID-19 patients.
Aarogya Setu:
- The Aarogya Setu app alerts people if any known person or person in their vicinity has tested positive.
- District administration has asked all educational institutions, departments, etc to encourage downloading of the app.
- The app was developed under a committee set up by the Prime Minister’s Office with the active involvement of NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY).
- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is working on testing and some of the other aspects.
- Tech Mahindra and the Mahindra group is currently working with the committee on the next version of the Aarogya Setu application and leverage next-generation technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, data science. It is also working on expanding the reach of Aarogya Setu on all types of phones. The current version of the Aarogya Setu app is fit for use on smartphones only.
STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS
Jim Corbett National Park of Uttarakhand becomes India’s 1st quarantine centre for animals
- Jim Corbett National Park , the India’s oldest forested wildlife sanctuary located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand, has become the India’s 1st quarantine centre for animals with symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Highlights:
- At least 10 quarantine centers are being set up within the complex to handle the corona virus prey animals & Cameras will be installed in the park to monitor the cold and cough symptoms of animals.
- Background: After humans, the threat of COVID-19 is now hovering over wildlife. The NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) has alerted the officials of country’s sanctuaries, forests and zoos after the Coronavirus infection was detected in the Malayan tiger ‘Nadia’ in the Bronx zoo of US (United States).
Extra Shots:
Uttarkhand
- Capital- Dehradun
- Governor- Baby Rani maurya
- CM-Trivendra Singh Rawat
- National Park -Jim Corbett NP, Gangotri NP, Nanda Devi NP, Rajaji NP
UP govt launches Annapurna, Supply Mitra portals for citizens’ food needs
- Uttar Pradesh (UP) Government has launched two portals namely the Annapurna portal and the Supply Mitra portals for the convenience of the food needs for the people of the state during the COVID-19 crisis.
- Alok Sinha, Commissioner of Agricultural Production, UP, launched the portal.
Highlights:
- The Annapurna portal will help people get the knowledge of food products and packets.
- Supply Mitra portal will provide free home delivery of etables.
Extra Shots:
Uttar Pradesh:
- Capital: Lucknow
- Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
- Governor: Anandiben Patel
- State formed in: 24 January 1950
- Literacy Rate: 67.68%
- Nation Park: Dudhwa National Park
Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy launches ‘YSR Nirman’ online platform
- Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Jagan Mohan Reddy launches ‘YSR Nirman’ an online platform on April 6 to help various departments of the State to procure cement from suppliers for government works such as Polavaram irrigation project, housing and roads & also display availability of cement demand and supply on a real-time basis.
Highlights:
- The Government departments, district collectors, AP Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) and other suppliers will be given access to the portal with user IDs and Passwords, the District Collector will forward the consolidated demand to APCMA and it will then allocate the suppliers based on the quantity of cement.
- It connects various stakeholders such as Cement Manufacturers Association, manufacturing companies and government departments.
- This portal will help reduce the waiting time of buyers & will also complete the project on time without any delay & increases the accountability & transparency in the process.
- The State held a meeting with the cement manufacturers in February & decided that all the government departments should procure cement at Rs 225 for Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) & Rs 235 for Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) a bag including Goods and Service Tax (GST).
- All those supplies will be made in red bags by the cement companies, to distinguish it from private supplies and also to prevent misuse.
Extra Shots:
Andhra Pradesh:
- Capital: Amravati
- Chief Minister: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
- Governor: Biswabhusan Harichandan
INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
North Korea test-fired multiple short-range anti-ship missiles
- North Korea launched multiple short-range anti-ship cruise missiles into the sea. Also, Sukhoi jets fired air-to-surface missiles as part of its ongoing military exercises. The information was passed by South Korea’s military.
Missile Test:
- The missile test was launched at around 7 am on 14 April.
- The anti-ship missiles plunged into the sea more than 150 km off the east coast town of Munchon and the Sukhois carried out firing tests.
- These tests are expected to be the part of wintertime drills which North Korea has been carrying out in recent weeks after coronavirus concerns caused delays.
- North Korea was conducting weeks of military drills, including several launches of short-range ballistic missiles despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, the country had fired nine ballistic missiles in four rounds of tests.
- Also, the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had visited an airbase and observed drills by the country’s fighter jets and attack aircraft.
Extra Shots:
North Korea (Cpital/Currency): Pyongyang/Won
- President: Kim Jong-un
SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the virtual session of the 2nd G20
- Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting on 15 April. The meeting was held under the Saudi Arabian Presidency.
- The Ministers discussed the global economic outlook amid the evolving COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
Highlights:
- Saudi Arabia was appreciated for its tireless efforts in delivering on the outcomes as mandated by the G20 Leaders during the Extraordinary Leaders’ Summit.
- As per the direction, Saudi prepared the G20 Action Plan in Response to COVID-19.
- The Action Plan was prepared with an aim to protect lives, safeguard jobs and incomes. It also included measures to restore confidence, preserve financial stability, revive growth and recover stronger.
- The plan included providing help to countries that need assistance, coordinate on public health and financial measures and minimize disruption to the global supply chain.
India:
- Finance Minister highlighted the role of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in safeguarding the lives and livelihood of people while maintaining macroeconomic stability in a sustainable manner.
- Sitharaman stated that India has disbursed financial assistance amounting to $3.9 billion to more than 320 million people on direct benefit transfer through digital technology so that the exposure of beneficiaries to public places is minimized.
- The monetary policy measures undertaken by GoI, Reserve Bank of India and other regulators have helped de-freeze the market and catalyze credit flows.
AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED
BSNL in partnership with SBI launches Bharat InstaPay a UPI-based payment platform
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in partnership with the State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based payment platform, Bharat InstaPay to enable all types of channel partners of BSNL to digitize their payment transactions on a round the clock basis/ real- time basis.
Highlights:
- In particular it will help the prepaid sellers to buy the services immediately for sale.
- It will improve BSNL’s credibility towards partners, & will help in growth of partners’ business at a faster pace.
- 1 time online verification process is introduced, which is to be done by the partners themselves by visiting the portal.
Extra Shots:
BSNL:
- Headquarters: New Delhi, India
- Chairman & Managing Director: Pravin Kumar Purwar
SBI:
- Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Chairman: Rajnish Kumar
APPOINTMENT
Ajay Mahajan becomes new MD & CEO of “CARE Ratings”
- Ajay Mahajan has been appointed as Managing Director & Chief Executive of credit rating agency “CARE Ratings”.
- He will replace Rajesh Mokashi, who resigned in December 2019.
- Mahajan started his career with Bank of America in 1990 and went on to become MD & Country Head of Global Markets Group.
- Ajay Mahajan earlier worked at IDFC First Bank.
Extra Shots:
CARE Ratings:
- Headquarters: India
- Founded: 1993
- CEO: Ajay Mahajan
Vineet Arora becomes new MD & CEO of Paytm General Insurance Ltd
- Paytm has appointed Vineet Arora as new managing director and chief executive officer of Paytm General Insurance Ltd.
- Prior to this, he has served as managing director and chief executive officer of Aegon Life Insurance Company.
- The appointment is a step for Paytm to further its journey into the insurance sector with an instantaneous specialise in general insurance.
Extra Shots:
Paytm:
- Founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
- Founded: August 2010, Noida
- CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
- Parent organization: One97 Communications
MS Dhoni appointed as the brand ambassador of PokerStars India
- PokerStars India has appointed former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its new brand ambassador.
- Prior to MS Dhoni’s appointment popular Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui was the brand ambassador of the company.
- Muskan Sethi and Sharad Rao are the other brand ambassadors of PokerStars India, while Aditya Agarwal quit the brand in December 2019.
- PokerStars India’s motive to bring MS Dhoni on board is aimed at increasing its market share in the industry as the cricketer has a fan following among millions of Indians.
- Currently, the brand is at rank four for player traffic among poker sites.
Novelis Inc. of Hindalco acquired US’s Aleris for $2.8 billion deal
- The Aditya Birla group’s Hindalco Industries Ltd. has acquired Aleris Corporation through its wholly owned subsidiary Novelis Inc. for an enterprise value of $2.8 billion (Rs 21,295 crores). Hindalco is now one of the world’s largest aluminium makers.
- This acquisition took place after 2 years of signing the deal. It’s deadline was January 2020 but was delayed due to regulatory hurdles.
- Novelis will acquire Aleris’ 13 plants across North America, Europe and Asia.
- Aleris Corp was Ohio, United States (US)-based aluminium rolled products maker and has long-term supply contracts with aircraft makers Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier.
- The acquisition will also give Hindalco access to the aluminium supply market for the building and construction segments.
Extra Shots:
Hindalco:
- Headquarter: Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Managing Director :Satish Pai
Novelis Inc.
- Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
- President and Chief Executive Officer : Steve Fisher
- Parent Company: Hindalco Industries
AWARDS
Abdelouahab Aissaoui bags 13th International Arab fiction prize 2020
- Algerian writer Abdelouahab Aissaoui wins 13th International Arab fiction prize 2020.
- They awarded for his novel ‘The Spartan Court’ published by Dar Min in 2018.
- He will receive USD 50,000 and funding will be provided for the English translation.
- ‘The Spartan Court’ is a historical novel that relates the power struggle between Ottoman and French colonial powers in Algeria where it interconnects the lives of 5 characters in Algiers at the beginning of the 19th century (1815 to 1833).
Extra Shots:
International Arab fiction prize
- International Arab fiction prize s the most prestigious and important literary prize in the Arab world.
- The Prize is run with the support of The Booker Prize Foundation in London and is funded by the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi (DCT).
Tata Power wins Edison Award for social innovation
- Tata Power bags Edison Award for social innovation.
- The company bags the awards for its ‘Club Enerji #Switchoff2SwitchOn’ campaign.
- It has brought about 533 participating schools across India, saving over 29.8 million units of power since its inception in 2007.
- Tata Power is India’s largest integrated power company and has an installed capacity of 10,763 megawatts together with its subsidiaries and jointly controlled entities.
Extra Shots:
Edison Award:
- The Edison Awards honours the world’s best innovations and innovators.
- It is to honour excellence in new product and service development, marketing, design and innovation.
- The award winners represent products and services, leadership and excellence in innovation around four criteria: Concept, Value, Delivery, and Impact.
- It is established in 1987 in the memory of Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931).
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
NIT-Karnataka develops cost-effective disinfectant chamber called ‘ZERO-COV’
- A team of researchers from National Institute of Technology-Karnataka (NIT-K) at Surathkal, has designed a disinfection chamber called ‘ZERO-COV’ to disinfect personal protective equipment (PPE) tools, surgical masks, vegetables, packaged food items, currency notes and other day-to-day items within 15 minutes.
Highlights:
- The chamber, developed by Arun M Isloor, professor and Head of the Department of Chemistry at NIT-K, along with research scholar Syed Ibrahim, built on an old unused refrigerator and consumes 254 nanometres (nm) wavelength of C-type UV(Ultraviolet) radiation that can destruct or inactivate all surface contamination bacteria and viruses up to 99.9 %, including coronavirus.
- The chamber has been equipped with three UV- C lamps each consuming 11 watts of power to provide the radiation. It can be placed at the entrance of the house or office.
- This technology has been recommended by WHO (World Health Organization) & is being accepted by the scientific community for surface disinfection.
OBITUARIES
Veteran actor Ranjit Chowdhry passes away
- Film, television and theatre actor Ranjit Chowdhry has passed away. Ranjit was best known for his work in movies Baton Baton Mein, Mississippi Masala, Khubsoorat and Bollywood/Hollywood.
- Actor Ranjit Chowdhry made his silver screen debut with movie “Khatta Meetha” in 1978 and later worked in various films such as Baton Baton Mein, Khubsoorat, Bandit Queen and Kaante.
