Current Affairs Today 21st April 2020-Download in PDF

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Current Affairs Today – 21st April 2020

NEWS AT A GLANCE

1. The Government of India celebrates Civil Services Day on 21st April every year.
2. World Creativity and Innovation Day is observed globally on 21 April every year.
3. Secretary’s day or Administrative Professionals Day is observed on 21 April in India.
4. World Earth Day 2020 will be celebrated digitally on April 22 due to the global COVID-19 lockdown.
5. Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India(ICICI) bank starts a new feature of voice banking services on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for their customers.
6. The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare of Government of India has taken several measures to facilitate the farmers and farming activities at field level during the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic.
7. The distribution of 1 kg free pulses every month to every ration cardholder has been started by the government under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
8. In order to check the spread of fake news on social media, Press Information Bureau has set up a dedicated unit to bust rumours getting viral on the social media.
9. Chandigarh city uses Vehicle tracking applications and GPS (Global Positioning System) enabled smartwatches for waste collection drivers in its fight against COVID-19 pandemic.
10. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) constructed bridge over Subansiri river in Arunachal Pradesh in a record span of just 27 days.
11. Sikkim State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Ltd (SIMFED) today launched a mobile ration van in Gangtok, for doorstep delivery of essential commodities and food.
12. In order to provide health services in the wake of COVID-19 Pandemic, the Himachal Pradesh Health Department has come up with a unique idea of providing free online medical consultation to sick people at their residence through e-sanjeevani-opd.
13. The Assorted Condiments kit scheme of the Tamil Nadu State Government was inaugurated by the State Cooperative department Minister Shri Selluur K Raju in Madurai
14. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) constructed the Daporijo bridge over the Subansiri river.
15. US President Donald Trump announced on April 20, 2020 that he will be signing an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States.
16. US President Donald Trump has appointed Indian-American Sudarsanam Babu to the National Science Board in the United States.
17. Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the 5th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of New Development Bank (NDB) through video-conference in New Delhi on 20 April.
18. Union Minister for Human Resource Development (MHRD) Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ held a detailed review of the National online education platform SWAYAM and the 32 DTH Television Education Channels SWAYAM PRABHA in New Delhi on 20 April.
19. The Economic Advisory Council of the Fifteenth Finance Commission (XIV-FC) has been scheduled to meet on 23-24 April 2020.
20. Supreme Court Collegium led by the chief justice of India, Sharad Arvind Bobde has recommended the appointment of new Chief Justices for the Bombay, Orissa and Meghalaya High Courts.
21. Kapil Dev Tripathi has been appointed as the Secretary to the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind.
22. Rana Ashutosh Kumar Singh, CGM, Chandigarh Circle, SBI, has been elevated as Deputy Managing Director.
23. Private sector lender City Union Bank reappointed N Kamakodi as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bank.
24. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc wins the Formula One Esports Chinese Virtual Grand Prix championship.
25. A book titled “How the Onion Got Its Layers” authored by Sudha Murty was published by Puffin.
26. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on April 17 announced that it will launch astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to International Space Station (ISS) on May 27, 2020.
27. Oscar-winning illustrator and animator, Gene Deitch who directed timeless classic cartoon series Tom and Jerry and Popeye, passed away at the age of 95.
28. BMW Group President and CEO Rudratej Singh has passed away.
29. Former Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase has passed away
30. The Chief of Staff to Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari, 70, passed away due to Covid-19.

NEWS IN DETAILS

IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES

Civil Services Day observed on 21st April

• The Government of India celebrates Civil Services Day on 21st April every year.

Aim:

• The Civil Services Day celebrates all the civil servants who dedicated their lives to the cause of citizens.
• It also aims to renew their commitments to public service and excellence in work.

Events:

• On this day, the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration will be awarded to the Districts and Implementing Units for implementation of Priority program and innovation categories.
• These awards are presented every year.
• The day connects the civil servants with each other and learns the good practices being implemented across the nation in the field of public grievance.

History:

• Civil Services Day is celebrated to commemorate the day when the first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers in 1947 at Metcalf House, Delhi. In his address, he referred to civil servants as the ‘steel frame of India’.
• The day was first celebrated on 21 April 2006 in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

World Creativity and Innovation Day: 21 April

• World Creativity and Innovation Day is observed globally on 21 April every year.

Objective:

• This day is celebrated to raise awareness around the importance of creativity and innovation in problem-solving with respect to advancing the United Nations sustainable development goals, also known as the “global goals”.
• The main objective of the day is to encourage people to use new ideas, make new decisions, and do creative thinking.

History:

• World Creativity and Innovation Day (WCID) was founded on 25 May 2001 in Toronto, Canada.
• The founder of the day was the Canadian Marci Segal.
• Segal was studying creativity in 1977 at the International Center for Studies in Creativity.
• The United Nations on 27 April 2017 resolved to include World Creativity and Innovation Day on 21 April as a Day of observance to raise importance among people about the use of their creativity in problem-solving for all issues that may be related to achieving the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals.

Extra Shots:

UN: The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations.

• Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
• Founded: 24 October 1945, San Francisco, California, United States
• Official languages: Arabic; Chinese; English; French; Russian; Spanish;
• Secretary general: António Guterres

Secretarys day is observed on 21 April

• Secretary’s day or Administrative Professionals Day is observed on 21 April in India.
• The day aims to celebrate the administrative professionals who work as the glue in keeping a business together.
• The Secretary’s week is observed on the last full week in April of each year.
• The two new names of the word “Secretary” used these days are “Administrative Professionals” and “Executive Administrators.”

World Earth Day 2020 to be celebrated amid COVID-19

• World Earth Day 2020 will be celebrated digitally on April 22 due to the global COVID-19 lockdown.
• The organisers have asked the people to celebrate the day with hope, optimism, and action while encouraging safety.
• The celebration of this day usually involves going out and spreading awareness which won’t be possible amid the lockdown.
• However, the official site Earth.org has lined up online programs for the people who wish to contribute to the cause.
• World Earth Day 2020 will be celebrated all over the world to spread awareness for Earth’s wellbeing and to encourage people to support environmental protection.
• This year would have marked the 50th anniversary of the Earth day.

Significance:

• World Earth Day encourages people to take more steps for the protection of nature and to thank mother earth for the rich environment.
• This day also helps in analysing the condition of the planet and to formulate a unified response to save the climate. It is a reminder that clean air, flourishing forests, and water are crucial for life on Earth.

Theme:

• ‘Climate Action’ is a theme of World Earth Day 2020

BANKING AND FINANCE CURRENT AFFAIRS

ICICI Bank launches voice banking services for their customers

• Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India(ICICI) bank starts a new feature of voice banking services on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for their customers.
• The service will enable customers to #BankWithTheirVoice and get answers to banking queries, check account balance & transactions, credit card due date and more.
• The company’s new voice banking service uses an omnichannel bot called iPal to allow users to interact with virtual assistants on Alexa or Google Assistant-powered devices.
• Bank customers not only ask their banking queries but also apply for a new product, locate their nearest branch or ATM, check for their account balance and new offers, recharge various services and transfer funds etc.

Extra Shots:

ICICI Bank:

• Founded: 5 January 1994
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Managing Director & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi
• Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka

NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

GoI released Rs.17,793 crore Under PM-KISAN Scheme farmer families during lockdown

• The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare of Government of India has taken several measures to facilitate the farmers and farming activities at field level during the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Measures:

• Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme, over 8.89 crore farmer families have been benefitted. A total amount of Rs.17,793 crore has been released so far.
• The Government has decided to distribute pulses to the eligible households under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY). It aimed to provide food security during the COVID-19 pandemic. About 107,077.85 MT pulses have been issued to the States/Union Territories so far.
• Under PMGKY, the States/UTs namely Andaman and Nicobar, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Diu, Goa, Gujarat have commenced the distribution of pulses to the beneficiaries. The other states like Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal have received the partial stock. The states will commence the distribution to the beneficiaries in a phased manner as per their plan.
• The distribution of pulses under PMGKY will benefit around 19.50 crore households spread across 36 States and UTs.

Extra Shots:

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, a branch of the Government of India, is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws related to agriculture in India. The three broad areas of scope for the Ministry are agriculture, food processing and co-operation. Wikipedia

• Founded: 1947
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Jurisdiction: India

19.5 crore households to get free pulses by the government

• The distribution of 1 kg free pulses every month to every ration cardholder has been started by the government under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
• 5 crore households will be getting free pulses for three months till June under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PM-GKY). The measures are taken to provide relief to vulnerable sections during COVID-19 lockdown.
• As per the agriculture department official, the distribution of pulses under the PM-GKY scheme will be across 36 states and union territories.

Highlights:

• Around 1.08 lakh tonnes pulses have been issued so far to the States and UT’s. The distribution of the pulses will be across states and Union Territories.
• States like Chattisgarh, Chandigarh, Gujarat, and Goa have already commenced the distribution of pulses to the beneficiaries.
• Other states like Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Delhi have received the stock from the government. The distribution will begin in a phased manner as per the plan formulated by the states.

PIB sets up dedicated unit to bust rumours getting viral on social media

• In order to check the spread of fake news on social media, Press Information Bureau has set up a dedicated unit to bust rumours getting viral on the social media.
• ‘PIBFactCheck’ is a verified handle on Twitter that continuously monitors trending messages on social media platforms and conducts comprehensive review of its contents to bust fake news
• Any person can submit to PIBFactCheck any social media message, including text, audio and video, to check its authenticity.
• These can be submitted online on the link https://factcheck.pib.gov.in/ or on Whatsapp No 91-8799711259 or email to pibfactcheck@gmail.com.

STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS

Chandigarh city uses Vehicle tracking applications for waste collecting in COVID-19 pandemic

• Chandigarh city uses Vehicle tracking applications and GPS (Global Positioning System) enabled smartwatches for waste collection drivers in its fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

Waste Collection:

• The city has allocated 15 vehicles with a team of drivers and helpers equipped with Personal protective equipment (PPE) kits were deputed for collection and transportation of waste from Quarantines households. Quarantined households were divided into four zones supervised by one supervisor each.
• All the drivers of these collection vehicles wear GPS enabled smartwatch under the e-Human Resource Tracking Project (E-HRTS). The movement of all vehicles is tracked through these smartwatches through a dashboard. The sole target of this tracking is to ensure that no Quarantined household should be left out.

Other Measures:

• Public places are sanitized regularly. Sanitization of dense areas/ slums and mandis is being carried out using Drones.
• The migrant-worker shelter has been set up where pre-cooked food is being served to the workers.
• For urban poor, the city government has tied up with civil society, private sector, restaurants and various donors for distribution of food, soap, sanitary napkins and ration through NULM and Vendor cell network.
• Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) has developed Google forms to identify requirements of shopkeepers and maintained the supply chain by making it available to the distributors.
• Municipal Corporation in collaboration with Chandigarh Transport Undertaking also started delivering fruits and vegetables at a neighbourhood level on a regular basis. The service is available to all 12 lakh citizens and is being utilized across the city by over one and a half lakh households.
• Doorstep distribution of Personal Hygiene kits which includes masks, sanitizers, sanitary napkins, baby diapers, soap, disinfectants such as Dettol, Savlon, etc.; 500kg of dry ready to eat oatmeal; 4 days dry Ration including Wheat flour 10kg, pulses, sugar 1 kg each, mustard oil 1 litre, half kg detergent and 200gm pickles to urban poor households was carried out in the city to avoid COVID-19 spread.

BRO constructs bridge in record time on a key road connecting strategic areas in AP

• Border Roads Organisation (BRO) constructed bridge over Subansiri river in Arunachal Pradesh in a record span of just 27 days.
• Chief Minister Pema Khandu inaugurated the bridge today over video conferencing and opened it for public use.
• Amidst the nationwide lockdown, BRO undertook the developmental work for construction of the Daporijo bridge maintaining utmost precautions against COVID-19.
• The bridge is of utmost importance in strategic connectivity as it links roads leading upto the LAC between India and China.
• The construction has been done keeping in view of the future Infrastructure based developmental requirements of Upper Subansiri district in the state.

Extra Shots:

BRO: The Border Roads Organisation develops and maintains road networks in India’s border areas and friendly neighboring countries. Officers from the Border Roads Engineering Service and personnel from the General Reserve Engineer Force form the parent cadre of the Border Roads Organisation.

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Director General: Lt. Gen.Harpal Singh
• Motto: everything is achievable through hardwork…, ‘Shramena Sarvam Sadhyam’
• Founder: Jawaharlal Nehru
• Founded: 7 May 1960

SIMFED launches mobile ration van in Gangtok

• Sikkim State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Ltd (SIMFED) today launched a mobile ration van in Gangtok, for doorstep delivery of essential commodities and food.
• Sikkim agriculture minister Lok Nath Sharma launched the van.SIMFED’s van will deliver essential commodities like rice, mustard oil, pulse, flour, sugar, salt and soaps at reasonable rates. All preventive measures like social distancing at selling points will be strictly adhered to, he assured.
• Managing Director of SIMFED Pawan Awasthy said that the cooperative will work according to the route plan and customers will be informed in advance about the movement of the mobile ration van.
• He also informed that provisions for cashless transactions are being made for the facility.

Extra Shots:

Sikkim:

• Capital: Gangtok
• Chief Minister: Pawan Kumar Chamling
• Governor: Ganga Prasad
• Literacy Rate: 81.42%

Himachal Pradesh to provide free online medical consultation to sick people through e-sanjeevani-opd

• In order to provide health services in the wake of COVID-19 Pandemic, the Himachal Pradesh Health Department has come up with a unique idea of providing free online medical consultation to sick people at their residence through e-sanjeevani-opd.
• This free online health service has been started throughout the state and now people can consult to take health advice from the doctors of different medical colleges from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM on all working days.
• The state government with the health department has come up with an idea of ‘esanjeevaniopd’ through which general health advice will be provided to the people at their residence throughout the state.
• Under ‘esanjeevaniopd’, 16 doctors of various medical colleges of state will provide free health care advice on all working days from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM.
• To take advantage of this facility one should have a computer, laptop, tablet with webcam mike, speaker and internet connection.
• To avail, free medical consultation one has to log in to ‘esanjeevaniopd.in’.

Extra Shots:

Himachal Pradesh:

• State formed on: 25 January 1971
• Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya
• Chief Justice: Lingappa Narayana Swamy
• Chief Minister: Jai Ram Thakur
• Official language: Hindi

Assorted Condiments kit scheme inaugurated in Tamil Nadu

• The Assorted Condiments kit scheme of the Tamil Nadu State Government was inaugurated by the State Cooperative department Minister Shri Selluur K Raju in Madurai
• This is part of the state government’s tireless efforts to make it easier for people to remain at home
• The kits will be sold at the rate of Rs 500.00 through ration shops and co operative outlets.

Extra Shots:

Tamilnadu

• Capital: Chennai
• Chief Minister: Edappadi K.Palanisamy
• Governor: Banwarilal Purohit
• Chief Justice of Madras High Court: Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani
• National Park: Guindy NP,Gulf of Mannar Marine NP, Indira Gandhi (Annamalai) NP,             Mudumalai NP, Mukurthi NP.

Daporijo bridge was inaugurated in Arunachal pradesh for traffic movement

• Border Roads Organisation (BRO) constructed the Daporijo bridge over the Subansiri river.
• Despite nationwide lockdown, BRO constructed it, keeping in mind utmost precautions against COVID-19 and to connect the strategic Line of Communication in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The bridge was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Arunachal Shri Pema Khandu over video conferencing and open for traffic movement from 20 April.

Daporijo bridge:

• Bridge on the Daporijo River is a strategic link towards the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China. All supplies, rations, constructional material and medicines pass over this bridge.
• The Old Bridge developed cracks which could lead to a major catastrophe. With the intervention of DGBR and CE Arunank, expeditious sanctions were obtained from the Ministry of Defence and Arunachal Government.
• Work for construction of the bridge began on 17 March 2020. After 27 days on 14 April 2020, the bridge was jacked down successfully and safely on the supports.
• The bridge was successfully upgraded from class 24 tons to class 40 tons. This will now allow heavier vehicles to pass catering for not only Army requirements but the future Infrastructure development requirements of Upper Subansiri district.

Extra Shots:

Arunachal Pradesh:

• Statehood day: 20 February 1987
• Governor: Brig. (Dr.) B.D. Mishra (Retd.)
• Chief Minister: Pema Khandu
• Capital: Itanagar
• Districts: 25
• Official languages: English
• Literacy: 66.95%

INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

US President to temporarily suspend immigration to US amid COVID-19 outbreak

• US President Donald Trump announced on April 20, 2020 that he will be signing an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States.
• Trump made the announcement on Twitter.
• The curb on immigration was the US President’s long-term policy goal, which has been made possible due to the ongoing health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective :

• The US President justified his announcement by saying that he was doing this to protect the US workforce.
• Currently, millions of Americans are facing unemployment after several companies laid off their employees amid nationwide lockdown to stop the rapid spread of novel coronavirus.

Extra Shots:

USA (Capital/Currency): Washington, D.C./ United States Dollar

• President: Donald Trump
• Official languages: English

US President appoints Indian-American Sudarsanam Babu to National Science Board

• US President Donald Trump has appointed Indian-American Sudarsanam Babu to the National Science Board in the United States.
• The White House made the announcement on April 20, 2020.
• Sudarsanam Babu has been appointed as a member of the National Science Board for a six-year term.
• The Indian American is from the prestigious Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The Indian-American’s appointment was an announcement with several other key administrative appointments.

Note:

• Sudarsanam Babu would be the third Indian American in the National Science Board.
• The other two include Sethuraman Panchanathan from the Arizona State University and Suresh V Garimella from the University of Vermont.

Extra Shots:

USA (Capital/Currency): Washington, D.C./ United States Dollar

• President: Donald Trump
• Official languages: English

SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES

Finance Minister attended 5th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of NDB

• Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the 5th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of New Development Bank (NDB) through video-conference in New Delhi on 20 April.

Conference Highlights:

• NDB’s efforts to deliver its mandate successfully by taking a more sustainable and inclusive approach were highlighted.
• The Minister discussed the bank’s effort on fast-tracking of financial assistance of about $5 billion to BRICS countries including Emergency Assistance of $1 billion India to combat COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Bank has directed the bank’s assistance under this facility to be enhanced to $10 billion.
• The bank has initiated the creation of a COVID-19 Emergency Fund and supported India’s efforts in supplying critical medicine to the needy countries to tackle the COVID-19.
• The various measurements of the bank to support India in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic include an allocation of $2 Billion by GoI to strengthen the healthcare system.
• It also announced a scheme of social support measures amounting to $25 Billion to alleviate the hardship of the poor and the vulnerable and provided insurance cover of $67,000 per person to over 2.2 million frontline health workers.
• It also provides others provision of relief to firms in statutory and regulatory compliance matters and easing of monetary policy by the RBI.
• It was suggested that the bank take appropriate measures to join the G-20 forum along with other Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and the International Financial Institutions (IFIs).

Extra Shots:

NDB: The New Development Bank, formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states. According to the Agreement on the NDB, “the Bank shall support public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments.”

• Headquarters location: Shanghai, China
• President: K. V. Kamath
• Founder: BRICS
• Founded: 15 July 2014, Fortaleza, State of Ceará, Brazil
• Abbreviation: NDB, or NDB BRICS
• First president: K. V. Kamath

Ramesh Pokhriyal chaired the review meeting on SWAYAM and SWAYAM Prabha in New Delhi

• Union Minister for Human Resource Development (MHRD) Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ held a detailed review of the National online education platform SWAYAM and the 32 DTH Television Education Channels SWAYAM PRABHA in New Delhi on 20 April. During the lockdown, there occurred a tremendous increase in demand and the usage of SWAYAM Courses and SWAYAM PRABHA videos.

Highlights:

SWAYAM:

• SWAYAM was launched in 2017 by MHRD, GoI. Currently, there are 1902 courses available in SWAYAM. It has been offered to 1.56 crore students. Over 26 lakh students are taking 574 courses on offer.
• SWAYAM 2.0 also supports the launch of Online degree programs. Mapping of SWAYAM courses to the AICTE model curriculum has been done, gaps identified. A similar exercise for non-technical courses is underway by a committee of UGC.
• It was decided that all the 1900 SWAYAM Courses and 60000 SWAYAM PRABHA videos would be translated into ten regional languages and made available to the students so that more benefits can be derived from the same. The whole project has been scheduled to be completed in a time-bound manner.
• MHRD has announced to provide more courses under SWAYAM, appropriate incentives for their career will be provided. Also, UGC was asked to prepare guidelines regarding online and Distance learning guidelines to increase Gross Enrolment Ratio.

SWAYAM Prabha:

• The SWAYAM PRABHA is a group of 32 Direct-to-home television (DTH) channels devoted to telecasting high-quality educational programs on 24X7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite. There will be new content for a minimum of 4 hours which will be repeated 5 more times in a day, allowing the students to choose the time of their convenience.
• SWAYAM Prabha has been directed to redistribute the channels to match available content, and viewership shall be explored. It was also decided to enrich the content in SWAYAM PRABHA by collecting content from those who are willing to contribute the same under Vidya Daan Programme. For the translation of the content of four IIT-PAL channels, CBSE, NIOS shall provide all assistance to IIT-Delhi. This matter shall be followed up by JS( IEC) in MHRD.

Advisory Council of the 15th Finance Commission to meet on 23-24 April

• The Economic Advisory Council of the Fifteenth Finance Commission (XIV-FC) has been scheduled to meet on 23-24 April 2020.
• The online meeting will be presided by Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission Shri  K. Singh.
• The meeting will be attended by all the Members, Senior Officials of the Finance Commission and the 5 Members of the Council including Dr.Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Dr.Sajjid Z Chinoy, Dr.Prachi Mishra, Mr.Neelkanth Mishra and Dr. Omkar Goswami on 23 April 2020.
• The meeting with the remaining Members of the Council will be held on the next day 24 April, 2020.

Agenda:

• The meeting will discuss the implications of the pandemic for GDP growth in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
• The Ministers and officials will discuss the uncertainty about macro variables over time.
• Discussions will include possible assumptions for tax buoyancy and revenue in 2020 & 2021 and idea to the public expenditure fillip to shore up the economy.

APPOINTMENT

New chief justices at Bombay, Meghalaya & Orissa high courts

• Supreme Court Collegium led by the chief justice of India, Sharad Arvind Bobde has recommended the appointment of new Chief Justices for the Bombay, Orissa and Meghalaya High Courts.

HIGH COURT	NEW APPOINTED	PREVIOUSLY	REPLACED
Bombay High Court	Justice Dipankar Datta	Calcutta High Court	Justice BP Dharmadhikari
Meghalaya High Court	Justice Biswanath Somadder	Allahabad High Court	Justice Mohammad Rafiq.
Orissa High Court	Justice Mohammad Rafiq	Meghalaya High Court	Justice Sanju Panda

Kapil Dev Tripathi becomes new Secretary to President of India

• Kapil Dev Tripathi has been appointed as the Secretary to the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind.
• He will replace Sanjay Kothari, who was selected as the Chief Vigilance Commissioner in February.
• The appointment of Kapil Dev Tripathi has been approved by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kapil Dev Tripathi is 1980-batch retired IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
• Prior to this, he was retired as the Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in June 2018.

Rana Ashutosh elevated as Dy MD of SBI

• Rana Ashutosh Kumar Singh, CGM, Chandigarh Circle, SBI, has been elevated as Deputy Managing Director.
• He has handled various assignments in different areas of banking.
• He started his career as a probationary officer in 1991 and has since handled many important assignments in various capacities in branch banking, corporate credit, human resources and international banking.
• Prior to taking charge of the Chandigarh Circle, Singh was heading operations of the bank in Germany as CEO of Frankfurt Branch.

Extra Shots:

SBI:

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman: Rajnish Kumar

N Kamakodi reappointed as MD and CEO of City Union Bank

• Private sector lender City Union Bank reappointed N Kamakodi as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bank.
• The appointment was approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 20 April. Kamakodi’s reappointment is for a further period of three years with effect.
• The reappointment will be effective from 1 May 2020.
• Kamakodi has been associated with the City Union Bank since 2003.
• He was elevated as MD and CEO in 2011.

Extra Shots:

City Union Bank:

• Founded on: 31 October 1904
• Founded by: R.Santhanam Iyer, S.Krishna Iyer, V.Krishnaswami Iyengar
• Headquarters: Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu
• Chairman: R. Mohan
• MD & CEO: Dr. N. Kamakodi

SPORTS CURRENT AFFAIRS

Charles Leclerc wins Chinese Virtual Grand Prix

• Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc wins the Formula One Esports Chinese Virtual Grand Prix championship.
• Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the actual F1 races are not being held. In its place, Formula 1 has announced new F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix series.
• The virtual races will run instead of each delayed Grand Prix.
• The Virtual Grand Prix series to use the official F1 2019 PC video game, developed by Codemasters.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

A book titled “How the Onion Got Its Layers” authored by Sudha Murty

• A book titled “How the Onion Got Its Layers” authored by Sudha Murty was published by Puffin.
• The book is being released in its e-book and audio form for young children.

Highlights:

• The book seeks answers to several questions related to the bulb like its many layers and why it brings tears to the eyes when cut.
• “How the Onion Got Its Layers” marks the first ever audio book by Murty and will be released on World Book Day, ie, April 23, 2020.
• This is the second book of the Chapter series by Murty, the first being “How the Sea Became Salty”.
• About Sudha Murty: She is an Indian engineering teacher, Kannada and English author. She serves as the Chairperson of the Infosys Foundation and a member of the public health care initiatives of the Gates Foundation.
• Sudha Murty is the recipient of the R.K. Narayan Award for Literature (2006), the Padma Shri (2006) and the Attimabbe Award from the Government of Karnataka for excellence in Kannada literature (2011).

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NASA to launch first crewed US mission to space station since 2011

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on April 17 announced that it will launch astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to International Space Station (ISS) on May 27, 2020.
• Since the retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program in 2011, it will be the first time that the rocket will carry astronauts from the United States.
• The lift-off will be from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre.
• Due to COVID-19, there will be no line of spectators on the beaches and viewing sites as there always have been at the launch of every US mission.
• Alan Shepard was the first American to reach space in 1961.

Highlights:

• The astronauts will be launched to International Space Station (ISS) in Crew Dragon spacecraft by SpaceX.
• Only a limited number of reporters will be allowed and NASA will not any public members.
• After the launch on May 27, the astronauts will spend as long as 110 days in space and they will return on Crew Dragon Capsule. Both the astronauts, Hurley and Behnken are veteran astronauts and former military test pilots who previously flew on space shuttle missions.
• Due to COVID-19, NASA has shut down many activities but has maintained all ISS related activities.

Extra Shots:

NASA: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.

• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• Preceding agency: NACA (1915–1958);
• Founder: Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Founded: 29 July 1958, United States
• Employees: 17,219 (2019)

OBITUARIES

Tom and Jerry director, Oscar winning animated filmmaker Gene Deitch passes away at 95

• Oscar-winning illustrator and animator, Gene Deitch who directed timeless classic cartoon series Tom and Jerry and Popeye, passed away at the age of 95.
• Gene Deitch was an American Oscar-winning illustrator, animator, film director and producer.
• According to media reports, Deitch passed away at his apartment Prague’s Little Quarter neighborhood, as confirmed by his Czech publisher, Petr Himmel.

BMW India CEO & President Rudratej Singh passes away

• BMW Group President and CEO Rudratej Singh has passed away.
• Rudratej was the first Indian to lead the BMW India operations.
• He was appointed as the head of India operations from August 1, 2019.
• He had also held multiple leadership positions in the automotive as well as non-automotive industry.
• Rudratej Singh had earlier served as the Global President at Royal Enfield and had also worked with Unilever in both India and international markets for more than 16 years.

Former Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase passes away

• Former Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase has passed away.
• He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006.
• He was also the founder of Soqosoqo Duavata Ni Lewenivanua Party.
• Laisenia Qarase was a civil servant before becoming a politician and the prime minister of Fiji in 2000.
• He became the prime minister of Fiji after the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry’s government.
• He was removed from power in 2006 after a military coup which was led by Frank Bainimarama.

Nigeria President Buhari’s chief of staff Abba Kyari passes away

• The Chief of Staff to Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari, 70, passed away due to Covid-19.
• The COS died 26 days after he tested positive to Covid-19, which is currently wreaking havoc around the world, having recently returned from a trip to Germany
• The federation has praised Kyari for his contribution to Nigerian Football.

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