Current Affairs Today 22nd April 2020-Download in PDF

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Current Affairs Today – 22nd April 2020

NEWS AT A GLANCE

1. Earth Day or International Mother Earth Day is observed globally on 22 April every year.
2. Technology Information, Forecasting, and Assessment Council (TIFAC), an autonomous Government of India prepared a white paper to strategize revival of post-COVID 19 Indian economy.
3. Reliance Industries Limited (“Reliance Industries”), Jio Platforms Limited (“Jio Platforms”) and Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) today announced the signing of binding agreements for an investment of Rs 43,574 crore by Facebook into Jio Platforms.
4. Paytm Payments Bank Ltd. (PPBL) said that it has crossed Rs1,000 crore in deposits and has a total of 57 million savings account holders at present.
5. Indian Railways among the organizations started providing 10,000 water bottles per day to Delhi Police personnel out on the streets in the fight against COVID-19.
6. Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched the COVID India Seva on 21 April.
7. One of the largest and most awarded private radio networks in India, 93.5 RED FM has come-up with a brand new on-air and digital initiative to help people stay calm during the nationwide lockdown with spiritual guide and educationist, Sri M.
8. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan starts an interactive platform ‘COVID India Seva’ to address citizens queries on coronavirus.
9. As India enters lockdown2.0 in the on-going fight against COVID-19 pandemic, all citizens have once again been asked to stay indoors and follow social distancing while outdoors.
10. Domestic Udan flights operate in a hub and the main focus has been on the North East Region, island territories and the hill states.
11. Unacademy, India’s largest learning platform, on Tuesday evening conducted a Live Class for its learners by veteran cricketer Virat Kohli and talented bollywood actor and producer Anushka Sharma as a part of their second edition of ‘Legends on Unacademy’.
12. National Highways Authority of India’s centralized call number 1033 enabled to answer calls and help drivers/cleaners.
13. Arogya Setu app helps people self-assess and track COVID-19 infections more accurately and effectively.
14. Uttar Pradesh government ordered complete sealing of the Delhi-Noida border till further orders as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19 infection in Gautam Budhha Nagar district.
15. Pune Municipal Corporation under Smart Cities Mission (SCM) has launched a mobile application named “Saiyam”.
16. Uttar Pradesh government decides to move forward on plasma therapy to treat the patients of COVID 19 and will increase poll testing of the samples.
17. TCS iON,an strategic business unit of Tata Consultancy Services a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, has partnered with the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE), a statutory body of the Government of Telangana State, to prepare college students in the state for future job readiness.
18. The state government of Rajasthan has partnered with healthcare startup MedCords to launch ‘Aayu & Sehat Sathi app to fight against COVID-19.
19. Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa launched a pilot project for people to order essential goods either by calling over the phone or using WhatsApp during the lockdown put in place to break the chain of coronavirus infections.
20. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar announced that an assistance of Rs 1,000 will be provided to all families that do not have ration cards but were identified by self-help groups of ‘Jeevika’ in the state.
21. The government of Gujarat has given the approval of the third edition of his government’s ‘Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan’ amid Coronavirus lockdown.
22. The Administration of Pathanamthitta district in Kerala has launched a vehicle called ‘Tiranga’ (Total India Remote Analysis Nirogya Abhiyaan) for rapid screening of COVID-19 symptoms.
23. Iran successfully launched a military satellite and the first satellite of the Islamic Republic of Iran successfully launched into orbit by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
24. India and Nepal to fight COVID-19 Pandemic, Ambassador of India to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra handed over 23 tonnes of medicines to Nepal’s Minister for Health and Population Bhanubhakta Dhakal in Kathmandu.
25. Union Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar took part in an Extraordinary virtual meeting of G-20 Agriculture Ministers.
26. To generate awareness about and promote various tourism destinations of India, the Ministry of Tourism has launched the “DekhoApnaDesh” webinar series which provide information on the rich culture and heritage of the country and share the depth and expanse of the destinations in India.
27. The G-20 Extraordinary Agriculture Ministers Meeting was held through Video Conferencing.
28. Global Network Against Food Crises report officially released by the UN World Food program.
29. World Press Freedom Index 2020 murders of journalists in India in 2019, as against six in the year 2018 and the security situation for the country’s media might seem on the face.
30. Tata Consultancy Services ,a leading global IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, and Amway, a global leader in direct selling, have entered into a strategic partnership to transform the latter’s global technology operations.
31. Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) inks partnership with Mastercard to issue virtual and physical debit cards.
32. David Li has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Telecommunications India.
33. HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) Bank appointed Noel Quinn as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He served as the interim CEO of the bank since August 2019.
34. UST Global, a leading digital transformation solutions company, announced that it has won the 2020 most innovative AI application award for societal impact from Microsoft.
35. Adam Higginbotham’s book “Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster” wins the William E. Colby Award.
36. Goa Institute of Management has collaborated with AIM2Flourish, the world’s first higher-education curriculum for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of their Social Responsibility and Action (SRA) course.

NEWS IN DETAILS

IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES

Earth Day observed globally on 22 April

• Earth Day or International Mother Earth Day is observed globally on 22 April every year.
• 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.
• World Earth Day 2020 will mark the 50th Anniversary of the day since it started being observed in 1970.
• Earth Day was renamed officially by the UN in 2009 as International Mother Earth Day.

Theme:

• The theme of Earth Day 2020: Climate Action.
• The organisers stated that the unified action on climate change has distinguished this issue making it the most pressing topic to celebrate the 50th anniversary.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

TIFAC explores best methods to revive Indian economy post COVID-19

• Technology Information, Forecasting, and Assessment Council (TIFAC), an autonomous Government of India prepared a white paper to strategize revival of post-COVID 19 Indian economy.

Highlights:

• The main aim of the document would mainly focus on strengthening Make in India initiatives, commercialization of Indigenous technology, developing a technology-driven transparent Public Distribution System (PDS), efficient rural health care delivery, reduction of import, adoption of emerging technology domains like AI, Machine Learning, Data Analytics and many more.
• The pandemic outbreak affecting the human life of both developed and emerging economies with the impact spread over almost all sectors ranging from manufacturing to trade, transport, tourism, education, healthcare.
• The extent of the economic impact will depend on how the pandemic outbreak unfolds.
• TIFAC’s team of scientists from a range of disciplines is exploring the best methods to revive the Indian economy and reduce the impact on it post COVD 19.
• They are also designing future strategies to face similar situations.
• TIFAC will help in showing a way ahead to strengthen the Indian economy post-COVID-19.

Facebook to Invest Rs 43,574 crore in Jio Platforms For A 9.99% Stake

• Reliance Industries Limited (“Reliance Industries”), Jio Platforms Limited (“Jio Platforms”) and Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) today announced the signing of binding agreements for an investment of Rs 43,574 crore by Facebook into Jio Platforms.

Highlights:

• Facebook’s investment will translate into a 9.99% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis.
• Jio Platforms, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, is a next-generation technology company building a Digital Society for India by bringing together Jio’s leading digital apps, digital ecosystems and India’s #1 high speed connectivity platform under one umbrella.
• Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, which provides connectivity platform to over 388 million subscribers, will continue to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jio Platforms. Jio’s vision is to enable a Digital India for 1.3 billion Indians and Indian businesses, especially small merchants, micro-businesses and farmers.
• The investment values Jio Platforms amongst the top 5 listed companies in India by market capitalization, within just three and a half years of launch of commercial services, validating Reliance Industries’ capability in incubating and building disruptive next-generation businesses, while delivering market defining shareholder value.

Extra Shots:

Facebook, Inc. is an American social media and technology company based in Menlo Park, California.

• CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
• Headquarters: Menlo Park, California, United States
• Founders: Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin, Chris Hughes

Jio: Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, d/b/a Jio, is an Indian telecommunications company and wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries and Facebook, Inc., headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It operates a national LTE network with coverage across all 22 telecom circles.

• Parent organization: Reliance Industries Limited
• Founder: Mukesh Ambani
• Founded: 2007
• Members: 370.07 million; (31 December 2019)
• Subsidiaries: LYF, Reliance Jio Infocomm Pte. Ltd

Paytm Payments Bank crosses Rs1,000 crore in savings account deposits, launches DBT scheme

• Paytm Payments Bank Ltd. (PPBL) said that it has crossed Rs1,000 crore in deposits and has a total of 57 million savings account holders at present.
• According to PPBL, this accelerated rise in the deposits comes on the back of more people embracing digital banking during covid-19.
• The bank has now implemented the option to avail benefits of Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT), which is a scheme by Government of India to transfer the subsidies of various social welfare schemes like LPG gas subsidy, MNREGA payments, Old Age Pension, Scholarships directly into the beneficiary’s bank account.
• PPBL’s savings account holders can opt for DBT by submitting an online request through their Paytm Payments Bank Android app.
• There are no charges for account linking to receive subsidies, and customers can also check the status on their banking app.
• PPBL registers over 4.5 million debit card transactions per month.

Extra Shots:

Paytm: Paytm is an Indian e-commerce payment system and financial technology company, based out of Noida, India.

• Founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
• Founded: August 2010
• CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
• Headquarters: B-121, Sector 5, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
• Revenue: 3,579 crores INR (2019, US$520 million)
• Parent organization: One97 Communications

PPBL:

• Headquarter: Noida, Uttar Pradesh
• CMD: Satish Kumar Gupta

Mastercard:

• Headquarter: New York, United States (US)
• President and CEO: Ajay Banga

NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

Indian Railways providing 10000 water bottles per day to Delhi Police

• Indian Railways among the organizations started providing 10,000 water bottles per day to Delhi Police personnel out on the streets in the fight against COVID-19.
• Indian Railways along with IRCTC, RPF and Zonal Railways distributed 50,000 water bottles in New Delhi.These policemen are performing their duties round the clock to not only to ensure that lockdown is implemented but also accompany doctors and paramedics in various locations under challenging circumstances. Indian Railways also providing hot cooked meals to needy people during the lockdown. Distribution of free hot cooked meals by Indian Railways has crossed the two million mark.

Extra Shots:

Indian Railways is India’s national railway system operated by the Ministry of Railways. It is one of the public facilities given by the government and manages the fourth largest railway network in the world by size, with a route length of 67,368-kilometre as of March 2017.

• Customer service: 139
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Founded: 16 April 1853, India

Harsh Vardhan launched the COVID India Seva

• Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched the COVID India Seva on 21 April.
• The interactive platform aims to establish a direct channel of communication with millions of Indians amid the pandemic.

Highlights:

• The initiative is aimed at enabling transparent e-governance delivery in real-time and answering citizen queries swiftly, at scale, especially in crisis situations like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
• Through this platform, people can pose queries @CovidIndiaSeva and get them responded to in almost real-time.
• @CovidIndiaSeva works off a dashboard at the backend that helps process large volumes of tweets, converts them into resolvable tickets, and assigns them to the relevant authority for real-time resolution.
• Everyone can benefit from the responses received around common queries because of its transparency. It is important to note that the Ministry will respond to broader queries and public health information. This does not require the public to share personal contact details or health record details.

Extra Shots:

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is an Indian government ministry charged with health policy in India. It is also responsible for all government programs relating to family planning in India. The Minister of Health and Family Welfare holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers.

• Founded: 1976
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Jurisdiction: India
• Departments: Department of Health Research, Department of AIDS Control, Suraksha Clinic
• Officeholders: Harsh Vardhan (Minister), Faggan Singh Kulaste (Minister of State)

RED FM launches ‘Mind Detox with Sri M’ to motivate people to stay mentally fit and healthy

• One of the largest and most awarded private radio networks in India, 93.5 RED FM has come-up with a brand new on-air and digital initiative to help people stay calm during the nationwide lockdown with spiritual guide and educationist, Sri M.
• The new segment ‘Mind Detox with Sri M’ will bring motivational speech and inspirational stories to encourage listeners to rejuvenate their minds and take good care of their mental health.
• The segment went on-air from 15th April and will be run during weekdays to help people cope-up amidst challenging times.
• The segment is also available as a podcast on the RED FM app.

Objective:

• The nationwide lockdown has brought challenges for all of us in some form or the other. While a lot of us have also adopted this phase as an opportunity to explore new hobbies like cooking or trying home workouts, it is equally important to take good care of your mental health.

Extra Shots:

Red FM is an Indian FM radio network headquartered in Delhi/NCR and owned by Chennai-based Sun Group. The network broadcasts content in various Indian languages including likes of Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. On 14 August 2009, Suryan FM was re-branded into RED FM across 64 cities in India.

• Owner: SUN Group
• Frequency: 93.5 (in most cities)
• Slogan: Bajate Raho! (In Hindi, and equivalent in other languages)
• Broadcast area: India

Health Ministry starts ‘COVID India Seva’ to address citizens queries

• Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan starts an interactive platform ‘COVID India Seva’ to address citizens queries on coronavirus.
• This main objective of this initiative is to enable transparent e-governance delivery in real-time and answering citizen queries.
• This platform trained experts will be able to share authoritative public health information swiftly at scale, helping to build a direct channel for communication with citizens.

News18 India launches ‘Stars ka School, Ghar Mein Raho Cool’

• As India enters lockdown2.0 in the on-going fight against COVID-19 pandemic, all citizens have once again been asked to stay indoors and follow social distancing while outdoors.
• These steps are critical to control the spread of Coronavirus. Country’s leading Hindi news channel, News18 India, has taken the first step towards sending a message of positivity and well-being through a special campaign called ‘Stars ka School, Ghar Mein Raho Cool’.

Objective:

• The campaign is an appeal to its viewers to keep their spirits high and strive towards positive well-being while at home during the global health crisis.
• The campaign brings together prominent television celebrities who share their message of optimism with their fans. Names such as Bhumika Gurung, Divyanka Tripathi, Nimrit Kaur, Arjun Bijlani, Sharad Malhotra, Riya Shukla amongst many others will join hands with the channel towards this cause.
• They will share unique video messages sharing tips on how to stay in a high energy state and how best to utilize their time during the extended lockdown.
• They will also give a sneak peek into their routine at home while sharing their recommendations to drive away the lockdown blues.
• The channel will telecast the messages through the day to inspire viewers.

Extra Shots:

CNN-News18 is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Rajdeep Sardesai located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. It is currently owned by Network 18. CNN provides international coverage for the channel, while Indian Broadcasting Network concentrates on Indian and local reports.

• Asianet Digital (India): Channel 423
• Owned by: Network 18
• Network: CNN
• Headquarters: Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh
• Broadcast area: South Asia, United Kingdom

Lifeline Udan flights support Covid-19 fight by delivering over 541 tons of medical cargo

• Domestic Udan flights operate in a hub and the main focus has been on the North East Region, island territories and the hill states.
• Lifeline Udan cargo includes enzymes, medical equipment, testing kits, Personal protective equipment (PPE), masks, gloves by State/UT Governments and postal packets.
• Air India and IAF collaborated primarily for J&K, Ladakh, North-East and other island regions. Light-weight and voluminous products like masks, gloves and other consumables, that consume relatively larger storage space on the aircraft.
• Lifeline Udan flights have received excellent support from State Governments and Domestic Cargo Operators SpiceJet, Blue Dart and Indigo are operating cargo flights on a commercial basis.
• Spicejet operated 447 cargo flights from 24 March to 20 April 2020 covering a distance of 6,64,675 km and carrying 3516 tons of cargo.
• A cargo air-bridge established with East Asia for transportation of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and COVID-19 relief material.

#ViratKohli and # AnushkaSharma come Live on Unacademy to inspire learners

• Unacademy, India’s largest learning platform, on Tuesday evening conducted a Live Class for its learners by veteran cricketer Virat Kohli and talented bollywood actor and producer Anushka Sharma as a part of their second edition of ‘Legends on Unacademy’.
• During the live session, which panned over 50 minutes, the celebrated couple shared their experiences and lessons with learners on how to stay motivated and continue to pursue dreams.
• The duo elaborated on various incidents from their life, threw light on the challenges they faced during their journeys to reach where they are today, and highlighted the learnings from these occurrences.
• They also spoke about the importance of focus, hard work, self-belief, perseverance, and teamwork.

Key lessons and tips that Virat and Anushka shared were:

• The current situation where the entire world is fighting a pandemic has made people more receptive and capable of noticing and valuing small things. The compassionate side of people is coming alive in their everyday actions now more than ever.
• During difficult times, it is essential to follow a healthy lifestyle by exercising regularly and consuming immunity boosting alkaline food items like – turmeric, black pepper, and ginger.
• It is very important to be patient in life, clarity and understanding follows thereafter and one should not pressurize themselves
• Rejections and disappointments are a part of life. Being strong mentally and being disciplined is crucial.
• There is no easy way to be successful, hard work is the only way.
• Communication is vital. It is important to be honest and have the ability to look at the positive intent in people and trust them, be it with a partner, family member, colleague, peer, or friend.
• One should put in all the efforts towards their goals, without focussing on the result, and enjoy the process. This will help ease stress.
• It is necessary to do the right thing, even if it is tough.
• Being ready to accept when things don’t go as planned is important. There is no guarantee to success; appreciating the chances that life has given and being grateful is a must.
• One must not worry about the judgement of the world while working hard towards their goals
• Staying optimistic and compassionate is the way to success

Road Ministry Launches Dashboard With Dhabas List

• National Highways Authority of India’s centralized call number 1033 enabled to answer calls and help drivers/cleaners.
• The road transport ministry launched a dashboard containing a list of dhabas and truck repair shops.
• India centralized call number 1033 enabled to answer calls and help drivers/cleaners to find information about the dhabas and repair shops along National Highways.
• Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) created a dashboard link on its website for providing lists and details of dhabas and truck repair shops available across the country by various organizations like NHAI, states, oil marketing companies.
• The main aim is to facilitate truck/cargo drivers and cleaners in their movement amid lockdown announced to curb Covid-19 pandemic.
• A regular contact maintained with various stakeholders particularly states/UTs, oil marketing companies.

Extra Shots:

The National Highways Authority of India is an autonomous agency of the Government of India, set up in 1988 and is responsible for management of a network of over 50,000 km of National Highways out of 1,15,000 km in India. It is a nodal agency of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

• Founded: 1988
• Sector: Indian National Highway System
• Purpose: Development and maintenance of national highways
• Jurisdiction: India
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Agency executive: Sanjeev Ranjan (Chairperson)

Union Govt refutes claims of procuring wristbands embedded with Arogya Setu app

• Arogya Setu app helps people self-assess and track COVID-19 infections more accurately and effectively.
• The government is now working towards procuring thousands of wristbands that will be integrated with the app.
• These bands will help medical personnel and authorities keep track of the movement of patients in hospitals and those under self-quarantine along with supporting frontline workers to take proper safety measures
• Once integrated with Aarogya Setu app, there will be many more parameters that will be available for the health officials’ supervision.

STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS

Uttar Pradesh govt orders complete sealing of Delhi-Noida border

• Uttar Pradesh government ordered complete sealing of the Delhi-Noida border till further orders as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19 infection in Gautam Budhha Nagar district.
• The final order issued by the District Magistrate, Gautam Buddha Nagar, the COVID-19 related services with a valid pass issued by an authorized official.
• The movement of transport vehicles, Ambulance Services, specialist doctors serving in Noida based hospitals shall be allowed.
• The Central Government Officers above the rank of Deputy Secretary with identity card issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Media personnel with a valid pass issued from the office of Additional Commissioner of Police.
• The old system of accepting ID cards shall be in place till 22nd April.
• This relaxation is valid for media personnel only.

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

Pune develops Saiyam app to track home-quarantines citizens

• Pune Municipal Corporation under Smart Cities Mission (SCM) has launched a mobile application named “Saiyam”.
• The app aims to effectively track home-quarantines citizens and ensure they are actually staying in the home.

Saiyam app:

• The app has been developed to monitor home quarantined citizens.
• The city administration has appointed dedicated teams for five zones to conduct a follow-up with people under home quarantine on a daily basis.
• The teams will check on people who have recently returned from international trips and those discharged after treatment for COVID-19.
• The teams will seek updates from quarantined people on their health status and details of persons in contact with them.
• For persons sporting the home quarantine stamp, the teams will check if separate food, bed, utensils, clothes, and washrooms are provided to them.
• They will check if those under home quarantine have downloaded the Saiyam Mobile Application. The Mobile Application has GPS tracking so that whenever quarantined citizens leave their homes, City Administration gets alerted and the local ward or the local police station gets informed, who then visit the family.
• Movements of the citizens can be monitored centrally in real-time from the monitoring cell and are marked as Red, Amber or Green. Red signifies that the person has ventured out for longer duration; Yellow signifies that the person has limited movements and Green signifies that the person is confined to house limits.

Extra Shots:

Maharashtra:

• Capital: Mumbai
• Chief Minister: Uddhav Thackeray
• Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari
• National Parks: Chandoli National Park, Nawegaon National Park, Gugamal National Park, Pench National Park, Sanjay Gandhi (Borivilli) National Park, Tadoba National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuaries: Amba Barwa WLS, Bor WLS, Great Indian Bustard WLS,Lonar WLS, Melghat WLS, Gangewadi New Great Indian Bustard WLS, etc.

Uttar Pradesh government decides to move forward on plasma therapy to treat the patients of #COVIDー19

• Uttar Pradesh government decides to move forward on plasma therapy to treat the patients of COVID 19 and will increase poll testing of the samples.
• 9 districts of state have become corona free while 1294 positive cases have been found in 53 districts.

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

Telangana State Council of Higher Education Partners with TCS iON to Improve Employability Quotient of State Students

• TCS iON,an strategic business unit of Tata Consultancy Services a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, has partnered with the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE), a statutory body of the Government of Telangana State, to prepare college students in the state for future job readiness.

Objective:

• Under this partnership, a rich set of curated courseware, accessible through the TCS iON Digital Learning Hub, will be made available free of cost to 4 lakh students, across 1500 institutions of higher education in the state of Telangana, effective this academic year.
• The courses cover a plethora of topics that will improve the employability quotient of students and equip them to compete in the job market after they graduate.
• The learning will be self-paced, and the courses are accessible anytime, anywhere and on any device, through the TSCHE website. Individual institutions can mandate for credits as appropriate.

Extra Shots:

Telangana

• Capital: Hyderabad
• Chief Minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao
• Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan

Rajasthan govt launches Aayu & Sehat Sathi app to battle COVID-19

• The state government of Rajasthan has partnered with healthcare startup MedCords to launch ‘Aayu & Sehat Sathi app to fight against COVID-19.
• This app helps state people to consult doctors online and place orders for their medicine requirement in the wake of a lockdown due to COVID-19.
• Indian startup “MedCord” is fully adopted 7 districts of Rajasthan (Kota, Udaipur, Sri Ganganagar, Bikaner, Ajmer, Pali and Jaipur).
• The app also contains a built-in comprehensive coronavirus guide for the users.
• The service is provided through the app and the helpline number – 7816811111 supports Hindi and English language.
• The helpline number helps the feature phone users to consult doctors from anywhere in India.

Extra Shots:

Rajasthan

• Capital:Jaipur
• Chief Minister:Ashok Ghelot
• Governor: Kalraj Mishra

Karnataka launches pilot project for home delivery through phone, WhatsApp during Covid-19 lockdown

• Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa launched a pilot project for people to order essential goods either by calling over the phone or using WhatsApp during the lockdown put in place to break the chain of coronavirus infections.

Highlights:

• The project was to ensure that nobody violated the lockdown by stepping out to get essential goods including vegetables, groceries or medicine.
• There is a nominal service charge of Rs 10 for each order and contactless delivery is possible.
• The pilot project has been launched in Bengaluru and people can call on 080 61914960 and provide necessary details like their name, phone number and address and specify a nearby store from which they want the items.
• The service will be provided through neighbouring kirana stores or the nearest store which has those particular goods in stock.
• After placing the order, customers will get a confirmation on SMS and a delivery partner will deliver the goods, payment for which can be made either through e-wallets, cards or cash.
• The service is similar on WhatsApp.

Extra Shots:

Karnataka:

• Capital: Bengaluru
• Chief Minister: B. S. Yediyurappa
• Governor: Vajubhai Vala
• National Park: Anshi NP, Bandipur NP, Bannerghatta NP, Kudremukh NP, Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarahole) NP.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar announces Rs 1,000 assistance for families with no rations cards

• Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar announced that an assistance of Rs 1,000 will be provided to all families that do not have ration cards but were identified by self-help groups of ‘Jeevika’ in the state.
• The state government has earlier decided to provide Rs 1,000 to each ration card-holding family in the state following the enforcement of lockdown.
• Nitish Kumar directed Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar to inform all the district magistrates and sub-divisional magistrates to provide the assistance of Rs 1,000 to each of the family which does not have ration card but has been identified by the Jeevika groups, according to an official release.
• After providing Rs 1,000 to these families, ration cards should be issued to them (families identified by Jeevika) after completing verification of documents.
• Assistance of Rs 1000 will be provided to families in urban areas after identifying them through a survey.

Extra Shots:

Bihar

• Capital: Patna
• Chief Minister: Nitish Kumar
• Governor: Phagu Chauhan
• Literacy Rate: 63.82%

Gujarat govt gives approval to “Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan”

• The government of Gujarat has given the approval of the third edition of his government’s ‘Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan’ amid Coronavirus lockdown.
• The scheme will see the deepening of lakes, check dams and rivers by removing silt.
• This will be done till June 10, 2020, with people’s participation also as under MNREGA.
• The scheme was started in 2018 after a weak monsoon. It is a conservation plan to deepen water bodies in the state before the monsoon.

Extra Shots:

Gujarat:

• Capital: Gandhinagar
• Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
• Governor: Acharya Devvrat
• State formed on: 1 May 1960
• Literacy Rate: 79.31%
• National Park: Vansda NP, Blackbuck NP, Gir Forest NP, Marine NP, Gulf of Kutch

Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district starts “Tiranga” Rapid Screening

• The Administration of Pathanamthitta district in Kerala has launched a vehicle called ‘Tiranga’ (Total India Remote Analysis Nirogya Abhiyaan) for rapid screening of COVID-19 symptoms.
• The vehicle is provided with thermal scanning, an infrared thermometer mounted on the bonnet, a two-way microphone system by which individuals inside and out of doors the vehicle can ask one another, a mobile camera which will click photos of their identity cards.
• The vehicle has been painted with tricolour so that people would immediately recognise it as an initiative of the government and leave the health workers alone.
• The screening will be done in containment zones and buffer zones and in the camps for migrant workers and destitute people.

Extra Shots:

Kerala:

• Capital: Thiruvananthapuram
• Chief Minister: Pinarayi Vijayan
• Governor: Arif Mohammed Khan
• Festivals: Onam, Vishu, Thrissur Pooram, Nehru Trophy Boat Race
• National Parks: Anamudi Shola National Park, Eravikulam National Park, Mathikettan Shola National Park, Pambadum Shola National Park, Periyar National Park,Silent Valley National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuaries: Aralam WLS, Chimmony WLS, Idukki WLS, Periyar WLS, Wayanad WLS, Peppara WLS, Neyyar WLS, Kurinjimala WLS, Malabar WLS etc

Indian herpetologists discover new viper species in Arunachal Pradesh

• Indian herpetologists have discovered a new species of viper family in Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh, and the green pit viper species was discovered by a team led by Zeeshan Mirza.
• The viper called Trimeresurus Salazar.
• It has a unique orange to reddish stripe present on the head and body in males.
• The pit vipers belong to the genus Trimeresurus and are distributed widely across East and South-East Asia.
• This is the second species discovered within the course of the expedition to Arunachal Pradesh, which reflects the poor nature of biodiversity documentation across North-East India.
• Dedicated surveys in the future conducted across north-eastern India will help document biodiversity, which is under threat from numerous development activities that include road widening, agriculture, and hydro-electric projects.

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

Iran successfully launched a military satellite into Orbit

• Iran successfully launched a military satellite and the first satellite of the Islamic Republic of Iran successfully launched into orbit by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

About the Satellite

• Satellite reached an orbit of 425 kilometers (264 miles) above the Earth’s surface. The two-stage launch took place.

India gifts 23 tonnes of essential medicines to Nepal

• India and Nepal to fight COVID-19 Pandemic, Ambassador of India to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra handed over 23 tonnes of medicines to Nepal’s Minister for Health and Population Bhanubhakta Dhakal in Kathmandu.
• The package 8.25 lakhs dosage of essential medicines, including 3.2 lakhs dosage of Paracetamol and 2.5 lakhs dosages of Hydroxychloroquine.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video conference of SAARC Leaders on 15 March 2020 and offered all possible assistance to India’s neighbors, pledging 10 million US dollars to SAARC COVID-19 Emergency Fund.

Extra Shots:

Nepal (Capital/Currency): Kathmandu/ Nepalese rupee

• President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari
• Vice President: Nanda Kishor Pun
• Prime Minister: Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli

SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES

Shri Narendra Singh Tomar participates in the G-20 Agriculture Ministers Meeting through Video Conferencing

• Union Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar took part in an Extraordinary virtual meeting of G-20 Agriculture Ministers.

Highlights:

• The main aim is to address the issue of COVID-19 impacts on food security, safety, and nutrition.
• The Government of India exempt all agriculture operations during the lockdown period and ensuring the continued availability of essential agriculture produce and supply.
• The G-20 Agriculture Ministers virtual meeting organized through video conferencing by the Saudi Presidency to deliberate on the ways and means of ensuring continuity of food supply value chain, including the livelihood of farmers. Shri Tomar welcomed the initiative taken by Saudi Arabia to bring the G-20 countries together.
• The G-20 nations resolved to have international cooperation in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic.
• They decided to work together for food security and nutrition, share best practices and lessons learned, promote research, responsible investments, innovations, and reforms that will improve the sustainability and resilience of agriculture and food systems.
• The G-20 nations agreed to develop science-based international guidelines on stricter safety and hygienic measures for zoonosis control.

Ministry of Tourism holds its 5th webinar on the rich heritage of Ladakh under DekhoApnaDesh Webinar Series

• To generate awareness about and promote various tourism destinations of India, the Ministry of Tourism has launched the “DekhoApnaDesh” webinar series which provide information on the rich culture and heritage of the country and share the depth and expanse of the destinations in India.

Highlights:

• As part of the ongoing series, the Ministry of Tourism conducted its 5th webinar on the rich heritage of Ladakh titled “Ladakh: Explore the Unexplored” on 20th April 2020.
• Ladakh, the roof of the world, is home to breathtaking Himalayan landscapes and an ancient Buddhist culture living in harmony with nature for over a thousand years.
• The webinar took the participants on a journey away from the beaten paths of Pangong Tso Lake and Khardungla to the unexplored valleys of Lingshed and Zanskar.
• The webinar stressed on the dispersion of tourism to these remote unexplored areas of Ladakh while providing the local communities with sources of income to ensure the cultural preservation in the fragile ecosystem of Himalayas.
• The webinar received a very good response with over 4600 participants registering and with 78% of the audience rating the webinar as excellent.

Saudi Arabia organizes G-20 Extraordinary Agriculture Ministers Meet

• The G-20 Extraordinary Agriculture Ministers Meeting was held through Video Conferencing.
• The meeting was held on the issue of COVID-19 as well as its impact on food security, safety and nutrition.
• Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar participated in the Extraordinary virtual meeting of G-20 Agriculture Ministers organised under the presidency of Saudi Arabia.
• The Extraordinary virtual meeting of G-20 Agriculture Ministers was organized to deliberate on the measures in order to ensure continuity of food supply value chain including livelihood of farmers.
• During the virtual meet, G-20 agriculture ministers declaration was accepted and resolution was taken by the countries to have international cooperation in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic.
• They also agreed to avoid food wastages and losses as well as maintain the continuity of food supply value chain across borders.

Extra Shots:

Saudi Arabia (Capital/Currency): Riyadh/ Saudi riyal (SR)

• King: Salman
• Crown Prince: Mohammad bin Salman

RANKS AND INDICES

Global Report on Food Crises Released by World Food Programme

• Global Network Against Food Crises report officially released by the UN World Food program.
• The report indicates around 135 million people across 55 countries and territories experienced acute food insecurity.
• Around 55 food-crisis countries covered by the report and 75 million children were stunted. 183 million people were classified in Stressed (IPC/CH Phase 2) conditions.
• Among 43 million live in the Middle East and Asia and 18.5 million live in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• This report is the result of a consensus-based and multi-partner analytical process involving 16 international humanitarian and development partners (in alphabetical order) and various organisations participated all the way to United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

Extra Shots:

WFP: The World Food Programme is the food-assistance branch of the United Nations and the world’s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security. According to the WFP, it provides food assistance to an average of 91.4 million people in 83 countries each year.

• Headquarters: Rome, Italy
• Head: David Beasley
• Abbreviation: WFP
• Founded: 1961
• Founders: Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations General Assembly
• Video game: Food Force

India Drops 2 Places to Rank 142nd on Global Press Freedom Index

• World Press Freedom Index 2020 murders of journalists in India in 2019, as against six in the year 2018 and the security situation for the country’s media might seem on the face.

Highlights of the Report:

• India dropped two places on a global press freedom index to be ranked 142nd out of 180 countries in the annual Reporters Without Borders analysis.
• Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), or Reporters Without Borders, is a non-profit organization that works to document and combat attacks on journalists around the world.
• Norway is ranked first in the Index for the fourth year running. China in the 177th position is just three places above North Korea, which is on 180th.
• South Asia features poorly on the Index, with Pakistan dropping three places to 145, and Bangladesh dropping one place to 151.

AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED

Amway Partners with TCS for Strategic IT Operations Transformation

• Tata Consultancy Services ,a leading global IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, and Amway, a global leader in direct selling, have entered into a strategic partnership to transform the latter’s global technology operations.
• Amway was looking to transform its IT infrastructure and operations and its global service desk in order to improve agility, accelerate speed to market, and enhance customer experience.
• The transformed operating model will feature self-healing capabilities, chatbots, self-help and improvement of its service desk mobile app.
• These enhancements will strengthen Amway’s operational resilience and end user experience.
• Additionally, TCS will promote agile working methods and standardize operating procedures to enable greater agility and accelerate Amway’s transformation journey.

Extra Shots:

Amway is an American multi-level marketing company that sells health, beauty, and home care products. The company was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos and is based in Ada, Michigan. Amway and its sister companies under Alticor reported sales of $8.8 billion in 2018.

• Headquarters: Ada Township, Michigan, United States
• Parent organization: Alticor
• CEO: Milind Pant
• Founded: 9 November 1959, Ada Township, Michigan, United States
• Founders: Richard DeVos, Jay Van Andel

Paytm Payments Bank inks partnership with Mastercard

• Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) inks partnership with Mastercard to issue virtual and physical debit cards.
• These cards enable its customers to perform secure online transactions, make payment in stores as well as withdraw cash from ATMs.
• The main objective of PPBL is to issue over 10 million digital debit cards in FY 2020-21.
• Paytm Payments Bank Ltd cases to have 5.7 crore account holders and 30 crore computerized wallets.
• Mastercard offers its fully-integrated global payment platform to Paytm Payments Bank to enable cardholders to have access to the safest way of making electronic payments.

PPBL:

• Headquarter: Noida, Uttar Pradesh
• CMD: Satish Kumar Gupta

Mastercard:

• Headquarter: New York, United States (US)
• President and CEO: Ajay Banga

APPOINTMENT

David Li becomes new CEO of Huawei India

• David Li has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Telecommunications India.
• He has replaced Jay Chen who has been promoted to handle Asia Pacific level business role.
• David Li was serving as CEO of Huawei Cambodia before returning to India to take on his new role.
• He joined Huawei in 2002 and has working experience in the Indian market, including in roles like vice president sales and vice president HR during different phases of his career.

Extra Shots:

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. is a Chinese multinational technology company. It provides telecommunications equipment and sells consumer electronics, smartphones and is headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong. The company was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei.

• Headquarters: Shenzhen, China
• Brands: Huawei, Honor
• CEO: Ren Zhengfei
• Parent organization: Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.

HSBC appoints Noel Quinn as Chief Executive Officer

• HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) Bank appointed Noel Quinn as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He served as the interim CEO of the bank since August 2019.
• He was the successor of John Flint.
• Noel joined HSBC in 1987 and has proven the outstanding candidate to take on a role permanently as CEO.
• Quinn will earn a base salary of 1.27 million pounds per annum.

Extra Shots:

HSBC bank:

• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom (UK).
• Chairman: Mark Edward Tucker.

AWARDS

UST Global named winner at the Microsoft AI Awards 2.0 for the Best Innovation in Artificial Intelligence

• UST Global, a leading digital transformation solutions company, announced that it has won the 2020 most innovative AI application award for societal impact from Microsoft.
• UST Global has been a picture of consistency as the company has unlocked several technical accolades in its successive years.
• The AI Awards 2.0 is an initiative open to all Microsoft customers and partners who foster AI-led innovations to deliver meaningful impact.
• In 2019, UST Global had won an award for “Empowering Employees with AI” from Microsoft for delivering an AI-powered personal assistant to each employee.
• The award marks industry appreciation of UST Global’s AI capabilities to build products that scale new heights in innovations in Artificial Intelligence.

Extra Shots:

UST Global is a multinational provider of Digital technology and transformation, IT services and solutions, headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, United States. Stephen Ross founded UST Global in 1998 in Laguna Hills.

• CEO: Krishna Sudheendra
• Headquarters: Aliso Viejo, California, United States
• Founder: Stephen Ross
• Founded: 1998

Adam Higginbotham’s bags William E. Colby Award

• Adam Higginbotham’s book “Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster” wins the William E. Colby Award.
• The award is given for an outstanding book on military or intelligence history.
• The award is named for the late CIA director William E. Colby.
• The Colby award was established in 1999.
• Previous winners of the award include Karl Marlantes’ novel Matterhorn and Dexter Filkins’ The Forever War.

GIM students shortlisted for the prestigious 2020 Flourish Prizes from among 824 entries from across the globe

• Goa Institute of Management has collaborated with AIM2Flourish, the world’s first higher-education curriculum for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of their Social Responsibility and Action (SRA) course.

Objective:

• AIM2Flourish is an initiative of the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit at the Weatherhead School of Management – Case Western Reserve University.
• Using the UN SDGs as their lens, students from GIM have done research, identified an innovation, interviewed a business leader and then submitted their stories.
• The stories which have qualified the review process are then made available on the AIM2Flourish platform.
• These stories showcase positive business innovations that span the globe and demonstrate how business can help achieve the 17 UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs).

Annually:

• Each year the Center honors the best-of-the-best stories with 17 Flourish Prizes – one for each UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• Of the 76 finalists announced, the 17 Flourish Prize winners will be honoured via a virtual celebration later in the year by AIM2Flourish.

Extra Shots:

The Goa Institute of Management, is a premier business school of India located in the state of Goa.

• Founder: Romuald D’Souza
• Director: Ajit Parulekar

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