Current Affairs Today 26th March 2020-Download in PDF

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Current Affairs Today – 26th March 2020

NEWS AT A GLANCE

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved to continue the process of recapitalization of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).
• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) provides financial support of Rs 42,313 crore in the Financial Year (FY) 2019-20 for building rural infrastructure.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the construction of Aligarh-Harduaganj flyover.
• The Census 2021 which was scheduled to be conducted in two phases has been postponed by the Government of India due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Government of India is to launch CoWin-20 to curb the community spread of coronavirus.
• The Ministry of Railways has extended the cancellation of passenger train services on Indian Railways.
• Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has designated 285 beds for isolation wards in handling Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.
• All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi will start Tele-Consultation facility for the non-Covid19 patients.
• To protect the poor from the economic impact of the 21-day nationwide lockdown, the Narendra Modi government today announced a Rs1.7 lakh crore Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan Yojana.
• To help tide over hardship caused by the coronavirus lockdown, Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) rules will be relaxed, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced today. EPF subscribers can now withdraw 75% of their PF balance or 3 month wages as a non-refundable advance, whichever is lower.
• Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched Mo Jeeban programme in Odisha.
• The Uttar Pradesh state government has imposed a ban on the production and sale of pan masala during the 21-day lockdown imposed across the country.
• The move comes in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
• Bihar government has released rupees 100 crore as an assistance package for poor people of the state in view of ongoing lockdown in view of Coronavirus outbreak.
• Odisha government announced today that it readying to set up the largest Covid-19 hospital in India.
• A report from China stated that a man died from Hantavirus.
• United Nations has launched a 2 billion dollar global humanitarian response plan to fight Corona Virus in the world’s poorest countries.
• The Government of Sri Lanka has pledged to contribute $5 million to the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Corona Emergency Fund proposed by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on March 15, 2020 with an initial grant of $10 million from India to deal with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
• The International Monetary Fund has launched a “Tracker of Policies Governments are Taking in Response to COVID-19”.
• India’s national Investment Promotion & Facilitation Agency, the Invest India has launched “The Invest India Business Immunity Platform“.
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has introduced an AI bot called ‘Clara’ to help people assess potential symptoms of COVID-19.
• Private sector lender IndusInd Bank Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ramesh Sobti, 70 years old, retired.
• Iqbal Singh Bains was appointed as Madhya Pradesh (MP) Chief Secretary by the newly-sworn Chief Minister (CM) Shivraj Singh Chouhan of the state.
• The National Book Trust of HRD Ministry has launched #StayIn and #StayHome to encourage people to read books while at home.
• Senior Journalist Chander Suta Dogra has launched a book titled “Missing in Action: The Prisoners Who Never Came Back”.
• Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) has announced that it is to organize India’s first Global Hyperloop Pod Competition.
• Former India footballer Abdul Latif passed away.
• Veteran star of 1950s and ’60s Hindi movies Nimmi passed away.
• The co-creator of the “Asterix and Obelix” comics, Albert Uderzo passed away. Albert Uderzo produced Asterix in 1959 along with the fellow Frenchman and writer Rene Goscinny. “Asterix and Obelix” entertained its audience over the past 60 years.

NEWS IN DETAILS

BANKING AND FINANCE CURRENT AFFAIRS

Cabinet approved the continuation of recapitalization of RRB scheme

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved to continue the process of recapitalization of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).

Highlights:

• The Cabinet approved to provide minimum regulatory capital to RRBs for another year, that is, up to 2020-21 for those RRBs which are unable to maintain minimum Capital to Risk-weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of 9% which was set as per the regulatory norms prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• The CCEA also approved the RRB’s to utilize Rs.670 crore as central government share for the scheme of Recapitalization of RRBs that are subject to the condition that the release of the Central Government’s share will be contingent upon the release of the proportionate share by the sponsor banks. Earlier, it was decided that 50% of the total recapitalization support of Rs.1340 crore will be shared by the government.

NABARD provides Rs 42,313 crore for building rural infrastructure

• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) provides financial support of Rs 42,313crore in the Financial Year(FY) 2019-20 for building rural infrastructure.

Highlights:

• In this FY, NABARD has provided Rs 20,869 crore for irrigation related projects, in addition to Rs 5,686 crore for rural connectivity.
• Apart from this it has released Rs 10,935 crore for Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana Gramin (PMAYG) to provide “housing for all by 2022”& for Swachh Bharat Mission to provide clean water and sanitation facilities.
• During the last 5 years, it has given Rs 1.98 lakh crore for rural development and till February 28, 2020 Rs 87,069 crore has been given to cooperative and Regional Rural Banks(RRB) as short-term refinance & Rs 59,502 as long-term refinance to cooperative, RRB & other financial institutions.

Extra Shots:

NABARD: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development is an Apex Development Financial Institution in India. The Bank has been entrusted with “matters concerning Policy Planning and Operations in the field of credit for Agriculture and other Economic activities in Rural areas in India”.

• Founded: 12 July 1982
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Agency executive: Harsh Kumar Bhanwala (Chairperson)
• Purpose: Development assistance; Poverty Reduction
• Formation: July 12, 1982; 37 years ago
• Subsidiaries: Nabcons, NABVENTURES Ltd., Nabkisan Finance Ltd., NABSAMRUDDHI Finance Limited

NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

Cabinet approved construction of Aligarh-Harduaganj flyover

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the construction of Aligarh-Harduaganj flyover.
• The construction of the flyover will be taken up by the Ministry of Railways.

Aligarh-Harduaganj flyover:

• The total length of the Aligarh-Harduaganj railway flyover will be 22 Km.
• The construction of teh flyover is expected to be completed by 2024-25.
• The total cost estimated for the project is Rs.1285 crore.
• The flyover will reduce traffic and heavy detention of trains at Aligarh Junction.
• Flyover at Aligarh, over the existing Delhi-Howrah main line, is an operational necessity and is essentially required to remove the bottleneck to traffic movement.
• By constructing a flyover that connects Aligarh to Harduaganj the delays and detentions will be avoided.

First phase of Census 2021 and updation of NPR has been postponed

• The Census 2021 which was scheduled to be conducted in two phases has bee postponed by the Government of India due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. The updation of National Population Register (NPR) will be done along with the Phase I of Census 2021 in all the States/Union Territories, except Assam.

Census India 2021:

• The Census 2021 will be conducted in two phases, namely house listing and House Census and Population Enumeration.
• The first phase of House listing & Housing Census was scheduled to be held from 1 April-30 September 2020.
• The second phase is Population Enumeration was scheduled to be conducted from 9-28 February 2021 throughout the country simultaneously.

Highlights:

• The postponement of the Census is due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Central government has announced high alert for all the States/Union Territories (UT).
• Many State/UT governments have also declared lockdown.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), GoI has issued advisories for various precautionary measures, including social distancing.

GoI to launch CoWin-20 to curb the community spread of coronavirus

• The Government of India is to launch CoWin-20 to curb the community spread of coronavirus.
• CoWin-20 is a new smartphone app that aims to track individuals by their smartphone locations.
• The app will be made soon and will be available widely across India.

CoWin-20:

• The Indian government aims to trace the personal travel histories of individuals through CoWin-20. By tracing, GoI can figure out how many people might have come in contact with the common people of the country.
• It is expected to help the government monitor the community spread of the coronavirus, and quarantine any individual who may be potentially at risk.
• It will be released on both the Google Play Store and Apple’s iOS App Store.
• The users of iOS devices will be required to share their device Unique Disability Identity Cards (UDID) with the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to get a unique download link. Cowin-20 can be used by individuals to learn about the location of coronavirus testing labs and quarantine centres in Indian cities.
• Other features of the app include automatic feeding of government advisories and official safety recommendations put forth by the Government of India.

Indian Railways extend cancellation of passenger train services till 14 April

• The Ministry of Railways has extended the cancellation of passenger train services on Indian Railways.
• The move is to continue the measure taken in the wake of COVID-19.
• All Mail/Express trains including premium trains, passenger trains, suburban trains and trains of Metro Railway, Kolkata has been extended till 14 April 2020.
• Central government has announced that the Freight Train can continue operation to ensure the supply of essential commodities.

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.

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Revenue: 1.97 lakh crores INR
• Founded: 16 April 1853, India

Ordnance Factory Board designates 285 beds to handle COVID-19 cases

• Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has designated 285 beds for isolation wards in handling Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.
• Forty beds have been earmarked in hospitals at Vehicle Factory Jabalpur, thirty beds each at Metal and Steel Factory Ishapore, Gun and Shell Factory Cossipore, Ammunition Factory Khadki, Ordnance Factory Kanpur, Ordnance Factory Khamaria, Ordnance Factory Ambajhari, 25 beds at Ordnance Factory Ambernath and twenty beds each at Heavy Vehicle Factory Avadi and Ordnance Factory Medak.
• The OFB is also trying to produce personal protection equipment and face masks as per the order placed by HLL Lifecare Limited (HLL), which is a public sector unit under the Union Health Ministry.

Extra Shots:

OFB: Ordnance Factory Board consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories, is an industrial organisation, functioning under the Department of Defence Production of Ministry of Defence, Government of India.

• Headquarters: Kolkata
• Founded: 1712
• Number of employees: ~80,000
• Director General: Hari Mohan IOFS
• Subsidiaries: Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli, Heavy Alloy Penetrator Project
• Type of business: Government

AIIMS to launch Tele-Consultation facility

• All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi will start Tele-Consultation facility for the non-Covid19 patients.
• The decision to start Tele-Consultation facility has been taken by AIIMS for its follow-up patients.
• As the out-patient Department along with other medical facilities have come to rest at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi amid the lockdown which has taken place as a measure to contain Covid-19 spread.
• Those patients whose appointments are now cancelled due to lockdown as well as the chronic patients can consult doctors via this facility.

Nirmala Sitharaman: Cash transfer, free LPG, grains, part of coronavirus package

• To protect the poor from the economic impact of the 21-day nationwide lockdown, the Narendra Modi government today announced a Rs1.7 lakh crore Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan Yojana.
• Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the relief package includes direct benefit cash transfers, free LPG, grains and pulses for the poor while the middle class would be able to withdraw funds from their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) account.

Announcements made by Nirmala Sitharaman:

• Building and construction workers: Central government has given orders to state governments to use funds of Rs31,000 crore to provide relief to them.
• The scheme comes into effect immediately. People will get the benefits from April 1: Sitharaman
• EPFO to allow 75% non-refundable advance or 3 months of wages whichever is lower: Sithraman.
• Ujjwala beneficiaries to get free cooking gas (LPG) cylinders in next three months; this will benefit 8.3 crore BPL families: FM.
• Collateral-free loan doubled to ₹20 lakh to 63 lakh women self-help groups; to impact 7 crore households.
• Government will pay EPF contribution, both of employer and employee, for 3 months for all those establishments with less than 100 employees out of which 90% earn less than Rs15,000 per month.
• Direct benefit cash transfers will benefit farmers, MGNREGA, poor widows, Pensioners & divyangs.
• An ex-gratia of Rs1,000 to 3 crore poor senior citizen, poor widows and poor disabled.
• Women Jan Dhan account holders: They will get an ex-gratia amount of Rs500 per month for 3 months to run household during this period.
• 69 crore farmers to be immediately benefited through Direct cash transfers. Installment of ₹2000 in the first week of April will be transferred
• Every MNREGA worker to get hike of Rs2,000: Sitharaman
• We announce a wage increase in MNREGA. It will benefit 5 crore families: Sitharaman.
• The package will impact 80 crore people: FM
• 1 kg dal will also be given for free: FM
• Prime Minister Garib Ann Yojna will ensure that each one will get an additional 5 kg rice or wheat per month in addition to the existing scheme.
• Direct benefit transfer will be a part of the scheme: FM
• Health workers to get medical insurance cover of Rs50 lakh
• 7 lakh crore Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Yojna announced.No poor will be without food in his hand for the next 3 months

EPF rules changed for getting non-refundable advance

• To help tide over hardship caused by the coronavirus lockdown, Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) rules will be relaxed, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced today. EPF subscribers can now withdraw 75% of their PF balance or 3 month wages as a non-refundable advance, whichever is lower.
• This will benefit about benefit 4.8 crore employees.

STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS

Odisha government launches “Mo Jeeban” programme

• Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched Mo Jeeban programme in Odisha.
• The “Mo Jeeban” programme was launched for the containment of COVID-19 pandemic.
• Through Mo Jeeban programme, the chief minister of Odisha urged the people of the state to take a pledge to stay indoors.
• He also stated that if people will go outside their home, they may bring the coronavirus at home which will affect their family.

Extra Shots:

Odisha:

• Capital: Bhubaneswar
• Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik
• Governor: Ganeshi Lal
• State Formed in: 1 April 1936
• Literacy Rate: 72.87%
• National Park: Bhitarkanika NP, Simlipal NP

UP bans sale of pan masala

• The Uttar Pradesh state government has imposed a ban on the production and sale of pan masala during the 21-day lockdown imposed across the country.
• The move comes in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
• The information was passed by Food Security Commissioner Ministhy S.

Ban on Pan masala:

• As per the ban, manufacturing, sale, and storage of pan masala are being banned in the state till further orders.
• The aim is to avoid spitting of pan masala which can spread Covid-19.
• The state has earlier banned “gutkha” on 1 April 2013.
• Violators will be punished according to the law.
• The State again reiterated that all essential items will be delivered at the doorstep of citizens so that people do not face any inconvenience.
• The state govt. is also converting community health centres into hospitals to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic in UP.

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

Bihar Govt releases 100 crore as an assistance package for poor

• Bihar government has released rupees 100 crore as an assistance package for poor people of the state in view of ongoing lockdown in view of Coronavirus outbreak.
• This decision was taken in a high level meeting which was chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
• Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar said assistance will be given those whose daily income has stopped due to lockdown.
• It includes poor people including labourers, rickshaw pullers and other people who are facing hardships due to lockdown.
• He said the state government will provide food , shelters  and medical facilities to them.
• This assistance will be also provided to the people who are living outside Bihar. Outside Bihar assistance will be provided to poors through concerned Resident

Odisha to set up largest coronavirus hospital in the country

• Odisha government announced today that it readying to set up the largest Covid-19 hospital in India.
• The hospital will have about 1,000 beds and will be functional in a fortnight.
• With this establishment, Odisha will be the first state in the country to set up such a large-scale hospital exclusively to treat Covid-19 patients.

Extra Shots:

Odisha:

• Capital: Bhubaneswar
• Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik
• Governor: Ganeshi Lal
• State Formed in: 1 April 1936
• Literacy Rate: 72.87%
• National Park: Bhitarkanika NP, Simlipal NP

INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

Man dies of Hantavirus in China

• A report from China stated that a man died from Hantavirus.
• He was from China’s Yunnan province. He died on a bus to the Shandong province.
• The people who travelled along with him have been tested.

Hantavirus:

• Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that are transmitted mainly by rodents. It can show varied disease syndrome in people. The name varies differ in various regions.
• In America, it is known as “New World” hantaviruses, and in Europe and Asia, it is known as “Old World” hantaviruses.
• The virus is spread mainly from rodents.
• The infection with any of the hantavirus can cause hantavirus disease in people. Hantaviruses may cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).

HPS:

• Early symptoms of HPS include fever, muscle aches, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, chills, and abdominal problems. Late symptoms, usually after four to 10 days, include coughing and shortness of breath. It can be fatal too in some cases.

HFRS:

• HFRS will show symptoms from 1-2 weeks after coming in contact with the virus. In rare cases, it may take up to 8 weeks to show symptoms. Early symptoms include severe headaches, back and abdominal pain, fever, chills, nausea, and blurred vision.
• Late symptoms include are low blood pressure (BP), acute shock, vascular leakage, and acute kidney failure.

Extra Shots:

China (Capital/Currency): Beijing/Renminbi

• President: Xi Jinping

UN launches 2 Billion dollar response plan to fight corona

• United Nations has launched a 2 billion dollar global humanitarian response plan to fight Corona Virus in the world’s poorest countries.
• UN Secretary General Antonio Gueterres has warned that the pandemic is threatening the entire human race and all of us must fight back.

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.

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

Sri Lanka contributes $5 mn to SAARC corona emergency fund

• The Government of Sri Lanka has pledged to contribute $5 million to the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Corona Emergency Fund proposed by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on March 15, 2020 with an initial grant of $10 million from India to deal with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Highlights:

• This announcement came a day after the Governments of Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan have pledged to contribute $1.5 million, $1 million and $1 million respectively to the fund.
• Earlier, the governments of Maldives & Bhutan also pledged to provide $200,000 and 100,000$ respectively.
• The remaining one nation of SAARC- i.e Pakistan is yet to declare its contribution for the fund.
• India also provided material assistance in the forms of masks, gloves and disinfectants with a cost of $1 million to SAARC countries in the wake of the outbreak of Covid-19.

SAARC:

• Establishment: 8 December 1985
• Headquarters: Kathmandu, Nepal
• Secretary–General:H. E. Mr Esala Ruwan Weerakoon
• Members (8): Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka(Capital/Currency): Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte/ Sri Lankan rupee

• President: Gotabaya Rajapaksa
• Prime minister:Mahinda Rajapaksa

IMF launches Tracker of Govt. Policies in Response to COVID-19

• The International Monetary Fund has launched a “Tracker of Policies Governments are Taking in Response to COVID-19”.
• The policy tracker outlines the key economic responses taken by the government of various countries in order to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The policy tracker has the updated data till March 24, 2020.
• The policy tracker brings into focus the discretionary measures that supplement existing social safety nets and insurance mechanisms.
• The tracker do not aim to compare the various measures across the members because the policy responses depends on various parameters such as the nature of the shock and country-specific circumstances.

Extra Shots:

IMF: The International Monetary Fund, also known as the Fund, is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation.

• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• Chief Economist: Gita Gopinath
• Membership: 189 countries
• Location: Headquartered in Washington, D.C.
• Founders: John Maynard Keynes, Harry Dexter White

SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES

Invest India launches “Invest India Business Immunity Platform”

• India’s national Investment Promotion & Facilitation Agency, the Invest India has launched “The Invest India Business Immunity Platform“.
• The Invest India Business Immunity Platform has been launched to assist businesses and investors in getting real-time updates on India’s active response to COVID-19.

About Invest India Business Immunity Platform:

• Invest India Business Immunity Platform has been launched by Invest India, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• This platform tracks the regular developments with respect to the Coronavirus.
• It aims to help businesses and investors by providing latest information on various initiatives launched by central and state government, facilitates access to special provisions, and answers and also resolves queries via emails as well as on WhatsApp.
• Through this platform, a team of dedicated sector experts will address various issues faced by the businesses due to Corona crisis.
• The platform also responds to the frequently asked questions on important aspects such as locations of COVID-19 testing, special permissions including other location-specific information.

Invest India partnership with SIDBI:

• Invest India has teamed up with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for responding and resolving queries for MSMEs.
• Through the partnership, the platform will also endow the ability to connect the dots in order to find matching suppliers with required supplies and for innovators, startups and MSMEs to show case their solutions.

Extra Shots:

SIDBI: Small industrial Development Bank of India is a development financial institution in India, headquartered at Lucknow and having its offices all over the country. Wikipedia

• Headquarters location: Lucknow
• Founded: 2 April 1990
• CMD : Mohammad Mustafa

AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED

Microsoft & US CDC tie-up to create AI bot ‘Clara

• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has introduced an AI bot called ‘Clara’ to help people assess potential symptoms of COVID-19.
• The CDC has partnered up with CDC Foundation and Microsoft Azure’s Healthcare Bot service to create Clara, the “coronavirus self-checker” the bot is currently only available in the US on the CDC website.

Extra Shots:

Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company with headquarters in Redmond, Washington. It develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services.

• CEO: Satya Nadella
• Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States
• Founders: Bill Gates, Paul Allen

APPOINTMENT

IndusInd Bank MD & CEO Romesh Sobti retires

• Private sector lender IndusInd Bank Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ramesh Sobti, 70 years old, retired.
• The bank’s consumer head, Sumant Kathpalia will serve as the MD and CEO of IndusInd bank for the period of 3 years.

Highlights:

• Romesh Sobti served as MD & CEO from February 1, 2008.The banking regulator has stipulated 70 as the retirement age for managing directors at banks.
• About Sumant Kathpalia: Kathpalia is a career banker with over 33 years of experience in large multinational banks such as Citibank, Bank of America, ABN AMRO and IndusInd bank.

Extra Shots:

IndusInd bank:

• Tagline: We Make You Feel Richer.
• Headquarters: Pune, Maharashtra

Iqbal Singh Bains appointed as Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary

• Iqbal Singh Bains was appointed as Madhya Pradesh (MP) Chief Secretary by the newly-sworn Chief Minister (CM) Shivraj Singh Chouhan of the state.
• He was the successor of CS M Gopal Reddy.

Highlights:

• About Iqbal Singh: Iqbal Singh, a 1985 batch IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer, served as the President of Revenue Board, Gwalior, MP.
• This was the first appointment made by the new CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Extra Shots:

Madhya Pradesh:

• Capital: Bhopal
• Chief Minister: Kamal Nath
• Governor: Lalji Tandon
• National Park: Bandhavgarh NP, Fossil NP, Kanha NP, Madhav NP, Panna NP, Pench NP, Sanjay NP, Satpura NP

BOOKS & AUTHORS

National Book Trust launched StayHomeIndiaWithBooks

• The National Book Trust of HRD Ministry has launched #StayIn and #StayHome to encourage people to read books while at home.
• It provides select and best-selling titles for FREE Download as part of its initiative of #StayHomeIndiaWithBooks!
• The move comes in the wake of Preventive Measures of the Government of India to contain the spread of Covid-19.

#StayHomeIndiaWithBooks!:

• The 100+ books are in the PDF format at #StayHomeIndiaWithBooks!
• It can be downloaded from the NBT’s website https://nbtindia.gov.in.
• It will be available in Hindi, English, Asamiya, Bangla, Gujarati, Malayalam, Odia, Marathi, Kokborok, Mizo, Bodo, Nepali, Tamil, Punjabi, Telugu, Kannada, Urdu and Sanskrit.
• The books will cover all genres of fiction, biography, popular science, teacher’s handbook, and majorly books for children and young adults.
• It also contains books written by Tagore, Premchand, and books on Mahatma Gandhi.
• In total there are books for everyone in the family to read and enjoy. More titles will be added to the list.
• The PDFs are for the purpose of reading only. Any unauthorized or commercial use is not allowed.

Extra Shots:

NBT: National Book Trust is an Indian publishing house, founded in 1957 as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. NBT now functions under aegis of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India India’s first Prime Minister Pt.

• Headquarters location: New Delhi
• President: Govind prasad sharma
• Publication: NBT Newsletter
• Parent organisation: Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India
• Location: New Delhi, India
• Abbreviation: NBT

A book titled “Missing in Action: The Prisoners Who Never Came Back” launched

• Senior Journalist Chander Suta Dogra has launched a book titled “Missing in Action: The Prisoners Who Never Came Back”.
• It is published by Harpercollins.
• At present, she works as a senior journalist in Outlook & has worked in The Hindu & Indian Express.
• The book addresses the missing Indian soldiers during the mission of 1965 & 1971 Indo- Pak wars & also attempts to find out what happened to them, hoping to open up a debate on how soldiers are often used as pawns by governments.
• Ms Dogra’s book explores the story of the soldiers who went missing in the enemy territory while on daring missions and how the nation has forgotten them, though successive governments continue to make token acknowledgements about their missing status.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

IIT-Madras to organize Global Hyperloop Pod Competition

• Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) has announced that it is to organize India’s first Global Hyperloop Pod Competition.
• The competition is open to all students globally.
• The final round will take place on the IIT-Madras campus in the month of July 2020.

Aim:

• The main objective of the Global Hyperloop Pod Competition is to raise awareness about the Hyperloop mode of transportation in India.

Indian Hyperloop Pod Competition:

• The competition aims to encourage student teams in India and abroad to develop a Hyperloop Pod. With this, they can build the fastest, most innovative, efficient design and prototype of the relevant technologies in the field.
• All the engineering colleges across the world can participate in the competition.
• It will provide a platform to ideate, design and implement their ideas for the Hyperloop Pods.

Hyperloop:

• Hyperloop is the 5th mode of transportation. It is a high-speed train that travels in a near-vacuum tube.
• The reduced air resistance will allow the capsule inside the tube to reach speeds of more than 1000 km/h.
• It conveys people or objects at high speed. Hyperloop is an efficient mode of transportation.
• It is expected that it will drastically reduce travel times over medium-range distances.

OBITUARIES

Former Indian footballer Abdul Latif passes away

• Former India footballer Abdul Latif passed away.
• He was a key member of the trophy-winning team at the 1970 Bangkok Asian Games.
• He has also represented India in Asia Cup Qualifier in 1968 in Myanmar and Merdeka Cup in 1969 in Kuala Lumpur.
• He represented Mohammedan Sporting from 1963-1967 and later took over as coach.

Veteran bollywood actress Nimmi passes away

• Veteran star of 1950s and ’60s Hindi movies Nimmi passed away.
• She was born as Nawab Banoo and was later known by by her screen name ‘Nimmi’.Nimmi acted in the era of 1950s and ’60s in various popular movies including ‘Aan’, ‘Barsaat’ and ‘Deedar’.
• Her last movie was ‘Love and God’.

“Asterix and Obelix” co-creator Albert Uderzo passes away

• The co-creator of the “Asterix and Obelix” comics, Albert Uderzo passed away. Albert Uderzo produced Asterix in 1959 along with the fellow Frenchman and writer Rene Goscinny. “Asterix and Obelix” entertained its audience over the past 60 years.
• “Asterix the Gaul” was the first Asterix book that was launched in 1961 and became an overnight sensation.
• Nearly 1.6 million copies of “Asterix and the Chieftain’s Daughter” which was released last year was also at the top of best-seller lists.

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