Test: April 2020 Weekly Current Affair - 2 - UPSC MCQ

Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has approved an ordinance of 30% cut in the salaries of all Members of Parliament (MPs) for FY 20-21 and a two-year suspension (2020-21 and 2021-22) of the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme so that the amount saved can go to the Consolidated Fund of India to fight COVID-19. This announcement was made by Prakash Javadkar, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting.

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

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

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

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) appoints Infosys Chief Operating Officer (COO) UB Pravin Rao as its chairman & chairman and senior managing director of Accenture in India Rekha M Menon as its vice president for 2020-21.

World Health Day is observed annually on April 7, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO), to spread about equal healthcare facilities worldwide, the importance of Health and Wellness and to kill myths around Health. Theme of the year 2020: To Support nurses and midwives. WHO announced 2020 as year for Nurse and Midwife.

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

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

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

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), an agency of the Government of India charged with the military’s research and development,has partnered with private firm Wipro 3D to create a full face shield, which is meant to be helpful for doctors and nurses who are treating patients infected with coronavirus (COVID-19).

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), a British-Dutch manufacturing company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, has joined hands with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for a mass communication campaign titled ‘#BreakTheChain’ or #VirusKiKadiTodo’ based on 3 themes – social distancing, hand washing and generosity, to inform people about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic and empower them to protect it.

The first ever tool to track and compare policy responses of governments tackling the coronavirus outbreak around the world has been launched by the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government.

International Labour Organization (ILO) has released a report titled ‘ILO Monitor 2nd edition: COVID-19 and the world of work- Updated estimates and analysis’ which has also stated that about 400 million people (almost 90%) working in the informal economy in India are at risk of falling deeper into poverty due to the coronavirus crisis.

In accordance with the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) report titled, “Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) 2020: Towards sustainable economies” India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for FY 20-21 is likely to be declined to 4.8% due to terrible economic impacts caused by COVID-19. On the other hand, Economic growth for the country could stand at 5.1% for fiscal year 2021-22.

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

China has become the world leader in international patent filings via WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) with a total of 58,990 applications surpassing the United States (US), which was at top spot since the PCT began operations in 1978.

The Centre under Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has launched 1st of its kind Integrated Government Online Training (iGOT) e- learning portal on Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) platform of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to enhance capacity building of front-line workers to effectively manage the COVID-19 pandemic.

Delhi Chief Minister Aravind Kejriwal has launched “Operation SHIELD” in 21 identified Containment Areas of the state to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. It deals with sealing, home quarantine, isolation & tracking, essential supply of commodities, local sanitisation and door-to-door health checkups.

The United Nation Security Council (UNSC) met for the first time through closed video-conference session with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the issues that fall under the UNSC’s mandate. Current Presidency– Dominican Republic

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

Raj Vikash Verma was appointed as part-time Chairman of AU Small Finance Bank for the period of one year whereas Sanjay Agarwal reappointed as Managing Director (MD) and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of the AU Small Finance Bank. The appointment was approved by RBI (Reserve Bank of India).

Apple has acquired the Dark Sky, a weather app, which states about the time of rain, its iPhone Operating System (iOS) app which costs USD 3.99 will not be modified and does not allow the users to download it. Its Application Programming Interface (API) service will not accept new signups & will continue to function through the end of 2021, it has also updated its branding on its website as ‘Dark Sky by Apple’.

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

The Indian-American veteran journalist Brahm Kanchibotla passed away at 66 due to coronavirus in a hospital on Long Island in New York, United States (US).

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has allowed the use of a diagnostic machine used to test drug-resistant TB (Tuberculosis) for conducting coronavirus tests. In this regard, it had recognized the ‘TrueLTM beta COV test on the TruLabTM workstation’ and recommended it as a screening test. Earlier ICMR approved use of the Truenat beta CoV test on Truelab workstation, which is used to detect drug resistant TB.