Important Weekly Current Affairs PDF Download (15th to 21st April 2020)

Dear Readers, Here we have given the list of  Important Weekly Current Affairs of 3rd week April 2020. Candidates those who are preparing for Upcoming SBI Clerk 2020 and other competitive exams can make use of it.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

World Chagas Disease Day

• The first-ever World Chagas Disease Day is from 2020 onwards, April 14 is marked as a day to spread awareness about this “silent and silenced disease”

World Art Day

• World Art Day is celebrated every year on April 15 globally. The date of April 15 was chosen in honour of Leonardo Da Vinci’s birthday.

World Voice Day

• World Voice Day(WVD) is a worldwide annual event that takes place on April 16 devoted to the celebration of the phenomenon of voice.
• The theme for this year’s celebration is Focus on Your Voice in 2020

World Haemophilia Day

• World Haemophilia Day is observed on 17 April every year to increase awareness about haemophilia disease and other inherited bleeding disorders.
• The theme of World Hemophilia Day in 2020 is “Get+involved”

 International Day For Monuments and Sites

• The International Day for Monuments and Sites also known as World Heritage Day is an international observance held on 18 April each year around the world.Theme 2020- Shared Cultures, Shared Heritage, Shared Responsibility

World Liver Day

• World liver day is observed on every 19 April, to spread awareness about liver related disease.
• The liver is the second largest and the most complex organ in the body, with the exception of the brain. It is a key player in your body’s digestive system.

UN Chinese Language Day

• UN Chinese Language Day is observed annually on April 20
• The event was established by the UN Department of Public Information in 2010

National Civil Service Day

• Every year on 21 April Civil Service Day is celebrated to rededicate and to recommit themselves to the cause of the people.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Fit India, CBSE to organise 1st-ever live fitness sessions for School students

• Fit India and CBSE will organise first-ever live fitness sessions for school students in the second phase of lockdown. Live sessions will commence from 9:30 morning and students can get access to these live sessions on Facebook and Instagram handles of Fit India Movement and CBSE.

DST creates Integrated geospatial platform to help area-specific strategies & decisions in COVID-19 outbreak

• Department of Science and Technology of Government of India has created an Integrated Geospatial Platform out of available geospatial datasets, standards-based services, and analytic tools to help decision making during the current COVID-19 outbreak and aid devising area-specific strategies to handle the socio-economic impact in the recovery phase.

Govt launches All India Agri Transport Call Centre for inter-state movement of perishables

• Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched the All India Agri Transport Call Centre at Krishi Bhavan in New Delhi. This will facilitate inter-state movement of perishables in the current situation of lockdown due to the COVID-19 threat.

MEA announces COVID-19 training program for healthcare professionals from SAARC countries

• The External Affairs Ministry has announced a training programme on COVID-19 for healthcare professionals from SAARC countries.
• The training programme will be carried out by the Central government’s Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme.

Centre releases 7,300 crore rupees to States & UTs under MGNREGS

• Centre has released 7,300 crore rupees to the States and Union Territories under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to liquidate pending dues of last financial year but also the wage dues for the first fortnight of 2020-21.

Govt-appointed panel proposes institutional framework for valuers, moots National Institute of Valuers

• The government-appointed committee of experts has proposed an institutional framework for valuers by way of setting up the National Institute of Valuers. The panel, headed by IBBI (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India) Chairperson M S Sahoo, has also submitted the ‘Draft Valuers Bill, 2020’.

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman attends the Plenary Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) of the IMF through video-conference

• Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman attended through video-conference the Plenary Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the Ministerial-level committee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF.

NIRDPR and UNICEF training community leaders online to combat COVID-19

• More than 28.33 lakh community leaders are being trained through online programmes to practise social behaviours required to control the transmission of COVID-19 cases in villages, the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR)
• The programme is being conducted in collaboration with UNICEF Hyderabad Field Office.

Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel launches the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of India in New Delhi

• Union Minister for Culture (I/C) Shri Prahlad Singh Patel launched the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of India in New Delhi.

Govt constitutes 6 Inter-Ministerial Central Teams to make on-spot assessment of COVID-19 situation

• Union Government has constituted six Inter-Ministerial Central Teams to make on-spot assessment of COVID-19 situation, issue necessary directions to State Authorities for its redressal and submit their report to the Centre.

Govt launches online data pool of critical human resource for combating and containing COVID-19

• Government has launched online data pool of critical human resource for combating and containing COVID-19, created an online data pool on covidwarriors.gov.in of doctors including nurses and other health care professionals, volunteers from National Yuva Kendras, NCC, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and ex-Servicemen for use by the ground level administration at state, district or municipal levels.

Centre forms high-level task force to develop vaccines, drugs

• The government announced setting up of a new task force to work on the development of vaccines and potential drugs as India continues to see rising number of covid-19 cases.
• The high-level task force will be headed by member NITI Aayog professor Vinod Paul and Principal Scientific Advisor to the government, K Vijayraghavan. It will work on various science frontiers to develop vaccines and drugs for the deadly virus.

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. BRO undertook the developmental work for construction of the Daporijo bridge maintaining utmost precautions against COVID-19.

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CBSE:

• Headquarters location: New Delhi
• Chairperson: Anita Karwal, IAS

Department of Science and Technology (DST) :

• Headquarters location: New Delhi
• Minister of State Dr. Harsh Vardhan is head of the department
• Ashutosh Sharma is its present secretary

 Agriculture Ministry:

• Narendra Singh Tomar, (Cabinet Minister)
• Parsottambhai Rupala (Minister of State)
• Kailash Choudhary , (Minister of State)

External Affairs Ministry

• Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (Minister)
• Constituency : Gujarat ,Rajya Sabha
• Muraleedharan (Minister of State),

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India :

• S. Sahoo, Chairperson
• Founded: 1 October 2016
• Headquarters: New Delhi

Finance Ministry:

• Union Minister: Nirmala Sitharaman,
• Deputy Minister: Anurag Thakur, Minister of State for Finance
• Ajay Bhushan Pandey ,IAS, Finance Secretary & Revenue Secretary

UNICEF:

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• Head: Henrietta H. Fore

 UNESCO

• Headquarters- Paris, France
• Head- Audrey Azoulay
• Founded- 16 November 1945

Union Minister for Culture

• Minister of Culture and Minister of Tourism of India- Prahlad Singh Patel
• Constituency- Damoh Loksabha Constituency in Madhya Pradesh

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare:

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Officeholders: Harsh Vardhan ( Union Minister), Faggan Singh Kulaste (Minister of State)

 Border Roads Organisation (BRO)

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Director General: Lt. Gen.Harpal Singh

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

Donald Trump halts World Health Organization funding over handling of coronavirus

• US President Donald Trump has announced that he has instructed his administration to stop US funding for the World Health Organization (WHO), which he accused of grossly mismanaging and covering-up the spread of the novel coronavirus.

South Korea holds parliamentary election under strict safety measures amid Covid-19 pandemic

• South Koreans began going to the polls to elect members of parliament, wearing masks and plastic gloves as part of strict safety measures in one of the first national elections held amid the coronavirus pandemic.

UN releases $2.5 million to help cyclone-ravaged Vanuatu

• The United Nations released $2.5 million from its emergency humanitarian fund to help thousands of people in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu affected by Cyclone Harold and offered support to other hard-hit countries.

IMF proposes to deploy its full 1 trillion US Dollar lending capacity to support countries

• International Monetary Fund (IMF)has proposed to deploy its full 1 trillion US Dollar lending capacity to support countries battling COVID-19 outbreak.

WHO launches interactive COVID-19 service on Facebook Messenger

• The World Health Organisation has come up with an interactive method which uses Facebook Messenger to eradicate false information being spread about coronavirus.

IMF approves over USD 1.3 billion emergency financing to Pakistan

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved USD 1.3 billion in emergency financing to Pakistan to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 shock.

China earmarks $10 million from its ADB Trust Fund to address COVID-19  challenges in developing Asia

• The Government of the People’s Republic China (PRC) has earmarked a total amount of $10 million in its Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund to support the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in assisting its developing member countries (DMCs) to address their novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) challenges.

Facebook launches third party fact checking in Bangladesh

• Facebook announced the launch of its third party fact checking system in Bangladesh to discourage the spread of fake news in the country. Facebook in partnership with Boom Fact check will review and rate the stories, including photos and videos.

China begins testing of digital currency

• China’s central bank has started testing its official digital currency, pressing ahead with its plan to roll out a virtual money payment system, days after Facebook-backed Libra scaled back its ambitions to become a global currency, dubbed as DC/EP

India approves USD 1 million to Antigua as project outlay

• India has approved USD 1 million to Antigua as project outlay, with immediate assistance of USD 1,50,000 for medical equipment to combat coronavirus crisis.

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WHO:

• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Head: Tedros Adhanom

South Korea :

• Capital: Seoul
• President: Moon Jae-in
• Currency: South Korean won

United Nations (UN):

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• Secretary general: António Guterres
• General Assembly President: Tijjani Muhammad-Bande

International Monetary Fund (IMF):

• Headquarters: Washington, D.C. U.S.
• Managing Director : Kristalina Georgieva
• Chief Economist : Gita Gopinath

Pakistan :

• Currency: Pakistani rupee
• Capital: Islamabad
• Prime minister: Imran Khan
• President: Arif Alvi

Facebook :

• Mark Zuckerberg :CEO, Chairperson
• Headquarters: California, United States

Bangladesh :

• Capital: Dhaka
• Currency: Bangladeshi taka
• Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina

 China :

• President: Xi Jinping
• Capital: Beijing
• Currency: Renminbi

Antigua:

• Capital: Saint John’s
• Currency : eastern Caribbean dollar

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

HDFC Chairman pushes for restructuring of NPA norms

• HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh pushed for a one-time restructuring of stressed real estate accounts and relaxation in classification of NPA norms to 180 days from 90 days to help the sector.

Govt launches Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme 2020-21

• The  Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, is going to launch new series of the Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) Scheme, which will open for subscription from April 20. The Sovereign Gold Bonds will be issued in six tranches from April 20 to 4 September

Equitas Small Finance Bank steps up digital banking services

• Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited (the “Bank”), the largest small finance bank (“SFB”) in India in terms of number of banking outlets offers digital banking with Selfe FDs and Selfe savings accounts during the national/ regional lockdown with NO physical contact or branch visits; just self on boarding by new customers.

HDFC Bank launches Safety Grid campaign for social distancing

• HDFC Bank has launched a campaign to encourage and reinforce social distancing while waiting at shops.
• Using the outer grid of HDFC Bank logo, it has created physical markers on the ground to help people maintain the World Health Organisation (WHO) prescribed social distance while waiting in queue at a shop or an establishment.

RBI to inject Rs.25,000 cr via TLTRO on April 17

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI, stated it will conduct the fourth tranche of targeted long-term repo operation (TLTRO) of three-year tenor to inject Rs.25,000 crore liquidity into the banking system

RBI cuts reverse repo rate from 4 per cent to 3.75 per cent

• RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announces slew of measures to tackle Covid-19 crisis
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, Shaktikanta Das, stated that the apex bank has cut the reverse repo rate from 4 per cent to 3.75 per cent. The repo rate remains unchanged.
• Das also stated that the 90-day NPA norm will not to apply on to the moratorium granted on the existing loans by banks.

Economic growth may fall to 1.1 per cent this fiscal due to coronavirus: SBI report

• India’s GDP growth may slide to 1 per cent in the current financial year, on account of the impact of coronavirus outbreak on the economy, a research report by SBI

RBI raises WMA limit to Rs.2-lakh crore in H1 FY21

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in consultation with the Government of India, has revised the limit for Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for the remaining part of the first half of FY21 (April 2020 to September 2020) to 2-lakh crore

ICICI Bank launches voice banking services on Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant

• ICICI Bank has launched voice assistance-based banking services for its customers and they can check balance, seek credit card details as well as ask other queries among others through this application.
• The bank has integrated its artificial intelligence (AI) powered multi-channel chatbot iPal with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant through which its retail banking customers can undertake host of banking services through voice commands

 RBI announces calendar of MPC meetings for current financial year RBI

• The Reserve Bank of India has announced the calendar of the meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) for the current financial year. The decision of the first meet will be announced on June 5, this year.

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HDFC:

• CEO: Aditya Puri
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Tagline :We understand your world

Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) Scheme:

• SGBs are government securities denominated in grams of gold. They are substitutes for holding physical gold. Investors have to pay the issue price in cash and the bonds will be redeemed in cash on maturity. The Bond is issued by Reserve Bank on behalf of Government of India.

RBI:

• Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Formation– 1 April 1935
• Governor– Shaktikanta Das
• Deputy Governors– 3 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael DebabrataPatra)

 Equitas Small Finance Bank

• Headquarters location: Chennai
• Shri Arun Ramanathan (Part-time Chairman);
• Vasudevan P N (MD & CEO)

SBI:

• Chairperson: Rajnish Kumar
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Pure banking, nothing else” “With you- all the way” “A bank of the common man” “The banker to every indian”

 ICICI

• Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD and CEO- Sandeep Bakhshi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Apollo and Airtel launches self-assessment tool for Covid 19 risk

• Bharti Airtel and Apollo Hospitals Group has launched an artificial intelligence (AI)enabled tool which will help people to check their coronavirus risk profile.

India, China will register positive growth rate despite Coronavirus pandemic: IMF

• International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated India and China are the only two major countries, which will register a positive growth rate despite Coronavirus pandemic.
• IMF has projected India’s GDP growth to be 9 per cent in 2020 from 5.8 per cent in January. For China, it has projected a growth rate of 1.2 per cent.

Tata AIA becomes the first Life Insurance company to announce Additional Benefits Related to COVID-19

• As part of Tata AIA Life’s initiative, its individual policyholders will get COVID-19 related additional benefit up to Rs 500,000 at no additional cost.
• Further, to extend the Circle of Protection to its own Agents, all ‘active’ Agents of Tata AIA Life Insurance along with their spouse and children will be reimbursed up to Rs 25,000 in case of hospitalisation due to COVID-19.

Google launches ‘journalism relief fund,’ following Facebook

• Google stated it will launch an emergency fund to help local news outlets struggling to maintain operations in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
• The internet giant gave no specific figure for its fund, but stated it would offer grants ranging from the “low thousands of dollars” for the smallest operations to “low tens of thousands for larger newsrooms.”

Asia may see zero per cent growth in 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic: IMF

• Asia is expected to witness zero per cent growth in 2020 due COVID-19 pandemic, its worst growth performance in almost 60 years, but still the world’s largest and most populous continent is likely to fare better than other regions in terms of activity, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated.

FICCI Calls For Interest-Free, Collateral-Free Loans To Support Msmes Amid COVID-19 Lockdown

• The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has called for interest-free and collateral-free loans to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) which form a vital component of India’s economy and are suffering due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

Beijing-based AIIB mulls $500 mn funding for healthcare system in India

• The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is considering a proposal for financing $500-million project in India to strengthen country’s national health care systems. The scope of funding will also include the purchase of equipment and detection capacity as country battles COVID-19 pandemic.

Fitch cuts India’s GDP growth forecast to 1.8%

• Fitch Solutions cut India’s economic growth forecast for the financial year 2020-21 to 8 per cent saying private consumption is likely to contract due to large-scale loss of income in the face of worsening domestic outbreak of COVID-19.

ADB Ventures raises $50 million, exceeding fund capitalisation target

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) stated that ADB Ventures, its new impact investment platform, will soon start operations after successfully raising the equivalent of 50 million dollars from multilateral and bilateral development partners and exceeding its first fund close target.

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 Airtel :

• CEO: Gopal Vittal
• Sunil Bharti Mittal (Chairman)
• Headquarters : Delhi

International Monetary Fund (IMF):

• Headquarters: Washington, D.C. U.S.
• Managing Director : Kristalina Georgieva
• Chief Economist : Gita Gopinath

Tata AIA Life Insurance

• CEO: Rishi Srivastava
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 2000

Google :

• CEO: Sundar Pichai
• Headquarters: California, United States

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)

• Headquarters location: New Delhi
• Sangita Reddy: President

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

• President : Jin Liqun
• Headquarters: Beijing, China

Fitch ratings:

• Headquarters: New York City, U.S.
• Paul Taylor, CEO of Fitch Group

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

Baisakhi, Bihu, Vishu, Poila Boishakh, Puthandu

• The Eastern, Northern & Southern parts of the country celebrate their first harvest festival of the year – Baisakhi, Bihu, Vishu, Poila Boishak & Puthandu – with vigour and fervour. Every year, the festivals fall on April 13 or April 14, based on the Hindu or Sikh Calendar.

Robots to serve food, medicine to COVID-19 patients in Jharkhand

• Robots will serve food and give medicine to Covid-19 patients in two hospitals in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, in a step to protect doctors and health workers from getting infected with coronavirus.

Uttar Pradesh govt decides to promote all students from class 6 to 9 & 11 following lockdown

• Uttar Pradesh government has decided to promote all students from classes 6 to 9 and class 11 affiliated with UP Board without final exams. Now these students will move to the next grade without appearing for the final examinations.

e-comic Textbooks launched in Manipur

• Manipur State Education (School) Department has launched electronic format comic textbooks for class III to V for Mathematics, Environmental Studies and English Language in a motive to make up the gaps for the academic situation arises due to lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Karnataka CM to inaugurate mobile testing Kiosk for COVID 19 in Bengaluru JP

• Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa will inaugurate a mobile testing Kiosk for COVID19 in The mobile kiosk developed by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences can be deployed in Corona Virus hotspots and clusters to procure the throat swabs according to the guidelines issued by ICMR.

UP first state to get ICMR nod for ‘pool testing’ of samples for coronavirus

• Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in India to get the approval by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for “pool testing” of samples of COVID-19 suspects  in order to increase the rate of sample testing in the state with soaring cases.

New pit viper in Arunachal Pradesh named after Harry Potter character

• The new species, Trimeresurus salazar is the fifth variety of reptile to have been discovered in Arunachal Pradesh in a little more than a year.
• A group of researchers who recorded this serpent has named it Salazar’s pit viper

Uttar Pradesh becomes first state to geotag community kitchens

• Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in the country to geotag its 7,368 community kitchens and community shelters across 75 districts which produce 12 lakh food packets a day, a senior official stated.

Rajasthan Government Partners With Healthcare App ‘Aayu’ to Tackle Coronavirus Pandemic

• Rajasthan government has exclusively partnered with healthcare startup MedCords to provide 24×7 online consultation and medicine delivery to the people of Rajasthan as the State battles to control cases of Coronavirus. Through its integrated solution –Aayu & Sehat Sathi app, MedCords will help over 68 Million of people in Rajasthan through this collaboration.

Kerala’s Pathanamthitta launches Tiranga vehicle for rapid screening of symptoms

• The vehicle, called Tiranga – Total India Remote Analysis Nirogya Abhiyaan – is painted amid the tricolour on the vehicle so that people would immediately recognise it as an initiative of the government and leave the health workers alone.

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

• 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

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 Jharkhand:

• Chief minister: Hemant Soren
• Capital: Ranchi
• Governor :Draupadi Murmu

 Uttar Pradesh:

• Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath
• Governor: Anandiben Patel
• Capital: Lucknow

Manipur :

• Capital: Imphal
• Governor: Najma Heptulla
• Chief minister: N. Biren Singh

Karnataka:

• Chief minister: B. S. Yediyurappa
• Capital: Bengaluru
• Governor: Vajubhai Vala

Arunachal Pradesh

• Capital- Itanagar
• Chief Minister- Pema Kandu
• Governor- B D Mishra

 Chattisgarh

• Capital- Raipur
• Chief Minister- Bhupesh Baghel
• Governor- Anusuiya Uikey

Rajasthan :

• Governor: Kalraj Mishra
• Capital: Jaipur
• Chief minister: Ashok Gehlot

Kerala

• Capital- Trivandrum
• CM- Pinarayi Vijayan
• Governor- Arif Mohammed Khan

Himachal Pradesh:

• Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya
• Capitals: Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)
• Chief minister: Jai Ram Thakur

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS AND MERGERS

TVS Motor Company acquires Norton Motorcycles for Rs 153 crore

• TVS Motor Company has acquired Britain’s Norton Motorcycles for GBP16 million (Rs 153.12 crore). One of the most iconic British motorcycle brands of all time, Norton Motorcycles manufactures popular products like V4 RR, Dominator, Commando 961 Cafe Racer MK II and Commando 961 Sport MK II.

CCI approves Emerald Sage Investment’s stake buy in Apollo Tyres

• The Competition Commission has approved acquisition of 93 per cent stake in Apollo Tyres by Emerald Sage Investment.
• The proposed transaction relates to subscription of 10,80,00,000 compulsorily convertible preference shares of Rs 100 each of Apollo Tyres by Emerald.

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CCI

• It is a statutory body of India, responsible for the implementation of the Competition Act, 2002 & established by the Centre with effect from 14th October 2003.
• Headquarters– New Delhi
• Chairperson– Ashok Kumar Gupta

TVS company :

• Headquarters: Chennai
• CEO: K. N. Radhakrishnan
• Founder: T. V. Sundaram Iyengar

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTALS

National Agriculture Market portal e-NAM to Complete four Years

• The pan-India Agriculture trading portal e-NAM will be completing four years of implementation.
• e-NAM  was an innovative initiative  in agricultural marketing to enhance farmers accessibility digitally to multiple number of markets & buyers and to bring transparency in trade transactions with the intent to improve price discovery mechanism, quality commensurate price realization and also to develop the concept of One Nation One Market for agriculture produce.

Ministry of Tourism launches “DekhoApnaDesh” webinar series

• The ministry of tourism was launching the Dekho Apna Desh webinar series.
• The webinar series will provide information on the many destinations and the ‘depth’ and ‘expanse’ of the culture and heritage of India. The first webinar on the history of Delhi and was titled ” City of Cities- Delhi’s Personal Diary

‘Kisan Rath’ app to help farmers transport their farm produce

• Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched a farmer-friendly mobile application Kisan Rath to facilitate farmers and traders in searching vehicles for primary and secondary transportation of agriculture and horticulture produce.

Chhattisgarh Govt Launches Website For Home Delivery Of Fruits, Vegetables Amid Lockdown

• Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel inaugurated the online delivery website ‘Cghaat’ to provide home delivery of fruits and vegetables during the extended lockdown phase.

Delhi govt uses ‘Assess Koro Na’ app for door-to-door survey in containment zones

• The Delhi government has asked officials to use the new ‘Assess Koro Na’ app for door-to-door survey in coronavirus containment zones to speed up decision-making by analysing real-time data, removing a major obstacle in the efforts to contain the virus.

IIM-Kozhikode student-led team develops one-stop COVID-19 platform for accessing emergency services

• An international team led by an Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK) student has developed a vital digital tool to fight misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The website ‘COVID FYI’ (covidfyi.in) is a one-stop digital directory for all COVID-19 related services and helplines.

 Instagram founders launch COVID-19 tracking website

• Instagram founders have launched a new COVID-19 tracking website, which brings live state-by-state updates on the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. However, as of now, the website shows the updates of states in the US only and not from around the globe.

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Tourism Ministry

• Minister of Tourism- Prahlad Singh Patel
• Constituency- Damoh Madhya Pradesh.

 Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister

• Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Minister of Rural Development- Narendra Singh Tomar
• Constituency- Morena, Madhya Pradesh.

Delhi

• CM- Arvind Kejriwal
• Governor- Anil Baijal

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND HONOURS

Paytm General Insurance Ltd names Vineet Arora as MD, CEO

• Digital payments major Paytm stated it has named Vineet Arora as the managing director and chief executive officer of Paytm General Insurance Ltd

Ajay Mahajan appointed MD & CEO of Care Ratings

• Ajay Mahajan has been appointed as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of CARE Ratings for five years commencing from April 15, 2020. He replaces Rajesh Mokashi, who resigned in December 2019.

IWF chief Tamas Ajan resigns amid corruption probe

• International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) president Tamas Ajan resigned in the wake of allegations of corruption and doping violations made in a documentary earlier this year.

Rohit Sharma becomes Cric Kingdom’s brand ambassador

• India’s limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma has become brand ambassador of ‘CricKingdom’, a cricket academy based in Dubai which will also facilitate coaching through its online platform after the global COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

Viswanathan Anand Joins WWF India As Ambassador For Environment Education

• Five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand has joined WWF (World Wide Fund) India as its ambassador for environment education programme.WWF India is celebrating its 50 years of conservation in India.

BSNL CMD PK Purwar takes additional charge of MTNL

• BSNL’s Chairman and Managing Director PK Purwar took additional charge of MTNL.
• Purwar’s appointment seems to be a step towards the eventual merger of MTNL and BSNL, announced in October 2019.

Indian-American Ro Khanna appointed to White House COVID-19 advisory council

• Indian-American Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna has been appointed to the White House coronavirus advisory council to combat the deadly disease in the US, which has seen a record number of deaths in the past two days.

SC Collegium Recommends Appointment Of New Chief Justices For Bombay, Meghalaya and Odisha High Courts 

• The Supreme Court collegium, recommended the appointment of new chief justices to 3 high courts – Bombay, Odisha and Meghalaya.
• Justice Dipankar Datta– Bombay high court.
• Justice Biswanath Somadder– Meghalaya high court
• Justice Mohammad Rafiq– Odisha high court

Kapil Dev Tripathi appointed Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed Kapil Dev Tripathi was appointed Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind.

US Prez Trump appoints Indian-American to country’s top science board

• US President Donald Trump appointed Indian-American Sudarsanam Babu to country’s top science board. Babu, who is from the prestigious Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has been appointed as a member of the National Science Board for a six-year term, stated the White House.

RBI gives nod to Kamakodi’s reappointment as MD & CEO of City Union Bank

• The Reserve Bank of India has given its approval for the re-appointment of N Kamakodi as MD & CEO of City Union Bank (CUB) for three years with effect from May 1, the private sector bank stated in an exchange filing.

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International Weightlifting Federation (IWF):

• Headquarters : Budapest, Hungary
• President: Tamás Aján

WWF (World Wide Fund) India

• Head Quarters- New Delhi
• Founded- 27 Nov 1969

City Union Bank (CUB):

• Headquarters: Kumbakonam
• CEO: Dr. N. Kamakodi
• Tagline :Trust and Excellence since 1904

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERENCE

44th Session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee postponed

• The 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO was scheduled to be held the city ofFuzhou, Fujian province, China June 29-July 9, 2020

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World Heritage Committee

• The World Heritage Committee selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties.
• Headquarters location- Paris, France
• Founded- November 1976

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Four Indian-Americans awarded 2020 Guggenheim fellowships

• Four Indian-Americans have been awarded with a prestigious US fellowship for their accomplishments and “exceptional promise”.
• Pradeep Sharma, mechanical engineer at the University of Houston, Kavita Ramanan, professor of Applied Mathematics at Brown University, Dilip Da Cunha, architect, planner and teacher at Harvard University and Columbia University, and Mukul Sharma, professor of Earth Sciences at Dartmouth College, have been awarded the 2020 Guggenheim fellowships

 Tata Power bags Edison Award for social innovation

• Tata Power got the awards for its ‘Club Enerji #Switchoff2SwitchOn’ The sustainability initiative has brought in 533 participating schools across India that have saved 29.8 million units of power since it started in 2007.

Algerian Author Abdelouahab Aissaoui Wins the 13th International Prize for Arabic Fiction

• Algerian author Abdelouahab Aissaoui has won the 13th International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) with his novel “The Spartan Court.” Backed by the UK’s Booker Prize Foundation.

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 Paytm

• CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
• Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

TATA Power

• CEO- Praveer Sinha
• Headquarters- Mumbai

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE

INS Dega at Eastern Naval Command ensures joint-user airfield at Vizag remains open during lockdown

• INS Dega of Eastern Naval Command (ENC) ensured that the joint-user airfield at Visakhapatnam remains open round-the-clock.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Shuttling to the Top: The Story of P.V. Sindhu by Krishnaswamy V

• Shuttling to the Top: The Story of P.V. Sindhu is the fascinating story of the junior player who went on to be the first Indian to win an Olympic silver medal for badminton.
• Authored by Krishnaswamy V was published by Harper Collins in Amazon digital platform along with other two books, amid the lockdown due to Coronavirus.

Sudha Murty’s first-ever audio book ‘How the Onion Got Its Layers

• Sudha Murty’s book will be out in an audio format for the first time with the popular storyteller.
• “How the Onion Got Its Layers” seeks to answer several questions related to the bulb like its many layers and why it brings tears to the eyes when cut. It will also be available as an e-book, published by Puffin.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

DRDO develops kiosk for COVID-19 sample collection

• Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad has added another product to the portfolio of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to combat Coronavirus (COVID-19) by developing COVID Sample Collection Kiosk (COVSACK)

NIT-K Professor builds Zero-Cov, a cost-effective disinfectant chamber

• A team of researchers from National Institute of Technology-Karnataka at Surathkal near has developed a cost-effective disinfectant chamber Zero-Cov that could disinfect personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, surgical masks, vegetables, packed food and other day-to-day items without causing them damage.

IIT -Ropar designs ‘WardBot’ to deliver food, medicines to Covid -19 patients

• A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar in Punjab’s Rupnagar district has come up with a design of an autonomous ‘WardBot’ which can deliver medicines and food to COVID-19 patients in isolation wards without human intervention.

DRDO introduces products which can enhance ops at public places during pandemic

• Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO in its continuous quest to contribute towards fight against COVID-19, has been developing several solutions from its existing arsenal of technologies and experience.

NASA to launch astronauts to space station from US soil for the first time in a decade

• The rocket and the spacecraft it is carrying are due to take off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre on 27 May, taking two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
• Both the rocket and spacecraft were developed by private company SpaceX.

Kerala Institute Makes New Diagnostic Test Kit That Can Confirm Covid-19 Samples in 2 Hrs for Rs 1,000

• Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, (SCTI) Trivandrum has developed a diagnostic test kit which can confirm COVID-19 cases in just two hours at a cost as low as Rs 1,000.

Six-planet system found in almost perfect orbital harmony

• Scientists have discovered a six-planet system — a “super-Earth” and five “mini-Neptunes” which display an exceptionally regular spacing, hinting at how the system may have formed.

Microsoft to launch plasmabot to encourage COVID-19 recovered patients to donate plasma

• Tech giant Microsoft is launching a plasmabot to explore the possibility of treatment for COVID-19. It is encouraging patients who were once infected and now have been completely cured to come forward and donate plasma. To reach a large number of people, Microsoft has decided to come up with a plasmabot.

Cognizant hit by ‘Maze’ ransomware attack

• New-Jersey headquartered IT services provider Cognizant had faced a ransomware that has caused disruptions to its clients.

Fish gills used to develop efficient low-cost electro-catalysts for rechargeable metal-air battery

• Scientists at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, have recently come up with an efficient, low-cost electro-catalyst from fish gills that can help develop environmentally friendly energy conversion devices

Facebook to roll out its Covid-19 symptom tracking survey globally to identify potential hotspots

• Facebook announced that it will be working on expanding its Covid-19 surveys globally.
• Facebook had launched a self-assessment pop-up survey for Facebook users in the United States displaying it on top of a user’s News Feed.

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Defence Research and Development Organisation:

• Headquarters -New Delhi
• Chairman- Dr G. Satheesh Reddy

NASA:

• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• Administered by: Jim Bridenstine

Microsoft:

• CEO: Satya Nadella
• Headquarters: Washington, United States

Facebook:

• CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
• Headquarters: California, United States

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

Hockey India postpones all its rescheduled national championships

• Hockey India postponed all its rescheduled national championships indefinitely after the national lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic was extended till May 3.These tournaments were rescheduled to start on April 29 and continue till July 3 but have been suspended for now.

Mascot for Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games unveiled

• The mascot for the 4th Asian Para Games scheduled to be held here from October 9 in 2022 at Hangzhou, China was unveiled. The design of ‘Feifei’ is inspired by the motif of the ‘Divine Bird’ in the Liangzhu Culture.

World’s most famous cycling race Tour de France postponed in wake of Corona virus pandemic

• The world’s most famous cycling race Tour de France has been postponed in the wake of Corona virus pandemic.
• The three-week race was set to start on 27th of June in the Riviera city of Nice has been set for August. This year’s event has 21 stages, with the longest of them stretching 218 kilometres (135 miles).

SAI, AIFF join hands to launch online coaching programme during lockdown

• All India Football Federation (AIFF) in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has arranged for an Online Coach Education Programme, that gets underway on April 20, 2020.

World Rugby announces USD 100 million relief fund amid coronavirus crisis

• World Rugby will make almost $100 million available to help nations through the Covid-19 pandemic which it calls an unprecedented threat to the global game.

Laver Cup Postponed Until 2021 Due To French Open Clash

• The fourth edition of the Laver Cup has been postponed from September 2020 to 2021 because of scheduling conflicts with other tennis events in a year disrupted by COVID-19, organizers.

Sharath Kamal becomes highest-ranked Indian table tennis player

• Ace paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal surpassed compatriot Gnanasekaran Sathiyan to become the highest-ranked Indian men table tennis player after he grabbed 31st position in the latest senior men’s rankings released by International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

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 Hockey India:

• President: Mr. Md. Mustaque Ahmad
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairperson: Mr. Jaideep yadav

All India Football Federation (AIFF)

• President: Praful Patel
• Headquarters: Dwarka, Delhi

Sports Authority of India (SAI)

• Headquarters: Delhi
• Sandip Pradhan Indian Revenue Service, Sports Secretary-cum-Director General

World Rugby:

• Headquarters: Dublin, Ireland
• CEO: Brett Gosper

International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)

• Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland
• President: Thomas Weikert
• CEO: Steve Dainton

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Former Gujarat Cricketer Walter D’Souza Passes Away

• Former Gujarat cricketer Walter D’Souza passed away at 93. D’Souza played first-class cricket from 1947/48 to 1965/66.

 Actor Ranjit Chowdhry passes away

• Actor-writer Ranjit Chowdhry passed away at the age of 65.
• Chowdhry is remembered for his roles in Mira Nair’s ‘Mississippi Masala’ starring Denzel Washington, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s ‘Khubsoorat’, and Basu Chatterjee’s ‘Khatta Meetha’ and ‘Baton Baton Mein’ among others.

Chilean author Luis Sepulveda passes away

• Best-selling Chilean writer Luis Sepulveda has passed away at a hospital in northern Spain some six weeks after testing positive for coronavirus. He was 70.

Maharashtra Freedom Fighter RV Bhuskute passes away

• Freedom fighter R V Bhuskute, who had participated in the Quit India Movement, has passed away of prolonged illness. He was 94

Former Minister Saharai Oram passes away at 78  

• Former Cabinet minister and five-time MLA Saharai Oram passed away after prolonged illness.

Abba Kyari Chief of staff to Nigeria’s president Buhari Passes away

• Abba Kyari, the trusted chief of staff to Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari has passed away from complications related to Covid-19.

Tom and Jerry, Popeye director Gene Deitch dies at 95 in Prague

• Gene Deitch, an American Oscar-winning illustrator, animator, film director and producer has died. He was 95. Deitch’s movie Munro won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1960.

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