Current Affairs Today 12th March 2020| Current Affairs News

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Daily Current Affairs PDF of 12th March 2020

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

World Kidney Day 2020

• According to the National Health Portal of India, about one in 10 people suffer from chronic kidney disease (CKD) globally. For a disease with such massive impacts, it is necessary that proper awareness programme and campaigns are held.
• On the second Thursday of March every year, World Kidney Day is celebrated across the globe. On this day, not only the problems associated with kidney diseases are discussed, but also measures that could help bring the number of people being affected are pondered upon.
• This year, on March 12, 2020 the World Kidney Day will be observed. The event focuses on “preventive interventions” to avoid the onset and progression of kidney diseases.
• This year’s theme is ‘Kidney health for everyone everywhere – from prevention to detection and equitable access to care’.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

LPG Scheme Closed, But Only 3 States Have Gone Kerosene-Free 

• As per a report of the Parliamentary committee on Petroleum, only three States and five Union Territories have become kerosene free given the target of eight crore LPG connections under PM Ujjwala Yojana was completed last September.
• The report of the Parliamentary Committee on Petroleum, which was tabled last week, points to the gap between the continuing use of kerosene and the claim of 97% LPG coverage nationwide. The committee is headed by BJP member Ramesh Bidhuri.
• The allocation for the scheme has been cut down by 58% from ₹2,724 crore during 2019-20 to ₹1,118 crore during 2020-21. The Petroleum Ministry informed the committee that the government had met the target on September 7, 2019, and 96.9% coverage had been achieved nationwide, except in Jammu and Kashmir.
• Only three States — Haryana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh — and the Union Territories of Delhi, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, Andaman & Nicobar Island and Puducherry have become kerosene-free.

PM Ujjwala Yojana

• It is a scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for providing LPG connections to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) households.
• Launched in the year 2016
• Under the scheme, five crore LPG connections are to be provided to BPL households.
• The Scheme provides a financial support of Rs 1600 for each LPG connection to the BPL households, interest free loan to purchase stove and refill by Oil Marketing Companies.
• The administrative cost of Rs. 1600 per connection, which includes a cylinder, pressure regulator, booklet, safety hose, etc. would be borne by the Government.

Main national event for International Day of Yoga to be held at Leh

• The main national event for the International Day of Yoga will be held at Leh, the capital of Ladakh this year. The event, which is held on the 21st of June every year, will be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik stated, the event promises to be unique and different since such a large congregation for Yoga will be taking place in a high altitude location like Leh for the first time. The Prime Minister is expected to carry out yogasanas based on Common Yoga Protocol along with an anticipated gathering of 15 to 20 thousand people on the Yoga Day at Leh.
• The Prime Minister leads a  mass demonstration of Yoga every year in the main event of International Day of Yoga. A 45-minute yoga drill based on Common Yoga Protocol is the highlight.

About ladakh:

• Capital: Leh, Kargil
• Lieutenant Governor :R. K. Mathur

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

World Health Organization declares Covid-19 as a pandemic

• World Health Organization (WHO) has characterised the new coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva that he is alarmed by the spread and severity of the outbreak, along with a lack of action taken to combat it.
• WHO chief stated the number of cases and deaths are likely to rise in the coming days and weeks. He stated, WHO has never before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus.
• UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged world governments to urgently scale up their response to the novel coronavirus if they are to stand a chance of stemming its spread. UN Secretary General stated, the declaration of coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic is a call to action – for everyone, everywhere.
• He called on every government to step up and scale up their efforts . Guterres stated, if countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace and mobilize their people in the response, we can go a long way in mitigating transmission.

About WHO:

• Head: Tedros Adhanom
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Founded: 7 April 1948

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

Bank of England cuts rates to 0.25 per cent

• The Bank of England unexpectedly cut interest rates by half a per cent in a shock move to bolster Britain’s economy against disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
• Members of the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee voted to cut Bank Rate for the first time since August 2016, to 25 per cent from 0.75 per cent, the central bank stated in a statement.
• The BoE maintained its target for government bond purchases to 435 billion pounds and its corporate bond purchase target to 10 billion pounds.
• The BoE also introduced a new term funding scheme for small businesses. It will offer four-year funding over the next 12 months.
• The central bank’s Financial Policy Committee also lowered the counter-cyclical capital buffer for banks to zero from 1 per cent.

About bank of England:

• Head quarters: London , united kingdom
• Governor : Mark Carney
• Central bank of united kingdom

India Post to launch free digital locker service

• For the first time in India, the Department of Posts is introducing a free digital parcel locker service in the city to enable customers collect their consignment from specified post offices at their convenience. The facility will be available in two post offices  — the Nabadiganta IT Post Office in Sector 5 of Salt Lake City and another in New Town.
• Chief Post Master General, West Bengal Circle, Gautam Bhattacharya will inaugurate the service from the Nabadiganta IT Post Office . The facility, which is popular in European countries, will be limited to consignments received through registered post or speed post, the official stated.
• This is for the first time that the digital parcel locker service will be introduced in India keeping in mind the benefit of the common man. This facility has been chosen for working people who cannot receive parcels because they have no one at home to receive consignments during office hours, he stated.
• A customer will be given a specific locker number as the address where India Post will drop the parcel.
• Consignments will be dropped into the digital parcel locker and an SMS will be issued along with an OTP number to the customer concerned. The consignment will remain accessible to customers for seven days during which they can collect the parcel any time of the day.

About India post:

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Founded: 1 April 1854
• Department executives: : Pradipta Kumar Bisoi, Secretary; Shri Salim Haque, Director General;

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Facebook launches ‘Pragati’ to boost women entrepreneurship in India

• Facebook India called for applications for its CSR initiative, Facebook Pragati, powered by N/Core (The/Nudge Centre for Social Innovation).
• The initiative will incubate and accelerate early-stage women-led non-profits that are working to drive women entrepreneurship and to spread awareness and adoption of technology among women in India. Facebook Pragati will award four grants of up to ₹50 lakh for each non-profit to scale their work.
• Ajit Mohan, Vice-President and Managing Director, Facebook India, stated: Facebook is an ally for accelerating India’s growth and promoting inclusion is one of our key priorities. An important enabler for that is financial independence. The relative number of businesses in India run by women entrepreneurs is still very low. We are committed to helping women entrepreneurs succeed through greater access to digital platforms, funds and mentorship.
• Our CSR focus with Facebook Pragati will be to empower women to set-up and grow their businesses, and contribute to making the country economically and socially stronger, he added
• Non-profits that are less than three years old and have at least one woman founder can apply. They should be able to demonstrate a viable business plan.

About Facebook :

• CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
• Founded: February 2004,
• Headquarters: Menlo Park, California, United States
• CFO: David Wehner

Zomato enters fintech space, launches co-branded credit card with RBL, Master Card

• Gurugram-based food delivery giant Zomato has inked a strategic partnership with Master Card and RBL to launch a co-branded credit card. Joining the likes of Amazon, Ola and Flipkart in the fintech space, the online food delivery platform will offer a host of benefits to the cardholders.
• The move is also seen as the company’s efforts to soar Zomato Gold’s membership. Through this collaboration, RBL and Zomato are targeting to issue one million credit cards in the first two years to Zomato users in India. The cards come in two variants — Edition and Edition Classic. The Edition Classic starts with an annual membership of Rs 500 (exclusive of taxes). Its features include Zomato credit on every purchase — online and offline — both which can be redeemed at Zomato-partnered restaurants.
• The move, stated executives, is made keeping in mind the growing popularity of dining out among India’s urban millennials, who are increasingly using apps to order meals at home or eating out. Benefits linked to dining could help users sign up for such financial products.
• Saxena added that this makes it the first card where a food aggregator has come together with bank to launch a financial product. Currently, RBL Bank has over 5 million credit cardholders and services over 7.8 million customers. Zomato, on the other hand, is present in over 500 cities in India, with over 2 lakh delivery partners that ferry orders throughout the day. The number of restaurant listings globally on Zomato stood at 1.5 million as of September 2019. Its Gold program has 1.4 million subscribers, according to its half yearly report in October last year.

About Zomato:

• Founder: Deepinder Goyal
• Founded: July 2008
• Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana, India

About RBL:

• Head quarters: Mumbai ,Maharashtra
• MD & CEO: Mr Vishwavir Ahuja

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

Devotees celebrate ‘ Hola Mohalla’ at Golden Temple, Amritsar

• Hola Mahalla or simply Hola is a Sikh festival that takes place on the first of the lunar month of Chet which usually falls in March at Sri Anandpur Sahib,
• This, by a tradition established by Guru Gobind Singh, follows the Hindu festival of Holi by one day; Hola is the masculine form of the feminine sounding Holi.
• In this festival, the Sikh community performs wrestling, mock sword fights, turban tying, bareback horse-riding, standing erect on two speeding horses, tent pigging etc., which is then followed by the music and poetry competition.

About Punjab

• Capital- Chandigarh
• Chief Minister- Amarinder Singh
• Governor- VP Singh Badnore

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Indian Scientists develop Fuel Cell Technology for Disaster Management

• Scientists at International Advanced Research for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad, an autonomous R&D Centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST) have developed Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells (PEMFC).
• PEMFC, in its entireness, have an advantage of operational capability at low-temperatures with applications in decentralised power generation systems. Through intense R&D efforts in the area of fuel cell technologies, ARCI at its Centre for Fuel Cell Technology, Chennai has developed in-house PEMFC systems in the power range of 1 to 20 kiloWatt (kW) and demonstrated the same in stationary (1-20 kW) and transport applications (1,3,5 kW).
• Emergency Operation Centres (EOC) backed with 10 kW system along with fuel cell stack (providing sustainable electricity using hydrogen gas without the need of grid power), air moving sub systems, power control devices and control and monitoring system is being planned as a natural disaster management measure.
• ARCI is now planning to set up a PEMFC system up to 10 kW capacity at Tamil Nadu State Emergency Operation Centre (TN SEOC) to operate the systems like early warning systems, VHF set, IP phone, BSNL Ethernet and office equipment like scanner, computers, printers, phone, FAX and normal requirements like lighting and fan.

Ranchi University to launch its own Community Radio Station

• Ranchi University will launch its own Community Radio Station —  Aap Sabka Radio on  International Women’s Day.
• Vice-chancellor of the University, Dr Ramesh Kumar Pandey has dedicated this Radio Station to all Women who have always remained the driving force behind every man.
• Radio Khanchi under Ranchi University remains to be the first-ever University in the Eastern Zone to be gifted with a Community Radio Station by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and sponsored by Information and Public Relations Department, Government of Jharkhand.
• The radio would provide help to university students which is spread over a campus of more than 15 kms.
• Students will be able to receive information about academic, cultural, examination, important datelines and placement related activities and programs.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Indian Mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya Scales Australia’s Highest Mountain Peak

• Indian mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya has successfully scaled Mount Kosciuszko 2,228 meters, the highest mountain peak in
• Ms Dehariya, who last year scaled Mount Everest and Mount Kilimanjaro.
• She hails from Madhya Pradesh

Recent News

• Telangana Teen Malavath Poorna Scaled Antarctica’s Highest Peak. Eighteen-year-old Poorna became the first and youngest tribal woman in the world to set foot on the six tallest mountain peaks across six continents.

About Mountains and its Heights

National award for PGI Professor Jaimanti Baksh for services to people suffering from ENT diseases

• Dr Jaimanti Bakshi, Professor and Unit Head II, Department of Otolaryngology and Head Neck surgery at PGIMER was awarded the “Best Citizens of India Gold medal Award”.
• She was awarded for her individual achievements and her contribution towards the national development through her tremendous services to the people suffering from many ENT diseases and head and neck cancer.
• This award was given by Global Economic Progress and Research Association which is under the government of India, during the National Unity conference held at

Women scientists receive international exposure through Indo-U.S. Fellowship for WISTEMM

• The Indo–S. Fellowship for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (WISTEMM) program of Department of Science and Technology (DST) in association with Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF) have provided international exposure to several women scientists.
• Around 20 women scientists have visited 20 leading institutions across the United States of America for furthering their research work and to get trained in the state-of-the-art technologies related to their research.
• WISTEMM aims to provide opportunities to Indian Women Scientists, Engineers & Technologists to undertake international collaborative research in premier institutions in the USA, to enhance their research capacities and capabilities.
• The programme is run for two categories of women scientists – Women Overseas Student Internship (Module I) for women students pursuing PhD, and Women Overseas Fellowship (Module II) for women with PhD degree and holding regular position at any recognized institution/laboratory in India.
• The first batch of women scientists comprising 20 women has completed their visit to 20 leading institutions across the United States of America. Selected from among the application from the women scientific community, second batch of 20 women is undergoing visit across premier institutions of USA this year.
• The fellowship is for bright Indian women Citizen within the age bracket of 21 to 45 years. Such abroad age criteria not only cater to those who are currently pursuing research but also to those outstanding women researchers who would want to return after having taken a break onto their research path. The funding support extended under the program includes stipend, airfare, health insurance, contingency and conference allowances.
• DST has started several pioneering initiatives for promoting women in science. In the year 2014, DST restructured all women specific programmes under one umbrella called Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN), which encompasses women-exclusive schemes and encourages them to foster their career by not only undertaking research in Science and Technology (S&T) but also focusing on S&T solutions of issues & challenges at the grassroots level for social benefits. The mandate of KIRAN Program is to bring gender parity in S&T through gender mainstreaming.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

India shares second position with China as most promising source of disruptive technologies

• India surged back to tie the second position with China in KPMG’s 2020 global technology industry innovation survey which includes responses from more than 800 global leaders in the technology industry. United States (US) topped the survey.
• KPMG’s study shows which cities, in addition to presumed global leader Silicon Valley/San Francisco.
• Bengaluru’s entry in the top 10 rankings is another sign that the city is doing well in the areas of modern infrastructure, attracting skilled talent and investment.
• Singapore, seventh last year, leaped to the top of this year’s global rankings.London moved up one notch to second.
• Tel Aviv, 15th last year, rocketed to third place. Bengaluru ranked 9th, jumping from 18th a year ago.

About KPMG

• Headquarters– Amstelveen, Netherlands
• CEO– William B. Thomas

Delhi’s IGI airport ranked world’s best in over 40 MPPA category

• The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), which is undergoing a major expansion, has emerged as the best airport in the over 40 million passengers per annum (MPPA) category in Asia-Pacific by the Airports Council International’s Airport Service Quality Programme (ASQ) 2019 rankings.
• Last year, the IGIA, handled around 69 million passengers and was positioned among the airports of the Asia-Pacific region, like Singapore’s Changi airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
• The IGIA had retained the world’s second best airport position for three consecutive years till 2013. “In 2014, it stepped up its position to World No. 1 in the 25-40 MPPA category and retained the rank in 2015,” DIAL stated in a statement.
• The Delhi Airport has been adjudged as the world’s best airport in the highest category of more than 40 million passengers per annum consecutively in 2017 and 2018.”

Some Airports in India:

Byju Raveendran, Zomato’s Gaurav Gupta on WEF’s Young Global Leaders list

• Byju Classes’ founder Byju Raveendran and Zomato’s co-founder Gaurav Gupta are among the five Indians named by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in its new list of 115 Young Global Leaders .
• Announcing the list, Geneva-based WEF stated these ‘change-makers’ from as many as 52 countries are working in areas ranging from revamping of health systems to investigating corruption while using their power of the under 40s to change the world.
• The other three Indians on the list are Tara Singh Vachani (CEO of Antara Senior Living), Vinati Mutreja (Managing Director and CEO, Vinati Organics Limited), and Swapan Mehra (CEO, Iora Ecological Solutions).
• Raveendran, who launched Byju’s as a learning app in 2015, calls himself a teacher by choice and an entrepreneur by chance.
• Gupta’s Zomato has been a pioneering food technology start-up, which he launched as a table reservation business and then scaled it up across India, the UAE and Australia.
• These five Indians are joined on the 2020 list of YGLs by US women’s football team co-captain Megan Rapinoe, world-renowned street artist JR, New Zealand’s first refugee parliamentarian Golriz Gharhaman, Finland’s youngest prime minister Sanna Marin, BBC News’s Africa Business Editor Larry Madowo and Xiaomi’s international business president Chew Shou Zi.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

Tiger Woods to be inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame in 2021 class

• American golfer Tiger Woods will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2021. The hall of fame, located in St. Augustine, Florida, released a saying Woods, winner of 15 major titles, will be inducted in the male competitor category.
• Woods was among 10 finalists named in March as candidates for His 93 worldwide victories include a record-tying 82 US PGA Tour titles. He won his 15th major title at the Masters last April, ending an 11-year major drought after career-threatening injuries.
• Woods is a three-time winner of the career Grand Slam and in 2000-01 completed the “Tiger Slam” when he became the first golfer since Bobby Jones to hold all four major championship titles at the same time. The 2021 class was chosen by Hall’s selection committee, a 20-member panel.

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DAILY CA 11^TH MAR

• CISF Raising Day- 10 March
• No Smoking Day- second Wednesday of march
• Govt Sets up a committee on Kisan Rail
• Govt suspends e-visa and existing visa’s for France, Germany, Spain in wake of Novel Corona virus
• UN Security Council unanimously approves US Taliban peace agreement
• FDI inflows recorded highest ever for fiscal year 2018-19
• SBI cuts marginal cost of lending rate by up to 15 points across tenors
• Rolls-Royce partners with IIT-Madras for joint research programmes
• ‘NIGHA’ app launched to curb poll irregularities in Andhra Pradesh
• COVA Punjab App Launched To Spread Awareness
• Traditional ‘Fagli’ festival celebrated in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur
• Odisha to have separate dept for SHGs dedicated to women “Mission Shakti”
• 32 lakh saplings planted so far under “Green J&K” program
• Lt Gen KJS Dhillon to take charge as DG DIA, DCIDS
• Telangana agri varsity VC Praveen Rao wins Swaminathan Award
• Smart Incubator of the Year’ Award for Maker Village
• Mangaluru International Airport named ‘best airport by size and region’
• Bollywood writer, filmmaker Tahira Kashyap to launch her book ‘The 12 commandments of Being A Woman’
• HAL Mulls Setting Up Logistics Bases In Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia And Sri Lanka To Boost Defence Exports
• Andhra Pradesh ranked 1st in country for overall implementation of Poshan Abhiyan
• Mohun Bagan are the Hero I-League Champions 2019-2020
• FIDE Women’s Grand Prix: Dronavalli Harika held to draw by Abdumalik in round 7
• CFC forward Schembri to retire from professional football

DAILY CA 12^TH MAR

• World Kidney Day 2020-12^th March
• LPG Scheme Closed, But Only 3 States Have Gone Kerosene-Free
• Main national event for International Day of Yoga to be held at Leh
• World Health Organization declares Covid-19 as a pandemic
• Bank of England cuts rates to 25 per cent
• India Post to launch free digital locker service
• Facebook launches ‘Pragati’ to boost women entrepreneurship in India
• Zomato enters fintech space, launches co-branded credit card with RBL, Master Card
• Devotees celebrate ‘ Hola Mohalla’ at Golden Temple, Amristar
• Indian Scientists develop Fuel Cell Technology for Disaster Management
• Ranchi University to launch its own Community Radio Station
• Indian Mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya Scales Australia’s Highest Mountain Peak
• National award for PGI Professor Jaimanti Baksh for services to people suffering from ENT diseases
• Women scientists receive international exposure through Indo-U.S. Fellowship for WISTEMM
• India shares second position with China as most promising source of disruptive technologies
• Delhi’s IGI airport ranked world’s best in over 40 MPPA category
• Byju Raveendran, Zomato’s Gaurav Gupta on WEF’s Young Global Leaders list
• Tiger Woods to be inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame in 2021 class

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