DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS : April 24 & 25, 2020

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Daily Current Affairs (April 24 & 25, 2020) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

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Current Affairs Quiz – April 24 & 25, 2020

Important Days

National Panchayati Raj Day : April 24

  • 24th April, 1993 marks a defining moment in the history of decentralization of power to the grassroots, with the institutionalization of Panchayati Raj, through the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 which came into force with effect from that day.
  • PM Modi launched unified e-GramSwaraj Portal and Mobile App.

International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace: 24 April

  • International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace is observed on 24th April. The day aims to disseminate the advantages of multilateralism and diplomacy for peace through educational and public awareness-raising activities. 
  • To commemorate and promote the day, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) convenes a one-day high-level plenary meeting.

“Khongjom Day” commemorated by Manipur- April 23:

  • The state of Manipur commemorated Khongjom Day. The day is marked to pay tribute to the warriors who fought in the 1891 Anglo-Manipur war.
  • The Anglo-Manipur was an armed conflict between the British Government and the Kingdom of Manipur. The war was fought between 31 March and 27 April of 1891. It resulted in the victory of British.

National News

Mizoram: Mobile app ‘mCOVID19’ to act as online pass for drivers and handymen:

  • Mobile app, mCOVID19 will act as the online pass for the drivers & handymen. The truck drivers & handlers coming from outside Mizoram state need to be thoroughly screened to contain the spread of the pandemic & this mPASS will be useful for the purpose.

Mizoram

  • Capital:Aizawl
  • Chief Minister:Zoramthanga
  • Governor:PS Sreedharan Pillai

Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ e-launches VidyaDaan 2.0 program on DIKSHA platform:

  • The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ e-launched VidyaDaan 2.0 program on DIKSHA platform to invite e-learning content contributions.
  • As there is an increasing requirement  for e-learning content for students(both school and higher education), particularly  in the context of the situation arising from COVID-19.

Minister of HRD launched the “MyBook MyFriend” campaign:

  • Union Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched the #MyBookMyFriendcampaign on social media on 23 April on the occasion of World Book Day. 

Paytm and Vodafone Idea partner to launch ‘Recharge Saathi’ for prepaid customers:

  • Vodafone Idea has entered into partnership with Paytm .Individuals and small businesses would be able to earn up to an additional Rs 5,000 every month under the ‘Recharge Saathi’ program. Vodafone Idea will offer assured cashback to merchant partners.
  • MD and CEO of Vodafone Idea: Ravinder Takkar

Madhya Pradesh Anganwadi workers, Assistants to get benefit of CM COVID-19 Yoddha Kalyan Yojana:

  • Under this initiative, Anganwadi workers and Assistants of the state will also get a special health insurance cover of Rs 50 lakhs. 
  • The scheme has been launched by the Central Government for health workers who are fighting against COVID-19 epidemic.

Madhya Pradesh

 

  • Capital: Bhopal
  • Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chauhan
  • Governor: Lal Ji Tandon

 

Defense Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurates DRDO developed mobile laboratory to test COVID-19 samples:

  • Defense Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated Mobile Virology Research and Diagnostics Laboratory (MVRDL) namely “Mobile BSL-3 VRDL Lab” via video conference. 
  • The lab was developed by DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) in association with ESIC (Employees’ State Insurance Corporation) Hospital, Hyderabad and Private industry. This mobile lab has the testing capacity of more than 1000 to 2000 samples per day.

DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation):

 

  • Headquarters location- New Delhi

 

  • Founded- 1958
  • Chairman- G Satheesh Reddy

International News

Lebanon becomes 1st Arab nation to legalise cannabis farming:

  • Lebanon became the 1st Arab nation to legalise cannabis (also known as marijuana) farming for medicinal & industrial use with the aim to boost the exports & to beat the economic crisis created by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
  • Lebanon faces the worst economic crisis due to lockdown since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Lebanon:

  • Capital– Beirut
  • Currency– Lebanese pound

 

  • President– Michel Aoun

 

  • Prime Minister– Hassan Diab

Banking and Technology

RBI allows banks to issue electronic cards for overdraft accounts:

  • Relaxing norms, the Reserve Bank of India permitted banks to issue electronic cards to persons having overdraft accounts that are only in the nature of personal loan without any specific end-use restrictions.

 

  • RBI Governor-ShaktiKanta Das.

India’s GDP growth likely to grow at 1.5% in current FY:

  • The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in a paper- A plan for economic recovery has stated that India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is likely to grow at 1.5% in the current Financial Year
  • Should include cash transfers of Rs 2 lakh crore to Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) account holders in addition to Rs 1.7 lakh.

IOB launches Working Capital Demand Loan for agriculture sector: COVID-19:

  • Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has launched Working Capital demand Loan for agriculture sector (WCDL-Agri), a special credit facility for the agriculture sector & allied activities as a relief measure to fight the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
  • The loans will be available to all the existing borrowers whose accounts are ‘standard’ and ‘performing’ as of March 2020.

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance ties up with GOQii under regulatory sandbox:

  • Bajaj Allianz General Insurance has launched a preventive healthcare platform in partnership with GOQii under the regulatory sandbox initiative. The premium will range between Rs. 1,895 to Rs. 7,635 for an individual policy holder excluding GST.
  • Bajaj Allianz General Insurance CEO: Tapan Singhel.

Science and Technology

CSIR-IGIB scientists develops ”Feluda” a low-cost coronavirus test strip:

  • The Scientists at Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR-IGIB) has developed ”Feluda” a low-cost coronavirus test strip
  • It is developed by Debojyoti Chakraborty and Souvik Maiti & the total time required for the test is less than an hour.

Shilpa Medicare launched the anti-cancer drug Dasashil:

  • Shilpa Medicare launched its generic version of cancer drug Dasatinib. The monthly therapy cost of Rs.6,440. The company launched the Indian branded generic of Dasatinib, an anti-cancer drug with a brand name “Dasashil”.

Appointments

Shiv Das Meena takes charge as HUDCO’s CMD:

  • Shiv Das Meena, additional secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has been appointed as chairman and managing director of Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) for a period of six months with immediate effect.

HUDCO:

  • Headquarters: New Delhi.

Jammu and Kashmir Bank appoints new CFO:

  • Jammu and Kashmir Bank (J&K Bank) has appointed Satya Narayan Gupta as Chief Financial Officer of the Bank. The exact date of joining along with the necessary documents will be intimated to the Stock Exchanges.
  • CMD of J&K Bank: R. K. Chhibber

Obituary News

Usha Ganguly, theatre legend and founder of Rangakarmee, passes away:

  • Thespian Usha Ganguly founder of the famous Hindi theatre group, Rangakarmee ,passed away. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for direction in 1998. West Bengal government had conferred her with the Girish Samman honour in 2016.

Sports News

World Games Birmingham unveils new logo, title for 2022 edition:

  • 11th edition of World Games which is set to be held in Birmingham, Alabama, US (United States) unveiled an updated logo and title after being delayed a year due to the Coronavirus pandemic. 

 

  • The World Games 2021 Birmingham has been renamed to “World Games 2022 Birmingham”. The World Games was initially scheduled for July 2021, but it will now be held from July 7 to 17, 2022.

Mairabai Chanu and Jeremy Lalrinnunga qualifies for Tokyo Olympics confirmed by IWF:

  • International Weightlifting Federation confirms that Mirabai Chanu and Jeremy Larinnuga have been qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 which has been postponed to the summer of next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Charles Leclerc wins Chinese Virtual Grand Prix:

  • Charles Leclerc of Ferrari has won the Chinese Virtual Grand Prix defeated Red Bull’s Alex Albon.
  • Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the actual F1 races are not being held. In its place, Formula 1 has announced new F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix series. The virtual races will run in place of every postponed Grand Prix.

Important Days

World Malaria Day-25 April

  • On 25 April 2020 World Malaria Day, WHO joins the RBM Partnership to End Malaria in promoting ‘Zero malaria starts with me’, a campaign that aims to keep malaria high on the political agenda & empower communities to take ownership of malaria prevention.
  • Roll Back Malaria Partnership was established in 1998.

World day of laboratory animals 2020-April 24

  • The World Day of Laboratory Animals or Lab Animals Day or international day of Commemoration for Animals in Laboratories has been observed annually on April 24th with the associated “Lab Animal Week” (20th-26th April).

International Delegates Day is observed on 25 April:

  • International Delegate’s Day is observed on 25 April. The day aims to raise awareness of the role of the representatives and delegates of the Member States to the United Nations. 
  • International Delegate’s Day marks the anniversary of the first day of the San Francisco Conference which is also known as the United Nations Conference on International Organization.

National News

PM launches e-Gram Swaraj, Swamitva yojana for faster development of villages:

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched e-Gram Swaraj and Swamitva Yojana, two web portals for accelerating the pace of development in India’s villages. 
  • The eGram Swaraj app will provide panchayats a single interface to complete development projects.
  • Swamitva Yojana will use drones in mapping of properties.

World Bank approved Rs 585 cr for Himachal Pradesh State Roads Transformation Project (HPSRTP):

  • Under tranche-I of HPSRTP, Road construction work of Barotiwala-Baddi-Sain-Ramshehar with length of 45 kms, Dadol-Ladraurr Road with length of 14.5 kms, Mandi- Riwalsar-Kalkhar of length 28 kms and Raghunathpura-Mandi- Harpura-Bharari road with length of 3.5 kms would be undertaken.
  • Also, the construction of 4,960-km roads has been fixed under Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojna (PMGSY) for FY 2020-21 for which financial allocation of Rs 1,666 crore had been made.

Pralhad Joshi sets 710 MT coal production target for Coal India Limited in FY 20-21:

  • Union Minister of Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi has set the target for Coal India Limited (CIL) to produce 710 million tonnes (MT) of coal for FY 2020-2021.
  • The decision has been taken on the lines of achieving 1 billion tonne (BT) coal production by year 2023-24 and also the demand of coal will be accelerated after coronavirus lockdown.
  • The Over Burden (OB) removal target for FY 20-21 was set at 1580 million cubic meters. OB removal refers to the removal of top soil to expose the coal seams making them ready for mining.

Govt reconstituted National Shipping Board; to be headed by ex DG Shipping Malini Shankar:

  • The Ministry of Shipping has given its consent for the reconstitution of the 16-member National Shipping Board (NSB), the highest advisory body on matters related to Indian shipping and its development or other matters arising out of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958.
  • The reconstituted board will be headed by former Director General of Shipping Malini Shankar.

Ministry of Shipping:

  • Minister of State (MoS)– Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya
  • Departments– Directorate General of Shipping.

Uttar Pradesh becomes the 1st state with a software based in-house facility of virtual courts:

  • Uttar Pradesh becomes the 1st state with a software based in-house facility of virtual courts, where a requisite infrastructure in Allahabad High Court and all district courts of Uttar Pradesh to hear cases through video conferencing.
  • The courts can conduct multiple court proceedings through virtual courts within the court premises without any internet connection.

Uttar Pradesh

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

International News

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. 
  • India had earlier announced that it will send hydroxychloroquine to 55 nations to fight COVID19.

Antigua: 

  • Capital: Saint John’s
  • Currency: EC Dollar.

India participates in SAARC health ministers conference hosted by Pakistan:

  • India participated in The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) health ministers conference hosted by Pakistan to promote great regional cooperation to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
  • SAARC countries agreed to enhance cooperation in the health sector, especially in the context of efforts to combat the virus at the regional level.

Iran launches “Noor” or light military satellite into orbit:

  • Iran launched a military satellite into orbit named “Noor” or light. The satellite has successfully reached an orbit of 425 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
  • The 3 stage satellite launch powered by a combination of solid and liquid fuels & was lifted off from Iran’s Central Desert.
  • It comes amid the tensions between Tehran and Washington over its collapsing nuclear deal and after a United States (U.S.) drone strike killed Guard General Qassem Soleimani in January.

Iran:

  • Capital– Tehran
  • President– Hassan Rouhani.
  • Currency– Iranian rial.

Banking and Financial

Special Liquidity Scheme for MSMEs launched:

  • Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched special liquidity schemes to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) due to lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
  • The schemes will cover all eligible entities with investment-grade ratings irrespective of the entity’s size & the quantum of the loans is 90 days.

Sri Lanka to seek $400 million debt swap facility from RBI to meet short term financial needs:

  • Sri Lanka is set to enter into an agreement with the Reserve Bank of India for a currency swap worth USD 400 million. to boost the foreign reserves and ensure the financial stability of the country.
  • Cabinet has approved a proposal made by PM Mahinda Rajapaksa.
  • Sri Lankan President: Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Science and Technology

Swiss astronomers find a Six-Planet System which orbit in Lockstep with each other:

  • A system consisting of an innermost large rocky planet (a “super-Earth”) & 5 small gas giants (“mini-Neptune”) that have exceptionally regular spacing b/w them, have been found by Swiss scientists. The planets are well inside the star’s habitable zone.
  • Discovery was led by, Dr. Nathan Hara.

China’s first Mars exploration mission named Tianwen-1:

  • China’s first Mars exploration mission has been named Tianwen-1, announced the China National Space Administration, on April 24- China’s Space Day. China plans to launch the Mars probe in 2020, aiming to complete orbiting, landing, & roving in one mission.
  • Space Day is to mark the launch of 1st satellite Dongfanghong-1.

Appointments

Sanjay Kothari took oath as Chief Vigilance Commissioner:

  • Sanjay Kothari took oath as Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). The oath office was administered by President Ram Nath Kovind on 25 April 2020 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. 
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, and others were also present at the ceremony.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz – April 24 & 25, 2020

Current Affairs Quiz – April 24 & 25, 2020

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