International News
NATO’s Chief Appoints Experts to Strengthen NATO’s Political Role
- The NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg appointed a group of experts for the reflection process.
- The panel will offer a recommendation to increase political consultation, coordination between the allies, reinforce alliance unity and strengthen NATO’s political role.
National News
Government Extends Crop Loan Benefits to Farmers Till 31st May 2020
- Since the whole nation is under lockdown due to COVID-19, the Government of India has taken a major role to provide relief to the farmers in terms of crop loan interest.
- GOI has extended the benefit of 2% interest subvention to banks and 3% prompt replacement incentives to all the farmers up to 31st May 2020.
Stranded in India Portal- Launched by Ministry of Tourism
- Ministry of Tourism has launched the “Stranded in India” portal with a view to helping foreign tourist who are stuck in various parts of the country.
- The web address of the portal is strandedinindia.com.
Karnataka Government Launched- “Corona Watch App”
- The app is comprised with the list of government-designated first response hospitals for COVID-19 where citizens with the symptoms can go.
- Also, the Karnataka government has formulated a ten-member task force for COVID-19.
Corona Care- An Insurance Policy Launched by PhonePe and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance
- PhonePe has partnered with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance to launch a coronavirus hospitalization insurance policy called “Corona Care”.
- PhonePe users can purchase their Coronavirus insurance policy under the “My Money” section on the PhonePe app.
Infrared Based Temperature Sensor- Developed by Naval Dockyard, Mumbai”
- Indian Navy’s Naval Dockyard, Mumbai developed portable Infrared based temperature sensor gun with a view for the screening of personnel at yard’s entry gates to limit the spread of COVID-19.
- The sensor is manufactured at less than Rs 1000. The accuracy is 0.2 degree Celsius. It runs on a 9V battery.
DARPG’s National Monitoring Dashboard Launched for COVID-19 Grievances
- The main objective of the dashboard is quick and timely implementations of COVID-19 response and containment activities.
- A technical team has been formed to handle the public grievances on a priority basis. The team will receive grievances from all the states, union territories and ministries as well.
‘Arogya Setu App’- Launched by Government of India
- The government of India has launched the ‘Arogya Setu App’ for the people to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The app is developed by the National E-governance Division of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Portable Multifeed Oxygen Manifold – Designed by Naval Dockyard Vishakhapatnam
- Naval Dockyard Vishakhapatnam has designed portable ‘Multifeed Oxygen Manifold (MOM)’ to fulfill the requirements of oxygen supply for the number of patients due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
‘MHRD AICTE COVID-19 Student Helpline Portal- Launched by AICTE
- AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) launched ‘MHRD AICTE COVID-19 Student Helpline Portal’ to address the issues faced by students due to national lockdown because of COVID-19 which has led to the closure of colleges and hostels.
Agreement-SCTIMST and Wipro 3D to Manufacture Automated Ventilators
- Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), which is an institute of National Importance of the Department of Science and Technology, has signed an agreement with Wipro 3D to design and manufacture automated ventilators.
‘Hack the Crisis India---- An Online Hackathon
- Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India (MEITY), ‘Hack A Cause – India’ and ‘Ficci Ladies Organization Pune has launched an Online Hackathon called ‘Hack the Crisis India’.
‘Mo Pravita’- Odisha’s Online Cultural Competition
- With an aim to engage young minds at home during the lockdown situation arised due to COVID-19, Odisha government has launched an online cultural competition called ‘Mo Pravita’.
- For this competition, Odisha government has partnered with UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund).
National Health Authority and Uber to Provide Transport Service to Public Health Workers
- National Health Authority of India has signed an agreement with Uber to grant public transport facilities to the health workers who are involved in delivering their useful service to the patients of COVID-19.
‘CARUNA’- An Initiative of IAS and IPS Officers to Combat COVID-19
- Civil Servants including IAS and IPS officers have created a platform called CARUNA (Civil Services Association Reach to Support National Disasters) to guide the government in tackling major health issues of COVID-19.
Amitabh Kant Chairs an Empowered Committee Formed to Coordinate Between Stakeholders
- There are over 92000 NGOs/CSOs who have registered themselves on Darpan portal of NITI Aayog. So the committee headed by Amitabh Kant has made an appeal to these NGOs to provide guidance and assistance to the GOI in identifying hotspots in order to enhance social distancing, isolation and combating COVID-19.
MSME Technology Centers- To Contribute Helping Hand to Combat COVID-19
- MSME technology centers across all over India has come forward to grant help to combat health pandemic COVID-19.
- For this, total 18 MSME technology centers has moved forward.
‘V Safe Tunnel’- Installed at Telangana
- Telangana state has installed a ‘V Safe Tunnel’ which is a unique disinfectant at the state Director General of Police’s office to sanitize people within 20 seconds from any possible bacteria and other microbes.
Banking
Partnership- Bharatpe and ICICI Lombard Tied up to Provide COVID-19 Insurance
- Bharatpe and ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited partnered to introduce “COVID-19 Protection Insurance Cover” for the shopkeepers across India who are most affected financially due to COVID-19.
World Bank Offers Financial Help to India to Combat COVID-19
- World Bank approves $1 billion emergency funds for India to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak. This is the largest chunk of emergency financial assistance by the World Bank to India in response to the COVID-19 emergency response and health systems preparedness project.
ICICI Securities and IIM Bangalore –To Support Fintech Startups
- ICICI Securities has partnered with IIM Bangalore to start an incubation program that will focus on fintech startups.
- The 15-month incubation program will be conducted by ICICI Securities and IIM Bangalore’s startup hub N S Raghavan Center of Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL).
Appointments
| Name of the Person | Designation |
| BP Kanungo | Deputy Governor of RBI |
| L Duraiswamy | New Managing Director of Sundaram Finance |
| Justice Rajnesh Oswal | First judge of Common Jammu and Kashmir High Court and Ladakh High Court |
| Dilip Kumar Patel | Director Human Resource by National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) |
| Lisa Nandy | UK Shadow Foreign Minister |
| Late Kobe Bryant | Member of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| Anurag Srivastava | Spokeperson of the Ministry of External Affairs |
| UB Pravin Rao | New Chairman of NASSCOM |
Awards and Honours
| Award | Awardee |
| ‘Hero to Animals Award’ by PETA India | Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik |
Important Days
| Date | Day | Theme |
| 1st April 2020 | Utkal Divas or Odisha Day | -- |
| 2nd April 2020 | World Autism Awareness Day | Theme: “The Transition to Adulthood” |
| 4th April 2020 | International Mine Awareness Day | -- |
| 5th April 2020 | International Day of Conscience | -- |
| 6th April 2020 | International Day of Sports and Development Peace | -- |
| 7th April 2020 | World Health Day | Theme: Support Nurses and Midwives |
Defence
COVID-19 Protective Gear and Healthcare Essentials to CISF Personnel
- CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) has come up with the decision of providing protective gear and healthcare essentials to 40,000 staff working at airports and at Delhi metro once they resume their work after the lockdown period gets over.
‘Operation Sanjeevani’- Launched by IAF to Grant Medical Supplies to Maldives to Fight COVID-19
- Indian Airforce launched an operation Sanjeevani to grant support of medical supplies to the Maldives.
- This is done by airlifting 602 tons of essential medical supplies like medicines and hospital equipment to fight COVID-19.
Science and Technology
IIT Bombay Developed Two Apps to Monitor Persons under Coronavirus Quarantine
- IIT-B has developed two apps namely CORONTINE and SAFE, to monitor and track the person who are asked to quarantine themselves at their homes in order to control the spread of COVID-19.
- The apps are embodied with GPS data and geofencing to alert the authorities of users breaching preset virtual geographical boundaries.
IIT-Kanpur- to Design Low Cost Portable Ventilator
- To tackle the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, IIT-Kanpur is in the process of designing a low-cost portable ventilator that is used as a life supporter.
- The Bioscience and Bioengineering department of IIT-Kanpur is the designing and assembling team behind this portable ventilator.
NASA’s SunRISE Mission- To Study Giant Solar Particles Storm
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that they have selected the proposed Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE) mission to study how the Sun creates and releases giant solar particle storms which is also known as giant space weather storms into the planetary space.
‘Watson Assistant’- By IBM
- Tech giant IBM has offered Watson Assistant for citizens to quickly address COVID-19 queries.
- It is an artificial intelligence platform of IBM which will be available free of cost for at least 90 days.
‘Prana-Vayu’- A Low-Cost Ventilator Developed by IIT-Roorkee and AIIMS-Rushikesh
- IIT-Roorkee and AIIMS-Rushikesh have come up together to design a low-cost closed-loop ventilator called ‘Prana-Vayu’ to combat the biggest health pandemic COVID-19.
- It is applicable for all age group patients especially elder people and the manufacturing cost is Rs 25000.
Full Body Disinfection Chamber- At VRDE Ahmedabad (DRDO Laboratory)
- A full body disinfection chamber which is called PSE is developed at Vehicle Research Development Establishment, VRDE Ahmednagar, which is a DRDO Laboratory.
- The step is taken to avoid spreading of Coronavirus in the working area.
Sports
Wimbledon 2020 Tennis Championship- Cancelled Due to COVID-19
- The All England Club has announced that the Wimbledon 2020 Tennis Championship will not take place due to continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
- The tennis grand slam tournament has been cancelled for the first time since World War II.
Summits and Conferences
2020 UNFCCC - Postponed Due to COVID-19
- 2020 United Nations Framework Conventions on Climate Change Conference which was to be held in Glasgow, the UK in the month of November of the current year has been postponed till next year due to COVID-19.
- However, the dates for a rescheduled conference in 2021 will be announced later.
