Current Affairs April 2020 - Miscellaneous

Wimbledon, the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament, has been cancelled for the first time since World War-II because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has suspended all planned events till June 30 and froze the world rankings due to the upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rajasthan police have launched a mobile app “RajCop citizens app” to enable individuals and company employees in the state take permission for venturing out in necessary conditions.
The 2021 World Athletics Championships which was originally scheduled to be held in Eugene, Oregon from August 6-15, 2021 will now be held in 2022 as the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In an advisory to all states and Union Territories, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has extended the validity of documents that expired since 1^st February 2020.
The Centre has extended the tenure of Reserve Bank Deputy Governor BP Kanungo by a year with effect from April 3, 2020.
Lakshminarayanan Duraiswamy was appointed as the new Managing Director of the Sundaram Home Finance.
Interest rate for Public Provident Fund reduced from 7.9 to 7.1%. It is savings-cum-tax saving scheme.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has launched a dedicated Twitter handle for COVID-19 updates.
PhonePe has partnered with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance for a unique coronavirus hospitalisation insurance policy called “Corona Care.”
The United Nation’s COP26 climate change conference which was set to take place in Glasgow in November has been postponed till next year due to COVID-19.
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) decided to make available all National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) and their hostels across the country for conversion into quarantine facilities.
International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials, ARCI, Hyderabad has produced hand sanitizer as per the WHO standards.
The Andhra Pradesh government has started distributing pensions at doorstep to 58,44,240 beneficiaries using its 2.5 lakh volunteer eliminating the need for pensioners to step out of their homes.
Veteran Japanese comedian Ken Shimura passed away due to coronavirus.
BharatPe and ICICI Lombard united to launch the 'COVID-19 Protection Insurance Cover’ for shopkeepers across the age group of 18-65 years
Senior diplomat Anurag Srivastava took charge as the Spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs, succeeding Mr Raveesh Kumar.
The National Health Authority (NHA) has inked pact with “Uber” to provide transportation service to public healthcare workers who are involved in treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Britannia Industries Ltd has partnered with Dunzo, an on-demand e-commerce platform, to deliver its range of products during the nationwide lockdown.
FIFA has postponed the U-17 Women's World Cup India and the Under-20 Women's World Cup to be jointly held in Panama and Costa Rica due to the coronavirus pandemic.
International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda is observed globally on 7 April every year.
The innovation cell of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has launched an online challenge called “SAMADHAN” to fight against COVID-19.
The Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Bharati AXA General Insurance to launch a COVID-19 insurance policy with a fixed cover offering 100% sum insured as a lump sum.
Kannada actor “Bullet” Prakash who was known for his comic roles and performances in films like Aithalakkadi and Aryan, passed away at the age of 44 years.
Malayalam actor Sasi Kalinga passed away at the age of 59 years.
The Delhi state government has launched a 5T plan, which consists of Testing, Tracing, Treatment, Team work, Tracking and monitoring to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bangladesh former President Sheikh Mujib’s killer Abdul Majed hanged in Dhaka. The convicted killer of Bangladesh’s first President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was hanged.
Anamika Roy Rashtrawar has been appointed as the MD & CEO of IFFCO TOKIO General Insurance Company Limited.
The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) instructed the State Nodal Departments and Implementing Agencies to initiate procurement of Minor Forest Produces (MFPs) at Minimum Support Price (MSP) from the available funds under MSP for MFP Scheme.
Former Madhya Pradesh minister and a six-time MLA from Seoni-Malwa Assembly constituency, Hoshangabad, Hazarilal Raghuwanshi passed away.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the extension of tenure of all members and the current part-time chairman of the Bank Board Bureau (BBB) by 2 years, which was to end on April 11, 2020.
The Union Government has set up 723 COVID-19 hospitals across the country along with 1.86 lakh beds and over 24,000 ICU facility beds to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Telangana Government extended Corona quarantine period from the existing 14 days to 28 days.
US President Donald Trump will be signing an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States.
US President Donald Trump has instructed his administration to stop US funding for the World Health Organization (WHO). United States contributes 400-500 million dollars annually to the WHO.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) has proposed to deploy its full 1 trillion US Dollar lending capacity to support countries battling COVID-19 outbreak. The IMF Board has already approved debt relief for 25 of its poorest members.
NAFED and Food Corporation of India (FCI) have procured Pulses and Oilseeds worth Rs 1313 crore benefiting more than 1,74,000 farmers.
Asian Development Bank has assured 2.2 billion dollars or about 16,500 crore rupees of support to India in its fight against the COVID-19.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has suspended the Indian Premier League 2020 indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
National Conference on Kharif crops 2020 was held through video conference to discuss various issues and list out steps in consultation with the States about preparedness for Kharif cultivation in view of the lockdown situation.
The Central Government has decided to provide a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to all postal employees including Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) succumbing to COVID-19 on duty.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has specified a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for sign in and sign off of seafarers on ships.
The Administration of Pathanamthitta district in Kerala has launched a vehicle called ‘Tiranga’ (Total India Remote Analysis Nirogya Abhiyaan) for rapid screening of COVID-19 symptoms.
Paytm Payments Bank has partnered with Mastercard for the issuance of virtual and physical debit cards.
The G-20 Extraordinary Agriculture Ministers Meeting was held through Video Conferencing under the presidency of Saudi Arabia.
The Imphal East District Administration in Manipur has introduced a new initiative called ‘Food Bank’ to provide immediate aid in the form of free food to the poor and needy who are facing scarcity of essential commodities due to the long statewide lockdown in view of the threat of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Prasar Bharati has launched a new channel DD Retro that will air classic shows.
North Korea launched multiple short-range anti-ship cruise missiles into the sea and Sukhoi jets fired air-to-surface missiles as part of military exercises.
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi addressed his countrymen and announced the extension of lockdown until 3^rd of May 2020.
Freedom fighter R V Bhuskute, who had participated in the Quit India Movement passed away.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment has set up 20 control rooms to address wage related grievances arising in the backdrop of Covid-19.
UN Chinese Language Day is observed globally on April 20 every year. The day has been chosen to pay tribute to Cangjie, who is a mythical figure who is presumed to have invented Chinese characters about 5,000 years ago.
Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh BhupeshBaghel, has recently launched a website ‘Cghaat’ to provide home delivery of fruits and vegetables during the lockdown.
SBI waived service charges for all ATM transactions.
Former India’s Attorney General and senior advocate Ashok Desai passed away.
The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) is going to run live counseling sessions on free-to-air DTH channels for secondary and senior secondary levels respectively in order to overcome the loss of academic time of the students.
Government of Manipur has launched Electronic format of comic textbooks.
World-famous cycle race tournament “Tour de France” has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
YSR Nirman and COVID-19 portals have been launched by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh to fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.
The 44^th session of the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has been postponed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has released a list of new activities that have been exempted from lockdown restrictions to fight COVID-19.
The licence of the Mapusa Urban Co-operative Bank of Goa Ltd. has been cancelled by the Reserve Bank of India.
Veteran tribal leader and former Odisha Minister SaharaiOram passed away.
Rs.10 lakhs Compensation was announced for all Postal employees.GraminDakSevaks performed various departmental duties as well as serving the social cause in the crisis times.
NIIT Inc. USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of NIIT, has signed Managed Services agreement with a US based EdTech company to provide virtual services to education providers for a period of 5 years.
Indian High Commission in Bangladesh and India Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI) has jointly organized a webinar on trade promotion.
Former Rajya Sabha member from Odisha Basanta Das passed away at the age of 80 years.
National Book Trust, India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has organized a WEBINAR on Post-COVID Publishing Scenario in New Delhi.
A team of engineering students from IIT Bombay, NIT Srinagar and Islamic University of Science & Technology (IUST), Awantipora, Pulwama has come up with a low-cost ventilator using locally available materials. The ventilator has been named Ruhdaar.
Vodafone Idea and Paytm have launched ‘Recharge Saathi’ programme that enables any Paytm customer to start selling Vodafone and Idea recharges on Paytm app.
The Reserve Bank of India has given its approval to Transcorp International Ltd to issue co-branded prepaid cards.
Veteran sports photojournalist Ronojoy 'Ronny' Roy passed away at the age of 57 years.
Automobile giant Maruti Suzuki has developed low-cost ventilators for helping the government in the fight against COVID-19.
Grammy-nominated gospel singer and record label founder, Troy Sneed, passed away at the age of 52 years.