WEEKLY CURRENT AFFAIRS 29TH MAR – 4TH
APRIL 2020
Weekly Current Affair
News PDF file Below
Made BY: AAA-Bright Academy
Most
important weekly Current Affair News for competitive Exams. Applicants
who are preparing for the various competitive exams must be
aware of the latest current affairs news all over in the world. In this segment, we are going to explain the latest current affair news in an easy
way by making small points related to each news. We also share the
video tutorial related to the weekly current affairs news. Below in the last, we
shared the PDF file related to these news.
WATCH VIDEO TUTORIAL
1.
INDIAN ARMY
LAUNCHES OPERATION NAMASTE: COVID-19: Indian Army
Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane launched ‘Operation Namaste’ initiative to
protect 1.3 million strong forces from coronavirus and provide all possible
assistance to the government to control the pandemic.
2.
JICA SIGNS
NEW AGREEMENT WITH INDIA: Japanese government funding agency (JICA)
signs an agreement worth Rs 15,295 crore with India to provide an Official
Development Assistance (ODA) for 3 rail infrastructure projects. Japanese ODA
loans are long-term low-interest-rate loans advanced to the developing
countries. JICA granted Rs 8,553 crore for Dedicated Freight Corridor(phase-1);
Rs 4,262 crore for Mumbai Trans Harbour
Link Project(II) and Rs 2,480 crore for the Mumbai Metro Line 3 Project(III)
3.
REPORT ‘BOOM
& BUST 2020’: In accordance with a report titled “Boom and
Bust 2020:Tracking the Global Plant Pipeline” 47.4 GW coal-fired power projects
at different stages were cancelled in India in 2019 which reduced total under
development of coal capacity to 66 GW.
4.
NATO 30TH
MEMBER: The Republic of North Macedonia has inducted officially as the 30th
and newest member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This membership
comes after North Macedonia’s 2017 deal with Greece under which the former
changed its name from Macedonia (a name same as Greek province). After the name
change, Greece agreed to drop objections to its NATO and European Union (EU)
membership.
5.
IMF LAUNCHES
GOVERNMENT POLICY TRACKER: COVID-19: International
Monetary Fund (IMF) has launched a policy tracker to track the policies of the
governments so as to share knowledge about COVID-19 which helps to tackle the
crisis. It focuses on discretionary actions to support existing social safety
nets & insurance mechanisms.
6.
RBI
ANNOUNCES LIQUIDITY BOOST OF RS 3.74 LAKH CRORE: RBI declared
an infusion of Rs 3.74 lakh crore into the banking system through three
measures viz. targeted long-term repo operation (TLTRO), Cash Reserve Ratio
(CRR) and marginal standing facility (MSF). The decision has been taken to
tackle financial system stress raised due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
7.
B.P. KANUNGO
REAPPOINTED AS DEPUTY GOVERNOR: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
(ACC) has approved the extension of the tenure of RBI (Reserve Bank of India)
Deputy Governor, Bibhu Prasad Kanungo for a period of one year up to April 3,
2021. His tenure is going to end on April 2, 2020.
8.
CHENNAI PORT
ACQUIRES CENTRE’S 67% STAKE IN KAMARAJAR PORT: The Chennai
Port Trust (ChPT) has acquired 67% stake held by the Central government in
Kamarajar Port Ltd (KPL) for an amount of Rs 2,383 crore.
9.
BRAHMAKUMARIS
CHIEF DADI JANKI PASSED AWAY AT 104: Rajyogini
Dadi Janki, the chief of Brahmakumaris Sansthan (world’s largest spiritual
organization run by women) passed away at the age of 104 in Mount Abu,
Rajasthan.She was also served as the brand ambassador of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
10.
BENI PRASAD
VERMA PASSED AWAY: Beni Prasad Verma, a founding member of the
Samajwadi Party (SP) & former Union Minister passed away at the age of 79
in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (UP). Verma served as the telecom minister between
1996-1998 in then Prime Minister (PM) H D Deva Gowda’s Cabinet and was the
steel minister Congress- led UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government.
11.
‘TEAM-11’ TO
BEAT CORONAVIRUS: UP CM Yogi Adityanath, set up “Team-11”
consisting of inter-departmental committees with over 2 dozen senior officials
to fight the coronavirus spread. Each of the committees will be headed by a
senior bureaucrat of the state while the CM will be the head of the Team-11
12.
GOVERNMENT
SET UP 11 DIFFERENT EMPOWERED GROUPS: LOCKDOWN: On March 30,
2020 the government has set up 11 different empowered groups under Disaster
Management Act, 2005 to suggest measures to improve health, restore the
economy, & ease the suffering of people after a 21-day lockdown which is
imposed for the control of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The following are the 11 different empowered groups & their
heads ( 9 are headed by Secretary level officers, 1 by NITI Aayog member, and 1
by NITI Aayog CEO)
•Group on Medical Emergency & Management Plan- NITI Aayog
member Dr V Paul.
•Group on Availability of Hospitals, Disease Surveillance and
Testing and Critical Care Training- Environment Secretary, C K Mishra.
•Group on ensuring the availability of essential medical
equipment, production Procurement, Import & Distribution- Pharmaceuticals
Secretary, P D Vaghela.
•Group on augmenting Human Resources and Capacity Building- Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSME) Secretary, Arun Panda.
•Group on Facilitating Supply Chain & Logistics Management for
availability of necessary items- Drinking Water Secretary, Parameswaran Iyer.
•Group on coordinating with the private sector- Chief Executive
Officer(CEO) of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant.
•Group on Economic and Welfare measures- Economic Affairs
Secretary, Atanu Chakraborty.
•Group on Information, Communication and Public Awareness-
Information & Broadcasting Secretary, Ravi Mittal.
•Group on Technology and Data Management- Ministry of Electronics
and Information Technology (MEITY) Secretary, Ajay Sawhney.
•Group on Public Grievances- HRD Secretary, Amit Khare.
•Group on Strategic issues- Home Secretary, Ajay Kumar Bhalla.
13.
ADB COMMITS
$ 100 MILLION IN INDIAN INFRASTRUCTURE: Asian
Development Bank (ADB),a regional development bank will invest $100 million
into the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India Fund of
Funds (FoF).With this, the FoF has now received a total of $700 million in commitments.
14.
MERGER OF 10
STATE-RUN BANKS: The government on March 4 had notified the
amalgamation schemes for 10 state-owned banks into four as part of its
consolidation plan to create bigger size stronger banks in the public sector. As
per the scheme, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India will be
merged into Punjab National Bank; Syndicate Bank into Canara Bank; Allahabad
Bank into Indian Bank; and Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank into Union Bank of
India.
15.
PNB RELEASES
NEW LOGO: The Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched a new logo before the
mega merger of the bank with the United Bank of India (UBI) and the Oriental
Bank of Commerce (OBC) comes into force from 1 April, 2020. The new logo will
have signages of all the 3 banks. With the merger, PNB will be the 2nd largest
bank in the country with a total business and size of Rs 17.94 lakh crore.
Currently, State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest bank in the country, whose
total business is about 52 lakh crore rupees.
16.
IMF DECLARED
RECESSION IN WORLD: International Monetary Fund Managing Director
Kristalina Georgieva has declared a global recession driven by the COVID-19 a pandemic that could be worse than the 2008-09 global financial
crisis. Estimated overall financial needs of emerging markets are 2.5 trillion
dollars as 81 emergency financing requests, including 50 from lower-income
countries, have been received by IMF. Kyrgyzstan would receive the first IMF
support package of $120.9 million to deal with the adverse effects of the virus.
17.
FITCH
SLASHES INDIA’S GDP GROWTH ESTIMATE: Fitch
Ratings Inc, an American credit rating agency, has lowered India’s GDP (Gross
Domestic Product) growth forecast to 4.6% for the fiscal year FY21 (April 2020
to March 2021) from the previous estimate of 5.4%. It cuts the rate due to weak
domestic demand and private consumption, which put pressure on the investment
amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
18.
THE HINDU
PRIZE 2019: The Hindu prize (annual) 2019 is awarded to Mirza Waheed’s Tell
Her Everything (Fiction)-2019 and Santanu Das’s India, Empire, and First World
War Culture: Writings, Images, and Songs (Non-Fiction)-2018.
19.
A BOOK
TITLED THE DEATH OF JESUS AUTHORED BY JM COETZEE: Nobel
Laureate John Maxwell Coetzee, who authored the book “The Death of Jesus”,
completed his Jesus trilogy (a group of 3 related novels) with the final book.
The book explores the meaning of a world empty of memory but brimming with
questions.
20.
RS 3 LAKH
CROP LOAN INTEREST BENEFITS TO FARMERS: Government
has extended the benefit of 2% interest subvention (IS) to banks and 3% prompt
repayment incentive (PRI) to all farmers up to May 31, 2020, for all crop loans
up to 3 lakh which have become due or are becoming due between March 1 and May
31, 2020.
21.
‘COVID-19
PROTECTION INSURANCE COVER’ FOR SHOPKEEPERS: BharatPe, a
New Delhi-based startup that is doing payment transaction business, has entered
into the partnership with ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited, to
introduce ‘COVID-19 Protection Insurance Cover’ for shopkeepers, who are most
affected financially due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Premium starting
from Rs 199 and a sum assured of Rs 25,000 and value-added benefits will
cover everyone in the age group of 18 to 65 years.
22.
ADB GRANTS
$60 MILLION TO AAVAS FINANCIERS: Asian Development Bank (ADB), a regional
development bank has signed a loan agreement worth of $60 million with
affordable housing loan provider Aavas Financiers Ltd to provide housing
finance to women in low-income communities either as primary borrowers or
co-borrowers.
23.
IAG SOLD ITS
26% STAKE IN SBI GENERAL INSURANCE: Insurance
Australia General (IAG) has sold its entire 26% stake in the SBI General
Insurance Co Ltd for USD 310 million (about Rs 2,325 crore) to Napean
Opportunities LLP and WP Honey Wheat Investment Ltd. Napean Opportunities LLP
has acquired 16.01% interest whereas WP Honey Wheat Investment Ltd acquired a
9.99% interest.
24.
‘STRANDED IN
INDIA’ PORTAL: The Ministry of Tourism has launched a portal ‘Stranded in India’
as a support network to help foreign tourists who are stuck in various parts of
India. Its web address is strandedinindia.com. The COVID-19 helpline number for
foreign tourists stuck in India is +91-11-23978046 or 1075.
25.
LEGENDARY HISTORIAN
ARJUN DEV PASSES AWAY AT 81: Professor Arjun Dev, the legendary historian
and educationist passed away at the age of 81 in Noida, Uttar Pradesh (UP).He
served as a historian at the National Council of Education Research and
Training (NCERT). His “History of the
World: From the Late 19th to the Early 20th century”, has remained a widely
read text.
26.
1ST
ROYAL TO PASS AWAY FROM COVID-19: Spanish Princess Maria Teresa of
Bourbon-Parma has become the first royal to pass away due to Covid-19
complications who was born on July 28, 1933 and studied in France and became a
professor. She was known for her outspoken views and activist work, which led
to her nickname the “Red Princess.”
27.
CENTRAL GOVT
REDEFINES DOMICILE FOR J&K: A new definition for domicile for Jammu and
Kashmir was introduced which has stated that a person residing in the Union
Territory of Jammu & Kashmir for at least 15 years or has studied for a
period of seven years in Jammu and Kashmir and appeared in Class 10 or 12
examinations will now be eligible to be a permanent resident of the UT. The notification has been issued by the
Ministry of Home Affairs
28.
WORLD WILL
GO INTO RECESSION-UNCTAD: According to new analysis from United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) titled ‘The COVID-19 Shock to
Developing Countries: Towards a ‘whatever it takes’ programme for the
two-thirds of the world’s population being left behind” the year 2020 will face
world recession, mainly developing countries due to COVID-19 pandemic with an
exception to India and China. The exporting countries will face $2 trillion to
$3 trillion drop in investment from overseas in the next two years.
29.
CENTRE HAS
DECREASED SS SCHEMES INTEREST RATES: Centre
government has decreased the Interest rates on small savings schemes for the
first quarter (Q1-April to June) of FY 2020-21 by exercising the powers
conferred under Rule 9(1) of the Government Saving Promotion General Rules,
2018.
Following
table showing the new interest rate rates with effect from April 1, 2020:
Instrument
|
Previous
Interest rate
(%)
|
New
Interest rate
(%)
|
%
Change
|
Compounding
frequency
|
Public
Provident Fund
|
7.9
|
7.1
|
-0.8
|
Annually
|
Kisan Vikas Patra
|
7.6
|
6.9
|
-0.7
|
Annually
|
SukanyaSamriddhi
Yojana
|
8.4
|
7.6
|
-0.8
|
Annually
|
30.
GSKCH INDIA
MERGED WITH HINDUSTAN UNILEVER: Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India’s largest
fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, has completed the merger of Glaxo
SmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited (GSKCH India) with itself. Apart from
this merger, HUL has also acquired the famous health drink brand Horlicks for
India from GSK for an amount of 375.6
mln Euro (Rs. 3045 Crore).
31.
MISSION
‘SUNRISE’: NASA to launch its new mission called the Sun Radio Interferometer
Space Experiment (SunRISE), a very large radio telescope to study how the sun
generates & releases the giant space weather storms(solar particle storms)
into planetary space. NASA has awarded USD 62.6 million to design, build and
launch SunRISE before July 1, 2023.
32.
PHILLIP
ANDERSON PASSES AWAY: Nobel laureate Philip Anderson, physicist who
expanded the world’s understanding of magnetism, superconductivity and the
structure of matter, passed away at the age of 96 in Princeton, USA.
33.
DONATIONS FOR PM-CARES GRANTED 100% TAX
EXEMPTION: Donations made under newly-formed Prime Minister’s Citizen
Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES FUND) to provide
assistance to the persons affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, are made eligible
for 100% deduction under section 80G of the Income Tax (IT)
Act, 1961.
34.
UNITED NATION’S COP 26 POSTPONED TILL 2021: The 26th
session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was
planned to take place from 9-19 November 2020, in Glasgow, Scotland in the
United Kingdom (UK) has been postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19.The date and
location for the same is unspecified.
35.
SBI LISTS GREEN BONDS OF USD 100 MILLION: SBI has listed
green bonds of USD 100 million (about Rs 750 crore) under its
USD 10 billion global medium-term note programme on India International
Exchange Limited’s (INX) Global Securities Market Green Platform (GSM).
The funds raised by green bonds are used to finance green projects that do not discharge toxic elements.
The funds raised by green bonds are used to finance green projects that do not discharge toxic elements.
36.
CHITTARANJAN LOCOMOTIVE WORKS CREATES WORLD
RECORD: Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), the
manufacturing unit of Indian Railways based in Asansol, West
Bengal (WB), has set the Limca Book of Records for producing
record 431 locomotives in the financial year 2019-2020 (FY20)
in 292 working days. It is 2.15 times its installed capacity of 200 locomotives
per year.
37.
GOVERNMENT LAUNCHED AAROGYA SETU: The Government
of India (GoI) has officially launched its 1st comprehensive coronavirus (COVID-19) tracking
app called ‘Aarogya Setu (which translates from
Sanskrit to ‘A bridge of health’)’ for Android and iOS users.The app has
been developed by the National Informatics Center (NIC). The app notifies the
user via smartphone location data & Bluetooth whether they came in contact
with someone infected with Coronavirus within 6 feet radius.
38.
WIMBLEDON TENNIS TOURNAMENT CANCELLED: Wimbledon
organisers cancelled the 134th Edition of Wimbledon
Tennis Tournament for the first time since WWII (World War II) due to
the threats of Coronavirus (COVID- 19). The next edition of the tournament will
be from June 28 to July 11, 2021.
39.
TONY LEWIS OF ‘DLS METHOD’ PASSES AWAY: Tony
Lewis, one of the men behind the Duckworth- Lewis- Stern (DLS)
method, the mathematical formula used in weather-affected limited-overs
cricket matches, passed away at the age of 78. Tony was a mathematician who,
along with Frank Duckworth, developed the Duckworth- Lewis method which
was adopted officially by the ICC in 1999.The method was renamed as the
Duckworth- Lewis- Stern (DLS) method in 2014, followed across the globe.
40.
WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY-APRIL 2: Theme for
the year 2020: “The Transition to Adulthood”. Autism is a complex
neuro-developmental disorder, in which the person affected faces problems in
communication, interaction & imagination.
41.
25 LAKH POOR IN AP TO GET HOUSE SITES: The Andhra
Pradesh (AP) Government has issued a modified set of
guidelines for the distribution of 25 lakh house sites to
urban and rural poor under the Navaratnalu- Pedalandariki Illu (Houses
for All Poor) programme. Apart from getting necessary approvals under Pradhan
Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), It has been working with Housing And Urban
Development Corporation (HUDCO) and other organizations to secure loans.
42.
INDIA, CHINA MARK 70 YEARS OF DIPLOMATIC
RELATIONS: Both countries exchanged warm words of greetings and spoke of the
partnership between the world’s two most populous nations. India became the
first non-Communist country in Asia to establish diplomatic ties with China on
April 1, 1950.
43.
INDIGENOUS VENTILATOR PROTOTYPE: Scientists
of Bengaluru Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have
developed a prototype of an indigenous ventilator under
project Praana, to help patients with lung damage due to COVID-19 infection as
a ventilator is a lifeline for the patients. The ventilator is designed using
components readily available or made in India.
44.
DRDO DEVELOPED BIO SUIT TO COMBAT COVID19:
DRDO has developed a bio suit with self-sealing seam to keep the
medical, paramedical and other personnel engaged in combating COVID-19,
safe from the deadly virus. This Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) has been prepared with the help of textile, coating and
nanotechnology.The current production capacity is 7,000 suits per day which
will be increased to 15,000 suits per day.
45.
GITA RAMJEE PASSES AWAY: World-renowned
virologist Gita Ramjee passed away in Johannesburg, South Africa,
due to Coronavirus. She was the stellar vaccine scientist and an HIV (Human
immunodeficiency virus) prevention research leader.
46.
“MO PRATIVA” PROGRAMME: In order to
keep children engaged in some creative work during 21-days lockdown due to
coronavirus (COVID-19), the Odisha state government in
collaboration with UNICEF has launched a skill competition programme
called “Mo Prativa” (My talent). Under this children can
participate in competitions such as drawings, paintings, posters, writing of
slogans, short stories, and poetry.
47.
WORLD BANK APPROVED EMERGENCY FUNDS FOR INDIA:
The World Bank has approved total aid of USD 1.9 billion for 25
countries to tackle COVID- 19 pandemics. The largest amount of assistance
was USD 1 billion for India followed by USD
200 million for Pakistan, USD 129 million for Sri Lanka, USD 100 million for
Afghanistan and USD 83 million for Ethiopia.
WEEKLY CURRENT AFFAIR PDF FILE: " CLICK HERE "
About Author:Instagram || Facebook
For Government Jobs alert on whatsapp send your request on following official Number @7696006608 (In request Msg Send your Name and State Name) " NOTE: You have to save this Contact Number in your contact list to get important Govt job alerts on Whatsapp.