Current Affairs - March 27, 2020 Current Affairs

Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) Scientists have developed a biofortified wheat variety MACS 4028. The new wheat variety shows high protein content.The wheat variety developed by the ARI scientists show high protein content of about 14.7%

Sameer Aggarwal is appointed as CEO of Walmart India. Aggarwal appointment will come into effect from 1 April. He will report to Dirk Van Den Berghe, Executive Vice-President and Regional CEO of Asia and Global Sourcing, Walmart.

On March 25, 2020, the United Nations launched Global Humanitarian Response Plan to fight against COVID-19. The organization has allocated 2 billion USD to implement the plan. The plan has been launched in 51 countries of Africa, South America, Middle East and also Asia.

Indian Bank launches IND- COVID Emergency Credit Line (IBCECL) for large corporate.

The Election Commission of India has deferred the Rajya Sabha elections amid rising risk of rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic. Elections to 18 seats of Rajya Sabha were scheduled to be held on 26 March 2020.

Noted chef Floyd Cardoz dies at 59 in New York; owned restaurants Bombay Canteen and O Pedro in Mumbai.

The Uttar Pradesh state government has imposed a ban on the production and sale of pan masala during the 21-day lockdown imposed across the country. The move comes in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Veteran freedom fighter Nagorav Vitthalrao Deshpande dies at 90 in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

CCEA approves construction of 22-km Aligarh-Harduaganj flyover by Railways in UP at a cost of over Rs. 1285 crore.

The Government of India is to launch CoWin-20 to curb the community spread of coronavirus. CoWin-20 is a new smartphone app that aims to track individuals by their smartphone locations. The app will be made soon and will be available widely across India.

On March 26, 2020, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman launched Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana. The scheme is an economic help package for people in the country to fight against COVID-19 and its effects. Around 1.7 lakh crore has been allocated under the package. Under the scheme, around 80 crore people are to get 5 kg of free rice and wheat for the next three months.

The World Governing body FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association or International Federation of Association Football) has selected Indian Football Captain Sunil Chhetri among 28 other stars for its campaign. The campaign is to combat COVID-19.

Centre earmarks Rs 1.80 lakh crores for providing wheat at Rs 2 per kg and rice at Rs 3 per kg; amount to be given in advance to the states for the co

Union Bank of India launches Covid Emergency Line of Credit (CELC) for its customers to tide over liquidity issues.

Abdul Latif, member of football bronze medal winning team at the 1970 Bangkok Asian Games, dies in Guwahati.

Veteran photographer & Padma Shri recipient Nemai Ghosh dies in Kolkata at 86.

IRS officers Krishan Mohan Prasad and Satish Kumar Gupta appointed as CBDT members.

The National Book Trust of HRD Ministry has launched #StayIn and #StayHome to encourage people to read books while at home. It provides select and best-selling titles for FREE Download as part of its initiative of #StayHomeIndiaWithBooks! The move comes in the wake of Preventive Measures of the Government of India to contain the spread of Covid-19.

The Union Cabinet under the chairmanship of PM Modi on March 25, 2020, approved the recapitalization of regional rural banks (RRB) to improve the capital to risk weighted assets ratio. The Scheme of Recapitalization of RRBs was launched in 2011. It was launched on the recommendation of Dr K C Chakrabarty Committee.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) has announced that it is to organize India's first Global Hyperloop Pod Competition. The competition is open to all students globally. The final round will take place on the IIT-Madras campus in the month of July 2020. The main objective of the Global Hyperloop Pod Competition is to raise awareness about the Hyperloop mode of transportation in India.