Current Affairs - March 28, 2020 Current Affairs

Indore has deployed drones to sanitize city areas against the coronavirus scare and has become the 1st city in India to use drones to sanitize the city. The Indore Municipal Corporation has hired two drones for that purpose. It is a first-of-its-kind attempt with which crowded areas are being sanitized with the help of drones. Vegetables markets and streets of the Indore are being sprayed with sodium hypochlorite and bio-clean. These drones take off with 16 litres of chemicals in each flight and return after 30 minutes having sprayed chemicals in an area spanning 8-10 km.

The G20 nations agreed to collectively inject $5 trillion into the world economy. The move by the countries is to counteract the social, economic and financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The video conference summit was held on 26 March. Prime Minister Narendra Modi represented India in a video-conference of G20 economies.

MNREGA wage increased to Rs 202 a day from Rs 182.

Insurance cover worth Rs 50 lakh per person for sanitation workers, ASHA workers, doctors, nurses and paramedics who are on the frontlines of the coronavirus.

Renowned artist and architect Satish Gujral passed away on 26 March. He was 94-years old. He died due to illness. PM Narendra Modi condoled his demise. Satish Gujral was an architect, painter, muralist, sculptor and graphic artist. He was admired for his creativity and determination with which he overcame many adversities.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that all banks and Non-bank financial institutions (NBFCs) have been permitted to allow a moratorium of 3 months on repayment of term loans outstanding on 1 March 2020. As per RBI's move, the tenure or time period of the loans will be increased by 3 months. All lending institutions including banks and NBFCs will allow a moratorium on loan repayments for 3 months.

The chief of Brahmakumaris Sansthan, Rajyogini Dadi Janki, passed away at the age of 104 due to prolonged illness on 27 March. PM Narendra Modi expressed his grief over her demise. Rajyogini Dadi Janki was born on 1 January 1916 in Hyderabad which is located in Sindh province (now in Pakistan).

India has proposed to set up a common electronic platform for all South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation nations. The proposal was made after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched for a regional approach to deal with the pandemic. The information was passed by the Ministry of External Affairs. The aim of the platform is to share knowledge, information, expertise and best practices to jointly combat the spread of coronavirus.

Odisha government will set up two of the largest Covid-19 hospitals having a combined capacity of 1,000 beds. With this, Odisha will be the first state in the country to set up such a large-scale hospital exclusively to treat Covid-19 patients. The state government signed two tripartite agreements with Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital to set up the state-level hospitals in Bhubaneswar for treatment of Covid-19 patients.

World Theatre Day celebrated is observed annually on the 27 March by ITI Centres and the international theatre community. The day aims to promote theatre in all its forms across the world. The main objective of the World theatre day is to enable theatre communities to promote their work on a broad scale so that governments and opinion leaders are aware of the value and importance of dance in all its forms and support it.

The Government of India's flagship fitness movement "Fit India" has teamed up with Bollywood actress and fitness icon Shilpa Shetty Kundra. The tie-up will provide free access of the Shilpa Shetty Kundra's premium 21-Day Weight Loss Programme during the 21-day lockdown owing to Covid-19 pandemic. The free of cost access of the 21-Day Weight Loss Programme will be available for the Indian as well as global audience via Shilpa Shetty App (SS App).

The Andhra Pradesh Drones Corp is to set up a drone ecosystem in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh. The aim of this initiative is to establish a laboratory for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or drones. The Andhra Pradesh state government is planning to build a drone ecosystem, in the Anantapur district.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has set up a CII COVID Rehabilitation and Relief Fund (CRR) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) to tackle Covid-19. The fund will assist small enterprises or MSME in rehabilitation and is expected to curtail the impact of Coronavirus on the MSME sector. CII will also request to all its members to contribute an amount from their Corporate social responsibility (CSR) allocation for the CII COVID Rehabilitation and Relief Fund (CRR).

The United States Space Force has launched an Advanced Extremely High-Frequency satellite (AEHF-6) for its military communications. With the launch, the United States has begun its first National Security Mission. The Lock Heed Martin AEHF-6 (Advanced Extremely High Frequency) satellite was launched on the Atlas V551 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida to provide global protected communications. The Space Force was recently set up by President Trump to identify and develop new space defence technologies.

Finance Minister announced Rs 1.70 Lakh Crore relief package under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) for the poor in view of coronavirus lock.

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to advance the Bi-monthly Monetary Policy meet which was scheduled to be held on 31st March 2020 and the announcement was meant to be made on 3rd April. The key decisions are: The repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) has been reduced by 75 basis points to 4.40%. The reverse repo rate under the LAF has been reduced by 90 basis to 4.00%. The marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate have been reduced to 4.65%.

The United States has reported more coronavirus cases than any other country with over 82,400. The report was announced by Johns Hopkins University. The number has overtaken China and Italy. The country made the coronavirus tests available in all 50 states and more than 552,000 tests had been conducted nationwide.

The Maharashtra state government has decided to stamp the left hand of the people who have been kept under quarantine amid coronavirus pandemic in the country. The announcement was made by Maharashtra state health minister Rajesh Tope. The government has also declared evading from the screening a punishable offence under the Epidemic Act 1897.

The Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Government Hospital in Jaipur is to introduce the usage of humanoid robots to provide services to the COVID-19 patients. The hospital is conducting a series of trials on a humanoid robot to check if the robot can be pressed into service to deliver medicines and food to the COVID-19 patients admitted in the hospital.

CRISIL has cut its base-case Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for fiscal 2021 to 3.5% from 5.2% expected earlier. The global growth forecasts have reduced geometrically due to the COVID-19 pandemic spread geometrically. It highlighted that the world economy, unlike the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, has jeopardized financial stability and brought enormous human suffering.