Current Affairs - April 24, 2020 Current Affairs

The Union Cabinet led by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved significant investments to the tune of Rs.15,000 crore for 'India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package'. The funds will be utilized in 3 Phases. Out of the total amount, an amount of Rs.7,774 crore will be used for immediate COVID-19 Emergency Response and the rest of the amount for medium-term support, of around 1-4 years, will be provided under mission mode approach.

Government has delayed the Dearness Allowance (DA) hike for Government Employees and Pensioners till July 1, 2021. The Government has put on hold the additional installments of DA and DR from January 1, 2020 till June 30, 2021 due to the current situation of crisis due to COVID-19. The employees and pensioners will continue to get DA at 17 percent date.

Scientists from the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) have developed 'Feluda', a low-cost coronavirus test for detection of the pathogen. It will not require any expensive machines. The device 'Feluda' was named after the detective character in legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray's stories.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) launched a "Lockdown Learners' series of online dialogues with students and educators" in India. The series includes COVID-19 and its impact on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), peace, and rule of law. The dialogues have been launched by the United Nations body under its flagship program "Education for Justice".

SC quashes order providing 100% reservation for ST candidates in teaching job in scheduled areas in AP.

Earth Day was celebrated on 22 April 2020. The day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. The year 2020 marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The day reminds all to take care of the planet Earth.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled a Mobile Virology Research and Diagnostics Laboratory (MVRDL) via video conference on 23 April. The laboratory was developed by DRDO in association with ESIC Hospital, Hyderabad, the Private industry. The launching of this testing facility will aid the country to fight COVID-19.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) named Indian shuttler PV Sindhu as one of the ambassadors for its 'I am badminton' awareness campaign. The "I am badminton campaign" provides a platform for the players to express their love and respect for badminton by advocating and committing to clean and honest play.

Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed a new permanent bridge on the river Ravi connecting Kasowal enclave in Punjab to the rest of the country. The bridge was opened on 22 April. The bridge was completed ahead of the schedule and opened to farmers. The 484-meter bridge was built by 141 Drain Maintenance Coy of 49 Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) of Project Chetak.

International Girls in information and communication technologies (ICT) Day is observed on the fourth Thursday of the month of April. The day is observed on 23rd April in the year 2020. The day aims to encourage the girls to consider a future in the technology sector. More than 111,000 girls and young women have taken part in more than 3,500 events held in 140 countries, related to technology, around the world.

Ministry of Tourism presented its 7th webinar of Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series on "Photowalking at Varanasi: A Visual Treat," on 23 April 2020.

Scientists from Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) have developed a microreactor that can produce large quantities of uniform size of nanoparticles. Producing a uniform size of nanoparticles has been a problem faced by the biomedical field. This discovery will serve as a major requirement in biomedical technology. The microreactor could synthesize metal, semiconductor, and polymer nanoparticles by continuous flow active microreactor.

As per a recent study published in medRxiv, anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine is not effective for the Coronavirus treatment. The drug has been defined as game changer in the ongoing crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study now raises concern on the widespread use of Hydroxychloroquine drug by several countries including India.

The Karnataka State government launched the "Apthamitra" helpline on 22 April. It was aimed to empower people in the state's fight against coronavirus. It was launched by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. The system and website are owned by Health and Family Welfare Department and State Disaster Management Authority. The system functions under the aegis of NASSCOM, Bengaluru. Also, the Digital Mobile app was developed by Infosys BPM.

According to the satellite data published by US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) stated that the air pollution over northern India has dropped to a 20-year-low for this time of the year. The data were retrieved by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite.As per the analysis, an optical depth or thickness of less than 0.1 over the entire atmospheric vertical column shows a "clean" condition. If aerosols are concentrated near the surface, an optical depth of 1 or above indicates very "hazy" conditions.

National Innovation Foundation-India (NIF) developed ten varieties of Anthurium, a flower with high market value, by cross-pollination. It was developed by D Vasini Bai, a women innovator from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Union HRD Minister launches VidyaDaan 2.0 for inviting e-learning Content contributions in both school and higher education.

Remittances sent home by migrants from low and middle-income countries to drop by 20% in 2020: World Bank

The National Shipping Board (NSB) has been reconstituted by the Central government and Malini Shankar has been appointed as the head of the board. Malini is the former Director General of Shipping. The National Shipping Board is the premier advisory body for the Indian shipping. The board comprises sixteen members.

World Book Day is observed on 23 April. The day is celebrated by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and other related organizations. The global celebration of books and reading material is observed in more than 100 countries. This day is also known as World Copyright day.