WEEKLY CURRENT AFFAIRS: APRIL 1st WEEK

NATIONAL

1. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has introduced a new scheme named “Companies Fresh Start
Scheme, 2020” to provide relief to law-abiding companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) from
the COVID 19 impact by offering a one-time waiver of additional filing fees.

2. Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has launched a
programme “United Against Corona Express through Art”, with an aim to unite citizens across the world.

3. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) of Ministry of Commerce and Industry has extended the
tenure of Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20) till March 2021.

4.National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) continuously monitors Maximum Retail Prices (MRP) of
medicines.

5. The donations made to Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-
CARES FUND) are made eligible for 100% deduction under section 80G of the Income Tax (IT) Act, 1961.

6. Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has launched three
new initiatives under National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) Platform-- Negotiable Warehouse Receipt (e-
NWRs) module, Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) trading module, Logistic Module, to enable
farmers to sell their harvested produce directly from warehouse.

7. Central Civil Services officers association has created ‘CARUNA (Civil Services Associations Reach to
Support in Natural Disasters)’ to tackle COVID-19.

8. The National Health Authority (NHA) has partnered with Uber India to provide medical supply to India’s
frontline healthcare workers and hospitals engaged in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

9. Tamil Nadu has the highest area under micro-irrigation utilised Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
(PMKSY).

10. The Central Government has constituted a 10-member group under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog
CEO Amitabh Kant to deal with Covid-19.

11. Coronavirus risk-tracking Application (app) called “Corona Kavach” is jointly developed by the Union
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) & the Union Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare (MoHFW).

12. The Government of India (GoI) has launched COVID-19 tracking app ‘Aarogya Setu to connect health
services with the people to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak. National Informatics Center (NIC) and
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has developed this app in 11 languages.

13. IIT Roorkee and AIIMS Rishikesh has developed a low-cost portable ventilator called ‘Prana-vayu’ costing
just Rs.25,000.

14. Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala (Punjab) has developed a low-cost ventilator ‘Jeevan’ to combat
covid-19 crisis.

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15. Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (Asansol, West Bengal) has set the Limca Book of Records for producing
record 431 locomotives in 292 working days.

STATES

16. Odisha in collaboration with UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), has launched a creative skill
competition programme “Mo Prativa” to keep children engaged in creative work during COVID-19 Lockdown.

17. Jharkhand has launched a mobile application named PRAGYAAM to issue e-passes to the personnel who
delivers essential services during the national lockdown to combat COVID-19.

INTERNATIONAL

18. The 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) which was scheduled from 9-19 November
2020, in Glasgow, has been postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19.

19. World Bank in its April 2020 Economic Update for East Asia and Pacific (EAP) titled “East Asia and
Pacific in the Time of COVID-19″ has stated that poverty is estimated to increase by about 11 million
people in the EAP region.

20. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will launch Sun Radio Interferometer Space
Experiment (SunRISE), a very large radio telescope to study how the sun generates and releases the giant
space weather storms.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

21. Core Industries Growth (8 Industries) has registered 11-month high growth of 5.5% in February 2020.

22. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) estimates that the global economy
could shrink by 1% in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

23. Fitch Ratings has lowered the India GDP forecast for Fiscal Year 2020-2021 to 2% from 5.1% due to
adverse economic effect of pandemic COVID-19.

24. Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has completed its merger with Glaxo SmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited.

FINANCE & BANKING

25. Reserve of Bank (RBI) has revised the norms for appointment of Managing Director (MD) & Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of private sector & foreign banks. Proposal for appointment/reappointment will have
to be given 6 months prior to appointment date.

26. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has hiked the limit of Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for the
centre to Rs 1.2 lakh crore from Rs 75,000 crore.

27. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the foreign portfolio investment (FPI) limit in corporate bonds
from 9% to 15% for FY21 (2020-2021).

28. The World Bank has offered USD 1 billion to India for the COVID-19 emergency response and health
systems preparedness.

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29. State Bank of India (SBI) has listed green bonds of USD 100 million under its USD on India
International Exchange Limited’s (INX).

30. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has made the coverage of
hospitalization treatment costs of COVID-19 mandatory under “Arogya Sanjeevani”.

31. BhartPe has partners with ICICI Lombard to launch ‘COVID-19 protection insurance cover’ for
shopkeepers.

32. PhonePe has launched India’s first COVID-19 hospitalization insurance policy called Corona Care
in collaboration with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.

AWARDS & RANKINGS

33. Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik has been conferred with Hero to Animals Award by People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India.

PERSON IN NEWS

34. Paytm Money CEO-MD Pravin Jadhav has resigned.

35. Central Government has extended the tenure of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) acting President
Prakash Kumar for another 3 months.

36. The Government has extended the tenure of Madhabi Puri Buch as a whole-time member (WTM)
of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) by a period of 6 months.

OBITUARIES

37. Professor Arjun Dev- an historian and educationist passed away. He was born in Leiah, West Punjab
(now in Pakistan).

38. Philip Warren Anderson- a Nobel Prize- winning physicist passed away in New Jersey, USA.

39. World-renowned Virologist Gita Ramjee passed away in South Africa due to COVID-19.

IMPORTANT DAYS

40. World Autism Awareness Day 2020: April 2. Theme: “The Transition to Adulthood”.

41. National Maritime Day 2020: April 5. 42. International Day of Conscience 2020: April 5

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SPORTS

43. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) has announced the rescheduled dates of the 32nd edition
of Tokyo Olympics which will be held in Tokyo, Japan from July 23 to August 8, 2021.

44. Wimbledon Tennis Tournament is cancelled for the first time since World War II due to COVID- 19.

45. The International World Games 2021 to be held in, Alabama, United States has been postponed to 2022.

46. International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) has banned Thailand and Malaysia from participating in
weightlifting events at the Tokyo Olympics.

47. The Olympic Council of Asia has announced the 3rd edition of Asian Youth Games which will be
held in Shantou in China from November 20 to 28, 2021.

OTHERS

67. Montek Singh Ahluwalia has authored a book ‘Backstage: The Story Behind India’s High
Growth Years’ which discusses the essence of policymaking between 1985 and 2014.

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