Daily Current Affairs 17th April, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 17 April 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Bhupesh Baghel inaugurates website Bhupesh Baghel inaugurates website ‘Cghaat’ for doorstep delivery of fruits, vegetables
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel inaugurated the online delivery website ‘Cghaat’ to provide home delivery of fruits and vegetables during the extended lockdown phase.

  • The website ‘cghaat.in’, has been developed by Chhattisgarh government’s agency Chips. The fruit and vegetable vendors interested in providing services through this portal can register online and start providing home delivery against online orders placed as soon as they receive Collector’s permission. This service is available free of charge to vendors.

Government to set up 20 lakh ‘Suraksha’ retail shops to provide daily essentials
Ahead of extending restrictions on the mobility of goods and persons, the government plans to set up a chain of 20 lakh retail shops called ‘Suraksha Stores’ across India which will provide daily essentials to citizens while maintaining stringent safety norms.

  • The Suraksha Stores initiative will convert the neighbourhood kirana stores into sanitised retail outlets selling daily essentials while adhering to safety norms such as social distancing and sanitisation to control the spread of the novel coronavirus


BANKING & FINANCE

RBI reduces reverse repo rate by 25 basis points from 4 pc to 3.75 pc
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced the reverse repo rate by 25 basis points from four per cent to 3.75 per cent in a bid to inject liquidity in financial markets.

  • However, the repo rate remains unchanged. This comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent countrywide lockdown.
  • India is expected to post a “sharp turnaround” by growing at 7.4 per cent in 2020-21.

RBI announces 3rd targeted LTRO for Rs 25,000 cr
To ensure adequate liquidity in the system, especially in the corporate bond market, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the third targeted long-term repo operation (TLTRO) on April 7 for Rs 25,000 crore.

  • The central bank announced the LTROs on February 6 and has pumped in liquidity worth Rs 1 lakh crore since then, and the TLTRO was announced on March 27 and has so far done two tranches worth Rs 50,000 crore and the initial target is Rs 1 lakh crore.

HDFC Bank launches Safety Grid campaign for social distancing
HDFC Bank has launched a Safety Grid campaign to encourage and reinforce social distancing while waiting at shops.

  • Using the outer grid of HDFC Bank logo, it has created physical markers on the ground to help people maintain the World Health Organisation (WHO) prescribed social distance while waiting in queue at a shop or an establishment.
  • After a pilot in Kolkata, the Safety Grid campaign has been launched in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar.


BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Asia to see zero per cent growth in 2020: IMF
Asia is expected to witness zero per cent growth in 2020 due COVID-19 pandemic, its worst growth performance in almost 60 years, but still the world’s largest and most populous continent is likely to fare better than other regions in terms of activity said by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

  • The IMF in a blog titled ‘COVID-19 Pandemic and the Asia-Pacific Region: Lowest Growth Since the 1960s ‘further said the impact of the coronavirus on the region will be “severe and unprecedented

Economic growth may fall to 1.1 pc this fiscal: SBI report
According to the research report by SBI, India’s GDP growth may slide to 1.1 per cent in the current financial year, on account of the impact of coronavirus outbreak on the economy.

  • The economic growth rate during 2019-20 is estimated to come down to 4.1 per cent from 5 per cent projected by several agencies before the outbreak of deadly virus, which affected more than 20 lakh persons around the world and took lives of over 1.3 lakh people.

Reliance and Facebook come together to create a ‘super app’
Social media behemoth Facebook and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited are reportedly working together to develop a multi functional super-app.

  • The key features of the app would include digital payments, social media, gaming along with flight and hotel booking options, among others.
  • The app would be based on the likes of Chinese super app WeChat and the duo would rope in their funding, technical strength, and domain expertise for the project. Facebook’s Whatsapp platform and its user base is also going to be leveraged for the same


SPORTS

Mascot for Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games unveiled
The mascot for the 4th Asian Para Games scheduled to be held here from October 9 in 2022 was unveiled.

  • The design of ‘Feifei’ is inspired by the motif of the ‘Divine Bird’ in the Liangzhu Culture.
  • The mascot is the fusion of Hangzhou’s heritage and its drive for technological innovation, carrying the longing for harmonious co-existence between humans and nature.

World Rugby announces USD 100 million relief fund to assist COVID-19 affected nations
World Rugby has created a relief fund of approximately $100 million to assist unions around the world as they grapple with the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

  • The relief fund will help nations weather the financial impact of the virus outbreak.


APPOINTMENTS

Anand joins WWF India as ambassador for environment education
Five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand has joined WWF (World Wide Fund) India as its ambassador for environment education programme.

  • WWF India is celebrating its 50 years of conservation in India and it is delighted to see Anand lend his support to conservation and protection of the environment.

BSNL CMD P K Purwar takes charge of MTNL
BSNL chairman and managing director P K Purwar has taken over additional charge of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, a regulatory filing.

  • This is the third time Purwar has been given charge of MTNL CMD in the last six years.
  • P K Purwar, CMD,BSNL has been entrusted the additional charge of CMD MTNL with effect from April 13, 2020 by the government of India, Department of Telecom.

IWF President Tamas Ajan Steps Down Amid Corruption Probe
International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) president Tamas Ajan resigned in the wake of allegations of corruption and doping violations.

  • During an online meeting on April 15, the IWF Executive Board approved the retirement of Tamas Ajan, accepting his resignation as IWF President after 43 years of service to weightlifting.

Rohit Sharma becomes CricKingdom’s brand ambassador
India’s limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma has become brand ambassador of ‘CricKingdom’, a cricket academy based in Dubai which will also facilitate coaching through its online platform after the global COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

  • CricKingdom’s online platform “will connect student, coaches, academies and facilities into an integrated ecosystem’.


SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

IIT Ropar designs ‘WardBot’ to deliver food, medicines to COVID-19 patients
A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar in Punjab’s Rupnagar district has come up with a design of an autonomous ‘WardBot’ which can deliver medicines and food to COVID-19 patients in isolation wards without human intervention.

  • Based on the smart line following, WardBot, fitted with sensors, can work on a known path and can carry food items and medicines for delivery at different beds to patients in a ward.

Aarogya Setu becomes world’s fastest app to reach 50 mn downloads: NITI Aayog CEO
The Centre’s mobile app, Aarogya Setu, developed for tracking COVID-19 patients, has become the world’s fastest app to reach 50 million downloads in just 13 days said by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant. 

  • The application alerts people if any known or person in their vicinity has tested positive


IMPORTANT DAYS

World Voice Day
World Voice Day is a worldwide annual event that takes place on April 16 devoted to the celebration of the phenomenon of voice.The aim is to demonstrate the enormous importance of the voice in the daily lives of all people

  • The theme of 2020 World Voice Day is FOCUS ON YOUR VOICE.

International Mathematics Day
Every year, 14th March is observed as International Day of Mathematics. The International Day of Mathematics aims to showcase the fundamental role played by the mathematical sciences in the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in reinforcing the two UNESCO priorities: Africa and Gender Equality.

  • The Theme of International Mathematics Day 2020 Mathematics is Everywhere.

World Haemophilia Day
Hemophilia Day is an international awareness day for hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. It is held annually on April 17, date of the birthday of Frank Schnabel, founder of the World Federation of Hemophilia.

  • This year theme for Hemophilia Day is “Get + Involved”.


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