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[GKmojo] April Current affairs 2020

Important Days in April


• World Autism Awareness Day: 02 April 2020
Theme: The Transition to Adulthood

• World Health Day: 07 April 2020


Theme: Support Nurses and Midwives

• International Mother Earth Day: 22 April 2020


Theme: Climate Action

• World Malaria Day: 25 April 2020


Theme: Zero malaria starts with me

• World Intellectual Property Day: 26 April 2020


Theme: Innovate for Green Future

Appointments

1. RBI Deputy Governor BP Kanungo gets one-year extension

The Centre has extended the tenure of Reserve Bank Deputy Governor
BP Kanungo by a year with effect from April 3, 2020. Kanungo, whose
term was to end on April 2, had taken charge as a deputy governor in
April 2017.

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2. UB Pravin Rao appointed as new chairman of NASSCOM

The Chief Operating Officer of Infosys, UB Pravin Rao has been


appointed as the new chairman of the National Association of Software
and Services Companies (NASSCOM) for 2020-21. Rao will be
succeeding Keshav Murugesh, the Group CEO, WNS Global Services.

3. IMF chief names Raghuram Rajan in her External Advisory


Group

Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina


Georgieva has named a group of prominent individuals to serve as her
new External Advisory Group which includes former RBI governor,
Raghuram Rajan and others to its new External Advisory Group.
Raghuram Rajan was the RBI governor for three years and presently
working as a professor at the prestigious University of Chicago.

4. Rakesh Sharma has become the new President of IMMA

International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (IMMA) has elected


Rakesh Sharma as its President for a tenure of 2 years. He had been
holding office as vice-president of IMMA since May 2019. He will replace

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Johannes Loman, Director of PT Astra International Tbk and Executive
Vice President Director PT Astra Honda Motor (AHM) Indonesia.

5. Sanjay Kothari takes oath as Central Vigilance


Commissioner

Sanjay Kothari took oath as Central Vigilance Commissioner of India. He


has been selected as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner by a high-
powered committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prior to
this, he has served as the Secretary to the President.

6. Suresh N Patel takes oath as vigilance commissioner of


India

Suresh N Patel took oath as the Vigilance Commissioner in the anti-


corruption watchdog CVC. He took the oath of office by Central Vigilance
Commissioner Sanjay Kothari through video conference. He will have a
tenure of over two years, till late December 2022, in the CVC. Sharad
Kumar is working as the other vigilance commissioner. The tenure of a
vigilance commissioner is of four years or till the incumbent attains the
age of 65 years.

7. GoI appoints T.S. Tirumurti as next Ambassador of India to


UN

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The Government of India has appointed T.S. Tirumurti as the next
Ambassador or Permanent Representative of India to the United
Nations. He will replace Sayyad Akbaruddin as the Permanent
Representative of India to the United Nations at New York.

Books and Authors

1. A book titled “Shuttling to the Top: The Story of P.V.


Sindhu”, released

Sports journalist, V. Krishnaswamy, authored a book titled “Shuttling to


the Top: The Story of P.V. Sindhu”, released. The book narrates the
journey of badminton player PV Sindhu, from her early life to becoming
a world champion and what lies ahead.

Sports

1. BWF names PV Sindhu as ambassador for ‘i am badminton’


campaign

World Badminton Champion, P V Sindhu has


been named as one of the ambassadors for Badminton World Federation
(BWF)’s “I am badminton” awareness campaign. Other ambassadors of
the campaign includes the Chinese duo of Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya
Qiong, Canada’s Michelle Li, England’s Jack Shephard, Hong Kong’s
Chan Ho Yuen, Germany’s Valeska Knoblauch and Germany’s Marc
Zwiebler, who is Athletes’ Commission Chair.

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2. Olympic Council of Asia unveils the mascot of 19th Asian
Games

The Olympic Council of Asia has unveiled the official mascots of the 19th
Asian Games scheduled to be held in Hangzhou in 2022. The three
robots namely Congcong, Lianlian and Chenchen which are collectively
known as “The Smart Triplets” are the official mascots of the 19th Asian
Games, unveiled by Olympic Council of Asia at a digital launch ceremony
held in Hangzhou, China. The Smart Triplets symbolizes the internet
prowess of Hangzhou city and Zhejiang province.

3. Ben Stokes named Wisden’s Leading Cricketer in the World


2020

England’s all-rounder Ben Stokes has been named the leading cricketer
in the world 2020 by Wisden. In Women’s category, Australia’s Ellyse
Perry has been named the Wisden’s Leading Female Cricketer in the
World. She scored the highest runs and took the most wickets and
helped Australia in successfully retaining their Women’s Ashes title
against England last year.

4. FIFA’s latest ranking: India retains 108th slot

India football team retained its 108th spot in the latest FIFA
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rankings. While Belgium ranked first and world champion France
is in 2nd place and Brazil is at 3rd spot. In the wake of
the coronavirus (Covid-19) epidemic the qualifier tournaments
have been postponed for the FIFA World Cup and other major games at
the international level.

Rank Teams points

1 Belgium 1765

2 France 1733

3 Brazil 1712

108 India 1187

Business, Economic & Finance Affairs

1. Paytm Payments Bank inks partnership with Mastercard

Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) inks partnership with Mastercard to


issue virtual and physical debit cards. These cards enable its customers
to perform secure online transactions, make payment in stores as well as
withdraw cash from ATMs.

2. Singapore’s Caladium increases its stake in Bandhan Bank


to 4.49%

Singapore’s Caladium Investment has raised its stake in Bandhan Bank


by 1.1% from 3.39% to 4.49%. Caladium Investment PTE Ltd will now
hold 7.2 crore shares of Bandhan Bank.

3. RBI permits Transcorp to issue co-branded prepaid cards

The Reserve Bank of India has given its approval to Transcorp


International Ltd to issue co-branded prepaid cards. With the approval,
the RBI has allowed Transcorp to enter into co-branding arrangements

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for Prepaid Instruments that can be utilized in over 35 lakh stores and
online gateways. After receiving approval from the RBI, the Transcorp
International Ltd has become one of the first non-bank companies to
receive approval to enter into co-branding arrangements for Prepaid
Instruments.

4. TCS BaNCS to power Israel’s 1st fully Digital Bank

Israel’s first fully digital bank would be launched by the Tata


Consultancy Services in 2021. The digital banking operations platform
will be powered by the TCS BaNCS Global Banking Platform. TCS has
been selected by Israel’s Ministry of Finance to transform its banking
sector. The TCS BaNCS universal financial solution is designed to help
financial services institutions enhance end-customer experience,
enabling them to embrace open and innovative technologies that
embody true digital customer engagement.

5. Facebook buys 9.99% stake in Reliance Jio

Facebook has acquired a 9.99% stake of Reliance Jio for USD 5.7 billion
(about Rs 43,574 crore). This deal of USD 5.7 billion has put the pre-
money enterprise value of Jio Platforms at Rs 4.62 lakh crore. Jio
Platform is the parent of phone and data unit Reliance Jio Infocomm
including various other digital app platforms like JioMart, Jio-Saavn and
JioCinema.

6. Merger of Public Sector Banks 2020


Date of merger: 01.04.2020
Merged
Name/s of the Bank/s
With

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Oriental Bank of Punjab
Commerce and United National
Bank of India Bank
Syndicate Bank Canara Bank
Allahabad
Indian Bank
Bank
Andhra Bank and Union Bank
Corporation Bank of India

7. “Asian Development Outlook 2020” released by Asian


Development Bank

The Asian Development Bank has released its annual economic


publication “Asian Development Outlook 2020” in which it has projected
India’s growth to slow down to 4% in the current fiscal year i.e. 2020-
2021 citing weak global demand and the government’s novel coronavirus
containment efforts for the slowdown in Indian economy. But for fiscal
year 2021-2022, ADB has projected India’s growth to strengthen to
6.2%, boosted by government reforms.

8. Forbes billionaires list “The Richest in 2020” topped by Jeff


Bezos

34th annual world’s billionaires list named as “The Richest in 2020” has
been launched by Forbes. The list has been topped by the Amazon
Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos for 3rd time in a row. He
has topped the list with a net worth of $113 billion. He was followed by
Bill Gates having net worth of $98 billion while luxury goods tycoon
Bernard Arnault, the Chairman and CEO of luxury magnate LVMH
(LVMHF), stood on the 3rd position with a net worth of $76 billion.

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9. People’s Bank of China raises its stake in HDFC

People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has raised its stake in Housing


Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) from 0.8% to 1.01%.
The stake raising process was done as a secondary market transaction.
The stakes comprise of 17.49 million shares of the the country’s largest
mortgage lender HDFC. After the transaction, the closing price of the
Chinese central bank’s stake in HDFC was Rs 2,976 crore.

10. Sporting Motorcycle brand ‘Norton’ acquired by TVS Motor


Company

The United Kingdom’s most iconic sporting motorcycle brand ‘Norton’


has been acquired by TVS Motor Company’s overseas subsidiary TVS
Motor Singapore Pte. Ltd. in an all-cash transaction of £16
million. Norton, a 122-year-old motorcycle company was founded by
James Lansdowne Norton in Birmingham and went on to become the
most popular British motorcycle brands of all time.

11. Airtel ties up with Nokia to improve network capacity

Nokia and Bharti Airtel has signed a multi-year agreement of around $1


billion in order to improve the network capacity of Bharti Airtel. This $1
billion deal will improve customer experience of Bharti Airtel’s
customers by providing them best-in-class connectivity. According to the
deal between two companies, Nokia will deploy approximately

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3,00,000 radio units across several spectrum bands, including 900 Mhz,
1800 Mhz, 2100 Mhz and 2300 Mhz across India by 2022.

12. Axis Bank set to acquire stake in Max Life Insurance

Axis Bank would acquire a 29% additional stake in Max Life Insurance
for an estimated price of Rs 1,592 crore. The deal will increase the Axis
Bank ‘s stake in Max Life to 30%. Max Financial Services will hold the
remaining 70% in the joint venture.

Obituaries
1. RISHI KAPOOR (Actor)
Birth: 04.09.1952
Death: 30.04.2020
Awards: Filmfare Award for Best Actor for Bobby (1974), Filmfare
Lifetime Achievement Award (2008).
Debut film: Mera Naam Joker

2. IRRFAN KHAN (Actor)


Birth: 07.01.1967
Death: 29.04.2020
Awards: National Film Award for Best Actor for Paan Singh Tomar
(2013), Padma Shri (2011).
Debut film: Salaam Bombay

National affairs

1. A report titled “Trends in World Military Expenditure,


2019” released by SIPRI

A report titled “Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2019” has been


released by Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute (SIPRI). The report analysed the global military spending in
2019 stating that the global military spending in 2019 was 2.2% of the

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global gross domestic product (GDP) i.e 7.2% higher in 2019 than it was
in 2010. As per the report, the top 5 largest spenders in 2019 were:
United States ($732 billion), China ($261 billion), India ($71.1 billion),
Russia ($65.1 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($61.9 billion).

2. Viswanathan Anand joins WWF India as ambassador

WWF (World Wide Fund) India has appointed World chess champion
Viswanathan Anand as its ambassador for the environmental education
programme. Anand lends his support to the conservation and protection
of the environment.

3. EPIDEMIC DISEASES (AMENDMENT) ORDNANCE, 2020


The Central government has promulgated an Ordinance to amend the
Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 to make attacks on doctors and healthcare
workers a cognizable and non-bailable offence.
As per the amendment, whoever commits or abets the commitment of
violence against health care worker, shall be punished with
imprisonment ranging from 3 months to 5 years, and penalty ranging
from Rs 50,000 to 2 lakh.
In case of a very serious attack, the imprisonment may be for a minimum
period of 6 months and maximum of 7 years, with penalty ranging from
Rs 1 lakh to 5 lakhs.
As per the Ordinance, investigation into the incidents of attacks on
doctors and healthcare workers has to be conducted by a senior
inspector and be completed within 30 days.

4. GoI launches “Aarogya Setu” app to track Covid-19

“Aarogya Setu” is the official COVID-19 tracking app that has been
launched by the Government of India. The “Aarogya Setu” app has been
developed by the National e-Governance Division of the Ministry of

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Electronics and Information Technology in association with the Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare.

5. Ministry of HRD starts web portal ‘YUKTI’

Ministry for Human Resource Development has starts web-portal named


YUKTI (Young India Combating COVID with Knowledge, Technology
and Innovation) in New Delhi. The web portal and dashboard will help to
monitor and record the efforts and initiatives of the Ministry of HRD. Its
plan to cover different dimensions of COVID-19 challenges in a
comprehensive and holistic way.

6. Ahmedabad station becomes 1st station to get sanitizing


tunnel

Under Western Railway, Ahmedabad railway station at Kalupur, Gujarat


becomes the 1st station of Indian Railways (IR) to install a “Walk
Through Mass Sanitizing Tunnel”. This Walk-Through Mass Sanitizing
Tunnel is installed to ensure the safety of staff and passengers in the
view of the COVID-19.

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7. Prasar Bharti launches new channel “DD Retro”

India’s Public service broadcaster Prasar Bharti has rolled out a new
channel called DD Retro. The new channel “DD Retro” would be
specifically dedicated to old classics of Doordarshan. The channel has
been launched by Prasar Bharti in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic to
keep viewers engaged.

8. UP becomes 1st state with in-house facility of virtual courts

Uttar Pradesh has become the 1st state with a software-based in-house
facility of virtual courts, where requisite infrastructure in Allahabad
High Court and all its courts for hearing cases through video
conferencing.

9. Madhya Pradesh govt launches “Jivan Shakti Yojana” for


women

Madhya Pradesh government has launched the “Jivan Shakti Yojana” for
women. Under this scheme, women in urban areas can earn by making
masks at home. The government will pay them Rs 11 per mask.

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10. MPLADS Funds
The financial years for which the Union Cabinet has decided not to
operate the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme
(MPLADS) funds: 2020-21 & 2021-22

International affairs

1. Lebanon
The middle-east nation which has become the first Arab country to
legalize cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes: Lebanon

2. Iran launches its 1st military satellite “Noor” into orbit

Iran has successfully launched its first-ever military satellite named


“Noor” into the orbit. ‘Noor’ satellite has reached its orbit and is orbiting
425 km above the earth’s surface. This satellite is launched by the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC], a branch of the country’s
armed forces. The Noor satellite was launched by a three-stage rocket
which was powered by a combination of solid and liquid fuels.

3. World Press Freedom Index 2020


Released by: Reporters without Borders
Rank Country Rank Country
1. Norway 142 India
2. Finland 145 Pakistan
3. Denmark 177 China
4. Sweden 151 Bangladesh
5. Netherlands 127 Sri Lanka

Note: India has dropped 2 places from its position in 2019

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4. Twitter CEO pledges $1 billion to combat COVID-19
pandemic

Chief Executive Officer of Twitter, Jack Dorsey has pledged to donate $1


billion to charities working towards combatting the global COVID-19
pandemic. The donation seems to be the largest donation pledged by a
private individual in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. Jack Dorsey
will move $1 billion of his digital payments group “Square” equity i.e.
28% of his wealth, to #startsmall LLC to fund global COVID-19 relief.

5. $5mn fund allocated by SAARC development for Covid-19


projects
For COVID-19 related projects in its member states, the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Development Fund
(SDF) has allocated $5 million. The projects will be funded by the SDF
under its Social Window thematic areas which primarily funds projects
on poverty alleviation, social development focusing on education, health,
and human resource development, among others.

6. Saudi Arabia terminates death penalty for minors

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud has abolished the
death penalty for crimes committed by minors. The new order states that
any individual who has received a death sentence for crimes committed
while he or she is a minor will no longer face execution. Instead of the
death sentence, the individual will undergo a prison sentence of no
longer than 10 years in a juvenile detention facility. The new rule was
announced by the president of the Saudi government’s Human Rights
Commission, Awwad Alawwad.

All the best by GKmojo


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