Daily Current Affairs 4th April, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 4 April 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Maharashtra launches ‘BMC-Mpower 1on1’ helpline to alleviate mental health concerns
In a bid to alleviate the mental health concerns of people in Maharashtra during the lockdown period, a 24×7 helpline, called ‘BMC-Mpower 1on1’, has been launched.

• Mpower has partnered with the Maharashtra government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to launch the toll-free helpline number — 1800-120-820050.
• Available free of cost for people across cities of Maharashtra, the helpline comprises experienced and trained mental health counsellors, who are clinical psychologists and psychiatrists to provide mental healthcare counsel and support.

MHA approves release of Rs 11,092 cr of disaster relief funds to states
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on approved the release of Rs 11,092 crores under State Disaster Risk Management Fund (SDRMF) to all states.

• This is an advance release of Government of India share of the first instalment of SDRMF for 2020-21, to augment funds available with the state governments.

Centre credits Rs 500 in each Jan Dhan account held by women
The Ministry of Rural Development said that it is releasing a lump sum amount of Rs. 500 per head to women account holders under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) for April and the same have been credited to the designated accounts of individual banks on April 2

• This follows the announcement made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on March 26 regarding ex-gratia payment of Rs. 500 for each woman PMJDY account holder for the next three months under the PM Garib Kalyan Package amid coronavirus crisis that has affected all economic activity and the incomes

DST sets up rapid response centre “CAWACH”
Department of Science & Technology, Government of India in a rapid response to combat COVID-19 global pandemic approved setting up of a Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH) at a total cost of Rs 56 Cr to scout, evaluate and support the innovations and start-ups that address COVID-19 challenges.

• The Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE), a technology business incubator at IIT Bombay supported by DST has been identified as the Implementing Agency of the CAWACH.

Odisha government, UNICEF launch ‘Mo Prativa’ to engage young minds amid COVID-19 lockdown
Odisha government in collaboration with the UNICEF has launched an online competition programme ‘Mo Prativa’ to engage the children and youth who are staying at home during the lockdown.

• All entries will be invited on two themes, ‘Being at home during lockdown’ and ‘My responsibility as a young citizen during Covid-19’. Those in the age group of 5 to 18 years can participate in art, slogan writing, short story writing (within 500 words), poem writing and poster making, he said and added that winning entries will get certificates and may be used in IEC materials.

BANKING & FINANCE

Arogya Sanjeevani product to cover COVID-19 treatment
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has led to rise in cases of hospitalisation. To deal with this, the insurance regulator has clarified that the standard health insurance plan Arogya Sanjeevani will also cover the hospitalisation treatment costs of COVID-19.

• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has issued clearance to 29 general and health Insurance companies to market Arogya Sanjeevani.
• Arogya Sanjeevani is a standard health insurance policy that will offer coverage of between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh and will be for a period of one year. It will be available in multiples of Rs 50,000.
• It will be available as individual or family floater plans. Anyone over the age of 18 can purchase an Arogya Sanjeevani Policy. The maximum age at which you can purchase this policy is 65 years.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

NHA joins hand with Uber India to provide transport services to frontline healthcare workers
National Health Authority (NHA) has announced its partnership with Uber India to provide transport services to India’s frontline health workers engaged in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

• Initially, Uber will facilitate the provision of 150 cars free of cost to support medical facilities in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Patna via UberMedic service.

Fitch cuts India growth forecast to 30-year low of 2 pc for FY21
Fitch Ratings cut its GDP growth forecast for India to 2 per cent for the fiscal year ending March 2021 after lowering it to 5.1 per cent previously, which will make it the slowest growth in India over the past 30 years.

• Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and the services segment are likely to be among the most affected amid reduced consumer spending.

IIM-B & ICICI Securities launch program for fintech startups
ICICI Bank’s broking and investment banking arm ICICI Securities (I-Sec) said that as a part of it CSR initiative it is partnering with IIM Bangalore’s startup hub N S Raghavan Centre of Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL), to support startups in the fintech space through a structured program.

• Startups in ideation to early customer stage will be guided by mentors through need assessment, one-on-one interactions and workshops.
•  The 15-month program is meant for startups working in the fields of insurance, trading, personal finance, banking, wealth advisory, lending, payments and taxation.
• At the end of the program, select startups will also receive funding support.

SPORTS

Olympic torch relay to start from earthquake-hit Fukushima next year
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, is likely to open on July 23, 2021.

• The Olympic flame has already arrived at Fukushima prefecture. The Japanese call it “The Fire of Reconstruction”

Official mascots of 19th Asian Games unveiled
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced the three sporty robots representing the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Hangzhou in eastern China as the official mascots of the 19th Asian Games.

• Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the mascots of the 19th Asian Games was unveiled during a digital launch ceremony.
• The three robots are known collectively as the ‘smart triplets’ to reflect the internet prowess of Hangzhou city and Zhejiang province.

APPOINTMENTS

Govt extends tenure of NCLT acting President BSV Prakash Kumar
The government has extended the tenure of acting President of National Company Law Tribunal BSV Prakash Kumar for another three months with effect from 5th April, 2020, or till joining of new President, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

• Earlier, Kumar was appointed as acting President for a period of three months from January 5 after the retirement of Justice MM Kumar as the NCLT President.

NTPC appoints Dilip Kumar Patel as director HR
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited appointed Dilip Kumar Patel as its Director Human resources on 1 April.

• Patel has over more than three decades of the experience in my line and HR functions.He looked after various dimensions of HR at Korba and subsequently moved on to become the Head of HR at Koldam where the first hydro project of NTPC was launched.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Geo-fencing app will be used to locate quarantine violators
The government has tested an application that triggers e-mails and SMS alerts to an authorised government agency if a person has jumped quarantine or escaped from isolation, based on the person’s mobile phone’s cell tower location.The Centre is using powers under the Indian Telegraph Act to “fetch information” from telecom companies every 15 minutes to track COVID-19 cases across the country.

• Kerala was one of the first States to use geo-fencing to track COVID-19 cases.On March 29, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) shared a standard operating procedure (SOP) with all telecom service providers regarding the application called COVID-19 Quarantine Alert System (CQAS).

OBITUARIES

Prominent virologist Gita Ramjee dies from coronavirus
World-renowned virologist Gita Ramjee has become the first Indian-origin South African to have died after contracting the novel coronavirus that has killed five people in the country.

• Ramjee, aged nearly 50 years, was the Clinical Trials Unit Principal Investigator and Unit Director of the HIV Prevention Research Unit of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) offices in Durban.
• In 2018, Ramjee was presented with the Outstanding Female Scientist Award in Lisbon by the European Development Clinical Trials Partnerships (EDCTP) for her lifetime commitment to finding new HIV prevention methods.

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