Weekly CA Quiz: March 2020 3rd week

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has announced the biggest ever scheme for the welfare of sportspersons and artists of the State.

Niue has become the world’s first whole country recognised as a ‘Dark Sky Place’ by the International Dark-Sky Association’s (IDA), which has approved the island’s application for the protection of its sky, land and sea.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revised exposure limits for urban cooperative banks (UCBs) to a single borrower and a group of borrowers to 15 percent and 25 percent, respectively, of tier-1 capital.

India pledged $10 million toward a Covid-19 emergency fund and said it was putting together a rapid response team of doctors and specialists for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) nations as part of an initiative led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Ace Indian paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal wins the ITTF Challenger Plus Oman Open. The 37-year-old Indian veteran beat top-seeded Marcos Freitas of Portugal 4-2 in the final played in Muscat.

The government has appointed Justice Bansi Lal Bhat as the officiating chairperson of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

Every year 15th March is celebrated as the World Consumer Rights Day to spread awareness regarding consumer rights.The theme of World Consumer Rights Day 2020 is ‘The Sustainable Consumer’.

In a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19 virus across the state, the Kerala government has launched a mass hand washing campaign named ‘break the chain’.

The Philippines halted stock, bond and currency trading until further notice, becoming the first country to shut financial markets in response to the widening coronavirus pandemic.The closures take effect on March 17, 2020, according to statements from the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

Moody’s Investors Service lowered India’s GDP growth forecast for 2020 calendar year to 5.3 per cent from 5.4 per cent, on coronavirus implications on the economy.

E-commerce marketplace Flipkart and Aegon Life Insurance joined hands to sell comprehensive insurance solutions for customers looking for instant digital policies with a sum assured of up to Rs 10 lakh.

A roll on-roll off cum passenger ferry service, also called ‘Ropax’, between Mumbai and Mandwa near Alibaug, was launched in the presence of Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya and Maharashtra port and maritime board officials.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cleared the appointment of Ravinder Singh Dhillon as Chairman and Managing Director of Power Finance Corporation (PFC) with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post on or after June 1 till the date of his superannuation on May 31, 2023, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Arfa Khanum Sherwani of The Wire and Bengaluru-based freelancer Rohini Mohan have been jointly given this year’s Chameli Devi Jain Award for outstanding woman journalist.

Noted poet, litterateur and linguist Puthussery Ramachandran passed away. He was 91.

Noted Marathi actor Jairam Kulkarni died in Pune morning due to old-age related ailments. He was 88.

Filmmaker Saurabh Thakur launched his debut novel ‘Aham’,a bold step for the fantasy fiction genre in India. The book has been published by Locksley Hall Publishing.

The government has set an ambitious target to achieve sales of around 70 lakh hybrid and electric vehicles by the end of this year said by Heavy Industries Minister, Prakash Javadekar.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar gave his nod to rename Amin village to Abhimanyupur after Mahabharta warrior Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu.

The Reserve Bank said it will regulate activities of payment aggregators (PAs) given the important functions of these intermediaries in the online payments space.

Flying car-maker PAL-V of The Netherlands will set up a manufacturing plant in Gujarat and has set a target of commencing production by 2021.

Microsoft India and NASSCOM Foundation launched the Innovate for Accessible India campaign aimed at empowering people with disabilities with the technology and tools required for better integration into society and access to equal opportunities.

With the widespread impact of the COVID-19, Facebook has announced its efforts at helping small businesses which are most affected by the crisis.

S&P Global Ratings lowered India’s economic growth forecast to 5.2 per cent for 2020, saying the global economy is entering a recession amid the coronavirus pandemic.

ATK FC lifted the Indian Super League (ISL) trophy for the record 3rd time following a 3-1 win against Chennaiyin FC in the final held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao.

 Iraqi President Barham Salih appointed Adnan al-Zurfi as the country’s new prime minister-designate in an effort to resolve a months-long political crisis.

 Former Chairman and Managing Director of Air India Ashwani Lohani has been appointed as the Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) for one year.

Asia-focused banking giant HSBC appointed Noel Quinn as its chief executive, ending months of speculation as the coronavirus crisis causes global upheaval and hits banks hard.

A total number of 20,820 hospitals have been empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana till 11th of this month.

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal announced that Banihal to Katra railway link in Jammu and Kashmir will be completed by 2022.

Lok Sabha approved over Rs 1-lakh crore Budget for Jammu and Kashmir for 2020-21 with emphasis on the development of newly carved-out Union Territory.

Rs 20,466.94 crores of loans have been sanctioned under Stand Up India Scheme to over 91,000 accounts upto 10.03.2020 since inception of the Scheme said by Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs.

 Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) announced that it will now start issuing Visa debit cards to its customers.

SBI Funds Management, a joint venture between India’s largest bank SBI and European asset manager Amundi, has become the first fund house to implement the stewardship code in India from April 1,2020.

 Google said it has appointed former IBM executive, Karan Bajwa as Managing Director of Google Cloud in India.

World-famous Sun Temple in Konark has been included under the country’s list of 19 monuments which will be developed as iconic sites by the Centre. This was informed by Union Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel.

Bollywood actor and theatre personality, Imtiaz Khan has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was 77.

Global Recycling Day observed on 18th March 2020, to raise awareness of the importance of recycling and the ways we can turn ‘waste’ into a valuable resource.The Global Recycling Foundation is pleased to announce the theme of Global Recycling Day 2020 as #RecyclingHeroes.

Goa Health Minister Vishwajit P Rane has launched a chatbot Cobot-19 to create awareness about coronavirus among the citizens.The Chatbot has been developed in association with Portea Medical and Verloop.

The Ministry of Railways has planned to electrify balance Broad Gauge (BG) routes of the Indian Railways by December 2023.

DBS Bank India said it has tied-up with Bharti AXA to roll out a complimentary insurance plan covering all medical conditions, including Covid-19.

 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the validity of authorisation issued to Vakrangee Ltd to set up, own and operate white label automated teller machines (ATMs) in India.

New Zealand(NZ) all-rounder Andrew Malcolm Ellis (37) announced his retirement from cricket after 18 years of his career.

Crisil said Arundhati Bhattacharya, the past chairman of State Bank of India, has submitted her resignation as independent director of the company effective April 15.

Former India captain,coach and Technical Director Pradip Kumar Banerjee, breathed his last at a private hospital in Kolkata after a prolonged illness. He was 83.

The International Day of Happiness is celebrated across the world every year on March 20. International Day of Happiness founded to promote happiness as a fundamental human right for all human beings.The theme of the International Day of Happiness 2020 is “Happier Together”. It focuses on what we have in common, rather than what divides us.

Himachal Pradesh State government launched Police Station Visitor Survey System and e-Night Beat Checking System for Himachal police in Shimla.These systems would help the Police Department in doing self-evaluation and improve the working of Police.

 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval to set up a National Technical Textiles Mission with a total outlay of Rs 1480 Crore, with a view to position the country as a global leader in Technical Textiles.The Mission would have a four year implementation period from FY 2020-21 to 2023-24.

Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for the third year in a row, maintaining the Nordic grip on the World Happiness Report’s top spots and India ranked 144.The rankings are based on polling which looks at six variables: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption.

The Finance Commission has constituted an 8-member panel to review the fiscal consolidation road map of the both state and central governments.The panel will be headed by 15th Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh.

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) said it will start Swavalamban Express on June 5 this year for budding entrepreneurs.The Swavalamban Express train is a part of our umbrella mission Swavalamban which aims to induce entrepreneurship culture amongst youth.

Fitch Ratings slashes its growth forecast for India from 5.6% to 5.1% for 2020-21, as Covid-19 hit Indian manufacturers after supply chain disruptions in China.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the formation of a COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to deal with the situation arising out of novel coronavirus outbreak.

Indian mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta hails from Kolkata, West Bengal, 37 years old, entered ‘Limca Book of Records’ (LBR) for his extraordinary achievements, as the first Indian to climb the highest volcanoes of each of the 7 contints.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests (IDF) in 2012. The theme for 2020 is Forests and Biodiversity.

The country’s insurance regulator IRDA has set up a 16-member committee to find ways to improve corporate governance systems of insurers, primarily on making key functions such as risk management and internal audits independent of each other.The committee will be headed by Pravin Kutumbe, member-finance and investment at IRDAI and has six other members from the insurance regulator besides members from the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India along with other industry participants.

The Covid-19 pandemic will leave the economy crippled next fiscal pulling down the growth to a low of 5.2 per cent, warns Crisil that had earlier forecast the GDP printing in a 5.7 per cent expansion.

World Water Day is observed globally on 22nd March every year. It focuses on the importance of freshwater. World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.The theme of World Water Day 2020 is “Water and Climate Change.”

Singapore overtook Hong Kong as the world’s freest economy for the first time since 1995 in the latest Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom published.

The United Nations’ (UN) World Meteorological Day is annually held on or around March 23 to remember the World Meteorological Organization’s establishment on that date in 1950.The theme for 2020 is ‘Climate and Water’, which will align with the theme of World Water Day 2020, focusing on climate change and water.