Weekly CA Quiz: May 2020 2nd week

In Madhya Pradesh, in a first of its kind initiative, a unique vehicle has been developed at the local level. With the help of this vehicle, health workers can investigate any suspected patients without coming in to the contact of him. This vehicle has been named Sanjeevani.

Iran’s parliament has passed a bill allowing the government to slash four zeros from the rial,, after a sharp fall in the value of the currency as a result of crippling U.S. sanctions.

According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the Covid-19 crisis has led to a spike in the country’s unemployment rate to 27.11 per cent for the week ended May 3, up from the under 7 per cent level before the start of the pandemic in mid-March.

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health & Family Welfare Minister launched the ‘AYUSH Sanjivani’ App and two AYUSH-based studies related to COVID-19 situation, in New Delhi.

World Thalassaemia Day is observed on every 8th of May. This day tries to help thalassaemia patients lead a normal life despite the burden of the disease. This is a blood disorder in which the body has less hemoglobin than normal.World Thalassaemia Day theme 2020 is ‘’The dawning of a new era for thalassaemia: Time for a global effort to make novel therapies accessible and affordable to patients”.

The ministry of road transport and highways has set a target of constructing roads worth 15 lakh crore over the next two years said by union minister Nitin Gadkari during meeting via video conferencing with the members of SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) Institute on impact of COVID-19 on auto sector.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has, approved a loan of USD 500 million to support India’s efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said public sector banks (PSBs) sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore to borrowers during March and April, and disbursement will start soon after the lockdown is lifted, leading to economic recovery.

Paytm Payments Bank said it has crossed Rs 600 crore in fixed deposit accounts as it witnessed growth during the lockdown period due to volatility in other assets.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has disbursed ₹12,767 crore to State Co-operative Banks (StCBs) and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) across the country to augment their resources for extending credit to farmers during the ongoing lockdown.

The Supreme Court held that the cooperative banks involved in the activities related to banking are covered within the meaning of ‘banking company’ and Parliament has legislative competence to provide for procedure for recovery of loan under the Sarfaesi Act.

 Moody’s Investors Service said it estimates India’s GDP growth to hit zero’ in FY21 and pointed to a wide fiscal deficit, high government debt, weak social and physical infrastructure, and a fragile financial sector.

The Coir Board has signed a pact with the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras to establish a centre of excellence for the application of Coir exclusively or in combination with other natural fibres.

 India launched Mission Sagar as part of the government’s outreach initiative towards five Island nations in the Indian Ocean amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The WHO and the UN’s postal agency have released a commemorative postage stamp on the 40th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, with the head of the global health body expressing gratitude to a top Indian-origin UN official.

The State Bank of India (SBI) introduced a new scheme for senior citizens called “SBI Wecare Deposit” for senior citizens in its retail term deposit segment. The scheme aims at safeguarding the interest of senior citizens in fixed deposits amid falling rate of return.

The government increased its market borrowing estimate by staggering Rs 4.2 lakh crore to Rs 12 lakh crore for the current fiscal to deal with the expected shortfall in revenue due to the impact of COVID-19 crisis on the economy.

Two foreign brokerages predicted a contraction of 0.4 per cent of India’s GDP in the current financial year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Narinder Batra will remain President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) until May 2021.

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) said it has been ranked among the Top 50 global schools, for the second year in succession, in the Financial Times Executive Education 2020 Rankings.

Eminent historian Hari Shankar Vasudevan died at a private hospital. He was 68.

Congress veteran and former minister Juvvadi Ratnakar Rao passed away at a hospital in Karimnagar district of Telangana on due to age-related illness. He was 92.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman announced a Rs 70,000-crore boost to housing sector by extending the subsidy scheme for affordable housing for the middle income group.The credit-linked subsidy scheme for the middle income group with an annual income of Rs 6 lakh to Rs 18 lakh was operationalised from May 2017 and extended up to March 2020.

The West Bengal government launched a scheme to utilise 50,000 acres of barren land in six districts for income-generating activities like horticulture and pisciculture.The state government had been working on the ‘Matir Smristi’ scheme, which will benefit around 2.5 lakh people in rural Bengal.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced Aatmanirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojana. The scheme for small shop keepers and self-employed hit by the lockdown.

MoneyGram Payment Systems has tied up with Federal Bank to offer a cost-effective direct-to-bank account credit option for customers in India

The World Bank approved USD 1 billion ‘Accelerating India’s COVID-19 Social Protection Response Program‘ to support the country’s efforts for providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the pandemic.

Every year, May 15 is celebrated as the International Day of Families. The day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 with the aim to highlight the importance attached to families by the international community. The theme for International Families day 2020 is Families in Development

PM Modi announced a Rs 20-lakh-crore stimulus package, equivalent to about 10% of India’s GDP, aimed at making the country self-reliant and reviving the stalled economy. Details of the plan, dubbed the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, unveiled by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Bringing together composers, musicians and singers from across India, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations has unveiled a musical creation “United we Fight”.

The World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2020 released by the UN said that global gross domestic product is forecast to shrink by 3.2 per cent in 2020, with only a gradual recovery of lost output projected for 2021, the sharpest contraction since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

 Former Commonwealth Games gold-winning boxer Akhil Kumar has been re-inducted into the National Anti-Doping Agency’s (NADA) Disciplinary Panel.

Iconic soul and R&B singer Betty Wright died after a battle with cancer. She was 66.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra launched country’s first ever ‘FIR Aapke Dwar Yojana’ in Bhopal.

Israel has named a street in Tel Aviv after celebrated Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore as a tribute on his 159th birthday.

SBI General Insurance launched the standard health insurance policy – Arogya Sanjeevani Health Insurance Policy SBI General Insurance. The policy provides hospitalisation cover anywhere in India with sums insured ranging from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 5 lakhs.

Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi has assumed charge as Secretary in the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).

Former national table tennis champion Manmeet Singh Walia, who was suffering from rare ALS disease for nearly two years, has died in Montreal, Canada. He was 58.

International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world every May 12, to mark the contributions that nurses make to society. International Nurses Day 2020 is special as this is the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, who is revered as the founder of modern nursingThis year the theme of the day is ‘Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health’.

Bengaluru Urban district in Karnataka has launched Pranavayu programme to create awareness on the need to self examine the respiratory health for Bengaloreans.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani launched the first indigenous seam sealing machine, which helps in manufacturing PPE kits at half the price of the imported one in Rajkot.

 India has moved up two positions to rank 74th on a global ‘Energy Transition Index’ with improvements on all key parameters of economic growth, energy security and environmental sustainability.

The New Development Bank of the BRICS countries has fully disbursed USD one billion emergency assistance loan to India to help it contain the spread of COVID-19 and reduce human, social and economic losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Paralympics silver medallist Deepa Malik announced that she has bid adieu to active sports in order to serve as the office bearer in the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) in accordance with the National Sports Code.

China won the inaugural $180,000 FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup following a 2-2 draw against USA.

Senior IAS officer Manoj Ahuja has been appointed as the CBSE chairman and Anurag Jain, the vice-chairman of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), as part of a major bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre.

Former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara is set to serve his second term as the president of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) as the current activities have been postponed at the club.

Jharkhand’s Sohrai Khovar painting and Telangana’s Telia Rumal were given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indications Registry headquartered in Chennai.

Actor and comedian Jerry Stiller has died due to natural causes. He was 92.