bazooka: april-2020 coverage edition · (yukti) in new delhi that will monitor and record the...

www.practicemock.com 2 www.practicemock.com/blog

BAZOOKA: APRIL-2020 COVERAGE

EDITION

EDITION CONTENT

TOP CURRENT AFFAIRS OF APRIL-2020 ........................................................................ 3

NATIONAL ................................................................................................................ 3

INTERNATIONAL ....................................................................................................... 8

AWARDS & RECOGNITION ........................................................................................ 10

PERSON IN NEWS ................................................................................................... 10

OBITUARIES ........................................................................................................... 11

IMPORTANT DAYS ................................................................................................... 12

SPORTS ................................................................................................................. 13

OTHERS ................................................................................................................ 13

TOP FINANCE and ECONOMY AFFAIRS OF APRIL-2020 .................................................. 14

ECONOMY & BUSINESS ............................................................................................ 14

FIANNCE & BANKING ............................................................................................... 15

http://www.practicemock.com/

http://www.practicemock.com/blog

https://www.practicemock.com/

http://bit.ly/2w8nwoN



EDITION

EDITION TOP CURRENT AFFAIRS OF APRIL-2020

NATIONAL 1. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has introduced a new scheme named

“Companies Fresh Start Scheme, 2020” to provide relief to law-abiding companies

and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) from the COVID 19 impact by offering a one-

time waiver of additional filing fees.

2. Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has

launched a programme “United Against Corona Express through Art”, with an aim to

unite citizens across the world.

3. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) of Ministry of Commerce and

Industry has extended the tenure of Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20) till March 2021.

4.National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) continuously monitors Maximum

Retail Prices (MRP) of medicines.

5. The donations made to Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency

Situations Fund (PM-CARES FUND) are made eligible for 100% deduction under section

80G of the Income Tax (IT) Act, 1961.

6. Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj

has launched three new initiatives under National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) Platform-

- Negotiable Warehouse Receipt (e-NWRs) module, Farmer Producer

Organisation (FPO) trading module, Logistic Module, to enable farmers to sell

their harvested produce directly from warehouse.

7. Central Civil Services officers association has created ‘CARUNA (Civil Services

Associations Reach to Support in Natural Disasters)’ to tackle COVID-19.

8. The National Health Authority (NHA) has partnered with Uber India to provide

medical supply to India’s frontline healthcare workers and hospitals engaged in the

treatment of COVID-19 patients.

9. Tamil Nadu has the highest area under micro-irrigation utilised Pradhan Mantri

Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).

10. The Central Government has constituted a 10-member group under the

chairmanship of NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant to deal with Covid-19.

11. Coronavirus risk-tracking Application (app) called “Corona Kavach” is jointly

developed by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) &

the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

12. The Government of India (GoI) has launched COVID-19 tracking app ‘Aarogya Setu

to connect health services with the people to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak.

National Informatics Center (NIC) and Ministry of Electronics and Information

Technology (MeitY) has developed this app in 11 languages.

13. IIT Roorkee and AIIMS Rishikesh has developed a low-cost portable ventilator called

‘Prana-vayu’ costing just Rs.25,000.






EDITION

EDITION 14. Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala (Punjab) has developed a low-cost ventilator

‘Jeevan’ to combat covid-19 crisis.

15. Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (Asansol, West Bengal) has set the Limca Book of

Records for producing record 431 locomotives in 292 working days.

16. Odisha in collaboration with UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), has launched

a creative skill competition programme “Mo Prativa” to keep children engaged in

creative work during COVID-19 Lockdown.

17. Jharkhand has launched a mobile application named PRAGYAAM to issue e-passes

to the personnel who delivers essential services during the national lockdown to combat

COVID-19

18. As per Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report for the Financial Year 2017-

18, 40.59% of the environment crimes in India were committed in Rajasthan during

2014-16. Crimes were committed in violation of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and

Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

19. The Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) and

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) launched a online challenge –

SAMADHAN to empower innovation among students.

20. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) has suggested to divide the health

centres into 3 categories: 1. COVID Care Centre -for patients with mild symptoms 2.

Dedicated COVID Health Centre- for patients with moderate symptoms and 3.

Dedicated COVID Hospital – for patients with serious infection.

21. Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) has designated DigiLocker

as the National Academic Depository (NAD) to enable educational institutions to

store digital copies of academic awards, mark sheets and certificates.

22. Hindustan Unilever and UNICEF will launch ‘BreakTheChain’ campaign against

COVID-19.

23. Union Cabinet has decided to cut 30% salaries of all Members of Parliament (MPs)

for FY 20-21 and suspended the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme for 2

years (2020-21 and 2021-22). This will save Rs. 7900 crores in the Consolidated Fund

of India to combat COVID-19.

24. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under Ministry of Road Transport and

Highways has

constructed the highest ever national highways of 3,979 km length in the financial

Year 2019-20.

25. National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), completed 4 years of implementation

(launched by PM Modi on April 14, 2016). The Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium

(SFAC) is the leading implementation agency.

26. Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) has

collaborated with UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and WHO (World Health

Organisation) for COVID-19 response orientation to ensure tribal Minor Forest Produce

collectors carry out their work safely during the collection and harvest of Minor Forest

Produce (MFP)/ Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP).






EDITION

EDITION 27. Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry has launched a week-long ‘Bharat

Padhe Online’ campaign in New Delhi for crowd sourcing of ideas to improve the online

education ecosystem of India.

28. Atal Innovation Mission of NITI Aayog and National Informatics Centre (NIC) has

jointly launched an online tool CollabCAD in ATL (Atal Tinkering Lab) schools with an

aim to provide a platform to students to create and modify 3D (3- Dimension) designs

with creativity and imagination.

29. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under Ministry of Personnel,

Public Grievances and Pensions has launched 1st of its kind Integrated Government

Online Training (iGOT) e- learning portal on Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge

Sharing (DIKSHA) platform to enhance capacity building of front-line workers to

effectively manage the COVID-19 pandemic.

30. The Ahmedabad railway station of Western Railway became the first station of

Indian Railways (IR) to install a Walk-Through Mass Sanitizing Tunnel to ensure the

safety of staff and

31. Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) has developed

Personnel Sanitisation Enclosure (PSE), Full Face Mask (FFM) for healthcare

professionals against the COVID-19 pandemic.

32. Larson & Toubro has received a large order from the Indian Army to install IT based

state-of-the-art systems, which will be used to operate the armed force network under

the ‘Network of Spectrum (NFS)’.

33. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has partnered with

Wipro 3D to create a full-face shield for doctors and nurses who are treating patients

infected with COVID-19.

34. The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)- National Chemical

Laboratory, Pune has developed two new medical devices (Digital IR Thermometer &

Oxygen enrichment unit (OEU)) in collaboration with Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).

35. Bharat Biotech, a leading vaccines & bio-therapeutics manufacturers in India, along

with FluGen Inc, US begin testing new intranasal vaccine for COVID-19 called

‘CoroFlu’.

36. Indian Institute of Technology of Bombay (IIT-B) has developed a “digital

stethoscope” that can listen to heart beats from a distance and record them.

37. Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has launched a web-portal

named ‘Young India Combating COVID with Knowledge, Technology and Innovation’

(YUKTI) in New Delhi that will monitor and record the efforts and initiatives of MHRD.

38. The Department of Telecommunication and C-DOT (Centre for Development of

Telematics) along with Telecom Service Providers have developed COVID Quarantine

Alert System App which automatically triggers an email or SMS if any identified corona

positive person moves away from their quarantine location.

39. Gujarat has developed Biofortified carrot variety named ‘Madhuban Gajar’ with high

β-carotene and iron content.






EDITION

EDITION 40. Kerala has become the first Indian state to begin clinical trial of plasma therapy for

the COVID-19 Patient treatment.

41. Telangana has deployed India’s first automated “COVID- 19 Monitoring System

Application”.

42. Delhi has launched “Operation SHIELD” in identified Containment Areas of the

state to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

43. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs had appointed a committee headed by chairman

of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India M S Sahoo in 2019. It has submitted its

report on “valuation professionals” in which an institutional framework for valuers

by setting up National Institute of Valuers (NIV) was proposed.

44. Jim Corbett National Park (Nainital, Uttarakhand) has become India’s 1st

Quarantine Centre for COVID-19 affected animals.

45. The central government has constituted a task force for COVID-19 Vaccine

development. It will be chaired by NITI Aayog member Vinod Paul and principal

scientific advisor Krishnaswamy Vijay Raghavan.

46. National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) has

partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) to train around 29 lakh

community leaders via online programs to control the spread of COVID-19 cases in

rural areas.

47. The central government will set up 20 lakh retail shops named ‘Suraksha Stores’

across India to provide daily essentials to Indian citizens during lockdown.

48. Government has amended the extant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy,

2017 to curb opportunistic takeovers/acquisitions of Indian companies due to the

current COVID-19 pandemic.

49. The central Government has allowed Food Corporation of India (FCI) to convert

surplus rice to ethanol to make alcohol-based hand-sanitizers.

50. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has launched a dashboard

which lists details of Dhabas and Truck Repair Shops available across the country.

NHAI’s helpline number 1033 is also linked with this dashboard to answer relevant

queries.

51. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed COVID

Sample Collection Kiosk (COVSACK) with the help of Employees’ State Insurance

Corporation (ESIC) doctors’ team. COVSACK will help healthcare workers to safely

collect COVID-19 samples from suspected patients.

52. The central Government has launched a multi-institutional, multi-lingual science

communication initiative, ‘CovidGyan’ to create a broad and strong database of

COVID-19 related research information.




http://bit.ly/2w8nwoN



EDITION

EDITION 53. Aarogya Setu app has become world’s fastest app to reach 50 million downloads in

13 days. The App is available in 11 languages and developed by National Informatics

Centre (NIC).

54. The central Government has launched an online database on

https://covidwarriors.gov.in. of

healthcare professionals and volunteers to combat COVID-19.

55. The Ministry of Tourism launched a webinar series “DekhoApnaDesh” based on

tourism awareness and social history. The title of the first series is ‘City of Cities –

Delhi’s Personal Diary’.

56. SAHYOG mobile application and the web portal

https://indiamaps.gov.in/soiapp/ of Survey of India (SOI), will complement the

“AAROGYA-SETU” mobile application for effective contact tracing.

57. Uttar Pradesh became first Indian state to initiate Pool Testing to identify COVID-

19 affected person.

58. Madhya Pradesh government has launched the ‘Chief Minister COVID-19

Yoddha Kalyan Yojana’ to provide health insurance cover of Rs 50 lakhs for the

Anganwadi workers and healthcare staff of the state.

59. Gujarat has launched 3rd phase of water conservation scheme named Sujalam

Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan.

60. Andhra Pradesh has launched ‘YSR Nirman’ online platform to help state

government departments to procure cement from suppliers for government related

works.

61. Himachal Pradesh government has started eSanjeevaniOPD to provide free

online medical consultation and general health advice.

62.Prime Minister has launched the Swamitva Scheme and an integrated e-Gram

swaraj Portal & Mobile App for accelerating the development process in rural India.

63. The Union HRD Minister has launched VidyaDaan 2.0 program on DIKSHA platform

to integrate digital education with schooling.

64. The Ministry of Shipping approved the reconstitution of the 16-member National

Shipping Board (NSB), the board is the highest advisory body on matters related to

Indian shipping.

65. Central Government has frozen an inflation-linked Dearness Allowance (DA) &

Dearness Relief (DR) from January 1, 2020 till July 2021.

66. Union Minister of Coal and Mines has set the target for Coal India Limited (CIL) to

Produce 710 million tonnes coal during FY 2020-2021.

67. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has declared Banking Industry as a Public

Utility Service (PUS) for 6 months from April 21, 2020 till October 21, 2020 under

the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. This will bar the employees of

the banking sector to hold any strike during this period.

68. The Union Ministery of Human Resource and Development (HRD) has launched

#MyBookMyFriendcampaign on occasion of the World Book Day--April 23, 2020.






EDITION

EDITION 69. As per CRISIL Research report, Karnataka retained 1st position in terms of Total

Installed Renewable Energy Capacity in India for FY 2020 followed by Tamil Nadu

and Gujarat. The top 3 states in overall solar energy capacity are Rajasthan, Tamil

Nadu and Karnataka. Top 3 states in wind energy capacity are Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and

Maharashtra.

70. Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has launched mobile application named ‘e-

karyalay’ for the movement of files and documents without physical touch.

71. Kamal Jain from IIT Roorkee has developed a software which can detect COVID-19

within 5 seconds using X-ray scan of the suspected patient.

73. Uttar Pradesh has become the 1st state in India to provide a software-based in-

house facility of virtual courts.

74. Assam has launched a scheme called ‘Dhanwantari’, under which locally

unavailable medicines will be delivered to patients at home.

75. Andhra Pradesh has re-launched zero interest loan scheme for Women Self-Help

Groups (SHGs).

76. Madhya Pradesh has launched ‘Jeevan Shakti Yojana’ to enable women in urban

areas to earn by making masks at home.

INTERNATIONAL 77. As per Times Higher Education’s Impact Rankings 2020, The Indian Institute of

Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has secured 57th rank among global universities. The list

is topped by the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

78. World Bank has joined hands with AIMA (All India Management Association to

organize a virtual workshop called “The Contract Management during Emergency

situations” with the aim to create awareness about the likely impact of the COVID -

19 pandemic on the implementation of the World Bank funded projects.

79. Lebanon became the 1st Arab nation to legalise Cannabis (Marijuana) farming for

medicinal and industrial use.

80. The External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has attended the BRICS

Foreign Ministers online meeting chaired by Russia. During the meet BRICS countries

have agreed to set up a $15 billion loan instrument for the economic recovery post

COVID-19 crisis.

81. Prakash Javadekar, the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change,

has participated in 11th session of Petersberg Climate Dialogue 2020 along with 30

other countries representatives. It was held digitally.

82. The Multilateral Air Combat Training Exercise Pitch Black 2020 which was to be

held between July to August is cancelled by Australia due COVID-19 pandemic.

83. Vienna based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) under its

flagship Education for Justice Initiative has launched the “Lockdown Learners”

series of online dialogues with students and educators in India on COVID-19 & its

impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).






EDITION

EDITION 84. The G20 has launched a global initiative “Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT)

Accelerator”, to accelerate the development and production of health tools needed to

fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

85. As per Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the total global

military expenditure rose to USD 1,917 billion in 2019, with a marked increase of

3.6% annual growth. For the 1st time two Asian countries-- China (2nd) and India (3rd)

have ranked among the top military spenders which is topped by United States of

America (1st).

86. As per United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) report

titled “From the Great Lockdown to the Great Meltdown: Developing Country

Debt in the Time of Covid-19″, the developing countries’ repayments on their public

external debt will increase between $2.6 trillion and $3.4 trillion in 2020 and 2021

amid COVID-19 pandemic. For high-income developing countries it will rise between $2

trillion and $2.3 trillion while for middle and low-income countries it will mount between

$666 billion and $1.06 trillion.

87. NASA has developed an easy-to-build high-pressure ventilator named VITAL

(Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally) specifically to treat COVID-19

patients.

88. SpaceX has successfully launched 60 Starlink broadband satellites.

89. The 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) which was scheduled

from 9-19 November 2020, in Glasgow, has been postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19.

90. World Bank in its April 2020 Economic Update for East Asia and Pacific (EAP) titled

“East Asia and Pacific in the Time of COVID-19″ has stated that poverty is

estimated to increase by about 11 million people in the EAP region.

91. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will launch Sun Radio

Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE), a very large radio telescope to study

how the sun generates and releases the giant space weather storms.

92. Google and Apple have partnered to develop coronavirus contact tracing

technology for the smartphone.

93. China has become the top patent filer via WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

system surpassing the United States of America.

94. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Development Fund

(SDF) has allocated USD 5 million for COVID-19 projects to mitigate the financial losses

95. World Trade Organisation (WTO) has released Annual Trade Statistics and

Outlook Report which has projected global trade to fall by 13%-32% for the year

2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

96. As per International Labour Organization (ILO) report titled ‘ILO Monitor 2nd

edition: COVID-19 and the world of work- Updated estimates and analysis’,

about 400 million people working in the informal economy in India (about 90%) are

at risk of falling deeper into poverty due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

97. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists discovers Earth-

like exoplanet ‘Kepler-1649c’.






EDITION

EDITION 98. British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline and France’s Pharmaceutical

company Sanofi will jointly develop the COVID-19 vaccine.

99. As per Gartner 2019 Digital Workplace Survey, India is the world’s most

digitally skilful country because it has a vast new generation workforce keen to learn

new digital skills. India is followed by the United Kingdom (UK) and United States of

America (USA).

100. United Nation’s (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) has released fourth annual

Global Report on Food Crises titled “2020 Global Report on Food Crises-Joint

Analysis for better decisions” which observed that COVID-19 pandemic could

double the number of acutely hungry people in the world.

101. India has ranked two places lower at 142nd place on “The World Press Freedom

Index 2020” which is topped by Norway. North Korea stood at last rank of 180. The

World Press Freedom Index is compiled by Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres,

or Reporters Without Borders.

102. As per World Bank’s report “COVID-19 Crisis: Through a Migration Lens”,

remittances to India are likely to drop by 23% to USD 64 billion in 2020 from USD

83 billion in 2019 due to COVID-19 impact.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION 103. Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik has been conferred with Hero to Animals

Award by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India.

104. The 34th edition of annual list of Global Billionaires 2020 was recently released by

Forbes. List was topped by Amazon Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jeff

Bezos for the 3rd time, followed by Microsoft co- founder Bill Gates. Mukesh Ambani

(at 17th position) topped the Indian list.

105. Tata Power has won silver in Edison award 2020 under Social innovation’s

subcategory, for its campaign ‘Club Enerji #Switchoff2SwitchOn’. ‘Club Enerji’ is a

sustainability initiative by Tata Power which targets school children.

106. On National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th of April 2020, 3 Panchayats from

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Odisha has been awarded under separate categories

for their outstanding performance in strengthening rural democracy.

PERSON IN NEWS

107. Paytm Money CEO-MD Pravin Jadhav has resigned.

108. Central Government has extended the tenure of National Company Law Tribunal

(NCLT) acting President Prakash Kumar for another 3 months.




https://www.practicemock.com/exams/government/sebi-grade-a/?refcode=ssm_35&utm_source=SEBIGrAStudyMaterial_Blog_180320_SignUp&utm_medium=Link&utm_campaign=SignUp



EDITION

EDITION 109. The Government has extended the tenure of Madhabi Puri Buch as a whole-time

member (WTM) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) by a period of 6

months.

110. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has named former Reserve Bank of India

(RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan to its new External Advisory Group which will provide

perspectives from around the world on key developments, policy issues, policy

responses to the exceptional challenges the world now faces due to the coronavirus

pandemic and its economic impact

111. The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM)

appoints UB Pravin Rao as its chairman for 2020-21.

112. PepsiCo has named Shafali Verma, 16 years old, Indian Women Cricketer, as

one of its brand ambassadors for one year.

113. The Supreme Court of India Collegium led by Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind

Bobde has recommended the appointment of new Chief Justices for the Bombay

(Dipankar Datta), Orissa (Mohammad Rafiq) and Meghalaya (Meghalaya High

Court) High Courts.

114. MS Dhoni has been appointed as the brand ambassador of PokerStars India.

115. PV Sindhu has been named as ambassador for BWF’s ‘I am badminton’

campaign.

116. Viswanathan Anand becomes ambassador of WWF India’s environment

education programme.

117. Ajay Mahajan has been appointed as MD and CEO of CARE Ratings.

118. Suresh N Patel took charge as Vigilance Commissioner in the anticorruption

watchdog Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

OBITUARIES

119. Professor Arjun Dev- an historian and educationist passed away. He was born in

Leiah, West Punjab (now in Pakistan).

120. Philip Warren Anderson- a Nobel Prize- winning physicist passed away in New

Jersey, USA.

121. World-renowned Virologist Gita Ramjee passed away in South Africa due to

COVID-19.

122. Uttar Pradesh born Shanti Hiranand Chawla, a renowned Hindustani Classical

singer and Padma Shri awardee passed away.

123. The former Attorney General and Senior Advocate of Supreme Court of India,

Ashok Desai passed away.

124. M V Rajasekharan a veteran Congress leader He was born in Karnataka.

125. Usha Ganguly, an Indian theatre director-actor and activist, died in Kolkata.

126. Devanand Konwar former Governor of Bihar and Tripura and Veteran Congress

leader 4died in Guwahati, Assam.






EDITION

EDITION 127. Famous Bollywood Actor Irrfan Khan died. He was born in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay was his debut movie.

IMPORTANT DAYS

128. World Autism Awareness Day 2020: April 2. Theme: “The Transition to

Adulthood”.

129. National Maritime Day 2020 is observed on April 5

130. International Day of Conscience 2020 is observed on April 5.

131. World Health Day is observed annually on April 7 under World Health Organization

(WHO), to spread about equal healthcare facilities worldwide, the importance of Health

and Wellness and to kill myths around Health.

132. National Safe Motherhood Day (NSMD) is celebrated annually on April 11, to raise

awareness on proper healthcare and maternity facilities to pregnant and lactating

women.

133. World Voice Day 2020 is celebrated worldwide on April 16 for the celebration

of the phenomenon of voice. Theme for the year 2020 is “Focus On Your Voice”.

134.World Haemophilia Day 2020 was celebrated on April 17, with the theme of

“Get+involved”.

135. World Art Day 2020 was celebrated on April 15 by United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

136. World Heritage Day, also known as the International Day for Monuments

and Sites, is celebrated every year on April 18. Theme for the year 2020 is “Shared

Culture, Shared Heritage and Shared Responsibility”.

137. World Liver Day 2020 is celebrated on April 19.

138. National Civil Service Day 2020 is celebrated on April 21.

139. Earth Day 2020 is celebrated on April 22 with the theme “Climate Action”.

140. The World Book and Copyright Day is celebrated every year on April 23. This

event is organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organisation (UNESCO).

141.World Immunization Week is observed annually between April 24 – 30 to raise

awareness and increase rates of immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases

around the world. Theme for the year 2020 is Vaccines Work for All.

142. National Panchayati Raj Day is observed annually on April 24 in India by the

Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

143. World Malaria Day is observed on 25th April 2020. It is one of the eight official

global public health campaigns recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The theme of World Malaria Day 2020 is “Zero Malaria Starts with Me”.

144. World Intellectual Property Day is observed on April 26 by World Intellectual

Property Organization (WIPO). The theme of this year is “Innovate for a Green

Future”.






EDITION

EDITION 145. International Dance Day is observed on April 29 by the International Dance

Committee.

SPORTS

146. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) has announced the rescheduled dates

of the 32nd edition of Tokyo Olympics which will be held in Tokyo, Japan from July 23

to August 8, 2021.

147. Wimbledon Tennis Tournament is cancelled for the first time since World War II

due to COVID- 19.

148. The International World Games 2021 to be held in, Alabama, United States has

been postponed to 2022.

149. International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) has banned Thailand and Malaysia

from participating in weightlifting events at the Tokyo Olympics.

150. The Olympic Council of Asia has announced the 3rd edition of Asian Youth Games

which will be held in Shantou in China from November 20 to 28, 2021.

151. Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2020 edition has named Ben Stokes (male) of

England and Ellyse Perry (female) of Australia as the Leading cricketer of the World

2020 respectively.

152. FIFA’s ranking 2020: Indian football team ranks at 108th position. Belgium ranks

1st.

153. Boxing Federation of India’s (BFI) has announced that India will host the Women’s

and Men’s Asian Boxing Championships 2020 in November-Decembe.

154. A book titled “Shuttling to the Top: The Story of P V Sindhu” which is authored

by Krishnaswamy V was published by HarperCollins in Amazon digital platform

155. Mirabai Chanu and Jeremy Lalrinnunga have qualified for Tokyo Olympics.

156. New Logo and Title for the 11th edition of World Games which is to be held in

Birmingham, Alabama, USA was unveiled. The World Games 2021 Birmingham has

been renamed to World Games 2022 Birmingham.

OTHERS 156. Montek Singh Ahluwalia has authored a book ‘Backstage: The Story Behind

India’s High Growth Years’ which discusses the essence of policymaking between

1985 and 2014.

157. Sudha Murty authered book “How the Onion Got Its Layers” was published

by Puffin.




https://www.practicemock.com/blog/tag/sebi-study-material/



EDITION

EDITION TOP FINANCE and ECONOMY AFFAIRS OF APRIL-2020

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 1. Core Industries Growth (8 Industries) has registered 11-month high growth of 5.5%

in February 2020.

2. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) estimates that

the global economy could shrink by 1% in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

3. Fitch Ratings has lowered the India GDP forecast for Fiscal Year 2020-2021 to 2%

from 5.1% due to adverse economic effect of pandemic COVID-19.

4. Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has completed its merger with Glaxo SmithKline Consumer

Healthcare Limited.

5. The National Statistical Office (NSO) has estimated retail inflation rate at 5.91% for

March 2020 which is lower than 6.58% in February 2020, due to easing prices of

vegetables, eggs and meat. Retail inflation rate is measured by All India Inflation Rates

based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI).

6. The Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy (CMIE) released a data which showed

that Unemployment rate during March 30 – April 5, 2020 has risen to 23.4% from

8.7% due to COVID-19 pandemic breakdown.

7. World Bank (WB) in its “South Asia Economic Focus: The cursed blessing of public

banks report” expected Indian economy to grow 1.5% to 2.8%.

8. As per Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), India has become the largest producer

and exporter of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), with 70% of annual global production.

9. As per data of Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Indian exports of goods

decreased by 34.57% to

$21.41 billion in March 2020 due to COVID-19.

10. Ravindra H Dholakia Committee which was formed by the Ministry of Statistics

and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) in 2018 to review the methodology of

estimation of Sub-National Accounts (state & district), and to revise the base year

for National Accounts (GDP) calculation, has suggested a complete restructuring of data

collection and compilation methods for state-level Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

calculation and other estimates.

11. International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its April 2020 “World Economic Outlook”

has decreased India’s GDP growth rate forecast to 1.9% from 5.8 % for fiscal year

2020-21.

12. International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) in its report ‘COVID-19 Pandemic and the

Asia-Pacific Region: Lowest Growth Since the 1960s’ has stated that Asia GDP

growth will become 0% in 2020 for the 1st time in 60 years.

13. Fitch ratings has downgraded India’s FY21 GDP growth forecast to 1.8%

14. Facebook has bought a 9.99% stake Reliance Jio for $5.7 billion (Rs 43,574

crore), which is the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the technology sector in

India.






EDITION

EDITION 15. TVS motor has acquired 122-year-old UK-based firm Norton motorcycles for Rs

153 cr.

16. The chemical and petrochemical industry became the top exporting sector of

India for FY 2019-20 as the export of chemicals increased by 7.43% to Rs 2.68 lakh

crore during the April-January period of FY 2019-20.

17. Tech Mahindra Limited has entered the partnership with IBM (International

Business Machines Corporation) to establish innovation centres to boost

digital transformation and encourage adoption of hybrid cloud-based technologies.

18. Vodafone Idea has tied up with Paytm to launch ‘Recharge Saathi’ programme

to help individuals, small businesses to earn an additional income.

19. Fitch ratings has reduced India’s annual GDP growth estimates for FY2020-21 to

0.8% from 2%

FINANCE & BANKING 20. Reserve of Bank (RBI) has revised the norms for appointment of Managing Director

(MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of private sector & foreign banks. Proposal for

appointment/reappointment will have to be given 6 months prior to appointment date.

21. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has hiked the limit of Ways and Means Advances

(WMA) for the centre to Rs 1.2 lakh crore from Rs 75,000 crore.

22. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the foreign portfolio investment (FPI)

limit in corporate bonds from 9% to 15% for FY21 (2020-2021).

23. The World Bank has offered USD 1 billion to India for the COVID-19 emergency

response and health systems preparedness.

24. State Bank of India (SBI) has listed green bonds of USD 100 million under its

USD on India International Exchange Limited’s (INX).

25. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has made the

coverage of hospitalization treatment costs of COVID-19 mandatory under “Arogya

Sanjeevani”.

26. BhartPe has partners with ICICI Lombard to launch ‘COVID-19 protection

insurance cover’ for shopkeepers.

27. PhonePe has launched India’s first COVID-19 hospitalization insurance policy

called Corona Care in collaboration with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.

28. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched a Twitter campaign to adopt digital

modes of payment that are convenient and safe and reiterated the multiple digital

payment options such as NEFT, IMPS, UPI and BBPS that are available 24*7. Amitabh

Bachchan is the ambassador of this campaign.




https://www.practicemock.com/packages/sebi-grade-a/?refcode=ssm_35&utm_source=SEBIGrAStudyMaterial_Blog_180320_SebiGrAPackage&utm_medium=Link&utm_campaign=SebiGrAPackage



EDITION

EDITION 29. Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) has assured India of USD 2.2 billion support to

India in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

30. As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, Bank credit growth declined to five-decade

low to 6.14% in the fiscal ended March 31, 2020, due to lower demand and risk

aversion among banks.

31. The Punjab National Bank Housing Finance has signed an agreement with Japan

International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to raise USD 75 million.

32. The Bank of Baroda has initiated four Agro schemes for Women Self Help Groups

(SHGs), Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO/FPC) and farming community.

33. Jana Small Finance Bank has launched DigiGen, a digital banking platform which

enables the customers to open a savings account & fixed deposit instantly anytime &

anywhere.

34. Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Bharti AXA General Insurance to offer

financial protection for COVID-19 via two different health insurance plans.

35. Flipkart with ICICI lombard & Go Digit will offer COVID-19 health insurance policies.

36. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to increase the number of days that

a State/UT can continue to overdraft to 21 working days (current period is 14 days).

37. The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will provide emergency

working capital of up to Rs 1 crore to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The loan

limit for SIDBI Assistance to Facilitate Emergency (SAFE) response against coronavirus

has been increased to 2 crores from Rs 50 lakhs.

38. People’s Bank of China has increased its stake in Housing Development Finance

Corp Limited (HDFC) to 1.01% from 0.8%.

39. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced relief measures for small and medium

sized financial organisations which includes reduction of fixed reverse repo rate from

4% to 3.75% to maintain more liquidity in the banking system. A special refinance

facility for an amount of Rs 50,000 crores will be provided to NABARD, NHB and

SIDBI.

40. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the investment limit for general

category Foreign Portfolio Investors’ (FPI) in central Government Securities (G-secs) to

Rs 2.34 lakh crore for FY21 from the existing limit of Rs 2.46 lakh crore. The limits

have been brought down by $1.5 billion to $31 billion.

41. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in consultation with Central Government has increased

the limit for Ways and Means Advances (WMA) to Rs 2,00,000 crore from Rs 1,20,000

crore for first half of the financial year 2020-21.

42. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced second round of Targeted Long-Term

Repo Operations (TLTRO) for Rs 50,000 crore.

43. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the license granted to the Mapusa

Urban Co-operative Bank of Goa.

44. Ministry of Finance has notified that lender’s loss in case of loan default under

Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units (CGFMU) scheme will be covered up to the






EDITION

EDITION extent of 75% (earlier 50%). The CGFMU scheme was announced in 2016 covering

loans up to Rs 10 lakhs extended under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY).

45. Tata AIA has become the 1st Life Insurance company in India to announce

additional benefits for its policyholders and agents to support COVID-19 pandemic

related hardships.

46. Paytm Payments Bank has partnered with Mastercard to issue virtual and

physical debit cards.

47. BSNL with SBI has launched Bharat InstaPay a UPI-based payment platform to

enable BSNL channel partners to digitize their payment transactions.

48. ICICI Bank has launched Voice banking services on Amazon Alexa and Google

Assistant Platform.

49. The Asian Development Bank has approved USD 1.5 Billion to India to fund

COVID-19 related economic loss.

50. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $346 million loan to

Maharashtra to provide reliable power connection in rural areas of the state.

51. Himachal Pradesh will receive $82 million from World Bank for the upgradation

of major roads and modernization of the Public Works Department in the state.

52. India has extended $ 150 million foreign currency swap support to Maldives

to help reduce the impact of the COVID 19.

53. The Central government has established International Financial Services

Centres Authority (IFSCA) to regulate all financial services in International

Financial Services Centres.

54. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated a special liquidity facility of Rs 50,000

crore namely “Special Liquidity Facility-Mutual Funds (SLF-MF)” under which RBI

will conduct repo operations of 90 days tenor at the fixed repo rate.

55. The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched special

liquidity schemes to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) during

lockdown period.

56. Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has launched Working Capital demand Loan for

agriculture sector (WCDL-Agri). It has also launched the “COVID 19 Line of Support

Scheme” for MSME customers.

57. The Leading FOREX and payment solutions provider Transcorp International

Limited (TIL) has become the 1st BFC to receive Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approval

to enter co-branding arrangements for prepaid Instruments. It will issue National

Common Mobility Cards certified by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

58. Axis Bank Ltd would acquire 29% stake in Max Life Insurance Company from

Max Financial Services Limited (MFS).




https://www.practicemock.com/packages/sebi-grade-a/?refcode=ssm_35&utm_source=SEBIGrAStudyMaterial_Blog_180320_SebiGrAPackage&utm_medium=Link&utm_campaign=SebiGrAPackage

bazooka: april-2020 coverage edition · (yukti) in new delhi that will monitor and record the...

Documents