Current Affairs Daily Digest – April 01 2020
1. NASA announces SUNRISE Mission
NASA announced Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SUNRISE) mission. The mission is to study about how sun creates Giant Solar Particle Storms.Studying the solar storms, the mission aims to understand the working of the solar system. The study will also aid future astronauts travelling to Mars and protect them from solar storms.
2. COVID-19: Maharashtra and Telangana Government announce major salary cuts
The Maharashtra Government had cut 60% of salary from the Chief Minister and other members of Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council and other representatives of the local governing bodies. The Class A and Class B employees of the government are to take 50% of cut. There will be no salary cuts for Class D employees that includes office assistants and peons. So far Maharashtra has reported 225 COVID-19 infected cases and 10 deaths.
The state of Telangana had also announced such salary cuts. The Telangana Government is to cut 75% of salary from the Chief Minister, members of legislative assembly and state ministers.
3. Over 2.5 lakh SBI employees commit ₹100 crore to PM-CARES fund
The employees of State Bank of India (SBI) have decided to contribute two days’ salary to PM Narendra Modi’s PM-CARES Fund to combat coronavirus pandemic, Chairman Rajnish Kumar said. The bank has over 2.5 lakh employees and the total contribution will be around ₹100 crore. Earlier, SBI committed 0.25% of its annual profit for 2019-20 to help fight the outbreak.
4. MakeMyTrip launches ‘Stays for Saviours’ initiative to support healthcare practitioners fighting COVID-19
MakeMyTrip said on Tuesday it is launching Stays for Saviours, in a bid to support temporary accommodation needs of the medical frontline force fighting COVID-19.
The company said this initiative has been rolled out in partnership with hotel chains and independent hotels that are pitching in to support our healthcare heroes across 26 states and 4 Union Territories.
5. Panel led by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant starts working on response strategy
A panel led by NITI Aayog chief executive officer (CEO) Amitabh Kant has begun working on a response strategy to contain the spread of COVID-19. The Empowered Committee held its first meeting on March 30, which saw attendance from several representatives of the private sector and industry.
6. Coal India pledges Rs 220 cr donation to PM fund
State-owned Coal India (CIL) has pledged Rs 220 crore to the Prime Minister”s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES) to fight against coronavirus pandemic, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi has said.
“Glad to see coal PSUs coming forward & pledging donations to #PMCARES in fight against #COVID19 @CoalIndiaHQ has committed Rs. 220 crores @NLCIndiaLimited has committed Rs 25 crores,” Joshi has said in tweet.
7. Affordable housing firm Aavas gets $60m ADB loan
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an agreement to lend up to $60 million to Aavas Financiers Ltd , a housing finance company in India, to improve access to housing finance for lower-income borrowers, particularly women.
Aavas is one of the largest housing finance companies in India’s affordable housing segment and it has more than ₹70 billion in assets under management and 245 branches across 10 states.
8. Merger of 10 PSU Banks into 4 comes into effect from today
The merger of 10 state-run banks into 4 larger banks has been implemented from today, April 1, 2020. The announcement regarding the amalgamation has been done by GOI earlier in March 2020.
The government made this announcement in early March with the purpose of creating stronger banks in the public sector. Though the central government announced the plan but RBI has been given the charge for the successful implementation of the plan.
