Current Affairs Daily Digest – April 17 2020
1. Chess wizard Viswanathan Anand named ambassador of WWF India
Chess Master Viswanathan Anand has been appointed as the new Ambassador for World Wide Fund (WWF) India’s Environment Education program. The Environment Education Program was formed in 1976.
It reaches out to school children, youth and citizens across the country. The main objective of the organization is to generate critical thinking, problem-solving, and environmentally-conscious individuals. The Environment Education program impacts over 5 million children across 2000 schools.
2. RBI released 49th round of OBICUS
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the 49th round of quarterly OBICUS (Order books, inventories, and capacity utilization survey) of the manufacturing sector. The survey includes the reference period January-March 2020.
OBICUS:
- The OBICUS survey will provide valuable input for monetary policy formulation.
- The Central Bank has conducted the OBICUS of the manufacturing sector on a quarterly basis since 2008.
- The data collected in the survey includes quantitative data on new orders received during the reference quarter, backlog of orders, pending orders, total inventories with a breakup between work-in-progress (WiP) and finished goods (FG) inventories and item-wise production.
3. Chhattisgarh launched Cghaat website for online essential delivery
Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel inaugurated the online delivery website ‘Cghaat’ on 16 April. Cghaat will facilitate doorstep delivery of fruits and vegetables during the extended lockdown phase due to contain COVID-19 spread.
The web portal, cghaat.in, has been developed by Chhattisgarh government’s agency Chips. The fruit and vegetable vendors who are interested to provide services can register online through this portal.
4. Narendra Singh Tomar addressed the 2020 National Conference on Kharif crops
The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar addressed the “National Conference on Kharif crops 2020” through a video conference.
All States were directed to achieve the Kharif target as doubling of farmers’ income should be taken up in mission mode. The Central govt. assured the States that the Government of India will remove any obstacles that the States are facing.
The main aim of the National Kharif Conference was to discuss various issues and list out steps in consultation with the States about preparedness for Kharif cultivation in view of the lockdown situation.
5. Indian Army observes “No Movement”; Special train to ferry soldiers
The Indian Army chief Lt General Manoj Naravane issued directives to all the military cantonments, headquarters, establishments to strictly ensure no movement of forces till April 19, 2020. This is being done to fight COVID-19 during extended lock down.
6. National Conference on Kharif Crops, 2020 held through video conference
The Union Agricultural Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar chaired the National Conference on Kharif crops. The conference discussed measures to achievee doubling of farmers’ income and to achieve Kharif target. Secretaries of DAC&FW and ICAR and also officers from state governments participated in the conference.
7. South Korea ruling party wins election
The ruling democratic party of President Moon Jae won the election taking 180 seats. The opposition United Future Party took 103 seats. There are 300 seats in the South Korea National Assembly.
8. Google Pay launches ‘Nearby Spot’ to help users find local stores selling essentials
Google has launched ‘Nearby Spot’ under Google Pay using which users in Bengaluru can see local stores selling essentials like groceries that are open, amid the lockdown. The Nearby Spot will be launched in Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi soon, Google India said in a blogpost.
“With the lockdown and social distancing norms in place, digital payments have become more important than ever and Google Pay is an additional surface to provide key information regarding COVID-19,” it added.
9. Vineet Arora appointed MD, CEO of Paytm General Insurance
Digital payments major Paytm said it has named Vineet Arora as the managing director and chief executive officer of Paytm General Insurance Ltd.
The appointment, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is a step for Paytm to further its journey into the insurance sector with an immediate focus on General Insurance, the company said in a statement.
10. Rohit Sharma becomes Dubai-based coaching academy’s brand ambassador
India’s limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma has become brand ambassador of ‘CricKingdom’, a cricket academy based here which will also facilitate coaching through its online platform after the global COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
11. Kotak Mahindra Bank Launches ‘ATM on Wheels’ in Mumbai
Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) announced the launch of its first “ATM on Wheels” facility in Mumbai. The mobile ATM will bring cash withdrawal services to local neighbourhoods during this critical period when the city is in a lockdown mode due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The mobile ATM facility is available to both Kotak customers and non-customers and will cover Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai on all days, including weekends.
12. India is world’s most digitally dexterous country: Survey
Sixty-seven per cent of digital workers in India said emerging technologies such as machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) are increasing their effectiveness at work, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc.
The Gartner 2019 Digital Workplace Survey found that India is the most digitally dexterous country in the world – followed by the UK and the US, due to having the largest Gen Z workforce along with the desire to learn new skills using digital technologies in the workplace.
