Current Affairs Daily Digest – March 19 2020
1. Centre issued notification for adaptation of 37 central laws in JK
The government of India issued a gazette notification for the adaptation of 37 central laws in the Concurrent List for the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir. The gazette notification was issued by the Department of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh Affairs of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. It comes into force with immediate effect.
2. Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha
Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha on 19 March 2020. He was nominated by President Ram Nath Kovind. His nomination to the upper house was made against the vacancy created due to the retirement of senior lawyer KTS Tulsi. There are 11 other nominated members in the Rajya Sabha.
3. Ordnance Factory Day was observed on 18 March
The Ordnance Factory Day is observed on the 18 March. The Ordnance Factories are observing their 219th foundation day this year. The day marks the establishment of the first Ordnance Factory on 18 March 1801. The first factory is known as the ‘Gun and Shell Factory’ at Cossipore in Kolkata.
4. Google appointed Karan Bajwa as MD of Google Cloud in India
Google appointed Karan Bajwa as Managing Director (MD) of Google Cloud in India. He will advise Google Cloud’s work with the local developer ecosystem and India-based Global System Integrators (GSIs). Google Cloud’s field sales, partner, and customer engineering organizations in India will report to Bajwa.
He will be responsible for driving all revenue and go-to-market operations for Google Cloud’s extensive solution portfolio that includes Google Cloud Platform and G Suite in the country.
5. GoI: Left Wing Extremism has declined by 38% in last five years
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs replied in Rajya Sabha about the decline in Left Wing Extremism in the last five years. This has been possible mainly due to the implementation of “National Policy and Action Plan-2015”.
6. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh top in farm credit disbursals
Tamil Nadu has topped in disbursement of agriculture credit by giving away loans worth ₹1,63,289 crore out of a total of ₹10,33,183 crore distributed across the country till December 31 this fiscal. The South Indian State led from the front in disbursing agricultural loans last year too with disbursal of ₹1,90,222 crore.
7. APEDA signs MoU with SFAC to boost food clusters
In a bid to bring in better synergy, Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has signed MoU with Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC)
The MoU was signed by Neelkamal Darbari, Managing Director SFAC and Paban Kumar Borthakur, Chairman, APEDA.
8. Prachi Salve, Pradeep Dwivedi won 2019 Road Safety Media Fellowship award
Prachi Salve of IndiaSpend and Pradeep Dwivedi of DainikJagran jointly won the top prize in the Road Safety Media Fellowship 2019. The award recognized their contribution towards reporting on road safety by the Centre for Media Studies (CMS). The awardees were selected by a three-member jury.
9. Iraqi President Appoints Adnan Al-Zurfi as New PM-Designate
Iraqi President Barham Salih on Tuesday appointed Adnan al-Zurfi as the country’s new prime minister-designate in the latest bid to resolve a months-long political crisis.
Al-Zurfi has 30 days to form his cabinet which he must then put to a vote of confidence in Iraq’s fractious parliament.
10. State Bank of India acquires 6.82% stake in Zero Mass
State Bank of India has entered into an agreement on 16 March 2020 to acquire 6.825% stake in Zero Mass. As part of the deal, the Bank has sold its entire stake in A Little World to the Zero Mass.
ZERO Mass Pvt. Ltd. was founded by Anurag Gupta, Founder and Director, 20 March, 2007 and it is the first ever Business Correspondent in the country (starting in 2006 with Seiling village in Mizoram) providing business correspondent and business facilitator services to banks through a last line local entrepreneur distribution of network to enable provision of services related to financial inclusion, remittances etc. pan lndia.
11. Roche Diagnostics India first private firm to get COVID-19 test approval
Swiss firm Roche Diagnostics India received the license for conducting coronavirus tests after approval from drug regulator DCGI, making it the first private firm to get such permission after the government decided to allow accredited private labs to test for COVID-19.
According to a senior official, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) is now assessing giving license to another private diagnostic firm, bio rieux, which has also sought approval to conduct tests for coronavirus.
