Current Affairs Daily Digest – March 26 2020
1. Cabinet approved MoU signed between India and Germany to enhance Railway sector
The Union Cabinet led by the PM Narendra Modi apprised a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Ministry of Railways, GoI and DB Engineering & Consulting GMBH of Germany. The MoU was signed for technological cooperation in the Railway Sector. The agreement was signed in February 2020.
2. Cabinet approved the continuation of RoSCTL scheme from 1 April
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved for continuation of Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) scheme from 1 April 2020. Until then, the scheme will be merged with the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP). It is expected to make the textile sector competitive by rebating all taxes and levies that are currently not being rebated under any other mechanism.
3. GoI develops new biofortified high protein wheat variety
The scientists of Agharkar Research Institute (Pune), operating under Department of Science and Technology (DST) have developed biofortified high quality wheat. The new variety is MACS 4028.
The new wheat variety has 14.7% better nutritional quality, 40.3 ppm of iron content and high milling quality. The new variety is semi-dwarf and matures in 102 days. Also, it has high yielding ability of 19.3 quintals per hectare.
4. Union Cabinet approves recapitalisation of RRBs
The Centre has approved a ₹1,340-crore recapitalisation plan for regional rural banks (RRBs) to improve their capital-to-risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR), strengthening these institutions that are critical to the provision of credit in rural areas.
On Wednesday, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its nod for an outlay of ₹670 crore as the central share for the scheme on the condition that the release of the funds will be contingent upon the release of the proportionate share by the sponsor banks, an official statement said.
5. Walmart India names Sameer Aggarwal as its Deputy CEO
Walmart India has elevated Sameer Aggarwal to the role of deputy chief executive officer, and industry sources believe he would take over in the coming months the reins of Walmart’s flagship wholesale retail unit in the country from current CEO Krish Iyer.
“Sameer Aggarwal has been appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Walmart India effective 1st January 2020. He will continue reporting to Krish Iyer, President & CEO Walmart India, and oversee operations, merchandising, people, marketing, real estate, kirana development program, digital, eCommerce and strategy,” a company spokesperson said.
6. Abdul Latif, former Indian international, dies at the age of 73
Abdul Latif, a former Indian midfielder of the 1970s, passed away on Monday night in Guwahati at the age of 73. Latif, born on 20th June, 1947, is known for his contributions to India’s medal-winning run in the Bangkok Asian Games in 1970.
7. Albert Uderzo: Asterix co-creator and illustrator dies aged 92
Albert Uderzo, who drew the Asterix comic books, has died at the age of 92. He created the famous stories – about the adventures of Gaulish warriors fighting the Roman Empire – with his friend René Goscinny in 1959.
As well as illustrating the series, Urderzo took over the writing following Goscinny’s death in 1977.
8. Microsoft, US CDC tie-up to create ‘Clara’, a COVID-19 self-screening bot
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has introduced an AI bot called ‘Clara’ to help people assess potential symptoms of COVID-19.
The CDC has partnered up with CDC Foundation and Microsoft Azure’s Healthcare Bot service to create Clara, the “coronavirus self-checker.” the bot is currently only available in the US on the CDC website.
9. “Stay Home India with Books” initiative launched by GoI
The National Book Trust functioning under Ministry of Human Resources and Development launched Stay Home India with Books initiative. Under the initiative more than 100 books can be downloaded from the NBT website.
The National Book Trust was founded in 1957. The trust activities include publishing, promotion of Indian books, children literature, etc.
According to the ministry, majority of the books uploaded are children books. Apart from these, the other books include activity-based learning science, women scientists in India, Gandhi: Warrior of Non-Violence and many more. The books uploaded are of different Indian languages. It includes English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Kokborok, Bodo, Mizo, Tamil, Nepali, Kannada, Urudu, Malayalam, Telugu, etc.
10. Iqbal Singh Bains appointed Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary
In one of the first decisions taken after becoming Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday appointed Iqbal Singh Bains as the Chief Secretary of the state. In an official order, Bains a 1985 batch IAS officer, who was posted as Chairman of the Revenue Board has been appointed as the Chief Secretary.
