Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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NATIONAL AFFAIRS
DAC gives green signal to procure Tejas Mark 1A fighter aircraft and defence equipment:
Amendment in DPP 2016 approved
On March 18, 2020, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) under the chairmanship of Union Defence Minister
Shri Rajnath Singh held a meeting with its Acquisition Wing in New Delhi. This was the first meeting of DAC
after the separation of duties between the Department of Defence (DoD) and the Department of Military Affairs
(DMA). During the meet, DAC has approved the procurement of 83 Tejas Mark-1A jets from HAL for the Indian
Air Force (IAF), marking a boost to the government’s flagship “Make in India” programme. The proposal will
now be sent for consideration of Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
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Key Points:
i.As a target to electrify 4,310 km of BG route in the year 2023-2024 (till December 2023), it is planned to
electrify a total of 28,810 km of BG route.
ii.As part of its solar mission, it plans to source approximately 1000 megawatt (MW) of solar power & to source
around 200 MV of wind power, based on the techno-commercial assessment.
iii.Out of this power, about 204.82 MW (101.42 MW of solar & 103.4 MW of wind power) is already set up on
the network
iv.Apart from the above to reduce the fuel burden of IR, it also planned to install land-based solar plants on
unused rail land across India to meet its energy requirements for traction and non-traction purposes.
Premium subsidy sharing pattern between Centre & NER changed: PM-KISAN Scheme reached
more than 8crore beneficiaries
The government has changed the premium subsidy sharing pattern between Centre and the North Eastern
States from 50:50 to 90:10 for PM- Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana and Restructured Weather Based Crop
Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS). Simply, Central Share in Premium Subsidy increased to 90% for North Eastern
Region (NER) or the North Eastern States. For remaining States, subsidy sharing pattern will continue as 50:50.
This change in the ratio will allow more states to notify the schemes and also facilitate greater coverage of
farmers under the schemes.
PM- Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana reached 8,69,79,391 beneficiaries
As of March 17, 2020, a financial benefit under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) has been
released to 8 Crore 69 lakh 79 thousand 391 Indian beneficiaries. The funds are transferred directly into the
bank accounts of the beneficiaries identified by the State Governments and are not released State-wise.
Under this scheme, the small and marginal farmers get Rs. 6000 in three instalments of Rs 2000 each.
About Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare:
Union Minister– Narendra Singh Tomar
Minister of State (MoS)- Parshottam Rupala, Kailash Choudhary
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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
WhatsApp launched Coronavirus Information Hub, donated $1 million to IFCN
On March 19, 2020 Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp launched the “WhatsApp Coronavirus
Information Hub” globally, in partnership with WHO (World Health Organization), UNICEF (United Nations
Children’s Fund) and UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). WhatsApp also donated $1 million
dollars to Poynter Institute’s International Fast-Checking Network (IFCN) in order to avoid fake information
about the disease.
Key Points:
i.Uses: The WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Hub will be available at Whatsapp.com/coronavirus and
provides simple, actionable guidance for health workers, educators, community leaders, nonprofits, local
governments & local businesses.
ii.The site also offers general tips and resources for users around the world to reduce the spread of rumours
and provides accurate health information.
iii.IFCN: The International Fast-Checking Network identifies the spread of health-related fake news on
Whatsapp in different formats. The network detects & debunks misinformation on the messaging app.
iv.Whatsapp has also worked with a number of national health ministries and NGOs (Non-Governmental
Organisation) to provide factual information to users via text in countries including Singapore, Israel, South
Africa, Brazil and Indonesia.
About Whatsapp:
Founders- Jan Koum, Brian Acton.
Headquarters- California, United States (US).
About UNDP:
Headquarters- New York City.
Administrator- Achim Steiner.
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RBI to infuse ₹10,000 crores via OMO to maintain liquidity in the banking system
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is all set to infuse ₹10,000 crore liquidity in the banking system by buying
government securities through open market operations (OMO) on March 20, 2020. The securities will be
purchased through a multi-security auction using the multiple price method with tenor between two and five
years. RBI will offer to buy four set of sovereign papers maturing between February 2022 and May 2025.
The decision has been taken due to ensure the standard functioning of all market segments by maintaining
liquidity and stability which is getting affected due to COVID-19 pandemic. OMO mainly aids shorter-term
yields.
Key Point:
-Currently, RBI is using liquidity tools instead of rate cuts to bring down borrowing costs in the economy. It
adopted a mix of the Federal Reserve-style ‘Operation Twist’ and the long-term repurchase operations (LTRO)
to boost cash in the banking system.
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DBS Bank India ties up with Bharti AXA to roll out insurance plan covering COVID-19
On March 18, 2020, DBS Bank India Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DBS (Development Bank of
Singapore) Bank Ltd, has entered into the partnership with Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Ltd to
launch a complimentary insurance for customers of DBS treasures.
Key Points:
i.The plan covers all medical conditions including Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19), under which a cover of Rs
5000 per day is available for a period of 30 days if DBS customers are hospitalized for 10 days.
ii.Apart from this, the customers of the bank can also adopt health insurance products which are currently
available through the General Insurance Partner on the Digibank app.
iii.The bank has also launched a special program called ‘Emergency Global Medical Assist Program’ to help non-
resident Indians (NRIs) to take care of their close ones in India, which provides 24 hours and 7 days of medical
support.
This includes arranging emergency medical evacuation for NRIs from hospitalization.
iv.Apart from this, focusing on the health and safety of customers, the bank is adding anti-microbial coating to
all its ATMs (Automated Teller Machine) and biometric devices.
About Bharti AXA General Insurance:
Headquarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO– Sanjeev Srinivasan
It is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Axa Business Group.
About DBS Bank India Limited:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Managing Director & CEO- Mr. Surojit Shome
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chairperson and CEO for the India operations of Salesforce, USA from April 20.
i.She is the first woman to be the chairperson of the State Bank of India and retired in 2017. She was also
the 36th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes in 2014.
About CRISIL:
CRISIL (Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited) is a leading, agile and innovative global analytics
company driven by its mission of making markets function better.
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra.
CEO– Ashu Suyash
SPORTS
New Zealand all-rounder Andrew Malcolm Ellis announced retirement
On March 19, 2020 New Zealand(NZ) all-rounder Andrew Malcolm Ellis (37) announced his retirement
from Canterbury cricket after 18 years of his career.
Key Points
i.After Ross Taylor he became the 2nd player in NZ to play over 100 games in each format.
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ii.He is the only player to be named as Men’s Domestic Player of the Year twice by NZ National Cricket Team, in
the 2014-15 & 2016-17 seasons.
iii.The highlight of his career was the 2016-17 season, as he raised the Plunket Shield & The Ford Trophy in his
first year as captain.
iv.He finished his career with 9366 runs & 548 wickets.
OBITUARY
Former world champion boxer Roger Mayweather passes away
The former world champion boxer and trainer, Roger Mayweather passed away on 18th March 2020 at the
age of 58 due to health-related illness. Roger Mayweather won the world champion boxer title in two weight
classes.
Key Points:
i.He won his first 17 career fights and captured the world title in World Boxing Association
junior lightweight and earned the World Boxing Council junior welterweight title in 1987.
ii.He was born on 24 April 1961 at Grand Rapids, Michigan, the United States nicknamed as Black Mamba and
the trainer and uncle of Floyd Mayweather.
STATE NEWS
Jammu & Kashmir announces Rs 5 lakh Free Health Insurance under Ayushman Bharat
On March 18, 2020, The Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), Union Territory (UT) administration has sanctioned J&K
Health Scheme to provide free cost of Universal Health Coverage of Rs 5 lakh as health insurance to all the
residents of UT in convergence with Ayushman Bharat- PMJAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana). The
decision was taken by the administrative council under the chairmanship of J&K Lieutenant Governor Girish
Chandra Murmu.
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Key Points:
i.Nearly 1.25 crore residents of the UT will be benefited & at present 5.95 lakh families are eligible for benefits
under the center’s Ayushman Bharat- PMJAY scheme.
ii.Benefits of the scheme: The scheme also covers 15 lakh, additional families, under J&K health scheme & the
beneficiaries will receive free health insurance of Rs 5 lakh per family per year on the floater basis & there is no
restriction for family size, age or gender.
iii.All employees, pensioners and their family members are also covered under the scheme.
iv.The employees shall continue to get Rs 300 per month as medical allowances for OPD (Outpatient
Department) treatment.
v.The eligible families registered under the health scheme are recognized on the basis of socio-economic census
of 2011 & the families left out in the census can be enrolled on the basis of definite process.
About Jammu & Kashmir (J&K):
Capital- Srinagar (Summer), Jammu (Winter).
AC GAZE
Saudi Arabia accepts India’s Proposal For Virtual G20 Summit
Saudi Arabia has accepted India’s proposal to hold a virtual conference of G20 member nations to figure out a
coordinated response to tackle the economic implications of COVID-19 during a telephone conversation
between Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi.
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