Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2020

Notes:
As per the recent notification from the country’s largest lender State Bank of India said Insurance Australia General (IAG) of Australia has exited from SBI General Insurance.
IAG sold its entire 26 per cent stake in the SBI General insurance, for USD 310 million (about Rs 2,325 crore) to Napean Opportunities and WP Honey Wheat Investment Ltd, which are subsidiaries of Premji Invest and Warburg Pincus group respectively. SBI owns 70 per cent stake in its insurance arm.

Notes:
Domestic rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) recently announced that the Gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for the financial year 2020-21 is estimated at 3.6 per cent.
The agency had earlier estimated that India would grow at 5.5 per cent in 2020-21. The main reason for the big reduction in growth is said to be the Covid-19 outbreak and the resultant nation-wide lockdown imposed, which reduced all economic activities.

Notes:
The 2nd Extraordinary G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting was recently organised via tele-conferencing under the Presidency of Saudi Arabia.
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the virtual meeting. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy and markets was discussed and coordinate efforts in response to this global challenge. Finance Minister asked for reviewing and enhancing the IMF toolkit.

Notes:
India’s leading private lender ICICI Bank recently announced the launch of banking services on WhatsApp amid the nation-wide lockdown resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
The customers have to save ICICI Bank’s verified WhatsApp profile number in their contact. Using the WhatsApp banking services, the customers are provided with several banking services including checking their savings account balance, last transactions, credit card limit and blocking/unblocking credit and debit card.

Notes:
Every year, the 2nd day of April has been observed as the World Autism Awareness Day, across the world.
According to the United Nations, the theme of the 2020 World Autism Awareness Day is “The Transition to Adulthood”. The UN Secretary General António Guterres announced that the rights of persons with autism must be taken into account in all responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notes:
Manila-based Asian Development Bank released its annual economic publication- Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020 recently. As per the report, India’s growth is to slow down to 4%, from the earlier estimate of 5% in the current fiscal year.
Weak global demand and the containment efforts of the government amid Covid-19 are cited as the reasons for the slash. The report also estimates the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at 6.2% in FY22 provided full economic activity resumes from the second quarter of FY21.

Notes:
An India-based non-profit organization ARMMAN has been awarded the prestigious Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship 2020.
The NGO has been selected for its contribution towards the maternal and child health sector in India. Out of the five organisations which won this USD 1.5 million award, it is the only one selected from Asia and Africa. The NGO has been implementing mobile health programs in partnership with the Government of India.

Notes:
One of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratories Vehicle Research Development Establishment (VRDE), Ahmednagar has designed a full body disinfection chamber called as Personnel Sanitisation Enclosure (PSE).
This enclosure is a walk-through set-up, which is designed for personnel sanitization. The portable system which sanitises one person at a time, is equipped with sanitiser and soap dispenser. An electrically operated pump creates a disinfectant mist of hypo sodium chloride for 25 seconds.

Notes:
One of the leading aid agencies in the world, USAID of the United States government, has announced a grant of USD 2.9 million to India to help it tackle the effect of coronavirus pandemic.
This assistance was announced by the US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster. The aid agency will also support the World Health Organization (WHO) initiatives in India. The proposed funds will help the Indian Government of India in curbing the spread of COVID-19.

Notes:
As per the notification of the Union Health Ministry, India has received 1.70 lakh personal protection equipment (PPE) coveralls, which have been donated by China.
The 1.7 lakh coveralls along with 20000 domestic coveralls, a total of 1.90 lakh equipment are to be distributed to hospitals. After the supply lines from abroad have been opened up, India has received the donation of coveralls for the first time. It also said that about 3.87 lakh PPEs are available in India.