Notes:
According to the Asian Development Bank, Asia’s economy will contract for the first time since the early 1960s.
The bank had earlier projected that the GDP would grow by 0.1 per cent. Now, it is estimated that Asia’s GDP would decline by 0.7 per cent in 2020 and would increase to 7.7 per cent in 2021. It also highlighted that the GD in India would contract by 9% this year.

Notes:
Social media Major Facebook has partnered with the leading edu-tech platform Coursera, to launch Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate.
As per a joint official release of the two companies, under the five-course program, learners are trained in social media marketing including Creating impactful content, Protecting user data. The learners are made ready for related jobs with top employers.

Notes:
The United States has recently banned eight Chinese goods including cotton, hair products, computer components and some textiles from China’s Xinjiang province.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of the U.S has stated that the products are produced using ‘Forced labour’. It also alleges that China weakens American workers and businesses by trying to import these goods into the U.S.

Notes:
YouTube has recently launched its short video platform called YouTube Shorts in India. This is expected to fill the gap created due to the ban on TikTok in India.
This video creation tool would be first available for Indian users. Using this tool, the users can create a 15-second or less short video and upload it on the platform. Users can also add music to their videos using YouTube’s song library.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated various projects under the ‘Namami Gange’ Yojana and the ‘AMRUT’ Yojana in Bihar.
The four schemes inaugurated include sewerage treatment plants in Patna and water-related projects under the ‘AMRUT’ scheme. The Prime Minister also laid foundation stones were also laid for water supply projects and River Front Development Scheme under Namami Gange.