Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2020

Notes:
The Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe recently declared a state of emergency in the country, due to the rise in the coronavirus cases.
A month-long state of emergency starting from April 7 has been declared in the capital city Tokyo and six other parts of the country. This move gives powers to local governments to contain the spread of the coronavirus, by urging residents to stay at home and calling for businesses to close.

Notes:
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has bagged the large order of the Indian Army to set up a unified network management system.
The communication business of L&T Construction has secured the order to manage and operate the armed forces network. The project is to be set up under the Network for Spectrum (NFS). The project is to be implemented in 18 months followed by three years of warranty and seven years of Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC).

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that the state government has formed a five-step plan named “5 Ts Plan” for tackling the spread of coronavirus.
The Chief Minister explained that the 5Ts are Testing, Tracing, Treatment, Teamwork, Tracking and Monitoring. He also revealed that mass testing like South Korea will be initiated in Delhi. More kits for testing 50000 people and rapid testing 1 lakh people have been ordered by the UT.

Notes:
Veteran Indian-American journalist Brahm Kanchibotla has passed away due to Covid-19 at the age of 66, in the United States.
He was serving as one of the correspondents for United News of India. He had settled in the United States after a long experience in Indian publications. He had been in the field of journalism in the United States for nearly 28 years. He was associated with Merger Markets and News India-Times weekly.

Notes:
Forbes released its 34th annual world’s billionaires list recently. As per the list, Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has been named the world’s richest man with a net worth of $113 billion.
Jeff Bezos who tops the billionaires list for the third year, is followed by Bill Gates in the second spot at 98 billion. Chairman and CEO of LVMHF, Bernard Arnault has been placed in the third place. The total combined net worth of the billionaires of this year is 8 trillion.

Notes:
The United Nations has recently released a report titled ‘Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) 2020: Towards sustainable economies’.
As per the report, the GDP growth of India for the current fiscal is expected to dip to 4.8 per cent. The report also warned that the COVID-19 pandemic would result in adverse economic impacts globally. UN had earlier estimated the GDP growth of India at 5% for the current fiscal.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has launched revised version of Swachhata App to handle queries specific to COVID 19.
The Swachhata-MoHUA Application is a flagship grievance redressal tool of MoHUA, under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). Now using this app, the COVID19-related complaints of the citizens will be redressed by the Urban Local bodies.

Notes:
On April 9th, 1965 a small contingent of CRPF successfully fought and repulsed an attack by a Pakistani Brigade at Sardar Post in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat.
That was the first time in the history of military battles, two companies of policemen fought back a whole infantry Brigade. Six CRPF men attained martyrdom during this attack. As a tribute to the martyrs of CRPF, April 9 is celebrated by the CRPF as ‘Valour Day’.

Notes:
The Union government recently announced that it has removed customs duty and health cess on the import of medical equipment related to COVID-19 till September 30, 2020.
The exemption on customs duty and cess have been given to all related medical equipment including ventilators, surgical masks, PPE, and test kits. This step is expected to boost availability of the products in the country, as per the Department of Revenue. The exemptions will be applicable on inputs used to manufacture the equipment.

Notes:
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is a leading non-government and non-profit Industry association of India. It has recently released a report titled ‘Exit from The Lockdown- A CII Strategy’.
In the report, the association suggested that government should give adequate notice before announcing the end of restrictions. It also recommended a calibrated lifting of the lockdown. The association also expects the announcement of an economic package before the lifting of lockdown.