Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2020

Notes:
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has recently announced that it has completed the construction of 3979 km of highways in the financial year 2019-20.
Its official statement also read that this is the highest ever highway construction achieved in a financial year by NHAI, since its inception in 1995. Though NHAI could not meet the target of 4500 km for the current fiscal, it has seen a steady growth in the construction phase.

Notes:
The World Health Organisation has recently released a report titled ‘State of the World’s Nursing 2020’, on the occasion of the World Health Day on 7th April 2020.
It states that Nursing is the largest occupational group in the health sector, which accounts for about 59% of the health professions. The report highlights that Investment in nurses will contribute not only to health-related SDG targets, but also to education (SDG 4), gender (SDG 5), decent work and economic growth (SDG 8).

Notes:
Facebook-owned Instant messaging platform WhatsApp recently announced that it has limited the sharing of frequently forwarded messages to only one chat at a time.
This step has been taken to curb spreading of misinformation and fake news amid the coronavirus pandemic. WhatsApp also launched the WHO Coronavirus Health Alert service for people across the world and MyGov Corona Helpdesk in India in partnership with the Indian government.

Notes:
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) recently announced a collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for a campaign against Covid-19.
The mass media campaign, which has been titled ‘BreakTheChain’ will provide information prevention strategies to the general public to protect themselves against Covid-19. The campaign will focus on three main themes: Social Distancing, Handwashing and Generosity and will be publicized through television, news portals and social media channels.

Notes:
The Indian government has extended term of board members of the Banks Board Bureau (BBB), for a period of two years beyond April 11 or until further orders whichever is earlier.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has also approved to extend the term of existing part-time chairman B P Sharma. Bank Boards Bureau was constituted in 2016 to recommend appointment of whole-time directors and non-executive chairpersons of public sector banks (PSBs) and financial institutions owned by the government.

Notes:
According to the Digidhan Dashboard, launched by the Electronics and IT Ministry, the total transactions through the digital channels reached ₹4,116.74 crore in 2019-20, which is an increase by over 31 per cent from the last year.
As per the data, BHIM UPI has been the most popular means, with 30.19 per cent share in digital transactions amounting to ₹1,242.98 crore of payment. It was followed by prepaid instruments and debit cards in the second and third place.

Notes:
The Union Government has approved Rs. 15,000 crores for ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package’ for states/UTs.
This package which has been approved to build the health infrastructure, will be provided in three phases — January 2020 to June 2020, July 2020 to March 2021 and April 2021 to March 2024. This fund would be divided on the basis of the number of positive Covid-19 cases and the size of the state/UT. Rs 7,774 crore is expected to be released for immediate response.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Ropar has developed a technology to sanitise groceries and currency notes from Covid-19. IIT-Ropar is located in the state of Punjab.
The team has developed a trunk-shaped device fitted with ultraviolet germicidal irradiation technology. The device has to be placed at doorsteps and all items brought from outside including grocery and currency notes have to be placed inside it. It takes 30 minutes to sanitise the items.

Notes:
Bengaluru-based aerospace and defence Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), Bharat Electronics Ltd has partnered with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh and developed a remote monitoring system for COVID-19.
This newly developed system reduced the need for personal protective equipment as it uses non-invasive sensors to measure the main parameters of a COVID-19 suspected patient including temperature, pulse rate and respiration rate.

Notes:
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has given approval to plasma therapy for COVID-19 treatment to Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST).
It is an Institution of National Importance under the Department of Science and Technology, located in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the state of Kerala. The treatment called ‘convalescent-plasma therapy’ transfers the antibody from a recovered patient to a sick person, increasing his/her immune power. The Scientists have also discovered Chitra Disinfection Gateway and Chitra UV Based Facemask Disposal Bin.