Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2020

Notes:
As per the recent announcement of the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, more than 50 crore vulnerable citizens will be eligible for free COVID-19 testing and treatment under Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana- PMJAY.
The Minister also appealed to the private labs and hospitals to come forward and become a part of this initiative. Hospitals empanelled under the AB-PMJAY scheme can use their authorised testing facilities or tie up with an authorised testing facility to provide this service.

Notes:
A four-year-old female tiger named Nadia from the Bronx Zoo in New York City, has been tested positive for the coronavirus.
This is claimed to be the first known case where transmission of the coronavirus from human to an animal has been confirmed. The tiger is believed to have been infected by an asymptomatic zoo-keeper. Later, six other animals, including lions and tigers, have also been showing symptoms.

Notes:
The Cabinet has recently approved to suspend the MPLAD (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) Fund during 2020-21 & 2021-22, temporarily. Rs 7900 crores, the consolidated amount of MPLAD Funds for 2 years, will be moved to Consolidated Fund of India.
The cabinet also promulgated an ordinance to reduce the salaries, allowances and pensions of Members of Parliament by 30 per cent for one year. The President, Vice President, Governors of States have said to have voluntarily admitted for the reduction in pay.

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 Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan recently announced a Rs 50 lakh insurance cover for police personnel and other state government employees, who are engaged in the fight against coronavirus pandemic.
This scheme has been unveiled after 5 health workers and 7 police personnel tested positive for coronavirus in the state’s capital. The Chief Minister and the Governor of Madhya Pradesh announced that they will contribute 30 per cent of their salaries to relief funds.

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:
Veteran architect and photographer, also known as the father of modern Iraqi architecture, Rifat Chadirji passed away in the United Kingdom after contracting the novel coronavirus, at the age of 93.
He is known for designing some of the world-famous buildings and structures, including the “Freedom Monument” and his masterwork called “The Unknown Soldier” arch. But several of his designs were damaged in the recent years.

Notes:
As per a survey released by the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER), incomes of about 85% of households in the National capital region (NCR) have been impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak and the resulting lockdown.
The survey also highlighted that casual labourers were excessively affected with the wages of nearly 75% of them were affected. For salaried class, the income was affected for about 46.7% of the employees.

Notes:
Veteran advocate and former Attorney General of India Ashok Desai has passed away recently at the age of 87.
Ashok Desai was considered as one of the leading advocates in post-Independence India and was largely involved in striking down of censorship laws in Maharashtra. He held various crucial designations including the offices of Attorney General of India and the Solicitor General of India. He was also a recipient of the prestigious ‘Padma Bhushan’ award.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Tourism has launched a webinar series named ‘DekhoApnaDesh’. The webinar will have information about the important destinations of the country.
The webinar series was aimed at highlighting the history and diverse culture of various Indian destinations. Several features like monuments, cuisine, art, dance forms and festivals are being focussed. The first webinar in the series was about the city of Delhi and was titled ‘City of Cities – Delhi’s Personal Diary’.