Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2020

Notes:
The Union Agriculture Minister launched new features of National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform amid the lockdown, which includes Warehouse based trading module in e-NAM software, FPO trading module in e-NAM where FPOs can trade their produce from the collection centre and enhanced version of logistic module.
e-NAM platform was launched in India on 14 April 2016 as a nation-wide electronic trade portal, which links APMCs across the state. 585 mandis in 16 States and 2 Union Territories have been integrated on e-NAM portal.

Notes:
The animal rights body PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) India has conferred the ‘Hero to Animals Award’ on the Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik.
The Chief Minister was selected for his empathetic act of allocating Rs 54 lakhs from relief fund, to feed public animals in the municipal corporations and all municipalities of Odisha during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Notes:
The teams of Thailand and Malaysia have been banned from participating in weightlifting events at the Tokyo Olympics.
The sanctions panel of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has imposed disciplinary sanctions on the two countries regarding the same. The panel also suspended the Thai Amateur Weightlifting Association (TAWA) for three years and the Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) for a year.

Notes:
The former Prime Minister of Libya, Mahmoud Jibril passed away recently at the age of 68, after contracting coronavirus.
He was the founder of the National Forces Alliance and the former head of the Libyan rebel government that overthrew the country’s long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. He had also been the interim leader until Libya conducted its first free elections in 2012.

Notes:
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), along with Wipro, has developed a unique shield for doctors and medical staff treating COVID-19 patients.
This full-face shield will protect the healthcare personnel from directly contracting the coronavirus infection. DRDO has also developed bio-suit to protect the front-line health workers and has supplied masks, full-body suits and personal protection equipment (PPE) for the medical staff

Notes:
The Tropical Cyclone named ‘Harold’ recently hit the South Pacific island nations including Vanuatu islands and Fuji. It started from the south-west Pacific nation Solomon Islands last week, where it claimed 27 lives.
Later, it hit the Vanuatu islands and caused damages especially in the main town Luganville. Though the cyclone was expected to only reach Category Three, it reached the Category Four in Fiji, where the winds are blowing up to 240 kilometres per hour.

Notes:
According to a recent report form International Labour Organisation (ILO) titled ‘ILO Monitor 2nd edition: COVID-19 and the world of work’, about 400 million workers of India will fall into poverty.
India has nearly 90 per cent of its people working in informal economy. It also revealed that the lockdown measures in India have impacted these workers significantly. The measures are at the high end of University of Oxford’s COVID-19 Government Response Stringency Index.

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 Supreme Court on Wednesday recently ordered the Central Government to ensure the availability of Personal protective equipment (PPE).
It directed the centre to provide sterile medical gloves, medical masks, goggles, face shields, respirators, shoe covers, head covers and coveralls to all health workers including doctors, nurses, ward boys, other medical and paramedical professionals, who are attending to patients suffering from covid-19 in India.

Notes:
Representatives of SAARC had a discussion on the impact of Covid-19 situation on intra-regional trade through video-conferencing.
The senior trade officials of all SAARC countries except Pakistan, also discussed the impact of travel restrictions. This is the follow-up of the first virtual meeting held on March 15. The eight member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.