Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2020

Notes:
The Government of India placed curbs on exports of diagnostic kits (diagnostic or laboratory reagents on a backing, preparation diagnostic or laboratory reagents) with immediate effect.
As per the recent notification of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), this step has been taken to discourage shipments amid the coronavirus outbreak. An exporter will have to get license from the DGFT for shipments, which were allowed without restrictions earlier.

Notes:
One of the leading aid agencies in the world, USAID of the United States government, has announced a grant of USD 2.9 million to India to help it tackle the effect of coronavirus pandemic.
This assistance was announced by the US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster. The aid agency will also support the World Health Organization (WHO) initiatives in India. The proposed funds will help the Indian Government of India in curbing the spread of COVID-19.

Notes:
In the last financial year 2019-20, Tamil Nadu has topped the micro-irrigation coverage in the financial year 2019-20.
This has been achieved as part of implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). While Tamil Nadu has topped the coverage in the year 2019-20, in the cumulative total coverage under the PMKSY during 2015-2020, Tamil Nadu is in the fourth place, where the list is topped by Karnataka.

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:
A Central government enterprise under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, HLL Lifecare Limited has developed a rapid antibody diagnostic kit for COVID-19.
The kit has been validated and approved by the NIV and the ICMR and will be marketed under the brand name of “MakeSure”. The result would be obtained from the patient sample in 15-20 minutes using the kit. About two lakh kits for supplying to various government units are to be manufactured within the next 10 days.

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:
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 Democratic party of the United States has selected former Vice President Joe Biden as the nominee for the American Presidential Election.
Earlier, US Senator Bernie Sanders announced that he is not participating in the upcoming elections, which are due in November. Hence Joe Biden became the official Democratic nominee for the election to take on the incumbent US President Donald Trump.

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 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.