Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2020

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 Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) recently announced that it will provide emergency loans to small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) named ‘SIDBI Assistance to Facilitate Emergency’ -SAFE PLUS.
Working capital of up to Rs 1 Crore will be provided to small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) engaged in manufacturing of medical equipment and products related to Covid-19. The SAFE PLUS collateral-free loans will be disbursed within 48 hours at an interest rate of five per cent. The limit of the loans has been enhanced from 50 lakh rupees to two crore rupees.

Notes:
Government has directed Food Corporation of India to provide food grains to NGOs and charitable organisations providing cooked meals to the needy at OMSS (Open Market Sale Scheme).
During the period of nationwide lockdown, the organisations can buy wheat and rice from FCI godowns without going through the e-auction. OMSS reserve price for rice is ₹2,250 per quintal and price of wheat is ₹2,135 per quintal. Earlier, only State governments and registered bulk users were allowed to buy from FCI under OMSS rates.

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:
England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been recently named the ‘Leading Cricketer in the World’ in the 2020 edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack. He becomes the first English cricketer to win the award since 2005 after Andrew Flintoff.
Ben Stokes replaced the Indian skipper Virat Kohli who had won the award three straight times till last year’s edition. Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry won the leading woman player in the world award. England’s Jofra Archer, South Africa’s Simon Harmer, Australians Pat Cummins, Marnus Labuschagne and Ellyse Perry were named as the five Wisden Cricketers of the year.

Notes:
According to a recent online survey conducted by the technology community website owned by Times Internet-TechGig, most IT professionals prefer Bengaluru as the best city to work for.
Bengaluru has been voted by over 40 per cent of the professionals, mainly for the high living standards, highest appraisal and career growth opportunities it provide. While Hyderabad and Pune secured the second and third spots respectively, Delhi-NCR secured the least votes among the chart.

Notes:
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India (PFRDA) recently announced that the National Pension System (NPS) subscribers will be allowed partial withdrawal for covering expenses related to COVID-19 treatment.
It also announced that COVID-19 would be declared as a critical illness which is life threatening in nature. PFRDA also announced that there is no provision for partial withdrawal for Atal Pension Yojana (APY) customers at present. Both NPS and APY are managed and run by PFRDA.

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 Union Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal has launched a ‘Bharat Padhe Online’ campaign for crowd sourcing of ideas to improve online education ecosystem of India.
This week-long campaign invites all the people in the country to share suggestions and solutions about overcoming constraints of online education. The ideas can be shared directly with HRD Ministry through their mail address or their twitter account.

Notes:
Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan represented India in the recently held G20 Extraordinary Energy Ministers’ virtual Meeting.
Saudi Arabia, which currently holds the Presidency of G20 nations, had called for the Energy Ministers’ meeting. It was chaired by Energy Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Abdulaziz. Heads of several international organizations including OPEC, IEA and IEF also attended the meeting. The meeting focused on measures to ensure stable energy markets.