Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2020

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and World Health Organization have decided to deploy the WHO’s National polio surveillance network (NPSN) and associated field staff, for fighting Covid-19.
The NPSP team members will also extend their support by sharing information and best practices from their previous experience gained during Polio eradication process. The WHO field staff will assist in immunization, surveillance and elimination of Tuberculosis and Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Notes:
HDFC Bank has launched a campaign named ‘Safety Grid’, to encourage people maintain social distancing while waiting at public places.
The campaign was launched in Kolkata on a pilot basis and has been extended to many cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru among others. The safety grid markers are physically painted in front of the retail outlets and ATMs, where people wait. Each grid is spaced at one metre from each other, as prescribed by the WHO.

Notes:
The National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) has collaborated with UNICEF Hyderabad Field Office.
The Communication Resource Unit (CRU) of NIRDPR and UNICEF, Hyderabad field office have developed an online programme for Panchayati Raj Institutions, Self-help Groups (SHG), National Service Scheme (NSS) officials and volunteers for practising sanitation and social measures.

Notes:
Order books, inventories and capacity utilisation survey (OBICUS), is the flagship survey conducted by the Reserve Bank of India. It is a quarterly survey of the manufacturing sector, which has been conducted by the RBI since 2008.
Recently, the country’s central bank released the 49th round of the OBICUS survey for the period January-March 2020. The survey collects information on the new orders received, backlog of orders, finished goods, etc. As per the recent survey, both capacity utilisation and orders received declined.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor has recently announced that the reverse repo rate has been cut by 25 basis points to 3.75%.
This announcement has been made by the RBI in its efforts towards increasing liquidity amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. As the repo rate has been kept unchanged at 4.4%, the spread between the repo and reverse repo has been widened. This encourages the banks to lend the money instead of parking it with the RBI.

Notes:
Global ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has recently released its forecast of the growth estimate of India for FY21 (2020-21).
As per the release, S&P has slashed the GDP growth estimate for India to 1.8% from its previous estimate of 3.5%. The agency also expressed its concern that the peak point of the Covid-19 outbreak has not yet reached and it is expected to occur a little later than many other countries.

Notes:
The Union Home ministry has red flagged popular video-conferencing software Zoom, as vulnerable to cyber-crimes.
The software has gained several million users as most of the professionals are working from home amid the Covid-19 outbreak. The Government has also directed Ministers and Central government officers not to use third party video conferencing applications and software. Cyber Coordination Centre (CyCord) under the MHA has released security guidelines for using the Zoom software.

Notes:
Researchers at the Punjab-based Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar has designed a project called ‘WardBot’, which can deliver medicines and food to COVID-19 patients in isolation wards without engaging frontline health workers.
The WardBot works on the principle of ‘Smart line following’ and it can move on a pre-defined path using the sensors. Being operated from a control room, the bot efficiently delivers to different beds and automatically sanitises its path.

Notes:
India’s leading automobile manufacturer TVS Motor Company Ltd has recently acquired the 122-year-old British bike manufacturer Norton Motorcycles (UK) Ltd.
As per the recent asset purchase agreement signed between the overseas subsidiary of TVS in Singapore and the Norton Motorcycles, the brand Norton along with the associated brands were acquired.

Notes:
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has launched an awareness campaign called ‘Team Mask Force’ on the importance of wearing masks in public places.
BCCI has earlier tweeted about the launch of the campaign and urged the people to download the Aarogya Setu mobile application. It has also released a video featuring famous Indian cricketers including Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Mithali Raj, advising the people about using masks.