Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2020

Notes:
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has planned and constructed a Class-70 all-weather permanent bridge on the river Ravi.
The bridge is 484-meter long and was built by the 49 Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) of Project Chetak. The project of the Kasowal bridge entails a cost of Rs.17.89 crore. It connects the Kasowal enclave of Punjab with the rest of the places of the country.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the mobile portal called E-Gram Swaraj Portal and Swamitva Scheme on April 24, which is also celebrated as the Panchayati Raj Day.
Swamitva Yojana is launched with an aim of creating a record of property ownership of land in rural areas. The lands in rural areas are to be mapped using modern technology. The E-Gram Swaraj platform will provide records of projects implemented in every village panchayat under Gram Panchayati Development Plan (GPDP). General public can create an account in the mobile portal and view the projects.

Notes:
The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has bagged three national awards for outstanding contribution by its Panchayati Raj Institutions in socio-economic development projects.
While Panchayat Jamola Lower has been awarded “Child-friendly Gram Panchayat Award 2020”, Panchayat Dhangri has been awarded “Nanaji Deshmukh Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar” for improving the socio-economic aspects of the panchayat. Panchayat Zaloora B has been selected as best performer in “Gram Panchayat Development Plans” awards.

Notes:
As per the recent announcement of the Union MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari, he has devised a scheme to set up a Rs 1 trillion fund, which is to be launched by the Government after the approval of Cabinet.
This fund will be utilised for repaying outstanding payments to MSMEs owed by the PSUs, central and state governments and major industries. This is also expected to increase liquidity in the market. As per his statement, the Ministry is also working on fast-tracking GST refunds to help MSMEs.

Notes:
Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan was seen in news recently because she has been given a three-month extension after the Central Government made a major top-level bureaucratic reshuffle.
Ms.Preeti Sudan who is at present the Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, was due to superannuate on April 30. The reshuffling has been done amidst the coronavirus pandemic. About 23 senior IAS officers have been appointed as secretaries in different central government departments.

Notes:
On April 26, 1986, the nuclear accident took place in the Chernobyl power plant in the Pripyat city of Ukraine. It is one of the worst nuclear disasters that has ever taken place in the world.
In the year 2016, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 26 April as International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day. In the year 2009, UN launched the International Chernobyl Research and Information Network (ICRIN), to support the programmes in developing the affected places.

Notes:
‘World Day for Safety and Health at Work’ is being celebrated on 28 April, every year since 2003, across the world.
This year the theme/campaign on this special day is ‘Stop the pandemic: Safety and health at work can save lives’. The aim of celebration of this day is to highlight the prevention of accidents and diseases at work. 28 April is also the ‘International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers’.

Notes:
United Kingdom recently launched a new scheme called ‘Bounce Back Loan Scheme’, to assist the small businesses of the country to tackle the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.
The Finance Minister of UK launched this state-backed fast-track finance scheme in the House of Commons. Under the new scheme, small businesses can borrow between 2,000 pounds and 50,000 pounds as interest-free loans. The support schemes released in the last few weeks had provided about 15 billion pounds for business revamping.

Notes:
A new high-pressure ventilator named VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally) has been developed by the engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
VITAL has been designed to treat patients with milder symptoms so that the traditional ventilators may be used for critical patients. The device has passed a critical test and waiting for the fast-track approval from FDA.

Notes:
International Labour Organisation (ILO) has recently released a report titled ‘In the face of a pandemic: Ensuring Safety and Health at Work’. The report has been released on the occasion of World Day for Safety and Health at Work on April 28.
The report highlights the occupational safety and health (OSH) risks which are arising due to the spread of COVID-19. It also asked the governments to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the work-places across the world.