Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2020

Notes:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister has recently approved the fixation of Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) Fertilizers for the year 2020-21.
Inclusion of the new complex fertilizer, Ammonium Phosphate has also been approved by the CCEA. Rs. 22,186.55 crore would be spent for releasing subsidy on P&K Fertilizers during 2020-21. Through the Nutrient based Subsidy scheme, Government provides subsidy to the fertiliser company, enabling them to sell to farmers at subsidised rate.

Notes:
The World Bank recently announced that it estimates that remittances to South Asia will drop 22% by this year.
India is the largest recipient of remittances of the world, which increases the foreign exchange reserves of the country. The reserves are used to fund the current account deficit of the country. After the lock-down and the resulting economic slow-down, the loss of income of expatriate Indians who work in foreign countries will affect the remittances. About 12% of the total inflow is the remittances form people working abroad. The Bank also estimated that Global remittances would drop by 20%.

Notes:
The World Games was previously scheduled to be held in Birmingham, Alabama, United States in July 2021. It comprises of sports and events that do not fall under the Olympics.
As it was postponed to 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the organising committee has recently unveiled an updated logo, website and title. ‘The World Games 2022’ is the modified title of the games, which will be held in July 2022.

Notes:
‘Khongjom Day’ is commemorated in the state of Manipur every year on April 23, to pay tribute to war heroes of the state, who fought to protect the freedom of the state.
The state remembers the military heroes who sacrificed their lives in the Anglo-Manipuri War 1891 against the British. The state government observed ‘Khongjom Day’ at Khongjom War Memorial Complex, Thoubal district, where the battle was held.

Notes:
One of the largest Asset Management companies in India, the Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund has recently announced to have shut down six of its funds owing to market disruptions amid Covid-19.
The Association of National Exchange Members of India (ANMI) sought the intervention of the SEBI and Finance Ministry to protect investor capital in six mutual fund schemes. These funds collectively managed a corpus of over ₹25,000 crore.

Notes:
In its latest circular, the labour and employment ministry has notified that the banking industry is classified as a public utility service for six months with effect from April 21. The Department of Financial services also notified about the classification of the labour ministry.
This declaration has been made under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act. After being placed under this act, the people working in banking sector would not be able to participate in any strike during the said period.

Notes:
The Rohtang pass, is located at an altitude of 13,500 ft on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas. The pass which is strategically located to link Kullu valley with the Lahaul and Spiti valleys in Himachal Pradesh, has been opened to the general public by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
The BRO completed the snow-clearance process and opened the pass ahead of the target time. This will enable better transportation of essential supplies and relief materials to the remote areas.

Notes:
The chemical exports of India increased by 7.43 per cent to 2.68 lakh crore rupees during April-January period of the last fiscal.
The chemical industry became the top exporting sector of the country for the first time. The export of chemicals in the said period constitutes 14.35 per cent of the total exports. This was announced by the Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

Notes:
Domestic Credit rating agency India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has further decreased the GDP growth rate of India to 1.9% for the current fiscal. It had previously estimated the growth rate for this fiscal to be 3.6%. The estimate was significant as this would be the lowest GDP growth in the last 29 years.
The report also highlighted that in the absence of any stimulus measures from the government, the fiscal deficit would touch 4.4% of GDP in this fiscal 2020-21, the official target being 3.5%.

Notes:
The Government Hospital of Ernakulam, Kerala has deployed a robot named ‘KARMI-Bot’, to serve food and medicines to coronavirus patients in the Covid-19 isolation wards.
The robot has been introduced to reduce risk of the doctors and health workers from being contracted to the coronavirus. Asimov Robotics, a start-up company working under the Kerala start-up mission, has developed the robot. It is also designed to collect trash, disinfect the room and enable video call between the doctor and patients.