Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2020

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India drafted a reconstruction plan of Yes Bank recently. As per the plan, the investor bank shall buy 49% stake in Yes Bank.
Recently, the State Bank of India announced that the executive committee of its central board approved for purchase of 725 Crore shares in YES Bank at a price of Rs 10 per share subject to all regulatory approvals. The shareholding of SBI will remain within 49 per cent of the paid-up capital of YES Bank

Notes:
World Athletics Council imposed a USD 10 million on the Athletics Federation of Russia (RusAF) for breaching anti-doping rules.
World Athletics has capped the number of Authorised Neutral Athletes (ANA) allowed to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and other specified senior events at 10. However, the number of authorised neutral athletes that can compete in international events is not restricted.

Notes:
Veteran Bengali actor Santu Mukhopadhyay recently passed away of cardiac arrest at Kolkata. He was known for his roles in Bengali films such as ‘Sansar Simante’ and ‘Bhalobasa Bhalobasa’.
The actor has performed in several memorable films and his acting career spanned a period of over four decades. He was born in 1951 in Kolkata and his debut movie was ‘Raja’ in the year 1975. The actor also featured in television serial shows and advertisements.

Notes:
A meeting of the heads of countries of the SAARC alliance was held via video conferencing recently. Last time the leaders had a meeting together in November 2014.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi proposed a “Covid-19 emergency fund” to which India would provide $10 million as an initial contribution. He offered the services of a rapid response team of doctors armed with testing kits. The Prime Minister also offered online training for health workers in SAARC countries for upgrading skills to tackle Covid-19.

Notes:
As per the recent information from the Union Defence Ministry, the share of Indian companies in contracts awarded by the Union Defence Ministry for procurement of defence equipment is 75.03 per cent in 2019-20.
The share has increased from 39.06 per cent in 2015-16 to 75.03 per cent in 2019-20 as the Ministry tries to procure indigenously manufactured equipment to the maximum extent. In the last five years 158 contracts were signed with Indian vendors against 100 foreign contracts.

Notes:
A bill that seeks to convert three existing regulatory bodies under the Civil Aviation Ministry into statutory bodies was passed by Lok Sabha. The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed by a voice vote and the bill seeks to amend Aircraft Act, 1934.
The regulatory institutions, which are mentioned in the bill are DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) and AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau).

Notes:
‘World Cities Summit’ is a global biennial conference hosted by Singapore. This year, World Cities Summit (WCS) 2020 is scheduled to be held from July 5 to 9.
The theme of this year’s summit as announced by the Singapore government is ‘Liveable and Sustainable Cities: Adapting to a Disrupted World’. Leaders from several governments and industry experts discuss on challenges in climate change, social shifts and technological disruptions.

Notes:
S&P Global Ratings lowered India’s economic growth forecast to 5.2 per cent for the year 2020. The rating agency had earlier predicted the growth rate of 5.7% for 2020.
The agency also estimated that the Asia-Pacific economic growth in 2020 will dip to less than 3 per cent. It also revealed that saying the global economy is entering a recession amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu K Palaniswami announced in the Assembly that 64,583 sanitary personnel employed by urban and rural civic bodies in the State shall be called ‘cleanliness workers’.
This announcement was made to honour their work in maintaining public health. The state government is already implementing several welfare measures for the workers including building residences, periodic health check-ups, employment camps and skill development for their children.

Notes:
The United Nations introduced Language Days in 2010, to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity of various languages.
The United Nations celebrates six Language Days each year, dedicated to the six official languages of the UN, namely Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Among them, the ‘French Language Day’ is celebrated on March 20, which marks the creation of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF).