Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2020

Notes:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has recently approved the proposal of Department of fertilizers to remove ambiguities in the Modified New Pricing Scheme -III (NPS-III) in determining the fixed costs for the urea units.
The Modified NPS-III was notified on 2nd April, 2014 but it has not been implemented. This approval will result in providing a grant of additional fixed cost of Rs 350 per tonne to 30 urea manufacturing units and will reduce import dependency.

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:
An awareness programme called ‘Poshan Pakhwara or Nutritional Fortnight’ is being held in the UT of Goa from March 8 to 22.
The programme is aimed at creating awareness about nutrition among the general public. Several activities are being organised with special focus on the health of women, children and people who are suffering from malnutrition. Guidance by nutrition experts and Paediatricians is also provided to the people.

Notes:
The United Kingdom recently announced that it will start charging a 2% tax on digital services from 1st April this year.
The tax is to be imposed on revenue from digital services such as search and advertising. This tax will apply to firms with global sales of more than £500 million with at least £25 million from UK users. This decision of the government has been facing continuous opposition from the US government and top technological firms.

Notes:
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid tribute to the late Goa Chief Minister and former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar ahead of his death anniversary. He also launched a book titled ‘Invincible-A Tribute to Manohar Parrikar’.
Manohar Parrikar was the Chief Minister of Goa passed away due to an illness and he was succeeded by Pramod Sawant as the next Chief Minister. He served as the Defence Minister of India from 2014 to 2017.

Notes:
Former Vice-President of India Hamid Ansari launched the book authored by Bhalchandra Mungekar, which was titled as “My Encounters in Parliament”.
The event was attended by NCP chief Sharad Pawar, CPI general secretary D Raja and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury. Bhalchandra Mungekar is an Indian economist, Social worker and a former Rajya Sabha member. He is an ardent Ambekarite and an expert in agricultural economics. He has served in several important organisations including the Planning Commission.

Notes:
Famous Marathi actor Jairam Kulkarni recently passed away in Pune at the age of 88. His last movie was ‘Khel Aayushyacha’, which was released recently.
Jairam Kulkarni had acted in more than 150 films, which includes several critically acclaimed films. Before starting his career as an actor, Kulkarni had worked in Akashwani.

Notes:
The Kerala state government announced a ₹20,000 crore economic package to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.
This package includes funds to clear dues which the government owes individuals and institutions, providing consumer loans, disbursing welfare pension of two months in advance and a health package. The Chief Minister also announced free ration for all of this month, where everyone in the state will be given free food grain up to 10kg through ration shops.

Notes:
The Fifteenth Finance Commission is to set up a panel soon, which will examine the fiscal and debt situation of the Centre and states.
This panel is to be headed by the Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission N.K.Singh. It will present a road map on the lines of the erstwhile Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management panel, which was also headed by N.K.Singh. The panel may include or receive suggestions from former RBI Governor Urjit Patel, former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian among others.

Notes:
Every year March 20 is observed as World Sparrow Day to raise awareness about sparrows around the world. It highlights the huge decrease in population of the bird as the house sparrow is on the verge of extinction.
The initiative was started by the India-based Nature Forever Society (NFS), founded by the conservationist Mohammed Dilawar. The first World Sparrow Day was celebrated in 2010 across the globe.