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:
The Union Government has sanctioned Rs 365 crore for constructing a new Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Sabroom along the India-Bangladesh border. It is the southernmost town in the north-eastern state of Tripura. This is the second ICP after Akhaura check post set up in 2013.
The state government of Tripura had sent the Sabroom ICP proposal to the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2016 for linking the bridge on river Feni with Chittagong port city of Bangladesh.

Notes:
The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has recently launched its new website to make information about new schemes and projects presented in a better manner to the stakeholders.
The newly launched website includes optimized user interface and facilitates better access from various devices including mobile phones. The website has additional portals such as ‘Akshay Urja Portal’ and ‘India Renewable Idea Exchange’ (IRIX).

Notes:
The Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir, Baseer Ahmed Khan, a 2000-batch IAS officer, has been appointed as the fourth advisor to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu. An order regarding the appointment was issued by Deputy Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
The other three advisors are former CRPF DG Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar, who was appointed as the advisor on January this year, IPS officer Farooq Khan and IAS officer K K Sharma.

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:
The Central bank of the United States-the Federal Reserve has recently cut its benchmark interest rate to almost zero.
The Fed Reserve also announced that it would buy $700 billion in bonds to ease the economic activities. The bank also said that it shall maintain this target range until the economy is on track to achieve its maximum employment and price stability goal.

Notes:
Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology, have developed a material called ‘Hemostat’.
It is a starch-based ‘hemostat’ developed to stop rapid blood loss during accidents, as it physically absorbs excess fluid and concentrates the natural clotting factors in blood. The product possesses increased absorption capacity, improved absorption, inexpensive and biodegradable.

Notes:
Business application Khatabook entered into a strategic partnership with former Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
M.S.Dhoni is set to invest in the firm and also serve as their brand ambassador. Khatabook is an application which helps MSMEs to streamline their business transactions online. The start-up firm has recently crossed 2 crore registered merchants on its app.

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.