Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2020

Notes:
India’s largest lender State Bank of India has recently unveiled an emergency credit line to meet liquidity mismatch for its borrowers, amid the coronavirus pandemic scare.
The additional liquidity facility called Covid-19 Emergency Credit Line (CECL) will provide credit up to 200 crore rupees. This loan facility will be available till June 30 where the loan will be offered at an interest rate of 7.25 per cent with a 12-month tenure.

Notes:
Canada became the first major country to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics over coronavirus fears. Australia has also directed its athletes to prepare for the 2021 games, as it could not be held this year.
Earlier, the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe has announced for the first time that the Olympic Games might get postponed. The International Olympic Committee is expected to decide about the schedule of the games soon, which had been planned to commence from July 24 this year.

Notes:
Hillel Furstenberg of Israel and Russian-American Gregory Margulis are the recipients of the prestigious Abel Prize for the year 2020, one of the highest awards in the field of Mathematics.
The two mathematicians were selected for introducing the use of methods from probability and dynamics in group theory, number theory and combinatorics. They were the first to use randomness to make the certainties of mathematics easily understandable by the people.

Notes:
The country’s largest bank State Bank of India (SBI) announced that it will provide 0.25% of its annual profit for the year 2019-20 to support health care for underprivileged people and fight the coronavirus pandemic.
As per the statement of the bank, the contribution will be made from CSR funds. The government has recently notified spending by companies for tackling the coronavirus outbreak as corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity under the Companies law. Recently SBI opened an emergency credit line to meet any liquidity mismatch for its borrowers.

Notes:
Tamil Nadu-based Karur Vysya Bank has launched a pre-paid card called ‘Enkasu’, which can be used both online and offline, in Karur district of the state.
The card aims to reduce the usage of cash in the district of Karur. The cardholder can make tap & go payments for all small purchases to merchants for a minimum of Re. 1/-. The card can be recharged through their mobile App ‘DLite’, UPI, NEFT or through any of their branches. The cards are given to both customers and non-customers after KYC verification.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu recently announced the creation of a new district ‘Mayiladuthurai’, for administrative convenience, by bifurcating Nagapattinam district. This is the 38th district of the state.
Nagapattinam district is in the Cauvery delta region of Tamil Nadu. Last year, the government announced five new districts. Amid coronavirus pandemic, the Chief Minister announced Rs 1,000 cash assistance for ration card holders to compensate for livelihood loss.

Notes:
Every year, the World Health Organisation commemorates World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on March 24, to raise awareness among the general public about the disease.
On the same day in 1882, Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes Tuberculosis. This year, the theme of the World TB Day is “It’s Time”, which highlights the importance of time and fast-tracking the response to save lives

Notes:
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has introduced an Artificial Intelligence (AI) bot, called ‘Clara’ to assist people in finding the potential symptoms of COVID-19.
The CDC has collaborated with CDC Foundation and Healthcare Bot service of Microsoft Azure to develop the self-checking bot Clara. It is currently available only in the United States on the CDC website. It provides information about the disease, suggests the course of action and helps to handle the illness at home.

Notes:
The companies in the digital industry have decide to temporarily offer SD (Standard Definition) content instead of HD (High Definition) and ultra-HD streaming.
By Standard Definition, the bitrates of the streaming will not be higher than 480p on cellular networks until 14th April. As a higher number of people are staying at home during the nation-wide lockdown, there is an extra-ordinary surge in the consumption of mobile internet. This step would ensure that the cellular network remains robust.

Notes:
Renowned photographer Nemai Ghosh passed away recently at Kolkata at the age of 86. He was known for his long and close association with the legendary film-maker Satyajit Ray.
He worked in several movies of Satyajit Ray as a still photographer. Associated in the photography field for nearly 50 years, he was also the recipient of the Padma Shri award in 2010. He was the author of several books including ‘Satyajit Ray at 70’, ‘Satyajit Ray: A Vision of Cinema’ and ‘Manik-Da: Memories of Satyajit Ray’.