24 april 2020 current affairs

Important Today Current Affairs 23rd April 2020

Barco India recognized as Great Place to Work

• Barco India has been recognized as a ‘Great Place to Work’, the second year in a row, by Great Place to Work Institute.
• It has received a high score on the trust index which reflects the company’s focus on people as a core area of strength.
• The evaluation is based on the audit of a company’s HR practices and policies as well as anonymous feedback from employees on the organization culture. 

Abu Dhabi Sheikh invests $1 bn: LuLu Group

• An investment firm backed by a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family agreed to buy a stake worth just over $1 billion in LuLu Group International.
• The company led by Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan acquired an almost 20% holding in the Abu Dhabi-based supermarket group founded by Indian entrepreneur Yusuff Ali.

UNODC launched a series of online dialogues

• The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) has launched a ‘Lockdown Learners’ series of online dialogues with students and educators in India.
• The dialogue is on COVID-19 and its impact on Sustainable Development Goals, peace and rule of law.
• The aim is to sensitize students on concerns of vulnerable groups and emerging issues such as cybercrime, misinformation, etc.
• Learn more about important International Organizations.

A woman developed ten varieties of Anthurium

• D Vasini Bai, a woman innovator from Thiruvananthapuram, has developed ten varieties of Anthurium, a flower with high market value, by cross-pollination.
• Anthurium is a vast group of beautiful blooming plants available in a wide range of colours.
• Anthurium is one of the best domestic flowering plants in the world.
• They also purify the surrounding air and remove harmful airborne chemicals.

Air pollution levels at “20-Year Low”: NASA

• Air pollution over northern India has plummeted to a 20-year-low for this time of 2020, according to satellite data published by NASA.
• The data published with maps show aerosol optical depth (AOD) in 2020 compared to the average for 2016-2019.
• Aerosol optical depth is a measure of how light is absorbed or reflected by airborne particles as it travels through the atmosphere.
• Check out the measures taken by India to reduce pollution.

Lebanon legalized cannabis farming

• Lebanese legislators have approved a law legalizing the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal and industrial use.
• The decision, which makes Lebanon the 1st Arab country to legalize marijuana growing, offers economic incentives for the debt-ridden state.
• It makes the state the sole proprietor for trading cannabis, which has been grown illicitly for decades in Bekaa.

Rakesh Sharma: New President of IMMA

• The International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (IMMA) has appointed Bajaj Auto Executive Director (ED) Rakesh Sharma as its President.
• Sharma had been previously holding office as vice-president in IMMA, elected in May 2019.
• He succeeds Johannes Loman, Director of PT Astra International Tbk and Executive Vice President Director PT Astra Honda Motor (AHM) Indonesia. 

English Language Day: 23 April

• English Language Day is a United Nations (UN) observance that people celebrate on April 23 each year. 
• The day aims to entertain and inform people about the history, culture and achievements associated with the language.
• The UN first celebrated English Language Day on April 23, 2010.
• English is one of the two working languages of the UN Secretariat.
• Know more about the important days of April

TCS to power Israel’s 1st fully Digital Bank

• Tata Consultancy Services will launch Israel’s first fully digital bank.
• TCS was selected by Israel’s Ministry of Finance to transform its banking sector by building a banking service bureau that would serve as a shared, plug-and-play, digital banking operations platform.
• This initiative is seen as a bid to boost competition in the financial services sector and enhance the customer experience.

Pulses, Oilseeds worth Rs 1,313 cr procured

• NAFED and Food Corporation of India (FCI) have procured Pulses and Oilseeds worth Rs 1,313 cr benefiting more than 1,74,000 farmers.
• The Dept of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers Welfare is taking several measures to facilitate the farmers and farming activities at the field level.
• Procurement of Pulses and Oilseeds on MSP is currently in progress in twenty States during Rabi season 2020.
• Check out the latest FCI Recruitments

JKSLSA launched a helpline

• Jammu and Kashmir State Legal Services Authority (JKSLSA) has launched a helpline under ‘Serve-the-Seniors Initiative’.
• The objective of starting this helpline is to help and facilitate senior citizens who live alone and are unable to step out to get medicines, groceries, and other essentials.
• For Jammu, one can contact – Naushad Ahmad Khan on 9622283677 or Sandeep Kour on 9419223000.

Government sanctioned Rs15,000 cr investment

• The Union Cabinet gave its post-facto approval for significant investments of Rs 15,000 cr for ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package’.
• The funds sanctioned will be utilized in 3 Phases.
• Out of the total amount, Rs 7,774 cr has been provisioned for immediate COVID-19 Emergency Response.

Fixation of Nutrient Based Subsidy rates

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA gave its approval for fixation of Nutrient Based Subsidy, NBS rates for Phosphatic and Potassic (P and K) Fertilizers for the year 2020-21.
• The approved rates for NBS will be 18 rupees 78 paise per kg for Nitrogen, 14 rupees 88 paise per kg for Phosphorus, 10 rupees 11 paise per kg for Potash and 2 rupees 37 paise per kg for Sulphur.

HRD Minister launched VidyaDaan 2.0

• HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has launched national program VidyaDaan 2.0 for inviting e-learning Content contributions in New Delhi.
• It has been launched due to the increasing requirement for e-learning content for students in both school and higher education.
• It is a common national program to develop and contribute e-learning content and a chance to be recognized nationally.

India handed over medicines to Nepal

• Ambassador of India to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra, handed over 23 tonnes of medicines to Nepal’s Minister for Health and Population, Bhanubhakta Dhakal in Kathmandu on 22 April 2020.
• The consignment includes 8.25 lakhs dosage of essential medicines including 3.2 lakhs dosage of Paracetamol and 2.5 lakhs dosages of Hydroxychloroquine.

Epidemic Disease Act, 1897 to be amended

• President Ram Nath Kovind has given assent for the promulgation of the Ordinance to amend the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897 to protect the health care service personnel.
• The ordinance provides for making acts of violence cognizable and non-bailable offenses and for compensation for injury to health care service personnel.
• Violence will include harassment and physical injury and damage to property.

Adam Higginbotham won William E. Colby Award

• Adam Higginbotham’s “Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster” has won a $5,000 prize.
• Higginbotham has received the William E. Colby Award, given for an outstanding book on military or intelligence history. 
• The Colby award was established in 1999.
• Previous winners include Karl Marlantes’ novel “Matterhorn” and Dexter Filkins’ “The Forever War.” 

PV Sindhu: Ambassador for an awareness campaign

• P V Sindhu has been unveiled as one of the ambassadors for Badminton World Federation (BWF)’s ‘i am badminton’ awareness campaign.
• The campaign provides a platform for players to express their love and respect for badminton by advocating and committing to clean and honest play.
• Besides Sindhu, other ambassadors include Michelle Li, Zheng Si Wei, Huang Ya Qiong, Jack Shephard, to name a few.

Gujarat govt’s water conservation scheme began

• Gujarat CM has given the green signal for the third edition of ‘Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan’.
• It is a conservation plan to deepen water bodies in the state before the monsoon.
• The scheme, which will continue till June 10, 2020, will see the deepening of lakes, check dams, and rivers by removing silt, and it will be done with people’s participation as well as under MNREGA.

Production of COVID-19 Testing kits started

• A South Korean firm has started production of the COVID-19 Rapid Antibody Testing kits in its Indian subsidiary plant.
• It will meet the growing demand of medical equipment in India and other parts of the world.
• Its Indian subsidiary is located in Manesar, Gurgaon.
• It is producing test kits with a capacity of 5,00,000 tests per week and the first batch was rolled out on April 19, 2020.