1.Dr. Jitendra Singh launched DARPG’s National Monitoring Dashboard for COVID- 19 Grievances

• Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, launched DARPG’s National Monitoring Dashboard on COVID- 19 grievances.
• The National Monitoring Dashboard developed by DARPG & implemented at https://darpg.gov.in where COVID-19 related grievances are monitored on a daily basis by a technical team of DARPG & provides redressal in a period of 3 days.
• The National Monitoring Dashboard received 43 grievances from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), 31 grievances of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and 26 grievances of Ministry of Finance (MoF) and 62 Citizens grievances were redressed.

2. D. Lakshminarayanan appointed as MD of Sundaram Home Finance

• On March 31, 2020, D. Lakshminarayanan, a whole-time director of Sundaram Finance Limited, was appointed as the MD (Managing Director) of its wholly-owned home finance subsidiary, Sundaram Home Finance. He will take charge on April 1, 2020 and will replace Srinivas Acharya.
• Srinivas Acharya has been the company’s MD since 2010 & has been part of the Sundaram Finance Group for almost 4 decades.
• The company had posted a total income of Rs 1006 crore and a net profit of Rs 145 crore for the financial year 2019.

Foot Notes: About Sundaram Finance Limited
Founded: 1954; 66 years ago
Founder: T.S.Santhanam
MD & CEO: T. T. Srinivasaraghavan.
Headquarters: Chennai,Tamil Nadu (TN).

3. Hindustan Unilever completes its merger with GSKCH India

• On April 01, 2020, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, has completed the merger of Glaxo SmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited (GSKCH India) with itself.
• This merger, announced on December 3, 2018,is one of the biggest deals in the FMCG field and it will result in better value creation for all stakeholders of the firm. Following the merger, GSKCH’s other brands such as Boost, Maltova and Viva will be HUL’s brand portfolio.
• Apart from this merger, HUL has also acquired the famous health drink brand Horlicks for India from GSK for an amount of  375.6 mln Euro (Rs. 3045 Crore).
• The merger is a part of HUL’s aim to build a sustainable and profitable foods and Refreshment (F&R) business in India by increasing the big trend of health and wellness.

Foot Notes: About Hindustan Unilever Limited  (HUL)
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman and Managing Director– Sanjiv Mehta

About GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited (GSKCH India):
Headquarters– Gurgaon, Haryana

4. Nobel laureate Phillip Anderson passed away at the age of 96

• Philip Warren Anderson, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who expanded the world’s understanding of magnetism, superconductivity and the structure of matter, passed away at the age of 96 in Princeton, New Jersey, US (United States). He was born on December 13, 1923, in Indianapolis, Indiana, US.
• The American theoretical physicist graduated from Harvard University in 1949 & then worked for Bell Telephone Laboratories until he began teaching at Princeton and the University of Cambridge.
• Anderson received Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977, along with Nevill Francis Mott of Britain & the American John Hasbrouck van Vleck, for their contribution on fundamental theoretical investigations of the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems.

5. COVID 19: Jharkhand Government launched PRAGYAAM app to issue e-passes for essential deliveries 

• The Jharkhand Government launched a mobile application (app) PRAGYAAM to issue e-passes to everyone associated with the delivery of essential services during the national lockdown to combat COVID-19 (Coronavirus). The android platform based app can be downloaded from Google Playstore & has been designed locally.
• Through this app District Transport Officers issues e-passes to vehicles through online mode after verification of the documents uploaded through the app.
• The passes will be issued to those involved in the regular supply services, medical, banking & other necessary services.
• The higher officials can also verify the status of the e-passes on the app and other details, including mobile number and identity card of the person engaged in such duties to curb the chances of fake e-passes.

Foot Notes:About Jharkhand
Capital– Ranchi.
Chief Minister– Hemant Soren.
Governor– Draupadi Murmu.

6. India’s 8 core industries register 11-month high growth of 5.5% in February 2020

• According to the ‘Index of Eight Core Industries (Base: 2011-12=100) ‘ released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, India’s 8 core industries grew 11 months high by 5.5 % to 132.9 in February 2020 as compared to the index of February 2019 with 125.9 due to increased production of coal, refinery products, and electricity.
• The output pace of 8 core industries (coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity) registered a growth of 2.2 percent in February 2019. These industries account for 40.27 % in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
• Coal, refinery products and electricity saw an increase of 10.3 %, 7.4 % and 11 % respectively. Fertilizer and cement production increased by 2.9 % and 8.6 % respectively. However, in contrast, production declined in crude oil, natural gas and steel sectors.

Foot Notes:About the Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Headquarters– New Delhi
Union Minister– Piyush Goyal

7. RBI has revised norms for appointment & reappointment of MD & CEO of banks

• Reserve of Bank (RBI) has notified regarding the revision of norms for appointment and reappointment of the Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the private sector & foreign banks.
• Proposal for re-appointment should be submitted 6 months in advance from 4 months earlier.
• Proposal for appointment of new MD & CEO or CEO should consist of a panel of at least 2 names in the order of preference(earlier was 3 names) & the proposal have to be submitted at least 4 months before the expiry of the term of present incumbent office.
• Highlights
• The revised form aims to enhance disclosure, improve transparency, gain more clarity in the information sought, & also to comply with the requirements of the Companies Act, 2013.

Foot Notes: About RBI
Founded: 01 Apr 1935
Headquarters: Mumbai, India
Governor: Shaktikanta Das

8. United Nations Security council to conduct meeting  on COVID-19 for first time

• On April 2, 2020, the current president of United Nations Security Council, Dominican Republic announced that the world body is to meet over COVID-19 next week. The rotating presidency of the 15-member council was taken by the Caribbean country from the previous president China. China is a permanent member and has veto powers in the council.
• The Council is planning to meet over teleconferencing. The primary responsibility of the council is to deal with Geo-political peace and security. The public health security is not under the mandate of the Council. Still, the Council is to meet to discuss on providing human security in the matter.
• The meet comes after the UNSC faced criticism over its silence on COVID-19. This is because, the council acted swiftly in 2014 at the times of Ebola.

Foot notes: About UNSC(United Nations Security  Council)
Headquarters: New York,  United States
Founded: 24 October 1945
Secretary-General: António Guterres

9. Every year, the World Autism Awareness Day is observed on April 2

• Every year, the World Autism Awareness Day is observed on April 2 by the members of United Nations. The day is observed to take measures to increase awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder.
• In all there are 7 health specific UN days. World Autism Awareness Day is one among the seven. This is being observed since 2008. This year, the World Autism Awareness Day has been launched under the theme
• Theme: The Transition to Adulthood
• Autism is a developmental disorder. People with autism face difficulties in social interaction and communication. The related signs shall be noticed in the first three years of the child’s life.

10. Wimbledon championship canceled for the first time since World War II

• Wimbledon organizers canceled the Wimbledon Championships 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The first match was scheduled to begin on 29 June 2020. This cancelation has happened for the first time since 1945 since World War II.
• The decision by the organizers to cancel the tournament was widely expected, with the world struggling to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Foot Notes: About Wimbledon Championships 2020
Founded on: 1877
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Venue of  the game: The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Surface Grass outdoors
Prize money: £34,000,000

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Current Affairs 1 April 2020

Current Affairs 31 March 2020

Current Affairs 30 March 2020