1. EPF (Amendment) scheme, 2020 comes into force; withdrawal of non-refundable advance allowed 

• On March 28, 2020, the Employees Provident Fund (Amendment) scheme, 2020, has come into force by amending Employees Provident Funds (EPF)Scheme 1952. A sub-para(3) under para 68L has been added in the EPF scheme, 1952. This amendment has been made by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
• This amendment allows the withdrawal of non-refundable advance by EPF members in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. This non-refundable withdrawal should not exceed the basic wages and dearness allowance (DA) for three months or up to 75% of the amounts standing to the credit of their EPF account, whichever is less.
• EPFO has directed its field officers for quick processing of applications received from EPF members as a relief measure for helping them to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak.

Foot notes: About EPFO
Founded: 4 March 1952, New Delhi
Headquarters: New Delhi
Central provident fund Commissioner: Sunil Barthwal
 

2. Merger of 10 state-run banks into 4 to come into force from April 1: RBI

• The megabank consolidation plan is all set to come into force from April 1, 2020.  The branches of merging banks will operate as of the banks in which these have been amalgamated. Also, the customers of merging banks will be treated as customers of the banks in which these banks have been merged with effect from April 1, 2020.
• The government on March 4 had notified the amalgamation schemes for 10 state-owned banks into four as part of its consolidation plan to create bigger size stronger banks in the public sector.
• As per the scheme, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India will be merged into Punjab National Bank; Syndicate Bank into Canara Bank; Allahabad Bank into Indian Bank; and Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank into Union Bank of India.

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

3. Mirza Waheed and Santanu Das wins The Hindu Prize 2019

• The Hindu prize (annual) 2019 is awarded to Mirza Waheed’s Tell Her Everything (Fiction)-2019 and Santanu Das’s India, Empire, and First World War Culture: Writings, Images and Songs (Non-Fiction)-2018.
• Mirza Waheed’s novel talks about human ethics, noble love & the corrosive nature of companionship & are published by Westland Publications Limited (Context). He also has written 2 other novels namely: The Collaborator(2012), The Book of Gold Leaves(2014) & also is a journalist.
• Santanu Das’ book retrieves the intellectual worlds of militants, non-combatants and civilians from India, who were not divided in World War I, is published by Cambridge University Press. He also has written Touch and Intimacy in First World War Literature(2006). The prize was founded in 2010 to honor writers who have spent the rest of their lives mining the human spirit with their words & ideas.

4.Johnson & Johnson to begin human trials of Covid-19 vaccine by September

• American company Johnson & Johnson, has said that it has selected a lead COVID19 vaccine that will move to human trials by September. The vaccine could be ready for emergency use by early next year.
• The pharmaceutical company has signed an agreement with the US government's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to invest one billion dollars in the effort.
• The company began working on the vaccine in January using the same technology is used to develop a vaccine for Ebola.
• Paul Stoffels, the company's chief scientific officer, informed that his team has combined a common cold virus incapable of replicating with parts of the coronavirus, and hoped it would trigger a human immune response.

Foot notes: About Johnson & Johnson:
Founded: January 1886
Founders: Robert Wood Johnson I; James Wood Johnson; Edward Mead Johnson
Headquarters: New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.
 

5. Rajasthan police launched a mobile app named “RajCop citizens app”

• Rajasthan police launched a mobile app called “RajCop citizens app” to enable individuals and company employees in the state take permission for venturing out in necessary conditions which were developed by  Data Ingenious Global Limited.
• The RajCop citizen's app has been launched on Android Play Store in English but every day it will be modified to suit the need of people especially those at the bottom of the pyramid, Sharat Kaviraj, DIG, State Crime Record Bureau,

Foot Notes:About Rajasthan
Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot
Capital: Jaipur
Governor: Kalraj Mishra

6. PNB releases new logo ahead of merger with UBI & OBC on April 1, 2020

• The Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched a new logo before the mega-merger of the bank with the United Bank of India (UBI) and the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) comes into force from 1 April 2020. The new logo will have signages of all the 3 banks.
• With the merger, PNB will be the 2nd largest bank in the country with a total business and size of Rs 17.94 lakh crore. Currently, the State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest bank in the country, whose total business is about 52 lakh crore rupees.

Foot Notes: About Punjab National Bank (PNB)
Headquarters– New Delhi
MD & CEO– S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao

7. UP CM constitutes 'Team-11' to beat corona

• UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has set up "Team-11" comprising as many inter-departmental committees to fight the coronavirus spread on multiple fronts ranging from ensuring medicare to victims to the supply of essentials and tackle long marches of jobless workers back home.
• Each of the committees will be headed by a senior bureaucrat of the state while the chief minister himself will be the head of Team 11. He has formed 11 inter-departmental committees with over two dozen senior government officials working at crucial levels under the CM's supervision.
• There will also be a committee to study the impact on the economy due to the epidemic and to prepare a future strategy besides ensuring effective procurement of farmers' crops like wheat, potatoes, mustard etc.

Foot notes: About UP
Capital: Lucknow
Governor: Anandiben Patel
Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath

8. UN report states India, China will stay away from world recession 

• The United Nations Trade report titled "The COVID-19 Shock to Developing Countries: Towards a whatever it takes program" stated that the world economy will go into recession in 2020 with a predicted loss of trillions of dollars of global income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• It also predicted serious problems for developing countries with the likely exception of India and China. 

Foot notes: About UNSC:
Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
Founded: 24 October 1945
Secretary-General: António Guterres
Director-General: Ghada Fathi Waly  
 

9. Tata Power commissioned Shuakhevi 178 mw-hydropower project in Georgia

• Tata Power Company's joint venture (JV) with Norway's Clean Energy Invest (CEI), and International Financial Corporation (IFC) began its commercial operation of a 178 megawatt (MW) hydropower project (HPP) in Georgia. 
• The commercial operation of the Shuakhevi HPP is an important milestone for Tata Power and its partners. The success of the 178 MW Shuakhevi HPP cascades are crucial for the integrity, security and independence of energy in Georgia," Praveer Sinha, CEO, and Managing Director, Tata Power, said 

Foot notes: About Tata Power:
CEO: Praveer Sinha 
Headquarters: Mumbai
Chairman: N Chandrasekaran

10. Ind-Ra(India Ratings & Research) trims India’s GDP forecast to 3.6% from 5.5% for FY21

• India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra), the Indian subsidiary of Fitch Group, has lowered India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimates for the financial year 2020-21 (FY21) to 3.6 % from 5.5% due to concerns over the coronavirus (COVID- 19).
• The rating agency believes that a full or partial lockdown will go away in late April 14, 2020 and economic activity will only slowly derail after May.The agency estimates the growth rate to be 2.3 % in the June quarter, which is lower than the agency’s 4.7 % GDP estimate for the current fiscal FY-20.
• The growth rate in the first half of the FY-21 is expected to be 2.8 %, which is much lower than the 5.3 % growth in the year-ago period. The growth rate may improve to 4.3 % in the second quarter of the next financial year, which is higher than the 4.2 % estimate for the second half of FY 2020.

Foot Notes: About India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra):
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra.

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Current Affairs 30 March 2020

Current Affairs 28-29 March 2020

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