1. Beijing ramps up public transport service amid tomb-sweeping festival

• Beijing has ramped up subway and bus services to meet the needs of the people who commute to various places to pay tribute to the deceased as per the tomb-sweeping traditions.
• Tomb-sweeping Day, also known as Qingming Festival, falls on Saturday (April 4).
• During the period leading to and after the day, people pay tribute to the deceased and worship their ancestors by visiting tombs and making offerings.
• Beijing has strengthened service for 101 regular bus lines surrounding 18 public cemeteries.

Foot Notes: About China
Capital: Beijing
President: Xi Jinping
Currency: Chinese Yuan

2. 28 ferry passengers get swept overboard in a powerful storm off Solomon Islands

• At least 28 ferry passengers were swept overboard in a powerful storm off the Solomon Islands.
• The passengers were heading from the capital Honiara to West Are'are, more than 120 kilometres away, under a government programme to evacuate people to their home villages during the global Coronavirus epidemic.
• The island nation, with a population of just over 600,000, is one of a dwindling number of countries where there have been no reported Coronavirus cases so far.

Foot Notes: About Solomon Islands
Capital : Honiara
Currency: Solomon Islands dollar
Continent: Oceania

3. DRDO Laboratory designs full body disinfection chamber

• Vehicle Research Development Establishment, VRDE Ahmednagar which is a DRDO Laboratory has designed a full body disinfection chamber called as PSE. This is a portable system equipped with a sanitiser and soap dispenser. 
• The decontamination starts using a foot pedal at the entry. On entering the chamber, an electrically operated pump creates a disinfectant mist of hypo sodium chloride for disinfecting. 
• The mist spray is calibrated for an operation of 25 seconds and stops automatically indicating completion of operation. Approximately 650 personnel can pass through the chamber for disinfection until the refill is required.

Foot Notes: Headquarters location: New Delhi
Founded: 1958
Motto: बलस्य मूलं विज्ञानम्; "Strength's Origin is in Science" (Sanskrit)
Minister responsible: Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence

4. Mizoram government launches 'mCOVID-19' App for all COVID-19 related information

• Mizoram government has launched 'mCOVID-19' mobile application to provide its users all necessary and correct information in the fight against COVID-19.
• The app will give a big help to the State Level Task Force, Departments of Health & Family Welfare, Disaster, Management & Rehabilitation and also the general public to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
• The initiative was taken by the ICT Department engineers, who have developed the ‘mCOVID-19 mobile app without asking for any funds from the government.

Foot notes: About Mizoram
Capital: Aizawl
Governor: P. S. Sreedharan Pillai
Chief minister: Zoramthanga

5. PM pays tribute to Babu Jagjivan Ram on his birth anniversary

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to freedom fighter Babu Jagjivan Ram on his birth anniversary.
• Babu Jagjivan Ram struggled for the rights of the poor, the underprivileged and the victims.
• Jagjivan Ram, born in 1908, passed away on July 6, 1986. He was known popularly as Babuji, and politician from Bihar. His daughter and Congress leader Meira Kumar was the 15th Speaker of Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2014.

6. Odisha launches “Mo Prativa” online cultural competition to engage children during lockdown

• The Odisha government in collaboration with the Unicef has launched “Mo Prativa” online cultural competition among children to keep them engaged at home during the lockdown period.
• Children can participate in competitions of painting, writing of slogans, short stories and poems and poster making, winning entries will get certificates.
• The “Mo Prativa” (My talent) programme is for children in the age group of 5 to 18 years. The entries are being invited on two themes: Being at home during lockdown” and “My responsibility as a young citizen during COVID-19”.

Foot Notes: About Odisha
Capital: Bhubaneswar
Governor: Ganeshi Lal
Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik

7. ADB expects India GDP to slip to 4 pc in 2020-21

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected India’ growth to slow down to 4% in the current fiscal year, citing weak global demand and the government’s COVID-19 containment efforts. The outlook for India remains subdued, with growth slowing from 5.0% last fiscal year to 4.0% this year, it said in the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020 released.
• The ADO is its annual flagship economic publication. The bank expects the country’s gross domestic product growth to strengthen to 6.2% in FY22, boosted by government reforms. 
• The forecast assumes that the Covid-19 pandemic dissipates and full economic activity resumes from the second quarter of this fiscal year.

Foot Notes: About Asian Development Bank
Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines
President: Masatsugu Asakawa
Founded: 19 December 1966
Purpose: Economic development

8. COVID-19: NHA partnered with Uber India to provide transport services to frontline healthcare workers

• On April 4, 2020, National Health Authority (NHA) partnered with Uber India to provide 24/7 free UberMedic transport services to India’s frontline healthcare workers and hospitals engaged in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
• Initially, Uber will facilitate the provision of 150 cars free of cost to support medical facilities in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Patna via UberMedic service.
• The new cars supplied to NHA will be equipped with roof-to-floor plastic sheeting enclosing the driver’s seat, thereby acting as a protective barrier between rider and driver.

Foot Notes: About Uber Technologies:
Headquarters– San Francisco, US (United States).
CEO (Chief Executive Officer)– Dara Khosrowshahi.

9. 2021 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama postponed to 2022

• The International World Games organisers announced that 2021 World Games to be held in Birmingham, Alabama has been postponed to the year 2022 due to the conflict of rescheduled dates of the Tokyo Olympics. 
• The rescheduled dates of World Games are from July 7 to 17, 2022.

Foot Notes: About IWGA (International World Games Association)
President– José Perurena López.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Joachim Gossow.

10. Indian-origin MP “Lisa Nandy” appointed as UK’s shadow foreign minister

• Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour Party's newly-elected Leader, named Indian-origin MP Lisa Nandy as his shadow foreign secretary. 
• Starmer's new committee will be responsible for coordinating Labour's response to the coronavirus pandemic.