International News
Lebanon to Legalize Cannabis Farming
- Lebanon has become the first Arab country to legalize cannabis farming for medical and industrial purposes.
- Earlier it was illegal to perform cannabis farming in Lebanon. However, after this legalization, the country will be benefited from high value-added medicinal products.
National News
"Saiyam Mobile Application"---By Pune Municipal Corporation
- The aim behind launching the Saiyam mobile app is to effectively track home-quarantines citizens and ensure they are actually staying in the home.
"Aayu and Sehat Sathi Mobile Application"---By Rajasthan Gov. and Medcords Startup
- Rajasthan government partnered with healthcare startup MedCords to launch Aayu and Sehat Sathi Mobile Application to combat COVID-19.
#MyBookMyFriendcampaign—By HRD Ministry
- Union Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' launched the #MyBookMyFriendcampaign on social media.
- The campaign was launched on account of World Book Day which is marked on 23 April.
Himachal Pradesh Govt adopts Three-Pronged Strategies to Fight COVID-19
- The three actions by the state government have been put in use and these are: To increase testing capacity, To identify three types of institutions for treatment of COVID patients having different symptoms, and to provide adequate safety instruments to health workers.
‘Recharge Sathi’---By Vodafone Idea and Paytm
- Vodafone Idea partnered with Paytm to launch the ‘Recharge Sathi’ program.
- The program has enabled Paytm to exclusively power prepaid mobile phone recharges for Vodafone Idea.
g-CNQDs for Visible-Light-Driven Antibacterial Activity---By INST
- The Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) has developed carbon nitride quantum dots (g-CNQDs) which is a metal-free nanomaterial useful for visible-light-driven antibacterial activity.
- It has been proven effective and an alternative to metal/non-metal semiconductors and expensive silver.
‘KARMI-Bot’ Robot---Kerala
- A Kerala government hospital in Ernakulam in Kochi has deployed a robot named ‘KARMI-Bot’to serve food and medicines to coronavirus patients with an aim to reduce the risk of infections for doctors and health workers.
‘Vilokana’ Search Engine---By IIITM-Kerala
- An Artificial Intelligence Search Engine called ‘Vilokana’ has been developed by the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management- Kerala.
- The name ‘Vilokana’ is based on the Sanskrit language which stands with a meaning called finding out’.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Based Electric Carsat Leh and Delhi
- National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has invited Global Expression of Interest (EoI) to provide Hydrogen Fuel Cell (FC) based electric buses and Hydrogen Fuel Cell-based electric cars in Leh and Delhi.
Insurance Cover of Rs.50 lakh for the Frontline Journalists---By Assam
- Assam government has announced an insurance cover of Rs.50 lakh for the frontline journalists who are covering COVID-19.
- The insurance cover is being provided because the frontline journalists have been bravely covering COVID-19 news updates against all odds by risking their lives.
Airtel and Nokia Partnership—To Boost Network Capacity
- Nokia and Bharti Airtel have signed a multi-year agreement with an aim to boost network capacity and hence provide good customer experience.
- The two companies have signed an agreement for $1 Billion.
Agreement—ADB and GOI to Combat COVID-19
- The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $1.5 billion loan that will support the government's response to the novel coronavirus disease pandemic.
- The loan amount has been sanctioned under ADBs COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program (CARES).
Banking
RBI 3-Month EMI Moratorium to Provide Rs 2.1 lakh crore Liquidity to Corporates
- The Reserve Bank of India has announced a moratorium, in which the bank will provide Rs 2.1 lakh crore liquidity to the corporate sectors who are ready to avail the offer.
- The findings by Crisil Ratings are based on an assessment of 9,300 of its rated non-financial sector companies across 100 sectors.
ICICI Bank Launched Voice Banking Services
- ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Bank has started a voice baking services on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for its customers.
RBI Allows Banks to Issue Electronic Cards for Overdraft Accounts
- The Reserve Bank of India has granted permission to all banks to issue electronic cards to natural persons having Overdraft Accounts that are only in the nature of personal loan without any specific end-use restrictions.
Sri Lanka to Get $400 Million Debt Facility from RBI
- Sri Lanka signs an agreement with Reserve Bank of India for a Bilateral Currency Swap Arrangement worth $400 million.
- The agreement is signed to boost Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves as the country which is badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rs 50,000 crore Liquidity for Mutual Funds by RBI
- Reserve Bank of India has come up with an announcement to provide easiness to liquidity pressures on mutual funds (MFs) by granting Rs. 50,000 crore Special Liquidity Facility (SLF) for mutual funds.
- Under this scheme, the RBI will conduct repo operations of 90 days tenor at the fixed repo rate.
Indian Overseas Bank Launched Special Borrowing Scheme for SHGs
- Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) introduced a special borrowing scheme for self-help groups to help them tide over the challenges inflicted by COVID-19.
- In this scheme, each member of SHG will be able to avail of a loan of Rs 5000/- with a cap of Rs 1 lakh for the group.
Axis Bank to Acquire 29% Stake in Max Life Insurance
- Axis bank is set to acquire an additional 29% stake in Max Life Insurance with an estimated price of Rs 1,592 crore.
RBI Extended Restrictions Imposed on Mumbai based Coop Banks
- Reserve Bank of India extended restrictions imposed on Mumbai based Co-operative banks for 6 months that is till 31st October 2020.
