Daily Current Affairs Headlines 26th and 27th April 2020

April 28, 2020
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Latest Current Affairs Daily Update

Important Days

World Intellectual Property Day on April 26

  • World Intellectual Property Day is observed worldwide on April 26. It was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2000 to “raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life”. This year the theme of World Intellectual Property Day 2020 is “Innovate for a Green Future”.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • Headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization: Geneva, Switzerland.
  • CEO of World Intellectual Property Organization: Francis Gurry.

National Current Affairs Headlines

NTPC Vindhyachal becomes India’s largest power plant

  • NTPC Vindhyachal has become the largest power plant of the country to achieve a plant load factor (PLF) of 100 per cent. The 100 per cent PLF means that the power plant was run at its full capacity of 3760 MW for a certain period.

States Current Affairs Headlines

Assam govt starts ‘Dhanwantari’ scheme to provide door delivery for medicines

  • Government of Assam has launched a new scheme named as “Dhanwantari” for home delivery of medicines. Any patients can send their prescriptions over the telephone or inform the health workers and the health department will ensure that it is delivered to them even if it is not in the list of available free medicines. This is the largest outreach programme taken up by any state government at this point in time.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • Capital of Assam: Dispur; CM of Assam: Sarbananda Sonowal.
  • Governor of Assam: Jagdish Mukhi.

Madhya Pradesh govt launches “Jivan Shakti Yojana” for women

  • Government of Madhya Pradesh has launched the “Jivan Shakti Yojana” for women. Under this scheme, women in urban areas can earn by making masks at home. The government will pay them Rs 11 per mask.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
  • Governor of Madhya Pradesh: Lal Ji Tandon.
  • Bandhavgarh National Park is in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. This biodiverse park is known for its large population of royal Bengal tigers, especially in the central Tala zone.

Uttar Pradesh Government bans public gathering till June 30

  • Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Government of Uttar Pradesh has decided to ban the public gathering till June 30, 2020. The decision was taken by the state government during the Chief Minister’s meeting with chairpersons of 11 committees of the state over the COVID-19 situation.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh: Yogi Adityanath.
  • Governor of Uttar Pradesh: Anandiben Patel.

Thuthukudi airport in Tamilnadu upgraded to level 3

  • The Thuthukudi airport in Tamil Nadu, near the strategically important Bay of Bengal coast, has been upgraded to level 3 by the Airport Authority of India. This signifies a rise in the operational potentials of the airport and increases the scope of getting more funds for expansion activities.

Kerala hospital deploys “KARMI-Bot” robot to serve COVID-19 patients

  • To prevent from COVID-19 effects the government hospital in Ernakulamhere, Kerala has deployed a robot named ‘KARMI-Bot’ to serve COVID-19 patients. The robot will be used to assist patients at the medical college’s COVID-19 isolation ward.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • Chief Minister of Kerala: Pinarayi Vijayan.
  • Governor of Kerala: Arif Mohammad Khan.
  • Capital of Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram.

Business and Banking Headlines

Banking Industry declared as Public Utility Service for 6 months

  • Under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, the Banking Industry has been declared by the Government of India as a “Public Utility Service”. This step has been taken by the government in the purview of the coronavirus pandemic which has deeply impacted the economic activities. As per the notification issued by the Labour Ministry, the Banking Industry has been declared as a “Public Utility Service” for a period of 6 months i.e. till 21st October 2020.

RBI permits Transcorp to issue co-branded prepaid cards

  • The Reserve Bank of India has given its approval to Transcorp International Ltd to issue co-branded prepaid cards. With the approval, the RBI has allowed Transcorp to enter into co-branding arrangements for Prepaid Instruments that can be utilized in over 35 lakh stores and online gateways. After receiving approval from the RBI, the Transcorp International Ltd has become one of the first non-bank companies to receive approval to enter into co-branding arrangements for Prepaid Instruments.

RBI announces Rs 50,000 crore Special Liquidity Facility for Mutual Funds

  • Special Liquidity Facility of Rs 50,000 crore announced by the Reserve Bank of India for Mutual Funds. This has been done by the central bank in order to ease liquidity pressures on the Mutual Funds.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikanta Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

Science and Technology

NASA’s Hubble Telescope marks 30 years in space

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Hubble Space Telescope, has completed 30th year in orbit on 25 April 2020. This telescope was built by the United States space agency NASA with contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA).

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • The administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): Jim Bridenstine.
  • Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United States.

IIITM-K creates “Vilokana” search engine for COVID-19 research

The Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management – Kerala (IIITM-K) has launched an AI Semantic search engine named as ‘Vilokana’, which in Sanskrit means ‘finding out’.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management- Kerala (IIITM-K) established in 2000.
  • Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management- Kerala (IIITM-K) Director: Saji Gopinath.

Sports Headlines

Former Pakistan skipper Sana Mir announces retirement

Pakistan women’s skipper Sana Mir announced her retirement from international cricket. She played in 226 international matches for Pakistan, including 137 as captain from 2009 to 2017.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • Prime Minister of Pakistan: Imran Khan.
  • President of Pakistan: Arif Alvi.
  • Capital of Pakistan: Islamabad.
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