Daily Current Affairs and GK | 22 and 23 March 2020

1. Government insisted on breaking the chain of coronavirus infection

• The central government has insisted on breaking the chain of coronavirus infection.
• The Center has ordered the closure of all services except emergency services in 75 districts across the country affected by corona infection.
• These districts include Lucknow, Jaipur, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Ghaziabad, Agra, Varanasi, Kolkata, Dehradun, Bengaluru, Srinagar, Jammu, Faridabad, Vadodara, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Chandigarh, Vijayawada, etc.
• Also, metro rail services and inter-state transport services have been closed till 31^st March.
• So far, 16 to 17 thousand tests have done for corona infection in the country.
• At present, the country has the capacity to investigate 50 to 70 thousand such cases per week.

2. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine adequate in India

• Recently the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has stated that there is no shortage of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in the country.
• The announcement has been made due to hoarding and black marketing of items like drugs, masks, sanitizers and gloves due to the growing corona infection in the country.
• National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority:
  • The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority is a government regulatory agency that regulates the prices of pharmaceutical drugs in India.
  • It was founded on 29th August 1997.
  • Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.

3. Union Cabinet approves financial assistance to Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters Scheme

• The financial aid to the Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters scheme has been approved by the Cabinet for the development of world class infrastructure through electronic manufacturing clusters.
• The scheme aims to promote domestic manufacturing of mobile and components and attract large investments in their manufacturing.
• 20 lakh crore will be invested by the government in this area, which will provide employment to 25 lakh people in the next 5 years.
• The production incentive scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing has also been approved by the Cabinet.
• The Cabinet also approved the scheme on Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks that is capable of reducing manufacturing cost of bulk drugs in India.

4. Afghan government and Taliban held their first discussion on the arrangement of prisoner exchanges

• Recently the Afghan government and the Taliban discussed the arrangement of prisoner exchanges for the first time.
• The discussion has been held under the US-Taliban peace talks held recently in Doha, Qatar.
• Afghanistan:
  • Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country in Asia.
  • Afghanistan borders Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China, etc.
  • Its capital is Kabul and the currency is Afghan Afghani.

5. India's legendary football player Pradeep Kumar Banerjee died in Kolkata

• Recently, India's great footballer and former coach Pradeep Kumar Banerjee has passed away in Kolkata at the age of 83.
• PK Banerjee was ill for a long time.
• PK Banerjee was a member of the gold medal winning team at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games.
• He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1961 and the Padma Shri in 1990.
• He was awarded the Centennial Order of Merit by FIFA in 2004.

6. World Cities Summit 2020 postponed due to COVID-19

• Recently, the World Cities Summit 2020 to be held in July in Singapore has been postponed.
• This decision has been taken due to the global pandemic Covid-19.
• Now, this summit will be held on 20th June 2021.
• World Cities Summit:
  • It is a biennial summit.
  • It is organized to address city challenges, share integrated urban solutions, and form new partnerships.
  • The first World Cities Summit took place in Singapore from 23 to 25th June 2008.

7. Britain will co-chair the India-led CDRI

• The UK was recently confirmed as the first co-chair of the Governing Council on India-led global Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
• Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI):
  • It is a voluntary international group of governments, UN agencies, banks, private sector groups, and academics to promote disaster resilient infrastructure.
  • This alliance was founded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  • It was founded on 23^rd September 2019.
  • Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.

8. Great music singer Kenny Rogers died in Georgia

• Recently great music singer Kenny Rogers died in Georgia.
• Kenny Rogers is best known for his global hits such as "Lucille", "Lady", "The Gambler" and "The Island in the Stream".
• Kenny Rogers had a career span of 6 decades during which he was awarded three Grammys and six CMA Awards.

9. 23^rd March: World Meteorological Day

• 23^rd March is celebrated every year as World Meteorological Day.
• The World Meteorological Organization was established on this day in 1950.
• This year's theme is "Climate and Water".
• Its purpose is to attract people's attention to the weather and climate for the safety and well-being of the society.
• World Meteorological Organization:
  • The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 193 countries.
  • The organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

10. 22^nd March: World Water Day

• Every year 22^nd March is celebrated as World Water Day.
• This day has been celebrated every year since 1993.
• The purpose of celebrating this day is to promote awareness regarding the importance of fresh water.
• The theme of World Water Day 2020 is "Water and Climate Change".

Multiple Choice Questions(MCQs)

1. Where is the headquarters of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority located?

A. New Delhi

B. Hyderabad

C. Pune

D. Kolkata

2. Recently Union Cabinet has approved financial assistance to promote domestic manufacturing in which sector?

A. Electronics

B. Pharmaceutical

C. Textile Industry

D. None of the above

3. Which of these countries does not share the border with Afghanistan?

A. China

B. Pakistan

C. Uzbekistan

D. Iraq

4. Recently Pradeep Kumar Banerjee passed away. He was related to which field?

A. Sports

B. Science

C. Literature

D. Politics

5. In which year was the first World Cities Summit organized?

A. 2006

B. 2008

C. 2005

D. 2009

6. Where is the headquarters of the Global Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure located?

A. New Delhi

B. New York

C. Beijing

D. Moscow

7. Kenny Rogers, recently in news, belongs to which field?

A. Music

B. Science

C. Medicine

D. Environment

8. On which day is the World Meteorological Day celebrated?

A. 21^st March

B. 20^th March

C. 23^rd March

D. 25^th March

9. What is the theme of World Water Day 2020?

A. Water and Climate Change

B. Water and Tomorrow

C. Water and Science

D. Water and Youth

Solution

1. A

2. A

3. D

4. A

5. B

6. A

7. A

8. C

9. A