Daily Current Affairs 8th-9th April 2020: Your guide for daily General Knowledge Preparation
Dear Readers,
This post contains important current affairs of 8th-9th April 2020. It includes all Major National, International, Business and Sports related current affairs of 8th-9th April 2020. A brief explanation of every current affair is provided to further enhance your general knowledge. Once you have gone through these current affairs we would recommend to you to try 8th-9th April 2020 Current affairs test.
National News
1. Samadhan challenge
- Ministry of Human Resources Development and All India Council for Technical Education have launched a mega online challenge ‘SAMADHAN’.
- Aim: To test the ability of students to innovate.
- Minister of Human Resource Development- Ramesh Pokhriyal
- AICTE: Headquarters- New Delhi || Chairperson- Anil Sahasrabudhe
2. Lifeline UDAN Initiative
- ‘Lifeline UDAN’ initiative has been launched by Ministry of Civil Aviation.
- 132 cargo flights have been operated so far across the country to transport medical cargo including remote and hilly areas.
- Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation: Hardeep Singh Puri.
3. National Academic Depository
- Ministry of Human Resource Development has designated DigiLocker as the sole National Academic Depository.
- It has also directed the University Grants Commission (UGC) to implement NAD as a permanent scheme withinDigiLocker.
International News
1. SAARC Development Fund
- SAARC Development Fund (SDF) has allocated USD 5 million for COVID-19 projects in eight member countries.
- The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- Headquarters: Kathmandu, Nepal
2. USAID with India
- USAID has announced $2.9 million aid to India to fight coronavirus.
- The United States Agency for International Development is an independent agency of the United States federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance.
Financial News
1. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with Punjab National Bank Housing Finance
- Punjab National Bank Housing Finance has signed a pact with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to raise 75 million dollars.
- The Japan International Cooperation Agency is a governmental agency that coordinates Official Development Assistance for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international cooperation.
2. SBI slashes MCLR by 35 bps
- SBI has announced a reduction of 35 basis points in its marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) across all tenors.
- The interest rates for balances up to Rs 1 lakh and above Rs 1 lakh will now accrue at 2.75% as against the earlier 3%.
- SBI: Chairperson: Rajnish Kumar || Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Business News
1. Twitter CEO pledges for Donations
- Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has pledged $1 billion to combat COVID-19 pandemic.
- Twitter is an American microblogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages known as “tweets”. Registered users can post, like, and retweet tweets, but unregistered users can only read them.
2. SIDBI Assistance to Facilitate Emergency (SAFE)
- Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will facilitate MSMEs with emergency working capital of up to Rs 1 crore under SIDBI Assistance to Facilitate Emergency (SAFE) response against COVID-19.
- Small industrial Development Bank of India is a development financial institution in India, headquartered at Lucknow and having its offices all over the country.
- Chairman & Managing Director of SIDBI: Mohammad Mustafa || Headquarters location: Lucknow
3. Defence Research and Development Organisation with Wipro
- Defence Research and Development Organisation and Wipro 3D have developed a full face shield for doctors and medical staff treating COVID-19 patients.
- DRDO: Headquarters– New Delhi || Chairman– Dr G. Satheesh Reddy
Science and Technology News
1. Artemis Base Camp of NASA
- NASA has unveiled its plans to setup the first human base camp ‘Artemis’ on Moon by year 2024.
- The administrator of NASA is Jim Bridenstine || Headquarters of NASA: Washington DC
2. India’s first automated COVID-19 Monitoring System App
- Telangana Government has deployed India’s first automated COVID-19 Monitoring System App by Vera Smart Healthcare.
- Chief Minister of Telangana: K Chandrasekhar Rao || Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan.
3. ‘RakhsaSarv’ App
- Chhattisgarh police has launched ‘RakhsaSarv’ App to track the quarantined people through Google Map.
- CM: Bhupesh Baghel || Governor: Anusuiya Uikey.
Important Days
1. International Romani Day
- International Romani Day is observed in 8th April.
- The International Romani Day is a day to celebrate Romani culture and raise awareness of the issues facing Romani people.
Obituaries
1. M.K. Arjunan passes away
- Veteran Malayalam Music composer M.K. Arjunan passes away.
- M. K. Arjunan was an Indian film and theatre composer, known for his works in Malayalam cinema and the theatre of Kerala. He was fondly referred to as Arjunan Master.
2. ‘Bullet’ Prakash passes away
- Kannada comic actor ‘Bullet’ Prakash has passed away.
- Bullet Prakash was an Indian actor who worked in Kannada cinema. Known for portraying comic roles, Prakash appeared in over 325 films. He earned the nickname “Bullet” because he used to ride the motorbike, Royal Enfield Bullet. In 2015, Prakash joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Agreements and MoUs
1. Britannia with Dunzo
- Britannia Industries has partnered with Dunzo to deliver essential items.
- Chairman of Britannia Industries: Nusli N Wadia.
- Dunzo is an Indian based application that operates daily tasks management . It is a 24X7, on-demand delivery service that helps in saving customers time and money. The startup can get anything delivered at your doorstep in no more than 60 minutes.
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