Introduction
The article Current Affairs One-Liners April 2020 includes One-Liners with an explanation, analysis, and issues of current events, including political or industrial controversy or public policy issues in the month of April.
Apr 2020
1. International News
- North Korea called for stronger measures against the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic at a meeting presided by leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported, without acknowledging whether the country had reported any infections.
- A large consignment of an antimalarial drug, which President Donald Trump has promoted as a potential “game-changer” in the fight against the coronavirus, arrived here from India.
- The United States has become the first country to report more than 2,000 fatalities from the coronavirus disease in a single day and President Donald Trump.
- The head of Russia’s space agency accused Elon Musk’s SpaceX of predatory pricing for space launches, which is pushing Russia to cut its own prices.
- The United States passed the grim milestone of 20,000 coronavirus deaths as huge swaths of the globe celebrated the Easter holiday weekend under lockdown at home.
- The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement the additional coronavirus cases increased South Korea’s total to 10,512.
- Assange is being held in London’s high-security Belmarsh prison as he fights an extradition request by the United States to stand trial there on espionage charges.
- As the COVID-19 pandemic has shut schools, schools, and offices across the globe, electricity consumption by nations have witnessed a slump.
- The coronavirus outbreak’s center of gravity has long since shifted from China to Europe and the United States, which now has by far the largest number of confirmed cases — over a half-million — and a death toll higher than Italy’s count of nearly 19,500, according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
- A small number of Canadian MPs, living within easy reach of Parliament, were present in the House as it passed the legislation required to offer early wage subsidy relief by employers and employees buffeted by the economic impact of the pandemic.
- As many as 345 more people had died in hospitals and 290 in nursing homes -- 635 over the last 24 hours -- to bring the total death toll to 13,832.
- Pope Francis encouraged faithful to sow “seeds of hope, with small gestures of care, affection of prayer” as he celebrated alone a late-night vigil Mass Saturday since the public has been barred from St Peter’s Basilica due to COVID-19 pandemic.
- Twelve ex-military officers were sentenced to death for the August 15, 1975 killing of Bangladesh’s Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family members.
- The UN chief said Christians will be celebrating Easter, Jews are marking Passover, and Muslims will soon begin the holy month of Ramadan, which are usually occasions of communities and families coming together, “of hugs and handshakes and the gathering of humanity”.
- With at least 19,833 deaths reported from the COVID-19 outbreak, the US has now become the most affected country in terms of fatalities - overtaking Italy, which has reported 19,468 deaths.
- COVID-19: Wuhan’s reopening, starting April 8, is being watched by other countries for lessons on how resumption of normal life after a lockdown is possible.
- As India awaits an official announcement on the extension of the national lockdown, India Today TV has accessed exclusive details of what the post-April 14 lockdowns will look like.
- A sub-inspector of Bow Bazar police station saw a beggar, aged about 40, on a pavement on Jogendra Kabiraj Row in central Kolkata, suffering from fever and shortness of breath.
- A COVID-19 patient has died in a hospital in Jharkhand’s Ranchi taking the death toll in the state to two, news agency ANI reported.
- India will have to strike a balance between “jaan” (lives) and “jahaan” (the outside world), Prime Minister Narendra Modi told chief ministers, in a sign that restrictions to contain COVID-19.
- A total of 444 people took off on a charter flight from New Delhi for Melbourne amid the nationwide lockdown imposed last month to check the spread of coronavirus.
- Medical Education Minister Sudhakar K, who is in charge of all matters related to COVID-19, told PTI that the pros and cons of any decision that the government intends to take are being looked at in detail.
- The three new areas declared containment zones in Delhi are in Deoli Extension, Mansarovar Garden and in Jahangirpuri.
- Health officials in Pune as saying that the two who died had tested positive for COVID-19 and also had co-morbidity, according to news agency ANI.
- The health department identified 2,942 suspected COVID-19 cases in the hotspots and 2,863 of them were quarantined, the additional chief secretary said.
- He said that testing for COVID-19 is being done in cities, and not villages where migration has happened since the announcement of 21-day lockdown.
- Under a special provision, the government had announced that individuals could now withdraw three months salary from Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) account amid the coronavirus crisis.
- The COVID-19 outbreak came at a time when India’s economy was already slowing, due to persistent financial sector weaknesses, a World Bank report said.
- The seven Nihangs had taken shelter in a village gurdwara after attacking the police personnel. All of them have been arrested, officials said.
- Since the lockdown was imposed on March 25 to curb the spread of COVID-19, the HRDF ministry has been publicizing its own e-learning initiatives, like the ‘e-pathshala’ portal for students.
- Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that recovery of more people and fewer new cases in the state are good signs but it should not let the administration “lower the guard” against COVID-19.
- In a major reprieve to the over-stressed police personnel of the state police, Lucknow University (LU) will provide them assistance in relieving stress, caused by their increased workload due to ongoing lockdown.
- Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao announced that students from Class 1 to 9 of all public and private schools in the state will be promoted to the next class.
- Patna district magistrate Kumar Ravi has instructed private schools not to pressurise parents for depositing school three months’ fees at a time in the wake of coronavirus lockdown.
- The government has relaxed deadlines for subscribers of small savings instruments such as public provident fund (PPF) and Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) by three months, amid the Covid-19 lockdown, a finance ministry spokesperson said.
- Now withdrawals from the Employee Provident Fund will not attract a service charge. Centre had allowed a special provision under which three months salary could be withdrawn from Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) account.
- Real Sociedad said that they were cutting players’ wages by up to 20 per cent in an attempt to stabilise the club’s budget during the coronavirus crisis.
- The cash-rich Indian Premier League’s 13th edition on Saturday headed towards an indefinite postponement as the country braced for a lockdown extension to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
1. International News
- The global death toll from the coronavirus topped 100,000 as Christians around the world marked the Good Friday in front of computer screens instead of churches and some countries tiptoed toward reopening s battered economies.
- Austria plans to let non-essential shops of up to 400 square meters as well as all DIY shops and garden centres to reopen, likely becoming the first Western country to attempt to reopen its economy since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
- President Donald Trump said his decision on when to reopen the US economy, shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic, will be the toughest he has ever taken.
- The UK expressed its gratitude to the Indian government as the first batch of 3 million paracetamol packets is all set to arrive in Britain within 48 hours after New Delhi lifted its export ban amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- The US has become the world’s first country to have registered more than 2,000 COVID-19 deaths in a single day with 2,108 fatalities reported in the past 24 hours.
- The coronavirus has only been spreading among humans for four months and therefore studies about test reliability are still considered preliminary.
- The US has now recorded 18,586 deaths and is closing in on the toll of 18,849 dead in Italy, which has seen the most fatalities so far in the global pandemic.
- New York state has almost 160,000 confirmed COVID-19 infections, more than Europe’s worst-hit countries of Spain and Italy, and over 7,800 deaths.
- At his daily White House news conference on coronavirus, Trump said the United States was taken advantage of by the World Trade Organization and the Chinese economy started booming after it joined WTO with the help of the US.
- With the pandemic slamming economies, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned that the global economy is headed for the worst recession since the Depression.
- The UNSC finally met, virtually, at the request of nine of the 10 non-permanent members of the body, but failed to even consider two resolutions that it had expected to take up this week.
- The WHO would like to see an easing, but at the same time “lifting restrictions could lead to a deadly resurgence,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference.
- South Korea is among the first countries to hold a parliamentary election during the pandemic, with citizens still asked to maintain social distancing after enduring one of the worst early outbreaks of the virus.
- The UK-wide figure released was 8,958. However, the figure relates to those who passed away in hospitals and does not include those in retirement villages, care homes, and hospices.
- South Korea is among the first countries to hold a parliamentary election during the pandemic, with citizens still asked to maintain social distancing after enduring one of the worst early outbreaks of the virus.
- Once the largest quarantine cluster facility in the country, the paid quarantine centres in Aerocity near the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport were shut by the Delhi government.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold another round of video conference with all chief ministers on Saturday to discuss the coronavirus pandemic and is expected to take a call on extending the lockdown, which will end on April 14.
- Telangana Health Minister Eatala Rajendra said that 85 percent of COVID-19 cases reported in the State are linked to Nizamuddin Markaz.
- Tripura reported its second case of the coronavirus disease, four days after a woman tested positive for the infection, officials said.
- Shutdowns continue in major cities of the world as governments try to contain the COVID-19 contagion.
- Government of India has sanctioned ₹15000 crore for India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package.
- Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) has collaborated with UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and WHO (World Health Organisation)
- The Supreme Court extended by three months the tenure of Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) chairperson Justice Shiva Kirti Singh. He was due to retire on April 20.
- As Arvind Kejriwal sat in front of a camera to participate in a conference with the Prime Minister, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal hit the streets to conduct surprise inspections to ensure that the lockdown and social distancing norms were being followed scrupulously.
- Kanagaraj served as a judge of Madras High Court for nine years from February 24, 1997, and after his retirement, he had been working as a senior advocate in the Supreme Court.
- The incident took place on a day when the state administration announced that it had identified around 10 hotspots in the state where a complete lockdown has been ordered.
- Arvind Kejriwal’s request for extending the restrictions came on a day when Delhi’s tally of coronavirus cases inched towards the 1,000 marks.
- Here are today’s top news, analysis and opinion curated for you. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.
- The people of Kali Krishna village of Tripura are on edge, literally, living as they are on a narrow strip of land on the Indo-Bangladesh border.
- The HRD Ministry has launched a week-long campaign called “Bharat Padhe Online” for gathering ideas to improve the country’s online education ecosystem.
- The Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education has decided to go ahead with preparing the results for Class 10 and 12 board examinations in the state though three papers of Class 12 are not yet conducted.
- Flipkart Private Limited, an e-commerce marketplace in partnership with ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited and Go Digit General Insurance, has launched two health insurance policies namely
- Bank credit growth decelerated to an over five-decade low of 6.14 percent in the fiscal ended March 31, 2020, amid a faltering economy, lower demand and risk aversion among banks, RBI data showed.
- Players at English Premier League side West Ham have agreed to defer part of their wages during the coronavirus suspension while manager David Moyes will take a 30% pay cut.
- Thousands of fans planning to travel to the Olympics in Tokyo face uncertainty over flight refunds and reimbursements from hotels, after the 2020
- Raj Vikash Verma was appointed as part-time Chairman of AU Small Finance Bank for the period of one year whereas Sanjay Agarwal reappointed as Managing Director (MD) and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of the AU Small Finance Bank. The appointment was approved by RBI (Reserve Bank of India).
1. International News
- New York state now has more coronavirus cases than any other country outside the US, according to latest figures.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a “window” into how a bio-terrorist attack might unfold across the world, UN chief Antonio Guterres said, issuing a strong warning that non-state groups could gain access to “virulent strains” that could pose similar devastation to societies around the globe.
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the Security Council to display unity as it met to discuss what he called the “fight of a generation” the global coronavirus pandemic.
- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and other allies outlined plans to cut their oil output by more than a fifth and said they expected the United States and other producers to join in their effort to prop up prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis.
- Britain announced another 881 deaths of people testing positive for coronavirus in a daily update, bringing the country’s total toll to 7,978.
- Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have built a system for tracking contacts of COVID-19 patients while preserving the privacy of an individual.
- The agreement, which reduces production to eight million BPD from July to December, depends on Mexico’s consent for it to take effect, the oil cartel said after a videoconference.
- A Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi movement said it would halt military operations from 0900 GMT for two weeks in support of United Nations efforts to end the conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people.
- The planned output curbs by OPEC+ amount to 10 million barrels per day (BPD) or 10% of global supplies, with another 5 million BPD expected to come from other nations to help deal with the deepest oil crisis in decades.
- The report pointed to chatter on social media from some terrorist elements pushing for targeting stores owned by people of “Indian descent”.
- The United States told the meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic that there should be complete transparency of public health data and information
- The coronavirus has now killed more than 92,000 people and infected over 1.5 million, sparing almost no country and tipping the world into a devastating crisis as global commerce shudders to a halt.
- US agencies said China Telecom is vulnerable to “exploitation, influence and control” by the Chinese government.
- Every day for weeks now, Trump has spent up to two hours of primetime television delivering his unique blend of insults, jokes and cheerful boasts.
- President Donald Trump has gone on an offensive with threats to withhold funding for the WHO, which is at the forefront of fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
- WHO said that in 41 African countries that reported data, fewer than 2,000 ventilators are available in the public health system.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this morning that India’s partnership with Brazil was “stronger than ever in these challenging times”.
- A high-profile diaspora group of some of the top Indian American corporate executives and leaders have raised USD 600,000
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the nation again to announce his decision on whether the coronavirus lockdown will end.
- Each Saarc member state can decide on the timing, manner and implementation of their COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund commitments.
- The authorities in West Bengal are looking at ramping up the production of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) that has emerged as the most sought-after medicine in the world, including the US.
- India reported 30 COVID-19 related deaths in the last 24 hours taking the number of fatalities to 199 across the country and 6412 cases of the coronavirus disease, the Union health ministry said.
- India has ordered 11 times the projected requirement of the two drugs, hydroxychloroquine, and azithromycin, that is believed to help coronavirus patients recover.
- The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has done a fresh study to understand the spread of coronavirus disease COVID-19.
- The court said that until particular guidelines were issued and proper arrangements made for availability of vegetables, medicines and other essential items within walkable distance for all, there should not be a complete ban on movement of two-wheelers.
- The airline’s chief executive officer Ronojoy Dutta in a letter to its employees talked about the company’s current focus and ‘tentative plans for the immediate future’.
- Factories in tea garden across Assam are closed because of the lockdown and plucking of leaves suspended. The first flush, which falls between March-April, and accounts for the best quality tea, is already affected.
- Senior home department official Amitabh Gupta, who gave passes to DHFL scam accused Wadhawans, has been sent on compulsory leave.
- In its clarification on the COVID-19 Saarc Fund, New Delhi took a swipe at Pakistan, pointing that the degree of seriousness of each nation can be gauged by their behavior.
- Israeli’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked India two days after a plane carrying materials used to make medicines for treating coronavirus patients arrived in Israel from India.
- Calcutta University has begun psychological counselling services for all the students of the University.
- Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak all examinations of the Delhi University have been postponed till further order, the varsity administration said.
- Board exams for the secondary school leaving certificate (SSLC) and the pre-university course (PUC) have been postponed to May from April.
- As millions of children stay home owing to the new coronavirus pandemic while schools are closed, Apple has created 30 iPad-based educational activities for kids.
- In what can be seen as a significant impact of the government’s agenda to encourage digital payments, total transactions through these channels touched ₹4,116.74 crore in FY20, according to the Centre’s Digidhan Dashboard.
- Jana Small Finance Bank, a scheduled commercial bank, has launched DigiGen, a digital banking platform where customers can digitally open a savings account and fixed deposit instantly; any time, anywhere.
- Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2020 edition, named Ben Stokes of England and Ellyse Perry of Australia as the Leading male and female cricketer of the World 2020 respectively.
- Forbes published the 34th annual list of Global Billionaires 2020 which topped Amazon Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jeff Bezos for the 3rd time,
- Anamika Roy Rashtrawar was appointed as MD (Managing Director) and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of IFFCO Tokio General Insurance. She was the successor of Warendra Sinha.
1. International News
- Italy’s prime minister has told the BBC that the European Union risks failing as a project in the coronavirus crisis.
- The president of the European Union’s ERC scientific research council has resigned after three months in the job with an attack on the EU’s scientific governance and political operations.
- The United States will seize exports of key protective medical gear until it determines whether the equipment should be kept in the country to combat the spread of the new coronavirus, two federal agencies announced.
- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stepped up measures to stem rapidly growing coronavirus cases in Turkey, but his refusal to impose a full lockdown to keep the economy afloat is drawing criticism.
- U.S. deaths due to coronavirus topped 14,600, the second-highest reported number in the world behind Italy, according to a Reuters tally.
- Italy, along with neighboring France, has Europe’s largest population of what has been dubbed the “super old” — people who are at least 100.
- The Trump administration has imposed one of the toughest economic sanctions on Iran alleging that it is going ahead with its nuclear ambition and it is supporting terrorist organizations to destabilize the Middle East.
- Police said officers located the suspect, identified as Jennifer Walker, inside the store with a shopping cart full of items, including meat and liquor, which she had no means to purchase.
- As the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus has now claimed more lives than did the attacks of September 11, the city has been forced to take over new spaces to absorb the loss.
- WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused Taiwan’s foreign ministry of being linked to a months-long campaign against him amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Brazil, the country hardest hit by the pandemic in Latin America, is bracing for potential devastation if big outbreaks erupt in its favelas, crowded neighborhoods that often lack basic sanitation and health care infrastructure.
- In a letter to PM Modi, President Jair Bolsonaro had compared India’s move to allow export of hydroxychloroquine to Lord Hanuman and Sanjeevani booti (herb) in the epic Ramayana.
- US President Donald Trump said he spoke with representatives of the UK and that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is doing much better.
- The record-breaking figure of 1,973 deaths (slightly higher than the previous day’s toll of 1,939) brings the total number of US fatalities to 14,695.
- Turkey has been reporting some 3,000 COVID-19 infections a day in the last few days, with cases shooting up from zero to over 34,000 in just about four weeks.
- A new coronavirus scare has emerged in Delhi after 35 workers were found on the rooftop of a pastry shop at Bengali Market, a popular family haunt in the heart of the capital.
- In order to empower innovation among students the Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)
- Finance ministers from the 19 countries that use the euro haggled into the night for 16 hours by videoconference starting which ended without a deal.
- Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under Ministry of Commerce & Industry has removed export restrictions on 24 pharma ingredients including 12 active pharmaceutical ingredients (API)
- To keep the social distancing norm fulfilled amid COVID-19, smart cities are collaborating with certified doctors and health experts to provide online medical consultation facilities to citizens.
- In order to ensure maximum use of resources in the care of coronavirus (COVID-19) patients, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) has proposed to divide the health centers into 3 categories namely- COVID Care Centre,
- It said that this is expected to boost the availability of vital goods required for ordinary citizens, industry, and agriculture during the coronavirus outbreak.
- Police officials in Rourkela said Anand Lakra of Badagaon village was put under quarantine at the government high school of Gurundia panchayat Samiti.
- Kerala - which was the second most affected state by coronavirus after Maharashtra just weeks back - seems to now have fallen to the 8th spot as cases rise in other states.
- The research said that radio listenership increased by 23 percent during the lockdown to 2.36 hours every day, second only to television.
- In a statement after the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said that Odisha has urged the Centre to stop train and flight services to the state till April 30.
- MLA Mandavi and four police personnel, traveling in a vehicle, were killed in a powerful IED blast triggered by Maoists near Shyamgiri village of Dantewada, Chhattisgarh.
- As per information, the man’s wife had gone to her parents’ place and was stuck there due to the lockdown and he was missing her due to which he committed suicide, police said.
- Similar guidelines for reusing masks have been issued by the US authorities because of the acute shortage of the PPE units due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the crisis has deepened after several American hospitals reached near-capacity.
- Trump had showered praises on PM Modi in response to the Indian government’s decision to ease restrictions on the export of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine.
- Following the directives of the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Allahabad University
- In order to prevent academic loss during COVID-19 lockdown, the Haryana government has decided to teach the students of class 1 to class 12 through various e-learning platforms.
- Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has recommended a stimulus package of at least $200-$300 billion and a 16-point agenda to sustain India’s economy and thwart the global recession arising from the novel coronavirus outbreak.
- Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company appointed Parag Raja as the new MD (Managing Director) & CEO (Chief Executive Officer).
1. International News
- The US recorded the most coronavirus deaths in a single day with 1,736 fatalities reported.
- An Indian American-owned pharma firm has pledged to donate 3.4 million Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate tablets to some of the key COVID-19 battleground states.
- The United States and China have reached a truce in a vitriolic feud over the coronavirus pandemic, with the two powers each seeing at least a tactical interest in cooling down.
- The head of a top Russian research centre told President Vladimir Putin that his lab was ready to start human trials of experimental coronavirus vaccines in June
- After US President Donald Trump virtually blamed the World Health Organisation for playing the Chinese side on the coronavirus pandemic.
- During a White House press briefing, President Trump said evidence shows that African-Americans have higher rates of COVID-19 infection in the US and his administration is actively engaging to address this challenge.
- China had sealed off Wuhan, a city of 11 million people, in late January to stop the spread of coronavirus disease COVID-19.
- COVID-19 update: In an update, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said his “condition is stable and he remains in intensive care for close monitoring.”
- Owned by philanthropic billionaire Chirag and Chintu Patel has also announced ramping up production of Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate at several of its manufacturing sites and expects to produce approximately 20 million tablets between now and mid-April.
- Before entering politics, Raab, son of a Czech-born Jewish refugee who fled the Nazis in 1938, was a lawyer for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
- Beijing infuriated the United States last month when a foreign ministry spokesman spread a conspiracy theory that US troops brought the coronavirus to Wuhan.
- The US Food and Drug Administration has given temporary approval of the malaria drug in the treatment of Covid-19 patients. It is being experimented on more than 1,500 coronavirus patients in New York.
- The most recent act threatens to upend scrutiny of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus rescue effort now underway, setting the stage for a major clash between Trump, government watchdogs and Democrats in Congress.
- Pulitzer Prize administrator Dana Canedy said the board includes many journalists who are on the front lines of reporting on the coronavirus pandemic.
- The scientists whose advice guided Downing Street did not clearly signal their worsening fears to the public or the government.
- New York state recorded 731 new coronavirus deaths, its biggest one-day jump yet, for a statewide toll of nearly 5,500, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
- Under the nationwide orders in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, people can leave home only for essential purposes, which include a solo walk or run within a one-kilometre (0.6-mile) radius of home.
- Trump asked why the WHO had given “such a faulty recommendation,” apparently referring to the UN body’s advice against curtailing international travel to stop the virus which first spread from China.
- The scientists whose advice guided Downing Street did not clearly signal their worsening fears to the public or the government.
- The lockdown, now in its 15th day, has paralyzed life in the city of 1.1 million people, and the containment may have made it worse for people sitting at home.
- Administrative authorities are on their toes in order to ensure strict compliance of social distancing and prevent unnecessary movement of people and gathering, officials said.
- The court was hearing petitions seeking direction to Centre to ensure the protection of doctors. The Solicitor General denied claims that salaries of the doctors involved in treating COVID-19 patients are being cut.
- Private labs have been roped in India to conduct tests for COVID-19 since government facilities are not sufficient in the face of increasing case counts.
- The three terrorists had crossed over to Pakistan from the Attari-Wagah border in 2018 for training in arms and explosives.
- More than 400 affected with COVID-19 have so far been cured and discharged, while nearly 1.1 lakh tests have been conducted in the country, as per official announcements.
- Prime Minister’s meeting with Parliament floor leaders of political parties marks the latest attempt to evolve a consensual approach to the government’s response to coronavirus.
- The former Union finance minister quoted India’s unemployment rate, which the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said, could have risen to more than 23% as the economy lost jobs after a nationwide lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic in the last week of March.
- Maharashtra government is going to adopt an aggressive testing approach to get a grip on the number of rising infections in the state.
- Most Indian states witnessed a decline in revenue of between 30% to 60% for March, and are estimating a bigger dip in April amid the COVID-19 lockdown.
- The private FM radio body has highlighted the financial crisis in the radio industry and asked the government to help they survive
- Tamil Nadu has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country which now stand at a whopping 690. The state has seen 19 recoveries and 7 COVID-19 deaths.
- CM Yogi said that earlier in Uttar Pradesh fire tenders were not available in half of the tehsil out of 350 tehsil.
- A Group of Ministers on COVID19 recommended extension of closure of all educational institutions and restricting all religious activities having public participation till May 15 irrespective of whether the government extends the 21-day lockdown or not, official sources said.
- In a major relief to students aspiring to pursue undergraduate or postgraduate courses this year, various colleges and universities in the state have decided to extend the admission process amid the nationwide lockdown.
- The Delhi government is in talks with an online learning platform to explore a programme for students that expands the accessibility of educational resources, particularly in Maths and Science subjects, during the ongoing lockdown.
- The country’s largest lender SBI said it has cut savings rate by 0.25 per cent to 2.75 per cent on all deposits.
- The Indian rupee fell 21 paise to 75.85 against the US dollar in opening trade, as investors braced for a prolonged period of uncertainty as coronavirus cases rise.
- Rampant job losses have gripped many other economies, too, in the face of the pandemic. Roughly 10 million US workers filed unemployment claims in the past fortnight, for instance.
- Damani’s supermarket chain, known for its thrifty cost structure, gained from panic buying of household essentials after India decided to place its 1.3 billion people under a three-week lockdown last month.
- The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) appoints Infosys Chief Operating Officer(COO) UB Pravin Rao as its chairman.
1. International News
- China reported no new coronavirus deaths for the first time since it started publishing figures in January, the National Health Commission said.
- The United States has begun taking blood samples from across the country to determine the true number of people infected with the coronavirus, using a test that works retrospectively, according to reports.
- As COVID-19 captures global headlines, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Tuesday that the world needs nearly six million nurses.
- The UN Security Council will hold its first meeting on the coronavirus pandemic, after weeks of divisions among its five permanent members, diplomats said.
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s admission to intensive care with coronavirus prompted an outpouring of well-wishes from world leaders.
- US President Donald Trump hinted at a possible retaliation if India does not lift its hold on the export of Hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug used in the treatment of coronavirus patients.
- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the plan a day earlier, citing “rapid increases of new COVID-19 infections, particularly in urban areas like Tokyo and Osaka”.
- Days after testing positive for coronavirus, British PM Boris Johnson’s condition worsened on Monday and he was moved to the intensive care unit as a precaution, Downing Street said on Monday evening, adding that he remains conscious.
- Britain has no formal succession plan should the PM become incapacitated, but Boris Johnson - who is in hospital - has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to deputize for him.
- This year’s World Health Day theme couldn’t be more apt as it is dedicated to honoring the indefatigable work of nurses and midwives across the globe.
- Johnson tested positive for the virus on March 26 but after 10 days of isolation, he was still fighting the coronavirus disease with a high temperature and persistent cough.
- Analysts expect the hit to consumption from the coronavirus pandemic to deepen significantly in the coming months, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declares a state of emergency.
- As UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s COVID-19 symptoms worsened, US President Donald Trump said his administration has contacted the British government to extend their help.
- Cases in mainland China have been dwindling since March, but the country faces a second wave of infections brought in from overseas, with health officials reporting nearly 1,000 imported cases in total.
- US President Trump made the request for releasing the hold on hydroxychloroquine in a phone call with PM Modi.
- Britain has no formal succession plan should the prime minister become incapacitated, but Johnson, 55, asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to deputize for him.
- Around 198 doctors are in the dock for absenteeism when Bihar has cancelled leaves of health personnel till April 30 in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
- The Railways has developed a disinfection tunnel at its Loco Shed in Bhusaval, Maharashtra in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
- India reported 114 Covid-19 related deaths across the country and a jump of 354 coronavirus disease cases taking the tally to 4421, the Union health ministry said.
- The Odisha government directed the people of the state to cover their mouths and noses with any available form of masks when going out in public.
- The state of Tamil Nadu has topped the all-India level for micro-irrigation (MI), under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), with a coverage of 2,06,853.25 ha for the year financial year 2019-20.
- The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approved the use of Diagnostic machines for COVID-19 tests on April 4, 2020. The machines were used to test drug-resistant Tuberculosis (TB).
- National Health Authority (NHA) announced that more than 50 crore eligible citizens under the health insurance scheme of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)
- In order to deal with this coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, the central government has constituted a 10-member group under the chairmanship of NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Amitabh Kant.
- “Will give police phone numbers of Tablighi Jamaat event attendees to trace, ascertain whether they moved in nearby areas: Kejriwal,” Kejriwal said.
- Mehbooba Mufti, who was charged under the Public Safety Act, has been under detention since August 5 last year, when the Constitution’s Article 370 was scrapped and Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union territories.
- The limit will be a global one and will be led with curbs in India. WhatsApp said that the move was aimed at the spread of misinformation about COVID-19.
- MEA said in a statement on Tuesday India will license paracetamol and hydroxychloroquine in appropriate quantities to all neighboring countries who are dependent on India’s capabilities.
- Around 7,000 enumerators will be involved in surveying people across the state for flu-like symptoms and travel histories.
- As a precautionary measure, various facilities of the hospital have been shut down for conducting sanitization, DSCI’s medical superintendent Dr. BL Sherwal said.
- India will supply paracetamol and hydroxychloroquine to countries ‘particularly badly affected’ by the coronavirus pandemic.
- The FIRs were registered against Tablighi Jamaat workers for spitting in Delhi’s LNJP hospital and defecating outside their room in a Narela quarantine centre.
- The central government announced to deploy rapid test kits to speed up coronavirus screening because of the spike in positive cases.
- Orders from other countries for hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol will be cleared only after meeting all domestic requirements, people familiar with the development said.
- The state health department issued show-cause notices to 76 doctors, absent from duty on March 31, while it was in the process of issuing notices to another 122 who were absent on April 1 and 2.
- Bihar Combined Engineering Competitive Examination Board (BCECEB) has postponed the examination due to coronavirus pandemic. Issuance of BCECE 2020 admit card has also been delayed due to the lockdown.
- The Bihar Education Project Council (BEPC) in association with the UNICEF will provide online career counseling sessions to help the students, who have undertaken Class 10 and 12 examinations.
- The IIT Roorkee has developed a mobile tracking application endowed with state-of-the-art features to boost government efforts for the surveillance of coronavirus suspects.
- Vice chancellor of LN Mithila University (LNMU) fell prey to a fake message about the World Health Organisation that went viral on a social media website a couple of days ago.
- HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhiyal ‘Nishank’ on Monday appealed to companies to not withdraw any job offers made to students in campus placements due to the economic slowdown created by the coronavirus pandemic.
- Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 1,300 points in early trade on Tuesday led gains in bank, IT and auto stocks amid recovery in global equities.
- After State Bank of India (SBI), now State-owned Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) and private lender Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bank.
- East Bengal F.C (Football Club ),a professional football Club based in Kolkata, West Bengal (WB), has signed Iran’s Indian-origin footballer Omid Singh (29) for a 2-year deal.
- ndia’s two leading football clubs Mohun Bagan and East Bengal will join a global campaign by the United Nations and the World Health Organisation.
- China’s world silver- medallist high jumper Zhang Guowei, 28 years old, renowned for his flamboyant twerking celebrations, announced his retirement in high jumping.
- Former Australia Test Spinner Stephen Norman John O’Keefe, 35 years old, has retired from first-class cricket after being omitted from New South Wales’ list of contracted players for the next domestic season.
- Famous Malayalam Music Composer M.K. Arjunan (fondly called as Arjunan Master) passed away at the age of 84 in Kochi, Kerala. He was born on March 1, 1936 in Fort Kochi, Kerala.
1. International News
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging governments around the world to include the protection of women in their response to the deadly novel coronavirus pandemic.
- Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar has rejoined the medical register to help the health service during the coronavirus crisis, a government spokesman said.
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was taken to hospital for tests, his office said, 10 days after he tested positive for coronavirus.
- Italy reported its lowest daily COVID-19 death toll for more than two weeks as authorities began to look ahead to a second phase of the battle against the new coronavirus once the lockdown imposed almost a month ago is eventually eased.
- US President Donald Trump warned Americans to brace for a “very horrendous” number of coronavirus deaths in the coming days, ahead of a rare speech by Queen Elizabeth II aimed at rallying hard-hit Britain.
- New Zealand has decided to stick to its tough curbs to combat the coronavirus, despite some early signs the spread of the illness has been stabilizing.
- China’s diplomacy in the wake of the pandemic outbreak has been slippery. Much of the supplies and testing kits that China sold to other countries have turned out to be defective.
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already announced that several million masks will be reaching the country early this week from China to help medical workers in the fight against COVID-19.
- Iran was Middle East’s focal point in the first days of the coronavirus epidemic, where the hotspot was the country’s holiest city of Qom.
- The 4-year-old Malayan tiger named Nadia and six other tigers and lions that have also fallen ill — are believed to have been infected by a zoo employee who wasn’t yet showing symptoms, the zoo said.
- The Japan Medical Association warned last week that the jump in COVID-19 cases in the nation’s most populous cities is putting more pressure on medical resources and that the government should declare a state of emergency.
- Captain Brett Crozier’s COVID-19 test result was reported, just hours after US Defense Secretary Mark Esper defended the captain’s firing.
- “He is a friend of mine, he is a great gentleman, a great leader. He was brought to the hospital today but I am hopeful and sure that he is going to be fine,” Trump said at his White House briefing.
- Johnson, 55, has had coronavirus for ten days and continues to have persistent symptoms, including a high temperature.
- Greeting people on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Lord Mahavir’s life, based on truth and non-violence, will remain an inspiration for all.
- The government should prioritize spending on the poor, and cut back on or delay less important expenditure, former RBI chief Raghuram Rajan has said, describing the coronavirus pandemic as the “greatest emergency since Independence”.
- 109 people have died of coronavirus in India, with 32 dying and 693 fresh cases in the last 24 hours alone, the highest so far.
- Amid muted celebrations to mark its 40th foundation day, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) set itself the task of reaching out to thank health care workers, policemen, sanitation workers, who are on the frontline of the battle against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
- Every confirmed COVID-19 case has to be considered as an epicenter and micro-plan activities will need to be done.
- The notice was issued after allegations that a Bengaluru-based start-up was advertising a COVID-19 rapid testing kit on its website, and was offering the product directly to consumers.
- Among his first request for the party’s workers was to provide the poor with food and not just for the duration of the present crisis. The Prime Minister said it should be a continuous service to the poor.
- Kurnool recorded the maximum number of 56 COVID-19 cases, followed by 34 in Nellore, 32 in Guntur, 28 in Krishna districts.
- Zoos have also been asked to send samples of animals suspected to be sick, to three designated animal health institutes to initiate COVID-19 testing.
- PM Modi appreciated the role of the state governments for their collaborations, as the country could expedite the measures taken to fight the pandemic.
- From encouraging social distancing on board to asking passengers to wear face masks and using the Arogya Setu app to check their health status, the Railways is mulling over several proposals.
- The state’s health department officials said of the new COVID-19 case, 19 are in Pune, 11 in Mumbai, one each in Satara, Ahmednagar, and Vasai.
- The district administration has set up 114 residential camps, while the sugarcane cooperatives have set up 571 camps.
- The map can come handy for those who venture out of their homes for essential services or for buying essentials.
- Two nurses working in the same general ICU ward tested positive for COVID-19 on March 28. The infections spread after that.
- According to reports, small Pacific Island nations have not reported any coronavirus so far. These island nations benefit from their remoteness as well as travel restrictions.
- CPI (Maoist) Malkangiri-Koraput-Visakha Border (MKVB) division’s committee secretary Kailasam released a hand-written statement in Telugu to the Andhra Pradesh media that stated the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.
- The municipal corporations in these cities have been directed to implement the cluster containment action plan minutely to restrict the spread of coronavirus disease COVID-19.
- Around 85% of COVID-19 positive cases been reported from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune district, the most urbanized parts of the state.
- Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi continue to be the worst-hit while northeast states like Tripura, Sikkim, Meghalaya, and Nagaland have not reported any COVID-19 case yet.
- Researchers at Jadavpur University have developed a prototype of a three-layer fabric mask using low-cost and readily available materials, amid the growing demand for such safety equipment to combat the dreaded coronavirus.
- National Institutional Framework Ranking (NIRF) announcement for 2020 has been deferred. A notice on the NIRF website says, “The announcement of India Rankings 2020 is postponed until further notice due to COVID 19.”
- Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) Committee has extended the last date for the OJEE application. Now, students can apply for OJEE 2020 till April 25, 2020. The last date to pay application fee has been extended up to April 30, 2020.
- Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has extended the time period for the commencement of Practical Training on or before April 30, 2020, for appearing in Final examinations to be held November 2022.
- The Ministry of Human Resource Development has postponed the announcement of India Rankings 2020 by National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) due to coronavirus disease outbreak in the country.
- Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said school students from classes 1 to 8 will be promoted to the next academic year without taking up annual examinations as the schools are closed due to the nationwide lockdown.
- India’s dominant services sector, the lifeblood for economic growth and jobs, contracted in March as new business and export demand fell sharply as the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc globally, a private survey showed.
- SBI Life Insurance in this downtrend for better than market returns in the next 5 years, VK Sharma, Head PCG & Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities, said in an interview with Moneycontrol’s Kshitij Anand.
- IMF head warns of the steepest downturn since Great Depression; How this app is helping UK health systems plan resources.
- A new strain of Coronavirus, COVID 19, is spreading around the world, causing deaths and major disruption to the global economy.
- There are more than 1,123,000 confirmed cases of infection and more than 59,000 confirmed deaths worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
- The International World Games organisers announced that 2021 World Games to be held in Birmingham, Alabama has been postponed to the year 2022.
- ARMMAN, an India-based non-profit organization (NPO), has been awarded the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship 2020.
- The Government has extended the appointment of Madhabi Puri Bach as a whole time member (WTM) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) by a period of 6 months (till October 4, 2020).
1. International News
- US President Donald Trump has warned Americans to prepare for the “toughest week” of the coronavirus pandemic yet, predicting a surge in deaths.
- US President Donald Trump said that he has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to supply hydroxychloroquine tablets that can be used to treat COVID-19 patients.
- US President Donald Trump warned Americans to brace for a “very horrendous” number of coronavirus deaths in the coming days as the total number of global fatalities from the pandemic soared past 60,000.
- New York state’s coronavirus deaths rose at a devastating pace to 3,565 deaths , the governor said, up from 2,935 the previous day, the largest 24-hour jump recorded there.
- According to the study, published in the journal Antiviral Research, the drug, Ivermectin, stopped the virus, SARS-CoV-2, from growing in cell culture within 48 hours.
- The United States and Europe continue to struggle to contain the spread of coronavirus and mitigate the number of cases and deaths.
- Imran Khan made the remarks in Lahore after overseeing the measures taken by Punjab government as the number of coronavirus patients in the largest province of the country crossed 1,000.
- The Baltimore-based university, which has been keeping a running tally of global coronavirus numbers, said there are at least 300,915 confirmed virus cases in the US and there have been 8,162 deaths.
- Oil prices have crashed as coronavirus crushes demand and as Russia and Saudi Arabia boost output in a war over market share.
- The health ministry said 4,313 people who tested positive for the virus in hospital had died as of 1600 GMT while there were 41,903 confirmed cases as of 0800 GMT, up 3,735.
- Drugmakers are racing to develop a vaccine and treatment for the pandemic, which has killed over 60,000 people since the coronavirus first emerged in China in December.
- In extracts released of what royal officials said was a “deeply personal” speech, the 93-year-old monarch will say she has faith that people will respond, despite the difficulties.
- The arrests of the Islamic State Khorasan Province chief Aslam Farooqui and its two functionaries are a huge setback for ISKP and Pakistan’s intelligence agency
- The Trump administration is eager to ensure the terms of the relief package — called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) — were not as lenient as assistance put together by the Obama administration after the 2008 financial crisis.
- The national flag flew at half-mast, people were urged to maintain three-minutes of silence at 10 in the morning and all forms of entertainment were suspended for 24 hours to mark the day.
- With 14,681 deaths, Italy is the country with the highest death toll, followed by Spain (11,744), the United States (7,159), France (6,507) and Britain (4,313).
- The empowered group on “Coordinating with Private Sector, NGOs, and International Organisations for COVID-19-related Response Activities”, is chaired by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.
- The army said alert troops braving inclement weather and hostile terrain killed the five terrorists in an ongoing anti-infiltration operation in Kieran sector.
- Uttam Kumar Roy, 52, who went to Mumbai to get his brother treated for mouth cancer at Tata Memorial Hospital, says his brother’s case has been referred back to Guwahati, but now they are unable to make their way back.
- With 490 COVID-19 cases, Maharashtra has registered the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country. The state has recorded 24 deaths so far while 42 patients have recovered.
- Someone had hurled a crude bomb during the clash and the man, identified as Shyam Babu Seikh, sustained splinter injuries, police said.
- President Trump did not shy away from saying he too will take a tablet of hydroxychloroquine after announcing that he has requested Prime Minister during his telephonic conversation earlier today to lift a hold on the US order of the medicine.
- PM Modi also shared a video of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee reciting the poem ‘Aao Phir Se Diya Jalayein’ from a stage.
- Eleven days into a total lockdown to control spread of novel coronavirus or COVID-19.
- Seven Indian nationals are among the 75 new coronavirus cases confirmed in Singapore, taking the total infections to 1,189 since the deadly diseases broke out in the country.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro held a telephonic conversation and discussed bilateral cooperation, multilateral institutional framework and the situation arising due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- The son of Tigoo Adivasi, a resident of Mandleshwar in Khargone district, said his father had gone to Gujari village under Dhamnod police station in Dhar district, three to four kilometers away, to buy some essential items of daily need.
- Researchers have found that an anti-parasitic drug already available around the world can kill the novel coronavirus grown in cell cultures within 48 hours, an advance that may lead to the development and trial of a new clinical therapy for COVID-19.
- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States has topped 300,000 and there have been more than 8,100 deaths, Johns Hopkins University reported.
- Students of several UP government-run primary and upper primary schools will don khadi/handloom uniforms from the 2020-21 academic session, as part of a pilot project to promote the indigenous fabric, an official said.
- Covid-19 cases in India and an overwhelming amount of information about coronavirus across various platforms, the country’s premier scientific institutes have launched a multi-institutional and multi-lingual science communication portal – CovidGyan (https://covid-gyan.in) – to filter out misinformation.
- Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has sought suggestions on whether schools in Delhi could conduct classes during summer break to make up for academic loss due to the lockdown over the novel coronavirus pandemic.
- IIT-Delhi has invited proposals from the government and the private academic institutions as well as private firms in association with an academic partner from all over the country to use its supercomputer resource PADUM for COVID-19 research.
- Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration has filed an FIR over violation of coronavirus lockdown by students at the university premises on April 1.
- Two latest surveys on industrial outlook conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) give us a sense of what COVID-19 could do to the Indian economy.
- President Donald Trump said he believed US sports leagues hit by the coronavirus pandemic would resume “sooner rather than later” but declined to set a timetable for their return.
- Goldberg had a different challenge altogether on his hand and he started off with a bang. Several spears and it looked like the end was near and Goldberg would retain his title.
- Liverpool were accused of betraying their “morals and values” on Saturday for their move to furlough non-playing staff during the coronavirus pandemic as Premier League stars warned of a £200 million ($245 million) shortfall in government coffers if 30 percent wage cuts were introduced.
1. International News
- China has mourned the victims of the coronavirus outbreak by observing a three-minute silence, bringing the nation to a halt.
- The coronavirus pandemic has infected over a million people across the globe and has claimed nearly 60,000 lives.
- The head of the International Monetary Fund says the recession sparked by the coronavirus pandemic is “way worse” than the 2008 global recession.
- The US has so far repatriated around 37,000 Americans stranded overseas due to the coronavirus pandemic and is planning to bring another 22,000 of its citizens, many of whom are in South Asia, especially India, a senior official has said.
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated that his country would not forget slain journalist Daniel Pearl after a Pakistani court a day earlier commuted the death sentence of his murderer Ahmed Omer Saeed Sheikh to a prison term of seven years.
- The United States recorded nearly 1,500 coronavirus deaths between, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. This is the worst 24-hour death toll globally since the pandemic began.
- The IMF leader is calling on countries to prioritize health expenditures and to make sure doctors, nurses and other health workers are paid.
- Brownlee urged Americans to return to their home country as soon as possible. “For the US citizens contemplating whether or not to come home, the time to act is now.
- Jared Kushner ’s surprise appearance at Trump’s daily coronavirus briefing has confirmed his rise to the top tier on one of the greatest crises to hit the country in its history.
- Doctors around the world are dusting off a century-old treatment for infections: Infusions of blood plasma teeming with immune molecules that helped survivors beat the new coronavirus.
- The United States criticized the Pakistani court for overturning the death sentence of Sheikh, calling the verdict an “affront” to victims of terrorism everywhere.
- Most workplaces, except for essential services and key economic sectors, will close starting on Tuesday, while the city-state will move to full home-based learning in its schools.
- That was the worst job loss since March 2009 during the depths of the global financial crisis, and the biggest single-month jump in the jobless rate in more than 45 years, the report said.
- The death toll and the number of cases in the UK have continued to rise, with the latest figures showing 2,921 deaths and 33,718 cases.
- A Bharatiya Janata Party legislator from Uttarakhand, Rajkumar Thukral, said of the Tablighi Jamaat should be booked under the National Security Act (NSA) for allegedly spitting on doctors and misbehaving with nurses.
- Thousands of people across India, who are suspected of being potential carriers of the deadly coronavirus, have been advised by doctors to stay in home quarantine for 14 days.
- Telangana reported two more deaths and 75 new cases of COVID-19, the highest in a day, taking the number of fatalities to 11 and that of patients of the coronavirus disease to 229 in the state.
- Bharat Biotech, the country’s pandemic vaccine leader, is working on an intranasal vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) called “CoroFlu”.
- Sixty-eight people have died after being infected by the novel coronavirus. Across the country, the number of confirmed cases is now 2,908, with 601 new cases detected in the past 24 hours.
- Apart from setting up of three special COVID hospitals, the Odisha government has also kept 500 MBBS students trained to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
- “The export of diagnostic kits (diagnostic or laboratory reagents on a backing, prepared diagnostic or laboratory reagents) is restricted with immediate effect,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said.
- Jain said that the administration has quarantined around 600 people associated with the Markaz in the past two days.
- The government has so far identified 68 persons from Odisha who had attended the congregation at Nizamuddin of which 28 returned while another 40 are still in quarantine in States like Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat.
- Mumbai has the highest number of coronavirus disease patients in Maharashtra, which is the worst-affected state in the country.
- The daughter, a resident of Lothian Khas under Shahkot sub-division in Jalandhar district, came in contact with her father after he had contracted the SARS-Cov-2 virus that causes COVID-19.
- The experts of the task force created to review India’s testing criteria, which is chaired by a director- All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, Dr. Randeep Guleria, have been discussing the protocol for the past three days.
- Rohit Kumar Singh, additional chief secretary, the health department said the woman was admitted to the government hospital in Bikaner since the last four days and had no travel history.
- The Central Pollution Control Board has tagged these wastes – masks and gloves - generated from quarantined homes as ‘domestic hazardous waste and has issued guidelines on how to handle them.
- “Had a telephone conversation with PM @netanyahu. We spoke about the situation arising due to COVID-19 and ways to fight the pandemic,” the Prime Minister tweeted out.
- Delhi University has put registration process for admission on hold. The decision was taken in the wake of coronavirus outbreak in the national capital.
- National Testing Agency (NTA), yesterday, clarified that there has been no change in the exam syllabus for NEET-UG 2020.
- CBSE has written to all school principals recommending the Arogya Setu app and Health Ministry’s protocol for immunity boosting.
- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that he will be giving answers to the questions about COVID-19 to children who are at home during the lockdown period.
- The HRD Ministry directed schools and colleges on Friday to advise students to follow protocols developed by the Ayush Ministry to boost immunity and light days and candles on April 5 as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- West Bengal government announced one week-long virtual classroom for students of higher classes of state-run schools from next week.
- Jamia Millia Islamia Vice-Chancellor (VC) Najma Akhtar apprised HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” of the online faculty development program being started by the university from next week.
- The Central government has amended its two-day-old order and reserved all jobs in Jammu and Kashmir for the domiciles of the Union territory -- people who have stayed there for at least 15 years.
- At a time when market appetite is low due to COVID-19 pandemic, there is need to monetise deficit with the Reserve Bank subscribing to the primary issues of dated central government securities, a report has suggested.
- New Delhi, Apr 4 (PTI) The FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup to be held in India in November was postponed by football’s governing body due to the worsening COVID-19 pandemic across the globe.
- Three sporty robots, collectively known as the “smart triplets”, representing the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Hangzhou in eastern China, were unveiled as the official mascots of the 2022 Asian Games here.
- The government extended the tenure of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) acting President Bethala Shanta Vijaya (B.S.V.) Prakash Kumar for another 3 months (with effect from 5th April, 2020)
1. International News
- The US has described it “wrong” to blame religious minorities for the spread of coronavirus, asserting that the “blame game” over the origin of COVID-19 should be aggressively pushed back by the governments across the world.
- US stocks rallied as hopes for a truce in the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia and a cut in oil output drove gains, taking some sting out of a shocking jump in Americans filing jobless claims due to coronavirus-led lockdowns.
- Indian-American politician Nikki Haley has cast doubt on the accuracy of China’s official coronavirus figures, terming them “clearly not accurate”, amidst reports that the CIA has advised the White House not to trust the data being provided by Beijing.
- The British government’s worst-case scenario envisages a coronavirus death toll of 50,000 if self-isolation is not fully adhered to, but the United Kingdom
- Alphabet Inc’s Google will begin to allow some clients, including hospitals, to run advertisements relating to the coronavirus on its platforms, in a change to its rules on ads around “sensitive events,”
- Wuhan, where 11 million people live, had been paralyzed by containment efforts imposed by authorities, who shut down public transport as well as taxi services as part of a lockdown, leaving it mostly to ordinary citizens to keep the city running.
- Convalescent plasma, the fluid in blood teeming with antibodies post-illness, has proven effective in small studies to treat infectious diseases including Ebola and SARS.
- The team, which published a comment in The Lancet journal, said the response of the research and science community to the coronavirus pandemic has been vigorous, but that is not the case in poor countries.
- The USS Theodore Roosevelt, with a crew of nearly 5,000, is docked in Guam. More than 100 sailors on the ship have tested positive for the coronavirus, but none are hospitalized at this point.
- The board of the Washington-based development lender announced the first set of fast-track crisis funding, with an initial $1.9 billion going to projects in 25 countries, and operations moving forward in another 40 nations, the bank said in a statement.
- COVID-19 update: While Canada struggles with a spike in coronavirus cases, the Trudeau government is yet to release its internal projections unlike other countries like the United States.
- Mounting a wartime-like operation by marshaling all its resources, members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force rued that not every American was following the COVID-19 social mitigation measures.
- Trump added that he had taken the test “really out of curiosity to see how quickly it worked, how fast it worked.”
- The grim record was previously held by Italy, where 969 people died on March 27. The US has now recorded 5,926 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.
- With over 400 people testing positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra, the state government has now taken the fight against the pandemic online, by launching a COVID-19 self-assessment tool.
- Singapore’s 24-hour Indian-origin shopping complex Mustafa Centre was confirmed a coronavirus cluster, after the city-state reported 49 new cases, including seven Indians.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again used a Sanskrit shloka to urge people to display their collective resolve and strength to fight the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the support showed by the people of the country in making the fight against coronavirus disease a success is unprecedented.
- Delhi Police have arrested a Ph.D. scholar from Jamia Millia Islamia in connection with a case of rioting and criminal conspiracy linked to the February riots in north-east Delhi, officers with knowledge of the development said.
- Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa has credited his government’s proactive strategy for the relatively fewer number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and deaths in the state after it reported the first fatality in the pandemic in the country on March 13.
- Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna in an editorial questioned the need for holding the congregation when the spread of the virus is threatening humanity.
- A release from the chief minister’s office night has said the decision will benefit nearly 1.3 million farmers and about 15 million domestic consumers.
- India has been under a three-week lockdown since March 24 with its 1.3 billion people instructed to stay home in view of the coronavirus outbreak, which has claimed 76 lives and infected over 2500 people in the country.
- Group of experts feel that less developed countries have been left out from coronavirus research and trials of vaccines.
- In the absence of proper documentation, officials had to touch base with the Jamaat coordinators in the country’s 700-plus districts to try to track down the foreigners.
- Former sportspersons, Joginder Sharma and Akhil Kumar, now with Haryana Police, are working every day in this fight against COVID-19.
- The latest fatality comes a day after a 52-year-old COVID-19 patient, who had traveled to Sri Lanka, died. He was admitted to SSG Hospital in Vadodara on March 19.
- India is in a 21-day-long nationwide coronavirus lockdown announced by PM Modi to break the chain of COVID-19 infection in the country.
- Global exams like TOEFL and GRE will be taken at home except in mainland China and Iran in view of the COVID-19 situation across the globe, according to the Educational Testing Service (ETS).
- An IIT-Jodhpur team has developed a face mask using the 3-D technology for healthcare workers and professionals attending to coronavirus patients.
- The World Bank approved $1-billion emergency financing for India to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, which has claimed 53 lives and infected over 2,000 others in the country.
- Growth in India will remain subdued after the country suffered a sharp slowdown last year, from 6.1 percent in fiscal 2019 to 5 percent
- Wimbledon organisers cancelled the 134th Edition of Wimbledon Tennis Tournament for the first time since WWII (World War II) due to the threats of Coronavirus (COVID- 19).
- Pravin Jadhav, Founder MD (Managing Director) and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Paytm Money, resigned due to the issues related to employee stock options (ESOPs), annual salary and remuneration.
1. International News
- The US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has gone above 5,000, Johns Hopkins University has said.
- Scientists in Australia have begun testing two potential coronavirus vaccines in “milestone” lab trials.
- Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi cited the coronavirus pandemic as the impetus for reluctantly creating her first personal Facebook account in a post.
- US President Donald Trump warned Iran of a “heavy price” if it or its allies in Iraq attack US troops stationed there.
- The US Navy is evacuating thousands of sailors from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam after its captain warned a coronavirus outbreak was threatening the lives of the crew.
- A man who coughed on a police officer and threatened to infect him with coronavirus was sentenced to six months in jail in Britain, a police statement said.
- Nearly every other country has reported coronavirus cases, with the World Health Organization saying that there were nearly one million confirmed infections globally.
- With mass production of low-cost ventilators by a group of Indian engineers with support from MIT engineers, the US officials hope it would come as a big help to mankind which is racing against time in this fight against the deadly coronavirus.
- “Unlike the US which surreptitiously lies, cheats & assassinates Iran only acts in self-defense,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
- Funerals and mourning rituals have changed for everyone since Israeli and Palestinian authorities imposed stay-at-home directives and restricted the size of public gatherings to try to halt the spread of the coronavirus infection.
- Omar Sheikh is expected to walk out free soon since he has already spent 18 years in jail. The Pakistan court had commuted his death sentence to 7 years in prison
- The president remains hesitant to press a unified policy even after the White House released “sobering” new projections that 100,000 to 240,000 Americans will likely succumb to the coronavirus even if current social distancing guidelines are maintained.
- The US now has the world’s highest caseload from the coronavirus pandemic, Donald Trump is bracing the nation for “horrific” days ahead.
- The UN report said the negative effects of the coronavirus outbreak and current economic restrictions in richer developed nations will soon spill over into developing countries, which will see lower trade and investment.
- Canadian passport holders and PRs remained in India at the time the lockdown to help curb the spread of COVID-19 was imposed and as international flights petered out, there was no opportunity for them to return to Canada
- The Scottish government announced this week that the SEC Arena, where COP26 was due to take place, will be turned into a field hospital to cope with coronavirus cases.
- WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that his agency, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) backed debt relief to help developing countries cope with the pandemic’s social and economic consequences.
- The Uttar Pradesh government has shunted out the chief medical officer (CMO) of Gautam Buddh Nagar Anurag Bhargava, according to an official order.
- India reported its 50th novel coronavirus-linked death this morning, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.
- The Kerala government cited suicides linked to alcohol withdrawal syndrome to defend the sale of liquor to individuals in limited quantity amid the national lockdown
- The Delhi Police’s crime branch has been conducting raids at several places in the national capital and in Uttar Pradesh since to find Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad Khandhlawi.
- The court gave liberty to the petitioner to serve a copy of the petition to the central government’s second senior-most law officer, solicitor general Tushar Mehta and posted the case for hearing on April 3.
- The temperature guns will be used for screening the 20,000 personnel who visit the dockyard daily in view of the coronavirus situation and this will reduce the workload of the sentries at the gates, the navy said.
- Many of the 51 private labs approved by the ICMR for COVID-19 testing in the country have not been able to conduct tests as per their capacity and demand because of the shortage of kits.
- In a report, the civil servants have “encouraged” the domestic production of coronavirus testing kits.The bureaucrats have also pitched for a regular mapping of quarantined people by creating a database that is shared at the district level.
- COVID-19 cases in the country were under 700. This Thursday, the cases have nearly jumped to 2,000 with 1,965 patients.
- Congress has demanded that the government makes public the list of all hospitals and other medical facilities engaged in a fight against coronavirus.
- Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have emerged as the states with the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the country followed by Delhi, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.
- Omar Saeed Sheikh death sentence was commuted to seven years in jail while the three other men convicted of Pearl’s murder were acquitted and freed by the Sindh high court.
- Jaipur has the highest number of positive cases at 41 followed by Bhilwara at 26 and Jodhpur at 9.
- Coal India’s annual production fell for the first time since 1998/99 as the heaviest rainfall in 25 years battered coal mining regions and a broad economic slowdown stifled demand for the fuel.
- The Supreme Court acquitted a separatist Tamil group leader, arrested under the TADA Act for conspiring to bomb government buildings in 1990
- COVID-19 in Jammu and Kashmir had earlier attended the religious gathering at Markaz Nizamuddin in Delhi, Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said.
- The National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered its first overseas case and will probe the terror strike on a gurdwara in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul last month that left 27 people including an Indian citizen dead.
- IIT Delhi has postponed the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Advanced 2020 in view of preventing further spreading coronavirus.
- With all educational institutions facing closure owing to the nationwide lockdown, most of the private schools in the capital city are now contemplating using digital platforms to kick-start this year’s academic session, informally, soon.
- Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has instructed all private schools to stop pressurizing parents to deposit fees of the students during the lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
- State-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) expects fresh slippages of an estimated Rs 5,000 crore in the fourth quarter, said S S Mallikarjuna Rao,
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has prohibited promoters and insiders from buying company shares between April 1 and June 30,
- The Asian Football Confederation extended the deadline for preliminary bids for the 2027 Asian Cup after the coronavirus pandemic caused major problems for football administrations.
- D. Lakshminarayanan, whole-time director of Sundaram Finance Limited, was appointed as the MD (Managing Director) of its wholly owned home finance subsidiary, Sundaram Home Finance.
- Philip Warren Anderson, a Nobel Prize- winning physicist who expanded the world’s understanding of magnetism, superconductivity and the structure of matter, passed away at the age of 96 in Princeton, New Jersey, US (United States).
1. International News
- Donald Trump has said the US will be in “very good shape” in terms of the number of ventilators by the time the coronavirus outbreak peaks.
- Taiwan is seen as one of the few places in the world which have successfully stemmed the spread of the coronavirus without resorting to draconian measures.
- People are heeding the advice to stay at home to keep pressure off the NHS, and there are early signs that it is working, the UK’s chief scientific adviser has said.
- President Donald Trump defended his decision to extend restrictive social distancing guidelines through the end of April while bracing the nation for a coronavirus death toll that could exceed 100,000.
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that how long the impact lasts will “hinge” on the “choices” Canadians make.
- Economic experts fear massive layoffs in various sectors of the American economy due to the current economic distress and the coronavirus pandemic, that is only going to deteriorate in the coming months.
- The royal schism that the couple triggered in January by announcing that they would step down from official duties, give up public funding, seek financial independence and swap the U.K. for North America becomes official on March 31.
- Saudi Arabia suspended the year-round “umrah” pilgrimage over fears of the new coronavirus spreading to Islam’s holiest cities, an unprecedented move that raised uncertainty over the annual hajj.
- The popular two-term Democrat took to social media as the Trump administration finalized a controversial rollback of Obama-era vehicle fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards that were aimed at slowing global warming.
- The European Medicines Agency said in a statement it “estimates that it might take at least one year before a vaccine against COVID-19 is ready for approval and available in sufficient quantities to enable widespread use”.
- The 72-year-old Opposition Labour MP for Ealing Southall in west London had revealed on Twitter that he was self-isolating after developing mild symptoms earlier this month.
- Philip Anderson died at the Princeton Windrows retirement community in Princeton, New Jersey, his daughter said. No cause was reported.
- Antonio Guterres said that the scale of the crisis was due to “a disease that represents a threat to everybody in the world and an economic impact that will bring a recession that probably has no parallel in the recent past.”
- More than 810 people died of the coronavirus in the United States in another single-day high, taking the toll to 3,900 so far; with nearly 190,000 confirmed cases, an increase of more than 44,000 over Monday.
- Donald Trump told a White House press conference he is “absolutely looking at a ban” on travel to the United States from Latin America’s biggest country.
- The boy, who died at King’s College Hospital in London, is believed to be Britain’s youngest confirmed death in the coronavirus pandemic.
- Top health experts said that the decision to maintain strict social distancing was the only way to stop the easily transmitted virus, even if this has caused massive disruption to the economy with three-quarters of Americans under some form of lockdown.
- The G20 Trade and Investment Ministers meeting was held virtually where Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal participated through video conference.
- A Delhi government-run hospital was shut down today after a doctor tested positive for coronavirus. The doctor worked at the Delhi State Cancer Institute.
- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke over the phone to discuss a coordinated effort by India and the US to respond to the COVID-19
- The government brought in an Ordinance to give relief in compliance in filing income tax, GST, customs and central excise returns, to help taxpayers tide over the coronavirus crisis.
- As India entered the second-week of lockdown, 1,397 positive coronavirus cases have been confirmed across the nation with 35 deaths, the health ministry data showed.
- The government has extended the benefit of 2% interest subvention (IS) to banks and 3% prompt repayment incentive (PRI) to all farmers up to May 31, 2020
- Victim’s mother Lakshmi says no one was at home when Sravanthi doused herself with kerosene and set herself ablaze.
- As India scrambles to stop the spread of COVID-19, the government opened a platform for public suggestions, seeking to involve more people in the battle against the disease, on mygov.in.
- Abdullah said that the recently formed ‘Apni Party’, which the leader alleged was formed with the blessings of the Delhi, was critical of the changes in the law.
- Authorities suspended the Delhi State Cancer Institute’s out-patient clinics to sanitize the premises after the doctor there tested positive, officials said and added that the source of his infection is unclear.
- It is not yet clear whether the spurt in the number of cases was linked to the spread of infection by people who returned after attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin, which has emerged as a COVID-19 hot spot
- The group Startups vs COVID-19 supports the government and citizens during in tiding over the coronavirus crisis.
- Both coronavirus infected men aged 57 years and died, their families have been put under quarantine.
- Chinese scientists have suggested the use of paper-based devices (analytical devices for rapid diagnostics of pathogens.
- A 14.2-kg non-subsidised LPG cylinder will now cost Rs 744 in Delhi, it will cost Rs 714.50 in Mumbai (down by Rs 62), Rs 774.50 in Kolkata (down by Rs 65.5), and Rs 761.50 rupees in Chennai (down by Rs 64.5).
- Home Minister Amit Shah had assured a delegation of Kashmiri leaders last month that the apprehensions about the union territory’s demographic changes were baseless
- The hospitals are not clustered centres but are spread in different parts of the city to cater to people residing across the national capital.
- The application process begins today and will conclude on April 30, 2020. Applicants will have time to submit application fees till May 4, 2020.
- Reserve Bank of India announced a three-month moratorium on all term loans outstanding as on March 1, 2020, as well as on working capital facilities, as part of its measures to strengthen the financial system against the economic fallout of COVID-19 disease.
- Beijing 2022 organisers said they face “a special situation” after the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics means less than six months between the Summer and Winter Games.
- Hockey India pledged to donate Rs 25 lakh towards the PM Cares Fund for the country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Economist, civil servant & Deputy Chairman of the Indian Planning Commission, with the rank of Cabinet Minister, from July 2004 to May 2014 & Padma Vibhushan awardee(2011)
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