Current Affairs - Update of 13.04.2020

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1. World Bank praises India’s Aarogya Setu app

  • World Bank has praised the AarogyaSetu app launched by India to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. Citing example of the app, a World Bank report said innovative solutions can greatly help educate and track contagion across the populations at large
  • South Economic Focus report of the world Bank said that digital technology can also be used to monitor the spread of Covid-19. It said India recently launched AarogyaSetu app that uses location data from persons' smartphones to tell users if they have been near someone who tested positive for Covid-19
  • Global tech majors Apple and Google said on Saturday that they are building a software into smartphones that will help in contact tracing and inform users whether they were in touch with Covid-19 infected persons
  • Reacting to the development, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said that India leads the way in contact tracing for Covid-19. In a tweet he said glad to see Apple and Google joining hands to develop contact tracing on the line of AarogyaSetu.

2. Indian consignment of hrdoxychloroquine reaches

  • A consignment of hydroxychloroquine from India has arrived in the US, days after New Delhi lifted a ban on export of the anti-malarial drug to some countries on humanitarian grounds
  • Earlier this week, India at the request of President Donald Trump cleared the export of 35.82 lakh tablets of hydroxychloroquine to the US along with nine metric tons of active pharmaceutical ingredient required in the manufacturing of the drug.

3. Major Oil Producers agree to output cuts

  • Major oil producers except Mexico have agreed to cut output in May and June by 10 million barrels per day
  • The agreement, which reduces production to eight million barrels per day from July to December, depends on Mexico's support for it to take effect
  • Global fuel demand has plunged by around 30 million barrels per day, or 30% of global supplies.

4. Prasar Bharti launched DD Retro

  • Public service broadcaster Prasar Bharti has launched a new channel specifically dedicated to old classics called DD Retro
  • For now, DD Retro is airing the same shows that DD National has brought back in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak to keep viewers engaged
  • Apart from mythological epic Ramayan, the classics revived on the network are Chanakya, Shaktiman, Sriman Shrimati, etc.

5. 101st anniversary of Jallianwala Bagh

  • Jallianwala Bagh Massacre also called the Massacre of Amritsar marked its 101st anniversary on 13 April 2020
  • On this day in 1919, the British troops, under General Dyer, fired on a large crowd of unarmed Indians in an open space - Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in the Punjab region
  • This killed most of the people gathered there.

6. GMR to develop Bhogapuram International Airport

  • GMR Airport Limited has received 'Letter of Award' (LoA) for the development and operations of Bhogapuram International Airport in Andhra Pradesh
  • In February 2019, GMR Airports had emerged as the highest bidder for project on a public-private partnership basis
  • The project involves design, finance, construction, development, modernisation, operation of Bhogapuram International Airport for 40 years.

7. Researchers developed a 'digital stethoscope'

  • A team at the Indian Institute if Technology of Bombay (IIT-B) has developed a 'digital stethoscope'
  • It can listen to heart beats from a distance and record them, minimising the risk of healthcare professionals contracting the novel coronavirus from patients
  • This can help doctors and medical professionals practice social distancing with ease.

8. Manipur government starts new initiative 'Food Bank'

  • In Manipur, a new initiative titles 'Food Bank' has introduced by Imphal East District Administration
  • It will provide immediate aid in the form of free food to the poor and needy who are facing scarcity of essential commodities due to the lockdown
  • Distribution of food items, hand sanitisers and face masks has already started to Drug Rehabilitation Centres.

9. Himachal Pradesh government plans a phase-wise exit plan

  • The Himachal Pradesh state government is planning a phase-wise exit plan to bring back normalcy after the COVID-19 outbreak
  • The exit plan would be prepared to keep in view of health and economic variables
  • According to the plan, the state would be divided into six zones as part of the strategy. These zones will include red zone, 4 orange zone, and green zone.

10. THSTI: 1st testing facility in Faridabad

  • Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) will now function as an extension of diagnostic facility if SCUV Medical College and Hospital, Faridabad for COVID-19 testing
  • It will be the first and only COVID-19 testing facility in the Faridabad region
  • A MoU was signed between the two institutes in this regards.