North Macedonia became NATO’s newest & 30th member, upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with US State Department in Washington DC. NATO Allies signed North Macedonia’s Accession Protocol in February 2019.
North Macedonia Capital- Skopje, Currency- Macedonian denar.
National Book Trust will launch Corona Studies Series books to provide relevant reading materials for all age-groups for the post-Corona readership needs. It will also provide suitable platform to authors and researchers willing to contribute in this genre
NBT functions under the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
Government approved Insurance Scheme under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package for health workers who are fighting to contain COVID-19. The scheme will provide an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh for 90 days to around 22.12 lakh public healthcare providers.
Accidental loss of life due to contracting COVID-19 is added.
Around 500 officials of TRIFED (The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India) unleashed the power of ‘Webinars’. Through ‘Tech for Tribals’ scheme that was launched in March 2020, around 3.5 lakh tribal entrepreneurs were gathered.
Van Dhan GIS-based website gathered more than 50 lakh people.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of plasma from recovered patients to treat people who are critically ill with coronavirus provided that doctors get an approval over the telephone. That plasma may contain antibodies to the virus.
Plasma makes up more than 55% of blood in the human body.
Defence ministry approved the proposal to contribute 1-day salary of the employees to the PM-CARES fund amounting to Rs 500 Cr. The Army Act, 1950 allows making such deductions from the salary of the army personnel. Only authorized deductions are allowed.
Defence Personnel are paid under the 7th Central Pay Commission.
47.4 GW coal-fired power projects at different stages were cancelled in 2019 reducing total under development coal capacity to 66 GW. It was compiled in ‘Boom & Bust 2020’ report by Global Energy Monitor, Greenpeace International, Sierra Club & CREA.
CREA- Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
MHRD Innovation cell & AICTE in partnership with Forge & InnovatioCuris have launched the national level 2 Day FightCorona IDEAthon soliciting innovative solutions from student innovators, & researchers. The program will be hosted completely on internet.
Prize: $5000 cloud credits to build solution & take to market.
As per the gazette notification issued by the labour ministry, Employees’ Provident Fund Organization subscribers can withdraw 75% of their savings or up to a maximum of 3 months' basic pay and dearness allowance from their PF account- whichever is lower.
Once subscriber withdraws the amount, it cannot be replenished.
The Union government set up 11 empowered groups to draw up and execute a comprehensive plan to tackle the adverse impact of the coronavirus crisis. P.K. Mishra, principal secretary to the Prime Minister, reviewed a meeting of the groups on 29th of March.
The panels have been set up under the Disaster Management Act.
The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) has cancelled the 49th edition of Delhi Fair Spring-2020 in view of present status of COVID-19. Earlier, the fair was scheduled to be held from 15 to 19th of April. EPCH Director-General- Rakesh Kumar.
EPCH was established under Companies Act in the year 1986-87.
Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, IIT Bombay has built a platform called CORONTINE to track people escaping quarantine. These individuals could positive asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19. CORONTINE allows to geo-fence and automatically generate alerts.
It sends text messages and emails if users move out of the zone.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath will transfer Rs 611 Cr in the accounts of 27.15 lakh MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) labourers. It will be transferred electronically to help the workers in the situation of Lockdown due to COVID-19.
MGNREGA was initially implemented as NREGA on 2 February 2006.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath has set up ‘Team-11’ comprising of as many inter-departmental committees to fight the coronavirus spread and its multi-lateral fallouts on multiple fronts ranging from ensuring Medicare to victims to the supply of essentials.
The state’s chief secretary heads the first committee.
People living in Kolkata can order fishes through the State Fisheries Development Corporation app available in Google Play Store. All district officials have been asked to supply fish to as many markets as they can to tackle rising prices amid lockdown.
There was a sudden rise in prices of fish due to the lockdown.
Rajasthan Day is celebrated on March 30 every year to mark the formation of the state. The ‘Land of Kings’ celebrates Rajasthan Day with radiant and invigorating events. The state was earlier known as Rajputana and got its recognition on March 30, 1949.
Rajasthan comprises the Thar Desert or the Great Indian Desert.
Bank of India reduced the lending rate linked to external benchmark by 75 basis points, to 7.25%, effective April 1. The lender's external benchmark lending rate is linked to the RBI's repo rate, which was reduced by 75 basis points, to 4.40%, on March 27.
Bank of India Headquarters- Mumbai, Chairman- G. Padmanabhan.
India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has raised $100 million in green bonds through private placement. This is the bank’s third iteration of green bonds and already has raised such bonds of $700 million.
RBI releases report on ‘Trend and Progress of Banking in India'.
Shot putter Navin Chikara was suspended for 4 years by global athletics body’s Athletics Integrity Unit for failing an out-of-competition dope test in 2018. He was banned for the presence & use of prohibited substance. The suspension starts on 27 July '18
Chikara won the silver medal in the 2018 Federation Cup.
Beni Prasad Verma, a founding member of the Samajwadi Party & former Union minister who was considered close to party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav died at the age of 79. He was the telecom minister between 1996-98 in the then PM HD Deve Gowda's cabinet.
He was the steel minister in the Congress-led UPA government.
Rev. Joseph Lowery, a leader in America's civil rights movement, died at the age of 98. Often called the dean of the civil rights movement, he worked hand in hand in the movement's formative years with the Revs. Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Jackson.
He served nearly half a century as a pastor.
Ahead of its merger with the United Bank of India (UBI) and the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) from April 1, PNB unveiled a new logo which bears the signages of all the 3 PSU banks. From the next financial year, PNB will become the second largest lender.
State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest lender.