March 2020 Current Affairs for SSB Interview - The Hindu

March 2020 Current Affairs - The Hindu review :

Latest Current Affairs 2020 for competitive exams UPSC, AFCAT, TNPSC, IAS, RRB and Latest Affairs 2020 for banking exams IBPS PO Clerk, SBI, RBI and more. Read daily affairs, this beneficial Affairs 2020 resource yields the facts about the events of International affairs, National, Sports, Business, Banking Current Affairs of 2020 and more which are betterment for the Government & Private Job aspirants.

March 2020 current affairs

National Current Affairs 2020 :

·         The celebration of festival “Chapchar Kut”, the biggest and the most joyful spring festival of Mizos has commenced in the state of Mizoram.

·         ‘Namaste Orchha’ festival begins in Orchha, a town in Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh.

·         The state government of Uttarakhand has announced that “Gairsain” will be the summer capital of Uttarakhand.

·         Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated and laid foundation stones for 23 development projects worth Rs 2,821 crore at Gautam Buddh Nagar in Noida.

·         The Arunachal Pradesh Assembly went paperless with the implementation of e-Vidhan, a project under the Digital India programme.

·         Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has launched “Suposhit Maa Abhiyan” in his constituency Kota, Rajasthan. It aims to provide nutritional support to pregnant women and adolescent girls.

·         Chilli Festival begins at Kasrawad in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh.

·         Antar Rashtriya Yog Mahotsav has been inaugurated in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

·         The government of India has declared the National Chambal Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh as an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ).

·         Chief Secretary of Punjab, Karan Avtar Singh has launched a mobile application, COVA Punjab. COVA stands for Corona Virus Alert. This app has been developed by the Department of Government Reforms and Public Grievances in consultation with the Health and Family Welfare Department to spread awareness by sharing various travel and preventive care advisories.

·         An exclusive department for Self Help Group (SHGs) called “Mission Shakti” will be openend in Odisha. With this, Odisha will become the first state to have such kind of department. It aims for the development of women & is dedicated to all the women of Odisha.

·         University of Ranchi has launched its own Community Radio Station named as RADIO KHANCHI 90.4 FM Aap Sabka Radio. The radio was launched on the occassion of International Women’s Day and would provide help to university students which is spread over a campus of more than 15 kms.

·         The traditional ‘Fagli’ festival was celebrated in Yangpa village of Kinnaur district, Himachal Pradesh to observe the “victory of good over evil”.

·         The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched ‘NIGHA’ app to ensure ‘clean and healthy’ elections. This would be done by curbing the use of money and alcohol in the upcoming local body elections.

·         Kamal Nath has resigned as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

·         The Kerala government has launched a mass handwashing campaign named ‘break the chain’ to combat coronavirus.

·         Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya has launched ‘Ropax’ passenger ferry service between Mumbai and Mandwa, Maharashtra.

·         The traditional harvest festival “Phool Dei” which is celebrated on the first day of Chaitra or in mid-March (according to Gregorian calendar), was celebrated in Uttarakhand.

·         Uttarakhand government has abolished reservation in promotion in the state government jobs.

·         The state government of Punjab has imposed a curfew across the state with no relaxations. The Punjab government has took this decision to stop the spread of coronavirus. With this, Punjab has become the first state in India to impose a curfew across the state.

·         Shivraj Singh Chouhan was sworn in as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. He took oath for the fourth time as Chief Minister. He was sworn in by Governor Lalji Tandon at Raj Bhawan in Bhopal.

·         The Gujarat Police is now equipped with taser guns as a part of their modernization drive to ensure public safety and security. By introducing the taser guns as part of police weapons, Gujarat becomes the first state in India.

·         Telugu New Year day ‘Ugadi’ being celebrated today. The festival is being celebrated across the two Telugu states, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to mark the beginning of the Hindu Lunar calendar.

·         Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched Mo Jeeban programme in Odisha. The “Mo Jeeban” programme was launched for the containment of COVID-19 pandemic.

·         India’s cleanest city, Indore has deployed drones to sanitize city areas against the coronavirus scare. Indore becomes the 1st city in India to use drones to sanitize the city. The Indore Municipal Corporation has hired two drones for that purpose.

·         Odisha government has planned to set up two of the largest Covid-19 hospitals which will have a combined capacity of 1,000 beds and will be functional within a fortnight. With this, Odisha will be the first state in the country to set up such a large-scale hospital exclusively to treat Covid-19 patients.

·         The Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Government Hospital in Jaipur is conducting the series of trials on a humanoid robot to provide services to the COVID-19 patients. It is aimed to keep the doctors and nursing staff at a safe distance to protect them against the dreaded coronavirus. It has been designed with a tray that can be used for carrying medicines, food and other objects to the assigned patients.

·         Goa becomes the first Indian state to launch a self-assessment tool for COVID-19. The self-assessment tool called Test Yourself Goa. This tool helps people identify if they are infected by the virus without visiting a doctor or hospital. The Goa government has partnered with Innovaccer, a US-based healthcare data analytics company that developed the self-assessment platform.

·         Andhra Pradesh State government has set up “Mobile Hand-wash facilities” for the benefit of Slum Dwellers amidst lockdown in the state.

·         Rajasthan police have launched a mobile app “RajCop citizens app” to enable individuals and company employees in the state take permission for venturing out in necessary conditions.

·         Jharkhand Government has launched a mobile app PRAGYAAM to issue e-passes. The app was launched by the State Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

·         Road Transport and Highways Ministry will replace all level crossings on National Highways by Road Over Bridges or Road Under Bridges under the Setu Bharatam scheme.

·         Health Ministry organized the national level Training Workshop on COVID-19 Management for all the states and hospitals in New Delhi.

·         The National Water Mission organized the inaugural session of the workshop on “Increasing Water Use Efficiency in Industries” in New Delhi.

·         India Trade Promotion Organisation has organized the 35th edition of AAHAR – the Food and Hospitality fair began in New Delhi.

·         The National Security Guard (NSG) Regional Hub campus was inaugurated at Kolkata, West Bengal to provide adequate facilities to the brave NSG jawans.

·         The mobile application named ‘Fuel Humsafar’ has been launched for delivery of diesel at doorsteps of Housing societies, hotels and hospitals in the national capital region.

·         The multilingual version of “Incredible India” website and mobile app has been launched in three new languages i.e. Chinese, Arabic and Spanish.

·         National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation (NHFDC) has organised “EKAM Fest” in New Delhi to promote Craftsmanship & Products of Divyang Artisans and Entrepreneurs.

·         The ‘Pension Adalat’ and National Pension System (NPS) Awareness and Grievance Redressal Programme have been inaugurated in Jammu.

·         India has bagged a deal of worth 40 million USD, to supply 4 indigenously built radars (capable of locating weapons) to Armenia in Europe.

·         Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has stated that Sanitary napkin makers will be asked to supply a biodegradable bag with each napkin from January 2021.

·         Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani has inaugurated the “National Conference on Women in Police and CAPFs (Central Armed Police Forces)”.

·         Government of Indian is planning to have at least one Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya JanAushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) Kendra in each block of India. The above plans are to be executed successfully by the end of year 2020. The above announcement was made during the ‘Jan Aushadhi Diwas’ celebrations held in Kathua, Jammu & Kashmir.

·         The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) celebrated its 35th Inception Day on 12th March 2020. On the occasion of inception day of NCRB, Union Minister of State for Home Shri Nityanand Rai launched Crime Multi Agency Centre (Cri-MAC) and National Cybercrime Training Centre (NCTC).

·         Indian mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya has successfully scaled Mount Kosciuszko (2,228-metres), the highest mountain peak in Australia on the occasion of Holi.

·         The Department of Posts, Kolkata (West Bengal circle), has launched free digital parcel locker service in 2 post offices Nabadiganta IT post office of Salt Lake City & post office in New Town’s Action Area.

·         The government of India has declared face masks and hand sanitizers as essential commodities for the next 100 days. Both masks (2ply & 3 ply surgical masks, N95 masks) and hand sanitisers have been brought under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

·         The Ggovernment of India has approved the proposal of setting up of National Technical Textiles Mission for a period of 4 years from 2020-21 to 2023-24, with an outlay of Rs. 1480 crores.

·         Four convicts in Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar and Mukesh Kumar were hanged to death at Tihar jail in Delhi.

·         Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi took oath as a nominated member of Rajya Sabha.

·         Indian Navy has established a Quarantine Camp at INS Vishwakarma in Eastern Naval Command (ENC) for Indian nationals being evacuated from COVID-19 affected countries.

·         The Supreme court of India bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud has cleared permanent commission for women officers in the Indian Navy.

·         Innovate for Accessible India campaign has been launched jointly by Microsoft India and NASSCOM Foundation to empower people with disabilities.

·         Government of India pledged $10 million toward a Covid-19 emergency fund.

·         The Union Cabinet has approved a 4% hike in dearness allowance (DA) for central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from January 1, 2020. This is over the existing rate of 17 per cent of the Basic Pay/Pension.

·         India celebrates “Shaheed Diwas” annually on 23 March to pay tribute to martyrs Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru. This day has a very important significance in the Indian freedom struggle.

·         The Union Cabinet has approved Production Incentive Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing. Government will invest Rs 20 lakh crore in this sector to provide employment to 25 lakh people in next 5 years. It has also approved financial assistance to the Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters Scheme (EMC2.0) for development of world class infrastructure through Electronics Manufacturing Clusters.

·         The United Kingdom has been confirmed as the first co-chair of the Governing Council of Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

·         “Mylab PathoDetect COVID-19 Qualitative PCR kit” has become the first ‘Made in India’ COVID19 Test Kit to get the CDSCO approval. Mylab Discovery Solutions Pvt Ltd is a Pune-based molecular diagnostics company which has developed the first made-in-India diagnostic test kit for COVID-19.

·         India’s biggest oil firm, Indian Oil Corporation Limited has started supplying BS-VI fuel across India. With this, Indian Oil Corporation Limited has become 1st company to begin supply of BS-VI fuel across its 28,000 petrol pumps.

·         The Election Commission of India has deferred the Rajya Sabha elections amid rising risk of rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic. Elections to 18 seats of Rajya Sabha were scheduled to be held on 26 March 2020.

·         Indian Institute of Technology Madras is organising India’s first Global Hyperloop Pod Competition named as ‘Indian Hyperloop Pod Competition’ to increase awareness and enthusiasm about Hyperloop in India.

·         Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the extension of statutory deadlines related to income tax to 30 June 2020. The Finance Ministry has decided to extend the Income Tax Return (ITR) filing deadline for the Fiscal Year 2019 from 31st March 2020 to 30th June 2020. The deadline for the linking of Aadhaar & Pan was supposed to end on 31st March 2020. This deadline has been extended to 30 June 2020.

·         Election Commission of India has decided to permit usage of indelible ink on persons for stamping for home quarantine by health authorities insight of COVID-19. The Health Ministry may standardise the mark and therefore the location on the body where the mark has got to be applied in the order that it doesn’t are available the way of conducting elections. The authorities shall even be instructed to make sure that the ink shall not be used for the other purpose.

·         Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has designated 285 beds for isolation wards in handling Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.

·         Government of India banned the export of anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine and formulations made up of it within the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.

·         India’s national Investment Promotion & Facilitation Agency, the Invest India has launched “The Invest India Business Immunity Platform“. The Invest India Business Immunity Platform has been launched to assist businesses and investors in getting real-time updates on India’s active response to COVID-19.

·         Department of Science and Technology (DST) has set up a COVID-19 Task Force for mapping of technologies from Research and Development labs, academic institutions, start-ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. The Department of Science & Technology plays a pivotal role in the promotion of science & technology in the country.

·         The Union Ministry for Home Affairs (MHA) has issued the Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) to maintain the supply of essential goods. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) have been issued by the MHA in order to relieve the difficulties faced by people during the 21-day nationwide lockdown to fight against the Coronavirus outbreak.

·         The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has set up a CII COVID Rehabilitation and Relief Fund (CRR) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) to tackle Covid-19. The CII COVID Rehabilitation and Relief Fund (CRR) will assist small enterprises or MSME in rehabilitation. The setting up of Relief Fund is expected to curtail the impact of Coronavirus on the MSME sector.

·         The Government of India’s flagship fitness movement “Fit India” has teamed up with Bollywood actress and fitness icon Shilpa Shetty Kundra. The tie-up will provide free access of the Shilpa Shetty Kundra’s premium 21-Day Weight Loss Programme during the 21-day lockdown owing to Covid-19 pandemic.

·         Jana Small Finance Bank has rolled out a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) QR-based loan installment payment facility along with National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) for its customers. Initially the UPI QR-based loan installment payment facility will be only available to over 40 lakh customers of the Jana Small Finance Bank.

·         The Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IITGN) has launched ‘Project Isaac’ to engage students in creative projects during the COVID-19 lockdown. The project aims to enhance the student’s skills while they are confined in their homes.

·         The Government of India has launched a coronavirus risk-tracking app called ‘Corona Kavach.’ Jointly developed by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

·         All National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) have been readied by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) as quarantine centres to fight the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

International Current Affairs 2020 :

·         Janez Jansa will replace Marjan Sarec as Prime Minister of Slovenia.

·         Luxembourg has become the 1st country in the world to abolish fares for trains, trams and buses.

·         The World Bank has announced 12 billion USD aid to assist countries that are grappling with economic impacts of coronavirus.

·         Indian-American health policy consultant Seema Verma has been appointed as one of the key members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force constituted by US President.

·         The presidency of United Nations Security Council for March 2020 has been taken over by China. The presidency of the council rotates every month among its 15 members.

·         Asian Development Bank provide a USD 4 million (about ₹29 crores) to help developing countries in Asia and Pacific to fight the outbreak of novel coronavirus.

·         Muhyiddin Yassin has become the new Prime Minister of Malaysia. He has been appointed after the resignation of Mahathir Mohamad.

·         Ukraine parliament approved Denys Shmygal as a new prime minister of Ukraine. He is the nominee of Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine.

·         Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani was sworn in for a second term as his rival Abdullah Abdullah held a parallel inauguration that could plunge the country deeper into crisis ahead of peace talks with the Taliban.

·         “COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator” is a new fund which has been launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome and Mastercard. The $125 Million fund has been launched to accelerate technologies to fight against the COVID-19 epidemic and has been designed to identify, assess, develop and scale treatments to the COVID-19 disease outbreak.

·         The High Court of Bangladesh has declared ‘Joy Bangla’ as the national slogan of Bangladesh. The court has directed the authorities to ensure that teachers and students use the slogan after assembly.

·         The World Health Organization has officially declared COVID-19 as a pandemic as it spread freely to more than 100 countries around the world.

·         The Olympic Flame was handed over to Tokyo 2020 organizers after the Greece leg of torch relay suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

·         To ensure sick leave to Americans workers who fall ill from the new coronavirus, US President Donald Trump has signed a $100-billion emergency aid package to strengthen the protective measures against the pandemic caused by COVID-19.

·         Iraqi President Barham Salih has appointed Adnan al-Zurfi as the country’s new prime minister.

·         The United States has started phase one of the clinical Human trial of an investigational vaccine, designed to protect against the coronavirus disease.

·         The Phillipines has become the first country of the world to suspend all financial markets in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

·         Niue has become the world’s first whole country recognised as a ‘Dark Sky Place’ by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA).

·         The world’s largest streaming media service, Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) has announced the formation of $100 million fund. The fund has been created to help workers on film and television productions that have been impacted due to the global coronavirus outbreak.

·         Canada has become the first country in the world to withdraw from Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The decision has been taken in view of the coronavirus pandemic. The Canadian Olympic Committee announced that holding the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as per schedule would threaten the health of its athletes.

·         Indian footballer Sunil Chhetri chosen for FIFA campaign against Covid-19. FIFA and theW orld Health Organization (WHO) have teamed up to combat the coronavirus by launching a new awareness campaign led by world-renowned footballers.

·         The International Monetary Fund has launched a “Tracker of Policies Governments are Taking in Response to COVID-19”. The policy tracker outlines the key economic responses taken by the government of various countries in order to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy tracker has the updated data till March 24, 2020.

·         The United Nations Space Force has launched an Advanced Extremely High-Frequency satellite (AEHF-6) for its military communications. With the launch of the satellite, the United States has begun its first National Security Mission. The Lock Heed Martin AEHF-6 (Advanced Extremely High Frequency) satellite was launched on the Atlas V551 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

·         United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres launched a $2 billion coordinated global humanitarian response plan to fight COVID-19 in 51 countries across South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Defense Current Affairs 2020 :

·         A unit of Indian Army has organized a Self Defence Training demonstration for Women with a theme of “Stronger You Stronger Society” in Nalbari district of Assam.

·         The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has designed a casualty evacuation bag to transport or isolate persons infected with Covid-19. The bag is water and air-proof and treated to deal with biological agents.

·         The Indian Army’s International Seminar “Pragyan Conclave 2020” was held at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi, organised by Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS).

·         High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune has organised the National Workshop on Explosive Detection (NWED-2020) at Pune, Maharashtra.

·         RaIDer-X, an explosive detection device capable of detecting the explosives from a stand-off distance has been jointly developed by IISc, Bangalore and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune.

·         The Ministry of Defence has signed the capital acquisition contract of worth Rs 880 crore with Israel Weapons Industries for the procurement of Negev 7.62 X 51 mm Light Machine Guns.

·         The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the procurement of 83 advanced Mk1A version of indigenous Tejas fighter aircrafts for Indian Air Force.

·         The Defence Acquisition Council has approved the acquisition of indigenous defence equipments worth Rs 1,300 crore.

·         US Marines and UAE Emirati forces conducted the biennial exercise, named Native Fury at Abu Dhabi. The biennial exercise, called Native Fury, shows the close ties between American forces and the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula home to Abu Dhabi.

·         Army Chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane has launched ‘Operation Namaste’ to extend assistance to the govt in containing the spread of coronavirus and insulate the force from the pandemic.