Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2020

Notes:
After several passengers and crew members were diagnosed with the coronavirus infection, the Diamond Princess cruise ship has been quarantined in the Port of Yokohama, Japan.
Recently, a special Air India flight departed to Tokyo and brought back 119 Indian nationals (113 crew members and 6 passengers) who were on-board the Diamond Princess Cruise ship. It also evacuated 5 foreign nationals, who are all quarantined at the facility of Indian Army at Haryana.

Notes:
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has recently achieved the milestone of two crore customers. IPPB was launched by the Indian Prime Minister on September 1, 2018, with the main objective of financial inclusion.
In September 2019, the payments bank launched the Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AePS) services. And then, it has become the single largest platform in the country to provide interoperable banking services to the customers of any bank.

Notes:
The state of Punjab has recently announced during the state budget that it has reduced the retirement age of government employees to 58 years from the current limit of 60 years.
This step is expected to boost jobs in the state. The Finance Minister of the state also announced the state government will provide free education in government schools to all students up to Class 12.

Notes:
11 Renewable Energy Management Centres (REMCs) were inaugurated by the Union Power Minister R K Singh, for renewable energy integration. He also inaugurated the Northern Region Renewable Energy Management Centre (NR-REMC).
The government had approved the implementation of the Renewable Energy Management Centres -REMCs as a central scheme. Maharatna CPSE under the Ministry of Power, PowerGrid was named as the implementing agency.

Notes:
Rare Disease Day is observed across the world on the last day of February each year. This year it is observed on February 29, 2020.
The main objective of Rare Disease Day is to raise awareness among the general public and decision-makers about rare diseases and their impact on the lives of patients. It is estimated that more than 300 million people are living with rare diseases.

Notes:
Purvodaya is a scheme to develop the steel sector in eastern India by creating an integrated steel hub in the eastern region.
Recently Union Minister of Steel Dharmendra Pradhan attended the workshop on “Enabling Procedures for Increase of Steel Usage for the Growth of Economy” at Bhubaneswar in partnership with Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Government of Japan. He announced that Japan is the Partner country to make Odisha an important centre of Purvodaya scheme.

Notes:
Major General Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar is the first woman paediatrician to be elevated to the highest rank of Lieutenant General for Indian Army Doctors.
She is the former Dean of Armed Forces Medical College Pune and has been promoted to the second-highest rank of Lt. General in the Indian Army. She is also the only doctor on the Prime Minister’s STIAC (S&T) Innovation Advisory Committee.

Notes:
The Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar recently inaugurated the 11th National Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Conference -2020 in New Delhi.
The first KVK was established in 1974 at Puducherry under the administrative control of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore on a pilot basis. At present there are more than 700 KVKs across the country.

Notes:
The Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar recently launched the mobile application named ‘Humsafar’. The app is launched with an objective of delivering fuel at the door-steps of Housing societies, hotels and hospitals in the National capital region.
The app will ensure the delivery of fuel to other bulk buyers of diesel in various NCR cities. This step would curb the unsafe practices of transporting fuel in the city.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal was presented the prestigious ‘Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee award 2020 for Politics’ during the 6th India Ideas Conclave in Gujarat.
The award was instituted by India Foundation and this year it was presented to Assam’s Chief Minister by Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Speaker of People’s Majlis of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed.