Top GKToday’s News Headlines-1 April 2020

April 1, 2020

Here are Top GKToday’s News Headlines for 1 April, 2020

ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) launches global painting competition “United against CORONA- Express through Art” open to both Indians and foreigners; submission deadline: May 1, 2020
Tourism Ministry launches portal www.strandedinindia.com for foreign tourists who are stranded in the country in the wake of coronavirus lockdown

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting launches dedicated Twitter handle for sharing news and updates on novel coronavirus
The account is named #IndiaFightsCorona and uses the handle @CovidnewsbyMIB.

Govt. lowers interest rates on various small savings schemes for the first quarter 2020-21
Rate of interest for Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme it has been reduced from 8.4 to 7.6%.
Interest rate for Public Provident Fund reduced from 7.9 to 7.1%
Interest rate for National Savings Certificate 7.9 to 6.8%.
Interest rate for Kisan Vikas Patra reduced from 7.6% to 6.9%.
The KVP will mature in 124 months instead of 113 months earlier.
Rate of interest for the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme reduced to 7.4 from 8.6%
Rate of interest for the monthly income scheme lowered to 6.6% from 7.6%
For five-year recurring deposit, the interest has been reduced from 7.2 to 5.8%.
For five-year time-deposit, it has been brought down from 7.7% to 6.7%
For three-years, two-years and one-year time deposits, the interest rate has been cut from 6.9 to 5.5%
Interest on savings deposit stays unchanged at 4%.

30-share BSE Sensex ends 1,028.17 points or 3.62% higher at 29,468.49
50-share NSE Nifty rose 316.65 points, or 3.82%, to close at 8,597.75
RBI asks private sector and foreign banks to intimate it 6 months in advance in cases of re-appointment of MD & CEO as against the present practice of 4 months
Eight core sector industries record 5.5% growth in February, highest in 11-months
Vehicle documents expired since Feb 1 should be treated as valid till June 30: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Covid-19: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman participates in 2nd Extraordinary G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under the Saudi Arabian Presidency through videoconferencing
UN Security Council unanimously adopts resolution on the safety and security of peacekeepers
East Asia and the Pacific could see up to 11 million people driven into poverty: World Bank warns in its report titled “East Asia and Pacific in the Time of Covid-19”