Current Affairs - March 7, 2020 Current Affairs

World champion shuttler PV Sindhu was on March 5 named Sportsperson of the Year at the fourth Times of India Sports Awards (TOISA) 2019 in New Delhi. Rio Olympic silver medalist Sindhu, who won the world championship gold at Basel, Switzerland, last year also bagged the Unbreakable Spirit of Sports award.

Former SBI's chief financial officer, Prashant Kumar has been appointed as the new administrator of Yes Bank after a moratorium has been imposed by the RBI on the bank and withdrawal limit to its customers has been capped at Rs 50,000. Kumar's appointment as Yes Bank's administrator has been made by RBI.

Javier Perez de Cuellar, the two-term United Nations secretary-general who brokered a historic cease-fire between Iran and Iraq in 1988 and who in later life came out of retirement to help re-establish democracy in his Peruvian homeland, died on March 4. He was 100.

The 4th Edition of the Women Transforming India Awards (WTI) is to be awarded on 8 March 2020, the International Women's Day. The award ceremony is organized by NITI Aayog's Women Entrepreneurship Platform. The Women Transforming India Awards 2019 will be conferred by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on March 5 approved the installation in the state of statues of Hindu deity Parshuram, iconic king Maharaja Agrasen, legendary Sikh warrior Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, freedom fighter Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna and Father of the Indian Constitution Dr. B R Ambedkar. The decision has been taken to promote the nation's and the state's rich historical legacy.

Mr. Daren Tang, 47, on March 4 received the nomination to become the next director-general of the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo), which shapes global rules for intellectual property and oversees patents.

The RBI's supervisory and regulatory powers came under criticism after IL&FS, one of the largest NBFCs went belly up in September 2018. RBI Deputy Governor N S Vishwanathan has decided to step down by March 31 due to ill health, three months before the end of his extended one-year tenure.

Union Minister of Women & Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani released a book, titled "Chronicles of Change Champions" at an event held in New Delhi on 5 March.The book is a compilation of 25 innovative initiatives taken at the State and District levels under the Prime Minister's flagship scheme of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is making available about $50 billion through its rapid-disbursing emergency financing facilities for low income and emerging market countries that could potentially seek support to combat the spread of coronavirus.Of this, 10 billion dollars is available at zero interest for the poorest members through the rapid credit facility.

The former Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Secretary Bimal Julka was sworn in as the next Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) on 5 March. The oath of office was administered by President Ram Nath Kovind. Bimal Julka was chosen by a high-level selection panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and freedom fighter Amrit Kaur have been named by the TIME magazine among world's 100 powerful women who defined the last century in a new project that "spotlights influential women who were often overshadowed." TIME named Kaur as 'Women of the Year' for 1947 and Gandhi for 1976 in special covers recreated by the publication.

The Maharashtra Government on March 5 renamed the Aurangabad Airport as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Airport. The airport has been renamed after Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Kobita Utsav, a poetry festival, is being held in Kolkata on 5 March. The festival aims to encourage the reading of Bengali poems among the younger generation. It will be held from 5-8 March. The festival was inaugurated by Eminent painter Jogen Choudhury.

Institute of Technology, Madras, has claimed to have developed an AI-powered drone to counter 'rogue drones' (unregulated unmanned aerial vehicles) ensuring safety at vital locations. The drones can hack into the GPS navigation system of the 'rogue drones' forcing it to change its flight path or make a safe landing.

India is the 15th most-affected economies due to the coronavirus epidemic and slowdown in production in China, with a trade impact of 348 million dollars. Any disruption of China's output is expected to have repercussions elsewhere through regional and global value chains," UNCTAD said.

The Board of Trustees of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on March 5 fixed the interest rate on PF deposits for 2019-20 at 8.5%, a seven-year low. Over six crore subscribers will be impacted by the move, which would enable the retirement fund body to have a surplus of over Rs 700 crore.

"International Conference on Nano Science and Technology" (ICONSAT) is being held from 5-7 March at Kolkata. It was organized by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) Nano Mission that functions under the Ministry of Science and Technology.The conference aims to provide a potential platform for young researchers and students from within the country and abroad.

The number of corona virus cases in India rose to 29, including 16 Italians touring through Rajasthan. The trade impact of the coronavirus epidemic for India is estimated to be about $348 million. The country now figures among top 15 economies most affected by the manufacturing slowdown in China, says a UN report.

Markets regulator SEBI on March 5 said it has launched a mobile application for convenience of investors to lodge grievances in SEBI Complaints Redress System (SCORES). The app, 'SEBI SCORES', is available on both iOS and Android platforms.

Denys Shmygal (born 15 October 1975) is a Ukrainian entrepreneur and politician. On 4 March 2020, he was appointed as the Prime Minister of Ukraine. From 1 August 2019 until his ministerial appointment Shmygal was the Governor of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.