Current Affairs 20th March 2020

1. Tamil Nadu tops in farm credit disbursals

• Loans worth Rs 1,63,289 Cr out of a total of Rs 10,33,183 Cr distributed across India till December 31 this fiscal.
• Andhra Pradesh & UP were 2nd & 3rd in agricultural credit disbursals.
• Kerala, which is not a major agricultural State, came fourth.

2. Govt to mobilise ₹51,000 Cr more via Treasury-Bills to bridge cash flow mismatch

• The Government, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, has decided to mobilise Rs 51,000 crore more through auction of Treasury-Bills (T-Bills)
• During the remaining period of quarter ending March 2020.
• Earlier estimated cost of borrowing via T-Bills- Rs 24,000 Cr.

3. APEDA signs MoU with SFAC

• APEDA = Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority
• SFAC = with Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium
• Signed a MoU  To bring in better synergy in the activities,
• The MoU is aimed at addressing the obstacles faced by FPOs.
• APEDA is under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

4. India conducts Joint Air Exercise with Myanmar

• A Tabletop Exercise between the IAF & the Myanmar Air Force was conducted at Prayagraj on the theme of HADR.
• HADR = High availability disaster recovery
• Objectives (i) Planning of HADR operation in each scenario,
• (ii) Learn best practices & executing mission during HADR disasters.
• 20-member team of IAF participated in the exercise.

5. Defence Manufacturing Hub to be setup in UP

• Honourable Finance Minister in his Budget Speech on 1st February 2018 had announced setting up of two Defence Industrial Corridors in the country.
• In pursuance to the said announcement, it has been decided to develop one such corridor in Uttar Pradesh.
• The investment of Rs. 3700 crores were announced for this.

6. DAC approves procurement of 83 indigenous Tejas fighter aircraft for Indian Air Force

• DAC = Defence Acquisition Council
• The DAC also accorded approval for acquisition of indigenous Defence equipment for about 1,300 crore rupees.
• Chief of Indian Air Force : Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria.

7. India signs agreement with USA for supply of arms

• One contract and two Letters of Offer and Acceptance (LOAs) have been concluded with the US
• For procurement of Helicopters and Self Protection Suite.
• Countries such as US, Russia, France, Germany, Israel, UK are leading exporters of defence equipment.
• The delivery of the helicopters will commence from May 2021.

8. 138 distribution camps have been organised under RVY as on March 2020

• Department of Social Justice & Empowerment launched a scheme namely ‘Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana’ on 1 April 2017
• Objective of the scheme is to provide the senior citizens, living BPL & suffering from any of age-related disability with such assisted living devices.
• The Scheme is implemented through ALIMCO.

9. Pradhan Mantri Fast Track Project: 498 ongoing Railway Projects are at different stages

• Rs 47,841 Cr have been included in 2020-21 Budget.
• Piyush Goyal is the current Union Minister for Railways.

10. Operation Twist: RBI receives Rs 27,096 Cr bids in 5th LTRO

• LTRO = long-term repo operations.
• The fifth LTRO conducted for an amount of Rs 25,000 Cr with a tenure of 3 years.
• Earlier this week, RBI had announced to conduct additional LTROs for up to a total amount of Rs 1 lakh Cr.
• Bid to cover ratio is 1.1.

11. STMicroelectronics, Aligarh University tie up to develop wireless chargers for EV

• EV = Electronic Vehicle
• Both STMicroelectronics and Aligarh Muslim University of UP will bring parts of their home-grown technologies to the projects.
• STMicroelectronics is a French multinational company.

12. Rampaging ATK grab historic third ISL title

• With a 3-1 victory over arch-rival Chennaiyin FC.
• ISL is a football league in India.
• For sponsorship reasons, the competition is officially known as Hero Indian Super League.
• Final held without spectators owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

13. Lok Sabha passes Aircraft (Amendment) Bill to give statutory status to DGCA

• Bill that seeks to convert Directorate General of Civil Aviation & 2 other existing bodies under the Civil Aviation Ministry into statutory bodies was passed by Lok Sabha.
• It also seeks to give statutory status to Bureau of Civil Aviation Security & AAIB.
• AAIB- Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau.

14. Ordnance Factories observe their 219th foundation day

• Ordnance Factories are observing their 219th foundation day on 18th of March.
• The first Ordnance Factory, now known as the Gun and Shell Factory in Kolkata was established on 1801.
• Ordnance Factories are a conglomerate of 41 ordnance factories under OFB.
• Ordnance Factory Board Headquarters- Kolkata.