1. 38th district to be formed in Tamil Nadu
- A new district is going to be formed after bifurcating the Nagappattinam district.
- The new district will be headquartered at Mayiladuthurai.
- CM Edappadi Palaniswamy made the announcement saying, it would be the 38th district in the state.
- Its main water source comes from the Kollidam River.
2. First ‘Made in India’ COVID19 Test Kit to diagnose COVID-19 gets the commercial approval
- It would cost 1/4th of the current procurement cost and is faster as it screens
- It detects the infection within 2.5 hours as compared with over 7 hours by others.
- CDSCO = Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation.
3. WHO begins mega trial of 4 promising drugs to cure Covid-19
- The mega trial is called Solidarity, under which the study, testing & development of antidote against coronavirus will be made.
- Drugs are : Remdesivir, HIV drug, interferon-beta & malaria medicine.
4. In Mumbai, Reliance Industries sets up India’s first Covid-19 dedicated hospital
- Reliance Industries in collaboration with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has set up India’s first COVID-19 dedicated hospital in Mumbai
- That includes a negative pressure room that helps in preventing cross-contamination and helps control infection.
- It is a 100-bedded hospital.
5. Censured Indian plant gets USFDA nod to supply Trump-touted coronavirus drug
- Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine were 1st approved in the U.S. decades ago.
- Ipca: International pharmaceutical company based in Mumbai.
6. Tamil Nadu CM announces new EV and data centre parks
- TN CM : Edappadi K Palaniswami
- Tamil Nadu CM said that, to attract new investments into the state, an EV park will be set up at Manalur SIPCOT Industrial Estate near Chennai
- At an expected cost of Rs 148 Cr. A NABARD-assisted Rs 2,934 Cr plan is also announced.
- This fund will create modern infrastructure in the parks.
7. Uddhav Thackeray launches WhatsApp chatbox for coronavirus-related info
- Uddhav Thackeray = CM of Maharasthra
- He announced the creation of a WhatsApp chatbox-912026127394
- To enable citizens to get coronavirus related information.
- Maharashtra has reported the highest number of COVID- 19 cases (107) among states so far.
- Maharshtra Governor- Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
8. Reserve Bank’s US treasury holdings touch an all-time high at $164.3 bn
- The holdings rose by more than $2 billion between December 2019 and January 2020.
- RBI follows Safety, Liquidity & Return (SLR) principle.
9. Indian rupee to average at 77 per US dollar in 2020, 80 in 2021: Fitch Solutions
- It forecasted GDP growth of 5.8% in the following FY.
10. Threshold for default under IBC norms raised from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore
- The government may consider suspending section 7, 9 and 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code for 6 months.
- If the present situation doesn’t improve beyond April 30.
11. Cognizant acquires US-based digital marketing firm
- Cognizant Technology Solutions has entered into an agreement to acquire Lev.
- Lev helps businesses simplify & modernise their marketing campaigns using Salesforce Marketing Cloud
- Lev helps to provide data-driven insight & personalisation across the customer journey.
- Lev is a privately held, digital marketing consultancy in US.
12. HUL to acquire VWash from Glenmark Pharmaceuticals
- Hindustan Unilever signed an agreement with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd to acquire its intimate hygiene brand VWash.
- With this acquisition, HUL will be foraying into the niche intimate hygiene category.
- HUL will be buying only the brand and the business.
- Chairman & Managing Director of HUL : Sanjiv Mehta.
13. Adani Transmission buys back NCDs worth Rs 125 Cr
- Adani Transmission Ltd said that it has bought back non-convertible debentures (NCDs) worth Rs 125 Cr.
- Adani Transmission- an Adani group company- is the country’s largest private transmission firm with a cumulative network of more than 14,800 circuit km.
- Moody’s assigned Baa2 to Adani’s $400 mn senior secured bonds.
14. IMF: Recession due to COVID-19 to be worse than 2009
- World economy is facing severe economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic.
- That could be even more costly than in 2009
- It will require an unprecedented response, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said.
- IMF is ready to deploy all $1 trillion lending capacity.
- Global economy contracted by 0.6% in 2009 due to 2008 crisis.
15. New Hanta Virus Emerges in China after COVID-19
- Hanta Virus are similar to that of COVID-19.
- The Hanta Virus, also called the Orthohanta virus spreads through rats.
- It causes haemorrhagic fever.
- Hanta also causes renal syndrome.
16. Covid-19: Govt directs states to transfer cash to construction workers
- In a first major step for the unorganised sector to tide over the COVID-19 during lockdown period.
- The central government directed states to transfer cash into the bank accounts of construction workers from the unutilised welfare funds earmarked for them.
- Labour Ministry directed the states to transfer Rs 52,000 Cr.
17. Tokyo Olympic torch relay cancelled following postponement of games
- The Japan leg of the Tokyo Olympic torch relay has been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak,
- The move comes after PM Shinzo Abe & International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach agreed to postpone the games by roughly 1 year.
- Yoshiro Mori : President of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.
18. On lending by banks to NBFCs, HFCs to be part of priority sector in FY21: RBI
- RBI said bank credit to registered NBFCs towards agriculture, MSEs & housing sector up to prescribed limits will be treated as priority sector loans during the next FY starting April.
- The move will help boost credit disbursement in the targeted segments.
- PSL for bank loans to NBFCs for on-lending for 2020-21 extended.
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