Daily Current Affairs, 09th March 2020

1) Moody’s cuts G-20 growth outlook to 2.1%

•Moody’s Investors Service stated that G-20 countries are expected to grow by 2.1% in 2020. Moody’s cuts 0.3 percentage points lower than its previous forecast, as the global spread of the coronavirus, is resulting in simultaneous supply and demand shocks. It cautioned that global recession risks have risen.

•The global credit rating agency is expecting these shocks to materially slow economic activity, particularly in the first half of this year (2020). The G-20 grouping includes advanced economies such as the US, Euro area, Japan, Germany, and the UK, and emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, and Mexico.

2) Tamil Nadu tops in Poshan Abhiyan’s participants list

•The Central Government is implementing the flagship programme Poshan Abhiyan for improving the nutritional status of Indian citizens. This programme helps children, adolescents, pregnant women, and lactating mothers by leveraging technology.

•The importance of being given to the programme is evident from the fact that as many as 14 Central Departments and all the State Governments are being involved in the programme. Tamil Nadu tops the list of the states in terms of the number of participants in the programme. The Integrated Child Development Scheme has been in force for long in the southern state that has got rejuvenated with the Centre’s Poshan Abhiyaan mission.

•The programme is revitalizing India by reaching out to the children and mothers across the nation.

3) Former Union Minister Hans Raj Bhardwaj Passes Away

•Former Union Law Minister and Congress veteran Hans Raj Bhardwaj died after a cardiac arrest. Hans Raj Bhardwaj was 83. Hans Raj Bhardwaj was born in Garhi Sampla village in Rohtak district of Haryana. He was a Rajya Sabha member for five terms from April 1982 to June 2009.

•Bhardwaj was the union law minister for 14 years and served under the prime ministership of Rajiv Gandhi, PV Narasimha Rao, and Dr. Manmohan Singh. He was appointed the governor of Karnataka in 2009. It was during Bhardwaj’s tenure as law minister that Bofors-accused Ottavio Quattrocchi was given a clean chit by then UPA government in 2009.