1) Mansukh Mandaviya launches ’Ropax’ ferry service in Maharashtra
•Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya was launched ‘Ropax’ passenger ferry service between Mumbai and Mandwa, Maharashtra. The vessel, built in Greece, can carry 200 cars and 1,000 passengers and is capable of plying even during monsoon. The road distance between Mumbai and Mandwa is 110 kilometres. It can reach speeds of 14 knots and will complete the 18-kilometre sea journey in 45 minutes to one hour.
2) Top tech giants to jointly fight against COVID-19 misinformation
•The top tech giants of the world will jointly fight against the fake news and misinformation related to COVID-19 on their platforms. The top giants which have announced a fight against the fake news includes Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter and YouTube. These companies are working closely to have a check on the fake news and misinformation related to COVID-19.
•These companies are jointly combating fraud and misinformation about the virus as well as elevating authoritative content on their platforms. They are also focusing on sharing the critical updates in coordination with government healthcare agencies around the world.
•Among the above tech giants, Facebook and Instagram have already started banning the ads and commerce listings selling medical face masks on their platforms to stop people from exploiting the emergency caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
3) Philippines becomes 1st country to suspend all financial markets
•The Phillipines has become the first country of the world to suspend all financial markets. The financial shutdown was confirmed from the statements from the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Bankers Association of the Philippines. The Philippine Stock Exchange was closed on 17th of March indefinitely, while currency and bond trading were suspended. The decision to suspend the financial markets was taken in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Phillipines authorities cited risks to the safety of traders as the key reason of shutdown.
•The decision to suspend the financial markets is expected to be followed by other exchanges amid a broad lockdown in the Philippines.
4) Oil India signs COSA agreement with Numaligarh Refinery
•India’s second-largest national oil explorer, Oil India Limited (OIL) has inked the Crude Oil Sales Agreement (COSA) with Numaligarh Refinery. The agreement has been signed by the two entities for sale and purchase of crude oil. The COSA agreement is expected to streamline sale and purchase transactions of crude oil which will be produced from fields in the North East India. The COSA agreement will be effective for a term of five years, i.e. from 1 April, 2020 to 31 March 2025.
5) Hirdesh Kumar becomes new Chief Electoral Officer of J&K
•The Election Commission of India (ECI) has been appointed Hirdesh Kumar as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory. He will replace Shailendra Kumar with effect from the date he assumes charge. Hridesh Kumar is a 1999 batch IAS officer & presently serving as Commissioner Secretary in the School Education Department of J&K.
6) CRPF & Aditya Mehta foundation sign MoU to enable the ‘Divyang Warriors’
•The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) inked a deal with a disability support NGO Aditya Mehta Foundation, to train its troops, who lost their limbs in operations, in various skills including cyber operations, artificial intelligence and para-sports.
•A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was formalised between the force and the Aditya Mehta Foundation here in presence of CRPF Director General (DG) A P Maheshwari. The MoU is aimed to create new opportunities for such personnel who remain an integral part of the force.
•A total of 189 CRPF personnel can be trained in varied skills like acquiring working knowledge of the cyberspace, artificial intelligence, para-sports and many other such areas. The DG also honoured five such specially-abled personnel of the force with DG’s commendation disc and certificates for bringing laurels in the field of para-sports.
7) An Extraordinary Life: A biography of Manohar Parrikar
•“An Extraordinary Life: A biography of Manohar Parrikar” is a book on the life of the former defence minister and Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar. The book is co-authored by veteran journalists Sadguru Patil and Mayabhushan Nagvenkar. The book titled “An Extraordinary Life: A biography of Manohar Parrikar” will be published by publishing house Penguin Random House India.
•Manohar Parrikar served as the Defence Minister of India from 2014 to 2017 and also served four times as the Chief Minister of Goa.
8) Flipkart ties up with Aegon to sell life insurance policies
•Indian E-commerce company Flipkart has tied up with Aegon Life Insurance to sell comprehensive insurance solutions for customers. The tie up targets those customers who are seeking instant digital policies with a sum assured of up to Rs 10 lakh. These life insurance policies do not need medical tests or paperwork as it is an instant life insurance cover, with digital policy as its core value proposition.
•The tie-up aims to change the notion of customers regarding life insurance policies as customers think that it is expensive and cumbersome to buy including long and rigid tenures and mis-selling. The tie-up will give a new vision to this by making life insurance available to customers at the click of a button in a convenient and transparent manner.
About the policy:
•The life insurance policies to be offered will be having varied offerings with sums assured ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. It will also include premiums starting from Rs 129 for Rs 1 lakh sum insured. The availability of the policy is confined to the existing customers of Flipkart between the age of 18 and 65 years.
9) Arfa Sherwani & Rohini Mohan conferred with Chameli Devi Jain Award
•Arfa Khanum Sherwani of “The Wire” and Bengaluru-based freelancer Rohini Mohan have been jointly awarded Chameli Devi Jain Award for outstanding woman journalist. Sherwani was chosen for her reporting from conflict situations in Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh and Mohan’s reportage on the NRC exercise in Assam set a new benchmark for investigative journalism. The jury comprised political scientist Zoya Hasan, journalists Sreenivasan Jain & Manoj Mitta.
•The award is an Indian journalistic award which was instituted by the Media Foundation in 1980, named after Chameli Devi Jain, a legendary freedom fighter, community reformer who went to prison during India’s freedom struggle. The annual award recognises social concern, dedication, courage and compassion all over India from the print, broadcast and online media category.
