Title Daily Current Affairs Capsule 29th April 2020

Daily CurrentTitle
              Affairs Capsule
             Title 2020
       29th April

International Dance Day: 29 April

International Dance Day is a global celebration of dance, created by the Dance Committee of the International
Theatre Institute (ITI), the main partner for the performing arts of UNESCO.

      The event takes place every year on 29th April, the anniversary of the birth of Jean-Georges Noverre
       (1727–1810), the creator of modern ballet.
      Every year a message from an outstanding choreographer or dancer is circulated throughout the world.
      For 2020 the Executive Council of ITI in alignment with the Dance Committee of ITI and World Dance
       Alliance selected Gregory Vuyani Maqoma, the eminent dancer, choreographer, and dance educator from
       South Africa.

Pakistan's southern Sindh province Governor tests positive for COVID-19

Pakistan's southern Sindh province Governor Imran Ismail, a close aide of Prime Minister Imran Khan, has been
tested positive for COVID-19.

      Mr. Ismail is the highest official in the country to test positive so far. Earlier, Sindh minister for education,
       Saeed Ghani, tested positive but recovered.
      Before he was tested COVID-19 positive, the governor spent 10 very busy days where he met a host of
       people and attended important meetings.

ADB approves USD 1.5 bn loan to India to help fight coronavirus

Asian Development Bank has approved a 1.5 billion dollars loan to India to help fund its fight against the
coronavirus pandemic.

      The loan has been sanctioned with a view to support immediate priorities such as disease containment and
       prevention, as well as social protection for the poor and economically vulnerable sections.
      The quick-disbursing fund is part of a larger package of support that ADB will provide in close
       coordination with the government and other development partners.

Govt allows employees of IT companies to work from home till July 31

Employees of Information Technology (IT) companies can work from home till July 31 as the government has
extended the relaxation of VPN norms till the end of July.

      Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad held a meeting with IT ministers from all states in
       which he communicated the decision.
      Companies were earlier not allowed to connect the office VPN to home infrastructure.
      Other exemptions include the requirement of security deposit and agreement for WFH facility for IT and
       IT-enabled services.

   Whether employees are allowed to work from home or when they will be asked to return to office will be
       at the discretion of the company.

Govt decides to provide Mid-day meals to students during summer vacation in wake of situation arising
out of COVID 19

Government has announced around 11 per cent increase in annual central allocation of cooking cost under Mid-
day meal scheme to 8 thousand 100 crore rupees in view of the situation arising out of COVID-19.

      The annual central allocation of cooking cost for procurement of pulses, vegetable, oil, spices and fuel
       under Mid Day Meal Scheme was 7 thousand 300 crore rupees.
      Considering the health of the students, during the lockdown, ration is being provided under mid-day meal
       for the children to get adequate and nutritious food.
      The scheme covers more than 12 crore children studying in over 11 lakh schools across the country.
      The Midday Meal Scheme comes under the HRD Ministry’s Department of School Education and
       Literacy.
      It was launched in the year 1995 as a centrally sponsored scheme.

Portal of Kedarnath Dham in Uttarakhand opened

The portal of the central Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath Dham in Uttarakhand opened after the winter break.

      The portals were thrown open amid chanting of Vedic Mantras and performance of necessary rituals.
      Chardham Yatra is suspended due to nationwide lockdown following the Covid 19 pandemic.

   Kedarnath Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
      Located on the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river, Kedarnath is located in the state of
       Uttarakhand.
      Due to extreme weather conditions, the temple is open to the general public only between the months of
       April and November.

NLC India commences coal production at Talabira-II & III Opencast Coal Mine

NLC India has commenced coal production at its Talabira-II and III Opencast Coal Mine in Odisha.

      Tamil Nadu-based Navaratna company said its production marked the entry of NLC India into the coal
       mining sector in the state.
      The Talabira II and III coal mines were allotted to this Navratna firm in 2016 to meet the requirement of
       its existing and future coal-fired power plants.
      The company had said that the production of 20 million tonnes of coal per annum from these two coal
       blocks would fuel its 4,200 MW thermal power projects in that state.

Numaligarh Refinery Ltd begins operations with precautions

In Assam, the Numaligarh Refinery Limited, NRL has started economic activities with all proper precautions.

      The projects worth 2 thousand crore rupees have started in the state.
      2 thousand people are working at Guwahati and Numaligarh offices of the NRL.
      NRL initially adopted the work from home method during lock down period.

MP CM launches 'Jeevan Amrit Yojana' scheme to boost immunity system of citizens

In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched Jeevan Amrit Yojana, a unique scheme to
boost the immunity system of citizens of the state.

      Under this scheme, the State Government will distribute a packet of special Trikatu Churna prepared by
       the AYUSH Department free of cost to the citizens.
      In this time of Corona crisis it is necessary that every person has good immunity power, so that this virus
       does not affect us.
      Under Jeevan Amrit yojna, packets of 50 grams each of the kadha have been prepared by Madhya Pradesh
       Laghu Vanopaj Sangh in collaboration with the Department of AYUSH.
      This kadha made of peepal, ginger and black pepper is being distributed free of cost to one crore people
       in rural and urban areas of the state.

Andhra Pradesh CM launches 'Jagananna Vidya Deevena' Scheme

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y. S.Jaganmohan Reddy has launched the 'Jagananna Vidya Deevena' Scheme
at Tedepalli, in Guntur District in AP.

      Under this scheme over Rs 4 Thousand Crores of funds have been released along with Rs 1880 crore
       towards the pending amount left by the earlier government.
      Under this scheme, fee reimbursement will be credited directly to mothers’ accounts instead of college
       accounts in the coming academic year 2020-21.
      An amount of INR 15,000 To INR 20,000 will be offered for the eligible candidates through the Jagananna
       Vidya Deevena Scheme.
      Orders have been issued to the colleges to reimburse the entire fee amount paid by all the parents during
       the year 2018-19 and 2019-20.

Justice Dipankar Datta takes oath as new Chief Justice of Bombay High Court

Justice Dipankar Datta took oath as the new Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. Maharashtra Governor
Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath of office to him at Raj Bhavan.

      In view of the coronavirus pandemic, a limited number of guests including Chief Minister Uddhav
       Thackeray and a few judges of the high court attended the ceremony.
      Datta succeeds Justice Bhushan Dhamadhikari who retired as chief justice.

Renowned actor Irrfan Khan passes away in Mumbai hospital

Renowned actor Irrfan Khan passed away in a Mumbai hospital, losing his battle with a rare form of cancer.

      The Maqbool actor, who was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour in 2018, lost his mother in Jaipur
       just four days ago.
      Irfan Khan made his Bollywood debut with Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay in 1988.
      Later, he did many films but was noticed with films like Maqbool, Life In A Metro, Paan Singh Tomar
       and Piku.
      He has also been associated with many international films like Slumdog Millionaire, A Mighty Heart,
       Jurassic World and The Amazing Spider-Man.
      His best though is Ang Lee's Life Of Pi which was a huge commercial success.