Daily Current Affairs : 4th March 2020

Exp. Pune will host the 108th Indian Science Congress in January 2021, the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) has announced. This will be the fourth time that the city will host the prestigious meet in the last 100 years. The event, set to be held at Symbiosis International University’s Lavale campus between January 3 and 7 next year, will be themed on ‘Science and Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment’ and focus on economic growth, environmental protection and social inclusion of all communities using science and technology.

Exp. The Centre on 1st March declared the National Chambal Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, home to gangetic dolphins and 75 per cent population of critically endangered species gharial, as eco-sensitive zone (ESZ).

Exp. The Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, in association with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry- FICCI is organising India Pharma 2020 & India Medical Device 2020 Conference & Exhibition at Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat from March 5-7, 2020.Theme of the event is “India Pharma: Meeting Challenges of Affordable and Quality Healthcare and India Medical Device: Promoting Affordable responsible and Quality Medical Device for Universal Health Care”

Exp. 68th All India Police Athletic Championship-2019 began at Bhanu in Panchkula District of Haryana on 3rd March. Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju declared the meet open at Basic Training Centre of ITBP.

Exp. The World Bank on 3rd March announced an initial $12 billion in immediate funds to assist countries grappling with the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus outbreak that has spread quickly from China to over 60 countries.

Exp. Online food ordering and delivery app Zomato, on 2nd March, announced the launch of a co-branded credit card along with RBL, and Master Card, that will help the online food delivery platform further cement its position in India’s dining market by offering benefits such as Zomato credits on purchases, and increase the reach of its flagship membership program Zomato Gold.

Exp. Paytm Insurance Broking (PIBPL), a subsidiary of Paytm, has got a brokerage licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to sell life and non-life insurance products. It will offer insurance products across four categories: two-wheeler, four-wheeler, health and life.

Exp. Additional Secretary at the Department of Commerce Sudhanshu Pandey has assumed additional charge as Chairman and Managing Director of MMTC Ltd, India’s largest trading company.

Exp. President Ram Nath Kovind on 4th March conferred 61st annual Lalit Kala Akademi’s awards on 15 artistes at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The awardees include Anoop Kumar Manzukhi Gopi from Kerala, David Malakar from West Bengal, Hari Ram Kumbhawat from Rajasthan, Devendra Kumar Khare from Gujarat, Dinesh Pandya from Maharashtra, Mohan Kumar from Karnataka and Yashwant Singh from Delhi.

Exp. National Safety Day/Safety Week Campaign focuses on the importance of reduction of the rate of industrial accidents and also focuses on the areas that have not yet been covered by any safety legislation. The campaign urges several organizations to participate in developing several activities as per their legal safety requirements. The campaign is mostly comprehensive, general and flexible.

Exp. Dr Shweta Rawat from Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), DRDO, Timarpur, Delhi has developed a female-specific Full Body Protector (प्रबला) to safeguard the Female troops deployed in riot control actions. Dr. Shalini Gupta, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi successfully led the development of a technology SeptifloTM, which offers fast and affordable assay for point-of-care diagnosis and treatment of bacterial septicemia, one of the biggest in-hospital killers worldwide.