Current Affairs in short : 22 April 2020

Spain's best-known bull running festival in the northern town of Pamplona has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

President Donald Trump said he will suspend all immigration into the United States temporarily through an executive order. He has said his forthcoming executive order barring new immigration will apply only to people seeking green cards, will last 60 days.

Britain's Parliament is preparing for MPs to return to the House of Commons to hold virtual debates and pave the way for a historic hybrid parliamentary setting amid the coronavirus lockdown.

The Lebanese parliament has passed the legislation to legalize the cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial purposes. Earlier, the farming of cannabis was illegal in Lebanon, but now the cannabis farming would be regulated within the country.

India and Nepal to fight COVID-19 Pandemic, Ambassador of India to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra handed over 23 tonnes of medicines to Nepal’s Minister for Health and Population Bhanubhakta Dhakal in Kathmandu.

Iran successfully launched a military satellite and the first satellite of the Islamic Republic of Iran successfully launched into orbit by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, About the Satellite Satellite reached an orbit of 425 kilometers (264 miles) above the  Earth's surface.

Uttar Pradesh government ordered complete sealing of the Delhi-Noida border till further orders as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19 infection in Gautam Budhha Nagar district.

Indian Railways among the organizations started providing 10,000 water bottles per day to Delhi Police personnel out on the streets in the fight against COVID-19.

The Union Health minister urged the use of the e-Raktkosh portal as a single point for maintaining real-time information on the status of stocks of each blood group. e-Raktkosh portal is a Centralized Blood Bank Management System.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the “CovidIndiaSeva”,  an interactive platform to establish a direct channel of communication during the covid-19 pandemic.

Every year, April 22 is celebrated as Earth Day to raise public awareness about the environment and inspire people to save and protect it.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed all States and Union Territories to take adequate steps to mitigate risks in disposal of bio-medical waste in view of the Covid-19  pandemic.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a set of Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) as well as graded relaxations for seafarers. As per the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the Home Ministry, the Indian seafarers on the vessel are required to undergo the COVID-19 test prior to their return at their home.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan starts an interactive platform ‘COVID India Seva’ to address citizens queries on coronavirus. This main objective of this initiative is to enable transparent e-governance delivery in real-time and answering citizen queries.

The state government of Rajasthan has partnered with healthcare startup MedCords to launch ‘Aayu & Sehat Sathi' app to fight against COVID-19. This app helps state people to consult doctors online and place orders for their medicine requirement in the wake of a lockdown due to COVID-19.

The government of Gujarat has given the approval of the third edition of his government’s ‘Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan’ amid Coronavirus lockdown. The scheme will see the deepening of lakes, check dams and rivers by removing silt. This will be done till June 10, 2020, with people’s participation also as under MNREGA.

The Pune Municipal Corporation has developed a mobile application named “Saiyam”. This application has been developed to effectively track the home-quarantine citizens and to ensure they stay in the home.

A dashboard containing list of Dhabas and Truck Repair Shops has been launched by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) on its website. The dashboard consists of list as well as details of Dhabas and Truck repair shops available across the country during the nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Indian herpetologists have discovered a new species of viper family in Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh, and the green pit viper species was discovered by a team led by Zeeshan Mirza.

The Administration of Pathanamthitta district in Kerala has launched a vehicle called ‘Tiranga’ (Total India Remote Analysis Nirogya Abhiyaan) for rapid screening of COVID-19 symptoms.

N Kamakodi will be reappointed as the MD & CEO of City Union Bank Ltd. City Union Bank has received approval for this reappointment from the Reserve Bank of India.

David Li has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Telecommunications India. He has replaced Jay Chen who has been promoted to handle Asia Pacific level business role.

Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) inks partnership with Mastercard to issue virtual and physical debit cards. These cards enable its customers to perform secure online transactions, make payment in stores as well as withdraw cash from ATMs.