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Current Affairs 26 April 2020

Daily Current Affairs 26 April 2020: We have collected the latest current affairs for 26 April 2020 that are important for all competitive exams like Bank, SSC, IBPS, SBI exams. The GK current affairs will help you score more in these competitive exams. Improve your general knowledge with our daily online current affairs. You can also read the daily current affairs on our mobile app.

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National News

IIITM-K develops AI search engine ‘Vilokana’ for COVID-19 studies

The Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management – Kerala (IIITM-K) has developed a search engine based on artificial intelligence (AI) named ‘Vilokana’ to enable researchers in getting deeper insights into scientific studies on Covid-19.
The search engine accessed through the website www.vilokana.in.
Vilokana in Sanskrit means ‘finding out’.
The user can enter keyword-based queries, the meaning of which the search engine will be able to understand, and find the relevant text from the scientific papers.

Assam Government Launches ‘Dhanwantari’ Scheme for home delivery of Medicines to Patients

Assam government has launched a new scheme named Dhanwantari.
Under this scheme, the locally unavailable medicines due to the lockdown shall be delivered to patients at home, if these are not available within their radius of 10 km.
Medicines below Rs 200 will be provided to free of cost to patients, but if it is more than that, it will be charged.
The patients can send their prescriptions over the telephone or inform the health workers and the health department will ensure that it is delivered to them even if it is not in the list of available free medicines.

Kerala govt hospital launches ‘KARMI-Bot’ to serve COVID-19 patients

A government hospital in Ernakulam, Kerala has deployed a robot to serve food and medicines to coronavirus patients. The robot has been named ‘KARMI-Bot’.
The robot has been donated to the hospital by Viswasanthi Foundation that is owned by Malayalam star Mohanlal.

International

NASA Develops high-pressure ventilator ‘VITAL’ to fight COVID-19

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed an easy-to-build high-pressure ventilator named VITAL, which has been specially designed for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
VITAL stands for Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally.
VITAL will help to treat COVID-19 patients with milder symptoms, so that the limited number of traditional ventilators available in the country can be used for treatment of patients with more severe COVID-19 symptoms.
However, unlike the current hospital ventilators that can last years and are designed to address a wider range of issues, VITAL will last for three or four months, with specific tailoring for COVID-19 patients.

Iran Successfully Launches Military Satellite ‘Noor’ into Orbit

The Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the country’s armed forces, successfully launched a small military spacecraft into orbit named Noor on 22 April 2020.
Noor can be translated to Light, in Farsi.
The small military craft flew into orbit on top of a multi-stage Qased rocket.
This successful launch is likely to increase Tehran’s capability to strike enemy targets.

Facebook launches ‘Messenger Rooms’ for group video chat

Social Media giant, Facebook has launched “Messenger Rooms” service that will allow group video calls of up to 50 people.
The step has been taken to target the Zoom app which was in controversy recently due to security in privacy issues in Zoom App. Zoom app is also a group video chat app.

Banking & Economy

CARE Ratings predicts India’s GDP growth rate for FY21 at 1.1 to 1.2%

CARE Ratings has predicted India’s GDP growth for FY21 (2020-21) to be between 1.1% to 1.2%.
CARE Ratings said that the estimate has a “downward bias”. The decline in GDP forecast is due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

HDFC acquires 6.43% stake in Reliance Capital

HDFC has acquired 6.43% stake in debt-trapped Reliance Capital by invoking pledged shares.
Apart from this, Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC) has acquired 8.21% stake in Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, and 6.97% stake in Reliance Power Ltd.

Singapore’s Caladium Investment hikes stake in Bandhan Bank to 4.49%

Caladium Investment PTE Ltd, an affiliate of GIC, Singapore, has increased its stake in Kolkata-based private sector lender Bandhan Bank by 1.1% to 4.49% as on March 31, 2020.
Caladium Investments held 7.22 crore shares in Bandhan Bank at the end of the fourth quarter of FY20.
It had a stake of 3.39 percent in the bank at the end of the third quarter as on December 31, 2019.

World Bank Approves Rs 585 cr for Himachal Pradesh State Roads Transformation Project

The World Bank has approved USD 82 million (585 crore rupees) for the Himachal Pradesh State Roads Transformation Project (HPSRTP).
The fund will be used for upgradation of major roads and modernization of the Public Works Department in the state.

Appointment

Sanjay Kothari Sworn in as Central Vigilance Commissioner

Sanjay Kothari has been appointed as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), the anti-corruption watchdog of India, on 25 April 2020.
Mr Kothari, a 1978 batch (retired) IAS officer of Haryana cadre, was the Secretary to the President of India, before being nominated to the new role.
The post of the chief of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) was lying vacant since June 2019 after completion of K V Chowdary’s tenure.

Obituary

Former Australian All-Rounder Graeme Watson Passes Away at 75

Former Australian cricketer Graeme Watson has passed away following a battle with cancer.
He was 75.
Watson, a middle-order batsman and a medium-pace bowler, featured in five Tests from 1966-67 to 1972 and two ODIs in 1972.

Veteran photojournalist Ronny Roy passes away

Veteran sports photojournalist Ronojoy ‘Ronny’ Roy passed away at the age of 57 years.
He was popularly known as ‘Ronny’ and was associated with Bengali daily Aajkaal since 1990s and covered the ICC World Cup in England last year.

Important Days

International Delegate’s Day: 25 April

The first edition of International Delegate’s Day was observed on 25 April 2020.
The day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 2 April 2019, to raise awareness of role of the delegates and representatives of the member states of the UN.
The day marks 75th anniversary of San Francisco Conference, a gathering which laid the foundation stone of the formation of the United Nations.
After the devastation of second world war, delegates from several countries came together on April 25, 1945, with an aim to set up an organisation that will restore peace and impose rules on post-world order, resulting in creation of the United Nations.

World Intellectual Property Day: 26 April

The World Intellectual Property Day is observed annually on 26 April to raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life and to celebrate creativity, and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of societies across the globe
The event was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2000.
The World Intellectual Property Day 2020 is ‘Innovate for a Green Future.’
26 April coincides with the date on which the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization entered into force in 1970.

International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day: 26 April

The International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day is observed every year on April 26 to raise awareness of the consequences of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and the risks of nuclear energy in general.
The United Nations (UN) proclaimed the day on April 26, 2016 that marked 30th anniversary of the 1986 nuclear disaster.
On this day in 1986, a reactor exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine with devastating consequences.

Daily Current Affairs – 26 April 2020