Indian Navy installs Quarantine Facility at Visakhapatnam

Indian Navy has established a Quarantine Camp at INS Vishwakarma in Eastern Naval Command (ENC). The Quarantine Camp has been set up for Indian nationals being evacuated from COVID-19 affected countries. This is an effort of Indian Navy to augment India’s fight against the spread of COVID-19. The Quarantine Camp has the capacity to accommodate nearly 200 personnel with all appropriate facilities.

Indian nationals being evacuated from COVID-19 affected countries will be closely monitored by a team of naval personnel and medical professionals of ENC. The monitoring of evacuated persons will be done in accordance with the protocols laid down by the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.

SC clears permanent commission for women in Indian Navy

The Supreme court of India cleared permanent commission for women officers in the Indian Navy. The apex court asked the Centre to complete the modalities within three months. A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud said, there cannot be any excuses for not granting gender equality in the armed forces.

The bench, also comprising Justice Ajay Rastogi, rejected the Centre’s stand that sea sailing duties cannot be granted to SSC (Short Service Commission) women officers in the Navy as its Russian vessels do not have washrooms for them. The court was contrary to the Centre’s policy of 1991 and 1998 which lifted the statutory bar on the induction of women officers in the Navy. The bench quashed the prospective effect of the policy barring women officers inducted before 2008 from being granted permanent commission in the Navy. It also granted pension benefits to women officers who have retired and were not granted permanent commission.

$100 Billion coronavirus relief package signed by Donald Trump

To ensure sick leave to Americans workers who fall ill from the new coronavirus, President of the United States, Donald Trump has signed a $100-billion emergency aid package. The $100 Billion coronavirus relief package aims to strengthen the protective measures against the pandemic caused by COVID-19.

In the United States, the service sector have been hit hard after the closure of hotels, travel and entertainment sectors and the restrictions on restaurants and malls. The relief package will facilitate free coronavirus testing for those who need it, sick pay and paid family leave. The relief package will also bolster unemployment insurance for millions of Americans. It also includes the medical benefits and food aid for those affected by the pandemic.

Iraqi President appoints Adnan al-Zurfi as new PM-designate

Iraqi President Barham Salih has appointed Adnan al-Zurfi as the country’s new prime minister. Al-Zurfi has 30 days to form his cabinet which he must then put to a vote of confidence in Iraq’s fractious Parliament. He will succeed Mohammed Allawi, the 1st politician named by the president as PM-designate who withdrew his candidacy for the post. Al-Zurfi was a former governor of the holy Shia city of Najaf & heads the Nasr parliamentary group of former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Adel Abdul Mahdi was an interim PM who withdrew his candidature in December 2019 after heavy protest where 40 people were killed by security forces.

Arundhati Bhattacharya resigns from Crisil board

Arundhati Bhattacharya has submitted her resignation from Crisil board. She was serving as the independent director of the Crisil. Her resignation will be effective on April 15, 2020. She has submitted her resignation as she will be joining as a Chairperson and CEO for the India operations of Salesforce, USA.

Arundhati Bhattacharya was the first woman to serve as the Chairman of the State Bank of India. Presently, she is also serving as the Chairman of the international payment platform Swift India.

A. Ajay Kumar becomes India’s next High Commissioner to Republic of Uganda

A. Ajay Kumar has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Uganda. A. Ajay Kumar is currently posted as the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. Ajay Kumar is a 2001 batch IFS officer.

Uganda is among the poorest countries on the African continent. One-third of the population here is forced to live below the international poverty line.

Phase-I clinical Human trial of coronavirus vaccine begins in US

The United State has begun phase one of the clinical Human trial of an investigational vaccine designed to protect against the coronavirus disease which has claimed the lives of over 7,000 people globally.

Important Facts of Covid-19 vaccine trial:

• The trial began at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) in Seattle as the first participant received the investigational vaccine.
• The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is funding the trial.
• The open-label trial will enrol 45 healthy adult volunteers aged 18 to 55 years over approximately six weeks.
• The study participants will receive two doses of the vaccine via intramuscular injection in the upper arm approximately 28 days apart.
• The vaccine is called mRNA-1273 and was developed by the NIAID scientists and their collaborators at the biotechnology company Moderna, Inc., based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) supported the manufacturing of the vaccine candidate for the Phase 1 clinical trial. CEPI so far has secured USD 760 million toward its USD 1 billion funding target, with multi-year funding from Norway, the UK, Germany, Japan, Canada, Ethiopia, Australia, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Wellcome.
• The CEPI set up to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases, made an urgent call for USD 2 billion to support the development of a vaccine against the virus responsible for COVID-19.

’Break the Chain’ campaign launched by Kerala govt to combat coronavirus

The Kerala government has launched a mass handwashing campaign named ‘break the chain’ to combat coronavirus. The campaign aims to educate people about the importance of public and personal hygiene.

Under this campaign, the government has installed water taps at public spots such as at the entry and exit gates of the railway stations with hand wash bottles. The Kerala government also urging people to use hand sanitizers when they are outdoors. Sanitisers have also been made available in all offices.

Karan Bajwa becomes new MD of Google Cloud India

Google Cloud India has appointed Karan Bajwa as its new Managing Director. Karan Bajwa will manage various operations for Google Cloud’s extensive solution portfolio such as Google Cloud Platform and G Suite. He will also guide Google Cloud’s continued work with local developer ecosystem as well as India-based Global System Integrators (GSIs).

Karan Bajwa has earlier served as the Managing Director of IBM for India and South Asia.

Bajaj Auto reappoints Rajiv Bajaj as its MD & CEO

Rajiv Bajaj has been reappointed as MD & CEO of Bajaj Auto. The announcement was made after the board meeting of the Bajaj Auto. The 5-years tenure of Rajiv Bajaj as the MD & CEO of Bajaj Auto was going to expire on March 31, 2020. During the board meeting, Rajiv Bajaj was re-appointed for a period of five years with effect from April 1, 2020.

Gita Piramal has been appointed as the independent director of Bajaj Auto.