Daily GK Update 22nd and 23rd March 2020: Read Daily GK-Current Affairs Update

Table of Contents

Daily GK updates are incorporated with the important news that made the current affairs headlines for banking or other competitive exams. Daily GK Update is the complete bag of the important news that held all day long. One should have complete knowledge about the banking terms, current affairs news, etc. So, here is the GK update of 22nd and 23rd March 2020 to help you prepare the Current affairs part. After reading this section, you can successfully attempt Current Affairs Quiz.

National News

1. Production Incentive Scheme for Electronics Manufacturing approved

The Union Cabinet has approved Production Incentive Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing. The Government of India has proposed production linked incentives through Production Incentive Scheme to boost domestic manufacturing and to attract large investments in mobile phone manufacturing. Cabinet has also approved financial assistance to the Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters Scheme (EMC2.0) for development of world class infrastructure through Electronics Manufacturing Clusters.

2. India celebrates “Shaheed Diwas” on 23 March

India celebrates “Shaheed Diwas” annually on 23 March to pay tribute to martyrs Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru. On 23 March 1931, three Indian freedom fighters namely Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru were hanged by the British rulers in Lahore jail. The three brave freedom fighters were sentenced to death in the Lahore conspiracy case.

International News

3. Netflix establishes $100 mn fund for film and TV workers

Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) has announced the formation of $100 million fund to help workers on film and television productions that have been impacted due to the global coronavirus outbreak. Out of $100 million fund, company will contribute $15 million to third parties and non-profit organizations that were providing emergency relief suspended crew and cast members in countries where Netflix has a large production base.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Chief Executive Officer of Netflix: Reed Hastings.

State News

4. Punjab becomes 1st state to impose curfew amid COVID-19

The state government of Punjab has imposed a curfew across the state with no relaxations. The Punjab government has took this decision to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Most Important Takeaways for Upcoming Competitive Exams:

Chief Minister of Punjab: Captain Amarinder Singh.
Governor of Punjab: VP Singh Badnore.

5. Uttarakhand abolishes quota in promotion for govt employees

Uttarakhand government has abolished reservation in promotion in the state government jobs. The government employees from the General-OBC category in the state had been staging a protest, demanding the implementation of the Supreme Court’s decision on the issue.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Uttarakhand Chief Minister: Trivendra Singh Rawat.
Governor of Uttarakhand: Baby Rani Maurya.
Jim Corbett National Park is the oldest national park in India and was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park to protect the endangered Bengal tiger. It is located in Nainital district of Uttarakhand.

Banking and Economy News

6. RBI to conduct variable rate Repo auctions for Rs 1,00,000 crores

The Reserve Bank of India has decided to conduct the variable rate Repo auctions as a preventive measure to bridge over any frictional liquidity requirements caused by COVID-19. The RBI will conduct fine-tuning variable rate Repo auctions for Rs 1,00,000 crores in two tranches.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

7. SBI launches “Covid-19 Emergency Credit Line”

The State Bank of India has launched an additional liquidity facility “Covid-19 Emergency Credit Line (CECL)” to meet any liquidity mismatch for its borrowers in order to tide over the current crisis situation. With CECL, SBI will facilitate funds up to Rs 200 crore which will be available till June 30, 2020. The facility would be available for all standard accounts which have not been classified as Special Mention Accounts (SMA) 1 or 2 as on March 16, 2020.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Chairperson of SBI: Rajnish Kumar; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded : 1 July 1955.

8. Fitch Ratings slashes India’s GDP growth rate to 5.1% for FY21

Fitch Ratings has reduced India’s GDP growth rate from 5.6% to 5.1% for the fiscal year 2020-21. The reduction in India’s growth outlook has been due to the Covid-19 impact on Indian manufacturers after supply chain disruptions in China.

Business News

9. ICICI Lombard launches policies to cover Covid-19 patients

ICICI Lombard has launched a 1 year-long “COVID-19 Protection Cover” which will pay 100% of the sum insured to the COVID-19 positive individual, irrespective of hospitalization expenses. The insurance policy will provide value-added benefits such as Health Assistance and CHAT/Virtual assistance, teleconsultation and ambulance assistance, as part of the offering.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Headquarters of ICICI Lombard: Mumbai.
MD & CEO of ICICI Lombard: Bhargav Dasgupta.

10. SIDBI to launch ‘Swavalamban express’ for new entrepreneurs

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has decided to launch a special train ‘Swavalamban Express’ to empower budding entrepreneurs under its mission Swavalamban. It will construct an inter-connected small enterprise ecosystem that will include business aspirants, mentors, experts and experience at all.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Headquarters of SIDBI: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
Chairman and MD of SIDBI: Mohammad Mustafa.

Books and Authors

11. A book entitled ‘Messiah Modi: A Great tale of expectations’ released

A book entitled ‘Messiah Modi: A Great Tale of Expectations’ penned by senior journalist & author Tavleen Singh has been released. The book has been published by HarperCollins India. The book talks about helpless dissatisfaction with Narendra Modi the Prime Minister (PM), his cabinet, the story of his first term as a journey from lynchings to demonetization up to Article 370, the foremost controversial law CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) & the guarantees he made in his first term.

Obituaries

12. Veteran director M.R. Viswanthan passes away

Veteran director Meenakshisundaram Ramasamy Viswanthan, popularly known as Visu in the Tamil film industry has passed away. He was an actor, director and writer who also hosted live-debates on television. He started his career as an assistant under the legendary filmmaker K Balachander.

13. Legendary Indian footballer P.K. Banerjee passes away

Legendary Indian footballer PK Banerjee passed away. He represented India in 36 official matches and sported the captain’s armband in six of them and scored 19 goals for the country. He was the first footballer to receive the Arjuna Award in 1961 and was also awarded the Padma Shri in 1990.

14. American singer Kenny Rogers passes away

American music singer Kenny Rogers who was known around the world for his global hits such as “The Gambler”, “Lady”, “Lucille” and “Islands in the Stream”, has passed away. In his six decade long career, he won three Grammys Awards.

Important Days

15. World Meteorological Day observed globally on 23 March

World Meteorological Day observed globally on 23rd March every year. The day underlines the efforts of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services for the safety and well-being of society. This year, World Water Day and World Meteorological Day share the same theme: “Water and Climate Change”.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is an intergovernmental organization with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
World Meteorological Organization has a membership of 191 member states and territories.

16. World Water Day observed globally on 22 March

World Water Day is observed globally on 22nd March every year to focus on the importance of freshwater. World Water Day 2020 was celebrated with the theme: “Water and Climate Change”.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Secretary-General of the United Nations: Antonio Guterres.
The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945.

Miscellaneous News

17. Priyanka Chopra works jointly with WHO to spread awareness over COVID-19

Actor Priyanka Chopra works jointly with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to spread awareness over COVID-19. Priyanka urged followers to rely on authentic sources of information about coronavirus and arranged an Instagram live with top personnel of the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness about the pandemic.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

President of the World Health Organisation: Tedros Adhanom Trending.
Headquarters of WHO: Geneva, Switzerland.
WHO founded: 7 April 1948.

18. Satyarup Siddhanta becomes 1st Indian to complete volcanic Seven Summit

Daily GK Update 22nd and 23rd March 2020: Read Daily GK-Current Affairs Update_21.1

Indian mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta entered ‘Limca Book of Records’ (LBR) for his extraordinary achievements, as the first Indian to climb the highest volcanoes of each of the 7 continents. He also holds the record as the youngest mountaineer in the world to climb both 7 peaks and 7 volcanic summits.