Latest Current Affairs: 4 April 2020

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Current Affairs
4th APRIL 2020
SCTIMST, WIPRO partners to make automated ventilators to meet COVID-19
related crisis

  • Shree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical
    Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) has partnered with Wipro 3D, Bengaluru. The
    partnership aims to jointly build upon a prototype of an emergency ventilator
    system based on the Artificial Manual Breathing Unit (AMBU) which was developed
    by SCTIMST followed by its clinical trial and manufacture.
  • AMBU bag or a bag-valve-mask (BVM) is a hand-held device used to provide
    positive pressure ventilation to a patient who is either not breathing or who
    is breathing inadequately. The use of a regular AMBU needs a bystander for its
    operations who is highly susceptible and non-advisable to be in close contact
    with the COVID-19 patient.
  • SCTIMST’s Automated AMBU Ventilator with inputs from clinical faculty
    will assist the breathing of the critical patients who have no access to ICU
    ventilators.
  • To enabling rapid production, the device is designed with readily
    available components so that it becomes an alternative solution. AMBU will
    provide ventilation support to the needy and is an ideal solution for
    ventilation shortages. 
  • The device will enable positive pressure ventilation with a controlled
    rate of expiration, Inspiratory to Expiratory Ratio, Tidal Volume, and so on.
    Also, to maintain pressure on the lower airways at the end of the breathing
    cycle, a Positive End Expiratory Pressure (PEEP) Valve can be added as an extra
    component which prevents the alveoli from collapsing during expiration.
  • The automatic AMBU will minimize the need for support personnel in the
    isolation room and enable a safer and effective lung-protective operation to
    COVID patients.

Short term borrowing limits for states and UTs increased by 30%: RBI

  • The Reserve Bank of India introduced new
    measures to relax the impact of the COVID-19 induced lockdown. The Central bank
    focused on the finances of the states that have announced the staggered payment
    of salaries.

RBI:
Reserve Bank of India
Established: 1st April, 1935
Act: Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934
Currency: Indian rupee
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor: Shaktikanta Das
Chief executives of Oriental Bank of Commerce and united Bank of India
designated as office on special duty in PNB

  • After
    the merger of the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) and the United Bank of India
    (UBI) into Punjab National Bank (PNB), the government has designated Chief
    Executives of OBC and UBI as “officers on special duty” in Punjab
    National Bank. The officers are not assigned any portfolio so far.
  • The
    PNB merger has created the country’s second-largest state-owned bank with Rs
    7.7 lakh crore advances. Also, OBC chief executive Mukesh Kumar Jain, who is
    now in PNB will be retiring in July.

Punjab National
Bank:
Founded: 12 April
1894
Headquarters: New Delhi
Chairman: Sunil Mehta
MD and CEO: S.S.Malikarjuna Rao
Naval Dockyard (ND) develops
low-cost device to screen people
  • Naval Dockyard (ND), Mumbai has
    designed and developed its own handheld Infrared radiation (IR)-based
    temperature sensor to screen people at gates. The sense will screen a large
    number of Naval personnel at the entry gates of the yard reducing the load on
    the security sentries at the gate.
  • The instrument was manufactured
    under Rs.1000 through in-house resources.
  • The accuracy of the instrument is
    0.02 degree Celsius.
  • The non-contact thermometer has an
    IR and an LED display integrated with a microcontroller that runs on a 9V
    battery.
  • The instrument will screen a large
    number of Naval personnel at the entry gates of the yard thereby reducing the
    load on the security sentries at the gate.
  • The low-cost instrument has the
    capability to scale up production of these if required towards which sourcing
    of the components is in progress.

Andhra Pradesh doorstep pension to
58 lakh pensioners
  • The Andhra Pradesh state government
    has started distributing pensions at the doorstep to 58 44,240 beneficiaries
    with an objective to offer them held and to avoid the spread of coronavirus.
    The state used 2.5 lakh volunteers to eliminate the need for pensioners to step
    out of their homes.
  • Under the move of the govt. a wide
    range of people will benefit from the disbursement of the pension that began on
    1 April. 
  • Also, old-age persons, widows,
    single women, weavers, fishermen, folk artists, and traditional cobblers will
    receive an amount of Rs.2,250 each.
  • To support the people in the state
    during the COVID-19 outbreak, people with disabilities, transgender and Dappu
    artists will receive an amount of Rs.3,000.
  • Also, people who suffer chronic
    disease and are undergoing kidney dialysis at government and network hospitals
    will receive an amount of Rs.10,000.
  • The fund will be first distributed
    to the pensioners and then the government will give financial relief to the
    poor and needy delivered at the doorstep on the 4 April using the same network
    of volunteers.

Andhra Pradesh:
Formed: 1 November 1956
Capital: Amaravati
Largest City: Visakhapatnam
Official Language: Odia
Districts: 30
Governor: Biswabhusan Harichandan
Chief Minister: Y.S.Jaganmohan
Reddy
Bird: Rose-ringed parakeet
Flower Jasmin
Dance: Kuchipudi
Government of India launches 5
research projects to mitigate the spread of COVID-19
  • The Government of India launched 5
    research projects in order to control the spread of COVID-19. The projects
    neither focus on vaccines nor on medicines. Government of India has been very
    clear and has also announced earlier that it is currently not into developing
    medicine for COVID-19. Rather the first priority is to mitigate the spread. The
    research projects were selected based on this plan.
The projects are to be supervised by
the Department of Science and Technology:

  1. Project 1: The first project aims
    to search the metabolite biomarker signature for the virus. These markers will
    help in capturing the activities of the cell or an organism infected with the
    virus. This knowledge is base for developing potential drug for the vaccines.
  2. Project 2: The second project is
    to develop veridical coatings that shall be used in surgical masks to prevent
    the spread of highly contagious viruses such as SARS, COVID-19, etc.
  3. Project 3: The third project is to
    develop antiviral surface coatings to help prevent the spread of infections
    caused by influenza virus. The aim is to develop polymeric compounds that will
    be coated upon surfaces and will kill the viruses completely upon contact.
  4. Project 4: The fourth project is to develop a material
    which when applied over surfaces will remove viruses and bacteria adhering to
    it.
  5. Project 5: The fifth project is to develop antibody-based
    capture of COVID-19 and inactivate it using lipid based gel.

Short
Notes
  • Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare
    (ESW), Ministry of Defence (MoD) has taken the initiative to mobilize services
    of the Ex-Servicemen (ESM) community as a part of the augmentation of human
    resource to assist the State and District administration to combat the
    coronavirus outbreak.
  • Dr Jitendra Singh released National
    Corona Survey conducted in 410 districts.
  • IISc Bengaluru develops indigenous
    ventilator prototype for COVID-19 crisis.
  • The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA)
    announced the 3rd edition of Asian Youth Games, which will be hosted in the
    coastal city of Shantou in Southern China from November 20 to 28, 2021.
  • Odisha Govt in collaboration with
    UNICEF launches “Mo Prativa” programme to engage kids during lockdown.

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