5th march

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

• 1981 The home computer ZX81 is launched
• 1872 The air brake is patented
• 1960 Alberto Korda takes his famous picture of revolutionary Che Guevara

NATIONAL

• COVID-19: 24-hour control room opened. People coming from COVID-19-hit areas should contact the 24-hour control room at 0487-2320466, 9400408120, 9400410720.
• Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana helps raise women’s ownership of bank accounts to 77% in 2017, says report. Consulting firm MicroSave Consulting (MSC) in a report titled 'The real story of women's financial inclusion in India' said the country has succeeded in reducing the gender gap in financial inclusion by 14 percentage points in three years (2014-17).

INTERNATIONAL

• World Bank doles out $12 bn in emergency aid to combat coronavirus. 'The goal is to provide fast, effective action that responds to country needs,' World Bank President David Malpass told reporters

ECONOMY

• Public sector bank mergers get approval by cabinet. The merger of public sector banks (PSBs) will become effective from April 1, 2020, with the Cabinet giving nod to the proposal on Wednesday.
• Cabinet allows NRIs to own 100% stake in Air India. NRI investments would be treated as domestic investments. The government is in the process of selling the national carrier, have invited preliminary bids recently.
• SBI Life re-appoints Sanjeev Nautiyal as MD, CEO. The re-appointment is subject to the approval of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and members of the company.
• Cabinet approves proposal for overseas listing of Indian companies. Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas said the Act would have an enabling provision for listed as well as unlisted companies in India to list their shares abroad.

ENVIRONMENT

• New test with quantum coins & computers for quantum sensing. Researchers from Raman Research Institute (RRI),an autonomous institution under the Department of Science & Technology, have devised a new test for fairness of quantum coin or ‘qubit’ (the basic unit of information in a quantum computer) using entanglement theory.

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