Top Best Current Affairs 18 April 2020 (2)

Central Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has approved as many as 67 Indian firms for antibody rapid testing kits for testing COVID-19. Out of 67 companies, 5 are using indigenous kits and 62 other companies are importing antibody rapid testing kits from other countries, such as China, South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, and Israel.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the Doctors will conduct the clinical trial of plasma enrichment technique to treat severely-ill coronavirus patients soon.The method was used in the past to treat diseases such as polio, measles, mumps, 1918 flu epidemic, and in previous outbreaks of respiratory infections namely H1N1 influenza, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Assam is to develop plasmonic semiconductor nanomaterials for the removal of toxic organic compounds from water by harvesting solar light. Plasmonic semiconductor nanomaterials are metal-like materials with free electrons on the surface that oscillate collectively when hit by light.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) shifted its testing facility from Defence Research Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior to Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS), New Delhi. The move is to overcome the time delays and to speed up delivery of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and masks.

Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos tops Forbes annual world's billionaires list with a net worth of $113 billion.

President Donald Trump announces halt of USD 500 million annual US funding to WHO.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the 49th round of quarterly OBICUS (Order books, inventories, and capacity utilization survey) of the manufacturing sector. The survey includes the reference period January-March 2020.The OBICUS survey will provide valuable input for monetary policy formulation.The Central Bank has conducted the OBICUS of the manufacturing sector on a quarterly basis since 2008.

Chess Master Viswanathan Anand has been appointed as the new Ambassador for World Wide Fund (WWF) India's Environment Education program. The Environment Education Program was formed in 1976.