Daily Current Affairs: 20 April 2015

1) ICICI bank launched near-field communications-enabled payment service 'Tap-n-Pay':

--> ICICI Bank in collaboration with Tech Mahindra launched a payment service 'Tap-n-Pay' based on the near-field communications (NFC) technology, enabling customers make over-the-counter payments without using cash.

--> It can be used for merchant payments by merely tapping a NFC-enabled mobile phone or a tag on the counter.

--> The service is a close-end one, only for a close group of customers, like canteen payments at the work place, and not universal like a debit or credit card, the banks said in a statement, adding the merchant will have to first register for the service and then enroll customers for using it.

--> Any person having any bank account, and not limited to ICICI customers, can avail the service, the statement said, adding a user will have to avail the NFC tag or configure it on the mobile phone.

2) India's newest stealth destroyer INS Visakhapatnam launched in Mumbai:

--> INS Visakhapatnam, the first Indian Navy P15-B stealth destroyer, is launched in Mumbai on 20 April 2015.

--> The indigenously-designed ship's air defence capability is designed to counter the threat of enemy aircraft and anti-ship cruise missiles, and will revolve around a vertical launch and long-range surface-to-air missile system.

--> The vessel is expected to be commissioned into the India Navy in 2018.

3) Budget Session resumed in Parliament:

--> The parliament resumed second half of the budget session on 20 April 2015 and the focus remains on the contentious land ordinance that was tabled in the parliament. Upr

--> Rajya Sabha will begin its second spell on April 23.

--> Both Houses will have 13 sitting each till May 8.

4) New York Times won Pulitzer for Ebola coverage:

--> The New York Times won two prestigious Pulitzer prizes on 20 April 2015 for coverage of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, described by the Pulitzer board as courageous and vivid journalism that engaged the public and held authorities accountable.

--> The Pulitzers honour extraordinary work in U.S. journalism, literature, drama and other areas and bring welcome attention and recognition to newspapers and websites.

--> For its Ebola coverage, The New York Times staff won the prize for international reporting and freelancer Daniel Berehulak won for feature photography.

5) Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand declared as India's 48th Tiger Reserve:

--> Uttarakhand, the State with the second highest tiger population after Karnataka, now has a second tiger reserve, besides the Corbett Tiger Reserve.

--> The Rajaji National Park has now been notified as the Rajaji Tiger Reserve by the Centre.

--> The tiger reserve (1075.17 sq-km) includes the 255.63 sq-km area of Rajaji National Park’s buffer zone.

6) Cricket South Africa launched Africa T20 Cup:

--> Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced a new tournament to be known as the Africa T20 Cup.

--> The tournament featuring Zimbabwe, Kenya, Namibia, hosts South Africa and 12 CSA affiliates will run from September 4 to October 4.

7) Neeraj Kumar appointed BCCI's ACSU chief:

--> Former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar was, on 20 April 2015, appointed as chief advisor of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s Anti Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU) for a term of one year.

--> The decision to appoint Mr. Kumar was taken at the Governing Council Meeting of the Indian Premier League, which was chaired by chairman Rajeev Shukla.