Question: India pledged Voluntary Fund to tackle Covid-19 outbreak. The total amount of this emergency fund is?
(a) $10 million
(b) $12 million
(c) $16 million
(d) $14 million
Answer: (a)
Related facts:
- PM Modi on March 16, 2020 communicated with leaders of all SAARC member nations through a video-conference.
- One of the key takeaways from the meet was PM Modi’s proposal for Covid-19 Emergency Fund.
- India pledged $10 million toward a Covid-19 emergency fund and planned to put together a rapid response team of doctors and specialists for SAARC nations.
- India suggested Integrated Disease Surveillance Portal (IDSP) that is currently being used to detect infected patients and contact tracing.
- The leaders proposed that health secretaries and experts from all SAARC member nations should coordinate to monitor and curb the spread of Covid-19.
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC):
- It is the regional inter-governmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia.
- Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- SAARC comprises 3% of the world’s area, 21% of the world’s population and 3.8% (US$2.9 trillion) of the global economy, as of 2015.
Links:
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/pm-modi-proposes-covid-19-emergency-fund-other-measures-saarc-leaders-echo-sentiment-1655795-2020-03-15 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asian_Association_for_Regional_Cooperation