DAILY Current Affairs 15 MAY 2020

DAILY GK C.A 15 MAY

1. SCO FOREIGN MINISTERS VIDEO CONFERENCE ON COVID-19

·        External Affairs Minister (EAM) S.Jaishankar participated in a virtual conference of foreign ministers hosted by Russia from Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) member states and insisted on the collective action against the terrorism and the security challenges.

·        India and Pakistan became the members of the SCO in 2017.

2. PM CARES FUND TRUST ALLOCATES RS 3,100 CRORE

·        PM CARES (Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations) Fund Trust has allocated  Rs 3100 crores to fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

·        Out of the total amount around Rs 2000 crores will be allocated for the purchase of ventilators, Rs 1000 crores to care migrant labourers and Rs 100 crores to support vaccine development.

·        50,000 Made-in-India ventilators are to be purchased at Rs 2000 crores to boost the infrastructure so as to tackle COVID-19 cases across the country.

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DAILY Current Affairs 14 MAY 2020

DAILY GK C.A 14 MAY

1. PM MODI ANNOUNCES RS 20 LAKH CR SPECIAL ECONOMIC PACKAGE

·        PM Narendra Modi announced Rs 20-lakh-crore stimulus package, equivalent to about 10% of India’s GDP.

·        It should be noted that this package is the sum of earlier announcements by the government during covid-19 crisis and decisions taken by RBI viz. liquidity measures and rate cuts.

·        The details of the plan are dubbed as “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan” (self-reliant India) which is to be provided by Nirmala Sitharaman on the eve of May 13, 2020.

·        PM Modi stated the five pillars of India which are economy, infrastructure, system, demography and demand.

·        Overview of package:

·        -The Rs 20 lakh crore package includes Rs 1.7 lakh crore package of free foodgrains to poor and cash to poor women and elderly.

2. BANNING USE OF TB DRUG ON CROPS

·        The Registration Committee (RC) under the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee(CIBRC) has recommended the use of Tuberculosis(TB) drugs like streptomycin and tetracycline to be banned completely with immediate effect on crops where other options were available for bacterial disease control.  

·        This recommendation was accepted.

·        Streptomycin has important use for previously treated TB patients, who make up over 10% of the total estimated TB incidence in India & also used in multidrug-resistant TB patients and in certain cases of TB meningitis (brain TB).

3. 4 NEW GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION (GI) TAG

·        Geographical Indications Registry headquartered in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) has granted Geographical Indication (GI) tag for 4 new products from three states.

·        Jharkhand’s Sohrai Khovar painting (a traditional and ritualistic mural art), Telangana’s Telia Rumal cloth (an intricate handmade work with cotton loom) and Thanjavur Netti Works (pith works) and Arambavur Wood Carvings form the state of Tamil Nadu (TN) are the latest addition in the GI list.

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DAILY Current Affairs 13 MAY 2020

DAILY GK C.A 13 MAY

1. ATAL PENSION YOJANA COMPLETED 5 YRS

·        As on 9th May 2020, the total enrolment under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) stood at 2,23,54,028 which has completed its 5 years on the same date.

·        The scheme has been implemented comprehensively across the country covering all states and Union Territories (UTs).

·        The male to female subscription ratio of APY is 57:43.

·        The scheme has been administered by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)

·        Launched on 9th May 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, its objective is to deliver old age income security particularly to the workers in the unorganised sector and Government providing guarantee of minimum pension after 60 years of age.

·        It can be subscribed by any Indian citizen in the age group of 18-40 years having a bank account.

·        It provides a minimum guaranteed pension ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 on attaining 60 years of age.

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DAILY GK C.A 12 MAY 2020

DAILY GK C.A 12 MAY 2020

1. INDIA LAUNCHED MISSION SAGAR TO ASSIST 5 ISLAND NATIONS

·        Government of India (GOI) has initiated a “Mission Sagar” as a part of their efforts to send medical aid to five Island nations in the Indian Ocean amid COVID-19 pandemic.

·        In this regard Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kesari departed for Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros, to provide Food items, COVID related Medicines including Hydroxychloroquine(HCQ) Tablets and Special Ayurvedic Medicines with Medical Assistance Teams.

·        The deployment of this mission is on the lines of Prime Ministers’ vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) for the Indian Ocean promulgated in March 2015.

2. NARINDER BATRA TO REMAIN AS FIH PRESIDENT

·        The International Hockey Federation(FIH) announced that it has extended the terms of its president Narinder Dhruv Batra & the Executive Board(EB) members which is due to end in October 2020 has been extended until the 47th FIH Congress(initially planned on 28th October- 1st November 2020 in New Delhi) in May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Headquarters– Lausanne, Switzerland
President– Narinder Dhruv Batra
Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Thierry Weil

3. DRDO LAB DEVELOPS DRUVS

·        Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad based Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) premier lab, developed an automated contactless Ultraviolet C (UVC) sanitisation cabinet called Defence Research Ultraviolet Sanitiser (DRUVS).

·        It has been designed to sanitise mobile phones, iPads, laptops, currency notes, cheque leafs, challans, passbooks, paper, envelopes, etc.

·        The RCI has also developed an automated UVC currency sanitizing device, called NOTESCLEAN.

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DAILY Current Affairs 10, 11 MAY 2020

DAILY Current Affairs 10, 11 MAY 2020

1. PHASE-II OF MODERNISATION OF AIR FIELD INFRASTRUCTURE

·        The Defence Ministry has signed a contract worth around Rs 1,200 crore with Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division(TPSED) for Phase-II of Modernization of Air Field Infrastructure(MAFI) of 37 airfields for Indian Air Force(IAF), Indian Navy (IN) and Indian Coast Guard (ICG). The proposal is approved by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

·        The MAFI Phase-II is a follow-on programme on MAFI Phase-I which includes upgradation of 30 airfields of IAF & benefits to both military and civil users.

2. 40^TH ANNIVERSARY OF SMALLPOX ERADICATION

·        WHO and the United Nation postal agency released a commemorative postage stamp on the 40^th  anniversary of the eradication of smallpox.

·        Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, was the speaker on the occasion held in Geneva, Switzerland.

·        When WHO’s smallpox eradication campaign was launched in 1967, one of the ways countries raised awareness about smallpox was through postage stamps.

·        In May 1980, the 33^rd World Health Assembly issued its official declaration that “the world and all its peoples have won freedom from smallpox.”

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DAILY GK 9 MAY 2020

DAILY GK 9 MAY 2020

1. SC RULING: COOPERATIVE BANKS COME UNDER SARFAESI ACT, 2002

·        Supreme Court passed a ruling that co­operative banks established under a State law or multi-State level societies come under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act of 2002.

·        In this regard, the Section 2(1)(c) of SARFAESI Act of 2002 empowers the cooperative banks with recovery procedures including seize and sell defaulters’ assets.

·        The recovery procedure u/s (under section) 13 of the Act is also applicable to such banks.

·        SARFASI rights enable cooperatives get better control over handling defaults and on the negotiation table with defaulters.

2. RAJNATH SINGH APPROVES ABOLITION OF 9,304 POSTS IN MES

·        On the recommendation of the Committee of Experts (CoE), headed by Lt General DB Shekatkar, Raksha Mantri (Minister of Defence) Rajnath Singh has approved the proposal of Engineer-in-Chief of Military Engineering Services (MES), Lt Gen Sanjeev Kumar Shrivastava, for abolition of 9,304 posts in MES out of the total 13,157 vacancies of the Basic and Industrial staff.

·        The decision has been taken to increase combat capability and rebalance defence expenditure of Armed Forces and to make MES an effective organisation with a leaner workforce so that complex issues can be handled in an efficient and cost effective manner.

·        The recommendations by the committee, if implemented over the next five years, can result in savings of up to Rs 25,000 crore in defence expenditure.

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DAILY GK 8 MAY 2020

DAILY GK 8 MAY 2020

1. IAMAI REPORT

·        On May 6, 2020 According to ‘Digital in India’ report by the Internet & Mobile Association of India(IAMAI) & Nielsen shows that for the 1st time has more internet users in rural areas than urban, where rural India had 227 million active internet users, 10% more than urban India’s about 205 million, as of November 2019.

·        India exceeds another milestone with 504 million active Internet users aged 5 years old or above,  53 million more than 451 million in March 2019, which makes it the 2nd largest internet user behind China, which has about 850 million users.

·        The United States (US)has about 280-300 million users.

·        At the state level, Delhi retains the top spot in terms of Internet penetration followed by  Kerala, Jammu &  Kashmir, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab.

·        Among the metro cities, Mumbai has the highest internet population of 13 million, a growth of 12% followed by Delhi with 11.3 million, Bengaluru with 6.6 million along with 6.2 million in Kolkata

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DAILY GK 7 MAY 2020

DAILY GK 7 MAY 2020

1. INDIAN NAVY’S ‘SAMUDRA SETU’

·        As a part of the Centre government’s plan to repatriate stranded Indians abroad due to COVID-19 outbreak, Indian Navy has launched Operation “Samudra Setu” (Sea Bridge) to bring back 1000 Indians from Maldives.

·        In this regard, Indian Navy has sent two India Naval Ships (INS) viz. Jalashwa and Magar on May 5, 2020 to Maldives capital Male to commence the first phase of the evacuation operations of Indians stranded abroad from May 8, 2020.

2. SURAKSHIT DADA-DADI & NANA-NANI ABHIYAN CAMPAIGN

·        The NITI Aayog in association with Piramal Foundation(the philanthropic arm of the Piramal Group) launched virtually the ‘Surakshit Dada-Dadi & Nana-Nani Abhiyan’ campaign to ensure well being of senior citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

·        Aim to create awareness about various aspects of senior citizens’ health and lifestyle including preventive measures and requisite behavioural changes in view of COVID-19 pandemic.

·        The campaign will reach over 2.9 million senior citizens in 25 Aspirational Districts across Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh(MP), Maharashtra, Rajasthan & Uttar Pradesh(UP)

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DAILY Current Affairs 6 MAY 2020

DAILY Current Affairs 6 MAY 2020

1. ONLINE SUMMIT OF NAM CONTACT GROUP

·        PM Narendra Modi participates in the online summit of Non-Aligned Movement(NAM) Contact Group on the theme “United against COVID-19” hosted by the current Chairman of NAM, President of Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev through video conference to discuss the response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

·        It also observes the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace(April 24).

·        Leaders announced the creation of a ‘Task Force’ to identify needs and requirements of member states through the establishment of a common database reflecting their basic medical, social and humanitarian needs in the fight against COVID-19.

·        NAM was found in 1961 by initiatives of Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Ahmed Sukarno of Indonesia and Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia & has 120 member states, 17 Observer Countries and 10 Observer organizations.

2. INDIA’S FIRST COVID-19 TEST BUS IN MUMBAI

·        The Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Alumni Council launched a “COVID-19 test bus”  in Mumbai, Maharashtra and inaugurated by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackery.

·        According to the IIT alumni council, a global alumni body for all the 23 IITs this will increase the testing capacity within 100 days and support the health department in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.

3. 2020 PULITZER PRIZES ANNOUNCED

·        The 2020 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced in 15 Journalism categories and 7 Book, Drama and Music categories by its administrator, Dana Canedy,via video-conference instead of a ceremony at Columbia University in New York, United States (US) due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ø  3 INDIAN PHOTOJOURNALISTS WON 2020 PULITZER PRIZEIN FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY

·        The three Indian photojournalists namely Dar Yasin, Mukhtar Khan and Channi Anand from Jammu and Kashmir who work for Associated Press (AP) have won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in feature photography. The award recognized their exceptional coverage of Jammu and Kashmir during the lockdown that was imposed on Jammu and Kashmir by the Central Government after the revocation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

4. WORLD WAR II MEDAL TO KIM JONG-UN

·        The Russian embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea announced that the Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un a commemorative war medal marking the 75^th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.

·        The medal was awarded to the North Korean leader for his role in preserving the memory of Soviet soldiers who died on North Korean territory.

5. KRISHNAN RAMACHANDRAN APPOINTED AS MD OF MAX BUPA

·        Max Bupa Health Insurance appointed Krishnan Ramachandran as its new managing director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO).

·         He succeeds Ashish Mehrotra, after almost 5 years of service in its company.

·        It is a joint venture between True North, a leading Indian private equity firm, and the United Kingdom(UK)’s 70-year-old healthcare services expert, Bupa & was established in 2010

6. WORLD ASTHMA DAY 2020: MAY 5

·        Theme for the year 2020: Enough Asthma Deaths.

7. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE MIDWIFE 2020: MAY 5

·        Theme -“Midwives with women: celebrate, demonstrate, mobilise, unite – our time is now”.

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