CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS
World Hand Hygiene Day
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has marked May 5 as World Hand Hygiene Day recognizing the role clean and safe hands play in warding off many serious infections.
- The day recognizes hand washing as one of the most effective actions that can be taken to avoid a huge range of infections including the COVID-19 virus.
- This year, the theme is ‘Save Lives: Clean Your Hands’
International No Diet Day
- Every year, International No Diet Day is celebrated on May 6. It is a celebration of body acceptance, which includes all shapes and sizes.
- It raises awareness of body acceptance and body shape diversity. INDD is also dedicated to promoting a healthy lifestyle with a focus on health at any size.
- The first INDD was celebrated in the UK in 1992. Feminist groups in other countries around the globe have started to celebrate INDD especially in the United States (US), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Israel, Denmark, Sweden and Brazil.
World Athletics Day
- The World observes World Athletics Day 2020 on May 7.
- The day, which was introduced by International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF), is celebrated to inspire the youngsters all over the World to take part in athletics.
- World Athletics Day 2020 is celebrated in the month of May every year. However, the dates can be varied by IAAF. In 2019, the prominent day was celebrated on May 7 and the dates are stated to be the same for this year too.
- The theme of the World Athletics Day 2020 is “Athletics for a Better World.”
About IAAF
- Headquarters- Monaco
- President- Sebastian Coe
Vesak Day 2020 observed globally on 7 May
- ‘Vesak’, the Day of the Full Moon is observed in the month of May by the United Nations on 7 May 2020.The day commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and Death of Lord Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, all of which is stated to have taken place on the same day.
- Buddha Purnima is the most sacred day in the Buddhist calendar. It is the most important festival of the Buddhists and is celebrated with great enthusiasm.
- The exact date of Vesak is the first full moon in the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. The date varies from year to year in the Gregorian calendar but is typically in May.
- Although Buddhists regard every full moon as sacred, the moon of the month of Vaisakh has special significance because on this day the Buddha was born, attained enlightenment (nirvana), and attained parinirvana (nirvana-after-death of the body) when he died.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
Niti Aayog starts campaign to ‘protect’ senior citizens during COVID-19
- Government think tank Niti Aayog in association with Piramal Foundation the philanthropic arm of the Piramal Group launched a campaign ‘Surakshit Dada-Dadi & Nana-Nani Abhiyan’ focused on ensuring well-being of senior citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The campaign will reach over 2.9 million senior citizens in 25 #AspirationalDistricts across Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, MP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan & UP; focusing on behavior change, access to services, early detection & tracking of #COVID19 symptoms.
- ‘Surakshit Dada-Dadi & Nana-Nani Abhiyan’ is aimed at creating awareness about various aspects of senior citizens’ health and lifestyle including preventive measures and requisite behavioral changes in view of COVID-19 pandemic.
About NITI Aayog
- Headquarters– New Delhi, India
- Chairperson– Narendra Modi.
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Amitabh Kant
Govt extends time limit for annual GST returns for financial year 2018-19 till 30 September
- Government has announced further relaxations for filing of Annual returns for Goods and Services Tax (GST) and movement of goods in the country.
- The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has extended the time limit for furnishing of the annual return and GST audit for the financial year 2018-2019, till 30 September, 2020.
- Government has also given an extension till 31st May for all the e-way bills generated on or before the March 24th, whose validity were to expire between March 20th and April 15th.
- This relaxation will allow seamless movement of goods and supplies through road transport carriers ensuring availability of supplies across the county.
About Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC):
- Chairperson: M. Ajit Kumar
- Founded: 1 January 1964
- Headquarters: New Delhi
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE
KVGB launches emergency loan facility for farmers
- The Dharwad-headquartered Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB) has launched an emergency loan facility for farmers.
- Chairman of KVGB, stated that the loan facility will be for the existing farmers who have been regular as on February 29. A maximum loan of up to 50,000 will be provided to meet unforeseen expenses. It is repayable within a period of three years.
- He stated that Covid-19 has affected farmers and workforce in the informal sector as well. As a result, farmers with small and marginal holdings are facing financial crisis. To meet the emergency requirements for agriculture and domestic purposes, the bank has come forward with this loan facility.
- He appealed to the farming community to approach their nearby KVGB branches for this loan facility.
About Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank :
- Headquarters: Dharwad, Karnataka
- Chairman :Puttaganti Gopi Krishna
- Sponsor bank : Canara Bank
PNB opens emergency credit line for MSMEs to enhance liquidity
- Punjab National Bank stated it has opened an emergency credit line for the MSME sector to help it tide over liquidity issues amid the coronavirus crisis.
- It has also liberalised the working capital assessment (LWCA) model for MSME borrowers having limits of Rs 5 crore and above, the state-owned lender stated at a webinar hosted with industry body PHD Chamber to address the issues of micro, small and medium enterprises.
- There is a facility of standby line of credit for MSMEs as well as PNB COVID-19 Emergency Credit Facility (PNB-CECF), the bank stated.
- There are also other policy initiatives like restructuring of MSME advances, interest subvention scheme, TReDS, Mudra loan products, Credit Guarantee Trust for MSMEs and PSB loans in 59 minutes, it added.
- This forms a part of its ‘Mega MSME Outreach’ aimed at connecting with its MSME customers across the country and to address their challenges.
- The public sector lender stated that it has been contacting more than 1 lakh MSME borrowers through its ‘Each One Reach Ten Each Day’ initiative to update them about its schemes on a daily basis.
- Through the online platform of Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS), MSMEs can avail timely credits against their bills, which helps in managing their cashflows efficiently, PNB stated.
About Punjab National Bank
- CEO: S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- Tagline : The name you can bank upon
E-commerce platform launches QR-based contactless payments solution
- Gurgaon-based O2O commerce platform DOT is striving to tap the $1 trillion retail market in India through a host of merchant and consumer-focused commerce solutions. The platform has launched a QR-based contactless commerce and payment solution.
- This will enable 2500 retailers to resume business recovery fast by eliminating all high touch elements in the retail environment and ensuring minimal human contact. This will help retailers regain customer trust and ensure footfalls again post the nationwide lockdown, DOT claimed.
- The contactless retail solution by DOT claims to allow the shoppers to scan a QR code by using the mobile phone camera and get access to catalogues of retail brands and menus of restaurants on a browser.
- They will be similar to an e-commerce page or online restaurant’s menu that can be added to the cart. Retail customers can then choose to go inside the store and pick the pre-selected order whereas diners can do contactless ordering through their mobile browser while seated at the table.
- Contactless payments can be made through preferred modes (credit, debit cards, net-banking, UPI, wallets, etc.). Meanwhile, at the back-end, retailers can integrate their order management system or with DOT to manage the inventory.
About o2o platform:
- O2O means “Online To Offline” but also “Offline to Online”, indicating the two-way flow between the online and the physical world, especially retail and ecommerce, but also between brand marketing and shopper or point-of-sale marketing efforts to influence purchase decisions.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES
Tripura CM launches online portal scholarships.gov.in
- In Tripura, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has launched an online portal gov.in under ‘Mukhyamantri Yuba Yogayog Yojana’ at the state secretariat.
- Deb while launching the online portal stated under the Yojana, the state government will provide Rs. 5,000 to 14,608 youths who are in final year in colleges or Universities as a grant for Smart Phones.
- He hoped that the students will be benefited by the scheme and students will use the smartphones in positive ways.
- The submission of online application for the scheme has started and will continue till 6th June.
About Tripura :
- Capital: Agartala
- Governor: Ramesh Bais
- Chief minister: Biplab Kumar Deb
IIT launches a Covid-19 Test Bus in Mumbai — capable of conducting 5 million tests per month
- The Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) alumni council launched a COVID-19 test bus to carry out affordable and rapid testing in the dense urban areas of the city.
- The bus is an initiative by the C19 task force of IIT alumni council, health department of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), and Krsnaa diagnostics. The bus, according to the official statement, will “ isolate doctors and facilitate large-scale testing during the monsoon.”
- The IIT alumni council has taken a pro-active approach to support the Government’s efforts in fighting the COVID-19 challenge. We have acted swiftly and set-up the IIT C19 task force to channelize the energies of the global IIT alumni for this fight, the official statement stated.
- The COVID-19 test bus is based on “indigenous technology” and the “first vehicle of its kind in the world with onboard genetic testing, Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technology and contactless sample collection.
- We first carry out a digital chest X-ray which is immediately transmitted via internet to doctors who use AI-powered technology to determine the probability of the person being COVID positive using a high, medium or low scale, Muffazal Lakadawla, chief medical officer of the National Sports Club, stated while explaining the standard operating procedures of the bus.
TN state government employees retirement age increased
- Tamil Nadu government has increased the retirement age of State Government employees to 59 from 58.
- This will also apply to all teachers in government and government-aided schools and colleges, and in State public sector undertakings.
- Government sources stated retiring employees would have to be paid provident fund, gratuity and other payments.
- This entire burden is being postponed for one year as the government has lost huge revenue due to the lockdown, in force to curb the spread of COVID-19. The order comes to force with immediate effect.
About Tamil Nadu:
- Capital: Chennai
- Chief minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami
- Governor :Banwarilal Purohit
CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury reappointed PAC chairperson
- Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been reappointed as chairperson of the Parliament’s public accounts committee (PAC).
- Members for the public accounts committee are elected every year. The 22-member panel includes 15 members from the Lok Sabha and seven from the Rajya Sabha.
- Chowdhury was reappointed the chairman of the committee by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
- The PAC examines accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by Parliament for the expenditure of the Government of India, the annual finance accounts of the Government and others.
DPS Negi takes over as Director General Labour Bureau
- Indian Economic Services officer D P S Negi took charge as Director General of Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour and Employment replaces BN Nandha
- Besides Negi also assumed charge as Senior Labour & Employment Advisor of the ministry.
- The government had appointed him as Director General, Labour Bureau & Senior Labour & Employment Advisor in the ministry.
- Labour Bureau collects and analyse data related to workers, employment, and retail inflation.
- Prior to this new assignment, Negi served as Advisor Finance (MSME).
- Earlier as Director, Social Security, Ministry of Labour and Employment, he pushed key reforms and amendments in five Social Security Legislations and Acts, including EPF & MP Act, 1952.
Iraqi Parliament chooses Mustafa Al Kadhimi as new Prime Minister
- Iraq’s Parliament chose an American-backed former Intelligence Chief, Mustafa al-Kadhimi as the new Prime Minister.
- He replaced Adil Abdul-Mahdi
- Members voted for Juma Anad, the land forces commander, for the position of Defence Minister, and Othman Al Ghanmi, the chief of staff for the armed forces, to become the Interior Minister.
- Ali Allawi, a historian and politician, was approved to become the Finance Minister.
About Iraq
- Capital- Baghdad
- Currency- Iraqi dinar
- President- Barham Salih
CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS
IIT Bombay Professor Lodha Receives Young Career Award In Nano Science And Technology
- Professor Saurabh Lodha from Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay, has received the Young Career Award in Nano Science and Technology for the year 2020 instituted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.
- This award recognises his pioneering contributions in the development of logic transistor technologies beyond silicon and nano-electronic devices based on two-dimensional Van der Waals materials.
- Prof Lodha’s recent work in the area of advanced transistors has been driven by strong industry partnerships.
- He has worked closely with Applied Materials Inc., one of world’s largest semiconductor equipment manufacturers, for the last eight years on technological challenges plaguing beyond-silicon transistors- the workhorse device that fuels over 90% of all electronics.
- These advances help future electronic devices such as mobile phones, servers, desktops and laptops, to perform tasks faster, consume less power, and last longer with lower failure rates.
- Prof Lodha’s work has not only been presented at top device conferences across the globe but has also been incorporated in semiconductor equipment for advanced transistor technologies.
- Lodha, an alumnus of IIT Bombay and Purdue University, USA, plans to leverage the capabilities and expertise in his group for developing power electronic transistors based on wide bandgap semiconductors such as silicon carbide and gallium oxide.
About DST
- Secretary– Ashutosh Sharma
- Headquarters– New Delhi
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
IIT- Kanpur joins hands with Bharat Dynamics Ltd for development of affordable ventilators for Covid-19 treatment
- Bharat Dynamics Ltd. (BDL), a defence public sector undertaking, has come forward for large scale manufacturing of the ventilators developed by Nocca Robotics, an incubated start-up of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-K) Kanpur.
- An MoU to this effect was signed recently between BDL, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kanpur’s incubator Foundation for Innovation and Research in Science and Technology (FIRST) and Nocca Robotics Private Limited (NRPL).
- Nocca Robotics designed and developed a high-end yet affordable, indigenous ventilator necessary for providing life support to critically ill COVID-19 patients under the overall supervision of IIT Kanpur team led by Prof Amitabha Bandyopadhyay.
- Apart from providing support to the critical patient, the ventilator’s design also has unique features to safeguard the frontline healthcare workers from exposure to the virus. At the helm of this innovation are three young graduates of IIT Kanpur – Nikhil Kurele, Harshit Rathore and Tushar Agarwal.
- NRPL has moved from inception to production of the fully functional prototype that is in conformity of the technical features and specifications released by the ministry of health and family welfare.
About BDL:
- Corporate Office– Hyderabad, Telangana
- Chairman & Managing Director – Siddharth Mishra
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERENCE
Union Minister Jitendra Singh Addresses Bamboo Conclave via Video-conference
- Union Minister for the Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER), Jitendra Singh, addressed a Bamboo Conclave through video conference to discuss how country’s bamboo reserve can help strengthen its economy.
- The minister informed that Northeast has 60 percent of India’s bamboo reserves.
- In the post-COVID-19 era, it is an opportunity for the Northeastern region to help India become world competitive and self-sufficient in this sector.
- For this, DoNER will work out a time bound plan for promotion of bamboo manufacturing and trade, and also work out feasibility of Public Private Partnership (PPP).
- Bamboo can be processed into multiple products such as bio-diesel and green fuel, wooden lumbers and plywood, which can change the entire face of the economy and create employment opportunities in multiple sectors.
About DoNER
- Minister of State for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region and Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office; Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space- Jitendra Singh
- Constituency- Udhampur, J&K
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS
Biography of Captain Vijyant Thapar “Vijyant at Kargil: The Life of a Kargil Hero”
- The e-book, which will be released on May 15, is titled as “Vijyant at Kargil: The Life of a Kargil Hero”. Penned by Vijyant’s father Colonel VN Thapar and writer Neha Dwivedi, a martyr’s daughter herself, the book has been published by Penguin Random House.
- Captain Vijyant Thapar was only 22 when he was martyred in the Kargil war in 1999.Vijyant was killed by a burst of fire while leading his team in Knoll, which was eventually conquered on June 29, 1999.
- In this biography, one learns about his journey to join the Indian Military Academy and the experiences that shaped him into a “fine officer”.
- He was awarded a Vir Chakra posthumously.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY
Ex-Union min Dalit Ezhilmalai passes away
- Former Union Minister and former organising secretary of AIADMK, Dalit Ezhilmalai (74) passed away of a cardiac arrest.
- Ezhilmalai, one of the founding members of PMK was the first general secretary of the party in 1989. He became Union Minister of State for Health in Vajpayee government in 1998-99. He was the last Dalit MP from the State who was elected from a general constituency.
DAILY CA 6th MAY
- International Midwives’ Day- 5th may
- Suryoday SFB launches new working capital product
- Nabard disburses 12,767 cr to State Co-op Banks, RRBs
- Jharkhand govt launches three schemes to boost rural employment
- Himachal Pradesh govt to launch ‘Nigah’ to aware family members of migrant returnees
- Andhra CM launches app to monitor agriculture needs of farmers
- Irdai sets up panel to draft standard professional indemnity policy for insurance intermediaries
- MCA constitutes 7-member panel to enhance audit independence
- Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath launches ‘Ayush Kavach-Covid’ App
- DGCA launches GARUD portal to fast-track approval to COVID-19 related drone operations
- CCMB ties up with Bengaluru-based company to research on COVID-19
- CSIR’s IGIB, Tata Sons sign agreement for licensing of KNOW-HOW for rapid, accurate diagnosis of COVID-19
- PNB Housing Finance signs MoU with IIT Delhi
- Max Bupa appoints Krishnan Ramachandran as MD, CEO
- Indian-American attorney Saritha Komatireddy nominated by Trump as US federal court judge
- Government nominates Tarun Bajaj as Director on Board of RBI
- Vladimir Putin awards commemorative World War II medal to Kim Jong-un
- Star Air’s MD Shrenik Ghodawat Earns A Prominent Asian Award
- Indian Navy launches Operation Samudra Setu to repatriate Indian citizens from overseas
- Astronomers Find Jupiter-Like Cloud Bands On Closest Brown Dwarf
DAILY CA 7th MAY
- World Hand Hygiene Day – 5th may
- International No Diet Day- 6th may
- World Athletics Day- 7th may
- Vesak Day 2020 observed globally on 7 May
- Niti Aayog starts campaign to ‘protect’ senior citizens during COVID-19
- Govt extends time limit for annual GST returns for financial year 2018-19 till 30 September
- KVGB launches emergency loan facility for farmers
- PNB opens emergency credit line for MSMEs to enhance liquidity
- E-commerce platform launches QR-based contactless payments solution
- Tripura CM launches online portal scholarships.gov.in
- IIT launches a Covid-19 Test Bus in Mumbai — capable of conducting 5 million tests per month
- TN state government employees retirement age increased
- Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury reappointed PAC chairperson
- DPS Negi takes over as Director General Labour Bureau
- Iraqi Parliament choses Mustafa Al Kadhimi as new Prime Minister
- IIT Bombay Professor Lodha Receives Young Career Award In Nano Science And Technology
- IIT- Kanpur joins hands with Bharat Dynamics Ltd for development of affordable ventilators for Covid-19 treatment
- Union Minister Jitendra Singh Addresses Bamboo Conclave via Video-conference
- Biography of Captain Vijyant Thapar “Vijyant at Kargil: The Life of a Kargil Hero”
- Ex-Union min Dalit Ezhilmalai passes away
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