Current Affairs Today 12th May 2020| Current Affairs News

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

International Nurses Day

• Every year International Nurses Day is celebrated on 12 May to commemorate the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birthday. This day also celebrates the contribution done by the nurses to society around the world.
• Thetheme for 2020, Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health.
• International Nurses Day also provide information and resources that will help to raise the profile of the profession, so that the new generation can also know more about this noble profession.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Centre releases Rs 6,195 crore to 14 states to fight coronavirus crisis

• The government released Rs 6,195.08 crore to 14 states as the second equated monthly instalment of the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant as recommended by the Finance Commission.
• This would provide them additional resources during the coronavirus crisis, the Finance Ministry stated in a statement.
• Giving a break up of the amount to be given as to cover deficit on post-devolution revenue account in 2020-21 as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission on a monthly proportionate basis to 14 state governments in May.
• The  Ministry stated, “Rs 49,141.66 for Andhra Pradesh, Rs 63,158.33 for Assam, Rs 95,258.33 for Himachal Pradesh, Rs 12,7691.66 for Kerala, Rs 23,533.33 for Manipur, Rs 4,091.66 for Meghalaya, Rs 11,850 for Mizoram, Rs 32,621.66 for Nagaland, Rs 63,825 for Punjab, Rs 33,541.66 for Tamil Nadu, Rs 26,966.66 for Tripura, Rs 42,300 for Uttarakhand, Rs 41,775 for West Bengal and Rs 3,733.33 for Sikkim.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

MP Home Minister launches country’s first ever ‘FIR Aapke Dwar’ Yojana

• Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra launched country’s first ever ‘FIR Aapke Dwar Yojana’ in
• Madhya Pradesh is the first state in the country to implement such an innovative scheme.
• ‘FIR Aapke Dwar’ scheme has been started as a pilot project in 23 Police Stations including one urban and one rural Police Station at 11 Divisional Headquarters.
• Dial 100 vehicle would have trained Head Constables to lodge FIR.
• FIRs in complaints of general nature will be lodged on the spot. In case of serious complaints, guidance will be sought from senior officers.
• The first FIR of Sunil Chaturvedi of Jawahar Chowk, Bhopal was lodged by Dial 100.
• The Minister also launched helpline ‘Dial 112’ on the occasion, to facilitate immediate availability of ambulance, police and fire fighting services wherever needed.

About MP

• Capital- Bhopal
• CM- Shivraj singh chauhan
• Governor- Lalji Tandon

Jharkhand: Education dept with Doordarshan starts online classes for School children

• In Jharkhand, the State Education Department in collaboration with Doordarshan started online classes and educational programs to provide school education to students of the state through video and thematic lectures.
• The special educational lectures designed for students from class 1 to 12 began with special slots allotted for each class.
• The programme is scheduled to air on the regional DD channel and free Dish TV from morning 10 am to afternoon 2 pm for five days a week everyday from Monday to Friday.
• With schools remaining closed till June 15 due to summer vacations, as per the orders from the state government, post Lockdown period, the new initiative taken up by the School Education Department to educate children through video lectures is a great step.
• Students can study regularly at their home during this lockdown period and can get benefitted of the one hour long subject-wise classes specially designed with the help of teachers aided by UNICEF and state education department.
• Apart from the regional broadcast on Doordarshan these classes will also be available online on YouTube channel of Doordarshan – DD Jharkhand and DIGI SATH for uninterrupted access by the students as per their convenience.
• The educational programme aims to provide tutorials, clear concepts and impart knowledge to students of higher secondary sections and thematic pictographic video learning programmes for junior section classes.

About Jharkhand:

• Capital : Ranchi
• Governor: Draupadi Murmu
• Chief Minister : Hemant Soren

GI tag for Thanjavur Netti and Arumbavur Wood carving

• After a seven-year-long wait, the Thanjavur Netti Works (pith works) and Arambavur Wood Carvings belonging to the central region of Tamil Nadu were awarded the Geographical Indication Tag by the GI registry.
• The Geographical Indication tag is granted to products that the special for a particular geographical area and prevents misuse of the popularity of the products by others.
• Thanjavur Netti Works (Thanjavur Pith Work) is made from Netti (pith) from a marshy plant called as Aeschynomene Aspera. This is a traditional art form and has been transferred from one generation to the next.
• The Netti Works are widely found in the Brihadeeshwara Temple, Hindu Idols, Garlands, door hangings and decorative pieces. The government has recognised the pith work industry as one of the major handicraft symbols.
• Similarly, the Arumbavur wood carvings by the artisans of Perambalur are primarily made out of the wooden logs of, Mango, Lingam tree, Indian Ash tree, Rosewood, Neem tree are used for making sculptures.
• The artisans mainly source the wood from the Pachamalai Hills along the Tiruchy- Perambalur border and the Thanjavur-Kumbakonam belt.
• Several temple cars with artistic features are even seen at the temples in the districts of Perambalur, Ariyalur, Tiruchy, Salem, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Thanjavur and Madurai which were crafted by the forefathers of Arumbavur Temple car sthapatis (idol makers)
• One of the uniqueness of the craft is the entire design carved out of a single block of wood given that a single error could damage the entire piece.

About Tamil Nadu:

• Governor :Banwarilal Purohit
• Chief Minister : Edappadi K. Palaniswami
• Capital : Chennai

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION

Shri Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi assumes charge as Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy

• Shri Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi assumed charge as new Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.
• Succeeded Shri  Anand Kumar in the Ministry who earlier took charge Secretary, Ministry of Culture.
• Prior to  this appointment, Shri. Chaturvedi was serving as Additional Chief Secretary and Additional Secretary (Climate Change Department ) of the Ministry of Climate Change Department,  Environment & Forest, Government of Jharkhand.

About Ministry of New & Renewable Energy:

• Raj Kumar Singh : Minister of State (Independent Charge)
• Constituency :Arrah

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTALS

Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launches Central University of Odisha helpline ‘Bharosa’ to help students in distress

• Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched the Central University of Odisha’s helpline “Bharosa” and its helpline number 08046801010 through a virtual platform to help student community relieve its distress amid coronavirus COVID-19 crisis.
• The helpline aims at providing Cognitive Emotional Rehabilitation Services to all University Students of Odisha.
• The steps taken with regard to the new academic calendar and virtual mode of education.
• The Helpline launched by the Central University of Odisha is a great step towards that also the Central and State Universities and other Institutions of Higher Education across the country to emulate the Bharosa initiative.

About HRD ministry

• Union HRD Minister- Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
• Constituency- Haridwar, Uttarkhand.
• Minister of State- Shri Sanjay Dhotre.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Journalist Siddharth Varadarajan among recipients of Deutsche Welle Freedom of Speech Award

• Indian journalist Siddharth Varadarajan was one of 17 recipients of the Freedom of Speech Award presented by German public news outlet Deutsche Welle, for showing “outstanding commitment to human rights and freedom of expression in the media”. The announcement came on World Press Freedom Day.
• In 2020, in the midst of the corona crisis, DW has decided to honor 17 journalists from 14 countries.
• It also added that the recipients are being honoured on behalf of all media professionals around the world who are publishing independent information about the coronavirus pandemic while working under difficult conditions.
• The others who received the award include Ana Lalic from Serbia, Russian investigative journalist Elena Milashina, Venezuela’s freelance journalist Darvinson Rojas, TV journalist David Musisi Karyankolo from Uganda, three Chinese journalists Chen Qiushi, Li Zehua, Fang Bin, among others.

Sania Mirza wins India’s maiden Fed Cup Heart Award

• Indian tennis player Sania Mirza brought home country’s first-ever Fed Cup Heart Award in Asia/Oceania category after getting more than 10,000 votes out of the total 16,985 votes cast for this year’s three regional Group I nominees.
• The Fed Cup Heart Award winners were determined through online voting by fans which went on for a week starting from May 1. The winners from each category were also awarded prize money of USD 2,000.
• Sania’s return to Fed Cup action for the first time since 2016 saw India book their place in the Fed Cup Play-offs.
• Sania stated she wants to dedicate the award to the entire country and pledged to donate the prize money to Telangana Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to aid the fight against coronavirus.
• The Fed Cup Heart Award is an International Tennis Federation (ITF) initiative that was established in 2009 to recognise those Fed Cup players who represent their countries with distinction, show exceptional courage on the court, and demonstrate outstanding commitment to the ideals of the competition.
• Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit emerged victorious from Europe/Africa and Fernanda Contreras Gomez of Mexico triumphed over Paraguay’s Veronica Cepede Royg from the Americas region.

About Fed Cup:

• The Fed Cup is the premier international team competition in women’s tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The competition was known as the Federation Cup until 1995. The Fed Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete. The current Fed Cup Chairperson is Katrina Adams.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

Bengaluru airport voted as best regional airport in India & Central Asia

• Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport stated it was voted by customers as the best regional airport in India & Central Asia for the third time in four years at the 2020 World Airport Awards.
• For an 11-year old airport, it’s a remarkable achievement, stated MD and CEO of BIAL (Bangalore International Airport Limited), Hari K Marar.
• According to the statement, the World Airport Awards are the most prestigious accolades for the airport industry, voted by customers in the largest, annual global airport customer satisfaction survey.
• They are regarded as the quality benchmark for the world airport industry, assessing customer service and facilities across over 550 airports. The survey and awards are independent of any airport control or input, it added.
• The Awards are based on the World Airport Survey questionnaires completed by over 100 nationalities of airport customers during the six-month survey period. The survey evaluated the customer experience across airport service and product key performance indicators (from check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security and immigration through to departure at the gate), BIAL stated

IIM Bangalore ranked among top 50 global B-schools in executive education

• Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) stated it has been ranked among the Top 50 global schools, for the second year in succession, in the Financial Times Executive Education 2020 Rankings, released.
• IIMB stated in a statement it is the only management school from India to feature in this prestigious global list of executive education providers.
• The Financial Times announced its annual list of top 85 B-schools for custom programmes, top 75 B- schools for open programmes and a combined ranking for the Top 50 providers of executive education (open plus custom programmes).
• In this list, IIMB is ranked 45th in the combined ranking categories, 52nd in the custom, and 55th in the open programmes, the statement stated.
• Participating schools are rated on several parameters by organisations that commission executive education courses (for custom programmes), by participants of courses (for open programmes), and on the data reported by the Business schools.
• Parameters include course design, faculty, teaching methods and facilities, it was stated.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

CSIR-NAL develops Non-Invasive Ventilator to treat COVID-19 patients

• CSIR – National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) Bangalore, a constituent of lab of CSIR has developed a Non Invasive BiPAP Ventilator in a record time of 36 days to treat COVID-19 patients.
• BiPAP Non-Invasive ventilator is a microcontroller-based precise closed-loop adaptive control system with a built-in biocompatible “3D printed manifold & coupler” with HEPA filter (Highly Efficient Particulate Air Filter).
• These unique features help to alleviate the fear of the virus spread. The system has been certified for safety and performance by NABL accredited agencies.
• The major advantage of this machine is that it is simple to use without any specialized nursing, cost effective, compact and configured with majority of indigenous components.
• This is ideal for treating COVID -19 patients in Wards, Make shift Hospitals, dispensaries and home in current Indian COVID 19 scenario.
• CSIR-NAL has already initiated dialogue with major public/private industries as a partner for mass production.

About CSIR:

• President :Prime Minister of India
• Director General: Shekhar C. Mande
• Head Quarters: Delhi

About National Aerospace Laboratories:

• Director: Jitendra J Jadhav
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

Para-athlete Deepa Malik retires, to head India’s Paralympic Committee

• Para-athlete Deepa Malik followed the National Sports Code guidelines and announced her retirement to hold her post as the president of the Paralympic Committee of India.
• As per the National Sports Code, an active athlete cannot hold an official post in any federation, and citing this rule, Malik stated it is important for her to announce retirement and set a good example to follow the rules and guidelines.
• For election purpose had already submitted a letter to PCI long back, awaited decisions of Highcourt to validate new committee n now for affiliation with MYAS making a public declaration of retirement from active sports. Time to serve parasports and support others to achieve.
• Deepa Malik has been a flag bearer for para-sports in the country and she was awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna on August 29 last year and as a result, she became the first Indian woman para-athlete to be conferred with the accolade.
• She is the first Indian woman to earn a medal at the Paralympic Games and has won 58 national and 23 international medals. Malik is also a recipient of the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Former Minister Ratnakar Rao passes away

• Congress veteran andformer minister Juvvadi Ratnakar Rao passed away due to age-related illness.
• Ratnakar Rao was elected to Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly thrice in 1989, 1999 and 2004 from Buggaram assembly constituency and served as a Minister for Endowments between 2006 and 2009.

Former JDS MP MP Raja Rangappa Naik dies at 61

• Former JDS MP Raja Rangappa Naik Naik, 61, who had represented the Raichur constituency in the Lok Sabha,is survived by wife and three children including two daughters.
• He had strived hard for the development of Kalyana Karnataka (old Hyderabad-Karnataka region). Naik was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1996.

DAILY CA 10th  & 11th  MAY

• World Migratory Bird Day- 9th may
• International Mother’s Day– 10th may
• National Technology Day-11th may
• India launches Mission Sagar to assist island nations in Eastern Indian Ocean
• Centre sets up six-member panel to review production sharing contracts
• Government Hikes 2020-21 Market Borrowing Limit To Rs 12 Lakh Crore Amid COVID-19
• UN Agencies Release Commemorative Stamp On 40th Anniversary Of Smallpox Eradication
• Tamil Nadu forms panel under ex-RBI Gov Rangarajan to advise measures to bring economy back on track
• Bengaluru launches Pranavayu programme to create awareness on need to self examine respiratory health
• GSK Sells $35 Billion Stake In Hindustan Unilever
• Mahindra Launches Digital Car Buying Platform ‘Own-Online’ To Boost Sales Amid Covid-19 Crisis
• Narinder Batra’s Term As FIH President Extended To May 2021
• Google Cloud appoints Anil Bhansali as VP Engineering in India
• Union Minister Giriraj Singh presents awards to the winners of “Startup India-Animal Husbandry Grand Challenge”
• Digital Conference on RE-START Reboot the Economy through Science, Technology And Research Translations
• Prince Harry-Meghan Markle’s biography ‘Finding Freedom’ to be published in August
• Vadhan’s new book “Fear of God” deals with corruption vigilantism law
• National Institute of Virology develops country’s 1st indigenous antibody-based testing kit COVID KAVACH ELISA
• DRDO lab develops automated UV systems to sanitise electronic gadgets, papers & currency notes
• CSIR approves project to develop ‘hmAbs’ that can neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in patients
• ICMR, Bharat Biotech tie up for Indian COVID-19 vaccine
• SAI forms 6-member panel to prepare SOP for phased resumption of training
• Eminent historian Hari Shankar Vasudevan passes away
• Grammy winning-singer Betty Wright dies at 66

DAILY CA 12th  MAY

• International Nurses Day- 12th may
• Centre releases Rs 6,195 crore to 14 states to fight coronavirus crisis
• MP Home Minister launches country’s first ever ‘FIR Aapke Dwar’ Yojana
• Jharkhand: Education dept with Doordarshan starts online classes for School children
• GI tag for Thanjavur Netti and Arumbavur Wood carving
• Shri Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi assumes charge as Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy
• Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launches Central University of Odisha helpline ‘Bharosa‘ to help students in distress
• Journalist Siddharth Varadarajan among recipients of Deutsche Welle Freedom of Speech Award
• Sania Mirza wins India’s maiden Fed Cup Heart Award
• Bengaluru airport voted as best regional airport in India & Central Asia
• IIM Bangalore ranked among top 50 global B-schools in executive education
• CSIR-NAL develops Non-Invasive Ventilator to treat COVID-19 patients
• Para-athlete Deepa Malik retires, to head India’s Paralympic Committee
• Former Minister Ratnakar Rao passes away
• Former JDS MP MP Raja Rangappa Naik dies at 61