Current Affairs Today 14th May 2020| Current Affairs News

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Govt announces collateral free loan worth 3 lakh crore rupees benefiting 45 lakh MSMEs

• Government  has announced the first tranche of stimulus packages, under the Atma-Nirbhar Bharat Yojana.
• These financial packages equaling to 10 per cent of the national GDP and amounting to 20 lakh crore rupees.
• 15 special financial packages of 6 lakh 40 thousand crore  rupees benefitting a wide array of sectors including MSMEs, Discoms, Real Estate, Middle Class, Tax Payers and others.
• In a historical decision, the ambit of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been widened resulting in inclusion of many small and micro industries under this sector. This decision of changing the definition of MSMEs will increase competition and productivity in the sector. In a major boost to the MSME sector, collateral free loan of 3 lakh crore rupees has been announced. The loan will have 4 year tenure and will have 12 month moratorium.
• Also, MSME definition has been changed to allow units with investment up to Rs 1 crore to be called micro units in place of Rs 25 lakh now.
• Also units with turnover up to Rs 5 crore to be called micro units.
• These loans will benefit 45 lakh small and medium units. Another package of 20 thousand crore rupees for stressed MSMEs benefitting 2 lakh units have also been announced.
• 50 thousand crore rupees will be infused in the MSMEs through the equity channel. Opening up avenues for indigenous companies.
• Tenders for Government procurement up to 200 crore rupees will no longer be through Global Tender route.
• e-Market linkage for MSMEs has been announced to ensure wider reach for sale of products from the small and medium industries. Government bodies and PSUs have been directed to clear all pending dues of MSMEs within next 45 days.

About Minister of Finance

• Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs-Nirmala Sitharaman
• Constituency- Karnataka, Rajya Sabha.

25% cut in TDS and TCS rates till 31st of March 2021; Last date for filing of Income Tax return extended till Nov 30

• In a major announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) and Tax Collected at Source (TCS) have been reduced by 25 per cent till 31st March of next year. This decision will increase cash flow of over 50 thousand crore rupees benefitting common people. The date for filing Income Tax return for the last financial year has also been extended till 30th November, while last date for filing tax audits has been extended from 30th September to 31st October.
• Finance Minister also announced reduction of statutory provident fund contribution by both employers and employees to 10 percent of basic wages from the existing 12 per cent for the next three months. The decision has been taken to facilitate more take-home salary for employees and give relief to employers in payment of PF dues, resulting in a liquidity ease of 6,750 crore rupees.
• The decision will be applicable on all the establishments covered under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
  Besides, Ms Sitharaman  also announced the extension of another scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package(PMGKP) for three months till August this year.
• Under it the government would contribute entire 24per cent of PF contributions till August. Under the PMGKP, payment of 12 percent of employer and 12 per cent employee contributions were made into EPFaccounts. The total benefits accrued is about 2500 crore rupees  to 72.22lakh employees.
• Also announced a sum of 30 thousand crore rupees for Non-Banking Financial Companies, Housing Finance Companies-HFCs  and Micro Finance Institutions under a special liquidity scheme. Further, 45 thousand  crore rupees partial credit guarantee scheme 2.0 was also unveiled for  NBFCs, HFCs , and MFIs with low credit rating to help them extend loans to individuals and MSMEs.
• Providing relief to the construction companies, Central  agencies like Railways, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Central Public Works, have been asked to grant an extension of six months for completion of work covering construction and other related contracts.
• The move will benefit real estate sector and agencies which have been entrusted to complete civil work.

Tourism Ministry organizes 18th webinar titled ‘Odisha-India’s Best kept secret’

• The Ministry of Tourism’s Dekho Apna Desh webinar series, titled, ‘Odisha-India’s Best kept secret’ took the participants on a virtual journey into Odisha. The webinar was 18th webinar under Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series.
• Tourism Secretary of Odisha Vishal Dev set the tone for the presentation with his introductory remarks giving brief introduction to the State of Odisha and highlighting on the key selling proposition of Odisha such as its ancient civilisation, famous temples with kalinga style of architecture, long coastline endowed with beautiful beaches, arts and handicrafts, culture, popular dance forms such as Odissi, Gotipua, forests. He also informed about the State initiative in promoting Eco Tourism sites.
• The virtual journey covered places like Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, Udaipur Beach , Manglajodi – unique wetland, Satpada, Chilika lake known for sighing of unique irrawady dolphins, Simlipal National Park , Debrigarh National Park -Ecotourism site at Hirakud reservoir, waterfall, Silent Valley – Gorge, Daringbadi nature Camp, Mahanadi Gorge, Bhetnoi, Beach Locations, Tribal heritage , arts and crafts, textiles, dance forms , festivals and cuisines.
• The objective of Ministry of Tourism’s webinar series is to create awareness about and promote various tourism destinations of India, including the lesser known destinations and lesser known facets of popular destinations.

About Ministry of Tourism:

• Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (Independent charge)
• Constituency: Damoh, Madhya Pradesh

ICCR Releases New Song ‘United We Fight’ To Strengthen India’s Fight Against COVID-19

• The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has launched a new song to help people stay united and encourage them to think positive amid the coronavirus pandemic that has ravaged havoc across the world.
• The song ‘United We Fight’ is written and composed by Joe Alvares and is sung by Usha Uthup, Salim Merchant, Shefali Alvares Rashid, Benny Dayal, Sonam Kalra, Chandan Bala Kalyan, Joe Alvares, Salome, and Samira. The music is created by Tubby, Pandit Ravi Chari, Pandit Rakesh Chaurasiya, and Ustad Faisal Qureshi.
• United We Fight is a rendition weaving English lyrics into the notes and beats of Indian classical music, spreading the essence of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, ICCR stated
• As per ICCR, the song is meant for an international audience and is created to carry India’s message of hope and resilience to the world. The 3.33 minutes long song features the above-mentioned singers and composers who shot their individual parts from the confinement of their homes which was later created into one single video.

About Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR):

• Headquarters :New Delhi
• President : Vinay Sahasrabuddhe
• Director General: Akhilesh Mishra

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

Israel Names Street After Rabindranath Tagore On The Poet’s 159th Birthday

• Israel has named a street in Tel Aviv after celebrated Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore as a tribute on his 159th birthday.
• On May 7, the Israeli Embassy in India tweeted a photo of a signboard where the street was named Rehov Tagore; ‘rehov’ means street.
• Tagore, who wrote his poetry, novels, stories and plays in Bengali, In 1913 he won the prestigious Nobel prize in literature and till now, he is the only poet from India to have done so.
• The poet also composed the poem that later became the national anthem of India. Interestingly, the national anthem of Bangladesh, ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’, was also written by the same Bengali poet.

About Israel

• Capital- Jerusalem
• Currency- Israeli Shekel
• Prime minister- Benjamin Netanyahu

CDC of the US commits $3.6 million to India

• To help in fighting the spread of the global pandemic COVID-19, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has committed $3.6 million to the Indian government.
• According to an official statement from the US Embassy in New Delhi, the first tranche of funding is going to help in further strengthening India’s efforts to increase laboratory capacity for SARS-COV-2 testing, and also help in molecular diagnostics and serology.
• The funds are also meant to be used to support the development of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) centres of excellence. These centres are expected to help in improving the ability of the hospital networks to detect COVID-19 and to help in strengthening local health systems through enhanced surveillance and monitoring systems.
• Also, the CDC will work with local partners and assist them in developing a strong public health workforce which will help in responding to future threats too. And there are plans to help provide technical assistance to the government in the ongoing crisis and risk communication efforts. In addition, the CDC India program will provide technical assistance for the Government of India’s ongoing crisis emergency and risk communication efforts.

About United States:

• Capital: Washington, D.C.
• President: Donald Trump
• Currency: United States dollar (USD)

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

Finance Minister announces liquidity support for stressed NBFCs

• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a booster shot for non-banking financial companies (NBFC), housing finance companies (HFC) and microfinance institutions (MFI).
• The decisions include a Rs 30,000 crore Special Liquidity Scheme, which will help the needy NBFCs, HFCs and MFIs with capital, in case they fail to raise money through the traditional debt market routes.
• Besides, the Centre also announced another Rs 45,000 crore Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme 2.0 for NBFCs, hoping they will in turn lend it to MSMEs and retail borrowers.
• While the proposed Rs 30,000 crore liquidity support will enhance investments in primary and secondary market transactions in investment-grade debt papers of NBFCs, HFCs and MFIs and increase liquidity, the Rs 45,000 crore Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme will help companies with low credit rating, including that of AA and below, given the sovereign backing for the first 20 per cent of the loss.

PSBs disburse loans worth Rs 5.95 lakh crore in last 2 months

• Public sector banks (PSBs) have sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.95 lakh crore in the last two months to various sectors, including MSMEs, agriculture and corporates, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Of this, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have received Rs 1.18 lakh crore from State-run banks between March 1 and May 8 she added.
• PSBs sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.95 lakh crore for more than 46.74 lakh accounts from the MSME, retail, agriculture and corporate sectors between March 1 and May 8, 2020. Total financing worth Rs 1.18 lakh crore was provided to NBFCs.
• Similarly, between March 20 and May 8, State-run lenders contacted 97 per cent of borrowers eligible for emergency credit lines and working capital enhancements, and sanctioned loans worth Rs 65,879 crore, up from the Rs 26,500 crore sanctioned as on May 4, she added.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

India’s growth rate projected to slow to 1.2% in 2020: UN report

• The UN slashed India’s projected growth rate to 1.2 per cent in 2020 and forecast that the global economy will contract sharply by 3.2 per cent as the COVID-19 pandemic paralyses the world, sharply restricting economic activities, increasing uncertainties and unleashing a recession unseen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
• The World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2020 released by the UN stated that global gross domestic product is forecast to shrink by 3.2 per cent in 2020, with only a gradual recovery of lost output projected for 2021.
• Cumulatively, the world economy is expected to lose nearly USD 8.5 trillion in output in 2020 and 2021, nearly wiping out the cumulative output gains of the previous four years,” it stated.
• India’s economic growth is forecast to slow to 1.2 per cent in 2020, a further deterioration from the already slowed growth of 4.1 per cent in 2019.
• India, which grew at 6.8 per cent in fiscal year 2018, is forecast to recover slightly and clock a 5.5 per cent growth rate in 2021.

About United Nations:

• Secretary General :António Guterres
• General Assembly President: Tijjani Muhammad-Bande
• Headquarters: New York City

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

Uttarakhand CM launches portal HOPE to help unemployed youth get jobs

• Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched a portal aimed at creating employment avenues for the trained youth as well as offering them skill development opportunities to increase their employability.
• The portal, ‘HOPE’ – Helping Out People Everywhere, has already begun collecting data on the youths staying in the state as well as migrant youths who have returned recently from outside.
• The portal will not only provide a platform to the youths for job hunting and skill development through its database but will also help potential employers find human resources as per their requirements.
• Once the database is ready, the portal will be linked with the Mukhya Mantri Swarojgar Yojana which was launched recently.
• Information on youths applying from a particular village will be readily available on the portal and will help in village-based analysis of the database.
• In view of the decline in employment opportunities caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, the chief minister wants to train the youths or refine the skills of the trained to help them get jobs.

About Uttarakhand

• Capital- Dehradun(Winter), Gairsain (Summer)
• Chief Minister- Trivendra Singh Rawat
• Governor- Baby Rani Maurya

Madhya Pradesh government to pay for education of poor children from Class 1 to PhD

• Madhya Pradesh government will bear the education expenses of children from poor families under the Sambal scheme. The state will pay for the children’s education from Class 1 to PhD.
• The state government will also pay the fees of private colleges for higher education.
• Sambal scheme is for all the underprivileged classes of the society.
• The scheme was launched by Chouhan and he announced that Rs 1,863 crore was transferred on the first day electronically.
• He also announced that the government is merging ‘Super 5000’ scheme with this under which the students from the underprivileged section, who score the highest marks in Class 12, will be given an additional amount of Rs 30,000.

About Sambal Scheme

• The Sambal scheme was started by the BJP government in 2018, in its earlier tenure. Under the scheme, families below the poverty line and registered labourers of the unorganised sector from the state were provided electricity at cost of Rs 200 per month.
• Around 1.8 crore people from the weaker sections of the society were covered under the scheme.

About MP

• Capital– Bhopal.
• CM-Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
• Governor– Lal Ji Tandon

Haryana gears up to provide tap connections to all rural households by December, 2022

• Haryana is geared to provide tap water connection to all rural households by December, 2022. The State provided 05 lakh tap connections during 2019-20 under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
• Now the State Government is planning 100% coverage by December, 2022, ahead of the national goal by 2024-25. By doing so, Haryana will be among the leading states to accomplish the ambitious target of providing tap connection to each rural household.
• Dashboard of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) has been recently launched by Chief Minister. It’s a dynamic platform, wherein the details of villages, tap connections, financial progress, etc. is monitored on real time basis.
• Government of India is implementing the ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ (JJM) in partnership with States to ensure every rural household in the country has FHTC for drinking water in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on regular and long-term basis at affordable service delivery charges leading to improvement in their living standards.

About Haryana

• Capital- Chandigarh
• CM- Manohar Lal Khattar
• Governor- Satyadev Narayan Arya

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU

TVS Group, Sundaram Med, IIT-M develop low-cost, automated respiratory assists

• The TVS group, Sundaram Medical Foundation and IIT-Madras have jointly developed a low-cost, automated respiratory assist device called The Sundaram Ventago. This was done in collaboration with hospitals like Kauvery Hospital and the Madras Medical College and with guidance from global educational institutions like MIT-Boston.
• It provides respiratory support to patients via the controlled and automated squeezing of a self-inflating or AMBU bag and includes functionalities to control respiratory rate (breaths per minute), tidal volume, pressure parameters and I:E ratios.
• It has been functionally validated to international standards and an extensive risk analysis has been performed with the Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre of IIT Madras.
• The device is versatile and mobile. It constantly monitors and reports respiratory parameters that are important to clinicians and is very easy to use. It also provides the needed patient safety features such as audible alarms for line disconnection or in case that the PIP exceeds a certain threshold.
• The Sundaram Ventago is a ‘Make in India’ product with a local supply chain based on proven global technology. It can be produced quickly in larger numbers. The Sundaram Ventago will also have a great impact post the Covid crisis as this device can make respiratory support more affordable and available to all.
• It provides physicians a simple and cost-effective option when incoming patients with respiratory difficulty surpasses ventilator capacity and is especially useful in remote and rural areas where ventilator facilities are not available.

About TVS Groups:

• Headquarters– Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• Chairman & Managing Director (MD)– Venu Srinivasan.
• Director & CEO (Chief Executive Officer)– K N Radhakrishnan.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

GI tag for Jharkhand’s Sohrai Khovar painting, Telangana’s Telia Rumal

• Jharkhand’s Sohrai Khovar painting and Telangana’s Telia Rumal were given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indications Registry headquartered in
• The application for the painting was made by Sohrai Kala Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Limited while the application for Telia Rumal was made by the Consortium of Puttapaka Handloom Cluster-IHDS.
• The Sohrai Khovar painting is a traditional and ritualistic mural art being practised by local tribal women during local harvest and marriage seasons using local, naturally available soils of different colours in the area of Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand.
• Telia Rumal cloth involves intricate handmade work with cotton loom displaying a variety of designs and motifs in three particular colours — red, black and white.

Recent News

• Thanjavur Netti Works (also known as Thanjavur Pith Work) of Tamil Nadu
• Arambavur Wood Carvings of Tamil Nadu
• Kovilpatti kadalai mittai of Tamil Nadu
• Manipuri Black Rice(Chak-Hao)
• Kashmiri Saffron

NRAI nominates Anjum Moudgil for Khel Ratna, Jaspal for Dronachary Award

• The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has nominated rifle ace Anjum Moudgil for the Khel Ratna — the country’s highest sporting honour — while recommending Jaspal Rana for the Dronacharya Award for the second year in a row.
• The NRAI has sent the names of champion pistol shooters Saurabh Chaudhary and Abhishek Verma for the prestigious Arjuna Award, according to federation sources.
• The 26-year-old Moudgil, who started shooting in 2008, is among the first two Indians to have secured quota places in the sport for the Tokyo Olympics.
• The shooter from Chandigarh earned the quota in the 10m Air Rifle event when she won the silver medal in the ISSF World Cup in Korea in 2008.
• The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award carries a medallion, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh.
• Dronacharya awards are given to honour eminent coaches who have successfully trained sportspersons or teams and enabled them to achieve outstanding results in international competitions.

About  NRAI:

• Head Quarters: New Delhi
• President :Sh. Raninder Singh

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERENCE

India to participate in SCO foreign ministers’ virtual meet on coronavirus

• India will be participating in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ meeting on Covid-19. The video conference is being hosted by Russia. The initial remarks will be delivered by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be attending the conference to discuss the global challenges, preparedness, and response to the coronavirus pandemic.
• The ministers will discuss topical regional and global issues and particularly focus on developing cooperation within the SCO in the context of the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Victory in WWII and the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, Russian foreign ministry stated.
• Other issues on the agenda include the preparations for the SCO summit in St Petersburg and other events as part of Russia’s SCO Presidency, it added.
• The grouping will share information on best practices and areas of cooperation to work on, particularly in the medicine, medical equipment, and pharmaceutical sector, given the fact that three of the world’s biggest pharma manufacturers — India, China, Russia — are part of SCP.
• The SCO, as an organisation, covers three-fifths of the Eurasian continent and nearly half of the human population. With three major economies as part of the grouping, the meeting will focus on how to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
• Pakistan is expected to be represented by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. The SCO forum will invite international organisations as well to participate and discuss the health and economic crises as also how to overcome the challenges.

About Shanghai Cooperation Organisation:

• Headquarters: Beijing, China
• Secretary General :Vladimir Norov

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

India up at 74th place on WEF’s global energy transition index

• India has moved up two positions to rank 74th with a score of 51.5% on a global ‘Energy Transition Index’ with improvements on all key parameters of economic growth, energy security and environmental sustainability, According to the World Economic Forum (WEF).
• In its report, the WEF study measuring readiness for clean energy transition in 115 economies showed that 94 have made progress since 2015, but environmental sustainability continues to lag.
• Sweden (74.2%)has topped the Energy Transition Index (ETI) for the third consecutive year and is followed by Switzerland(73.4%) and Finland(72.4%) in the top three.
• Surprisingly, France (ranked 8th) and the UK (7th) are the only G20 countries in the top ten.
• For India, gains have come from a government-mandated renewable energy expansion programme, now extended to 275 GW by 2027. India has also made significant strides in energy efficiency through bulk procurement of LED bulbs, smart meters, and programs for labelling of appliances. Similar measures are being experimented to drive down the costs of electric vehicles.
• India’s improvements have come across all three dimensions of the energy triangle — economic development and growth, energy access and security, and environmental sustainability.
• It indicates a strong positive trajectory, driven by strong political commitment and an enabling policy environment.

About WEF

• Headquarters– Cologny/Geneva, Switzerland
• Founder and Executive Chairman– Klaus Schwab

Child, maternal malnutrition leads to 68% of under-five deaths: Lancet study

• The government has launched many schemes to improve food and nutrition access, especially for women and children, 68% of the under-five deaths in India are caused due to child and maternal malnutrition, a Lancet paper revealed.
• Low birth weight and short gestation lead to 83% of the neonatal deaths.
• The Lancet report has the first comprehensive estimates of district-level trends of child mortality in India since 2000 and details district-level patterns of child growth failure.
• The findings of the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative show that though the child mortality and child growth failure indicators have improved substantially across India from 2000 to 2017, the inequality and variations among districts have risen.
• U5MR and NMR have been decreasing in almost all districts of India, the progress in this decline has varied because of which the inequality in these rates has increased among districts within many states and the worst hit are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.
• In Uttar Pradesh, 48% of the districts fell in the highest priority category of high NMR and low rate of reduction for the nationwide distribution of the district-level rates. In Uttar Pradesh, which had the highest child mortality rate in 2017 among the states.
• In Assam, which had the second highest child mortality rate in 2017, the highest priority category of high U5MR and NMR and low annual rate of reduction was concentrated in the southern part of the state.
• The study pointed out that India would not meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 NMR target, adding that 34% of the districts in India would need higher U5MR reduction and 60% districts would require higher NMR reduction to individually meet the SDG targets.

DAILY CA 13th  MAY

• PM Modi announces special economic package worth Rs 20 lakh crore to kick-start economy
• India gets USD 1 billion loan from BRICS’ New Development Bank to fight COVID-19
• Consumer Affairs dept partners with 2 startups to power ‘Suraksha Store initiative’
• Gujarat-based Macpower unveils indigenous hot air seam sealing machine for PPE kits
• J&K Govt has launched portal for J&K people stranded in other parts of country
• Maharashtra govt launches online OPD services for people during lockdown
• MSME Ministry launches Champions portal for addressing grievances of small units
• Manoj Ahuja appointed new CBSE chief
• Akhil Kumar re-inducted into NADA disciplinary panel
• China launches 2 satellites to test space-based communications technology
• State brings down infant mortality rate
• Di Gregorio EPO saga ends with a four-year ban
• China Wins FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup
• FIFA Under-17 women’s world cup in India rescheduled to February 17
• Crime Patrol fame Shafique Ansari passes away
• Comedian Jerry Stiller passes away

DAILY CA 14th  MAY

• Govt announces collateral free loan worth 3 lakh crore rupees benefiting 45 lakh MSMEs
• 25% cut in TDS and TCS rates till 31st of March 2021; Last date for filing of Income Tax return extended till Nov 30
• Tourism Ministry organizes 18th webinar titled ‘Odisha-India’s Best kept secret’
• ICCR Releases New Song ‘United We Fight’ To Strengthen India’s Fight Against COVID-19
• Israel Names Street After Rabindranath Tagore On The Poet’s 159th Birthday
• CDC of the US commits $3.6 million to India
• Finance Minister announces liquidity support for stressed NBFCs
• PSBs disburse loans worth Rs 5.95 lakh crore in last 2 months
• India’s growth rate projected to slow to 2% in 2020: UN report
• Uttarakhand CM launches portal HOPE to help unemployed youth get jobs
• Madhya Pradesh government to pay for education of poor children from Class 1 to PhD
• Haryana gears up to provide tap connections to all rural households by December, 2022
• TVS Group, Sundaram Med, IIT-M develop low-cost, automated respiratory assists
• GI tag for Jharkhand’s Sohrai Khovar painting, Telangana’s Telia Rumal
• NRAI nominates Anjum Moudgil for Khel Ratna, Jaspal for Dronachary Award
• India to participate in SCO foreign ministers’ virtual meet on coronavirus
• India up at 74th place on WEF’s global energy transition index
• Child, maternal malnutrition leads to 68% of under-five deaths: Lancet study