Current Affairs Today 17th & 18th May 2020| Current Affairs News

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

National Dengue Day

• India observes National Dengue Day on May 16 as suggested by the Union Health Ministry to create awareness about the disease.
• Measures to prevent and preparing to control the spread of dengue are among a few things that are discussed and shared on this day.

About Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

• Union Minister– Harsh Vardhan
• Constituency- Chandnichowk, New Delhi
• Minister of State– Ashwini Kumar Choubey

International Day of Living Together in Peace

• The UN General-Assembly declared 16 May the International Day of Living Together in Peace, as a means of regularly mobilizing the efforts of the international community to promote peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding and solidarity.
• The Day aims to uphold the desire to live and act together, united in differences and diversity, in order to build a sustainable world of peace, solidarity and harmony.

International Day of Light 

• TheInternational Day of Light is celebrated on 16 May each year, the anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960 by physicist and engineer, Theodore Maiman.
• Thisday is a call to strengthen scientific cooperation and harness its potential to foster peace and sustainable development.
• Due to the COVID-19 crises, the 2020 celebrations is being observed digitally through #IDL2020 and#SEETHELIGHT.

World Hypertension Day 

• World Hypertension Day is observed on May 17 every year to help raise awareness about high blood pressure.
• The World Hypertension League first launched its World Hypertension Day on May 14, 2005, and since 2006, it has been celebrated annually on May 17.
• The expanded theme for World Hypertension Day 2020 isMeasure Your Blood Pressure, Control It, Live Longer, to increase high blood pressure (BP) awareness in all populations around the world
• The World Hypertension League (WHL) has announced that it will postpone the celebration of World Hypertension Day (WHD) 2020 until October 17, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day

• World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is observed every year on17 May since 1969 to raise awareness about the use of technology and the importance it plays in the current scenario.
• May 17 is celebrated as the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, as it marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union.
• The theme for World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2020 is “Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.

International Museum Day

• Every year on 18 May International Museum Day is observed to raise awareness among people about the museums as an important means of cultural exchange and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among people.
• It is coordinated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
• Thetheme for International Museum Day 2020 is Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Finance Minister announces 5th tranche (last) of economic support under the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan

• The 5th tranche is focussed on Government Reforms and Enablers for providing employment, support to businesses, Ease of Doing Business, and State Governments as well sectors such as Education and Health. Seven measures have been announced under this
• Allocation for MGNREGS increased by Rs 40,000 Crore to provide employment boost– Will help generate nearly 300 crore person-days in total.
• Health Reforms & Initiatives- Public Expenditure on Health will be increased by investing in grass-root health institutions. National Institutional Platform for One health by ICMR will encourage research. And the implementation of National Digital Health Blueprint under the National Digital Health Mission.
• Technology Driven Education with Equity post-COVID-19.
• PM eVIDYA– A programme for multi-mode access to digital/online education to be launched immediately consisting of
• DIKSHA for school education in states/UTs: e-content and QR coded Energized Textbooks for all grades (one nation, one digital platform)
• One earmarked TV channel per class from 1 to 12 (one class, one channel)
• Extensive use of Radio, Community radio and Podcasts
• Special e-content for visually and hearing impaired.
• Top 100 universities will be permitted to automatically start online courses by 30th May, 2020.
• Manodarpan– An initiative for psychosocial support of students, teachers and families for mental health and emotional wellbeing to be launched immediately.
• National Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission for ensuring that every child attains Learning levels and outcomes in grade 5 by 2025 will be launched by December 2020.
• Further enhancement of Ease of Doing Business through IBC related measures-
• Minimum threshold to initiate insolvency proceedings raised to Rs. 1 crore (from Rs. 1 lakh, which largely insulates MSMEs).
• Suspension of fresh initiation of insolvency proceedings up to one year, depending upon the pandemic situation.
• Decriminalisation of Companies Act defaults– The Amendments will de-clog the criminal courts and NCLT. 7 compoundable offences altogether dropped and 5 to be dealt with under alternative framework.
• Ease of Doing Business for Corporates– Direct listing of securities by Indian public companies in permissible foreign jurisdictions. Power to create additional/ specialized benches for NCLAT. Lower penalties for all defaults for Small Companies, One-person Companies, Producer Companies & Start Ups.
• Public Sector Enterprise Policy for a New, Self-reliant India– There is a need for a new coherent policy—where all sectors are open to the private sector while public sector enterprises(PSEs) will play an important role in defined areas. Accordingly, the government will announce a new policy whereby,
• List of strategic sectors requiring presence of PSEs in public interest will be notified. In strategic sectors, at least one enterprise will remain in the public sector but private sector will also be allowed. In other sectors, PSEs will be privatized (timing to be based on feasibility etc)
• To minimise wasteful administrative costs, number of enterprises in strategic sectors will ordinarily be only one to four; others will be privatised/ merged/ brought under holding companies
• The support to State Government from Central Government
• States net borrowing ceiling for 2020-21 is Rs. 6.41 lakh crores, based on 3% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
• Centre has decided to increase borrowing limits of States from 3% to 5% for 2020-21 only. This will give States extra resources of Rs. 4.28 lakh crores.
• Part of the borrowing will be linked to specific reforms (including recommendations of the Finance Commission). Reform linkage will be in four areas: universalisation of ‘One Nation One Ration card’, Ease of Doing Business, Power distribution and Urban Local Body revenues.
• A specific scheme will be notified by the Department of Expenditure on the following pattern:
• Unconditional increase of 0.50%
• 1% in 4 tranches of 0.25%, with each tranche linked to clearly specified, measurable and feasible reform actions
• Further 0.50% if milestones are achieved in at least three out of four reform areas

Centre launches online dashboard to monitor movement of migrant workers

• The Centre has asked the States to use online portal National Migrant Information System (NMIS) for capturing the information on movement of migrants and for better inter-State co-ordination.
• Union Home Secretary, Ajay Bhalla stated that to capture the information regarding movement of migrants and facilitate the smooth movement of stranded persons across States, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has developed an online Dashboard- NMIS  on the existing NDMA-GIS portal.
• He stated, the portal will maintain a central repository and help the sending as well as receiving State and district to ask for and give their acceptance in an online format seamlessly. This system will help in speedy communication between States without creating additional work at the level of the field officers.
• Mr Bhalla stated, it has additional advantages like contact tracing, which may be useful in overall COVID response work. Through this system, States can upload batch file of individual data on the portal.
• The key data pertaining to the persons migrating has been standardized for uploading such as name, age, mobile number,  originating and destination district, and date of travel which States are already collecting. Mr Bhalla stated, States will be able to visualize how many people are going out from where and how many are reaching destination states. The mobile numbers of people can be used for contact tracing and movement monitoring during COVID-19.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

Kokeshi dolls one of Japan’s popular cultural icons

• Japanese Kokeshi dolls, one of the oldest forms of dolls in the world, have become a famous icon of Japanese culture.
• Made from a single piece of wood, these dolls are made in a variety of styles, ranging from traditional designs to modern cultural references.
• Wooden doll is made all around the world. However European dolls have hand, leg, mouth and other facial features whereas Japanese Kokeshi doll does not have sculptured feature rather it inspires imagination, a Kokeshi-maker stated.
• The Kokeshi doll has been manufactured in the same way for hundreds of years.
• Though there is a variety of trees, the most common type is the cherry tree, which does not get affected by moisture and is very dense. Therefore, it is perfect for the sculpturing process.
• Dolls consist of head, body and base and are made with the same old technique, which includes carving the wood quickly and then forming it with drilling metal tool. The most common shape is either spherical or cylindrical.
• In the past, all the decorations were painted with hot ember. Now, Kokeshi doll has become the most famous gift from Japan and many tourists are keen to acquire it.
• Though Kokeshi doll was introduced as a toy for kids, but it has become an integral part of Japanese culture.

About Japan :

• Capital: Tokyo
• Currency: Japanese yen
• Prime Minister: Shinzō Abe

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

India GDP to fall 45 per cent in June quarter, predicts Goldman Sachs

• Goldman Sachs now expects India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to contract by a record five per cent during 2020-21 against a contraction of 0.4 per cent estimated earlier.
• The -5% growth forecast for FY21 would be deeper compared to all recessions India has ever experienced, it stated.
• The financial services firm pegged fall in the GDP to 45 per cent in the first quarter of the current financial year over the fourth quarter of the previous financial year (annualised) compared to 20 per cent decline projected earlier.
• However, it now expected sharper rebound in the second quarter of FY’21 that forecast earlier.
• It pegged GDP growth in the quarter at 20 per cent over the previous quarter (annualised) compared to earlier projection of 10 per cent.
• For the next two quarters, the estimates remained unchanged at 14 per cent (Q3) and 6.5 per cent (Q4)

About Goldman Sachs:

• CEO: David M. Solomon
• Headquarters: New York, United States

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

Madhya Pradesh launches Charan Paduka initiative for migrant labourers

• In Madhya Pradesh, in a first of its kind of initiative, Charan Paduka campaign has been started for the migrant labourers passing through the state. Under this campaign, the migrant labourers going barefoot are being providing shoes and slippers to reduce their pain.
• The most notable thing is that this campaign is being conducted by the police at most places.
• The Charan Paduka campaign started from the Rau Police Station of Indore.
• Now this human initiative has spread in many cities of MP including Damoh, Umaria and Sagar.

About Madhya Pradesh:

• Capital: Bhopal
• Chief minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan
• Governor: Lalji Tandon

Punjab govt promulgates ‘Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners Amendment Ordinance, 2020’

• Punjab Government promulgated ‘The Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Amendment Ordinance, 2020. As per new provisions, the temporary release of the prisoners has been allowed beyond the maximum period of 16 weeks in a calendar year.
• Disclosing this at Chandigarh, Cooperation and Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa stated that the step has been taken in view of containing the spread of COVID-19, with the intention to decongest the jails.
• The Minister further added that the condition of the temporary release being availed of, on quarterly basis also stands waived.

About Punjab:

• Capital: Chandigarh
• Chief minister: Amarinder Singh
• Governor: V. P. Singh Badnore

Maharashtra govt approves formation of AYUSH task force

• The Maharashtra government has approved the formation of a task force which will give recommendations to it to incorporate AYUSH treatment modalities specifically for increasing immunity against COVID-19, stated the state medical education and drug department.
• Meanwhile, the AYUSH Ministry and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are working together on validating four AYUSH formulations against COVID-19.
• Tatyarao Lahane, Director, Medical Education and Research, Maharashtra, will head the task force. The ‘Task force on Ayush for Covid-19’ will consist of 18 members and include a number of ayurveda, homoeopathy and unani practitioners.

About Maharashtra:

• Capital: Mumbai
• Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari
• Chief Minister: Uddhav Thackeray

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Accenture acquires Ahmedabad-based Byte Prophecy

• Accenture has acquired Byte Prophecy, an automated insights and big data analytics company based in Ahmedabad, to meet the growing demand for enterprise-scale AI and digital analytics solutions across the region.
• The acquisition will add nearly 50 data science and data engineering experts, with a particular focus on insight automation, to Accenture Applied Intelligence, the company stated in a statement .
• The move will deepen existing consulting and technology capabilities that help clients in areas such as data foundations and advanced analytics, it stated
• Founded in 2011, Byte Prophecy has worked closely with Accenture Ventures since 2018 on open innovation efforts, collaborating and co-innovating with Accenture and its clients in Asia Pacific on advanced data and analytics projects.

About Accenture:

• CEO: Julie Sweet
• Headquarters: Dublin, Ireland

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU

NRAI partners with DotPe to build tech platform for online payments

• National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), the apex body of the F&B industry, has partnered with fintech start-up DotPe to build its own tech platform that would enable them with online payments for digital ordering, bill settlements, and contactless dining.
• NRAI had announced that it will launch “a new platform that online food ordering and delivery services along with loyalty programs. This would be in direct take on with existing food-tech aggregators, Zomato and Swiggy. The association’s new move is aimed at reducing the dependence of restaurants on such apps.
• The likes of Dineout, Zomato, and Paytm are already pushing their platform with contactless dining. Zomato has, in fact, taken it a notch above and made its contactless dining free for all restaurants across India and other global destinations for a period of at least six months.
• By collaborating with Dotpe, the restaurants will now be able to stay transparent with the customers by communicating with them directly through WhatsApp for all the online orders. Meanwhile, there’s no need for customers to download any additional app as they can start ordering food by simply scanning a QR code once.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION

Zubair Iqbal Appointed as the New MD of J&K Bank

• The J&K Government has nominated Zubair Iqbal, Senior Vice President (SVP) of HDFC Bank to be elected as Managing Director of the J&K Bank.
• R K Chibber will continue as the bank’s chairman for the next three years.
• Iqbal will have a three-year tenure.

About Jammu & Kashmir Bank

• Headquarters– Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
• Tagline– Serving To Empower.

Benjamin Netanyahu to lead Israel with historic 5th term as prime minister

• Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has secured a historic fifth straight term to form his government, after a controversial power-sharing deal with rival-turned-partner Benny Gantz.
• President Reuven Rivlin officially granted Netanyahu, two-week mandate to form his government, following which, Netanyahu announced the formation of his coalition government on 17 May 2020.
• Under the three-year coalition deal, Netanyahu will serve as Prime Minister for the coming 18 months, which would keep him in power until November 13, 2021.
• Till then Benny Gantz will serve as the Defence Minister of the country.
• After 18 months, both of them will swap their roles and Netanyahu will become Defence Minister while Gantz will be the new Prime Minister.

About Israel

• Capital- Jerusalem
• Currency- Israeli Shekel

Alibaba’s Jack Ma resigns from SoftBank board

• SoftBank Group Corp stated that Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma will resign from its board, in the latest departure by a high-profile ally of CEO Masayoshi Son.
• The departure of Ma, who retired as Alibaba’s executive chairman in September, comes as he pulls back from formal business roles to focus on philanthropy.
• SoftBank will propose three new appointments to the board, including group Chief Financial Officer Yoshimoto Goto, at its annual general meeting on June 25. The number of board members will expand to 13.

About Softbank:

• Headquarters : Tokyo, Japan
• CEO: Masayoshi Son

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERENCE

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan To Represent India At WHO’s 73rd World Health Assembly

• World Health Assembly, organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is set to commence on, May 18 and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan will be representing India at the two-day meet.
• In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO has announced that the 73rd World Health Assembly will be held virtually. The meeting will be centred on the impact of Coronavirus and will witness the participation of all 194 WHO member states and observers. The agenda of the meeting has been limited to two days and will conclude on May 19.
• The WHA is the World Health Organization (WHO)’s plenary body whose member states approve the organization’s budget, fill vacancies in its executive board, and vote on agenda items, as per reports.
• The two-day meeting will address a resolution, proposed by the EU to jointly develop affordable diagnostics, medicines, and vaccines for Covid-19.

About World Health Organization:

• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Director-General: Tedros Adhanom
• deputy Director-General: Soumya Swaminathan

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Union HRD Minister e-Launches seven titles on “Psycho-Social Impact of Pandemic & Lockdown and How to Cope With”

• Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ e-Launched print as well as e-editions of the set of seven titles on “Psycho-Social impact of pandemic & lockdown and how to Cope With” under the corona studies series published by NBT India.
• To counter these formidable circumstances that the world is facing these days, NBT has brought out these remarkable and unparalleled set of books.
• The Corona Studies Series has been especially conceptualized by NBT to document and to provide relevant reading materials for all age-groups for the post-Corona readership needs, under the first-sub series of books focused on ‘Psycho-Social Impact of Pandemic and How to Cope With’ prepared by a Study Group comprising of seven psychologists and counsellors constituted by NBT.
• The titles include Vulnerable in Autumn: Understanding the Elderly (Lead Researchers: Jitendra Nagpal and Aprajita Dixit; Illustrator: Aloy Ghoshal), The Future of Social Distancing: New Cardinals for Children, Adolescents and Youth (Lead Researchers: Aprajita Dixit and Rekha Chauhan Illustrator: Partha Sengupta); The Ordeal of Being Corona Warriors: An Approach to Medical and Essential Service Providers (Lead Researchers: Meena Arora and Sonie Sidhu; Illustrator: Saumya Shukla), New Frontiers At Home: An Approach to Women, Mothers and Parents (Lead Researchers: Tarun Uppal and Sonie Sidhu; Illustrator: Arya Prahraj), Caught in Corona Conflict: An Approach to the Working Population (Lead Researchers: Jitendra Nagpal and Tarun Uppal; Illustrator: Fazruddin), Making Sense of It All: Understanding the Concerns of Persons With Disabilities (Lead Researchers: Rekha Chauhan and Harsheeta; Illustrator: Viky Arya); and Alienation And Resilience: Understanding Corona Affected Families (Lead Researchers: Harsheeta and Meena Arora; Illustrator: Neetu Sharma).
• Seven videos complementing the book are also being launched along with the books, giving an overview of the content.

About NBT

• Chairman– Govind Prasad Sharma.
• Headquarters–New Delhi.

EBook ‘Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City’ Releases in India

• ‘Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City’ by well-known Chinese literary writer Fang Fang, has released in India in the ebook format.
• Published by HarperNonFiction, the audio will follow on May 26. The book, which will be translated into 15 languages is a compilation of the author’s diary entries and social media posts that document 60 days of lockdown during the COVID-19 epidemic.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

South Central Railway develops Rail-Bot to strengthen hospital care

• South Central Railway has developed a robotic device, “Rail-Bot” (R-BOT), that helps assist in hospital management functions towards patient care.
• The R-BOT underwent extensive trails and demonstration before being deployed for use in Central Railway Hospital, Lallaguda, Secunderabad.
• It is being used to provide medicines, medical accessories and to serve food to the patients, without any need for physical contact. This will enable doctors, nurses and other support medical staff to stay away from the risks of contacting infections.
• The R-BOT is operated through a unique mobile application developed as part of the innovation, supported by WiFi facility.
• The R-BOT holds sensor-based features to read the body temperature of patients and transmit the same for display on amobile phone. It is capable of raising an alarm in case of any abnormal rise in the temperature readings so as to alert medics attending to the patients.
• The R-BOT has a real-time video camera with pan and tilt functions, acts as two-way audio and video communication with recording, facilitating smooth interaction between patients and doctors. It uses infra-red technology with emergency night lamp and night vision to enable communication even in complete darkness.

ZSI Lists 20 Species Of Amphibians As ‘critically Endangered’

• The Zoological Survey of India has posted an updated checklist of Indian amphibians on its website, listing 20 species as critically endangered and 35 as ‘endangered’, an. The 20 ‘critically endangered’ amphibians include some species of frogs found in the Western Ghats of Kerala, Maharashtra and Karnataka and in some hills of the north east.
• The number of amphibian species recorded in the comprehensive checklist, uploaded on the Zoological Survey of India’s (ZSI) website, has gone up from 284 in 2009 to 447 now, Goa-based environmentalist Nirmal U Kulkarni, who was part of the checklist updation exercise, stated.
• Among the amphibians listed, 20 species are ‘critically endangered’ and 35 species as ‘endangered’, he stated. These include Raorchestes resplendens, a shrubfrog found in the high altitude region around the south Indian peak of Anamudi in Kerala, Raorchestes kaikatti, also known as the Kaikatti bush frog found only in the Nelliyampathy hills in theWestern Ghats of Kerala and Raorchestes shillongensis species found in Shillong.
• Besides, Pseudophilautus amboli, a rare shrub frog species endemic to the Western Ghats at Amboliin Maharashtra and Jog Falls and Kudremukh in Karnataka, has also been termed as critically endangered, Kulkarni stated.

About Zoological Survey of India:

• Headquarters location: Kolkata
• Director: Dr. Kailash Chandra

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE

Indian Navy Commissions Seventh MK IV Landing Craft Utility, IN LCU L57

• The Indian Navy commissioned its seventh MK IV Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessel, IN LCU L57.
• The low-profile ceremony, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, was held in Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• The IN LCU L57 vessel (Yard no: 2098) wasdelivered to the Navy by its builder, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), last year. The vessel will be based in Port Blair under the Naval Component Commander (NAVCC) in Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), India’s first and only tri-service command.
• Mk IV LCU is a class of indigenously designed and built Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessels operated by the Indian Navy developed as a follow on class of Mk. III LCU. They are indigenously designed and built by state-owned shipyard, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata.
• The vessel is 63 meters long, has an overall beam of 11 meters, a hull draught of 2.2 meters, and displaces around 830 tons.
• The LCU has lift capacity for up to 216 personnel, including 160 fully equipped soldiers and 56 crew and 145 tonnes of military equipment. The vehicle lift capacity is one 65 ton main battle tank (MBT) like the Arjun or two 45 ton tanks like the T-72/80, or four 13.5 ton BMP infantry fighting vehicles (IFV). It is fitted with a hydraulic bow ramp which enables loading and unloading of combat equipment and vehicles on beaching. Ballast arrangement further ensures desired trim for smooth beaching operations.
• The ship can be deployed for maritime roles like maritime security, beaching, un-beaching, humanitarian relief operations and evacuation from distant islands, search and rescue operations and peacekeeping missions.
• The LCUs are being inducted into the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), India’s first and only tri-service command which is responsible for Andaman and Nicobar island territory. The Indian Navy is developing the chain of islands as an amphibious warfare hub to counterbalance China’s growing military influence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

About GRSE (Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited)

• Headquarters– Kolkata,West Bengal
• Chairman & Managing Director– Rear Admiral Vipin Kumar Saxena

About Indian Navy

• Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS)– Admiral Karambir Singh

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

Hindujas share second spot with Reuben brothers in UK Rich List 2020

• Two sets of Indian-origin siblings dominate the annual tally of Britain’s wealthiest as the Hinduja and Reuben brothers share the second spot with a fortune of 16 billion pounds each, while British inventor-entrepreneur James Dyson tops ‘The Sunday Times Rich List 2020’ with 2 billion pounds.
• Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja, who run the Hinduja Group of companies, lost 6 billion pounds to slip from the top slot in last year’s list. Mumbai-born David and Simon Reuben lost 2.66 billion pounds over the past year, but their second position in the tally remains unchanged from 2019.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Iran’s OPEC governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili passes away from brain hemorrhage

• Iran’s OPEC governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili passed away at age 67 after falling into a coma following a brain hemorrhage.
• He had represented Iran in the global oil cartel since 2013, including during high-level talks in recent years aimed at cutting production to prop up flagging prices. He previously served as Iran’s OPEC governor from 1994 to 2008.

Former Australian rugby league captain Arthur Summons passes away

• Former Australian rugby league captain Arthur Summons, who is immortalized on the National Rugby League trophy, has passed away. He was 84.
• Summons was first photographed with Norm Provan after the 1963 New South Wales Rugby League grand final at the Sydney Cricket Ground, one of Australia’s most famous photographs.
• He was also a former rugby union player who played 10 tests for the Wallabies. He is listed as one of the best 100 rugby league players of the last century.

DAILY CA 16th  MAY

• Armed Forces Day (Third Saturday of the May)
• MHRD develops SAMARTH Enterprises Resource Planning to provide quality education
• Tribal Affairs Ministry in partnership with Facebook launches ‘Goal’ programme for Digital Skilling of Tribal Youths
• Govt introduces Interest subvention on Working Capital Loans for Dairy sector
• Govt to launch Rs 20000 crore Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana for development of marine & inland fisheries
• FM announces third tranche of COVID-19 relief package, amends Essential Commodity Act
• Digital Health EMI Network Card
• Infosys Selected as the Digital Transformation Partner for GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ Digital Leadership Program
• Centre, WB govt, AIIB sign agreement for USD 145 million project to improve irrigation in West Bengal
• Tamil Nadu govt’s ‘Aarogya’ scheme complements AYUSH Ministry schemes for boosting immunity through traditional medicines
• J&K promotes e-learning under Samagra Shiksha programme
• Rajasthan-based company develops robots to screen people amid Covid-19
• Facebook acquires GIF-making website GIPHY
• WTO chief Azevedo to step down on August 31 before term expires
• Rajnath Singh adds patrol vessel, 2 interceptor boats to Coast Guard strength
• Rajnath Singh approves launch of Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme
• IIT Gandhinagar ‘develops’ interactive dashboard to help contain COVID-19 community infection post lockdown
• Veteran Bengali author, Sahitya Akademi winner Debesh Roy passes away

DAILY CA 17th and 18th  MAY

• National Dengue Day- 16th may

• International Day of Living Together in Peace- 16th may
• International Day of Light– 16th may
• World Hypertension Day– 17th may
• World Telecommunication and Information Society Day – 17th may
• International Museum Day- 18th may
• Finance Minister announces 5th tranche (last) of economic support under the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan
• Centre launches online dashboard to monitor movement of migrant workers
• Kokeshi dolls one of Japan’s popular cultural icons
• India GDP to fall 45 per cent in June quarter, predicts Goldman Sachs
• Madhya Pradesh launches Charan Paduka initiative for migrant labourers
• Punjab govt promulgates ‘Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners Amendment Ordinance, 2020’
• Maharashtra govt approves formation of AYUSH task force
• Accenture acquires Ahmedabad-based Byte Prophecy
• NRAI partners with DotPe to build tech platform for online payments
• Zubair Iqbal Appointed as the New MD of J&K Bank
• Benjamin Netanyahu to lead Israel with historic 5th term as prime minister
• Alibaba’s Jack Ma resigns from SoftBank board
• Health Minister Harsh Vardhan To Represent India At WHO’s 73rd World Health Assembly
• Union HRD Minister e-Launches seven titles on “Psycho-Social Impact of Pandemic & Lockdown and How to Cope With”
• EBook ‘Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City’ Releases in India
• South Central Railway develops Rail-Bot to strengthen hospital care
• ZSI Lists 20 Species Of Amphibians As ‘critically Endangered’
• Indian Navy Commissions Seventh MK IV Landing Craft Utility, IN LCU L57
• Hindujas share second spot with Reuben brothers in UK Rich List 2020
• Iran’s OPEC governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili passes away from brain hemorrhage
• Former Australian rugby league captain Arthur Summons passes away