Current Affairs 02nd & 03rd May 2021| Current Affairs News

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

Statehood day of Gujarat and Maharashtra – Observed on May 01

• May 1 comes as the establishment day for the state of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
• It was on this day in the year 1960 that the former state of Bombay was segregated on a linguistic basis and two states were formed — Maharashtra and Gujarat.
• Gujarati, the official language of the state of Gujarat, comes as an Indo-Aryan language which emerged from local Prakrits and Sanskrit.
• Often named ‘Jewel of Western India’, Gujarat has been on the world map since ancient ages.
• Gujarat was authoritatively formed in the year 1960 after the impression for the state originated in the year 1928 in a magazine by the name Kumar.
• Freedom fighter and writer K M Munshi originally proposed a concept called Mahagujarat.
• The list of the world’s fastest-growing cities published by Forbes in 2010 positioned Ahmedabad at number 3 after Chongqing and Chengdu cities of China.
• Gujarat is also the home state of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who is known by the name ‘Iron Man of India’.
• The day of pride for Maharashtrian as this day reminds us of our resplendent history and culture.
• Wishing everyone a cheerful Maharashtra Day.
• Maharashtra has been the land of Maratha warriors who have fought their enemies with courage.
• Let us always follow their footsteps.
• Maharashtra has been a prosperous and inspiring state which has many successful stories to tell to the world.Warm greetings on Maharashtra Day to all.
• On the occasion of Maharashtra Day let us join hands to make these celebrations memorable.
• Warm greetings on the occasion of Maharashtra Day to everyone.

World Tuna Day – Observed on May 02

• World Tuna Dayis observed on May 2 every year to raise awareness about the Tuna fish and its importance to humans and earth and also to promote more sustainable fishing practices.
• The United Nations (UN) officially recognized the World Tuna Day in 2017.
• The first World Tuna Day was observed in the year 2017.
• Tuna is a saltwater fish comprising of some 15 different species across five genera.
• It was officially established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) by adopting resolution 71/124, in December 2016.
• It aims to draw attention to the importance of conservation management and sustainable fishing.

World Laughter Day – Observed on first Sunday of May

• World Laughter Day was established in 1998 and the first celebration was on July 28, 2008, in Mumbai, India, arranged by Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement.
• World Laughter Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday of May to spread awareness about the many healing benefits of laughter.
• “Everybody knows that laughing feels good, but few realize how valuable these simple tools can be in improving our everyday wellness and wellbeing,” states the official website of World Laughter Day.
• To make sure their followers enjoy a good chuckle on World Laughter Day, Mumbai Police took a trip down memory lane to remember some of the funniest excuses their officers have heard while on duty.

 World Press Freedom Day – Observed on May 03

• The United Nations General Assemblydeclared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day, observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press.
• Remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expressionenshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and marking the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in Windhoek in 1991.
• This year’s World Press Freedom Day theme “Information as a Public Good” serves as a call to affirm the importance of cherishing information as a public good, and exploring what can be done in the production, distribution and reception of content to strengthen journalism, and to advance transparency and empowerment while leaving no one behind.
• Organized annually since 1993, the Global Conference provides an opportunity to journalists, civil society representatives, national authorities, academics and the broader public to discuss emerging challenges to press freedom and journalists’ safety, and to work together on identifying solutions.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

EAM S Jaishankar to Commence on 4-day visit to London 

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will embark on a four-day visit to London beginning to participate in a meeting of foreign ministers of G7 countries.
• India has been invited to the meeting as a guest country.
• The G7 members are Britain, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
• The meeting is expected to discuss ways to deal with the coronavirus pandemic besides several other pressing issues facing the world.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari mentioned that Govt set target of road construction of worth Rs 15 lakh cr in next 2 years

• Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the government has set a target of road construction of worth 15 lakh crore rupees in next two years.
• He said the government is giving utmost priority to the development of infrastructure.
• Addressing the Indo-U.S. Partnership Vision Summit through video conferencing, Mr Gadkari exuded confidence that the Ministry will achieve a target of 40 kilometres per day of highway construction in the current fiscal.
• He said that the Government is permitting 100 percent FDI in the road sector.
• The Minister added that in India, projects like the National Infrastructure pipeline for 2019-2025 is the first of its kind and the government is committed to providing world class infra to its citizens and improving the quality of their lives.
• He said that under the NIP, there are over 7,300 projects to be implemented at a total outlay of 111 lakh crore rupees by 2025.
• Mr Gadkari said that in the new era of bilateral relations, the national interests of India and the US are converging.
• There is growing confidence between both the administrations that all outstanding trade issues will be resolved and major trade agreements will be signed soon.
• The Minister invited the US companies to invest in infrastructure and MSME sectors in India.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

LDF attains 2nd consecutive term in Kerala

• In Kerala, Left Democratic Front (LDA) has retained power for the second consecutive term.
• Pinarayi Vijayan government has become the first government to get the second successive term in four decades.
• In the 140 member Assembly, CPM has won 62 seats, CPI 17, Congress 21, IUML 15, Kerala Congress (M) 5 and JD(Secular), Kerala Congress and NCP 2 seats each.

BJP-led NDA gets power in Assam for 2nd consecutive term

• In Assam, BJP-led NDA has retained power for the second consecutive term.
• The NDA has secured 75 seats in the 126-member assembly.
• While BJP won 60 seats, its allies Asom Gana Parishad bagged 9 seats and UPPL 6 seats.
• Congress has won 29 seats and its ally AIUDF got 10 seats.
• Chief Minister and senior BJP leader won the Majuli seat by a margin of over 40 thousand votes.
• State BJP President Ranjit Kumar Dass, senior ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chandra Mohan Patowary, Ranjit Dutta, Parimal Suklabaidya, Naba Doley and Speaker of the Assembly Hitendra Nath Goswami won the election.
• For Congress, legislators Rockibul Hussain, Rekibuddin Ahmed, Rupjyoti Kurmi were re-elected to the assembly.
• Three senior leaders of Asom Gana Parishad Atul Bora, Keshab Mahanta and Phani Bhusan Choudhury won from their seats.
• Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has said that the success of the party in the state is the victory of the people of Assam.
• The Chief Minister said that voters have endorsed the good works of the government during the last 5 years.
• He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and other central ministers for all the support.

TMC comeback to power in West Bengal

• In West Bengal, ruling Trinamool Congress has retained power for the third term in a row but Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost her own Nandigram seat.
• Trinamool Congress has won 209 seats and leading at 4 seats.
• BJP has won 76 seats and is leading at one seat.
• BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee by a margin of 1,956 votes in the key Nandigram constituency.
• United Front – an alliance of Left Front, Congress and the newly formed Indian Secular Front, failed miserably.
• For the first time since Independence, CPI-M has scored a duck in West Bengal.

Puducherry Assembly Election: Results favour of NR Congress

• In the Union Territory of Puducherry, So far the results of 20 constituencies have been announced officially.
• The National Democratic Alliance captured 11 seats and Secular Democratic Alliance won in 5 seats.
• 4 Independent candidates were also elected here.
• In the NDA Alliance BJP won 3 seats.
• In Kamaraj Nagar constituency Mr Johnkumar , and his son Richard who contested in Nellithoppu constituency won in this election.
• Namasivayam of BJP was also elected from Mannadipet.
• The NR Congress candidates captured 8 seats .
• The winning candidates are Theni.

Tamil Nadu Election Results 2021: DMK leader Stalin to be sworn in as CM on May 7

• After a decade in opposition, the DMK won a convincing victory over arch-rival AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and the ruling party managed to emerge as a formidable opposition, overcoming the burden of ten year anti-incumbency to an extent. 
• As counting of votes polled in the April 6 TN Assembly elections progressed, it became amply clear that the DMK was dislodging the AIADMK from the seat of power.

J&K: DDMA Srinagar unveiled 24×7 dedicated Helpline at Covid-19 War Control Room

• In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) Srinagar has launched a 24×7 dedicated Helpline at Covid-19 War Control Room to provide real time Covid-19 related facilities to the people.
• The facility was inaugurated by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Pandurang K Pole.
• The residents of Srinagar district can log on to the website waseela.in and can get real time information about Covid-19 related facilities.
• People can also dial helpline no’s 01942483650 and 01942483651 for any query related to Covid-19 pandemic, the basic purpose of establishing the War Control Room in Srinagar is to provide instant information to the people about the number of isolation beds, ICU beds, and oxygen beds available in the city hospitals.
• It would also provide information about positive cases, tests conducted, and vaccination details apart from information regarding containment zones.
• Meanwhile, all the hospitals in Srinagar city have been connected with the Covid-19 War Control Room so that all the information could be timely updated on the website.
• The War Control Room will be functional round the clock for the facilitation of the general public.

1200 LPM oxygen generation plant commissioned at Gandhi Nagar Hospital

• In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in pursuance of the Lieutenant Governor’s directions regarding augmentation of Oxygen facilities in the hospitals, a 1200 litre per minute, LPM Oxygen Generation Plant has been commissioned at the old block of Hospital, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu.
• The hospital has been notified as a designated COVID hospital.
• With the commissioning of the plant, the hospital has become self-sufficient in meeting the medical oxygen needs and it can cater to 92 beds at a time.
• The plant will substantially augment the availability of medical oxygen in the present oxygen bank reducing the dependence on manual oxygen cylinders. 
• Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Anshul Garg inspected the functioning of the newly installed Oxygen Generation Plant and directed the hospital authorities to augment the existing bed capacity for efficient management of COVID patients.

Pradesh plans to supply over 2 lakh tap water connections across the State

• Himachal Pradesh has planned to provide over two lakh tap water connections across the State.
• Jal Shakti Ministry said that the Himachal Pradesh government has also reiterated its commitment to achieve Har Ghar Jal target by July next year.
• The State presented their Jal Jeevan Mission Annual Action Plan for the current financial year before the national committee chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti through video conference.
• Himachal Pradesh has over 17 lakh rural households, out of which around 76 per cent have assured tap water supply.
• The Ministry said, since the announcement of Jal Jeevan Mission in August, 2019, over five lakh tap water connections has been provided and so far eight thousand 458 villages in the State have been declared Har Ghar Jal.
• The Jal Jeevan Mission is a flagship programme of the Central Government being implemented in partnership with the States with the objective to provide tap water connection in every rural household by 2024.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

Facebook to introduces vaccine finder tool on mobile app in India

• Facebook said it is partnering with the Indian government to roll out a vaccine finder tool on its mobile app in India, which will help people identify places nearby to get inoculated.
• The social media giant had, earlier this week, announced a USD 10 million grant for emergency response efforts for COVID-19 situation in the country.
• “Partnering with the Government of India, Facebook will begin rolling out its Vaccine Finder tool on the Facebook mobile app in India available in 17 languages to help people identify places nearby to get the vaccine,” Facebook said in a post on the platform.
• In this tool, vaccine centre locations and their hours of operation have been provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
• The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 15.22 crore.
• Also, more than 2.45 crore people have registered themselves on the Co-WIN digital platform ahead of the Phase-3 of the COVID-19 vaccination for those above 18 years that is set to start from May 1.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING NEWS

Sidbi unveils loan products for oxygen companies 

• The Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) has launched two quick-delivery schemes to fund businesses in the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) segment that are helping combat the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• These schemes envisage 100 per cent funding up to an amount of Rs 2 crore to a MSME unit at an interest rate of 5-6 per cent per annum, within 48 hours after receipt of all the documents or information.
• Borrowers can put in their applications online.
• The principal financial institution engaged in the promotion, financing and development of MSMEs has launched SHWAS (SIDBI assistance to Healthcare sector in War Against Second wave of Covid) and AROG (SIDBI Assistance to MSMEs for Recovery & Organic Growth during Covid).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENT AND RESIGNATION NEWS

Government appointed Rabi Sankar as next RBI deputy governor

• The government has appointed RBI Executive Director T Rabi Sankar as the fourth deputy governor of the central bank.
• Sankar fills the vacancy created by the retirement of BP Kanungo on April 2, after completing a one-year extension.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet cleared his appointment for three-year tenure or till he superannuates, whichever is earlier.
• The other three deputy governors are Michael D Patra, who heads the all-important monetary policy department; Mukesh Kumar Jain, the commercial banker-turned-central banker; and Rajeshwar Rao.
• Sankar’s portfolio may include the departments headed by Kanungo, which included fintech, information technology, payments system and risk monitoring.
• He had joined the central bank as a research officer in September 1990.

Tripurari Sharan appointed as new Chief Secretary of Bihar

• Senior IAS officer Tripurari Sharan has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Bihar. 
• Sharan is an IAS officer of 1985 batch of Bihar cadre.
• The post of Chief Secretary was lying vacant following death of Arun Kumar Singh who passed away due to COVID complications.

BBB nominates Harsha Bangari for MD post at Exim Bank

• The BanksBoard Bureau (BBB) has recommended Harsha Bangari to the position of Managing Director in Export-Import Bank of India.
• Currently, Bangariis Deputy Managing Director (DMD) in Exim Bank.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

DCB Bank invests in equity in India INX and India ICC

• DCB Bank announced that it has acquired equity stake in two companies based at Gift City IFSC at Gandhinagar.
• The Bank has invested a sum of Rs. 5 crore representing approximately 2.89% of post paid up capital of India International Exchange (IFSC).
• The Bank has also invested a sum of Rs.5 crore representing approximately 4.93% of post paid up capital of India International Clearing Corporation (IFSC) (India ICC).
• India INX is India’s first exchange in International Finance Services Centre (IFSC).
• India INX and India ICC are promoted by BSE (BSE) and are the leading exchange and clearing corporation in the GIFT City IFSC at Gandhinagar.

About DCB Bank :

• Headquarters: Maharashtra
• CEO: Murali M. Natrajan 
• Founded: 1930

About Gift City :

• Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) is a business district near Gandhinagar in Gujarat, India.
• It is India’s first operational greenfield smart city and international financial services centre, which the Government of Gujarat promoted as a greenfield project, The city is located on the banks of the Sabarmati River and is around 12 km (7.5 mi) from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Scientists Discover The Smallest Black Hole In The Milky Way Galaxy Dubbed ‘The Unicorn

• Scientists have discovered the smallest-known black hole in the Milky Way galaxy and the closest to our solar system.
• It was nicknamed ‘the Unicorn.’
• The black hole is roughly three times the mass of our sun.
• The black hole is located about 1,500 light years – the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km) – from Earth.
• A luminous star called a red giant orbits with the black hole in a so-called binary star system named V723 Mon.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : ENVIRONMENT

Two damselfly species Euphaea thosegharensis and Euphaea pseudodispar discovered in Western Ghats

• Researchers have collaborated to discover two damselfly species from Satara district in Maharashtra, which forms part of northern Western Ghats.
• The new endemic damsels named Euphaea thosegharensis and Euphaea pseudodispar.
• The discoveries have been published in the  Journal of Threatened Taxa.
• It belonging to the genus Euphaea,
• Both were discovered by a team comprising Sriram Bhakare, Pratima Pawar and Sunil Bhoite from Mumbai and Kalesh Sadasivam and Vinayan Nair representing the Thiruvananthapuram-based Travancore Nature History Society.
• The specimens were spotted by Dr. Bhakare in May 2020 at Thoseghar in Satara district.

About Euphaea thosegharensis :

• Euphaea thosegharensis is similar to Euphaea cardinalis.
• It is Identified by its black hind legs.

About Euphaea pseudodispar :

• Euphaea pseudodispar is similar to Euphaea dispar but can be easily separated by its colouration and morphology.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2021 – Ash Barty Wins Women’s Single Title

• World No 1 Ash Barty won two titles and a brand new sports car at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2021.
• It took place at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, from 19 to 25 April 2021.
• It is a third consecutive comeback triumph in the singles final against Aryna Sabalenka.
• She also won the doubles title on a busy, fun and lucrative date with her American partner Jennifer Brady.
• It was her first European tournament on clay since triumphing in the 2019 French Open.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

Veteran communist leader Dr Joginder Dayal passes away

• On April 30, 2021, Communist Party of India’s veteran leader Dr Joginder Dayal passed away.
• He was 80.
• Dayal, who was a senior leader of the CPI from Punjab.
• He served as president of Communist Party of India’s All-India Student Federation as well as president of All-India Youth Federation.
• Dayal was a leader of masses with the qualities of head and heart, who played a pivotal role to espouse the cause of unprivileged sections of the society.
• Dr Dayal relentlessly worked to ensure peace, harmony and amity in the state thus denouncing the sectarian and fissiparous forces.

Sitar maestro Pandit Devabrata Chaudhuri passes away 

• On May 01, 2021, Sitar maestro Pandit Devabrata Chaudhuri Passed away,
• He was 85.
• Pandit Debu Chaudhuri was also a teacher and writer.
• He had penned six books and composed many new ragas.
• The Legend of Sitar belonged to the Senia or Gharana style of music.

Achievements :

• He bagged several prestigious titles, including Padmabhushan, the Padmashree and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his contribution in the field of music.

Bikramjeet Kanwarpal passes away 

• On April 30, 2021, Actor Bikramjeet Kanwarpal Passed away.
• He was 52.

About Bikramjeet Kanwarpal :

• Kanwarpal was born in Solan Himachal Pradesh, India.
• He was the son of an Indian Army officer, Dwarka Nath Kanwarpal, who was awarded the Kirti Chakra in 1963.
• In 1989 he was commissioned into the Indian Army.
• He has been a part of many popular films, TV shows and web series.
• On television, he played prominent roles in shows like Diya Aur Baati Hum, Yeh Hai Chahatein, Dil Hi Toh Hai and Anil Kapoor’s 24.
• He was a retired army officer.
• Bikramjeet Kanwarpal made his acting debut in 2003 after retiring from the Indian Army.
• He was last seen in Disney Plus Hotstar’s popular web series Special Ops.

Daily CA On May 01 :

• Labour Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.
• As a special dispensation, the Centre has released in advance over 8873 crore rupees for State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to all the States.
• On the occasion of the 151st birth anniversary of the father of Indian cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke, the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has published a rich treasure of audio recordings in the public domain.
• In homage to the legendary filmmaker, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting will organize year-long centenary celebrations of late Satyajit Ray across India and abroad.
• The Finance Ministry has decided to provide an additional amount of upto 15 thousand crore rupees to States as interest free 50 year loan for spending on capital projects.
• China launched the core module of its space station, kicking off a series of key launch missions that aim to complete the construction of the station by the end of next year.
• Madhya Pradesh government transferred Rs 61 crore into the accounts of more than 6 lakh 10 thousand street vendors of the state through Direct Benefit Transfer.
• In Madhya Pradesh, the state government has launched the Corona Warriors Scheme. The government will take the responsibility of family members of health workers who have passed away while on Corona duty.
• Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that the target of foodgrains production for 2021-22 is 307 million tonnes. 
• The Tata group’s foray into the India’s growing e-grocery market has been sealed with the Competition Commission of India giving its nod to its $1 billion acquisition of
• Uber unveiled a Rs 18.5 crore (USD 2.5 million) initiative to get 150,000 drivers on its platform vaccinated over the next six months.
• Mahesh Balasubramanian will be the Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Life Insuranceand Suresh Agarwal will be the Managing Director and CEO of Kotak General Insurance.
• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) veteran Samir Seksaria took over as Chief Financial Officer of the country’s largest IT services firm.
• Subir Chakraborty has taken over as MD and CEOof the storage battery major Exide Industries.
• On April 26, 2021, The US-Army led multinational, joint exercise ‘DEFENDER-Europe 21’ was kicked off in Albania. It will be conducted in more than 30 training areas in 12 countries during April, May and June, including Western Balkan countries.
• Indian Navy has launched Operation Samudra Setu-II to augment the ongoing national mission for meeting the Oxygen requirements.
• Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad represented India at the G-7 Digital and Technology Ministerial Meeting. 
• On April 27, 2021, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the country’s first 3D printed house at IIT, Madras.
• Indian Scientists have developed a high-yielding and pest-resistant variety of soybean MACS 1407. It is suitable for cultivation in the states of Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and North-Eastern states.
• State-owned insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation has emerged as the strongest and the tenth most valuable insurance brand globally in Brand Finance Insurance 100 report for 2021.
• On April 30, 2021, Well-known TV journalist and anchor Rohit Sardana Passed away.
• On April 30, 2021, Former Attorney General of India and renowned jurist Soli Sorabjee Passed away.

Daily CA On May 02 & 03 :

• May 1 comes as the establishment day for the state of Gujarat and Maharashtra. It was on this day in the year 1960 that the former state of Bombay was segregated on a linguistic basis and two states were formed Maharashtra and Gujarat.
• World Tuna Dayis observed on May 2 every year to raise awareness about the Tuna fish and its importance to humans and earth and also to promote more sustainable fishing practices.
• World Laughter Day was established in 1998 and the first celebration was on July 28, 2008, in Mumbai, India, arranged by Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement.
• The United Nations General Assemblydeclared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day, observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press.
• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will embark on a four-day visit to London beginning to participate in a meeting of foreign ministers of G7 countries.
• Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the government has set a target of road construction of worth 15 lakh crore rupees in next two years.
• In Kerala, Left Democratic Front (LDA) has retained power for the second consecutive term. Pinarayi Vijayan government has become the first government to get the second successive term in four decades.
• In Assam, BJP-led NDA has retained power for the second consecutive term. The NDA has secured 75 seats in the 126-member assembly.
• In West Bengal, ruling Trinamool Congress has retained power for the third term in a row but Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost her own Nandigram seat.
• In the Union Territory of Puducherry, So far the results of 20 constituencies have been announced officially. The National Democratic Alliance captured 11 seats and Secular Democratic Alliance won in 5 seats.
• The DMK won a convincing victory over arch-rival AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and the ruling party managed to emerge as a formidable opposition, overcoming the burden of ten year anti-incumbency to an extent. 
• In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) Srinagar has launched a 24×7 dedicated Helpline at Covid-19 War Control Room to provide real time Covid-19 related facilities to the people.
• In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in pursuance of the Lieutenant Governor’s directions regarding augmentation of Oxygen facilities in the hospitals, a 1200 litre per minute, LPM Oxygen Generation Plant has been commissioned at the old block of Hospital, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu.
• Himachal Pradesh has planned to provide over two lakh tap water connections across the State.
• Facebook said it is partnering with the Indian government to roll out a vaccine finder tool on its mobile app in India, which will help people identify places nearby to get inoculated.
• The Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) has launched two quick-delivery schemes to fund businesses in the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) segment that are helping combat the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The government has appointed RBI Executive Director T Rabi Sankar as the fourth deputy governor of the central bank.
• Senior IAS officer Tripurari Sharan has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Bihar. 
• The BanksBoard Bureau (BBB) has recommended Harsha Bangari to the position of Managing Director in Export-Import Bank of India.
• DCB Bank announced that it has acquired equity stake in two companies based at Gift City IFSC at Gandhinagar.
• Scientists have discovered the smallest-known black hole in the Milky Way galaxy and the closest to our solar system. It was nicknamed ‘the Unicorn.
• Researchers have collaborated to discover two damselfly species from Satara district in Maharashtra, which forms part of northern Western Ghats.
• World No 1 Ash Barty won two titles and a brand new sports car at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2021. It took place at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, from 19 to 25 April 2021.
• On April 30, 2021, Communist Party of India’s veteran leader Dr Joginder Dayal passed away.
• On May 01, 2021, Sitar maestro Pandit Devabrata Chaudhuri Passed away,
• On April 30, 2021, Actor Bikramjeet Kanwarpal Passed away.