Current Affairs - May 17, 2020 Current Affairs

In order to raise awareness about endangered species and wildlife in India, National Endangered Species Day is celebrated every year on the 3rd Friday of May. This year the day falls on May 15, 2020 & we are celebrating the 15th edition.

The Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee launched two schemes 'Sneher Porosh' to provide support for the migrant workers and 'Prochesta' to help the workers of the unorganised sector of Bengal to enable them to earn their living in the lockdown situation.

Scientists at CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur, have developed two mobile indoor Disinfection Sprayer units, Battery Powered Disinfectant Sprayer (BPDS) and Pneumatically Operated Mobile Indoor Disinfection (POMID). These disinfection units can be used for cleaning and disinfecting pathogenic micro-organisms effectively, especially in hospitals.

Lieutenant Commander Akshay Kumar of the Anti-Submarine Warfare School of the Southern Naval Command (SNC) in Kochi was awarded the Vice Admiral G.M. Hiranandani Memorial Rolling Trophy for the year 2020 by Vice Admiral A.K. Chawla, Flag Officer Commanding-in-chief (FOC-in-C) of the SNC. The award ceremony was held at the Maritime Warfare Centre, Kochi, Kerala.

Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)- Gandhinagar (IITGN), Gujarat, have developed an interactive COVID-19 dashboard named "MIR AHD Covid-19 Dashboard", that can help administrators, hospitals as well as public in planning optimised testing for the novel coronavirus and containing community infection in various post-lockdown scenarios.

Chhattisgarh State government is to launch Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana on 21 May on the commemoration of the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The scheme is aimed to stimulate the rural economy in the state, amid the slowdown caused by by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Israel named a street in Tel Aviv after Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore on his 159th birth anniversary to honor his valuable contributions in the field and to mankind. He was born on May 7, 1861, in Calcutta. In Bengal Rabindra Jayanti is celebrated on the 25th day of the Bengali month of Boishakh.

In a bid to help people start a normal life which has been affected due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown , the Gujarat state government has launched a 'Atmanirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojna (AGSY)' under which small businessmen and a cross- section of people falling under the lower middle-income group can take a guarantee-free loan of Rs 1 lakh from banks at a 2 % annual interest rate. While the rest 6 % interest will be paid by the state government.

Union Minister of Human Resource and Development Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' launched a set of seven titles on "Psycho-Social impact of pandemic & lockdown and how to Cope With" by NBT, India. The titles are placed under the corona studies series of NBT. NBT brought out a remarkable and unparalleled set of books that will serve as guides to the mental well-being of people at large.The Corona Studies Series was prepared by National Book Trust (NBT) to document and provide relevant reading materials for all age-groups for the post-Corona readership needs.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) developed an online Dashboard-National Migrant Information System (NMIS). The central online repository aims to capture the information regarding the movement of migrants and facilitate the smooth movement of stranded persons across States. NMIS was developed after the Government of India allowed the movement of migrant workers by buses and Shramik special trains to enable them to travel to their native places. NDMA was founded on 30 May 2005.

The Government of India (GoI) and the World Bank signed a $750 million of $1 billion proposed for Accelerating India's COVID-19 Social Protection Response Programme. The agreement aims to support India's efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a report "Updated Assessment of the Potential Economic Impact of COVID-19" released by Asian Development Bank (ADB), global economy is expected to lose between $ 5.8 trillion to $ 8.8 trillion, which will be 6.4 % to 9.7 % of global gross domestic product (GDP), due to the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Scientists from the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) and Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, under the Department of Science & Technology (DST) jointly developed new generation Iron-Manganese based alloys for biodegradable metal implants for use in humans.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the launch of the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) with an outlay of Rs.400 crore. The aim is to create a state of the art testing infrastructure for the defence sector and to boost domestic defence and aerospace manufacturing. DTID Scheme will run for a duration of 5 years. Unser the scheme, the MoD set up 6-8 new test facilities in partnership with the private industry.

Sikkim celebrated 45th State Day on 16 May 2020. It was celebrated in a brief function held at Chintan Bhawan premises, Gangtok. The function was graced by Governor of Sikkim Shri Ganga Prasad and Chief Minister Shri Prem Singh Tamang amid lockdown.

International Day of Light is observed on 16 May. The day marks the 60th anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960 by Theodore Maiman, the physicist, and engineer. The day aims to raise awareness about the important role played by all the light-based technologies in the lives of people in areas of education, art, and culture sustainable development, science & technology, and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications, and energy.

The Government of India (GoI), West Bengal state government, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) signed a loan agreement for a $145 million project. The main objective is to improve flood management and irrigation services in the Damodar Valley Command Area (DVCA) in West Bengal state.

According to analysis by the environmental website, Carbon Brief, India's Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions fell by 30 metric tonnes(1.4%) in the fiscal year ending March, which is the first annual decline in four decades. Furthermore emission fell by 15% during the month of March and is likely to fall by 30% in April. The analysis is done by Lauri Myllyvirta and Sunil Dahiya of Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air(CREA).

National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research-Guwahati (NIPER-G) has developed two products, 3D-printed hands-free object & 3D-printed antimicrobial face-shield, to help in the fight against the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The devices are expected to play a key role in containing the transmission of coronavirus from one person to another through bare hand contacts or contaminated surface source.

Delhi Police launched India's first 'Thermal Corona Combat Headgear' to ensure the safety of frontline warriors and enforce social distancing. The initiative has been launched by the Delhi police in collaboration with Indian Robotics Solution. This equipment helps police personnel to detect the temperature of a large number of people from a distance of 10-15 metres.