Current Affairs - May 18, 2020 Current Affairs

The Centre approved to modification of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Ujh multipurpose Project (MPP) located on the river Ujh, main tributaries of river Ravi in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir at the estimated cost of Rs.9,167 crore.

Godrej East Africa Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of FMCG (Fast-moving consumer goods) firm Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), has acquired the balance 25% stake in Kenya-based Canon Chemicals Ltd for an undisclosed sum.

The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) administration approved the appointment of senior vice president (SVP) of HDFC bank Zubair Iqbal as the new Managing Director (MD) of Jammu and Kashmir Bank, for a period of 3 years.

Scientists of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) (Indian School of Mines ISM) Dhanbad and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR)-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology(IICB) teamed up to find a solution to understand Parkinson's disease which is a common neurodegenerative disease with no cure.

Dr. Rajeev Kumar of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research -Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (CSIR -AMPRI), who received the Inspire Faculty Award, constituted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (GoI), has developed a porous lightweight carbon foam with a density of less than 0.3g/cc that can replace lead-grids in lead acid batteries.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) working with Intel India and International Institute of Information Technology(IIIT), Hyderabad in developing a faster and cost efficient COVID-19 diagnostic solution, an IT technology to understand epidemiology and AI based risk stratification for the patients.

On 16th May Every year India observes National Dengue Day suggested by the Union Health Ministry to create awareness about measures on dengue prevention and to control the spread of the vector-borne disease and preparedness before the transmission season of dengue begins.

Lt. General PS Rajeshwar PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, Commanding-in-Chief of Andaman & Nicobar Command, has commissioned the 103rd Landing Craft Utility (LCU) MK IV class vessel 'INLCU L 57' (Yard no: 2098) into the Indian Navy at Port Blair in a low-profile ceremony. It was the 7th in the series of 8 such vessels being indigenously made by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) for the Navy.

The book titled as "Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City" authored by Chinese literary writer Fang Fang is a compilation of online diary entries and social media posts that document 60 days of lockdown during COVID-19, captures the challenges of daily life and the changing moods and emotions of being quarantined without reliable information & is a remarkable record of the extraordinary time.

In accordance with a report "India's Utility-Scale Solar Parks-A Global Success Story" by Kashish Shah, a researcher analyst at US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), the installation of utility-scale solar parks or ultra-mega power plant (UMPP)in India has started the India's energy sector transition. This approach has attracted global investment.

The Andhra Pradesh (AP) state government has formed a 5-member high-powered committee led by Neerabh Kumar Prasad (special chief secretary of environment, forests, science and technology) to probe into the causes behind the leakage of styrene gas from the LG Polymers India Ltd located at RR Venkatapuram in Visakhapatnam. The panel required to submit its final report within one month.

University of Hyderabad (UoH) and CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research)-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), have tied up with Vins Bioproducts Limited, an antisera manufacturing company incubated at UoH's BioNEST incubation centre, to develop antibody- based immunotherapy for immediate treatment for Covid-19 pandemic.

The Research team of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) headed by Prof.T.Govindaraju developed the Silk Fibroin (SF) formulated using biocompatible additives and an injectable SF hydrogel (iSFH) to ease the insulin delivery for diabetic patients.

A Group of Ministers(GoM) panel headed by Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot on employment and skill development has drafted a set of proposals that includes land pooling to corporatise agriculture, opening up Employees' Provident Fund(EPF) and Employees State Insurance Corporation(ESIC) for the unorganised sector, merging the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act ,2005(MNREGA). with skill development programmes to create a wage subsidy programme.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development(NABARD) has sanctioned Rs 1,500 crores for Punjab to ensure continuous credit flow to farmers, through state cooperative banks, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of the total amount Rs 1,000 crores is sanctioned to Punjab State Cooperative Bank and Rs 500 crores to Punjab Gramin Bank.