Current Affairs - May 20, 2020 Current Affairs

Canara Bank has launched a special business vertical dedicated for gold loans to meet the financial needs of its customers as they are in need of immediate credit support to meet their emergency needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) announced results of the Star rating of garbage-free cities for the assessment year 2019-2020. A total of six cities have been certified as 5-Star, 65 cities as 3-Star, and 70 cities as 1-Star. The results were announced by Hardeep S, Puri, Minister of State (I/C) for Housing and Urban Affairs. The revised protocol for the Star Rating Framework was also launched.

The Genoa-based Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) has developed "i-Feel you", an intelligent bracelet which will help users respect social distancing rules. The technology was launched at a video conference which involved the participation of Liguria governor Giovanni Toti and IIT President Giorgia Metta.

Development of Museums and Cultural Spaces, Ministry of Culture, Government of India hosted a webinar on "Revitalising Museums and Cultural Spaces" on 18 May. The webinar aimed to celebrate the International Museum Day and kick start conversations around creating sustainable cultural organizations in post-pandemic India.

The International Cricket Council's (ICC) Cricket Committee chaired by Anil Kumble has recommended the ban on the use of saliva to shine balls during the matches. It will help in mitigating the risks of COVID-19. The virtual call also included issues such as the condition of the match ball and the appointment of non-neutral umpires and referees to the International Cricket.

In a bid to tribute migrant workers, India post, Mumbai has released a Special Postal Cover dedicated to migrant workers at the Bicentennial Hall of the historic ,Mumbai, Maharashtra. The five migrant workers from different sectors such as two from construction sector, a taxi driver, a jewelry craftsman and a tailor were called to release the postal cover. India post, Department of Posts (DoP), which comes under the Ministry of Communications, headquartered in New Delhi.

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) released Rs.20,500 crore to co-operative banks and regional rural banks (RRBs) for on-lending. The disbursement to RRBs and Co-operative banks is the part of Rs.25,000 crore of special refinance plan which was approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to RRBs, Co-operative banks and Microfinance Institutions (MFIs).

On May 18, 2020, Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman detailed the fifth and final part of the Special economic and comprehensive package of Rs 20 lakh crores to support Indian economy in the fight against COVID-19 during her 5th press conference in New Delhi. Under the MNREGA scheme, an additional Rs 40,000 crore will be allocated for employment generation in the rural parts of the country. This will help to generate nearly 300 crore person days to provide relief to the migrant workers.

Madhya Pradesh state government launched the Charan Paduka initiative. The first of its kind of initiative is for the migrant labourers passing through the Madhya Pradesh. Under the Charan Paduka campaign, the migrant labourers who are heading back to their native land will be provided shoes and slippers to reduce their pain.

Government has decided to implement three important recommendations of the Shekatkar Committee of Experts (CoE). The CoE is headed by the Chairmanship of Lt General D B Shekatkar (Retd). The recommendations are related to border Infrastructure like speeding up road construction, leading to socio-economic development in the border areas.

Karnataka's Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security (CS-CoE) launched the first cyber security accelerator for startups in India, Hack is an Accelerator for Cyber Security in Karnataka (H.A.C.K) inaugurated on 16th May 2020 by Additional Chief Secretary in Charge of Department of IT, BT and S&T, EV Ramana Reddy.

The US Secretary of State, Michael R Pompeo condemned the exclusion of Taiwan from the World Health Assembly (WHA). The statement released by the United States accused WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for not inviting Taiwan under pressure from the People's Republic of China. The statement also highlighted that Taiwan is one of the successful nations to effectively contain the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic.

Kotak Mahindra Bank becomes 1st bank in India to allow video Know your customer (KYC) facility for customers opening savings accounts on Kotak 811 - the banks digital banking platform. The initiative is presently being launched on a pilot basis for savings accounts, Kotak Mahindra. With Video KYC, verification of documents, signature are completed via a video call with a representative from the bank without any physical interface.

Preventing the spread of Covid-19 through currency notes, Gujarat govt has mandated digital payment for all home delivery services in the worst-hit city of Ahmedabad and also issued protocol to be followed by the delivery persons.

Ana Sofia Reboleira, a biologist from the University of Copenhagen's Natural History Museum of Denmark, has discovered a new species of a parasitic fungus 'Troglomyces Twitteri' by using a image of North American millipede (Cambala annulata) circulating on social media platform Twitter.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) alerted Cyclone "AMPHAN" which has developed into a super cyclone in the Bay of Bengal on 19 May. The intensification of the storm from category I cyclone to category V in less than 18 hours.

Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine has become the first vaccine to show a positive response against COVID-19. The 'mRNA-1273' vaccine has shown positive results by generating an immune response against SARS-CoV-2. The mentioned vaccine has been developed by the US-based biotechnology firm Moderna Inc in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health.

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) reported that the export from India is expected to fall by 20%, around $50-$60 billion, in the current fiscal year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also suggested a decline in imports.

India participated in the 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) on 18 May. India was represented by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare through video conference. WHA addressed Global Vaccine Plan, polio eradication, and neglected tropical diseases other than COVID-19.

The Autonomous institutes under the Department of Science & Technology(DST) namely The International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials(ARCI) and Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and technology(SCTIMST) have jointly developed new generation Iron-Manganese(Fe-Mn) based alloys for biodegradable metal implants for use in humans. The newly developed alloys are suitable for biodegradable stent and orthopedic implant applications. Invivo and in-vitro studies are being planned by the team at Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences.