Current Affairs - May 22, 2020 Current Affairs

In Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) has started an initiative 'SUKOON'- COVID-19 Beat the Stress, in order to spread awareness about psychological impact of lockdown and measures to be adopted to overcome them.

Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank launched an Artificial Intelligence(AI)-powered mobile app called the 'National Test Abhyas'. The app is developed by National Testing Agency(NTA) to enable candidates to take mock tests for upcoming exams such as Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) main, National Eligibility cum Entrance Test exam(NEET) under the NTA's purview.

Flipkart partnered with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company(BAGIC) to offer digital motor insurance policy to customers of e-commerce major. This enables consumers to purchase the motor-insurance policy using the Flipkart mobile application.

Moeketsi Majoro (58) has been sworn in as Lesotho's new prime minister (PM) after Thomas Motsoahae Thabane, who has stepped down as prime minister following months of pressure after he was named as a suspect in the 2017 murder of his ex-wife Lipolelo.

Indian Steel Association (ISA) unanimously appointed Dilip Oommen, CEO of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India as the new President for the next two years with immediate effect after T V Narendran, CEO of TATA Steel stepped down on May 1, before the end of his term in August. This was decided in the Extra Ordinary Boards Meeting of ISA held on May 19, 2020.

National Anti-Terrorism Day is observed on 21 May every year in India. The day aims to raise awareness about the anti-social act of terrorism and its impact on human suffering and lives. The day marks the death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, the Former Prime Minister of India. The day also aims to spread the message of peace and humanity and to promote unity among people.

International Tea Day is observed annually on May 21. The day aims to aise awareness of the long history and the deep cultural and economic significance of tea around the world.

Indian Railways(IR) operationalised its 1st 12,000 horsepower(hp) electric made in India Locomotive(loco), WAG12(with Number 60027) from Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Station(Mughalsarai Junction), Uttar Pradesh to Shivpur. It is manufactured by Madhepura Electric Locomotive Pvt. Ltd.(MELPL) Factory, Bihar which is a joint venture between French giant Alstom(74% share) & IR(26% share). India became the 6th country to produce high hp loco indigenously & is the 1st time it operationalised high hp on a broad gauge track in the world.

Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) launched the "Agappe Chitra Magna", a magnetic nanoparticle-based RNA extraction kit for use during testing for detection of COVID-19. The RNA extraction kit was developed by SCTIMST along with Agappe Diagnostics Ltd, an in vitro diagnostics manufacturing company based in Cochin.

Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced several initiatives to boost the education sector in New Delhi to boost the access and equity in education and improve the gross enrolment ratio in the coming years. DIKSHA(one nation-one digital platform) will become the nation's digital infrastructure to provide quality e-content in school education for all the states/UTs.

The US Senate passed legislation on May 20, 2020 that seeks to delist Chinese firms from US securities exchanges unless they follow US standards of audits and regulations.

After the Department of Agriculture, Govt of Maharashtra announced a 3 year empanelment of insurance companies and intermediaries for implementation of crop insurance scheme, the Integrated Risk Insurance Brokers Limited(IRIBL), announced 'Mee Annapurna' for farmers welfare across Maharashtra.

GoI has launched a scheme for the solarisation of Konark Sun Temple and Konark town in Odisha. The announcement was made by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The main objective of the scheme is to develop the historical Sun temple town of Konark in Odisha as 'Surya Nagri'.

According to the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency under Union Ministry of Rural Development, Coir Geo textiles has been finally gets nod as a good material for rural road construction under the third phase of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, (PMGSY-III). As per the PMGSY new technology norms for road construction issued by the Government, 15% length in each batch of proposals, is to be constructed using new age technologies. Of this, 5% length of the rural roads are to be constructed using IRC Indian Roads Congress (IRC) accredited technology under PMGSY-III using Coir Geo textiles.

Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved the procurement of 26 defence items only from local suppliers to boost the "Make in India" initiative. GoI has issued Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order 2017 to promote the manufacturing and production of goods and services in India. MoD has notified 127 items where purchase preference is given to local suppliers as per PPP-MII 2017.

World Metrology Day (WMD) is celebrated every year on May 20, celebrating the International Systems of Units. The term Metrology is a study of measurements. On this day, many nations internationally collaborate to create awareness about metrology and its advancement in the respective field. Theme for the year 2020 is Measurements for global trade. The theme raises awareness about the important role of measurement in facilitating fair global trade, ensuring products meet standards and regulations, and satisfying customer quality expectations.

The Ranchi district launched the "Tatpar" program to help the migrant workers to get back to their native places on bus instead of tiresome travel by foot. The administration launched a helpline "1950" to support the migrant workers in arranging buses.

The appointments committee of the union cabinet appointed Govinda Rajulu Chintala as Chairman of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Shaji K V and P.V.S Suryakumar have been appointed as Deputy Managing Directors (DMD) of NABARD.

Directorate General Defence Estates(DGDE), Ministry of Defence & eGov Foundation has signed Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) through video conference to implement a cloud-based platform to deliver various citizen services under the program e-Chhawani & to drive e-governance and improved citizen services across all 62 cantonment boards in the country.

The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) provisionally suspended powerlifters Savita Kumari and Ankit Shisodia for violating anti-doping rules. Athletes were given an opportunity to present themselves before the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) and explain their cases on the date and time fixed by the panel for a hearing.