Daily Current Affairs 12th May, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 12 May 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

MP Home Minister launches country’s first ever ‘FIR Aapke Dwar’ Yojana
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra launched country’s first ever ‘FIR Aapke Dwar Yojana’ in Bhopal. 

• Madhya Pradesh is the first state in the country to implement such an innovative scheme.
• FIR Aapke Dwar’ scheme has been started as a pilot project in 23 Police Stations including one urban and one rural Police Station at 11 Divisional Headquarters.
• The Minister also launched helpline ‘Dial 112’ on the occasion, to facilitate immediate availability of ambulance, police and fire fighting services wherever needed.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Israel names street after Rabindranath Tagore to honour him on his 159th anniversary
Israel has named a street in Tel Aviv after celebrated Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore as a tribute on his 159th birthday.

• Tagore, who wrote his poetry, novels, stories and plays in Bengali, In 1913 he won the prestigious Nobel prize in literature and till now, he is the only poet from India to have done so.

BANKING & FINANCE

SBI General Insurance launches Arogya Sanjeevani health insurance policy
SBI General Insurance launched the standard health insurance policy – Arogya Sanjeevani Health Insurance Policy SBI General Insurance. The policy provides hospitalisation cover anywhere in India with sums insured ranging from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 5 lakhs.

• Arogya Sanjeevani will cover the hospitalisation treatment cost of COVID-19 and will help in making affordable health care more accessible in times like these.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Mahindra introduces ‘Own-Online’ digital sales platform
Mahindra has launched ‘Own-Online’, a digital sales platform that enables customers to purchase any of its vehicles without the need for physically visiting a dealership.

• Through the Own-Online platform, buyers can finance, insure, exchange, accessorise and then own a Mahindra vehicle having completed the entire process online.

SPORTS

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India to be held from Feb 17 to Mar 7 next year
The postponed FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India was on Tuesday rescheduled to next year from February 17 to March 7 after the world body made a “thorough assessment” of the situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The tournament was originally scheduled to be held from November 2 to 21 his year but was postponed last month due to the coronavirus outbreak, which brought global sports activities to a grinding halt.

APPOINTMENTS

Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi takes charge as MNRE Secretary
Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi has assumed charge as Secretary in the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).

• Chaturvedi is a 1987 batch IAS officer and belongs to Jharkhand cadre.
• He succeeds Anand Kumar, who earlier took charge as Secretary in Ministry of Culture.

AWARDS

Journalist Siddharth Varadarajan among recipients of Deutsche Welle Freedom of Speech Award 
Indian journalist Siddharth Varadarajan was one of 17 recipients of the Freedom of Speech Award presented by German public news outlet Deutsche Welle, for showing “outstanding commitment to human rights and freedom of expression in the media”. The announcement came on World Press Freedom Day.

• The others who received the award include Ana Lalic from Serbia, Russian investigative journalist Elena Milashina, Venezuela’s freelance journalist Darvinson Rojas, TV journalist David Musisi Karyankolo from Uganda, three Chinese journalists Chen Qiushi, Li Zehua, Fang Bin, among others.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

CSIR-NAL develop BiPAP Non Invasive Ventilator “SwasthVayu” for COVID -19
CSIR – National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) Bangalore, a constituent of lab of CSIR has developed a Non Invasive BiPAP Ventilator in a record time of 36 days to treat COVID-19 patients.

• BiPAP Non-Invasive ventilator is a microcontroller-based precise closed-loop adaptive control system with a built-in biocompatible “3D printed manifold & coupler” with HEPA filter (Highly Efficient Particulate Air Filter).
• These unique features help to alleviate the fear of the virus spread. It has features like Spontaneous, CPAP, Timed, AUTO BIPAP modes with provision to connect Oxygen concentrator or Enrichment unit externally.

DRDO lab develops automated UV systems to sanitise electronic gadgets, papers & currency notes
Hyderabad based Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) lab has developed automated Ultraviolet systems to sanitise electronic gadgets, papers and currency notes.

• The device – Defence Research Ultraviolet Sanitiser (DRUVS) has been designed to sanitise mobile phones, iPads, laptops, currency notes, cheque leafs, challans, passbooks, paper and envelopes.
• It provides 360 degree exposure of Ultra Violet to the objects placed inside the cabinet.

Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launches Central University of Odisha Helpline “Bharosa”
To relieve the distress of student community during the troubled time of the COVID-19 pandemic, Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched Central University of Odisha Helpline “Bharosa” and its Helpline Number 08046801010 through a virtual platform today in New Delhi.

•  The helpline aims at providing Cognitive Emotional Rehabilitation Services to all University Students of Odisha.

NIV-Pune develops India’s first antibody testing kit -ELISA
In  a major development, the National Institute of Virology (NIV) situated in Pune, Maharashtra has achieved success in developing the nation’s first indigenous COVID-19 antibody test kit. 

• The test kit’s performance was validated at two sites in Mumbai and has been found to have high sensitivity and accuracy.
• Furthermore, the technology has been transferred to Indian pharmaceutical giant Zydus Cadila to ensure mass production of the same. The Drug Controller General has granted commercial production and marketing permission to the company.

OBITUARIES

Little Richard, Founding Father of Rock Who Broke Musical Barriers, passes away
Little Richard, a founding father of rock & roll whose fervent shrieks, flamboyant garb, and joyful, gender-bending persona embodied the spirit and sound of that new art form, died. He was 87.

• Starting with “Tutti Frutti” in 1956, Little Richard cut a series of unstoppable hits – “Long Tall Sally” and “Rip It Up” that same year, “Lucille” in 1957, and “Good Golly Miss Molly” in 1958 – driven by his simple, pumping piano, gospel-influenced vocal exclamations and sexually charged (often gibberish) lyrics

Former national TT champion Manmeet Singh Walia passes away
Former national table tennis champion Manmeet Singh Walia, who was suffering from rare ALS disease for nearly two years, has died in Montreal, Canada. He was 58.

• One of the finest and consistent performers in the ’80s, Manmeet became the national champion in 1989 when he beat S Sriram in the men’s singles final in Hyderabad.
• He had represented the country at multiple international events after making his debut at the Asian Championships in 1980 along with eight-time national champion Kamlesh Mehta

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Nurses Day
International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world every May 12, to mark the contributions that nurses make to society. International Nurses Day 2020 is special as this is the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, who is revered as the founder of modern nursing

• This year the theme of the day is ‘Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health’.

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