Daily Current Affairs 13th May, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 13 May 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Bengaluru launches Pranavayu programme to create awareness on need to self examine respiratory health
Bengaluru Urban district in Karnataka has launched Pranavayu programme to create awareness on the need to self examine the respiratory health for Bengaloreans.

• Pranavayu programme launched by the City Corporation in Bengaluru has been creating awareness through advertisements in media about the need to carry out self examination for early detection of any ailment that could aggravate the situation if contracted with the viral infection.

Supreme Court orders setting up of panel to consider pleas seeking 4G in J&K
The Supreme Court ordered setting up of a high-powered committee headed by Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), to consider pleas seeking restoration of 4G internet services in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir

• A bench comprising Justices N.V. Ramana, Justices R.Subhash Reddy and B.R. Gavai said the committee would also include the Chief Secretary of the UT and the secretary of ministry of communications to look into the demands by petitioners seeking restoration of 4G internet speed there.

Gujarat CM launches India’s first PPE kit seam sealing machine in Rajkot
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani launched the first indigenous seam sealing machine, which helps in manufacturing PPE kits at half the price of the imported one in Rajkot.

• The machine, manufactured with the guidance of doctors at Indian Medical Association (IMA) is used to seal the seam of the personal protection equipment (PPE) kits so that viruses cannot penetrate from the small pores and infect the person.

Atal Pension Yojana achieves 2.23 crore enrolment in 5 yrs
The government”s flagship social security scheme, Atal Pension Yojana (APY), has achieved the milestone of 2.23 subscribers as it completes five years of its implementation.

• Under the scheme, the government provides the guarantee of minimum pension after 60 years of age.
• In its sixth year, the scheme has now been implemented comprehensively across the country covering all the states and Union Territories with male to female subscription ratio of 57:43.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India up at 74th place on WEF’s global energy transition index
India has moved up two positions to rank 74th on a global ‘Energy Transition Index’ with improvements on all key parameters of economic growth, energy security and environmental sustainability.

• Sweden has topped the Energy Transition Index (ETI) for the third consecutive year and is followed by Switzerland and Finland in the top three.Surprisingly, France (ranked 8th) and the UK (7th) are the only G20 countries in the top ten.
• The WEF said the “emerging centres of demand” such as India (74th) and China (78th) have made consistent efforts to improve the enabling environment, which refers to political commitments, consumer engagement and investment, innovation and infrastructure, among others.

BANKING & FINANCE

BRICS’ New Development Bank provides USD 1 billion loan to India to fight COVID-19
The New Development Bank of the BRICS countries has fully disbursed USD one billion emergency assistance loan to India to help it contain the spread of COVID-19 and reduce human, social and economic losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

• The ‘Emergency Assistance Program Loan’ to India was approved by the NDB Board of Directors on April 30, and it is aimed at supporting the Indian government to contain the spread of COVID-19 and reduce human, social and economic losses caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

New initiative by Rlys,Postal dept for door delivery,pick up of parcels
In a first of its kind initiative in the country, the Railways and Postal department in Kerala have entered into a tie-up for door delivery and pick up of parcels to help people during the lockdown from Tuesday.

• The Thiruvananthapuram division of Southern Railways and Department of Posts, Kerala circle, came together for the initiative.
• The service has been started to mitigate the difficulties being faced by customers in sending and receiving parcels through the railway network during the lockdown period.

SPORTS

Para-athlete Deepa Malik announces her retirement
Paralympics silver medallist Deepa Malik announced that she has bid adieu to active sports in order to serve as the office bearer in the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) in accordance with the National Sports Code.

• She is the first Indian woman to earn a medal at the Paralympic Games and has bagged a total of 58 national and 23 international medals during her illustrious career.
• Deepa also received Arjuna award in 2012 besides also being honoured with the Padma Shri Award in 2017.

China win the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup
China won the inaugural $180,000 FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup following a 2-2 draw against USA. 

• After Ding Liren and Hikaru Nakamura signed peace and Hou Yifan drew with Irina Krush, Yu Yangyi continued his stupendous form by avenging loss to Wesley So and ensured the title for China.

• China won $48,000, USA $36,000 and others received $24,000 each.

French cyclist Remy Di Gregorio banned by UCI for 4 years
French cyclist Remy Di Gregorio has been banned for 4 years by the International Cycling Union (UCI) for using a form of banned blood-boosting hormone EPO (Erythropoietin).

• Remy Di Gregorio had tested positive for the hormone during a long-distance trip from Paris to Nice during a doping test on March 8, 2018. His suspension starts from the date of the test so he is going to be suspended until 7 March 2022.

APPOINTMENTS

Manoj Ahuja appointed new CBSE chief, Anurag Jain DDA vice-chairman
Senior IAS officer Manoj Ahuja has been appointed as the CBSE chairman and Anurag Jain, the vice-chairman of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), as part of a major bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre.

• Gujarat-cadre IAS officer (1989 batch) Katikithala Srinivas will be Additional Secretary and Establishment Officer, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT)
• Vasudha Mishra, a 1987 batch IAS officer of Telangana cadre officer, will be the Secretary, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
• Shri Shiv Das Meena, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has been appointed as the Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board.
• Senior bureaucrats V Vidyavathi and Rajendra Kumar have been appointed as the Director Generals of Archaeological Survey of India and Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) respectively.
• Sanjeeva Kumar, Special Secretary in the Department of Health and Family Welfare, will be Secretary, Department of Border Management in the Home Ministry.
• Rakesh Sarwal, at present Additional Secretary, Department of Higher Education, has been posted as the Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog.
• Rakesh Ranjan, at present posted in his cadre state Manipur, will be the Additional Secretary, Department of Higher Education, in place of Sarwal.
• S Kishore will be Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce and Devendra Kumar Singh has been appointed as the Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
• Arti Ahuja, Special Director at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie will be Additional Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare.
• Alok Kumar, at present in his cadre state Tripura, will be Additional Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat.
• Nivedita Shukla Verma has been appointed as Additional Secretary, Department of Defence. Shukla, a 1991 batch IAS officer, is presently serving in her cadre state Uttar Pradesh.
• Anil Kumar Nayak, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Mines will be Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor, Department of Posts. Aniruddha Kumar, currently Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Power, has been appointed as Additional Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
• Subir Mallick, at present Additional Financial Advisor and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence (Finance) will be Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, Department of Agricultural Research and Education.
• Anuradha Thakur, Joint Secretary in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, has been moved to the Cabinet Secretariat in the same post.

Kumar Sangakkara set to serve second term as MCC president
Former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara is set to serve his second term as the president of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) as the current activities have been postponed at the club.

• He became the first non-British President of the club when he assumed office on October 1 last year.

AWARDS

Jharkhand’s Sohrai Khovar painting & Telangana’s Telia Rumal gets GI-Tag
Jharkhand’s Sohrai Khovar painting and Telangana’s Telia Rumal were given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indications Registry headquartered in Chennai.

• The Sohrai Khovar painting is a traditional and ritualistic mural art being practised by local tribal women during local harvest and marriage seasons using local, naturally available soils of different colours in the area of Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand.
• Telia Rumal cloth involves complex handmade work with cotton loom which can be only created by using the traditional handloom process and and not by any other mechanical means. The teila rumal exhibits a variety of designs and motifs in three particular colours namely red, black and white

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

MSME Ministry launches portal ‘CHAMPIONS’ to assist enterprises
A web portal ‘CHAMPIONS’ (champions.gov.in), a tech-driven control room-cum-management information system, was launched by the Ministry of Micro, Small Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India as part of its effort to support enterprises.

• CHAMPIONS stand for creation and harmonious application of modern processes for increasing the output and national strength.
• The objective of the portal is to assist MSMEs in India to march them into the big league as national and global champions.

Consumer Affairs dept partners with 2 startups to power ‘Suraksha Store initiative’
The Department of Consumer Affairs has partnered with tech startups Safejob and Seekify to use technology to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at the local Kirana store level. The Suraksha Store initiative is designed for the health and safety of the citizens during and after the lockdown, as per the companies’ joint release.

• The primary objective of this project is to educate Kirana store owners across the country about the Covid-19 safety guidelines and protocols required to be followed while running their businesses.

OBITUARIES

TV actor Shafique Ansari passes away
Crime Patrol actor Shafique Ansari died in Mumbai . He was 52. The actor was battling thoracic cancer for more than two years.

• Shafique Ansari was a member of The Cine & TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA) since 2008. CINTAA expressed grief on his death on Twitter and wrote, “CINTAA expresses it’s deepest condolence on the demise of Mr Ansari Shafique (Member since: June 2008)..
• Ansari also worked as an assistant director and writer. He was among the screenwriters for 2003’s Baghban, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini.

 US actor and comedian Jerry Stiller passes away
Actor and comedian Jerry Stiller has died due to natural causes. He was 92.

• Jerry Stiller was a multitalented performer who appeared in an assortment of movies, playing Walter Matthau’s police sidekick in the thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and Divine’s husband Wilbur Turnblad in John Waters’ twisted comedy Hairspray.
• He also wrote an autobiography, Married to Laughter, about his 50-plus years marriage to soul mate and comedic cohort Meara, who died in 2015

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