Daily Current Affairs 7th May, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 7 May 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Govt starts Aarogya Setu IVRS services to cater to people having feature phone or landline
Union Government has started Aarogya Setu IVRS services to cater to people having feature phone or landline.

•  This service is available across the country. It is a toll-free service, where citizens are asked to give a missed call to the number 1921 and they will get a call back requesting for inputs regarding their health.
• The service is implemented in 11 regional languages similar to the mobile application.

Tripura CM launches online portal scholarships.gov.in
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has launched an online portal scholarships.gov.in under ‘Mukhyamantri Yuba Yogayog Yojana’.

• The state government will provide Rs. 5,000 to 14,608 youths who are in final year in colleges or Universities as a grant for Smart Phones.

Niti Aayog starts campaign to ‘protect’ senior citizens during COVID-19
Government think tank Niti Aayog in association with Piramal Foundation — the philanthropic arm of the Piramal Group launched a campaign focussed on ensuring wellbeing of senior citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The campaign will reach over 2.9 million senior citizens in 25 #AspirationalDistricts across Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, MP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan & UP; focusing on behaviour change, access to services, early detection & tracking of #COVID19 symptoms.#ApnoKaDhyaan.

Himachal Pradesh govt to launch ‘Nigah’ to aware family members of migrant returnees
In Himachal pradesh, the state government is planning to launch a new programme Nigah, in order to sensitize and educate the family members of the people coming to the state from other parts  of the country.

• Under this programme Asha, health and anganwadi workers would be deployed to create general awareness in maintaining social distancing during home quarantine.

Govt to begin evacuation exercise ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ from today to bring Indians stranded abroad
In one of the largest evacuation exercises named the Vande Bharat Mission, the government will operate 64 flights from May 7 till May 13 to bring home nearly 14,800 Indian nationals stranded abroad due to the coronavirus lockdown.

• The 64 flights will include 10 flights from the UAE, 2 from Qatar, 5 from Saudi Arabia, 7 from UK, 5 from Singapore, 7 from United States, 5 from Philippines, 7 from Bangladesh, 2 from Bahrain, 7 from Malaysia, 5 from Kuwait and 2 flights from Oman.

Indian Navy Ship INS Jalashwa reaches Male to repatriate Indian nationals
Indian navy ship INS Jalashwa reached Maldives capital of Male today as part of efforts to repatriate Indian nationals from foreign shores.

• The program named Samudrasetu by Indian navy entails to bring back around two thousand Indians in two ships during the first phase of evacuation.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Over 33 million people internally displaced in 2019, 5 milion in India: UN
According to a UN report titled ‘Lost at Home’ report, published by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), more than five million people were internally displaced in India due to natural disasters, conflict and violence in 2019, constituting the highest number of new internal displacements in the world during the period followed by the Philippines, Bangladesh and China. 

• Almost 33 million new displacements were recorded in 2019 – around 25 million of which were due to natural disasters and 8.5 million as a consequence of conflict and violence.
• Of these, there were 12 million new displacements involving children, including around 3.8 million of them caused by conflict and violence, and 8.2 million due to disasters linked mostly to weather-related events.

BANKING & FINANCE

PNB Housing Finance signs MoU with IIT Delhi to develop reusable PPE kits
PNB Housing Finance Ltd (PNBHFL) signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi to support critical research and development of a unique prototype material to be used in manufacturing washable and reusable personal protective equipment (PPE) surgical gowns and masks.

• The initiative will support critical research and development (R&D) of a unique prototype material to be used in manufacturing sustainable (washable and reusable) PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) surgical gowns and masks. These will then be supplied to notable government hospitals

APPOINTMENTS

DPS Negi takes over as Director General Labour Bureau
Indian Economic Services officer D P S Negi took charge as Director General of Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

• Besides Negi also assumed charge as Senior Labour & Employment Advisor of the ministry.
• This is for the first time that a dual charge has been given to an IES officer, which is a tribute his career spanning 35 years.
• The government had appointed him as Director General, Labour Bureau & Senior Labour & Employment Advisor in the ministry on April 29, 2020.

Govt appoints Tarun Bajaj as Director on RBI Central Board
The government has appointed Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj as a director on the central board of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

• Bajaj replaces Atanu Chakraborty, who retired on April 30.
• The nomination of Bajaj is effective from May 5 and until further orders.
• Prior to taking over as Economic Affairs Secretary, Bajaj, a 1988 batch IAS officer, was the Additional Secretary in Prime Minister’s Office

Mustafa Al Kadhimi becomes new Prime Minister of Iraq
Mustafa Al Kadhimi has been chosen as Iraq’s new Prime Minister, ending months of political deadlock. Iraq’s Parliament voted to chose Mustafa Kadhimi as the nation’s new prime minister.

• Mustafa Kadhimi has become Iraq’s first proper Prime Minister after Adel Abdul Mahdi resigned in November 2019 due to massive anti-government protests.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Andhra CM launches app to monitor agriculture needs of farmers
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched an app ‘CMAPP (Comprehensive Monitoring of Agriculture, Price, and Procurement)’, a mobile application to monitor the agriculture needs of farmers.

• The mobile application will display data relating to the cost, procurement, and marketing facilities of the farmers for their agriculture produce.

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath launches ‘Ayush Kavach-Covid’ App
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched ‘Ayush Kavach-Covid’ app to help people get health remedies which can be useful in fight against COVID-19. The app has been developed by AYUSH ministry.

• The ‘Ayush Kavach-Covid’ App will provide s for measures to boost immunity based on natural resources.The app is designed to tell users how commonly available kitchen ingredients such as tulsi, clove and cinnamon can be used to enhance the body’s immunity to fight against COVID-19

Newly developed android based mobile app named “CHDCOVID” launched in Chandigarh
Punjab Governor and Administrator of UT Chandigarh V.P Singh Badnore inaugurated a newly developed android based mobile app named “CHDCOVID”.

• Developed in-house by the Society for Promotion  of IT in Chandigarh (SPIC), it will be a single point platform which will provide all information related to COVID-19 in Chandigarh.
• The people can access all the guidelines, orders and notifications issued by Administration and Government of India by downloading this app

OBITUARIES

Former Union Minister Dalit Ezhilmalai passes away
Dalit Ezhilmalai, former Union Minister of State for Health in the Vajpayee Cabinet, died at his residence on the outskirts of Chennai. He was 74.

• Ezhilmalai served the erstwhile Post & Telegraph Department between 1963 and 1987. During this period, he was sent on deputation to the Army for five years up to 1974.
• He took part in the Indo- Pakistan War of 1971 and was a recipient of Sainik Sewa Medal from the President for meritorious service in the Army. Even while in the government service, he held key positions in the National Federation of Postal Union and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Employees Association Co-ordination Committee, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, besides launching the Dalit People’s Front in 1980.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Athletics Day 2020
World Athletics Day is annually celebrated on May 7 to increase awareness about athletics and to encourage the youth to take up sports.

• International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) introduced World Athletics Day in order to boost participation in athletics among youngsters.

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