Tripura: 708 gram panchayats connected with high-speed broadband under BharatNet

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on August 15, 2020 announced that all villages in India will be connected with broadband in 1,000 days                        

About 708 gram panchayats (GPs) or village committees in Tripura have already been connected with high-speed broadband under the Central government’s ambitious BharatNet project.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on August 15, 2020 announced that all villages in India will be connected with broadband in 1,000 days.

Under the BharatNet project, the government initially targeted to cover 2.52 lakh gram panchayats with high-speed broadband services. The PM later announced expansion of the project to cover all villages as well.

BharatNet is being implemented by Bharat Broadband Network Ltd (BBNL), a government of India undertaking, through RailTel, a government of India enterprise, and BSNL.

“The objective of the project is to connect all the gram panchayats with high-speed broadband through optical fiber cables. Work is in progress to connect more GPs,” an official from the directorate of information and technology said.

Tripura has a total of 1,178 gram panchayats or village committees spread across eight districts.

The department also informed that digital seva to citizens is being provided through (edistrict.tripura.gov.in), an online service delivery platform. It has been implemented in the state to deliver citizen-centric services online.

Forty-seven high-volume services including permanent residence certificates, marriage certificates, income certificates, survival certificates, etc, are being provided online till May 31, 2021.

The services have been integrated with digital signatures (DSC), SMS gateway, email gateway, payment gateway, common services centres, CSC wallet, unified mobile application for new-age governance (UMANG), digiLocker, etc.

TB REPORT 2020

 

Annual TB Report 2020 released

Context:

The Annual TB Report is prepared and published by the Central TB Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GOI.

Highlights:

1. 20.04 lakh notified TB patients in 2019 in India, which is a 14% increase from 2018.
2. Reduction in the number of missing cases to 2.9 lakh cases as against more than 10 lakhs in 2017.
3. Private sector notifications increased by 35% with 6.78 lakh TB patients notified.
4. Proportion of children diagnosed with TB increased to 8% in 2019 compared to 6% in 2018.
5. Provision of HIV testing for all notified TB patients increased from 67% in 2018 to 81% in 2019.
6. Expansion of treatment services has resulted in a 12% improvement in the treatment success rate of notified patients. For 2019, it is 81% compared to 69% in 2018.

Nikshay system:

The country is achieving near-complete on-line notification of TB patients through the NIKSHAY system.

• Nikshay is an information management system that acts like a one-stop solution for managing patients’ information and monitor program activity and performance all over the country.
• It is developed and maintained by the Central TB Division (CTD), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), and the World Health Organization Country office for India.

National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP):

It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme being implemented under the aegis of the National Health Mission with resource sharing between the State Governments and the Central Government.

The goal of the program is to achieve a TB-free India with zero deaths, disease and poverty due to tuberculosis.

BEIRUT EXPLOSION

Beirut explosion

In news: 

• At least 100 people were killed and nearly 4,000 injured in a massive explosion at Lebanon’s capital Beirut. 
• The explosion was of over 2700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored for six years in a warehouse in the port. 

Do you know? 

• Incident comes at one of the worst times for the country. 
• The Western Asian country in the recent past has been crippled by serious economic crisis. 
• It had led to large-scale closure of businesses and soaring prices of basic commodities resulting in social unrest. 
• The country is also grappled by age-old Shia-Sunni rift. 

Ammonium nitrate 

• In its pure form, ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) is a white, crystalline chemical which is soluble in water.  
• It is the main ingredient in the manufacture of commercial explosives used in mining and construction. 

Regulations: 

• In India, The Ammonium Nitrate Rules, 2012, under The Explosives Act, 1884, define ammonium nitrate as the “compound with formula NH4NO3 including any mixture or compound having more than 45 per cent ammonium nitrate by weight including emulsions, suspensions, melts or gels but excluding emulsion or slurry explosives and non explosives emulsion matrix and fertilizers from which the ammonium nitrate cannot be separated”. 
• Pure ammonium nitrate is not an explosive on its own. It is classified as an oxidiser (Grade 5.1) under the United Nations classification of dangerous goods. If mixed with ingredients like fuel or some other contaminants, or because of some other external factors, it can be very explosive. 

Stored ammonium nitrate is a major fire hazard  

Large quantities of stored ammonium nitrate are regarded as a major fire hazard, with multiple reported cases across the world.  

Big stockpiles of ammonium nitrate can explode in two possible ways.  

• One is by some type of detonation or initiation because the storage comes in contact with explosive mixture or an outside source of energy.  
• Second, the blast can result due to a fire which starts into the ammonium nitrate storage because of the heat generated due to the oxidation process at large scale. 

There are several documented examples of deadly ammonium nitrate fire and explosion incidents in the past, some with large numbers of fatalities like in China in 2015 and in Texas in 1947. 

Experts say that the world over, the main obstacles in regulating ammonium nitrate is its widespread use in industry and agriculture.  

While a legislative framework exists, repeated examples of misuse and mishaps show that a lot more needs to be done

TRIPURA CURRENT AFFAIR 2020 MAY AND JUNE

Tripura Current Affairs - May 2020

Tripura government launches agro entrepreneur facilitation desk to boost economy

On May 1, 2020, The Tripura government launched an “Agro-Entrepreneur Facilitation Desk” to help the

entrepreneurs of the state to get subsidies and incentives from Central government funding agencies and National

Horticulture Board or NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development), the new desk would help

them about availing the facilities.

Key Points:

i.About agro-entrepreneur desk: The state cabinet has approved the setting up of the desk, which will operate from

the Directorate of Horticulture and Soil Conservation in the state capital, Agartala.

ii.The desk will be operated by those who hold a masters’ degree in business administration (MBA) or an

undergraduate degree in science. The state government has worked out an estimated budget of Rs 24 lakh for the

exercise, including the salaries of new hires and other related official activities.

iii.Funds: The funds for the project will be sourced from the Technical Support Group Funds of the Mission for

Integrated Development of Horticulture.

iv.The state government encourages the processing and marketing of fruits such as pineapple, lemon, jackfruit, and

also vegetables that are grown in abundance in Tripura, in order to increase the farmers income.

v.The government plans a target of encouraging 2,000 youths in joining agro-based business within a year and

initiatives are being given to facilitate 400 people to start the business in the agriculture sector.

vi.Tripura Chief Minister (CM) Biplab Kumar Deb also mentioned that the primary sector activities like agriculture,

horticulture, dairy industries would help in reviving the state’s economy which suffered losses due to lockdown.

About Tripura:

Capital– Agartala.

Governor– Ramesh Bais.

Tripura CM launches national scholarship online portal under ‘Mukhyamantri Yuba Yogayog Yojana’

On May 6, 2020, Tripura, Chief Minister(CM) Biplab Kumar Deb launched a National Scholarship online portal

website(https:/ /scholarships.gov.in/) under ‘Mukhyamantri Yuba Yogayog Yojana’, an incentive scheme at the

state secretariat so that students can apply for this scheme for the Academic Year 2019-20.

Rs 7.30 crore will be spent on the scheme.

Gist about the Mukhyamantri Yuba Yogayog Yojana

The scheme was announced by the Education Minister of Tirupura, Ratan Lal Nath on 4th March 2020 during a

meeting of the council of ministers

Objective of the Scheme

To provide grants for the purchase of smartphones to the students of final year to empower them digitally & help

them leverage the advantages of an interconnected world. Through the implementation of the scheme, the student

will be able to get employment through internet platforms.

Beneficiaries

A student must be in the final year of the course in an undergraduate degree in any government

college/Institute/University in Tripura.

The benefit can be availed once in a lifetime.

Eligibility

The student must be a resident of Tripura state & must be studying in a college resided in Tripura state.

Mode of Assistance

Will provide Rs 5000 or cost of the phone whichever is lower to around 14,608 students from 38 educational

institutions( which include 22 government degree colleges of the state)directly into their bank account.

Details required for filing applications

Date of birth, address, Aadhaar number, College or institutes name, account number of Bank, Voter ID card, all

Educational certificate, Results in proof, mobile & email ID.

The time limit for submission for online application- 6 th May to 6th June 2020

Key Points

i.Through the implementation of the scheme, the student will be able to get employment through internet platforms.

ii.The guidelines for the incentive scheme as well as Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and User manual for

Institutes are available on the website.

iii.Institutions were informed that timely verification of application which includes scrutiny of documents namely

Invoice of the Mobile Phone, Bank passbook, Last year Mark sheets etc. is the responsibility of the College/ Institute

Nodal officer(verification is to be made between 15th May to 15th June 2020)

About Tirupura:

Capital– Agartala

Governor– Ramesh Bais

Wildlife Sanctuary (WS)– Sepahijala WS, Bishalgarh, Sepahijala District; Trishna WS, Belonia, South Tripura; Rowa

Wildlife Sanctuary, North Tripura; Gomati Wildlife Sanctuary, Between Gomati & Dhalai District.

National Park (NP)– Clouded Leopard NP, Bishalgarh, Sepahijala District

Tripura Current Affairs - June 2020

Centre Approved Funds for Implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tripura

On the lines of the announcement made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 regarding Jal Jeevan Mission

(JJM) which aims to provide “Functional Household Tap Connection” (FHTC) to 18 Crore rural households of the

country by the year 2024, the Centre has earlier approved funds for the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission for

Odisha, Meghalaya, Assam & Bihar. Click Here to Read. After that Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand & West Bengal received

fund allocations for the same. Click Here to Read. Now extending this scheme further for other states, Centre has now

approved funds to the following states for FY2020-2021:

Central Govt approved funding of Rs 1,829 Crore for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Maharashtra

The Central Govt has approved funding of 1,829 crore rupees for the effective implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in

Maharashtra for 2020-21 on the basis of the Annual Action Plan (AAP) for 2020-21 presented by Maharashtra to the

Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

Target – State has planned to provide 100% tap connections to all the households in the State by 2023-24.

Maharashtra plans to provide tap connections to 31.30 lakh households in 2020-21. Out of 1.42 Crore rural

households in Maharashtra, 53.11 lakh households have already got tap connections.

The state has an unspent balance of Rs 285.35 crore. It adds that along with Central allocation and a matching state

share, the total fund available will be Rs 3,908 crore.

Further, the 15th Commission has allocated grants worth Rs 5,827 crore that has to be compulsorily spent on supply

of drinking water, rainwater harvesting and water recycling besides sanitation and maintenance of open defecation-

free (ODF) status.

Central Govt has approved fund of Rs 1,189.40 Crore for implementation of JJM in Karnataka in 2020-21

Central Govt has approved a fund of Rs 1,189.40 Crore for implementation of JJM in Karnataka in 2020-21, which is a

considerable increase from Rs. 546.06 Crore in 2019-20. Karnataka is planning 100% household coverage by 2022-

23.

For 2020-21, the State has planned to provide 23.57 lakh households with tap water connections.

With an opening balance of Rs. 80.44 Crore available with the State and along with this year’s allocation of Rs.

1,189.40 Crore, and considering the State matching share, a total of Rs. 2,734.03 Crore will be available for

implementation of JJM in Karnataka.

The State received Rs 3,217 Crore as Finance Commission Grants in 2020-21.

Central Govt allocated Rs 156.61 Crore for FY20-21 to Tripura for implementation of JJM in State

For the year 2020-21, the fund allocation for the implementation of JJM in Tripura has been increased from Rs 107.64

Crore to Rs 156.61 Crore. With an opening balance of Rs 136.45 Crore available with the State and along with this

year’s allocation of Rs 156.61 Crore, and considering the State matching share, a total of Rs 320.16 Crore will be

available with the state.

State has planned to provide 100% Functional Household Tap Connection by 2023 under JJM.

In 2020-21, Tripura has been allocated Rs 191 Crore as 15th Finance Commission Grants to PRIs and 50% of this

amount is mandatorily to be utilized for water supply & sanitation. Funds provided under Swachh Bharat Mission (G)

is to be utilized for grey water treatment and reuse works.

About JJM:

It aims to enable every rural household has assured availability of potable water at a service level of 55 litres per

capita per day (lpcd) on regular and long-term basis. As a mission target, all states are presenting their

implementation plans to the National level Committee headed by Secretary, Department of Drinking Water &

Sanitation, Govt. of India for approval.

The estimated outlay of the mission is Rs 3.60 Lakh Crore with Central and State share of Rs. 2.08 Lakh Crore and

Rs.1.52 Lakh Crore respectively

Tripura Government to launch ‘Ektu Khelo, Ektu Padho’ for school students

Tripura Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath informed that, ‘Ektu Khelo, Ektu Padho’(Play little, Study little’), an

initiative for school students upto class VIII will be launched on June 25.

Major Highlights of the initiative

i.Students with access to android phones will get audio and video contents on learning activities,projects with fun and

gaming activities through WhatsApp. Others will get through SMS.

ii.Every morning the lessons & assignments will be sent to the mobile phones. The feedback on their performance will

be collected in the afternoon.

Students access to their contents

i.The Tripura education department will share the learning contents to different district academic coordinators.

ii.They will share the contents to the school headmasters in their concerned areas. The headmasters will then give

teachers the responsibility to share the contents among the students.

Note: About 5 lakh students study in 4,733 schools in Tripura.

Other initiatives

Tirupur had launched many programmes for students through online classes and recorded videos in April 2020,

which were broadcasted on cable television channels and social media.

About Tripura:

Capital– Agartala

Governor– Ramesh Bais

Chief Minister– Biplab Kumar Deb

3rd and 4th june 2020 current affairs

1)PM Svanidhi

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched a micro-credit facility for street vendors under the Swanidhi Scheme.

◎ What is it? ➔ It is a special micro-credit facility scheme to enable more than 50 lakh urban/peri-urban & rural street vendors to restart their livelihoods affected due to the lockdown. ◎ The loans are meant to help kick-start activity for vendors who have been left without any income since the lockdown was implemented on March 25.

Duration ➔ The scheme will be applicable till March 2022. ◎ Expected beneficiaries ➔ This loan will be given to those who run shops on the roadside, handcart or streetcar. Fruit-vegetable, laundry, saloon and paan shops are also included in this category. ◎ Features of the Scheme ➔ ○ Under this, each of the street vendors will be given a credit loan of Rs 10,000 which they can return as monthly installments within a year. ○ Those who repay their loans on time will get 7% annual interest as subsidy which will be transferred in their bank accounts. ○ The loans would be without collateral. There will be no penalty on early repayment of the loan.

2)Social Stock Exchanges

A working group constituted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Social Stock Exchanges (SSEs) has recommended allowing non-profit organisations to directly list on such platforms.

◎ What is it? ➔ An SSE is a platform which allows investors to buy shares in social enterprises vetted by an official exchange. ◎ The SSE will function as a common platform where social enterprises can raise funds from the public.

Social Stock Exchanges

👉

◎ It will function on the lines of major stock exchanges like BSE and NSE. However, the purpose of the Social Stock Exchange will be different – not profit, but social welfare. ◎ Under the regulatory ambit of SEBI, a listing of social enterprises and voluntary organizations will be undertaken so that they can raise capital as equity, debt or as units like a mutual fund. ◎ Why SSEs? ➔ ○ India needs massive investments in the coming years to be able to meet the human development goals identified by global bodies like the UN. ○ Currently, social enterprises are very active in India. However, they face challenges in raising funds.

Social Stock Exchanges

◎ Benefits ➔ ◎ There is a great opportunity to unlock funds from donors, philanthropic foundations and CSR spenders, in the form of zero-coupon zero principal bonds. These bonds will be listed on the SSE. ◎ At first, the SSE could become a repository of social enterprises and impact investors. ◎ The registration could be done through a standard process.

3)NISARGA

On the western coast of India, Cyclone Nisarga is headed towards the coastline of north Maharashtra and south Gujarat.

◎ In strength and intensity, Cyclone Nisarga would be much weaker than Cyclone Amphan that struck on May 20 and passed through West Bengal on its way to Bangladesh. ◎ Cyclones formed in the Bay of Bengal side of the north Indian Ocean are more frequent and stonger than those on the Arabian Sea side.

NISARGA

👉

◎ The relatively cold waters of the Arabian Sea discourage the kind of very strong cyclones that are formed on the Bay of Bengal side; Odisha and Andhra Pradesh face the brunt of these cyclones every year.

4)Antifa

As massive protests following the death of George Floyd continued to rock the United States, President Donald Trump has announced that the far-left group Antifa would be designated as a terrorist organisation by his government.

◎ What is it? ➔ Short for “anti-fascists,” antifa is not a single organization but rather an umbrella term for far-left-leaning movements that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacistsat demonstrations. ◎ History ➔ Antifa has been around for several decades, with some dating it as far back as Nazi Germany.

Antifa

👉

◎ Membership ➔ Antifa does not have a formal organisational structure. It draws its members from other movements such as Black Lives Matter and the Occupy movement. ◎ Functioning ➔ Antifa members typically dress in black and often wear a mask at their demonstrations, and follow far-left ideologies such as anticapitalism. They take up causes such as LGBTQ and indigenous rights. What makes them stand out is the violence. ◎ Global presence ➔ While the movement has had a presence in several European countries and has now come into focus in the United States following the election of President Trump in 2016, with violence marking some of its protests and demonstrations.

5)Upward Definition of MSME 

Union Cabinet has announced policy changes for the MSME sector as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat package.

Upward Definition of MSME 

👉

◎ It may be noted that this revision was done after 14 years since the MSME Development Act came into existence in 2006. ◎ It has also been decided that the turnover with respect to exports will not be counted in the limits of turnover for any category of MSME units whether micro, small or medium.

6)Moody’s downgrades India’s rating

In Recent, the Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded India’s rating from ‘Baa2’ to ‘Baa3’ while maintaining the negative outlook.

Moody’s downgrades India’s rating

👉

◎ In specific, the agency has downgraded the Indian Government’s foreign-currency and local-currency long-term issuer ratings to Baa3 from Baa2. ◎ Baa3 ➔ the lowest in the investment grade in Moody’s rating implying that India is just a notch above the non-investment grade or junk grade.

◎ The rating agency expects the country’s GDP to contract by 4% in the current financial year due to the shock from COVID-19 and the pandemic driven lockdown measures. ◎ There are expectations of GDP growth to pick up in the next fiscal to 8.7% and closer to 6% growth thereafter. ◎ What does “negative” outlook mean? ➔ The negative outlook reflects dominant, mutually-reinforcing, downside risks from deeper stresses in the economy and financial system that could lead to a more severe and prolonged erosion in fiscal strength.

Moody’s downgrades India’s rating

About Moody’s: ◎ It is a globally integrated risk assessment firm that empowers organizations/governments to make better decisions based on data and analytical solutions. ◎ Moody’s Corporation is the holding company that owns Moody’s Investor Services, which rates fixed-income debt securities.

1st and 2nd june 2020 current affairs

1)WHO and Costa Rica launched the landmark COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP). Thirty countries and multiple international partners and institutions have signed up to support the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP). C-TAP is an initiative aimed at making vaccines, tests, treatments and other health technologies to fight COVID-19 accessible to all. The COVID-19 (Technology) Access Pool will be voluntary and based on social solidarity. 

It will provide a one-stop shop for scientific knowledge, data and intellectual property to be shared equitably by the global community. C-TAP will serve as a sister initiative to the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator and other initiatives to support efforts to fight COVID-19 worldwide.

2)The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has refused to disclose details on the creation and operation of the PM CARES Fund, telling an RTI applicant that the fund is “not a public authority” within the ambit of the RTI Act, 2005. The PMO cited a Supreme Court (SC) observation that “indiscriminate and impractical demands under RTI Act for disclosure of all and sundry information would be counterproductive”.

3)The Union Minister for Electronics and IT launched a National Program for the youth called “Responsible AI for Youth”. To empower the youth to become AI ready and help reduce the skill gap, while enabling youth to create meaningful social impact solutions. Bodies involved: The Program has been created and launched by the National e-Governance Division, Ministry of Electronics & IT in collaboration with Intel India, with support from Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSE&L), Ministry of HRD. 

The National Programme is open to students of classes 8 - 12 from Central and State government-run schools (including KVS, NVS, JNV) from across the country

4)Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister has announced the launch of the ‘Rozgar Setu’ scheme, to help secure employment for skilled workers who have returned. After such workers requiring employment are identified, the government will contact factory, workshop owners and contractors overseeing infrastructure projects such as road and bridge construction. Thus, the State government will act as a setu [bridge] between workers and employers so that both are benefited. According to CM, Madhya Pradesh is the 1st state to devise such a work plan.

5)The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics, has released the Provisional Estimates of National Income for the financial year 2019-20 and Quarterly Estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the fourth quarter (January-March) of 2019-20, both at Constant (2011-12) and Current Prices. The growth in GDP during 2019-20 is estimated at 4.2 percent as compared to 6.1 percent in 2018-19. This is the lowest annual growth rate of GDP registered under the new GDP data series which uses 2011-12 as the base year. This sharp deceleration in nominal GDP growth shows the continued weakening of India’s growth momentum even before it was hit by the Covid-19 induced lockdown in the last week of March.

6)A 2 MW Solar Photovoltaic Plant was commissioned at INS Kalinga, Visakhapatnam. The plant is the largest in the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) and has an estimated life of 25 years. INS Kalinga has taken significant strides in Green Initiatives since it's setting up in the early 1980s, including afforestation, numerous plantation drives, coastal cleanup drives and protection of the GeoHeritage site “Erra Matti Dibbalu”. Erra Matti Dibbalu also called as Red Sand Hills, a notified National Geo-heritage Monument, is situated at the outskirts of Visakhapatnam City. It is located very near to the Bay of Bengal and is one of Visakhapatnam's many heritage sites.

7)Ajit Jogi passed away at the age of 74 after a heart attack. Ajit Pramod Kumar Jogi (1946 – 2020) was a politician, who served as the first chief minister of the state of Chhattisgarh during 2000-2003. He was a member of the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (INC) political party. Earlier, he was selected for the Indian Administrative Service and served as a District collector of Indore during 1981-85. He also served as member of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.

8) President Ram Nath Kovind has expressed grief on the demise of Rajya Sabha Member and former Union Minister M.P. Veerendra Kumar. • P. Veerendra Kumar was an Indian politician, writer and journalist, who was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha. • He was a member of the Loktantrik Janata Dal political party and was the president of Kerala state unit of the party. • He was also the chairman and managing director of the Malayalam daily newspaper Mathrubhumi.

• Mathrubhumi is a Malayalam newspaper that is published from Kerala. It is the second most widely read newspaper daily in Kerala. It was founded in 1924 by K. P. Kesava Menon, a freedom fighter who led the Vaikom Satyagraha in Travancore.

9)BCCI nominated Rohit Sharma for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards. The Award is considered to be the highest sporting honour award in India. The period of consideration for a person to get nominated is from January 2016 to December 2019. The award is the highest sporting honour of India. The award is presented by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and sports. The award is presented for outstanding performance for a period of 4 years. The award comprises of cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakhs

10)Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Kendra achieved sales up to Rs 100.40 crores in the first two months of the financial year 2020-21. The sales were high as compared to the sales in the same two months period of 2019-20. The Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Kendra have saved Rs 800 crores through the sales of medicines in the two months of the financial year 2020-21. The Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) are responsible for the success. It is the BPPI that implements Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana through the network of Pradhan Mantri Janaushadhi Kendra

11)The United States is facing nation wide protests over the death of an African American George Floyd. Mr Floyd was from Houston and has been living in Minneapolis several years. He was left jobless due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was reported to the police by a shopkeeper to have used a counterfeit currency. People even claim that the “Black Lives Matter” movement is back. The Black Lives Movement is an African-American movement that campaigns against violence and racism towards black people. 

The movement campaigns against killings of black people, police brutality, racial profiling and racial inequality in the United States. The movement began in 2013. The movement spread to Canada, Australia and Germany 

12)Reserve Bank of India recently announced that the Government of India has discontinued 7.75% savings bonds. The 7.75% savings bonds that are also called government bonds or RBI bonds were issued in 2018. They were available for the resident citizens of India alone. The value of one bond was Rs 1000 and there was no maximum limit of investment. The interests of the bonds were taxed under Income Tax Act, 1961

13)THAAD is Terminal High Altitude Area Defense. It is a transportable and groundbased missile defense system. China believes that US is exerting its influence over South Korea and Japan. This may interfere China’s long term diplomatic, military and economic interests in the region. China has been reiterating its long-standing objections about the presence of US THAAD missile defence system in South Korea. The THAAD is an anti-ballistic missile system. It was developed after the US experiences in the Gulf War, 1991. THAAD has been deployed in Israel, UAE, Romania and South Korea. THAAD is capable of destroying missiles by colliding with them. It uses Kinetic Kill Technology 

14)The Researchers at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute have found a rare fish from the Gulf of Mannar. The specimen was deposited at the National Marine Biodiversity Museum of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). The fish is locally called Scorpion Fish for its venomous tail. When the spines in the tail pierces an individual, the venom gets injected and causes severe pain. This is the first time, the species has been found alive in the Indian waters. Gulf of Mannar is a shallow bay in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and India. 

A Chain of low islands and reefs called Ram Sethu separates Gulf of Mannar from Palk Bay. Ram Sethu is also called Adam’s bridge. Gulf of Mannar is also called Adam’s bridge. Gulf of Mannar is a biosphere reserve.

15)PM Modi launched “My Life My Yoga”, a video blogging contest. The contest is to be conducted as a joint effort of Ministry of AYUSH and ICMR (Indian Council of Cultural Research). The contest is being launched to inspire people to participate in the sixth International Day of Yoga (IDY) that is to be celebrated in 21st June, 2020. Any participant from the world can take part in the contest. In order to participate in the contest, the participants have to upload 3 minutes video on yogic practices such as Asana, Kriya, Bandha, Pranayama or Mudra. The participants should also include the message how yogic practices influenced their lives. First, Second and third prizes of worth Rs 1 lakh, Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 have been announced.

16)The Central Government has allocated Rs 1,832 crores to Bihar and Rs 1,407 crores to Assam under Jal Jeevan Mission. In Assam, the Jal Jeevan mission aims to provide tap connections to over 13 lakh rural households by 202021. The state aims weaker and marginalized sections on priority basis. Village Action Plans have been framed with active participation of the rural community. With the help of funds allocated, the Bihar Government will offer tap connections to more than 50 lakh households. The Government is focusing on aspirational districts and SC ST villages. Jal Jeevan Mission aims to supply 55 litres of water to all rural household by 2024. The mission will create necessary infrastructure such as ground water recharge, rainwater harvest and management of household waste water for reuse

17)US President Donald Trump signed an executive order regarding liability protections for social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook for content posted on these platforms. • Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, tech companies currently enjoy broad immunity from civil lawsuits stemming from what users post because they are treated as “platforms” rather than “publishers”.

• This executive order aims to narrow their protections from liability over the content posted on their services. Trump’s executive order is designed to pressure regulators, including the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, to come up with new rules that would curtail that immunity. • The move came as the US president stepped up his attacks against social media giants after Twitter factchecked him for the first time over a false assertion that mail-in voting leads to widespread voter fraud. Trump said fact checks were editorial decisions by Twitter and amounted to political 

30th may 2020 current affairs

1)Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) will take up Research and Development initiatives in the areas of Health Care, like Manufacturing and Certifying PPE to deal with COVID-19 pandemic. Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) functions under the Ministry of Chemicals and fertilizers. It was established in 1968 by Government of India with the assistance of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at Chennai. 

Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology (CIPET) has been renamed as Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET). The changed name has been registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act 1975. According to government, with changed name, now CIPET will be in a position to fully devote itself  for the growth of entire petrochemical sector. CIPET was established in 1968 by Government of India with the assistance of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at Chennai.

2)The Union Finance Minister formally launched a facility for instant allotment of online PAN (permanent account number) card (on near to real time basis) on furnishing(प्रस्तुत) of Aadhaar details. This facility is now available for those PAN applicants who possess a valid Aadhaar number and have a mobile number registered with Aadhaar. The allotment process is paperless and an electronic PAN (e-PAN) is issued to the applicants free of cost. In the Union Budget, 2020, Finance Minister had announced that in order to ease the process of allotment of PAN, she will soon launch a system under which PAN shall be instantly allotted online on the basis of Aadhaar without any requirement for filling up of detailed application form.” 

3)Less than two months after detecting its first infection, Montenegro is the first country in Europe to declare itself coronavirus-free. Montenegro is a country of South and Southeast Europe on the coast of the Balkans. It borders Bosnia-Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east, Albania to the southeast, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, and Croatia to the west. Its capital is Podgorica. 

4)Uttar Pradesh government will develop 800 km roads as Herbal roads in the state. These herbal roads will have medicinal and herbal trees – like Peepal, Neem, Sehjan along with other herb varieties like Brahmi, Ashvagandha and Jatrofa – along with the land on their both sides. These plants will provide raw material for the medicines and will also help in curbing the erosion of land. The herbal garden will keep air-borne, bacterial and other diseases at bay.

5)Larry Kramer, who helped shape U.S. healthcare policy with his early advocacy of a national response to AIDS when it first emerged in the 1980s, died at the age of 84. Laurence David Kramer (1935 – 2020) was an American playwright, author, film producer, public health advocate, and LGBT rights activist. He co-founded the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), which has become the world's largest private organization assisting people living with AIDS. Kramer, whose works include the award-winning 1985 play, “The Normal Heart,” established himself as a fierce advocate for LGBTQ rights as the gay community, including many of his friends, became afflicted with AIDS, a newly emergent disease in the 1980s

6)Women peacekeepers from India and Brazil – Major Suman Gawani of the Indian Army, a Military Observer formerly deployed with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and Commander Carla Monteiro de Castro Araujo, a Brazilian Naval officer – have jointly won the United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year 2019 Award. United Nations “Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award” was created in 2016- For the first time, two peacekeepers will receive the award jointly for their contribution to this important cause.

It recognizes the dedication and effort of an individual military peacekeeper in promoting the principles of UN Security Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in a peace operation context.

7)Union Ministry of HRD has decided to take forward the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) programme by using innovative ways in view of the prevailing conditions of COVID 19. To move towards digital mediums for the carrying on the activities under EBSB by each participating Ministry/ Department. To organise webinars on Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat themes for their wide dissemination. To have a common repository for the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat digital resources that can be used by every Ministry. This repository may be hosted on a common portal. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has been designated Nodal Ministry for co-ordination of the EBSB programme.

29th may 2020 current affairs

1) World Gold Council released its report on Retail Gold Insights: India Jewellery Report. According to the report, around 37% of Indian women never bought jewellery. • The report says that gold jewellery was the second most popular item among “Fashion and Lifestyle” shoppers next to clothes and silk sarees. • Around 60% of Indian women already owned jewellery. • The 37% of Indian women that do not buy gold are now being seen as new target by the gold industry. Of these, 44% of the women are from rural areas and 30% are from urban.

• According to the World Gold Council, the current young Indian women show least interest towards gold ornaments. • Only 33% of women in the age group 18-24 bought gold jewellery. • This is a great threat to the gold market- India is one of the largest gold market in the world and decrease in gold purchase in the country will affect gold industry badly.

2) Karnataka State Government announced that it will launch a “State Health Register” to collect data of all its citizens. • The register is first of its kind in the country. • The register will hold names of all the citizens of the state • The need to maintain such a register has been raised by COVID-19. • The register is to be created in the future with 50% partnership from private hospitals. 

• The State Government is to undertake a survey including every person of the state. • The current population of Karnataka is 6.5 crores- The survey is to be conducted through ASHA workers, educational department staffs, staffs in primary health centre and revenue officials. • The survey to create the register is to be conducted by visiting to each and every household. • The data will help the state government in allocating funds, better implementation of the schemes, efficient resource management.

3)India and China have activated the “working mechanism” at the diplomatic level alongside the military-to-military conversation taking place at the field level to “dis-engage” and “de-escalate” the situation. The “Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC)” was established in January 2012 after border talks between then National Security Adviser (NSA) Shivshankar Menon and his Chinese counterpart Dai Bingguo.

It is headed by joint secretary-level officials from both sides. They are entrusted to help the special representative for boundary talks, a position currently held by NSA Ajit Doval. These officials have had 14 meetings since 2012, the last one in July 2019, and meet more frequently than the special representatives.

4)National Payment Corporation of India launched Artificial Intelligence based chatbot called Pai. The Chatbot aims to increase financial inclusion in India. The PAI can be accessed 24/7. It provides information about NPCI products. The queries can be sent by the users through text or voice. In order to send queries, the users shall use websites of RuPay, NPCI and UPI. Currently, PAI is available in English and Hindi languages. The AI based chatbot was created by Bengaluru based startup CoRover Private Limited.

5)The Sports Authority of India recently transferred Rs 30,000 to the accounts of Khelo India athletes. The authority has spent Rs 8.25 cr in all to achieve this. The Sports Authority of India recently deposited Rs 30,000 to more than 2749 Khelo India athletes accounts. The sports allowance has been provided for the athletes to travel to their home town, to keep up their diet at home and to suffice other miscellaneous expenses. The Out of Pocket Allowance under Khelo India scholarship is Rs 1.20 lakhs annually.

6)Under its Perspective Aviation Complex for Long Range Aviation (PAKDA) programme, Russia has constructed its first Stealth Bomber. Russia is currently modernizing its military at a very fast pace. The Stealth Bomber is one such advancement. The bomber is the second-generation combat aircraft after Sukhoi Su-57 supersonic fighter jet. The Stealth Bomber has been developed under PAKDA programme. The PAKDA programme is to use latest technologies to reduce its radar signature.

7)Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman attended the Special Board of Governors meet of New Development bank through video conference. The leaders that attended the meet elected the president, vice president of new development bank. The bank has so far approved 16.6 billion USD to over 55 projects in its member countries. Mr Marcos Troyjo of Brazil was elected as the president at the meet. The 5th annual meet of board of governors of the New Development Bank was held in April 2020. 

8)The US President Donald Trump's administration has launched a program called Operation Warp Speed. Operation Warp Speed is a public–private partnership, initiated by the Federal Government of the United States, to facilitate and accelerate the development of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. It is an interagency program that includes components of the Department of Health, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health and private firms.

9)European Union proposed 750 billion Euros as COVID-19 recovery fund. The fund is to be used by the countries to recover from deep recession caused by the COVID-19. The European Union has broken the deficit limit to keep jobs, health care systems and businesses alive in its member countries. France and Germany had earlier agreed to provide 543 billion USD fund to add cash to the financial measures of the bloc. The European Union is to implement the blueprint that are in several ways similar to that of the Franco-German model. India supports the Franco-German model greatly. The model aims to pull in world organizations in the fight against COVID-19

28 th may 2020 current affairs

1)For the first time in a decade, the naturalists have filmed a Saharan Cheetah in a Hoggar Mountains national park in Algeria. Saharan cheetah (Zoological name: Acinonyx jubatus hecki) or Northwest African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki) is a subspecies of Cheetah endemic to Sahara and the Sahel regions of Africa. It is a critically endangered fauna and its total population was suspected to be less than 250 in 2008.

The Saharan cheetah used to be found in fragmented populations in western and central Sahara and Sahel regions of Africa- The main countries where it is found include Algeria, Chad, Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. However, it is now extinct from most of the countries in wild.

2)British author J.K. Rowling released first two chapters of her new Children’s book “The lckabog”. The story is to be published in installments on The Ickabog website for free before its official publication in November 2020. The Ickabog is her first children’s book since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was published in 2007. J. K. Rowling (original name Joanne Rowling) is a British author, film & TV producer, screenwriter and philanthropist, best known for writing the Harry Potter fantasy series.

3)Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSMEs Shri. Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the breakthrough event of Chamba Tunnel under Chardham Pariyojana through video conference. The foundation stone of Char Dham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojana (Char Dham Highway Development Project) was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 December, 2016. Its a two lane National Highway project currently under construction in Uttarakhand with a total investment of around Rs. 12000 Cro

4)Three-judge bench of the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of migrant workers issue and noted that there have been “inadequacies and certain lapses” on the part of the Central and State governments in dealing with the migrant workers crisis during the lockdown. Suo motu is a latin phrase which means “on its own”. This means that the court has taken the matter into cognisance on its own and without any plaintiff. A plaintiff is a person or entity which files a case or petition in the court. Normal court cases need a plaintiff and a defendant, while in suo moto, there is no plaintiff. In the current matter, the court has taken suo motu cognisance on the basis of newspaper and media reports on helpless migrants forced to travel thousands of miles on foot or cycles.

5)In July, China will launch its first Mars mission, the ‘Tianwen1’, which is expected to land on the Red Planet’s surface in the first quarter of 2021. • Tianwen-1, an all-in-one orbiter, lander and rover will search the Martian surface for water, ice, investigate soil characteristics, and study the atmosphere, among completing other objectives. • The Tianwen-1 mission will lift off on a Long March 5 rocket. • The success of the mission will make China the third country to achieve a Mars landing after the USSR and the United States. • The Chinese mission is expected to take off in late July, around the same time when NASA is launching its own Mars mission– the ambitious ‘Perseverance’ which aims to collect Martian samples and bring them back to Earth in a two-part campaign.

6) India Observatory, an open-source database, has come up with a GIS-enabled dashboard that includes an India map reflecting the movement of migrants in real time on their long journeys, along with facilities and relief organisations on their routes. • The platform, a collaboration with Anand-based Forest Ecological Security (FES) as its main nodal point, is called CoAST India (Collaboration/Covid Action Support Group).

 

• It draws information from 55 organisations on the ground, mostly in villages, and aims to make such data available so that it would enable governments and small local civil society groups to be of assistance. • The map matches “time and spatial data, on administrative facilities in the area, transportation and healthcare facilities of an area and summaries, on the fly, in real time of people passing by. • India Observatory was set up in December 2019, with FES focused on ecological issues about forests, water bodies, conservation, etc. that needed “a bird’s eye view or a satellite’s vision”.

27th may 2020 current affairs

1)Puntius Sanctus fish

Velankanni in Tamil Nadu has thrown up a new species of small freshwater fish.

◎ What is it? ➔ It is a new species of small freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae. ◎ Name ➔ The silver-hued fish has been named Puntius Sanctus — ‘Sanctus’ is Latin for holy — after the popular pilgrim town. ◎ The Puntius species are known locally as ‘Paral’ in Kerala and ‘Kende’ in Tamil Nadu.

Puntius Sanctus fish

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◎ The species is small in size and grows to a length of 7 cm, it bears lateral line scales and pre-dorsal scales. ◎ It found to use both as food and as an aquarium draw. ◎ Physical characteristics ➔ included a protractible mouth, a pair of maxillary barbels (a sensory organ near the snout), 24-25 lateral line scales and 10 pre-dorsal scales. ◎ They are purely freshwater fishes.

 ◎ It is a subordinate organization of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and was established in 1916. ◎ Functions ➔ It is a national centre for faunistic survey and exploration of the resources leading to the advancement of knowledge on the exceptionally rich faunal diversity of the country. ◎ Headquarters➔ at Kolkata and 16 regional stations.

International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature ◎ Functions ➔ It regulates a uniform system of zoological nomenclature ensuring that every animal has a unique and universally accepted scientific name.

Puntius Sanctus fish

◎ It creates and revises the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. ◎ It is based in the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore.

2)Ramkinkar Baij

Ministry of Culture’s has organised virtual tour titled “Ramkinkar Baij | Journey through silent transformation and expressions” to commemorate his 115th Birth Anniversary.

◎ Ramkinkar Baij (1906-1980), one of the most seminal artists of modern India, was an iconic sculptor, painter and graphic artist. ◎ He was born in Bankura, West Bengal. ◎ In 1925, he made his way to Kala Bhavana, the art school at Santiniketan and was under the guidance of Nandalal Bose.

Ramkinkar Baij

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◎ Encouraged by the liberating, intellectual environment of (Tagore’s) Santiniketan, his artistic skills and intellectual horizons blossomed, thus acquiring greater depth and complexity.

◎ His works➔ ◎ He assimilated the idioms of the European modern visual language and yet was rooted in his own Indian ethos. ◎ He experimented restlessly with forms, moving freely from figurative to abstract and back to figurative. ◎ His themes were steeped in a deep sense of humanism and an instinctive understanding of the symbiotic relationship between man and nature.

Ramkinkar Baij

◎ Both in his paintings and sculptures, he pushed the limits of experimentation and ventured into the use of new materials. ◎ For instance, his use of unconventional material, for the time, such as cement concrete for his monumental public sculptures set a new precedent for art practices. ◎ Awards and honours➔ ◎ He was invited to participate in the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles in 1950 and in the Salon de Mai in 1951. ◎ In 1970 - Padma Bhushan for his irrefutable contribution to Indian art. ◎ In 1976 he was made a Fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi. ◎ In 1976, he was conferred the honorary Doctoral Degree of ‘Desikottama’ by Visva Bharati.

3)ANtarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna or ANITA

 Designed by NASA, the ANITA instrument is a radio telescope which is used to detect ultra-high energy cosmic-ray neutrinos from a scientific balloon flying over Antarctica. ◎ ANITA is also the first NASA observatory for neutrinos of any kind.

ANtarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna or ANITA

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◎ It involves an array of radio antennas attached to a helium balloon which flies over the Antarctic ice sheet at 37,000 meters. ◎ How does ANITA detect Neutrinos ➔ The ANITA instrument detects these ultra-high energy neutrinos by use of the Askaryan effect. ◎ Askaryan Effect ➔ It predicts the production of a coherent radio emission from the cascade of particles produced in a high-energy particle interaction. ◎ How many ANITAs? ➔ ANITA-I was launched in 2006–07 and ANITA-IV was launched in 2016.

ANtarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna or ANITA

👉 ◎ A neutrino is a subatomic particle very similar to an electron. ◎ But it has no electrical charge and a very small mass, which might even be zero. ◎ Neutrinos are one of the most abundant particles in the universe. ◎ Because they have very little interaction with matter, they are incredibly difficult to detect.

4)CoAST India (Collaboration/Covid Action Support Group) Platform

 It is a GIS-enabled dashboard that includes an India map reflecting the movement of migrants in real time on their long journeys, often on foot, along with facilities and relief organisations on their routes. ◎ It is a collaboration with Anand-based Forest Ecological Security (FES) as its main nodal point.

CoAST India (Collaboration/Covid Action Support Group) Platform

👉

◎ How it work?➔ ◎ It draws information from 55 organisations on the ground, mostly in villages, and aims to make such data available so that it would enable governments and small local civil society groups to be of assistance. ◎ The map matches “time and spatial data, on administrative facilities in the area, transportation and healthcare facilities of an area and summaries, on the fly, in real time of people passing by.

CoAST India (Collaboration/Covid Action Support Group) Platform

👉 ◎ What is it? ➔ It is India’s first socio, economic and ecological open-source integrated Geospatial data platform. ◎ Function➔ The observatory is designed to supplement local level decision making by village communities, Panchayats, NGOs and government officials. ◎ Structure ➔ It has the ‘India Data Platform’ at its core, which is built on open source and brings together data on over 1,600 parameters, ranging from village to national level in the form of maps, graphs, tables and infographics. ◎ Benefit ➔ It is freely available for civil society organizations, students, government departments and citizens.

26th may 2020 current affairs

1)The Department of Posts, Government of India and Department of Horticulture, Government of Bihar have joined hands to supply ''Shahi Lichi'' from Muzaffarpur and "Zardalu Mango" from Bhagalpur to the people at doorstep. The ''Shahi Lichi'' of Muzaffarpur (Bihar) and  "Zardalu Mango" of Bhagalpur(Bihar) are famous in world by virtue of their unique fragrance and demand everywhere. Zardalu Mango has received GI tag. This facility of online delivery will be initially available to people of Muzaffarpur & Patna for ''Shahi Lichi'' & Patna & Bhagalpur for "Zardalu Mango". Lichi will be booked minimum for 2 kgs and mangoes for 5 kgs.


2)Economists around the world are searching for the right terminology to describe the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression. The IMF calls it the Great Lockdown. At its spring meetings in April - held virtually this year - the International Monetary Fund used that phrase to summarize how the world economy had been upended. Morgan Stanley says it’s the Great Covid-19 Recession, or GCR for short to reflects its expectations for the deepest peacetime contraction in global growth since the Great Depression. Ed Yardeni has named this the Great Virus Crisis. There’s even a suggestion to call it a Pandession, as suggested by economist David McWilliams, who previously worked for the Central Bank of Ireland. A Pandession is a new word because it is a new thing.



3)Farmers in Chhattisgarh would get up to ₹13,000 an acre a year under the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyaya Yojana, a new income support programme announced by the State government. In the first instalment, ₹1,500 crore would be distributed among 18 lakh farmers, more than 80% of them small and marginal. The annual cost of the scheme would be ₹5,700 crore. The scheme would cover rice, maize and sugarcane farmers to begin with, and would expand to other crops later. Rice and maize farmers would get ₹10,000 an acre, while sugarcane farmers would get ₹13,000. The money would be distributed in four instalments. This will help them through the agricultural cycle and help with extension activities. The additional income to farmers would increase rural demand and also act as a stimulus for the State’s economy



4)e payroll data of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) was released. The data says that around 821,000 new members have joined ESIC social security scheme. The data was released by National Statistical Office (NSO). The Employment State Insurance Scheme was launched in 1952 under the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948. The act was the first legislative social security step for workers in India. The scheme was designed to help employees fight against their sickness, disablement, maternity and death due to employment.



5)World Steel Association released the World Steel Report. According to the report, the crude steel report of India declined by 65%. During April 2020, the steel output of India was 3.13 million tonnes. China has reported 1.7% fall in steel production. This is the first time China is facing an output decline. US faced a decline of 32%. South Korea’s steel production declined by 8.4%. The other global steel producers such as European Union, France, Italy, Turkey, Spain, Russia, Ukraine and Brazil also faced decline in their output. India is currently operating under its National Steel Policy 2017. Under the policy, India is to increase its steel production to 300 million tonnes by 2030. It also aims to make India selfsufficient in steel. It also aims to build a globally competitive steel industrial output in the country.

6)Ministry of Road Transport and Highways notified emission norms for L7 category for BS VI. With the notification, the BS VI process L, M and N category vehicles in the country gets completed. The emission norms will encourage the production of quadricycles. The quadricycle segment in India was introduced in less than 2 years. Thus, the full-fledged production has not completely begun. The quadricycle segment was introduced in 2018 for both commercial and private use.

7)The World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced eight candidates to enter human trials. Several people step forward to participate in human challenge trial as the race to develop new vaccine for the virus is increasing. The trial involves infecting volunteers intentionally with COVID-19 virus. This is done to speed up the process of vaccine development.

8)Union Minister of Food Processing Industries(MoFPI), appreciated the initiative taken by Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT) to manufacture nutrient rich foods for COVID-19 patients at a time when the need for healthy and immunity boosting foods is indispensable. • IIFPT is a premier national Institute for promoting research and education in food processing. • It works under the administrative control of Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI). • HQ: Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.

9)Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has announced the launch of Facebook Shops. • Facebook Shops is a platform that small mom-and-pop stores across the world could leverage to sell things directly across its apps, such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook too. • For small store owners in developing countries, the launch of this platform could mean easy access to the large customer base of the social media giant, Facebook. • With WhatsApp and Instagram, the trio makes a formidable presence on the internet. • The launch of this platform coincides with the plans of many other global conglomerates to launch themselves in the Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) segment, by providing some kind of platform or training space- It is unclear if Facebook Shops would be launched in India as well.