National News
Federal Bank Partners with Money Gram
- Federal Bank has entered into a partnership with money transfer company MoneyGram Payment Systems which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Money Gram International.
- Both the finance entities have entered into a partnership for direct-to-bank deposit service.
2nd and 3rd Tranche of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan—By FM Minister
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a special economic package of Rs 20 lakh Crore to drive the nation in the pandemic situation of COVID-19.
- Centre allocated Rs.4000 crore for the promotion of herbal cultivation. Under this, 10,00,000 hectares will be covered in the next 2 years.
GOAL Programme —By MoTA and Facebook
- Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) in partnership with Facebook launched the GOAL Programme.
- The GOAL Programme stands for ‘Going Online As Leaders’. The launching of the programme was made by Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Mundaat a Webinar in New Delhi.
4th and 5th Tranche of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan—By FM Minister
- Fourth and the fifth part of the economic relief package for Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan was launched by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
- The decision to bring commercial mining under the coal sector by introducing a revenue-sharing mechanism was introduced in the fourth part of the economic relief package.
NRAI Partners with DotPe—To Develop Tech Platform
- National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI) has signed an agreement with DotPe which is and Fintech startup platform to develop its own tech platform.
- The tech platform will be used to support paying online bills, digital ordering, bill settlements, and contactless dinning.
India Gives $2 million to support UNRWA
- India provided support of USD 2 million that is Rs 15 crore to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) in order to offer support to Palestinian Refugees.
- The amount given to UNRWA will be utilised for education and health in the pandemic situation of COVID-19.
Indian Economy to Contract by 5% for FY21
- Goldman Sachs has predicted that Indian economy to contract by 5% for the financial year 2021. This has been marked as the worst performance by the country ever.
- It has also predicted that India’s GDP will contract by 45% in the second quarter from the prior three months compared to the previous forecast which was predicted to be 20%.
‘Rail-Bot’ --- Developed by South Central Railway
- South Central Railway has developed ‘Rail-Bot’ or ’R-BOT’ which is a robotic device to help in the hospitals in order to manage activities like supplying medicines, medical accessories, to serve food to the patients, thus help in reducing physical contact of doctors and health worker with the positive COVID-19 patients.
Digital Motor Insurance Policy –By Flipkart and Bajaj Allianz
- E-commerce platform Flipkart has entered into a partnership with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance to offer a digital motor insurance policy to the customers of Flipkart.
- This will offer seamless and accessible and flexible insurance to the vehicles of Flipkart consumers.
‘SUKOON’ COVID-19 Beat the Stress Initiative—By Jammu and Kashmir
- Jammu and Kashmir have launched an initiative called ‘SUKOON’ COVID-19 Beat the Stress.
- It has been launched in coordination with the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR).
‘National Test Abhyas’ Mobile App--- By HRD Ministry
- The Human Resource Development Ministry has launched a new mobile phone application called ‘National Test Abhyas’.
- The mobile application is developed by National Testing Agency.
Charan Paduka campaign –By Madhya Pradesh
- Madhya Pradesh has launched Charan Paduka campaign for the migrant workers passing through the state.
- In this campaign, the state government has decided to offer shoes and slippers to the migrating workers who are travelling barefoot.
AA+ COVID-19 Testing Solution – Launched by ESDS Software Solution
- ESDS, A software and IT solution form has developed and launched AA+ COVID-19 Testing Solution.
- AA+ COVID-19 Testing Solution is an Artificial Intelligence-based tool which helps to detect the COVID-19 from Chest X-rays.
Karnataka Launched First Accelerator for Cyber Security Start-up
- Karnataka’s Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity (CS-CoE) has launched the first accelerator for cybersecurity for start-ups in India.
- ‘H.A.C.K.’ is an Accelerator for Cyber Security in Karnataka which is comprised of 21 start-ups on board across 10x cohort, 0-1 cohort and virtual cohort.
Banking
$145 Million Loan Agreement Between AIIB, GOI and West Bengal
- Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a loan agreement of $145 million with the Government of India and West Bengal state government.
- The loan is approved for the purpose of improving flood management strategies and irrigation services in the Damodar Valley Command Area (DVCA) in West Bengal state.
NABARD Sanctioned Rs 1,500 crores to the Farmers of Punjab
- The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development(NABARD) has sanctioned an amount of Rs 1,500 crores to the farmers of Punjab state.
- The amount will help to ensure the continuous credit flow to the farmers in the lockdown situation of COVID-19.
Rs 20,500 crore to Co-Op Banks and RRBs –By NABARD
- National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development has released Rs 20,500 crore to the co-operative banks and Regional Rural Banks for the lending process.
- Out of the total Rs 20,500 crore, the co-operative bank has received Rs 15,200 crore and RRBs has received Rs 5,300 crore.
Gold Loan Business Vertical – By Canara Bank
- Canara Bank has started a special business vertical dedicated to gold loans.
- The interest rate offered under this campaign is as low as 7.85% per annum.
Index and Ranking
Energy Transition Index—Released by WEF
- This time, India has ranked 74th position on the global Energy Transition Index (ETI). In the previous year, it was ranked at 76th position.
- Sweden is followed by Switzerland and Finland in the second and third positions respectively.
Reports
‘World Economic Situation and Prospects’ Report—By United Nations
- United Nations has released ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects’ Report and has projected that world economy to shrink by 3.2%in 2020 because of COVID-19 pandemic situation.
- The growth rate for India has been projected to 1.2% for FY 2020 and has reported that the growth rate to increase at 5.5% in 2021.
Appointments
| Name of the Person | Designation |
| Vasudha Mishra | Secretary, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to the Department of Personnel and Training of Government of India |
| Benjamin Netanyahu | Prime Minister of Israel |
| Zubair Iqbal | New Managing Director of Jammu and Kashmir Bank |
| Neerabh Kumar Prasad | Head the Committee Formed by Andhra Pradesh Government |
| Rajesh Goel | New Director-General of National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) |
| Govinda Rajulu Chintala | Chairman of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) |
| Shaji K V and P.V.S. Suryakumar | Deputy Managing Director (DMD) of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) |
| Dilip Oommen | New President of Indian Steel Association (ISA) |
| Moeketsi Majoro | New Prime Minister of Lesotho |
Important Days
| Date | Day | Theme |
| 15th May 2020 | International Family Day | -- |
| 16th May 2020 | Armed Forces Day | -- |
| 16th May 2020 | International Day of Light | -- |
| 16th May 2020 | National Dengue Day | -- |
| 17th May 2020 | World Telecommunication and Information Society Day | Theme: ‘Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) |
| 17th May 2020 | World Hypertension Day | Theme: ‘Measure Your Blood Pressure, Control it, live longer.’ |
| 18th May 2020 | International Museum Day | Theme: ‘Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion’ |
| 20th May 2020 | World Bee Day | Theme: Bee Engaged |
| 20th May 2020 | World Metrology Day | Theme: Measurements for Global Trade |
| 21st May 2020 | World day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development | -- |
| 21st May 2020 | International Tea Day | -- |
| 21st May 2020 | National Anti-Terrorism Day | -- |
MoUs Signed
Biodegradable metal implants —By ARCI and SCTIMST
- International Advanced Research Center for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) in partnership with Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) has developed new generation Iron and Manganese based alloys for Biodegradable metal implants for use in human beings.
Defence
DTIS Scheme Approved by Defence Minister
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has recently approved a Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS).
- The scheme is approved with a costing of Rs 400 crores.
Government Schemes
'MatirSmristi' Scheme—West Bengal
- The scheme will provide benefit to around 2.5 lakh people in rural Bengal.
- The barren land will be used for doing horticulture and pisciculture and the work has been initiated in 6,500 acres of land at the micro-level.
Aatma Nirbhar Gujrat Sahay Yojana
- Gujrat Government has launched Aatma Nirbhar Gujrat Sahay Yojana.
- In this scheme, Rs 1 lakh loan amount will be provided at a 2% annual interest rate to around 10 lakh people.
New Special Liquidity Scheme for NBFCs and HFCs
- Ministry of Finance has decided to launch a new special liquidity scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs).
- The scheme will help to improve the liquidity position of NBFCs and HFCs.
Science and Technology
New Process for Synthesis of Quantum Dots (QDs)
- Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune has come up with the development of a new process for the synthesis of quantum efficient and biocompatible quantum dots (QDs).
- In the new process, the QDs are rendered as biocompatible by coating with silicone which provides enhanced quantum efficiency and photostability.
CSIR, Intel India and IIIT-Hyd. Collaborates to Develop COVID-19 Diagnostic Solution
- The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and IIIT-Hyderabad and tech giant Intel India have joined together to develop a diagnostic solution to combat COVID-19.
- The role of Intel India will be to understand the epidemiology and Artificial Intelligence based risk satisfaction for the patients.
Summits and Conferences
32nd Commonwealth Health Ministers' Meeting
- Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan participated in the 32nd Commonwealth Health Ministers' Meeting which was conducted through video conference.
- The theme of the conference was "Delivering a co-ordinated Commonwealth COVID-19 response."
2nd G-20 Virtual Trade and Investment Ministers Meeting
- 2nd G-20 Virtual Trade and Investment Ministers Meeting were held under the presidency of Saudi Arabia.
- The meeting focused on immediate actions that can ease the stress faced by people in combating COVID-19 pandemic situation.
