National News
INR-USD Futures and Options Contracts—Launched on BSE’s India INX and NSE’s NSE-IFSC
- Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman launched INR-USD Futures and Options contracts on the two international Exchanges, namely BSE's India INX and NSE's NSE-IFSC, at GIFT International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gandhinagar through video conference.
Vista Equity to Invest Rs 11,367 crore in Jio Platform
- Private equity firm Vista Equity is set to buy a 2.32% stake in Reliance’s Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 crore.
- This investment will make Vista the largest investor in Jio Platforms after Reliance Industries and Facebook.
'PravasiRahatMitra' App—By Uttar Pradesh
- Uttar Pradesh State Government has launched 'PravasiRahatMitra' App for migrant workers of state who are returning from different parts of the country amidst lockdown.
- The state revenue department in collaboration with the United Nation Development Program (UNDP) has developed this app.
ICMR Partners with India Post—To Deliver COVID-19 Testing Kits
- Indian Medical Research Institute has entered into a partnership with India Post to carry out the delivery of the COVID-19 testing kits.
- The kits are taken from ICMR 16 regional depots to 200 additional labs which are performing the COVID-19 test process.
Registrar General of India released Birth Rate, Death Rate, and IMR Data
- The data states that India's infant mortality rate (IMR) has improved very marginally from 33 per 1,000 live births in 2017 to 32 in 2018.
- Kerala has received the best IMR value in single digits at 7. Also, only Kerala state has now achieved the United Nations' sustainable development goal in this regard. Whereas Madhya Pradesh has the worst IMR in the country at 48.
SwasthVayu—By CSIR-NAL
- CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) Bangalore has developed a Non-Invasive BilevelPositive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) Ventilator.
- The BiPAP ventilator has been named as ‘SwasthVayu’.
Arogya Sanjeevani Health Insurance Policy—By SBI General Insurance
- SBI General Insurance launched the standard health insurance policy called“Arogya Sanjeevani Health Insurance Policy”.
- The policy provides hospitalization cover anywhere in India with sums insured ranging from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 5 lakhs.
Suraksha Store Initiative— By Consumer Affairs Department
- To launch this initiative the consumer affairs department has partnered with tow tech startups Safejobs and Seekify.
- The two startups will help to use technology to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at the local Kirana store level.
CHAMPIONS Portal —By Ministry of MSME
- CHAMPIONS Portal is a technology-based control room-cum-management system.
- The CHAMPION stands for Creation and Harmonious Application of Modern Processes for Increasing the Output and National Strength.
Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan or Self-Reliant India Movement
- Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan or Self-Reliant India Movement is an economic package launched by Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman.
- The package is launched with an aim to support the Indian economy in the pandemic situation of COVID-19 and to fight against it.
Prana Vayu Programme—By Bengaluru City Corporation
- The awareness will be created 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.
Banking
AIIB grants $500 million Loan to India to Combat COVID-19
- An agreement between the Government of India and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has been signed for the approval of a loan of $500 million for the "COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project".
- The loan amount will help India to combat the COVID-19 pandemic situation and strengthen its public health.
Rs 12,767 crore to State Co-op Banks and RRBs—By NABARD
- NABARD (National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development) announced that it has disbursed Rs 12,767 crore in a week at an interest rate of 4.8% to state co-op and regional rural banks to further on-lending to farmers.
- The loan is disbursed for a tenor of one year.
India’s GDP Growth to ‘Zero’ in FY 2021— A forecast by Moody
- Global rating agency Moody slashed India's GDP growth rate at Zero for the current fiscal 2020-21.
- The previous estimated slashed by Moody was 2.6%.
India’s Foreign Reserves Raised by USD 1.622 million to USD 481.078 billion
- Reserve Bank of India has released the data describing that India's foreign exchange reserves increased by USD 1.622 million to USD 481.078 billion in the week to May 1, due to a rise in foreign currency assets.
- However, initially, the reserves had declined by $113 million to $479.455 billion.
State Bank of India Cuts Benchmark Lending Rate by 15 bps
- State Bank of India (SBI) cuts its Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) by 15 basis points (bps) across all tenors.
- With the newly announced cut, the MCLR (Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate) reduced to 7.25%, from 7.40% with effect from 10 of May.
Reports
‘Digital in India’ Report—By Nielsen and IAMAI
- The ‘Digital in India’ report is published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and curated by Nielsen.
- As of November 2019, in rural India, there were 227 million active internet users, which is 10% more than urban India’s which was about 205 million.
Appointments
| Name of the Person | Designation |
| Mustafa Al Kadhimi | New Prime Minister of Iraq |
| InduShekharChaturvedi | New Secretary for the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy |
| Narinder Batra | President of International Hockey Federation(IHF) |
| V Vidyavathi | New Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) |
| Manoj Ahuja | New Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) |
Awards and Honours
| Awardee | Award |
| White Gold Technologies LLP, Mumbai | Startup India Animal Husbandry Grand Challenge Awards |
| Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore | SKYTRAX Award 2020 in the category of Best Regional Airport in India and Central Asia |
| Changi Airport of Singapore | SKYTRAX Award 2020 in the category of World’s Best Airport |
| Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai | Best airport staff in India and Central Asia category |
| Sania Mirza | Fed Cup Heart Award for Aisa/Oceania Zone |
| Anunta | VMware 2020 Regional Partner of the Year Award for the Services Excellence category |
Important Days
| Date | Day | Theme |
| 7th May 2020 | Vesak Day | -- |
| 7th May 2020 | World Athletics Day | -- |
| 8th May 2020 | World Red Cross Day | -- |
| 8th May 2020 | World Thalassaemia Day | Theme: "The dawning of a new era for thalassemia: Time for a global effort to make novel therapies accessible and affordable to patients." |
| 9th May 2020 | World Migratory Bird Day | Theme: ‘Birds Connect Our World’ |
| 11th May 2020 | National Technology Day | -- |
| 12th May 2020 | International Nurses Day | Theme: ‘Nursing the World to health’ |
MoUs Signed
PNB Housing Finance signs MoU with IIT Delhi
- PNB Housing Finance has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-Delhi) to support critical research and development (R&D) of a reusable PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) surgical gowns and masks which will be used at government hospitals.
TRIFED’s MoU with Art of Living—To Promote Tribal Enterprises
- Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Art Of Living Foundation (AOL).
- The MoU is signed to promote the enterprises of Indian tribal artisans in the COVID-19 pandemic situation.
India Signs MoU with Russia
- Coal India has signed MOUs with two Russian entities in the areas of coking coal mining in the Russian Far East and the Arctic Region.
- The signing of MoUs will enhance the crude oil trade between the two countries.
Coir Board signs MoU with IIT-Madras –To setup CoE to Boost use of Coir Applications
- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Coir Board and IIT Madras for setting up a centre of Excellence(CoE) to boost the use of Coir applications (exclusively or in combination with other natural fibres).
Government Schemes
FIR AapkeDwar Yojana—By Madhya Pradesh
- FIR AapkeDwar Yojana has been launched by the state government of Madhya Pradesh.
- Under this Yojana, a person would not be required to visit the police station to lodge an FIR.
Defence
"Mission Sagar”-- To Provide Assistance to Indian Ocean Region Nations
- The government of India launched "Mission Sagar" to provide assistance to Eastern Indian Ocean Region Nations in the COVID-19 pandemic situation.
- The mission is inspired by PM Modi’s vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region).
Science and Technology
Nanomaterials for Water Pollution Control—Developed by DST INSPIRE
- A team from INSPIRE, under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), has developed nanomaterials based supercapacitors to achieve high energy density and power density of supercapacitors.
IIT Kanpur Partners Bharat Dynamics –To Develop Affordable Ventilators
- Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, has partnered with Bharat Dynamics Limited for the development of affordable ventilators for Covid-19 treatment.
- The ventilators will be developed by NOCCA Robotics which is then incubated start-up of IIT-Kanpur.
ICMR Partners with Bharat Biotech— To Develop COVID-19 Vaccine
- Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and a Hyderabad based leading Vaccine manufacturing company Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) have partnered to develop a fully indigenous vaccine for COVID-19.
- The vaccine will be developed using virus strain. These virus strains are isolated at ICMR's National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.
Sundaram Ventago—By TVS Group, Sundaram Med, IIT-M
- The TVS group, Sundaram Medical Foundation, and IIT-Madras have jointly developed a low-cost, automated respiratory assist device called The Sundaram Ventago.
- It is a mobile device that will be used to assist clinicians in the monitoring of respiratory parameters.
Summits and Conferences
Tribal Livelihoods and Safety Conference
- Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda addressed the video conference on ‘Tribal livelihoods and safety’.
- Arjun Munda reviewed the task performing under Prime Minister's Vandhan Yojana in the states.
Indo-Bangladesh Virtual Conference—By ASSOCHAM
- Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) organized virtual conference between India and Bangladesh.
- The conference was addressed by Union Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister of State Independent Charge(I/C) Jitendra Singh.
