DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS : May 22, 2020

Daily Current Affairs (May 22 2020) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

Also, Don’t forget to attend the  Daily Current Affairs Quiz : May 22 , 2020  now @ our Bankersdaily Tests.

Important Days:

International Day for Biological Diversity- 22 May:

• The United Nations has proclaimed 22 May the International Day for Biological Diversity to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. Biological diversity resources are the pillars upon which we build civilizations.
• Theme: “Our solutions are in nature”.

World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 2020: May 21:

• World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is celebrated every year on May 21 The day celebrates not only the richness of the world’s cultures, but also the essential role of intercultural dialogue for achieving peace and sustainable development.

National News

Cabinet approves Rs 20,050cr scheme for fisheries sector: Blue Revolution:

• The total investment under the ”Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana” (PMMSY), the central share would be Rs 9,407 crore, state share of Rs 4,880 crore and beneficiaries” share of Rs 5,763 crore,
• The objective of PMMSY is to create direct employment opportunities to 15 lakh people in the sector, double income of fish farmers and workers by 2024 besides addressing the critical gaps in the fisheries sector and increase fish production to 22 million tonne by 2024-25 through sustainable and responsible fishing practices.

Cabinet approves Rs 3 lakh cr emergency credit line for MSME; loans at 9.25% rate:

• The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore at a concessional rate of 9.25 per cent through the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.
• Under the scheme, 100 per cent guarantee coverage will be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) for additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and interested MUDRA borrowers, in the form of a guaranteed emergency credit line (GECL) facility.

Centre launches scheme to solarise entire Konark Temple, Konark town:

• The scheme envisages setting up of the 10-MW grid connected solar project and various solar off-grid applications such as solar trees, solar drinking water kiosks and off-grid solar power plants with battery storage, with a 100 per cent central financial assistance (CFA) support of around Rs. 25 crore from the Government of India through the MNRE.

Chhattisgarh government launches Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana:

• Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel launched the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana (RGKNY) on the death anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in Raipur .Acc. to the government about 19 lakh farmers of the state will be benefitted by this scheme.

Chhattisgarh    

• Capital: Raipur
• Chief Minister: Bhupesh Baghel
• Governor: AnusuiyaUikey

Madhya Pradesh Government begins Didi Vehicle Service for rural women:

• In the tribal-dominated Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh, the women of Rural Livelihood Mission have started Didi Vehicle Service for rural women for the safe delivery. This vehicle service is completely free.
• Arpit Tiwari of Livelihood Mission said that this vehicle will also be available for other emergency services.

Madhya Pradesh              

• Capital: Bhopal
• Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chauhan
• Governor: Lal Ji Tandon

AndhraGreens portal to facilitate e-commerce of fruits and vegetables in Andhra Pradesh:

• Andhra Pradesh government launched a website to procure & sell fruits online as part of supporting the horticulture farmers in the state. Through Kalgudi digital platform,com is a farmer-to-consumer e-commerce portal specialized in fruits, vegetables & spices.

Andhra Pradesh

• Capital: Amaravati
• Chief Minister: S. Jaganmohan Reddy
• Governor: Biswa Bhushan Harichandan
• Folk dances: Kuchipudi, Vilasini Natyam, Bhamakalpam, Veeranatyam.
• National Park: Sri Venkateswara National Park ,Rajiv Gandhi National Park, Papikonda National Park.

Swiggy, Zomato Start Alcohol Delivery In Jharkhand, Amazon Starts Food Delivery In Bengaluru:

• Amazon is now joining India’s online food-delivery market and will now compete with the likes of Swiggy and Zomato. Swiggy & Zomato have started alcohol delivery in India. The service is currently only available in Ranchi, Jharkhand but is expected to roll out to other major cities in the state within a week.

Union HRD Minister launches Online Masters Programme in Hindi of IGNOU:

• Union HRD (Human Resource Development Minister) Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank launched IGNOU’S (Indira Gandhi National Open University) Online Programme for Master of Arts (MA) in Hindi, through facebook live session

International News:

Saudi Arabia replaced Iraq as top oil supplier to India in April:

• Saudi Arabia replaced Iraq as the top oil supplier to India in April after a gap of three months as refiners in Asia’s third largest economy were drawn by deep discounts on Saudi crudes. UAE retained the No.3 spot followed by Nigeria. India’s oil imports in April totalled 63 mn. barrels per day.

Saudi Arabia

• Capital- Riyadh
• Currency- Riyal.
• Prime Minister-Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Banking and Finance:

Fino Payments Bank to partner with NBFCs to source loans in rural areas:

• Fino Payments Bank (FPB) is planning to partner with two-three non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to source loans for them in rural areas.
• The bank is expecting good appetite for loans from rural India, where 80 per cent of its 4-odd lakh touch-points are located.

FIEO expects 20% fall in export during FY21 over coronavirus pandemic:

• The Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), apex body of exporters informed that Indian exports are expected to fall by 20% in the current fiscal, in value terms it will be  around USD 50 to 60 billion & also imports due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO):

• Headquarters: Niryat Bhawan, NewDelhi
• President: Sharad Kumar Saraf

Finance ministry exempts B2B firms from using only BHIM, RuPay for accepting payments:

• The finance ministry exempted companies with a turnover of over ₹50 crore and involved in only B2B transactions from the requirement of accepting payments only by electronic modes like RuPay or BHIM-UPI.

ICICI Bank launches special FD scheme for senior citizens:

• Private sector lender ICICI Bank announced a special fixed deposit scheme for senior citizens, which offers a higher interest rate.
• Named ‘ICICI Bank Golden Years FD’, the scheme offers senior citizens an interest rate of 55 per annum for deposits up to Rs.2 crore with tenure of more than five years to 10 years.

ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India):

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD and CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi
• Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khyal Apka.

Acquisitions and Mergers:

IBM ties up with Intellect Design Arena to launch cloud services for banks, financial institutions:

• Banking and insurance products company Intellect Design Arena Ltd and IBM have collaborated to launch the Intellect iTurmeric FinCloud on IBM’s public cloud.
• “iTurmeric FinCloud — a Cloud-ready, API-first, microservices-based platform — enables banks and financial institutions to progressively modernise while ensuring business continuity without the risk of rip and replacement..

Science and Technology:

Bharat Biotech and Thomas Jefferson partner on Covid-19 vaccine:

• Vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech and Thomas Jefferson University of Philadelphia have signed an exclusive deal to develop a new vaccine candidate for COVID-19 at Jefferson with the support from the Department of Biotechnology, Bharat Biotech aims for human trials in early December 2020.

Researchers on CSIRO develop heat resistant’ corals to fight bleaching:

• The team included researchers from CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the University of Melbourne has successfully developed a potential agent that could help coral reefs increase their heat tolerance, as per the report by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Tata Capital launches voicebot ‘TIA’ on Whatsapp:

• Tata Capital has launched the voicebot “TIA” on WhatsApp.The voicebot offers a range of services to its customers like opting for a new loan or getting queries resolved etc.TIA, the Voicebot is also available on Alexa and also as a Chatbot.

Airtel acquires stake in conversational AI startup Voicezen:

• Bharti Airtel has acquired a strategic stake in Voicezen, an early stage startup focused on conversational AI technologies. The acquisition has been made by the company under Airtel Startup Accelerator Program.

Appointments and Resignations:

World Bank appoints financial crises expert Carmen Reinhart as chief economist and Vice President:

• The World Bank appointed financial crisis expert Carmen Reinhart as its new vice president and chief economist, leaning on the expertise of the former International Monetary Fund executive as the Covid-19 pandemic plunges the global economy into the deepest recession since the Great Depression.

World Bank

• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• President: David Malpass

Former IAS Officer B R Sharma appointed as Chairman of J&K PSC:

• J&K Government has appointed B R Sharma, former IAS Officer, as Chairman Public Service Commission for the UT of J&K.
• Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu has appointed B R Sharma as PSC Chairman who shall hold the position of the Chairman, Public Service Commission till he attains the age of sixty two years.

Alibaba’s Jack Ma resigns from SoftBank board:

• Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma will resign from SoftBank Group board, in the latest departure by a high-profile ally of CEO Masayoshi Son.
• SoftBank will propose three new appointments to the board, including group Chief Financial Officer Yoshimoto Goto, at its annual general meeting on June 25. The number of board members will expand to 13.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz : May 22, 2020

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