DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS : May 23, 2020

Daily Current Affairs (May 23 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.

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Important Days:

International Day to End Obstetric Fistula: 23 May

• United Nations International Day to End Obstetric Fistula observed on May 23, which promotes action towards treating and preventing obstetric fistula, a condition that affects many girls and women.
• Theme 2020: “End gender inequality! End health inequities! End Fistula now!”

World Turtle Day : 23 May

• World Turtle Day is observed on May 23rd each year and is celebrated throughout the world. It was started in 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue. The day includes motivating humans to step forward virtually and help turtles survive.

National News

Centre clears OIL plans for drilling in Assam’s Dibru Saikhowa Park:

• Oil India Limited said that Ministry of Environment accorded environment clearance for extension of drilling for hydrocarbon exploration in Dibru Saikhowa National Park in Assam as part of Centre’s target to reduce 10% imports & Northeast Vision 2030.

Assam     

• Capital: Dispur
• Chief Minister: SarbanandaSonowal
• Governor: Jagdish Mukhi

Rajnath Singh participates in MSMEs E-conclave “SIDM MSME Conclave 2020”:

• Defence minister Rajnath Singh said the lockdown to combat the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) had hit the manufacturing sector, disrupted supply chains and the defence industry had also been affected due to the strict confinement measures.
• SIDM MSME Conclave 2020 was jointly organized by the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the department of defence production.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan represents India in NAM Health Ministers virtual meet:

• Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, attended the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Health Minister’s meeting on May 20 which took place through a video conference.
• NAM Health Minister’s virtual meet was chaired by Ogtay Shiraliyev, Minister of Health, Republic of Azerbaijan.

Government extends ‘Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana’ by 3 yrs till Mar 2023:

• The Union Cabinet extended the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY), a social security scheme for senior citizens, for three years till March, 2023.
• The assured rate of return for fiscal 2020-21 has been pegged at 4 per cent per annum and thereafter to be reset every year.

Banking and Economy:

RBI’s 7th Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2019-20; RBI cuts repo rate by 40 bps to 4 per cent:

• RBI cut the repo rate by 40 basis points from 4.4 per cent to 4 per cent, reducing the reverse repo rate at 35 per cent to maintain accommodative stance. The six-member Monetary Policy Committee voted 5:1 in favour of 40 bps cut in interest rate.
• Reduce the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 40 bps to 4.0 per cent from 4.40 per cent with immediate effect.
• Marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate stand reduced to 4.25 per cent from 4.65 per cent
• RBI to extend 15,000 crore rupee line of credit to EXIM Bank.

• Policy Repo Rate                                       : 00%
• Reverse Repo Rate                                   : 35%
• Marginal Standing Facility Rate           : 25%
• Bank Rate                                                  : 25%
• CRR                                                            : 3%
• SLR                                                             : 00%

HDFC Bank launches special FD scheme for senior citizens:

• Private sector lender, HDFC Bank launched an FD scheme for seniors called ‘Senior Citizen Care FD’. According to this scheme, the bank is offering an additional 75 basis points for deposits with more than 5-year tenors with investments up to Rs 5 crore.

HDFC Bank:

• Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman– Deepak S. Parekh
• CEO: Aditya Puri.

IRDAI allows Union Bank of India to continue 30% holding in IndiaFirst Life Insurance:

• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has allowed Union Bank of India’s proposal to continue with its 30 percent holding in IndiaFirst Life Insurance with the condition that the lender will hold no control in the management of the insurer.

Union Bank of India:

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD & CEO: Rajkiran Rai G.

Edelweiss Mutual Fund to launch second tranche of Bharat Bond ETF:

• Edelweiss Asset Management announced the launch of the second tranche of Bharat Bond ETF in July with two new series after initial series in December last year.
• Bharat Bond ETF programme is an initiative of the government’s Department of Investment and Public Asset Management which has given the mandate to Edelweiss AMC to design and manage the product.

Acquisitions and Mergers:

ONGC and NTPC to Form JV for Renewable Energy Business:

• The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited & India’s largest power generation utility NTPC are planning to set up Joint Venture company for renewable energy business. This will enable both companies achieve their targets in renewable energy sector.

KKR to invest Rs 11,367 crore in Jio Platforms for 2.32% stake:

• Private equity firm KKR is set to invest Rs 11367 crore in Jio Platforms for a 32% stake. This will be the fifth investment in Reliance company business in rapid succession, following Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners and General Atlantic.

Tata Power arm TPIPL acquires 10% equity in ABV, total stake now 50%:

• Tata Power International Private Ltd (TPIPL) has acquired 10% stake in Adjaristsqali Netherlands BV from the International Finance Corporation for USD 150,000 (about Rs 1.13 crore). The 10% stake acquisition has increased TPIPL’s shareholding in ABV to 50%.

Samsung and Facebook partner to enable offline retailers go Digital in India:

• Samsung India has partnered with leading social media and technology firm Facebook to train offline retailers go digital in a big way. For consumer, this initiative will help them access product information and allow them to purchase Galaxy smartphones through the social media pages of their local retailers.

Intel acquires Rivet Networks, the maker of ‘Killer’ WiFi cards:

• Intel has bought the company behind the popular Killer brand of Wi-Fi products found in laptops from Alienware, Dell, Lenovo, HP and more. Rivet Networks, which was previously acquired by Qualcomm in 2011, makes network interface cards (NICs).

CCI approves acquisition of Emami Cement Limited by Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Limited:

• Competition Commission of India approves acquisition of 100% of the total issued and paid up share capital of Emami Cement Ltd, on fully diluted basis, by Nuvoco Vistas Corp Ltd. NVCL is a Nirma promoter group company engaged in manufacturing and sale of variety of grey cements.

Competition Commission of India (CCI):

• Headquarters: New Delhi.
• Chairman: Ashok Kumar Gupta.

Science and Technology:

IIT Guwahati discovers new ways to prevent memory loss due to Alzheimer:

• The research team at IIT Guwahati studied the neurochemical principles of Alzheimer’s and explored ways to prevent accumulation of neurotoxic molecules in brain associated with short-term memory loss. It can help prevent or reduce short-term memory losses.
• India has 3rd highest number of patients after China and USA.

Agappe Chitra Magna: Made-In-India Medical Tech That Will Make COVID-19 Tests Cheaper, Faster And More Accurate :

• Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science and Technology (SCTIMST), Trivandrum with Agappe Diagnostics Ltd, Cochin, a vitro diagnostics manufacturing company organised the commercial launch of The Agappe Chitra Manga, a magnetic nanoparticle-based RNA extraction Kit for the detection of COVID-19 at the Biomedical Technology Wing of SCTIMST.

IIT-M researchers develop low cost Solar Parabolic Trough Collector for use in desalination, space heating, space cooling:

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) have developed a low cost Solar ‘Parabolic Trough Collector’ (PTC) system for concentrating solar energy with industrial applications in areas such as desalination, space heating and space cooling, among others.

Patanjali to launch e-commerce platform to sell swadeshi goods:

• Yoga guru Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurved is getting ready to launch its e-commerce platform “OrderMe” to sell swadeshi-only items within the next 15 days.
• While the products will be delivered by the company free of cost within a few hours, users will also be offered 24X7 free medical advice from around 1,500 doctors of Patanjali and yoga tutorials.

Appointments:

Sangita Dhingra Sehgal named president of Delhi State Consumer Commission:

• Delhi High Court judge, Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal has tendered her resignation from the post following her appointment as President of the Delhi State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission. The retirement age of a high court judge is 62 years.

TS Tirumurti, India’s New Permanent Representative To UN Presents takes charge:

• TS Tirumurti, India’s new Permanent Representative to the United Nations, presented his credentials virtually as he assumed charge as the Ambassador amid the coronavirus pandemic.
• A 1985-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Tirumurti succeeds Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, who retired on April 30 and returned to Hyderabad.

Jahnabi Phookan appointed as National President of FICCI FLO:

• Assam-based entrepreneur Jahnabi Phookan has been appointed as the National President of FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO), the women wing of the leading industry chamber of the country.
• Phookan took over from outgoing National President Harjinder Kaur Talwar at the 36th FLO Annual Session in presence of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Obituary News:

Eight-time Grand Slam winner Ashley Cooper dies at 83:

• 8-time Grand Slam-winning Australian tennis player Ashley Cooper has died. The Australian, Wimbledon and U.S. singles titleholder, was part of the golden era of Australian men’s tennis in 1950s winning four Grand Slams singles titles and four in doubles.

Renowned vocalist Shyamala G Bhave passes away at 79:

• Renowned vocalist Shyamala G Bhave, who had an equal command over Hindustani and Carnatic music, passed away. She was 79. Her mother Lakshmi Bhave was also a classical vocalist.

Former U.P. minister Naipal Singh passes away:

• Former Uttar Pradesh minister Naipal Singh passed away.Mr. Singh had served in the State cabinet headed by Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh.In 2014, he became a member of parliament from Rampur Lok Sabha seat.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz : May 23, 2020

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