DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: May 8, 2020

Daily Current Affairs (May 8, 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

World Red Cross Day-8 May

• World Red Cross day is observed on May 8 to celebrate the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
• It is the birth anniversary of Henry Dunant, who was the founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

World Thalassemia Day-8 May:

• World Thalassemia Day is an annual observance day that occurs on May 8th, to raise awareness about thalassemia and its symptoms. Begin thalassemia prevention from young age, blood test before marriage will make the future generation safe.
• Theme: “The dawning of a new era for thalassaemia: Time for a global effort to make novel therapies accessible and affordable to patients”.

National News

Uttar Pradesh suspends majority of labour laws to attract investment:

• Uttar Pradesh government has suspended many labour laws in the state for 3 years with a view to attract investment & to help both existing & new industrial units.
• It has also decided to establish Japanese help desk to attract the investment from Japanese companies.

Uttar Pradesh:

• Capital: Lucknow.
• Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath.
• Governor: Anandiben Patel.

Tamil Nadu raises the retirement age of government employees from 58 to 59:

• In Tamil Nadu, the retirement age of the government staff, teachers and those in public sector units has been raised by a year from 58 to 59.
• The order comes in the wake of reports of loss of revenue due to the pandemic. 

Tamil Nadu:

• Capital: Chennai
• Chief Minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami
• Governor: Banwarilal Purohit.

J&K: National Webinar on ‘Education and Leadership During A Crisis’ organized to deal with COVID-19 crisis:

• A two-day National Webinar on ‘Education and Leadership During A Crisis’, being organised by School of Education, Central University, Jammu, under Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching scheme began in Jammu.

Jammu and Kashmir

• Capital:Srinagar (summer), Jammu (winter)
• Governor:Girish Chandra Murmu.

Chittaranjan Locomotive Works produces automatic medical trolley to serve patients in hospitals without human contact:

• Chittaranjan Locomotive Works in West Bengal is mostly engaged in manufacturing of Railway engines. To deal with the Corona threat CLW has produced an automatic medical trolley which can reach to patients in hospital without human contact.
• Medical trolley can provide medicines through remote control.

West Bengal:

• Capital: Kolkata
• Chief Minister: Mamata Banerjee
• Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Madhya Pradesh becomes the first state in the country to provide Mid-Day Meal ration:

• The Central Government appreciated that Madhya Pradesh (MP) has become the first state in the country to provide a mid-day meal ration. 
• Manoj Shrivastava, Additional Chief Secretary Panchayat and Rural Development, informed that this information has been given in the review meeting conducted by the Central Government.

Madhya Pradesh:

• Capital: Bhopal

• Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chauhan

• Governor: Lal Ji Tandon

Sanjeevani: Unique vehicle developed at local level in Madhya Pradesh:

• In Madhya Pradesh, in a first of its kind initiative, a unique vehicle named “Sanjeevani” has been developed at the local level.
• With the help of this vehicle, health workers can investigate any suspected patients without coming into the contact of him.

Tripura Chief Minister launches online portal scholarships.gov.in:

• In Tripura, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has launched an online portal scholarships.gov.in under ‘Mukhyamantri Yuba Yogayog Yojana’.
• Government will provide Rs. 5,000 to 14,608 youths who are in final year in colleges or Universities as a grant for Smart Phones.

Tripura

• Capital: Agartala
• Chief Minister: Biplab Kumar Deb
• Governor: Ramesh Bais.

India has more internet users in rural areas than urban: IAMAI report:

• Internet users in rural areas surpassed those in urban areas for the first time, according to the ‘Digital in India’ report by the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
• As of last November, there were 227 million active internet users in rural areas which is 10% more than around 205 million in urban areas. In total, India had 504 million active internet users.
• Delhi has registered the highest Internet penetration, while Kerala ranks second.

Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI):

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• Chairman: Amit Agarwal.
• President: Subho Ray.

Indian Navys PPE clears certification by INMAS:

• Indian Navy designed and produced Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The PPE was tested and approved by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), Delhi which is a DRDO organization tasked with the testing and certification of PPE. 
• It is certified to be mass-produced and used in clinical COVID-19 situations.

International News

United Nations launches 6.7 billion US dollar global appeal to fight COVID-19:

• United Nations and partner agencies have launched a $6.7-billion global appeal to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, more than trebling an earlier appeal made by the UN chief, with special focus on more vulnerable countries & combating food insecurity & gender-based violence.

Iran introduced new Currency to tackle inflation:

• Iranian Parliament authorized the replacement of rial with another basic unit of currency called the Toman. Each Toman will be worth 10,000 rials under the new system. 
• Gheran is another new denomination. 100 Gheran makes a Toman.

Iran:

• Capital: Tehran.
• Currency: Iranian rial.
• President: Hassan Rouhani.

Bangladesh gets 500 million-dollar ADB loan to manage COVID-19 impact:

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved an additional loan of 500 million dollar to Bangladesh to manage the impact of Corona virus on its economy and public health. 1.5 million workers, mostly women, in export industries will receive salary support.
• ADB had approved $100 million concessional loan for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh:

• Capital: Dhaka
• Currency: Taka
• Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina
• President: Abdul Hamid.

Banking and Economy

Public Sector Banks sanction loans worth Rs 5.66 lakh Cr for more than 4181000 accounts during March-April:

• PSBs have sanctioned loans worth 5.66 lakh crore rupees for more than 41 lakh 81 thousand accounts during March-April this year.
• These borrowers are from MSME, Retail, Agriculture & Corporate sectors, waiting for disbursal soon after lockdown lifts.

India’s unemployment rate shoots up to 27.11% amid COVID-19 crisis: CMIE:

• According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) the country’s unemployment rate rose to 27.11% for the week ended May 3 due to the COVID-19 crisis, up from the under 7% level before the start of the pandemic in mid-March.

SBI cuts benchmark lending rate by 15 basis points:

• SBI slashed benchmark lending rate by 15 basis points and introduced Special Deposit Scheme for senior citizens with higher interest rate.
• With that, the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate comes down to 7.25%, from 7.40% with effect from 10th May.
• SBI has introduced a new product ‘SBI Wecare Deposit’.

Acquisition and Mergers

Coir Board signed MoU with IIT-Madras for setting up Centre of Excellence for coir applications:

• Coir Board signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology- Madras (IIT-Madras) on 7 May.
• The aim was to establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for the application of Coir exclusively or in combination with other natural fibres.
• Coir Geo-Textiles (CGT) can be successfully used to prevent soil erosion in slopes/embankments, river embankments, mine slope dumps stabilization.

Science and Technology

Long March 5B: China’s new Rocket launched successfully:

• China has launched a new rocket along with a prototype deep-space spacecraft.
• Aboard the Long March 5 was a special prototype spacecraft that is somewhat akin to the deep-space Orion capsule NASA has been developing to people to the Moon and beyond.

Astronomers find Jupiter-like Cloud Bands on closest Brown Dwarf:

• A team of astronomers has discovered that the closest known brown dwarf, Luhman 16A, shows signs of cloud bands similar to those seen on Jupiter and Saturn.
• Brown dwarfs are objects heavier than planets but lighter than stars.
• They typically have 13 to 80 times the mass of Jupiter.

CSIR launches Compendium of Indian Technologies to tackle COVID-19 pandemic:

• A ‘Compendium of Indian Technologies for Combating COVID-19 (Tracing, Testing and Treating)’ prepared by NDRC (National Research Development Corporation) was launched by Dr. Shekhar C. Mande, Director General, CSIR, and Secretary, DSIR, Govt. of India at CSIR Headquarters, New Delhi.

NRDC:

• Chairman & Managing Director: H.Purushotam.
• Head Office: New Delhi.

Appointments

UNEP extends Dia Mirza’s term as Goodwill Ambassador till 2022:

• United Nations Environment Programme extended environmentalist and actor-producer Dia Mirza’s term as its National Goodwill Ambassador for another two years till the end of 2022. 
• Dia Mirza is also a United Nations Sustainability Development Goals Advocate.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):

• Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya.
• Executive Director: Inger Andersen

Obituary News

Pixar Director Rob Gibbs passed away:

• Veteran director, story artist and writer of many Pixar films Rob Gibbs passed away at the age of 55 years, who is well Known for successful Pixar films, including Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo, Monsters. 

Daily Current Affairs Quiz – May 8, 2020

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