Indian-American teen named ‘Time’ magazine’s first-ever ‘Kid of the Year’

A 15-year-old Indian-American girl was named the first-ever “Kid of the Year” by Time magazine for her work using technology to tackle matters such as contaminated drinking water, opioid addiction and cyberbullying. Gitanjali Rao was selected from a field of over 5,000 Americans and was interviewed by 

actor Angelina Jolie for the magazine. “Observe, brainstorm, research, build and 

communicate,” Rao told Jolie about her working process during a virtual meeting. 

Research on water quality Rao said that she was in the second or third grade when she decided to use technology to bring social change. The 15-year-old scientist said she was 10 when she told her parents that she wanted to research on carbon nanotube sensor technology at the Denver Water Quality Research Lab. App to detect cyberbullying Rao said she has developed an app to prevent cyberbullying for Google’s Chrome browser extension. The app, Kindly, detects cyberbullying at an early stage using artificial intelligence technology, she told Jolie. She added that she was working on a way to help detect bio-contaminants such as parasites in water. Rao said that she wanted her innovation to be inexpensive and accurate to help those in third-world countries.

India hosted 2020 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit

Amidst a fierce stand-off between India and China, New Delhi hosted a summit of the council of heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on November 30 with a focus on contributing to the trade and economic agenda of the influential grouping. Here is all you need to know about the SCO and relevance of India hosting its annual summit. 

What is Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) 

* The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a Eurasian permanent intergovernmental international organisation created in June 2001, in Shanghai, China by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and China. The SCO was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism. 

* The SCO aims to strengthen mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states by promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and regional stability and security. 

* Known as the "alliance of the East", the SCO is the largest regional organisation in the world in terms of geographical coverage and population, covering three-fifths of the Eurasian continent and nearly half of the human population. SCO represents around 42 per cent of the world's population and 20 per cent of the global GDP. The SCO is seen as a counter-balance to Nato, limiting the influence of United States of America (USA) in Central Asia. 

* Other than the member states, SCO has four observer states (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia) and six dialogue partners (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka). 

* SCO has two permanent bodies — the SCO Secretariat based in Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) based in Tashkent.

* The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO. It meets once a year and adopts decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the organisation. The SCO Heads of Government Council (HGC) meets once a year to discuss the organisation's multilateral cooperation strategy and priority areas. 

Relevance of India hosting SCO HGC meeting 

India is hosted the SCO council of heads of government meet on November 30 in the midst of the stand-off at Ladakh border with China. India was an observer state at the SCO since 2005 and was admitted as a full member of the SCO in 2017. India's membership was pushed by Russia which was aiming to counter China's growing influence in the region. However, with changes in the geopolitical realities since 2014, India aims to stay involved in the SCO to balance the growing closeness between Russia and China even as India has got closer to the US. The SCO membership allows India to expand its footprint in Central Asian region and hosting the Summit brings an opportunity for India to strengthen trade relations with Central Asian countries which are energy-rich nations. Given India's commitment to countering terrorism, the SCO also provides India a platform to raise cross-border terrorism sourced in Pakistan.

China hydropower company plans first downstream dam on Brahmaputra

China’s media reported that authorities have given the go-ahead for a Chinese hydropower 

company to construct the first downstream dam on the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra 

river, or Yarlung Zangbo as it is known in Tibet, marking a new phase in China’s 

hydropower exploitation of the river with potential ramifications for India. 

A report in the Chinese media said the State-owned hydropower company POWERCHINA 

had last month signed “a strategic cooperation agreement” with the Tibet Autonomous 

Region (TAR) government to “implement hydropower exploitation in the downstream of 

the Yarlung Zangbo River” as part of the new Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). 

Previous dams 

China in 2015 operationalised its first hydropower project at Zangmu in Tibet, while three 

other dams at Dagu, Jiexu and Jiacha are being developed, all on the upper and middle 

reaches of the river. The report said this will be the first time the downstream sections of 

the river will be tapped. 

Possible location 

The report did not mention the location of POWERCHINA’s planned downstream project, 

but offcials talked about the particular potential offered at the “Great Bend” of the 

Brahmaputra and at the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon in Medog County, where the river 

falls spectacularly over a 2,000 metre-drop and turns sharply to flow across the border into 

Arunachal Pradesh. 

Chinese officials said this 50-km section alone offered the potential of developing 70 

million kWh “which equals more than three Three Gorges power stations”. They also said 

said “the 60-million kWh hydropower exploitation at the downstream of the Yarlung 

Zangbo River could provide 300 billion kWh of clean, renewable and zero-carbon 

electricity annually” and the project “will play a significant role in realising China’s goal of 

reaching a carbon emissions peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060”.

Concerns of India 

India has expressed concerns to China over the four dams on the upper and middle 

reaches, though Indian officials have said the dams are not likely to impact the quantity of 

the Brahmaputra’s flows in India greatly because they are only storing water for power 

generation and the Brahmaputra is not entirely dependent on upstream flows with an 

estimated 35% of its basin is in India.

How are cyclones forecast, and how difficult was it to track Cyclone Nivar’s progress?

Cyclone Nivar, that barrelled through Tamil Nadu and brought copious rain in its wake, 

was the third major cyclone to land on India’s coast this year, besides Amphan and Nisarga. 

The Nivar storm originated in the Bay of Bengal and whipped up windspeeds close to 125-

145 kmph, blowing away roofs and felling standing crop. However, relatively fewer lives 

were lost compared to the havoc wreaked by Amphan in West Bengal in May. What aided 

relief operations in the anticipation of Nivar was that it largely conformed to forecasts 

issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). 

How are cyclones forecast? 

Over the years, India’s ability to track the formation of cyclones has improved significantly. 

There is a network of 12 doppler weather radars (DWR) along India’s coast if one were to 

begin counting from Kolkata and trawl up to Mumbai — there are 27 in all in the country. 

Depending on where a storm is forming, these radars send pulses of radio waves to gauge 

the size as well as the speed at which water droplets are moving. The earlier generation of 

radars was unable to track such progress in real time, but with DWRs, now the base 

standard of weather radars, it is usually possible to detect a potential storm at least four-

five days in advance. The IMD also collaborates with similar international networks, such 

as the Japan Meteorological Agency, the U.S. National Hurricane Center, and the U.S. Central 

Pacific Hurricane Center, and these bodies constantly send warnings and forecasts about 

changes in the ocean weather. The near ubiquity of ocean-buoys that track changes in 

ocean sea surface temperatures as well as dedicated meteorological satellites improve the 

odds of early detection. 

How difficult was it to track Nivar’s progress?

Nivar was the second tropical cyclone that formed around India and made landfall this 

week. Cyclone Gati, which originated in the Arabian Sea and intensified into a ‘very severe 

cyclonic storm’, made its way towards Africa and made landfall in Somalia on November 

22. However around then, another system emerged in the Bay of Bengal, that eventually 

morphed into a cyclonic storm by November 24. The IMD’s initial forecasts said it would at 

most be a ‘severe cyclonic storm’, but it then upgraded it to the same league as Gati, i.e, a 

‘very severe cyclonic storm’. The IMD follows a five-stage classification for cyclones, with 

the lowest a ‘cyclonic storm’ generating wind speeds of 62-87 kmph, and the highest a 

‘super cyclonic storm’, generating winds over 222 kmph.

April-June and October-December are India’s cyclone seasons. The arriving monsoon, as 

well as its retreat, stir up the surrounding seas and generate cyclones. Though the Bay of 

Bengal is three times more likely to generate cyclones, the ones that originate in the 

Arabian Sea are trickier, as the cyclone, while ostensibly moving away from India’s western

coast, can suddenly ‘recurve’ and move back in. There are also fewer radars along India’s 

west coast than the eastern coast, and all these reasons make the Bay of Bengal cyclones 

more tractable. In this context, Nivar, because it conformed to a fairly predictable trajectory 

and was not super cyclonic in intensity, gave State administrations in Puducherry, Tamil 

Nadu and Andhra Pradesh time to prepare, and was far less damaging than Amphan. 

However, the cyclone season is not yet over and more systems are likely to form in the 

coming weeks, according to the IMD. 

How has disaster warning changed? 

Forecasts, on their own, are important, but they cannot override the importance of 

preparedness by State agencies. The formation of cyclones is preceded by ‘depressions’, 

and they are often the first warnings. Not all depressions become cyclones, but many 

coastal States — especially those with a history of being battered — begin organising 

shelters and evacuation of coastal residents. Sea pockets, where cyclones form, are also 

places that drive schools of fish and lure fisherfolk. While meteorological agencies give 

advisories on where fish-catches are likely, they suspend such advisories during storm 

formation to dissuade fishermen from venturing out. The ubiquity of mobile 

communication makes it much easier to quickly give warnings. The IMD also issues flood 

forecast maps, in collaboration with urban bodies that forecast which pockets in a city are 

likely to be flooded and where crop damage is likely to be maximum.

Love Jihad Laws

 The proposed Uttar Pradesh ordinance seeking to prohibit “unlawful” religious conversions represents a regressive march towards unacceptable medievalism and a reprehensible zeal to police the private lives and beliefs of citizens. Apparently inspired by similar legislation in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, it has sought to include “alluring into marriage” as an additional ground for declaring an instance of religious conversion as illegal, apart from the use of “force, coercion, undue influence and deceit”. 

What is the law? 

The U.P. proposal envisages prison terms, from one to five years in general, three to five years for conversions involving women and SC/ST members, and adds a possible three to 10-year jail term for “mass conversion”. There is also a prior declaration provision on an intended conversion. 

These suggestions were contained in a report of the Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission submitted last year. While the panel had suggested that conversion solely for marriage should be declared null and void, the State’s note on the ordinance says it provides for invalidation of marriages solemnised solely for conversion. 

Against SC judgement 

While upholding the validity of the Freedom of Religion Acts of Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, in Stanislaus (1977), the Supreme Court had held that the “right to propagate” a religion did not include the “right to convert”. However, those early laws did not bar conversions by marriage. The Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and the proposed U.P. law would be vulnerable on that score. After the Court’s “right to privacy” judgment, and the Shafin Jahan-Hadiya case (2018), it would be no more constitutional to use “marriage” as a ground for prohibiting conversion, as it involves the rights of privacy, choice and marital freedom. Further, all such previous laws were seen as “public order” legislation — the claim is that “forced” or “fraudulent” conversions lead to disturbance of order. An inter-faith marriage, by itself, is unlikely to be seen by the courts as an event impinging on public order. Therefore, making marriage simpliciter a ground for rendering conversion illegal may not survive judicial scrutiny. Probably to avoid this lacuna, the U.P. ordinance uses the term “allurement by marriage”, but its potential for misuse is the same. Further, the provision on mandatory prior declaration of an intent to convert is similar to the one struck down by the Himachal Pradesh High Court in 2012 as violating the right to keep one’s faith a secret. It is disconcerting that several States are keen to join this bandwagon against inter-marriages despite its potential for deepening social discord and communal divides. 

Source: The Hindu

CONCEPT OF DEPRECIATION

The output of an economy also consists of production of machines/machineries which are consumed every year, referred to as deprecation and much of the output of such machines could be replacement in nature and not signifying additions to machine or capital stock in the economy. Let us assume that cars are being produced in an economy and there is also depreciation of cars , that is, the cars would eventually have to be replaced after their shell-life. For example, a car is priced at ₹ 3,00,000 and has a life of, say 10 years. Then, depreciation or consumption ) of car is ₹ 30 ,000 a year . Thus , if the output of an economy ignores consumption (or depreciation) of its machine stocks, it is referred as a ‘gross’ concept and if it is accounted for it is known as ‘net’ concept.

Accordingly, there is Gross National Product (GNP) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Hence,

GNP - Depreciation = Net National Product (NNP)

GDP — Depreciation = Net Domestic Product (NDP)

Thus, there are four concepts in the output of an economy—GNP, GDP, NNP and NDP.

Let us now try to understand which method is technically the best measure of growth.

Clearly, it is the NNP as it first covers all the nationals of a country and is also a net increase after depreciation. It is also 

called as “National Income” of an economy. But NNP/GNP are gradually 

losing significance since countries

have high external debts that are

serviced through internal resources

which tends to increase outflows and 

reduce GNP of a country, leaving GDP unaffected. Similarly, the sale of assets to foreign entities will also have similar affecting impact. Further remittances have become significant in economies like GNP not seen as a correct way to judge output of an economy.

करेंट अफेयर्स 16 मई 2020

• भारतीय रेलवे ने यात्रियों को ट्रेन में यात्रा करने के लिए जिस ऐप को रखना अनिवार्य कर दिया है- आरोग्य सेतु ऐप

• इंडिया स्टेट-लेवल Disease Burden Initiative शीर्षक वाली लैंसेट रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक,भारत में पांच साल से कम आयु के जितने प्रतिशत बच्चों की मौत का कारण बाल और मातृ कुपोषण है-68 प्रतिशत

• विश्व व्यापार संगठन (डब्ल्यूटीओ) के प्रमुख रॉबर्ट एजेवेदो ने व्यक्तिगत कारणों से अपना पद कार्यकाल समाप्त होने के जितने साल पहले छोड़ने का निर्णय किया है- एक साल

• हाल ही में जिस देश ने सोशल डिस्टेंसिंग सुनिश्चित करने के लिए 'IFeel-You' ब्रेसलेट विकसित किया है- इटली

• अंतरराष्ट्रीय परिवार दिवस जिस दिन मनाया जाता है-15 मई

• ब्रिटेन की सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने हाल ही में जिस भारतीय व्यापारी की प्रत्यर्पण के ख़िलाफ़ दायर याचिका को ख़ारिज कर दिया है- विजय माल्या

• झारखंड की ‘सोहराई खोवर पेंटिंग’ और जिस राज्य के ‘तेलिया रुमाल’ को 'भौगोलिक संकेतक रजिस्ट्री' द्वारा ‘भौगोलिक संकेतक’ (जीआई) टैग दिया गया- तेलंगाना

• हाल ही में जिस देश में किये गए एक अध्ययन में चिकित्सकों ने COVID-19 के संपर्क में आने वाले बच्चों में कावासाकी रोग जैसे लक्षणों वाली एक असामान्य बीमारी के फैलने के बारे में जानकारी दी है- इटली

• केंद्रीय स्वास्थ्य मंत्री डॉक्टर हर्षवर्धन ने कोविड-19 मरीजों की जांच के लिए हाल ही में जिस नामक परीक्षण मशीन राष्ट्र  को समर्पित की- कोबास-6800

• भारतीय पुरातत्व सर्वेक्षण (ASI) के नये महानिदेशक के रूप में जिसे नियुक्त किया गया है- वी. विद्यावती

Current Affairs 16 May 2020

🔘 Govt introduces new scheme of 2% interest subvention on working capital loans for dairy sector

🔘 Arjun Munda launches ‘GOAL’ for digital skilling of tribal youths

🔘 Dr Harsh Vardhan dedicates COBAS 6800 testing machine to the nation

🔘 Harsh Vardhan participates in the 32nd Commonwealth Health Ministers’ Meeting

🔘 Piyush Goyal participates in virtual session of G20 meet

🔘 4 Ayush formulations against COVID-19 by AYUSH ministry & CSIR

🔘 Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan Part-2: Package for Poor, including migrants and farmers detailed by Nirmala Sitharaman

🔘 Delhi Police gets India’s first ‘Thermal Corona Combat Headgear’ to enhance social distancing

🔘 India’s CO2 emissions falls for the 1st time in four decades: Carbon Brief

🔘 Israel names street in Tel Aviv after Rabindranath Tagore on his 159th birth anniversary

🔘 World Bank approves 1 billion USD to support India’s combat against COVID-19

🔘 COVID-19 may cost global economy loss of up to $ 8.8 trillion: ADB report

🔘 WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo to step down on August 31 before term expires

🔘 Indian coast guard ship sachet, interceptor boats C-450 and C-451 commissioned: Rajnath Singh

🔘 MHRD develops SAMARTH an e-Governance platform to provide quality education to students

🔘 IITGN develops interactive dashboard “MIR AHD Covid-19 Dashboard” to help contain COVID-19 community infection post lockdown

🔘 China wins 1st edition of FIDE Chess.com online Nations cup 2020; India finishes fifth

🔘 Bengali author Sahitya Akademi winner Debesh Roy passes away at 84

🔘 Padma Bhushan awardee Professor Anisuzzaman passes away at 83

🔘 International Day of Families 2020: May 15

🔘 National Endangered Species Day observed on May 15, 2020

🔘 Gujarat Govt launches ‘Atmanirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojna’ to provide loans to small businessmen

🔘 The government of West Bengal announces two new schemes

🔘 Jharkhand: Education dept with Doordarshan starts online classes for School children

🔘 Little Richard, rock’n’roll pioneer, passed away at 87

करेंट अफेयर्स 15 मई 2020

•🔘 विश्व आर्थिक मंच (WEF) के वैश्विक ऊर्जा संक्रमण सूचकांक 2020 में भारत जितने स्थान पर पहुंच गया है-74

•🔘 ब्रिक्स देशों के न्यू डेवलपमेंट बैंक (एनडीबी) ने कोरोना वायरस महामारी से लड़ने के लिए जिस देश को एक अरब डॉलर की आपातकालीन सहायता ऋण राशि दी है- भारत

•🔘 वह राज्य सरकार जिसने कोरोना के खिलाफ लड़ाई में तीस दिनों तक अपनी सेवा देने वाले सभी पुलिसकर्मियों को कर्मवीर पदक से सम्मानित करने का फैसला लिया है- मध्य प्रदेश

•🔘 जिस सोशल मीडिया कंपनी ने स्थायी तौर पर अपने कर्मचारियों को वर्क फ्रॉम होम (घर से काम) की इजाजत दे दी है- ट्विटर

•🔘 जिस राज्य के मुख्यमंत्री ने कहा है कि किसानों को लाभान्वित करने के एकमात्र उद्देश्य के साथ राज्य में विनियामक कृषि की खेती करने का निर्णय लिया गया है- तेलंगाना

•🔘 केंद्रीय वित्त मंत्री निर्मला सीतारमण ने हाल ही में बताया कि नकदी संकट से जूझ रही बिजली वितरण कंपनियों (डिस्कॉम) में जितने करोड़ रुपये की नकदी डालेगी-90,000 करोड़ रुपये

•🔘 वह राज्य सरकार जिसने प्रशिक्षित युवाओं के लिए रोज़गार/स्वरोज़गार के अवसर पैदा करने और कौशल विकास के अवसरों की पेशकश करने के लिए ‘होप’ पोर्टल लॉन्च किया है- उत्तराखंड

•🔘 प्रधानमंत्री कार्यालय (पीएमओ) ने बताया है कि पीएम केयर्स फंड ट्रस्ट ने कोरोना वायरस संक्रमण से लड़ने के लिए जितने करोड़ रुपये आवंटित किए हैं-3100 करोड़ रुपये

•🔘 केंद्र सरकार ने चालू वित्त वर्ष की शेष अवधि के लिए देश के अंदर किए जाने वाले विभिन्न प्रकार के व्यावसायिक भुगतान पर टीडीएस और टीसीएस दर जितने प्रतिशत कम कर दी है-25 प्रतिशत

•🔘 पाकिस्तान क्रिकेट बोर्ड ने जिस बल्लेबाज़ को राष्ट्रीय टीम का वनडे कप्तान नियुक्त किया है- बाबर आज़म

Current Affairs 15 May 2020

🔘 EAM Jaishankar participated in SCO Foreign Ministers video conference on COVID-19

🔘 PM CARES Fund trust allocates Rs 3,100 crore: COVID-19

🔘 ICMR fast-tracks roll out of ‘Solidarity’ trial to find treatment: COVID-19

🔘 Centre sets up “Rice Export Promotion Forum” to promote rice export

🔘 Jal Jeevan Mission: Haryana and J&K to provide tap water to every household by Dec 2022

🔘 Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan Part-1: MSME focused package detailed by Nirmala Sitharaman; EPF contribution reduced

🔘 International tourism to decline 60-80% in 2020: UNWTO report

🔘 India likely to miss global nutrition targets by 2025: WHO’s Global Nutrition Report 2020

🔘 Forest loss rate globally declined from 2015 to 2020: FRA 2020

🔘 Reserve Bank extends interest subsidy scheme for exporters till 31 March 2021

🔘 Federal bank, MoneyGram tie up for direct-to-bank deposits in India

🔘 UN forecasts India to grow at 1.2% in CY20 and global economy to shrink by 3.2%

🔘 Lieutenant Commander Akshay Kumar was awarded Vice Admiral G.M. Hiranandani Memorial Rolling Trophy 2020

🔘 Former JDS MP Raja Rangappa Nayak passes away at 61

🔘 West Bengal govt launches ‘Matir Smristi’ scheme to utilise 50,000-acre barren land in 6 districts

Current Affairs Hindi 14 May 2020

🔘  प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने 12 मई 2020 को रात आठ बजे देश के नाम अपने संबोधन में कोरोना वायरस के कारण उपजे आर्थिक हालात को सुधारने हेतु देश के लिए जितने लाख करोड़ रुपए की घोषणा की है-20 लाख करोड़ रुपए

🔘 केंद्रीय स्वास्थय  मंत्री डॉ. हर्षवर्धन के अनुसार, देश में कोविड-19 जांच क्षमता बढकर जितने लाख परीक्षण प्रति दिन हुई- एक लाख

🔘 हाल ही में जिस देश ने रवींद्रनाथ टैगोर की 159वीं वर्षगांठ के उपलक्ष्य में तेल अवीव की सड़क का नाम बदलकर 'टैगोर स्ट्रीट' किया- इजरायल

🔘 मनमीत सिंह वालिया का 58 साल की उम्र में निधन हो गया. वे जिस खेल से संबंधित थे- टेबल टेनिस

🔘 हाल ही में नवीन एवं नवीकरणीय ऊर्जा मंत्रालय (एमएनआरई) में सचिव पद का कार्यभार जिसने संभाला- इंदु शेखर चतुर्वेदी

🔘 भारत सरकार की प्रमुख सामाजिक सुरक्षा योजना ‘अटल पेंशन योजना’ ने हाल ही में जितने साल पूरे कर लिये हैं- पाँच साल

🔘 COVID-19 के कारण देश भर में लागू किये गए लॉकडाउन के मद्देनज़र गांधी शांति पुरस्का  2020 के लिये नामांकन प्राप्त करने की अंतिम तिथि जितने तारीख तक बढ़ा दी गई है-15 जून 2020

🔘 वह राज्य सरकार जिसने लोगों के श्वसन स्वास्थ्य के बारे में जागरूकता पैदा करने के लिए हाल ही में “प्राणवायु कार्यक्रम” शुरू किया- कर्नाटक

🔘 वह हवाई अड्डा जिसने भारत और मध्य एशिया के सर्वश्रेष्ठ क्षेत्रीय हवाई अड्डे का खिताब जीता- बेंगलुरु हवाई अड्डा

🔘 वंदे भारत अभियान का दूसरा चरण 16 मई से जिस तारीख तक चलेगा-22 मई

4 new products from three states receive Geographical Indication (GI) tag

Two delicate handicraft products from Tamil Nadu – the Thanjavur Netti Works (pith works) and Arambavur Wood Carvings – will get the Georgraphical Indication (GI) from the GI registry. Tamil Nadu handicrafts department is the applicant on behalf of the
artisans involved in the trade, said its counsel and IPR attorney P Sanjai Gandhi.

Jharkhand’s Sohrai Khovar painting and Telangana’s Telia Rumal were given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag on Tuesday by the Geographical Indications Registry headquartered in Chennai. The application for the painting was made by Sohrai Kala Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Limited while the application for Telia Rumal was made by the Consortium of Puttapaka Handloom Cluster-IHDS.

Current Affairs 14 May 2020

🔘 68.2% of under-5 deaths in India due to child, maternal malnutrition; UP topped: Global Burden of Disease Study 2000–17

🔘 PM Modi announces Rs 20 lakh cr special economic package and Lockdown 4.0

🔘 Registration Committee recommends banning use of TB drug on crops

🔘 4 new products from three states receive Geographical Indication (GI) tag

🔘 ICMR, NCDC to initiate a population-based serosurvey in selected districts to monitor coronavirus prevalence

🔘 New initiative by the Railways and postal department for delivery and pick up

🔘 In a 1st, PoK’s Gilgit-Baltistan & Muzaffarabad included in the meteorological forecast list of IMD

🔘 India ranks 74th, Sweden tops: WEF’s global Energy Transition index 2020

🔘 BRICS’ New Development Bank provides USD 1 billion loan to India to fight COVID-19

🔘 CDC of the United States promises 3.6 million USD to India to combat COVID-19

🔘 World Airport Awards 2020: Bengaluru’s Kempegowda honoured as best regional airport in India & Central Asia; Singapore Changi crowned as World’s Best

🔘 Manoj Ahuja appointed as new CBSE chief and ASI gets V Vidyavati as Director General

🔘 Akhil Kumar re-inducted into NADA disciplinary panel

🔘 MSME Ministry launches CHAMPIONS Portal

🔘 TVS Group, IIT-M develop automated respiratory assist device “Sundaram Ventago”

🔘 Astronomers of the University of Canterbury discovered new one in a million Super-Earth

🔘 South African & US scientists use MeerKAT telescope to solve the mystery of ‘X galaxies’

🔘 Former National TT champion Manmeet Singh Walia passed away at 58

🔘 Grammy winning-singer Betty Wright passes away at 66

🔘 Uttarakhand CM launches ‘HOPE’ a portal to help unemployed youths

🔘 Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan re-launched  Sambal Yojana for dalits tribals and poor

🔘 ‘United We Fight’ musical creation released by ICCR to Fight COVID-19

🔘 77 new mandis from 10 States & UTs integrated with the e-NAM platform for marketing of Agricultural produce

Quote of the Day

Atal Pension Yojana

Atal Pension Yojana (or APY, previously known as Swavalamban Yojana) is a government-backed pension scheme in India, primarily targeted at the unorganised sector. It was mentioned in the 2015 Budget speech by the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 May in Kolkata.

History

Swavalamban Yojana was a government-backed pension scheme targeted at the unorganised sector in India. It was applicable to all citizens in the unorganised sector who joined the National Pension Scheme (NPS) administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Act 2013.

Under the scheme, the Government of India contributed ₹1,000 (US$14) per year to each NPS account opened in the year 2010-11 and for the next three years, that is, 2011–12, 2012–13 and 2013–14. The benefit was available only to people who joined the NPS with a minimum contribution of ₹1,000 (US$14) and maximum contribution of ₹12,000 (US$170) per annum. The scheme was announced by the Finance Minister in Budget 2010–11. It was funded by grants from the Government of India.

This scheme has been replaced with Atal Pension Yojana, in which all subscribing workers below the age of 40 are eligible for pension of up to ₹5,000 (US$70) per month on attainment of 60 years of age. The scheme was named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former prime minister of India.

करेंट अफेयर्स 13 मई 2020

• अंतरराष्ट्रीय नर्स दिवस जिस दिन मनाया जाता है-12 मई

• हाल ही में जिस देश ने FIDE Chess.com ऑनलाइन नेशंस कप खिताब अपने नाम किया- चीन

• केंद्रीय कृषि मंत्री नरेंद्र सिंह तोमर ने हाल ही में किसानों को ऑनलाइन पोर्टल के माध्यम से अपनी फसल की उपज बेचने की सुविधा प्रदान करने हेतु राष्ट्रीय कृषि बाजार (ई-एनएएम) के साथ जितने नई मंडियों का एकीकरण किया-177

• केंद्र सरकार ने सभी यूनियन टेरिटरी और राज्यों द्वारा आधार नंबर से राशन कार्ड को लिंक करने की डेडलाइन जिस तारीख तक के लिए बढ़ा दी गई है-30 सितंबर

• हाल ही में जिस राज्य के पुलिस ने घर बैठे हुए ही प्राथमिकी दर्ज करवाने के 'एफआईआर-आपके द्वार' योजना की शुरुआत की है- मध्यप्रदेश

• हाल ही में पश्चिम बंगाल वन विभाग  ने बताया कि सुंदरबन क्षेत्र में बाघों की संख्या वर्ष 2018-19 में 88 से बढ़कर वर्ष 2019-20 में जितने तक पहुँच गई है-96

• भारत सरकार और एशियाई इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर इन्वेस्टमेंट बैंक ने COVID-19 से निपटने हेतु जितने मिलियन डॉलर की ‘COVID-19 आपातकालीन उपाय एवं स्वास्थ्य प्रणाली तैयारी परियोजना’ संबंधी समझौते पर हस्ताक्षर किये हैं-500 मिलियन डॉलर

• हाल ही में भारतीय रक्षा मंत्री ने जिस राज्य में 80 किलोमीटर की सड़क को देश को समर्पित किया जो लिपुलेख दर्रे से होकर कैलाश मानसरोवर यात्रा के लिये एक नवीन मार्ग है- उत्तराखंड

• भारतीय रिज़र्व बैंक (RBI) द्वारा जारी नवीनतम आँकड़ों के अनुसार, वित्तीय वर्ष 2019-20 के दौरान स्वर्ण भंडार में जितने टन की वृद्धि दर्ज़ की गई है-40.45 टन

• केंद्रीय वित्त मंत्री निर्मला सीतारमण ने हाल ही में जितने राज्यों को राजस्व घाटा अनुदान के रूप में 6,195 करोड़ रूपये जारी किये हैं-14

Current Affairs 13 May 2020

🔘 Harsh Vardhan addressed a digital conference RE-START to celebrate the National Technology Day

🔘 SRS Bulletin released: National infant mortality rate at 32, MP worst performer; Kerala achieved SDG target

🔘 Atal Pension Yojana completed 5 yrs on May 9, 2020 with 2.23 crore enrolment

🔘 Department of Consumer Affairs partners with Safejob and Seekify to power Suraksha Store Initiative

🔘 MP becomes 1st in the country to launch ‘FIR Aapke Dwar Yojana’

🔘 Gujarat based Macpower produces India’s 1st indigenous Seam Sealing Machine for PPEs

🔘 Jitendra Singh addresses Indo-Bangladesh Virtual Conference organised by ASSOCHAM

🔘 SC orders to set up high-powered committee headed by Secretary of MHA to restore 4G internet services in J&K

🔘 WHO released first “State of the World’s Nursing Report – 2020” stating a global shortfall of 5.9 mn nurses

🔘 Covid-19: United Nations and partners to raise $ 6.7 billion for vulnerable nations

🔘 Indian Tennis ace Sania Mirza becomes 1st Indian to win Fed Cup Heart award 2020 for Asia/Oceania zone

🔘 Kumar Sangakkara set to serve second term as MCC President

🔘 CSIR-NAL develops BiPAP non-invasive ventilator ‘Swasth Vayu’

🔘 Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank launches Central University of Odisha helpline ‘Bharosa’ to help students in distress

🔘 China launches two satellites to test space based communication technology

🔘 FIFA U-17 World Cup to be held in India from 17 Feb 2021

🔘 Para-athlete Shot-putter Deepa Malik announce retirement to head PCI

🔘 French cyclist Remy Di Gregorio banned by UCI for 4 years following ‘super-EPO’ positive test

🔘 Comedian and Seinfeld actor Jerry Stiller passed away at 92

🔘 International Nurses Day 2020: May 12

🔘 TN constitutes a 24 member high-level committee headed by ex-governor of RBI C Rangarajan to assess COVID-19 impact

🔘 BBMP, Bengaluru launches “Pranavayu” to track oxygen levels of ILI patients

Quote of the Day

Social Reforms during Modern period

🔘 Atmiya Sabha
• Started in 1815 in Kolkata(then Calcutt(a) by Raja Ram Mohan Roy to make reforms in the Hindu society.

🔘 Wahabi Movement
• From 1820-1828 in Rohilkhand by Syed Ahmed of Rae Bareilly.
• Popularized the teachings of Waliullah; stressed role of individual conscience in religion.

🔘 BRAHMO SAMAJ
• Established in 1828 by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in Calcutta. It emphasized on human dignity & criticized social evils as Sati.

🔘 Young Bengal Movement (1826-1832)
• Established in Calcutta by Henry Vivian Derozio.
• Opposed vices in the society; believed in truth, freedom & reason; social reform.

🔘 Dharma Sabha
• Dharma Sabha was formed in 1830 in Calcutta by Raja Radhakant Deb.
• The organization was established mainly to counter the ongoing social reform movements led byr protagonist such as
 Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Henry Derozio.

🔘 Kuka/ Namdhari Movement (1872)
• Started by Bhai Balak Singh & Baba Ram Singh in NWFP & Ludhiana.
• Spread the true spirit of Sikhism & opposed to all caste
distinction.

🔘 Prarthana Samaj
• Established by Atmaram Pandurang in 1867 at Bombay.
• Reforming Hindu religious thought & practice in the light of modern knowledge.

🔘 Indian Reform Association
• The Indian Reform Association was formed on 29 October 1870 with Keshab Chandra Sen as president at Calcutta.
• Create public opinion against child marriages & for legalizing the Brahma form
 of (Civil) marriage.
• Promote the intellectual & social service.

🔘 Arya Samaj
• Arya Samaj was founded by Swami Dayananda Saraswati in 1875 at Bombay to reform Hindu religion in North India.

🔘 Theosophical Society
• Founded in 1875 at New York by madame HP Blavatsky and Col. H S Olcott.
• Advocated the revival & strengthening of ancient religions of Hinduism, Deccan Zoroastrianism & Buddhism.

🔘Deccan Education Society
• Founded in 1884 by M G Ranade at Pune.
• To contribute to the cause of education & culture in Western India.

🔘 Seva Sadan
• Established by Behramji & Malabari in 1885 at Bombay.
• Campaign against child marriages & enforced widowhood & care for socially exploited women.

🔘 Ramakrishna Mission
• Swami Vivekananda started Ramakrishna Mission in 1887 at Calcutta.
• To carry on humanitarian relief & social work.

🔘 Indian National Social Conference(The social reform cell of the Indian National Congress)
• Established by M G Ranade and Raghunath Rao in 1887
at Bombay.
• To focus attention on matters relating to social reforms.The social reform cell of the Indian National Congress.

🔘 Bharat Dharma Mahamandala
• Established in 1902 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya at Varanasi.
• Organization of the orthodox Hindus, also known as, Sanatandharmis to counter the teachings of the Arya Samaj.

🔘 The Servants of India Society
• The Servants of India Society was established by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1905 at Bombay.
• To work for social reforms & train "national missionaries for the service of India".

🔘 Poona Seva Sadan
• Founded by G K Devadhar & Ramabai Ranade in 1909 at Pune.
• Establish institutions for the economic uplift & useful employment of women.

🔘 The Indian Women's Association
• Founded by Mrs. Annie Besant in 1917 at Madras.
• Work for uplift of Indian women & ''to secure a larger a free & fuller life for them".

Quote of the Day

Current Affairs 12 May 2020

🔘 Nation technology day 2020, May 11

🔘 India launched Mission Sagar to assist 5 island nations in Indian Ocean amid COVID-19

🔘 6 member panel to set up to review production sharing contracts: Centre

🔘 National Gallery of Modern Art launches a virtual program ‘NGMA Ke Sangrah Se’ to showcase artworks

🔘 ICMR ties-up with India Post for lab delivery of Covid-19 testing kits

🔘 TRIFED under AOL signed a MoU to promote the tribal enterprises

🔘 17 laureates conferred with DW Freedom of Speech Award 2020; Journalist Siddharth Varadarajan from India among them

🔘 Narindra Batra to remain as FIH President until May 2021

🔘 ICMR-NIV develops 1st indigenous antibody detection kit “COVID KAVACH ELISA” for COVID-19

🔘 Parakh: DRDO- DFRL’s mobile microbial containment lab handed over to MMCRI

🔘 DRDO lab develops DRUVS, an automated UV systems to sanitise electronic gadgets, papers & currency notes

🔘 ICMR ties up with BBIL to develop the 1st fully indigenous COVID-19 vaccine

🔘CSIR approves project to develop ‘hmAbs’ that can neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in patients; BBIL to lead

🔘 Indian Scientists discover 3 new species of fishes under genus ‘Dawkinsia’ in western ghats

🔘 COVID-19: SAI forms 6-member panel to prepare SOP for phased resumption of training after lockdown

🔘 Famous historian Hari Shankar Vasudevan passed away at 68

🔘 Vadhan authors a new book titled “Fear of God” deals with corruption, vigilantism & law

🔘 Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio presented Rs. 21049.87 crore state budget for FY 20-21

What are coronaviruses?

Coronaviruses are a large family of single stranded RNA viruses that cause diseases in

animals and humans. In humans, the viruses usually cause mild to moderate upper-

respiratory tract illnesses such as the common cold. In the last two decades, more

aggressive coronaviruses have emerged that are capable of causing serious illness and even

death in humans. These include SARS-CoV, MERS and now SARS-CoV-2.

Human coronaviruses were first characterised in the mid-1960s and they are mostly

considered to be responsible for causing upper respiratory tract infections in children. In

1965, scientists DJ Tyrrell and ML Bynoe were the first ones to identify a human

coronavirus, which they isolated from the nasal washing of a male child who had symptoms

of common cold. They termed the strain B814 and later in 1968 the term “coronavirus” was

accepted. These viruses are named so because of spikes found on their surface that give

them the appearance of a crown when looked through an electron microscope.

In animals, coronaviruses can cause diarrhea in cows and pigs and upper respiratory tract

disease in chickens. The first coronavirus was isolated in 1937 and it was the infectious

bronchitis virus (IBV) that caused respiratory disease in chickens.

Thanks for reading

What is the National Population Register (NPR)?

The NPR is a database of usual residents in the country who have stayed in a local area for
the past six months or more and who intend to remain in the same place for the next six
months or more. The NPR is individual and identity specific unlike the Census which only
provides information on the status of the residents of India and population swings.
The NPR database was first created in 2010. The electronic database of more than 119
crore usual residents of the country has already been created under the NPR in English as
well as the regional languages. The data collection is done under the aegis of the Office of
the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. The NPR is undertaken under the
provisions of The Citizenship Act, 1955 and The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and
issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. The NPR was last updated, except in Assam
and Meghalaya, in 2015-16.