Daily GK Updates - `11th May, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. High-level digital conference ‘RESTART’ to be organised by DST Focusing on rebooting the economy through Science and Technology: The Technology Development Board (TDB) a statutory body of the Department of Science & Technology (DST) along with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will organise a high-level digital conference on ‘Rebooting the Economy through Science, Technology and Research Translations (RESTART)’ on May 11, 2020, to celebrate the National Technology Day. Union Minister for Science & Technology, Health and Family Welfare and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan would be the Chief Guest for the occasion. The conference will bring together Scientists, Technocrats, Government officials, Diplomats, WHO officials and dignitaries from national and international Industry, Research Institutions and Academic Institutions on a single platform to share their insights on the role played by S & T in the global healthcare crisis and find solutions that not only address the current pandemic but will also help us in facing the challenges ahead. The conference will have technical sessions on ‘Medicines & Medical Technologies’; ‘Advanced Materials – New Technology Horizons’;‘Advanced Manufacturing Technologies for Sustainable Future and Global Innovation’& Technology Alliance for Global Economic Leadership.

2. National Technology Day: 11th May: The National Technology Day is observed every year on May 11 since 1999 to mark the anniversary of 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests and India’s technological advancements in space. It was on this day in 1998 that India successfully fired an Operation Shakti missile at the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan. The Test was led by late aerospace engineer and President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. It also highlight the achievements of our scientists and engineers in the field of science and technology and encourage students to embrace Science as a career option.

3. ICMR-NIV develops COVID KAVACH ELISA test kit: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune has developed first indigenous antibody-based ELISA test kit - COVID KAVACH for diagnosis of Coronavirus. The ELISA - enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay - antibody test is a kind of blood test. ELISA kits are similar to rapid antibody tests, which detect antibodies in the blood to find out if an individual was infected with COVID-19 infection or not. The kit has displayed high sensitivity and accuracy in the validation tests at different sites. It can test around 90 samples in approximately two and half hours. ICMR has partnered with Zydus Cadila for mass scale production of the ELISA test kits under “Make in India” in record time.

4. Indu Shekhar took charge as secretary of New & Renewable Energy Ministry: Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy. Shri Chaturvedi (1987 Batch IAS officer) succeeded Anand Kumar in the Ministry who earlier took charge Secretary, Ministry of Culture. Prior to this appointment, he was serving as Additional Chief Secretary and Additional Secretary (Climate Change Department) of the Ministry of Climate Change Department, Environment & Forest, Government of Jharkhand.

5. DRDO develops DRUVS to sanitize electronic gadgets, papers & currency notes: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) announced that it had built a solution to sanitize currency notes, electronic gadgets, and papers in an automated, contactless way in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The DRDO’s Hyderabad based lab, Research Centre Imarat (RCI), has developed an automated contactless UVC sanitisation cabinet, called ‘Defence Research Ultraviolet Sanitiser (DRUVS)’. The cabinet has been “designed to sanitise mobile phones, iPads, laptops, currency notes, cheque leafs, challans, passbooks, paper, envelopes, etc.”. The cabined sanitizes objects placed in it with the help of UVC. The cabinet is equipped with proximity sensor switches that are clubbed with drawer opening and closing mechanism that can be controlled with the sensor switches without actually touching the cabinet making its operation automatic and contactless. The DRUVs cabinet provides a 360-degree exposure of UVC to the objects that are placed inside the cabinet for sanitisation. Once the sanitisation is complete, the system goes in sleep mode. The operator thus does not need to supervise the machine to switch it off and need not wait or stand near the device.

6. CII organises virtual townhall on 'Health and the Economy' topic: Confederation of Indian Industries organized a virtual town hall on the topic 'Health and the Economy.' Eminent personalities from the Industry and health sector participated in the program. The discussion was moderated by Director General CII Chandrajit Banerjee. The virtual townhall focuses on post-covid world that will need to address the dichotomy between formal and informal labour.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Saudi Arabia to increase VAT from 1 July: Saudi Arabia has decided to raise value added tax (VAT) from 5% to 15% starting from 1st July and has taken a decision to suspend cost of living allowance from 1st June. It has also decided to cancel, or postpone some operational and capital expenditures for government agencies. It will reduce several Vision Realization Programs and projects for the fiscal year 2020. The measure is taken to protect and overcome the financial-economic ramification of the nation.

2. UK announces once in a generation transport sector investment: UK government has announced 'once in a generation' transport sector investment of around 2 billion pounds for country's green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The new investment in transport is to ensure the public is supported to use more greener travel options and avoid overcrowding in public transport as travel restrictions are gradually eased in the coming weeks. The major chunk ear-marked for emergency improvements to cycling and walking infrastructure.

3. US approved antigen test for coronavirus detection: US Food and Drug Administration announced emergency authorization for antigen tests developed by Quidel Corporation of San Diego. The test can rapidly detect earliest toxic traces-fragments of virus proteins in samples collected from swabs swiped inside the nasal cavity within 15 minutes. The antigen test is the third type of test to be authorized by the FDA.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. SAI forms 6-member panel to prepare SOP for phased resumption of training post COVID: The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has formed a six-membered committee that will prepare Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the phased resumption of training of sports after the lockdown due to COVID-19 is lifted. The committee is headed by Rohit Bharadwaj. He is a secretary at the Sports Authority of India.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. FM launches INR-USD futures and options contraction at GIFT, IFSC: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched INR-USD (Rupee-Dollar) Futures and Options contracts on the two International Exchanges, BSE’s India INX and NSE’s NSE-IFSC at GIFT International Financial Services Centre in Gandhinagar through video conference. This will be available 22 hours across all time zones for all global participants. This would be beneficial for economic activity, employment gains, and larger global participation connecting India’s IFSC’S globally.

2. Government Raises Market Borrowing Limit for 2020-21 to Rs 12 Lakh Crore amid COVID-19: The Government of India has announced an increase in its gross market borrowing estimate to Rs 12 lakh crore for the current financial year 2020-21 to deal with the expected shortfall in revenue due to the impact of COVID-19 crisis on the economy. This is an increase of Rs 4.2 lakh crore over Rs 7.8 lakh crore announced in the Budget Estimates for FY21. The government has also increased the weekly borrowing target to Rs 30,000 crore from Rs 21,000 crore planned earlier on March 31.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Vista Equity Partners Buys 2.32% Stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 crore: US-based private equity firm Vista Equity Partners has become the third company to buy a stake in billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s digital unit, Jio Platforms. It has bought 2.32 percent stake for Rs 11,367 crore in the company. This investment values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore. This is the third high-profile investment in the Reliance Industries Ltd  (RIL) unit within three weeks. Earlier in April 2020, Facebook had bought 9.99 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 43,574 crore. That deal was followed by Silver Lake, buying 1.15 percent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 5,665.75 crore on May 4.

OBITUARIES

1. Eminent historian Hari Shankar Vasudevan passes away: Eminent historian Hari Shankar Vasudevan (68 years) passed away due to COVID-19. He was renowned worldwide for his work on Russian and European history and Indo-Russian relations. Vasudevan was the author of Shadows of Substance: Indo-Russian Trade and Military Technical Cooperation (2010), and Footsteps of Afanasii Nikitin: Travels through Eurasia and India in the Early 21st Century (2015). His most recent publication was the chapter “India and the October Revolution: Nationalist Revolutionaries, Bolshevik Power and Lord Curzon’s Nightmare”

2. Former Minister Ratnakar Rao passed away: Congress veteran and former minister Juvvadi Ratnakar Rao passed away at a hospital in Karimnagar district of Telangana on due to age-related illness. He was 92. Ratnakar Rao was elected to Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly thrice in 1989, 1999 and 2004 from Buggaram assembly constituency and served as a Minister for Endowments between 2006 and 2009, Reddy, who was his cabinet colleague.