Daily GK Updates - 17th May, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. FM announces 5th tranche (last) of economic support under the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan: In continuation to PM Modi’s announcement of Rs 20 lakh crore boost to the economy, and the announcement made by her on May 13, 2020, May 14, 2020. May 15, 2020 and May 16, 2020  the Finance Minister of India, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has made the announcement of the fifth tranche (which is the last one) of economic support the Indian Economy’s fight against COVID-19. These are the announcements made on May 17, 2020.

The 5th tranche is focussed on Government Reforms and Enablers for providing employment support to businesses, Ease of Doing Business, and State Governments as well sectors such as Education and Health. Seven measures have been announced under this.

(1) Allocation for MGNREGS increased by Rs 40,000 Crore to provide employment boost– Will help generate nearly 300 crore person-days in total.

(2) Health Reforms & Initiatives- Public Expenditure on Health will be increased by investing in grass-root health institutions. National Institutional Platform for One health by ICMR will encourage research. And the implementation of National Digital Health Blueprint under the National Digital Health Mission.

(3) Technology Driven Education with Equity post-COVID: PM eVIDYA, a programme for multi-mode access to digital/online education to be launched immediately. Manodarpan, an initiative for psycho-social support for students, teachers and families for mental health and emotional well-being to be launched immediately as well. New National Curriculum and Pedagogical framework for school, early childhood and teachers will also be launched.

(4) Further enhancement of Ease of Doing Business through IBC related measures: Minimum threshold to initiate insolvency proceedings has been raised to Rs. 1 crore (from Rs. 1 lakh, which largely insulates MSMEs).

(5) Decriminalisation of Companies Act defaults: Decriminalisation of Companies Act violations involving minor technical and procedural defaults such as shortcomings in CSR reporting, inadequacies in Board report, filing defaults, delay in holding of AGM.

(6) Ease of Doing Business for Corporates: Direct listing of securities by Indian public companies in permissible foreign jurisdictions. Private companies which list NCDs on stock exchanges not to be regarded as listed companies. Lower penalties for all defaults for Small Companies, One-person Companies, Producer Companies & Start Ups.

(7) Public Sector Enterprise Policy for a New, Self-reliant India: Government will announce a new policy whereby - List of strategic sectors requiring presence of PSEs in public interest will be notified In strategic sectors, at least one enterprise will remain in the public sector but private sector will also be allowed In other sectors, PSEs will be privatized (timing to be based on feasibility etc.)

(8) Support to State Governments: Centre has decided to increase borrowing limits of States from 3% to 5% for 2020-21 only. This will give States extra resources of Rs. 4.28 lakh crore. Part of the borrowing will be linked to specific reforms (including recommendations of the Finance Commission). Reform linkage will be in four areas: universalisation of ‘One Nation One Ration card’, Ease of Doing Business, Power distribution and Urban Local Body revenues.

(9) A specific scheme will be notified by Department of Expenditure on the following pattern: Unconditional increase of 0.50%; 1% in 4 tranches of 0.25%, with each tranche linked to clearly specified, measurable and feasible reform actions; Further 0.50% if milestones are achieved in at least three out of four reform areas.

The Finance Minister concluded by providing a breakup of the stimulus measures provided so far in order to become Aatma Nirbhar Bharat.

2. Lockdown 4.0: Lockdown extended until 31st May 2020: The extension of the lockdown due to COVID-19 has been announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs with an official notice stating that the lockdown has been extended for a further period of 14 days i.e. 31st May 2020. The ministry has also released a new set of guidelines for the nation-wide curfew. In the set of guidelines given by the Ministry of Home Affairs, it is stated that states will decide the Containment, Buffer, Red, Green and Orange zones for lockdown till 31 May and interstate travel, all domestic and international travel, metro rail operation is still prohibited.

Note: Union Minister of Home Affairs: Amit Shah.

3. IIT Gandhinagar develops COVID 19 Dashboard: An interactive COVID-19 dashboard named as “MIR AHD Covid-19 Dashboard” has been developed by the researchers at IIT Gandhinagar. The dashboard aims to provide key information to stakeholders and the public in order to make research-backed decisions during the time of crisis. This interactive dashboard can assist the administrators, hospitals and also the public in planning optimised examination for the novel coronavirus. It can also help in containing the community infection in various post-lockdown scenarios.

4. CSIR-CMERI develops mobile indoor disinfection sprayer units: CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) has developed 2 mobile indoor Disinfection Sprayer units. The units are titled as Battery Powered Disinfectant Sprayer (BPDS) and Pneumatically Operated Mobile Indoor Disinfection (POMID). They will be used for cleaning and disinfecting pathogenic micro-organism from surfaces such as tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, sinks, and cardboards.

5. NDMA develops NMIS online dashboard: National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has developed an online Dashboard titled National Migrant Information System (NMIS). The dashboard will maintain a central repository on migrant workers capturing the information of stranded migrants’ workers facilitating their smooth movement. It can also be used as contact tracing facilitating COVID-19 response work. The migrants must upload name, age, mobile no., originating and destination district, date of travel etc.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. AIIB Signs USD 145 million Loan Agreement with Government of India to improve irrigation services and flood management in West Bengal: The Government of India, the Government of West Bengal and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has inked a loan agreement worth US$145 million to improve irrigation services and flood management in the Damodar Valley Command Area (DVCA) in West Bengal. The loan sanctioned under West Bengal Major Irrigation and Flood Management Project will benefit about 2.7 million farmers from five districts of West Bengal across 393,964 ha area. It will provide better irrigation services and improved protection against annual flooding to mitigate the impact of climate change.

Note: Chief Minister of West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee; Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Headquarter of AIIB: Beijing, China; President of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: Jin Liqun.

2. World Hypertension Day: 17th May: The World Hypertension Day (WHD) is celebrated on 17 May worldwide to promote public awareness of increasing high blood pressure (BP) and to encourage citizens of all countries to prevent and control this silent killer. The theme for World Hypertension Day 2020 is ‘Measure Your Blood Pressure, Control It, Live Longer’. The day was held for the first time in May 2005. World Hypertension Day (WHD) is an initiative of the World Hypertension League (WHL), an affiliated section of the International Society of Hypertension. The WHL has announced that it will postpone the celebration of World Hypertension Day (WHD) 2020 until October 17, 2020, due to global COVID-19 pandemic.

Note: International Society of Hypertension President: Alta Schutte; International Society of Hypertension Established: 1966.

3. World Telecommunication and Information Society Day: 17th May: The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is observed every year on 17 May since 1969, to commemorate the founding of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The theme of 2020 is “Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”. The ITU was founded on 17 May 1865, when the first International Telegraph Convention was signed in Paris. The main objective of the day is to raise global awareness of the changes brought about by the Internet and new technologies in societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.

Note: ITU Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland; ITU Head: Houlin Zhao; ITU Founded: 17 May 1865.

OTHER UPDATES:

DEFENCE

1. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Approves Rs 400-crore Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme: Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has approved the launch of Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS), to provide private sector defence and aerospace companies affordable testing facilities to test and validate weaponry they are designing. The initiative will give a boost to domestic defence and aerospace manufacturing by creating state of the art testing infrastructure for this sector. The total outlay of the scheme is Rs 400 crore, and would run for the duration of five years. Since setting up in-house Defence Testing Infrastructure is not economically viable for individual defence industrial units, the DTIS Scheme will set up Greenfield Defence Testing Infrastructure as a common facility under private sector with government assistance. The scheme envisages setting up six to eight test facilities in partnership with private industry. Each such project will receive 75 percent of its cost as government funding, while the remaining 25 percent will be borne by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) composed of Indian private entities and concerned state governments.

OBITUARIES

1. Iran’s OPEC Governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili Passes Away: Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, Iran’s representative at OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), has passed away after falling into a coma following a brain hemorrhage. He was 67. He had served as Iran’s OPEC governor for nearly 20 years. Kazempour had been Iran’s representative to OPEC since 2013, after previously holding the position from 1995 to 2008. He was serving as the deputy foreign minister and deputy oil minister of Iran in the 1980s.

2. Bangladesh’s National Professor and Recipient of Padma Bhushan Award, Dr Anisuzzaman Passes Away: Noted Bangladeshi academic of Bengali literature, Dr Anisuzzaman has passed away aged 83 after a long battle with kidney and lung complications and respiratory problems. Anisuzzaman made an immense contribution to Bangla language and literature through his research and writings and was inducted as a National Professor by the Government of Bangladesh in 2018. He was conferred with Padma Bhushan in 2014 by the Government of India for his distinguished service in fields of Bangla literature and education. He was born in Kolkata (1937) but shifted to Bangladesh after Indian Independence in 1947. He was the president of Bangla Academy since 2012.