Daily GK Updates - 5th May, 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. World Bank Announces USD 400 million to enhance India’s Coastal & Marine Resources: The World Bank has approved USD 400 million multi-year financial support to India to enhance and safeguard the coastal and marine resources of the country. The financial aid will help to enhance the coastal resources by focusing on the rehabilitation of coastal beaches and mangroves; protect coastal populations from pollution, erosion, and sea-level rise; and improve livelihood opportunities for coastal communities. In the first phase, eight coastal States and 3 coastal Union Territories are selected. They are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal, and Puducherry, Andaman, and Nicobar and Daman and Diu. These states and UTs will get USD 180 million in funding, for Enhancing Coastal and Ocean Resource Efficiency (ENCORE).

2. Aarogya Setu Mitr Launched for online medical consultations, ePharmacy and home lab tests: The mobile app Aarogya Setu launched by the Government of India has been upgraded to include a new private-public partnership initiative called Aarogaya Setu Mitr, to provide facilities for online medical consultations, ePharmacy and home lab tests. Upon selecting the Aarogya Setu Mitr, user will be redirected to a new website, and won’t allow access to individual data from Aarogya Setu, so its safe. This new app has been developed in collaboration & partnership of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister and Niti Aayog and will operate under them. The new feature will enable the user to get free online COVID-19-related consultations with doctors, book home sample collection for lab tests by any of the listed entities and also order medicines online from the listed platforms. The three private companies listed for free tele-consultation are Swasth, Tata Bridgital Health (healthcare initiative of the Tata Group), and Connectsense Telehealth (platform from Tech Mahindra).

3. Government Launches ‘The Saras Collection’ on GeM Portal for Exquisite Products of SHGs: The Government has introduced a new initiative, ‘The Saras Collection’ on Government e Marketplace (GeM) portal, which will showcase exquisitely handcrafted products from finest Self Help Groups in India. This new platform was inaugurated by Union Minister of Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar on 4th May 2020 in New Delhi, to help SHGs in accessing government markets. The Saras collection has exclusively been designed to showcase the daily utility products handmade by rural Self Help Groups (SHGs), and to provide them with access to Central and State Government buyers. Under this initiative, sellers from SHGs will be able to list their products in five product categories: handicrafts, handloom and textiles, office accessories, grocery and pantry and personal care and hygiene. Through the medium of this new platform, government is trying to reduce human interventions in procurement process of products, enable transparency, cut cost, as well as bring inclusiveness and efficiency.

4. HP launches ‘Mukhya Mantri Shahari Rojgar Guarantee Yojna’: Himachal Pradesh Government decided to launch the ‘Mukhya Mantri Shahari Rojgar Guarantee Yojna’. In this Yojna, 120 days assured employment will be provided to people living in urban areas. It is being launched to revive the coronavirus-hit economy of the state. Adequate training will be given to the people for their skill upgrade if required. The cabinet also decided to provide an assistance of Rs 2,000 to each of the 1 lakh workers registered under the Building and Other Construction Workers Board. A presentation was also made regarding probable steps for the economic revival and reforms to be initiated after lockdown.

Note: Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh: Jairam Thakur; Governor: Bandaru Dattatraya.

5. Health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan Launches ‘COVID Katha’ – A Multimedia Guide for Mass Awareness: The Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan launched ‘COVID Katha’, a multimedia guide for mass awareness on the Covid-19 disease, via video conferencing on the occasion of 50th Foundation Day of Department of Science and Technology (DST) on 3rd May 2020. The book is a visual representation on A-Z of COVID-19, to spread the message of science and health, in special context to Coronavirus, in simple ways. It consists of themes, developed and researched by the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), under DST, in association with Assam-based Dr Anamika Ray Memorial Trust (ARMT) team and illustrated by Assam cartoonist Nituparna Rajbongshi.

Note: The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is a department within the Ministry of Science and Technology in India; DST Founded: May 1971; DST Headquarters: New Delhi.

6. Facebook partners with Bollywood for ‘I FOR INDIA’ fundraiser concert: Facebook has launched a home-to-home fundraiser concert, ‘I For India’. 100% proceeds from the fundraiser concert will go to the India COVID Response Fund managed by GiveIndia. Facebook has collaborated with some of the biggest stars in India and Bollywood for this. The four hour-long concert was live on Facebook on May 03, 2020 starting at 7:30 PM. The concert featured starts like A R Rahman, Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Alia Bhatt, Javed Akhtar, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif, Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra, Lilly Singh, Virat Kohli, Ustad Zakhir Hussain.

Note: Chief Executive Officer of Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg; Facebook Headquarters: California, US.

7. West Bengal Government Launches ‘Exit App’ for Stranded People of Other States: West Bengal government has launched an app named ‘Exit App’ for the people of other state who are stranded in West Bengal due to the lockdown and want to return to their native place. The app can be downloaded from the ‘Egiye Bangla’ website of the state government. All those persons who are stucked in the state and want to go back to their native states can apply online through this ‘Exit app’. The permission for the same will be practically automatic and extremely easy.

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

8. NIAB develops portable coronavirus detection kit: National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) have developed a portable device ‘eCovSens’, a biosensor that can detect the coronavirus in saliva samples. The device gives results within 30 seconds using just 20 micro-litres of the sample. The device consists of a carbon electrode and coronavirus antibody. The antibody is capable of binding with the spike protein of the virus. This portable bio-sensor can be connected to a computer or a cellphone via Bluetooth.

9. Railways start Shramik Special Trains for stranded people: Indian Railways start Shramik Special Trains to move migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students, and other persons stranded at different places due to lock down. These special trains will be run from point to point on the request of both the concerned State Governments. The Railways and State Governments shall appoint senior officials as Nodal Officers for coordination and smooth operation of these trains.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Dubai announced dates for Mega Expo Event: Dubai has announced new date for the Mega World Expo 2020 from 1st Oct 2021 to 31st March 2022. The announcement was made after two-third majority of Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Member States voted in favour of postponing World Expo by 1 year. Expo 2020 Dubai theme: ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’. Expo 2020 Dubai will offer the world a unique platform to share the lessons, solutions, and ideas for a better tomorrow.

2. International Day of the Midwife: 5th May: Every year the, International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) celebrates the International Day of the Midwife on 5 May, since 1992, to recognise the work of midwives and raise awareness about the status of midwives for the essential care they provide to mothers and their newborns.

The theme for 2020 International Day of the Midwife is ‘Midwives with women: celebrate, demonstrate, mobilise, unite – our time is NOW!’. World Health Organization (WHO) has designed the year 2020 as ‘Year of Nurse and Midwife’ to commemorate the 200th birth anniversary of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale.

Note: Director-General of the World Health Organization: Tedros Adhanom; Headquarters of WHO: Geneva, Switzerland.

3. World Hand Hygiene Day: 5th May: Every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) marks the World Hand Hygiene Day on May 5 to raise awareness among people across the globe about the importance of hand hygiene in warding off many serious infections. The theme for 2020 is ‘Save Lives: Clean Your Hands’. The day recognizes hand washing as one of the most effective actions that can be taken to avoid a huge range of infections including the COVID-19 virus.

Note: Director-General of the World Health Organization: Tedros Adhanom; Headquarters of WHO: Geneva, Switzerland.

4. World Asthma Day 2020: 5th May: World Asthma Day is observed every year on the 1st Tuesday of May. This year, World Asthma Day is observed on May 5, 2020. The day spread awareness about asthma disease and care around the world.  Whilst the primary focus is supporting the person with asthma, support may also extend to family, friends and caregivers. The theme of 2020 World Asthma Day is ‘Enough Asthma Deaths’. The first World Asthma Day was held in 1998.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Egypt tennis player Youssef Hossam banned for life on match-fixing charges: Egyptian professional tennis player Youssef Hossam has been banned from professional tennis for life for match-fixing, as per the official notification by the Tennis Integrity Unit on 4 May 2020. The 21-year-old Youssef Hassam was already provisionally suspended since May 2019, and now has been banned for life following his conviction on multiple match-fixing and associated corruption charges. Hossam has been found guilty of 21 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Coprruption Program from 2015 to 2019. The breaches include 8 cases of match fixing, 2 of soliciting other players not to use best efforts as well as two failures to co-operate with TIU investigation.

2. FINA postpones 2021 world championships to May 2022: Swimming world governing body, Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) rescheduled the 2021 Fukuoka aquatics world championships to May 2022 to avoid a clash with the postponed Tokyo Olympics. The new dates for the aquatics world championship in the Japanese city are May 13-29, 2022.

Note: President of FINA: Julio C. Maglione; Founded of FINA: July 29, 1908; Headquarters of FINA: Lausanne, Switzerland

3. Discus thrower Sandeep Kumari gets 4-year ban for dope flunk: Discus thrower Sandeep Kumari has been banned for 4 years by WADA’s Athletics Integrity Unit for flunking a dope test. The sample was deemed clean by the NDTL officials during the National Inter-State Championships in June 2018 in Guwahati, Assam where Kumari had won the gold with a throw of 58.41 meters in the competition. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) then decided to test the sample of Kumari at its Montreal Laboratory in Canada. Her four-year ban, announced by WADA will begin from June 26, 2018 — the date of her sample collection. Kumari’s results from June 26, 2018 to November 21, 2018 will now be annulled.

Note: Headquarters of WADA: Montreal, Canada; President of WADA: Witold Bańka.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Ameyo rolls out video KYC engagement platform for Banking sector: A customer engagement technology provider, Ameyo has launched video KYC engagement platform for the banking and finance sector. The newly launched platform will eliminate the businesses’ requirement of physical KYC in accordance with latest RBI guidelines issued in January 2020. It is expected to decrease the customer onboarding process from the present 5-7 days to less than 3 minutes.

Note: Chief Executive Officer of Ameyo: Bishal Lachhiramka.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. US-based Silver Lake buys 1.15% stake in Reliance Jio for Rs 5,655.75 cr: American private equity giant Silver Lake Partners has announced to buy 1.15% stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 5,655.75 crore ($750 million). Jio Platforms, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and works on digital apps, digital ecosystems and the mobile service. This deal values Jio Platforms at Rs 4.90 lakh crore on equity basis and Rs 5.15 lakh crore on enterprise value basis. It must be remembered that Facebook has also spent $5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crore) to buy a 9.99 percent stake in Jio in April 2020. Although the deal with Silver Lake is smaller than the one with Facebook, it represents a 12.5% premium to the equity valuation of the Facebook investment.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. 3 Indian Photographers Win 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Their Coverage on Kashmir Conflict due to Article 370: Three Indian photographers Dar Yasin, Mukhtar Khan, and Channi Anand, from the Associated Press, have been awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Journalism in Feature Photography category. They have been awarded for their outstanding coverage of the lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, after Article 370 was revoked, and all lines of communications were snapped. The 2020 Pulitzer Prizes were announced on 4 May 2020. In all, winners have been announced in 15 Journalism and seven Book, Drama and Music categories.  A Special Citation was also awarded. Here is the complete list of winners:

JOURNALISM
Public Service	The Anchorage Daily News, in collaboration with ProPublica
Breaking News Reporting	The staff of the Louisville Courrier-Journal, Ky.
Investigative Reporting	Brian M. Rosenthal, The New York Times
Explanatory Reporting	The staff of The Washington Post
Local Reporting	Staff of The Baltimore Sun
National Reporting	T. Christian Miller, Megan Rose and Robert Faturechi, ProPublica and Dominic Gates, Steve Miletich, Mike Baker and Lewis Kamb, The Seattle Times
International Reporting	The staff of the New York Times
Feature Writing	Ben Taub, The New Yorker
Commentary	Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times
Criticism	Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times
Editorial Writing	Jeffery Gerritt, Palestine Herald-Press
Editorial Cartooning	Bary Blitt, The New Yorker
Breaking News Photography	The photography staff of Reuters
Feature Photography	Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin, The Associated Press
Audio Reporting	Staff of This American Life with Molly O’Toole of the Los Angeles Times and Emily Green, freelancer, Vice News
BOOKS, DRAMA & MUSIC
Fiction	The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)
Drama	A Strange Loop, by Michael R. Jackson
History: Sweet Taste of Liberty	A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America, by W. Caleb McDaniel (Oxford University Press)
Biography: Sontag	Her Life and Work, by Benjamin Moser (Ecco)
Poetry	The Tradition, by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)
General Nonfiction	The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America, by Greg Grandin (Metropolitan Books) and
The Undying	Pain, Vulnerability, Mortality, Medicine, Art, Time, Dreams, Data, Exhaustion, Cancer, and Care, by Anne Boyer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Music	The Central Park Five, by Anthony Davis
SPECIAL AWARDS AND CITATIONS	Ida B. Wells

Note: The Pulitzer Prize is an award given for outstanding achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, literature, and musical composition by Columbia University in the United States.