NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Ayush Ministry Organises Series of 5 Webinars On “Be With Yoga, Be At Home”: The Ministry of
Ayush is organising various activities in the run-up to the International Day
of Yoga, 2021. One among these is a series of five webinars that the Ministry
is organising under the broad theme of “Be with Yoga, Be at Home” in
collaboration with five renowned organisations of the country who will present
one webinar each on a particular topic. Some renowned Organisations are:- The
Art of Living, The Yoga Institute, ArhamDhyanYog, etc.
This series of five insightful webinars are
aimed to remind the wider audience about the issues that have become extremely
important in the present context of Covid-19. The series will seek to develop a
cumulative understanding to respond to these cross-cutting issues, relying upon
the collective experiential wisdom of five organisations that have their own
distinctive tradition of learning and sharing.
Note: Minister of State (IC) of the
Ministry of AYUSH: Shripad Yesso Naik.
2.
Cabinet Approves MoUs Signed between ICoAl, ICSI with Foreign Countries: The Union Cabinet
has granted approval to the Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) entered into by
the Institute of Cost Accountants of India and the Institute of Company
Secretaries of India with various countries and organisations. The MoUs seek to
facilitate mutual recognition of qualifications and a range of collaborative
activities for the exchange of knowledge. The signed MoUs would help in the
advancement of the goals on equity, public accountability and innovation among
the beneficiaries countries.
The Institute of Cost Accountants of India
(ICoAl) and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) have signed
MoUs with foreign organisations namely Institute of Public Accountants (IPA),
Australia, Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, UK (CISI),
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), UK, Institute of
Certified Management Accountants, Sri Lanka and Institute of Chartered
Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), UK.
3.
Govt to set up National Mission on use of Biomass in coal based thermal power
plants: The
Power Ministry has decided to set up a National Mission on the use of Biomass
in coal based thermal power plants. It is intended to address the issue of air
pollution due to farm stubble-burning and to reduce the carbon footprints of
thermal power generation. It will also
further support the energy transition in the country and its targets to move
towards cleaner energy sources. The Mission will increase the level of
co-firing from the present five percent to higher levels to have a larger share
of carbon-neutral power generation from the thermal power plants
4.
Government releases Rs 1605 crore to 8 North Eastern States under Jal Jeevan
Mission: The
Union Government has released Rs 1605 crore to eight North Eastern states under
Jal Jeevan Mission to provide tap water supply to rural homes in the current
financial year. Jal Shakti Ministry said, this is the first tranche of the four
to be released in this financial year. There are about 90 lakh rural households
in all the North East States, with a maximum 63.35 lakh in Assam.
INTERNATIONALUPDATES:
1.
Ecuador’s Lasso sworn in as first right-wing leader in 14 years: Guillermo Lasso, a
conservative, assumed the presidency of Ecuador and has become the first
right-wing leader in 14 years in Ecuador. The 65-year-old former banker beat
left-wing economist Andres Arauz in a second-round run-off last month and
succeeds the hugely unpopular Lenin Moreno. Guillermo Alberto is a banker,
businessman, writer and politician who recently became the 47th president of
Ecuador. He is the first centre-right president in two decades.
Note: Ecuador Capital: Quito; Ecuador
Currency: United States Dollar.
2.
NASA Partners ISRO to develop Earth System Observatory: The US space
agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is developing a
new system called the Earth System Observatory, to mitigate efforts related to
climate change and disaster mitigation. NASA has also partnered with the Indian
Space Research Organization (ISRO) which will provide NASA-ISRO Synthetic
Aperture Radar (NISAR). NISAR will carry two radar systems to measure changes
in the Earth’s surface, during one of the observatory’s first missions intended
as a pathfinder.
About the Earth System Observatory:
(1) The Earth System Observatory will be a
set of missions designed to study “designated observables” such as aerosols,
clouds and weather, water supply, and the Earth’s surface and ecosystems, for
an unprecedented understanding of the critical interactions between Earth’s
atmosphere, land, ocean, and ice processes, which determines how the changing
climate will play out at regional and local levels, on near and long-term time
scales.
(2) Each new satellite under Earth System
Observatory will be uniquely designed to create a 3D, holistic view of Earth,
from bedrock to atmosphere, providing a new architecture to advanced
space-borne Earth observation systems.
Note: 14th NASA administrator: Bill Nelson;
Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United States; NASA Founded: 1 October
1958.
3.
World No-Tobacco Day: 31st May: Every year, on 31st May, the World Health
Organization (WHO) and global partners celebrate World No Tobacco Day (WNTD).
The annual campaign is an opportunity to raise awareness on the harmful and
deadly effects of tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure, and to discourage
the use of tobacco in any form. This year theme of the 2021 WNTD is “Commit to
quit.” This yearly celebration informs the public on the dangers of using
tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what WHO is doing to
fight the tobacco epidemic, and what people around the world can do to claim
their right to health and healthy living and to protect future generations.
History: World Health
Organization on 15th May 1987 passed a resolution, calling for April 7, 1988,
to be the first World No Smoking Day. This date was chosen as it was the 40th
anniversary of the World Health Organization. Then on May 17, 1989, the World
Health Organization passed a resolution calling for May 31 to be annually known
as World No Tobacco Day. World No Tobacco Day has been observed every year on
31st May since 1989.
Note: WHO was established on 7 April 1948;
WHO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland; WHO current President is
DrTedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus.
4.
International Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing
Territories: 25th May – 31st May: The United Nations is observing the
International Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing
Territories from May 25 to 31, 2021. On December 06, 1999, the UN General
Assembly called for the annual observance of the Week of Solidarity with the
Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories. In UN Charter, a Non-Self-Governing
Territory is defined as a Territory “whose people have not yet attained a full
measure of self-government.”
The observation aims to take effective
measures to safeguard and guarantee the inalienable rights of the peoples of
the Non-Self-Governing Territories to their natural resources, including land,
and to establish and maintain control over the future development of those
resources and requested the Administering Powers to take all necessary steps to
protect the property rights of the peoples of those Territories. At present,
there are 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories remaining.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Mary Kom Settles with Silver Medal at 2021 Asian Boxing Championships: Indian pugilist
Mary Kom, lost to two-time world champion NazymKyzaibay of Kazakhstan, to
settle for silver medal at the 2021 ASBC Asian Boxing Championships in Dubai.
The five-time Asian Championships gold medallist Mary Kom was competing in a
high-octane 51kg final. This is the second silver for Mary Kom at the Asian
Championships who has previously won silver in 2008. Apart from this, she won
world championship titles on five occasions including 2003, 2005, 2010, 2012,
and 2017. Meanwhile, Pooja Rani won the gold medal in the 75kg Women’s Middle
category final at the Asian Boxing Championships. She defeated MavludaMovlonova
in the gold medal clash.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
LIC hikes its stake in Union Bank to over 5%: The Life Insurance
Corporation of India (LIC) has hiked its stake to 5.06% in state-run Union Bank
of India with acquisition of nearly 2% additional stake in the bank. Earlier,
the LIC held 3.09% stake in UBI, representing 19,79,23,251equity shares of the
bank, as per a regulatory filing of LIC sent to exchanges through Union Bank of
India.
2.
Mahindra Rural Housing Finance, IPPB tie up for cash management solution: Mahindra Rural
Housing Finance and India Post Payments Bank announced a strategic partnership
for cash management solution. As part of the tie-up, IPPB will be offering cash
management and collection services to MRHFL through its access points and
postal service providers. With the cash management service, its customers will
be able to repay their monthly or quarterly loan instalments at over 1.36 lakh
post offices.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
SBI research: GDP likely grew by 1.3% in Q4 FY21: India’s GDP is
likely to have grown at 1.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020-21 and may have
contracted by about 7.3% for the full financial year, according to an SBI
research report ‘Ecowrap’. The National Statistical Office (NSO) will release
the GDP estimates for the March 2021 quarter and provisional annual estimates
for the year 2020-21 on May 31.
State Bank of India (SBI) has developed a
‘nowcasting model’ with 41 high-frequency indicators associated with industry
activity, service activity, and the global economy in collaboration with the
State Bank Institute of Leadership (SBIL), Kolkata. The economics research team
said that going by the estimate of 1.3% GDP growth, India would still be the
fifth-fastest-growing country among 25 nations that have released their GDP
numbers so far.
Note: SBI Chairperson: Dinesh Kumar Khara;
SBI Headquarters: Mumbai; SBI Founded: 1 July 1955.
2.
Andy Jassy will become Amazon’s CEO on July 5th: Andy Jassy will
officially become the CEO of Amazon on July 5th, the company announced at a
shareholder meeting. Amazon announced that Jassy, who is the current CEO of
Amazon Web Services (AWS), would replace Jeff Bezos as CEO of the entire
company in February. Bezos will become executive chair of Amazon’s board. Jassy
joined the company in the late ’90s and was tasked with exploring what would
become AWS around 2003.
Note: Amazon.com Inc Founded: 5 July 1994;
Amazon.com Inc Headquarters: Seattle, Washington, United States.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
Shergaon BMC bags best Biodiversity Management Committee award in Arunachal
Pradesh: The
Shergaon Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) in West Kameng district of
Arunachal Pradesh was awarded the best such panel in the country at the fifth
edition of the India Biodiversity Award. The award was given by the National
Biodiversity Authority at a virtual programme on the occasion of the
International Day for Biological Diversity. Winners of the India Biodiversity
Awards get a memento, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs two lakh each for
individuals and Rs five lakh each for institutions. The Shergaon BMC has worked
on documentation of endemic flora and fauna of the village forest. Plant
species like Paris polyphylla, Taxusbaccata, Swertiachirayita, Rubiacordifolia,
and faunas such as red panda, flying squirrels, civets, Himalayan Asiatic black
bear have been documented.
OBITUARIES
1. Freedom fighter HS Doreswamy passes away: Freedom fighter H S Doreswamy, who recently recovered from Covid-19, passed away. He was born in Bengaluru on April 10, 1918, HarohalliSrinivasaiahDoreswamy, is known for his participation in the Quit India movement and VinobaBhave’sBhoodan movement. He was also a familiar figure in civil society movements in Karnataka as he had campaigned to revive lakes in Bengaluru.
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