Current Affairs 22 May 2020

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 22 May 2020, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2020 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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Top 20 Current Affairs of 22 May 2020

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Centre launches scheme for 100% solarisation of Konark sun temple & Konark town in Odisha

On 20th May 2020, The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) announced that the Government of India launched a scheme for 100% solarisation of Konark Sun Temple and Konark town in Odisha. The implementation of this scheme will be done by Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA).
About MNRE:
Minister of State- Raj Kumar Singh (Minister of State – Skill Development and Entrepreneurship)
Secretary- Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi
Headquarters- New Delhi
<< Read Full News >>

Defence Ministry approves procurement of 26 defence items from local suppliers to boost ‘Make in India’

The Department of Defence Production(DDP), Ministry of Defence  in order to further encourage procurement from local suppliers to boost ‘Make in India’, has approved 26 defence items out of 127 already notified have now been notified under clause 3(a) of the Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order 2017.
About Defence Ministry:
Union minister– Rajnath Singh(Constituency- Lucknow,  Uttar Pradesh)
Minister of State– Shripad Yesso Naik(Constituency- North Goa, Goa)
<< Read Full News >>

Centre gives environmental clearance for drilling & testing of hydrocarbons in Assam’s Dibru Saikhowa Park

Oil India Ltd(OIL) informed that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change(MoEF&CC) gave environmental clearance for extension drilling and testing of hydrocarbons at 7 locations inside Assam’s Dibru-Saikhowa National Park(NP).
About MoEF&CC:
Union Minister– Prakash Javadekar(Constituency- Maharashtra)
Minister of State– Babul Supriyo(Constituency- Asansol, West Bengal)
<< Read Full News >>

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India, Bangladesh sign pact to operationalise 5 more ports of call & 2 new routes

i.India & Bangladesh signed the 2nd Addendum to the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade in Dhaka.
ii.Under this pact- Increased 5 more ports of call from earlier 6 & extended 2 ports of call in each country; 2 new Indo Bangladesh Protocol(IBP) routes & new locations are also added to the existing routes to facilitate trade between two countries.
About Bangladesh:
Capital– Dhaka
Currency– Bangladeshi Taka
Prime Minister– Sheikh Hasina
President– Abdul Hamid
<< Read Full News >>

Airtel Africa with UNICEF extends e-learning support to students

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) partnered with Bharti Airtel’s Africa Arm to support the school children in the coronavirus affected areas and provide them access to remote learning and financial assistance to their families through mobile cash transfer.
About UNICEF:
The United Nations Children’s Fund formerly known as United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
President- Rabab Fatima
Secretary- Hai Kyung Jun
Headquarters- New York
About Airtel Africa:
CEO & MD- Raghunath Mandava
CFO- Jaideep Paul
Headquarters- Nairobi, Kenya
<< Read Full News >>

73rd session of the WHA held virtually; Draft resolution on COVID-19 investigation adopted; Harsh Vardhan named as chairman of WHO Executive Board

i.From India, WHA73 was attended by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare.
ii.The draft called for a step-wise process of impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation of the WHO response to the pandemic as well as the identification of the zoonotic source of the coronavirus.
iii.Dr Harsh Vardhan is set to take charge as the chairman of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board at its 147th session.
iv.Keva Bain from Bahamas, country’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), has been elected to serve as president of the 73rd World Health Assembly.
About WHO:
Director-General– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Ethiopia)
Chief Scientist– Dr Soumya Swaminathan
Headquarter– Geneva, Switzerland
<< Read Full News >>

BANKING & FINANCE

Franklin Templeton appoints Kotak Bank as an advisor to assist in monetising assets of 6 Wind-up Schemes

Franklin Templeton Trustee Services Pvt. Ltd. has appointed an independent advisor Kotak Mahindra Bank to work together with Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd (the AMC), to assist the Trustees in monetizing portfolios of the 6 schemes that are being wound up & make payouts to the affected investors.
About Franklin Templeton
Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board– Gregory E. Johnson
President, India– Sanjay Sapre

About Kotak Mahindra Bank:

CEO– Uday Kotak, President – Debt Capital Markets: Sujata Guhathakurta << Read Full News >>

IBM ties up with Intellect Design Arena to launch iTurmeric FinCloud platform for cloud services of banks, financial institutions

IBM (International Business Machines) ties up with the Intellect Design Arena Limited, a full spectrum banking and insurance products company, has launched iTurmeric FinCloud platform through IBM public cloud targeting financial institutions which are looking to switch to the latest tools and technologies.
About IBM:
Headquarters– Armonk, New York, United States (US).
President– Jim Whitehurst.
Chief Executive Officers (CEO)– Arvind Krishna.
<< Read Full News >>

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

ICRA sharply cuts India’s GDP growth forecast for FY21 at -5%

ICRA Limited (formerly Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency) has sharply reduced  India’s FY21 (Fiscal Year 2020-21) growth forecast to minus 5 % from 1%,-2% growth predicted earlier, due to the multiple extension of lockdown and labour mismatches results in further delays in supply chain resumption.
i.However, the agency predicted better growth of 2.1 % growth in Q3 and 5 % in Q4 of current FY 2021.
About ICRA Limited:
Headquarters– Gurugram, Haryana
Non-Executive chairman and independent director– Arun Duggal
<< Read Full News >>

Finance ministry exempts B2B firms from using only BHIM, RuPay for accepting payments

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), a statutory authority functioning under the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance, has exempted firms engaged in business-to-business (B2B) transactions, from the requirement of accepting payments only by e-payments facilities using debit cards powered by RuPay or BHIM-UPI (Bharat Interface for Money- Unified Payments Interface).
About Ministry of finance:
Headquarters– New Delhi
Union Minister– Nirmala Sitharaman
<< Read Full News >>

Indian exports to fall by 20% during FY 21: FIEO

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations(FIEO), apex body of exporters informed that Indian exports are expected to fall by 20%  in the current fiscal, in value terms it will be around USD 50 to 60 billion & also imports due to COVID-19 pandemic.
About FIEO:
Headquarters– Niryat Bhawan, NewDelhi
President– Sharad Kumar Saraf
About MEIS:
It was established under  Foreign Trade Policy of India(FTP 2015-20)
Aim– to make Indian products more competitive in the global markets
<< Read Full News >>

Bharat Biotech and Thomas Jefferson University to develop a new vaccine candidate for COVID-19

Vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech and Thomas Jefferson University of Philadelphia have signed an exclusive deal to develop a new vaccine candidate for COVID-19 at Jefferson with the support from the Department of Biotechnology, Bharat Biotech aims for human trials in early December 2020. The vaccine is developed from the existing deactivated rabies vaccine as a vehicle for coronavirus proteins.

About Bharat Biotech:
Chairman and Managing Director- Dr. Krishna M. Ella
Founded in- 1996
Headquarters- Hyderabad

<< Read Full News >>

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS        

Tata Power International Pte Ltd acquires 10% stake in Adjaristsqali Netherlands BV

On May 20, 2020 Tata Power announced that its subsidiary Tata Power International Pte Ltd(TPIPL) has acquired a 10% stake in Adjaristsqali Netherlands BV(ABV) from the International Finance Corporation(IFC) for USD 150,000 (about Rs 1.13 crore).
About Tata Power:
Registered Office– Mumbai, Maharashtra
CEO & Managing Director– Praveer Sinha
About ABV:
Headquarters– Amsterdam, Netherlands
Chairman– Kyrre Olaf Johansen
<< Read Full News >>

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Union HRD Minister launches IGNOU’s Online Master’s Programme in Hindi

On May 20, 2020, Union HRD (Human Resource Development Minister) Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank launched IGNOU’S (Indira Gandhi National Open University) Online Programme for Master of Arts (MA) in Hindi, through facebook live session. The launch was done keeping in mind the prevailing situation and adherence to the partial-lockdown as per the Government’s directives.
About HRD Ministry:
Minister– Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (Constituency- Haridwar, Uttarakhand).
Minister of State– Sanjay Dhotre (Constituency- Akola, Maharashtra).
<< Read Full News >>

Researcher of CSIRO develops “heat resistant” coral to fight bleaching

A team of scientists of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Australia’s national science agency, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the University of Melbourne successfully discovered corals with increased heat tolerance which has potential to reduce the impacts of coral reef bleaching due to climatic change. The research was funded  by the CSIRO, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation (USA), AIMS and the University of Melbourne.
About CSIRO:
Chairman- David Thodey AO
Deputy Chairperson- Shirley In’t Veld
Chief Executive- Larry Marshall
Founded- 1916
Headquarters- Australia
<< Read Full News >>

ENVIRONMENT

Cyclone Amphan causes havoc in India and Bangladesh

On May 20, 2020, A powerful super-cyclone Amphan, making landfall at 2.30 p.m. between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya island in Bangladesh with winds of about 120mph (190km/h), has killed at least 22 people and destroying thousands of homes.
i.Super cyclone Amphan has arrived in India after 21 years as in the year 1999, a cyclone hit the coast of Odisha (Tropical Storm B 05 or Supercyclone, 1999).
About Indian Meteorological Department (IMD):
Headquarters– New Delhi
Director General- Mrutyunjay Mohapatra
<< Read Full News >>

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Union HRD Minister releases three handbooks prepared by CBSE on Cyber security for students, 21st Century Skills and Principals’ handbook

On May 20, 2020, Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal  Nishank released three handbooks through video conferencing in New Delhi.The 3  handbooks was prepared by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on measures taken by the Board to adopt value-based global standards of education.
About Ministry of HRD:
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), formerly the Ministry of Education (until 25 September 1985), is responsible for the development of human resources in India.
<< Read Full News >>

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 2020: May 21

World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is celebrated every year on May 21 globally. The day celebrates not only the richness of the world’s cultures, but also the essential role of intercultural dialogue for achieving peace and sustainable development.
About UNESCO:
Headquarters– Paris, France.
Director-General– Audrey Azoulay.
<< Read Full News >>

International Tea Day 2020, May 21

The International Tea Day is annually celebrated by tea-growing countries like India and Sri Lanka since 2005 and in December 2019, the United Nation (UN) approved the proposal to celebrate the International Tea Day put forth by the Government of India in the session of the Intergovernmental Group on Tea and designated May 21st as International Tea Day.
About Tea Board of India:
Chairman- Prabhat Kamal Bezhoruah
Deputy Chairman- Arun Kumar Ray
Director (Tea Development)- S Soundararajan
Headquarters- Kolkata
<< Read Full News >>

National Anti Terrorism Day 2020: May 21

National Anti Terrorism Day is observed every year on May 21 in order to raise awareness amongst people that terrorism has no religion, also to spread the message of peace, harmony, and brotherhood. The day commemorates the death anniversary of former India’s youngest Prime Minister (PM) Rajiv Gandhi. He served the nation from 1984 to 1989.
<< Read Full News >>

STATE NEWS

UP launches ‘Startup Fund’ signs MoU with SIDBI to promoted young entrepreneurs

On 20th May 2020, The Government of Uttar Pradesh launched the ‘Uttar Pradesh Startup Fund’ to promote entrepreneurship among the youths of the state and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath termed the MoU between the state and Small Industries Development Bank of India(SIDBI).
About SIDBI:
Chairman & Managing Director(MD)- Mohammad Mustafa
Deputy Managing Director- Manoj Mittal
Founded- 2nd April 1990
Headquarters- Lucknow
<< Read Full News >>

MP: Rural Livelihood Mission begins Didi Vehicle Service for safe delivery of rural women

On May 21, 2020, In the tribal-dominated Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh (MP), the women Rural Livelihood Mission started Didi Vehicle Service for rural women for the safe delivery and other emergency medical services. This vehicle service is completely free.
About Madhya Pradesh (MP):
Capital– Bhopal.
Chief Minister (CM)– Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Governor– Lalji Tandon.
<< Read Full News >>

Chhattisgarh Govt rolls out Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana for farmers

The state government of Chhattisgarh has launched its ambitious ‘Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana’  on May 21, 2020 (29^th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi) to encourage crop production in the state and to give the farmers the right price for their produce.
i.Under this scheme, an amount of Rs 5700 crore will be transferred directly to their accounts in four instalments to 19 lakh farmers of the state.
About Chhattisgarh:
Capital– Raipur
Governor– Anusuiya Uikey
Chief Minister– Bhupesh Baghel
State Animal– Wild Asian Buffalo
<< Read Full News >>

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