Today Current Affairs - 15th May 2020
We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 15 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.
Today Current Affairs - 15th May 2020 |
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
EAM Jaishankar participated in SCO Foreign Ministers video conference on COVID-19
On 13th May 2020, External Affairs Minister(EAM) S.Jaishankar participated in a virtual conference of foreign ministers hosted by Russia from Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO)
member states to discuss on the ongoing COVID-19 situation and insisted
on the collective action against the terrorism and the security
challenges.
About SCO:
Secretary General- Vladimir Norov
Headquarters- Beijing,China
Founded in- 15th June 2001
Active from- 19th September 2003
About SCO:
Secretary General- Vladimir Norov
Headquarters- Beijing,China
Founded in- 15th June 2001
Active from- 19th September 2003
PM CARES Fund trust allocates Rs 3,100 crore: COVID-19
PM CARES(Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations) Fund Trust has allocated Rs 3100 crores(Rs
2000 crores- purchase of ventilators, Rs 1000 crores- care migrant
labourers and Rs 100 crores- support vaccine development) to fight
against COVID-19 pandemic.
About PM CARES:
It was established on 27th March 2020 & is headed by Prime Minister (ex-Officio) and other ex-officio Members of the trust are Defence Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister
About PM CARES:
It was established on 27th March 2020 & is headed by Prime Minister (ex-Officio) and other ex-officio Members of the trust are Defence Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister
ICMR fast-tracks roll out of ‘Solidarity’ trial to find treatment: COVID-19
The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has fast-tracked the roll out of the global ‘Solidarity’ trial
launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to help find an
effective treatment for COVID-19. The ICMR-National AIDS Research
Institute(NARI) is the national coordination site for the trial in India.
About NARI:
Headquarters– Pune, Maharashtra
Director– Samiran Panda
About NARI:
Headquarters– Pune, Maharashtra
Director– Samiran Panda
Centre sets up “Rice Export Promotion Forum” to promote rice export
On 12th May 2020, Centre set up a new body Rice Export Promotion Forum to give impetus to rice exports under the aegis of Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Promotion Development Authority(Apeda).
About Apeda:
Chairman- Paban K.Borthakur
Director- Tarun Bajaj
Established- December 1985
Head Office- New Delhi
About Apeda:
Chairman- Paban K.Borthakur
Director- Tarun Bajaj
Established- December 1985
Head Office- New Delhi
Jal Jeevan Mission: Haryana and J&K to provide tap water to every household by Dec 2022
The Union Territory (UT) Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and the state Government of Haryana have planned to provide tap connection to supply water to all rural families by December 2022 under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).While the national target has been set for the year 2024-25.
About Jal Jeevan Mission:
It is a central government initiative works under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. It aims to provide drinking water to every rural household.
About Ministry of Jal Shakti:
Union Minister– Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Minister of State (MoS)- Rattan Lal Kataria.
About Jal Jeevan Mission:
It is a central government initiative works under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. It aims to provide drinking water to every rural household.
About Ministry of Jal Shakti:
Union Minister– Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Minister of State (MoS)- Rattan Lal Kataria.
Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan Part-1: MSME focused package detailed by Nirmala Sitharaman; EPF contribution reduced
Measures taken in the package are focused on “Getting back to work” which enables employees, employers, and businesses to get back to production and workers back to gainful employment.- Rs 3 lakh crore Emergency Working Capital Facility for Businesses, including MSMEs for 4 years
- Rs 20,000 crore Subordinate Debt for Stressed MSMEs; Max upto Rs 75 lakhs
- Rs 50,000 crores equity infusion for MSMEs through Rs 10,000 cr Fund of Funds
- Global tenders to be disallowed upto Rs 200 crores in government procurement
- 2500 crore Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Support for Business & Workers for 3 more months
- EPF contribution reduced for Business & Workers for 3 months- Rs 6750 crores Liquidity Support
- Rs 30,000 crores Special Liquidity Scheme for NBFC/HFC/MFIs
- Rs 45,000 crores Partial credit guarantee Scheme 2.0 for Liabilities of NBFCs/MFIs
- Rs 90,000 crore Liquidity Injection for DISCOMs by PFC & REC
- Reduction in Rates of ‘Tax Deduction at Source’ and ‘Tax Collected at Source” by 25% for the remaining period of FY 20-21
- Relief to Contractors; extension provided upto 6 months
- Relief to Real Estate Projects
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
International tourism to decline 60-80% in 2020: UNWTO report
According to the latest data of the United Nations World Tourism Organization(UNWTO) the international tourism could decline by 60-80% in 2020 when compared with 2019 figures, due to COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
About UNWTO:
Headquarters– Madrid, Spain
Secretary General– Zurab Pololikashvili
About UNWTO:
Headquarters– Madrid, Spain
Secretary General– Zurab Pololikashvili
India likely to miss global nutrition targets by 2025: WHO’s Global Nutrition Report 2020
According to World Health Organization(WHO)’s Global Nutrition Report 2020, India is one among 88 countries to miss global nutrition
targets by 2025 & is with highest rates of domestic inequalities in
malnutrition. India along with Nigeria & Indonesia are worst in
disparities in stunting & the levels varied four-fold across
communities.
About the report:
It was conceived following the 1st Nutrition for Growth Initiative Summit (N4G) in 2013. The 1st publication was published in 2014.
About WHO:
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
Director General– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
About the report:
It was conceived following the 1st Nutrition for Growth Initiative Summit (N4G) in 2013. The 1st publication was published in 2014.
About WHO:
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
Director General– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Forest loss rate globally declined from 2015 to 2020: FRA 2020
According to the Global Forest Resources Assessment(FRA) 2020 released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO), the forest loss rate in 2015-2020 has declined to an estimated 10 million hectares(mha), down from 12 mha in 2010-2015.
About FAO:
Headquarters– Rome, Italy
Director General– QU Dongyu
About FAO:
Headquarters– Rome, Italy
Director General– QU Dongyu
BANKING & FINANCE
Reserve Bank extends interest subsidy scheme for exporters till 31 March 2021
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the interest subsidy period by one year to 31 March 2021 on export credit received before and after shipment of goods to exporters. Exporters get the subsidy under the ‘Interest Equalisation Scheme for pre and post shipment Rupee Export Credit’, which was ended on March 31, 2020.
i.RBI in November 2018 has increased the interest subsidy on loan before & after sending export goods to 5% from 3%.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Formation– 1 April 1935
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, one is yet to be appointed).
i.RBI in November 2018 has increased the interest subsidy on loan before & after sending export goods to 5% from 3%.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Formation– 1 April 1935
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, one is yet to be appointed).
Federal bank, MoneyGram tie up for direct-to-bank deposits in India
On 14th May 2020, MoneyGram Payment System, a subsidiary of MoneyGram
International, global leader in P2P payments tied up with Federal Bank
Limited, a private bank in India to provide the customers a
cost-effective way to receive deposits directly in their bank accounts
in India.
About Federal Bank:
Founder- Kulangar Paulo Hormis
Chairperson- Grace Elizabeth Koshie
MD & CEO- Shyam Srinivasan
Headquarters- Aluva, Kerala
Formed on- April 23, 1931
About MoneyGram Payment System:
Chairman & CEO- Alex Holmes
CFO- Larry Angelilli
Founded in- 1988
About Federal Bank:
Founder- Kulangar Paulo Hormis
Chairperson- Grace Elizabeth Koshie
MD & CEO- Shyam Srinivasan
Headquarters- Aluva, Kerala
Formed on- April 23, 1931
About MoneyGram Payment System:
Chairman & CEO- Alex Holmes
CFO- Larry Angelilli
Founded in- 1988
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
UN forecasts India to grow at 1.2% in CY20 and global economy to shrink by 3.2%
On 13th May 2020, In the United Nations(UN) World Economic Situation and Prospects(WESP) mid
year report forecast that the COVID-19 pandemic situation will shrink
the world economy by 3.2% in 2020 this is the sharpest contraction since
the 1930’s Great Depression and India’s economy to grow at 1.2% in 2020
About UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA):
Under Secretary General(USG)- Liu Zhenmin
Assistant Secretary General (ASG)- Elliott Harris and Maria-Francesca Spatolisano
Headquarters- New York
About UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA):
Under Secretary General(USG)- Liu Zhenmin
Assistant Secretary General (ASG)- Elliott Harris and Maria-Francesca Spatolisano
Headquarters- New York
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Lieutenant Commander Akshay Kumar was awarded Vice Admiral G.M. Hiranandani Memorial Rolling Trophy 2020
On May 14, 2020, Lieutenant Commander Akshay Kumar of
the Anti-Submarine Warfare School of the Southern Naval Command (SNC) in
Kochi was awarded the Vice Admiral G.M. Hiranandani Memorial Rolling
Trophy for the year 2020 by Vice Admiral A.K. Chawla, Flag Officer
Commanding-in-chief (FOC-in-C) of the SNC. The award ceremony was held
at the Maritime Warfare Centre, Kochi, Kerala.
About Indian Navy:
Commander-in-Chief– President Ram Nath Kovind.
Chief of the Naval Staff (CNC)– Admiral Karambir Singh.
About Indian Navy:
Commander-in-Chief– President Ram Nath Kovind.
Chief of the Naval Staff (CNC)– Admiral Karambir Singh.
OBITUARY
Former JDS MP Raja Rangappa Nayak passes away at 61
Former JDS (Janata Dal [Secular]) MP (Member of Parliament), Raja Rangappa Nayak,
passed away at the age of 61 in Bengaluru, Karnataka. He had
represented the Raichur constituency, Karnataka, & was elected in
the Lok Sabha elections held in 1996.
Key Points:
i.About Raja Nayak: He entered into politics as Mandal Pradhan of Rukmapur of Shorapur taluk. He had served as chairman of the health standing committee of Kalaburagi Zilla Panchayat in 1993.
ii.Raja Nayak had strived hard for the development of Kalyana Karnataka (old Hyderabad-Karnataka region).
About Karnataka:
Capital– Bengaluru.
State Flower– Lotus.
State Tree– Sandalwood.
State Bird– Indian roller.
State Animal– Indian Elephant.
Key Points:
i.About Raja Nayak: He entered into politics as Mandal Pradhan of Rukmapur of Shorapur taluk. He had served as chairman of the health standing committee of Kalaburagi Zilla Panchayat in 1993.
ii.Raja Nayak had strived hard for the development of Kalyana Karnataka (old Hyderabad-Karnataka region).
About Karnataka:
Capital– Bengaluru.
State Flower– Lotus.
State Tree– Sandalwood.
State Bird– Indian roller.
State Animal– Indian Elephant.
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