‘Break the Chain’ cartoon campaign inaugurated by Kerala

1.World Turtle Day: 23 May

The World Turtle Day is celebrated annually on May 23, since 2000.The main aim behind the celebration of this day is to spread awareness about the protection of the natural habitat of turtles and tortoises.

Every year since 2000, American Tortoise Rescue (ATR), a nonprofit organization established in 1990, sponsors the celebrations for World Turtle Day.

This year is the 20th anniversary of World Turtle Day.

2.Over 2L medical, engineering aspirants downloaded ‘National Test Abyaas’ App within 72 hours of launch

Over 2 lakh medical and engineering aspirants downloaded the National Test Abyaas App within 72 hours of its launch by the National Testing Agency (NTA).The National Test Abyaas App launched by HRD Ministry”s NTA for students preparing for JEE (Mains) and NEET has become very popular and within less than 72 hours of its launch, more than 2,00,000 students have downloaded this app.

Over 80,000 students have also appeared for mock tests.

Students get three hours to complete the mock question paper, which students can give anytime after downloading the app. Internet facility is not needed to take the mock tests.

Universities and schools across the country have been closed and exams postponed since March 16 when the Centre announced a countrywide classroom shutdown as one of the measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.

3.ICMR issues revised advisory on use of hydroxychloroquine

A revised government advisory has recommended use of hydroxychloroquine as a preventive medication for asymptomatic healthcare workers working in non-COVID-19 hospitals, frontline staff on surveillance duty in containment zones and paramilitary/police personnel involved in coronavirus infection related activities.As was mentioned in the earlier advisory, the drug against the infection is also recommended for all asymptomatic healthcare workers involved in containment and treatment of COVID-19 and household contacts of laboratory confirmed cases.

The revised advisory issued by the ICMR however, cautioned that the intake of the medicine should not instill a sense of false security.

The drug is not recommended for prophylaxis in children under 15 years of age and in pregnancy and lactation, the advisory said.

Rarely the drug causes cardiovascular side effects such as cardiomyopathy and rhythm (heart rate) disorders, it said.

4.Govt allocates Rs 500 crore towards beekeeping under Atma Nirbhar Abhiyan

Government is promoting beekeeping as part of its aim to double farmers’ income and it has allocated 500 crore rupees towards beekeeping under the Atma Nirbhar Abhiyan.India is among the world’s top five honey producers and compared to 2005-06 honey production in the country has risen by 242 percent and exports shot by 265 percent.

As evident by the rising honey exports, beekeeping will be an important factor in achieving the goal of doubling farmers’ income by 2024.

The Government has launched the Honey Mission as part of sweet revolution which has four components and even small and marginal farmers can adopt beekeeping since investment is low and returns high.

The National Bee Board has created four modules to impart training as part of the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission and 30 lakh farmers have been trained in beekeeping.

5.IMD launches weather services in UMANG app

WeatherSeven services hosted on the website of Indian Meteorological Department, IMD have been onboarded to UMANG application.These services are Current Weather, Nowcast, City Forecast, Rainfall Information, Tourism Forecast, Warnings, Cyclone.

The Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance, UMANG, is a unified, multi-channel, multi-platform, multi-lingual, multi-service mobile app.

The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi launched the UMANG App in 2017 to bring all government services on a single mobile App with a larger goal to make the government accessible on the mobile phone of our citizens.

6.Madhya Pradesh CM inaugurates ‘Everybody will get employment’ scheme

In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the ‘Everybody will get employment’ scheme through video conferencing. Under this scheme, MNREGA job cards will be distributed to the labourers.

The state government is committed to provide employment to migrant labourers and those labourers who have gone out of the state in search of employment, in their village and gram Panchayat area itself.

For this, a large number of employment oriented activities have been started under MNREGA scheme.

4 lakh 82 thousand labourers of Madhya Pradesh stranded in different states have returned so far.

7.Locusts from Pakistan threaten cotton crops, vegetables; Rajasthan worst affected

The Environment and Forest Ministry said, Locust Swarm from Pakistan have entered Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh threatening major damage to standing cotton crops and vegetables.Rajasthan is the most-affected state. 

During the current year, the swarm of locust have entered India earlier than their normal time of June and July.

States are adopting various means for controlling the swarm of locust.

 8.‘Break the Chain’ cartoon campaign inaugurated by Kerala

Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja inaugurated the Kerala Cartoon Academy’s ‘Break the Chain’ campaign.A number of well-known cartoonists participated in the event and painted cartoons on walls to spread awareness amongst people about the campaign.

In the first phase, 14 cities in 14 districts are selected to complete cartoon drawings. In the next phase, it will be extended to 28 cities.

9.US private equity giant KKR picks 2.32% stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 crore

Reliance Industries announced the sale of a 2.32 per cent stake in its digital unit to US private equity giant KKR for Rs 11,367 crore.This is the fifth deal in four weeks that will inject a combined Rs 78,562 crore.

This is KKR’s largest investment in Asia.

This transaction values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.

The deal follows Facebook picking up a 9.99 per cent stake in the firm, housing India’s youngest but largest telecom company, on April 22 for Rs 43,574 crore.

Within days of that deal, Silver Lake, the world’s largest tech investor, bought a 1.15 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 5,665.75 crore.

On May 8, US-based Vista Equity Partners bought 2.32 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 crore.

On May 17 global equity firm General Atlantic picked up 1.34 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 6,598.38 crore.

10.ONGC, NTPC to set up joint venture for renewable energy business

India’s top oil and gas producer ONGC and country’s biggest electricity generator NTPC have signed a preliminary agreement to set up a joint venture company for renewable energy projects.Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and NTPC Ltd “entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to formalize this arrangement.

The MoU will enable both companies to achieve their respective targets in renewable energy business.

As per the MoU, NTPC and ONGC will explore and set up renewable power assets including offshore wind, in India and overseas, and explore opportunities in the fields of sustainability, storage, e-mobility and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) compliant projects.

11.Australian Tennis Great Ashley Cooper Dies

Eight-time Grand Slam tournament winner Ashley Cooper has died aged 83.The former Australian, Wimbledon and US singles titleholder, was part of the golden era of Australian men’s tennis in the 1950s, winning four major singles titles and four in doubles.

Competing against fellow Australian greats Laver, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall and Neale Fraser, Cooper won three of those singles titles in 1958, when he triumphed at Wimbledon and the Australian and USA championships.

12.Former Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Minister and former BJP MP Dr. Nepal Singh passes away

Former Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Minister and former BJP MP Dr. Nepal Singh passed away due to a heart attack. He was the Member of Lok Sabha from Rampur seat of Uttar Pradesh as Bhartiya Janata Party Candidate.

He was elected five times as Member of the State Legislative Council elected from Bareilly-Moradabad Division Graduates’ constituency.

Dr Nepal Singh had played a key role in strengthening the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.