National Affairs

CBIC launches its flagship programme ‘Turant Customs’ at Bengaluru & Chennai

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, CBIC today launched its flagship programme Turant Customs, at Bengaluru and Chennai.

• Turant Customs is a mega reform for the ease of doing business.
• The first phase would cover imports of mechanical, electrical and electronics machineries at the ports/airports/ICDs of Bengaluru and Chennai.

Important Points about CBIC:

• Chairman – M. Ajit Kumar

DIAT develops disinfectant spray to combat Covid-19

The Defence Institute of Advanced Technology in Pune has developed a nano-technology based disinfectant spray to combat Covid-19. The formulation, which has been named Ananya, is effective in disinfecting all types of surfaces, developers said.

• This spray can be used on masks, PPEs, hospital linens, as well as other likely contaminated surfaces such as medical instruments, elevator buttons, doorknobs, corridors and rooms.

About DIAT:

• Vice-Chancellor – CP Ramnarayanan
• Headquarters – Pune, Maharashtra

India to Launch First-Ever Coal Trading Exchange

India will soon be setting up a coal trading platform as it gears up to bring in commercial mining in the coal sector. Under the proposal, the entire coal produced in the country will be traded on a platform called ‘Coal Exchange’.

Important Points about Coal India Limited (CIL):

• Headquarters– Kolkata, West Bengal
• Chairman-cum-Managing-Director (MD)- Pramod Agarwal

Customs duty hiked on bamboo imports from 10% to 25%

Union Government has hiked Customs duty on bamboo imports by agarbatti manufacturers from 10 per cent to 25 per cent with immediate effect.

• Finance Ministry has said that the decision has been taken to encourage use of domestic bamboo under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat scheme. The 25 per cent customs duty rate shall now uniformly apply to any import of bamboo, including by traders.

Important Points:

• Finance Minister of India – Nirmala Sitharaman

International Affairs

Sri Lanka Govt decides to reopen all public schools under four stages

Sri Lankan Government has decided to reopen all public schools under four stages starting this month end as the country is gradually returning to normalcy with no community COVID infections reported for over a month.

• Education Minister Dullas Alahapperuma told a media briefing that the teachers and principals will return to schools on the 29th of this month under the first stage.

About Sri Lanka:

• Capital – Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
• Currency – Sri Lankan rupee

State Affairs

18^th Bench of CAT inaugurated in Jammu

Union Minister Jitendra Singh has inaugurated 18^th Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) through Video Conference for the UT of Jammu and Ladakh.

• It will deal exclusively with service matters of govt employees reducing the burden of various Courts and speedy relief in respect of their grievances and service matters.
• It will also help in resolving 30,000 cases in a time bound manner

About CAT:

• Chairman of CAT – L Narasimha Reddy

Odisha Cabinet gives state anthem status to ‘Bande Utkala Janani’

Odisha Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved the proposal to give state anthem status to “Bande Utkala Janani”.

• Bande Utkala Janani’ written by Kantakabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra has been accorded official status.
• The song reflects the glory and natural beauty of Odisha.

About Odisha:

• Chief Minister : Naveen Patnaik;
• Governor: Ganeshi Lal.

Economic Affairs

World Bank projected India’s economy to contract by 3.2% in FY21

World Bank has projected India’s economy to contract 3.2% in FY21 Due to the stringent measures of coronovirus.

• World Bank forecasted India’s slow growth rate of 4.2% in FY20 that ended in March 2020.
• Global economy will shrink by 5.2% in 2020 depicting deepest recession since World War II with largest per capita output since 1870 of 3.6%
• Economic activity in advanced economies will shrink 7%

Banking Affairs

PhonePe along with ICICI Lombard launches ‘first of its kind’ travel insurance, domestic trip insurance

Flipkart-owned digital payments platform PhonePe along with ICICI Lombard, the non-life insurance company launched ‘first of its kind’ travel insurance, domestic multi-trip insurance.

• To provide a stress-free travel experience to customers by covering risks associated with all modes of travel within the country (road, rail and air within the country) from the time a customer leaves home, till the time of return.

Important points about PhonePe:

• Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Sameer Nigam

Business Affairs

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority To Invest Rs 5,683.50 Cr In Jio

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which is one of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds, will invest around Rs 5,683.50 crore into Jio Platforms platforms. Hence, ADIA has bought 1.16% stake in Jio Platforms with its investment of Rs 5683.50 crore.

• Jio Platforms is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries (RIL). It aims to provide high-quality and affordable digital services across India.

Awards

Renjith Kumar honoured with “NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal”

Renjith Kumar, Engineer from Kerala and Indian Entrepreneur based in Virginia is honoured with NASA’s highest form of recognition for a non-governmental individual “NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal” for his service to NASA through executive leadership, engineering contribution, technical excellence and customer satisfaction.

• The “NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal” is given for the non-governmental individuals or individuals who are not a part of government employees during the performed service who provide a level of excellence supporting or impacting the success of NASA’s missions and contribution in NASA’s advancement of United States interests.

Important Points about NASA:

• Administrator– James Frederick “Jim” Bridenstine
• Headquarters– Washington, DC, United States.

Science & Technology

IIT-Guwahati students develop mobile app Flyzy for contactless air travel

A group of IIT-Guwahati students has developed a mobile application for seamless and contactless air travel not only during the current pandemic but also during non-crisis situations.

• The aim of the mobile app Flyzy, developed as per International Air Transport Association (IATA) guidelines, is to provide contactless boarding, keeping in mind the easier baggage drop, manageable parking, better shopping experience, and providing necessary updates during the whole journey, IIT-Guwahati said in a release.

Sports Affairs

Gomathi Marimuthu gets four-year doping ban by AIU

India’s Gomathi Marimuthu will be stripped off her 2019 Asian Athletics Championships gold medal after she was handed a four-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit for testing positive for a banned substance. Her ban starts from 17th May 2019 to 16th May 2023.

• The Gold Medal she bagged in the 2019 Asian Championship that was held in Doha, Qatar with the timing of 2 minutes and 2.70 seconds has been stripped by the Athletics Integrity Unit(AIU) when the B sample of Gomathi returned positive.

About AFI:

• President : Adille J. Sumariwalla
• Headquarters : New Delhi

About AIU:

• President: Brett Clothier.
• Headquarters: Monaco.

Obituaries

Former Union minister Arjun Charan Sethi passes away

Former Union Water Resources Minister Arjun Charan Sethi passed away.

• An eight-time MP from Bhadrak Lok Sabha constituency, Sethi was the Union Water Resources Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government from 2000 to 2004.
• The veteran politician was also elected to Odisha Assembly twice on Janata Dal ticket in 1991 and 1995 from Bhandaripokhari.

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