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Current Affairs Today – 12th May 2021
NEWS AT A GLANCE
CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS
International Nurses Day – Observed on May 12
- International Nurses Day is an international day observed around the world on 12 May of each year, to mark the contributions that nurses make to society.
- The theme for the 2021 is Nurses: A Voice to Lead – A vision for future healthcare.
- The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has celebrated this day since 1965.
- In January 1974, 12 May was chosen to celebrate the day as it is the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.
- Each year, ICN prepares and distributes the International Nurses’ Day Kit.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS
Indian Railways bring nearly 5735 tonnes of Liquid Medical Oxygen so far across country
- The railwayshave delivered nearly 5,735 tonne of oxygen in over 390 tankers to various states.
- The OxygenExpress trains delivered 755 tonne of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) across the country.
- More than 90 OxygenExpress trains have completed their journey so far.
- Till the time of this release 293MT of LMO has been offloaded in Maharashtra, nearly 1630 MT in UP, 340 MT in MP, 812 MT in Haryana, 123 MT in Telangana, 40 MT in Rajasthan, 120 MT in Karnataka and more than 2383 MT in Delhi.
- Stations near Dehradun (Uttarakhand) & Pune (Maharashtra) are also set to receive their First Oxygen Express.
- While the First Oxygen Express to Uttarakhand is expected to reach 120MT of Oxygen from Tatanagar in Jharkhand.
- Oxygen Express to Pune is also set to reach with more than 50 MT of Oxygen from Angul (Orissa).
Indian Navy Sets Up COVID Care Centre at INS Kalinga,Bheemunipatnam
- As part of the Indian Navy’s efforts to assist the general population of Bheemunipatnam in dealing with the devastating second Covid wave, a 60-bed Covid Care Centre has been set up at INS Kalinga, Bheemunipatnam.
- This facility was dedicated to the public by AP Tourism Minister and Bheemunipatnam MLA Shri Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao on 11 May 2021.
- The Commanding Officer INS Kalinga stated that the COVID Care Centre has adequate facilities to provide treatment to COVID positive patients with moderate symptoms from Bheemunipatnam Mandal and adjoining areas.
- Administrative, logistic support food conservancy services and medical equipment is being provided by the Indian Navy.
- The COVID Centre will be manned by three doctors and 10 nursing staff provided by the Community Health Centre.
- Towards the maintenance and the running of the COVID Care Centre, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by CmdeNeerajUday Commanding Officer INS Kalinga and the Superintendent of the Community Health Centre Bheemunipatnam in the presence of the Tourism Minister and the District Medical and Health Officer Dr G Suryanarayana.
4th India-Swiss Financial Dialogue held virtually in New Delhi
- The fourth India-Swiss Financial Dialogue was held here virtually through video conferencing.
- Ajay Seth, Secretary Economic Affairs led the Indian delegation.
- The delegation from the Swiss side was led by Daniela Stoffel, State Secretary, and State Secretariat for International Finance, Switzerland, said an official press release.
- The Indian delegation included representatives from the Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Revenue, Department of Financial Services and Ministry of External Affairs.
- The dialogue, inter-alia, covered sharing of experiences by both countries for collaboration on various aspects including investments, International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA), National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), FinTech, sustainable finance and cross border financial services.
- Further, matters relating to G20, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and tax challenges arising from the digitalization of the economy were discussed along with infrastructure financing, read the release.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Bangladesh: country’s first test run for Metro train in Dhaka
- The test run of the first electrical metro train in Bangladesh was conducted in Dhaka.
- Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader inaugurated the metro rail test run virtually.
- Six coaches of the metro train imported from Japan left the workshop inside the metro rail workshop in Diabari in Dhaka to travel about 500 metres at slow speed.
- Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Naoki Ito was also present on the occasion at the test site.
- He stated that the first metro and electrified train in Bangladesh will be a symbol of the changing face of Dhaka.
- After the ‘receiving inspection’, the trains will go through a functional test followed by a performance test in August.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS
Supreme Court appreciated Maharashtra’s oxygen model
- The Supreme Court has appreciated the ‘Mumbai Model’ and asked Delhi and the Centre to take a look at it so that no one in Delhi suffers oxygen shortage.
- P Velrasu, additional municipal commissioner (project), stated that they worked on various fronts to counter oxygen shortage.
- The normal demand per day for Mumbai’s oxygen is 210 MT, at peak, it was 260 MT and now, it is 240 MT.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS
UN forecast: In 2022 India will be world’s fastest growing major economy
- India is forecast to grow at 10.1 per cent in 2022, becoming the fastest growing major economy in the world, the United Nations said, but cautioned that the growth outlook of 2021 was “highly fragile” as the country was the “new hotbed of the pandemic.”
- The United Nations, in its mid-year update of the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) which was first released in January 2021, projected that the Indian economy would grow at 1 per cent in the calendar year 2022, nearly double the 5.9 per cent growth forecast for the country in the January report.
- At a growth rate of 10.1 per cent in 2022, India will be the fastest growing major economy in the world, ahead of China, which is projected to grow at 5.8 per cent, a slowdown from 8.2 per cent in 2021.
Moody’s Predicted India’s FY22 growth forecast as 9.3 per cent
- Rating agency Moody’s has cut India’s gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for FY22 to 9.3 per cent from the earlier projection of 7 percent and has ruled out a sovereign rating upgrade – at least for now.
- The downward revision in GDP estimates comes on the back of a second wave of Covid infections across the country, which has triggered localized lockdowns and mobility curbs, except for essential services.
- “As a result of the negative impact of the second wave, we have revised our real, inflation-adjusted GDP growth forecast down to 3 percent from 13.7 percent for fiscal 2021 (FY22),” the Moody’s release said.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING NEWS
Jana Small Finance Bank launches ‘I choose my number’ feature for its customers
- Jana Small Finance Bank announced the launch of “I choose my number” feature for all its customers across India.
- This new feature gives the bank’s existing and new customers the option to select their favorite numbers as their savings or current account number.
- Numbers play a very important role in the lives of the majority of Indians.
- Some numbers are special to one, be it a lucky number, the favorite vehicle’s number plate, birthday or wedding date, a memorable phone number, etc.
- Considering this love and obsession for numbers, this feature of Jana Small Finance Bank will allow its customers to choose their favorite numbers as the last 10 digits of their bank account, savings or current.
- The allocation of the account number chosen by the customer will be subject to availability of the requested number.
PayTM Foundation donates 100 concentrators with oxygen generation plant to Gujarat
- To meet the rising oxygen demand for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, the Paytm Foundation has donated 100 oxygen concentrators along with an oxygen generation plant to Gujarat.
- While the plant will be set up at the main civil hospital in the city, 100 oxygen concentrators will be distributed to different government-run hospitals in the state through the Corona Sewa Yagna’ initiative being run by an NGO under the guidance of Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat.
- Paytm Foundation is the CSR arm of financial service firm Paytm.
- ‘We have planned to activate the oxygen generation plant at the civil hospital by next month.
- I am glad that people donated generously for this cause and we were able to raise Rs 25 crore in a short time.
- ‘While people donated Rs 12.5 crore, we added an equal amount from our side to achieve the target,’ said Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENT AND RESIGNATION NEWS
Padmakumar Nair appointed as CEO of NARCL
- PadmakumarM Nair of State Bank of India (SBI) will be the chief executive of National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL), a proposed entity for taking over bad loans of lenders, predominantly public sector banks.
- NARC, also called a ‘bad’ bank, is expected to be operational in June 2021.
- Nair has been picked up for the CEO post of the proposed bad bank NARCL as he has a long exposure of handling resolution of stressed assets.
- He will be joining the company on a deputation basis for the moment, two sources said.
McDonald’s North & East appoints new COO and CFO
- McDonald’s India- North & East announced the appointment of Rajeev Ranjan as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Rajeev Goel as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company.
- Both will step into their respective roles with immediate effect, following the retirement of Robert Hunghanfoo, head of Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt Ltd (CRPL), a statement said.
- They would report to CRPL Chairman and Developmental Licensee Sanjeev Agrawal.
- McDonald’s restaurants in North and East of India are operated by CPRL, which has the licence for the region.
Godrej Consumer Appointed Sudhir Sitapati as MD and CEO
- Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) said that Sudhir Sitapatiwill join the company as managing director and chief executive officer effective October 18.
- He was appointed to the HUL management committee as an executive director in 2016, making him one of it’s youngest-ever members.
- His appointment would be effective from October 18, 2021, following which Nisaba Godrej, who is currently the chairperson and managing director, will serve as executive chairperson, GCPL in a regulatory filing.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS
Indian-American chemist Sumita Mitra nominated for inventor award
- Indian-American chemist Sumita Mitra has been nominated as a finalist in the “Non-EPO countries” category of the European Inventor Award 2021 for applying nanotechnology to the production of dental materials, leading to the creation of a new composite to repair teeth which have many advantages over conventional materials.
- Mitra’s material overcomes many of the limitations of previous dental composites, which were either too weak to be used on biting surfaces, or quickly lost their polish and became physically unattractive, according to a release.
- In addition, her invention is more versatile than other composites, and can be used in any area of the mouth, and simplifies the filling procedure for dentists.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU’s AND AGREEMENTS
Geojit sign an ink pact with PNB
- GeojitFinancial Services has entered into an agreement with Punjab National Bank to provide a three-in-one account to the latter’s customers.
- The new service gives customers who havea savings account with PNB, a PNB demat account and Geojit trading account.
- Saving and Demat accounts can be opened online in PNB with a hassle free approach.
- The 3-in-1 account makes it easier for PNB customers to transfer funds real time via the payment gateway facility from their savings accounts to meet their investment needs.
CURRENT AFFAIRS : ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS
CPP Invests Rs 1,005 cr for additional 15.9% stake in IndInfravit Trust
- On May 06, 2021, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), bought an additional 15.9 per cent of the total units in IndInfravit Trust for Rs 1,005 crore.
- CPP Investments has acquired seven percent of the units from Sadbhav Infrastructure Project and will acquire an additional 8.9 percent from L&T IDPL.
- After that, CPP Investments’ stake in IndInfravit increased from 27.9 percent to 43.8 percent .
About IndInfravit Trust :
- IndInfravit is an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) sponsored by L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Limited .
- Launched : 2018
- It acquires and maintains stable brownfield road concessions in the country.
- IndInfravit holds a portfolio of 13 operational road concessions across five states including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
- CEO : Pawan Kant
- Headquarters : Chennai, Tamil Nadu
About CPP Investments Board :
- CEO: John Graham
- Headquarters: Toronto, Canada
- Founded: 31 December 1997
CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
DRDO develops AI tool for COVID detection in chest X-rays
- DRDO has developed an artificial intelligence Named ATMAN, based on intelligent software that helps in Covid detection.
- The Software uses Chest X-rays and classifies those into normal, Covid19, pneumonia classes with the help of sample images that are limited in number (a few hundreds).
- The tool was developed by DRDO’s Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), with the support of 5C Network & HCG Academics.
- The ATMAN AI is an artificial intelligence tool for chest X-ray screening as triaging tool in COVID-19 diagnosis which is a method for rapid identification and assessment of lung involvement, according to a statement issued by HCG Academics.
- Triaging COVID suspect patients using X-ray is fast, cost-effective and efficient.
- The algorithm showed an accuracy of 96.73 percent.
- It can be a useful tool especially in smaller towns in our country owing to lack of easy access to CT scans.
- The tool would help in automatically detecting radiological findings indicative of COVID-19 in seconds, enabling physicians and radiologists to more effectively triage the cases, especially in an emergency environment.
About 5G Network :
- Co – Founder & CEO : Kalyan Sivasailam
About DRDO :
- Founded: 1958
- Headquarters: DRDO Bhavan, New Delhi
- Chairman : Dr G. Satheesh Reddy
CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS
Arzan Nagwaswalla, Becomes the first Parsi to represent the Indian cricket team
- Gujarat all-rounder Arzan Nagwaswalla has become the first cricketer after 50 Years from the Parsi community to be named in the Indian squad.
- Arzan Nagwaswalla is the first Parsi cricketer to break into the Indian men’s team since 1975.
- He was named in India’s squad for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and the five-Test series against England, becoming the first from the Parsi community since Farokh Engineer in 1975 to make the squad.
- He has picked up 62 wickets at an average and strike rate of 22.53 and 44.60 respectively since his debut in 2018.
CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES
Freedom fighter and Swadhin Bangla Betar artist Anup Bhattacharya passes away
- On May 07, 2021, Freedom fighter and Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra musician Anup Bhattacharya passed away.
- He was 77.
About Anup Bhattacharya :
- Anup Bhattacharya was born in Zakiganj, Sylhet in 1954.
- During the liberation war of Bangladesh he worked as the composer and music director at Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra.
- He is also a founder member of the Rabindra Sangeet Shilpi Sangstha.
- His ever-present liberation songs including “Teer Hara Ei Dheu-er Sagor,” “Rokto Diye Naam Likhhechhi,” “Purbo Digonte Surjo Utheche,” and “Nongor Tolo Tolo” inspired the liberation war fighters during 1971.
- Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra was the medium for radio broadcasting in 1971.
Daily CA On May 11 :
- National Technology Day2021 on May 11 celebrates the achievements and contributions of Indians to science and technology. The theme of the National Technology Day 2021 theme is “Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future”.
- The Agriculture Ministry stated its autonomous body National Horticulture Board (NHB) has cleared a record 1,278 pending subsidy applications for integrated development of hi-tech commercial horticulture, including promotion of post-harvest.
- The Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution Shri Shudhanshu Pandey briefed the media persons about PMGKAY-3 and One Nation One Ration Card scheme through a virtual press conference.
- The Supreme Court formed a 12-member task force to ensure medical oxygen is delivered throughout the country in a streamlined manner.
- Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla welcomed new US Charge d’Affaires Ambassador Daniel B. Smith.
- Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli lost the vote of confidence at the Lower House.
- Puducherry has become ‘Har Ghar Jal’ UT by ensuring that every rural home in the Union Territory gets a household tap connection.
- Health Minister Rajesh Tope stated that Patients of Mucormycosis, a serious but rare fungal infection now affecting those suffering from coronavirus, will be treated for free under the Maharashtra government’s flagship medical insurance scheme.
- Ola Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Ola, has partnered with donation platform GiveIndia to provide consumers with oxygen concentrators amid the deadly second wave of the Covid pandemic.
- To provide the best possible healthcare to every child born in India, LifeCell has introduced the first-of-its-kind diagnostic test called Omega Score.
- Private lender HDFC Bank and Common Services Centers (CSCs) jointly announced the launch of chatbot ‘Eva’ on CSC’s Digital Seva Portal to support Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) in providing banking services for last-mile rural consumers.
- Federal Bank, Mashreq Bank of UAE ink pact, to offer money transfer. Federal Bankhas entered into a tie-up with Mashreq Bank, a leading financial institution in the UAE, to facilitate money transfers to India.
- The Reserve Bank of India appointed JoseJ Kattoor as Executive Director (ED) with effect from 4 May 2021, the central bank said in a press release.
- Arun Kumar Singh, who currently holds two key responsibilities at disinvestment-bound Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), is set to be the next Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the oil marketing major.
- Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has announced the appointment of Srinandan Sundaram, currently serving as the Executive Director, Customer Development to the post of Executive Director, Foods and Refreshment.
- India Participated in the 3rd Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3) – the global platform for discussing research and cooperation in the Arctic region On May 08th and 09th 2021.
- SpaceX will launch the “DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon” in the first quarter of 2022, with Elon Musk’s commercial rocket company accepting the meme-inspired cryptocurrency dogecoin as payment.
- On May 09, 2021, China’s biggest rocket Long March 5B landed in Indian Ocean. Its lands with the bulk of its components destroyed upon re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
- In the Men’s Category, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has been named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for April 2021. In the Women’s category, Alyssa Healy of Australia has won the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for April 2021.
- On May 05, 2021, Actress Abhilasha Patil,Passed Away.
- On May 09, 2021, Freedom fighter and veteran of the erstwhile Indian National Army (INA) Lalti Ram Passed Away.
- On May 11, 2021, KR Gouri Amma ( The senior most communist leader of Kerala ) Passed Away
Daily CA On May 12 :
- International Nurses Day is an international day observed around the world on 12 May of each year, to mark the contributions that nurses make to society. The theme for the 2021 is Nurses: A Voice to Lead – A vision for future healthcare.
- The railwayshave delivered nearly 5,735 tonne of oxygen in over 390 tankers to various states. The Oxygen Express trains delivered 755 tonne of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) across the country.
- Indian Navy’s efforts to assist the general population of Bheemunipatnam in dealing with the devastating second Covid wave, a 60-bed Covid Care Centre has been set up at INS Kalinga, Bheemunipatnam. This facility was dedicated to the public by AP Tourism Minister and Bheemunipatnam MLA Shri Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao on 11 May 2021.
- The fourth India-Swiss Financial Dialogue was held here virtually through video conferencing. Ajay Seth, Secretary Economic Affairs led the Indian delegation.
- The test run of the first electrical metro train in Bangladesh was conducted in Dhaka. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader inaugurated the metro rail test run virtually.
- The Supreme Court has appreciated the ‘Mumbai Model’ and asked Delhi and the Centre to take a look at it so that no one in Delhi suffers oxygen shortage.
- India is forecast to grow at 10.1 per cent in 2022, becoming the fastest growing major economy in the world, the United Nations said, but cautioned that the growth outlook of 2021 was “highly fragile” as the country was the “new hotbed of the pandemic.”
- Rating agency Moody’s has cut India’s gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for FY22 to 9.3 per cent from the earlier projection of 7 percent and has ruled out a sovereign rating upgrade at least for now.
- Jana Small Finance Bank announced the launch of “I choose my number” feature for all its customers across India. This new feature gives the bank’s existing and new customers the option to select their favorite numbers as their savings or current account number.
- To meet the rising oxygen demand for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, the Paytm Foundation has donated 100 oxygen concentrators along with an oxygen generation plant to Gujarat.
- PadmakumarM Nair of State Bank of India (SBI) will be the chief executive of National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL), a proposed entity for taking over bad loans of lenders, predominantly public sector banks.
- McDonald’s India- North & East announced the appointment of Rajeev Ranjan as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Rajeev Goel as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company.
- Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) said that Sudhir Sitapatiwill join the company as managing director and chief executive officer effective October 18.
- Indian-American chemist Sumita Mitra has been nominated as a finalist in the “Non-EPO countries” category of the European Inventor Award 2021 for applying nanotechnology to the production of dental materials, leading to the creation of a new composite to repair teeth which have many advantages over conventional materials.
- GeojitFinancial Services has entered into an agreement with Punjab National Bank to provide a three-in-one account to the latter’s customers.
- On May 06, 2021, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), bought an additional 15.9 per cent of the total units in IndInfravit Trust for Rs 1,005 crore.
- DRDO has developed an artificial intelligence Named ATMAN, based on intelligent software that helps in Covid detection.
- Gujarat all-rounder Arzan Nagwaswalla has become the first cricketer after 50 Years from the Parsi community to be named in the Indian squad.
- On May 07, 2021, Freedom fighter and Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra musician Anup Bhattacharya passed away.
