Daily News

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Nikkei Asia Prize 2020 to IIT Madras prof for work on water filters

Prof. T. Pradeep of IIT Madras has been honoured with the Nikkei Asia Prizes(NAP) 2020 in the science and technology category. NAP are awarded annually in three areas- Economic and Business Innovation, Science and Technology and Culture and Community.

Did you Know

The prize includes three million yen and a certificate.

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Google ropes in former Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma for its payments business

Google Pay, the digital payments arm of tech giant Google, has roped in former Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma as an advisor. Google offers UPI based payments in India in partnership with 4 major banks- HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and State Bank of India.

Did you Know

Google CEO- Sundar Pichai.

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Moody's slashes India's growth estimate to 0.2% for 2020 from 2.5%

Moody’s Investors Service slashed India growth forecast for calendar year 2020 to 0.2 per cent, from 2.5% projected in March. For 2021, the rating agency expects India’s growth to rebound to 6.2%. China is projected to grow 1% in 2020 and 7.1% in 2021.

Did you Know

India lost tag of the fastest-growing economy to China in 2019.

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AIIA organises ‘AYURAKSHA’ programme with Delhi Police

A joint programme was organised by All India Institute of Ayurveda and Delhi Police, with a title AYURAKSHA ‘Corona Se Jung: Delhi Police Ke Sang’. It was organised to fight against COVID-19 by undertaking time tested Ayurveda immunity boosting measures.

Did you Know

AIIA is under the Ministry of AYUSH.

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Sania Mirza becomes first Indian to be nominated for Fed Cup Heart award

Tennis star Sania Mirza became the first Indian to be nominated for the Fed Cup Heart Award. Sania is the nominee for the award from the Asia/Oceania Zone alongwith Indonesia's Priska Madelyn Nugroho. The winner will be declared on May 11.

Did you Know

The Fed Cup Heart Award was 1st presented at the Final in 2009.

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Unified Payments Interface (UPI) records over 20% fall in transactions in April

As per the data released by the National Payments Corporation of India,UPI has registered 0.99 billion transactions amounting to Rs 1,51,140 crore(Rs 1.51 trillion).This is the 1st time in the past 7 months that UPI volume went below the one billion mark.

Did you Know

In April, IMPS processed 122.47 million payments.

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Marcus Wallenberg Prize 2020: 'Nobel Prize of Forest Research'

Joseph J Landsberg,Richard H Waring& Nicholas C Coops share the 2020 MW Prize for a model to predict forest growth in a changing climate.Satellite imagery offers the possibility to scale up the model to show how environmental conditions affect the forests.

Did you Know

Marcus "Husky" Wallenberg is a Swedish banker and industrialist.

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DST launches ‘YASH’ with focus on COVID-19

National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science & Technology (DST) has launched a programme on health and risk communication ‘Year of Awareness on Science & Health (YASH)’ with focus on COVID-19.

Did you Know

The programme is aimed at minimizing risks at all levels.

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Thomas Cook India wins Silver at Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards 2019

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., India’s leading integrated travel services company, was selected as winner of the prestigious silver award for Asia's Best Integrated Report (First Time) at the 5th Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards (ASRA).

Did you Know

Mr. Madhavan Menon, Chairman and Managing Director, Thomas Cook.

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MyGov, VMate collaborates to disperse information on Covid-19

Short video app VMate has joined hands with the Government’s citizen engagement platform MyGov to aid the Centre’s efforts in combating the menace of the COVID-19 pandemic. An official profile of the entity, named MyGovIndia, has been launched on VMate.

Did you Know

First video posted on the profile talks about Aarogya Setu.

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Richard Hadlee Medal goes to Ross Taylor, Southee bags Test prize

Ross Taylor was honoured with Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for the third time for excelling across formats. Tim Southee bagged the top Test prize.Taylor went past Stephen Fleming's tally to become the leading run-scorer for New Zealand in Tests.

Did you Know

Kim Cotton was named the Umpire of the Year.

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ATULYA: Microwave sterilizer to disintegrate COVID-19 developed

The Defence Ministry has proposed the use of ATULYA- a microwave steriliser - that can disintegrate Covid-19 virus within 30 seconds. It was developed by the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune, a deemed university supported by the DRDO.

Did you Know

Virus gets disintegrated by differential heating.

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Manipur black rice, Gorakhpur terracotta bagged GI tag

Black rice of Manipur, also called the Chak-Hao, Gorakhpur Terracotta and Kadalai Mittai of Kovilpatti bagged Geographical Indication tag. Chak-Hao, a scented glutinous rice cultivated in Manipur over centuries, is characterised by its special aroma.

Did you Know

Potters make many animal figures in Gorakhpur terracotta work.

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Ministry of Coal launches Project Monitoring Unit for facilitating early operationalisation of coal mines

MoC launched a PMU for facilitation of early operationalisation of coal mines allocated by the Government. This is an important step forward to promote Ease of Doing Business as it will support in obtaining timely approval to operationalise the mines.

Did you Know

Pralhad Joshi- Minister of Coal, Mines & Parliamentary Affairs.

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CSIR-NCL innovates Digital IR Thermometer to help mitigate COVID-19

Digital IR thermometer is one of the important innovations recently announced by CSIR and National Chemical Laboratory in Pune. The CSIR - NCLs Venture Centres incubate BMek headed by Prateek Kulkarni has developed this handheld digital IR thermometer.

Did you Know

CSIR- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

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Freedom fighter and Social activist Hema Bharali passes away at 102

Assam born freedom fighter and social activist and Padma Hema Bharali passed away at her residence in Guwahati. She was 102 years old. She is known for her initiative to establish the Kasturba Ashram Pub Sarania.

Did you Know

She was also known for her contributions for women empowerment.

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2 May: World Tuna Day

World Tuna Day is observed on 2 May. The day aims to raise awareness about the importance of tuna. The day will promote more sustainable fishing practices. The day also spreads information about the possible impact of drastically declining tuna stocks.

Did you Know

It is observed for the first time in 2017.

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2 May: International Astronomy Day

International Astronomy Day is celebrated twice a year- one in autumn and another in spring. The Astronomy Day 2020 is celebrated on May 2. Enthusiasts and professionals celebrate the day to share their knowledge and love of outer space with the public.

Did you Know

Next Astronomy Day will be celebrated on 2020 September 26.

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South African anti-apartheid veteran Denis Goldberg dies

Veteran South African anti-apartheid activist Denis Goldberg, who was tried alongside Nelson Mandela, has died at the age of 87. He was convicted of armed resistance to white-minority rule and sentenced to four life terms in 1964.

Did you Know

He was a member of the ANC's military wing.

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Tripura government launches agro entrepreneur facilitation desk to boost economy

Tripura has launched an ‘Agro-Entrepreneur Facilitation Desk’ to help the entrepreneurs of the state to get subsidies and incentives from Central government funding agencies. It will be set up at the Directorate of Horticulture and Soil Conservation.

Did you Know

Tripura Chief Minister- Biplab Kumar Deb.