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Centre to fund startups offering indigenous solutions to combat Pandemic

NIDHI4COVID2.0 will fund eligible startups and companies registered in India offering promising solutions in the thrust areas of oxygen innovation, portable solution,relevant medical accessories, diagnostic etc. to mitigate impact of Covid.

The initiative is a special drive by NSTEDB under Department of Science & Technology.

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Pinarayi Vijayan sworn in as Kerala Chief Minister for the second time

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government led by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan assumed office, after a 21-member Cabinet was sworn in at the Central Stadium,Thiruvananthapuram on May 20 by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.

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International Day for Biological Diversity | 22 May

United Nations General Assembly in late 1993 proclaimed May 22 as "The International Day for Biological Diversity" (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.2021 theme is “We’re part of the solution”.This year's slogan is a continuation of 2020 theme- "Our solutions are in nature".

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Environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna passes away at 94.

A pioneer in environmental protection,Mr. Bahuguna led the charge against the construction of big dams in the Himalayas in the 1980s. He was fervently opposed to the construction of the Tehri dam.

He lived for decades in his Silyara ashram in Tehri Garhwal,inspired many young people in his passion for the environment.He,along with local women, founded the Chipko movement.

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He also coined the Chipko slogan: 'ecology is permanent economy'.

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Six Indian places added to tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites

The sites on the tentative list are: Satpura Tiger Reserve, Iconic riverfront of the historic city of Varanasi, Megalithic site of Hire Benkal, Maratha Military Architecture in Maharashtra, Bhedaghat-Lametaghat in Narmada Valley- Jabalpur, and temples of Kanchipuram

With the addition of these six sites, UNESCO has 48 proposals in the tentative list of India.

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51st virtual Indian Handicrafts & Gift Fair of Delhi inaugurated

The 5 day virtual fair of Indian Handicrafts and Gift Fair, IHGF of Delhi was inaugurated on May 19.The fair is the India’s largest Virtual Fair in the Home, Fashion, Lifestyle, Textiles and Furniture sector.

It was inaugurated by Chairman of Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts Ravi K. Passi.

The fair will see participation of 1,500 manufacturers and exporters.

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Gautam Adani becomes Asia’s 2nd richest man with $67 billion net worth;Mukesh Ambani is Asia's richest.

Adani Group founder and chairman Gautam Adani has now become the second richest man in Asia after overtaking China’s Zhong Shanshan.

His net worth at $67.6 billion,makes him the second richest Asian and the 14th richest businessman in the world,according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Mukesh Ambani is currently on the 13th spot with net worth of $76 billion.

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Countrywide “AYUSH COVID -19 Counselling Helpline” operationalized

A dedicated community support helpline has been operationalised by the Union Ministry of Ayush to provide AYUSH-based approaches and solutions for the challenges raised by Covid-19. The toll-free number is 14443.

The helpline is operational pan-India from 6 am to 12 midnight-all seven days of a week.

The helpline is IVR (Interactive Voice Response) equipped.

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The effort is supported by the NGO Project StepOne.

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Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO) develops COVID-19 antibody detection kit

The DRDO’s Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS) laboratory developed DIPCOVAN kit can give the result in 75 minutes and will cost Rs 75 and has a 18 month shelf life.

It can detect spike as well as nucleocapsid (S&N) proteins of SARS-CoV-2 virus with a high sensitivity of 97% and specificity of 99%.

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To be commercially launched by DRDO’s industry partner,Delhi-based Vanguard Diagnostics.

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Shri Mridul Kumar has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Mexico

Shri Mridul Kumar,a 1992 batch IFS officer,presently High Commissioner of India to Malaysia, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Mexico.

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Iran launches its most powerful supercomputer,Simurgh

Iran has launched its most powerful supercomputer to date,Simurgh,mamed after the benevolent Phoenix-like bird.The system currently has a processing power of 0.56 petaflops, but will reach one petaflops in two months, state media claimed.

Developed at Tehran’s Amirkabir University of Technology, the system is 100 times more powerful than previous Iranian supercomputers.

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Maharashtra gives nod to set up National Institute of Medicinal Plants

To be set up over 50 acres in the Sindhudurg district,it will be developed as a one-stop centre for all matters relating to medicinal plants and will collaborate with the Central and State Government.

The facility will be set up at Adali village in Dodamarg taluka of the district. Dodamarg is a part of Western Ghats with huge biodiversity.

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International Dublin Literary Award: Mexican author Valeria Luiselli wins for ‘Lost Children Archive’

The American policy of keeping children away from their parents at the Mexican-American border was the origin of this fictional novel. It also won the Rathbones Folio prize in 2020.

Considered one of the richest literary awards in the world,the Award includes a prize money of €100,000 (approx ₹89,27,300).It is awarded to a novel written or translated into English.

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State Bank of India (SBI) posts 80% jump in March quarter net profit to ₹6,451 crore

SBI reported a record quarterly profit, helped by higher net interest income and lower provisions to cover loan losses.

Net profit at the country’s largest lender rose 80% from a year ago to ₹6,451 crore in the three months ended 31 March, topping the ₹6,166.2 crore average estimate in a survey of 10 analysts by Bloomberg.

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Net interest income,difference between interest earned & expended rose 18.9% to ₹27067 cr

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RBI:Mandatory interoperability for prepaid payments from FY23, increases limit to Rs2 lakh for full-KYC

RBI makes interoperability mandatory for Prepaid Payment Instruments.RBI has advised banks and companies to enable interoperability by March 31,2022. Users will now be able send & receive money from different mobile wallets.

RBI has increased the maximum amount outstanding in respect of full-KYC PPIs (KYC-compliant PPIs) to Rs.2 lakh from Rs.1 lakh.

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RBI to transfer Rs 99,122 cr as dividend to govt, changes accounting year

RBI will transfer Rs 99,122 crore as surplus to the central government for the nine months ended March 31 (July 2020-March 2021)higher than the earmarked transfer of Rs 53,511 crore.

The central bank has changed its accounting period, aligning it with the fiscal calendar (April-March) from this year, instead of the earlier July-June calendar.

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