Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 05 MAY 2020

::NATIONAL::

Government of India will facilitate the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad on compelling grounds in a phased manner. Indian Embassies and High Commissions are preparing a list of distressed Indian citizens and the travel will begin in a phased manner from 7th of this month. The travel will be arranged by aircraft and naval ships.
In a statement, Home Ministry said, this facility will be made available on payment-basis and non-scheduled commercial flights will be arranged for air travel. Medical screening of passengers will be done before taking the flight and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to travel.
During the journey, all these passengers will have to follow the protocols of Health and Civil Aviation Ministries.
On reaching the destination, everyone will have to register on the ArogyaSetu app. The Indian nationals will also be medically screened and after that they will be quarantined for 14 days, either in a hospital or in an institutional quarantine on payment-basis, by the concerned State government.

During the briefing, Chairman of the Empowered Group 6 presented how the Group has been engaging with Civil Society Organizations, NGOs, Industry and International Organisations to combat COVID-19 and galvanize action on various fronts.
He said,the group has mobilized more than 92 thousand NGOs and civil society organizations, appealing them to assist states and districts in identifying hotspots, helping migrant workers and other needy people.
He said, Aspirational Districts Programme piloted by NITI Aayog has been a big success in uplifting lives of millions in 112 most backward districts. He informed that there are 610 cases in these districts which is fairly low and it is less than 2 per cent of the national level.
He also said, tele-medicine feature has been incorporated in the AarogyaSetu App and about 19 millions installations have been made so far.

Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises-MSME NitinGadkari today informed that his Ministry is working on bringing out an Agro MSME Policy. He said, it will focus on entrepreneurship development in rural, tribal, agricultural and forest areas for manufacturing of products using local raw material.
Mr Gadkariwas speaking during meetings held via video conferencing with the representatives of SME Chamber of India, SME Export Promotion Council and representatives of beauty and wellness industry on impact of COVID-19 on MSMEs.
During the meeting, the Minister called upon the industry to ensure that necessary preventive measures are taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He also mentioned that there is a need to focus on export enhancement as well as import substitution to replace foreign imports with domestic production.
He added that industry should focus more on innovation, entrepreneurship, science and technology, research skill and experiences to convert the knowledge into wealth.
The Minister recalled that Government of Japan has offered special package to its industries for taking out Japanese investments from China and move elsewhere. He opined that it is an opportunity for India which should be grabbed.

Prime Minister NarendraModi today said the Non Aligned Movement can help promote global solidarity and it must remain inclusive. He said the humanity is facing a major crisis in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic and NAM can contribute in dealing with it.
Speaking at virtual Non-Aligned Movement Summit through Video Conferencing this evening, Mr Modi said, the world needs a new template of globalisation post COVID-19 based on fairness, equality and humanity.
He said, during this crisis India has shown how democracy, discipline and decisiveness can come together to create a genuine people's movement.
He added that Indian civilization sees whole world as one family and while caring for its own citizens, New Delhi is also extending help to other countries.
Mr Modi said, India is regarded as pharmacy of the world especially for affordable medicines and despite own needs during COVID 19 pandemic, it has ensured supply of medicines to 123 partner countries including 59 NAM members. He also said the county is active in global efforts to develop remedies and vaccines for COVID-19.

Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO has developed an Ultra Violet Disinfection Tower for rapid and chemical free disinfection of high infection prone areas.
Defence Ministry said, the equipment named UV blaster is an Ultra violet based area sanitiser designed and developed by Laser Science and Technology Centre.
The UV Blaster is useful for high tech surfaces like electronic equipment, computers and other gadgets in laboratories and offices that are not suitable for disinfection with chemical methods.
The product is also effective for areas with large flow of people such as airports, shopping malls, metros, hotels, factories and offices.
The equipment has six lamps each with 43 watts of UV-C power. For a room of about 12 x 12 feet dimension, the disinfection time is about 10 minutes and 30 minutes for 400 square feet area by positioning the equipment at different places within the room.

Living up to his reputation, World champion Magnus Carlsen produced two flawless displays over four games and defeated Hikaru Nakamura 2.5-1.5 to win the $250,000 Magnus Carlsen Invitational online chess tournament on Sunday.
The triumph was worth $70,000 for Carlsen in the richest online event. Nakamura received $45,000 for his performance in the 16-day competition.The result (final): Magnus Carlsen (Nor) btHikaru Nakamura (USA) 2.5-1.5.