18th May Most Important News

Lockdown 4.0: States freed to fix zones, make everyday life easier

In the most significant easing of the national lockdown yet, the Centre gave states considerable leeway in reopening market places in addition to standalone shops, allowed intra-state and inter-state passenger vehicle and bus travel and did away with the 33% staffing restriction for businesses to provide a fillip to the economy. The Ministry of Home Affairs stated the “zones can be a district, or a municipal corporation/municipality or even smaller administrative units such as sub-divisions, etc, as decided by states and UTs. The Centre also made it clear that all shops, except those in containment zones and malls, will be allowed to open from Monday with staggered timings during lockdown 4.0 which also includes barber shops and parlour except in containment zones.

Cyclone Amphan to hit the central parts of south Bay of Bengal: IMD

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday warned that Cyclone 'Amphan' over central parts of south Bay of Bengal, that is anticipated to hit the Odisha coast, will intensify into an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm within the next 6 hours. It will cause heavy rainfall and stormy winds in the coastal areas. The disaster control teams have already reached the coastal areas in Odisha and an evacuation process has begun. They have tweeted that, 'Very Severe Cyclonic Storm 'AMPHAN' over central parts of South Bay of Bengal near 12.5°N latitude and 86.4°E longitude, about 870 km nearly south of Paradip (Odisha). To intensify further into an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm in the next 6 hours’.

No fresh insolvency to be initiated for 1 year: Nirmala Sitharaman

The government on Sunday announced the suspension of new bankruptcy filings on loan defaults for one year and raised the threshold for insolvency as it moved to ease COVID-19 pain for the industry. PSUs under the non-strategic sector will be privatised while those in the identified strategic sector would be capped by not more than four by merging some of them.

India Joins 62 Nations at WHO Meet to Back EU Draft Resolution on COVID-19 Origin

India has joined a group of 62 nations which has backed a draft EU motion at the World Health Assembly, which will convene on Monday, for an independent inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak and WHO’s response. The motion seeks an “impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation” of the international health response under WHO to Covid-19 along with a timeline. “We are deeply concerned by the morbidity and mortality caused by COVID-19 pandemic, the negative impacts on physical and mental health and social well-being, the negative impacts on economy and society and the consequent exacerbation of inequalities within and between countries,” the resolution read. This is the first time India has articulated its stand at a global level on the pandemic that started from Wuhan city, China.

Covid-19: For first time, new cases top 5,000; deaths up by 154

Covid-19 infections continued to surge in the country on the last day of lockdown 3.0, with the number of new cases topping 5,000 in a single day for the first time on Sunday on the back of another explosion of cases in Maharashtra, which reported a record 2,347 fresh infections. India’s overall Covid-19 death toll crossed the 3,000 mark and stood at 3,023.

Imran accuses India of creating opportunity for 'false-flag op''

Pakistan PM Imran Khan accused India of attempting to create an opportunity to conduct a “false-flag operation” against his country by alleging that Islamabad was supporting terrorism in Kashmir. Khan alleged that the Indian govt was trying to deprive the Kashmiris of their right of self-determination by "illegal annexation of their territory."

Other news:

• Major Relief for E-commerce Firms Under Lockdown 4.0: They Can Deliver Non-essential Items in Red Zones Too. Except in containment zones, as the industry believes that they have been allowed to do so in the latest home ministry guidelines.

                            

• Sensex plunges over 700 points in early trade. The 30-share BSE index fell 753 points or 2.43% to trade at 30,343; while the broader NSE Nifty was tarding 22 points or 2.41% lower at 8,917.

• The government has also appointed Vasudha Mishra of the Telangana cadre as the new UPSC secretary after Rakesh Gupta.

• IAS Of_cer Manoj Ahuja has been appointed as the new Chairman of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

• V. Vidyavathi has been appointed as Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

• Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda has launched “GOAL: Going Online As Leaders: programme to provide mentorship to tribal youth through digital means.

• Government under the aegis of Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Promotion Development Authority (Apeda) has set up “Rice Export Promotion Forum (REPF)”

• Uttar Pradesh Government has decided to provide 50% subsidy on PPE kits.The subsidy will be given to the healthcare centre who will treat patients on the rates decided under Ayushman Bharat scheme.

• Slovenia became the 1st European nation to declare an end to coronavirus outbreak. It is all set to give relaxation for the imposed restrictions including border reopening with social distancing measures.

• Global Energy Transition Index (ETI) has been released by World Economic Forum. India is ranked 74th in ETI 2020 showing improvements in all the parameters including economic, energy and environmental security. The index is topped by Sweden followed by Switzerland and Finland in the top three.

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