9th and 10th May Most Important News

Testing capacity for Covid-19 scaled up to 95,000 per day: Union Health Minister

The testing capacity for Covid-19 has been scaled up to around 95,000 tests per day and a total of 15,25,631 tests have been conducted so far across 332 government and 121 private laboratories, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Saturday. The minister reviewed the status of Covid-19 in the northeastern states along with the measures taken for its containment.

Govt sends teams to 10 states with high number of Covid cases

The health ministry has decided to deploy central teams in 10 states that have witnessed or are witnessing high Covid-19 cases to assist their health departments to facilitate management of the outbreak. These are besides the 20 central teams of public health experts sent earlier to 20 high case load districts on May 3.

ICMR teams up with Bharat Biotech to develop Covid-19 vaccine

The Indian Council of Medical Research has partnered with Bharat Biotech International Limited to develop a fully indigenous vaccine for Covid-19, the apex health research body said on Saturday. The vaccine will be developed using the virus strain isolated at the ICMR's National Institute of Virology, Pune, a statement said.

Govt disburses Rs 18,253 cr to 9.13 cr farmers under PM-Kisan scheme

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said Rs 18,253 crore has been disbursed to 9.13 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme during the ongoing nationwide lockdown. Under the PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) scheme, each farmer gets Rs 6,000 in a year in three equal installments directly in bank account.

SBI complains to CBI after Rs 411 crore loan defaulters flee country

Three promoters of Ram Dev International, recently booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly cheating a consortium of six banks to the tune of Rs 411 crore, have already fled the country before the State Bank of India (SBI) reached the agency with the complaint, officials said on Saturday.

Amit Shah, Mamata govt in spat over migrants

Home minister Amit Shah on Saturday wrote to CM Mamata Banerjee pointing out the state’s failure to make arrangements for the return of migrant workers. Shah said the there is no response from the state government as migrants from West Bengal working in other states are anxious to return home. TMC responded by accusing him of spreading lies.

China conducts first successful coronavirus vaccine test on monkeys

Chinese scientists have claimed that they have successfully tested the country's first vaccine against Covid-19 on monkeys, which is a significant development in the race to find a cure for the virus. According to the reports, PiCoVacc, an inactivated Covid-19 vaccine candidate made by Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech, has shown promising results.

Moody’s slashes India’s GDP growth to `zero' in FY21

Global rating agency Moody’s cuts down India’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP) growth to “zero” for the current 􀁽scal 2020-21 (previous estimate -2.6%). The latest estimate is lower than Fitch's forecast (0.8%), IMF's (1.9%), World Bank's(1.5-2.8%) and ADB's estimate of 4%.

Other News

• Government has appointed Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj as the director on the central board of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).Bajaj replaces Atanu Chakraborty, who retired on April 30.

• EPFO introduces email mechanism to obtain e-Sign for easing the Process of EPF Compliance by Employers during Lockdown Period as employers were finding difficult to use digital or Aadhaar based e-Sign. Employer can send the scanned copy of duly signed request letter to the concerned Regional Of_ce through mail.

• NITI Aayog has virtually launched a campaign titled “Surakshit Dada-Dadi & Nana Nani Abhiyan” in association with Piramal Foundation to protect senior citizens during COVID- 19.

• Mustafa Al Kadhimi has been chosen as Iraq’s new Prime Minister. Mustafa Kadhimi has become Iraq's first proper Prime Minister after Adel Abdul Mahdi resigned in November 2019 due to massive anti-government protests.

• Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' announced various amendments in Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship Scheme (PMRF) to boost research in the country.

• National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC) and Gujarat Council of Science & Technology (GUJCOST) will be organizing a Webinar Series on ‘Science Communication in the Time of COVID-19’.

• The World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) was observed across the world on the second weekend in May (9th May) to raise awareness and highlight the need for the protection of migratory birds and their habitats.

• India and Russia signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) to import coking coal to meet requirements of the Indian steel industry. India has begun negotiations with Russia on long term assured supplies of crude oil, especially from Russia’s the Far East.

• According to an RBI press release, India's foreign exchange reserves has increased by 1.622 million dollars to reach 481.078 billion dollars in the week ended 1st May. A major part of the overall reserves rose by 1.752 billion dollars to 479.455 billion dollars.

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