[CA/News] May 15, 2020 Headlines

MAY 15, 2020
SCO Meet External Affairs Minister of India Mr. S Jaishankar represented India at SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) foreign minister meet. The meet was attended by foreign ministers through video conferencing. The foreign ministers at the meet discussed COVID-19 crisis and coordination efforts. Apart from COVID-19, the major issue discussed was the situation in Afghanistan. The ministers also discussed about the upcoming 75th anniversary of World War 2 and also the 75th anniversary of United Nations. SCO Summit is scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg, Russia from June 09 - 10, 2020. The members of SCO are India, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. The Observer states of the organization are Iran, Belarus, Afghanistan and Mongolia. apeda Centre set up a new body Rice Export Promotion Forum to give impetus to rice exports under the aegis of Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Promotion Development Authority (APEDA). Basmati and non-basmati varieties are India’s largest commodity of agri-export basket. India was allowed to export non-basmati from 2011 which led India to become the largest exporter of cereals. pm cares fund allocate money for covId – 19 PM CARES (Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations) Fund Trust has allocated  Rs 3100 crores to fight against COVID-19 pandemic. Out of the total amount around Rs 2000 crores will be allocated for the purchase of ventilators, Rs 1000 crores to care migrant labourers and Rs 100 crores to support vaccine development. State/UT-wise funds will be released on the weightage of Population as per 2011 Census- 50%; Number of positive COVID-19 cases as on date- 40%; Equal share (10%) to ensure basic minimum sum for all states. PM CARES was established on March 27, 2020 & is headed by Prime Minister (ex-Officio) and other ex-officio Members of the trust are Defence Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister. west bank U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, where the two discussed Israel’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank. West Bank is a landlocked territory near the Mediterranean coast of Western Asia, bordered by Jordan to the east and by the Green Line separating it and Israel on the south, west and north. [Click for More details...]	india attends seven nations meeting initiated by usa External Affairs ministers represented India at the 7 nation meeting initiated by the United States. The meeting was held on the same day, the US Senate passed an act directing the Secretary of the State to frame a strategy to make Taiwan an observer at the World Health Organization. The meeting was held to gain support from the participating nations. It includes Australia, India, Brazil, Japan, Israel and Republic of Korea. India is to hold the chair of the World Health Organization in May 2020 after Japan completes its tenure. India will continue to hold the chair for the next three years. This comes during the time when there are world wide criticisms faced by WHO. matir smristi West Bengal Government launched ‘Matir Smristi’ scheme to utilise 50,000 acres of barren land in 6 districts for income-generating activities like horticulture and Pisciculture (fish farming) involving the locals. The scheme will benefit around 2.5 lakh people in rural Bengal. icmr participates in global solidarity trials of who Indian Council for Medical Research is to participate in Global Solidarity Trial of COVID-19 launched by the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO has launched four mega trials to test the efficiency and accuracy of four treatments. The treatments are as follows: Hydroxychloroquine Remdesivir Lopinavir-Ritonavir Lopinavir-Ritonavir along with Interferon. Lopinavir and Ritonavir are currently being used to treat HIV infections. Remdesivir has still not be approved anywhere in the world. However, there are clinical trials that proved that the drug blocked Ebola virus in Rhesus monkeys. samarth National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, implemented Enterprises Resource Planning (ERP) named SAMARTH. SAMARTH is an Open Standard Open Source Architecture, Secure, Scalable and Evolutionary Process Automation Engine for Universities and Higher Educational Institutions. It caters to faculty, students and staff at a University/Higher Educational Institutions.
Prepared by K. M. Senthil Kumar