International Biodiversity Day: 22 May
The International Biodiversity Day is celebrated by the United Nations on 22 May every year.
Theme of International Biodiversity Day 2021: “We are part of the solution”
The celebration of International Biodiversity Day was initiated on December 20, 2000 by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly.
Asia Cup 2021 postponed indefinitely
The Asia Cup 2021 was to be held in June 2021 in Sri Lanka.
But now it has been postponed due to Covid-19.
Earlier this tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in September 2020.
But was postponed to June 2021 due to COVID-19.
Initially Pakistan had to host this competition.
But due to tensions between India and Pakistan, the tournament was shifted to the island nation.
Asia Cup: The ACC Asia Cup is a men’s one-day international and Twenty20 international cricket tournament.
It was established in 1983 when the Asian Cricket Council was established.
India is the most successful team in the tournament with seven titles.
Sri Lanka are the second most successful team with five titles.
Indian-origin professor won the ‘Nobel’ prize for technology
Cambridge University chemist Shankar Balasubrahmanyam and his colleague David Kleinerman were awarded the ‘Nobel’ prize for technology for the year 2020.
He has won for the development of revolutionary sequencing techniques which means that DNA can now be read in super-fast times.
Under this award, Shankar Subrahmanyam and Kleinerman have received the prize money of one million euros.
The award is conferred by the Academy of Technology Finland (TAF) over a period of two years.
It began in 2004 with Tim Berners-Lee being awarded for his first time exploring the World Wide Web (WWW).
INS Rajput was Retired
INS Rajput, the first destroyer ship of the Indian Navy, was relieved from service on May 21 after 41 years of service.
INS Rajput was first commissioned on 4 May 1980.
Its original Russian name was’ Nadezhny.
It is the first Indian Navy ship attached to an Indian Army Regiment – Rajput Regiment.
It participated in many operations including Operation Aman, Operation Pawan, Operation Cactus, etc.
Pinarayi Vijayan sworn in as Chief Minister of Kerala for the second time
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Pinarayi Vijayan was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Kerala for a second consecutive term on May 20, 2021. Governor Arif Mohammad Khan administered the oath of office and secrecy to 76-year-old Vijayan.
New Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the April 6 assembly elections won 99 seats out of 140.
Pinarayi Vijayan has been serving as the Chief Minister of Kerala since May 25, 2016.
Suresh Mukund becomes first Indian to win ‘World Choreography Award (Dance Oscar) 2020’
Emmy Award nominated choreographer Suresh Mukund has won the World Choreography Awards for the show World of Dance.
He has become the first Indian to win this title.
The Indian dance crew is the director and choreographer of ‘The Kings’, who won the 2019 season of World of Dance.
Sunderlal Bahuguna, leader of Chipko Movement passed away
Renowned environmentalist and Chipko movement leader Sundarlal Bahuguna passed away at the age of 94 from Covid-19.
Sunderlal Bahuguna was born on 9 January 1927 in Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand.
In 1986, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award.
He was awarded the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 1986 and the Padma Vibhushan Award in 2009.
The Chipko movement was an environmental-protection movement.
This movement started in 1973 in Chamoli district (then Uttarakhand) of erstwhile Uttar Pradesh.
The movement was led by Chandiprasad Bhatt and Gaura Devi and led by the famous Sunderlal Bahuguna of India.
In this movement, the people of the village used to stick to the tree to avoid cutting trees, hence the movement was named Chipko movement.
Sundarlal Bahuguna was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2009 for this movement.
While Chandi Prasad Bhatt was awarded the Raman Magsaysay Award in 1982.
Karnataka ranked first in implementing Ayushman Bharat scheme
Karnataka has been ranked first in setting up a Health and Welfare Center (HWC) under the Ayushman Bharat program for the year 2020-2021.
While the Center had targeted to set up 2,263 centers, the state has upgraded 3,300 centers by 31 March.
According to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the state is at the top with a score of 90 out of 95 when it comes to the implementation of the project for the year 2020-21.
Ayushman Bharat Program: Ayushman Bharat Yojana or Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, a health scheme of the Government of India, was implemented across India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30 April 2018.
चीन ने सफलतापूर्वक नया महासागर अवलोकन उपग्रह ‘हैयांग-2 डी’ लॉन्च किया
China launched a new satellite that will monitor the oceans.
This will provide a warning in advance for future maritime disasters.
The satellite was launched via a Long March-4B rocket that sent the Haiyang-2D (HY-2D) satellite.
Establishment of China National Space Administration (CNSA): 22 April 1993
Headquarters: Beijing, China
Administrator: Zhang Kejian
Bihar CM launches ‘HIT-COVID APP’
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has launched ‘HIT-COVID app (Home Isolation Tracking Android Application)’.
Through this app, corona positive patients who are home isolated in the state can be tracked and supervised.
ICMR approves Corona’s home based testing kit ‘Coviself’, now corona test will be able to sit at home
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved the Rapid Antigen Test ‘Covicelph’.
Currently, only one company in India, Mylab Discovery Solutions Ltd (Pune) has received its approval.
With this kit, the test can be done in just two minutes, although the results will take 15 minutes.
ICMR has said that there is no need to have RTPCR check if the result of this self test kit is positive.
The accuracy of home test kit results is 70-80% as compared to the test done in the lab.
This kit may be available in the market in the next one week.
A kit will cost 250 rupees.
Currently, for the corona, antigen and RTPCR investigations are performed. Where the report of antigen is found immediately, the RTPCR investigation report comes in 24 hours.
