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Current Affairs 19 May 2020
Daily Current Affairs 19 May 2020: We have collected the latest current affairs for 19 May 2020 that are important for all competitive exams like Bank, SSC, IBPS, SBI exams. The GK current affairs will help you score more in these competitive exams. Improve your general knowledge with our daily online current affairs. You can also read the daily current affairs on our mobile app.
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National News
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Approves Rs 400-crore Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme
- Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has approved the launch of Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS), to provide private sector defence and aerospace companies affordable testing facilities to test and validate weaponry they are designing.
- The initiative will give a boost to domestic defence and aerospace manufacturing by creating state of the art testing infrastructure for this sector.
- The total outlay of the scheme is Rs 400 crore, and would run for the duration of five years.
- Since setting up in-house Defence Testing Infrastructure is not economically viable for individual defence industrial units, the DTIS Scheme will set up Greenfield Defence Testing Infrastructure as a common facility under private sector with government assistance.
- The scheme envisages setting up six to eight test facilities in partnership with private industry.
- Each such project will receive 75 percent of its cost as government funding, while the remaining 25 percent will be borne by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) composed of Indian private entities and concerned state governments.
International News
Japan launches new unit for defense in outer space named Space Operations Squadron
- Japan launched a new space defense unit that will monitor and counter threats to the satellites of Japan.
- The unit is named Space Operations Squadron and is a part of Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force. It has started will 20 members and will become fully operational by the year 2023.
- The role of Space Operations Squadron is to monitor and protect Japanese satellites from enemy attacks or space debris.
Banking & Economy News
Kotak Mahindra Bank becomes first bank in India to allow video KYC
- Kotak Mahindra Bank has introduced the video-KYC facility for customers opening savings account on Kotak 811 platform.
- With this, Kotak Mahindra Bank has become the first Indian bank to offer video-based “zero-contact” onboarding service.
- RBI has introduced the notification regarding Video-based KYC in January 2020. With Video KYC, verification of documents, signature are completed via a video call with a representative from the bank without any physical interface.
Investment firm Bernstein projects India’s GDP growth for FY21 at -7%
- Bernstein, an investment management firm based in the United States, has projected India’s GDP growth rate for FY21 at -7.0%.
- This means India’s GDP will contract by 7% in FY21 as per Bernstein.
Goldman Sachs projects India’s GDP growth rate for FY21 at -5%
- The global investment banking group, Goldman Sachs has predicted India’s GDP growth for FY21 at -5.0%. Earlier it has predicted the same at -0.4%.
- It means as per Goldman Sachs the GDP of India will contract by 5.0% in FY21.
BSE, NSE cut annual listing fee for SMEs by 25%
- Stock exchanges BSE and NSE have announced to reduce the listing fee for their SME platforms by 25 per cent.
- BSE and NSE had launched their respective SME platforms in 2012 and since then have been facilitating SMEs for raising funds, listing and trading on the exchanges.
- The rebate in the fee comes after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s several announcements to rescue the ailing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.
Important Days
National Dengue Day: 16 May
- In India, the National Dengue Day is observed every year on 16 May.
- The day is an initiative by the Ministry of Healthy and Family Welfare, to raise awareness about dengue and its preventive measures, and preparedness for control of the vector-borne disease before the transmission season begins. Dengue is caused by the bite of Aedes mosquito.
World AIDS Vaccine Day: 18 May
- World AIDS Vaccine Day, (also known as HIV Vaccine Awareness Day), is observed annually on May 18 to promote the continued urgent need for a vaccine to prevent HIV infection and AIDS.
- The concept of World AIDS Vaccine Day was proposed on May 18, 1997, during commencement speech at Morgan State University made by then-President Bill Clinton, which underlined the need of a vaccine to curb the spread of HIV.
- The first World AIDS Vaccine Day was thus observed on May 18, 1998 to commemorate the anniversary of Clinton’s speech.
Obituary
Marathi writer, playwright Ratnakar Matkari passes away
- Marathi writer and playwright Ratnakar Matkari passed away at the age of 81 years. Matkari was tested coronavirus positive last week.
- He was considered a pioneer of the children’s drama movement in Marathi.
Spiritual leader Dev Prabhakar Shastri passes away
- Noted spiritual leader Dev Prabhakar Shastri passed away at the age of 82 years. He died due to lung and kidney ailments.
- He was popularly known as ‘Daddaji’. He was from Madhya Pradesh.