Daily Current Affairs, 19th May 2020

1) Madhya Pradesh launches Charan Paduka campaign for migrant labourers

•“Charan Paduka” campaign has been launched by the Madhya Pradesh for the migrant labourers moving through the state. Under this campaign, shoes and slippers will be offered to those labourers going barefoot in order to reduce their pain.

•The “Charan Paduka” campaign is being conducted by the police at most of the places in the state, starting from the Rau Police Station of Indore.

2) 7th LCU Ship ‘INLCU L57’ commissioned into Indian Navy

•Landing Craft Utility Ship ‘INLCU L57’ commissioned into Indian Navy in Port Blair. This warship was built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE). The “INLCU L57” is the seventh LCU Mark IV class warship.

•The primary role of the warship, being transportation and deployment of main battle tanks, armoured vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore. The first ship of the Mark IV LCU Vessels INLCU L51 was commissioned into Indian Navy in March 2017.

3) ARCI & SCTIMST jointly develops biodegradable metal implants

•International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) and Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram have jointly developed new generation Iron-Manganese based alloys for biodegradable metal implants for use in humans.

•The newly developed alloys are suitable for biodegradable stent and orthopaedic implant applications. Biodegradable materials like Fe, Magnesium(Mg), Zinc(Zn), and polymer participate in the healing process & gradually degrade by maintaining mechanical integrity.

•Invivo and in-vitro studies are being planned by the team at Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences. The ARCI team has employed conventional melting and powder metallurgy techniques in the manufacturing of the new Fe-Mn based biodegradable alloys and stents with diameter- 2 millimetres (mm), Length- 12 mm and Wall thickness- 175 micrometres (µm).

4) CSIR-CMERI develops disinfection sprayers to combat COVID-19

•Two mobile indoor Disinfection Sprayer units namely Pneumatically Operated Mobile Indoor Disinfection (POMID), and Battery Powered Disinfectant Sprayer (BPDS) have been developed by the scientists at CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur. The application of these units includes effective cleaning and disinfecting pathogenic micro-organism, especially in hospitals.

•Periodic usage of disinfecting units POMID & BPDS will assist in minimizing the risk of transmitting coronavirus to people who accidentally come in contact with those surfaces. These units can be used in cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces like tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, phones, keyboards, toilets, sinks, cardboards etc.

•The disinfecting units POMID & BPDS comprises of a sprayer system which is designed with two-stage spraying units and separate storage tanks to clean and disinfect the indoor areas by the numbers of fixed and flexible nozzles set in the lower and upper tiers.

5) Rajesh Goel becomes new DG of NAREDCO

•Rajesh Goel becomes new director-general (DG) of the Realtors body National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO). Prior to this, he was serving as the chairman and managing director, Hindustan Prefab Ltd. He is a professional with over 37 years of experience in leading PSUs under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

6) India Post exhibits Special Postal Cover dedicated to Migrant Workers

•India Post has released a Special Postal Cover dedicated to the migrant workers with an objective of paying tribute to them. Five migrant workers were called upon from different sectors to release the Special Postal Cover which was released during an event at the Bicentennial Hall of the historic Mumbai GPO building. The release of Special Cover was an attempt made by India Post to keep the struggles and contributions of migrant workers, recorded in the history of India.

•Among the five migrants, two workers were from the construction sector, one was a taxi driver, one was a jewelry craftsman, and one was a tailor. The programme was held by India Post to acknowledge the contribution of natives of other states in building Mumbai as the migrant workers are an integral part of the cityscape.

7) 73rd session of World Health Assembly held via video conferencing

•The 73rd session of World Health Assembly was held via video conferencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 73rd session of the assembly featured the participation of the delegations from all WHO Member States and focused on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board. During the session, India was represented by Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan. During the session, the minister highlighted the timely, graded and proactive steps taken by the Indian government towards COVID-19 management.

•The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO. The World Health Assembly is responsible to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget. It is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.

8) Bundesliga becomes 1st major sports event to resume post COVID-19 lockdown

•The Bundesliga primary football league of Germany becomes the world’s first major sports event to resume after COVID-19 lockdown. The Bundesliga games began with empty stadium though the stadium had the capacity to hold more than 80,000 players. Bundesliga means “Federal League”.

•The players are being tested twice a week. The teams participating in the games were kept under quarantine. The teams entered the ground at different times. The substitutes sat well apart during the matches.