1) World Hand Hygiene Day: 05 May
•Every year, the World Hand Hygiene Day is observed on May 5. The day is organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness among people across the globe about the importance of hand hygiene in warding off many serious infections.
•The theme for 2021 is ‘Seconds Save Lives: Clean Your Hands’. The day recognizes hand washing as one of the most effective actions that can be taken to avoid a huge range of infections including the COVID-19 virus.
2) International Day of the Midwife: 05 May
•International Day of the Midwife is observed globally on 5 May every year since 1992. This day is celebrated to recognise the work of midwives and raise awareness about the status of midwives for the essential care they provide to mothers and their newborns.
•The theme for 2021 International Day of the Midwife is “Follow the Data: Invest in Midwives.”
3) Mamata Banerjee takes oath as West Bengal CM for the 3rd consecutive time
•Mamata Banerjee was sworn as West Bengal Chief Minister for the third time in the shadow of Covid and post-poll violence in parts of the state. The oath ceremony took place with Covid protocols in place at the “Throne Room” at the Raj Bhavan. The rest of the cabinet and the council of ministers will be sworn in on May 9, the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.
•Mamata Banerjee won a landslide victory in the Bengal election to secure a third straight term. The Trinamool won 213 of 292 seats while its strongest rival, BJP, finished second with 77 seats. Mamata Banerjee will head to her office Nabanna, where she will be given a guard of honour by the Kolkata Police.
4) Indian Army Launches First Solar Plant in North Sikkim
•The Indian Army recently launched the first Green Solar Energy harnessing plant in Sikkim. It was launched to benefit the troops of the Indian army. The plant uses Vanadium based battery technology. It was built at an altitude of 16,000 feet. The capacity of the plant is 56 KVA. It was completed in collaboration with IIT Mumbai.
5) Maria Ressa conferred UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize 2021
•Maria Ressa has been named as the 2021 laureate of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. The $25,000 prize “recognizes outstanding contributions to the defence or promotion of press freedom especially in the face of danger,” according to UNESCO. The prize was named after Guillermo Cano Isaza, the Colombian journalist.
•UNESCO cited Ressa’s more than a 3-decade career as a journalist, including her work as CNN’s lead investigative reporter for Asia and as news chief of Philippine broadcast giant ABS-CBN. Recently, her citation added, Ressa “has been the target of online attacks and judicial processes” for her investigative work and her position as CEO of Rappler.
6) World’s largest aeroplane by Stratolaunch completes test flight
•The world’s largest aeroplane, designed to transport hypersonic vehicles and facilitate easy access to space, soared into clear skies over California’s Mojave Desert. The company Stratolaunch designed it to transport hypersonic vehicles and facilitate easy access to space.
•The aircraft named ‘Roc’ features a twin-fuselage design and the longest wingspan ever flown, at 385 feet (117 m), surpassing the Hughes H-4 Hercules flying boat of 321 feet (98 m). The Stratolaunch is intended to carry a 550,000-pound payload and will be able to launch rockets from high altitude.
7) Goldman Sachs lowers GDP growth forecast for India in FY22 to 11.1%
•Wall Street brokerage, Goldman Sachs has cut the GDP growth rate estimate for the Indian economy to 11.1 per cent in fiscal year FY22 (April 01, 2021, to March 31, 2022), due to increasing intensities of lockdowns by states to check the spread of coronavirus infections. Goldman Sachs has also revised the 2021 Calendar Year growth forecast to 9.7 per cent, from the previous estimate of 10.5 per cent.
8) Armed Forces Launches Op “CO-JEET” for Mental Health Of COVID Patients
•The armed forces have launched operation “CO-JEET” to aid anti-COVID-19 efforts, like strengthening the medical system in India and oxygen supply chains. Along with these, CO-JEET also take measures to ensure the mental wellbeing of people. Apart from medical therapy, patients necessitate the assurance that “they will be fine” and at times that is all they need to gain back self-confidence and courage.
•Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Medical) Kanitkar is the third woman to become a three-star general in the armed forces. Vice Admiral Dr. Punita Arora & Air Marshal Padmavathy Bandopadhyay are the 1st & 2nd.
•Under the CO-JEET plan, personnel of the three wings of the armed forces have been pressed into service to help restore oxygen supply chains, set up COVID beds and provide help to the civilian administration in its fight to control the outspread of the virus. The operation also attempts to provide additional beds across the country for mixed COVID-19 management.
9) Mark Selby becomes World Snooker Champion
•In Snooker, English professional player Mark Selby has become the World Snooker Champion for the fourth time. He won the Championship title after defeating fellow mate Shaun Murphy by 18-15 victory at a professional snooker tournament, that took place from 17 April to 3 May 2021 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Prior to this, Selby won the Championship title in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021.
