Daily CurrentTitle Affairs Capsule nd Title 22 June 2020

Nepalese FM radio stations start giving weather bulletins of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura

After Nepal’s parliament endorsed the political map that shows the disputed areas of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiadora as part of its territory earlier this month, some Nepalese FM radio stations close to India-Nepal border in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh have started giving weather bulletins of these three areas.

 These FM radio stations are located in Darchula district of Nepal and can be heard in the bordering areas of Dharchula, Baluakot, Jauljibi and Kalika towns on the Indian side in Pithoragarh.  These Nepalese FM stations have started giving information on weather reports of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura considering these areas as their own territories, like India, did recently with PoK.  In the first week of May, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had started including cities like Muzaffarabad and Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in its weather forecasts, stating PoK was part of India.

Indonesia's most active volcano Mount Merapi erupts

Indonesia's most volatile volcano spewed ash and hot gas in a massive column as high as 6km (3.7 miles) into the sky.

 Mount Merapi's clouds of ash, accompanied by a rumbling sound heard kilometres (miles) away.  The 2,968-metre (9,737-foot) mountain is the most active of 500 Indonesian volcanoes. It has rumbled and generated dark hot clouds since last year.  Its last major eruption in 2010 killed 353 people.  Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines around the ocean.

ISRO receives patent for protective garment for human spaceflight

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has received a patent for its Liquid Cooling and Heating Garment (LCHG).

 It is made of biocompatible fabrics and components to provide a comfortable temperature and removal of sweat for astronauts, for use in space for protection from hot and cold environments.  LCHGs are used in space, military applications, fire fighting and also for personal cooling and heating purposes for protection from hot and cold environments of industrial areas or in extreme temperature and humidity conditions that may exist in work environments.  These garments have a system for circulating temperature controlling fluid into and out of the garments, for instance, through tubes inside the garment.

Insurance Scheme under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package for health workers extended

The Insurance Scheme announced under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package for health workers who are fighting to contain COVID-19 has been extended for another three months till September.

 The scheme provides an insurance cover of 50 lakh rupees to around over 22 lakh public healthcare providers.  They include community health workers, who may have to be in direct contact and care of COVID-19 patients and who may be at risk of being impacted by this.  Earlier the scheme was slated to end on 30th June.  The scheme is funded through the National Disaster Response Fund, operated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.  Doctors, nurses, paramedics, sanitation workers and a few others working in hospitals under the central and State governments are covered under the insurance scheme.  Ward-Boys, ASHA workers and technicians are also covered by the special insurance scheme.

Tripura to start ‘ Play little, Study little’ scheme for school students from June 25

With uncertainty prevailing over reopening of schools due to COVID-19 pandemic, the Tripura government has decided to start a scheme called ‘Ektu Khelo, Ektu Padho’ which means ‘Play little, Study little’, from June 25.

 As per the scheme, the students would be getting audio and video contents on learning activities , projects along with fun and gaming activities via SMS or WhatsApp services.  The Education state headquarters would share the learning contents to different district academic coordinators and they would share the same to headmasters of the schools in their concerned areas.  The headmasters would give the responsibility to the teachers to share the contents among the students.  The students would get their daily lessons and activities on their phones every morning and their feedback would be received every afternoon.

Ambubachi Mela at Assam's Kamakhya Temple cancelled

For the first time, the famous Ambubachi Mela which is held at Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati every year is cancelled due to the outbreak of CoronaVirus.

 Even though the Government issued notification allowing religious institutions to open for public on certain conditions from 8th June but Kamakhya Devalaya Management Committee decided to keep the temple closed till 30th June considering the prevailing situation.  Lakhs of pilgrims visit the Ma Kamakhya Temple during the Ambubachi Mela but like every year no pilgrims will be entertained in the Devalaya this year.  Only the rituals will be performed in the temple and all the entrances will remain closed.

RBI Doubles Withdrawal Limit To Rs 1 Lakh For PMC Bank Depositors

In a relief to the depositors of fraud-hit PMC Bank, the Reserve Bank of India enhanced the withdrawal limit to Rs 1 lakh while extending the regulatory restriction on the cooperative bank by another six months till Dec. 22.

 The earlier withdrawal limit was Rs 50,000 per depositor.  The RBI had placed regulatory curbs on the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank Limited, Mumbai, on Sept. 23, 2019, after finding out certain financial irregularities, hiding and misreporting of loans given to real estate developer HDIL.  With the latest relaxation on withdrawal, more than 84% of the depositors of the bank will be able to withdraw their entire account balance.  The withdrawal limit was last enhanced to Rs 50,000 per depositor on Nov. 5, 2019, and the restrictions extended up to June 22, 2020.

Exim Bank extends USD 20.1 mn credit line to Nicaragua govt

Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has extended a line of credit (LOC) of USD 20.10 million to the government of Nicaragua for reconstruction of Aldo Chavarria Hospital.

 With signing of this agreement, Exim Bank, so far, has extended four LOCs to Nicaragua, on behalf of the Indian government, taking the total value to USD 87.63 million.  Projects covered under the LOCs include supply of equipment for building two substations, construction of transmission lines, building new substations, expansion of the existing substations and reconstruction of a hospital.  Post the signing of this LOC agreement, Exim Bank has now in place 261 LOCs, covering 62 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the CIS, with credit commitments of around USD 25.70 billion, available for financing exports from India.

US Senate confirms Dr Sethuraman Panchanathan as head of National Science Foundation

The US Senate has confirmed eminent Indian-American scientist Dr Sethuraman Panchanathan as the Director of the National Science Foundation.

 NSF is a top American body supporting fundamental research in non-medical fields of science and engineering.  Panchanathan would head the NSF, the top American science funding body that has an annual budget of USD 7.4 billion.

 He would replace France Cordova, whose six-year term ended in March, as the 15th director of the NSF. He is expected to take office on July 6.  He is the second Indian-American ever to be nominated to the prestigious science position with the first being Dr Subra Suresh who served from October 2010 to March 2013.

National champion Niki Poonacha elected to ITF panel

National champion Niki Poonacha has been elected to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) men’s player panel and will represent the Asia-Oceania zone along with Ti Chen of Chinese Taipei.

 Aldin Setkic and Francesco Vilardo were elected from Europe, while Juan Pablo Paz and Jose Bendeck were elected to represent South America.  The ITF also has a women’s player panel with Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan from Asia.  The men’s and women’s panels will be headed by Mark Woodforde and Mary Pierce, respectively, who are already athlete representatives on the ITF board of directors.  A coach will also be included into the player panels.

Social worker Vidyaben Shah passes away

Social worker Vidyaben Shah passed away at her residence.

 She was 98. As a university student, she participated in the .  Shah had established India's first ever Bal Bhavan in in the 1940s, which was to become a harbinger of the entire Bal Bhavan Movement in India.  She was president of the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW).  She was the first non-official to become president of the New Municipal Council (NDMC) in the 1970s.  She played a leading role in the establishment of one of Delhi's most renowned schools, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya and of the Triveni Kala Sangam, a premier institution for imparting training in dance, music and painting.  She was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1992 and 's National Award for outstanding services in the field of Child Welfare in 1986.

Ranji Trophy's Highest Taker Rajinder Goel Passes Away Aged 77

Former left-arm spin legend Rajinder Goel, whose record wicket haul of 637 scalps still stands, passed away.

 Goel, who played for , Punjab and Delhi, was a towering presence in domestic during a 25-year first-class career that began in the 1958-59 Ranji season and extended until 1984-85, when he was 42.  Goel finished with 750 first-class .  Goel and contemporary left-arm spinner, Padmakar Shivalkar of Mumbai, dominated batsmen in the domestic circuit for three decades.  Goel and Shivalkar were two of the finest spinners produced by India never to play for the country.