::NATIONAL::

President, Lok Sabha speaker meet on 68th anniversary of first sitting of Parliament

• On the occasion of 68th year of the first sittings of Parliament, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla., Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi and Ministers of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal and V. Muraleedharan today visited the historic Central Hall of Parliament House and Chambers of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
• They offered respects to the first Chairman of the Council of States, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and other leaders who are portrayed in the Central Hall.
• On the occasion, Mr Naidu and Mr Birla discussed about various memories and experiences of the First Sittings of the two Houses. On 13 May 1952, both Houses of Parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, held their first sittings after Independence.
• The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, also paid homage to Shri Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, former President of India on his Birth Anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Study finds requests for facebook user date higher from India

• The number of user data requests from the Government of India to Facebook increased 28% from July to December 2019 at 26,698 queries for 39,664 users or accounts — the second highest globally, according to a latest Transparency Report by the U.S.-based social media network.
• In the same period in 2018, the number of such ...............................

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::ECONOMY::

Government announces first tranche of fiscal stimulus package

• Government has announced the first tranche of stimulus packages, under the Atma-Nirbhar Bharat Yojana. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday made a clarion call of making India self-reliant and had announced the Atma-Nirbhar Bharat Yojana.
• Addressing mediapersons yesterday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave details regarding these financial packages equaling to 10 per cent of the national GDP and amounting to 20 lakh crore rupees. She said the financial stimulus will cater to various sections of the society including MSMEs, labourers, middle class and Industries.
• Ms. Sitharaman announced 15 special financial packages of 6 lakh 40 thousand crore rupees benefitting a wide array of sectors including MSMEs, Discoms, Real Estate, Middle Class, Tax Payers and others.
• In a historical decision, the ambit of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been widened resulting in inclusion of many small and micro industries under this sector.
• This decision of changing the definition of MSMEs will increase competition and productivity in the sector. In a major boost to the MSME sector, collateral free loan of 3 lakh crore rupees has been announced with a moratorium of 12 months.

Study finds resumption of work after intermittent lockdown might turn risky

• A staggered resumption of work following the end of the nationwide lockdown may reduce peak hospitalisations due to COVID-19 to almost 50% as compared with a total resumption that would force authorities to impose intermittent lockdowns to contain surges in the incidence of the disease, a model built by a group of scientists estimates.
• The scientists from across India involved with the.........................................

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::INTERNATIONAL::

U.S discusses west bank annexation with Israel PM

• U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met on Wednesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Israel’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank, as Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian teen in a clash with stone-throwers in the occupied territory.
• Mr. Pompeo’s brief visit came at a tense time, as Israeli troops searched for the killers of a soldier killed a day earlier by a rock dropped from a rooftop during an army raid of a West Bank village.
• Standing alongside Mr. Pompeo, Mr. Netanyahu said the six-hour visit is a “testament to the strength of our alliance.” The two said their talks would focus on shared concerns about Iran, the battle against the coronavirus and Israel’s incoming government.
• Mr. Netanyahu and his new coalition partner, Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz, postponed the swearing-in of their government until Thursday to accommodate Mr. Pompeo’s visit.

WHO warns of reopening of economies without proper contact tracing risky

• A top world health official has warned that countries are essentially driving blind in reopening their economies without setting up strong contact tracing to beat back flare-ups of the coronavirus.
• The warning came as France and Belgium .............................

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::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Two more products get added to GI tag

• • Jharkhand’s Sohrai Khovar painting and Telangana’s Telia Rumal were given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag on Tuesday by the Geographical Indications Registry headquartered in Chennai.
• The Sohrai Khovar painting is primarily being practised only in the district of Hazaribagh. However, in recent years, for promotional purposes, it has been seen in other parts of Jharkhand.
• Traditionally painted on the walls ........................................

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::SPORTS::

Former nation table tennis champion passes away

• Former men’s National table tennis champion Manmeet Singh, 58, passed away in Montreal on Monday. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
• For the past two years, Manmeet was suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALC), a neurodegenerative disease.
• He was National junior champion, National men’s doubles champion (with schoolmate and close friend Vinay Chopra), before winning the National singles title beating S. Sriram in Hyderabad in 1989.

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