::NATIONAL::

LWO warns locust threat to be bigger this year

• The threat of locusts, which have invaded vast swathes of land in Rajasthan and entered neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, is bigger this year in comparison with the damage caused to standing crops in a limited area in 2019. The tropical grasshoppers have been crossing over to India via Pakistan’s Sindh province since April 11.

• The Union Agriculture Ministry’s Locust Warning Organisation (LWO), headquartered in Jodhpur, said on Wednesday that the locusts that came last year, after a gap of 26 years, were mature and had affected 12 districts of the State.

• “Though Pakistan has claimed that it is taking action to eliminate the breeding grounds of insects, their control measures do not seem to be effective,” Dr.Gurjar said. While Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority has arranged aircraft and helicopters for the aerial spray of insecticides, locusts have destroyed crop in the cotton-producing belt of Sindh.

• A bigger challenge is likely to emerge when the swarms flying over 20 districts in Rajasthan start breeding. The locusts will start laying eggs after the onset of monsoon and continue breeding for two more months, with new insects being born during the growth phase of the kharif crops.

• The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation has warned of more attacks of locusts along both sides of the India-Pakistan border.

Health ministry advises states/ut’s to provide home delivery of essential medicines

• Health Ministry has advised States and Union Territories to organize home deliveries of essential medicines like calcium, ORS, zinc, contraceptives, iron folic in containment zones to ensure maternal and child health care amid the Corona virus pandemic.

• It said, drugs and commodities needed for continuing Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health Plus Nutrition services should be treated as essential commodities.

• In this regard, Ministry issued a guidance note ..........................................................................

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::ECONOMY::

Finance ministry asks banks to make MSME loans risk free

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to allow banks to assign zero risk weight for loans that will be extended to the micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs) under the ₹20 lakh crore economic package announced by the government earlier this month.

• The Finance Ministry had requested the central bank to make these loans risk free, following an interaction with banks.

• As a part of the package, a ₹3 lakh crore loan for the MSME sector was announced. This will be guaranteed by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) in the form of a Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) facility.

• However, such loans would attract a risk weight of a minimum 20% since these don’t come with direct government guarantee. This facility is similar to the loans that are guaranteed by the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).

• After banks highlighted the issue with the government, the Finance Ministry asked the RBI to waive the requirement of assigning a risk weight to the loans, sources said.

• Though primarily meant for the MSME sector, other small borrowers including non-banking financial companies can also avail themselves of the scheme, sources said.

• The scheme will be applicable till October 31, or till an amount of ₹3 lakh crore is sanctioned, whichever is earlier.

• Zero risk would mean that banks will not have to set aside additional capital for these loans. The move is aimed at encouraging lenders to extend credit, as banks have turned risk averse and have been reluctant to lend.

Wheat procurement on target despite lockdown

• On the back of a record wheat harvest of more than 1,071 lakh tonnes, procurement of the grain currently at 342.6 lakh tonnes has also crossed last year’s levels despite the lockdown, and is well on the way to reaching this year’s target of 407 lakh tonnes.

• However, the progress on procurement is uneven, ........................................................................................................................................

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Nepal wants India to pull out forces from Kalapani

• India should withdraw security forces from the Kalapani region and restore status quo, Nepalese Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said on Wednesday.

• He said a solution to the border dispute should be found urgently, even as Indian sources confirmed that they were closely monitoring the debates in Nepal’s Parliament to provide a constitutional guarantee to the new map that shows the disputed region as part of Nepal’s sovereign territory.

• Mr.Gyawali said Nepal appreciated the ties it shares with India but was disappointed with the November 2019 political map of India that brought the issue back to the table. “The map is a breach of the 1997 understanding that both sides had reached during the Kathmandu visit of Prime Minister I.K. Gujral,” he said.

• India has taken note of the parliamentary debates, with informed sources saying the South Block is “carefully following” the developments in Nepal. South Block’s concerns about the Kalapani region is of particular significance as the Lipulekh pass in the region connects India with Tibet.

• “Border issues are sensitive and require trust and confidence to be resolved to the mutual satisfaction,” said a source, indicating a change in thinking. Earlier, officials had said India would consider discussion on the Kalapani issue after the COVID-19 pandemic was dealt with.

EU brings in euro 750billion economy rescue plan

• The European Union (EU)’s executive unveiled a €750 billion plan on Wednesday to prop up economies hammered by the coronavirus crisis, hoping to end months of squabbling over how to fund a recovery that has exposed fault-lines across the 27-nation bloc.

• Under the proposal, which could still be blocked by more frugal northern ...........................................................................................................

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::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Invasive mussel species spreads rapidly in Kerala

• An invasive mussel native to the South and Central American coasts is spreading quickly in the backwaters of Kerala, elbowing out other mussel and clam species and threatening the livelihoods of fishermen engaged in molluscan fisheries.

• The rapid spread of the Charru mussel (Mytellastrigata) may have been triggered by Cyclone Ockhi which struck the region in 2017, according to a paper published in the Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries.

• Externally, the Charru mussel resembles the green and brown mussels (kallummekkaya in Malayalam), but is much smaller in size. Its colour varies from black to brown, purple or dark green.

• The short-necked clam fisheries in the lake had obtained an eco label from the Marine Stewardship Council and about 3,000 people are dependent on fisheries here. In such a scenario, the fast-breeding Charru mussel could be seen as a ‘pest,’ the authors state.

• “The potential of Mytellastrigata to outcompete the lucrative clam fishery is a serious concern that urgently needs to be addressed,” they add. Though this smaller mussel is edible, the overall economic loss and impact on biodiversity is much bigger, it is pointed out.

• In this scenario, there is an urgent need to identify the presence of the Charru mussel in other parts of India by locating the pathways of introduction, said Biju Kumar of the University of Kerala.

::SPORTS::

BWF extends Tokyo Olympic qualification period

• Badminton World Federation (BWF), on Wednesday, announced an extended qualification period of 17 weeks in 2021 for the Tokyo Olympics.

• Crucially, it stated that all ranking points earned at tournaments during the original Olympic qualification period (29 April 2019 to 26 April 2020) will also count.

• BWF was unable to complete the last six weeks of its one-year qualifying period in 2020 due to COVID-19 and the extended period, slated from week 1 to 17 in 2021, will include a select number of tournaments that were postponed, cancelled or suspended.

• Efforts will be made to hold these events next year in the same corresponding week from 2020.

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