1. IITs and IIITs won’t increase the fee for the academic year 2020-2021: HRD Minister
On 26th April, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal said that the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) won’t face in hike fees for any course for the academic year 2020-2021. The minister said, “After consultation with the chairman of the Standing Committee of the IIT Council and directors of IITs, it has been decided that these institutes will not increase the tuition fee for the academic year 2020-21 for any course.” In the case of the IIITs, it has been decided that for those which are centrally-funded, the standard 10-per cent hike in the tuition fee for undergraduate programmes will not be implemented this year. I have also requested them not to increase the fee for other courses” He added “On similar lines, I have requested the IIITs run in the public-private partnership mode and not increase the tuition fee for the coming academic year for any of their courses”
2. Endangered Ganges River Dolphins spotted in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut
A pair of endangered Ganges River Dolphins were seen in the Meerut city of Uttar Pradesh. The video of the same was shared on twitter by an IFS officer Akash Deep Badhawan. These dolphins are our National Aquatic Animal and previously, before becoming endangered were found in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system. Reduction in pollution levels amid the nationwide lockdown is a major reason cited for their comeback.
3. ‘Microneedles’ developed by the team of MIT to treat plants suffering from diseases
A team of engineers at MIT have developed a precision injection system for plants that consists of Microneedles made of silk-based material, that are injected into plant tissues to deliver micronutrients, hormones, and genes to help the plants recover from diseases. This system built by MIT engineers might become the starting point for delivering life-saving treatments to plants. The microneedles can be made in different sizes and shapes for the purpose of delivering material specifically to a plant’s roots, stems, or leaves, or into its xylem or phloem.
4. Indian cricketer KL Rahul’s bat and jersey auctioned to help vulnerable children
On his birthday, Indian cricketer KL Rahul announced the auction of his world cup bat, ODI jersey, and other cricket gears to help the vulnerable children in India. The auction of his World Cup batch earned him Rs 2,64,228, helmet Rs 1,22,677, his pads fetched Rs 33,028, his ODI jersey earned Rs 1,13,240, his T20 jersey Rs 1,04,824, his Test jersey Rs 1,32,774 and his gloves Rs 28,782. He carried out this auction in collaboration with Bharat Army to help the children in times of COVID-19 lockdown.
5. “Fashion cannot be taught. That is something that is ingrained”, says fashion designer duo Falguni and Shane Peacock.
In a candid conversation with a media portal, renowned fashion designer duo Falguni and Shane Peacock said that fashion cannot be taught, it is something that is ingrained in an individual. They further added, “So either you have it, or your don’t”. The duo suggested that for those wanting to pursue a career in fashion designing must first understand where your expertise lies. Whether you are good at conceptualizing, sketching, stitching, or styling. Once you discover that, honing the necessary skill sets and moving further in the right direction becomes easy.
6. Post Trump’s remark, customers dial US hotline to ask if they can inject disinfectants
After the US President Donald Trump made a statement of injecting disinfectant to cure coronavirus, hundreds of people dialled the US hotline numbers to ask if the statement made by the president was indeed true or not. The hotline flooded with calls to such an extent that the state’s Emergency Management Agency felt compelled to issue a warning stating that “under no circumstances” should any disinfectant be taken to treat the coronavirus.
7. New York based startup leaves credit card record of millions exposed
A New York based payment startup named Paay’s database left the credit card record of millions exposed for anyone to access on the internet for three long weeks. The database was pulled offline after it was notified about this error. The data that was left exposed included credit card number, expiry date, and the amount that was spent. Fortunately though, since there were no names of the cardholders and card verification values, no case of hacking or theft had occurred.
8. Online auction of rare whiskeys becomes a victim of cyber attack
After undergoing a cyberattack, the online auction of recherche whiskeys (rare whiskeys) was called off and is going to held in some time in the future. “The sale of Richard Gooding’s “The Perfect Collection” was marketed as “the largest and most unprecedented private whisky collection ever to be offered for public sale”, as mentioned in The Guardian. The site was attacked a day after bidding for the second round closed.
9. 10 pollution hotspots of Delhi and Mumbai become green zones amid lockdown
As a result of nationwide lockdown, there has been around more than 40% reduction in air pollution levels in parts of Delhi and Mumbai. In Delhi alone, about 8 locations which used to be pollution hotspots prior to the lockdown have been declared green zones, said Gufran Beig, director, Centre’s System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). Vinobapuri, Adarsh Nagar, Vasundhara, Sahibabad, Ashram Road, Punjabi Bagh, Okhla, and Badarpur are the areas of Delhi are now tagged as green zones. Areas of Mumbai too were observed having less pollution. Worli, Borivali, and Bhandup of Mumbai are now green zones.
10. Oil tankers parked along Singapore’s coastline amidst the fall in oil consumption
The coastline of Singapore is packed with around 60 oil tankers. While some of these fuel tankers are being used to hoard fuel at sea, others are parked waiting to be redirected to any willing buyer across Asia. This is a result of the demand and the need for oil consumption being reduced as an adverse effect of the outburst of the Coronavirus that has damaged economies worldwide. Another major reason for these tankers being parked in water is because the onshore storage places across the world are running out of storage capacity and have no place to store surplus barrels of oil.
11. Every 7th doctors in the US is an Indian: AAPI President
Every 7th doctor in the United States is an India and is working as a frontline soldier in this fight against the Coronavirus, says president Dr. Suresh Reddy of the American Association of Physicians of India Origin (AAPI). He further added that the US government officials have lauded the service, efforts and work of these Indian doctors and other community members.
12. COVID warrior website to connect people with local authorities: PM Modi
On Sunday, India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi announced the launch of the COVID warriors website that links the volunteers of social organizations and representatives of local administrations. The website includes doctors, nurses, ASHA workers, NCC and NSS officers. He said that these people and immensely helpful at the local level in preparing Crisis Management Plans and also in implementing.
13. US’s health protection agency links six new symptoms to Coronavirus
In addition to the old symptoms of coronavirus of cold and fever, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States has six new symptoms which includes chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell.
14. COVID survivor Cohen stopped from donating bloody because he is gay
Coronavirus survivor Andy Cohen said he couldn’t donate blood to those infected with the virus because he is gay. Due to the “discriminatory guidelines” put in place by the FDA in the 1980s to prevent the transmission of HIV, Andy was stopped from donating bloody. He said “ My blood could save a life but instead it’s over here boiling”
15. Cricketer Kane Williamson: AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli are currently the best batsmen in the world
In a candid Instagram live session with the Australian batsman David Warner, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson mentioned that currently, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli are the best batsmen in the world. While talking about Virat Kohli he said that “Kohli, in all formats, has a real hunger to dominate. He is so good to watch and play against, and to learn as well. He has set the bar so high.” While talking about de Villiers, the cricketer said that “Someone like AB — I know he only plays franchise cricket now, but in terms of gifted players, he is right up there. And a top guy as well. He’s one of the special players of our time. But (there are) so many quality players.”
