Top Best Current Affairs 15 May 2020 (2)

Former National Table Tennis (TT) champion Manmeet Singh Walia, passed away at the age of 58 in Montreal,Canada. Manmeet was suffering from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a disease that causes motor neuron degeneration, leading to voluntary muscle impairment.

The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru (Karnataka) has won the SKYTRAX Award 2020 for Best Regional Airport in India and Central Asia. It ranks 68th in World's Top 100 Airports 2020 list, which was topped by Singapore Changi Airport.

As a part of bureaucratic reshuffle, Manoj Ahuja, senior IAS officer is appointed as the new Chief of Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE), Anurag Jain as the Vice-Chairman of Delhi Development Authority(DDA) and V Vidyavati as the Director General of Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) effective from 12th May 2020.

The apex health research body, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), issued guidance on rapid antibody test kits for COVID-19 and also listed the manufacturers on 14 May. The manufacturers were listed as the importer licenses of two Chinese firms, namely Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics, which were cancelled by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) after kits supplied by them showed wide-variation under field conditions. ICMR was Founded in 1911.

Researchers have found that men seem to be more vulnerable to COVID-19 than women. It suggested the reason might be related to the concentration of the enzyme Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the blood of men and women. The ACE2 enzyme in blood responds to the novel coronavirus and enables it to infect the human cell. ACE2 is also a receptor present on the surface of healthy cells. The SARS-CoV-2 virus uses this receptor to enter inside cells. ACE2 receptors are present in abundance in the lungs, heart, kidneys, and testes.

The Ministry of AYUSH and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have partnered to validate four Ayush formulations against COVID-19. The trials are expected to start within one week. The results will be given in 3 months.Under the move, four candidates namely Ashwagandha, Yashtimadhu (Mulethi), Guduchi + Pippali (Giloy), and AYUSH-64 will be used for the trial. These drugs were invented for the treatment of malaria. Repurposing is currently going on.

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced that all the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) canteens and stores across the country will sell only indigenous products, from 1 June 2020. The move comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for "vocal for local". The announcement was made by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Geographical Indications Registry headquartered in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) has granted Geographical Indication (GI) tag for 4 new products from three states.