Top Best Current Affairs 17 May 2020 (2)

According to a report "Updated Assessment of the Potential Economic Impact of COVID-19" released by Asian Development Bank (ADB), global economy is expected to lose between $ 5.8 trillion to $ 8.8 trillion, which will be 6.4 % to 9.7 % of global gross domestic product (GDP), due to the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Government of India (GoI) and the World Bank signed a $750 million of $1 billion proposed for Accelerating India's COVID-19 Social Protection Response Programme. The agreement aims to support India's efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) developed an online Dashboard-National Migrant Information System (NMIS). The central online repository aims to capture the information regarding the movement of migrants and facilitate the smooth movement of stranded persons across States. NMIS was developed after the Government of India allowed the movement of migrant workers by buses and Shramik special trains to enable them to travel to their native places. NDMA was founded on 30 May 2005.

Union Minister of Human Resource and Development Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' launched a set of seven titles on "Psycho-Social impact of pandemic & lockdown and how to Cope With" by NBT, India. The titles are placed under the corona studies series of NBT. NBT brought out a remarkable and unparalleled set of books that will serve as guides to the mental well-being of people at large.The Corona Studies Series was prepared by National Book Trust (NBT) to document and provide relevant reading materials for all age-groups for the post-Corona readership needs.

In a bid to help people start a normal life which has been affected due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown , the Gujarat state government has launched a 'Atmanirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojna (AGSY)' under which small businessmen and a cross- section of people falling under the lower middle-income group can take a guarantee-free loan of Rs 1 lakh from banks at a 2 % annual interest rate. While the rest 6 % interest will be paid by the state government.

Israel named a street in Tel Aviv after Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore on his 159th birth anniversary to honor his valuable contributions in the field and to mankind. He was born on May 7, 1861, in Calcutta. In Bengal Rabindra Jayanti is celebrated on the 25th day of the Bengali month of Boishakh.

Chhattisgarh State government is to launch Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana on 21 May on the commemoration of the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The scheme is aimed to stimulate the rural economy in the state, amid the slowdown caused by by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)- Gandhinagar (IITGN), Gujarat, have developed an interactive COVID-19 dashboard named "MIR AHD Covid-19 Dashboard", that can help administrators, hospitals as well as public in planning optimised testing for the novel coronavirus and containing community infection in various post-lockdown scenarios.