Top Best Current Affairs 24 May 2020 (2)

The World Bank announced emergency operations worth USD 160 billion to 100 developing countries over a 15-month period to fight the deadly Coronavirus. The coronavirus pandemic and shutdown is expected to put over 60 million into extreme poverty globally.

International Day for Biological Diversity is celebrated every year May 22 globally. The day was declared by the United Nations to raise awareness and increase understanding of biodiversity issues. Biological Diversity is not limited to nature alone, but also plants, animals, microorganisms and different ecosystems. Theme for the year 2020 is Our solutions are in nature.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh participates in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises E-conclave, "Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers MSME Conclave 2020", jointly organised by SIDM, Confederation of Indian Industry and Department of Defence Production. The Theme of the E-conclave is 'Business Continuity for MSMEs in Defence & Aerospace Sector' in which more than 800 Defence MSMEs participated.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released its Monetary Policy Statement 2020-21 in Mumbai , Maharashtra. The three-day (May 20 to 22,2020) Monetary Policy Committee virtual meeting by the 6 members was headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das with the members Dr. Pami Dua, Dr. Ravindra H. Dholakia, Dr. Janak Raj, Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra and Dr. Chetan Ghate.

Popular author Ruskin Bond has authored a book titled 'Hop On: My Adventures on Boats, Trains and Planes'. The e-book format was released on the occasion of his 86th birthday. The illustration has been done by Samrat Halder and published by Speaking Tiger's children's imprint Talking Cub.

Government has notified the amendments to the General Financial Rules 2017 to ensure that goods and services valued less than Rs 200 crores are procured from domestic firms, which states that the global tenders will be banned for government procurement upto 200 crores as announced in the AatmanirbharBharat Package. This move will boost domestic suppliers, particularly Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

The United Nations (UN) has listed Manipur's "khudol" (gift) among the top 10 global initiatives for an inclusive fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. It was listed by the United Nations Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth. Khudol is a crowdfunded initiative of Ya_All. The initiative aims to ensure food supplies and health services for the people living with HIV, daily-wage earners, LGBTQI+ community, children, and adolescents.

A team of Scientists at the Agharkar Research Institute based in Pune (Maharashtra) have mapped two alternative dwarf genes - Rht14 and Rht18- in wheat that can eliminate rice crop residue burning i.e stubble burning - one of the key sources of air pollution in north India during early winter.