National
Chief Minister of Kerala
⇒ Pinarayi Vijayan has been sworn in as Kerala Chief Minister for a second time on 20 May 2021.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan administered oath of office and secrecy to Pinarayi Vijayan as CM of Kerala, and 20 of his cabinet members at function held at central stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
In the recent election, ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) stormed back to power, with 99 seats out of 140 seats.
DRDO Developed an Antibody Detection-based kit 'DIPCOVAN'
⇒ Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation, has developed an antibody detection-based kit ‘DIPCOVAN’, the DIPAS-VDx COVID-19 IgG Antibody Microwell ELISA for sero-surveillance.
The DIPCOVAN kit can detect both spike as well as nucleocapsid (S&N) proteins of SARS-CoV-2 virus with a high sensitivity of 97 percent and specificity of 99 percent.
The kit has been developed association with Vanguard Diagnostics Pvt Ltd, a New Delhi based company.
DIPCOVAN is intended for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies in human serum or plasma, targeting SARS-CoV-2 related antigens.
NMMS App and Area Officer Monitoring App
⇒ Union Minister of Rural Development, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Panchayati Raj and Food Processing Industries, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launched National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) app and Area officer monitoring App on 21 May 2021.
The NMMS App allows taking real time attendance of workers at Mahatma Gandhi NREGS worksites along with geotagged photograph. This feature will increase citizen oversight of the programme besides potentially enabling processing payments faster.
Area Officer Monitoring App will facilitates to record their findings online along with time stamped and go-coordinate tagged photograph for all the schemes of Deptt of Rural Development- Mahatma Gandhi NREGS, PMAYG, PMGSY.
International
33rd meeting of Health Ministers of Commonwealth countries
⇒ Dr Harshvardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare chaired the opening session of the 33rd meeting of Health Ministers of Commonwealth countries on 20 May 2021.
The meeting was held on the theme of “Commonwealth Response to COVID-19: Ensuring Equitable Access to Vaccines and Building Resilience for Health Systems and Emergencies.”
Sports
'Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame'
⇒ Los Angeles Lakers icon, Kobe Bryant was inducted posthumously into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on 15 May 2021. Bryant was inducted as part of the Class of 2020.
The five-time NBA champion Bryant had retired in 2016. Last year, Kobe Bryant was died in a helicopter crash.
Among the others inducted to the Class of 2020 were Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Eddie Sutton, Rudy Tomjanovich, Tamika Catchings, Kim Mulkey, Barbara Stevens, and Patrick Baumann.
Important Day
World Bee Day 2021
⇒ Since 2017, World Bee Day is celebrated every year on May 20. On this day, the pioneer of beekeeping, Anton Janša was born in 1734.
The UN designated 20 May as World Bee Day to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development.
Theme:
World Bee Day 2021 was celebrated by the FAO under the theme of “Bee engaged – Build Back Better for Bees”.
Honey Testing Laboratory in New Delhi:
On the occasion of World Bee Day, Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launched the project of setting up of a honey testing laboratory at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, New Delhi.
Death
Noted Environmentalist, Sunderlal Bahuguna
⇒ Noted environmentalist, Sunderlal Bahuguna died on 21 May 2021 in Rishikesh. He was 94.
Bahuguna was pioneer leader of Chipko movement. The Chipko movement was a non-violent agitation in 1973. The movement was aimed to protect and conserve trees & forest area.
In 2009, he conferred with the Padma Vibhushan Award for environment conservation. He worte various book such as India’s Environment: Myth & Reality, Dharti Ki Pukar etc.
Former Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Jagannath Pahadia
⇒ Former Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Jagannath Pahadia passed away on 19 May 2021. He was 89.
Pahadia was the chief minister of Rajasthan during June 1980 to July 1981. He was also the governor of Bihar from 3 March 1989 to 2 February 1990. Later, he served as the governor of Haryana from 27 July 2009 to 26 July 2014.