WHY IN NEWS?

• The first destroyer of the Indian Navy, INS Rajput, will be decommissioned on May 21. It was commissioned on 04 May 1980. After rendering service for 41 years, it will be decommissioned at the Naval Dockyard of Visakhapatnam.

About:

• INS Rajput was built by Russia in the 61 Communards Shipyard. Its Original Russian name was ‘Nadezhny’.
• INS Rajput served for both Western and Eastern Fleets and its first commanding officer was Capt Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani. It is the 1st Indian Naval Ship to be associated with an Indian Army regiment – the Rajput Regiment. It participated in many operations including Operation Aman, Operation Pawan, Operation Cactus, etc.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Martha Karambu Koome is Kenya’s first woman chief justice. She is the first woman to head any of the three branches of government.
• Koome, 61, a calm but staunch women’s rights crusader, takes over the judiciary ahead of next year’s general elections and would likely play a decisive role in adjudicating any eventual election disputes.

WHY IN NEWS?

• The 94-year-old Chipko movement leader and a noted environmentalist, passed away due to COVID-19 on May 21, 2021, at AIIMS hospital in Rishikesh.

About:

• Sunderlal Bahunga, born in Tehri, Uttarakhand, was a noted environmentalist and the Chipko Movement leader.
• From an early age, he began organizing social activities like anti-liquor drive, spreading messages of non-violence, adopted Gandhian principles, and took note of damage done to the eco-system of the Himalayas.
• The Chipko Movement started in 1973 in an effort to stop deforestation in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Chipko, meaning to hug, was a significant move by the local women of the village who then started hugging the trees to save trees from being cut.
  Sunderlal helped the Chipko movement gain prominence and gaining support which later resulted in then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi issuing a 15-year ban on cutting green tress.
• He was also an activist in the Anti-Tehri Dam Movement during the 1980s.
• He fought hard and long for preserving forests in the Himalayas.
• He was Padma Vibhushan awardee, first in 1981 which he refused, and later in 2009 for environment conservation.

WHY IN NEWS?

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation have developed an antibody detection kit for the early screening of COVID-19.
• The Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, a lab of DRDO, in association with Delhi based firm Vanguard Diagnostics Pvt Ltd, has developed DIPCOVAN, the DIPS-VDx COVID 19 IGg Antibody Microwell ELISA for sero surveillance.

About:

• The kit can detect the spike as well as the nucleocapsid (S and N) proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus with a high sensitivity of 97% and specificity of 99%.
• DIPCOVAN aims for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies in human serum or plasma, targeting the SARS-CoV-2 related antigens.
• The detection kit also offers a significantly faster turn-around time as it requires only 75 minutes to conduct the test without any form of cross-reactivity with other diseases.
• The antibody detection kit will be useful for understanding COVID-19 epidemiology as well as assessing the individual’s previous SARS-CoV-2 exposure.

WHY IN NEWS?

• The Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel recently announced that around six cultural heritage sites have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Which are the six sites?

The following six places have successfully entered the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

• Ganga Ghats of Varanasi
• Temples of Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu
• Satpura Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh
• Maharashtra Military Architecture
• Hire Benkal Megalithic site
• Bhedaghat Lametaghat of Narmada Valley in Madhya Pradesh

WHY IN NEWS?

• A new species of an Asian gracile skink has been discovered recently at Anaikatti hills, Coimbatore.

About:

• The New Species of Asian Gracile Skink has been named Subdoluseps nilgiriensis after Nilgiris. The species is closely related to Subdoluseps pruthi found in parts of the Eastern Ghats.
• Features: The species has a slender body of just about 7 cm. It is sandy brown in colour. The unnoticeable limbs of skinks make them resemble snakes.
• Protection Status: Subdoluseps nilgiriensis is currently considered a vulnerable species.
• Significance: This species is only the third skink species discovered from mainland India in the last millennium.

Threats:

• Seasonal forest fires
• Housing constructions and brick kiln industries in the area.

Rapid urbanisation has also increased the road networks in the area

WHY IN NEWS?

• Arjan ‘Singh’ Bhullar became the first Indian fighter to win the ONE Heavyweight World Title at the top-level (Mixed Martial Arts) MMA Championship event in Singapore on May 16, 2021, after defeating the longtime heavyweight king Brandon ‘The Truth’ Vera.

About Arjan Singh Bhullar

• Arjan Bhullar is an Indian-Canadian mixed martial arts fighter. He was born and raised in Vancouver, Columbia. He is of Indian descent.
• He had won the Commonwealth Games gold medal in New Delhi in 2010. He also became the first Indian freestyle wrestler to represent Canada at the Olympics in London in 2012.
• Bhullar has also been the first Indian fighter to win a UFC fight where he defeated Luis Enrigue Barbosa de Oliveira in 2015.

WHY IN NEWS?

• The United Nations has designated May 20 as “World Bee Day.”

Theme of the year 2020 – Bee engaged: Build Back Better for Bees.

About:

• Bee day is celebrated to create awareness of the importance of pollinators and the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development.
• The main aim is to strengthen measures aimed at protecting bees and other pollinators, which will greatly help solve problems related to global food supply and eliminate hunger in developing countries.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Setting up of 22 new regional AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) has been approved under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) so far.

About:

• PMSSY was announced in 2003 with objectives of correcting regional imbalances in the availability of affordable/reliable tertiary healthcare services and also to augment facilities for quality medical education in the country.

Nodal Ministry:

• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Two Components:

• Setting up of AIIMS like institutions.
• Up gradation of government medical collegesin various states.

The project cost for upgradation of each medical college institution is shared by the Centre and the state

WHY IN NEWS?

• The government of India’s SWAMIH (Special Window for Affordable & Mid-Income Housing) Fund has completed its first residential project in Mumbai.

About SWAMIH Fund:

• SWAMIH Fund is a government-backed investment fund set up in the year 2019.
• Purpose: The fund was formed to provide relief to developers that require funding to complete a set of unfinished projects. Consequently, it will also ensure the delivery of homes to the home-buyers.
• Type: The fund has been set up as a Category-II AIF (Alternate Investment Fund) debt fund registered with SEBI.
• Investment manager:The Investment Manager of the Fund is SBICAP Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SBI Capital Markets. This in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the State Bank of India.
• Sponsor: The Sponsor of the Fund is the Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India.
• Criteria for Funding of Projects: The funding shall be provided to the projects that meet the following criteria:
• Stalled for lack of adequate funds
• Affordable and Middle-Income Category
• Net worth positive projects (including NPAs and projects undergoing NCLT proceedings)
• RERA registered
• Priority for projects very close to completion.