Daily Current Affairs 26 May 2020 With Video Lecture

VP asks Jal Shakti Ministry & NITI Aayog to study the feasibility of drinking water project

The Vice President of India, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu today held a meeting with CEO, NITI Aayog, Secretary, Drinking Water & Sanitation, and Secretary, Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation & discussed various possible ways in which drinking water and irrigation needs of the drought-prone Udayagiri area, Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh can be met.
While enquiring about the general well-being, they informed the Vice President that ground water levels in the area have depleted considerably, most of the tanks/borewells have dried up and various water supply schemes are not serving the water needs to the fullest.
They also informed the VP that this is the 7th consecutive year where there are no adequate rains.
Most of them requested Shri Naidu to find out ways of getting water from Krishna basin or Somasila project.
The VP also spoke to the CM of Andhra Pradesh and shared with him the feedback he had received from many of his acquaintances in Udayagiri about the acute drinking water situation in the area.

Prices of N-95 Masks to be reduced after an Advisory issued by NPPA

The Government has notified N-95 Masks as an essential commodity under Essential Commodities Act, 1955 by the Government vide Notification dated 13th March 2020.
Thus, hoarding, black-marketing of the essential commodity is punishable offence under the Act.
To keep check on the hoarding, black-marketing of the essential commodity, NPPA in exercise of the powers conferred under National Disaster Management Act, 2005 had directed all States/ UT Governments to ensure sufficient availability of surgical and protective Masks, Hand Sanitizers and Gloves at prices not exceeding the Maximum Retail Price printed on the pack size vide Orders dated 13th March 2020.
Grievances have been received regarding hoarding, black-marketing and differential higher pricing of N-95 Masks in the country. In this context, NPPA has directed State Drug Controllers/Food & Drug Administrations of all State/ UT Governments to take appropriate actions.
The Government is striving to ensure uninterrupted supply of N-95 Masks in adequate quantity in the country.
In this regard, in order to ensure availability of N-95 Masks at affordable prices in the country, NPPA issued an Advisory on 21st May 2020 to all the manufacturers/ importers/ suppliers of the N-95 Masks to maintain parity in prices for non-government procurements and to make available the same at reasonable prices.

Wheat procurement by government agencies surpasses last year figures

Procurement of wheat by the government agencies surpassed last year’s figures of 341.31Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) to touch 341.56LMT on 24.05.2020, surmounting all impediments created due to the spread of COVID-19 virus and the country wide lockdown.
The biggest challenge was to ensure that procurement is done in a safe manner during the pandemic.
This was achieved through a multi-pronged strategy of awareness creation, social distancing, and deployment of technology.
The number of purchase centers was increased substantially reducing the farmer footfalls in individual purchase centers.
New centers were set up using every facility available at gram panchayat level and the numbers were increased sharply in the major procuring states like Punjab where it went up from 1836 to 3681, 599 to 1800 in Haryana and from 3545 to 4494 in Madhya Pradesh.
farmers were provided specific dates and slots to bring their produce which helped in avoiding overcrowding. Strict social distancing norms were followed, and sanitization activities were undertaken regularly

REC Ltd. ties up with Taj-SATS to provide nutritious meals to healthcare workers

REC Foundation, the CSR arm of REC Limited, has partnered with Taj-SATS (a joint venture of IHCL and SATS Ltd) to distribute specially-made nutritious meal packets for medical staff in Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi. Every day, 300 food packets are being delivered as a gesture of gratitude to the frontline healthcare warriors of New Delhi.
REC Limited (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited) is a Navratna NBFC focusing on Power Sector Financing and Development across India. Established in 1969; REC is also the nodal agency for Govt. of India flagship schemes in the Power sector like Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), Saubhagya, etc.

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