PM announces ₹1,000 cr. aid for Bengal
- package of ₹1,000 crore for West Bengal and ₹500 crore for Odisha after an aerial survey of the devastation caused by cyclone Amphan.
- In addition ₹2 lakh will be given from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund to the family of the deceased and ₹50,000 each for the seriously injured.
RBI cuts repo rate again, down to 4%
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) further reduced the key interest rate or the repo rate by 40 bps on Friday, after a yet another out-of-turn Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting as the COVID19 pandemic induced lockdown continues, albeit with calibrated relaxations.
- The central bank also extended the loan repayment moratorium for another three months till August 31.
- The six member MPC announcement has reduced the repo rate to 4% with five members of the panel voting for the steep cut while one member, Chetan Ghate, voted for a 25 bps cut.
New Nepal map based on historic documents’
- Nepal’s new official map is based on historic documents dating back to the early 19th century and cannot be termed artificial, a top official in Kathmandu has said.
- Our position is based on the historical documents dating back to the Treaty of Sugauli of 1816, which demarcated the shape of present day Nepal,” Mr. Bhattarai said.
- Nepal launched the new official map on Wednesday, which depicts Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh as part of its territory.
Ban on Zoom: SC issues notice to Centre
- The plea by Delhi resident Harsh Chugh said the app made users “vulnerable and prone to cyber threats.”
- It has alleged that the Zoom app “practices data hoarding and cyber hoarding,” which include mass storage of personal data of its users and stores cloud recordings, instant messages and files.
- The app has been falsely claiming that calls are end-to-end encrypted when they are not,” the petition said.
- The plea has alleged that Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the nodal cyber security agency, has also warned Zoom users of cyber risks.