1. Lucknow Medical Hospital first in the country to launch Plasma Treatment Therapy

• On April 27, 2020, the King George Medical University in Uttar Pradesh became the first government hospital to launch plasma therapy to treat COVID-19. The first dose of plasma therapy was given to a 58-year old patient.
• The Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) recently cleared the proposal of plasma therapy that was submitted by ICMR. The DGCI nodded to use plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients.

Foot Notes: About  Drug Controller General of India
Head: VG Somani
Department under: Central Drugs Standard Control Organization 
Headquarters: New Delhi

2. Former Pakistan skipper Sana Mir announces retirement from international cricket

• Former Pakistan women’s team skipper Sana Mir announced her retirement from international cricket, ending a 15 year long illustrious career. Mir featured in 226 international matches for Pakistan, including 137 as captain from 2009 to 2017.
• The right-handed batter made her ODI debut against Sri Lanka in Karachi in December 2005, while her last ODI was against Bangladesh in Lahore in November 2019.
• Mir rose to number-one on ICC Women's Rankings for ODI bowlers in October 2018.
• She is one of the nine women cricketers to have taken 100 wickets and scored 1,000 runs in ODIs.

Foot Notes:  About Pakistan Women’s National Cricket Team
One of the eight teams participating in the ICC Women’s Championship.
Captain– Bismah Maroof 
Coach– Iqbal Imam
Founded– 1997

3. First merger of two unequal-mass black holes detected by LIGO

• The scientists of Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Laboratory (LIGO) have recently recorded the first merger of black holes that were of unequal masses.
• On April 12, 2020, the LIGO-Virgo collaboration detected collision between two black holes that were 2.4 billion light years away. The scientists have now concluded from their researches and analysis that these black holes were of unequal masses.
• The black holes were 20 and 40 times the mass of the sun. One of the black holes was 29.7 solar masses and the other was 8.4 solar masses. Though they are heavier and uneven, they are the lowest-mass black holes recorded so far.

4. Team led by IIT Bombay student develops low-cost mechanical ventilator “Ruhdaar”

• A team from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT)-Bombay, NIT Srinagar and Islamic University of Science & Technology (IUST), Awantipora, Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir has developed "Ruhdaar," a low-cost ventilator using locally available materials. 
• This invention will solve the problem of the ventilator, which is the primary requirement to treat COVID-19 patients, as the high-end ventilators used in hospitals cost in lakhs of rupees.

Foot notes: About IIT Bombay
Founded in: 1958
Director: Subhasis Chaudhuri

5. Thuthukudi airport in Tamilnadu upgraded to level 3

• The Thuthukudi airport in Tamilnadu, near the strategically important Bay of Bengal coast, has been upgraded to level 3 by the Airport Authority of India.
• This signifies a rise in the operational potentials of the airport and increases the scope of getting more funds for expansion activities.
• The airport runway is at present being extended to 3115 metres to enable bigger planes to use it.
• With the work of setting up a 720 acre industrial park in Ththukudi well underway, the upgrading of Thuthukudi airport has been welcomed by the general public, industrialists and the commercial circles.

Foot notes: About Tamil Nadu
Capital: Chennai
Chief Minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami
Governor: Banwarilal Purohit

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6. 1st ever digital geological map of moon released by US Geological Survey

• The scientists from USGS (United States Geological Survey) Astrogeology Science Center, in collaboration with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and the Lunar Planetary Institute have virtually released the first ever digital, unified, global, geological map of the moon namely “Unified Geologic Map of the Moon”.
• It will serve as a blueprint for future human missions and a source of research and analysis for the educators and the general public interested in lunar geology.
• It should be noted that the moon is the closest cosmic body to Earth.

Foot Notes: About USGS
Headquarters– Reston, Virginia, United States
Director– Jim Reilly

7. Celebrations of Madurai Chithirai festival of Kallalagar temple cancelled

• The Kallalagar temple management said that all functions pertaining to the Madurai Chithirai festival in Tamil Nadu, have been cancelled in view of the coronavirus pandemic.
• In Madurai, the two-week-long Chithirai festival is among the biggest celebrations.
• The occasion re-enacts the wedding of Goddess Meenakshi (Lord Vishu’s sister) and Lord Sundareswarar (Lord Shiva)

8. Montek Ahluwalia to head expert group for post-COVID-19 revival in Punjab

• The Punjab government has constituted an expert group, headed by former deputy chairman of the Planning Commission and economist, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, to form a post-COVID-19 revival strategy for the state.
• The group, which includes economy and industry experts, shall recommend to the Punjab government a short-term (one year) as well as a medium-term action plan, including a fiscal management strategy, along with other policy measures to revive the state's economy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis, as per an official release.
• The 20-member group has been mandated to submit its initial set of recommendations by July 31.
• Montek Singh Ahluwalia is an Indian economist and civil servant who was the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India

Foot notes: About Punjab
Capital: Chandigarh
Chief Minister: Amarinder Singh
Governor: V. P. Singh Badnore

9. BRO opens Rohtang Pass after clearing snow

• Border Roads Organization (BRO) has opened Rohtang Pass, more than three weeks in advance after clearing snow.
• It is the arterial road connecting Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh from rest of the country.
• Himachal Pradesh Government had approached BRO to expedite the snow clearance to facilitate return of farmers for starting cultivation and movement of essential supplies and to bring relief materials to Lahaul Valley in wake of COVID-19.
• Rohtang Pass is a high mountain pass on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas around 51 km from Manali. It connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh.

Foot notes:
About BRO(Border Roads Organisation)
Headquarters: New Delhi
Director-General: Lt. Gen.Harpal Singh
Motto: “everything is achievable through hardwork”
Founder: Jawaharlal Nehru
Founded: 7 May 1960

10. Saudi Arabia abolishes flogging as punishment

• Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a form of punishment.
• Court-ordered floggings in Saudi Arabia, sometimes extending to hundreds of lashes, have long drawn condemnation from human rights groups.
• Previously the courts could order the flogging of convicts found guilty of offenses ranging from extramarital sex and breach of the peace to murder.
• In the future, judges will have to choose between fines and/or jail sentences, or non-custodial alternatives like community service.

Foot Notes: About Saudi Arabia
Capital: Riyadh
Currency: Saudi riyal
King: Salman of Saudi Arabia