Fourth phase of nationwide lockdown begins today. Union Home Ministry had yesterday extended the nationwide lockdown for fourteen more days, till 31st of this month. The lockdown since 24th March has helped considerably in containing the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The fourth phase of lockdown will however witness substantial relaxations than its previous versions. Centre has allowed States and Union Territories to demarcate Red, Orange and Green Zones. In the current phase of lockdown, States and Union Territories will be able to delineate districts, sub-divisions or even municipalities into the three different zones based on parameters set by Union Health ministry. This measure would help the States in extending the relaxations in larger parts.

The containment zones will be located within the Red and Orange zones with a small part of the area also demarcated as buffer zone. With directions of extra caution for the buffer zones, Government has directed that no activities, except for medical and essential supplies to be allowed in the containment zones. Home Ministry has put out a list of activities which will remain prohibited throughout the country till the next 14 days.

Noted literary personality, educationist and national Professor Anisuzzaman passed away in Dhaka on Thursday after a brief illness. He was 83.

He was a reputed scholar and leading intellectual of Bangladesh who made great contribution in the field of Bangla language and literature. Prof. Anisuzzaman was a liberation war fighter. He also participated in the language movement against Pakistan.

Born in Kolkata in 1937, his family moved to Bangladesh shortly after the independence of India in 1947.

The multi faceted Prof. Anusuzzaman was the President of Bangla Academy since 2012.

In his illustrious life as educationist, academic, author and social activist Prof. Anisuzzamn received many awards including the Ekushey Padak in 1985. Rabindra Bharti conferred an honorary D.Lit on him in 2005. He was awarded Padma Bhushan by the government of India in 2014.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her condolence message on the death of Prof. Anisuzzaman said that the country has lost a valiant freedom fighter and a luminary of education sector.

Mourning the death of Prof. Anisuzzaman President M Abdul Hamid said that he was a shining star of Bengali literature and culture who played a significant role in improving the quality of education in Bangladesh.

Veteran Bengali author Debesh Roy, who was conferred the Sahitya Akademi award for his novel ‘Teesta Parer Brittanto’, died at a private hospital in Kolkata on Thursday, his family members said

Atmanirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojna: The Gujarat government on Thursday announced a scheme under which people in lower middle income group can avail guarantee-free loan of Rs 1 lakh from banks at 2 per cent annual interest as it seeks to help them get back to normal life disrupted by the COVID-19 lockdown.

The government will pay another 6 per cent interest to banks giving loan under the scheme, Atmanirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojna (AGSY), targetted at small businessmen and a cross- section of people falling under the lower middle income group.

Armed Forces Day 2020 is marked on May 16. The day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May.
First conceived by President Harry S. Truman, the holiday was established in 1949. The creation of a single-day celebration for all five branches of the United States military made sense due to its recent unification under the Department of Defense.

Armed Forces Day is a joint celebration of all six branches of the U.S. military: Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, and the newly created Space Force. The day honors all people currently serving in the U.S. armed forces. This includes the men and women who have served or are serving in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard, including the National Guard and Reserve components.

The Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard are the armed forces of the United States. The Army National Guard and the Air National Guard are reserve components of their services and operate in part under state authority.

Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’today e-Launchedprint as well as e-editions of the set ofseven titles on "Psycho-Social impact of pandemic & lockdown and how to Cope With" under the corona studies series published by NBT India. Speaking on the occasion Union Minister said that "To counter these formidable circumstances that the world is facing these days, NBT has brought out these remarkable and unparalleled set of books, and I hope that these books serve as guides to mental well-being of people at large", The launching ceremony was followed by an e-interactive session with the researchers/authors of NBT Study Group.

Congratulating the National Book Trust, India for its unique efforts, Shri Nishank expressed his gratitude towards researchers as wellwho have brought together this significant material in book form for easy reading of the people. He said that preventive mental health is an important subject area that we all need in these difficult times to go ahead and fight as warriors against the pandemic. He also quoted the famous lines "Mann ke haare har hai Mann ke jeete jeet", which means that our mind and psychological well-being decides our actions.

Speaking on the occasion, Chairman NBT , Prof. Govind Prasad Sharma said, "In my age, I have seen many epidemics and diseases affecting the world, but what we are facing today is challenging because it is affecting the psychology of even those who are not corona-affected. Hence the need for these books is of utmost importance, and they will serve the needs of the readers not only in India but abroad as well". Prof. Sharma also thanked the Hon'ble Minister for his guidance and his efforts in ensuring that children across India are not affected by this pandemic and has ensured e-learning for all.

The International Day of Families, annually held on May 15, celebrates the importance of families and the work started during the International Year of Families.

What Do People Do?
A wide range of events are organized at local, national and international levels. These include: workshops, seminars and policy meeting for public officials; exhibitions and organized discussions to raise awareness of the annual theme; educational sessions for children and young people; and the launch of campaigns for public policies to strengthen and support family units. In some countries, tool kits are created to help people organize celebrations aimed at a particular section of the population, such as school children or young adults.

Public Life
The International Day of Families is a global observance and not a public holiday.

Three Special flights to bring back about 550 stranded Indians from Gulf countries under Vande Bharat Mission on Thursday.

Day eight of the Vande Bharat Mission will see one flight from Jeddah to Kochi and two separate flights from Dubai to Bhubneshwar and New Delhi. Nearly 550 passengers are expected to fly back on Thursday from Jeddah and Dubai.

The flight from Dubai to Bhubaneshwar will be the first flight to Odisha under the Vande Bharat Mission. Priority for repatriation is being given to workers in distress , elderly people, urgent medical cases, pregnant women and others stranded in difficult situation. Only those who are found asymptomatic will be allowed to board the flight.

Railway Ministry has said that regular passenger service including Mail, Express, Passenger and Suburban Services have been cancelled until further advice.

It said that all the booked tickets for the above trains for the period up to 30th June 2020 will be cancelled and full refund will be generated. However, the Shramik Special Trains and Special passenger Train services which started from 12th May of this month, shall continue to operate.

Railway has also issued order for the refund of fare in case passenger is not found fit for travel due to symptoms of corona. The order states that if during the screening a passenger has very high temperature and symptoms of corona virus, the passenger will not be allowed to travel despite having confirmed tickets.

Government  has announced the first tranche of stimulus packages, under the Atma-Nirbhar Bharat Yojana. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday made a clarion call of making India self-reliant and had announced the Atma-Nirbhar  Bharat Yojana. Addressing mediapersons yesterday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave details regarding these financial packages equaling to 10 per cent of the national GDP and amounting to 20 lakh crore rupees. She said the financial stimulus will cater to various sections of the society including MSMEs, labourers, middle class and Industries.  

Ms. Sitharaman announced 15 special financial packages of 6 lakh 40 thousand crore  rupees benefitting a wide array of sectors including MSMEs, Discoms, Real Estate, Middle Class, Tax Payers and others. In a historical decision, the ambit of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been widened resulting in inclusion of many small and micro industries under this sector. This decision of changing the definition of MSMEs will increase competition and productivity in the sector. In a major boost to the MSME sector, collateral free loan of 3 lakh crore rupees has been announced with a moratorium of 12 months.