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.

The FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup is all set to be held in India from February 17 to March 7, 2021, after the apex footballing body announced new dates of the showpiece tournament on Tuesday. The U-17 Women’s World Cup in India, which was originally scheduled to be held in November 2020, was postponed earlier amid the COVID-19 pandemic with FIFA announcing new dates for the competition on Tuesday. 

In what comes as a huge relief for youngsters, FIFA has decided to keep the original eligibility criteria – players born on or after January 1, 2003, and on or before December 31, 2005. Hence, the teams and players need not worry about bringing in new faces into the squad. 

The World Cup is scheduled to be hosted by Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Guwahati, Ahmedabad and Navi Mumbai with the opener slated to be played at Bhubaneswar and final at Navi Mumbai.

Manmeet Singh Walia, the former National table tennis champion, died following a prolonged illness in Montreal, Canada on Monday.

Manmeet, whose solitary National championship title came in 1988-89 in Hyderabad, suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis for well over a year before breathing his last.

Manmeet was one of the most consistent and prolific performers in Indian table tennis in the 1980s and represented the country at multiple international events.

When it came to the Nationals, however, Manmeet was unfortunate to have lost to the eventual champion four times in a row since 1981.

He broke the jinx in Hyderabad in 1988-89 by overcoming S. Sriram in the final. After retiring in the early 1990s, Manmeet relocated to Canada and stayed in touch with his old friends.

"Terrific player. We shared some amazing moments on and off the table. I think he is gone too soon, just like the way he retired too early," Kamlesh Mehta, his nemesis and a teammate at the Banks Sports Board then, told Sportstar.