India coronavirus news and lockdown latest updates: India has reported 3,390 new COVID-19 positive cases and 1,273 recoveries in the last 24 hours. "The recovery percentage is now 29.36 per cent. Till now, 16,540 patients have been cured and 37,916 patients are under active medical supervision," Lav Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry said in a press briefing. India's total number of COVID-19 cases has climbed to 56,342, including 37,916 active cases, 16,539 recoveries, 1 migrated and 1,886 deaths.

Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in the country to provide mid-day meal ration.

Additional Chief Secretary Panchayat and Rural Development Manoj Shrivastava informed that this information has been given in the review meeting conducted by the Central Government.

AIR correspondent reports, the Central Government has also appreciated the successful efforts and innovation in the implementation of Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Madhya Pradesh.

To provide mid-day meal to school children in the corona outbreak an amount of Rs 117 crore has been transferred online in the bank account of the parents of 66 lakh 27 thousand students of primary and secondary school by the state government.

In addition, under door-to-door mid-day meal scheme, ration has also been provided to 56 lakh 87 thousand children.

Additional Chief Secretary Panchayat and Rural Development Manoj Shrivastava informed that the support of Anganwadi workers, Panchayat representatives and local teachers was taken in sending ration to the students at their home after the school closing in April.

In one of the largest evacuation exercises since the 1990 Kuwait airlift, the government will operate 64 flights from May 7 to 13 to bring home thousands of Indian nationals stranded abroad due to the coronavirus lockdown. Named “Vande Bharat Mission”, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar said on Tuesday that preparations for the operation had commenced and urged the stranded individuals to stay in touch with the Indian embassies in their respective countries.

Under the repatriation plan, the government will be facilitating the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad on compelling grounds in a phased manner. All international flights have been grounded since mid-March.

Moreover, the Indian Navy has launched Operation “Samudra Setu” (sea bridge) to repatriate Indian citizens from overseas. Naval ships Jalashwa and Magar are enroute to the port of Male to evacuate people from May 8. The government said only those who test Covid-19 negative would be allowed to travel

May 8 is observed as the World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day. Every year, the day celebrates the principles of the “International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement”. The celebrations aim to pay tribute to the volunteers who participated in the event as well as welcome their precious contribution to helping people in need. Mainly, World Red Cross Day focus on the food shortage, natural calamities, war as well as diseases of the epidemic.

Henry Dunant was the founder of the Red Cross as well as the founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1863 in the Country of Switzerland of Geneva. He was a high-profile person and became the recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize.

There are almost 97 million members and also many Volunteers which are of the Red Crescent as well as Red Cross. They are honored to do every task for the humans for providing them relief to the Worldwide which consists of the 170 Nations. There are about 240 Lakhs people are profited by the help of the Workers of the Red Cross activities.

Vizag Gas Leak update: At least 11 people, including a minor, are reported to have died following a leakage of styrene gas at LG Polymers' Vizag plant in the early hours of Thursday. According to reports another 1,000 people reported sick after the gas spread in five villages within a three-km radius of the plant. Close to 200 people were rushed to hospitals for treatment after complaining of breathing difficulties and burning sensation in their eyes, according to early reports .

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "closely monitoring" the situation in Visakhapatnam and had spoken to officials in the Home Ministry and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). PM Modi also held a meeting of the NDMA to take stock of the situation.

07 May 2020 Current Affairs:'Vesak', the Day of the Full Moon is observed in the month of May by the United Nations on 7 May 2020. The day commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and Death of Lord Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, all of which is said to have taken place on the same day.

Gautam Buddha:
The birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha is celebrated as Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti across the world. According to the Hindu calendar, the day falls on a full moon day in the month of Vaisakh (April/May). In 2020, the Buddha Purnima is celebrated on 7 May. 
In Theravada Buddhism, the day is observed as the day when Buddha was born as Prince Siddhartha Gautama and attained Nirvana (salvation) under the Mahabodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, Bihar and his death anniversary. The Vesak full moon day is the most important day in the Buddhist calendar. On this day, several Buddhists go to the pagodas to pour water at the foot of the sacred tree in remembrance of the Buddha's Enlightenment.
Buddha Purnima is a major festival celebrated with great pomp and fervor in countries like India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka (where it is called Vesak),  Burma, Thailand, Tibet, China, Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Mongolia, Cambodia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

Mumbai: The government has appointed Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj as a director on the central board of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Bajaj replaces Atanu Chakraborty, who retired on April 30.

“The Central Government has nominated Tarun Bajaj, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India as a Director on the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India vice Atanu Chakraborty,” RBI said in a statement on Wednesday.

The nomination of Bajaj is effective from May 5 and until further orders, it said.

New Delhi: The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) will organise a Virtual Tour titled “Gurudev – Journey of the Maestro through his visual vocabulary” from May 7, 2020, to commemorate the 159th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. There will be over 102 artworks created by the versatile genius. These artworks give a glimpse of his precious contributions to the visual language. 

The virtual tour presents the work of art from the prominent artworks of Rabindranath Tagore from reserve collection of NGMA and displayed in the themes of Portraits & Head study, The Human and Mesmerizing Nature according to his composition.

Welcoming the new MD & CEO, CB Bhave, Chairman, Max Bupa Board said, “I am delighted to welcome Krishnan to the Max Bupa family. His deep knowledge of the health insurance industry and diverse experience across domestic and international markets, coupled with his track record of delivering consistent and profitable growth, will be invaluable for Max Bupa. I am confident that under his able leadership and support of our shareholders True North and Bupa, we will realize our goal of becoming a highly customer-centric, leading retail player in the Health Insurance market.”

An industry veteran, Krishnan brings with him over 23 years of extensive experience across Health insurance, Healthcare & Life Sciences industry. Krishnan is known for his focus on core institution building with varied experience in transforming health insurance operations, driving a high growth distribution strategy, and leveraging technology for enabling business growth. He has played a key role in shaping the evolution of the health insurance industry in India, through leadership roles in the CII Policy & Standards Committee, on Health Insurance. Krishnan last served as the CEO of Apollo Munich Health Insurance.

US President Donald Trump has nominated Indian-American lawyer Ashok Michael Pinto as a representative to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank's lending arm.

Pinto, who has worked as a Special Assistant and Associate Counsel to former president George W Bush, was on Monday nominated as US Alternate Executive Director of IBRD for a term of two years.

If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace Erik Bethel, who has resigned from the post.