News in Short

• Aired again after 33 Years, “Ramayan” has set a world record by becoming the highest viewed entertainment program globally with 7.7 crore views on 16th April.
• The re-telecast of the TV show started on Doordarshan National in March soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of novel coronavirus.
• The show featured Arun Govil as Rama, Dipika Chikhlia Topiwala as Sita and Sunil Lahri as Lakshman. It also starred veteran actors Lalita Pawar as Manthara, Arvind Trivedi as Ravana and Dara Singh as Hanuman.

• The Election Commission has decided to hold polls to the nine Maharashtra Legislative Council seats on May 21, giving Uddhav Thackeray an opportunity to become a member of the state legislature within the six-month deadline to remain chief minister.
• Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who was sworn in on November 28 last year, has time till May 27 to get elected to the state legislature, failing which he will have to step down.
• Maharashtra governor B S Koshyari had requested the Election Commission to declare polls for nine vacant seats to the state legislative council.

• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 20 days as he celebrated the completion of a fertilizer factory near Pyongyang, ending an absence that had triggered global rumours that he may be seriously ill.
• Speculation about his health swirled after he missed the April 15 birthday celebration for his late grandfather Kim Il Sung, the country's most important holiday, for the first time since taking power in 2011.
• The possibility of high-level instability raised troubling questions about the future of the secretive, nuclear-armed state that has been steadily building an arsenal meant to threaten the U.S. mainland.

• Chak-Hao, the black rice of Manipur and the Gorakhpurterracotta have bagged the Geogrphical Indication (GI) tag.
• The famous Kovilpattikadalaimittai has also been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag
• Chak-Hao, a scented glutinous rice which has been in cultivation in Manipur over centuries, is characterised by its special aroma. It is normally eaten during community feasts and is served as Chak-Hao kheer.
• The terracotta work of Gorakhpur is a centuries-old traditional art form, where the potters make various animal figures like, horses, elephants, camel, goat, ox, etc. with hand-applied ornamentation.
• Kovilpatti kadalai mittai is a candy made of peanuts held together with glistening syrup, and topped with wisps of grated coconut dyed pink, green and yellow.

• A day after the Centre said buses will be used to take migrant workers to their home states, the Indian Railways also started six ‘ShramikSpecial’ trains to transport workers, students and tourists following a go-ahead from the home ministry.
• The trains will be able to facilitate movement of a larger number of people in less time than would have been the case if only buses were allowed.
• As per MHA guidelines, the railways has designated nodal officers for coordinating with states. These trains are being run only for nominated people identified and registered by the state governments.