News in Short

• Kashmir saffron, which is cultivated and harvested in the Karewa (highlands) of Jammu and Kashmir, has been given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indications Registry.
• The spice is grown in some regions of Kashmir, including Pulwama, Budgam, Kishtwar and Srinagar. It is the only saffron in the world grown at an altitude of 1,600 m to 1,800 m AMSL (above mean sea level), which adds to its uniqueness and differentiates it from other saffron varieties available the world over.
• The saffron available in Kashmir is of three types — ‘LachhaSaffron’, with stigmas just separated from the flowers and dried without further processing; ‘MongraSaffron’, in which stigmas are detached from the flower, dried in the sun and processed traditionally; and ‘GuchhiSaffron’, which is the same as Lachha, except that the latter’s dried stigmas are packed loosely in air-tight containers while the former has stigmas joined together in a bundle tied with a cloth thread.

• After Paytm and Oyo, edtech unicorn Byju’s is set to enter the decacorn club as the company is reportedly raising fresh funds at a valuation of $10 billion.
• If the deal goes through, it will be with an over 20% jump in the Bengaluru-based company’s valuation which was valued at around $8.2 billion during a fundraising round in February this year.
• Byju’s will raise around $400 million in an ongoing round which has already seen participation from General Atlantic and Tiger Global.

• Non-subsidised LPG or market-priced cooking gas prices were cut by a record ?162.50 per cylinder, in line with the slump in benchmark international rates.
• This is the third straight monthly reduction in rates of non-subsidised LPG, which users who have given up subsidy buy.
• The outbreak of coronavirus and the lockdowns imposed by nations to curb its spread has evaporated demand for oil, sending international oil prices crashing.

• The Special Cell of Delhi Police has registered a case of sedition against Chairman of Delhi Minority Commission Zafarul Islam Khan for a controversial social media post.
• The FIR was registered against Mr. Khan on April 30 under section 124 A (sedition) and 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth).
• He said that his tweet on April 28, thanking Kuwait for taking note of the “persecution” of Indian Muslims, in the context of the northeast Delhi violence.

• In a first high-profile death due to coronavirus in the country, Lokpal member Justice AK Tripathi (retd) passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
• Justice Tripathi, a former Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court, breathed his last at the Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre. He was 62.
• Justice Tripathi had also served as an Additional Advocate General in Bihar. Later, he was elevated as Additional Judge of the Patna High Court and later the Chief Justice. He was appointed the Judicial Member of the Lokpal on March 23 last year.