🌍 International
– Afghanistan: President Ashraf Ghani and political rival Abdullah Abdullah strike power sharing deal; Ghani to remain President and Abdullah to lead National Reconciliation High Council
– World Telecommunication and Information Society Day celebrated on May 17; theme: ‘Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’
🇮🇳 India
– Lockdown 4.0: Lockdown extended until 31 May
– National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) extends the ongoing countrywide lockdown to combat the COVID-19 spread till May 31
✔ ECONOMIC PACKAGE
– Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announces fifth and final tranche of economic package to combat impact of COVID-19 on the economy.
✔ EASE OF DOING BUSINESS THROUGH IBC
– Minimum threshold to initiate insolvency proceedings under the IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) has been raised to Rs. 1 crore (from Rs. 1 lakh) which will insulate a large number of MSMEs
– Centre empowered to exclude COVID 19 related debt from the definition of “default” under IBC for the purpose of triggering insolvency proceedings.
✔ STATE GOVERNMENTS
– Centre raises borrowing limit of states from 3% of gross state domestic product (GSDP) to 5% in 2020-21
– Part of the borrowing will be linked to specific reforms
👨🏻💼 Appointment and Resignations
– Israel: New unity government led by PM Netanyahu and his former rival Benny Gantz approved by Knesset (Parliament) in 73-49 vote