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Important Current Affairs 21st August 2020

National

Tribal Affairs Minister launches “Trifood Project” of TRIFED

• The tertiary processing centres of “Trifood Project” of TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs has been virtually launched by the Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda.

• The Trifood project has been launched in Raigad, Maharashtra and Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh. This project is expected to help in encouraging the tribal entrepreneurship.

• Two Minor Forest Produce (MFP) processing units will be set up in order to achieve the targets of the “Trifood Project”.

First rockets produced by private sector successfully test fired

• The Indian Army successfully test-fired the first ever privately manufactured Pinaka rockets recently from the firing range in Pokharan, which achieved the desired results by accurately hitting targets.

• The rockets have been manufactured by Economic Explosives Ltd (EEL) and are the first ammunition of its kind made by the private sector in India.

• Six Pinaka rockets were test fired as part of the final developmental trials.

• This development will enable Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to do away with its single source dependency on Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) for the rockets and also boost Make in India initiative.

International

Apple Becomes First U.S. Company to reach  $2 Trillion Market Cap

• Apple Inc. has become the first publicly traded U.S. company to reach a market capitalization of over $2 trillion, after its share price climbed above $467.77 on 19 August 2020.

• Apple is also the world’s only second company to hit $2 trillion in market cap.Before this, Oil Major Saudi Aramco was the world’s first and only publicly listed company to reach a $2 trillion market value in December 2019.

• Apple was also the first publicly traded U.S. company to reach a $1 trillion market cap.

India, Japan and Australia to launch Supply Chain Resilience Initiative to counter China

• India, Australia, and Japan have started the discussions for the launch of a trilateral Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) in order to reduce the dependency on China. The initiative which was first proposed by Japan might be executed.

• The officials have been working on the dates to hold the first meeting of the commerce and trade ministers of the three countries. Earlier, Japan through its Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry had approached India and had pressed on the urgency of taking the initiative forward.

• In the light of China’s aggressive moves in the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, the Indian government has decided to consider the proposal quite seriously. As per the sources, Tokyo was in favour of launching SCRI by November 2020.

Banking and Economy

Google launches ‘Kormo’ app in India to help people find jobs

• Google has launched its employment application named ‘Kormo Jobs’ in India. It would help millions of Indians to get entry-level jobs. Kormo Jobs will help to provide entry-level jobs to thousands of people, to help those who have lost their jobs during the pandemic and young professionals who are looking for jobs.

• Google had first launched the employment application in Bangladesh in 2018 and further expanded it to Indonesia in 2019.In 2019, Google had also tested this app in India but under the brand ‘Spot’ on Google Pay app, which saw more than 2 million verified jobs posted on the platform, including from companies like Zomato and Dunzo.

Appointments and Resignations

Luis Rodolfo Abinader sworn in as President of Dominican Republic

• Luis Rodolfo Abinader has been sworn in as 54th President of the Dominican Republic on 16 August 2020.

• The 53-year-old economist and businessman Abinader succeeds Danilo Medina, who served the country from 2012 to 2020.

Ranking

Swachh Survekshan 2020: Indore ranked 1st as cleanest city

• Indore city of Madhya Pradesh has been ranked as the cleanest city of India under the Swachh Survekshan 2020. It has won the Cleanest city tag for the fourth consecutive year.

• 2020 Swachh Survekshan is the 5th edition of the annual exercise and covered 4,242 cities.The results were announced on 20 August by the Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoUHA), Hardeep Singh Puri.

• Surat (Gujarat) and Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) are the second and third most cleanest city, respectively in the ranking.

India ranked 1st in number of organic farmers, Sikkim 1st state to be fully organic

• India has been ranked first in the number of organic farmers and ninth in terms of area under organic farming.

• Sikkim has become the first state in the world to become fully organic. Other states including Uttarakhand and Tripura have also set similar sustainability targets.

• North-east India has traditionally been organic and the consumption of chemicals is far less than the rest of the country. The tribal and island territories are also being encouraged to take forward their organic methods.

Days

World Senior Citizen Day

• The World Senior Citizen Day is observed globally on 21st August every year. This day is celebrated to raise awareness about issues affecting older people, such as deterioration with age and the abuse of the elderly and support, honour and show appreciation to seniors and to recognize their achievements.

• The Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 14, 1990.

• The World Senior Citizen’s Day also recognises and acknowledges the contributions of older people to society.

International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism

• The International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism is a UN recognised day observed on August 21 to pay tribute to the individuals across the globe who have been attacked, injured, traumatized or lost their lives because of terrorist attacks.

• The day was designated by United Nations General Assembly in 2017 and first time the day was observed in 2018.

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