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Important Current Affairs 24th July 2020

National

Government grants permission for permanent commission of women in Indian Army

• Central government has given its approval for permanent commission of women officers in Indian Army, empowering women to carry out larger roles in the armed force.

• The Government order specifies that the grant of permanent commission will be available for Short Service Commissioned (SSC) female officers in all 10 streams of the army.

• It will direct the Indian Army to work on its existing policies which will bring an equilibrium in the service conditions for both the female and male officers.

Home Minister to launch “Vriksharopan Abhiyan” in New Delhi

• “Vriksharopan Abhiyan” will be launched by the Union Home Minister ShriAmit Shah in New Delhi. Ministry of Coal will organize the abhiyan along with all Coal/Lignite PSUs.

• During the launch of “Vriksharopan Abhiyan”, the Union Home Minister will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of 6 Ecoparks/ Tourism sites which will offer avenues for recreation, adventure, water sport, bird watching etc for the people residing in nearby area.

• Under the “Vriksharopan Abhiyan”, large scale plantation would be carried out in mines, colonies, offices and other suitable areas of Coal/Lignite PSUs in order to promote “plantation by the society”.

International

UN General Assembly to go virtual for first time in 75 years

• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will go virtual for the first time in 75 years for its session scheduled to be held in September 2020. The world leaders of UN member countries have been asked to submit their pre-recorded videos for the session.

• The UN Assembly will hold its 75th session on September 15, 2020.

China launches its 1st independent mission to Mars

• China has successfully launched “Tianwen-1” its first independent mission to Mars. A Long March 5 rocket carrying the spacecraft ignited at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China’s tropical Hainan province.

• China had launched an orbiter destined for Mars on a Russian rocket in 2011, but the mission failed because the rocket malfunctioned.

Banking and Economy

Nomura estimates India’s GDP to contract by 6.1% in FY21

• The Indian economy is expected to contract by 6.1 percent in the current fiscal (2020-21), as per the Japanese financial services firm Nomura.

• The contraction in the GDP is due to the C-19 C-19, which has impacted both supply and demand forces in the economy since March 2020.

EPFO registers 3.18 lakh new subscribers in May 2020

• The subscriber base for Employees’ Provident Fund Organization- EPFO has grown by 3.18 lakh new net members during May 2020. It has registered 218 per cent month on month growth.

• The subscriber base growth is on account of increased number of new subscribers, lower exits and higher re-joining by exited members.

• The new subscriber joining increased by 66 per cent from 1.67 lakh in April to 2.79 lakh in May 2020.

Summits and Mou’s

Flipkart announced the acquisition of Walmart India.

• Flipkart announced on July 23, 2020 that it has acquired parent company, Walmart Inc’s Best Price wholesale cash-and-carry business in India.

• The move will allow Flipkart to launch a digital marketplace called Flipkart Wholesale next months the home grown e-commerce major looks to tap into the USD 650 billion B2B retail market in India.

• Walmart India runs 28 Best Price wholesale stores in the country. Flipkart Wholesale is a new digital marketplace focusing on addressing the business-to-business (B2B) segment in India.

• This will also strengthen the e-commerce firm’s wholesale offerings, to compete better with Amazon.

Awards

Greta Thunberg named winner of Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity

• The 17 year old climate activist from Sweden, Greta Thunberg has been named winner of the inaugural Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. She will receive a prize money of 1 million euro. She has been awarded for her efforts to mobilise younger generations to tackle climate change.

• She commenced a protest outside the Swedish parliament in 2018 and risen to global prominence, becoming the figurehead for a series of school strikes by children around the world.

Appointments and Resignations

Alok Misra becomes new CEO & Director of MFIN

• Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) has appointed Alok Misra as its new Chief Executive Officer & Director. The appointment will be effective from 1st August 2020.

•  Dr Misra takes over from the present CEO, Harsh Shrivastava, who has put down his papers after spending over 2 years at MFIN.

Arun Kumar nominated as Vice-Chairman of UIC

• The Director General of Railway Protection Force (RPF), Arun Kumar has been nominated as the Vice-Chairman of UIC (Union International Des Chemins/International Union of Railways), Security Platform from July 2020 to July 2022.

• He will take over as Chairman of the Security Platform from July 2022 to July 2024.

Days

National Thermal Engineer Day

• National Thermal Engineer Day is observed every year on 24 July to show the importance of advancing the thermal engineering industry and is provide the electronics industry with innovative, high-quality, and cost-effective thermal management and its packaging solutions.

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Important Current Affairs 22nd July 2020

National

Union Power Minister inaugurated India’s first of its kind public EV Charging Plaza

• Union Minister for Power, New & Renewable Energy, Shri R.K Singh, inaugurated India’s first public Electric Vehicle (EV) charging plaza at Chelmsford Club in New Delhi on 20 July 2020.The initiatives focus on energy efficiency, promoting e-mobility, and improving indoor air quality.

• RAISE (Retrofit of Air-conditioning to improve Indoor Air Quality for Safety and Efficiency) is a joint initiative of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) MAITREE programme.

Odisha Government Includes Transgender Community under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana

• The official notification of The Department of Social security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) informed that, Odisha Government has included the transgender community under MadhuBabu Pension Yojana(MBPY), a social security scheme by amending to Rule 6 of the Madhu Babu Pension Rules 2008.

• In addition to transgenders women, those who are fighting divorce cases in courts are also included.

• Under this scheme, about 6,000 transgenders will receive Rs. 500, Rs. 700 and Rs. 900 per month as a pension under various categories depending on their age.

Summits and Mou’s

Defence Ministry signed contract with BEML for procurement of 1,512 Mine Plough for T-90 tanks

• Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a contract with Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) for procurement of 1,512 Mine Plough (MP) for Tank T-90 S/SK. The move comes as a major boost to the Make in India initiative of the Government of India.

• The contract was approved by the Acquisition Wing of MoD.The procurement will cost approximately Rs 557 crore. These mine ploughs when fitted on T-90 Tanks will provide individual mobility to Tanks while negotiating mine field.

Obituary

Veteran Odia Actor Bijay Mohanty passes away

• Veteran Odia Actor, Bijay Mohanty passed away. He started his career with theatre as a performer and directed many plays before venturing into movies. His performance in his debut film, Chilika Tire, earned him several accolades including the National Film Award.

Former Australia Test cricketer Barry Jarman passes away

• Former Australian test wicketkeeper and ex-International Cricket Council match referee, Barry Jarman passed away.

• He made his test debut in 1959. He became the first-choice wicketkeeper for Australia only after the retirement of Grout in 1966.

Appointments and Resignations

Karur Vysya Bank appoints Ramesh Babu Boddu as MD & CEO

• Board of Directors of the Karur Vysya Bank has appointed Ramesh Babu Boddu as a Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the bank.He will succeed PR Seshadri who resigned on 31st March 2020.

• He has also been co-opted as an Additional Director. Ramesh Babu Boddu has earlier served as Deputy Managing Director in State Bank of India and retired in April 2020.

SAP appoints Kulmeet Bawa as new India MD

• Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing (SAP) has announced the appointment of Kulmeet Bawa as President and Managing Director for SAP Indian Subcontinent.

• He will replace the incumbent Deb Deep Sengupta.

Days

Space Exploration Day

• Every year on July 20, the Space Exploration Day is celebrated to mark the anniversary of man’s first historic landing on the moon.

• Neil Armstrong and Edwin Buzz became the first humans to land on moon’s surface. The Armstrong-Aldrin duo spent 21.5 hours on the surface of the moon. Also, they spent 2.5 hours outside of their capsules. The day is mainly celebrated in the United States.

Books and Authors

A book titled “Suraj Kade Marda Nahi” authored by Baldev Singh Sadaknama

• Sahitya Akademi Award winner, Baldev Singh Sadaknama has authored a book ‘Suraj Kade Marda Nahi’ (sun never dies). The book portrays many aspects of freedom fighter Udham Singh.

• The book is published by Unistarbooks. The book has been released and will be formally launched on July 31, 2020. Udham Singh 80th death anniversary will fall on July 31, 2020.

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Important Current Affairs 17th July 2020

National

UNICEF India Partners with FICCI to launch #Reimagine Campaign

• The UNICEF INDIA has entered into partnership with the Socio Economic Development Foundation (SEDF) of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI),  to co-develop #Reimagine Campaign.

• The #Reimagine Campaign of UNICEF aims to support the most vulnerable populations and children during the C-19 response and its after-math in India.

IIT Kanpur develops UV sanitizing device ‘SHUDH’ to disinfect room in 15 mins

• A team of engineers at IIT Kanpur has developed an Ultraviolet (UV) sanitizing product named SHUDH, which is capable to disinfect a 10 sqft room in about 15 minutes.

• SHUDH stands for Smartphone operated Handy Ultraviolet Disinfection Helper. It has been jointly developed by J. Ramkumar, Amandeep Singh and ShivamSachan.

• SHUDH has six UV lights of 15 Watts each that can be individually monitored from a distance and can be rotated up to 360 degrees. Users can use the number of lights based upon the size of the room.

India launches World’s Most Affordable C-19 kit “COROSURE”

• The Union Minister of Human Resource and Development Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishnak launched world’s most affordable C-19 kit. The kit was developed by IIT Delhi.

• The test called “COROSURE” has been billed as the world’s most affordable RT-PCR based C-19 diagnostic kit. The base price of the kit is Rs 399.

DCGI approves India’s 1st homemade Pneumonia vaccine

• India’s first fully indigenously developed Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine (Pneumonia vaccine) has received the approval from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).

• It will be utilized for active immunization against invasive disease and pneumonia caused by “Streptococcus pneumonia” among infants.

Summits and Mou’s

Shripad Naik e-inaugurates 5th Conference on Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Technologies

• The Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik inaugurated the 5th edition of the conference on Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Technologies on 15 July 2020 in New Delhi, via video conferencing.

• The theme of the conference was Empowering India with ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Mission’.

Obituary

Maharashtra’s first woman Election Commissioner, Neela Satyanarayan, passes away

• Former 1972 batch IAS officer and Maharashtra’s first woman State Election Commissioner (SEC) Neela Satyanarayan has passed away after she was diagnosed with C-19.  She was 72.

• She was made the state election commissioner in 2009, and retired on July 5, 2014.

Ranking

India ranks among top ten nations in intellectual property filings

• India has emerged as the top tenth nation in the ranking of the total (resident and abroad) Intellectual Property (IP) filing activity, as per World Intellectual Property Indicators-2019 Report.

• The overall ranking has been topped by Chinawas followed by United States, Germany, Japan, and Republic of Korea as the top five nations in the list.

• The report released by Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization analyzes IP activity around the globe.

Days

World Emoji Day

• The World Emoji Day is celebrated every year on 17 July since 2014 to promote the use of emojis and spread the enjoyment that they bring to all of those around us.

• The Day was created by London-based founder of Emojipedia, Jeremy Burge.

World Day for International Justice

• The World Day for International Justice, (also known as Day of International Criminal Justice or International Justice Day), is celebrated globally on July 17 to support and recognize the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

• The day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute on July 17, 1998, the treaty that created the International Criminal Court.

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Important Current Affairs 16th July 2020

National

Madhya Pradesh Tops in the Implementation of PM SVANidhi

• Madhya Pradesh has topped in implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) by sanctioning an interest-free loan of around Rs 15.50 crore to 15,500 street vendors in the state.

• PM SVANidhi is a central sector scheme to help and formalize the street vendors involved in small businesses across the country. The scheme is funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

DRDO develops P7 Heavy Drop System

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed P7 Heavy Drop System that is capable of para dropping military stores up to 7-ton weight class from IL 76 aircraft.

• The system is fully indigenous and is being manufactured by L&T who makes the platform system, parachutes manufactured by Ordnance Factory.

International

UK bans companies from sourcing 5G equipment from Huawei

• The United Kingdom has imposed a ban on its telecom companies from sourcing 5G equipment from Chinese telecom company Huawei. The announcement was made by UK’s Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden after a meeting chaired by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

• UK’s Digital Secretary informed the British parliament that from the end of this year, telecom providers must not buy any 5G equipment from Huawei. Under the new guideline, the British telecom operators will be required to remove all 5G-related equipment, supplied by Huawei, from their infrastructure by 2027.

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh resigns

• Prime Minister of Tunisia, Elyes Fakhfakh has submitted his resignation to the President of Tunisia.

• His resignation has come after a campaign to oust him in a vote of no confidence gathered momentum and to avoid more conflicts between state institutions in the country.

Summits and Mou’s

Google-Jio partnership to 5G in India: Reliance Industries 43rd  AGM 2020

• Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director, Mukesh Ambani has confirmed the Google will be Reliance Industries' new strategic partner. The announcement was made during the 43rd Annual General Meeting on July 15, 2020.

• The new strategic partner was introduced by Mr. Ambani after he mentioned all the entities that have invested in Jio Platforms. He informed that Google will invest 33,737 crores for a 7.7 percent stake in Jio Platforms.

• Reliance Jio in partnership with Google will develop an android-based smartphone operating system to increase access to smartphones. The main objective is to accelerate India's digital economy.

Appointments and Resignations

ADB appoints Ashok Lavasa as new Vice President

• Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has been appointed as the Vice President of the Asian Development Bank. The development comes just a few months before Lavasa was scheduled to take over as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).

• In his new position, Ashok Lavasa will be looking after the Private Sector Operations and Public-Private Partnerships. Ashok Lavasa has more than two years left in his term at the Election Commission of India. He would have retired as the CEC in October 2022.

Books and Authors

A book titled “If It Bleeds” authored by Stephen King released

• A new book titled “If It Bleeds”, a collection of four stories, authored by Stephen King has been released. The book published by Hachette India.

• The book has the story centres around a bomb at Albert Macready Middle School. It is a sequel to his bestselling work, “The Outsider”.

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Important Current Affairs 11th July 2020

National

Govt launches AI-based ASEEM digital platform

• The Ministry of Skilled Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) on July 10 launched Aatamanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping (ASEEM) digital portal which will help skilled people find sustainable livelihood opportunities.

• The step will improve the information flow and will bridge the demand-supply gap in the skilled workforce market. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) based system apart from recruiting the skilled workforce will also help in exploring job opportunities.

• ASEEM is developed and managed by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in collaboration with the Bangalore based company, Betterplace which specializes in blue-collar employee management.

Asia’s Largest and World’s Second Largest Data Centre Inaugurated In Mumbai

• Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and IT, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray jointly inaugurated the second-largest Tier IV data centre of the world in Mumbai.

• The world-class ‘Yotta NM1 data centre’ building has been set up at Mumbai’s Panvel data center park, to cater to the needs of engineering and real estate businesses.

• It is the largest of its kind data centre in India and Asia, as well as the second largest in the world. The Yotta NM1 facility has been developed and owned by the Hiranandani Group through its fully owned subsidiary, the Yotta Infrastructure Group. The Yotta NM1 offers 7200 racks and 50MW of power with 48-hour backup.

Banking and Economy

India’s GDP to contract by 3% in FY21: BofA

• The US brokerage firm BofA Securities has projected the India’s GDP to contract by 3 percent in FY21 because of the C-19 C-19, assuming the economy is opened up fully from August 2020.

• The GDP is likely to grow at 9 percent in FY22, expects BofA, the multinational investment bank division under the auspices of Bank of America.

Summits and Mou’s

15th meeting of the India-European Union Summit

• The 15th meeting of the India-European Union Summit will be held in virtual mode. The summit will deliberate on India-EU cooperation by covering various aspects such as political and security relations, trade and investment and economic cooperation.

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and President of European Council Charles Michel will co-chair the 15th meeting of the India-European Union Summit to be held virtually.

Science and Technology

ISRO to Launch Brazil’s Amazonia-1 Earth Observation Satellite on PSLV

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch the Amazonia – 1 onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) as a primary payload by August 2020. Amazonia -1 is Brazil’s first satellite for Earth observation – designed, assembled and tested in Brazil.

• Amazonia – 1 will help in observing and monitoring the deforestation in the region of Amazon through the satellite images.

Obituary

Ivory Coast’s Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly passes away

• The incumbent Prime Minister of Ivory Coast, Amadou Gon Coulibaly, passed away on 8th July 2020. He was 61.

• Coulibaly was a candidate for president in a coming election, to be held in October. He took over as the 10th PM of the country in January 2017.

Legendary musician Charlie Daniels passes away

• Country Music Hall of Fame musician, Charlie Daniels passed away. He was country music and southern rock icon who entertained fans for decades with songs like “Long-Haired Country Boy,” “In America,” and his signature fiddle tune “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”, who won his only Grammy Award in 1979.

• He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016.

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Important Current Affairs 9th July 2020

National

India Global Week 2020 to start from 9 July

• PM Narendra Modi will be addressing the audience worldwide on July 9 to mark the start of India Global Week 2020. The event will be held for three days during July 9 - July 11 with main focus on Trade and Investment prospects in India.

• The event will be held virtually and is expected to be attended by 5000 people.

Prakash Javadekar Participated in 4th edition of the Ministerial on Climate Action

• The 4th edition of international meeting named “Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA)” was held on July 7, 2020, which was co-chaired by European Union (EU), China and Canada. From India, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar participated in the meet.

• This meet was held virtually for the first time in view of the ongoing C-19. MoCA is held annually since 2017.Developed nations’ Target of USD 1m funding by 2020 for developing nations is not achieved yet

International

The US formally announced its withdrawal from the World Health Organization

• The United States has formalized to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO). The actual project of disentangling the U.S. from WHO began on July 6, 2020, with a letter signed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. It will take one year to go into effect.

• In April, the US stopped funding to WHO as the Trump administration reviewed the ties.

Banking and Economy

Fino Payments Bank launches ‘Bhavishya’ Savings Account for minor children

• Fino Payments Bank Limited (FPBL) has launched a savings bank account ‘Bhavishya’ for minor children aged between 10 and 18 years on 7th July 2020 to make children banking ready from early age and inculcate a savings habit among them.

• Bhavishya is an annual subscription-based savings account, which can be opened with just Rs. 349 (inclusive of GST).

• Initially, the bank is introducing the Bhavishya Savings Account in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh and gradually it will launch in other states.

Summits and Mou’s

Microsoft partners NSDC to provide digital skills

• Microsoft has partnered with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to offer digital skills to India’s youth in the next 12 months.

• This partnership will help in creating a digital skills ecosystem which will prepare India’s workforce for jobs of the future.

• As a part of the partnership, “Microsoft Learn” a learning resource center of Microsoft will be integrated with the eSkill India digital platform and offer access to personalized learning paths and resources that are required in today’s economy and expected to continue to grow in the future. e-skilling events, webinars and virtual sessions would be co-hosted across the country by eSkill India and Microsoft in order to support students, training partners and higher-education trainees enrolled under NSDC’s skill training programs.

Obituary

Veteran bollywood actor Jagdeep passes away

• Veteran Bollywood actor-comedian, Jagdeep passed away. He was born as Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri, the legendary actor was popularly known as Jagdeep, his stage name.

• He was best known for his roles in films such as Sholay, Purana Mandir and Andaz Apna Apna.

Appointments and Resignations

UKIBC appoints Jayant Krishna as Group CEO

• The UK India Business Council (UKIBC) has appointed Jayant Krishna as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the group. Jayant will replace the current Group CEO, Richard Heald.

• Prior to this, Jayant Krishna has served as the CEO of Prime Minister’s Skill India mission as well as the Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

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Important Current Affairs 8th July 2020

National

Himachal Pradesh becomes first state with LPG connections in all households

• Himachal Pradesh has become the first state where all the households have LPG gas connections. The announcement regarding this was made by HP Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.

• The gas connections were provided for free to women in the state. Over 1.35 lakh families have been benefitted under Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana in the state.

Banking and Economy

World Bank approves $400 mn for rejuvenation of river Ganga

• The World Bank has signed a loan agreement of $400 million withGovernment of India to enhance support for the Namami Gange programme. The loan agreement aims to make the Ganga a clean and healthy river.

• The loan amount of $400 million comprises a loan of $381 million and a proposed Guarantee of up to $19 million.

• The new project will aim to stem the pollution levels in the iconic river and work towards strengthening the management of the river basin which is home to more than 500 million people.

Summits and Mou’s

India, Indonesia Coast Guards sign MoU to boost maritime relations

• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Bakamla RI (Indonesian Coast Guard) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on ‘Maritime Safety and Security’ to boost maritime relations.

• India and Indonesia are historically connected through the Indian Ocean and it has been the resolve of both nations to ensure safe and secure sea passage for all seafarers in the region.

Science and Technology

ISRO to release Space policy, Space Activities Bill soon

•  Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Sivan announced recently that the space policy and space activities bill are in the final stages. A dedicated space policy was in making for some time now for legislation of space activities.

•  The policy was fast-tracked after the government announced major reforms in the space sector, allowing the private sector to use ISRO’s services to carry out space activities such as building rockets and satellites.

•  The space policy and the Space Activities Bill will help address legal issues in the space sector. A new navigation policy is also being proposed along with necessary changes in the Remote Sensing Data Policy and SATCOM policy.

Sports

Akash Become India’s 66th Grandmaster

• The 23 year-old G. Akash from Chennai, Tamil Nadu becomes the country’s 66th Grandmaster with rating of 2495.The title was confirmed at the recent meeting of International Chess Federation (FIDE) Council

• M Pranesh, from Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Ameya Audi, from Goa earned International Master Titles.

Ranking

India Ranked 31st in INFORM Risk Index 2020 for Humanitarian crises & C-19s

• In accordance with the “INFORM Report 2020: Shared evidence for managing crises and C-19s” released by research centre INFORM, operating under European Commission (EU), India has ranked at 31st place with an inform risk of 5.4, means risk of humanitarian crises and C-19s.

• The report ranked the countries based on “INFORM Risk Index” which has been topped by Somalia with an inform risk of 8.9.

• The report has analyzed 191 countries. This report is produced by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA).

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Important Current Affairs 7th July 2020

National

PM Modi to launch Asia’s largest Solar Power Plant

• PM Narendra Modi will on July 10, 2020 inaugurate the Asia's largest solar power plant at Rewa district in Madhya Pradesh. PM Modi will dedicate 750 MW plant to the nation through the means of video conferencing.

• The plant is spread over 1,590 acres of land and is one of Asia's largest single-site solar power plant.

India’s 1st NPNT compliant Drone flight successfully completed

• India’s First No-Permission No-Takeoff (NPNT) compliant drone flight on the A200 Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) has been completed successfully by Quidich Innovation Labs and Asteria Aerospace.

• This NPNT drone flight is under the Ministry of Civil Aviation MoCA& DGCA comprehensive policy on the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), which came into effect on 1st Dec 2018.

• Quidich, in collaboration with the Drone Federation of India (DFI), has extended its services to Police Departments across multiple states, providing drones for crowd monitoring and surveillance operations.

Odisha Govt launches ‘Balaram Yojana’ to provide crop loan

• Odisha government has launched ‘Balaram Yojana’ to provide crop loans to landless farmers. Under the new scheme, the landless cultivators will get loans through joint liability groups (JLGs).

• This is a first-of-its type scheme in India, targeting landless farmers of the country. The scheme will provide agriculture credit worth Rs 1,040 crore to landless farmers of the state in the next two years.

• The scheme has been designed in collaboration with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)

International

Jean Castex appointed as Prime Minister of France

• Jean Castex has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of France. The appointment of Jean Castex as the new french PM was made by the french President Emmanuel Macron.

• He replaced the former french Prime Minister Edouard Philippe who resigned from the post ahead of a government reshuffle.

Israel launches a new spy satellite

•  Israel's Defence Ministry announced on July 6, 2020 that it has successfully launched a new spy satellite. The satellite is expected to serve as an additional tool to keep tabs on many threats across the region.

•  The spy satellite, “Ofek 16” will join other Israeli spy satellites that have been launched in the past two decades.

•  The satellites are being used to monitor any threats on the state of Israel, including arch-enemy Iran.

Banking and Economy

SBM Bank India, Mastercard to facilitate cross border transactions, remittances

• SBM Bank India (promoted by Government of Mauritius) and Mastercard have joined hands to facilitate cross-border payments and remittances services by using ‘Mastercard Send’.

• Mastercard Send is a secured and innovative solution – crafted to modernize domestic and cross-border payments and remittances.

• SBM Bank India is the first bank to receive universal banking licence from the RBI to set up and operate as a scheduled commercial bank through the wholly-owned subsidiary mode.

Sports

Valtteri Bottas wins Austrian Grand Prix 2020

• Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-Finland) has won the Austrian Grand Prix 2020.

• This was the first race of 2020 Formula One season and was held on 5th July 2020.

• Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari while McLaren’s Lando Norris came third.

Appointments and Resignations

Injeti Srinivas appointed as chairman of IFSCA

• InjetiSrinivas has been appointed as the Chairman of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA.His appointment is for a period of three years.

• Srinivas is a 1983 batch IAS officer from the Odisha cadre, who has previously served at the Corporate Affairs Ministry. He retired as the Corporate Affairs Secretary on May 31.

• The IFSCA was established on April 27 this year. It is a unified body to regulate all financial services in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in the country.

Days

World Chocolate Day

• World Chocolate Day (also known as International Chocolate Day) is an annual observance taking place globally on 7th July.

• The day is said to be chosen to celebrate the introduction of chocolate to Europe in 1550.

Books and Authors

Former RBI governor U. Patel pens book ‘Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver’

• Former RBI Governor, Urjit Patel, has written a book titled ‘Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver’ which focuses on the non-performing assets (NPAs) issue that has afflicted Indian banking in recent years, its causes and Patel’s efforts as the RBI Governor in dealing with it.

• The book is likely to be released on 31 July 2020.It has been published by HarperCollins India.

“Getting Competitive: A Practitioner’s Guide for India” authored by R C Bhargava

• The Chairman of Maruti Suzuki, RC Bhargava has authored the book “Getting Competitive: A Practitioner’s Guide for India” from his experience as a policymaker and a leading industrialist.

• The book published by HarperCollins India.

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Important Current Affairs 5th July 2020

National

PM Modi launches Atmanirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge

• Prime Minister NarendraModi on July 4 launched the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge’ to help the local developers to create indigenous apps.

• The innovation challenge aims at encouraging tech & startup communities to create world-class Made in India Apps. Under the challenge, innovators are invited to develop apps in eight categories.

• The App innovation challenge has been launched in the combined partnership of the Ministry of Electronics & IT and Atal Innovation Mission-Niti Aayog.

IIT Kanpur develops virtual classroom teaching setup ‘Mobile Masterjee’

• A team of engineers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur has developed an innovative classroom-to-home teaching setup titled ‘Mobile Masterjee’, to overcome the disruption in normal classroom teaching caused due to C-19,

• The device is targeted at helping the rural schools to overcome the teaching and learning challenges posed by the C-19.

• This virtual classroom system has been designed to record the lectures/instructions by the teachers using smartphones.

Union HRD Minister launches “Drug Discovery Hackathon 2020”

• “Drug Discovery Hackathon” has been launched by the Union Minister for Human Resource Development Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Science and Technology Dr. Harsh Vardhan.

• The hackathon is a joint initiative of MHRD, AICTE and CSIR, and supported by partners such as CDAC, MyGov, Schrodinger and ChemAxon.

Banking and Economy

ADB becomes “Observer” for Network for Greening the Financial System

• The Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) has been joined by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as an observer.

• ADB has joined the network to fulfill its corporate strategy “the Strategy 2030” goals such as building climate and C-19 resilience, enhancing environmental sustainability, fostering regional cooperation and integration, tackling climate change, and strengthening governance and institutional capacity.

• With this, ADB has joined the ranks of the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Bank and the International Finance Corporation as NGFS observers.

Sports

Two-time Olympic badminton champion Lin Dan retires

• Former world number one badminton player and the two-times Olympic badminton champion from China, Lin Dan has announced his retirement from the sport.

• During his 20-year glorious national team career, he won the Olympics singles titles in Beijing in 2008 and the 2012 London Games.

Days

Dhamma Chakra Day

• President Ram NathKovind inaugurated Dhamma Chakra Day 2020 celebrations on 4th July 2020.

• The day is celebrated to mark Buddha’s First Sermon to his first 5 ascetic disciples at the Deer Park, Rsipatana in the present-day Sarnath near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

• Dhamma Chakra Day is celebrated by Buddhists across the world as the day of Dharma Chakra Parvattana or “Turning of the Wheel of Dharma”.

• It is celebrated by the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture.

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Important Current Affairs 4th July 2020

National

Government to purchase missile systems, fighter jets worth Rs 38900 crore

• The Union Defence Ministry has approved the procurement of missile systems, frontline fighter jets and other military equipment worth Rs 38,900 crore.

• With this procurement, Defence Ministry aims to boost the combat capability of the Armed Forces amid the rising tensions between India and China at LAC border.

SAP launches Global Bharat program for Indian MSMEs

• The Global Bharat program has been launched by the German technology firm SAP India. The programme has been designed to equip Indian micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with digital technologies in order to make them globally competitive.

• SAP India will also provide MSMEs access to their enterprise resource planning (ERP) software under the Global Bharat program.

ICMR fast-tracking efforts to launch ‘COVAXIN’ for public use by 15th August

• In partnership with Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has selected 12 institutes for the Phase-I and Phase–II clinical trials of the first indigenously developed C-19 vaccine BBV152 (commonly known as COVAXIN).

• After successful completion of human clinical trials, the ICMR has set a target to launch the COVAXIN for the public health uses, latest by August 15, this was reported in the media as per a letter by ICMR to the 12 selected institutes.

International

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe resigns

• French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has resigned from his post ahead of a government reshuffle by President Emmanuel Macron.

• As per the announcement made by the French Presidency, Edouard Philippe will handle the government affairs until a new cabinet would be named.

Acquisitions and Mergers

Intel Capital Invests Rs 1894.50 crore in Jio Platforms

• United States-based Intel Corporation’s investment arm Intel Capital will invest Rs 1,894.50 crores in Reliance Industries Limited’s (RIL’s) subsidiary company Jio Platform.

• With this investment, equity value in Jio Platforms rose to Rs 4.91 lakh crore, while Rs 5.16 lakh crore its enterprise value.

• Rs 1894.50 of investment will translate to 0.39 percent of an equity stake for Intel Capital in Jio Platforms. This was the 12th foreign investment in Jio Platforms.

• The 12 investments make a total of Rs 1,17,588.45crores that have been raised in Jio Platforms.

Science and Technology

ISRO's Mars Orbiter captures image of largest moon of Mars

• ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) has captured the image of ‘Phobos’, the largest and closest moon of Mars.

• The image was captured by Mars Colour Camera (MCC) aboard Mom on July 1, 2020 when the Mars orbiter was around 7,200 km from Mars and 4,200 km from Phobos.

• Phobos, the mysterious moon of Mars is believed to be made up of carbonaceous chondrites.

Ranking

India’s Forex Reserves 5th largest in the world

• The foreign exchange reserves of India is the fifth largest in the world at more than USD 500 billion. The first four Forex Reserves on the list are China, Japan, Switzerland and Russia, as per the report released by IMF - International Monetary Fund.

• The foreign exchange reserves of India are almost equal to one fifth of India's GDP.

India stands third largest contributor to e-waste in 2019

• A United Nations led report has found that India is the third largest contributor to e-waste in the world in 2019.

• As per the report titled ‘Global E-waste Monitor 2020’, the world dumped a record 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste in 2019. Of this, just 17.4 percent was recycled.

• China was the biggest contributor to e-waste in the world, contributing 10.1 million tonnes of e-waste. United States was second with 6.9 million tonnes. India, with 3.2 million tonnes, was third.

Days

International Co-operative Day 2020

• The International Co-operative Day is held annually on the first Saturday in July since 1923 by the International Co-operative Alliance to celebrate the co-operative movement and to increase awareness of cooperatives.

• The theme of International Co-operative Day 2020 is:  “Cooperatives for Climate Action”.

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