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Important Current Affairs 24th August 2020

National

Nitin Gadkari launches mobile app ‘Harit Path’ to monitor plantation along national highways

• The Union Minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari has launched a mobile app called ‘Harit Path’ on 21 August 2020, via video conference while chairing a meeting to review ‘New Green Highways Policy (Plantation)’ and discuss use of new technologies in road construction.

• The app ‘Harit Path’ has been developed by the National Highways authority of India (NHAI) to monitor the plantation and transplantation of trees along the highways, through geo-tagging and web-based GIS enabled monitoring tools.

Population Projects India’s Population to be More Feminine by 2036

• The National Commission on Population under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare  (MoHFW) submitted the Report of the Technical group on population projections July 2020, titled “Population projections for India and States 2011- 2036”.

• The report projected that the India’s sex ratio of the total population (females per 1000 males) is expected to be more feminine in 2036 compared to the population as of 2011.

• Youth population (15-24 years) is expected to increase from 23.3 crores in 2011 to 25.2 crores in 2021 and then continue to decrease to 22.7 crores in 2036.

Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan Launches Online Registration and Renewal of Gold Hallmarking Centres

• Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan virtually launched an online system for registration and renewal of licence of gold assaying and hallmarking (A&H) centres. The online system can be accessed through the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) web portal – www.manakonline.in.

• The online mode of registration & renewal will help in ease of doing business for the jewellers and entrepreneurs who have established hallmarking centres or want to do so in future.

Banking and Economy

Axis Bank launches hiring initiative named ‘Gig-a-Opportunities’

• Axis Bank has launched a new initiative named ‘Gig-a-Opportunities’. The initiative aims to attract skilled talent that can work with the bank remotely, from anywhere in the country.

• This hiring model comprises two working patterns. One is the full-time permanent job and the second is based on the duration of a project and is temporary in nature.

Awards

Wing Commander Gajanand Yadava wins Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2019

• Wing Commander Gajanand Yadava has won the ‘Tenzing Norgey National Adventure Award 2019' in air adventure category. The Indian Air Force congratulated Yadava for the special award through a post on Twitter.

• Gajanand Yadava is a Parachute Jump Instructor. He is also a member of IAF's Skydiving Team `Akash Ganga`. He has undertaken more than 2900 jumps till date, stated the Indian Air Force in its post.

• The IAF also shared few glimpses of Gajanand Yadava skydiving and flying a parachute.

Anand Mahindra and Shantanu Narayen selected for 2020 Leadership Awards by USISP

• Anand Mahindra (Mahindra group Chairman) and Shantanu Narayen (Adobe Chairman and CEO) will be awarded the 2020 Leadership Awards by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

• They will be awarded during the third Annual Leadership Summit, titled ”US-India Week: Navigating New Challenges”, which will be held virtually from August 31, 2020 to September 03, 2020.

Acquisitions and Mergers

General insurance companies ICICI Lombard and Bharti AXA announces merger

• ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company and Bharti AXA General Insurance Company have announced the merger of their businesses.

•  The merger would result in an entity with a combined annual premium of Rs 16,447 crore and a market share of nearly 8.7%.

• After the merger, ICICI Lombard will become the third-largest non-life insurer in India.

Ranking

India ranked 57th in Digital Quality of Life Index 2020, Denmark tops

• India ranks among the lowest in the world in terms of Internet quality, according to a global research released by online privacy solutions provider SurfShark.

• In a global index on digital quality of life in 85 countries, India ranked 9th on the internet affordability indicator, and 15th on e-government.

• Overall, India ranked 57th on the Digital Quality of Life Index 2020.Scandinavian countries Denmark and Sweden topped the index, with Canada rounding up the top three.

Books and Authors

Book titled “Who painted my lust red?” authored by Sree Iyer launched

• A book titled “Who painted my lust red?” that has been authored by Sree Iyer has been launched. The book is something about when Bollywood meets Cricket meets Politicians.

• This is the second book in this series of Sree Iyer’s Money Trilogy series. The first book was “Who painted my money white?”

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Important Current Affairs 27th May 2020

National

AarogyaSetu becomes open source

• The Government has decided to make the AarogyaSetu app an open source to show its commitment towards the core design principles of AraogyaSetu- which are transparency, privacy and security.

• Making the AarogyaSetu app open source means that the government will publish it on a public code repository and release the source code in the public domain. This move will allow developers to inspect the source code of the app and modify it for changes.

• The announcement was made by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on May 26, 2020.

NitinGadkari inaugurates tunnel under ChardhamPariyojana in Chamba

• Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India NitinGadkari inaugurated the 440 metre-long tunnel, constructed below the busy town of Chamba, on Rishikesh-Dharasu road Highway(NH 94) as part of the Chardham Connectivity Project.

• The tunnel has been developed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).Of this BRO is constructing 250 Km of National Highways leading to holy shrine Gangotri and Badrinath.

• The Rs 12,000 croreChardham Project includes construction of National Highway with approximate length of 889 Km, to connect Gangotri, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Badrinath.

Army Commanders’ Conference begins in New Delhi

The Army Commanders’ Conference has commenced in New Delhi. This is the first phase of the conference which has been scheduled from 27 to 29 May 2020. The Army Commanders’ Conference is an apex level biannual event that was earlier scheduled to be held in April 2020.

PFC signs MoU with NBPCL to fund various projects in Madhya Pradesh

• Power Finance Corporation (PFC), the central PSU under Ministry of Power has signed anMoU with Narmada Basin Projects Company Ltd. (NBPCL), a wholly-owned company of Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, to fund various power projects to be executed in the State of Madhya Pradesh.

• The funds of worth Rs 22,000 crore will be deployed by NBPCL for setting up hydroelectric projects of 225 MW along with power components of 12 other major multipurpose projects to be executed in Madhya Pradesh.

Banking and Economy

Worst recession hits India in the current fiscal year: CRISIL

• The research and rating agency CRISIL has revised its forecast downwards again and expects Indian economy to contract 5 percent in fiscal 2020-21. This was 1.8 percent in last prediction.

• This means India’s GDP growth for FY21 has been estimated to be -5%.It also said that the pre- gross domestic product (GDP) rate in India will not be possible for the next three fiscals.

• Extension in , higher economic costs and an economic package are the three basic reasons for the downward revision.

Days

NGMA commemorates 115th Birth Anniversary of Ramkinkar Baij

• The National Gallery of Modern Art organised a virtual tour to commemorate the 115th Birth Anniversary of iconic artist Ramkinkar Baij. The virtual tour was titled as “Ramkinkar Baij | Journey through silent transformation and expressions”.

• The virtual tour was conducted in five different themes namely: Portrait, LifeStudy, Abstract & Structural Composition, Nature Study & Landscape and Sculptures.

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Important Current Affairs 18th March 2020

National

Microsoft, NASSCOM launches Innovate for Accessible India campaign

• Microsoft India and NASSCOM Foundation have launched the Innovate for Accessible India campaign to empower people with disabilities.

• The campaign aims at empowering people with disabilities with the technology and tools required for better integration into society and access to equal opportunities.

• The campaign is in partnership with Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Department of Science and Technology, and National Research and Education Network.

International

Iraq's President nominates Adnan Zurfi as Prime Minister

• Iraq's President Barham Salih named Adnan Zurfi, former governor of the holy Shia city of Najaf, the new prime minister of the country. It is a second attempt to find the head of government in recent months.

• He will replace outgoing Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. Mahdi resigned from his post in December after huge protests against his government.

Banking and Economy

Flipkart Joins Hand with Aegon to sell digital life insurance policies

• E-commerce major Flipkart has partnered with Aegon Life Insurance to sell paperless life insurance policies on its platform.

• The product aims to make life insurance available to customers at the click of a button in a convenient and transparent manner, without the requirement of medical tests or paperwork.

• All the existing Flipkart customers, aged between 18 and 65 years, can buy an instant digital policy with a sum assured of upto 10 lakh from March 2020.

Moody predicts India’s GDP growth at 5.3% for 2020, 5.8% in 2021

• Moody’s Investors Service has predicted India’s GDP growth rate for Calendar Year 2020 at 5.3% and for Calendar Year 2021 at 5.8%.

• Moody has downgraded the GDP estimates for 2020 on account of the Coronavirus outbreak.

Science and Technology

NavIC messaging system designed by ISRO

• Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Pratap Chandra Sarangi recently shared that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed the NavIC messaging system to put out warning messages to Indian fishermen about cyclones, tsunamis and high waves.

• The ISRO has also developed NavIC receiver.

IHBT scientists develop a new sanitizer

• A team of scientists from the Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (IHBT) in collaboration with the CSIR has developed a new hand-sanitizer to protect people from Coronavirus.

• The use of hand-sanitizers is one of the preventive measures against the Covid-19.IHBT is located in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh.

Days

Ordnance Factories’ Day in India

• Every year, 18 March is celebrated as the Ordnance Factory Day in India. OFB is the world's largest government-operated production organisation, and the oldest organisation run by the Government of India.

• It has a total workforce of about 80,000.

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Important Current Affairs 8th March 2020

NATIONAL NEWS

2nd anniversary of Poshan Abhiyaan ‘Poshan Pakhwada’ being celebrated:

• The second anniversary of the Poshan Abhiyaan  Poshan Pakhwada is being celebrated on 8th

• The focus area of the two-week-long Poshan Pakhwada 2020 will be – Men for Nutrition – increasing male engagement in Poshan Abhiyaan – to improve Nutritional Indicators.

Paytm & Hyderabad Metro tie up for QR-based tickets:

• Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd in partnership with Paytm has launched a QR-code-based metro ticketing system at Rasoolpura metro station Hyderabad, Telangana.

• The new service will enable commuters to travel seamlessly and avoid queues to buy tokens at the metro stations. They can now simply purchase a QR ticket on their Paytm app, which can be displayed at the Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) gates to proceed for the journey.

Third all-Women Post Office opens in New Delhi:

• Department of Posts, Delhi Circle has opened the third all-Women Post Office in the national capital.

• The post office was inaugurated under New Delhi South West Division to commemorate the International Women’s Day celebrations.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Times of India Sports Awards 2019 announced:

• The 4th edition of TOISA (Times of India Sports Awards) awards honoured the best Indian in 2019 sports in New Delhi, India. The event was powered by BHIM-UPI (Bharat Interface for Money- Unified Payments Interface).

• Rohit Sharma was named as the Cricketer of the year and PV Sindhu was named as the Sportsperson of the year as she won gold at the World Championships in Basel, Switzerland.

SPORTS

Australia wins Women’s T20 World Cup title:

• Defending champions Australia wins Women’s T20 World Cup 2020. Australia bowled India out for 99 runs to clinch the final by 85 runs for a record-extending fifth Women’s T20 World Cup title at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia.

• Beth Mooney has been adjudged Player of the Tournament & Alyssa Healy has been adjudged the Player of the Match.

• The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 was the seventh edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup tournament.

RANKING

Tamil Nadu tops in Poshan Abhiyan’s participants list:

• The Central Government is implementing the flagship programme Poshan Abhiyan for improving the nutritional status of Indian citizens. This programme helps children, adolescents, pregnant women, and lactating mothers by leveraging technology.

• The importance of being given to the programme is evident from the fact that as many as 14 Central Departments and all the State Governments are being involved in the programme. Tamil Nadu tops the list of the states in terms of the number of participants in the programme. The Integrated Child Development Scheme has been in force for long in the southern state that has got rejuvenated with the Centre’s Poshan Abhiyaan mission.

• The programme is revitalizing India by reaching out to the children and mothers across the nation.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Women’s Day:

• This day is observed globally every year on 8 March to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

• It is a focal point in the movement for women’s rights.

• The theme for IWD 2020 is each for Equal, recognising all of the actions we can take as individuals to challenge stereotypes, fight prejudice and celebrate women’s the year 2020 is an important one for gender equality.

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Important Current Affairs 17th February 2020

National

CDS Gen Bipin Rawat announces to create Peninsula Command

• Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat said on February 17, 2020, that the Navy is planning to form the Peninsula Command on the Eastern and Western Command.

• General Bipin Rawat was talking to the media. He said that India wants to establish two to five theater commands in the country. He clarified that IAF’s Air Defence Command will be released by the beginning of 2021 while peninsula command will be established soon.

• General Bipin Rawat said that a study has been ordered to start the Air Defence Command under the chairmanship of the Vice Chief of Air Force. It will be helpful in situations like aerial attacks.

Indian Railways zone becomes 1st in India to have energy-neutral stations

• Indian Railways takes a huge leap towards environmental sustainability. The Indian Railways South Central Railways (SCR) zone has become the first zonal railway in the country to have functional “energy neutral” railway stations on the network.

• The anticipated energy generation from these energy neutral stations is coming to be around 3 lakh units annually. The SCR zone expects that solar power generated at these stations will lead to savings of Rs 13 lakh per year.

• The total capacity of all the solar panels installed at the 13 energy neutral stations is 99 kWp

All India Conference of Central Administrative Tribunal 2020 held in New Delhi

• The annual All India Conference of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) was held in New Delhi.

• The one day conference was attended by Judicial and Administrative Members from all 17 Benches of CAT from across the country, members of the CAT Bar Association and eminent Jurists, who deliberated on key issues related to the functioning of the Tribunal and priorities for 2020.

• The Conference was presided over by Union Minister for Law and Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Maharashtra starts first intercity electric bus service

• The first intercity electric bus service between Mumbai and Pune was started on February 14, 2020. Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated this electric bus service.

• This bus has a seating capacity of 43 people. This bus can cover a distance of 300 km on a single charge.

• The Government of India will also start this type of bus service in other parts of Maharashtra. This bus will be run under the public-private partnership model.

International

India, Norway to strengthen bilateral cooperation to contain marine pollution

• Union Minister for Environment Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar stated, the year 2020 will be a Super Year for Environment.

• He stated, India has initiated Ocean dialogue with Norway to address the problem of Marine Plastic litter. Both countries decided to strengthen the bilateral cooperation in the field of environment and climate change particularly in the field of marine pollution.

• Both countries discussed ways to ensure that the coming decade will be of rapid global action on the Environment. India and Norway have formed joint working groups on Blue economy with sustainable development.

Banking and Economy

DMart’s Radhakishan Damani is second richest man in India: Forbes

• Riding on the ongoing stock rally of Avenue Supermarts, founder Radhakishan Damani has become the second most richest in India, behind Reliance Industries’s Mukesh Ambani ($57.4 billion).

• According to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires Index, the total net worth of Damani is at $17.8 billion.

Sports

Koneru Humpy wins Cairns Cup chess tournament

• Grandmaster Koneru Humpy recorded another win in the Cairns Chess tournament. Humpy and Grand Master Drona Valli Harika drew in the ninth and final round in St. Louis, USA.

• Humpy scored six points and won the title. World champion Zu Wezun finished second with five and a half points Drona Valli Harika secured fifth place with four and a half points.

• She will get five ELO rating points that will take her to the second position in the world rankings. She became World Rapid Champion in December 2019.

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