Current Affairs Today 1st August 2020-Download in PDF

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Current Affairs Today – 1st August 2020

NEWS AT A GLANCE

  1. 1st August is declared as the Muslim Women’s Rights Day across the country as on this day the law-making Triple Talaq a criminal offence which got Presidential nod last year after getting approval from the Parliament.
  2. Wibmo Inc., a leading provider of payer authentication services in the world and India’s largest provider of card payment security solutions today announced the launch of Wibmo Video-KYC, its video-based KYC solution to enable banks to digitally onboard their customers.
  3. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said banks have sanctioned Rs 89,810 crore to about 11 million Kisan Credit Card (KCC) holders to help farmers meet finances for kharif sowing and allied activities.
  4. Private sector lender Axis Bank unveiled as Automated Voice Assistant ‘AXAA’, which is an artificial intelligence-powered conversational voice BOT.
  5. Canara Bank it has tied-up with three insurance companies namely, New India Assurance Company Ltd, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co Ltd and HDFC ERGO Health Insurance to sell short-term Corona Kavach policy to cover COVID-19 related health expenses.
  6. AIM-iCREST- an incubator capabilities enhancement program for an ecosystem which will be focused on creating high performing startups recently launched by Niti Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM).
  7. Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar announced that the central government will fund 112 agricultural startups in the 1st phase with an amount of Rs. 11.85 crores in 2020-2021 under the Innovation and Agri-entrepreneurship Development Programme and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).
  8. The International commercial passenger flights will remain suspended till August 31, 2020.
  9. India Imposes Import Restrictions on Color TV Sets as majority of TV sets come from China.
  10. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), and its administrative units observed Swachhta Pakhwada 2020 with a thematic campaign #SkillSeSwachhta from 15th – 31st July.
  11. Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the upstream carriageway of Mahatma Gandhi Bridge over river Ganga in Bihar through video conference.
  12. Former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s preventive detention was extended for another three months on July 31, 2020 under Public Safety Act.
  13. The Centre will develop Leh and Kargil as smart cities in the newly-formed union territory of Ladakh.
  14. Gujarat has become the second state after Andhra Pradesh to come up with a latest manual for the police in recent times.
  15. The Jammu & Kashmir State Legal Services Authority, under the guidance of Chief Justice J&K High Court, Gita Mittal, would be organising E-Lok Adalat to be conducted exclusively through different digital modes, on Saturday 22nd of August 2020.
  16. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also appealed to the people to wear masks and follow physical distance. Following the Prime Minister’s appeal, a public awareness campaign called ‘Ek Mask-Anek Zindagi’ means one mask-many life will be conducted from today till August 15 in many districts of Madhya Pradesh.
  17. Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Mauritian Prime Minister Pravin Kumar Jugnauth on Thursday virtually inaugurated the new Supreme Court building at Port Louis.
  18. Australia will force US tech giant Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc’s Google to pay Australian media publishers for news content.
  19. Defence Minister of Ivory Coast, Hamed Bakayoko has been named as the Prime Minister of the country.
  20. The Environment Ministers of the five BRICS countries participated in the 6th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting on July 30, 2020 through video conference.
  21. According to Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR) 2020, Technology giant Microsoft India has emerged as the country’s most attractive employer brand, followed by Samsung India and Amazon India in the second and third place, respectively, says a survey.
  22. Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh has topped the list of aspirational districts in Overall Delta Ranking by government think-tank Niti Aayog for the February-June 2020 period.
  23. Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power a joint venture between India’s Reliance Power and Japan’s JERA are all set to develop a new gas-fired power generation project in Bangladesh through their project company.
  24. The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports formed a selection committee for selecting awardees for various sports awards for the National Sports Awards 2020.
  25. Ministry of Tribal Affairs receives SKOCH Gold Award for its “Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled Scholarship Schemes” project.
  26. Commonwealth Games medalist Babita Phogat and Kabaddi player Kavita Devi have been appointed as deputy directors in the Sports and Youth Affairs Department of Haryana.
  27. Post the COVID-19 break, Divij Sharan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth won their first doubles title of the season at the Lawn Tennis Association’s British Tour in Surrey.
  28. Indian Grandmaster, P Harikrishna has finished second in the rapid section of the 53rd Biel International Chess Festival in Switzerland.
  29. Indian Space of Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to allow the private sector to set up their own launchpad at the Sriharikota Launch Centre (SHAR) so that they can launch their own rocket or spacecraft.
  30. Microsoft has launched its new mobile app named ‘Family Safety app’ for iOS and Android users.
  31. One-stop knowledge portal named as “MSMESaksham” for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) launched by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
  32. Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched digital platforms named ‘CREDAI Awaas App’ and NAREDCO’s online portal ‘HousingforAll.com’ for real estate bodies CREDAI and NAREDCO to market residential properties, besides releasing a guide book for affordable rental housing scheme for migrants.
  33. Justice Sanjay Gupta, a sitting judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, died due to illness. He was 59.
  34. Shaankar Sen, chairman and managing director of Senco Gold Ltd., which runs the chain of Senco Gold and diamond jewellery stores, passed away in Kolkata.
  35. Veteran actor, writer, director and producer Raavi Kondal Rao died due to cardiac arrest at a private hospital. He was 88.
  36. Japanese fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto, known for styling musician David Bowie, has died at the age of 76.
  37. Malayalam actor, Anil Murali passed away.
  38. Former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui passed away. He served as president of Taiwan from 1988 to 2000.
  39. Former Union Home Secretary Ram Pradhan passed away in due to age-related ailments.
  40. In view of the coronavirus pandemic, the government announced the extension of a deadline for mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts by over four months till June 1, 2021.

NEWS IN DETAILS

IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES

India celebrates 1st August as Muslim Women’s Rights Day

  • 1st August is declared as the Muslim Women’s Rights Day across the country as on this day the law-making Triple Talaq a criminal offence which got Presidential nod last year after getting approval from the Parliament.

Triple Talaq Act:

  • The bill makes any act of divorce through Triple Talaq is a legal offence and makes it void and illegal. Any man whosoever practices Triple Talaq mode of divorce shall be punished with an imprisonment of three years or fine or both. The offence is non-bailable and entitles the married woman to take custody of her minor children.

BANKING & FINANCE 

Wibmo launches video-based customer identification process for banks

  • Wibmo Inc., a leading provider of payer authentication services in the world and India’s largest provider of card payment security solutions today announced the launch of Wibmo Video-KYC, its video-based KYC solution to enable banks to digitally onboard their customers.
  • Wibmo’s Video-KYC platform has been designed keeping in mind the emerging need of financial service providers and their customers world-wide to establish a trust relationship in a digital world.
  • This solution will not only help banks and financial service providers bring on new customers, but also open up more ways for reaching their customers online.

Extra Shots:

Wibmo:

  • Founded: 1999
  • Chief business officer: Suresh Rajagopalan
  • Headquarters location: Cupertino, California, United States
  • Subsidiary: Mypoolin

Banks sanctions about Rs 90,000 crore concessional credit to 1.1 crore KCC holders

  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said banks have sanctioned Rs 89,810 crore to about 11 million Kisan Credit Card (KCC) holders to help farmers meet finances for kharif sowing and allied activities.
  • As part of the Rs 20.97 trillion stimulus package, the government had announced Rs 2 trillion of concessional credit through KCC to 25 million farmers, including fishermen and those involved in animal husbandry.
  • This marks an increase of Rs 26,940 crore over Rs 62,870 crore sanctioned to 70.32 lakh KCC holders as on June 30.

Axis Bank launches AI-powered conversational voice BOT for IVR

  • Private sector lender Axis Bank unveiled as Automated Voice Assistant ‘AXAA’, which is an artificial intelligence-powered conversational voice BOT.
  • AXAA operates like a humanoid and has power to change the paradigm of customer experience from conventional Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to a new era of call steering and precise response with very high degree of accuracy and consistency.
  • It can converse in English, Hindi and Hinglish and is capable of handling one lakh customer queries and requests per day

Extra Shots:

Axis Bank

  • CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry
  • Headquarters: Mumbai
  • Founded: 3 December 1993, Ahmedabad

Canara Bank ties up with three insurers to provide Corona Kavach policies

  • Canara Bank it has tied-up with three insurance companies namely, New India Assurance Company Ltd, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co Ltd and HDFC ERGO Health Insurance to sell short-term Corona Kavach policy to cover COVID-19 related health expenses.
  • The Corona Kavach Policies will be available at a very competitive premium structure, starting with as low as Rs 300.
  • The policy is – purchase on individual and family floater basis, minimum sum insured of Rs 50,000 to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh, no capping on room rent, and home care treatment up to 15 days.
  • The policy which will be available for a maximum period of 9 and half months (or 285 days), will also cover Ayush treatment up to 100 per cent of sum assured and coverage of co-morbid conditions.

Extra Shots:

Canara Bank

  • Headquarters: Bengaluru
  • CEO: Lingam Venkat Prabhakar
  • Founder: Ammembal Subba Rao Pai
  • Founded: 1 July 1906

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES

Atal Innovation Mission launches ‘AIM-iCREST’ program in partnership with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

  • AIM-iCREST- an incubator capabilities enhancement program for an ecosystem which will be focused on creating high performing startups recently launched by Niti Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM).
  • Atal Innovation Mission has joined hands with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Wadhwani Foundation.
  • The effort will focus on supporting the start-up entrepreneurs in dissemination and knowledge creation as well as in developing a robust and active network.

NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

Centre to spend 11.85 crore to fund 112 agricultural start-ups

  • Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar announced that the central government will fund 112 agricultural startups in the 1st phase with an amount of Rs. 11.85 crores in 2020-2021 under the Innovation and Agri-entrepreneurship Development Programme and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).
  • The funds will be given to the start-ups to promote agricultural firms.
  • The startups for the funding will be selected by the different knowledge partners and agribusiness incubators in the area of food technology, agro-processing, and value-addition.
  • In the first phase, 112 startups in the area of food technology, agro-processing, and value addition will be funded for a sum of Rs. 11.8 crore.
  • The funds will be released in instalments and the selected start-ups will be trained for two months at 29 agribusiness centres spread across the country.

International commercial flights to remain suspended till August 31

  • The International commercial passenger flights will remain suspended till August 31, 2020.
  • The announcement comes as the fifth phase of Vande Bharat Mission is scheduled to begin from August 1st to repatriate stranded Indians from 23 countries.

Transport Bubble Agreements

  • India signed ‘Transport Bubble’ agreements with the US, UK, Germany and France.
  • The agreements came into being since mid-July.
  • Under the bubble agreement, India and the destination country operate their respective carriers to and fro.
  • The air bubbles started with the US’s United Airlines announcing 18 flights between India and the US from July 17 to July 31st.
  • France’s Air France also agreed to operate 28 flights between France and Delhi/Mumbai and Bangalore in India between July 18 to August 1st.
  • The UAE also allowed India a small window to operate flights to and fro between July 12 and July 26.
  • India has also reportedly signed a ‘transport bubble’ agreement with Kuwait to ferry passengers to and from India.

India Imposes Import Restrictions on Color TV Sets

  • India Imposes Import Restrictions on Color TV Sets as majority of TV sets come from China.
  • This move by the government is aimed to promote PM Modi’s vision of “Vocal for Local” which will boost domestic manufacturing and balance the trade deficit the country is currently facing against China.
  • The restriction announced recently by the DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade) states that the import policy of the Color TV sets has been amended from free category to the restricted category.

Skill Ministry Observes Swacchta Pakhwada to Drive Awareness on Role of Hygiene

  • The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), and its administrative units observed Swachhta Pakhwada 2020 with a thematic campaign #SkillSeSwachhta from 15th – 31st July.
  • The pakhwada aimed at raising awareness about the importance of cleanliness in our daily lives and, the role of good hygiene for healthy living.
  • National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), in collaboration with Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC) organized a webinar ‘Role of Hygiene in Fighting Covid-19 Epidemic’ and ‘Review of Preparations for Reopening of Training Centres’.

Extra Shots:

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE)

  • Founder: Government of India
  • Founded: 9 November 2014, India
  • Jurisdiction: India
  • Headquarters: New Delhi

Nitin Gadkari inaugurates upstream carriageway of Mahatma Gandhi bridge over river Ganga in Bihar

  • Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the upstream carriageway of Mahatma Gandhi Bridge over river Ganga in Bihar through video conference.
  • Over 5.5 kilometres long, the four-lane bridge lies on NH-19 between Patna and Hajipur.
  • It is being constructed at a cost of one thousand 742 crore rupees.

Extra Shots:

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

  • Founder: Government of India
  • Founded: 9 November 2014, India
  • Jurisdiction: India
  • Headquarters: New Delhi

STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS

Former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti’s preventive detention extended by another 3 months

  • Former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s preventive detention was extended for another three months on July 31, 2020 under Public Safety Act.
  • Her detention order was scheduled to expire on August 5.

Extra Shots:

Jammu & Kashmir:

  • Capitals- Jammu (Winter), Srinagar (Summer)
  • Lt Governor- Girish Chandra Murmu
  • National Parks: City Forest (Salim Ali) National Park, Dachigam National Park, Hemis National Park, Kishtwar National Park
  • Wildlife Sanctuaries: Baltal-Thajwas WLS, Changthang Cold Desert WLS, Gulmarg WLS, Jasrota WLS, Karakoram (Nubra Shyok) WLS etc

Leh, Kargil to be developed as smart cities in the newly-formed union territory of Ladakh

  • The Centre will develop Leh and Kargil as smart cities in the newly-formed union territory of Ladakh.
  • Working on a home ministry proposal to improve infrastructure and generate job opportunities in Ladakh, the housing and urban affairs ministry has formed a five-member team under Smart Cities director Rahul Kapoor to guide the union territory in formulating detailed projects reports for both the cities.

Gujarat became second state after Andhra Pradesh to come up with a latest police manual

  • Gujarat has become the second state after Andhra Pradesh to come up with a latest manual for the police in recent times.
  • The new manual has been drafted for the Gujarat police force after a gap of 45 years.
  • The new manual will be uploaded on the ”Pocket Cop” mobile application in the form of an e-book to maximise its reach among the police fraternity.
  • Some of the new points included in it are tools to detect cyber-crimes, forensic science, and social media monitoring tools, multi-level marketing frauds, fake currency, human trafficking and organised crimes.

J&K Legal Services Authority to organise E-Lok Adalat on August 22

  • The Jammu & Kashmir State Legal Services Authority, under the guidance of Chief Justice J&K High Court, Gita Mittal, would be organising E-Lok Adalat to be conducted exclusively through different digital modes, on Saturday 22nd of August 2020.
  • E-Lok Adalat have been requested to contact the Office of District Legal Services Authority appointed by the concerned DLSA on or before 10.08.2020 of the particular district for identification and assignment of their cases to the appropriate Bench of the E-Lok Adalat.

Extra Shots:

Jammu & Kashmir:

  • Capitals- Jammu (Winter), Srinagar (Summer)
  • Lt Governor- Girish Chandra Murmu
  • National Parks: City Forest (Salim Ali) National Park, Dachigam National Park, Hemis National Park, Kishtwar National Park
  • Wildlife Sanctuaries: Baltal-Thajwas WLS, Changthang Cold Desert WLS, Gulmarg WLS, Jasrota WLS, Karakoram (Nubra Shyok) WLS etc

Madhya Pradesh to begin ‘Ek Mask-Anek Zindagi’ public awareness campaign

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also appealed to the people to wear masks and follow physical distance. Following the Prime Minister’s appeal, a public awareness campaign called ‘Ek Mask-Anek Zindagi’ means one mask-many life will be conducted from today till August 15 in many districts of Madhya Pradesh.
  • During this campaign, people will be informed about measures to prevent COVID-19 infection.
  • The Municipal Corporation will also run a public awareness chariot in the city on the same theme.
  • The Mask Bank will also be established under the Ek Mask-Anek Zindgi Campaign.
  • In this mask bank, masks will be collected from donors and distributed free of cost to the poor people.

Extra Shots:

Madhya Pradesh:

  • Statehood Day: November 1, 1956
  • Capital: Bhopal
  • Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chauhan
  • Governor: Anandiben Patel
  • National Park: Bandhavgarh NP, Fossil NP, Kanha NP, Madhav NP, Panna NP, Pench NP, Sanjay NP, Satpura NP

 INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

PM Modi inaugurates Supreme Court building of Mauritius

  • Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Mauritian Prime Minister Pravin Kumar Jugnauth on Thursday virtually inaugurated the new Supreme Court building at Port Louis.
  • The building has been constructed with Indian assistance as India’s sign of cooperation with countries in the Indian Ocean Region.
  • It has been completed with the grant assistance of S28.12 million from India.

Extra Shots:

Mauritius (Capital/Currency): Port Louis/ Mauritian rupee

  • Prime Minister: Pravind Jugnauth

Australia to force US tech giant Facebook and Google to pay news publishers

  • Australia will force US tech giant Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc’s Google to pay Australian media publishers for news content.
  • Thus, Australia will become first such country which will help its native media company to gain royalty under the royalty-style system.

Extra Shots:

Australia (Capital/Currency): Canberra/ Australian dollar

  • President: Scott Morrison

Hamed Bakayoko appointed as Prime Minister of Ivory Coast

  • Defence Minister of Ivory Coast, Hamed Bakayoko has been named as the Prime Minister of the country.
  • He was presently serving as the as interim PM of the country since the sudden death of former Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly.
  • He was a founding member of the Rally of the Republicans (RDR) party.

Extra Shots:

Ivory Coast (Capital/Currency): Yamoussoukro/ West African CFA franc

  • President: Alassane Ouattara

SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES

6th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting held virtually

  • The Environment Ministers of the five BRICS countries participated in the 6th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting on July 30, 2020 through video conference.
  • Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar represented India at the meeting along with the Ministers of the other BRICS nations- Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa.

Highlights:

  • The Environment Minister discussed the need to implement the various initiatives under the BRICS and for the speedy implementation of the BRICS agreement.
  • He also elaborated on the efforts made by India in areas relating to sustainable urban management, tackling marine litter, air pollution and the cleaning of rivers.
  • The Minister highlighted that India launched Air Quality monitoring index in 10 cities in 2015 to control air pollution.
  • He also informed that India had launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019, the goal of which is to reduce particulate pollution by 20-30 percent relative to 2017 levels by 2024.

Extra Shots:

BRICS

  • Founded: June 2006
  • Formation: 2009
  • Official language: Portuguese, Russian, Hindi, Chinese, English
  • State Leaders: Jair Bolsonaro; Vladimir Putin; Narendra Modi; Xi Jinping; Cyril Ramaphosa
  • Founders: India, China, Brazil, Russia

RANKS AND INDICES

Microsoft India most attractive employer brand

  • According to Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR) 2020, Technology giant Microsoft India has emerged as the country’s most attractive employer brand, followed by Samsung India and Amazon India in the second and third place, respectively, says a survey.
  • Microsoft India scored high on financial health, strong reputation and utilisation of the latest technologies.
  • The REBR revealed that in 2020, work-life balance emerged as the top Employee Value Proposition (EVP) driver for the Indian workforce while choosing an employer as it was cited by 43% respondents, followed by attractive salary and employee benefits (41%) and job security (40%).

Extra Shots:

Microsoft India

  • Headquarters: Hyderabad
  • Chairman: Bhaskar Pramanik
  • Parent organization: Microsoft Corporation
  • Founded: 1988

Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur tops Niti’s aspirational districts ranking

  • Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh has topped the list of aspirational districts in Overall Delta Ranking by government think-tank Niti Aayog for the February-June 2020 period.
  • Ri-Bhoi (Meghalaya) and Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh) have been placed at the second and third positions.
  • The delta rankings took into account incremental progress made by over 112 aspirational districts across six developmental areas during February-June this year.
  • Health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion, skill development and basic infrastructure were the development areas that were taken into consideration for the ranking.

 AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED

Reliance Power partnered with JERA set to Build Power Plant in Bangladesh

  • Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power a joint venture between India’s Reliance Power and Japan’s JERA are all set to develop a new gas-fired power generation project in Bangladesh through their project company. A total of $642 million with a group of banks which includes the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has been allocated.
  • The project company will be building and operating a 745 MW natural gas combined-cycle power project in Meghnaghat, Naranganj, which is located approximately 40 km southeast of Dhaka the capital city of Bangladesh.
  • The power plant will supply electricity to more than 8, 50,000 homes in Bangladesh by utilising re-gasified liquified natural gas (LNG).

RECENT COMMITTEES IN NEWS

Sport committee formed for National Sports Awards 2020

  • The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports formed a selection committee for selecting awardees for various sports awards for the National Sports Awards 2020.
  • The committee will be headed by Retired Justice of Supreme Court Justice Mukundakam Sharma along with Virendra Sehwag (Cricket), Sardar Singh (Hockey), Monalisa Baruah Mehta (Table Tennis), Deepa Malik (Para-athletics), Venkatesan Devarajan (Boxing) and Sports Commentator Manish Batavia and Sports Journalists Alok Sinha and Neeru Bhatia.

They will select the awardee for the following Awards:

  • Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna,
  • Dronacharya Awards,
  • Arjuna Awards,
  • Dhyan Chand Awards
  • Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar Award
  • Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

Ministry of Tribal Affairs receives SKOCH Gold Award

  • Ministry of Tribal Affairs receives SKOCH Gold Award for its “Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled Scholarship Schemes” project.
  • The project was launched to show Government of India’s commitment to realize the dreams of Digital India and bringing transparency as well as ease in the delivery of services.
  • The 66th SKOCH 2020 Competition was held with name “INDIA RESPONDS TO COVID THROUGH DIGITAL GOVERNANCE”.

SPORTS CURRENT AFFAIRS

Babita Phogat, Kavita Devi appointed as Haryana sports deputy directors

  • Commonwealth Games medalist Babita Phogat and Kabaddi player Kavita Devi have been appointed as deputy directors in the Sports and Youth Affairs Department of Haryana.
  • Babita Phogat and Kavita Devi will have to join their department within a month. They had applied for these posts under the state government.
  • The two sportpersons have been appointed as deputy director (Sports) under the Haryana Outstanding Sportspersons (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) rules, 2018.
  • Babita Phogat and Kavita Devi will have to join their department within a month. They had applied for these posts under the state government.
  • The two sportpersons have been appointed as deputy director (Sports) under the Haryana Outstanding Sportspersons (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) rules, 2018.

Divij Sharan-Vijay Sundar Prashanth win doubles title in Surrey

  • Post the COVID-19 break, Divij Sharan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth won their first doubles title of the season at the Lawn Tennis Association’s British Tour in Surrey.
  • Vijay Sundar Prashanth & Divij Sharan defeated Ryan Peniston & David Stevenson in the final, the top-seeded Indian duo won 4-2, 4-1 at the National Tennis Centre.

Harikrishna ranked 2nd at Biel Chess Festival

  • Indian Grandmaster, P Harikrishna has finished second in the rapid section of the 53rd Biel International Chess Festival in Switzerland.
  • The World No. 26 scored 10 points, two less than Radoslaw Wojtaszek of Poland, who finished on top.
  • Earlier, the Indian GM had finished on top in the ACCENTUS Chess960 tournament, with 5.5 points.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CURRENT AFFAIRS

ISRO to allow private sector to set up own launchpad at Sriharikota

  • Indian Space of Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to allow the private sector to set up their own launchpad at the Sriharikota Launch Centre (SHAR) so that they can launch their own rocket or spacecraft.
  • As per ISRO, if the private sectors are interested, they can proceed to apply, as the space agency doesn’t want the industry to wait till it is completely set up.
  • The private entities will also help in the development of space-based applications with the use of satellite data and rolling out of the commercial services.

Extra Shots:

Indian Space of Research Organisation (ISRO)

  • Headquarters: Bengaluru
  • Founder: Vikram Sarabhai
  • Founded: 15 August 1969
  • Director: Kailasavadivoo Sivan
  • Subsidiary: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
  • Parent organization: Department of Space

WEB PORTALS & APP IN NEWS

Microsoft launches new app named ‘Family Safety app’ for iOS and Android

  • Microsoft has launched its new mobile app named ‘Family Safety app’ for iOS and Android users.
  • Now parents will be able to monitor the time spent by the kids on devices and limit hours of play.
  • Microsoft Family Safety app prevents kids from swapping devices to get some extra hours to play Minecraft or Fortnite. Specific apps can also be fully blocked.
  • Family Safety can also be used for location sharing between family members.
  • Microsoft has added a new location-clustering feature during the beta phase, which lets people see when multiple family members are at the same location.

 “MSMESaksham” portal launched by SIDBI & TransUnion CIBIL

  • One-stop knowledge portal named as “MSMESaksham” for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) launched by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
  • MSMESaksham will provide MSMEs quick access to finance and empower them by making them financially aware and loan-ready so that timely and affordable financial support is realised. It will also guide them across their credit life cycle.
  • It will also comprise a consolidated list of all the schemes launched by the Centre and state governments for MSMEs.

Extra Shots:

SIDBI:

  • Headquarters location: Lucknow
  • Founded: 2 April 1990
  • CMD: Mohammad Mustafa

Housing Minister launched ‘CREDAI Awaas App’ and NAREDCO’s online portal ‘HousingforAll.com’

  • Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched digital platforms named ‘CREDAI Awaas App’ and NAREDCO’s online portal ‘HousingforAll.com’ for real estate bodies CREDAI and NAREDCO to market residential properties, besides releasing a guide book for affordable rental housing scheme for migrants.
  • He released the knowledge pack of the government’s ‘Affordable Rental Housing Complexes’ (ARHCs) programme, which has been recently launched to provide rental accommodations to migrant and urban poor.

OBITUARY

J-K High Court judge Sanjay Gupta passes away

  • Justice Sanjay Gupta, a sitting judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, died due to illness. He was 59.
  • In 2004, Justice Gupta was selected as a direct recruit in the higher judicial service and posted as Additional District and Sessions Judge Doda.

Senco Gold CMD Shaankar Sen passes away

  • Shaankar Sen, chairman and managing director of Senco Gold Ltd., which runs the chain of Senco Gold and diamond jewellery stores, passed away in Kolkata.
  • He was 60.
  • He was also the vice chairman of All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council, the domestic body responsible for the welfare of the jewellery sector and all stakeholders.

Veteran Telugu Actor Raavi Kondal Rao Passes Away

  • Veteran actor, writer, director and producer Raavi Kondal Rao died due to cardiac arrest at a private hospital. He was 88.
  • Rao had acted and associated with over 600 south Indian movies mainly in Telugu.
  • He made his debut with Telugu movie Sobha in 1958 as an actor.Before venturing into movies, he worked as an editor, writer and columnist for English and Telugu dailies and weeklies.

Japanese fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto passes away

  • Japanese fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto, known for styling musician David Bowie, has died at the age of 76.
  • Yamamoto was known for creating bold avant-garde pieces that defied gender norms and featured brilliant colours and patterns.
  • His so-called super-shows were staged around the world, with the 1993 “Hello!! Russia” edition, held in Moscow’s Red Square, drawing 120,000 spectators.

Malayalam actor Anil Murali passes away

  • Malayalam actor, Anil Murali passed away.
  • He made his silver screen debut with Kanyakumariyil Oru Kavitha in 1993.
  • He went on to star in over 200 movies across Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu film industries.
  • The actor was best known for his roles in movies like Lion, Balram vs Tharadas, Mahasamudram, Nerariyan CBI, July 4, Rock and Roll, Run Baby Run, Amen, Dolphin Bar, Ramaleela, Joseph, Nimirndhu Nil, Thani Oruvan, Kodi.

Former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui passes away

  • Former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui passed away. He served as president of Taiwan from 1988 to 2000.
  • He was also considered as the “father of Taiwan’s democracy”.
  • He also served as the mayor of Taipei (1978-81) and the provincial governor of Taiwan (1981-84).

Former Union Home Secretary Ram Pradhan passes away

  • Former Union Home Secretary Ram Pradhan passed away in due to age-related ailments.
  • Mr Pradhan served as the governor of Arunachal Pradesh during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure as Prime Minister.
  • He played a major role in the signing of the Assam Accord and Mizoram Peace Accord.
  • Pradhan served as a trustee of the Y B Chavan Pratisthan in Mumbai.

MISCELLANEOUS

Deadline for mandatory hallmarking of Gold Jewellery extended