Daily Current Affairs 14th July, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 14 July 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

MP govt run ‘Roko -Toko’ campaign for those who do not wear masks
Madhya Pradesh government  run a Roko -Toko means stop and campaign for those who do not wear masks.

• In the guidelines issued by the state government, it has been said that the collector will select voluntary organizations in the district for this work.
• The selected organizations will be provided 100 masks created under ‘Jeevan Shakti Yojana’ on credit. On sale of the mask, the organizations will pay the concerned urban body at the rate of Rs 11 per mask.

Haryana to get Rs 1,500 Cr central aid for Crop Diversification, Ponds Rejuvenation
Haryana is to get a financial aid of Rs 1,500 crore from the Centre to expand its crop diversification scheme and rejuvenate ponds in the state.

• The state will get Rs 500 crore from the Centre in recognition of the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government’s bid for water conservation through ‘Mera Pani Meri Virasat’ scheme and another sum of Rs 1,000 crore for rejuvenation of ponds and treating water.

MP govt begins ‘Mera Ghar Mera Vidyalaya’ scheme to facilitate students
Trying to facilitate learning among public school children amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Madhya Pradesh government has started Mera Ghar Mera Vidyalaya Scheme.

• The scheme aims to provide students with a school-like atmosphere at home. After the launch of the scheme, several teachers and staffers of the schools were seen delivering books and study material to the children.

Rajasthan launches campaign ”Pure for Sure” to ensure purity of milk & dairy products
A week-long campaign ”Pure for Sure” has been launched in Rajasthan to ensure purity of milk and its products.

• Samples of milk and dairy products will be collected under the campaign ‘Pure for Sure’ from July 8-July 14.
• Under the campaign samples of milk and dairy products will be collected for testing at Food Testing Laboratory available at the divisional level.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

WHO sets up independent panel to review its handling of COVID-19 pandemic
World Health Organization (WHO) has set up an independent panel to review its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the response by governments. The announcement follows strong criticism by US President Donald Trump, which accused the WHO of being China-centric.

• Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf have agreed to head the panel. The co-chairs will select the other members.
• The panel will then provide an interim report to an annual meeting of health ministers in November and present a substantive report next May.

BANKING & FINANCE

Visa partners with Federal Bank for rolling out Visa Secure for e-commerce
Visa, a global leader in payments technology, has entered into a partnership with Federal Bank to roll out Visa Secure to the bank’s cardholders.

• Visa Secure is a global authentication program that uses the latest standards of the EMV 3DS (3D Secure) protocol.
• Besides providing additional layers of authentication for issuers and merchants to combat online frauds, the upgraded technology provides a quicker and frictionless checkout experience to consumers.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

BSE signs MoU with IIT Alumni Council to encourage listing of startups
The BSE has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IIT Alumni Council to encourage listing culture for startups and develop a ‘high investor depth’ startups platform.

• The newly-formed partnership will ensure a complete end-to-end ecosystem for the proposed social stock exchange.
• This alliance between BSE and IIT Alumni Council will ensure entity transparency, governance improvement and market discovery of share price, provide liquidity for PE investors and enable retail participation.

India’s GDP to contract 7.5% if Covid vaccine is delayed, 4% in base case: Bank of America Securities
A longer wait for a vaccine against Covid-19 virus may lead to a contraction of up to 7.5 per cent in the Indian GDP in FY21, a foreign brokerage Economists at Bank of America Securities said.

• It also revised down their base case estimates on the real GDP within a week, and now expect it to contract by 4 per cent because of a drop in economic activity.
• Many analysts are expecting the Indian economy to contract by 5 per cent in FY21 as a result of the nationwide lockdowns, with some also estimating a contraction of up to 7.2 per cent in the GDP

APPOINTMENTS

Former RBI Deputy Governor Usha Thorat chosen Chairperson of SEBI MF advisory committee
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has revamped its committee that advises the capital markets regulator on matters related to regulation and development of mutual fund industry.

• The 20-member advisory committee on mutual funds is headed Usha Thorat, former deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• The members of the committee include officials of various fund houses like Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) Pvt Ltd President Sanjay Sapre, Kotak Mahindra AMC MD Nilesh Shah and Canara Robeco AMC CEO Rajnish Narula, SBI Mutual Fund Independent Trustee Sunil Gulati and Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund Independent Trustee Director Brij Gopal Daga.

Priyanka Chopra chosen ambassador for Toronto International Film Festival
Actor Priyanka Chopra has been chosen as the ambassador of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2020, joining the list of 50 celebrated filmmakers and actors who are invited as the ambassadors of the TIFF.

• The film festival — scheduled from September 10 to 19 — will be opting for digital screenings and virtual red carpets in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

AWARDS

Ahmedabad’s successful Dhanvanatari Raths initiative being widely appreciated
In Gujarat, the successful model of Dhanvanatari Rath has shown the true path of taking health services to people’s doorstep during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Dhanvanatari Raths are mobile Mobile Medical Vans which are providing non-COVID health care services to the people.
• Dhanvanatari Raths have successfully conducted over five lakhs OPD consultations in Ahmedabad so far.This unique initiative which started from Ahmedabad has now been replicated throughout the state and it is also being widely appreciated at the national level.

Elon Musk is the ‘best’ paid CEO, Apple CEO Tim Cook at 2nd spot
Tesla CEO Elon Musk grabbed the top spot in the list of highest paid CEOs in US in 2019 while Apple CEO Tim Cook ranked second in the list created by Bloomberg.

• As per the Bloomberg Pay Index, Musk made $595.3 million in 2019 making him the highest paid CEO.Meanwhile, Tim Cook made $133.7 million in 2019 from Apple
• While Alphabet chief Sundar Pichai took the eight spot with $86.2 million in 2019, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was at the ninth spot with a total compensation of $77.3 million.
• There are no women in the list of top 10 CEOs in the US in 2019 as per the report by Bloomberg. The highest paid women CEOs and executives in 2019 starts with Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su at the 19th spot with a total compensation of $55.8 million, followed by Safra Catz of Oracle at the 36th position with $43.4 million.

ISRO Chief Sivan Named As 2020 Von Karman Award Recipient By IAA
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief Dr. Kailasavadivoo Sivan continues to make a name for his self as the space scientist has now been named as the recipient of the 2020 Von Karman Award of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).

• Von Karman is the biggest award for astronomy in the world and K Sivan is the 3rd Indianwho will be honored with this award
• The award which is the highest distinction of the Academy will be conferred in March 2021 in Paris.

Sachin Awasthi bags the prestigious Global Humanitarian Award in London
Sachin Awasthi President, National Media Club has and Founder of Shri Ram Seva Mission has been awarded the “Top Publicist” honour in the Global Humanitarian Awards 2020  as a part of the Honoring the Honorable initiative of the World Humanitarian Drive(WHD)

• Awasth is one of just 100 awardees belonging to 35 different countries and 7 continents. This Award was given through a webinar.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

IIT Delhi Incubated Startup Launches N95 Masks Decontamination Device, Chakr DeCoV
IIT Delhi incubated startup Chakr Innovation recently launched an Ozone-based decontamination device.

• The device can decontaminate N95 masks for reuse for up to 10 times. The decontamination device is named as Chakr DeCoV.
• The device is designed in the shape of a cabinet and is built with an innovative decontamination mechanism. It utilises the high penetrability of the Ozone gas for cleaning the pores of the N95 masks.

Israeli scientists use waste in battle against virus
Israeli scientists have come up with a “simple” and low-cost method to turn waste into ethanol for use as sanitisers in the battle against the novel coronavirus.

• Professor Hadas Mamane of Tel Aviv University (TAU) and her team have been working for the past five years on recycling waste and transforming it into alcohol.
• Now, in response to the global demand for hand sanitisers, they have focused on the production in Israel of ethanol to replace the need to import alcogels.

OBITUARIES

Veteran Gujarati journalist, columnist, writer Nagindas Sanghvi passes away at 100
Veteran Gujarati journalist, columnist, writer and political analyst Nagindas Sanghvi passed away in Surat. He was 100.

• Sangvi was conferred Padma Shri award in the year 2019. He had written many books on Mahatma Gandhi, Gujarat and other subjects
• He was in teaching at Bhavan’s College Andheri from 1951 to 1980. Later he moved to Ruparel College, Mahim and Mithibai College, Vile Parle for teaching political science.

Hawkins Cookers Chairman Brahm Vasudeva passes away
Brahm Vasudeva, the chairman of cookware manufacturer Hawkins, passed away. He was 84.

• Vasudeva was appointed on the board of the company in 1968 as Vice Chairman and Managing Director and became the Wholetime Chairman and Managing Director in 1984.
• He was the Non-Executive Chairman and advisor to the company since 2006.

Sarbjit actor Ranjan Sehgal passes away
Actor Ranjan Sehgal, who predominantly worked in Punjabi cinema and even featured in Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Randeep Hooda-starrer 2016 movie Sarbjit, has passed away. He was 36 years old.

• Apart from Sarbjit, he had also acted in films like Force, Karma and Punjabi film Mahi NRI. He was a popular face in the Punjab film industry.
• He acted in several television shows including Crime Patrol, Saavdhan India, Tum Dena Saath Mera, Bhawar, Kuldeepak and Gustakh Dil among others.

Jack Charlton, England’s 1966 World Cup winner, passes away
Jack Charlton, a World Cup winner with England and former Republic of Ireland boss, has died aged 85.

• Nicknamed “Big Jack,” and celebrated for his earthy “beer and cigarettes” image, Charlton was Footballer of the Year in England in 1967.
• He spent all his club career at Leeds from 1952-73, tying its all-time record of 773 appearances. He won every domestic honor, including the league title in 1969.

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