Daily Current Affairs 18th July, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 18 July 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Ministry of Finance releases Rs 15,187 crore as grants-in-aid to 2.63 lakh Rural Local Bodies
Ministry of Finance has released an amount of over 15,187 crore rupees as grants-in-aid to 2.63 lakh Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) spread in 28 States of the country.

  • The amount was released upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Jal Shakti Ministry. This grants-in-aid forms part of the Tied Grant as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission for the Financial Year 2020-21.
  • It will be used by RLBs to facilitate taking up of various developmental work concerning supply of drinking water, rain water harvesting, water recycling, sanitation and maintenance of Open Defecation Free status which are national priorities.

India lifted record 273 million out of poverty in 10 years, says UN report
About 273 million Indians moved out of multidimensional poverty between 2005-6 and 2015-16, according to a UN report, which noted that India has recorded the largest reduction in the number of people living in this category.

  • The data, released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), shows that 65 out of 75 countries studied significantly reduced their multidimensional poverty levels between 2000 and 2019.

Cochin Shipyard Limited signs contract for construction of world’s first Autonomous electric vessels for Norway
Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has signed a contract with ASKO Maritime AS, Norway for the construction and supply of the two autonomous electric ferries along with an option to build two more identical vessels.

  • This autonomous electrical vessel project is an ambitious one in Norway, partially funded by the Norwegian Government, and aims at emission-free transport of goods across the Oslo fjord.
  • These vessels will be managed by Massterly AS, a joint venture between Kongsberg, the world leader in autonomous technology, and Wilhelmsen, one of the largest maritime shipping companies in the world.

 

UNICEF India and SAP India partner to improve employability of young people
On World Youth Skills Day, UNICEF India has announced its partnership with SAP India to provide career counselling to young people in the country that will improve their employability skills in a COVID and post COVID era.

  • UNICEF is collaborating with YuWaah (Generation Unlimited) under this initiative to provide digital education and occupational skillset to the underserved young people of the country.
  • Under the collaboration UNICEF – YuWaah – SAP will strengthen and improve digital skills and life skills for young people, provide young people with career options, reimagine the model in other states with the Government of India, and aim to impact one million young people by the end of 2022.

India’s first homegrown pneumonia vaccine gets DCGI approval
The Union health ministry informed that, the country’s first fully indigenously developed vaccine against pneumonia has got approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).

  • With the help of Special Expert Committee (SEC) for vaccines, the drug regulator reviewed the phase I, II and III clinical trial data submitted by Pune-based firm Serum Institute of India and then granted the market approval for Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine.

Telangana Police launch ‘CybHER’ campaign to tackle cybercrime against women, children
Telangana Police launched a month-long virtual awareness campaign ‘CybHER’ in the wake of cybercrime against the women and children in the state.

  • The month long campaign has been organized by the Women Safety Wing of the Telangana State Police in collaboration with the Legal Aid Centre, and Symbiosis Law School at Hyderabad.
  • The CybHER campaign aims to bring to light the immediate risks and threats faced by the vulnerable, women and children.

Uttarakhand CM inaugurates ‘Smriti Van’ on Harela festival, urges people to plant saplings
On the occasion of Harela festival in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated ‘Smriti Van’ at Asthal village of Dehradun district in the memory of famous folk singer of the state late Jeet Singh Negi.

  • Harela festival, which marks the onset of monsoon in Uttarakhand, is celebrated across hills three times every year. Harela means the day of green.

IIT Madras-incubated startup develops a portable hospital unit to treat virus patients
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M)-incubated start-up, Modulus Housing has developed a portable hospital unit that can be installed anywhere within two hours by four people.

  • Called ‘MediCAB,’ it is a decentralized approach to detect, screen, identify, isolate and treat Covid-19 patients in their local communities through these portable microstructures.
  • ‘MediCAB’ has been launched recently in the Wayanad district of Kerala where the units are being deployed to treat Covid-19 patients. The Medicab is foldable and is composed of four zones – a doctor’s room, an isolation room, a medical room/ward and a twin-bed ICU, maintained at negative pressure.


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India ranks 3rd in global manufacturing locations among 48 countries, shows report
India ranks third in the list of most-suitable locations for global manufacturing among 48 countries in terms of cost competitiveness and operating conditions, according to property consultant Cushman & Wakefield. China and the US retain the top two positions, while India has moved one place higher to rank third, the consultant said in its Global Manufacturing Risk Index (MRI) report.

India among top 10 countries in intellectual property filings
India emerged as top tenth nation in the ranking of the total (resident and abroad) IP filing activity by origin, revealed World Intellectual Property Indicators 2019, which published such data for 49 countries. India saw over 20% growth in trademark filing, whereas in respect of industrial design filing activity, it witnessed a 13.6% rise.

  • The global growth in IP filings was driven by China, which accounts for over 50% IP filings including patent, trademarks and design.

Pakistan, China sign agreement for “Azad Pattan Hydel Power Project”
Pakistan and China have signed an agreement for the 700 MW Azad Pattan hydel power project on the Jhelum river in Sudhoti district of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

  • The $1.5-billion project is the second power project under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).


APPOINTMENTS

Ashwini Kumar Tewari named new SBI Cards MD & CEO
SBI cards and Payment Services has appointed Ashwini Kumar Tewari as its new Managing Director and chief executive officer, nominated by parent State Bank of India, with effect from August 1, 2020 for a period of two years.

  • This appointment follows the resignation of present MD&CEO, Hardayal Prasad who quit from the directorship of the company owing to his voluntary retirement from the State Bank of India.

RBI approves reappointment of Shyam Srinivasan as Federal Bank MD & CEO
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the reappointment of Shyam Srinivasan as the MD & CEO of the Federal Bank, w.e.f. September 23, 2020 till September 22, 2021 alongwith remuneration as proposed by the Bank.

Shiv Nadar retires, daughter Roshni takes over as HCL’s chairperson
Roshni Nadar Malhotra has been appointed as the chairperson of HCL Technologies. She will take over from her father Shiv Nadar.

  • Shiv Nadar expressed his desire to step down from position of Chairman. Mr Nadar would continue to be MD of Company with designation as Chief Strategy Officer.

SportsAdda signs former Australian pacer and legend Brett Lee as brand ambassador
SportsAdda, the Indian news and information website for cricket, football, and kabaddi, has signed former Australian fast bowler and cricket legend Brett Lee, as its brand ambassador.

  • As ambassador, Lee will be conducting a host of fun activities including contests, quizzes, Q&As, bowling masterclasses, and giveaways that will feature exclusively on the SportsAdda app, website, and social handles.

Gabon appoints first woman prime minister Ossouka Raponda
The president of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, has appointed the country’s first female prime minister, Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda.

  • She is an economist by training who graduated from the Gabonese Institute of Economy and Finance, specialising in public finance.


AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS

Marcus Rashford gets honorary doctorate for work against child poverty
Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford will become the youngest person to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester for his work campaigning against child poverty.

  • The 22-year-old Rashford forced a government U-turn last month after he wrote an open letter to legislators asking for the reversal of a decision not to award free school meal vouchers to vulnerable children outside term.
  • During the coronavirus pandemic, he has also linked up with poverty and food waste charity FareShare to help raise 20 million pounds ($25 million), which meant 3.9 million meals could be distributed to vulnerable people every week.


BOOKS

CM Pema Khandu releases book “The Tangams: An Ethnolinguistic Study Of The Critically Endangered Group of Arunachal Pradesh”
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu released a book on ethno-linguistic study of Tangams, an Arunachal tribe whose language is critically endangered as per the UNESCO.

  • The book titled ‘The Tangams: An Ethnolinguistic Study Of The Critically Endangered Group of Arunachal Pradesh’ was published by Centre for Endangered Languages (CFEL) under Arunachal Institute of Tribal Studies, Rajiv Gandhi University.
  • It is based on the Tangams, a critically endangered speech community of the State domiciled at Kugging village in Upper Siang district.


OBITUARIES

Ace para-badminton player Ramesh Tikaram passes away
Arjuna awardee and ace para-badminton player Ramesh Tikaram passed away of coronavirus. Tikaram was 51. He is the country’s first para-badminton player to be honoured with an Arjuna award.



IMPORTANT DAYS

117th birth anniversary of former CM of Tamil Nadu, K Kamaraj observed as School Education Day
The 117th birth anniversary of K Kamaraj, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is being observed as School Education Day in the state on July 15th, 2020.

  • This serves to underline the fact that Kamaraj had given special importance to enhancing school education facilities in Tamil Nadu during his three terms as Chief Minister.
  • He had memorably laid down the principle that no child will travel more than 3 kms by road to reach the nearest school. Kamaraj has also been credited with initiating moves to change the industrial landscape of Tamil Nadu by bringing in BHEL in Trichy, Hindusthan Photo Films in Udhagamandakam etc.


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