Daily Current Affairs 22 June 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.
NATIONAL NEWS
NITI Aayog to launch project “Decarbonising Transport in India”
NITI Aayog in collaboration with International Transport Forum (ITF) will launch the “Decarbonising Transport in India” project with the intention to develop a pathway towards a low-carbon transport system for India.
- The online event will inform transport and climate stakeholders in India about planned project activities. It will also offer the opportunity to provide inputs regarding India’s transport challenges and how they relate to CO2 reduction ambitions.
Centre sanctions Rs 190 cr for augmentation of healthcare facilities in North Eastern States
Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr Jitendra Singh has reviewed the COVID status and healthcare facility in Aspirational districts with special focus on North East.
- He also disclosed that in the wake of COVID pandemic, Ministry of DoNER has decided to sanction 190 crore rupees for augmentation of healthcare facility in the eight North Eastern States, particularly for developing infrastructure for management of infectious diseases.
- Union Minister said, accordingly, proposals have been received from the States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim, Mizoram and Nagaland, while the proposal from the eighth State of Tripura is awaited.
BANKING & FINANCE
Exim Bank extends LOC of USD 20.10 Mn to government of Nicaragua
Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has extended a line of credit (LOC) of USD 20.10 million to the government of Nicaragua for reconstruction of Aldo Chavarria Hospital.
- With signing of this agreement, Exim Bank, so far, has extended four LOCs to Nicaragua, on behalf of the Indian government, taking the total value to USD 87.63 million.
- Projects covered under the LOCs include supply of equipment for building two substations, construction of transmission lines, building new substation, expansion of the existing substations and reconstruction of a hospital.
SPORTS
National Champion Niki Kalayanda Poonacha elected to ITF Men’s Tennis Panel
Reigning national champion Niki Poonacha has been elected to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) men’s player panel.
- He will represent the Asia-Oceania zone along with Ti Chen of Chinese Taipei.
- Aldin Setkic and Francesco Vilardo were elected from Europe, while Juan Pablo Paz and Jose Bendeck were elected to represent South America
APPOINTMENTS
U.S. Senate appoints Sethuraman Panchanathan as head of NSF
Dr. Panchanathan is the second Indian-American ever to be nominated to the prestigious science position.
- The U.S. Senate has confirmed eminent Indian-American scientist Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan as the Director of the National Science Foundation, a top American body supporting fundamental research in non-medical fields of science and engineering.
- Panchanathan, 58, from the Arizona State University, would head the NSF, the top American science funding body that has an annual budget of USD 7.4 billion.
OBITUARIES
Former cricketer Rajinder Goel passes away
Former left-arm spin legend Rajinder Goel, whose record Ranji Trophy wicket haul of 637 scalps still stands, passed away in Rohtak due to age-related illness. He was 77.
- Goel, who played for Haryana, Punjab and Delhi, was a towering presence in domestic cricket during a 25-year first-class career that began in the 1958-59 Ranji season and extended until 1984-85, when he was 42. Goel finished with 750 first-class wickets.
- Rajinder holds the record for most wickets taken in Ranji Trophy history as he scalped 637 wickets which is 107 more than S Venkataraghavan who is second on the list.
- In 2017, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) honoured Rajinder Goel with the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award.
Former international kabaddi player Ilaiah passes away
Former Indian kabaddi players M Ilaiah Yadav passed away in city while undergoing treatment for lung infection. He was 65.
- Ilaiah, who also captained the State team, retired from GHMC service
Iraqi football legend Ahmed Radhi passes away
Iraqi football legend Ahmed Radhi has died as a result of complications after he was diagnosed with COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. He was 56.
- Radhi scored what remains Iraq’s only World Cup finals goal in 1986 against Belgium.
- Radhi, a striker, led Iraq to victory in the Gulf Cups of 1984 and 1988, when he was voted Asian footballer of the year.
- He fled Iraq in 2006 after its Olympic Committee head was kidnapped during the height of the sectarian violence that followed the US-led invasion of 2003.
Kirk R. Smith, Nobel Prize recipient and environmental health giant passes away
Kirk R. Smith, a pioneering researcher in the deadly risks of indoor air pollution in the developing world and an early voice raising concern about the health consequences of climate change, died at the age of 73 at his Berkeley home, following a stroke and subsequent cardiac arrest.
- Smith was a professor of global environmental health at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health and director of the Collaborative Clean Air Policy Centre in New Delhi.
- He was an environmental titan who championed the poor and disenfranchised, especially rural women and children in the developing world.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Hydrography Day
World Hydrography Day is observed on 21 June. This day was adopted by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) as an annual celebration to increases awareness about the protection of safe navigation and marine life protection.
- World Hydrography Day 2020 theme is “Hydrography enabling autonomous technologies”