Daily Current Affairs 7th August, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 7 August 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Upload Covid-19 waste disposal data on COVID19BWM app, says SC

Municipal corporations and state pollution boards have been mandated by the Supreme Court of India to upload datapertaining to collection and disposal of Covid-19 biomedical from residences and quarantine centres on ‘COVID19BWM app’ created by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

• On this app, tracking of such waste from the point of collection to its treatment is possible.

In a first, Railways uses NTC machine for track construction

The Khurja-Dadri section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor is among the first tracks in India where the New Track Construction machine has been used  for tracking construction.

• The Khurja-Dadri section is the connecting link between the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors on which freight trains run at a speed of 100 kmph ensuring fast logistics movement.
• Currently, 7 NTC machines have been deployed along the DFC, 4 machines have been deployed in the EDFC and 3 machines have been deployed in the WDFC

India’s first snow leopard conservation centre to come up in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand state forest department will open India’s first conversation centre for snow leopards in Uttarakashi district soon, said Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.

• “The centre will come up at Lanka in Bhairoghhati area of Uttarkashi forest division. The decision will help to conserve the precious species.
• The exercise which is being termed as the first-ever in the country by experts got delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Telangana launches iMASQ mobile covid-19 testing centers

Following the high court’s directions, the Telangana government has rolled out mobile covid-19 testing centers in containment zones and low income group residential areas across the state.

• In the first set, 20 mobile testing facilities were pressed into service. Equipped with advanced technology, each bus has 10 sample collection counters and antigen test results will be notified to the individuals within a few minutes.
• The buses are built with ‘Intelligent Monitoring Analysis Services Quarantine’ (iMASQ) technology by Hyderabad-based Vera Smart Healthcare.

UP to set up MSME industrial parks; marks DPR for north India’s longest expressway

Uttar Pradesh government will set up industrial parks for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in six of its most industrialised districts, including Varanasi and Kanpur, and has invited proposals from consultants for it.

• The state government has also started work on a detailed project report (DPR) for the proposed 601km-long Ganga Expressway between Meerut and Prayagraj.

Indian teen develops “Dodo Drop” app as an alternative to Chinese file-sharing apps

Ashfaq Mehmood Choudhary, a 17-year-old boy from Chattyear of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, has developed a file-sharing app ‘Dodo Drop’ which would enable users to share audios, videos, images, and texts between two devices without Internet access.

• ‘Dodo Drop’ application is an alternative to the Chinese ‘SHAREit’ app. The ‘Dodo Drop’ application has a transfer rate of up to 480 Mbps, which is faster than the SHAREit app and is “quite easy” to use.

U.K. to issue coin in honour of Mahatma Gandhi

The U.K. government has decided to issue a commemorative coin to mark the 150th birthday anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, said Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid.

• He asked the Royal Mint of the UK to propose a new commemorative coin in Gandhi’s honour.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Amazon gets FCC approval for Project Kuiper satellite constellation

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has given Amazon approval for its Project Kuiper low orbit satellite constellation, to provide Internet access.

• The planned constellation of 3,236 satellites is intended to address “unserved and underserved communities” around the world.
• As well as satellite-based broadband, Kuiper will also provide backhaul solutions for wireless carriers, says Amazon, extending LTE and 5G service to new regions.

Apple tops Saudi Aramco as world’s most valuable company

Apple Inc became the world’s most valuable company with its market value overtaking Saudi Aramco in the wake of better-than-expected earnings. It’s the first time the company’s valuation has surpassed that of Saudi Arabia’s national oil company.

Global Economy Could Lose $108 Billion In Remittances: ADB

Global remittances will fall by 108.6 billion dollars if the Covid-19 economic impact persists throughout the year, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This is equivalent to 18.3 per cent decline from what would have been expected without the impact of Covid-19.

• Remittance receipts in Asia and the Pacific will fall by 54.3 billion dollars, equivalent to 19.8 per cent of remittances in 2018.
• By sub-region, remittances in South Asia are expected to fall furthest by 28.6 billion dollars (24.7 per cent of 2018 receipts) followed by remittances to Central Asia (3.4 billion dollars, 23.8 per cent), southeast Asia (11.7 billion dollars, 18.6 per cent) and east Asia ex-China and Japan (1.7 billion dollars, 16.2 per cent).
• Remittances to the Pacific will also fall (267 million dollars, 13.2 per cent), said the ADB economists.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

RBI sets up panel under KV Kamath for one-time restructuring of loans

Reserve Bank of India announced that it has decided to allow lenders to provide one-time restructuring facility on a few loans that were standard as on March 1, 2020 on account of ongoing coronavirus crisis and the resultant stress in the system.

• RBI governor Shaktikanta Das announced setting up of an expert committee headed by veteran banker KV Kamath which would make recommendations to the RBI on the required financial parameters.

NHB, NABARD get special liquidity facility of ₹5,000 crore each

The Reserve Bank announced an additional special liquidity facility (ASLF) of Rs 10,000 crore equally split between Nabard and the NHB to help small financiers and home loan companies amid COVID-19 difficulties.

• The liquidity facility to both the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) and the National Housing Bank (NHB) will be offered at the policy repo rate, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said.

Reliance Industries now the second biggest brand globally after Apple

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries has been ranked the second biggest brand after Apple on the FutureBrand Index 2020.

• “This year’s highest entrant at number two, Reliance Industries excels on every attribute,” FutureBrand said, releasing its 2020 Index.

Bharti Airtel inks multi-year strategic pact with Amazon for AWS solutions

Bharti Airtel announced a multi-year strategic pact with Amazon Web Services (AWS) – the cloud services arm of the retail giant – to deliver Cloud solutions to large as well as small and medium enterprise (SME) customers in India.

• In addition, Airtel Cloud will leverage AWS’ innovation and transformation services across analytics, data warehousing, Internet of Things (IoT), and machine learning (ML) to help customers adopt new services and migrate to the Cloud from legacy infrastructure.

Airtel Payments Bank ties up with Bharti Axa to offer shop insurance

Airtel Payments Bank will offer shop insurance exclusively for its retailers and merchants in partnership with Bharti Axa General Insurance.

• The package policy provides financial protection in case of damage to assets inside the shop due to fire, allied perils and burglary. The flexible sum insured starts from Rs 2 lakh up to a maximum of Rs 25 lakh.

AIIB in talks with India for financing of $8-billion health infra scheme

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), along with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, is in discussion with the Indian government for part-financing a $8-billion scheme for improving the health infrastructure at the district level to make the country better prepared for future healthcare challenges.

• The Beijing-based multilateral funding agency had earlier approved a financial assistance of $1.2 billion for India to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tech Mahindra launches Mhealthy to enable workforce and community safety against COVID-19

Tech Mahindra, has launched Mhealthy, a solution to enable workforce and community safety against COVID-19. Mhealthy is a solution that uses technologies including artificial intelligence and machine learning to enable data driven digital diagnostics.

• Tech Mahindra has rolled-out phase-wise screening starting with third-party vendors across its India offices and plans to extend the benefits to its employees, customers, and partner ecosystem.

APPOINTMENTS

SN Rajeswari appointed as Oriental Insurance CMD

The Centre has appointed S.N.Rajeswari as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Oriental Insurance Company Ltd, a state owned general insurer.

• Prior to this elevation, Rajeswari was General Manager at New India Assurance Company Ltd.

Navin Agarwal takes over as MD and CEO of Motilal Oswal AMC

Navin Agarwal who was Managing Director at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd (MOFSL) has taken over from Aashish Somaiyya as MD and CEO of Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company. MOFSL is the parent company of the diversified Motilal Oswal group and Agarwal will be stepping down from his role there to focus on the AMC.

AWARDS

Dalmia Bharat Group wins FICCI CSR Award for Environment Sustainability

Dalmia Bharat Group, a leader in India’s core manufacturing space since 1939, has won an award for Environment Sustainability at 18th FICCI CSR award ceremony, organized by FICCI. The award recognizes efforts of companies in integrating and internalizing Corporate Social Responsibility.

OBITUARIES

Former Saurashtra coach Hasmukhbhai Joshi passes away

Former Saurashtra coach and manager Hasmukhbhai Joshi, popularly known as ‘Bababhai’ in cricketing circles, passed away. He was 85.

• He also published a book, ‘Old Ranji Trophy Players of the Period 1963 to 1969 — my teammates and intimates.’

BOOKS

‘Amazing Ayodhya’: New book to tell history of Lord Rama’s birth place

Coinciding with the Ram temple ‘bhoomi pujan’, publishing house Bloomsbury announced their latest book that will shed light on the history of Ayodhya.

• Titled “Amazing Ayodhya”, the book by Neena Rai promises to offer “authentic information” about the city, which will not only help understand the life and times of ancient Hindus, but also the revered figures of Rama and Sita.

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