Current Affairs 16 July 2020

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 16 July 2020, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2020 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

Our Current Affairs July 2020 events will help you to get more marks in Banking, Insurance, SSC, Railways, UPSC, CLAT and all State Government Exams. Also, try our Latest Current Affairs Quiz and Monthly Current Affairs 2020 PDF which will be a pedestrian to crack your exams.

Date-Wise Current Affairs July 2020 PDF for Paid Users – Click Here to Know More

Top 15 Current Affairs of 16 July 2020

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ released PRAGYATA Guidelines on Digital Education prepared by MoHRD

i.On 14th July 2020, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister of Human Resource Development (MoHRD) released the PRAGYATA Guidelines on Digital Education to improve the quality of education, over a virtual platform from Delhi in the presence of Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State HRD.
ii.The guidelines were prepared by the Department of School Education & Literacy of the Ministry of HRD.
About Ministry of Human Resource Development(MoHRD):
Union Minister– Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
Minister of State– Sanjay Dhotre
<< Read Full News >>

CoalMin to link mining plan portal with PARIVESH website

i.The ministry of coal is planning to link the mining plan portal with PARIVESH website, a single-window hub for online submission, monitoring, and management of proposals submitted to the Environment Ministry by project proponents to seek various types of environment clearances (EC).
ii.This announcement was made by Coal Secretary Anil Kumar Jain during a stakeholder consultation on auction of coal mines for commercial mining organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
About Ministry of Coal:
Union Minister of coal– Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi (Constituency: Dharwad, Karnataka)
About FICCI:
President– Sangita Reddy
Secretary General– Dilip Chenoy
Headquarter– New Delhi
<< Read Full News >>

Anji Khad bridge: India’s 1st cable-stayed rail bridge by Indian Railways to connect Katra and Reasi in J&K

i.The Minister of Railways, Piyush Vedprakash Goyal, has announced that the India’s first cable-stayed Indian Railways bridge namely “Anji Khad Bridge” being developed by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), a Government of India undertaking, is all set to connect Katra and Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) & crosses Chenab River.
ii.The cable-stayed railway bridge is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, which passes through the Young Himalayas.
iii.Notably, the USBRL project also involves the Chenab river bridge. The Chenab Bridge once completed, will become the world’s highest rail bridge.
About Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL):
Chairman & Managing Director (CMD)–  Sanjay Gupta
Headquarter– Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
<< Read Full News >>

Poba Reserve Forest in Assam’s Dhemaji to be upgraded to wildlife sanctuary

The Chief Minister (CM) of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal has announced the upgradation of Poba Reserve Forest, a vital biodiversity hotspot in Dhemaji district of Assam, as a wildlife sanctuary. The announcement was made during a meeting with senior officials of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji and Majuli districts at Jonai.

• Declared in 1924 as Poba Reserve Forest, it has an area of 10,522 hectares and is home to a large number of flora and fauna.
• CM also visited the Outer Jonai and Bera Sapori areas in the district and took stock of the devastation caused by the flood.

About Assam
Capital– Dispur
Governor- Professor Jagdish Mukhi

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India in partnership with Chile & UN’s FAO Co-Hosted Event, “On the road to the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables 2021”

i.On 13th July 2020, India partnered with Chile & Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations(UN) co-hosted the “On the road to the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables 2021: Highlighting health and nutritional benefits through sustainable production and consumption of fruits and vegetables”, side event of 2020 High-level Political forum.
ii.Chile had championed to declare the year 2021 as an International Year of Fruits and Vegetables’ by UN General Assembly in 2019.
About Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO):
Director-General– QU Dongyu
Headquarters– Rome, Italy
<< Read Full News >>

BANKING & FINANCE

NABARD disbursed Rs 2.51 cr grant assistance to SHGs & Rs 221.89 cr to support 298 watershed project in Karnataka

i.National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has disbursed Rs 2.51 crore of grant assistance to Self Help Groups (SHGs) for promotion, skill development and digitisation of records in Karnataka. This funding is a part of EShakti or Digitisation of SHGs an initiative of Micro Credit and Innovations Department (mCID) of NABARD. 
ii.In Karnataka, NABARD has extended a grant assistance of Rs 221.89 crore to support 298 watershed projects in over three lakh hectares benefitting 66,500 families. The State has about 75% of rainfed area.
About National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD):
Chairman– G R Chintala
Headquarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra
<< Read Full News >>

CBDT launched tool for banks, co-operative societies & post offices to ascertain TDS applicability rates on cash withdrawals

i.A new functionality of Income Tax Department namely “Verification of applicability u/s 194N” which is available on www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in since July 1, 2020 has now made accessible for banks, co-operative societies, and post offices through web-services by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). 
ii.This feature will enable banks and post offices to ascertain the TDS (Tax deduction at source) applicability rates on cash withdrawals of above Rs 20 lakh in case of a non-filer of the income-tax return (ITR) and that of above Rs 1 crore in case of a filer of the ITR.
iii.In order to discourage cash transactions and move towards a cashless economy, the Finance (No.2) Act, 2019 has inserted section 194N in the Income Tax Act w.e.f. 1 September, 2019.
About Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT):
CBDT, a part of Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance works as the policy making body for the Income Tax department. 
Chairperson– Pramod Chandra Mody
Headquarter– New Delhi
<< Read Full News >>

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

AAI Signs MoU with BEL for Co-operation in Civil Aviation industry

i.Airports Authority of India(AAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) through video conferencing.
ii.To collaborate and support the emerging global opportunities in the airport business, including those in the Asia Pacific region. The MoU is likely to boost the civil aviation industry.
iii.As AAI will act as the development partner, it will assist BEL in its domain of expertise to enable execution of the MEA projects outside India by BEL.
About AAI:
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
Chairman– Arvind Singh
About BEL:
It is a Defence Public Sector Undertaking(PSU) 
Registered Office– Bangalore, Karnataka
Chairman & Managing Director– M V Gowtama
<< Read Full News >>

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS       

Tata’s N Chandrasekaran and Lockheed Martin’s Jim Taiclet Receives USIBC Global Leadership Award 2020

i.Tata group chairman, Natarajan(N) Chandrasekaran and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and president of Lockheed Martin Jim Taiclet to receive the US-India Business Council(USIBC) Global Leadership Award 2020. 
ii.They also serve as a co-chair of the US-India CEO Forum.
About USIBC Global Leadership Award
The USIBC Global Leadership Award has been presented annually since 2007.
About USIBC:
Headquarters- Washington, D.C., United States
President– Nisha Biswal
Managing Director for India– Ambika Sharma
<< Read Full News >> 

Hurun Research’s World Richest Man List- Mukesh Ambani ranks 5^th;Jeff Bezos tops

According to the Hurun’s Research’s World Richest Man List, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) chairman & CEO Mukesh Ambani (63) with worth 78 billion USD ranked 5th richest man in the world.He sustains as the wealthiest Indian and he is the only Asian Tycoon in the world’s top 10 richest people as on July 2020.
i.Ambani’s wealth was down by 1% compared to pre-COVID levels.
ii.Mukesh Ambani shared his position with Tesla’s Founder, Elon Musk and Steve Ballmer (Former Microsoft CEO).
iii.Ambani has surpassed Warren Buffett’s whose net worth is 76 billion.
iv.Vaccine King Cyrus Poonawalla is another Indian in the global rich list at 57th position.
Hurun’s Global Ranking: 

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS     

ADB Appoints Election Commissioner of India, Ashok Lavasa as its New Vice-President

i.The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed Ashok Lavasa as its Vice-President for Private Sector Operations and Public–Private Partnerships, who is currently serving as one of the Election Commissioners of India(since January 2018). 
ii.He will succeed Diwakar Gupta, whose term will end on 31 August, 2020. 
iii.He is a retired 1980 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre. He was born on 21st October 1957.
About ADB:
Headquarters– Metro Manila, Philippines
President– Masatsugu Asakawa
<< Read Full News >>

SportsAdda signs former Australian cricketer Brett Lee as Brand Ambassador

On 14th July 2020, SportsAdda, news and information website for Cricket, Football and Kabaddi announced that they signed Former australian cricketer Brett Lee as its Brand ambassador.

• As the brand ambassador of SportsAdda, Lee conducts activities like quizzes, bowling masterclasses, Q&A’s and giveaways featured exclusively on the SportsAdda’s app, social media and website.

Brett Lee:
i.Brett Lee, the 43 years old fast bowler debuted in 1999 and retired from Tests in 2008.
ii.He was a part of the ICC Cricket World Cup winning Australian team in 2003 and 2007.
iii.He took over 700 wickets during his international career and retired from international cricket in 2013.
iv.After the Big Bash League (BBL – Australian Twenty20 cricket league) season in 2014 to 2015 he retired from all forms of cricket.
v.He starred in the movie, UNindian, an Australian movie in 2015.
About SportsAdda:
i.SportsAdda website is owned by Stumped Entertainment FZE.
ii.The website was formed in 2018 and it is also available as a mobile application.

    ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS  

Google to Buy 7.73% Stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 33,737 Crores

i.Alphabet Inc’s Google to buy 7.73% stake in Reliance Industries Limited(RIL)’s Jio Platforms for Rs 33,737 crores.
ii.For this purpose they have signed a binding partnership and an investment agreement. 
iii.This investment values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.36 lakh crore
iv.With this deal, RIL holds 67.03% stake in Jio Platforms, while other investors hold 32.97% stake.
About RIL:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman & Managing Director– Mukesh D. Ambani
About Google:
Headquarters– California, United States
CEO– Sundar Pichai
<< Read Full News >>

      SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

GHIAL’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Introduces India’s First Fully Contactless Car Parking

On 10th July 2020, The GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL), introduced India’s first ever fully contactless airport car parking with contact less toll transaction for their passengers and visitors in Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) to provide a safe airport amid COVID-19. The NETC FASTag Car Park is a part of the “One Nation One Tag” – NETC FASTag programme of Indian Government.
NETC FASTag Car Park:
i.The GHIAL’s RGIA introduced the first ever National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) FASTag Car Park in India in November 2019.
ii.GHIAL’s RGIA updates the existing NETC FASTag Car Parking in collaboration with National Payments Corporation of India(NPCI), integrating with 10 NETC FASTag issuing banks.
iii.The parking payment is done using the Reloadable Electronic Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag linked to a prepaid account which enables the automatic deduction of the parking charges.
Other initiatives:
The NPCI plans to expand the contact less parking solution to the malls, airports and other parking spaces in the metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru.
About National Payments Corporation of India(NPCI):
Managing Director(MD) & CEO– Dilip Asbe
Head Office– Mumbai, Maharashtra

OBITUARY

Former Goa health minister Suresh Amonkar passed away at 68

Former Goa health minister, Suresh Amonkar passed away at 68 due to COVID-19 infection, while undergoing treatment at ESI hospital in Margao. He was born on May 15, 1952 in Amona, Goa.
About Suresh Amonkar
i.Suresh Amonkar was 1st elected to the Goa Legislative Assembly from the Pale  Assembly constituency, later renamed as Sankhalim in north Goa, in the 1999 and 2002 elections as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP).
ii.He served as the Minister of Health, Social Welfare, and Labour & Employment in Francisco Sardinha’s cabinet from 1999 to 2000.
iii.He also served as the Minister of Health, Labour & Employment, and Factories and Boilers in the First Manohar Parrikar cabinet.
iv.Later he joined Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghleader(RSS) Subhash Velingkar’s Goa Suraksha Manch(GSM) in November 2016.
About Goa:
Capital– Panaji
Chief Minister– Pramod Sawant
Governor– Satya Pal Malik

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Youth Skills Day 2020 – July 15

i.Every year the United Nations(UN) World Youth Skills Day(WYSD) is globally celebrated on 15th July to highlight the importance of equipping young people with skills to provide opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship.
ii.The theme of 2020 WYSD virtual event is “Skills for a Resilient Youth”.
iii.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA), declared July 15th as the World Youth Skills Day in the resolution adopted on 18th December 2014.
About UNESCO-UNEVOC (International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training):
Director– Soo-Hyang Choi
Location- Bonn, Germany
<< Read Full News >>

AC GAZE

Indian teenager Soham Mukherjee in UAE makes Guinness World Record title 

Indian teenager Soham Mukherjee in UAE(United Arab Emirates), has made a Guinness World Record title with 101 One-Leg Hops over a Ruler, who managed to break the previous Guinness World Records title of 96 hops in 30 seconds.

*******

Current Affairs Today (AffairsCloud Today)