Current Affairs 26 & 27 July 2020

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 26 & 27 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.

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Top 20 Current Affairs of 26 & 27 July 2020

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

DST launched Rs 15 Crore fund to support India-Russia collaboration joint R&D and cross-country technology adaptation

i.On July 24, 2020, The Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the Ministry of Science and Technology launched India-Russia Joint Technology Assessment and Accelerated Commercialization Programme in partnership with Russia’s Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises (FASIE). 
ii.On the Indian side, the programme will be implemented & funded by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) on behalf of the DST.
iii.DST will fund up to Rs 15 Crores to selected Indian SMEs/Start-ups and FASIE will provide similar funding to the Russian projects.  
Static Points:
Secretary Department of Science and Technology (DST)– Prof. Ashutosh Sharma
Indian Ambassador to Russia – D. Bala Venkatesh Varma
Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises (FASIE) General Director– Sergey Polyakov
About FICCI:
Secretary General– Dilip Chenoy
President– Sangita Reddy
Headquarter– New Delhi
<< Read Full News >>

India extended medical assistance worth about USD 1 million to North Korea under WHO’s anti-tuberculosis programme

i.On July 24, 2020, on the request of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Government of India (GoI) has extended medical assistance in the form of anti-tuberculosis medicines worth about US$ 1 million to Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). This medical assistance is provided as a part of ongoing WHO’s anti-tuberculosis programme in DPRK.
ii.It is to be noted that New Delhi’s medical assistance is under the aegis of an ongoing WHO anti-tuberculosis programme in North Korea and hence exempted from the sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
About Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK):
Capital– Pyongyang
Currency– North Korean won
<< Read Full News >>

Govt imposed restrictions on public procurement from countries sharing land border with India by amending GFRs 2017

i.On July 23, 2020, the Government of India (GoI) has amended the Rule 144 of General Financial Rules (GFRs) 2017 entitled “Fundamental principles of public buying” by inserting sub rule (ix) which has imposed restrictions on bidders of countries sharing land borders with India in public procurement tenders. 
ii.This decision has been taken to strengthen the defence and national security of India. 
iii.It should be noted that India shares its border with China, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Myanmar.
iv.By invoking the provision of Article 257(1) of the Constitution of India,  the central government has also directed state governments to implement this order for all public procurement.
About Department of Expenditure (DoE):
Secretary– T. V. Somanathan
<< Read Full News >>

First in the World: India builds electrified rail tunnel capable to run double-stack containers 

India builds one kilometer (km) long World’s first electrified rail tunnel that fits double stack containers. It cuts through Aravali mountain on the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) near Sohna, Haryana.
The project is implemented by the DFCCIL (Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited).
The tunnel Breaking was completed on 24, July 2020. The project is expected to complete by the next 12 months.
About the ministry of Indian Railways:
Union Railway Minister -Piyush Goyal
Chairman Railway board – V.K Yadav
Minister of State -Suresh Channabasappa Angadi
<< Read Full News >>

First by Indian Government: World Class State of the Art Honey Testing Lab was e-inaugurated by Shri Narendra Singh Tomar at Anand, Gujarat  

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the ‘World Class State of Art Honey Testing Laboratory’ virtually. This is considered to be the first Government Honey Testing lab in India. 
The testing lab was established by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in Anand, Gujarat with support of NBB (National Bee Board). 
Note: Shri Tomar also inaugurated ‘Two Days Online Training Programme on Scientific Honey bee production’ conducted by NDDB. 
About NDDB
Chairman – Dilip Rath 
Headquarters –  Anand, Gujsrat, India
About NBB
Chairman – Shri Sanjay Agarwal
<< Read Full News >>

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Hyderabad Ranked 16th in World’s most Surveilled Cities 2020 & Taiyuan,China tops: Comparitech

i.As per the new analysis by Comparitech on the World’s Most Surveilled Cities 2020, in 150 major cities across the globe, Hyderabad has positioned in 16th rank among  the list of top 20 cities with the maximum number of Closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance cameras. 
ii.It has most CCTV surveillance in India. The List was topped by Taiyuan, China.
iii.Chennai(21st rank) and Delhi (33rd rank)  made into the top 50 list. Delhi ranked 2nd & Tokyo tops in the 20 most populated cities in the world.
iv.The research is based on the number of cameras per 1,000 people.
About Comparitech:
Headquarters– England
<< Read Full News >>

Climate-friendly Cooling can cut 460 Giga Tonnes of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Cooling Emissions and Policy Synthesis Report

i.The Cooling Emissions and Policy Synthesis Report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) states that, by combining energy efficiency improvements with the transition away from super-polluting refrigerants, the world can avoid cumulative greenhouse gas emissions of up to 210-460 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) over the next four decades. 
ii.This equals 4-8 years(roughly) of total annual global greenhouse gas emissions, based on 2018 levels.
About UNEP:
Headquarters– Nairobi, Kenya
Executive Director– Inger Andersen(Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations)
About IEA
Headquarters– Paris, France
Executive Director– Fatih Birol
<< Read Full News >>

India ranked 3rd in gaining forest area in world; global employment in forestry led by India: FAO

i.In accordance with the latest Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) 2020 brought out by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), India has ranked 3rd  among the top 10 countries that have gained in forest areas during 2010-2020. 
ii.FRA 2020 examined the status of, and trends in, more than 60 forest-related variables in 236 countries and territories in the period 1990–2020.
iii.India reported 0.38% annual gain in forest, or 266,000 ha of forest increase every year at an average. It’s naturally regenerating forest rate was also 0.38% in 2010-20.
iv.Globally, 12.5 million people were employed in the forestry sector. Out of this, India accounted for 6.23 million, or nearly 50%.
About Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
Director-General (DG)– Qu Dongyu
Headquarter– Rome, Italy
<< Read Full News >>

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI Signed USD 400 mn Currency Swap Facility for Sri Lanka

i.Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has agreed to a USD 400 million currency swap facility for Sri Lanka, valid till November 2022. 
ii.This will help Sri Lanka to meet its short-term international liquidity requirements and to boost its foreign exchange reserves following the economic crisis resulting from COVID-19.
iii.Recently, India and Sri Lanka held a “technical discussion” on the rescheduling of the bilateral debt repayment through video conference.
About Sri Lanka
Capital – Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Currency– Sri Lankan Rupee
President– Gotabaya Rajapaksa 
Prime Minister– Mahinda Rajapaksa 
<< Read Full News >>

Gross NPA of banks may rise to 12.5% by March 2021: RBI Financial Stability Report

i.In accordance with the 21st issue of Financial Stability Report (FSR), July 2020 by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released on July 24, 2020, the gross nonperforming assets (GNPA) ratio of all scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) may increase from 8.5% in March 2020 to 12.5% by March 2021 under the baseline scenario; the ratio may escalate to 14.7% under a very severely stressed scenario.
ii.While Public sector banks’ (PSBs) gross bad loans ratio of 11.3% at the end of March, 2020 may increase to 15.2% by March 2021 under the baseline scenario, on the other hand, Private banks may see an increase from 4.2% to 7.3%.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Formation– 1 April 1935
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, one is yet to be appointed).
<< Read Full News >>

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

RIL becomes world’s second most valuable energy company, overtaking ExxonMobil

Reliance Industries Limited(RIL) became the world’s second most valuable energy company, overtaking American oil giant ExxonMobil after its market capitalisation(m-cap) reached over Rs 14 lakh crore(14.1 trillion or USD 189.3 billion). Aramco tops the list. ExxonMobil has an m-cap of USD 184.7 billion.

• It is to be noted that no Indian company has ever crossed the m-cap of Rs 14 trillion.

Reason Behind
Reliance’s Rs 13.6 trillion m-cap and Rs 54,262 crore m-cap of its partly-paid shares that were issued in the recent rights issue, put the company’s consolidated market value at Rs 14.1 trillion  
Key Info
i.As per the stock market data, RIL is now ranked 46th globally on m-cap. China’s Alibaba Group is ranked 7th globally.
ii.Globally, Saudi Aramco has the highest market cap of USD 1.75 trillion, followed by Apple (USD 1.6 trillion), Microsoft (USD 1.5 trillion), Amazon (USD 1.48 trillion), and Alphabet (USD 1.03 trillion).
iii.RIL is the 10th highest m-cap company in Asia. 
iv.RIL has a higher m-cap than Chevron Oracle, Unilever, Bank of China, BHP Group, Royal Dutch Shell and SoftBank Group.
v.It is is just below PepsiCo which has an m-cap of USD 189.8 billion
About RIL:
Chairman & Managing Director (CMD)– Mukesh Dhirubhai  Ambani
Headquarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS      

Late Arnab Chaudhry honored by Legend of Animation Award 2020: TMG

Arnab Chaudhuri posthumously awarded with The ‘Legend of Animation’ award, 2020. This award is instituted by the Toonz Media Group (TMG) as a part of the Animation Masters Summit (AMS), 2020 – Digital Edition.  

• The award was accepted by his wife, Ashuma Chaudhuri at the inaugural session. 
• The award is presented for his contribution towards the animation and entertainment industry of India. 

About Arnab Chaudhuri 
i.Arnab Chaudri passed away on December 25, 2019. 
ii.He was an alumnus of NID (National Institute of Design), Ahmedabad and worked with – Walt Disney, Turner, Channel V.
iii.His movie ‘Arjun: The Warrior Prince’ was the only animation from India, listed on the Oscar awards. 
iv.He worked with Toonz at multiple levels. 
Other participants in AMS, 2020
i.Senior Cinematographer, Ravi K Chandran and the National Award Winning composer Shantanu Moitar took the session. 
ii.Academy Award-winning animator Sajan Skaria, ACE Eddie award winner Fabienne Rawley,Chris Appelhans and Cinzia Angelia took off the master session. 
Facts about AMS
i.It is the first animation industry event held in Asia. A non-profit event organized by TMG. 
ii.Previously known as ‘Week with Masters’ and organized by Toonz Animation.
About Toonz Media Group: 
CEO – P. Jayakumar
Headquarters – Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

 APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS        

MHRD Sets Up Panel Under the Chairmanship of D.P. Singh to Form Guidelines to Encourage Students to Study in India

i.Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister of Human Resource Development announced that the ministry has set up a committee headed by UGC Chairman, D.P. Singh to form guidelines and suggest measures to ensure that more students study in India and there is a smooth transition for students returning from abroad due to COVID-19 situation.
ii.In addition to these, the committee will recommend mechanisms to increase the intake in well-performing universities.
<< Read Full News >>  

  SPORTS

India’s 2018 Asian Games mixed relay medal upgraded to gold after Bahrain’s disqualification

Indian 4x400m mixed relay team’s silver medal in the 2018 Asian Games has been upgraded to gold. This decision has been taken after the disqualification of original winners Bahrain due to doping ban.

• Anu Ragavan’s fourth place in the women’s 400m hurdles has been upgraded to Bronze medal after this. 
• Now, India’s medal count increased to 20 which includes 8 gold and 9 silver in 2018 Asian Games.
• Kazakhstan claim silver & China will get Bronze.

NOTE: Celebrating the news Hima Das, dedicated her gold medal to the workers against COVID-19. 
Reason behind: 
i.The4x400 mixed relay final, was topped by Bahrain. 
ii.One of the winners from Bahrain, Kemi Adekoya was handed a four-year ban from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for failing a dope test. 
iii.Under the Article 15 of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules, the National Federations (NF’s) categorize the person as A, B, C where A- having the highest doping risk to the sport and category C the towest.
India at the 2018 Asian Games
i.Bahrain clocked 3:11:89 in 4X400m, received Gold medal. The Indian quartet of Mohammed Anas, MR Poovamma, Hima Das and Arokia Rajiv, clocked 3:15:71 grabs silver medals. 
ii.Anu Raghavan clocked 56.92 in hurdles and stands fourth in the final race in Jakarta. 
iii.After the change in medals, the 4x400m has 2 golds and 1 silver. 
About Asian Games
Motto: – “Ever Onward”
Occurs every – Four years 
Last event – 2018, Jakarta, Palembang, Indonesia. 
About Athletics Federation of India 
President – Mr. Adille J Sumariwalla (2016 – 2020)
Headquarters: Delhi, india

OBITUARY

Tanzania’s former President Benjamin Mkapa dies 

Tanzania’s former president Benjamin Mkapa (81), died at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on 24 July 2020, where he was admitted for an undisclosed illness. He was born on November 12, 1938. His death was announced in a televised speech by the President of Tanzania, John Magufuli. He served as the President from 1995-2005 following the country’s first multiparty election, he is the third president of his country since Independence.
About Tanzania:
Prime Minister- Kassim Majaliwa
Capital & Currency: Dodoma & Tanzanian Shilling

Eminent Danseuse Amala Shankar Passes Away at 101 in Kolkata

Eminent Danseuse Amala Shankar (101) passed away in Kolkata on 24 July, 2020. Amala Nandy was born on June 27, 1919 in Jessore (Now Bangladesh). She is the wife of legendary Indian dancer and choreographer Uday Shankar. 
She was active till her 90s. Her last performance was the dance drama Sita Swayamvar at the age of 92, in which she played the role of King Janaka.
Awards and Honors:

• Amala was awarded Banga Vibhushan by the Bengal government in 2011.
• She received Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna award for her contribution to dance in 2012.
• In 2012, Amala graced the red carpet at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France where the restored print ‘Kalpana’ (1948) was screened in the Classic section.

STATE NEWS

Lt. Governor, G.C Murmu announced the ‘Macadamisation Program’ for improvement of roads across J-K

On 23, July 2020, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Girish Chandra Murmu launched the ‘Macadamisation program’ to improve the roads across Jammu and Kashmir. 
The program covers 100% macadamisation of all roads along with 11,000 Km of fair-weather roads. 
Members of the committee
i.A committee has been constituted to prepare the road map and financial plan that will be submitted on August 10, 2020.
ii.The committee comprises, Financial Commissioner, Principal Secretary, Public Work (PW (R&B)), Secretary of Planning and Rural Development.  
Member of Prioritization committee

• A district level prioritization committee formed to prioritize the roads for macadamisation work
• The committee was chaired by Deputy Commissioner , Executive Engineer, PWD (Public Works Department), ACD will prioritize the roads.  
• G.C Murmu released Rs. 200 Crores to the PWD to cover the priority roads. 

Recent Related News
i.Lt Governor G C Murmu, J&K Launches 2 Customized Loan Schemes of J&K Bank for Business Communities viz ‘J&K Bank Business Support Loan Scheme 2019-20’ & ‘J&K Bank Business Support Loan Scheme 2019-20 for Hotels and Guest Houses’
ii.Union Minister of State for the Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh e-Inaugurates” Puneja Bridge” & “Devika Bridge” in Udhampur district, J&K
About J&K
Lt. Governor – G.C Murmu (First Lt. Governor of UT, J&K)
Capitals –  Srinagar (Summer capital); Jammu (winter capital)

TN government signed 16 MoUs worth Rs 5,137 crore with companies for employment creation

i.The Tamil Nadu(TN) government has signed 16 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 5,137 crore to create employment opportunities  for over 6,555 people. 
ii.The MoUs were  signed by TN  Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami. iii.The government has signed  three tranches of MoUs worth Rs  30,664 crore within 2 months, which will provide employment to over 67,212 persons.
A new portal HYPERLINK Launched
The Chief Minister launched a new portal HYPERLINK(https://investingintamilnadu.com/) for the government’s investment promotion agency.
About Tamil Nadu:
Governor– Banwarilal Purohit
National Parks(NP)– Gulf of Mannar Marine NP, Guindy NP, Mudumalai NP, Mukurthi NP.
<< Read Full News >>

5-day Sub-Tropical Fruit Expo 2020 was organised by Horticulture dept of Haryana 

Haryana Horticulture Department organised a five-day Sub-Tropical Fruit Expo 2020 at the Centre for Sub-Tropical Fruit (Indo Israel Project), at Ladwa in district Kurukshetra from 18th – 22nd July 2020.The event was inaugurated by Sanjeev Kaushal, Additional Chief Secretary in Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department. The event helps people learn about varieties of sub-tropical fruit and their cultivation techniques. 
Objective of the expo:
To help farmers to learn about the latest technologies in the field with significance to increase adoption of horticulture under the crop diversification scheme ‘Mera Pani-Meri Virasat’ of the state government.
About the event:

• The event was streamed live every day from 10 am to 1pm on social media.
• Various techniques in the field will be demonstrated during the event.
• This helps farmers utilise fewer resources more efficiently and improve their livelihood.
• The event consists of a Question & answer session and a rangoli competition.

About Haryana:
Capital- Chandigarh
Chief Minister- Manohar lal Khattar

AC GAZE

Indian-origin nurse Kala Narayanasamy in Singapore conferred with President’s Award

Indian-origin nurse Kala Narayanasamy(59) in Singapore has conferred with the President’s Award for Nurses for serving on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic, who was among the five nurses (Tay Yee Kian, Patricia Yong Yueh Li, Alice Chua Foong Sin, Chin Soh Mun).

Note: A trophy, a certificate signed by President Halimah Yacob and SGD 10,000 (USD 7,228) was awarded.

IIM-Kozhikode start-up develops wearable device ‘Veli Band’

Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIM-K) based incubated startup Qual5 India Pvt.Ltd,has developed a wearable device called  ‘Veli Band’  which helps in maintaining social distancing by sending out an alarm in case of proximity with another person.

Note: The startup Qual5 India Pvt.Ltd  is co-founded by a woman entrepreneur, mentored and funded by IIMKs business incubator and entrepreneurship development centre, LIVE( Laboratory for Innovation, Venturing and Entrepreneurship).

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