Current Affairs 4 July 2020

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 4 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 4 July 2020

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

DAC approves Rs 38,900 cr capital acquisition of equipment for armed forces; 33 fighter jets to be procured

i.Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has given its consent for the capital acquisition of various platforms and equipment required by the Indian Armed Forces, Army, Navy and the Air Force, worth Rs 38,900 crore.
ii.Notably, these approvals include acquisitions of Rs 31,130 crore from Indian industry.
iii.DAC also approved the proposal for procurement of 33 fighter jets including 21 MIG-29 ((Mikoyan-Gurevich) and 12 Su-30 MKI (Modernizirovannyi, Kommercheskiy, Indiski where ‘Su’ is Sukhoi) aircraft from Russia and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), India respectively, along with upgradation of existing 59 MIG-29 aircraft.
About Defence Acquisition Council (DAC):
DAC is chaired by Defence Minister (Currently-Rajnath Singh) which provide approvals to Capital acquisitions in the Long Term Perspective Plan (LTPP)
About Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD)– R. Madhavan
Headquarter– Bengaluru, Karnataka
<< Read Full News >>

Union HRD Minister and Union Health Minister Launched Drug Discovery Hackathon 2020 (DDH2020)

Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, the Union Minister of HRD(Human Resource Development) and Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and minister of Science and Technology launched the Drug Discovery Hackathon (DDH2020)  through an online platform in the presence of Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State(HRD).
Objective: ‘To identify drug candidates against SARS-CoV-2 by in-silico drug discovery through the hackathon and follow up by chemical synthesis and biological testing’.
Key Points:-
i) It is a first of its kind national initiative supporting the Drug Discovery Process.
ii) It helps India in establishing a new model to accelerate the drug discovery process.
About Ministry of HRD:
Headquarters: New Delhi
Union Minister: Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
<< Read Full News >>

NHAI to set up India’s 1st govt sponsored InvIT, Forms Committee to Appoint Senior Management for its Investment Manager Board

i.National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is undertaking the establishment of India’s first government or semi government promoted Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) under the Indian Trust Act, 1882 and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014 to facilitate investment in the highway sector. 
ii.In this regard, a new company will also be set up to act as the Investment Manager to the proposed NHAI InvITto have a professional management structure.
iii.Therefore, NHAI has constituted a search-cum-selection committee for the appointment of two independent Directors and one Chairman for the Investment Manager Board in which  Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu (Chairman of NHAI) appointed as the convener.
About National Highway Authority of India (NHAI):
Administrator– Ministry of Road Transport and Highways 
Headquarter– New Delhi
About Securities and Exchange Board of India:
Headquarter– Mumbai
Chairman– Ajay Tyagi
<< Read Full News >>

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

77.9% Russians Grant Putin Right to Extend His Rule Until 2036

i.The 78% Russian electorate have voted in favour of constitutional amendments that will allow 67 years old President Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036 i.e. until the age of 83. 
ii.His current term of 6 years will end in 2024. Means now, he will be re-elected twice under the constitutional amendments. 
iii.He is already the longest-serving leader in modern Russian history. 
About Russia:
Capital– Moscow
Currency– Russian Rouble
Prime Minister– Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin
<< Read Full News >>

BANKING & FINANCE

ADB Joins Network For Greening the Financial System as Observer

On July 03, 2020, Asian Development Bank (ADB) has joined the Paris (France)-based Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) as an observer.

• The NGFS is a global forum that brings together central banks and supervisors committed to understanding and managing the financial risks and opportunities associated with climate change.

About Asian Development Bank (ADB):
Headquarters– Mandaluyong, Philippines
President– Masatsugu Asakawa
Membership– 68 countries
<< Read Full News >>

RBI conducted OMO of purchase and sale of G-secs for Rs 10,000 cr each; Borrowing facility to banks extended till Sept 30, 2020

i.On July 2, 2020, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conducted the simultaneous purchase of Government Securities (G-Secs), and sale of day treasury bills (DTBs) under Open Market Operations (OMO) for Rs 10,000 crore each as a part of “Operation Twist”.
ii.Purchases: Central Govt purchased G-Secs or GS – 6.79% GS 2027; 7.26% GS 2029; 6.68% GS 2031; and 6.57% GS 2033 – using the multiple price auction method aggregating Rs10,000 crore. 
iii.Sellings: RBI sold four DTBs – two 182 DTBs maturing on October 15 and October 22, 2020; and two 364 DTBs maturing on April 22 and April 29, 2021.
Static points about Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
-It was established on the recommendation of the Hilton Young Commission.
-RBI is responsible only for printing the currency notes. Minting of coins is done by the Government of India.
-Dr.Manmohan Singh is the only Prime Minister to have also served as the Governor of RBI.
<< Read Full News >>

HDFC Bank to Offer ‘ZipDrive’, an Online Instant Auto Loans to its Customers

i.HDFC Bank announced that it will offer ‘ZipDrive’, an online instant auto loan to its customers  in 1,000 cities. 
ii.The auto loan disbursal product is only for customers with pre-approved offers. It is a  technology-enabled loan product where credit assessment is done by banking software.
iii.The product will be available to tier 2 and 3 cities across India, such as Bhimavaram in Andhra Pradesh, Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh among other places.
About HDFC Bank:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Managing Director(MD)– Aditya Puri 
<< Read Full News >>

Kotak Mahindra Bank & Innoviti Collaborates to Offer EMIs on Kotak Debit Cards Swiped on Innoviti POS Terminals

i.Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) and Innoviti Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd. announced that they have collaborated.
ii.To provide Equated Monthly Installments(EMI) billing options on Kotak Debit Cards which are swiped on Innoviti Point of Sale(POS) terminals. 
iii.The facility will enable about 10 million(1 crore)Kotak customers to pay for their purchases in instalments by using the EMIs on debit cards facility at over 70,000 Innoviti POS terminals across more than 1,000 cities.
About Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited:
Registered Office– Mumbai,  Maharashtra
Managing Director & CEO– Uday Kotak
About Innoviti Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd:
Registered office- Bangalore, Karnataka
CEO– Rajeev Agrawal
<< Read Full News >>

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

India’s External debt increased by 2.8% to $558.5 bn in FY20: RBI data

i.In accordance with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, India’s external debt stood at $558.5 billion in March 2020, an increase of $15.4 billion or 2.8% as compared to the March 2019.
ii.The largest component of the external debt is Commercial borrowings with a share of 39.4%, followed by non-resident deposits at 23.4% and short-term trade credit at 18.2%.
iii.In terms of currency, United States (US) dollar-denominated debt continued to be the largest component of India’s external debt, with a share of 53.7% at end-March 2020, followed by the Indian rupee (31.9%), yen (5.6%), SDR (4.5%) and the euro (3.5%).
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 >>

India’s GDP Likely to Contract by 6.4% in 2020-21 due to Lockdown: Care Ratings

On July 02, 2020, CARE Ratings Limited ( formerly Credit Analysis and Research Limited) in its report, ‘Revised GDP growth projections for FY21’ has projected a 6.4 % contraction (or -6.4%) in India’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth for the current financial year FY 21 (2020-21) due to the continuous lockdown imposed for prevention of coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic.
About CARE Rating:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Ajay Mahajan 
<< Read Full News >>

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS       

Hardeep Singh Puri Launches Toolkit for 6th Edition of Annual Cleanliness Survey of Urban India ‘Swachh Survekshan 2021’

On July 03, 2020, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA),has launched the toolkit for sixth edition of the annual cleanliness survey of urban India ‘Swachh Survekshan (SS) 2021’conducted by MoHUA.
i.As part of Swachh Survekshan 2021, Puri also announced a new category of awards named ‘Prerak Dauur Samman’ , in which top 3 cities being recognized in following  5 sub- categories.
ii.Along with the tool kit, SBM-Urban MIS [Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban  Management information system] portal was launched during the event.
About Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs:
Headquarters– New Delhi
Secretary– Durga Shanker Mishra
<< Read Full News >> 

Freya Thakral, Delhi School Girl named among 2020’s Diana Award roll of Honours

i.On 1st July 2020,the birth anniversary of Princess Diana, Freya Thakral, a 13 year old student of the British School New Delhi received the 2020 Diana Award for her humanitarian work towards the ragpickers of Delhi.
ii.She developed a mobile application and started a door to door recycling business to support the financial difficulties faced by the ragpickers.
About United Kingdom:
Prime Minister– Boris Johnson
Capital– London
Currency– Pound sterling
<< Read Full News >>

Kritika Pandey Became Overall Winner of the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize

i.On 30th June 2020, The commonwealth writers announced Kritika Pandey, the winner of asian region prize as the overall winner of the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize  for her story, “The Great Indian Tee and Snakes”. 
ii.The award was presented to her by Ghanaian writer and editor, Nii Ayikwei Parkes, the chair of the 2020 Judge panel in the online award ceremony.
iii.Kritika is the second Indian to win the overall prize after Parashar Kulkarni in 2016.
About Commonwealth foundation:
Director General– Dr Anne T. Gallagher
Headquarters– London, United Kingdom
<< Read Full News >>

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS    

French PM Edouard Philippe Resigns, Reshuffle Expected

On 3rd July French Prime Minister Edouard Phillipe resigned during the expected government reshuffle.
Key Points:-

• The French President Emmanuel Macron has planned to open a new chapter for the two remaining years to focus on efforts to relaunch the French economy deeply hit by the coronavirus crisis.
• The reshuffle was planned before the voting, as Macron’s government faced obstacles and criticism before the election and during COVID-19 pandemic.
• Philippe is a right wing politician who never joined Macron’s Republic on the move party.

About France:-
Capital: Paris
President: Emmanuel Macron  

Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Chairman of NHAI gets 6 months extension 

On 2nd July 2020, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, the Chairman of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) gets a 6 months extension in his tenure as Chairman of NHAI.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the extension in central deputation tenure of Sandhu as Chairman of NHAI beyond 21st July 2020, till mid-January 2021.
SS Sandhu:
i.S S Sandhu IAS, 1988 Uttarakhand Cadre assumed office as the Chairman of NHAI in October 2019 succeeding Nagendra Nath Sinha.
ii.He served as the additional secretary to the Department of Higher Education, 
iii.He was also the Chief Vigilance Officer of Ministry of Human Resource Development
iv.He published papers on Urban Reforms and Municipal Management and Capacity Buildings.
v.He received the President Medal for his service as Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Ludhiana, Punjab.
About National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)
It works under the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.
Headquarter – Dwarka, New Delhi

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS 

Intel Capital to buy 0.39% stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 1,894.50 crore 

i.US based Electronic chip maker Intel’s investment arm, Intel Capital to buy 0.39% stake in Reliance Industries Limited(RIL)’s Jio Platforms  for Rs 1,894.50 crore. 
ii.This is the 12th deal of Jio Platforms. With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised Rs 1,17,588.45 crore from global investors since April 22.
iii.With this investment, RIL holds 74.91% stake in Jio and  25.09% by the investors.
About Intel:
Headquarters- California, U.S. 
Chief Executive Officer– Robert (Bob) H. Swan
About RIL:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman & Managing Director– Mukesh D. Ambani
<< Read Full News >>

      SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

IIT Kanpur Develops Virtual Classroom Aid, ‘Mobile Masterjee’

i.The Indian Institute of Technology(IIT)  Kanpur has developed a  virtual classroom aid,  ‘Mobile Masterjee’. 
ii.It is a classroom-to-home teaching setup, which enables students to record teachers’ lectures/instructions while using  smartphones. It is developed by the Imagineering Lab of IIT Kanpur.
iii.Purpose of the setup– To help rural schools overcome the teaching and learning challenges caused by the pandemic. 
About IIT Kanpur:
Chairperson– Koppillil Radhakrishnan
Director– Prof. Abhay Karandikar
<< Read Full News >>

Researches Found Jupiter Like Planet :TOI-849b,  First Ever Planetary Core

i.On 1st July 2020, The researchers spotted a Jupiter-like planet, 39 times more massive than the Earth, orbiting around a distant star with temperature lower than the Sun, the planet is located around 730 light years away from Earth. This is the first ever planetary core to be found by the astronomers.
ii.The astronomers named the planet TOI-849b. 
iii.TOI-849b was found in a survey of stars by NASA’s  Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
About University of Warwick:
Chancellor– Cathy Ashton 
Vice-Chancellor & President & CEO– Stuart Croft
Location– Coventry, United Kingdom
<< Read Full News >>

SPORTS

Lt Col Bharat Pannu Becomes First Indian To Secures Podium Position In International Ultracycling Race: Finished 3rd In 1st Edition VRAAM 2020

On 28th July 2020, Lt Col Bharat Pannu, Indian Army officer, secured the 3rd position on the leaderboard at the first edition of the Virtual Race Across America(VRAAM) 2020 held from 16th June to 28th June 2020 and became the first ever Indian to secure a podium position in the international ultracycling race.
Lt Col Pannu finished with a total distance of 4086km in 12 days and a total elevation gain of 71,000 meters in a stationary bicycle in Pimple Nilakh, Pune.
VRAAM 2020:
i.Due to the current global pandemic, the organisers of the Race Across America(RAAM) (a 5000Km transcontinental race from the west coast to east coast of the United States of America) cancelled the events of 2020 and adopted the virtual format Virtual Race Across America(VRAAM) 2020.
ii.The cyclist will use the FulGaz, an indoor trainer application.
iii.Around 22 cyclists participated in the VRAAM 2020.
About Race Across America(RAAM):
President & CEO– Fred Boethling
Vice President  & Executive Director– Rick Boethling

OBITUARY

National Awardee & Veteran Bollywood Choreographer Saroj Khan Passes Away

On 3rd July, Veteran Bollywood Choreographer, Saroj Khan (71) died of Cardiac arrest at Gurunanak Hospital, Bandra, Maharashtra where she was admitted before one week with complaint of breathing issues.She was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
i) She was a three-time National Award winner, who choreographed most memorable songs of Hindi cinema. 
ii) She has choreographed for more than 2000 songs in her career of 40 years. Her last choreograph was made for ‘Kalank’ starring Madhuri Dixit in 2019.
iii) She is known for blending Indian Classical dance with modern beats.

STATE NEWS

Delhi Govt to Launch ‘Podhe Lagao Prayavaran Bachao’, a 17 day Campaign to Reduce Air Pollution

i.Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai informed that a  17 day campaign ”Podhe Lagao, Paryavaran Bachao” (Plant Trees, Save Environment) will be launched from July 10 to July 26  from the National Highway(NH) 20 near ITO to reduce air pollution. During the campaign 31 lakh saplings  will be planted.
ii.Gopal Rai will inaugurate the plantation drive at ITO nursery near the Yamuna Bank on July 10. 
iii.The plantation drive is likely to increase Delhi’s  green area to 350 square kilometres(sq km) by 2021 from 325 sq km at present. 
About Delhi:
Chief Minister(CM)– Arvind Kejriwal
Governor– Anil Baijal
<< Read Full News >>

Dadasaheb Phalke and Sahitya Akademi Winner Ratnakar Matkari Posthumously Honoured by Maharashtra Government

i.On 2nd July 2020,The Government of Maharashtra announced that  Marathi writer and playwright Ratnakar Matkari will be posthumously honoured with the Natvarya Prabhakar Panshikar award for his lifetime contribution to the theaters and arts.
ii.The Natvarya Prabhakar Panshikar award comprises a citation, a memento and a cash prize of Rs.5 Lakh.
About Maharashtra:
Capital– Mumbai
Chief Minister– Uddhav Thackeray
Governor– Bhagat Singh Koshyari
The famous Ajanta Ellora Caves, a UNESCO World heritage site is located in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.
<< Read Full News >>

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