Current Affairs 8 July 2020

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 8 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 25 Current Affairs of 8 July 2020

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Indian Coast Guard & Indonesia Coast Guard sign MoU to boost maritime relations

In order to bolster the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and Indonesia, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Indonesian Coast Guard (Badan Keamanan Laut Republik Indonesia) on ‘Maritime Safety and Security’.

• The MoU was signed through video conferencing amid the global travel restrictions due to COVID-19 pandemic. It was inked by ICG Director General (DG) Krishnaswamy Natarajan and Head of Indonesian Coast Guard Vice Admiral Aan Kurnia in the presence of Ambassador of India to Indonesia Pradeep Kumar Rawat, and Mochammad Rizki Safary, Minister Counsellor of Indonesian Embassy in New Delhi, India and officials from Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Ministry of External affairs (MEA).

Key Points:
-The objective of this MoU is to enhance the collaborative and cooperative engagements in maritime law enforcement, maritime search and rescue and marine pollution response.
-This will also enable the exchange of information towards combating transnational maritime crimes on the basis of ensuring safe, secure and clean seas between the two nations.
About Indonesia:
Capital– Jakarta
Currency– Indonesian rupiah
President– Joko Widodo

New Building of IARI, Jharkhand named after Dr.Shyama Prasad Mukherjee

On 6th July 2020, The new administrative and academic building of the Indian Agricultural research Institute(IARI),at Gouria Karma in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand is named after Dr.Shyama Prasad Mukherjee the founder of Bharatiya Jan Sangh, on the event of his birth anniversary.
Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare:
Union Minister– Narendra Singh Tomar 
Ministers of State– Purushottam Rupala and Kailash Choudhary
About Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR):
President of the ICAR Society– Narendra Singh Tomar
Director General– Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra
Headquarters– New Delhi
<< Read Full News >>

MoU Signed between National Medicinal Plants Board and ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources

On 06 July 2020, A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the National Medicinal plants Board (NMPB) under the Ministry of AYUSH and ICAR- National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) under Department of Agricultural Research and Education to conserve Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Genetic Resources (MAPGRs).
To conserve the MAPGRs at designated space of ICAR- NBPGR in long-term storage module in the National Gene bank and/or at Regional Station for medium term storage module and acquire hands-on training on plant germplasm conservation techniques to the working group of NMPB.
About Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR):
Headquarters: New Delhi
President: Shri Narendra Singh Tomar
About Ministry of AYUSH:
Headquarters: New Delhi
Minister of State (Independent Charge): Shri Shripad Yesso Naik
<< Read Full News >>

Assam Government to Upgrade Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary to National Park amid Coal Mining Row

i.The government of Assam has decided to upgrade the 111.942 sq km Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary into a national park, located within the larger Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve, following the National Board of Wildlife’s (NBWL) conditional clearance to a coal mining project by Coal India Limited (CIL) in the 98.59 hectares of Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve.
ii.The wildlife sanctuaries are protected areas which permit some activities such as grazing but national parks require complete protection status under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
iii.Post upgradation, Dehing Patkai will be the 6th national park in Assam. The other five are Kaziranga, Nameri, Manas, Orang and Dibru-Saikhowa.
About Assam:
Chief Minister (CM)- Sarbananda Sonowal
Capital– Dispur
Governor– Prof. Jagdish Mukhi
<< Read Full News >>

Central Govt approved funds for Implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Himachal Pradesh & Goa

i.On 4th July 2020, during a video conference between Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh (HP) Jairam Thakur, Union Government has allocated Rs. 326.20 Crore for the effective implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Himachal Pradesh for FY 2020-21. Including the state’s share the total funds available for providing Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) is Rs. 371 Crore.
ii.The government of India has allocated Rs. 12.40 Crore for FY20-21 to Goa on the basis of Annual Action Plan (AAP) presented by the state to the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The funds have been increased from Rs. 3.08 Crore. 
About JJM:
It aims to enable every rural household to have assured availability of potable water at a service level of 55 litres per capita per day (lpcd) on a regular and long-term basis. The estimated outlay of the mission is Rs 3.60 Lakh Crore.
<< Read Full News >>

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India rises one place to 34th in JLL’s 11th edition of the Global Real Estate Transparency Index 2020; UK tops

On July 07, 2020, According to the 11th edition of the ‘Global Real Estate Transparency Index 2020’, which covers 99 countries and territories and 163 cities, released by Jones Lang LaSalle’s (JLL), India has improved by one place to 34th with a total score of 2.69 under ‘semi-transparent’ zone. Regulatory reforms, better market data and sustainability initiatives led to a one-point improvement in the nation’s ranking.
    – While, the United Kingdom (UK) has topped the list with a score of 1.31 followed by United States, Australia.
About Jones Lang LaSalle’s (JLL):
Headquarters– Chicago, Illinois, United States
President & CEO– Christian Ulbrich
CEO and country head (India)– Ramesh Nair
<< Read Full News >>

New School Infrastructure worth Rs 1.94 cr Funded by India inaugurated in Nepal via Video Conferencing

i.A new four-storey school building, developed with the Indian assistance of Rs 1.94 crore (Nepalese Rupees (NR) 31.13 million) under the Nepal-Bharat Maitri Development Cooperation programme has been inaugurated in Shri Saptmai Gurukul Sanskrit Vidyalaya, located in Ilam district of Nepal to boost the learning environment for students. 
ii.The inauguration was made through video conferencing with the participation of Nepalese officials, school management committee and members of the Indian Embassy.
iii.The project was implemented by the District Coordination Committee (DCC), Ilam.
About Nepal:
Capital- Kathmandu
Prime Minister– Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli
President– Bidhya Devi Bhandari 
<< Read Full News >>

BANKING & FINANCE

Fino Payments Bank launches ‘Bhavishya’ Savings Account for Minors Aged between 10-18 years

i.Fino Payments Bank Limited  launched ‘Bhavishya‘, a savings account scheme for minors aged between 10-18 years. 
ii.The subscription-based savings account aims to inculcate banking and saving habits in childrens.
iii.The account can be only opened through the Electronic-Know Your Customer(e-KYC) mode. 
iv.The account comes with a free Platinum RuPay Debit card and there is no requirement to maintain any minimum monthly average balance. The annual Subscription charges for the account is Rs.349 (inclusive of Goods and Service Tax-GST).
About Fino Payments Bank Limited:
Headquarters– Maharashtra 
MD and CEO– Rishi Gupta
<< Read Full News >>

Karur Vysya Bank Ties- up with Star Health Insurance For Bancassurance

On July 6, 2020, Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) has joined hands with Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd for bancassurance, through which KVB will market wide range health insurance products of the Star Health through its 780 branches.
About Karur Vysya Bank:
Headquarters– Karur, Tamil Nadu.
President & Chief Operating Officer(COO)- Natarajan Jagannathan
Tagline– Smart Way to Bank
About Star Health and Allied Insurance:
Headquarters– Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Managing Director– Anand Roy
<< Read Full News >>

Deutsche Bank and Google Cloud to Enter into a Multi-Year, Strategic Partnership

i.Deutsche Bank and Google Cloud have proposed to enter into a strategic, multi-year partnership.
ii.The partnership  focuses on redefining how the bank develops and offers its financial services. 
iii.The partnership enables co-innovation between the two companies to produce the next generation of technology-based financial products for clients and delivers cutting edge cloud services to Deutsche Bank.
About Deutsche Bank:
Headquarters– Frankfurt, Germany
Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Christian Sewing
President– Karl von Rohr
About Google:
Headquarters– California, United States
CEO– Sundar Pichai
<< Read Full News >>

Liberty General Insurance launches ‘Liberty Assure’, an industry 1st service

i.Liberty General Insurance launches, ‘Liberty Assure’, an Industry first service. 
ii.The auto insurance customers who avail this service, are not required to pay the ‘Compulsory Deductible’ cost for every claim.
iii.In addition to this no premium will be charged from the buyers to provide this unique cost-effective feature at the time of raising a claim/loss. 
iv.The service is a part of its existing Private Car Package Policy under the Regulatory Sandbox approval received from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India(Irdai).
About Liberty General Insurance:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
CEO and Whole Time Director– Roopam Asthana 
<< Read Full News >>

Ola Enters into a Strategic Partnership with PhonePe to Enhance its Digital Payments Experience for its Customers

On July 7, 2020 India based ridesharing company, Ola announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with PhonePe to boost its digital payments experience for its customers. 
Significance of the partnership 
i.This partnership will help Ola users to link their existing PhonePe account with their Ola account to make payments for future rides. 
ii.This partnership will also enable PhonePe to provide their services to millions of customers on the Ola platform.
Key Info
i.The customers of Ola can use all the payment options of PhonePe, including the PhonePe wallet, to make payments in addition to Unified Payment Interface (UPI).
Availability of the option– Currently, the option to link PhonePe account with the Ola app is available to Android users in India and will be soon available to iOS users.
Note– Ola has announced that customers can avail  a cashback upto Rs 200 for the first two rides when paid using PhonePe. Already, Google Pay and Paytm were integrated with Ola for digital payment.
Recent launch of Ola
Recently, Ola has launched ‘Ride Safe India’ to encourage customers to choose digital channels amid Covid-19
About Ola:
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
Co-Founder &Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Bhavish Aggarwal 
About PhonePe:
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
CEO– Sameer Nigam

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Sijo Kuruvilla George Appointed as Member of Centre’s Committee on STIP 2020

i.Sijo Kuruvilla George, the CEO of startup village and founder of Re-think Foundation has been selected as a member of Central Government’s Expert Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2020 (STIP 2020), India’s 5th science and technology policy led by Harkesh Mittal,head of the department of Science and Technology.
ii.The Expert Committee to frame the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2020 is formed by the Department of Science and technology and principle Scientific advisor of Union Government.
iii.The committee will update the existing science and technology policy 2013 to encourage scientific innovations.
About Ministry of Science and Technology:
Union Minister: Dr Harsh Vardhan (Chandini Chowk, Delhi)
<< Read Full News >>

Govt Appoints Injeti Srinivas as the 1st Chairman of IFSCA

i.On July 6, 2020 Government appointed former corporate affairs secretary and IAS officer, Injeti Srinivas as the 1st chairman of the International Financial Services Centre Authority(IFSCA) for a 3 years term. 
ii.In addition to the chairman, IFSCA has other members who have been nominated from the Reserve Bank of India(RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India(SEBI), The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India(Irdai),Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and two members from the Centre.
About IFSCA:
Headquarters– Gandhinagar, Gujarat
<< Read Full News >>

MCA extends tenure of Justice(Retd.) Bansi Lal Bhat as acting chairperson of NCLAT by three months

i.The Ministry of Corporate Affairs(MCA) has extended the term of Justice(Retd.) Bansi Lal Bhat, as the acting chairperson of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal(NCLAT) by 3 month, effective from June 15.
ii.He was appointed as acting chairperson on March 15, after Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya completed his term in the office.
iii.He also holds the post of Member (Judicial) at the appellate tribunal. 
About NCLAT:
NCLAT was constituted under Section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013 for hearing appeals against the orders of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
<< Read Full News >>         

Jayant Krishna is Appointed as the First India Based CEO of UKIBC

On 1st July 2020, UK India Business Council(UKIBC) announced that Jayant Krishna has accepted the Invitation of UKIBC to become the Group’s new Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and became the first India based CEO of UKIBC. He will assume office from 3rd August 2020 succeeding the current CEO Richard Heald.
i.Richard Heald will take charge as the chairman of the Group from 1st September 2020 succeeding Lord Davies of Abersoch, the current Chair.
ii.Lord Davies of Abersoch will assume the position of President of UKIBC’s new Senior Leadership Council.
About Jayant Krishna:
i.He was the CEO of the Skill India Mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and led various initiative programmes.
ii.He was the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the National Skill Development Corporation(NSDC).
iii.He played a major role in the Tata Consultancy Services(TCS) during his association with Tata Groups for more than 20 years.
About UKIBC:
Chairman– Lord Davies of Abersoch
Group CEO– Richard Heald(Chair designate)
New Group CEO– Jayant Krishna (will assume office on 3rd August 2020)

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ICMR-NIV in Collaboration with Bharat Biotech Develops India’s First COVID-19 Vaccine – COVAXIN

Bharat Biotech India Ltd(BBIL) in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) – National Institute of Virology(NIV)developed India’s first COVID-19 vaccine – Covaxin (BBV152 COVID vaccine). The vaccine is developed and manufactured by the BSL-3(Bio Safety Level- 3) high containment facility of BBIL.
About BBIL:
Chairman & Managing Director- Krishna M.Ella
Executive Director– Dr. V Krishna Mohan
Head Office– Hyderabad, Telangana
About ICMR:
ICMR is one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world.
Director General– Balram Bhargava
Headquarters– New Delhi
<< Read Full News >>

SPORTS

Indian boxer Amit Panghal secures top spot in AIBA World Men’s Ranking 2020 in 52kg category; Manju world’s second best boxer in Women’s ranking

On July 06, 2020, The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has released the world rankings 2020 for women’s and men’s boxing, as per which Indian amateur boxer & World championships silver medallist Amit Panghal has been ranked first in the world ranking of main elites of 52 kg weight category with a total of 1300 points. At the same time, Manju Rani has got the second place in women’s rankings in 48 kg with 1175 points.
About AIBA:
Headquarters– Lausanne, Switzerland
Interim President– Dr Mohamed Moustahsane
<< Read Full News >>

Indian Olympic Association Adopts New Visual Identity to Celebrate 100 Years of Participation in Olympic Games

On 6th July 2020, to mark the 100th year of Indian participation in the Olympic Games the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) adopted a new visual identity(Logos). The logo celebrates the contribution of the athletes and the officials all over the world towards Team India.
About IOA:
President– Narinder Dhruv Batra
Secretary General– Rajeev Mehta
Headquarters– New Delhi
<< Read Full News >>

OBITUARY

Two Times Oscar Winner, Ennio Morricone, Italian Composer Passed Away at 91

On 6th July 2020, two times Oscar winner, Ennio Morricone, Italian Composer passed away at the age of 91 in Campus Bio-Medico, a clinic in Rome, Italy, where he was admitted due to a broken femur. He was born on 10th November 1928 in Rome, Italy.
About Italy:
President– Sergio Mattarella
Prime Minister– Giuseppe Conte
Capital– Rome
Currency– Euro
<< Read Full News >>

STATE NEWS

Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa Launched a Scheme “Weavers Samman Yojana”

On 06 July 2020, Chief Minister of Karnataka B.S. Yediyurappa launched “Weavers Samman Yojana (Nekara Samman Yojane)” to provide financial assistance of Rs 2000 for about 19,744 handloom weavers in the state, through Direct Benefit Transfer.
Highlights of the Scheme

• The eligible handloom weavers will be given financial assistance under this scheme.
• The state government has allocated Rs 10.96 crore for the scheme.
• The Seva Sindhu software consists of 40,634 handloom weavers, among them 37,314 applications have been approved for financial assistance.

Note: The power looms workers are also provided with Rs 2000 as one time financial assistance. Out of 1.25 lakh workers 8,897 applications have been approved.
About Karnataka:
Capital: Bangalore
Governor: Vajubhai Vala

Haryana passed “Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Ordinance, 2020” to reserve 75% private sector jobs for locals

i.The Haryana state Cabinet, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, has passed the draft “Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Ordinance, 2020” to provide 75% reservation for the residents of Haryana in private sector jobs having salary of less than Rs 50,000 per month in companies, Societies, Trusts, Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Firms, partnership firms etc. situated in Haryana. 
ii.Employment providers which have more than 10 employees in its premises would be covered in this upcoming Act. 
iii.The law will have stringent rules for industries and firms that will try to hide information regarding employees.
About Haryana:
Capital– Chandigarh
Governor– Satyadeo Narain Arya
<< Read Full News >>

Maharashtra CM Launches ‘Maha Jobs portal’, an online platform to Provide Employment Opportunities

i.Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray launched the ‘Maha Jobs Portal’(https://mahajobs.maharashtra.gov.in/), an online platform to provide employment opportunities to local residents of the state by connecting job seekers with employers. 
ii.The people who register at the portal should submit a domicile certificate, which is mandatory. 
iii.The portal is run by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation(MIDC). The portal is a joint venture between the Department of Industries, Department of Labor, and Skill Development-Entrepreneurship of the Government of Maharashtra.
About Maharashtra:
Capital– Mumbai
Governor– Bhagat Singh Koshyari
<< Read Full News >>

UP CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurates “Mission Vriksharopan-2020” to plant 25 crore saplings across UP

On 5th July 2020, Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh inaugurated “Mission Vriksharopan-2020” in Kukarel Forest, Lucknow, on account of Guru Purnima, under which around 25 crore saplings of medicinal, herbal, environmental, fruit producing, shady, fodder plants of around 201 species will be planted across the state.
About Uttar Pradesh:
CM– Yogi Adityanath
Governor– Anandiben Patel
Capital– Lucknow
Wildlife & Bird sanctuaries– Dudhwa National Park & Tiger Reserve, Chandraprabha Wildlife sanctuary, National Chambal Sanctuary, Pilibhit Wildlife Sanctuary, Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary, Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, Hastinapur WLS.
<< Read Full News >>

West Bengal CM launches “SelfScan” document scanning app 

Mamta Banergee, The Chief Minister of West Bengal launches “SelfScan” app developed by the state’s Information Technology department as an alternative to Camscanner (One of the chinese apps recently restricted in India)
Features of the App:

• The app is currently available in English, and is being improved in Hindi and other regional languages of India.  No registration is needed to use the app.
• It is an offline application and does not require registration to use.
• The app data will be stored in the device only, Cookies and other background data collection will not be captured nor saved in the server.
• The feature of scanning the handwritten text is being developed by the team.
• The beta version of the app is now available only in Samsung application store and Amazon app store.

About West Bengal:
Capital: Kolkata
Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar

Madhya Pradesh: “Intzaar Aap Ka” Social Media Campaign to Attract Tourists

On 5th July 2020,“Intzaar Aap Ka” campaign is started by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board(MPTB), over the social media platform in Madhya Pradesh to attract tourists with taglines and the description of the tourism destinations of the State.
About Madhya Pradesh:
Chief Minister– Shivraj Singh Chauhan
Governor– Lal Ji Tandon (Now, Anandiben Patel was appointed as Caretaker Governor of Madhya Pradesh due to the absence of Lal Ji Tandon) 
Capital– Bhopal
<< Read Full News >>

AC GAZE

Himachal Pradesh becomes first state with 100% LPG Connections

Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in the country where 100% households have liquefied petroleum gas(LPG) connections, announced by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while interacting with the beneficiaries of ‘Himachal Grihini Suvidha Yojana’ through video conferencing.

*******

Current Affairs Today (AffairsCloud Today)