21 July 2020 Current Affairs - Today Current Affairs
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Indian Railways to launch 1st set of private trains by 2023, all 151 by 2027
ii.There would be Rs 30,000 crore private sector investment in this project.
iii.The operation and maintenance of these trains would be governed by standards and specifications specified by Indian Railways.
iv.Also, these trains will be operated by the driver and guard of Indian Railways.
About Indian Railways:
Headquarter– New Delhi
Operated by – Ministry of Railways
Railway Board Chairman– Vinod Kumar Yadav
Maharashtra becomes the 1st State to use drones to inspect power lines and transmission towers
Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited(MSETCL) has started to use drones for aerial surveillance and inspection of extra high voltage(EHV) power transmission lines and towers. Maharashtra becomes the 1st state to do so. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Director General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) gave approval for this purpose.
- MSETCL becomes the 1st power utility to get approval from DGCA for powerline inspections with drones in the country
- MSETCL will use 16 drones that will fly at a maximum height of 50 metre.
About Drones
Equipped With– They are equipped
with ultra HD cameras which can take high-resolution close-up
photographs and videos of the towers and their components.
Benefits:
i.Reduce risk-These drones will
reduce the risk posed to its staff, as the workers earlier must
use ladders and chairs to inspect transformers.
ii.Better assessment-The constant video recording will help for better assessment in faults of the existing lines
iii.Cut cost & Efficiency-t can cut maintenance costs and losses from outages and is more efficient than manual survey.
iv.Monitoring– Each zone will be given a drone. The zonal office, the head office in Mumbai will be monitoring the drones
v.Survey for new projects-The drone camera will also be used for survey work in new projects.
About MSETCL:
MSETCL has 660 EHV substations, 46217.90
circuit kilometers(Ckt kms) of transmission lines that are capable of
handling over 21,000 megawatt(mw) of power.
Chairman and Managing Director– Dinesh Waghmare
About Maharashtra
Capital– Mumbai
Governor– Bhagat Singh Koshyari
Chief Minister– Uddhav Thackeray
Recent Related News
i.Maharashtra cabinet approves to rename its Environment Ministry as Environment and Climate Change Ministry.
ii.Maharashtra declared the 29.53
square kilometre Tillari forest area in Dodamarg and Sawantwadi range
in coastal Sindhudurg district as a conservation reserve area.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended 3rd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting virtually
ii.The objective of the meet was to discuss the global economic outlook amid evolving COVID-19 pandemic crisis along with other G20 Finance Track priorities for the year 2020.
About G-20 or Group of Twenty:
Composition– 19 countries and the European Union (EU)
The 19 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, and the US.
2020 Presidency– Saudi Arabia
2020 theme– Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century For All
Chairman– Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (2020)
Indian direct selling industry records USD 2.477 bn sales in 2019, ranked 15th globally: WFDSA‘s report
ii.This has shown a growth of 12.1% in comparison to the 19th rank in 2018. The ranking has been topped by the United States (US) which contributed 20% of the global direct selling industry with sales of USD 35.21 billion, followed by China with 13% contribution at 2nd rank, and Korea and Germany with 10% contribution each at 3rd position.
iii.In terms of the number of direct sellers, India has been ranked at 6th position, proving employment to 57.50 lakh people.
iv.In Asia Pacific region, India was ranked 4th which has been topped by Australia and followed by China and Hong Kong at 2nd and 3rd rank.
About World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA):
Headquarter– Washington DC, United States (US)
WFDSA Advocacy Chair– Ms. Kim Drabik
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Hope Mission: UAE became 1st West Asian & Arab Nation to Launch Space Mission to Mars; Took off from Japan
ii.Also known as Al-Amal or Emirates Mars Mission, this $200 million mission will be the first to study both Martian climate viz. diurnal (daily) and seasonal cycles.
iii.Notably, the mission arrival, which is expected to reach Mars’s orbit by February 2021 (7 months from now), is designed to mark the 50th anniversary of the unification of the UAE, an alliance of seven emirates.
iv.It will orbit Mars for one full Martian year of 687 days or nearly two Earth years to provide the first truly global picture of the Martian atmosphere.
About United Arab Emirates (UAE):
Capital– Abu Dhabi
Currency– UAE Dirham
CSIR-CMERI, Durgapur Introduced COVID Protection System(COPS) with IntelliMAST, TouF & 360° Car Flusher for Workplace
About CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute(CMERI):
Director– Prof. (Dr.) Harish Hirani
Location– Durgapur, West Bengal
Prakash Javadekar hails KURMA mobile app as unique tool for conservation of Indian Turtles
He also appreciated the initiative of ITCAN which enhances the contribution of the citizens in the conservation of fauna and flora of the country.
About Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change:
Union Minister– Prakash Javadekar
Minister of State(MoS)– Babul Supriyo
About Ministry of Information and Broadcasting:
Union Minister– Prakash Javadekar
SPORTS
Formula One Champion, Mercedes Lewis Hamilton Won the Hungarian Grand Prix 2020; won this Title for 8th Time
Formula One Champion Mercedes Lewis Hamilton(British) won the Hungarian Grand Prix(GP) 2020 held at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, Hungary. This is his 8th time to win this title. With this victory he equalled Michael Schumacher‘s single-venue record, ie.,
winning a grand prix eight times.
Key Info
i.Red Bull’s Max Verstappen(Dutch) came second and was awarded ‘drive of the day’. Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas finished third and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll finished in fourth spot.
ii.With this victory, Lewis Hamilton’s 86th GP win moved him five behind the German great Schumacher’s F1 record of 91.
iii.He also won the Styrian Grand Prix 2020 and is a six-time Formula One World Champion.
iv.Michael Schumacher won the French GP 8 times at Magny-Cours.
About Hungary:
Capital– Budapest
Currency– Hungarian Forint(HUF)
Prime Minister– Viktor Orbán
Recent Related News
US born Swedish based Pole vaulter
Armand Duplantis sets new world record(6.17m) by clearing 6.18 m at the
Indoor Grand Prix in Glasgow, Scotland.
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