Today Current Affairs - 22nd July 2020 Current Affairs
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Power Minister RK Singh launched India’s 1st public EV Charging Plaza in New Delhi & RAISE initiative
ii.India’s first public EV (Electric Vehicle) charging plaza inaugurated by RK Singh at Chelmsford Club in New Delhi in order to make e-mobility hassle free and convenient for the consumers.
iii.The minister also launched a national programme namely “Retrofit of Air-conditioning to improve Indoor Air Quality for Safety and Efficiency (RAISE)” in order to alleviate the issue of bad air quality in workspaces and to develop healthy and energy efficient buildings. It is a joint initiative of EESL and USAID.
About Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL):
Chairman– Rajeev Sharma
Managing Director (MD)– Saurabh Kumar
Headquarter– New Delhi
About Ministry of Power
Raj Kumar Singh Constituency- Arrah (Bihar)
Secretary– Sanjiv Nandan Sahai
About United States Agency for International Development (USAID):
Headquarters- Washington, D.C. United States (US)
Acting Administrator- John Barsa
Acting Mission Director to India– Ramona El Hamzaoui
Indian Navy hold PASSEX with US’s Nimitz carrier group in Indian Ocean Region
ii.India was represented by Rajput class destroyer INS (Indian Naval Ship) Rana (D52), two Shivalik class indigenously built stealth frigates – INS Sahyadri (F49) and INS Shivalik (F47) and anti submarine corvette of the Kamorta class INS Kamorta (P28).
iii.US was represented by US Navy carrier strike group which was led by USS (United States Ship) Nimitz (CVN 68), a nuclear-powered World’s largest aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and consisted of Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59), Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Sterett (DDG 104) and USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114).
About United States:
Capital– Washington, D.C.
Currency– United States Dollar
President– Donald John Trump
Union HRD Minister Launched MANODARPAN initiative to provide psychosocial support to students for their Mental Health and Well-being
On July 21, The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched MANODARPAN initiative of HRD Ministry virtually in New Delhi. The initiative provides psycho-social support to students, teachers and parents and addresses their issues related to mental health and emotional wellbeing.
- It is a part of the ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’, to strengthen human capital and increase productivity and initiatives in the education sector.
Union Minister- Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
Minister of State- Shri Sanjay Dhotre
Consumer Protection Act, 2019 comes into force
ii.Notably, the rules for prevention of unfair trade practice by e-commerce platforms will also be covered under this Act.
iii.There will be no fee for filing cases upto Rs 5 lakh as per Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Rules.
iv.A product manufacturer and seller will be penalized with up to 6 months in jail or a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh if the consumers do not suffer any injuries.
Background:
The Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 was introduced in the Upper House of Parliament by the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan, on July 8, 2019. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on July 30, 2019 and Rajya Sabha on August 6, 2019. The Bill was then signed into law by President Ram Nath Kovind on August 9, 2019.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Partners with UNICEF’s YuWaah to Mobilise 1 Crore Youth Volunteers to Achieve Goals of Atmanirbhar Bharat
ii.Usha Sharma, Secretary, Youth Affairs and Dr.Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Representative in India launched the partnership in the presence of Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Youth Affairs and Sports.
About Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports(MYAS):
Minister of State (Independent Charge)– Kiren Rijiju
About United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF):
Executive Director– Henrietta Holsman Fore
Headquarters– New York, United States
UNICEF Representative in India– Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque
CBDT, MoMSME Signs Formal MoU for Sharing of Data
ii.Anu J Singh, the principal director General of Income tax (systems) and Devendra Kumar Singh, Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner of MSME Ministry signed the MoU.
About Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MoMSME):
Union Minister– Nitin Jairam Gadkari
Minister of State– Pratap Chandra Sarangi
About Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT):
Chairperson– Pramod Chandra Mody
Headquarters– New Delhi
Ministry of Defence signed with BEML to procure Mine Plough for Battle Tank T-90
About Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML):
Chairman & Managing Director– DR. D. K. Hota
Head Office– Bengaluru, Karnataka
About Ministry of Defence:
Union Minister– Rajnath Singh
Minister of State– Shripad Yesso Naik
Ministry of Civil Aviation set up Investment Clearance Cell for Assistance and Clearance of Proposals
ii.Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister announced the setting up of ICC in the 2020-2021 Union Budget in February 2020.
About Ministry of Civil Aviation:
Minister of State (Independent Charge)– Hardeep Singh Puri
Prakash Javadekar: Government approved the Zonal Master Plan of Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone
ii.The Zonal Master Plan was prepared by the State government of Uttarakhand and appraised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
About Ministry Environment, Forest and Climate Change(MoEF&CC):
Union Minister– Prakash Javadekar
Minister of State– Babul Supriyo
Rajya Sabha Launches Employees Welfare Scheme in Arun Jaitley’s Name: “Arun Jaitley Financial Assistance for Group C Employees”
The Rajya Sabha Secretariat launched “Arun Jaitley Financial Assistance for Group C Employees”,
an Employees Welfare Scheme in the name of former Union Minister of
Finance, Arun Jaitley funded by his pension to his family. The scheme
was formulated and approved based on the decision of Sangeeta Jaitley,
wife of Arun Jaitley.
Arun Jaitley Financial Assistance for Group C Employees:
i.After the demise of Former
Finance minister Arun Jaitley on 24th August 2019, Sangeeta Jaitley,
submitted a request to the chairman of rajya sabha, M Venkaiah Naidu, to
utilise the family pension (Rs 3 lakhs at present) entitled to her for the benefit of Group C employees of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat with low salaries.
ii.The Rajya Sabha Secretary
General, Desh Deepak Verma approved the scheme formulated by the Rajya
Sabha Secretariat and the scheme will be put to effect from 2020.
Features of the Scheme:
i.The wards of the Group C
employees will be awarded 3 scholarships for higher technical or
professional education in engineering, medicine and MCA/MBA/LLB.
ii.Financial support in case of death and medical emergencies will be provided to the Group C employees.
About Rajya Sabha:
Chairman– M. Venkaiah Naidu
Secretary General– Desh Deepak Verma
Recent Related News:
i.PM Modi launches e-Gram Swaraj
portal & Swamitva Scheme on Panchayati raj day for accelerating the
pace of development in India’s villages.
ii.Jharkhand is set to launch a
100-day employment scheme “Mukhyamantri SHRAMIK (Shahri Rozgar Manjuri
for Kamgar) Yojna” to enhance the livelihood and security of urban poor.
CBDT signs MoU with CBIC for smooth bilateral data exchange
The MoU was signed by:
Shri Pramod Chandra Mody, Chairman, CBDT and Shri M. Ajit Kumar, Chairman, CBIC
About Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT):
Headquarters- New Delhi
Chairperson- Pramod Chandra Mody
About Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC):
Headquarter- New Delhi
Chairman- M. Ajit Kumar
BANKING & FINANCE
Harsh Vardhan Launched PNB’s Nationwide CSR Campaign to Fight COVID-19 Pandemic
On July 20, 2020 Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan launched Punjab National Bank(PNB)’s nationwide Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) campaign to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by distributing face masks and sanitizers.
- The bank will be providing COVID-19 related prevention materials to 662 districts throughout the country.
Key People
S.S. Mallikarjuna Rao, Managing
Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and other senior officials
of PNB were also present. In addition to them, PNB’s 22 zonal offices
across the nation also participated through video conferencing.
About Ministry of Health and Family Welfare:
Minister of State– Ashwini Kumar Choubey
About PNB:
Headquarters– New delhi, India
Recent Related News:
i.Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) organized a social awareness campaign,‘Break the CORONA Chain’ on Ground zero in different states across
ii.Surakshit Dada-Dadi & Nana-Nani Abhiyan campaign launched virtually by NITI Aayog to protect senior citizens during COVID-19.
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS
Ramesh Babu Boddu Appointed as MD and CEO of Karur Vysya Bank
On July 21, 2020 Karur Vysya Bank (KVB)’s Board of Directors has co-opted Ramesh Babu Boddu as an Additional Director and appointed him as the Managing Director(MD) & Chief Executive Officer(CEO) for three years tenure. He replaces P R Seshadri, who resigned in January 2020 citing personal reasons.
- The tenure is effective from the date of taking charge, on the terms and conditions approved by the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) under Section 35B of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
About Ramesh Babu Boddu
Career in SBI
i.Prior to this appointment he
was serving as a Deputy Managing Director(DMD) in State Bank of
India(SBI). He retired from the post in April 2020. He also worked as
Chief Operating Officer of the bank.
ii.Earlier to his appointment as DMD he served as Chief General Manager in SBI.
About KVB:
Headquarters– Karur, Tamil Nadu
Non-Executive Independent (Part-time) Chairman– N. S. Srinath
Recent Related News:
i.Arun Singhal appointed as CEO of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
ii.Govinda Rajulu Chintala
appointed as NABARD chairman, Shaji KV and PVS Suryakumar appointed as
Deputy Managing Directors (DMD) of NABARD
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
South Korea Launched 1st Military communications Satellite, ANASIS-II by Falcon 9 Rocket
ii.The satellite was deployed into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) by a Falcon 9 rocket developed by US space firm SpaceX.
iii.It was lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the US state of Florida.
About South Korea:
Capital– Seoul
Currency– South Korean Won
ENVIRONMENT
A Team of Researchers from Singapore Discovered a New Species, ‘Bathynomus raksasa’ in Indian Ocean
ii.The researchers found the new species in 2018 during a deep-sea survey off of the coast of Banten, Western Java, Indonesia(Indian Ocean).
iii.‘Bathynomus Raksasa’ is the second-largest isopod species known to researchers to date and is the sixth “supergiant” species from the Indo-West Pacific.
SPORTS
ICC postpones T20 World Cup due to COVID-19
Windows for the forthcoming three ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has been rescheduled.
i.ICC T20 World Cup 2021 is rescheduled on October – November 2021 with final on 14 November 2021.
ii.The ICC T20 World cup 2022 is rescheduled in October – November 2022 with the final on 13 November 2022
iii.The ICC World cup (50 over) is 2023 rescheduled in October – November 2023 with the final on 26 November 2023 in India.
Also, the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 will be held in February of 2021 at New Zealand.
ICC ODI World Cup in India Shifted to October-November 2023
Following the ICC Men’s World cup reschedule, the finale of 2023 ODI (One Day International), to be held in India for the first time is rescheduled from February-March to October-November, 2023. Specifically, it will start on November 26.
About ICC
CEO (Chief Executive Officer) – Mr. Manu Sawhney, 1 April 2019 (Succeeding -David Richardson, June 2012)
Chairman – Mr. Imran Khwaja
Motto – “Cricket for Good”
Headquarters – Dubai, United Arab Emirates
About T20
Twenty 20 (T20) is a cricket match which has a maximum of 20 overs.
Administrator: ICC
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