Current Affairs 30th July 2020| Current Affairs News

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

The Centre would develop Leh and Kargil as smart cities in newly-formed UT of Ladakh

  • The ministry of housing and urban affairs has formed a five-member central team under Smart Cities director Rahul Kapoor to handhold the union territory in formulating detailed projects reports for both the cities.
  • This initiative is a part of the Centre’s initiative to develop Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh – the newly formed union territories after the state was bifurcated in October 2019.
    The ministry started work on this after a letter from home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla proposing that Leh and Kargil be developed as smart cities.
  • While the ministry is likely to push urban infrastructure like street lighting, smart garbage collection, water supply projects in Leh, it is considering projects to enhance tourism potential of Kargil.
  • The Smart City mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015. The ministry selected 100 cities for the mission through a competitive process, which involved presenting an urban infrastructure upgrade plan.
About Jammu & Kashmir
  • Capitals: Jammu (Winter), Srinagar (Summer)
  • Governor: Girish Chandra Murmu

Namami Gange project included in ‘Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration’

  • This year, the Namami Gange project has been included in the prestigious ‘Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration’.
  • National Mission for Clean Ganga, NMCG, DG Rajiv Ranjan Mishra instructed District Magistrates and other officials associated with the District Ganga Committees to submit their nominations for this year’s prestigious award.
  • Mr Mishra stated, objective of National Mission for Clean Ganga is not limited only to the nirmalta and aviralta of the Ganga, but to develop a sustainable socioeconomic zone around the holy river and its tributaries, which will give a boost to the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Campaign.

Cabinet approves MoU signed between India & Zimbabwe on Traditional Systems of Medicine

  • The Union Cabinet gave ex-post facto approval to Memorandum of Understanding signed between India and Zimbabwe on Cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy.
  • The MoU was signed on 3rd November, 2018. It will provide a frame work for the cooperation between the two countries for the promotion of traditional systems of medicine and homeopathy and will mutually benefit the two countries in the field of Traditional Medicine.
  • The main objective of the MoU is to strengthen, promote and develop co-operation in the field of traditional systems of medicine between the two countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.
About Zimbabwe:
  • Capital: Harare
  • President: Emmerson Mnangagwa
  • Currencies: United States Dollar, RTGS dollar

Govt Unveils Amended Draft Acquisition Procedure for Defence Products

  • The government issued an amended draft Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP), wherein it elaborated on how to use “leasing” method to get various defence products and on procedure to procure information and communication technology (ICT) systems for the armed forces.
  • The first draft of the DAP, which was then called Defence Procurement Procedure, was issued on March 20 this year. In a statement, the Defence Ministry stated it received suggestions from various stakeholders running into more than 10,000 pages on the first draft.
  • Therefore, after analysing those suggestions and holding meetings with stakeholders, the ministry stated, the amended DAP was issued.
  • The ministry stated there are four new chapters in the amended DAP — leasing; simplified capital expenditure procedure; acquisition of systems products and ICT systems; procurement from DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), DPSUs (Defence Public Sector Units) and OFB (Ordnance Factory Board).
  • The amended second draft (known as DAP) has since been finalised by the review committee driven by tenets of defence reforms announced as part of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ and has been placed in the public domain, the ministry stated.
  • The stakeholders can send their comments on the amended draft by August 10, 2020.

Govt Releases Guidelines For Schemes To Boost Domestic Manufacturing Of Bulk Drugs, Med Devices

  • Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Sadananda Gowda outlined plans to boost local manufacturing in bulk drugs and medical device industries to reduce the country’s reliance on imports, particularly from China.
  • India has a robust $40 billion pharmaceutical sector that is seen as a reliable supplier of generic drugs. But it is reliant on China for about 70% of active pharmaceutical ingredients, or raw materials, which are often cheaper to import than make.
  • Some of them are very critical as they are used in production of essential medicines,” Mr. Gowda tweeted. About 86% of materials used to make medical devices are imported, he added.
  • The pandemic has exposed weaknesses in global supply chains and posed a “threat to the health security of the country. “These parks will be based on plug and play model with prior regulatory approvals, state of art infrastructure, excellent connectivity, affordable land, competitive utility charges, and strong R&D ecosystem,” he stated, adding these would begin operating in “about 2 or 3 years”.
About Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers:
  • V. Sadananda Gowda, Cabinet Minister
  • Constituency: Bangalore North
  • Mansukh L. Mandaviya, Minister of State

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

India begins reconstruction of 300-year-old Sree Sree Joy Kali Matar Temple in Bangladesh

  • India began the reconstruction a 300-year-old temple Sree Sree Joy Kali Matar Temple in Bangladesh’s northern Natore district.
  • The reconstruction is happening with Indian grant assistance of Bangladeshi Taka 97 lakhs and a total cost of Bangladeshi Taka of 1.33 Crores under the High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) scheme of India.
  • Sree Sree JoyKali Matar Temple is one of the oldest temples situated in Natore and was built at the beginning of 18th century by Dayaram Roy, Dewan of Queen Bhahani of Natore and the founder of Dighapatia Royal Family. The compound of the temple also houses a Lord Shiva temple.
About Bangladesh
  • Capital: Dhaka
  • Currency: Bangladeshi taka
  • Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina

India hands over 10 broad-gauge diesel locomotives to Bangladesh

  • India handed over ten broad-gauge diesel locomotives to Bangladesh. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar flagged them off online in presence of Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and several dignitaries from across the border.
  • These locomotives will help handle the increasing volume of passenger and freight train operations in Bangladesh, stated Ministry of Railways.
  • The handing over of these locomotives, under grant assistance from the Government of India, fulfills an important commitment made during the visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina to India, in October, 2019. In keeping with the requirements of Bangladesh Railway, the locomotives have been suitably modified by the Indian side. These locomotives will help handle the increasing volume of passenger and freight train operations in Bangladesh” the ministry stated.
  • In the recent times, India and Bangladesh have stepped up their rail cooperation in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as trade via land border faced disruptions. Rail as a cost effective and environmental friendly solution, has helped in transporting essential commodities across the border. Both sides saw the highest ever exchange of freight trains in the month of June. A total of 103 freight trains were utilized for carrying essential commodities and raw materials.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

Axis Bank launches AI-powered conversational voice BOT for IVR

  • Private sector lender Axis Bank unveiled as Automated Voice Assistant ‘AXAA’, which is an artificial intelligence-powered conversational voice BOT.
  • AXAA operates like a humanoid and has power to change the paradigm of customer experience from conventional Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to a new era of call steering and precise response with very high degree of accuracy and consistency, it stated, adding that it will assist customers to traverse through the IVR and address their queries and requests, without the need for any human intervention in most cases.
  • It can converse in English, Hindi and Hinglish and is capable of handling one lakh customer queries and requests per day.
About Axis Bank:
  • CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry
  • Headquarters: Mumbai

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Flipkart launches hyperlocal delivery service in Bengaluru

  • Walmart-owned Flipkart has launched a hyperlocal 90-minute delivery service called Flipkart Quick in Bengaluru across categories including grocery, mobiles, electronics and home accessories.
  • With this launch, the company has also forayed into fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as meats and milk on its platform. These new business verticals will also be operated through partnerships, for instance, for fresh fruits and vegetables, the company has partnered with
About Flipkart
  • CEO: Kalyan Krishnamurthy
  • Head Quarters: Bengaluru

Sundaram Mutual launches ‘Any-day SIP’

  • Sundaram Mutual has given investors the freedom to select a date on which their systematic investment plan (SIP) needs to be deducted from bank account rather than choosing from the six different dates usually fixed by the fund houses.
  • The ‘Any-day SIP’, which is available in all open-ended schemes, will be available for transactions made through the Sundaram Mutual website starting July 29. Investors can also choose to modify their existing SIP date on the Sundaram Mutual platform.
  • Quarterly SIPs can also be scheduled for any day of the quarter beginning January, April, July, and October.
  • Sunil Subramaniam, Managing Director, Sundaram Mutual, stated SIP investments were hitherto restricted to certain specific dates in a month. The fund is now enhancing the flexibility and convenience available to investors as they can now choose SIP dates that suit their individual needs. This is another endeavour to strengthen and grow core retail franchise, he added.
About Sundaram Finance:
  • Headquarters:Chennai, Tamil Nadu
  • T. Srinivasaraghavan: (Managing Director & CEO)

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

‘BANDICOOT’: Guwahati gets Northeast’s first manhole cleaning robot

  • Northeast got its first-ever manhole cleaning robot to end manual scavenging.
  • Manholes in Guwahati will now be cleaned by robots. Named ‘BANDICOOT’, the robot has been procured by Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC).
  • BANDICOOT was developed by a Start-up India company called
  • The robot was developed under the Make in India initiative. It was funded by CSR of Indian Oil Corporation Limited.
  • Guwahati is India’s third city to procure this innovative technology to clean manholes. Earlier, Gurugram and Coimbatore had procured BANDICOOT robots.
About Assam
  • Capital: Dispur
  • Chief minister: Sarbananda Sonowal
  • Governor: Jagdish Mukhi

Kerala announces new Entrepreneurship Development Programme

  • The Kerala government announced a new Entrepreneurship Development Programme to address the issues of shortage of working capital and availability of credit faced by startups and small entrepreneurs in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The ”Chief Minister”sEntrepreneurship Development Programme” aims to identify 2,000 entrepreneurs per year and plans to launch 1,000 new small and medium ventures every year for the next five years, creating 5,000 new ventures.
  • The programme will be implemented through the Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC), which will provide loans up to 90 per cent of the project cost subject to a maximum of rs 50 lakh at 10 per cent interest.
  • The government will give three per cent interest as subsidy thereby; the net interest rate will be seven per cent.
  • Working capital loans up to Rs 10 crore will be sanctioned as per the purchase order.
  • Seed loans of up to Rs one crore would be given to enterprises providing socially relevant products or services.
  • Working capital of up to Rs 10 crore will be available to IT companies subject to their valuation by SEBI accredited VC funds.
  • The government will provide two per cent for these three schemes
About Kerala
  • Capital: Thiruvananthapuram
  • Chief Minister: Pinarayi Vijayan
  • Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami lays foundation for Rs 2,368 worth projects

  • Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami has laid the foundation stone for the construction work on eight new industrial projects that would come up in the state for an investment of Rs 2,368 crore,. Besides, he inaugurated 11 completed projects which fetched Rs 3,185 crore investment.
  • The projects for which the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone included International Tech Park Chennai (ITPC) promoted by the CapitaLand group-a Rs 1,500 crore project and TATA Chemicals’ silica manufacturing unit in Cuddalore SIPCOT Industrial Park with an investment of Rs 350 crore.
  • The companies have committed a total investment of Rs 2,368 crore and will create employment for 24,870 people. Further, the 12 completed projects in various sectors, including automobiles, would usher in Rs 3,185 crore of investment and job opportunities to 6,966 persons. As many as six of the eight projects for which the foundation stones were laid were signed in the Global Investors Meet held in 2019.
About Tamil Nadu
  • Capital: Chennai
  • Chief minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami
  • Governor: Banwarilal Purohit

Green J&K Drive-2020 begins in Ramnagar Wildlife Sanctuary of Jammu

  • In Jammu and Kashmir, the Wildlife Protection Wing of Forest Department kick-started Green J&K Drive-2020 at Ramnagar Wildlife Sanctuary in order to mark 72nd Van-Mahotsav and setting the ball rolling for monsoon plantation in Jammu Region.
  • The department has set the target of planting about five lakh plants in various Wildlife Areas of Jammu region during the monsoon season. The plants being planted are fruit, fodder and shelter trees, shrubs, herbs/grasses, soil binders etc. The focus of the plantation activity is towards habitat improvement for wild animals.
  • Chief Wildlife Warden Suresh K. Gupta launched the drive by planting sapling of fruit bearing species suitable for Wildlife Protected Areas and appealed to contribute towards conservation of forests, environment and wildlife by planting plants on all the available spaces.
About Jammu and Kashmir:
  • Capitals: Jammu (Winter), Srinagar (Summer)
  • Lieutenant Governor :G. C. Murmu

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS AND MERGERS

JSW Energy set to acquire GMR’s Odisha thermal plant

  • JSW Energy Limited is expected to sign a deal with GMR Energy for acquiring 100 per cent stake in GMR Kamalanga Energy. The transaction had been put on hold given the ongoing uncertainty and will be revisited once the situation normalizes.
  • The two sides had entered into negotiations in October 2019. GMR Kamalanga Energy Ltd owns and operates a 1,050-MW (3×350 MW) thermal power plant in Odisha.
  • Post-acquisition, the total installed power generation capacity of JSW Energy will increase to 5,609 MW. This will expand the Company’s presence in the Eastern region of the country and further diversify its fuel mix and offtake arrangements.
About JSW Energy Limited:
  • CEO: Prashant Jain
  • Headquarters: Maharashtra

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTALS

Microsoft launches new Family Safety app for iOS and Android

  • Microsoft is launching a new Family Safety app for iOS and Android.
  • The software giant has been testing the app, and it’s designed to allow families to manage screentime and app usage.
  • Parents can use the Family Safety app to receive reports on app usage and overall screentime and even set app time limits with the ability for children to request extensions.
  • Microsoft is also planning to add notifications for when family members arrive or leave a location, but this will be a premium feature for Microsoft 365 subscribers.
About Microsoft
  • CEO: Satya Nadella
  • Headquarters: Washington, United States

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Paytm Money appoints Varun Sridhar as new CEO

  • Paytm Money, the subsidiary of One97 Communications Ltd which operates Paytm, has appointed Varun Sridhar as its new CEO.
  • Sridhar’s appointment comes just months after its former MD and CEO Pravin Jadhav resigned from the startup due to differences with the management of Paytm.
  • Sridhar will lead the launch and development of equity brokerage services for the firm, and grow existing products around mutual funds, national pension system and gold services, which the company offers.

B Ramesh Babu assumes charge as MD, CEO of Karur Vysya Bank

  • Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) stated B Ramesh Babu has assumed charge as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank with effect from July 29, 2020.
  • He was co-opted as an additional director in the Board meeting held on July 20, 2020 and appointed as the Managing Director and CEO of the Bank for a period of 3 years from the date of taking charge, on the terms and conditions approved by the Reserve Bank of India, Karur Vysya Bank stated in a release.
  • B Ramesh Babu is an astute banker with 40 years of all-round experience in banking, covering various facets of banking in different geographies in India & abroad in SBI, it stated.
  • He held the position of Deputy Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of State Bank of India.
About Karur Vysya Bank (KVB):
  • Headquarters: Karur
  • CEO: P. R. Seshadri

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONORS

Avni Doshi, an Indian-origin author, on 2020 Booker Prize longlist for debut novel

  • Dubai-based Indian-origin author Avni Doshi is among the 13 authors longlisted for the prestigious 2020 Booker Prize for her debut novel ‘Burnt Sugar’, alongside double Booker winner Hilary Mantel for ‘The Mirror and The Light’.
  • The Booker Prize for Fiction is open to writers of any nationality, writing in English and published in the UK or Ireland. The shortlist of six books will be announced on September 15, with each shortlisted author receiving 2,500 pounds and a specially bound edition of their book at the prize ceremony scheduled for November.
  • British and Scottish nominees this year include Gabriel Krauze for ‘Who They Was’, Douglas Stuart for ‘Shuggie Bain’ and Sophie Ward for ‘Love and Other Thought Experiments’. Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Dangarembga is nominated for the third novel in her trilogy — ‘This Mournable Body’.
  • The rest of the longlist is largely dominated by US-based authors, including Diane Cook for ‘The New Wilderness’, Colum McCann for ‘Apeirogon’, Maaza Mengiste for ‘The Shadow King’, Kiley Reid for ‘Such a Fun Age’, Brandon Taylor for ‘Real Life’, Anne Tyler for ‘Redhead by The Side of The Road’, and C Pam Zhang for ‘How Much of These Hills is Gold’.
  • The 2019 Booker Prize for Fiction was won jointly by ‘The Testaments’ by Margaret Atwood and ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ by Bernardine Evaristo. First awarded in 1969, the Booker Prize is recognised as the leading prize for literary fiction written in English.

MoES National Awards for excellence in Earth System Science Announced

  • The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is mandated to provide the nation with the best possible services for weather, climate, ocean, coastal and natural hazards, for the Public Safety and socio-economic benefits. The Ministry also deals with exploration and sustainable harnessing of ocean resources (living and non-living) and plays a nodal role for Antarctic/Arctic/Himalayas and Southern Ocean research.
  • The Ministry has instituted the Life Time Excellence Award, National Awards in the field of Atmospheric Science & Technology; Ocean Science; Geoscience & Technology; and Ocean Technology/Polar Science, Two Young Researcher awards and Dr. Anna Mani National Award for Woman Scientist.
  • This year the Life Time Excellence Award is being awarded to Professor Ashok Sahni for his significant contribution in the field of Geology, Vertebrate Paleontology and Biostratigraphy.
  • The National Award for Ocean Science & technology is being awarded to V. V. S. S. Sarma, Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Vishakhapatnam and Dr. M. Ravichandran, Director, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Goa. Dr. Sarma has made significant contributions in understanding biogeochemistry of the Indian Ocean.
  • The National Award for Atmospheric Science & technology will be presented to S. Suresh Babu, Scientist-SF, VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram. He has made outstanding contributions towards understanding the radiative impacts of black carbon aerosols on atmospheric stability and climate.
  • The National award for Geoscience & technology will be presented to V. Chalapathi Rao Department of Geology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He has carried out an enduring research on deeper mantle petrology and geochemistry.
  • The National Award for Ocean Technology will be presented to M. A. Atmanand, Director, National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai. He has done pioneering work in the area of deep sea technologies.
  • Lidita D. S. Khandeparker, Senior Scientist, CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Goa will receive the Anna Mani award for woman scientist. She has made significant contributions in the field of aquatic microbial ecology, Marine biofilms and their relevance in the oceans.
  • The Young Researcher Awards will be presented to Indra Sekhar Sen, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and Dr. Arvind Singh Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad for their outstanding work in Earth System Science.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Medical bed isolation system ‘Aashray’ launched to combat Covid-19

  • A Pune deemed to be University has developed ‘Aashray’, a medical bed isolation system to combat COVID-19 by preventing or minimising the spread of the virus.
  • This medical bed isolation system developed by Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, (DIAT) is a low cost, reusable solution to maintain proper isolation of COVID-19 patients by creating a suction or negative pressure near exhale, further filtering and disinfecting the aerosol.
  • The bed isolation system envelopes are made up of specialised material and manufacturing process with transparent and translucent supported on medical grade materials structure.
  • The product is modular and portable in design and can be suitable for different requirements such as institutional, hospitals and home/individual quarantine. The envelope is reusable as it is antibacterial-antifungal and can be sanitised.
  • The cost of the setup for a unit of 10 beds is1 lakh approximately and for home, the quarantine will be around Rs.15,000 for a single bed.

CSIO-AMESYS INDIA develops decontamination box ‘Suraksha’

  • Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), along with AMESYS INDIA has been developed a microorganism decontamination box. The decontamination device has been named as ‘Suraksha’.
  • UVC light and heat are used in the box. It can sanitize an object in 10-15 minutes. People can decontaminate their belongings like wallet, keys, mobile, masks and any other thing. Decontamination box is developed by AMESYS INDIA and designed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-CSIO. This box is useful for places like home, barber shops, restaurants and hospital units.

IIT-Hyderabad develops electrodes from corn husk

  • Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H), in collaboration with the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), have developed an efficient method to derive ‘activated carbon electrode’ material from corn husk for high-voltage supercapacitors.
  • Both the Telugu States combined, which are the second-largest producers of corn in the country, can produce a large amount of corn husk waste.
  • Much of that waste is burnt and its potential to be converted to valuable electrode material is not harnessed owing to lack of awareness, and technology.

NASA set to launch robotic rover to seek signs of past Martian life

  • NASA is set to launch an ambitious mission to Mars with the liftoff of its next-generation Perseverance rover, a six-wheeled robot tasked with deploying a mini helicopter, testing out equipment for future human missions and searching for traces of past Martian life.
  • The $2.4 billion mission, slated for liftoff at 7:50 a.m. ET (1150 GMT) from Florida’s Cape Canaveral, is planned as the U.S. space agency’s ninth trek to the Martian surface. The United Arab Emirates and China separately this month launched probes to Mars in displays of their own technological prowess and ambition.
  • Launching atop an Atlas 5 rocket from the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance, the car-sized Perseverance rover is expected to reach Mars next February. It is due to land at the base of an 820-foot-deep (250 meters) crater called Jezero, a former lake from 3.5 billion years ago that scientists believe could hold traces of potential past microbial Martian life.
  • The rover will attempt for the first time to bring Martian rock samples back to Earth, collecting materials in cigar-sized capsules and leaving them scattered on the surface for retrieval by a future “fetch” rover. That conceptual rover is expected to launch the samples back into space to link up with other spacecraft for an eventual Earth homecoming around 2031.
  • Also aboard Perseverance is a four-pound (1.8 kg) autonomous helicopter called Ingenuity that is due to test powered flight on Mars for the first time. Bridenstine stated he can imagine a day when NASA places a robot on Mars that can deploy perhaps a dozen different helicopters for exploration.
About NASA:
  • Headquarters: Washington, D.C.,United States
  • Administrator: Jim Bridenstine

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU

PFC ties up with IIT-Kanpur for research, training in smart grid technology

  • State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology- Kanpur for training, research, and entrepreneurship development in smart grid technology.
  • The PFC will provide financial assistance of Rs 2.38 crore (Rs 2,38,97,000) to IIT-K under its CSR initiative.
  • The objective of the pact is to provide support to IIT-K in developing infrastructure for research and development on smart grid technology.
  • As part of the project, the IIT-K will also provide training on smart grid technology to 90 participants and provide fellowship to nine selected candidates for development of ideas on smart grid technology.
  • The fellows will be assisted by startup Innovation and Incubation Centre (SIIC) of IIT-K and encouraged to take up entrepreneurial activities.
About PFC (Power Finance Corporation)
  • Chairman and MD – Ravinder Singh Dhillon
  • Headquarters – New Delhi.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

Agartala ranks no. 1 among 10 smart cities of Northeast India

  • Tripura’s capital city Agartala has been ranked first amongst the ten smart cities in the North Eastern Region after it scaled up from 76 to 54 in the national rankings of the 100 smart cities of India.
  • Chief Minister of Tripura, Biplab Kumar Deb appreciated the efforts of all employees and officials under Agartala Smart City Limited for this achievement and their hard work.
  • In order to speed up its implementation, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has released an additional Rs 49 crores to Agartala Smart City in July 2020.
  • The rankings of other northeastern cities are as follows: Namchi, Sikkim (59), Aizawal, Mizoram (75), Kohima, Nagaland (79), Gangtok, Sikkim (80), Guwahati, Assam (83), Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh (89), Shillong, Meghalaya (92), Imphal, Manipur (93), and Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh (98).
About Tripura
  • Capital: Agartala
  • Chief minister: Biplab Kumar Deb
  • Governor: Ramesh Bais

Microsoft, Samsung ranked India’s most attractive employer brands by Randstad Research

  • Microsoft India, has emerged as India’s most ‘attractive employer brand’, according to the findings of Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR) 2020.
  • Microsoft India scored high on financial health, strong reputation and utilization of the latest technologies — the top 3 EVP (Employee Value Proposition) drivers for the organization.
  • Samsung India emerged as the runner up, followed by Amazon India.
  • The top 10 most attractive employer brands in India for 2020 were: Microsoft, Samsung, Amazon, Infosys Technologies, Mercedes-Benz, Sony, IBM, Dell Technologies Ltd, ITC Group and Tata Consultancy Services.
  • The Randstad Employer Brand Research is a comprehensive and independent employer brand research, identifying the most attractive employers among thousands of companies. It provides insights into the perceptions and drivers of choice of potential employees.
About Microsoft India
  • Headquarters: Hyderabad
  • Chairman: Bhaskar Pramanik

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

Veteran All-Rounder Rajat Bhatia Announces Retirement From All Forms Of Cricket

  • Veteran domestic all-rounder and former Kolkata Knight Riders star Rajat Bhatia has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
  • The all-rounder started his domestic career with Tamil Nadu in 1999-2000 season before moving to Delhi in 2003-04. Bhatia’s 525 runs and 26 wickets in nine games – including a gutsy knock of 139 runs in the final against Uttar Pradesh were instrumental in Delhi lifting the Ranji Trophy in 2007-08.
  • He also played for Delhi Daredevils (Delhi Capitals) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Former Puducherry MLA and NR Congress leader V Bhalan passes away of COVID-19

  • Former Puducherry MLA and NR Congress General Secretary V Bhalan passed away of COVID-19. He was 68.
  • Bhalan held the post of the Youth Congress president of Puducherry. He also held the posts of Chairman of PAPSCO(Puducherry Agro Products and Civil Supplies Corporation),Chairperson of the Anglo-French Textile Mills(AFT) a government of Puducherry organization.

Justice Sanjay Gupta passes away

  • Justice Sanjay Gupta of J&K High Court passed away due to illness. He was 59.
  • In 2004, Justice Gupta was selected as a direct recruit in the higher judicial service and posted as Additional District and Sessions Judge Doda.
  • Lastly when was posted as Principal District and Sessions Judge, Jammu, he was elevated as permanent judge of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and he took oath on 2017 as High Court Judge.

DAILY CA 29th JUL

  • International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem- 26th jul
  • International Tiger Day- 29th jul
  • Centre to convert ravines of Chambal region into arable land with World Bank help
  • Govt notifies changes in FDI norms on civil aviation; permits NRIs to own 100% stake of Air India
  • HRD Minister launches India Report on Digital Education, 2020
  • India, Indonesia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue held in New Delhi
  • India and EU renew Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation for next 5 yrs till 2025
  • SBI providing USD 16 million liquidity support for local businesses in Maldives
  • Bharti AXA General Insurance Launches ‘Bohot Zaroori Hai’ Campaign For Farmers
  • SBI Card, IRCTC launch co-branded contactless credit card on RuPay platform
  • Bank of Maharashtra, Uniken partner for Omni-channel security
  • Banks sanctions about Rs 90,000 crore concessional credit to 1.1 crore Kisan Credit Card holders
  • ADB approves $3 million grant to India to combat COVID-19
  • Paswan launches BIS-Care mobile app, 3 portals
  • A Startup introduces mobile app for detection, risk assessment of Covid-19 infected individuals
  • Total, IOC form joint venture to manufacture bitumen derivatives
  • Gujarat, UK India Business Council sign MoU to strengthen state’s industrial growth
  • Young Indian activist Archana Soreng named by UN chief to new advisory group on climate change
  • Former Coal India chief Anil Kumar Jha appointed member of key green panel
  • ICRA names Sivaraman as new MD and Group CEO
  • Jin Liqun re-elected AIIB President
  • SS Motivation Founder & CEO Sunil ydv SS Receives Karamveer Chakra Award from United Nations and ICONGO
  • DRDO Launches ‘Dare To Dream 2.0’ Contest For Startups With The Aim To Promote Innovators
  • Divij Sharan-Vijay Sundar Prashanth win doubles title in Surrey
  • Punjab’s Princepal Singh picked for NBA developmental league
  • India’s 2018 Asian Games mixed relay medal upgraded to gold after Bahrain’s disqualification
  • Haryana to host 4th Khelo India Youth Games
  • Bollywood action director Parvez Khan passes away
  • Senco Gold CMD Shaankar Sen passes away
  • Actor Kumkum passes away

DAILY CA 30th JUL

  • The Centre would develop Leh and Kargil as smart cities in newly-formed UT of Ladakh
  • Namami Gange project included in ‘Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration’
  • Cabinet approves MoU signed between India & Zimbabwe on Traditional Systems of Medicine
  • Govt Unveils Amended Draft Acquisition Procedure for Defence Products
  • Govt Releases Guidelines For Schemes To Boost Domestic Manufacturing Of Bulk Drugs, Med Devices
  • India begins reconstruction of 300-year-old Sree Sree Joy Kali Matar Temple in Bangladesh
  • India hands over 10 broad-gauge diesel locomotives to Bangladesh
  • Axis Bank launches AI-powered conversational voice BOT for IVR
  • Flipkart launches hyperlocal delivery service in Bengaluru
  • Sundaram Mutual launches ‘Any-day SIP’
  • BANDICOOT’: Guwahati gets Northeast’s first manhole cleaning robot
  • Kerala announces new Entrepreneurship Development Programme
  • Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami lays foundation for Rs 2,368 worth projects
  • Green J&K Drive-2020 begins in Ramnagar Wildlife Sanctuary of Jammu
  • JSW Energy set to acquire GMR’s Odisha thermal plant
  • Microsoft launches new Family Safety app for iOS and Android
  • Paytm Money appoints Varun Sridhar as new CEO
  • B Ramesh Babu assumes charge as MD, CEO of Karur Vysya Bank
  • Avni Doshi, an Indian-origin author, on 2020 Booker Prize longlist for debut novel
  • MoES National Awards for excellence in Earth System Science Announced
  • Medical bed isolation system ‘Aashray’ launched to combat Covid-19
  • CSIO-AMESYS INDIA develops decontamination box ‘Suraksha’
  • IIT-Hyderabad develops electrodes from corn husk
  • NASA set to launch robotic rover to seek signs of past Martian life
  • PFC ties up with IIT-Kanpur for research, training in smart grid technology
  • Agartala ranks no. 1 among 10 smart cities of Northeast India
  • Microsoft, Samsung ranked India’s most attractive employer brands by Randstad Research
  • Veteran All-Rounder Rajat Bhatia Announces Retirement From All Forms Of Cricket
  • Former Puducherry MLA and NR Congress leader V Bhalan passes away of COVID-19
  • Justice Sanjay Gupta passes away

    CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

    The Centre would develop Leh and Kargil as smart cities in newly-formed UT of Ladakh

    • The ministry of housing and urban affairs has formed a five-member central team under Smart Cities director Rahul Kapoor to handhold the union territory in formulating detailed projects reports for both the cities.
    • This initiative is a part of the Centre’s initiative to develop Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh – the newly formed union territories after the state was bifurcated in October 2019.
      The ministry started work on this after a letter from home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla proposing that Leh and Kargil be developed as smart cities.
    • While the ministry is likely to push urban infrastructure like street lighting, smart garbage collection, water supply projects in Leh, it is considering projects to enhance tourism potential of Kargil.
    • The Smart City mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015. The ministry selected 100 cities for the mission through a competitive process, which involved presenting an urban infrastructure upgrade plan.
    About Jammu & Kashmir
    • Capitals: Jammu (Winter), Srinagar (Summer)
    • Governor: Girish Chandra Murmu

    Namami Gange project included in ‘Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration’

    • This year, the Namami Gange project has been included in the prestigious ‘Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration’.
    • National Mission for Clean Ganga, NMCG, DG Rajiv Ranjan Mishra instructed District Magistrates and other officials associated with the District Ganga Committees to submit their nominations for this year’s prestigious award.
    • Mr Mishra stated, objective of National Mission for Clean Ganga is not limited only to the nirmalta and aviralta of the Ganga, but to develop a sustainable socioeconomic zone around the holy river and its tributaries, which will give a boost to the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Campaign.

    Cabinet approves MoU signed between India & Zimbabwe on Traditional Systems of Medicine

    • The Union Cabinet gave ex-post facto approval to Memorandum of Understanding signed between India and Zimbabwe on Cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy.
    • The MoU was signed on 3rd November, 2018. It will provide a frame work for the cooperation between the two countries for the promotion of traditional systems of medicine and homeopathy and will mutually benefit the two countries in the field of Traditional Medicine.
    • The main objective of the MoU is to strengthen, promote and develop co-operation in the field of traditional systems of medicine between the two countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.
    About Zimbabwe:
    • Capital: Harare
    • President: Emmerson Mnangagwa
    • Currencies: United States Dollar, RTGS dollar

    Govt Unveils Amended Draft Acquisition Procedure for Defence Products

    • The government issued an amended draft Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP), wherein it elaborated on how to use “leasing” method to get various defence products and on procedure to procure information and communication technology (ICT) systems for the armed forces.
    • The first draft of the DAP, which was then called Defence Procurement Procedure, was issued on March 20 this year. In a statement, the Defence Ministry stated it received suggestions from various stakeholders running into more than 10,000 pages on the first draft.
    • Therefore, after analysing those suggestions and holding meetings with stakeholders, the ministry stated, the amended DAP was issued.
    • The ministry stated there are four new chapters in the amended DAP — leasing; simplified capital expenditure procedure; acquisition of systems products and ICT systems; procurement from DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), DPSUs (Defence Public Sector Units) and OFB (Ordnance Factory Board).
    • The amended second draft (known as DAP) has since been finalised by the review committee driven by tenets of defence reforms announced as part of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ and has been placed in the public domain, the ministry stated.
    • The stakeholders can send their comments on the amended draft by August 10, 2020.

    Govt Releases Guidelines For Schemes To Boost Domestic Manufacturing Of Bulk Drugs, Med Devices

    • Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Sadananda Gowda outlined plans to boost local manufacturing in bulk drugs and medical device industries to reduce the country’s reliance on imports, particularly from China.
    • India has a robust $40 billion pharmaceutical sector that is seen as a reliable supplier of generic drugs. But it is reliant on China for about 70% of active pharmaceutical ingredients, or raw materials, which are often cheaper to import than make.
    • Some of them are very critical as they are used in production of essential medicines,” Mr. Gowda tweeted. About 86% of materials used to make medical devices are imported, he added.
    • The pandemic has exposed weaknesses in global supply chains and posed a “threat to the health security of the country. “These parks will be based on plug and play model with prior regulatory approvals, state of art infrastructure, excellent connectivity, affordable land, competitive utility charges, and strong R&D ecosystem,” he stated, adding these would begin operating in “about 2 or 3 years”.
    About Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers:
    • V. Sadananda Gowda, Cabinet Minister
    • Constituency: Bangalore North
    • Mansukh L. Mandaviya, Minister of State

    CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

    India begins reconstruction of 300-year-old Sree Sree Joy Kali Matar Temple in Bangladesh

    • India began the reconstruction a 300-year-old temple Sree Sree Joy Kali Matar Temple in Bangladesh’s northern Natore district.
    • The reconstruction is happening with Indian grant assistance of Bangladeshi Taka 97 lakhs and a total cost of Bangladeshi Taka of 1.33 Crores under the High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) scheme of India.
    • Sree Sree JoyKali Matar Temple is one of the oldest temples situated in Natore and was built at the beginning of 18th century by Dayaram Roy, Dewan of Queen Bhahani of Natore and the founder of Dighapatia Royal Family. The compound of the temple also houses a Lord Shiva temple.
    About Bangladesh
    • Capital: Dhaka
    • Currency: Bangladeshi taka
    • Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina

    India hands over 10 broad-gauge diesel locomotives to Bangladesh

    • India handed over ten broad-gauge diesel locomotives to Bangladesh. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar flagged them off online in presence of Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and several dignitaries from across the border.
    • These locomotives will help handle the increasing volume of passenger and freight train operations in Bangladesh, stated Ministry of Railways.
    • The handing over of these locomotives, under grant assistance from the Government of India, fulfills an important commitment made during the visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina to India, in October, 2019. In keeping with the requirements of Bangladesh Railway, the locomotives have been suitably modified by the Indian side. These locomotives will help handle the increasing volume of passenger and freight train operations in Bangladesh” the ministry stated.
    • In the recent times, India and Bangladesh have stepped up their rail cooperation in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as trade via land border faced disruptions. Rail as a cost effective and environmental friendly solution, has helped in transporting essential commodities across the border. Both sides saw the highest ever exchange of freight trains in the month of June. A total of 103 freight trains were utilized for carrying essential commodities and raw materials.

    CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

    Axis Bank launches AI-powered conversational voice BOT for IVR

    • Private sector lender Axis Bank unveiled as Automated Voice Assistant ‘AXAA’, which is an artificial intelligence-powered conversational voice BOT.
    • AXAA operates like a humanoid and has power to change the paradigm of customer experience from conventional Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to a new era of call steering and precise response with very high degree of accuracy and consistency, it stated, adding that it will assist customers to traverse through the IVR and address their queries and requests, without the need for any human intervention in most cases.
    • It can converse in English, Hindi and Hinglish and is capable of handling one lakh customer queries and requests per day.
    About Axis Bank:
    • CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry
    • Headquarters: Mumbai

    CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

    Flipkart launches hyperlocal delivery service in Bengaluru

    • Walmart-owned Flipkart has launched a hyperlocal 90-minute delivery service called Flipkart Quick in Bengaluru across categories including grocery, mobiles, electronics and home accessories.
    • With this launch, the company has also forayed into fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as meats and milk on its platform. These new business verticals will also be operated through partnerships, for instance, for fresh fruits and vegetables, the company has partnered with
    About Flipkart
    • CEO: Kalyan Krishnamurthy
    • Head Quarters: Bengaluru

    Sundaram Mutual launches ‘Any-day SIP’

    • Sundaram Mutual has given investors the freedom to select a date on which their systematic investment plan (SIP) needs to be deducted from bank account rather than choosing from the six different dates usually fixed by the fund houses.
    • The ‘Any-day SIP’, which is available in all open-ended schemes, will be available for transactions made through the Sundaram Mutual website starting July 29. Investors can also choose to modify their existing SIP date on the Sundaram Mutual platform.
    • Quarterly SIPs can also be scheduled for any day of the quarter beginning January, April, July, and October.
    • Sunil Subramaniam, Managing Director, Sundaram Mutual, stated SIP investments were hitherto restricted to certain specific dates in a month. The fund is now enhancing the flexibility and convenience available to investors as they can now choose SIP dates that suit their individual needs. This is another endeavour to strengthen and grow core retail franchise, he added.
    About Sundaram Finance:
    • Headquarters:Chennai, Tamil Nadu
    • T. Srinivasaraghavan: (Managing Director & CEO)

    CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

    ‘BANDICOOT’: Guwahati gets Northeast’s first manhole cleaning robot

    • Northeast got its first-ever manhole cleaning robot to end manual scavenging.
    • Manholes in Guwahati will now be cleaned by robots. Named ‘BANDICOOT’, the robot has been procured by Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC).
    • BANDICOOT was developed by a Start-up India company called
    • The robot was developed under the Make in India initiative. It was funded by CSR of Indian Oil Corporation Limited.
    • Guwahati is India’s third city to procure this innovative technology to clean manholes. Earlier, Gurugram and Coimbatore had procured BANDICOOT robots.
    About Assam
    • Capital: Dispur
    • Chief minister: Sarbananda Sonowal
    • Governor: Jagdish Mukhi

    Kerala announces new Entrepreneurship Development Programme

    • The Kerala government announced a new Entrepreneurship Development Programme to address the issues of shortage of working capital and availability of credit faced by startups and small entrepreneurs in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • The ”Chief Minister”sEntrepreneurship Development Programme” aims to identify 2,000 entrepreneurs per year and plans to launch 1,000 new small and medium ventures every year for the next five years, creating 5,000 new ventures.
    • The programme will be implemented through the Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC), which will provide loans up to 90 per cent of the project cost subject to a maximum of rs 50 lakh at 10 per cent interest.
    • The government will give three per cent interest as subsidy thereby; the net interest rate will be seven per cent.
    • Working capital loans up to Rs 10 crore will be sanctioned as per the purchase order.
    • Seed loans of up to Rs one crore would be given to enterprises providing socially relevant products or services.
    • Working capital of up to Rs 10 crore will be available to IT companies subject to their valuation by SEBI accredited VC funds.
    • The government will provide two per cent for these three schemes
    About Kerala
    • Capital: Thiruvananthapuram
    • Chief Minister: Pinarayi Vijayan
    • Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan

    Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami lays foundation for Rs 2,368 worth projects

    • Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami has laid the foundation stone for the construction work on eight new industrial projects that would come up in the state for an investment of Rs 2,368 crore,. Besides, he inaugurated 11 completed projects which fetched Rs 3,185 crore investment.
    • The projects for which the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone included International Tech Park Chennai (ITPC) promoted by the CapitaLand group-a Rs 1,500 crore project and TATA Chemicals’ silica manufacturing unit in Cuddalore SIPCOT Industrial Park with an investment of Rs 350 crore.
    • The companies have committed a total investment of Rs 2,368 crore and will create employment for 24,870 people. Further, the 12 completed projects in various sectors, including automobiles, would usher in Rs 3,185 crore of investment and job opportunities to 6,966 persons. As many as six of the eight projects for which the foundation stones were laid were signed in the Global Investors Meet held in 2019.
    About Tamil Nadu
    • Capital: Chennai
    • Chief minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami
    • Governor: Banwarilal Purohit

    Green J&K Drive-2020 begins in Ramnagar Wildlife Sanctuary of Jammu

    • In Jammu and Kashmir, the Wildlife Protection Wing of Forest Department kick-started Green J&K Drive-2020 at Ramnagar Wildlife Sanctuary in order to mark 72nd Van-Mahotsav and setting the ball rolling for monsoon plantation in Jammu Region.
    • The department has set the target of planting about five lakh plants in various Wildlife Areas of Jammu region during the monsoon season. The plants being planted are fruit, fodder and shelter trees, shrubs, herbs/grasses, soil binders etc. The focus of the plantation activity is towards habitat improvement for wild animals.
    • Chief Wildlife Warden Suresh K. Gupta launched the drive by planting sapling of fruit bearing species suitable for Wildlife Protected Areas and appealed to contribute towards conservation of forests, environment and wildlife by planting plants on all the available spaces.
    About Jammu and Kashmir:
    • Capitals: Jammu (Winter), Srinagar (Summer)
    • Lieutenant Governor :G. C. Murmu

    CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS AND MERGERS

    JSW Energy set to acquire GMR’s Odisha thermal plant

    • JSW Energy Limited is expected to sign a deal with GMR Energy for acquiring 100 per cent stake in GMR Kamalanga Energy. The transaction had been put on hold given the ongoing uncertainty and will be revisited once the situation normalizes.
    • The two sides had entered into negotiations in October 2019. GMR Kamalanga Energy Ltd owns and operates a 1,050-MW (3×350 MW) thermal power plant in Odisha.
    • Post-acquisition, the total installed power generation capacity of JSW Energy will increase to 5,609 MW. This will expand the Company’s presence in the Eastern region of the country and further diversify its fuel mix and offtake arrangements.
    About JSW Energy Limited:
    • CEO: Prashant Jain
    • Headquarters: Maharashtra

    CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTALS

    Microsoft launches new Family Safety app for iOS and Android

    • Microsoft is launching a new Family Safety app for iOS and Android.
    • The software giant has been testing the app, and it’s designed to allow families to manage screentime and app usage.
    • Parents can use the Family Safety app to receive reports on app usage and overall screentime and even set app time limits with the ability for children to request extensions.
    • Microsoft is also planning to add notifications for when family members arrive or leave a location, but this will be a premium feature for Microsoft 365 subscribers.
    About Microsoft
    • CEO: Satya Nadella
    • Headquarters: Washington, United States
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