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Friday, July 17, 2020

Daily GK Updates – 17th July, 2020


NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. DCGI approves India’s 1st homemade Pneumonia vaccine:  Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved India’s first fully indigenously developed Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine (Pneumonia vaccine). The vaccine will be utilized for active immunization against invasive disease and pneumonia caused by “Streptococcus pneumonia” among infants.  The vaccine has been developed by Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd, Pune. It is India’s first indigenously developed vaccine in the field of pneumonia. With the DCGI’s approval, Serum Institute of India has been granted permission to manufacture the vaccine domestically.

2. Digital Indo-Italian Business Mission on Food Processing: Opening session of the Digital Indo-Italian Business Mission on Food Processing has commenced virtually. The two-day event will include digital conferences, trade fair and B2B meetings. Opening session of the mission was addressed by the Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal. The Digital Indo-Italian Business Mission is a 2-day event that will witness the participation of 23 Italian companies and will conduct virtual exhibition of their products & services and also participate in the Business (B2B) Meetings with the end users and other industry players in India. Meetings and the webinars across the key areas such as Fruits & Vegetables, Cereals, Milk & Dairy processing, and Packaging & Bottling will also held during the virtual session.

3. First on-line NISHTHA programme launched in Andhra Pradesh:  First on-line NISHTHA programme has been launched by the Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and Minister of State for HRD Shri Sanjay Dhotre in Andhra Pradesh. Online NISHTHA programme has been launched for 1200 Key Resources Persons of Andhra Pradesh, hence making it the first ever state in the country. NISHTHA has been customized for online mode because of COVID-19 pandemic situation which has affected the conduct of this programme in face-to-face mode. Online NISHTHA programme would be conducted through DIKSHA and NISHTHA portals by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) is a capacity building programme that was launched by the government of India on 21st August, 2019 to improve the quality of school education through Integrated Teacher Training.

3. NABARD launches development projects in Andaman & Nicobar Islands:  National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has launched development projects in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The projects worth Rs 44 lakhs aims to strengthen the concept of Atmanirbhar Bharat through rural entrepreneurship. As part of the project, there would be focus on the formation and skill development of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to promote rural entrepreneurship at micro level. As part of the initiative, NABARD will conduct 385 village-level programmes and also offer training to leaders of newly formed SHGs with a sum of more than Rs 10 lakh. Training for Mushroom Cultivation and Bamboo Handicrafts making will be provided to the women attached to SHGs in Little Andaman.
Note: Chairman of National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development: G R Chintala.
Lieutenant Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands: Admiral D K Joshi.

4. Telangana Police rolls out “CybHer” campaign:  The Women Safety Wing, Telangana State Police has launched the “CybHer” campaign in association with the Legal Aid Centre, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad. The “CybHer” campaign has been rolled out to tackle cybercrime against children and women in the state. It is a month long virtual campaign which will make cyberspace safe for both women and children. “CybHer” campaign will create awareness and offer proactive measures to help them stay alert and not become a victim of cyberattacks. It will focus on incidents of paedophile activity, sexual harassment of minors, etc.
Note: Chief Minister of Telangana: K Chandrasekhar Rao; Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan.

5. UNICEF India partners with SAP India for employability of young people:  UNICEF India has partnered with SAP India to offer career counselling to young people in the country. The partnership between the two aims to improve the employability skills of young people in a COVID-19 as well as post COVID-19 era. Under this initiative, UNICEF has collaborated with YuWaah (Generation Unlimited) to offer digital education as well as occupational skillset to the underserved young people of India. The UNICEF – YuWaah – SAP India partnership has a prime objective to empower young people, to utilize their creativity, problem-solving and leadership assets, to improve their own lives as well of their communities.
Note: Executive Director of UNICEF: Henrietta H. Fore; UNICEF HQs: New York

6. IIT Madras start-up developed a portable hospital called “MediCAB”:  Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) start-up Modulus Housing, has developed a portable hospital unit called ‘MediCAB’. MediCAB can be installed anywhere within two hours by four people. It has been launched recently in Wayanad District of Kerala where the units are being deployed to treat COVID19 Patients. The Medicab is foldable and is composed of four zones: a doctor’s room, an isolation room, a medical room/ward and a twin-bed ICU, maintained at negative pressure. It aims to decentralize the approach to detect, screen, identify, isolate and treat COVID-19 patients in their local communities through these portable microstructures.

7. Chief Minister Pema Khandu releases book on endangered tribe: The book titled ‘The Tangams: An Ethnolinguistic Study Of The Critically Endangered Group of Arunachal Pradesh’ was released by Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu. Book is based on the Tangams, a critically endangered speech community of Arunachal Pradesh domiciled at Kugging village, Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The book has been published by Centre for Endangered Languages, Rajiv Gandhi University and Himalayan Publishers, New Delhi. Co-authors: Kaling Dabi, Kombong Darang, Rejhoney Borang, Chera Devi, Rumi Deuri.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Suriname elects Indian-origin ‘Chan’ Santokhi as President: Indian-origin, Chandrikapersad ‘Chan’ Santokhi has been elected the president of South American country “Suriname”. A former Justice Minister, Santokhi of the Progressive Reform Party (PRP) was elected unopposed. He will succeed Desi Bouterse, a former military strongman, whose National Party of Suriname (NPS) lost the election in May as he sent the country to an economic precipice. Suriname is a former Dutch colony where people of Indian descent make up the largest ethnic group comprising 27.4 per cent of the population of 587,000.
Note: Capital of Suriname: Paramaribo; The currency of Suriname: Suriname Dollar.

2. Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa appointed as new Vice-President of ADB: The Metro Manila, Philippines based multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed India’s Election Commissioner (EC) Ashok Lavasa as the Vice-President for private sector operations and public-private partnerships. Lavasa will succeed Diwakar Gupta, whose term will end on August 31, 2020. Ashok Lavasa is currently one of the two Election Commissioners of India, serving since January 2018. He will step down from the post, ahead of the completion of his term, to take up the role at ADB. The other EC of India is Sushil Chandra
Note: President of Asian Development Bank: Masatsugu Asakawa; Asian Development Bank Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines; Asian Development Bank Founded: 19 December 1966.

3. World Emoji Day: 17th July: The World Emoji Day is celebrated every year on 17 July since 2014 to promote the use of emojis and spread the enjoyment that they bring to all of those around us. The Day was created by London-based founder of Emojipedia, Jeremy Burge.

4. World Day for International Justice: 17th July: The World Day for International Justice, (also known as Day of International Criminal Justice or International Justice Day), is celebrated globally on July 17 to support and recognize the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The day marks the anniversary of Rome Statute adoption on July 17, 1998 through which International Criminal Court (ICC) was created. The day was first observed on the Review Conference of the Rome Statute held at the city of Kampala, Uganda on June 1, 2010
Note: International Criminal Court HQ: The Hague, Netherlands; International Criminal Court President: Chile Eboe-Osuji; International Criminal Court Established: 2002.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. IOC postpones 2022 Dakar Youth Olympics to 2026: The Youth Olympic Games in Dakar will be celebrated in 2026 after Senegal and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) “mutually agreed” to postpone the Games from 2022. The IOC and Senegal understand that this news will be disappointing for many young athletes. Both parties can only appeal to their understanding. This agreement results from the large scale of the operational challenges which the IOC, the NOCs and the IFs are facing following the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Earlier, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been postponed to next year. Now the event will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021.
Note: Senegal Capital: Dakar; Senegal Currency: West African CFA Franc.
International Olympic Committee Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland; International Olympic Committee President: Thomas Bach.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. ICRA Predicts India’s GDP to Contract 9.5% in FY21: Credit Rating agency ICRA has sharply revised the GDP forecast for India and expects the Indian economy to contract by 9.5% (-9.5%) in 2020-21. Earlier it had projected the GDP at -5% for FY21. The increasing Covid-19 infections, leading to localised lockdowns in some states and cities, affecting the economic activities is the main reason for this sharp revision. Icra’s projection is the sharpest contraction in the gross domestic product (GDP) for FY21 among all estimations so far.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. Marcus Rashford receives honorary degree from University of Manchester: The 22-year-old England football player, Marcus Rashford becomes the youngest ever recipient of an honorary degree from The University of Manchester. He will receive the degree in recognition of his achievements as a footballer and as a passionate campaigner against child poverty. Rashford’s collaboration with FareShare, a poverty and food waste charity, has led to £20million being raised in financial and food donations. Manchester United striker Rashford successfully campaigned for UK govt to extend the scheme for free school meals for underprivileged children.

DEFENCE

1. DRDO develops P7 Heavy Drop System for IL 76 aircraft:  Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed the P7 Heavy Drop System. It is capable of para dropping military stores up to 7-ton weight class from IL 76 aircraft. The design of this fully indigenous system has been developed by Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), a Research & Development (R&D) lab of DRDO based in Agra, Uttar Pradesh (UP). P7 Heavy Drop System system has been made under the Make in India programme. It’s a platform system manufactured by L&T (Larsen & Toubro) while parachutes manufactured by Ordnance Factory.
Note: DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi; DRDO Chairman: Dr G. Satheesh Reddy.

OBITUARIES

1. Maharashtra’s first woman SEC Neela Satyanarayan passes away:  First woman State Election Commissioner (SEC) of Maharashtra Neela Satyanarayan passed away. She was a 1972 batch IAS officer. Neela Satyanarayan was appointed as the State Election Commissioner (SEC) of Maharashtra in 2009 after her brief tenure as an additional chief secretary of Revenue Department. She served as the SEC of Maharashtra till 05 July 2014. Neela Satyanarayan has also penned books such as Vanava and Ek Purna Ek Apurna along with several collections of poetry. She has also composed music for a film.
Note: Chief Minister of Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray; Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

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