Daily GK Updates - 30th Aug, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Ministry of Home Affairs issues Guidelines for “Unlock 4”: The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued “Unlock 4” guidelines for the phased re-opening of activities in areas outside the Containment Zones. The “Unlock 4” guidelines will be effective from September 1, 2020. These guidelines have been framed on the basis of feedback obtained from States and Union Territories, and extensive consultations held with related Central Ministries and Departments. Key features of the “Unlock 4” guidelines are as follows:

(1) According to the new guidelines, Metro rail will be permitted to operate with effect from 7th September 2020 in a graded manner.

(2) New guidelines permits the Social/ academic/ sports/ entertainment/ cultural/ religious/ political functions and other congregations with a ceiling of 100 persons, with effect from 21st September 2020. All the above gatherings will have to follow mandatory wearing of face masks, social distancing, provision for thermal scanning and hand wash or sanitizer.

(3) It also allows the opening of Open air theatres with effect from 21st September 2020.

(4) No restrictions will be there on Inter-State and intra-State movement.

(5) The Schools, colleges, educational and coaching institutions will continue to remain closed for students and regular class activity up to 30th September 2020. Although, Students of classes 9 to 12 may be permitted to visit their schools, in areas outside the Containment Zones only, on voluntary basis, with effect from 21st September 2020.

(6) Cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres (excluding open air theatre) and similar places will continue to remain closed.

(7) Lockdown shall is stated to be implemented strictly in the Containment Zones till 30th September, 2020.

Note: Union Minister of Home Affairs: Amit Shah.

 

2. Centre Forms 5-member Panel under IIT Delhi Director V. Ramagopal Rao to redefine DRDO Charter: Dr G. Satheesh Reddy, the Chairman of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has constituted the five-member expert committee to redefine the role of the DRDO for the current and futuristic defence and battlefield scenarios. The main motive of constituting this elite panel is to:

(1) Study and review the charter of duties of all 52 laboratories of DRDO and to redefine the same for both current and futuristic defence and battlefield scenarios.

(2) Reduce Indian military’s dependence on imports, in line with Prime minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” in the defence sector.

(3) Minimise the overlap of technologies amongst the laboratories.

The committee will be headed by professor V. Ramagopal Rao, Director of IIT, Delhi. Other members of the panel are: S. Somnath, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre; Air Marshal Sandeep Singh, Deputy Chief of Air Staff; Dr. Samir V. Kamat, Director General-Naval Systems & Materials (NS & M) and Benjamin Lionel, Director, Instruments Research & Development Establishment of DRDO.

 

3. NITI Aayog Launches Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)–Transport Initiative for Asia (TIA) India Component: NITI Aayog virtually launched the India Component of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)–Transport Initiative for Asia (TIA) on 27 August 2020. The NDC–TIA is a joint programme supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) to promote a comprehensive approach to decarbonize transport in India, Vietnam, and China. The programme has a duration of 4 years and is implemented by a consortium of seven organisations. The India Component will be implemented by the six of the seven consortium organisations of NDC–TIA programme and NITI Aayog will be the implementing partner on behalf of the GoI.

 

4. 51st IFFI to be held in Goa from Nov 20: 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held in Goa, from November 20th to 28th. This film festival is a hybrid film festival due to COVID 19, would screen films on the official digital platform along with the theatrical screenings.

Note: Goa Capital: Panaji; Governor of Goa: Bhagat Singh Koshyari; Chief Minister of Goa: Pramod Sawant.

 

5. Delhi Govt launched ‘Healthy Body, Healthy Mind’ fitness campaign: Delhi Government has launched the Fitness Campaign “Healthy Body, Healthy Mind” fitness campaign, for the students who are confined in their homes because of the lockdown imposed on Schools and colleges due to COVID-19 pandemic. As a part of the “Healthy Body, Healthy Mind” campaign, a YouTube channel has been started which uploads a video on every Wednesday, by which the students can practice for a week to maintain fitness and make up for the loss of physical activities amid pandemic.

Note: Chief Minister of Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal; Governor of Delhi: Anil Baijal.

 

6. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan virtually inaugurates two new Medical Colleges & three Super-Speciality Blocks in Rajasthan: Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated two medical colleges and three super specialty blocks in Rajasthan through video conference. Along with this, 5 projects and health facilities of Health Education Department with a cost of Rupees 828 crores have been inaugurated. These include Medical College buildings in Bharatpur and Bhilwara and super-specialty centers in Bikaner, Udaipur, and Kota. The Health Minister praised Rajasthan's efforts to deal with COVID-19. He also said that more attention is needed in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Alwar, Kota and Bikaner.

Note: Rajasthan Capital: Jaipur; Governor: Kalraj Mishra; Chief minister: Ashok Gehlot

 

7. BPR&D celebrates its Golden Jubilee Anniversary on 28th August, 2020: The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) celebrated its Golden Jubilee Anniversary on 28th August, 2020. BPR&D was raised on 28th August, 1970, through a resolution of Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The Bureau was mandated to encourage excellence in policing, promote speedy and systematic study of police problems, apply science and technology in the method and techniques by the Police. The bureau has played a vital role in shaping the Indian Police.

Note: Director General of Bureau of Police Research and Development: V.S.K. Kaumudi.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. World Bank pauses “Doing Business” report over data irregularity issue: The World Bank has stopped the publication of its “Doing Business” report to probe data collection irregularities in the annual ranking of countries’ business and investment climates. The World Bank said that there were “a number of irregularities” reported regarding data changes to the reports published in 2017 and 2019. World Bank would conduct a systematic review of data changes in the last five Doing Business reports, and independent auditors will probe data collection and review processes. The last Doing Business report was published in October 2019 in which India was ranked 63rd while New Zealand was on top.

 

2. UAE’s DMCC launches “Agriota E-Marketplace”: Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has rolled out a technology-driven agri-commodity trading and sourcing platform “Agriota E-Marketplace”. The platform which uses blockchain will help in bridging the gap between millions of rural farmers in India and the UAE’s food industry. The Agriota platform will connect Indian farmers directly with the entire food industry in the UAE, including food processing companies, traders as well as wholesalers. The E-Marketplace will enable them to bypass intermediaries and optimise the supply chain. It will also ensure end-to-end traceability and transparency in order to create value for all stakeholders.

Note: Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre: Ahmed Bin Sulayem.

President of UAE: Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Capital of UAE: Abu Dhabi; Currency: United Arab Emirates dirham.

 

3. International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances: 30 August: United Nations observes International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances globally on 30th of August every year. The day is being observed to express deep concern about the rise in enforced or involuntary disappearances in different regions of the world including the incidents of arrest, detention and abduction. All of the above incidents results in increasing number of reports pertaining to harassment, ill-treatment and intimidation of witnesses of disappearances or relatives of persons who have disappeared. UN General Assembly declared 30th of August as International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances and the day was observed for the first time in year 2011.

Note: Secretary-General of United Nations: António Guterres.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

 

1. India & Russia jointly wins FIDE Online Chess Olympiad: India and Russia have become the joint winners of FIDE online Chess Olympiad. World chess governing body FIDE declared both the finalists as joint winners after at least two games in the second match were affected by internet connectivity issues. The FIDE Online Chess Olympiad was held for the first time due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is the biggest team championship in chess as around 163 countries took part in the online tournament. The Indian team comprised of the following players: Vidit Gujrathi (captain), Viswanathan Anand, Pendyala Harikrishna, Koneru Humpy, Dronavalli Harika, R. Vaishali, Bhakti Kulkarni, Nihal Sarin, R. Praggnanandhaa, Aravindh Chithambaram, R. Vaishali, Bhakti Kulkarni, Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal.

Note: FIDE President: Arkady Dvorkovich

 

2. Sri Lankan cricketer Tharanga Paranavitana retires: Sri Lankan Opening batsman, Nishad Tharanga Paranavitana has announced retirement from all forms of International Cricket. He has represented Sri Lanka in 32 Test Matches scoring 1792 runs including two hundreds and 11 fifties. Paranavitana made his debut against Pakistan in February 2009 and played his final game for the national team in November 2012. He is Sri Lanka’s highest ever run-getter in first-class cricket with 12,522 runs.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance launches ‘Smart Assist’, a real-time assistance service: Private life insurer Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has launched a new technology service called ‘Smart Assist’ that provides real-time assistance to customers. Using a screen sharing feature, the agent will be able to assist customers live to fill up the proposal form and also help them in the policy purchase journey. Even if there is an error in the form that has to be corrected in the proposal form, this can be done through the screen-sharing process.

 

2. Innoviti partners with Visa to develop installments platform for face-to-face transactions: Innoviti announced that it had entered a partnership with Visa, the leader in payments technology to develop a platform that will enable issuers to extend credit to their cardholders at face-to-face point-of-sale (In India). It provides shoppers the ability to choose how they pay during the purchase with the introduction of a suite of platform capabilities leveraging Innoviti’s uniPAYNEXT platform and Visa’s APIs. Innoviti and Visa plan to collaborate and pilot a variety of installment use cases as part of this partnership going forward.

           

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Punjab University wins prestigious Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy for second consecutive year: The Panjab University has been conferred with the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad(MAKA) Trophy for the year 2019. This is the second consecutive year in a row that Panjab University has won this coveted trophy, which is given to overall top performing University in Inter-University Tournaments. The award was presented virtually by the President Ram Nath Kovind along with Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Kiren Rijiju on the occasion of National Sports Day on 29 August 2020.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Rajnath Singh Launches Life Insurance Scheme titled Chhavni COVID: Yodha Sanrakshan Yojana For Over 10,000 Cantonment Employees: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has launched a life insurance scheme named “Chhavni COVID: Yodha Sanrakshan Yojana”, for the employees working in cantonment areas across India. The Chhavni COVID: Yodha Sanrakshan Yojana is a group life insurance scheme that will provide a cover of Rs five lakhs each to more than 10,000 employees in all 62 cantonment boards, in the event of any unfortunate fatal calamity. The scheme will be implemented by the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India. The scheme will include both permanent and contractual employees, including doctors, paramedics and sanitation staff. The launch took place on 01 September 2020, during a webinar attended by presidents, vice-presidents and chief executive officers of all 62 cantonment boards

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Veteran Athletic coach Purushotham Rai passes away: India’s former athletic coach Purushotham Rai passed away. The former coach passed away a few hours before receiving the Dronacharya Award, the highest sporting award for a coach in India. He became the third person from the state of Karnataka to win Dronacharya award in Athletics. He coached number of top athletes namely Olympian quarter-miler Vandana Rao, heptathlete Pramila Aiyappa, Ashwini Nachappa, Murali Kuttan, MK Asha, EB Shyla, Rosa Kutty and GG Pramila. Purushotham Rai’s name was announced for the Dronacharya award for year 2020 among the other winners of National Sports Awards 2020. He trained the Indian team for the 1987 World Athletics Championship, 1988 Asian Track and Field Championships, and 1999 SAF Games.