Test: July 2020 Weekly Current Affair - 3 - UPSC MCQ

Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister of Human Resource Development (MoHRD) released the PRAGYATA Guidelines on Digital Education, over a virtual platform from Delhi in the presence of Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State HRD. The guidelines were prepared by the Department of School Education & Literacy of the Ministry of HRD.

The Minister of Railways, Piyush Vedprakash Goyal, has announced that the India’s first cable-stayed Indian Railways bridge namely “Anji Khad Bridge” being developed by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), a Government of India undertaking, is all set to connect Katra and Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The Bridge crosses the Chenab River. The cable-stayed railway bridge is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, which passes through the Young Himalayas. Notably, the USBRL project also involves the Chenab river bridge. The Chenab Bridge once completed, will become the world’s highest rail bridge.

The Chief Minister (CM) of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal has announced the upgradation of Poba Reserve Forest, a vital biodiversity hotspot in Dhemaji district of Assam, as a wildlife sanctuary. The announcement was made during a meeting with senior officials of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji and Majuli districts at Jonai.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed Ashok Lavasa as its Vice-President for Private Sector Operations and Public–Private Partnerships, who is currently serving as one of the Election Commissioners of India (since January 2018). He will succeed Diwakar Gupta, whose term will end on 31 August, 2020.

The GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL), introduced India’s first ever fully contactless airport car parking with contact less toll transaction for their passengers and visitors in Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) to provide a safe airport amid COVID-19. The NETC FASTag Car Park is a part of the “One Nation One Tag” – NETC FASTag programme of Indian Government.

Every year the United Nations(UN) World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) is globally celebrated on 15th July to highlight the importance of equipping young people with skills to provide opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship. The first WYSD was celebrated on 15th July 2015. The theme of 2020 WYSD virtual event – “Skills for a Resilient Youth”.

Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya, Minister of State (I/C) for the Ministry of Shipping reviewed the development activities of the Vallarpadam Terminal (Kochi International Container Trans-shipment Terminal (ICTT)) of Cochin Port which is proposed to develop as India’s first and Asia’s leading trans-shipment port to ensure that Indian cargoes are trans-shipped through Indian Port.

In a meeting with the 15th Finance Commission the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan highlighted that the government aims to gradually increase the public health expenditure to 2.5% of Gross Domestic Product(GDP) by 2025. The government under the Ayushman Bharat programme proposes to establish 1.5 lakh health and wellness centers by 2022.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has announced that 4 Journalists, Shahidul Alam from Bangladesh, Mohammad Mosaed from Iran, Dapo Olorunyomi from Nigeria and Svetlana Prokopyeva from Russia will be honoured with the 2020 International Press Freedom Awards for their courageous act. In addition to them lawyer Amal Clooney will be honored with the Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award 2020.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) informed that, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has given approval to India’s first fully indigenously developed vaccine against pneumonia, Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine. The vaccine has been developed by M/s. Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd, Pune. DCGI has also granted permission to manufacture the vaccine domestically.

Union Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) Mansukh Mandaviya flagged off the first trial container ship from Kolkata (West Bengal) to Agartala (Tripura) through Chattogram Port of Bangladesh in a virtual ceremony. This will not only provide an alternative and shorter route for India to connect its North East Region (NER) through Bangladesh but will also further boost India-Bangladesh maritime relations.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister (CM) Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated ‘Smriti Van’ at Asthal village of Dehradun district in memory of late Jeet Singh Negi, famous folk singer of the state on the occasion of Harela festival.

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), announced that Kate Winslet will be receiving the 2020 TIFF Tribute Actor Award at the virtual event of the 45th edition of TIFF. Kate will receive the honor in the virtual gala on 15th September 2020, following her film, Francis Lee’s Ammonite in which she played a fossil hunter Mary Anning.

Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav has announced the connectivity of all capitals of North-Eastern states through rail network by 2023. Railways is already implementing a project in this regard. As of today, the capitals of Assam, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh are already connected. The work to connect capitals of Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Meghalaya is in progress.

According to the New World Bank country classifications by income level 2020-2021, India remains in the classification, Lower-Middle-Income Economy. In total 218 countries have been included in this classification. The World Bank classifies countries into four income groups namely: low income, lower-middle income, upper-middle income, and high-income economies. The classifications are updated each year on July 1 and are based on Gross National Income (GNI) per capita in current USD (using the Atlas method exchange rates) of the previous year.

Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, The President of United Nations General Assembly announced that Marianna Vardinoyannis, of Greece, and Doctor Morissana Kouyaté, of Guinea will receive the 2020 Nelson Mandela Prize. They will be recognized in the virtual ceremony on 20th July 2020.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas signed MOU to begin cooperation on Strategic Petroleum Reserves operation and maintenance, including exchange of information and best practices. This MoU was based on a proposal from the US after the recent historic drop in oil prices during the coronavirus pandemic. It is to be noted that for the first time, India, the world’s third-largest oil guzzler, is planning to create an emergency reserve of oil in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to take advantage of low prices and to increase its strategic oil stockpile.

Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) informed that the 2022 World cup tournament is to be inaugurate at Qatar’s Al Bayt Stadium (or) Al Khor Stadium (November 21 – December 18). Men’s 2022 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup. Final match will be held at Lusail Stadium. Host country will be Qatar.

In accordance with the initial timeline drawn by the railways, it has planned to roll out 151 private train services by 2027 on 109 pairs of routes across the country. In this regard, Indian Railways is ready to introduce 12 trains in 2022-23, 45 in 2023-2024, 50 in 2025-26 and 44 more in the 2026-27, taking the total number of trains to 151 by the end of FY 2026-2027. There would be Rs 30,000 crore private sector investment in this project.

The official notification of the Department of Social security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) informed that, Odisha Government has included the transgender community under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY), a social security scheme by amending to Rule 6 of the Madhu Babu Pension Rules 2008.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) became the first West Asian and Arab nation to embark on a first-ever interplanetary space mission to Mars (Red Planet) namely “Hope Probe mission” from Tanegashima Space Centre, off the coast of Kyushu, Japan atop a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA rocket. 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.

The book titled The Tangams: An Ethnolinguistic Study of the Critically Endangered Group of Arunachal Pradesh was released by Prema Khandu, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. The book is published by Centre for Endangered Languages (CFEL), Rajiv Gandhi University and Himalayan Publishers, New Delhi.

Padma Bhushan Awardee & Renowned Mathematician, Conjeevaram Srirangachari (C.S.) Seshadri passed away at 88 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was the founder of the Chennai Mathematical Institute(CMI). He is known for his work in algebraic geometry.  He was born on February 29th, 1932, in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.

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.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation(MoCA) has set up the Investment Clearance Cell (ICC) under the chairmanship of Amber Dubey, joint secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation.ICC is a single window clearance mechanism for assistance and clearance of investment proposals in the domestic aviation industry.