DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS : Jul 31, 2020

Daily Current Affairs (Jul 31 2020) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the      Banking awareness, Static GK and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

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National News:

Ayush Minister launches dedicated Web-Portal for National AYUSH Mission:

• Ayush Minister Shripad Yesso Naik reviewed the centrally- sponsored scheme of National Ayush Mission and operationalization of AYUSH Health and Wellness Centers during a webinar of Health and Ayush Ministers of all states.

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

• 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.

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.
• 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).

International News:

ADB sanctions $3 million to India to fight against Covid-19:

• Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced that it approved $3 million to Indian government to combat Covid-19. The fund has been granted out of its Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund (APDRF) which will provide helping hands to the government’s emergency.

India, Mauritius PMs To Inaugurate New Supreme Court Building in Port Louis, Mauritius:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth will jointly inaugurate Mauritius’ new Supreme Court building which has been constructed with Indian assistance.
• The Supreme Court building has been constructed with Indian grant assistance of US$ 30 million and is the first India-assisted infrastructure project within the capital city of Port Louis.

SABIC chemical plant to become first of its kind to operate on 100% renewable power:

• Polycarbonate facility of SABIC in Spain, is set to become the World’s first large scale industry to completely run on renewable power on signing a major agreement with Iberdrola, an electricity utility company to secure power from solar power projects.
• The Facility is expected to become fully operational by 2024 and support SABIC to achieve its clean energy target by 2025.

Banking and Economy

Bank of Baroda’s Credit Card Arm Readies for Digital Transformation with Implementation of Fiserv Technology:

• BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda, has chosen Fiserv, Inc. a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions, to enable the digitization of their end-to-end card issuance and processing cycle and support the launch of several new and high-tech products including contactless credit cards, tokenisation and integration with branded wallets, and virtual credit cards.

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.

Sundaram Mutual Fund 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.
• ‘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.

Acquisitions and Mergers

Atal Innovation Mission launches ‘AIM-iCREST’, in partnership with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wadhwani Foundation:

• NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), has launched AIM iCREST – an Incubator Capabilities enhancement program for a Robust Ecosystem focused on creating high performing Start-ups. This is a first of its kind initiative for advancing innovation at scale in India.

Praj Signed MoU with ARAI to jointly develop application technology for green fuels:

• Praj Industries (Praj) and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop application technology for advanced biofuels for usage in industry and transportation.
• Biofuels developed for mobility sector will have a positive impact on environment by way of reduced carbon footprint and improved tailpipe emissions.

Science and Technology

Iran Launched the Underground Ballistic Missiles During ‘Great Prophet 14’ Military Exercise:

• Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a paramilitary force, launched the underground ballistic missiles from the depths of the Earth in a completely camouflaged way during the last day of ‘Great Prophet 14’(code name- “Payambar e Azam 14”) military exercise near Gulf waters.

IIT Hyderabad Researchers use corn husk to produce carbon electrode for high-voltage super capacitors:

• Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Researchers have developed a simple and cost-effective method to derive ‘Activated Carbon Electrode’ material from cornhusk for high-voltage supercapacitors. Their electrode showed better electrochemical performance (High energy density and high-power density) when compared with conventional supercapacitors.

Appointments

S N Rajeswari appointed CMD of Oriental Insurance:

• S N Rajeswari has been appointed the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Oriental Insurance Company Limited (OICL), according to a Personnel Ministry order. She is currently General Manager of New India Assurance Company Limited.

Haryana govt appoints wrestler Babita Phogat & Kabaddi player Kavita as sports deputy directors:

• Kavita Devi a Kabaddi player was a member of the India national Kabaddi team that won the gold medal in 2014 in the Incheon Asian Games. International wrestler Babita Phogat is the daughter of Mahavir Phogat, a noted wrestling coach.

East Bengal appoint young Goan coach Francisco:

• “East Bengal is delighted to confirm the signing of new coach Francisco Jose Bruto Da Costa,” the red-and-gold brigade announced on their official Twitter handle. Francisco was the deputy to Nelo Vingada at Northeast United FC in ISL 2016.

Awards and Recognitions:

India’s First Solar-Powered Ferry Aditya Wins Global Honour:

• Aditya, India’s first solar-powered ferry that commenced operations in 2017 in Kerala’s Vembanad backwaters, has won the prestigious Gustave Trouve Award for Excellence in Electric Boats and Boating.
• The ferry was adjudged the world’s best electric boat in the category of ferries designed for paid passenger service.

Books and Author

Dr. Harsh Vardhan released ebook titled “Standard Treatment Guidelines for the Management of Substance Use Disorders and Behavioural Addictions”:

• Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare (MoH& FW), Harsh Vardhan, released an ebook, titled ‘Standard Treatment Guidelines (STG) for the Management of Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and Behavioural Addictions’ virtually.
• The book was released in the presence of State Minister of (MoH & FW), Ashwini Kumar Choubey.

Obituary News:

West Bengal Congress president Somendra Nath Mitra dies at 78:

• West Bengal Congress president Somendra Nath Mitra He was elected legislator from the Sealdah constituency in central Kolkata seven times. Mitra was the face of the old political culture that was marked by decency and courtesy.

Justice Sanjay Gupta passes away at 59:

• 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.

Sports News:

Indian Grandmaster P Harikrishna Finishes Second in Rapid Event at Biel Chess Festival:

• Indian Grandmaster P Harikrishna defeated David Anton Guijarro of Spain in the seventh and final round of the Classical event at the 53^rd Biel International Chess Festival in Switzerland.

Domestic cricket stalwart Rajat Bhatia announces retirement from all forms of the game:

• Rajat Bhatia, a stalwart in Indian domestic cricket, announced his retirement from all forms of the game. Bhatia, 40, last played a first-class game in 2018 for Uttarakhand.
• The former Delhi cricketer played 112 first-class games in his 21-year-long domestic career. The all-rounder scored 6482 runs at an average of 49.10 and bagged 137 wickets. In List A cricket, Bhatia amassed 3038 runs and bagged 93 wickets.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz : Jul 31, 2020

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