Daily Current Affairs and GK | 15 July 2020

1. Ker Puja started in the northeastern state of Tripura.

• Recently, Ker Puja started in the northeastern state of Tripura.
• Ker Pooja is the most unique festival of Tripura.
• The festival is celebrated for two weeks and begins at the end of Kharchi Puja.
• On this occasion, the traditional Ker Puja is being organized in the premises of Ujjayant Palace.
• Ker is considered to be the architectural deity of the royal family of Tripura.
• In the tribal Kokborok language, ker literally means designated area.
• It is believed that this puja protects people from disasters and external attacks.
• The puja was initiated by the king of the state.
• Adivasis and people around the Ker Puja areas burn the fire in their homes, believing that it will ensure their well-being and exorcise the evil spirit.

2. Approval of Rs. 107 crores for fire fighting facilities in five jetties of Haldia Dock Complex.

• Recently Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has approved Rs 107 crore for setting up of fire fighting facilities in five jetties of Haldia Dock Complex at Kolkata Port.
• The installation of state-of-the-art fire fighting facilities at Haldia Dock Complex will ensure safe movement of petrochemical products.
• The existing facilities on the campus are not in conformity with the guidelines of the Oil Industry Safety Directorate of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, hence LPG and other petroleum products are not in transit.
• There is a possibility of increasing the handling of LPG and LNG in Haldia dock premises in the coming time.
• The Ministry of Shipping has given priority to the safety and security of handling at all major ports. This will meet global standards of fire safety.

(Source: News on AIR)

3. US government has dropped plans to deport international students taking online classes.

• Recently the US government dropped plans to deport international students taking online classes.
• Due to the recent coronavirus pandemic, the US government has arranged an online class in the next semester.
• The US has announced that F-1 and M-1 visa holders who plan to take only online classes will not be allowed to stay in the USA.
• US President Donald Trump's administration has decided to drop the plan just a week after announcing the policy.
• F-1 visas are issued to full-time students to study in the United States.
• M-1 visas are issued to students engaging in vocational or non-academic studies.

4. United States rejected China's claim on offshore resources of the South China Sea.

• Recently the United States has officially rejected China's claim on offshore resources of the South China Sea.
• US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said that the Chinese government had no legal basis for unilaterally asserting its authority over the region.
• South China Sea:
  • It is a part of the Western Pacific Ocean in Southeast Asia.
  • It has Scarborough Shoal, Taiping Island, Fieri Cross Reef, Peacock Island, etc.
  • It borders Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam.

(Source: News on AIR)

5. On July 13, the 206^th birth anniversary of Nepali Adikavi Bhanu Bhakta Acharya was celebrated.

• On July 13, the 206^th birth anniversary of Nepali Adikavi Bhanu Bhakta Acharya was celebrated in Sikkim.
• Bhanubhakta Acharya was a Nepali poet, translator and writer.
• He was the first writer who translated the great epic Ramayana from Sanskrit to Nepali.
• He was born on 13 July 1814 in Nepal.

6. July 15: World Youth Skills Day.

• World Youth Skills Day is observed every year on 15 July.
• The day aims to raise awareness among youth about the development of technical, vocational education training and other skills relevant to both local and global economies.
• This year's theme is – “Skills for a Resilient Youth”
• In November 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared 15 July as World Youth Skills Day.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a digital conference on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day. The conclave is organized by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
• This year marks the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Skill India Mission.

7. An Act was introduced in the US to ban Chinese authorities enforcing repressive laws against Hong Kong.

• Recently US President Donald Trump has signed a bill to ban Chinese authorities enforcing repressive laws against Hong Kong.
• The law provides a powerful tool for the US administration to hold individuals and institutions responsible for ending Hong Kong independence.
• China recently enacted a new security law to end Hong Kong's special status.
• This law is brought under the 1984 agreement between China and Britain.
• The former British colony, Hong Kong, was brought back to Chinese rule in 1997 with legislation protecting the freedom of speech, assembly and press until 2047.

(Source: News on AIR)

8. Commander-level talks between the Indian and Chinese armies began at Chushul in eastern Ladakh.

• Recently, commander-level talks between the Indian and Chinese armies began at Chushul in eastern Ladakh.
• This dialogue is mainly focuses on the second phase of the retreat of the two armies from disputed sites of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• The talks take place after talks between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 5 July.
• Chushul:
  • It is located in Darbuk tehsil in Ladakh, which is known as Chushul valley.
  • The people of Chushul village are mostly illiterate. Most people depend on goat and yak farming.
  • The place is famous as Indian Army here fought  during the Indo-China war on 18 November 1962.

(Source: News on AIR)

9. IFSC Banking unit will be set up by HSBC in Gujarat Gift City.

• Recently HSBC has received approval to set up a IFSC banking unit at Gift City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Limited is the world's largest financial services organization.
• Present in the country for more than 160 years, this development is a major milestone in India for HSBC.
• 13 banks have set up their IFSC banking units in GIFT IFSC.
• The cumulative turnover in the banking vertical has exceeded US $ 28 billion.
• GIFT IFSC has contributed nearly 11 percent to India's total financial services exports.

10. Madhya Pradesh is ahead in implementing PM Svanidhi Scheme.

• Madhya Pradesh is ahead in all the states in implementing the PM Svanidhi Scheme.
• More than 15,500 persons in the state have been provided loans under this scheme.
• PM Svanidhi:
  • Recently, the Central Government has launched the Prime Minister's Street Vendor Aatmanirbhar Nidhi i.e. PM Svanidhi Yojana.
  • The objective of the scheme is to help revival of their businesses closed due to Covid-19 by providing special micro loan facility to street vendors.
  • The duration of the scheme is till March 2022.

11. Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh released a book titled Tangams.

• Recently the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh has released a book titled "Tangams: An Ethnolinguistic Study Of The Critically Endangered Group of Arunachal Pradesh".
• Tangam is a language spoken by a little-known community within the large Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Tangam is now spoken by 253 people only in Kugging village.
• According to UNESCO's World Atlas of Endangered Speech 2009, tangam - an oral language, belongs to the Tani group. It is marked as a critically endangered language.
• More than 26 languages ​​of Arunachal Pradesh have been identified as endangered in this report.

12. Under Operation Muskaan, 312 children were rescued in 1 day in Krishna and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh.

• Recently under Operation Muskaan, 312 children were rescued in 1 day in Krishna and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh.
• Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police D. Gautam Sawang started the week-long Operation Muskaan at the police headquarters.
• The purpose of this campaign are as follows:
  • Detection of missing children brought from other states to the state.
  • Preventing child labor and bonded child labor.
  • Children engaged as domestic help are to be saved.
• 125 children including 24 girls belonging to various places were rescued from Krishna district.
• Police and other Departments staff conducted raids in sub-departments of Nuzvid, Avanigadda, Machilipatnam, Gudivada and Nandigama and rescued minors.
• In West Godavari, 130 children were rescued and all, except one, were reunited with their parents after counseling.
• Operation Muskaan is an initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs to rescue and rehabilitate missing children.

(Source: The Hindu)

13. Union Human Resource Development Minister issued guidelines 'Pragyata' on digital education.

• Recently Union Minister of Human Resource Development issued guidelines on digital education called Pragyata.
• These instructions provide a detailed action plan to advance online education with better quality.
• In addition, they will also check the number of online sessions in a day and its duration for students from first grade to 12th standard.
• All schools are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and more than 240 million children enrolled in schools across the country are affected.
• In these guidelines, eight steps of online digital education are described - planning, review, arrangement, guidance, talk, assign, Track, Appreciation.
• The Guidelines for Physical Health and Mental Health emphasize that children do not suffer from excessive stress due to prolonged use of digital equipment or do not get negatively affected - sitting defects, eye problems and other physical problems. 

(Source: P.I.B)

14. A low-cost, eco-friendly and long-term Supercapacitor electrode constructed from industrial waste cotton.

• Recently scientists from the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) have constructed a simple, low-cost, environmentally friendly and long-term supercapacitor electrode from industrial waste cotton.
• It can be used as an energy harvester storage device.
• This is the first time an environmentally friendly, cost-effective, scalable and alternative aqueous electrolyte has been discovered through any natural seawater.
• This super capacitor can be used in place of existing aqueous-based electrolytes.
• This study provides a solution for the manufacture of super capacitors from abundant materials such as waste cotton and seawater. It is a classic example of creative science for the theory of long-term green processes, of the principles of wealth creation from waste.
• The International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) is an autonomous organization of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
• Supercapacitors:
  • It is a new generation energy storage device.
  • It is more stable and will feature ultrafast charging as compared to conventional capacitors.
  • It is also important in the direction of extensive research due to the similar benefits of lithium-ion batteries.

(Source: P.I.B)