Daily Current Affairs and GK | 22 August 2020

1. International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief: 22 August.

• Every year on 22 August, International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief is observed.
• The establishment of this day is a direct response to growing cases of violence based on religion or belief, including the most serious manifestations of international crimes such as crimes against humanity, war crimes and even genocide.
• In the past few years, there have been numerous cases of atrocities in Syria, Iraq, Myanmar, Nigeria and China on the basis of religion or belief.

2. Former Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar appointed as new Election Commissioner.

• Recently, Rajiv Kumar has been appointed as the new Election Commissioner.
• He will replace Ashok Lavasa who has resigned recently to serve as the vice president of Asian Development Bank.
• Rajiv Kumar is a 1984 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre.
• Rajiv Kumar has three decades of experience in public policy and administration in various fields. He has played a major role in merging 10 public sector banks into four.
• Election Commission of India:
  • It is an autonomous constitutional body.
  • It is the body responsible for the conduct of Union and State election procedures in India.
  • Articles 324 to 329 of the Constitution provide for the powers, functions, tenure, eligibility, etc. of the Election Commission and its members.
  • The Commission consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners, who are appointed by the President.
  • Their tenure is for six years or till the age of 65, whichever is earlier.

(Source: News on AIR)

3. Union Road and Transport Minister launched Harit Path mobile app.

• Recently, Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has launched the Harit Path mobile app.
• This app has been developed to facilitate the construction of green highways across the country.
• This app has been developed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
• NHAI also launched a nationwide tree plantation campaign- Harit Bharat Sankalp. Under this campaign, NHAI has planted more than 2.5 million plants along the national highways across the country in 25 days.
• National Highway Authority of India (NHAI):
  • It is an autonomous agency of the Government of India.
  • It works under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
  • Its objective is the development and maintenance of national highways.
  • It was founded in 1988.
  • Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.

(Source: News on AIR)

4. The efficacy of the BCG vaccine will be evaluated to prevent infection of COVID-19 among elderly people.

• A study will be conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the BCG vaccine to prevent infection of COVID-19 among elderly people.
• The study will be conducted by the Mumbai civic body and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
• The study will be conducted on the elderly persons between 60–75 years of age who have not infected with COVID-19.
• BCG Vaccine:
  • Its full form is the Bacillus – Calumet – Guérin vaccine.
  • It is normally given to children for protection from tuberculosis.
• Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR):
  • It is the apex body responsible for coordination and promotion of biomedical research in India.
  • It is one of the oldest and largest medical research bodies in the world.
  • Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.
  • It was established in the year 1911.

(Source: News on AIR)

5. Election Commission announced by-election for one seat of Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.

• Recently, the Election Commission has announced a by-election to one seat of Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.
• The seat fell vacant due to Amar Singh's death on 1 August 2020.
• By-election:
  • It is also known as a special election.
  • It is an election used to fill one of the offices vacated between general elections.
  • Usually, these elections take place after the incumbent dies or resigns, but they also take place when the incumbent is disqualified to continue in office.
• Rajya Sabha:
  • The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body, and cannot be dissolved. However, one third of the members retire every second year, and new elected members are appointed in their place.
  • The Rajya Sabha consists of a maximum of 250 members, of which 238 members represent the States and Union Territories, and 12 members are nominated by the President.
  • Each member is elected for a term of six years.
  • The Vice President of India is the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

(Source: News on AIR)

6. 6^th Round Table Conference of ASEAN-India Network of Think Tank was organized.

• Recently the 6^th Round Table Conference of the ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks (AINTT) has been organized.
• It is being organized in partnership with the Foreign Ministry of India and Thailand.
• The theme of this two-day round table conference is “ASEAN-India: Strengthening Partnership in Post Covid Era.”
• It was jointly inaugurated by Dr. S. Jaishankar, Foreign Minister of India and Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Thailand.
• Also ASEAN Secretary General, Mr. Lim Jock Hoi addressed the inaugural session.
• More than 400 people from education, industry, government and the diplomatic community attended the round table conference.
• The ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks was established in 2009 at the 7^th ASEAN-India Summit in Thailand.
• Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN):
  • It is a regional intergovernmental organization, which promotes intergovernmental and economic cooperation.
  • It is consisting of 10 countries in Southeast Asia- Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Laos.
  • It is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia.
  • It was established on 8 August 1967.

(Source: News on AIR)

7. National Ceasefire Agreement signed between Myanmar's government and 10 armed ethnic groups.

• Recently a national ceasefire agreement (NCA) has been signed between Myanmar's government and 10 armed ethnic groups.
• The agreement also contains the framework for the implementation of various procedures post 2020 and the basic principles for the establishment of a democratic federal union.
• Named as Union Peace Accord III, this peace agreement contains 15 provisions for implementing the NCA.
• These include protocols for deploying troops, dealing with skirmishes between government troops and armed groups among others.
• A fourth round of peace process is currently being held between the government and 10 armed ethnic groups.
• The peace process in Myanmar was initiated by President Thein Sein in 2011 to end the long-standing conflict with ethnic armed groups operating in the country.

• Myanmar:
  • It was formerly known as Burma and is a Southeast Asian nation.
  • Its capital is Naypyidaw and the currency is Burmese Kayat.

(Source: News on AIR)

8. Madhya Pradesh will provide government job on the basis of examination conducted by newly formed National Recruitment Agency.

• Recently Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said that the state government has decided to give jobs only on the basis of marks obtained in the examinations conducted by the National Recruitment Agency (NRA).
• Madhya Pradesh has become the first state to take such a decision.
• After this decision, the youth of the state will not be required to take any separate examination for government jobs in the state.

• Madhya Pradesh:
  • Madhya Pradesh is second only to Rajasthan in terms of area in the country.
  • The state capital is Bhopal.
  • Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Governor Smt Anandiben Patel are here.
  • The state animal is Barasingha.
  • The state bird of Madhya Pradesh is the Asian Paradise Flycatcher (Dudhraj).
  • The state flower is Palash.

(Source: News on AIR)

9. Government announced National Sports Awards 2020.

• Recently Government of India has announced the National Sports Awards 2020.
• The awards will be presented by President Ram Nath Kovind on August 29 from Rashtrapati Bhavan in a specially organized function through virtual mode.
• The major awards presented under it are:
• Cricketer Rohit Sharma, para-athlete Mariyappan Thangavelu, table tennis player Manika Batra, wrestler Vinesh Phogat and Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal will receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
• 27 players have been selected for the Arjuna Award for outstanding performance for four years.
• In the Life-Time category, Dronacharya Award will be given to Dharmendra Tiwari for Archery, Purushottam Rai for Athletics, Shiv Singh for Boxing, Romesh Pathania for Hockey, Krishna Kumar Hooda in Kabaddi, Vijay Bhalchandra Munishwar for Para Powerlifting, Naresh Kumar for Tennis.
• The Dronacharya Award in the regular category will be given to Jude Felix Sebastian for hockey, Yogesh Malaviya for Mallakhamb, Jaspal Rana for shooting and Gauri Khanna for para badminton.
• Lakshya Sansthan and Army Sports Institute will be awarded the National Sports Award for recognition and nurturing of budding and young talent.
• Punjab University, Chandigarh will be awarded the MAKA Trophy for Overall Top Performing University in the Inter-University tournament.

10. Indira Rasoi Yojana was launched in Rajasthan.

• Recently, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has launched the Indira Rasoi Yojana.
• The objective of this scheme is to provide nutritious food to the poor at Rs 8 per plate.
• Though each plate will cost Rs 20, the state government will provide a subsidy of Rs 12 per plate with an estimated expenditure of Rs 100 crore per year.
• As part of the plan, each plate will contain 100 grams of pulses, 100 grams of vegetables, 250 grams of chapatti and pickles. The scheme aims to serve 1.34 lakh people per day in the state.
• The scheme was launched on former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary, Sadbhavana Divas and is named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

(Source: Indian Express)

11. India, Japan and Australia are working on a supply chain treaty.

• Recently India, Japan, Australia are working on a supply chain treaty to counter China.
• Japan, India and Australia want to build strong supply chains to counter China's dominance in the area of ​​trade and geopolitical tensions.
• Although the talks are currently at a working level, Japan wants to bring it forward to a higher level.
• Japan, Australia, India and the US are members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad in the Southern Pacific Ocean Region, a flexible group for national security consultations.

12. Namath Basai program of Kerala is successful in bringing tribal children back to school.

• Recently it has been seen that the Namath Basai program of Kerala is successful in bringing tribal children back to school.
• It is a program of the Government of Kerala to teach tribal children in their mother tongue.
• It is a program implemented by SAMAGRA SIKSHA KERALA (SSK).
• Under this program, hundreds of tribal children are being taught through online classes in their native language.
• SSK has distributed around 50 laptops exclusively for Namath Basai, by which pre-recorded classes were offered through a YouTube channel.
• Namath Basai is also being introduced in the tribal areas of Wayanad and Idukki. Idukki offers classes in Oorali, Mutuvan and Paniya languages.

(Source: The Hindu)