Daily Current Affairs and GK | 26 and 27 July 2020

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 3 new High Facilitation Centers for screening of Covid-19 through video conference.

• Recently Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated 3 new High Facilitation Centers for screening of Covid-19 through video conference.
• These three high capacity centers are-
  • ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research in Noida.
  • ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health in Mumbai.
  • ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases in Kolkata.
• These three facility centers have been built in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research.
• These facility centers will increase testing capacity in the country.
• Also, early detection of infection will help prevent the pandemic.
• More than 10,000 samples can be tested daily from these facilities.
• Apart from Covid-19, other diseases will also be investigated at these centers.
• Hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, dengue and malaria etc. will be investigated at these centers after the pandemic.

(Source: News on AIR)

2. The government will soon finalize the proposed Environmental Impact Assessment Draft-2020 based on various suggestions.

• Recently Union Minister of Environment and Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar said that the government will soon finalize the proposed Environmental Impact Assessment Draft-2020 based on various suggestions.
• This new draft Environmental Impact Assessment notification limits the principle of public participation in environmental clearances. Therefore, many environmentalists have objected to this.
• Environmental Impact Assessment Draft 2020:
  • The EIA performs an important function of assessing and regulating the impact of new projects on the environment.
  • India issued the country's first Environmental Impact Assessment Notification in 1994, under the Environment Protection Act 1986. In 2006, it was replaced by a revised draft.

(Source: News on AIR)

3. On 26 July 2020, 6 years of the Government's MyGov initiative completed.

• On 26 July 2020, the Government has completed 6 years of the MyGov initiative.
• On this occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised the people who have enriched the initiative with maximum and active participation.
• Currently, MyGov’s Saathis platform represents 12 million MyGov users and followers.
• MyGov Initiative:
  • This citizen-centric platform was launched on 26 July 2014 with the objective of connecting people with the government, empowering them and promoting good governance in the country.
  • It also allows users to upload documents in various formats.
  • The website is hosted and managed by the National Informatics Center.

(Source: News on AIR)

4. The nation paid tribute to the brave heroes on 26^th July on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas.

• The nation has paid tribute to the brave heroes on 26^th July on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas.
• However, many events related to the annual Kargil Victory Day have already been canceled due to Covid-19, including the most popular captain Sourabh Kalia Cricket Cup.
• This year there was only a wreath laying ceremony at the Drass War Memorial in Kargil.
• Kargil Vijay Diwas:
  • The day is celebrated in 1999 to commemorate the success of Indian Armed Forces in Operation Vijay.
  • On this day, the Indian Army freed the Kargil sector from Pakistani intruders.
  • Lieutenant General YK Joshi, a senior army officer in the northern region, winner of the Vir Chakra award, was a commanding officer in Operation Vijay in 1999.
  • YK Joshi himself made several attacks, forcing the enemy to leave Indian Territory.

(Source: News on AIR)

5. 14^th meeting of the Joint Economic and Trade Committee concluded through video conferencing.

• Recently the 14^th meeting of the Joint Economic and Trade Committee was concluded through video conferencing.
• The meeting was jointly chaired by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Elizabeth Truss, Minister of State for International Trade, England.
• During this meeting-
  • India and England have reaffirmed their shared commitment to a mutual free trade agreement.
  • Also, as a preliminary measure towards free trade agreement, both sides will enter into a limited trade agreement.
  • The two sides also resolved to cooperate in the health sector, particularly in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

(Source: News on AIR)

6. First container train service started from India to Bangladesh.

• Recently the first container train service from India to Bangladesh has started.
• The container train was flagged off from Container Corporation of India Ltd.'s (CONCOR) at Majerhat terminal in Kolkata. Consumer goods such as soap, shampoo and cloth were carried in it.
• The train, carrying fifty containers, reached the Benapole station in Bangladesh on 26 July.
• The movement of container trains has been done on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Container Corporation of India and Bangladesh Container Company Limited in the year 2017.
• After this, in April 2018, the first container train trial was run from Kolkata to Bangabandhusetu West station.
• The container train service between India and Bangladesh will continue regularly.
• Bangladesh:
  • It lies in the east of India, on the Bay of Bengal.
  • Capital: Dhaka
  • Currency: Bangladeshi Taka
  • Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina

(Source: News on AIR)

7. MyLab Discovery Solutions enhances production and development of the Covid-19 Pathodetect Testing Kit.

• Recently, MyLab Discovery Solutions has extended the production and development of the Covid-19 Pathodetect Testing Kit.
• This increase has been made with strategic funding under the National Biopharma Mission of the Department of Biotechnology.
• Mylab currently has a manufacturing capacity of two lakh RT-PCRs and 50,000 RNA tests.
• Mylab has received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization and ICMR to manufacture for NAT, HIV, HBV, HCV and for detecting SARS CoV-2.
• The company has recently launched the compact XL, a molecular laboratory machine.
• This machine will help to establish molecular diagnostic laboratories in rural India as it eliminates the need for huge cost of infrastructure.
• Mylab Discovery Solutions Private Limited:
  • It is an Indian biotechnology company.
  • It produces molecular diagnostic detection kits in the fields of medical diagnostics, drug discovery, biomedical research and agriculture genomics.
  • It was founded in 2016 and is based in Pune.

8. Maldives celebrated its 55^th Independence Day on 26 July.

• Maldives celebrated its 55^th Independence Day on 26 July.
• President Ramnath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have congratulated the President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohammad Solih on the occasion.
• The Government of India has provided 6.2 tonnes of essential medicines and 600 tonnes of essential food items to Maldives under the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Maldives:
  • It is a small island nation in South Asia located in the Arabian Sea.
  • It is located about 700 km from the mainland of the Asian continent, in Sri Lanka and southwest of India.
  • Its capital is Male and the currency is Maldivian rufiya.
  • Current President: Ibrahim Mohamed Solih

(Source: News on AIR)

9. Haryana will host the fourth Khelo India Youth Games.

• Recently, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced through video conferencing that Haryana will host the fourth Khelo India Youth Games.
• The Games will be held in Panchkula, Haryana.
• The Khelo India Youth Games will be held in 2021 after the Tokyo Olympics.
• Khelo India Youth Games are usually held in January every year. This time it had to be postponed due to the pandemic.
• Khelo India Youth Games:
  • There are national level multi-disciplinary grassroots sports in India.
  • They are organized into two categories - under-17 school students and under-21 college students.
  • The first Khelo India Youth Games were held in New Delhi in January 2018.
  • The third Khelo India Youth Games was held on 10-22 January 2020 in Guwahati, Assam.

(Source: News on AIR)

10. New rules and regulations for e-commerce companies were notified.

• Recently the government has notified new rules and regulations for e-commerce companies under the Consumer Protection Act 2019.
• The 'Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020’ is a part of Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
• The new rules will apply to all electronic retailers registered in India or abroad, but will provide goods and services to Indian consumers.
• The new norms aim to protect the rights of the consumer by establishing authorities to settle consumer disputes.
• Accordingly, it has been made mandatory to display the country of origin on its products.
• Failure to follow orders will attract punitive action.

11. TRIFED signed MoU with IIT Delhi for UNNAT BHARAT ABHIYAN.

• Recently The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India has signed an MoU with the IIT, Delhi for the UNNAT BHARAT ABHIYAN.
• More than 2600 institutes will join TRIFED to enable tribals to get a livelihood.
• This MoU will be helpful in making the tribals aware of new processing technology, product innovation, mentorship and transformative digital systems.
• This MoU will provide a pathway to the best minds of the country, through which they will be able to contribute to solve the sustainable problems of tribal livelihoods.
• Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED):
  • It is the national level apex organization under the administrative control of Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
  • It came into existence in 1987.
  • Its head office is located in New Delhi, in addition 13 new regional offices are located in different regions of the country.

(Source: News on AIR)

12. Under the Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana, 100 electric potter wheels were distributed to 100 trained artisans.

• Recently, Home Minister Amit Shah distributed 100 electric potter wheels to 100 trained artisans under the Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana in Balwa village of his parliamentary constituency Gandhinagar.
• This initiative will help strengthen the marginalized potters community and will help revive the traditional art of pottery.
• Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana:
  • It was started in the year 2018.
  • It is a scheme of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission.
  • The objective of this scheme is to make the potter community of the country strong and self-reliant.
• Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC):
  • It is a statutory body formed by the Government of India in April 1957 under the Act of Parliament, Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act 1956.
  • It is headquartered in Mumbai.

(Source: News on AIR)

13. Finance Minister held a review meeting on the Special Window for Affordable and Mid Income Housing (SWAMIH) to promote investment in the real estate sector.

• Recently, the Finance Minister has held a review meeting on Special Window for Affordable and Mid Income Housing (SWAMIH) to boost investment in the real estate sector.
• In this meeting, Rs 8767 crore was sanctioned for 81 projects.
• Through this, it will be possible to complete the construction work of about 60,000 houses across India.
• These projects are in many markets including big cities like NCR, MMR, Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune as well as Tier-2 locations like Karnal, Panipat, Lucknow, Surat, Dehradun, Kota, Nagpur, Jaipur, Nashik, Vizag, Chandigarh etc.
• Ensuring activation at construction sites through special windows will provide employment opportunities to various skilled and semi-skilled workers.