Daily Current Affairs and GK | 29 August 2020

1. Chunauti, the next generation Start-up Challenge Competition launched by IT Ministry.

• Recently Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad has launched Chunauti, the next Generation Startup Challange Competition.
• Under this, startups and software products will be further promoted with a special focus on India's Tier-2 cities.
• The objective of this program is to identify about 300 start-ups working in the identified areas and provide them initial funds and other facilities up to Rs 25 lakh.
• The government has earmarked a budget of Rs 95.03 crore for this program for a period of three years.
• Under this challenge, the MeiTy will invite startups in the following areas of work:
  • Edu-Tech, Agri-Tech and Fin-Tech Solutions for the general public.
  • Supply Chain, Logistics and Transportation Management.
  • Infrastructure and Remote Monitoring.
  • Medical Health Care, Diagnostic, Prevention and Psychiatric Care.
  • Jobs and skills, linguistic tools and technologies.
• Along with this, Union Minister has also laid the foundation stone of Digital Training and Skilling Center of National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NEITI) in Muzaffarpur, Bihar.
• The center will offer various courses like O Level, CCC, BCC, Programming and Multimedia Training.

(Source: News on AIR)

2. 14^th India-Singapore Defense Policy Dialogue concluded through video conferencing.

• Recently the 14^th India-Singapore Defense Policy Dialogue was concluded through video conferencing.
• It was jointly chaired by Dr. Ajay Kumar, Secretary of Defense of India and Mr. Chan Heng, Permanent Defense Secretary of Singapore.
• During the meeting, the two sides discussed a number of issues related to bilateral defense relations between India and Singapore.
• Also, Implementing Arrangement on Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) was signed between India and Singapore on the occasion.
• Singapore:
  • It is a sovereign island nation in Southeast Asia.
  • Its capital city is Singapore and the currency is Singapore Dollar.

(Source: News on AIR)

3. Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe resigned from his post due to health reasons.

• Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has resigned from his post due to health reasons.
• Shinzo Abe, 65, is Japan's longest serving prime minister.
• Mr. Abe has been Prime Minister of Japan for eight consecutive years.
• The Prime Minister has also prayed and wished for the early recovery of Shinzo Abe.
• In recent years, the India-Japan partnership has been strengthened by Mr. Abe's visionary leadership and his personal commitment.
• Japan:
  • It is an island country in East Asia in the Northwest Pacific Ocean.
  • Its capital is Tokyo and the currency is the Japanese Yen.

(Source: News on AIR)

4. College and administration buildings of Rani Laxmi Bai Central Agricultural University inaugurated in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the college and administration buildings of Rani Laxmi Bai (RLB) Central Agricultural University through video conference.
• It is currently operating from the Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi as the main buildings were getting ready.
• The RLB Central Agricultural University is a premier institution in the Bundelkhand region.
• The university started its first academic session in 2014-15.
• Undergraduate and postgraduate courses in agriculture, horticulture and forestry are conducted in this university.

5. India co-sponsored the UN Security Council resolution on Women in Peacekeeping.

• Recently India has co-sponsored a UNSC resolution responsible for the full, effective and meaningful participation of women in peacekeeping operations.
• India is one of the largest military parties in UN peacekeeping operations. India is the fifth largest military contributor to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force.
• The United Nations has a long tradition of being associated with peacekeeping since its founding.
• India created history by deploying the first all-female police unit at the United Nations Mission in Liberia in 2007.
• United Nations Security Council (UNSC):
  • It is one of the six major organs of the United Nations.
  • Its main function is to ensure international peace and security.
  • It was established on 24 October 1945.
  • The headquarters of the United Nations Security Council is located in New York, United States.

(Source: News on AIR)

6. Iraada campaign launched in Jammu and Kashmir.

• Recently in Jammu and Kashmir, District Deputy Commissioner of Doda, Dr. D. Doifode, has started the Iraada campaign.
• The objective of this campaign is to cover the eligible beneficiaries left out of the coverage of various social welfare schemes.
• He has made special appeal to the members of civil society to identify such eligible beneficiaries.
• Especially those left out of old age pension, widow and disabled people scheme, so that financial assistance can be provided to them under various schemes.

7. 29 August: National Sports Day.

• National Sports Day is celebrated every year on 29 August in honor of Hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.
• The Government of India decided in 2012 to celebrate this day as National Sports Day.
• Major Dhyan Chand was born on 29 August 1905 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. He joined the Indian Army in 1922 as a soldier.
• Major Dhyan Chand won three Olympic gold medals. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honor of the country in the year 1956 by the Government of India.
• On this occasion, President Ram Nath Kovind virtually presented National Sports and Adventure Awards at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

8. Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed a resolution to bring the state within the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

• Recently, the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly has passed a resolution to bring the state within the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
• Also, Article 371H has to be amended for the protection of the tribes of the state.
• Sixth Schedule of the Constitution:
  • The Sixth Schedule was passed by the Constituent Assembly in 1949 to provide limited autonomy in the tribal areas of the Northeast.
  • It was based on the reports of the Bardoloi Committee constituted by the Constituent Assembly.
  • Presently, the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram provide protection to the rights of tribal people under sixth schedule.
  • This special provision has been made under Article 244 (2) and Article 275 (1) of the Constitution.

(Source: News on AIR)

9. Bank Board Bureau recommended the appointment of Dinesh Kumar Khara to the post of Chairman of State Bank of India.

• Recently the Bank Board Bureau has recommended the appointment of Dinesh Kumar Khara to the post of Chairman of State Bank of India.
• Khara will replace SBI's current chairman Rajneesh Kumar, whose three-year term ends on October 7, 2020.
• Presently, Mr. Khara is the Managing Director of SBI's Global Banking and Subsidiaries Wing and supervises the business of the bank's non-banking subsidiaries.
• He joined SBI in 1984 as a probationary officer.
• He played a major role in merging SBI with its five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank.
• Bank Board Bureau (BBB):
  • It is an autonomous body of the Government of India.
  • It serves to improve the administration of public sector banks, recommend the selection of heads of state-owned banks and financial institutions, and help banks in developing strategies and capital raising schemes.
  • It was founded in February 2016.

10. Togo, first African country to end sleeping sickness.

• Recently Togo has become the first African country to end sleeping sickness.
• The World Health Organization has declared Togo to be sleeping sickness-free after no new cases of sleeping sickness occurred in Togo in the last 10 years.
• According to the World Health Organization, sleeping sickness is present in 36 sub-Saharan African countries. If it is untreated, it can be fatal.
• Sleeping sickness:
  • It is a disease caused by infection with the parasite Trypanosoma brucei.
  • African trypanosomiasis is transmitted in humans by Tsetse fly bites.
  • Tsetse flies are found only in rural Africa.

(Source: Down to Earth)

11. Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, the youngest writer to win the International Booker Prize.

• Recently 29-year-old Dutch writer Marieke Lucas Rijneveld became the youngest writer to win the 2020 International Booker Prize.
• He has been announced as the winner of the International Booker Prize for The Discomfort of Evening.
• Booker Prize:
  • It is an award every year for the best original novel written in the English language and literary to be published in the United Kingdom.
  • The award was first presented in 1969.

(Source: IANS)

12. India's first international women's trade center will be established in Kerala.

• Soon India's first international women's trade center will be established in Kerala.
• It will be established in Angamaly, Kerala in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• The initiative aims to accelerate women's entrepreneurship and secure gender equality.
• Also providing women a safe place away from home so that they can start new businesses and women are empowered with the necessary skills to ensure success in life.

(Source: Indian Express)