Daily Current Affairs and GK | 3 June 2020

1. Central government announced the development of a new greenfield expressway to Amritsar

• The central government has announced the development of a new greenfield corridor as a part of Delhi Amritsar Expressway.
• It will be built to connect the city of Nakodar to Amritsar.
• This expressway will pass through Sultanpur Lodhi, Goindwal Sahib and Khadoor Sahib.
• With this, the road from Amritsar to Gurdaspur will also be completely signal free.
• This will provide an option to go to Gurdaspur via Nakodar through either Amritsar or Kartarpur.
• The recently developed Derababa Nanak and Kartarpur Sahib International Highway will also be connected to it.
• After completion of this project, it will take only 4 hours to reach Delhi Airport from Amritsar.

(Source: News on AIR)

2. Gaitri I. Kumar appointed as the new High Commissioner of India to Britain

• Recently Gaitri I. Kumar has been appointed as the new High Commissioner of India to the UK.
• Currently, Ms. Gaitri is the India's Ambassador to the European Union, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Belgium.
• She is a 1986 batch Indian Foreign Service officer.
• She replaces Ruchi Ghanshyam who retired.

(Source: Orissapost)

3. BJP leader KN Lakshmanan passed away

• Recently BJP leader KN Lakshmanan died due to old age in Salem.
• He twice served as the president of the Tamil Nadu BJP.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the death of KN Lakshmanan.
• KN Lakshmanan played an important role in the anti-Emergency movement.
• Also, he will always be remembered for his participation in socio-cultural activities.

4. COVID-19 Testing Laboratory set up at NEIST Jorhat campus

• Recently a COVID-19 testing laboratory has been established in the campus at North East Institute of Science and Technology Jorhat, Assam.
• Assam Health Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sharma has inaugurated the laboratory.
• NEIST is the first research and development institute in Assam to open the COVID-19 test facility.
• A team of 10 scientists from the institute is actively engaged in isolating RNA from viruses.

(Source: News on AIR)

5. France has assured timely delivery of Rafale aircraft to India

• Recently, the French Armed Forces Minister, Ms. Florence Parley has assured timely delivery of Rafale aircraft to India despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• It has also been agreed to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation between India and France.
• India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh welcomed the French Chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium from 2020 to 2022.
• Additionally, the two Ministers have agreed to work together to fulfill the India-France Joint Strategic Vision of 2018 on the Indian Ocean Region.
• Rafale:
  • It is a twin-jet fighter aircraft.
  • It can be operated from both the aircraft carrier and the sea shore.
  • The versatile Rafale is capable of carrying out all combat aviation missions.

(Source: News on AIR)

6. Adesh Kumar Gupta appointed as the new head of the Delhi unit of the BJP

• Recently, BJP President JP Nadda appointed former North Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Adesh Kumar Gupta as the new head of the Delhi unit.
• He will replace Manoj Tiwari. Mr. Tiwari was appointed as BJP Delhi unit chief in 2016.
• Also, Mr. Nadda named former Union Minister Vishnu Dev Sai as Chhattisgarh State President and S. Tikendra Singh as Manipur State Head.

(Source: News on AIR)

7. Three new plans were announced for the development of the electronics manufacturing sector

• Recently Union Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has announced three new plans for the development of electronic and mobile manufacturing units.
• These three schemes are Production Linked Incentive Scheme, Component Manufacturing Scheme and Cluster Scheme.
• These new schemes are expected to generate substantial investment, production of mobile phones and their parts to 10 lakh crore by 2025.
• About 5 lakh direct and 15 lakh indirect employment opportunities will also be generated.
• India's global share of electronics grew by 1.3 % in 2012 to 3% in 2018.
• The country has become the second largest manufacturer of mobile phones in the world.
• India is now set to emerge as the world's largest electronics and mobile manufacturing country.

(Source: News on AIR)

8. DIAT institute in Pune developed an artificial intelligence enabled COVID-19 detection tool

• Recently researchers from the Defense Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Pune, have developed an artificial intelligence capable COVID-19 detection tool.
• It uses a chest X-ray of patients to identify the infection.
• Any abnormality due to COVID-19 or other types of respiratory disorders can be immediately confirmed by uploading X-rays of suspected patients' chests on this AI device.
• It will prove to be a useful tool for radiologists and can also be used in telemedicine.

9. Target of 100 % domestic tap connection in Arunachal Pradesh under National Jal Jeevan Mission

• Recently, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has set a target of achieving 100 % domestic tap connections in Arunachal Pradesh under the National Jal Jeevan Mission.
• For this, the Annual Action Plan of Arunachal Pradesh has been approved.
• The state has proposed to provide 100 percent tap connection to all houses by March 2023.
• Jal Jeevan Mission:
  • This mission was announced in August 2019.
  • The main objective of the mission is to provide piped water supply to all rural households by 2024.
  • The Ministry of Jal Shakti is the nodal agency for this mission.

(Source: News on AIR)

10. Moody's downgraded the ratings of major Indian corporates

• Recently Moody's downgraded the ratings of major Indian corporates to negative.
• Moody's Investors Services has downgraded the ratings of leading Indian companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Oil India Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited.
• Apart from this, Moody's Investors Service has also downgraded seven major Indian infrastructure companies, including National Thermal Power Limited, NHPC Limited, National Highways Authority of India, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, GAIL India, Limited, Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission etc.
• Before this, Moody’s downgraded India’s sovereign rating to Baa3 negative from Baa2.
• Moody's Corporation:
  • It is often referred to as Moody's, an American business and financial services company.
  • It is headquartered in New York, United States.

11. World Bicycle Day: 3 June

• World Bicycle Day is observed every year on 3 June.
• World Bicycle Day was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in April 2018.
• The idea behind this is to recognize the health benefits from cycling.
• Also, the bicycle is a cheap, reliable, simple, clean and environmentally sustainable means of transport.