Current Affairs and Corporate Affairs as on 21st July 2020
CURRENT AFFAIRS AS ON 21st JULY 2020
COVID-19 NEWS
(1.) Number of people who recovered from Corona-virus crosses seven lakh mark in the country :- Government today said a total of 7,24,578 people infected with Covid-19 have recovered in the country so far and the recovery rate is 62.72 per cent in India. And the case fatality rate continues to decline in the country and has come down to 2.43 per cent. The Health and Family Welfare Ministry said, in a significant development a record number of 24,491 people have recovered in the past 24 hours. Presently, the total number of active corona cases in the country is 4,002,529. The Health Ministry said, a total of 37,148 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the country in the last 24 hours taking the total number of cases to 11,55,191. In a single day, 587 deaths have been reported.
NATIONAL NEWS
(1.) HRD Minister launches Manodarpan initiative to provide psycho-social support to students :- Human Resource and Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishak today virtually launched the Manodarpan initiative under Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan. This initiative will provide psycho-social support to students, teachers and parents and address their issues related to mental health and emotional well being. He said, a helpline number 8448440632 has been launched to provide the consultation which can be accessed from 8 AM to 8 PM.
(2.) RK Singh inaugurates India’s first public Electric Vehicle charging plaza in New Delhi :- Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy, RK Singh inaugurated India’s first public EV (Electric Vehicle) charging plaza at Chelmsford Club in New Delhi yesterday. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Singh said, the EV charging plaza is a new avenue for making e-mobility ubiquitous and convenient in India. He said such innovative initiatives are imperative for the creation of a robust e-mobility ecosystem in the country. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) is spearheading the EV ecosystem development in India by undertaking demand aggregation for procuring EVs and identifying innovative business models for implementation of Public Charging Station. EESL in collaboration with NDMC has established the public EV Charging Plaza in Central Delhi. It is the first of its kind in India. The plaza will host 5 Electric Vehicle Chargers of different specifications.
(3.) Govt separates operation routes for merchant, fishing vessels in south-west Indian waters :- Ministry of Shipping has separated the operation routes for merchant vessels and fishing vessels in South West Indian waters. Ministry has taken the step keeping in view safety and efficiency of navigation. The new routes will come into force from first of August. Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said that the decision reflects center’s commitment for ensuring ease of navigation in Indian waters. He said, it will also reduce instances of collision and will provide ease in flow of traffic along with enhancing protection of marine environment.
(4.) BJP appoints new chief whips Shiv Pratap Shukla, Rakesh Singh in Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha :- Former Union Minister Shiv Pratap Shukla and BJP MP Rakesh Singh have been appointed the party’s chief whips in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha respectively. Party sources say, Mr. Shukla, the Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh will replace Narayan Panchariya who recently retired from the upper house. Mr. Singh will replace Sanjay Jaiswal, party’s Bihar chief.
(5.) Hindustan Insecticides Limited supplied 20.60 Metric tonne of DDT 75% WP to South Africa for their Malaria control program :- HIL (India) Limited, a Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has supplied 20.60 Metric tonne of DDT 75 per cent WP to South Africa for their Malaria control program yesterday. The Department of Health, South Africa will be utilizing DDT in three provinces adjoining Mozambique. The region is highly affected with Malaria and it has reported maximum morbidity due to the disease in recent years. Malaria continues to be one of the major public health hazards globally.
STATE NEWS
(1.) Rajasthan High Court reserves its decision on petition of 19 rebel MLAs of Congress :- The Rajasthan High Court has reserved its decision on the petition of 19 rebel MLAs of Congress till July 24. The Court also requested the Speaker of Rajasthan assembly to postpone any proceedings on rebel MLAs till July 24, which was accepted by the Speaker. The court also heard three other independent parties in the case after the debate on both sides concluded at 12 noon on Tuesday. The division bench of Chief Justice Inderjit Mohanty and Justice Prakash Gupta said that the decision on this petition will be pronounced on July 24.
(2.) A Sero-Prevalence study conducted in Delhi shows 23.48% people are affected by corona-virus :- The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare commissioned a Sero-Surveillance study in Delhi. This study has been done by the National Center for Disease Control in collaboration with the Delhi Government. A Sero-Prevalence study conducted in Delhi to understand the proportion of population exposed to corona infection shows that 23.48 per cent of the people are affected due to corona-virus. The results of the study show that on an average the prevalence of ImmunoglobulinG antibodies is 23.48 percent in Delhi. The study also indicates that a large number of infected persons remain asymptomatic.
This Study was conducted from 27th June to 10th July in all the 11 districts of Delhi. 21,387 blood samples were collected from selected individuals and were tested for ImmunoglobulinG antibodies using the ELISA testing kits. It is one of the largest Sero-Prevalence studies conducted in the country using the ELISA testing. The tests have been done to identify the presence of antibodies in the general population. It provided information about past Covid-19 infection in individuals who tested positive. The Ministry said, a significant proportion of the population is still vulnerable and the containment and preventive measures need to continue with the same intensity.
(3.) Social media code of conduct issued for Gujarat police personnel :- In Gujarat, the Director-General of Police, DGP Shivanand Jha issued the first-ever code of conduct for use of social media by police personnel. As per the code, Police personnel and officers in Gujarat have been directed not to express their political views or be part of any anti-government drive on the internet. This has come in the backdrop of an online campaign regarding the demand for pay hike for police personnel which evoked a huge response on social media. Mr. Jha has ordered an inquiry into the alleged campaign and said such messages are deliberately being spread to instigate the police personnel.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
(1.) India, Maldives sign agreement for establishment of ‘Emergency Medical Services’ in Capital Male :- India and Maldives have signed an agreement for establishment of ‘Emergency Medical Services’ in capital Male. It is one of the several small and medium projects that are being financed by India under a grant assistance of around 20 million US dollars for the neighbouring country.
(2.) Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine early trial shows positive result :- The early-stage human trial data of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University reveals that it is safe and induces immune response, with mild side effects in some participants. The preliminary results of the phase 1st/ 2nd trial, published in The Lancet journal, involving 1,107 people show that the injection led to them making antibodies and T-cells that can fight corona-virus. The study showed 90 percent of involved people developed neutralizing antibodies after one dose. Only ten people were given two doses and all of them produced neutralizing antibodies.
BUSINESS AND FINANCE
(1.) BIKEBOT SCAM : ED attaches assets worth Rs 103.73 crores : Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached movable and immovable assets to the tune of Rs. 103.73 crore of M/s Garvit Innovative Promoters Limited, its promoter Sanjay Bhati and others in BIKEBOT SCAM under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Attached assets include 26 immovable properties totaling to Rs. 101.45 crore situated in Gautambudh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahar, Kanpur and Indore along with bank balances in 22 bank accounts totaling to Rs. 2.28 crore.
(2.) CBDT, CBIC sign MoU for data exchange :- A MoU was signed between Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) for data exchange between the two organization. The MoU was signed by CBDT Chairman Pramod Chandra Mody and CBIC Chairman M. Ajit Kumar, in the presence of senior officers from both the organizations.
OBITUARY
(1.) President, Vice President and Prime Minister condole demise of Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon :- Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon passed away. His son Ashutosh Tandon informed about his father’s demise on twitter. Mr Lalji Tandon was admitted to a hospital in Lucknow last month. A veteran BJP leader, Lalji Tandon was a former MP from Lucknow and former Cabinet Minister in the state government.
CORPORATE AFFAIRS AS ON 21st JULY 2020
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
(1.) 2 Mega Watt Solar Power Plant Inaugurated at Naval Station Karanja, Uran :- Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, e-inaugurated the first Two Mega Watt Capacity Solar Power Plant of the Western Naval Command on 20th July 2020. The Plant has been installed at Naval Station Karanja and is one of the largest solar plants in the region. The Solar Plant comprises of 100% indigenously developed solar panels, tracking tables and inverters. The plant is grid interconnected utilizing the state of art single axis sun tracking technology with computerized monitoring & control. The project is a significant step by the Indian Navy towards harnessing Solar energy and use of renewable source of energy for meeting the power supply requirement of Naval Station.
MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI
(1.) Jal Jeevan Mission: States compete among themselves to outperform others :- Launched in August 2019, in 7 months of implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019-20, around 85 lakh rural households were provided with tap connections. Further, amidst CoVID-19 pandemic, since Unlock-1, about 55 lakh tap connections have been provided so far in the year 2020-21. Thus, daily about 1 lakh households are being provided with tap connections.
As of today, 7 States viz. Bihar, Telangana, Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram have achieved more than 10% of the target household tap connections they had fixed for themselves. States like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha and Manipur have shown good progress during the corresponding period. This shows the commitment of the States to provide the basic services to the people residing in rural areas as envisaged under the flagship program, Jal Jeevan Mission, as well as the speed and scale with which the States are making efforts to provide tap connections.
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(1.) Pre-application conference on Private Train Project held on 21st July :- 16 prospective Applicants participated in this conference. Trains to run on Public Private Partnership. This initiative will bring new technologies, boost revenues and increase job opportunities. These 151 trains will be in addition to the trains which have already been running. The issues and concerns raised by the prospective applicants were discussed and clarifications were provided by the officials of Ministry of Railways and NITI Aayog for improved clarity on the provisions of RFQ and bidding framework.
Thanks for Reading Current Affairs and Corporate Affairs as on 21st July 2020
Compiled By : CS Surbhi Saxena
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