Top Current Affairs 20th July 2021 at Freshers Wisdom

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Top Current Affairs

Jeevtronics develops SanMitra 1000 HCT

• Jeevtronics Pvt Ltd has developed SanMitra 1000 HCT, the hand-cranked dual-powered defibrillator.
• A start-up funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has developed an affordable, low-weight defibrillator that experts believe is more reliable than traditional ones.
• The device works with both AC mains and a hand-cranked generator and does not require any battery change.​

Cisco, NSDC partner for digital upskilling

• Cisco Networking Academy and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) on July 19, 2021, announced a partnership that is aimed at creating career opportunities for millions in the digital economy.
• The partnership will offer access to the Cisco Networking Academy courses through NSDC’s eSkill India platform to provide comprehensive digital skills critical for the digital-first world.​

DAHD sets up Dairy Investment Accelerator

• The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Government of India has set up Dairy Investment Accelerator under its Investment Facilitation Cell.
• This Investment Accelerator is a cross-functional team constituted to serve as the interface with investors.
• It shall provide support across the investment cycle.​

NRRI Cuttack scientists win 2 ICAR awards

• Scientists at the National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), Cuttack, have won two awards from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• A K Nayak, principal scientist, and his team members from National Rice Research Institute have been awarded Nanaji Deshmukh Award For Outstanding Interdisciplinary Team Research in Agricultural and Allied Sciences, 2020.​

First region to cross 50 million corona cases

• Europe became the first region worldwide to cross 50 million coronavirus cases on 19 July 2021.
• Europe remains one of the worst-affected regions worldwide and has reported 27% of global cases and 31% of global deaths.
• It took 194 days for Europe to go from 25 million to 50 million cases while the first 25 million cases were reported in 350 days.​

Partagli Mutt Chief Swamiji passes away

• Srimad Vidhyadhiraj Teerth Sripad Vader Swamiji of Shree Gokarn Partagli Jivottam Mutt, Partagali, passed away on 19 July 2021.
• Partagli Jivottama Math is the first Goud Saraswat Mathas of the Dvaita order, a system established by Madhvacharya in the 13th century AD.
• Swamiji was the 23rd pontiff of the mutt, which was founded in 1475 AD.​

National Logistics Excellence Awards launched

• The government has announced the launch of National Logistics Excellence Awards.
• The awards are in two categories, the first group includes logistics infrastructure/service providers and second one is for various user industries.
• The winners will be announced on 31 October 2021.
• All case studies by finalists in the National Jury round will be showcased in the Logistics Excellence Gallery.

Kerala Police launches Pink Protection project

• The Kerala Police has launched a new initiative called the “Pink Protection” project for the protection of women in public, private and digital spaces.
• For the project, 10 cars, 40 two-wheelers, including Bullet bikes and 20 bicycles, have been allotted.
• The project aims to prevent dowry-related issues, cyber-bullying, and humiliation in public places.
• The project has 10 components.

Blackstone acquires stake in Simplilearn

• Blackstone will acquire a majority stake in the edutech company Simplilearn Solutions for USD 250 million (about Rs 1,860 crore).
• Private equity funds managed by Blackstone have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Simplilearn Solutions.
• Blackstone is investing USD 250 million in the company.
• Simplilearn was founded in 2010.

Zoom to buy Five9 Inc

• Zoom Video Communications Inc has announced a $14.7 bn all-stock deal to buy cloud-based call center operator Five9 Inc in its largest-ever acquisition.
• Five9 will become an operating unit of Zoom and its CEO, Rowan Trollope, will become the President of the company.
• Under the pact, Five9 stockholders will receive 0.5533 shares of Class A common stock of Zoom for each share of Five9.

‘One Block, One Product’ scheme in Haryana

• To encourage and promote small industries in the rural areas, the Haryana government will soon introduce the ‘One Block, One Product’ scheme.
• Under the scheme, the state government plans to connect every block of the state with some industrial vision.
• With this, the small entrepreneurs working in rural areas would be able to compete with large industries.

Two Indian organisations win Equator Prize

• Aadhimalai Pazhangudiyinar Producer Company Limited and Snehakunja Trust are among the 10 awardees of the prestigious Equator Prize by the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP).
• They have been awarded for their work in the field of conservation and biodiversity,
• The winners received a prize of US$10,000 and the opportunity to join special virtual events associated with UN General Assembly.

Bank of Maharashtra signs MoU with NABARD

• Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has signed an MoU with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
• It has been signed to boost ongoing developmental initiatives linked to priority sector lending in Maharashtra.
• The MoU envisages joint initiatives for the benefit of farmers, farmer producer organisations, joint liability groups, self-help groups, rural artisans, weavers, etc.

Shibaji to be awarded Mohun Bagan Ratna

• Former India goalkeeper Shibaji Banerjee will be conferred with Mohun Bagan Ratna posthumously.
• Fijian striker Roy Krishna has also been adjudged as the Best Footballer of 2020-21.
• Abhimanyu Easwaran has been chosen as the Best Cricketer, while Bidisha Kundu, who won the 100m hurdles and high jump events at the National Championship, was named as the Best Athlete.

CM KCR to launch ‘Telangana Dalit Bandhu’

• Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has finalised ‘Telangana Dalit Bandhu’ as the name of the Dalit empowerment programme.
• It will be implemented soon by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government.
• The Huzurabad Assembly Constituency was chosen for piloting the Telangana Dalit Bandhu project.

Quad group to be formed by four nations

• The United States, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan, have agreed in principle to establish a new quadrilateral diplomatic platform focused on enhancing regional connectivity.
• The parties intend to cooperate to expand trade, build transit links, and strengthen business-to-business ties.
• They have agreed to meet in the coming months to determine the modalities of this cooperation.

CESL, WRI India sign pact

• Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL) and the World Resources Institute India have entered into a pact.
• They will work on strategizing for India’s transition towards a net-zero emission trajectory.
• Under the partnership, WRI India will support CESL in building adaptative business models to help state governments realise their targets, including decentralising renewable energy.

First human death caused by ‘Monkey B Virus’

• China has reported the first human infection and death from a new virus called Monkey B Virus.
• The first person to be infected was a veterinary surgeon and caught the virus after dissecting two dead monkeys in March 2021.
• A month later, he started experiencing virus-like symptoms including nausea and vomiting.
• Another month later, the man began experiencing neurological symptoms and fever.

International Chess Day: 20 July

• International Chess Day is observed on July 20 every year.
• Chess is a strategic game played between two using a 64 square checkered board and the person who captures the king of the other is considered to be the winner.
• The International Chess Federation (FIDE) was founded on this day in 1924.
• On 12 December 2019, the General Assembly proclaimed 20 July as International Chess Day.

Indian Navy ship exercises with French Navy

• Indian warship INS Tabar was part of a two-day exercise with French frigate FNS Aquitaine and four Rafale fighter aircraft of the French Navy in the Bay of Biscay on 15-16 July 2021.
• A wide range of operations including anti-submarine and air defense drills, replenishment at sea, and firing were exercised by the ships.
• The exercise was mutually beneficial in enhancing interoperability.

HCL Tech appoints Vanitha Narayanan as Direc.

• HCL Technologies Ltd has appointed Vanitha Narayanan as an Additional Director to its board, effective 19 July 2021.
• Narayanan will hold office as an Independent Director.
• With the addition of Narayanan, the board of the company will consist of four women directors, one of the highest in the industry.
• In 2020, Narayanan retired after a career spanning three decades at IBM

Kotak Mahindra Bank signs MoU with Indian Navy

• Kotak Mahindra Bank signed an MoU with the Indian Navy for salary accounts.
• The MoU enables the bank to offer its salary account proposition to all personnel of the Indian Navy—both serving and retired.
• All personnel of the Indian Navy will get access to the full range of Kotak’s products and services, including a zero-balance salary account that earns up to 4% interest per annum.

Arogya Rakshak health insurance plan launched

• Life Insurance Corporation of India or LIC has introduced a benefit-based health insurance policy, Arogya Rakshak.
• The policy is a non-linked, non-participating, regular premium, individual health insurance.
• The policy provides fixed benefit health insurance cover against certain specified health risks and provides timely support in the case of medical emergencies.

CSC partners with Amity University

• The Common Services Centers (CSC) and Amity University Online are joining hands to provide graduate and post-graduate courses to nearly 15 lakh students in India’s rural areas. 
• In the first phase, Amity’s courses including BA, BCom, BCA, BBA, and MCA will be made available to students through over 5,000 CSC Academy centers.
• Some of the courses will also be made available in Hindi. 

Grayscale Investments launches DeFi fund

• US-based Grayscale Investments LLC has launched an institutional decentralized finance, or DeFi fund.
• DeFi refers to the decentralized financial services built on top of distributed blockchain networks with no central intermediaries such as banks, custodians, and exchanges.
• Examples of DeFi protocols include decentralized exchanges, decentralized borrowing, etc.

Space Exploration Day: 20 July

• Space Exploration Day is observed on July 20 every year.
• NASA’s Apollo program, Apollo 11 was the fifth manned mission launched from Florida on June 16 and returned to earth on 24th July 1969. 
• It was on July 20 when they marked the day by stepping on the moon. 
• In 1984, this day was officially announced as a holiday by the United States President Ronald Reagan.

Book on RSS translated in Chinese

• BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal’s book on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has now been translated into Chinese language.
• ‘RSS: Building India Through SEWA’, which talks of RSS’s history, ideology and policies, and their subsequent impact on the nation, was brought out by Har-Anand Publications in 2019.
• The Chinese translation has been done by Jack Bo.

Anarock to launch AI-led proptech tool

• Property advisory Anarock plans to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) driven proptech solution, Astra to boost primary housing sales by up to 15%.
• The service will roll out for active commercial adoption by September 2021.
• Astra is built on consumer behaviour data from 2.8 million of Anarock’s own leads and uses 74 different models.

104 startups on Startup India Platform

• A total of 104 startups from different sectors have currently onboarded on the Startup India Showcase Platform.
• Startup India Showcase is an online discovery platform for the most promising startups of the country.
• These innovations span across various cutting-edge sectors such as fintech, enterprise tech, social impact, health tech, edtech, among others.

Meghalaya Youth Policy 2021 approved

• Meghalaya Cabinet has approved the Meghalaya Youth Policy 2021 to channelize 31 percent of the entire population of the State who falls under the youth category.
• The policy aims to address major issues and concerns of the youth based on nine identified key thrust areas.
• The policy has planned implementation of 45 programmes, that would be measured by 54 performance monitoring indicators. 

Dr Kambhampati Hari Babu: Governor of Mizoram

• Dr Kambhampati Hari Babu has been sworn in as the new Governor of Mizoram.
• The Gauhati High Court Judge, Justice Michael Zothankhuma administered the oath of office to the new Governor at the Darbur Hall of Raj Bhavan in Aizawl.
• Dr. Kambhampati Hari Babu is the 22nd Governor of Mizoram.
• He succeeds P.S Sreedharan Pillai who was appointed as the Governor of Goa.

The Karakoram to Kargil homage rally flagged off

• Fire and Fury Corps General Officer Commanding Lieutenant General PGK Menon flagged off the Karakoram to Kargil homage rally from Leh in July 2021.
• To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1971 war victory and the 22nd anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas, the Fire and Fury Corps is organising several events.
• The bike rally will cover 1000 km from Leh to Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) to Drass.

Russia to conduct military drills in August

• Russia will conduct military drills in August 2021 with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan near the border with Afghanistan.
• The joint drills will take place August 5-10, 2021 at the Kharbmaidon training ground in Tajikistan near the Afghan border.
• The troops will run drills to defeat illegal armed units that invaded the territory of an allied country. 

15th FC recommends a grant of Rs 6,143 crore

• The 15th Finance Commission has recommended a grant of Rs 6,143 cr for online learning and the development of professional courses in regional languages for higher education in India.
• Out of this, Rs 250 cr has been allocated for Andhra Pradesh.
• The govt is promoting online education through Massive Open Online Courses, direct to home-DTH content development, and digital classrooms.

Mukhtar Abbas: Dy Leader of House in RS

• Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has been appointed as the Deputy Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha.
• Naqvi will be succeeding Union minister of commerce Piyush Goyal, who has now taken over as the leader of House in the Rajya Sabha.
• Naqvi was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2016.
• In 2014, he was made the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs.

India: 5th largest forex reserves holder

• India has emerged as the fifth-largest foreign exchange reserves holder in the world after China, Japan, Switzerland, and Russia.
• The country’s forex reserves stood at around $609 billion on 25 June 2021.
• The country’s foreign exchange reserves position is comfortable in terms of import cover of more than 18 months and provides cushion against unforeseen external shocks.

Prasar Bharati, IIT-K to collaborate

• Prasar Bharati and IIT Kanpur will collaborate on NextGen Broadcasting Technology Center of Excellence.
• As a follow-up to the MoU, signed between both, a Center of Excellence for Media and Broadcasting Technologies will be established at IIT Kanpur.
• Three areas have been identified to be taken up under the aegis of the Center of Excellence including AI and advanced algorithms. 

Shiv Nadar: HCL’s new Chairman Emeritus

• HCL Technologies has approved the appointment of Shiv Nadar as the ‘Chairman Emeritus and Strategic Advisor to the Board’ for a term of five years with effect from July 20, 2021.
• Shiv Nadar has tendered his resignation as the MD as well as the Director of HCL.
• The company has appointed C Vijayakumar – President and CEO of the company – as the Managing Director.​

‘Delicious Soya Cook Book’ book launched

• Saffola Mealmaker has launched an e-cookbook: ‘Saffola Mealmaker Delicious Soya Cook Book’ featuring some of the most interesting ways to use the versatile, healthy and tasty ingredient soya.
• The book has been curated by Celebrity Chef Kunal Kapur.
• The book takes a person through a wholesome culinary experience of its own by offering more than 50 never-tried-before soya recipes.

‘One Nation One Ration Card’ in Delhi

• The Delhi Cabinet on July 20, 2021, decided to implement the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ (ONORC) scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
• Under the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ scheme, persons holding a ration card under the National Food Security Act can collect their monthly quota of food grain from any FPS across the country.

MAKS-2021 air show in Moscow

• Indian Air Force (IAF) Sarang helicopter display team performed at the MAKS-2021 air show in Moscow on 19 July 2021.
• The IAF aerobatic team Sarang (Peacock) will participate in the MAKS-2021 International Air Show, which will be held from July 20 to 25 in Russia.
• The previous edition of the bi-annual international event was held in 2019.​