TNPSC 1st AUGUST 2020 CURRENT AFFAIRS TNPSC SHOUTERS ENGLISH PDF

Prime Minister pays tribute to Lokmanya Paul Gangadhar Tilak on his 100th death anniversary

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Lokmanya Paul Gangadhar Tilak on the occasion of his 100th death anniversary.
• "India bows to Lokmanya Tilak on his 100th death anniversary. His thoughts, courage, sense of justice and ideas of autonomy also inspire us, ”the Prime Minister said on Twitter.

India's corona mortality rate (CFR) is the lowest since the first curfew at 2.15%:

• The total number of healed is about 11 lakh.
• More than 36,500 have recovered in the last 24 hours
• India continues to maintain the record for the lowest Govt-19 mortality rate in the world. The corona death rate today is 2.15 percent, the lowest since the first curfew began. It has been steadily declining to 3.33 percent since mid-June.
• As of today, there are 1488 dedicated COVID hospitals with 2,49,358 solitary beds, 31,639 ICU beds and 1,09,119 oxygen support beds, 16,678 ventilators. There are also 2,07,239 isolated beds, 18,613 ICU beds and 74,130 oxygen support beds and 3231 dedicated COVID health centers with 6,668 ventilators. In addition, 10,755 COVID maintenance centers with 10,02,681 beds are now ready to fight Govt-19 in the country. In addition, the central government has provided 273.85 lakh N95 helmets and 121.5 lakh personal protective equipment (PPE) and 1083.77 lakh hydroxy chloroquine tablets to states / union territories / federal health institutions.

Fifth phase of Vande Bharat Mission starts from August 1

• The fifth phase of Vande Bharat Mission will start from August 1, 2020. Under this, a total of 792 flights, including 100 domestic flights and 692 international flights have been scheduled.
• The fifth phase of Vande Bharat Mission will repatriate Indians from 23 countries. As per the External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson, Anurag Srivastava, the International flights will cater to 21 different airports in India and will bring back 1 lakh 30 thousand Indians from abroad.
• The Vande Bharat Mission started by the central government was to bring back stranded Indians from other countries amid the lockdown and pandemic.

Key Highlights:

1. The fifth phase will include bringing back Indians from 23 countries, including, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries, Canada, UK, Germany, France, New Zealand, Australia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Thailand, Myanmar, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Israel.
2. Immigrants have been brought back to India from many countries including Singapore, the United Kingdom, Philippines, Bangladesh, the USA, and Malaysia.
3. As many as 54180 passengers have been brought back to India’s financial capital Mumbai from different countries as part of the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’.

Prakash Javadekar represented India at the 6th BRICS Environment Ministers Meeting

• Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar participated in 6th Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) Environment Ministers’ Meeting. Environment Ministers of the five BRICS countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa participated in the 6th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting on 31st July 2020 through a video conference under the presidency of Russia.
• Prakash Javadekar highlighted that the aspiration of BRICS countries is similar.
• India proposed for the sharing of best practices among the BRICS nation towards the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals.
• He stressed the need to implement the various initiatives under the BRICS and for the speedy implementation of the BRICS MoU.
• India extended an invitation to the BRICS nations to participate in the BRICS environment meetings.
• The meeting witnessed the adoption of BRICS Environment Ministers’ Statement.
• India is expected to assume the BRICS Presidency in 2021.

August 1 to be as “Muslim Women Rights Day”: Minority Affairs Minister

• Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on July 31, 2020 said that August 1 will be celebrated as “Muslim Women Rights Day” as it was the day from which the social evil of Triple Talaq was made a criminal offence.

Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019:

• With the passage of Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, the declaration of triple talaq will be punishable and police can arrest an accused without a warrant.
• The Bill provides a jail term to a Muslim man for the crime that prohibits divorce by pronouncing talaq thrice in one go.
• The Bill also states that if a woman misuses the law, the man should have the right to appeal.
• The aim is to prohibit the practice of instant divorce by Muslim men.

Punjab: 21 die after drinking spurious liquor in three districts

• 21 people died after consuming spurious liquor in three districts of Punjab — Amritsar, Batala and Tarn Taran — since July 29, 2020.

Bureaucrat Hardik Shah appointed PM’s new Private Secretary

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has picked a Gujarat cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Hardik Shah to be his new Private Secretary (PS) in place of Rajiv Topno, who has earlier been appointed as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of the World Bank in Washington DC.

Gadkari opens refurbished upstream carriageway of Mahatma Gandhi Setu in Bihar

• Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the refurbished upstream carriageway of Mahatma Gandhi bridge over river Ganga through video conference in Bihar on July 31, 2020.

Tribal Affairs Ministry wins SKOCH Gold Award for IT-enabled scholarship schemes

• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs on July 30, 2020 received SKOCH Gold Award for its “Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled Scholarship Schemes” project of Scholarship Division of the Ministry. During 2019-20, under 5 Scholarship schemes, about Rs. 2500 Cr were directly transferred to student’s Bank accounts through DBT to approximately 30 lakh students in 31 States and UTs.

15th Finance Commission’s High-Level Group on Agricultural Exports submits report

• The High-Level Group (HLEG) on Agricultural Exports set up by the Fifteenth Finance Commission to recommend measurable performance incentives for States to encourage agricultural exports and to promote crops to enable high import substitution, submitted its report to the Commission on July 31, 2020. The report has called for creation of a state led export plan in which the private sector should play an anchor role.

13.92% increase in sowing area coverage of kharif crops till July 31

• As on July 31, 2020, Kharif crops have been sown on 882.18 lakh ha area against 774.38 lakh ha area during the corresponding period of 2019, thus, increase in area coverage by 13.92%. The increase was seen in Rice, Pulses, Coarse Cereals, Oilseeds, Sugarcane, Cotton. All Kharif crops except Jute & Mesta saw an increase.

Fiscal deficit at 83.2% of budget estimates in Q1

• The country’s fiscal deficit during the first quarter of this fiscal widened to Rs 6.62 trillion or 83.2% of the budget estimates. Fiscal deficit during the corresponding period of April-June 2019-20 was 61.4% of the budget estimates. The fiscal deficit for 2020-21 was pegged at Rs 7.96 trillion or 3.5% of the GDP in the Budget.

Retail inflation for industrial workers marginally eases to 5.06% in June

• Retail inflation for industrial workers, measured in terms of CPI-IW (Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers), eased to 5.06% in June 2020 from 8.59% in the same month of 2019, mainly due to lower prices of certain food items and kerosene oil. It was recorded at 5.10% in May 2020.

Eight core industries output down fourth month in a row, shrinks 15% in June

• Contracting for the fourth consecutive month, the output of eight core infrastructure industries shrank by 15% in June. The eight are: coal, crude oil, natural gas, steel, cement. Electricity, fertilsers and refinery products. The eight core sectors had expanded by 1.2% in June 2019.

Reliance Power to build and operate 718 MW power plant in Bangladesh

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on July 31, 2020 signed a $200 million financing deal with the Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power Limited (RBLPL) to build and operate 718 megawatt combined-cycle gas-fired power plant in Bangladesh.

Import of colour TV sets moved from ‘Free’ to ‘Restricted’ category: DGFT

• The government has announced restrictions on import of colour television sets, a move that is likely to push local manufacturing of television while also reducing imports from other countries, including China and Vietnam. “Import policy of colour television sets is amended from ‘Free’ to ‘Restricted’,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification issued on July 30, 2020.

Flipkart’s Samarth programme helps artisans sell their products online

• Walmart-owned Flipkart on July 31, 2020 said it supports over six lakh artisans, weavers and craftsmen across the country through its Samarth programme under which it has partnered with NGOs to help artisans use the online marketplace to sell their products.

Australia to make Google and Facebook pay for news content

• The Australian government said on July 31, 2020 it plans to give Google and Facebook three months to negotiate with Australian media businesses fair pay for news content. In case of no agreement, arbitrators would be appointed to make a binding decision.

China celebrates completion of its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System

• China is celebrating the completion of its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System that could rival the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS). President Xi Jinping officially commissioned the system in Beijing on July 31, 2020. The 55th and final geostationary satellite in the constellation launched June 23.

Taiwan: 1st democratically elected President Lee Teng-hui dies

• Lee Teng-hui, Taiwan’s first democratically elected President of Taiwan (1996-2000) died at the age of 97 at Taipei on July 30, 2020. The government of Taiwan, formally the Republic of China, was established in 1949 by Chiang Kai-shek, after his Nationalist forces lost control of the mainland to Mao Zedong’s Communists and fled to the island.

Current Affairs: August 1, 2020-BULLETS

• Government notification on E-invoicing
• Apple becomes world’s most valuable company
• One in every Three Child are Poisoned by Lead: UNICEF Report
• India Imposes Import Restrictions on Color TV Sets
• Walmart-owned Flipkart’s Samarth Programme supports 6 Lakh artisans across India to sell their products online
• Reliance Power in Collaboration with JERA set to Build Power Plant in Bangladesh
• India celebrates 1st August as Muslim Women’s Rights Day