DAILY GK 8 AUG 2020
1. INDIA’S FIRST ‘KISAN RAIL’ FLAGGED OFF
·
Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways and Narendra
Singh Tomar flagged off the India’s 1st Kisan Rail, a Special
Parcel Train from Maharashtra’s Devlali to Bihar’s Danapur Railway station
through video link.
·
This is the 1st ever multi
commodity train of Indian Railways(IR) that carries fruits like
Pomegranate, Banana, Grapes etc and vegetables like Capsicum, Cauliflower etc.
·
The train will run on a weekly
basis.
·
The launch of Kisan Rail is a step
towards achieving the target of doubling the income of farmers by 2022.
·
The train is in pursuance of announcement
made by Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman in Union Budget 2020-21
2. PM MODI ADDRESSES CONCLAVE ON REFORMS
IN HIGHER EDUCATION
·
PM Narendra
Modi delivered the inaugural address at the Conclave on Transformational
Reforms in Higher Education under National Education Policy(NEP) organised by the Ministry of Education
in association with University Grants Commission(UGC) over
a virtual platform and discussed various aspects of NEP 2020, which replaces
the National Policy on Education framed in 1986 with academicians and
scientists.
·
K Kasturirangan, an Indian space
scientist, stated that to enable scientific steps to integrate technology in the education system, the
National Research Foundation (NRF) will
work closely with the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF).
·
The new
policy focuses and encourages the “How
to think” approach to education than the current “What to
think” teaching.
3. UNESCO RECOGNISES TWO COASTAL VILLAGES
OF ODISHA AS TSUNAMI READY
·
Pradeep Kumar Jena, Additional Chief
Secretary announced that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recognises the two coastal
villages of Odisha as “Tsunami Ready” for
their overall preparedness to face the tsunami.
·
Odisha became the first state in
India and India became the first country in the Indian Ocean
Region to achieve this status of “Tsunami ready” from the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.
·
The two villages are,
·
Venkatraipur (Boxipalli)
village of Rangeilunda block in Ganjam district
·
Noliasahi village of Ersama block in
Jagatsinghpur district.
4. SRI LANKAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
·
Parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka were
held on 5 August 2020 to elect 225 members to Sri Lanka’s 16th Parliament.Sri
Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) headed by Prime Minister Mahinda
Rajapaksa has won 145 (plus five more seats from allies) in the
elections, securing two-thirds majority in the parliament
5. EXIM BANK EXTENDS USD 250 MILLION LINE
OF CREDIT TO MOZAMBIQUE
·
Export-Import Bank on behalf of Indian
Government, extended a Line of Credit of USD 250 million (about Rs. 1,870
Crores) to Mozambique to improve the power supply quality of the country.
·
The Agreement was signed through exchange
between Saroj Khuntia, General Manager of EXIM Bank and Adriano
Isaias Ubisse, National Directorate of Treasury, Ministry of Economy and
Finance, Mozambique.
6. ADB SIGNED USD 200 MN FINANCING
DEAL WITH RELIANCE BANGLADESH LNG
·
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has
signed a USD 200 million financing deal with the Reliance
Bangladesh LNG and Power Limited (RBLPL) to build and operate a 718
megawatt combined-cycle gas-fired power plant in Bangladesh.
·
The project will reduce the current
energy deficit and lead to more private sector investment in the country’s
electricity sector.
7. GC MURMU APPOINTED AS 14TH CAG
·
Ram Nath Kovind, President of India as
per the powers conferred on him by Section 1 of Article 148 of the Constitution
of India has appointed Girish Chandra(GC) Murmu as 14th Comptroller
and Auditor General(CAG) of India, with effect from the date he
assumes charge of his office.
·
He succeeds Rajiv Mehrishi who
completes his term on August 8,2020 as he attains the age of 65.
8. PROF. PRADEEP KUMAR JOSHI APPOINTED AS
UPSC CHAIRMAN
·
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
appointed Professor Pradeep Kumar Joshi as its new Chairman.
·
His tenure as the chairman of the UPSC
will be till May 12, 2021.
·
The commission conducts the civil
services examination annually in three stages preliminary, mains and interview
to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police
Service (IPS) and Indian Foreign Service (IFS) among others.
9. LIC ACQUIRED 4.23% STAKE OF YES
BANK
·
Life Insurance Corporation of India(LIC) has
acquired 4.23% Stake(105.98 crore shares) of YES Bank by
purchasing from the open market.
·
With this acquisition, the hold of LIC in
YES Bank has increased from 0.75%(19 crore shares) to 4.98%(125 crore shares).
10. “AMAZING AYODHYA” – A NEW BOOK TO
TELL THE HISTORY OF AYODHYA
·
“Amazing Ayodhya” A book by Neena
Rai promises to shed light on the history of Ayodhya.
·
The book is set to give “authentic
information” about the city of Ayodhya and will help in understanding the life
and times of ancient Hindus.
11. 6TH EDITION OF NATIONAL
HANDLOOM DAY IS OBSERVED ON AUGUST 7, 2020
·
Every
year the Government of India (GoI) celebrates the National
Handloom day on August 7 , to create awareness about
the Handloom Industry amongst the public at large and its contribution to
socio-economic development.
·
The 6th edition of the Nation Handloom
Day is celebrated on August 7, 2020.
