DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 26 JUNE 2020


DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 26 JUNE 2020
1. 14% RISE IN TB PATIENTS IN 2019 
·        Annual “India TB (Tuberculosis) Report 2020”  released by Central TB Division (CTD). The salient feature of 2020 report is that for the first time CTD introduced a quarterly ranking on TB elimination efforts by all the states and UTs.
·        In accordance with the report, there were around 24.04 lakh TB patients in 2019, a 14% increase in as compared to the year 2018.
·        It should be noted that the sustainable goal of eradicating TB globally is 2030, but the Indian government is committed to achieve this target in the country by 2025.
·        NI-KSHAY-(Ni=End, Kshay=TB), a web enabled patient management system for TB control under the NTEP is developed and maintained by the CTD in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) Country office for India.

2. NITI AAYOG & ITF LAUNCH DECARBONIZING TRANSPORT PROJECT
·        The NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) aayog and the International Transport Forum(ITF) of OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) launched the ‘Decarbonizing Transport in Engineering Economies’ (DTEE) project in India. 
·        ITF Secretary General Young Tae Kim and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant inaugurated the launch.
·        The Five year project helps India in developing a pathway towards low-carbon transport system through development of modelling tools and policy scenarios.
·        The Transport sector of India is the third most greenhouse gas emitting sector (max contribution from Road transport).

3. KUSHINAGAR AIRPORT IN UPDEVLOPED AS AN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
·        The Union Cabinet has given its assent for the declaration of airport in Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) Kushinagar as an international airport.
·        The reason behind this move is to provide improved connectivity to Kushinagar, an important Buddhist pilgrimage site, located in the north-eastern part of UP.
·         The town has pilgrimage sites in Lumbini, Shravasti, Kapilvastu nearby it. A little farther, it has sites in Sarnath and Gaya.
·        It is to be noted that Gautama Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana after his death at Kushinagar.

4. 2% INTEREST SUBVENTION ON SHISHU LOANS
·        The Cabinet has also approved a scheme for interest subvention of 2% for a period of 12 months to all Shishu loan accounts under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) to eligible borrowers w.e.f. June 01, 2020 till May 31, 2021.
·        The estimated cost of the Scheme is approximately Rs 1,542 crore and will be implemented through the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
·        The scheme provides loan up-to 10 lakhs to the non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises.
·        The loans provided under PMMY are classified as MUDRA (Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Ltd) loans.
·        The loan coverage is classified under these three products.

5. PAKISTAN REMAINS IN FATF GREY LIST
·        Financial Action Task Force(FATF) in its 3rd and final plenary meeting under the Chinese Presidency of Xiangmin Liu over a virtual platform, retained Pakistan on the grey list till October 2020, for failing to prosecute and penalise terrorist financing in the country before the deadline fixed by FATF .
·        Germany will take over the presidency of the FATF from July, 2020 for a year.

6. GLOBAL ECONOMY WILL COME DOWN BY 4.9%: IMF
·        The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the June 2020 update “A Crisis Like No Other, An Uncertain Recovery” of its flagship World Economic Outlook (WEO), has predicted that the Indian economy will have a big 4.5 % contraction in 2020 and it will come down to a historic low.
·        This historical decline will be the lowest level since 1961 due to the Coronavirus (covid-19) epidemic, its prevention measures and slowdown of economic activity.
·        The coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has had more negative effects in the first half of 2020. In China, where recovery continues from the first quarter’s decline, the growth rate is estimated at 1 % in 2020.

7. 45TH EDITION OF TIFF 2020
·        Actor Priyanka Chopra and Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap named among the 50 ambassadors for the 45th edition of Toronto International Film Festival(TIFF) 2020, which is to be held virtually.
·        The festival will take place from September 10-19 with physical screenings and drive-ins, digital screenings, virtual red carpets, press conferences and industry talks.
·        This is the 1st time TIFF will launch a digital platform for the festival, offering new opportunities to connect with audiences beyond Toronto.

8. CLARE CONNOR , 1st FEMALE PRESIDENT OF MCC
·        Former England Women Cricket Captain Clare Connor(43 year old), an all-rounder, becomes the 1st female president of Marylebone Cricket Club(MCC) in 233 years.
·        Her tenure will begin on October 1, 2021, and will end on September 30, 2022. She will succeed Kumar Sangakkara.
·        She is current head of women’s cricket in the England and Wales Cricket Board (since 2007). 

9. ‘EBLOODSERVICES’ APP TO ORDER BLOOD
·        In order to save the needy from anemia in the midst of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, Union Health Minister Dr.
·        Harsh Vardhan has launched ‘eBloodServices‘ mobile app developed by the ERaktkosh team of C-DAC (Development of Advanced Computing) India for easy access to blood needed for transfusion.
·        The mobile app is an initiative of the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) with the aim of ‘Safe blood saves lives’ will be available in entire Delhi-NCR initially.

10. DRONE MOUNTED ULV SPRAYER FOR LOCUST CONTROL 
·        Under the Make in India initiative the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW) has initiated to develop a vehicle mounted ultra-low volume (ULV) sprayer for locust control to reduce the limitations of importing equipment. 
·        India is to be the first country in the world to control desert locusts using drones.