DAILY GK 16 JULY 2020

DAILY GK 16 JULY 2020

1. INDIAN RAILWAYS’ 1ST CABLE-STAYED RAIL BRIDGE

·        The Minister of Railways, Piyush Vedprakash Goyal, has announced that the India’s first cable-stayed Indian Railways bridge namely “Anji Khad Bridge” being developed by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), a Government of India undertaking, is all set to connect Katra and Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

·        The cable-stayed railway bridge is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, which passes through the Young Himalayas.

2. POBA RESERVE FOREST IN ASSAM TO BE UPGRADED

·        CM of Assam has announced the upgradation of Poba Reserve Forest, a vital biodiversity hotspot in Dhemaji district of Assam, as a wildlife sanctuary.

·        The announcement was made during a meeting with senior officials of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji and Majuli districts at Jonai.

3. 2021 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF FRUITS & VEGETABLES

·        India and Chile joins the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations(UN) and co-hosted the official launch of 2021 International Year of Fruits and Vegetables, the side event of 2020 High-level Political forum – “On the road to the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables 2021: Highlighting health and nutritional benefits through sustainable production and consumption of fruits and vegetables”.

·        Following the request of FAO, The United Nations adopted the resolution, designating 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables.

·        India is the 2nd largest producer of fruits with around 98 million tonnes which is 10.9% of the world’s production and 187 million tons of vegetables per year which is 8.6% of world production with only 2.4% of the world’s land area.

4. USIBC GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AWARD 2020

·        Tata group chairman, Natarajan(N) Chandrasekaran and Jim Taiclet, Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and president of Lockheed Martin to receive the US-India Business Council(USIBC) Global Leadership Award 2020.

·        They also serve as a co-chair of the US-India CEO Forum.

·        The USIBC Global Leadership Award has been presented annually since 2007.

·        It is accorded to the top corporate executives from the United States and India whose companies play a major role in promoting growth in the US-India commercial corridor.

5. ADB APPOINTS ASHOK LAVASA AS ITS NEW VICE-PRESIDENT

·        The Asian Development Bank(ADB) has appointed Ashok Lavasa as its Vice-President for Private Sector Operations and Public–Private Partnerships, who is currently serving as one of the Election Commissioners of India(since January 2018).

·        He will succeed Diwakar Gupta, whose term will end on 31 August, 2020. 

·        He still has over 2 years’ term left as an Election Commission of India. 

6. GOOGLE TO BUY 7.73% STAKE IN JIO PLATFORMS FOR RS 33,737 CRORES

·        Alphabet Inc’s Google to buy 7.73% stake in Reliance Industries Limited(RIL)’s Jio Platforms for Rs 33,737 crores.

·        For this purpose, they have signed a binding partnership and an investment agreement. With this, Jio Platforms has raised a total of Rs 1,52,055.45 crore.

·        This investment will strengthen the existing efforts of Google and Jio Platforms to expand the benefits of digitization across India.

7. WORLD YOUTH SKILLS DAY 2020 – JULY 15

·        Every year the United Nations(UN) World Youth Skills Day(WYSD) is globally celebrated on 15th July to highlight the importance of equipping young people with skills to provide opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship.

·        The first WYSD was celebrated on 15th July 2015.

·        The theme of 2020 WYSD virtual event – “Skills for a Resilient Youth”.