Daily GK 19THTO 21ST AUG 2020

 Daily GK  19THTO 21ST  AUG 2020

1.           MANDUADIH RAILWAY STATION TO BE RENAMED AS ‘BANARAS’

·              Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) approved the renaming of Manduadih Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh (UP) as ‘Banaras’. 

·              Manduadih Railway Station is situated in Varanasi, which is the Lok Sabha Constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

 

2.           INDIA RANKED 1ST IN NUMBER OF ORGANIC FARMERS

·              India also ranked 9th in terms of area under organic farming.

·              Sikkim was the first state in the world to become completely organic

 

3.           UAE-ISRAEL AGREED FOR PEACE AGREEMENT NAMELY “ABRAHAM ACCORD”

·              Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates, have agreed for the Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement, or the Abraham Accord to establish full diplomatic ties.

·              In this regard, Israeli will halt further annexation of Palestinian lands. Annexation is a term used when a state unilaterally incorporates another territory within its borders.

·              This announcement was made by the United States (US) President Donald John Trump, who acted as mediator of this agreement.

·              With this, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) became the first Gulf Arab state and only the third Arab nation after Egypt and Jordan to have active diplomatic ties to Israel.

 

4.           FORBES’ LIST OF ‘THE HIGHEST-PAID ACTORS 2020’

·              As per the Forbes’ list of highest paid actors for the year 2020, Bollywood Actor Akshay Kumar ranked 6th with his estimated earnings of USD 48.5 million and is the only Indian features on the list comprising top 10 actors.

·              The list is topped by Wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson for the consecutive second time

 

5.           SATYA PAL MALIK APPOINTED AS GOVERNOR OF MEGHALAYA

·              Meanwhile, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was given the additional charge as Governor of Goa.

·              The  appointments will be effective from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices.

·              KK Venugopal Reappointed as Attorney General of India for a Year & Tushar Mehta as Solicitor General for 3 Years.

·              Government appointed former corporate affairs secretary and IAS officer, Injeti Srinivas as the 1st chairman of the International Financial Services Centre Authority(IFSCA) for a 3 years term.

 

6.           RAKESH ASTHANA IPS, APPOINTED AS THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF BSF

·              Rakesh Asthana, Gujarat cadre IPS officer of 1984 batch as the Director General (DG) of the Border Security Force (BSF), along with the Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) till 31st July 2021

 

7.           HINDUSTANI CLASSICAL VOCALIST PANDIT JASRAJ PASSED AWAY

·              Pandit Jasraj, an Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Mewati gharana ( a musical apprenticeship tribe of Hindustani classical music) passed away at 90 in his home in New Jersey, New York, United States(U.S.) due to cardiac arrest.

·              He is a recipient of the Padma Shri (1975), Padma Bhushan (1990) and Padma Vibhushan (2000).

·              Though he belonged to the Mewati gharana, he sang khayals with some flexibility, adding elements of lighter styles, including the thumri.

·              He created a novel form of jugalbandi called Jasrangi that is styled on the ancient system of moorchhana,

 

8.           DREAM11 WINS IPL TITLE SPONSORSHIP RIGHTS

·              Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has awarded the title sponsorship rights of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 to fantasy cricket league platform Dream11 

 

 

DAILY GK C.A 20 AUG

1.           ATAL RANKING OF INSTITUTIONS ON INNOVATION ACHIEVEMENTS (ARIIA) 2020

·             Private or Self-Financed Universities.

·             Institute of National Importance - Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras

·             Higher Educational Institutions Exclusively for Women- Avinashilingam Institute For Home Science And Higher Education For Women, Tamil Nadu

·             Govt and Govt aided Universities- Institute of Chemical Technology, Maharashtra

·             Govt and Govt aided College/Institutes- College of Engineering Pune, Maharashtra

·             Private or Self-Financed Universities-Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Khordha (Odisha)

·             Private or Self-Financed College/Institutes- SR Engineering College (SREC), Telangana

 

2.           RBI RELEASED DRAFT FRAMEWORK FOR SELF-REGULATORY BODY FOR PAYMENT SYSTEM OPERATORS

·             The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a draft framework for grant of recognition to an industry association as a Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) for Payment System Operators (PSOs).

·             Notably, SRO will serve as a watchdog to guard against unprofessional practices within an industry or profession.

 

3.           LUIS RODOLFO ABINADER SWORN IN AS 54TH PRESIDENT OF DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

·             The 53-year old Luis Rodolfo Abinader was elected to the four-year term on July 5, which ended the 16-year run in power by the Center-Left Dominican Liberation Party (PLD).

·             Abinader’s Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) won the elections with 53% vote

4.           ASHOK LAVASA RESIGNS AS ELECTION COMMISSIONER

·             On August 18, 2020, Ashok Lavasa , one of the two Election Commissioners of India resigned from his post inorder to take charge as the Vice President of Asian Development Bank (ADB) next month. 

·             Chief Election Commissioner – Sunil Arora

·             Election Commissioner – Sushil Chandra

·             Election Commissioner – vacant

 

5.           MALI PRESIDENT IBRAHIM BOUBACAR KEITA RESIGNS AFTER MILITARY MUTINY

·             Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced his resignation with immediate effect following a military mutiny in the Republic of Mali.

·             Boubacar represents the Political Party Rally for Mali(RPM) 

6.           WORLD HUMANITARIAN DAY 2020 – AUGUST 19

·             United Nations(UN) World Humanitarian Day (WHD) is annually observed on 19th August to pay tribute to honour all humanitarian workers and United Nations and associated personnel who dedicated their lives to help the people in extreme circumstances around the world and lost their lives in the cause of duty.

 

7.           WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY DAY 2020 – AUGUST 19

·             The World Photography Day also known as World Photo Day is observed annually on 19th August 

·             The word photography was first coined by Sir John Herschel, a British Scientist which gives the literary meaning “drawing with light”.

·             The word was derived from the greek word Phos which means “Light” and Graphe which means “drawing or writing”.

 

8.           PUNJAB GETS FIRST RANK IN HEALTH

·             State of Punjab has secured first rank in the list of best performing states in operationalisation of Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs) released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoHFW), Government of India.

 

 

DAILY GK C.A 21 AUG

1.           INDIA RANKED 57TH IN DIGITAL QUALITY OF LIFE 2020, DENMARK TOPS

·              Index 2020”  released by online privacy solutions provider SurfShark, India ranked 57th out of 85 countries in terms of overall category “Digital Quality of Life 2020” with 0.5 index points which has been topped by Denmark with 0.79 points.

·              In Internet Affordability India Ranked 9th and list is topped by Israel

·              In Internet Quality India Ranked 78th and list is topped by Singapore

·              In E Security India ranked 57th and is Topped By United Kingdom.

2.           NPCI LAUNCHED ‘NPCI INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS LIMITED’

·              The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched a wholly-owned subsidiary, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) to internationalize (or export to foreign markets )

·              NPCI has appointed Ritesh Shukla as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NIPL.

 

3.           KEITH ROWLEY BECOMES PRIME MINISTER OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

·              Keith Christopher Rowley is sworn in as Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for a 2nd consecutive 5 year term.

·              He is from the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM).


4.           FRANCISCO ASUE IS REAPPOINTED AS THE PRIME MINISTER OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA

·              Francisco Pascual Eyegue Obama Asue was reappointed as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea

·              Capital– Malabo

·              Currency– Central African CFA franc

 

5.           SADBHAVAN DIWAS 2020 – AUGUST 20

·              Every year 20th August is celebrated as the Sadbhavana Diwas which is also known as Communal Harmony Day, to commemorate the Birth Anniversary of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi.

 

6.           WORLD MOSQUITO DAY 2020: AUGUST 20

·              The World Mosquito Day is observed on 20th August every year to raise awareness about the Causes and Prevention of Malaria and to commemorate the discovery made by British Doctor Sir Ronald Ross in 1897 that female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit Malaria between humans.

·              Sir Ronald Ross was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1902 for the discovery, he became the first British Nobel Laureate.