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Current Affairs 15 July 2020
Daily Current Affairs 15 July 2020: We have collected the latest current affairs for 15 July 2020 that are important for all competitive exams like Bank, SSC, IBPS, SBI exams. The GK current affairs will help you score more in these competitive exams. Improve your general knowledge with our daily online current affairs. You can also read the daily current affairs on our mobile app.
National News
Indian Railways to become “Green Railway” in Mission Mode by 2030
- The Ministry of Railways has set the target of transforming the Indian Railways into Green Railways by 2030.
- Therefore, the government has taken a number of major initiatives towards mitigation of global warming and combating climate change to achieve this target. Some of the efforts of the Indian Railways under Green Initiatives are listed below.
- Electrification of routes: Target of electrification of 7000 Route km (RKM) in the year 2020-21. All routes on Broad Gauge network have been planned to be electrified by December 2023.
- Roof top Solar panels: 100 MW of Solar plants have been commissioned on roof-tops of various buildings including 900 stations; 400 MW are under different stages of execution.
- Land Based Solar plants: Indian Railway has 51,000 hectare of land potential of installing 20 GW land based solar plants.
- Bina Solar Project: Indian Railways has already. installed first-of-its kind in the world, 1.7 megawatt solar power plant in Bina, Madhya Pradesh. The energy generated from the power plant will be used to run trains.
- The solar power plant has been set up as a pilot project by Railways in collaboration with Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) and the pilot project is under extensive testing and trial.
- Wind-based power plants: 103 MW wind-based power plants have already been commissioned and plan is to commission 200 MW wind energy plants in next 2 years in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka.
- Other green initiatives: 69,000 coaches have been fitted with more than 2,44,000 bio-toilets.
- 100 percent LED illumination of buildings and stations.
Indian Railways launches POST COVID COACH to ensure safer journey
- The Indian Railways has launched a new state-of-the-art, ‘Post Covid Coach’ in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus infection.
- The Indian Railways’ production unit, Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, has developed this new Post Covid Coach.
- The salient features of the Post Covid Coach are handsfree amenities, copper-coated handrails & latches, plasma air purification and titanium di-oxide coating for Covid free passenger journey.
Business & Agreements
Iran drops India from Chabahar Rail Project due to funding delay
- Iran has dropped India from the Chabahar rail project, for the construction of railway line from Chabahar port to Zahedan, along the Iran-Afghanistan border.
- The reason that Iran gave for dropping India was delays from the Indian side in funding and starting the construction of the project.
- Iran has now decided to move ahead with the construction of Chabahar railway line to Zahedan on its own.
- For this $400 million will be sanctioned by the Iranian National Development Fund and the entire project will be completed by March 2022, without any assistance from India.
- It must be noted that this decision has been taken by Iran at a time when it is seeking to finalise a 25-year economic and security partnership with China worth $400 billion.
Qualcomm Ventures becomes 12th Investor in Jio Platforms; Invests Rs 730 crore to acquire 0.15% stake
- Qualcomm Ventures, the investment arm of US-based wireless technology company Qualcomm Incorporated has invested Rs 730 crore in ‘Jio Platforms’ for a 0.15 % stake in the company.
- Qualcomm Ventures is the 12th investor to buy a stake in Jio Platforms. Qualcomm’s investment marks the 13th investment in Jio platforms.
- With this, the total investments by foreign investors in Jio Platforms comes up to Rs 1,18,318.45 crore and the total combined stake of these investors reaches 25.24 %.
- List of all Investors and Investments of Jio Platforms
Appointments
Hemang Amin appointed interim CEO of BCCI
- The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed Hemang Amin, the Chief Operating Officer of the Indian Premier League, as the interim chief executive officer (CEO) of the Indian cricket board.
- This appointment comes after BCCI accepted the resignation of Rahul Johri as the BCCI CEO recently.
- The BCCI is expected to get a new CEO in the next two months.
Incumbent President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, wins re-election
- Poland’s incumbent President Andrzej Duda has been re-elected in the 2020 presidential election for another five year term.
- Duda beat Rafal Trzaskowski with a very narrow margin, winning 51.03% of total valid votes, in the Presidential election held on 12 July 2020.
- Poland Capital: Warsaw; Currency: Polish złoty
Awards
ISRO Chief K Sivan to be Conferred with 2020 Von Karman Award By IAA
- ISRO Chief Dr Kailasavadivoo Sivan has been named as the winner of the 2020 Von Karman Award by the Paris-based International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).
- The award will be conferred upon K Sivan in March 2021 in Paris.
- Prior to K Sivan, only two Indians have been the recipients of this award. They were Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan and U.R. Rao.
Gurbux Singh and Palash Nandy to be conferred with Mohun Bagan Ratna Award 2020
- Hockey legend Gurbux Singh and former first-class cricketer Palash Nandy has been named for the Mohun Bagan Ratna Award 2020 by the football club Mohun Bagan’s executive committee.
- The award is presented every year by Mohun Bagan on the occasion of its foundation day on 29 July. However , due to coronavirus pandemic, the function will not be held this year. The awards will be given personally to all the winners.
List of all the awardees
- Mohun Bagan Ratna – club’s highest honor
- Shri Gurbux Singh (Hockey)
- Shri Palash Nandi (Cricket)
- Lifetime Achievement
- Shri Ashok Kumar (Hockey)
- Shri Pranab Ganguly (Football)
- Shri Monoranjan Porel (Athletics)
- Best Football Player of the season 2019-20 (Senior) : Joseba Beitia (Spain)
- Best Youth Player: Sajal Bag (U18 team)
Important Days
World Youth Skills Day: 15 July
- The World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) is observed every year on July 15 as a day to recognize the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship, and to highlight the crucial role of skilled youth in addressing current and future global challenges.
- The United Nations General Assembly declared 15 July as World Youth Skills Day in November 2014.
- Due to the current global crises, the celebration of WYSD will be held virtually on the theme “Skills for a Resilient Youth”
Obituary
Renowned ceramic artist Jyotsna Bhatt passes away at 80
- One of India’s best-known ceramic and pottery artists, Jyotsna Bhatt has passed away after suffering a stroke. She was 80.
- The Baroda-based artist has been associated with ceramic work for over five decades and her works are in prominent collections all over the world.