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Current Affairs 20 August 2020
Daily Current Affairs 20 August 2020: We have collected the latest current affairs for 20 August 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
Important Cabinet Approvals: 19 August 2020
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi met on 19 August 2020 and approved the following proposals:
- Leasing out three airports namely Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram, of Airports Authority of India (AAI) through Public Private Partnership to M/s Adani Enterprises Ltd, for a period of fifty years.
- Setting up of National Recruitment Agency to conduct Common Eligibility Test
- Fair and Remunerative Price of sugarcane payable by sugar mills for the sugar season 2020-21, at Rs.285/- per quintal for a basic recovery rate of 10%
- One-time relaxation to Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) for extending loans to Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) above limits of working capital cap of 25% of last year’s revenues under Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) to provide liquidity to the Power Sector and ensure payments by State Governments to DISCOMs.
Government to set up National Recruitment Agency to hold common exam for various government and bank jobs
- The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal to set up a National Recruitment Agency (NRA).
- NRA will be the nodal agency to conduct the Common Eligibility Test (CET) for jobs in the government and state-owned banks.
- The NRA will hold online exams every year for non-gazetted government posts and each district will have at least one exam centre.
- The score in these exams would be valid for three years and the candidate would have the option of taking the exam again to improve the score.
- The best of the three scores would be used during the selection process.
- Presently, candidates for government jobs appear for multiple examinations and pay repetitive fees. The NRA will remove this process by conducting common test for multiple government jobs.
Business
Reliance Retail acquires majority stake in online pharmacy Netmeds for Rs 620 crore
- Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), the subsidiary company of Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has acquired a majority equity stake in online pharmacy Vitalic Health Pvt Ltd and its subsidiaries (commonly known as Netmeds) for a cash consideration of around Rs 620 crore ($83.08 million).
- This investment represents 60 percent holding in the equity share capital of Vitalic and 100 percent direct equity ownership of its subsidiaries namely Tresara Health Private Ltd, Netmeds Market Place Ltd and Dadha Pharma Distribution Pvt Ltd.
- Chennai-based Netmeds is a licensed e-pharma portal, incorporated in 2015, that offers authenticated prescription and over the counter (OTC) medicine along with other health products in India.
Appointment
Ashok Lavasa resigns as Election Commissioner to join ADB as Vice-President
- The Election Commissioner of India, Ashok Lavasa has announced his resignation on 18 August to join Asian Development Bank (ADB) as vice president.
- The 62-year-old Lavasa had submitted his resignation to President Ram Nath Kovind on 18 August, which has been accepted by the President.
- On 15 July 2020, Philippines-based multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) had named Lavasa as next Vice President.
- He was appointed Election Commissioner in January 2018 and has two years left in his tenure.
President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigns amid military coup
- The President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has announced his resignation on 19 August 2020, three years before his final term was due to end.
- The officers of the Malian Armed Forces began a military coup and arrested several government officials including President Keita,
- The next day, President announced his resignation, saying he wanted “no blood to be spilled” to keep him in power.
- Keita was first elected as the President in 2013 and again reelected after 5 years in 2018. His term was to end in 2023.
Cricketer Rohit Sharma appointed new brand ambassador of sports eyewear brand Oakley in India
- Performance sports eyewear brand Oakley has appointed Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma as its brand ambassador in India for a period of two years..
- Under this partnership, Sharma will sport the brand’s performance eyewear on and off the pitch.
- With this appointment, Sharma joins the likes of athletes such as Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Milind Soman who have endorsed the brand before.
Sports
England’s World Cup-winning off-spinner Laura Marsh retires from all forms of cricket
- Laura Marsh, England national women cricket team off-spinner, has announced her retirement from all forms of cricket.
- The 33-year-old had announced her retirement from international cricket in December 2019.
- Marsh had played in 103 one-day internationals, 67 T20 and 9 Test matches during her career
- She was also part of England teams that won the Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2009 and 2017 .
Obituary
Computer Scientist Russell A. Kirsch, who Invented Pixel, passes away at 91
- Computer scientist Russell A. Kirsch, the inventor of the pixel, and developer of the first digital photograph. has passed away. He was 91 years old.
- His pioneering contributions to computer science made digital imaging possible.
- Kirsch created 172 x 172 pixel digital image of his son Walden in 1957, which became iconic, and was named one of Life magazine’s “100 Photographs That Changed the World” in 2003.
- Kirsch also helped to develop the world’s first programmable computer, SEAC (Standards Eastern Automatic Computer).
British Tennis legend Angela Buxton passes away at 85
- Former British tennis player, two-time Grand Slam doubles champion and equal rights pioneer Angela Buxton has passed away. She was 85.
- Buxton won the women’s doubles alongside Althea Gibson. at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 1956.
- Buxton also reached the singles final at Wimbledon 1956 but lost to American Shirley Fry.
- Her tennis career was cut short at the age of just 22 due to a serious hand condition.
Important Days
World Photography Day: 19 August
- The World Photography Day is celebrated on 19 August every year to promote photography as a hobby and also inspire photographers around the globe to share a single photo with the rest of the world.
- The first official World Photo Day was observed on August 19, 2010.
- The origin of World Photo Day comes from the invention of the Daguerreotype, a photographic process developed by Frenchmen Louis Daguerre and Joseph Nicephore Niepce in 1837.
- It was on August 19, 1939 that the French government purchased the patent of Daguerreotype process and announced the invention as a gift “free to the world”.
World Mosquito Day: 20 August
- World Mosquito Day is observed on 20 August annually to raise awareness about the causes of malaria and how it can be prevented.
- The day also commemorates the discovery made by British doctor Sir Ronald Ross in 1897 that female mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans.
- In 1902. Ross won Nobel Prize for Medicine becoming the first British person to receive the award.