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Current Affairs 20 June 2020
Daily Current Affairs 20 June 2020: We have collected the latest current affairs for 20 June 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.
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National News
Harsh Vardhan Launches India’s First Mobile Lab For COVID-19 Testing
- The Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launched India’s first mobile laboratory for COVID-19 testing in rural areas and in other far-flung and inaccessible areas of India.
- The mobile lab, called I-Lab (Infectious Diseases Diagnostics Lab) – Rapid Response Mobile Laboratory, has been built in a record time of eight days.
- It has been built by Andhra Pradesh Med-tech Zone (AMTZ) under DBT-AMTZ COMManD (COVID Medtech Manufacturing Development) Consortia.
- I-Lab is supported by the Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
- The unique lab has the capability to perform 25 RT-PCR tests per day, 300 ELISA tests per day and additional tests for TB, HIV as per CGHS rates.
India 2nd biggest driver of global energy consumption in 2019: BP Statistical Review
- India was second biggest growth driver of primary energy consumption in the world, according to the 69th annual edition of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, released by BP, one of the world’s largest energy companies.
- The report highlights the global energy trends emerging prior to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
- China was the biggest driver of energy, accounting for more than three quarters of net global growth.
- The energy consumption is made up of oil, natural gas, coal, electricity and renewables.
- Some key features in the report includes:
- The Global primary energy consumption growth slowed to 1.3 percent in 2019 (583.90 Exajoules (EJ)), less than half the rate of growth in 2018 (2.8 per cent).
- India’s consumption rose 2.3 percent to 34.06 EJ. The growth was lower than 5.2 per cent in 2018.
- India’s energy consumption was only behind that of China (141.70 EJ)
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The increase in energy consumption was driven by renewables and natural gas. All fuels grew at a slower rate than their 10-year averages, apart from nuclear.
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Carbon emissions from energy use grew by 0.5 percent in 2019.
MoES Presents India’s first ever climate change assessment report
- The Ministry of Earth Sciences’ (MoES) has released the report titled ‘Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region’, which is the first ever climate change assessment report for different paarts of India.
- The report is edited by scientists of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune.
- The assessment report looks at regional climate change projections based on the IITM Earth System Model and Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment datasets.
- Some of the key points highlighted in the report includes:
- India’s average temperature has risen by around 0.7°C during 1901–2018, this is purely due to the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG).
- The frequency of summer (April–June) heat waves over India will be 3 to 4 times higher (approximately 4.4°C) by the end of the 21st century as compared to the 1976–2005 baseline period.
- Precipitation over north India has decreased by 6% (1951-2015) due to the polluting aerosol “brown cloud”.
MNRE Establishes Project Development Cell headed by Amitesh Kumar Sinha to Attract Investments in Developing Projects
- The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set up a Project Development Cell (PDC) to attract more investments into the sector and particularly solar energy sector.
- The PDC will be headed by joint secretary of MNRE, Mr. Amitesh Kumar Sinha.
- The main purpose of PDC will be to create projects that have all prior approvals for investors to adopt them such as detailed reports and readily available land for allocation and investment by investors for these projects.
- This initiative is also a step forward to help the ministry meet its 175 GW target for green energy.
Appointment News
India to serve as UNSC President for one month in August 2021
- India will serve as the President of the powerful 15-nation UN Security Council for the month of August, 2021.
- The presidency of the Council is held by each of the members in turn for one month, following the English alphabetical order of the member states’ names.
- India will get to preside over the Council again for a month in 2022.
Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel appointed as Chairman of NIPFP
- Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP).
- His four-year term will begin from June 22, 2020.
- The National Institute of Public Finance and Policy is an autonomous research institute under the Ministry of Finance, based in New Delhi. It conducts research on public finance and contributes to the process of policy-making relating to public finance.
Business News
Facebook Acquires Swedish crowdsourced mapping startup Mapillary
- Facebook Inc. has acquired Mapillary AB, a Swedish mapping technology startup that crowdsources street-level imagery to build immersive and up-to-date maps.
- Mapillary’s technology would be used to power products like Facebook Marketplace and supply data to humanitarian organisations all over the world.
- Mapillary keeps its maps updated with street-level data, by collecting images from tens of thousands of contributors about signs, addresses and other information that can be observed from the road.
Important Days
International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict: 19 June
- Each year June 19 is observed as the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.
- The day was proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly on 19 June 2015.
- 2020 marks the sixth year of celebration of the day.
- The day aims to raise awareness of the need to put an end to conflict-related sexual violence, honour the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world and pay tribute to all those who have courageously devoted their lives to and lost their lives in standing up for the eradication of these crimes
World Sickle Cell Day: 19 June
- World Sickle Cell Day is celebrated on 19 June every year to raise awareness about Sickle Cell Disease, its treatment methods and to get effective control over this disease worldwide
- The day was recognised by the United Nations General Assembly in 2008.
- First WSCD was celebrated in 2009.
- Sickle cell disease is a blood disorder which affects the red blood cells (RBCs) of the body and is inherited from the parents.
Obituary
Malayalam Filmmaker Sachy passes away at 48
- Renowned Malayalam screenwriter and director K R Sachidanandan has passed away following a cardiac arrest. He was 48.
- He was popularly known as Sachy.