Daily CurrentTitle Affairs Capsule th Title 27 July 2020
CRPF Raising Day: July 27
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted all CRPF personnel on the 82nd Raising Day of the force.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is India's largest Central Armed Police Force. It functions under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. The CRPF's primary role lies in assisting the State/Union Territories in police operations to maintain law and order and counter insurgency. It came into existence as the Crown Representative's Police on 27 July 1939.
Nation remembers former president Dr A P J Abdul Kalam on his death anniversary
The Nation remembers former president Dr A P J Abdul Kalam on his death anniversary on 27 July.
Popularly known as people's president and Missile Man of India, Dr. Kalam passed away in Shillong on 27th July 2015, while delivering a lecture to students. He was an Indian aerospace scientist and politician who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was intimately involved in India's civilian space programme and military missile development efforts.
He also played a pivotal organisational, technical, and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.
India extends medical assistance worth about USD 1 million to North Korea
India has extended medical assistance worth about USD 1 million to North Korea in response to a request received from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The medical assistance is under the aegis of an ongoing WHO anti-tuberculosis programme in DPRK. The consignment of anti-tuberculosis medicines was handed over by Indian Ambassador to DPRK Atul Malhari Gotsurve to DPRK authorities in the presence of a WHO representative.
Ministry of Shipping to waive waterway usage charges for 3 years
The Ministry of Shipping has decided to waive waterway usage charges with immediate effect considering the Centre’s vision to promote inland waterways as a supplementary, eco-friendly and cheaper mode of transport.
The charges are waived initially for three years. Currently only two per cent of total cargo traffic moves through waterways. Decision of waiving waterway charges will attract the industries to use the national waterways for their logistical needs. The decision is estimated to increase the inland waterway traffic movement to 110 Million Metric Tonnes in 2022-23 from 72 Million Metric Tonne in 2019-20.
IIM-Kozhikode start-up develops wearable gadget 'Veli Band' for ensuring social distancing
Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIMK)-based incubated startup has come up with a unique user- friendly wearable device that alarms proximity which helps in implementing social distancing norms.
Known as the 'Veli Band', the wrist band has been developed by Qual5 India Pvt Ltd, a startup co-founded by a woman entrepreneur and mentored and funded by IIMK's business LIVE, incubator, and entrepreneurship development centre. Veli Band helps in implementing social distancing and contact tracing which will help organizations in complying with social distancing norms during the pandemic. It momentarily vibrates, sounds buzzer, and flashes LED lights simultaneously to notify wearers that another band is within 3 feet, reminding them of the need to maintain social distance.
LG announces launch of macadamisation program in J&K
Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu announced the launch of a Macadamisation Program for roads across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to improve road conditions and give major relief to the public.
The announcement comes in the backdrop of grievances relating to poor condition of roads and the problems connected thereto, presented before the Lieutenant Governor during his tour as a part of his outreach programme. The Lieutenant Governor approved a program for 100 per cent macadamisation of all roads in J&K, including 11,000 kms of fair-weather roads. The Lieutenant Governor announced a release of Rs 200 crores to the Public Works Department (PWD) as the first tranche so that the macadamisation work on priority roads can commence.
Indian Railways constructing world's first electrified tunnel to run double-stack containers
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) has recently conducted a tunnel-breaking ceremony on the completion of caving work for the one-kilometre long tunnel of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) through Aravalli mountain range, near Sohna in Haryana.
The tunnel connects Mewat & Gurugram district of Haryana and negotiates a steep gradient on the uphill and downhill slope of the Aravalli range. The D-shaped tunnel has a cross-sectional area of 150 square metres to accommodate a double line with higher OHE (Over Head Equipment) to enable double stack container movement on WDFC. This will be the world's first electrified rail tunnel fit to run double-stack containers.
Reliance Industries overtakes Exxon to become world’s No. 2 energy company
Reliance Industries Ltd, controlled by Asia’s richest man, toppled ExxonMobil Corp to become the world’s largest energy company after Saudi Aramco.
Reliance, which manages the biggest refinery complex, gained 4.3% in Mumbai adding $8 billion to take its market value to $189 billion, while Exxon Mobil erased about $1 billion. Aramco with a market capitalization of $1.76 trillion is the world’s biggest energy company.
Partha Pratim Sengupta appointed new MD, CEO of Indian Overseas Bank
Partha Pratim Sengupta, Deputy Managing Director and Chief Credit Officer at State Bank of India, has been appointed as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Indian Overseas Bank.
His appointment will be up to date of attaining the age of superannuation which is December 31, 2022. The post fell vacant after the superannuation of Karnam Sekar who retired on June 30. During his over three decades of experience with State Bank of India, Sengupta served in various capacities across different geographies. He has hands-on experience in both retail and corporate banking.
Jordan Henderson wins 2020 FWA Footballer of the Year award
Liverpool’s Premier League title winning captain Jordan Henderson was named England’s Footballer of the Year in the annual vote of the Football Writers’ Association (FWA).
Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and Liverpool pair Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane made up the rest of the top five. The 30-year-old Henderson has played in 30 of Liverpool’s league matches so far this season and scored four goals.
India’s Mixed Relay Team Silver at 2018 Asian Games upgraded to Gold
The silver medal that the Indian 4×400 mixed relay quartet of Mohammed Anas, M.R. Poovamma, Hima Das and Arokia Rajiv won at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta has been upgraded to gold.
This after the Bahrain squad, which finished first in the 4×400 mixed relay final, was disqualified with Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain being handed a four-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for failing a dope test. Also, Indian runner Anu Raghavan has moved from fourth place to bronze medal position in the women’s 400 m hurdles following the disqualification of Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain.
Tanzania's former President Benjamin Mkapa dies
Tanzania’s former president Benjamin Mkapa died while being treated for an undisclosed illness.
He worked to end conflict in East Africa during and after his decade in power from 1995. Mkapa won the country’s first multi-party elections in 1995 and was re-elected for a second five-year term in 2000. He led several regional peace mediation initiatives and afterwards continued to seek reconciliation in Burundi, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes region.