Top 20 Current Affairs of 31 July 2020 NATIONAL AFFAIRS Cabinet approved National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 by replacing NEP, 1986; HRD ministry renamed as Ministry of Education On July 29, 2020, Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the first education policy of the 21st century i.e. National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 which has replaced 34 years old NPE, 1986. This was announced by Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Keshav Javadekar. With this, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) will officially be renamed the Ministry of Education (MoE). It should be noted that from now onwards the education sector will get allocation of 6% of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as compared to 1.7% previously. This new policy, which aligned to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-4 of 2030 Agenda is aimed at Universalization of Education from pre-school to secondary level with 100 % Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030. GER in higher education is to be raised to 50 % by 2035 with the addition of 3.5 crore seats. CSIR, UBA-IIT Delhi and VIBHA Signs a Tripartite MoU to Adopt CSIR Technologies for Rural Development On 29th July 2020, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR), Unnat Bharat Abhiyan-Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (UBA-IITD) and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA), New Delhi signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide access to rural technologies of CSIR for UBA and for the cooperation and actions in the area of UBA towards rural development of India. 1st five of 36 French Rafale fighter jets landed at Haryana’s Ambala Airbase On July 29, 2020, Forty-six months after the €7.87 bn (Rs 59,000 crore) Inter- Governmental Agreement (IGA), that was signed between India and France in September 2016, the first five of 36 Rafale fighter jets, from France were landed in Ambala in Haryana after covering a distance of nearly 8500 km to join the Indian Air Force (IAF). The five aircraft include two twin seater trainer aircraft and three single seat fighter aircraft. These fighter jets are manufactured with 13 India Specific Enhancements (ISE), by Dassault Aviation, a french company. Defence Ministry of India and Indonesia agree to expand the military ties during Defence Minister Dialogue in New Delhi On July, 27, 2020 the Defence Minister of India, Shri Rajnath Singh and the Defence Minister General of Indonesia Mr. Prabowo Subianto agree to expand the military ties during the Defence Minister’s dialogue held at New Delhi. Objective: To expand the defence industries and military ties between two countries and to expand the technology sharing. Cabinet approves MoU between India and Zimbabwe on Traditional System of Medicine and Homeopathy The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval to Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Zimbabwe on Cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy., which was signed on November 3rd, 2018. The objective of the MoU is to promote traditional systems of medicine and homeopathy between two nations on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS UNICEF Publishes First of its kind report on Health crisis: “The Toxic Truth: Children’s Exposure to Lead Pollution Undermines a Generation of Future Potential” On 30th July 2020, United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF) and Pure Earth, international non-profit organization authored and published the first of kind report on the health crisis titled “The Toxic Truth: Children’s Exposure to Lead Pollution Undermines a Generation of Future Potential” states that around lead poisoning affects large number of children all across the globe. Narendra Modi & Pravind Jugnauth virtually inaugurated Supreme Court building in Port Louis, Mauritius On July 30, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth jointly inaugurated the new Supreme Court building of Mauritius in Port Louis through video conference. The Supreme Court building has been constructed with Indian grant assistance of US$ 30 million and is the first India-assisted infrastructure project within the capital city of Port Louis The newly inaugurated building is one of the five projects being implemented under the ‘Special Economic Package’ of $353 million extended by India to Mauritius in 2016. SABIC in Spain to Become World’s First Large Scale Chemical Production Plant to Completely Run on Renewable Energy The Polycarbonate facility of SABIC in Spain, is set to become the World’s first large scale industry to completely run on renewable power on signing a major agreement with Iberdrola, an electricity utility company to secure power from solar power projects. The Facility is expected to become fully operational by 2024 and support SABIC to achieve its clean energy target by 2025. This new plant will contribute 80,000 tonne annual reduction in the indirect emission of carbon dioxide supporting the climate change initiatives like EU 2030. BANKING & FINANCE BOB Financial Solutions Limited ropes Fiserv, Inc for Digital Transformation BOB Financial Solutions Limited(BFSL) has chosen Fiserv, Inc. to enable the digitization of their end-to-end card issuance and processing cycle and support the launch of several new and high-tech products including contactless credit cards, virtual credit cards among others. For this purpose, BFSL will utilize Fiserv’s FirstVisionTM, an end-to-end managed services solution. ECONOMY & BUSINESS Praj Signed MoU with ARAI to Jointly Develop Advanced Biofuels Application technology Praj Industries (Praj) and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which they will jointly develop advanced biofuels application technology for the usage in industry and transportation This technology will help reduce the health risks posed by air pollution in the transportation sector. This collaboration will enable them to jointly address technologies to expand the use of biofuels in a variety of applications, including the use of internal combustion engines (ICEs) in the transportation sector. AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS ‘Aditya’, India’s First Solar Powered Ferry Bags the 1st ‘Gussies’ electric boat awards – Gustave Trouvé Award On 26th July 2020, The Plugboats.com announced the winners of the 1st ‘Gussies’ electric boat awards officially known as ‘Gustave Trouvé Award for Excellence in Boats and Boating’. “Aditya”, India’s first & largest Solar Powered ferry, won the Gustave Trouvé Award under the Excellence in Electric Boats Designed for Paying Passengers category. Aditya built by Navalt Solar and Electric Boats is operating under the Kerala State Water Transport Department (KSWTD). SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY DIAT Developed ‘Aashray’, the Medical Bed Isolation System to Combat COVID-19 The Defence Institute of Advanced Technology(DIAT) has developed ‘Aashray’, the Medical Bed Isolation System to fight against COVID-19 pandemic by controlling the spread of infection released by the patient. It is a low cost, reusable solution. The model of Aashray was manufactured by M/s Cleancore Solutions Pvt Ltd. Bhosari, Pune. Iran Launched the Underground Ballistic Missiles During ‘Great Prophet 14’ Military Exercise Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a paramilitary force, launched the underground ballistic missiles from the depths of the Earth in a completely camouflaged way during the last day of ‘Great Prophet 14’(code name- “Payambar e Azam 14”) military exercise near Gulf waters. SPORTS Indian GM P. Harikrishna Finishes Second in Grandmaster Triathlon Tournament at Biel Chess Festival 2020 Indian Grandmaster P. Harikrishna finished overall second spot in the Grandmaster Triathlon Tournament at 53rd Biel International Chess Festival which took place in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Poland’s Radoslaw Watjaszek finished first in the Biel Chess Festival. England Won the Final Wisden Trophy against West Indies by 2-1 On 28th July 2020, England won the third and final Wisden Trophy test match against the West Indies by 269 runs and won the series by 2-1. After this final series, The Wisden trophy will be retired and displayed at the Museum at Lord’s. It will be replaced by the Richards-Botham Trophy. The series started on 8th July 2020. Indian Domestic Player Rajat Bhatia Announces Retirement from All Forms of Cricket Delhi All-rounder Rajat Bhatia has called it quits to his two-decade long career. He announced his retirement on July 29, 2020. Highlights:- Rajat Bhatia has played 112 first-class games scoring 6482 runs (average 49.10) and scalping 137 wickets. He started his first class career playing for Tamil Nadu in 1999-2000 season and later went on to play for Delhi, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan. The Right-hand middle order batsman has 17 centuries & one five-wicket haul to his name. His best bowling figures 5/29 came in the 2007-08 Ranji season. His career-defining performance came during the 2007 Ranji season, where he helped Delhi to win Ranji Trophy with a gutsy knock of 139 runs in the final against Uttar Pradesh, also scoring 512 runs in 7 matches. It was the last time Delhi’s won the Ranji Tournament. He was part of title- winning Kolkata Knight Riders team in 2012 and has played for Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiants. Even though he has played more than 100 first-class matches, he could never be a part of the Indian cricket team. OBITUARY President of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, Somendra Nath Mitra passed away at 78 On July 30, 2020 President of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, Somendra Nath Mitra died at the age of 78 in Bellevue Hospital, Kolkata due to Kidney and heart ailments. He was born on 31st December 1941, Katorah, Jessore, Bangladesh. BOOKS & AUTHORS Dr. Harsh Vardhan released ebook titled “Standard Treatment Guidelines for the Management of Substance Use Disorders and Behavioural Addictions” On July 29, 2020 The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare (MoH& FW), Dr.