www.gradeup.co Top Current Affairs of the Week (15 June- 21 June 2020) Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput passes away • Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput (34-years) committed suicide at Bandra residence in Mumbai. • He was noticed in the famous soap on Zee TV's 'Pavitra Rishta' in 2009, for which he received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. • Mr Rajput made his film debut in the buddy drama Kai Po Che! (2013). • Later starred in films such as PK (2014), sports biopic M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016), Kedarnath (2018) and Chhichhore (2019). Annual allotment of Rs 4000 crore under PMKSY- Per Drop More Crop • Govt has made annual allotment of Rs. 4000 crore to State Govts for ‘Per Drop More Crop’ component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY- PDMC). • It focuses on enhancing water use efficiency at farm level through Micro Irrigation technologies like Drip and Sprinkler irrigation systems. • It will help in saving water, reducing fertilizer usage, labour expenses and other input costs. • Micro Irrigation Fund corpus of Rs. 5000 crore has also been created with NABARD. Road to NDA 2020: A Master Course (English Batch) MP gives corona warriors status to Divyang Anganwadi workers • Madhya Pradesh Government conferred the status of corona warriors to the Divyang Anganwadi workers. • They are playing an important role by distributing nutritious food from house to house of the beneficiaries. • They are also spreading awareness regarding social distancing and the ways to protect from the infection. • Kanchan Gayari, Saroj Shukla, Babulal Rathore are few of them working in this area. • CM of MP: Shivraj Singh Chouhan • Capital: Bhopal Sports to be the part of curriculum in India’s new education policy • Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju announces that India's new education policy will have sports as part of the curriculum and not just as an extra-curricular activity. • High-level committee to shape the National Sports Education Board will be established to bring the national sports education board into shape. • The announcement was made during the inaugural session of ‘International Webinar on Olympism and Olympic Education in the 21st century’. Madhya Pradesh farmers created unique grain bank to help needy • Madhya Pradesh's Affluent farmers have created unique grain bank to help the needy people like migrant labourers with food. • The initiative is started by Patwari Rajesh Chaurasi and Parasia development block of Chhindwara district, Madhya Pradesh. 1 www.gradeup.co • In the grain bank, 23 quintals of wheat has been stored which will work as a boon to the needy. • This initiative has been appreciated by the district residents. • Governor: Lalji Tandon • Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan RBI constitutes Internal Working Group under PK Mohanty • RBI has constituted 5 member Internal Working Group (IWG) to review the extant guidelines on ownership and corporate structure for Indian private sector banks under Prasanna Kumar Mohanty, Director, Central Board of RBI. • It will investigate licensing guidelines, eligibility criteria, financial subsidiaries, norms for promoter shareholding of private banks along with major recommendation. • IWG will submit its report in Sept 2020. • RBI Governor: Shaktikanta Das • HQ: Mumbai Centre launches AarogyaPath portal for healthcare supply chain • Government has launched AarogyaPath portal for real-time availability of critical healthcare supplies amidst COVID-19. • This national healthcare information platform is developed by ICMR and Sarvodaya Infotech. • Users and manufacturers/authorized suppliers of healthcare essentials have to register themselves on the portal. • It will act as a single-point availability of items by hospitals, labs, research, medical colleges, patients, importers and manufacturers. India’s oldest 1st class cricketer Vasant Raiji passes away • India's oldest first-class cricketer, Vasant Raiji (100 years) passes away at his residence in Walkeshwar in Mumbai. • He was a right-handed batsman and played nine first-class matches in the '1940s and scored a total 277 runs. • He was the opener of Bombay and Baroda team in the Ranji Trophy and was a reserve for the Hindus team in the 1941 Bombay Pentangular. • After John Manners death, he was declared as the oldest living first class cricketer in the world. Renowned Urdu poet Gulzar passes away • Veteran Urdu poet Anand Mohan Zutshi ‘Gulzar' Dehlvi (93 years) passes away in Noida due to coronavirus. • He was a freedom fighter and a premier ‘inquilabi' poet. • He was the editor of first Urdu science magazine 'Science ki Duniya' which was published by Government of India in 1975. • He is also credited with opening Urdu schools across India. • He was the founder of Anjuman Tamir-e-Urdu association. • Born: Old Delhi's Gali Kashmeerian in 1926. Raja Parba festival begins in Odisha • Raja Parba festival (June 14 to 16) is being celebrated in Odisha every year. • It is a 3-day-long festival dedicated to Mother Earth (Bhuma Devi) and womanhood at large. 2 www.gradeup.co • The first day is called Pahili Raja, second is Mithuna Sankranti and third Bhu daha or Basi Raja. • In this unmarried girl perform various customs. • Also, Odia people do not undertake any construction work that require earth digging. • This festival is also associated with summer end and monsoon Arrival. Want to be a Pilot in Indian Air Force!, Click Here JNU develops new drug molecules against amoebiasis • Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Researchers have developed new drug molecules against the protozoa that causes amoebiasis. • Amoebiasis or amoebic dysentery is a disease caused of Entamoeba histolytica protozoa. • According to WHO, Entamoeba histolytica is the 3rd leading cause of death in the world. • It is anaerobic in nature but on entering human, it synthesizes large amounts of cysteine to counter oxidative stress. India joins Global Partnership on AI as founding member • India joins league of leading economies consisting of USA, UK, EU, Australia and others to launch Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI or Gee-Pay). • GPAI is 1st international multi-stakeholder initiative for responsible development of AI. • It will bridge the gap between AI theory and practice. • It will also bring together experts from industry, civil society, governments and academia for promotion of AI and its application in COVID-19. • Secretariat: Paris. Union Petroleum Minister launches Indian Gas Exchange • Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has launched Indian Gas Exchange (IGX). • It is the first nationwide online delivery-based gas trading platform. • It has been incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Indian Energy Exchange market platform. • It is fully automated web-based interface that enable market participants to trade in standardized gas contracts. • It will help nation to move towards free market pricing of natural gas. Sprinter Hima Das nominated for Khel Ratna award by Assam Government • India's sprinter Hima Das (Dhing Express) has been nominated for the prestigious Khel Ratna award. • She is one of the youngest nominee for this award. • She is India’s first track athlete to win global title at U20 World Championship. • She won 400m silver, 4X400 mixed relay gold and women's 4X400m gold at the Jakarta Asian Games in 2018. • She is holding the current Indian national record in 400 mtrs with a timing of 50.79 s. • Hima is already a recipient of Arjuna Award. Central Indian Railways launches Captain Arjun robot 3 www.gradeup.co • Indian Railway Central zone has launched AI enabled 'Captain Arjun ((Always be Responsible and Just Use to be Nice) ' robot for effective screening and surveillance of railway passengers and railway staff. • It will help Railways to modernize its security measure during COVID-19. • It will screen passenger while boarding and will keep a watch on anti-social elements. • It has motion sensor, PTZ camera, Dome Camera and efficient battery • It can speak in local language. • reads through drinking or eating uncooked food. Mahaveer Chakra Awaredee Lt Gen Raj Mohan Vohra passes away • Retired Lt. Gen. Raj Mohan Vohra (88 years) passes away in Delhi due to COVID-19. • He commanded elite Hodson’s Horse in the Shakargarh Sector in 1971 Indo-Pak war and was declared war hero. • He was awarded with 1972 Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), country's 2nd highest gallantry award for his conspicuous bravery and leadership. • He also fought for the Indo-Pak war of 1965. • He tenanted prestigious appointments like GOCinC Eastern Command and GOC 31 Armoured Division. • Born: Shimla SIPRI reports China, Pakistan as having more nuclear arsenal than India • Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) releases its yearbook showcasing the current state of armaments, disarmament, and international security. • As per the report, all nation have modernised their nuclear arsenals while India and China increased their nuclear warheads. • China’s nuclear arsenal increased from 290 in 2019 to 320 in 2020. • India’s nuclear arsenal increases from 130 in 2019 to 150 in 2020 while Pakistan has 160 arsenals in 2020. • HQ: Sweden Sports Ministry to establish Khelo India State Centres of Excellence • Sports ministry is about to establish Khelo India State Centres of Excellence under Khelo India Scheme. • Each state and UT will have these centres to create a robust sporting ecosystem. • In the 1st phase, Karnataka, Odisha, Kerala, Telengana, Arunachal, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland sports facility will be upgraded into centre of excellence. • State and UT will run the centre and build capacity to turn it into world-class sporting facility. Govt to launch ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’ scheme for rural India • Centre is set to launch ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’ to empower and provide livelihood opportunities to migrant workers and rural citizens. • It will be launched from Telihar village of Bihar through virtual medium by Prime Minister. • Villages across 116 districts in 6 states (Bihar, UP, MP, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha) will join.