Daily Current Affairs,20th July 2018

1) India And Japan Hold 4th Round Of Maritime Affairs Dialogue

•India and Japan held the fourth round of Maritime Affairs Dialogue in New Delhi. During the dialogue, key issues related to the Indo-Pacific region and maritime security were discussed. 

•The Indian delegation at the dialogue was led by Pankaj Sharma, Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs) in the External Affairs Ministry, while the Japanese side was led by Ambassador Kansuke Nagaoka, Policy Planning and International Security Policy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

2) India, Ghana Ink 2 MoUs

•India and Ghana signed two agreements in an effort to enhance the bilateral cooperation between the two countries. 

•Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar announced that two MOUs on Cultural Exchange Programme and on cooperation between Bureau of Indian Standards and Ghana Standards Authority were signed. 

3) Chhattisgarh Launches 'Abhar Aapki Sewa Ka' App For Pensioners

•Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh announced a Chhattisgarh Online Pension Management System (OPMS). E-payment to e-procurement to provide internet to every village has been done. It is under e-governance, fulfilling the dream of Digital India plan of India and Digital Chhattisgarh. 

•The Chhattisgarh OPMS has launched an app called “Abhar aapki sewa ka”. Through this application, 80,000 pensioners of the state will now get all the information related to pension and payment online. 

4) Two Plus Two Dialogue Between India And US To Be Held In New Delhi

•US State Department has announced that the inaugural ‘two-plus-two dialogue’ between India and the United States will be held in New Delhi in September 2018. Recently, the US had postponed the dialogue due to ‘unavoidable reasons’. 

•Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis will travel to India for the dialogue with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.  

5) Myanmar Joins International Solar Alliance

•Myanmar joined the India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), thus, becoming the 68th signatory to the Framework Agreement of the ISA that aims for optimum utilisation of solar energy. 

•Myanmar Minister for International Cooperation, Kyaw Tin handed over the ISA Framework Agreement to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during a bilateral meeting on Delhi Dialogue 2018.

6) Infosys Foundation, Bangalore Metro Sign MoU For Constructing Station

•Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of IT major, Infosys, signed an MoU with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) for the construction of a station at Konappana Agrahara in Electronics City. 

•The station is under the second phase of Bangalore Metro's expansion plans and the Foundation has committed to maintaining it for the next 30 years. Infosys Foundation would contribute Rs 200 crore to the Bengaluru Metro Rail for the construction of Konappana Agrahara Metro Station and railway track.