Daily Current Affairs, 20th August 2020

1) Sadbhavana Diwas: 20th August

•Every year on 20th August, the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi is celebrated as Sadbhavana Diwas or Harmony Day. This year on 20th August 2020, we are going to celebrate the 76th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The Indian National Congress instituted Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award in 1992, a year after his death.

•Every year this day is celebrated in the memory of the late Rajiv Gandhi who was the youngest Prime Minister of India at the age of 40 years. In lieu of paying tribute to his vision for India, on this occasion contribution to society betterments are made.

2) Indian Akshay Urja Day 2020

•Indian Akshay Urja Day or Renewable Energy Day is observed on 20th August every year. Indian Akshay Urja is observed to mark the importance of renewable energy resources in India. India’s government is aware of the importance of development or renewable energy sources to provide the state with a sustainable amount of energy. It is significant to promote awareness about renewable resources among people who are ignorant about the subject.

3) Cabinet approves setting up of National Recruitment Agency

•The establishment of “National Recruitment Agency” has received the Union Cabinet‘s approval. The National Recruitment Agency (NRA) will result in transformational reform in the recruitment process for central government jobs. NRA will comprise of representatives of Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Finance/Department of Financial Services, the SSC, RRB as well as IBPS. NRA is expected to be a specialist body which will offer the state-of-the-art technology and best practices to the field of Central Government recruitment. A sum of Rs. 1517.57 crore has been sanctioned by the Government of India for the National Recruitment Agency (NRA).

The National Recruitment Agency (NRA) would be a multi-agency body which be responsible to conduct a Common Eligibility Test (CET). Some important features of CET:

•The CET will be conducted to shortlist candidates for the Group B and C (non-technical) posts.

•The scores received by the candidate in CET shall be valid for a period of 3-years from the date of declaration of the result.

•There shall be no restriction on the number of attempts to be taken by a candidate to appear in the Common Eligibility Test subject to the upper age limit.

•Separate CET each for the three levels of matriculate (10th pass), higher secondary (12th pass) and the graduated candidates.

•Based on the screening done at the CET score level, the final selection for recruitment shall be made via separate specialised Tiers (II, III etc) of examination which shall be conducted by the respective recruitment agency.

•Candidates will be able to reap the advantage of registering on a common portal and give a choice of Centres.

•CET would be available in a number of languages.

•CET is expected to significantly reduce the recruitment cycle.

4) India Post issued stamps on UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India

•India Post has released a set of five commemorative postage stamps and a miniature sheet on UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India on 15th August 2020 on the occasion of 74th Independence Day. This is the third part of the series.

The stamps depict following five cultural sites of India:

•The Historic City of Ahmedabad,
•Churches and Convents of Goa,
•Group of Monuments at Pattadakal,
•Khajuraho Group of Monuments,
•Qutub Minar.




5) Luis Abinader becomes new President of Dominican Republic

•Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona has been sworn in as the 54th President of Dominican Republic. He succeeds Danilo Medina of Liberation Party. Abinader’s Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) won the elections with 53% vote, while Gonzalo Castillo who was the candidate of the ruling PLD got 37.7%.

•The 53-year old Luis Rodolfo Abinader was elected to the four-year term on July 5, which ended the 16-year run in power by the Center-Left Dominican Liberation Party (PLD). He had finished second in the 2016 presidential election.

6) “Pavitrapati” & “Aushada tara” launched to fight against COVID-19

•Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, DIAT (DU) has launched two products namely “Pavitrapati” & “Aushada tara” to fight against COVID-19. “Pavitrapati” is an Ayurvedic based Biodegradable Face Mask which will act as a virus neutraliser in order to provide resistance against the bacteria / virus. These masks will be made available on online platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart etc.

•“Aushada tara” is an anti-microbial body suit which comprises of superhydrophobic, breathing, anti-microbial, comfort feeling properties. The has passed the splash resistant tests and has got good repellent property of any fluids.

7) ADB approved USD 1 billion loan for rapid transit system in India

•The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 1 billion (Rs 7,485 crore) loan to construct the modern, high-speed 82-kilometre  (Delhi – Meerut) Uttar Pradesh Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in India. The transit system project aims to help decongest the city and improve regional connectivity by establishing transit options through densely populated sections of the NCR connecting Delhi to Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.

8) 5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament held virtually

•5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (5WCSP) was held virtually. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Geneva, and the Parliament of Austria jointly organized the two day Conference with the support of the United Nations (UN). The conference was held with the theme “Parliamentary leadership for more effective multilateralism” to deliver peace and sustainable development for the people and planet.

•The conference was held with prime objective of strengthening multilateralism and international cooperation in order to rebuild a better world. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla participated in the inaugural ceremony of the conference.

9) RRVL acquires majority equity stake in Vitalic Health Pvt. Ltd.

•Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited has acquired majority equity stake in Chennai-based Vitalic Health Pvt. Ltd. as well as in its subsidiaries. Total transaction costed approximately Rs 620 crores. Vitalic Health Pvt. Ltd. is engaged in the business of pharma distribution, sales, and business support services, while its subsidiary runs an online pharmacy platform “Netmeds” which connects customers to pharmacists and offers door step delivery of medicines, nutritional health as well as wellness products.

•The investment made by Reliance Retail Ventures Limited represents 60% holding in the equity share capital of Vitalic Health while 100% direct equity ownership of its subsidiaries namely Tresara Health Private Limited, Netmeds Market Place Limited and Dadha Pharma Distribution Pvt Limited. The investment will improve RRVL’s ability to provide affordable health care products and services.