Daily Current Affairs, 02nd September 2020

1) Union Cabinet approves “Mission Karmayogi” NPCSCB

•The Union Cabinet has approved the launch of a “Mission Karmayogi” National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB). A sum of Rs. 510.86 crore will be spent over a period of 5 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25 in order to cover around 46 lakh Central employees.

•Mission Karmayogi has been launched to prepare the Indian Civil Servant for the future by making him more creative, constructive, imaginative, innovative, proactive, professional, progressive, energetic, enabling, transparent and technology-enabled. Through this, the civil servant will be empowered with specific role-competencies, and will also be able to ensure efficient service delivery of the highest quality standards.

The National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB) will be launched with the following institutional framework:

•Prime Minister’s Public Human Resources (HR) Council

•Capacity Building Commission

•Special Purpose Vehicle for owning and operating the digital assets and the technological platform for online training

•Coordination Unit headed by the Cabinet Secretary

It will lay the foundations for capacity building for Civil Servants. An Integrated Government Online Training “iGOTKarmayogiPlatform” would be set up to deliver the programme. The platform will brings the scale as well as state-of-the-art infrastructure to enhance the capacities of over two crore officials in India.

2) Government of India Blocks 118 Mobile Apps

•The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India has decided to block 118 mobile apps in view of the emergent nature of threats. These applications have been blocked as there was information that these apps are engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state as well as public order. The step is expected to safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users and will also ensure safety, security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace.

•118 mobile apps have been blocked by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology by invoking it’s power under section 69A of the Information Technology Act read with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009.

3) Union Cabinet approves J&K official languages Bill 2020

•The Union Cabinet has approved J&K official languages Bill 2020. According to the J&K official languages Bill 2020, Kashmiri, Dogri and Hindi along with Urdu and English, will be the official languages in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

•The J&K official languages Bill 2020 will be introduced in Parliament in the upcoming Monsoon Session. This bill will include Dogri, Hindi and Kashmiri as officials languages of the Union Territory.

4) Mustapha Adib becomes new Prime Minister of Lebanon

•Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany, Mustapha Adib was appointed prime minister in crisis-hit Lebanon. Adib, who has been Beirut’s Berlin envoy since 2013, is affiliated with a small Sunni party headed by former Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

•Days after the blast, the government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab, a self-styled technocrat, stepped down. President Michel Aoun asked Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany Mr Adib to form a new government after he secured 90 votes in the 128-member Parliament.




5) Aveek Sarkar becomes new Chairman of Press Trust of India

•The Editor Emeritus and Vice Chairman of the Ananda Bazar Group of Publications, Aveek Sarkar has been elected as the chairman of Press Trust of India (PTI). He succeeds Vijay Kumar Chopra, Chief Editor of the Punjab Kesari Group of newspapers.

•Aveek Sarkar was the founding Managing Director of Penguin India, the Indian counterpart of Penguin Books, the founding Editor of Business Standard and also the pivotal figure behind the acquisition of STAR News by the ABP Group in 2003.

6) CFI to host first-ever Cycling Summit in 2021

•The Cycling Federation of India (CFI) is all set to host the first-ever Cycling Summit in 2021, with an aim to promote the culture of cycling in the country. This one-day summit is designed to promote the culture of cycling and exchange knowledge with budding and professional cyclists.

•The Cycling Summit 2021 will be hosted in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore and is expected to be a unique confluence of cycling enthusiasts, renowned athletes, and businesses from all over the country.

•The Cycling Summit 2021 will consist of cyclists, athletes, fitness and sports enthusiasts, cycling coaches, health and nutrition experts, and influencers. There will also be indigenous and global brands that cater to the needs of health, fitness and cycling enthusiasts. The summit is estimated to attract around 25,000 people in each city.

7) Pramod Chandra Mody gets 6-month extension as CBDT Chairman

•The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved extension in the re-appointment of  Pramod Chandra Mody as Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for a period of six months with effect from 01.09.2020 to 28.02.2021 or until further orders. The CBDT is headed by a chairman and can have a maximum of six members. It frames policy for the Income-Tax Department.

•PC Mody, a 1982 batch Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax cadre) officer, was appointed the CBDT chief in February 2019. He was in August last year re-appointed on the post for one year, till August 31, 2020, beyond the date of his superannuation on August 31, 2019.

8) Hemant Khatri becomes new CMD of Hindustan Shipyard Limited

•Commodore, Hemant Khatri (Retd) has assumed charge as the Chairman and Managing Director of state-owned defence shipbuilder, Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL) at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. He will replace Rear Admiral L V Sarat Babu (Retd). Previously, Hemant Khatri was serving as the Director of Strategic Projects HSL.

•Hemant Khatri was appointed as the CMD of HSL was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet(ACC) on 27th May 2020 with effective from 1st September 2020 till 31st July 2025 the date of his superannuation or until further orders.

9) A book title “The Big Thoughts of Little Luv” authored by Karan Johar

•Bollywood Filmmaker, Karan Johar authored a children’s picture book titled “The Big Thoughts of Little Luv” inspired by his Twins Yash and Roohi. The book will be published by Juggernaut Books.

•The book narrates the story of the twins Luv and Kusha and features the challenges faced by the parents and the difference imposed between the boys and girls by the parents while raising them. Karan Johar released his autobiography titled “An Unsuitable Boy” in 2017.

10) ICICI Prudential Life launched voice chatbot “LiGo” on Google Assistant

•ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited has introduced an Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered voice chatbot, “LiGo”, on Google Assistant. This will enable the company’s policyholders to address their queries by simple voice commands. It provides an easy to use and convenient service touch-point for customers.