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 Assam Current Affairs & GK – June 29 – 30, 2020

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of June 29 – 30, 2020 )

June 2020 Current Affairs Monthly PDF  |  Assam 2020 Yearbook  | June 2020 Quiz Monthly PDF

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  June 29, 2020

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The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Forms Committee to investigate Assam Gas Leak

• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered for a high-level committee to look into the recent blowout at an Oil India Ltd (OIL) well in Baghjan, Assam.
• NGT also asked the public sector company to deposit Rs 25 crore for damages caused.
• The committee will have the mandate to examine the cause and damage from the blowout that occurred on May 27, 2020. The oil-and-gas well, owned by OIL, at Upper Assam’s Baghjan village subsequently caught fire on June 9, after leaking for about a fortnight.
• An eight-member committee headed by Justice BP Katakey, a former Gauhati High Court judge, was formed to probe the incident. The committee headed by Justice Katakey will submit its report within 30 days after looking into 13 points listed by the NGT order.

1. Cause of gas and oil leak
2. Extent of loss and damage caused to human life, wildlife and environment
3. Damage and health hazards to the public
4. Possible contamination caused to water, air and soil around the oil well
5. Extent of contamination of the Dibru river due to the oil spill
6. Air quality monitoring, along with collecting soil and groundwater samples of the area and testing water from the Dibru
7. Impact on the eco-sensitive Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and Maguri-Motapung wetland zone
8. Impact on agriculture, fishery and domestic animals in the area
9. Any mitigation measures put in place by OIL to offset incidents such as this one
10. Individuals responsible for the fire incidents and the cause of failure to prevent the incident
11. Assessment of compensation for victims and cost of restitution of damage caused to property and environment
12. Preventive and remedial measures
13. Any other incidental or allied issues

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UP Governor Anandiben Patel given additional charge of MP

• President Ram Nath Kovind has given Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel additional charge of Madhya Pradesh, in view of MP Governor Lalji Tandon’s poor health condition.
• Patel has been given the additional duty of Madhya Pradesh, keeping in mind the current medical condition of Tandon.

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PGIMER to conduct clinical trial for rapid antigen detection

• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has initiated a programme of clinical trials for rapid antigen detection for COVID-19 patients.
• The procedure will not only help keep a track on the increasing number of COVID-19 patients but also enable easy access to detect the affected COVID-19 patients on a larger scale within a short span of time.
• The ICMR has identified seven tertiary-care hospitals across the country to initiate trials and the PGIMER has been selected as one of the sites to be part of this programme for critically-ill COVID-19 patients.

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Centre allocate 231 crore to Arunachal Pradesh to implement Jal Jeevan Mission

• Under Jal Jeevan Mission the state will get Rs 231 crore under the 15^th Finance Commission Grants to PRIs during 2020-21; 50 per cent of this amount has to be mandatorily to be spent on water and sanitation.
• Arunachal Pradesh Government is also asked to expedite implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission, a flagship programme that aims to improve the lives of rural people by providing safe drinking water to every rural household through household tap connections by 2024.
• Under Jal Jeevan Mission, water quality testing laboratories at district and state levels are given priority. Community is being involved for surveillance of water quality.
• Arunachal Pradesh plans to provide cent per cent tap connections to all the households of the state by March, 2023 and accordingly the Centre has allocated an amount of Rs 255 crore for the state under the mission in 2020-21.
• The state would be given additional funds in form of performance grants based on the achievement in terms of tangible outputs – the household tap connections and commensurate financial progress.
• Of the 2.18 lakh total rural households in Arunachal Pradesh, 37,000 households have been already provided with tap connections.

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 June 30, 2020

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Kharchi Puja begins in Tripura

• The week-long tradition Kharchi festival began at Khayerpur in West Tripura district amid COVID-19 pandemic. Kharchi Puja is one of the most important festivals of Tripura during which 14 deities are worshipped.
• The formal inauguration programme was cancelled due to the pandemic. Raj Chantai opened the Chaturdash Devata temple after a ceremonial procession and offered prayers marking the beginning of the puja.
• Additional security forces have been deployed in and around the temple to strictly enforce the COVID-19 guidelines like social distancing and wearing of masks.

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Tushar Mehta and K.K. Venugopal reappointed as Solicitor General and Attorney General for India, respectively

• The Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet has approved the re-appointment of senior advocate Tushar Mehta as Solicitor General for a period of three years.
• Senior advocate K.K. Venugopal has also been reappointed to the post of Attorney General for India for a period of one year.
• The Centre has re-appointed Vikramjit Banerjee, Aman Lekhi, Madhavi Divan, K.M. Nataraj and Sanjay Jain as Additional Solicitors Generals for the Supreme Court for three years.

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India bans 59 Chinese apps over national security concerns

• Indian government banned nearly 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat and UC Browser and Xiaomi’s Mi Community over national security concerns. In this regard, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a list of 59 Chinese apps that are now banned in the country.
• These measures have been undertaken since there is credible information that these apps are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.
• The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures.
• The recommendations of the intelligence agencies have backing of the National Security Council Secretariat which determined that certain China-linked applications could be detrimental to the country’s security.

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World’s largest Plasma Therapy trial centre launched in Maharashtra

• Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated ”Project PLATINA” – India’s first and the world’s largest Plasma Therapy Trial Centre in Nagpur.
• This centre will help formulate definite treatment guidelines for the entire country in managing critical Covid-19 patients.
• State sanctioned Rs 16.65 crore for Project Platina and clinical trials from the CM’s Relief Fund, and the project has been completed in barely three weeks.
• With this project, the government hopes to save around 500 seriously ill Covid-19 patients in the state free of cost, amidst recent apprehensions of prohibitively high costs for this form of treatment expressed in some circles.
• Each critical patient would receive 2 doses of 200 ml of convalescent plasma from recovered patients which contains antibodies against coronavirus that will fight the infection and help the serious patients recover.
• Four other facilities were inaugurated Plasma Donation, Plasma Bank, Plasma Trial and Emergency Authorisation centres.

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Karnataka unveils ‘Skill Connect’ portal for jobs in Karnataka 

• Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has unveiled ‘Skill Connect’ portal, which is a meeting point for job seekers and job givers in the state.
• The portal offers a choice of industries for job seekers to choose and apply, such as automotive, banking and finance, hospitality, IT-enables services (ITeS), manufacturing, banking and others.
• Upon registering on the website and uploading the skills and educational qualifications, an employer looking for such a prospective candidate will match up to directly contact without the role of an intermediary.

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India, Bhutan sign pact on Kholongchhu hydel project

• A concession agreement for the 600-MW Kholongchhu hydroelectric project between the Royal Government of Bhutan and Kholongchhu Hydro Energy Limited was signed in Thimphu in the virtual presence of India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Bhutan Foreign Minister Lyonpo (Dr) Tandi Dorji.
• The 600-MW run-of-the-river project is located on the lower course of the Kholongchhu river in Trashiyangtse district in eastern Bhutan.
• The project envisages an underground powerhouse of four 150-MW turbines with water impounded by a concrete gravity dam of 95 metres height. It will be implemented by Kholongchhu Hydro Energy Limited, a joint venture company formed between Druk Green Power Corporation of Bhutan and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited of India.
• this agreement will lead to commencement of construction and other works of this first joint venture hydroelectric project between India and Bhutan. The project is expected to be completed by 2025.

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SAP India unveils “Global Bharat” initiative to make MSMEs globally competitive

• SAP launched a new programme called “Global Bharat”, in association with Nasscom Foundation, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Pratham InfoTech Foundation, to enable Indian Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) become globally competitive by equipping them with digital technologies. The programme was launched
• The initiative is aimed at driving greater efficiencies of MSMEs by adopting three initiatives gaining access to global marketplace, digitally skilling workforce and digitally transforming businesses.
• Global Bharat, is an endeavour to enable MSMEs to augment business operations and re-access critical processes that overcome inefficiencies and make them globally competitive.
• MSMEs will have open access to SAP Ariba Discovery where any buyer can post sourcing needs and any of the four million suppliers on Ariba Network can respond with their ability to deliver the goods and services required with no fees through December 31, 2020.
• Business owners will have access to SAP India’s Code Unnati, a coveted “Golden Peacock Award” winning digital skilling initiative.
• MSMEs will be provided accessibility to 240 courses, with more getting added in a few months, on digital financial, soft skills, productivity technologies that will digitally skill the workforce and adapt to the new working environments.

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Bharat Biotech Covid vaccine Covaxin gets permission for human clinical trials

• Bharat Biotech has successfully developed Covaxin, India’s first vaccine candidate for Covid-19, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Virology (NIV), which will begin its human trials next month.
• The Drug Controller General of India – Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare granted permission to initiate Phase I and II human clinical trials after the company submitted results generated from preclinical studies, demonstrating safety and immune response.
• The indigenous, inactivated vaccine was developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech’s BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) High Containment facility located in Genome Valley, Hyderabad.

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Union Minister of Tribal Affairs launches Tribes India products on Gem

• Ministry of Tribal affairs has initiated several immediate initiatives to re-energise the lagging economic activity for sustaining the livelihood development of tribals.
• The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs inaugurated the TRIBES India store on Government eMarketplace which can help in facilitating purchases by Government and then the revamped website (https://trifed.tribal.gov.in/), which has all relevant details about the schemes and initiatives underway to the benefit of tribal communities.
• The Tribes India e-Marketplace, coming on the heels of the Retail Inventory Management System which has automated the sourcing and sale of stocks, is an ambitious initiative to on-board almost 5 lakh Tribal Artisans on the e- market platform to provide them access to national and international markets.
• TRIFED’s VanDhan Integrated Information Network facilitates the pooling of all information pertaining to forest dwellers engaged in Minimum Support Price Operations and its VanDhan Yojana linking them up to Village haats and Warehouses.

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Indian Navy inducts indigenously developed Torpedo Decoy System Maareech

• Anti-Submarine Warfare capability of the Indian Navy received a major boost with the induction of Advanced Torpedo Decoy System Maareech capable of being fired from all frontline warships.
• Design and Development of this anti-torpedo decoy system has been undertaken indigenously by DRDO labs-(NSTL and NPOL). 
• The Bharat Electronics Limited would undertake the production of this decoy system.

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Assam Current Affairs – June 15- 21, 2020

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of June 15 – 21, 2020 )

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June 15, 2020

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Dibru Saikhowa National Park suffered grave damage in Baghjan blaze

• Environmentalists are worried that the grave damage has been caused by the Baghjan gas well blowout and fire to Dibru Saikhowa National Park and Maguri Motapung Beel, an important wetland and Important Bird Area site.
• The Maguri Beel has borne the brunt of the gas-condensate leakage and also the blaze that is still raging. A panel is assessing the situation, and water and soil samples of both the wetland and the national park have been sent for testing.
• The wetland and its peripheral areas had been covered with an oily substance and unless removed immediately, the wetland’s ecology would suffer long-term damage. Much of the grassland has been burnt after the fire. Carcasses of a Gengetic river dolphin, fish, and birds have been recovered from the wetland in the past few days.

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India builds first ever infectious disease diagnostic lab

• India’s builds first everinfectious disease diagnostic lab (I-LAB). This rapid response mobile labrotary is part of Indian Govt’s Aatmnirbhar Bharat.
• This labrotary was built in a record time of eight days from the date of receipt of Automotive Chassis, from Bharat Benz, with the support of Department of Bio-Technology.
• This lab is a BSL-2 facility with on site Elisa, real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) test and Bio chemistry analysers.
• It cas capacity to test Elisa about 200 per day and RTPCR about 50 per day.

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Kathy Sullivan the first American Woman to walk in space reaches Challenger Deep, the deepest spot in the ocean

• The astronaut Kathy Sullivan has become the first woman to reach the Challenger Deep, about seven miles below the ocean’s surface.
• She is also the first American woman to walk in space, which makes Dr. Sullivan the first person to both walk in space and to descend to the deepest point in the ocean.

FACTFILE – Challenger Deep

• The Challenger Deep is the deepest known point in the Earth’s seabed, with a depth of 10,902 to 10,929 metres.
• It is located in the Western Pacific Ocean, at the southern end of the Mariana Trench near the Mariana Islands group.
• The depression is named after the British Royal Navy survey ship HMS Challenger, whose expedition of 1872–1876 made the first recordings of its depth.
• The first descent by any vehicle was by the manned bathyscaphe Trieste in January 1960; unmanned visits followed in 1996, 1998 and 2009.

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Australian honour for Indian musician Shobha Sekhar

• Indian Musician Shobha Sekhar, the founder of Kalakruthi a music organisation in Australia receives the Medal of the Order of Australia(OAM) for her service to Indian music and dance.
• The Melbourne-based artiste and lecturer, University of Melbourne, figures in the Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List and will be conferred the Medal of the Order of Australia. 
• Kalakruthi is affiliated to The Music Academy, Chennai, and the students receiving lessons in advanced levels from the faculty of the Academy’s music school.

FACTFILE – The Medal of the Order of Australia

• The medal of the order of Australia is awarded to the individuals contributing to their community or to Australia globally or domestically.
• The recipients are nominated and assessed independently as worthy of recognition.

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Maharashtra to sign 12 MoUs with global investors

• Starting the ”Magnetic Maharashtra” initiative, Maharashtra Govt is ready to sign 12 major MoUs with global companies for investments in the state.
• Important MoUs shall be signed with companies from USA, China, South Korea and Singapore besides a bilateral investment discussion, via video-conferencing.
• There has been interest from other countries like Russia, Japan, Germany and others in various sectors like engineering, automobiles, food processing, ESDM, IT, ITES, and others.
• The state will also unveil its ”Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0” roadmap featuring pathbreaking ease of business initiatives of like Plug & Play infrastructure, a land bank of over 40,000 acres, flexible rentals/pricing structures, automatic permissions with 48 hours, specialised labour protection guidance, and the entire ecosystem for investments in the state.

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June 16, 2020

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Jaideep Mazumdar from Assam appointed as Ambassador to Austria

• Jaideep Mazumdar, the senior most serving Indian diplomat from Assam, has been appointed Ambassador to Austria and Montenegro, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations (UN) in Vienna and India’s Governor on the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna.
• Earlier, Mazumdar was India’s Ambassador to the Philippines, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia. He also served in Hong Kong, Beijing, Bangladesh, Nepal, UN and Cairo.

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Indian-American soil scientist Rattan Lal wins prestigious World Food Prize

• Eminent Indian-American soil scientist Rattan Lal was named this year’s recipient of USD 250,000 World Food Prize, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
• He is helping millions of small farmers around the world with his work on increasing food production and recycling of nutrients.
• Rattan Lal was named as the 2020 World Food Prize Laureate for developing and mainstreaming a soil-centric approach to increasing food production that conserves natural resources and mitigates climate change.
• Dr Lal’s research in soil science is helping the earth’s estimated 500 million small farmers be faithful stewards of their land though improved management, less soil degradation, and the recycling of nutrients.
• A native of India and citizen of the United States, Lal has in his career of over 50 years and across four continents promoted innovative soil-saving techniques that benefited the livelihoods of more than 500 million smallholder farmers, improved the food and nutritional security of more than two billion people and saved hundreds of millions of hectares of natural tropical ecosystems.
• Lal is the founding Director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at The Ohio State University (OSU).

FACTFILE – World Food Prize

• The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world.
• Since 1987, the prize has been awarded annually to recognize contributions in the world food supply.
• Conceived by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug, the prize emphasizes the importance of a nutritious and sustainable food supply for all people.

Points2Remember

• Prof. M. S. Swaminathan was the first Indian to receive this award in 1987, for introducing high-yielding wheat and rice varieties to India starting India’s Green Revolution.
• In 1989, Dr Verghese Kurien was selected for this award for founding the Operation Flood, the largest agricultural development program in the world which made the farmer the owner of his cooperative, due to that, India emerged as the largest producer of milk in 1998.

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PepsiCo Foundation commits $3 million for safe water in Bengal, Maharashtra

• The PepsiCo Foundation has committed to invest $3 million with the NGO ”WaterAid” to provide safe water access to agricultural communities and help women in high water-risk areas in West Bengal and Maharashtra.
• It aims to provide 2 lakh farmers and families access to piped water supply for household use, increased water resources, and will establish community-managed water distribution systems in these communities.
• The investment is in line with the government”s Jal Jeevan Mission which aims to provide functional household tap connections to every rural household by 2024.
• The PepsiCo Foundation also announced that they have helped more than 4.4 crore people gain access to safe water since 2006, with investment of more than $46 million since 2005 as a founding partner or early investor in programmes with partners like Safe Water Network, Water.org, WaterAid and many other NGOs.

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10% quota for TN Govt school students in medical colleges

• The Tamil Nadu cabinet gave its nod to promulgation of an ordinance to provide 10 per cent horizontal quota for students of state government schools.
• The decision is taken as per the report submitted by the one-man commission, headed by former Madras High Court Justice P. Kalaiyarasan.
• The horizontal quota will be for students who pass the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to undergraduate course in medical colleges.

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Haryana brings Covid-19 care under Ayushman Bharat Yojana

• Haryana Govt brought Covid-19 patients under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
• The state health authority has also increased the medical management package by 20 per cent to help patients avail quality treatment facilities.
• Golden cards for over 22.14 lakh people have been made under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana.
• So far, over 1.12 lakh patients had been treated under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and costing the state Rs 135.33 crore.

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Centre allocates Rs 2,522 crore to Rajasthan under Jal Jeevan Mission

• The central government has allocated Rs 2,522 crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme for Rajasthan to mitigate the state’s drought and water scarcity problems and ground water pollution.
• Rs 1,051 crore was given to Rajasthan in the last financial year, Rs 2,522 crore has been allocated under the Jal Jeevan Mission this year, which is one-and-a-half times increase in allocation.
• In the present situation, the state will have more than Rs 3,500 crore as the central share.

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Airtel Payments Bank launches ”Suraksha salary account” for MSMEs

• Airtel Payments Bank announced the launch of ”Suraksha Salary Account” for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
• Through this account, MSMEs and other organisations will be able to make cashless payments and also provide a financial security blanket to their employees.
• Suraksha Salary account offers a wide range of benefits including ”Hospicash Insurance” and ”Personal Accidental” insurance cover.
• The policy will cover Covid-19 as well and mitigate the impact on the account holder due to potential loss of pay and savings during hospitalization.
• The account holder will also get free of charge group accidental cover of Rs 1 lakh.
• The account holder can make cash withdrawals, cash deposits and transfer money at Airtel Payments Bank’s 500,000 banking points across India.

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IIT-M researchers develop microwave process to make biofuel oils

• The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) researchers have developed a simple microwave process to produce biofuel oils with high energy values from two waste products, agricultural waste such as rice straw and bagasse and discarded plastics.
• Biofuel oils generated from renewable biological sources are considered a practical and pragmatic replacement for petroleum and petrochemicals. Biomass is the only renewable source of carbon on the earth with immense potential for the production of energy, chemicals and materials with zero carbon footprints.
• Agricultural waste products such as rice straw, sugarcane bagasse and wood chips, among others, can potentially serve as bio-oil producing biomass. One of the common methods to produce bio-oil from biomass is ”pyrolysis” of the biomass components into fuel components.
• Plastics that are rich in hydrogen, can serve as the hydrogen supplier to biomass in its conversion to low-oxygenate bio-oils. The IITM researchers used microwave to co-pyrolyse biomass and plastics. Microwave heats materials quickly and uniformly and is a selective and energy-saving technology.

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Government launches AarogyaPath portal for healthcare supply chain

• AarogyaPath, a web based solution for the healthcare supply chain was launched to serve manufacturers, suppliers and customers to effectively deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and to remove supply chain bottlenecks during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The vision of this initiative is to set up an information management and forecasting database platform at national level, by capturing the demand and supply scenarios for key healthcare needs items.
• This public platform will help healthcare users like hospitals, pathology laboratories, research institutes, medical colleges and patients, providing seamless access to suppliers, manufacturers for prevailing needs and demand related to medical equipment, diagnostic instruments, drugs, Personal Protective Equipment, respiratory assistance devices.
• AarogyaPath will become the national healthcare information platform of choice in the recent future by filling a critical gap in last-mile delivery of patient care within India through improved availability and affordability of healthcare supplies.

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June 17, 2020

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Assam to launch the Assam Targeted Surveillance Programme

• The Assam government has decided to launch the Assam Targeted Surveillance Programme (ATSP) to randomly test 50,000 samples in 11 days. The random testing under the ATSP would be conducted in four categories of people.
• Under the ATSP, random testing of people and workers involved in truck parking, loading and unloading of goods, including railway goods and godowns, would be conducted.
• Random testing would also be conducted on all frontline district officials, including health workers, police personnel, officials of the transport department and the district administration, Covid-19 management teams, hotel staff and family members of people released from the institutional quarantine centres.

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India 9^th is the largest recipient of FDI in 2019

• India received USD 51 billion in Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in 2019 and was the world’s 9^th largest recipient of FDI in 2019, according to a report by the UN’s trade body. This is an increase from the 42 billion dollars of FDI received in 2018, when India ranked 12 in the world.
• The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report revealed a lower but positive economic growth in India in the post-COVID19 pandemic period and India’s large market will continue to attract market-seeking investments to the country.
• In India, the biggest FDI host in the subregion, with more than 70 per cent of inward stock, the number of Greenfield investment announcements declined by four per cent in the first quarter, and Merger & Acquisitions contracted by 58. Information and communication technology and the construction industry are the sectors where most of the investments came in.
• Global FDI flows are forecast to decrease by up to 40 per cent in 2020, this would be for the first time since 2005 that global FDI falls below the USD 1 trillion mark.
• Companies in India are the subregion’s largest investors, with more than 90 per cent of outflows in 2019.
• Investments from India are expected to decline in 2020, with the largest MNEs revising their earnings down by 25 per cent in early 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic.

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First ever 5^th state of matter ever ‘Bose-Einstein condensate‘ observed in space

• NASA scientists on Earth have collaborated with astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) to corral the first ever Bose-Einstein condensate outside of Earth’s gravity.
• Bose-Einstein condensate is the fifth state of matter, and it lives way longer in space.
• To make a BEC, scientists must first corral and then supercool atoms. In the near-zero gravity in space, they can mix the ingredients in a much smaller catchment “trap”, which on Earth’s surface, the atoms begin to repel each other and fly apart almost instantaneously.
• Without gravity, the atoms float like everything else; and scientists can study them for the first time in microgravity. Previously, scientists were able to study tiny lengths of microgravity-like conditions by dropping experiments in freefall and other common workarounds.
• CAL is “the coolest spot in the universe,” piggybacking cutting-age cooling technology from Earth’s surface with the naturally ice cold temperature in deep space.
• As atoms approach absolute zero, they slow and become more and more pliable, forming BECs more readily. Researchers are using laboratory-favorite rubidium, one of just a handful of elements known to form BECs.

FACTFILE – Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC)

• Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) is called the fifth state of matter which is typically formed when a gas of bosons at low densities is cooled to temperatures very close to absolute zero (-273.15 °C).
• Under such conditions, a large fraction of bosons occupy the lowest quantum state, at which point microscopic quantum phenomena, particularly wave function interference, become apparent macroscopically.
• This state was first predicted, generally, in 1924–1925 by Albert Einstein following and crediting a pioneering paper by Satyendra Nath Bose on the new field now known as quantum statistics.

BIOGRAPHY – Satyendra Nath Bose

• Satyendra Nath Bose was an Indian mathematician and physicist specialising in theoretical physics. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, collaboration with Albert Einstein in developing the foundation for Bose–Einstein statistics and the theory of the Bose–Einstein condensate.
• A Fellow of the Royal Society, he was awarded India’s second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan in 1954.
• The class of particles that obey Bose–Einstein statistics, bosons, was named after Bose by Paul Dirac.

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Indian Institute of Toxicology Research develops disinfection machine for N95 masks, PPE kits

• The Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR), Lucknow, has developed a disinfection machine in association with a startup called Major Technology, for N95 masks and PPE kits which makes them reusable.
• It has been tested by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur and the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, and has received positive reviews.
• This equipment will help in saving on the cost of new Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits and masks and also save the environment as bio-medical waste will be reduced.
• CSIR-Indian Toxicological Research Institute (CSIR-IIITR), Lucknow was established in 1965, which is the constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research .

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India joins Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence

• India joined the league of leading economies including USA, UK, EU, Australia and others to launch the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI).
• GPAI will bring together leading experts from industry, civil society, governments, and academia to collaborate to promote responsible evolution of Artificial Intelligence.
• By joining GPAI as a founding member, India will actively participate in the global development of Artificial Intelligence, leveraging its experience around use of digital technologies for inclusive growth.
• GPAI is a first initiative of its type for evolving better understanding of the challenges and opportunities around Artificial Intelligence using the experience and diversity of participating countries.

FACTFILE – Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI)

• GPAI is an international and multi-stakeholder initiative to guide the responsible development and use of AI, based on human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation, and economic growth.
• Founding Members are Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• It will bring together leading experts from industry, civil society, governments, and academia to conduct research and pilot projects on AI. Initially it will comprise four working groups focused on responsible AI, data governance, the future of work, and innovation and commercialisation.
• GPAI will be supported by a Secretariat, to be hosted by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, as well as by two Centers of Expertise- one each in Montreal (Canada) and Paris (France).

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June 18, 2020

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India elected for 8^th term as Non-Permanent Member of UN Security Council

• India has been elected as a Non-Permanent Member of the UN Security Council for a two-year term for the 8^th time.
• India, the endorsed candidate from the Asia-Pacific states, won 184 votes out of the 192 ballots cast in the elections for the five non-permanent seats of the Security Council.
• Along with India, Ireland, Mexico and Norway also won the Security Council elections, for whom the two-year term as the non-permanent member would begin from January 1, 2021.

FACTFILE – Membership of the United Nations Security Council

• Membership of the United Nations Security Council is held by the five permanent members and ten non-permanent members.
• Prior to 1966, there were six elected members, while the permanent members have in essence not changed since the creation of the United Nations in 1945.
• Elected non-permanent members hold their place on the Council for a two-year term, and half of these places are contested each year.
• To ensure geographical continuity, a certain number of members is allocated for each of the five UN regional groupings.

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IIT Guwahati develops high quality, affordable Covid-19 kits

• Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati announced that its researchers have created several affordable and high-quality Covid-19. These affordable and sterile Viral Transport Media (VTM) kits, RT-PCR kits and RNA isolation kits have been developed at IIT Guwahati jointly with RR Animal Healthcare Ltd. with inputs from Gauhati Medical College And Hospital.
• The VTM kits are the first stop source used to collect the nasal and oral swab specimens from the individual source to the laboratory safely for culture and testing.
• The large scale production of all these kits has commenced to meet the requirement of the Assam State as well as will be made available across the country.

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Turkey’s Volkan Bozkir elected president of 75^th UN General Assembly

• Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkir has been elected president of the 75^th session of the UN General Assembly, which begins in September 2020.
• In a secret ballot vote, Bozkir was unopposed for the post, received 178 ballots in support as 11 nations abstained.
• Bozkir is currently serving as a Justice and Development (AK) Party lawmaker from Istanbul and head of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
• Bozkir is the first Turkish national to head the General Assembly. For the 74th session of 2019-2020, the first seat was occupied by Tijjani Muhammad-Bande from Ghana.

FACTFILE – President of the United Nations General Assembly

• The President of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted for by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) every year.
• The President presides over the sessions of the General Assembly.
• The presidency rotates annually between the five geographic groups: African, Asia-Pacific, Eastern European, Latin American and Caribbean, and Western European and other States.
• It is customary that no permanent member of the United Nations Security Council ever serves as UNGA president.
• Most powerful countries have never held the presidency, such as the People’s Republic of China, France, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Point2Remember

• Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit from India was the President of the 8^th United Nations General Assembly in 1953. She was also the first woman president of UNGA.
• Paul-Henri Spaak was the President of the first session of the General Assembly of the new United Nations in 1945.

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Google launches program to support Indian startups creating solutions

• Google expanded its programme for startups ‘Google for Startups‘ to support startups working on the solutions to solve real-life challenges towards the new normal post COVID-19 landscape in India.
• Google for Startups has opened applications for the new batch of Google for Startups Accelerator, with a special focus on health-tech, fin-tech, edu-tech, agri-tech, retail and SaaS startups.
• Google for Startups also announced the launch of ‘Emerging stronger: Playbook’ for startups to face the Covid-19 Challenge.

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Khelo India State Centres of Excellence to be set up across India

• The Union Sports ministry is going to establish Khelo India State Centres of Excellence under the Khelo India Scheme. One such centre will be identified in each State and Union Territory with an aim to create a robust sporting ecosystem in the entire country.
• In the first phase of Khelo India State Centre of Excellence, state-owned sports facilities in eight states including Karnataka, Odisha, Kerala, Telengana, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland which will be upgraded.
• While funds for expert coaches, supporting staff, equipments, infrastructure will be extended through the Khelo India Scheme, respective State and Union Territory will be responsible for all aspects of management of the centre including, boarding, lodging and maintenance. 

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June 19, 2020

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India ranked 43^rd in IMD’s  World Competitive Index 2020

• India continues to remain ranked 43^rd , among the 63 nations, on the World Competitiveness Index compiled by Institute for Management Development (IMD) mainly due weakness in poor infrastructure and insufficient education investment.
• US has moved down to 10th place, while India is ranked second after China (20^th), followed by Russia (50th), Brazil (56th) and South Africa (59th).

TOP Countries Rank

• Rank 1 – Singapore
• Rank 2 – Denmark
• Rank 3 – Switzerland
• Rank 4 – Netherlands
• Rank 5 – Hong Kong

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AIIB clears $750 million loan to India for COVID-19

• Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a $750 million loan to India to help strengthen its response to the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on millions of poor and vulnerable households.
• Co-financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the funding assistance will bolster economic aid for businesses, including for the informal sector, expanding social safety nets for the needy, and strengthening the country’s healthcare systems.
• Many of the world’s low and middle-income countries are still in the early stages of the health crisis but are already feeling the impact of the pandemic. This poses an enormous risk for millions across India who have only recently emerged from poverty.

FACTFILE – Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

• The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank with the main purpose of supporting the building of infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region.
• The bank currently has 82 members as well as 20 prospective members
• The bank started operation after the agreement entered into force on 25 December 2015, after ratifications were received from 10 member states holding a total number of 50% of the initial subscriptions of the Authorized Capital Stock.
• The allocated shares are based on the size of each member country’s economy (GDP Nominal (60%) and GDP PPP (40%)), and the number of shares determines the fraction of authorized capital in the bank.
• The starting capital of the bank was $100 billion, equivalent to ​2⁄3 of the capital of the Asian Development Bank and about half that of the World Bank.
• The bank was proposed by China in 2013 and the initiative was launched at a ceremony in Beijing in October 2014. It received the highest credit ratings from the three biggest rating agencies in the world.

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NASA , ESA and JAXA to provide satellite data on Covid-19

• NASA has partnered with European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to unveil a global view of Covid-19 impacts, named “Covid-19 Earth Observation Dashboard”. This dashboard of satellite data will show the impacts of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic on the environment and socioeconomic activity.
• This dashboard is a tri-agency collaboration that brings together current and historical satellite observations with analytical tools to create a user-friendly information resource for the public and researchers. It will track key indicators of changes in air and water quality, climate, economic activity, and agriculture.

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Two Indian firms in WEF’s 2020 Technology Pioneers

• World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced its 2020 cohort of Technology Pioneers of100 new tech firms which are leaders in carbon capture, alternative meat and circular economies, while some of them aims to address food security, financial access etc.
• The 20^th cohort of Technology Pioneers comprised 2 Indian firms namely – ZestMoney and Stellapps.
• ZestMoney is an Indian Artificial intelligence-based digital lending platform which disburses affordable credit to millions.
• Stellapps is India’s data-led, internet of things-based startup platform which is enagaged in digitization of the dairy supply chain.
• The WEF’s Technology Pioneer community comprises of early to growth-stage companies from around the world. These companies are generally involved in the design, development and deployment of new technologies and innovations, and poised to make a significant impact on business as well as society.

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Fitch revises India’s Sovereign Rating Outlook to Negative

• Fitch Ratings Ltd. revised India’s long-term outlook to negative from stable, citing risks due to continued acceleration in the number of new Covid-19 cases.
• The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has significantly weakened India’s growth outlook with economic activity expected to contract 5% in the current fiscal.
• Recently, all three large global rating agencies have reviewed India’s sovereign rating. Moody’s downgraded India by one notch and retained a negative outlook on the rating.
• Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed India’s rating and the outlook. Fitch has retained the sovereign rating but changed the outlook to negative.
• India’s medium-term gross domestic growth outlook may be negatively affected with banks and non-bank lenders facing new asset-quality challenges. Fiscal metrics have deteriorated significantly due to the impact of a growth slowdown on revenue, fiscal deficit and public sector debt ratios.

June 2020 Current Affairs Monthly PDF  |  Assam 2020 Yearbook  | June 2020 Quiz Monthly PDF

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June 20, 2020

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New fish species ‘Schizothoraxsikusirumensis‘ discovered in Arunachal Pradesh

• A new species of fish has been discovered in Arunachal Pradesh by Dr.Keshav Kumar Jha, Associate Professor & Head, Department of Zoology, Jawaharlal Nehru College, Pasighat.
• The fish species is named as Schizothoraxsikusirumensis, and belongs to genus Schizothorax.
• The name of this fish species has been derived from the name of the rivers where it was found. This fish was collected from the junction of River Siku and Sirum near Gakang area under Mebo circle of East Siang District of the Arunachal Pradesh.

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Heartfulness Institute partners with AYUSH Ministry to host global Yogathon

• Heartfulness Institute has partnered with the Ministry of AYUSH and the United Nations Department of Public Information to host a global Yogathon, that includes a call to make compassion contagious, to showcase the need for compassion and will inspire people how to live a life of compassion.
• Union Minister of State for AYUSH (Independent Charge) Shripad Naik and Rajya Sabha MP Suresh Prabhu are among those who will participate in the Yogathon.
• June 21 is marked as the International Day of Yoga and the day has been celebrated annually on 21 June since 2015.
• Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice which originated in India.

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Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry signs MoU with SIDBI for implementing PM SVANidhi

• Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry and Small Industries Development Bank of India, SIDBI signed an MoU to engage SIDBI as the implementation agency for PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi).
• SIDBI will implement the PM SVANidhi Scheme under the guidance of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. It will also manage the credit guarantee to the lending institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises.
• SIDBI will also develop and maintain a customized and integrated IT Platform providing end-to-end solutions, including documentation of all the processes and workflows for an end-to-end solution, through a Portal and a Mobile App.
• PM SVANidhi was launched on 1^st June 2020, for providing affordable Working Capital loan to street vendors to resume their livelihoods that have been adversely affected due to Covid-19 lockdown.
• This scheme targets to benefit over 50 lakh Street Vendors who can avail a working capital loan of up to ten thousand rupees, which is repayable in monthly instalments in the tenure of one year.

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Climate Change Tracker – India’s first climate change assessment released

• India released its own national report on the state of the climate crisis ‘ Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region’. The report is prepared under the aegis of the ministry of earth sciences (MoES).
• As per the report, India’s average temperature has increased by 0.7 degrees Celsius between 1901-2018, and that this is due to the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG).
• Best-case scenario of immediate mitigation of emissions, India’s temperature will still rise by 2.7 degrees Celsius by 2099 and in worst-case scenario temperature will rise by 4.4 degrees Celsius in the same period.
• Surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean (including the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea) have risen by 1 degree Celsius between 1951-2015, which higher than the global average.
• The report establishes that precipitation over north India has decreased by 6% (1951-2015) due to the polluting aerosol “brown cloud”. 
• The April-June heatwaves will become four times more frequent by 2099 (compared to 1976-2005), and their duration might also double.

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Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurates an International Workshop on Good Governance Practices

• Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurates an International Workshop on Good Governance Practices in a Pandemic for International Civil Servants.
• The two-day international Conference is being attended by 81 International Civil Servants from 16 Countries including the Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Army Major General HJS Gunawardena, 19 Senior Secretaries to Government from Bangladesh, 11 District Administrators from Myanmar, Senior officials from Bhutan, Kenya, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, Somalia, Thailand, Tunisia, Tonga, Sudan and Uzbekistan.
• The international webinar workshop was jointly organized by Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC), Ministry of External Affairs and National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances.
• The Workshop was jointly conceptualized by the Ministry of External Affairs, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and National Centre for Good Governance with the objective of disseminating India’s good governance practices to ITEC countries.

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June 2020 Current Affairs Monthly PDF  |  Assam 2020 Yearbook  | June 2020 Quiz Monthly PDF

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June 21, 2020

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Assam’s COVID-19 recovery rate among top 3 states

• Assam was performing better in COVID-19 management than many other states and the State’s recovery rate of 63.3% was among the top three.
• The State crossed another milestone today by crossing the 3 lakh test mark. The number of test conducted per million populations in the State now is 8229, which is among the top six states.
• 2.43 lakh people have returned to the State from outside till date and all have been tested for COVID-19 and quarantined. 173 trains and 711 flights have come to Assam till date. The number of returnees is gradually decreasing.

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Nita Ambani recognized among top philanthropists of 2020

• The Town & Country, America’s leading general interest magazine, has featured Nita Ambani and the Reliance Foundation among the top philanthropists of 2020 “who are saving lives and our sense of hope” given the circumstances of Covid-19.
• The coverage spotlights Ambani for leading Reliance Foundation’s efforts in feeding frontline workers and the poor, its financial contributions, and for setting up India’s first Covid-19 hospital.
• Nita Ambani is the only Indian in the list which features prominent global individuals like Oprah Winfrey, Laurene Powell Jobs, Donatella Versace, Michael Bloomberg, Leonardo Di Caprio and more.
• The magazine states that The Reliance Foundation – the philanthropic initiative of Reliance Industries, founded and chaired by Ambani-distributed millions of meals and masks to frontline workers and the poor, set up India’s first hospital for Covid-19 patients, and donated $72 million to an emergency fund.

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500 year old temple found submerged in Mahanadi river of Odisha

• The 60-feet temple, believed to be around 500 years old, was located recently in the mid-river near Baideswar in the Padmavati area in Cuttack.
• The temple dates back to the late 15th or early 16th century, considering the construction style of the Mastaka and the materials used for the construction.
• The Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH) would approach the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take steps for relocating and restoring the temple. INTACH has so far located as many as 65 ancient temples in the Mahanadi river during its documentation project.
• The region used to be known as “Satapatana” in the early days. However, with the river changing its course due to catastrophic floodings, the entire village was submerged.
• INTACH Odisha had launched its project on the documentation of the heritage of the Mahanadi valley early last year. A comprehensive survey of the heritage, on both  bank of Mahanadi river has been undertaken in the nine districts, which is in its final stage of completion.

June 2020 Current Affairs Monthly PDF  |  Assam 2020 Yearbook  | June 2020 Quiz Monthly PDF

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