Current Affairs - July 20, 2017 Current Affairs

Australia became the 35th country to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA), an initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2015 in Paris. It is co-led by India and France. Australia's foreign minister Julie Bishop has signed the framework agreement to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

The Union Environment Ministry approved three projects for climate change adaptation in three states namely Rajasthan, Gujarat and Sikkim for funding under the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC). The National Steering Committee on Climate Change (NSCCC) headed by Environment Secretary approved the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) submitted by these three state governments.

Telangana is the first Indian state to have eco-friendly bridges for easy movement of tigers. The state will have the bridges over a canal cutting across the tiger corridor linking the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra with the forests in Telangana's Kumram Bheem Asifabad district. The concept of building eco-bridges came up after visits by experts from the Wildlife Board of India and the Wildlife Institute of India.

India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin slipped a place to take the third position in the latest ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers. Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath has climbed to second position after grabbing his eighth 10-wicket match haul and helping win the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in Colombo by four wickets.

A special webpage on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on PIB Website was launched by Principal Director General, Press Information Bureau, Shri A P Frank Noronha. It contains press releases issued till date on the GST in both Hindi and English, besides various presentations and frequently asked questions on the new taxation system.

National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate and former Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind will be India's 14th President of the country. He defeated opposition's Meira Kumar, a former Lok Sabha speaker, winning more than 65 percent of the votes in the Electoral College. A total of 32 polling stations including the one in Parliament House was set up in various states and a total number of 4,896 electors, 4,120 MLAs and 776 elected MPs are eligible to cast their ballot.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dedicated to the nation the state's longest bridge and named it after Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The 2.88 km bridge over the river Kathajodi will connect the state capital of Bhubaneswar with Cuttack reducing the distance between the two cities by 12 km.

India Ranks fourth fastest growing economy in the world. That's according to the World Bank's latest edition of Global Economic Prospects. For 2017, India's economy is expected to advance 7.2%. That's slightly above the country's long-term growth. India's economy has also benefited from ongoing market reforms that have improved competitiveness.

Madhya Pradesh government launched the Shala Siddhi Karyakram and Shala Siddhi Prohatsan Puraskar Yojana to provide qualitative education to 25000 students of government school. A time table has been fixed for the award process. According to the time table, selection committees at block level will be formed by the district core committees till July 22. The selected schools will forward their applications for Shala Siddhi Karyakram to Sankul Principals till July 28.

Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) & a miniratna Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the financial year 2017-18. Thus the MoU target for 'Revenue from Operations' has been set at Rs 1,150 crore, which is 43% higher than the financial year 2016-17 target of Rs 800 crore.

In Telangana, an innovative programme christened "Janahitha" was launched to receive complaints from public through a special portal. The programme, kick started in Suryapet district on pilot basis is aimed at facilitating the public to submit their complaints on line and get Speedy Redressal.

Veteran BJP leader LK Advani received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions as a Lok Sabha member. JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav got the Lifetime Achievement Award as a Rajya Sabha MP. The award was given by the Vice President Hamid Ansari at a function organised by the Lokmat Media Group.

The Minister of State for Tolerance has topped a poll of the most powerful Arab women in government this year, according to Forbes Middle East. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi was followed by two women from Egypt - Sahar Nasr, the country's minister of investment and international cooperation, and Ghada Wali, the minister of social solidarity.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) launched 'mAadhaar', a new mobile application for syncing Aadhaar data on mobile phones. It allows users to carry their unique Aadhaar information including name, date of birth, gender, address, and the linked photograph, on their smartphones. The app also allows users to lock or unlock biometrics data.

Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Department has received the award in the category of 'Best Adventure Tourism Destination and Eco-Tourism Destination' at a 3-Day event organized by Indian International Travel Mart, Chennai Deputy Director Tourism (Publicity) Peerzada Zahoor who was representing the J&K State received the award.