Current Affairs - August 18, 2020 Current Affairs

Former Indian cricketer and Uttar Pradesh minister Chetan Chauhan has passed away due to multiple organ failure. He was 73. Chauhan played 40 Tests matches for India, during his 12-year-long cricket career, scoring 2084 runs with 16 half-centuries and two wickets. He was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1981. Chauhan played Ranji Trophy for Maharashtra and Delhi. He was Minister for youth and sports in the state of Uttar Pradesh Cabinet in 2018 and has also served as Minister of Sainik Welfare, Home Guards, PRD and Civil Security in the UP Cabinet.

PM Modi in his speech of Independence Day 2020, announced the "One Sun, One World, One Grid" (OSOWOG) plan. Under this, there will be a trans-national electricity grid, for supplying solar power across the globe.

Indian Idol Season11 Finalist and Oscar Nominated Playback Singer Shahzan Mujeeb became First Ever National Brand Ambassador of Aligarh Municipal Corporation for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Campaign at National and International level.

This year, there were three Shaurya Chakra Awardees from the Indian Army for their counter-terrorism operations. The Wing Commander Vishak Naik has been awarded the Shaurya Chakra. Other recipients from the Indian Army are Lt. Col. Krishan Singh Rawat, Major Anil Urs and Havildar Alok Kumar Dubey. This is the third-highest peacetime gallantry award in the country for contribution to gallantry otherwise in the face of the enemy.

4th session of BRICS anti-drug working group held under the chairmanship of Russia; India represented by NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) Director General Rakesh Asthana.

A book titled "A Bend in Time : Writings by Children on the COVID 19 Pandemic" was released in July 2020, the introduction of which is written by award-winning children's author Bijal Vachharajani. The book is published by Talking Cub (children's imprint of Speaking Tiger).

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the proposal for a major expansion of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) to cover 173 border and coastal districts, to meet the aspirations of youth in all the border and coastal districts. With the expansion of NCC in the border and coastal districts, these areas will get trained manpower for disaster management, and the youth will also get skill training for making their career in the armed forces.

The Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has informed that Odisha will become the epicenter of India's overall steel industry, to accelerate the development of the domestic steel sector of the country.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that Chandrayaan-2 has captured images of the Moon by Terrain Mapping Camera - 2 (TMC-2) and named one of the craters as 'Sarabhai Crater' after Indian astrophysicist Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai who is regarded as the Father of Indian Space program, to celebrate his birth centena.

European Union has launched project 'Nirmanshree' for enhancing the women skill towards housing construction sector. This is the first-of-its-kind sustainable housing on a large scale in India with 1-million-euro.The project will be implemented in Beed and Osmanabad districts of Maharashtra and the Dhenkanal and Jajpur districts of Odisha.

Barclays has predicted India's GDP to contract by 6% in 2020-21 (FY21). Earlier it had estimated a contraction of 3.2%.The reason for this downward revision of GDP is India's rising coronavirus infection curve. For FY22, Barclays has predicted India's GDP at 7% as compared to 7.4% earlier.

Indian Railways is constructing the world's tallest pier bridge in Manipur. The bridge which is being constructed across river Ijai near Noney is an engineering marvel because the tallest pier height will be 141 meter.

The 584th meeting of the Central Board of Reserve of Board(RBI) under the Chairmanship of Governor Shaktikanta Das approved the transfer of Rs 57,128 crore in surplus as dividend to the Central government for the accounting year 2019-20.

On August 14, 2020, i.e. on the final day of Atma Nirbhar Week celebration (Atmanirbharta Saptah) between August 7-14, 2020 of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and to boost Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (self-reliant India movement), Union Defence Minister (Raksha Mantri) Rajnath Singh virtually launched Department of Defence Production (DDP) portal SRIJAN as a part of "opportunities for Make in India in Defence".

Team of researchers of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru, Karnataka and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) developed a sustainable process for making brick-like structures named "Space Bricks" on the surface of the moon. The process uses the lunar soil, bacteria and guar beans to make the space brick.

National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) Investor Protection Fund Trust (NSE IPFT) and Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) have jointly developed and launched Platform for Investor Education (PIE), an online investor education resource centre.

The tricolour was hoisted for the first time at the iconic Times Square in New York yesterday to celebrate India's 74th Independence Day. India's Consul General in New York, Randhir Jaiswal hoisted the Indian flag during a special commemoration of Independence Day at Times Square.

PM Modi in his speech of Independence Day 2020, made the announcement that the project to connect all the villages of India with optical fibre network will be completed in the next 1,000 days.

Bangladesh is observing the National Mourning Day marking the 45th anniversary of the brutal assasination of its founder President Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15th August.