CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR UPSC & OTHER COMPETITIVE EXAMS
30 August 2020
National Sports & Adventure Awards 2020
1.1 In India, National Sports Day is celebrated every year on 29th August to give tribute to Major Dhyanchand on his birth anniversary.
1.2 On this auspicious occasion, the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind virtually presented the awards.
1.3 The following awards were given by the President to the following eminent persons in the field of sports & adventure.
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award- The award is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of the year. The prize money for this award has been increased to Rs.25 lakh from the previous Rs. 7.5 lakh.
This year the award goes to 5 winners- cricketer Rohit Sharma, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, table tennis player Manika Batra, hockey player Rani Rampal & para-athlete Mariyappan Thangavelu.
Arjuna Award - Arjuna Award is given for consistent outstanding performance for four years. The prize money for Arjuna Awards has been hiked to Rs. 15 lakh against Rs 5 lakh
The Arjuna Award recipients- Shooters- Saurabh Chaudhary & Manu Bhaker, Wrestler - Divya Kakran, Boxer- Lovlina Borghain, Badminton players- Chirag Shetty & Satwiksairaj Rankireddy. This year athletes in Kho Kho, Kabaddi, Equestrian, & winter sports were also awarded the Arjuna Award.
Dronacharya Award - The award goes to the coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events. The prize money is Rs. 15 lakh against Rs. 5 lakh. Kindly go to the link to know the awardees.
Dhyan Chand Award - is given for lifetime contribution to sports development. The prize money is Rs. 10 lakh against Rs. 5 lakh.
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar - is given to the corporate entities & individuals who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion & development.
The awardees are- Army Sports Institute, Lakshya Institute, ONGC, Air Force Sports Control Board, International Institute of Sports Management.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy - is given to the University, in inter-university tournaments.
The awardee is Punjab University, Chandigarh.
Tenzing Norgay National Adventures Award - is given to the person in the adventure field.
Telugu Language Day
2.1 Telugu Language Day, also known as Telugu Bhasha Dinotsavam is observed every year on 29th August in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
2.2 This day also commemorates the Telugu poet Gidigu Venkata Ramamurthy.
2.3 Telugu referred to as the ‘Italian of the East’ because the language ends with vowels just like the Italian language.
Bihar gets New Generation Network Telephone Exchange and Bharat AirFibre
3.1 Telecom Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad has launched a new Next Generation Network Telephone Exchange to serve the New Bihar Vidhan Mandal & the completely wireless BSNL Bharat Airfibre for rural areas in Bihar.
3.2 The Next Generation Network Telephone Exchange is a facility augmentation in Bihar Vidhan Mandal which will serve to the additional demand for reliable wireline and broadband services since it is connected on optical fibre. It has a capacity of 512 telephones wireline and 128 broadband connections.
3.3 The Bharat Airfibre will help to provide faster & reliable internet services in the rural areas. It works on the unlicensed spectrum and has very less interference which enables better quality of relay for the subscribers.
3.4 Both these two projects were allotted to BSNL, & in the past following projects were also allotted to them by the govt.-
Network for Spectrum (NFS),
Bharat Net Project for Optical Fibre Connectivity including more than 3000-gram panchayats of strategic Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir & Ladakh,
BSNL has recently commissioned submarine optical fibre cable between Chennai & Andaman & Nicobar Islands at a total cost of Rs. 1224 crore,
Likewise, the submarine cable connectivity has been planned between mainland & Lakshadweep Islands and will be executed by BSNL,
Allotted 4G spectrum to BSNL worth nearly Rs. 14,000 crore,
It has also provided almost 3 lakh Fibre to the Home (FTTH)/ Broadband connections across the country to meet the enhanced Internet requirements of ‘work from home’ during the pandemic.
Foundation Day of NPPA
4.1 The foundation day of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority was on 29th August 1997 as an independent regulator for the pricing of drugs and to ensure availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices.
4.2 It is an attached office of the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
4.3 NPPA addressed the issues of supply-chain constraints of non-availability of raw material, packaging material & manpower, etc, during the lockdown.
4.4 NPPA is propelling Digital India Mission by-
Pharma Sahi Daam - Its an app to check the prices of medicines.
Pharma Jan Samadhan - Public Grievance system to help people resolve their problems.
Pharma Data Bank- Online information collection from pharma manufacturers.
Plastic Waste Handling capacity inaugurated at Naval Base Kochi
5.1 The Plastic Waste Handling Capacity is inaugurated at the Naval Base Kochi.
5.2 The facility with a capacity to recycle about 150 kg plastic per hour will be owned and operated by INS Venduruthy. The facility is capable of processing both soft and hard plastic waste into shredded plastic which can be used for various recycled options.
IIT Kharagpur developed microneedle to administer drug painlessly
6.1 IIT Kharagpur claims to have developed a micropump and microneedle capable of administering large and viscous drug molecules in a painless way. Have reduced the diameter size of the microneedles and has increased the strength.
6.2 Successfully tested with animals as per the protocol.
India enters the final of the Chess Olympiad for the first time.
7.1 Koneru Humpy, the very renowned chess player won the Armageddon game and helped India to win Chess Olympiad Semi-Finale against Poland.
UP road to be named after late Indian cricketer Chetan Chauhan
8.1 A UP Road will be named upon the late Cabinet Minister & ex- India Cricketer Chetan Chauhan.
8.2 Chetan Chauhan had passed away this month at the age of 73 due to coronavirus.
PM inaugurated Agriculture University building in Jhansi
9.1 PM Narendra Modi has virtually inaugurated the college and admin buildings of Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University in Jhansi, U.P.
Amul, the 1st Indian dairy firm enter in Rabobank’s Global Top 20 list
10.1 Amul ( Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation ) has become the first Indian dairy firm to enter Rabobank’s list of Global Top 20.
10.2 Amul was ranked 16th in the list and Switzerland’s Nestle topped the list.
Usha Padhee becomer 1st woman DG of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security
11.1 IAS Officer Usha Padhee, who is the joint secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation has become the 1st woman to be the Director-General of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security
11.2 He is the longest-serving Japanese Prime Minister.
Melas Chasma on Mars resembles a ‘Dragon’: NASA
12.1 NASA shared a picture of the Melas Chasma canyon of Mars, which is resembling a ‘dragon’.
IIT-I to teach a course on ancient Indian science in Sanskrit
13.1 IIT-Indore has started a course ‘ Understanding Classical Scientific Texts of India in an Immersive Sanskrit Environment’ to impart scientific knowledge from ancient texts in Sanskrit.
Reliance to acquire the Future Group’s retail, wholesale & logistics business
14.1 Reliance Retail Ventures Limited announced that it will acquire the Future Group’s retail, wholesale, logistics, and warehousing business for Rs. 24, 713 crores.
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