Current Affairs (August – 2020)

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This post contains important current affairs of 14 August 2020. It includes all Major National, International, Business and Sports related current affairs of 14 August 2020. We have collected the latest current affairs and compiled them date wise. These current affairs are important for all competitive exams like bank, ssc, ibps, sbi exams. The GK current affairs will help you score more in these competitive exams. A brief explanation of every current affair is provided to further enhance your general knowledge. Once you have gone through these current affairs we would recommend to you to try 14 August 2020 Current affairs test.

Telangana launches Articial Intelligence to help in farming
Telangana government launched it’s Artificial Intelligence for Agricultural Innovation (AI4AI) programme. The programme will be held in collaboration with the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), World Economic Forum, India.

West Bengal government launches scheme to provide soft loans, subsidies to youth
On the occasion of International Youth Day, the West Bengal government launched ‘Karma Sathi Prakalpa’ scheme under which one lakh unemployed youth would be provided soft loans and subsidies to make them self-reliant.

Punjab govt distributes free smartphones to class 12 students
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh launched a state-wide Rs 92 crore `Punjab Smart Connect Scheme’ that aims at providing more than 1.74 lakh class XII students with smartphones by November 2020. The scheme will benefit a total of 1,74,015 Class XII students of government schools in the first phase. The scheme will provide a global connectivity to the students and enable access to online education amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Goa Government Signs Pact For German Vocational Training In IITs
The Goa government has signed a tri-partite agreement to carry out world-class German dual vocational education and training in the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) of the state. This will “ensure optimal up-skilling of ITI graduates, including green skilling at par with the latest technological developments in the industry, thereby remarkably enhancing the employability of graduates from these IITs. The MoU was signed between the Directorate of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Siemens Limited and the German-headquartered GIZ. Siemens and GIZ India will undertake intensive coaching of instructors of ITIs.

India’s Katra-Delhi Express Road to be completed by 2023
The work has started on the first-of-its-kind Katra-Delhi express road corridor, which will be ready by 2023 and when it becomes functional, the travel time from Katra to Delhi will get reduced to around six and half hours, and from Jammu to Delhi to just about six hours. It was announced by Union Minister Jitendra Singh. The project is estimated to cost over Rs350bn ($4.6bn). This corridor will pass through Jammu and Kathua in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, as well as Jalandhar, Amritsar, Kapurthala and Ludhiana in Punjab.

Rajnath Singh launches Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) through an online webinar. The NIIO puts in place dedicated structures for the end users to interact with academia and industry towards fostering innovation and indigenisation for self-reliance in defence.

India extends USD 1 million assistance to Antigua, Barbuda to combat COVID19
India has extended an assistance of USD 1 million to Antigua and Barbuda to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. This assistance is aimed at improving health infrastructure and capacities in Antigua and Barbuda. The same level of assistance, i.e. USD 1 million, has been offered to each Caribbean Community (CARICOM) CARICOM is a group of twenty developing countries in the Caribbean.

India Announces $500-Million Package For Connectivity Project, Creation Of Air Travel Bubble With Maldives
India announced a USD 500 million-package to the Maldives for the largest connectivity project in the island nation to connect Male with three neighbouring islands. The interaction which took place through video conference was part of regular high-level exchanges between India and Maldives, according to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

HDFC Bank launches Shaurya KGC Card for armed forces
Private sector HDFC Bank launched a ‘Shaurya KGC Card’ for the armed forces. The Shaurya KGC Card will provide armed forces personnel with finance for agricultural requirements like production of crop, post-harvest maintenance and consumption needs. They can also avail of this funding to purchase farm machinery, irrigation equipment or construct storage structures, HDFC Bank stated, adding that the loan facility can be availed at its branches or through its e-Kisan Dhan.

Odisha award to three women for organ donation
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik felicitated the families of three women whose organs were donated after being declared brain dead. Patnaik gave them the ”Suraj Samman” through video conferencing on the occasion of the World Organ Donation Day. Their family members were also given Rs 5 lakh each from the Chief Ministers Relief Fund (CMRF).

‘Khaje’, ‘Harmal Chilli’ and ‘Moira banana’ get GI tag
Goa’s traditional festive sweet dish ‘Khaje’, spicy Harmal Chilli and Myndoli Banana (Moira Banana) has obtained Geographical Indication (GI) tag in last three months, thus giving the local producers exclusive brand protection rights. Earlier, the State’s popular ‘Cashew Feni’ and ‘Khola Red Chilli’, had obtained GI tag.

Vikram Kumar Doraiswami appointed as India’s next envoy to Bangladesh
Indian Foreign Service officer Vikram Kumar Doraiswami has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Doraiswami succeeds Riva Ganguly Das as the Indian envoy in Dhaka.

Israel, US successfully test Arrow-2 ballistic missile defense system
Israel successfully tested its Arrow-2 ballistic missile interceptor. The Missile test was conducted in the test site in Central Israel over the Mediterranean Sea. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) of the United States of America along with Israeli Air Force and Israel Aerospace Industries conducted the testing. The Arrow-2 interceptor successfully performed its planned trajectory and destroyed the target. During the test, the Arrow intercepted an Israeli Sparrow-class medium-range target missile.