Current Affairs 2020

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This post contains important current affairs of 24 July 2020. It includes all Major National, International, Business and Sports related current affairs of 24 July 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 24 July 2020 Current affairs test.

National Thermal Engineer Day is observed on July 24
National Thermal Engineer Day is celebrated on July 24 to appreciate the contribution of thermal engineers in everyday life. Electronics thermal management is key for its longevity and reliable operations. But thermal engineers do not get recognition for their work. Either engineer work in consumer electronics, large data centers, or aerospace electronics or biomedical, they contribute to the core of technological development for the country. This development does not function without thermal engineers.

Income Tax Day is observed on July 24
The Income Tax department marked Friday as the 160th Income Tax Day or Aaykar Diwas. July 24 has been celebrated as the Income Tax day in India since 2010. IT department decided in 2010 to mark July 24 as the day for the annual celebration to mark 150 years of this levy from that year onwards. Income tax was first levied as a duty in the year 1860 and the authority to levy that duty came into force on July 24 of that year.

Karnataka Cabinet approves Karnataka Digital Economy Mission
Karnataka State Government approved the formation of the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission. The Mission was aimed to promote over 7,000 start-ups, e-commerce, and other gig economy companies in the State. Karnataka Digital Economy Mission or new company will be incorporated under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 with the Government of Karnataka holding 49% and the remaining 51% by the industries and other stakeholders.

Gujarat Govt to provide free online classes for all students of private schools
Gujarat education department has decided to provide online education to all the students studying in standard 3 to 12 in self-financed schools in the state. The education will be imparted in both Gujarati and English medium which will be free of cost. The decision came after the self-financed schools decided to discontinue online education from yesterday over fee concerns.

Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda inaugurates e-Symposium on Handicrafts
Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda inaugurated an e-Symposium on Handicrafts organized by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy Research and Analysis, Indian Institute of Management, Shillong. The e-symposium was titled ‘Emergent North-East India: Strategic and Developmental Imperatives in Handicrafts’. He opined that the Bamboos in North Eastern States can be used in making better quality of Agarbattis and the burden of import can be lessened. Mr Munda said all North Eastern States can very easily be converted in to organic states to produce quality organic agro-products.

Cipla all set to launch anti-viral drug Favipiravir for treatment of COVID-19 patients
Pharma Company Cipla is all set to launch the anti-viral drug Favipiravir for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. A top government research institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research,CSIR has played an important role in the process by transferring the cost effective technology to Cipla. Director CSIR-IICR, Dr. S Chandrashekhar said, the technology provided by the Institute is very efficient and affordable. He said, it allows the company to make large quantities of drugs within a short span of time.

New health warnings for all tobacco products to come into effect from 1st December
Union Health Ministry has notified new sets of health warnings for all tobacco products by making an amendment in the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labeling) Rules, 2008. Union Health Ministry said, the new warnings will come into effect from 1st December this year. The text messages that will be printed on the packs are – ‘tobacco causes painful death’. The Ministry said, violation of the provision is a punishable offence with imprisonment or fine as prescribed in the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products act.

Indian Railways starts new ticket checking system “CheckIn Master” at Mumbai station
Indian Railways’ Central Railway zone has launched an app called ‘CheckIn Master’ for the ticket checking staff. The app will help in contactless checking of both PRS and UTS tickets by the railway staff and will also help in reducing the risk of getting infected with covid-19. Central Railway zone launched the app at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus(CSMT) in Mumbai.

Indian Railways to fit all train wagons with RFID Tags
The Indian Railways is fitting radio-frequency identification tags (RFID) in all the wagons. These tags will be used for tracking the wagons. Railways is planning to complete tagging all wagons by December 2022. Around 23000 wagons have been covered under RFID project, so far. Using RFID devices will be easier for the railways to know the exact position of all the wagons, locomotives and coaches.

India to set up solar power park in Sri Lanka
India plans to build a solar power park in Sri Lanka as part of a strategy to project its presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) amid Chinese attempts to lure nations into its ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, said two people aware of the development. The move is one of several such contracts being pursued to help build 10 GW solar capacity in ISA member nations.

Rajnath Singh holds telephonic conversation with Israeli counterpart, reviews strategic cooperation
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had a telephonic conversation with his Israeli counterpart Lt Gen Benjamin Gantz on Friday amid ongoing military tensions between India and China and New Delhi looking to make emergency buys of critical weapons systems needed by its armed forces. A statement from the Defence Ministry said both ministers expressed satisfaction at the progress of strategic cooperation between the two countries and discussed possibilities of further strengthening the defence engagements.

NTPC seeks to buy 1000 MW solar projects
NTPC seeks to buy such projects from promoters, lenders or merchant bankers as part of its strategy to have a 32 gigawatt clean energy portfolio by 2032. State-run NTPC Ltd plans to acquire at least 1000 mega watt (MW) of operational solar power projects and has invited request for proposal (RFP) for the same.

New e-commerce rules come into force
The government has notified the new e-commerce rules, under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, for all goods sold under a digital or electronic platform through both the marketplace and inventory-led models. The new norms have been termed as the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, telling online retailers to facilitate easy returns, address customer complaints and avoid discriminating against merchants on their platforms, among a slew of proposed rules for e-commerce companies under India’s new consumer protection law. The rules cover marketplaces working as aggregators, and inventory-led models where the retailer owns the stocks. E-tailers must display details about return, refund, exchange, warranty and guarantee, delivery and shipment.

Mahindra Group launches university for interdisciplinary learning
The Mahindra Group launched Mahindra University (MU) to drive interdisciplinary learning, integrating the study of science and technology with humanities, ethics, philosophy and design, with the group’s executive chairman Anand Mahindra as its chancellor. The 130-acre, multi-disciplinary campus in Hyderabad will offer undergraduate, post graduate and PhD courses. It will operate as an autonomous university.

Apple starts manufacturing of iPhone 11 in India
In a major win for the govt’s Aatamnirbhar India initiative, Apple has started manufacturing of one of its flagship devices, the iPhone 11, at Chennai’s Foxconn plant. This is the first time Apple has manufactured a top-of-the-line model in India.

Anandiben Patel appointed the Governor of MP
President Ram Nath Kovind today appointed Smt. Anandiben Patel the Governor of Madhya Pradesh. Presently, she is the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. She has been given the additional charge of the Governor of Madhya Pradesh after the demise of Lal Ji Tandon.

Rajesh Bhushan appointed as new Health Secretary
Rajesh Bhushan, IAS officer of 1987 Batch, Bihar Cadre has been appointed as the new Health Secretary in the Union Health Ministry. He was earlier holding the post of OSD in the Health Ministry and will succeed Preeti Sudan upon completion of her tenure on 31st of this month.

Sushil Kumar appointed as Secretary of National Commission for SC
Mines Secretary Sushil Kumar , a 1987-batch IAS officer of Tripura cadre, has been appointed Secretary of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Ajay Tirkey has been appointed as Secretary of Department of Land Resources
Ajay Tirkey IAS officer Madhya Pradesh 1987 batch, who is presently posted as Secretary, Ministry of Women& Child Development, Government of India has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.

Israeli firm developing 30-second coronavirus breath test
An Israeli company is developing a coronavirus breathalyser test that gives results in 30 seconds, billing it as a “front line” tool that can help restore a sense of normality during the pandemic. NanoScent, the firm making the test kits, said an extensive trial in Israel for the presence of live virus delivered results with 85 percent accuracy.

India’s first COVID-19 vaccine trial at AIIMS Delhi
Covaxin, India’s first COVID-19 vaccine candidates has started its human trial at All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi. Over 2,000 volunteers have enrolled for the first phase of human clinical trial of Covaxin. India’s COVID-19 vaccine has started the human trial on July 15. The vaccine has been developed by the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech in collaboration with National Institute of Virology (NIV) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). AIIMS-Delhi is is among the 12 sites selected by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) for conducting phase I and II trial.

IPL set to start on September 19, final on November 8
The eagerly-awaited Indian Premier League will start on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the final slated on November 8. While the event’s Governing Council will meet next week to chalk out the final details and approve the schedule, it is understood that the BCCI has informally intimated the franchises about the plan.

Commonwealth Secretary General lauded Fit India Movement
Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland has lauded the Fit India Movement of India as a unique initiative to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fit India Movement was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju virtually attended the Ministerial Forum of Commonwealth countries to share India’s road on resumption of sporting events and also to contribute to the creation of a collaborative sports policy in the post COVID-19 pandemic era.

Eminent dancer Amala Shankar passes away
Eminent dancer and choreographer Amala Shankar passed away in Kolkata. She was 101. Shankar, who had been suffering from age-related ailments, died of cardiac arrest in her sleep. Shankar is the wife of legendary dancer-choreographer Uday Shankar and sister-in-law of sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar. Amala Shankar, who had been active even in her early 90s, was awarded the Banga Bibhusan by the West Bengal government in 2011 for her contribution in the field of arts.