Current Affairs (August – 2020)

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This post contains important current affairs of 4 August 2020. It includes all Major National, International, Business and Sports related current affairs of 4 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 4 August 2020 Current affairs test.

US Coast Guard Day
Every year on 4 August US Coast Guard Day is observed to honour the establishment of the Revenue Marine on 4 August in 1790 by the Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.

Union Tourism Minister inaugurates Thenzawl Golf Resort project in Mizoram
Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel today virtually inaugurated world class Thenzawl Golf Resort project implemented in Mizoram under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. The Project was sanctioned under the Integrated Development of New Eco Tourism. Golf tourism in India has a strong potential since the climatic condition is more favourable as compared to most countries.

HRD Minister lays foundation stone of IIM at Dhaula Kuan, Himachal Pradesh
In Himachal Pradesh, Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, Union Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre and Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur laid the foundation stone of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Dhaula Kuan in Sirmour district through video conferencing. The first phase of this Institute would be completed by spending an amount of Rs. 392.51 crore.

Karnataka gets 681 ventilators from Centre under PM CARES
Karnataka has received 681 ventilators from the Centre under the PM CARES fund. The state government said another 1279 ventilators will arrive in Karnataka during the month. The number of people requiring intensive care has risen in Karnataka over the last few weeks.

Hyderabad international airport gets mass fever screening system
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad has been provided a mass fever screening system to help the authorities screen passengers for Covid-19. The new thermal scanner at the airport is a ceiling-mounted mass fever screening system. UNICEF has funded the project.

Goa launches online ITI admissions, student data management system
Goa Skill Development Minister Vishwajit P Rane on Monday announced the launch of online ITI admission process and student data management system in the state. The new online admission process will allow pre-filing of trade preferences, instead of waiting on the day of the rounds, as done earlier. Now candidates would also not need to buy the hardcopy of the prospectus from designated centres.

Prakash Javadekar launches DD Assam 24×7 channel through video conferencing
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar today launched DD Assam 24×7 channel through video conferencing. Mr. Javadekar said Doordarshan free Dish offers 104 channels free of cost for lifetime and people need to just get a set top box and enjoy the channels without paying any subsciption fee. CEO of Prasar Bharati Shashi Shekhar Vempati said it is a moment of pride that DD has launched DD Assam.

Union Education Minister releases Alternative Academic Calendar for upper primary stage students
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank released the Alternative Academic Calendar for upper primary stage students. NCERT under the guidance of Education Ministry has developed the alternative academic calendars for students , parents and teachers of primary and upper primary stages with an aim to engage students meaningfully during their stay at home due to COVID-19.

Govt formulates draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020
Defence Ministry has formulated a draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 (DPEPP-2020). The policy aims to provide impetus to self-reliance in defence manufacturing under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Scheme. The DPEPP-2020 is envisaged as overarching guiding document of Defence Ministry to provide a focused, structured and significant thrust to defence production capabilities of the country for self-reliance and exports.

NIT Trichy to offer MA in English Literature
The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Trichy has started an MA programme in English Literature, as a first step in removing barriers between arts, sciences and Technology, in line with the recently announced National Education Policy (NEP). The NIT is also taking serious steps to achieve the status of being “Locally Relevant and Globally competitive” as envisaged by the Prime Minister in his Man Ki Baat address.

UAE becomes first country in Arab World to produce nuclear energy
As the Barakah Nuclear Plant’s 1st Unit got operational, UAE became the first country in the Arab World to produce nuclear energy. Barakah plant situated in the Al Dhafrah region of Abu Dhabi started producing heat, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation said in a statement. The plant, powered by South Korean technology , hopes to produce 5.6 gigawatts of electricity and supply up to 25% of the UAE’s electricity needs

Two Indian nationals released from captivity in Afghanistan return to India
Two Indian nationals released from captivity in Afghanistan returned to India. They were released on the 31st of last month. Seven Indian nationals were kidnapped in Afghanistan in May 2018, including the two who returned. Six of them have been released so far from captivity. India has thanked the Afghanistan government for their constant and unwavering support in securing the release of the Indians.

Banks sanction ₹1.37 trillion under emergency credit line guarantee scheme
Banks have banks have sanctioned ₹1.37 trillion, under the 100% emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS) rolled out in May to support small businesses. Out of this, two-third has already been disbursed, latest data show.

BlackRock, three others buy ₹10,600 crore of Bandhan Bank shares
BlackRock Inc. and Singapore’s GIC Pte. bought shares in Bandhan Bank Ltd. as the main shareholder of India’s most profitable bank sold 106 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) of its stake to meet the regulator’s ownership rules. Temasek Holdings Pte and SBI Mutual Fund also bought shares.

Kodak TV to invest ₹500 cr to set up plant in Hapur
Kodak TV India said it will invest over ₹500 crore in the next three years to set up a fully-automated television manufacturing plant in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh. Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd (SPPL), the brand licensee in India for Kodak TV, said the first phase of the plant would be operational by the end of 2021.

Google buys $450 million stake in ADT to extend Nest’s reach
Google is paying $450 million for a nearly 7% stake in longtime home and business security provider ADT Inc., a deal that will open new opportunities for one of the internet’s most powerful companies to extend the reach of its Nest cameras and voice-activated voice assistant.

NIIF backed Ayana Renewable acquires 40MW of solar assets from First Solar
National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF) backed renewable energy platform Ayana Renewable Power on Tuesday announced the acquisition of two First Solar-developed solar power plants, with a total capacity of 40 megawatts (MW). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Jaideep Bhatnagar takes over as Director General of AIR News
Mr. Jaideep Bhatnagar, an Indian Information Service Officer of 1986 batch, has taken over the charge as Director General, News Services Division of All India Radio.

RBI approves Sashidhar Jagdishan as next CEO of HDFC Bank
RBI has approved Sashidhar Jagdishan as the next chief executive officer of HDFC Bank. He will take over from Aditya Puri who will step down as the bank’s longest serving CEO ever since he took charge 26 years ago. Puri is set to retire by October this year. Jagdishan is currently additional director and head of finance, human resources, at the bank.

Ashwini Kumar Tewari assumes charge as MD and CEO of SBI Card
Ashwini Kumar Tewari has assumed as its new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SBI Cards & Payment Services (SBI Card) with effect from 1 August 2020. Tewari has replaced Hardayal Prasad who retired on July 31, 2020.

IPL Cricket – 2020 to begin from Sept 19 in UAE
IPL 2020 will be played from September 19 to November 10 in the UAE this year. The decision to this effect was taken at a virtual meeting of IPL Governing Council. The matches will be played in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi subject to necessary clearances from the Government of India. The final will be played on 10th November this year. The 53-day tournament will witness 10-afternoon matches starting at 3:30 PM Indian time while the evening matches will start at 7:30 PM.

India withdraws from women’s world team Squash championship in Kuala Lumpur
India has withdrawn from the women’s world team Squash championship scheduled in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 15th to 20th December, citing lack of preparation, time and match-readiness of its players.

Nokia to set up robotics lab at Indian Institute of Science
Nokia will set up a robotics lab at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru for research on socially-relevant use cases based on 5G and emerging technologies. Nokia Center of Excellence (CoE) for networked robotics will promote interdisciplinary research involving robotics, advanced communication technologies and artificial intelligence.

Sun Pharma launches FluGuard for covid treatment
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries announced that it has launched FluGuard (Favipiravir 200 mg) at a price of Rs. 35 per tablet, for the treatment of mild to moderate cases of Covid-19 in India. Favipiravir was originally developed by Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp under the brand name Avigan for treating influenza.

Nobel Laureate John Hume died following long period of illness
Nobel Laureate John Hume, a prominent Northern Ireland politician has died yesterday, following a long period of illness. He was 83. Hume was one of the highest-profile politicians in Northern Ireland for more than 30 years. He was a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in 1970 and led the party from 1979 until 2001.