News

Who has been appointed the new DG of the BSF ?                                                                 > Rakesh Asthana

l       The appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 17, 2020 approved the appointment of Rakesh Asthana, the 1984-batch Gujarat Cadre IPS Officer as the Director-General (DG) of the Border Security Force (BSF) along with the additional charge of the post of DG of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). He will remain the DG of BSF till July 31, 2021, the date of his superannuation or further government orders.

l       The NGT sets up a monitoring committee for controlling noise pollution in Delhi. The committee

will be headed by                                                                                                                    > Justice S. P. Garg

l      The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on August 11, 2020 set up a monitoring committee headed by former Delhi High Court judge Justice S. P. Garg for controlling noise pollution in Delhi. Justice Garg would be assisted by representatives of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Delhi Police and the Delhi Chief Secretary. The committee would oversee compliance of the NGT’s orders on this issue and would also suggest further steps to be taken to keep noise pollution in limits in Delhi. The committee would submit a report to the NGT in April next year.

l  CII formed a new forum on ‘Artificial Intelligence’ (AI) to be chaired by                                > Sandip Patel

l     The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) launched a forum on ‘Artificial Intelligence’ in August 2020. Sandip Patel, the Managing Director of IBM India and South Asia will be the chairman of the AI forum. CII AI Forum will focus on building a strong AI ecosystem in India by building awareness at scale, enhancing capabilities by skilling and reskilling work force for the future and working with the government in shaping conducive policy and regulatory regime. It will also encourage public-private partnerships in research and development.

l   Which Indian State has launched its new logo ?                                                              > Jharkhand

l      The Jharkhand government on August 14, 2020 launched the new logo for Jharkhand State on the eve of Independence Day at Ranchi in the presence of Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu and Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The circular logo of Jharkhand has the national emblem at the centre. The emblem is enclosed in concentric circles depicting Jharkhand’s culture, heritage and its rich natural resources.

l     Which State was crowned the cleanest State among states more than 100 ULBs in the 2020  Swachh 
Survekshan ?                                                                                                         > Chhattisgarh

l       Chhattisgarh was adjudged the cleanest State among the states with over 100 urban local bodies (ULBs) in the fifth ‘Swachh Survekshan’ (Cleanliness Survey) for 2020, released by the Centre government on August 20, 2020. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh secured second and third ranks respectively on the list. Jharkhand secured top rank as the cleanest State in the list of states with under 100 ULBs. Haryana and Uttarakhand were second and third after Jharkhand. Indore was declared the cleanest city for fourth year in a row in the category of over 1 lakh population cities in India.

l     Who has become the first ever person of the world to achieve $ 200 billion fortune milestone ?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      > Jeff Bezos

l     Amazon CEO and World’s richest person Jeff Bezos on August 26, 2020 became the first ever person of the world to reach $ 200 billion fortune milestone after US technology and e-commerce stocks skyrocketed a day earlier in the USA. Bezos’ company stock surged by $ 5·22 billion in a single trading day to take Bezos’ net worth at $ 202 billion. Now Bezos’ fortune is equal to about 3 per cent of the total wealth of the 500 richest people in the world. Bill Gates, who was the first person to become a cent billionaire in 1999, is second richest man after Bezos.

l  Which chemical was the cause of massive explosion in Beirut ?               > Ammonium nitrate

l     A massive warehouse explosion wreaked havoc in Beirut, the capital and port city of Lebanon on August 4, 2020, killing more than 150 people with a huge destruction at all level. The blast devastated a large number of buildings leaving thousands homeless. The blast had been caused by the detonation of 2,750 tonnes of ‘Ammonium nitrate’, a chemical used in fertilizer and bombs, which had been stored in a warehouse at Beirut port after it was seized in 2014. More than 5000 people were injured due to the explosion.

l     What is the name of Russia’s vaccine for COVID-19 ?                            >  Sputnik V

l     Russia on August 11, 2020 became the first country of the world to approve a corona virus vaccine for use after less than two months of human testing. The vaccine was named ‘Sputnik V’ for foreign markets, referring to the world’s first satellite. The vaccine has been developed by the Gamaleya Institute in Moscow. The approval to the vaccine without completion of its final trials raised concerns among scientists and experts worldwide. However Russia appears to be very hopeful to the positive and effective results of the vaccine against   COVID-19.

l  Turkey reconverts a Museum/Church into a mosque after its similar order for Hagia Sophia. The name of the museum is      > The Kariye Museum (former Chora Church)

l     Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on August 21, 2020 reconverted the historic Chora Church which also came to be known as the Kariye Museum in Istanbul into a mosque and ordered it open for worship for Muslims. The decision to transform the Chora Church /the Kariye Museum into a mosque came a month after a similar conversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque. The Chora Church, a historic Byzantine building became a mosque during the Ottoman rule. Later it was transformed into a museum by Turkey’s secular republic more than 70 years ago. Last year a Turkish Court revoked its status as a museum. Now President Erdogan transformed the Chora Church again into the mosque.

l    Which part of the world has been declared free of ‘Wild Poliovirus’ ?                     > Africa

l  The Africa Regional Certification Commission of WHO for Polio Eradication declared Africa free of the wild poliovirus on August 25, 2020 with no new cases of the disease reported in the last four years. After end of polio in Africa, it is now endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Two out of three strains of wild poliovirus have been eradicated worldwide.