Top GKToday’s News Headlines-12 August 2020

Here are Top GKToday’s News Headlines for August 12, 2020

India

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launches Swachh Bharat Mission Academy

Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on August 11, 2020 launched Swachh Bharat Mission Academy, an IVR (Interactive Voice Response)-based training course with modules on Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus programme, as part of the ongoing week-long behaviour change campaign ‘Gandagi Mukt Bharat’. Aim of ODF Plus is to sustain the ODF programme and to take up Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM).

Daughters have equal coparcenary rights in joint Hindu family property: SC

Holding that daughters cannot be deprived of their right of equality, the Supreme Court on August 11, 2020 ruled that they will have equal coparcenary rights in joint Hindu family property even if the father died before the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005. Coparcener is a term used for a person who assumes a legal right in parental property by birth only.

Krishi Megh launched by Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar

Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar on August 11, 2020 virtually launched the Krishi Megh (National Agricultural Research & Education System-Cloud Infrastructure and Services) along with the KVC ALUNET (Krishi Vishwavidyalaya Chhatr Alumni Network) and Online Accreditation System for Higher Agricultural Educational Institutions (HEI).

All 9 museums on tribal freedom fighters to be completed by 2022-end: Govt.

The Tribal Affairs Ministry on August 11, 2020 said all nine museums dedicated to tribal freedom fighters will be completed by the end of 2022. These are being built at Rajpipla (Gujarat), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Lambasingi (AP), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Kozhikode (Kerala), Chhindwara (MP), Hyderabad (Telangana), Senapati (Manipur) and Kelsi (Mizoram).

Kolkata Metro & Afcons complete India’s Deepest Ventilation Shaft of 43.4 m

The country’s deepest underground rail ventilation shaft equal to a 15-storey building and an important part of the Kolkata’s East-West Metro line was completed on August 10, 2020. The ventilation shaft, which is 43.5 m deep, was completed jointly by Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) and Afcons, a private engineering company.

Renowned Urdu poet Rahat Indori, aged 70, dies in Indore from Covid-19

Famous Urdu poet Rahat Indori died at the age of 70 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on August 11, 2020 while being treated for COVID-19. With a 50-year career in poetry, Indori was known for the lyrics of hit films like Munnabhai MBBS, Kareeb, Ghatak and Ishq.

Economy

Procurement of 106 Basic Trainer Aircraft for IAF from HAL approved

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), in its meeting held under the Chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accorded approval for Rs 8,722.38 crore worth of capital acquisitions of various platforms and equipment required by the Indian Armed Forces on August 11, 2020. These include procurement of 106 Basic Trainer Aircrafts for the Indian Air Force (IAF) from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

India’s industrial output shrinks 16.6% in June due to coronavirus lockdown

India’s industrial output contracted 16.6 per cent in June from a year earlier, government data showed on August 11, 2020. The weekend lockdown in many Indian states and restrictions on public transport have hit production in factories and domestic and overseas sales of goods.

World

Russia becomes world’s first country to approve use of COVID-19 vaccine

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that a coronavirus vaccine developed in the country has been registered for use and one of his daughters has already been inoculated. Russia has become the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine and named it ‘Sputnik V’ for the foreign markets. Sputnik was world’s first satellite.

Belarus: Alexander Lukashenko re-elected as President

Official results of Presidential election in Belarus handed incumbent Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, a landslide victory on August 10, 2020. His rival Svetlana Tikhanouskaya got just 9.9% while Lukashenko won 80% of the vote in the election held on August 9.

Lebanon’s PM Hassan Diab resigns over major blast in Beirut on Aug 4

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced his government’s resignation on August 10, 2020, saying a huge explosion that devastated Beirut and triggered public outrage was the result of endemic corruption. President Michel Aoun accepted the resignation and asked Diab to continue in caretaker capacity.

Dwarf planet Ceres not barren, is a water-rich world: NASA Dawn spacecraft

The dwarf planet Ceres, which lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is not a barren space rock as earlier believed. New data from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft have shown that it is a water-rich world. The Dawn spacecraft arrived at Ceres in 2015.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2020