Daily news updates 31 july 2020

Business News

1. MobiKwik launches personal UPI payment link mpay.me

• Digital wallet company, MobiKwik has launched "mpay.me" UPI link service that allows users to send and receive money from any UPI payment app.
• This single link created using mpay.me can be shared anywhere to send and receive money and will work seamlessly on mobile as well as desktop.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Mobikwik CEO: Bipin Preet Singh
• Mobikwik Headquarters location: Gurugram.

Appointments News

2. Hardik Satishchandra Shah becomes new Private Secretary to PM Modi

• 2010-batch IAS officer, Hardik Satishchandra Shah has been appointed the Private Secretary (PS) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on co-terminus basis.
• He is is currently serving as a Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
• Before moving to the PMO last year, he worked as the PS to Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar.

3. ICRA appoints N. Sivaraman as MD and Group CEO

• The domestic rating agency, ICRA has appointed N Sivaraman as its new managing director and group chief executive officer for three years. He succeeds former MD and Group CEO Naresh Takkar.
• The post has been left vacant for one year after the termination of Naresh Takar in August 2019.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• ICRA Headquarters: Gurgaon, Haryana.
• ICRA Non-Executive Chairman and Director: Arun Duggal.

Science and Technology

4. DIAT develops 'Aashray' to combat COVID-19

• Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) has developed 'Aashray', a medical bed isolation system to combat COVID-19 by preventing or minimising the spread of the virus.
• This medical bed isolation system developed by Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, (DIAT) is a low cost, reusable solution to maintain proper isolation of COVID-19 patients by creating a suction or negative pressure near exhale, further filtering and disinfecting the aerosol.
• As per prototype manufacturer, the cost of the setup for a unit of 10 beds is Rs 1 lakh approximately and for home, the quarantine will be around Rs 15,000 for a single bed.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Vice-Chancellor of DIAT: CP Ramnarayanan.
• Headquarters of DIAT: Pune, Maharashtra.

Ranks and Reports

5. Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur tops Niti’s aspirational districts ranking

• Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh has topped the list of aspirational districts in Overall Delta Ranking by government think-tank Niti Aayog for the February-June 2020 period.
• Ri-Bhoi (Meghalaya) and Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh) have been placed at the second and third positions.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog: Amitabh Kant.

Sports

6. Harikrishna finishes 2nd at Biel Chess Festival

• Indian Grandmaster, P Harikrishna has finished second in the rapid section of the 53rd Biel International Chess Festival in Switzerland.
• The World No. 26 scored 10 points, two less than Radoslaw Wojtaszek of Poland, who finished on top.
• Earlier, the Indian GM had finished on top in the ACCENTUS Chess960 tournament, with 5.5 points.

7. Domestic allrounder Rajat Bhatia announces retirement

• Veteran Indian domestic allrounder, Rajat Bhatia has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
• He started his career with Tamil Nadu in 1999-2000 but played most of his cricket for Delhi.
• Bhatia has also been a regular in the IPL having played for Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rising Pune Supergiants.

Important Days

8. International Day of Friendship: 30th July

• International Day of Friendship is observed globally on 30th July. This day is celebrated to mark the importance of friends and friendship in life.
• The day also advocates the role that friendship plays in promoting peace in several cultures across the world.

Obituaries

9. Padma Shri awardee Sonam Tshering Lepcha passes away

• Folk musician and Padma Shri awardee, Sonam Tshering Lepcha passed away. He was born in Kalimpong, West Bengal in 1928. He started his career as a soldier.
• He travelled to various parts of Sikkim and complied a wide range of Indian folk and traditional Lepcha songs and played folk music on All India Radio in 1960. He was awarded the Padma Shri for his contribution in the field of folk music.

10. Malayalam actor Anil Murali passes away

• Malayalam actor, Anil Murali passed away. He made his silver screen debut with Kanyakumariyil Oru Kavitha in 1993. He went on to star in over 200 movies across Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu film industries.

Daily news 26 July 2020

National News

1. DST launches programme for India-Russia S & T cooperation

• India-Russia Joint Technology Assessment and Accelerated Commercialization Programme has been launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises (FASIE) of the Russian Federation.
• The programme will strengthen the Science, Technology and Innovation ties between India and Russia.
• DST will fund up to Rs 15 Crores to 10 Indian SMEs/Start-ups for a period of two years.
• The programme has been launched with the primary aim of connecting Indian, and Russian Science & Technology (S&T) led SMEs and Start-ups for joint Research and development (R&D) for technology development as well as for cross-country technology adaptation.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• President of Russia: Vladimir Putin.
• Capital of Russia: Moscow; Currency: Russian Ruble.

Appointments News

2. President Kovind appoints Anandiben Patel as the Governor of MP

• President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has appointed the Governor of Uttar Pradesh Anandiben Patel to discharge the functions of the Governor of Madhya Pradesh.
• She has been appointed as the former MP Governor Lalji Tandon passed away recently.
• Earlier on June 28, Patel was given the additional charge of Madhya Pradesh during the absence on leave of Governor Lalji Tandon. She has served as the former Chief Minister of Gujarat, she was the first female chief minister of the state.

Awards & Rewards

3. Kala Narayanasamy honoured with President’s Award in Singapore

• Indian-origin nurse, Kala Narayanasamy in Singapore has been conferred with the President’s Award for Nurses for serving on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Kala Narayanasamy, who is the Deputy Director of Nursing at Woodlands Health Campus, has been conferred with this award for utilising the infection control practices that she had learned during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, in the current pandemic.
• The President’s Award for Nurses in Singapore recognises the efforts of nurses who have shown sustained outstanding performance and contributions to patient care delivery, education, research and administration.

Sports News

4. Indian team's 2018 Asian Games silver medal upgraded to gold

• The silver medal of the Indian 4×400 mixed relay team's 2018 Asian Games, Jakarta has been upgraded to gold.
• The medal was upgraded to gold following the disqualification of Bahrain squad that finished first in the 4×400 mixed relay final.
• The Bahrain squad was disqualified as Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain has been handed a 4-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit for failing a dope test.
• The Indian quartet of Mohammed Anas, M.R. Poovamma, Hima Das and Arokia Rajiv, who finished second behind Bahrain in the 4×400 mixed relay final have now become the first winner of the event. Also.
• Indian runner Anu Raghavan has moved from fourth place to bronze medal position in the women’s 400 m hurdles following the disqualification of Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• President of Athletics Federation of India: Adille J. Sumariwalla.

Miscellaneous News

5. Electric potter wheels distributed under "Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana"

• Under the "Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana" of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Union Home Minister Amit Shah distributed 100 electric potter wheels to 100 trained artisans in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• The step was an effort to empower and associate the marginalized potters’ community.
• During the distribution of electric potter wheels, the minister assured the potters stating the arrangements made to help potters to sell their products, including tie-up with the Railways and proper marketing channels.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Commission: Vinai Kumar Saxena.

Teaching In Mother Tongue Till Class 5: 10 Points On New National Education Policy

New Delhi: 

Either one of the mother tongue or the local/regional language will be the medium of instruction up to Class 5 in all schools, the government said Wednesday while launching the National Education Policy 2020. Among other changes in the revision of the NEP, last done over three decades ago, is the extension of right to education to cover all children between three and 18 years of age. The policy also proposes vocational education, with internships, for students from Class 6, a change to the 10+2 schooling structure and a four-year bachelor's programme. NEP 2020 will bring two crore out-of-school children back into the mainstream, the government has claimed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted saying he "wholeheartedly welcomed" the policy, which he called a "long due and much awaited reform in the education sector".

Here are the top 10 points in the National Education Policy 2020

1. The mother tongue or local or regional language is to be the medium of instruction in all schools up to Class 5 (preferably till Class 8 and beyond), according to the policy. Under the NEP 2020, Sanskrit will be offered at all levels and foreign languages from the secondary school level. However, the policy also says "no language will be imposed on any student".
2. This point is likely to be viewed warily by many after controversy broke out in June last year, after the draft NEP was seen by many southern states as an attempt to impose Hindi on school students.
3. The 10+2 structure has been replaced with 5+3+3+4, consisting of 12 years of school and three of anganwadi or pre-school. This will be split as follows: a foundational stage (ages three and eight), three years of pre-primary (ages eight to 11), a preparatory stage (ages 11 to 14) and a secondary stage (ages 14 to 18). According to the government the revised structure will "bring hitherto uncovered age group of three to six years, recognised globally as crucial stage for development of mental faculties, under school curriculum".
4. Instead of exams being held every year, school students will sit only for three - at Classes 3, 5 and 8. Assessment in other years will shift to a "regular and formative" style that is more "competency-based, promotes learning and development and tests higher-order skills, such as analysis, critical thinking and conceptual clarity".
5. Board exams will continue to be held for Classes 10 and 12 but even these will be re-designed with "holistic development" as the aim. Standards for this will be established by a new national assessment centre - PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development).
6. The policy, the government has said, aims at reducing curriculum load of students and allowing them to become more "multi-disciplinary" and "multi-lingual". There will be no rigid separation between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities and between vocational and academic stream, the government said.
7. To that end, the policy also proposes that higher education institutions like the IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) move towards "holistic education" by 2040 with greater inclusion of arts and humanities subjects for students studying science subjects, and vice versa.
8. The NEP 2020 proposes a four-year undergraduate programme with multiple exit options to give students flexibility. A multi-disciplinary bachelor's degree will be awarded after completing four years of study. Students exiting after two years will get a diploma and those leaving after 12 months will be have studied a vocational/professional course. MPhil (Master of Philosophy) courses are to be discontinued.
9. A Higher Education Council of India (HECI) will be set up to regulate higher education; the focus will be on institutions that have 3,000 or more students. Among the council's goals is to increase gross enrolment ratio from 26.3 per cent (2018) to 50 per cent by 2035. The HECI will not, however, have jurisdiction over legal and medical colleges.
10. The HECI will have four independent verticals - National Higher Education Regulatory Council for regulation, General Education Council to set standards, Higher Education Grants Council for funding and National Accreditation Council for accreditation.