Current Affairs 01 August 2020

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Current Affairs 01 August 2020

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1. Apple surpasses Saudi Aramco to become world’s most valuable company
  • After reporting its blockbuster Quarterly result stock of Apple Inc increased 10% to a record high making Apple world’s most valuable publicly listed company. The company has shown a great recovery from its low-point in March during the pandemic.
  • As per the share count provided by Apple Inc. Its stock closed at $425.04 putting company’s market capitalization at $1.82 trillion. Even Saudi Arabia’s State-owned Saudi Aramco which had been the most valuable publicly listed company since the time it went public last year had a market capitalization of $1.760 trillion. This unprecedented event which added $172 billion was Apple’s largest one-day percentage gain since March 13. It was even greater than the entire stock market value of Oracle group.
Foot Notes:
About APPLE:
Founded: 1 April 1976
CEO: Tim Cook 
Headquarters: California, United States
 
About Saudi Aramco:
CEO: Amin H.Nasser 
Headquarters: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
 
2. 1st August celebrated as the Muslim Women’s Rights Day
  • On the occasion of the first anniversary of law-making Triple Talaq a criminal offence which got Presidential nod last year after getting approval from the Parliament, the day is declared as the Muslim Women’s Rights Day across the country. Triple Talaq Bill was passed in the LokSabha on 25th July 2019 with 79% of MP voting in favour and 21% voting against it. Further, it was passed by the RajyaSabha on 30th July 2019 with 54% votes in favour and 46% voting against it. Finally, after getting the Presidential nod it became a law in the country.
  • The bill makes any such act of divorce a legal offence and makes it void and illegal. The act further states that any man whosoever practices Triple Talaq mode of divorce shall be punished with an imprisonment of three years or fine or both. The offence is non-bailable and entitles the married woman to take custody of her minor children.
Foot Notes:
About Triple Talaq:
Triple Talaq also known as “talaq-e-biddat” was a special provision bestowed upon Muslim man by the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937. The law legalised and allowed the practice of Triple Talaq which gave Muslim husband some special privileges over his wife. This law has provisions which allowed the husband to cancel all marital ties with his wife by simply uttering “talaq” word three times.
 
3. Ivory Coast’s Defence Minister Hamed Bakayoko appointed as Prime Minister
  • Hamed Bakayoko appointed as Prime Minister after acting as an interim PM since the sudden death of Amadou Gon Coulibaly on July 8, 2020. Hamed Bakayoko will also hold his position as defence Minister.
  • Hamed Bakayoko became acting Prime Minister on May 2, 2020 due to the absence of Amadou Gon Coulibaly. Bakayoko, 55, has a reputation as a populist and showman who holds rowdy campaign rallies. He will retain his position as defence minister in his new post.
Foot Notes:
About the Republic of Ivory Coast:
Capital: Yamoussoukro
Currency: West African CFA franc
 
4. Great Eastern Shipping appoints former RBI Governor Urjit Patel as additional director
  • Great Eastern Shipping Company Ltd announced that its board has appointed former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel as an additional and independent director for a term of 5 years, effective from August 01, 2020.
  • He was born in Nairobi, Kenya on 28 October 1963. He was appointed as the Chairman of the Governing Body of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) for a 4 year term on June 22, 2020.
  • Prior to this he took charge as the 24th Governor of the RBI on September 5, 2016. He resigned in December 2018 before completing his three-year term in September 2019.He has been a consultant to the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
  • He has also authored a book titled ‘Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver’. The book will be published by HarperCollins India.
Foot Notes:
About Great Eastern Shipping Company Ltd:
Registered Office: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman: K. M. Sheth
Deputy Chairman & Managing Director(MD): Bharat K. Sheth
 
5. Nasa's Mars rover "Perseverance" launches from Florida to seek signs of past life on Mars
  • NASA’s next-generation Mars rover Perseverance took off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral atop an Atlas 5 rocket. The next-generation robotic rover is scheduled to deploy a mini helicopter on Mars and test out equipment for future human missions to the fourth planet from the sun.
  • After covering a huge distance of 300 million miles the Mars Perseverance Rover is expected to land on 18th February 2021.
  • Perseverance Rover wheeled robot is very similar in design to NASA’s previous Mars rover, Curiosity, which landed in 2012.
Foot Notes:
About NASA:
Administrator: James Frederick Bridenstine
Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
Founder: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Founded: 1 October 1958, United States
 
6. Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar meets World Bank representatives to develop Bihad area of Gwalior-Chambal region
  • Union Agriculture Minister held a meeting with World Bank representatives to bring the large Bihad area of Gwalior-Chambal region under agriculture.
  • More than three lakh hectares of rugged land is not cultivable and if this area is improved, then this will help in the integrated development of the Bihad area in Gwalior - Chambal region.
  • The Chambal-Gwalior ravines that consist of sharp, steep, mud hillocks stretch across three States — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
  • Bihad areas of Chambal-Gwalior belt is a unique geographical feature having gullies up to 15-20 feet deep.
  • The States of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat account for 2.7 million hectares, or 70 percent, of the country’s ravines.
Foot Notes:
About World Bank:
President: David Malpass
Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
Founded: July 1944
Chief Economist: Carmen Reinhart

7. MobiKwik launches personal UPI payment link mpay.me
  • FinTech company MobiKwik launched mpay.me - a UPI payment link service to send and receive money from any UPI payment app.
  • Through mpay.me, users and merchants can set up a link using their mobile number to start receiving money.
  • 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.
Foot Notes:
About MobiKwik:
Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana
Founder CEO & Director: Bipin Preet Singh
Co-Founder & Director: Upasana Taku
 
8. Gujrat IAS Officer Hardik Satishchandra Shah appointed personal secretary to PM Modi
  • Hardik Satishchandra Shah was appointed Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  • Shah is a 2010-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre and is currently serving as a Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
  • According to the order, Shah has been appointed on co-terminus basis.
9. Safeguard duty on Chinese solar equipment extended for one more year till July 2021
  • The government has imposed safeguard duty on solar cells for one more year till July 2021 to protect domestic manufacturers and discourage cheap imports from countries like China.
  • The move followed recommendation by the commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) for continued imposition of the duty for one more year.
  • A duty of 14.9 percent will be levied during July 30, 2020, to January 29, 2021, and then 14.5 percent during January 30, 2021, to July 29, 2021.
  • India imposed the duty for the first time on July 30, 2018, for two years. China accounts for nearly 80 percent of module supplies in India.
Foot Notes:
About China:
Capital: Beijing
President: Xi Jinping
Currency: Renminbi
 
10. RajyaSabha MP and former SP leader Amar Singh passes away at the age of 64
  • RajyaSabha MP Amar Singh passed away on Saturday at the age of 64. The veteran politician had been at ill health for a while now and was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Singapore over the last couple of months.
  • Reports indicate that he was undergoing medical treatment at a hospital based in Singapore for several past months. 
Foot Notes:
About Rajya Sabha:
Chairperson: M. Venkaiah Naidu
Seats: 245
Secretary General: Desh Deepak Verma

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