Current Affairs 17 August 2020

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Current Affairs 17 August 2020

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1. Govt to reconsider minimum marriage age for women
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that the Centre will decide on the recommendations of a committee set up to reconsider the minimum age of marriage for women. The minimum age of marriage, especially for women, has been a contentious issue.
  • The law evolved in the face of much resistance from religious and social conservatives. Currently, the law prescribes that the minimum age of marriage is 21 years and 18 years for men and women respectively.
  • On June 2, the Union Ministry for Women and Child Development set up a task force to examine matters pertaining to age of motherhood, imperatives of lowering Maternal Mortality Ratio and the improvement of nutritional levels among women.
  • The task force will examine the correlation of age of marriage and motherhood with health, medical well-being, and nutritional status of the mother and neonate, infant or child, during pregnancy, birth and thereafter.
Foot Notes:
Minister of Women and Child Development : Smriti Irani

2. Spanish Mountaineer names Spanish peak after Uttarakhand IAS officer
  • Juan Antonio, a Spanish mountaineer, who recently climbed a virgin peak in Spain has decided to name the peak and its route after Ashish Chauhan, a former District Magistrate of Uttarkashi, and present additional secretary (civil aviation) in the state government.
  • Ashish Chauhan shared the news regarding Antonio’s gesture on his social media account and mentioned that he was touched by the honour of the mountaineer. As per Juan Antonio, he was overwhelmed by Chauhan’s help during his 2018 expedition in Gangotri Himalayas.
  • Juan Antonio had visited Uttarkashi in 2018 to climb Mountain Satopanth, which is situated in the Gangotri region at an altitude of nearly 7,075 meters above the sea level. However, as Antonio fell sick during the expedition, Chauhan who was then the DM of Uttarkashi had helped him out.
Foot Notes:
About Spain:
Capital: Madrid
Currency: Euro
Prime Minister: Pedro Sánchez
 
3. Indian Idol Fame Shahzan Mujeeb Signed as First-Ever National Brand Ambassador Of Aligarh Municipal Corporation
  • Indian Idol Season11 Finalist and Oscar Nominated Playback Singer Shahzan Mujeeb became First-Ever National Brand Ambassador of Aligarh Municipal Corporation for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Campaign at National and International level.
  • He is also a Music Composer and Music Director. His film Gera won the National Award for Best Gujarati Film.
  • Aligarh Municipal Corporation (AMC) is the civic body that governs Aligarh city. established under the Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act-1959.
Foot Notes:
About Aligarh Municipal Corporation:
Founded: November 1994
Mayor: Mohammad Furqan
Municipal Commissioner: Satya Prakash Patel

4. Chandrayaan-2 captures image of crater on Moon; ISRO names it after Vikram Sarabhai
  • Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announcedthat Chandrayaan-2 has captured images of the Moon by Terrain Mapping Camera – 2 (TMC-2) and named one of the craters as ‘Sarabhai Crater’ after Indian astrophysicist Dr.Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai who is regarded as the Father of Indian Space program,  to celebrate his birth centenary
  • Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai’s 100th birth century was observed on  12th of August, 2020.
  • Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), to pay tribute to him, announced that Chandrayaan 2 Orbiter has captured the Moon images of “Sarabhai” Crater.
Foot Notes:
About ISRO:
Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka
Chairman: Kailasavadivoo (K) Sivan
 
5. Ashok Gehlot led-govt wins trust vote in Rajasthan assembly
  • A month after a rebellion from 19 dissident legislators of his party threatened the survival of his government, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot won the trust vote in the state assembly. The vote took place a day after Sachin Pilot attended the Congress Legislature Party meeting at CM Gehlot’s house and declared that he is determined to act in the “interest of the people of Rajasthan and in accordance with the promises made”.
  • The confidence motion was brought in the assembly after the reunification of the Gehlot and Sachin Pilot factions of the Rajasthan Congress party.
Foot Notes:
About Rajasthan:
Capital: Jaipur
Governor: Kalraj Mishra
Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot 
 
 
6. PM Modi announces optical fiber link connecting Lakshadweep to mainland India
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an undersea optical fiber cable link to connect Lakshadweep with mainland India. Modi set a target of completing the Lakshadweep undersea project in 1,000 days to boost mobile and broadband communication between mainland India and the group of islands situated on the Laccadive Sea, off the southwestern coast of India.
  • On 10 August, Modi inaugurated the Chennai-Port Blair project, whose foundation was laid in December 2018.
  • The 2,312-kilometer-long cable project, implemented at a cost of ₹1,224 crore, will connect not only Port Blair but also other islands such as Swaraj Dweep, Long Island, Rangat, Little Andaman, Kamorta, Car Nicobar, and Greater Nicobar.
Foot Notes:
About Lakshadweep:
Lt. Governor: Shri Dineshwar Sharma
Capital: Kavaratti
 
7. Book “A Bend in Time: Writings by Children on the Covid-19 pandemic” by Bijal Vachharajani Released
  • A book titled “A Bend in Time: Writings by Children on the COVID-19 Pandemic” was released in July 2020, the introduction of which is written by award-winning children’s author Bijal Vachharajani. The book is published by Talking Cub (children’s imprint of Speaking Tiger).
  • The book showcased the emotions and thoughts of children and young adults, from across the country and social groups, about the greatest global crisis in recent times: the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Bijal Vachharajani is the winner of the AutHer Children’s Book Award 2020 and also named in the Parag Honour List 2020 of TATA Groups.
8. Custom-made Boeing 777 as 'Air India One' for PM Modi, President Kovind, top dignitaries soon
  • Soon Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind and other VVIP dignitaries will fly in Boeing 777-300ERs that India is set to receive from Boeing in the United States. Two Boeing 777-300ERs will arrive in India from the US for which officials have already left to receive the aircraft.
  • VVIP aircraft 'Air India One' or The Special Extra Section Flight (SESF) are customs made Boeing-777 that will arrive in India in September.
  • To fly these planes, Indian Air Force pilots will be given the responsibility and not Air India.
  • The planes will have state-of-art missile defence systems.
  • The missile system will be called Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) and Self-Protection Suites (SPS).
Foot Notes:
Chief of Air Staff: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria
 
About Boeing:
CEO: Dave Calhoun 
Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Founder: William E. Boeing
Founded: 15 July 1916, Seattle, Washington, United States
 
9. PM Modi, Amit Shah pay respects to Atal Bihari Vajpayee on second death anniversary
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his second death anniversary as he remembered the former Prime Minister’s “outstanding service" to the nation. Born on December 25, 1924 in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, Vajpayee was the first-ever person from the BJP to become the Prime Minister.
  • He served as Prime Minister thrice, briefly in 1996, from 1998 to 1999 and then for a full five-year term between 1999 and 2004. Apart from politics, Vajpayee was a prominent writer and penned a number of poems. The veteran BJP leader passed away on August 16, 2018, at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) in Delhi after a prolonged illness.
10. Vietnam health ministry to buy Russian COVID-19 vaccine
  • Vietnam's health ministry has registered to buy a Russian COVID-19 vaccine. The Southeast Asian country fights a new outbreak of the coronavirus following months of no local cases.
  • Vietnam has reported a total of 911 infections, with 21 deaths.
  • Vietnam has signed up for 50-150 million doses of the vaccine
  • Russia said the first batch of the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine would be rolled out within two weeks, rejecting as "groundless" the safety concerns aired by some experts over Moscow's rapid approval of the drug.
Foot Notes:
About Vietnam:
Capital: Hanoi
Currency: Vietnamese dong
President: Nguyễn Phú Trọng
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