Current Affairs 26 August 2020

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Current Affairs 26 August 2020

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1. James Anderson becomes first Fast Bowler to take 600 Test Wickets
  • England's James Anderson has created history by becoming the first-ever fast bowler to take 600 wickets in Test cricket. The 38-year-old achieved the feat during England's third test against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl cricket ground in Southampton on August 25, 2020
  • During the beginning of the third test, Anderson was seven wickets away from the historic feat. He, however, reached the milestone on the 5th day of the Test when he dismissed Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali to claim his 600th wicket.
  • James Anderson has now become the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game, only behind Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble. He is the highest wicket-taker for England in Test cricket. Stuart Broad is the second-highest wicket-taker for England in Test cricket with 500 Test wickets.
Foot Notes:
About England:
Capital: London
Currency: Pound sterling
Prime Minister: Boris Johnson

2. Women's Equality Day: 26 August
  • Women's Equality Day is celebrated on August 26 every year to honor the hard-fought victory of the women's suffrage movement.
  • Women’s Equality Day has been designed to commemorate the 19th Amendment being adopted in the 1920s in the United States.
  • This act stopped the federal government and states from preventing people from the right to vote based on their sex. By the early 20th century, other countries including Finland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom had legalised voting for women as this movement swept across the world.
Foot Notes:
About US:
Capital: Washington, D.C.
President: Donald Trump
Currency: United States Dollar

3. Africa declared free of wild polio in 'milestone'
  • The World Health Organization has declared Africa free of polio, a landmark in a decades-long campaign to eradicate the notorious disease around the world.
  • This was announced by WHO Regional Director of Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti. A commission has certified that no cases had occurred on the continent for the past four years, the threshold for eradication of poliovirus.
  • The WHO said, poliovirus now joins smallpox in the list of viruses that have been wiped out in Africa.
Foot Notes:
About WHO:
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
Founded: 7 April 1948
Director-General: Tedros Adhanom

4. Government makes use of FASTag mandatory for availing any discount in toll charges
  • The government has made the use of FASTag mandatory to avail any discount at the highway toll plazas across the country. The decision was taken to promote digital mode of payment and ensure seamless travel on the National Highways.
  • The Transport Ministry amended the National Highways Fee Rules, 2008 to allow discounts to users making return journeys within 24 hours provided they are using FASTag. 
  • The amendment would enable automatic discount and no prior receipt or intimation will be necessary if return journeys are completed within 24 hours.  
Foot Notes:
About Ministry of Road Transport and Highways:
Founded: July 1942
Headquarters: Parivahan Bhavan, 1, Parliament Street, New Delhi
Ministers: Mansukh L. Mandaviya (Minister of State), Nitin Gadkari (Union Minister)
 
5. Rare fish “Mahseer” discovered in Sileru river by Andhra University’s researchers
  • Andhra University’s researchers have found a species of rare fish named Mahseer (scientific name Tor).The fish was found from the upper part of Sileru river, in Andhra Pradesh.
  • IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has listed this fish in the endangered list.
  • Golden Mahseer fish is found in the Himalayan region, where the temperature around year does not exceed 20° Celsius such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Nepal and Bhutan.
Foot Notes:
About Andhra Pradesh:
Governor: Biswabhusan Harichandan
Chief Minister: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
Capitals: Visakhapatnam (executive); Amaravati (legislative); Hyderabad
 

 
6. ICICI Becomes 1st Indian Bank to use Satellite data for Giving Loans
  • ICICI Bank uses satellite data(imagery from Earth observation satellites) to assess credit worthiness of farmers. ICICI Bank has become the 1st bank in India to use such a technique to measure an array of parameters related to the land, irrigation and crop patterns and use it in combination with demographic and financial parameters to make quick lending decisions for farmers.
  • The satellite data with demographic and financial details, provides strong information on the land asset of the farmer.
Foot Notes:
About ICICI Bank:
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi
 
7. 21-year old Neelakanta Bhanu Prakash bags 'World's Fastest Human Calculator' title
  • Twenty-Year old Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash Jonna lagadda of Hyderabad has bagged the first ever Gold Medal for India in Mental Calculations (MC) World Cup (MCWC) held on August 15, 2020 by Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO).
  • The MSO was held virtually with 30 participants, who were upto 57 years of age. The participants were from 13 countries including the UK, Germany, UAE, France, Greece and Lebanon.
  • Bhanu Prakash had secured the gold medal with a score of  167, Lebanese contender Mohammed El Mir secured the Silver Medal with a score 102 and Asmita Pal from the UAE  bagged the Bronze medal with a score of 100 points.
  • He has created a new All Time Record and has beaten the records of Math Maestros like Shakuntala Devi and Scott Flansburg. India’s Aryan Shukla finished fourth with a score of 96.
Foot Notes:
About MSO:
The MSO is an international event with over 60 different board game competitions ranging from classics like Chess, Scrabble and 7 Wonders. It was first held in 1998.
 
8. DRDO Chief G Satheesh Reddy gets two-year extension
  • Renowned Aerospace Scientist Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy was given a two-year extension as Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) & as Secretary of the Department of Defence Research &Development(DoDRD) by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
  • G Satheesh Reddy was appointed to the post in August 2018 for a tenure of two years.
  • Satheesh Reddy was born in Atmakuru, Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh. He was appointed as Scientific advisor to the Defence Minister of India in June 2015. Satheesh Reddy also heads Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex, a Military Missile Research Centre in Hyderabad, India.
  • Satheesh Reddy is one of the Chief Architects behind India’s Mission Shakti, Anti Satellite Missile Test (ASAT).
Foot Notes:
About DRDO:
Chairman: G Satheesh Reddy
Headquarters: New Delhi
Founded: 1958
Motto: बलस्य मूलं विज्ञानम्; "Strength's Origin is in Knowledge"
 
9. Gujarat govt to come up with ‘Gujarat Land Grabbing Prohibition Act’ bill in monsoon session
  • Gujarat Government will come up with a bill called ‘Gujarat Land Grabbing Prohibition Act’ in the upcoming monsoon session of the state assembly. The proposed act will have provision of setting up special courts that shall clear the cases pertaining to land grabbing crimes in maximum six months.
  • The proposed act will have provision of 10 to 14 years imprisonment, in addition to fine equal to Jantri value of the land.
  • The Government will appoint one public prosecutor in each such special court that shall take legal actions against land grabbers in suomoto manner. Police officers not below the level of Deputy SP will probe land grabbing related crimes.
Foot Notes:
About Gujarat:
Capital: Gandhinagar
Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
Governor: Acharya Devvrat
 
10. Former Congo President Pascal Lissouba dies at 88
  • Former Congolese president Pascal Lissouba died in France at the age of 88. He was president of the Republic of Congo - also called Congo-Brazzaville, to distinguish it from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - from 1992 to 1997.
  • He fled the country after being overthrown in a civil war by the current president, Denis Sassou Nguesso, who had lost the country's first multi-party elections in 1992.
Foot Notes:
About  Republic of Congo(Congo-Brazzaville):
President: Denis Sassou Nguesso
Prime Minister: Clément Mouamba
Capital: Brazzaville
 
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