Current Affairs 27 August 2020

Help us understand what's happening

What's wrong with the post
Submit
author
Nancy
MME Expert
Banking and Insurance, SSC and Railways, Teaching Exams..., MBA Exams, Other Exams, UP State Exams, Haryana State Exams, Punjab State Exams

Current Affairs 27 August 2020

photo

1. Kevin Mayer steps down as TikTok CEO Amid Trump Administration's Pressure
  • TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer has announced his resignation from the post, less than three months after his appointment. In an email to his employees, Mayer said that "It is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to leave the company."
  • Mayer's resignation comes just days after TikTok sued US President Donald Trump's administration over an executive order effectively banning all transactions with its Chinese parent company ByteDance in the United States. TikTok's parent company ByteDance has been receiving enormous backlash from the US President due to its ties to China.
  • TikTok's General Manager in North America, Vanessa Pappas will be taking over as the interim global head of the company.
Foot Notes:
About US:
Capital: Washington, D.C.
President: Donald Trump
 
About China:
President: Xi Jinping
Capital: Beijing
Currency: Renminbi
 
2. Gujarat tops Niti Aayog's Export Preparedness Index 2020, followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu
  • Gujarat has topped the Niti Aayog's Export Preparedness Index 2020 followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu in the second and third place respectively, according to the government think tank's report.
  • According to the report, six of eight coastal states feature in the top ten rankings, indicating the presence of strong enabling and facilitating factors to promote exports.
  • The landlocked states, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand had taken several measures to promote exports which can be implemented by the other states with similar socio-economic challenges.This data driven effort identifies the core areas that are significant to promote the exports at sub national level.
Foot Notes:
About NITI Aayog:
CEO:  Amitabh Kant
Headquarters: New Delhi
 
About Gujarat:
Capital: Gandhinagar
Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
Governor: Acharya Devvrat
 
3. Ministry of Culture announces 7 new circles of Archaeological Survey of India
  • The Ministry of Culture has announced 7 new circles of the Archaeological Survey of India. The Ministry of Culture has taken the step in accordance with the Prime Minister’s call to facilitate and strengthen the process of preservation and registration of archaeological monuments.
  • New circles have been created in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Gujarat.
  • Trichy, Raiganj, Rajkot, Jabalpur, Hampi, Jhansi and Meerut have been announced as new circles.Earlier there were 29 ASI circles across the country.
Foot Notes:
Minister of Culture: Prahlad Singh Patel
About ASI(Archaeological Survey of India):
Founder: Alexander Cunningham
Founded: 1861
Headquarters: New Delhi
Director-General: V. Vidyavathi

4. Table Tennis Player Poulomi Ghatak retires silently, shifts her focus on coaching
  • One of the most successful Indian table tennis players, Poulomi Ghatak, quietly bid adieu to her playing career. A seven-time national champion, Ghatak was the most prominent name in women’s table tennis in the last couple of decades. ‘We don’t play cricket. We play table tennis. That’s the difference,’ she says as she retires as an eminent successful Table Tennis player of the Indian team.
  • She had broken into the national team of Table Tennis at quite a young age and had remained an extremely consistent performer. Excelling for more than two decades, she won the National crown for stupendous seven times.
5. Thawar Chand Gehlot launches KIRAN helpline service for mental health rehabilitation
  • Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Thawar Chand Gehlot launched 'Kiran', a toll-free mental health rehabilitation helpline number on August 27.The helpline (1800-599-0019), developed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment along with its partners, aims to provide support for early screening, first-aid, psychological support, distress management, mental wellbeing, preventing deviant behaviours, psychological crisis management, among others.
  • The helpline will offer mental health rehabilitation services. 'Kiran' targets to resolve issues of people across the country experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, panic attack, adjustment disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, pandemic induced psychological issues, and mental health emergencies.
  • The helpline will be supported by 660 volunteer clinical/rehabilitation psychologists and 668 volunteer psychiatrists, along with 75 experts at 25 helpline centres who will have the capacity of handling 300 clients per hour.
 
6. Delhi, Dhaka to open new trade connectivity route via inland waterways from Sep 3
  • India and Bangladesh have decided to open a new trade route from September 3, 2020, to promote regional connectivity by expanding the scope of inland water transport mechanisms that will enable trade boost in the region.
  • On September 3, a Bangladeshi vessel will transport a cargo of cement to Tripura as part of the efforts to boost connectivity between the two countries. The vessel will be carrying 50 metric tonnes of cement from Premier Cement Ltd. of Bangladesh.
  • The route which will be connecting Sonamura in Tripura to Daudkandi in Bangladesh has been operationalized under the agreement signed by the two countries in May 2020 to boost riverine trade.
Foot Notes:
About Bangladesh:
Capital: Dhaka
Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina
Currency: Bangladeshi taka
 
7. Barak Valley in Assam put under strict lockdown
  • In Assam, Barak Valley has been put under strict lockdown due to the alarming situation of COVID-19.In a bid to contain the outbreak of COVID-19, all the three district disaster management authorities in Barak Valley have issued separate orders to restrict activities.
  • This lockdown will continue till midnight of 04th September. Only pharmacies will be allowed to function in urban areas, stand alone shops are being permitted to run in rural areas during lockdown. The valley has witnessed around 10 thousand COVID positive cases with almost 50% recovery.
Foot Notes:
About Assam:
Capital: Dispur
Chief Minister: Sarbananda Sonowal
Governor: Jagdish Mukhi
 
8. Kaziranga National Park in Assam plans various measures for safety of wildlife
  • In Assam, the Kaziranga National park is planning various measures for the safety of the wildlife.The flood water damaged infrastructure this year to the tune of 5 crore rupees.
  • A 32 kilometer long highway cum highland to be constructed. The construction and the work will be started in the winter period.
  • Animal sensor to be installed at 6 more locations along the national highway between Kaliabor - Bokakhat for the safety of the animals. It would help in detecting high speed vehicles and would also provide access to animal movements.
Foot Notes:
About Kaziranga National Park:
Kaziranga National Park is a protected area in the northeast Indian state of Assam. Spread across the floodplains of the Brahmaputra River, its forests, wetlands and grasslands are home to tigers, elephants and the world’s largest population of Indian one-horned rhinoceroses. Ganges River dolphins swim in the park’s waters. It’s visited by many rare migratory birds, and gray pelicans roost near Kaziranga village.
Established: 1908
World Heritage site: World Heritage Place by UNESCO since 1985

9. Book on renowned cricket coach Vasoo Paranjape to be released on September 2
  • A book named 'Cricket Drona' on one of India's most respected cricket coach, Vasoo Paranjape, will be released on September 2. The book published by Penguin has been co-authored by Paranjape's son, former India player and current national selector Jatin along with cricket journalist AnandVasu.
  • The book has essays written by Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar. 'Cricket Drona' takes us through the life of Paranjape, who left a defining impact on the game, shaping the careers of some of Indian cricket's greatest figures including Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma.
10. The birth anniversary of Mother Teresa was observed on 26 August 2020.
  • She was born Anjezën Gonxhe Bojaxhiu on 26th of August 1910 in Skopje, North Macedonia.
  • Mother Teresa arrived in India in 1929 and spent most of her life in service of the destitute in India.
  • The Nobel Laureate founded the Missionaries of Charity and spent 45-years serving the poor, sick, orphaned and dying on the streets of Kolkata.
  • Teresa received a number of honors, including the 1962 Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize and 1979 Nobel Peace Prize.
  • Mother Teresa was declared as a Saint on 4th September 2016.
11 likes | 2 comments
Like Comment Share
IBT's Classroom Study Materials

Buy Now
arrow