Daily Current Affairs, 07th August 2020

1) National Handloom Day celebrated on 7th August

•Nation observes “National Handloom Day” on 7th August every year. This day is celebrated to honour the handloom weavers in the country and also highlight the handloom industry. The Day highlights the contribution of handloom to the socio-economic development of the country and increases the income of the weavers.

2) India’s first ‘Kisan Rail’ to begin services from today

•The Indian railways will begin its “Kisan Rail” services to transport perishable goods from today. India’s first ‘Kisan Rail’ will run between Devlali in Maharashtra’s Nashik and will reach Danapur in Bihar. The train will cover the journey of 1,519 kilometres in over 31 hours. The train will be flagged off via video conferencing by Union Minister of Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.

3) Indian Railways launches “OHE Inspection app” for real-time monitoring

•Indian Railways has launched an Overhead Equipment (OHE) Inspection app which will help in minimizing the train delays and long waits due to technical snags. The app has been rolled out on an all over India basis.

•On 1 July 2020 for the first time in the history of Indian Railways, 100% punctuality of trains was achieved as 201 trains arrived at their destination at the right time. The previous best was 99.54% on 23rd May 2020.

4) PM Modi addresses on New Education Policy 2020

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the nation on 7th August to deliver his speech on the New Education Policy 2020. PM’s speech began with address at the conclave on ‘Transformational Reforms in Higher Education under National Education Policy’ is being organised by the University Grants Commission and Ministry of Education.

•The new National Education Policy was approved in the Cabinet on July 29. It replaces 34-year-old National Policy on Education framed in 1986 and is aimed at paving the way for transformational reforms in school and higher education systems to make India a global knowledge superpower.




5) US Senate approves TikTok ban on government devices

•The United States Senate has unanimously passed a bill banning the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok on government devices. The bill will now go to President Donald Trump to be signed into a law, which will prohibit federal employees from downloading or using TikTok.

•All other apps developed by its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance on any device issued by the US government or government corporation. US President Donald Trump had set September 15 as the deadline for TikTok to find a US buyer, failing which he said he will shut down the app in the country.

6) Pradeep Kumar Joshi becomes new chairman of UPSC

•Educationist Professor, Pradeep Kumar Joshi has appointed as the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). He will succeed Arvind Saxena who completes his term as UPSC chairman.

•Joshi, who was the chairman of both Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commissions, joined the UPSC as member in May 2015. His tenure as the chairman of the UPSC will be till May 12, 2021.

7) G.C. Murmu becomes new Comptroller and Auditor General of India

•Former Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu has been appointed as the new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. He is the 14th CAG of India. He will assume office on 8 August 2020. He will replace Rajiv Mehrishi, a 1978 batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, as the CAG.

•Murmu, a 1985 batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, was the first Lt Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. He was Principal Secretary to Narendra Modi when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat.

8) WTF Sports appoints Suresh Raina, Harmanpreet Kaur as brand ambassadors

•A sports gaming platform, WTF Sports has appointed cricketers Harmanpreet Kaur and Suresh Raina as its global brand ambassadors. Raina is also joining the brand as a Strategic Partner. The announcement was made through a web conference.

•The platform currently hosts three major sports, multiple playing modes, and exciting contests, ensuring that sports fans can get more skilful by letting them strategize and use their sports knowledge into rewarding behaviour.