Current Affairs Weekly (August 17-23) for all Sarkari Exams

Weekly current affairs for August 17-23. Read on to get your weekly dose of current affairs.

Current Affairs is the most important link which connects the past, present and future. The current affairs influence all the other sections of General Knowledge/Awareness/Studies. The current affairs section is the common section among all the Sarkari Exams in India.

The current affairs section is one of the main constituents in the preparation of the IBPS Exams, SBI Exams, SSC Exams, UPSC Exams and Railway Exams. The current affairs weekly covers the current events of national and international importance across the whole week. Let us see the most important current affairs of the week August 17 to 23.

Current Affairs Weekly: August 17-23

Vice President calls for Women Empowerment

Vice President of India Shri M Venkaiah Naidu called for a nation-wide movement to improve the situation of women in the Indian society on August 23, 2020. The Vice President in a Facebook post titled “End Discrimination, Empower Women” pointed out that with women making up about 50 per cent of India’s population, progress cannot be achieved unless they are given equal opportunities in all spheres, including the political arena.

The Vice President had released a report, ‘Status of Sex Ratio at Birth in India’ on August 23. The report mentioned that there has been no change in the sex ratio at birth in India from 2001 to 2017.

But as per the natural norms, the number of female childbirths should be more. The report was published by the Indian Association of Parliamentarians for Population and Development (IAPPD).

Prime Minister greets people on the occasion of Naukhai Juhar

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, on August 23, greeted the people on the occasion of Naukhai Juhar through Twitter. It is the festival of farmers celebrated mainly in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and other adjoining states. It is celebrated to welcome the upcoming new crop session. It is also known  as Nuakhai Parab or Nuakahi Bhetghat.

Foodgrains are worshipped during this festival. The other festivals of same kinds celebrated in other parts of India are as follows.

Army Sports Institute, Pune awarded with Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar 2020

Army Sports Institute, Pune was awarded Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar 2020 on August 21. The sports institute is the backbone of the sports personnel associated with the Indian army. Army Sports Institute, Pune was established as part of Indian Army’s 'Mission Olympics' programme on July 1, 2001.

The ultimate aim of the institute is to win a medal in the Olympics game. The Tokyo Olympics 2021 is the next target for the institute and twelve sports person have already qualified for the event. The army institute trains the army personnel in the following seven discipline:

• Archery
• Athletics
• Boxing
• Diving
• Fencing
• Weightlifting
• Wrestling

State and UTs can use the NRA's CET scores for recruitment

The Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh stated that the states and union territories can accept the Common Eligibility Test (CET) score for their own recruitment purposes. He implied that the NRA CET score would serve as a standard and could be shared with the state recruiting agencies, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and also later on with the organisations in the private sector.

He said it would be a cost-effective method to expedite the recruitment process in the states. An arrangement in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Recruitment Agency can be made to share the cost of the exam.

Madhya Pradesh is the first state to announce that it will accept the CET score for the state government jobs.

Khadi and Village Industries Commission issued Legal Notice to Khadi Essentials and Khadi Global

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) served a legal notice to Khadi Essential and Khadi Global brands names, stating that they are 'unauthorizedly' and 'fraudulently' using the brand name 'Khadi'.

In the notices served to Khadi Essentials and Khadi Global in the first week of August, KVIC has asked them to immediately stop selling or promoting its products using the brand name 'Khadi' while also cancelling the domain names www.khadiessentials.com and www.khadiglobalstore.com, respectively. The two firms have been also told to discontinue their social media handles on various platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Integral Coach Factory cancelled 44 Vande Bharat trains

Integral Coach Factory (ICF) cancelled the tender related to the manufacturing of forty-four Vande Bharat express trains. “Tender for manufacturing of 44 sets of semi high-speed train set (Vande Bharat) has been cancelled. A fresh tender will be floated within a week as per Revised Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) order,” the ministry said.
This was done because a Chinese company emerged out as the only foreign company to apply in the foreign tender floated by the ministry.

NHAI launched ‘Harit Path’ Mobile App

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on August 21, 2020 launched a user-friendly mobile app called ‘Harit Path’. This mobile app is designed to monitor geographical location, physical growth, details about the species and maintenance activities of each of its field units for all the plants in its projects. The app was launched by the Union Minister of Transport Shri Nitin Gadkari.

NHAI has recently undertaken the 'Harit Bharat Sankalp', a nation-wide plantation drive. Under this initiative, NHAI planted over 25 lakh plants in 25 days along the stretches of the National Highways between July 21 and August 15, 2020.

National Sports Awards 2020 announced

The Ministry of Sports announced the National Sports Award 2020 on August 21. The sports awards were finalised by a committee working under the leadership of Justice (Retd.) Mukundakam Sharma (former Judge of Supreme Court of India). The awards given by the Union Government are as follows:

Besides these sports awards, the Ministry also recognises the spirit of adventure among the people of the country by bestowing the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award.

List of players awarded with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna:

Download the full list of Sports Awards 2020 winners

Arjun Munda virtually inaugurated Tribes India Showroom in Mumbai

The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda virtually inaugurated the ‘Tribes India Showroom’, Mumbai. This shop will focus on the Van Dhan essentials and the immunity boosters. It will also keep the stocks of the products in the arts and craft category from all the 27 Indian states.

Scientist developed oral nanomedicine for the Kala-Azar

Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science & Technology (INST), Mohali have developed the oral nanomedicine for Kala-Azar. The medicine works with the help of surface-modified solid lipid nanoparticles based combinational cargo system for combating visceral leishmaniasis. The INST is an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India.

The patients affected by Kala-Azar, scientifically called Visceral leishmaniasis (VL). It is one of the most neglected tropical diseases in India.

CCI approved the acquisition of C&S Electric by Siemens

The merger of C&S Electric Limited and the Siemens Limited is approved by the Competition Commission of India. The proposed merger envisages 100% acquisition of the share capital of C&S Electric Limited (C&S) by Siemens Limited (Siemens India).

Swachh Sarvekshan 2020 released: Indore became the cleanest city fourth year in a row

Indore created a record by winning the title of the cleanest city in India consecutively for the fourth time. Swachh sarvekshan report 2020 was released by Shri Hardeep Puri, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs on August 20. Swachh Sarvekshan report is the world’s largest cleanliness survey covering 4,242 cities.

In the national ranking of cities having over 10 lakh population, Indore retains the number one spot. Surat and Navi Mumbai remain at second and third position, respectively. Patna stands at rank 47, last in this category.

See here
Current Affairs Monthly July 2020

Current Affairs 2020