08th and 09th Aug Current Affairs Headlines

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Important Days

National Handloom Day

National Handloom Day is celebrated annually on 7th August. This day is observed to honour the handloom weavers in the country and also highlight the handloom industry. This day is celebrated to show the contribution of handloom to the socio-economic development of the country and improves the income of the weavers.

78th anniversary of Quit India movement

The 78th anniversary of the August Kranti Din or also know as Quit India Movement, which is recognised as one of the major breakthroughs in the history of freedom fight of our country, is being celebrated on 8 August 2020.

On 8 Aug 1942, Mahatma Gandhi gave a clarion call to end the British rule and launched the Quit India Movement at the session of the All-India Congress Committee in Mumbai.

After the failure of Cripps Mission, Gandhiji gave the call to “Do or Die” in his Quit India speech delivered at the Gowalia Tank Maidan in Mumbai. The grateful country is paying homage to the freedom fighters and remembering the supreme sacrifices of the martyrs during the freedom struggle.


National Headlines

‘Kisan Rail’ India’s first rail begin services from today

The Indian railways open its Kisan Rail services to convey perishable goods from today. Its India’s first rail of its kind which is named as Kisan Rail and will run between Devlali in Maharashtra’s Nashik and will reach Danapur in Bihar.

Kisan Rail 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.

Maharashtra ties up with Google to start virtual classes

The government of Maharashtra has joined up with Google to give online education to students in the state. The project was launched by the chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and will cover over 1.09 lakh government, private, aided, and unaided schools, and benefit over 22.03 million students. Students and teachers will get access to Google Classroom and G Suite for Education that will provide solutions to support remote learning.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • Chief Minister of Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray; Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

Govt of Delhi launches new “Electric Vehicle Policy”

The Government of Delhi has started the Electric Vehicle Policy for the national capital under which will waive registration fee, road tax, and provide an incentive of up to ₹1.5 lakh for new cars.

The government aims to generate employment to give a boost to Delhi’s economy and reduce pollution levels in the national capital.

There is already the Centre’s scheme on electric vehicles called Fame India Phase-2, under which the Union government also provides some incentives. Delhi government scheme will be an addition to the Centre’s scheme and people can also avail benefits under both the schemes.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • Chief Minister of Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal; Governor of Delhi: Anil Baijal.

Indian Railways launches an OHE Inspection app

Indian Railways launched an OHE Inspection app which monitors technical snags in real-time and sends alerts eliminating delays caused by such defects. The OHE Inspection app will capture in real-time OHE (Overhead Equipment) defects and send out quick alerts.

It has been launched across the country and has features such as GPS tracking of patrolman, real-time capturing of OHE defects and clicking photographs. First time ever in the history of Indian Railways, 100% punctuality of trains achieved, with all trains on time.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • Head Quarters: New Delhi
  • Union Minister for Railways: Piyush Goyal
  • Chairman: V K Yadav

International Headlines

US Senate approves TikTok ban on government devices

After India now the US is also all set to ban the ban called TikTok as the United States Senate has universally passed a bill banning 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.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • Tiktok is developed by ByteDance Company.
  • Tiktok founded: 2012.
  • Tiktok founder: Zhang Yiming.

Appointments

Pradeep Kumar Joshi has appointed as chairman of UPSC

Professor Mr Pradeep Kumar Joshi has appointed as the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). His tenure as the chairman of the UPSC will be till May 12, 2021. He will replace Arvind Saxena as UPSC chairman.

Pradeep Kumar Joshi, who was the chairman of both Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commissions, joined the UPSC as member in May 2015.

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.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • CAG Headquarters: New Delhi.
  • CAG Founded: 1858.

Hardayal Prasad becomes new MD & CEO of PNB Housing Finance

PNB Housing Finance has announced the appointment of the former SBI Card head, Hardayal Prasad as its new managing director and chief executive officer.

Prasad will take over from, Neeraj Vyas the current interim managing director and chief executive officer of the company, will step down from the position on August 10.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • PNB Housing Finance Head Office: New Delhi.
  • PNB Housing Finance Tag Line: Ghar Ki Baat.

P S Ranipse becomes new IG of CRPF

Odisha cadre IPS officer, P S Ranipse has been appointed as Inspector General (IG), in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). He will hold the post on Central deputation for a period of five years from the date of joining.

Useful Notes for all competitive exams:

  • Headquarters of CRPF: New Delhi.
  • The motto of CRPF: Service and Loyalty.
  • CRPF founded: 27 July 1939.

Sports

India to host ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021

The International Cricket Council has approved that the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 that was postponed due to Covid-19 will be held in Australia in 2022.

India will host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 as planned. ICC has also decided to postpone the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 in New Zealand till February-March 2022 because of the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on cricket globally.


Defence

India to participate in Kavkaz 2020 exercise in Russia

India will take part in the military exercise named as Russian Kavkaz 2020 which is going to be held in Astrakhan, Russia. The Indian contingent includes 150 Army personnel and few soldiers from the Navy and Air Force.

The invitation for participation to Kavkaz 2020, also referred to as Caucasus-2020, has been extended to at least 18 countries including China, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey apart from other Central Asian Republics part of the SCO.