Dear Aspirants,
General awareness section is the most important part of every competitive exam, it can help you score well in the exam if you are updated with all the current news. Banking Awareness, Static GK and the current news are the parts that make the GA section complete. It is important to know what is happening in and outside of India. GK updates are incorporated with the important news that made the headlines today. It is the complete bag of the important news that held all day long. One should have complete knowledge about the banking terms, current affairs news, etc. So, here is the GK update of 20th August to help you prepare the Current affairs part. After reading this section, you can successfully attempt Current Affairs Quiz.
National
1. National Sports Awards 2019
i. Selection Committee for the Sports Awards 2019 has announced the National Sports Awards 2019. National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports. The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organized function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
ii. Selection Committee for the Sports Awards 2019 was headed by Justice Mukundakam Sharma, Retired Judge, Supreme Court.
Apart from a medal and a citation, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee will receive a cash prize of Rs. 7.5 lakh. Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand Awardees will receive statuettes, certificates and cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh each. A trophy and citation is given to the entity in the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, 2019. Recipients of Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar will be given Trophies and certificates.
iii. Overall top performing university in inter-university tournaments will be given MAKA Trophy, award money of Rs. 10 lakh and certificate.
To read complete list of awardees Click Here
International
2. Qamar Javed Bajwa’s term extended as Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff
i. Pakistan Prime Minister Office has announced a 3-year extension of General Qamar Javed Bajwa‘s tenure as Chief of Army Staff.
ii. Bajwa’s original term was to end in November 2019 after serving as Army chief for three years. He will remain as Army chief till November 2022.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB PO Mains:
- Pakistan Capital: Islamabad; PM: Imran Khan; President: Arif Alvi.
3. Shavendra Silva appointed as Commander of the Sri Lankan Army
i. President of Sri Lanka has appointed Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva as 23rd Commander of the Sri Lankan Army. He will replace Lt Gen Mahesh Senanayake as the Commander of the Sri Lankan Army.
ii. Mr. Silva commanded the Sri Lankan Army’s 58 Division during the final stages of the war against the rebel LTTE in 2009.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB PO Mains:
- Currency of Sri Lanka: Sri Lankan Rupee; Prime Minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe; President: Maithripala Sirisena.
State News
4. Karnataka categorises Nicotine as “class A poison”
i. The Karnataka government has amended the Karnataka Poisons (Possession and Sale) Rules 2015 and notified Nicotine as “Class A poison”. The step has been taken to strengthen the enforcement of the ban on production and sale of electronic cigarettes.
ii. The notification has also ordered the suspension of all kinds of promotion of e-cigarettes, including online promotion. This will curb the illegal sale, smuggling of nicotine cartridges and e-cigarettes.
Class A poison are “Highly toxic chemicals”, which even in very small quantities as gas or vapour in the air are dangerous to life (such as cyanogen, hydrocyanic acid, nitrogen peroxide, and phosgene).
Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Clerk Mains:
- Capital of Karnataka: Bengaluru; CM: BS Yediyurappa; Governor: Vajubhai Vala.
5. Gujarat to get India’s first CICET
i. India’s first Central Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology will be set up in Gujarat. It will be set up either in Ahmedabad or Surat. It will be built on the lines of Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology.
ii. The aim of setting up the institute is to facilitate the chemical industry with research and innovations.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB PO Mains:
- CM of Gujarat: Vijay Rupani; Governor: Acharya Devvrat; Capital: Gandhinagar.
Appointment
6. Paytm promotes CFO Madhur Deora as President
i. Digital payments player Paytm announced the promotion of its Chief Financial Officer Madhur Deora as the company’s President.
ii. Madhur joined the digital payment firm in October 2016. Earlier, Deora has served as Managing Director in Citigroup’s investment banking business in New York, London and Mumbai.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Clerk Mains:
- Paytm Founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
- Parent Organization: One97 Communications.
7. Ravinder Takkar appointed as MD-CEO of Vodafone Idea
i. Ravinder Takkar has been appointed as the MD and CEO of Idea-Vodafone. He is currently a board member of Vodafone Idea and Indus Towers, where he is responsible for all Vodafone Group interests in India. He will replace Balesh Sharma after his resignation as the chief executive officer of Vodafone Idea (VIL).
Awards
8. CCMB scientist K Thangaraj awarded JC Bose Fellowship
i. Dr K Thangaraj, Chief Scientist at Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)– Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) was awarded JC Bose Fellowship.
ii. Thangaraj was given this fellowship for his outstanding contributions in the field of population and medical genomics.
iii. The JC Bose Fellowship is awarded to scientists in recognition for their outstanding performance by the Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology.
Defence
9. Home Ministry fixes the retirement age of CAPF personnel at 60 years
i. The Union Home Ministry has fixed the retirement age of all Central Armed Police Force personnel at 60 years.
ii. MHA has issued the order following the 2019 Delhi High Court verdict. The high court verdict asked the Ministry to fix a retirement age that would be uniform for all members of the CAPFs “irrespective of rank”.
Important Days
10. Sadbhavana Diwas: 20 August
i. Sadbhavana Diwas is celebrated on 20 August every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. This year will be the 75th Birth Anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.
ii. On this day national integration, peace, love, affection and communal harmony among all Indians are encouraged. Shri Rajiv Gandhi was born on August 20, 1944, in Bombay. At 40, Mr Rajiv Gandhi was the youngest Prime Minister of India.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB Main 2019:
- Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the 6th Prime Minister of India, serving from 1984 to 1989.
- He was assassinated on 21 May 1991.
Sports
11. Mitchell Johnson becomes MCC Honourary Life member
i. Former Australian pace bowler Mitchell Johnson has been elected as an Honorary Life Member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
ii. Johnson represented Australia in 153 One Day Internationals picking up 239 wickets, 73 international Test matches claiming 313 wickets and 30 T-20 Internationals in which he takes 38 wickets.
12. Former Chelsea footballer Ashley Cole announces retirement
i. Former Chelsea, Arsenal and England football player Ashley Cole aged 38, announced his retirement from football. He was ending his 20-year playing career.
ii. He won 3 Premier League titles and seven FA Cups, as well as helping the Chelsea to win the 2011-12 Champions League.
Obituaries
13. Veteran music composer Mohammed Zahur Hashmi passes away
i. Veteran music composer Mohammed Zahur Hashmi, popularly known as Khayyam passed away. He was best known for his music in classic films such as Umrao Jaan and Kabhi Kabhie. He was also a recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Padma Bhushan.
14. Sahitya Akademi Award winner NS Tasneem passes away
i. Eminent Punjabi writer and Sahitya Akademi winner Professor Niranjan Singh Tasneem passed away.
ii. Tasneem was awarded Sahitya Akademi award in 1999 for his novel ‘Gawache Arth’ (The Lost Meaning) which was based on Punjab and lives of Punjabis in 1984. He was also awarded Punjab’s highest literary honour “Punjabi Sahit Rattan” in 2015. He had served as a professor at SCD Government College, Ludhiana.
Miscellaneous
15. India becomes the largest SO2 emitter in the world
i. India is the world’s largest emitter of anthropogenic sulphur dioxide, which is produced from coal burning, and greatly contributes to air pollution. According to an analysis of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) data released by environmental NGO Greenpeace.
ii. India has more than 15% of all anthropogenic sulphur dioxide (SO2) hotspots in the world detected by the OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) satellite.
iii. The major SO2 emission hotspots in India are:
- Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh
- Neyveli and Chennai in Tamil Nadu
- Talcher and Jharsuguda in Odisha
- Korba in Chhattisgarh
- Kutch in Gujarat
- Ramagundam in Telangana
- Chandrapur and Koradi in Maharashtra
Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Mains:
- Administrator of NASA: Jim Bridenstine; Headquarter of NASA: Washington DC, US.
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