20th July, 2021 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

International
New PM of Nepal: Sher Bahadur Deuba wins vote of confidence

On 18th July, 2021, the new Prime Minister of Nepal, Sher Bahadur Deubawon a vote of confidence in the country’s Parliament days after the Supreme Courthad reinstated the legislature which was dissolved in May.
Sher Bahadur Deuba has previously held the office four times and has won 165 votes (136 votes required) with 83 votes going against him.
In the month of July, the Supreme Court ordered Deuba should replace K.P. Sharma Oli.
Deuba faces the immediate task of controlling the spread of COVID-19 and procuring vaccines for the citizens of Nepal.
Less than 4% of the country’s population (Total population is 30 million) have been fully vaccinated against the virus.
As the government scrambles to procure shots more than 1.3 million people are awaiting a second dose.

US, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan to form QUAD group

United States of America, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan, have made a principle agreement to establish a new quadrilateral diplomatic platform with the primary aim to enhance regional connectivity. This QUAD group was announced by the administration of Biden.
A new quadrilateral group is being formed by the USA, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan amid the escalating violence in Afghanistan due to the pull out of US troops from the country.
According to the administration of President Biden, this new QUAD group’s primary focuses will be on enhancing the regional connectivity and the country of Afghanistan.
The US state department has said that the parties have recognised this opportunity to open flourishing inter regional trade routes; the parties also intend to cooperate among themselves to build transit links, expand trade and strengthen business ties.

National
Govt announces launch of National Logistics Excellence Awards

On July 19, 2021, to turn the spotlight on the logistics sector, the Government of India announced the launch of a new category of awards named the National Logistics Excellence Awards.
This newly launched awards will provide with due recognition to the various players involved in the logistics supply chain in the country.
The awards are divided in two categories. The first category includes service providers and logistics infrastructure and second category will be awarded for the various user industries.
The launch of the National Logistics Excellence Awards will highlight best practices which include process standardisation, consolidation, digital transformations, technological upgrade and sustainable practices in the logistics sector.
Through these awards, the government aims to turn the spotlight on logistics service providers who have attained adopted digitisation and technology, operational excellence, pursued sustainable practices and improved customer service among the many other achievements.

Oil ministry authorizes new companies to sell automobile fuels in India

India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has granted authorisations to seven companies for selling of auto fuels in the country.
These new approvals come under the relaxed guidelines for authorization to market transportation fuels which were revised in the year 2019.
Under these norms Reliance Industries (RIL) were granted authorisation.
RBML Solutions India has also been granted authorisation.
Chennai-based IMC which specializes in oil terminals has also received approval to sell auto fuels.
The Government of Assam undertaking, Assam Gas Company has also received an approval from the ministry for fuel retailing.
Onsite Energy which was incorporated in the year 2020 has also received authority to sell automobile fuels.
Under the new rules, Manas Agro Industries and Infrastructure and M K Agrotech have also got fuel retailing authorisations.

Tripura to promote commercial cultivation of agar

The government of Tripura has taken initiatives to promote commercial cultivation of Agar trees and has set a target of achieving Rs 2,000 crore business from this sector in the coming three years.
Tripura government has plans to export 1,500 kg of Agar oil and 75,000 kg of Agarchips in the year 2021-22.
Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and apprised him about the potential of Agar trees.
Tripura government has launched a draft named Tripura Agar Wood Policy 2021 and a target has been set up of doubling the plantation by the year 2025. Currently, there are over 50 lakh agar trees in the state.
Chief Minister of Tripura had also requested PM Modi for fixing a quota on Agarwood exportation and its products.

FSSAI proposes conditional licensing for proprietary foods

A conditional licensing framework for proprietary food products has been proposed by The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Those products for which no identification standards have been prescribed under any existing regulations, but are generally manufactured using permitted ingredients and additives are known as Proprietary food products.
FSSAI said that there have been instances where it has come across food manufacturers who apply for licenses for proprietary food products that resemble the products for which there are prescribed standards.
According to the FSSAI, due to the lack of clear guidelines for proprietary food compliance towards it is loose.

2020 India Lightning Report Highlights

Compared to 2019, there was a 22.6% increase in lightning in India last year. This is according to Earth Networks ‘2020 India Lightning Report’.
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Karnataka received the most lightning pulses.
During the year 2020, Maharashtra and Karnataka were among the top 10 Statesthat had the highest lightning pulse counts.
More than 39.5 million pulses were detected in India last year by the company’s Total Lightning Network. Out of these, 12,022,402 were dangerous cloud-to-ground strikes.
In India, there were 7,447 Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts issued and most of them were in the state of Tamil Nadu.
Odisha which was followed by Chhattisgarh experienced more than 1 million clouds to ground pulses in 2020.
In the year 2020, India saw the highest concentration of lightning in the months of May, June, and September because of the monsoon season.
According to the report, the dangers of lightning and severe weather pose a great threat to the population of India.
Due to the country’s proximity to the equator and the Indian Ocean, India experiences extreme amounts of moisture and heat which contributes to the sudden and severe thunderstorms throughout South Asian region.
A study conducted by the National Crime Records Bureau states that since the year 2001, every year 2,360 people die in India due to lightning strikes.
Earth Networks which published the report operates the largest global hyper local weather network.

Sports
Lewis Hamilton wins Formula One British Grand Prix

On 18th July, 2021, Lewis Hamilton of United Kingdom has won the Formula One British Grand Prix at Silverstone for a record eighth time. This was the 99th win of Hamilton’s career who has also won the world championship seven times.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)

Cannes Film Festival 2021: ‘Titane’ wins Palme d’or

French director, Julia Ducournau of ‘Titane’, a horror drama becomes the first female director in the last 28 years to win the Palme d’or at Cannes Film Festival.
On July 18, 2021, the awards of the 74th Cannes Film Festival were handed out at the closing ceremony of the event in the Grand Theatre Lumiere.
The runner up prize of the festival, The Grand Prix, was shared by two films. They are Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s‘Compartment No. 6’ and Iranian Asghar Farhadi’s ‘A Hero’.
Best Director Award was won by Leos Carax for the pop-opera musical ‘Annette’.
This year, coming-of-age drama ‘Murina’ won The Camera d’or for the best first film screened in Cannes.
Caleb Landry Jones won the Best Actor prize for his lead performance in ‘Nitram’.
Norwegian Renate Reinsve bagged the Best Actress prize for her performance in ‘The Worst Persona in the World’.

Two Indian Organization wins UNDP Equator Prize 2021

Two Indian communities have bagged this year’s UNDP Equator Prize. They have won this prestigious prize for their exceptional achievement in exhibiting innovative, local and various nature-based solutions for tackling climate change and biodiversity loss and also achieving their local development goals.
Out of the ten winners globally, the two Indian winning organizations from are theSnehakunja Trust and AadhimalaiPazhangudiyinar Producer Company Limited.
These two communities will win a prize amount of 10,000 USD.
They will also get the opportunity to join a series of virtual events associated with theNature for Life Hub, UN General Assembly and the UN Food Systems Summitlater in this year.
The winners from India will join a network of 255 communities that have received the Equator Prize from over 80 countries.
The virtual award ceremony is scheduled to be held on the month of October, 2021.
The UNDP Equator Prize was started from 2002.

Appointments
Who has been appointed as Deputy Leader of House in Rajya Sabha?

Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has been appointed as the Deputy Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha.
He has succeeded Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who has now taken over as the leader of House in the Rajya Sabha.

Published date : 20 Jul 2021 05:48PM