Title Title Daily Current Affairs Capsule 16th August 2020
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Daily CurrentTitle
Affairs Capsule
Title 2020
16th August
Bangladesh observes ‘National Mourning Day’ to mark assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman
Bangladesh is observing the National Mourning Day marking the 45th anniversary of the brutal assasination of
its founder President Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15th August 1975.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with 16 members of his family was brutally assassinated on this
day in 1975 by a group of people from the armed forces at his Dhanmondi residence in Dhaka.
Among the close family members, only his daughter and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Sheikh Hasina and her sister survived as they were not in the country when the incident took place.
Turkish and Greek warships collide in eastern Mediterranean
Greek and a Turkish warship were involved in a mini-collision during a standoff in the eastern Mediterranean
sea.
Tensions have risen this week after Turkey sent a survey vessel to the region, escorted by warships,
to map out sea territory for possible oil and gas drilling.
Greece and Turkey are allies in NATO but their relations have long been fraught with tension.
Disputes have ranged from boundaries of offshore continental shelves and airspace to the
ethnically split island of Cyprus.
In 1996 they almost went to war over ownership of uninhabited islets in the Aegean Sea.
Vietnam health ministry to buy Russian COVID-19 vaccine
Vietnam's health ministry has registered to buy a Russian COVID-19 vaccine.
The Southeast Asian country fights a new outbreak of the coronavirus following months of no
local cases.
Vietnam has reported a total of 911 infections, with 21 deaths.
Vietnam has signed up for 50-150 million doses of the vaccine
Russia said the first batch of the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine would be rolled out within two
weeks, rejecting as "groundless" the safety concerns aired by some experts over Moscow's rapid
approval of the drug.
Vietnam Capital: Hanoi
Currency: Vietnamese dong
Custom-made Boeing 777 as 'Air India One' for PM Modi, President Kovind, top dignitaries soon
Soon Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind and other VVIP dignitaries will fly in Boeing
777-300ERs that India is set to receive from Boeing in the United States.
Two Boeing 777-300ERs will arrive in India from the US for which officials have already left to
receive the aircraft.
VVIP aircraft 'Air India One' or The Special Extra Section Flight (SESF) are custom made Boeing
777 that will arrive in India in September.
To fly these planes, Indian Air Force pilots will be given the responsibility and not Air India.
The planes will have state-of-art missile defence systems.
The missile system will be called Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) and Self-
Protection Suites (SPS).
PM Modi, Amit Shah pay respects to Atal Bihari Vajpayee on second death anniversary
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his second death anniversary as he
remembered the former prime minister’s “outstanding service" to the nation.
Born on December 25, 1924 in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, Vajpayee was the first-ever person
from the BJP to become the Prime Minister.
He served as Prime Minister thrice, briefly in 1996, from 1998 to 1999 and then for a full five-
year term between 1999 and 2004.
Apart from politics, Vajpayee was a prominent writer and penned a number of poems.
The veteran BJP leader passed away on August 16, 2018, at the All India Institute of Medical
Science (AIIMS) in Delhi after a prolonged illness.
Government to reconsider minimum age of marriage for girls
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that the Centre will decide on the recommendations of a committee
set up to reconsider the minimum age of marriage for women.
The minimum age of marriage, especially for women, has been a contentious issue.
The law evolved in the face of much resistance from religious and social conservatives. Currently,
the law prescribes that the minimum age of marriage is 21 years and 18 years for men and women
respectively.
On June 2, the Union Ministry for Women and Child Development set up a task force to examine
matters pertaining to age of motherhood, imperatives of lowering Maternal Mortality Ratio and
the improvement of nutritional levels among women.
The task force will examine the correlation of age of marriage and motherhood with health,
medical well-being, and nutritional status of the mother and neonate, infant or child, during
pregnancy, birth and thereafter.
It will also look at key parameters like Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Mortality Rate
(MMR), Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and Child Sex Ratio (CSR), and will
examine the possibility of increasing the age of marriage for women from the present 18 years to
21 years.
PM Modi announces optical fibre link connecting Lakshadweep, mainland India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an undersea optical fibre cable link to connect Lakshadweep with
mainland India.
Modi set a target of completing the Lakshadweep undersea project in 1,000 days to boost mobile
and broadband communication between mainland India and the group of islands situated on the
Laccadive Sea, off the southwestern coast of India.
On 10 August, Modi inaugurated the Chennai-Port Blair project, whose foundation was laid in
December 2018.
The 2,312-kilometre long cable project, implemented at a cost of ₹1,224 crore, will connect not
only Port Blair but also other islands such as Swaraj Dweep, Long Island, Rangat, Little Andaman,
Kamorta, Car Nicobar, and Greater Nicobar.
Lakshadweep Administrator: Dineshwar Sharma
India sends 58 tonnes of emergency aid to Lebanon
India sent 58 tonnes of emergency humanitarian aid to Lebanon in an air force plane to assist the people affected
by the explosions in Beirut on August 4.
The emergency humanitarian aid was dispatched in a C-17 heavy lift aircraft of the Indian Air
Force (IAF) in response to an assessment of requirements by Lebanese authorities.
The aid sent by India includes emergency medical supplies, wheat flour, sugar, pulses, and relief
materials such as blankets, dignity kits and sleeping mats, which are required by the large number
of people left homeless by the explosion.
Nearly 3,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut’s port blew up on August 4, virtually
wiping out the city’s commercial hub and damaging many parts of the Lebanese capital.
The total damage has been estimated at $10 billion to $15 billion.
Lebanon Capital: Beirut
Currency: Lebanese pound
Indian Navy to urgently buy 10 ship-based drones
Aiming to boost surveillance capabilities against enemy warships operating in the Indian Ocean region, the Indian
Navy has moved a proposal to urgently acquire 10 shipborne drones.
A proposal has been moved in fast track mode by the Indian Navy before the Defence Ministry
under which it plans to buy 10 Naval Shipborne Unmanned Aerial Systems for over ₹1,240 crores,
The drones would be deployed on big size warships of the force and would help them in the
detection of activities of the Chinese as well as other adversaries in and around Indian territorial
waters.
As per plans, the Navy is likely to acquire these drones through an open bid and then deploy them
on its warships for surveillance and reconnaissance activities.
The Indian Navy is working separately on a project to acquire Sea Guardian drones from the United
States for expanding its surveillance in the country's areas of interest from Madagascar to Malacca
Straits and beyond.
Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan govt wins trust vote in assembly
A month after rebellion from 19 dissident legislators of his party threatened the survival of his government,
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot won the trust vote in the state assembly.
The vote took place a day after Sachin Pilot attended the Congress Legislature Party meeting at
CM Gehlot’s house and declared that he is determined to act in the “interest of the people of
Rajasthan and in accordance with the promises made”.
The confidence motion was brought in the assembly after the reunification of the Gehlot and
Sachin Pilot factions of the Rajasthan Congress party.
Governor: Kalraj Mishra
Rajasthan Legislative Assembly: 200 seats
Rajya Sabha: 10 seats
Lok Sabha: 25 seats
International Film Festival of India to be held in November
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) would be held in the
state in November this year as per schedule.
IFFI is held annually in the coastal state between November 20 and 28.
The festival is organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals in association with the state
government's Entertainment Society of Goa.
MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina quit International Cricket
Former Indian Cricket Team Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from International
Cricket.
In a social media post, he thanked everyone for their immense support and love throughout his
career.
Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty-Twenty, the 2010 and 2016 Asia
Cups, the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
A right-handed middle-order batsman and wicket-keeper, Dhoni is one of the highest run scorers
in One Day Internationals (ODIs) with a formidable score of more than 10 thousand runs.
Suresh Raina, another Indian Cricketer has also announced his retirement from International
Cricket.
In a social media post, he said, it was always a pleasure to play along with Dhoni and following
Dhoni's retirement, he also chose to retire from International Cricket.
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