Daily Current Affairs : 16th July 2020 | Daily GK update Quiz

Exp. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced that the Poba Reserve Forest in Dhemaji district would be upgraded to a wildlife sanctuary. Poba Reserve Forest, declared in 1924 with an area of 10,522 hectares, is home to large number of flora and fauna.

Exp. A big milestone for a better and more connected India! The country’s “first cable-stayed” Indian Railways bridge – the magnificent Anji Khad Bridge will soon connect Katra and Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir. According to details shared by the Railway Ministry, the country’s first cable-stayed railway bridge is being developed by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited, which is a Government of India undertaking. The cable-stayed railway bridge is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.

The Anji Khad Bridge has a single pylon, standing at a height of 331 metres above the river bed. The total length of the Anji Khad Bridge is 473.25 metres.

Exp. The Ministry of Railways is on a mission mode with the goal of transforming Indian Railways into Green Railways by 2030 and has taken a number of major initiatives towards mitigation of global warming and combating climate change. Railway Electrification, improving the energy efficiency of locomotives and trains and fixed installations, green certification for installations/stations, fitting bio-toilets in coaches and switching to renewable sources of energy are parts of its strategy of achieving net-zero carbon emission.

Exp. Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) Shri Mansukh Mandaviya has reviewed the development activities of Vallarpadam Terminal of Cochin Port. It is envisaged as first trans-shipment port of India.

It successfully fulfills all the criteria which are needed to develop it as trans-shipment hub which include:

It is best positioned Indian port with regard to proximity to International sea routes;

It is located at least average nautical distance from all Indian feeder ports; It entails a connectivity which has multiple weekly feeder connections to all ports on West & East etc.

Exp. GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) that operates the city airport announced it is offering fully contact-less airport car parking service. “Apart from offering an end-to-end contact-less boarding experience for safe travel, GHIAL has also scaled up its NETC (National Electronic Toll Collection) FASTag Car Parking in collaboration with NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India).

With this development, the Hyderabad international airport now offers the country’s first and only fully contact-less airport car parking experience for passengers and visitors.

Exp. Tunisia’s prime minister resigned on 15th July amid suspicions of conflict of interest because of his stake in a waste processing company that won government contracts worth 15 million euro.

The revelations about Elyes Fakhfakh’s holdings in the company led to weeks of political tensions at a time when the North African country is in deep economic and social crisis worsened by the virus pandemic and ensuing lockdown.

Exp. Suriname, a small country in South America with a significant Hindu population, elected a new president Monday, ending the dictatorial rule of Desi Bouterse.

Chan Santokhi, an Indian-origin former police chief, won a landslide victory in the general elections conducted in the country in May. Santokhi, who was also the leader of Opposition, replaced Bouterse, who is facing murder charges and has also been convicted of drugs smuggling abroad.

Exp. Tata group Chairman N Chandrasekaran and Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet will receive the USIBC Global Leadership Award this year, business advocacy group USIBC said on 14th July.

“Every year, the USIBC Global Leadership Awards are conferred upon executives in recognition of outstanding leadership and for promoting Indo-US trade and business,” Washington-based US-India Business Council (USIBC).

Exp. Federation Internationale de Football Association announced that the 2022 World Cup is to be held in Qatar.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be the first world cup to be held in Arab World and also the first in a muslim-majority country. The World Cup would be the last to involve 32 teams as the teams are to be increased to 48 in 2026 tournament.

Exp. Former Australian fast bowler and cricket legend Brett Lee has been signed by SportsAdda as its brand ambassador. SportsAdda is an Indian news and information platform that provides all updates, insights and statistics for cricket, football, and kabaddi.

Exp. President: Gianni Infantino

Headquarters: Zürich, Switzerland

Exp. Currencies: Tunisian dinar, Dinar