Daily Current Affairs : 25th June 2020 | Daily GK update Quiz

Exp. THE HIMACHAL Pradesh Panchayati raj department has won first prize under the e-Panchayat Puraskars-2020, to be given by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said on 24th June.

Reason: The state has been selected for the award for effective implementation of the e-application developed by the central government and other applications developed by the state government. 3,226 panchayats in the state have been provided with internet facility, with the help of which people can access various services online.

Exp. In Madhya Pradesh, the Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company has started the Nishtha Vidyut Mitra Scheme for women empowerment in one of its kind of initiatives. In this scheme, women Self-Help Groups at Gram Panchayat level will work as Nishtha Vidyut Mitra.

Aims: This scheme will increase the revenue collection of the company as well as women will also earn extra. Under the Nishtha Vidyut Mitra scheme, women Self-Help Groups will motivate consumers to pay bills online or through the UPAY App, redress of various complaints of consumers like faulty meters and provide new connections through online processes. Apart from this, they will also help the company to provide information about the electricity theft and illegal use of electricity.

Exp. The Union Cabinet 24th June approved the declaration of the airport in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar as an international airport, stating it will offer improved connectivity to the important Buddhist pilgrimage site.

“You know that Kushinagar is the mid-point of the Buddhist circuit. It has pilgrimage sites in Lumbini, Shravasti, Kapilvastu nearby it. A little farther, it has sites in Sarnath and Gaya.

Exp. 6th International Yoga Day commemorations, the world’s first yoga university outside India has been launched in Los Angeles, offering programmes that combine scientific principles and modern research approaches to the ancient Indian practice of yoga.

The Vivekananda Yoga University (VaYU) was jointly launched on 23rd June by Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and Chairperson of the Standing Committee on External Affairs P P Chaudhary during a virtual event held at the Consulate General of India in New York.

Exp. The government on 24th June decided to provide 2% interest subvention to borrowers under the ‘Shishu’ category of the flagship Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY).

Under the Shishu category, collateral free loans of up to ₹50,000 are given to beneficiaries.

The Union Cabinet approved the scheme for interest subvention of 2 per cent to Shishu loan category borrowers under PMMY, outstanding as on March 31, 2020, for a period of 12 months to eligible borrowers.

The PMMY was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 8, 2015 for providing loans up to 10 lakhs to non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises. These loans are classified as MUDRA loans under PMMY. These loans are given by commercial banks, RRBs, small finance banks, MFIs and NBFCs.

Exp. Indian power producer NTPC Ltd has won a project management consultancy (PMC) contract for the development of a 500-MW solar park in the Republic of Mali.

The award was made at an event held on June 24, NTPC said in a statement, without giving more details about the project.

At present, NTPC has 62,110 MW of installed capacity and has an objective to become a 130 GW company by 2032.

Exp. Adani Power will purchase a 49 percent equity stake in Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) for $135 million (around Rs 1,019 crore) from US-based The AES Corporation’s, the company announced on June 23.

The Odisha government holds the balance 51 percent stake in OPGC.

Adani Power, a subsidiary of Adani Group, will acquire a total of 89,30,237 equity shares held in OPGC representing 49 percent of the total issued, paid-up and subscribed equity share capital.

Exp. The Day of the Seafarer is celebrated each year on June 25. On this day, people pay respect to Seafarers and sailors who help the entire world function by conducting sea transport. Even now, global trade still depends on ocean transport, which is why Seafarers and sailors are essential to the functioning of the world.

Day of the Seafarer celebration was first started in 2010 by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Exp. Maharashtra Culture Minister Amit Deshmukh announced that Vithabai Narayangaokar lifetime achievement award 2018-19 will be conferred upon the senior tamasha (folk art) artist, Gulabbai Sangamnerkar and Sangeetacharya Annasaheb Kirloskar musical theatre lifetime achievement award will be given to Veteran theatre actress-singer Madhuvanti Dandekar.

“The Vithabai Narayangaokar lifetime achievement award is given to a senior tamasha (folk art) artiste. The award for 2018-19is being conferred upon Gulabbai Sangamnerkar. The award carries the cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a citation and a memento.

Exp. Times Higher Education (THE) has released the world’s young university ranking for the relatively newer generation of the universities. The THE has ranked those varsities which are 50 years old or younger. The 2020 ranking includes 414 universities, up from 351 in 2019. As many as two universities made it into the top 100 while none could cut through the 50 under 50 category.

Rank 1: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Rank 2: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Rank 3: Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University, Paris

Rank 62 – IIT Ropar

Rank 64 – IIT Indore

Exp. Times Higher Education (THE) has released the world’s young university ranking for the relatively newer generation of the universities. The THE has ranked those varsities which are 50 years old or younger. The 2020 ranking includes 414 universities, up from 351 in 2019. As many as two universities made it into the top 100 while none could cut through the 50 under 50 category.

Rank 1: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Rank 2: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Rank 3: Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University, Paris

Rank 62 – IIT Ropar

Rank 64 – IIT Indore

Exp. Former England women’s captain Clare Connor is to become the first female president of Marylebone Cricket Club in its 233-year history. Current incumbent Kumar Sangakkara, the first non-British MCC president, nominated Connor via video link from his native Sri Lanka during an annual general meeting on 24th June. Connor, now the England and Wales Cricket Board’s head of women’s cricket, is set to take up her new post on October 1, 2021, subject to the membership’s approval.