CURRENT AFFAIRS
04 JULY 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Age of expansionism over,’ says Modi in Ladakh visit.
In a surprise visit to address troops on July 3, at Nimu in Ladakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the age of expansionism is over and the countries were united against expansionism and were oriented towards an age of open competition and development. “The age of expansionism is over; we are now in an age of development and open competition. PM Modi was accompanied by the Chief of Defence Staff and Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat and Gen MM Naravane. Meanwhile, Beijing reacted sharply to PM Modi’s remarks. The spokesperson of the Chinese embassy Ji Rong said that it is groundless to view China as ‘expansionist’, exaggerate and fabricate its disputes with neighbors. No party should engage in any action that may complicate the situation at this point.
B) ICMR looks at launching its first indigenous vaccine by mid-August.
The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) is planning to launch the country’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine latest by August 15, 2020, after completion of all clinical trials. The ICMR said it has partnered with Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) to fast-track clinical trials. Bharat Biotech had recently received a nod for a clinical trial of its vaccine, named Covaxin. “This is the first indigenous vaccine being developed by India and it is being monitored at the topmost level of the government.
C) Coronavirus Update : Numbers and developments. The Union Health Ministry has said that early detection and timely clinical management of Covid-19 cases have resulted in increasing daily recoveries, with the recovery rate of coronavirus patients crossing 60% today. This is one positive figure to take heart from even as India’s coronavirus cases soared by over 20,000 a day for the first time, taking the country’s total number of positive cases to 6,25,544 and death to 18,213. With inputs from the States, the number of confirmed cases at the time of publishing this newsletter stood at 6,44,577, with the death toll at 18,598. The number of recovered persons was 3,90,262.
D) In view of students’ safety, JEE, NEET were postponed to September.
JEE and NEET exams have been postponed to September due to the Covid-19 situation. JEE-Main will now be held from 1-6 September, JEE-Advanced will be held on 27 September 2020, and NEET will be held on 13 September 2020, said Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. Originally, the medical entrance exam NEET was to be held on 26 July , the JEE (Mains), for admission in engineering colleges, was scheduled from 18-23 July, and JEE (Advanced), for admission to IITs, was scheduled for 23 August. The Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Nishank Pokhriyal, said that this decision was taken by keepingKeeping in mind the safety of students and to ensure quality education we have decided to postpone JEE & NEET examinations.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Quarantine free international travel to countries in the green zone : U. K.
The U.K. on July 3,said it would allow quarantine-free international travel to some low-risk countries falling in its green zone list of 50 nations. U.K. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the U.S. fell within the red zone. India’s classification is yet to be confirmed. Countries such as Germany, France, Spain and Italy have confirmed that they are within the green zone. The list of 50 low risk countries is going to be released soon.
B) Ban on International flights extended.
International scheduled commercial passenger flights will not be allowed to operate to and from India till July 31, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on July 3. The ban was originally in place till July 15. These include Dutch airlines KLM, Emirates, and Qatar Airways. Qatar is hoping that by mid-July its airlines network will expand to 430 weekly flights covering 65 international destinations.
