CURRENT AFFAIRS
24 JULY 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Women officers can now get permanent commission in the Army
A formal Government Sanction Letter has been issued by the Defense Ministry for grant of a permanent commission (PC) for women officers in the Army. The Selection Board will be scheduled soon after all the affected Short Service Commissioned (SSC) women officers exercise their option and complete the documentation process. The order specifies the grant of permanent commission to SSC women officers in all the 10 streams in which they presently serve.
B) High Court adjourns hearing on capital Bills to August 6
On 22 July, a three-judge Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court has refused to conduct a piecemeal hearing of the writ petitions filed against the Decentralization and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill and the APCRDA Repeal Bill and their reintroduction by the State. They have cited a reason for the same by saying that when a situation is developing, all the matters have to be taken up together. The Bench, comprising Justices Rakesh Kumar, A.V. Sesha Sai, and M. Satyanarayana Murthy, gave liberty to a petitioner’s counsel to implead the Accountant-General to let them know about the costs involved in the construction of the capital and how much has been spent on it so far.
C) Recoveries continue to rise
The number of active cases in India is 4,26,167 active with a fatality rate of 2.41% and the recovery rate at 63.18 %. This was as per the figures that were released by the Union Health Ministry on 22 July. It is for the second day in a row that recoveries in a single day continue to post a significant rise to 29,557. While the number of recovered cases has jumped to 7,82,606, there has been growth in the recovery rate, which stands at 63.18%. A higher number of patients getting cured and discharged has contributed to the increasing gap between recovered and the active cases.
D) Independence Day event scaled down.
The union ministry has said that the Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort will be limited to the Prime Minister’s speech, a 21-gun salute, unfurling of the national flag, the national anthem, and release of tricolor balloons. This decision was taken by keeping in view the limitations and precautionary steps in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry has issued detailed guidelines for the celebrations at the State, district and panchayat levels. They suggest inviting COVID-19 warriors such as doctors, health workers, sanitation workers as a recognition of their noble service. The Ministry asked different arms of the government to spread the message of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” on August 15.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) India expects China to work sincerely: MEA
India has expected that China will work sincerely on the disengagement plan at the Line of Actual Control as agreed to by both the countries. In between the concerns that the process has slowed down after the People’s Liberation Army soldiers failed to withdraw from the ridges of the Finger areas around Pangong Tso lake. On 22 July, Anurag Srivastava, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said that It is their expectation that the Chinese side will sincerely work with them for complete disengagement and full restoration of peace and tranquility on the border areas at the earliest, which was agreed to by the Special Representatives. He further said that India would not accept any unilateral attempts to change the status quo along the LAC.
B) India and Israel to work on a rapid test
The Embassy in India on 22 July said that in the next few weeks, a special flight from Israel will land in India with a team of high-ranking team of Israel research and development in order to develop rapid testing for COVID-19 in under 30 seconds. The flight will also bring emerging technologies of Israel for combating COVID-19, which have been donated by the Foreign Ministry of Israel. The plane will also deliver some mechanical ventilators which were granted special permission by the Government of Israel for export to India. The delegation of Israel which is led by the Directorate of Defense Research and Development in the Ministry of Defense will conduct a series of tests to determine the effectiveness of a number of rapid diagnostic solutions along with Indian scientists.
C) China launches an ambitious Mars mission.
China has launched its most ambitious Mars mission on 22 July in a bold attempt to join the U.S. in successfully landing a spacecraft on Mars. Around 12-40 p.m., a Long March-5 carrier rocket took off from Hainan Island, south of China’s mainland. The space agency of China has said that the rocket carried the probe for 36 minutes before successfully placing it on the looping path that will take it beyond the orbit of earth and into more distant orbit around the sun of Mars. The tandem spacecraft of China will take seven months to reach Mars. It marked the second flight to Mars this week after a UAE orbiter blasted off on a rocket from Japan on 19 July.
