Top Weekly Current Affairs – 2020 July 20 to 26

Current affairs is one of the inevitable and compulsive topic in almost every competitive examinations. It is inevitable for an aspirant to get updated on daily current affairs happening around the world. Daily newspaper reading and follow-ups are necessary for mastering these current affairs section. In this article, we have provided the top weekly current affairs from July 20 to 26, 2020 which will help all aspirants to improve scores in their competitive examination like PSC, SSC, RRB and Banking.

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Top Weekly Current Affairs for all Competitive Exams 2020 July 20 to 26

Here are the list of top current affairs of the week  July 20 to 26, 2020 which will be helpful for all competitive examinations like PSC, SSC, RRB, Banking etc.

World Bank Retains India’s Classification as Lower-Middle Income Group Economy for 2020-21

• India has retained its position as lower-middle income group economy in the new World Bank Country Classifications by Income Level 2020-2021.
• India became a lower-middle-income nation from low-income in the financial year 2009.
• Every year, the World Bank classifies the world’s economies in four income groups, which includes low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high-income countries.

United Arab Emirates launches ‘Hope’ mission to Mars on Japanese rocket

• A mission titled “Hope” has been launched to “Mars” by the United Arab Emirates.
• An unmanned “Hope” Probe blasted off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center at 1:58 a.m. (UAE time) for a seven-month journey to the red planet and is expected to enter Mars orbit by February 2021, which also marks the 50th anniversary of the unification of the UAE, an alliance of seven emirates.
• The Hope probe constitutes three different instruments namely an imager and two spectrometers.

“Medicab”: Portable Hospital Developed by IIT Madras

• Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) start-up Modulus Housing, has developed a portable hospital unit called ‘MediCAB,’. This unit can be installed anywhere within two hours by four people.
• It has been launched recently in Wayanad District of Kerala where the units are being deployed to treat COVID19 Patients.
• It aims to decentralize the approach to detect, screen, identify, isolate and treat COVID-19 patients in their local communities through these portable microstructures.

India’s first public EV charging plaza inaugurated in Delhi

• Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy Shri R K Singh inaugurated first public Electric Vehicle charging plaza at Chelmsford club in New Delhi.
• The charging Plaza was established by EESL (Energy Efficiency Services Limited) and NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Council).
• The plaza is to host five Electric Vehicle chargers of different specifications.

Morissana Kouyate and Marianna Vardinoyannis wins 2020 Nelson Mandela Prize

• Guinean doctor Morissana Kouyate and Marianna Vardinoyannis of Greece are the winners of the 2020 Nelson Mandela Prize.
• The President of the United Nations General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande has made the announcement of the winners of the award which recognizes persons who dedicate their lives to the service of humanity.
• The Nelson Mandela Prize, which is awarded every five years and recognizes those who dedicate their lives to the service of humanity, by promoting the purposes and principles of the United Nations, while honouring Nelson Mandela’s life, and legacy of reconciliation, political transition, and social transformation.
• The Mandela Prize was established by a UN General Assembly resolution in June 2014.

A book titled “The Endgame” authored by Hussain Zaidi

• Veteran Crime and Terror writer S Hussain Zaidi has penned a new novel titled “The Endgame” which talks of politics, betrayal and unimaginable terror.
• “The Endgame” has been published by HarperCollins India.
• The book explores the challenges that the security of a country faces from within and without at the same time.

Consumer Protection Act, 2019 comes into force

• The Consumer Protection Act (CPA), 2019, which has replaced old Consumer Protection Act 1986 has come into force w.e.f. July 20, 2020 aiming to enforce and protect the rights of consumers, and provide an effective mechanism to address consumer grievances.
• The act was briefed by Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan through video conference with the media.
• Notably, the rules for prevention of unfair trade practice by e-commerce platforms will also be covered under this Act.

South Korea Launched 1st Military communications Satellite, ANASIS-II

• South Korea launched its first military communications satellite, Army/Navy/Air Force Satellite Information System 2(ANASIS-II).
• The satellite was deployed into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) by a Falcon 9 rocket developed by US space firm SpaceX.
• It was lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the US state of Florida.

Indian Army gets ‘Bharat’ drones for accurate surveillance

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has provided drones named ‘Bharat’ to the Indian Army.
• The indigenously developed drones are sent in order to provide accurate surveillance along the Line of Actual Control in high altitude and mountainous terrains of Eastern Ladakh.
• Bharat Drones a series of drones that comes under one of the world’s lightest and agile drone surveillance systems and is made in India.

Dhruvastra: DRDO test fires ‘made in India’ anti-tank guided Nag missile

• India successfully conducted the flight trial of Dhruvastra anti-guided missile at the Interim Test Range of Odisha.
• The trials of the helicopter launched Nag Missile (HELINA) were successful.
• The missile has now been renamed as “Dhruvastra”.

China launches its 1st independent mission to Mars

• China has successfully launched “Tianwen-1” its first independent mission to Mars.
• A Long March 5 rocket carrying the spacecraft ignited at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China’s tropical Hainan province.
• China had launched an orbiter destined for Mars on a Russian rocket in 2011, but the mission failed because the rocket malfunctioned.

‘COVID-19 Law Lab’ Initiative launched to provide legal information worldwide

• The World Health Organization (WHO) along with other key bodies had launched COVID-19 Law Lab.
• It is a database of laws that countries had implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The lab is a joint project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), WHO, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University.

Digantara is India’s first air and space surveillance company

• A Space startup called the Digantara has developed India’s first in-orbit space debris monitoring and tracking system.
• The system works on LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology.
• The system will help international space agencies to track and map space debris.

Turkmenistan gets observer status in World Trade Organization

• The World Trade Organization (WTO) General Council has granted the “Observer” status to the central Asian country Turkmenistan.
• After receiving the observer status from WTO, Turkmenistan has become the last former Soviet republic to establish formal ties with the trade body.
• Turkmenistan has become the 25th observer of the organization.

Largest Solar Power Plant of Indian Navy Commissioned in Ezhimala

• Largest Solar Power Plant at Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala has been commissioned by the Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla.
• It is a 3 MW Solar Power Plant which has been set-up in line with the Indian Government’s initiative of ‘National Solar Mission’ which aims to achieve 100GW of solar power by 2022.
• The 3 MW Solar Power Plant established at Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala is the largest in the Indian Navy and has an estimated life of 25 years.
• Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd (KELTRON) has executed this project.

ASTHROS Mission: Football Stadium sized balloons of NASA to study Cosmos

• NASA is to launch ASTHROS Mission from Antarctica in December 2023.
• The mission is to spend three weeks observing air currents above the continent.
• The ASTHROS Mission will send football stadium sized balloons into the stratosphere.

Sahil Seth appointed as honorary adviser for BRICS CCI

• Sahil Seth has been appointed as an honorary adviser to the steering committee for the BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) young leaders.
• He has been appointed for the period 2020-2023.
• Seth is presently serving as the Deputy Commissioner of Mumbai Customs.
• BRICS member countries are: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

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