Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and Others: 24 August, 2020

Daily news will speed up the preparation for the Civil Services Examination and it also plays a crucial role to grasp the current affairs topic comprehensively. Here we have covered most of the topics related to various categories including National, International, Sports, Science and Technology, and so on.

1. MINISTRY OF TOURISM VIRTUALLY SIGNS AN MOU WITH TRAVEL AGENTS ASSOCIATION OF INDIA (TAAI) & FICCI LADIES ORGANISATION (FLO)

• The Union Minister of State for Tourism, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO).
• Through this initiative, FLO & TAAI would lay emphasis on personal and hospitality skills, a more flexible work balance and greater options for entrepreneurship with significantly lower capital.
• The MoU will be aimed to promote tourism as a sustainable livelihood model for women’s economic empowerment.
• The Representatives took the pledge of DekhoApnaDesh to visit 15 destinations within the Country.

2. ORAL NANOMEDICINE

• Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science & Technology (INST), Mohali have developed an oral nanomedicine with the help of surface-modified solid lipid nanoparticles based combinational cargo system for combating visceral leishmaniasis.
• It may bring relief for Kala-Azar, scientifically called as visceral leishmaniasis (VL), and other neglected diseases.
• The findings of their study supported by the DST-SERB Early Career Research Award have been published in the journals ‘Scientific Reports and Materials Science & Engineering C’.
• The oral therapeutics could help in the control and elimination of VL, around 95 % of which is reported from Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nepal, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
• This study by INST team may lead to product and process patent enhancing the role of our country for developing innovative therapy against neglected diseases. The usage of a lower therapeutic dose of the purified drugs through nanomodifications will be a boon in reducing toxicity, which has been a major hindrance in the existing conventional treatment when administered orally.

Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and others: 22 August, 2020

3. TAMARIND WASTE & COTTON WASTE TO SUPERCAPACITOR ELECTRODES

• The International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI) has developed a couple of cost-effective electrode material for making affordable supercapacitor devices, from waste biomass like tamarind seeds and industrial cotton waste.
• The Scientists have converted the waste materials into highly porous carbon fibres by the activation process and then utilised the porous carbon fibres to make high-performance supercapacitor electrodes.
• The findings of their recent work have been published in the ‘Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics.’
• The ARCI scientists used it to test the pore characteristics and stability of the activated carbon material prepared from tamarind seed and its suitability for supercapacitor application.

4. HIGHWAY PROJECTS IN MADHYA PRADESH

• Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Shri Nitin Gadkari will lay the foundation stone of and inaugurate 35 highway projects in Madhya Pradesh.
• These projects for inauguration and foundation laying carry a Road length of 1139 kilometers, involving construction value of over Rs 9400 crore.
• Paving the way for the development of Madhya Pradesh, these roads will enhance better connectivity, convenience and economic growth in the State.

Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and others: 21 August, 2020

5. TURKEY FOUND A NEW GAS FIELD IN BLACK SEA

• Turkey has found its biggest ever (a 320 billion cubic metre) natural gas field discovery in the Black Sea. The gas field will become functional in 2023.
• The discovery has the potential to transform Turkey’s dependence on Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan for energy imports.
• Any reduction in Turkey’s energy import bill would boost its finances because Turkey is having a chronic current account deficit. It will also help the Lira, the currency of Turkey, to recover against the dollar.
• Turkey is also having strained relations with its neighbour Greece over exploration of natural resources in the Mediterranean Sea.

6. NEW CONSTITUTION DRAFTED IN SRI LANKA

• The President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa approved to draft the new constitution. This constitution would prioritise the concept of “one country, one law for all the people.”
• Till date, Sri Lanka’s constitution has been amended 19 times from 1978 that creating a lot of uncertainties and confusion.
• The new changes will be made to ensure the stability of Parliament and people’s direct representation, while retaining the salutary aspects of the proportional representation system.

7. THE NEW ELECTION COMMISSIONER

• President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Rajiv Kumar as the new Election Commissioner.
• Rajiv Kumar will join the office from 31 August, 2020 as the current Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has resigned with effect from August 31. Because Ashok Lavasa will be moving to Manila as vice-president of Asian Development Bank.
• Rajiv Kumar is a retired 1984-batch IAS officer from Jharkhand cadre.

8. NAI DISHA

• The District Legal Service Authority (DLSA) will launch a campaign for the victims of drug abuse and eradication of drug menace ‘Nai Disha’.
• The program, Nai Disha, will be launched in furtherance of the “Nasha Mukt Bharat Campaign” launched by the central government.

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