Daily Updates 27 Aug 2020

UPDATES OF THE DAY

(August 27, 2020)

1. EXPERT PANEL TO REDEFINE DRDO: On August 26, 2020, the Government of India set up an expert committee to redefine the roles and responsibilities of Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) for the current and futuristic defence and battlefield scenario. This is because currently, India is the second-largest arms importer in the world after Saudi Arabia. The committee will review the work of 57 DRDO labs since their inception. The committee is headed by professor V. Ramagopal Rao, Director of IIT, Delhi.

2. RUSSIA DECLASSIFIED FOOTAGE OF THE MOST POWERFUL HYDROGEN BOMB: On August 27, 2020, Russia released a 40-minute video of detonation of the world’s most powerful hydrogen bomb. The bomb was called the Tsar Bomba. It is believed to be 3,333 times more destructive than that of the Hiroshima Nagasaki Atom bombs Little Boy and Fat Man.

3. NEGD, CSC E-GOVERNANCE SERVICES SIGNS MOU FOR MAKING UMANG SERVICES AVAILABLE AT CSC: On August 27, 2020, the National E-Governance Division and the Common Service Centres (CSC) signed a pact to facilitate the delivery of UMANG application services through CSCs. The mobile application was launched by PM Modi to provide secure access to the citizens at multiple government services.

4. CENTER RELEASES NHDM’S DRAFT HEALTH DATA MANAGEMENT POLICY FOR PUBLIC CONSULTATION: On August 26, 2020, the National Health Authority released the Draft Health Data Management Policy under the National Digital Health Mission.  The main objective of the policy is to provide adequate guidance and set a framework to secure processing of personal and sensitive personal data of individuals.
5. INDIA-VIETNAM HOLD 17^TH JOINT COMMISSION MEETING VIRTUALLY: The Joint Commission meeting between India and Vietnam was recently held virtually. It was presided by the External Affairs Minister of India Dr S Jai Shankar and his counterpart Mr Pham Binh Minh, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam.  It is to be noted that both India and Vietnam are the current non-permanent members of the UNSC. They will serve till 2021.

6. MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE TO LAUNCH MENTAL HEALTH REHABILITATION CENTER: The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched a mental health rehabilitation center through video conference. The helpline number “1800-599-0019” will help in providing psychological support, psychological crisis management, early screening, mental wellbeing, first-aid, and will also help to prevent deviant behaviour.

7. INDIA-BANGLADESH TO LAUNCH NEW INLAND WATERWAY: India and Bangladesh will open new inland waterway from September 3, 2020. This is based on the agreement signed by the countries in May 2020 on Inland Water Transit and Trade. The number of IBP (Indo-Bangladesh Protocol) routes were increased from eight to ten.

8. SWACHHTA HI SEVA AWARD: The Government of India Navratna, NLC India Limited (NLCIL)has bagged the award for making an extremely valuable contribution in the implementation of the “Swachhta Hi Seva Programme”.

9. TURKEY-RUSSIA SIGNED AGREEMENT FOR DELIVERY OF THE S-400 AIR DEFENCE SYSTEM UNITS: The president of Turkey and Russian officials signed a US$2.5 billion agreement for delivery of the S-400 air defence system units. The S-400 is capable of destroying incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones within a range of up to 400 km. It has a tracking capability of nearly 600 km.