Current affairs notes on August 15-18

 1.India celebrates 74th Independence Day on 15 August.

2.Israel and the United Arab Emirates have announced an agreement that will lead to a full normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two states, a move that reshapes the order of West Asia politics from the Palestinian issue to Iran. The agreement will be known as the Abraham Accords. Under the accord, Israel has agreed to suspend annexing areas of the occupied West Bank as it had been planning to do. West Bank is a landlocked territory near the Mediterranean coast of Western Asia, bordered by Jordan to the east and by the Green Line separating it and Israel on the south, west and north. UAE is the first Gulf Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.

3. ISRO pays tribute to Dr Vikram Sarabhai by announcing that Chandrayaan 2 Orbiter has captured the Moon images of “Sarabhai” Crater. Based on his persuasion, the Indian government agreed to set up the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR)in 1962. He was the first chairman of the committee. The INCOSPAR was restructured and renamed as Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1969. He also set up India’s first rocket launch site in Thumba. Sarabhai was the mastermind behind building India’s first satellite, Aryabhata.

4.Swasthya portal  Launched by Tribal Affairs Minister recently. The online portal will act as a one-stop solution presenting all information pertaining to tribal health and nutrition-related to Scheduled Tribes.

5.  The central government has set up a committee to reconsider the minimum age of marriage for women, which is currently 18 to 21. The Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 prescribe 18 and 21 years as the minimum age of consent for marriage for women and men respectively.

6. The Prime Minister of India announced the launch of National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) on 74th Independence Day. This is a part of three digital announcements by the Prime Minister including a new cyber security policy and optical fibre connectivity to six lakh villages in the country. The NDHM is a complete digital health ecosystem. The digital platform will be launched with four key features — health ID, personal health records, Digi Doctor and health facility registry. The NDHM is implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The national health ID will be a repository of all health-related information of every Indian.

7. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has denied a Right to Information request related to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund).  The information was denied by the PMO on the grounds that providing it would “disproportionately divert the resources of the office” under Section 7(9) of the Right to Information Act, 2005.

8. Recently, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has developed an infrastructure to transport fly ash from power plants in bulk to cement plants, at a cheaper cost. Fly Ash is a byproduct from burning of coal in electric power generating plants. Fly ash includes substantial amounts of silicon dioxide (SiO2), aluminium oxide (Al2O3), ferric oxide (Fe2O3) and calcium oxide (CaO). NTPC became a Maharatna company in May 2010.

9. The International Solar Alliance (ISA) will organise the First World Solar Technology Summit on 8th September, 2020 on a virtual platform. The Prime Minister of India will deliver the inaugural address of the First World Solar Technology Summit. Solar energy has taken a central place in India's National Action Plan on Climate Change (2008) with the National Solar Mission as one of the key Missions. National Solar Mission (NSM) was launched on 11th January, 2010. It targets installing 100 GW grid-connected solar power plants by the year 2022.

10. Recently, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has observed that the pollutants are still being discharged into the river Ganga, despite several directions of various courts. Ganga Action Plan: It was the first River Action Plan that was taken up by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 1985. National River Ganga Basin Authority (NRGBA):2009, It declared the Ganga as the ‘National River’ of India. Namami Gange Programme: 2014. It is being operated under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

11. Recently, the Gujarat government has awarded the contract for the Bhadbhut project in Bharuch. It is located across the river Narmada. The project is part of the larger Kalpasar Project, which entails the construction of a 30-km dam across the Gulf of Khambhat between Bharuch and Bhavnagar districts.

12. Recently Pandit Jasraj, one of the world's most prominent Indian classical vocalists, passed away. Recently, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) named an asteroid after him, formally known as 2006 VP32, as Panditjasraj. He was the first Indian musician to receive this honour.