Top Best Current Affairs 16 August 2020

On August 14, 2020, India has granted a US$250 million as budgetary support and US$500 million for the 6.7 Km Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) during a virtual conversation between India's Union Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Maldivian Counterpart Abdulla Shahid.

On August 13, 2020, as a part of the Atma Nirbhar Week celebration (Atmanirbharta Saptah) between August 7-14, 2020 of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and to boost Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (self-reliant India movement), Union Defence Minister (Raksha Mantri) Rajnath Singh virtually launched 15 products of Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) viz. four products each by OFB and BEML, two by BEL and one each by HAL, BDL, MDL, GRSE and GSL.

On August 13, 2020 Rajnath Singh, Union Defence Minister launched the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation(NIIO) through an online webinar. NIIO establishes dedicated structures to enable end users to interact with academia and industry towards fostering innovation and indigenisation for self-reliance in defence in Accordance with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Odisha has retained top position in the implementation of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme. According to rankings released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Odisha regained its top position by securing a score of 85.67 percent, followed by Union Territory of Chandigarh (75.08) and Telangana (74.04).

The research team of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi(IIT-D) found the critical group and multi drug resistant bacteria of the World Health Organization's(WHO's) 2017 list of antibiotic resistant priority pathogens, in the waters of River Yamuna.

In order to enhance maritime security, on August 13, 2020, an Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) for the Indian Coast Guard was launched and re-christened as Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) "Sarthak" during a ceremony held at Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) which was conducted through video conferencing from Coast Guard headquarters at New Delhi.

eBikeGO, Amritsar based e-mobility start-up appointed Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh as its brand ambassador for a year. He will help the company to upgrade itself and will also have an active presence on the company's website and campaigns across media.

Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar(IIT-R) in collaboration with Momentum India Private Limited developed "UVSAFE", a state of the art room disinfection device based on Singular Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation(UVGI). The efficiency of the device was tested by FICCI Research and Analysis Centre(FRAC)(NABL Accredited Laboratory, New Delhi).