Top Best Current Affairs 5 July 2020

Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, the Chairman of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) gets a 6 months extension in his tenure as Chairman of NHAI. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the extension in central deputation tenure of Sandhu as Chairman of NHAI beyond 21st July 2020, till mid-January 2021.

In accordance with the Reserve Bank of India data, India's external debt stood at $558.5 billion in March 2020, an increase of $15.4 billion or 2.8% as compared to the March 2019. The largest component of the external debt is Commercial borrowings with a share of 39.4%, followed by non-resident deposits at 23.4% and short-term trade credit at 18.2%.

Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', the Union Minister of HRD (Human Resource Development) and Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and minister of Science and Technology launched the Drug Discovery Hackathon (DDH2020) through an online platform in the presence of Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State(HRD). It is a first of its kind national initiative supporting the Drug Discovery Process.

Asian Development Bank (ADB), a regional development bank, has joined the Paris (France)-based Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) as an observer. The NGFS is a global forum that brings together central banks and supervisors committed to understanding and managing the financial risks and opportunities associated with climate change.

Freya Thakral, a 13 year old student of the British School New Delhi received the 2020 Diana Award for her Recycler App, which she developed to connect users with waste-handlers as a measure to help the ragpickers of Delhi .The award is presented annually on the birth anniversary of Princess Diana.

The Government of Maharashtra announced that Marathi writer and playwright Ratnakar Matkari will be posthumously honoured with the Natvarya Prabhakar Panshikar award for his lifetime contribution to the theaters and arts.

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has given its consent for the capital acquisition of various platforms and equipment required by the Indian Armed Forces, Army, Navy and the Air Force, worth Rs 38,900 crore. This decision was taken during the DAC meet held on July 2, 2020 under the chairmanship of Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister) Rajnath Singh. Notably, these approvals include acquisitions of Rs 31,130 crore from Indian industry signifying Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi's clarion call for 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' focused on indigenous design and development.

Lt Col Bharat Pannu, Indian Army officer, secured the 3rd position on the leaderboard at the first edition of the Virtual Race Across America(VRAAM) 2020 held from 16th June to 28th June 2020 and became the first ever Indian to secure a podium position in the international ultracycling race.