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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 12 July 2020

::NATIONAL::

NITI Aayog’sAtal Innovation Mission has launched the ATL App Development Module for school children across the country. The ATL App is an online course, which is completely free.
Through six project-based learning modules and online mentoring sessions, young innovators can learn to build mobile apps in various Indian languages and showcase their talent. Additionally, to build capacities and acumen for app development within school teachers, periodic Teacher Training sessions will be conducted on the AIM App Development course.
NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant has said that COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a big disruption, which is being tackled through the use of technology to aid everyday lives.
He said, the Prime Minister has been encouraging the citizens to use technology and innovate for an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Mr Kant said, it is crucial for the young Indians to learn skills at a young age and to enable them to become the next generation of technology leaders.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has notified a draft notification proposing amendment to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 for inclusion of the standards for the safety evaluation of the vehicles being propelled through hydrogen fuel cells.
It is proposed to include motor vehicles of Categories M and N, running on compressed gaseous hydrogen fuel cell, to be in accordance with AIS 157:2020, as amended from time to time, till the corresponding BIS specification is notified under the Bureau of Indian Standard Act, 2016.
Further, the hydrogen fuel specifications for fuel cell vehicles shall be in accordance with ISO 14687 till the corresponding BIS specification is notified under the Bureau of Indian Standard Act, 2016.

Railway Minister PiyushGoyal has said that Indian Railways will be the largest Railway in the world to have 100 per cent electrification replacing diesel. He expressed hope that it will be the world's first Green Railways running on 100 per cent clean energy by 2030.
Addressing the India Global Week-2020, he said, the government has opened up for bidding for additional 151 trains inviting private participation so the passengers can enjoy world-class facilities and high speed journeys.
Mr Goyal said, India is looking to reform in terms of domestic approvals and bureaucratic process to simplify things and it will soon be coming up with a New Industrial Policy for economic growth.

The government can turn the COVID-19 crisis into an opportunity by investing in healthcare, and it should also pursue making all the cities slum-free by 2023, economists observed.
At the seventh economic conclave organised by State Bank of India on Saturday, there was unanimity among the economists on laying greater thrust on decentralisation in policy making in the future, as a one size fits all approach may not work always.
India at present has the third highest number of COVID-19 cases, after the U.S. and Brazil, and has already lost over 22,000 people.

The World Health Organization, WHO praised Mumbai's efforts to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 in India’s largest slum area Dharavi. WHO chief TedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus said, only aggressive action combined with national unity and global solidarity can turn this pandemic around. He said, there are several examples from around the world that have shown that even if the outbreak is very intense, it can still be brought back under control.
He said, some of these examples are Italy, Spain, South Korea and densely packed area of Dharavi in the megacity of Mumbai. Mr.Tedros said, a strong focus on community engagement and the basics of testing, tracing, isolating and treating all those that are sick is key to breaking the chains of transmission and suppressing the virus.
In some relief to the people of Mumbai, the cases of COVID-19 in the metropolis has gone below 1.50 per cent. There are as many as 22,738 active cases of Covid-19 in the city. The doubling rate too has slowed down to near 50 days.

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued six Sri Lankan fishermen from Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in Andaman Sea. During the EEZ surveillance of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the ICG Dornier located a boat adrift at approximately 190 Nautical Miles North-West of Port Blair.
The boat has been identified as Sri Lankan and was reportedly in distress due to technical snag.
Acting over the situation, a rescue mission was launched from Port Blair. ICG Ship RAJKAMAL rescued the six Sri Lankan fishermen along with the boat on the early morning of 11th July.

The Assam keelback snake has been sighted by a team from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, for the first time since 1869. This snake was spotted in 2018 by zoologist Abhijit Das when he, along with a team, was retracing the Abor expedition – an iconic expedition that took place from 1911-1912 that had yielded a rich list of flora and fauna of the Assam region.
First known as Hebiuspealii this snake was named after Edward Peal, a British tea planter who first collected two specimens of this snake from upper Assam, 129 years ago. Of the two collected specimens, one was preserved in the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, and the other was kept in the Natural History Museum in London.
The Assam keelback is so far known only to inhabit Sivasagar in Upper Assam and Poba in Assam-Arunachal border. So, as far as present knowledge goes, it is an endemic snake of Upper Assam.

World champion Lewis Hamilton showed he’s still the best driver in wet conditions, keeping his composure on a rain-drenched track to take pole position for the Styrian Grand Prix.
It was the Mercedes driver’s record-extending 89th career pole and particularly impressive as he first beat Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s mark and then his own leading mark on his final lap.