July 25:Current Affairs

1)INDIA - MALDIVES SIGN AN AGREEMENT ;

• India and Maldives have signed a contract which will allow the construction of fish processing plants at two Maldives Islands. 
• The contract was signed on july 22, 2020.

 Did You Know? 

         In 2019, Maldives and India signed a memorandum of understanding which detailed the setting up of three fish processing plants at Maradhoo, Hothadhoo, and Hulhudhoo.

2)AMIT SHAH LAUNCHES TREE PLANTATION DRIVE -2020;

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the 'Tree Plantation Drive -2020' organized by ministry of coal on 23 july 2020.
• Under the drive, trees will be planted on 6, 000 acres of land on 38 districts across ten states. 

3)3MW SOLAR POWER PLANT COMMISSIONED AT INA;

• The Indian Navy has commissioned a three megawatt solar power plant at Indian Naval Academy situated in Ezhimala, kerala. 
• This is in line with the government initiative of 'National Solar Mission 'to achieve 600 gigawatts of solar power by the year 2022.

Did You Know? 

        The solar power plant is the largest in the Indian Navy and has an estimated life of 25 years. 

4)NATIONAL TRANSIT PASS SYSTEM ;

• Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar virtually launched piloting of the National Transit Pass System at Indra Paryavaran B Hawan in Delhi on 23 july. 
• The National Paas System enhances seamless movement of forest produce. 

5)PERMANENT COMMISSION TO WOMEN OFFICERS;

• Defence Ministry has issued the formal government sanction letter for grant of permanent commission to women officers in the Indian Army. 
• This will pave the way for empowering women officers to shoulder larger roles in the organization. 

Did You Know? 

        The order specifies grant of PC to Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers in all team streams of the Indian Army.

6)A COIMBATORE SCIENTIST AWARDED ;

• An award winning scientist at the Institite of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore has been conferred the National Award of Excellence. 
• He was awarded for outstanding research in forestry, including conservation of endangered sacred groves in the Alappuzha district of Kerala.  

7)CHINA LAUNCHES INDEPENDENT MISSION TO MARS;

• China launched irs first independent probe headed to Mars on 23 july, a  major milestone in Beijing's mission to build a World Class Space Programme.
• The probe, named Tianwen-1 was launched via a long march -5 rocket from Hainan island and is expected to reach mars gravitational field in feb 2021.

8)FIRST EVER IND -SAT TEST 2020 CONDUCTED;

• HRD Minister conducted the first ever Indian Scholastic Assessment Test 2020 under its study in India Programme.
• The exam was conducted in the proctored internet mode by the National Testing Agency.