TODAY’S TOP NEWS: 25 JULY, 2020 (GPN):

NATIONAL NEWS:

1. Today *Naga Panchami* it is a day of traditional worship of Nagas or snakes observed by Hindus throughout India, Nepal, and other countries. The worship is offered on the fifth day of bright half of lunar month of Shravana (July/August),Some Indian states, such as Rajasthan and Gujarat, celebrate Naga Panchami on the dark half (Krishna Paksha) of the same month. Nag Panchami Puja Muhurat begins at *05:39 AM on July 25, 2020, and ends at 08:22 AM* on the same day. The total duration of the Nag Panchami Puja Muhurat is 2 hours and 44 minutes.

2. Five months after the *Supreme Court allowed Permanent Commission (PC) for Short Service* Commission (SSC) *women officers* , the Ministry of Defence today issued a formal order allowing women to be permanent commissioned officers in eight additional streams in the Army.Women SSC officers were till now allowed Permanent Commission only in the Judge and Advocate General (JAG) and Army Educational Corps (AEC) branches.

3. The Government Sanction Letter, paving the way for women officers shouldering larger roles in the organisation, specifies grant of PC to SSC women officers in eight additional streams of the Army: Army Air Defence (AAD), Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), Army Service Corps (ASC), Army Ordnance Corps (AOC) and Intelligence Corps.

4. *Flood fury in Assam,* Bihar; nearly 37 lakh people hit
.
5. *The Department of Posts has extended all small savings schemes* upto the branch post office level.People will now be able to deposit their savings into these popular schemes through the post office in their village itself. Like Monthly Income Scheme, National Savings Certificate, Kisan Vikas Patra and Senior Citizen Savings Schemes.

6. *Centre asks 9 states with high active COVID-19 caseload to strictly implement containment plan, ramp up testing:* The states including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, and Assam, have in the recent past shown a high rise in a daily number of active cases.

7. *Veteran BJP leader L K Advani* on Friday *recorded his statement before a special CBI court in the Babri mosque demolition case.* : The statement of the 92-year-old former deputy prime minster was recorded through video conferencing

8. *The phase-I human clinical trial of India’s 1st indigenously-developed vaccine against novel coronavirus, Covaxin, began at Delhi AIIMS* on Friday and the first dose of the injection was administered to a man who is in his 30s.
Over 3,500 volunteers have registered themselves for the trial at AIIMS since last Saturday

9. Gujarat: Shamalbhai Patel unanimously *elected new chairman of Amu brand owner* GCMMF (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation) to

10. *Karur Vysya Bank* Ltd. (KVB) appoints Ramesh Babu Boddu as *new MD & CEO*

11. Amid *political chaos in Rajasthan,* Congress has sacked Deputy CM Sachin Pilot and has sent disqualification notice to all 19 MLAs, which has challenged in Supreme Court. *Hearing on Monday*

12. Congress to stage sit-in protest against BJP in all party offices in Rajasthan on Saturday

13. *Kerala Gold Smuggling case:* The National Investigation Agency *(NIA)* , probing the sensational gold smuggling case, on Friday said it has *seized over Rs 1 crore and nearly 1 kg gold kept in safe deposit lockers of prime accused Swapna Suresh* maintained at two banks in Thiruvananthapuram

14. *PM Modi likely to convene meeting with all State CMs on July 27 as Unlock 2 deadline nears*
As Unlock 2.0 comes to an end on July 30, sources report that PM Modi is likely to convene a meeting with all state Chief Ministers to discuss the nation’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) scenario. The meeting is likely yo be held on July 27, report sources with Home Minister Amit Shah and Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla likely to attend the meeting. Currently, India has 12,87,945 cases of which 4,10,135 active cases and 30,601 fatalities

✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS:

1. *India to boost Rafale capabilities* with HAMMER missiles from France via emergency order

2. First-ever container cargo from Kolkata via Bangladesh port reaches Agartala: Ministry of E external Affairs said.

3. Commerce and Industry Minister *Piyush Goyal participates in the 10th BRICS* Trade Ministers virtual *meeting*

4. The 75th United Nations General Assembly *UNGA* *is to be conducted virtually in 2020 for the first time in its history.* The 2020 session is to begin on September

5. *Union* MSME *Minister Nitin Gadkari launches mentoring platform www.restartindia.in* conceptualised by Muthoot Fincorp and INK talks

6. Facebook rolls out ‘App Lock’ for Messenger to protect users’ privacy

7. *India and Israel are to launch a cooperation* operation to develop a *rapid COVID-19 test.*

8. *Vistara* , a joint venture between TATA group and Singapore *Airlines Limited* (SIA), took delivery of its first Airbus A321neo aircraft in New Delhi. The aircraft, arriving from Airbus’ final assembly lines in Hamburg, Germany, *features India’s most advanced aircraft cabin in the sky with fully flat beds in business class.*

WORLD NEWS:

1. *Several passengers on an Iranian airline have been injured* over Syria after the pilot changed altitude to avoid collision with a US fighter jet

2. *China launches first Mars probe ‘Tianwen* 1’ (Quest for Heavenly Truth 1) from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site

3. *Annie Ross, jazz singer* and actress, *dies* at 89 in New York

4. *South Korea recently launched its first ever military satellite* to defend itself against nuclear armed North Korea. The satellite has been named “ANASI

5. *Hurricane Douglas* , the strongest storm on the planet right now, is approaching Hawaii but is forecast to weaken before it reaches the island chain this weekend

SPORTS:

1. *Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland has lauded the Fit India Movement of India* as a unique initiative to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. *Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju attended the Ministerial Forum of Commonwealth* countries to share India’s road to resumption of sport, post Covid 19, and to contribute to the creation of a collaborative sports policy in the post pandemic era.

*USD 74.72 GBP 95.58*
_In visakhapatnam_(AP)
*Gold ₹52,690@10 gm 24 (Krt)*
*Silver ₹61,050@ Kg*
⛽ *Petrol ₹ 77.86*
⛽ *Diesel ₹ 78.99*

FACTS ABOUT INDIA:

*The Charminar* (lit. “four minarets”), constructed in 1591, is a monument and mosque located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The landmark has become known globally as a symbol of Hyderabad and is listed among the most recognized structures in India. It has also been officially incorporated as the Emblem of Telangana for the state of Telangana.

The fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, *Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, built the Charminar in 1591* after shifting his capital from Golkonda to the newly formed city of Hyderabad. However, it is widely accepted that Charminar was built at the centre of the city, to commemorate the eradication of cholera”, a deadly disease which was wide spread at that time.

* THOUGHT OF THE DAY:*

A snake knows more about what is happening around than any other creature, because it has no ears to listen to gossip – only direct perception

_You will never have this day again, so count it now._

JOKES OF THE DAY:

Raja aur Rani ne fix kiya ki ab baat Mobile se nhi Kabutar se karenge.

1 din Rani ne bina khat k kabutar uda diya.

*Raja* : Ye kya?

*Rani* : miss call yaar.

__________________________________

Boy: The principal is so dumb!

Girl: Do you know who I am?

Boy: No…

Girl: I am the principal’s daughter!

Boy: Do you know who I am?

Girl: No…

Boy: Good! *Walks away*

*❓TELL ME WHY❓❓:

*Science behind Nag Panchami*

One of the reasons Nag Panchami is celebrated is because Shravan is the month of peak monsoon and during this time farmers cultivate crops in fields, snakes often come out of their holes to get food which they easily find like, frogs, rats, ants etc. So snakes can harm humans. In order to prevent this, devotees offer sweets, milk and other eatables nearby snakes holes, then ants and other insects attracts towards these eatables and were eaten by snakes. So snake will get its food, it will not come out of its hole.

In fact, reptiles can’t digest dairy products and even if they could, it’s unlikely cows would stand idly by whilst being milked. If dehydrated enough, snakes will drink milk, but if thirsty enough they will drink just about anything.

*LEARN SANSKRIT*:

*उपभोग* : Enjoyment, Pleasure

HOW IT WORKS: ⁉

Snake charming is the practice of appearing to hypnotize a snake (often a cobra) by playing and waving around an instrument called a pungi.

During a performance, snake charmers may take a number of precautions. The charmer typically sits out of biting range and the snake is sluggish and reluctant to attack anyway. More drastic means of protection include removing the reptile’s fangs or venom glands, or even sewing the snake’s mouth shut. Although snakes are able to sense sound, they lack the outer ear that would enable them to hear the music. They follow the pungi that the “snake charmer” holds with his hands. The snake considers the person and pungi a threat and responds to it as if it were a predator.

‍♂️ GK TODAY:

The 5 Largest and Longest Snakes in India
King Cobra – General Length 15.8 ft. …
Indian Python – General Length 9.8 ft. …
Indian Rat Snake – General Length 7.6 ft. …
Indian Cobra – General Length 6.0 ft. …
Common Krait – General Length 5.4 ft.

VEDIK GYAN:

According to Great Epic Mahabharata *Parikshit* was the son of *Abhimanyu* and *Uttara*. He was also the grandson of *Arjuna* .

Parikshit was *cursed* by *Rishi Shamika’s son Sringin,* to die of Snakebite in seven days, for disrespecting Rishi Shamika. Parikshit, died after *Takshaka king of snakes bit him* .

Now, on hearing his father’s death by Takshaka, *Parikshit’s son Janamejaya II* vowed to kill Takshaka within a week. He starts the *Sarpamedha yagna* , which forced each and every snake of the entire universe to fall in the havan kund. However one snake got stuck around Surya’s chariot and because of the force of yagna the chariot was also getting pulled inside the hawankund. This could have ended up taking the Surya’s chariot in the sacrificial altar and ending the regime of Sun from the universe. This resulted in plea from all the gods to stop the sacrifice. When Takshaka arrived then this yagna was stopped from doing so by Astika Muni, as a result of which Takshaka lived. That day was Shukla Paksha Panchami in the *month of Shravan* and is since celebrated as the festival of *Naga Panchami.*

HEALTH CARE: HOME REMEDIES:
( *Note* : These home tips followed for First aid, it is up to you to use it or not)

*First Aid: SNAKE BITE*

1. Immediately Washing the wound with soap and water

2. Rinse the area around the bite site with water to remove any venom that might remain on the skin.
Clean the wound and cover with a sterile dressing.

3. Remove any rings or jewelry. Remove shoes if the leg or foot was bitten.

4. Cover the bite with a clean, dry dressing.

You’ll begin to see symptoms immediately, but your symptoms will worsen over time. Ideally, you’ll reach medical help within 30 minutes of being bitten

*Things Not To Do*

A. Do not make any incisions in the skin or apply suction with your mouth.

B. Do not apply ice or a tourniquet.
Do not shock the victim with a stun gun or electrical current.

*HOW TO TELL IF A SNAKE IS POTENTIALLY VENOMOUS/POISONOUS IN 4 STEPS*

When threatened, rattlesnakes may shake the rattles on their tails to create a loud clicking sound as a warning to potential predators. Be aware that not all rattlesnakes have rattles and this is not a reliable warning

Venomous snakes have distinct heads. While non-venomous snakes have a rounded head, venomous snakes have a more triangular-shaped head.

Examining a snake’s pupils is another method that can be utilized to identify venomous versus non-venomous snakes. Like a cat’s eye, poisonous snakes have thin, black, vertical pupils surrounded by a yellow-green eyeball while non-venomous snakes have rounded pupils. While this type of pupils can indicate that the snake is venomous, this is observed at close range, which can be a potentially dangerous identification method.

PLZ FOLLOW GOVT. NORMS, MAINT SOCIAL DISTANCE, KEEP YOURSELF & YOUR FAMILY SAFE: