TODAY’S TOP NEWS: 22 AUGUST, 2020 (GPN)

*HAPPY GANESH CHATURTI*

NATIONAL NEWS:

1. *Ganesh Chaturthi festival which is celebrated across the country with excitement and zest* . The festival is on Shukla Chaturthi of the Hindu month of Bhadra which typically falls in the month of August or September. This year, Ganeshostav commences on 22 Aug.

2. *What times does Ganesh Chaturthi 2020 Muhurat start ?*
Ganesh Chaturthi tithi starts from 11.04 pm on August 21st and the tithi would end on August 22 at 07:58 am. The Shubh Chaughdiya tithi starts from 7 am to 9:30 pm on August 22. While Gain Chaughdia starts from 2.17 in the afternoon to 3:52 pm. While Amrit Chaughdiya starts from 3:53 pm to 5:17 pm.

3. *Madhya Pradesh will be offering jobs based on the marks secured by candidates in the common eligibility test (CET) by National Recruitment Agency (NRA).* With this, Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in the country to offer jobs on the basis newly approved CET. This common test will replace the individual tests conducted for jobs through RRB, SSC and IBPS.

4. However, the exam will be conducted at three levels- Graduate, 12th pass and 10th pass candidates. This test will be conducted in online mode across the country.The score card of CET will be valid for three years. CET will bring a transparency in the recruitment process.

5. *Centre confirms NEET exam to be held on September 13;* Meanwhile, the JEE (Main) too will be held from 1st September to 6th September 2020. Union Education Secy Amit Khare stated that ‘the Supreme Court had given a very clear order’.
Admit cards to be distributed soon.
.
6. *Rajasthan Government has launched the ‘Indira Rasoi Yojna’ in order to pay special tribute to the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 76th birth anniversary on August 20.* As the name suggests, Indira Rasoi is a scheme to provide nutritious food to poor people in urban areas at affordable prices.

7. Under the scheme, the state government will provide nutritious food to the people at Rs 8 per meal. Each plate will be actually priced at Rs 20 but the government will pay a subsidy of Rs 12 per meal. Expected expenditure on the scheme is Rs 100 crore per year. The food will be provided by 358 kitchens or Rasois that have been set up in 213 urban local bodies across the state.

8. *President Ram Nath Kovind appointed retd. IAS officer Shri Rajiv Kumar as the Election Commissioner on Friday* . Shri Rajiv Kumar – former finance secretary will take charge from Ashok Lavasa who has resigned with effect from 31 August 2020. Lavasa is expected to move to Manila to join as a vice-president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

9. *The Election Commission’s guidelines for the conduct of polls during the Coronavirus pandemic fall far short for the conduct of free, fair, and independent elections* , the Congress said. The party raised an objection of having electronic voting machines (EVMs) use for elections for which the poll body has said will be regularly sanitised. Congress had suggested the use of old-fashioned paper ballots.

10. *Swachh Survekshan 2020 report released by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry* :
*Chhattisgarh* was ranked *the cleanest state* out of those with over 100 urban local bodies* (ULBs). Jharkhand was ranked the cleanest state among those with less than 100 ULBs. In the category of *cantonments* , *Jalandhar* got the top rank . In the category of *capitals, New Delhi* was cleanest.

11. IIT Kharagpur opens Academy of Classical and Folk Arts

12. *Weekend lockdown extended in Punjab* with daily night curfew from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. in all the 167 cities/towns in the state from August 21 to 31 Aug.

13. *The industrial workers, who are the members of the Employees State Insurance Corporation and have lost their jobs amid the pandemic, will be offered 50% of the salary for three months* as employment allowance. The ESIC board has relaxed the norms under Atal Bimit Viyakti Kalyan Yojana for this purpose.

14. *The Special Investigation Team (SIT) adds Section 302 against former Punjab DGP* Sumedh Singh Saini in the case of disappearance of a former CITCO employee, Balwant Singh Multani.

15. *9 killed in fire at Telangana Srisailam Dam hydel power plant.* Seven people were staff, two were from a private firm engaged in maintaining battery. Nine people were trapped in a tunnel following a fire, possibly due to a short circuit. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

16. *Punjab Vigilance Department on Friday claimed it has unearthed a massive tax evasion and drugs smuggling racket* where a number of officers of the State Excise and Taxation Department were allegedly taking monthly bribes from businessmen and transporters for transporting goods in and out of Punjab without paying the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

17. *The Supreme Court on Friday allowed devotees of ‘Shwetamber Jain’ community to offer Paryushan prayers for two days in three temples in Mumbai* on the condition of “strict compliance” with the standard operating procedures meant to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

18. The India Meteorological Department has issued *an ‘orange’ alert for Mumbai, Thane and rest of the Konkan region* of Maharashtra for Saturday, forecasting *heavy rainfall* .

19. *Online education amid COVID-19 pandemic causing digital divide among students* : India has entered into a new era of online education in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, but it creating a wedge between the haves and have nots. The growing digital divide is also being witnessed among rich and poor states of the country. For example, the Internet has reached the maximum number of people in Delhi, Kerala, and Haryana, but it is still away from the majority of people in the northeastern states, except Assam.

20. Although Digital India has become a necessity during the COVID-19 lockdown, the question is also being asked if we are ready with requisite infrastructure for online education. If the students belonging to every section of society are equipped to avail of online education? We should try to understand the problem of those people who are not able to get an education through the internet despite willing to pursue it.

21. *Renowned folk singer Sharda Sinha has tested positive for the deadly novel coronavirus.* Sharda Sinha is a famous Maithili folk singer and has sung several songs in Bhojpuri and Magahi languages respectively.

22. *Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput case* : CBI begins probe, questions actor’s cook, doctor, the person who broke lock from outside, Sushant’s friend, driver and Watchman.CBI will also investigate Sushant’s former manager Disha Salian controversial Suicide.

23. The *Telangana State* Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) issued a notification for opening of the online *DOST portal for undergraduate degree admissions* in the state, to commence from August 24.

24. *Karnataka yet to clear bills of pvt hospitals treating COVID patients at govt rates* . On July 18, the Karnataka government ordered private hospitals in the state capital to reserve 50% beds for treatment of corona patients

25. *COVID-19 IN INDIA*
TOTAL CASES 2905823
TOTAL ACTIVE 692028
RECOVERED 2158946
TOTAL DEATHS 54849

*✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS*

1. *A direct shipping service between India and Maldives would be flagged off next month.* An MoU was signed last year to establish a direct passenger-cum-cargo ferry service between the two neighbours for providing an alternate, direct and less expensive means for transport for passengers and goods. It be connecting Cochin and Tuticorin with Maldives capital Male.

2. *India, Israel sign cultural agreement* to further boost people-to-people ties.

3. *Fourteen passengers, who travelled from Delhi to Hong Kong on an Air India flight on August 14, have tested positive for COVID-19 till Thursday* , the Hong Kong government said. Due to this incident, Air India’s passenger flights have been barred from landing in Hong Kong till August-end.

4. *The UK’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS) on Friday issued an urgent call for people of Indian and South Asian heritage who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate their plasma* to help save lives of others infected with the deadly virus.According to experts, people from a South Asian background are around twice as likely to have high enough antibodies for their donations to be used in life-saving treatment trials, compared to white people.

5. *The Chinese military is not serious about resolution of the border standoff in eastern Ladakh* and it is faced with an “unanticipated” consequence for its “misadventure” due to a strong response by the Indian Army.

6. The Indian Army has clearly stated to China’s People’s Liberation Army that “shifting” of the Line of Actual Control is not acceptable to it, the sources said, adding the Chinese military is now desperately attempting to give “ex post facto strategic meaning” to its actions in eastern Ladakh.

*WORLD NEWS*

1. *Former Vice President Joe Biden has officially accepted the presidential nomination of the US Democratic Party* . At the same time, Kamala Harris made history by becoming the first black woman and the first South Asian American woman to accept the Vice Presidential nomination.

2. *US President Donald Trump said China will own the United States if his Democratic rival Joe Biden is voted to power* in the November 3 presidential elections.

3. *Iran unveils missiles* martyr Qassem Soleimani (1400-km surface-to-surface) and martyr Abu Mahdi (1,000 km cruise).

4. *Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday described the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as a “landmark project”* under the Belt and Road Initiative and said it is of great importance to promoting in-depth development of the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.

5. *WORLD COVID CASES*
CONFIRMED 22,850,163
ACTIVE. 6,751,129
RECOVERED. 15,302,496
DEATHS 796,538

* SPORTS:*

1. *Sports ministry is considering a proposal to increase prize money for Arjuna Awards by 200% and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards by 300%.* The prize money has not been increased since 2008

2. *Five names were nominated for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award,* while a whopping *27* were recommended for *Arjuna awards* by the selection committee

3. Cricketer Rohit Sharma, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal, Table Tennis player Manika Batra and Paralympian T Mariyappan will be getting the highest sporting honour of the country at a specially organized function through virtual mode from Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29th August.

3. *PM Modi wrote a letter of appreciation for cricketers* Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni following their retirement from international cricket.

*USD 74.97 GBP 98.02*
_In Jammu_(JK)
*Gold ₹44,340@10 gm 24 (Krt)*
*Silver ₹67,100@ Kg*
⛽ *Petrol ₹ 81.46*
⛽ *Diesel ₹ 74.22*

* FACTS ABOUT INDIA*

The well known freedom fighter and statesman, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was the man behind Ganesh festival a way of uniting people in a common cause and in this manner a possible means of bringing about political consciousness under the guise of a religious celebration during british rule, Lokmanya Tilak also started celebrating Ganesutsav as a public festival by establishing a Sarvajanik Ganpati at Vinchurkarwada in 1894 and today it is the most popular event in the State. It was a unique move by this freedom fighter, which he achieved with the Ganpati Visarjana or immersion procession which is taken out on the final day of the ganesh festival.

* THOUGHT OF THE DAY*

Everyday is an opportunity of new life

JOKES OF THE DAY

1)Man goes to library and asks for a book on Suicide……..Librarian looks at him n says: “hello.. who will return the book ????”

2) Alia and Rahul are walking down the road when Alia says “Look at that donkey with one eye!”

Rahul immediately covers one of his eyes and says “Where?”

A passerby hearing Alia Gadhi Us Gadhe ki dono ankhe hai samne se Dekh Tu side se Dekh rahi hai.

3) In Amethi a classroom Teacher asks Rahul to teach students 1 to 10. Rahul : 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Teacher : Where is 5?
Rahul : Yesterday I heard in the news that 5 died in Amethi due to Covid.

4) Teacher: Tell me the name of any Microsoft Product?
Tina: MS Excel
Leena: MS Word
Meena: MS Powerpoint
Alia: “MS Dhoni” I watched it on my Microsoft Tablet.

5) Rahul goes to the doctor and says, “Doctor, wherever I touch, it hurts.”
The doctor asks, “What do you mean?”
Rahul says, “When I touch my shoulder, it really hurts.

If I touch my knee – OUCH! When I touch my forehead, it really, really hurts.”

The doctor says, “I know what’s wrong with you – you’ve broken your finger!”

6)Two boys were arguing when the teacher entered the room.

The teacher says, “Why are you arguing?”

One boy answers, “We found a ten dollor bill and decided to give it to whoever tells the biggest lie.”

“You should be ashamed of yourselves,” said the teacher, “When I was your age I didn’t even know what a lie was.”

The boys gave the ten dollars to the teacher

*TELL ME WHY❓❓❓*

*why most umbrellas are black* ‍♀️☔

Black can absorb heat.
Basically, the umbrella was initially meant for rainy seasons. It was found that umbrellas made of black cloth dried faster than those made of cloth of other colors.bBecause black colour observes more heat and umbrella gets dry quickly. So it became a standard practice to use black cloth in the making of umbrellas.

*LEARN SANSKRIT*

*क्षीर* Milk

*HOW IT WORKS* ⁉

*How plaster of paris is prepared.*

Plaster of Paris is used to make casts and moulds. Plaster of Paris is produced by heating the gypsum up to 150 degree Celsius. It forms a dry powder of calcium sulphate.

Plaster of paris, quick-setting gypsum plaster consisting of a fine white powder (calcium sulfate hemihydrate), which hardens when moistened and allowed to dry. Known since ancient times, plaster of paris is so called because of its preparation from the abundant gypsum found near Paris.

It is commonly used to precast and hold parts of ornamental plasterwork placed on ceilings and cornices. It is also used in medicine to make plaster casts to immobilize broken bones while they heal, though many modern orthopedic casts are made of fibreglass or thermoplastics.

‍♂️ *GK TODAY*

France, the Euro (€) is its official currency.

*1 Euro equals*
88.22 Indian Rupee

*VEDIK GYAN*

According to Shiva Purna. The birth of Ganesha

One day Goddess Parvati was at home on Mt.Kailash preparing for a bath. As she didn’t want to be disturbed, she told Nandi, her husband Shiva’s Bull, to guard the door and let no one pass. Nandi faithfully took his post, intending to carry out Parvati’s wishes. But, when Shiva came home and naturally wanted to come inside, Nandi had to let him pass, being loyal first to Shiva. Parvati was angry at this slight, but even more than this, at the fact that she had no one as loyal to Herself as Nandi was to Shiva. So, taking the turmeric paste (for bathing) from her body and breathing life into it, she created Ganesha, declaring him to be her own loyal son.

The next time Parvati wished to bathe, she posted Ganesha on guard duty at the door. In due course, Shiva came home, only to find this strange boy telling him he couldn’t enter his own house! Furious, Shiva ordered his army to destroy the boy, but they all failed! Such power did Ganesha possess, being the son of Devi Herself!

This surprised Shiva. Seeing that this was no ordinary boy, the usually peaceful Shiva decided he would have to fight him, and in his divine fury severed Ganesha’s head, killing him instantly. When Parvati learned of this, she was so enraged and insulted that she decided to destroy the entire Creation! Lord Brahma, being the Creator, naturally had his issues with this, and pleaded that she reconsider her drastic plan. She said she would, but only if two conditions were met: one, that Ganesha be brought back to life, and two, that he be forever worshipped before all the other gods.

Shiva, having cooled down by this time, and realizing his mistake, agreed to Parvati’s conditions. He sent Brahma out with orders to bring back the head of the first creature he crosses that is laying with its head facing North. Brahma soon returned with the head of a strong and powerful elephant, which Shiva placed onto Ganesha’s body. Breathing new life into him, he declared Ganesha to be his own son as well and gave him the status of being foremost among the gods, and leader of all the ganas (classes of beings), Ganapati.

*People refrain from looking at the moon on Ganesha Chaturthi to avoid Mithya Dosha. What is Mithya Dosha? Mitha Dosha is a curse that could falsely implicate a person of stealing something*

When Lord Ganesha was returning home along with his Vahana ( a mooshak or a mouse) on a moonlit night on Chaturthi in the Bhadrapada month, the Moon God poked fun at the Lord’s round belly and his vahana. … Hence, he said that sighting the moon on Chaturthi would be as good as a curse.

*HEALTH CARE: HOME REMEDIES*
( *Note* : These home tips followed in villages/ancient traditions, it is up to you to use it or not)

*Benefits of Cucumber*

Cucumber juice is a powerhouse of antioxidants and hence boosts metabolism and results in weight loss.

Cucumber juice provides the body with a whole slew of minerals, hormones and compounds which help in protecting your body from diseases.

It helps to our nervous system to avoid stress and anxiety

*PLZ FOLLOW GOVT. NORMS, MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCE, KEEP YOURSELF & YOUR FAMILY SAFE. ENDS