Current Affairs in Short: 22 July 2020

IPL 2020 to be played in the UAE

• The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is being planned to be held in the UAE, confirmed the IPL governing council chairman Brijesh Patel on July 22, 2020. Both UAE and Sri Lanka had offered to host the league considering the rising number of COVID-19 cases in India.
• The 2020 IPL edition was scheduled to start from March 29, 2020 but the tournament was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 outbreak. 
• The Board of Cricket in Control for India (BCCI) has applied for the government’s permission to stage the tournament in the UAE. The further course of action will be discussed during the next IPL governing council meeting.
• The announcement comes after the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the postponement of the ICC T20 World Cup 2020, which was scheduled to be held between October- November 2020 in Australia. 

Health Minister appeals to people to wear triple layer masks, not N95 masks

• The Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has urged all people to use a triple-layer mask made of cloth. He stated that the N95 masks with respirator valves in them do not prevent the coronavirus from spreading out.
• The Health Minister confirmed that the N95 mask fitted with a perforated respirator is contrary to the measures adopted to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
• The Health Ministry had issued an advisory on the use of homemade face covers in April. It had also listed out procedures of making such homemade masks, asking to ensure it fits the face well and there are no gaps on the sides.

Andhra Pradesh plans to reopen schools from Sept 5

• The Andhra Pradesh state government has planned to reopen schools from September 5, 2020. However, the final decision will be taken after evaluating the situation when the date approaches.
• The announcement was made by the state’s Education Minister Adimulapu Suresh, after a review meeting on education, chaired by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. 
• The Minister added saying that till the time schools reopen, dry rations in place of mid-day meals, will be provided to the students at their homes.
• The government also plans to introduce pre-primary education (LKG and UKG) in government schools from the next academic year and coaching will be provided for competitive exams like AP EAMCET, JEE, IIIT, among others in junior government colleges.

Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant-3 achieves criticality: PM Modi praises nuclear scientists

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 22, 2020 congratulated the nuclear scientists as Gujarat's Kakrapar atomic power plant-3 for achieving criticality, saying that the indigenous reactor will be a shining example of the 'Make in India' campaign.
• The 700 MW Kakrapar Atomic power plant in Gujarat has achieved criticality, which means that it has reached the normal operating condition of a reactor. This means that the power plant is now set to generate power.
• The Prime Minister congratulated the scientists for achieving the feat through a tweet and said that the 700 MWe KAPP-3 reactor is a trailblazer for many such future achievements.

Pakistan to give Kulbhushan Jadhav a fair trial?

• The Pakistan Government on July 22, 2020 filed an application in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) regarding the death sentence of Indian National Kulbhushan Jadhav. According to reports. Pakistan is looking to implement the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) decision to meet the requirements of a fair trial.
• The Pakistani Ministry of Law and Justice filed the application under a federal ordinance. The government took the decision after Jadhav apparently refused to file a review appeal against his death sentence. The Indian government says that Jadhav was coerced into refusing to appeal against his conviction. 
• As per the latest petition, the Pakistani Government has appealed to the IHC to appoint a counsel to review and reconsider the verdict of the military court in accordance with the decision of the ICJ. Pakistan had on July 16 offered India a third consular access to Jadhav, as the day before Indian diplomats had walked out of the meeting without hearing him.
• India had objected to the presence of security personnel during the meeting. Pakistan is willing to provide consular access without their presence. 

Trials of anti-tank guided missile 'Dhruvastra' conducted in Odisha

• The trials of Helicopter-launched Nag Missile anti-tank guided missile 'Dhruvastra' were conducted on July 15-16 at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Balasore, Odisha. The missile was earlier named as HELINA. 
• The trails were conducted without a helicopter in direct and top attack mode. In July 2019, the DRDO had conducted three successful test firings of the Nag missiles in the Pokhran firing ranges.
• Nag was one of the first five strategic missiles, which was planned to be developed under the Integrated Missile Development Programme initiated in the 1980s. The other missiles developed under the project include Agni, Prithvi and Akash, all of which were successfully developed and inducted into the armed forces. 
• The trials come at a time when the disengagement process has begun between the troops of India and China in eastern Ladakh, along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).