News Flash (4th August 2020): Top 10 Stories Of The Day

1. Mumbai University extends application process till 3 pm tomorrow, first merit list to be out on 6 August.

Mumbai University has extended the application process for the new academic year 2020-21 till August 5, 2020, by 3pm. Students can apply online via the official site of Mumbai University at mu.ac.in. The first merit list will be available by 11 AM on August 6, 2020 at the official portal of admission at http://mum.digitaluniversity.ac/

2. SIET Kerala to conduct All-India online mock NEET 2020 on August 9

The State Institute of Educational Technology Kerala will conduct an online mock test for NEET 2020 aspirants on 9 Sunday August 2020. The registration window for this online mock test will be available for students from August 5 to August 9 on the official website, sietkerala.gov.in. NEET 2020 is scheduled to be held on 13 September. 

3. UPSC 2019 results declared. Pradeep Singh tops Civil Services Exam

The results of the civil services examination 2019 was declared on Tuesday by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The examination was topped by Pradeep Singh and Pratibha Verma is the topper among women candidates. A total of 829 candidates have been recommended to various civil services in the IAS, IFS and IPS. 

4. Sun Pharma launches Favipiravir in India at Rs 35 per tablet.

Sun Pharma announced today the launch of FluGuard (Favipiravir) at a price of Rs 35 per tablet. The drug can be used for the treatment of mild to moderate symptoms in Covid-19 cases in India. The stocks of FluGuard will be made available in the market from this week. The pharma company has said that they will work closely with the government and medical community to ensure drug availability across the country.

5. Two day curfew imposed in Kashmir on the one year anniversary of Article 370 abrogation.

A two day curfew has been imposed in the Kashmir valley on 4th and 5th August. The curfew comes on the one year anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5. An order by the Srinagar magistrate said that they have got information about separatists and Pakistan  sponsored groups planning to observe August 5 as Black Day. There have also been inputs regarding violent protests, the order said.  

6. Trump announces US will ban Tik Tok on September 15 unless an American company buys it.

US President Trump said that the popular Chinese app TikTok would be banned in the country by September 15 unless it is bought by an American company. He also asked that the US Treasury should get a cut from the sale of the deal closed. Tech giant Microsoft is in talks with TikTok’s parent company ByteDance. 

7. PM Modi to attend foundation stone laying ceremony on August 5

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to lay the foundation stone of Ram Temple at Ayodhya tomorrow on August 5. Festivities and rituals have already begun ahead of the ‘bhoomi pujan’. The PM will lay a 40 kg silver brick at the construction site during the ceremony. Around 175 people have been invited for the ceremony. 

8. India’s July unemployment rate down at 7.43%

India’s overall unemployment rate in July came down to 7.43% from 10.99% in June indicating that the unemployment crisis has significantly declined. This was lower than March when the unemployment rate of India was 8.75%. The urban unemployment is however higher than both national and rural unemployment rate. The fall in the rate has been attributed to good monsoon and better sowing season in rural India and gradual opening of the economy.

9. Mumbai police appoints Grant Thornton as forensic auditor in Sushant Singh’s case.

The Mumbai police on Tuesday appointed Grant Thornton as the forensic auditor in Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s case. The auditor will examine the financial transactions done from the late actor’s bank account. The announcement was made after the Bihar government recommended a CBI inquiry into the case.

10. Xiaomi launches Redmi 9 Prime in India at ₹ 9999.

Xiaomi announced the launch of its Redmi 9 prime in India. It features the Aura 360 design and a P2i water resistant coating. The phone also has a 6.53 inch full HD+ display. With two variants, 64GB+4GB is priced at Rs 9999 and 128GB+4GB is priced at Rs 11999. The phone will be made available from August 6 at 10 am on Amazon and mi.com, Mi Studios and Mi Homes.