NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
NABARD to undertake Sanitation Literacy Campaign in Karnataka: The National Bank
for Agriculture and Rural Development will begin a Sanitation Literacy Campaign
(SLC) in Karnataka to promote literacy on ‘WASH’ (Water, Sanitation and
Hygiene) in 2,000 villages covering one lakh rural population. The objective of
the campaign is to focus on inculcating significant behavioural changes towards
adapting good hygiene and sanitation practices. The campaign will start from
October 2 and continue till January 26, 2021. In the past, NABARD also
supported the construction of 3.29 crore household toilets disbursing 27,298
crore rupees across the country.
Note: Chairman of National Bank for
Agriculture and Rural Development: Govinda Rajulu Chintala.
2.
First RRTS train for Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor unveiled, will touch 180
km/hour: The
government unveiled the first look of India’s first Regional Rapid Transit
System (RRTS) train which can attain a top speed of 180 kilometres per hour and
whose design is inspired by Delhi’s iconic Lotus Temple. It will run on the
Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor and reduce travel time between the two cities
to about an hour. The semi-high-speed aerodynamic trainsets will have a 2 + 2
transverse seating arrangement with comfortable seat pitches, standing spaces
and automatic plug-in type sliding doors. The new trains will accommodate
around 900 passengers in the three-car train configuration for the Meerut local
transit services. When configured into six-car trainsets for RRTS, the trains
will be able to accommodate as many as 1,790 passengers.
3.
Assam govt to provide loan to entrepreneurs to revive tourism sector: Assam Chief
Minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced a new scheme under which loan up to ₹20
lakh with interest subsidy would be provided to entrepreneurs to revive the
tourism industry, the worst- affected sector by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under
the ‘Paryatan Sanjeevani Scheme’, loan between ₹1 lakh and ₹20 lakh will be
extended to interested local youths to take up new initiatives so that the
tourism sector gets a fresh lease of life amid the coronavirus crisis. As part
of the scheme, the advances will be provided for five years, while the state
government will give first year’s interest and will be a one-year moratorium on
repayment.
4.
Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur named FTII governing council chairman: Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting has announced Shekhar Kapur as the new President
of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Society and Chairman of FTII
Governing Council. His tenure will be till March 3, 2023. Kapur, known for
films like Masoom (1983), Mr India (1987), Elizabeth (1998) and Bandit Queen
(1994), will replace television producer BP Singh. Singh’s tenure had ended in
March 2020 but he was given an extension owing to the coronavirus situation.
Note: The Film and Television Institute of
India (FTII) was set up by the Government of India in 1960, in the premises of
the erstwhile Prabhat Studios in Pune.
5.
Rajnath Singh launches author Dr Krishna Saksena’s ‘A bouquet of flowers’: Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh has launched a book titled ‘A bouquet of flowers’ written by Dr
Krishna Saksena. Dr Krishna Saksena is the first lady to get a PhD, in 1955
from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. The book has been designed to allow the readers
to travel their own journey and arrive at their own very personal realization
and be inspired by it. Through this book, Dr Saksena presents a series of
anecdotes that allow the reader to extract the moral of the stories.
6.
Aamir Khan appointed brand ambassador for online tutor company Vedantu: Bollywood actor,
Aamir Khan has been appointed as the brand ambassador of online live tutoring
company Vedantu. Aamir will be seen in Vedantu’s new ad campaign which aims to
make quality LIVE online learning accessible to every child in India.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
NITI Aayog & Embassy of the Netherlands signs Statement of Intent: NITI Aayog and
Embassy of the Netherlands, New Delhi, has signed a Statement of Intent (SoI)
to support the decarbonization and energy transition agenda for accommodating
cleaner and more energy. The focus of the partnership is on co-creating
innovative technological solutions by leveraging the expertise of the two
entities. Through this collaboration, NITI Aayog and the Dutch Embassy seek a
strategic partnership to create a platform that enables a comprehensive
collaboration among stakeholders and influencers, including policymakers,
industry bodies, OEMs, private enterprises, and sector experts.
Note: Chief Executive Officer of NITI
Aayog: Amitabh Kant.
Prime Minister of Netherland: Mark Rutte;
Capital of Netherland: Amsterdam; Currency of Netherland: Euro.
2.
India extends USD 15 million aid to Sri Lanka for promoting Buddhist ties: Prime Minister of
India Shri Narendra Modi has announced a grant assistance of USD 15 million to
Sri Lanka for the promotion of Buddhist ties between the two countries. The
grant will be used for deepening people-to-people linkages between the two
countries in the field of Buddhism. Mr Modi and his Sri Lankan counterpart
Mahinda Rajapaksa held the first-ever India-Sri Lanka Virtual Bilateral Summit.
They agreed that the Indian side would facilitate the visit of a delegation of
Buddhist pilgrims from Sri Lanka in the first inaugural flight to Sacred City
of Kushinagar. Kushinagar Airport was designated as an international airport
recently recognizing its importance as a Buddhist site. Both sides also agreed
to explore opportunities in the areas of Ayurveda and Yoga.
3.
International Translation Day: 30th September: International
Translation Day is observed on 30th September every year. The day aims to
celebrate the work of language translation professionals which facilitates
dialogue, understanding and cooperation, contributing to the development and
strengthening world peace and security. The day also marks the feast of St.
Jerome, the Bible translator who is considered the patron saint of translators.
International Translation Day 2020 theme: “Finding the words for a world in
crisis”.
Note: International Federation of
Translators President: Kevin Quirk; International Federation of Translators
Secretary-General: Real Paquette.
OTHER UPDATES:
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
Vakrangee gets RBI approval to set up BBPS unit: The Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) has granted in-principle approval to Vakrangee Ltd to set up
Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU) to handle payment services related
to bills. With in-principle authorisation from RBI, Vakrangee Ltd will set up
and operate BBPOU under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 and will
now be able to directly handle payment and aggregation of payment services
relating to bills under the scope of BBPS (Bharat Bill Payment System).
The company offers banking, insurance,
money transfer services, e-commerce, e-governance and other digital services on
behalf of its partner banks, insurers, government agencies, e-commerce players
among others through its branches mostly located in rural and semi-urban areas.
Note: RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das;
Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.
2.
IDBI Bank becomes 1st bank to enable document embedding feature on SFMS: Industrial
Development Bank of India (IDBI) become the first to implement the new feature
of document embedding facility with Letter of Credit (LC) / Bank Guarantee (BG)
messages over SFMS (Structured Financial Messaging System) platform of Indian
Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS). The process would be
conducted via a middleware application “i@Connect-SFMS (CSFMS) developed by
IDBI Intech. This new feature of “document embedding” provides banks with the
functionality of transmitting a “pdf” document up to 1MB size along with the LC
/ BG messages. Through this feature, there will be the transmission of
digitally signed documents which ensure the reliability of the transaction. The
objective of this new feature is to further digitise the trade finance
transactions and to secure the financial communication system.
Note: IFTAS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Reserve Bank of India (RBI); IFTAS Chairman: Tavarna Rabi Sankar; IFTAS CEO: Dr
N. Rajendran; IFTAS Headquarter: Mumbai, Maharashtra.
IDBI Bank Chairman: MR Kumar; IDBI Bank MD
& CEO: Rakesh Sharma; IDBI Bank Headquarter: Mumbai, Maharashtra; IDBI
BankTagline: Banking for All, Aao sochein Bada.
3.
Flipkart & Bajaj Allianz launch cyber insurance cover: E-commerce
marketplace, Flipkart and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance have launched a cyber
insurance cover for online financial frauds. The product, ‘Digital Suraksha
Group Insurance’, will help customers who want to cover themselves against
financial losses caused as a result of cyber attacks, cyber frauds, or other
such malicious activities across various online platforms. Customers can opt for
a one-year cover at premiums as low as Rs 183 for a cover of ₹50,000. It will
compensate for direct financial loss (up to the sum insured) due to
unauthorised digital financial transactions as a result of identity theft
arising out of cyber-attacks, phishing/spoofing, and SIM-jacking.
Note: Flipkart headquarters: Bengaluru,
Karnataka; Flipkart CEO: Kalyan Krishnamurthy.
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance CEO: Tapan
Singhel; Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Headquarters: Pune, Maharashtra.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
Kerala Tourism wins PATA Grand Award 2020: Kerala Tourism’s ‘Human by Nature
Print Campaign’ bagged the Prestigious Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
Grand Title Winner 2020 for Marketing. The awards were announced during a
presentation ceremony of Virtual PATA Travel Mart 2020 in Beijing. The PATA
Awards are supported and sponsored by Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO).
About Human by Nature Print Campaign:
‘Human by Nature’ was a marketing strategy to revive tourism that was hit by
the 2018 floods and the Nipah outbreak. Showcasing culture and daily life of
the people, it was conceptualised and scripted by Stark Communications. The
campaign had helped Kerala Tourism achieve record growth of 17.2% in tourism
arrivals in 2019, the highest in 24 years.
PATA Grand Title Winners 2020:
|
S.No. |
PATA Grand Title
Category |
winner |
|
1 |
PATA Grand Title
Winner 2020 for Marketing |
‘Human by Nature Print
Campaign’ by Kerala Tourism, India |
|
2 |
PATA Grand Title
Winner 2020 for Sustainability |
‘Anurak Community Lodge’
by YAANA Ventures, Thailand |
|
3 |
PATA Grand Title
Winner 2020 in Human Capital Development |
‘Unleashing Greatness’
by MGM China, Macao, China |
Note: Pacific Asia Travel Association
(PATA) Chairman: Chris Bottrill; Pacific Asia Travel Association Headquarters:
Bangkok, Thailand.
2.
Sonu Sood honoured with Special Humanitarian Action Award by UNDP: Bollywood actor,
Sonu Sood has been conferred the prestigious SDG Special Humanitarian Action
Award by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 28 September 2020
during a virtual ceremony. He has received the award for selflessly extending a
helping hand and sending lakhs of migrants, stranded students across
geographies abroad, back to their homes. Besides that, he has also been
providing free education and medical facilities to young children and has been
creating free employment opportunities to the needy in the wake of the COVID-19
pandemic. With this prestigious honour, Sood joins the likes of Angelina Jolie,
David Beckham, Leonardo DiCaprio, Emma Watson, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett,
Antonio Banderas, Nicole Kidman and Priyanka Chopra who have been similarly
honoured by different UN bodies.
DEFENCE
1.
BrahMos Missile featuring Indigenous Booster successfully flight tested: BrahMos surface-to-surface
supersonic cruise missile featuring indigenous Booster and Airframe Section
along with many other ‘Made in India’ sub-systems was successfully flight
tested from ITR, Balasore in Odisha. It is one more major step in enhancing the
indigenous content. The BrahMos Land-Attack Cruise Missile (LACM) was cruising
at a top speed of Mach 2.8.
The successful flight testing of BrahMos
surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile featuring indigenous Booster has
paved the way for the serial production of the indigenous booster and other
indigenous components of the powerful BrahMos Weapon System realising
Atmanirbhar Bharat pledge.
Note: Union Minister of Defence: Shri
Rajnath Singh.
Chairman of Defence Research and
Development Organisation: Dr G. Satheesh Reddy.
OBITUARIES
1.
Veteran writer and critic Dr. G S Amur passes away: Veteran writer and
critic Dr G S Amur passed away. He was proficient in Kannada and English
languages. He had won many awards including Sahitya Akademi Award, Rajyotsava
Award and Bharatiya Bhasha Award. Some of his books are: English: ‘Forbidden
Fruit, Views on Indo-Anglian Fiction’ and ‘Colonial Consciousness in
Commonwealth Literature’. Kannada: ‘Arthaloka’, Are Kannada Kadambariya
Belavanige’, ‘Vyavasaya’ and ‘Kaadambariya Swaroopa’.
2. Veteran songwriter Abhilash passes away: Veteran songwriter, Abhilash passed away. He was best known for the song ‘Itni Shakti Hame Dena Daata’ from the 1986 film Ankush. His real name was Om Prakash. His song ‘Itni Shakti Hame Dena Daata’ has been translated into eight languages and is played as a prayer song across schools and other institutions even today. In a career spanning five decades, Abhilash wrote songs for films such as Raftaar (1975) and Awara Ladki (1975) and worked for composers such as Usha Khanna and Bappi Lahiri. He also wrote songs for films such as Sawan Ko Aane Do (1979), Jeete Hain Shaan Se (1988) and Hulchul (1995).
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