NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
FSSAI’s 3rd State Food Safety Index 2021 released: Union Minister for
Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya has released the Food Safety and
Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)’s 3rd State Food Safety Index (SFSI) to
measure the performance of States across five parameters of food safety. The
Minister felicitated nine leading States/UTs based on the ranking for the year
2020-21 for their impressive performance. Minister also flagged off 19 Mobile
Food Testing Vans (Food Safety on Wheels) to supplement the food safety
ecosystem across the country taking the total number of such mobile testing
vans to 109.
Here is the list of nine leading States/UTs
in the Index:
Larger States: (1) Gujarat
(2) Kerala
(3) Tamil Nadu
Smaller States: (1) Goa
(2) Meghalaya
(3) Manipur
Among UTs: (1) Jammu and
Kashmir,
(2) Andaman and Nicobar Islands
(3) New Delhi
2.
India’s first indigenous cruise liner launched by IRCTC: The Indian
Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has joined hands and signed
the agreement with Cordelia Cruises being operated by M/s Waterways Leisure
Tourism Pvt. Ltd for promotion and marketing of the first indigenous luxury
cruise in India. This is another incredible luxury travel offering under
IRCTC”s umbrella of tourism services to the public. The luxury travel offering
in the form of the indigenous cruise will take guests on-boards to some of the
most popular Indian and international tourist destinations – such as Goa, Diu,
Kochi, the Lakshadweep islands, and Sri Lanka.
About the Cordelia Cruises: Cordelia Cruises
is one of India’s premium cruise liners and aspires to promote and drive the
cruise culture in India through experiences that are “stylish, luxurious, and
most importantly, inherently Indian.”
3.
Niti Aayog tie-up with ISRO,CBSE launch ‘Space Challenge’ for school students: Niti Aayog’s Atal
Innovation Mission in collaboration with ISRO and CBSE has launched ‘Space
Challenge’ for school students across India. This challenge has been designed
for all the school students, mentors and teachers across the country who not
only are associated with schools having Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) labs but for
all the non-ATL schools as well. The aim of this challenge is to enable
innovation among young school students to create something in the space sector
that will not only help them learn about the space but create something that
the space programme can use itself.
Under the Atal Innovation Mission:
(1) The Aayog is running initiatives like
Atal Incubation Centres and ATLs to promote entrepreneurship and innovation.
(2) This is to ensure that students of
classes 6 to 12 are given an open platform where they can innovate and enable
themselves to solve digital age space technology problems.
(3) The ATL Space Challenge 2021 aligns
with the World Space Week 2021 which is being observed from October 4-10 each
year at the global level in order to celebrate the contributions of space
science and technology.
4.
Book title “The Three Khans: And the Emergence of New India” by Kaveree Bamzai:
A
book has titled “The Three Khans: And the Emergence of New India” authored by
Kaveree Bamzai. In the book, senior journalist, Kaveree Bamzai has juxtaposed
the careers of the 3 Khans, Aamir, Shah Rukh, & Salman, with the most
tumultuous times in the history of the republic. Art often responds to social
and political dimensions,& in a country short of role models, film stars
often play double roles.
5.
Geeta Samota becomes ‘Fastest Indian’ to Summit Two Peaks: CISF official Geeta
Samota became the “fastest Indian” to summit two peaks located in Africa and
Russia. Earlier this month, Sub Inspector Geeta Samota had scaled Mount Elbrus
in Russia, the highest peak in Europe. While Mt Elbrus (5,642 mts) is in
Russia, the Kilimanjaro peak (5,895 mts) is located in Tanzania and is Africa’s
highest peak. Samota works with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), a
central paramilitary force under the command of the Union home ministry. Geeta
Samota joined CISF in 2011 and was in the unit in 2012. She has also scaled Mt
Satopanth (7075 metres; located in Uttarakhand) and Mt Lobuche (in Nepal). She
was also a team member of the Mt Everest expedition team of the CAPF.
INTERNATIONALUPDATES:
1.
India ranks 46th in Global Innovation Index 2021: India has been
ranked at 46th place in the Global Innovation Index 2021 released by World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). India has jumped 2 spots from last
year’s ranking. Under the Lower middle-income category group, India has been
ranked at the second spot after Vietnam. The Global Innovation Index 2021
captures the innovation ecosystem performance of 132 economies and tracks the
most recent global innovation trends.
Top 5 countries in Global Innovation Index
2021 rankings:
|
Rank |
Country |
Score |
|
1st |
Switzerland |
65.5 |
|
2nd |
Sweden |
63.1 |
|
3rd |
United States of
America |
61.3 |
|
4th |
United Kingdom |
59.8 |
|
5th |
Republic of Korea |
59.3 |
|
46th |
India |
36.4 |
About the Global Innovation Index
(GII):
The Global Innovation Index (GII) provides detailed metrics about the
innovation performance of 132 countries and economies around the world. Its 80
indicators explore a broad vision of innovation, including political
environment, education, infrastructure and business sophistication.
Note: WIPO Headquarters: Geneva,
Switzerland; WIPO Founded: 14 July 1967; WIPO Membership: 193 member states;
WIPO Director General: Daren Tang.
2. World
Alzheimer’s Day: 21st September: World Alzheimer’s Day is observed globally
on September 21 every year. The day aims to raise awareness about the stigma
that runs around Alzheimer disease and related dementia. World Alzheimer’s Day
was launched at the opening of ADI’s annual conference in Edinburgh on 21
September 1994 to celebrate our 10th anniversary. The theme for World Alzheimer
Day 2021 is “Know Dementia, Know Alzheimer’s”.
About Alzheimer disease: Alzheimer’s is a
progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of
years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage
Alzheimer’s, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and
respond to their environment. This disease is a degenerative brain disease that
causes memory loss and makes it difficult or nearly impossible, to think
clearly.
3.
International Day of Peace: 21st September: Each year the International Day of
Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has
declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through
observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. The 2021 theme for the
International Day of Peace is “Recovering Better for an Equitable and
Sustainable World.” Celebrate peace by standing up against acts of hate online
and offline, and by spreading compassion, kindness, and hope in the face of the
pandemic, and as we recover.
History of the day: The International
Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly.
Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate
the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire.
Note: United Nations Headquarters in New
York, USA; United Nations was founded on 24 October 1945; Mr Antonio Guterres
is the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
OTHER UPDATES:
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
HDFC Bank ties up with Paytm to launch co-branded credit cards: HDFC Bank has
announced its partnership with leading payments company Paytm, to offer
co-branded credit cards on the Visa platform to businesspersons, millennials
and merchants. The HDFC Bank-Paytm co-branded credit cards will be launched in
October during the festive season to tap into the high consumer demand for
credit cards, equated monthly instalments (EMIs), and buy now pay later (BNPL)
options and the full suite of products will be offered by the end of December
2021.
About the collaboration:
(1) The collaboration between HDFC Bank and
Paytm is part of the strategies of the HDFC Bank to regain its lost market
share in the credit card space due to the ban imposed on it by RBI for eight
months as a penalty, following several outages in its digital offerings.
(2) HDFC Bank and Paytm will also
collaborate to introduce business credit cards, which will offer a host of
benefits for merchant partners from the smaller cities and towns of India and
enable them to get easier access to credit with instant and paperless
approvals.
Note: MD and CEO of HDFC Bank: Sashidhar
Jagdishan; The tagline of HDFC Bank: We understand your world.
Paytm HQ: Noida, Uttar Pradesh; Paytm
Founder & CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma; Paytm Founded: 2009.
DEFENCE
1.
Indian & Indonesian Navy participate in 3rd edition of ‘Samudra Shakti’: The 3rd edition of Bilateral
Exercise ‘Samudra Shakti’ is scheduled from September 20 to Sep 22. Indian
Naval Ships Shivalik and Kadmatt had already arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia in
the preparedness of this one of a kind exercise aimed at improving bilateral
ties between India and Indonesia. The Indian navy will be participating in
Samudra Shakti with the Indonesian navy to enhance mutual understanding and
interoperability in maritime operations between the two navies.
About the exercise:
(1) The exercise that will also see the
Indonesian Army take part in it, will provide an appropriate platform to share
best practices and develop a common understanding of Maritime Security
Operations.
(2) In pursuance of India’s Act East
Policy, Exercise ‘Samudra Shakti’ was conceived in 2018 as a bilateral IN-IDN
exercise.
(3) The exercise has matured in complexity
over the last two editions and involves the conduct of complex maritime
operations including Military Interdiction Operations (MIO), Cross Deck
Landings, Air Defence serials, Practice Weapon Firings, Replenishment
Approaches and Tactical Manoeuvres.
OBITUARIES
1.
Former England Footballer Jimmy Greaves passes away: Jimmy Greaves, one
of England’s most prolific strikers and Tottenham Hotspur’s record goalscorer,
passed away. He scored 266 goals for Tottenham between 1961-1970 & his 37
league goals in the 1962-63 season remains a club record. He began his career
with Chelsea and netted 124 league goals for the London club(1957-61).
2.
Renowned Padma Shri awardee astrophysicist Thanu Padmanabhan passes away: Renowned
Theoretical physicist and cosmologist Professor Thanu Padmanabhan passed away.
He was a distinguished professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy
and Astrophysics (IUCAA). He had authored over 300 research papers and several
books, with important contributions in areas of gravitation, quantum gravity,
and structure and formation of the universe.
3.
Akhara Parishad chief Narendra Giri passes away: President of the
Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, Mahant Narendra Giri has passed away. It was
in 2016 that Giri first took over as chief of the Akhara Parishad. It was
during his tenure that the Parishad released a list of allegedly “fake saints”.
In 2019, Giri was elected chief of the Parishad for a second time.
Last year, a year after the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya title suit, a meeting of the Akhara Parishad, chaired by Giri, had passed a resolution saying they would initiate a campaign on the lines of Ram Janmabhoomi movement to “free the Hindu temples” in Varanasi and Mathura. Recently, Giri had also demanded the inclusion of the Akhara Parishad in the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust.
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