Daily GK Updates – 22nd Sept, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. PM Modi launches “Ghar Tak Fibre” scheme in Bihar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched nine highway projects and Optical Fibre Internet Services in Bihar.

Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of nine highway projects worth Rs. 14,258 crore in Bihar through video conferencing on 21 September 2020. These highway projects includes constructing road length of about 350 kilometres at a cost of Rs. 4258 crore and three bridges.

The optical fibre services are being provided under the scheme “Ghar Tak Fibre”. These services are to be executed along with combined efforts of Common Service Centre. The project is to be implemented Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under the scheme “Ghar Tak Fibre”. The project will connect 45,945 villages in the state and will thus enable the Digital revolution to reach the farthest corner of Bihar. . The CSC Wi-Fi Choupal is an initiative to provide high-speed internet connectivity to rural India. It ensures digital connectivity using Bharat Net.

Note: Chief Minister of Bihar: Nitish Kumar; Governor: Phagu Chauhan.

 

2. Centre Approves an Outlay of Rs 600 crore for PM Svanidhi Scheme: The Government of India has approved a total outlay of Rs.600.00 crores for the PM SVANidhi scheme. This was informed by Minister of State (I/C) for Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on 21 September 2020. The Prime Minister Street Vendor’s Amta Nirbhar Nidhi Scheme (PM SVANidhi) was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has on 01 June 2020 to facilitate collateral free working capital loans upto Rs 10,000 of 1 year tenure, to about 50 lakh street vendors across the country.

 

3. J&K launched National Generic Document Registration System: Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha launched the National Generic Document Registration System for the union territory. The system was developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to address the diversity and variations that prevails across the states on account of formats, languages, processes and formulae. The software enables “anywhere access” to information and data to both the Enforcement Agencies and to the common man. The system has so far been adopted in three states namely Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Six more states and union territories such as Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, Bihar, Manipur, Jharkhand and Mizoram are moving towards the system. The national generic document registration system was developed under Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme.

 

4. Logo and song for “Destination North East-2020″ festival unveiled: The Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh has unveiled the Logo and song for festival “Destination North East-2020” (The Emerging Delightful Destinations) through a video conference. The four-day event is to be formally inaugurated by Home Minister Amit Shah on September 27, 2020.

The festival helps to familiarize people of other parts of the country with the rich unexplored potential of North East. It also promotes the tourism potential of the North East. The festival will give a boost to handicrafts, handloom, organic products and cultural troupes of North East. The main objective of the programme is to make the unexplored potentials of the North East Region available to the young entrepreneurs all over the country. The festival was launched in a couple of years in 2018 (in Chandigarh) and in 2019 (in India Gate, New Delhi).

 

5. PMGKP Insurance Scheme for health workers fighting COVID-19 extended for another six months: The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting COVID-19 has been extended for another six months. It was announced on 30th March this year for a period of 90 days and it was extended for a further period of 90 days up to 25th September. The scheme has now been extended for another 180 days.

 

6. Himachal Pradesh CM inaugurates “Swachhata Cafe” in Solan district: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur virtually inaugurated the “Swachhata Cafe” at Nalagarh in Solan district on the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Shimla. The Cafe is being operated by Laxmi and Durga women self help groups. The main attraction of this Cafe is that it would serve traditional food such as maize bread and Sarson ka saag, butter, lassi etc. ‘Swachhata Park’ is also being opened at Kufri in district Shimla.

 

7. Amazon India Sets Up All-women Delivery Station in Gujarat’s Kadi: E-commerce major Amazon India said it has set up an all-women delivery station in Kadi, Gujarat – its second such facility in the country. The new all-women delivery station, operated by a delivery service partner, is part of the company’s efforts towards increasing participation of women in the workforce. In 2016, the company had launched its first all-women delivery station in India, with its partner in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India launches first ever direct cargo ferry with Maldives: India and the Maldives have launched the first-ever direct Cargo Ferry Service on 21 September 2020 to boost trade between the two countries. The cargo ferry service will connect the Indian ports of Tuticorin and Cochin ports with Kulhudhuhfushi and Male ports in the Maldives. This initiative will help to cut costs and reduce the time taken to transport goods between the two countries. The Cargo Ferry Vessel MCP Linz operated by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) will be used to connect the Indian and Maldivian ports.

Note: Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) MD & Chairman: Mrs H.K.Joshi; Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Shipping Corporation of India Founded: 1950.

 

2. International Red Panda Day: 19th September 2020: The International Red Panda Day (IRPD) is celebrated on third Saturday of September every year to raise public awareness and support for red panda conservation issues. In 2020, the IRPD is being observed on 19 September 2020. The day was launched by the Red Panda Network in 2010. The first international red Panda day was celebrated on 18th September 2010. There are two distinct species of red pandas Ailurus fulgens is commonly known as Himalayan Red Panda and Ailurus fulgens styani commonly known as Chinese Red Panda, these are mostly found in the Eastern Himalayan region and southwestern China. Genetically the red pandas belong to the order of Carnivora, but mostly eat bamboo shoots, mushrooms etc and also eat birds, eggs, and insects. The average lifespan of these red pandas is 23 years and the female pandas stop breeding after the age of 12.

Notre: Red Panda Network Founder: Brian Williams; Headquarters: Eugene, Oregon.

 

3. World Rhino Day: 22nd September: World Rhino Day is observed globally on 22 September every year. This special day provides the opportunity for cause-related organizations, NGOs, zoos, and members of the public to celebrate rhinos in their own unique ways. This day is celebrated to raise awareness of the need to protect all the five existing species of Rhinoceros, which are: (1) Black Rhino; (2) White Rhino; (3) Greater one-horned Rhino; (4) Sumatran Rhino; (5) Javan Rhinos.

World Rhino Day was first announced by World Wildlife Fund-South Africa in 2010 and is being observed internationally since 2011.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Novak Djokovic wins 2020 Italian Open title: Novak Djokovic has defeated Argentine Diego Schwartzman, 7-6, 5-3, to win 2020 Men’s Single Italian Open title and his fifth overall Rome title. In Women’s single, Simona Halep defeated champion Karolina Pliskova, 6-0, 2-1, to win her first Italian Open title. Italian open was held at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. Winners List:

 

Category	Name of the Sportsperson
Men’s Single:	Novak Djokovic
Women’s Single:	Simona Halep
Men’s Double:	Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos
Women’s Double:	Hsieh Su-wei and Barbora Strýcová

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. HDFC Bank launches video Know Your Customer facility: HDFC Bank has launched video KYC (Know Your Customer) facility for its customers. The consent-based Video KYC facility is an alternate method of establishing the prospective customer’s identity, during the account opening process in a safe and secure environment. As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directions, successful completion of Video KYC is equivalent to full KYC and the customers is eligible for all financial / banking products. HDFC Bank video KYC facility will be rolled in a phased manner. In the first phase, savings and corporate salary and personal loan customers can avail this facility. The video KYC process is online, secure, and quick. It is a paperless, contactless, and recorded interaction between a Bank official and the customer.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Volvo Car India launches “Volvo Car Financial Services”: Volvo Car India has partnered with HDFC Bank to launch Volvo Car Financial Services to enable buyers get easy finance for its vehicles. The service facilitates finance of up to 100% of ex-showroom price of the car and offers convenient repayment options, with no foreclosure charges under specific conditions. It is a faster, flexible and cost-optimised solution to finance a Volvo car. Other features of the Volvo Car financial service include loans for up to 7 years and option to finance insurance, extended warranty, service package and accessories. It allows a faster loan approval and a uniform processing fee, giving a hassle-free finance experience to buyers.

 

2. HCL & Google Cloud expands partnership for HCL’s Actian portfolio: HCL Technologies and Google Cloud has announced the expansion of their strategic partnership to bring HCL’s Actian portfolio, starting with Actian Avalanche, to Google Cloud. Actian Avalanche is a high-performance hybrid cloud data warehouse designed to power an enterprise’s most demanding operational analytics workloads. Actian Avalanche enables a seamless path to migrate legacy data warehouses, including IBM Netezza and Oracle Exadata, to Google Cloud, through a hybrid-cloud offering leveraging Google Cloud’s Anthos application platform.

HCL’s Actian Avalanche hybrid cloud data warehouse has been deployed by Fortune 500 customers to deliver powerful insights to manage business complexities for a variety of use cases, including fraud detection, real-time offers and market basket analysis. Bringing Actian Avalanche to Google Cloud enables enterprise customers to leverage the platform’s scalable, high-performance infrastructure and global network.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. PM Modi awarded Ig Nobel Prize 2020 for medical Education: Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has been awarded the Ig Nobel Prize 2020 for Medical Education. He has been awarded the prestigious award for “using the COVID-19 pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can”. PM Modi is the second Indian Prime Minister to be honoured with the Ig Nobel Prize. Prior to this, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was awarded in 1998. He jointly won the Ig Nobel Peace Prize with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan for aggressively peaceful explosions of atomic bombs.

PM Modi shares the award with Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico, Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, Donald Trump of the USA, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan. Apart from this, the governments of India and Pakistan jointly won the Ig Nobel Peace Prize 2020 for having their diplomats surreptitiously ring each other’s doorbells in the middle of the night, and then run away before anyone had a chance to answer the door in Islamabad and New Delhi city respectively.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Assam Musician Bibhuranjan Choudhury passes away: Renowned Assam music composer, Bibhuranjan Choudhury passed away. His first film as music director was ”Sutrapat” in 1987 and the last one was ”Aei Maatite” in 2017. He had composed music for numerous TV serials, stage plays and radio productions in a career spanning over several decades. Choudhury, who composed the music of Guwahati Doordarshan”s first serial “Jibonor Batot”, retired as the superintendent of the Assam State Film (Finance and Development) Corporation.

 

2. Nepal’s Legendary Mountaineer Ang Rita Sherpa passes away: Nepal-based Ang Rita Sherpa, the first man to climb Mount Everest 10 times, passed away. He made all the ascents to the world’s tallest mountain between 1983 and 1996 and that too without bottled oxygen. He was therefore also known as the “snow leopard” for his climbing skills. The mountaineering legend was awarded a prestigious Guinness World Record certificate for making the most number of successful ascents on the 8,848-meter Mt Everest without using supplemental oxygen. The Guinness World Record has also recognised him as the first man to climb Everest in winter without supplementary oxygen in December 1987.

 

3. Former Canadian PM John Turner passes away: The former Prime Minister of Canada, John Turner passed away. He served as the Prime Minister for just 79 days in 1984, the 2nd shortest term in the office recorded in the history of Canada. He was born on 7th June 1929 at Richmond, England. John Turner served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau as the justice minister from 1968 to 1972 during which he created the federal court, defended against the criminalisation of homosexuality and abortion in the 1960s among other reforms. He was named the companion of the Order of Canada in 1994. 

Daily GK Updates – 21st Sept, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Ministry of AYUSH partners with Ministry WCD to control Malnutrition: A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Women and Child Development to control Malnutrition as a part of POSHAN Abhiyaan. The MoU will see some time-tested and scientifically proven Ayush-based solutions being adopted for controlling malnutrition in the country. The MoU will help in tackling the problem of malnutrition in mothers and children in the country. The Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of WCD will work together towards integrating Ayush in POSHAN Abhiyaan and management of malnutrition through the principles and practices of Ayurveda, Yoga and other Ayush systems.

The specific areas identified for co-operation include:

(i) Integration of AYUSH into POSHAN Abhiyaan

(ii) Control of malnutrition through the principles and practices of Ayurveda, Yoga and other Ayush systems

Note: Minister of State (I/C) for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH): Shripad Yesso Naik.

Union Minister of Women and Child Development: Smriti Zubin Irani.

 

2. PM Modi to inaugurate VAIBHAV Summit on 2nd October 2020: Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Vaishwik Bharatiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Summit on 2nd October’2020 through video conferencing. The month-long Summit will provide a platform to leverage the expertise and knowledge of global Indian researchers for solving emerging challenges and create an ecosystem of Knowledge and Innovation in the country through global outreach.

The VAIBHAV Summit is a joint initiative of all S&T and Academic Organisations of India (working in Research, Academic and Scientific fields) to enable deliberations on thought processes, practices and R&D culture with a problem-solving approach for well-defined objectives.

 

3. HOCL gets Bureau of Indian Standards Certification for all its products: Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited (HOCL), a PSU under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has been granted Bureau of Indian Standards – BIS certification for all its products. HOCL has been a pioneer in the manufacturing of Chemicals since its inception. The company is also supporting and implementing the Make in India initiative of Government of India in one or other way. It is a leader in chemical industry has manufacturing unit at Kochi in Kerala.

All the products of the Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited (HOCL) are widely being accepted, especially in Pharmaceutical industry where the highest product quality is called for. Now, as a proof to continuing endeavor to achieve superior quality in its products, it has been granted BIS Certification for all its products.

Note: HOCL Chairman: S. B. Bhide

 

4. Delhi Metro develops indigenous signalling technology under ‘Make in India’: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation on Engineers Day took a major step towards the development of an indigenously-built CBTC (Communication Based Train Control) based signalling technology for metro railway with the launch of the i-ATS, which is an important sub-system of the signalling system. i-ATS is the indigenously developed technology, which will significantly reduce the dependence of Indian metros on foreign vendors dealing with such technologies. This prototype system as well as a state-of-the-art laboratory for further developing other sub- systems of the CBTC technology was inaugurated at Shastri Park. DMRC has decided to use indigenous ATS (i-ATS) while upgrading the ATS of line 1 (Red Line) i.e. from Rithala to Shaheed Sthal, Ghaziabad. The same shall also be used in Phase-IV.

 

5. Former PM HD Deve Gowda Takes Oath as Rajya Sabha MP: Former Prime Minister of India, H D Deve Gowda took oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. This is the first time that the JD(S) leader has become a member of the Upper House since 1996. Mr Deve Gowda was the 11th Prime Minister of India from 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997. He had also served as the 14th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1994 to 1996.

 

6. Maharashtra Govt launches road accident insurance scheme named after Balasaheb Thackeray: Maharashtra government launched a scheme ‘Late Balasaheb Thackeray Road Accident Insurance Scheme’ to provide financial and medical help, at the government cost, to road accident victims. The free treatment scheme has a provision of providing immediate medical and financial help to any person injured in an accident in Maharashtra, irrespective of his or her domicile or nationality. The victim will be treated at the nearest hospital for the first 72 hours. Treatment of up to Rs 35,000 will be free of cost. That includes treatment in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), as well as the victim’s stay and food in the respective hospital.

 

7. Tamil Nadu becomes first state with AI, blockchain, cybersecurity policies: Tamil Nadu becomes the first state to come out with Tamil Nadu Safe and Ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain and Cybersecurity policies in the country. The policies were unveiled by Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami during the valedictory session of the 19th edition of Connect 2020. The policies go by the names Tamil Nadu Cyber Security Policy, 2020, Tamil Nadu Blockchain Policy, 2020, and Tamil Nadu Safe and Ethical Artificial Intelligence Policy, 2020. State Family Data Base (SFDB) and Block-Chain Backbone infrastructure will be established in the state for the implementation of these policies. Highlighting that Tamil Nadu continues to be a “Destination of Choice” for the IT and IT-enabled services sector in India, the chief minister said that the state would soon be rolling out Knowledge Proof Identity Based Services Delivery Project, which will revolutionise the way government services are offered to citizens.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India welcomes Abraham Accord between Israel, UAE, Bahrain & US: India welcomed the signing of the Abraham Accords by the US, Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and reiterated its call for direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians for a “two-state solution”. US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the UAE for the signing of the historic agreements aimed at normalising relations between Israel and the Arab countries. They came almost 26 years after the signing of a declaration for a peace deal between Israel and Jordan.

 

2. World Alzheimer’s Day: 21st September: The 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. The theme for World Alzheimer Day 2020 is ‘Let’s talk about 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.

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.

 

3. International Day of Peace: 21st September: International Day of Peace is observed globally on 21st September every year. 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 2020 theme for the International Day of Peace is “Shaping Peace Together.” Celebrate the day by spreading compassion, kindness and hope in the face of the pandemic. Stand together with the UN against attempts to use the virus to promote discrimination or hatred. Join us so that we can shape peace together.

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. The United Nations invites all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities during the Day and to otherwise commemorate the Day through education and public awareness on issues related to peace.

Note: United Nations Headquarters: New York, USA. Founded: 24 October 1945; Secretary-General: Mr Antonio Guterres.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. IDFC Mutual Fund launches ‘SIP in Fixed Income’ campaign: IDFC Mutual Fund has launched a new campaign called SIFI or `SIP in Fixed Income’ to make investors more aware about the benefits of investing in fixed income products via Systematic Investment Plans. IDFC Mutual Fund’s SIFI initiative aims to inform investors how a combination of equity and debt SIPs can help them navigate troubled times. As part of the campaign, IDFC MF is making videos in various languages explaining how SIPs in debt mutual fund will be easy to do, liquid and benefit from cost averaging in times of volatility.

 

2. SBI launches ‘Mahila Atmanirbharshil Aachani’ programme in Assam: SBI has launched ‘Mahila Atmanirbharshil Aachani’ programme (Women Self-Reliance programme) to accelerate Self Help Group (SHG) finance in the Bank. Aim: To create a strong bonding with SHG member and for self-reliance and economic upliftment of SHG members by extending credit linkages to the women SHGs. It is sponsored by National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), Assam for self-reliance and economic upliftment.

Note: SBI Chairman: Rajnish Kumar; HQs: Mumbai

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. HDFC Bank tops 2020 BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable Indian Brands ranking: HDFC Bank has topped the BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2020 for the seventh consecutive year. It has a total brand value of more than $20.2 billion. It was also ranked 59 in the 2020 BrandZTM Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report. LIC is ranked 2nd, followed by Tata Consulting Services, Airtel and Asian Paints. The report was released by WPP & Kantar.

BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2020

Rank	Brand	Category	Brand Value 2020 (SM USD)
1	HDFC Bank	Banks	20,262
2	LIC	Insurance	18,294
3	Tata Consultancy Services	Technology	14,582
4	Airtel	Telecom providers	13,942
5	Asian Paints	Paints	7,972
6	Kotak Mahindra Bank	Banks	7215
7	Jio	Telecom providers	6,876
8	Flipkart	Retail	6,529
9	Paytm	Payments	6272
10	State Bank of India	Banks	5,387

 

DEFENSE

 

1. INS Viraat made his final journey in Indian Navy: Aircraft Carrier, INS Viraat with the longest service in the world, commenced its final journey from Mumbai, to Alang in Gujarat and sold as scrap. It was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS in 1959 and was a part of the key formation of the British forces during the Falklands War in 1982. It was commissioned into Indian Navy in 1987 and played pivotal in Operation Jupiter in 1989 during Sri Lankan Peacekeeping operation and Operation Parakram

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Rabindra Sangeet exponent Purba Dam passes away in Kolkata: Veteran Rabindra Sangeet exponent Purba Dam (85 years) passed way at her residence in south Kolkata due to cardiac arrest. She was known for her songs rendition like ‘Modhur tomar sesh je na pai prohor holo sesh/Bhuban jure roilo lege anando abesh’, ‘Ami phirbo na re’ during 1980s. She was conferred with Sangeet Samman by West Bengal in 2013. Rabindra Sangeet or Tagore Songs are the songs written and composed by Rabindranath Tagore. 

Daily GK Updates – 20th Sep , 2020

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Indian Railways observes “Swachhta Pakhwara”: Indian Railways is observing “Swachhta Pakhwara” from 16th to 30th September 2020. During the inaugural day of Pakhwara, Swachhta pledge was administered to Railway employees at all Zonal Railway HQs, Divisional Offices and other establishments. During the Pakhwara, intensive cleaning and sanitization of stations, trains, tracks, colonies and other railway establishments is being carried out with special focus on plastic waste management. Railway Board through Northern Railway, in partnership with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), organised a webinar on “Swachhata and Environment”. The Webinar was held to flag off the “Swachhata Pakhwada” beginning from September 16 and ending on September 30, 2020. Following issues were highlighted during the session:

(1) Steps taken by Indian Railways for proper solid waste management, saving of water and conservation of energy etc

(2) Convergence of IR initiatives with Swachh Bharat Mission

(3) Green Rating of Railway Stations

(4) Combating plastic waste

(5) Perspectives on circular economy

 

2. Eight Indian beaches recommended for ‘Blue Flag’ eco-label: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, eight beaches of India have been recommended for the Blue flag certification. The selection of the beaches was made by an independent national jury composed of eminent environmentalists and scientists. This announcement was made by the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Prakash Javadekar on 18 September during a virtual event.

What is Blue Flag certification?

The Blue Flag certificate is an internationally recognized eco-label given by ‘Foundation for Environment Education, Denmark’. Blue Flag beaches are considered the benchmark for clean and hygienic beaches in the world. The eight beaches selected for Blue flag certification are:

(1) Shivrajpur in Gujarat

(2) Ghoghla in Daman & Diu

(3) Kasarkod in Karnataka

(4) Padubidri beach in Karnataka

(5) Kappad in Kerala

(6) Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh

(7) The golden beach of Odisha

(8) Radhanagar beach in Andaman and Nicobar

India Launches its own eco-label ‘BEAMS’: During the event, Union Minister Javadekar also announced the launch of India’s own eco-label ‘Beach Environment and Aesthetics Management Services’ (BEAMS). This initiative has been launched under its Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) project. The project will be implemented by the Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM), under MoEFCC. BEAMS program aims to mitigate pollution in coastal waters, promote sustainable development of beach facilities,  maintain high standards of cleanliness, hygiene & safety for beachgoers in accordance with coastal environment & regulations.

 

3. President inaugurates Visitor’s Conference on Implementation of NEP 2020: The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind virtually inaugurated the Visitor’s conference on Implementation of National Education Policy 2020 in Higher Education. During the session, President stated that the National Education Policy aims to reorient the education system towards meeting the needs of the 21st century by achieving the twin objectives of inclusion and excellence. It also sets the vision of developing an equitable and vibrant knowledge society by providing quality education to all.  During the conference, various sessions on Multidiscipline and Holistic Education, Research & Innovation in Higher Education, Digital Transformation in Higher Education, Internationalisation and Global Rankings, Equity, Inclusion and Capacity Building for Outreach and Excellence were organized to take New Education Policy forward.

 

4. Anil Dhasmana becomes new chief of NTRO: Former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief, Anil Dhasmana has been appointed as the chief of the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO). Dhasmana succeeds former Intelligence Bureau officer Satish Jha, who demitted office. Dhasmana, a 1981 batch IPS officer, is a Pakistan expert and was the lead planner of the Balakot airstrikes in February 2019. He had stepped down a few months later when his extended term due to the general elections ended in June 2019.

About the National Technical Research Organisation: The National Technical Research Organisation is a technical intelligence agency under the National Security Advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office, India. It was set up in 2004. It also includes National Institute of Cryptology Research and Development, which is first of its kind in Asia.

 

5. Madhya Pradesh Govt. launches Poshan Sarkar program: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched a ‘Poshan Sarkar’ program to ensure participation and leadership of local bodies-Gram Panchayats and Urban Bodies in the nutrition campaign. The main objective of the Poshan Sarkar programme is to eliminate the malnutrition by helping the Gram Panchayat and the Urban Bodies in the nutrition campaign. Various activities will be organized under this. Under the programme, nutrition resolution will be passed in all Gram Panchayats/ Nagar Panchayats /Urban Bodies.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. India ranked 116th in the World Bank’s Human Capital Index: World Bank released the report titled “The Human Capital Index 2020 Update: Human Capital in the Time of COVID-19”. The Human Capital Index (HCI) 2020 is a collaboration between the Human Development Practice Group and the Development Economics Group of the World Bank. India has been ranked at the 116th position (with 0.49 score) among 174 countries in the Human Capital Index 2020.

Top 3 Human Capital Index 2020:

 

Rank	Country	Score
1	Singapore 0.88	0.88
2	Hongkong and China	0.81
3	Japan	0.8

 

About Human Capital Index 2020: The 2020 Human Capital Index update includes health and education data for 174 countries covering 98% of the world’s population up to March 2020.It provided a pre-pandemic baseline on the health and education of children.Measuring the human capital that a child born today can expect to attain by her 18th birthday, the HCI highlights how current health and educationoutcomes shape the productivity of the next generation of workers.

Note: World Bank President: David Robert Malpass; World Bank Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States.

 

2. Barack Obama announces his memoir ‘A Promised Land’: Former US President, Barack Obama has announced his first presidential memoir titled “A Promised Land.” The 768-page book will be published in November 2020 by Penguin Random House and is scheduled to be released on November 17, 2020, in 25 languages. A Promised Land is the first of two volumes of the book. This volume tells about his early political life, his presidential campaign in 2008, and ending with the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. ITF Renames Fed Cup as Billie Jean King Cup: The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has renamed the Fed Cup, an annual team competition in women tennis, as the “Billie Jean King Cup.” Billie Jean King was a pioneer in women’s tennis who helped the United States win the inaugural event. The Billie Jean King Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.

Note: Headquarters of ITF: London, United Kingdom; President of ITF: David Haggerty

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Canara Bank introduces i-Lead 2.0 to boost customer services: Public sector lender Canara Bank has launched lead management system (LMS) – i-Lead 2.0 (Inspiring Leads System version 2.0). The system has been launched to provide its services to customers irrespective of where they reside. Through lead management system (LMS), customers can enquire and get services rendered through simple modes such as internet banking, mobile banking, call centre, SMS and missed call. This new initiative is being introduced with the motive of building and sustaining business relationships with both new customers to bank and existing customers to bank.

Note: CEO of Canara Bank: L V Prabhakar; Headquarters: Bengaluru.

 

2. KVGB Launches Special Gold Loan Scheme Vikas Laghu Suvarna for Pandemic: The Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) has launched a special gold loan scheme titled ‘Vikas Laghu Suvarna’ with a reduced interest rate of 7.25 percent. KVGB is offering the product at a reduced rate mainly due to the pandemic so as to provide easy and affordable credit to customers at a cheaper cost. Under the new gold loan scheme, the customer will get 80% of the market value of the gold, subjected to a maximum of Rs 3,200/gram. A customer can avail up to a maximum loan of Rs 15 lakh, which will be repayable within a period of maximum 6 months

Note: The Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank is an Indian Regional Rural Bank sponsored by Canara Bank. Its headquarters is based at Dharwad.

Chairman: P Gopi Krishna.

 

3. Govt to infuse ₹20,000 cr into PSBs via recap bonds: State-run banks are poised to get ₹20,000 crore through recapitalization bonds this financial year, at a time the coronavirus crisis threatens to bump up bad loans across the banking system. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the first batch of supplementary demand for grants in the Parliament, reflecting additional expenses sought by various ministries beyond the budget allocations. The government has sought the Parliament’s nod for additional cash expenditure of Rs 1.67 lakh crore, less than 1 percent of GDP, in the first supplementary demand for grants for FY21 tabled in the Parliament.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Fitch Ratings Projects Indian economy to contract 10.5% in FY21: In its September update of Global Economic Outlook (GEO), the US-based Fitch Ratings has sharply lowered the forecast for the gross domestic product (GDP) growth of India for the current fiscal 2020-21 (FY21) and now expects the GDP to contract 10.5 percent. Earlier in June Global Economic Outlook, the rating agency has estimated 5 percent contraction for FY21. The downward revision comes after India’s GDP shrank by 23.9% year-on-year in the April-June quarter, the worst performance in nearly four decades. The rating agency has also revised its forecast for global GDP and expects it to fall by 4.4 percent in 2020, which is a modest upward revision from the 4.6 percent contraction expected earlier.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Margaret Atwood awarded 2020 Dayton Literary Peace Prize: Margaret Atwood has won the 2020 Dayton Literary Peace Prize’s lifetime achievement award. The award celebrates literature’s power to foster peace, social justice and global understanding. The Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award is named for the late U.S. diplomat who brokered the 1995 Bosnian peace accords reached in the Ohio city. Margaret Atwood is a prolific writer of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, essays and comic books. In the recent years, she has drawn a new round of acclaim for “The Handmaid’s Tale”, her bestselling 1985 novel of a dystopian future in which women are subjugated after a theocratic group overthrow the US government.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Famous US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passes away: Liberal and legal icon, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (87 years) passed away due to complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer in Washington, DC, US. She was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was appointed a jurist in 1993 by President Bill Clinton and served until her death in 2020. Ginsburg was the second woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

2. Tamil Director Babu Sivan passes away: Tamil filmmaker Babu Sivan (54 years) passed away at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai due to multiple organ failure. He started his career with assisting director Dharani and made his directorial debut in 2009 with movie Vettaikaaran starring Vijay and Anushka Shetty. It was one of the highest grossing Tamil films of that year. Later, he also directed daily soap opera Rasaathi.