Vanik’s Current Affairs

Vanik’s

Banking | Railway | Insurance | SSC | UPSC | OPSC | PSU

EDITION

64th

Current Affairs

MONTHLY ISSUE OCTOBER 2020

VIRTUAL SUMMITG20

ContentsTopics of the Month --------------------------------------------------------- 1

Banking & Economy --------------------------------------------------------- 22

International --------------------------------------------------------- 29

National --------------------------------------------------------- 33

Recent Government Schemes ------------------------------------------------ 42

Agreements & MOU’s --------------------------------------------------------- 23

States in News --------------------------------------------------------- 48

Recent Committees --------------------------------------------------------- 56

Webportals and Apps --------------------------------------------------------- 57

Ranks and Indices --------------------------------------------------------- 59

Acquisition and Merger --------------------------------------------------------- 63

Award & Honour --------------------------------------------------------- 64

Recent Appointments --------------------------------------------------------- 66

Sports --------------------------------------------------------- 69

Science and Technology --------------------------------------------------------- 71

Defence --------------------------------------------------------- 73

Recent Summits --------------------------------------------------------- 75

Books & Authors --------------------------------------------------------- 79

Miscellaneous --------------------------------------------------------- 80

Days & Dates --------------------------------------------------------- 82

1

MAGAZINE FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER – 2020

Page |

MAJOR ISSUESOF THE MONTH

1


Page |


1


Page |


2


| Page

Basic Exchange And CooperationAgreement : USA

As a step towards strengthening the bilateral relation further USA is looking forward to India signing the BasicExchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial cooperation (BECA), at the next India-USA 2+2ministerial dialogue likely to be held in October, 2020.Key Points2+2 talks: They are a dialogue between two appointed ministers from each country. This meeting aims to discuss

issues of strategic and security interests between the two countries. Defense and foreign ministers or secretaries meet with their counterparts from another country. India holds such talks with Japan and Australia, at the foreign secretary and defense secretary level. India holds ministerial-level talks only with the USA. Apart from India, the United States holds such

ministerial dialogues with Australia and Japan also. The talks were announced in June 2017. The 2+2 dialogue has replaced the Strategic and Commercial

Dialogue between the foreign and commerce ministers of the two countries that were held previously.BECA: BECA will allow India to use the geospatial maps of the USA to get pinpoint military accuracy of

automated hardware systems and weapons such as cruise and ballistic missiles. BECA is an important precursor to India acquiring armed unmanned aerial vehicles such as the

Predator-B from the USA. Predator-B uses spatial data for accurate strikes on enemy targets. BECA is one of the four foundational military communication agreements between the two countries.

The other three being GSOMIA, LEMOA, CISMOA. Initially, India had reservations to geospatial mapping on the grounds of national security, but they were

later addressed by mutual dialogue and discussion between the two countries.Other Maritime Developments Between India and the USA A maritime information agreement is also under active deliberation between India and the USA. Once

concluded, India will have such arrangements with all Quad countries.

1

3


Page |

Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is the informal strategic dialogue between India, USA, Japanand Australia with a shared objective to ensure and support a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacificregion.

In increasing military to military interactions, the USA has also posted a liaison officer at the Navy’sInformation Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) meant to promote Maritime DomainAwareness (MDA).

The Information Fusion Centre serves countries that have White Shipping Information Exchange(White-shipping refers to commercial shipping information about the movement of cargo ships)agreements with India.

MDA is defined by the International Maritime Organization as the effective understanding of anythingassociated with the maritime domain that could impact the security, safety, economy, or environment ofa country.

Recently, India posted a liaison officer at the USA Navy Central Command in Bahrain.Way Forward Signing BECA is crucial for India in order to neutralise the Russia-China-Pakistan axis in the maritime

domain and for the stability of the Indo-Pacific region. The acquisition of aerial platforms like the USAnaval helicopters and multi-role fighters is a key priority for India in the current scenario of increasingIndo-China conflict.

The increase in India’s maritime interactions with the Quad countries centred around informationsharing for improved MDA in the Indian Ocean Region and Indo-Pacific will strengthen India’sposition internationally.

Strategic hedging is the key to move forward in relationships with powerful countries like the USA.India and the USA must now strive to complete the unfinished agreements and set the course for aComprehensive Strategic Global Partnership.

Additional informationGeneral Security Of Military Information Agreement(GSOMIA) GSOMIA allows militaries to share the intelligence gathered by them.

Signed by India in 2002. An extension to the GSOMIA, the Industrial Security Annex (ISA), was signed at the 2+2 dialogue in

2019. ISA provides a framework for exchange and protection of classified military information between the

USA and Indian defence industries.Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement LEMOA allows both countries to have access to each other’s designated military facilities for refueling

and replenishment. Signed by India in 2016.

Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) is the India specific version of

CISMOA. Valid for 10 years, COMCASA aims to provide a legal framework for the transfer of highly sensitive

communication security equipment from the USA to India that will streamline and facilitateinteroperability between their armed forces.

Signed by India in 2018.

4


| Page

Reversing Global Wildlife DeclineAccording to a Living Planet Report 2020 of the World Wildlife Fund. Wildlife populations have fallen bymore than two-thirds over the last 50 years.Key PointsFindings:Related to Biodiversity: There has been a reduction of 68% in the global wildlife population between 1970 and 2016. The highest biodiversity loss due to land use change: (1) Europe and Central Asia at 57.9 %; (2) North

America at 52.5 %; (3) Latin America and Caribbean at 51.2 %; (4) Africa at 45.9 %; (5) Asia at 43%. The sharpest declines have occurred throughout the world’s rivers and lakes, where freshwater wildlife

has plummeted by 84% since 1970 — about 4% per year.Related to Land and Oceans: 75% of the Earth’s ice-free land surface has already been significantly altered. Most of the oceans are polluted. More than 85% of the area of wetlands has been lost during 1970-2016.

India’s scenario: India has 2.4% global land share, about 8% global biodiversity and around 16% global population However, it has lost 12% of its wild mammals, 19% amphibians and 3% birds over the last five

decades. India’s ecological footprint per person is less than 1.6 global hectares (gha)/person (smaller than that of

many large countries). But, its high population size has made the gross footprint significantly high. Ecological Footprint: It is the amount of the environment necessary to produce the goods and services

necessary to support a particular lifestyle.Factors responsible for this decline: Changes in how land is used – from pristine forest to cropland or pasture – rank among the greatest

threats to biodiversity on land worldwide. Use and trade of wildlife. Natural habitat loss. Degradation and deforestation driven by food production processes.

Need for Conservation Efforts: Because the health of nature is intimately linked to the health of humans. The emergence of new infectious diseases like Covid-19 tend to be related to the destruction of forests

and wilderness. Healthy ecosystems are the foundation of today’s global economies and societies, and the ones we

aspire to build.

2

4


| Page











aspire to build.

2

4


| Page











aspire to build.

2

5


Page |

As more and more species are drawn towards extinction, the very life support systems on whichcivilisation depends are eroded.

As per the World Economic Forum, biodiversity loss is a disturbing threat with few parallels likeextreme weather events, climate change, severe income inequality etc.

Areas of ActionConservation Reserves: There must be renewed ambition from the world’s governments to establish large-scale conservation areas, placed in the most valuable hotspots for biodiversity worldwide, such as small islandswith species found nowhere else. These reserves, in which wildlife will live and roam freely, will need to cover at least 40% of the

world’s land surface to help bend the curve from decline to recovery for species and entire ecosystems. Management is more important than the size of reserves. Habitat restoration and conservation efforts need to be targeted where they are needed most – for

species and habitats on the verge of extinction.Food Production: Need is to transform our food systems to produce more on less land. If every farmer on Earth used the best available farming practices, only half of the total area of

cropland would be needed to feed the world. There are lots of other inefficiencies that could be ironedout too.

Reducing waste and favouring healthier and more environmentally friendly diets.Restoring Land: Efforts to restore degraded land are also required. Such as farmland that’s becomingunproductive as a result of soil erosion. This could return 8% of the world’s land to nature by 2050.

Afforestation: This can help not only in arresting soil erosion but also expansion of desertification along withavenues for biodiversity replenishment.Way Forward While giving back to nature, the conservation measures would simultaneously slow climate change,

reduce pressure on water, limit nitrogen pollution in the world’s waterways and boost human health. Only a comprehensive set of policy measures that transform our relationship with the land and rapidly

scale down pollution can build the necessary momentum.

Balanced loan restructuring scheme totackle Covid-19 stress

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor has called for a balanced loan restructuring scheme to tackle theCovid-19 related stress in the ongoing pandemic period to maintain the health of Indian Economy.Key Points

3

6


| Page

The financial stability of the banking sector needs to be kept in mind while providing loan restructuringalong with depositors' interest.

There are crores of depositors (small depositors, middle-class people, retired persons) who depend ondeposit income while borrowers are only in lakhs.

The loan restructuring includes altering the terms of existing loans, usually to make them morefavorable to the borrower. For example, the lender may restructure a loan to receive a lower interestrate or monthly payment.

Restructured loans are most common if the borrower states that he/she can no longer afford paymentsunder the old terms.

The governor does not want a repeat of the Non-Performing Asset (NPA) surge that happened after2014 with loan restructuring.

The economic measures taken by the RBI in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008-09, led to asurge in bad loans from 2014-15.

The idea behind loan restructuring was to protect viable businesses that are facing genuine cash flowproblems. The revival of business will ensure NPA levels are kept low and also ensure quick economicrecovery.

However, the governor cautioned that the economic recovery would be gradual, as the upticks in somesectors appear to be levelling off as efforts towards reopening of the economy are confronted withrising infections.

Background In the recent Monetary Policy report, RBI has allowed banks to restructure loans to reduce the rising

stress on incomes and balance sheets of large corporates, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs) as well as individuals.

A large number of firms that otherwise maintain a good track record are facing the challenge as theirdebt burden is becoming disproportionate, relative to their cash flow generation abilities.

The RBI set up a committee headed by K.V. Kamath on restructuring of loans impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The committee was tasked to recommend parameters for one-time restructuring of corporate loans. The committee recommended five fi nan cialra tiosand sec tor-spe cific thresh oldsfor res o lu tion

of Covid-19 re latedstressed as setsin 26 sec tors. It also specified that restructured loan tenure cannot be extended beyond two years.

Issues Involved The major criticism of the restructuring scheme is the select 26 sectors identified by the K V. Kamath

committee. However, there are many other sectors that are eligible for a restructuring scheme. The 26 sec torsin cludeau to mo biles,power, tourism, ce ment,chem i cals,gems and jew ellery,

lo gis tics,min ing,man u fac tur ing,real es tate,and ship pingamong oth ers. As per the RBI, only those borrowers which were classified as standard and with arrears less than 30

days as at 1st March 2020 are eligible for restructuring. The two year period is also very short for economic recovery. Given the GDP contraction and no

second economic stimulus by the government in sight, the recovery will take longer than two years. In May 2020, the government announced the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (or Self-reliant India

Mission)’ with an economic stimulus package — worth Rs. 20 lakh crores aimed towards achieving themission.

Way ForwardThe loan restructuring must be a temporary step as continuing it for long may lead to an inflation surge,currency crisis, and financial instability. It is important that post-Covid-19, regulatory measures are rolled out ina very careful and orderly manner and the financial sector returns to normal functioning without relying on theregulatory relaxations as the new norm.

7


Page |

G20 Environment Ministers Meeting(EMM)

Saudi Arabia hosted the G20 Environment Ministers Meeting (EMM) Global initiatives to reduce Land Degradation and Coral Reef Programme and two documents on

climate change, related to managing emissions and climate change adaptations under the G20 in 2020,have been launched.

G20 EMM, 2019 saw an agreement on adopting a new implementation framework for actions to tacklethe issue of marine plastic waste on a global scale.

Key PointsGlobal Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation: It aims to strengthen the implementation of existing frameworks to prevent, halt, and reverse land

degradation within G20 member states. The Scientific Conceptual Framework for Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), developed by the

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), provides a scientific foundation forunderstanding, implementing and monitoring land degradation.

Globally, it aims to take into account possible implications on the achievement of SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDG-13: Climate Action, SDG-14: Life below Water, SDG-15: Life on Land)and adhere to the principle of doing no harm.

Global Coral Reef Research and Development Accelerator Platform: It is an innovative action-oriented initiative aimed at creating a global research and development

programme to advance research, innovation and capacity building in all facets of coral reefconservation, restoration and adaptation.

It will strengthen ongoing efforts and commitments made to enhance coral reefs conservation and stoptheir further degradation.

Limiting global average temperature and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase, in line withthe Paris Agreement, provides the only chance for the survival of coral reefs globally.

India’s Stand: India intends to take measures to enhance coral reef conservation under the National Coastal Mission

Programme. The proposed mission under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) will address the

impact of climate change on coastal and marine ecosystems. It will include all phases of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Project. India has also put efforts towards achieving land degradation neutrality and towards the attainment of

global goals of climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Indian government sees schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Soil Health Card

Scheme and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana as tools to tackle the problem of landdegradation.

4

8


| Page

India is committed to working with G20 nations for a better world and is taking adequate action tomeet the Paris Agreement and its climate commitments.

It was emphasised that equity, common but differentiated responsibilities, finance and technologypartnerships are the key pillars to tackle the problem of climate change.

Additional informationParis Agreement It was adopted by 195 parties at the UN climate conference "COP 21" held in Paris in 2015 with an aim

to reduce the hazardous greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Objective: To prevent an increase in global average temperature and keep it well below 2 degrees

Celsius. It emphasised that global GHG emissions must fall 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 to avoid

the worst impacts of climate change. 19 members of the G20, except the USA which has pulled out of it, have voiced their commitment to

the full implementation of the deal.G20 It is an informal group of 19 countries and the European Union (EU), with representatives of the

International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Headquarters: It operates as a forum and not as an organisation. Therefore, it does not have any

permanent secretariat or management and administrative structure. Members: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan,

Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the USA, and the EU.

Parliamentary Committee Report onStartups

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance tabled a report related to startups in Parliament, as a reviewand remedial follow up to the start up India scheme launched in 2016 by GoI.Key PointsRecommendations: Indian start-ups need to reduce their dependence on China and the USA, so that India becomes self-

reliant by having several large domestic growth funds powered by domestic capital. E.g Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) Fund-of-Funds vehicle should be expanded

and fully operationalised to play an investment role. A fund-of-funds also known as a multi-manager investment—is a pooled investment fund that invests

in other types of funds. Foreign development finance institutions may also be encouraged to participate with local asset

management companies to set up fund-of-funds structures.

5

9


Page |

The companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) should be allowed to invest in start-upswithout being classified as Non-banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) by the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) to expand capital sources for start-ups.

Abolition of Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax on Collective Investment Vehicles (CIVs) for atleast the next two years to encourage investment in start-ups and to drive a sharp post-pandemicrevival.

At present, LTCG earned by foreign investors in private companies attracts taxation at a rate of 10%, incomparison to the domestic venture capital investments which are taxed at 20% (for LTCG) with anenhanced surcharge of 37%.

After a two-year period, the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) may be applied to CIVs so that revenueneutrality is maintained.

A CIV is any entity that allows investors to pool their money and invest the pooled funds, rather thanbuying securities directly as individuals. It is usually managed by a fund management company whichis paid a fee for doing so.

Examples of CIV: angel funds, alternate investment funds and investment LLP. Benefits: A strong start-up ecosystem can propel investment, jobs, and demand creation in the

economy.Additional InformationStartup India Scheme It is a flagship initiative of the Government of India, intended to catalyse startup culture and build a

strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India. Since the launch of the initiative in 2016, Startup India has rolled out several programs with the

objective of supporting entrepreneurs, and transforming India into a country of job creators instead ofjob seekers.

A startup is an enterprise that is initiated by its founders around an idea or a problem with a potentialfor significant business opportunity and impact.

Securities Transaction Tax It is a tax levied at the time of purchase and sale of securities listed on stock exchanges in India. Both purchaser and seller both need to pay 0.1% of share value as STT.

Capital Gain Tax Any profit or gain that arises from the sale of a ‘capital asset’ is a capital gain. This gain or profit

comes under the category of ‘income’. Land, building, house property, vehicles, patents, trademarks, leasehold rights, machinery, and

jewellery are a few examples of capital assets. Hence, the capital gain tax will be required to be paid for that amount in the year in which the transfer

of the capital asset takes place. This is called the capital gains tax, which can be both short-term orlong-term.

Long-term Capital Gains Tax: It is a levy on the profits from the sale of assets held for more than ayear.

Short-term Capital Gains Tax: It applies to assets held for a year or less and is taxed as ordinaryincome.

Small Industries Development Bank of India Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) was set up in 1990. It is a statutory body

established under an Act of Parliament. It acts as the principal financial institution for promotion, financing and development of the Micro,

Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector as well as for coordination of functions of institutionsengaged in similar activities.

10


| Page

11


Page |

Living Planet Report: WWFThe population of vertebrate species has largely declined in the past half- century as per the recently publishedLiving Planet Report 2020 released by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Vertebrates : Vertebrates are animals that have backbones or vertebral columns. They are also

characterized by a muscular system consisting primarily of bilaterally paired masses and a centralnervous system partly enclosed within the backbone.

Key Points Methodology: The Report used the Living Planet Index to calculate the decline in vertebrate species. Living Planet Index (LPI): It is a measure of the state of the world’s biological diversity based on

population trends of vertebrate species in terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats. It is released by Institute of Zoology (Zoological Society of London) Founded in 1826, Zoological Society of London is an international conservation charity working for

wildlife conservation. LPI tracked almost 21,000 populations of more than 4,000 vertebrate species between 1970 and 2016.

Findings: It shows an average 68% decline in global vertebrate species populations, between 1970 and 2016. In

the Asia Pacific the decline stands at 45%. A 94% decline in the LPI for the tropical subregions of the americas is the largest fall observed in any

part of the world.Freshwater species populations have reduced by 84% on average since 1970. Freshwater species populations are being lost faster than terrestrial or marine species. According to the

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), almost 1/3rd of freshwater species are nowthreatened with extinction.

Wildlife populations in freshwater habitats suffered a decline of 84%, equivalent to 4% per year,particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Megafauna, or bigger species in terms of size, are more vulnerable because they were subjected tointense anthropogenic threats and overexploitation.

For eg. Large fishes are also heavily impacted by dam construction that blocks their migratory routes tospawning and feeding grounds.

Since 1970, our Ecological Footprint has exceeded the Earth’s rate of regeneration. Ecological Footprint measures the ecological assets that a given population requires to produce the

natural resources it consumes (including plant-based food and fiber products, livestock and fishproducts, timber and other forest products, space for urban infrastructure) and to absorb its waste,especially carbon emissions.

6

12


| Page

The human enterprise currently demands 1.56 times more than the amount that Earth can regenerate. Itis like living off 1.56 Earths.

Threats to Biodiversity: Changes in Land and Sea Use, including Habitat Loss and Degradation: This refers to the

modification of the environment where a species lives, by complete removal, fragmentation orreduction in quality of key habitat.

Species Overexploitation: Direct overexploitation refers to unsustainable hunting and poaching orharvesting. Indirect overexploitation occurs when non-target species are killed unintentionally.

Pollution: Pollution can directly affect a species by making the environment unsuitable for its survival.It can also affect a species indirectly, by affecting food availability or reproductive performance.

Invasive Species and Disease: Invasive species can compete with native species for space, food andother resources, can turn out to be a predator for native species, or spread diseases that were notpreviously present in the environment. Humans also transport new diseases from one area of the globeto another.

Climate Change: As temperatures change, some species will need to adapt by shifting their range totrack a suitable climate. The effects of climate change on species are often indirect. For eg, change inmigratory patterns of birds.

Way Forward Research shows the world could start to stabilize and reverse the loss of nature by embracing bolder,

more ambitious conservation efforts as well as making transformational changes in the way food isproduced and consumed, such as making food production and trade more efficient, reducing waste, andfavouring healthier and more sustainable diets.

The report also underscores the need for a global New Deal for Nature and People with clear, ambitiousgoals, to see us on the path to recovery by 2030.

Diseases like Covid-19 are one of the many connections between the health of people and the planet.How humanity chooses to recover from the pandemic, and address the looming threats from globalenvironmental change, will influence the health and livelihoods of generations to come.

Additional Information:World Wildlife Fund for Nature It is the world’s leading conservation organization and works in more than 100 countries. It was established in 1961 and is headquartered at Gland, Switzerland. Its mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth. WWF collaborates at every level with people around the world to develop and deliver innovative

solutions that protect communities, wildlife, and the places in which they live.

7

13


Page |

Re-Measuring of Mount EverestIn a major global event China and Nepal are soon expected to announce Mount Everest’s latest official height assince 2019, both countries agreed to re-measure the elevation of the world’s highest mountain and announce thefindings together.

Key PointsAbout: Mount Everest (also called Sagarmatha in Nepal) is Earth’s highest mountain above sea level, located

in the Himalayas between China and Nepal with their borders running across its summit point. Its current official elevation is 8,848m which places it more than 200m above the world’s second-

highest mountain, K2, which is 8,611m tall and located in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Mount Everest gets its English name from Sir George Everest, a colonial-era geographer who served as

the Surveyor General of India in the mid-19th century. It was first scaled in 1953 by the Indian-Nepalese Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund

Hillary.First Survey of Everest: The first effort was carried out in 1847 by a team led by Andrew Waugh, Surveyor General of India. The survey was based on trigonometric calculations and is known as the Great Trigonometric Survey

of India. The team discovered that ‘Peak 15’ (as Mount Everest was referred to then) was the highest mountain,

contrary to the then-prevailing belief that Mount Kanchenjunga (8,582m and the 3rd highest peak in theworld now) was the highest peak in the world.

Need for Re-measurement: Everest’s current official height has been widely accepted since 1956 when the figure was measured by

the Survey of India. However, the height of a summit changes due to tectonic activities like the 2015 Nepal earthquake.

14


| Page

Its measurement over the decades has also depended on who was surveying. Previous measurements of the mountain were by Indian, American or European surveyors. The joint effort represents national pride for Nepal which will come up with its own findings on the

height.Survey of India It is the National Survey and Mapping Organisation of the country under the Department of Science

and Technology. It was established in 1767 and is the oldest scientific department of the Government of India. Headquarters: Dehradun, Uttarakhand. It acts as an adviser to the Government of India on all survey matters, viz Geodesy, Photogrammetry,

Mapping and Map Reproduction. Geodesy is the science of accurately measuring and understanding the Earth's geometric shape,

orientation in space and gravity field. Photogrammetry is the science of making measurements from photographs.

HimalayasOrigin: The northward drift of the Indo-Australian plate resulted in its collision with the much larger EurasianPlate. Due to which, the sedimentary rocks which were accumulated in the geosyncline known as the Tethyswere folded to form the mountain system of western Asia and Himalaya.Features: The Himalayas are geologically young and structurally folded mountains and represent the loftiest and

one of the most rugged mountain barriers of the world. They form an arc, which covers a distance of about 2,400 km. Their width varies from 400 km in

Kashmir to 150 km in Arunachal Pradesh.Orientation: The general orientation of these ranges is from northwest to the southeast direction in the northwestern

part of India. Himalayas in the Darjeeling and Sikkim regions lie in an east west direction. In Arunachal Pradesh they are from southwest to the northwest direction. In Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, they are in the north south direction. The Himalayan mountains consist of three parallel ranges in longitudinal extent: Great Himalaya or Himadri: It is the northernmost and the most continuous range consisting of the

loftiest peaks with an average height of 6,000 m. World’s highest peaks are located in it. Lesser Himalaya or Himachal: To the south of Himadri, it is the most rugged mountain system and is

known as Himachal or lesser Himalaya. The altitude varies between 3,700 and 4,500 m. It is wellknown for its hill stations like Kashmir, Kangra and Kullu Valleys.

Shiwalik: It is the southernmost range with an altitude varying between 900 and 1100 m. These rangesare composed of unconsolidated sediments brought down by rivers from the main Himalayan rangeslocated farther north.

There are large-scale regional variations within the Himalayas. On the basis of relief, alignment of ranges andother geomorphological features, the Himalayas can be divided into the following subdivisions: Kashmir or Northwestern Himalayas. Himachal and Uttaranchal Himalayas. Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas. Arunachal Himalayas. Eastern Hills and Mountains.

15


Page |

USA sanctions against ICC OfficialsAs a reaction for their investigation into alleged war crimes by the USA forces and the Central IntelligenceAgency (CIA) in Afghanistan since 2003. The USA announced sanctions, including asset freezes and visa bans,against two officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC).Key Points The USA’s Stand: Not only sanctions against officials, earlier the USA criticized the ICC. The USA has considered the ICC a threat to USA sovereignty, and announced the strict punitive measures

that are generally reserved for use against terror groups and those accused of abusing human rights. USA had never ratified the “Rome Statute”, which created the ICC in 1998, and thus is not subject to its

rulings. The USA administration also called ICC a thoroughly broken and corrupted institution. ICC’s Stand on USA Sanctions: An unacceptable attempt to interfere with the rule of law and the Court’s

judicial proceedings. It stands firmly by its staff and officials and remains unwavering in its commitment to discharging,

independently and impartially, the mandate laid down in its founding treaty, the Rome Statute.Criticism of the USA’ Sanctions: The USA decision has been criticised by the United Nations, the European Union, 10 members of the UN

Security Council, including the UK and France, as well as several international human rights agencies, allof which have called for the sanctions to be reversed.

The international NGO Human Rights Watch has observed that by penalising war crimes investigators, theUSA is openly siding with those who commit and cover up human rights abuses.

The USA action is a setback to the international rules-based multilateral order. The decision to sanction anybody assisting the ICC will deter victims of violence in Afghanistan from

speaking out. The USA’s unilateral sanctions would encourage other regimes accused of war crimes to flout the ICC’s

rulings.International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal that

sits in The Hague in the Netherlands. It was set up after the ad hoc tribunals to deal with Rwanda war crimes proved ineffective. ICC is a

criminal court. The ICC has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes

against humanity, and war crimes. ICC is based on the principle of complementarity. ICC was not created to supplant the authority of national

courts. However, when a state’s legal system collapses or when a government is a perpetrator of heinouscrimes, the ICC can exercise jurisdiction. ICC is a court of last resort.

8

15


Page |















8

15


Page |















8

16


| Page

The ICC began functioning on 1st July 2002, the date that the Rome Statute entered into force. The Rome Statute is a multilateral treaty which serves as the ICC's foundational and governing document. States which become party to the Rome Statute, for example by ratifying it, become member states of the

ICC. The Rome Statute has been signed by 139 countries, and 123 have ratified it through their Parliaments and

internal process. USA and the ICC: Although the USA was part of the founding movement to build the ICC to try cases of

genocide and war crime, especially after the courts in Rwanda failed, it decided not to ratify the Statute in2002.

USA opposed the ICC due to apprehensions that it will be used politically against its nationals. Countries like Russia, China and India were never in favour of the Rome Statute or the ICC, and never

signed on. India and ICC India is not a party to ICC. For India, the decision was based on a number of principles. The major objections of India to the Rome

Statute are: The ICC is a criminal court, unlike the International Court of Justice (which adjudicates on civil matters),

and arrogates to itself the right to prosecute matters against countries that aren’t even signatories. Since ICC is subordinate to the UN Security Council (UNSC), permanent members are vested with

unbridled powers. India also objected to the omission of cross-border terror, use of nuclear arms and weapons of mass

destruction from the areas the ICC would institute its investigations. Way Forward While the USA’s concerns about the ICC are shared by India and other countries that weren’t signatories,

the USA action is seen as another blow to multilateralism. In the last few years, the USA administration has walked out of several UN agencies and international

agreements, including the Human Rights Council, UNESCO, the Paris climate change agreement and theIran nuclear accord.

Particularly at a time the USA accuses China of disregarding international norms in the South China Seaand other areas, and of human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet, the USA’s pushback over the ICC’scase in Afghanistan seems counterproductive.

The independence of the ICC and its ability to operate without interference must be guaranteed so that itcan decide matters without any influence or pressures. Further, there is a need for an independent expertreview of its own functioning.

9

17


Page |

Methane Hydrates in KG BasinThe researchers at the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Scienceand Technology, Government of India, a study on biogenic methane hydrate in the Krishna-Godavari (KG)Basin.Key Points

Biogenic Methane: It is the methane produced from the metabolic activities of living organisms. Theresearch team has identified the methanogens that produced the biogenic methane trapped as methanehydrate, which can be a significant source of energy.

Methanogens: These are microorganisms that produce methane as a metabolic by-product in hypoxic(low levels of oxygen) conditions.

The ARI team has documented a predominance of genus Methanosarcina in the KG basin, followed bya few other genera Methanoculleus, Methanobacterium.

Methane hydrate is formed when hydrogen-bonded water and methane gas come into contact at highpressures and low temperatures such as in oceans.

Significance of the Study: Methane is a clean and economical fuel. It is estimated that one cubic meter of methane hydrate contains 160-180 cubic meters of methane. This study revealed maximum methanogenic diversity in the KG basin, which is one of the prominent

reasons to confirm it to be the extreme source of biogenic methane in comparison to the Andaman andMahanadi basins.

Even the lowest estimate of methane present in the methane hydrates in the KG Basin is twice that ofall fossil fuel reserves available worldwide.

Krishna-Godavari Basin An extensive deltaic plain formed by two large east coast rivers, Krishna and Godavari in the state of

Andhra Pradesh and the adjoining areas of Bay of Bengal in which these rivers discharge their water isknown as Krishna-Godavari Basin.

The KG Basin is a large basin of continental margin located on the east coast of India. Its land part covers an area of 15000 sq. km The offshore part covers an area of 25,000 sq. km up to 1000 m isobath. The basin contains about 5 km thick sediments with several cycles of deposition, ranging in age from

Late Carboniferous to Pleistocene. The major geomorphological units of the basin are upland plains, coastal plains, recent flood and delta

plains. The site is known for the D-6 block with the biggest natural gas reserves in India. The first gas

discovery was made in 1983 by ONGC. The basin is home to the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle (IUCN Status: Vulnerable).

17


Page |















17


Page |















18


| Page

Methane Hydrate Methane hydrate is a crystalline solid that consists of a methane molecule surrounded by a cage of

interlocking water molecules. Methane hydrate is an "ice" that only occurs naturally in subsurface deposits where temperature and

pressure conditions are favourable for its formation. Difficult to handle: If the ice is removed from this temperature/pressure environment, it becomes

unstable. For this reason, methane hydrate deposits are difficult to study and handle. They cannot be drilled and cored for study like other subsurface materials because as they are brought

to the surface, the pressure is reduced and the temperature rises. This causes the ice to melt and the methane to escape. Several other names are commonly used for methane hydrate. These include: methane clathrate,

hydromethane, methane ice, fire ice, natural gas hydrate, and gas hydrate. Most methane hydrate deposits also contain small amounts of other hydrocarbon hydrates. These

include propane hydrate and ethane hydrate.

Promotion of Buddhist SitesUnder its flagship schemes of Swadesh Darshan & PRASHAD the Ministry of Tourism has undertakendevelopment of tourism related infrastructure and facilities at various Buddhist Sites in the country.

Key PointsSteps Taken to Promote Buddhist Sites:

o Swadesh Darshan Scheme: It has included Buddhist circuit and Spiritual circuit abong its 13 thematiccircuits under which buddhist sites are being promoted.

o PRASHAD Scheme: 30 projects for development of infrastructure have also been undertaken underthe PRASHAD Scheme.

o Iconic Tourist Sites: Buddhist Sites at Bodhgaya, Ajanta & Ellora have been identified to bedeveloped as Iconic Tourist Sites (aimed at enhancing India’s soft power).

o Buddhist Conclave: Buddhist Conclave is organised every alternate year with the objective ofpromoting India as a Buddhist Destination and major markets around the globe.

o Diversity of Languages: Signages have been installed in Chinese language at buddhist monuments inUttar Pradesh and in Sinhala language (official language of Sri Lanka) at Sanchi monuments inMadhya Pradesh.

PRASHAD Scheme:

10

19


Page |

o The ‘National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive’ (PRASAD)was launched by the Ministry of Tourism in the year 2014-15 with the objective of holisticdevelopment of identified pilgrimage destinations.

o The name of the scheme was changed from PRASAD to “National Mission on PilgrimageRejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)” in October 2017.

o After the discontinuation of the HRIDAY scheme of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development,the development of Heritage destinations was included in the PRASAD Scheme, changing it toPRASHAD.

o Implementation Agency: The projects identified under this scheme shall be implemented through theidentified agencies by the respective State/ Union Territory Government.

Objective:o Rejuvenation and spiritual augmentation of important national/ global pilgrimage and heritage sites.o Follow community-based development and create awareness among the local communities.o Integrated tourism development of heritage city, local arts, culture, handicrafts, cuisine, etc., to

generate livelihood.o Strengthen the mechanism for bridging the infrastructural gaps.

Swadesh Darshan Schemeo Swadesh Darshan, a Central Sector Scheme, was launched in 2014 -15 for integrated development of

theme based tourist circuits in the country.o Under the scheme, the Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to State

Governments/Union Territory Administrations for infrastructure development of circuits.o This scheme is envisioned to synergise with other schemes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Skill India,

Make in India etc. with the idea of positioning the tourism sector as a major engine for job creation,driving force for economic growth, building synergy with various sectors to enable tourism to realiseits potential.

Way Forwardo India’s Buddhist heritage is not only important from the tourism point of view but is also a binding

factor that strengthens its relationship with Asian countries, in line with its Act East Policy.o As peace and sustainable development are interlinked, the Buddha’s prism can be the guiding lights to

every single stakeholder from local to global institutions and leaders, to work together for promotingdialogue, harmony, and justice based on compassion and wisdom.

Hybrid Warfare by ChinaAs per recent report the Chinese company Zhenhua Data Information Technology Co. Limited is monitoringover 10,000 Indian individuals and organisations in its global database of foreign targets, creating major concernin Indian security establishment.

11

19


Page |















11

19


Page |















11

20


| Page

Key Points Method: Zhenhua monitors the digital footprint of its targets using Artificial Intelligence tools across social

media platforms, maintains an information library, which includes content not just from news sources,forums, but also from papers, patents, bidding documents, even positions of recruitment.

Database: The database of the company called Overseas Key Information Database (OKIDB) has entriesfrom the USA, UK, Japan, Australia, Canada, Germany and the UAE as well.

Targets: Its targets include individuals and institutions in politics, government, judiciary, art and sports,business, technology, media, and civil society.

Link to Chinese Government and Intelligence: The Company counts the Chinese government,intelligentsia and military among its clients.o However, the Chinese government has denied having asked the company to collect or provide data,

information and intelligence stored within other countries’ territories for the Chinese government. Implication: This information can be used for strategic and intelligence services of China for hybrid

warfare. Legal Aspects: The data monitoring by Zhenhua cannot be covered under the Information Technology

Rules, 2011, under the IT Act, 2000, as it only covers personal data and not information available freely oraccessible in the public domain.o These rules also do not impose any conditions on the use of personal data for direct marketing etc.o Though it emphasizes on data collection by consent which is not done by Zhenhua, the law is

impossible to enforce in a foreign jurisdiction.o India is yet to have a data protection law for protecting the privacy of individuals and national security.

India-China Relations: The recent Indo-China conflict due to clashes at the Line of Actual Control andlater banning of chinese apps by India has led to exponential increase in tension between the two countries.In this scenario, the information assets of Zhenhua can give a strategic leverage to China over India.

Hybrid Warfare About: It refers to using non-military tools to achieve dominance or damage, subvert or influence. These

tools include information pollution, perception management and propaganda. Background :

o By China: In 1999, Unrestricted Warfare, a publication by China’s People’s Liberation Army, talkedabout hybrid warfare and the need for a shift in the arena of violence from military to political,economic and technological. There have been many recent reports on China’s attempts to collect sensitive military, intelligence

or economic information in the USA and Europe through social media.o Lebanon: Hybrid warfare was used in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon War by the Hezbollah group.

It employed a host of different tactics like guerilla warfare, innovative use of technology andeffective information campaigning.

o Russia: It was also used by Russia against Ukraine in the 2014 annexation of Crimea. It involved a combination of activities, including disinformation, economic manipulation, use of

proxies and insurgencies, diplomatic pressure etc. Threats:

o Cyber Attacks: This may include attacks on critical infrastructure like power grids, business systems,and defence systems. These may be used to disrupt economic activities, undermine institutions, anddiscredit political leadership and the intelligentsia.

o Undermining Democracy: The foreign government may manipulate the data, spread propaganda andmisinformation and influence democratic systems like elections through use of social media, websites,advertisements etc. The 2016 election of the USA and UK Brexit vote are suspected to have been influenced through

such interference by Russia.o Inciting Social Discord: The information may be used to plant disharmony and communal tensions

within a society which is eventually a threat to the unity of the country.Way Forward The governments should establish a process to develop a national approach of self-assessment and threat

analysis. Institutionalizing a process regarding threat and vulnerability information will enhance hybridwarfare early warning efforts, assist resiliency efforts, and may even have a deterrent effect.

Hybrid threats are an international issue, so should be the response. National governments shouldcoordinate a coherent approach amongst themselves to understand, detect and respond to hybrid warfare totheir collective interests. Multinational frameworks should be developed to facilitate cooperation andcollaboration across borders.

21


Page |

22


| Page

BANKING &ECONOMY

S&P Global Ratings Projects India’s GDP at -9% in FY21 & 6% in FY22 S&P Global Ratings has projected the GDP of

India to contract by 9% in the fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21), as against its previous estimate of a5% contraction, due to the impact of theCOVID-19 pandemic.

For the Fy22 (2021-22), S&P expects GDPgrowth of 6%.

For the Fy23 (2022-23), GDP is projected at6.2%.

Asian Development Bank projects Indianeconomy to shrink by 9% in FY21, grow by 8%in FY22 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has

estimated that the GDP of India is expected tocontract by 9 percent in the fiscal 2020-21(FY21). This estimate is worse that ADB’sprevious estimate of -4%.

However, for the FY22 (2021-22), ADBexpects India’s GDP at 8 percent.

ADB also expects the gross domestic product(GDP) growth for developing Asia at – 0.7percent in 2020, the first negative economicgrowth since 1962.

Nomura Slashes India’s GDP at -10.8% in 2020-21 Nomura has downgraded India’s economic

growth rate for current financial year and now

expects the GDP to contract by 10.8% in2020-21.

Earlier it had estimated the GDP to contract by6.1%.

CARE Ratings projects India’s GDP to contactbetween 8-8.2% in FY21 Indian rating agency, CARE Ratings has

projected the GDP of India to contract in therange 8 to 8.2% for 2020-21 (FY21).

This is more than its earlier projection of -6.4%. The forecast for GVA growth in FY21is -7.7%.

Moody’s forecasts India’s GDP at -11.5% forFY21, 10.6% for FY22 Ratings agency Moody’s has projected the

GDP growth rate for India to contract 11.5percent in the fiscal 2020-21 (FY21) due to thecoronavirus pandemic.

For 2021-22 (FY22), Moody’s projected theeconomy of India to grow at 10.6 percent.

Crisil projects India’s GDP for FY21 at -9%;For FY22 at 10% CRISIL has projected India’s GDP rate for

2020-21 (FY21) at -9% For FY22, Crisil has projected India’s GDP to

grow at 10%. For the next three years, between fiscals 2023

and 2025, CRISIL projects the Indian GDP toaverage a growth of 6.2% annually.

Fitch Ratings Projects Indian economy tocontract 10.5% in FY21 In its September update of Global Economic

Outlook (GEO), the US-based Fitch Ratingshas sharply lowered the forecast for the grossdomestic product (GDP) growth of India forthe current fiscal 2020-21 (FY21) and nowexpects the GDP to contract 10.5 percent.

23


Page |

Earlier in June Global Economic Outlook, therating agency has estimated 5 percentcontraction for FY21.

The downward revision comes after India’sGDP shrank by 23.9% year-on-year in theApril-June quarter, the worst performance innearly four decades.

The rating agency has also revised its forecastfor global GDP and expects it to fall by 4.4percent in 2020, which is a modest upwardrevision from the 4.6 percent contractionexpected earlier.

Goldman Sachs predicts India’s GDP for FY21at -14.8% Goldman Sachs has predicted India’s GDP for

FY21 at -14.8%. For Calendar Year 2020 ithas projected a contraction of 11.1%.

For FY22, Goldman Sachs predicts India’sGDP to grow at 15.7% and for Calendar Year2021 at 9.9%.

Reliance Industries becomes first Indian firm tocross $200 bn m-cap Reliance Industries (RIL) on September 10,

2020, became the first Indian company tocross $200 billion in market capitalization (m-cap).

The market capitalization of RelianceIndustries at the close of the stock market onSeptember 10, 2020, was Rs 15.3 trillion($208 billion).

The second best after RIL is Tata ConsultancyServices (TCS) with an m-cap of Rs 8.75trillion, ($119 billion).

Infosys to hire 500 more tech employees under‘Reskill and Restart’ program Infosys plans to hire 500 additional tech

workers in Rhode Island, US by 2023. New employees will work on a variety of tech-

focused roles, and its recently launched‘Reskill and Restart’ program will be amongthe channels used to recruit and trainemployees.

This new initiative, explicitly aimed atreskilling workers who have beeneconomically impacted by the COVID-19pandemic, begins with an aptitude and skillsassessment, followed by curated job-specificskills training, and culminates in matchingthem with available positions.

Mahindra launches new potato plantingmachine Mahindra has launched a new potato planter

under its Farm Equipment Sector (FES). The new advanced Precision Potato Planting

machinery, the new ‘PlantingMaster Potato +’is designed and developed in collaborationwith Europe-based partner Dewulf.

According to the Indian company,PlantingMaster Potato + has been developed to

suit Indian farming conditions, to offer higheryields and enhanced quality.

India’s GDP contracts by 23.9% in Q1 of FY21:NSO data As per the official data released by the

National Statistics Office (NSO), India’s GDPhas contracted by 23.9% in the first quarter(April-June 2020) for FY21.

This is the first instance of an economiccontraction for India in at least four decades.

It is also the first GDP decline since Indiabegan publishing quarterly numbers in 1996.

Gross value added (GVA) for India declinedby 22.8%.

All the sectors except agriculture witnessedcontractions during the April-June quarter of2020-21.

The highest drop was witnessed by theconstruction industry of 50.3%.

India’s foreign exchange reserves surge by USD2.296 bn to USD 537.548 bn India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by

2.296 billion US dollar to reach 537.548billion US dollar in the week to August 21.

Foreign Currency Assets rose by 2.618 billiondollars to 494.168 billion US dollar in thereporting week.

The country’s reserve position with the IMFalso increased by 6 million to 4.634 billion USdollar during the reporting week.

European Investment Bank to Invest € 650Million in Kanpur’s 1st City Metro Line The European Investment Bank (EIB) will

invest 650 million euro(€) in the constructionof Kanpur’s(Uttar Pradesh) 1st city metro line.

The 32.4 km urban rail line, with 18 elevatedand 12 underground stations is EIB’s 2ndbiggest operation outside the European Union(EU) till date.

It is the 2nd metro rail project supported by theEIB in Uttar Pradesh (UP).

Real GDP likely to contract by 10.9 per cent inFY21: SBI Ecowrap After the country’s economy contracted by a

record 23.9 per cent in April-June quarter, realGDP for FY21 is expected to shrink by 10.9per cent, according to State Bank of India’sresearch report – Ecowrap.

It had earlier estimated real gross domesticproduct (GDP) at (-) 6.8 per cent for thecurrent fiscal.

The first quarter GDP contraction compareswith 3.1 per cent growth in the precedingJanuary-March quarter and 5.2 per centexpansion in the same period a year back.

Flipkart Group launches Flipkart Wholesale toconnect local manufacturers with retailers Flipkart Wholesale, a venture of the

homegrown Flipkart Group, launched its

24


| Page

operations with an aim to connect localmanufacturers with retailers and bring theentire wholesale marketplace at their fingertipsusing technology.

It is offering a one-stop solution for the retailecosystem, which will offer Indian businessesa wide selection of products at significantvalue, powered by technology and with an aimto grow their business.

The platform is currently available for fashionretailers, especially footwear and apparel, inGurugram, Delhi and Bengaluru, with plans toexpand to Mumbai as well.

By this year end, Flipkart Wholesale also plansto expand to 20 more cities and in categoriessuch as Home, Kitchen and Grocery.

India Post launches Five Star Villages Schemefor 100% rural coverage of postal schemes The Department of Posts has launched a new

scheme called Five Star Villages, to ensureuniversal coverage of flagship postal schemesin rural areas of the country.

The scheme aims to bridge the gaps in publicawareness and reach of postal products andservices, especially in interior villages.

The scheme was launched by the UnionMinister of State for Communications, ShriSanjay Dhotre on 10 September 2020.

The schemes covered under the Five Starscheme include: Savings Bank accounts, Recurrent Deposit

Accounts, NSC / KVP certificates, Sukanya Samridhi Accounts/ PPF Accounts, Funded Post Office Savings Account linked

India Post Payments Bank Accounts, Postal Life Insurance Policy/Rural Postal Life

Insurance Policy and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana

Account / Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti BimaYojana Account.

The scheme is being launched on pilot basis inMaharashtra. 50 villages in each district of thestate will be covered during 2020-2021.

The scheme will be implemented by a team offive Gramin Dak Sevaks, headed by theBranch Post Master of the concerned BranchOffice.

Razorpay launches collateral free line of creditfor SMEs In a bid to rescue MSMEs and improve their

cash flows, Razorpay has launched a collateralfree line of credit called Cash Advance.

MSMEs can borrow working capital with acredit limit of Rs 50,000 to Rs 10 lakh, within10 seconds through the Razorpay dashboard,depending upon the credit history of thebusiness.

With this, Razorpay aims to supportbusinesses with upto Rs 100 crores of credit byend of 2020.

Axis Mutual Fund launches a global fund-of-fund Axis AMC has launched Axis Global Alpha

Fund of Fund. For its global product initiative,Axis AMC has tied up with Schroders.

Axis Global Equity Alpha Fund of Fund is thefirst dedicated global feeder fund launched bythe mutual fund house.

The Axis Global Equity Alpha Fund of Fund isan open-ended fund of fund scheme thatinvests in the Schroder International SelectionFund Global Equity Alpha.

Axis AMC has two other mutual fund schemesoffering international exposure, which werelaunched over the last couple of years — AxisGrowth Opportunities Fund and Axis ESGEquity Fund.

Vodafone Idea re-brands itself as ‘VI’ India’s telecom service provider Vodafone

Idea Limited has announced that it has re-branded itself as ‘VI’, to mark the completionof the largest telecom merger in the world andpresent itself as a merged entity.

The announcement was made by company’sMD and CEO Ravinder Takkar on 7thSeptember 2020.

Now all the products of the company will beavailable under the new unified brand identityand logo “VI”.

Apple’s first ‘floating’ store to be launched inSingapore Technology giant Apple Inc. has announced

that it is going to open its first ever “floating”store, in Singapore on 10th September 2020.

The floating Apple Store, will be located atSingapore’s posh Marina Bay Sands resort. Itwill be the third retail store of Apple inSingapore.

The first-of-its-kind store has a sphere-shapedall-glass dome structure that is fully self-supported, and made up of 114 pieces of glass,held together by only 10 narrow verticalmullions for structural connection.

India Ratings revises FY21 GDP growthprojection to negative 11.8 per cent Domestic rating agency India Ratings and

Research on Tuesday revised the country’sFY21 GDP growth forecast to (-) 11.8 per centfrom (-) 5.3 per cent earlier.

The agency, however, expects India’s grossdomestic product (GDP) to rebound and growat 9.9 per cent year-on-year in FY22 mainlydue to the weak base of FY21.

India Rating’s FY21 GDP growth forecast ofnegative 11.8 per cent will be the lowest GDPgrowth in the Indian history (GDP data is

25


Page |

available from FY-1951) and sixth instance ofeconomic contraction, others being in FY-1958, FY-1966, FY-1967, FY-1973 and FY-1980.

India’s IT major HCL sets up first developmentcentre in Sri Lanka India’s IT major HCL Technologies has set up

its first development centre in Sri Lanka togenerate significant employment opportunitiesfor the youths.

Wipro plans to set up Digital Innovation Hub inGermany Wipro plans to set up a Digital Innovation Hub

at Düsseldorf in Germany that will serve as theIT services major’s flagship centre in Europe.

The proposed Digital Innovation Hub willoffer digital transformation expertise tocompanies in Germany, enabling organisationsto cross skill and upskill besides supportingtalent development in local communities.

Wipro will also collaborate with institutionsand universities in the North Rhine-Westphaliastate to develop tailored programmes andcareer opportunities for young graduates inadvanced digital skills and technologies.

Silver Lake to invest Rs 7,500 crore in RelianceRetail Silver Lake Partners has picked up 1.75 per

cent stake in the retail arm of RelianceIndustries for Rs 7,500 crore.

This investment values RRVL at a pre-moneyequity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. SilverLake’s investment will translate into a 1.75 percent equity stake in RRVL on a fully dilutedbasis.

This marks the second billion-dollarinvestment by Silver Lake in a RelianceIndustries subsidiary after the USD 1.35billion investment in Jio Platforms announcedearlier this year.

RBI IN NEWSRBI Announces Steps to Ease Pressure onLiquidity The RBI announced a host of steps, including

term repo operations totalling Rs 1 lakh crorein mid-September to ease pressure on theliquidity and maintain congenial financialconditions with a view to ensuring sustainablerecovery of economic growth.

The RBI said that in order to reduce the cost offunds, banks that had availed of funds underlong-term repo operations (LTROs) mayexercise an option of reversing thesetransactions before maturity.

The banks may reduce their interest liabilityby returning funds taken at the repo rateprevailing at that time (5.15 per cent) and

availing funds at the current repo rate of 4 percent.

The last date for paying the second instalmentof advance tax is September 15.

Finance Minister launches Doorstep BankingServices by PSBs Union Minister of Finance, Smt. Nirmala

Sitharaman launched the Doorstep BankingServices by Public Sector Banks (PSBs).

The service aims to provide banking servicesto the customers of Public Sector Banks attheir doorstep via three modes-

Call Centre (18001037188 or 18001213721) Web Portal (www.psbdsb.in) Mobile App (Doorstep Banking (DSB) The targetted customers are- Senior citizens,

Defense personnel, CRPF, widows, Divyangindividuals, Students, Salaried employees,Corporate clients, Retail shopkeepers andstreet vendors.

The service is available in 11 languages. It aims to deliver the services in 3 hours. For

this 100 Doorstep banking centres have beenestablished across India.

All 12 Public Sectors banks have been coveredin this scheme.

Available Services: Services like-Cheques/DD/PO, New cheque bookrequisition, 15G, 15H forms, IT Challan,Standing Instructions request, A/c Statement,Non-personalised Cheque Books, DD, PO,Prepaid instrument/Gift card, TDS / Form 16Certificate issuance, Term Deposit Receipt/Acknowledgement can be availed by thecustomers at their doorsteps.

RBI defines Role and selection criteria of ChiefCompliance Officer (CCO) in Banks The Reserve Bank of India has released the

guidelines to be followed by commercialbanks for the appointment of ChiefCompliance Officer (CCO).

Scheduled Commercial Banks (ExcludingRRBs), Local Area Banks, Small FinanceBanks and Payment Banks have to appoint aChief Compliance Officer (CCO) to have aneffective compliance culture, independentcorporate compliance function and a strongcompliance risk management programme atbank and group level.

Here are some of the norms to be followed bybanks for the appointment of a CCO:

Tenor for the appointment of CCO – minimumfixed tenure of not less than 3 years.

Age – Not more than 55 years; Experience – The CCO shall have an overall

experience of at least 15 years in the bankingor financial services, out of which minimum 5years shall be in the Audit / Finance /

26


| Page

Compliance / Legal / Risk Managementfunctions;

Rank – The CCO shall be a senior executive ofthe bank, preferably in the rank of a GeneralManager or an equivalent position (not belowtwo levels from the CEO).

Digital Payments Index (DPI) will be launchedby RBI The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced

on September 10, 2020 announced that aDigital Payments Index (DPI) will belaunched.

The index will assess and capture the extent ofdigitalisation of payments effectively.

The DPI will be based on multiple parameters It is going to assess accurately about the

penetration and deepening of various digitalpayment modes.

It will help in bridging the gap of digitaldivide.

It was recommended by a committee headedby Nandan Nilekani on deepening digitalpayment.

RBI ceased the Aditya Birla Idea PaymentsBank to be act as a banking company The Reserve Bank of India has issued a

notification to all banks on September 03,2020 stating that “Aditya Birla Idea PaymentsBank Limited” has ceased to be a bankingcompany within the meaning of the BankingRegulation Act, 1949 with effect from July 28,2020.

Apart from this, “Westpac BankingCorporation” also ceases to be a bankingcompany as announced by RBI.

RBI Releases Revised Priority Sector LendingGuidelines The Reserve Bank of India has reviewed the

priority sector guidelines to align it withemerging national priorities and bring asharper focus on inclusive development.

Some new categories eligible for finance underthe priority sector have been added like- Bankfinance to start-ups (up to Rs 50 crore); loansto farmers for installation of solar power plantsfor solarisation of grid-connected agriculturepumps and loans for setting up CompressedBio-Gas (CBG) plants.

To address regional disparities in the flow ofpriority sector credit, higher weightage havebeen assigned to incremental priority sectorcredit in ‘identified districts’ where prioritysector credit flow is comparatively low.

The targets prescribed for “small and marginalfarmers” and “weaker sections” are beingincreased in a phased manner.

Higher credit limit has been specified forFarmers Producers Organisations(FPOs)/Farmers Producers Companies (FPCs)

undertaking farming with assured marketing oftheir produce at a pre-determined price.

Loan limits for renewable energy have beenincreased (doubled). from Rs 15 lakhs to Rs 30lakhs

For improvement of health infrastructure,credit limit for health infrastructure (includingthose under ‘Ayushman Bharat’) has beendoubled.

RBI announces OMO for sale, purchase ofgovernment securities of Rs 10,000 crore The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will conduct

simultaneous purchase and sale of governmentsecurities under the Open Market Operation(OMO) for Rs 10,000 crore each on September10.

The RBI on August 31 had announced that itwould conduct special simultaneous purchaseand sale of government securities under OMOfor an aggregate amount of Rs 20,000 crore intwo tranches of Rs 10,000 crore each as part ofits measures to foster orderly marketconditions.

“The first auction is scheduled for September10, 2020. It would be selling three securitiestotalling Rs 10,000 crore and also purchasingequal number of securities of the sameamount.

RBI to set up innovation hub for finance sector The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in the

process of setting up an innovation hub whichwill focus on future technology in the financialservices space.

Innovation Hub is one of the things that we aretrying out where we are looking at actuallycreating ideation, creating ideas to evolvetechnologies.

The RBI has released a framework for settingup umbrella entities for operating pan-Indiaretail payments systems.

It has invited applications from eligiblecompanies by February 26, 2021.

As per the framework, the companies with anet worth of over Rs 500 crore will be eligibleto set up an umbrella entity which among otherthings will be permitted to set up, manage andoperate new payment systems in the retailspace comprising ATMs, White Label PoS,Aadhaar-based payments and remittanceservices.

Banks sanction loans of Rs 1.61 lakh crore toMSMEs under credit guarantee scheme Banks have sanctioned loans of about Rs

1,61,017 crore under the Rs 3-lakh croreEmergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme(ECLGS) for the MSME sector reeling underthe slowdown caused by the coronaviruspandemic.

27


Page |

However, disbursements against this stood atRs 1,13,713 lakh crore till September 3.

SBI IN NEWSSBI Modernizes its Payment Switching Systemwith ACI Worldwide Technology ACI Worldwide, a global provider of real-time

digital payment software and solutions, hasmodernized payments infrastructure for ATMand point-of-sale (POS) at State Bank of India(SBI), the country’s largest bank with morethan 440 million account holders.

Operating more than 58,000 ATMs, the bankis a long-time ACI customer, utilizing itsmarket-leading Retail Payments solution toacquire, authenticate, route, switch andauthorize financial transactions across itsATM, POS and eCommerce channels.

The solution enables SBI’s ATM network toacquire Visa, Mastercard and RuPay cards, aswell as manage ATM/POS authorizations.Transaction processing volumes frequentlyexceed 30 million transactions per day.

SBI to launch loan product ‘SAFAL’ fororganic cotton growers SBI managing director C S Setty has

announced that State Bank of India will launcha loan product, SAFAL, for organic cottongrowers who don’t have any credit history.

It stands for Safe and Fast Agriculture Loan(SAFAL).

SBI will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) andMachine Learning (ML) for this purpose.

SBI Magnum Children’s Benefit Fund(Investment Plan) SBI recently launched a new investment plan

named SBI Magnum Children’s Benefit Fund. SBI Magnum Children’s Benefit Fund

(Investment Plan) would look to invest at least65 per cent in domestic stocks.

Your funds are locked-in for five years, or tillthe child turns 18, whichever is earlier.

You can invest only in the minor’s name fromthe minor’s bank account or from a jointaccount with the minor.

The fund already has an existing Savings Plan,which invests at least 75 percent in fixedincome securities. That plan was launched in2002.

OTHER BANKS IN NEWSICICI Bank launches ‘Home Utsav’, a virtualproperty exhibition ICICI Bank thas launched a virtual property

exhibition under the name ‘Home Utsav’.

The exhibition will digitally showcase realestate projects by renowned developers, acrossIndia.

The exhibition can be accessedon www.homeutsavicici.com.

The exhibition can be accessed by bothcustomers and non-customers of ICICI Bank.

RBL Bank launches cardless cash withdrawalfacility through ATMs via MoBank app RBL Bank has partnered with Empays

Payment Systems to launch a cardless cashwithdrawal facility from ATMs by leveragingthe Instant Money Transfer (IMT) system.

Customers can use RBL Bank’s MoBank appfor this IMT function and initiate cashwithdrawal by either using his or her mobilenumber linked to the account or by following afew easy steps on the app.

BoI launched “Signature Visa Debit Card” onhis 115th Foundation Day On the occasion of Bank of India (BoI)’s

115th Foundation Day, BoI has launched aninternational contactless debit card, “SignatureVisa Debit Card” for high net worthindividuals who are maintaining an averagequarterly balance of Rs 10 lakhs and above.

This card will have a spending limit of up toRs.5 lakhs on POS & e-commerce and Rs.1lakh on ATM.

ICICI Lombard inks bancassurance tie up withYes Bank ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company

Ltd has entered into a bancassurance tie-upwith Yes Bank for selling its insuranceproducts.

The partnership will provide the bank’sdiverse customer base access to the insurer’sportfolio and make insurance more accessibleto its customers across India.

Bancassurance is an agreement between abank and an insurer to sell its offerings to thelender’s customers.

Through this tie-up, ICICI Lombard aims tooffer innovative insurance solutions to YesBank’s customers across 28 states and 8 unionterritories.

Indian Bank announces cut of 5 basis points inMCLR for one-year tenure Indian Bank has announced a cut of 5 basis

points in its marginal cost of funds-basedlending rate (MCLR) for one-year tenure.

The bank has decided to reduce the MCLR forone-year tenure by 5 basis points to 7.30 percent effective from September 3, 2020, IndianBank said in a regulatory filing.

HDFC Bank looks to increase number ofbanking correspondents to 25,000 by March In a bid to expand its rural reach, the country’s

largest private sector lender HDFC Bank is

28


| Page

planning to more than double the strength ofits banking correspondents (BCs) to 25,000 bythe fiscal-end.

At present, the bank has a network of 11,000banking correspondents.

A customer will get all banking facilities fromopening of an account, fixed deposit, topayment products and loan close to his housein a rural area through the BC network, shesaid.

The bank is looking at its tie-up with thegovernment’s common services centres(CSCs) to expand its BC network.

An agreement between the two aims to createlast-mile access points for financial servicesacross the country.

The bank appoints banking correspondentsfrom the village level entrepreneurs associatedwith the CSC.

ICICI Bank launches iStartup 2.0, dedicatedoffering for start-ups ICICI Bank has launched a new product

named iStartup 2.0, to cater to the bankingneeds of startups and entrepreneurs.

iStartup 2.0 is a startup bank account (in formof current account) that can be opened within10 years of date of incorporation of thebusiness. There are three variants of thiscurrent account.

Eligibility: Partnership Firms and LimitedLiability Partnerships (LLPs) OR Private andPublic Limited Companies and One PersonCompanies (OPCs).

Apart from this, under the product, ICICIBank will also provide services like- CompanyRegistration, ROC Filing & Compliance, GST/IT-Related Service, Property Registration,Stamp Paper & Franking and more suchservices.

WORLD ECONOMYADB provides 50-million-dollar loan toBangladesh for PPP infrastructure projects

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) andgovernment of Bangladesh signed a 50-million-dollar loan agreement on Thursday topromote, fund and implement public-privatepartnership (PPP) infrastructure projects in thecountry.

The project will help Bangladesh to mobiliseprivate investment, develop infrastructureprojects and create jobs which will helpaccelerate the economic recovery process inthe aftermath of the Corona pandemic.

the project will generate 3000 jobs in PPPprojects supported by the BangladeshInfrastructure Finance Fund Limited (BIFFL)by 2024.

Further, the project will help the roll out of thegovernment’s PPP strategy.

FINANCIAL NEWSAdani Green Energy nears Rs.1 trillion marketcapitalisation Adani Green Energy Ltd inched closer to Rs.1

trillion market capitalisation, becoming AdaniGroup’s most valued stock, piping Adan Portsand Special Economic Zone Ltd.

The company will raise $1.8 billion for theunder construction and contracted portfolio of12 GW, which includes the country’s firstmanufacturing-linked solar power plant of 8GW.

In terms of market value, the Adani Groupfirm has surpassed Bajaj Finserv, HindustanZinc, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, Power GridCorp, ONGC Ltd, NTPC, Britannia IndustriesLtd and Dabur India Ltd.

Reliance Industries Ltd is India’s mostvaluable company with a market capitalisationof Rs.15.26 trillion, followed by TCS andHDFC Bank Ltd at Rs.8.75 trillion and Rs.6trillion, respectively.

29


Page |

INTERNATIONALAstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine trial pausedafter participant falls ill The last phase of clinical trials of the COVID-

19 vaccine developed by Oxford Universityand AstraZeneca has been put on hold afterone of the participants fell ill in the UnitedKingdom.

AstraZeneca described the pause as a “routine”pause in the case of “an unexplained illness”.

The AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID vaccine isone of the leading COVID-19 vaccinecandidates, whose trials are being conducted inmultiple nations including India and the UnitedStates.

Subsequently the trial was again resumed evenin India.

India becomes member of United Nation’sCommission on Status of Women (UNCSW) India has been elected as a member of the

United Nation’s Commission on Status ofWomen (UNCSW).

UNCSW is a body of the United NationsEconomic and Social Council (ECOSOC) andis responsible for promoting gender equalityand the empowerment of women.

India will be a member of the UNCSW forfour years — from 2021 to 2025. Threecountries, India, China and Afghanistan hadcontested the elections in which India andAfghanistan have been elected to UNCSWwhile China has failed to do so.

TS Tirumurti, permanent representative ofIndia to the United Nations shared theinformation.

Bangladesh govt allows limited export of Hilsafish to India Bangladesh Commerce Ministry of has given

special permission for traders to export Hilsafish to India on a limited scale in view of theforthcoming Durga Puja.

The Commerce Ministry has allowed nineexporters to send a total of approximately1,500 tonnes of Hilsa to India. The firstconsignment of Hilsa was reported to havebeen sent to India on Monday. The export willbe allowed till 10th of October.

Bangladesh had imposed a ban on the export ofHilsa in 2012.

UK Enters into First Major Post-Brexit Dealwith Japan The UK has signed its first major post-Brexit

trade pact by signing a deal with Japan. The deal aims to boost trade between these two

countries by about £15bn. The deal would boost UK GDP by 0.07%,

though, it is just a fraction of the trade that waslost with the European union (EU).

This UK-Japan Comprehensive EconomicPartnership Agreement has a great significanceas now onward 99% of exports to Japan will betariff-free.

The deal secures new path for Britishbusinesses in manufacturing, food and drink,and tech industries.

The deal would be beneficial for automobilesector as well shoe factories.

It would create new opportunities for peoplethroughout UK.

30


| Page

Israel, UAE education institutes ink agreementon AI The MoU between the United Arab Emirates’

Mohamed Bin Zayed University of ArtificialIntelligence and Israel’s Weizmann Institute ofScience is the first agreement between thecountries’ higher education bodies.

The Mohamed Bin Zayed University ofArtificial Intelligence was established in 2019.

India-China Five-Point Action Plan to resolveBorder Disputes India and China, on September 11, 2020,

agreed on ‘five-point action plan’ so as toquickly disengage troops along the Line ofActual Control.

The External Affairs Minister of India SJaishankar met his Chinese counterpart WangYi to discuss the border tensions while he is onhis visit to Russia.

Five-Point Action PlanTwo sides discussed on following 5 points: Both sides agreed to take guidance from

consensus of the leaders in order to developIndia-China relations and neglect thedifferences to avoid disputes.

India and China agreed to continue theirdialogue on disengagement at the border, easetension and maintain the status quo.

They also agreed to abide by all the existingagreements, protocols so as to maintain peaceand tranquillity across the line of actualcontrol.

Both sides agreed to communicate throughSpecial Representatives mechanism forconsultation and coordination on borderdisputes.

They agreed to work on confidence buildingmeasures.

Singapore, Japan to launch green lane foressential business, official travel Singapore and Japan are to launch a green lane

on September 18 for essential business andofficial travel for residents from both countriesin compliance with the COVID-19 relatednorms.

This Business Track arrangement is to helprestore connectivity and support economicrecovery of both the countries.

Parachutist makes world’s first jump fromsolar-powered plane A parachutist completed the world’s first jump

from a solar-powered aircraft after the planesoared to a height of 1,520 metres (nearly5,000 ft) over western Switzerland.

The two-seater prototype plane made the testflight in good weather and to promoterenewable energy.

Parachutist Raphael Domjan reached a speedof 150 kilometres per hour during his jump,landing near the project base in Payerne.

Typhoon Haishen wreaks havoc in South Korea A powerful typhoon Haishen damaged

buildings, flooded roads and knocked outpower to thousands of homes in South Koreaafter battering islands in southern Japan andinjuring dozens of people.

Typhoon Haishen was passing waters off theeastern coastal city of Sokcho after barrellingthrough South Korea’s southern and easternregions.

UNICEF to lead global procurement and supplyof coronavirus vaccines The United Nations Children’s Fund

(UNICEF) has announced that it will beleading the global procurement and supply ofthe COVID-19 vaccine in order to ensure thatall the countries have safe, equitable, and fastaccess to the initial doses when they areavailable.

UNICEF is the world’s largest single buyer ofvaccines for diseases like polio and measlesand procures over 2 billion doses on behalf ofnearly 100 countries each year.

US President Donald Trump nominated for2021 Nobel Peace Prize for brokering peace dealbetween Israel and UAE The United States President Donald Trump has

been nominated for the 2021 Nobel PeacePrize because of his efforts on brokering theIsrael-UAE Peace Deal.

The nomination of Donald Trump for theNobel Peace Prize has been submitted byTybring-Gjedde, a member of the NorwegianParliament.

Tybring-Gjedde specifically praised Trump forhis efforts towards resolving the protractedconflicts worldwide.

Bangladesh launches campaign against fakeinformation, rumours The Bangladesh government has launched a

campaign named ‘AsolChini’ or ‘real-sugar’ tofight fake information and rumour spreadingon social media.

The campaign aims to create digital literacy tostop fake information and rumours.

The Digital Security Agency (DSA) of theInformation and Communication Technology(ICT) Department and the LICT project of theBangladesh Computer Council (BCC) willjointly run the campaign to create awarenessamong people in the country in a three-monthcampaign.

Germany launches Indo-Pacific strategy with‘key role’ for India Germany, current EU president and Europe’s

biggest economy, has launched its Indo-Pacific

31


Page |

strategy with India that is expected to play akey role in Berlin’s outreach in the regionwhere China’s aggressive foreign policy hasrattled countries.Highlights:

The strategy released by GermanForeign Ministry has several indirectreferences to Chinese behaviour thatchallenged rules-based world order.

Berlin’s strategy also suggestedopening dialogue with institutionswhere India plays a key role — Bay ofBengal Initiative for Multi-SectoralTechnical and Economic Cooperationand Indian Ocean Rim Associationp— in the areas of business andmaritime safety, as well as disasterrisk management.

The German government alsoannounced that it will work tomaintain rules-based order togetherwith partners in the Indo-Pacificregion.

SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites for fasterinternet SpaceX has successfully sent 60 Starlink

internet satellites aboard the Falcon 9 which islifted off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The launch was Starlink’s first mission of themonth. The Elon-musk owned space techcompany has conducted sixteen missions thisyear.

The satellites are meant to provide ‘cheaperand faster’ internet to inaccessible areas.

The satellites in its initial tests had providedover 100 Mbps speeds.

Wilmington as the first World War II HeritageCity Donald Trump, President of the USA has

announced Wilmington (located in southernUS state North Carolina) as the first WorldWar II Heritage City.

The announcement was made at a ceremonyheld to mark the 75th anniversary of the end ofWorld War II.

September 2, 2020 marks the 75thCommemoration of the End of World War II.

Russia commits to policy of no arms supply toPakistan, reiterates support to Indian securityinterests Russia assured that it will follow a policy of

‘no arms supply to Pakistan’ following arequest from India during Defence MinisterRajnath Singh’s meeting with his Russiancounterpart Gen. Sergey Shoigu.

India and Russia also agreed to increase theengagement of their defence industries andfinalised a major deal, under which an AK203

assault rifles factory will be established atAmethi.

IIT Guwahati collaborates with university inCzech Republic for data protection project A team of researchers from Indian Institute of

Technology Guwahati, in collaboration withscientists from the University of Pardubice,Czech Republic, is working towardsdeveloping indigenous algorithms that canprotect the Nation’s digital data from cyber-attacks by advanced computers.

The team has also designed encryptionarchitectures that can be used to protectsensitive health data that is transmitted throughthe internet.

Chinese navy becomes world’s largest navy China, home to the world’s largest navy, is

looking to set up new PLA bases in the Indo-Pacific region.

This was revealed by the Pentagon in adetailed report to the US Congress onSeptember 1, 2020.

The other nations reported to be on China’sradar include Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia,the UAE, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania,Angola and Tajikistan.

China’s naval fleet comprises 350 warshipsand submarines including 130 major surfacecombatants.

The number is greater than the US Navy’sforce-level of 293 warships, as per thePentagon report.

Mustapha Adib becomes new Prime Minister ofLebanon Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany, Mustapha

Adib was appointed prime minister in crisis-hitLebanon.

Adib was named by four former primeministers, including Hariri.

He had served as the ambassador of Lebanonto Germany from 2013 to 2020.

Google partners with Bangladesh for floodforecasting Google has partnered with Bangladesh Water

Development Board to bring the flood warningservices to the country.

Google currently covers more than 40 millionpeople in Bangladesh and it is working toexpand its coverage to the whole of thecountry.

Google is working to launch a new forecastingmodel to double the lead time so that peoplehave an extra day or so to prepare in case ofimpending floods.

It said the is available in Hindi, Bengali andseven other local languages.

The company uses Artificial Intelligence (AI)to analyse historical data to predict flood in theriver basins.

32


| Page

Google launched its flood forecasting pilotprogramme in Patna in 2018.

India, Japan, Australia agree to launch aresilient supply chain initiative in the Indo-Pacific region Australia-India-Japan Economic Ministers’

Joint Statement on Supply Chain Resiliencewas held on 1st September.

The virtual meeting comprised of India’sMinister of Commerce and Industry PiyushGoyal, Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourismand Investment, Senator Simon, and Japan’sMinister of Economy, Trade, and Industry,Kajiyama Hiroshi.

India-Japan-Australia has agreed to launch aninitiative to build a resilient supply chain in theIndo-Pacific region.

The aim is to create a free and transparenttrade & investment environment.

Japan commits Rs 3,500 crore (approx.) asOfficial Development Assistance for healthsector to fight the COVID-19 crisis in India

The Govt. of Japan has committed OfficialDevelopment Assistance loan of an amount ofJPY50 billion (approx. Rs. 3,500 crore) for theCOVID-19 Crisis Emergency Response Supportto India.

This programme loan aims to support India’sefforts in fighting COVID-19 and to prepare thehealth system to manage future epidemics andalso to improve the resilience of India’s healthsystems against infectious diseases.

Apart from this, Japan Government has givenGrant Assistance of an amount of JPY 1 billion(= approx. Rs. 70 crore) to India for providingmedical equipment to strengthen the publichealth and medical system.

‘Agriota’ e-market platform launched to bridgethe gap between Indian farmers, UAE foodindustry The UAE has launched Agriota, an agri-

commodity trading and sourcing e-marketplatform that will bridge the gap between ruralfarmers in India and the UAE’s food industry.

The platform was launched by Dubai MultiCommodities Centre (DMCC) and thegovernment of Dubai’s authority oncommodities trade and enterprise.

The marketplace allows the farmers to bypassintermediaries, optimising the supply chain andensuring traceability to create value for allstakeholders.

China launches advanced warship for PakistanNavy China has launched first of the four advanced

naval warships at the HudongZhonghuaShipyard in Shanghai.

It is building for Pakistan, amid deepeningdefence ties between the two all-weather allies.

The Type-054 class, equipped with the latestsurface, subsurface, anti-air weapons, combatmanagement system, and sensors will be oneof the technologically advanced surfaceplatforms of the Pakistan Navy fleet.

First ever direct flight between Israel and UAElands in Abu Dhabi The first commercial direct flight between

Israel and the UAE landed in Abu Dhabi afterthe two countries announced normalisation ofrelations.

The El Al airliner made the three-hour tripcarrying a top-level Israeli delegation led byNational Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbatwhile the US delegation was headed by USPresident Donald Trump’s adviser JaredKushner and US NSA Robert O’Brien.

The flight was allowed to cross Saudi Arabianairspace, normally blocked to Israeli air traffic.

Bangladesh declares one-day national mourningin honour of Pranab Mukherjee The Bangladesh government has announced

one-day national mourning in honour of formerPresident of India Pranab Mukherjee.

China constructs missile site at Kailash-Mansarovar amid the stand-off with India China has built a surface-to-air missile near a

lake which is a part of Kailash-Mansarovaramid the rising border tensions with India overthe standoff in the Eastern Ladakh Sector.

The development of the missile indicates thecontinued provocation by the Chinese whichcan also further complicate the border tensionsbetween the two countries.

33


Page |

NATIONALVice President inaugurates 125th BirthAnniversary celebrations of Kavi Samrat ShriViswanatha Satyanarayana Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu virtually

inaugurating the 125th Birth Anniversarycelebrations of the Kavi Samrat ShriViswanatha Satyanarayana.

He had highlighted the importance ofimparting learning in the mother tongue,preserving culture and protecting the nature.

He also called making nature’s protection apeople’s movement.

PM to hold SvanidhiSamvaad with streetvendors from Madhya Pradesh on 9 September Prime Minister Narendra Modi

held‘SvanidhiSamvaad’ with street vendors

from Madhya Pradesh on 9 September 2020through video conferencing.

The program was telecasted through webcasts.PM will interact with 3 beneficiaries from thestate by connecting virtually with them fromtheir vending locations.

Prime Minister virtually inaugurates PatrikaGate in Jaipur Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi

inaugurated the Patrika Gate in Jaipur,Rajasthan through video conference on 8thSeptember 2020.

The Iconic Gate is built by the Rajasthan-basedPatrika Group of Newspapers on theJawaharlal Nehru Marg in Jaipur, to bringtogether the art, craft, and cultural heritage ofall the regions of Rajasthan at one place.

Similar to Mumbai’s Gateway of India andDelhi’s India Gate, the Jaipur’s Patrika Gatewill enhance the pride of the state and will also

34


| Page

be a Gateway of Rajasthan, besides markingthe beginning of a new tourist destination.

During the launch ceremony, Prime MinisterShri Modi also released two books written bythe Patrika Group Chairman, Shri GulabKothari, which included ‘Sanvad Upanishad’and ‘Akshar Yatra’.

Logo for National Bamboo Mission released Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’

Welfare, Rural Development & Panchayati RajShri Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated 22bamboo clusters in 9 States.

A logo for the National Bamboo Mission hasalso been released through a contest heldearlier.

By the launch of logo, India is all set toincrease the export of bamboo products.

Minority Affairs Ministry decides to resumeHunarHaat event on October After a gap of 6 months, the HunarHaat event

is to be restarted from October 9 to 18 atPrayagraj.

The theme of the crafts fair would be ‘Local toGlobal’, with the focus on indigenous Indiantoys.

The fest enables local artisans and craftsmen toshowcase and sell their products.

Centre claims 42 crore poor benefited fromPMGKY According to the Central Government, over 42

crore poor people have received financialassistance of around Rs.68,000 crore under thePradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package.

This initiative, launched in March, aims toprovide free food grains and cash to women,poor senior citizens and farmers – the mostvulnerable to the pandemic.

EPFO settles 94.41 lakh claims during pandemicsince 1st April EPFO has been able to settle a staggering

94.41 lakh claims thereby disbursing about Rs35,445 crore to its members during the periodof April-August, 2020.

During this period, EPFO has settled around32% more claims as compared tocorresponding period of last year (April-August, 2019) while the amount disbursedincreased by around 13%.

Union Education Minister E-inaugurates newlycompleted projects at Central University ofJammu Union Education Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal

‘Nishank’, e-inaugurated (Lokaarpan) threeprojects recently completed at CentralUniversity of Jammu.

The projects inaugurated are Dr.Syama PrasadMookerjee Hostel, Pandit Premnath DograGuest House and Brigadier Rajendra SinghRoad.

Union Health Ministry’s ‘eSanjeevani’telemedicine service records 3 lakh tele-consultations ‘eSanjeevani’ telemedicine service, the

platform of the Health Ministry providing tele-consultations, has completed 3 lakh tele-consultations.

The platform has registered double thatnumber of consultations within a month sincethen.

Highlights: One lakh of these tele-consultations was held

in the last 20 days. The platform had completed the first 1,00,000

consultations on 23 July 2020, and thesubsequent 1,00,000 on 18 August 2020 withina span of 26 days.

eSanjeevani platform supports two types oftelemedicine services viz. Doctor-to-Doctor(eSanjeevani) and Patient-to-Doctor(eSanjeevani OPD) Tele-consultations.

It aims to implement tele-consultation in all the1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres in a‘Hub and Spoke’ model, by December 2022.

States need to identify and set up dedicated‘Hubs’ in Medical Colleges and Districthospitals to provide tele-consultation servicesto ‘Spokes’, i.e SHCs and PHCs.

Country’s 2nd, South India’s first Kisan Trainflagged off The country’s second and South India’s first

Kisan Train was flagged off.Highlights: The train started at 11 A.M. and it will

transport material from Anantapur in AndhraPradesh to Adarsh Nagar Railway Station inDelhi.

Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar, Minister of State forRailways Suresh C. Angadi and Chief Ministerof Andhra Pradesh Jaganmohan Reddy flaggedof the train through video link.

The Kisan Rail will play a big role in doublingthe farmers’ income by 2022.

Kisan Rail was announced in the UnionBudget, for transportation of Agri Products.

The first Kisan train was flagged off on 7th ofAugust this year and the train is runningbetween Maharashtra’s Devlali and Bihar’sDanapur Railway Station.

CIPET to establish two new Centres for Skillingand Technical Support at Bhagalpur &Varanasi Central Institute of Petrochemicals

Engineering & Technology (CIPET) under theMinistry of Chemicals and Fertilizers will beshortly establishing two new Centres forSkilling and Technical Support- CSTS atBhagalpur (Bihar) and Varanasi (UP).

35


Page |

Technical Support Services offered by thesecentres will act as a catalyst for developmentand growth of new and existing industries inthe region.

Home Ministry grants FCRA registration toGolden Temple The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has

approved registration of the Sri HarmandirSahib under the Foreign Contribution(Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010 on 9September 2020.

Sri Harmandir Sahib is famous as GoldenTemple in Amritsar.

The registration under FCRA 2010 will allowthe Golden Temple to receive foreign funds.

The FCRA registration will be valid for aperiod of five years.

The funds received from global contributorswill be used for shrine activities besidesproviding financial assistance to the poor,medical assistance to the needy and organiselangars (free community kitchens).

Atal Innovation Mission LaunchesAatmanirbhar Bharat ARISE-ANIC Initiative Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog

has launched the Aatmanirbhar Bharat ARISE-Atal New India Challenges to foster innovationin Indian MSMEs and startups.

The programme will support research-basedinnovations by providing funding support toMSMEs and startups up to Rs 50 lakh.

The programme will be driven by AtalInnovation Mission (AIM) along with IndianSpace Research Organization (ISRO) and fourGovernment Ministries– Ministry of Defence;Ministry of Food Processing Industries;Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; andMinistry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Gadkari approves proposal to constructMunger-Bhagalpur-Tirpety-Kahalgaon concreteroad on NH80 in Bihar Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin

Gadkari has approved a proposal to constructthe 120 kilometre Munger-Bhagalpur-Tirpety-Kahalgaon concrete road on national highway80 in Bihar.

This will be a 2-lane road with pavedshoulders, which will also be 4-lane wide atcertain stretches.

Mr Gadkari has directed officials to beginwork on this road within next three months.

He also ordered release of 20 crore rupees forimmediate repair works on this section.

Poshan Mela organised at Tai Suru by ICDS inKargil In Kargil Ladakh, a unique sensitisation

programme Poshan Mela was organised at TaiSuru by ICDS with display of Local Food

Items by the Child Development Project OfficeTai Suru.

The Poshan Mela was inaugurated byCouncillor LAHDC Tai Suru Aga SyedAbassRazvi.

He also flagged off two PoshanVahans whichwill sensitise the people of Tai Suru withObjectives of PoshanMaah.

PM Modi to participate in ‘GrihaPravesh’ceremony virtually Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate

in ‘GrihaPravesh’ ceremony and virtuallyinaugurate 1.75 lakh houses in MadhyaPradesh.

Mr Modi will also talk to some of thebeneficiaries.

The house of Subhash and Sushila of Urdanvillage of Betul district of MP has beencompleted recently under the Pradhan MantriAwas Yojana.

PM Modi launches projects worth over ₹20,000cr in Bihar Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday

launched fisheries and animal husbandryprojects worth more than Rs.20,000 crore inBihar, which goes to polls later this year.

The projects launched virtually by Modi, whogave the slogan Jai Kisan (farmers), Jai Vigyan(science), Jai Anusandhan (research), includedthe Rs. 20,050 crore scheme Pradhan MantriMatsyaSampada Yojana (PMMSY) and the e-Gopala mobile app.

The PMMSY scheme, which is part of theRs.20 trillion stimulus package announcedearlier this year, aims to improve availabilityof certified quality fish seed and feed, createcritical infrastructure, including modernizationand strengthening of value chains to create jobopportunities for nearly 1.5 million.

Amit Shah e-launches development projectsworth Rs 221 crore in Ahmedabad Home Minister Amit Shah e-dedicated and e-

launched development projects worth Rs 221crore in Ahmedabad district.

electricity consumption, industrial production,exports and startup statistics show that Gujaratis in the forefront in the nation in returning tonormalcy during the Unlock.

Gujarat has set a unique example for how toreturn to normal life with people’s cooperation.

The works e-dedicated by Union HomeMinister include Rs 130.91 crore pipelinenetwork to carry water from VaishnavdeviCircle to Shantipuraand Sarkhej along RingRoad, Rs 15 crore new water distributionstation near APMC Yard in south-west zone,Rs 24.99 crore water distribution station nearMakarba Police Lines in Sarkhej ward and Rs5.26 crore Chharodi village lake.

36


| Page

Other works include 240 housing units underBavlaNagarpalika under Pradhan MantriAwasYojna at the cost of Rs 17 crore.

PM Modi to dedicate to nation three keyprojects related to Petroleum sector Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to

the nation three key projects related to thePetroleum sector in Bihar through videoconferencing.

The projects include the Durgapur-Bankasection of the Paradip-Haldia-DurgapurPipeline Augmentation Project and two LPGBottling Plants.

They have been commissioned by Indian Oiland Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited-HPCL, under the aegis of the Ministry ofPetroleum and Natural Gas.

The 193 kilometer long Durgapur-Bankapipeline section is a part of the Paradip-Haldia-Durgapur Pipeline Augmentation Project, forwhich the foundation stone was laid by thePrime Minister on 17th February 2019.

Durgapur-Banka section is the extension of theexisting 679 Kilometer long Paradip-Haldia-Durgapur LPG pipeline to the new LPGbottling plant at Banka in Bihar.

Central govt pensioners can submit lifecertificate from Nov 1 to Dec 31 All Central Government pensioners can submit

Life Certificate from 1st November, 2020 to31st December 2020.

Earlier this used to be only for the month ofNovember for maintaining continuity ofPension. However, the pensioners in the agegroup of 80 years and above, can submit LifeCertificate from 1st October, 2020 to 31stDecember, 2020.

Every Central Government pensioner has tosubmit life certificate in the month ofNovember for further continuation of theirpension.

Centre launches Climate Smart CitiesAssessment Framework along with ‘Streets forPeople Challenge’ Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep

Singh Puri launched the Climate Smart CitiesAssessment Framework, CSCAF 2.0, alongwith the ‘Streets for People Challenge’ in avirtual event.

The objective of CSCAF is to provide a clearroadmap for cities towards combating ClimateChange while planning and implementing theiractions, including investments.

CSCAF initiative intends to inculcate aclimate-sensitive approach to urban planningand development in India.

The Streets for People Challenge is theresponse to the need for making the cities morewalkable and pedestrian friendly.

The Challenge will support cities across thecountry to develop a unified vision of streetsfor people in consultation with stakeholdersand citizens.

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh virtually laysfoundation stone of Arun Jaitley MemorialSports Complex in Jammu The Union Minister of State, Development of

North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr JitendraSingh along with Youth Affairs & SportsMinister Kiren Rijiju and Jammu and KashmirLieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha laid thefoundation stone for the construction of ArunJaitley Memorial Sports Complex at Hiranagar,in Kathua district of Jammu & Kashmirthrough video conferencing on 12 September2020.

Arun Jaitley Memorial Sports Complex willspread over 270 kanals of land and is beingundertaken under the Prime Minister’sDevelopment Package (PMDP) at an estimatedcost of Rs.58.23 crore.

The State of Art Sports Complex will be firstof its kind sports complex in the NorthernRegion, having multiple sports facilities ofinternational and national standards in oneplace.

It will boost the overall Sports Infrastructure inthe UT of Jammu & Kashmir.

Government bans export of onions withimmediate effect The Union Government on September 14,

2020 banned the export of onions withimmediate effect.

The order bans export of all varieties of onionsexcept cut, sliced onions or onions broken inpowder form.

The ban also covers Bangalore Rose onionsand Krishnapuram onions, which were free forexport till now.

A notification was issued in this regard by theDirectorate General of Foreign Trade under theUnion Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Govt dismisses media report claiming ban onprocess of new recruitment Union Government has dismissed a media

report claiming that process of new recruitmenthas been banned.

Press Information Bureau said in a tweet thatthe claim is misleading.

recruitment will continue normally throughgovernment agencies like Staff SelectionCommission and Union Public ServiceCommission.

BJP launches week-long ‘ SevaSaptah’ to markPM Modi’s 70th birthday BJP has launched a week-long campaign

namely SevaSaptah to mark the 70th birthday

37


Page |

of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which fallson 17th this month.

Various social initiatives are being undertakenby the party leaders and workers across thecountry.

Party national president J P Nadda launchedthe campaign at Chhaprauli village in UttarPradesh’s Gautam Buddh Nagar district.

Bills Introduced in Lok Sabha to Transform theAgriculture Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’

Welfare, Rural Development & PanchayatiRaj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar introduced –The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection)Agreement of Price Assurance and FarmServices Bill, 2020 and the Minister of Statefor Consumer Affairs, Food & PublicDistribution, Shri Raosaheb Patil Danveintroduced The Essential Commodities(Amendment) Bill, 2020 in the Lok Sabha onSeptember 14, 2020.

The bills are aimed at transforming theagriculture besides raising farmers’ income

MoHUA launches Climate Smart CitiesAssessment Framework (CSCAF 2.0) The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

(MoHUA) has launched the Climate SmartCities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) 2.0.

Objective: To provide a clear roadmap forcities towards combating Climate Changewhile planning and implementing their actions,including investments.

The initiative was launched by Hardeep SinghPuri, Minister of State (Independent Charge)for Housing and Urban Affairs on 11September in a virtual event organised by theSmart Cities Mission.

The framework comprise of 28 indicatorsacross five categories.

They are: Energy and Green Buildings, Urban Planning, Green Cover and

Biodiversity, Mobility and Air Quality, Water Management and Waste Management. The CSCAF 2.0 initiative will be implemented

by the MoHUA, with support from the ClimateCentre for Cities under National Institute ofUrban Affairs (NIUA).

CSCAF initiative will inculcate a climate-sensitive approach to urban planning anddevelopment in India.

Centre decided to corporatize the OrdnanceFactory Board The government has recently decided to

corporatize the Ordnance Factory Board(OFB).

It means converting a subordinate office ofMinistry of Defence (MoD) into 100 per centGovernment owned corporate entities.

For this purpose, Government has created anEmpowered Group of Ministers (EGoM), thatwill be chaired by Raksha Mantri Shri RajnathSingh.

EGoM will oversee and guide the entireprocess including the transition support andredeployment plan of employees.=

India will be self-reliant in production offertilizers by 2023 Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister DV

Sadananda Gowda has said that India will beself-reliant in the production of fertilizers by2023.

Under AtmaNirbhar Bharat programme newfertilizer manufacturing units are being setupwith an investment of 40 thousand crore rupeesin the country to reduce dependency on import.

The Ministry is encouraging the production oforganic and Nano fertilizers in the country asthey are 25 to 30 per cent cheaper and give 18to 35 per cent higher yield.

Govt urges seven big states to ensure adequateoxygen availability in all healthcare facilities Government has urged seven big states to

ensure adequate Oxygen availability in allHealthcare Facilities. These States areMaharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,Telangana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and MadhyaPradesh.

Union Health Ministry held a virtual meetingin this regard.

The aim of the meeting was to ensure adequateOxygen availability in all healthcare facilitiesin these States and unrestricted intra as well asinter State movement of oxygen.

The States were specifically advised to ensurehospital wise oxygen inventory managementand advance planning for timely replenishmentso that there are no stockout.

They have been also asked to ensure that norestriction is imposed on the movement ofMedical Oxygen between States and UnionTerritories.

Thaawarchand Gehlot launched 24×7 toll-freeMental Health Rehabilitation Helpline KIRAN Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister for

Social Justice and Empowerment virtuallylaunched the 24×7 Toll-Free Mental HealthRehabilitation Helpline “KIRAN” (1800-500-0019).

The aim is to provide relief and support topersons with Mental Illness.

The movement comes due to the growingincidence of Mental Illness, particularly in thewake of COVID-19 Pandemic.

38


| Page

Gehlot also released the poster, brochure, andresource book on the Helpline.

Toll Free Helpline: Toll Free Helpline will be operational 24 hours

a day, 7 days a week with the TechnicalCoordination of BSNL.

A total of 25 Institutions including 8 NationalInstitutes are involved in this Helpline.

The Toll-Free Helpline is backed by 660Clinical/Rehabilitation Psychologists and 668Psychiatrists.

The 13 languages covered in the Helpline areAssamese, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi,Malayalam, Odia, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi,Kannada, Bengali, and Urdu.

Vice President suggests to include milk in Mid-day Meal Scheme The Vice President, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu

has suggested that milk can be given either aspart of breakfast or the mid-day meal.

This will improve the nutritional levels ofchildren.

Mid-day meal scheme The Mid-day Meal Scheme is a meal

programme that has been formulated for takingcare of the nutrition among the of school-agechildren countrywide.

It supplies free lunch for children in primaryand upper primary classes in government andgovernment aided centres.

Mid-Day Meal Programme was firstintroduced for disadvantaged children inMadras Municipal Corporation in 1925.

Government releases draft guidelines for ads The Consumer Affairs Ministry has come out

with a comprehensive set of draft guidelines onadvertising.

The guideline says, disclaimers in small fontand which are not factual will be treated asmisleading ads.

The code has been drafted by the CentralConsumer Protection Authority (CCPA) underthe Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

It is aimed at curbing unfair trade. It holds manufacturers, service providers, and

advertising agencies accountable for anymisleading claims.

Railway Ministry to run 80 new passengers’trains from September 12 The Chairman of the Railway Board, Vinod

Kumar Yadav has informed that IndianRailways will run 80 new special passengertrains from September 12, 2020.

The Railway Board also mentioned that thepassengers can start booking reservations inthe new trains from September 10.

These trains will be in addition to 230 trainsthat are already in operation.

Centre approved Khadi AgarbattiAatmanirbhar Mission Union Minister for MSME, Shri Nitin Gadkari

approved Khadi AgarbattiAatmanirbharMission.

It is a unique employment generation programproposed by Khadi and Village IndustriesCommission (KVIC).

It will India Aatmanirbhar in Agarbattiproduction.

Khadi AgarbattiAatmanirbhar Mission It aims at creating employment for

unemployed and migrant workers in differentparts of the country and increasing domesticAgarbatti production substantially.

The scheme designed by KVIC on Public–private partnership (PPP) mode.

It requires a very less investment. It will help private Agarbatti manufacturers to

scale up Agarbatti production without anycapital investment by them.

Govt announces 3rd phase of ‘Back to Village’programme from October 2 to 12 in J&K In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,

the government announced the third phase ofambitious Back to Village (B2V) programmefrom October 2 to 12, this year.

The announcement was made by PrincipalSecretary, Power Development andInformation Departments, Rohit Kansal.

The Phase-I of B2V was an introductory andinteractive programme to understand thepeople’s grievances and demands.

While Phase-II focused on the devolution ofpowers to panchayats and tried to understandhow these panchayats are functioning and whatare the grievances and demands.

Government goes digital, stops printing ofdiaries, calendars and greeting cards The Union Government on September 2, 2020

asked all ministries and departments to stopprinting wall calendars, diaries, desktopcalendars and greeting cards in their physicalforms to encourage shift to digital platform.

The Ministry of Finance issued a statementsaying that there will be no activity of printingof wall calendars, desktop calendars, diariesand other such materials for use by anyministry, department, public sector companies,state-run banks or other organs of thegovernment in the coming year.

Government asks Major Ports to use locallybuilt Tug Boats The government has asked all major ports to

procure or charter tug boats that are made inIndia to revive the Indian shipbuildingindustry.

The proposal has been initiated by TheMinistry of Shipping

39


Page |

Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya calledit as a step towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Shipping’under the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ drive.

The all procurement being done by major portswill now be carried out as per the revised‘Make in India’ order

Move is aimed at promoting Indianshipbuilding industry and for “Make in Indiashipbuilding”.

CII to create a ‘National strategy for futurebusiness’ along with DPIIT Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will

create a ‘national strategy for futurebusinesses’ together with the Department forPromotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT).

The group will also provide policy inputs,identify new growth segments and establishinternational partnerships with a focus ongrowing such businesses.

CII also suggested that the government shouldinvite other nations to participate. Seniorbusiness leaders were called upon to becomementors, not only to their own family orbusinesses but also to the new age & youngentrepreneurs.

Sikkim & Delhi paired for cultural exchangesunder Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat programme Sikkim is paired with Delhi under Ek Bharat

Shresht Bharat for promoting greater mutualunderstanding amongst them.

The Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat programmeaims to actively enhance interaction betweenpeople of diverse cultures living in differentStates and Union Territories in India.

Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme: Goapaired with Jharkhand Under Ek Bharat Shresht Bharat, Goa is paired

with Jharkhand. Lot of exchange activities arehappening on this front.

Lokotsav programmes held earlier in Goa inPanaji evoked good response. Stalls ofJharkhand displayed delicacies from that stateand Goans enjoyed savouring the same.

Folk dances presented by Jharkhand artistesalso were appreciated by Goan artistes. LaterGoan artistes also visited Jharkhand andpresented Goan folk dances

India’s First Regional Voters’ Awareness Centreto Come Up in Jaipur Election Commission of India (ECI) will set up

the country’s first regional voters’ awarenesscentre in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

It will cater to four states — Rajasthan,Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

The centre will carry out various awarenessactivities under the Systematic Voters’Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP)

programme. Sunil Arora is the present ChiefElection Commissioner.

New Cabinet approvals The Union Cabinet headed by the Prime

Minister Narendra Modi approved thefollowing:

MoU between India and Finland – forcooperation in the field of Geology andMineral Resources.

The MoU will enhance the cooperation in thefield of geology and mineral resources betweenthe Geological Survey of India (GSI), Ministryof Mines, the Government of India (GoI), andGeological Survey of Finland, Ministry ofEmployment and the Economy, Finland.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signedbetween Textiles Committee, India, and M/sNissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan.

The MoU was aimed to improve the qualityand testing of Indian textiles and Clothing forthe Japanese market.

Union Cabinet approves J&K official languagesBill 2020 The Union Cabinet has approved J&K official

languages Bill 2020. According to the J&Kofficial languages Bill 2020, Kashmiri, Dogriand Hindi along with Urdu and English, willbe the official languages in the union territoryof Jammu and Kashmir.

The J&K official languages Bill 2020 will beintroduced in Parliament in the upcomingMonsoon Session.

This bill will include Dogri, Hindi andKashmiri as officials’ languages of the UnionTerritory.

Ladakh, Lakshadweep joins ‘One Nation-OneRation Card’ scheme The Union Territories (UTs) Ladakh &

Lakshadweep have been included in the ‘OneNation-One Ration Card’ scheme on‘Integrated Management of Public DistributionSystem’(IM-PDS).

After the integration of these two UTs, a totalof 26 States /UTs Connected with the Schemeand will benefit about 65 crore people. UnionMinister of Consumer Affairs, Food & PublicDistribution, Ram Vilas Paswan has recentlyapproved the integration of Ladakh andLakshadweep with the scheme in a reviewmeeting chaired by him.

Defence Minister embarks on 3-day visit toRussia Defence Minister Rajnath Singh embarked on

a three-day visit to Russia on September 2,2020.

Singh will be attending the combined meetingof Defence Ministers of the ShanghaiCooperation Organisation (SCO), Collective

40


| Page

Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) & CISmembers during his visit.

The combined meeting of the DefenceMinisters of the eight SCO member nations isbeing held to commemorate the 75thAnniversary of victory in World War II.

Jal Shakti Ministry launched ‘Water Heroes’Contest The Department of Water Resources, River

Development and Ganga Rejuvenation,Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched the ‘WaterHeroes – Share Your Stories’ Contest.

It aims to reach out to people on the importantsubject of water conservation andmanagement.

The contest hopes to encourage people andcollect best practices in water conservationfrom across the country.

For the contest, every month (from Septemberonward), entries would be invited for theawards.

A maximum of 10 entries can be consideredfor the awards every month. All selectedentries will be awarded a cash prize of Rs10,000 and a certificate

Dept of Fertilizers to observe SwachhtaPakhwada from 1-15th September Union Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of

Chemicals and Fertilizers, is observingSwachhtaPakhwada from 1st to 15thSeptember 2020.

All Public sector undertakings (PSUs) andother Organizations under the Department areparticipating in the Swachhta Abhiyan.

SwachhtaPakhwada initiative was launched tobring a fortnight of intense focus on the issuesand the practices of Swachhata by engagingthe Government of IndiaMinistries/Departments in their jurisdictions.

The Ministries/ Departments observingSwachhataPakhwada are monitored closelywith the help of the online monitoring systemof Swachhata Samiksha.

India to achieve 100 MT coal gasification targetby 2030 year Government of India is aiming for 100 million

tonnes (MT) coal gasification by 2030. The announcement was made by Pralhad Joshi,

Union Minister of Coal and Mines at a webinarorganized by the Ministry of Coal (MoC) inNew Delhi.

To achieve the target, Centre is to invest overRs.4 lakh crores.

The aim of the revised target is to boost theproduction of synthetic natural gas, energyfuel, urea for fertilizers, and the production ofother chemicals.

Centre launches pan-India GTAM in electricityto make Indian Power Market go Green

The Minister of State (IC) Power and New &Renewable Energy & Minister of State (SkillDevelopment and Entrepreneurship), Shri R.K. Singh, launched pan-India Green TermAhead Market (GTAM) in electricity throughvideo conference in New Delhi on 01September 2020.

The GTAM platform is the first Exclusiveproduct for the renewable energy sector in theworld and is a step towards Greening theIndian short term power Market.

The market would bring down the burden onRenewable Energy (RE) rich States andincentivize them to develop RE capacitybeyond their own Renewable PurchaseObligations (RPO).

Green Term Ahead Market contracts will allowadditional avenues to the RE generators for thesale of renewable energy; enable Obligatedentities to procure renewable power atcompetitive prices to meet their RPO andprovide a platform to environmentallyconscious open access consumers and utilitiesto buy green power.

This initiative will also help the Governmentof India to achieve its target of 175 GW RECapacity by 2022.

Govt. gives nod to 27 integrated cold chaindevelopment projects under PM KisanSAMPADA Yojana Government gave its nod to 27 projects today

under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADAYojana for development of integrated coldchains and value addition infrastructure in thecountry.

The new integrated cold chain projects willgenerate direct and indirect employment forover 16,000 people and benefit nearly 2,57,000farmers.

The projects will help in streamlining theagricultural supply chain and generate directand indirect employment opportunities in ruralareas.

These 27 new projects will leverage a totalinvestment of Rs 743 crore for the creation ofmodern, innovative infrastructure and effectivecold chain facilities for the food processingsector across various states including AndhraPradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka,Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

85 Cold Chain Projects have also beenconsidered for financial assistance under thePradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana.

Coal India to invest over Rs 1.22 lakh crore on500 projects by 2023-24 Coal India Ltd (CIL) will invest over 1.22 lakh

crore rupees on development of nearly 500projects related to coal evacuation,

41


Page |

infrastructure, project development,exploration and clean coal technologies in thecountry.

The investment aims at making India self-reliant in terms of coal and achieve theproduction target of 1 billion tonnes by 2023-2024.

India plans to release forensic accounting andinvestigation standards Indian government plans on coming up with

forensic accounting and investigation standards(FAIS) as it aims at setting the basic qualityparameters for conducting investigations.

A committee has been constituted by TheInstitute of Chartered Accountant of India(ICAI) to deliberate on FAIS, which can beexpected to be framed by the end of 2020.

Atul Kumar Gupta, President of the CharteredAccountants body informed during a virtualconference.

September to be observed as ‘Nutrition Month’:PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced

that the month of September will be observedas “Nutrition Month” in the entire nation.

PM made this announcement during hismonthly “Mann kiBaat” radio programme on30 August 2020.

During nutrition month, a food and nutritionquiz will be organized on MyGov portal andthere will be a meme competition.

PM Modi has appealed to the public toparticipate and motivate others too to take partin it.

Water Projects Worth Rs 10,000 CroreSanctioned for Bundelkhand Region Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the

government is committed to the developmentof drought-prone Bundelkhand region andaround 500 projects worth over Rs 10,000crore have been sanctioned for improvingwater availability.

Both the Centre and the UP government arecommitted towards development ofBundelkhand region and restore its historicidentity and past glory.

Besides water projects, thousands of croresworth of projects is being implemented in thisregion, including Bundelkhand Expresswayand Defence Corridor, that will create jobopportunities.

CM Yediyurappa flags off First RORO Trainfrom Bengaluru to Solapur Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa

flagged off the first ever Roll-On/Roll-Off(RO-RO) train between Bengaluru(Nelamangala) to Solapur (Maharashtra)through video conferencing.

The RORO train will transport goods from thePeenya industrial area.

Each truck will be loaded with 30 tonnes ofcargo.

It will cover a distance of 682 km, viaDharmavaram, Guntakal, Raichur, and Wadi toreach Bale near Solapur in Maharashtra.

RORO is a concept of carrying road vehiclesloaded with various commodities on open flatrailway wagons.

“MEDBOT” medical trolley developed byIndian Railways Indian Railways has developed a remote-

controlled medical trolley named ‘MEDBOT’to help deliver food and medicines to COVID-19 patients.

During Corona crisis, apart from providingtransport facilities and essential items like foodgrains to people, Indian Railways has alsoprovided facilities for COVID-19 patients.

It is providing service in the Central Hospitalof the Diesel Rail Engine Factory of IndianRailways.

Regular International commercial flightoperations to remain suspended till September30 The international scheduled commercial flight

operations will remain suspended tillSeptember 30, 2020, as per the latest order bythe Director General of Civil Aviation(DGCA).

All scheduled international commercial flightoperations were suspended on March 22, 2020,when Janata Curfew was announced to containthe spread of coronavirus. The flights haveremained suspended ever since due to thepandemic.

Air India’s privatization process to becompleted within 2020 The Union Civil Aviation Minister, HS Puri on

August 30, 2020, informed that he is hopefulof completing Air India’s Privatization processwithin 2020.

The government has now initiated the processof divesting its share from Air India airlinesand is now looking for suitable bidders.

Qutub Minar lights up to celebrate solidaritymovement Marking 40th anniversary of the creation of

Solidarity movement, Embassy of Poland andPolish Institute in Delhi illuminated QutubMinar in Poland’s national flag colours, whiteand red.

Parliament’s Monsoon Session from September14 Parliament’s Monsoon Session was held from

September 14 to October 1, 2020 amidCOVID-19 pandemic.

42


| Page

The session will be held with strict observancewith health safety norms including socialdistancing and wearing of masks.

The session will continue till October 1“subject to exigencies of business”.

Ministry of Shipping launches ‘SAROD-Ports’for disputes of maritime sector

Ministry of Shipping has launched theSAROD-Ports’ (Society for AffordableRedressal of Disputes – Ports) which is aDispute Redressal Mechanism for all kind ofdisputes of the maritime sector.

The launch was done virtually by UnionMinister of State for Shipping (I/C) ShriMansukh Mandaviya.

RECENT GOVT.DEVELOPMENTSCHEMESPrime Minister Narendra Modi launch PradhanMantri MatsyaSampada Yojana Prime Minister Narendra Modi will digitally

launch Pradhan Mantri MatsyaSampadaYojana.

He is also going to launch e-Gopalaapplication.

The scheme will be launched for sustainabledevelopment of fisheries in India. It is going tobe implemented between 2020-21 and 2024-25. Under the scheme, total funds allocationsto the fisheries sector is Rs 20,050 crores.

Features of the scheme The scheme will be a boost to double the

income of fish farmers. It is aimed at increasing the fish production to

70 lakh tonnes by 2024-25. This is going to reduce the post-harvest losses

of fisheries sector to 10%. It will also generate 55 lakhs direct and

indirect employment in this sector.

The scheme will also establish finfishhatcheries, biofloc ponds, ornamental fishculture units, ice plants, cages and fish feedplants.

Cabinet approved Mission Karmayogi The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime

Minister Narendra Modi has approved thelaunch of “Mission Karmayogi”, a NationalProgramme for Civil Services CapacityBuilding (NPCSCB).

Mission Karmayogi is aimed to prepare theIndian Civil Servant for the future by makingthem more constructive, imaginative, creative,innovative, proactive, progressive,professional, energetic, transparent, andtechnology-enabled.

Highlights: The Capacity Building Commission was aimed

to ensure a uniform approach in regulating andmanaging the capacity building ecosystem on acollaborative and co-sharing basis.

The commission will assist the PM PublicHuman Resources Council in approving theAnnual Capacity Building Plans.

The commission will also coordinate andsupervise the implementation of the CapacityBuilding Plans with the stakeholderDepartments.

It will also exercise functional supervision overall Central Training Institutions dealing withcivil services capacity building.

It will make recommendations on thestandardization of training and capacitybuilding, pedagogy, and methodology.

43


Page |

The Capacity Building Commission will setnorms for common mid-career trainingprograms across all civil services.

The Capacity Building Commission suggestspolicy interventions required in the areas ofHR Management and Capacity Building to theGovernment.

iGOT-Karmayogi platform:

Mission Karmayogi will be delivered bysetting up an (Integrated Government OnlineTraining) iGOTKarmayogiPlatform.

The platform will evolve into a world-classmarket place for content were carefully curatedand vetted digital e-learning material will bemade available.

AGREEMENTS& MOU’SLiberty General Insurance Partners with SpiceJet toOffer Travel Insurance Mumbai-based Liberty General Insurance has

partnered with SpiceJet to offer Liberty SecureTravel’ an insurance policy to consumers whobook airline travel through SpiceJet’s websiteand mobile site.

Applicable across SpiceJet’s domesticnetwork, Liberty’s new zero-cancellationservice offered under the Liberty Secure TravelPolicy allows Passengers can claim a fullcancellation-fee reimbursement for a flight-booking made in advance not beyond 90 days.

Odisha Govt signed MoU with NCDC forPromotion and Management of FarmerProducer Organisation An MoU has been signed between the

Government of Odisha and the National Co-

operative Development Corporation (NCDC)at Krushi Bhawan for the promotion andmanagement of Farmer Producer Organisation(FPO).

This MoU is based on Farmers ProducerOrganisation (FPO) Promotion andManagement with central sector scheme.

Under this Central scheme, NCCD will beformed Farmer Producer Organisation (FPOs)and will impart training, proper guidance to thesmall and marginal farmers of Odisha to facevarious challenges in production, technicalknowhow, quality of production, optimumprice realisation, credit, seed production,processing, utilisation and marketing.

ADB, Suguna Sign $15 Million Deal to SustainRural Livelihoods in India During Pandemic The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has

signed an agreement for $15 million withSuguna Foods Private Limited (Suguna) tohelp sustain poultry farming operations, aswell as rural livelihoods and food security inIndia during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

ADB’s assistance will provide essentialliquidity support to Suguna’s operations during

44


| Page

this COVID-19 crisis, help the company buildinventory buffers and make timely payments tocontract farmers and suppliers.

Rajasthan Partners with SIDBI to developMSMEs Industries Minister Parsadi Lal Meena said that

Rajasthan’s Department of Industries and Sidbipartnered on September 12, 2020 to providefinancial, technical, marketing and exportsupport to Micro, Small and MediumEnterprises (MSMEs) in the state.

India, U.S. and Israel collaborating in 5G tech India, Israel and the United States have begun

collaboration in developmental area, and innext generation of emerging technologies,including a transparent, open, reliable andsecure 5G communication network.

It was announced at the virtual US-India-Israelsummit that focused on trilateral partnershipsin the strategic, technology and developmentarenas.

The branching out of this trilateral initiative indevelopment and technological arena is a resultof the people-to-people collaboration, inparticular those by Indian diaspora in the USand Israel, that was initiated by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi during his historic visit toIsrael three years ago in July 2017.

India and US review progress in bilateral ties indefence, security and foreign policy areas India and the United States held a bilateral 22

Inter-sessional meeting at the official level invirtual mode.

Both sides reviewed the progress anddevelopments in bilateral ties in defence,security, and foreign policy areas since the last22 Ministerial meeting held on 18th Decemberlast year in Washington DC.

They explored opportunities for enhancingongoing cooperation in these fields based onmutual interest.

They also exchanged views about regionaldevelopments and agreed to pursue their questfor a free, open, inclusive, peaceful andprosperous Indo-Pacific.

ADB, ENGIE sign Rs.466-crore loan fordeveloping solar project in Gujarat The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and

France’s ENGIE group have signed a long-term loan of up to Rs. 466 crore for setting upa 200-MW solar power project in Gujarat.

Electro Solaire Private Limited (ESPL), aspecial purpose vehicle owned by the ENGIEgroup, will implement the project.

ESPL is collaborating with the Gujaratgovernment to construct the project and hassigned a power purchase agreement for 25years with the State government.

Microsoft joins Nasscom to skill 10 lakhstudents in AI by 2021 Microsoft joined hands with industry-driven

learning ecosystem NasscomFutureSkills tolaunch a nation-wide initiative that aims toskill 10 lakh students in Artificial Intelligence(AI) by 2021.

This initiative called “AI Classroom Series”will be paced in three modules.

The online classes will include live demos,hands-on workshops and assignments throughself-learning, virtual instructor-led training,and mentoring.

The partnership with NasscomFutureSkills isan extension of Microsoft’s global skillinginitiative to help 25 million people worldwideacquire new digital skills, needed to thrive in adigital economy.

IIT Roorkee signs MoU with OUAT forcooperation in agricultural research andeducation IIT Roorkee signs MoU with OUAT for

cooperation in agricultural research andeducation. Indian Institute of TechnologyRoorkee (IIT-R) has signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) with Odisha Universityof Agriculture and Technology (OUAT),Bhubaneshwar.

Objective: to generate frontier technologiesand produce quality manpower in the field ofagricultural research and education foraddressing the challenges faced by the ruralcommunities and improving their quality oflife.

The MoU was signed by Prof Ajit KChaturvedi, Director, on behalf of IIT Roorkeeand Dr Pawan Kumar Agrawal, Vice-Chancellor, OUAT.

The MOU empowers both institutions toestablish mutual relations between theirscientific and technical divisions and to set upfacilities for the exchange and properplacement of scientific technologists andexperts.

Vedanta Tied Up with SBI for Long TermSyndicated Loan of Rs.10000 Crore Vedanta announced it tie up for a long-term

syndicated loan facility for Rs.10000 crorewith State bank of India (SBI).

This loan increases the average debt maturityprofile of Vedanta limited and also improvesthe liquidity ratios as the near-term maturitiesare replaced by a long-term loan.

India, France discuss to provide Mission Alpha-like equipment for Gaganyaan Mission India and France are in discussions to provide

Mission Alpha-like equipment to astronautsinvolved in the ‘Gaganyaan’ mission.

45


Page |

As per the National Centre for Space Studies(CNES) of France, the discussions are in thefinal stage.

Mission Alpha is the name of FrenchAstronaut Thomas Pesquet’s mission whereinhe will be sent to International Space Station(ISS) on Crew Dragon spacecraft next year.

Federal Bank partnered with Innoviti to provideAffordable Options of Federal Bank DebitCards Federal Bank partnered with Innoviti to

provide Affordable Options of Federal BankDebit Cards through Innoviti Point of Sale(POS)terminals.

Through this partnership customers can accessthe credit, which can be repaid in convenientEquated Monthly Installments (EMIs) throughtheir Federal Bank Debit Card.

MoU between India and Japan on cooperationin Textiles The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime

Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU)between Textiles Committee, India and M/sNissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japanfor improving quality and testing of Indiantextiles and Clothing for the Japanese market.

The MoU would enable Japan in assigningTextile Committee as their cooperative Testingand Inspection service providers in India forTextiles & Apparel products includingTechnical Textiles and any other products forboth domestic and overseas buyers.

In US, Amazon granted approval to deliverpackages by drones The Federal Aviation Administration has

granted Amazon approval to deliver packagesby drones.

The online shopping giant has been workingon drone delivery for years.

Amazon unveiled self-piloting drones that arefully electric in 2019 which can carry 5 poundsof goods and are designed to deliver items in30 minutes by dropping them in a backyard.

India, Russia finalise deal to manufacture AK-47 203 Rifles India and Russia on September 3, 2020

finalised a deal to manufacture AK-47 203rifles in India.

The deal was finalised during the ongoing visitof Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Russia.

The AK-47 203 Rifles will be made in Indiaunder the joint venture Indo-Russia RiflesPrivate Limited (IRRPL), which wasestablished between the Ordnance FactoryBoard (OFB), Rosoboronexport and theKalashnikov Concern.

The OFB will own around 50.5% majoritystake in IRRPL, Kalashnikov Group will own

42% and Rosoboronexport will own 7.5%stake.

The AK-47 203 Rifle of 7.62×39 mm will bemanufactured at Uttar Pradesh’s KorwaOrdnance Factory that was inaugurated by PMModi in 2019.

Andhra Pradesh signs MoU with CSIR-IICT onBulk Drug Park The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure

Corporation Ltd (APIIC) has entered into aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) withCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research –Indian Institute of Chemical Technology(CSIR-IICT) as a step forward in the directionof setting up a Bulk Drug Park (BDP) under ascheme by the Ministry of Chemicals andFertilisers, Department of Pharmaceuticals

The objective of the MoU is to develop acollaborative partnership between the Stategovernment and CSIR-IICT to establish BulkDrug Pharma park in the State

It seeks financial support from the Centre.Rajasthan government signed a MoU withShriVallabhPittie (SVP) International Group Rajasthan government signed a Memorandum

of Understanding (MoU) withShriVallabhPittie (SVP) International Group todevelop projects for textile, defence andaerospace.

Through this MoU, SVP will invest Rs 4000crore for the projects, which will createemployment opportunities for about 4000people.

SIDBI, Maharashtra Govt Inked Pact toDevelop MSME Ecosystem Small Industries Development Bank of India

(SIDBI) has inked a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) with the Government ofMaharashtra to develop the micro, small andmedium enterprise (MSME) ecosystem in thestate.

As a part of MoU, Project Management Unit(PMU) will be deployed by SIDBI inMaharashtra.

WhatsApp Partners with CyberPeaceFoundation to create awareness on cyber safetyamong students The Facebook-owned WhatsApp has entered

into a partnership with the cyber security thinktank CyberPeace Foundation to createawareness on cyber safety among students.

The awareness campaign has been launchedunder the “e-Raksha” programme and will beimplemented in phases.

In the first phase 15,000 students will becovered in five regions by the end of 2020.They include Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar,Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

46


| Page

The need for this awareness campaign was feltas students spend more time online and so theybecome more vulnerable to cyber threats suchas cyberbullying, stumbling across child abusematerial, cybercriminals disrupting onlineclasses, the spread of misinformation, privacyissues etc.

IIT Roorkee signs MoU with NIUA for buildingaccessible, safe Indian cities The National Institute of Urban Affairs

(NIUA) has signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) with the Indian Instituteof Technology (IIT) Roorkee for collaborationin areas of universal design principles andinclusive development in the backdrop of‘Building Accessible Safe Inclusive IndianCities’ (BASIIC) program.

The association will aim to leverage thetechnical capacities of both institutions, whichwill lead to creation and sharing of knowledgeand resources for devising strategies in makingIndian cities more accessible, safe, andinclusive for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs),elderly, women, and children among others.

AP signs MoUs with Dutch govt, 8 others in foodprocessing companies Andhra Pradesh Govt signed MoUs with eight

companies including the Netherlandsgovernment in the food processing sector.

These MoUs will help the food processingsector of various agricultural products,including bananas, tomatoes, mangoes, sugar,chillies, vegetables, and aqua products.

AIM partnered with Freshworks to empowerAIM Startup Innovators Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog,

has partnered with Freshworks Inc., acustomer-engagement software company, withan aim to provide robust support to innovatorsand entrepreneurs in India.

It also aims to increase the efficiency ofseveral institutions and startups in the AIMportfolio.

It also aims to foster innovation andentrepreneurship among startup innovators.

India-Bangladesh to hold Joint ConsultativeCommission meeting India and Bangladesh have agreed to hold the

6th meeting of the Joint ConsultativeCommission (JCC) later this month.

The 5th meeting of the JCC was held in NewDelhi in February last year betweenDr.A.K.AbdulMomen and the then Minister ofExternal Affairs Sushma Swaraj.

During the 5th JCC last year, threeMoUs/Agreements were signed to furtherstrengthen the existing multifacetedcooperation between the two countries.

These included the MoUs on mid-careertraining of Bangladesh civil servants,cooperation between AYUSH and the Ministryof Health of Bangladesh in the field ofmedicinal plants, and an MoU between Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Bangladeshand CBI.

Another MoU was signed betweenHiranandani Group and Bangladesh EconomicZones Authority (BEZA) to facilitateinvestments in the Indian Economic Zone inMongla.

World Bank’s loan for Himanchal Pradesh StateRoads Transformation Projects World Bank and the government of Himachal

Pradesh signed $82 million loan for theimplementation of Himachal Pradesh StateRoads Transformation Project.

The Himachal Pradesh State RoadsTransformation Project will finance initiativeswith following objectives: To build climate and disaster-resilient roads. To improve road safety along tourism corridors

in Himachal. To enhance logistics along fruit belts. To support the government’s initiative so as to

create a corporate entity responsible forensuring well-performing roads.

ADB, India signed USD 500 Million Loan forDelhi-Meerut RRTS Corridor The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the

Government of India (GoI) signed a $500million loan on 8 September.

The first tranche of a total $1 billion facilitywill be used to build a modern, high-speed 82Km Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid TransitSystem (RRTS) corridor.

It will improve regional connectivity andmobility in India’s national capital region(NCR).

The first tranche loan will support theconstruction of the first of three priority railcorridors planned under the NCR RegionalPlan 2021 to connect Delhi to other cities inadjoining states.

The project is aimed to provide betterconnectivity to allow other towns in the NCRto develop as urban economic centressurrounded by residential areas while easingthe concentration pressure on Delhi.

TPT South Africa partners with TCS forlogistics supply chain transformation Tata Consultancy Services has partnered with

Transnet Port Terminals in South Africa tohelp the latter develop an integrated onlinemarketplace platform by bringing togethercargo owners, shipping lines, clearing andforwarding agents, and road/rail haulers.

47


Page |

A new platform named ‘Cargo Connect’,which will function as an online logisticsmarketplace where customers can submitlogistics related requests and allow serviceproviders to bid online.

Customers will be able to select the preferredproposal and award the cargo contract to thatbidder.

CSIR-CMERI Durgapur and NISE, Gurugramsign an MoU as a Strategic Association tobolster the Solar Energy Sector CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering

Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur andNational Institute of Solar Energy (NISE),Gurugram joined hands by signing an onlineMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) as a‘Strategic Association’ to bolster the SolarEnergy sector across

CSIR-CMERI has expertise in design anddevelopment of various capacity SolarArtifacts for multifaceted uses ranging fromfulfilling localized energy demand to boostingAgricultural sector for irrigation, solarpowered agro dryer, de-centralized solar coldstorage, charging of battery-operatedagricultural machineries etc.

NSDC and LinkedIn partner to acceleratedigital skills training for Indian youth National Skill Development Corporation

(NSDC) and LinkedIn, the world’s largestonline professional networks, have joinedhands to provide access to free LinkedInLearning resources for digital skills.

Under the partnership, 10 free LinkedInLearning paths, consisting of 140 courses for arange of in-demand tech jobs, will be madeavailable for free on eSkill India digitalplatform until 31st March, 2021.

The LinkedIn and NSDC collaboration aim toenable a future-ready digital workforce.

Each learning path includes a series of videocontent designed to help job-seekers developthe core digital skills needed for an in-demandtech role, covering a broad range of skills fromentry-level digital literacy to advancedproduct-based skills.

Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission andNESFB sign MoU Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission

(ASRLM) signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) with North East SmallFinance Bank (NESFB) to work in cohesion insupport of Bank Linkage of the Self-HelpGroups (SHGs) and Producer Groups/Enterprises under ASRLM.

ASRLM is the first amongst all the StateLivelihood Missions to initiate the signing ofMoU with the new generation small financebanks.

This collaboration of ASRLM and NESFB willcater to the financial needs of many SHGmembers, other higher-level federation likeVOs, CLFs, Producer Groups, ProducerCollectives etc. to kick-start their dreamprojects of livelihood enhancement.

STEPapp collaborates with the TribalDevelopment Department, Govt of India inbringing gamified learning to underprivilegedstudents STEPapp (Student Talent Enhancement

Program Application) has received a mandatefrom the Indian Ministry of Tribal Affairs toimplement its gamified learning app across allTribal Schools in India in a landmarkdevelopment.

This is the first time a government institutionhas tied up with an Indian EdTech startup on amonetised project.

This initiative will benefit more than 1.5 lakhstudents from grades 1st-12th across thecountry immediately and will expand the scopein the coming years.

Through this association, STEPapp willenhance the students’ performance in schoolexams as well as in competitive exams.

This will also enable schools to measure thestudents’ learning outcomes throughdashboards.

The content provided will be in the Englishlanguage.

WE HUB & NutriHub partner to Scale-upAgriculture Businesses WE HUB, India’s first state-led incubator to

foster and promote women entrepreneurship tostart-up, scale-up and accelerate with globalmarket access, announced its partnership withNutriHub, first of its kind incubator to caterstart-ups needs in the Nutricereals sector.

The partnership will initiate virtual co-incubation for women-led start-ups in theagripreneurship space.

NutriHub, through its existing R&D facility,will support WE HUB start-ups with technicaladvice, testing, product development, access tolaboratories, equipment, and technical staff.

WE HUB and NutriHub will also collaboratein conducting start-up related events,workshops, to generate interest amongpotential start-ups.

These programs will enable women,entrepreneurs to gain a deeper understandingof the industry landscape, hence helping themscale- up and sustain in the ecosystem.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance joins handswith NSDL Payments Bank to offer insuranceproducts

48


| Page

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance joined handswith NSDL Payments Bank to provide itsproducts to customers of payments bank.

These insurance products will enable NSDLPayments Bank customers to provide financialsecurity to their families and help them achievetheir financial goals.

Under this agreement, the private insurer willbe able to cover the uninsured population ofthe country by offering its innovative and easyto understand life insurance POS products on

NSDL Payment Bank’s exhaustive point ofsale (POS) network, across the country.

UNICEF India and Indian youth iconAyushmann Khurrana join hands to advocatefor Child Rights UNICEF India announced popular Indian film

actor and thought-leader, AyushmannKhurrana, as its celebrity advocate forpromoting rights #ForEveryChild.

Ayushmann Khurrana will support UNICEFtowards its work around ending violenceagainst children.

STATES IN NEWSGujarat announces Heritage Tourism Policy The Heritage Tourism policy has been

announced by Gujarat Government. This isstate’s first such policy.

The policy permits the use of pre-1950historical buildings including heritage palacesand forts as heritage hotels, heritage museums,heritage banquet halls and heritage restaurants.

The step would attract tourism in the unusedhistorical buildings.

State Government will provide five to ten crorerupees to new or existing heritage hotels forthe purpose of renovation and expansion.

An aid of 45 lakh to one crore will be providedfor developers to start new project or restore anexisting heritage building.

The restoration or expansion work should notbe altering or damaging the existing originalstructure.

Odisha government unveils scheme forsanitation workers The scheme ‘Garima’ was launched for

institutionalising and regulating core sanitationservices to provide social security and financialbenefits for the sanitation workers and theirfamilies.

With a the corpus fund of Rs.50 crore, thestatewide scheme will be implemented acrossall urban local bodies.

49


Page |

Meghalaya launched India’s largest “PiggeryMission” The state government of Meghalaya has

launched India’s Biggest “Piggery Mission”with an outlay of Rs 209 Crores.

It is being launched under the aegis ofMeghalaya Livestock EnterprisesAdvancement Society (MLEADS) and fundedby the National Cooperative DevelopmentCorporation (NCDC).

The main objective of the Piggery Mission isto reduce the annual import of Pork worth Rs150 Crore and make Meghalaya self-sufficient(“AatmaNirbhar”) in pork production over thenext 3 years.

Tamil Nadu govt. embarks on programme toprovide laptops to Village Administrativeofficers The Tamilnadu government has embarked on a

programme to provide laptops to VillageAdministrative officers who work at grassrootslevels among the people.

He pointed out that the workings of E – SevaiCentres in rural areas will be linked with theVillage Administration section to ensureseamless delivery of services.

The distribution of laptops to officials whowork directly with the people is expected toensure that various services of the governmentand issuance of various certificates for thepeople are being made easily available on theinternet.

As a first phase the issuance of 22 certificatesand 7 services have been programmed into thelaptops given to Village AdministrativeOfficers.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha launches Jammu andKashmir Integrated Grievance Redress andMonitoring System Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha launched

the Jammu & Kashmir Integrated GrievanceRedress and Monitoring System (JK-IGRAMS).

The Revamped System shall decentralize thehandling and redressal of Public grievances bymaking District Collectors /DeputyCommissioners as the primary level ofreceiving, disposing and monitoringgrievances.

The Revamped System shall decentralize thehandling and redressal of Public grievances bymaking District Collectors /DeputyCommissioners as the primary level ofreceiving, disposing and monitoringgrievances.

The existing Portal has now been integrateddownwards to the district level by mappinganother nearly 1500 public offices in 20districts of the Union Territory.

It is the first online grievance managementsystem / Portal in the country that is linkedwith the Central government (at the top) anddistricts and even further downwards to theTehsils and Blocks (at the bottom).

The new system is being launched on pilotbasis initially for three districts of Jammu,Srinagar, and Reasi and will gradually berolled out in the remaining districts by orbefore 2nd October, 2020.

It will replace the current Portal which waslaunched by the government in 2018.

Manipur CM hands over financial assistance ofover Rs 5.25 Cr to StartUp beneficiaries Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh handed

over a total monetary assistance of over 5. 25crore rupees to 272 StartUp beneficiaries at theManipur StartUp Conclave – 2020 held atImphal.

Those who received assistance included eightbeneficiaries in StandUp category, five inRevenue Stage and 259 in Idea Stage of thescheme.

Manipur StartUp scheme was launched in2017-2018 to build a strong eco-system fornurturing startups with an aim to drivesustainable economic growth and generatelarge scale employment opportunities.

PM Modi inaugurates & lays foundation stones forseven projects related to urban infrastructure in Bihar Prime Minister Narendra Modi today

inaugurated and laid the foundation stones forseven projects related to urban infrastructure inBihar through video conferencing.

Out of these, four projects are related to watersupply, two to sewerage treatment and one toriverfront development. The total cost of theseprojects is Rs. 541 crore.

Gujarat govt. orders Oxygen producing units togive first priority to medical oxygen supply Gujarat Government has ordered the Oxygen

producing units to give first priority to medicaloxygen supply.

According to public notification issued, theoxygen producing units can supply only 50 percent oxygen for industrial use.

The first priority has to be given to medicaloxygen during the urgency.

Breach of this notification will invite sixmonths imprisonment and fine under section188 of IPC.

PM to inaugurate 1.75 lakh houses built underPMAY-G in MP Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday

will inaugurate 1.75 lakh houses built underPradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin(PMAY-G) in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

The houses were built amid Covid-19.

50


| Page

This will be the second event in MadhyaPradesh that the PM will attend via videoconferencing this week.

The housing for all mission is a flagshipscheme of the National Democratic Alliance(NDA).

So far 1.14 crore houses have already beenbuilt across the country under the programme.

MP govt starts ambitious Rs 5 thali under‘Deendayal Rasoi Yojana’ The Madhya Pradesh government is all set to

launch Deendayal AntyodayaRasoi Yojana inits districts.

The scheme named after late political leaderDeendayal Upadhyaya aims to provide food tothe poor in urban areas at a subsidised rate.

The scheme involves opening of canteens thatwill provide a full meal at Rs 5.

The meal would include four rotis, one sabzi,and dal.

The Thali would be made available from 11am to 3 pm.

Aside from this, wheat and rice would also bemade available at the canteens at Rs one eachthrough fair price shops.

Local municipal bodies will ensure availabilityof water and electricity completely free of cost.

Nagaland launches Naga Telehealth platform Bringing the healthcare facilities to the

doorsteps of people, the Nagaland health andfamily welfare department launched the NagaTelehealth platform in Kohima.

Naga Telehealth is a virtual platform wherepatients can avail the services of doctors andspecialists at the comfort of their homevirtually without having to visit any healthcentres.

It was launched keeping in view of thedifficulties faced by the patients in receivingproper medical facilities owing to the ongoingCOVID19 pandemic.

Launched in partnership with USAIDNISHTHA-Jhpiego, the platform is aimed atensuring that even the people living in the mostremote places have access to qualified medicalpractitioners and specialists.

Nagaland health minister S. PangnyuPhomattended the virtual launch programme as thespecial guest.

Govt increases scholarship amount under‘Pragati and Saksham’ schemes for J&Kstudents to Rs 50,000 The central government has increased the

scholarship amount under ‘Pragati andSaksham Scholarship Schemes’ for students ofJammu and Kashmir from Rs 5,000 to Rs50,000 per annum.

Pragati scheme- This scheme providesscholarships to the girls of UT Jammu and

Kashmir who belong to families having anannual income of less than Rs 8 lakh and whoshall be admitted in the AlCTE approvedinstitutions for the session 2020-21.

Saksham scheme– This scheme providesscholarships to all specially-abled studentswith 40% disability and belonging to familieswith annual income less than Rs 8 lakh. Theyshould be pursuing technical education atdegree or diploma level.

Kerala to conduct genetic study of Covidpatients Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan said that a

state-wide genetic study on Covid patients willbe carried out.

It has been decided that the genetic study ofpatients infected by the Covid 19 virus thatwas conducted in the northern districts of theState in collaboration with the Institute ofGenomics and Integrated Biology under CSIR,will be extended across the State.

111th Birth Anniversary of 1st CM of TamilNadu C. N. Annadurai being celebrated 15th September is the 111th Birth Anniversary

of the first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu C. N.Annadurai, popularly known as Arignar Anna.

He was also a Member of Rajya Sabha from1963 to 1967. Well known for his powerfuloratorical skills, Anna was a prolific writer too.

Subsidy mechanism for rice and two languagepolicy are some of his prominentadministrative innovations. Several functionsare being conducted in various parts of thestate in memory of Arignar Anna today.

The Tamil University in Thanjavoor hasannounced a 50 per cent discount sale of itsprestigious publications in connection withAnna Birth Anniversary today.

J&K announces New Universal HealthInsurance Scheme Recently, the Jammu & Kashmir government

has announced a Universal health Insurancescheme on the lines of the Centre’s AyushmanBharat.

The scheme will cover the entire population ofthe Union territory (UT).

The annual expenditure of the scheme is Rs123 crore.

The scheme was announced by Lt GovernorManoj Sinha

It will cover all the residents of the UnionTerritory.

The scheme will provide universal healthinsurance coverage to all the residents of theUT.

There are around 218 public and privatehospitals empanelled in J&K where citizenscan avail the benefit.

51


Page |

The scheme will cover all-important life-consuming diseases including cancer andkidney failure.

COVID-19 has also been covered in thescheme.

The scheme will cover high-endhospitalization expenses.

Three days of pre-hospitalization,hospitalization, 15 days of post-hospitalizationcosts would also be paid by government.

The scheme would also cover the diagnosticcare and expenditure on medicine

Goa extends insurance cover for healthcareworkers The insurance cover of Rs.50 lakh under

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana has beenextended to all health workers in Goa.

The scheme is implemented through theNational Disaster Response Fund implementedby the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Gujarat government to provide interest-freeloans to women On September 17, the Gujarat government

would be launching MukhyamantriMahilaKalyan Scheme, a special scheme to provideinterest-free loans of Rs.1 lakh to promote self-employment among women in the time ofpandemic.

UP govt to constitute special force Uttar Pradesh government has decided to

constitute a special force. It will provide security to the high court,

district courts, administrative offices andbuildings, Metro rail, airports, banks, financialinstitutions, educational institutions andindustrial units.

The state government has issued orders for theconstitution of the force and a roadmap in thisregard has been sought from the UP DGP.

The basis of this force is an order of the HighCourt, which had ordered that there should bea specialised force for civil courts.

Tripura’s First Ever SEZ First-ever Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was

laid to foundation stone by the Chief MinisterBiplab Kumar Deb at Sabroom which is thesouthernmost town of the state borderingBangladesh.

It is around 120 km from Agartala It would emerge as the commercial capital of

the Northeast. SEZ would be set up at Jalefa in Sabroom

subdivision, Total investment on the project is Rs 635

crore.Onam Festival is celebrated in Kerala on 31stAugust Onam Festival is celebrated in Kerala on 31st

August.

In 2020, the Onam festival began on 22August.

The main celebrations were held on 31 Auguston Thiruvonam Day or the Sacred Onam Day.

The festival ends on 2 September. The festivalis celebrated in Kerala.

History: According to the Legends, the festival is

celebrated to welcome King Mahabali, whosespirit is said to visit Kerala at the time ofOnam.

Onam is celebrated as the festival of paddyharvest.

MP govt gears up to become self-reliant, wooinvestments, reduce imports from China Following the appeal of Prime Minister

Narendra Modi to become self-reliant invarious businesses including toys, the MadhyaPradesh government has started initiatives inthis direction.

State Micro, Small and Medium EnterprisesMinister Omprakash Sakhalecha said that thestate government is trying to woo investmentsand to reduce imports from China.

The MP government is also working on a planto revive the state’s 1,000 sick units whichhave been shut down due to financial crisis,production technology, market factors, labourissues and other reasons and now their ownerswant to resume the work.

India’s first toy cluster to come up in Karnataka India’s first toy manufacturing cluster to come

up at Koppal, Karnataka, has the potential tocreate 40,000 jobs in five years and attract overRs 5,000 crore investment.

With the eco-system to support toy cluster inplace, this 400 acres SEZ will have top-classinfra and generate 40,000 jobs in 5 years.

Seaplane service in Gujarat to start from 31October Seaplane service to provide air connectivity

from Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad toStatue of Unity in Kevadia in Gujarat isscheduled to start from October 31, the birthanniversary of Sardar Patel.

The service will be operated by SpicejetAirline.

Nagaland to observe month long RashtriyaPoshan Abhiyan Nagaland is observing month long

RashtriyaPoshan Abhiyan in the State. Celebrated in the month of September every

year since 2018, RashtriyaPoshan Abhiyan isthe Prime Minister’s overreaching scheme forholistic nourishment.

PoshanAbhiyaan is a multi-ministerialconvergence mission to address malnutritionwith a targeted approach by 2022.

52


| Page

It aims to achieve improvement in the status ofnutrition of women and children.

UP govt decides to set up exclusive anti-electricity theft police stations in every district Uttar Pradesh government has decided to set

up exclusive anti-electricity theft policestations in every district of state to address theproblem of frequent cases of power theft.

One police station dedicated to deal with theissue of power theft will be opened in all 75districts out of which 63 has already startedfunctioning.

The government has also raised the number ofenforcement teams from 33 to 88 to launch acrackdown against those involved in powerpilferage.

As many as 53 teams are already functioning.Andhra Pradesh Government Receives Nod toform Crop Insurance Firm The Government of Andhra Pradesh (AP)

received the nod from Insurance Regulatoryand Development Authority (IRDA) to form itsCrop Insurance Firm Andhra Pradesh GeneralInsurance Company (APGIC).

Andhra Pradesh is among the few states likeBihar, West Bengal that has chosen to havetheir crop insurance schemes.

Madhya Pradesh govt launches ‘GandagiBharat Chhodo’ campaign Madhya Pradesh government has launched a

15-day campaign named ‘Gandagi BharatChhodo’.

Under the campaign awareness programmeswere organized in seven thousand 178settlements.

About 35 lakh people from 378 urban bodies inMadhya Pradesh took part in the campaign.

Madhya Pradesh govt instructs officials toestablish Command Control Rooms to monitorpeople under home isolation Madhya Pradesh government has instructed

concerned officials to establish CommandControl Rooms in each district.

These control rooms will monitor the peoplewho are under home isolation and homequarantine.

Ambulance should also be kept ready in everycommand control room.

At the same time, information about health ofhome isolation patients must be collected atleast twice a day.

Gujarat govt decides to cut down salaries ofMLAs, ministers by 30% for one year Gujarat government has decided to cut down

the salaries of MLAs and ministers by 30 percent for one year due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Government will bring a bill to this effect inthe upcoming session of the state assembly.

This money will be used in the fight againstcoronavirus.

Uttarakhand, Karnataka paired under EkBharat Shreshtha Bharat programme Uttarakhand and Karnataka are paired under

Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme topromote national integration through mutualunderstanding.

Both the states have established relationsthrough sports, trade and culture. Uttarakhandhad inspired people in Karnataka in forestconservation.

JK govt set up a 10-member council for theconservation of biological diversity The Jammu & Kashmir government has set up

a 10-member council for conservation ofbiological diversity and sustainable use of itscomponents in the Union territory.

As per an order issued by the GeneralAdministrative Department (GAD), sanctionhas been accorded to constitute the Jammu andKashmir Biodiversity Council.

The Council will be headed by the PrincipalChief Conservator of Forests as chairman ofthe 10-member panel.

The council will constitute a fund known as“Jammu and Kashmir Biodiversity CouncilFund”.

The council will perform the functions withinthe jurisdiction of the Union Territory ofJammu & Kashmir.

The council will function upon the consultationwith the National Biodiversity Authority,notify the format and procedures for seekingapprovals with regard to biodiversity issues.

Assam Assembly passes bill to protect state’sheritage sites Assam Assembly passes bill to protect to

protect various heritage sites of the state. The Assam Heritage (Tangible) Protection,

Preservation, Conservation and MaintenanceBill, 2020 was passed by the state assembly toprotect, preserve and restore tangible heritage,which are currently not covered under anynational or state law.

The bill has been drafted by by the Directorateof Archaeology, under the guidance of StateCultural Affairs (Archeology) Minister KeshabMahanta.

Sikkim Celebrated Pang Lhabsol festival Pang Lhabsol, a festival of cultural heritage

and historical importance is one of the mosthistorically and culturally significant festivalscelebrated annually by Sikkim people.

The festival aims to pay tribute to MountKhangchendzonga, the guardian deity ofSikkim which is believed to have beenprotecting this sacred land since ages.

53


Page |

Assam’s first Newspaper for Kids ‘The YoungMinds’ launched Two Guwahati-based women entrepreneurs

have launched a newspaper specificallydesigned for kids, to promote creative thinkingamong children and inculcate in them the habitto read and write.

The newspaper named ‘The Young Minds‘isthe brainchild of Neelam Sethia and NehaBajaj. The first copy of The Young Minds isscheduled to release in November

The Young Minds, reportedly, will cater tokids of 4-14 years of age.

First-ever cannabis medicine project to come upin Jammu Union minister Jitendra Singh announced that

the first-ever cannabis medicine project willsoon be set up in Jammu.

The cannabis medicine project will be set upwith the collaboration of Canada at the IndianInstitute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) inJammu.

It is the first major foreign investment inJammu and Kashmir after it became a UnionTerritory (UT).

Assam re-launches self-employment schemeSVAYEM worth Rs 1,000 crore The state government of Assam re-launched an

old scheme titled ‘Swami Vivekananda AssamYouth Empowerment (SVAYEM)’ on 4September 2020, which aims to provide self-employment to around 2 lakh youths of thestate.

The SVAYEM scheme was launched by thegovernment in 2017-18.

This is the biggest self-employmentprogramme launched by any government inAssam since Independence.

The scheme has been re-launched with abudget of Rs 1000 crore.

Under the scheme, the state government wouldprovide Rs 50,000 each as seed money toselected youths to start business ventures.

The government will provide this money in thenext three months from its own revenue,without any banking linkage.

To avail the benefit of the scheme, the 2 lakhbeneficiaries would have to be part of self-helpgroups, joint liability groups, etc. beforeSeptember 1.

Karnataka approves Rs. 600-cr watershedproject ‘REWARD’ with World Bank assistance The Karnataka Cabinet has approved a project

titled ‘Rejuvenating Watersheds forAgriculture Resilience through InnovativeDevelopment (REWARD)’.

The REWARD project is designed to ensuresoil and water conservation in 20 taluks withlow groundwater levels in Karnataka.

The total cost of this project is Rs 600 crore. The World Bank will fund 70% of the project

amount, which amounts to Rs 420 crore,whereas, 30% of the expenses (Rs 180 crore)will be borne by the state government ofKarnataka.

The project will cover 50,000 hectares ofparched land with depleted groundwater tablefor watershed development in each of the 20taluks to increase the groundwater table.

The taluks to be covered under the project areBagepalli, Challakere, Shikaripur, Gundlupet,Harapanahalli, Sira, Arsikere, Kadur,Bailhongal, Athani, Hirekerur, Hungund,Kundgol, Bagewadi, Ron, Jewargi,Basavakalyan, Manvi, Yelburga, andShahapur.

Centre approves setting up of Medical college inMon district of Nagaland The Central government has given approval for

setting up a Medical college in Mon district ofNagaland.

This will be the second medical college in thestate, after the Medical College in Kohimawhich is now under construction.

This landmark decision of the UnionGovernment will boost the State Government’seffort to revolutionise the state health sector.

Banks Sanctioned Rs 5,350cr to West Bengal AsEmergency Loans Banks in West Bengal have sanctioned Rs

5,350 crore of loans till the last week ofAugust to businesses to tide over liquiditywoes amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Public and private sector lenders havesanctioned the loans under the Centre’sEmergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme(ECLGS). At the national level, the amountstood at around Rs 1.60 lakh crore

Delhi govt’s 10-week anti-dengue campaignbegins from 6th September The Delhi government’s 10-week anti-dengue

campaign started from 6th

The ’10 Hafte 10 Baje 10 Minute’ campaignseeks to build awareness about prevention ofvector-borne diseases.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said thatlike last time, two crore people of Delhi willjoin hands and work together to fight againstdengue.

Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu selected asfully Digital Economy district Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu, which

houses a large number of small and mediumenterprises, especially in the fire crackers andallied sectors, has been selected by the CentralGovernment as the state’s first Fully DigitalEconomy district.

54


| Page

All industrial units and commercialestablishments in the district are at presentimplementing various forms of cashlesstransactions.

These include widespread use of ATM debitcards, increased usage of internet banking,widespread use of QR codes etc.

Agriculture ministry approves Rs. 4 crores forup-gradation of soil testing labs in Kashmir Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

ministry has approved four crore rupees for up-gradation of Soil Testing labs across theKashmir valley.

For the quality control laboratory upgradation,40 lakh rupees have been earmarked during thecurrent year, which will facilitate upgradationand strengthening of fertilizer quality controllab.

Tamil Nadu releases new Electronic HardwareManufacturing Policy 2020 Tamil Nadu Chief Minister

EdappadiPalaniswamy on September 7, 2020released the state’s new Electronic Hardwareand Manufacturing Policy-2020.

The policy is aimed at increasing the state’selectronics industry output to $100 billion by2025.

The policy envisages to make the statecontribute 25 percent of India’s total electronichardware export by 2025.

It aims to attract semiconductor fabricationunits to the state.

The policy will undertake skill training of over100000 semi-skilled and skilled people by2024.

Tamil Nadu’s new Electronic Hardware andManufacturing Policy-2020 aims to provide: 30-percent capital subsidy 50 percent grant for taking land on lease 5-percent interest grant for term loans Monthly financial aid for the first-time trainees

in the sector for six months at the rate of Rs4,000 for men and Rs. 6,000 for women

Fruits & vegetables in J&K covered under‘Operation Green’s TOP to TOTAL’ scheme Centre has brought majority of fruits and

vegetables grown in Jammu under a freshinitiative of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

All the fruits and vegetables in J&K will becovered under the ‘Operation Green’s TOP toTOTAL’ scheme.

This step is aimed at supporting farmers ofFruits and Vegetables.

It will prevent distress sales and Pricestabilization interventions.

The scheme has been extended from Tomato,Onion and Potato (TOP) to all fruits andvegetables (TOTAL) for a period of sixmonths.

The fruits and vegetables that are notifiedincludes -Apple, Almond, Pear, Capsicum,Carrot, Cucumber, Okra, Orange, Kinnow andLemon.

Union Food Processing Industries Ministrywill provide subsidy of 50% of the cost oftransportation, under the scheme.

Assam promotes nutritious food throughKitchen Garden as part of PoshanMaah The Social Welfare Department in Assam has

taken steps to promote nutritious food throughKitchen Garden.

Kitchen Garden or nutri garden will be set upat Anganwadi Centres and GovernmentPrimary Schools across the state.

The idea of the Kitchen Garden is to plantlocally available nutritional food andvegetables.

The Health and Nutrition consultant of PoshanAbhiyan in Assam, Dr.Gitali Borah said thatcoverage with MGNREGA and the AgricultureDepartment is also being emphasized toimplement the Kitchen garden initiative.

Justice Gita Mittal, CJ, J&K HC e-inaugurates‘Ahata-e-Waqar’ at District Court Complex,Samba In Jammu and Kashmir, in a first of its kind

initiative in embracing technology as amedium for inauguration, Justice Gita Mittal,Chief Justice, J&K High Court and Patron,J&K State Legal Services Authority, e-inaugurated Ahata-e-Waqar (Day Care andRecreation Centre for Senior Citizens),Vulnerable Witnesses Deposition Complex andCrèche facility at District Court Complex,Samba.

The Ahata-e-Waqar Centre, established at OldCourt Complex Building, aims to serve as aplace of pride for Senior Citizens where theycan spend their day in constructive andrecreational activities.

The Senior Citizens can avail the facilities offree Legal Aid and Police assistance from theHelp desk established within the centre.

Gujarat forms Task Force to study & implementNEP-2020 for school education In Gujarat, the State Government has formed

the Task Force to study and implement theNational Education Policy-2020 for schooleducation.

According to the State Education Department,the State-level Task Force comprises 15members from politicians, administrativeofficials and academicians.

This Task Force is expected to study NEP-2020, make changes suggested in the schooleducation format and come up with the bestimplementation measures.

55


Page |

NABARD organizes awareness cumsensitization programme for newly proposedFPO in J&K In Jammu and Kashmir, an awareness cum

sensitization programme for newly proposedFarmer Producer Organizations (FPO) wasorganized by NABARD in coordination withDistrict Administration in Anantnag.

The programme was organised to promotesustainable and equitable agriculture and ruralprosperity through effective credit supportrelated services, institutional development andother initiatives.

Assam CM lays foundation stone & inaugurates329 schemes worth Rs 121 cr Assam Chief Minister SarbanandaSonowal

lays foundation stone & inaugurates 329schemes worth Rs 121 cr.

UP govt decides to involve women SHGs indistribution of nutrition fortified food Uttar Pradesh government has decided to

involve women self-help groups in distributionof nutrition fortified food for children andpregnant ladies in state.

A Memorandum of Understanding has beensigned between UP Rural Livelihood Missionand UN World Food Programme forprocurement and distribution of Take-homerations THR, which are energy dense foodsgiven to kids and pregnant ladies.

This will ensure employment of at least onewoman from every poor rural family.

Mumbai International airport put in place QRcode-enabled check-in mechanism Mumbai International airport has put in place a

QR code-enabled contactless check-inmechanism for the passengers.

Mumbai International Airport Limited said thatthe touch less technology solution is a vitalstep in reducing passenger contact with kiosksurfaces and is in full compliance with the civilaviation ministry’s passenger processingguidelines.

The airport is focussed on deliveringtechnology solutions that help customersquickly deliver a safe and smooth passengerjourney.

The QR code-enabled contactless check-infacility at Mumbai International Airport allowspassengers to use their mobile phones toremotely operate check-in and self-bag dropkiosks for printing boarding passes and bagtags.

Andhra Pradesh CM launches ‘YSRSampoornaPoshana’ scheme to providenutritious food to women, children Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan

Mohan Reddy has launched two nutritionschemes ‘YSR SampoornaPoshana’ and ‘YSR

SampoornaPoshanaPlus’ to provide nutritiousfood to pregnant women, lactating mothers andchildren in the state.

YSR SampoornaPoshana will cover the urbanand rural areas lying in plain lands while YSRSampoornaPoshana Plus is intended to supplynutritious food exclusively in 77 Tribal areascovering 8320 Anganwadi Centres.

Around 30.16 lakh women/mothers andchildren will benefit from these two schemes.

Karnataka CM inaugurates flyover named afterVeer Savarkar Karnataka Chief Minister, B.S. Yediyurappa

inaugurated the ‘Veer Savarkar’ flyover inBengaluru.

The inauguration of the 400-metre long flyoverbuilt on Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan Road inthe city.

The Bengaluru’s civic body Bruhat BengaluruMahanagaraPalike (BBMP) built the flyover atthe cost of Rs 34 crore.

The project of constructing the flyover beganin September 2017.

First Air Ambulance in India: Karnataka Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa

unveiled the country’s first integrated airambulance srvice jointly launched by theInternational Critical Air Transfer Team(ICATT) and the Kyathi in the city.

ICATT-Kyathi’s fixed wing aircraft is capableof long-distance emergency medicaltransportation, combined with helicopter andland ambulance services providing last mileconnectivity.

The fixed wing air ambulance will be stationedat the HAL airport in Bengaluru.

The ambulance is equipped with state-of-the-art German Isolation Pod.

ICATT-Kyathi will also enable safetransportation for critical Covd-19 patients.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal launches e-filingconsumer complaint system Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal launches e-filing

consumer complaint system to help Delhiitesduring COVID-19 pandemic.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on (September8, 2020) inaugurated the Delhi government’se-filing consumer complaint system, whichaims to help Delhiites during the coronavirusCOVID-19 pandemic.

Delhi’s Consumer Affairs Minister ImranHussain and top government officials of theConsumer Affairs Department were presentduring the inauguration of the E-filingconsumer complaint system.

Telangana Government and UK India BusinessCouncil renew their MoU to strengthen thestate’s industrial development

56


| Page

Telangana Government and UK India BusinessCouncil renew their MoU to strengthen thestate’s industrial development, government ofTelangana.

This collaborative partnership between theUKIBC and the Government of Telangana iswell-established and has already led to two UK

business delegations to the State and a furtherdelegation of leading UK universities.

These interactions boost business investment,accelerate improvements in the ease of doingbusiness, facilitate UK-Telangana businesspartnerships and expand higher educationcollaboration.

RECENTCOMMITTEES

GoI constitutes committee for assessment ofrelief to bank borrowers Government of India has constituted an Expert

Committee for making an overall assessmentof relief to bank borrowers related to waiver ofinterest and waiver of interest on interest onthe COVID-19 related moratorium.

State Bank of India will provide secretarialsupport to the committee.

The Committee may consult banks or otherstakeholders, as deemed necessary, for thepurpose.

Govt Sets up Empowered Group of Ministers toOversee OFB’s Corporatisation; Head-RajnathSingh Central Government has constituted an

Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) tooversee the process of the corporatisation ofthe Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh is the chairman of thisEGoM.

The ordnance factories form an integrated basefor indigenous production of defence hardwareand equipment.

Corporatization is the process of transformingstate assets, government agencies, or municipalorganizations into corporations.

NITI Aayog constitutes MultidimensionalPoverty Index Coordination Committee(MPICC); Head- Ms Sanyukta Samaddar NITI Aayog has constituted a

Multidimensional Poverty Index CoordinationCommittee (MPICC).

The MPICC is chaired by Ms. SanyuktaSamaddar, Adviser (SDG)

NITI Aayog is the nodal agency for the GlobalMultidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and hasbeen assigned the responsibility of leveragingthe monitoring mechanism for it and to drivereforms.

Global MPI is an international measure ofmultidimensional poverty covering 107developing countries and was first developedin 2010 by Oxford Poverty and HumanDevelopment Initiative (OPHI) and UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP) forUNDP’s Human Development Reports.

KV Kamath committee recommends 26 sectorsfor Loan Restructuring Scheme The Reserve Bank have accepted the

recommendations of the KV KamathCommittee on ‘Resolution Framework forCovid19-related Stress’ which was submittedby panel on September 4, 2020.

Findings The sectors like textiles, wholesale trade, roads

and engineering are most-affected bypandemic.

57


Page |

The sectors undergoing the stress such as non-banking financial companies, real estate, steelprior to COVID-19 have been affected most.

The food, agriculture, pharma and IT sectorshardly face the impact of COVID-19.

Recommendations: It has recommended to keep the debt coverage

ratio to one and more than one. It suggests, lenders should consider total

outstanding liabilities, total debt, current ratioand the average debt service coverage ratio.

It recommends to the banks that they shouldconsider financial state of the company prior tothe COVID-19 pandemic to restructure theloan.

The committee also has recommended to makethe Inter-Creditor agreement mandatory incases involving multiple lending institutions.

Irdai sets up panel to study index-linkedproducts for life insurance companies Insurance regulator IRDAI has constituted a

six-member working group on index-linkedproducts following requests for permissionfrom life insurers to introduce such products.

The working group, to be led by Dinesh Pant,appointed actuary of LIC of India, willexamine the need for such products in Indiaand how they will better serve needs andinterests of customers relative to traditionalsavings product.

MoD sets up a committee to review the AFHQCS cadre The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has set up a

three-member committee to review theeffective utilisation of the Armed ForcesHeadquarters Civil Services (AFHQ CS) cadre.

This step has been taken so as to enhance themilitary’s combat potential and also rebalancedefence expenditure, by optimising the civiland military administrative appointments in theservice headquarters.

It can help save an expenditure of almost Rs25,000 crore in defence expenditure over thenext five years.

The committee will be headed by Lt General DB Shekatkar (Retd.).

The other two members are R Chandrashekhar,a retired AFHQ cadre officer and AN Das fromthe MoD finance wing.

WEBPORTALSAND APPS

MoRTH organized the Orientation andTraining Programme of iRAD App Ministry of Road Transport & Highways

conducted 2-days Orientation and Trainingprogramme on iRAD App on 7 & 8 Septemberfor the selected districts of Karnataka, and on10th & 11th September 2020 for some districtsof Uttar Pradesh.

iRAD app:

The basic iRAD App has been developed. Theapp will be customized/integrated as per therequirements of concerned States/UTs.

The Mobile app of iRAD is currently availablefor the Android platform, and for otherplatforms like iOS will be available shortly.

The App will enable the stakeholders such asthe Police, Transport, Health, etc to use theirmobile phones to collect accident data on thespot.

Integrated Road Accident Database Project(iRAD) was proposed on the IT-based systemfor capturing the spot accident data using amobile app configured for this purpose.

The data thus collected can then be utilized forvarious purposes like finding the causes of theaccidents and remedial measures to improvethe road infrastructure, to record the accident

58


| Page

data for the use of police, health services, andother concerned departments.

“AP Police Seva” mobile application The Andhra Pradesh police department has

come up with a unique service. A citizen, using the “AP Police Seva” mobile

application can put in a request asking thepolice department to monitor his/her housewhile the family is elsewhere.

The mobile application is due to be launchedby the CM of Andhra Pradesh on 17thSeptember.

In major towns and urban areas, thedepartment will be setting up CCTVs andmotion sensors at the residence of the citizenfiling the request.

Citizens can avail 85 more such innovativeservices through this mobile application.

Haryana launches chatbot ”Apka Mitra” foradmission-related queries and online admissionplatform for UG courses The Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal

Khattar has launched an online registrationportal for admissions in undergraduate (UG)programmes in government, aided and self-financed colleges for the new academic session2020-21.

This portal has been launched in wake ofCOVID-19 Pandemic, so that students cancomplete their entire admission process fromhome.

Besides, the registration and prospectus fee ofall undergraduate courses has also beenwaived.

CM Khattar also launched an educationalWhatsApp chatbot ”Apka Mitra” to resolveany admission-related queries of the students.

Students can send a message on WhatsAppchatbot number 7419444449 to get anyinformation regarding admissions, scholarshipsetc.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance introduces AI-powered voice chatbot on Google Assistant Life Insurance on Monday launched an AI-

powered voice chatbot, LiGo, on GoogleAssistant as part of its customer serviceinitiative.

This new option will enable the policyholdersto have their queries addressed by simple voicecommands.

Customers can use commands such as “OkGoogle, I want to speak to ICICI PrudentialLife LiGo” or “May I talk to ICICI PrudentialLife LiGo.

Extending LiGo functionalities to GoogleAssistant is part of the company’s strategy tobe present on platforms preferred by customersand to offer them an immersive experience.

Odisha CM launched two Citizen-CentricMobile app – Ama Sahar And Swachha SaharOdisha on Local Self Government Day Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha,

launched two citizen-centric mobileapplications Ama Sahar and Swachha SaharOdisha on the occasion of Local SelfGovernment Day which was observed at theLok Seva Bhawan over a virtual platform.

These apps enable the Urban Local Bodies(ULBs) to submit the utilisation certificatesover online for the betterment of fiscalmanagement.

Punjab Govt Launches ‘I Rakhwali’ App ToMake Citizens ‘Greenery Saviours’ To further strengthen its drive to preserve and

maintain the environment in Punjab and makepeople stakeholders in the process, the StateForest Department launched ‘I Rakhwali’application to help netizens to become‘Greenery Saviours’.

The application has been developed to ensuregreenery and to protect the environment inPunjab, and its main aim is to inspire people toplant more trees.

With this new initiative, the Punjabgovernment aims to safeguard the state forestarea by making people a stakeholder in thisprocess.

The new app will help common people withthe geographical location of nurseries.

Now-Pay-Later with UPI India’s leading online Instant Credit app

LazyPay has launched a digital credit cardfacility called LazyUPI to offer easy access tocredit across online and offline platforms.

LazyUPI is a first of its kind digital credit cardthat combines the power of UPI and the Buy-Now-Pay-Later concept to enable users’ accessto real-time credit using Unified PaymentsInterface (UPI).

Union Minister of Education launches mobileapp “EnglishPro” Union Minister of Education has launched a

free mobile app named as “EnglishPro“. The mobile application has been developed by

the English and Foreign Languages University,Hyderabad under University SocialResponsibility (USR).

The mobile application “EnglishPro” will helplearners in developing Indian EnglishPronunciation in the unique “Indian” way.

PM Modi launches e-Gopala App The e-Gopala app is a comprehensive breed

improvement marketplace and informationportal for the direct use of farmers.

It will give all the information related to cattlecare, from productivity to its health and diet.

59


Page |

The app will help the farmers to choose betterquality livestock without the help of

middlemen, which will make it easier for cattleowners to buy and sell animals.

RANKS ANDINDICES

TCS Becomes Second Indian Firm to Cross Rs 9 LakhCrore-market Valuation Mark Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) became the

second Indian firm to attain a market valuationof over Rs 9 lakh crore after RelianceIndustries Limited.

The company’s market valuation went past Rs9 lakh crore in early trade helped by a rally inits share price.

The stock of the software services firm gained2.91 per cent to Rs 2,442.80- its record high onthe BSE.

India is second-fastest-growing freelance marketin the world India is the second-fastest-growing freelance

market in the world with a massive increase inthe number of freelancers this year, accordingto a report on ‘Freelancing in 2020: AnAbundance of Opportunities’ by Payoneer.

Furthermore, India witnessed a 46 per centincrease in new freelancers from Q1 to Q2,2020 as per the report.

Apart from India, other popular markets for gigworkers include the US, Pakistan, and Ukraine.

Gujarat tops States Startup Ranking Results2019; Andaman and Nicobar Islands tops insmall state/UT category Gujarat has topped the second edition of States

Startup Ranking Results 2019 released byMinister of Commerce & Industry andRailways Shri Piyush Goyal.

The States’ Startup Ranking Framework 2019has ranked states based on 7 broad reform area,consisting of 30 action points. In this 22 Statesand 3 Union Territories have participated. Theranking has been divided into two parts.

Category X: Consisting of all big states andCategory Y: This group has all North-EasternStates except Assam and all UTs except Delhi.

Gujarat is the Best Performer state in CategoryX while Andaman and Nicobar Islands is theBest Performer in Category Y.

The ranking has been prepared by Departmentfor Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT)

States/UTs have been felicitated in 5 categoriesIndia ranked 105th in Global EconomicFreedom Index 2020 India ranked 105th in Global Economic

Freedom Index 2020; Top- Hong Kong India (Score- 6.56/10) has been ranked 105th

in the Global Economic Freedom Index 2020released by the Fraser Institute, Canada.

HongKong (Score- 8.94/10) has topped theranking followed by Singapore at the secondspot.

India has fallen 26 spots from 79th spot in lastyear’s ranking.

60


| Page

Venezuela has been ranked last among 162countries.

The rankings are prepared based on the data ofthe year 2018.

The index measures the degree to which thepolicies and institutions of countries aresupportive of economic freedom.

The Index ranks countries based on fiveareas—the size of government, legal structureand property rights, access to sound money,freedom to trade internationally, regulation ofcredit, labour and business.

UNICEF report on Child Mortality Rate ‘Levels and Trends in Child Mortality’ report

was published by United Nations (UN). As per the new estimate on mortality released

by UNICEF, the World Health Organization(WHO), the Population Division of the UnitedNations Department of Economic and SocialAffairs and the World Bank Group, the under-five mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births)in India has declined to 34 in 2019 from 126 in1990.

Findings: India registered a 4.5 % reduction in under-five

mortality between 1990-2019 on yearly basis. The number of under-five deaths in India have

dropped from 3.4 million in 1990 to 824,000 in2019.

The infant mortality rate in India declined from89 in 1990 to 28 in 2019.

India and Nigeria accounts for one-third ofunder five deaths in 2019.

Child mortality deaths under five has droppedfrom 12.5 million in 1990 to 5.2 million in2019,

India have witnessed decline in neonatalmortality rate from 57 in 1990 to 22 in 2019.

India accounts for around 22 million neonataldeaths in 1990 which reduced to 522,000 in2019.

Bengaluru tops the list of cities for career in AI Hyderabad is one of the top five cities in the

country to offer jobs in the field of artificialintelligence (AI), a latest report by job portalsite Indeed has revealed.

Bengaluru tops the list of destinations for acareer in AI, followed by Mumbai, Hyderabad,Pune, and Chennai.

Job searches in the field have risen 106 percent in the past year (June 2019 to June 2020),and this has increased further by 20 per centfrom March to July 2020, in line with the onsetof the pandemic.

NSO’s Report on Digital Divide National Statistical Organisation (NSO)

recently published the report on ‘householdsocial consumption’ in its 75th round of the

survey which was conducted between 2017-2018.

The report shows that how digital divide haveincreased across States, cities and villages, andincome groups.

Key Findings Cities have 42% Internet-enabled homes while

in rural India 15% are connected to theinternet.

Delhi has highest Internet access covering 55%of the households.

Kerala emerges to have least inequality where39% of the poorest rural homes and 67% of therichest urban homes have Internet.

States including Karnataka and Tamil Naduhave less than 20% penetration.

Odisha have lowest internet penetration withone in 10 household have access to internet.

Himanchal Pradesh have highest internetpenetration covering more than 70%households.

20% of Indians above the age of 5 years havebasic digital literacy.

‘The State of Young Child in India’report released, Kerala tops Kerala, Goa, Tripura, Tamil Nadu and

Mizoram are among the top five States forwell-being of children, according to a reportbrought out by non-governmental organisationMobile Creches and launched by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu.

It identifies eight States that have scores belowthe country’s average: they are Assam,Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, MadhyaPradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The index is part of the ‘State of the YoungChild’ in India report released the 50-year-oldNGO.

The report has also developed another indexcalled the young child environment index tounderstand the policy and environmentenablers that influence a child’s well-being.

According to the environment index, Kerala,Goa, Sikkim, Punjab and Himachal Pradeshsecured the top five positions.

A report on ‘Household Social Consumption:Education’: NSO A report on ‘Household Social Consumption:

Education’ was published by the NationalStatistical Office (NSO).

As per the report, smaller states have donebetter than the developed ones.

Kerala topped the list while Andhra Pradeshemerged as the least literate state, standingbelow Bihar.

Findings: Average literacy rate of the country is 77.7% Kerala scored 96.2% thus has the highest

literacy rate among states.

61


Page |

Delhi stands at second position with 89%literacy rate.

Uttarakhand is at number three with a literacyrate of 87.6% while Assam freezes at numberfour with 85.9% literacy rate.

Andhra Pradesh ranked the worst with 66.4%literacy rate.

Karnataka and Telangana have a literacy ratelower than the national average.

The national gap between male and femaleliteracy rate is 14.4%.

Gap between the male and female literacy rateis lowest in Kerala being 2.2%.

The male literacy rate is 84.7% while thefemale literacy rate is 70.3%, nationally.

The state of Kerala has the lowest gap betweenthe urban and rural literacy rates– 1.9%.

Bihar and UP are among bottom 5 states with70.9 % and 73.0% literacy rate respectively.

Andhra Pradesh tops Business Reform ActionPlan (BRAP) ranking of states 2019 Andhra Pradesh has topped the 4th edition of

the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP)ranking of states for 2018-19.

It is also known as The Ease of DoingBusiness rankings.

The ranking was announced by Smt. NirmalaSitharaman, Union Minister of Finance andCorporate Affairs.

Uttar Pradesh is ranked second and Telanganais ranked third in the ranking.

The lowest 3 ranks in the list belong to Odisha,Sikkim and Tripura.

Till date, State Rankings have been releasedfor the years 2015, 2016 and 2017-18.

The latest one is the fourth edition for 2018-19. The ranking is done by the Ministry of

Commerce & Industry. The BRAP representsthe Ease of Doing Business in any state.

The top ten states under State Reform Action Plan2019 are1. Andhra Pradesh2. Uttar Pradesh3. Telangana4. Madhya Pradesh5. Jharkhand6. Chhattisgarh7. Himachal Pradesh8. Rajasthan9. West Bengal10. GujaratVice President Releases ‘The State of YoungChild in India’ report The Vice President, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu

released ‘The State of Young Child in India’report, a comprehensive account of thechallenges related to early child developmentin India.

The report has been prepared by MobileCreches a policy advocacy organisation whichworks with the underprivileged children acrossIndia.

for healthy development, children should growup in an environment where their emotional,social, educational and other needs are fullymet.

Educated and healthy people with a goodfoundation in the early years contribute to thefinancial and social wealth of their societies.

Out of the 159 million children aged below 6years in India, 21 per cent are undernourished,36 per cent are underweight and 38 per cent donot receive full immunization.

THE World University Rankings 2021 released Times Higher Education (THE) World

University Rankings 2021 has been releasedand under the overall category, University ofOxford, United Kingdom, has topped the list.

From India, the Indian Institute of Science(IISc), Bengaluru, has been placed in the 301-350 category in overall global rankings.

Highlights: The IISc Bengaluru has slightly improved its

overall score, from 45.6 to 47.9. The seven older IITs did not participate in the

THE-World University Rankings 2020. The THE World University Rankings 2021

includes more than 1,500 universities across 93countries and regions in 2020.

The participating universities are ranked basedon their performance in knowledge transfer,teaching, research, and international outlook.

India ranked 3rd in largest solar market in2019: Mercom global listing; Top- China India has been ranked third in terms of the

largest solar market in 2019 as per MercerGlobal listing for 2019. India had 9% of theworld’s installed capacity.

China has topped the ranking with 30 Gw(26% of world capacity). The US is on thesecond rank.

Adani Green Energy has emerged as the topSolar Developer in 2019 with 12.3 Gwcapacity.

Isha and Akash Ambani included in FortuneMagazine’s list of most influential young leaders Isha and Akash Ambani, Ambani scions, and

Jio Board directors have been included byFortune Magazine in the ’40 under 40’ list ofthe most influential young leaders for the yearunder the technology section.

As per the US-based publication, after Akashand Isha Ambani joined the Jio Board, thevaluation of the business rose to USD 65billion.

62


| Page

Recently, they both have helped in launchingJio mart to challenge other online shoppingmarkets.

DSCI and PayPal launched a report on ‘Fraud& Risk Management in Digital Payments’ Data Security Council of India and PayPal

India, today released a study report on Fraud &Risk Management in Digital Payments.

The report attempts to discuss about thesophisticated online payment fraudmechanisms, threats in the payment ecosystem,incorporating better fraud preventionstrategies, role of upcoming technologies, andrecommendations for various stakeholdersinvolved in the payment ecosystem.

The e-commerce market in India is expected togrow to USD 200 bn by 2026 from USD 50 bnin 2018.

UPI transactions in India have crossed 1.49 bnin volume and USD 41bn in transaction value,in July 2020.

The internet userbase is expected to grow to835 million by 2023 from 560 million in 2018.

“Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI)2019” Reports The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB),

Ministry of Home Affairs released 53rd editionof a report titled “Accidental Deaths andSuicides in India (ADSI) 2019”.

According to the report the variationpercentage of accidental deaths and suicideduring 2019 over 2018 are around 2.3% and3.4% respectively.

Delhi recorded the highest number of deathsdue to dangerous driving and overall roadaccidents in 2019.In Chennai and Bengaluru,1,258 and 768 persons died in road accidentsrespectively.

Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest road crashdeaths with 15% of total deaths followed byMaharashtra with 9.4% and Madhya Pradeshwith 7.7%.

India ranks 48th in Global Innovation Index2020 India has joined the group of top 50 countries

in the global innovation index for the firsttime, moving up four places to the 48th rankand keeping the top position among the nationsin central and southern Asia.

India ranks in the top 15 in indicators such asICT (Information and CommunicationTechnology) services exports, governmentonline services, graduates in science andengineering, and R&D-intensive globalcompanies.

The 13th edition of the Global InnovationIndex (GII) 2020 has jointly released by theWorld Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO), Cornell University and INSEADBusiness School.

India’s Adani Green ranked as world’s No. 1solar firm Indian renewable energy company, Adani

Green has been ranked as the world’s number1 solar energy company in terms of capacity.

The company is currently the world’s top solardeveloper with around 2.3 GW of operationalprojects.

Adani Green Energy Limited has another 2GW projects under construction and 8 GW ofawarded projects (with contracted PPAs) for atotal capacity of 12.3 GW.

The solar capacity of the company exceeds thetotal installed capacity of the United States asof 2019.

Swadeshi apps in top 10 on Play Store Information and Broadcasting Minister

Prakash Javadekar expressed happiness thatSwadeshi apps are in top 10 on Play Store.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last‘Mann Ki Baat’ episode has asked citizens ofthe country to support indigenously developedapps, in a boost towards Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The Prime Minister had also cited a fewexamples among these apps – the ‘Kutuki KidsLearning app, Chingari App, Ask Sarkar App,Step Set Go App, among others.

Ease of Doing Business report suspended byWorld Bank World Bank has stopped the publication of its

“Doing Business” report to probe datacollection irregularities in the annual rankingof countries’ business and investment climates.

According to World Bank “A number ofirregularities have been reported regardingchanges to the data in the Doing Business 2018and Doing Business 2020 reports, published inOctober 2017 and 2019”.

63


Page |

ACQUISITIONAND MERGERInfosys to acquire GuideVision for about 30million euros IT services major Infosys will acquire Czech

Republic-based GuideVision for up to 30million euros (about Rs 260.4 crore).

The acquisition is being carried out by InfyConsulting Company Ltd, a step-downsubsidiary of Infosys Ltd. As per the regulatoryfiling, the cost of acquisition is “up to 30million euros including earn-out and bonuses.

The acquisition is expected to close during thethird quarter of FY2021, subject to customaryclosing conditions, it added.

This acquisition is an important milestone inour journey to build capabilities relevant to thedigital priorities of Infosys clients.

Infosys launched Cobalt in August 2020,which is a set of services, solutions, andplatforms to help its clients, mostly largeenterprises, build new cloud-first capabilities.

Adani Group buys 74% stake in MumbaiInternational Airport Adani Group has acquired 74% stake in

Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL)that operates Mumbai Airport. Mumbai Airportis the second largest airport in India.

Under this, Adani Group will acquire 50.5%stake of GVK group.

Additionally, Adani will also acquire 23.5%stake of minority partners Airport Company ofSouth Africa (ACSA) and Bidvest.

The acquisition will also give Adani’sownership of the upcoming Navi Mumbaiairport in which MIAL holds 74% stake.

L&T sells electrical and automation business toSchneider Electric Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has completed the

sale of its electrical and automation business toSchneider Electric in an all-cash deal worthnearly Rs.14,000 crore.

About 5,000 employees of L&T’s electricaland automation business will join SchneiderElectric.

Brookfield gets govt’s approval for purchase ofReliance telecom tower assets India’s government has approved Brookfield

Asset Management Inc.’s proposal to acquire a252 billion rupees ($3.4 billion) stake in a trustthat manages the wireless infrastructure of thenation’s biggest mobile-phone service providerReliance Jio InfratelPvt. through TowerInfrastructure Trust.

The investment is in the form of over Rs 105crore in equity and the remainder as debt.

Infosys to acquire US based engineering firm‘Kaleidoscope Communication’ Infosys to acquire US based engineering firm

‘Kaleidoscope Communication’ for $ 42million (Rs 308 crore).

This is the second acquisition of Infosys after itacquired Simplus, a Salesforce consulting andadvisory firm for $250 million.

The acquisition of KaleidoscopeCommunication is expected to strengthen thefirm’s health-tech vertical which witnessed arobust growth amidst the COVID pandemic.

64


| Page

IndiGrid completes acquisition of GPTL fromSterlite Power IndiGrid has completed the acquisition of

Gurgaon Palwal Transmission Limited (GPTL)from Sterlite Power for Rs.1,080 crore.

IndiGrid, India’s first power sector InvIT, ismanaged by Sterlite Investment Managers

Limited, wherein KKR and GIC jointly own 57per cent in the InvIT.

With this acquisition, IndiGrid’s AUM hasincreased by 9% to INR 133 Bn (USD 1.80Bn)dxz

AWARDS ANDHONOURSAditya Puri conferred Lifetime Achievement Awardby Euromoney 2020 Aditya Puri, MD of HDFC Bank has been

conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award byEuromoney Awards of Excellence 2020.

He has been awarded for his skills in buildinga world-class bank in India at a time wherethere were no similar institutions in existence.

Indian Film ‘The Disciple’ by ChaitanyaTamhane wins Best Screenplay award at VeniceFilm Festival 2020 The Marathi language feature film ‘The

Disciple’ written and directed by Mumbai-based filmmaker Chaitanya Tamhane, hasbagged the prestigious FIPRESCI award forBest Screenplay at the 77th Venice FilmFestival.

The annual Venice International Film Festival2020 was held from 2 to 12 September 2020.

The Disciple is the first Indian film to havebeen selected in a major competition categoryat a European festival in 20 years after MiraNair’s Monsoon Wedding in 2001.

The award is presented by ‘The InternationalFederation of Film Critics, FIPRESCI(Federation Internationale de la PresseCInematographique).

West Bengal govt wins WSIS award 2020 for itsSabujSathi scheme in WSIS Price Contest West Bengal govt wins WSIS award 2020 for

its SabujSathi scheme in WSIS Price Contest. After Kanyashree scheme, another West

Bengal government project has received aglobal prize.

SabujSathi scheme: The Project Started in 2015, bicycles are given

to students of state-run, state-sponsored, aidedschools and madrasas studying between classes9 and 12 in a bid to reduce the issue ofdropping out of school, especially in ruralBengal and also to ensure they continue schooleducation till at least class 12.

According to the state government, it has so fardistributed cycles among 85 lakh students at anestimated cost of over Rs 2,700 crore.

Startup India Awards 2020 – Assam recognisedas emerging Startup Ecosystem in India Assam recognised as emerging Startup

Ecosystem in India. The ‘Startup India Awards 2020’ held at the

National Media Centre in New Delhi. Assam has been recognised as an emerging

startup ecosystem in India for its relentlessefforts to create a supportive startup ecosystem

65


Page |

in the state and encouraging the youths ofAssam to take up entrepreneurship.

Other states to receive the recognition includeAndhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi,Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, TamilNadu and Uttar Pradesh.

Kevin De Bruyne and Beth England win 2020PFA player of the year awards Kevin De Bruyne and Beth England win 2020

PFA player of the year awards. ManchesterCity midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was namedmen’s Player of the year while Chelseaforward Bethany England won the women’saward, England’s Professional Footballer’sAssociation (PFA).

De Bruyne is Manchester City’s first malewinner after he made a record-equalling 20assists and scored 13 goals in the PremierLeague.

David Attenborough awarded the IndiraGandhi Peace Prize 2019 The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust will present

the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace,Disarmament and Development for 2019 torenowned broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.

The prize is awarded to him for a lifetime ofdoing more to reveal the wonders of the naturalworld than perhaps any other individual.

The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace,Disarmament and Development was institutedin the memory of the former prime minister bya trust in her name in 1986.

It consists of a monetary award of Rs 25 lakhalong with a citation.

Lifetime Achievements Award to Prof. AdityaPrasad Padhi Indian Chartered Accountancy Parivar and

Delhi University Ramanujan College ProfessorAditya Prasad Padhi, former Vice – Chancellorof Berhampur University has been honouredwith “Lifetime Achievements Award” for hisoutstanding contribution to higher education inIndia.

Ja Morant wins 2019-20 Kia NBA Rookie of theYear Award The Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant has been

named the 2019-20 Kia NBA Rookie of theYear, the NBA announced.

The 6-foot-3 guard is the second player to winthe Rookie of the Year Award with theGrizzlies, joining Pau Gasol (2001-02).

Morant received 99 first-place votes from aglobal panel of 100 sportswriters andbroadcasters and earned 498 total points.

Miami Heat guard Kendrick Nunn finished insecond place with 204 points.

New Orleans Pelicans forward ZionWilliamson received one first-place vote andfinished in third place with 140 points.

Agnikul Cosmos bags TiE50 Award IIT Madras-incubated Agnikul Cosmos, which

provides a dedicated launch vehicle for smallersatellites at a lower cost, has been conferredwith TiE50 award.

The award recognizes top technology andtechnology-enabled start-ups across the world,who will be awarded at its flagship conferenceTiECON 2020 at TiE’s Silicon Valley.

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport wins CII-GBC ‘National Energy Leader’ award The GMR led Rajiv Gandhi International

Airport (Hyderabad International Airport) wonthe ‘National Energy Leader’ and ‘ExcellentEnergy Efficient Unit’ awards at the 21stNational Awards for ‘Excellence in EnergyManagement’.

RPF personnel honoured with Jeewan RakshaMedals Three RPF personnel was awarded Jeevan

Raksha Medals by President of India RamNath Kovind.

The honoured Railway Protection Force (RPF)personnel are Late Shri Jagbir Singh, ShriShivcharan Singh, Shri Mukesh Kumar Meena.

Sanvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak (posthumous)– Late Shri Jagbir Singh, Constable/NorthernRailway

Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak- Shri ShivcharanSingh, Constable/ Western Railway

Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak- Shri MukeshKumar Meena Head Constable/North WesternRailway

66


| Page

RECENTAPPOINTMENTSRajesh Khullar appointed Executive Director at WorldBankSameer Kumar Khare has been appointedExecutive Director of the Asian DevelopmentBank (ADB).Yoshihide Suga of Liberal Democratic Party(LDP) elected as Prime Minister-designate ofJapan, to succeed PM Shinzo AbeHarivansh re-elected as Deputy Chairman ofRajya SabhaPaytm named Sachin Tendulkar as brandambassador for its gaming platform ‘PaytmFirst Games’Jane Fraser named the first female CEO ofCitigroupJustice Rohinton Fali Nariman appointed asChairman of Supreme Court Legal ServicesCommitteeFormer health secretary Preeti Sudan appointedWHO panellist The World Health Organisation’s independent

panel for pandemic preparedness and responseappointed former health secretary, PreetiSudan as one of its 11 panellists from acrossthe world.

The decision by the panel’s two heads, formerNew Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clarke andformer Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Vinkesh Gulati appointed as new President ofFADA

Vinkesh Gulati, has been appointed as the 35thPresident of the Federation of AutomobileDealers Associations (FADA).

He succeeds Ashish Harsharaj Kale and willserve the role of president from 2020 to 2022.

The FADA is an apex national bodyrepresenting automobile dealers of India.

Paresh Rawal becomes new chairman ofNational School of Drama Former Lok Sabha MP and Bollywood actor,

Paresh Rawal have been appointed as the newchief of National School of Drama byPresident Ram Nath Kovind.

In a career span of over three decades, Rawalhas been acknowledged with numerousawards, including the prestigious NationalFilm Award for Best Supporting Actor in1994.

He was conferred with the Padma Shri in 2014for his contribution to the entertainmentindustry.

Subhash Kamath elected ASCI chairman Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)

elected Subhash Kamath as its chairman on its34th annual general meeting of the body.

Anil Jain Set to be Elected New AITA President,Anil Dhupar Secretary General BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Anil Jain is set to

be elected as the new president of All IndiaTennis Association (AITA) while Anil Dhuparwill take over as the secretary-general at theAnnual General Meeting (AGM) of thenational federation.

Jain, who is also the ruling party’s nationalgeneral secretary, will replace PraveenMahajan as AITA president.

The AITA will also elect four joint secretariesand three of them would be Sunder Iyer(Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association),Prem Kumar Karra (Tamil Nadu Tennis

67


Page |

Association) and Suman Kapur (HaryanaLawn Tennis Association).

Playerzpot appointed Bhuvneshwar Kumar,Smriti Mandhana as brand ambassadors Playerzpot announced the signing of cricketers

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Smriti Mandhana asits brand ambassadors.

The partnership will see the cricketers in thebrand’s upcoming campaigns and promotePlayerzpot through engagement activities.

The duo will anchor the brand with their sportscharisma and help in creating a higher brandrecall amongst the key target audience.

Raj Srivastava appointed as India’sAmbassador to Republic of Croatia Raj Kumar Srivastava has been appointed as

the next Ambassador of India to the Republicof Croatia.

He is an IFS officer of 1997 batch and ispresently serving as the Deputy Chief ofMission in the Embassy of India, Tokyo.

Maruti CEO Kenichi Ayukawa elected presidentof SIAM Maruti Suzuki MD and CEO Kenichi

Ayukawa has been elected as the newPresident of the Society of Indian AutomobileManufacturers (SIAM).

SIAM is the apex body of the Indianautomotive industry.

He will replace RajanWadhera and has beenappointed for a term of two years.

Vipin Sondhi, MD and CEO, Ashok Leyland,has been elected as the new vice president ofSIAM.

Rajiv Lall resigns as chairman of IDFC FirstBank Rajiv B. Lall has resigned from his post of

Part-Time Non-Executive Chairman of IDFCFirst Bank.

He has cited prolonged personal health issuesas the reason for resignation.

Lall was the founder MD of the erstwhileIDFC Bank.

Bajaj Allianz Life ropes in AyushmannKhurrana as its brand ambassador Private life insurer Bajaj Allianz Life has

appointed Bollywood actor AyushmannKhurrana as its brand ambassador.

Khurrana will promote the company’s productsand digital services across offline and onlinemediums.

He will feature in the life insurer’s nextcampaign ‘Smart Living’ that encompasses itsterm plan Smart Protect Goal and the newdigital service – Smart Assist.

MV Raja Sekhar takes charge as director(R&D), BEL The Bharat Electronics Ltd’s (BEL) Board of

Directors has approved the appointment of M

V Rajasekhar as Additional Director – Director(R&D).

This comes after the Ministry of Defence onJuly 6 appointed Rajasekhar as Director –R&D vice Mahesh V, who has retired fromservices on August 31 on attainingsuperannuation.

Charu Sinha becomes first woman IG to leadCRPF in Kashmir IPS officer Charu Sinha has become the first

woman commander to head the CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF) formation in theKashmir Valley.

Sinha, a 1996-batch officer of the Telanganacadre, has been appointed as the InspectorGeneral (IG) of CRPF’s Srinagar sector thatoversees the deployment of the paramilitaryforces’ battalions in Srinagar city of the UnionTerritory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The officer was till now serving as the CRPFIG in Jammu.

She earlier headed the CRPF formation inBihar that includes the deployment of the forcein anti-Naxal operations in that state.

BPCL Additional Charge of CMD: K Padmakar Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL)

has been given additional charge to KPadmakar, Director (HR) as the Chairman andManaging Director (CMD).

He succeeds D Rajkumar who superannuatedafter attaining 60 years on August 31, 2020.

Ramamoorthy(R)Ramachandran, directorrefineries also stepped down with D Rajkumaron the same day due to the same reason.

ITPO: One-year extension to L C Goyal as itsCMD India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO)

has approved the 1-year extension in the tenureof L C Goyal, as the Chairman and ManagingDirector (CMD).

Goyal will hold the position for the extendedperiod of 1 year from 1st September 2020 till1st September 2021.

He was appointed as the CMD of ITPO inAugust 2015.

Myntra appoints Kiara Advani as brandambassador E-commerce website Myntra has appointed

Kiara Advani as its brand ambassador. Actress Kiara Advani will be the brand

ambassador and nationwide celebrity endorserfor Myntra.

Her mass appeal as an actor and fashiontrendsetter is poised to accelerateconversations around Myntra’s apparelsegments.

Aveek Sarkar elected new Chairman of PressTrust of India

68


| Page

Aveek Sarkar has been elected as theChairman of the Press Trust of India.

He replaces Vijay Kumar Chopra, Chief Editorof the Punjab Kesari Group of newspapers.

Aveek Sarkar is the Vice Chairman of theAnanda Bazar Group of Publications. He wasalso the founding Managing Director ofPenguin India.

Tamil Nadu Appoints India’s First-ever WomanAmbulance Driver Tamil Nadu has appointed India’s first-ever

woman ambulance driver under a newinitiative by CM Palaniswami.

M Veeralakshmi was appointed driver of oneof the newly launched ‘108’ ambulances inTamil Nadu.

As per the Tamil Nadu government, this is thefirst such instance in the country.

CBDT Chairman Pramod Chandra Mody getssix-month extension Pramod Chandra Mody was on Monday given

a six-month extension till February next yearas the chairman of the Central Board of DirectTaxes (CBDT).

Mody, a 1982 batch Indian Revenue Service(Income Tax cadre) officer, was appointed theCBDT chief in February 2019.

He was in August last year re-appointed on thepost for one year, till August 31, 2020, beyondthe date of his superannuation on August 31,2019.

Rajiv Kumar took charge as ElectionCommissioner Rajeev Kumar on September 1, 2020 took

charge as the new Election Commissioner ofIndia.

He will be working alongside the SushilChandra, the Election Commissioner and SunilArora, the Chief Election Commissioner.

Kumar succeeds Ashok Lavasa, who resignedearlier.

Hemant Khatri assumed charge as CMD ofHindustan Shipyard Limited Retired Commodore Hemant Khatri succeeds

Rear Admiral L V Sarat Babu (Retd) andassumed charge as the Chairman andManaging director (CMD) of HindustanShipyard limited (HSL), Visakhapatnam,Andhra Pradesh.

Previously he was serving as the Director ofStrategic Projects HSL.

Vice Admiral S R Sarma assumes charge asChief of Materiel of the Indian Navy Vice Admiral S R Sarma assumed charge as

the Chief of Materiel of the Indian Navy. Admiral Sarma during his illustrious career

spanning over three and a half decades hasserved onboard Indian Naval ships

Vindhyagiri, Rana, Krishna and Mysore invarious capacities.

S Krishnan becomes new MD & CEO of Punjab& Sind Bank Appointments Committee of the Cabinet

(ACC) has approved the appointment of SKrishnan as the Managing Director and ChiefExecutive Officer of Punjab & Sind Bank.

He will replace S Harishankar. Earlier to this elevation, S Krishnan was as an

Executive Director at Canara Bank.Murali Ramakrishnan becomes new MD &CEO of South Indian Bank The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved

the appointment of Murali Ramakrishnan asManaging Director and CEO of the SouthIndian Bank for a period of three years witheffect from October 1, 2020.

Ramakrishnan had retired from ICICI Bank asSenior General Manager at Strategic ProjectGroup on May 30, 2020, and joined the SouthIndian Bank as an advisor on July 1, 2020.

OBITUARIES Veteran Congress leader and former

Chhattisgarh minister Chanesh Ram Rathiyahas passed away due to COVID-19. He was78.

India-born renowned Pakistani Shia scholarAllamaZameer Akhtar Naqvi has diedfollowing a heart attack. He was 76.

Former MLA from Panaji Baban Naik diedafter suffering a heart attack in his home at theage of 76.

Eminent litterateur and radio announcer NadiaBihari Mohanty passed away due to Covid-19at a private hospital in Cuttack. He was 90.

Former Union minister and veteran leader ofRashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), RaghuvanshPrasad Singh has passed away after hedeveloped post COVID-19 complications.. Hewas 74.

Ram Shahaney, former Chairman of AshokLeyland, passes away

Ram Shahaney, former Chairman of AshokLeyland, passes away

Veteran Telugu stage and film actorJayaprakash Reddy died of heart attack at hisresidence in Guntur. He was 74.

Senior BJD leader and former Rajya SabhaMP from Odisha Narendra Swain died at aprivate hospital in Cuttack. He was 81.

Liberation war fighter and a prominent publicfigure of Bangladesh Ziauddin Tariq Alipassed away in Dhaka.

Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver, a three-timeCy Young Award winner and 12-time all-star,has died. He was 75.

69


Page |

Oscar-winning Czech director Jiri Menzel haspassed away after battling serious healthissues. He was 82.

Father of India’s Radio Astronomy, Dr.Govind Swarup passed away yesterday atPune.He was 91.

Veteran producer-director Johnny Bakshi haspassed away after suffering a cardiac arrest.He was 82.

PujyaKesavananda Bharati Ji, the pontiff ofEdneer Mutt in Kasaragod district of Kerala,whose property rights case in the SupremeCourt in 1973 helped define basic rights underthe Constitution, has passed away.He was 79.

Former England all-rounder and legendarycricketer, David Capel passed away.

The former President of India, PranabMukherjee, passed away at the age of 84 years.

Noted cardiologist Dr S Padmavati passedaway at the age of 103 years due to COVID-19.She was the first female cardiologist of theIndia and was popularly known as ”GodMother of Cardiology”.

Veteran Congress leader, multiple term BiharMLA and former Lok Sabha member RamdeoRai, who had caused ripples in the 1980s whenhe defeated socialist heavyweight KarpooriThakur in an electoral contest, died inPatna.He was 81.

Katyayani Shankar Bajpai, a career diplomatwho served as India’s ambassador to the US,China, and Pakistan, passed away. He was 92.

SPORTS Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) has

won the Formula One Tuscan Grand Prix 2020held on September 13, 2020. This was his 6thwin of the season and 90th F1 win of hiscareer. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-Finland)came second followed by Alexander Albon(Red Bull – Thailand) at third place.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka beats VictoriaAzarenka of Belarus to win US OpenTennis Tournament 2020.

Austria’s Dominic Thiem defeated AlexanderZverev to win the men’s singles title at the2020 US Open tournament.

Kiren Rijiju to lay foundation stones forvarious sports facilities in Leh

Police Officer Poonam Khatri crowned WushuWorld Champion

Indian Police Officer, Poonam Khatri hasclaimed World Championship status after hersilver medal at the Wushu WorldChampionship last year has been upgraded to aGold medal. Poonam hails from Haryana’sJhajjar district.

Poonam had lost the final to Iranian opponentMariyam in the Women’s 75 kg category butafter Mariyam recently failed the dope test, thegold medal has been awarded to PoonamKhatri.

The information was clarified by Secretary-General of the Indian Wushu Association,Suhel Ahmed.

Pierre Gasly wins F1 Italian Grand Prix 2020 Pierre Gasly (Scuderia AlphaTauri, France)

has won the Formula One Italian Grand Prix2020 held on September 06, 2020.

This is his first Grand Prix win. Carlos Sainz Jr. (McLaren, Spain) came

second followed by Lance Stroll (RacingPoint, Canada) in third place.

70


| Page

Lewis Hamilton ended at 7th place after heearned a 10-second stop and go penalty. Apartfrom this, Charles Leclerc crashed out on theexit of Parabolica.

England cricketer Ian Bell announcesretirement from professional cricket Cricketer Ian Bell from England has

announced that he will retire from all forms ofcricket at the end of the 2020 domestic season.

Ian Bell, 38, retired from ODIs in 2015 tofocus on Test cricket.

He is a five-time Ashes winner and has spenthis entire career with Warwickshire.

US Open 2020: Indo-Canadian pair ofBopanna-Shapovalov enter men’s doublesquarterfinals The Indo-Canadian pair of Rohan Bopanna

and Denis Shapovalov have reached thequarterfinals of the ongoing US Open tennis.

They defeated the German pair KevinKrawietz and Andrea Mies in the second-round clash that had lasted for an hour and 47minutes.

BCCI announces schedule for IPL 2020 to beheld in UAE BCCI has announced the schedule for IPL

2020 to be held in UAE. The evening matches of the tournament, which

will be played in the United Arab Emirates,will start at 7:30 PM Indian time.

There will be 10 double-headers, and theafternoon matches will begin at 3:30 PM.

Dubai will host 24 games; 20 matches will beplayed in Abu Dhabi while the remaining 12matches are scheduled to be played in Sharjah.

The final of the tournament will be played onNovember 10. Venues for the playoff and thefinal are yet to be announced.

T20 cricket tournament inaugurated atKungamdora Pattan in J&K Deputy Commissioner Baramulla Dr G N Itoo

in presence of District Youth Services andSports Officer inaugurated T20 crickettournament at KungamdoraPattan with strictadherence of SOPs and guidelines.

World Cup host Qatar set to play in Gold Cupnext year in US World Cup host Qatar is set to play in the Gold

Cup next year in the United States afteraccepting an invitation from soccer’sgoverning body for North and Central Americaand the Caribbean.

The Asian Cup champion will participate inthe 2021 and 2023 Gold Cup tournaments as aguest under a memorandum of understandingsigned in Bahrain in 2017.

Dwayne Bravo becomes cricket ambassador for“SBOTOP” sportsbook brand

West Indies cricket icon Dwayne Bravo hasbecome the first cricket ambassador for“SBOTOP” sportsbook brand.

Isle of Man betting group Celton Manx hasappointed the West Indies cricketer as thecricket ambassador for its flagship sportsbook.

Olympic Ski Racing Champion ViktoriaRebensburg announces retirement at 30 Olympic ski champion Viktoria Rebensburg of

Germany has announced her retirement due toinjury caused during a race in February 2020,which was keeping her from performing at herbest.

The 30-year-old German ski racer won thegold medal in the giant slalom at the 2010Vancouver Olympics.

India’s P Iniyan wins World Open Online ChessTournament Indian Grandmaster P Iniyan has won the

prestigious 48th Annual World Open onlinechess tournament.

He scored 7.5 points out of a possible 9 withsix victories and three draws to finish on top.

A total number of 120 players from 16countries participated in the event whichincluded more than 30 Grandmasters.

Sumit Nagal becomes 1st Indian to win grandslam singles main draw match in 7 years SumitNagal stormed into the second round of

the ongoing US Open Tennis last night. Nagaldefeated Bradley Klahn of USA 6-1, 6-3, 3-6,6-1 in the first round of the US Open toprogress further into the tournament.

The 23-year-old Nagal has become the firstIndian to win a singles main draw match at aGrand Slam in the last seven years.

Sports training camps in Uttar Pradesh to startfrom 1st October In Uttar Pradesh, sports training camps will

start from 1st October and will continue tillMarch next year.

The state Sports and Youth Affairs MinisterUpendra Tiwari said that sports activities willbe back on the track once the situationnormalises.

Those who are interested in participating inthese training camps should registerthemselves on Khelo India application.

Jayanti Bahera, Deep Grace Ekka receive BijuPatnaik Sports Award Jayanti Behera and Deep Grace Ekka received

Biju Patnaik Sports Award for outstandingperformance in sports and games. Both ofthem received Rs. 2 lakh cash award each.

Similarly, Biju Patnaik Bravery Award wasreceived by Purnima Giri and SabitaGiri whoreceived cash award of rupees one lakh each,medal and citation.

71


Page |

Biju Patnaik Sports Award for excellence incoaching went to Satya Ranjan Patnaik.

Besides Siba Prasad Das received a cashaward of Rs.32,50,000 for coaching to sportspersons with disability.

Among others, Padmini Rout, Hupi Majhi,Rajashree Mohapatra, Manisha Merel,Pratyasha Ray also received cash awards.

SCIENCE ANDTECHNOLOGY

IPFT develops new Disinfectant Sprays Institute of Pesticide Formulation Technology

(IPFT) has developed two new technologiesnamely “Disinfectant spray for surfaceapplication” and “Disinfectant spray forVegetables & fruits” at a time when Covid-19pandemic has created a lot of damage globally.

It contains ‘botanical anti-microbial substance’which can be an effective formulation toprevent from diseases which are caused bymicrobes, bacteria and virus.

The formulation is volatile in nature. It evaporates after disinfecting the surface and

does not leave any stains and odour.SCTIMST develops device for prevention ofDeep Vein Thrombosis Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical

Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum(SCTIMST), an autonomous institute of theDepartment of Science and Technology, hasdeveloped a device for the prevention of DeepVein Thrombosis (DVT).

The formation of a blood clot in a deep vein,usually in the legs or Deep Vein Thrombosiscan lead to life threatening complications.

Ministry of Science and Technology in astatement said that scientists have come upwith a device that can facilitate flow of bloodfrom the veins in the legs thus preventingDVT.

IIT Bombay students launched Indianalternative to Scanning Apps Students from the Indian Institutes of

Technology, Bombay (IIT-Bombay) has AIRScanner, a free-of-cost mobile application.

It was developed by Rohit Kumar Chaudharyand Kavin Agrawal from IIT-Bombay.

The mobile application falls in line with theAatmaNirbhar Bharat.

The innovation is aimed to help people ineducation.

AIR Scanner app: The Artificial Intelligence (AI) based Reading

Assistant & Document Scanner app can scandocuments. It can be used to read to users whohave difficulty in reading English.

The document that is scanned using the mobilecamera will be saved in PDF format and willbe stored in the device only.

The app will not collect any information aboutthe user and all the documents are stored in thephone’s local storage.

AIR Scanner app is free of cost and secure.

72


| Page

The AI feature of the app reads out thescanned pages. It also provides the meaning ofthe selected word to the user in 40 differentlanguages.

World’s Largest Solar Tree set up at Durgapur World’s Largest Solar Tree has been

developed by the CSIR-CMERI. The solar tree has been installed at the

Residential Colony of CSIR-CMERI inDurgapur, West Bengal.

The solar tree has the annual capacity togenerate 12,000-14,000 units of Clean andGreen Power while its installed capacity isabove 11.5 kWp.

The Solar Tree has been designed in such away that it ensures maximum exposure of eachSolar PV Panel to Sunlight.

A single solar tree comprises of 35 Solar PVPanels each having a capacity of 330 wp each.

CSIR-CMERI develops Affordable SolarPowered Battery CSIR-CMERI develops Affordable Solar

Powered Battery based Sprayers to tackleWater Crisis in Agriculture.

Apart from solar pumps, CSIR-CMERI isworking on methods to reduce waterconsumption required for irrigation.

CSIR-CMERI has already developed solar treeof capacity 1 Kwp, 3 kwp, 5 kwp, 6 kwp, 7.5kwp and 11.5 kwp, (which is now the LargestSolar Tree in the world).

IIT Delhi incubated startup launches‘‘ChakrDeCoV’’ to decontaminate N95 masks In our series on Atmanirbhar Bharat, IIT Delhi

incubated startupChakr Innovation haslaunched ‘ChakrDeCoV’ to decontaminateN95 masks.

Designed in the shape of a cabinet,ChakrDeCoV is built with an innovativedecontamination mechanism, which utilisesthe high penetrability of Ozone gas forcleaning the pores of the N95 mask, ensuringcomplete decontamination of its intricatelayers.

Scientists have developed a portable sterilisationunit Scientists have developed a portable

sterilisation unit using a new technology calledthe hybrid sterilization system. It candecontaminate personal protective equipment(PPE) necessary for combating COVID 19,easily and rapidly, allowing them to be usedmultiple times.

Highlights: It can be used by health professionals and

other COVID warriors for whom PPEs areessential

It can prevent generation of hazardous solidwaste from PPEs.

It has been developed jointly by IIT Tirupati(IITT) and IISER Tirupati

It provides efficient and rapid decontaminationof personal protective equipment (PPE) andother household items.

It consisting of a UV radiation cavity, coldplasma, and H2O2spray

JNCASR researchers develop diagnostictherapy for Lung Cancer Recently researchers from Jawaharlal Nehru

Centre for Advanced Scientific Research(JNCASR) have developed a theranostics(diagnostic therapy) drug candidate for lungcancer.

The research work funded jointly by DST,BRICS Multilateral R&D Projects grant, andSwarnaJayanti Fellowship Grant waspublished in the journal Theranostics.

Minister of State for Space Dr Jitendra Singh:Chandrayaan-3 launch likely in early 2021 Minister of State for Space Dr Jitendra Singh

has said that the launch of Chandrayaan-3 maynow take place somewhere in early 2021.

Chandrayaan-3 will be a mission repeat ofChandrayaan-2 and will include a Lander andRover similar to that of Chandrayaan-2, butwill not have an orbiter.

IIT Guwahati in Collaboration with WorkspaceMetal Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Develops a First-of-its-kind Self-Check Kiosk Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati in

collaboration with Workspace Metal SolutionsPvt. Ltd., Udaipur, has developed a first-of-its-kind self-check kiosk.

The small structure helps by streamlining theflow of people through the kiosk.

The Kiosk only takes about 30 seconds tocheck whether the person safe to enter thepremises or not.

The cost of a self-check kiosk varies from 3.5lakh to 7.5 lakh depending on the specificationand features.

The product has already been commercialised. The Institute has also installed self-check

kiosk at its campus as well. The team has also filed for a patent.MoD developed Healthy Air, a Herbal-basedImmunity Boosting Room Freshener Defence Institute of Advanced Technology

(DIAT), a Deemed to be University, Pune,under Ministry of Defence has developed“Healthy Air”, herbal-based immunity to boostroom freshener product.

The product was developed with an aim tocontain the spread of the COVID-19.

Highlights: Healthy Air has been developed by the

Department of Metallurgical and MaterialsEngineering.

73


Page |

The product consists of various extracts ofherbal oils like Neem, Neelgiri, Camphor,Daalcheeni, Tulsi, Lemon, Turmeric, Laung,Ajwain, Lavender, Elaichi, Turmeric, NaturalVetiveru, Raimuniya, and Pine Oil.

The product is herbal-based product is non-mutagenic, non-carcinogenic, non-toxic.

The product purifies the air and makes itbreathable.

The product is used in any room, conferencehalls, at public places, hospitals, malls, cinemahalls, waiting for lounges, rooms of Airports,Railway Station etc.

The product is packed in a container with awick also will be loaded in a dispenser.

India to Have 220 GW Renewable EnergyCapacity by 2022, Says PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi exuded

confidence that India will increase its existingclean energy capacity of 134 GW to 220 GWby 2022 and stressed on reducing tariffsfurther through technological advancements.

Modi also mentioned the ‘One World, OneSun, One Grid’ project which is aimed atrenewable energy supplies across nations

It was announced by New and RenewableEnergy Minister RK Singh at the VirtualWorld Solar Technology Summit organised bythe International Solar Alliance.

DEFENCEDRDO develops P-7 Heavy Drop Systemcapable of para dropping military stores Defence Research and Development

Organization, DRDO has developed P-7Heavy Drop System which is capable of paradropping military stores up to seven-tonneweight class from IL- 76 aircraft.

It consists of a platform and specializedparachute system. The parachute system is amulti-stage system comprises of five Maincanopies, five Brake chutes, two Auxiliarychutes, one Extractor parachute and platformis a metallic structure made up of Aluminiumor steel alloys.

The system has been developed successfullywith 100 per cent indigenous resources. P-7

Heavy Drop System has been inducted in theArmy.

First batch of five Rafale aircraft formallyinducted into Indian Air Force The first batch of five Rafale fighter jets was

formally inducted into the Indian Air Force(IAF) on 10 September 2020 at the Air ForceStation in Ambala.

They have been inducted in the Indian AirForce’s 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’ basedin Ambala.

The first five Rafale aircraft had arrived fromFrance on 27 July 2020.

The multi-role Rafale jets have been built byFrench aerospace major Dassault Aviation.

India had signed an inter-governmentalagreement with France in 2016 to procure 36of the aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore

The delivery of all 36 aircraft is scheduled tobe completed by the end of 2021.

74


| Page

Out of 36 Rafale jets, 30 will be fighter jetsand six will be trainers.

It has two objectives: Affordable and timely resolution of disputes in

a fair manner Enrichment of Dispute Resolution Mechanism

with the panel of technical experts asarbitrators.

SAROD-Ports will save a huge amount oflegal expenditure and time by resolving themaritime disputes in a fair and just manner.

DRDO successfully flight tests HypersonicTechnology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) Defense Research and Development

Organisation (DRDO) has successfullydemonstrated the hypersonic air-breathingscramjet technology with the flight test of theHypersonic Technology DemonstrationVehicle (HSTDV) from Dr APJ Abdul KalamLaunch Complex at Wheeler Island, off thecoast of Odisha on September 07, 2020.

India has thus become the fourth country afterthe United States, Russia and China to developand successfully test hypersonic technology.

It will serve as the building block for next-generation hypersonic cruise missiles.

11th India-Russia biennial bilateral maritimenaval exercise ‘INDRA NAVY’ organised inBay of Bengal The 11th edition of the biennial bilateral

maritime exercise INDRA NAVY betweenIndian Navy and Russian Navy has beenorganised from 4-5 September 2020 in the Bayof Bengal.

The primary aim of the two-day exercise is tofurther boost the inter-operability built up bythe two Navies over the years and enhanceunderstanding and procedures for multi-faceted maritime operations between the twoNavies.

INDRA NAVY-20 would be undertaken in a‘non-contact, at sea only’ format due torestrictions imposed by the COVID-19pandemic.

Rajnath Singh launched “Chhavni COVID:YodhaSanrakshan Yojana” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched

“Chhavni COVID: YodhaSanrakshan Yojana”a group life insurance scheme through the LifeInsurance Corporation (LIC), for more than10000 employees working in the 62 militarycantonment areas across India.

The scheme will benefit the employees of allthe 62 cantonment boards and will provide acover of Rs.5 lakhs each in the event of anyfatal misfortune.

Defence Ministry signs Rs. 2,580-cr deal for 6Pinaka rocket regiments The Defence Ministry has signed a Rs.2,580-

crore contract with Bharat Earth Movers Ltd(BEML), Tata Power Company Ltd (TPCL)and Larsen & Toubro to equip the Army withsix Pinaka rocket regiments.

It will consist of 114 launchers with automatedgun aiming and positioning system, 45command posts and 330 vehicles.

The new regiments will likely be operationalby 2024.

75


Page |

RECENTSUMMITS

S Jaishankar co-chairs ASEAN-IndiaMinisterial Meeting with Thailand The Union Minister of External Affairs S

Jaishankar co-chaired the ASEAN-IndiaMinisterial Meeting on 12 September 2020,with his Thailand counterpart DonPramudwinai.

The virtual meeting saw the participation ofForeign Ministers of the 10 ASEAN MemberStates and India.

The new ASEAN-India Plan of Action fornext five years (2021-2025) was adopted at themeeting.

The meeting reviewed the status of ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership in several areasincluding maritime cooperation, connectivity,education capacity building and people-to-people contacts and also discussed ways tostrengthen cooperation to fight COVID-19pandemic among other things.

V Muraleedharan participates in 27th ASEANregional forum Minister of State for External Affairs V

Muraleedharan participated in the 27thASEAN regional forum.

During the 27th ASEAN regional forum, theminister shared India’s views on maritimesecurity, counter terrorism as well as theCOVID-19 pandemic.

He also stated that India will co-chair ASEANRegional Forum (ARF) workshops on portsecurity and the United Nations Convention onthe Law of the Sea.

Virtual meeting of G-20 Agriculture,WaterMinisters held

A virtual meeting of G-20 Agriculture andWater Ministers was held.

The meeting was attended by Jal ShaktiMinister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat andMinister of State for Agriculture and Farmer’sWelfare ParshottamRupala.

The Jal Shakti Minister assured the forum ofIndia’s commitment to contribute towards theobjectives, goals and targets set by G-20.

Government of India is implementing the ‘JalJeevan Mission’ to provide household tapconnections to 190 million rural homes,thereby ensuring drinking water security.

Virtual Buyer-Seller meet for carpet exports tocommence from Sept 29 The Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC)

has announced a three-day Buyer-Seller Meetin virtual mode with special focus on Australiaand adjoining countries to ensure businesscontinuity amid COVID-19 pandemic.

The buyer-seller meet shall be held from 29thof September to 1st of October and with alimited number of virtual booths available,only 50 exhibitors shall participate in the eventon first-cum-first-serve basis.

India is the biggest exporter of handmadecarpets to countries like Australia in theOceania Region.

Carpet exporters can explore businessopportunities by targeting new destinationsDown Under to enhance export potential.

The famed Kashmir carpet is the leading hand-made product exported to various overseasdestinations like Europe, US and the MiddleEast.

All carpet exporters interested in participationin Buyer-Seller Meet have been advised tocoordinate with the Directorate of Handicraftsand Handloom, Kashmir, Kashmir Haat,Srinagar.

Jaishankar participates in inaugural session ofIntra-Afghan negotiations in Doha External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar

participated in the inaugural session of the

76


| Page

Intra-Afghan negotiations held in Doha onSaturday via video teleconference.

The Minister’s participation was in response toan invitation extended to him by the Qatar’sForeign Minister Mohammad binAbdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

He highlighted India’s role as a majordevelopment partner of Afghanistan with over400 projects completed in all the 34 provincesof Afghanistan.

Health Ministry organises virtual conclave forpvt hospitals providing COVID-19 treatment incountry The Health Ministry organized a virtual

conclave for private hospitals providingCOVID-19 treatment in the country.

It provided a platform for discussion ofclinical protocols and best practices inCOVID-19 management towards reducingavoidable deaths.

While COVID-19 has posed unprecedentedchallenges to the country’s health caresystems, there have been proactive responsesfrom the government as well as the privateindustry.

The Ministry also encouraged the hospitalrepresentatives to share their key concerns andchallenges being faced while managingCOVID-19 in their facilities

Santosh Gangwar addresses Virtual Meeting ofG-20 Labour and Employment Ministers Labour and Employment Minister Santosh

Gangwar has called upon all G-20 members tocontinue to work together for finding solutionsto the common problems resulting from theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Gangwar was speaking at Virtual Meetingof G-20 Labour and Employment Ministerslast evening through video conferencing.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan attends 73rdsession of WHO South East Asia Region Health Minister Harsh Vardhan attends 73rd

session of WHO South East Asia Region. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and

Family Welfare attended the73rd session ofWHO South East Asia Region (SEARO)through video conference.

This is the first time the two-day event is beingheld entirely through virtual platforms owingto the COVID pandemic.

The 73rd session is being hosted by theGovernment of Thailand (from Bangkok)while the previous session was held in NewDelhi.

Conclave on “School Education in 21stCentury” begins A two-day conclave on ‘School Education in

21st Century’ commenced virtually.

The conclave has been organised by Ministryof Education as part of ShikshakParv 2020.

ShikshakParv is being celebrated from 8th-25th September, 2020 to felicitate the teachersand to take New Education Policy 2020forward.

The conclave was addressed by the PrimeMinister Shri Narendra Modi under theNational Education Policy- 2020 (NEP-2020).

India to host CHG meeting of SCO on 29-30November in New Delhi India is scheduled to host the meeting of

Council of Heads of Government (CHG) ofShanghai Cooperation Organisation, SCO on29-30 November 2020 in New Delhi.

This will be the first Prime Minister levelmeeting to be hosted by India since itselevation as a full-member of ShanghaiCooperation Organisation, SCO.

India hosted a Preparatory Seminar on Start-upForum on 11 August and the first-ever meetingof Consortium of Economic Think-Tanks on21-22 August.

Both the events were attended by all the SCOMember States through Video Conferencing.

India will also be hosting two Ministerial-levelmeetings of SCO Member States.

India-France-Australia holds first-everTrilateral Dialogue on Indo-Pacific India, Australia and France held their first-ever

Trilateral Dialogue on 9 September 2020, withfocus on enhancing cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

The meeting was co-chaired virtually by HarshVardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary of India,François Delattre, Secretary-General, FrenchMinistry for Europe and Foreign Affairs andFrances Adamson, Secretary, AustralianDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Objective of this trilateral meeting was tostrengthen the strong bilateral relations amongthe three countries and synergize theirrespective strengths to ensure a peaceful,secure, prosperous and rules-based Indo-Pacific Region.

The three sides agreed to hold the dialogue onan annual basis.

Education Ministry organises 2 -day conclaveon School Education in 21st Century underShikshakParv Education Ministry is organising a two-day

conclave on School Education in 21st Centuryunder ShikshakParv through online medium.

The focus will be on Principal and Teacherpractitioners, who will discuss how they havealready implemented certain themes of theNEP in creative ways.

ShikshakParv is being celebrated from 8thSeptember- 25th September, to felicitate the

77


Page |

Teachers and to take New Education Policy2020 forward.

13th Aero India-21 to be held in Bengaluru inFeb 2021 The 13th edition of Aero India-21 is scheduled

to be held at Air Force Station, Yelahanka,Bengaluru, Karnataka from 3 to 07 February2021.

Raksha Mantri, Shri Rajnath Singh haslaunched the website for Aero India 2021, sothat the exhibitors can register and book theirspace online as well as Business and othervisitors buy their tickets online to visit theshow.

Aero India is Asia’s largest air show andaviation exhibition held biennially inBengaluru since 1996.

CFI to host first-ever Cycling Summit in 2021 The Cycling Federation of India (CFI) is all set

to host the first-ever Cycling Summit in 2021,with an aim to promote the culture of cyclingin the country.

This one-day summit is designed to promotethe culture of cycling and exchange knowledgewith budding and professional cyclists.

The Cycling Summit 2021 will be hosted inDelhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore and is expectedto be a unique confluence of cyclingenthusiasts, renowned athletes, and businessesfrom all over the country.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal addresses US-India Strategic Partnership Forum throughvirtual conference Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush

Goyal has invited the US business andindustry to work with their Indian counterpartsto take the bilateral trade to greater heights.

Both countries believe in free and fair trade,and the US is India’s largest trading partner.

The two nations can be the resilient trustedpartners in the global value chain.

Third Annual Leadership Summit of theUSISPF is being held The Third Annual Leadership Summit of the

US-India Strategic Partnership Forum(USISPF) is being held from 31st August.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver theSpecial Key Note Address at the USISPF 3rdAnnual Leadership Summit through videoconference.

The theme of the 5-day Summit is “US-IndiaNavigating New Challenges.”

The theme will cover various subjects such asIndia’s potential in becoming a GlobalManufacturing Hub, Opportunities in India’sGas Market, Ease of Doing Business to attractForeign Direct Investment (FDI) in India.

Arjun Munda inaugurates the two-day NationalTribal Research Conclave

The two days National Tribal ResearchConclave will be held virtually on 3rd and 4thSeptember 2020.

The Conclave Minister for Tribal Affairs ShriArjun Munda will chair the two-day NationalTribal Research Conclave.

The Conclave is organized by the Ministry ofTribal Affairs and the Indian Institute ofPublic Administration (IIPA).

This is the second workshop of its kind. The first workshop was organized in January

2020. The themes of the conclave are Health,

Livelihood, Education, digitalisation, waterconservation, data sciences and developmentmodels for aspiration and model villages.

India to host SCO Council Summit of heads ofgovernment on November 30 A senior official in the Ministry of External

Affairs (MEA) has informed that India willhost a summit of the council of heads ofgovernment of the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO) on November 30, 2020.

The focus of the summit will be on thecontribution to trade and the economic agendaof the influential grouping.

India has already been focusing on expandingits cooperation with SCO.

Saudi Arabia hosts G20 Foreign Ministers’Extraordinary Meeting The G20 Foreign Ministers’ Extraordinary

Meeting held on 3rd September under thecurrent Chair, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabiavirtually.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankarrepresented India.

India proposed the setting up of voluntary‘G20 Principles on Coordinated Cross-BorderMovement of People’.

This new set up will be based on followingthree pillars:

Standardisation of testing procedures anduniversal acceptability of test results

Standardisation of ‘Quarantine procedures’ Standardisation of ‘movement and transit’

protocolsPrahlad Singh Patel virtually attends BRICSCulture Ministers’ Meet The 5th BRICS Culture Ministers’ Meeting

was held under the chairpersonship of RussianFederation.

India was represented by Union Minister ofState (I/C) for Culture and Tourism ShriPrahlad Singh Patel in the 5th BRICS CultureMinisters’ Meet.

The Minister of State for Culture addressedparticipants of the meeting and presentedIndia’s perspective to strengthen the culturalcooperation within BRICS through alternative

78


| Page

mechanisms of sharing and organizing culturalevents in online format given the prevailingpandemic situation.

India attends Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM)Meeting of BIMSTEC India participated in the Senior Officials’

Meeting (SOM) of the regional groupingBIMSTEC on 2 September 2020 to discussways to further expand cooperation among itsmember nations to effectively deal with keychallenges including impact of the coronaviruspandemic.

The key meeting of BIMSTEC was held underthe chairmanship of Sri Lanka.

The Indian delegation at the meeting washeaded by Secretary (East) in Ministry ofExternal Affairs Vijay Thakur Singh.

India to host QUAD meet and 2+2 dialogue India will soon be hosting the QUAD meet

involving Australia, Japan and the UnitedStates and the 2+2 dialogue with the UnitedStates.

The details are being worked out for the same. The information regarding the diplomatic

engagements was shared by the Ministry ofExternal Affairs at the regular weekly briefingon September 3, 2020.

35th FAO Regional Conference for Asia and thePacific (APRC) held under the Chairmanship ofBhutan The 35th Session of the Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO) Regional Conference forAsia and the Pacific (APRC 35), was heldfrom 01 – 04 September 2020, in virtualformat due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The Conference was held under the Chair ofthe Host Country, Bhutan.

The Union Minister of State for Agricultureand Farmers Welfare ParshottamRupalarepresented India in the conference.

The conference focused on regional prioritiesand issues such as COVID 19, the state ofagriculture, natural resources management,food security and nutrition.

Bangladesh will host the 36th RegionalConference for Asia and the Pacific of the in2022.

It will be the first time that the country willhost the event, ever since it joined theorganisation in 1973.

The Regional Conference is held once everytwo years. The first regional conference washeld in Bangalore, India, in 1953.

PM’s special keynote at 3rd Annual LeadershipSummit Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the

Special Key Note Address at the USISPF 3rdAnnual Leadership Summit at 9 PM on 3September 2020, through video conference.

The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum(USISPF) is a non-profit organization thatworks for the partnership between India andthe US.

The theme of the 5-day Summit that began on31 August is “US-India Navigating NewChallenges”.

Keynotes India’s potential in becoming a Global

Manufacturing Hub Opportunities in India’s Gas Market Ease of Doing Business to attract FDI in India Common Opportunities & Challenges in Tech

Space Indo-Pacific Economic issues Innovation in Public Health and othersBangladesh to host FAO Asia Pacific RegionalConference in 2022 Bangladesh will host the 36th Regional

Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC)of the United Nations’ Food and AgricultureOrganization (FAO), for the first time in 2022since joining the organization in 1973.

Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the 35thFAO Asia-Pacific regional conference,organised by Bhutan this year, was heldthrough video conference from September 1-4.The regional conference of FAO is held everytwo years.

India to host summit of SCO council of heads ofgovernment on Nov 30, says MEA India will host a summit of the council of

heads of government of the SCO on November30 with a focus on contributing to the tradeand economic agenda of the influentialgrouping.

The focus of the summit will be on thecontribution to trade and the economic agendaof the influential grouping.

India has already been focusing on expandingits cooperation with SCO.

Saudi Arabia chairs G20 Education MinistersMeeting The Education Ministers Meeting will take

place as part of the Sherpa Track for the G20Leaders Summit 2020, which is to be hostedby Saudi Arabia at the end of 2020.

The Saudi Arabian Presidency has selected thefollowing theme for the G20’s 2020 activities:‘Realizing Opportunities of the 21st CenturyFor All’.

The meet was chaired by Saudi Arabia’sEducation Minister Dr Hamad Al-Asheikhwhere India was represented by UnionMinister of Education, RameshPokhriyalNishank, in the virtual mode.

First World Solar Technology Summit (WSTS)of ISA to be held

79


Page |

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is goingto organise the first World Solar TechnologySummit (WSTS) on September 8, 2020.

In the virtual summit, around 26,000participants have registered from 149countries.

The summit will focus on bringing the light onaffordable and sustainable clean energy.

The Summit will be addressed by PM Modi.The summit is going to launch 8 initiatives andguidelines, Solar Photo-voltaic Technician Skill

development initiative. ISA Cares Initiative. Undergraduate Programme (UG) for small

Island, Developing states and Least DevelopedCountries.

Price Exploratory Global bid for energy thatwill provide access to 47 million householdsthrough solar parks.

Advisory for manufacturers to produce solarkits-based ventilators.

Action plan to develop 20 GW of Solar parks. To make solar power bankable. A new website for the ISA will be launched.Second Webinar organized on topic ‘NutrientRequirement for Children & Mothers duringfirst 1000 days’

The Ministry of Women and ChildDevelopment is organizing a series ofwebinars during the third PoshanMaah beingcelebrated this month.

The first webinar on Best Practices andSuccess Stories from POSHAN Abhiyaan wasorganized yesterday.

The second webinar was held today on thetopic of Nutrient Requirement for Childrenand Mothers during the first 1000 days.

India-Angola Joint Commission meet held India and Angola held their first joint

commission meeting on September 8, 2020. In the meeting, the countries have decided to

expand their trade relation. They held discussions in various sectors

including Food processing, agriculture,defence, pharmaceuticals, health, digitizationand telecom.

India’s dependence on Angola in oil sectorhave increased the trade deficit.

India is Angola’s 3rd largest trading partnersharing about 10% external trade.

It mainly accounts for bulk crude oil purchase.India’s corporate sector see Angola as a landof opportunity.

BOOKS &AUTHORS

Interior designer Gauri Khan has authored herfirst book titled “My Life In Design”, whichwill be published by Penguin Random HouseIndia in 2021.

Karan Johar pens his first children’s booktitled ‘The Big Thoughts of Little Luv’

‘The Commonwealth of Cricket: A LifelongLove Affair with the Most Subtle andSophisticated Game Known to Humankind’by Ramachandra Guha

80


| Page

Actor Channing Tatum to release firstchildren’s book, ‘The One and OnlySparkella’

Pope Francis is set to release the book “Let UsDream” in December 2020.

UN Environment Programme launches“The Little Book of Green Nudges”

Delhi’s 9 years old AjnaaDvivedi launchesher book – ‘The Adventures of Anvi– not anordinary beginning’.

‘Breaking the Cocoon @ 40’ book authoredby Radha Nair

MISCELLANEOUSIndia’s First Airport Coronavirus TestingFacility Launched In Delhi India’s first coronavirus airport testing facility

has been launched at Delhi’s Indira GandhiInternational Airport.

Passengers can book the testing the slot anhour before the time of arrival and aroundfour-six hours before the departure flight. Thetest results are available within four-six hours.

Passengers will have to provide their detailssuch as name, contact details and valid IDproof while applying online for this facility.

Spacecraft named after Kalpana Chawla – firstwoman of Indian origin to go to space Northop Grumman, an American global

aerospace and defence technology companyhas announced that its next Cygnus capsule

will be named “S.S. Kalpana Chawla”, inmemory of the mission specialist who died in2003 with her six crewmates aboard the spaceshuttle Columbia.

Bengaluru gets India’s first on-airport publicbonded warehouse Bangalore International Airport Limited

(BIAL) announced the opening of awarehousing facility covering an area of10,000 square feet.

The facility is claimed to be India’s first on-airport public bonded warehouse.

It is expected to help re-export of goods, long-term storage of bonded cargo, assist in partialclearances and allow labeling, packing andrepacking services.

Hubballi railway station to be renamed afterShree Siddharoodha Swamiji Hubballi Railway Station in Karnataka will

now be known as ‘Shree SiddharoodhaSwamiji Railway Station.

81


Page |

Union government has approved long-pendingdemand of Hubballians of renaming theHubballi railway station.

Apple develops special face masks for employees Apple Inc. has developed masks that the

company is beginning to distribute tocorporate and retail employees to limit thespread of Covid-19.

Apple told staff that the Face Mask wasdeveloped by the Engineering and IndustrialDesign teams, the same groups that work ondevices such as the iPhone and iPad.

It is made up of three layers to filter incomingand outgoing particles.

It can be washed and reused as many as fivetimes, the company told employees.

the mask looks unique with large coverings onthe top and bottom for the wearer’s nose andchin.

It also has adjustable strings to fit around aperson’s ears.

Reliance-backed Fynd launches mobile game toencourage social distancing Reliance-backed eCommerce platform Fynd

has launched a new hyper-casual game titled‘Social Doori’ to encourage social distancingamid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The hypercasual game is based on an Avatarselected by the user.

Being positioned in a public place, the Avatarwould engage the player by guiding on varioussafety measures, including maintaining safesocial distance, among others.

13-million-year-old fossil ape discovered inUttarakhand The fossil, which belongs to unknown species

of Kapi ramnagarensis, is said to be theearliest ancestor of the modern-day gibbon.

The finding fills a major gap in the ape fossilrecord and provides an important evidenceabout the ancestor of gibbon that migratedfrom Africa to Asia.

Facebook Is Preparing for Myanmar’s 2020Election Facebook continues to focus on their

responsibility to ensure the integrity ofMyanmar’s election on their platform.

Facebook also recognize Myanmar’s complexsocial and political context and are sensitive tothe tumultuous changes and the seriousviolence that took place since the country’slast election in 2015.

Facebook is using artificial intelligencetechnology to proactively identify hate speechin 45 languages, including Burmese.

It has also introduced more transparency whenit comes to issue, electoral and political ads,going far beyond the standard in print andbroadcast media.

It is also working with two partners inMyanmar to verify the official nationalFacebook Pages of political parties.

It is limiting the Spread of Misinformation.Kerala and West Bengal have identified‘SystomusGracilus’, a New Species ofFreshwater Fish from Ganga The researchers from Kerala and West Bengal

have identified Systomusgracilus,a newcyprinid(family of freshwater fish) fish fromGanges River at Naihati of West Bengal.

The discovery was published as an article inthe ‘Journal of Experimental Zoology’.

SpiceJet launches portable ventilator SpiceOxyfor patients with breathing issues In the wake of coronavirus outbreak, the

budget airlines SpiceJet introduced a portableventilator for patients with mild-to-moderatebreathing issues. Dubbed as ‘SpiceOxy’, thecompact ventilator was designed by engineersof SpiceJet Technic, a subsidiary of SpiceJet.

This light weight device can be used at home,in an ambulance, on hilly terrain like armybase camps, hospitals, and portableapplications like wheelchairs and gurneys.

SpiceOxy is intended to provide non-invasiveventilator support to treat adult and paediatricpatients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)or respiratory insufficiency.

PUBG, 118 other Mobile Apps Banned byIndian Govt The Ministry of Information and Technology

on September 2, 2020, banned PUBG and 118other widely popular mobile applications.

The latest ban by the government will be thethird hit for the app industry after thegovernment had taken similar steps in the pastby banning Tik Tok and other famous Chinesewebsites.

The move can be seen in the light of ongoingtension between China and India in EasternLadakh.

Indian astronomers discover one of the farthestStar galaxies in universe Indian astronomers have discovered one of the

farthest Star galaxies in the universe in alandmark achievement.

India’s first Multi-Wavelength SpaceObservatory ‘AstroSat’ has detected extreme-UV light from a galaxy located 9.3 billionlight-years away from Earth.

The galaxy called AUDFs01 was discoveredby a team of Astronomers led by Dr KanakSaha from the Inter-University Centre forAstronomy and Astrophysics, Pune.

Jadavpur university to provide smartphones,data pack to students

82


| Page

Jadavpur University has formally decided toprovide android handsets and data pack tostudents, not having such facilities.

those students not having smartphones and netconnectivity will be provided with thehandsets and data pack in arts, science andengineering streams very soon.

They will provide them with good quality setscompatible with net facilities, sharing,uploading and downloading options and forthose needing good connectivity data pack andrecharge for three months.

Amitabh Bachchan has partnered withAmazon and will lend his voice for a uniqueuser experience on Alexa-enabled devices.

DAYS & DATES National Engineer’s Day observed on15

September In India, the Engineer’s Day is

celebrated on September 15 everyyear, since 1968.

The day marks the birth anniversaryof the engineering pioneer of India,Sir MokshagundamVishweshvaraya,(popularly known as Sir MV).

Sir MV was regarded as the “Father ofModern Mysore”.

International Day of Democracy observedon 15 September

World Lymphoma Awareness Day observedon 15 September

National Hindi Day observed on 14September Hindi Divas is celebrated on 14

September because on this day in 1949,the Constituent Assembly of India hadadopted Hindi written in Devanagariscript as the official language of theRepublic of India.

The language was adopted under theArticle 343 of the Indian Constitution.

The United Nations Day for South-SouthCooperation is observed every year onSeptember 12 since 2011, Theme for 2020is “Pathways toward the SDGs throughSouth-South solidarity beyond COVID-19.”

World First Aid Day 2020 observed on 12September

World Suicide Prevention Day observed onSeptember 10 :The theme for 2020 WorldSuicide Prevention Day is ‘Working Togetherto Prevent Suicide’.

83


Page |

International Day to Protect Educationfrom Attack observed on 9th September

International Literacy Day Observed on 8September :The theme of 54th InternationalLiteracy Day is “Literacy teaching andlearning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.”

National Nutrition Week 2020- 1stSeptember to 7th September

International Day of Clean Air for blueskies observed on 7 September

The International Day of Charity isobserved annually on 5 September

Teacher’s day is celebrated on September 5 In India, teachers’ day is celebrated on

September 5 every year since 1962, as it is thebirth anniversary of the second President ofIndia, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

World Coconut Day observed on 02September 2020 :World Coconut Dayobserved on 02 September 2020

National Small Industry Day observed on30 August

84


| Page

Price : `60

VANIK Publications is a unit of VANIK Group. We publish books for competitive examinations like Bank-PO/Clerk, Railway, SSC (Technical and Non-Technical) & Civil Services (UPSC & OPSC) with latest

updates which is highly supported by VANIK Team. The books are available at leading book stalls across India.

Corporate Office : 1441, Opp. IOCL Petrol Pump, CRPF Square, Bhubaneswar-751015Contact : 8093083550 | E-mail : [email protected] | Visit us at : www.vanikpublications.com

Plot-1441, Opp. IOCL Petrol Pump,CRP Square, Bhubaneswar

Near Pani Tanki, Acharya Vihar,Bhubaneswar

Near Yamaha Showroom, Link Road, Cuttack

OSRTC Depo, Infornt of SBR Women’s College, Near Khalikot College

Plot-266, Unit-7, ModipadaSambalpur-768001

8093556677, 9040456677 8093083565, 99374366777205556677, 9040091102 8984556677, 9040656677 7992556677, 8018036677 7377556677

CRP Acharya ViharSaheed Nagar Cuttack Berhampur SambalpurB-61, A & B, Saheed Nagar

Bhubaneswar

Sealdah Big Bazar Complex, 6th Floor,Beliaghata Main Road, Kolkata

7449556677, 6293556677

Kolkata

Date post:	10-Dec-2021
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	1 times
Download:	0 times

Vanik’s Current Affairs

Documents