October 1st Week 2020 Current Affairs Online Test English

On 2020 Sep.24, Kerala won the United Nation Interagency Task Force Award for its outstanding performance in controlling non–communicable diseases related Sustainable Development Goals. Kerala is one among the seven ministries of health from all over the world to receive the award. The other programmes of the state such as Cancer Treatment Programme, Lung Disease Programme and Paralysis Control Programme were also considered for the award.

The ‘Ministerial Roundtable Dialogue on Biodiversity Beyond 2020: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth’ has been virtually hosted by China. Union Environment Minister of India Prakash Javadekar has attended the Ministerial Roundtable Dialogue. This was conducted one week before the upcoming United Nation Summit on Biodiversity. It also aims to exchange views on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has recently test–fired Prithvi–II, the surface–to–surface missile. This exercise has been undertaken as a part of User trial by the Indian Army, from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur base in Odisha. The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock by the Army and was monitored by DRDO Scientists.

International Commission of Jurists’ is an international human right non–governmental organization, headquartered at Geneva, Switzerland. ICJ was recently in news as it has announced that the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 passed by the Indian Parliament was incompatible with international law. It also opined that the provisions of the bill would impose arbitrary obstacles in human rights promotion.

✓ Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former West Bengal Governor has been appointed as a life trustee of India International Centre, New Delhi. He is set to fill the vacancy created by the death of Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan. Gopalkrishna Gandhi is a retired diplomat and is the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. He served as the Governor of West Bengal from 2004 till 2009.

Every year, the World Pharmacists Day is celebrated on September 25. This day is observed by International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) and the decision to observe this date was made during the council meet of FIP in 2009 at Istanbul.
✓ The aim of this day is to encourage activities that promote the role of the pharmacist in improving health. The theme for this year is “Transforming global health”.

The Union government has sanctioned 670 electric buses for Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat and Chandigarh under the Phase 2 of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicle (FAME) scheme. In addition to electric buses, Government has also sanctioned 241 electric charging stations in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat and Port Blair. The FAME scheme is being implemented by Ministry of Heavy Industries.

Activities regarding the “Yoga Break” protocol of Ministry of AYUSH have been resumed, after it was suspended due to COVID–19. This 5–minute protocol is intended to introduce yoga to people at work and help them to take a break from the work schedule. This protocol was developed by Ministry of AYUSH in association with Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY

The Reserve Bank of India has given in–principle approval to Vakrangee for setting up Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU). The approval has been granted as per the provisions contained in Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. Vakrangee can now handle payment and aggregation of payment services relating to bills under BBPS.

The first ever virtual summit between PM Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was recently held. India announced a grant of USD 15 million for the promotion of Buddhist ties with Sri Lanka. India also affirmed to expand Defence partnership with the island country, to stabilise security in the Indian Ocean.

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) is a strategic forum organised between the United States, Japan, Australia and India. Recently, the QUAD consultation of the four member countries was held virtually to discuss regional issues of common interest
✓ The last Ministerial engagement was held in September 2019. The Senior officials reaffirmed their commitment for an inclusive Indo–Pacific region.

The foundation stone of ‘Centre for Disability Sports’ was laid at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh in an event organised by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The Cabinet has approved the setting up of a Centre for Disability Sports at Gwalior in February 2019.
✓ The estimated outlay of the project to set up the Centre is Rs.170.99 crore. This will be the first exclusive centre of Disability sports in the country.

 The first ever virtual summit between PM Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was recently held. India announced a grant of USD 15 million for the promotion of

 The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification comprising standards for safety evaluation of hydrogen fuel cell–based vehicles. The Ministry has amended the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 to specify the standards for the vehicles being propelled by Hydrogen Fuel cells. These standards are said to be at par with the available international standards.

 The Government of Kerala has decided to provide food kits to 1,000 transgender persons in the state. Kerala became the first state in the country to provide food kits to transgender during the 1st phase of lockdown in March 2020. The state government has now sanctioned food kits amounting Rs.700 each to 1000 transgender persons.

 Insurance regulator IRDAI has identified Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), General Insurance Corporation (GIC) and New India Assurance (NIA) as Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D– SII). D–SIIs are insurance companies of such large size and market importance, whose failure would cause a distress in domestic financial system. D–SIIs would be subjected to higher level of
regulatory supervision.

 Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed for a pact with the USA “Non–Interference” in each other’s domestic affairs. The pact is proposed weeks before the Presidential elections in USA. Western Nations have been accusing Russia for using its hackers and trolls to influence the outcome of elections in other countries. Also, US intelligence has stated that Russia is trying to manipulate election results in favour of Donald Trump.

 Vodafone has won an arbitration case against the Government of India at the International Arbitration Tribunal, Hague. The tribunal held that Indian Government’s tax imposition on Vodafone, including interest and penalties were in a breach of an investment treaty agreement between India and the Netherlands. India had claimed a total of Rs 279 billion (USD 3.79 billion) including about $2 billion as tax, interest and penalties.

 ‘International Sign Languages Day’ is celebrated on September 23. In India, it was celebrated by Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), an autonomous body under Social Justice and Empowerment virtually. United Nations has declared 23rd September as International Sign Language Day. The theme of this year is ‘Sign Languages are for everyone’ with a view to enhancing awareness about Sign language and expanding its reach to everyone.

 Each year on 24th September, World Maritime Day is celebrated by International Maritime Organization in order to mark the contribution of international maritime industries towards the economy of the world especially shipping. The theme for this year is “Sustainable shipping for a sustainable planet”.

 The Gunda and Anti–Social Activities (Prevention) Bill was passed by Gujarat Legislative Assembly on September 24, 2020. The Bill seeks to strictly deal with anti–social elements and hardened criminals, prescribing jail terms ranging from seven to 10 years and it also empowers the police to seek 30–day remand instead of 15 days while a charge sheet can be filed within 90 days instead of the present provision of 60 days.

 The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has launched a unified portal called ‘U–Rise’, to provide career counselling to students. The portal aims to provide assistance to students in getting vocational and technical education. It also comprises e–content, e–library, and online courses, which can be accessed by students in the interior areas of the state.

 Uttar Pradesh is soon going to launch ‘Operation Durachari’ to check crime against women and to put posters of habitual offenders in cases of sex–related crimes on road crossing in Uttar Pradesh.

 The Government of India, Ministry of Textiles is implementing National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP) for development of Block Level clusters across the country including Andhra Pradesh & Telangana States. The Block Level clusters are sanctioned on the basis of the viable proposals received from States Government.

 The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare conducts National Nutrition Surveys in order to keep the check on the nutritional status of children through periodically conducting surveys. Recently, a Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) (2016–2018) has captured the data on nutritional status of school going children.

 The Rajya Sabha in its sitting today passed three labour codes namely, Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (ii) Code on Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions Code, 2020 and (iii) Social Security Code, 2020.

 The Union Health Minister Harshvardhan Singh has recently launched an online portal about Covid–19 with all latest information on the disease. It will also include date on research development and clinical trials on potential Covid–19 vaccine in the country. The Minister also launched the 100–year timeline history of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

 The first cargo vessel from India to Maldives, named MCP Linz has reached the northern Maldivian town of Kulhudhufushi. This is the first voyage of the direct Cargo Ferry Service between India and the Maldives and it was jointly launched on September 21. This is also the first ferry service in the Indian Ocean region operated by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI).

 A rare species of butterfly named the ‘Branded Royal’, was recently spotted in the Nilgiris, along
the slopes of Kotagiri. The butterfly was previously documented in the Nilgiris in the year 1888 by
G.F. Hampson. There is only one such record about the butterfly in Tamil Nadu. The Branded Royal (Tajuria melastigma) is a species of lycaenid.

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 Inntot Technologies, based at Kochi (Kerala), has bagged a major honour at the ICT Startups Awards 2020, for its outstanding work in the field of digital broadcast receivers through innovation. The company is backed by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM). The event was conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in association with the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Ericson.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated six mega development projects in Uttarakhand under the Namami Gange Mission.

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 Leading stock exchange, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) announced that it has signed a pact with private sector bank Yes Bank to empower the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). As per the BSE, the agreement aims to empower SMEs listed on the platform, through awareness and knowledge–sharing programmes, for export promotion and banking and financial solutions. The bank will also offer customised services and products to the listed SMEs.

 As per the recent cautionary message from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a new virus named ‘Cat Que’ emerged in China. This virus comes from Culex mosquitoes and pigs in China and Vietnam. As per ICMR, India also provides breeding climate to this species of Culex mosquitoes. This is published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR).

 Human rights group Amnesty International has announced that it is halting all its ongoing campaign and research work in India. The Group said that the Government has frozen the bank accounts for speaking out about rights violations. Amnesty had earlier highlighted rights violations that occurred in Jammu and Kashmir and riots in Delhi.

 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the enhanced borrowing facility provided to banks by six more months. The facility to borrow under MSF scheme to meet liquidity shortage till March 31, 2021. Earlier in the March, the RBI had increased the limit from 2 per cent to 3 per cent of their net demand and time liabilities.

 India’s 1st multi–wavelength astronomical observatory named ‘ASTROSAT’ has recently completed five years of imaging objects in space. The satellite was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 2015. It has successfully carried out over 1000 observations of 800 unique celestial sources. A discovery of a galaxy located at a distance of about 10 billion light–years from Earth has been made using it.

 Famous Actor Sonu Sood has been conferred with “SDG Special Humanitarian Action Award” by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The award has been conferred upon him for his selfless assistance rendered to migrants, stranded students abroad and bring them back to India. He also opened his hotel in Mumbai for health care workers of nearby hospitals.

 Flipkart and Bajaj Allianz have collaborated to offer “Digital Suraksha Group Insurance”. The insurance product is aimed at customers who wish to cover themselves against financial losses incurred due to cyber–attacks, cyber frauds, or other such activities on online platforms. This insurance covers for direct financial loss due to online frauds up to the sum insured.

 The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved capital acquisition proposals in Defence sector worth Rs.229 crore. The proposals include acquisition of 72,000 assault rifles from the United States of America. These proposals include material acquisitions from both Indian and foreign players and is aligned with Atma Nirbhar Policy of Self Reliance.

 Major e–commerce giant Amazon has launched its new Fulfilment Centre in Tamil Nadu. This is aimed to strengthening the firm’s network in the state. This facility is expected to offer significant employment opportunities in Tamil Nadu and give a boost to the Economy. The facility has a 7 lakh cubic feet of storage space and can accommodate lakhs of products, appliances and furniture.

 Leading Power Sector organisation, NTPC Ltd has recently signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of Power.
 Under the MoU, the key targets were fixed for the year 2020–21, which include 340 BU of electricity generation, 15 MMT of coal production under excellent category. It also includes other financial parameters including Capex and Revenue from operations.

 The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released the report of a survey titled ‘Health in India’. The report is based on information collected through NSS Schedule 25.0 (Household Social Consumption: Health). As per the report, the Zoroastrian community is the most susceptible to ailments.

 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) – 2020 in New Delhi. The first Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) was promulgated in the year 2002 and has since been revised periodically to provide impetus to the growing domestic industry and achieve enhanced self reliance in defence manufacturing. Defence Minister had approved constitution of Main Review Committee under Chairmanship of DG (Acquisition) Apurva Chandra in Aug–2019 for preparation of DAP–2020. DAP 2020 will be applicable with effect from 01st October 2020.

 The G20 Leaders’ Summit will be organised virtually on November 21–22 by Saudi Arabia, as per the country’s recent announcement. It also said that the Summit will focus on addressing vulnerabilities resulting from the COVID–19 pandemic. G20 had contributed over $21 billion for the vaccine production and distribution. The bloc also launched a debt suspension initiative for least developed countries.

 The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has been implementing a separate Central Sector Scheme ‘Eklavya Model Residential Schools’ (EMRSs) from 2019–20 with the prime objective to provide quality upper primary, secondary and senior secondary level education to Scheduled Tribe (ST) students to enable them to access the best opportunities in education and to bring them at par with the general population.

 Insurance regulator IRDAI has identified Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), General Insurance Corporation (GIC) and New India Assurance (NIA) as Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D– SII). D–SIIs are insurance companies of such large size and market importance, whose failure would cause a distress in domestic financial system. D–SIIs would be subjected to higher level of regulatory supervision.

 Veteran playback singer S P Balasubrahmanyam has recently passed away at the age of 74, after being contracted by the novel coronavirus. The legendary singer held Guinness World Record for highest number of songs by a singer. He had won six National Awards during 1979 to 1996 and won two civilian awards, Padma Shri in 2001, Padma Bhushan in 2011.

 The foundation Day of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU–GKY) has been celebrated as ‘Kaushal Se Kal Badlenge’. Ministry of Rural Development organised the event on the occasion of Antyodaya Diwas, to commemorate the 6th foundation of the DDU–GKY scheme.