current affairs september 2020

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CURRENT AFFAIRS

SEPTEMBER 2020

CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE FOR CAPF/CDS & PCS Exams

COVERAGE – THE HINDU, INDIAN EXPRESS. PIB GKTODAY MONTHLY MAGAZINE VISION IAS MONTHLY MAGAZINE

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INDEX OF CURRENT AFFAIRS SERIA

L NO.

SECTION/TOPIC PAGE NO.

1) AWARDS/MEDALS/HONORS/PRIZE 4

2) REPORTS /INDEX/SURVEY/STUDY 6

3) GOVT. SCHEMES/PORTAL /APPS/INITIATIVES 8

4) ECONOMY/BANKING 9

5) DEFENCE NEWS / MILITARY EXERCISE 12

6) ENVIRONMENTS 15

7) INTERNATIONAL NEWS 16

8) SPORTS 17

9) PERSONS IN NEWS 18

10) PLACES IN NEWS – SUMMITS/CONFERENCE 20

11) IMPORTANTS DATES & EVENTS 21

12) STATES IN NEWS 23

13) SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 24

14) FESTIVALS/GI TAGS 25

15) BOOKS 25

16) MISCELLANEOUS 26-28



ANALYSIS OF CURRENT AFFAIRS PREVIOUS YEARS

QUESTIONS PAPERS (2015-2019)

SERIAL

NO.

SECTION/TOPIC NO. OF

QUESTIONS

1) AWARDS/MEDALS/HONORS/PRIZE

14

2) REPORTS /INDEX/SURVEY/STUDY

04

3) GOVT. SCHEMES/PORTAL /APPS/INITIATIVES

09

4) ECONOMY/BANKING

08

5) DEFENCE NEWS / MILITARY EXERCISE

10

6) ENVIRONMENTS

02

7) INTERNATIONAL NEWS

05

8) PERSONS IN NEWS

08

9) SPORTS

06

10) PLACES IN NEWS – SUMMITS/CONFERENCE

07

11) IMPORTANTS DATES & EVENTS

02

12) STATES IN NEWS

02

13) SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

02

14) FESTIVALS/GI TAGS

02

15) BOOKS

03

16) MISCELLANEOUS

10



AWARDS/MEDALS/HONORS/PRIZE

Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has been awarded the Ig Nobel Prize 2020 for Medical

Education. He has been awarded the prestigious award for “using the COVID-19 pandemic to teach

the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and

doctors can”.

Margaret Atwood has won the 2020 Dayton Literary Peace Prize's lifetime achievement

award. T.

The 2020 UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize = awarded to ‘Ageing Nepal’ in Nepal &

‘United World Schools’ in UK.

The 2020 UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy = awarded to ‘Just Commit Foundation’ in

Ghana, ‘University Center for Social Participation’ in Mexico & ‘General Literacy Office in Sanaa’

in Yemen.

Venice Film Festival Awards =

Serial no. Category

Winner

1. GOLDEN LION Nomadland (English), directed by Chloé Zhao

2. SILVER LION – GRAND JURY PRIZE New Order (Spanish), directed by Michel

Franco

3. SILVER LION – AWARD FOR BEST

DIRECTOR

Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Wife of a Spy (Japanese)

4. SPECIAL JURY PRIZE Dear Comrades! (Russian), directed by

Andrei Konchalovsky

5. AWARD FOR BEST SCREENPLAY Chaitanya Tamhane, The Disciple (Marathi)

6. COPPA VOLPI for Best Actress Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman (English)

7. COPPA VOLPI for Best Actor Pierfrancesco Favino, Padrenostro (Italian)

8. MARCELLO MASTROIANNI AWARD

for Best Young Actor or Actress

Rouhollah Zamani, Sun Children (Persian)

Indira Gandhi peace prize awarded to Sir David Attenborough = The prize consists of a citation

and a monetary award of Rs.25 lakh. It recognises excellent efforts by individuals or organisations

which are working towards creating a new international economic order, towards promoting

international peace and development besides ensuring that scientific discoveries are used for the

good of humanity and enhancing the scope of the freedom.

Mira Nair wins Jeff Skoll Award for Impact Media at Toronto International Film Festival.

Sonu Sood receives SDG Special Humanitarian Action Award by UNDP.

Emmy award 2020 [72nd ] =

Drama Series: Succession.

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: Succession.

Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Zendaya, Euphoria



Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Jeremy Strong, Succession

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2020 =

Biological Sciences = Dr Subhadeep Chatterjee & Dr Vatsala Thirumalai.

Chemical Sciences = Dr Jyotirmayee Dash, & Dr Subi Jacob George

Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences = Dr Abhijit Mukherjee & Dr Suryendu Dutta

Engineering Sciences = Dr Amol Arvindrao Kulkarni & Dr Kinshuk Dasgupta.

Mathematics Sciences = Dr UK Anandavardhanan, & Dr Rajat Subhra Hazra.

Medicine Sciences = Dr Bushra Ateeq & Dr Ritesh Agarwal.

Physics Sciences = Dr Rajesh Ganapathy & Dr Surajit Dhara.

The Maharashtra government has announced the Gan Samragni Lata Mangeshkar award for

the year 2020-21 to veteran female playback singer Usha Mangeshkar.



REPORTS/COMMITTEEG /INDEX/SURVEY/STUDY

Global Innovation Index (GII) 2020 = Switzerland rank first. India rank 48. It is compiled by

WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), Cornell University and INSEAD Business

School. India has joined the group of top 50 countries in the global innovation index for the first

time. It has become the third most innovative lower middle-income economy in the world. . It has

moved up four places to the 48th rank and keeping the top position among the nations in central

and southern Asia.

World University Rankings 2021 of Times Higher Education (THE) = UK’s University of

Oxford tops the ranking. None from India in top-300 list of universities. The Indian Institute

of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, is the top-ranked University from India and is ranked in the 301-350

bands.

Vice President releases ‘The State of Young Child in India’ report prepared by Mobile Creches.

Best-performing states: Kerala. Worst-performing states :Bihar.

Ease of doing business ranking = Andhra Pradesh remained the top ranked state followed by UP

and Telangana. Delhi (12th among both states/UTs) was the best among UTs.

World Bank has stopped the publication of its “Doing Business” report to probe data collection

irregularities in the annual ranking of countries’ business and investment climates. The World Bank recently released its Ease of Doing Business Report, 2019 = New

Zealand retained its 1st position whereas Somalia was ranked at 190th spot. India was placed

at 63rd position this time (2019) out of 190 countries marking an improvement of 14 places from

its 77th position in 2018. India’s score improved from 67.23 in the previous year to 71.0 this

year. India continues to maintain its first position among South Asian countries. The report measures the performance of countries across 10 different parameters namely-

1. Starting a Business, 2. Dealing with Construction permits, 3. Electricity availability, 4. Property registration, 5. Credit availability, 6. Protecting minority Investors, 7. Paying Taxes, 8. Trading across borders, 9. Contracts enforcement, and 10. Resolving Insolvency.

[This time two more parameters were considered namely, employing workers and contracting

with the government but these are not included in the score and rankings]

It ranks countries on the basis of Distance to Frontier (DTF) score that highlights the gap of an

economy with respect to the global best practice.

India still lags in areas such as enforcing contracts (163rd) and registering property (154th).

India’s ranking improved basically on four parameters = Starting a Business, Dealing with

Construction Permits, Trading across Borders, Resolving Insolvency.

The World Bank will now include Kolkata and Bengaluru, besides Delhi and Mumbai, for

preparing ease of doing business report, in order to provide a holistic picture of the business

environment of the country.



National Statistical Office (NSO) survey = Kerala tops literacy rate [96.2%] chart; AP worst

performer [66.4%].

UN’s ‘The Levels & Trends in Child Mortality’ Report 2020’ = India’s under-5 child mortality

rate declined drastically between 1990 (126) and 2019 (34).

Rajiv Mehrishi committee [ former CAG] = for assessment of relief to bank borrower.

State Startup India Ranking 2019 by DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal

Trade) = Gujarat was the Best performer in Category X followed by Karnata and Kerala. Uttar

Pradesh and Tamil Nadu occupied the lowest positions.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands was the Best performer in Category Y. Sikkim secured the bottom

place.[ Category Y: All UTs except Delhi and all States in North East India except Assam.

Category X: All other States and UT of Delhi]

Global Economic Freedom Index 2020 = by Canada’s Fraser Institute & Delhi-based Centre for

Civil Society. Hong Kong & Singapore tops the index & India’s rank is 105th.

Human Capital Index 2020 = by World Bank. India ranked 116th rank with its score of 0.49. In

2018, India had scored 0.44. Singapore: 1st rank. The report highlights that, there has been a

major decline in remittances.

The index is based on three pillars namely,

1. Survival under which share of children surviving till the age of 5 is calculated.

2. School under which quantity and quality of education is included.

3. Health under which survival rates and healthy growing among children are included.

India Happiness Report 2020 =

In overall happiness ranking of states and union territories: Mizoram 1st rank.

Among the big states Punjab got 1st rank.

Among smaller states Mizoram got 1st rank.

Among union territories Andaman and Nicobar Islands got 1st rank.

IMD’s Global Smart City Index 2020 = The index has been topped by Singapore, followed by

Helsinki and Zurich as top three smart cities. Hyderabad was the top Indian city, placed at the

85th position.

Gen. Shekatkar committee to review the effective utilisation of the Armed Forces Headquarters

Civil Services (AFHQ CS) cadre.

World Risk Index (WRI) 2020 = India has been ranked at the 89th spot among 181 Countries.

WRI has been developed in cooperation with the United Nations University’s Institute for

Environment and Human Security (UNUEHS) and calculated by the International Law of Peace and

Armed Conflict (IFHV).



GOVT. SCHEMES/PORTAL /APPS/INITIATIVES

Union Cabinet approves ‘Mission Karmayogi’ – National Programme for Civil Services Capacity

Building (NPCSCB) – aimed at capacity building of central government employees.

PM launches mobile app e-Gopala for providing assistance to farmers on livestock related issues.

Fish Brood Bank to be set up at Sitamarhi and Aquatic Disease Referral Laboratory at

Kishanganj under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana.

Fish brood bank is a place (hatchery or farm) where brood fishes are available.

India Post launches Five Star Villages Scheme to ensure 100% rural coverage of postal schemes.

‘Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework 2.0’ = Provides a roadmap for cities to inculcate a

climate-sensitive approach to urban planning and development launched by Union ministry of

housing and urban affairs.

‘Streets for People Challenge’ = aims to inspire cities to create pedestrian-friendly streets launched

by Union ministry of housing and urban affairs.

Parliament passes Bill for giving ‘national importance’ tag to Jamnagar, Gujarat-based Ayurveda

institutes.

POSHAN ABHIYAN: MoU signed between AYUSH Ministry and WCD Ministry to control

Malnutrition.

O-SMART Scheme = Tsunami Early Warning Centre providing services to 25 Indian Ocean

Countries. This is being implemented under the OSMART scheme of Ministry of earth sciences.

Kritagya Hackathon: Launched by ICAR to promote Farm Mechanization



ECONOMY/BANKING

Pan-India Green Term Ahead Market [GTAM] in electricity launched as a first step towards

greening the Indian short term power market. It is an alternative new model introduced for

selling off the power by the renewable developers in the open market without getting into long

term PPAs. It will benefit both buyers and sellers of renewable energy.

Key features of GTAM:

Key features of GTAM 1. Transactions through GTAM will be bilateral in nature with clear identification of

corresponding buyers and sellers; there will not be any difficulty in accounting for Renewable

Purchase Obligations (RPO).

2. GTAM contracts will be segregated into Solar RPO & Non-Solar RPO as RPO targets are also

segregated.

3. Daily & Weekly Contracts – Bidding will take place on MWh basis.

4. Price discovery will take place on a continuous basise. price time priority basis. Subsequently,

looking at the market conditions open auction can be introduced for daily & weekly contracts.

5. Energy scheduled through GTAM contract shall be considered as deemed RPO compliance of

the buyer.

CII launches Future Business Group initiative to provide support to new businesses launched

during the past few years.

Reliance Industries (RIL) becomes first Indian company to surpass the $200-billion market

capitalisation mark.

iStartup2.0 = a ‘one-stop-shop’ for early and growth stage needs of startups introduced by ICICI

Bank.

Consumer price index (retail) inflation 6.69% in August.

Consumer price index = It measures price changes from the perspective of a retail buyer.

Base Year for CPI is 2011-12

Four types of CPI are as follows:

CPI for Industrial Workers (IW).

CPI for Agricultural Labourer (AL).

CPI for Rural Labourer (RL).

CPI (Rural/Urban/Combined). Of these, the first three are compiled by the Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour and

Employment. Fourth is compiled by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) in the Ministry

of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

CPI components = all are arranged them in descending order of WEIGHT (Combined All

India)

1. Food, beverages, tobacco

2. Food, beverages, tobacco

3. Housing

4. Fuel, light

5. Clothing, bedding, footwear



Wholesale price index (WPI) inflation at 0.16% in August

Wholesale Price Index WPI = It is the most widely used inflation indicator in India. Published by

the Office of Economic Adviser, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. All transactions at

the first point of bulk sale in the domestic market are included. Major criticism for this index is

that the general public does not buy products at wholesale price. The base year of All-India WPI has

been revised from 2004-05 to 2011-12 in 2017.

WPI components = arranged in descending order of Weight

1. Manufacture : chemical , metal & foods

2. Primary articles: Food, non food & minerals.

3. Fuel: oil, electricity & coal.

Core inflation WPI = Only WPI of Non-food manufacturing industries.[i.e. without food and

Fuel part.]

Index of industrial production (IIP) =

IIP components = all are arranged them in descending order of WEIGHT

1. Manufacturing [75.5%]

2. Mining [14.1%]

3. Electricity [10.3 %]

Base year = 2011-12.

Government launches Real Time Market (RTM) of Indian Energy Exchange = It is an

organized market platform which will bring required flexibility to provide real time balance while

ensuring optimal utilization of the available surplus capacity in the system. It opens for 30 minutes

in a day, and buyers and sellers would have the option of placing buy or sell bids for each 15-minute

time block.

RBI released new guidelines on PSL = As per the new guidelines, loans up to Rs. 50 Crore for

startups in agriculture and MSME sector would be given under Priority Sector. This apart, the

lending limit for health infrastructure has also been doubled to Rs. 10 crore.

As of now RBI has divided all legible PSL sectors into eight broad categories. 1. Agriculture 2. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises 3. Export Credit 4. Education 5. Housing 6. Social Infrastructure 7. Renewable Energy 8. Other Sectors

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will implement the “Technology Vision for Cyber Security’

for Urban Cooperative Banks (2020-2023) to enhance the IT security system of Urban Co-

operative banking to prevent, detect, respond to and recover from cyber attacks.

IDFC First Bank will launch “SafePay” a contactless debit card-based payment facility. This

payment facility will allow contactless debit card payments by simply waving one’s smartphone

against a Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled POS terminal.

The Reserve Bank of India has announced that it will launch “Positive Pay System” for Cheque Truncation



System from 01st January, 2021. The “Positive Pay System” will be developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and make it available to participant banks. Banks will be required to enable the system for all account holders issuing cheques for amounts of Rs 50,000 and above. While availing of this facility is at the discretion of the account holder, banks may consider making it mandatory in case of cheques for amounts of Rs 5,00,000 and above.

Vodafone Idea has announced its new unified brand identity by renaming all its products

under a new name and logo “Vi”. The Beleaguered telecom operator announced the rebranding of

the company through a virtual platform. The integration into one brand is believed to be the

company’s efforts to reduce the cost of maintaining two brands.

State Bank of India is planning to launch a loan product named “SAFAL” for organic cotton

growers. The product Safe and Fast Agriculture Loan (SAFAL) is primarily focussed on organic

cotton growers who don’t have any credit history. SBI will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and

Machine Learning (ML) for this purpose.



DEFENCE NEWS/SECURITY/MILITARY EXERCISE

Indra Naval Drills-2020 = India and Russia will be holding two days toned down bilateral naval

exercise, `Indra 2020’. It will be in the Bay of Bengal, which is close to the strategic Strait of

Malacca from Sept 4-5.

Recently, India withdrew from the Kavkaz-2020 multinational exercise in Russia scheduled for

later this month due to the participation of Chinese troops. The naval exercise happening the

backdrop of Defence Minister’s visit to Russia for the Shanghai Cooperation organisation (SCO)

defence ministers meet.

MoTA (Ministry of Tribal Affairs) and IIPA (Indian Institute of Public Administration) sign

agreement to set up National Institute of Tribal Research (NITR) at the IIPA campus, New

Delhi.

Five (5 out of 36) Rafale fighter jets [3single seat & 2 twin seat]formally inducted into the

Golden Arrows squadron of IAF at the Ambala air base in Haryana in presence of French Defence

Minister Florence Parly.

Rafale fighter jets = Rafale is a French twin-engine and multirole fighter aircraft designed and

built by Dassault Aviation being produced for both the French Air Force and for carrier-based

operations in the French Navy.

Specifications = Top speed = 2,223 km/hr. length = 10.3 m. Height = 5.3 m. Range = 3700 km.

Weight = 24,500 kg.

Wide Range of Weapons system = Meteor missile, Scalp cruise missile and MICA weapons

system will be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets.

Meteor: It is the next generation of Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile (BVRAAM)

designed to revolutionise air-to-air combat. The Meteor missile can target enemy aircraft from 150

km away.

SCALP Cruise Missiles: It can hit targets 300 km away.

MICA Missile System: It is a very versatile air-to-air missile. It comes with a radar seeker and

can be fired for the short-range to long-range as well right up to 100 km.

Air to Air Target: The ability to strike air-to-air targets from up to 150 km away and safely hit

land targets 300 km within enemy territory make them some of the deadliest fighter jets flying in the

world.

Aero India-21 to be held at Air Force Station, Yelahanka, Bengaluru on 3-7, February 2021.

Ministry of Defence signs contract for Six Pinaka Regiments [Pinaka Multiple Launch Rocket

System] = It has been indigenously designed and developed by Defence Research and

Development Organisation (DRDO).

his is a flagship project showcasing public-private partnership under the aegis of the Government

of India

Pinaka rocket is capable of carrying a 100kg payload for a range of 40km. A single Pinaka battery

can neutralize a surface area of 700m x 500m.

The system can engage targets with a circular error probability (CEP) of one to two percent of

the range.

The rockets can be fitted with a wide range of warheads including pre-fragmented high explosive,

anti-tank bomblet, anti-tank mine let warhead, anti-personnel mines, incendiary practice, and

pilot shot.



DRDO successfully flight-tested Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle = India now

has become the fourth country in the world after the US, China and Russia to do such testing that

would help missiles to travel at six times the speed of sound known as the hypersonic speed. The

testing would lead to development of hypersonic cruise missiles.

Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle = It is an unmanned scramjet demonstration

aircraft that are used in hypersonic speed flights. It will work as a carrier vehicle for hypersonic

and long-range cruise missiles It also has several applications such as low-cost launch of small

satellites. It weighs 1-metric-ton and having length of 5.6-meter (18-ft.). It is a long air vehicle

having a flattened octagonal cross section. It contains mid-body stub-wings and raked tail fins It

has a 3.7-meter rectangular section for air intake. The scramjet engine (where combustion takes

place) is fitted under the mid-body. The aft body (rear part of the ship) serves as the exhaust nozzle.

India successfully conducted the flight test of ABHYAS – High-speed Expendable Aerial Target

(HEAT) vehicles from a test range in Odisha. ABHYAS has been designed and developed by the

Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of the DRDO. The trial, carried out by the

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at

Chandipur.

Indigenously developed laser-guided anti-tank guided missile of 4 km range test fired from MBT

Arjun Tank by DRDO in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. The Arjun is a third generation main battle

tank developed by the DRDO. Pune-based Armament Research and Development Establishment

(ARDE) developed the ATGM in association with High Energy Materials Research Laboratory and

Instruments Research and Development Establishment (IRDE).

Indian Navy, Royal Australian Navy hold Passage Exercise (PASSEX) in East Indian Ocean

Region (IOR).

Surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile test fired at night in Odisha; nuclear capable missile has range

of 350 km.

Specifications =

surface-to-surface missile

strike range of 350 kilometres

nuclear as well as conventional warheads

It is 8.56 meter long and has 1m diameter. It can target mobile targets including unmanned

aerial vehicles.

Prithvi-2 is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kilograms of warheads and is powered by liquid

propulsion twin engines. The state-of-the-art missile uses an advanced inertial guidance

system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target,

Already inducted into the armoury of the defence forces in 2003,

“Prithvi” is the first missile to have been developed by the DRDO under the Integrated

Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).

India-Japan maritime exercise (JIMEX) being held in the Arabian Sea.

Djibouti Code of Conduct = It is a regional maritime security cooperation agreement. The conduct

was established by International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2008. India also became an

observer state under the grouping recently.



GoI permits up to 74% FDI under automatic route in Defence Sector = Till date, the Government

of India has permitted 100% foreign investments in the defence sector. Of this 49% were allowed

under automatic route and above this an approval from the government was required. Now the

share of this automatic route has been increased to 74%.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has successfully developed ‘MOUSHIK’, an

indigenously-made microprocessor for the Internet of things (IoT) devices.



ENVIRONMENTS

Global Initiative to reduce Land Degradation and Coral Reef program launched during G20

Environment Ministers Meeting, Saudi Arabia. Theme of the meeting has been selected as-

“Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All”. The primary aim of the initiative is to

strengthen the implementation of existing frameworks in order to prevent, halt, and reverse land

degradation within G20 member states and globally.

The Mediterranean hurricanes are called medicanes. The scientists have recently warned that

these hurricanes have now become more frequent lately. This is mainly due to human induced

climate change.

Cyanobacteria: Cause of death in 330 Botswana Elephants = The authorities have found that

Cyanobacteria is the cause of death in these 330 elephants.

Cyanobacteria = are photosynthetic bacteria. They are microscopic organism that holds blue

pigment called phycocyanin. The bacteria capture bright light through this pigment to prepare its

food. It is commonly found in soil and water. They carry symbiotic relation with lichen forming

fungi.



INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India-Japan-Australia decides to launch resilient supply chain initiative in the Indo-Pacific

region. Supply chain resilience is an approach that helps a country to ensure that it has diversified

its supply risk across a clutch of supplying nations instead of being dependent on just one or a

few. The initiative aims to reduce the dependency on a single nation (at present China).

SCRI is a direct response to individual companies and economies concerned about Chinese political

behaviour and the disruption that could lead to the supply chain.

The initiative, first proposed by Japan with India and Australia as partners

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun designates diplomat Mustapha Adib to form a new Lebanon

government.

Donald Trump announces Wilmington in North Carolina state as first World War II Heritage

City of US.

Typhoon Maysak hits South Korea’s southern and eastern coasts and Hurricane Nana hits

Honduras, moves towards Belize.

First World Solar Technology Summit organized by International Solar Alliance (ISA) along

with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The summit was

inaugurated by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. The main objective of the summit is to

pay attention to state-of-the-art technologies and next-generation technologies.

Iran holding naval exercise ‘Zolfaghar-99’ nears the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf of Oman.

India votes in favour of UNGA resolution for international cooperation to combat Covid

acknowledging World Health Organisation’s key leadership role in responding to the outbreak

US: State of emergency declared in Louisiana state over coming Tropical Storm Sally

Recently NASA’s Hubble Telescope for the first time ever signalled the presence of a giant halo

of gas found surrounding the Milky Way’s closest galactic neighbour – the Andromeda galaxy.

Halo is nothing but a huge scattering of gas which is usually found surrounding the celestial bodies.

Also known as M31, the Andromeda galaxy is a majestic spiral of around 1 trillion stars and

comparable in size to our Milky Way galaxy.

UNEP launches “Green Nudges” programme for universities = The UN Environment Programme

(UNEP) launched a new publication, “The Little Book of Green Nudges”. It aims to inspire up to

200 million students around the globe to adopt environmentally friendly habits and greener

lifestyles. It is UNEP’s first on behavioural science and nudge theory.

India beats China to become Member of UN’s Commission on Status of Women = India has

recently been elected as one of the members of the Commission on Status of Women (CSW)

which is a body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). India will be a member for four

years from 2021 to 2025.

Yoshihide Suga voted as the new PM of Japan.



NASA announces Artemis Plan to land first woman, next man on moon in 2024.

Abraham Accord = UAE and Bahrain to deal with Israel. The parties have agreed to establish a

diplomatic tie in order to stop the annexation of occupied land by the Palestine for their future

state.

Pakistan to elevate Gilgit-Baltistan to a full-fledged province = India on the other hand has

conveyed that the entire Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh including Gilgit and Baltistan

is an integral part of the country.

Iran has more than 10 times the amount of enriched uranium permitted under an international

agreement (2015): International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Mexico has become the first country in the world to issue a sovereign bond linked to the

sustainable development goals set by the United Nations. This new bond was issued under

Mexico’s new “SDG Sovereign Bond Framework,” which was released in February in partnership

with French investment bank Natixis.

The Fiumicino International Airport (FCO) in Rome, Italy, has become the first airport in the

world to be certified with “COVID-19 5-star airport rating” from Skytrax, a U.K.-based airport

and airline review firm. FCO, also known as the Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport, is the

busiest airport in Italy.

SPORTS

Bhanu Prakash Jonnalagadda wins gold medal at the Mind Sports Olympiad in London.

Western & Southern Open tennis tournament in US = Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (men’s),

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus (women’s) win singles title.

India’s GM P. Iniyan wins 48th annual world open chess tournament (online).

Us Open Tennis games = Japan’s Naomi Osaka defeats Victoria Azarenka of Belarus to win

women’s singles title in the Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows in New York.

Men’s doubles title won by Croatia’s Mate Pavić & Brazil’s Bruno Soares

Women’s doubles title won by Germany’s Laura Siegemund & Russia’s Vera Zvonareva.

Italian Open Tennis = Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (men’s), Romania’s Simona Halep (women’s) win

singles titles.



PERSONS IN NEWS

Former President (2012-2017) Pranab Mukherjee dies at 84; awarded Bharat Ratna in 2019.

Dr S. I. Padmavati, dies at 103. She won Padma Bhushan (1967) and Padma Vibhushan (1992).

She is India’s first female cardiologist.

SC bench punishes lawyer Prashant Bhushan with a ₹1 fine for committing criminal contempt.

Tunisia = Parliament approves Hichem Mechichi as new prime minister.

Scientist Govind Swarup (91), one of the pioneers in radio-astronomy, dies in Pune; won Padma

Shri in 1973, Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 1972.

Paresh Rawal appointed Chairperson of the National School of Drama (NSD).

UNICEF India appoints Ayushmann Khurrana as celebrity advocate for children’s rights

campaign – ‘For Every Child’.

Indian bureaucrat Rajesh Khullar appointed Executive Director, World Bank.

Indian bureaucrat Sameer Kumar Khare appointed Executive Director, Asian Development

Bank.

Harivansh Narayan Singh re-elected as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman.

India’s Udit Singhal (18) named by UN to 2020 cohort of young leaders for SDGs (Sustainable

Development Goals) by UN; is founder of Delhi-based Glass2Sand.

Women Officers for the first time join Helicopter Stream of Indian Navy = In a first, two

women officers to be deployed on Indian Navy warships; Sub Lieutenant Kumudini Tyagi and

Sub Lieutenant Riti Singh graduated as Observers (airborne tacticians) in the helicopter stream.

PM Modi, Ayushmann Khurrana in Time’s magazine list of ‘100 Most Influential People’ of

2020.

Michael Lonsdale, who played James Bond villain in Moonraker (1979), dies at 8 sept.

Playback singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam dies in Chennai 74; awarded Padma Shri in 2001 and

Padma Bhushan in 2011.

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur appointed President of Pune-based Film and Television Institute of

India (FTII).

Dr Kapila Vatsyayan who was a Leading scholar of Indian classical dance, art, architecture and art

history passed away on September 16, 2020 at the age of 92.

She reveived the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship which is the highest honour conferred by the

Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1970.



She has also been conferred with the Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship in 1955 which happens to be

highest honour in the fine arts.

In 2011, she was bestowed upon with the Padma Vibhushan by the government of India.

In 2000, she received the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award.

She was also a founding Director of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.

She wrote many books including, 1. The Square and the Circle of Indian Arts in 1997 2.

Bharata: The Natya Sastra in 1996 and 3. Matralaksanam in 1988. She had been a former

Member of Parliament.

The Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Serraj is to resign by the end of October 2020. The United

Nations has welcomed his resignation. The United Nations backed government of national record

failed to provide stability to Libya. Basically, the GNA has no security forces. The public

administration does not exist under GNA. Very few banks operate in the regions. The regions are

also facing abundant water, petrol and power shortages.

Flight Lieutenant, Shivangi Singh to become the first woman fighter pilot of India to fly the

Rafale combat aircraft that was formally inducted into the Indian Air Force(IAF) September 10,

2020. She is one of the 10 Indian women fighter pilots in IAF. Five Rafale Aircraft were formally

inducted into the IAF’s 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’ on September 10, 2020, at a function held

at Air Force Station, Ambala (Haryana).

Tamil Nadu has appointed India’s first-ever woman ambulance driver, M Veeralakshmi under a

new initiative by CM Palaniswami.



PLACES IN NEWS – SUMMITS/CONFERENCE

India to conduct VAIBHAV Summit i.e. Vaishwik Bharatiya Vaigyanik Summit. The summit is

an initiative by Science and technology experts spread all over the world and working in academic

organisations of India. It enables a deliberation on thought process and research and development

culture focusing on problem solving approach.

Cycling Federation of India (CFI) is all set to host the first-ever Cycling Summit in 2021 to

promote the culture of cycling in the country. The Cycling Summit 2021 will be hosted in Delhi,

Mumbai, and Bangalore.

The 5th BRICS Culture Ministers’ Meeting was held under the chairpersonship of Russian

Federation.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NITI Aayog will

organize a summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social

Empowerment 2020′ from October 5-9, 2020. RAISE 2020 will be a global meeting of minds to

exchange ideas and chart a course for using AI for social transformation, inclusion and

empowerment in areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility, among other

sectors.

The United Kingdom and the United Nations are going to co-organise a global climate summit

on December 12, 2020, to mark the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement

in 2015. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will co-

host the event.



IMPORTANTS DATES & EVENTS

International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances = August 30.

World Coconut Day = September 2. Theme: ‘Invest in Coconut to save the world’.

September 5 = Teachers’ day in India. Birth anniversary of former President Dr. Sarvepalli

Radhakrishnan celebrated as Teachers’ day.

International Day of Charity = September 5; It is celebrated on death anniversary of Mother

Teresa who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta in 1950 and received the Nobel Peace

Prize in 1979.

Kesavananda Bharati, head of Kasaragod (Kerala)-based Edneer Mutt and petitioner in landmark

SC judgement on basic structure of the Constitution in 1973, dies at 79. [prepare basic structure

of the Constitution in detailed from M. Laxmikant book]

First International Day of Clean Air for blue skies = September 7.

International Literacy Day = August 8. Focus: “Literacy, teaching and learning in the COVID-19

crisis and beyond”.

World Suicide Prevention Day = September 10.

The International Day for South-South Cooperation observed by the UN = September 12.

Hindi Diwas = September 14. It marks adoption of Hindi (written in Devanagari script) as the

official language by the Constituent Assembly in 1949.

Engineer’s Day in India = September 15. Celebrated on birth anniversary of Sir M.

Visvesvaraya.

International Day of Democracy = September 15.

World Lymphoma Awareness Day = September 15.

International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer = September 16. Theme: ‘Ozone

for life: 35 years of ozone layer protection’. The day is observed to commemorate the signing of

Montreal protocol in 1987. The day is celebrated since 1994.

The Montreal Protocol was framed at the Vienna Convention with an aim to reduce usage of

substances that deplete the ozone layer. Year 2020 marks the 35 years of Vienna Convention.

Montreal Protocol is the only UN treaty that every country that is 197 members of the united

nations (UN) has ratified on the earth. The Kigali Agreement was also signed to amend the

Montreal protocol to reduce the uses of hydro-fluorocarbons by 80% to 85% by 2040 in order to

reduce the greenhouse gases.

World Patient Safety Day observed on September 17. Theme: ‘Health Worker Safety: A Priority



for Patient Safety’.

First International Equal Pay Day = September 18.

World Bamboo Day = September 18.

World Peace Day = September 21. Theme: Shaping Peace Together.

World Rhino Day = September 22. Theme: Five Rhino Species Forever.

World Maritime Day = September 24. Theme: ‘Sustainable Shipping for a Sustainable

Planet’.

International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons = September 26.

International Day for Universal Access to Information = 28 September. Theme: ‘Leaving No

One Behind!’.

World Rabies Day = September 28. Theme: ‘End Rabies Collaborate, Vaccinate’.

World Heart Day = Sept 29. Theme: ‘Use Heart To Beat Cardiovascular Disease’.

1st International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste celebrated on Sept 29. Theme:

“Stop food loss and waste. For the people. For the planet”

September 27 = World Tourism Day. UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization)

has designated 2020 year as the “Year of Tourism and Rural Development”. Theme: Tourism and

Rural Development.



STATES IN NEWS

Union Cabinet approves J&K Official Languages Bill. J&K will have Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri,

Hindi and English as official languages.

Assam govt re-launches SVAYEM (Swami Vivekananda Assam Youth Empowerment) scheme

to provide self-employment to youths.

The Jammu and Kashmir government recently set up a 10-member biodiversity council.

Biodiversity Council-Composition = It includes five ex-officio members and five non-official

members. The council be headed by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of Jammu and

Kashmir, Mohit Gera.

The biodiversity council will function in consultation with National Biodiversity Authority, as

per an order issued by General Administration Department (GAD).

Fruits & vegetables in J&K covered under ‘Operation Green’s TOP to TOTAL’ scheme =

Operation Greens was announced in the budget 2018-19 on the line of “Operation Flood”. It has

an outlay of Rs.500 crore and it aims to promote Farmer Producers Organizations (FPOs), agri-

logistics, processing facilities and professional management. It is a central sector scheme approved

by Ministry of Food Processing Industries. It focuses on the organised marketing of the of TOP

vegetables by connecting the farmers with consumers through eNAM platforms.

Tamil Nadu becomes first state with AI, blockchain, cybersecurity policies.

PM launches ‘Har Gao Mein Optical Fibre’ project to connect state’s all 45,945 villages in

Bihar.

The Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik has launched a new scheme named ‘GARIMA’

which aims to ensure the economic safety and social dignity of core sanitation workers in the state.

Maharashtra bans sale of unpackaged “loose” cigarettes and beedis as they don’t have health

warnings.

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray has launched a state-wide campaign titled,

‘My Family, My Responsibility’, to curb the spread of coronavirus pandemic.

PM Modi launches “Ghar Tak Fibre” scheme in Bihar.

Gujarat launches new subsidy scheme for E-Vehicles. The scheme was launched in order to

celebrate the 70th birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kerala wins United Nations Interagency Task Force Award for Control of Non-Communicable

Diseases related Sustainable Development Goals.

The first-ever “seaplane services in Gujarat” will be commenced from 31 October 2020. It will

offer seamless and affordable air connectivity from Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad to

Statue of Unity in Kevadia in Gujarat.



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 of Meghalaya Livestock Enterprises

Advancement Society (MLEADS) and funded by the National Cooperative Development

Corporation (NCDC).

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

AUDFs01 galaxy [ One of the farthest Star galaxies in universe] = discovered by Astronomers at

the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune. Discovery made using Multi

Wavelength Space Observatory ‘AstroSat’.

Asteroid 465824 = NASA has been tracking asteroid 465824 2010 FR, which is twice as big as the

Pyramid of Giza and is expected to cross the Earth’s orbit on September 6. It is classified as a Near-

Earth Object (NEO) and a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA).

Asteroids are rocky objects that orbit the Sun. They are smaller than planets and are also called

minor planets. Asteroids are the remnants from the formation of the solar system over 4.6 billion

years ago. Such objects are found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Asteroids can be classified into Trojans asteroid , which are asteroids that share an orbit with a

larger planet and Near-Earth Asteroids (NEA), which have orbits that pass close by the Earth.

Those that cross the Earth’s orbit are called Earth-crossers.



FESTIVALS/GI TAGS

Venice Film Festival = ‘The Disciple’, Marathi film directed by Chaitanya Tamhane, wins

FIPRESCI award.

Losar festival - ladakh( UT)

Beginning of New Year in this Himalayan region.

Wangala Festival – Meghalaya = Annual Hundred Drums festival.

Festival of Tendong Lho Rum Faat of the ethnic Lepcha tribe of Sikkim

Bihu festival - Assam

Shahpur jat autumn festival- Delhi

Mehrauli monsoon festival- Delhi

BOOKS

PM inaugurates Patrika Gate in Jaipur, releases books Samvad Upanishad and Akshar Yatra

written by Patrika Group Chairman Gulab Kothari.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama announces ‘A Promised Land’ as title of his forthcoming

memoirs in November.

Karan Johar authored a children’s picture book titled “The Big Thoughts of Little Luv”.

Pope Francis is set to release the book “Let Us Dream” in December 2020.

Arundhati Roy’s new book titled “Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction” is published by Penguin

Books.

Star chef Vikas Khanna has authored a book titled “Kitchens of Gratitude”.

A new book titled “Voices of Dissent” authored by Historian Romila Thapar.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has launched a book titled ‘A bouquet of flowers’ written by

Dr Krishna Saksena.



MISCELLANEOUS( imp )

Adani Group acquires 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL) from GVK

group (50.5%), Airport Company of South Africa (10%) and Bidvest (13.5%).

CSIR-CMERI develops World’s Largest Solar Tree in Durgapur (West Bengal). Annual

generation capacity is 12,000-14,000 units.

ASI declares site and remains at Sadikpur Sinauli in UP’s Baghpat district to be of national

importance. Evidence of the existence of a warrior class around 2,000 BCE was discovered in

2018.

Indian Oil chartered tanker ‘New Diamond’ catches fire off the coast of Sri Lanka.

Five PSUs (ONGC, IOCL, BPCL, HPCL and GAIL) under Petroleum Ministry to join

International Solar Alliance Coalition for Sustainable Climate Action.

Logo for National Bamboo Mission released which is designed by Sai Ram Goudi Edigi of

Telangana.

Inaugural run of South India’s 1st and country’s 2nd Kisan Rail between Anantapur (AP) and

New Delhi flagged off. The first Kisan Rail was flagged off between Devlali in Maharashtra

and Danapur in Bihar as a weekly service.

EGoM (Empowered Group of Ministers) set up under Chairmanship of Defence Minister

Rajnath Singh to oversee the corporatisation of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).

E-foundation stone of Shri Arun Jaitley Memorial Sports Complex laid at Hiranagar in

Jammu.

Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) The Supreme Court Judgment = The Supreme Court has

allowed 10 years for staggered payment of AGR dues. The court also observed that contempt

proceedings will begin in case of non-payment of installment. Every year by 7th February,

payments have to be made.

Dept. of telecommunication argued that AGR includes all revenues from both telecom and non-

telecom services. The companies claimed that AGR should comprise just the revenue accrued

from core services and not dividend, interest income or profit on the sale of any investment or

fixed assets.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance launches AI-powered voice chatbot- LiGo = This will help

ICICI policyholders to have their queries answered by simple voice commands.

Dropping the Question Hour in LS schedule of Monsoon Session = It has dropped the Question

but unstarred questions would be allowed. Question hour had also been suspended during the

Chinese aggression in 1962.

Question Hour = It is during this one hour that Members of Parliament ask questions of ministers

and hold them accountable for the functioning of their ministries. Parliament has comprehensive

rules for dealing with every aspect of Question Hour and the presiding officers of the two houses



are the final authority with respect to the conduct of Question Hour. Usually Question Hour is

the first hour of a parliamentary sitting. But In 2014, Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari

shifted Question Hour in the House from 11 am to 12 noon.

IIT Delhi launches ‘‘Chakr DeCoV’’ to decontaminate N95 masks = The mechanism utilises the

high penetrability of Ozone gas for cleaning the pores of the N95 mask. Ozone is a strong

oxidizing agent that destroys viruses by diffusing through the protein coat, resulting in damage to

the viral RNA. Proper dosage and exposure of Ozone can result in inactivation of SARS CoV-2 and

a 99.9999 per cent reduction in bacterial load, after which an N95 mask can be reused for up to 10

times without any impact on the filtration efficiency.

Permanent Commission to Women in Indian Army = The Supreme Court of India delivered a

ruling that allows women to serve as permanently commissioned (PC) officers in 10 combat support

arms and services of the Indian Army. The Indian Army had set in motion a series of preparatory

actions for the conduct of the Permanent Commission Selection Board for affected women

officers. The associated Selection Board will be scheduled as soon as all affected Short Service

Commissioned (SSC) women officers exercise their option and complete requisite documentation.

The order grant the permission of Permanent Commission (PC) to Short Service Commissioned

(SSC) women officers in all the 10 streams of the Army in which they presently serve.

Restructuring the Railway Board = The number of Railway Board members will be reduced to

five from existing eight. It will be headed by the chairman and four members — covering

infrastructure, operations and business development, rolling stock, and finance. The board will also

include sectoral experts from industry, finance, economics, and management fields. The

chairman will be the cadre-controlling officer responsible for Human resources (HR) with

assistance from a director-general (HR). Vinod Kumar Yadav became the first chairman and chief

executive officer (CEO) of the board.

National Medical Commission replaces Medical Council of India based on the recommendation

made by NITI Aayog.; Dr Suresh Chandra Sharma is first Chairman. The commission is made of

33 members. It is headed by a chairperson who is a medical professional. Also, the commission will

have 10 ex-officio members and 22 part time members.

The main functions of the commission = Laying down policies to regulate medical professionals

and medical institution. Assessing requirements of healthcare infrastructure and human resources.

Ensuring if the State Medical Councils comply to rules and regulations. Framing guidelines to

determine fee structure of private medical institutions.

Foundation Day (Sept 25) of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY)

celebrated as “Kaushal Se Kal Badlenge”.

Foundation stone of ‘Centre for Disability Sports’ laid at Gwalior (MP).

India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) recently exited from Sudan oilfields. This step was

taken by ONGC after the African nation refused to pay for oil it lifted from the fields.

India’s first private Jet Terminal at New Delhi.

FELUDA = First Gene based COVID-19 test approved in India. The Drug Controller General of

India (DCGI) has recently approved the gene-based COVID-19 test called Feluda. The test was

indigenously developed and uses cutting edge CRISPR gene editing technology to detect the



COVID-19 virus.

India launches first Cargo Ferry Service to Maldives = The service will help boost the business

and trade relations between the countries. The launch of the service will also help to boost

Neighbourhood First Policy. The service will connect Tuticorin and Cochin ports of Indi with

Male and Kulhudhuhfushi ports of Maldives.

Airbus to launch World’s first Commercial Hydrogen aircraft by 2035. The hydrogen aircraft

designed and created by airbus is the first commercial hydrogen powered aircraft. Prior to this the

Russian manufacturer Tupolev had built a prototype called Tu-154. This was the first experimental

aircraft that operated on liquid nitrogen. Though hydrogen is a clean fuel, it is more expensive than

that of the fossil fuels. The world’s largest hydrogen production Centre is the Fukushima hydrogen

energy research field that is located in Japan.

NITI Aayog and Netherlands sign “Decarbonisation and Energy Transition Agenda” to

accommodate cleaner energy.

current affairs september 2020

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