Mizoram Tops List CONTENTS
S. No. Chapter Name Page No.
1. United Nations 75th Anniversary 1-2
2. International and Bilateral 3-4
3. National 5-9 4. States 10-11 5. Economy and Banking 12-16 6. RBI Updates 17-18 7. Schemes 19-20 8. Cabinet Approvals 21 9. Science and Technology 22-23
10. Defence 24-25
11 Bills And Acts 26-28 12. Awards and Honours 29-31 13. Sports 32-33 14. Persons In News 34
15. Obituaries 35-36
16. Reports, Indices and Ranking 37-38
17. Committees 39
18. Summits and Conferences 40
19. Appointments 41 20. Days And Themes 42 21. Books and Authors 43 22. Brand Ambassadors 43 23. Practice Bits (Current Affairs) 44-55
Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 1. UNITED NATIONS 75TH ANNIVERSARY
On September 21, 2020 a “Declaration on the New York and under the Presidency of Volkan Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Bozkir of Turkey. United Nations” was adopted at the high level For this session the world leaders submitted pre- meeting for strengthening mechanism to combat recorded video statements which were played in the terrorism, reformed multilateralism, inclusive General Assembly Hall during the general debate development and better preparedness to deal with held from Sept 22-29 at the beginning of each session of the General Assembly. challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic. As a part of From India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declaration the 193 member nations commit to leave addressed the high-level meeting to mark the 75th no one behind, protect the planet, promote peace and anniversary of the UN on September 22 and the prevent conflicts, abide by international law and general debate on September 26 through the pre- ensure justice, place women and girls at the centre, recorded video statements. These statements were build trust, improve digital cooperation, upgrade the presented by Permanent Representative of India to UN, ensure sustainable financing, boost partnerships, the UN,TS Tirumurti. listen to and work with youth. The event was held Key points from PM Modi Address under the theme “The Future We Want, the UN We India is elected as a non-permanent member for the Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to UN Security Council (UNSC) for a two-year term Multilateralism” beginning January 1, 2021. India‟s overall objective During the session, The 75th United Nations during its tenure will be the achievement of General Assembly (UNGA 75) was held virtually N.O.R.M.S – a New Orientation for a Reformed from September 15 to September 30, 2020. It was Multilateral System. hosted by the United States of America (USA) from 1 IACE (Indian Academy of Competitive Exams) www.iace.co.in Toll Free: 1800-270-9975, Ph: 9533200400
Current Affairs October 2020– Digest India is a founding signatory of the UN Charter. Rise of fora like G4 (India, Brazil, Germany, and India‟s vaccine production and delivery capacity Japan) as important economies and emerging world will be used to help all humanity in fighting powers are pushing after quick UN Security COVID-19 pandamic crisis. Council reforms. India endorsed US‟ Joint Statement Multilateralism: International relations today are A joint statement was issued by US on “Universal characterized by the power relationships of the Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)” stating its United States, China, Russia, India and Europe.A „re-dedication‟. This move is endorsed by India new model of the UN must be formulated, as along with Bahrain, Brazil, the Democratic current world order has changed from bipolar to Republic of Congo, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Japan, unipolar to multi polar today. Jordan, the Maldives, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Democratisation of UN: Developing countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE). India are proposing reforms that seek to G4 Foreign Ministers Meeting held virtually; democratize the UN, such as UNSC reforms, UN Demanded urgency in UNSC reforms peacekeeping reforms. The foreign ministers of the G4 countries (Group of Financial Reforms: This holds the key to the future Four) comprising India, Japan, Germany and Brazil of the UN. Without sufficient resources, the UN's hold a virtual meeting during UN75 session. The activities and role would suffer. grouping demanded urgent reform of the UN About 75th United Nations Day Security Council (UNSC) while expressing their The United Nations (UN) will celebrate its 75th concern at the lack of any meaningful movement in anniversary on 24 October 2020. the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on To mark its 75th anniversary in 2020, the UN is Security Council reform. igniting a people‟s debate: UN75. The meeting was attended by Union External Through UN75, the UN will encourage people to Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar from put their opinions together to define how enhanced India, Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo, international cooperation can help realize a better Japan‟s Motegi Toshimitsu and Minister of State at world by 2045. German Foreign Office Niels Annen. Each year on 24th October, the UN celebrates its Need for reforms in United Nations anniversary. UN Day marks the anniversary of the Security Council Reforms: In UNSC, the permanent entry into force of the UN Charter and the founding member countries (P5) have made the UN defunct of the Organization in 1945. in maintaining peace and order. Therefore, veto The United Nations was born out of the horrors of powers of P5 and composition of UNSC must be World War II. At the time of its foundation, it was made more representative of the current world primarily tasked with the goal of maintaining world order. The P5 countries include China, France, peace and saving future generations from the evils Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. of war. The power of veto is frequently cited as a major The name "United Nations" was coined by United problem as the P5 members often influence the States President Franklin D. Roosevelt. resolutions making those countries to suffer, which The first meeting of the General Assembly took rather need a platform to grow. place on January 10, 1946. Thus, a new category of “semi-permanent” seats is The four main goals of the UN intriguing as, if properly structured, could ensure • Maintaining international peace and security, legitimacy without preventing flexibility for a • Developing friendly relations among nations, changing world. • Achieving international cooperation in solving The regions like far East Asia, South America, international problems and Africa have no representation in the permanent • Being at the center for harmonising the actions of membership of the council. nations in the attainment of these common ends.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 2. INTERNATIONAL AND BILATERAL
New Zealand becomes first country to India and Israel to co-develop hi-tech mandate climate risk disclosures weapon systems New Zealand has become the first country to pass The strategic partnership of India-Israel is legislation requiring financial entities to declare expanding in various sectors including defence. their climate-related risks. Earlier Israeli companies like Rafael Advanced Financial entities in New Zealand will have to Defense Systems, Elbit and Elta Systems have comply with the framework laid down by the Task also formed seven joint ventures with Indian Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures companies. (TCFD). Now these two countries are taking further steps The rule will apply to banks, insurers, all listed debt to strengthen their defence partnership for co- and equity issuers. developing and co- production projects of high- In this regard, New Zealand is the first country to tech weapon systems and exporting them to other mandate its financial entities to mandate climate friendly countries. risk disclosures In this regard, on September 26, 2020, a new sub • New Zealand Capital: Wellington working group (SWG)was setup to promote such • Prime Minister: Jacinda Kate Laurell Arder joint projects The SWG will be headed by Sanjay Jaju, joint Donald Trump announced Wilmington as secretary (defence industries production) in the the First World War II Heritage City Indian defence ministry and Eyal Calif, director Donald Trump, President of the USA has Asia & Pacific from the Israeli one. announced Wilmington (located in southern US •Israel Capital: Jerusalem •Currency: Israeli Shekel state North Carolina) as the first World War II • Prime Minister: Benjamin Netanyahu Heritage City. Nepal and India begin joint security patrol The announcement was made at a ceremony held to along border in Kapilvastu district mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War The Security forces of Nepal and India have started II. Sept. 2, 2020 marks the 75th commemoration of a joint security patrol at the Nepal-India border in the end of World War II. Kapilvastu district, Nepal. During the war, Wilmington was the site of the The patrol has been started with a motive to control North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, which built the spread of COVID-19 and keep in check the 243 ships in five years as part of the federal illegal cross-border activities at the Nepal-India government‟s emergency shipbuilding program. border. India, Denmark sign MoU to increase The Krishnanagar Municipality of the Kapilvastu cooperation in intellectual property rights district is a major point of transit along the Nepal- India and Denmark signed a Memorandum of India border. Understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in Nepal Police, Armed Police Force of Nepal and the area of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) Seema Suraksha Bal of India began the patrol on through exchange of best practices and borders on 19th September, 2020. collaborating in training programmes. Apart from this India and Nepal jointly launched a The main aim of the MoU is to increase cooperation website (www.goicbrinepal.com) for all in development of automation and implementation information related to education projects under of modernisation projects, new documentation and Government of India assisted post-earthquake
information systems in IP. reconstruction initiatives in Nepal. •Nepal Capital: Kathmandu •Currency: Nepal Rupee •Denmark Capital: Copenhagen •Currency: Krone • Prime Minister: KP Sharma Oli • Prime Minister: Mette Frederiksen •Indian Ambassador to Nepal: Vinay Mohan
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest
Mexico became the first country to issue Russian President Vladimir Putin and French 7-year Sovereign SDG Bond worth $890m counterpart Emmanuel Macron on October 1, Mexico became the first country in the world to 2020 called for an immediate ceasefire between inaugurate sustainable financing program for the the ethnic Armenian forces and Azerbaijan. achievement of Sustainable Development Goals The two leaders noted that there is no alternative (SDGs) by issuing a seven-year Sovereign SDGs to political and diplomatic process to resolve the Bond worth USD 890 million under its new “SDG crisis, expressing their readiness to make a Sovereign Bond Framework” developed with statement on behalf of co-chairs of OSCE Minsk investment bank Natixis, located in Paris, France. Group. The Mexico government has invited the United The OSCE Minsk Group: The group comprising Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for Russia, France and the United States was set up in partnership in the initiative. 1992 by the Conference on Security and • Mexico Capital: Mexico City •Currency: Mexican peso Cooperation in Europe to encourage a peaceful • President: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador resolution to the Azerbaijan and Armenia conflict •UNDP Headquarters: New York, United States over Nagorno-Karabakh. India, Afghanistan become members of • Armenia Capital: Yerevan • Currency: dram UN‟s Commission on Status of Women • President:Armen Sarkissian •PM: Nikol Pashinyan India & Afghanistan were elected as members of • Azerbaijan Capital: Baku • Currency: manat the United Nations (UN) Commission on Status • President: Ilham Aliyev •PM: Ali Asadov of Women, a body of the Economic and Social India & Japan sign agreement on Council (ECOSOC). Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and The Commission on the Status of Women is a UN organ promoting gender equality and the Services India and Japan signed an agreement concerning empowerment of women. Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services or India (38 votes) and Afghanistan (39) won the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement ballot among the 54 members, India‟s Permanent Representative to the UN, T S Tirumurti (ACSA) between the armed forces of India and the announced the election of India to the Committee. self- defense forces of Japan. India will be a member of the UN‟s Commission The Mutual Logistics Pact will ensure a free and on Status of Women for four years from 2021- open Indo-Pacific region amidst China‟s 2025. Aggressive Policies. • Chair of UN‟s Commission on Status of Women: UNICEF to lead global procurement, Mher Margaryan (Armenia) supply of COVID vaccines Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict The United Nations Children‟s Fund (UNICEF) Recently, territorial dispute between Armenia and will be leading the procurement and supply of Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region COVID-19 vaccines to ensure that all countries has re-erupted with heavy clashes. have safe, fast and equitable access to initial doses The bloody conflict is said to have resulted in the of vaccines, when they are available. killing of over 100 people with both sides The procurement and distribution will involve 170 claiming to have inflicted heavy losses on the Economies, and has the potential to make it the opposing forces. largest and fastest ever kind of operation. Nagorno-Karabakh, in South Caucasus is UNICEF will collaborate with Pan American recognized internally as Azerbaijan‟s territory, but Health Organization, to lead efforts for procuring has mostly Armenian population who have and supplying doses of Covid-19 vaccines on behalf resisted Azerbaijani rule for more than a century. of the COVAX Global Vaccines Facility for 92 low and lower middle-income countries.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 3. NATIONAL
PM Modi dedicates Atal Tunnel in South Eastern Railway launches Himachal Pradesh to the Nation „Operation My Saheli‟ to ensure security The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi of women passengers dedicated Atal Tunnel to the nation. The South Eastern Railway Zone of the Indian Atal Tunnel is world‟s longest highway tunnel Railways has launched the „Operation My Saheli‟ above 10,000 feet from the Mean Sea Level (MSL). initiative to boost the security of women passengers The tunnel has been named after former Indian in trains. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Currently the Operation has been introduced as a Atal tunnel has been built, by the Border Roads pilot project in three trains since September 18. Organisation (BRO), under the Rohtang Pass in the They are Howrah-Yeshvantpur Duronto Special, eastern Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas on the Howrah-Ahmedabad Special and Howrah-Mumbai Leh-Manali Highway in Himachal Pradesh. Special. The total length of the tunnel is 9.02 km and it is The project has been executed under the framework constructed at an elevation of 3,100 metres (10,171 of the „Nirbhaya Fund‟. ft). Amnesty International halts its The overall cost of completion of the project is operations in India after government around Rs. 3200 crore. freezes bank accounts •C M of Himachal Pradesh: Shri Jai Ram Thakur The Amnesty International India has stopped its •Governor: Bandaru Dattatraya operations in the country, after the government of •Major Festivals: Kullu Dussehra, Losar, Halda, Sazo , India froze the bank accounts of the organisation on Doongri Fair September 10, for allegedly breaking rules on Thaawarchand Gehlot e-launches ASIIM foreign funding laws. initiative to support 1000 Start-ups of SC The organization has laid off more than 100 staff youth over next 4 years members and ceased its human rights campaigns The Union Minister for Social Justice and and research work in India. Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot launched an As per the Government of India, Amnesty initiative called the “Ambedkar Social Innovation International has been receiving foreign funds, and Incubation Mission (ASIIM) through video which the government has prohibited under the conferencing on 30 September 2020 in New Delhi. Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) The ASIIM initiative has been launched under the 2010. Venture Capital Fund for SCs to promote •Amnesty International Headquarters: innovation and enterprise among SC students London, United Kingdom studying in higher educational institutions. PM Modi inaugurates six mega projects Under ASIIM, 1,000 SC youth would be identified in Uttarakhand under Namami Gange in the next 4 years having start-up ideas through the Mission Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) in various Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated six higher educational institutions. mega projects in Uttarakhand under the Namami They will be funded @ Rs. 30 lakhs in 3 years as Gange Mission through video conference. equity funding so that they can translate their start- Apart from this, Modi inaugurated “Ganga up ideas into commercial ventures. Avalokan”, the first museum on River Ganga, Successful ventures would further qualify for located at Chandi Ghat, Haridwar. The museum venture funding of up to Rs. 5 Crore from the will showcase the culture, biodiversity and Venture Capital Fund for SCs. rejuvenation activities done in Ganga river.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest
A book titled, „Rowing down the Ganges‟, co- India‟s top regulator of medical published by National Mission for Clean Ganga & education, National Medical Commission Wildlife Institute of India was launched at the (NMC) comes into existence, replacing event. Medical Council of India (MCI) PM Modi also launched logo of Jal Jeevan Mission India‟s new apex regulator of medical education and „Margdarshika for Gram Panchayats and Paani and profession, the National Medical Commission Samitis under Jal Jeevan Mission‟during the event. (NMC), came into existence with effect from 25 Namami Gange Mission: It is an integrated September 2020. conservation mission, approved as 'Flagship NMC replaces the Medical Council of India (MCI). Programme' by the Union Government in June Dr Suresh Chandra Sharma, former head of the All 2014 with budget outlay of Rs. 20,000 Crore to India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS-ENT accomplish the twin objectives of effective department), Delhi, has been appointed as abatement of pollution, conservation and Chairman of NMC for a period of three years. rejuvenation of National River Ganga. The NMC Board comprises of a chairman, 10 ex- Shiromani Akali Dal quits BJP-led NDA officio members and 22 part-time members. over farm bills protest The nearly 64-year-old Indian Medical Council Act The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the oldest ally of has been abolished and replaced with NMC Act, Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic which received the assent of the president on 8th Alliance (NDA), has quit the coalition due to the August 2019. differences over the three farm bills which were Central Govt. increases SDRF spending recently passed by Parliament. limit by states from 35 percent to 50 SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who was percent to tackle COVID-19 situation serving as the Union Minister in the Ministry of Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual Food Processing Industries has announced her meeting with chief ministers of six states and one resignation from the Union Council of Ministers. Union Territory on 23 September 2020. After her resignation Union Minister of Agriculture These states and UTs are those where the & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar takes coronavirus cases are higher. They are: Andhra additional charge Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal announced the Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. decision to cut ties with the NDA on 26 September During the meeting, PM announced that for these 7 2020, amid the rising farmer agitation in Punjab states and UTs, the limit of using the State Disaster over the three farm legislations. Response Fund is being increased from the current The SAD and the BJP had been allies since 1996. 35 percent to 50 percent to help them further Amit Shah virtually inaugurates strengthen health infrastructure to tackle COVID19. „Destination North East-2020‟ Central Govt. unveils „YuWaah‟ a multi- The Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated a stakeholder platform to prepare young four-day event the „Destination North East-2020‟, people career ready as per 21st century through video-conferencing on 27 September 2020. The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and The theme for „Destination North East 2020‟ is the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) have „The Emerging Delightful Destinations‟. signed a “Statement of Intent” to establish The „Destination North East‟ is organised annually YuWaah-Generation Unlimited (GenU), a global by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern multi-stakeholder platform in India, to equip young Region with the objective of taking the northeastern people in India with the skills they need to fulfil region to other parts of the country and bringing their potential and lift up their communities. them closer together in order to strengthen national The YuWaah initiative is linked to the global integration. Generation Unlimited (GenU) movement of
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest UNICEF, which began in New York in September This project will be executed by combined efforts 2018. of Department of Telecom, Ministry of Electronics Basic objective of YuWaah project and Information Technology and Common Service • Support young people by providing entrepreneurship Centres (CSC). classes (online and offline) PM also announced that the government has the • Upskilling of young people on 21st century works and target to connect six lakh villages across the skills country to the internet in the coming 1,000 days. • Create linkages with aspirational economic India‟s first General Aviation Terminal opportunities providing career guidance support to facility at IGI Airport Delhi young people The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has Railway plans to complete 100 % launched India‟s first exclusive General Aviation electrification of its broad gauge routes Terminal facility at Indira Gandhi International by 2023 Airport, to handle the operations of chartered flights The Indian Railways have set the target to achieve and private jets. 100 percent electrification of its broad gauge routes The facility was inaugurated by Civil Aviation by 2023.This information was stated by the Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal in a written reply in The terminal has 57 parking bays and is capable of the Rajya Sabha on 23 September 2020. handling more than 150 private jets every day. First ever direct cargo ferry service General aviation includes all nonscheduled, unveiled between India and Maldives nonmilitary civilian flight operations, which is not India and the Maldives have launched the first ever flown by a commercial airline or by the military. direct cargo ferry service on 21 September 2020 to PM Modi virtually dedicates historic Kosi boost trade between the two countries. Rail Mega Bridge to nation and The cargo ferry service will connect the Indian inaugurates 12 projects in Bihar ports of Tuticorin and Cochin ports with Prime Minister of India,Narendra Modi dedicated Kulhudhuhfushi and Male ports in the Maldives. the historic Kosi Rail Mahasetu (Mega Bridge) of This initiative will help to cut costs and reduce the the Indian Railways to the nation through video- time taken to transport goods between the two conference on 18 September 2020. countries. The length of the rail bridge is 1.9 kilometres and The Cargo Ferry Vessel MCP Linz operated by the has been constructed at the cost of Rs 516 crore Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) will be used to The project is of strategic importance along the connect the Indian and Maldivian ports. India-Nepal border. PM Modi lays foundation stone of nine The Kosi Rail Mahasetu will cut the 298-km long highway projects worth Rs 14,258 Cr in journey between Nirmali and Bhaptiahi (Saraigarh) Bihar; launches Ghar Tak Fibre project on Indo-Nepal border to just 22 km. Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi laid the It will connect the Mitihila and Kosi region after a foundation stone of nine highway projects worth gap of 86-year. Rs. 14,258 crore in Bihar through video Apart from this, PM Modi also inaugurated 12 conferencing on 21 September 2020. other Indian Railway projects in Bihar related to These highway projects includes constructing road passenger facilities for the benefit of the state.The length of about 350 kilometres at a cost of Rs. 4258 approximate cost of these projects is worth almost crore and three bridges. Rs 3,000 crore. PM Modi also inaugurated the Ghar Tak Fibre Central Govt targets to increase the project, under which all the 45,945 villages of Bihar number of Janaushadhi Kendras to will be connected through Optical Fibre Internet 10500 by year 2025 Service.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers, D V Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), Sadananda Gowda has informed that the Central 2010 on 9 September 2020. Government has set a target to increase the number Sri Harmandir Sahib is famous as Golden Temple of Pradhanmantri Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJK) in Amritsar. to 10500 by March 2025. The registration under FCRA 2010 will allow the PMBJK aims to provide quality medicines at an Golden Temple to receive foreign funds. affordable rates for the common man, especially the The FCRA registration will be valid for a period of poor. five years. With this all the districts in the country will have The funds received from global contributors will be Janaushadhi Kendras. As on September 15, 2020 used for shrine activities besides providing financial there are 6606 Janaushadhi Kendras in India. assistance to the poor, medical assistance to the Byju‟s launches „Education for All‟ to needy and organise langars (free community kitchens). empower 5 mn children by 2025 Byju‟s, a Bengaluru based edtech company, has India‟s second and south India‟s first launched a social initiative „Education for All‟. Kisan Rail flagged off from Andhra‟s Objective: To empower 5 million children from Anantapur to Delhi underserved communities by 2025 The second „Kisan Rail‟ in India and the first from Through „Education for All‟, millions of children the South India region was inaugurated on 9 from underserved and economically deprived September 2020 from Anantapuramu district of communities will get equal access to quality Andhra Pradesh to the national capital New Delhi. learning opportunities. The Kisan Rail was flagged off by the Union •Byju‟s Founder: Byju Raveendran Minister for Agriculture Shri Narendra Singh Tomar and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S MoHUA launches Climate Smart Cities Jagan Mohan Reddy via a video link from New Assessment Framework (CSCAF 2.0) Delhi and Amaravati respectively. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs The train containing 14 parcel vans carrying 322 (MoHUA) has launched the Climate Smart Cities tonnes of fresh fruits and vegetables will cover a Assessment Framework (CSCAF) 2.0. Objective: To provide a clear roadmap for cities distance of 2,150 km in 40 hours. The first Kisan Rail carrying perishable goods was towards combating Climate Change while planning flagged off between Devlali in Maharashtra and and implementing their actions, including investments. Danapur in Bihar on 7 August 2020. The initiative was launched by Hardeep Singh Puri, India‟s First RRTS train with design Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing speed of 180 kmph Unveiled and Urban Affairs on 11 September in a virtual India‟s first RRTS (Regional Rapid Transit System) event organised by the Smart Cities Mission. train has been unveiled. The CSCAF 2.0 initiative will be implemented by This first RRTS train will provide its services to 82 the MoHUA, with support from the Climate Centre km long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS in 2022 for Cities under National Institute of Urban Affairs after trials. (NIUA). National Capital Region Transport Corporation CSCAF initiative will inculcate a climate-sensitive (NCRTC) is the nodal agency for executing this approach to urban planning and development in first RRTS project of India while the train sets are India. being manufactured by Bombardier Transportation India Private Limited,Gujarat. Home Ministry grants FCRA registration It will be one of the fastest RRTS in India which to Golden Temple will reduce travel time from Meerut to Delhi to less The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved than 60 minutes. registration of the Sri Harmandir Sahib under the
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest
Prime Minister virtually inaugurates established under the Societies Registration Act, Patrika Gate in Jaipur 1860. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the It consists of members from Indian Ports Patrika Gate in Jaipur, Rajasthan through video Association (IPA) and Indian Private Ports and conference on 8th September 2020. Terminals Association (IPTTA). The iconic gate is built by the Rajasthan-based Objective: To fairly resolve disputes in an Patrika Group of Newspapers on the Jawaharlal affordable and timely manner and to save a huge Nehru Marg in Jaipur, to bring together the art, amount of legal expenditure and time. craft, and cultural heritage of all the regions of Karnataka CM launches country‟s first Rajasthan at one place. integrated air ambulance services During the launch ceremony, Prime Minister Shri Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa Modi also released two books written by the Patrika launched the country‟s first integrated air Group Chairman, Shri Gulab Kothari, which ambulance services at Jakkur Aerodrome, included „Sanvad Upanishad‟ and „Akshar Yatra‟. Bangalore.It is the first air ambulance operating Central government amended public from South India to provide services for medical procurement order 2017 to promote emergencies. Make in India Air ambulance firm International Critical Air In order to promote the “Make in India” initiative, Transfer Team (ICATT) will run the services in the Central Government has amended the Public collaboration with aviation technology firm Kyathi Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, from the HAL airport in Bengaluru. 2017 on September 16, 2020. It is equipped with state-of-the-art German Isolation This amendment will enable nodal Ministries/ Pod, which will enable safe transportation for Departments to notify higher minimum local critical COVID-19 patients. content requirements for Class-I & Class-II local Tripura receives first inland shipping suppliers which was earlier fixed at 50% and 20% cargo from Bangladesh under PIWTT respectively. On September 3, 2020, the Daukandi (Bangladesh) The notification in this regard was issued by the – Sonamura (Tripura) Inland Waterway Protocol Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal route has been operationalized giving further boost Trade (DPIIT), Minister of Commerce and to bilateral trade between India-Bangladesh Industry. relations under Protocol for Inland Water Trade & As per the amendment, foreign certification, if Transit (PIWTT). This is the first ever export required, shall be stipulated only with the approval consignment from Bangladesh to Tripura through of the secretary of the department concerned. the inland waterways. All administrative ministries/departments whose Bangladeshi vessel, MB Premier carrying cement procurement exceeds Rs 1,000 crore per annum started from Daukandi on September 03, 2020, after should notify their projections for the next five getting permission from Bangladesh Inland Water years on their respective websites. Transport Authority (BIWTA), reached Sonamura Shipping Minister Mansukh L. Mandaviya on September 05, 2020, traversing 93 kms along the launched „SAROD-Ports‟, a dispute river Gumti. The cargo was received in the presence of the Chief resolution mechanism Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya, Union Minister Minister (CM) of Tripura, Biplab Kumar Deb and of State for Shipping launched a dispute resolution India‟s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Riva mechanism, „SAROD-Ports‟ (Society for Ganguly Das. Affordable Redressal of Disputes – Ports) through In the last one year, approx. 3.5 MMT (Million virtual ceremony in New Delhi, India. It was Metric Tonnes) of cargo was transported between India and Bangladesh on the protocol routes.S
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 4. STATES
Uttar Pradesh Govt launches unified The campaign will begin on September 15 and will portal „U-Rise‟ to help students get jobs be conducted in two phases. The first phase of the The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath campaign will end on October 10 and the second launched a unified portal called Unified Re- phase will take place between October 12 to 24. imagined Innovation for Student Empowerment (U- •Maharashtra Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari Rise) on 24 September 2020. J-K LG Manoj Sinha launches SPARROW U-Rise portal will guide around 20 lakh students, in system for its Administrative Service learning, career counselling, and getting officers employment in the state. The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh is the first state to launch such a Manoj Sinha recently launched a Smart unified portal along with the implementation of Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online National Education Policy (NEP)-2020. Window (SPARROW) system for Jammu and The e-content, e-library, and online courses Kashmir Administrative Service officers. available on this portal will be accessible by The SPARROW system aims to bring more students even in the most interior areas of the state. transparency, avoide loss of appraisal reports during • UP CM: Yogi Adityanath the transition, ensure better monitoring and timely (Lok Sabha constituency: Gorakhpur) completion of performance appraisals. •Governor: Anandiben Patel First medical devices park to be set up Tamil Nadu becomes first state to launch in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala AI, blockchain, cybersecurity policies In 2019, the Central government approved the Tamil Nadu has become the first state in India to setting up four medical device parks in Andhra launch policies on Artificial Intelligence, Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala on the Blockchain and Cybersecurity policies. lines of the “Make in India” initiative and to Chief minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami unveiled provide world-class products at affordable prices the Tamil Nadu Cyber Security Policy, 2020, Tamil for treatment. In this regard, on September 24, Nadu Blockchain Policy, 2020, and Tamil Nadu 2020, Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan Safe and Ethical Artificial Intelligence Policy, 2020 laid the foundation stone for one of the first medical at Connect 2020. devices parks in the country, “MedSpark” at Life State Family DataBase (SFDB) and Block-Chain Science Park, Thonnakkal, Thiruvananthapuram. Backbone infrastructure will be established in the MedSpark is a joint initiative of Technical Research state for the implementation of these policies. Centre for Biomedical Devices (TRC) at Sree •Tamil Nadu Governor: Thiru Banwarilal Purohit Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Maharashtra launches „My Family, My Technology (SCTIMST), an autonomous institute Responsibility‟ campaign to tackle Covid- of the Department of Science and Technology 19 (DST), Govt. of India, and the Kerala State The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (KSIDC) Thackeray has launched a state-wide campaign J-K inked MoU with army to operationalise titled, „My Family, My Responsibility‟, to curb the Kishtwar Airstrip spread of coronavirus pandemic. The Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir Under the campaign, door-to-door survey will be (J&K) inked Memorandum of Understanding conducted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal (MoU) with Army for the development and Corporation (BMC), to check the citizens for fever, operationalization of airstrip in Kishtwar. low oxygen levels and other Covid-19 symptoms.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest The MoU was signed by Brigadier Vikram Bhan, Under the central scheme, National Centre for Commander, 9 Sector Rashtriya Rifles and S. Cold-chain Development (NCCD) will form Farmer Katoch, Commissioner, Civil Aviation. Producer Organisations (FPOs) and provide training How will this airstrip be helpful? and guidance to the small and marginal farmers of Kishtwar district lies at more than 210 km‟s from Odisha to tackle the huddles in production, quality, the nearest airport in Jammu with a population of optimum price realisation, credit, seed production 2,50,000. This project will cater to the better Health and marketing. Indicator (HDI)-low mortality rates as the speedy These FPO‟s will be managed according to the and crucial transfer of patient to better equipped Cooperative Society Act. Jammu hospital will be possible because this Delhi CM launches online portal for filing airstrip will reduce travel time from 08 hours to less of consumer complaints than 30 minutes. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the Telangana launched first of its kind web E-Filing consumer complaint system.Using this portal of Pothgal PACS online portal, consumers can file consumer Telangana‟s Minister of Information Technology complaints staying at homes. Delhi is the first state and Industries, K T Rama Rao launched the to have this system. Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society (PACS), It will ensure a transparent and hassle-free system Pothgal web portal www.pacspothgal.com at for the consumers. Mustabad Mandal, Rajanna Sircilla district. This is Uttar Pradesh SRLM signs MoU with UN the first of its kind portal which contains all the World Food Programme for take-home details of the loans, loan processes and services ration Scheme offered by the co-operative society. On September 8, 2020, Uttar Pradesh State Rural The portal provides data and information of various Livelihood Mission (SRLM) signed a MoU with services like paddy procurement and others with United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), figures, fixed deposits and lockers. through which Take-Home ration will now be Gujarat signs MoU with SIDBI to support manufactured and supplied by Women self-help MSMEs groups (SHGs). The Government of Gujarat signed a MoU with the Through this collaboration, around 200 women Small Industries Development Bank of India SHG enterprises will gain business with Rs 1, 200 (SIDBI) to provide capacity building and market crores annual turnover. support around 35 lakh Micro Small Medium All 75 districts and 824 blocks in UP will be Enterprises (MSMEs) of Gujarat and to increase covered under the programme. their self reliance. Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission Gujarat govt has announced a Rs.768 crore package (ASRLM) signs MoU with Northeast Small to support the MSMEs affected due to COVID-19 Finance Bank (NESFB) pandemic. Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission (ASRLM) Around Rs.1056268 lakh worth of loans for more signed a Memorandum of Understanding a MoU than 211532 MSME units have been approved with Northeast Small Finance Bank (NEFSB) to under the Centre‟s Emergency Credit Line bring the Self-Help Groups (SHGs), producer Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS). groups and enterprises under banking network. Odisha signed MoU with NCDC to promote This is the first among all State Livelihood Farmer Producer Organisations Missions to initiate signing of MoU with new Government of Odisha signed a MoU with National generation small finance banks. Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) to NESFB is the first Private Bank from Assam and promote and manage the farmer producer Northeast India. organisations with the central sector scheme. Rupali Kalita, MD cum CEO of NESFB.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 5. ECONOMY AND BANKING
CBDT extends deadline for filing ITR for force on 29 September 2020. It amended the assessment year 2019-20 to November Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. 30 By Act introduces a new provision in FCRA, The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has making it mandatory for office-bearers of NGOs, once again extended the last date for filing income who applies for a permission or registration under tax returns (ITR) for assessment year 2019-20, FCRA (or its renewal) for furnishing of Aadhaar (financial year 2018-19). numbers. The new deadline is 30 November 2020. Earlier the Key changes made in the act includes amending the last date for filing the ITR of the year concerned following sections:Section 3,Section 7,Section 8, was September 30. Section 11 ,Section 17 and Section 13. This is the fourth time that the deadline is being Interest rates on small savings schemes extended for AY 2019-20 due to the difficulties unchanged for the third quarter 2020-21 being faced by the Covid-19 pandemic. (Oct-Dec) It was first revised till June 30, then July 31, then The government has kept the interest rates on September 30 and now till November 30. small savings schemes unchanged for the third It must also be noted that the deadline for filing ITR quarter (Q3) October-December quarter of the for assessment year 2020-21 (which is financial financial year 2020-21 amid moderating bank year 2019-20), is also November 30. deposit rates. • CBDT Chairman: Pramod Chandra Mody Interest rates for small savings schemes are • Headquarters: New Delhi notified by the Finance Ministry on a quarterly NABARD launches refinance scheme for basis. WASH programme, earmarks Rs 800 Rates of interest on small savings schemes for the crore for FY‟21 third quarter of the 2020-21 are as follows The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has announced a special refinance facility for the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme to promote sustainable and healthy lifestyle in rural areas. Under this, NABARD has earmarked an amount of Rs 800 crore for the financial year 2020-21. It will provide concessional refinance to all eligible financial institutions, including commercial banks, regional rural banks and cooperative banks. The support will be channelised to fund WASH activities, which are eligible for 95 percent refinance. • NABARD Chairman: Govinda Rajulu Chintala Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act,2020 comes into force IDBI Bank became the first bank to enable from 29 September 2020. document embedding feature on SFMS As per the Ministry of Home Affairs, the amended managed by IFTAS Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act came into Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) became the first to implement the new feature of
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest
document embedding facility with Letter of Credit SEBI allows REITs, InvITs to raise fund / Bank Guarantee messages over SFMS (Structured in institutional placement after 2 weeks Financial Messaging System) platform of Indian of previous placement Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS) The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) through its middleware application i@Connect- has eased the norms for Real Estate Investment SFMS (CSFMS) developed by IDBI Intech Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts Limited. (InvITs) for preferential and institutional placement Through this feature there will be transmission of of their respective units. digitally signed documents which ensure reliability SEBI has allowed Real Estate Investment Trusts of the transaction. (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts •I DBI Headquarters: Mumbai (InvITs) to raise equity capital through the •MD&CEO: Rakesh Sharma institutional placement route two weeks after a •Tagline: Banking for All, Aao sochein Bada previous such exercise. BSE inks pact with Yes Bank to empower Earlier the allowed time gap was six months SMEs between two institutional placements. India‟s leading stock exchange BSE has signed a •SEBI Headquarters: Mumbai pact with private sector lender Yes Bank to •Chairman: Ajay Tyagi empower the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) SBI Card launches new brand campaign listed on the platform. „Contactless Connections‟ As per te pact, both BSE and Yes Bank will work to SBI Card has launched its new brand campaign empower the SME segment through awareness and titled „Contactless Connections‟, which aims to knowledge-sharing programmes. spreads the message that love and care can be They will conduct knowledge events for SMEs, shared even during this difficult period where social export promotion of SME scale companies, in distancing is the norm. addition to providing banking and financial The film is a continuation of SBI Card‟s brand solutions campaign “Ghar Mein Khushiyaan” The Bank will also offer customised services and Contactless payments, enabled by SBI Card, allow products to the listed SME members of the platform consumers to simply wave their card or phone or and advisory solutions to EXIM potential listed scan a QR code to make safe, secure payments, SMEs. without handing over their card or punching in the •BSE Headquarters: Mumbai PIN. •MD&CEO: Ashishkumar Chauhan HDFC Launched India‟s 1st Warehouse •Yes Bank Hq: Mumbai•MD&CEO:Prashant Kumar Commodity Finance App LIC, GIC & New India Assurance Identified as HDFC Bank launched India‟s first Warehouse Domestic Systemically Important Insurers for Commodity Finance App. The app will help 2020-21: IRDAI The Insurance Regulatory and Development customers to draw down and manage the loan Authority of India (IRDAI) has identified Life against the pledge of commodities online without Insurance Corporation of India(LIC), General physical intervention or multiple visits to a bank Insurance Corporation of India(GIC) and The New branch. This will bring improved efficiencies and India Assurance Co. Ltd.(New India Assurance) as time savings for the agri value chain. Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs) The app will benefit enormously the agri for 2020-21. processors, traders and farmers who are primary IRDAI annually identifies D-SIIs and publishes the beneficiaries of WHR loans (Warehouse Receipt names of these insurers for public information. Loans). •IRDAI Headquarters: Hyderabad •MD&CEO: Aditya Puri •MD&CEO: Dr. Subhash C. Khuntia (Sashidhar Jagdishan will take over in Oct.2020)
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest
IDFC First Bank to rollout NFC-based Nominal GDP measures a country‟s gross domestic payment feature debit card „SafePay‟ product (GDP) using current prices, without Private sector lender IDFC First Bank will launch a adjusting for inflation. contactless debit card-based payment facility, Titan Pay: Titan and SBI jointly launched SafePay. India‟s 1st contactless payment watches It will allow transactions up to Rs 20,000 per day Titan Company has partnered with the State Bank and per transaction limit will be Rs 2000. of India (SBI) to launch India‟s first contactless Using the contactless payment, customers can make payment watches named “Titan Pay”. payment by waving his/her smartphone/debit card Using these watches, the account holders of SBI against a Near Field Communication (NFC)- can tap their Titan Pay watch on the contactless enabled PoS terminal. payment POS machines for making payments. It is • IDFC First Bank Headquarters: Mumbai powered by YONO SBI. •MD&CEO: V. Vaidyanathan Under this mechanism, payments of up to Rs. 2,000 Axis Bank partners with Bayer‟s Better can be made without entering a PIN, as per the RBI Life Farming Initiative in India guidelines. Axis Bank Ltd, India‟s third largest private sector A secure certified near-field communication (NFC) bank, partnered with Bayer‟s Better Life chip developed by Tappy Technologies has been Farming(BLF) initiative in India. This partnership embedded in the watch strap that will enable the tap will offer a variety of end-to-end financial solutions and pay feature in the watch. and services like loans, deposits, withdrawals, This collection includes 3 different styles for men payments etc., at affordable prices. and 2 for women. The watches are priced between Bayer‟s Best Livelihood Agricultural Centers will Rs 2,995 and Rs 5,995 and are available on the provide the solution, which are owned and operated website of Titan (www.titan.co.in.). by a Farmer Producer Organization(FPO), •TITAN HQ: Bengaluru, Karnataka Federation, agri-graduate or a local farmer / •MD: C K Venkataraman entrepreneur. NSE and SGX signs pact to confirm key India‟s nominal GDP to grow by 19% in terms to operationalise NSE IFSC-SGX FY22: Finance Ministry Connect Krishnamurthy Subramanian, chief economic Singapore Exchange Ltd (in short- SGX) and advisor in the finance ministry, Government of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd.(inshort- India informed that as per the estimate of finance NSE) signed a formal agreement in order to ministry, India‟s nominal Gross Domestic confirm the key terms to operationalise the NSE Product(GDP) is expected to grow by 19% in International Financial Service Centre (IFSC)-SGX FY22(2021-22) on a low base. Connect. NSE IFSC-SGX Connect unites NK Singh, chairman of Fifteenth Finance international and Gujarat International Finance Tec- Commission (FFC) stated that this estimate is a bit City (GIFT) participants to create a large liquidity moderate when compared with some estimates pool for Nifty products in GIFT City. received from experts. •NSE MD&CEO: Vikram Limaye Some experts had estimated that nominal Gross •SGX CEO: Loh Boon Chye Domestic Product (GDP) could be 21% as an ADB approves Rs 2,200 crore loan for extreme case and others stated it could be more secondary towns of Rajasthan modest. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a The nominal GDP in the 1st quarter of this financial loan of Rs 2,200 crore (USD 300 million) to year contracted by 22.6% to Rs 38.08 lakh crore finance inclusive water supply and sanitation compared to Rs 49.18 lakh crore in the same period infrastructure and services in secondary towns of last year. Rajasthan.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest The project will strengthen institutional capacity of Age limit: 30 years to 70 years . local governments and Rajasthan Urban Drinking The Apna Ghar Dreamz will also offer a subsidy Water, Sewerage, and Infrastructure Corporation benefit of up to Rs 2.67 lakhs on home loans under Ltd. the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana‟s (PMAY). • ADB Headquarters: Metro Manila, Philippines •ICICI Home Finance Headquarters: Mumbai • President: Masatsugu Asakawa •MD&CEO: Anirudh Kamani Google Pay partners with Visa for card- •Chairman: Anup Bagchi based payments with tokenization Canara Bank launches i-Lead 2.0 Google Pay has partnered with VISA for the rollout initiative to improve banking penetration of tokenization that will enable users to safely Canara Bank has launched a lead management transact with their debit or credit cards. system (LMS) named as i-Lead 2.0(Inspiring Leads Through tokenization, Google Pay users can make System version 2.0). payment by using the debit or credit card without The initiative aims that each and every customer physically sharing their credit or debit card details gets their banking needs covered, irrespective of through a secure digital token attached to their where they reside. phone. Customers can use internet banking, mobile This will also help the user in tap-to-pay method on banking, call centre, SMS and missed call services near-field communications (NFC)-enabled point of to enquire and get services rendered to them. They sale (PoS) terminals and online merchants. can also use CANDI mobile app of Canara Bank. This feature is now available to all users of Axis, •Canara Bank Headquarters: Bengaluru SBI Card and Kotak. •MD&CEO: L.Venkat Prabhakar State Bank of India starts “Mahila KVGB launches special gold loan Atmanirbharshil Aachani” (Women Self- scheme „Vikas Laghu Suvarna‟ for Reliance programme) in Assam pandemic State Bank of India initiated “Mahila The Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) has Atmanirbharshil Aachani (Women Self-Reliance launched a special gold loan scheme titled „Vikas programme)” in Assam on the lines of the Laghu Suvarna‟ with a reduced interest rate of 7.25 Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan to accelerate Self percent. Help Group (SHG) finance in a mission mode. In KVGB is offering the product at reduced rate this regard, SBI branches of Assam sanctioned 856 mainly due to the pandemic so as to provide easy SHGs sponsored by NRLM with financial outlay of and affordable credit to customers at a cheaper cost. Rs. 38 crore. Under the new gold loan scheme, the customer will ICICI Home Finance launches home loan get 80% of the market value of the gold, subjected scheme „Apna Ghar Dreamz‟ for skilled to a maximum of Rs 3,200/gram. workers A customer can avail up to maximum loan of Rs 15 ICICI Home Finance has launched a new loan lakh, which will be repayable within a period of scheme named „Apna Ghar Dreamz‟, to cater to the maximum 6 months needs of informal segment of the population (such The Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank is an Indian as skilled professionals) to fulfil their dream of Regional Rural Bank sponsored by Canara Bank. owning their own home. Its headquarter is based at Dharwad. It is a first-of-its-kind home loan product with focus Bandhan Bank launches new vertical on people who have never taken a loan before, or named Emerging Entrepreneurs Business have a good history of repaying loans but do not (EEB) to focus on small businesses have formal documents such as ITR. Bandhan Bank has launched a new vertical named Loan Amount: Rs 2 lakh to Rs.30 lakh ( and Upto “Emerging Entrepreneurs Business (EEB)” to focus Rs.50 lakh in Mumbai/Delhi). on small businesses.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest The vertical Emerging Entrepreneurs Business All 12 Public Sectors banks have been covered in (EEB) will focus on microloans, micro home loans, this scheme. micro bazaar loans, and micro-enterprise loans. Door Step Banking is an initiative taken by the PSB Kumar Ashish has been appointed as the head of Alliance. PSB Alliance is an umbrella setup of all Emerging Entrepreneurs Business (EEB). He is a 12 Public Sector Banks and being anchored by former executive of ICICI Bank. UCO Bank. •Bandhan Bank Headquarters: Kolkata Bank of Baroda tops EASE 2.0 Index by •MD&CEO: Chandra Shekhar Ghosh IBA ICICI Bank launches iStartup 2.0, Bank of Baroda has topped the EASE Banking dedicated offering for start-ups Reforms Index 2.0. State Bank of India and ICICI Bank has launched a new product named erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce are second iStartup 2.0, to cater to the banking needs of and third respectively. startups and entrepreneurs. EASE (Enhanced Access and Service Excellence) iStartup 2.0 is a startup bank account (in form of reform index is prepared by the Indian Banking current account) that can be opened within 10 years Association (IBA). of date of incorporation of the business. There are The Index measures the performance of the public three variants of this current account. sector bank on more than 120 objective metrics Eligibility: Partnership Firms and Limited Liability based on six themes. Partnerships (LLPs) OR Private and Public Limited The six themes of EASE 2.0 are- „Responsible Companies and One Person Companies (OPCs). Banking‟, „Customer Responsiveness‟, „Credit off- Apart from this, under the product, ICICI Bank will take‟, „Governance and HR‟, „PSBs as also provide services like- Company Registration, Udyamimitra for MSMEs‟, and „Deepening ROC Filing & Compliance, GST/ IT-Related Financial Inclusion and Digitalisation. Service, Property Registration, Stamp Paper & The aim of this index is to bring fruitful change in Franking and more such services. the PSBs by brining in healthy competition among Finance Minister launches Doorstep these PSBs and by encouraging them to learn from Banking Services by PSBs each other. Union Minister of Finance, Smt. Nirmala • Bank of Baroda Headquarters: Vadodara,Gujarat Sitharaman launched the Doorstep Banking •MD&CEO: Shri Sanjiv Chadha Services by Public Sector Banks (PSBs). ADB inks $500 million loan agreement with The service aims to provide banking services to the India for Delhi-Meerut RRTS Corridor customers of Public Sector Banks at their doorstep The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the via three modes- Government of India has signed a $500 million loan •Call Centre (18001037188 or 18001213721) pact on 8th September 2020 to build a modern, •Web Portal (www.psbdsb.in) high-speed 82-kilometer Delhi-Meerut Regional •Mobile App (Doorstep Banking(DSB) Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor. The targetted customers are- Senior citizens, This loan amount is the first tranche of a total $1 Defense personnel, CRPF, widows, billion loan approved by ADB for the venture in Divyangindividuals, Students, Salaried employees, August 2020. Corporate clients, Retail shopkeepers and street The RRTS corridor will connect Sarai Kale Khan in vendors. Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut. It will have a total of The service is available in 11 languages. It aims to 24 stations of which 21 will be in Uttar Pradesh and deliver the services in 3 hours. For this 100 the rest in Delhi. Doorstep banking centres have been established The project will improve regional connectivity and across India. mobility in India‟s national capital region (NCR).
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 6. RBI UPDATES
RBI sets WMA limit for Govt at Rs 1,25,000 RBI approves 3-member committee of crore for the second half of FY21 directors for Lakshmi Vilas Bank; Head- The Reserve Bank of India has set the limits for Meeta Makhan Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for the second The Reserve Bank of India has approved that the half of the financial year 2020-21 (October 2020 to daily affairs of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB)will be March 2021) for Central Government at Rs. run by a Committee of Directors (CoD) composed 1,25,000 crore. of 3 independent directors namely, Meeta Makhan, The Reserve Bank will trigger fresh floatation of Chairperson of the CoD, Shakti Sinha, Member and market loans when the Government of India utilizes Satish Kumar Kalra, Member. 75% of the WMA limit. The CoD will exercise the discretionary powers of The interest rate on WMA/overdraft will be: MD and CEO in the ad-interim. • WMA: Repo Rate The approval comes after the bank‟s shareholders • Overdraft: Two percent above the Repo Rate rejected the reappointment of 7 of the directors on RBI extended Marginal Standing Facility the bank‟s board, including its interim MD and CEO, S Sundar at its annual general meeting on (MSF) – extension of relaxation till March September 25. The Shareholders also rejected the 31, 2021 The Reserve Bank of India has extended the appointment of statutory auditors. timeline for banks to avail funds under the Marginal As on September 27, 2020 LVB has the Liquidity Standing Facility (MSF) at the rate of 3% of its Coverage Ratio (LCR) of about 262% against the NDTL till March 31, 2021. minimum requirement of 100% by RBI. Normally, banks are allowed to avail maximum The provision coverage ratio of the bank remains at funds under MSF from RBI at 2% of its Net 72.6%, against the minimum of 70% prescribed by Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL). RBI under the prompt corrective action. After COVID-19, RBI had allowed banks to dip •Lakshmi Vilas Bank Head Quarters: Chennai 1% extra to this limit,so that now banks could RBI to implement “Technology Vision for borrow money from RBI under MSF, at 3%. Cyber Security‟ for Urban Co-operative RBI to initiate positive pay system for Banks – 2020-2023” The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will implement cheques above Rs 50,000 from Jan 1, 2021 The Reserve Bank of India has issued a directive the “‟Technology Vision for Cyber Security‟ for under Section 10 (2) read with Section 18 of Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) – 2020-2023” to Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 enhance the IT security system of Urban Co- of 2007) stating an introduction of Positive Pay operative banking to prevent, detect, respond and System for Cheque Truncation System (CTS) for recover from cyber-attacks. banks in order to prevent cheque frauds. RBI will achieve this objective using its five- Banks are required to make this facility available to pillared strategic approach „GUARD‟. the customers where the amount of cheque is Rs. GUARD denotes: 50,000 and above. However, availing of this facility • G – Governance Oversight, is at the discretion of the account holder. Banks can • U – Utile Technology Investment, however make this facility compulsory for cheques • A – Appropriate Regulation and Supervision, with the amount of Rs 5 lakh and above. • R – Robust Collaboration Positive Pay in CTS will be developed by National • D – Developing necessary IT, cyber security Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). skills set. To accomplish the five pillared approach, RBI has It will be implemented from January 01, 2021. established 12 specific action points.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest
The implementation of this Technology Vision It has received the authorisation under the Payment document will strengthen the cyber resilience of the and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. Urban Co-operative Banks. Vakrangee Limited established in 1990 offers RBI issued Draft Rupee Interest Rate banking, insurance, money transfer services, e- Derivatives (Reserve Bank) directions commerce, e-governance and other digital services The Reserve Bank of India issued Draft Rupee on behalf of its partner‟s banks, insurers, Interest Rate Derivatives (Reserve Bank) government agencies through its branches in rural Directions, 2020 under Section 45 W of the RBI and semi-urban areas. Act, 1934 to allow foreign portfolio investors • Vakrangee Ltd HQ: Mumbai, Maharashtra (FPIs) to undertake exchange-traded rupee interest •CEO: Dinesh Nandwana rate derivatives transactions subject to an overall RBI defines role and selection criteria of ceiling of Rs 5,000 crore. Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) in Banks This decision has been taken to encourage higher The Reserve Bank of India has released the non-resident participation, enhance the role of guidelines to be followed by commercial banks domestic market makers in the offshore market, (Excluding RRBs) for the appointment of Chief improve transparency, and achieve better regulatory Compliance Officer (CCO). oversight. Here are some of the norms to be followed by banks for the appointment of a CCO: RBI mandates banks to fully automate NPA •Tenure: Not less than 3 years.•Age: Not more than recognition process by June 30, 2021 In August 2011, the Reserve Bank of India issued 55 years; circular advising banks to switch to automatic •Experience: The CCO shall have an overall identification of non-performing assets (NPAs), experience of at least 15 years in the banking or using appropriate IT (Information Technology) financial services, out of which minimum 5 years systems, from manual identification for regulatory shall be in the Audit / Finance / Compliance / Legal reporting and bank‟s own Management Information / Risk Management functions; System (MIS) requirements. However, over this •Rank :The CCO shall be a senior executive of the period of time, the processes for NPA bank, preferably in the rank of a General Manager identification, income recognition, provisioning and or an equivalent position (not below two levels generation of related returns in many banks are not from the CEO). yet fully automated. RBI releases revised priority sector Concerning this, on September 14, 2020, RBI lending guidelines issued a notification mandating banks to complete The Reserve Bank of India has reviewed the the automation of bad-loan recognition and priority sector guidelines to align it with emerging provisioning processes by June 30, 2021. In case of national priorities and to bring a sharper focus on non-compliance, suitable supervisory action would inclusive development. be initiated against the concerned bank. Some new categories eligible for finance under the In public sector banks, Gross NPAs are reduced priority sector have been added like- Bank finance from Rs 8.96 lakh crore in March-2018 to Rs 6.78 to start-ups (up to Rs 50 crore); loans to farmers for lakh crore in March- 2020. installation of solar power plants for solarisation of Vakrangee Ltd gets RBI nod to setup grid-connected agriculture pumps and loans for Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit. setting up Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) plants. Reserve Bank of India granted in-principle approval Loan limits for renewable energy have been for Vakrangee Ltd to set up Bharat Bill Payment increased (doubled). Operating Unit (BBPOU) to handle payment For improvement of health infrastructure, credit services related to bills. limit for health infrastructure (including those under „Ayushman Bharat‟) has been doubled.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 7. SCHEMES
MP CM launches „Mukhyamantri Kisan sector while Rs. 24,000 crore would be earmarked Kalyan Yojna‟ on lines of PM-Kisan Scheme for the non-agricultural sector. The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Central Govt. extends PMGKP insurance Singh Chouhan, inaugurated the`Mukhyamantri scheme for health workers fighting Kisan Kalyan Yojna` on 26 September 2020. COVID-19‟ for another 6 months till This scheme has been launched on the lines of the March 2021. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) The insurance scheme announced under Pradhan Scheme of the Government of India. Mantri Garib Kalyan Package for health workers Under the Mukhyamantri Kisan Kalyan Yojna, the who are fighting to contain COVID-19 has been MP state government would transfer Rs 4,000 to the extended for another six months till March 2021. bank accounts of 1,75,000 farmers in the state. This is the second extension given to the scheme, This amount will be transferred in two installments which aims to provide an insurance cover of Rs 50 every year. lakh to around over 22 lakh public healthcare The initiative aims to provide additional Rs 4,000 to providers. each farmer so that farmers can get Rs 10,000 The „Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package annually.Under the PM-Kisan scheme farmers get Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting Rs 6000 annually in three installments of Rs 2000 COVID-19‟ was announced on 30 March 2020 for each. a period of 90 days, i.e. till June 2020. Central Govt. approves an outlay of Rs This scheme was then extended for a further period 600 crore for PM Svanidhi Scheme of 3 months i.e. up to 25 September 2020. The Government of India has approved a total PM Modi addresses the „Grih Pravesham‟ outlay of Rs.600.00 crores for the PM SVANidhi event in Madhya Pradesh scheme. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the This was informed by Minister of State (I/C) for „Grih Pravesham‟ event in Madhya Pradesh through Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh video conferencing. Puri in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on 21 Under this, 1.75 lakh families in Madhya Pradesh September 2020. were delivered pucca houses under the Pradhan The Prime Minister Street Vendor‟s Amta Nirbhar Mantri Awas Yojana- Grameen (PMAY-G). Nidhi Scheme (PM SVANidhi) was launched by PM Modi also interacted with the beneficiaries the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has on under PMAY-G in Madhya Pradesh. 01 June 2020 to facilitate collateral free working Assam re-launches self-employment capital loans upto Rs 10,000 of 1 year tenure, to scheme SVAYEM worth Rs 1,000 crore about 50 lakh street vendors across the country. The state government of Assam re-launched an old Karnataka Govt. launches loan disbursal scheme titled „Swami Vivekananda Assam Youth programme “Arthika Spandana” Empowerment (SVAYEM)‟ on 4 September 2020, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa which aims to provide self-employment to around 2 launched the “Arthika Spandana” programme on 16 lakh youth of the state. September 2020.Under this loans worth Rs. 39,300 The SVAYEM scheme was launched by the crore would be disbursed through various government in 2017-18. cooperative institutions, to help people during the The scheme has been re-launched with a budget of times of COVID-19 and floods.. Rs 1000 crore. Of the total amount approved under the scheme, Rs. 15,300 crore would be disbursed to the agriculture
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest Under the scheme, the state government would as joint liability and earning group (JLEG) provide Rs 50,000 each as seed money to selected consisting of 10 women members. youths to start business ventures. The scheme will be implemented in rural areas by A P CM launches „YSR Jala Kala‟ scheme the Gujarat Livelihood Promotion Company, while to benefit small & marginal Farmers in urban areas it will be implemented by the Gujarat Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister Y. S. Urban Livelihood Mission. Jaganmohan Reddy launched YSR Jala Kala J&K Governor announces universal health scheme for small and marginal Farmers. insurance scheme for all residents of UT Under the scheme, the State Government will drill Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) Governor, Manoj Sinha borewells free of cost and provide free motors to announced Universal Health Insurance Coverage small and marginal farmers in the state with an Scheme for all residents of the Union Territory at expenditure of Rs. 2, 340 crore over a period of an annual expenditure of Rs 123 crores. The four-years. scheme will have the same benefits as the The scheme is being introduced to benefit upland Ayushman Bharat Scheme. farmers, who are dependent on rains. Through the scheme which is the first of its kind in The bore wells will be geo-tagged and social audit the country, beneficiaries can avail cashless will be conducted to ensure transparency. treatment at all hospitals under the Ayushman Assam CM launched “Mukhyamantri Bharat Scheme across the country. The Governor invited suggestions from the public for naming of Grammya Paribahan Achoni” scheme Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister (CM) of the J&K Health Scheme. Assam launched the “Mukhyamantri Grammya AP CM launched „YSR Aasara‟ scheme Paribahan Achoni” –Rural Transport Scheme for women empowerment Under this scheme a light motor vehicle will be As a step to empower women economically and provided to one beneficiary per village. socially, YS Jaganmohan Reddy, Chief Minister of The government will provide the 25% cost of the Andhra Pradesh (AP), launched „YSR Aasara‟ vehicle or Rs.1 lakh (whichever is less) to the scheme. Under the scheme, AP government will entrepreneurs who are eligible for this scheme. reimburse outstanding bank loans of women Self- Rajasthan Govt. approves „Moksha Help Groups (SHG) as on April 11, 2019 into their accounts directly in four phases. Kalash Yojana 2020‟ Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot gave AP government has disbursed Rs 6,792.20 crores as approval to the scheme „Moksha Kalash Yojana- the 1st installment of the total due of Rs 27,168.83 2020‟, which allows free bus travel to two members crores to bank accounts of 87,74,674 women of a family to immerse ashes of their loved ones in belonging to 8.7 lakh SHGs. River Ganga in Haridwar. Odisha Govt. launches “GARIMA” social Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation will security scheme for sanitary workers run the scheme and the expenses will be borne by Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik launched the Devasthan Department, Rajasthan Government. a first-of-its-kind statewide scheme called Gujarat CM launched Mukhyamantri Mahila “GARIMA” to ensure the safety and dignity of core Utkarsh Yojana (MMUY) scheme to provide sanitation workers of the state. He dedicated the interest-free loans to women‟s groups scheme to Mahatma Gandhi. Mukhyamantri Mahila Utkarsh Yojana (MMUY), a It will be implemented by Housing & Urban scheme of providing interest-free loans of Rs 1 lakh Development (H&UD) Department through 114 to women‟s groups was launched in Gujarat by its Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of Odisha and an Chief Minister (CM) Vijay Rupani. In this regard, initial fund of Rs. 50 crore will be allocated for the government is planning to provide total lending implementation of the scheme. up to Rs 1,000 crore to these groups to be registered
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 8. CABINET APPROVALS
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) Sonipat via Sohna-Manesar-Kharkhauda, Chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has benefitting Haryana‟s district of Palwal, Nuh, approved the following proposals in September 2020. Gurugram, Jhajjar and Sonipat, at an estimated cost Cabinet approved hike in MSP for RMS of Rs. 5,617 crore. The project is likely to be 2021-22; sets foodgrain output target at completed in 5 years. record 301MT for 2020-21 Cabinet approves 3 labour law Codes On the lines of the recommendations of The Union Cabinet approved amendments to the Swaminathan Commission, on September 21, 2020, Labour Code on Social Security, Code on the Union Cabinet has approved an increase in the Industrial Relations (IR), and Code on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all mandated In June, 2020, The Ministry for Labour and Rabi crops for marketing season 2021-22. Employment decided to condense 44 Central The decision regarding the increase in MSPs for Labour Laws into Four Codes on Wages, Social Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2021-22 is taken Security, Industrial Relations (IR), and with the principle of fixing the MSPs at a level of at Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) based on least 1.5 times of the All-India weighted average the recommendations of the Second National cost of production under “Pradhan Mantri Annadata Commission on Labour. Code on Wages has already been passed by the Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan” (PM-AASHA) as Parliament on July 30, 2019, and the 3 remaining announced in Union Budget 2018-19 Codes were sent to the Parliamentary Standing In this regard, the highest MSP has been announced Committee on Labour for scrutiny. The for lentil (Rs. 300 per quintal) followed by gram Committee submitted its report on the Three and rapeseed & mustard (Rs. 225 per quintal each) Codes. and safflower (Rs. 112 per quintal). Cabinet approves the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet approves establishment of new official languages bill The Union Cabinet has approved the Jammu and All India Institute of Medical Sciences Kashmir Official Languages Bill 2020 with (AIIMS) at Darbhanga, Bihar proposal to add Kashmiri,Dogri and Hindi to the The Union Cabinet approved a proposal for the existing Urdu and English as the official languages establishment of a new All India Institute of in the union territory (UT) of Jammu and Medical Sciences (AIIMS) under the Pradhan Kashmir.Now J&K will have five official Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) at languages. Darbhanga, Bihar with an outlay of Rs.1264 crore. In this regard, the Cabinet also approved the Cabinet approves MoU between India and creation of post of Director in the basic pay of Rs Japan for cooperation in the field of good 2,25,000/- (fixed) plus NPA (however pay + NPA quality textiles The Union Cabinet has approved the signing of would not exceed Rs 2,37,500/-) for AIIMS. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Six new AIIMS taken up under Phase-I of PMSSY the Textiles Committee, India and Nissenken and recurring cost on these institutions shall be met Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan for improving through Grant-in-Aid to them from Plan Budget quality and testing of Indian textiles and Clothing Head of PMSSY of Ministry of Health and Family for the Japanese market. In this regard, Nissenken Welfare. Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan will assign Textile Cabinet approves Haryana Orbital Rail Committee as their cooperative Testing and Corridor Project from Palwal to Sonipat Inspection service providers in India for Textiles & The Union Cabinet approved for the Haryana Apparel products. Orbital Rail Corridor Project from Palwal to
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 9. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
C-DAC will commission India‟s fastest Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Balasore in Odisha HPC-AI Supercomputer „PARAM Siddhi – on 30 September 2020. AI‟ with NVIDIA technology The successful trail of the BrahMos Land-Attack The Centre for Development of Advanced Cruise Missile (LACM) is a major step towards Computing (C-DAC) will be commissioning achieving “Atmanirbhar Bharat” pledge. India‟s largest HPC-AI supercomputer „PARAM The surface-to-surface cruise missile had Siddhi – AI.‟ indigenous booster and airframe section as well as This initiative will place India among the top other Made in India sub-systems. countries in global AI supercomputing research and DRDO successfully test-fires indigenously innovation. developed surface-to-surface Prithvi-II This high-performance computing-Artificial missile Intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer is a machine DRDO successfully test-fired the indigenously with 210 AI Petaflops (6.5 Petaflops Peak DP). developed nuclear-capable missile Prithvi-II, on 23 It is built on the NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD September 2020, from the Integrated Test Range reference architecture comprising of 42 NVIDIA (ITR) at Chandipur off the Odisha coast. DGX A100 systems, connected with NVIDIA The trial of the surface-to-surface missile was a Mellanox HDR InfiniBand networking along with routine exercise by the DRDO. C-DAC‟s indigenously developed HPC-AI engine, Prithvi-II missile has a strike range of 350 km. Software Frameworks, Cloud Platform. It is capable of carrying 500 to 1000 kg of warheads DRDO successfully test-fires laser- and is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines. guided anti-tank guided missile DRDO successfully test-fires high-speed The indigenously developed Laser Guided Anti expendable aerial target (HEAT)- ABHYAS Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) was successfully Defence Research and Development Organisation test- fired by DRDO on 1st Oct 2020. It defeated a (DRDO) conducted a successful flight test of target located at longer range. ABHYAS – High-speed Expendable Aerial Target The trial was the second such successful test- firing (HEAT) from the Interim Test Range, Balasore in of the missile, after a similar successful trial done Odisha. on 22nd September 2020. ABHYAS has been developed by Aeronautical The test was conducted from MBT Arjun at KK Development Establishment (ADE), DRDO. ranges (ACC&S) Ahmednagar in Maharashtra. ABHYAS can be used as a target for the evaluation This Laser guided ATGM has been developed by of various missile systems. Armament R&D Establishment (ARDE), Pune in DRDO successfully flight tests Hypersonic association with High Energy Materials Research Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune and Instruments Defense Research and Development Organisation Research & Development Establishment (IRDE), (DRDO) has successfully demonstrated the Dehradun. hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology with the flight test of the Hypersonic Technology DRDO successfully test - fires Brahmos Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV) from Dr APJ surface-to-surface cruise missile featuring Abdul Kalam Launch Complex at Wheeler Island, indigenous booster The Defence Research and Development (DRDO) off the coast of Odisha on September 07, 2020. successfully test-fired BrahMos supersonic cruise India has thus become the fourth country after the missile, with several indigenous features, from the United States, Russia and China to develop and successfully test hypersonic technology.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest
NASA launched „SS Kalpana Chawla The missiles will be integrated into Israel Navy‟s Cargo Spacecraft‟ to ISS Sa‟ar 5 and Sa‟ar 6 Corvette Missile Ships. National Aeronautics and Space Administration The missile ships will defend Israel‟s offshore (NASA) has launched the Northrop Grumman natural gas reserves and other strategic interests Cygnus resupply spacecraft NG-14 as named “SS IIIT Bhubaneswar Students developed, Kalpana Chawla” after its astronaut Kalpana „Swasner‟, a 1st of its kind helmet-like Chawla. ventilation device to ease breathing The spacecraft was launched on an Antares rocket A group of 7 engineering students from IIIT from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) (International Institute of Information Technology), at NASA‟s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, Bhubaneswar have developed „Swasner‟, a 1st of its United States (US) to deliver nearly 8,000 pounds kind helmet-like ventilation device to help patients of scientific investigations, technology breathe more conveniently. demonstrations, commercial products, and other The designed hyperbaric chamber is a low-cost cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). device to help COVID-19 patients. •About Kalpana Chawla:Kalpana Chawla, the first Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a type of Indian-born woman to enter space and was one of treatment used to speed up healing of carbon the seven crew members who died in the Space monoxide poisoning, gangrene, stubborn wounds, Shuttle Columbia disaster when the spacecraft and infections in which tissues are starved for disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth‟s oxygen. atmosphere in 2003. Swasner will reduce deaths caused due to lack of IIT Madras develops „MOUSHIK‟ ventilators in the country. microprocessor for IoT devices Delhi Metro launched India‟s 1st The Researchers at the Indian Institute of indigenous signalling technology „i-ATS‟ Technology (IIT) Madras have come up with an under make in india indigenously-made Microprocessor, named On the occasion of Engineers Day i.e. September „MOUSHIK.‟ 15, 2020, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Moushik is a processor cum System on Chip (SoC), (DMRC) launched i-ATS (Automatic Train which means that, as a processor it can execute the Supervision), the first Made-in-India signalling instructions and as a SoC, different components can system. It is an important sub-system of the be attached to the it. signalling system for the development of CBTC Moushik is the third in the series of six computer (Communication Based Train Control) based chips being designed as a part of the Shakti signalling technology for metro railway by Microprocessor programme of IIT Madras. automatically detecting all trains on a corridor. The Project „MOUSHIK.‟is funded by the Ministry Vi launches integrated 4G network of Electronics and Information Technology, GIGAnet Government of India. VI (erstwhile Vodafone Idea) has launched Israel defence force successfully tests GIGAnet network that is an integrated 4G network. sea-to-sea missile system With the launch of GIGAnet, VI aims to overcome Israel‟s Navy and Defense Ministry‟s Weapons the loss of customers and attract new customers Development and Technology Infrastructure from rivals Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. Administration (MAFAT) successfully test fired a GIGAnet offers faster downloads & uploads, low new sea-to-sea missile system. The missile is yet to latency, and real-time connectivity. It is built on be named and has been designed to ensure Israel‟s many principles of 5G architecture that help in continued Naval Superiority. delivering a superior network experience. The new missile system has been developed by •Vi Chairman: Kumar Mangalam Birla Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI). •CEO: Ravinder Takkar
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 10.DEFENCE
India-Japan biennial naval exercise INDRA NAVY-20 Maritime Exercise JIMEX-20 concludes in Arabian sea between India and Russia kicks off at Bay The fourth edition of the biennial India-Japan of Bengal Maritime bilateral naval exercise- JIMEX kicked The 11th Edition of bi-annual, bilateral Maritime off on 26 September 2020 in the northern Arabia Exercise INDRA NAVY – 20 between Indian Navy Sea. and Russian Navy was conducted successfully from The three-day maritime drill JIMEX-20 ended on September 4 to 5. The Exercise was conducted in 28 September.The exercise was conducted in a Bay of Bengal, close to the strategic point of Strait „non-contact at-sea-only format‟, in view of of Malacca. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, COVID-19 restrictions. INDRA NAVY-20 was undertaken in a„non- Warships Chennai, Teg, Tarkash and fleet tanker contact, at sea only‟ format. Deepak represented the Indian Navy, while The INDRA military exercise has been conducted Japanese warships Kaga and Ikazuchi represented by India and Russia starting from 2003. The 10th Japan in the drill. edition of the exercise was conducted off India, Australia conducted Passage Visakhapatnam in December 2018. Exercise (PASSEX) in the East Indian First batch of five rafale aircrafts formally Ocean region inducted into Indian Air Force On September 23-24, 2020, Indian Navy conducted The first batch of five Rafale fighter jets was a two-day long Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with formally inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in the East Indian on 10 September 2020 at the Air Force Station in Ocean Region (IOR). Ambala. Under this exercise Indian side was represented by They have been inducted in the Indian Air Force‟s stealth frigate INS (Indian Naval Ship) Sahyadri 17 Squadron „Golden Arrows‟ based in Ambala. and missile corvette INS Karmuk and Australian The first five Rafale aircrafts had arrived from side included HMAS Hobart along with Indian France on 27 July 2020. Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), and helicopters The multi-role Rafale jets have been built by from both the nations. French aerospace major Dassault Aviation. 2nd edition of India-Bangladesh Navy India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in 2016 to procure 36 aircrafts at a cost bilateral exercise “Bongosagar” The second edition of Indian Navy (IN) – of Rs 59,000 crore Bangladesh Navy (BN) Bilateral Exercise The delivery of all 36 aircrafts is scheduled to be Bongosagar commences in Northern Bay of Bengal. completed by the end of 2021. Exercise Bongosagar, is aimed at developing inter- Out of 36 Rafale jets, 30 will be fighter jets and six operability and joint operational skills through will be trainers. conduct of a wide spectrum of maritime exercises Indian Army to get Indigenous Carbines, and operations. Anti Air Systems In the 2nd edition of bilateral exercise Bongosagar, The Ministry of Defence cancelled two arms import ships from both navies participated in surface contracts worth over $2.5 billion (approximately warfare drills, seamanship evolutions and helicopter Rs. 21,500 crores), which were in final stages of operations. procurement. The decision was taken in a special This exercise followed by the 3rd edition of IN – meeting chaired by the Defence Secretary, Raj BN Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) in Northern Bay Kumar, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin of Bengal from 4 to 5 October 2020. Rawat also attended the meeting.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest The orders will now be placed under the Make in The insurance scheme was launched during the India initiative to give a boost to the domestic two-day webinar organised at delhi by the Ministry industry. of Defence and Directorate General of Defence Apart from this,the Government of India announced Estates (DGDE) to improve the implementation of that it will ban the import of 101 types of weapons Central Sponsored Schemes (CSS) in the 62 and ammunitions from December, 2020 to cantonments around India. December, 2025 to give a push to „Aatmanirbhar Indian Army builds memorial for Bharat Abhiyan (Self-reliant India Movement)‟. personnel killed in Galwan Clash •Chief of Army Staff:General Manoj Mukund Naravane In June 2020, a violent clash broke out between the Indian Coast Guard commissions ICGS armies in the Galwan valley along Line of Actual „Kanaklata Barua‟ FPV in Kolkata Control. During the clash, around 20 Indian soldiers The Indian Coast Guard Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) were killed.The last time such a major clash ICGS „Kanaklata Barua‟ was commissioned at the happended was in 1975. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) In order to honour the soldiers‟ sacrifice, the Indian Ltd in Kolkata on 30 September 2020. Army has erected the memorial. The Indian soldiers The ICGS Kanaklata Barua is the fifth and final outnumbered the Chinese in the clash. The Chinese ship in the series of five FPVs built by GRSE, for also suffered casualties of around 35 soldiers. India the Indian Coast Guard. countered Chinese at the Galwan Clash under These FPVs are medium-range surface vessels “Operation Snow Leopard”. designed to perform multipurpose operations like The clash began on the basis of “Nibble and patrolling, anti- smuggling, anti-poaching and Negotiate Policy” of China. rescue operations. Under the policy, China ensures India does not Rajnath Singh launches Defence India build infrastructure along the Line of Actual Startup Challenge-4 to promote innovation Control. India has been developing the Ladakh in defence sector region bringing in several infrastructure projects Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the and building roads along the border. This is the Defence India Startup Challenge-4 (DISC4), under main reason for this particular clash to get serious the iDEX initiative, during an event in New Delhi unlike the other earlier clashes. on 29 September 2020. US military aircraft refuels in India for The minister also launched the iDEX4Fauji the first time initiative and Product Management Approach For the first time in Indian history, the United (PMA) guidelines for iDEX (Innovations for States long range maritime patrol aircraft refuelled Defence Excellence). at India‟s Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The P-8 All these initiatives are aimed at expanding the Poseidon aircraft landed in Port Blair for refuelling horizons of Innovations for Defence Excellence support. (iDEX) ecosystem in the country. The LEMOA (Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched Agreement) allows both the countries to access Life Insurance Scheme for more than their bases. For instance, India now has access to 10000 cantonment employees US bases in Guam in the Pacific and Djibouti in On 1st September 2020, Defence Minister Rajnath Africa. The countries have been providing Singh launched “Chhavni COVID: Yodha refuelling support to their naval vessels since the Sanrakshan Yojana” a group life insurance scheme signing of the agreement. The agreement was that will provide a coverage of Rs 5,00,000 for signed in 2016. The LEMOA is one of the four more than 10000 employees working in the military foundational agreements that the US enters with its cantonment areas across India through the Life defence partners. Insurance Corporation (LIC),
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 11. BILLS & ACTS The monsoon session 2020 of Parliament was • There are also concerns that the bills will concluded on 23 september,2020.Earlier the session adversely affect the influential commission agents was scheduled from 14th September to 1st October. in the states if the farmers move out of the mandis. 2020. But due to COVID-19 pandemic risks, the session The commission agents do not want their grip over was adjourned sine-die on 23 September 2020. During farmers to weaken. the session, 22 bills (6 in Rajya Sabha and 16 in Lok • There are also concerns that the bill will end the Sabha, were introduced. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Minimum Support Price (MSP)-based procurement Sabha individually passed 25 bills each. 27 bills were regime. passed by both the Houses of Parliament. • The opposition also raised concerns that electronic Some of the important bills are given below: trading will lead to the end of e-NAM, which is an Lok Sabha passes two Farm Reform electronic trading platform that works with physical Bills, amid protests from opposition mandi structures. The Lok Sabha on September 17, 2020 passed two Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) farm bills amid protests from the opposition parties Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services and a section of farm organisations. Bill, 2020 The two bills include the Farmers' Produce Trade Key provisions: Under the bill's provisions, the and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, farmers will be able to enter into contracts with 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and agri-business firms, processors, exporters, Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and wholesalers or large retails for the sale of their Farm Services Bill, 2020. future produce at a pre-decided price. The Lok Sabha had also passed a bill amending the • Under the bill's provisions, small and marginal Essential Commodities Act on September 15, 2020. farmers with land less than 5 hectares will stand to These three bills will replace the existing gain. ordinances. • The bill will transfer the risk of market Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion unpredictability to sponsors from farmers. and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 • It will enable farmers to gain access to modern Key Provisions: The bill aims to create an technology. ecosystem where farmers and traders will enjoy the • It will also help reduce the cost of marketing and freedom to sell and purchase farm produce outside boost farmers' income. registered 'mandis' under the states' APMCs. • The bill eliminates the role of intermediaries and • The bill's provisions promote barrier-free inter- enable farmers to engage in direct marketing for state/ intra-state trade of farmers' produce. full price realisation. • It will reduce marketing and transportation costs • It will also enable an effective dispute resolution and help farmers in getting better prices. mechanism with redressal timelines • It will also provide a framework for electronic Why is there opposition to the bill? trading. •The opposition has raised concerns over the bill as Why is the opposition protesting against the bill? they feel that the farmers in contract farming will • According to the opposition and some farm become weaker players in their ability to negotiate organisations, under the provisions of the new bill, their requirements. the states will lose revenue as they will not be able •The bill will give an upper hand to sponsors, who to collect 'mandi fees' if farmers start selling their will have an edge in disputes being big exporters, produce outside the registered mandis under states' wholesalers and processors. APMCs markets. Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2019
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest Key Provisions: The bill's provisions aim to gave its approval through voice vote amid a boycott remove commodities like pulses, oilseeds, onion, by the opposition leaders over the suspension of potatoes and cereals from the list of essential eight MPs from the house. The Lok Sabha had commodities. passed the bills on September 22nd. • The bill will also do away with the imposition of The three labour codes include: stock holding limits on such items except during ' 1. Industrial Relations Code, 2020: The bill seeks to extraordinary circumstances' like war. provide for a time-bound dispute resolution system • The bill aims to attract foreign direct investment in every institution. into the farm sector. 2. Occupational Safety, Health & Working • It aims to attract investment for farm structures Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code): The bill like modernising food and supply chain and cold envisages safe working environment for workers storage. especially women. • The bill aims to help both farmers and consumers 3. Social Security Code, 2020: The bill aims to and bring price stability. provide a framework to include organized and • Further, the bill aims to pave way for a unorganized sector workers under the ambit of competitive market environment and cut wastage of comprehensive social security. farm produce. Under the new labour code, all the workers who Why is there opposition to the bill? come from one state to another state with a salary • There are concerns that price limits set for less than Rs 18000 will come under the definition extraordinary circumstances are so high that they of migrant labour and will get the benefit of welfare might never be invoked. schemes of the government. • The bill will enable large companies to stock up Lok Sabha passes Major Ports Authorities commodities. They will be able to dictate terms to Bill, 2020 the farmers, which may lead to less prices for the The Major Ports Authorities Bill, 2020 was cultivators. successfully passed in Lok Sabha on September 23, Opposition members suspended from Rajya Sabha 2020. The passed bill seeks to provide operation, Eight opposition members have been suspended regulation, and planning of major ports in the from the Rajya Sabha for one week for creating a country as well as providing greater autonomy to ruckus on September 20 during the discussion over these ports. agriculture reform bills. The MPs include Derek O The bill replaces the Major Port Act, 1963, and Brien, Sanjay Singh, Raju Satav, KK Ragesh, aims at improving the efficiency and Ripun Bora, Dola Sen, Syed Nazir Hussain and competitiveness of India‟s major ports. Elamaran Karim. They have been suspended for Lok Sabha passes Jammu and Kashmir unruly behaviour with the Chair. Official Languages Bill, 2020 amid Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on opposition September 21, 2020 rejected the no-confidence The Lok Sabha on September 22, 2020, passed the motion moved by Opposition MPs against the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020 Deputy Chairman Harivansh saying that is not in a under which Dogri, Kashmiri, and Hindi, apart proper format and it is not admissible under the from Urdu and English, will be the official rules. languages in the Union territory of J&K. Parliament passes historic labour codes The Minister of State for Home, G Kishan Reddy, to reform labour laws while introducing the Jammu and Kashmir Official The Parliament on September 23, 2020 passed three Languages Bill stated that it was a demand of the labour codes that aim to pave the way for the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the language enactment of historic “game changer” Labour they speak must be the official language. Laws. The codes were passed after the Rajya Sabha
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest Amid the opposition, the bill was later passed by suspend initiation of the corporate insolvency the voice vote. Gujjar and Sikh communities resolution process (CIRP) under the Code. The bill specifically protested the exclusion of Gojri and replaces the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Punjabi languages from the bill. (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 promulgated earlier Parliament passes IIIT Laws (Amendment) in June 2020. Bill 2020 Parliament passes Banking Regulation IIIT Laws Amendment Bill 2020: The Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020 on September 22, 2020 passed the Indian Institutes The Parliament on September 22, 2020 passed the of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 with 2020 with the Rajya Sabha approving the bill. the Rajya Sabha approving it. The Lok Sabha had The IIIT Laws Amendment Bill 2020 seeks to passed the amendment bill earlier on September 16, declare five IIITs in Public Private Partnership 2020. (PPP) mode - IIIT Bhopal, IIIT Agartala, IIIT Surat, The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 IIIT Bhagalpur and IIIT Raichur as Institutions of seeks to amend the Banking Regulation Act,1949 National importance. to bring cooperative banks under the supervision of With this, the total number of IIITs that have been the RBI. The bill replaces an ordinance that was declared as institutions of national importance will issued on June 26, 2020. go up to 25. Lok Sabha passes Foreign Regulation Parliament passed two bills related to (Amendment) Bill, 2020 Indian medicine central council, The Lok Sabha on September 21, 2020, passed the Homeopathy central council Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Parliament on September 22, 2020 passed two bills Bill, 2020 that seeks to streamline the provisions of related to the Indian medicine central council and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 by Homeopathy central council after the Lok Sabha enhancing transparency and accountability in the approved them through voice vote during midnight receipt and utilization of the foreign contribution. proceedings. The Rajya Sabha had approved the The bill in Lok Sabha seeks on limiting the foreign two bills earlier this month. funds received under FCRA for administrative The Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) purposes from the current limit of 50% to 20%. Bill, 2020 seeks one year extension to form the Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020 passed by Central Council of Homeopathy, following the end Parliament, after Rajya Sabha's approval of its two-year deadline. The Parliament passed Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, Parliament passes Insolvency and 2020 on September 15, 2020 after it was approved Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) by the Rajya Sabha. The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill, 2020 bill earlier on March 17th. The Parliament on September 21, 2020 passed the The bill seeks to amend the Aircraft Act, 1934 and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second convert three existing regulatory bodies under the Amendment) Bill, 2020 with the Lok Sabha passing Civil Aviation Ministry including the Directorate the bill through a voice vote. General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) into statutory The Rajya Sabha had passed the bill earlier on bodies. September 19, 2020. The bill seeks to amends the The three regulatory bodies include the Directorate Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 that General of Civil Aviation, Aircraft Accidents provides a time bound process for resolving Investigation Bureau and the Bureau of Civil insolvency in companies and also among Aviation Security. individuals. The bill has proposed each of the bodies to be The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second headed by a Director General who will be Amendment) Bill, 2020 seeks to temporarily appointed by the centre.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 12. AWARDS AND HONOURS
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat presents The PATA Grand Title Winners are presented to Swachh Bharat Awards 2020 outstanding entries in three Categories: Marketing, The Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Sustainability, and Human Capital Development. Singh Shekhawat and the Minister of State for Jal It is recognized a total of 3 Grand Title Winners Shakti, Shri Rattan Lal Kataria virtually conferred and 21 Gold Awards. the Swachh Bharat 2020 Awards to the best Apart from this, Department of Tourism, performing States/UTs, districts, blocks, GPs in Government of Karnataka won the PATA Gold various categories on 2nd October 2020. Award 2020 for its Marketing Campaign – „Script The Ministry of Jal Shakti is observing the Swachh your Adventure 2019‟. It was one of the 21 Gold Bharat Diwas, 2020 on 2nd October to mark six Award winners from across the globe. years of the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission President Ram Nath Kovind virtually (SBM). presented the NSS Awards for 2018-2019 The Swachh Bharat 2020 Awards were conferred On 24th September 2020, Ram Nath Kovind, under three categories which are: President of India conferred the National Service » Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shauchalaya (SSSS) Scheme (NSS) Awards also known as Rashtriya campaign Seva Yojana Award for the year 2018-2019 over a •Best State – Gujarat virtual event from Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. •Best District – Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu He presented the awards to 42 awardees under 3 •Best Block – Khachrod, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh categories •Best Gram Panchayat – Chinnaur, (Salem) Category No. of » Samudayik Shauchalaya Abhiyan (SSA) awards •Best State – Uttar Pradesh (GKRA) and Gujarat University/ +2Council 2 (Non-GKRA) [***Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA)] NSS Units and their 10 + 10 •Best District – Prayagraj (GKRA) and Bareilly Programme Officers (Non-GKRA) NSS Volunteers 30 •Best Gram Panchayat – Borigaon, Bongaigaon, Assam The annual award is conferred by the Department of Youth Affairs of the Ministry of youth affairs »Gandagi Se Mukt (GMB) campaign and Sports. •Best State – Telangana and Haryana The National Service Scheme (NSS) was •Best District – Moga, Punjab launched on the 100th Birth Anniversary of Kerala Tourism bags PATA Grand Award Mahatma Gandhi in 1969 with the motto “Not 2020 Me, But You”. Kerala Tourism‟s „Human by Nature Print Currently around 40 lakh NSS volunteers are Campaign‟ bagged the Prestigious Pacific Asia enrolled across the nation. Travel Association (PATA) Grand Title Winner 2020 for Marketing. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Sanju Yadav The awards were announced during a presentation won the AIFF Player of the Year Award ceremony of Virtual PATA Travel Mart 2020 in 2019-2020 Beijing, which took place from September 23-27, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, (28 years) from 2020. Chandigarh, goalkeeper of Indian National Men‟s The PATA Awards are supported and sponsored by Football team and Sanju Yadav (22 years) from Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO). Haryana, Midfielder of India‟s National Women‟s Football team were declared as the winners of the
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest annual All India Football Federation (AIFF) Men‟s Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, Donald Trump Footballer of the Year Award 2019-2020 and AIFF of the USA, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Women‟s Footballer of the Year Award 2019-2020 Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Gurbanguly respectively Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan, for “Using the Apart from this, Anirudh Thapa won Men‟s Covid-19 pandemic to show the world that Emerging Footballer of the Year Award and politicians can have more impacts on life and death Ratanbala Devi won Emerging Women‟s Footballer than scientists and doctors”. of the Year Award. Ramesh Pokhriyal „Nishank‟ honoured 12 Kerala bags UNIATF Award 2020 among 6 Faculties with first ever AICTE other health ministries across the globe for Visvesvaraya Best Teachers Award 2020 its contribution towards SDGs related to On 15th September 2020, on the occasion of non-communicable diseases National Engineers Day, Ramesh Pokhriyal Kerala won the UN Interagency Task Force „Nishank‟, Union Minister of Education presented (UNIATF) Award 2020 for its contribution towards the first ever “AICTE Visvesvaraya Best Teachers the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) related Award 2020” to the 12 faculty members of All to the non-communicable diseases. India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of approved institutions over a virtual ceremony. World Health Organisation (WHO) announced the This national level annual award scheme was annual UNIATF Award for the year 2020 on introduced in 2020 to identify the teachers and prevention and control of non-communicable recognize their expertise and best practices and diseases. innovation in the field of higher technical This is the first time for Kerala to be recognised by education. this annual UN Award and along with Kerala 6 Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna honoured other health ministries across the globe have won with 2020 Asia Game Changer Award for the 2020 UNIATF Award. feeding millions amid COVID-19 UNIATF Award 2020 recognised Kerala‟s lifestyle The Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna received the Disease control mechanism, in which the 2020 Asia Game Changer Award from Asia government established basic health centres to Society, a United States based non-profit hospitals at all levels to treat the lifestyle diseases organisation for feeding millions of people across and the treatment and free service provided to the India amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, by larger section of the population. coordinating a food distribution drive from PM Modi shared the Ig Nobel Prize 2020 Manhattan. among others for Medical Education at He is the only Indian among the six awardees who 30th First Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony were recognised by the Asia Society. Prime Minister Narendra Modi won the Medical Vikas Khanna launched the food distribution drive Education Prize of Ig Nobel Prize 2020 at the 30th #FeedIndia which has distributed around 35 million First Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony over virtual meals,which includes cooked food and dry rations platform. The Asia Game Changer Award was launched by He became the 2nd Prime Minister from India to the Asia Society in 2014 to identify and honour the win the Ig Nobel Prize after Atal Bihari Vajpayee individuals for their contribution to the future of who won the 1998 Peace award for “Aggressively Asia. peaceful explosion of atomic bombs”. Aditya Puri MD of HDFC Bank honoured The Ig Nobel Prize 2020 for Medical Education is with Euromoney‟s Lifetime Achievement shared among Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, Boris Award 2020 Johnson of the United Kingdom, Narendra Modi of Euromoney, the global finance and banking India, Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico, magazine‟s Awards for Excellence 2020 honoured
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest Aditya Puri, Managing Director (MD) of HDFC Bhatnagar Prizes on September 26, 2020 on the Bank with a Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. occasion of the Foundation Day of the Council of This is a first of its kind recognition for a corporate Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). leader from India. The award is given for outstanding Indian work in The award is conferred upon him to recognize his the field of science and technology. skills in building a world class Indian bank and his The award is named after the founder Director of contribution in creating a trustworthy brand. CSIR India, the late Dr (Sir) Shanti Swarup He will retire from his post as the MD of HDFC Bhatnagar. bank on 26th October 2020 and Sashidhar The award is presented in following 7 disciplines: Jagadishan will succeed him as the next MD & Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Earth, CEO. Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, 77th Venice Film Festival 2020: Chaitanya Engineering Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Tamhane‟s Marathi film “The Disciple” Medical Sciences and Physical Sciences. bags Best Screenplay Award In 2020, the Prize has been bestowed upon 14 Venice Film Festival 2020, the 77th Venice people. International Film Festival organised by La Sonu Sood honoured with SDA Special Biennale di Venezia was held from 2nd September Humanitarian Action Award by UNDP to 12th September 2020. The veteran actor Sonu Sood has been conferred the Marathi film – The Disciple, directed by Chaitanya prestigious SDG Special Humanitarian Action Tamhane and starring Aditya Modak, Arun Dravid, Award by the United Nations Development Sumitra Bhave and Kiran Yadnyopavit won the Programme (UNDP) on 28 September 2020 during Best Screenplay Award at the festival. a virtual ceremony. Chatainya Tamhane is the first Indian to contest in The actor, often dubbed as the “messiah of the main category of a European film festival since migrants”, has been awarded for selflessly Mira Nair for Monsoon Wedding in Venice 2001. extending a helping hand and sending home lakhs Chinese-American filmmaker Chloe Zhao bagged of migrants, helping thousands of stranded students the top prize of the coveted Golden Lion for her across geographies abroad, providing free education drama Nomadland. and medical facilities to young children and British broadcaster Sir David Attenborough creating free employment opportunities to the honoured with Indira Gandhi Peace Prize needy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. On 7th September 2020,Over a virtual event, With this honour, Sonu Sood joins the league of Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conferred Angelina Jolie, David Beckham, Leonardo the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2019 DiCaprio, Emma Watson, Liam Neeson, Cate upon Sir David Attenborogh, a British broadcaster. Blanchett, Antonio Banderas, Nicole Kidman and The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, disarmament Priyanka Chopra who have been similarly honoured and development was instituted by the Indira by different UN bodies. Gandhi Memorial Trust in 1986. Margaret Atwood wins 2020 Dayton The award is presented to individuals or Literary Peace Prize organisations who are working to ensure Margaret Atwood (Canada) has won the 2020 international peace and development, ensuring that Dayton Literary Peace Prize‟s lifetime achievement scientific discoveries are used to expand the scope award.The award celebrated the power of literature of freedom and better humanity and creating new in fostering peace, social justice and global international economic order. understanding. It is a United States literary award Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizes 2020 Margaret Atwood is famous for her novel, “The The Union Science and Technology minister Dr Handmaid‟s Tale”. Harsh Vardhan announced the 2020 Shanti Swarup
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 13. SPORTS
Visnu Shivaraj Pandian wins 10 meter air Fabrice Martin (France) to clinch men‟s doubles rifle gold at International Online title. Shooting Championship Hsieh Su-Wei (Taiwan) and Barbora Strycova In Shooting, India‟s Visnu Shivaraj Pandian has (Czech Republic) defeated Anna-Lena Friedsam won the 10m air rifle event at the fifth edition of the (Germany) and Raluca Olaru (Romania) to clinch International Online Shooting Championship held women‟s doubles title. on 3rd October 2020. Mercedes Driver Valtteri Bottas wins The 16-year-old Visnu shot 251.4 to win the title by Russian Grand Prix 2020 a clear margin of two points. Mercedes Driver Valtteri Viktor Bottas (Finland) The world No. 27 Etienne Germond of France came won the Russian Grand Prix 2020 held at Sochi second followed by Martin Strempfl of Austria at Autodrom, Russia. third place. Red Bull‟s Max Verstappen (Netherlands) finished Multi-talented Tennis world No. 1 and second,while Mercedes Lewis Hamilton (Britain) former cricketer Ash Barty wins Golf finished third in the Russian Grand Prix 2020. Lewis Hamilton who finished third due to a penalty Club Championship Ashleigh Barty, who is the top-ranked WTA player of 10 Seconds missed a chance to match Michael in the world, and a former professional cricket Schumacher‟s Record of 91 wins in Formula One. player, has now added another feat in her sporting ITF renames Fed Cup as Billie Jean King list by winning golf club championship. Cup The 24-year-old, world number one Australian,has The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has won the Brookwater Golf Club women‟s renamed the Fed Cup, an annual team competition championship. in women tennis, as the “Billie Jean King Cup.” Ash Barty had withdrawn from participating in US Billie Jean King was a pioneer in women‟s tennis Open and French Open due to coronavirus who helped the United States win the inaugural pandemic. event. The Billie Jean King Cup is the world‟s largest 2020 Italian Open (Tennis): Novak Djokovic annual women‟s international team sports & Simona Halep won 2020 men's and competition in terms of the number of nations that women's singles titles respectively World number one Novak Djokovic (Serbia) compete. defeated Diego Schwartzman (Argentina) to win Headquarters of ITF: London, United Kingdom the 2020 Italian Open men‟s singles title for the Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju launches new fifth time. logo of Sports Authority of India This is Djokovic‟s Record 36th Masters Title, he The Union Sports Minister, Kiren Rijiju launched overtook Rafael Nadal (35 Masters Titles) to top the new logo of Sports Authority of India‟s (SAI) the list of players with Most ATP Masters 1000 on 30 September 2020 at Delhi‟s Major Dhyan Titles. Chand Stadium. Simona Halep (Romania) won her first Italian Open The new logo of SAI features a flying figure which Title as Defending Champion Karolina Pliskova indicates the freedom an athlete to leapfrog his/her (Czech Republic) retired midway through the final career in SAI.The figure features Indian tricolour due to an injury. and blue colour of chakra. Marvel Granollers (Spain) and Horacio Zeballos The logo signifies SAI‟s journey of metamorphosis (Argentina) defeated Jeremy Chardy (France) and from identifying and nurturing grassroot level
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest sporting talent to creating sporting excellence in the which were scheduled to be held from 3 to 11 country. October 2020 in Denmark, have been postponed for 2020 US Open (Tennis): Dominic Thiem & 2021. Naomi Osaka won men's and women's This decision has been taken following the singles titles respectively withdrawal of many participating countries from The 140th Edition of American Open or US Open the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. took place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Lewis Hamilton wins F1 Tuscan Grand Tennis Centre, New York, United States from Prix 2020 August 31, 2020 to September 13, 2020. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) has won Dominic Thiem (Austria) beat Alexander Zverev the Formula One Tuscan Grand Prix 2020 held on (Germany) in five sets to win the 2020,US Open September 13, 2020. This was his 6th win of the men‟s singles title and also clinched his First Grand season and 90th F1 win of his career. Slam Title. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-Finland) came second Naomi Osaka (Japan) defeated Victoria Azarenka followed by Alexander Albon (Red Bull – (Belarus) to clinch 2020 US Open woMen‟s singles Thailand) at third place. title. The Tuscan Grand Prix (first edition) was the ninth Mate Pavic (Croatia) & Bruno Soares (Brazil) race of the 2020 Formula One World clinched the 2020 US Open Doubles Title. Championship. Laura Siegemund (Germany) & Vera Zvonareva Pierre Gasly wins F1 Italian Grand Prix (Russia) claim the 2020 US Open women‟s doubles 2020 title. Pierre Gasly (Scuderia AlphaTauri, France) has Note: The World Number One Novak Djokovic won the Formula One Italian Grand Prix 2020 held (Serbia) was disqualified from the 2020 U.S. Open on September 06, 2020. This is his first Grand Prix fourth round, after he accidentally hit a line judge win. Carlos Sainz Jr. (McLaren, Spain) came with a ball during his match against Pablo Carreno second followed by Lance Stroll (Racing Point, Busta of Spain. Canada) in third place. Wushu stalwart Poonam Khatri‟s Silver England cricketer Ian Bell announces Medal at 2019 World Championship retirement from professional cricket upgraded to Gold Medal Cricketer Ian Bell from England has announced that Poonam Khatri who won the silver medal at the he will retire from all forms of cricket at the end of 15th edition of World Wushu Championships the 2020 domestic season. (WWC) 2019 held at Minhang Gymnasium in Ian Bell, 38, retired from ODIs in 2015 to focus on Shanghai, China has now been upgraded to gold Test cricket. medal. He is a five-time Ashes winner and has spent his Poonam is now the third Indian to win a gold in entire career with Warwickshire. Wushu World Championship after Pooja Kadiyan (2017) and Praveen Kumar (2019). Indian Grandmaster P. Iniyan wins World Her gold medal got upgraded after Iran‟s Maryam Open Online Chess Tournament Indian Grandmaster P Iniyan won the 48th edition Hashemi failed in her dope test. Maryam won the of the prestigious Annual World Open online chess gold medal in the Women‟s Sanda event after tournament held recently. defeating Poonam Khatri in the finals of the 75 kg The Tamil Nadu player scored 7.5 points from nine category. games with six victories and three draws to finish BWF postpones Thomas and Uber Cup to on top. 2021 The 17-year-old Iniyan tied his score with GM The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has Sanan Sjugirov (Russia) but emerged winner announced that the Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup, because of a better tie-break score.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest
14. PERSONS IN NEWS
Shivangi Singh to become India‟s first turned it into sands, making it commercially woman fighter pilot to fly Rafale viable. Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh to become the Mukesh Ambani tops Hurun India Rich first woman fighter pilot of India to fly the Rafale List for ninth consecutive year combat aircraft that was formally inducted into The Reliance Industries‟ Chairman, and Asia‟s the Indian Air Force (IAF)on September 10, 2020. richest man Mukesh Ambani has topped the IIFL She hails from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. She is Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2020 for the ninth one of the 10 Indian women fighter pilots in IAF. consecutive year. He has a total net worth of Rs She was among the 2nd batch of women fighter 6,58,400 crore. pilots who were commissioned in 2017. London-based Hinduja brothers (SP Hinduja, Flight Lieutenants Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana along with his three brothers) are at second Kanth and Mohana Singh became the 1st women position with combined net worth of Rs 1,43,700 to be commissioned as flying officers into the IAF crore followed by HCL‟s Shiv Nadar at third spot fighter stream. with net worth of Rs 1,41,700 crore. IAF is the first Force to allow women officers in The Hurun India Rich list 2020 names the richest combat roles. It has the highest percentage of individuals in the country with a wealth of Rs female officers.Total women officers in IAF is 1,000 crore or more as on August 31, 2020. 1,875. Apart from this, Mukesh Ambani, has topped the Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana Forbes India Rich list for 2020 appointed UNICEF‟s celebrity advocate He has retained his position as the wealthiest United Nations Children‟s Fund(UNICEF) has Indian for the 13th consecutive year on Forbes appointed Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana India list. as its celebrity advocate for children‟s rights The tycoon added $37.3 billion to his net worth, campaign, ”For Every Child”. He will work to bring his total fortune to $88.7 billion, a rise of towards this initiative in India. 73% over previous year. He will support UNICEF to end violence against Amazon signs Amitabh Bachchan for its children, especially in the present situation- Alexa voice assistant COVID-19 is increasing the risk of violence and Amazon.com Inc has signed up Bollywood actor abuse against children due to the extended Amitabh Bachchan for its Alexa voice assistant. lockdown and the socio-economic impacts of the Alexa users will be able to access Amitabh pandemic. Bachchan‟s voice on Alexa by purchasing the Indian teenager Udit Singhal, named in Amitabh Bachchan voice experience. UN‟s 2020 list of Young Leaders for He is the first Indian celebrity to lend his voice to Sustainable Goals Alexa. Udit Singhal, an 18-year-old Indian boy, has been Jane Fraser named the first female CEO included by the United Nations (UN) in the 2020 of Citigroup Class of 17 Young Leaders for the Sustainable Citigroup has named Jane Fraser as its next chief Development Goals (SDGs). executive officer. She will be the first female Udit is the founder of „Glass2Sand‟, a zero-waste CEO of this major global bank. ecosystem that addresses the growing menace of She will succeed Michael Corbat, who is retiring glass waste in Delhi. in February 2021. His initiative has prevented empty glass bottles The headquarters of Citigroup is located in New from getting dumped into landfills and instead York, United States.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 15. OBITUARIES
Veteran social activist Pushpa Bhave Prior to pursuing career in politics with the passes away at 81 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mr. Singh was an Veteran social activist Prof Pushpa Bhave, also officer in the Indian Army in the 1950s and 60s. known as the Iron Lady of Mumbai, has passed Padma Shri winning former Atomic Energy away following a prolonged illness. She was 81. Commission Chairman Sekhar Basu passes Bhave has been associated with the Rashtra Seva away at 68 Dal and democratic movements since her student Veteran atomic scientist and former chairman of days. Atomic Energy Commission of India, Dr Sekhar She was also an academician and an intellectual, Basu has passed away after suffering from COVID- who fought for the rights of common citizens. 19 and kidney ailments. He was 68. She had taken part in the Samyukta Maharashtra Dr Basu was awarded Padma Shri in 2014 for his movement and the Goa liberation movement. contributions to the country‟s atomic energy Chandamama artist KC Sivasankar, programme. illustrator of Vikram and Betaal series, Legendary singer SP Balasubramanyam passes away at 97 passes away at 74 The legendary artist KC Sivasankar who is best Legendary singer SP Balasubramanyam has passed known for illustrating the Vikram Betaal series has away. He was undergoing treatment after being passed away after long illness. He was 97 tested positive for Covid-19 at a hospital in He is also known for illustrating popular children‟s Chennai. He was 74. magazine Chandamama. He is known to have recorded over 40,000 songs in He had contributed to the field of art for over 60 16 Indian languages including Tamil, Telugu, years. Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam and holds the Assam‟s only woman CM Syeda Anwara Guinness World Record for recording the highest Taimur passes away at 84 number of songs by a singer. Syeda Anwara Taimur, the only woman Chief SP Balasubramanyam was honoured with a Padma Minister in the history of Assam, has passed away Shri (fourth-highest civilian award) in 2001 and after a prolonged illness. She was 84. Padma Bhushan (third-highest civilian award) in Taimur had been the Chief Minister of Assam from 2011 for his contribution to cinema. December 6, 1980 to June 30, 1981. Former Australian batsman Dean Jones In 1988, the veteran leader was nominated to the passes away at 59 in Mumbai Rajya Sabha from Congress. Former Australia cricket commentator, coach and In 2018, she figured in the headlines after her name legendary batsman Dean Jones has passed away on was found missing from the NRC (National 24 September 2020 after suffering a heart attack. Register of Citizens). He was 59. Former Union Minister Jaswant Singh Jones was in Mumbai as a commentator for the Passes Away At 82 ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 and was The former Union Minister Jaswant Singh has in a bio-secure bubble in a seven-star hotel in passed away after a prolonged illness. He was 82. Mumbai. Jaswant Singh had served as the external affairs Jones had represented Australia in 52 Tests and 164 minister, defense minister and finance minister of ODIs. India, during the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari He was also part of Australia‟s 1987 World Cup- Vajpayee‟s Cabinet. winning squad.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest
Minister of State for Railways Suresh Akademi Fellowship, the Lalit Kala Akademi Angadi passes away of coronavirus at 65 Fellowship, and the Padma Vibhushan. Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Renowned social activist & former Angadi has passed away after he contracted Haryana Minister Swami Agnivesh passes coronavirus disease.He was 65-years-old. away at 80 He is the first member of the Union Cabinet to die Social activist and Arya Samaj leader Swami due to coronavirus. Agnivesh, who is widely known for his work Suresh Angadi was a four-time Lok Sabha MP from against slavery and bonded labour, has passed away Karnataka‟s Belagavi constituency. He was elected due to multiple organ failure. He was 80. in 2004, 2014 and 2019. Agnivesh was elected as a member of the Nepal‟s legendary mountaineer Ang Rita Legislative Assembly of Haryana in 1977, and Sherpa, first to climb Mount Everest 10 served as a cabinet Minister for Education in 1979. He was the chairperson of the United Nations times, passes away at 72 Nepal-based Ang Rita Sherpa, the first man to Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of climb Mount Everest 10 times, has passed away Slavery from 1994 to 2004. suffering brain and liver ailments for a long time. Swami Ji also served as the president of the World He was 72. Council of Arya Samaj between 2004 and 2014. Ang Rita made all the ascents to the world‟s tallest Former Union Minister Raghuvansh Prasad mountain between 1983 and 1996 and that too Singh passes away at 74 without bottled oxygen. Former Union minister and veteran leader of He was therefore also known as the “snow leopard” Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Raghuvansh Prasad for his climbing skills. Singh has passed away after he developed post COVID-19 complications. He was 74. Amitabha Ghosh, who served as RBI He was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha of India governor for 21 days, passes away and represented the Vaishali constituency of Bihar. Amitabha Ghosh, the shortest-serving Governor of Singh had served as the Union Minister for Rural the Reserve Bank of India passed away at the age of Development in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh‟s 90 days.He had served as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India for 21 days between January cabinet. He was widely regarded as the brain behind the 15, 1985 to February 4,1985. conceptualization and implementation of NREGA It was a stop-gap arrangement when Amitabha Ghosh was serving as a deputy governor of RBI and (National rural employment guarantee act). waiting to hand over charge to the 17th RBI Prof. Govind Swarup, Pioneer of Radio Governor R N Malhotra. Astronomy in India, passes away at 91 Renowned scientist and radio astronomer, Professor Legendary scholar of Indian classical Govind Swarup, has passed away at 91 due to dance & arts, Dr Kapila Vatsyayan, passes illness. Prof Swarup was known as Father of Indian away at 92 Radio Astronomy, for his notable contributions to Veteran scholar of Indian classical dance, art, the field of radio astronomy in the country . architecture and art history, Dr Kapila Vatsyayan He was the founding director of the National Centre has passed away. She was 92-year-old. for Radio Astrophysics of the Tata Institute of Dr. Vatsyayan was the former Member of Fundamental Research. Parliament and had served as Education Secretary. Swarup was the key scientist behind concept, She was the founding Director of the Indira Gandhi design and installation of the Ooty Radio Telescope National Centre for the Arts. and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (world‟s Some of the prestigious honors received by Dr largest telescope operating at meter wavelengths ) Kapila Vatsyayan inlcudes, Sangeet Natak near Pune.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 16. REPORTS, INDICES AND RANKING
India Ranks 89 among 181 countries in In the 2020 Smart City Index, Hyderabad was the World Risk Index 2020 top Indian city, placed at the 85th position. India has been ranked at 89th position among 181 In 2020 Smart City Index, 109 cities were surveyed. countries on the World Risk Index (WRI) 2020 The Smart City Index is prepared by the Institute which describes the natural disaster risk for various for Management Development, in collaboration countries and regions. with Singapore University for Technology and As per the World Risk Report 2020, India (index Design (SUTD). value 6.62) was „poorly prepared‟ to deal with The index ranks cities based on economic and „climate reality‟, due to which it was more technological data, as well as by their citizens‟ vulnerable to extreme natural disasters. perceptions of how “smart” their cities are. The Pacific island state of Vanuatu leads the index List of Indian cities in the index: Hyderabad - 85 as the country with the highest disaster risk (index (67th in 2019),New Delhi - 86 (68th in 2019), value49.74). Mumbai - 93 (78th in 2019), Bengaluru - 95 (79th Qatar has the lowest risk (index value 0.31). in 2019) In terms of the continents, Oceania ranks first in Mizoram „happiest‟ state as per „India terms of highest disaster risk, followed by the Happiness Report 2020‟ Americas, Asia and Europe. Mizoram has been ranked first in the India The World Risk Report is released annually since Happiness Report 2020 which is India‟s first 2011 by the United Nations University Institute for Happiness Report covering all states and Union Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and Territories measuring happiness across the country. Bundnis Entwicklung Hilft, in cooperation with the In the overall ranking, Mizoram is first, Punjab is University of Stuttgart in Germany. second while Andaman & Nicobar Island is third. India ranks 116th in World Bank‟s Human The report has been complied by Professor Rajesh Capital Index 2020; Singapore Tops K Pillania based on a nationwide survey covering India has been ranked at 116th position in the 16,950 people between March and July of 2020. World Bank‟s annual Human Capital Index 2020. Gujarat tops States Startup Ranking India has an HCI score of 0.50. The index has Results 2019; Andaman and Nicobar ranked 174 countries. Islands tops in small state/UT category Singapore has been ranked first with an HCI score Gujarat has topped the second edition of States of 0.89. Startup Ranking Results 2019 released by Minister The Human Capital Index is is an international of Commerce & Industry and Railways Shri Piyush metric that measures the human capital that a child Goyal. born today can expect to attain by her 18th The States‟ Startup Ranking Framework 2019 has birthday. ranked states based on 7 broad reform areas, Singapore tops IMD‟s Global Smart City consisting of 30 action points. In this ranking 22 Index 2020, Hyderabad top Indian City States and 3 Union Territories have participated. The Indian cities have witnessed a significant drop The ranking has been divided into two parts. in their rankings in the Smart City Index 2020, a Category X: Consisting of all big states and global list of smart cities, prepared by the Institute Category Y: This group has all North-Eastern States for Management Development (IMD). except Assam and all UTs except Delhi. The index has been topped by Singapore, followed Gujarat is the best performer state in Category X by Helsinki and Zurich as top three smart cities. while Andaman and Nicobar Islands is the best performer in category Y.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest The ranking has been prepared by Department for pollution levels, climate change, habitat loss and Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) degradation, including deforestation, driven by India ranked 105th in Global Economic humanity. Freedom Index 2020; Hong Kong Tops The worst regions are Latin America and the India (Score- 6.56/10) has been ranked 105th in the Caribbean with an average decline of 94%. Global Economic Freedom Index 2020 released by The report which analysed 21,000 populations of the Fraser Institute, Canada. HongKong (Score- more than 4,000 vertebrate species has stated that 8.94/10) has topped the ranking followed by urgent action is needed to protect and restore nature Singapore at the second spot. and biodiversity. India has fallen 26 spots from 79th spot in last India‟s child mortality rate declines from year‟s ranking. Venezuela has been ranked last 3.4 million in 1990 to 8,24,000 in 2019: UN among 162 countries. The rankings are prepared report based on the data of the year 2018. According to „Levels & Trends in Child Mortality‟ Andhra Pradesh tops Business Reform Report 2020, India‟s child mortality rate has Action Plan (BRAP) ranking of states 2019 declined from 3.4 million in 1990 to 8,24,000 in Andhra Pradesh has topped the 4th edition of the 2019. The report was prepared by the United Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) ranking of Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality states for 2018-19. Estimation (UN IGME). Uttar Pradesh is ranked second and Telangana is The Report shows that the number of global under- ranked third in the ranking. The ranking is also five deaths dropped to its lowest point on record in known as The Ease of Doing Business rankings. 2019, down to 5.2 million from 12.5 million in The ranking was announced by Smt. Nirmala 1990. Sitharaman, Union Minister of Finance and According to the report, 49 percent of under-five Corporate Affairs. The ranking is done by the deaths in 2019 occurred in five countries namely: Ministry of Commerce & Industry. Nigeria, India, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic Global spending needs 500 years to match of Congo and Ethiopia. COVID-19 rout: GPMB report The new mortality rates have been released by In accordance with the 2nd Global Preparedness United Nations Children‟s Fund (UNICEF), the Monitoring Board (GPMB) report titled “A World World Health Organization (WHO), Population in Disorder” released on September 14, 2020, the Division of the United Nations, Department of world will take 500 years to spend on preparing for Economic and Social Affairs and the World Bank pandemics due to the loss driven by the novel Group coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Kerala tops literacy rate chart with 96.2%; As per the report the cost of COVID-19 is over US$ A P worst performer with 66.4%: NSO 11 trillion to fund the response resulting in future In accordance with the report on “Household Social loss of US$ 10 trillion in earnings Consumption: Education in India as part of 75th The GPMB is the joint arm of the World Health round of National Sample Survey(NSS) – from July Organization (WHO) and the World Bank. 2017 to June 2018″ conducted by National 68% average decline in species population Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and sizes since 1970 : WWF Report Programme Implementation, Kerala again emerged In accordance with the World Wildlife Fund‟s as the most literate state in the country with 96.2% (WWF) Living Planet Report 2020, the global literacy followed by Delhi (88.7%), vertebrate population declined to an average of 68% On the other hand, Andhra Pradesh (AP) is the between 1970 and 2016. worst performer with 66.4% followed by Rajasthan The reasons behind this decline is changes in land with 69.7%. and sea use, over exploitation of species, high
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 17. COMMITTEES SEBI constitutes technical group on Social Zhenhua Data Information Technology Company Stock Exchange under Harsh Kumar Ltd. Bhanwala The expert committee will study the reports, On September 21, 2020 Securities and Exchange evaluate their implications, assess violations of law Board of India (SEBI) constituted the technical and submit its recommendations in 30 days. group on Social Stock Exchange under the Central Govt. formed 16-member Chairmanship of Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, former committee to study ancient Indian culture Chairman of NABARD. The group will develop a Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (Independent framework for onboarding non-profit organisations Charge) of Culture and Tourism has informed that and for-profit enterprises to performance and Government has formed a 16 member expert aspects related to social audit and social impact. committee to conduct a study on the origin and 11 member Company Law Committee gets evolution of Indian culture dating back to about 1 year extension; Headed by Rajesh Verma 12,000 years ago and its interface with other On September 17, 2020 The Ministry of Corporate cultures of the world. Affairs (MCA) extended the tenure of the Company Central govt. constitutes EGoM to oversee Law Committee by one year. The tenure of this corporatisation of Ordnance Factory Board committee has been extended by two years that is On September 11, 2020 Government of India up to 17.09.2021. It is now chaired by Rajesh constituted an Empowered Group of Ministers Verma, Secretary of MCA. (EGoM) under the chairmanship of Union Minister The committee has a mandate to submit periodic for Defence, Rajnath Singh to oversee the recommendations to the government in phases and corporatisation of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). subject-wise, as may be decided by the chairman. Ministry of Finance formed expert panel Central Govt. sets up high-level committee headed by Rajiv Mehrishi to assess headed by Ajay Tirkey to prepare roadmap impacts of waiving loan moratorium to regularise land leasing in agri Sector On 10th September 2020, The Ministry of Finance In order to prepare a roadmap for regularisation of formed a three-member expert panel headed by land leasing in the agriculture sector, the Centre has Rajiv Mehrishi, former comptroller and Auditor set up a high-level committee headed by Ajay General of India to assess the impacts of the waiver Tirkey, secretary of the department of land of interest on the moratoriu loans offered to the resources under the Ministry of Rural Development. COVID-19 affected borrowers which ended on 31st The reform will lay down rights of landless farm August 2020. workers who are deprived of welfare benefits. IRDAI set up 6 member working group The proposed framework will recognise the rights headed by Dinesh Pant to study index of landowners and cultivators and farm workers. linked products for Life Insurance Central Govt. forms expert committee Companies under NCSC Rajesh Pant to probe reports On 1st September 2020, Insurance Regulatory and of snooping by Chinese firm Development Authority of India (IRDAI) formed a On September 16, 2020 Government of India 6-member working group headed by Dinesh Pant, formed an Expert Committee led by National Cyber appointed actuary of Life Insurance Corporation Security Coordinator (NCSC) Lt General (LIC) to scrutinize various aspects for allowing the (retd)Rajesh Pant, India‟s Chief Coordinator on life insurance companies to offer index linked Cyber Security to examine the reports of digital products. surveillance on prominent Indian citizens including President, Army Chief by Chinese firm Shenzhen
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 18. SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES
S.No Name Of The Summit&Conference Details The Summit is scheduled to be held on 17th November 2020 via video conference. The Summit will be held under the Chairmanship of 1. 12th BRICS Summit Russia. (India will assume the Chairmanship in 2021). Theme :“BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth”. PM Modi inaugurates RAISE 2020, a mega virtual summit on Artificial Intelligence. RAISE (Responsible AI for Social 2. It was held through virtual conference. Empowerment) 2020 Summit It was organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NITI Aayog. Narendra Modi inaugurated the Vaishvik Bhartiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Summit. More than 3000 overseas Indian origin academicians and scientists from 55 countries and about 10,000 academicians 3. VAIBHAV 2020 Summit from India are taking part in the month-long Summit. The summit will conclude on the occasion of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Jayanti on 31st October 2020. It was a global virtual summit of overseas and resident Indian Researchers and Academicians. During the Summit, the two countries agreed for the establishment of „Green Strategic Partnership 4. India-Denmark Virtual Bilateral Summit Apart from this, Denmark also joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA). India, Australia and France held their first-ever India-France-Australia holds first-ever Trilateral 5. Trilateral Dialogue on 9 September 2020, with focus on Dialogue enhancing cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the first edition of the World Solar Technology Summit (WSTS) of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), on 8th September 2020, with focus on new technologies and innovations in the field of Solar. First World Solar Technology Summit of the 6. The Summit was organised by ISA and FICCI International Solar Alliance (ISA) More than 26000 participants from 149 countries joined the virtual Summit. ISA also launched a Journal on Solar Energy –„ solar compass 360‟ that would help authors from across the globe to publish their articles on solar energy. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the joint Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) 7. meeting Defence Ministers meet It was held in Moscow,Russia on 4 September 2020.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 19. APPOINTMENTS
S.No Name Appointed as
1. Dinesh Kumar Khara Appointed as the new Chairman of the State Bank Of India (SBI). He succeeds Rajnish Kumar. 2. M Rajeshwar Rao Appointed as fourth Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He succeeds NS Vishwanathan, who resigned from the post in March 2020 before the completion of his term in June, citing health reasons.RBI has four Deputy Governors. Other three are: M. D. Patra, B.P. Kanungo and M. K. Jain. 3. MA Ganapathy Appointed as the Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). He succeeds Rakesh Asthana,who appointed as the Director General of Border Security Force in August 2020. 4. Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Appointed as RBI‟s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members. Varma & Shashanka Bhide •The MPC committee of RBI comprises six members which includes three officials of the Reserve Bank of India and three external members nominated by the Government of India. •The three members from RBI side are Dr. Mridul K. Saggar, Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra and Shri Shaktikanta Das. •Governor of RBI is the exofficio Chairman of MPC. 5. Charanjit Singh Attra Appointed as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of State Bank of India 6. Nawaf al Ahmad Appointed as new Emir (King or Ruler) of the Kuwait.He succeeds Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah who passes away at age of 91 recently. 7. S S Deswal The Director General of ITBP Indo Tibetan Border Police), S S Deswal has been given the additional charge of National Security Guards (NSG) by Home Ministry. He succeeds Anup Kumar Singh who retired on Sept.30. 8. Shekhar Kapur Appointed as the new President of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Society and Chairman of FTII Governing Council. 9. P D Vaghela Appointed as the new chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). He succeeds R S Sharma who retired on September 20, 2020. 10. Mohamed Hussein Roble Appointed as the new Prime Minister of Somalia after a landslide victory in Parliamentary election held on 23 September 2020. 11. AK Das Appointed as new administrator of the Punjab and Maharashtra Co- operative (PMC) Bank by RBI. He succeeds JB Bhoria. 12. Takeo Konishi Appointed as the new Country Director for India by The Asian Development Bank (ADB). 13. Rajesh Khullar Appointed as Executive Director at World Bank 14. Yoshihide Suga Elected as Prime Minister of Japan.He succeeds PM Shinzo Abe, who announced in August 2020 that he would resign due to health problems 15. Paresh Rawal Appointed as Chairperson of National School of Drama 16. S Krishnan Appointed as MD and CEO of Punjab & Sind Bank. He succeeds S Hari shankar, who has been granted permission by ACC to retire on voluntary basis.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 20. DAYS AND THEMES
Date Day Description & Theme of 2020 September 30th International Translation Day Theme of 2020: “Finding the words for a world in crisis”. September 29th International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Theme of 2020: “Stop food loss and waste. For the Waste people. For the planet (this is the first ever observance of the day) September 29th World Heart Day Theme of 2020: „Use Heart to Beat: for society, your loved ones and you‟ September 28th World Rabies Day Theme of 2020: „End Rabies: Collaborate, Vaccinate. September 27th World Tourism Day Theme of 2020:“Tourism and Rural Development”. September 26th World Environmental Health Day Theme of 2020: “Environmental health, a key public health intervention in disease pandemic prevention”. September 25th Antyodaya Diwas in India This day is celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya,who was one of the key leaders of Bharatiya Jana Sangh from which the BJP later emerged. September 25th World Pharmacist Day Theme of 2020 :“Transforming global health”. September 24th World Maritime Day 2020 Theme of 2020 :“ Sustainable Shipping for a Sustainable Planet.”. September 23rd International Day of Sign Languages Theme of 2020 : “Sign Languages are for Everyone!”. September 21st World Alzheimer‟s Day Theme of 2020 „Let‟s talk about dementia‟. September 21st International Day of Peace Theme of 2020 : “Shaping Peace Together.”. September International Week of the Deaf Theme of 2020: “Reaffirming Deaf People‟s Human 21st-27th Rights” September 19th International Coastal Clean-Up Day 2020 Theme of 2020: “Achieving a trash-free Coastline” September 18th World Water Monitoring Day Theme of 2020: “Solve Water.” September 17th World Patient Safety Day Theme of 2020: „Safe health workers, Safe patients‟. September16th International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Theme of 2020: „Ozone for life: 35 years of ozone layer Layer protection‟. September 15th International Day of Democracy Theme of 2020: “COVID-19: A Spotlight on Democracy.” September 15th Engineer‟s Day in India The day marks the birth anniversary of the engineering pioneer of India, Sir Mokshagundam Vishweshvaraya. September14th National Hindi Day ------September 10th World Suicide Prevention Day Themeof 2020: „Working Together to Prevent Suicide‟ September8th International Literacy Day Themeof 2020: “Literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.” September 7th International Day of Clean Air for blue skies Themeof 2020: “Clean Air for All.” September 5th National Teachers‟ Day This Day is observed every year on 5th September in India to commemorate birthday of country‟s first Vice President and second President Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. September 2nd World Coconut Day Themeof 2020: „Invest in coconut to save the world‟.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 21. BOOKS AND AUTHORS
Book title Author Let Us Dream Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction. Arundhati Roy The Handmaid‟s Tale Margaret Atwood (Canada), 2020 Dayton Literary Peace Prize‟s lifetime achievement award winner A Promised Land. Former US President Barack Obama has announced his first presidential memoir titled “A Promised Land.” to be released on November 17, 2020 in 25 languages. The Big Thoughts of Little Luv Karan Johar, bollywood filmmaker Kitchens of Gratitude Star chef Vikas Khanna, the 2020 Asia Game Changer Awardee. 22. Brand Ambassadors appointed by various organizations in September 2020 Name of the Organization Brand Ambassadors Aamir Khan •Vedantu, Online live tutoring company roped in Indian Actor Aamir Khan as its brand ambassador. •CEAT a tyre company of RPG Enterprises (Rama Prasad Goenka Group), signed Aamir Khan as its brand ambassador for 2 years. Amitabh Bachchan •The Reserve Bank of India roped in Indian film actor Amitabh Bachchan for the customer awareness campaign to prevent naive account holders from being deceived by fraudsters. Sachin Tendulkar •Paytm First Games (PFG), a subsidiary of digital financial service platform Paytm, has roped in legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar of India as its brand Ambassador. Virat Kohli •Great Learning, an ed-tech company for professional and higher education, has appointed Virat Kohli, Indian cricket team captain as its brand ambassador. Smriti Mandhana •Playerzpot, India‟s leading sports gaming platform signed cricketers Smriti and Mandhana and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as its brand ambassadors. Bhuvneshwar Kumar Yuvraj Singh •Aakash Educational Services Limited appointed Indian Cricketer Yuvraj Singh as its brand ambassador Suresh Raina •9stacks, India‟s fastest growing online poker platform has roped in Suresh Raina, Indian cricketer as its brand ambassador. Robin Uthappa •Entri (Kerala Startup), a local language learning app for jobs, signed up Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa(representing Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020) as its brand ambassador Sonu Sood •Acer India, leading Personal Computer(PC) brand appointed bollywood actor Sonu Sood as its brand ambassador.
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 23. PRACTICE BITS (CURRENT AFFAIRS) 1. How many ministerial task forces were constituted 9. JIMEX-2020 is the joint maritime exercise between by central government to make India‟s Micro, India and which country (conducted at north Arabia Small, and Medium Enterprises better equipped for sea)? future? (a) United States (b) Japan (a) 5 (b) 7 (c) 11 (d) 9 (c) Australia (d) China 2. PM Modi has inaugurated the first-of-its-kind 10. Which Indian city has world‟s 1st tram library? “Ganga Avalokan” museum on river Ganga at which (a) Raipur (b) Amritsar city? (c) Bhubaneswar (d) Kolkata (a) Mirzapur (b) Patna 11. Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary is located (c) Varanasi (d) Haridwar in which state? 3. Which among the following insurance companies (a) Maharashtra (b) Gujarat was recognized as the Domestic Systemically (c) Telangana (d) Karnataka Important Insurers (D-SIIs)for 2020-21 by IRDAI? 12. Jammu & Kashmir has „how‟ many official (a) Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) languages (as on September 2020)? (b) General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) (a) 2 (b) 7 (c) 5 (d) 4 (c) New India Assurance Co. Ltd. (NIACL) 13. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (d) All the (a), (b) and (c) deregulates the production, supply, and distribution 4. Which state government has launched „Jala Kala‟ of which among the following? scheme for small and marginal farmers? (a) Petrol (b) Jute (a) Karnataka (b) Andhra Pradesh (c) Cereals (d) Fertilizer (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Telangana 14. India along with which country/countries hold 5. BSE has signed MoU with which bank to empower virtual meet on Indo-Pacific under Quad framework Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)? (a) RBL Bank (b) HDFC Bank recently? (c) Yes Bank (d) ICICI Bank (a) Japan (b) Australia 6. Which is the1st bank to implement the new feature (c) Unites States of America of document embedding facility with Letter of (d) All the (a), (b) and (c) Credit (LC) / Bank Guarantee (BG) messages over 15. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced Positive SFMS? Pay System for Cheque Truncation System (CTS) (a) ICICI Bank (b) IDFC First Bank above ______from January 1, 2021. (c) Kotak Mahindra Bank (d) IDBI Bank (a) Rs 10,000 (b) Rs 75,000 7. Name the state/UT which ranked top in the 1st ever (c) Rs 50,000 (d) Rs 25,000 India Happiness report 2020 released by Professor 16. Which bank has launched India‟s 1st warehouse Rajesh K Pillania. commodity finance app? (a) Mizoram (b) Punjab (a) IDBI Bank (b) ICICI Bank (c) Andaman and Nicobar Islands (c) Axis Bank (d) HDFC Bank (d) Odisha 17. Name the person who has been roped by the Reserve 8. Defence Acquisition Council chaired by Defence Bank of India for the customer awareness campaign. Minister Rajnath Singh approved Capital (a) MS Dhoni (b) Kareena Kapoor Acquisition for Arms & Equipment worth (c) Virat Kohli (d) Amitabh Bachchan ______(September 2020). 18. Who has won Russian Grand Prix 2020? (a) Rs 3,490cr (b) Rs 2,290cr (a) Charles Leclerc (b) Lewis Hamilton (c) Rs 1,275cr (d) Rs 2,750cr (c) Valtteri Bottas (d) Sebastian Vettel
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest
19. Which organization has announced a hackathon 27. Which organization released “Technology Vision named “KRITAGYA” (Krishi-Taknik-Gyan) under for Cyber Security‟ for Urban Co-operative Banks NAHEP to promote farm mechanization? (UCBs) – 2020-2023”? (a) All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) (a) Finance Commission (FC) (b) Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (b) National Institution for Transforming India (c) Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) (NITI) Aayog (d) Medical Council of India (MCI) (c) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) 20. Medical Council of India (MCI) has been officially (d) National Development Council (NDC) renamed as National Medical Commission (NMC) 28. Who has become the 1st woman fighter pilot of India to fly the Rafale combat aircraft? recently. Who is the 1st chairman of NMC? (a) Avani Chaturvedi (b) Bhawana Kanth (a) Mahesh Verma (c) Shivangi Singh (d) Minty Agarwal (b) Rajendra Pandey 29. „Fed Cup‟ which was renamed as the „Billie Jean (c) Suresh Chandra Sharma King Cup‟ is the women‟s world cup of which (d) Rakesh Kumar Vats sport? 21. India's 1st Regional Rapid Transit System train will (a) Cricket (b) Tennis provide its services to Delhi-Ghaziabad - Meerut (c) Badminton (d) Volleyball RRTS by which year? 30. The central government has raised the limit for (a) 2023 (b) 2021 using State Disaster Response Fund from 35% to ______(to combat COVID-19). (c) 2022 (d) 2024 (a) 60% (b) 40% 22. Name the bank which has entered into partnership (c) 50% (d) 75% with Bayer‟s Better Life Farming (BLF) initiative in 31. India's first Coast Guard academy will be India. established at which city? (a) Yes Bank (b) Axis Bank (a) Coimbatore (b) Lucknow (c) ICICI Bank (d) HDFC Bank (c) New Delhi (d) Mangaluru 23. Which company collaborated with Matrix Partners 32. Which bank has launched the 1st of its kind digital India to scale small businesses in India? facility named “SafePay” for contactless debit card based payment? (a) Whatsapp (b) Facebook (a) Nainital Bank (b) ICICI Bank (c) Twitter (d) Google (c) IDFC First Bank 24. Which country has signed MoU with India to (d) Kotak Mahindra Bank increase cooperation in Intellectual Property Rights 33. Which edition of World Economic Forum‟s (IPRs)? Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2020 was (a) Denmark (b) Poland held under the banner “Realizing a Great Reset for (c) Germany (d) France Sustainable Development” recently. rd th 25. Who among the following has virtually presented (a) 3 (b) 4 th the National Service Scheme (NSS) Awards for the (c) 5 (d) 7th 34. Which among the following tennis Grand Slam year 2018-19? tournaments was cancelled due to COVID-19 (a) Ram Nath Kovind (b) Amit Shah pandemic in 2020? (c) Narendra Modi (d) Rajnath Singh (a) Australian Open (b) Wimbledon 26. Which country hosted the virtual Ministerial Round (c) US Open (d) French Open Table Dialogue on Biodiversity Beyond 2020 35. Suresh Angadi who passed away recently was the (Prakash Javadekar represented India)? minister of state of which portfolio? (a) Austria (b) United States (a) Tribal Affairs (b) Health (c) China (d) Indonesia (c) Railways (d) Communications 45 IACE (Indian Academy of Competitive Exams) www.iace.co.in Toll Free: 1800-270-9975, Ph: 9533200400
Current Affairs October 2020– Digest
36. DRDO successfully test - fired the indigenously 45. What is the present interest rate on Sukanya developed Laser Guided Anti-Tank Guided Missile Samriddhi Accounts? from Main Battle Tank ______. (a) 6.8% (b) 7.6% (a) Karna (b) Bhishma (c) 6.9% (d) 7.1% (c) Ajeya (d) Arjun 46. What is the raised limit for the Foreign Portfolio 37. What is the food grain production target set by Investors‟ (FPIs) to invest in corporate bonds? government of India for 2020-21 crop year (July- (a) 12% (b) 10% June)? (c) 15% (d) 18% (a) 275 MT (b) 310 MT 47. What is the present Ways and Means Advances (c) 290 MT (d) 301 MT Limit (April 2020 to September 2020) for central 38. Who is the champion of men‟s singles category at government? Italian Open 2020? (a) Rs 1,00,000 crore (b) Rs 1,50,000 crore (a) Rafael Nadal (b) Dominic Thiem (c) Rs 1,20,000 crore (d) Rs 2,00,000 crore (c) Novak Djokovic 48. Which entity has setup the SPV (SLS Trust) for the (d) Diego Schwartzman Special Liquidity Scheme for NBFC of Rs. 30,000 39. The World Rose day is annually celebrated on 22nd crore launched by GoI? September to spread hope to patients affected by (a) HDFC Bank (b) ICICI Securities which disease? (c) SBICAP (d) Axis Bank (a) Rheumatoid Arthritis 49. Which bank has acquired 24.19% stake in DISH (b) Poliomyelitis TV? (c) Cancer (a) Axis Bank (b) Yes Bank (d) Alzheimer‟s and Dementia (c) HDFC Bank (d) ICICI Bank 40. The global sea level is expected to rise 50. What is RBI‟s initial contribution in the Payments approximately by ______cms by 2100 due to Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF)? greenhouse emissions as per NASA-led study. (a) Rs 100 crore (b) Rs 500 crore (a) 38 (b) 15 (c) 21 (d) 27 (c) Rs 1000 crore (d) Rs 250 crore 41. According to the estimation of Finance ministry, 51. NPCI will set up its Smart Datacenter worth Rs 500 what will be the growth in nominal GDP of India in crore in which city? FY22 (2021-202(b)? (a) Mumbai (b) Gujarat (a) 19% (b) 21% (c) Hyderabad (d) Bhopal (c) 17% (d) 15% 52. SEBI has eased the norms for REITs and InvITs to 42. Name the company which partnered with raise equity capital through the institutional IFundWomen to launch a grant program in India to placement route, by bringing down the minimum support women entrepreneurs? time gap to ______, instead of previous duration (a) Visa (b) Mastercard of 6 months? (c) Chase (d) American Express (a) 3 months (b) 2 months 43. Who heads the 11-member company law committee (c) 1 month (d) 2 weeks which was constituted by the Ministry of Corporate 53. Who among the following has been honoured with Affairs (Committee‟s term was extended for 1 year the SDG Special Humanitarian Action Award by the recently)? United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)? (a) Rajiv Gauba (b) Rajesh Verma (a) Virat Kohli (b) Sonu Sood (c) Kapil Dev Tripathi (d) P K Mishra (c) Amitabh Bachchan (d) Akshay Kumar 44. Nandankanan Zoological Park is located in which 54. Which state is set to launch the web portal named state? “Dharani” for integrated land record management? (a) Jharkhand (b) Chhattisgarh (a) Punjab (b) Bihar (c) Odisha (d) Sikkim (c) Telangana (d) Rajasthan 46 IACE (Indian Academy of Competitive Exams) www.iace.co.in Toll Free: 1800-270-9975, Ph: 9533200400
Current Affairs October 2020– Digest
55. Who has been appointed as the new chairman of the 64. The United Nations Climate Change Conference Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)? (COP 26) is scheduled to be held in November (a) P D Vaghela (b) H Pradeep Rao 2021in which city? (c) Nitin Kumar Kohli (d) Sunil K. Gupta (a) Madrid (b) Athens 56. As per RBI‟s new notification, the banks can avail (c) Dublin (d) Glasgow funds under the marginal standing facility (MSF) at 65. Renowned tennis player and former cricket player, the rate of ______of its NDTL till 31 March 2021 Ashleigh Barty has won the Brookwater Golf Club (a) 1% (b) 2% women‟s championship. She is from which country? (c) 4% (d) 3% (a) Germany (b) Spain 57. The last week of September is usually observed as (c) United States (d) Australia which of the following weeks? (a) International Week of the Deaf 66. What is the total outlay allocated to the PM (b) UN Global Road Safety Week SVANidhi scheme? (c) World Interfaith Harmony Week (a) Rs.600 crores (b) Rs.700 crores (d) World Immunization Week (c) Rs.500 crores (d) Rs.800 crores 58. Which organisation will develop the Positive Pay 67. The first ever direct cargo ferry service between System for Cheque Truncation System (CTS), as India and Maldives will connect which ports of announced by RBI? India with the port of Maldives? (a) Data Security Council of India (a) Kandla port and Mumbai port (b) NPCI (b) Tuticorin port and Cochin port (c) NASSCOM (c) Visakhapatnam Port and Mumbai Port (d) Internet and Mobile Association of India (d) Tuticorin port and Marmagao Port, Goa 59. The India‟s indigenously-made Microprocessor 68. Ang Rita Sherpa, the first man to climb Mount „MOUSHIK‟ has been developed by which Everest 10 times has passed away. He was from institute? which country? (a) IIT Kanpur (b) IIT Delhi (a) Malaysia (b) Bhutan (c) IIT Hyderabad (d) IIT Madras (c) India (d) Nepal 60. India has recently formed a sub working group 69. Who is the winner of the 2020 Women‟s Italian (SWG) with which country to promote co- development and co-production of high tech weapon Open Tennis Tournament? systems for exporting them to other friendly (a) Simona Halep (b) Sofia Kenin countries? (c) Karolina Pliskova (d) Garbiñe Muguruza (a) Israel (b) Russia 70. Which state in India is the first to launch policies on (c) France (d) United States Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Cyber 61. RBI proposed Positive Pay System for Cheque security policies? Truncation will be implemented from ______(a) Gujarat (b) Tamil Nadu (a) 1st January 2021 (b) 1st December 2020 (c) Maharashtra (d) Karnataka (c) 1st October 2020 (d) 1st November 2020 71. „Mahila Atmanirbharshil Aachani‟ is a women self- 62. Name the five-pillared strategic approach suggested reliance programme launched by which bank for by RBI to prevent Urban Co-operative Banks from SHGs in Assam? cyber attacks? (a) Punjab National Bank (b) HDFC Bank (a) SHIELD (b) GUARD (c) State Bank of India (d) Canara Bank (c) WATCH (d) FENCE 72. As announced by the Ministry of Environment, 63. Sameer Kumar Khare has been appointed as the Forest and Climate Change on sept.18,2020 how Executive Director at which of these international many beaches of India have been nominated for the organisations? (a) World Bank (b) IMF international eco-label, Blue Flag Certification? (c) AIIB (d) ADB (a) 6 (b) 11 (c) 8 (d) 10
47 IACE (Indian Academy of Competitive Exams) www.iace.co.in Toll Free: 1800-270-9975, Ph: 9533200400
Current Affairs October 2020– Digest
73. PM Modi inaugurated Kosi rail mega bridge in 82. According to Union Minister of Chemical and which state? Fertilizers D.V. Sadananda Gowda, India will be (a) Odisha (b) Maharashtra self- reliant in fertilizer production by ______. (c) Madhya Pradesh (d) Bihar (a) 2023 (b) 2021 (c) 2022 (d) 2025 74. Minister of State (MoS) for Civil Aviation, Hardeep 83. Which bank partnered with Titan to launch India‟s Singh Puri has inaugurated India‟s 1st general 1st contactless payment watch named „Titan Pay‟? aviation terminal at which airport? (a) ICICI Bank (b) Indian Bank (a) Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (c) HDFC Bank (d) State Bank of India (b) Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi 84. Reserve Bank of India issued Draft Rupee Interest (c) Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Rate Derivatives (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2020 Airport, Mumbai under which section of the RBI Act, 1934? (d) Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (a) Section 45 A (b) Section 45 W Airport, Guwahati (c) Section 45 B (d) Section 45 D 75. Who has been given additional charge as the 85. How many states implemented tele-medicine Minister of Food Processing Industries (Harsimrat services named „eSanjeevani‟ (as on September Kaur Badal resigned recently)? 2020)? (a) 19 (b) 17 (c) 21 (d) 23 (a) Prakash Javadekar (b) Pralhad Patel 86. The 2nd Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (c) Harsh Vardhan (GPMB) report titled “A World in Disorder” was (d) Narendra Singh Tomar released recently. The GPMB is the arm of which 76. Name the person who has been appointed as the organisation? chairman of high-level committee constituted by (a) World Bank GoI to prepare roadmap to regularise land leasing in (b) World Health Organization agri sector? (c) International Monetary Fund (a) Niranjan Jyoti (b) Pradip Shah (d) Both (a) and (b) (c) Ajay Tirkey (d) VK Paul 87. The Central government has increased the 77. “A Promised Land” is the memoir of whom? scholarship amount from Rs. 5, 000 to Rs. 50, 000 (a) Angela Merkel (b) Narendra Modi per annum under „Pragati‟ and „Saksham‟ (c) Manmohan Singh (d) Barack Obama scholarship schemes for students of which state/UT? (a) Haryana (b) Jammu & Kashmir 78. Which is the1st country in the world to issue 7-year (c) Gujarat (d) Ladakh sovereign Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 88. According to RBI‟s financial stability report July bond? 2020, the Gross Non Performing Assets (GNPA) (a) Brazil (b) Guatemala ratio of SCBs may increase to ______by March (c) Germany (d) Mexico 2021. 79. Find the person who has been honoured with 2020 (a) 11.5% (b) 12% Asia Game Changer Award by Asia Society. (c) 12.5% (d) 13% (a) Nitin Sethi (b) Vikas Khanna 89. Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers welfare, (c) K P Narayana Kumar (d) Shiv Sahay Singh Narendra Singh Tomar has set target to cover 80. What is India‟s rank in 2020 Human Capital Index ______lakh Hectares (Ha) under micro irrigation (HCI) released by World Bank? in 5 years. (a) 118 (b) 116 (a) 150 (b) 125 (c) 75 (d) 100 (c) 120 (d) 117 90. Which ministry has conducted orientation and 81. The Union cabinet approved the establishment of training programme on iRAD App? new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (a) Ministry of Heavy Industries (AIIMS)at Darbhanga district of which state? (b) Ministry of Corporate Affairs (a) Jharkhand (b) Gujarat (c) Ministry of Home Affairs (c) Maharashtra (d) Bihar (d) Ministry of Road Transport and Highways 48 IACE (Indian Academy of Competitive Exams) www.iace.co.in Toll Free: 1800-270-9975, Ph: 9533200400
Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 91. Who has won US open 2020 (140th edition) in 101. Which session of the United Nations General Women‟s singles category? Assembly High-Level Forum on the Culture of (a) Laura Siegemund (b) Victoria Azarenka Peace was held recently? (c) Naomi Osaka (d) Serena Williams (a) 75th (b) 76th st th 92. The government of India has set the target to set up (c) 71 (d) 74 10500 Pradhanmantri Janaushadhi Kendras 102. The RBI laid down guidelines for banks to appoint (PMBJK) across the country by which year? Chief Compliance Officers (CCO) recently. The CCO should be appointed for a minimum fixed (a) March 2022 (b) December 2022 period of how many years (age not more than 55 (c) March 2025 (d) December 2025 years)?
93. Which among the given sports Cup has been (a) 3 years (b) 2 years renamed as Billie Jean King Cup (Tennis)? (c) 5 years (d) 1 year (a) Fed Cup (b) Agha Khan Cup 103. What is rank of India among the fastest growing (c) Uber Cup (d) Davis Cup freelance markets in the world as per report of 94. Which city of India is the top ranked city in the 2020 Payoneer? Smart City Index of IMD (Singapore has top spot (a) 10 (b) 7 (c) 5 (d) 2 globally)? 104. India‟s largest piggery mission was launched in (a) Hyderabad (b) Kolkata which state? (c) Bengaluru (d) Mumbai (a) Sikkim (b) Himachal Pradesh (c) Maharashtra (d) Meg halaya 95. „Education for All‟ is a CSR programme launched 105. Which edition of Aero India-21 will be held at by which edtech company to empower 5 million Yelahanka Air Force Station, Bengaluru, Karnataka children from underserved communities by 2025? between 3-7 February 2021? (a) Byju‟s (b) Unacademy (a) 15th (b) 20th (c) GradeUp (d) Great Learning (c) 13th (d) 21th 96. The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of 106. Union cabinet gives approval to increase the FDI Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020 passed in the limit in Defence sector from 49% to ______Lok Sabha aims to cut the salaries of MPs by what (through automatic route). percent? (a) 64% (b) 51% (a) 30% (b) 20% (c) 74% (d) 100% (c) 10% (d) 40% 107. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari targets to increase 97. Name the player who has been appointed by Paytm MSME contribution to GDP from 30% to ______. (a) 40% (b) 35% as the brand ambassador for its gaming platform (c) 50% (d) 45% Paytm First Games (PFG)? 108. Union Home Ministry has approved to rename the (a) MS Dhoni (b) Rohit Sharma Hubbali railway station in „which‟ state as Shree (c) Virat Kohli (d) Sachin Tendulkar Siddharoodha Swamiji railway station? 98. Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup are related to which (a) Sikkim (b) Telangana sport? (c) Karnataka (d) Nagaland (a) Tennis (b) Cricket 109. Which bank ranked top in EASE 2.0 awards for (c) Badminton (d) Hockey FY19-20 in top performing banks category? 99. The foundation stone for the Arun Jaitley Memorial (a) Oriental Bank of Commerce Sports Complex has been laid in which of these (b) State Bank of India places recently? (c) Bank of Baroda (d) Central Bank of India (a) Gujarat (b) Jammu & Kashmir 110. Which insurance company partnered with NSDL (c) Assam (d) Bihar payments bank to offer insurance products? 100. Who has been elected as the new Prime Minister of (a) Life Insurance Corporation of India Japan? (b) Max Life Insurance Company (a) Shinjiro Koizumi (b) Naoto Kan (c) HDFC Life Insurance Company (c) Yoshihide Suga (d) Taro Aso (d) ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 111. Which company has launched service named „Cash 121. The RBI has stopped the banking operation of which Advance‟, a collateral free line of credit to increase payments bank recently? MSME cash flow? (a) NSDL Payments Bank (a) Braintree (b) PayTm (b) Paytm Payments Bank (c) Razorpay (d) PayPal (c) Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank 112. Poonam Khatri, who is in news recently is (d) Fino Payments Bank associated with which sport? 122. Which state emerged as the most literate state in (a) Fencing (b) Badminton India as per 75th round of National Sample Survey (c) Archery (d) Wushu (NSS) conducted by National Statistical Office 113. Which edition of International Day to Protect (NSO) from July 2017 to June 2018? Education from Attack was observed on September (a) Telangana (b) Himachal Pradesh 9, 2020 (Theme: “Protect Education, Save Generation.”)? (c) Uttarakhand (d) Kerala th (a) 4 (b) 2nd 123. Govind Swarup who passed away in September st rd (c) 1 (d) 3 2020 is popularly known as ______. 114. Who has launched the e-Gopala app, a (a) Father of India‟s Cardiology comprehensive breed improvement marketplace and (b) Father of Indian Classical Music information portal for direct use of farmers? (c) Father of India‟s Radio Astronomy (a) Prakash Javadekar (b) Narendra Modi (d) Father of India‟s Telegraph (c) Pralhad Patel 124. INDRA NAVY-20 is the military exercise between (d) Narendra Singh Tomar India and which country (11th edition held at Bay of 115. India‟s 1st integrated air ambulance service was Bengal)? launched at which city? (a) Japan (b) Australia (a) Kolkata (b) Chennai (c) Russia (d) Germany (c) Kochi (d) Bengaluru 125. The Jayakwadi Dam gates are opened recently.The 116. Which district was selected as Tamil Nadu‟s first dam is built across which river? fully digital economy district by the central (a) Narmada River (b) Krishna River government? (c) Godavari River (d) Bhima River (a) Coimbatore (b) Chennai 126. Name the state which revamped „SVAYEM‟ (c) Erode (d) Virudhunagar scheme to provide self-employment opportunities to 117. Name the organization which will be leading the youth of the state. procurement and supply of COVID-19 Vaccines? (a) Goa (b)Uttarakhand (a) World Health Organisation (c) Assam (d) Himachal Pradesh (b) United Nations Environment Programme 127. In India, the Hindi Day is observed across the (c) Amnesty Internationals country on which day? (d) United Nations Children‟s Fund (a) 13 September (b) 12 September 118. Which bank was recognized as the best bank in the (c) 14 September (d) 11 September world by New York-based financial publication 128. Name the India film which has recently won the Global Finance? award for Best Screenplay at the 77th Venice Film (a) Wells Fargo (b) DBS Bank Festival? (c) Bank of America (d) JPMorgan Chase (a) The Disciple (b) Fauna 119. Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve is located in which (c) Dear Comrades (d) The World to Come state? 129. PM Modi recently attended the virtual „Grih (a) Uttarakhand (b) Tripura Pravesham‟ event of the delivery of house under (c) West Bengal (d) Karnataka Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Grameen in Madhya 120. United States and India along with which of the Pradesh. How many families received the houses following countries have decided to collaborate in 5G technology? during the event? (a) Iran (b) Israel (a) 1.50 lakh (b) 1.75 Lakh (c) Russia (d) Saudi Arabia (c) 1.25 lakh (d) 2.00 lakh 50 IACE (Indian Academy of Competitive Exams) www.iace.co.in Toll Free: 1800-270-9975, Ph: 9533200400
Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 130. The ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting held recently 140. The Reserve Bank of India has increased the Held to was co-chaired by the External Affairs Minister S Maturity (HTM) limit or the amount that banks Jaishankar, along with his Thailand counterpart. The invest in G-secs from 19.5% to ______. meeting adopted new ASEAN-India Plan of Action. (a) 22% (b) 21.25% This plan is applicable for how many years? (c) 19.75% (d) 20.5% (a) 10 yrs (b) 3 yrs 141. Central Government determines the inflation (c) 5 yrs (d) 7 yrs target once in how many years? 131. Which state has topped the list of States Startup (a) 4 (b) 5 (c) 6 (d) 8 Ranking Framework 2019 released by Minister of 142. “Handbook of Statistics on the Indian Economy” is Commerce & Industry and Railways Piyush Goyal? published annually by? (a) Madhya Pradesh (b) Gujarat (a) Ministry of Finance (c) Karnataka (d) Maharashtra (b) CARE Ratings 132. India has signed an agreement with which country (c) Reserve Bank of India for Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services (d) SEBI between the armed forces of the two countries? 143. Cash Management Bills (CMBs) are issued for (a) Russia (b) Israel flexible tenures less than ______(c) Japan (d) Iraq (a) 10 days (b) 91 days 133. How much amount of monetary aid will be given to (c) 365 days (d) 2 years MSMEs and startups under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat 144. The Reserve Bank of India has identified how many ARISE-ANIC Initiative launched by AIM recently? categories under Priority Sector Lending? (a) Rs 50 lakh (b) Rs 25 lakh (a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 8 (d) 10 (c) Rs 15 lakh (d) Rs 30 lakh 145. RuPay card network is maintained by? 134. How many PSB banks have been covered by the (a) MasterCard (b) RBI Ministry of Finance under the newly launched (c) NPCI (d) VISA doorstep banking services by Public Sector Banks 146. The non traditional banking activities like mutual (PSBs)? funds business, insurance business, merchant (a) 6 (b) 10 (c) 12 (d) 8 banking activities are known as? 135. The Patrika Gate has been inaugurated in which city (a) Shadow banking activities by PM Narendra Modi recently? (b) Para banking activities (a) Dehradun (b) Bhopal (c) Factoring (c) Jaipur (d) Agra (d) Regulator banking 136. Jaya Prakash Reddy who has passed away recently 147. What was the minimum bid allowed in the Long was a well known actor of which film industry? Term Repo Operation (LTRO) of RBI? (a) Telugu (b) Kannada (a) Rs 50 lakh (b) Rs 1 crore (c) Malayalam (d) Odia (c) Rs 5 crore (d) Rs 10 crore 137. Ian Bell who has announced his retirement from all 148. Udyam Registration Certificate is related to forms of cricket played for which country? registration of? (a) Australia (b) England (a) Banks (b) MSME (c) New Zealand (d) Zimbabwe (c) e-commerce (d) Khadi Industry 138. RBI has notified that Start-ups will be eligible for 149. At present which entity is the umbrella organization finance under the priority sector and maximum for retail payment in India? amount that can be availed is______(a) RBI (b) SBI (a) Rs 20 crore (b) Rs 50 crore (c) NPCI (d) RuPay (c) Rs 75 crore (d) Rs 100 crore 150. The interest in Sovereign Gold Bond is paid on 139. Who is the author of the book “Let Us Dream”? _____ basis. (a) Dalai Lama (b) Sadguru (a) half yearly (b) yearly (c) António Guterres (d) Pope Francis (c) monthly (d) quarterly
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 151. What is the limit on the amount of cash that can be 160. What is the minimum net owned fund requirement withdrawn under the Cash Withdrawal Facility at for a NBFC to get registered with the Reserve Bank Point of Sale (PoS) Terminals at Tier I cities? of India? (a) Rs 1000 per day (b) Rs 1500 per day (a) Rs 1 Crore (b) Rs 2 Crore (c) Rs 2000 per day (d) Rs 2500 per day (c) Rs 5 Crore (d) Rs 10 Crore 152. Which of the following is the world‟s first fully 161. Which of the following is a mission by government interoperable Quick Response (QR) code payment for promoting a less cash economy? (a) Digi Dhan mission (b) Digital mission system? (c) E-Dhan mission (d) MANI mission (a) PayTm QR (b) Bharat QR 162. What is the minimum retention period under the (c) PhonePay QR (d) GPay QR revised Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) for 153. What is the minimum limit of investment under the Investments by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs)? Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP)? (a) 2 years (b) 3 years (a) Rs 500 (b) Rs 1000 (c) 4 years (d) 5 years (c) Rs 5000 (d) Rs 10000 163. What is the maximum compensation under the 154. The Mobile Aided Note Identifier (MANI) app of Ombudsman Scheme for digital transactions? RBI serves what purpose? (a) Rs 10 lakhs (b) Rs 20 lakhs (a) To make people aware of digital payment (c) Rs 30 lakhs (d) Rs 25 lakhs methods 164. How many digits are there in Mobile Money (b) To encourage financial inclusion Identifier (MMID)? (c) To aid visually impaired persons to identify the (a) 7 (b) 8 (c) 9 (d) 11 denomination of Indian Banknotes 165. What is the maximum dividend payout ratio (d) To spread awareness about phishing in online permissible by RBI for banks? (a) 33% (b) 35% payments (c) 20% (d) 40% 155. Which of the following payment system is not 166. The range of Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) that available on 24×7 basis? RBI can prescribe can vary between 0% to ____ %. (a) NEFT (b) IMPS (a) 20 (b) 30 (c) UPI (d) RTGS (c) 40 (d) 50 156. A TAN number has how many characters? 167. Which of the following banks cannot issue Kisan (a) 8 (b) 10 (c) 12 (d) 16 Credit Card? 157. What is the definition of Small Enterprises in (a) Regional Rural Bank MSME? (b) Small Finance Bank (a) Investment< Rs.10 crore (c) Cooperative Bank (b) Investment>= Rs.1 crore and < Rs.10 crore AND (d) Payments Bank Turnover < Rs.10 crore 168. What is the minimum paid up capital requirement (c) Investment< Rs.10 crore AND Turnover < Rs.10 for Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs) to crore become Small Finance Bank?- (d) Investment>= Rs.1 crore and < Rs.10 crore AND (a) Rs 200 crore (b) Rs 50 crore (c) Rs 100 crore (d) Rs 500 crore Turnover < Rs.50 crore 169. What is the compensation to be provided by banks 158. Which of the following codes is not directly to pensioners in case of delayed credit of pension/ associated to a payment system? arrears of pension? (a) MICR Code (b) SWIFT Code (a) 5% (b) 6% (c) IFS Code (d) BSR Code (c) 7% (d) 8% 159. To act as merchant acquiring banks using Aadhaar 170. TReDS is an electronic platform where receivables Pay – BHIM app and POS terminals, Regional Rural of ______drawn against buyers are financed Banks must have which of the following through multiple financiers at competitive rates. permissions from RBI? (a) Agriculture (b) MSME (a) Internet banking (b) NEFT (c) Real Estate (c) RTGS (d) Mobile banking (d) Education Institutes
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 171. The period of Vivad se Vishwas Scheme for making 181. E-commerce giant, Flipkart and ______payment without additional amount has been have launched a cyber insurance cover agenist extended upto? online financial frauds? (a) 31 December 2020 (b) 30 November 2020 (a) Birla Sun Life Insurance (c) 31 October 2020 (d) 30 September 2020 (b) Aviva Life Insurance 172. The Central government aims to implement “One (c) Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Nation One Ration Card” by? (d) Bharti AXA Life Insurance (a) December 31, 2020 (b) January 31, 2020 182. Which company has received an in-principle (c) March 31, 2021 (d) April 30, 2021 approval from the RBI to set up Bharat Bill Payment 173. FDI limit in the defence manufacturing under Operating Unit (BBPOU) to handle payment automatic route has been raised to? services related to bills? (a) 49% (b) 51% (a) Inventia (b) Vakrangee Ltd (c) 25% (d) 74% (c) Mphasis (d) Mindtree 174. What is the borrowing limit of States for FY2020- 183. Who has won the 2019-20 AIFF Men‟s Footballer 21? of the Year award? (a) 3% (b) 4% (a) Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (b) Sandesh Jhingan (c) 5% (d) 6% (c) Sunil Chhetri 175. What is the tenure of the Sovereign Gold Bond (d) L. Ajit Kumar Meetei Scheme (SGB)? 184. ITBP Director General, ______has been (a) 8 years (b) 7 years given the additional charge of counter-terrorism (c) 6 years (d) 5 years force National Security Guards (NSG). 176. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was (a) Kanwal Kumar (b) S S Deswal launched based on how many pillars? (c) M J S Kahlon (d) Rajeev Sabherwal (a) 6 (b) 9 (c) 12 (d) 4 185. Name the Assam‟s first and only woman chief 177. Which of the following Indian Railway Zones minister, who passed away recently. recently launched the project, “Operation my (a) Kanaklata Barua Saheli” to enhance the security of women (b) Matangini Hazra passengers in the train throughout the entire journey (c) Syeda Anwara Taimur from the originating point to their destinations. (d) Tara Rani Srivastava (a) South Eastern Railways 186. The former Union Minister Jaswant Singh, who has (b) East Central Railway passed away recently had held which of these (c) South Western Railway portfolios? (d) Northern Railway (a) Defence Ministry 178. Which of the following banks recently launched a (b) External Affairs Ministry green initiative named “IB-eNote” to enable a total (c) Finance Ministry paperless working environment? (d) All of the above (a) State Bank of India (b) Indian Bank 187. Which ministry has banned 118 Chinese mobile (c) Bank of Baroda apps recently? (d) Punjab National Bank (a) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare 179. The BSE has joined hands with which bank to (b) Ministry of Science and Technology empower the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) (c) Ministry of Electronics and Information listed on the platform? Technology (a) Punjab National Bank (b) SBI (d) Ministry of Home Affairs (c) HDFC Bank (d) Yes Bank 188. Pang Lhabsol is the festival celebrated in which 180. How many scientists have been selected for state? awarding the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2020? (a) Tripura (b) Assam (a) 10 (b) 12 (c) 14 (d) 16 (c) Meghalaya (d) Sikkim
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest 189. Union cabinet has approved the launch of which 194. The 51st edition of International Film Festival of mission to enable government officers and India will be held in which state/UT from November employees to get the opportunity to improve their 20 to 28? performance. (a) Delhi (b) Telangana (a) Mission Karmayogi (b) Mission Pragyoda (c) Maharashtra (d) Goa (c) Mission Bhojden (d) Mission Jeevanlyf 195. Which country constructs missile site at Kailash- 190. India has signed MoU with which country in the Mansarovar? field of Geology and Mineral Resources (approved (a) Hong Kong (b) Nepal by Union cabinet recently)? (c) India (d) China (a) Russia (b) Finland 196. India has inked deal with which country to (c) Norway (d) Sweden manufacture AK-47 203 rifles for Indian Army? 191. Which department observed Swachhta Pakhwada (a) France (b) Israel from 1-15 September 2020? (c) Germany (d) Russia (a) Health ministry (b) Defence ministry 197. International Day of Charity (September 5) marks (c) Fertilizers ministry the death anniversary of ______(d) Skill Development ministry (a) Florence Nightingale (b) Mahatma Gandhi 192. S Krishnan was appointed as the MD&CEO of (c) Mother Teresa (d) Indira Gandhi which bank recently? 198. What is the revised last date to file the income tax (a) Bank of Baroda returns (ITR) for assessment year 2019-20? (b) Indian Overseas Bank (a) 30 November 2020 (b) 31 December 2020 (c) Canara Bank (c) 31 January 2021 (d) 31 October 2020 (d) Punjab & Sind Bank 199. The Government of India has set the target to restore 193. Adani Airport Holdings has acquired 74% stake in 26 million hectares of degraded and deforested land, which international airport? and achieve land-degradation neutrality by which (a) Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International year? Airport, Mumbai (a) 2025 (b) 2030 (b) Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi (c) 2027 (d) 2022 (c) Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International 200. Which Indian state has won the PATA Grand Award Airport, Kolkata 2020 for its tourism campaign? (d) Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, (a) Kerala (b) Uttar Pradesh Lucknow (c) Maharashtra (d) Gujarat
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Current Affairs October 2020– Digest
Answer Key
1 a 21 c 41 a 61 a 81 d 101 d 121 c 141 b 161 a 181 c 2 d 22 b 42 a 62 b 82 a 102 a 122 d 142 c 162 b 182 b 3 d 23 b 43 b 63 d 83 d 103 d 123 c 143 b 163 b 183 a 4 b 24 a 44 c 64 d 84 b 104 d 124 c 144 c 164 a 184 b 5 c 25 a 45 b 65 d 85 d 105 c 125 c 145 c 165 d 185 c 6 d 26 c 46 c 66 a 86 d 106 c 126 c 146 b 166 c 186 d 7 a 27 c 47 d 67 b 87 b 107 c 127 c 147 b 167 d 187 c 8 d 28 c 48 c 68 d 88 c 108 c 128 a 148 b 168 c 188 d 9 b 29 b 49 b 69 a 89 d 109 c 129 b 149 c 169 d 189 a 10 d 30 c 50 d 70 b 90 d 110 d 130 c 150 a 170 b 190 b 11 d 31 d 51 c 71 c 91 c 111 c 131 b 151 a 171 a 191 c 12 c 32 c 52 d 72 c 92 c 112 d 132 c 152 b 172 c 192 d 13 c 33 b 53 b 73 d 93 a 113 c 133 a 153 b 173 d 193 a 14 d 34 b 54 c 74 b 94 a 114 b 134 c 154 c 174 c 194 d 15 c 35 c 55 a 75 d 95 a 115 d 135 c 155 d 175 a 195 d 16 d 36 d 56 d 76 c 96 a 116 d 136 a 156 b 176 a 196 d 17 d 37 d 57 a 77 d 97 d 117 d 137 b 157 d 177 a 197 c 18 c 38 c 58 a 78 d 98 c 118 b 138 b 158 d 178 b 198 a 19 c 39 c 59 d 79 b 99 b 119 a 139 d 159 d 179 d 199 b 20 c 40 a 60 a 80 b 100 c 120 b 140 a 160 b 180 c 200 a
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