Current Affairs 01st October 2020| Current Affairs News

 CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

International Day of the Older Persons

• The International Day of Older Persons is observed on October 1 each year.
• International Day of Older Persons is celebrated to acknowledge and appreciate contributions made by older people in society.
• The theme of International DayFor Older Persons 2020: “Leave No One Behind”

International Coffee Day

• October 1also celebrates one of the most popular beverages in the world – coffee is celebrated by stating the day as International Coffee Day.
• International Coffee Organisation (ICO) organised and launched First World Coffee Day in 2015 at Milan.

World Vegetarian Day

• World vegetarian day is celebrated annually on October 1.
• World Vegetarian Day was founded in 1977 by the North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) and was endorsed by the International Vegetarian Union in 1978.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

NITI Aayog and Embassy of the Netherlands sign Statement of Intent on ‘Decarbonization and Energy Transition Agenda’

• NITI Aayog and Embassy of the Netherlands, New Delhi, signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to support the decarbonization and energy transition agenda for accommodating cleaner and more energy.
• The SoI was signed by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and Ambassador of the Netherlands to India Marten van den Berg.
• Through this collaboration, NITI Aayog and the Dutch Embassy seek a strategic partnership to create a platform that enables a comprehensive collaboration among stakeholders and influencers, including policymakers, industry bodies, OEMs, private enterprises, and sector experts.
• The focus of the partnership is on co-creating innovative technological solutions by leveraging the expertise of the two entities. This will be achieved through an exchange of knowledge and collaborative activities.
• Key elements include i) lowering the net carbon footprint in industrial and transport sectors ii) realise the target potential of natural gas and promote bio-energy technologies iii) adopt clean air technologies from monitoring to reducing actual particulates iv) adopt next-generation technologies, such as hydrogen, carbon capture utilization, and storage for sectoral energy efficiency v) financial frameworks to deliver and adopt climate change finance.

About NITI Aayog

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairperson: Narendra Modi

About Netherlands

• Capital: Amsterdam
• Currency: Euro

Thaawarchand Gehlot launches Ambedkar Social Innovation & Incubation Mission under Venture Capital Fund for SCs

• Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot launched the Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission under Venture Capital Fund for SCs, with a view to promoting innovation and enterprise among SC students studying in higher educational institutions.
• The objective of this fund is to provide concessional finance to the entities of the SC entrepreneurs. Under this fund, 117 companies promoted by SC entrepreneurs have been sanctioned financial assistance to set up business ventures.
• The Minister stated, under Ambedkar Social Innovation Incubation Mission initiative, one thousand SC youth will be identified in the next four years with start-up ideas through the Technology Business Incubators in various higher educational institutions.
• They will be funded 30 lakh rupees in three years as equity funding to translate their start-up ideas into commercial ventures. Successful ventures would further qualify for venture funding of up to five Crore rupees from the Venture Capital Fund for SCs.

About Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment:

• Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Cabinet Minister
• Constituency: Madhya Pradesh
• Krishan Pal Gurjar, Minister of State

Centre releases COVID-19 Safe Workplace Guidelines for Industry

• Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar have virtually released a booklet on ‘COVID-19- Safe Workplace Guidelines for Industry’ in the presence of Member (Health) in NITI Aayog, VK Paul.
• Health Minister stated, the guidelines will act as a comprehensive planning guidance for employers and workers to use it to help identify risk levels of Covid-19 at individual workplace settings in their premises and to determine appropriate control measures.
• The Minister stated, these guidelines consolidate all important measures into a ready reckoner of action points to make the workplace safe based on the bulwark of infection control measures like respiratory hygiene, frequent hand washing, social distancing and frequent sanitization of the workplace.
• Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar stated, these guidelines for safety of industrial workers will encourage people. He stated, it is important to prepare ourselves mentally for the present situation and spread awareness about the COVID appropriate behaviour.

South Eastern Railway launches project to enhance security of women passengers

• The South Eastern Railway has launched Operation My Saheli to boost the security of women passengers in trains, an official stated.‘Operation My Saheli (friend) gives security to women passengers during their journey on train.
• It has been introduced as a pilot project in three trains Howrah-Yeshvantpur Duronto Special.
• The sub-inspector teams collect the seat numbers and contacts of a specified number of women passengers and remain in touch with them throughout their journey.
• The information is also passed to all scheduled stoppage stations and destination stations, it stated.
• The project has been executed under the framework of the ‘Nirbhaya Fund’, and it does not involve any additional expenditure under the head of Railways, the statement added.

About South Eastern Railway:

• The South Eastern Railway (abbreviated SER) is one of the 18 railway zones in India and Part of Eastern Railways. It is headquartered at Garden Reach, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It comprises Adra railway division, Chakradharpur railway division, Kharagpur railway division and Ranchi railway division.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

SBI in tie-up to offer digital payment solutions to HUL retailers and distributors

• State Bank of India (SBI) and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), under which the bank will provide its digital payment and financing solutions to the FMCG company’s retailers and distributors.
• SBI will offer an instant paperless overdraft facility of up to 50,000 to retailers for their billings with distributors as well as financing facilities to HUL’s distributors.
• To ensure that customers get the option of digital payments in smaller towns as well, the bank will install point of sale (PoS) machines at multiple HUL touchpoints across the country, SBI stated.
• Additionally, it will provide UPI-based solutions to HUL retailers for hassle-free, safe and instant cashless payments to their dealers from HUL’s retailer application ‘Shikhar’. The bank will also offer HUL employees the option of a corporate salary package via an SBI microsite hosted on HUL’s intranet.

About SBI:

• Chairperson: Rajnish Kumar
• Headquarters: Mumbai

About HUL:

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Sanjiv Mehta: (CEO)

NHB imposes penalty of Rs.1.5 lakh plus GST on HDFC

• Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Ltd stated that NHB has levied a monetary penalty of 1.5 lakh and GST on it for non-compliance with two provisions of the Housing Finance Companies Directions.
• The penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested under Section 52(A) of the National Housing Bank Act, 1987, it added.

About HDFC:

• CEO: Aditya Puri
• Headquarters: Mumbai

About NHB:

• Founded: 9 July 1988
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Shri Sriram Kalyanaraman :Managing Director

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

Uttarakhand CM inaugurates first Pirul power project.

• Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawatrecently inaugurated a 25-kilowatt capacity project worth Rs. 25 lakhs for generating electricity using Pirul (dry pine needles) at Chakon Dhanari village in Dunda block of Uttarkashi district.
• The Chief Minister underlined that Uttarakhand, which currently purchases electricity worth Rs 1,000 crores stated such projects will also help the state financially.
• Rawat pointed out that about 23 lakh metric tonnes of Pirul is produced annually in the state, which can be used to generate about 200 megawatt of electricity.
• He further stated that Kalavasa is found in considerable quantities in the remote areas of the state and exhorted farmers to cultivate Kalavasa while citing the medical properties of this herb.

About Uttarakhand:

• Capital: Gairsain (summer),Dehradun (winter)
• Governor: Baby Rani Maurya
• Chief Minister: Trivendra Singh Rawat (BJP)

Nagaland launches livelihood generation programme for returnees

• The Nagaland Government on September 28 launched a livelihood generation programme for those returning to the state due to COVID-19 pandemic.
• Christened as the “Livelihood Generation Programme for Returned Migrant Workers due to Covid-19 pandemic,” the dedicated online portal for the programme was officially launched by State’s Advisor for Industries & Commerce, Labour & employment, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Imnatiba, at Nagaland Civil Secretariat Conference  Hall, Kohima.
• The North Eastern Council (NEC) funded scheme, among others, promised to provide awareness and re-orientation programme, capacity building session, re-skilling of identified beneficiaries and seed money or monetary assistance.
• As per the portal, the eligibility criteria for the programme are:

1. The returnee should be an Indigenous Migrant Worker from Nagaland.
2. The returnee should have registered with the State COVID-19 returnees’ portal.
3. The Migrant worker Returnee should have reached Nagaland via Special Train, Airway, or Roadway between May 22 – August 6, 2020.
4. The Migrant Worker Returnee should have release documents or certificate from the assigned Quarantine Centres.

About Nagaland:

• Capital: Kohima (Executive Branch)
• Governor: RN Ravi
• Chief minister: Neiphiu Rio

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU

NHPC signs MoU with Ministry of Power for FY2021

• NHPC Limited, India’s premier hydropower utility and a Scheduled ‘A’ Mini Ratna Enterprise of the Government of India has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ministry of Power, Government of India for the year 2020-21.
• The MOU was signed by Sanjiv Nandan Sahai, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India and K. Singh, CMD, NHPC in the presence of senior officers from MOP and NHPC.
• Generation target under Excellent rating has been set as 27500 MUs as against last year target of 26000 MUs. Excellent Targets for Revenue from Operations (Net) has been kept as 8900 crore, Operating Profit as a percentage of Revenue from Operations (Net) has been kept as 38.00% and PAT/ Average Net Worth has been kept as 10.50 %.
• Centre has set an ambitious revenue target of Rs 36,000 crore along with various performance-related parameters such as Operating Profit as percentage of Revenue from Operation, PAT as a percentage of Average Networth and Non-financial parameters viz., IPDS-related parameters.

About NHPC

• Founded: 1975
• Headquarters: Faridabad, India
• CMD: A.K. Singh

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

General Atlantic to invest Rs.3,675 crore in Reliance Retail for 0.84% stake

• General Atlantic, a leading US-based global growth equity firm, will invest Rs 3,675 crore for a 0.84 percent stake in Reliance Retail.
• This is the second investment by General Atlantic in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. Earlier this year, General Atlantic had invested Rs 6,598.38 crore in Jio Platforms.
• This investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 lakh crore.

Japan’s Kyokuto Kaihatsu Kogyo acquires Bengaluru-based Satrac Engineering.

• Japan’s construction equipment manufacturer Kyokuto Kaihatsu Kogyo has acquired Satrac Engineering, a Bengaluru-based manufacturer of special-purpose vehicles such as truck tipper bodies, trailers, and tank trucks in India.
• The company that is a supplier to all leading truck OEMs, most major logistic companies and retail fleet owners in India is being valued at an enterprise value of around $30 million (around Rs. 220 crore), sources stated.
• The Nishinomiya, Japan headquartered company has $1.1 bn revenue and offers special purpose vehicles such as dump truck, sprinkler truck, Concrete boom pumps, Transit mixers, tailgate lifter, tank truck and pneumatic bulk carrier. The company has affiliate entities in Japan, China, India and Indonesia.
• Satrac Engineering Private Limited (SEPL) was incorporated in 1997 by M. C. Bantwal and Geetha Bantwal. SEPL is engaged in manufacturing of trailers, tippers, tractors and various other truck bodies for some of the major truck and engineering equipment manufacturers companies. Its manufacturing unit located at Dabaspet, Bangalore.

Adani Green completes acquisition of 205 MW solar assets from Essel

• Adani Group’s green energy firm Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) has completed the acquisition of 205 MW operating solar assets from Essel Green Energy Pvt Ltd (EGEPL) and Essel Infraprojects Ltd (EIL).
• The acquired assets will be held 100 per cent by Adani Renewable Energy Holding Ten Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of AGEL, the company stated. The assets are located in Punjab, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.
• All the assets have long term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with various State electricity distribution companies.
• The portfolio is relatively young with an average remaining PPA life of approximately 21 years, the statement added.
• The acquisition marks the first operational portfolio acquisition by AGEL. The company had announced the execution of definitive agreements for the acquisition of the Essel Portfolio on August 29, 2019.

About Adani Green Energy Limited

• Headquarters: Ahmedabad
• Managing Director and CEO: Vneet S. Jaain

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

ITBP chief S S Deswal given additional charge of National Security Guard DG 

• ITBP Director General S S Deswal has been given the additional charge of counter-terrorism force National Security Guard (NSG) as its incumbent chief A K Singh is going to retire.
• This is the second time that Deswal, has been directed to lead the NSG in an additional capacity.
• He headed the National Security Guard in July last year when its then chief Sudeep Lakhtakia retired and Singh had not been appointed.
• Deswal has also headed border guarding force Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) as its DG while he has been the Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force chief in an additional capacity.

Bengal Peerless ropes in former cricket captain Sourav Ganguly as brand ambassador 

• City based real estate developer Bengal Peerless Housing has roped in Sourav Ganguly as brand ambassador for the company.
• The former national cricket team captain and current president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
• Ganguly will primarily lead the campaign of the company’s residential project Avidipta II on EM Bypass.

Purnachandra Rao Surapaneni is new National President of IACC

• Hyderabad industrialist Purnachandra Rao Surapaneni has been elected as the National President of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), the apex bi-lateral body synergising India-US business relations.
• He is the second Telugu entrepreneur to get elected as the National President of the 52-year-old body. Rao was elected unanimously in a Board Meeting of IACC, headquartered in Mumbai, at the first meeting of the newly elected National Governing Board for the Year 2020-2021.
• The 60-year-old Rao is the Managing Director of Global Infovision, a company engaged in IT and ITES Services. Earlier, he was the National Vice-President of IACC during 2018-2020, according to a statement.
• IACC is the principal bilateral chamber committed to the promotion of industrial, economic, business and commercial activities between the United States of America and India.

Bandhan Bank strengthens leadership team, ropes in ex-Bajaj Capital CEO as digital head

• Personal sector Bandhan Financial institution is strengthening its management workforce as a part of the subsequent five-year progress technique.
• It has appointed former Bajaj Capital chief govt Rahul Parikh because the financial institution’s digital head because the financial institution broadens its digital presence to enhance buyer companies. Earlier within the month, the financial institution employed ICICI Financial institution veteran Kumar Ashish as head for “rising entrepreneurs enterprise” vertical, which the financial institution created together with micro-banking, micro house mortgage and micro enterprise loans.
• Particularly in banking, prospects are adopting digital companies at a really excessive charge, which has accelerated in the previous few months, the financial institution mentioned.
• Parikh joined Bandhan from Roots Ventures, the place he was a companion and answerable for fundraising, supporting deal-making and investee firm operations. He was earlier chief govt officer with Bajaj Capital.
• Ashish, who spent 20 years with ICICI Financial institution, was group director at Airtel Cash in Africa (a division of Airtel Africa) previous to becoming a member of the financial institution.

About Bandhan Bank:

• Headquarters: Kolkata
• CEO: Chandra Shekhar Ghosh

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONORS

Kerala Tourism bags prestigious PATA Grand Award

• Kerala Tourism was bestowed upon the prestigious ‘PATA Grand Award 2020 for Marketing’ for its ‘Human by Nature’ campaign, originally conceived to revive tourism in the south Indian state post the 2018 devastating floods and the Nipah virus outbreak.
• It was for the first time that this year’s PATA Gold Awards, supported and sponsored by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), were announced virtual since its inception in 1995. The awards recognised the achievements of three Grand title winners and 21 Gold Awards.
• PATA Grand Award 2020 were presented in 3 categories : Marketing, Sustainability and Human Capital Development.

About Kerala

• Capital: Thiruvananthapuram
• Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan
• Chief minister: Pinarayi Vijayan

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE

DRDO successfully test fires Brahmos surface-to-surface cruise missile

• India successfully test-fired BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with several indigenous features from a test range in Odisha, in a major step towards achieving “Atmanirbhar Bharat” pledge.
• The surface-to-surface cruise missile, featuring indigenous booster and airframe section along with other Made in India sub-systems, blasted off from the launching complex-III.
• The missile which has a strike range of more than 400 km.
• The BrahMos Land-Attack Cruise Missile (LACM) was cruising at a top speed of Mach 2.8.
• Jointly developed by the DRDO and NPOM, a leading aerospace enterprise of Russia, the BrahMos missile is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile capable of being launched from submarines, warships, fighter jets or land.

About DRDO

• Headquarters: DRDO Bhavan, New Delhi
• Founded: 1958
• Chairman: G Satheesh Kumar Reddy

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

IIT-Madras, MIT to develop productive usage of agricultural, industrial by-products

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are working together to develop productive usage of agricultural and industrial by-products such as biomass ash that remain underutilised due to their complex physio-chemical characteristics. The project aims to address this challenge and contribute to a sustainable future.
• The researchers are developing a framework for high-volume usage of by-products in structural materials. Industrial by-products are generated in huge quantities across the world and are now going into waste. This will be a major step forward towards a sustainable future.
• They are combining the principles of materials chemistry, structural engineering and life-cycle analysis to develop load bearing, durable, sustainable, and economically viable cementitious binders based on industrial by-products in India, says a press release from IIT Madras.
• Some of the objectives of the project include mapping and characterisation of industrial by-products in India for assessing their availability and reactivity; exploring low-energy pathways for high volume utilisation of industrial by-products in cementitious binders; and evaluating environmental sustainability of novel cementitious binders using life-cycle assessment, the release stated.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

Sports Minister Rijiju launches new SAI logo

• Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju launched a brand new logo of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and said it represents the aspirations of Indian sportspersons to touch new heights in global sports.
• A logo is the identity of an organisation. It reflects the thought process and the objectives of the organisation.
• The new logo signifies SAI’s journey of metamorphosis from identifying and nurturing grassroot level sporting talent to creating sporting excellence in the country.
• The event was attended by Sports Secretary Ravi Mital, Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra and Director General SAI Sandip Pradhan, while many eminent athletes, coaches and other sports enthusiasts joined in from across the country through video conference.

About MoYA&S

• Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports and Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs of India: Kiren Rijiju
• Constituency: Arunachal West

DAILY CA 30th SEP

• International Translation Day- 30th sep
• PM Modi to inaugurate 6 mega projects in Uttarakhand under Namami Gange
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveils Defence Acquisition Procedure
• Rajnath Singh launches Defence India Startup Challenge-4, releases PMA guidelines for iDEX
• DPIIT shares list of 24 key sectors with ministries to boost manufacturing
• Amnesty International suspends India operations after accounts are frozen
• RBI extends WMA limit relaxations for six months
• Yes Bank joins hands with BSE to empower small business companies
• IDBI Bank becomes first bank to enable document embedding feature on SFMS
• CM Jagan Mohan Reddy to launch YSR Jala Kala scheme
• Odisha to be slum-free in three years: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik
• PFC signs MoU with Ministry of Power detailing targets for FY 2020-21
• Gujarat govt signs MoU with Denmark in water sector
• Telangana: Dharani land web portal to be launched on Dussehra
• NCRPB launches P-MIS portal
• Aamir Khan is the new brand ambassador of Vedantu
• Noted filmmaker Shekhar Kapur appointed president of FTII Society & chairman of FTII Governing Council
• Twitter Inc appoints Rinki Sethi as new information security head
• RBI appoints Additional Director on Dhanlaxmi Bank board
• SAIL chairman Anil Kumar Chaudhary nominated as head of CII’s public sector enterprises council
• Sonu Sood honoured with Special Humanitarian Action Award by UNDP
• Rajnath Singh Launches Book ‘A Bouquet of Flowers’ by Author Dr Krishna Sakshena
• Mukesh Ambani tops Hurun India Rich List for ninth year
• 2 new species of wetland plant discovered in Western Ghats
• Assam’s only woman CM Syeda Anwara Taimur passes away
• Noted writer and Sahitya Akademi awardee Dr GS Amur passes away aged 95
• Veteran songwriter Abhilash, best known for Itni Shakti Hame Dena, passes away aged 74

DAILY CA 1st OCT

• International Day of the Older Persons -1st oct
• International Coffee Day- 1st oct
• World Vegetarian Day- 1st oct
• NITI Aayog and Embassy of the Netherlands sign Statement of Intent on ‘Decarbonization and Energy Transition Agenda’
• Thaawarchand Gehlot launches Ambedkar Social Innovation & Incubation Mission under Venture Capital Fund for SCs
• Centre releases COVID-19 Safe Workplace Guidelines for Industry
• South Eastern Railway launches project to enhance security of women passengers
• Bandhan Bank strengthens leadership team, ropes in ex-Bajaj Capital CEO as digital head
• SBI in tie-up to offer digital payment solutions to HUL retailers and distributors
• NHB imposes penalty of Rs.1.5 lakh plus GST on HDFC
• Uttarakhand CM inaugurates first Pirul power project.
• Nagaland launches livelihood generation programme for returnees
• NHPC signs MoU with Ministry of Power for FY2021
• General Atlantic to invest Rs.3,675 crore in Reliance Retail for 0.84% stake
• Japan’s Kyokuto Kaihatsu Kogyo acquires Bengaluru-based Satrac Engineering.
• Adani Green completes acquisition of 205 MW solar assets from Essel
• ITBP chief S S Deswal given additional charge of National Security Guard DG
• Bengal Peerless ropes in former cricket captain Sourav Ganguly as brand ambassador
• Purnachandra Rao Surapaneni is new National President of IACC
• Kerala Tourism bags prestigious PATA Grand Award
• DRDO successfully test fires Brahmos surface-to-surface cruise missile
• IIT-Madras, MIT to develop productive usage of agricultural, industrial by-products
• Sports Minister Rijiju launches new SAI logo