CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS
National Nutrition Week
- National Nutrition Week is observed every year from 1st September to 7th September since 1982 and can be considered a significant period to raise awareness on the therapeutic effects of foods.
- The events of NNW are organised by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Ministry of Women and Child Development(WCD), Government of India to educate the importance and role of nutrition in the human body.
National Nutrition Month
- The month of September will be observed as ‘Nutrition Month’ in the entire nation.
- The entire month of September 2020 is being celebrated as Rashtriya Poshan Maah which is PM’s overreaching scheme for holistic nourishment – Poshan Abhiyaan is a multi-ministerial convergence mission to address malnutrition with a targeted approach by 2022.
- During nutrition month, a food and nutrition quiz will be organized on My Govportal and there will be a meme competition.
World Coconut Day
- World Coconut Day is celebrated on September 2 every year. The day is celebrated to create awareness about the benefits of coconut.
- The first-ever celebration of world coconut day was in the year
- This year the theme of World Coconut Day 2020 is – “Invest in Coconut to save the world”.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
Coal India to invest over Rs 1.22 lakh crore on 500 projects by 2023-24
- Coal India Ltd (CIL) will invest over 22 lakh crore rupees on development of nearly 500 projects related to coal evacuation, infrastructure, project development, exploration and clean coal technologies in the country. The investment aims at making India self-reliant in terms of coal and achieve the production target of 1 billion tonnes by 2023-2024.
- Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi stated involvement of all concerned stakeholders in company’s affairs will reduce and uncover the project risks. He informed that the national miner, CIL, will be investing around 14 thousand 200 crore rupees over the next 3 to 4 years, in two phases for its 49 First Mile Connectivity projects. First Mile Connectivity is the transportation of coal from pitheads to dispatch points. Computer-aided loading technology of coal is being developed to replace the existing methodology of transportation via road.
- Coal India has also identified 15 greenfield projects which will be operated under the Mine Developer and Operator (MDO) model. Overall nearly 34 thousand 600 crore rupees will be invested through this route. In the meeting, Coal India also announced an array of measures for relaxations and exemptions for greater participation of its stakeholders. The experience criteria has been brought down from 65 per cent to 50 per cent for mining tenders, while work experience criteria are relaxed by 50 per cent in turnkey contracts.
About Coal India Ltd:
- CEO: Anil Kumar Jha
- Headquarters: Kolkata
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
PM Modi inaugurates college, administration buildings of Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University in Jhansi
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated college and administration buildings of the Rani Lakshmi Bai (RLB) Central Agricultural University in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi through video conferencing.
- The RLB Central Agriculture University is located in Jhansi and is a prominent institute in the Bundelkhand region.
- This would improve the education infrastructure and contribute to cutting edge research in agriculture as well as further farmer welfare.
Rs 601.12 crore annual action plan approved for PMKSY in J&K
- An amount of Rs 601,12 crore annual plan has been approved for Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) for the year 2020-21, an official spokesman stated .
- The Committee approved 601.12 crore annual action plan of PMKSY for the year 2020-21. The annual plan lays emphasis on various components under the schemes Per Drop More Crop (PDMC), Har Khet Ko Paani (HKKP), Integrated Watershed Management Plan (IWMP) and Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP).
- It was informed that as a result of previous interventions, area irrigated by bore wells, community WHT and farm ponds has increased by 6798 Ha, whereas, area under micro-irrigation- drip, sprinkler and rain guns, has gone up by 6766 Ha. These measures have increased crop production by 30 per cent, saved water by 70 per cent and benefitted 7,000 agro-dependent families, besides, reducing water runoff and recharging ground water reservoirs.
- In the current financial year, the Department has proposed bringing 12,000 Ha additional areas under irrigation and reducing the gap between ultimate irrigation potential and irrigation potential by converging 144 existing schemes.
- The State Level Sanctioning Committee also approved top up subsidy amounting to Rs. 10.26 crore including 55 per cent central assistance, as Micro Irrigation Fund from NABARD, which will provide financial assistance to farmers adopting micro irrigation techniques as a part of sustainable agricultural activities.
- Earlier, while chairing a meeting of State Level Executive Committee of National Livestock Mission (NLM), Chief Secretary approved Rs 32.24 crore action plan of centrally sponsored scheme for the year 2020-21. NLM is an umbrella scheme comprising sub-missions on livestock development, feed & fodder development and skill development, technology & extension.
DEA holds Sustainable Finance Collaborative consultation with UNDP
- Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Government of India, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme India launched the Sustainable Finance Collaborative on 26th August 2020. The consultation was held on 26th, 27th and 28th August over virtual platform which brought forth thematic discussions around some key aspects of Sustainable Finance.
- The Collaborative saw a host of thematic discussions centred around the broad scope of Sustainable Finance architecture in India. It included dialogues on critical elements such as the barriers to deploying new and innovative financing such as impact investing, role of blended finance instruments, green finance instruments for sustainable development, need for taxonomy of environmentally sustainable activities, sustainability related disclosures by corporates, and preparing the financial sector for the risks posed by climate change and other environmental and social issues.
- Around 220 delegates representing different ministries and departments of Government of India, Indian financial sector regulators, Multilateral Development Banks, bilateral partner agencies, UN entities, financial institutions, impact and commercial investors, corporates, industry associations, Civil Society Organizations and academia participated in the dialogue.
- The Collaborative provided valuable insights and tangible recommendations that would be helpful in developing a Sustainable Finance framework/roadmap for India.
About United Nations Development Programme:
- Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
- Head: Achim Steiner
CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL
New e-market platform launched to bridge gap between Indian farmers and UAE food industry
- The UAE has launched Agriota, a new technology-driven agri-commodity trading and sourcing e-market platform that will bridge the gap between millions of rural farmers in India and the Gulf nation’s food industry.
- Launched by the Dubai’s free-zone Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and the government of Dubai’s authority on commodities trade and enterprise.
- The marketplace allows the farmers to bypass intermediaries, optimising the supply chain and ensuring traceability to create value for all stakeholders.
- The online marketplace also provides end-to-end traceability and transparency through last-mile verification and extension infrastructure in a blockchain environment.
- Initially, the platform will offer cereals, pulses, oil seeds, fruits, vegetables, spices and condiments.
About UAE
- President: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
- Capital: Abu Dhabi
- Currency: United Arab Emirates dirham
Israeli Airliner Completes First Direct Flight to Arab Emirates
- A chartered El Al airliner carrying Israeli and American diplomats landed in the United Arab Emirates, completing a symbolic first direct flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi.
- This would pave the way for formal diplomatic and commercial ties and might inspire other Arab nations to follow suit in normalizing relations with the Jewish state.
About Israel
- Capital: Jerusalem
- Prime minister: Benjamin Netanyahu
- Currency: Israeli Shekel
India to receive development assistance loan worth Rs 3,500 Cr from Japan to fight COVID-19
- Japan has committed an official Development Assistance loan of 3 thousand 500 crore rupees for the COVID-19 Crisis Emergency Response Support. The Notes were exchanged between the Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs Dr C.S. Mohapatra and Ambassador of Japan to India Suzuki Satoshi for a Health sector programme loan to fight the COVID-19 crisis.
- Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA is a governmental agency that coordinates Official Development Assistance for the Government of Japan.
- This programme loan aims to support India’s efforts in fighting COVID-19 and to prepare the health system to manage future epidemics and also to improve the resilience of India’s health systems against infectious diseases.
- This Grant-in-aid from the Government of Japan is for providing medical equipment to strengthen the public health and medical system in India. It will strengthen the health care facilities for managing critical and serious patients suffering from COVID-19 infection.
About Japan:
- Capital: Tokyo
- Currency: Japanese yen
Togo first in Africa to end sleeping sickness
- Togo has become the first country in Africa to eliminate human African Trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness, a disease caused by parasites transmitted through infected tsetse flies. The World Health Organization (WHO) August 27, 2020 certified so, after the country applied for it in 2018.
