Excellence by Saikat Sir: 09/11/20

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Government has constituted a three member expert committee to assist in the assessment of relief to bank borrowers.
The committee chaired by former CAG Rajiv Mehrishi will measure the impact on the national economy and financial stability of waiving of interest and COVID-19 related moratorium. It will also give suggestions to mitigate financial constraints of various sections of society in this respect and measures to be adopted in this regard. The panel will submit its report within one week.
The move came as various concerns have been raised during the ongoing hearing in the Supreme Court in the matter regarding relief sought in terms of waiver of interest and waiver of interest on interest and other related issues.

The Indian Railways flagged off its second and South India’s first Kisan Rail, from Anantapur in the state of Andhra Pradesh to Adarsh Nagar in Delhi.
Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy via a video conference jointly flagged off the Kisan Rail train.
The rail carried 322 tonnes of fruits and vegetables which consist of papaya, sweet lime, mangoes, banana, musk melon, and tomatoes in 13 bogies. One Three-Tier AC carried horticulture farmers, officials from Marketing, Agriculture, and Horticulture Department, and two SLR bogies of Railway Staff.
The very first Kisan Rail train service introduced by the Indian Railways network was launched on 7 August 2020. The train that runs between Devlali in Maharashtra and Danapur in the state of Bihar operates on a weekly basis.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated a webinar on Enhancing Water Use Efficiency and Coverage of Micro Irrigation in Indian agriculture.
The Minister stated the Government has set the target of covering 100 lakh hectares in five years under micro-irrigation. He stated about 11 lakh farmers have benefitted by the adoption of drip and sprinkler irrigation systems.
During the last five years, an area of 47.92 lakh hectares has been covered under micro irrigation in the country which includes 11.72 lakh hectares for the year 2019-20 which is a significant achievement.

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, launched one of its most awaited programmes,the Aatmanirbhar Bharat ARISE-Atal New India Challenges, to spur applied research and innovation in Indian MSMEs and startups.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

International Day to Protect Education from Attack to be celebrated for the first time in 2020 on September 9th.
The day was established by a unanimous decision of the UN General Assembly, calling on UNESCO and UNICEF to raise awareness of the plight of millions of children living in countries affected by conflict. The resolution proclaiming the Day was presented by the State of Qatar and co-sponsored by 62 countries.

World Suicide Prevention Day is an awareness day observed on 10 September every year, in order to provide worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides, with various activities around the world since 2003.
World Suicide Prevention Day Theme 2020 is “working together to prevent suicide”.

The Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar chaired the 227th Meeting of the Central Board of Trustees of Employees’ Provident Fund.
In view of the exceptional circumstances arising out of Covid-19, the Central Board has recommended the same interest rate at 8.50 per cent to the Central Government.
It would comprise of 8.15 per cent from debt income and balance 0.35 per cent capital gain from the sale of Exchange Traded Funds, ETFs subject to their redemption by 31st December this year.
It further recommended to account such capital gains in the income of the financial year 2019-20 as being an exceptional case.
The Central Board accorded approval for an Amendment to Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, 1976 to enhance the maximum assurance benefit to 7 lakh rupees from the present maximum assurance benefit of 6 lakh rupees.

India’s agriculture technology sector has the potential to grow manifold to $24.1 billion in the next five years, according to a new report.
With a turnover of $204 million, India’s agri-tech sector is at under 1% of its market potential. A big chunk of the gains will likely be made by companies addressing supply chain and financial services solutions, driven by the availability of affordable high-speed internet and maturing of India’s digital content ecosystem, the EY report on India’s agri-tech potential said.

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