CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS
World Day For Farmed Animals
- World Day for Farmed Animals is celebrated on the same date (Oct 2nd ) as the birth anniversary of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
- International animals’ welfare organization, World Animal Protection along with the Asia for Animals coalition is celebrating World Day for Farmed Animals to bring focus on the need to treat farm animals as sentient beings and make visible the importance and urgency of farm animal welfare.
World Animal Day
- World Animal Day 2020 is observed every year on October 4th to raise awareness about improving the welfare standards of the animals across the globe.
- The day is celebrated in different ways in different countries. Every year various activities are performed such as the launching of animal welfare campaigns, opening of rescue shelters for the animals, and organisation of fundraising events.
World Space Week
- In 1999, the United Nations declaredOctober 4-10 as World Space Week.
- The theme this year is “Satellites Improve Life.”
- In 2021, World Space Week celebrates “Women in Space.”
- The week to celebrate each year at the international level the contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
Centre agrees to waive interest on interest during moratorium for individual, MSME loans up to Rs 2 crore
- The Government has informed the Supreme Court that loans up to 2 crore taken by individuals and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) will be eligible for waiver of compound interest during the six-month moratorium period, i.e., March-August 2020.
- In other words, these borrowers will not have to pay interest on interest. During the period of moratorium, interest accrued in case of equated monthly instalment (EMI) deferred becomes a part of principal and then interest calculated on the larger base. This compound interest is basically interest on interest.
- Though, the government has not mentioned the cost of this waiver, according to industry sources, it could be up to Rs.6,000 crore and likely to be paid by the Centre.
- The affidavit listed eight categories of loans for waiver of compound interest. These include – MSME loans up to Rs.2 crore, education loans up to Rs.2 crore, housing loan up to Rs.2 crore, consumer durable loans up to Rs.2 crore, credit card dues up to Rs.2 crore, auto loans up to Rs.2 crore, personal loans to professionals up to Rs.2 crore and consumption loans up to Rs.2 crore.
- According to affidavit, full waiver of interest on all the loans and advances to all classes and categories of borrowers for six-months period would cost Rs.6-lakh crore. “If the banks were to bear this burden, it would necessarily wipe out a substantial and major part of their net worth, rendering most of the banks unviable and raising a very serious question mark over their very survival,” it stated.
Sunidhi’ project to digitise provident fund, pension services of CMPFO
- The government announced the launch of an ambitious information technology project ‘Sunidhi’ to digitise all provident fund and pension related activities of the Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation (CMPFO).
