Current Affairs 09 September 2020

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Current Affairs 09 September 2020

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1. International Day to Protect education from attack observed on 09 September  
  • International Day to Protect Education from Attack is observed globally on 9th September. The day is being observed for the first time in 2020.
  • The Day draws attention to the plight of more than 75 million 3-to-18-year-olds living in 35 crisis-affected countries and to their urgent need of educational support.
  • It expresses concern over the effects of continued violence on these children and their ability to access education, whose consequences require special attention beyond the needs of learners whose establishments were temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 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.
Foot Notes:
About UNICEF:
Headquarters: New York, United States
Head: Henrietta H. Fore
Founded: 11 December 1946
 
2. Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah lauded 'PM SVANidhi' scheme  to benefit the street vendors
  • Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah lauded the 'PM SVANidhi' scheme being run by Modi Government to benefit the street vendors. The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today held 'Svanidhi Samvaad' with street vendors from Madhya Pradesh. 
  • The Government of India had launched PM Svanidhi scheme on 1st June, 2020 to help poor street vendors, impacted by COVID-19, resume livelihood activities. This scheme targets to benefit over 50 lakh Street Vendors. Under the Scheme, the vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs. 10,000, which is repayable in monthly instalments in the tenure of one year. On timely/ early repayment of the loan, an interest subsidy @ 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer on quarterly basis. There will be no penalty on early repayment of loan. 
  • The scheme promotes digital transactions through cash back incentives up to an amount of Rs. 100 per month. Moreover, vendors can achieve their ambition of going up on the economic ladder by availing the facility of escalation of the credit limit on timely/early repayment of loan.
Foot Notes:
About Madhya Pradesh:
Capital: Bhopal 
Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Governor: Anandiben Patel

3. Inaugural run of South India’s 1st and country’s 2nd Kisan Rail between Anantapur and New Delhi flagged off
  • The inaugural run of Anantapur – New Delhi Kisan Rail was flagged off through video link by Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, and Shri Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
  • The programme was presided over by Shri Suresh C. Angadi, Union Minister of State for Railways. The Kisan train will run between Anantapur in Guntakal Division of South Central Railway and Adarsh Nagar in Delhi. 
  • Speaking on the occasion, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar said that the Kisan Rail will help in strengthening the agricultural economy, while Shri Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the state’s popular fruits will now be able to reach other areas in the country easily.
Foot Notes:
About Andhra Pradesh:
Governor: Biswabhusan Harichandan
Chief Minister: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
Capital: Visakhapatnam (executive); Amaravati (legislative);Kurnool (judicial)

4. Induction ceremony of Rafale fighter jets into IAF to be held at Ambala airbase on September 10
  • A formal induction ceremony of the five high-profile Rafale fighter aircraft into the Indian Air Force's (IAF) 'Golden Arrows' Squadron will be held at the Ambala airbase in Haryana on September 10. Earlier, sources had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is most likely to attend the ceremony.
  • French Defence Minister Florence Parly will take part in the induction ceremony and during the visit, other than having a bilateral with Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, she will also meet National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval.
  • The first batch of five Rafale jets, which arrived at the Ambala airbase on July 29, have already proven their mettle with successful weapons firing at a test range after arrival. When the first batch of Rafales arrived at Ambala, the IAF had said that efforts are focused on operationalisation of the aircraft at the earliest.
Foot Notes:
Chief of Indian Air Force: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria
Chief of Indian Armed Forces: President of India
 
5. Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine trial paused after participant falls ill
  • The last phase of clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and Astra Zeneca has been put on hold after one of the participants fell ill in the United Kingdom. AstraZeneca described the pause as a "routine" pause in the case of "an unexplained illness".
  • The AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID vaccine is one of the leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates, whose trials are being conducted in multiple nations including India and the United States. The outcome of vaccine trials is being closely watched across the world.
  • The Oxford vaccine is seen as a strong contender among dozens of vaccines being developed globally, as the phase I and II trial results showed that the vaccine offers double immunity against COVID-19. The vaccine candidate moved to phase III trials a few weeks back. 
Foot Notes:
About Oxford University:
Vice-Chancellor: Louise Richardson
Motto: The Lord is my light
Location: Oxford, England

 
6. PM Modi to launch Matsya Sampada Yojana, e-Gopala app on September 10
  • Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will digitally launch the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) on 10th September. Prime Minister will also launch e-Gopala App, a comprehensive breed improvement marketplace and information portal for direct use of farmers. Several other initiatives in the fisheries and animal husbandry sectors in Bihar will also be launched by the Prime Minister on the occasion.
  • The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) is a flagship scheme for focused and sustainable development of fisheries sector in the country with an estimated investment of Rs. 20,050 crores for its implementation during a period of 5 years from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25 in all States/Union Territories, as a part of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package. 
  • The investment of Rs. 20,050 crores under PMMSY is the highest ever in the fisheries sector. Out of this, an investment of about Rs 12340 crores is proposed for beneficiary-oriented activities in Marine, Inland fisheries and Aquaculture and about Rs 7710 crores investment for Fisheries Infrastructure.
7. Author and natural historian David Attenborough gets Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2019
  • David Attenborough, a renowned author, and natural historian was conferred with Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2019 by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented the Peace Prize in a virtual ceremony.
  • BBC Broadcaster has been given the prize for revealing the wonders of the natural world and for his contribution through books and films to awaken humankind to protect and preserve the biodiversity on our planet.
  • According to the citation for the ceremony, David Attenborough has been honoured with the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for educating and entertaining the generations of people through his films and books and for tirelessly working to awaken humankind to preserve and protect the biodiversity on Earth.
Foot Notes:
About Indira Gandhi Peace Prize:
The Indira Gandhi Prize or the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize or the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development is the prestigious award accorded annually by Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust to individuals or organisations in recognition of creative efforts toward promoting international peace, development and a new international economic order; ensuring that scientific discoveries are used for the larger good of humanity, and enlarging the scope of freedom.
Awarded for: Outstanding contributions in peace
Location: New Delhi
First awarded: 1986
 
8. Australia appoints cricket icon Matthew Hayden as trade envoy to India
  • Government of Australia has appointed former cricketer, Matthew Hayden and Indian-origin politician Lisa Singh as trade envoys for advancing business ties with India.
  • The council plays an important role in advancing Australia’s foreign and economic policy interests with India.
  • Three new appointments to the board of the Australia-India Council were announced recently, Ashok Jacob has been reappointed as chair, and will be joined by three new board members.”
  • Hayden is a former international cricketer, who played 103 Tests and 161 One Day Internationals for Australia. He has scored 40 international centuries. He was made Member of the Order of Australia in 2010 for his sporting excellence.
Foot Notes:
About Australia:
Prime Minister: Scott Morrison.
Currency: Australian dollar.
Capital: Canberra
 
9. Oscar winning Czech Director Jiri Menzel passes away
  • Oscar-winning Czech film director, Jiri Menzel passed away.His 1st feature film, ‘Closely Watched Trains’ won an Academy Award (Oscars) for Best Foreign Language film in 1968.
  • Menzel won the Czech Lion for lifetime artistic contribution and was honoured by the Karlovy Vary festival.He is a recipient of the Medal of Merit, the French Order of Arts and Literature and a score of other international awards.
  • He was awarded an IIFA Lifetime Achievement Award in November 2013.
10. 5 Petroleum and Gas PSUs to join International Solar Alliance
  • Five Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) under Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry will be joining International Solar Alliance (ISA)'s Coalition for Sustainable Climate Action (ISA-CSCA) as Corporate Partners and will be contributing to ISA's Corpus Fund, said Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
  • The Minister said that Oil & Gas PSUs are increasingly evaluating new opportunities in the solar and RE space for diversification. Recently, French major Total has also announced investments for buying about 2 GW operating PV plants in India.
Foot Notes:
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister: Dharmendra Pradhan
 
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