Current Affairs - 15 September 2020

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Current Affairs - 15 September 2020

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1. International Day of Democracy is observed globally on 15th September every year
  • The International Day of Democracy was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly through a resolution in 2007 to strengthen national programmes devoted to the promotion and consolidation of democracy.
  • The day was observed for the first time in 2008.
  • The day of Democracy provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world.
Foot Notes:
About UNGA:
President: Tijjani Muhammad-Bande 
Parent organization: United Nations
Formation: 1945

2. India's Economy To Shrink By 9 Pc This Year: ADB
  • The Asian Development Bank announced on September 15, 2020, that India’s economy is expected to contract by 9% in 2020-worse than the 4% contraction which the bank had forecasted three months ago.
  • In the first quarter of the Current Fiscal Year, India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had contracted by a record 23.9% as the COVID-19 lockdown stalled business and consumer spending.
  • However, ADB expects India to bounce back with an 8% growth in 2021 as the country begins to emerge from the economic devastation which has been caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Foot Notes:
About ADB:
Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines
President: Masatsugu Asakawa
Founded: 19 December 1966
 
3. RajyaSabha Passes Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020
  • The Parliament passed Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020 on September 15, 2020 after it was approved by the RajyaSabha. The LokSabha had passed the bill earlier on March 17th.
  •  The bill seeks to amend the Aircraft Act, 1934 and covert three existing regulatory bodies under the Civil Aviation Ministry including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) into statutory bodies. 
  • The three regulatory bodies include the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. The bill has proposed each of the bodies to be headed by a Director General who will be appointed by the centre.
Foot Notes:
About RajyaSabha:
Chairperson: M. Venkaiah Naidu 
Deputy Leader of the House: Piyush Goyal
Deputy Chairman: Harivansh Narayan Singh
Secretary General: Desh Deepak Verma
Members:245
 
4. Bangladesh govt allows limited export of Hilsa fish to India
  • Bangladesh Commerce Ministry has given special permission for traders to export Hilsa fish to India on a limited scale in view of the forthcoming Durga Puja. The Commerce Ministry has allowed nine exporters to send a total of approximately 1,500 tonnes of Hilsa to India.
  • The export will be allowed till 10th of October.
  • Bangladesh had imposed a ban on the export of Hilsa in 2012.
  • However, as a special measure, last year also export of 500 tonnes of Hilsa to India was permitted by the government around the time of Durga Puja.
  • Hilsa or 'Ilish' is considered a delicacy in Bangladesh and West Bengal.
  • Bangladesh has a share of close to 75 per cent in the production of Hilsa fish in the world.
Foot Notes:
About Bangladesh:
Capital: Dhaka
Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina
Currency: Bangladeshi taka
 
5. Govt bans export of all varieties of onions with immediate effect
  • The Union Government banned the export of all varieties of onions with immediate effect. The move is aimed at increasing availability and checking the price of the commodity in the domestic market.
  • Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification that the export of all varieties of onions is prohibited with immediate effect.
  • The DGFT, under the Commerce Ministry, deals with exports and imports-related issues.
  • Last year on 29 September, the government had banned exports of onions and imposed countrywide stock limits to bring down prices of onions that had soared ahead of state elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.
  • The crackdown followed retail onion prices touching ₹80 a kg in Delhi because of supply disruptions after floods in some states.
Foot Notes:
About Ministry of Commerce and Industry:
Officeholders: C.R.Chaudhary (Minister of State), Piyush Goyal (Minister), Hardeep Singh Puri (MOS independent charge)
Headquarters: New Delhi
 
 
6.111th Birth Anniversary of Tamil Nadu’s 1st Chief Minister C. N. Annadurai observed on 15th September 
  • The 111th Birth Anniversary of the first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu C. N. Annadurai, popularly known as Arignar Anna was observed on 15 September.
  • He was also a Member of RajyaSabha from 1963 to 1967. Well known for his powerful oratorical skills, Anna was a prolific writer too.
  • Subsidy mechanism for rice and two language policy are some of his prominent administrative innovations.
  • The Tamil University in Thanjavoor has announced a 50 per cent discount sale of its prestigious publications in connection with Anna Birth Anniversary today.
  • The main purpose of the University was higher level research into Tamil language, literature and culture - all close to the heart of Arignar Anna.
About Tamil Nadu:
Capital: Chennai
Chief Minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami
Governor: Banwarilal Purohit
 
7. Potential sign of alien life detected on inhospitable Venus
  • Scientists said they have detected in the harshly acidic clouds of Venus a gas called phosphine that indicates microbes may inhabit Earth’s inhospitable neighbour, a tantalizing sign of potential life beyond Earth.
  • The researchers did not discover actual life forms, but noted that on Earth phosphine is produced by bacteria thriving in oxygen-starved environments. The international scientific team first spotted the phosphine using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii and confirmed it using the Atacama Large Millimeter/ submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope in Chile.
8. NDA Candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh re-elected as Deputy Chairman of RajyaSabha
  • NDA candidate Harivansh has been re-elected as the Deputy Chairman of RajyaSabha. The upper house cleared his name with a voice vote.
  • BJP President J.P. Nadda had moved the proposal to elect Harivansh as the deputy chairman and his motion was adopted.
  • The Deputy Chairman of RajyaSabha is a constitutional post. Article 89 of the Constitution of India states that the RajyaSabha can elect one of its MPs for the post of Deputy Chairman when the post is vacant.
9. Senior bureaucrat Rajesh Khullar appointed as the Executive Director of  World Bank
  • Senior bureaucrat Rajesh Khullar has been appointed as Executive Director, World Bank.Khullar, a 1988-batch IAS officer, is currently serving in his cadre state Haryana.
  • He is the principal secretary to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
  • He will have a tenure of three years or till the date of his superannuation, i.e. August 31, 2023.
Foot Notes:
About World Bank:
Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
President: David Malpass
 
10. Sameer Kumar Khare IAS appointed as Executive Director at ADB
  • Sameer Kumar Khare has been appointed Executive Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila. Khare is a 1989-batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre and is currently the additional secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs.
  • He has been appointed to the post for a tenure of three years with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Foot Notes:
About ADB:
Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines
President: Masatsugu Asakawa
Founded: 19 December 1966
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