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Current Affairs - 25 September 2020

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1. World Maritime Day 2020: 24 September
  • World Maritime Day 2020 is observed globally on 24th September. It is observed to understand the importance of the marine environment, the impact of industries on the oceans and marine life and the well-being of seafarers who spend months away from home.
  • The theme of World Maritime Day 2020 is “Sustainable shipping for a sustainable planet,”.
  • The day provides an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to showcase the work that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its Member States are undertaking to achieve the targets.
Foot Notes:
About IMO:
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Founder: United Nations
Founded: 17 March 1948
Heads: Efthymios Mitropoulos, Kitack Lim

2. PM Modi in Time Magazine’s ‘100 most influential people of 2020’ list
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi is among the few Indians who have been featured in Time Magazine’s list of ‘100 most influential people of 2020’. Modi is the only politician from India who has made it to the coveted list. However, his addition to the list this year comes with a stinging critique of the BJP's divisive politics.
  • PM Modi has been a recurring name on the Time Magazine’s ‘100 Most Influential People’ list and has appeared four times on the list since coming to power in 2014. His name has appeared on the list in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2020.
Foot notes:
The following Indians have also been named in this list:
Professor Ravindra Gupta.
Ayushmann Khurrana (Artists).
Bilkis (Icons), the ‘Dadi from Shaheen Bagh’.
 
3. Kerala Wins UN Award For Control Of Non-Communicable Diseases
  • Kerala has won a United Nations award for its "outstanding contribution" towards the non-communicable diseases-related sustainable development goals. The UN Interagency Task Force (UNIATF) award this year on prevention and control of non-communicable diseases was announced by World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
  • The award recognises achievements during 2019 on the multi-sectoral action in the prevention and control of NCDs, mental health and the wider NCD-related sustainable development goals (SDGs).
  • Health Minister KK Shailaja said the award was a recognition of the tireless service of Kerala in the health sector.
Foot Notes:
About Kerala:
Capital: Thiruvananthapuram 
Chief Minister: Pinarayi Vijayan
Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan
 
4. India successfully conducts test of indigenouly-developed Prithvi short-range ballistic missile
  • India, carried out successful test firing of the Prithvi short-range ballistic missile, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Balasore off the coast of Odisha. The missile achieved its all-mission objective as decided by Strategic Forces Command.
  • DRDO conducted a night test fire of the nuclear-capable surface-to-surface missile as a part of user trials for the Indian Army. The launch of the missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was carried out from a mobile launcher from complex 3 of the Integrated Test Range at Balasore.
Foot Notes:
About DRDO:
Headquarters: New Delhi
Founded: 1958
Chairman: Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy
 
5. Ashok Gehlot Approves 'Moksha Kalash Yojana-2020' to allow free bus travel
  • Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot approved a Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation’s scheme to allow free bus travel to two members of a family to immerse ashes of their loved ones in the Ganga in Haridwar.
  • The state road transport corporation would be the nodal agency to run the scheme and the expenses would be borne by the Devasthan Department. Passengers will be required to register for availing the facility by providing details including about the dead person.
Foot Notes:
About Rajasthan:
Governor: Kalraj Mishra
Capital: Jaipur 
Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot
 
About Ministry of Road Transport and Highways:
Minister: Nitin Gadkari
 
6. Lukashenko sworn in for his 6th term as President of Belarus
  • President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus was sworn in for a sixth term. The inauguration ceremony took place at the Palace of Independence.
  • After being sworn in, he was handed an official ID card showing he is the Belarusian President by the head of the country’s central election commission. This is Lukashenko’s sixth inauguration. The date and time of the event were kept secret until the last moment.
Foot Notes:
About Belarus:
President: Alexander Lukashenko
Capital: Minsk
Currency: Belarusian ruble
 
7. India holds a Webinar with Israel on Defence Industry Global Outreach for Collaborative Partnership
  • A webinar between India and Israel was held on 24/09/2020. The Theme of webinar was “Indian Defence Industry Global Outreach for Collaborative Partnership: Webinar and Expo”.  It was organized under the aegis of Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence through SIDM.
  • This webinar is the first in the series of webinars which will be organized with friendly foreign countries in order to boost defence exports and achieve defence export target of $5 billion in the next five years.
  • Defence Secretaries and other senior MoD officials from both the countries participated in the webinar and spoke about enhancing the defence cooperation between both the nations.
Foot Notes:
About Israel:
Capital: Jerusalem
Prime Minister: Benjamin Netanyahu
President: Reuven Rivlin
 
8. MeitY and NITI Aayog to organize mega virtual summit on AI- RAISE 2020
  • The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NITI Aayog will organize a Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020,’ from October 5-9, 2020. 
  • RAISE 2020 will be a global meeting of minds to exchange ideas and chart a course for using AI for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment in areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility, among other sectors.
  • The RAISE 2020 Summit will also feature some of the most exciting startups working in Artificial Intelligence-related fields.
Foot Notes:
About MeitY:
Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology: Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad
 
About NITI Aayog:
CEO: Shri Amitabh Kant
Headquarters: New Delhi
Chairperson: Narendra Modi
 
9. Finance Ministry allows 5 states to borrow additional funds upon meeting reform condition
  • The finance ministry has granted permission to five states to raise additional financial resources of Rs. 9,913 crore through Open Market Borrowings (OMBs).
  • The five states-- Andhra Pradesh ( ₹2525 crore), Telangana ( ₹2508 crore), Goa ( ₹223 crore), Karnataka ( ₹4509 crore) and Tripura ( ₹148 crore)--according to the finance ministry have successfully met the reform condition of implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System.
  • In view of the unprecedented covid-19 pandemic the central government in May allowed additional borrowing limit of up to 2% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) to the states for FY21, amounting ₹4.3 trillion. While the government has already granted permission to states to raise the first 0.5% in June allowing them to raise ₹1.1 trillion available to the states, rest 2.5% borrowing is tied to carrying out reforms in four areas such as implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System; ease of doing business reform, urban local body/ utility reforms and power sector reforms.
Foot Notes:
Finance Minister: Nirmala Sitharaman

10. Renowned nuclear scientist Sekhar Basu dies of COVID-19
  • Veteran nuclear scientist and former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Dr Sekhar Basu died of COVID-19. A mechanical engineer, Dr Basu is revered for his contributions to the country's atomic energy programme. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2014.
  • He had also pioneered the highly complex reactor for India's first nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant. Dr. Basu was also the brain behind designing, construction and operation of nuclear recycle plants at Tarapur and Kalpakkam.
  • He played a key role in the development of the Indian Neutrino Observatory at Tamil Nadu. The atomic scientist was conferred the Indian Nuclear Society Award in 2002.
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