DAILY GK 20 & 21 SEP 2020

DAILY GK 20 & 21 SEP 2020

1.  CENTRE AMENDED PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (PREFERENCE TO MAKE IN INDIA) ORDER 2017

·        In order to promote the “Make in India” initiative, the Central Government has amended the Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, 2017 .

·        This amendment will enable nodal Ministries/ Departments to notify higher minimum local content requirements for Class-I & Class-II local suppliers which was earlier fixed at 50% and 20% respectively.

·        This order is issued pursuant to Rule 153(iii) General Financial Rules 2017.

 

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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 19 SEPTEMBER 2020

 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 19 SEPTEMBER 2020

1.  KOSI RAIL MEGA BRIDGE AND 12 OTHER RAILWAY PROJECTS IN BIHAR

·        PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the historic Kosi Rail Mahasetu (mega bridge) and other projects including a new railway bridge on the Kiul River, two new railway lines, 5 Electrification projects, Bihar’s first Electric Locomotive Shed at Barauni and 3rd Line Project between Barh-Bakhtiyarpur in Bihar through video conference. 

 

2. INDIA’S FIRST TERMINAL AT DELHI AIRPORT

·        Hardeep Singh Puri, Ministry of Civil Aviation inaugurated India’s first General Aviation Terminal at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Delhi to handle the flight operations and movement and processing of passengers flying through of private jets or chartered flights. 

·        This terminal can handle Code C type aircraft, which are 50-seater charter aircraft and the biggest in their category.

 

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DAILY GK 18 SEPT. 2020

 

DAILY GK 18 SEPT. 2020

1. INDIA JOINED DJIBOUTI CODE OF CONDUCT/ JEDDAH AMENDMENT

·        On the lines of the high level meeting of the Djibouti Code of Conduct/ Jeddah Amendment (DCOC/JA) held virtually on 26 August 2020, India has joined the DCOC/JA Amendment, as Observer in order to collaborate with DCOC/JA member states towards for enhancing maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). 

·        With this, India joins Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) as Observers to the DCOC/JA.

·        Adopted in January 2009, DCOC/JA is a grouping on maritime matters aiming to prevent piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, the East coast of Africa and Island countries in the IOR.

 

2. HUMAN CAPITAL INDEX 2020

·        The 2020 Human Capital Index (HCI) is a collaboration between the Human Development Practice Group and the Development Economics Group of the World Bank.

·        World Bank released the report titled “The Human Capital Index 2020 Update: Human Capital in the Time of COVID-19”on September 16, 2020.

·        India has been placed at the 116th position among 174 countries in the Human Capital Index 2020 with score increase to 0.49 from 0.44 in 2018 in comparison to 115 out of 157 countries.

 

3. YEAR SOVEREIGN SDG BOND WORTH $890M

·        Mexico became the first country in the world to inaugurate sustainable financing program for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by issuing a seven-year Sovereign SDGs Bond worth USD 890 million under its new “SDG Sovereign Bond Framework” developed with investment bank Natixis, located in Paris, France.

·        This transaction allows Mexico to expand its investor base by accessing international funds working towards sustainable economic development.

 

4. 2020 ASIA GAME CHANGER AWARD FOR FEEDING MILLIONS

·        The Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna received the 2020 Asia Game Changer Award from Asia Society, a United States based non-profit organisation for feeding millions of people across India amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, by coordinating a food distribution drive from Manhattan.

·        He is the only Indian among the six awardees who were recognised by the Asia Society.

 

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DAILY GK 17 SEPTEMBER 2020

 

DAILY GK 17 SEPTEMBER 2020

1.    CABINET APPROVES ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW AIIMS AT DARBHANGA

·        Central Government has given its consent for the establishment of a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) at Darbhanga, Bihar with an outlay of Rs.1264 crore.

·        PM Narendra Modi has also given its approval to the Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor Project from Palwal to Sonipat via Sohna-Manesar-Kharkhauda, benefitting Haryana’s district of Palwal, Nuh, Gurugram, Jhajjar and Sonipat, at an estimated cost of Rs. 5,617 crore.

 

2.    GLOBAL AYURVEDA SUMMIT

·        4th edition of Global Ayurveda Summit was virtually inaugurated by Vice-President Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu on the theme “Emerging Opportunities for Ayurveda during Pandemic“.

·        It will culminate on October 14, 2020.  Due to COVID-19, it is being conducted as a web event for 30 days with virtual exhibition and conference on emerging opportunities for Ayurveda. 

·        It is being organized by the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry)-Kerala in partnership with Ministry of Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy).

 

3.    MAGLEV TRAINS TO INDIA

·        Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has signed a MoU with Swiss Rapide AG to Maglev Train (Magnetic Levitation) Projects in India.

·        The MoU will enable the Indigenous manufacturing of the State-of-the-art Maglev Trains.

 

4.    JAPAN’S NEW PRIME MINISTER

·        Yoshihide Suga was formally elected as Japan’s New Prime Minister.

·        He will succeed Shinzo Abe, who was Japan’s Longest serving Prime Minister and stepped down due to health problems. 

·        Yoshihide’s party Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) holds a majority in the Japan Parliament. 

 

5.    WORLD OZONE DAY 2020 – SEPTEMBER 16

·        The first International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed on 16th September 1995.
The theme for the 2020 is “Ozone for life: 35 years of ozone layer protection”.

·        The 2020 International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer or World Ozone Day marks the celebration of 35 years of the Vienna Convention and 35 years of Global ozone layer protection.

 

6.    INDIA TO BE SELF-RELIANT IN FERTILIZERS PRODUCTION BY 2023

·        The Union Minister of Chemical and Fertilizers D.V. Sadananda Gowda announced that India will be self-reliant in fertilizer production by 2023 while addressing a webinar on Self-Reliant India and Sustainable Agriculture Organized by cooperative Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) for farmers of Karnataka.

·        Currently, the fertilizer production of the country is 42-45 million tonnes, and imports are at around 18 million tonnes.

 

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DAILY GK 16 SEPT. 2020

 

DAILY GK 16 SEPT. 2020

1. UN’S COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN

·        India & Afghanistan were elected as Members of the United Nations (UN) Commission on Status of Women, a body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

·        The Commission on the Status of Women is a UN organ promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women.

·        India (38 votes) and Afghanistan (39) won the ballot among the 54 members, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, T S Tirumurti announced the election of India to the Committee. 

 

2. EUROMONEY’S LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2020

·        Euromoney, the global finance and banking magazine’s Awards for Excellence 2020 honoured Aditya Puri, Managing Director(MD) of HDFC Bank with a Lifetime Achievement Award 2020.

·        This is a first of its kind recognition for a corporate leader from India.

·        The award is conferred upon him to recognise his skills in building a world class Indian bank and his contribution in creating a trustworthy brand.

 

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DAILY GK 15 SEPT. 2020

 

DAILY GK 15 SEPT. 2020

1. TARGETS TO COVER 100 LAKH HA UNDER MICRO IRRIGATION

·        Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare announced that the Ministry has set target to cover 100 lakh Hectares(Ha) under micro irrigation in 5 years while addressing the webinar on Enhancing Water Use Efficiency and Coverage of Micro Irrigation in Indian Agriculture organised by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW).

·        DAC&FW is implementing the Per Drop More Crop component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana (PMKSY-PDMC) since 2015-16 to increase the efficiency of water usage in the agri sector and increase the farmer’s income.

·        The ministry with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development(NABARD) created a dedicated Micro Irrigation Fund(MIF) of Rs.5000 crores to support the states to mobilize their resources to expand the micro irrigation coverage.

 

2. 900 CRORE WORTH PETROLEUM PROJECT IN BIHAR 

·        Prime Minister Narendra Modi Inaugurated 3 key projects of the petroleum sector worth more than Rs 900 crore in Bihar through video conference and dedicated it to the Nation.

·        The projects include the Durgapur-Banka section(about 200 km) of the Paradip-Haldia-Durgapur Pipeline Augmentation Project and 2 LPG(Liquefied Petroleum Gas) Bottling Plants. 

 

3. SCO FOREIGN MINISTERS IN MOSCOW

·        A days after Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Moscow, Russia to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers Meeting, Click Here to Read, now Union Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had a four-days visit to Russia from September 8-11, 22 to attend the SCO-CFM (Council of Foreign Ministers) Meeting in Moscow.

·        Dr. S Jaishankar participated in the SCO-CFM meeting, held on September 9-10, 2020, which was hosted by Russia under the chairmanship of Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov.

 

4. ICICI LOMBARD INKS BANCASSURANCE TIE UP WITH YES BANK

·        ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Lombard Insurance Company Ltd has entered into a Bancassurance tie-up with Yes Bank  to sell its insurance products.

·        Through this agreement, ICICI Lombard aims to offer innovative insurance solutions to Yes Bank’s Customers  across 28 States and 8 Union Territories.

·        Bancassurance is an arrangement between a Bank and an Insurance Company allowing the Insurance Company to sell its products to the Bank’s Client Base. 

5. COMMITTEE TO STUDY ANCIENT INDIAN CULTURE

·        Prahlad Singh Mulayam Singh Patel(in short- Prahlad Singh Patel) Minister of State (I/C- Independent Charge) of Culture and Tourism has informed that Government has formed a 16 member expert committee to conduct a study on the origin and evolution of Indian culture dating back to about 12,000 years ago and its interface with other cultures of the world.

 

6. SWAMI AGNIVESH, ARYA SAMAJ LEADER PASSED AWAY AT 80

·        Swami Agnivesh(Original Name- Vepa Shyam Rao), renowned social activist, scholar, former MLA(Member of the Legislative Assembly) and Cabinet Minister for Education of Haryana passed away at the age of 80 due to cardiac arrest at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in New Delhi, India.

·        He served as the president (2004–2014) of the World Council of Arya Samaj, which is the highest international body of the Arya Samaj.

·        He was born on 21st September,  1939 in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh.

 

7. HINDI DIWAS 2020 – SEPTEMBER 14

·        Hindi Diwas is celebrated annually on 14th of September across India to promote Hindi and to create awareness about the language.

·        This day is celebrated to mark the anniversary of the adoption of Hindi (the Devanagari Script) as one of the official languages of the Republic of India.

·        It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India.

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