DAILY GK 25 SEPT. 2020

 DAILY GK 25 SEPT. 2020

1.  GOVT RAISED LIMIT FOR USE OF SDRF FUNDS BY STATES

·        State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for COVID specific infrastructure was increased from 35% to 50% to help States with more finances at their disposal to fight the coronavirus.

·        This was announced during the virtual meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chief Ministers of six states and one Union Territory with high Covid-19 caseload viz. Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

·        State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)Constituted under Section 48 (1) (a) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, it is the primary fund available with State Governments for responses to notified disasters.

 

2. 4TH WEF’S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IMPACT SUMMIT

·        World Economic Forum’s fourth and first fully virtual Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2020 was held under the banner “Realizing a Great Reset for Sustainable Development” to convene 2100 leaders from government, business, international organizations and civil society along with experts and innovators to initiate, accelerate and scale-up entrepreneurial solutions to tackle climate change and advance sustainable development.

·        The summit was based on the five themes of Shared Prosperity, Catalysing cooperation, Better business, Harnessing technology, and Liveable planet.

·        During the summit,  WEF’s ‘EarthTimeVisualisation’ report was released which stated that Delhi may have eight months a year with temperature averaging 32°C by 2100, up from six at present.  

3. AAI COMMENCED WORK ON AIRPORT EXPANSION PROJECT IN MALDIVES

·        Government of Maldives, the Government of India has decided to support the Hanimaadhoo International Airport expansion project under the USD 800 million Line of Credit from EXIM (Export-Import) Bank of India. 

·        Airports Authority of India (AAI) commenced work on the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for this project which will be prepared in 2 months.

·        It is one of the largest infrastructure and connectivity projects in northern Maldives.

4.  “SAFEPAY” FOR CONTACTLESS DEBIT CARD-BASED PAYMENT

·        IDFC First Bank announced that it will launch SafePay, a digital facility. It enables contactless debit card payments by waving a smartphone against a Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled Point of Sale(POS) terminal. 

·        It is the 1st such facility which is made available in an integrated mobile banking app. 

·        iii.TheSafePay feature has been successfully tested and certified by Visa.

5. UDAY KOTAK GETS 1 YEAR EXTENSION AS THE NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF IL&FS

·        The Government of India has extended the term of Uday Kotak, the Managing Director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank as the Chairman of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) to one more year till October 2021 as the Non-Executive Chairman of IL&FS.

·        This is the 2nd extension given to Uday Kotak since his appointment in 2018 as the chairman of IL&FS to complete the resolution of the company and its group companies (around 300 companies) which had a debt of more than Rs.90000 crore.

6. 1ST CENTRAL MINISTER TO DIE OF COVID-19

·        Suresh ChannabasappaAngadi, Union Minister of State for Railways and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Member of Parliament(MP) from Belagavi constituency of Karnataka passed away at the age of 65 after testing positive for COVID-19 at the Covid Facility, New Delhi.

·        He is the first Central Minister to die of Coronavirus. He was born on 1st June 1955 at Belagavi, Karnataka.

7. WORLD MARITIME DAY 2020 – SEPTEMBER 24

·        United Nations(UNs) World Maritime Day is annually observed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and its member states on the last thursday of September to recognise the contribution of the international maritime industries toward the economy of the world.

·        The World Maritime Day 2020 falls on 24th September 2020.The theme of World Maritime Day 2020 is “Sustainable Shipping for a Sustainable Planet”