Monthly Current AffairsSPOTLIGHT

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SPOTLIGHT – SEPTEMBER 2020

BY- ANUJ JINDAL

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Table of Contents

NATIONAL NEWS ..................................................................................................................................... 4

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING .............................................................................................................. 82

INTERNATIONAL NEWS .......................................................................................................................... 87

BANKING AND ECONOMY ..................................................................................................................... 105

GDP FORECASTS .............................................................................................................................................. 134

APPOINTMENTS .................................................................................................................................... 138

IMPORTANT DAYS ................................................................................................................................ 143

AWARDS ............................................................................................................................................... 150

SPORTS ................................................................................................................................................. 159

MISCELLANEOUS ................................................................................................................................... 161

QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................................................... 166

ANSWERS ............................................................................................................................................. 197

NATIONAL NEWS 1. In order to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Poland’s solidarity movement, Qutub Minar

was illuminated in Poland’s national flag colours (white and red).

• Solidarity movement (began in 1980) – it was a non-violent revolt against the authoritative

communist parties of Poland. In 1989, first partially free elections were held in Poland

(which led to the solidarity of Poland).

• Tadeusz Mazowiecki became the first non-communist leader of Poland in 1989.

2. Department of Economic Affairs has issued a notification to give the status of an

infrastructure project to Affordable Rental Housing Complex (ARHC) by including ARHCs

in the harmonized list of infrastructure sub-sectors.

• ARHC was launchefd in July as a sub-scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

(PMAY) to provide rental apartment to urban migrants.

3. Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Sh. Ram Vilas Paswan has

reviewed the implementation of “One Nation One Ration Card” scheme (effective from July 1,

2020).

• After inclusion of Ladakh and Lakshdweep, there are a total of 26 States/UTs connected

with each other under the One Nation One Ration Card scheme.

• The scheme allows beneficiaries in these 26 States/UTs to access their subsidised food

grains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) of their choice w.e.f. 1st September 2020.

• Remaining States/UTs are targeted to be integrated within the scheme by March 2021.

4. Minister of New and Renewable Energy R K Singh has launched the pan-India Green Term

Ahead Market (GTAM) in electricity.

• Purpose: - to incentivize the renewable energy producing states and promote production of renewable energy.

• The facility will allow selling off the power by the producers of renewable energy in the open

market without getting into long term Power Purchase Agreements.

• G-TAM will offer four types of contracts, viz. intra-day, day ahead contingency, daily and

weekly.

5. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has announced to extend a development

assistance loan of ₹3,500 crore (JPY 50 billion) to India for the Covid-19 Crisis Emergency

Response Support.

• This loan will help in implementation of “Prime Minister Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana” (PM-ASBY), governed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, under the

Atmanirbhar Bharat Package for the health sector.

• The Health Ministry aims to strengthen the public healthcare system, expand and

strengthen surveillance capacities, research and national digital health mission through PM-

ASBY.

Extra Facts:

• In addition to this, Japan also gave a grant of JPY 1 billion (nearly ₹70 crore) to India for providing medical equipment to strengthen the public health and medical system in India.

• In India, JICA has ongoing health projects in Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

6. Ministry of Defence has signed contracts to supply six Pinaka regiments (a system of rocket

launchers) to the Indian Army at an approximate cost of Rs 2,580 crore by 2024.

• Manufacturers – Bharat Earth Movers Ltd, Tata Power Company Ltd and Larsen & Toubro – have to use at least 70% indigenous "content" in the Pinaka regiments.

• First used in Kargil war, Pinaka is a DRDO designed and developed system of multi-barrel rocket launchers.

7. CSIR’s Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) claims to have

developed the world’s largest 'solar tree' in Durgapur in West Bengal.

• It has an annual capacity to generate 12,000-14,000 units of electricity.

• These solar trees can be customized for usage in agricultural activities such as high

capacity pumps, e-Tractors and e-Power Tillers.

8. Odisha govt has launched the ‘AMA SAHAR’ and ‘SWACHHA SAHAR ODISHA’ web apps to

provide citizen centric services, as a part of 5T initiative of the state.

• These apps aim to bring better fiscal management in Urban Local Bodies.

9. European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide €650 million for the construction of metro line

(32.4 km) in Kanpur city.

• This is the first metro line of Kanpur city (aka industrial capital of Uttar Pradesh) and

second metro rail project supported by the EIB in Uttar Pradesh, following the €450 million

worth of metro project in Lucknow.

Extra facts:

§ This is the 5th investment of EIB in metro projects in India after Bhopal, Pune,

Bangalore and Lucknow metro projects.

§ With this, the total amount committed by EIB in India’s metro projects reached €2.65

billion.

10. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has launched ‘Chhavni Covid: Yodha Sanrakshan Yojana’ – a group life insurance scheme – to provide life insurance of Rs five lakhs each to

more than 10,000 employees working in all 62 cantonment boards across India.

• The scheme will be run by Life Insurance Corporation.

• The scheme will benefit the contractual as well as permanent employees working in the

cantonment areas.

11. According to a population projection report published by a technical panel of the

Ministry of Health, the quantum of Indian population below the age of 24 will decrease to

34.7% in 2036 in comparison to 50.1% in 2011.

• The report used 2001-2011 data as the base to predict population trends for 2011-2036.

Ø National Averages:

• In 2011, 50.1% (30.8% of 0-14 years + 19.3% of 15-24 years) of the population was aged

24 years and below. However, this proportion of youth population of India will decline in

2036 to 34.7%.

• The population share of people older than 24 years is expected to increase to 15% in 2036

from 8.4% in 2011.

• Total population – India’s population is expected to grow by 25%, with reference to 2011,

to 152 crores by 2036.

• The decadal rate of population growth is 12.6% in 2011-21 in comparison to 8.4% in 2021 -

31.

• According to these projections, India will overtake China as the world’s most populous country around 2031 – almost a decade later than the United Nations projection of 2022.

Ø Urban vs Rural:

• Urban population will grow by 57%, from 377 million in 2011 to 594 million in 2036.

• Percentage of total population living in urban areas will increase to 39% in 2036 in

comparison to 31% in 2011.

• Proportion of the rural population will decline from 69% to 61%. The rate of increase in

urban population is double of the growth rate of rural population.

Ø North India vs South India population:

North India South India

• As much as 54% of the growth in population in India between 2011

and 2036 will take place in the

five states of UP, Bihar,

Maharashtra, West Bengal and

Madhya Pradesh.

• Five southern states of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,

Telangana and Tamil Nadu will

account for only 9% of the

population growth.

• Uttar Pradesh and Bihar will account for 34% of the increase

in population between 2011 and

2036.

• Put together, these 5 states will see a population increase of 29

million – which is nearly half of

the total increase that UP alone

would witness in 2036.

• UP’s population will grow by 30% (59 million) while Bihar’s

population will increase by 42%

(44 million) between 2011 and

2036.

-

Ø Fertility Rate and Demographic structure:

• Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is expected to decline from 2.5 in 2011 to 1.73% in 2036 (if the

current pace of decline is maintained).

• The only Indian state with a TFR higher than 2 by 2035 will be Bihar at 2.38.

• Average (Median) Age – This implies that the average (median) age of Indians is expected

to increase to 34.7 years in 2036 as compared to 24.9 years in 2011, signifying an older

population.

• Crude death rate (deaths per thousand population) will increase marginally from 7.2 to 7.3. It will be higher in southern states in comparison to northern states (like UP and MP).

• Life Expectancy at Birth is expected to increase from 66 for men and 69 for women in 2011 to 71 and 74 in 2036 respectively.

o Kerala is expected to perform exceptionally well here by becoming the only Indian

state with a life expectancy above 80 for women and 74 for men by 2036.

o The seven North-eastern states will see a life expectancy of 77 for women and 73 for

men by 2036.

• Sex Ratio is expected to improve from 943 in 2011 to 957 by 2036. Three southern states

of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are likely to have more women than men by

2036.

Ø Suggestions of the committee:

• This ageing population will have several negative consequences such as low labour

productivity, increasing dependency in socio-economic life, and a need for wider social

security coverage.

• Therefore, the govt should try to absorb the youth in decent and sustainable work.

Ø About the Technical Group: -

• The group was constituted by the National Commission on Population (NCP) under the

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to provide population projections for the period 2011

to 2036.

• The report was released in July 2020. The group submitted its report in November 2019. Source: The Wire and the official report

(https://thewire.in/government/india-population-growth-government-report-2036-projections-urban-migration)

12. A new sports complex in Anantnag and a new high tech Spice Park in Pulwama will be

developed in J&K for overall development of the UT.

• Spice Park in Pulwama would ensure good prices for the saffron rich market of the region.

• Sports complex in Anantnag would help drive away youth from terrorism.

• In June 2019, 'Back to the Village' programme was started in J&K wherein gazetted

officers of the Union territory stay with the people of various panchayats in the UT for 2

days and harmonize with them.

• This program aims to maintain peace and affection between people and government in

J&K.

13. Ministry of Coal has organized a webinar on coal gasification and liquefaction to discuss

the ways to achieve the target of 100 million tonnes (MT) coal gasification by 2030.

• This target of 100 MT would require an investment of over Rs 4 lakh crores.

• To encourage use of clean sources of fuel, government has provided for a concession of

20% on revenue share of coal used for gasification.

• A Steering Committee has been constituted, under the chairmanship of Dr V.K. Saraswat (NITI Aayog Member) for development of Surface Coal Gasification in India.

• Coal India Ltd has also planned to set up at least 3 gasification plants (besides Dankuni

in West Bengal).

• Coal India Ltd has signed an MoU with GAIL for marketing synthetic natural gas.

14. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data on accidental deaths and suicides in 2019 has been released.

• Total suicides in India – almost 1.39 lakh in 2019 from 1.34 lakh in 2018.

• Top state in suicide – Maharashtra accounted for 13.6% of the total suicide cases,

followed by Tamil Nadu (9.7%) and West Bengal (9.1%).

• States with increase in overall suicides in 2019 – Bihar (44.7%), Punjab (37.5%),

Daman & Diu (31.4%), Jharkhand (25.0%), Uttarakhand (22.6%) and Andhra Pradesh

(21.5%).

• Major cause of suicide in 2019 – family problems (accounting for 32.4% suicides)

• It is the process of producing syngas which is the cleanest way to convert the energy content of coal into electricity, hydrogen, clean fuels, and value- added chemicals. • Gasification technology can help India overcome "the chronic shortage of oil, gas, methanol, ammonia and urea".

• Rate of Suicides – All India rate of suicides was 10.4 during the year 2019. A & N Islands

reported the highest rate of suicide (45.5) followed by Sikkim (33.1), Puducherry (32.5).

Ø Suicide by Farmers and daily wagers:

• Farmer and daily wagers suicide – Increased by about 6% in 2019 from 2018. o Farmers suicide cases fell marginally by 76 cases.

o Daily wagers’ suicided cases increased by 8% in 2019.

o Farmers’ suicide rate accounts for 7.4% of the total suicides cases in India in

2019.

• States with zero agricultural suicide cases – West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Delhi, Lakshadweep and

Puducherry.

Ø Data on Accidental Deaths in 2019:

• Total accident death cases – 4.21 lakh in 2019 as compared to 4.12 lakh in 2018 (an

increase of 2.3% in 2019 over 2018).

• Accidental deaths due to nature – It accounted for 1.9% deaths out of the total accident

deaths in 2019. The total deaths due to natural calamities has increased by 18.2% in 2019

in comparison to 2018.

• State with highest accidental deaths in 2019 – Maharashtra (16.7%) followed by Madhya

Pradesh (10.1%)

• All India Average Rate of accidental deaths (per one lakh of population) – 31.5 o Highest rate of accidental deaths – Puducherry (72.8) followed by Chhattisgarh

(68.6).

• Highest Percentage increase in accident deaths – Chandigarh reported an increase of 71.1% in total accidental deaths in the year 2019 as compared to 2018.

15. India and Russia will conduct their bilateral naval exercise “Indra” 2020 in the Andaman

Sea close to the strategic Strait of Malacca later this week.

• India has withdrawn from the Kavkaz-2020 multinational exercise in Russia that is

scheduled for later this month, due to Covid-19.

16. NITI Aayog has launched ‘Empowering Tribals, Transforming India’ – an online

performance dashboard – to review the progress made by the schemes of Ministry of Tribal Affairs for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• The dashboard was developed by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

• The dashboard captures information on performance of five Scholarship Schemes of the

Ministry. In total, performance of 11 schemes / initiatives of the Ministry will be shown.

• SDGs were adopted in 2015 by India as part of the resolution 'Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'.

17. According to a new report by Purely Diamonds, Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Delhi, and

Chennai are the top 3 cheapest cities in the world respectively for renting house.

• New York is the most expensive city for renting house.

18. Union Cabinet has approved 'Mission Karmayogi' or National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB) for civil servants.

• Purpose: to build the capacity of civil servants in India to make them capable for future challenges by making them more professional, progressive, energetic, enabling,

transparent and technology-enabled.

• The aims to transform Human Resource Management from ‘rules-based’ to ‘roles-based’.

• It will have four components for its implementation.

Ø First – Prime Minister's Public Human Resources (HR) Council

o Chaired by – Prime Minister

o Purpose – It will serve as the apex body for formulating strategies for Civil Services

Reform and capacity building.

Ø Second – Capacity Building Commission

o Purpose – to harmonize training standards, create shared faculty and resources, and

have supervisory role over all Central Training Institutions.

Ø Third – Special Purpose Vehicle for owning and operating the digital assets and the

technological platform (“iGOTKarmayogi”) for online training

o The SPV will be formed under the Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013.

o Integrated Government Online Training- iGOTKarmayogi - Platform will impart online

training to civil servants under the mission.

Ø Fourth – Coordination Unit headed by the Cabinet Secretary (incumbent: Rajiv Gauba)

o Purpose – for coordinating activities of Mission Karmayogi

19. Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched the ‘Water Heroes - Share Your Stories’ contest 2.0

to create awareness about water conservation among people.

• The series of Contest will end on August 31, 2021.

• In the contest, people are required to submit their videos (on MyGov portal) along with a

write up and photos on conservation of water.

20. 3rd annual leadership summit of US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF)

started on August 31 through video conference.

• Theme of the summit – 'US-India: Navigating New Challenges'.

• USISPF was formed in 2017 to accelerate collaboration between India and US.

21. Madhya Pradesh govt has ‘Gandagi Bharat Chhodo’ campaign.

• The campaign was divided into five themes - Cleanliness Oath, Continuous reduction in urban waste emissions, Cleanliness in COVID conditions, Separation of waste from

sources of houses and launching a special cleanliness campaign for public places.

22. The date of commissioning of the Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL)

project in Maharashtra has been pushed forward to 2025 instead of 2022 due to delay in land

acquisition.

• Facts about Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd:-

23. Andhra Pradesh is in the process of establishing AP General Insurance Company

(APGIC) to run its own YSR Crop Insurance scheme.

• The farmers can get enrolled in the scheme by paying a nominal premium of Rs 1.

• The authorised share capital of the company is ₹101 crore.

It is the "WORLD'S LARGEST REFINERY PROJECT".

Started in 2015 as a joint venture project between – Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.

Saudi Aramco (World's largest oil producer) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) joined the project in 2018.

It will produce Euro VI level fuels.

Its annual capacity – 60 million-tonne-per-annum of crude oil processing

• AP government made it mandatory for farmers to register themselves on e-Karshak app (real-time crop registration window) in order to be eligible for the scheme.

24. IIT-Guwahati has collaborated with University of Pardubice (Czech Republic) to develop

indigenous algorithms to protect India’s digital data from cyber-attacks.

• The team of IIT is led by Prof. Gaurav Trivedi and Prof. Zdenek Nemec and Prof. Jan

Pidanic lead the team from the University of Pardubice.

25. Parliament has passed the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020 to make

Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindi and English as official languages of J&K Union Territory.

• Earlier, only English and Urdu were official languages of the erstwhile State.

26. Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched the “Tribes India on Wheels” mobile vans in 31

cities across the country to ensure that natural immunity boosting products are available to

everyone.

• A total of 57 mobile vans have been flagged off in 31 cities.

• TRIFED has adopted the title ‘Go Vocal for Local Go Tribal’ to help the tribal communities sustain their livelihood in the wake of Covid-19.

27. Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has set up a Quality Control Laboratory for Sea food export at Porbandar in Gujarat.

• Purpose: to ensure that the quality of sea food is in accordance with international

regulatory standards.

28. J&K govt has approved to set up a 10-member biodiversity council for conservation of

biodiversity in the UT.

• Chairperson – Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of J&K

• Fund – The council shall constitute “Jammu and Kashmir Biodiversity Council Fund” for

financing its activities.

29. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has launched India’s ‘Future Business Group’ initiative to provide support to new businesses launched during the past few years.

• Purpose: - to support the emergence of new-age businesses, attract global investment in

new businesses in India and to foster government-industry cooperation.

• The group will work with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade

(DPIIT) to create a 'National Strategy For Future Businesses'.

• The theme of this group is ‘Nurturing the existing new businesses and fast-tracking the

entry and growth of new businesses in India for getting growth back”.

30. Ministry of Shipping has directed all 12 major ports to procure or charter only those tug

boats which are made in India in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat programme.

• The ministry has also proposed to set up a standing specifications committee, headed by A. Janardhana Rao (MD of Indian Ports Association), to shortlist around five variants of

tug boats and prepare an approved standardised tug design and specifications.

31. Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Thaawarchand Gehlot, launched

"KIRAN” – the 24x7 Toll-Free Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline.

• Developer – Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities to provide relief and support to persons with Mental Illness.

32. In December 2019, the Central govt announced reforms in the organizational structure of

Indian Railways.

• The strength of Railway board was reduced to 5 from 8 (including Chairman).

• The head of the Railway board will be called as the CEO instead of Chairman. Vinod Kumar Yadav has been appointed as the first CEO of the Railway Board.

• Union Cabinet had also allowed to merge the existing services into single central service

called the Indian Railway Management Service.

33. Ministry of road transport and highways has proposed to make FASTag mandatory in

all four-wheelers from 1 January 2021.

• Also, the ministry plans to amend central motor vehicle rules for making FASTag mandatory

for all four wheelers sold before 1 December, 2017.

34. India and Russia have finalized a deal for manufacturing AK-47 203 rifles (advanced

version of AK-47 rifles) in India.

• The Indian Army needs about 770,000 AK-47 203 rifles, of which 100,000 will be imported

and the rest will be made in India.

35. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has released the “State of the Young Child in India”

report which has Young Child Outcomes Index (YCOI) and Young Child Environment Index

(YCEI) as of its part.

• Prepared by – Mobile Creches (civil society organisation) and supported by Bernard Van

Leer Foundation.

• The report mentions that 159 million children aged below 6 years in India, 21% are

undernourished, 36% are underweight and 38% do not receive full immunization.

Young Child Outcomes Index (YCOI) Young Child Environment Index (YCEI)

• The results of YCOI are based on a

comparative analysis of public data for

2005-06 and 2015-16.

• This index was released for 2015-16

only.

• Kerala emerged on top while Bihar performed the worst.

• Top – Kerala (0.855), Goa (0.846), and

Sikkim (0.819)

• Bottom – Jharkhand (0.578), Manipur (0.537), and Arunachal Pradesh

(0.533).

• The overall India score is 0.585

(improved from 0.443 score in 2005-

06).

• The overall India score for 2015-16 for

the child environment Index is 0.672.

• Parameters of ranking – health (infant mortality rate), nutrition (stunting), and

cognitive growth (net attendance at the

primary school level) of children in the

0-6 years age group.

• Parameters – poverty alleviation, strengthening primary healthcare,

improving education levels, safe water

supply and promotion of gender equity.

36. Assam has re-launched its old scheme named Swami Vivekananda Assam Youth

Empowerment (SVAYEM) worth Rs 1,000 crore for providing self-employment to around 2 lakh

youths of the state.

• The scheme would provide a seed-funding of Rs 50,000 each to selected youths to start

business ventures.

• It was earlier launched in 2017.

• A second scheme, which provides a Rs 50,000 subsidy to anyone who has taken an

education loan will be launched again.

37. Minister of Finance has released the 4th edition of Business Reform Action Plan

(BRAP) ranking (or Ease of Doing Business rankings of states) for 2019.

• BRAP is prepared by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) under Ministry

of Commerce and Industry.

• Ranking of States based on the implementation of BRAP started in the year 2015.

• India is among the very few nations which has state-specific rankings to improve ease of

doing business at the grassroot level.

38. Minister of Education, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, has launched ‘EnglishPro’ mobile

app.

• It is developed by The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad

under its University Social Responsibility (USR) programme.

39. 12th Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Senior Officials' Meeting was held virtually.

• MGC is an initiative by six countries - India and five ASEAN countries, namely, Cambodia,

Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam for cooperation in tourism, culture, education,

as well as transport and communications.

• MGC is launched in 2000.

40. Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) has signed an agreement with

India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre (ISIC) to make quality healthcare affordable and

accessible in India.

• Purpose: to expand biopharmaceuticals, med-tech, diagnostics, nutraceuticals and other

healthcare solutions in India.

• This partnership will extend to the ISIC Innovation Challenge 2020.

• ISIC Innovation Challenge 2020 will identify, mentor and provide incubation and networking opportunities to healthcare solutions.

41. India and Bangladesh operationalized the Daukandi (Bangladesh) – Sonamura (Tripura)

Inland Waterway Protocol route across river Gomti.

• The route was operationalized under the Protocol for Inland Water Trade & Transit (1972).

• Bangladeshi vessel “MB Premier” (carrying cement) is the first ever export consignment

from Bangladesh to Tripura through this Daukandi – Sonamura inland waterways.

42. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has conducted the flight test

of the hypersonic technology demonstrator vehicle (HSTDV) from the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

launch complex on Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast.

• Benefits – It will lead to the development of hypersonic cruise missiles and vehicles in

future.

• The vehicle used the Scramjet engine (developed by DRDO) that helped the flight achieve

a speed six times the speed of sound.

• Now, India has joined the elite league of nations to possess hypersonic missile tech.

43. According to the latest data from Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), India received

its highest rainfall since 1926 in the month of August 2020.

• In August, the rainfall is 32.7 cm or about 27% more than what is normal for the month. In

August 1926, the rainfall recorded was 34.8 cm.

• For the full year of 2020, the rainfall will remain within the forecast of a normal (96 to 104%

of the long period average) rainfall, predicted in June 2020.

44. Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has partnered with Freshworks Inc. (a customer-

engagement software company) to support innovators and entrepreneurs in India.

• Freshworks Inc. will provide credit to the beneficiaries of startups under AIM to empower

them to function efficiently.

45. All fruits and vegetables of J&K have been covered under Operation Green: Top to

Total scheme.

• The scheme was expanded from Tomato, Onion and Potato (TOP) to all notified fruits and

vegetables (TOTAL) for a period of six months on pilot basis.

• Aim - to support farmers of Fruits and Vegetables under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan in

order to prevent them from making distress sales.

46. Himachal Pradesh govt and the World Bank have signed a loan of $82 million for

implementing the Himachal Pradesh State Roads Transformation Project.

• The project aims to improve the condition, safety, resilience, and engineering standards of

state road network.

• Besides, the project will also strengthen transport and road safety institutions of Himachal

Pradesh.

47. Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region, Jitendra Singh, has announced

that Chandrayaan-3 is likely to be launched in early 2021 instead of the second half of 2020.

• Also, the Moon mission will include a rover and a lander but not an orbiter like its

predecessor - Chandrayaan-2.

• According to the data from NASA, Moon has iron-rich rocks, and the presence of water and oxygen on it created rust on the poles of the Moon.

• Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) aboard the Chandrayaan-1 has found out the presence of water on moon.

• This new discovery of rust on moon has been published in the Science Advances.

48. Eurasian Foundation (New Delhi), Institute of Oriental Studies (Moscow) and the

Russian Centre of Science and Culture (New Delhi) have organized ‘Indo-Russian Young Scholars International Conference 2020’.

• The conference was organized to mark the 20th Anniversary of the Declaration of Strategic

Partnership between India and Russia.

49. Manoj Sinha (L-G of J&K) has launched the Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window (SPARROW) system for J&K Administrative Service officers.

• Purpose: - to streamline the process of performance appraisal of govt employees in the

UT.

50. Karnataka Cabinet approved the Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agriculture Resilience

through Innovative Development (REWARD) project worth Rs 600 crores for helping 20

taluks with low groundwater levels in the state.

• Funding: World Bank will fund 70% of the project (Rs 420 crore) while 30% of the

expenses (Rs 180 crore) will be borne by the state government.

• The project will be implemented over 10 lakh hectares in low groundwater level taluks in 20

districts over the next six years.

51. Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA)

have organized the ‘National Tribal Research Conclave’ virtually.

• Tribal Affairs Ministry signed an agreement with IIPA for setting up of National Institute of

Tribal Research at the IIPA campus, New Delhi.

• During the conclave, the Ministry and IIPA reviewed different schemes and initiatives

launched for the welfare of tribal people such as:

Online Performance Dashboard:

• Launched by NITI Aayog to review the progress of schemes of MoTA in achieving

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), strategy for New India and other policy initiatives.

• Developed by - Centre of Excellence of Data Analytics (under National Informatics Centre)

• The portal has a slogan “Empowering Tribals- Transforming India”.

52. Haryana has launched a first-of-its-kind WhatsApp chatbot named “Aapka Mitra” to

facilitate online admission in Under-Graduate courses in the state.

• National Informatics Centre is conducting the entire process of online UG admissions.

53. Andhra Pradesh has launched two nutrition schemes 'YSR Sampoorna Poshana' and

'YSR Sampoorna Poshana Plus' to provide nutritious food to pregnant women, lactating

mothers and children.

• YSR Sampoorna Poshana Plus scheme will to supply nutritious food exclusively in 77 Tribal areas, covering 8320 Anganwadi Centres.

• Remaining urban and rural areas lying in plain lands will be covered under YSR Sampoorna

Poshana scheme.

• Also, YSR Sampoorna Poshana App was launched.

F Astonishing Facts:

• Over 52.9% of the pregnant women across the state are suffering from acute anaemia,

• 31.9% of children are having low birth weight in A.P.

• 31.4% of the children are suffering from stunted growth in the state.

54. Andhra Pradesh has renamed its Agriculture Electricity Cash Transfer Scheme as YSR

Free Agriculture Power scheme on September 1, 2020.

• Every farmer will be able to avail uninterrupted nine-hour power supply during the

agricultural season, under the scheme.

• Andhra Pradesh has announced to observe 2020 as the year of zero accident as well as the year of women safety.

55. First ever cannabis medicine project will be set up at Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) in Jammu in collaboration with Canada.

• This is the first ever cannabis medicine project in India and first major foreign investment

in Jammu and Kashmir after it became a Union Territory.

• North India's first biotech industrial park is being built in Kathua near Jammu.

• J&K’s first ever seed processing plant is almost ready in Kathua.

• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is also working on the lemon grass cultivation project in districts of Kathua, Udhampur, Doda and Kishtwar of J&K.

56. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and LinkedIn have partnered for

providing digital skills to youth by offering free courses on e-Skill India digital platform (till

March 31, 2021).

57. Central govt has decided to monitor India’s performance on 29 select global indices for

bringing improvement in the country under its 'Global Indices to Drive Reforms and Growth

(GIRG)' drive.

• For this purpose, Niti Aayog has formed Multidimensional Poverty Index Coordination Committee (MPICC), chaired by Sanyukta Samaddar, to analyse India’s performance in

the Index and bring reforms in line with the suggestions of the index.

• NITI Aayog is the nodal agency for monitoring the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

• Preparation of a MPI Parameter Dashboard to rank States and UTs, and a State Reform Action Plan (SRAP) are at an advanced stage of development.

58. Ministry of Education has launched the “Padhna Likhna Abhiyan” to literate adults

above 15 years of age in urban and rural areas and achieve India’s target of total literacy by 2030.

• Almost 57 lakh non-literate and non-numerate adults (with a special focus on women,

SC/ST and minority sectors) will be educated in basic functional literacy and numeracy.

• The scheme was launched on 54th International Literacy Day (September 8).

• Priority will be given to districts with female literacy rates less than 60%, as per latest

census.

• Motto behind the scheme – "Saakshar Bharat-Aatmanirbhar Bharat" (literate India, self-reliant India).

59. Patrika Gate – built by the Patrika Group of Newspapers – has been inaugurated on the

Jawaharlal Nehru Marg in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

• In 2019, Jaipur was declared as the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It became the second city of the country after Ahmedabad to get the recognition.

• PM Modi released two books Samvad Upnishad and Akshar yatra that are written by the

Patrika Group Chairman Shri Gulab Kothari.

60. WE HUB, Telangana (an incubator to foster and promote women entrepreneurship), has

partnered with NutriHub (a first of its kind incubator for start-ups in the Nutri-cereals sector).

• Purpose: to promote women entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector.

• NutriHub incubator is supported by the Department of Science & Technology (DST) and it

is hosted by the ICAR-Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad.

61. International Solar Alliance’s (ISA) First-ever World Solar Technology Summit 2020

has culminated.

• FICCI was the convener of the summit.

• ISA has signed an MoU with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the World Bank for implementing ‘One Solar One World and One Grid’ (OSOWOG) project.

• ISA also signed an MoU with NTPC Limited (India’s largest power generator) for

implementing solar energy projects in 47 member countries of ISA.

• Seoul-based Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the ISA signed agreement to

provide technical assistance in deploying one million solar irrigation pumps.

• ISA signed an agreement with the International Institute of Refrigeration (based in Paris)

to set up solar heating and cooling demonstration projects in member countries.

• ISA’s Solar Compass 360 (ISA’s technology journal) was launched.

• ISA launched the ISA Journal on Solar Energy (I JOSE) to help authors from across the

globe to publish their articles on solar energy.

• India sets up a Project Preparation Facility to develop profitable Solar Energy projects in

ISA member countries with the help of EXIM Bank of India.

• Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, has announced that 5

public sector oil companies will join ISA's Coalition for Sustainable Climate Action (ISA-

CSCA) as corporate partners to contribute to ISA's Corpus Fund: -

o Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC)

o Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)

o Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL)

o Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and

o GAIL (India) Limited.

62. Karnataka has launched the first-ever integrated air ambulance services of India in

Bengaluru.

• It will be operated by International Critical Air Transfer Team (ICATT – an air ambulance

firm) in collaboration with Kyathi (aviation technology firm).

63. National Statistical Organisation (NSO) has published the final report of the 75th round

of National Sample Survey (July 2017- June 2018) on household social consumption.

• The report highlighted the digital divide across states.

• Across India, only one in ten households have a computer.

• Internet penetration – In urban areas, 42% households have Internet access while in rural

areas, only 15% have internet.

• Himanchal Pradesh has the highest internet penetration at 70% while Odisha has the

least internet penetration with only 1 in 10 homes have Internet.

• There are ten other States with less than 20% Internet penetration, including States with

software hubs such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

64. Minister of Agriculture, Narendra Singh Tomar, has launched 22 bamboo clusters in

nine states to increase exports of bamboo products.

• Also, the new logo of the National Bamboo Mission was launched.

• National Bamboo Mission was launched in 2006-07 and was subsumed under Mission for

Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) during 2014-15.

65. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana

(PMMSY), that was announced in May as part of the economic stimulus package, for

sustainable development of fisheries sector.

• Budget of the scheme – Rs 20,050 crore (highest ever investment in the fisheries sector) for 2020-21 to 2024-25.

• PM Modi also launched the e-Gopala App – a comprehensive breed improvement

marketplace and information portal for the direct use of farmers.

• The app will provide all information about managing livestock, animal nutrition, vaccination,

pregnancy diagnosis and calving etc.

Targets of PMMSY:

F Enhancing fish production by an additional 70 lakh tonne by 2024-25

F Increasing fisheries export earnings to Rs 1,00,000 crore by 2024-25

F Reducing post-harvest losses from 20-25% to about 10%

F Doubling of incomes of fishers and fish farmers

F Generation of additional 55 lakhs direct and indirect employment opportunities fisheries

sector and allied activities.

66. Atal Innovation Mission has launched the Aatmanirbhar Bharat ARISE-ANIC program

is to promote research & innovation and increase competitiveness of Indian startups and

MSMEs.

• Under the program, Ministries and the associated industries will collaborate to boost

research, innovation and facilitate innovative solutions to sectoral problems to fast track the

growth of the Indian MSME sector.

• The initiative will help promote technopreneurs (technology-entrepreneurs).

• Rs 50 lakh will be provided by the initiative to speed up the development of the technology

solution.

67. Union Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) Mansukh Mandaviya has launched 'SAROD-Ports' (Society for Affordable Redressal of Disputes - Ports) under the Societies

Registration Act, 1860.

• Purpose: to resolve the disputes in the Maritime Sector.

• In 2018, the Union Cabinet has approved amendments in the Model Concession

Agreement to facilitate formation of SAROD-PORTS as a dispute resolution mechanism for

Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in major ports.

68. South India’s first ‘Kisan Rail’ was flagged off from Anantapur Railway Station (Andhra

Pradesh) to Adarsh Nagar (Delhi) with 322 tonnes of fruits and vegetables.

69. Overseas Friends of the BJP (OFBJP), a unit of BJP, has registered under the 1938

Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) of the U.S. Department of Justice.

• Thus, BJP became the first mainstream political party from India to name itself as an

agent of an organisation in the United States.

70. India and Japan have signed a logistics agreement (called as the ‘Acquisition and Cross-

Servicing Agreement’ or ACSA) to allow the Armed Forces of both countries to provide services

and supplies to each other.

• The agreement facilitates bilateral training activities, UN Peacekeeping Operations,

Humanitarian International Relief, maritime cooperation, and other mutually agreed

activities by both countries.

• India now has military logistics agreements with all Quad countries, Australia, Japan and

the U.S.

71. Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, has launched the Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework 2.0 (CSCAF) to provide a clear roadmap for cities to

inculcate a climate-sensitive approach in planning and development of urban areas.

• CSCAF framework has 28 indicators across five categories: (i) Energy and Green

Buildings, (ii) Urban Planning, Green Cover and Biodiversity, (iii) Mobility and Air Quality,

(iv) Water Management and (v) Waste Management.

• Climate Centre for Cities (under National Institute of Urban Affairs) is implementing the

framework in partnership with the Housing Ministry.

• The minister has simultaneously launched the ‘Streets for People Challenge’ to make the cities more walkable and pedestrian friendly.

72. Department of Science and Technology (DST) has recently released the Science &

Technology Indicators (STI 2019-20).

• As per the data mentioned in STI, nearly 8 out of every 10 patent applications filed in India

in more than a decade have been by foreigners residing abroad.

• During 2005-06 and 2017-18, more than 5.1 lakh patent applications were filed in India.

Out of which, 76% applications were filed by "foreigners resident abroad".

• In terms of companies, Qualcomm (American company) tops the table with 6,960

applications, followed by Koninklijke Philips (Dutch company), with 3,670 applications.

• In the five years between 2013-14 and 2017-18, most of the top 19 patent filing companies

were tech and telecom firms.

73. Odisha government launched ‘Garima’ scheme for promoting livelihoods, security and

social dignity of sanitation workers.

• Budget – Rs 50 crore

• Under the scheme, sanitation workers will be registered on the Swachh Sahar Odisha

portal.

• The scheme would provide insurance, health check-ups, ex-gratia payment to compensate

sanitation workers in case of partial and permanent disability due to accidents and injury

among other things.

• State’s Housing and Urban Development Department has signed an MoU with Urban Management Centre (not-for-profit organisation) for implementing the scheme.

74. Union government has approved to rename the Hubballi railway station in Karnataka after

Shree Siddharoodha Swamiji.

75. 2nd edition of States’ Startup Ranking Framework 2019 has been released by the

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

• On the basis of below-mentioned parameters, the states have been recognized as best performer, top performers, leaders, aspiring leaders, and emerging startup

ecosystem.

• A total of 22 states and 3 UTs participated in the ranking.

• The index divided the states/ UTs in two categories – Category X and Category Y – to bring

standardization in rankings.

• Category Y has all UTs, except Delhi, and all states in North East India, except Assam.

• Category X has all the remaining states.

76. 13th edition of the Aero India 2021 (Asia’s Largest Aeroshow) will be held at Air Force

Station, Yelahanka, Bengaluru, (Karnataka) in February.

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has recently launched the website of Aero India 2021.

77. Central govt has formed an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) under the

chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will oversee the process of corporatisation

of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).

78. Department of Posts (Ministry of Communications) has launched Five Star Villages

scheme to expand the reach of flagship postal schemes in rural areas of the country.

• Under the scheme, all the branch offices will serve as the one-stop shops to cater all post

office related needs of the villagers.

• Ratings will be given on the basis of coverage of schemes. If a village attains universal

coverage for one scheme is equal to one star of rating.

• The scheme is being launched on pilot basis in Maharashtra; based on the experience

here, it will be implemented nation-wide.

• The schemes to be covered under the Five Star Villages scheme are:-

79. Andhra Pradesh has formally launched the 'YSR Aasara' programme to reimburse

outstanding bank loans of women self-help groups as on April 11, 2019, in four instalments.

• The scheme aims to empower women economically and socially.

Savings Bank accounts, Recurring Deposit Accounts, NSC/KVP certificates

Sukanya Samridhi Accounts/ PPF Accounts

Funded Post Office Savings Account linked India Post Payments Bank Accounts

Postal Life Insurance Policy/Rural Postal Life Insurance Policy

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana Account/Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana Account

• In February 2020, 'Jagananna Vasthi Deevena' scheme was launched to give financial

assistance of Rs 2,300 crore is to be provided to meet the hostel and mess expenses of

students pursuing post-intermediate courses.

80. Jammu and Kashmir has launched the Jammu and Kashmir Integrated Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (JK-IGRAMS) to create an interface with the public and

focus on governance issues in the Union Territory.

• Also, the UT has launched a new health insurance scheme, with an annual budget of Rs

123 crore, to provide health insurance cover free of cost to all those residents of Jammu

and Kashmir.

• The scheme will cover all those who are presently not covered under AB-PMJAY or

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

81. Madhya Pradesh has reintroduced its Deendayal Antyodaya Rasoi Scheme, which was

discontinued by the previous Congress govt in 2019, to provide meals at a subsidised rate to

underprivileged people.

• Now the rate per thali has been increased to Rs 10 from Rs 5.

• The scheme was launched in 2017 in 49 districts of the state in the name of BJP ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.

• The previous govt led by CM Kamal Nath had announced to introduce Indira Thali scheme but the scheme couldn’t be implemented.

82. Nagaland govt has launched the Naga Tele-health platform to provide medical services to

the people digitally.

• Naga Tele Health has been launched in partnership with USAID’s NISHTHA-Jhpiego to

ensure that the initiative reach the most remote places also.

• NISHTHA is USAID's health systems strengthening project, implemented by Jhpiego, in

India. Jhpiego is an international non-profit health organization affiliated with Johns

Hopkins University.

83. India's largest piggery mission worth Rs 209 crores was launched in Meghalaya to make

Meghalaya self-sufficient in pork production.

• It is funded by National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).

• Piggery means a farm where pigs are bred or kept.

84. Union Cabinet has approved to increase the FDI limit in defence sector from 49% to

74% through automatic route.

• However, the govt has added a new national security clause, in addition to the existing

four conditions specific to FDI in defence sector, as a condition for enhancing the FDI limit.

• As per the clause, foreign investment in the Defence Sector shall be subject to scrutiny on ground of National Security and the Government reserves the right to review any foreign

investment in the Defence Sector that may affect national security.

85. India-US 2+2 inter-sessional meeting was held virtually to review the progress made in

defence, security, and foreign policy areas since the last 2+2 ministerial meeting (held in

December 2019 in Washington DC).

• In June 2020, US has announced to withdraw from World Health Organization by June 2021.

86. Ministry of Education has organized a conclave on School Education in the 21st Century under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 as a part of the ‘Shiksha Parv’.

• PM Narendra Modi addressed the conclave and stressed on the importance of promoting

methods of ‘New Age Learning’ which are Engage, Explore, Experience, Express and

Excel.

• PM mentioned that ‘skills of the 21st century’ comprises ‘5C’ – Critical Thinking,

Creativity, Collaboration, Curiosity and Communication.

• PM emphasized on the need to develop mathematical thinking and scientific temperament

in children.

• Shiksha Parv 2020 – It is being celebrated by Education Ministry from September 8 to

September 25, 2020.

• In August 2020, a ‘Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education under

National Education Policy' was also organized.

87. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is in process of

developing two schemes -- credit guarantee and seed funds -- to support startups in the

country.

• According to DPIIT Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra, the credit guarantee scheme will

have a corpus which would be given to banks and they will further lend to startups.

• This loan will be in the form of credit and not venture capital.

• Startup India scheme was launched in January 2016 to promote budding entrepreneurs in

the country. Note: These policies are still in the process of formulation. Therefore, all the aforementioned facts are preliminary and can be changed.

88. Goa CM Pramod Sawant has announced that the insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh under the

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) has been extended to all health workers who

are at the forefront of the battle against Covid-19 in the state.

• Details of the insurance under the PMGKY:

• Amount – Rs 50 lakh in case of death or disability

• Tenure – Applicable till September 2020

• Financing Agency – National Disaster Response Force

• Scheme launched – March 2020

• Beneficiaries - safai karamcharis, ASHA workers, nurses, ward boys, paramedics,

technicians, doctors and specialists, besides other health workers, in case of loss of life on

account of contracting covid-19.

89. Gujarat has announced to launch the Mukhyamantri Mahila Kalyan Scheme (MMKS) to

provide interest free loans of up to Rs 1 lakh to women self-help groups in the state.

• The scheme will be launched on the birthday of PM Narendra Modi (on September 17).

• Purpose: to help women start their own business and become self-employed.

• Interest on the scheme will be borne by the state govt.

• 50,000 SHGs in urban and rural areas each will be covered.

• Gujarat Livelihood Promotion Company will implement the scheme in rural areas, while

the Gujarat Urban Livelihood Mission will implement it in urban areas.

90. National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2019 and National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill, 2019 were passed in Lok Sabha.

• The bills were passed in Rajya Sabha in January, 2019 and recommended to standing

committee for review.

• The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2019 aims to regulate

alternative systems of medicine.

o This medicine bill also introduces a common entrance exam and an exit exam for all

medical graduates to obtain their license to practice Indian medicine.

o Under the new bill, the national commission will have four autonomous boards to

handle different works of the commission.

• National Medical Commission for Homoeopathy Bill, 2019 aims to create a new

regulatory body for homoeopathy in the country.

o It proposes a teacher’s eligibility test to assess the standard of teachers before

appointment and promotions.

o The National Commission will have three autonomous boards for administering

overall education of homoeopathy.

91. Maharashtra govt has launched the “My family, My Responsibility” campaign to fight

against the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Local Urban Bodies will reach out to every family/home in the state to assess the health

condition of its residents, and provide medical help and guidance if needed.

92. Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is in the process of implementing ‘Integrated

Road Accident Database Project (iRAD)’ across the country.

• Initially, it will be launched in six states, viz. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,

Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

• The project will be developed and implemented by lIT-Madras and National Informatics

Centre Services Inc.

• It will help stakeholders such as the Police, Transport, Health, etc to use their mobile app

to collect accident data on the spot and take remedial actions to reduce damage forthwith.

• Recently, the ministry of road has conducted the 2-days Orientation and Training programme on iRAD App for Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

93. Ministry of Culture has informed Lok Sabha that it has formed a 16-member panel to

study the origin and evolution of the Indian culture (which is estimated to be 12,000 years old).

• K N Dikshit (Chairman of Indian Archaeological Society, New Delhi) is also a part of this panel.

94. Ministry for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare organized a webinar on Enhancing Water

Use Efficiency and Coverage of Micro Irrigation in Indian Agriculture.

• Minister of Agriculture, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, has announced that central govt has

set the target of covering 100 lakh ha area under micro-irrigation in 5 years.

• During the last five years, an area of 47.92 lakh ha has been covered under micro irrigation

in the country. Out of which, 11.72 lakh ha was covered in 2019-20 alone.

• Agriculture Ministry has created a dedicated Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) of Rs. 5000

crores with NABARD to help States in expanding coverage of Micro Irrigation. Out of

which, projects worth Rs 3805.67 crore have been sanctioned for covering 12.53 lakh ha

under MIF.

95. Ministry of Steel has prepared a draft framework policy for development of steel clusters

in the country.

• The framework policy aims to set up greenfield steel clusters (or new projects) along with

development and expansion of existing steel clusters.

• The policy will increase production of value-added steel and generate employment.

Extra Facts –

National Steel Policy, 2017:

ü It projects India’s total steel capacity to grow to 300 million tonne by 2030-31. Out of

which over 200 million tonne can come from Eastern region (comprising Chhattisgarh,

Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh) alone.

ü The eastern region has the potential to add more than 75% of the incremental steel

capacity.

Mission Purvodaya 2020:

ü The govt has launched the ‘Mission Purvodaya’ in Jan 2020 for the development of

eastern India through integrated steel hubs.

96. ICAR- National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) has recognized Shweta

Kapila cow breed as the Goan cow breed.

• Found in Goa, this cow breed is famous for giving more nutritious milk than other breeds.

97. Telangana State Building Permission Approval and Self Certification System (TS-

bPASS) Bill has been passed by the state Assembly.

• Purpose: - to enable citizens to comply with buildings and layout permission rules on their

own through the self-certification system.

• The self-certification system will allow the citizens to get instant approval for constructing

building on 75- 600 sq yards through self-certification under TS-bPASS. For 75 sq yards,

registration with urban local body is sufficient.

98. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has tabled the first batch of supplementary

demand for grants for FY21 worth Rs 2.36 trillion in the Parliament.

• The Finance minister seeks to recapitalize public sector banks (PSBs) with additional issue

of government securities worth ₹20,000 crore in FY21.

• Capital infusion in PSBs through issue of government bonds will not impact fiscal deficit in

the current financial year because there is no cash outgo.

• Supplementary Grants – The additional grant required to meet the expenditure of the

government is called Supplementary Grant. Article 115 of the constitution provides for

Supplementary, additional or excess grants.

99. 'Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package Insurance Scheme for Health Workers

Fighting COVID-19' has been extended for next six months.

• It was earlier extended till September 25.

• The insurance provided under this scheme is over and above any other insurance cover being availed of by the beneficiary.

• The entire amount of premium for this scheme is being borne by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

• Ministry of Health has partnered with the New India Assurance (NIA) Company Limited

for providing the insurance amount.

100. India and the United States have signed a statement of intent to enhance cooperation in

the field of defence technology during the 10th Defence Technology and Trade Initiative

(DTTI) Group’s virtual Meeting.

• 1st DTTI Industry Collaboration Forum (DICF) took place virtually on September 10. The

forum aims to facilitate cooperation between the industry and govt for mutually developing

next-generation technologies under the DTTI Group.

101. Ministry of Food Processing Industries has established 37 mega food parks (MFP) in

23 States/UTs since the inception of Mega Food Park Scheme (MFPS) in 2008.

• Out of these 37 MFPs, 19 are operational as on date.

• Mega Food Park Scheme (MFPS) has now become a component of the Pradhan Mantri

Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) in order to create modern infrastructure for the food

processing industries.

102. Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was

introduced in the Lok Sabha to cut the salaries of parliamentarians by 30% for one year.

• In April 2020, the central govt has suspended the Members of Parliament Local Area

Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds for two years (2020-21 to 2021-22).

About MPLADS: -

ü Introduced in 1993

ü To provide funds to Member of Parliament for developing infrastructure of their

respective constituencies in accordance with the needs of that constituency.

ü Annual fund of Rs 5 crores is given to MPs for each constituency.

103. Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

• The bill amends the Aircraft Act, 1934 which regulates the manufacture, possession, use,

operation, sale, import and export of civil aircrafts, and licensing of aerodromes.

Salient Features of the bill:

• It gives statutory powers to three bodies of Ministry of Civil Aviation – the Directorate

General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and the

Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).

o Each of these bodies will be headed by a Director General who will be appointed by

the centre.

• The bill accords recognition to the DCGA, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and the

Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and clearly defines their roles, which was earlier

missing.

o DGCA will carry out safety oversight and regulatory functions of civil aviation.

o BCAS will carry out functions related to civil aviation security.

o AAIB will carry out investigations related to aircraft accidents and incidents.

• The Bill empowers the DGCA to impose penalties up to ₹1 crore, from the existing ₹10 lakh, on airlines, airports and other aviation entities.

104. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is constructing Atal tunnel under the Rohtang pass in

Himachal Pradesh.

• The tunnel will provide connectivity to Leh and forward areas all-round the year.

105. Central govt has increased the scholarship amount under ‘Pragati and Saksham

Scholarship Schemes’ for students of Jammu and Kashmir from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 per

annum from 2020-21 onwards.

• Union Ministry of Education had launched the schemes to encourage girls and specially-

abled students for pursuing technical education.

• The scheme are implemented by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

• Applications for availing the scheme can be submitted through National e-Scholarship

Portal (NSP) of Government of India.

• Both the schemes were launched 2014-15.

• To provide scholarship to girls who wish to pursue technical education.

• Family Income threshold – Rs 8 lakh or lessPragati

• To provide scholarship to the specially-abled students with 40% disability who wish to pursue technical education at degree or diploma level.

• Family Income threshold – Rs 8 lakh or lessSaksham

106. Jammu and Kashmir administration has launched the “Backyard Horticulture”

programme to promote the organic fruit production in the state and to increase the greenery in

the UT.

• Under the programme, at least three fruit plants of Rs. 200 will be distributed among the

farmers at 90% subsidy.

107. Madhya Pradesh govt has launched the ‘Poshan Sarkar’ programme to ensure active

participation of village panchayats and urban bodies in the Nutrition Month celebration.

• India celebrates September as the nutrition month.

108. Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, D.V. Sadananda Gowda, has asserted that

India will become self-reliant in the production of fertilizers by 2023.

• New fertilizer manufacturing units are being setup across India with an investment of Rs

40,000 crore to reduce dependency on import.

• The govt is encouraging the production of organic and Nano fertilizers as they are 25 to

30% cheaper and give 18 to 35% higher yield and keep the soil in good health.

109. Primary Agricultural Co-Operative Society (PACS), Pothgal has become the first PACS

in India to launch its own web portal containing all information related to the services offered

by it.

• Pothgal is located in Pothgal village in Rajanna Siricilla District, Telangana.

110. Delhi Metro has developed India’s first indigenous signalling technology named as i-

ATS (Automatic Train Supervision) to support the government’s 'Make in India' initiative.

• An ATS (Automatic Train Supervision) is a computer based system, which manages train operations.

• It will reduce India’s dependence on imports of signalling technology.

111. Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) has formed three committees to boost Indian

exports in different sectors.

Committee Chair Purpose

Committee on Food and

Beverages

Laxman Singh Rathore

(President – International Business of Ramdev Food

Products Pvt. Ltd.)

To boost India’s exports in the

field of food and beverages.

Committee on Food Processing

Technology

R. Senguttuvan To increase the efficiency of

India’s food processing and packaging machineries and

technology.

To adopt best global practices in the field of Food Processing to

boost exports.

Committee on Chemical and

Allied Products

Manish Shah To explore and develop a

strategy for revamping the chemical sector in India.

112. CII Global Ayurveda Summit 2020 was organized virtually by Confederation of Indian Industry.

• Theme – ‘Ayurveda for Immunity’.

113. India has joined the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCOC) as an observer nation.

• DCOC was founded in 2009 to counter piracy and armed robbery against ships in the

Western Indian Ocean Region, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

• The “Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct 2017” was adopted to

address wider maritime security issues in order to boost the sustainable development of the

maritime sector.

• The grouping has 18 member-states.

• Other observers of DCOC/ Jeddah Amendment are Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom,

the United States.

114. Union Cabinet has approved establishment of a new All India Institute of Medical

Sciences (AIIMS) at Darbhanga, Bihar under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).

• PMSSY is under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

115. Ministry of Labour has informed Rajya Sabha that it is planning to set up a national

database of the unorganized workforce, including migrant labourers, which will use Aadhaar

number of workers to provide them social security coverage.

• The existing Interstate Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions

of Service) Act, 1979 is being merged with one of the four labour codes. So, the

requirement of registering migrant workers has been annulled.

• Therefore, this new database is being developed to register migrant workers data.

PMSSY (launched in 2003)

Set up AIIMS like institutes across

India

Total 22 new AIIMS have been

announced.

Out of them, 6 AIIMS are functional

16 more AIIMS are announced. Out of which 15 AIIMS are

approved by the Cabinet.

Upgradation of Government

Medical College/ Institutions

Components ->

116. Maharashtra Cabinet has approved to implement the Balasaheb Thackeray Accidental

Insurance Scheme that provides treatment of up to Rs 30,000 to accident victims within 72

hours.

• An accident victim of any state or the country can avail the benefits of the scheme if he or

she meets with a road accident within Maharashtra.

117. Parliament has passed the ‘Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill, 2020’.

• The bill ensures the establishment of a state-of-the-art Ayurvedic institution called the

Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) at Jamnagar, Gujarat.

• ITRA- Gujarat will be accorded the status of Institution of National Importance (INI).

• ITRA will be established by grouping the existing Ayurveda institutes at Gujarat Ayurved University campus in Jamnagar.

• ITRA will be the first institution with INI status in the AYUSH sector.

118. Central govt has launched the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Solutions Challenge for

startups to develop innovative solutions for challenges in healthcare, education, agriculture,

smart mobility, transportation and natural language processing segments.

• The winner of the challenge will get an award of Rs 20 lakhs.

• The top 15 startups will be given an opportunity to showcase their solution at a virtual

global summit on AI—RAISE (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment) 2020— to be

organized by Ministry of Electronics and IT in October 2020.

• The govt will also adopt the solutions given by the startups in the challenge.

119. Tamil Nadu state assembly has approved to establish new Anna University (HQ-

Chennai) for affiliating all engineering colleges in the state with it.

• The existing Anna University at Guindy in the city will become a unitary institution under the

name of Anna Technological and Research University (ATRU).

• The state assembly also passed a Bill to amend the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport

Authority (CUMTA) Act, 2010, to make the Chief Minister its chairman.

120. Historic Kosi Rail Mega Bridge on Kosi river has been inaugurated in Bihar by PM

Narendra Modi.

• Apart from this, new railway projects such as establishing new lines, electrifying existing

railways etc. were also inaugurated in Bihar.

121. India’s first general aviation terminal for private jets has been established at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport.

122. According to the Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri D V Sadananda Gowda,

central govt has set a target of increasing the number of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJK) in the country to 10,500 by the end of March 2025.

• As on 15th September 2020, the number of stores has increased to 6,606.

• With the increment, PMBJK will reach to every district in India.

• At present, there are four warehouses of PMBJP at Gurugram, Chennai, Bengaluru & Guwahati. However, two more warehouses in Western and Central India are being planned

to be opened.

123. Central govt has set up a high-level committee, to be headed by Ajay Tirkey –

secretary of the department of land resources under the Ministry of Rural Development, to

prepare a roadmap for regularisation of land leasing in the agriculture sector.

• Purpose: to suggest standard measures on land leasing in order to extend the benefits of Central government schemes to the farmers and to protect the interests of landowners.

• A Niti Aayog expert committee led by T Haq had proposed legalising land leasing to promote agricultural efficiency and to ensure complete security of the ownership rights of

the landowner.

124. WhatsApp has partnered with Common Services Centers (CSC) for launching a

WhatsApp chatbot to provide digital literacy services to citizens in order to bridge the digital

divide in India and promote rural entrepreneurship.

• Through this chatbot, people can access the details and course modules of flagship

programmes like the PM Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) and the Digital

Beti initiative in English, Hindi and seven other regional languages.

PM Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan Digital Beti initiative

• Launched in 2016-17 to make 6 crore

Indians digitally literate by 31st March,

2020.

• Digital Beti program is a joint initiative of

CSC and Facebook to overcome the

digital gender gap by providing digital

training to women entrepreneurs from

rural areas.

125. Karnataka CM B.S. Yediyurappa has launched the “Arthika Spandana” programme of

disbursing loans worth Rs 39,300 crores through various cooperative institutions.

• Under the scheme, the primary agricultural cooperatives would be upgraded as multi-service centres.

• Also, the state govt had launched another scheme to provide loans to dairy farmers and

fisherman at 0% interest rate.

126. Gujarat govt has launched a subsidy scheme as part of the “Panchsheel gift” – a

package of five development schemes to celebrate the 70th birthday of Prime Minister

Narendra Modi.

• The subsidy scheme will provide subsidies to consumers for purchasing e-vehicles like e-

scooter and e-rickshaw.

• Students (of Class 9 to college) will get a subsidy of Rs 12,000 each to buy e-scooters. For

e-rickshaws, the subsidy is Rs 48,000.

• Additionally, a subsidy scheme of Rs 5 lakh has also been announced to set up

infrastructure facilities in the state for charging battery-powered vehicle.

127. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has formed a 7-member task force to look into guidelines/ provisions for vegan foods.

• The task force includes Shankar Narayan, founder-president of Satvik Vegan Society

(formerly Indian Vegan Society).

128. Ministry of Electronics and IT has launched the Scheme for Accelerating Startups around Post COVID Technology Opportunities (SASACT) for startups at a budget of Rs 9.6

crore.

• Startups which develop innovative solutions in response to the needs arising in a post

Covid-19 world will be able to get a maximum of Rs 40 lakhs support under the scheme.

• Four agencies are implementing the scheme. Out of which, one is Society for Innovation

and Entrepreneurship (SINE) at the IIT-Bombay.

129. Central government has formed an expert committee under the National Cyber Security Coordinator (Rajesh Pant) to study reports of surveillance of Indians by Chinese firm

Zhenhua Data.

130. Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has launched the ICT Grand Challenge with a prize money

of Rs 50 lakhs for 1st winner.

• Under the challenge, the people have to develop solutions under the theme of 'Smart

Water Supply Measurement and Monitoring System'.

131. Gujarat govt has announced the Mukhyamantri Mahila Utkarsh Yojana (MMUY) to

provide interest-free loans to women’s joint liability and earning group (JLEG) in the state.

• The government is planning to provide total lending up to Rs 1,000 crore to these groups in

the state.

• 10 lakh women across the state are expected to be covered under the scheme.

• Under the MMUY, 50,000 JLEGs will be formed in urban areas and 50,000 in rural areas.

Each group will have 10 women members in it.

132. Parliament has passed the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to set

up a central council for regulating the Homoeopathy industry in India.

• The bill aims to amend the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973. The new bill will ensure that all kinds of medicines are available to the citizens.

133. Parliament has passed the Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020 for

regulating the Indian medicine system that includes Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy.

• The bill aims to amend the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970.

134. National Forensic Sciences University Bill, 2020 has been passed by the Lok Sabha to

establish the National Forensic Sciences University by upgrading the Gujarat Forensic

Sciences University.

• Purpose: the university will promote studies and research in forensic sciences.

• The university will grant degrees and other academic distinctions.

135. India has provided a financial assistance of $250 million to Maldives to help it mitigate the

economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• As part of this funding, State Bank of India will subscribe to the Treasury Bond issued by

the Government of Maldives.

136. India will conduct an e-summit with Sri Lanka to give a push to the neighbourhood

policy of India.

• This would be the first e-summit that PM Modi will conduct with any leader in the

neighbourhood.

137. Kochi became the first city of Kerala to be included in the biodiversity index as part of

the ‘INTERACT-Bio’ project.

• The project is implemented by Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development

through ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability.

• The project was executed with the help of the German’s Federal Ministry for the

Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and India’s Ministry of

Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

138. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has asserted that 11

industrial corridors will be developed in the country till 2024-25.

• These 11 industrial corridors include the Delhi-Nagpur IC, Delhi Mumbai IC, Amritsar

Kolkata IC, Chennai Bengaluru IC, Bengaluru Mumbai IC among others.

139. Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha has launched the National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS) for online registration of sale/ purchase or transfer of land

transactions.

• This system marks a major shift from the existing manual registration system to online

system and boost transparency.

140. Central govt will organize the virtual Vaishwik Bharatiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Summit, in collaboration with the academic organisations of India, from 2nd Oct to 2nd Nov 2020.

• Purpose of the summit – to bring academia and scientists together to derive innovative solutions for solving emerging challenges in India.

141. Niti Aayog and the Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP) have signed a statement of

intent for training, mentoring and capacity building of government officials as well as public

policy scholars.

142. Tamil Nadu has become the first state in India to release policies on Artificial Intelligence,

Blockchain and Cybersecurity at Connect 2020 event.

• The policies are Tamil Nadu Cyber Security Policy, 2020, Tamil Nadu Blockchain Policy,

2020, and Tamil Nadu Safe and Ethical Artificial Intelligence Policy, 2020.

• The Government aims to transform the State as the “Innovation Hub and Knowledge

Capital of India”.

• Centres of Excellence in FinTech and in Emerging Technologies (CEET) were also

established at Chennai.

143. Konkan Railways has delivered two trains (with diesel-electric multiple unit) to Nepal

that will run from Jaynagar in Bihar and Kurtha in Dhanusa district in Nepal.

• This is the first broad-gauge railway service in Nepal.

• The trains have been manufactured by Integrated Coach Factory, Chennai.

• Another rail project of linking Jaynagar-Janakpur-Bardibas railways in Nepal is being built at

a cost of Rs10 billion with support from the Indian government.

144. Central government has directed all students pursuing MD or MS to undergo compulsory

posting at a district hospital for 3 months, from 2020-21 onwards, under the Indian Medical

Council Act, 1956.

• This 3 months rotation will be termed as ‘District Residency Programme’ (DRP) and the

student undergoing training shall be termed as a ‘District Resident’.

• MD- Doctor of Medicine and MS - Master of Science degree.

145. Parliament has passed the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and

Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020.

• PM Narendra Modi has asserted that Minimum Support Prices and govt’s procurement of

farmers’ produce will continue to remain in place.

Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020

§ It will give the freedom to the farmers and traders to sell their produce at remunerative prices in any market in India. Earlier, the farmers and traders were restricted to sell their

produce in the APMC Mandis only.

§ It will promote efficient and barrier free inter-state and intra-state trading of farmers’

goods. States cannot charge any fees from farmers and traders for selling their produce

in different states.

§ It will also provide framework for electronic trading.

Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020

§ It will give farmers the right to enter into a contract with agribusiness firms, processors,

wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at a pre-

agreed price. Basically, the bill will smoothen the way for carrying out contract farming

in a transparent manner.

§ Contract farming – agriculture production done on the basis of an agreement between

the buyer and farm producers.

§ This means that farmers will be able to sell farm services and future farming produce at an already mutually agreed remunerative price in fair and transparent manner.

146. Lok Sabha has passed the Factoring Regulation Amendment Bill, 2020 to amend the

Factoring Regulation Act, 2011.

• Key feature of the new bill – It will allow the businesses (especially MSMEs) to take credit

by pledging their trade receivables.

• Factoring – It means selling of one’s trade receivables (invoices) to a third party to meet

the liquidity requirements.

147. Lok Sabha passed the Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill, 2020,

which allows for enforcement of netting for qualified financial contracts (QFC).

• Netting off of QFCs is expected to save up to Rs 46,000 crores on an annual basis.

• The bill is based on the model netting act of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association.

• The bill also has provision for close-out netting (means balancing off payments in the case

of termination of a QFC).

• What is a QFC? – The new bill recognizes a QFC as a bilateral contract that has been

notified by a relevant authority such as the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA (Pension fund

regulator), or IFSCA (International Financial Services Centres Authority).

• What is Netting? – Balancing of payments between two parties.

o Example: - If ‘A’ owes Rs 10,000 to B and B owes Rs 10,000 to A. Then, both A and

B will balance or net off their payments by paying nothing to each other. They both

owe Rs 10,000 to each other and so, they won’t pay anything to each other and keep

those Rs 10,000 with themselves and present it as a net off in their account books.

148. India has launched its first-ever cargo ferry vessel to Maldives named as “MCP Linz”.

• MCP Linz – operated by Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) – has been operationalized

under an MoU signed between India and Maldives in 2019.

• The ferry will connect Tuticorin (T.N.) and Cochin (Kerala) ports in India with

Kulhudhuhfushi and Male ports in the Maldives.

149. The Central govt has increased the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) on Rabi crops for

2020-21 (October-March sowing season).

• This step is in line with the recommendations of Swaminathan Commission.

• National Commission on Farmers (aka Swaminathan Commission) was constituted on

November 18, 2004 under the chairmanship of Professor M.S. Swaminathan.

• The Commission recommended that MSP should be at least 50% more than the weighted average cost of production of crops.

• Wheat's MSP has increased by 2.6%.

150. PM Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone of nine highway projects in Bihar.

• He also inaugurated the 'Ghar Tak Fibre' / ‘Har Gao Mein Optical Fibre’ project to

provide optical fibre internet Service to all the 45,945 villages of Bihar.

• Ghar Tak Fibre project will be implemented by Department of Telecom, Ministry of

Electronics & IT, and Common Service Centres (CSC).

151. Destination Northeast 2020 festival will be held on September 27 (World Tourism Day) to

promote Northeast as tourists’ and investment destination.

• Theme - “The Emerging Delightful Destinations”

152. Ministry of New and Renewable of energy has informed that a committee has been

formed to set specific targets for the development of hydrogen as source of energy.

• Currently, the hydrogen energy is not included in its plan to develop 175 Gigawatts of

renewable power by 2022.

• Hydrogen use in India will expand between 3 to 10 times by 2050 if the country shifts

towards a carbon neutral economy.

153. Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020 has been passed by the Rajya Sabha to

prohibit violence against healthcare workers during epidemics

• Imprisonment or fine - 3 months and 5 years, and a fine between Rs 50,000 and Rs 2 lakh for committing violence against health workers.

• In case of grievous harm done to health workers, the imprisonment and fine will be 6

months and 7 years, and Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.

154. Parliament has passed the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 to

amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.

• The bill makes Aadhar card for Indian individuals and organizations (particularly for those

receiving foreign funding) mandatory to bring transparency.

• For foreign organizations and individuals contributing to Indian organizations, Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card and passports are mandatory documents for

identification.

• Further, the NGOs receiving foreign funding in the range of 20-50% of their annual funding

have been asked to reduce their administrative expenses.

155. Union Minister of Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan, has informed Rajya Sabha that Indian

Tsunami Early Warning Centre (established at Indian National Centre for Ocean

Information Services, Hyderabad) is providing Tsunami Services to 25 countries in Indian

Ocean region.

• O-SMART (Ocean Services, Modelling, Applications, Resources and Technology) scheme

of Ministry of Earth Sciences was approved by the central govt in 2018.

• The scheme aims to promote sustainable development in coastal and ocean sectors. Early

Warning Systems have been established under the scheme to prevent ocean disaster like

Tsunami, storm surges etc.

156. Ministry of Jal Shakti has informed Lok Sabha that the number of arsenic-affected

habitation (small settlements having 10-100 households) has significantly increased in the

country from 1,800 in 2015 to 4,421 as on September 17, 2020.

• Arsenic-Affected Habitation – population facing the problem of arsenic water i.e., the

quantity of arsenic in the drinking water is much above the threshold limit.

• Most of the arsenic-affected habitations lie in the Ganga and Brahmaputra alluvial plains,

with Assam having the highest share of such habitations (1,853), followed by Bengal

(1,383).

• The number of fluoride affected habitations has significantly come down in the last five

years — from 12,727 in 2015 to 5,485 as of September 13, 2020. Rajasthan has the

highest number of such habitations at present.

• Jal Jeevan Mission of the govt aims to provide qualitative piped drinking water to all rural households by 2024.

157. A virtual India-UK Water Partnership Forum was held to discuss ways to develop the

water infrastructure in India.

• Both countries also signed an MoU for water conservation and infrastructure development in India.

Extra Fact:

Director General of National Mission for Clean Ganga – Rajiv Ranjan

Mishra

158. Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor will be commissioned by 2022 at Kalpakkam Atomic

Power Station in Tamil Nadu. The reactor will give 500 MW electricity.

• Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd (BHAVINI) is constructing the reactor, which was

scheduled for commission in 2012.

• 700 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) at Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant

(KAPP) at Kakrapar, Gujarat will be commissioned by the end of 2020.

159. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted a successful

flight test of the ABHYAS High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) system – a missile

target vehicle – at the Interim Test Range, Balasore, Odisha.

• ABHYAS has been developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment

(ADE).

160. Parliament has passed the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to ease the compliance

burden on companies.

Provisions Companies Act, 2013 Companies (Amendment) Bill,

2020

Producer companies Under the 2013 Act, certain

provisions from the Companies

Act, 1956 continue to apply to producer companies (comprising

of agricultural and cottage industries).

It adds a new chapter with similar

provisions on producer

companies.

Changes to offences Strict penalties and punishments were prescribed under the act.

The Bill makes three changes to decriminalize various penal

provisions: -

o Removal of penalty for

certain offences

o Removal of imprisonment

in certain offences

o Reduction in the amount of

fine payable for certain

offences Penalties for one-person or small companies

One person companies or small companies are only liable to pay

up to 50% of the penalty for certain offences (such as failing

to file annual return).

The new bill has extended this penalty of 50% to all producer

companies and start-up companies.

o The penalty has been

extended for all provisions

of the act.

o Penalty amount – max. Rs

2 lakh for the company and

Rs 1 lakh rupees for a

defaulting officer. Corporate Social Responsibility Companies with net worth,

turnover or profits above a specified amount are required to

constitute CSR Committees.

o They need to spend 2% of

their average net profits in

the last three financial

years, towards its CSR

policy.

o Companies with a CSR

liability of up to Rs 50 lakh

a year need not set up

CSR Committees.

o Further, companies which

spend any amount in

excess of their CSR

obligation in a financial

year can set off the excess

amount towards their CSR

obligations in subsequent

financial years.

Note: The bill has various provisions in it. Only the most important provisions from the exam point of view have been mentioned in the table.

161. Parliament has passed the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 that seeks

to amend the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

Provisions under Essential Commodities Act, 1955

Provisions under the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020

o Central govt can regulate production,

supply, distribution, and trade of essential

commodities (such as food items, drugs,

fertilisers, and petroleum products).

Now, the central government can regulate the supply of essential food items, only under

extraordinary circumstances of (i) war, (ii) famine, (iii) extraordinary price rise, and (iv) natural

calamity of grave nature.

o These food items include cereals, pulses,

potato, onions, edible oilseeds, and oils.

o This bill only de-regularises food items.

o Central government can regulate the stock

of an essential commodity that a person

can hold.

Now, the govt will regulate the stock limit only

in case of extraordinary price rise situations

(mentioned below).

o 100% increase in the retail price in case of

horticultural produce.

o 50% increase in the retail price in case of

non-perishable agricultural food items.

o The increase will be calculated over the

price prevailing 12 months ago, or the

average retail price of the last five years,

whichever is lower.

Exemptions –

o stock limit does not apply to the processor

or value chain participant, in case:

§ he has a stockpile less than the

prescribed limit for the processor or if

he needs it for exports.

OR

o If the stock is held by govt for public

distribution system.

162. Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare has released the First

Advance Estimates of production of major Kharif crops for 2020-21.

• Long Period Average (LPA) rainfall is 7% higher in 2020-21.

Crops Production estimate

Total Food Grains production 144.52 million tonnes (record)

Rice 102.36 million tonnes (record)

Nutri / Coarse Cereals 32.84 million tonnes

Maize 19.88 million tonnes

Pulses 9.31 million tonnes

Tur 4.04 million tonnes

Oilseeds 25.73 million tonnes

Groundnut 9.54 million tonnes (record)

Soyabean 13.58 million tonnes

Cotton 37.12 million bales (of 170 kg each)

Jute & Mesta 9.66 million bales (of 180 kg each)

Sugarcane 399.83 million tonnes

163. During the National Conference for Rabi Campaign 2020, the central government has set

the target of total food grain production at a record 301 million tonnes for the 2020-21 crop year (1.5% higher from FY20).

• Total food grain production achieved in 2019-20 is 296.65 million tonnes.

• The target for mustard (under oilseeds) alone has been raised from 92 to 125 lakh tonnes

to boost indigenous production of edible oil and reduce imports of palm oil.

Crops Targets of 2020-21 (in million

tonnes)

Output achieved in 2019-20 (in

million tonnes)

Rice 119.6 118.43

Wheat 108 107.59

Coarse cereals 47.80 47.48

Pulses 25.60 23.15

Oilseeds 37 33.42

Total food grain 301 million tonnes 296.65 million tonnes

164. Kumudini Tyagi and Riti Singh have become the first women airborne tacticians

(combatants) in the country who will operate warships.

• This is the first time that women officers have joined the helicopter stream of the Indian

Navy.

165. Parliament has passed the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Laws

(Amendment) Bill, 2020.

• It seeks to declare five Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) set up under

the public- private partnership mode in Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala, and Raichur as

institutions of national importance.

• Rashtriya Raksha University Bill, 2020 was passed by Parliament. It seeks to upgrade

the Gandhinagar police training university into a national university.

166. India has launched the “Strengthening Clinical Trial Research Capacities in Neighbouring Countries” programme under the Ind-CEPI mission to boost the capacity of

neighbouring countries such as Nepal, Maldives, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and

Afghanistan.

• Necessary training for strengthening the clinical trial infrastructure for Covid-19 vaccines will be given to these neighbouring countries in compliance with International Conference on Harmonisation - Good Clinical Practice (ICH-GCP).

• Department of Biotechnology aims to strengthen the development of vaccines and

related technologies in India through the India Centric Epidemic Preparedness (Ind-

CEPI) mission.

• The Ind-CEPI mission is aligned with the Global Initiative of the Coalition for Epidemic

Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

167. KRITAGYA hackathon for university students, faculties, and innovators has been

announced by ICAR under National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) to

promote innovation in farm mechanisation with special emphasis on women friendly equipment.

• Kri – Krishi (Agriculture) Ta – Taknik (Technology) Gya – Gyan (Knowledge)

• Prizes – 5 lakh (first), 3 lakh (second), and 1 lakh (third)

• NAHEP was launched in 2017-18 by Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR)

for 5 years for promoting technological advancements in the field of agriculture.

• World Bank and Central govt of India are sharing the total cost of NAHEP ($165 million) in a 50:50 ratio.

168. Parliament has passed the three labour codes bill – Industrial Relations code bill 2020,

Social Security Code bill 2020, and Occupational Safety, health and working conditions bill

2020.

• Codes on Wages Bill, 2019 was passed last year.

• Under Industrial Relations code bill 2020, factories or companies with less than 300 workers don’t need prior orders for retrenchment and deciding on the working terms of staff.

o Prior notification of 60 days needs to be given to the company for going on strike.

o National Industrial Tribunal will be set up for deciding the disputes.

• Under Social Security Code bill 2020, gratuity period has been reduced from 5 years to 3 years for working journalists only.

• Under Occupational Safety, health and working conditions bill 2020, the definition of the

factory has been revised:

o Now, manufacturing units with power, having 20 employees, and,

o Manufacturing units without power, having 40 employees, will be defined as

factory.

o Definition of an inter-state migrant – Any worker who has come from one state to

another state on his own and earning Rs.18000 per month.

o Working hours fixed at 8 hours per day.

169. India and Australia conducted PASSEX naval exercise in the Indian Ocean Region.

170. Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020 has been passed by Lok Sabha. It amends Major Port

Act, 1963.

• The bill envisages to create a Board of Major Port Authority for each major port. These

Boards will replace the existing port trusts.

171. Ministry of Railways has informed Parliament about its target of 100% of electrification of

broad gauge by 2023.

• 63% of railway lines have been electrified in the country.

172. Central govt has formed five task forces for promoting MSMEs in five key areas.

173. Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana - “Saubhagya” was launched in 2017 and

has completed three years on 25 Sep. 20. since its inception.

• Purpose: to ensure electrification of all willing households in rural and urban India.

• Budget: The scheme started with an outlay of Rs 16,320 crores (Rs 14,025 for rural + Rs 2,295 for urban).

• Progress achieved so far: over 2 crore 62 lakh households were electrified.

First area is Industry 4.0 i.e., promoting MSME in AI, 3D and virtual reality.

Second area is export promotion and import reduction, and to boost manufacturing in order to make India - a global manufacturing hub.

Third area is to improve the existing cluster schemes to assist the MSMEs at all levels.

Fourth area is to focus on how to integrate the technology centres.

Fifth area are is explore schemes and initiatives like ZED (zero defect and zero effect) and LEAN (for manufacturing competitiveness) etc. to increase market

competitiveness for MSMEs, to make their quality better.

174. India and Japan have conducted 4th edition of the biennial JIMEX 20 bilateral maritime

exercise in North Arabian Sea.

175. Ministry of Rural Development has celebrated the Antyodaya Diwas on 25th September

to commemorate the birth anniversary of BJP leader Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.

• The ministry also celebrated the launch day of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (25th September 2014) with the “Kaushal Se Kal Badlenge” program.

176. India has extended a grant of $15 million to Sri Lanka during an e-summit between India

and Sri-Lanka for promoting Buddhist cultural ties between the two countries.

• Under the grant, people to people linkage between the two countries will be deepened in

the sphere of Buddhism.

• Sri Lanka invited PM Modi for inaugurating the Jaffna Cultural Centre, which is an iconic

project built with Indian assistance.

177. Central govt has laid the foundation stone for Post-Harvest Management Centre for Medicinal Plants at Bhaderwah town in J&K to increase the quality of medicinal plant produce

and subsequently increase farmers’ income.

• Besides, 21 AYUSH Health & Wellness Centres were also inaugurated in Jammu &

Kashmir.

178. Foundation stone for India’s first ‘Centre for Disability Sports’ was laid at Gwalior

(Madhya Pradesh). It was announced in March 2019.

• Section 30 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, mandates the govt to

take measures to ensure "effective participation of PwD in sports activities which includes

the development of infrastructural facilities for sports activities for them".

179. India and Israel have partnered for jointly developing the hi-tech defence weapons and

supplying them to the other friendly countries.

• To implement this purpose, a sub-working group has been formed under the India-Israel

joint working group on defence cooperation – headed by Indian defence secretary (Dr.

Ajay Kumar) and his Israeli counterpart.

• The sub-working group chairs – Sanjay Jaju (India) and Eyal Calif (Israel).

• Functions of the sub-group: Focus will be on transfer of technology, co-development and

co-production, technology security, Artificial Intelligence, innovation in weapon

manufacturing and joint export to third countries.

180. Uttar Pradesh has launched the U-Rise portal – Unified Reimagined Innovation For

Students Empowerment portal – to provide career counselling assistance to students.

• Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow and state’s skill department collaborated to launch this portal.

181. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has laid the foundation stone for MedSpark (one of the first

medical device parks in India).

• MedSpark will be built on the 9-acre land of Life Science Park, Thonnakkal village by

Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) and

Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Limited (KSIDC).

182. Minister of Agriculture, Narendra Singh Tomar, has launched "Centralized Farm

Machinery Performance Testing Portal” to improve services of farm machinery testing

institutions.

• The portal will bring transparency in the entire process of testing and evaluation of farm

machines and help the farmers know about the progress made in evaluation of their

machines.

183. Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh is the first woman fighter pilot of Rafale squadron

(named as Golden Arrows, in Ambala).

184. West Bengal has announced two projects – first is a waste management and sustainable

development project at Kolkata and second is solar power project in East Midnapore.

• Waste management project will be built with the assistance of Netherlands.

• Solar power project will be built with the assistance of Germany.

• Funding for both project – Rs 1226 crore – will be shared by Netherlands and Germany

(both countries are members of European Union).

185. Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal launched Mukhyamantrir Grammya Paribahan Achoni Yojana to improve rural connectivity and generate employment in the villages.

• The transport department of the state distributed vehicles to rural people.

186. Pixxel (an Indian space-tech startup based in Bengaluru) has signed an agreement with

Momentus Inc (Silicon Valley-based in-space satellite transportation and infrastructure

company) to launch its 2nd satellite on the falcon-9 rocket of SpaceX into space in 2021.

• Pixxel’s 1st satellite will be launched at the end of 2020 on a Russian Soyuz rocket.

• Pixxel was founded in 2019 by Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal.

187. India has announced to support the expansion of Hanimaadhoo International Airport located in the northern part of the Maldives.

• Earlier, India extended an $800m line of credit through EXIM Bank for several infrastructure projects in the Maldives.

• This credit line is also expected to support the Hanimaadhoo Airport expansion.

188. Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has submitted its report on forest cover to the

parliament. The report highlighted the following facts:

National level facts Facts about Gujarat

The forest cover in the country is 21.67% of

total area.

Forest cover as a percentage of total area of

Gujarat is 7.57%.

The National Forest Policy of 1988 envisaged

to have one-third of the total land area of the

country under forest or tree cover.

-

The aggregate forest and tree cover of India

rose from 783.67 thousand sq km in 2006 to

807.28 thousand sq km in 2017.

Aggregate forest and tree cover decreased

from 23.01 thousand sq km in 2006 to 21.77

thousand sq km in 2017.

o Forest cover in 2017 - 712.25 thousand

sq. km (increased)

o Tree cover in 2017- 95.03 thousand sq

km (increased)

o Forest cover in 2017 - 14,860 sq km

(increased from 2006)

o Tree cover in 2017 - 6,910 sq km

(decreased)

o Forest cover includes all lands more than 1 hectare with a tree canopy density of more than

10%, irrespective of ownership and legal status.

o Tree cover is the area under trees, excluding the forest cover.

189. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released the ‘Health in India’ report, which measures the health information for separate religious communities,

including estimates of their susceptibility to ailments.

• The report surveyed around 1.13 lakh households covering 5.55 lakh persons. The

information in the report is based on the NSS Schedule 25.0 (Household Social

Consumption: Health).

• Facts of the report: -

Þ In terms of religion, Zoroastrian community is most susceptible to ailments.

o National Sample Survey (NSS)’s 75th Round, released in July, shows that 31.1% of

Zoroastrians reported that they were suffering from an ailment at the time the survey

was conducted.

Þ In terms of gender, females are more susceptible to ailments.

o In rural India, 6.1% of males were suffering from ailments, compared to 7.6% of

rural women.

o In urban India, 8.2% males were sick as compared to 10% females.

Þ National level data:

o Overall India – Around 7.5% Indians were reported sick o Urban – 9.1% population reported ailment

o Rural – 6.8% were sick

190. ‘Health in India’ report has been published by the National Statistical Organisation

(NSO).

• The report is based on the 75th round of the National Sample Survey (July 2017- June

2018) on household social consumption related to health. Findings:

F Two out of five children do not complete their immunisation programme. As a result of

which, most of these children remain unprotected against measles, and partially

protected against a range of other diseases.

F Only 59.2% of children under five years are fully immunised in India. This is contrary to

the Centre’s Health Management Information System’s data, which claims that 86.7%

were fully immunized in 2017-18.

F States with high immunization coverage – Manipur (75%), Andhra Pradesh (73.6%)

and Mizoram (73.4%)

F State with low immunization coverage – Nagaland (12%), Puducherry (34%) and

Tripura (39.6%)

191. Ministry of Health has launched the National Clinical Registry for COVID-19 and a

vaccine portal, developed by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

• National Clinical Registry for COVID-19 – It will maintain data on clinical practice,

research, formulating guidelines and policymaking for tackling Covid-19.

• The portal – it will maintain all information on clinical signs and symptoms, laboratory

investigations, management protocols, clinical course of COVID-19 disease, disease

spectrum and outcomes of patients.

192. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (led by GMR Group) has become the first airport in

the Asia- Pacific region that has been granted the Airport Health Accreditation (AHA) by

ACI (a worldwide association for the air transport industry).

• The accreditation is for the safety measures being taken at the aerodrome.

193. Ministry of Defence has released the new Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020,

which was prepared by a committee (headed by Director General Acquisition - Apurva

Chandra) that was set up in 2019.

• The new rules removed the offset clause requirement in Inter-Governmental Agreements (IGA), government-to-government, and single vendor acquisitions.

• Further, the rules introduced a new clause of leasing of military weapons has also been

included in addition to the existing ‘buy’ and ‘make’ category.

• These rules will be applicable from Oct 1, 2020. DAP 2020 is the renamed version of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP).

ü Under offset clause, foreign companies are required to invest part of their deal value in the

importing or purchasing country in order to improve the domestic defence manufacturing of

that country.

Note: The final Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 has been covered in PIB 247 of September 2020.

194. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved for buying additional 72,000 SiG Sauer Assault Rifles from the US, for the use of Indian Army, at a cost of Rs 780 crore through the

Fast Track Procedure (FTP).

• DAC also approved the procurement of Static HF (high frequency) Trans-receiver sets

under the Buy Indian (IDDM) Category at a cost of ₹540 crore to enable seamless

communication between Indian Army and the Indian Air Force.

• DAC also approved the procurement of smart anti-airfield weapon (SAAW) systems for

the Navy and the Indian Air Force at an approximate cost of ₹970 crore.

• In total acquisition worth ₹2,290 crore was approved.

195. Ministry of External Affairs has created a new division ‘Oceania’ which includes the

Indo-Pacific and South-east Asia divisions of the ministry within it.

• Oceania division will be headed by additional secretary Reenat Sandhu.

• The Oceania division will also include Pacific Island states such as the Cook Islands,

Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, the Marshal Islands, Solomon Islands and Tonga.

196. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has notified hydrogen-enriched

compressed natural gas (CNG) as an automobile fuel.

• According to the ministry, an ideal blend of 18% hydrogen in CNG (H-CNG) can be used

as automotive fuel after compression.

• It can reduce carbon monoxide emission by 70%.

197. Assam govt has launched the ‘Paryatan Sanjeevani Scheme’ to extend loans between

Rs 1-20 lakhs with interest subsidy to local youth for promoting tourism sector of the state.

• Another scheme, 'Paryatan Sarathi' was also launched to provide information about

Assam tourism, facilities for bookings, tour packages, hotels along with online payment

gateway options.

198. Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched the 'Mukhyamantri Kisan Kalyan Yojana' on the lines of Centre's Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan)

Scheme.

• Under the state scheme, Rs 4000 will be transferred to the bank accounts of farmers in two

instalments, over and above the instalment of Rs 6000 which farmers get under PM-Kisan

scheme.

• In total, farmers of MP will get Rs 10,000 now.

• Also, the bhumi pujan of ₹2,400 crore- Narmada Irrigation Project was held.

199. Ministry of Tourism, in association with the Quality Council of India, has launched

“Saathi” (System for Assessment, Awareness & Training for Hospitality Industry) app for

hospitality sector.

• Purpose: to help hotels to operate safely and instil confidence about the safety of the hotels among staff and tourists in the wake of coronavirus.

• A film ‘Pathik’ (an ICPB MICE promotional film) on Incredible India Tourist Facilitators

Certification Programme (IITFC) to aware people about Indian destinations.

• ICPB = India Convention Promotion Bureau; MICE = tourism for the purpose of meetings,

incentives, conferencing, exhibitions.

200. Ministry of Health has launched the “Mapping of Health and Nutrition Status” study, a

real time data collection program, for collecting data on dietary intake of Indians through crowd

sourcing approach.

• Minister of Health has also released ‘What India Eats’ report to know the main dietary patterns in India in order to help nutrition and health policy makers to understand

distributions in diets within populations.

• According to ‘What India Eats’ report, a meagre 5% of rural Indians and 18% of urban

populace in the country consume the recommended amount of good quality proteins.

201. Maritime Union of India has partnered with the United Nations to help Indians who are

stranded on the ship due to Covid-19.

• International Maritime Organisation (a specialized organization of the UN) has established

the Seafarers Crisis Action Team (SCAT) for this purpose.

202. Prime Minister has announced to inaugurate six mega projects (such as sewage

treatment plants) in Uttarakhand under the Namami Gange Mission.

• India’s first museum on Ganga river has been established at Chandi Ghat, Haridwar.

• ‘Rowing down the Ganges’ book has been co-published by National Mission for Clean Ganga and Wildlife Institute of India.

• The logo of Jal Jeevan Mission and ‘Margdarshika (guidance books) for Gram

Panchayats and Paani Samitis under Jal Jeevan Mission’ will also be launched.

203. India and Denmark have established 'Green Strategic Partnership' during their online

meet.

• Under the partnership, both countries will strengthen their cooperation for implementing the

Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

• India proposed to create the India-Denmark Energy Park and India-Denmark Skill Institutes to help Danish companies operating in India.

• Denmark’s PM – Mette Frederiksen

204. Ministry of Defence has launched the Defence India Startup Challenge-4 (DISC4) under

iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) initiative to encourage startups to innovate in

defence technology.

• Under the DISC4, innovators, MSMEs and startups have to find new ideas applicable to 11 specific challenges of the Indian defence sector.

• Also, the Ministry launched iDEX4Fauji initiative to ensure the participation of personnel of

armed forces for providing innovative solution for the defence sector.

205. India and Bangladesh PM will hold their first virtual summit in December.

• India will release a commemorative stamp on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (aka

Bangabandhu), the father of Bangladesh, to celebrate his centenary birth anniversary.

• India and Bangladesh are celebrating this year as the Mujib Barsho i.e., the year of

Mujibur Rahman.

• Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar has also announced the "Bangabandhu-Bapu Digital Museum".

• India and Bangladesh also conducted the 6th round of the Joint Consultative Commission meeting, which was chaired by the Ministers of External Affairs of both

countries.

206. National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), premier nutrition research body of the Indian Council of Medical Research, has released the new reference weight and height for average

Indian men and women.

• This new reference height and weight will be taken as the reference for calculating normal body mass index (BMI) of Indians.

Gender Height Weight

Men 5.8 feet (177cm) 65kg

Women 5.3 feet (162cm) 55kg

iDEX was launched in 2018 to promote innovation in defence equipment production.

• Age of an average Indian men and women for reference has been to 19-39 years instead of

20-39 years.

• Reason behind increasing the reference weight and height of average Indians is the

increased nutritional food intake. Data from rural and urban areas was taken into account

this time as against only urban data taken in 2010.

• For the first time, share of fibre consumption has been recommended by ICMR-NIN at

about 40 grams per 2,000 kilo calories of food consumption.

• Last time, these nutritional limits were revised in 2010.

207. For the first time, India Happiness Report has been released.

• Total number of people surveyed from all states and UTs – 16950

• Who released the report? – Professor Rajesh K Pillania (a management strategist)

• Time period of the survey – March 2020 and July 2020.

• Six parameters of happiness –

o Family relations and friendship

o Work-related issues like income and growth

o Social issues and philanthropy

o Physical and mental health

o Religion or spiritual affiliation

o Covid-19's effect on happiness

• Results –

o Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar, and Punjab are the top 3 happiest states/UTs.

o Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Uttarakhand ranked at the bottom.

208. National Statistical Office has conducted a ‘Time Use’ survey between January and

December 2019 to assess the time spent by Indians on various activities (categorized into,

employment-related and unpaid domestic work).

• The table lists % of men/women aged 15-59 who participated in various activities in a day in

2019.

• 38.2% of the total Indian population is engaged in employment related activities.

209. Nagaland govt has launched the Livelihood Generation Programme for Returned

Migrant Workers due to Covid-19 pandemic for providing digital skills to the migrants workers

to reduce unemployment.

210. Odisha govt has launched the second phase of its JAGA mission or Odisha Liveable

Habitat Mission (OLHM) to convert all slums in the State into Adarsh (ideal) colonies within the

next three years.

• Launched in 2018, the mission aims to make slums, a liveable place by providing basic amenities like piped water supply, paved roads, storm water drains, street lights, sanitation,

household electricity, community spaces and recreational areas.

• The state has also signed an MoU with Centre for Policy Research (based in Delhi) for

the implementation of the project.

211. Andhra Pradesh govt has launched the YSR Jala Kala scheme.

• Purpose: To benefit the small and medium farmers who have no open water source for

irrigation by digging borewells for free of cost.

• Target: The scheme is estimated to bring in 5 lakh acres under cultivation through

groundwater irrigation.

• Eligibility: Farmer without a borewell and with a land of 2.5 acres is eligible.

212. NITI Aayog and Embassy of the Netherlands (in New Delhi) have signed a Statement of Intent to cooperate for decarbonisation and energy transition (to cleaner fuels) of both

countries.

213. National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) has released “Crime in India” 2019 report.

• Overall Crime increased 1.6% between 2018 and 2019.

• Crime against women increased by 7.3% between 2018 and 2019.

• Crime against children increased by 4.5% between 2018 and 2019.

State wise crime analytics

Uttar Pradesh Highest cases of atrocities against SCs/STs and crime against women

Assam Highest rate of crimes per lakh population against women

Rajasthan Highest rate of crimes per lakh population against SC/ST

214. Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda, has approved

to set up 10 Plastic Parks in India.

• Out of these 10, six plastic parks (in M.P. (2 parks), Odisha, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and

Assam) are already under construction.

• Purpose: to reduce India’s dependence on plastics imports for domestic consumption.

215. Rajasthan has launched the “Moksha Kalash Yojana-2020” to provide free bus travel to two

members of a family to immerse ashes of their loved ones in the Ganga in Haridwar.

216. Kineco Ltd (based in Goa), in collaboration with DRDO, has developed India’s first indigenously developed sonar dome for Indian Navy.

• It will be deployed on Indian Navy’s Kolkata and Vishakhapatnam-class stealth destroyers.

• Indian Navy had to depend on Germany for the import of sonar domes on its warships.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

1. India and Japan have signed an MoU for improving the quality and testing of Indian textiles to

make it suitable for Japanese market.

• Parties to the MoU – Textiles Committee, India and M/s Nissenken Quality Evaluation

Centre, Japan.

2. Union Cabinet has approved the MoU signed between Geological Survey of India and the

Geological Survey of Finland for cooperation in the field of geology and mineral resources.

3. SIDBI has signed an MoU with the Maharashtra Government to develop the micro, small and

medium enterprise (MSME) ecosystem in the state.

• Under the agreement, a Project Management Unit (PMU) will be deployed by SIDBI in

collaboration with the Maharashtra govt to design schemes/programmes for MSMEs.

4. Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission (ASRLM) has signed an MoU with North East

Small Finance Bank (NESFB) to expand the reach of the mission to Self-Help Groups (SHGs)

and Producer Groups/ Enterprises.

• This collaboration also aims to empower women entrepreneurs.

• The bank will also provide loans to the SHGs within a range of Rs.1 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh

depending on the proposals.

5. National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) has signed an MoU with the IIT-Roorkee for

developing designs for making Indian cities more accessible, safe, and inclusive for Persons

with Disabilities (PwDs), elderly, women, and children among others.

• The MoU was signed under the ‘Building Accessible Safe Inclusive Indian Cities’ (BASIIC) program of NIUA.

• NIUA, in collaboration with Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and support from the

Department for International Development (UK), launched BASllC program in 2019 to make

Indian cities more sensitive and responsive to the needs of the people with disabilities.

6. STEPapp (Student Talent Enhancement Program Application) and Ministry of Tribal Affairs

have signed an MoU to launch the app across all tribal schools in India.

• STEPapp is a learning platform that enables students to gain conceptual clarity in math &

science through its gamified format, making it fun and enjoyable.

• This is the first time a government institution has partnered with an Indian EdTech startup

on a monetised project.

7. United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the State Rural Livelihood Mission

(SRLM) of Uttar Pradesh have signed MoU to reduce malnutrition in the state under the

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme.

• Under this partnership, nutrition production units will be set up in the state. These units will

be run by women-led microenterprises.

8. Telangana has renewed its MoU with the UK India Business Council to accelerate the

industrial development of the state.

9. SIDBI has signed an MoU with the Rajasthan government to develop the MSME ecosystem in the state.

• SIDBI and state govt will provide financial, technical, marketing and export support to

MSMEs in the state as part of the scheme.

10. Odisha govt has signed an MoU with the National Co-operative Development Corporation (NCDC) for promotion and management of Farmer Producer Organisation (FPOs).

• NCDC will form FPOs to impart training and proper guidance to the small and marginal

farmers of Odisha to face various challenges in production, technical knowhow, quality of

production, credit, seed production etc.

• These FPOs will be governed/managed as per the Cooperative Society Act.

11. Gujarat government has signed an MoU with Small Industries Development Bank of India

(SIDBI) for capacity building of MSMEs in the state.

• Under the MoU, training and capacity building programmes for MSMEs will be conducted

by SIDBI.

12. France-based EDF Group has signed an MoU with International Institute of Nuclear Energy

(I2EN), France, and Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Mumbai.

• Purpose: to conduct a pre-feasibility study for the establishment of a centre of excellence in the civil nuclear sector in Maharashtra.

• EDF is involved in the development of Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project (in Maharashtra). If built, it would be the world’s largest nuclear power generating station with a capacity of

10,000 MW approx.

13. Gujarat’s Climate Change department has signed MoU with 10 organisations for mitigation

of climate change and increasing the use of renewable energy.

• An MoU on “Climate Change Risk Assessment of Mitigation” was signed by the state

govt with the IIM-Ahmedabad for financing climate projects.

• State govt also signed an MoU with IIT-Gandhinagar for capacity building, research and

enhancing the public utility of scientific information in the field of climate change and

environment.

• An MoU was also signed with the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation and

Gujarat Gas to increase the usage of clean fuels like CNG in vehicle.

14. BHEL has signed an MoU with SwissRapide AG (a Swiss company) for bringing Maglev

Train projects in India.

• BHEL will indigenously manufacture the Maglev Train projects with the help of

SwissRapide AG.

• Maglev Rail system is a high-tech rail system that enables high speed of 500 km/h. It

operates through magnetic levitation (Maglev), therefore, it is cost and energy efficient.

• Magnetic levitation helps the train to move on the force of magnet.

15. Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Women and Child Development have signed an MoU

for controlling malnutrition as a part of POSHAN Abhiyaan.

• Under the MOU, AYUSH and WCD Ministry would try to integrate Ayush in POSHAN

Abhiyaan for effective management of malnutrition.

• As part of the MoU, the anganwadi worker who is providing the Ayurveda nutrition message to the community at ground level may be designated as ‘DHATRI’ - Dedicated

Health Activist to Replenish the Innutrition.

• The two Ministries have also decided to launch the hashtag #Ayush4Anganwadi for

creating awareness on the digital media.

16. Israel’s Start-Up Nation Central and India’s International Centre for Entrepreneurship

and Technology (iCreate) signed an MoU for accelerating cooperation between start-ups and

corporates from both countries in the field of innovation and technology.

• iCreate was established in 2012 to create a hi-tech start-up ecosystem.

• Start-Up Nation Central is an independent non-profit organization in Israel that works in the

field of innovation.

17. National Medicinal Plants Board (under Ministry of AYUSH) has signed MoU with the below

mentioned industry bodies to promote the cultivation of medicinal plants.

18. UK India Business Council has signed an MoU with West Bengal Industrial Development

Corporation (WBIDC) for developing industries in the state.

19. India and Denmark have signed an MoU for strengthening the intellectual property rights

ecosystem in their countries by learning from the experiences of others.

• Parties to the MoU – Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (India) and Danish Patent and Trademark Office of Ministry of Industry, Business & Financial

Affairs (Denmark).

20. Indian Railways has extended its MoU signed with the IIT-Kanpur for modernisation of

railway infrastructure.

Ayurvedic Drug Manufacturer's

Association, Mumbai

Association for Manufactures of

Ayurvedic Medicines, New Delhi

Ayurvedic Medicines Manufacturers

Organisation of India, Thrissur

Association for Herbal and Nutraceutical Manufacturers of

India, Mumbai

Federation of Indian Industries, New Delhi

Confederation of Indian Industry, New

Delhi

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1. First Meeting of the BRICS Sports Ministers was held via video conference.

• BRICS Sports Ministers approved an MoU for cooperation in the field of Physical Culture

and Sport.

o The MoU envisages to hold the annual BRICS Games in the country of BRICS

Chairmanship.

• BRICS 2020 Chairman – Russia

• BRICS 2021 Chairman – India

• BRICS 2020 Theme – "BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and

Innovative Growth”.

2. 4th meeting of the BRICS Anti-Drug Working Group was held.

• BRICS foreign ministers’ virtual meeting was held.

• 10th meeting of the National Security Advisors of BRICS was held virtually.

• 6th BRICS Communication Ministers Meeting was held virtually in Russia

3. During, 5th BRICS Culture Ministers’ Meeting 2020, the BRICS countries have decided to

open the BRICS Corner under the aegis of BRICS Alliance of Libraries in 2021 during India's

BRICS Presidency.

• The Corner will disseminate information related to the history and culture of BRICS

countries.

• Also, BRICS Joint Exhibition titled ‘Bonding Regions & Imagining Cultural Synergies’ will be hosted by National Gallery of Modern Arts (New Delhi) in 2021 under the

auspices of the BRICS Alliance of Art Museums and Galleries (launched in 2018).

4. 17th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ consultations were co-chaired by Shri Piyush Goyal, (Minister of Commerce) and Tran Tuan Anh (Minister of Industry of Vietnam).

• On the recommendation of ASEAN India Business Council’s report, the ministers’

reviewed ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA). AITIGA was signed in

2009 and became effective in India in 2010.

• ASEAN-India Leaders’ Summit is scheduled in November 2020.

• ASEAN summit is a biannual meeting.

5. 27th ASEAN regional forum was held under the chairmanship of Vietnam.

• India will co-chair ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) workshops on port security and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982).

• 30th Meeting of States Parties to United Nations Convention on Law of Sea was held during

24-26 August.

6. ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting 2020 was held virtually.

• Progress on ASEAN-India Plan of Action (2016-2020) was reviewed.

• ASEAN-India Plan of Action (2021-2025) was adopted for deepening cooperation in

different areas including trade, investment and people-to-people contact.

• 17th ASEAN-India Summit will be held in November 2020. Usually, ASEAN-India summit

is conducted in the country which is holding the chairmanship of ASEAN for that year for

eg. 16th ASEAN-India summit was held in Bangkok, Thailand (Chair of ASEAN for 2019).

• ASEAN+ INDIA comprise 1/4th of the global population, and their combined GDP has

been estimated at over USD 3.8 trillion.

7. G20 Foreign Ministers’ Extraordinary Meeting was held virtually.

• G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting will take place alongside G20 Summit 2020 (to be hosted by Saudi Arabia in November 2020).

• G20 Education Ministers’ Meet 2020, G20 Labour and Employment Minister’s meeting, was virtually held.

• G20 Trade and Investment Ministers meeting was held where India refused to accept the

concept of Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) among countries citing the inefficiency of the

DFFT framework in protecting data.

• DFFT concept was introduced by Former Japan PM Shinzo Abe at the 2019 G20 Osaka

Summit in Japan.

• G20 Trade Ministers’ meet was held.

• During G20 Environment Ministers Meet 2020, Global Initiative to reduce Land Degradation and Coral Reef program was launched to strengthen the implementation of

existing frameworks to prevent, halt, and reverse land degradation and to ensure

conservation of coral reef across the world.

• Global Coral Reef R&D Accelerator Platform was launched to advance research and development for conserving the coral reef and reducing their further degradation.

8. Japan has proposed to create Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) with India and

Australia as its partners.

• Purpose: to strengthen the supply chain and reduce dependence on one country for

export-import of goods.

• The initiative aims to diversify the countries’ supply chain to reduce dependence on just one

country (in this case – China).

9. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in collaboration with Cornell SC Johnson

College of Business and INSEAD, has released the 13th Global Innovation Index (GII) 2020.

• Title of the report – Who Will Finance Innovation?

Twin Objectives of the initiative

Attract FDI to convert Indo-Pacific into an “economic

powerhouse”.

Build complementary relationship among countries.

• Total – 131

• Top country – Switzerland

• India’s rank – 48th (up by 4 places from 2019 ranking); For the first time in top 50.

• Top Asian country – Singapore at 8th rank, Republic of Korea at 10th (entered for the first

time in top 10).

• Parameter – 80 indicators divided into two categories of input and output. o A new indicator has been added this year to the GII i.e., Brand Value. On this

indicator, India ranks 31st. India hosts 164 of the world’s top 5,000 brands.

Ø What does the report say about India?

o Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai feature in the top 100 science & technology hotspots,

further endorsing India’s presence in the global innovation economy.

o India, along with China, Vietnam and the Philippines, has made the most significant

progress in the GII innovation ranking over time.

Parameters

Input

Institutions

Human Capital and research

Infrastructure

Market Sophistication

Business Sophistication

Output

Knowledge and technology outputs

Creative outputs

10. Times Higher Education has released the Times World University Rankings 2021.

• Total university – 1527 institutions from 93 countries were assessed by THE in

comparison to 1400 institutions from 92 countries last year.

• Top university – University of Oxford, United Kingdom

• Indian university – Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru in the 301-350.

o IIT Ropar, which was in the 301-350 bracket last year, is now in the 351-400 bracket.

o In April, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Roorkee

and IIT Guwahati, had announced to boycott the rankings collectively for this year.

• Parameters – Teaching (30%), Research (30%), Citations (30%), Industry Income (2.5%)

and International Outlook (7.5%).

11. UN Environment Programme (UNEP) launched “The Little Book of Green Nudges” book.

• It is UNEP’s first book on behavioural science and nudge theory that aims to inspire up to

200 million students around the globe to adopt environmentally friendly habits and greener

lifestyles.

• It has been prepared by UNEP’s The Behavioural Insights Team and GRID-Arendal.

• It contains 40 ready-made nudges - simple measures that make it easier to make green

choices.

12. UN Women and UN Development Program have released the “From insights to action:

Gender equality in the wake of COVID-19” report.

• The report highlights that by 2021, around 435 million women and girls will be living on less

than $1.90 a day — including 47 million living in poverty as a result of COVID-19.

• The Covid-19 pandemic can push 96 million people into extreme poverty across the world.

• It is estimated that 18.6% of world’s poor women and girls would live in South Asia by 2030. Before Covid-19, the estimate was 15.8%.

• Gender poverty gaps will worsen as a result of the crisis which means that female poverty

will increase.

13. World Wide Fund (WWF), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), EAT (NPO), and Climate

Focus have launched the Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for

Food Systems report.

• The report suggests various measures for achieving climate goals and limiting global

warming to 1.5º C by bringing improvements in national food systems.

• Policymakers can improve their climate change mitigation and adaptation contributions by

as much as 25% by controlling the food loss and waste worldwide.

• Food systems – production, processing, distribution, preparation and consumption of food

– account for up to 37% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, by transforming the

sector into a sustainable sector, climate change can be mitigated.

14. During the 3rd annual Leadership Summit of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF),

the forum announced the formation of its India Executive Leadership Board.

• The USISPF was established in 2017.

• Dr. Mukesh Aghi is the President and Chief Executive Officer of USISPF.

15. 35th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC 35) was held

virtually. It was scheduled to be hosted by Bhutan.

• Bangladesh will host the 36th Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific in 2022.

16. US-India-Israel forum on strategic, tech and development/water cooperation held discussions.

• The US-India-Israel forum was initiated in 2017 to strengthen developmental, economical,

and technological relationship among these countries.

• All the three nations have decided to collaborate on 5G technologies.

• The tech-triangle (Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv and Bangalore) have all earned reputations as leading innovative technology hubs.

17. Northrop Grumman (American defence company) has named its commercial cargo

spacecraft as “S.S. Kalpana Chawla” to honour Chawla who is the first India-born woman to

enter space.

• S.S. Kalpana Chawla is bound for the International Space Station.

18. UNICEF has collaborated with Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to procure and

supply doses of Covid-19 vaccines on behalf of the COVAX Global Vaccines Facility for 92

low and lower middle-income countries.

• UNICEF has already become the world's largest single vaccine buyer, procuring more than

2 billion doses of various vaccines annually for routine immunisation and outbreak response

on behalf of nearly 100 countries.

19. United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) has recently

released the “Levels and trends in child mortality 2020” report.

World India

F Globally, deaths of children U-5 years has

declined to 5.2 million in 2019 from 12.5

million in 1990.

F Child mortality rate dropped in 2019 to 8.24

lakh from 3.4 million in 1990.

F Nearly half (49%) of all under-five deaths in

2019 occurred in just five countries:

Nigeria, India, Pakistan, the Democratic

Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia.

ü Nigeria and India alone account for

almost 1/3rd of U-5 deaths.

F U-5 children’s mortality rate has reduced

from 126 in 1990 to 34 in 2019.

F Global U-5 mortality rate has declined by

almost 60% since 1990 to 38 deaths per

1,000 live births in 2019.

F Infant mortality rate declined to 28 in 2019

from 89 in 1990.

- F Neo-natal mortality rate declined to 22 in

2019 from 57 from 1990. - F Sex-specific U-5 mortality rate –

ü Male – 122 in 1990 to 34 in 2019

ü Female – 131 in 1990 to 35 in 2019

20. First India-France-Australia trilateral dialogue was held where the strategic development of

Indo-Pacific region was discussed.

21. Foreign Ministers of Russia India China (RIC) have met in Moscow, Russia.

• Russia holds the current presidency of RIC-SCO-BRICS for 2020.

• Under the RIC framework, the foreign ministers of the three countries meet periodically to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues of their interest.

22. Economic Freedom of the World: 2020 Annual Report (comprising Global Economic

Freedom Index 2020) has been prepared by Canada’s Fraser Institute.

• It is released in India in collaboration with Centre For Civil Society (New Delhi-based think

tank).

• Total – 162

• Top country – Hong Kong followed by Singapore

• India’s rank – 105th (down by 26 spots from 79th position in last year’s rankings)

• Bottom country – Venezuela

• Parameters – total 5: Size of Government, Legal System and Property Rights, Sound Money, Freedom to Trade Internationally, and Regulation.

• The most recent comprehensive data available are from 2018.

23. Ecological Threat Register, conducted by the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and

Peace (IEP), has estimated that around 1.2 billion people could be displaced by 2050

worldwide due to climate change.

Food crisis

• Global population would grow from 7.8 billion at present to 10 billion

by 2050. Thus, global demand for food will increase by 50% from

the present level and 3.5 billion people could suffer from food

insecurity by 2050.

Water crisis

• By 2040, a total of 5.4 billion people (more than half of the world's

projected population) will live in countries facing high or extreme water

stress, in comparison to 2.6 billion people facing water stress at

present.

• As per the report, water-related violent incidents have already

increased by 270% worldwide.

Natural disasters

• In terms of natural disasters, Asia-Pacific is the most affected region with 29% of all natural disasters taking place there in the past

30 years.

• Natural disasters kill seven times more people in the least

developed nations than in highly developed ones because of the low-

resilience of least developed countries to handle disasters.

24. 10th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held virtually.

• Chair of the meeting – Vietnam’s Deputy PM Pham Bin Minh.

• India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Shri V. Muraleedharan also attended the

meeting.

• 15th EAS annual Summit is scheduled in November 2020 under the chairmanship of

Vietnam (Chair of ASEAN for 2020). About EAS:

Ø Established in 2005.

Ø Members – (Total 18) 10 ASEAN members + India, China, Japan, Republic of Korea,

Australia, New Zealand, United States and Russia.

Ø The EAS is an ASEAN-centred forum. Therefore, it can only be chaired by an ASEAN

member.

Ø The EAS membership represents around 54% of the world’s population and accounts for

58% of global GDP.

25. “United in Science Report 2020” has been released by World Meteorological Organization

(WMO).

26. WHO has release the Countdown to 2023: WHO report on global trans-fat elimination 2020 report.

• 58 countries have introduced laws that will protect 3.2 billion people from the trans-fat by

the end of 2021. However, more than 100 countries still need to take actions to remove

these harmful substances from their food supplies.

• Consumption of industrially produced trans fats are estimated to cause around 5 lakh deaths per year due to coronary heart disease.

• 15 countries including India account for approximately 2/3rd of the worldwide deaths

linked to trans-fat intake.

• In 2018, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) proposed to reduce the limit of trans-fat in food to 2% and set the target to eliminate it by January 2022.

• WHO recommends that trans-fat intake should be limited to less than 1% of total energy

intake. WHO aims to achieve a world free of industrially produced trans fats by 2023.

27. 17th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Culture Ministers’ Meeting was held

virtually.

• National Museum of India will organize the first SCO Exhibition on Shared Buddhist

Heritage in 2020.

• India supported SCO’s proposal to celebrate 2021 as the Year of SCO culture because

2021 is the 20th anniversary of SCO.

• 19th edition of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Governments

will take place in New Delhi on 30 November, 2020.

• SCO Defence Ministers 2020 meet is scheduled for September 2 in Moscow, Russia.

• SCO foreign ministers' 2020 meeting is scheduled for September 10 in Russia.

• BRICS foreign ministers 2020 is scheduled virtually on September 4.

• SCO chair for 2020 – Russia

• BRICS chair for 2020 – Russia

28. UN’s High-Level Forum on the Culture of Peace was convened by Tijjani Muhammad-Bande (President of 74th UN General Assembly).

• In 1999, UN adopted the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace.

• The theme for the 2020 High-Level Forum will be “The Culture of Peace: Change our world for the better in the age of COVID-19”.

29. During the SCO – Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting 2020, Russia handed over the

chairmanship of Russia-India-China Forum to India (to be handled by Minister of External

Affairs S. Jaishankar).

• India and China adopted a 5-point action plan in Moscow to quickly disengage at the Line of

Actual Control.

• MEA Jaishankar met his Iranian and Kyrgyz counterparts to strengthen bilateral relations.

30. 45th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council was held in Geneva, Switzerland.

• UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – Michelle Bachelet

• “Global Human Rights Update” 2020 was released by the Bachelet during the session.

• The report referred to the condition of law and order in Kashmir where a partial lockdown is

in place for more than a year since India abrogated Article 370.

31. BP has released the 69th edition of its annual Energy Outlook 2020 report. The report

analyses energy outlook in three scenarios – rapid, net zero, and business-as-usual.

• India will be largest source of demand growth for energy by 2050 in all three scenarios.

• India's primary energy consumption will grow by 2.5% between 2018 and 2050 as

against 0.1% growth in China's energy consumption and 0.3% growth globally.

• Despite a lower growth rate of energy demand at 0.1%, China will be largest consumer for energy in all three scenarios, accounting for over 20% of the world's energy demand in

2050.

• India's oil consumption will get double to 10 million barrels by 2050 under the business-as-usual scenario.

• India’s gas demand will rise from 58 billion cubic meters (bcm) to 357 bcm under the Rapid

scenario.

• India's combined oil and gas imports more than double by 2050.

• Globally, demand for oil remains "broadly flat" due to the shift towards renewable energy. Three scenarios:-

32. World bank has released its Human Capital Index 2020.

• Title – Human Capital in the Times of Covid-19

• Total countries – 174

• India’s Rank – 116 (score 0.49 - increased from 0.44 in 2018)

o Last year, India was ranked 115 out of 157 countries.

• Parameters – health and education of children divided into five indicators of child,

survival, school enrolment, quality of learning, healthy growth, and adult survival. Key observations of the report:

• Even before the effects of the pandemic, a child born in a typical country could expect to

achieve just 56% of their potential human capital.

• Due to the pandemic, most children - more than 1 billion - have been out of school and

could lose out, on average, half a year of schooling, adjusted for learning.

• 80 million children are missing out on essential vaccinations.

• There has been major decline in remittances and total income is going down by 11 or

12%.

Rapid scenario new policy measures will lead to a significant increase in carbon prices.

'Net Zero' scenario

policies embodied in the Rapid scenario will be reinforced with shifts in societal behaviour, which will accelerate the reduction in carbon emissions.

Business-as-usual scenario

government policies, technologies and social preferences continue to evolve in a manner and

speed seen over the recent past

33. Institute for Management Development (IMD), in collaboration with Singapore University

for Technology and Design (SUTD), has released the 2nd edition of the Global Smart Cities Index 2020.

• According to the index, a smart city is an urban setting that apply technology to enhance

the benefits and diminish the shortcomings of urbanization.

• Total cities – 109

• Top 3 cities – Singapore, Helsinki (Finland) and Zurich (Switzerland) respectively

• Indian cities rank – The cities witnessed a downfall in their rankings, primarily due to the pandemic.

o Hyderabad at 85th position (down from 67 in 2019)

o New Delhi at 86th rank (down from 68 in 2019)

o Mumbai was at 93rd place (in 2019 it was at 78)

o Bengaluru at 95th (79 in 2019)

• Parameters – health and safety, mobility, activities, opportunities and governance.

34. Mexico has become the first country in the world to issue a Sovereign Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs) Bond.

• This innovative bond was issued under the new “SDG Sovereign Bond Framework” of Mexico developed with investment bank Natixis.

• Seven-year SDG Bond worth USD 890 million has been issued by Mexico.

35. A meeting of the Quad Foreign Ministers is scheduled to take place in Tokyo in October

2020.

• U.S. aims to persuade India to sign the last foundational agreement, Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial cooperation (BECA), at the next India-U.S. 2+2

ministerial dialogue likely to held in October end.

• India has already signed three foundational agreements with US:

o Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA),

o Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA)

o General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA)

36. The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) programme is an international initiative that began in 1993

to construct the world’s largest radio telescope at an area of 1 sq. km in two sets located in

Australia and South Africa (by the year 2027 tentatively).

• The project is being executed by the Not-for-profit - SKA organization (headquartered at

Jodrell Bank Observatory, a UNESCO World Heritage site near Manchester, UK).

• National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) of the Tata Institute of Fundamental

Research (TIFR) is the lead Telescope Manager of the project.

• The project is funded by 15 countries (including India and China).

• Why in news – Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has bagged the opportunity to design and built the control systems of the project.

37. Airbus SE (French aerospace company) has unveiled three first-of-its-kind concept zero-

emission commercial aircraft codenamed as ‘ZEROe’, which will run on hydrogen as a

primary power source in place of jet fuels.

• The company hopes to launch the aircrafts worldwide, including in India, by 2035.

38. NASA has announced to launch its Artemis program to land the first woman and the next

man on the south pole of the Moon in 2024.

39. United Nations and Britain will co-host a global climate summit on December 12, 2020 (the

fifth anniversary of the landmark Paris Agreement).

• This summit is precursor to the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP 26) to be held in Glasgow, UK in November 2021.

• China has announced to become carbon neutral by 2060 and reach its peak of carbon

emission in 2030.

40. G4 (India, Brazil, Japan and Germany) Foreign Ministers Meeting was held virtually.

• All these four countries are seeking permanent membership of UN Security Council.

41. New Zealand has become the world’s first country to make climate risk reporting

mandatory for banks, asset managers and insurers.

• Under new rule, large financial institutions would be required to report annually on

governance, risk management and strategies for mitigating climate change impacts.

• New Zealand PM - Jacinda Arden

42. China hosted the virtual Ministerial Online Roundtable ‘Biodiversity Beyond 2020:

Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth’.

• United Nations Summit on Biodiversity will be held on 30 September 2020 in New York, at the level of Heads of State and Government under the theme of “Urgent action on

biodiversity for sustainable development.”

• 2011-2020 is the UN Decade on Biodiversity.

• 15th conference of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will be held

Kunming, China in 2021.

43. World Economic Forum (WEF) has organized virtual 4th Sustainable Development Impact (SDI) Summit under the theme of “Realizing a Great Reset for Sustainable Development”.

• The summit has five sub-themes are: Shared Prosperity; Catalyzing Cooperation; Better

Business; Harnessing Technology; and Liveable Planet.

• WEF released its 'EarthTime Visualisation' report which mentions that Delhi will have

eight months a year with temperature averaging 32°C by 2100, up from six at present.

• As per the report, average June-August temperatures will reach 38°C (100.4°F) for many

parts of the world by 2100.

44. SAARC Foreign Ministers meet was held virtually under the chairmanship of Nepal.

• India highlighted the financial assistance given by it to support neighbouring countries, such

as Sri Lanka ($ 400 Mn aid), Bhutan ($200 million), Maldives ($150 million foreign currency

swap support).

• Conference on Interaction and Confidence- Building Measures in Asia (CICA),

comprising of 27 members (incl. India) and 8 observer states, was also held, where

Kazakhstan was appointed as the new Chairman of CICA.

• CICA Secretariat – Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

45. World Risk Index 2020 has been released by UN university institute for environment and human security as a part of World Risk Report 2020.

• The index tracks a country’s vulnerable to natural disasters.

• Total countries - 181

• Top three countries (at most risk): Vanuatu (South Pacific); Tonga (South Pacific);

Dominica (Carribean)

• Most risked continent (at most risk) – Oceania followed by Africa and the Americas.

• India – 89th overall and fourth most at risk in South -Asia.

• Countries at least risk – Qatar and Malta (according to some websites)

Note: Countries at least risk – Qatar and Malta – is not mentioned in any official site. It has been picked up from some unreliable websites for your knowledge enhancement. It is subject to change, if any official source does not validate it.

46. Saudi Arabia has flagged off the World’s first shipment of blue ammonia to Japan

(producing company – Saudi Aramco).

• Blue ammonia, which is produced by converting hydrocarbons into hydrogen and then

ammonia, helps in generating electricity (through thermal power) without carbon emissions.

• Japan aims to be a world-leader in the use of hydrogen, which is contained in ammonia

and reduce its GHG emissions by 26% by 2030 under the Paris Agreement.

47. International Air Transport Association (IATA) and United Nations Office of Counter-

Terrorism (UNOCT) have signed an MoU for strengthening cooperation for the United Nations Countering Terrorist Travel Programme (CT Travel Programme).

• IATA is the first non-government partner to join the CT Travel Programme.

• CT Travel Programme – launched in 2019 by UN to counter terrorism by increasing

surveillance on international travelling.

48. Financial Times has released its Masters in Management (MIM) 2020 to assess the

performance of business schools across the world.

• FT MIM Rankings is seen as a global benchmark for B-Schools offering full-time two-year

masters in management programmes across the world.

• Total institutes – 100

• Top institute – University of St Gallen, Switzerland

• All Indian institutes in the list (total 5) – IIM- Ahmedabad at 20th, IIM-Calcutta at 21st, SP Jain Institute of Management & Research (new entry in 2020 list) & IIM-Bangalore at 36th,

and IIM-Udaipur at 72nd.

• Parameters – Total 23 parameters were used.

BANKING AND ECONOMY 1. According to the data National Statistical Office, GDP in April to June 2020 quarter

contracted by a record 23.9% in comparison to the same period last year.

• This is the record fall in GDP in decades.

• India is expected to take up a V-shaped recovery.

2. In order to ease the liquidity pressures, RBI has announced to conduct special open market operations (OMOs) of Rs 10,000 crore each on September 10 and 17 to improve market

conditions.

• RBI also allowed banks to hold fresh acquisitions of statutory liquidity ratio securities acquired from September 1 under Held-To-Maturity (HTM) up to an overall limit of 22% of

net demand and time liabilities up to March 31, 2021, which shall be reviewed thereafter.

o Currently, SLR is 18%. The existing limit for investments in HTM category is 25% of

total investment.

• RBI will conduct long term repo operations worth Rs 1 lakh crore at floating rates (or the current repo rate of 4%) in the middle of September.

3. Adani Group and GVK Group have announced that Adani Group will buy 74% stake in

Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) by acquiring debt of GVK-ADL.

• MIAL 74% stake bifurcation – 50.5% of GVK, 10% of Airport Company of South Africa,

13.5% of South African Bidvest company. Rest of the 26% stake will be with Airports

Authority of India.

• Adani will also hold stake in the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport project.

• At present, Adani Enterprises runs six airports— Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur,

Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati. Thus, Adani emerged as one of the

largest private airport developers in India.

4. Vedanta Ltd has partnered with State Bank of India for launching a long-term syndicated

loan facility worth ₹10,000 crore.

• Meaning – A syndicated loan is offered by a group of lenders to provide credit to a large

borrower.

• SBI will act as the facility agent and SBICAP Trustee will act as the security trustee.

5. Department of Telecommunications and SEBI have allowed Reliance Jio Infratel to sell

units in its Tower Infrastructure Trust to Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P.

• This deal between Reliance and Brookfield was announced in July 2019.

6. Reliance Industries has acquired Kishore Biyani’s Future Group for Rs 24,713 crore

through its subsidiary - Reliance Retail Ventures (RRV).

Adani acquired debt of GVK Airport

Developers Ltd

(GVK-ADL).

GVK ADL (holding

company of GVK Group)

GVK Group holds 50.5%

stake in Mumbai Intl.

Airport (MIAL)

MIAL holds 74% stake in Navi Mumbai International

Airport Limited

• As part of the deal, Future’s retail and wholesale businesses will be transferred to Reliance

Retail and Fashion Lifestyle Ltd (a subsidiary of RRV).

7. Indian government had launched the Sovereign Gold Bond scheme in 2015 to curb the

import of gold in India.

• The sixth and last tranche of Sovereign Gold Bonds for 2020-21 will open for subscription

for a period of five days till September 4.

• Function – Under this scheme, RBI issues bonds linked to the market value of gold on

behalf of Government of India. So that, people who want to invest in gold can buy these

bonds instead of physical gold.

• Gold Bonds tenure – 8 years (exit option is allowed after 5 years)

• Interest Rate – fixed at 2.5% p.a.

• Selling Agency - Gold bonds can be bought from stock exchanges BSE and NSE, the

Stock Holding Corporation, and designated branches of India Post.

• Tax for individuals - Interest is taxable, capital gains (at the time of redemption) are

exempted.

8. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has launched “LiGo” – an AI-powered voice chatbot – on

Google Assistant to serve its customers better.

• The customers can instantly access information about their policies by activating 'Google

Assistant' and chatting with LiGo.

9. Data Security Council of India (DSCI) and PayPal India have jointly released “Fraud & Risk Management in Digital Payments” report.

• The report studies the sophisticated online payment fraud mechanisms, threats in the

payment ecosystem etc.

• It also suggested ways for incorporating better fraud prevention strategies with the help of

state of the art technology.

Note: You are not required to memorize all the points mentioned in the picture above. Only memorize the future target given in the report. Other facts have been provided to enhance your understanding of the topic.

10. As per the ranking released by renewable energy consultancy Mercom Capital Group, Adani

Green is the world’s top solar power developer.

• Adani has a total capacity of 12.3 GW of solar power (2.3 GW is operational + 2 GW under

construction + 8 GW solar project awarded by govt in June 2020).

• GCL New Energy (based in Hong Kong) is the world’s second largest solar developer

with 7.1 GW.

• In terms of operational solar capacity, GCL New Energy was the top developer with 7.1 GW

and Adani ranks 8th globally (only Indian company in top 10).

11. IRDAI has formed a six-member working group, headed by Dinesh Pant, to study the

feasibility and need of index-linked insurance products in India.

12. Central government has decided to cap (limit) the export incentives given under the

Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) at Rs 2 crore per exporter during

September-December, 2020.

• This limit can be further downgraded so that the incentives do not overrun the budget (which is ₹5,000 crore) allocated by govt for this purpose.

• Indian government has announced a new WTO-compliant scheme called Remission of Duties or Taxes On Export Product (RoDTEP) which will replace MEIS starting 1

January, 2021.

• Ministry of Finance has set up a committee under the chairmanship of GK Pillai to

finalise the rates under RoDTEP. These rates will reimburse all embedded taxes paid by

exporters such as taxes paid on inputs.

13. Rabobank (a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company) has released its list

of world’s top 20 dairy companies.

• 1st rank – Switzerland’s Nestle (turnover of $22.1 billion)

• Only Indian company in the list – Amul, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation

(turnover of $5.5 bn) at 16th rank.

14. International Monetary Fund’s Chief economist Gita Gopinath has released the following

graph which mentions that India’s GDP shrank the most among other G-20 countries in April

to June quarter of 2020.

• India’s National Statistical Office has reported that India’s GDP growth contracted 23.9%

in Q1 of 2020 by comparing its level a year ago (year-on-year).

15. Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) will complete the set of Forensic

Accounting and Investigation Standards (FAIS) by December end, to raise the quality

benchmark of forensic investigations of audits.

• India will become the first country in the world to develop a full set of FAIS standards for

forensic professionals and stakeholders.

• FAIS would help Forensic Accounting and Investigation professionals to conduct their examinations in a highly professional manner and collect evidences which may be subject

to high level of scrutiny in a court of law.

• There will be 30 standards.

16. Tata Power has signed a power purchase agreement with Tata Motors Ltd. (TML) to supply

solar power to Tata Motors for the India’s ‘largest carport’ (owned by TML) in Pune.

17. SEBI has allowed mutual funds to side pocket debt in cases where borrowers have

approached the Asset Management Company (AMC) for debt restructuring till December 31.

• Earlier, restructuring of debt was only allowed for debt which has been downgraded below

investment grade (rating below BBB-) or which is a defaulted debt.

• This step would allow even higher rates debt to be side pocketed.

• SEBI has also directed credit rating agencies that if the debt is restructured only because of

covid-19, then it should not be recognised as an event of default.

18. RBI has released new guidelines for priority sector lending for commercial banks, small

finance banks, regional rural banks, urban cooperative banks and local area banks.

Ø As per the new guidelines, banks will be ranked on the basis of incremental (or per capita)

credit flow to priority sector, from FY22 onwards. This means that-

1. Side pocketing is an accounting method used to separate illiquid investments from the more liquid and quality investments in a debt portfolio.2. The asset managment fund puts illiquid assets into a side pocket, in the event of any rating downgrade, and existing holders receive a pro-rata allocation in it.

What is side

pocketing?

o A higher weight of 125% will be assigned for extending PSL credit in the identified

districts where the credit flow is comparatively lower (per capita PSL less than ₹6,000).

o Lower weight of 90% would be assigned for extending credit to areas where the credit

flow is comparatively higher (per capita PSL greater than ₹25,000).

o RBI has identified 205 districts with high PSL credit and 184 districts with low PSL credit

flow.

Ø The prescribed targets for small and marginal farmers and weaker sections are being

increased in a phased manner.

o Those with landholding of up to 1 hectare will be classified as marginal farmers, while

those with more than 1 hectare and up to 2 hectares will be called small farmers.

Ø Loan limits for renewable energy have been doubled.

o Bank loans up to ₹30 crore to borrowers for purposes like solar-based power generators,

biomass-based power generators, wind mills, micro-hydel plants and for renewable-

energy based public utilities, will be eligible for priority sector classification.

o For individual households, the loan of ₹10 lakh per borrower for renewable purposes will

be classified under priority sector.

Ø Eligibility for bank loans, given for social infrastructure development, to be classified as

priority sector: -

o Bank loans up to a limit of ₹5 crore per borrower for setting up schools, drinking water

facilities and sanitation facilities;

o loans up to a limit of ₹10 crore per borrower for building health care facilities including

under ‘Ayushman Bharat’ in Tier II to Tier VI centres will be considered as PSL.

o In case of Urban Co-operative Banks, the above limits are applicable only in centres

having a population of less than 1 lakh.

Ø Total PSL target for urban cooperative banks will also be increased to 75% of their adjusted

net bank credit (ANBC) by 31st March 2024, as compared to 40% at present.

19. K.V. Kamath panel has submitted its recommendations for resolution of stressed assets in the

wake of covid-19.

• Recommendations – RBI has specified five financial ratios and sector-specific thresholds

for resolution of COVID-19 related stressed assets in 26 sectors.

• Five financial ratios: -

• The above mentioned ratios will act as the floor or ceiling rate, in accordance with the

case.

• At the time of finalizing the resolution plan, the pre- COVID-19 operating and financial performance of the borrower and impact of COVID-19 on its operating and financial

performance shall be taken into account by lenders to assess the cashflow in subsequent

years.

• RBI has accepted almost all recommendations of the panel.

• Out of the 26 sectors, a great relief has been given to the realty sector with highest

EBITDA ratio among other sectors.

• For the residential real estate, the EBITDA ratio is set at 9 or less than that. For commercial

real estate, the ratio is set at 12 or less. Other ratios are more or less same for all sectors.

20. RBI has released revised rules for opening current accounts with banks.

• As per the new rule, a company which has availed cash credit (CC) /overdraft facility (OD)

from one bank cannot open current account in other banks.

• It can open a current account with its lending banks under certain circumstances, otherwise

it is encouraged to use the cash credit facility.

• The credit balances in such CC/OD accounts cannot be used as margin for availing any non-fund based credit facilities (like bank guarantees).

Note: The RBI’s circular for the current account has been covered in RBI 247 of August.

total outside liabilities/ adjusted tangible

networth

total debt/EBITDA

current assets / current

liabilities

debt service

coverage ratio

average debt

coverage ratio

21. Tata Consultancy Services has partnered with Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) in South

Africa to digitalize the logistics marketplace in South Africa.

• TPT is part of Transnet SOC Ltd, a state-owned freight transport and handling company.

• Both companies will create a new platform named 'Cargo Connect' under this partnership

to allow customers submit logistics related requests and allow service providers to bid

online.

22. KfW IPEX Bank (German) has provided a loan of EUR 10 million to Srei Equipment Finance

Ltd for purchase of construction machinery by the latter.

• Srei would use these construction machinery in Indian infrastructure projects.

• These machines will be exported by Germany to India.

23. WhatsApp (owned by Facebook) has partnered with CyberPeace Foundation to create

awareness on cyber safety among student.

• This partnership with WhatsApp is under the “e-Raksha” program.

• This partnership aims to bolster the educational system in India against cyberattacks.

24. 60th Annual Convention of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) was held

virtually.

• SIAM appointed Mr Kenichi Ayukawa as its new President.

• During his address at the convention, the Minister of Road, Transport and Highways, Nitin

Gadkari, said that India has now the second largest road network in the world.

25. Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank has ceased to be a banking company within the meaning

of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

• Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank was promoted by Grasim Industries Limited and

Vodafone Idea Limited with 51% and 49% shareholdings respectively.

• After the closure of this payments bank, there are now five payment banks in India – Airtel

Payments Bank, India Post Payments Bank, Fino Payments Bank, Jio Payments Bank and

Paytm Payments Bank.

• Also, Westpac Banking Corporation has also ceased to be a banking company.

26. RBI has announced to launch the Digital Payments Index (DPI) to assess the extent of

digitalisation of payments effectively.

• DPI would be based on multiple parameters.

• The DPI will be made available from July 2020 onwards.

• RBI’s Deepening of Digital Payments (Chair: Nandan Nilekani) had earlier recommended

to create a Financial Inclusion Index to measure the extent of financial inclusion in India.

27. Employees Provident Fund Organisation’s (EPFO) Central Board of Trustees met virtually,

under the chairmanship of Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar.

• The board recommended the Central govt to pay 8.5% interest to beneficiaries for 2019-20.

• The 8.5% interest comprises of 8.15% interest from debt income (to be paid first) and

0.35% (capital gain) to be paid by December 31.

• Also, the limit of the maximum assurance benefit under the Employees’ Deposit Linked

Insurance Scheme will be increased to ₹7 lakh from ₹6 lakh, on the recommendations of

the board.

28. SEBI has released the detailed operating guidelines for portfolio management services at

the international financial services centre (IFSC).

• Portfolio management companies need to have a minimum net worth of at least USD

$7,50,000.

• The minimum amount of funds to be accepted by portfolio managers operating in IFSC should be $70,000.

29. Ministry of Finance has formed a panel, under the chairmanship of Rajiv Mehrishi, to study

the impact of waiving off the interest on loans during the moratorium offered to Covid-hit

borrowers that ended August 31.

• The panel will measure the impact of interest waiver on the national economy and financial

stability and waiving of interest on interest on the covid-19 related moratorium.

• SBI will provide secretarial support to the panel.

30. RBI has released guidelines for appointment of chief compliance officer (CCO) in banks to

bring uniformity in approaches followed by banks in appointing CCOs.

• CCO should be appointed for a minimum fixed period of 3 years.

• The CCO should be a senior executive of the bank, preferably in the rank of a general manager or an equivalent position (not below two levels from the CEO).

• RBI clarified that there shall not be any "dual hatting”, which means that the CCO shall not be given any responsibility which brings elements of conflict of interest with the board.

31. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has entered into a corporate agency agreement with NSDL Payments Bank, a subsidiary of National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL).

• Purpose: to sell ICICI’s insurance policies to NSDL’s customers.

32. Mastercard has launched the Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) testing platform to

help central banks in evaluating their digital currency.

• Central banks can ensure the simulation of issuance, distribution and exchange of CBDCs

between banks, financial service providers and consumers.

33. ICICI Bank has launched ‘iStartup 2.0’ initiative to help startups in regulatory assistance,

analytics, staffing, accounting, customer acquisition and digital outreach to customers, among

others.

• Startups can open their current accounts in three variants--Platinum, Gold and Silver—

under this initiative.

• Startups can easily open an account and get the account number instantly at the time of

incorporation as the Bank has integrated its API (application programming interface) with

the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

34. Ministry of Finance has launched the EASE 2.0 Reform Agenda ranking to assess the

performance of public sector banks on six parameters.

• EASE ranking system was launched in 2018 for institutionalizing clean and smart banking.

• The overall score of PSBs in EASE 2.0 has increased by 37% (from 49.2 to 67.4 out of

100) between March-2019 and March-2020.

• The highest improvement was seen in the ‘Responsible Banking’, ‘Governance and HR’, ‘PSBs as Udyamimitra for MSMEs’, and ‘Credit off-take’ parameters.

35. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a loan agreement with ENGIE group of France

for setting up a 200-MW solar power project in Gujarat for ₹466 crore.

• The project will be developed in the Raghanesda Solar Park.

• Electro Solaire Private Limited (ESPL), a special purpose vehicle owned by the ENGIE

group, will implement the project.

• ENGIE has 810 MW of solar power and 280 MW of wind power portfolio in India.

36. Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Carlyle Group (US-based global

investment firm) to acquire 20% stake in Piramal Pharma for around $490 million.

• The investment will be done through CA Clover Intermediate II Investments – a subsidiary

of Carlyle Group.

37. HCL Technologies (India) has collaborated with NVIDIA Partner Network (US-based

technology company) to expand research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) space.

• HCL also announced the launch of NEXT.ai (HCL's AI Lab), in partnership with NVIDIA, for upskilling of engineers and architects in AI solutions.

38. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has extended $15 million debt to Suguna Foods Private

Limited to help sustain poultry farming operations, as well as rural livelihoods and food

security in India during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

• Suguna is one of India’s largest poultry broiler enterprises.

39. SEBI has changed the rules of investment for multi-cap mutual fund companies to diversify

their investments portfolio across the large, mid and small -cap companies.

• The multi-cap funds will now invest minimum 75% of total assets in equities with 25% each in large-cap, midcap and small-cap companies. (Cap stands for capitalization.)

• Classification of large, mid and small cap companies:

o Large Cap: 1st -100th company in terms of full market capitalization

o Mid Cap: 101st -250th company in terms of full market capitalization

o Small Cap: 251st company onwards in terms of full market capitalization

• Earlier scenario – the minimum mandated investment in equity and equity related

instruments was 65% of total assets without any classification across segments.

• Compliance date – within 1 month after the release of stock list by Association of Mutual

Funds in India (AMFI) in January 2021.

• Implication – This will encourage multi-cap mutual funds to buy stocks of mid and small

cap companies. Usually, these multi-cap mutual funds prefer to buy the stocks of large-cap

companies. Now, this move will help the mid and small-cap companies to get liquidity of

around Rs 40,000 crores.

40. International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) has signed an MoU with the

India Gold Policy Centre (IGPC) at the IIM- Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

• As part of the MoU, IGPC -IIMA will provide guidance to IFSCA for establishing the

International Bullion Exchange (IBE) at IFSCA in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

41. RBI has proposed to allow foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to undertake exchange -traded

rupee interest rate derivatives (IRD) transactions for a maximum of ₹5,000 crore.

• IRD are contracts whose value is derived from one or more interest rates.

42. Titan has partnered with State Bank of India to launch ‘Titan Pay’ - India's First Payment

Watch.

• SBI customers can use their Titan watches to make payments of up to Rs 2000 without using their debit cards at the Point of Sale (PoS) machines.

43. SEBI has allowed Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment

Trust (InvITs) to be listed on stock exchanges operating in the International Financial Services

Centre (IFSC).

• SEBI has also directed stock exchanges in IFSC to draft a detailed framework for listing of REITs and InvIT units.

44. ICICI Home Finance has launched a new loan scheme ‘Apna Ghar Dreamz’ to provide a

home loan of Rs 2 lakh to 50 lakh to skilled workers employed in the informal sector in

Delhi.

45. DBS Bank India has launched DBS Digital Business Loans for SMEs – an online platform

for offering loans to small and mid-size businesses in a hassle-free manner.

• Maximum amount of loan to be given by the platform is Rs 20 crore.

46. SEBI has directed that mutual fund purchases will be calculated based on the net asset

value (NAV) of the day, the investor’s money reaches the asset manager, and not the day of

application w.e.f., 1st January, 2021.

• Under current rules, the NAV of the same day is considered for purchases of less than ₹2 lakh, even if the money does not reach the asset management company (AMC), but the

order is placed within the cut-off time.

• The new circular requires that in addition to submitting the application before the cut off

time, the money also has to reach the fund house on the same day.

• Exception – This provision does not apply to liquid and overnight funds.

• SEBI has also mandated the mutual fund operators to use automated order management system and scheme-wise order placements if the fund manager is dealing for multiple MF

schemes.

47. IRDAI’s Working Group on ‘Pandemic Risk Pool’ led by Suresh Mathur has suggested to

create a pandemic risk pool of the value of Rs 75,000 crores with public- private government

participation.

• The risk pool will make India resilient against any future epidemic/ pandemic.

48. Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) has launched a special gold loan scheme “Vikas Laghu Suvarna” with a reduced interest rate of 7.25%.

• Customers can take easy loan at low interest by pledging gold.

49. Canara Bank has launched lead management system (LMS) - i-Lead 2.0 (Inspiring Leads

System version 2.0) to provide its services to customers at every corner of the nation.

50. Ministry of Corporate Affairs has extended the tenure of the 11-members Company Law Committee (formed in 2019) by one year till September 2021.

• The committee is chaired by Corporate Affairs Secretary (incumbent: Rajesh Verma).

51. Ministry of Finance has notified that the concessional customs duties (including zero

import duty) will be provided to the importers, under free-trade agreements (FTAs), only if

they prove that the imported product has contributed to at least 35% in value addition in the

countries of origin.

52. Ministry of Finance has launched the 'India's External Debt: A Status Report: 2019-2020'. Parameters March end of 2020 March end of 2019

External Debt $558.5 billion (2.8% increase from March 2019)

$543 billion

Ratio of foreign currency reserves to

external debt

85.5% 76%

External debt as a ratio to GDP ratio 20.6% 19.8%

FII investment in G-Sec

(2nd largest constituent of India’s sovereign debt which shrank by 3% in

2020 to reach $100.9 billion)

$21.6 billion (23.3% decrease

from 2019)

$28.3 billion

Loans from external multilateral and

bilateral agencies (largest constituent of the sovereign

debt)

$87.2 billion (increased by

4.9% from 2019)

-

Non-sovereign debt $457.7 billion (increased by 4.2%)

-

53. Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Alstom SA (France) to completely

acquire the Bombardier Transportation (global rail solutions division of Bombardier,

headquartered in Canada) in India.

• CCI has also given approval to CDPQ (pension company in Canada) and Bombardier Inc.

for buying 18% and 3% stake in Alstom, respectively.

54. “Indian Banks: A Time to Reform” research paper has been released by Raghuram Rajan

and Viral Acharya. The paper talks about various reforms Indian banking system needs. Note: It is important for you to understand the reforms suggested by this research paper for your Phase 2 examination and interviews. Therefore, I have prepared a video on YouTube for this only.

55. HCL Technologies has decided to acquire of DWS Ltd (an IT firm in Australia) for $115.8

million in order to further expand its digital offerings especially in Australia and New Zealand.

56. SEBI has released an alternative risk management framework to prevent commodities’

prices from turning negative or zero (as it happened in case of oil in April 2020).

• SEBI has also formed a task force of Clearing Corporations (CCs) and market participants

to review the risk management framework in such cases.

• SEBI has clarified that the commodities which need specialized storage space in physical markets, which, if not followed, may cause environmental hazards, like crude oil or any

other commodities of similar nature, will be considered as vulnerable to the possibility of

near zero and negative prices.

• SEBI has prescribed five situations in which this framework will be applicable: - 1st

condition • There is a fall in the commodity prices by more than 50% within 20 trading

days, while comparing the intra-day highest and lowest prices.

2nd

condition • If the international exchange/ clearing corporation, in case of international

contracts, wants to apply this framework to avoid negative prices.

3rd condition • Options contracts having strike price values of near zero/negative are

introduced by the stock exchange for trading. 4th condition • Price of the underlying commodity/futures contract comes down to the level

equal to or lower than the maximum price movement observed over the

MPOR (Margin Period of Risk) in past 12 months. 5th condition • Any other conditions as per the discretion of the CC, which might indicate

the likelihood of negative prices. Note: In order to understand the framework in detail, watch our video on YouTube.

57. Visa and IFundWomen have partnered to launch a grant program in India to boost female entrepreneurship and empower budding businesswomen by providing guidance, financial

support and resources (such as funding).

• Visa has partnered with FICCI Ladies Organisation (the ladies’ wing of FICCI) and Instamojo as Digitization partner for the program in India.

• Visa also launched the First India edition of Visa Everywhere Initiative in which three

fintech startups – Payswiff, Phi Commerce and Samunnati – were awarded.

58. SBI has launched the “Mahila Atmanirbharshil Aachani” (Women Self-Reliance programme)

in Assam to provide funding to women self-help groups (SHG).

59. National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Singapore Exchange (SGX) have signed a formal

agreement to set up NSE IFSC-SGX Connect platform at Gujarat International Finance Tec

(GIFT) City in Gandhinagar.

• The platform will enable both exchanges to jointly launch trading of derivatives based on

the stock index Nifty 50 and its stock constituents at GIFT.

• SGX is also planning to set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) at GIFT city to facilitate

trading of its clients at NSE- IFSC.

• The arrangement was arrived at, in August 2019. However, the formal agreement has been

signed now.

60. Bandhan Bank has launched a new vertical — Emerging Entrepreneurs Business (EEB) —

to help the entrepreneurs who have little or no access to banking facilities.

• The bank appointed Kumar Ashish as executive president and head of the EEB vertical.

• Bandhan Bank MD & CEO – Chandra Shekhar Ghosh

61. SEBI has set up a Technical Group on Social Stock Exchange, under the chairmanship of

Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, to develop a framework for onboarding and management of non-

profit organisations and for-profit enterprises on social stock exchange.

• In June 2020, a working group on social stock exchange, chaired by Ishaat Hussain, submitted its report, highlighting the need to prepare detailed guidelines for onboarding of

non-profit and for-profit social organizations.

• Social Stock Exchange lists social welfare organizations to help them raise capital.

62. Reliance Industries has announced to sell its 1.28% stake in Reliance Retail Ventures to

KKR (US-based investment firm) for Rs 5,550 crore.

63. Bharti Airtel has bought a strategic stake in AI tech startup Waybeo under its start-up accelerator programme.

• Waybeo is the 5th startups to join Airtel’s start-up accelerator programme after Vahan, Spectacom, Lattu Kids and Voicezen.

64. SEBI has amended ICDR (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations to

make fund raising for companies through rights issue easier. Major changes: -

• The issuer will be eligible to make truncated disclosures (presenting information in a shortened manner), if the issuer has been filing periodic reports, statements, information in

compliance with Listing Regulations, for last one year instead of last three years as required

earlier.

• SEBI has also increased the threshold limit from Rs 10 crore to Rs 50 crore for filing

request for rights issue with SEBI.

• Mandatory minimum subscription criteria of 90% for rights issue shall not be applicable

where the objective of the right issue is financing rather than capital expenditure for a

project.

65. Parliament passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to bring cooperative

banks under the administrative control of RBI.

• It aims to amend the Banking Regulation Act of 1949.

• The bill empowers RBI to supersede any decision made by the Board of Directors for up to

five years under certain conditions, without consulting with the State govt, to protect the

interest of depositors.

• Benefits - It allows cooperative banks to issue equity shares, preference shares, and special shares, and unsecured debentures, bonds, or other securities with a maturity of ten

or more years to raise funds.

• Exemptions - Right now, agriculture credit societies and cooperative land mortgage banks are exempted from this bill. The excluded entities are not allowed to use the words ‘bank’,

‘banker’, or ‘banking’ in their name.

66. RBI has released the 'Technology Vision for Cyber Security’ for Urban Co-operative Banks – 2020-2023.

Cooperative Banks

Banking processes will be

under RBI.

Administrative processes will be under Registrar of Cooperative

Societies

• The vision document envisages to strengthen Urban Co-op Bank’s cyber security through a

5 – pillared approach named as ‘GUARD’.

• GUARD stand for – Governance Oversight, Utile Technology Investment, Appropriate

Regulation and Supervision, Robust Collaboration and Developing necessary IT, cyber

security skills set.

67. Ministry of Corporate Affairs has suspended the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016

for another three months starting 25 September to protect companies in distress from being

dragged into bankruptcy tribunals in wake of Covid-19 crisis.

• In March, the IBC was suspended for six months till September 25.

• IBC (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020 has been recently passed by the Parliament. This

bill allows the central govt to suspend the operations of IBC for up to one year through

notification.

• Also, the bill prohibits initiation of fresh insolvency proceedings against companies which

have defaulted on payments of loans from March 25 (when the nationwide lockdown

began).

68. SEBI has capped the advisory fees charged by registered investment advisers (RIAs) at

2.5% of the value of assets being advised, or ₹1,25,000 if they charge a flat fee.

• Advisers with over 150 clients must corporatize their business, or stop signing up new

clients.

• Existing clients have been given the option to choose either the advisory or distribution

services of the RIA at a group or family level. However, the clients should not be forced to

redeem their existing assets under advisory or distribution.

• On the other hand, SEBI has allowed grandfathering of existing assets of clients so that

the clients will not have to redeem their assets based on the service they choose.

• Eligibility of RIAs - existing RIAs who are 50 years or older have to hold NISM (National Institute of Securities Markets) -accredited certifications for offering services.

69. Facebook has partnered with Matrix Partners (an early stage venture capital fund) to help

early stage small businesses in India to build their brand.

• This tie-up is a part of Facebook’s VC Brand Incubator Program.

• Facebook launched this initiative in India in 2019, to help small and medium businesses to

build their brands through advertising and marketing via Facebook’s family of apps.

• Facebook has also launched new programme called Campaign Lab that helps direct-to-

consumer small businesses to get creative solutions to ease their path to success.

70. S&P Global Ratings has released the “Global banking: recovery will stretch to 2023 and

beyond” report.

• The report mentions that for India, Mexico and South Africa, a recovery to pre-covid-19

levels will be only after 2023.

• 20 largest banking jurisdictions (countries) were analysed in this report. These were divided

into three groups: early- exiters, mid-exiters, and late-exiters, based on their estimated

recovery to pre-covid levels.

• India’s banking sector is in the later- exiters category. It would be the hardest hit and the

last to recover from Covid-19 disruptions.

71. RBI has announced to introduce the ‘positive pay’ system for cheque from January 1, 2021

in order to reduce frauds in cheques amounting from Rs 50,000 or above.

• Under the mechanism, the account holder has to re-confirm the key details such as date,

name of the beneficiary, payee, amount to the drawee bank electronically to reduce frauds.

• This ‘positive pay’ system for cheque will be introduced to cheque truncation system

(CTS) of the banks.

• Availing of this facility would be at the discretion of the account holder. However, banks may introduce the system mandatorily in case of cheques of Rs 5 lakh and above.

72. Central government has operationalized 'Faceless Income Tax Appeals' system under which

the entire process of appeals from filing to the final appellate order will be done online without

physical interaction between taxpayers, their counsel, and Income tax department.

• This faceless system will not apply on serious frauds.

• It was announced to be launched on September 25 (on Deendayal’s birthday) during the

launch of "Transparent Taxation - Honouring the Honest" platform (in August 2020).

• Mechanism of the faceless tax system (read it for the purpose of understanding only):

A central computer picks up (using data analytics and AI) tax returns for scrutiny

and then allots them randomly to a team of

officers.

Territorial jurisdiction is abolished as tax

payer may belong to one city but the

Income Tax Return may be assessed in some

other city (selected by the computer

randomly).

Central issuance of notices with Document Identification No.(DIN).

73. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has identified LIC,

General Insurance Corporation of India and New India Assurance (a general insurance

companies) as domestic systemically important insurers (D-SIIs) for 2020-21.

• Impact – These insurers are now subject to enhanced regulatory supervision.

• What is D-SIIs? – D-SIIs refer to insurers of such size, market importance and domestic

and global inter-connectedness whose distress or failure would cause a significant

dislocation in the domestic financial system. IRDAI selects D-SIIs on an annual basis.

• In January 2019, IRDAI constituted a Committee on Domestic Systemically Important Insurers, under the chairmanship of Pravin Kutumbe, for preparing framework for

identification of systematically important insurers.

74. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved two loans totalling USD 570 million for

developing the urban infrastructure of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

• Madhya Pradesh – USD 270 million for improving the Urban Services of the state. Water

supply, integrated storm water and sewage management infrastructure will be developed.

• Rajasthan – USD 300 million for developing infrastructure of water supply and sanitation among others in Rajasthan's secondary towns.

75. IDFC First Bank has launched ‘SafePay’ which will allow the account holders to make

contactless debit card payment by using their mobile phones.

• IDFC First Bank claims SafePay to be the first of its kind facility.

76. RBI has approved a three-member committee of directors (who are independent) to operate

the Lakshmi Vilas Bank with the same powers of MD and CEO.

• Reason – Shareholders rejected the appointment of MD and CEO of the bank at the annual

meeting. The bank is suffering from severe liquidity crunch and is striving to survive.

• The committee is chaired by Meeta Makhan, with Shakti Sinha and Satish Kumar Kalra as

members.

77. Axis Bank has partnered with Bayer’s Better Life Farming initiative in India to provide

financial services to smallholder farmers and rural farming communities.

• Launched in 2018 by Bayer, International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group),

Netafim and Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, the Better Life Farming (BLF) is a global

alliance to support smallholder farmers in developing economies to increase crop yields

and farm incomes.

78. SEBI has asked stock exchanges and clearing corporations to liquidate assets of

defaulting brokers within six months of declaring them as defaulters.

• This move comes in the wake of defaults by Mumbai-based broker Anugrah Stock and Broking.

79. HDFC Bank has launched the India’s first Warehouse Commodity Finance App.

• Purpose: to help customers in managing their loans (taken against pledge of commodities)

online.

80. Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has signed an MoU with Yes Bank to empower the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) listed on the platform.

• BSE and Yes Bank will conduct awareness and knowledge-sharing programmes for

providing banking and financial solutions to SMEs.

81. CRIF High Mark (Indian credit bureau owned by CRIF) has joined hands with SIDBI for

launching of sector-based insight reports titled ‘Industry Spotlight’ for MSMEs in India.

• Under the partnership, a series of quarterly reports providing data and trends on key

industry sectors in each edition will be launched.

82. SEBI has released a detailed code of conduct for mutual funds that shall be followed by the

fund managers, including chief investment officers, and dealers of asset management

companies.

• Currently, the code of conduct under SEBI mutual fund regulations is applicable to trustees

and the asset management companies.

• SEBI has allowed the debenture trustees of companies (in which mutual funds have

invested) to conduct an independent inspection of assets on which a charge is being

created in order to strengthen the role of these trustees.

• Also, SEBI has made it mandatory for listed companies to disclose their forensic audit reports and the comments of management on the report, through stock exchange filings.

83. RBI has extended the overdraft time limit and the limit of ways and means advances for

states and UTs till 31st March 2021.

• These limits were enhanced in April 2020.

What did RBI announce in April 2020?

ü Time period for which a state or UT can

avail the overdraft facility from RBI (the

banker to the govt) was enhanced: -

ü The limit of Ways and Means Advances for

state and UTs was enhanced by 60% as

compared to March 31, 2020.

• From 14 to 21 working days in a month,

and,

• From 36 to 50 working days in a quarter

• Ways and Means Advances are

temporary credit extended by RBI to

states and UTs to fill in the mismatches

in their cash flow statements.

• WMA is extended on repo-linked

interest rates.

84. IDBI Bank has become the first bank to implement the new feature of document

embedding facility with Letter of Credit/Bank Guarantee messages on structured financial

messaging system, managed by Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS).

• IFTAS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the RBI.

• The messages will be managed by IFTAS’s middleware application i@Connect-SFMS developed by IDBI Intech Limited.

85. IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2020 has been released.

• Mukesh Ambani topped the list for a ninth consecutive year.

86. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has clarified that transactions done in electricity, clean

energy certificates, securities and commodities (traded through recognised exchanges) are not

subjected to TCS or TDS deductions on e-commerce platforms.

• This TDS and TCS regime was introduced through the Finance Act, 2020. It will be

effective from 1 October, 2020.

• As per the new regime, e-commerce platforms will deduct 1% TDS of the sellers who are

using the e-commerce platform for sales.

• Besides this, every seller with a sale of more than ₹50 lakh should collect 0.1% TCS (of the

value of goods) from the buyers.

• Motor vehicle sales by producers to dealers will be covered under the new TCS provisions. Dealers having sales of more than ₹50 lakh will have to collect 0.1% TCS from

buyers on sale of cars priced up to ₹10 lakh.

• In the case of costlier cars, TCS has been applicable at the rate of 1% (reduced to 0.75%

during the pandemic) under a different section of the law.

TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) TCS (Tax Collected at Source)

• It is the tax which is deducted at the

source from where the income is

generated. For example: In this case, sellers are selling their products on e-commerce platform, let’s say,

Amazon.

Amazon will deduct the tax of the sellers from the revenue earned by them through the platform, and

deposit it to the govt on behalf of the sellers because Amazon is the source from where the

income of sellers is generated.

• It is the tax which is paid by the buyers

to companies or sellers. For example: In case of motor vehicles, the tax will be collected from the buyers on the products and

the sellers will deposit the tax directly to the govt.

GDP FORECASTS

1. S&P Global Ratings has reduced India’s GDP growth rate to (-) 9% for FY21.

• India’s GDP growth rate for FY22: 10%

FY21 GDP growth rate forecast for India (till now):

Global Agencies Domestic Agencies

Moody’s: (–) 11.5% India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra): (–) 11.8%

Fitch: (–) 10.5% Crisil: (–) 9%

Goldman Sachs: (–) 14.8% Care Ratings: (–) 8%

S&P: (–) 9% -

Nomura: (–) 10.8% -

2. India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) forecasts India’s GDP growth rate to contract by

11.8% in FY21.

• For FY22, GDP growth rate forecast is 9.9%.

• It would be the sixth and the worst instance of economic contraction, others being in FY-

1958, FY-1966, FY-1967, FY-1973 and FY-1980. The lowest was -5.2% recorded in FY80.

3. Fitch Ratings has forecasted India’s GDP growth rate at -10.5% for FY21 as against 5%

estimated earlier.

• Global GDP growth rate for FY21 – (-) 4.4% (earlier 4.6% estimated)

• China is the only country among major economies which will see a positive GDP growth at +2.7% (compared to +1.2% forecasted in June 2020).

• Nomura has also reduced India’s GDP growth rate to -9% in 2020 (calendar year) and -

10.8% FY21 (fiscal year).

4. Goldman Sachs has estimated India’s GDP growth rate to shrink 14.8% in FY21.

• India’s GDP growth rate for Calendar Year 2021 – (-) 9.9%

• India’s GDP growth rate for FY22 – (+) 15.7%

5. Crisil Research has forecasted that India’s GDP growth rate would shrink 9% in FY21.

6. Moody’s has forecasted that India’s GDP growth rate would contract at 11.5% in FY21.

• India’s FY22 growth rate would be 10.6% largely due to the strong statistical base effect.

• India’s fiscal deficit will reach 12% of GDP in FY21.

7. Care Ratings has forecasted that India’s GDP growth rate would contract to 8.0- 8.2% for

FY21.

8. For the first time since 1960, Asian Development Bank has forecasted a negative growth

rate for the Developing Asian region (excluding developed nations like Japan, Australia and

New Zealand) at -0.7% for 2020 (FY21).

• Developing Asia region’s GDP Growth in 2021 (FY22) will be 6.8%, particularly due to the

weak base (of 2020).

• India’s GDP growth rate for 2020 (FY21) is -9%.

• India’s GDP growth rate for 2021 (FY22) is +8%.

9. OECD, in its Interim Economic Outlook report, has forecasted the global GDP growth rate

to be at -4.5% in FY21, in comparison to its previous forecast of -6% in June 2020.

• For FY22, the global GDP growth rate is 5%.

• The world could face a loss of $7 trillion in income due to the pandemic.

• India’s GDP growth rate for FY21 will be -10.2%, in comparison to the -3.7% to -7.3%

growth rate forecasted in June.

• India’s GDP growth rate for FY22 will be +10.7%.

10. Ministry of Finance expects India’s GDP to grow by 19% in 2021-22, which indicates a V-shaped recovery for India.

• This is a positive outlook, even if half of the 19% is inflation.

• The ministry has not revealed the GDP growth forecast for 2020-21.

11. UNCTAD Trade and Development Report 2020 has been released by United Nations

Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

• Global GDP would shrink by 4.3% in FY21, which is equivalent to a loss of $6 trillion global

output/ income.

• Global trade will shrink by around 1/5th, global FDI flows would contract by 40% and

remittances will drop by over $100 billion.

• Poverty Alert! - 90 to 120 million people will be pushed into extreme poverty in the

developing world, with close to 300 million facing food insecurity. Region GDP growth rate for FY21 GDP growth rate for FY22

World - 4.3% +4.1%

India - 5.9% + 3.9%

12. National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has forecasted India’s GDP

growth rate for FY21 as -12.6%.

• FY21 quarter wise fall – Q1: 23.9%; Q2: 12.7%; Q3: 8.6%; Q4: 6.2%.

• India will catch up with its pre-pandemic growth rate of 7% p.a. only by 2037-38.

• However, Indian economy would achieve its pre-pandemic output growth of 5.8% only by

2022-23.

13. ICRA has forecasted a -11% GDP growth rate for India for FY21 from -9.5%.

APPOINTMENTS 1. Mustapha Adib (Lebanon’s former envoy to Germany) has been elected as the new Prime

Minister of Lebanon.

• Lebanon’s cabinet resigned after the Beirut explosion.

• Lebanon Capital and Currency – Beirut; and pound

• Lebanon’s President – Michel Aoun

2. Hemant Khatri has been appointed as the chairman and managing director (CMD) of

Hindustan Shipyard Limited.

3. Usha Padhee (IAS Officer) has been appointed as the First Woman Director General of

Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.

• Usha Padhee is also the joint secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

4. K Padmakar has been additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).

• K Padmakar is also the Director (HR) of BPCL.

5. Murali Ramakrishnan has been appointed as the MD and CEO of the South Indian Bank (private sector bank).

6. T. Krishnakumar has been appointed as the Chairman of Coca-Cola’s India Inc.

• Sanket Ray has been named as President of Coca-Cola’s India and South- west Asia

business.

7. S Krishnan has been appointed as the MD & CEO of state-owned Punjab & Sind Bank.

8. Aveek Sarkar has been elected as the chairman of the Press Trust of India.

9. Ayushmann Khurrana has been appointed as the brand ambassador of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance.

10. Paresh Rawal has been appointed Chairperson of the National School of Drama Society.

11. Jane Fraser has become the first woman CEO of Citigroup.

• She is also the President of Citigroup.

12. Subhash Kamath (CEO of advertising agency BBH and Publicis Worldwide, India) has been

elected as the chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).

13. All India Tennis Association (AITA) has elected Anil Jain (a BJP Rajya Sabha member) as

its new president.

• AITA has recently increased the number of joint secretaries to four from two.

14. Ayushmann Khurrana has been appointed as the celebrity advocate for UNICEF India’s campaign to end violence against children.

• Khurrana will work towards this initiative in India as he joins the likes of David Beckham,

who works on this campaign globally.

15. Yoshihide Suga has been elected as the new PM of Japan.

16. India and Afghanistan have been elected as Members of the UN Commission on the Status of Women for a four-year term beginning from 2021-2025.

• The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional commission of the UN

Economic and Social Council (comprising of 54 members) that is focussed on gender

equality and women empowerment.

• India will begin its term at UN Security Council as a non-permanent member for 2021-22 in

January.

17. Sachin Tendulkar has been appointed as the brand ambassador of Paytm First Games.

18. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has been given the additional charge of

Ministry of Food Processing Industries as the current Minister Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal

has resigned.

19. Sahil Seth has been appointed as an honorary adviser to the steering committee for the

BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) young leaders for the period 2020-2023.

• Founded in 2012, BRICS CCI is the parent organisation which promotes commerce and

industry in the BRICS nations.

20. Anil Dhasmana has been appointed as the chief of National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO).

• NTRO is India’s technical body that is responsible for geospatial intelligence and satellite

imagery.

21. Alcoholic beverages company United Spirits Ltd has appointed Pradeep Jain as its chief

financial officer.

• Anand Kripalu (MD and CEO of Diageo India- United Spirits Ltd) as the chairman of the

Royal Challengers Bangalore team.

• UK-based Diageo is the major shareholding company of United Spirits.

22. RBI has appointed A.K. Dixit as the new administrator of Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank Ltd.

23. Girija Shanker Mungali has been appointed as one of the seven members of the Asian

Football Confederation’s task force for regulating football clubs in Asia and Australia.

• Mungali is the only Indian in this committee.

• Asian Football Confederation’s HQ - Malaysia

24. Arthur Gregg Sulzberger has been appointed as the chairman of the New York Times Co.

(newspaper company).

• A.G. is the son of the former chairman of New York Times, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr.

25. Gopalkrishna Gandhi (grandson of Mahatma Gandhi) has been appointed as the life trustee

of the India International Centre (IIC).

• Gandhi is not the only trustee of IIC. There are other trustees as well.

• India International Centre is a non-government institution that aims to promote

understanding and cooperation between the different communities of the world.

26. National Medical Commission (NMC) has appointed Dr Suresh Chandra Sharma as its first chairperson for a period of 3 years.

• NMC has come into existence from Sept. 25 as the country's apex regulator of medical

education and profession replacing the Medical Council of India (MCI) under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019.

• The NMC comprises a chairman, 10 ex-officio members and 22 part-time members.

27. L Adimoolam has been elected as the president of the Indian Newspaper Society (an apex

body of the publishers of newspapers, magazines and periodicals in the country).

28. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has appointed Sunil Sethi (Chairman of

the Fashion Design Council of India) as its Advisor for giving his advice for promoting of Khadi

in India and abroad.

• Sethi will primarily give advice on the latest design in the readymade garments segment.

29. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) has appointed Rajat Sud as its new Managing Director.

30. Acer India has appointed Sonu Sood as its brand ambassador.

• Acer Inc. is a Taiwanese multinational electronics company.

31. Reserve Bank of India has roped in Amitabh Bachchan for its customer awareness campaign to prevent account holders from being duped by fraudsters.

• As part of the campaign, Big B posted an awareness message on RBI’s Twitter account

named as ‘RBI Says’.

32. P.D. Vaghela has been appointed as the new chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of

India (Trai) by the appointments committee of the cabinet.

33. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has appointed eminent filmmaker Shekhar Kapur as the new president of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Society, based in

Pune.

• He has also been appointed as the Chairman of the FTII governing council which runs the

FTII society.

34. Total 24 parliamentary committees were re-constituted. Almost all committees saw the latest

chairperson getting re-elected for the next term as well.

• All the reconstituted committees have 21 members from Lok Sabha and 10 members of

Rajya Sabha.

• Some important parliamentary committees:

Committee Chairperson

Parliamentary committee on IT [see note below] Shashi Tharoor

Parliamentary committee on finance Jayant Sinha

Parliamentary committee on home affairs Anand Sharma

Parliamentary committee on science and

technology, environment and forests and climate

change

Jairam Ramesh

Parliamentary committee on labour Bhratuhari Mahtab

Note: Do read about the Facebook conflict which the Tharoor committee is investigating.

IMPORTANT DAYS 1. PM Modi has called for celebrating September 2020 as the National Nutrition Month (or

Poshan Month). September is being celebrated as the National Nutrition Month since 2018.

• Poshan Abhiyan -National Nutrition Mission was launched in 2018.

• A nutrition park was inaugurated in October 2019 near the Statue of Unity in Narmada

district, Kevadia, Gujarat.

• National Nutrition Week 2020 is observed from September 1 to September 7 by Ministry of Women and Child Development since 1982.

2. National Small Industry Day is observed on August 30 annually.

• On this day, Punjab National Bank launched PNB Seva Scheme to provide funding to the small-scale industries for their working capital requirements in these unprecedented

times.

3. World Coconut Day is observed on September 2 to commemorate the foundation day of

Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (1969), which operates under the UN Economic and

Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP).

• Theme – “Invest in Coconut to save the world”

• Asian and Pacific region house most of the world’s coconut growing production centres.

• Asian and Pacific Coconut Community Secretariat is located in Jakarta, Indonesia.

4. National Teachers’ Day is observed on September 5 on the birth anniversary of former

President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

• National Teachers’ Award 2020 (highest accolade for teachers in India) was given to a total of 47 teachers this year.

• For the first time, a teacher – Sudha Painuli (vice-principal of EMRS-Kalsi, Dehradun) –

from Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS established under the Ministry of Tribal

Affairs) has been selected for this award.

5. The very first International Day of Clean Air for blue skies was observed on September 7th, 2020 by UN to create awareness about the importance of clean air.

• Theme - "Clean Air for All"

• The resolution for the day was adopted in 74th session of UN in 2019.

6. International Literacy Day is observed on September 8 across the world by UN.

• Theme - Literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.

CERTAIN FACTS ABOUT INDIA'S LITERACY RATES:

Ministry of Tribal Affairs aims to establish an Eklavya Model Residential School in every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons,

by 2022.

• The report on ‘Household Social Consumption: Education in India as part of 75th round of

National Sample Survey - from July 2017 to June 2018’ provides details of literacy rates

in India. It was released in November 2019.

o It assessed literacy rates of population aged 7 or above.

• India's literacy rate is 77.7%.

• Most Literate state - Kerala (with 96.2% literacy) , Delhi (88.7%) rate.

• Least Literate state - Andhra Pradesh (66.4% rate)

• Rural areas literacy rate - 73.5%

• Urban areas literacy rate - 87.7%

• Male literacy rate - 84.7%

• Female literacy rate - 70.3%

• Kerala's male literacy rate is 97.4% as compared to 95.2% among females.

7. World Suicide Prevention Day is observed on 10th September by International Association

for Suicide Prevention.

• Theme – Working together to prevent suicide Note: NCRB’s report on suicide and accidents has been recently released. Read it in September 1 and 2, 2020 document.

8. First ever International Day to Protect Education from Attack was celebrated on 9

September, 2020 by UN.

• Theme - Protect Education, Save a Generation

• UNESCO and UNICEF will facilitate the annual observance of the Day.

• Two reports related to education were released.

Education under Attack 2020 report Save Our Education 2020 report

• Education under Attack 2020 was released by Global Coalition to

• Save the Children organization has released its Save Our Education 2020

Protect Education from Attack. The

report surveyed 37 countries.

report. The report predicts that at least

9.7 million children will be out of

school forever by the end of this year

due to Covid-19 pandemic.

• According to the report, from 2015 to 2019, military use of schools or

universities was reported in 33

countries, including India.

• COVID-19 leaves estimated $77 billion gap in education spending for world’s

poorest children.

• GCPEA found over 1,200 reported attacks on higher educational facilities

and their students and personnel

between 2015 and 2019. In India,

Sudan, and Turkey, over 1,000

university students and personnel were

injured, killed, or detained as a result of

such attacks.

• Girls are at increased exposure to gender-based violence and risk of child

marriage and teen pregnancy during

school closures.

• India comes under the category of

countries that have more than 500

students, teachers, or other education

personnel harmed by individually

targeted attacks.

-

9. National Engineer’s Day – India observes this day on September 15 to honour the eminent

engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (who was born on Sept 15). He was the first civil

engineer of India.

• He is also known as the father of Indian engineering.

10. International Day of Democracy is observed on 15 September by UN.

• This year, the focus is on “Covid-19: A Spotlight on Democracy”.

11. World Ozone Day (also known as International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer)

is observed on September 16 by UN.

• Theme – "Ozone for life: 35 years of ozone layer protection".

• 2020 marks the 35 years of the Vienna Convention for the protection of the ozone layer (signed in 1985).

• Montreal Protocol 1987 set the target of reducing all ozone-depleting substances by 99%.

• The Kigali Amendment to Montreal Protocol came into force in 2019 to reduce hydrofluorocarbon (HFCs) and greenhouse gases.

12. 2nd World Patient Safety Day is observed on September 17, 2020 by WHO.

• Theme - Health Worker Safety: A Priority for Patient Safety

• In India, National Patient Safety Implementation Framework (2018-25) was adopted to

improve the level of patient safety in India.

13. World Bamboo Day is observed on September 18 by World Bamboo Organization.

• Theme - BAMBOO NOW

14. First ever International Equal Pay Day is observed on September 18, 2020 by UN to

promote equal pay for both men and women for work of equal value.

• In India, women earn 19% less than men.

15. International Coastal Cleanup Day is observed on the 3rd Saturday in September. In 2020, it

lies on September 19.

• According to the Association for Community Awareness (ASCOA), the theme of the International Coastal Cleanup Day 2020 is ‘Achieving a trash free Coastline’.

• For the first time, Ministry of Environment has recommended 8 beaches for the ‘Blue Flag Certification’ given by the Foundation for Environmental Education (based in Denmark).

• The certification is given to the cleanest beaches in the world.

• Last year, the Ministry of Environment had selected 12 beaches for Blue Flag certification.

Out of those 12 beaches, 8 have been recommended.

• Now, India also has its own eco-label called "BEAMS" (Beach Environment & Aesthetics

Management Services) launched by the Society of Integrated Coastal Management (under

Ministry of Environment) under the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZM).

16. World Alzheimer’s Day is observed on 21 September and is part of World Alzheimer's Month.

• Theme - ‘Let’s talk about dementia’

• Dementia is a mental disorder characterised by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning.

• Alzheimer is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental

functions.

17. International Day of Peace is observed on September 21 by UN.

• Theme – Shaping Peace Together

18. International Day of Sign Languages is observed on September 23.

• Theme - Sign Languages are for Everyone!

• International Week of the Deaf, an initiative of the WFD, is celebrated annually in the last

week of September.

• The theme of the 2020 International Week of the Deaf will be “Reaffirming Deaf People’s Human Rights”.

• World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) was established on September 23, 1951.

• United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted in 2006 and it entered into force in 2008.

19. World Maritime Day is observed on September 24 by UN.

• Theme - Sustainable Shipping for a Sustainable Planet

• In India, National Maritime Day is celebrated on April 5 every year.

20. World Environment Health Day is observed on September 26.

• Theme - Environmental Health, A Key Public Health Intervention In Disease Pandemic

Prevention (according to the International Federation of Environmental Health)

21. World Tourism Day is observed on September 27 by UN.

• Theme - “Tourism and Rural Development”

• Minister of Oil and Petroleum, Dharmendra Pradhan, has urged for switching prime tourist destinations to switch to 100% clean fuel.

• UN World Tourism Organization has designated 2020 as the Year of Tourism and Rural

Development.

22. 1st edition of the International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction is

observed on 29 September by UN.

• Theme - “Stop food loss and waste. For the people. For the planet.”

• Food and Agriculture Organization has created the Food Loss Index (FLI) to monitor

SDG Target 12.3 to assess the percentages of food removed from the supply chain.

• Globally, 14% of food is wasted according to FAO.

AWARDS 1. Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) project won the

Award of Excellence in the ‘Innovation in Rainwater Harvesting’ category at the National Water Innovation Summit 2020 (organized by Union Ministry of Jal Shakti along with Elets

Technomedia Ltd).

• The project stores water in abandoned quarries (pits) for supply to the city.

• CMWSSB’s ‘DIAL FOR WATER 2.0’ scheme (online booking service for water tankers

launched in 2019) has won the Skoch Award Gold in the ‘Digital India’ category.

2. Va Tech Wabag (Water technology company) has won the ‘distinction’ award at Global

Water Award 2020 under 'wastewater project of the year' category for its tertiary treatment

reverse osmosis (TTRO) plant at Koyambedu in Chennai.

• TTRO plant was developed for Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

• The plant makes Chennai the first Indian city to reuse more than 20% of its treated

wastewater and supply it to industries.

• Kanpur STP financing, India has won the Global Water Awards 2020 in Water Deal of the Year category.

• The Global Water Awards 2020 is given in six categories.

IMPORTANT FACTS:-

Ø The Global Water Awards are given during Global Water Summit. But this time, these

awards are being given virtually.

Ø 4th edition of the Global Water Summit will be held in New Delhi, India from 9-11

November, 2020.

Ø Theme of the summit – Clean and Safe Drinking Water for All

Ø Organizers – Energy and Environment Foundation in support of Ministry of Jal Shakti

and NITI Aayog.

3. Hyderabad International Airport has won the CII-GBC 'National Energy Leader' and

'Excellent Energy Efficient Unit' award given by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

- Godrej Green Business Centre (GBC).

• The award was given at the 21st National Awards for 'Excellence in Energy Management"

organized by CII and GBC, during the 19th edition of 'Energy Efficiency Summit".

• RINL-Vizag Steel has won Excellent Energy Efficient Unit Award by CII-GBC in National

Award competition for Excellence in Energy Management. RINL stands for Rashtriya Ispat

Nigam Limited.

4. Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust has conferred the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for 2019 on

David Attenborough (English broadcaster and natural historian) at a virtual event.

5. UNESCO has given International Literacy Prizes 2020.

• The awards are given in two categories: -

UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize (2 awards)

About the Award:

F Established in 1989; named after King

Sejong of South Korea who invented the

Korean alphabet; given to two

organizations or individuals who fight

against illiteracy.

2020 Winners:

ü ‘Ageing Nepal’ in Nepal – for its ‘Basic

Literacy Class for Older Persons’

programme

ü ‘United World Schools’ in United

Kingdom – for its ‘Providing Non-Burmese

Speaking Out-of-School Children with

Access to Education’ programme

UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy (3 awards)

About the Award:

F Confucius Prize (named after Chinese

scholar Confucius) recognizes the activities

of individuals, governments or NGOs

working in literacy serving rural adults and

out of school youth, particularly women and

girls. It is given to 3 organizations or

individuals. 2020 Winners:

ü ‘Just Commit Foundation’ in Ghana – for

its ‘Inspirational Business Stories’

programme

ü ‘University Center for Social Participation’ in Mexico – for its ‘Literacy

programme: learning by teaching’

ü ‘General Literacy Office in Sanaa’ in

Yemen for its ‘Educating and integrating

refugees in literacy classes in Yemeni

society’ programme

6. 8th edition of the World Summit on the Information Society Prizes 2020 have been

announced by International Telecommunication Union.

• From India, Sabooj Sathi online 3.0 initiative of West Bengal has won this award in the

category of “ICT application: benefits in all aspects of life – E-government”.

• West Bengal launched the flagship scheme titled "Sabooj Sathi" in 2015-16 for providing bi-cycles to all students of Class IX to XII in Government Schools to increase access to high

schools.

7. 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival was held in Venice, Italy. Category Winners

Golden Lion Nomadland, (Director: Chloé Zhao)

Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize New Order, (Director: Michel Franco)

Silver Lion – Award For Best Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa For “Wife Of A Spy” Movie

Award For Best Screenplay Chaitanya Tamhane For “The Disciple” Movie

Coppa Volpi For Best Actress Vanessa Kirby For “Pieces Of A Woman” Movie

Coppa Volpi For Best Actor Pierfrancesco Favino For “Padrenostro” Movie

Orizzonti Award For Best Film The Wasteland (Director: Ahmad Bahrami) Note: Only important awards have been mentioned in the table above. If you want to read the complete list of awardees, you can click at this link – https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-others/venice-film-festival-2020-winners-list-6593715/

8. Aditya Puri (MD of HDFC Bank) has won the Lifetime Achievement Award at Euromoney Awards of Excellence 2020 for his contributions in developing HDFC bank.

Euromoney Awards of Excellence 2020 (Global)

World’s Best Bank JP Morgan

World’s Best Investment Bank Goldman Sachs

Global Excellence in Leadership HSBC’s CEO Noel Quinn & Credit Suisse CEO

Thomas Gottstein

Banker of The Year Brian Moynihan, Bank of America

Asia's best bank DBS, Singapore

Asia's best investment bank Citi

Note: - The award was given in various categories and regions. I have put the important categories here. If you want to know more about the awards, you can click on this link – https://www.euromoney.com/awards/awards-for-excellence/awards-for-excellence-2020#global

9. Asia Society, in collaboration with Citigroup, presents the 2020 Asia Game Changers

awards to six persons to recognize their contributions towards fighting the ills of society.

• Winners of 2020 awards:

1) Miky Lee (American-

South Korean

businessperson)

2) Naomi Osaka

(Japanese tennis

champion)

3) BTS (South Korean

boys’ band)

4) Joe and Clara Tsai

(Taiwanese-Canadian

Corporates and

philanthropist)

5) VIKAS KHANNA (Chef

in Michelin company)

6) Yo-Yo Ma (American

cellist)

10. First-ever AICTE Visvesvaraya Best Teacher Awards 2020 has been presented to 12 faculty members of AICTE approved institutes on the occasion of Engineer’s Day (Sept 15).

• The Awards (to be given annually on Engineer’s day) has been constituted to felicitate

extraordinary teachers in the field of higher technical education at national level for Degree

and Diploma institutions across India.

11. UN has nominated Udit Singhal from India as a part of the 2020 Class of Young Leaders for SDGs which comprises 17 young leaders (including Singhal) from across the globe.

• He has been nominated for his Glass2Sand initiative that aims to reduce glass bottle

waste to zero in Delhi.

12. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar (DDUPSP), a national award

recognising the best-administered village panchayats, has been given to Andankoil (East)

panchayat in Karur district of Tamil Nadu.

• Total six village panchayats from Tamil Nadu have received this award.

13. Emmy Awards 2020 (American TV awards) have been presented to many excellent shows

and actors. Out of which, ‘Schitt’s Creek’ (a Canadian Sitcom created by Daniel Levy and

Eugene Levy) has won seven awards in different categories, including best comedy award.

• ‘Succession’ (created by Jesse Armstrong) won the Outstanding drama series award.

• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series - Jesse Armstrong (Succession, "This Is Not For

Tears")

14. PM Narendra Modi has become the 2nd Indian PM (after PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee) to get the

Ig Nobel Prize 2020 for Medical Education.

• Leaders like Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil), Boris Johnson (UK), Donald Trump (USA), Vladimir

Putin (Russia) are among the other winners of this award.

• Ig Psychology Prize was awarded to Miranda Giacomin (Canada) and Nicholas Rule

(USA) for devising a method to identify narcissists by examining their eyebrows.

15. 45th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) award winners: -

• People's Choice Award – Nomadland (director - Chloe Zhao)

• From India – Marathi movie "The Disciple" (director - Chaitanya Tamhane) won the

Amplify Voices Award at TIFF.

• "Night of the Kings" movie (director Phillipe Lacote) has shared the Amplify Voices Award with The Disciple.

• NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema) Award – Gaza mon amour (created by Tarzan Nasser and Arab Nasser)

• FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Prize – "Beginning" (created by Dea Kulumbegashvili)

16. TIME Magazine’s list of 100 most influential people of 2020 has been released.

Toppers in the list in different categories

Category Person

Pioneer Megan Thee Stallion

Artists The Weeknd

• Ig Nobel Prize is a satirical and parody award given out by a magazine Improbable Research every year since 1991.

• The award aims to "honour achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think".

Leader Anthony Fauci

Titans GABRIELLE UNION

Icons AMY O'SULLIVAN

Indians in the Times 100 list

Pioneers Ravindra Gupta (Professor of the University of Cambridge and Imperial College, London)

Artists Ayushman Khurana

Leaders PM Narendra Modi

Titans Sunder Pichai (Alphabet CEO)

Icons Bilkis (woman protesting against CAA)

17. Surat’s Khushi Chindaliya (aged 17) has been appointed as the Regional Ambassador for

India by the United Nations Environment Programme - Tunza Eco-Generation.

• In 2003, UNEP adopted a long-term strategy named as Tunza Youth Strategy for engaging young people in environmental activities.

• "TUNZA" is a word in Kiswahili (language in Eastern Africa) which means to treat with care or affection.

18. Golden Pen of Freedom Award 2020, the annual press freedom award of the World

Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), has been awarded to Colombian journalist,

Jineth Bedoya Lima.

• She is also the recipient of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize

2020.

19. Kerala has won the United Nation Interagency Task Force Award for its outstanding performance on those Sustainable Development Goals which are focused on controlling non-

communicable diseases. Note: Besides this, there were various other countries which were conferred this award. If you want to have a look at it, you can visit this link - https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/25-09-2020-uniatf-awards-2020

20. Regina Barzilay (Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor) has won the first edition

of the annual $1 million award for artificial intelligence, given by Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (world’s biggest AI society).

• Reason – Barzilay won the award for deploying AI in cancer detection and drug discovery.

• The award is funded by Chinese online education company Squirrel AI.

• This is the topmost award of the above mentioned AI society.

21. 10th edition of the Azure AZ Awards 2020. The awards recognize the best work in

Architecture.

• Krushi Bhawan, Bhubaneswar, India (People’s Choice) won the Azure AZ Award in the category of Social Good.

Note: There are other winners of this award in different categories. Only the winner from India has been mentioned here owing to the importance that it holds.

22. All India Football Federation has announced its annual awards for 2019-20.

• Sanju Yadav and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu have won the Player of the Year award.

23. Actor Sonu Sood has won the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP)

prestigious SDG Special Humanitarian Action Award.

• Reason – for helping migrants during lockdown in India.

24. Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has given PATA awards to various organizations.

PATA Grand Title Winners 2020

• Human By Nature Print Campaign, Kerala Tourism, India in category of Marketing.

• Anurak Community Lodge, YAANA Ventures, Thailand in category of Sustainability.

• Unleashing Greatness – MGM’s Human Capital Development Initiative, MGM China,

Macao, China in category of Human Capital Development. PATA Gold Award Winners 2020

• Total – 20 awards;

• including, Marketing Campaign (State and city - Global), Script Your Adventure 2019,

Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka, India

SPORTS 1. Thomas and Uber Cup badminton championships 2020 will be held in Aarhus (Denmark)

from October 3 to 11.

2. Cycling Federation of India (CFI) has announced to host the first-ever Cycling Summit in in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore in 2021 to promote the culture of cycling in India.

• CFI has also signed an MoU with Contarctica (a marketing exploration firm) for the summit.

3. India’s GM P. Iniyan has won the 48th annual world open chess tournament 2020.

• The tournament is usually held in Philadelphia (USA) but this year it was held online.

4. David Capel (former England all-rounder) has announced retirement.

5. France’s Pierre Gasly has won the Italian Grand Prix 2020.

6. England batsman Ian Bell has announced retirement from professional cricket.

7. International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) will host the Men’s World Cup 2020,

Women’s World Cup 2020 and ITTF Finals in Weihai city of China.

8. Poonam Khatri (Martial artist) has won a silver medal at the Wushu World Championship

2019 which is now being upgraded to a gold medal.

• Poonam is now the third Indian to win a gold in Wushu World Championship after Pooja

Kadiyan (2017) and Praveen Kumar (2019).

9. Dominic Thiem (Austria) has won the US Open 2020 in men’s singles category.

• Naomi Osaka (Japan) won US Open 2020 in women’s singles category.

Fun Fact:

Ø It is Osaka’s 3rd grand slam win after she won US Open in 2018 and Australia Open in 2019.

10. Lewis Hamilton won the Tuscan Grand Prix held at Mugello Circuit, Italy.

11. Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (21-year-old) has become the youngest rider since World War II to

win the Tour de France 2020 (cycling event).

12. Bryson DeChambeau (American golfer) has won the US Open (Golf) 2020.

13. Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So have co-won the Saint Lous Rapid & Blitz online

tournament 2020.

• P Harikrishna (India) was at the 7th position.

14. Julia Engstrom (Sweden) has won the 2020 Lacoste Ladies Open De France (women’s golf

tournament that is held in France).

15. Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep have won the Rome Masters or Italian Open 2020 in

men and women’s single category respectively.

16. Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis has made the world record in outdoor pole vault

by climbing 6.15 meters at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meet in Rome.

• Before him, the record was held by Sergey Bubka (Ukraine) at 6.14 meters.

17. Fed Cup (women's tennis international team competition) is renamed as the Billie Jean King

Cup to honour Billie Jean King - the tennis legend and founder of the Women's Tennis

Association (WTA).

• It is the first time a major global team competition has been named after a woman.

• The first edition of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals (12-teams) will take place in Budapest,

Hungary, in April 2021.

18. Valtteri Bottas (of Mercedes team) has won the Russian Grand Prix 2020.

MISCELLANEOUS 1. “Capital and Ideology” book has been authored by Thomas Piketty (French economist) and

translated by Arthur Goldhammer.

2. Filmmaker Karan Johar has written his first children's book titled “The Big Thoughts of Little

Luv”.

• His other book is his own autobiography titled “An Unsuitable Boy” (published in 2017).

3. Channing Tatum (Hollywood actor) has written his first children's book titled 'The One And Only Sparkella’ which he dedicated to his daughter.

4. Historian Ramachandra Guha has written “The Commonwealth of Cricket: A Lifelong Love

Affair with the Most Subtle and Sophisticated Game Known to Humankind” book.

5. Two books on Sheela Birnstiel, popularly known as Ma Anand Sheela, will be published by

the end of this year.

• “Nothing To Lose” written by Manbeena Sandhu is her biography. It will be published by

Harper Collins (India).

• “My Story in My Own Words” memoir of Birnstiel will be published by Penguin Random

House.

• Birnstiel is known for her active participation in the Rajneesh movement.

6. “Invertonomics: Eight Ideas to Transform India” book has been authored by Goonmeet

Singh Chauhan.

7. Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) has developed a neural-based (machine

learning-based) practical approach for automatic interpretation of 3D seismic data.

• This is the first of its kind approach.

• Wadia is an autonomous Institute under the Department of Science & Technology.

8. Radha Nair has written ‘Breaking The Cocoon @ 40’ book which is inspired by her own

experiences.

9. Govind Swarup – also known as the “Father of Indian Radio Astronomy” – has passed

away.

• He was the founder-director of TIFR – National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) in

Pune.

• Swarup led the the team that set up the Ooty Radio Telescope (Tamil Nadu) and Giant

Meterwave Radio Telescope (Pune).

10. ‘Eye Opener’ is the autobiography of G.K. Mahantesh.

• G.K. Mahantesh is the President of the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI)

and President of World Blind Cricket (WBC).

11. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (Former Union Minister and a 5-time Lok Sabha MP) has passed

away.

• He is known as an architect of the MGNREGA programme.

12. “The End of an Era; India Exits Tibet” book has been written by Claude Arpi.

13. Seva Saptah is being observed across the nation from September 14-20, 2020 to celebrate

the 70th birthday of PM Narendra Modi (on September 17).

14. Tata Projects Ltd has won the bid to construct the new Parliament building as part of the

Narendra Modi govt’s Central Vista project.

• Central Vista project aims to redevelop the three-km stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate in Delhi.

15. “AZADI” book has been written by Arundhati Roy.

16. Former U.S. President Barack Obama has announced to release the first half of his memoirs

“A Promised Land” in November.

• The memoir talks about the term of Obama’s presidency from 2009-17. He was the first

black president of America.

17. International Institute of Information Technology- Bhuvneshwar has developed a first-of-

its-kind helmet-like ventilation device named as the ‘Swasner’.

18. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM) and FICCI have released a new report titled as

“India -Japan: Time to Seize New Opportunities”.

19. A study commissioned by the Observer Research Foundation (an Indian think-tank) has

found that the retreat of glaciers in the Himalayan Hindu Kush region is now affecting the

surface water and groundwater availability in the region.

• According to ISRO, approximately 75% of the Himalayan glaciers are retreating at an

alarming rate.

20. Romila Thapar (prominent historian) has written the “Voices of Dissent” book.

21. According to a study conducted by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland,

global sea level will rise by 15 inches by 2100 due to the melting of Greenland and Antarctica

ice sheets due to global warming.

• This new study is part of the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project (ISMIP6), which is

led by NASA Goddard.

• The study was published in journal The Cryosphere.

• Lead researcher of the study - Sophie Nowicki

• The results of this study are similar to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s

(IPCC) data released in 2019.

22. Ang Rita Sherpa from Nepal has passed away. He is the first man to climb Mount Everest 10

times.

23. Former Australia batsman Dean Jones has passed away.

24. Isher Judge Ahluwalia (Economist) has passed away.

• She is the former chairperson of Indian Council for Research on International Economic

Relations (ICRIER).

25. Swami Pratyagbodhananda, an eminent Hindu spiritual guru at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam (a

US-based ashram in Pennsylvania) has passed away.

• The Arsha Vidya Gurukulam was set up in 1986 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati for

imparting Vedic education in US.

26. Astrosat, India's first multi-wavelength astronomical observatory, has completed five years of imaging celestial objects in space.

• It was launched in 2015 by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

27. Rajnath Singh has launched ‘A bouquet of flowers’ book written by Dr Krishna Saksena (the first lady to get PhD, way back in 1955 from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh).

QUESTIONS

Q.1) Waingagana river flows in which state? [a] Telangana [b] Madhya Pradesh [c] Maharashtra [d] Karnataka [e] Odisha Q.2) 40th anniversary of solidarity movement of which country was celebrated by India by illuminating Qutub Minar in white and red colour? [a] German [b] Ukraine [c] Poland [d] Denmark [e] Finland Q.3) Ken and Betwa are the tributaries of which river? [a] Godavari [b] Krishna [c] Brahmaputra [d] Yamuna [e] Kaveri Q.4) Which country will become the Chairman of BRICS in 2021? [a] India [b] Russia [c] China [d] South Africa [e] Brazil Q.5) When was the ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement came into effect in India? [a] 2009 [b] 2010 [c] 2011 [d] 2012 [e] 2013 Q.6) How much stake will Adani Group acquire in Mumbai International Airport Limited? [a] 51% [b] 47% [c] 60% [d] 50.5% [e] 74% Q.7) Which state has announced to provide free food grains to the beneficiaries under the

National Food Security Act as well as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till November 2020? [a] Andhra Pradesh [b] Rajasthan [c] Kerala [d] Uttarakhand [e] Uttar Pradesh Q.8) Which country hosted the 6th edition of the International Military-Technical Forum “Army-2020”? [a] India [b] Philippines [c] Japan [d] South Korea [e] Russia Q.9) Where is the Mount Sinabung located? [a] Indonesia [b] Philippines [c] Singapore [d] Thailand [e] Japan Q.10) Which company has partnered with State Bank of India for launching a long-term syndicated loan facility worth ₹10,000 crore? [a] Vedanta Ltd [b] Bajaj Finance Limited [c] Muthoot Finance Ltd [d] Tata Capital [e] Shriram Transport Finance Company Q.11) Reliance Jio Infratel is selling units in its Tower Infrastructure Trust to which company? [a] SBA Communications [b] Brookfield Infrastructure Partners [c] Vertical Bridge [d] United States Cellular Co. [e] CTI Towers, Inc. Q.12) How much interest rate is earned on Sovereign Gold Bond scheme? [a] 1.5% [b] 2% [c] 2.5% [d] 3% [e] 3.5%

Q.13) Which city project has won the Award of Excellence in the ‘Innovation in Rainwater Harvesting’ category at the National Water Innovation Summit 2020? [a] Chennai [b] Mangalore [c] Pune [d] Nagpur [e] Guwahati Q.14) Which of the following statement is true in the context of Green Term Ahead Market? [a] It is a stock-trading platform launched to keep a check on profit broking by firms [b] It is a real time gold and bullion exchange platform [c] It aims to incentivize the renewable energy producing states and promote production of renewable energy [d] It aims to facilitate selling of local handicraft products on e-commerce platforms [e] It aims to promote indigenous production of defence goods by promoting transfer of technology goods Q.15) European Investment Bank will provide €650 million for the construction of metro line (32.4 km) of which Indian city? [a] Ahmedabad [b] Surat [c] Nizamabad [d] Hyderabad [e] Kanpur Q.16) Who has been elected as the new Prime Minister of Lebanon? [a] Elias Bou Saab [b] Albert Serhan [c] Salim Jreissati [d] Mustapha Adib [e] Saleh Gharib Q.17) Where will the 4th edition of the Global Water Summit 2020 be held?

[a] Moscow, Russia [b] Kunming, China [c] Tokyo, Japan [d] New Delhi, India [e] Seoul, South Korea Q.18) Which organization has developed world’s largest 'solar tree' in Durgapur in West Bengal? [a] Centre for Cellular Molecular Biology [b] National Institute of Solar Energy [c] Central Scientific Instruments Organisation [d] Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute [e] Central Salt Marine Chemicals Research Institute Q.19) How much amount will be provided to beneficiaries under the ‘Chhavni Covid: Yodha Sanrakshan Yojana’ as insurance cover? [a] Rs 5 lakhs [b] Rs 2 lakhs [c] Rs 1 lakh [d] Rs 20 lakh [e] Rs 10 lakh Q.20) Which state witnessed the highest suicides in India as per the National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) data on accidental deaths and suicides in 2019? [a] Maharashtra [b] Telangana [c] Andhra Pradesh [d] Karnataka [e] Tamil Nadu Q.21) As per the NCRB’s data on accidental deaths and suicides in 2019, farmer suicide accounts for __ percent of the total suicide cases in India? [a] 6.1% [b] 7.4% [c] 7%

[d] 6.3% [e] 8% Q.22) Which state witnessed highest cases of accidental deaths in 2019, as per NCRB’s data on accidental deaths and suicides? [a] Uttar Pradesh [b] Bihar [c] Delhi [d] Maharashtra [e] Madhya Pradesh Q.23) Which country has proposed the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI)? [a] India [b] Japan [c] Australia [d] USA [e] France Q.24) Where will the SCO Defence Ministers’ 2020 meeting be held? [a] Russia [b] Kazakhstan [c] Uzbekistan [d] Kyrgyzstan [e] India Q.25) India’s e-commerce market is expected to increase to __ USD billion by 2026, according to the “Fraud & Risk Management in Digital Payments” report? [a] $200 bn [b] $250 bn [c] $300 bn [d] $150 bn [e] $100 bn Q.26) How many schemes’ performance is provided on ‘Empowering Tribals, Transforming India’ dashboard? [a] 11 [b] 6 [c] 20

[d] 50 [e] 17 Q.27) Which company has launched the “LiGo” – an AI-powered voice chatbot – on Google Assistant to serve its customers better? [a] Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance [b] Exide Life Insurance Company [c] ICICI Prudential Life Insurance [d] HDFC Life Insurance Company [e] Max Life Insurance Company Q.28) Which company is the world’s top solar power developer, as per the rankings of Mercom Capital Group? [a] GCL New Energy [b] Lightsource bp [c] Brookfield Renewable [d] SB Energy [e] Adani Green Q.29) Who heads the six-member working group formed by IRDAI to study the feasibility and need of index-linked insurance products in India? [a] K.V. Rama Moorthy [b] Dinesh Pant [c] Prashant Kumar [d] Nitin Chugh [e] Mahabaleshwara M. S Q.30) Who has been appointed as the chairman and managing director of Hindustan Shipyard Limited? [a] Sanjay Aggarwal [b] S. Harishankar [c] Atul Kumar Goel [d] Sanjiv Chadha [e] Hemant Khatri Q.31) “An Unsuitable Boy” is the autobiography of which famous personality? [a] Anu Malik

[b] Karan Johar [c] Navjot Singh Sidhu [d] Sachin Tendulkar [e] Farhan Akhtar Q.32) According to the latest population projection report published by a technical panel of the Ministry of Health, the quantum of Indian population below the age of 24 will decrease to __ percent in 2036 in comparison to 50.1% in 2011? [a] 10.7% [b] 28.9% [c] 25.3% [d] 30.1% [e] 34.7% Q.33) What will be India’s population in 2036, according to population projection report 2011-2036? [a] 152 crores [b] 190 crores [c] 162 crores [d] 182 crores [e] 170 crores Q.34) What will be the Total Fertility Rate of India in 2036, according to population projection report 2011-2036? [a] 1.50% [b] 2.93% [c] 1.73% [d] 2.5% [e] 1.61% Q.35) What will be the Average (Median) Age of Indians in 2036, according to population projection report 2011-2036? [a] 20.5 years [b] 25.8 years [c] 29.7 years [d] 40 years [e] 34.7 years

Q.36) What will be the sex ratio of India in 2036, according to population projection report 2011-2036? [a] 990 [b] 960 [c] 957 [d] 930 [e] 943 Q.37) Which state will see the highest growth in its population by 2036, according to population projection report 2011-2036? [a] Bihar [b] Madhya Pradesh [c] Uttar Pradesh [d] Telangana [e] Rajasthan Q.38) What is the expected Life Expectancy at Birth for females in 2036, according to population projection report 2011-2036? [a] 60 [b] 55 [c] 74 [d] 80 [e] 79 Q.39) Which state is expected to become the only Indian state with a life expectancy above 80 for women and 74 for men by 2036, according to population projection report 2011-2036? [a] Odisha [b] Maharashtra [c] Punjab [d] Andhra Pradesh [e] Kerala Q.40) According to the population projection report 2011-2036, population in urban areas is expected to grow by __ percent in 2036? [a] 50% [b] 57% [c] 40%

[d] 65% [e] 37% Q.41) Which state has topped in the Young Child Outcomes Index under the State of the Young Child in India report? [a] Kerala [b] Maharashtra [c] Tamil Nadu [d] Telangana [e] Karnataka Q.42) What is India’s overall score of Young Child Environment Index for 2015-16? [a] 0.789 [b] 0.567 [c] 0.987 [d] 0.866 [e] 0.672 Q.43) Swami Vivekananda Assam Youth Empowerment is the scheme of which state? [a] Uttar Pradesh [b] Assam [c] Bihar [d] Tamil Nadu [e] Telangana Q.44) Which state has topped in the 4th edition of Business Reform Action Plan? [a] Uttarakhand [b] Madhya Pradesh [c] Andhra Pradesh [d] Kerala [e] Rajasthan Q.45) Pang Lhabsol is the cultural festival of which state? [a] Nagaland [b] Sikkim [c] Assam [d] Tripura [e] Mizoram

Q.46) Which organization has released ‘From insights to action: Gender equality in the wake of COVID-19’ report? [a] UNICEF [b] International Labour Organization [c] Womankind Worldwide [d] UN Women [e] Women’s Environment and Development Organization Q.47) As per the Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for Food Systems report, Food systems account for up to __ percent of all greenhouse gas emissions? [a] 25% [b] 50% [c] 47% [d] 33% [e] 37% Q.48) As per the revised priority sector lending guidelines, how much weightage will be given to banks – for the purpose of ranking – for extending credit in the identified districts where the credit flow is comparatively lower? [a] 125% [b] 100% [c] 200% [d] 175% [e] 150% Q.49) Who has been appointed as the MD & CEO of state-owned Punjab & Sind Bank? [a] Sanjiv Chadha [b] S. Harishankar [c] S Krishnan [d] Sarvjit Singh Samra [e] Sanjay Aggarwal Q.50) Who memoir is titled as “My Story in My Own Words”? [a] Aruna Roy

[b] Medha Patkar [c] Sheela Birnstiel [d] Irom Sharmila [e] Pramila Nesargi Q.51) What is the average range of rainfall forecasted for this year by Indian Meteorological Department? [a] 80-100% [b] 120-140% [c] 70-90% [d] 96 to 104% [e] 94-109% Q.52) With which company has Atal Innovation Mission partnered to support innovators and entrepreneurs in India? [a] Infosys [b] Freshworks Inc [c] Mindtree [d] Wipro [e] Mphasis Q.53) All fruits and vegetables of which UT have been recently covered under Operation Green: Top to Total scheme? [a] Chandigarh [b] Delhi [c] Daman & Diu and Dadar & Nagar Haveli [d] Jammu and Kashmir [e] Chandigarh Q.54) Which state has signed a loan agreement of $82 million with World Bank for its Roads Transformation Project? [a] Uttar Pradesh [b] Himachal Pradesh [c] Maharashtra [d] Madhya Pradesh [e] Rajasthan Q.55) Which State’s Rural Livelihoods Mission has signed an MoU with North East Small Finance Bank to expand its reach?

[a] Arunachal Pradesh [b] Sikkim [c] Bihar [d] Assam [e] Nagaland Q.56) Which organization has organized ‘Indo-Russian Young Scholars International Conference 2020’? [a] EURASIAN FOUNDATION [b] ALLIANCE FOR PEACEBUILDING [c] GENERATIONS FOR PEACE [d] AGE INTERNATIONAL [e] ADYAN FOUNDATION Q.57) Which state/UT has launched the Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window (SPARROW) system? [a] Delhi [b] Arunachal Pradesh [c] Ladakh [d] Punjab [e] J&K Q.58) Which multilateral agency is financing Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agriculture Resilience through Innovative Development (REWARD) project of Karnataka? [a] European Central Bank [b] World Bank [c] International Monetary Fund [d] Asian Development Bank [e] Japan International Cooperation Agency Q.59) With which IIT has National Institute of Urban Affairs signed an MoU for making Indian cities more accessible, safe, and inclusive for PwD, elderly, women, and children etc? [a] IIT- Kozhikode [b] IIT-Kanpur [c] IIT-Roorkee [d] IIT-Varanasi

[e] IIT-Guwahati Q.60) Recently, Tribal Affairs Ministry signed an agreement with Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) for setting up of National Institute of Tribal Research at the IIPA campus. Where is the campus located? [a] Chennai [b] Bangalore [c] Mumbai [d] New Delhi [e] Chandigarh Q.61) What is the theme of BRICS for the year 2020? [a] BRICS: Economic Growth for an Innovative Future [b] BRICS: Building Responsive, Inclusive and Collective Solutions [c] BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future [d] BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth [e] BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution Q.62) Which of the following agency will organize the BRICS Joint Exhibition titled ‘Bonding Regions & Imagining Cultural Synergies’ in 2021? [a] International Council of African Museums [b] National Gallery of Modern Arts (New Delhi) [c] Brazilian Agency of Museums [d] National Administration of Cultural Heritage (China) [e] Russian State Museum Q.63) Who is the President and Chief Executive Officer of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF)? [a] Gaurav Verma [b] Nivedita Mehra

[c] Nolty Theriot [d] Mukesh Aghi [e] Susan Ritchie Q.64) How much EBITDA ratio has been recommended by KV Kamath panel for the residential real estate sector? [a] 9 [b] 12 [c] 10 [d] 5 [e] 8 Q.65) Which company has partnered with Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) in South Africa to digitalize the logistics marketplace in South Africa? [a] IBM [b] Dell Technologies [c] Intel [d] Tech Mahindra [e] Tata Consultancy Services Q.66) Who has been appointed as the President of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers? [a] Malachy Nugent [b] Vikram J. Singh [c] Kenichi Ayukawa [d] Nelson Chaudhuri [e] Nisha Rajan Q.67) When is the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies observed? [a] September 7 [b] September 21 [c] September 19 [d] September 5 [e] September 10 Q.68) When is the International Literacy Day observed? [a] August 23 [b] September 8

[c] October 10 [d] June 17 [e] July 19 Q.69) What is urban areas literacy rate in India as per the ‘Household Social Consumption: Education in India’ survey of NITI Aayog? [a] 73.5% [b] 87.7% [c] 66.4% [d] 70.3% [e] 84.7% Q.70) Who has won the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for 2019? [a] Ketan Thakkar [b] Patrícia Medici [c] Abdullahi Hussein Ali [d] David Attenborough [e] Siddharth Aryan Q.71) Which state has launched the Sampoorna Poshana scheme to provide nutritious food to pregnant women, lactating mothers and children? [a] Haryana [b] Andhra Pradesh [c] Maharashtra [d] Madhya Pradesh [e] Gujarat Q.72) In which state/UT is the first ever cannabis medicine project launched? [a] Assam [b] Madhya Pradesh [c] Gujarat [d] Rajasthan [e] Jammu & Kashmir Q.73) By which year does India want to achieve the target of total literacy? [a] 2030 [b] 2027

[c] 2025 [d] 2024 [e] 2032 Q.74) In which state/UT is the North India's first biotech industrial park being developed? [a] Delhi [b] Bihar [c] Uttar Pradesh [d] Jammu & Kashmir [e] Andhra Pradesh Q.75) Where is the Patrika Gate located? [a] Rajasthan [b] Bihar [c] Uttar Pradesh [d] Gujarat [e] Madhya Pradesh Q.76) Who heads the Niti Aayog’s Multidimensional Poverty Index Coordination Committee? [a] Rajeshwari Kothari [b] Sandeep Mehta [c] Sanyukta Samaddar [d] Priya Gangwal [e] Karan Mehra Q.77) How many public sector oil companies will join the International Solar Alliance’s Coalition for Sustainable Climate Action? [a] 10 [b] 5 [c] 7 [d] 9 [e] 3 Q.78) Which state has launched the first-ever integrated air ambulance services of India? [a] Karnataka [b] Meghalaya [c] Telangana [d] Andhra Pradesh [e] Kerala

Q.79) What is the name of the app launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide all information about managing livestock, animal nutrition, vaccination, pregnancy diagnosis and calving etc.? [a] e-Pashudhan [b] e-Samadhan [c] e-Sanrakshan [d] e-Pashu [e] e-Gopala Q.80) Which company has named its commercial cargo spacecraft as “S.S. Kalpana Chawla” in honour Chawla who is the first India-born woman to enter space? [a] BAE Systems [b] Lockheed Martin [c] GE Aviation [d] Northrop Grumman [e] General Dynamics Corporation Q.81) What is Infant mortality rate in India in 2019, according to the “Levels and trends in child mortality 2020” report? [a] 28 [b] 89 [c] 190 [d] 115 [e] 130 Q.82) How many payment banks operate in India at present? [a] 5 [b] 6 [c] 11 [d] 4 [e] 7 Q.83) Which company has launched PayBima – a digital insurance portal – to help customers directly buy insurance policies online? [a] Acko General Insurance Ltd.

[b] Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd. [c] Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd [d] Mahindra Insurance Brokers [e] Navi General Insurance Ltd. Q.84) Which company will buy 1.75% stake in Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd for Rs 7,500 crore? [a] Silver Lake [b] Walmart [c] ExxonMobil [d] Amazon [e] Johnson & Johnson Q.85) What is the Ind-Ra’s forecast India’s GDP growth rate for FY21? [a] -9.8% [b] -10.5% [c] -8.7% [d] -11.8% [e] -5.6% Q.86) Which company has become the first PSU in power sector to monetize its assets through Infrastructure Investment Trust? [a] NTPC Limited [b] National Hydroelectric Power Corporation [c] Power Grid Corporation of India Limited [d] Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited [e] NLC Ltd. Q.87) Who has been appointed as the brand ambassadors of Playerzpot? [a] Smriti Mandhana [b] Harmanpreet Kaur [c] Shafali Verma [d] Deepti Sharma [e] Jemimah Rodrigues Q.88) ‘United World Schools’ initiative has won the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy

Prize. This initiative was launched by which country? [a] United Kingdom [b] USA [c] Nepal [d] South Korea [e] Mexico Q.89) Who is the author of ‘Breaking The Cocoon @ 40’ book? [a] Krishan Mehta [b] Chanchal Kumari [c] Harshita Gupta [d] Radha Nair [e] Priyansh Garg Q.90) Who is known as the Father of Indian Radio Astronomy? [a] Lalon [b] C V Raman [c] Govind Swarup [d] APJ Abdul Kalam [e] Meghnad Saha Q.91) Which state has launched ‘Garima’ scheme for promoting livelihoods, security and social dignity of sanitation workers? [a] Maharashtra [b] Uttarakhand [c] Odisha [d] Tamil Nadu [e] Madhya Pradesh Q.92) Which state has signed an MoU with the SIDBI to develop the MSME ecosystem in the state? [a] Uttar Pradesh [b] Rajasthan [c] Odisha [d] Karnataka [e] Kerala

Q.93) In which state is the India's largest piggery mission worth Rs 209 crores launched? [a] Meghalaya [b] Nagaland [c] Mizoram [d] Tripura [e] Arunachal Pradesh Q.94) Who heads the govt panel formed to study the impact of waiving off the interest on loans during the moratorium offered to Covid-hit borrowers that ended August 31? [a] Rajiv Mehrishi [b] Ramprit Mandal [c] Dileshwar Kamait [d] Gopal Jee Thakur [e] Dinesh Chandra Yadav Q.95) Who has been appointed Chairperson of the National School of Drama Society? [a] Smriti Irani [b] Paresh Rawal [c] Sunny Deol [d] Amitabh Bachchan [e] Anupam Kher Q.96) Which company has filed the most patents in India in 2019-20, as per the Science & Technology Indicators (STI 2019-20)? [a] Carlyle Group [b] Qualcomm [c] Gilead Sciences [d] Sanofi S.A [e] Johnson & Johnson Q.97) Who heads the Empowered Group of Ministers to oversee the process of corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board? [a] Nirmala Sitharaman [b] S. Jaishankar [c] D. V. Sadananda Gowda

[d] Rajnath Singh [e] Ravi Shankar Prasad Q.98) Who has been elected as the chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India? [a] Subhash Kamath [b] Ajay Nishad [c] Veena Devi [d] Alok Kumar Suman [e] Kavita Singh Q.99) What is India’s rank in the Global Economic Freedom Index 2020? [a] 100 [b] 105 [c] 97 [d] 78 [e] 56 Q.100) With which country has India recently signed a logistics agreement (called as the ‘Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement’ or ACSA)? [a] Japan [b] Russia [c] Australia [d] Maldives [e] Afghanistan Q.101) Recently, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, has launched the Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework 2.0 (CSCAF) to provide a roadmap to cities. How many indicators does the framework have? [a] 33 [b] 40 [c] 50 [d] 78 [e] 28 Q.102) Which is the best performing state in the States’ Startup Ranking Framework 2019 (in category X)?

[a] Gujarat [b] Madhya Pradesh [c] Andhra Pradesh [d] Tamil Nadu [e] Telangana Q.103) Which state has launched the Deendayal Antyodaya Rasoi Scheme? [a] Punjab [b] Odisha [c] Haryana [d] Madhya Pradesh [e] Rajasthan Q.104) Which country is the Chair of East Asia Summit 2020? [a] Cambodia [b] Thailand [c] Philippines [d] Vietnam [e] Laos Q.105) What is the trans-fat level (of total energy intake) prescribed by WHO? [a] less than 1% [b] more than 1.5% [c] less than 2% [d] less than 3% [e] less than 2.5% Q.106) SCO has proposed to declare 2021 as the Year of __? [a] Year of SCO technology [b] Year of SCO economies [c] Year of SCO investments [d] Year of SCO culture [e] Year of SCO cooperation Q.107) What is the minimum fixed tenure of chief compliance officer in banks as prescribed by RBI? [a] 3 years [b] 5 years [c] 6 years

[d] 2 years [e] 4 years Q.108) Which company has launched the Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) testing platform to help central banks in evaluating their digital currency? [a] Razorpay [b] Mastercard [c] Paytm [d] PayPlaza [e] Visa Q.109) Which bank has topped in the EASE 2.0 Reform Agenda ranking? [a] Bank of Baroda [b] State Bank of India [c] Oriental Bank of Commerce [d] Bank of Maharashtra [e] Corporation Bank Q.110) What is the GDP growth forecast for Developing Asian region by the Asian Development Bank for FY21? [a] 1% [b] -1.2% [c] -5% [d] -0.7% [e] -2.3% Q.111) RBI has proposed to allow foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to undertake exchange -traded rupee interest rate derivatives (IRD) transactions for a maximum of ___ crores? [a] Rs 3,000 crore [b] Rs 5,000 crore [c] Rs 4,000 crore [d] Rs 2,000 crore [e] Rs 1,000 crore Q.112) Which country has been elected as a Member of the UN Commission on the Status

of Women, along with India, for a four-year term beginning from 2021-2025? [a] Bahrain [b] UAE [c] Saudi Arabia [d] Afghanistan [e] Qatar Q.113) Who has been appointed as the brand ambassador of Paytm First Games? [a] Akshay Kumar [b] Sachin Tendulkar [c] Virat Kohli [d] Shahrukh Khan [e] Sonu Sood Q.114) On whose birthday does India observes National Engineer’s Day? [a] Venkatraman Radhakrishnan [b] M. Visvesvaraya [c] S. Chandrashekar [d] Satyendra Nath Bose [e] Jagadish Chandra Bose Q.115) When is the International Day of Democracy observed? [a] September 15 [b] September 21 [c] September 6 [d] September 9 [e] September 10 Q.116) Which bank has won the Asia's best bank award at Euromoney Awards of Excellence 2020? [a] Japan Finance Corporation [b] Standard Chartered Bank (Thai) [c] Bank of the Philippine Islands [d] DBS, Singapore [e] Arab Bank Q.117) Who has won the Lifetime Achievement Award at Euromoney Awards of Excellence 2020?

[a] Carlos Torres Vila [b] Brian Moynihan [c] Jes Staley [d] Aditya Puri [e] Warren Buffett Q.118) Which of the following has won the ‘world’s best bank’ awards at the Euromoney Awards of Excellence 2020? [a] JP Morgan [b] Goldman Sachs [c] HSBC [d] Citigroup [e] DBS Q.119y) Who is the author of “The End of an

Era; India Exits Tibet”? [a] Sanjiv Chadha [b] Julie Sweet [c] Lisa SuI [d] Robert H. Swan [e] Claude Arpi Q.120) When is the International Day to Protect Education from Attack observed? [a] September 15 [b] September 10 [c] September 9 [d] September 21 [e] September 11 Q.121) Which state has announced to launch the Mukhyamantri Mahila Kalyan Scheme to help women start their own business and become self-employed? [a] Gujarat [b] Tamil Nadu [c] Andhra Pradesh [d] Odisha [e] Maharashtra Q.122) Which company has collaborated with NVIDIA Partner Network (US-based

technology company) to expand research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) space? [a] Tech Mahindra [b] Wipro [c] Infosys [d] Oracle Financial Services Software [e] HCL Technologies Q.123) What is the percentage of minimum total assets that multi-cap mutual funds are required to invest in equities of large, mid and small -cap companies? [a] 60% [b] 75% [c] 45% [d] 80% [e] 50% Q.124) Which Indian director has won the Venice Film Festival 2020 award in the Award for Best Screenplay category? [a] Ramesh Sippy [b] Hansal Mehta [c] Shakun Batra [d] Chaitanya Tamhane [e] Priyadarshan Q.125) Who among the following is known as the architect of the MGNREGA programme? [a] Sanjay Jaiswal [b] Radha Mohan Singh [c] Rama Devi [d] Raghuvansh Prasad Singh [e] Ashok Kumar Yadav Q.126) Which state has signed an MoU with the National Co-operative Development Corporation for promotion and management of Farmer Producer Organisation? [a] Rajasthan [b] Tamil Nadu [c] Odisha [d] Maharashtra [e] Madhya Pradesh

Q.127) Which company has got the CCI’s approval to buy a 20% stake in Piramal Pharma for around $490 million? [a] Pfizer Inc [b] Carlyle Group [c] Roche Holding AG [d] AbbVie Inc [e] Novartis AG Q.128) Which company has signed a $15 Mn debt agreement with Asian Development Bank to help sustain poultry farming operations, as well as rural livelihoods and food security in India? [a] Nestle India Ltd [b] LT Foods Ltd [c] KRBL Ltd [d] KSE Ltd [e] Suguna Foods Q.129) Who has been appointed as the new PM of Japan? [a] Yoshihide Suga [b] Taro Aso [c] Sanae Takaichi [d] Seiko Hashimoto [e] Seiichi Eto Q.130) Who has won the US Open 2020 in women’s singles category? [a] Ashleigh Barty [b] Sofia Kenin [c] Naomi Osaka [d] Simona Halep [e] Elina Svitolina Q.131) Which branch of the Indian metro has developed India’s first indigenous signalling technology? [a] Kolkata Metro [b] Delhi Metro [c] Hyderabad Metro [d] Mumbai Metro

[e] Lucknow Metro Q.132) Which company has signed an MoU with SwissRapide AG (a Swiss company) for bringing Maglev Train projects in India? [a] Hinduja Group [b] L&T [c] Mahindra Group [d] BHEL [e] Reliance Industries Q.133) Djibouti Code of Conduct is related to which of the following issue? [a] Health Sector Reforms [b] Maritime Security [c] Climate Change [d] Gender Equality [e] Eliminating Poverty Q.134) How much amount will the winner of the central govt’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Solutions Challenge for startups get? [a] Rs 20 lakhs [b] Rs 40 lakhs [c] Rs 30 lakhs [d] Rs 15 lakhs [e] Rs 10 lakhs Q.135) Where is India’s first general aviation terminal for private jets established? [a] Visakhapatnam International Airport [b] Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport [c] Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport [d] Indira Gandhi International airport [e] Veer Savarkar International Airport Q.136) How many Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJK) does the govt aim to open by the end of March 2025? [a] 50,000 [b] 40,000 [c] 37,000

[d] 10,500 [e] 20,000 Q.137) What is India’s rank in the Human Capital Index 2020? [a] 116 [b] 130 [c] 140 [d] 125 [e] 170 Q.138) Which Indian city is the highest ranked in the Global Smart Cities Index 2020? [a] Hyderabad [b] Bangalore [c] New Delhi [d] Mumbai [e] Chennai Q.139) By which year does India aim to become self-reliant in the production of fertilizers? [a] 2024 [b] 2025 [c] 2023 [d] 2022 [e] 2027 Q.140) Recently, Primary Agricultural Co-Operative Society (PACS), Pothgal has become the first PACS in India to launch its own web portal containing all information related to the services offered by it. Which state does the PACS Pothgal belong to? [a] Telangana [b] Tamil Nadu [c] Kerala [d] Karnataka [e] Odisha Q.141) Who heads the Committee on Food and Beverages formed by Trade Promotion Council of India?

[a] R. Senguttuvan [b] Manish Shah [c] Mehul Mishra [d] Laxman Singh Rathore [e] Debjyoti Bose Q.142) How many new AIIMS -like institutes does the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana aim to establish across India? [a] 22 [b] 33 [c] 10 [d] 40 [e] 57 Q.143) In which city of Gujarat will the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda be established? [a] Jamnagar [b] Ahmedabad [c] Surat [d] Rajkot [e] Gandhinagar Q.144) When is the World Patient Safety Day observed? [a] September 19 [b] September 29 [c] September 23 [d] September 17 [e] September 11 Q.145) Which company has become the first country in the world to issue a Sovereign Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Bond? [a] Philippines [b] Singapore [c] USA [d] Mexico [e] Japan Q.146) What is India’s GDP growth rate for FY21 by OECD?

[a] -10.2% [b] -9.7% [c] -11.3% [d] -14.2% [e] -12.2% Q.147) Which company has launched a new loan scheme ‘Apna Ghar Dreamz’ to provide a home loan of Rs 2 lakh to 50 lakhs to skilled workers employed in the informal sector in Delhi? [a] HDB Finance Services [b] Power Finance Corporation Limited [c] Muthoot Finance Ltd [d] Tata Capital Financial Services [e] ICICI Home Finance Q.148) When did the Kigali Amendment to Montreal Protocol come into effect? [a] 2019 [b] 2016 [c] 2018 [d] 2014 [e] 2013 Q.149) What is the theme of the World Ozone Day 2020? [a] Protect the ozone layer and climate [b] Protect Ozone for a Healthy Earth [c] Ozone: A lifejacket to humans [d] Ozone for life: 35 years of ozone layer protection [e] Ozone and Climate Change Q.150) Whose memoir is titled as “A Promised Land”? [a] Li Wenliang [b] Kim Jong-un [c] Moon Jae-in [d] Donald Trump [e] Barack Obama Q.151) Recently, Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 has been passed by

the Parliament. Which of the following act does the bill aim to amend? [a] Banking Regulation Act, 1949 [b] Banking Regulation Act of 1963 [c] Banking Regulation Act of 1972 [d] Banking Regulation Act of 1980 [e] Banking Regulation Act of 1957 Q.152) With which country has India conducted PASSEX naval exercise in the Indian Ocean Region? [a] Thailand [b] Singapore [c] Australia [d] Sri Lanka [e] New Zealand Q.153) Which country will co-host the UN Global Climate Summit 2020? [a] Japan [b] Russia [c] India [d] UK [e] USA Q.154) By how much amount will the global remittance drop due to Covid-19, according to the UNCTAD Trade and Development Report 2020? [a] $90 billion [b] $200 billion [c] $500 billion [d] $180 billion [e] $100 billion Q.155) Who heads the SEBI’s Technical Group on Social Stock Exchange? [a] Harsh Kumar Bhanwala [b] M. D. Patra [c] Ashok Gulati [d] Alok Sinha [e] M. V. Rao

Q.156) How much is the total Kharif food grain production estimate for 2020-21, according to the First Advance Estimates of production of major Kharif crops? [a] 231.47 million tonnes [b] 178.90 million tonnes [c] 190.11 million tonnes [d] 144.52 million tonnes [e] 180.12 million tonnes Q.157) What is India’s total food grain production target for 2020-21 that was set at the National Conference for Rabi Campaign 2020? [a] 450 million tonnes [b] 301 million tonnes [c] 147 million tonnes [d] 289 million tonnes [e] 400 million tonnes Q.158) Who among the following has become first woman airborne tacticians (combatant) of India? [a] Kumudini Tyagi [b] Riti Singh [c] Bharat Singh [d] Both a and b [e] Both a and c Q.159) How many Indian Institutes of Information Technology will be accorded the status of institutions of national importance by Indian Institutes of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020? [a] 5 [b] 10 [c] 15 [d] 20 [e] 6 Q.160) Recently, KRITAGYA hackathon has been launched by ICAR to promote innovation in farm mechanisation under National Agricultural Higher Education Project

(NAHEP). When was the NAHEP program launched? [a] 2014-15 [b] 2015-16 [c] 2018-19 [d] 2019-20 [e] 2017-18 Q.161) How many plastic parks will be set up in India, as announced by Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers? [a] 20 [b] 10 [c] 40 [d] 35 [e] 60 Q.162) Which state has launched the “Moksha Kalash Yojana-2020” to provide free bus travel to two members of a family to immerse ashes of their loved ones in the Ganga in Haridwar? [a] Rajasthan [b] Uttar Pradesh [c] Maharashtra [d] Gujarat [e] Madhya Pradesh Q.163) Which has become the world’s first country to make climate risk reporting mandatory for banks, asset managers and insurers? [a] Australia [b] Japan [c] South Korea [d] Singapore [e] New Zealand Q.164) Which bank has launched a new vertical — Emerging Entrepreneurs Business (EEB) — to help the entrepreneurs who have little or no access to banking facilities? [a] Bank of Baroda [b] Dhanlaxmi Bank

[c] HDFC Bank [d] Bandhan Bank [e] SBI Q.165) What is the new threshold for filing request with SEBI for rights issue? [a] Rs 60 crore [b] Rs 50 crore [c] Rs 70 crore [d] Rs 20 crore [e] Rs 10 crore Q.166) Who is the new administrator of Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank Ltd? [a] A.K. Dixit [b] Pradip Shah [c] Kumar Sanjeev [d] Vaishnavi Gupta [e] Prakash Sen Q.167) Which one of the following is not a species of Rhino? [a] Sumatran Rhino [b] Tunaz Rhino [c] Black Rhino [d] Javan Rhino [e] Greater One-horned Rhino Q.168) When is the World Maritime Day observed? [a] September 24 [b] April 5 [c] May 17 [d] June 18 [e] October 16 Q.169) Who has been appointed as the Regional Ambassador for India by the United Nations Environment Programme - Tunza Eco-Generation? [a] Khushi Chindaliya [b] Priyanka Patel [c] Govardhan Pathak

[d] Vishnu Sen [e] Piyali Mishra Q.170) Golden Pen of Freedom Award 2020 has been awarded to Jineth Bedoya Lima. Which country does she belong to? [a] Peru [b] Brazil [c] Colombia [d] Israel [e] Jordan Q.171) How many task forces have been formed by the central govt for promoting MSMEs in various key sectors? [a] Five [b] Six [c] Three [d] Seven [e] Four Q.172) With which country has India signed an MoU for cooperation on intellectual property rights? [a] Netherlands [b] Israel [c] Denmark [d] Finland [e] United Kingdom Q.173) In which city is India’s first ‘Centre for Disability Sports’ be established? [a] Meerut [b] Gwalior [c] Surat [d] Ahmedabad [e] Gandhinagar Q.174) Which country hosted the recently concluded Ministerial Online Roundtable Biodiversity Beyond 2020: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth? [a] UK [b] China

[c] USA [d] India [e] Russia Q.175) In its 'Technology Vision for Cyber Security’ for Urban Co-operative Banks – 2020-2023 document, RBI has suggested a five-pillared approach GUARD to strengthen the cyber-security of UCBs. What does ‘U’ stand for in the full form of GUARD? [a] Unified [b] Utility [c] Utile [d] Unilateral [e] Umbrella Q.176) IBC (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020 empowers the government to extend the suspension of fresh insolvency cases for a period of __ years? [a] 2 years [b] 1 year [c] 3 years [d] 4 years [e] 5 years Q.177) RBI’s positive pay cheque system can be availed by account holders on cheques amounting ___ or above? [a] Rs 50,000 [b] Rs 10,000 [c] Rs 20,000 [d] Rs 40,000 [e] Rs 60,000 Q.178) What is the India’s GDP forecast for FY21 by National Council of Applied Economic Research? [a] -12.6% [b] -23.9% [c] -14.5% [d] -9.5% [e] -11.2%

Q.179) Which of the following company has been chosen as the domestic systemically important insurers (D-SIIs) for 2020-21 by IRDAI? [a] LIC, GIC, New India Assurance [b] HDFC Standard Life, ICICI Prudential Life, LIC [c] Aditya Birla Health, GIC, Bajaj Allianz General [d] Navi General Insurance Ltd., Edelweiss General Insurance, ECGC Ltd. [e] HDFC ERGO General Insurance, Kotak Mahindra General Insurance, LIC Q.180) Recently, legendary batsman Dean Jones has passed away. What is the nationality of Jones? [a] Scotland [b] USA [c] Australia [d] England [e] Sri Lanka Q.181) With which country has India signed an MoU for improving the quality and testing of Indian textiles? [a] Japan [b] Malaysia [c] Philippines [d] USA [e] Australia Q.182) Which state has launched ‘Gandagi Bharat Chhodo’ campaign? [a] Jharkhand [b] Bihar [c] Uttar Pradesh [d] Madhya Pradesh [e] Tamil Nadu Q.183) Which state has made it mandatory for farmers to register themselves on e-Karshak app (real-time crop registration

window) in order to be eligible for the state’s own crop insurance scheme? [a] Maharashtra [b] Andhra Pradesh [c] Telangana [d] Odisha [e] Uttar Pradesh Q.184) Which IIT has collaborated with University of Pardubice to develop indigenous algorithms to protect India’s digital data from cyber-attacks? [a] IIT-Calcutta [b] IIT-Delhi [c] IIT-Guwahati [d] IIT-Madras [e] IIT-Kharagpur Q.185) Which language(s) does the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020 seek to establish as official language of the UT? [a] Kashmiri [b] Hindi [c] Dogri [d] Urdu [e] All of the Above Q.186) Where is the world's largest refinery project being developed? [a] Maharashtra [b] Tamil Nadu [c] Telangana [d] Madhya Pradesh [e] Andhra Pradesh Q.187) Where has Marine Products Export Development Authority recently established Quality Control Laboratory for Sea food export? [a] Porbandar, Gujarat [b] Amritsar, Punjab [c] Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh [d] Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

[e] Cuttack, Odisha Q.188) What is the upper limit for incentives (to be given to exporters by govt) set by the government under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme for September-December quarter of 2020? [a] Rs 4 crores [b] Rs 5 crores [c] Rs 3 crores [d] Rs 2 crores [e] Rs 1 crores Q.189) Which has become the only Indian company to enter in the Rabobank’s list of world’s top 20 dairy companies? [a] Tamil Nadu Co-operative Milk Producers Federation Ltd [b] Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation [c] Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd [d] Orissa State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Ltd [e] Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt Ltd Q.190) Which country will become the first in the world to develop a full set of Forensic Accounting and Investigation Standards? [a] Russia [b] USA [c] UK [d] India [e] Japan Q.191) What is India’s rank in the Global Innovation Index 2020? [a] 30 [b] 40 [c] 50 [d] 48 [e] 21

Q.192) Recently, Bombay Stock Exchange has partnered with iHub to encourage and support start-ups in raising capital. Which state govt has established iHub? [a] Andhra Pradesh [b] Telangana [c] Kerala [d] Gujarat [e] Karnataka Q.193) Who has been appointed as the First Woman Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security? [a] Usha Padhee [b] Saroj Pathak [c] Payal Tiwari [d] Bhavana Singh [e] Sia Pandey Q.194) When is National Small Industry Day observed? [a] December 23 [b] August 16 [c] Jul 10 [d] September 1 [e] August 30 Q.195) What is the theme of World Coconut Day 2020? [a] Coconut for Family Wellness [b] Coconut for Good Health, Wealth & Wellness [c] Coconut, the tree of life Sustains family well being [d] Coconut for Family Nutrition, Health and Wellness. [e] Invest in Coconut to save the world

Q.196) Central government has formed an expert committee under the National Cyber Security Coordinator (Rajesh Pant) to study reports of surveillance of Indians by Chinese firm. Which firm is being talked about? [a] Zhenhua Data

[b] Bytedance [c] Xiaomi [d] Alibaba [e] Tencent Q.197) How much assistance will the startups get from Ministry of Electronics and IT under the Scheme for Accelerating Startups around Post COVID Technology Opportunities? [a] Rs 50 lakh [b] Rs 10 lakh [c] Rs 25 lakh [d] Rs 30 lakh [e] Rs 40 lakh Q.198) Recently, Parliament has passed the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020. Which act is being amended by the new bill? [a] Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1990 [b] Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1956 [c] Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973 [d] Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1980 [e] Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1935 Q.199) Where will the National Forensic Sciences University be established? [a] Gujarat [b] Maharashtra [c] Tamil Nadu [d] Kerala [e] Delhi Q.200) Which state/UT has launched the National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS) for online registration of sale/ purchase or transfer of land transactions? [a] Andaman and Nicobar [b] Puducherry [c] Assam [d] Jammu and Kashmir [e] Daman & Diu and Dadar & Nagar Haveli

Q.201) Which bank has launched the Vikas Laghu Suvarna scheme? [a] SIDBI [b] Karur Vyasa Bank [c] Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank [d] Oriental Bank of Commerce [e] HDFC Bank Q.202) Who is the chairperson of the Company Law Committee? [a] Rajesh Verma [b] Injeti Srinivasan [c] Arun Srivastava [d] Ajay Tiwari [e] Piyush Sinha Q.203) Who has been appointed as the chief of National Technical Research Organisation? [a] Damini Saxsena [b] Vishwajeet Nayak [c] Anil Dhasmana [d] Jignesh Parikh [e] Manohar Gupta Q.204) Which day has been designated as the International Equal Pay Day by UN? [a] September 18 [b] September 23 [c] September 30 [d] September 19 [e] September 21 Q.205) How many beaches have been recommended by India for the ‘Blue Flag Certification’? [a] 8 [b] 10 [c] 15 [d] 12 [e] 21 Q.206) When is the International Coastal Cleanup Day observed?

[a] 2nd Friday of August [b] 3rd Sunday of November [c] 3rd Saturday of September [d] 4th Monday of October [e] 2nd Thursday of December Q.207) What is the name of India’s own eco-label for maintaining cleanliness of beaches and promoting sustainable development of marine ecosystem? [a] Beams [b] Light [c] Clean [d] Spot [e] Swachch Q.208) Which Indian has been appointed as a part of the 2020 Class of Young Leaders for SDGs by UN? [a] Mansi Thakur [b] Chanchal Singh [c] Aditi Kumari [d] Udit Singhal [e] Pawan Singh Q.209) Where is the Mekedatu dam located? [a] Karnataka [b] Kerala [c] Tamil Nadu [d] Odisha [e] Andhra Pradesh Q.210) Where is the Mullaperiyar dam located? [a] Andhra Pradesh [b] Kerala [c] Karnataka [d] Odisha [e] Puducherry

Q.211) How many months’ internship has been prescribed for MD or MS students under the District Residency Programme? [a] 3

[b] 6 [c] 12 [d] 18 [e] 15 Q.212) Factoring Regulation Amendment Bill, 2020 aims to replace which of the following act? [a] Factoring Regulation Act, 1980 [b] Factoring Regulation Act, 2002 [c] Factoring Regulation Act, 2011 [d] Factoring Regulation Act, 2009 [e] Factoring Regulation Act, 1998 Q.213) What is the new minimum support price for wheat for 2020-21 rabi crop season? [a] 1975 [b] 1998 [c] 1967 [d] 1943 [e] 1923 Q.214) Who heads the National Commission on Farmers? [a] M.S. Swaminathan [b] Ashok Dalwani [c] Narinder Singh Randhawa [d] Sonny Ramaswamy [e] NK Singh Q.215) With which country does the “MCP Linz” cargo ferry vessel connect India? [a] Singapore [b] Australia [c] Philippines [d] Maldives [e] Sri Lanka Q.216) In which has PM Modi launched the 'Ghar Tak Fibre' project? [a] Bihar [b] Uttar Pradesh [c] Maharashtra [d] Madhya Pradesh

[e] Gujarat Q.217) Which company has unveiled three first-of-its-kind concept zero-emission commercial aircraft codenamed as ‘ZEROe’? [a] Boeing [b] Lockheed Martin [c] General Dynamics Corporation [d] Airbus SE [e] GE Aviation Q.218) With which company has IFundWomen partnered to launch a grant program in India to boost female entrepreneurship? [a] Google [b] Visa [c] Microsoft [d] Paytm [e] Mastercard Q.219) In which state has SBI launched the “Mahila Atmanirbharshil Aachani”? [a] Assam [b] Arunachal Pradesh [c] Meghalaya [d] Bihar [e] Mizoram Q.220) In which country is the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) programme developing the world’s largest radio telescope? [a] Australia [b] South Africa [c] Japan [d] Both a and b [e] Both b and c Q.221) What is the GDP growth rate for FY22, as projected by Ministry of Finance? [a] 19% [b] 20% [c] 21%

[d] 23% [e] 25% Q.222) How many trading days will be considered for observing the fall in commodity prices, by more than 50%, for triggering the SEBI’s alternative risk management framework for commodities? [a] 20 [b] 30 [c] 40 [d] 45 [e] 60 Q.223) Who has been appointed as the new Managing Director and CEO of the South Indian Bank? [a] Murali Ramakrishnan [b] Shikha Sharma [c] Shyam Srinivasan [d] Rakesh Sharma [e] Sanjay Aggarwal Q.224) When is the International Day of Peace observed? [a] September 23 [b] September 18 [c] September 15 [d] September 21 [e] September 11 Q.225) Who has won the Tour de France 2020? [a] Sreedhar Savanur [b] Primož Roglič [c] Tadej Pogačar [d] Jakob Fuglsang [e] Maximilian Schachmann Q.226) Who has been chosen by RBI for its customer awareness campaign? [a] Sonu Sood [b] Virat Kohli [c] Amitabh Bachchan

[d] MS Dhoni [e] Akshay Kumar Q.227) Which country has received the World’s first shipment of blue ammonia for generating electricity? [a] Saudi Arabia [b] Japan [c] France [d] Russia [e] Sri Lanka Q.228) How much area is under forest cover in India, as per the Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s report? [a] 11.47% [b] 33.45% [c] 23.45% [d] 21.67% [e] 16.73% Q.229) Which airport has become the first airport in the Asia- Pacific region to get the Airport Health Accreditation (AHA) by ACI? [a] Rajiv Gandhi International Airport [b] Veer Savarkar International Airport [c] Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport [d] Visakhapatnam International Airport [e] Indira Gandhi International Airport Q.230) According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s ‘Health in India’ report, around ___ percent of Indian population is suffering from diseases? [a] 10.12% [b] 4.3% [c] 6.4% [d] 7.5% [e] 9.1% Q.231) Which organization has released the World Risk Index 2020?

[a] UN University Institute for Environment and Human Security [b] Australian Research Institute for Environment and Sustainability [c] INSEAD [d] Cornell University, New York [e] Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US Q.232) Which religious community is the most susceptible to diseases, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s ‘Health in India’ report? [a] Zoroastrian [b] Jain [c] Muslim [d] Sikh [e] Christian Q.233) When is the World Environment Health Day observed? [a] September 5 [b] September 14 [c] September 19 [d] September 26 [e] September 10 Q.234) Who heads the three-member committee of directors – appointed by RBI – of Lakshmi Vilas Bank? [a] Meeta Makhan [b] Shakti Sinha [c] Satish Kumar Kalra [d] Preetam Srivastava [e] Aditya Puri Q.235) What is the theme of the World Tourism Day 2020? [a] Tourism and Jobs: a better future for all [b] Tourism and the Digital Transformation [c] Sustainable Tourism – A Tool for Development [d] Tourism - Promoting Universal Accessibility

[e] Tourism and Rural Development Q.236) When is the World Rabies Day observed? [a] October 28 [b] July 28 [c] August 28 [d] September 28 [e] November 28 Q.237) Which bank has partnered with Bayer’s Better Life Farming initiative in India to provide financial services to smallholder farmers and rural farming communities? [a] HDFC Bank [b] Axis Bank [c] SBI [d] Canara Bank [e] Punjab National Bank Q.238) Who among the following has been awarded the Players of the Year award by All India Football Federation? [a] Gurpreet Singh Sandhu [b] Anirudh Thapa [c] Ratanbala Devi [d] Ajit Kumar Meetei [e] Sandesh Jingan Q.239) Which organization has released the “Well Spent: How Strong Infrastructure Governance Can End Waste in Public Investment” report? [a] European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [b] Greenpeace International [c] Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [d] Academy for Educational Development [e] International Monetary Fund Q.240) Which organization has signed an MoU with United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism for strengthening cooperation for

the United Nations Countering Terrorist Travel Programme (CT Travel Programme)? [a] International Air Transport Association [b] Asian Development Bank [c] United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific [d] International Maritime Organization [e] International Monetary Fund Q.241) Which state has launched the ‘Paryatan Sanjeevani Scheme’? [a] Assam [b] Gujarat [c] Tamil Nadu [d] Uttar Pradesh [e] Punjab Q.242) How much amount will be disbursed under the 'Mukhyamantri Kisan Kalyan Yojana' of Madhya Pradesh? [a] Rs 9000 [b] Rs 6000 [c] Rs 7000 [d] Rs 3000 [e] Rs 4000 Q.243) Which of the following is the head of the Oceania vertical of Ministry of External Affairs? [a] Kundan Kumar [b] Krishnendra Pratap Singh [c] Shripad Yesso Naik [d] Reenat Sandhu [e] S.B. Naithani Q.244) Who has been appointed as the new chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India? [a] Ajay Bhalla [b] Piyush Joshi [c] P.D. Vaghela [d] Payal Sinha [e] Atul Chankraborty

Q.245) How many Indian Institutes have been ranked in the Top 100 of Financial Times’ Masters in Management (MIM) 2020 rankings? [a] 5 [b] 21 [c] 10 [d] 12 [e] 15 Q.246) Who heads the Parliamentary Committee on IT? [a] Shashi Tharoor [b] Jairam Ramesh [c] Jayant Sinha [d] Anand Sharma [e] Bhraturari Mahtab Q.247) When is the International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction observed? [a] 10 September [b] 29 September [c] 14 September [d] 20 September [e] 18 September Q.248) Who has been appointed as the new president of the Film and Television Institute of India Society? [a] Anupam Kher [b] Hrishikesh Mukherjee [c] Bimal Roy [d] Shekhar Kapur [e] Shyam Benegal Q.249) Who has ranked at the top in the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2020? [a] Hinduja Brothers [b] Shiv Nadar and Family [c] Azim Premji [d] Cyrus S Poonawalla [e] Mukesh Ambani

Q.250) With which bank has Bombay Stock Exchange signed an MoU to empower the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) listed on its platform? [a] Yes Bank [b] HDFC Bank [c] State Bank of India [d] Axis Bank [e] SIDBI Q.251) Which bank has launched India’s first Warehouse Commodity Finance App? [a] HDFC Bank [b] Bank of India [c] Indian Bank [d] Allahabad Bank [e] Punjab National Bank Q.252) With which country has India recently established the 'Green Strategic Partnership'? [a] Denmark [b] Finland [c] Netherlands [d] France [e] United Kingdom Q.253) What is the name of the app launched by Ministry of Tourism and Quality Council of India for the hospitality sector? [a] Saathi [b] Prekshak [c] Sanrachna [d] Saavdhan [e] Samiksha Q.254) With which multilateral agency has Maritime Union of India partnered to help Indians who are stranded on the ship due to Covid-19? [a] World Health Organization [b] European Central Bank [c] International Monetary Fund [d] United Nations

[e] Asian Development Bank Q.255) What is India’s GDP growth rate for FY21 according to ICRA? [a] -11% [b] -12.3% [c] -9.8% [d] -8.7% [e] -14.8% Q.256) Which state has launched the “My family, My Responsibility” campaign to fight the COVID-19 pandemic? [a] Tamil Nadu [b] Kerala [c] Karnataka [d] Maharashtra [e] Madhya Pradesh Q.257) In how many states will the Integrated Road Accident Database Project be launched initially? [a] six [b] seven [c] eleven [d] fifteen [e] five Q.258) Which IIT is implementing the Integrated Road Accident Database Project in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre Services Inc? [a] IIT-Delhi [b] IIT-Madras [c] IIT-Bombay [d] IIT-Roorkee [e] IIT-Kharagpur Q.259) What is the corpus of Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) set up by the Agriculture Ministry in collaboration NABARD? [a] Rs 10000 crores [b] Rs 9000 crores [c] Rs 1500 crores

[d] Rs 3000 crores [e] Rs 5000 crores Q.260) National Steel Policy, 2017 projects India’s total steel capacity to grow to __ million tonne by 2030-31? [a] 200 MT [b] 400 MT [c] 300 MT [d] 900 MT [e] 700 MT Q.261) In Indian which state is the Shweta Kapila cow breed found? [a] Goa [b] Rajasthan [c] Tamil Nadu [d] Kerala [e] Assam Q.262) Which article of the constitution provides for the Supplementary, additional or excess grants of government? [a] Article 224 [b] Article 115 [c] Article 229 [d] Article 140 [e] Article 167 Q.263) How many mega food parks have been established in India till now? [a] 37 [b] 23 [c] 41 [d] 57 [e] 60 Q.264) Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020 has increased the amount of penalty for defaulters to __ from ₹10 lakh? [a] Rs 1 crore [b] Rs 50 lakh [c] Rs 90 lakh [d] Rs 2 crores

[e] Rs 40 lakh Q.265) With which company has Ministry of Health partnered to provide the insurance amount under the 'Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting COVID-19'? [a] Universal Sompo General Insurance Co. Ltd. [b] The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. [c] Shriram General Insurance Co. Ltd. [d] United India Insurance Co. Ltd. [e] New India Assurance Company Ltd Q.266) How much assistance is provided to each constituency per year under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds? [a] Rs 1 crore [b] Rs 10 crores [c] Rs 5 crores [d] Rs 3 crores [e] Rs 2 crores Q.267) Which state/UT has launched the “Backyard Horticulture” programme? [a] Tamil Nadu [b] Andaman and Nicobar [c] Kerala [d] Puducherry [e] Jammu and Kashmir Q.268) Recently, Central govt has increased the scholarship amount under ‘Pragati and Saksham Scholarship Schemes’ for students of Jammu and Kashmir to __ per annum from 2020-21 onwards? [a] Rs 10000 [b] Rs 20000 [c] Rs 30000 [d] Rs 40000 [e] Rs 50000

Q.269) Which country will be largest source of demand growth for energy by 2050, as per the annual Energy Outlook 2020 report of BP? [a] India [b] China [c] USA [d] Russia [e] Japan Q.270) International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) has signed an MoU with the India Gold Policy Centre to get guidance for establishing the International Bullion Exchange at IFSCA. In which IIM is the India Gold Policy Centre located? [a] IIM-Bangalore [b] IIM-Calcutta [c] IIM-Lucknow [d] IIM-Udaipur [e] IIM-Ahmedabad Q.271) Who heads the high-level committee to prepare a roadmap for regularisation of land leasing in the agriculture sector? [a] Ajay Tirkey [b] Praful Raichur [c] Meghan Parikh [d] Kaveri Priyam [e] Mithali Mehta Q.272) With which country has India partnered for jointly developing the hi-tech defence weapons and supplying them to the other friendly countries? [a] Japan [b] USA [c] Russia [d] Israel [e] Iran Q.273) Which state has launched the U-Rise portal for provide career counselling assistance to students?

[a] Tamil Nadu [b] Andhra Pradesh [c] Uttar Pradesh [d] Madhya Pradesh [e] Gujarat Q.274) Where is the Hanimaadhoo International Airport located? [a] Thailand [b] Philippines [c] Singapore [d] Japan [e] Maldives Q.275) On which ghat will India’s first museum on Ganga river be established? [a] Har ki Pauri [b] Gau Ghat [c] Ashti Parvath Ghat [d] Subhash Ghat [e] Chandi Ghat Q.276) On how many challenges does the Defence India Startup Challenge-4 focus? [a] 11 [b] 9 [c] 5 [d] 14 [e] 21 Q.277) Which state has witnessed the highest crime against women, as per the “Crime in India” 2019 report? [a] Assam [b] Meghalaya [c] Mizoram [d] Tripura [e] Nagaland Q.278) Which of the following is not a parameter of the Times World University Rankings 2021? [a] Teaching [b] Research

[c] Citations [d] Industry Income [e] Faculty’s expertise Q.279) Which bank has launched the ‘iStartup 2.0’ initiative to help startups in regulatory assistance, analytics, staffing, accounting, customer acquisition and digital outreach to customers, among others? [a] HDFC Bank [b] Axis Bank [c] State Bank of India [d] ICICI Bank [e] Kotak Mahindra Bank Q.280) Who has been appointed as the celebrity advocate for UNICEF India’s campaign to end violence against children? [a] Sonu Sood [b] Ayushmann Khurrana [c] Amitabh Bachchan [d] Virat Kohli [e] Mahindra Singh Dhoni Q.281) Who has been appointed as the first chairperson of National Medical Commission? [a] Balram Bhargava [b] Sudhir Gupta [c] Rajdeep Guleria [d] Suresh Chandra Sharma [e] Rajesh Bhushan

Q.282) Who has been appointed as the Managing Director of Energy Efficiency Services Limited? [a] Jai Bhasin [b] Aarav Chadra [c] Reyansh Deshmukh [d] Rajat Sud [e] Aditya Dayal Q.283) Which state has won the United Nation Interagency Task Force Award for its outstanding performance for controlling non-communicable diseases? [a] Rajasthan [b] Kerala [c] Karnataka [d] Madhya Pradesh [e] Maharashtra Q.284) Who has won the men’s singles in Rome Masters 2020? [a] Roger Federer [b] Novak Djokovic [c] Rafael Nadal [d] Dominic Thiem [e] Andy Murray Q.285) Who is the author of Voices of Dissent? [a] Kiran Desai [b] Tanuja Desai Hidier [c] Romila Thapar [d] Anuja Chauhan [e] Chitra Divakurni

ANSWERS

1 C 51 D 101 E 151 A 201 C 251 A

2 C 52 B 102 A 152 C 202 A 252 A

3 D 53 D 103 D 153 D 203 C 253 A

4 A 54 B 104 D 154 E 204 A 254 D

5 B 55 D 105 A 155 A 205 A 255 A

6 E 56 A 106 D 156 D 206 C 256 D

7 B 57 E 107 A 157 B 207 A 257 A

8 E 58 B 108 B 158 D 208 D 258 B

9 A 59 C 109 A 159 A 209 A 259 E

10 A 60 D 110 D 160 E 210 B 260 C

11 B 61 D 111 B 161 B 211 A 261 A

12 C 62 B 112 D 162 A 212 C 262 B

13 A 63 D 113 B 163 E 213 A 263 A

14 C 64 A 114 B 164 D 214 A 264 A

15 E 65 E 115 A 165 B 215 D 265 E

16 D 66 C 116 D 166 A 216 A 266 C

17 D 67 A 117 D 167 B 217 D 267 E

18 D 68 B 118 A 168 A 218 B 268 E

19 A 69 B 119 E 169 A 219 A 269 A

20 A 70 D 120 C 170 C 220 D 270 E

21 B 71 B 121 A 171 A 221 A 271 A

22 D 72 E 122 E 172 C 222 A 272 D

23 B 73 A 123 B 173 B 223 A 273 C

24 A 74 D 124 D 174 B 224 D 274 E

25 A 75 A 125 D 175 C 225 C 275 E

26 A 76 C 126 C 176 B 226 C 276 A

27 C 77 B 127 B 177 A 227 B 277 A

28 E 78 A 128 E 178 A 228 D 278 E

29 B 79 E 129 A 179 A 229 A 279 D

30 E 80 D 130 C 180 C 230 D 280 B

31 B 81 A 131 B 181 A 231 A 281 D

32 E 82 A 132 D 182 D 232 A 282 D

33 A 83 D 133 B 183 B 233 D 283 B

34 C 84 A 134 A 184 C 234 A 284 B

35 E 85 D 135 D 185 E 235 E 285 C

36 C 86 C 136 D 186 A 236 D

37 C 87 A 137 A 187 A 237 B

38 C 88 A 138 A 188 D 238 A

39 E 89 D 139 C 189 B 239 E

40 B 90 C 140 A 190 D 240 A

41 A 91 C 141 D 191 D 241 A

42 E 92 B 142 A 192 D 242 E

43 B 93 A 143 A 193 A 243 D

44 C 94 A 144 D 194 E 244 C

45 B 95 B 145 D 195 E 245 A

46 D 96 B 146 A 196 A 246 A

47 E 97 D 147 E 197 E 247 B

48 A 98 A 148 A 198 C 248 D

49 C 99 B 149 D 199 A 249 E

50 C 100 A 150 E 200 D 250 A

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