Daily Current Affairs 1st October, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 1 October 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Andhra CM Jagan Mohan Reddy along with Union ministers launch door delivery of fertilizers to farmers
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy along with Union Ministers launched the door delivery of fertilisers to farmers, PoS (Point of sale) version, and SMS gateway from Rythu Bharosa Kendras.

• The State government introduced Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs) to assist farmers in every step from the purchase of seed to sale of their produce, which acts as a one-stop destination to address all the needs of farmers across the state.

South Eastern Railway launches ‘Operation My Saheli’ to enhance security of women passengers
The South Eastern Railway has launched a project ”Operation My Saheli (friend) “to boost the security of women passengers in trains during their entire journey.

• Initiated as a pilot project, it has been introduced in three trains Howrah-Yeshvantpur Duronto Special, Howrah- Ahmedabad Special and Howrah-Mumbai Special since September 18.
• The project has been executed under the framework of the ”Nirbhaya Fund”, and it does not involve any additional expenditure under the head of Railways.

Odisha CM Patnaik launches initiative to make Odisha ‘slum-free’ in next 3 years
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched a slum upgradation programme to make the state slum free in three years.

• All slums in the state will be converted into model colonies in the next three years. The process will start immediately in 1,000 slums and then it will be scaled up to cover each and every slum.
• The chief minister also dedicated 116 multi-purpose community centres in the slums which would act as the social lifeline of people living there.

Govt Launches Initiative To Promote Innovation And Entrepreneurship Amongst SC Students
An initiative was launched by the government to promote innovation and entrepreneurship amongst SC students in higher education campuses.

• The programme named Ambedkar Social Innovation Incubation Mission (ASIIM) was launched by the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot.
• the main objectives of ASIIM also include promoting entrepreneurship among the SC Youth with special preference to Divyangs, supporting (1,000) innovative ideas till 2024 through a synergetic work with the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) set up by Department of Science and Technology among others.

USAID And SEWA Bharat To Support Women Entrepreneurs With Award From The W-GDP Initiative
The United States Agency for International Development in India has been selected for funding from the White House-led Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative and it will collaborate with SEWA Bharat to support women entrepreneurs using the funding amount.

• The W-GDP initiative is the United States government’s first whole-of-government effort to advance women’s economic empowerment globally.
• Through the W-GDP Fund, USAID will be partnering with the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) Bharat, a national federation of women-led institutions providing economic and social support to women workers in the informal economy.

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI extends WMA limit relaxations for six months
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to extend the interim relaxation in WMA (Ways and Means Advances) limits and OD (overdraft) regulations for States/ Union Territories (UTs) for another six months till March 31, 2021.

• Both these relaxations, which are aimed at helping States/UTs overcome short-term liquidity mismatches, are currently available till September 30, 2020.
• The other benefit which has now been extended till March pertains to overdraft (OD) regulations where states or union territories were allowed to be in overdraft continuously for 21 working days, from 14 days earlier. That apart, the number of overdraft days in a quarter were also increased to 50 working days from 36 working days

Govt Keeps Interest Rates on Small Savings Schemes Unchanged for Oct-Dec Quarter
The government kept the interest rates on small savings schemes, including PPF and NSC, unchanged for the October-December quarter amid moderating bank deposit rates. Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) will continue to carry an annual interest rate of 7.1 per cent and 6.8 per cent, respectively.`

• Interest rates for small savings schemes are notified by the Finance Ministry on a quarterly basis. There is no change in small savings rate for the third quarter.

Small Savings Schemes with Interest Rates
Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS)- 7.4 percent.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Scheme (SSYS)- 7.6 percent.
Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP)- 6.9 percent.
Public Provident Fund (PPF) – 7.1 percent.
National Savings Certificates (NSC)- 6.8 percent.
Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (MIS)- 6.6 percent.

Indian Bank unveils IB-eNote facility for paperless working environment
Public sector Indian Bank has unveiled its IB-eNote facility, aimed at providing a paperless working environment and to improve the turnaround time considerably.

• The initiative is expected to save costs on paper, printing and other administrative expenses.The bank has customised SharePoint, one of the features provided by Microsoft Office.
• Indian Bank also unveiled ‘Ind Guru’, an e-learning platform for its employees that offers technology-enabled solutions aimed at capacity building.

SBI Card joins hands with American Express to offer premium benefits, services
SBI Card has joined hands with American Express to offer global benefits and exclusive privileges for consumers in India.

• Under this agreement, SBI Card’s top-end products SBI Card ELITE and SBI Card PRIME will be available on American Express’ global network.
• Customers will also get benefits like pre-ticketing access to sporting and entertainment events such as the Wimbledon and the US Open which are presently accessible virtually.

RBI Excludes 6 PSBs from Second Schedule of RBI Act
The RBI has excluded six public sector banks, including OBC and Allahabad Bank, from the Second Schedule of the RBI Act following their merger with other banks.

• The six banks are Syndicate Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), United Bank of India, Andhra Bank, Corporation Bank, and Allahabad Bank.
• These six banks merged with other public sector banks (PSBs) with effect from April 1.There were as many as 27 PSBs in 2017. The total number of PSBs in the country has now come down to 12. 

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Tata Steel and Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) sign MoU to collaborate in the area of CCUS
Considering the importance of Carbon Capture, Utilisation & Storage (CCUS) in India’s fight against Climate Change and Global Warming, meeting the growing energy demands and building a strong ecosystem to meet commitments under Paris Agreement, Tata Steel and Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) sign MoU to collaborate in the area of Carbon Capture, Utilisation & Storage (CCUS).

• As part of this strategic MoU, Tata Steel and CSIR will work towards accelerating development and deployment of CCUS technologies in the steel industry.
• CSIR has, in parallel, initiated steps to set up a National facility on CCUS at NEERI, Nagpur. Tata Steel has intended to be a founder partner in setting up of this facility.

SPORTS

Kiren Rijiju launches new logo of Sports Authority of India
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju launched the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) new logo at Delhi’s Major Dhyan Chand Stadium.

• The new logo signifies SAI’s journey of metamorphosis from identifying and nurturing grassroot level sporting talent to creating sporting excellence in the country.

APPOINTMENTS

Bengal Peerless ropes in former cricket captain Sourav Ganguly as brand ambassador
City based real estate developer Bengal Peerless Housing has roped in Sourav Ganguly as brand ambassador for the company.

• The former national cricket team captain and current president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Ganguly will primarily lead the campaign of the company’s residential project Avidipta II on EM Bypass.

AWARDS

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2020 announced 
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR, has released the names of 14 scientists who have been awarded Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2020.

• Two Professors, one from IIT Kharagpur, Dr Abhijit Mukherjee and Dr Bushra Ateeq from IIT Kanpur are among the recipients of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize.
• Others who have received awards include, Dr Shubhadeep Chatterjee from Centre for DNA fingerprinting and diagnostics, Dr Vatsala Thirumalai from National Centre for Biological Sciences, Dr Jyotirmayee Dash from Indian Association for the cultivation of science, Dr Suryendu Dutta from IIT Bombay, Dr Subi Jacob George from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific, Dr Kinshuk Dasgupta from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Dr Ritesh Agarwal from PGIMER Chandigarh, Dr Amol Arvindrao Kulkarni, Dr Surajit Dhara from the University of Hyderabad.
• Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (SSB) Prize, each of the value of Rs 5 lakh, is given each year for outstanding contributions to science and technology.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ISRO to launch its Venus Mission in 2025, France to take part
ISRO is scheduled to launch its Venus mission in 2025 and France will participate in it.

• The VIRAL (Venus Infrared Atmospheric Gases Linker) instrument co-developed with the Russian federal space agency Roscosmos and the LATMOS atmospheres, environments and space observations laboratory attached to the French national scientific research centre CNRS has been selected by the ISRO after a request for proposals.
• CNES will coordinate and prepare the French contribution, the first time a French payload will be flown on an Indian exploration mission.

Indian Coast Guard Ship Kanaklata Barua Commissioned in Kolkata
Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) ICGS ‘Kanaklata Barua’ of the Indian Coast Guard was commissioned at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd in Kolkata, West Bengal .

• ICGS Kanaklata Barua is one of the five FPVs built by GRSE, the Defence Public Sector Undertaking, for the Indian Coast Guard.
• The FPVs are medium-range surface vessels with a length of 50 metres, width of 7.5 metres and displacement of around 308 tonnes. The vessels are designed for a maximum speed of 34knots with an endurance of more than 1,500 nautical miles. It is equipped with three main engines.

India successfully test-fires BrahMos supersonic cruise missile
India successfully test fired a new version of the surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile BrahMos having a range of around 400 km from an integrated test range at Balasore in Odisha.

• The range of the new land attack version of the missile has been extended to 400 km from the original 290 km, and its speed has been maintained at Mach 2.8 which is nearly three times that of sound.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Older Persons
The International Day of Older Persons is observed on October 1 each year. It is a United Nations designated day to focus on the well-being of the elderly people.

• The theme of International Day For Older Persons 2020 is “Leave No One Behind”. 

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