Daily Current Affairs 23 September 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.
NATIONAL NEWS
Centre sanctions Rs. 8.2 crore as collateral-free loans for street vendors in Odisha under PM SVANidhi Yojana
Union Minister for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan has said that the Centre has sanctioned 8.2 crore rupees as collateral-free loans for the street vendors in Odisha under the PM SVANidhi Yojana.
- More than 23,000 street vendors out of the total 63,222 identified in the state, have applied for affordable working capital loans being provided under the scheme.
‘Mukhymantri Kisan Kalyan Yojana’ to be start in Madhya Pradesh
Mukhymantri Kisan Kalyan Yojana is being started in Madhya Pradesh on the lines of Pradhanmantri Kisan Samman Nidhi.
- Under the announced scheme, the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, getting Rs. 6,000 per annum, will be getting additional financial assistance of Rs. 4,000, making their total annual assistance to be Rs. 10,000 per annum.
PM Modi launches ‘Ghar Tak Fibre’ scheme to connect 45,945 villages across Bihar
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched nine highway projects and Ghar tak Fiber scheme in Bihar.
- The ‘Ghar Tak Fibre’ scheme is launched by following the motto of Digital India programme and the scheme will be connecting 45,945 villages of Bihar through optical fibre internet service.
- The ‘Ghar Tak Fibre’ scheme will help the citizens of Bihar to avail digital services like e-education, e-agriculture, telemedicine, tele-law and other digital-based schemes of Bihar state.
- The Nine Highway Projects allotted with the funds of Rs 14,528 crores which includes constructing six-lane highways and three bridges on rivers. The highway project will construct the roads of 350 km.
Tamil Nadu becomes first state to unveil ethical AI, blockchain, cybersecurity policies in country
Tamil Nadu became first state in the country to come out with policies on Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Cybersecurity policies.
- The policies were unveiled by Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami during the valedictory session of the 19th edition of Connect 2020.
- The policies go by the names Tamil Nadu Cyber Security Policy, 2020, Tamil Nadu Blockchain Policy, 2020, and Tamil Nadu Safe and Ethical Artificial Intelligence Policy, 2020.
ITBP ties up with Uttarakhand govt to promote adventure tourism at Tehri Lake
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) joined hands to promote adventure sports activities at Tehri Lake.
- With this, the Tehri Lake Adventure Institute will now be administered and managed by ITBP for 20 years from now.
- The institute will impart training of water sports including kayaking, canoeing, rowing, sailing, parasailing, paragliding, water rescue and life-saving course.
Sebi constitutes technical group on social stock exchange
Sebi set up a technical group on social stock exchange to develop a framework for onboarding non-profit organisations and for-profit enterprises as well as prescribe disclosure requirements on financials and governance.
- The regulator has constituted the technical group under the chairmanship of Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, former chairman of Nabard.
- Other members of the group include Ingrid Srinath, founder-director, Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy at Ashoka University; Pushpa Aman Singh CEO of Guidestar; and Santhosh Jayaram, Partner and Head- Sustainability and CSR Advisory at KPMG.
Indian Navy conducts Two-day Passage Exercise with Royal Australian Navy
Navies of India and Australia will carry out a two-day mega exercise in the Indian Ocean Region that will involve a range of complex naval manoeuvres, anti-aircraft drills and helicopter operations.
- The exercise comes in the midst of India’s tense border row with China and in the backdrop of growing activities by the Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean Region.
- It will be the fourth major military drill by the Indian Navy since June. It has already carried out similar exercises with the navies of the US, Japan and Russia.
DRDO conducts successful flight test of ABHYAS
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight-tested an indigenously-developed unmanned aerial vehicle, Abhyas, that can be used as target for evaluation of various missile systems.
- Two Abhyas vehicles, developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), were flight tested from a test range off Odisha coast.
- The High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) was launched using twin underslung booster.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
World’s top emitter China aims to go Carbon Neutral by 2060
Chinese President Xi Jinping said his country will aim to stop pumping additional carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas, into the atmosphere by 2060.
- Citing the Paris Agreement that he and former US President Barack Obama helped forge in 2015, Xi said his country would raise its emissions reduction targets with vigorous policies and measures. We aim to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.
- Many countries have pledged they will aim to go carbon neutral by 2050, including the European Union.
Global Economy to Contract 4.3% in 2020; Output Worth USD 6 Trillion to Be Wiped Out: UNCTAD Report
The global economy is expected to contract by 4.3 per cent this year, hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, which will wipe out global output worth over USD 6 trillion, a UN report said.
- The UNCTAD ‘Trade and Development Report 2020 – From global pandemic to prosperity for all: Avoiding another lost decade’ report says, Output in India is expected to shrink by 5.9 per cent in 2020, before rebounding to 3.9 per cent the next year.
- UNCTAD expects South Asia to contract 4.8 per cent in 2020 and recover to 3.9 per cent in 2021. India’s GDP is forecast to contract 5.9 per cent in 2020 and recover to 3.9 per cent next year.
- The report expects Latin America to be hit with 7.6 per cent drop in output and more declines, possibly in double digits, for largest economies such as Argentina and Mexico. This contrasts with East Asia, where growth will remain in positive territory, albeit much lower than in 2019.
BANKING & FINANCE
HDFC Life enters into partnership with YES Bank to sell insurance policies
HDFC Life said it has entered into a partnership with YES Bank to sell policies to the bank’s customers.
- This CA arrangement will enable customers of YES Bank to avail HDFC Life’s wide range of life insurance products, which include solutions for protection, savings and investment, retirement and critical illness.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
HCL and Google Cloud expand partnership to deliver accelerated Business Intelligence Platform
HCL Technologies and Google Cloud announced the expansion of their strategic partnership to bring HCL’s Actian portfolio, starting with Actian Avalanche, to Google Cloud.
- HCL’s Actian Avalanche hybrid cloud data warehouse has been deployed by Fortune 500 customers to deliver powerful insights to manage business complexities for a variety of use cases, including fraud detection, real-time offers and market basket analysis.
SPORTS
Professional tennis player, former cricketer Ashleigh Barty wins golf tournament
Multi-talented Ashleigh Barty has conquered tennis, been a professional cricketer and has now added another string to her sporting bow by winning Brookwater Golf Club women’s championship.
- The world number one Australian would ordinarily be in Europe preparing to defend her French Open crown on the Roland Garros clay.
APPOINTMENTS
Bah Ndaw named Mali’s interim president
Former Mali defense minister and retired colonel Bah Ndaw has been named the president of the country’s new transition government, while the leader of the junta that seized power last month. Colonel Assimi Goita, was appointed vice president of the country.
- He will be in power for 18 months before holding elections and returning Mali to civilian rule.
BOOKS
Voices of Dissent: An Essay by Romila Thapar
Historian Romila Thapar will come out with a historical essay next month, exploring dissent, including its articulation and public response to its particular forms, with a special focus on recent protests in the country.
- The book titled “Voices of Dissent” to be published by Penguin Random House India and Seagull Books.
OBITUARIES
Nepal’s legendary mountaineer Ang Rita Sherpa passes away
Ang Rita Sherpa, the legendary Nepalese mountaineer who scaled the world’s highest mountain peak, Mountt Everest, 10 times without bottled oxygen, died. He was 72.
- Rita, who was nicknamed the ‘Snow Leopard’, awarded a prestigious Guinness World Record certificate for making the most number of successful ascents on the 8,848-meter Mt Everest without using supplemental oxygen.
- The Guiness World Record has also recognised him as the first man to climb Everest in winter without supplementary oxygen in December 1987.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Rhino Day
Every year on September 22, the world celebrates World Rhinoceros Day. The day intends to celebrate rhinos across the world in unique ways.
- Theme for World Rhino Day 2020 is “Five Rhino Species Forever”.
World Car Free Day
World Car Free Day, which is celebrated on September 22, encourages motorists to give up their cars for a day.
- World Carfree Day is celebrated to help the environment and bring awareness to what we can all do to help.
International Day of Sign Languages
International Day of Sign Languages is observed annually on September 23, along with the celebrations of International Week of the Deaf.
- The theme for International Day of Sign languages 2020 is “Sign Languages Are for Everyone!”
- For the year 2020, the World Federation of the Deaf has issued a ‘Global Leaders Challenge’, which is being organised to promote the use of sign language by locals, national and global leaders who are in partnerships with national association of deaf people in each country.
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