Daily Current Affairs 3rd October, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 3 October 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

PM Modi inaugurates strategically important, Atal Tunnel at Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the strategically important Atal Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh’s Rohtang.

• Built by the Border Roads Organisation, the tunnel will reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km and the travel time by four to five hours.
• It is a horseshoe-shaped, single-tube double lane tunnel with a roadway of 8 metres and has an overhead clearance of 5.525 metres.

Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Central Jail launches ‘Radio Prison’ on 151st Birth Anniversary of Father of the Nation
Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad has launched ‘Radio Prison’ on the occasion of the 151st Birth Anniversary of the Father of the Nation.

• The Radio Prison- will offer educational, legal and health related details to prisoners within the jail premises. It is operating from old Jail premises based on fibre cable network.
• This service will be extended to the women’s prison and then to the new jail premises in future.

On World Postcard Day, picture postcard named “Jau Kandhei” released on theme ‘Traditional Toys of India’ in Odisha 
On the occasion of World Postcard Day, the Chief Postmaster General, Odisha Circle, has released a picture postcard named “Jau Kandhei” on the theme of ‘Traditional Toys of India’.

• Ten other postal circles across the country have also released similar postcards on the same theme. The objective is to promote the artisans making traditional toys in Odisha and other parts of the country.

Tamil Nadu & Arunachal Pradesh integrated under One Nation One Ration Card Scheme
Two more States, Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh have been integrated with existing national portability cluster of 26 States and UTs under One Nation One Ration Card.

• With this, a total of 28 States and UTs are now seamlessly connected with each other under the ‘ One Nation One Ration Card plan’, which aims to provide an option to all NFSA beneficiaries.
• The beneficiaries of these states can lift their entitled foodgrains under NFSA from any ePoS enabled Fair Price Shop of their choice anywhere in the country, by using their existing/same ration card with Aadhaar authentication on ePoS device.

Assam launches online pension submission, tracking portal for retired employees
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched a portal ‘Kritagyata’ an online pension submission and tracking system.

• With the help of the portal, the retired government employee, besides submitting pension related papers on line will get opportunity to check the status of his pension. The portal has been created in line with the ‘Bhabhisya’ portal of Government of India. 
• Though the portal has been launched as pilot project for the teachers and employees under Inspector of Schools of Kamrup Metropolitan district, it will be replicated to all government employees of the state in all districts in phases.

West Bengal launches Pathashree Abhijan scheme to repair 7,000 roads in state
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched the Pathashree Abhijan, a road repair scheme, where more than 7,000 stretches of roads comprising 12,000 kilometers across the state will be repaired.

• Under the scheme the roads will be repaired in a mission mode and in a time-bound manner.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

U.S. commits $1.9 million to India to support informal sector workers, micro enterprises
The US has committed USD 1.9 million to support vulnerable populations in India like informal sector workers whose livelihoods have been disrupted due to COVID-19.

• The financial assistance from US Agency for International Development (USAID), extended generously by the American people to partners in India, will support efforts to rebuild local economies and improve the livelihoods of Indians who have been hit hardest by this pandemic.

2nd edition of Indian, Bangladesh Navy Bilateral Exercise ‘Bongosagar’ commences on Oct 3
The 2nd edition of Indian and Bangladesh Navy Bilateral Exercise Bongosagar is commenced in the Northern Bay of Bengal.

• Exercise is aimed at developing interoperability and joint operational skills through conduct of a wide spectrum of maritime exercises and operations.

National Institute Of Naturopathy’s Tribal Unit set up in Pune
A 20-bed tribal unit of the National Institute of Naturopathy was inaugurated in Pune’s Ambegaon tehsil by Union AYUSH minister Shripad Naik. It would provide free clinical services to the tribal population in the area.

• A research unit on tribal practices for health maintenance had also been set up and it will be a “repository of knowledge and will work in areas of education, nutrition and health problems of the tribal population”.

BANKING & FINANCE

Nabard Disburses Rs 12,298 Crore So Far Under Swachh Bharat Mission
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has disbursed Rs 12,298 crore so far under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) for construction of 3.29 crore household toilets. To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the development finance institution has launched a nationwide sanitation literacy campaign.

• The campaign will support the government’s SBM-G and Water, Sanitisation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes to enable the vulnerable rural communities to access better sanitation facilities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

NABARD launches refinance scheme for WASH programme, earmarks Rs 800 cr for FY’21
In a bid to promote sustainable and healthy lifestyle in rural areas, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) announced a special refinance facility to support the government”s Water, Sanitisation and Hygiene (WASH) programme.

• An amount of Rs 800 crore has been earmarked for this purpose for the financial year 2020-21.
• NABARD will provide concessional refinance to all eligible financial institutions, including commercial banks, regional rural banks and cooperative banks, with a repayment period of up to 36 months. 

Indian Bank launches Rupay Kisan credit card scheme for TN fishermen
Indian Bank has introduced a Kisan credit card loan scheme for fishermen in Tamil Nadu.

• The features of the scheme include the availability of revolving credit up to ₹2 lakh, 7 per cent interest rate, interest subvention of 3 per cent for those who repay the loan within a period of one year. The loan can be renewed once in a year.  There is no restriction on the number of credit and debit transactions.
• This loan will be provided under Mudra scheme. Borrowers will get Rupay Kisan Credit Card and beneficiaries can use the card to withdraw money from ATMs, BC (banking correspondent) points, and also make purchase through merchant POS.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Arjun Munda launches largest market of tribal products ‘Tribes India E-Marketplace’ 
Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda virtually launched India’s largest handicraft and organic products marketplace, Tribes India E-Marketplace (market.tribesindia.com) on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

• Tribes India e-Marketplace is an ambitious initiative through which TRIFED aims to onboard 5 lakh tribal producers for sourcing of various handicraft, handloom, natural food products across the country and brings to you the best of tribal produce.
• On this occasion, Shri Munda will also flag off several other TRIFED initiatives that are aimed to support the tribal brethren. These include the inauguration of Tribes India’s 123rd and 124th outlets in Rishikesh and Kolkata; inclusion of new tribal product ranges from the states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh; partnership of TRIFED/ Tribes India with Amazon in their Seller Flex program.

SPORTS

India Climb to Third in ICC Women’s T20 Team Rankings, topped by Australia
The Indian women’s cricket team has overtaken New Zealand to rise to the third spot in the T20 International standings and retained the second position in the ODI chart of the latest ICC rankings.

• Australia and England retain the top two positions in T20s, their points tally remaining 291 and 280, respectively.
• The biggest improvement in rankings has been registered by Brazil, who are up 11 places to 27, after a gain of 15 rating points, while the biggest ranking fall has been for Malaysia, who are down from 31st to 38th.

APPOINTMENTS

SBI appoints Charanjit Surinder Singh Attra as CFO
State Bank of India (SBI) said Charanjit Surinder Singh Attra has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

• Before joining the country’s largest public sector lender, Attra was Partner at EY India and senior executive at ICICI Securities.

AWARDS

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh chosen for ‘Gandhi’ Award
Rajya Sabha MP and Aam Aadmi Party ( AAP) leader Sanjay Singh has been chosen for ‘Gandhi’ Award instituted by the Mahatma Gandhi National Foundation.

• He was instrumental in India’s diplomatic intervention to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s images on beer bottles of a private company in Israel, Mr Jose, who brought the matter into the public domain.
• The Award carries a sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi, cash prize of Rs 25,001 and a certificate.

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat gives away Swachh Bharat Awards 2020
Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat gave away the Swachh Bharat Awards-2020 to States, Districts, Blocks and Village Panchayats.The awards were given particularly under the drinking water and cleanliness categories.

• Under the Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shouchalaya category Gujarat bagged the first position at state level whereas Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu got the Award for cleanliness at District Level. Khachrod block in Ujjain district in Madhya Pradesh was awarded the first position and Chinnanur Village in Tamil Nadu bagged the top slot at Gram Panchayat level.
• Under the Samudayik Shouchalaya Abhiyan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh were awarded as the best performing states whereas Prayagraj and Bareilly got it for being the best performing districts.
• Under the Gandagi Mukth Bharat Mission, Haryana and Telangana were awarded the top slot.

OBITUARIES

Veteran Social Activist Pushpa Bhave passes away
Veteran social activist Pushpa Bhave also known as the Iron Lady of Mumbai died following a prolonged illness. She was 81.

• She played a vital role during the Emergency in 1975, when her home offered shelter to many underground political workers like  and Pannala Surana.
• Through decades of advocacy, writings, and social and political activism, Bhave had contributed majorly to the development of grassroots democracy in the country.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Coffee Day
International Coffee Day takes place on October 1 every year  to celebrate the coffee sector’s diversity, quality and passion.

• The focus of International Coffee Day 2020 is ‘Coffee’s Next Generation’, a global initiative targeting talented and motivated young people and entrepreneurs in the coffee sector.

World Postcard Day
The first ever World Postcard Day was celebrated on October 1, 2020.

• The goal for the World Postcard Day is to bring that joy to as many people as possible.

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