Daily Current Affairs 7th September, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 7 September 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Agriculture ministry approves Rs. 4 crore for up-gradation of soil testing labs in Kashmir
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare ministry has approved four crore rupees for up-gradation of Soil Testing labs across the Kashmir valley.

• For the quality control laboratory upgradation, 40 lakh rupees have been earmarked during the current year, which will facilitate upgradation and strengthening of fertilizer quality control lab.

J-K LG launches SPARROW system for J-K Administrative Service officers
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha launched Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window (SPARROW) system for Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service officers, at Raj Bhavan.

• The SPARROW system is aimed at bringing more transparency, avoiding loss of Appraisal Reports during the transition, ensuring better monitoring and timely completion of performance appraisals.

Karnataka to take up ₹600-cr. watershed project with World Bank assistance
Karnataka is set to implement a ₹600-crore project for brining 10 lakh hectares of parched land in 10 districts under watershed development with World Bank assistance.

• The project titled ‘Rejuvenating watershed for agriculture resilience through innovative development’ would be implemented for the next six years. 
• Under the project, the State government would provide ₹180 crore while the World Bank would extend an assistance of ₹420 crore.

‘The State of Young Child in India’ report released, Kerala tops
Kerala, Goa, Tripura, Tamil Nadu and Mizoram are among the top five States for well-being of children, according to a report brought out by non-governmental organisation Mobile Creches and launched by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu.

• It identifies eight States that have scores below the country’s average: they are Assam, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
• The index is part of the ‘State of the Young Child’ in India report released the 50-year-old NGO.
•  The report has also developed another index called the young child environment index to understand the policy and environment enablers that influence a child’s well-being.According to the environment index, Kerala, Goa, Sikkim, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh secured the top five positions.

First-ever cannabis medicine project coming up in Jammu
The first ever cannabis medicine project will soon be set up at Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) in Jammu with Canadian collaboration, Union minister Jitendra Singh said.

• The medicine prepared from this plant can be utilised even for export to other countries.

Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu selected as fully Digital Economy district
Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu, which houses a large number of small and medium enterprises, especially in the fire crackers and allied sectors, has been selected by the Central Government as the state’s first Fully Digital Economy district. 

• All industrial units and commercial establishments in the district are at present implementing various forms of cashless transactions. These include widespread use of ATM debit cards, increased usage of internet banking, widespread use of QR codes etc.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India to host summit of SCO council of heads of government on Nov 30, says MEA
India will host a summit of the council of heads of government of the SCO on November 30 with a focus on contributing to the trade and economic agenda of the influential grouping, a senior official in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said.

• The focus of the summit will be on the contribution to trade and the economic agenda of the influential grouping. India has already been focusing on expanding its cooperation with SCO.

Bangladesh to host FAO Asia Pacific Regional Conference in 2022
Bangladesh will host the 36th Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC) of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), for the first time in 2022 since joining the organization in 1973.

• Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the 35th FAO Asia-Pacific regional conference, organised by Bhutan this year, was held through video conference from September 1-4. The regional conference of FAO is held every two years.

SPORTS

Pierre Gasly wins thrilling Italian Grand Prix
France’s Pierre Gasly won an astonishing Italian Grand Prix thriller for Italy-based AlphaTauri in a topsy-turvy race packed with suspense and none of the usual top teams on the podium.

• McLaren’s Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr. finished a close second at Monza, after a nail-biting chase to the flag, with Racing Point’s Lance Stroll third on a podium of youngsters.

Ian Bell announces retirement from professional cricket
Former stylish batsman Ian Bell announced he will retire from all forms of cricket at the end of the 2020 domestic season.

• The five-time Ashes winner has spent his entire career with Warwickshire.
• Bell has scored 7727 runs, including 22 hundreds, at an average of 42.69 in 118 Test matches while in the ODIs, he has 5,416 runs in 161 matches.

APPOINTMENTS

Australia appoints cricket icon Matthew Hayden as trade envoy to India
The Australian government has appointed former cricketer Matthew Hayden and Indian-origin politician Lisa Singh as trade envoys for advancing business ties with India.

• Ashok Jacob has been reappointed as chair, and will be joined by three new board members of the Australia-India Council.
• Lisa Singh, former Labor Party Senator from Tasmania, would be the Deputy Chair. Former Victoria Premier Ted Baillieu and former cricketer Hayden are the other new members.

Rajiv Lall resigns as Non-Executive Chairman of IDFC First Bank
IDFC First Bank said its Part-Time Non-Executive Chairman Rajiv B Lall has resigned from the lender’s board on health grounds with immediate effect citing that he has been dealing with his prolonged personal health issues for a while now.

• He was the founder MD and CEO of IDFC Bank. Earlier, he was CEO and then executive chairman of IDFC Ltd from 2005.

AWARDS

Ja Morant wins 2019-20 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award
The Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant has been named the 2019-20 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, the NBA announced.

• The 6-foot-3 guard is the second player to win the Rookie of the Year Award with the Grizzlies, joining Pau Gasol (2001-02).
• Morant received 99 first-place votes from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters and earned 498 total points. Miami Heat guard Kendrick Nunn finished in second place with 204 points. New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson received one first-place vote and finished in third place with 140 points.

Agnikul Cosmos bags TiE50 Award
IIT Madras-incubated Agnikul Cosmos, which provides a dedicated launch vehicle for smaller satellites at a lower cost, has been conferred with TiE50 award.

• The award recognizes top technology and technology-enabled start-ups across the world, who will be awarded at its flagship conference TiECON 2020 at TiE’s Silicon Valley.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites for faster internet
SpaceX has successfully sent 60 Starlink internet satellites aboard the Falcon 9 which is lifted off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

• The launch was Starlink’s first mission of the month. The Elon-musk owned space tech company has conducted sixteen missions this year.
• The satellites are meant to provide ‘cheaper and faster’ internet to inaccessible areas. The satellites in its initial tests had provided over 100 Mbps speeds.

OBITUARIES

Veteran filmmaker Johnny Bakshi passes away at 82
Veteran producer-director Johnny Bakshi passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest at a hospital here. He was 82.

• In  his career spanning over four decades, Bakshi mostly worked as a producer, backing films such as Manzilein Aur Bhi Hain, (1974), Raavan, (1984) and Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee (1993).
• He has also directed two films Daku Aur Police (1992) and Khudai (1994) starring Rajesh Khanna in the lead

Tom Seaver, Hall of Fame pitcher, passes away
Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and 12-time all-star, has died. He was 75.

• Seaver known as “Tom Terrific,”  won 311 games, had a 2.86 earned-run average and struck out 3,640 batters over a 20-year major league career that spanned from 1967-1986, earning 12 All-Star selections. He led the National League in wins three times, ERA three times and strikeouts five times.
• Seaver was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1992 when he was named on 98.8 percent of ballots cast by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, the highest voting percentage ever received at the time.

 BOOKS

‘Breaking The Cocoon @ 40’ book authored by Radha Nair
The book titled “Breaking The Cocoon @ 40″ authored by Radha Nair has been released recently.

• “Breaking The Cocoon @ 40” is a delightful collection of select events from her life, which also holds a mirror to the time the incidents are set in.

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