Current Affairs for Government Exams
National news
- DRDO has conducted the flight test “ABHYAS” (High-speed Expendable Aerial Target) successfully from the interim test range, Balasore in Odisha. ABHYAS is designed and developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment of DRDO.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched nine highway projects and Optical Fibre internet services in Bihar. The optical fibre services being provided under the scheme “Ghar Tak Fibre”.
- The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has tied up with the Uttarakhand government to promote adventure tourism at Tehri Lake.
- The Lok Sabha passed the Jammu and Kashmir official languages bill, 2020 that will include Kashmiri, Dogri, and Hindi as the official languages in the newly created union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier, only English and Urdu were the official languages in the former state.
- Ministry of Development of North-east region Jitendra Singh has launched the logo and song for festival “Destination North East 2020”. The event will take off on World Tourism Day (September 27). The four-day-long Destination Northeast 2020 will be inaugurated by Union Minister Amit Shah.
- India based Neutrino Observatory (INO) will set up Bodi West Hills, in Theni district, Tamil Nadu.
- International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) and India Gold Policy Centre (IGPC) – IIMA (Indian Institute of Management, Ahemdabad) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the IFSCA, GIFT City Gandhinagar, Gujarat for providing consulting to facilitate the establishment of International Bullion Exchange in India.
- IIIT Laws Amendment Bill 2020: The Parliament on September 22, 2020 passed the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill 2020 with the Rajya Sabha approving the bill.
The IIIT Laws Amendment Bill 2020 will declare five IIITs in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode – IIIT Bhopal, IIIT Agartala, IIIT Surat, IIIT Bhagalpur and IIIT Raichur as Institutions of National importance. Now the total number of IIITs that have been declared as institutions of national importance will be 25. - International Energy Agency (IEA) has released “Special Report on Sustainable Recovery” along with NITI Ayog. The report is a part of IEA’s flagship World Energy Outlook series.
- SEBI has constituted a technical committee chaired by Harsh Kumar Bhanwala (Former Chairman of NABARD) on the Social Stock Exchange (SSE). This committee will develop a framework for onboarding non-profit organisations and for-profit enterprises.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 21, 2020 has approved an increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all mandated Rabi crops for making season 2021-22 with the recommendation of Swaminathan Commission’s report.
International News
- Japan shall provide a 40-year soft loan with 0.1% interest rate to Sri Lanka for the East Container Terminal Project.
- USA president Donald Trump has announced to set up a “National Commission to Promote Patriotic Education”.
- Palestine Foreign Minister Riyad al Maliki has decided to resign from the rotating presidency of the Council of the Arab League.
- Shipping Minister of India Mansukh Mandaviya and Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation of Maldives jointly E-launch a direct cargo ferry service between India and Maldives.
- The Aviation Company Airbus launched three concepts under the code name ZEROe for the first zero-emission commercial aircraft. Their aircraft will enter into service by 2035. The three concepts are-
i) Turbofan design
ii) Blended wing body design
iii) turboprop design - A virtual India-UK Water Partnership Forum will be held on September 22, 2020, to discuss ways to collaborate on the issues pertaining to infrastructure development and water conservation.
The inaugural address will be given by Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Gaitri Issar Kumar. - United Nations (founded in 1945) has celebrated its 75th anniversary on September 22, 2020.
- Google Pay has tied up with Visa for rollout of tokenization based payment. After this, Google Pay users can make transactions through a secure digital token attached to their phone, no need to share their Debit or credit card details physically.
- Naval Exercise “PSSSEX” between India and Australia will be carrying out a two-days mega exercise in the Indian Ocean starting from September 23, 2020. Indian Naval Ships Shayadri and Karmuk will represent India and Australia will be represented by HMAS Hobart.
- Saudi Arabia has decided on September 23, 2020 to suspend travel to and from India, Brazil and Argentina. The decision has been taken due to rising COVID-19 cases in the three nations.
- HCL Technologies has announced the acquisition of Australian IT firm DWS Ltd for $115.8 million in a bid to further expand its digital offerings especially in Australia and New Zealand.
- Visa along with its global partner IFundWomen announced a grant programme to empower women entrepreneurs in India.
State News
- Madhya Pradesh government will start “Mukhyamantri Kisan Kalyan Yojana”.
- Uttar Pradesh Government has decided to set up a dedicated Infotainment zone, film city in Gautam Budh Nagar.
National and International Appointments
Retired Colonel Dr. Girija Sankar Mungali has been appointed as a member of Asean Football Confederation (AFC) by the general secretary of AFC Dato Windsor John to regulate the football clubs in Asia and Australia.
Awards and Honor
“The Disciple” directed by Chaitanya Tamhane has won the Amplify Voices Award at the 45th Toronto International Film Festival.
Books and Authors
- Star chef Vikas Khanna has authored a book titled “Kitchens of Gratitude” in which he has written about his Feed India initiative. It is published by Penguin Random House, India.
- Historian Romila Thapar has written “Voices of Dissent” that will be jointly published by Penguin Random House, India and Seagull Books.
Obituaries and Retirement
- Marathi actress and Bollywood’s veteran character artist Ashalata Wabgaonkar has passed away recently.
- Renowned Personality Ang Rita has passed away recently. He was a veteran mountaineer.
- Former Congress Minister of Rajasthan Zakia Inam passed away.
Banking news (Domestic and International)
- The Reserve Bank of India has appointed a new administrator, former Union Bank of India executive A K Dixit for the scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank Ltd.
- IDFC Mutual Fund has started a new campaign called SIFI or ‘SIP in Fixed Income’ to make investors more aware of the benefits of investing in fixed income products via Systematic Investment Plans.
- Volvo car India has entered into a partnership with HDFC Bank to launch Volvo Car Financial Services.
Sports
Australian tennis player Ashleigh Barty has won Brookwater Golf Club Women’s Championship.
● World Rhino Day is observed throughout the world on 22nd September by World Wide Fund for Nature.
● World Rose Day is observed on 22nd September to spread hope and positiveness to the cancer patients.
● International Day of Sign Languages is observed on 23rd September. Theme- Sign Languages Are For Everyone.
● On September 22, an annual car-free day or the World car-free day was observed globally.
