National News
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate six mega projects in Uttarakhand under the ‘Namami Gange Mission.
He will also inaugurate “Ganga Avalokan”, the first museum on Ganga at Haridwar.
A book, ”Rowing down the Ganges”, co-published by National Mission for Clean Ganga and Wildlife Institute of India will also be launched at the event. - The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has launched ICMR’s ( Indian Council of Medical Research) vaccine web portal and National Clinical Registry for COVID-19. The vaccine portal of ICMR will provide information related to the coronavirus vaccine development in India as well as abroad.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) in New Delhi on September 28, 2020.
- President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to three Firm Bills passed by parliament.
i) The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
ii) The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill,2029.
iii) The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Service Bill, 2020. - Maritime Union of India (MUI) has entered into a partnership with the United Nations to assist seafarers who are stranded on ships due to COVID-19 pandemic.
- Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan announced that Government of India will increase the health care expenditure in the country from 1.15% to 2.5% of GDP by 2025.
- Diamond City Surat has bagged the Netexplo Smart Cities award with UNESCO in the resilience category. This was the second edition of the Netexplo Smart Cities award with UNESCO.
- Bangalore International Airport Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Virgin Hyperloop to conduct a feasibility study for a proposed Hyperloop Corridor from the city’s Kempegowda International Airport.
- Flipkart and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company have come together to offer ‘Digital Suraksha Group Insurance’ for customers who want to cover themselves against financial losses.
- Serum Institute of India (SII) has announced that it will produce up to an additional 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for India and low and middle-income countries in 2021.
- The Himalayan Chandra Telescope which completed 20 years successfully is located in Mt. Saraswati range.
International News
- Mali’s transitional president Bah Ndaw appointed former minister of foreign affairs, Moctar Ouane, as the new Prime Minister of Mali.
- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Tokyo from 6th to 7th October. During this visit, he will hold talks with his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi and attend a ministerial meeting of the Quadrilateral coalition.
- Sina Corp, the owner of social media platform Weibo, will be taken private in a $2.6 billion deal with Chief Executive Officer Charles Chao.
- Walmart Inc is in talks with Tata Group for an investment of up to $25 billion in the salt-to-software conglomerate’s new “super app”.
State News
- Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched a slum up-gradation programme to make the state slum-free in three years.
- Maharashtra Government announced the Gan Samragni Lata Mangeshkar award for the year 2020-21 to veteran female playback singer Usha Mangeshkar.
- The foundation stone of ‘Centre for Disability Sports at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh’ was laid at a function organized by DEPwD, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
- Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced a new “Paryatan Sanjeevani Scheme” under which loan between Rs. 1 lac and Rs. 20 lakh with interest subsidy would be provided to entrepreneurs. This conclave was organised by the Government of Assam in collaboration with Assam Tourist Development Corporation (ATDC).
- Telangana Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K Taraka Ramarao inaugurated the cable-stayed bridge on Durgam Cheruvu along with a four-lane elevated corridor connecting it with Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad.
- The Gujrat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has launched Rainwater Harvesting Projects in 1000 government schools in Vadodara district through video conference to encourage water conservation.
- Hinduja Group Subsidiary Gulf Oil Lubricants India Ltd. (GOLIL) announced a long-term strategic partnership with S-Oil Corporation of South Korea to manufacture and market their products for the Indian market.
- Maharashtra state has become the first state which has banned the sale of unpacked loose cigarettes and beedis.
National and International Appointments
- P D Vaghela has been appointed as the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
- The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director-General S S Deswal has been given the additional charge of Counter-Terrorism force National Security Guard (NSG).
- Reserve Bank of India has appointed Amitabh Bachchan for the customer awareness campaign to prevent account holders from being duped by fraudsters.
- Robin Uthappa has been appointed as the brand ambassador of Entri, a local language learning app for jobs.
- The Southern Railway has appointed B.G.Mallya as a new Additional General Manager (AGM) by replacing K Shunmugaraj.
Awards and Honor
- Aavruthi has won the best film trophy at the closing ceremony of IFFT- Orange Short and Documentary Film Festival which is jointly organised by the Orange Academy and the IFFT from Thrissur, Kerala.
- Twelve Scientists were given the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, 2020, on the foundation day of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on September 26.
- IAS Iqbal Singh Chagal Municipal Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai has been honoured with Global COVID Crusader Award 2020.
Obituaries and Retirement
Assam’s first and the only woman chief minister Syeda Anwara Taimur passed away recently.
Banking News: (Domestic and International)
- RBI has given its approval to the appointment of a three-member committee of Directors to run Lakshmi Vilas Bank. The committee will be chaired by Meeta Makhan and will have Shakti Sinha and Satish Kumar Kalra as members.
- HDFC Bank has launched India’s first Warehouse Commodity Finance App to help customers to manage the loan against pledge of commodities online without physical intervention to bank branches.
- Reserve Bank of India has issued Positive Pay System for Cheque Truncation System for banks in order to cheque fraud under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. It is developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and it will be implemented from January 01, 2021.
- BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda has selected Signzy technology firm, in a bid to digitise its customer verification through “Video KYC”.
- The Bombay Stock Exchange has signed a pact with Yes Bank to empower the Small and Medium Enterprises listed on the platform.
- SBI card has launched its new brand campaign titled “Contactless Connections”, to spread the message that love and care can be shared even during this difficult period where social distancing is the norm.
Economic Affairs
The National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has projected that the Indian Economy would contract 12.6% this fiscal year 2020-21.
Important Days
- International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction is observed on 29th September.
Theme – stop food loss and waste. For the people. For the planet. - World Heart Day is observed every year on 29th September.
- World Deaf Day is celebrated every year on the last Sunday of September, this year it falls on September 27.
