Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Current Affairs Today 8th September 2020. These are important for the upcoming Exams. Candidates who were preparing for the examination can use these current affairs and also you can download the same as PDF.
Current Affairs Today – 9th September 2020
NEWS AT A GLANCE
- International Day to Protect Education from Attack is observed globally on 9th September.
- On the occasion of Bank of India (BoI)’s 115th Foundation Day, BoI has launched an international contactless debit card, “Signature Visa Debit Card” for high net worth individuals who are maintaining an average quarterly balance of Rs 10 lakhs and above.
- Technology giant Apple Inc. has announced that it is going to open its first ever “floating” store, in Singapore on 10th September 2020.
- In its September update of Global Economic Outlook (GEO), the US-based Fitch Ratings has sharply lowered the forecast for the gross domestic product (GDP) growth of India for the current fiscal 2020-21 (FY21) and now expects the GDP to contract 10.5 percent.
- Domestic rating agency India Ratings and Research on Tuesday revised the country’s FY21 GDP growth forecast to (-) 11.8 per cent from (-) 5.3 per cent earlier.
- India’s IT major HCL Technologies has set up its first development centre in Sri Lanka to generate significant employment opportunities for the youths.
- Wipro plans to set up a Digital Innovation Hub at Düsseldorf in Germany that will serve as the IT services major’s flagship centre in Europe.
- Silver Lake Partners has picked up 1.75 per cent stake in the retail arm of Reliance Industries for Rs 7,500 crore.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to hold ‘Svanidhi Samvaad’ with street vendors from Madhya Pradesh on 9 September 2020 through video conferencing.
- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Patrika Gate in Jaipur, Rajasthan through video conference on 8th September 2020.
- Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated 22 bamboo clusters in 9 States.
- After a gap of 6 months, the Hunar Haat event is to be restarted from October 9 to 18 at Prayagraj.
- According to the Central Government, over 42 crore poor people have received financial assistance of around Rs.68,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package.
- EPFO has been able to settle a staggering 94.41 lakh claims thereby disbursing about Rs 35,445 crore to its members during the period of April-August, 2020.
- Union Education Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Tuesday, e-inaugurated (Lokaarpan) three projects recently completed at Central University of Jammu.
- eSanjeevani’ telemedicine service, the platform of the Health Ministry providing tele-consultations, has completed 3 lakh tele-consultations.
- The country’s second and South India’s first Kisan Train was flagged off.
- Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET) under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers will be shortly establishing two new Centres for Skilling and Technical Support- CSTS at Bhagalpur (Bihar) and Varanasi (UP).
- Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal lays foundation stone & inaugurates 329 schemes worth Rs 121 cr.
- Uttar Pradesh government has decided to involve women self-help groups in distribution of nutrition fortified food for children and pregnant ladies in state.
- Mumbai International airport has put in place a QR code-enabled contactless check-in mechanism for the passengers.
- The Bangladesh government has launched a campaign named ‘Asol Chini’ or ‘real-sugar’ to fight fake information and rumour spreading on social media.
- Germany, current EU president and Europe’s biggest economy, has launched its Indo-Pacific strategy with India that is expected to play a key role in Berlin’s outreach in the region where China’s aggressive foreign policy has rattled countries.
- The Ministry of Women and Child Development is organizing a series of webinars during the third Poshan Maah being celebrated this month.
- Hyderabad is one of the top five cities in the country to offer jobs in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), a latest report by job portal site Indeed has revealed.
- National Statistical Organisation (NSO) recently published the report on ‘household social consumption’ in its 75th round of the survey which was conducted between 2017-2018.
- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India (GoI) signed a $500 million loan on 8 September.
- Tata Consultancy Services has partnered with Transnet Port Terminals in South Africa to help the latter develop an integrated online marketplace platform by bringing together cargo owners, shipping lines, clearing and forwarding agents, and road/rail haulers.
- CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur and National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), Gurugram joined hands by signing an online Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as a ‘Strategic Association’ to bolster the Solar Energy sector across
- National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and LinkedIn, the world’s largest online professional networks, have joined hands to provide access to free LinkedIn Learning resources for digital skills.
- Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission (ASRLM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB) to work in cohesion in support of Bank Linkage of the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Producer Groups/ Enterprises under ASRLM.
- The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust will present the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2019 to renowned broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.
- Indian Chartered Accountancy Parivar and Delhi University Ramanujan College Professor Aditya Prasad Padhi, former Vice – Chancellor of Berhampur University has been honoured with “Lifetime Achievements Award” for his outstanding contribution to higher education in India.
- Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati in collaboration with Workspace Metal Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Udaipur, has developed a first-of-its-kind self-check kiosk.
NEWS IN DETAILS
IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES
International Day to Protect Education from Attack observed on 9th September
- International Day to Protect Education from Attack is observed globally on 9th September.
- In proclaiming the International Day to Protect Education from Attack to be celebrated for the first time in 2020.
BANKING & FINANCE
BoI launched “Signature Visa Debit Card” on his 115th Foundation Day
- On the occasion of Bank of India (BoI)’s 115th Foundation Day, BoI has launched an international contactless debit card, “Signature Visa Debit Card” for high net worth individuals who are maintaining an average quarterly balance of Rs 10 lakhs and above.
- This card will have a spending limit of up to ₹5 lakhs on POS & e-commerce and ₹1 lakh on ATM.
Extra Shots:
Bank of India
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Owner: Government of India (89.10%)
- Founder: Ramnarain Ruia
- Founded: 7 September 1906, Mumbai
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Apple’s first ‘floating’ store to be launched in Singapore
- Technology giant Apple Inc. has announced that it is going to open its first ever “floating” store, in Singapore on 10th September 2020.
- The floating Apple Store, will be located at Singapore’s posh Marina Bay Sands resort. It will be the third retail store of Apple in Singapore.
- The first-of-its-kind store has a sphere-shaped all-glass dome structure that is fully self-supported, and made up of 114 pieces of glass, held together by only 10 narrow vertical mullions for structural connection.
Extra Shots:
Apple Inc.
- CEO: Tim Cook
- Founded: 1 April 1976, Cupertino, California, United States
- Headquarters: Cupertino, California, United States
- Founders: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne
Fitch Ratings Projects Indian economy to contract 10.5% in FY21
- In its September update of Global Economic Outlook (GEO), the US-based Fitch Ratings has sharply lowered the forecast for the gross domestic product (GDP) growth of India for the current fiscal 2020-21 (FY21) and now expects the GDP to contract 10.5 percent.
- Earlier in June Global Economic Outlook, the rating agency has estimated 5 percent contraction for FY21.
- The downward revision comes after India’s GDP shrank by 23.9% year-on-year in the April-June quarter, the worst performance in nearly four decades.
- The rating agency has also revised its forecast for global GDP and expects it to fall by 4.4 percent in 2020, which is a modest upward revision from the 4.6 percent contraction expected earlier.
Extra Shots:
Fitch
- Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
- CEO: Paul Taylor
- Founder: John Knowles Fitch
- Founded: 1914, New York, New York, United States
India Ratings revises FY21 GDP growth projection to negative 11.8 per cent
- Domestic rating agency India Ratings and Research on Tuesday revised the country’s FY21 GDP growth forecast to (-) 11.8 per cent from (-) 5.3 per cent earlier.
- The agency, however, expects India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to rebound and grow at 9.9 per cent year-on-year in FY22 mainly due to the weak base of FY21.
- India Rating’s FY21 GDP growth forecast of negative 11.8 per cent will be the lowest GDP growth in the Indian history (GDP data is available from FY-1951) and sixth instance of economic contraction, others being in FY-1958, FY-1966, FY-1967, FY-1973 and FY-1980.
India’s IT major HCL sets up first development centre in Sri Lanka
- India’s IT major HCL Technologies has set up its first development centre in Sri Lanka to generate significant employment opportunities for the youths.
Highlights:
- HCL’s presence in Sri Lanka would help in empowering the youth through the creation of jobs and enabling the transfer of knowledge and skills.
- HCL joined hands with Sri Lanka in February this year to launch its local entity — HCL Technologies Lanka (Private) Limited — and set up its first delivery centre in the region.
- Through this entity, HCL will provide services to global clients in the areas of applications and system integration services and infrastructure services.
- HCL will also implement its Work Integrated Education Programme to foster growth by actively cooperating with local information and communication technology and engineering institutions to develop and train the local talent pool.
Extra Shots:
HCL
- CEO: C Vijayakumar
- Founded: 11 August 1976
- Headquarters: Noida
- Founders: Shiv Nadar, Arjun Malhotra
- Parent organization: HCL Enterprise
Wipro plans to set up Digital Innovation Hub in Germany
- Wipro plans to set up a Digital Innovation Hub at Düsseldorf in Germany that will serve as the IT services major’s flagship centre in Europe.
- The proposed Digital Innovation Hub will offer digital transformation expertise to companies in Germany, enabling organisations to cross skill and upskill besides supporting talent development in local communities.
- Wipro will also collaborate with institutions and universities in the North Rhine-Westphalia state to develop tailored programmes and career opportunities for young graduates in advanced digital skills and technologies.
Extra Shots:
Wipro
- CEO: Thierry Delaporte
- Founder: M.H. Hasham Premji
- Founded: 29 December 1945, India
- Owner: Azim Premji (73.85%)
- Headquarters: Bengaluru
Silver Lake to invest Rs 7,500 crore in Reliance Retail
- Silver Lake Partners has picked up 1.75 per cent stake in the retail arm of Reliance Industries for Rs 7,500 crore.
- This investment values RRVL at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. Silver Lake’s investment will translate into a 1.75 per cent equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis.
- This marks the second billion-dollar investment by Silver Lake in a Reliance Industries subsidiary after the USD 1.35 billion investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.
Extra Shots:
RIL
- CEO: Mukesh Ambani
- Founder: Dhirubhai Ambani
- Founded: 8 May 1973, Maharashtra
- Owner: Mukesh Ambani (47.35%)
NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
PM to hold Svanidhi Samvaad with street vendors from Madhya Pradesh on 9 September
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to hold ‘Svanidhi Samvaad’ with street vendors from Madhya Pradesh on 9 September 2020 through video conferencing.
- The program will be telecasted through webcasts. PM will interact with 3 beneficiaries from the state by connecting virtually with them from their vending locations.
Extra Shots:
PM SVANidhi scheme:
- The Government of India (GoI) had launched the PM SVANidhi scheme on 1 June 2020. The scheme aims to help poor street vendors who are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and to help them resume livelihood activities.
Prime Minister virtually inaugurates Patrika Gate in Jaipur
- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Patrika Gate in Jaipur, Rajasthan through video conference on 8th September 2020.
- The Iconic Gate is built by the Rajasthan-based Patrika Group of Newspapers on the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg in Jaipur, to bring together the art, craft, and cultural heritage of all the regions of Rajasthan at one place.
- Similar to Mumbai’s Gateway of India and Delhi’s India Gate, the Jaipur’s Patrika Gate will enhance the pride of the state and will also be a Gateway of Rajasthan, besides marking the beginning of a new tourist destination.
- During the launch ceremony, Prime Minister Shri Modi also released two books written by the Patrika Group Chairman, Shri Gulab Kothari, which included ‘Sanvad Upanishad’ and ‘Akshar Yatra’.
Extra Shots:
Rajasthan
- Statehood Day: 30 March 1949
- Capital: Jaipur
- Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot
- Governor: Kalraj Mishra
Logo for National Bamboo Mission released
- Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated 22 bamboo clusters in 9 States.
- A logo for the National Bamboo Mission has also been released through a contest held earlier.
- By the launch of logo, India is all set to increase the export of bamboo products.
Minority Affairs Ministry decides to resume Hunar Haat event on October
- After a gap of 6 months, the Hunar Haat event is to be restarted from October 9 to 18 at Prayagraj.
- The theme of the crafts fair would be ‘Local to Global’, with the focus on indigenous Indian toys.
- The fest enables local artisans and craftsmen to showcase and sell their products.
Centre claims 42 crore poor benefited from PMGKY
- According to the Central Government, over 42 crore poor people have received financial assistance of around Rs.68,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package.
- This initiative, launched in March, aims to provide free food grains and cash to women, poor senior citizens and farmers – the most vulnerable to the pandemic.
EPFO settles 94.41 lakh claims during pandemic since 1st April
- EPFO has been able to settle a staggering 94.41 lakh claims thereby disbursing about Rs 35,445 crore to its members during the period of April-August, 2020.
- During this period, EPFO has settled around 32% more claims as compared to corresponding period of last year (April-August, 2019) while the amount disbursed increased by around 13%.
Extra Shots:
EPFO
- Founded: 4 March 1952, New Delhi
- Headquarters: New Delhi
Union Education Minister E-inaugurates newly completed projects at Central University of Jammu
- Union Education Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Tuesday, e-inaugurated (Lokaarpan) three projects recently completed at Central University of Jammu.
- The projects inaugurated are Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Hostel, Pandit Premnath Dogra Guest House and Brigadier Rajendra Singh Road.
Union Health Ministry’s ‘eSanjeevani’ telemedicine service records 3 lakh tele-consultations
- ‘eSanjeevani’ telemedicine service, the platform of the Health Ministry providing tele-consultations, has completed 3 lakh tele-consultations.
- The platform has registered double that number of consultations within a month since then.
Highlights:
- One lakh of these tele-consultations was held in the last 20 days.
- The platform had completed the first 1,00,000 consultations on 23 July 2020, and the subsequent 1,00,000 on 18 August 2020 within a span of 26 days.
- eSanjeevani platform supports two types of telemedicine services viz. Doctor-to-Doctor (eSanjeevani) and Patient-to-Doctor (eSanjeevani OPD) Tele-consultations.
- It aims to implement tele-consultation in all the 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres in a ‘Hub and Spoke’ model, by December 2022.
- States need to identify and set up dedicated ‘Hubs’ in Medical Colleges and District hospitals to provide tele-consultation services to ‘Spokes’, i.e SHCs and PHCs.
Country’s 2nd, South India’s first Kisan Train flagged off
- The country’s second and South India’s first Kisan Train was flagged off.
Highlights:
- The train started at 11 A.M. and it will transport material from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh to Adarsh Nagar Railway Station in Delhi.
- Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of State for Railways Suresh C. Angadi and Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Jaganmohan Reddy flagged of the train through video link.
- The Kisan Rail will play a big role in doubling the farmers’ income by 2022.
- Kisan Rail was announced in the Union Budget, for transportation of Agri Products.
- The first Kisan train was flagged off on 7th of August this year and the train is running between Maharashtra’s Devlali and Bihar’s Danapur Railway Station.
CIPET to establish two new Centres for Skilling and Technical Support at Bhagalpur & Varanasi
- Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET) under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers will be shortly establishing two new Centres for Skilling and Technical Support- CSTS at Bhagalpur (Bihar) and Varanasi (UP).
- Technical Support Services offered by these centres will act as a catalyst for development and growth of new and existing industries in the region.
STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS
Assam CM lays foundation stone & inaugurates 329 schemes worth Rs 121 cr
- Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal lays foundation stone & inaugurates 329 schemes worth Rs 121 cr.
Extra Shots:
Assam:
- Capital: Dispur
- Chief Minister: Sarbananda Sonowal
- Governor: Jagdish Mukhi
- National Park: Dibru-Saikhowa NP, Kaziranga NP, Manas NP, Nameri NP, Rajiv Gandhi Orang NP, Dehing Patkai
UP govt decides to involve women SHGs in distribution of nutrition fortified food
- Uttar Pradesh government has decided to involve women self-help groups in distribution of nutrition fortified food for children and pregnant ladies in state.
- A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between UP Rural Livelihood Mission and UN World Food Programme for procurement and distribution of Take-home rations THR, which are energy dense foods given to kids and pregnant ladies.
- this will ensure employment of at least one woman from every poor rural family.
Extra Shots:
Uttar Pradesh:
- Statehood Day: January 26, 1950
- Capital: Lucknow
- Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
- Governor: Anandiben Patel
- Literacy Rate: 67.68%
- Nation Park: Dudhwa National Park
Mumbai International airport put in place QR code-enabled check-in mechanism
- Mumbai International airport has put in place a QR code-enabled contactless check-in mechanism for the passengers.
- Mumbai International Airport Limited said that the touch less technology solution is a vital step in reducing passenger contact with kiosk surfaces and is in full compliance with the civil aviation ministry’s passenger processing guidelines.
- The airport is focussed on delivering technology solutions that help customers quickly deliver a safe and smooth passenger journey.
- The QR code-enabled contactless check-in facility at Mumbai International Airport allows passengers to use their mobile phones to remotely operate check-in and self-bag drop kiosks for printing boarding passes and bag tags.
Extra Shots:
Maharashtra:
- Capital: Mumbai
- Chief Minister: Uddhav Thackeray
- Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari
- National Parks: Chandoli National Park, Nawegaon National Park, Gugamal National Park, Pench National Park, Sanjay Gandhi (Borivilli) National Park, Tadoba National Park
- Wildlife Sanctuaries: Amba Barwa WLS, Bor WLS, Great Indian Bustard WLS,
- Lonar WLS, Melghat WLS, Gangewadi New Great Indian Bustard WLS, etc.
Bangladesh launches campaign against fake information, rumours
- The Bangladesh government has launched a campaign named ‘Asol Chini’ or ‘real-sugar’ to fight fake information and rumour spreading on social media.
- The campaign aims to create digital literacy to stop fake information and rumours.
- The Digital Security Agency (DSA) of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department and the LICT project of the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) will jointly run the campaign to create awareness among people in the country in a three-month campaign.
Extra Shots:
Bangladesh (Capital/Currency): Dhaka/Taka
- Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina
- Official Language: Bengali
INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
Germany launches Indo-Pacific strategy with ‘key role’ for India
- Germany, current EU president and Europe’s biggest economy, has launched its Indo-Pacific strategy with India that is expected to play a key role in Berlin’s outreach in the region where China’s aggressive foreign policy has rattled countries.
Highlights:
- The strategy released by German Foreign Ministry has several indirect references to Chinese behaviour that challenged rules-based world order.
- Berlin’s strategy also suggested opening dialogue with institutions where India plays a key role — Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation and Indian Ocean Rim Associationp — in the areas of business and maritime safety, as well as disaster risk management.
- The German government also announced that it will work to maintain rules-based order together with partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
Extra Shots:
Germany (Capital/Currency): Berlin/Euro
- President: Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- Chancellor: Angela Merkel
SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES
Second Webinar organized on topic ‘Nutrient Requirement for Children & Mothers during first 1000 days’
- The Ministry of Women and Child Development is organizing a series of webinars during the third Poshan Maah being celebrated this month.
- The first webinar on Best Practices and Success Stories from POSHAN Abhiyaan was organized yesterday.
- The second webinar was held today on the topic of Nutrient Requirement for Children and Mothers during the first 1000 days.
RANKS AND INDICES
Bengaluru tops the list of cities for career in AI
- Hyderabad is one of the top five cities in the country to offer jobs in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), a latest report by job portal site Indeed has revealed.
- Bengaluru tops the list of destinations for a career in AI, followed by Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai.
- Job searches in the field have risen 106 per cent in the past year (June 2019 to June 2020), and this has increased further by 20 per cent from March to July 2020, in line with the onset of the pandemic.
Extra Shots:
Indeed
- Headquarters: Austin, Texas, U.S. Stamford, Connecticut, U.S
- Founder(s): Paul Forster; Rony Kahan
- Date launched: November 2004
- Founded: November 2004; 15 years ago
- Owner: Recruit Holdings Ltd.
NSO’s Report on Digital Divide
- National Statistical Organisation (NSO) recently published the report on ‘household social consumption’ in its 75th round of the survey which was conducted between 2017-2018.
- The report shows that how digital divide have increased across States, cities and villages, and income groups.
Key Findings
- Cities have 42% Internet-enabled homes while in rural India 15% are connected to the internet.
- Delhi has highest Internet access covering 55% of the households.
- Kerala emerges to have least inequality where 39% of the poorest rural homes and 67% of the richest urban homes have Internet.
- States including Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have less than 20% penetration.
- Odisha have lowest internet penetration with one in 10 household have access to internet.
- Himanchal Pradesh have highest internet penetration covering more than 70% households.
- 20% of Indians above the age of 5 years have basic digital literacy.
Extra Shots:
National Statistical Commission
- Formed: 1 June 2005
- Jurisdiction: Government of India
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- First executive: Suresh Tendulkar
AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED
ADB, India signed USD 500 Million Loan for Delhi-Meerut RRTS Corridor
- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India (GoI) signed a $500 million loan on 8 September.
- The first tranche of a total $1 billion facility will be used to build a modern, high-speed 82 Km Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor.
- It will improve regional connectivity and mobility in India’s national capital region (NCR).
- The first tranche loan will support the construction of the first of three priority rail corridors planned under the NCR Regional Plan 2021 to connect Delhi to other cities in adjoining states.
- The project is aimed to provide better connectivity to allow other towns in the NCR to develop as urban economic centres surrounded by residential areas while easing the concentration pressure on Delhi.
Extra Shots:
ADB
- Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines
- President: Masatsugu Asakawa
- Founded: 19 December 1966
- Membership: 68 countries
TPT South Africa partners with TCS for logistics supply chain transformation
- Tata Consultancy Services has partnered with Transnet Port Terminals in South Africa to help the latter develop an integrated online marketplace platform by bringing together cargo owners, shipping lines, clearing and forwarding agents, and road/rail haulers.
- A new platform named ‘Cargo Connect’, which will function as an online logistics marketplace where customers can submit logistics related requests and allow service providers to bid online.
- Customers will be able to select the preferred proposal and award the cargo contract to that bidder.
Extra Shots:
TCS
- CEO: Rajesh Gopinathan
- Founded: 1 April 1968
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Founders: Faquir Chand Kohli, Tata Sons, J. R. D. Tata
CSIR-CMERI Durgapur and NISE, Gurugram sign an MoU as a Strategic Association to bolster the Solar Energy Sector
- CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur and National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), Gurugram joined hands by signing an online Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as a ‘Strategic Association’ to bolster the Solar Energy sector across
- CSIR-CMERI has expertise in design and development of various capacity Solar Artifacts for multifaceted uses ranging from fulfilling localized energy demand to boosting Agricultural sector for irrigation, solar powered agro dryer, de-centralized solar cold storage, charging of battery-operated agricultural machineries etc.
Extra Shots:
CSIR-CMERI
- Director: Harish Hirani
- Founded: 26 February 1958
NSDC and LinkedIn partner to accelerate digital skills training for Indian youth
- National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and LinkedIn, the world’s largest online professional networks, have joined hands to provide access to free LinkedIn Learning resources for digital skills.
- Under the partnership, 10 free LinkedIn Learning paths, consisting of 140 courses for a range of in-demand tech jobs, will be made available for free on eSkill India digital platform until 31st March, 2021.
- The LinkedIn and NSDC collaboration aim to enable a future-ready digital workforce.
- Each learning path includes a series of video content designed to help job-seekers develop the core digital skills needed for an in-demand tech role, covering a broad range of skills from entry-level digital literacy to advanced product-based skills.
Extra Shots:
NSDC
- CEO: Manish Kumar
- Headquarters location: New Delhi
- Founded: 2008
- CFO: Prakash Sharma
Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission and NESFB sign MoU
- Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission (ASRLM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB) to work in cohesion in support of Bank Linkage of the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Producer Groups/ Enterprises under ASRLM.
- ASRLM is the first amongst all the State Livelihood Missions to initiate the signing of MoU with the new generation small finance banks.
- This collaboration of ASRLM and NESFB will cater to the financial needs of many SHG members, other higher-level federation like VOs, CLFs, Producer Groups, Producer Collectives etc. to kick-start their dream projects of livelihood enhancement.
Extra Shots:
North East Small Finance Bank Limited
- Founded: 2016
- Parent organization: RGVN (North East) Microfinance Limited
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
David Attenborough awarded the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2019
- The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust will present the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2019 to renowned broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.
- The prize is awarded to him for a lifetime of doing more to reveal the wonders of the natural world than perhaps any other individual.
- The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development was instituted in the memory of the former prime minister by a trust in her name in 1986.
- It consists of a monetary award of Rs 25 lakh along with a citation.
Lifetime Achievements Award to Prof. Aditya Prasad Padhi
- Indian Chartered Accountancy Parivar and Delhi University Ramanujan College Professor Aditya Prasad Padhi, former Vice – Chancellor of Berhampur University has been honoured with “Lifetime Achievements Award” for his outstanding contribution to higher education in India.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CURRENT AFFAIRS
IIT Guwahati in Collaboration with Workspace Metal Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Develops a First-of-its-kind Self-Check Kiosk
- Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati in collaboration with Workspace Metal Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Udaipur, has developed a first-of-its-kind self-check kiosk.
- The small structure helps by streamlining the flow of people through the kiosk.
- The Kiosk only takes about 30 seconds to check whether the person safe to enter the premises or not.
- The cost of a self-check kiosk varies from 3.5 lakh to 7.5 lakh depending on the specification and features.
- The product has already been commercialised.
- The Institute has also installed self-check kiosk at its campus as well.
- The team has also filed for a patent.
