National
State Fish of Sikkim
⇒ The Sikkim government has declared Copper Mahseer, locally called katley, as the state fish.
Aim:
The government has declared katley as the state fish to highlight its importance and to give emphasis to its conservation.
Important Points:
- The scientific name of Katley is Neolissochilus hexagonolepis.
- In Sikkim, katley is found in varied altitudes covering the entire state and predominantly confined to the Teesta and Rangit rivers and their tributaries.
- In 1992, ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBFGR), Lucknow, had categorised katley as endangered species. Later on, in the year 2014, the fish was also categorised as endangered by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)”.
International Eco-Label Blue Flag Certification for two Indian Beaches
⇒ This year, two more Beaches in India get the coveted International Eco-Label Blue Flag Certification.
These are the two beaches:
- Kovalam beaches in Tamil Nadu
- Eden beaches in Puducherry
With this, there are now 10 International Blue Flag Certification Beaches in India.
The Foundation for Environment Education in Denmark (FEE) accords the globally recognized eco-label – Blue Flag certification.
FEE Denmark conducts regular monitoring and audits for strict compliance of the 33 criteria at all times. A waving “Blue Flag” is an indication of 100% compliance to these 33 stringent criteria and sound health of the beach.
Also Read: Eight other Indian beaches with Blue Flag certification
National Steering Committee for the development of National Curriculum Frameworks
⇒ The Ministry of Education has formed the National Steering Committee for the development of National Curriculum Frameworks on 21 September 2021. Tenure of the National Steering Committee will be three years from the date of its notification.
Chair:
Indian space scientist K Kasturirangan is the Chair of the Committee with 11 members. Mr Kasturirangan was also the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of NEP, 2020.
Important Points:
» As per the perspectives of the NEP 2020, the Committee will develop four National Curriculum Frameworks:
- National Curriculum Framework for School Education
- National Curriculum for Early Childhood Care and Education
- National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education
- National Curriculum Framework for Adult Education
» The Committee will discuss different aspects of School Education, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), Teacher Education and Adult Education keeping in focus all the recommendations of NEP 2020 related to these four areas for proposing curriculum reforms.
» The Committee will discuss the position papers finalised by the National Focus Groups on different aspects of all the above four areas.
» The Committee will draw inputs from State Curriculum Frameworks received on the Tech Platform for the National Curriculum Frameworks.
» The Committee will finalise National Curriculum Frameworks after incorporating suggestions received from various stakeholders, i.e., states/UTs and also in the meetings of Executive Committee and General Body of the NCERT and Central Advisory Board on Education(CABE).
Governor of Tamil Nadu
⇒ Ravindra Narayan Ravi was sworn-in as the Governor of Tamil Nadu on 18 September 2021.
The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, Sanjib Banerjee administered the oath of office to Ravi at an official ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan.
International
2021 Booker Prize
⇒ South African writer Damon Galgut won the prestigious 2021 Booker Prize for fiction with “The Promise,” a novel about one white family’s reckoning with South Africa’s racist history. “The Promise” is the ninth book of Galgut.
About:
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction and the Man Booker Prize, is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland.
The 2020 Booker Prize for Fiction was won by Scottish-American Douglas Stuart for his debut novel ‘Shuggie Bain’.
Also Read: 2021 International Booker Prize
PM of Canada
⇒ The 2021 Canadian federal election was held on September 20, 2021, to elect members of the House of Commons to the 44th Canadian Parliament.
Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister and Liberals Party leader won a third term as prime minister. The Liberals Party won the most seats of any party.
Trudeau was sworn in as the PM of Canada on November 4, 2015.
Sports
India’s 70th Grandmaster
⇒ R Raja Rithvik has become India’s 70th Grandmaster after crossing the ELO 2,500 mark in the Vezerkepzo GM chess tournament in Budapest, Hungary.
The 17-year-old, Warangal native crossed the mandatory ELO 2,500-mark to earn a GM title.