Home » Current Affairs Date: 12 September 2020

Current Affairs Date: 12 September 2020

National:

  • Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice Shri Ravishankar Prasad released the result of second edition of Ranking of States on Support to Startup Ecosystems on 11th September, 2020. A total of 22 States and 3 Union Territories participated in the exercise. 
    States are classified into 5 Categories for the purposes of Ranking: Best Performers, Top Performers, Leaders, Aspiring Leaders and Emerging Startup Ecosystems.
    Some States Startup Ranking Results 2019:

In category X, Best performer state is Gujarat, Top Performers are Karnataka & Kerala.
In Category Y, Best Performer- Andaman and Nicobar Islands & Leader- Chandigarh

  • The Department of Posts has launched a scheme called Five Star Villages. This is to ensure universal coverage of major postal schemes in rural areas of the country. All postal products and services will be made available and marketed and publicized at village level, under the Five Star Villages scheme.
The schemes covered under the Five Star scheme include:
  1. Savings Bank accounts, Recurrent Deposit Accounts, NSC / KVP certificates
  2. Sukanya Samridhi Accounts/ PPF Accounts
  3. Funded Post Office Savings Account linked India Post Payments Bank Accounts
  4. Postal Life Insurance Policy/Rural Postal Life Insurance Policy
  5. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana Account / Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana Account
  • Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated in “Grih Pravesham” via video conferencing on 12 Sep 2020 and he also inaugurated 1.75 lakh houses built under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) in Madhya Pradesh.
  • Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs (I/C) was launched the “Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) 2.0” & “Streets for People Challenge” in a virtual event on 11 Sep 2020. The event was organized by the Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
    Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) 2.0 will provide a clear roadmap for cities towards combating Climate Change while planning and implementing their actions, including investments.
    The framework has 28 indicators across five categories:
  1. Energy and Green Buildings

  2. Urban Planning, Green Cover & Biodiversity
  3. Mobility and Air Quality
  4. Water Management
  5. Waste Management

The Streets for People Challenge will support cities across the country to develop a unified vision of streets for people in consultation with stakeholders and citizens.

 

International:
  • Union Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, virtually participated in the 17th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Culture Ministers’ Meeting on 10 Sep 2020. The Culture Minister said that the “shared heritage of Buddhist philosophy” is one of the important aspects that unites and connects the countries of the SCO.
    To promote the mutual bonding, the National Museum of India is in process of organizing the first SCO Exhibition on Shared Buddhist Heritage this year. The Exhibition marks India’s Chairpersonship of Council of Heads of Government this year.
Business & Technology:
  • Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd have started its Methanol Plant at Trombay Unit, Mumbai from 8th September 2020. It has the capacity to produce 242 MT of Methanol per day. This is a step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd is a PSU under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
  • Facebook Inc. will launch Facebook Campus for students. Facebook Campus to provide facility to create profiles which be visible only in the university circle. For this purpose users must create a special profile using their university email address. Using Facebook Campus students will be able to join groups, find events & participate in discussions.
Death:
  • Famous Actress who worked in Avengers, Bond Movies & Game of Thrones series, Dame Diana Rigg died due to cancer on 10 Sep 2020. She was 82.
  • Social activist Swami Agnivesh passed away due to liver cirrhosis on 11 Sep 2020. He was 80. He was Former MLA from Haryana & founded Arya Sabha, a political party based on the principles of the Arya Samaj.
Others:
  • The Bangalore International Airport Limited has opened India’s first On-Airport Public Bonded Warehouse at the Kempegowda International Airport. It will be operated by Cargo Service Center (CSC). The 10,000 sq.ft warehouse will provide facility to help re-export of goods, in long-term storage of bonded cargo, to assist in partial clearances, and to allow labeling, packing & repacking services.