Important Days
National Press Day
National Press Day is observed on 16th November every year to celebrate free and responsible press in India.
On this day the Press Council of India started functioning as a moral watchdog to ensure that the press maintains high standards and is not constrained by any influence or threats. It also commemorates the day when the Press Council of India started functioning.
In 1956, the First Press Commission was planned to form a Press Council to protect freedom of the press in India. On 4 July 1966, the Press Council was established in India. It came into effect from 16 November 1966.
Therefore, 16 November is celebrated as National Press Day every year. The Press Council of India was formed in 1966 under the Press Council Act of 1978.
International Day for Tolerance
The United Nations observes “International Day for Tolerance” on 16th November every year.
The United Nations is committed to strengthening tolerance by fostering mutual understanding among cultures and peoples.
In 1994, UNESCO marked the 125th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth paving the way for the proclamation of 16 November as the International Day for Tolerance by the UN.
Children’s Day
On 14th November, Children’s Day is celebrated every year to mark the birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. Children’s Day is popularly known as ‘Baal Diwas’ in India.
The day aims at increasing the awareness of the rights, care and education of children.
On this day, many educational and motivational programs are organised across the country, by and for children.
Jawaharlal Nehru, who was India’s first Prime Minister, was quite famous among children and was popularly known as ‘Chacha Nehru’.
Following his death in 1964, it was decided that to move the celebrations of Children’s Day to November 14 as a mark of respect to him and to commemorate his fondness for children.
A resolution was passed in the Parliament and since then, Children’s Day is celebrated in India on November 14 every year.
Notably, Children’s Day was celebrated in India first on November 20, 1956, along with the Universal Children’s Day.
National Headlines
PM Narendra Modi unveils Swami Vivekananda’s statue on JNU
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled a statue of Swami Vivekananda in Jawaharlal Nehru University Campus, New Delhi through video conferencing.
It took renowned sculptor Naresh Kumawat seven months to complete this statue of Swami Vivekananda on the JNU campus.
Located about 300 metres from a statue of India’s first prime minister, the statue of Swami Vivekananda is about three feet taller than that of Jawaharlal Nehru.
The event was also attended by Union Minister for Education Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and JNU vice-chancellor Jagadesh Kumar.
Nitish Kumar sworn-in as Chief Minister of Bihar for 7th term
The Chief of Janata Dal (United), Nitish Kumar has taken an oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar and he will begin his 7th term on 16th November 2020.
Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr Kumar at Raj Bhavan in Patna. BJP legislature party leader Tarkishore Prasad and Deputy leader Renu Devi have been made the new Deputy Chief Ministers.
14 other ministers were also sworn in along with Mr Kumar. Out of them, seven are from BJP, five from JD (U) and one each from Vikassheel Insaan Party( VIP) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM).
World’s first Tram library for children launched in West Bengal
On the occasion of Children’s Day, a first-of-its-kind in the world, library on the tram for children was launched in Kolkata, West Bengal. A tram is a rail vehicle that runs on tramway tracks along public streets.
The tram would run on Shyambazar-Esplanade and Esplanade-Gariahat routes, spanning across north and south Kolkata, every day from morning to evening.
It has been jointly developed by the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) and Apeejay Anand Children’s Library and will have around 1,000 books.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Chief Minister of West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee; Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Appointments News
ED Director SK Mishra’s tenure extended by one year
The Union government has extended the tenure of Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra by a year after modifying his appointment order that was issued in 2018.
His tenure was to end next week as the ED director’s post comes with a fixed term of two years.
As per an order issued by the Department of Revenue under the Union finance ministry on Friday, the 2018 order for appointment of Mishra has been modified.
“The President of India is pleased to approve the modification in the earlier order dated November 19, 2018, appointing Shri Sanjay Kumar Mishra as director of enforcement in the Enforcement Directorate.
Banking News
RBI imposes Rs 1 crore penalty on Punjab National Bank
The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on Punjab National Bank for violating the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
Punjab National Bank was operating a bilateral ATM-sharing arrangement with Druk PNB Bank Ltd., Bhutan, since April 2010 without prior approval or authorisation from India’s banking regulator.
RBI imposed the Rs 1 crore penalty for “contravention of nature referred to in Section 26 (6) of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSS Act).”
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Punjab National Bank Headquarters: New Delhi.
- Punjab National Bank MD and CEO: S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao.
- Punjab National Bank Founded: 19 May 1894, Lahore, Pakistan.
SBM Bank India set to launch a neo banking platform
SBM Bank India, the wholly-owned subsidiary of State Bank of Mauritius has partnered with Fintech PayNearby to launch a neo banking platform.
Both firms signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to build an “open banking” network towards delivering basic banking solutions as well as advanced financial services, to their customers.
The partnership would enable the Bank to offer a complete suite of digital and assisted banking solutions through PayNearby’s network of micro-enterprise and retail touchpoints.
The deployment of the banking module will be done in a phased manner and will work seamlessly with the existing platforms at PayNearby outlets and touchpoints.
SBM Bank India was the first foreign bank in India to obtain a banking licence from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a Wholly Owned Subsidiary in January 2019.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- SBM Bank (India) Limited Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.
- SBM Bank (India) Limited MD and CEO: Sidharth Rath.
- SBM Bank (India) Limited Commenced Operations– 1st December 2018.
- SBM Bank (India) Limited Tagline: We make banking convenient for you.
Business News
HDFC Bank, IndusInd in ‘red flag’ list on nearing foreign investment cap
HDFC Bank & IndusInd Bank have been put in the ‘red flag’ list, a system used for monitoring foreign portfolio investor (FPI) limits.
A listed company enters the list when the available legroom for overseas investment is less than 3% of the permissible limit. FPIs can invest up to 74% in both HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank.
The current FPI shareholding in case of HDFC Bank is 71.3 per cent, while that of IndusInd Bank is 73. 1 per cent. Besides these two, Novartis India and Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care are the only other companies in the red-flag list.
Defence News
India Successfully test fires QRSAM system off Odisha Coast
India successfully test-fired the Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) system off the coast of Balasore in Odisha.
The system achieved a major milestone by a direct hit on to a Banshee Pilotless target aircraft at medium range and medium altitude. Indian forces have carried out at least seven tests earlier of the missile system.
The QRSAM system has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in association with Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited for the Indian Army.
The system is capable of detecting and tracking targets on the move and engaging target with short halts. The system is designed to give air defence coverage against strike columns of the Indian Army.
Awards News
Sadat Rahman wins International Children’s Peace Prize 2020
Sadat Rahman from Bangladesh has been awarded the prestigious International Children’s Peace Prize 2020.
He was awarded the prize for his involvement in setting up his social organization and mobile app ‘Cyber Teens’ to stop cyberbullying.
The award was presented to 17-year-old Sadat by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, during a ceremony in the Netherlands.
Sports News
Lewis Hamilton wins F1 Turkish Grand Prix 2020
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) has won the Turkish Grand Prix 2020 at Istanbul Park, Turkey.
Sergio Perez (Racing Point-BWT- Mexico) secured the second position and Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari finished third.
This was Hamilton 10th victory of the season and 94th F1 win of his career. With this win, he claimed the seventh Formula One championships title of his career to equal the record of Michael Schumacher.
Summits and Conferences
RCEP: 15 Asia-Pacific countries form world’s largest trading bloc
15 Asia Pacific countries have signed the world’s biggest free trade deal, led by China, on the sidelines of the 37th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.
The deal called as ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)’, is the world’s largest trading bloc, comprising of 10 Southeast Asian countries, as well as South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Members of the RCEP accounts for nearly a third of the world’s population and around 30% of global gross domestic product (GDP).
Dr Harsh Vardhan attends 8th BRICS STI Ministerial Meet
The 8th BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial Meeting was held through a virtual platform for Science and Technology cooperation among the member countries, which are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The meeting was held under the Chairmanship of the Russian Federation. (Russia is the Chair for 12th BRICS Summit).
The Union Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Harsh Vardhan represented the Indian delegation at the meeting.
The meeting concluded with the adoption of BRICS STI Declaration 2020. During the meeting, Dr Harsh Vardhan highlighted that “The COVID 19 pandemic has been a test, demonstrating that multilateral cooperation is the key to overcoming such global challenges”.
He reiterated that “India will actively contribute in the implementation of BRICS STI Calendar of Activities 2020-21 and supports continuation scientific activities under BRICS MOU on Science, Technology and Innovation”.
Science and Technology
SpaceX launches 4 astronauts into space
SpaceX has launched Four Astronauts (3 Americans, 1 Japanese) to the International Space Station on the first full-fledged taxi flight for NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) by a private company. They were launched by Falcon Rocket from the Kennedy Space Center.
The capsule has been named as “Resilience”. The crew was led by Commander Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, Victor Glover (First Black Astronaut on a long-term space station) mission and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi (First person in 40 years to launch on three types of spacecraft).
Obituary
Japanese Nobel-prize-winning Masatoshi Koshiba passes away
Physicist Masatoshi Koshiba, who shared 2002 Nobel prize for the detection of cosmic neutrinos, passed away.
Koshiba’s most famous work involved detecting neutrinos from a distant supernova explosion using a vast detector based in a mine in central Japan.
Former Pondicherry Lt Guv Chandrawati passes away
Former Lt Governor of Pondicherry, Chandrawati passed away. She has a number of 1st to her credit as she was the 1st Member of Parliament (1977), the 1st MLA, 1st minister (1964-66 and 1972-74) & 1st leader of Opposition in the Haryana assembly (1982-85).
Chandrawati had also served as the president of the Janata Party from 1977 to 1979.
- Daily Current Affairs in English 11 Sep 2022 – Useful for all Competitive Exams
- Hindu Editorial with Vocabulary: Sep Month – Day 10
- 11 Sep 2022 Daily Current Affairs in Hindi – सभी प्रतियोगी परीक्षाओं के लिए महत्वपूर्ण
- 10 Sep 2022 Daily Current Affairs in Hindi – सभी प्रतियोगी परीक्षाओं के लिए महत्वपूर्ण
- Hindu Editorial with Vocabulary: Sep Month – Day 9
- Daily Current Affairs in English 10 Sep 2022 – Useful for all Competitive Exams
