Important Days
International Day of Non-Violence
The International Day of Non-Violence is celebrated on 2nd October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence.
The International Day is an occasion to “disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness”. This day is referred to as Gandhi Jayanti in India.
On 15 June 2007, the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish 2 October as the International Day of Non-Violence. The year 2020 marks 151st birth anniversary of the global peace icon who was born on 2 October 1869, in Porbandar in Gujarat.
Some of the books written by Mahatma Gandhi are:
- The Story of My Experiments with Truth
- The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism
- Peace: The Words and Inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi (Me-We)
World Teachers’ Day
World Teachers’ Day is celebrated everywhere on 5th October since 1994. The day provides the occasion to celebrate the teaching profession worldwide, take stock of achievements, and draw attention to the voices of teachers, who are at the heart of efforts to attain the global education target of leaving no one behind.
In 2020, World Teachers’ Day will celebrate teachers with the theme “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future”.
World Space Week: 04-10 October
World Space Week (WSW) is observed from October 4 to 10 every year to celebrate science and technology, and their contribution towards the betterment of the human condition.
The 2020 theme is “Satellites Improve Life.” WSW was declared by the United Nations General Assembly on December 6, 1999.
The dates commemorate the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, on 4 October 1957 and the entry into force of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies on 10 October 1967.
National News
Shri Arjun Munda launches Tribal Entrepreneurship Development Programme
Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda has launched the Tribal Entrepreneurship Development Programme. The three-year initiative has been jointly launched by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), an apex industry body.
The initiative will develop the potential of the tribal communities and building their capacities to enhance their contribution in socio-economic growth.
To mark the ‘Launch of Tribal Entrepreneurship Development Programme’, ASSOCHAM also conducted a webinar titled, ‘Khadi: Symbol of independent Atmanirbhar Bharat’ to commemorate the birth of Mahatma Gandhi and to celebrate upliftment, inclusion and empowerment of our underprivileged, marginalized and impoverished communities.
NABARD launches special refinance facility for WASH programme
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has announced a special refinance facility of Rs 800 crore for Fiscal Year 2021. With this, NABARD will support the Government of India’s Water, Sanitisation and Hygiene (WASH) programme.
NABARD will provide concessional refinance to all eligible financial institutions including commercial banks, regional rural banks and cooperative banks with a repayment period of up to 36 months.
The support will be channelised to fund WASH activities, a thrust area eligible for 95% refinance. The bank credit will also be extended to NBFCs-MFIs and other MFIs (Societies, Trusts).
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Chairman of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development: G R Chintala.
West Bengal launches “Pathashree Abhijan” scheme for road repair
West Bengal government has launched the “Pathashree Abhijan” scheme. It is a road repair scheme, where more than 7,000 stretches of roads comprising 12,000 kilometres across the state will be repaired in a mission mode and in a time-bound manner.
The government of West Bengal has collated a list of the roads that will be repaired under the new scheme as the people of the state reached out to the Chief Minister through the ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ initiative of the government.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Chief Minister of West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee; Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Assam CM launches ‘Kritagyata’ for online pension submission and tracking
Chief Minister of Assam has launched a portal “Kritagyata”, an online pension submission and tracking system. It has been launched to lend convenience to the pensioners to dispose of their pension related claims.
With the help of the portal, the retired government employees will submit the pension-related papers online and will also get the opportunity to check the status of his pension. The portal has been launched in line with the “Bhabhisya” portal of Government of India.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Chief Minister of Assam: Sarbananda Sonowal; Governor: Prof. Jagdish Mukhi.
PM Modi dedicates Atal Tunnel to the nation
The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has dedicated Atal Tunnel to the nation, on 3rd October 2020. In December 2019, the Government has decided to name the Rohtang Tunnel as Atal Tunnel in honour of the former Prime Minister and scholar Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Atal Tunnel is the world’s longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet from the Mean Sea Level (MSL). The tunnel has been named after former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Atal tunnel has been built, by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), under the Rohtang Pass in the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas on the Leh-Manali Highway in Himachal Pradesh.
The total length of the tunnel is 9.02 km and at an elevation of 3,100 metres (10,171 ft). The overall cost of completion of the project is around Rs. 3200 crore.
Swachh Bharat Awards 2020 announced
The Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Rattan Lal Kataria virtually conferred the Swachh Bharat 2020 Awards to the best performing States/UTs, districts, blocks, GPs in various categories.
The Ministry of Jal Shakti is observing the Swachh Bharat Diwas, 2020 on 2nd October to mark six years of the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM).
The Swachh Bharat 2020 Awards were conferred under three categories which are:
- Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shauchalaya (SSSS) campaign
- Samudayik Shauchalaya Abhiyan (SSA)
- Gandagi Se Mukt (GMB) campaign
Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shauchalaya (SSSS) campaign
- Best State: Gujarat
- Best District: Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu
- Best Block: Khachrod, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
- Best Gram Panchayat: Chinnaur, (Salem)
Samudayik Shauchalaya Abhiyan (SSA)
- Best State: Uttar Pradesh (GKRA) and Gujarat (Non-Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA)]
- Best District: Prayagraj (GKRA) and Bareilly (Non-GKRA)
- Best Gram Panchayat: Borigaon, Bongaigaon, Assam.
Gandagi Se Mukt (GMB) campaign
- Best State: Telangana and Haryana.
- Best District: Moga, Punjab.
Appointments
SBI appoints Charanjit Attra as CFO
The State Bank of India (SBI) has appointed Charanjit Singh Attra as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with effect from 01 October 2020.
The post was lying vacant after the former Deputy MD & CFO Prashant Kumar, was appointed as the CEO of Yes Bank in March 2020. C Venkat Nageshwar was serving the post on interim capacity.
Attra is a former Partner at global consulting firm EY India and had also served as the CFO at the ICICI Securities.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Chairman of SBI: Rajnish Kumar.
- SBI Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Science and Technology
NASA launched SS Kalpana Chawla Cargo Spacecraft to ISS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched the Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft named “SS Kalpana Chawla” after its astronaut Kalpana Chawla.
The spacecraft was launched on an Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, United States (US) to deliver nearly 8,000 pounds of scientific investigations, technology demonstrations, commercial products, and other cargo to the International Space Station (ISS).
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Jim Bridenstine.
- Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United States.
Sports News
Visnu Shivaraj Pandian wins International Online Shooting Championship
India’s Visnu Shivaraj Pandian has won the 10m air rifle event at the fifth edition of the International Online Shooting Championship.
The 16-year-old Visnu shot 251.4 to win the title by a clear margin of two points. The world No. 27 Etienne Germond of France came second followed by Martin Strempfl of Austria at third place.
Defence News
2nd edition of India-Bangladesh Navy Bilateral Exercise “Bongosagar”
The second edition of Indian Navy (IN) – Bangladesh Navy (BN) Bilateral Exercise Bongosagar commences in Northern Bay of Bengal.
Exercise Bongosagar, is aimed at developing inter-operability and joint operational skills through conduct of a wide spectrum of maritime exercises and operations.
In the 2nd edition of Bilateral Exercise Bongosagar, ships from both navies will participate in surface warfare drills, seamanship evolutions and helicopter operations.
This exercise will be followed by the 3rd edition of IN – BN Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) in Northern Bay of Bengal from 4 to 5 October 2020, wherein IN and BN units will undertake joint patrolling along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
Indian Coast Guard Vessel Karnaklata Barua commissioned at Kolkata
The Indian Coast Guard Vessel Karnaklata Barua was commissioned at Kolkata. It is the fifth and last in a series of Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd.
The FPVs are upgraded versions of the inshore patrol vessels with a modified form of the hull and can achieve a speed of 34 knots. Such vessels have also been delivered to Indian Navy by GRSE.
Indian Coast Guard Vessel Karnaklata Barua was named after a teenage freedom fighter who was shot dead in Assam during the Quit India Movement. The other four are ICGS Priyadarshini (named after Indira Gandhi), ICGS Annie Besant, ICGS Kamala Devi (after Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay), and ICGS Amrit Kaur.
These ships are suited for patrolling, maritime surveillance, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching operations and also for fishery protection, and rescue and search missions.
India successfully test-fires “Shaurya Missile” from Odisha coast
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test-fired a new version of the surface-to-surface nuclear-capable ballistic missile “Shaurya” at Balasore, off the coast of Odisha.
The new version of the nuclear-capable missile can strike targets at a range of around 800 km. The missile would be lighter and easier to operate in comparison with the existing missile.
It is an advanced version of Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) K-15 (B-05). It is 10 metres long, 74 cm in diameter and weighs 6.2 tonnes.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- DRDO Chairman: Dr G. Satheesh Reddy.
- DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi.
Obituaries News
Veteran Social activist Pushpa Bhave passes away
Veteran social activist, Prof Pushpa Bhave, also known as the Iron Lady of Mumbai, has passed away. She has been associated with the Rashtra Seva Dal and democratic movements since her student days.
She was also an academician and an intellectual, who fought for the rights of common citizens. She had taken part in the Samyukta Maharashtra movement and the Goa liberation movement.
Bollywood actress Mishti Mukherjee passes away
Bollywood actress Mishti Mukherjee, who has featured in many Hindi, Bengali and Telugu films, and music videos has passed away.
Besides featuring in major Bengali projects, Mishti made her debut in Bollywood with the film Life Ki Toh lag Gayi in 2012 and worked as the lead actress in Subhash Ghai’s 2014 film “Kaanchi: The Unbreakable”.
Kuwait’s Emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah passes away
The incumbent Emir (King or Ruler) of the Kuwait Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, has passed away. He had ruled the oil-rich Gulf Arab state since 2006.
Meanwhile, his brother, Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed, has been named as his successor by the cabinet. The 83-year-old Nawaf al-Ahmed took the oath of the office of 30 September 2020.
- 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
