07 SEP 2020

 

International Day of Clean Air for blue skies: 7 September

The world celebrated its first-ever International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies on September 7.

• Part of a resolution taken by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December 19, 2019, the day intends to emphasize on the ill-effects of air pollution and is a call to action against environmental evil.
• The International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies was introduced to acknowledge the threats posed by air pollution and to encourage every country in the world to take preventive measures.
• The day emphasises the need to improve air quality for long-term benefits for humankind.

Japanese companies relocating from China to India, Bangladesh to get Japan govt's subsidy

The Japanese government has said that it will provide subsidies to Japanese companies that shift their manufacturing setup from China to India, Bangladesh and ASEAN Countries.

• This comes as the world's supply chain was disrupted after the outbreak of COVID-19 which originated in China.
• The countries have now started mulling on options to either exit from China or at least reduce their dependence on it with respect to trade or other procurements.
• Japan too aims to decentralise its supply chain by reducing its dependence on a particular country for medical and well as electronic components supply.
• The Japanese government has allocated 23.5 billion yen in the 2020 supplemental budget for the subsidy to encourage companies to disperse their manufacturing sites across the ASEAN region.

35th FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC) held under the Chairmanship of Bhutan

The 35th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC 35), was held, in virtual format due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

• The Conference was held under the Chair of the Host Country, Bhutan.
• The conference focused on regional priorities and issues such as COVID 19, the state of agriculture, natural resources management, food security and nutrition.
• The Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Parshottam Rupala represented India in the conference.
• Bangladesh will host the 36th Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific of the  in 2022. It will be the first time that the country will host the event, ever since it joined the organisation in 1973.
• The Regional Conference is held once every two years. The first regional conference was held in Bangalore, India, in 1953.

India successfully tests its indigenously developed HSTDV

In a historic mission, India successfully flight tested Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV).

• This is a giant leap in indigenous defence technologies and a significant milestone towards a Sashakt Bharat and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• DRDO with this mission, has demonstrated capabilities for highly complex technology that will serve as the building block for Next Gen Hypersonic vehicles in partnership with industry.
• The test of the HSTDV, designed to cruise at Mach 6 speed with the scramjet engine, was conducted from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.
• The HSTDV is an unmanned scramjet demonstration aircraft for hypersonic speed flight.

First-ever cannabis medicine project coming up in Jammu

The first ever cannabis medicine project will be set up with the collaboration of Canada at Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) in Jammu.

• A special permission had to be obtained to produce the pain-relief medicine for patients suffering from cancer, diabetes, etc., using cannabis, which is otherwise restricted for use because of narcotic drug abuse.
• The medicine prepared from this plant can be utilised even for export to other countries.
• The progress of the construction of north India's first biotech industrial park in Kathua near Jammu was also reviewed.

CM Arvind Kejriwal launches Delhi’s campaign against dengue

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the second edition of its “10 Hafte-10 Baje-10 Minute” (10 weeks, 10 o’ clock, 10 minutes) campaign against dengue and other vector-borne diseases such as malaria and chikungunya.

• The campaign seeks the residents of Delhi to pick up their phone and call 10 of their relatives and friends and advise them on practices to prevent Dengue.
• According to the report, “Dengue in India” prepared by the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, the numbers of Dengue went up in 2019.
• The report also said that in 2018, the number of Dengue cases in India were 1,01,192.

Karnataka clears Rs 600 crore watershed project

The Karnataka Cabinet approved a Rs 600 cr project - Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agriculture Resilience through Innovative Development (REWARD) - for the benefit of 20 taluks with low groundwater levels in Karnataka.

• The World Bank will fund 70% of the project (Rs 420 crore), 30% of the expenses (Rs 180 crore) will be borne by the state government.
• The project will benefit farmers to cultivate in 10 lakh hectares of land in taluks such as Shikaripura in Shivamogga district, Kolar in Kolar district, Sira in Tumakuru, Arasikere in Hassan, Hirekerur in Haveri and 15 others.
• The project will cover 50,000 hectares of parched land with depleted groundwater table for watershed development in each of the 20 taluks to increase the groundwater table.

WhatsApp partners Cyber Peace Foundation to drive cyber safety awareness

WhatsApp announced a strategic partnership with CyberPeace Foundation with the aim to create awareness on cyber safety among students.

• This is an effort to build on their earlier partnership with WhatsApp under the “e-Raksha” program that reached thousands of students.
• With the collaboration, the platforms aim to reach nearly 15,000 students across five states including Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra by the end of 2020.
• In the first phase 15,000 students will be covered in five regions by the end of 2020.
• The need for this awareness campaign was felt as students spend more time online and so they become more vulnerable to cyber threats such as cyberbullying, stumbling across child abuse material, cybercriminals disrupting online classes, the spread of misinformation, privacy issues etc.

Vodafone Idea re-brands itself ‘Vi’

Vodafone Idea announced its new unified brand identity by renaming all its products under a new name and logo “Vi”.

• The announcement was made by the telco’s MD and CEO Ravinder Takkar.
• Vodafone Idea’s move comes after the Supreme Court last week allowed the telecom companies to stagger their payments of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues over the next 10 years.
• The rebranding also comes at a time when Vodafone Idea has seen its user base falling from 408 million at the time of the merger to 280 million at the end of June 2020.

Pierre Gasly wins F1 Italian Grand Prix 2020

Pierre Gasly (Scuderia AlphaTauri, France) has won the Formula One Italian Grand Prix 2020 held at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy.

• This is his first Grand Prix win.
• Carlos Sainz Jr. (McLaren, Spain) came second followed by Lance Stroll (Racing Point, Canada) in third place.
• Lewis Hamilton ended in 7th place after he earned a 10-second stop and go penalty.

England batsman Ian Bell announces retirement from professional cricket

Former England batsman Ian Bell announced he will retire from all forms of cricket at the end of the 2020 domestic season.

• The five-time Ashes winner has spent his entire career with Warwickshire.
• Bell has scored 7727 runs, including 22 hundreds, at an average of 42.69 in 118 Test matches while in the ODIs, he has 5,416 runs in 161 matches.
• Bell retired from ODIs in 2015 to focus on Test cricket but he has never played a Test match since November 2015.

Vice President Releases ‘The State of Young Child in India’ report

The Vice President, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu released ‘The State of Young Child in India’ report, a comprehensive account of the challenges related to early child development in India.

• The report has been prepared by Mobile Creches a policy advocacy organisation which works with the underprivileged children across India.
• According to the report, from 159 million children aged below 6 years in India, 21 per cent are undernourished, 36 per cent are underweight and 38 per cent do not receive full immunization.
• Based on ranking and values on the Young Child Outcome Index (YCOI), the report named Kerala, Goa, Tripura and Tamil Nadu to be among the top performers, while eight states-- Assam, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar-- with scores below the national average lagged behind.