15 SEP 2020

 

International Day of Democracy: 15 September

International Day of Democracy is observed globally on 15th September every year.

• The Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly through a resolution in 2007 to strengthen national programmes devoted to the promotion and consolidation of democracy.
• The day was observed for the first time in 2008.
• The day of Democracy provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world.

Engineers' Day: 15 September

The entire nation celebrates Engineers' Day on 15 September every year.

• The day is observed to mark the Birth Anniversary of the renowned Indian engineer Bharat Ratna Mokshagundam Viseswaraya.
• Civil Engineer and Statesman, Viseswaraya is popularly known as Sir M.V. He was the Chief Engineer of Krishna Raja Sagara dam in the north west suburb of Mysore city.
• Mokshagundam played a crucial role in important constructions and projects in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, two Telugu states.
• He used his expertise to solve the erosion problem of Visakhapatnam Port from sea water and also designed flood protection system for Hyderabad.

India beats China to become member of UN's Commission on Status of Women

India has been elected as the member of the Commission on Status of Women (CSW), a body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

• India will be a member of the prestigious body for four years from 2021 to 2025.
• India, Afghanistan and China had contested the elections to the Commission on Status of Women.
• While India and Afghanistan won the ballot among the 54 members, China failed to cross the half-way mark.
• The CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
• 45 member states of the United Nations serve as members of the Commission at any one time.
• ECOSOC President: Munir Akram.
• ECOSOC Headquarters: New York, United States.

Bangladesh govt allows limited export of Hilsa fish to India

Bangladesh Commerce Ministry has given special permission for traders to export Hilsa fish to India on a limited scale in view of the forthcoming Durga Puja.

• The Commerce Ministry has allowed nine exporters to send a total of approximately 1,500 tonnes of Hilsa to India.
• The export will be allowed till 10th of October.
• Bangladesh had imposed a ban on the export of Hilsa in 2012.
• However, as a special measure, last year also export of 500 tonnes of Hilsa to India was permitted by the government around the time of Durga Puja.
• Hilsa or 'Ilish' is considered a delicacy in Bangladesh and West Bengal.
• Bangladesh has a share of close to 75 per cent in the production of Hilsa fish in the world.

Govt bans export of all varieties of onions with immediate effect

The Union Government banned the export of all varieties of onions with immediate effect.

• The move is aimed at increasing availability and checking the price of the commodity in the domestic market.
• Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification that the export of all varieties of onions is prohibited with immediate effect.
• The DGFT, under the Commerce Ministry, deals with exports and imports-related issues.
• Last year on 29 September, the government had banned exports of onions and imposed countrywide stock limits to bring down prices of onions that had soared ahead of state elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.
• The crackdown followed retail onion prices touching ₹80 a kg in Delhi because of supply disruptions after floods in some states.

IIM, Kozhikode based incubatee start-up launches wearable gadget for implementing social distancing norms

Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode based incubatee start-up has come up with a unique user friendly wearable device that alarms proximity for helping implement social distancing norms.

• Known as the Veli Band, this wearable device has been developed by Qual5 India Pvt. Ltd, a startup co-founded by woman entrepreneur Kiranmayee.
• Veli Band helps implement social distancing and location and contact tracing which can help organizations comply with social distancing norms during the current pandemic situation.
• Veli Band momentarily vibrates, sounds buzzer, and flashes LED simultaneously to notify wearers that another band is within 3 feet.
• The device to be worn on the wrist can anonymously keep track of interactions with other devices and thus not only help in maintaining a safer workplace but also aid in tracking employee movements in real time.
• Veli band is omni directional, comes with a rechargeable battery and uses Bluetooth Low Energy technology for detection.

Maharashtra govt accords ambulance status to vehicles carrying medical oxygen for one year

Maharashtra State Government has accorded ambulance status to the vehicles carrying medical oxygen for one year.

• The decision was taken in view of the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity of uninterrupted oxygen supply to various hospitals in the state.
• Such vehicles will be considered as vehicles on emergency and disaster management duties.
• About 11 per cent of patients in the state need oxygen, which requires about 500 metric tonnes of oxygen.
• Even though the state is currently producing more than a thousand metric tonnes, there are complaints of shortage of oxygen at some places.
• Therefore, he said that all suppliers and transporters should increase their distribution network to ensure that oxygen reaches the needy.

111th Birth Anniversary of 1st CM of Tamil Nadu C. N. Annadurai

The 111th Birth Anniversary of the first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu C. N. Annadurai, popularly known as Arignar Anna was observed on 15 September.

• He was also a Member of Rajya Sabha from 1963 to 1967. Well known for his powerful oratorical skills, Anna was a prolific writer too.
• Subsidy mechanism for rice and two language policy are some of his prominent administrative innovations.
• The Tamil University in Thanjavoor has announced a 50 per cent discount sale of its prestigious publications in connection with Anna Birth Anniversary today.
• The main purpose of the University was higher level research into Tamil language, literature and culture - all close to the heart of Arignar Anna.

Chhattisgarh to set up specialised police unit to counter Maoists in Bastar

A specialised unit of Chhattisgarh Police's 'Bastar Special Force' may soon be introduced for Maoist-affected districts which will comprise of local youths from the interiors of insurgency-hit Bastar division.

• Chief minister Bhupesh Baghel directed the senior officers of the police department to raise 'Bastar Special Force' by recruiting local boys from sensitive areas.
• The Bastar division comprises seven districts - Bastar, Kanker, Kondagaon, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Sukma and Bijapur and each one of them has been facing Maoist problems since the 1980s.
• Earlier in 2016, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) raised the Bastariya Battalion, to counter insurgency in which local tribals were recruited.

Centre to release funds related to Polavaram Project to Andhra Pradesh at earliest

The Centre is working to release the funds related to Polavaram Project to the State of Andhra Pradesh at the earliest.

• The Centre has received the CAG audit report pertaining to the project.
• Earlier, Vijaysai Reddy of YSR Congress raised this issue saying that an amount of Rs. 3,805 crore related to this project is yet to be released by the Centre which is affecting this ambitious project.
• He urged the Centre to release the fund immediately to complete the project within the deadline of December 2021.
• The Polavaram Project is an under construction multi-purpose irrigation National project on the Godavari River in the West Godavari District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh.

Harivansh re-elected as Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

NDA candidate Harivansh has been re-elected as the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

• The upper house cleared his name with a voice vote.
• BJP President JP Nadda had moved the proposal to elect Harivansh as the deputy chairman and his motion was adopted.
• The Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha is a constitutional post.
• Article 89 of the Constitution of India states that the Rajya Sabha can elect one of its MPs for the post of Deputy Chairman when the post is vacant.

Senior bureaucrat Rajesh Khullar appointed Executive Director, World Bank

Senior bureaucrat Rajesh Khullar has been appointed as Executive Director, World Bank.

• Khullar, a 1988-batch IAS officer, is currently serving in his cadre state Haryana.
• He is the principal secretary to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
• He will have a tenure of three years or till the date of his superannuation, i.e. August 31, 2023.

Sameer Kumar Khare appointed Executive Director at ADB

Sameer Kumar Khare has been appointed Executive Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila.

• Khare is a 1989-batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre and is currently the additional secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs.
• He has been appointed to the post for a tenure of three years with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier.