Current Affairs 03rd to 05th October 2020| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

World Day For Farmed Animals

• World Day for Farmed Animals is celebrated on the same date (Oct 2^nd ) as the birth anniversary of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
• International animals’ welfare organization, World Animal Protection along with the Asia for Animals coalition is celebrating World Day for Farmed Animals to bring focus on the need to treat farm animals as sentient beings and make visible the importance and urgency of farm animal welfare.

World Animal Day

• World Animal Day 2020 is observed every year on October 4th to raise awareness about improving the welfare standards of the animals across the globe.
• The day is celebrated in different ways in different countries. Every year various activities are performed such as the launching of animal welfare campaigns, opening of rescue shelters for the animals, and organisation of fundraising events.

World Space Week

• In 1999, the United Nations declaredOctober 4-10 as World Space Week.
• The theme this year is “Satellites Improve Life.”
• In 2021, World Space Week celebrates “Women in Space.”
• The week to celebrate each year at the international level the contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Centre agrees to waive interest on interest during moratorium for individual, MSME loans up to Rs 2 crore

• The Government has informed the Supreme Court that loans up to 2 crore taken by individuals and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) will be eligible for waiver of compound interest during the six-month moratorium period, i.e., March-August 2020.
• In other words, these borrowers will not have to pay interest on interest. During the period of moratorium, interest accrued in case of equated monthly instalment (EMI) deferred becomes a part of principal and then interest calculated on the larger base. This compound interest is basically interest on interest.
• Though, the government has not mentioned the cost of this waiver, according to industry sources, it could be up to Rs.6,000 crore and likely to be paid by the Centre.
• The affidavit listed eight categories of loans for waiver of compound interest. These include – MSME loans up to Rs.2 crore, education loans up to Rs.2 crore, housing loan up to Rs.2 crore, consumer durable loans up to Rs.2 crore, credit card dues up to Rs.2 crore, auto loans up to Rs.2 crore, personal loans to professionals up to Rs.2 crore and consumption loans up to Rs.2 crore.
• According to affidavit, full waiver of interest on all the loans and advances to all classes and categories of borrowers for six-months period would cost Rs.6-lakh crore. “If the banks were to bear this burden, it would necessarily wipe out a substantial and major part of their net worth, rendering most of the banks unviable and raising a very serious question mark over their very survival,” it stated.

Sunidhi’ project to digitise provident fund, pension services of CMPFO

• The government announced the launch of an ambitious information technology project ‘Sunidhi’ to digitise all provident fund and pension related activities of the Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation (CMPFO).
• CMPFO, a statutory body under the coal ministry, administers different schemes of provident fund, pension and deposit linked insurance for coal mine workers.
• The Sunidhi module was inaugurated by settling the provident fund and pension dues of three retired employees of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) in the virtual presence of Coal Secretary Anil Kumar Jain and Coal India (CIL) Chairman Pramod Agrawal, among others.
• The information technology project is an effort to digitise all provident fund and pension fund related activities of CMPFO so as to make the system more robust, the ministry stated.
• This software application is running from its data centre at Hyderabad in sync with the Disaster Recovery Centre at Bhubaneswar.
• CMPFO was established in 1948 through an Act of Parliament to administer different schemes of provident fund, pension and deposit linked insurance for coal mine workers.
• These schemes are administered through the board of trustees, comprising 23 members representing the Centre, state governments and employees’ representatives under the chairmanship of the coal secretary.

About Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation:

• Animesh Bharati, Commissioner
• Headquarters: Dhanbad (Jharkhand)

Jal Shakti Minister launches 100-day campaign to provide potable piped water in Schools and Anganwadi Centres

• Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launched a 100-day campaign to provide potable piped water supply in Schools and Anganwadi Centres. This mission was envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 29th of last month, while releasing the ‘Margdarshika’ for Gram Panchayats and Paani Samitis for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission. The Prime Minister had appealed to the States to make best use of this campaign to ensure provision of potable piped water supply in these public institutions.
• Under the Jal Jeevan Mission States and Union Territories are to  ensure that during the campaign, Gram Sabhas are convened at the earliest to pass a resolution for providing safe water in all schools, anganwadi centres and other public institutions in the village in the next 100 days.
• These facilities will be operated and maintained by the Gram Panchayat and its sub-committee. The Ministry stated this is a befitting tribute to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary. Jal Jeevan Mission aims at the universal coverage of provision of tap water connection to every rural home by 2024. Under the mission, special focus is on women and children.

About Ministry of Jal Shakti:

• Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Cabinet Minister
• Constituency: Jodhpur
• Rattan Lal Kataria, Minister of State

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

India-Bangladesh Naval Forces To Hold Exercise Bongosagar In Bay Of Bengal

• The second edition of India-Bangladesh Bilateral Exercise Bongosagar is scheduled to begin in the Bay of Bengal.
• The exercise between the two navies aims at fostering inter-operability and joint operational skills with both forces conducting a wide spectrum of joint maritime exercises.
• The first edition of this exercise was held in 2019.
• This edition of the joint naval exercise between India and Bangladesh will include surface warfare drills, seamanship evolutions and helicopter operations.
• The Exercise Bongosagar will then be followed by the third edition of IN-BN Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT). This joint exercise will take place in the Northern Bay of Bengal.
• During the CORPAT exercise, India and Bangladesh’s navy will patrol along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
• Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kiltan, an indigenously built Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette and INS Khukri, an indigenously built Guided-Missile Corvette are participating along with Bangladesh Naval Ship (BNS) Abu Bakr, a Guided-Missile Frigate and BNS Prottoy, a Guided-Missile Corvette. In addition to ships, Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both navies and integral helicopter(s) would also be participating in the exercise.
• Exercise Bongosagar and IN- BN CORPAT will take place over a span of three days and this year’s edition hold extra significance as it is the 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh.
• The exercise also goes to show the importance that the Indian Navy accords to the Bangladesh Navy as a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region).

About Bangladesh

• Capital: Dhaka
• Currency: Bangladeshi taka
• Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina

Embassy of India in Nepal marks 56th Anniversary of ITEC Day-2020

• The Embassy of India in Nepal marked the 56th Anniversary of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day-2020 through a Webinar on “Sharing Knowledge and Experiences on COVID-19 Management” . ITEC is India’s flagship capacity building assistance initiative with near global coverage to 160 developing countries, including Nepal.
• The webinar brought together distinguished ITEC alumni from Nepal as well as expert voices from Government and industry in India and Nepal to exchange views and share perspectives on addressing the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Ambassador Vinay Kwatra noted with appreciation the on-going bilateral cooperation to support Nepal in building indigenous capacities, including under the ITEC initiative. Since last year, several ITEC capsules have been organized at India’s premier institutions for officials from various institutions of Nepal in areas like judicial services for Supreme Court of Nepal, Public Finance Management for Finance Ministry, training for revenue officials, anti-money laundering, countering financing of Terrorism training, intensive training in water resources and development and the e-ITEC program on COVID-19 Management.
• ITEC Programme is fully funded by the Government of India to share India’s developmental experience and expertise with 160 developing countries, including Nepal. A number of institutions of Government of Nepal have benefitted from regular, e-ITEC and tailor-made ITEC courses designed on the basis of customized needs.

About Nepal:

• Capital: Kathmandu
• Prime minister: K. P. Sharma Oli
• President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

Govt keeps interest rates on small savings schemes unchanged for Oct-Dec quarter

• The government kept the interest rates on small savings schemes, including PPF and NSC, unchanged for the October-December quarter amid moderating bank deposit rates.
• Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) will continue to carry an annual interest rate of 7.1 per cent and 6.8 per cent, respectively.
• Interest rates for small savings schemes are notified by the Finance Ministry on a quarterly basis.
• Accordingly, the interest rate for the five-year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme has been retained at 7.4 per cent. The interest on the senior citizens” scheme is paid quarterly. Interest rate on savings deposits has been retained at 4 per cent annually.
• The girl child savings scheme Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana will offer 7.6 per cent rate during the third quarter of the current fiscal.
• The annual interest rate on Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) has been retained at 6.9 per cent.
• Term deposits of 1-5 years will fetch an interest rate in the range of 5.5-6.7 per cent, to be paid quarterly, while the interest rate on five-year recurring deposit is pegged at 5.8 per cent.

NABARD launches refinance scheme for WASH programme, earmarks Rs 800 cr for FY”21

• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) announced a special refinance facility to support the government’s Water, Sanitisation and Hygiene (WASH) programme.
• An amount of Rs 800 crore has been earmarked for this purpose for the financial year 2020-21.
• 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 per cent refinance. The bank credit will also be extended to NBFCs-MFIs ( Non-Banking Financial Companies-Microfinance Institutions) and other MFIs (Societies, Trusts, etc).
• The funding will support eligible activities such as construction, repairing, enlarging of household toilets or converting an existing toilet to an accessible family toilet, domestic water motor pump, bore well/ tube well, sumps, rainwater harvesting structures, community water purifier plants and waste-water systems.
• While the initiative will act as a boost to the ”Swachh Bharat Mission”, it will also encourage rural youth, small and medium enterprises and SHGs (Self Help Groups) to undertake commercial activities in the sanitisation sector.

About NABARD

• Founded: 12 July 1982
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Chairperson: R. Chintala

PNB launches financial inclusion initiative Gram Sampark Abhiyan

• State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched a financial inclusion and literacy initiative ‘Gram Sampark Abhiyan’ to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
• The nationwide campaign was launched by Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar, PNB stated.
• The campaign is centred on four key themes — digital, credit, social security and financial literacy that will encapsulate various activities and prescribes the cherished theme of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, it stated.
• Upon commencement, PNB’s 3,930 rural and 2,752 semi-urban branches will aim to reach 526 districts during the campaign, with two camps per branch every month, it stated.
• This campaign will culminate on December 31, 2020 covering 526 districts in 24 states, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Odisha, Manipur, Tripura and Telangana.

About PNB:

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• CEO: S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Reliance Industries’ Retail Arm To Get Rs. 7,350 Crore Investment From GIC, TPG Capital

• Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Reliance Industries stated that Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and global private equity firm TPG Capital invested a combined 7,350 crore (about $1 billion) in its retail unit.
• Reliance Industries, controlled by Asia’s richest man Mr Ambani, has secured more than $2 billion in investments from global investors, including KKR & Co, Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala and Silver Lake Partners, in Reliance Retail Ventures over the past few months.
• GIC will invest 5,512 crore for a 1.22 per cent stake, while TPG Capital Management will invest Rs. 1,838 crore to own a 0.41 per cent equity stake in the retail arm, the company stated.
• The investments in Reliance Retail give the company a pre-money equity value of Rs. 4.285 lakh crore ($58.47 billion), Reliance Industries stated.
• This is TPG Capital’s second investment in Reliance. In June, the firm invested $598 million in Reliance’s digital unit Jio Platforms.

About Reliance Industries:

• CEO: Mukesh Ambani
• Head quarters: Maharashtra

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

West Bengal Launches Pathashree Abhijan Scheme

• West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched the Pathashree Abhijan, a road repair scheme, where more than 7,000 stretches of roads comprising 12,000 kilometers across the state will be repaired.
• Under the scheme the roads 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 after the people of the state reached out to her through the ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ initiative of the government.
• ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ campaign to address public grievances. The state government unveiled a website and provided a telephone number, through which people could register their complaints.

About West Bengal

• Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar
• Capital: Kolkata
• Chief minister: Mamata Banerjee

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal launches portal for online pension submission and tracking

• Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched a portal ‘Kritagyata’ an online pension submission and tracking system.
• With the help of the portal, the retired government employee, besides submitting pension related papers on line will get opportunity to check the status of his pension.
• The portal has been created in line with the ‘Bhabhisya’ portal of Government of India.
• Though the portal has been launched as pilot project for the teachers and employees under Inspector of Schools of Kamrup Metropolitan district, it will be replicated to all government employees of the state in all districts in phases.

About Assam

• Capital: Dispur
• Chief minister: Sarbananda Sonowal
• Governor: Jagdish Mukhi

Telangana govt undertakes door-to-door survey to update non-agricultural property details through NAP app

• The state government has deployed teams of municipal staff to visit every single household to gather the property details through an app to update them on the Dharani portal. The government has decided to issue non-agricultural property record (NAGPR) to the owners as a comprehensive ownership document.
• The program has been taken up to update all current property details to simplify future registrations, according to officials. The properties are identified on the basis of property tax identification number (PTIN). All the districts in the state have been divided into seven units for the purpose. Teams of three municipal administration officials are in the field under the supervision of a senior official who monitors the work from a control room at the district headquarter.
• Another team of officials has been appointed at the state control room to guide the field teams and sort out technical issues while working on the app.
• The government has decided to update online all non-agriculture properties such as houses, constructions near agriculture fields and wells, farm houses and beyond the village settlement areas and incorporate them in the Dharani web portal free of charge.
• Once the updation is complete, the owners would be given maroon colour passbooks with all the details while green color passbooks are given to the farmers for agricultural lands.
• The app is designed to register 52 details including the owner name, family members, Aadhaar number, the mode of ownership – whether through inheritance, purchase or gift, caste, electricity and water connection details, etc.
• All properties would be integrated with the Aadhaar of the owner.

About Telangana:

• Capital: Hyderabad
• Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan
• Chief minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao

Punjab CM digitally launches construction of 750 rural stadiums

• Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh digitally launched the construction of 750 rural stadiums and playgrounds in the state.
• The 750 stadiums are being built at a cost of Rs105 crore in rural areas under the state government”s rural transformation strategy and ”Tandarust Punjab Mission, an official statement stated.
• The government has set a target of minimum five stadiums per block to be completed in 2020-21, it added.
• The initiative is part of the Smart Village Campaign launched in 2019, under which 19,132 projects with a total cost of Rs 835 crore were taken up in its Phase-I stage for 2019-20.
• The projects under the campaign include renovation of ponds, street lights, parks, gymnasiums, community halls, drinking water supply, model Anganwadi centers, smart schools and solid waste management systems are the integral part of the campaign.
• Meanwhile, an MoU was inked digitally between the state Local Government Department and the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), Odisha to help push the implementation of the Punjab Slum Dwellers Proprietary Act, framed in April, 2020. The MoU was signed by the Principal Secretary (Local Government) Ajoy Kumar Sinha and CPR president Yamini Aiyyer.

About Punjab:

• Capital: Chandigarh
• Governor: V. P. Singh Badnore
• Chief minister: Amarinder Singh

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU

CSC partners with HelpAge India to impart digital literacy to elderly citizens

• The Common Services Centre (CSC), a special purpose vehicle under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, has partnered with HelpAge India to provide digital literacy to citizens above the age of 55 years through a pilot project in selected states.
• The move is aimed at digital inclusion and literacy of the rural elderly, especially those disadvantaged, at a time when online and digital services have assumed paramount significance due to social distancing in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.
• As most elderly, especially those living in rural areas are not digitally literate, it is deeply impacting their way of life accessing basic goods and services and survival.
• “Access to digital learning will provide them with a window of hope so that they can carry on with their daily living and livelihood activities without putting themselves at risk,” he stated.
• As per the MoU signed between CSC Academy, the education arm of CSC, and HelpAge India, CSC will provide digital literacy to 1,500 elderly citizens in the three aspirational districts of Karauli in Rajasthan, Birbhum in West Bengal and Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu.
• The MoU rolled out under the project ‘Aalambana‘ of HelpAge India will be implemented in a span of one year and seeks to empower the elderly so that they can digitally avail their entitlements as well as access financial and healthcare services.

About Common Services Centre (CSC):

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Dinesh Tyagi : CEO

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Alternate Nobel Prize 2020′: Belarus, Iran, US, Nicaragua Activists Awarded the Right Livelihood Award

• Activists from Belarus, Iran, Nicaragua and the United States were awarded the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes referred to as the “Alternative Nobel“.A prominent Belarus opposition figure and an imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer were among the awardees.
• Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian lawyer, who has defended activists, opposition politicians and women prosecuted for removing their headscarves, was given the award “for her fearless activism, at great personal risk, to promote political freedoms and human rights in Iran.”
• Bryan Stevenson, US civil rights lawyer won the award “for his inspiring endeavour to reform the US criminal justice system and advance racial reconciliation in the face of historic trauma.”
• Lottie Cunningham Wren, the 61-year-old rights and environmental activist of Nicaragua won “for her ceaseless dedication to the protection of indigenous lands and communities from exploitation and plunder.”
• 58-year-old human rights activist Ales Bialiatski and the non-governmental organisation Human Rights Center Viasna which he heads, won “for their resolute struggle for the realization of democracy and human rights in Belarus.”
• Although the Right Livelihood Award is promoted as an “Alternative Nobel Prize“, it is not a Nobel prize. It does not have any organizational ties at all to the awarding institutions of the Nobel Prize or the Nobel Foundation.

About Belarus:

• Capital: Minsk
• Currency: Belarusian ruble

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS

PM Modi to inaugurate artificial intelligence ‘RAISE 2020’ Summit

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Summit RAISE 2020 – ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and NITI Aayog are organizing the Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence from 5^th to 9th of October. The summit will discuss cross-sector subjects like ‘Leveraging AI for Pandemic Preparedness’, the Impetus that Innovation Places on Digitisation’, Inclusive AI and Partnerships for Successful Innovation.
• The summit will be a global meeting of minds to exchange ideas and chart a course for using AI for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment in areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility, among other sectors. During the summit, delegates and experts in research, policy and innovation on Artificial Intelligence will join from across the globe.
• The Summit will also feature some of the most exciting startups working in Artificial Intelligence-related fields. Start-ups chosen through the AI Solution Challenge will showcase their solutions in the AI Startup Pitch fest scheduled on 6th October. This is part of the Government’s continuing support to tech entrepreneurs and startups by providing exposure, recognition and guidance.

About MEITY:

• Union Minister of the Law and Justice, Electronics and Information Technology and Communications: Ravi Shankar Prasad
• Constituency: Patna Sahib, Bihar

About Niti Aayog:

• Headquarters:New Delhi
• Narendra Modi, (Chairperson)
• Rajiv Kumar, (Vice Chairperson)
• Amitabh Kant, (CEO)

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE

DRDO Test Fires Laser-Guided Anti-Tank Guided Missile

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)successfully test-fired an indigenously developed laser-guided anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar.
• The missile was test-fired from an MBT Arjun Tank at KK Ranges in Armoured Corps Centre and School (ACC&S) in Ahmednagar to practice defeating a target located at longer range.
• The laser-guided missile has been developed by Armament R&D Establishment (ARDE), Pune in association with High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune and Instruments Research & Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun.
• It has a tandem HEAT warhead to destroy Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) protected armoured vehicles in ranges from 1.5 to 5 km.
• It has been developed with multiple-platform launch capability and is currently undergoing technical evaluation trials from 120 mm rifled gun of MBT Arjun.
• The primary purpose of ATGMs, which can be both medium and long-range, is to destroy armoured vehicles including tanks.
• The missiles use several types of guidance systems to do this, including laser, TV cameras and wire guiding. Some are flexible enough to be used via an aircraft, by the infantry and through land vehicles.

Recent News

• India successfully test-fired the extended range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile which can hit targets at over 400 km range.
• The DRDO had also conducted a successful flight test of ABHYAS – High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) from the Interim Test Range, Balasore in Odisha.

India successfully test-fires nuclear-payload capable Shaurya missile

• An advanced version of the `Shaurya’ surface-to-surface nuclear-capable ballistic the missile was successfully test-fired, in APJ Abdul Kalam Island,
• ‘Shaurya’, which is the land variant of India’s K-15 missile, has a strike range of 700 km to 1000 km and is capable of carrying payloads of 200 kg to 1000 kg.
• It has been tested by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• It is a ground version of a ballistic missile launched from a submarine.
• It is a two-stage rocket missile.
• The missile can be launched from silos and canisters mounted on a truck and fixed on the ground. A truck itself can become a launching platform.

About DRDO

• Founded: 1958
• Headquarters: DRDO Bhavan, New Delhi
• Chairman: G Satheesh Kumar Reddy

Indian Navy Helicopters Along With GVMC Undertake Aerial Seeding Initiative

• The Indian Navyhas partnered with Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation(GVMC) to undertake Aerial Seeding at Visakhapatnam.
• Rajya Sabha MP V Vijayasai Reddy and Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain flagged off aerial seeding at Visakhapatnam at INS Dega.
• This initiative of GVMC aims to enhance the green cover in and around Visakhapatnam.
• Two UH3H helicopters with 2 tons of seed balls undertook the aerial seeding.
• The Naval helicopters will be airdropping 50,000 seed balls weighing approx. 6.25 tonnes in five locations around Visakhapatnam covering an area of nearly 200 acres which are inaccessible by road necessitating aerial seeding which is being undertaken with the assistance of Eastern Naval Command (ENC).

About Indian Navy

• Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS): Admiral Karambir Singh
• Founded: 26 January 1950
• Headquarters: New Delhi

NASA launches SS Kalpana Chawla Cygnus spacecraft to International Space station

• Northrop Grumman launched another flight to the International Space Station, this time named after late astronaut ‘Kalpana Chawla’.
• The Cygnus vehicle S.S Kalpana Chawla along with Antares rocket for NG-14 mission.
• The International Space Station (ISS) is gearing up to receive the flight which will supply thousands of kilograms essential space supplies and related-equipments to the astronauts.
• The Vehicle will deliver a cargo of 1,217 kg of science experiments, personal items and 850 kg of crew equipment.
• The astronauts will connect the Cygnus to International Space Station through its robotic arm of
• This space vehicle is also carrying ‘SharkSat’ which will test emerging technologies for 5G networks.
• This S Kalpana Chawla Cygnus spacecraft is made by Thale Alena Space in Turin, Italy and has a composition of pressurized cargo module. The vehicle consists of two solar arrays, navigation equipment and propulsion element. The launch of the vehicle was carried out by Antares 230+ rocket, parts of which have been built by Yuzmash factory in Ukraine.

About NASA

• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• Administrator: James Frederick “Jim” Bridenstine

US approves $90 million sale of spares, support for C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to India

• The Pentagon has approved India’s request to buy USD 90 million worth of equipment, spare parts and logistical support for its fleet of C-130J Super Hercules cargo aircraft.
• The items ordered by India are aircraft consumable spares and repair/return parts; ground support and equipment; Cartridge Actuated Devices/Propellant Actuated Devices (CAD/PAD) fire extinguisher cartridges; flare cartridges; BBU-35/B cartridge impulse squibs.
• India has also ordered for one spare AN/ALR-56M Advanced Radar Warning Receiver shipset; spare AN/ALE-47 Countermeasures Dispenser System shipset; ten Lightweight Night Vision Binocular (F5032); ten AN/AVS-9 Night Vision Goggle (NVG)(F4949); GPS and Electronic Warfare.
• It is also seeking instruments and lab equipment support; joint mission planning system; cryptographic device spares and loaders; software and software support; publications and technical documentation; personnel training and training and training equipment; contractor engineering, technical and logistical support, and other related elements of programme support.
• India is one of the 17 countries to whom the US has sold its C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. The Indian Air Force currently operates a fleet of five C-130J-30s. India has placed order for additional six C-130J-30s Super Hercules aircraft.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

IIT Kharagpur Launches Telemedicine System iMediX for Corona Care

• IIT Kharagpur researchers have launched a telemedicine system ‘iMediX’ to help patients receive assistance from doctors without having to go to hospitals or clinics. The system has been conceptualized and designed by researchers at IIT Kharagpur’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering. The technology basically integrates homecare with healthcare services from the hospital.
• The system basically helps patients in need receive remote consultation with physicians from their residence. iMediX can be accessed by any standard internet browser and also from tablets, mobiles and laptops.
• The software was launched on 2 October 2020 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and will be integrated at the Dr. BC Roy Technology Hospital of the Institute which provides emergency healthcare services for the campus residents and employees, says IIT Kharagpur.

ICMR, Biological E develop purified equine antiserum

• The Indian Council of Medical Research announced that it has, along with Hyderabad-based Biological E, developed blood serum of horses that contain antibodies against covid-19 after conducting a study which highlighted it as.
• The bio-medical research agency stated that it could be a potential treatment and prevention of covid-19 and an alternative to convalescent plasma therapy, which is blood serum of humans who have recovered from the respiratory disease.
• Although, plasma recovered from patients experiencing covid-19 could serve similar purpose, the profile of antibodies, their efficacy and concentration keep varying from one patient to another and therefore make it an unreliable clinical tool for patient management, ICMR stated.
• Standardization achievable through equine sera-based treatment modality thus stands out as yet another remarkable public health initiative supported by ICMR in the time of covid-19.
• “Equine hyper-immune serum overcomes the challenge of limited availability of convalescent plasma from recovered patients. Monoclonal antibodies on the other hand are laborious and expensive to generate,” the study stated.
• Purified antibodies obtained from hyper-immune horse serum has been an effective and time- tested approach in various infections such as diphtheria, tetanus, rabies, as well as bites from snakes, scorpions and spiders. More recently, it has been used to treat infections such as the first SARS in 2003, MERS, Ebola and avian influenza virus.

About ICMR:

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Leader: Balram Bhargava

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Bapu – The unforgettable: Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sisodia launches coffee-table book on Gandhi Jayanti

• On the occasion of the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia launched a coffee-table book “Bapu – The unforgettable”.
• “In today’s times when there are a lot of stories about the social decline, we are in dire need of Gandhian philosophies. If Gandhiji would have been here today, he would have been playing a crucial role in directing us towards the upliftment of our society,” Sisodia stated.
• “This book cannot fulfil the void created by the absence of Bapu but can certainly make us think, give us ideas, give us a glimpse of his philosophy. There are several untouched aspects of history in this book, a lot of photographs, epigraphs, and several other details about Delhi which we usually do not get to see,” he added.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

Visnu Shivaraj Pandian wins gold in 10 meter air rifle event of International Online Shooting Championship

• India’s Visnu Shivaraj Pandian 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 second place was won by world no. 27 Etienne Germond of France while Olympic quota winner Martin Strempfl of Austria took the third place.
• Shooters from 15 countries are participating in the two-day competition. The 10m air pistol event will be held. Leading India’s challenge will be Olympic quota winner Yashaswini Singh Deswal.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Veteran activist, scholar Pushpa Bhave passes away

• Veteran social activist, scholar, rationalist, and a stalwart of Marathi literature and theatre Pushpa Bhave passed away. She was 81.
• Bhave backed movements like Dalit Panthers, Andhashradda Nirmulan, Hamaal Panchayat and women’s rights movements like Devdasi Mukti across the country.
• She is remembered for standing up to theShivsena that was at the time led by its supremo Bal Thackeray, in connection with the Ramesh Kini murder in 1996, throwing her weight behind his widow Sheela, who lived in Bhave’s neighbourhood in Dadar.

Renowned cardiologist A V Shetty passes away at 85

• Eminent cardiologist Dr A V Shetty passed away after a brief illness. He was 85.
• A recipient of Prince of Wales gold medal from Mumbai University, he studied at the Royal college of  physicians of Edinburgh in 1962.
• Shetty served as professor of cardiology at Kasturba Medical College here for 25 years and after retirement served as chief of cardiology at Father Muller Hospital.

DAILY CA 2^nd OCT

• International Day of Non-Violence- 2^nd oct
• Breast Cancer Awareness Month- october
• Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh integrated with existing national portability cluster under One Nation One Ration Card Scheme
• PM Modi to inaugurate VAIBHAV Summit through video conferencing
• PM to dedicate to nation world’s longest high altitude tunnel ‘Atal Tunnel’ on Oct 3
• Arjun Munda to launch largest market of tribal products ‘Tribes India E-Marketplace’
• BRICS Bank Approves Loan worth USD 741 million for Mumbai Metro & Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Rapid Rail
• RBI defers Basel III provisions amid covid uncertainty
• Indian Bank launched Green-Tech Initiative “IB-eNote”
• CBDT extends deadline for filing belated, revised ITRs for AY 2019-20 to November 30
• Google India launches campaign to drive demand for small businesses
• Kerala’s first and nation’s twentieth mega food park Inaugurated
• SJVN signs MoU with Govt. of India for year 2020-21
• Tata Steel & CSIR sign MoU
• Air Marshal RJ Duckworth takes over as AOP
• Shri Apurva Chandra joins as Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment
• S Aparna assumes charge as new Union Pharma Secretary
• Devyani Khobragade Appointed India’s Next Ambassador To Cambodia
• SBI appoints Charanjit Surinder Singh Attra as CFO
• Gajendra Singh Shekhawat gives away Swachh Bharat Awards 2020; Gujarat bags first position under Swachh Sundar Samudayak Shouchalaya category
• Mumbai ranks 2nd after Delhi in crimes against women, reveals NCRB data
• Agnibaan rocket by Indian start-up to be test launched from Alaska, USA
• Rare fish family with lineage going back to Gondwanaland found in Kerala
• National Institute of Nutrition Changes Average Weight, Height Measurements for Indian Men and Women
• Indian Coast Guard ship Kanaklata Barua commissioned in Kolkata
• Former Indian Bank Chairman Gopalakrishnan passes away
• Artist KC Sivasankar, illustrator of Vikram and Betal series, passes away at 97
• Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah passes away aged 91

DAILY CA 3^rd to 5^th OCT

• World Day For Farmed Animals- 2^nd oct
• World Animal Day- 4^th oct
• World Space Week- 4^th to 10^th oct
• Centre agrees to waive interest on interest during moratorium for individual, MSME loans up to Rs 2 crore
• Sunidhi’ project to digitise provident fund, pension services of CMPFO
• Jal Shakti Minister launches 100-day campaign to provide potable piped water in Schools and Anganwadi Centres
• India-Bangladesh Naval Forces To Hold Exercise Bongosagar In Bay Of Bengal
• Embassy of India in Nepal marks 56th Anniversary of ITEC Day-2020
• Govt keeps interest rates on small savings schemes unchanged for Oct-Dec quarter
• NABARD launches refinance scheme for WASH programme, earmarks Rs 800 cr for FY”21
• PNB launches financial inclusion initiative Gram Sampark Abhiyan
• Reliance Industries’ Retail Arm To Get Rs. 7,350 Crore Investment From GIC, TPG Capital
• West Bengal Launches Pathashree Abhijan Scheme
• Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal launches portal for online pension submission and tracking
• Telangana govt undertakes door-to-door survey to update non-agricultural property details through NAP app
• Punjab CM digitally launches construction of 750 rural stadiums
• CSC partners with HelpAge India to impart digital literacy to elderly citizens
• Alternate Nobel Prize 2020′: Belarus, Iran, US, Nicaragua Activists Awarded the Right Livelihood Award
• PM Modi to inaugurate artificial intelligence ‘RAISE 2020’ Summit
• DRDO Test Fires Laser-Guided Anti-Tank Guided Missile
• India successfully test-fires nuclear-payload capable Shaurya missile
• Indian Navy Helicopters Along With GVMC Undertake Aerial Seeding Initiative
• NASA launches SS Kalpana Chawla Cygnus spacecraft to International Space station
• US approves $90 million sale of spares, support for C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to India
• IIT Kharagpur Launches Telemedicine System iMediX for Corona Care
• ICMR, Biological E develop purified equine antiserum
• Bapu – The unforgettable: Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sisodia launches coffee-table book on Gandhi Jayanti
• Visnu Shivaraj Pandian wins gold in 10 meter air rifle event of International Online Shooting Championship
• Veteran activist, scholar Pushpa Bhave passes away
• Renowned cardiologist A V Shetty passes away at 85

Click Here to Attend 03rd to 05th October 2020 Current Quiz