Current Affairs - September 5, 2020 Current Affairs

Dept. of Fertilizers observes Swachhta Pakhwada from 1-15 September 2020. Union Department of Fertilizers is observing Swachhta Pakhwada from 1st to 15th September 2020. All Public Sector Units as well as other Organizations under the Department are also participating in the Swachhta Abhiyan.

Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh has pulled out of Indian Premier League 2020 citing personal reasons. The move serves another blow to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), as he is the second CSK player to pull out from the squad. Suresh Raina had withdrawn from the tournament earlier due to personal reasons and returned to India.

The designations of Railway Board members were changed and its board itself was formally constituted as part of Cabinet-approved restructuring plans. The new board has its first CEO and four other members. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) approved the appointment of Vinod Kumar Yadav as the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Board. He is currently the chairman of the board.

Aveek Sarkar, editor emeritus and vice chairman of the Ananda Bazar Group of Publications, has been elected chairman of the Press Trust of India, the country's leading news agency.

The Jammu and Kashmir government on September 2, 2020 set up a bio-diversity council to document the biodiversity of the union territory. The council will maintain a Peoples Biodiversity Register (PBR) with the help of representatives from local governance bodies.

Times Higher Education, based in the United Kingdom released the World University Ranking 2021. Placed under the group of 301-350 rankings, Indian Institute of Science(IISc) Bengaluru tops among the 63 institutions that qualified for the rankings.

India will host a summit of the council of heads of government of the SCO on November 30 with a focus on contributing to the trade and economic agenda of the influential grouping, a senior official in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said.

For the first time, India joined the group of Top 50 countries in the 13th Edition of Global Innovation Index 2020, as it took the 48th rank with a score of 35.59 in the annual report jointly released by World intellectual Property Organization, Cornell University and INSEAD Business School.

The Centre announced Mission Karmayogi, a scheme for bringing post-recruitment reforms in civil services. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the launching of Mission Karmayogi, which is officially called as National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB).

Pang Lhabsol, a festival of cultural heritage and historical importance is one of the most historically and culturally significant festivals celebrated annually by Sikkim People. This festival is celebrated only in this state.

India will soon be hosting the Quad meet involving Australia, Japan and the United States and the 2+2 dialogue with the United States. The details are being worked out for the same.

The 118 Chinese apps have been banned for allegedly engaging in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.

A controlling 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport, together with the six non-metro airports it bagged in a government tender, will make Adani Group the largest private operator of airports in India

India and Russia on September 3, 2020 agreed to increase the engagement of their defence industries and finalised a major deal, under which an AK203 assault rifles factory will be established at Amethi.

Russia on September 3, 2020 assured that it will follow a policy of 'no arms supply to Pakistan' following a request from India during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's meeting with his Russian counterpart Gen. Sergey Shoigu.

David Capel, the former cricket allrounder who played 15 Tests and 23 one-day internationals for England from 1987-1990, has died after a long illness.

Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of S Krishnan as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Punjab & Sind Bank. He will replace S Harishankar.

Odisha state government has directed its Department of Tourism to start river cruises to boost tourism in the state and counter the impact of COVID-19 on the state's tourism industry. Odisha Chief Secretary, Asit Tripathy said that river cruising itself is compatible with Covid-19 restrictions.

The Assam Assembly has passed a bill to protect various heritage sites of the state. The Assam Heritage (Tangible) Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Maintenance Bill, 2020 was passed by the state assembly to protect, preserve and restore tangible heritage, which are currently not covered under any national or state law.

Rajasthan would soon host several development projects in the textile, defence and aviation sectors. For this, the state government has entered into an understanding with SVP International Group for an investment of Rs 4,000 crore for development of facilities related to these sectors.