Current Affairs - September 15, 2020 Current Affairs

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan participated in the 27th ASEAN regional forum. During the 27th ASEAN regional forum, the minister shared India's views on maritime security, counter terrorism as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. He also stated that India will co-chair ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) workshops on port security and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

A two-day Conclave on "School Education in 21st Century" organised by Ministry of Education as part of Shikshak Parv 2020 concludes today with a commitment to take New Education Policy 2020 forward. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the Conclave under the National Education Policy- 2020 (NEP-2020) at 11 AM today through video conferencing.

Japan's Naomi Osaka defeated Victoria Azarenka of Belarus to clinch the Women's Singles title in the 2020 US Open Tennis tournament. This is the third Grand Slam title for the fourth seed Osaka. Osaka previously won the title at the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open. She is now the first Asian player to win three Grand Slam singles titles. The victory has moved up Osaka to number 3 in the world rankings.

India and the United States held a bilateral 2+2 Inter-sessional meeting in virtual mode. During the meeting, both sides reviewed the progress and developments in bilateral ties in defence, security, and foreign policy areas. They explored opportunities for enhancing ongoing cooperation in these fields based on mutual interest. They also exchanged views about regional developments, and agreed to pursue their quest for a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

Hindi Diwas or Hindi Day is observed every year on 14 September to mark the popularity of Hindi as an official language of India. The language was adopted under Article 343 of the Indian Constitution. The first Hindi day was celebrated on 14th September 1953.

Paresh Rawal, the famous Bollywood actor and BJP leader, has been made the new head of the National School of Drama (NSD). President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Paresh Rawal as the chairman of NSD. Paresh Rawal will replace the well-known Rajasthani poet Arjun Dev Charan. Arjun Dev Charan became the NSD Chief in the year 2018. After this news came out, Paresh Rawal is getting congratulatory messages from all over the country.

HCL Technologies (HCL), a leading global technology company, today announced it has joined NVIDIA Partner Network (NPN), the US-based technology company's partner program, with plans to pursue expanded opportunities in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) space. HCL also announced the launch of NEXT.ai, HCL's AI Lab, focused on upskilling engineers and architects utilizing AI solutions across hardware and software technology stacks. This will enhance their capabilities to build AI-led solutions for multiple HCL clients across industry verticals.

The equity allocation in a mufti-cap mutual fund across companies with varying market capitalization will soon change. SEBI has already issued guidelines regarding categorization and rationalization of Mutual Fund Schemes but in order to diversify the underlying investments of Multi-Cap Funds across the large, mid and small-cap companies and be true to label, SEBI has decided to partially modify the scheme characteristics of Multi-Cap Fund.

An MoU has been signed between the Government of Odisha and the National Co-operative Development Corporation (NCDC) at Krushi Bhawan on Friday for the promotion and management of Farmer Producer Organisation. This MoU is based on Farmers Producer Organisation (FPO) Promotion and Management with central sector scheme. The MoU has been signed between Rohit Kumar Lenka, Director of Horticulture on behalf of Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment Department, Government of Odisha and Shardul, S. Yadav, Regional Director, NCDC in the presence of Suresh Kumar Vashishth, Special Secretary, A and FE Department.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an agreement for $15 million of debt financing through the subscription of nonconvertible debentures for Suguna Foods Private Limited (Suguna). The deal will help in sustaining poultry farming operations, as well as rural livelihoods and food security in India during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has addressed the 'Grih Pravesham' event in Madhya Pradesh through video conferencing. Under this, 1.75 Lakh Families in Madhya Pradesh were delivered pucca houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Grameen (PMAY-G).

The United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 74/21 on 12 December 2019 at its 74th session, in which the Assembly requested the President, H.E. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, to consider convening a high-level forum, as appropriate and within existing resources, devoted to the implementation of the Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace on the occasion of the anniversary of its adoption, on or around 13 September.

Austria's Dominic Thiem defeated Alexander Zverev to win the men's singles title at the 2020 US Open tournament. It was Thiem's first Grand Slam title, and he becomes the first player in the Open Era to rally from two sets down in a US Open final.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) has won the Formula One Tuscan Grand Prix 2020 held at Mugello Circuit, Italy. This was his 6th win of the season and 90th F1 win of his career.

The 13th edition of Aero India-21 is scheduled to be held at Air Force Station, Yelahanka, Bengaluru, Karnataka from 3 to 07 February 2021. Raksha Mantri, Shri Rajnath Singh has launched the website for Aero India 2021. Aero India is Asia's largest air show and aviation exhibition held biennially in Bengaluru since 1996. The website can be accessed at aeroindia.gov.in.

Subhash Kamath has been elected as the chairman of the board of governors of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). Kamath, who was serving as ASCI vice-chairman, will replace Rohit Gupta, president, Sony Pictures Networks.

The Andhra Pradesh government headed by chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy clarified on the YSR Aasara scheme which is being taken up ambitiously in the state. It was clarified that the money given by the state government to the women of the savings societies could not be debited by the banks to the personal debts of the society or the concerned women without the consent of the beneficiaries. Women can use the money for any purpose, there are no restrictions on this. Gopalakrishna Dwivedi, Chief Secretary, Rural Development Department, has finalized the regulations of the YSR support scheme to this effect.

Reliance Industries (RIL) on Thursday became the first Indian company to cross the $200-billion market capitalisation mark after its stock surged over 8% on the back of reports that global retailing giant Amazon has been offered a $20-billion worth of stake in its retail venture.

Hardeep Singh Puri has launched the Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework, CSCAF 2.0, along with the 'Streets for People Challenge' in a virtual event. The objective of CSCAF is to provide a clear roadmap for cities towards combating Climate Change while planning and implementing their actions, including investments. CSCAF initiative intends to inculcate a climate-sensitive approach to urban planning and development in India.

The National Forest Martyrs Day is observed to commemorate the Khejarli massacre, which took place on September 11 in 1730. During the massacre, Rajasthan's Maharaja Abhay Singh started cutting the Khejarli trees, which were considered as a sacred tree in the Bishnoi community in Khejarli village in Rajasthan.