1) Chhattisgarh govt launches “Godhan Nyay Yojna”
•Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Bhupesh Baghel has launched “Godhan Nyay Yojna”. The scheme will help to promote cattle rearing, ensure the safety of livestock, help cattle ranchers earn extra income, help in tackling the problem of open grazing by stray cattle and encourage the use of organic fertilizers as well as boost rural economy among other things.
About ‘Godhan Nyay Yojana’:
•Under the ‘Godhan Nyay Yojana’ Chhattisgarh government will purchase cow dung at the rate of Rs 2 per kg. This scheme will turn cow dung into a profitable commodity.
•The scheme also aims to make cow rearing economically profitable and to prevent open grazing in the state, as well as help with the problem of stray animals on roads and in urban areas.
•The women self-help groups will then prepare vermicompost from it, which will then be sold at Rs 8 per kg to farmers, while the dung will be utilized for other products.
2) Home Minister to launch “Vriksharopan Abhiyan” in New Delhi
•“Vriksharopan Abhiyan” will be launched by the Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah in New Delhi. Ministry of Coal will organize the abhiyan along with all Coal/Lignite PSUs. Under the “Vriksharopan Abhiyan”, large scale plantation would be carried out in mines, colonies, offices and other suitable areas of Coal/Lignite PSUs in order to promote “plantation by the society”.
•During the launch of “Vriksharopan Abhiyan”, the Union Home Minister will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of 6 Ecoparks/ Tourism sites which will offer avenues for recreation, adventure, water sport, bird watching etc for the people residing in nearby area. It is also expected to produce revenue for self-sustenance and create employment potential for the local people.
3) China launches its 1st independent mission to Mars
•China has successfully launched “Tianwen-1” its first independent mission to Mars. A Long March 5 rocket carrying the spacecraft ignited at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China’s tropical Hainan province. China had launched an orbiter destined for Mars on a Russian rocket in 2011, but the mission failed because the rocket malfunctioned.
4) Sumit Deb appointed as new CMD of NMDC
•Sumit Deb has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC). Deb is presently serving as Director (Personnel) in the NMDC. His tenure as the CMD of NMDC would be applicable till 28 February, 2023. He will succeed N Baijendra Kumar as the CMD of NMDC who will retire as CMD on 31st July 2020.
•National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is an iron ore mining major of India.
5) PC Kandpal appointed as MD & CEO of SBI General Insurance
•Prakash Chandra Kandpal has been appointed as the managing director and chief executive officer of the Non-life insurer SBI General Insurance. He is serving as the deputy CEO of SBI General Insurance since June 2019. He will replace Pushan Mahapatra who has been appointed as director (strategic investments & digital initiatives).
•Prakash Chandra Kandpal has more than 33 years of banking experience with State Bank of India (SBI) in various aspects such as retail and international banking, human resource, technology, and learning and development. He has also served as the chief operating officer of the SBI Mutual Fund.
6) Arun Kumar nominated as Vice-Chairman of UIC
•The Director General of Railway Protection Force (RPF), Arun Kumar has been nominated as the Vice-Chairman of UIC (Union Internationale Des Chemins/International Union of Railways), Security Platform from July 2020 to July 2022. He will take over as Chairman of the Security Platform from July 2022 to July 2024. The decision to nominate Arun Kumar was taken during the 96th UIC General Assembly.
•International Union of Railways (UIC) develops and formulates analysis and policy positions on account of the rail sector in various matters related to security of persons, property and installations. It encourages the exchange of information as well as experience among the security agencies of UIC members.
7) India successfully tests fires ATGM “Dhruvastra”
•India has successfully conducted flight tests of its indigenously developed anti-tank guided missile ‘Dhruvastra’. The flight tests were conducted from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha. ‘Dhruvastra’ is an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) which has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It is a helicopter version of ‘Nag Helina’.
•‘Dhruvastra’, the helicopter-launched anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) is meant to be fired from air to destroy enemy bunkers, armoured vehicles and main battle tanks. Hence, it is one of the most advanced anti-tank weapons in the world.
8) Greta Thunberg named winner of Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity
•The 17 year old climate activist from Sweden, Greta Thunberg has been named winner of the inaugural Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. She will receive a prize money of 1 million euro. She has been awarded for her efforts to mobilise younger generations to tackle climate change. She commenced a protest outside the Swedish parliament in 2018 and risen to global prominence, becoming the figurehead for a series of school strikes by children around the world.
•The Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity recognises the contributions of people, groups of people and/or organisations from all over the world in order to mitigate and adapt to climate change stand out for its novelty, innovation and impact.
9) NPCI rolls out UPI AutoPay facility for recurring payment
•UPI AutoPay facility for recurring payment has been launched by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). The new facility will enable recurring e-mandate with the help of any Unified Payments Interface (UPI) application for recurring payments like mobile bills, electricity bills, EMI payments etc upto Rs. 2000. For the amount exceeding Rs. 2000, the customer has to execute every mandate with UPI PIN. UPI users will be able to create e-mandate through UPI ID, QR scan or Intent.
•Customers will also be able to create, approve, modify, pause as well as revoke auto debit mandate from the ‘Mandate’ section of the UPI-enabled application. For their reference and records, customers would also be having the option of viewing their past mandates. Customer can set the mandate for one-time, daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, half yearly and yearly.
10) LIC signs agreement with UBI to distribute latter’s policies
•Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and Union Bank of India, after its amalgamation with Corporation Bank and Andhra Bank, have announced a corporate agency agreement to distribute LIC policies.
•The bank will market LIC products of term insurance, pension, plan, children plan, ULIPs, and endowment schemes. Union Bank of India can act as a financial supermarket by offering a basket of products to its account holders, whereby they can select products according to their choice.
