1) International Day of Clean Air for blue skies: 7 September
•The International Day of Clean Air for blue skies is observed globally on September 7th, 2020. The day aims to raise public awareness at all levels individual, community, corporate and government that clean air is important for health, productivity, the economy and the environment.
2) Trump announces Wilmington as 1st WWII Heritage City
•President of the USA, Donald Trump has announced Wilmington, North Carolina as the first World War II Heritage City. The announcement was made at a ceremony held to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II on September 2, 2020.
•During the war, Wilmington was the site of the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, which built 243 ships in five years as part of the federal government’s emergency shipbuilding program.
3) Kenichi Ayukawa becomes new president of SIAM
•Maruti Suzuki MD and CEO, Kenichi Ayukawa has been elected as the new President of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) for a term of two years. He will replace Rajan Wadhera. Ashok Leyland MD and CEO, Vipin Sondhi has been elected as the new vice president of SIAM. SIAM is the apex body of the Indian automotive industry.
4) FADA appoints Vinkesh Gulati as its new President
•The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has announced the appointment of Vinkesh Gulati as its 35th President for the year 2020-22. He succeeds Ashish Harsharaj Kale as the new FADA President.
5) 35th FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific 2020
•The 35th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC 35) was held virtual format due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Conference was held under the Chair of the Host Country, Bhutan. The Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Parshottam Rupala represented India in the conference. The conference focused on regional priorities and issues such as COVID 19, the state of agriculture, natural resources management, food security and nutrition.
•Bangladesh will host the 36th Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific of the in 2022. It will be the first time that the country will host the event, ever since it joined the organisation in 1973. The Regional Conference is held once every two years. The first regional conference was held in Bangalore, India, in 1953.
6) IIT Delhi launches ‘‘Chakr DeCoV’’ to decontaminate N95 masks
•The IIT Delhi incubated startup Chakr Innovation has launched a special decontamination device called ‘Chakr DeCoV’, to decontaminate N95 masks. The Chakr DeCoV device is designed in the shape of a cabinet.
•Chakr DeCoV is built with an innovative decontamination mechanism, which utilises the high penetrability of Ozone gas for cleaning the pores of the N95 mask, ensuring complete decontamination of its intricate layers.
7) Vodafone Idea rebrands itself as ‘Vi’
•Vodafone Idea has announced its new unified brand identity by renaming all its products under a new name and logo “Vi”. The Beleaguered telecom operator, announced the rebranding of the company through a virtual platform. The integration into one brand is believed to be the company’s efforts to reduce the cost of maintaining two brands.
•The rebranding also comes at a time when Vodafone Idea has seen its user base falling from 408 million at the time of the merger to 280 million at the end of June 2020. With Vodafone focusing on premium urban brand, Idea has been a mass rural-focused brand. Following the merger, the urban-rural appeal of the two brands took a hit.
8) Pierre Gasly wins F1 Italian Grand Prix 2020
•Pierre Gasly (Scuderia AlphaTauri, France) has won the Formula One Italian Grand Prix 2020 held at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy. This is his first Grand Prix win. Carlos Sainz Jr. (McLaren, Spain) came second followed by Lance Stroll (Racing Point, Canada) in third place. Lewis Hamilton ended at 7th place after he earned a 10-second stop and go penalty.
