1) World Bamboo Day: 18 September
•World Bamboo Day is observed globally on 18 September every year. This day is celebrated to raise awareness of the benefits of bamboo and to promote its use in everyday products. The theme for 11th edition of WBD 2020 is ‘BAMBOO NOW.’
2) International Equal Pay Day: 18 September
•International Equal Pay Day is observed globally for the first time on 18th September 2020. On the occasion of the first International Equal Pay Day, and in the midst of the fallout from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) will host a virtual global Call to Action to encourage all labour market actors to take the necessary steps to ensure that equal pay is at the heart of recovery efforts worldwide.
3) World Water Monitoring Day: September 18
•The World Water Monitoring Day is observed globally on 18th September since 2003. This day is celebrated to increase public awareness and involvement in water monitoring and protecting water resources around the world. World Water Monitoring Day engages people of all ages in monitoring the condition of local rivers, streams, estuaries and other water bodies. This year theme for World Water Monitoring Day 2020 is ‘Solve Water.’
4) Karnataka Govt launches “Arthika Spandana” loan disbursal programme
•Karnataka Chief Minister, B.S. Yediyurappa has launched the “Arthika Spandana” programme of disbursing loans to the tune of Rs 39,300 crores through various cooperative institutions. Under this scheme, Rs 15,300 crores would be disbursed to the agriculture sector while a sum of Rs 24,000 crores would be earmarked for the non-agricultural sector.
•The Chief Minister, who launched the programme by symbolically handing over cheques towards loans to 50 beneficiaries, hailed the cooperative institutions for helping people during the times of COVID-19 and floods.
5) Mexico issues world’s first sovereign bond
•Mexico has become the first country in the world to issue a sovereign bond linked to the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations. It has raised EUR 750 million ($890 million) by such bonds. The SDG bond will mature in September 2027 and offers a yield to maturity rate of 1.603% and a coupon rate of 1.350%. This new bond was issued under Mexico’s new “SDG Sovereign Bond Framework,” which was released in February in partnership with French investment bank Natixis.
•This issue will aid the Mexican Government in three ways viz. strengthens budget transparency, increases earmarked spending for sustainable development programs and contributes to the development of the local and international capital markets aimed at development finance.
6) India Happiness Report 2020 announced
•The first all India Happiness Report 2020 covering all States and Union Territories measuring happiness across the country, what contributes to people’s happiness, the impact of COVID-19 on happiness, and insights from thought leaders. The study is based on a nationwide survey covering 16,950 people between March and July 2020 by Professor Rajesh K Pillania.
7) IMD’s Global Smart City Index 2020
•The Institute for Management Development, in collaboration with Singapore University for Technology and Design (SUTD), has released the Smart City Index 2020. In 2020 Smart City Index, 109 cities were surveyed.
•The index ranks cities based on economic and technological data, as well as by their citizens’ perceptions of how “smart” their cities are. The index has been topped by Singapore, followed by Helsinki and Zurich as top three smart cities. In the 2020 Smart City Index, Hyderabad was the top Indian city, placed at the 85th position. The Indian cities have witnessed a significant drop in their rankings in the Smart City Index 2020.
8) ICICI Home Finance launched “Apna Ghar Dreamz” Home Loan Scheme
•The ICICI Home Finance launched “Apna Ghar Dreamz”, its new home loan scheme for skilled laborers like electricians, mechanics, painters, grocery store owners etc in the informal sector of Delhi.
9) Chef Vikas Khanna honoured with Asia Game Changer Award 2020
•Chef Vikas Khanna has been chosen to be honoured with the prestigious Asia Game Changer Award 2020. This award is given to him for feeding millions of people across India in the COVID-19 pandemic through a massive food distribution drive ‘FeedIndia’. He is the only Indian among the six honourees named by the leading organisation. He coordinated his massive food distribution drive in India from thousands of miles away in his Manhattan home in New York.
•The Asia Game Changer Awards was launched by the Asia Society, a US-based non-profit organization, in 2014, to identify and honour true leaders who make a positive contribution to the future of Asia.
10) A new book titled “Azadi” authored by Arundhati Roy
•Arundhati Roy’s new book titled “Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction” is published by Penguin Books Limited. The nonfiction book is a collection of essays that shows the meaning of Freedom in the world of increasing authoritarianism. The essay collection includes meditations on language and roles of fiction and alternative imaginations amid global pandemic due to COVID-19.
