1) World Maritime Day 2020: 24 September
•World Maritime Day 2020 is observed globally on 24th September in the form of an online event. The exact date of celebrating World Maritime Day is left to the individual governments but is usually celebrated during the last week in September.
•The theme of World Maritime Day 2020 is “Sustainable shipping for a sustainable planet,” which provides an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to showcase the work that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its Member States are undertaking to achieve the targets. The theme will provide opportunities for leaders from various sectors, including shipping, to both reflect on the work done and the urgent steps they further plan towards a sustainable future.
2) Central Pollution Control Board celebrates 46th Foundation Day
•The Central Pollution Control Board celebrated its 46th Foundation Day. The CBCB was established on September 23, 1974 under The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 as a technical arm of Central Government for environmental research, monitoring, regulation and enforcement in the country.
•Since its inception, CPCB is working towards environmental protection in the country. Some of its pro-active actions include setting sector specific standards; real time surveillance of more than 5,000 industries; river basin studies, which led to genesis of Ganga Action Plan; multi-city source apportionment studies; establishing extensive monitoring network and data management for public dissemination; setting national ambient air quality standards; and fixing water quality criteria.
3) Department of Biotechnology launches Programme for Clinical Trial Research
•The Department of Biotechnology has launched the programme for “Strengthening Clinical Trial Research Capacity in Neighbouring Countries”. The programme will help neighbouring countries, and LMICs (Lowand Middle Income Countries) to build capacities for Covid-19 vaccine trials. Through this training program and knowledge sharing efforts, Government of India is fulfilling its commitment of building various technical capacities in its neighbouring countries.
•The Department of Biotechnology has initiated the first phase of the training program in partnership with Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. The objective of these trainings would be to support researchers and investigator teams for enhancing and strengthening their clinical trial capabilities for conducting clinical trials in compliance with ICH-GCP (International Conference on Harmonisation- Good clinical practice).
4) Former rebel leader Ishmael Toroama elected Bougainville president
•Former rebel military commander, Ishmael Toroama has been elected as president of Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea. This was the first general election since Bougainville voted overwhelmingly to separate from Papua New Guinea in November 2019. Bougainville is a mineral-rich and lush group of islands in the South Pacific.
5) DRDO successfully test fires ABHYAS from Odisha
•Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has conducted a successful flight test of ABHYAS, a High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) from the Interim Test Range, Balasore in Odisha. ABHYAS can be used as a target for evaluation of various missile systems. ABHYAS has been designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of the DRDO.
•The air vehicle is launched using twin underslung boosters. It is powered by a small gas turbine engine and has an Inertial Navigation System (INS) along with a Flight Control Computer (FCC) for guidance and control. The vehicle has been programmed for fully autonomous flight. The check out of the vehicle is done using laptop-based Ground Control Station (GCS).
6) India’s Khushi Chindaliya appointed as UNEP regional ambassador
•A 17-year-old girl, Khushi Chindaliya has been appointed as Regional Ambassador for India by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)- Tunza Eco-Generation. In her new role, Khusi will raise awareness about climate change and the importance of environmental conservation and the need to safeguard environmental treasures. She will work with the TEG on various environmental awareness programmes till February 2021.
7) RBI appoints AK Dixit as new administrator of PMC Bank
•The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed AK Dixit (ex-general manager at Union Bank of India), as the new administrator of the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank. He has replaced JB Bhoria who has stepped down from his role as the administrator of the bank due to health reasons. In September 2019, the RBI had superseded the board of PMC bank due to fraud and financial irregularities in the PMC bank.
8) UNCTAD projects India’s GDP at -5.9% in 2020
•United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has predicted that the GDP of India will contract by 5.9% in the year 2020. For the year 2021, UNCTAD projects the Indian economy to grow by 3.9%. The projection was made in its Trade and Development Report 2020.
•The baseline scenario is a sharp recession in 2020 as the stringent lockdown measures, to prevent the spread of the virus have halted, many productive activities across the country.
9) PM Modi in Time Magazine’s ‘100 most influential people of 2020’ list
•Time Magazine has released the TIME 100 Most Influential People List 2020. Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi is the only politician on the list. He has been named in this for the fourth time since coming in power in 2014. The List has named people in five categories: Pioneers, Artists, Leaders, Titans, Icons.
