1) International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
•The International Day for the preservation for the Ozone layer (World Ozone Day) is observed annually on September 16 to spread awareness of the depletion of the Ozone Layer and search for solutions to preserve it. The ozone layer, a fragile shield of gas, protects the Earth from the harmful portion of the rays of the sun, thus helping preserve life on the planet.
•The theme for 2021 World Ozone Day: ‘Montreal Protocol – keeping us, our food and vaccines cool.’
2) PM Modi launches Sansad TV along with LS Speaker Om Birla
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Sansad TV, which has been created by merging Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV, jointly with Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Sansad TV programming will touch upon the functioning of the Parliament and democratic institutions, governance and implementation of schemes and policies, history and culture of India and issues of interest to the common man. The new channel adds another important chapter in the country’s parliamentary system.
3) Indian military participates in SCO Exercise ‘Peaceful Mission’ 2021
•The Indian military contingent comprising of an all arms combined force of 200 personnel is participating in the Exercise PEACEFUL MISSION -2021, a Joint Counter Terrorism Exercise between Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states. The Exercise PEACEFUL MISSION- 2021 is being hosted by Russia in the Orenburg Region of South-West Russia from September 13 to 25, 2021. In 2021, the 6th edition of the biennial multilateral Exercise PEACEFUL MISSION is being undertaken.
•The aim of the exercise is to foster close relations between SCO member states and to enhance the abilities of the military leaders to command multi-national military contingents. The exercise will enable sharing of best practices between the Armed Forces of SCO nations. The exercise will also provide an opportunity to the Armed Forces of SCO Nations to train in Counter-Terrorism Operations in an urban scenario in a multinational and joint environment.
4) UNCTAD projects Indian economy to expand 7.2% in 2021
•The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has pegged India’s economic growth rate to hit a four-year high of 7.2 per cent for 2021 against a contraction of 7 per cent in 2020. At this rate, India would be the fastest-growing economy after China, which is projected to grow by 8.3 per cent. Calculations are based on GDP at constant dollars in 2015.
5) India to organise first-ever Global Buddhist Conference in November
•India is set to host the first-ever Global Buddhist Conference on November 19 and 20, 2021, in Nava Nalanda Mahavihara campus, in Nalanda, Bihar. The academic conference, being organised by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), will become an annual feature. Four regional conferences in India (Telangana, Saranath, Gangtok and Dharamshala) and abroad (Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Cambodia) will be organised, in the run-up to the conference. The reports of these regional conferences will be presented at the inaugural Global Buddhist Conference.
6) Nitin Gadkari launches AI-powered road safety project ‘iRASTE’
•Union Minister for Road Transport, Nitin Gadkari launched ‘iRASTE’, an Artificial Intelligence-powered project. The project aims to help reduce road accidents, understand the factors responsible for these events and come up with solutions to mitigate them. iRASTE stands for Intelligent Solutions for Road Safety through Technology and Engineering.
7) Niti Aayog launches ‘Shoonya’ programme to promote zero-pollution
•Niti Aayog in collaboration with US-based Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and RMI India, has launched a campaign named Shoonya, to promote zero-pollution delivery vehicles by working with consumers and industry. The campaign will promote the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the urban deliveries segment and create consumer awareness about the health, environmental and economic benefits of electric vehicles.
•As part of the campaign, a corporate branding and certification programme is being launched to recognise and promote the industry’s efforts towards transitioning to EVs for final-mile deliveries. An online tracking platform will share the campaign’s impact through data such as vehicle kilometres electrified, carbon savings, criteria pollutant savings and other benefits from clean delivery vehicles.
8) Tata Steel commissions India’s first plant to capture CO2
•Tata Steel has commissioned India’s first carbon capture plant that extracts CO2 directly from the blast furnace gas, at its Jamshedpur Works. With this achievement, Tata Steel has become the country’s first steel company to adopt such a carbon capture technology. The CCU plant was inaugurated by T.V. Narendran, CEO and MD, Tata Steel, in the presence of company officials and other dignitaries.
9) PM Modi, Mamata Banerjee among TIME’s 100 Most Influential People list
•TIME magazine has unveiled its annual list of ‘The 100 Most Influential People of 2021’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla have been named among the world’s 100 most influential people of 2021 by TIME magazine. The list is divided into six categories – Icons, Pioneers, Titans, Artists, Leaders and Innovators.
10) 3-day Indian Army Chief’s Conclave in Delhi begins
•The 8th edition of the Indian Army Chief’s Conclave, a gathering of serving and former Chiefs of Army Staff of the Indian Army, organised at New Delhi from September 16-18. The highlight of the three-day event will be the invite extended to former Chiefs of the Nepali Army, who were also Chiefs of the Indian Army.
11) US, UK and Australia announce new partnership “AUKUS”
•United States, United Kingdom and Australia have announced the new partnership “AUKUS” a new trilateral security partnership for the Indo-Pacific region. The trilateral grouping was formally announced by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison and US President Joe Biden with a vision for a safer and more secure Indo-Pacific.
12) Ford becomes the latest US car manufacturer to exit India
•Ford Motor Co. will stop making cars in India and record roughly $2 billion in restructuring charges, scaling back significantly in a country that past management saw becoming one of its three biggest markets. Ford will wind down an assembly plant in Gujarat by the fourth quarter, as well as vehicle and engine manufacturing plants in Chennai by the second quarter of next year.
•Ford Motor Company has announced that it would stop producing cars in India as the global auto industry continues to grapple with a shortfall in semiconductors and other components due to supply chain disruptions. Other US companies that stopped operation in India are Ford’s American rival General Motors (GM) and the American motorcycle company Harley-Davidson.
