Current Affairs – 18 September 2020

Dear Aspirants,

Welcome to Today’s Current Affairs. This current affair news is useful for Govt jobs Interviews, TNPSC, IAS, UPSC, SSC, Railway, Banking exams IBPS, PO, SO, Clerk, and other all competitive exams for the entire part of the general awareness or general knowledge (GK) section. These daily current affairs 2020 resources provide facts about events of International, National, Political, Social, Banking, Business, Sports, and Entertainment related current affairs.

Download Free Weekly Current Affairs (AUG 30 to SEP 5). pdf

Download Free Weekly Current Affairs (Sep 06 to Sep 13). pd

NATIONAL TRADESMEN DAY – On this day, 3rd Friday in September, National Tradesmen Day honors the men and women whose skills and hard work build America. And, their skills keep it running strong. The day recognizes the professionals who maintain the complex infrastructure of our roads, cities, water systems, and power grids.

INDIA

• Farm bills ‘protection shield’ for farmers, opposition misleading them: PM Modi
• Bills on central councils for homeopathy, Indian medicines get Rajya Sabha nod
• Indian teenager named by UN to 2020 Class of Young Leaders for Sustainable Development Goals
• Maratha leaders oppose Maharashtra Police recruitment
• Take a loan from World Bank to help states: Shiv Sena tells Centre

STATE

• Yediyurappa discusses state’s development with PM, invites to inaugurate Bengaluru tech summit

ECONOMY

• Person days under MGNREGS go up by 52.1 percent during April-August

INDUSTRY

• Kia launches SUV Sonet starting Rs 6.71 lakh to take on Hyundai Venue and Maruti Brezza
• First-time buyers from small towns may help etailers bag big gains this festive season
• India-US strategic energy partnership takes deep roots: Amb Sandhu

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INDIA

India becomes an observer of DCOC

• India has joined the Djibouti Code of Conduct or Jeddah Amendment as an Observer after the high-level meeting of the Djibouti Code of Conduct/ Jeddah Amendment (DCOC/JA). The meeting was held virtually on 26 August 2020.

Djibouti Code of Conduct/ Jeddah Amendment (DCOC/JA): Djibouti Code of Conduct/ Jeddah Amendment (DCOC/JA) is a grouping on maritime matters. The group comprises 18 member states that adjoin the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, the East coast of Africa, and Island countries in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). India now joins Norway, Japan, the UK, and the US as Observers to the DCOC/JA.

TATA group to construct New Parliament Building

• The TATA Group of Companies have won the bid to construct a new Parliament building. Total cost for the project is Rs 861.90 Crs. It is expected to completed in 21 months.

President accepts Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s resignation

• On September 17, 2020, the Union Food Processing Industries Minister Shrimati Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned over the protest against the three farm sector bills.  The President of India Ramnath Govind accepted the resignation under the advice of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

India ranks 116th Position in Human capital Index of World Bank

• India has ranked 116th position in the latest edition of the World Bank’s annual Human Capital Index 2020. Last year, India ranked 115 out of 157 countries. The index benchmarks key components of human capital across countries.
• The Human Capital Index 2020 update included health and education data for 174 countries up to March 2020. It covered around 98% of the world’s population.

NASA to set up a community response forum to analyze the impact of stubble burning

• A month before the beginning of Northern India’s harvest season, when there will be an increase in pollution in Delhi due to large-scale stubble burning in the region, NASA’s Universities Space Research Association is setting up a ‘community response forum’ to analyse the impact on the national capital and the neighboring regions.

Pakistan to make Gilgit-Baltistan its fifth province

• Two years after the power of the Islamabad-controlled council was transferred to the local assembly, the Pakistan government intends to make Gilgit-Baltistan the country’s fifth province. India opposes all changes made in the disputed region as it claims it to be part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS

Bills on central councils for homoeopathy, Indian medicines get Rajya Sabha nod

• The Rajya Sabha approved two bills on Friday, replacing ordinances related to the Central Council of Homoeopathy and the Indian Medicine Central Council. The Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020 seeks to further extend the time to form the Central Council of Homeopathy by a year, after exhausting two years for the purpose.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Astronomers finds possible hints of life in the clouds of Venus

• Astronomers have recently found a potential sign of life in the atmosphere of Venus. Two telescopes in Hawaii and Chile have spotted the chemical signature of phosphine in the thick Venutian clouds. This has given a hint that there may be bizarre microbes living in the sulfuric acid-laden clouds of Venus.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ENVIRONMENT

The government of India (GoI) launched the National Clean Air Programme

• GoI launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) as a long-term, time-bound, national-level strategy. Aims to tackle the air pollution problem across the country in a comprehensive manner. The target is to achieve a 20%-30% reduction in Particulate Matter concentrations by 2024 keeping 2017 as the base year for the comparison of concentration.
•  Based on the Air Quality data from 2014-2018, 122 non-attainment cities have been identified across the country under NCAP.