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By admin: Sept. 21, 2022

Union Finance Minister Sitharaman launches e-learning platform ‘Bharat Vidya’

Tags: place in news State News

The Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman launched Bharat Vidya.in, an online learning platform for Oriental and South Asian studies, in Pune, on 21 September 2022.

Bharat Vidya has been developed by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune. 

It is a first-of-its-kind online platform, which will offer both free and paid courses covering various aspects of Indology pertaining to art, architecture, philosophy, language and science.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute :

• The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune was set up on 6 July 1917 to commemorate the work of Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar. Bhandarkar was a pioneer of scientific orientology in India.
• Orientology is the study of the ancient indigenous lore and wisdom of the East or the ‘Orient’. 
• The institute has one of the largest collections of rare books and manuscripts spanning over 1, 25,000 books and over 28,000 manuscripts in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Indian regional languages, Classical, Asean and European languages.

India wins UN awards for its “India Hypertension Control Initiative

Tags: National Awards

The “India Hypertension Control Initiative” has won the United Nations” 2022 UN Interagency Task Force, and WHO Special Programme on Primary Health Care Award”. This information was tweeted by Union Minister for Health and Family welfare Mansukh Mandaviya on 21 September 2022.

The award was announced in New York, United States on 21 September 2022.

The award recognizes outstanding commitment and action of India to: (i) prevent and control Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and (ii) deliver integrated people-centric primary care.

The India Hypertension Control Initiative was launched in 2017. It is a collaborative initiative of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), State Governments and World Health Organization-India.

Under the initiative, more than 34 lakh people with hypertension in 130 districts of 23 states are taking treatment in government health facilities.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• Every year 17 May is observed as World Hypertension Day to bring awareness and attention to this silent epidemic.

• The theme of the world hypertension day 2022 is “Measure your blood pressure, control it, live longer.
• Hypertension is a disease characterized by high blood pressure persistently being recorded in the range of 140/90 or more.  
• The normal healthy human’s ideal blood pressure shall be 120/80.

National Conference of Environment Ministers to be held in Gujarat

Tags: place in news Summits

The two day (23-24 September) National Conference of Environment Ministers will be held in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat.

The conference will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23 September 2022 virtually.

The two-day conference is being held to create a synergy among the central and state governments in formulating better policies on issues such as the elimination of plastic pollution through a multi-pronged approach.

It will also focus on increasing the forest cover with special emphasis on restoration of degraded land and wildlife conservation.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Theme of the conference : 

• The conference  will have six thematic sessions with topics focusing on LiFE, Combating Climate Change (Updating State Action Plans on Climate Change for Mitigation of Emissions and Adaptation to Climate Impacts) ; PARIVESH (Single Window System for Integrated Green Clearances) ; Forestry Management ; Prevention and Control of Pollution; Wildlife Management ; Plastics and Waste Management.

Braille version of Assamese Dictionary ‘Hemkosh' gifted to PM Modi

Tags: Person in news State News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was given  a copy of the Braille version of Assamese Dictionary ‘Hemkosh' from Jayanta Baruah in New Delhi on 21 September 2022.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal were also present at the occasion.

Hemkosh is the first etymological dictionary of the Assamese language based on Sanskrit spellings. It was compiled by Hemchandra Baruah in the 19th century.

The Braille version ‘Hemkosh’ was conceptualized and published by Jayanta Baruah.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Braille system : 

• Braille is a universally accepted system of writing used for visually impaired persons. It consists of 63 characters, each made of one to six raised dots arranged in a six-position matrix or cell. 
• These characters are embossed in a line on paper and a person reads it by passing the fingers lightly over the manuscript. 
• It was invented by Louis Braille in 1824 in Paris. 

International Day of Peace

Tags: Important Days

International Day of Peace is celebrated globally on 21 September.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The day is dedicated by the United Nations General Assembly to strengthen the ideals of peace through non-violence and ceasefire, 24 hours.

• On this day the United Nations invites all countries and peoples to celebrate the day through education and public awareness on issues related to peace.

• According to the United Nations, true peace includes not only the absence of violence but also the building up of society.

• This day seeks to create a world where everyone is treated equally regardless of their caste.

• To commemorate the day, the United Nations Peace Bell is rung at the UN Headquarters, New York City. 

Theme of 2022 :

• The theme for the International Day of Peace 2022 - “End racism, Build peace.” 

• This day is being celebrated with the aim of creating a new world free from racism and racial discrimination.

Background of the day :

• International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly.

• Nearly two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously designated the day as a period of non-violence and ceasefire.

SCALE App launched for skill development in leather sector

Tags: place in news Economy/Finance Government Schemes

Union Minister for Education and Skill Development Dharmendra Pradhan launched the SCALE (Skill Certification Assessment for Leather Employees) app at Chennai on 20 September 2022.

He inaugurated the SCALE app while on a visit to the CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

The SCALE App 

• The app has been developed by the Leather Skill Sector Council. It provides a one-stop solution for the skilling, learning, assessment, and employment needs of the leather industry.
• The app allows people from all age groups interested in leather craft to access online live streamed classes from the state-of-the-art studio of the Leather Skill Sector Council office.

Leather Industry in India :

• India is the second largest producer and consumer of footwear in the world after China.
• The Leather industry in India accounts for around 13% of the world’s leather production.
• The country accounts for 9% of the world’s footwear production. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

The major production centers for leather and leather products in India are located in the states of :

• Tamil Nadu – Chennai, Ambur, Ranipet, Vaniyambadi, Vellore, Pernambut, Trichy, Dindigul and Erode. 
•  West Bengal – Kolkata.
• Uttar Pradesh – Kanpur, Agra, Noida, Saharanpur
• Maharashtra – Mumbai.  
• Punjab – Jalandhar. 
• Karnataka – Bangalore. 
• Andhra Pradesh – Hyderabad. 
• Haryana – Ambala, Gurgaon, Panchkula, Karnal and Faridabad. 
• Delhi. 
• Madhya Pradesh – Dewas. 
• Kerala – Calicut and Ernakulam / Cochin. 
• Rajasthan - Jaipur. 
• Jammu & Kashmir - Srinagar.
• Data Source: Invest India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry 

9th session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

Tags: National National News

India is hosting the 9th Session of the Governing Body of the 'International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture' (ITPGRFA) from 19-24th September, 2022 in New Delhi.

IMPORTANT FACTS 

• The GB9 is being held under the theme “Celebrating the Guardians of Crop Diversity : Towards an Inclusive Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework”. 

• The theme aims to acknowledge the contribution of smallholder farmers of the world in the effective management of PGRFA.

• Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India participated in the 8th session of the Governing Body (GB8) in 2019 at Rome.

• India is a country endowed with rich crop genetic resources.

• India has successfully established the legal, institutional and educational infrastructure for using genetic diversity to breed new varieties.

About the treaty :

• The ITPGRFA, also known as the International Seed Treaty or Plant Treaty, is a comprehensive international agreement in line with the Convention on Biological Diversity.

• It is a legally binding comprehensive agreement adopted in November, 2001 at Rome during the 31st session of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

• It entered into force on June 29, 2004.

• There are 149 contracting parties of this treaty including India.

• It aims to establish a global system which provides farmers, plant breeders, and scientists with access to plant genetic resources.

• The treaty provides solutions to achieve food and nutritional security as well as climate resilient agriculture.

Central Bank of India no longer in PCA of RBI

Tags: Economy/Finance

The Mumbai based Public sector bank, Central Bank of India was removed from the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework by the Reserve Bank of India on 20 September 2022. However, the RBI has said that the bank will still be monitored by it.

The Central Bank of India was put into PCA in June 2017 by the RBI due to deterioration in its asset quality.

RBI had put private sector bank IDBI Bank and three public sector banks Indian Overseas Bank ,UCO Bank and Central Bank of India.

IDBI, Indian Overseas Bank and UCO Bank were removed from the PCA in 2021 by the RBI. At present no banks are in the PCA.

IMPORTANT FACTS 

Prompt Corrective Action :

• It was introduced by the RBI in 2017 so that it can intervene in banks which are facing financial problems so that it can be put back on track and restore public confidence in the banking system. 
• RBI uses three parameters to identify the banks which need to be put under the PCA framework.
• They are CRAR (Capital to Risk Weighted Asset Ratio), Non-Performing Assets (NPA), Return on Assets (ROA).
• If a bank fails to meet the required CRAR, NPA, ROA criteria stipulated by RBI, then the RBI will deem the bank as risky, facing considerable financial risk and puts it into Prompt Corrective Action for remedial measures.

What happens when a bank is put in PCA ?

• When the Bank is put in PCA the RBI can issue guidelines for the bank and put certain restrictions on the bank. 
• The RBI can put restrictions on banks from taking loans from the market and ask the bank to infuse capital in its operation. 
• It can also  direct the bank to stop new recruitment, stop opening of new branches, new business, reduce or stop giving dividends, change its management , ask the bank to recapitalise or can ultimately close or merge the bank with other banks.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

Central Bank of India :

• It was set up in 1911. It was the first Indian Commercial bank to be owned and managed by Indians.
• The Bank was nationalized in 1969 and now it is owned by the Government of India.
• Tagline of the bank: Central to you since 1911.
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra 
• Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO): M V Rao

RBI approves R Gandhi as the Non-Executive (Part-time) Chairman of Yes Bank

Tags: Economy/Finance Person in news

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Rama Subramaniam Gandhi as the Non-Executive (Part-time) Chairman of Yes Bank with effect from 20 September 2022. He will have a tenure of 3 years.

R. Gandhi was earlier a Deputy Governor of RBI for three years from 2014 to 2017.

He was also the Director of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), Hyderabad.

IMPORTANT FACTS 

Yes Bank : 

• It is a private sector scheduled commercial bank in India founded in 2004.
• It’s Headquarters: Mumbai 
• Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD): Prashant Kumar 
• Tagline: Experience our expertise.

Assamese swimmer Elvis Ali Hazarika becomes the first from North East to cross North Channel

Tags: Sports Sports News

Popular Assamese swimmer Elvis Ali Hazarika became the first swimmer from Northeast India to cross the North Channel.

IMPORTANT FACTS 

• Elvis Ali Hazarika has also become the oldest swimmer in India to swim across the North Channel.

• It took Elvis and his team 14 hours and 38 minutes to achieve the feat.

• Hazarika, earlier this year, became the first person from North East India to cover the Indo Arabian Gateway Mumbai circle with his relay team.

• In November 2021, he became the first Assamese to successfully swim from Dharamtar Jetty to the Gateway Of India, Arabian Sea, the total length of which is around 38 kilometres.

• In 2019 itself, he became the first person from Assam to cross the Catalina Channel in the United States.

What is the North Channel ?

• The North Channel is the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland.

• It begins north of the Isle of Man, where the Irish Sea ends and runs north-west into the Atlantic Ocean.

• The width of the Northern Channel is 21 km, at its narrowest point located between Tor Head in Northern Ireland and the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland.

PM Modi chairs meeting of Board of Trustees of PM CARES Fund

Tags: National National News

PM Modi chaired a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the PM CARES Fund on September 20. 

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• A presentation was made in the meeting on various initiatives taken with the help of the PM Cares Fund, including the PM Cares for Children scheme, which is helping four thousand three hundred 45 children.

• The Trustees appreciated the role played by this fund created at a crucial time for the country.

• It was discussed in the meeting that PM CARES has a great vision to respond effectively to emergency and crisis situations not only through relief assistance but also through mitigation measures and capacity building.

• The meeting was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, newly appointed trustee of former Supreme Court Justice KT Thomas, former Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha Karia Munda and Tata Sons Honorary Chairman Ratan Tata.

• In the meeting, it was decided to nominate Rajiv Mehrishi, former Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Sudha Murthy, former chairman of Infosys Foundation and Anand Shah, former executive officer of Indy Corps and Piramal Foundation, to the advisory board of PM Cares Fund.

About PM CARES Fund :

• Established - March 2020

• It is registered as a Public Charitable Trust.

Objective :

• To work for the development of infrastructure along with economic and technical assistance to the people in case of any kind of natural or human calamity in the country.

Composition :

• The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairman of the PM CARES Fund and the Union Defence Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister are the ex-officio trustees of the fund.

• The Chairman of the Board of Trustees shall have the power to nominate three trustees to the Board of Trustees.

Funding :

• The fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals/organisations and does not receive any government budgetary support.

Exemptions :

• Donations to the fund are 100% exempt under section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

• Donations to this fund will also be counted as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure under the Companies Act, 2013.

Anurag Thakur inaugurates 47th Annual Gathering of AIBD

Tags: National National News

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on 20 September inaugurated the 47th Annual Gathering and 20th Meeting of Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) in New Delhi.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• The Union Minister of State (I&B) for Information and Broadcasting, Dr. L. Murugan, Secretary, I&B Apoorva Chandra and Director, AIBD Philomena Gyanpragasam were also present on the occasion.

• The theme of the event was ‘Building a stronger future for broadcasting in the post pandemic era’.

• Speaking on the occasion, Thakur said that the biggest threat to the mainstream media is not from the new age digital platforms but from the mainstream media channels.

• He said that genuine journalism provides a platform to know the facts, present the truth and give a platform to all the parties to express their views.

Award for 2021 and 2022 :

• During the event, Union Minister Anurag Thakur presided over the award distribution for 2021 and 2022.

• The Appreciation Award for 2021 was given to Radio Television Brunei.

• The Appreciation Award for 2022 was shared by the Ministry of Economy, Civil Services, Communications, Housing and Community Development, Republic of Fiji and the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation.

• The Lifetime Achievement Award for 2021 was conferred to Khieu Khanharith, Minister of Information and Communication, Cambodia.

• The Lifetime Achievement Award for 2022 was given to Mayank Agarwal, CEO, PB and President, AIBD.

About AIBD :

• AIBD was established in 1977 under the auspices of UNESCO. 

• It is a regional inter-governmental organisation servicing countries of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) in the field of electronic media development.

• It is hosted by the Malaysia Government and its secretariat is located in Kuala Lumpur.

• AIBD currently has 26 full member countries.

• India has hosted the Governing Council Meetings (GC) in the years 1978, 1985, 2003. 

World Alzheimer's Day

Tags: Important Days

World Alzheimer's Day is celebrated every year on 21st September by all the countries of the world.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• This day is celebrated to raise awareness about Alzheimer's disease.

• On this day, information related to the main symptoms, causes and treatment of Alzheimer's is provided to the people globally.

Theme of 2022 :

• This year the theme for world Alzheimer's month 2022 is - know dementia, know Alzheimer's.

• The theme aims to raise awareness about the importance of timely diagnosis, the warning signs of dementia and the need to fight Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Background of the day :

• Named after Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist, the disease is a neurological disorder that affects memory, thinking, and behaviour.

• Alzheimer's Disease International was formed in 1984 and on its tenth founding day in 1994, 21 September, it was decided to start World Alzheimer's Day.

• World Alzheimer’s Month started in 2012.

What is Alzheimer’s disease ?

• Alzheimer's is a mental illness that affects older people more, this disease weakens their memory.

• It is the most common type of dementia.

• Alzheimer's occurs when there is a disturbance in the structure of proteins in the brain.

Asian Cricket Council announces schedule of eighth edition of Women Asia Cup 2022

Tags: Sports

Asian Cricket Council’s President Jay Shah announced the schedule of the eighth edition of the Women Asia Cup 2022 on twitter on 21 September 2022.

The Asia cup will be held in Bangladesh from 1 October to 15 October 2022.

A total of seven teams from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, and United Arab Emirates.

The semi-finals will be played on October 13 and the title clash on October 15. 

The Women's Asia Cup has been played in the T20 format since 2012. 

The first Asia Women’s cup was held in 2004 in Sri Lanka which was won by India. 

Bangladesh won the last 2018 Asia cup with the 2020 edition being postponed due to covid.

India has won the tournament maximum 6 times.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Asian Cricket Council (ACC) :

• It was set up in 1983 to promote cricket in Asia.
• All the test playing nations of Asia are its members namely. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
• Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia  
• Chairman: Jay Shah

Bank of Baroda and HDFC Bank to be a service center for Defence ministry SPARSH pension system

Tags: Economy/Finance Defence

The Defence Accounts Department of the Union Ministry of Defence signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bank of Baroda and HDFC Bank, to onboard them as Service Centers under the System for Pension Administration (defence) (SPARSH) initiative on 21 September 2022.

Now defence pensioners having accounts with these banks can get their pension directly in their account.

Speaking on the occasion the defence secretary Dr Ajay Kumar said that the objective is to bring 17 Lakh pensioners out of the total 32 lakh defence pensioners on SPARSH by the end of September, 2022 and the remaining pensioners will be brought to SPARSH at the earliest.

He said that the average time in pension settlement has come down significantly to about 16 days.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

System for Pension Administration (SPARSH) :

• SPARSH is a web-based system for processing the pension claims and crediting the pension directly into the bank accounts of defence pensioners without any external intermediary. 
• This system is administered by the Defence Accounts Department through the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Prayagraj and caters to all the three Services and allied organizations.

CEA Nageswaran expects India to grow by 7% in this year and decade

Tags: Economy/Finance Person in news

According to the Chief economic Advisor, V Anantha Nageswaran, the India economy will grow at a sustained rate of 7% in 2023 and for the rest of the decade.

He said this while he was virtually addressing the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai on 20 September 2022.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• Nageswaran's forecast is lower than the estimate of 8-8.5% GDP growth rate in the 2022-23 provided by the government's economic survey in January 2022.
• RBI has estimated 7.2 % growth rate for India in 2022-23.
• In 2021-22 the Indian economy grew by 8.7%.

Valery Polyakov, took longest single trip to space, dies at 80

Tags: Person in news

Valery Polyakov, the Soviet cosmonaut who set the record for the longest single stay in space, has died at age 80. 

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• Polyakov's record of 437 days in space began on January 8, 1994.

• While aboard Mir, he orbited the Earth more than 7,000 times, before returning to Earth on March 22, 1995.

• Prior to this, Polyakov had spent 288 days in space on a mission in 1988-89.

• This was his first mission into space, he returned to Earth in the year 1989 after 8 months.

• The cause of death was not given in the announcement by the space agency Roscosmos.

Comedian Raju Srivastava passes away at the age of 58

Tags: Person in news

Raju Srivastav, comedian who was admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has died on 21 September at the age of 58.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• He was admitted to the hospital on August 10 after suffering a heart attack. He also underwent an angioplasty the same day.

• Raju Srivastava was a noted comedian known for Hindi films such as Maine Pyar Kiya, Baazigar, the remake of Bombay to Goa and Aamdani Athani Kharcha Rupaiya.

• A well-known face in the entertainment industry since the 1980s, Raju Srivastava rose to fame in 2005 after participating in the first season of the reality stand-up comedy show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge.

• Raju Srivastava, often known as Gajodhar, was born on December 25, 1963, in a middle-class family in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

• He also participated in Bigg Boss (Hindi Season 3) where he stayed in the house for more than two months.

• He later participated in the comedy show Comedy Ka Maha Muqabla.

• He has also appeared in Comedy Nights with Kapil.

• He has been the President of Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council.

11th Foundation Day of Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI)

Tags: National Important Days National News

The 11th Foundation Day Celebration of Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) was held on 20 September.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• R K Singh, Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy graced the occasion as Chief Guest.

• Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy and Chemicals and Fertilizers was the Guest of Honour.

• As part of 11th Foundation Day, a series of events were organized including the planting of 1100 trees, blood donation camp in which 88 units were donated.

• Distribution of 2100 food packets, guest lectures for around 2200 school-kids, indoor sports tournament consisting of Table-tennis, Chess, Carom, Football and various team-building activities was the part of the event.

About Solar Energy Corporation of India ltd :

• It is a Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) under the administrative control of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), set up on 20th Sept, 2011.

• It is the only CPSU dedicated to the Solar Energy Sector.

• The company holds Category 1 Power Trading Licence and is active in this domain through trading of Solar Energy from the projects set up under the schemes being implemented by it.