GK Update 17th September’2020

1. Lok Sabha passes bill to cut salaries of MPs by 30%

  • The Lok Sabha has passed the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020 on 15 September 2020.
  • The bill seeks to cut salaries of all Members of Parliaments (MPs) by 30 per cent for a period of one year commencing April 1, 2020, to meet the urgent financial need arising out COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020 will replace the Salary, Allowances And Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.
  • This ordinance was cleared by the Union Cabinet on April 6, 2020.

2. SBI, Titan launch contactless payment watches “Titan Pay”

  • Titan Company has partnered with the State Bank of India (SBI) to launch India’s first contactless payment watches named “Titan Pay”.
  • Using these watches, the account holders of SBI can tap their Titan Pay watch on the contactless payment POS machines for making payments. It is powered by YONO SBI.
  • Under this mechanism, payments of up to Rs. 2,000 can be made without entering a PIN, as per the RBI guidelines.
  • A secure certified near-field communication (NFC) chip developed by Tappy Technologies has been embedded in the watch strap that will enable the tap and pay feature in the watch.
  • The Titan Pay watch will act as a contactless debit card.
  • The payment feature on these watches will be accessible on over 2 million contactless MasterCard enabled PoS machines in the country.
  • This collection of Titan watches include three styles for men and two for women and are priced between Rs 2,995 and Rs 5,995.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Chairman of Titan Company: N Muruganandam.
  • Titan Company Founded: 1984.
  • Titan Company Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka.
  • Chairman of SBI: Rajnish Kumar.
  • SBI Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

3. UBS Securities projects India’s GDP at -8.6% in FY21

  • UBS Securities has projected India’s GDP for 2020-21 (FY21) to contact by 8.6%. (Earlier it was -5.8%).
  • For FY22, UBS Securities projects India’s GDP to grow by 10%. UBS Securities is a Chinese investment bank and brokerage firm headquartered in Beijing, China.

4. OECD projects India’s GDP at -10.2% in FY21

  • The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) expects the Indian economy to contract by 10.2% in FY21 (2020-21) as compared to its previous estimate of 16.7% in June.
  • For FY22 (2021-22), the Paris-based OECD projects India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at 10.7%.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • OECD Headquarters: Paris, France.
  • OECD Founded: 1961.
  • OECD Secretary-General: Jose Angel Gurria.

5. Fiumicino Airport awarded world’s 1st 5-star Anti-Covid award

  • The Fiumicino International Airport (FCO) in Rome, Italy, has become the first airport in the world to be certified with “COVID-19 5-star airport rating” from Skytrax, a U.K.-based airport and airline review firm.
  • FCO, also known as the Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport, is the busiest airport in Italy.
  • The COVID-19 ratings for hygiene by Skytrax was based on a combination of procedural efficiency checks, visual observation analysis and ATP sampling tests.
  • Fiumicino Airport earned the 5-star rating for the hygiene processes and other preventative measures in place to help reduce the spread of Coronavirus.

6. S Jaishankar chairs IBSA Foreign Ministers’ Virtual Meeting

  • External Affairs Minister of the Republic of India, Shri S. Jaishankarchaired the customary meeting of IBSA Foreign Ministers through video conferencing.
  • During the meet, India, Brazil and South Africa emphasized the need for the international community to redouble efforts to achieve tangible progress for accelerated and comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council.
  • The ministers adopted the IBSA Joint Ministerial Statement on the Reform of the UN Security Council, as a common endeavour of the Global South.
  • During the meet, the ministers exchanged views on furthering IBSA cooperation.
  • They exchanged views on various issues of global significance including peace, security, countering terrorism, climate change, sustainable development, multilateral trading system, disarmament, non-proliferation issues and South-South Cooperation.

7. M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated 4th Global Ayurveda Summit virtually

  • The 4th edition of Global Ayurveda Summit was virtually inaugurated by Vice-President Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu on the theme “Emerging Opportunities for Ayurveda during Pandemic”.
  • The objective of the summit is to showcase the Ayurveda immunity model to the global level as a solution named ‘Health as One’ and ‘Immunity through Ayurveda’.
  • Global Ayurveda Summit is being organized by the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry)-Kerala in partnership with Ministry of Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy), and with the support of Ayurveda Medical Association of India (AMAI), Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturers Organisation in India (AMMOI) and Ayurveda Hospital Management Association (AHMA).
  • It is also supported by the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA) in the United States (US), Association of Swiss Ayurveda Doctors and Therapists in Switzerland, Association for Ayurvedic Medicine in the Netherlands.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Minister of State (IC) of the Ministry of AYUSH: Shripad Yesso Naik.

8. Environment Ministerial Meeting of G20 held virtually

  • The Environment Ministerial Meeting (EMM) of the G20 countries was held through video conferencing under the Presidency of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • Union Environment, Climate Change and Forest Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar represented India in the meeting.
  • Global Initiative to reduce Land Degradation and Coral Reef program was launched at G20 Environment Ministers Meet.
  • It aims to strengthen the implementation of existing frameworks to prevent, halt, and reverse land degradation within G20 member states and globally.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • The Group of Twenty (G20) is the premier forum for international economic cooperation which brings together the leaders of both developed and developing countries from every continent. ​
  • The members of the G20 group are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, ​Republic o​f Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union (EU)​.

9. World Patient Safety Day: 17 September

  • The World Patient Safety Day is observed globally on 17th September to create a global awareness for patient safety and urge people to show their commitment to making healthcare safer.
  • The theme for World Patient Safety Day 2020: Health Worker Safety: A Priority for Patient Safety.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Headquarters of WHO: Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Director-general of WHO: Tedros Adhanom.

10. Veteran scholar of Indian classical dance Kapila Vatsyayan passes away

  • Veteran scholar of Indian classical dance, art, architecture and art history, Dr Kapila Vatsyayan passed away.
  • She was the founding Director of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.
  • She was the former Member of Parliament and had served as Education Secretary.
  • Some of the prestigious honours received by Dr Kapila Vatsyayan includes Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship, and the Padma Vibhushan.

11. Mali’s former president Moussa Traore passes away

  • Former President of Republic of Mali, who was in power from 1968 to 1991, General Moussa Traore passed away.
  • He was born in 1936 in Kayes, Mali. He was a former military leader, forcibly took over the reign from Modibo Keita (known as the ‘father of independence’), after participating in a military coup.
  • However, in March 1991, he himself was overthrown by popular protests and a military takeover.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Republic of Mali Capital: Bamako; Currency: West African CFA franc.

12. Online poker platform 9stacks signs Suresh Raina as brand ambassador

  • Online poker platform 9stacks has signed Suresh Raina as its brand ambassador.
  • The partnership will see the cricketer in the brand’s upcoming campaigns and promote 9stacks through various engagement activities.
  • Raina, who announced retirement from the international cricket last month.
  • He will anchor the brand with his sports charisma and help in creating a higher brand recall amongst the key target audience.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • 9stacks was founded by Sudhir Kamath, Pratik Kumar and Rishab Mathur in 2017.

13. Webinar on “Faculty Development for Quality Education”

  • The Ministry of Education organized a webinar on Faculty Development for Quality Education under Shikshak Parv Initiative.
  • The webinar was organised to reflect on the roles and responsibilities of teachers in the light of National Education Policy (NEP) and to understand various aspects of capacity development and career progression of the faculty.
  • Shikshak Parv is being celebrated by Ministry of Education from 8th September-25th September, 2020 to felicitate the Teachers and to take New Education Policy 2020 forward.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Union Minister of Education: Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’.

Leave a Comment