International
Smart City Index
The Institute for Management Development (IMD), in collaboration with Singapore University for Technology and Design (SUTD), released smart City Index. In this index Hyderabad got 85th position (67th in 2019), New Delhi got 86th rank (68th in 2019), Mumbai got 93rd rank (78th in 2019) and Bengaluru got 95th rank (79th in 2019). The index was prepared how the cities are best in the five key areas health and safety, mobility, activities, opportunities, and governance. The report also considered how technology played a role in the corona virus era.
India in anti-Piracy group
India joined the Djibouti Code of Conduct/ Jeddah Amendment (DCOC/ JA) as Observer. It is a grouping on maritime matters comprising 18 member states adjoining the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, the East Coast of Africa and Island countries in the Indian Ocean
Region. The high-level meeting of the Djibouti Code of Conduct/ Jeddah Amendment held virtually on 26th of August. The DCOC, established in 2009, is aimed at repression of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Western Indian Ocean Region, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. India is looking forward to working together with DCOC/JA member states towards
coordinating and contributing to enhanced maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region.
India, U.S. & Israel collaboration
USA, Israel and India begun collaboration in developmental area, and in next generation of emerging technologies, including a transparent, open, reliable and secure 5G communication network. Deputy Administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Bonnie Glick said that Silicon Valley of the USA, Bengaluru of India and Tel Aviv of Israel earned reputations as leading, innovative technology hubs.
New ASEAN-India Plan of Action
On 12 September 2020, Dr. S. Jaishankar, the Union External Affairs Minister co-chaired the ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting held virtually. India and ten ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Member nations participated the meeting. The new ASEAN-India Plan of Action (2021-2025) was adopted and it also discussed ways to strengthen cooperation to fight COVID-19 pandemic and exchanged views on important regional and international developments.
National
Five Star Villages scheme
To ensure universal coverage of flagship postal schemes in rural areas of the country, the Department of Posts launched a scheme called ‘Five Star Villages scheme’. Under this scheme, all postal products and services will be made available and marketed and publicized at the village level. Branch offices will function as a one-stop-shop to cater to all post-office-related needs of villagers. The scheme will be implemented by a team of five Gramin Dak Sevaks who will be assigned a village for the
marketing of all products, savings, and insurance schemes of the Department of Posts. The schemes covered under the Five Star scheme include Savings Bank accounts, Recurrent Deposit Accounts, NSC/ KVP certificates, Sukanya Samridhi Accounts/ PPF Accounts, Funded Post Office Savings Account linked India Post Payments Bank Accounts, Postal Life Insurance Policy/Rural Postal Life Insurance Policy and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana Account/ Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana Account.
CSCAF 2.0
On 11 September 2020, the Union Minister of State for Housing and
Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri launched the Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) 2.0, along with the ‘Streets for People Challenge’ organized by the Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). The objective of CSCAF is to provide a clear roadmap for cities towards combating Climate Change while planning and implementing their actions, including investments. An increasing frequency of cyclones, floods, heat waves, water scarcity and drought-like conditions have had adverse impacts on many of our cities. Such extreme events and risks cause loss of life as well as impact the economic growth.
Others
Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2019
Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2019 was conferred on renowned broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough. The prize is awarded to Attenborough for a lifetime of doing more to reveal the wonders of the natural world than perhaps any other individual. Sir David’s current series with the BBC Natural History Unit - Seven Worlds, One Planet - is broadcast on BBC One on Sunday nights.
The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development was instituted in the memory of the former Prime Minister by a trust in her name in 1986. It consists of a monetary award of Rs. 25 lakh along with a citation. US Tennis Open
Austria’s Dominic Thiem had beaten Alexander Zverev of Germany to win the US Open Men’s Grand Slam title. Naomi Osaka of Japan defeated Victoria Azarenka of Belarus to clinch US Open women’s final to claim her third Grand Slam title. Unseeded duo Mate Pavic of Croatia and Bruno Soares of Brazil won Men’s doubles, whereas the unseeded German-Russian duo Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva won the Women’s Double title.
Asia Game Changer Award
Michelin-star chef and film maker Vikas Khanna conferred with 2020 Asia Game Changer Award for feeding millions across India amid the COVID-19 pandemic through a massive food distribution drive. He is the resident of the U.S.A. Asia Game Changer Awards launched by the Asia Society in 2014, identify and honour true leaders who make a positive contribution to the future of Asia. Vikas Khanna’s #FeedIndia initiative distributed cooked and dry ration, slippers, sanitary pads, masks and other essential supplies across hundreds of cities throughout India.
The other Asia Game Changer Award recipients are the Preeminent cellist Yo-Yo Ma, tennis champion Naomi Osaka, Korean boy band BTS, producer of Oscar-winning film 'Parasite' Miky Lee and business leaders and philanthropists Joe and Clara Tsai are the honourees of the Asia Game Changer Awards.
Model Questions
1. 13th edition of Aero India-21 in 2021 will be held at…
1) Bengaluru 2) Kolkata 3) Nagpur 4) Mumbai 5) Hyderabad
2. Italian Grand Prix won by..
1) Lewis Hamilton 2) Valtteri Bottas 3) Max Verstappen 4) Pierre Gasly 5) Charles Leclerc
3. Government of India constituted Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by ….. to oversee the process a plan for corporatisation of ordnance factories
1) Sateesh Reddy 2) Rajnath Singh 3) General Bipin Rawat 4) General MM Naravane 5) Admiral Karambir Singh
4. “Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction” the book written by…
1) Arundhati Roy 2) Jhumpa Lahiri 3) Kiran Desai 4) Anita Desai 5) Aravind Adiga
5. Which state launched the second edition of its “10 Hafte - 10 Baje-10 Minute” (10 weeks, 10 o’ clock, 10 minutes) campaign against dengue and other vector-borne diseases such as malaria and chikungunya on 6 September 2020?
1) Rajasthan 2) UP 3) Delhi 4) MP 5) Haryana
6. For the safety and dignity of core sanitation workers, which state launched an unique scheme ‘Garima’?
1) Odisha 2) Maharashtra 3) West Bengal 4) Tamil Nadu 5) Karnataka
7. To tackle the coronavirus pandemic amid further relaxation of lockdown curbs, which state launched a statewide campaign, ‘My Family, My Responsibility’?
1) AP 2) Telangana 3) Chhattisgarh 4) Jharkhand 5) Maharashtra
8. The helpline 'Sehat evam Poshan Saathinwas' to ensure children under six years of age get nutritional supplements and regular immunisation doses initiated by …..?
1) Jammu and Kashmir 2) Assam 3) Kerala 4) Madhya Pradesh 5) Delhi
9. ‘Poshan Sarkar’ program to ensure participation and leadership of local bodies-Gram Panchayats and Urban Bodies in the nutrition campaign launched by…
1) Madhya Pradesh 2) Punjab 3) UP 4) Haryana 5) Tripura
10. A tripartite agreement between Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the World Bank and the International Solar Alliance on the eve of World Solar Technology Summit. Who is the Director General of International Solar Alliance (ISA)?
1) Upendra Tripathy 2) Vinay M. Tons 3) Ashwani Bhatia 4) S S Mundra 5) H.S.Srinivas
11. CSIR’s Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute developed the world’s largest 'solar tree’. It was installed in the state of ……
1) Odisha 2)Tamil Nadu 3) West Bengal 4) HP 5) Manipur
12. Which Indian got 85th rank in the Forbes' list of richest Americans, topped by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for the third year in a row?
1) Vinod Khosla 2) Kavitark Ram Shriram 3) Jay Chaudhry 4) Romesh Wadhwani 5) Niraj Shah
Key: 1-1; 2-4; 3-2; 4-1; 5-3; 6-1; 7-5; 8-5; 9-1; 10-1; 11-3; 12-3.
