Current Affairs 20 September 2020

Daily Current Affairs 20 September 2020: This post contains the latest current affairs for 20 September 2020 that are important for all competitive exams like Bank, SSC, IBPS, SBI exams. You can also attempt our Current Affairs Quiz after reading our daily current affairs.

National News

PM Modi to inaugurate VAIBHAV Summit on 2nd October 2020

• Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Vaishwik Bharatiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Summit on 2nd October’2020 through videoconferencing.
• The VAIBHAV Summit is a joint initiative of all S&T and Academic Organisations of India (working in Research, Academic and Scientific fields) to enable deliberations on thought processes, practices and R&D culture with a problem-solving approach for well-defined objectives.
• The month-long Summit will provide a platform to leverage the expertise and knowledge of global Indian researchers for solving emerging challenges and create an ecosystem of Knowledge and Innovation in the country through global outreach.

10th Meet of BRICS High Representatives for Security Issues and 6th Communication Ministers Meet held Virtually

BRICS High Representatives on National Security Meeting

• The 10th Meeting of the BRICS High Representatives on National Security was held on 17 September 2020 virtually under the chairmanship of Russia.

• The National Security Advisors of the BRICS nations met to deliberate upon the issues related to strengthening political security and cooperation among the five countries.
• From India, the National Security Advisors, Ajit Doval attended the meeting.

BRICS Communications Ministers’ Meeting

• Apart from this, the 6th BRICS Communications Ministers’ Meeting was also held on 17 September.
• Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Sanjay Dhotre represented India.

**Note**

• Russia is chair of BRICS and SCO in 2020
• India will take up the chairmanship of the BRICS in 2021
• BRICS nation consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa

India’s first terminal facility for chartered and jet planes launched at IGI Airport Delhi

• The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has launched India’s first exclusive General Aviation Terminal facility at Indira Gandhi International Airport, to handle the operations of chartered flights and private jet.
• The facility was inaugurated by Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
• The terminal has 57 parking bays and is capable of handling more than 150 private jets every day.
• General aviation includes all non-scheduled, nonmilitary civilian flight operations, which is not flown by a commercial airline or by the military.

Eight Indian beaches selected for coveted ‘Blue Flag’ eco-label

• In a first-of-its-kind initiative, eight beaches of India have been recommended for the Blue flag certification.

What is Blue Flag certification?

• The Blue Flag certificate is an internationally recognized eco-label given by ‘Foundation for Environment Education, Denmark’.
• Blue Flag beaches are considered the benchmark for clean and hygienic beaches in the world.
• This announcement was made by the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Prakash Javadekar on 18 September during a virtual event.
• The eight beaches selected for Blue flag certification are
  1. Shivrajpur in Gujarat,
  2. Ghoghla in Daman & Diu,
  3. Kasarkod in Karnataka
  4. Padubidri beach in Karnataka
  5. Kappad in Kerala,
  6. Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh,
  7. Golden beach of Odisha
  8. Radhanagar beach in Andaman and Nicobar
• The selection of the beaches was made by an independent national jury composed of eminent environmentalists and scientists.

India Launches its own eco-label ‘BEAMS’

• During the event, Union Minister Javadekar also announced the launch of India’s own eco-label ‘Beach Environment and Aesthetics Management Services’ (BEAMS).
• This initiative has been launched under its Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) project.
• The project will be implemented by the Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM), under MoEFCC
• BEAMS program aims to mitigate pollution in coastal waters, promote sustainable development of beach facilities,  maintain high standards of cleanliness, hygiene & safety for beachgoers in accordance with coastal environment & regulations

Banking & economy

Fitch Solutions projects India’s GDP growth at -8.6% in 2020-21

• Fitch Solutions has revised downward its forecast for Indian economic growth and now estimates that India’s GDP will contract by 8.6% in 2020-21 (FY21)
• Earlier this was estimated at -4.5%.
• It has also forecasted a 5 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in 2021 and 2022.

Canara Bank launches i-Lead 2.0 Initiative to improve banking penetration

• Canara Bank has launched a lead management system(LMS) named as i-Lead 2.0(Inspiring Leads System version 2.0).
• The initiative aims that each and every customer gets their banking needs covered, irrespective of where they are based, urban or rural.
• Customers can use internet banking, mobile banking, call center, SMS and missed call services to enquire and get services rendered to them. They can also use the CANDI mobile app of Canara Bank.

KVGB Launches Special Gold Loan Scheme Vikas Laghu Suvarna for Pandemic

• The Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) has launched a special gold loan scheme titled ‘Vikas Laghu Suvarna’ with a reduced interest rate of 7.25 percent.
• KVGB is offering the product at a reduced rate mainly due to the pandemic so as to provide easy and affordable credit to customers at a cheaper cost.
• Under the new gold loan scheme, the customer will get 80% of the market value of the gold, subjected to a maximum of Rs 3,200/gram.
• A customer can avail up to a maximum loan of Rs 15 lakh, which will be repayable within a period of maximum 6 months
• The Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank is an Indian Regional Rural Bank sponsored by Canara Bank. Its headquarter is based at Dharwad.

Books & Author

Barack Obama’s first presidential memoir, ‘A Promised Land,’ to hit stands in November 2020

• Former US President Barack Obama has announced his first presidential memoir titled  “A Promised Land.”
• The 768-page book will be published in November 2020 by Penguin Random House and is scheduled to be released on November 17, 2020 in 25 languages.
• A Promised Land is the first of two volumes of the book. This volume tells about his early political life, his presidential campaign in 2008, and ending with the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011.

Obituary

Renowned US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passes away at 87

• Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, has passed away due to complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer. She was 87.
• She was appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton and served until her death in 2020.
• Ginsburg was the second woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Important Days

International Coastal Clean-Up Day 2020: 19 September

• The International Coastal Cleanup Day is traditionally held on the third Saturday in September.
• In 2020, the day is being held on 19 September.
• Theme 2020: “Achieving a trash-free Coastline “
• The first International Coastal Cleanup Day was observed in 1986.
• The day aims to increase public awareness about the accumulation and negative impacts of litter in oceans, on coastlines and on beaches.

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