Current Affairs 04 September 2020
Daily Current Affairs 04 September 2020: This post contains the latest current affairs for 04 September 2020 that are important for all competitive exams like Bank, SSC, IBPS, SBI exams. You can improve your general knowledge with our daily online current affairs. You can also read the daily current affairs on our mobile app.
National
India’s First Regional Voters’ Awareness Centre to Come Up in Jaipur
- Election Commission of India (ECI) will set up the country’s first regional voters’ awareness centre in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
- It will cater to four states — Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.
- The centre will carry out various awareness activities under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme. Sunil Arora is the present Chief Election Commissioner.
Ladakh & Lakshadweep joins ‘One Nation-One Ration Card’ scheme, bringing total States/UTs under the Scheme to 26
- The Union Territories of Ladakh and Lakshadweep have joined the Centre’s ration card portability scheme ‘One Nation-One Ration Card’.
- This brings the total number of states and Union territories linked with the scheme to 26.
- The ‘One Nation-One Ration Card’ scheme will enable the eligible beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) to avail their entitled foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) (also called ration shops), in the country using the same ration card.
- The remaining states are targeted to be integrated into the scheme by March 2021.
Coal India plans to invest over Rs 1.22 Lakh Crores on 500 Projects to achieve production target of 1 billion tonnes by 2023-2024
- The state-owned national miner Coal India Ltd (CIL) has announced that the company will invest over Rs. 1.22 lakh crore on the development of nearly 500 projects, with the objective to achieve 1 billion tonnes (BT) coal production by the year 2023-24 and in the process make the nation Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) in terms of Coal.
- These projects will be related to coal evacuation, infrastructure, project development, exploration and clean coal technologies in the country.
Banking and Economy
ICICI Bank launches ‘Home Utsav’, a virtual property exhibition
- ICICI Bank thas launched a virtual property exhibition under the name ‘Home Utsav’. The exhibition will digitally showcase real estate projects by renowned developers, across India.
- The exhibition can be accessed on www.homeutsavicici.com.
- The exhibition can be accessed by both customers and non-customers of ICICI Bank.
SBI Ecowrap report predicts India’s real GDP for FY21 at -10.9%
- State Bank of India’s research report – Ecowrap has projected India’s real GDP to contract by 10.9%.
- Earlier the report had predicted a contraction of 6.8% in the real GDP of India in FY21. The report predicts that all four quarters of FY21 will exhibit negative real GDP growth.
Appointments
V K Yadav named as the first CEO of Railway Board
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of VK Yadav as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Railway Board. He will be the first to hold such a post in the railway’s history.
- Presently he is the chairman of the Railway Board. The chairman and CEO will be the cadre controlling officer responsible for human resources (HR).
- Apart from this, the Indian Railway Medical Service (IRMS) will be renamed the Indian Railway Health Service (IRHS).
Usha Padhee Becomes first Woman DG of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security
- Usha Padhee, the joint secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has been given the additional charge as Director-General of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
- The 1996-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer, Usha Padhee, is the first woman to have been appointed to the post as well as the third IAS officer to serve the position.
- She succeeds IPS officer Rakesh Asthana who has been posted as Director-General of the Border Security Force (BSF).
K Padmakar appointed as CMD of BPCL
- K Padmakar, the Director (HR) at the state-run oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has been given the additional charge of the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the company.
- He succeeds D Rajkumar, who superannuated on 31 August 2020.
LC Goyal gets 1-year extension in his tenure as CMD of ITPO
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved one-year extension in tenure of L C Goyal as the Chairman and Managing Director of India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).
- The 1979 batch Kerala cadre IAS (retired) Goyal will continue in the post from September 1, 2020 till September 1, 2021.
- This is his fourth’s extension on the post.
- He was appointed as the ITPO chief on August 31, 2015 and was given one-year extension each on August 14, 2017, July 31, 2018 and August 22, 2019.
Rankings
India ranked 48th in Global Innovation Index 2020; Top- Switzerland
- India has been ranked at 48th position in the Global Innovation Index 2020. The ranking has been topped by Switzerland.
- The report has been prepared by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), along with Cornell University and the INSEAD Business School.
- In the report, India was placed in the Lower middle-income economies category. In this category, India’s rank is 3rd after Vietnam (42 overall) and Ukraine (45 overall).
Oxford University tops THE World University Rankings 2021; IISc top Indian
- University of Oxford, UK has been ranked 1st in the “THE World University Rankings 2021”. It has retained the top spot for the fifth consecutive year.
- The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, is the top-ranked University from India and is ranked in the 301-350 band. A total of 63 universities from India qualified for the ranking.
- Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar and IIT Indore are the next best-ranked University/college from India.
India ranked 3rd in largest solar market in 2019: Mercom global listing; Top- China
- India has been ranked third in terms of the largest solar market in 2019 as per Mercer Global listing for 2019. India had 9% of the world’s installed capacity.
- China has topped the ranking with bout 30 Gw (26% of world capacity). The US is on the second rank.
- Adani Green Energy has emerged as the top Solar Developer in 2019 with 12.3 Gw capacity.
Books and Authors
Ramachandra Guha pens book on Cricket titled ‘The Commonwealth of Cricket: A Lifelong Love Affair with the Most Subtle and Sophisticated Game Known to Humankind’
- Indian writer and historian Ramachandra Guha has come out with a book on cricket titled ‘The Commonwealth of Cricket: A Lifelong Love Affair with the Most Subtle and Sophisticated Game Known to Humankind’.
- The book is set to be released in November 2020 and will be co-published by HarperCollins India and William Collins UK.
- The book traces the entire arc of the game in India, across all levels at which it is played: school, college, club, state and country and also present vivid portraits of local heroes, provincial icons, and international stars.
Sports
Olympic Ski Racing Champion Viktoria Rebensburg announces retirement at 30
- Olympic ski champion Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany has announced her retirement due to injury caused during a race in February 2020, which was keeping her from performing at her best.
- The 30-year-old German ski racer won the gold medal in the giant slalom at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Days
National Small Industry Day: 30 August
- In India, the National Small Industry Day is celebrated on 30 August every year, to support and promote small Industries for their overall growth potential and opportunities received for their development in the year.
- Industry day is a medium to provide balanced growth to existing small, medium and large scale enterprises and render assistance for setting up new industries to boost the state’s financial health.