Current Affairs, September 2020

30th September, Current Affairs:

• Special CBI court acquitted the 32 accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case including former deputy prime minister LK Advani, former Union ministers MM Joshi and Uma Bharti and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh. The court ruled that the CBI had not been able to produce evidence to back up its charge that there was a conspiracy to demolish Babri Masjid.
• India today successfully test-fired an extended range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. The supersonic cruise missile is capable of hitting targets at more than 400-km range.
• The government has extended the last date for filing income tax returns for assessment year 2019-20 by another two months till November 30, 2020, citing difficulties faced by tax payers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

29th September, Current Affairs:

• World Heart Day is celebrated today. This initiative was launched in 2000 by the World Heart Federation as an annual event and gets celebrated on 29th day of September ever since.
• Amnesty International has halted its operations in India. It is a non-governmental organization with its headquarters in the United Kingdom focused on human rights.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the enhanced borrowing facility provided to banks by six months to meet liquidity shortage till March 31, 2021.

28th September, Current Affairs:

• Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan today launched the ICMR's vaccine web portal and National Clinical Registry for Covid-19. This vaccine web portal will provide information related to the COVID-19 vaccine development in India and abroad.
• As the total number of global Covid-19 cases today topped the 33 million mark, an analysis of the novel coronavirus pandemic indicated that every 250th person on Earth is now infected by the deadly virus.
• Nation pays homage to the revolutionary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh on his 113th birth anniversary today.
• World Rabies Day is observed on today every year globally.

27th September, Current Affairs:

• Former union minister Jaswant Singh died in Delhi at the age of 82. He was one of the longest serving parliamentarians in the country.
• Shiromani Akali Dal has snapped its ties with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on the issue of farm bills.
• World Tourism Day is being observed today. The theme this year is - “Tourism and Rural Development”.
• Australia wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy has broken MS Dhoni's record for the most number of dismissals by a wicketkeeper in T20 internationals. She went past Dhoni's tally of 91 during the 2nd T20I between Australia women and New Zealand women at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane.

26th September, Current Affairs:

• Indian men's team goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and women's squad's mid-fielder Sanju were declared as the winners of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Footballer of the Year awards for the 2019-20 season. Anirudh Thapa was named the Men's Emerging Footballer of the Year.
• The fourth edition of India-Japan Maritime bilateral exercise (JIMEX) begins in North Arabian Sea from today.

25th September, Current Affairs:

• UK telecom major Vodafone Group Plc today won an international arbitration against India over retrospective tax demand of 20,000 Rs. crore. Vodafone had approached the Singapore International Arbitration Centre in 2016 in the dispute.
• The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for Bihar Assembly polls 2020. Voting for Bihar assembly elections will be held in three phases, first on October 28, second on November 3 and the third on November 7 while counting will take place on November 10.
• Uttar Pradesh’s first private mandi (market place) for procurement of farm produce was inaugurated at Arania Khurd village of Bulandshahr.
• World Pharmacist Day is observed today.
• Award-winning singer SP Balasubrahmanyam, who had been hospitalized since August 5 after testing positive for the coronavirus, died in Chennai at the age of 74. S P Balasubrahmanyam, winner of six National Awards, had sings more than 40,000 songs in 16 languages.
• The National Medical Commission (NMC), in place of the Medical Council of India (MCI), as the country's apex regulator of medical education and profession has come into existence from today.

24th September, Current Affairs:

• The 51st Edition of the International Film Festival of India, IFFI will be held from 16th to 24th January, next year in Goa.
• Former Australia cricketer Dean Jones died in Mumbai after suffering a heart attack. He was 59.
• The World Maritime Day is observed today by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other international organizations.

23rd September, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an 82-year-old woman who became the face of the Shaheen Bagh protests in Delhi and actor Ayshmann Khurrana are among those on TIME magazine's list of 100 "Most Influential People of 2020".
• Three labour code bills were passed by the Rajya Sabha today. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, the Industrial Relations Code 2020 and the Code on Social Security, 2020 were passed.
• An indigenously developed laser-guided anti-tank guided missile has been successfully test fired by the DRDO at a firing range in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar. The weapon has a range of up to 4 km.

22nd September, Current Affairs:

• Parliament has passed the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 with Rajya Sabha approving it today. The Bill allows the central government to regulate the supply of certain food items only under extraordinary circumstances such as war and famine.
• Parliament has passed the National Forensic Sciences University Bill 2020 with the Rajya Sabha clearing it today.
• World Rhino Day is observed today.
• World number one Novak Djokovic won a record 36th Masters title by beating Diego Schwartzman 7-5, 6-3 in the Italian Open at Rome.

21st September, Current Affairs:

• The International Day of Peace, also known as World Peace Day is observed today.
• World Alzheimer’s Day is observed today.
• Sub Lieutenant Kumudini Tyagi and Sub Lieutenant Riti Singh will be the first women officers who will be deployed on Navy warships as part of the ship's crew.
• Eight opposition members were suspended today from the Rajya Sabha for the rest of the session over the chaos in the house during the passing of controversial farm bills on Sunday.
• Slovenian Tadej Pogacar won the Tour de France tournament. He became the Tour de France's youngest champion since 1904.

20th September, Current Affairs:

• The Rajya Sabha today passed the Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020.
• The Tata Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, CRISPR test, powered by CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) FELUDA has received regulatory approvals from the Drug Controller General of India for commercial launch.
• Chennai Super Kings beat defending champions Mumbai Indians by five wickets in the opening game of the 13th edition of Indian Premier League in Abu Dhabi.

19th September, Current Affairs:

• Rajya Sabha today passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020. It amends the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 which provides a time bound process for resolving insolvency in companies and among individuals.
• Rajya Sabha today passed the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The Bill amends the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 to include protections for healthcare service personnel combating epidemic diseases.
• The 13th edition of Indian Premier League begins today at Abu Dhabi in the United Aarab Emirates.

18th September, Current Affairs:

• Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP and Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the Union Cabinet in protest against two Agri Bills.
• The Institute for Management Development (IMD), in collaboration with Singapore University for Technology and Design (SUTD), released the 2020 Smart City Index. Hyderabad was placed at the 85th position (down from 67 in 2019), New Delhi at 86th rank (down from 68 in 2019), Mumbai was at 93rd place (in 2019 it was at 78), and Bengaluru at 95th (79 in 2019).
• The Rajya Sabha today passed Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020. It will replace the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, promulgated on April 24.

17th September, Current Affairs:

• India has been ranked at the 116th position in the latest edition of the World Bank's annual Human Capital Index. The 2020 Human Capital Index update includes health and education data for 174 countries which covering 98 per cent of the world's population.
• US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and foreign ministers of Bahrain and UAE signed the historic peace agreement Abraham Accord. It is the first peace deal between Israel and Arabs in last 26 years.

16th September, Current Affairs:

• World Ozone Day is celebrated today. The theme for 2020 is Ozone for life: 35 years of ozone layer protection. In 1985, the world’s governments adopted the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer.
• The Rajya Sabha (RS) today passed the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill, 2020. The institute will be declared an institution of national importance following the passage of the bill.
• Japanese ruling party leader Yoshihide Suga has been elected as the new prime minister of Japan. He will succeed Shinzo Abe.

15th September, Current Affairs:

• Engineer’s Day is celebrated today in India. It is celebrated on September 15 to appreciate the contributions of eminent engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya.
• International Day of Democracy is observed today. In 2007 the United Nations General Assembly resolved to observe 15 September as the International Day of Democracy.
• India got elected as Member of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the principal global body focused on gender equality and women empowerment, beating China in the election process.
• Parliament has passed the Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020 with the Rajya Sabha approving it today. It has provisions to convert three existing bodies under the Ministry of Civil Aviation into statutory bodies.

14th September, Current Affairs:

• An 18-day monsoon session of parliament started from today. In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the session will be held in two shifts - 9 AM to 1 PM and 3 PM to 7 PM.
• NDA candidate Harivansh has been again elected as the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
• Hindi Diwas is being celebrated across the country today. It was on this day in 1949 that the constituent assembly adopted Hindi written in Devanagari as the official language of the country.
• In Japan, Yoshihide Suga was elected today as the new head of Japan's ruling, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He will succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who announced last month that he would resign due to health problems.
• Dominic Thiem defeated Alexander Zverev by 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) to the win the US Open for his first Grand Slam title.
• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) became the second Indian firm to attain a market valuation of over 9 lakh crore after Reliance Industries Limited.

13th September, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the Nation three key projects related to the Petroleum sector in Bihar through video conferencing today. The projects include, the Durgapur-Banka section of the Paradip-Haldia-Durgapur Pipeline Augmentation Project and two LPG Bottling Plants in East Champaran and Banka.
• Clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University have resumed in the United Kingdom after a brief safety pause.
• Director Chloe Zhao became the first woman to win the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for her film Nomadland. Indian Director Chatainya Tamhane wins best screenplay award for his Marathi-language feature "The Disciple" at Venice Film Festival.
• Naomi Osaka won the 2nd US Open title after she defeated Victoria Azarenka by 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the final of US Open 2020.

12th September, Current Affairs:

• Israel and the Gulf state of Bahrain have reached a landmark deal to fully normalize their relations. Bahrain become second Arab country to make peace with Israel in 30 days.
• More than 3.6 million patients of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) have recovered across the country so far. India’s Covid-19 recovery rate rises to 77.7%.
• India's first coronavirus airport testing facility was launched at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.
• Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva won the US Open women's doubles after defeating China's Xu Yifan and Nicole Melichar of the United States by 6-4, 6-4.
• The timeline for submission of life certificates for pensioners has been extended from 1st October to 31st December 2020.
• Ali Khan becomes first American cricketer to join IPL. He will play for Kolkata Knight Riders.

11th September, Current Affairs:

• External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held face-to-face meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow. They had agreed on a five-point course of action to de-escalate the four-month-long standoff between troops at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) defeated St Lucia Zouks to win the Caribbean Premier League final by 8 wickets, after being set a target of 155 runs in the final of the 2020 edition.

10th September, Current Affairs:

• Rafale Fighter Aircraft has been formally inducted into the Indian Air Force at a formal function at Air Force Station, Ambala. The five Rafale aircraft which arrived on July 27 at Ambala Air Force Station have been inducted to the Indian Air Force’s 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’. The ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, his French counterpart Florence Parly, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi today digitally launched the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).
• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is attending the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the eight-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the Russian capital Moscow.
• Actor Paresh Rawal is appointed as the new chairperson of the National School of Drama.
• World Suicide Prevention Day is observed today. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness around the globe that suicide can be prevented.
• Reliance Industries (RIL) becomes first Indian company to cross $200 billion in market valuation.

9th September, Current Affairs:

• According to the new mortality estimates released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the World Bank Group, the under-five mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births) in India declined to 34 in 2019 from 126 in 1990.
• The world's largest rooftop greenhouse has opened in Montreal, Canada. The greenhouse than spans 15,000 sq m was set up by Lufa Farms, on the top of a warehouse.

8th September, Current Affairs:

• International Literacy Day is celebrated today. Started in 1996, the purpose of the day was to promote literacy across the work.
• Sir David Attenborough was conferred with the prestigious Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2019.

7th September, Current Affairs:

• The first successful test of a Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle or HSTDV --which can be used for futuristic missile system and aircraft was conducted today off the coast of Odisha. India became the fourth country after the United States, Russia and China to develop and successfully test hypersonic technology.
• Metro services resumed today morning in different cities across the country after a gap of more than five months.
• The first International Day of Clean Air for blue skies is being commemorated around the world today.
• With 96.2%, Kerala has once again etched its place as the most literate state in India, followed by national capital Delhi at 89%, revealed data from a report on education released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

6th September, Current Affairs:

• India has overtaken Brazil to now become the country with the second-largest number of people infected with novel coronavirus. More than 41.13 lakh people in India have so far been found to have been infected with the virus.
• Fortis Hospital has reported Bengaluru's first case of Covid reinfection - a 27-year-old woman with no history of comorbidities who had first tested positive in July.
• Former England batsman Ian Bell announced his decision to retire from professional cricket. Bell played 118 Tests, 161 ODIs, and 8 T20Is for England.

5th September, Current Affairs:

• Teachers' Day is being celebrated throughout the country today. The day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of educationist and former President Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
• Andhra Pradesh has retained the top position in the ranking of states and union territories (UTs) based on the implementation of the business reform action plan. Uttar Pradesh and Telangana were placed at the second and third place, respectively in the ease of doing business for 2019. The report is prepared by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

4th September, Current Affairs:

• A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Ashok Bhushan, dismissed a plea filed jointly by Ministers from six non-BJP-ruled States against the conduct of the JEE Mains and the NEET-UG amid the pandemic.
• The World Health Organization recommended the use of steroid drugs to treat COVID-19.
• India will host a summit of council of heads of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) on 30th November, 2020.

2nd September, Current Affairs:

• The government has banned 118 more mobile apps. Popular app PUBG is among the mobile apps banned by the Information and Technology Ministry.
• The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved Mission Karmayogi, a skill development scheme for civil servants.
• India jas jumped four places on the Global Innovation Index 2020 to land at 48th position. India is now among the top 50 innovative countries.
• Sumit Nagal becomes first Indian man in seven years to win a match at the US Open. He defeated United States’ Bradley Klahn 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round of the US Open.
• In the wake of ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, there will be no question hour and private members' business during the monsoon session.

1st September, Current Affairs:

• Joint Entrance Examination (JEE-Main) for admission to top engineering colleges in the country commenced today. About 9.58 lakh aspirants have registered for the exam to be conducted from September 1 to 6 across 660 centres.
• Monsoon Session of Parliament will begin from 14th of this month and continue till October 1st.
• Retired 1984 batch IAS officer of Bihar/Jharkhand cadre Rajiv Kumar today took over as Election Commissioner.

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