1.National Affairs
September to be observed as ‘Nutrition month’: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared September 2020 as ‘Poshan Maah’ or ‘Nutrition Month’
During Nutrition Month:
- schools have been ordered to introduce Nutrition Monitor and Nutrition Cards
- Food and nutrition quiz and meme competition would be organised on MyGov portal
The month aims to increase awareness about optimum nutrition, especially in children.
2.Economy
Ease of Doing Business report suspended by World Bank
Ease of Doing Business report was an annual ranking of countries’ business and investment climates
It has been stopped by World Bank to probe irregularities in data collection for the same
The last Ease of Doing Business report was published in October 2019
Quick Fact: David Malpass is the president of the World Bank
3.Person in News
Rajiv Kumar appointed Election Commissioner of India
Rajiv Kumar will be the new Election Commissioner of India along with Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra.
He is a 1984 batch Indian Administrative Service Officer
He has experience in the Social, Environment and Forests, Human Resources, Finance and Banking Sectors.
4.Sports
Lewis Hamilton wins F1 Belgian Grand Prix 2020
Lewis Hamilton is a Mercedes driver from Great Britain.
He has won the F1 Belgian Grand Prix 2020 at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.
Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes driver from Finland, and Max Verstappen, Red Bull driver from Netherlands, came in the second and third places, respectively.
5.Defence and Security
Indra 2020: Indo-Russia Naval Exercise in Andamans
India and Russia will be holding the bilateral naval exercise, Indra 2020, in Andaman Sea.
This exercise is important because:
- The location is close to the strategically important Malacca Strait
- China is increasing its presence in the region
- It important for India to boost its readiness in sensitive areas along with traditional defence partners
6.Science and Technology
Indian Astronomers discover the farthest star galaxy
Astrosat, India’s first multi-wavelength satellite, detected ultraviolet rays from 9.3 billion light years away.
These rays were emitted by the farthest star galaxy known till date. The galaxy has been named AUDFs01.
Indian astronomers were able to detect the rays because the background noise of the UVIT, UltraViolet Imaging Telescope, in the Astrosat is very less— much lesser than that of the very famous Hubble Telescope.
Quick Fact: Astrosat was launched by India in 2015.
7.National Affairs
NCRB releases data on Farmer Suicides
National Crime Record Bureau released an ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India’ report in 2019, however data related to Farmer suicides was pending in it.
As per the released data:
- Around 42,480 farmers and daily wagers (10,281 farmers and 32599 daily wagers) committed suicide in 2019, a 6% increase from previous years
- The highest suicidal rates were in Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Telangana
- Totally, there were 1,39,123 suicides in India in 2019
- A total of 5,563 male farmers and 394 female farmers committed suicide in 2019
