1. Bah Ndaw named Mali’s interim president

• Mali’s former defence minister, Bah Ndaw has been named as Interim President of the country’s new transition government
• On 19th August 2020, Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced his resignation with immediate effect following a military mutiny in the Republic of Mali
• Colonel Assimi Goita, the leader of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) which overthrew Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, was appointed vice president

2. Former rebel leader Ishmael Toroama elected Bougainville president

• Former rebel military commander, Ishmael Toroama has been elected as president of Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea
• This was the first general election since Bougainville voted overwhelmingly to separate from Papua New Guinea in November 2019. Bougainville is a mineral-rich and lush group of islands in the South Pacific

1. 8 Indian beaches recommended for ‘Blue Flag’ eco-label

• In a first-of-its-kind initiative, eight beaches of India have been recommended for the Blue flag certification
• The selection of the beaches was made by an independent national jury composed of eminent environmentalists and scientists
• This announcement was made by the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Prakash Javadekar on 18 September during a virtual event

2. PM Modi launched ‘Fit India Age Appropriate Fitness Protocols’

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the ‘Fit India Age Appropriate Fitness Protocols’ at Fit India Dialogue
• These fitness protocols have been prepared with the help of fitness enthusiasts for fitness and good health. It has been prepared for three age categories which include
• 5-18 years category
• 18-65 years category
• 65 plus age category
• The Fit India Movement was envisioned and launched by PM Modi on August 29, 2019. The Fit India Dialogue is another effort to involve citizens of the country to draw out a plan to make India a Fit Nation

1. Assam Govt launched “Mukhyamantrir Grammya Paribahan Achoni Yojana”

• The Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal has launched the “Mukhyamantrir Grammya Paribahan Achoni Yojana” of the state transport department
• Under the scheme, Light Motor Vehicle Service would be launched in all the villages of the state to improve rural connectivity and generate employment in the villages
• One vehicle would be provided to one beneficiary per village
• In the first phase of the scheme, 10,000 villages would be covered with a financial outlay of Rs 100 crore
• The state government shall financially assist the eligible entrepreneurs with 25 percent of the cost of the vehicle or Rs 1 lakh, whichever is less

2. Rajasthan CM approves ‘Moksha Kalash Yojana-2020’

• The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot has approved the Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation’s scheme called ‘Moksha Kalash Yojana-2020′
• This Moksha Kalash Yojana aims to allow free bus travel to two members of the family of the deceased to immerse ashes of their loved ones in the Ganga in Haridwar
• The state road transport corporation would be the nodal agency to run the scheme and the expenses would be borne by the Devasthan Department
• Passengers will be required to register for availing the facility by providing details including about the dead person
• A copy of the related documents will have to be kept with those carrying the ashes. RSRTC will provide an interface for online registration, make arrangements for transport to the destination, and other facilities during the journey

3. Uttar Pradesh Govt launches unified portal ‘U-Rise’

• The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath has launched a unified portal called ‘U-Rise’. Uttar Pradesh is the first state to launch such a unified portal along with the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020
• The U-Rise portal would empower the students by providing them with practical and technical knowledge ranging from online exams, digital content, digital assessment, digital examination papers, webinars, internship, e-library, recorded video content to employment
• The U-Rise portal will guide around 20 lakh students, in learning, career counselling, and getting employment in the state
• The e-content, e-library, and online courses available on this portal will be accessible by students even in the most interior areas of the state

1. IDFC First Bank to launch “SafePay” contactless debit card facility

• IDFC First Bank will launch “SafePay” a contactless debit card-based payment facility
• This payment facility will allow contactless debit card payments by simply waving one’s smartphone against a Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled POS terminal
• SafePay embeds Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the IDFC First Mobile App to enable secure payments using a debit card issued by the Bank
• A social distancing-friendly way to pay, SafePay completely does away with the need to hand over the card to a merchant or even carry it in the wallet
• SafePay enables contactless payments of up to Rs 2,000 per transaction and up to a limit of Rs 20,000 per day, making everyday purchases easy

2. RBI publishes “Technology Vision for Cyber Security” for UCBs

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will implement the “Technology Vision for Cyber Security” for Urban Co-operative Banks (2020-2023) to enhance the IT security system of Urban Co-operative banking to prevent, detect, respond to and recover from cyber-attacks
• The Technology Vision Document aims at enhancing the cybersecurity posture of the Urban Co-operative banking sector against evolving IT and cyber threat environment. RBI will achieve this objective using its five-pillared strategic approach ‘GUARD’

1. India’s Khushi Chindaliya appointed as UNEP regional ambassador

• A 17-year-old girl, Khushi Chindaliya has been appointed as Regional Ambassador for India by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)- Tunza Eco-Generation
• In her new role, Khusi will raise awareness about climate change and the importance of environmental conservation and the need to safeguard environmental treasures
• She will work with the TEG on various environmental awareness programmes till February 2021

1. Novak Djokovic wins 2020 Italian Open title

• Novak Djokovic has defeated Argentine Diego Schwartzman, 7-6, 5-3, to win 2020 Men’s Single Italian Open title and his fifth overall Rome title
• In Women’s single, Simona Halep defeated champion Karolina Pliskova, 6-0, 2-1, to win her first Italian Open title

2. Former cricketer Ash Barty wins Golf Club Championship

• The top-ranked Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) player in the world and a former professional cricket player, Ashleigh Barty has now added another feat in her sporting list by winning Brookwater Golf Club women’s championship
• The 24-year-old Australian, who famously played professional cricket during a year out from tennis, decided not to leave home for the U.S. Open or her title defence at Roland Garros because of the pandemic

1. Nepal’s Legendary Mountaineer Ang Rita Sherpa passes away

• Nepal-based Ang Rita Sherpa, the first man to climb Mount Everest 10 times, passed away
• He made all the ascents to the world’s tallest mountain between 1983 and 1996 and that too without bottled oxygen
• He was therefore also known as the “snow leopard” for his climbing skills
• The mountaineering legend was awarded a prestigious Guinness World Record certificate for making the most number of successful ascents on the 8,848-meter Mt Everest without using supplemental oxygen
• The Guinness World Record has also recognized him as the first man to climb Everest in winter without supplementary oxygen in December 1987

2. PadmaShri Awardee Sekhar Basu passes away

• Veteran Atomic Scientist and Former Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission(AEC), Sekhar Basu passed away due to COVID-19
• He served as the Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and as director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). He was born on September 20, 1952, in Muzaffarpur, Bihar

1. PM Modi awarded Ig Nobel Prize 2020 for medical Education.

• Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has been awarded the Ig Nobel Prize 2020 for Medical Education.
• He has been awarded the prestigious award for “using the COVID-19 pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can”.
• PM Modi is the second Indian Prime Minister to be honoured with the Ig Nobel Prize. Prior to this, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was awarded in 1998. He jointly won the Ig Nobel Peace Prize with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan for aggressively peaceful explosions of atomic bombs
• PM Modi shares the award with Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, And Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico, Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, Donald Trump of the USA, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan

2. 72nd Emmy award 2020 announced

• The 72nd Emmy Awards 2020 marks the beginning of Hollywood’s first major show in the times of COVID-19
• The ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel at an empty theatre in Los Angeles with cutouts of the nominees placed in the audience

3. Kerala wins UNIATF award for prevention and control of NCD 2020

• Kerala has won the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases Awards 2020 for its “outstanding contribution” towards the non-communicable diseases-related sustainable development goals
• Kerala has been awarded for the tireless service of the state in the health sector
• This is the first time for Kerala to be recognized by this annual UN Award and along with Kerala 6 other health ministries across the globe have won the 2020 UNIATF Award

1. India launches first ever direct cargo ferry with Maldives

• India and the Maldives have launched the first-ever direct Cargo Ferry Service on 21 September 2020 to boost trade between the two countries
• The cargo ferry service will connect the Indian ports of Tuticorin and Cochin ports with Kulhudhuhfushi and Male ports in the Maldives
• This initiative will help to cut costs and reduce the time taken to transport goods between the two countries
• The Cargo Ferry Vessel MCP Linz operated by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) will be used to connect the Indian and Maldivian ports

2. Logo and song for “Destination North East-2020” festival unveiled

• The Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh has unveiled the Logo and song for the festival “Destination North East-2020″ (The Emerging Delightful Destinations) through a video conference
• The four-day event is to be formally inaugurated by Home Minister Amit Shah on September 27, 2020
• The festival helps to familiarize people of other parts of the country with the rich unexplored potential of North East
• It also promotes the tourism potential of the North East. The festival will give a boost to handicrafts, handloom, organic products and cultural troupes of North East
• The main objective of the programme is to make the unexplored potentials of the North East Region available to young entrepreneurs all over the country. The festival was launched in a couple of years in 2018 (in Chandigarh) and in 2019 (in India Gate, New Delhi).

3. HOCL gets Bureau of Indian Standards Certification for all its products

• Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited (HOCL), a PSU under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has been granted Bureau of Indian Standards  BIS certification for all its products
• HOCL has been a pioneer in the manufacturing of Chemicals since its inception
• The company is also supporting and implementing the Make in India initiative of the Government of India in one or other way
• It is a leader in the chemical industry has a manufacturing unit at Kochi in Kerala
• All the products of the Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited (HOCL) are widely being accepted, especially in the Pharmaceutical industry where the highest product quality is called for
• Now, as a proof to continuing endeavor to achieve superior quality in its products, it has been granted BIS Certification for all its products

1. World Alzheimer’s Day: 21 September

• The World Alzheimer’s Day is observed globally on September 21 every year. The day aims to raise awareness about the stigma that runs around Alzheimer disease and related dementia
• The theme for World Alzheimer Day 2020 is ‘Let’s talk about dementia’. World Alzheimer’s Day was launched at the opening of ADI’s annual conference in Edinburgh on 21 September 1994 to celebrate our 10th anniversary
• Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer’s, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment

2. World Environmental Health Day: 26 September

• World Environmental Health Day is observed globally on 26th September every year. This day is celebrated to shed the light on important work of environmental health around the world
• The Theme for the 2020 World Environmental Health Day: Environmental health, a key public health intervention in disease pandemic prevention

1. Simanchala Dash appointed as advisor to IMF Executive Director

• The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved the proposal to appoint Simanchala Dash as an advisor to Executive Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington
• He has been appointed for a period of three years

2. RBI appoints AK Dixit as new administrator of PMC Bank

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed AK Dixit (ex-general manager at Union Bank of India), as the new administrator of the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank
• He has replaced JB Bhoria who has stepped down from his role as the administrator of the bank due to health reasons
• In September 2019, the RBI had superseded the board of PMC bank due to fraud and financial irregularities in the PMC bank

3. EESL appoints Rajat Sud as its new Managing Director

• A Joint Venture(JV) of Public Sector Undertakings, under the Ministry of Power, Government of India, Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) has appointed Rajat Sud as its new Managing Director from immediate effect
• He takes charge from S Gopal, director (commercial), who was given the additional charge as interim MD. Prior to joining EESL, he worked as an executive vice president at Sterlite Power Transmission Ltd

1.PM Modi to inaugurate VAIBHAV Summit on 2nd October 2020

• Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Vaishwik Bharatiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Summit on 2nd October’2020 through video conferencing
• 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
• 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

2. UN and United Kingdom to co-host Global Climate Summit 2020

• The United Kingdom and the United Nations are going to co-organize a global climate summit on December 12, 2020, to mark the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will co-host the event
• The summit will increase the momentum ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) to be held in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2021
• The Summit will invite National governments to present more ambitious and high-quality climate plans

1. Fitch Solutions projects India’s GDP growth at -8.6% in FY21

• 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% year-on-year growth in 2021 and 2022.

2. UNCTAD projects India’s GDP at -5.9% in 2020.

• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has predicted that the GDP of India will contract by 5.9% in the year 2020.
• For the year 2021, UNCTAD projects the Indian economy to grow by 3.9%. The projection was made in its Trade and Development Report 2020.
• The baseline scenario is a sharp recession in 2020 as the stringent lockdown measures, to prevent the spread of the virus have halted, many productive activities across the country.

1. Volvo Car India launches “Volvo Car Financial Services”

• Volvo Car India has partnered with HDFC Bank to launch Volvo Car Financial Services to enable buyers get easy finance for its vehicles
• The service facilitates finance of up to 100% of the ex-showroom price of the car and offers convenient repayment options, with no foreclosure charges under specific conditions
• It is a faster, flexible, and cost-optimized solution to finance a Volvo car
• Other features of the Volvo Car financial service include loans for up to 7 years and the option to finance insurance, extended warranty, service package, and accessories
• It allows a faster loan approval and a uniform processing fee, giving a hassle-free finance experience to buyers

2. Google Pay, Visa partner for card-based payments with tokenization

• Google Pay has partnered with VISA for the rollout of tokenization across its platform that will enable users to safely transact with their debit or credit cards
• Through tokenization, Google Pay users can make payment by using the debit or credit card without physically sharing their credit or debit card details through a secure digital token attached to their phone
• The feature will also facilitate the use of the tap-to-pay feature on near-field communications (NFC)-enabled point of sale (PoS) terminals and online merchants
• The feature also works with online merchants, delivering more native and seamless OTP experiences without any redirects to 3D secure sites
• This feature is now available to all users of Axis, SBI Card, and Kotak

3. AYUSH Ministry partners Industry Bodies for Medicinal Plants cultivation

• The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of AYUSH has signed an MoU with the major AYUSH and Herbal industry bodies to promote medicinal plant cultivation
• Through this, the Ministry of AYUSH would provide the sustainable supply of quality raw material to AYUSH, Nutraceutical, and Herbal industry
• The industry assured the NMPB that they will provide the buy-back guarantee to the farmers/gatherers on the NMPB supported medicinal plant cultivation and collection programs
• The industry bodies which signed the MoU include ADMA (Ayurvedic Drug Manufacturer’s Association), Mumbai; AMAM (Association for Manufactures of Ayurvedic Medicines), New Delhi; AMMOI (Ayurvedic Medicines Manufacturers Organization of India), Thrissur; AHNMI (Association for Herbal and Nutraceutical Manufacturers of India), Mumbai; FICCI (Federation of Indian Industries), New Delhi and CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), New Delhi

1. CCI approves acquisition of 100% equity shares of Medlife by API Holdings

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of 100% equity shares of Medlife International Private Limited (“Medlife”) by API Holdings Private Limited (“API Holdings”).
• It also approved the acquisition of up to 19.59% equity share capital of API Holdings by Medlife’s shareholders under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002
• API is a private company, incorporated in 2019. API directly or through its subsidiaries carries out various business activities including wholesale sale and distribution of drugs; transportation and delivery services primarily focused on pharmaceutical sector; owning technology and intellectual property for developing e- commerce platforms.
• Medlife is primarily a healthcare company engaged in the wholesale sale and distribution of drugs

2. HDFC Life & YES Bank enters into partnership to sell insurance policies

• HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation) Life and Yes Bank entered into a Corporate Agency Arrangement (CA).
• As part of the arrangement, HDFC Life will provide a diverse range of insurance products to customers of Yes Bank
• HDFC Life’s wide range of life insurance products includes solutions for protection, saving and investment, retirement and critical illness
• It will be available to customers of Yes Bank through the Bank’s branches which are spread throughout the country

1. Indian Navy conducts Passage Exercise with Royal Australian Navy

• The Indian Navy (IN) has commenced a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in the East Indian Ocean Region
• The exercise would involve participation of HMAS Hobart from the Australian side and Indian Naval Ships Sahyadri and Karmuk
• The Passage Exercise is aimed at enhancing interoperability, improving understanding and imbibing best practices from each other
• The exercise will also involve advanced surface and anti-air exercises including weapon firings, seamanship exercises, naval manoeuvres and Cross Deck Flying Operations. PASSEXs are regularly conducted by IN with units of friendly foreign navies, whilst visiting each other’s ports or during a rendezvous at sea

2. DRDO successfully test fires ABHYAS from Odisha

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has conducted a successful flight test of ABHYAS, a High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) from the Interim Test Range, Balasore in Odisha
• ABHYAS can be used as a target for the evaluation of various missile systems. ABHYAS has been designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of the DRDO
• The air vehicle is launched using twin underslung boosters. It is powered by a small gas turbine engine and has an Inertial Navigation System (INS) along with a Flight Control Computer (FCC) for guidance and control
• The vehicle has been programmed for fully autonomous flight. The check out of the vehicle is done using laptop-based Ground Control Station (GCS).