Daily Current Affairs and GK | 1 October 2021

Topic: National News

1. Govt. will launch Senior Able Citizens for Re-Employment in Dignity (SACRED) Portal on 1 October.

• The government will launch a Senior Able Citizens for Re-Employment in Dignity (SACRED) Portal for senior citizen, who is seeking to work.
• The portal aims to ensure senior citizens lead a healthy, happy, empowered, dignified and self-reliant life.
• The total number of senior people in India has increased from 1.98 crore in 1951 to 7.6 crore in 2001 and 10.38 crore in 2011.
• Technical Group on Population Projections for India and States (2011-2036) has submitted its report to National Commission on Population, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the report shows the population of senior citizens in India, which is given below:

• According to the LASI report 2020, over 50% of senior citizens have been found active in India. Business enterprises, which are looking for stable employees with experience, can use many senior citizens having experience, time, and energy.
• An IT portal will be developed and maintained by the identified agency through a transparent process to bring employment-seekers, senior citizens, and employment providers on a single platform.
• NIC will develop the web portal and there will be enough publicity among both the elderly and enterprises for enrollment on the portal.
• Rs 10 crore will be provided for the development of the platform, and Rs 2 crore per annum will be provided for maintenance for 5 years.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

2. NTPC REL has signed its First Green Term Loan agreement of Rs 500 crores with the Bank of India.

• NTPC Limited subsidiary company, NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd (REL) has signed the first Green Term Loan agreement of Rs 500 crores with the Bank of India.
• The agreement has been signed between them at a very competitive rate, with a tenor of 15 years for its 470 MW Solar Projects in Rajasthan & 200 MW Solar Project in Gujarat.
• A green loan is a type of loan instrument that enables borrowers to finance projects that have an environmental impact.
• Currently, NTPC REL has 3,450 MW renewable project portfolios, and out of which 820 MW projects are under construction and projects worth 2,630 MW were won for which PPAs are pending to be executed.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

3. India, Australia to sign comprehensive Free Trade agreement by 2022.

• India and Australia have announced that they will agree on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of 2022.
• The announcement was made after a meeting between Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his Australian counterpart Don Tehan.
• Australian Trade Minister Tehan said that India and Australia agreed on a roadmap towards finalizing the FTA and 2022 is the deadline for the conclusion of FTA.
• According to Article 24 of the World Trade Organization (WTO), countries are allowed to form customs unions or FTAs under two conditions given below.
• Members should eliminate, substantially all internal barriers to trade inside the union.
• External trade barriers should not be increased on average.
• Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is an agreement in which nations agree to cut down barriers to imports and exports.

Topic: National News

4. Vayo Naman Programme to be organized by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment today.

• Vayo Naman Programme will be organized by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment today.
• The programme will be organized in the honor of senior citizens on the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons (1 October) in New Delhi.
• Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu will be the chief guest of the programme. He will confer the Vayosheshtra Samman awards. He will also dedicate the helpline 14567 for the elderly to the nation.
• On the occasion, Senior Able Citizens Reemployment in Dignity (SACRED) and Senior Care Ageing Growth Engine (SAGE) Portals will also be launched by Vice President.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

5. Government Launched DigiSaksham programme to enhance employability of youth.

• Union Labour and Employment Minister Bhupender Yadav launched DigiSaksham – a digital skills programme to enhance the employability of youth.
• It is a joint initiative of the Government with Microsoft India. It is part of the Government’s ongoing programmes to support the youth of rural and Semi-urban areas.
• Under the DigiSaksham programme, youths will be trained in digital skills like advance basic skills, advanced computing.
• In the first year, more than three lakh youths will be trained. The priority will be given to the job-seekers of semi-urban areas including those who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 or belongs to disadvantaged communities.
• Job seekers can access the training through National Career Service (NCS) Portal. DigiSaksham will be implemented in the field by Aga Khan Rural Support Programme India (AKRSP-I).
• The Ministry of Labour and Employment is implementing the National Career Service (NCS) Project to provide a variety of employment-related services like career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Reports and Indices

6. NITI Aayog released performance assessment report of district hospitals in India.

• NITI Aayog has released a report titled ‘Best Practices in the Performance of District Hospitals’ in collaboration with the Health Ministry and WHO India.
• It has assessed the hospitals on 10 key Performance Indicators across the domains of Structure and Output. This report is the first-ever performance assessment of district hospitals undertaken across the country.
• A total of 707 District Hospitals across all States and Union Territories have been assessed in this report.
• 75 District Hospitals emerged as performers on indicators of beds, medical and paramedical staff, core health and diagnostic testing services.
• The report has also highlighted the issues in the current health system and provided solutions to strengthen the condition of District hospitals in the country.
• The report classified hospitals into three categories: Small Hospitals (less than or equal to 200 beds), Mid-sized Hospitals (between 201–300 beds) and Large Hospitals (more than 300 beds).
• This report is based on the data of the Health Management Information System (HMIS) of the year 2017–18.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/ Meghalaya

7. Rebecca Vanessa Suchiang appointed as first female Chief Secretary of Meghalaya Government.

• Rebecca Vanessa Suchiang has been appointed as the first female Chief Secretary of Meghalaya. She is a 1989 batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service.
• She will also work as State Vigilance Commissioner, as per the Meghalaya Right to Public Service Act, 2020.
• She has taken the place of MS Rao, who has retired on 30 September. Rao was appointed as the Chief Secretary of the Meghalaya in December 2019.

Topic: Sports

8. First pink-ball women’s Day-night Test match started between India and Australia.

• The first pink-ball women’s Day-night Test match has started between India and Australia at the Carrara Oval in Queensland.
• On November 22 in 2019, the Indian men's cricket team played its first-ever pink-ball Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
• The first-ever day-night, pink-ball Test was played in Adelaide in November 2015 between Australia and New Zealand.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

9. Information and Broadcasting Minister launch Clean India Programme from Prayagraj.

• Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur has launched a one-month-long Clean India programme from Prayagraj.
• The main objective of this programme is to create awareness about cleanliness and to mobilize people for cleaning waste.
• Under this cleanliness campaign, 75 lakh kg waste will be collected and disposed of with the support and voluntary participation of citizens.
• This Clean India programme has been launched as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• This programme is being organized in six lakh villages of 744 districts across the country through the networks of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan and National Service Scheme-affiliated institutions.
• He will also attend a seminar on Aatmanirbhar Bharat in the Mutthi Ganj area of the town.

Topic: Appointments

10. E. R. Sheikh assumes charge as first Director-General of the Ordnance Directorate.

• E. R. Sheikh has been appointed as the first Director-General of the Ordnance Directorate.
• He is known for his contribution to the establishment of the modern production line system for the manufacturing of small arms ammunition at the Ordnance Factory Varangaon.
• He has served in many Ordinance Factories. He was conferred with the Ayudh Ratna Award 2020 for his exemplary services to the organization.
• He also led the successful indigenous development of the Bi-Modular Charge System (BMCS) for artillery ammunition.
• He also introduced an innovative online system to interact with the actual user level in the Army.

Topic: Miscellaneous

11. Ranveer Singh named as brand ambassador of NBA for India.

• The National Basketball Association has named Bollywood star Ranveer Singh as its brand ambassador for India.
• He will participate in different league initiatives launched by the NBA in India.