Daily Current Affairs and GK | 13 and 14 September 2020

1. September 14: Hindi Divas (India).

• Hindi Divas is celebrated annually on 14 September to commemorate the adoption of Hindi as official language of India.
• On 14 September, 1949, Constitutional provisions of Official Language were passed by the Constituent Assembly and Hindi in Devanagari became official language of India.
• In the list of most spoken languages of the world, Hindi comes at the fourth place after Mandarin, Spanish and English.
• More than 520 million people speak Hindi as their first language.
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee was first external affairs minister who addressed UN General Assembly in Hindi.
• World Hindi Divas is celebrated every year on 10 January.
• Hindi is one of the 22 languages recognized by eighth schedule of the Constitution.
• Article 343 provides of the Constitution declare Hindi written in Devanagari script as official language of the Union.

(Source: News on AIR)

2. SCTIMST develops a device to prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT).

• SCTIMST has developed a device to prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) or formation of a blood clot in a vein located deep in body, usually in the legs.
• The device helps in flow of blood from the veins in the legs and prevents DVT.
• Currently, India imports the devices to prevent DVT. The device developed by SCTIMST will be cheaper than importer devices.
• Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum (SCTIMST) is an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology.

3. Former Union Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh passes away.

• Former Union Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has passed away at AIIMS, Delhi.
• He served as Union Cabinet Minister for Rural Development and was elected from Vaishali constituency (Bihar) in 14^th Lok Sabha.
• Currently, 15 AIIMS are functioning in country and government is working on making eight more AIIMS operational by 2025.
• Bihar:
  • In terms of population, Bihar is the third largest state of India.
  • UP is located to west of Bihar. Nepal is located to its north. West Bengal is located to its east and Jharkhand to its south.
  • Patna, capital and largest city of Bihar is located on southern bank of river Ganga.
  • Nitish Kumar is its Chief Minister and Phagu Chauhan is its governor.

(Source: News on AIR)

4. Devendra Darda elected as chairman of ABC.

• Devendra Vijay Darda has been elected chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for the year 2020-2021.
• He is the managing director of Lokmat Media, one of the largest regional media groups in India.
• He had served on various media industry bodies like INS, IFRA, etc.
• He is on the managing committee of the Western India Football Association.
• Karunesh Bajaj has been elected as the deputy chairman of ABC.
• Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC):
  • It is a not-for-profit, voluntary organisation consisting of publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies as members.
  • It was founded in 1948.
  • It certifies and audits the circulations of major publications like newspapers, magazines, etc.
  • Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

5. PM Modi inaugurates three projects in Bihar.

• PM Modi has inaugurated Durgapur-Banka section of Paradip-Haldia-Durgapur Pipeline Augmentation Project and two LPG Bottling Plants in East Champaran and Banka in Bihar.
• The LPG Bottling plant in Banka will serve several districts in Bihar and Jharkhand. The East Champaran plant will serve several districts in Bihar and Kushinagar district in UP.
• LPG Bottling Plants in East Champaran and Banka has been proposed under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.
• PM has also said that 7 states will be connected through 3000 km gas pipeline under Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Yojana.
• He also said that eight crore people were given gas connection under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, launched on 1 May 2016 to distribute LPG connections to women from below poverty line families.
• In February 2020, PM Modi has laid foundation stone for Paradip-Haldia-Durgapur Pipeline Augmentation Project.
• Under Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Yojana, nearly 3,384 km long pipeline will be constructed in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam and Odisha.
• 2,655 km long Jagdishpur-Haldia-Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline (JHBDPL) and 729 km long Barauni-Guwahati Pipeline under Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Yojana project is being executed by GAIL.

6. Chaitanya Tamhane wins International Critics Award.

• Chaitanya Tamhane has won International Critics Award (FIPRESCI award) at Venice Film Festival.
• He has won award for the film ‘The Disciple’. The film shows three decades of an Indian classical music practitioners' journey.
• The award is given by The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI).
• Mathilukal was last Indian film, which won this award. It was directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan in 1990.
• Chaitanya Tamhane is known for his film, Court. His film, The Disciple was premiered from 2 to 12 September 2020 at 77^th Venci International Film Festival.

(Source: The Hindu)

7. Road Transport and Highways Ministry conducts Orientation and Training Programme on iRAD App.

• Road Transport and Highways Ministry has conducted Orientation and Training Programme on Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) Project App.
• The ministry is in process of implementing iRAD Project first in six states. These states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
• Basic iRAD app has been developed and it will be customized for the states based on feedback and suggestions received.
• iRAD project:
  • iRAD project was launched on 13 January 2020.
  • iRAD will help in analysis of causes of road accident and in deciding what corrective measures need to be taken in road design.
  • IIT Madras has developed iRAD and National Informatics Centre is implementing it.
  • World Bank is supporting the iRAD project.

(Source: News on AIR)

8. New ASEAN-India Plan of Action adopted at ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting.

• New ASEAN-India Plan of Action (2021-2025) has been adopted at ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting.
• The meeting was jointly chaired by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Don Pramudwinai, Foreign Minister of Thailand.
• Foreign Ministers of the ten ASEAN Member States and India took part in the meeting.
• The meeting reviewed status of ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership in several areas and progress in implementation of the ASEAN-India Plan of Action, 2016-2020.
• The preparations for the upcoming 17^th ASEAN-India Summit were reviewed during meeting. 16^th ASEAN-India Summit held in Bangkok in November 2019.
• Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN):
  • Established on 8 August 1967, ASEAN includes 10 countries in Southeast Asia - Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Laos.
  • ASEAN is India's fourth largest trading partner and is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia.
  • ASEAN-India relations were upgraded into ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership in 2012.
  • ASEAN-India Plan of Action, 2016-2020 was adopted in 2015 by the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers Meeting.

(Source: News on AIR)

9. Domnic Theim wins men's singles title in US Open 2020.

• Domnic Theim of Austria has won men's singles title in US Open 2020 by beating Alexander Zverev.
• Theim’s victory marks his maiden Grand Slam trophy after he became a runner-up at Australian Open 2020 and lost French Open in 2018 and 2019.
• He is also first new Grand Slam champion since Croatian Marin Cilic won in 2014.
• It is the first time a player has won title by recovering from losing the opening two sets in the Open era history of US Open.
• Since Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka won the third of his majors (Grand Slam tournaments) at the 2016 US Open, Theim is also the first Grand Slam champion other than Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer.
• US Open Tennis Championships:
  • US Open is one of the Gand Slam tournaments. The other three are- Australia Open, French Open and Wimbledon.
  • US Open 2020 is the 140^th edition of tennis’ US Open, fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of a year.
  • Rafael Nadal won the Men’s singles in 2019.

(Source: News on AIR)

10. A Research lab of DRDO to be opened in Morena district in MP.

• A Research lab of DRDO will be opened in Kailaras-Jaura region in Morena district, Madhya Pradesh.
• Madhya Pradesh CM informed that 350 hectares of land has been acquired for DRDO lab in Morena, MP.
• He also said that a medical college will be opened in Morena and all-purpose auditorium will be constructed in the name of 10^th Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• Madhya Pradesh:
  • Madhya Pradesh is second only to Rajasthan in terms of area in the country.
  • Bhopal is the capital of the state.
  • The Chief Minister of MP is Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Governor is Anandiben Patel.
  • The state animal is Barasingha.
  • The state bird of Madhya Pradesh is the Asian Paradise Flycatcher (Dudhraj).
• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO):
  • It works under the Ministry of Defence.
  • It was established in 1958 when the Defence Science Organisation (DSO) was combined with the Technical Developments Establishment of Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development & Production.
  • Chairman: G. Sateesh Reddy
  • Headquarters: New Delhi

11. Physics department at Cusat and LEOS, ISRO sign a deal for research collaboration.

• The Physics department at Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) and Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems (LEOS), ISRO has signed a deal for research collaboration.
• LEOS has recently developed Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS). LIBS is an instrument for planetary surface chemistry.
• It was one of the payloads of Chandrayaan-2. It will also be a part of Chandrayaan-3.
• Chandrayaan-2 was launched on 22 July 2019 by a GSLV Mark III M1 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh. Its lander (Vikram), rover (Pragyaan) and orbiter were developed in India.
• On 7 September 2019, ISRO lost contact with Vikram lander carrying the rover, whereas the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is still in orbit.
• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO):
  • ISRO comes under jurisdiction of Department of Space.
  • Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), established by government in 1962 became ISRO in 1969.
  • ISRO is headquartered in Bengaluru. Kailasavadivoo Sivan is its director.

12. Pesticides Management Bill 2020 to be discussed in the Monsoon session of Parliament.

• The Pesticides Management Bill 2020 that seeks to replace the Insecticides Act, 1968 will be discussed in the Monsoon session of the Parliament beginning today.
• At present, the registration, manufacturing, export, sale and use of pesticides are governed by the Insecticides Act, 1968.
• The Pesticides Management Bill 2020 will not allow the manufacture and export of pesticides that are not registered for use in India although they may be approved in other countries.
• This would impact employment opportunities in this sector and foreign exchanges.
• Under the new bill, Registration Committee (RC) is given power to review registration of a pesticide and then suspend, cancel or even ban its usage.
• The bill lacks the recommendations of Ashok Dalwai Committee.  
• Ashok Dalwai Committee was formed in 2018 to promote domestic and indigenous industries and agricultural exports from India.
• The Bill provides for re- registration granted of pesticides registered under the 1968 Act that may bring instability in the pesticides industry.

13. A team of neuroscientists from NIMHANS developed new Indian Brain Templets.

• A team of neuroscientists from NIMHAS has developed Indian Brain Templates (IBT) and a brain atlas.
• This will help neurologists, neurosurgeons and psychiatrists in India in mapping the brain structure of their patients with neurological disorders such as strokes, brain tumors, etc. and making accurate assessment.
• The team studies more than 500 brain scans of Indian patients in order to make five sets of templates and a brain atlas for five age groups (6 to 60 years).
• Currently, Montreal Neurological Index (MNI) template is used that is based on Caucasian brains. But the Asian and Caucasian brains are different.
• This research was published in the journal Human Brain Mapping.
• National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS):
  • It is an autonomous medical institution that works under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 
  • It is the apex centre for mental health and neuroscience education in India.
  • It is an Institute of National Importance that was established in 1925.
  • It is located in Bengaluru, India.
  • Its current director is Dr. B N Gangadhar.
  • The institute has ranked 4^th best medical institute in the NIRF Ranking 2020.

14. India’s first coronavirus airport testing facility launched at Delhi Airport.

• India’s first coronavirus airport testing facility has been launched at Terminal -3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.
• The facility provides a walk-in option for the passengers travelling to various regions.
• A slot can be booked in advance for the testing at the airport by the international passengers those who don’t have a valid COVID negative certificate.
• The test is not compulsory for international passengers.