Daily Current Affairs and GK | 25 September 2020

1. Science & Technology Indicators (STI) report released for 2019-20.

• Department of Science and Technology (DST) has released Science & Technology Indicators (STI) report for 2019-20.
• It reveals that Indians were not good at innovating ideas and business models.
• According to this report, from 2005 to 2018, a total of 5,10,000 patent applications were filed in the country, but just 24% of patent claims were from Indians.
• Reasons for the Bankruptcy of ideas and innovation in India are:
  • Poor Investment in research and development by government and private sector
  • Pathetic state of higher education
  • Lack of Infrastructure for research and development
  • Pure research is not part of our Education system
• In India, most start-ups failed because they lacked innovative ideas based on new technologies. They just prefer to copy successful concepts from anywhere to the local market.  
• In India, Patent filing is governed by the Patents Act, 1970.
• China has filed the maximum number of patents in the world, followed by USA and Japan.
• Department of Science and Technology (DST):

• It is a department under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
• It was established in 1971.
• Its main function is to promote new areas of science and technology in the country.

2. Government is setting up 10 plastic parks in different states.

• Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers has developed a scheme to set up Plastic Parks with state of the art infrastructure through a cluster development approach.
• Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals has approved the setting up of 10 Plastic Parks in Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh.
• Two plastic parks will be set up in Madhya Pradesh at Tamot (village in Raisen) and Bilaua.
• The scheme is funded by both the Central and State governments. 
• Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET) has set up a Centre for Skilling and Technical Support (CSTS) at Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) for skill development training programmes in the field of Plastics Engineering & Technology.  
• Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers:

• Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers is headed by D V Sadananda Gowda.
• It has three departments:

• Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals
• Department of Fertilizers
• Department of Pharmaceuticals

3. Hundreds of Whales are dying on the Australian coast.

• In Australia’s biggest mass-stranding event, hundreds of whales died along the coast of Tasmania.
• Whales alone or in groups strand themselves on beaches across the world.
• According to expert, these Pilot Whales are sociable species, so even if one in a group gets disoriented toward shallow water, other will also follow which could be the reason for their stranding.
• Pilot whales are not considered endangered.
•  Tasmania:

• It is an island state of Australia.
• It is located in the south of Australia and is separated from Australia by the Bass Strait.

(Source: Indian Express)

4. World Risk Index (WRI) 2020 states that India is ‘poorly prepared’ for climate change.

• World Risk Index 2020 was released as part of the World Risk Report 2020.
• According to WRI 2020, India has ranked 89^th among 181 countries.
• India is 4^th most-at-risk country in South Asia in this index.
• According to this index, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives are more capable than India to cope with extreme disasters.
• In this index, countries with a score above 52.73 were ‘very poor’ in their capacities to adapt to extreme natural disasters.
• Among continents, Oceania is at the highest risk.
• World Risk Report is released by the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and Bundnis Entwicklung Hilft, in cooperation with the University of Stuttgart in Germany.
• WRI is released annually since 2011 and is calculated by multiplying the exposure and vulnerability of a country.

5. Birth Anniversary of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya: 25 September.

• Deen Dayal Upadhyaya was an Indian politician who was born on 25 September 1916 in Mathura.
• He joined the RSS in 1942 and remained a pracharak till the end.
• He has been the President of Bhartiya Jana Sangh.
• Many government schemes and programmes have been named after him like Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, etc
• He is known for his philosophy of integral humanism.
• In February 2020, tallest statue of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya was unveiled by PM Modi.

(Source: India Today)

6. Antyodaya Diwas 2020 (25 September) is being celebrated as the foundation day of DDU-GKY.

• Antyodaya Diwas 2020 (25 September) is being celebrated as the foundation day of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY).
• In 2014, the government declared 25 September as Antyodaya Diwas in honour of the 98^th Birth Anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya.
• On 25 September 2014, the government also improved its skill development program Aajeevika Skills and renamed the program as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY).
• The program is being organized by the Ministry of Rural Development and is titled “Kaushal Se Kal Badlenge”.
• Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY):
  • DDU-GKY is a demand-driven placement-linked skilling program of the Ministry of Rural Development. It is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). 
  • It focuses on 15-35 years old rural youth from poor families. It is being implemented in 28 States and UTs.

7. Birth Anniversary of Satish Dhawan: 25 September.

• Satish Dhawan was an Indian rocket scientist who was born on 25 September 1920 in Srinagar.
• He is known as the Father of Experimental Fluid Dynamics research in India.
• He served as the third Chairman of ISRO in 1972. He succeeded Vikram Sarabhai (founder of Indian Space Programme).
• He is credited for setting up the first supersonic wind tunnel in India at IISc, Bengaluru.
• The satellite launch centre at Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) was renamed to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre to honour his contribution in the Indian Space Programme.
• Awards- Padma Vibhushan (1981) and Padma Bhushan (1971)

(Source: ISRO)

8. RAISE 2020, a Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to be held in October 2020.

• Responsible AI for Social Empowerment (RAISE) 2020, a Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), will be organized from October 5-9, 2020.
• The summit will be organized by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NITI Aayog.
• The summit will be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi on 5 October. During the meeting, representatives from the global AI industry will hold discussions.
• On 6 October, the AI Startup Pitch fest is scheduled in which Startups chosen through the AI Solution Challenge will showcase their solutions.
• Subjects such as ‘Leveraging AI for Pandemic Preparedness’, ‘The Impetus that Innovation Places on Digitisation’, ‘Inclusive AI’, ‘and Partnerships for Successful Innovation’ etc. will be discussed during the summit.
• As per the experts, AI has the potential to add up to $957 billion to India’s economy by 2035.  
• The government is focusing on using AI for inclusive development, as shown by the ‘AI for All’ strategy, released by NITI Aayog in June 2018.
• NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India):
  • It was formed on 1 January 2015. It replaced the Planning Commission.
  • The Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman and the Vice-Chairperson is appointed by the Prime Minister.
  • Rajeev Kumar is the current Vice- Chairperson of NITI Aayog. Amitabh Kant is its CEO.

9. Dr. Sekhar Basu passes away due to COVID-19.

• Former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Dr. Sekhar Basu passed away due to COVID-19.
• He has served as Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and as Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
• He has also served as Project Director of the Nuclear Submarine Programme and as Chief Executive of the Nuclear Recycle Board in BARC.
• He has played an important role in getting government approvals for 10 Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) and Two Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs).
• He accepted the challenge of the design & construction of the Integrated Nuclear Recycle Plant, to be established at Tarapore.
• The government awarded him with Padma Shri in 2014. He has taken an interest in the project to develop the technology of cyclotron for medical isotope production.

(Source: Times Now)

10. Centralized Farm Machinery Performance Testing Portal launched.

• Centralized Farm Machinery Performance Testing Portal has been launched by Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar.
• Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare has developed this portal.
• With the help of the portal, the manufacturers will be able to apply, communicate and monitor the progress of testing their machines.
• The portal will ensure transparency in testing, reduce testing time and improve testing efficiency for manufacturers and Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes (FMTTIs).
• FMTTIs are located at Budni (MP), Hisar (Haryana), Anantpur (Andhra Pradesh) and Biswanath Chariali (Assam).
• As per OECD Standards, Budni institute in Madhya Pradesh is the National Designated Authority for the testing of tractors.

(Source: PIB)

11. Age Appropriate Fitness Protocols launched by PM Narendra Modi.

• Age Appropriate Fitness Protocols have been launched by PM Modi on the first anniversary of Fit India Movement.
• On the first anniversary of Fit India Movement, the Fit India Dialogue event was organized and PM Modi talked with sportspersons, fitness experts and others during the dialogue.
• He talked with Virat Kohli, Ironman Triathalon winner Milind Soman, Paralympian gold medalist Devendra Jhajharia, nutrition expert Rujuta Diwekar and Afshan Ashiq a woman footballer from J&K.
• PM Modi gave the mantra of 'Fitness dose, Half an hour every day' for everyone's health.
• World Health Organization (WHO) is having a Global strategy on Diet, physical activity and health since 2004.
• Age Appropriate Fitness Protocols have been released by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Ministry of Health together for three age groups. They are 5 – 18, 18 – 65 and above 65.
• Fit India Movement was launched by PM Modi on National Sports Day (29 August) 2019. Fit India Freedom Run is also being carried out from 15 August – 2 October 2020.

(Source: PIB)

12. Special Ministerial Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the CICA held.

• A Special Ministerial Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the CICA was held and External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar participated in it.
• During the meeting, he talked about India-central Asia cooperation and the Indo-Pacific Ocean's Initiative (IPOI).
• PM Narendra Modi launched the Indo-Pacific Ocean's Initiative (IPOI) in November 2019 at the 14^th East Asia Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.
• East Asia Summit is an annual meeting held between ASEAN nations and eight other nations- India, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, United States.
• Conference on Interaction & Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA):
  • It is an intergovernmental organization with its secretariat in Kazakhstan.
  • It was established in 1999.
  • It has 27 member states.

(Source: News on AIR)

13. 51^st IFFI postponed from November 2020 to January 2021.

• 51^st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has been postponed from 20-28 November 2020 to 16-24 January 2021.
• The festival will be held in Goa in both virtual and physical format.  During IFFI, all COVID related protocols will be enforced similar to recently held festivals in the International Film Festival circuit.
• 50^th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) was held in Goa from November 20 to 28, 2019.
• International Film Festival of India (IFFI) was started in 1952. It is organized annually and jointly by the Directorate of Film Festivals and the Government of Goa.

(Source: News on AIR)

14. U-Rise portal launched by Uttar Pradesh Government.

• The U-Rise portal has been launched by the UP Government to guide students in learning, career counselling, and getting employment in UP.
• While launching the portal, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that Uttar Pradesh is the first state to launch a unified portal and implement NEP.
• The portal will provide students access e-content, e-library, and online courses in most interior areas of the UP.
• Uttar Pradesh:
  • It is the most populous state in India and ranks 4^th in terms of area.
  • The Chief Minister of the state is Yogi Adityanath and Governor is Anandiben Patel.
  • Deputy CMs: Dinesh Sharma and Keshav Prasad Maurya
  • The capital of the state is Lucknow.
  • Uttar Pradesh has 80 seats in the Lok Sabha and 31 seats in Rajya Sabha.

(Source: News on AIR)

15. Three-year completion of "Saubhagya" scheme for universal household electrification.

• Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana - "Saubhagya" scheme was started on 25^th September 2017.
• The main objective of the scheme is to achieve universal household electrification by providing electricity connections to all households- rural as well as urban.
• Saubhagya scheme:
  • The scheme is being run under the Ministry of Power.
  • Objective: To achieve 24x7 power for all by providing electricity connection to each household in the country.
  • It provides subsidy on equipment such as transformers, wires and meters.
  • Under this scheme, the DISCOMs, including those in the private sector, are eligible for financial assistance.
  • Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) is the nodal agency for the operationalization of the scheme.
  • Benefits of the scheme:
    • Better Quality of Life.
    • Substitution to Kerosene oil for lighting purposes will decrease the use of fossil fuels.
    • Improvement in Communications, Public Safety, Education and Health services

(Source: india.gov.in)

16. VAIBHAV Summit will be virtually inaugurated by PM on 2 October.

• VAIBHAV Summit will be inaugurated virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
• Vaishwik Bharatiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Summit is a joint initiative by Science and Technology and Academic Organisations of India.
• It aims to bring out the comprehensive roadmap for solving emerging challenges with the expertise and knowledge of global Indian researchers.
• It will bring out mechanisms of advancements in education, research and entrepreneurship in India as part of sustainable development.
• It will also help in strengthening the "AatmaNirbhar Bharat" initiative of the government.

(Source: mygov.in)

17. Former Australia batsman Dean Jones died of cardiac arrest.

• Former Australian Cricketer Dean Jones has passed away at 59 due to cardiac arrest in Mumbai.
• He was part of the Star Sports commentary team.
• He had played 52 Tests and 164 ODIs for Australia during his international career between 1984 and 1992.

(Source: Livemint)

18. 'Kritagya' Hackathon by National Agricultural Higher Education Project of ICAR.

• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has planned the "KRITAGYA" hackathon under National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP).
• KRI-TA-GYA explains, KRI for Krishi (Agriculture), TA for Taknik (Technology) and GYA for Gyan (Knowledge).
•  This Ag-Tech Hackathon aims to promote potential technology solutions for enhancing farm mechanization with special emphasis on women-friendly equipment.
• Students, faculties, and innovators or entrepreneurs from universities and technical institutions can take part in this Hackathon.
• In this hackathon, in one group maximum 4 participants can compete, with not more than one faculty or innovator or entrepreneur.
• NAHEP is a Government of India and the World Bank project launched by ICAR in November 2017. It aims to support the National Agricultural Research and Education System in providing quality education to the students.
• Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR):
  • It is the apex body for coordinating, guiding, and managing research and education in agriculture.
  • It works under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
  • It is the largest network of agricultural research and education institutes in the world.
  • Its headquarters is in New Delhi.

(Source: PIB)