Current and corporate news : 13 september 2020

COVID-19

India’s first Coronavirus airport testing facility launched in Delhi: India’s first Corona virus airport testing facility was launched today at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. The facility at the Terminal-3 of the airport offers a walk-in option and ensures a safe journey to all the
passengers entering the city or scheduled for domestic connecting flights.
International passengers traveling without a valid COVID negative certificate can also book a slot in advance for testing at the Airport. The test results are available within four to six hours. The Delhi Airport official confirmed to AIR correspondent that the test is not mandatory for International passengers but they can opt for it to get exemption from the mandatory seven-day institutional quarantine, in case tested negative.

Health Ministry organizes virtual conclave for private hospitals providing COVID-19 treatment: The Health Ministry today organized a virtual conclave for private hospitals providing COVID-19 treatment in the country. It provided a platform for discussion of clinical protocols and best practices in COVID-19 management towards reducing avoidable deaths. While COVID-19 has posed unprecedented challenges to the country’s health care systems, there have been proactive responses from the government as well as the private industry. The Ministry also encouraged the hospital representatives to share their key concerns and challenges being faced while managing COVID-19 in their facilities.

NATIONAL NEWS

PM Modi inaugurates 1.75 lakh houses built under Awaas Yojana- Gramin in MP: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 1.75 lakh houses built under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin in 12 thousand villages in Madhya Pradesh today. The Prime Minister released the ‘Griha Pravesham’ plaque and inaugurated all the houses simultaneously. Speaking on this occasion, Prime Minister said that Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana is not just about providing housing, but also about instilling confidence in the poor so that they are free of daily struggles and they can focus towards building a better future and can sleep peacefully.

Govt moves ahead with Orientation and Training Programme of iRAD App: Road Transport and Highways Ministry is in the process of implementing Integrated Road Accident Database Project (iRAD) which will be applicable across the country. In the first instance, it has been decided to implement the proposal in six states. These are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The basic iRAD app has been developed and will be customized as per the requirements of
concerned states. Mobile app of iRAD is available for Android platform and
will be available shortly for other platforms like iOS. The two-day Orientation and Training Programme on iRAD App was conducted by the Ministry on 7th and 8th September for the selected districts of Karnataka and on 10th and 11th September for some districts of Uttar Pradesh. Based on the feedback and other suggestions received, the App will be customized for the states. The development and implementation of iRAD has been entrusted to lIT Madras and National Informatics Centre Services Inc.

Several new International standards of emission and safety measures in transport vehicles to be implement soon: The Union Government has embarked upon a transformational programme of implementing international standards of emission and safety measures in the transport vehicles. The government is moving on the path of a long-term regulatory road map for the automobile industry to grow and increase its contribution to Gross Domestic Product. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, in a statement said, there are plans to bring Indian automotive industry at par with developed nations in such regulations. The Ministry said, it has already notified a number of regulations for upgrading emission and
safety features in Indian automobiles. These include the draft notifications
for anti-lock braking systems, airbags, speed systems, reverse parking
assist and crash standards. The Ministry is also in the process of finalization
of implementation of standards for Eectronic Stability Control systems and
brake assist systems for relevant categories by next two years. The Ministry
said, it is contemplating higher level of safety for all categories of vehicles.

China’s PLA hands over 5 Arunachalee youth missing from Upper Subansiri district to Indian Army: China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has handed over the five Arunachalee youth missing from Nacho in Upper Subansiri district to the Indian Army today. After the missing report of these youths was received, Indian Army had approached PLA on the hotline to trace and return them. On the 8th September response on the hotline confirmed that the missing individuals had been traced. Indian Army took over all five individuals at Kibitu today after completing all the formalities. These 5 individuals will now be quarantined for 14 days as per COVID-19 protocol and will thereafter be handed over to their family members.

NTA announces JEE (Main) results in record time of just 4 days: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced the results of Joint Entrance Examination (Main) in a record time of four days. The test which is the qualifying exam for appearing for the JEE (Advanced) was held in the
first week of September this year. Twenty four candidates scored 100
percentile in the JEE(Main) and the largest number of toppers comprising
eight candidates are from Telangana. Among the remaining toppers, five are from Delhi, four from Rajasthan, three from Andhra Pradesh, two from
Haryana, and one each from Gujarat and Maharashtra. Out of eight lakh 41
thousand registered applicants, six lakh 35 thousand appeared for the engineering entrance test. JEE (MAIN) was postponed twice due to COVID19 pandemic. The examination was conducted without any glitch at 660 centres in 232 cities including eight centres outside the country.

DGCA orders strict action on violation of photography rules onboard flight: Directorate General of Civil Aviation, DGCA has ordered strict action for violation of photography rules onboard flight which compromises safety of passengers. In an order issued today, the DGCA has said that any such
violation from now on will result in suspension of the scheduled flight for a
period of two weeks on the route on which the violation has taken place. It
said, the suspension will begin from the next day of such violation being
reported and will continue till the Airline takes all necessary punitive actions against those responsible. The Aircraft Rules, 1937, states the procedures and rules for taking prior permission before any photography or videography at Airports or in flights. It also prohibits photography and videography during landing, taking off or of an aircraft on ground at a defence aerodrome.

STATE NEWS

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh launches Smart Ration Card Scheme: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today launched the Smart
Ration Card Scheme to cover 1.41 crore beneficiaries across the state.
Rolling out the scheme virtually, with connection to 100 places across the
state, the Chief Minister said, 37.5 lakh cards will be distributed to the eligible beneficiaries this month. Besides, he also announced a separate statefunded scheme to provide subsidized rations to the nine lakh beneficiaries not covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Captain Singh said, with this, the total number of beneficiaries in the state will go up to 1.50 crore.

NCB conducts raids on drug traffickers in Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau – NCB has conducted raids on drug traffickers at some locations in Mumbai this morning. According to an official, the Mumbai zone of the NCB conducted these raids based on specific information. However, these raids are not directly linked to the drugs case pertaining to the death of filmstar Sushant Singh Rajput, which NCB’s special investigation team – SIT is probing. The SIT is probing the drugs case in
which actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, late actor Sushant Singh Rajputs manager Samuel Miranda, domestic help Dipesh Sawant and others have been arrested.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Jaishankar participates in inaugural session of IntraAfghan negotiations in Doha: External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar participated in the inaugural session of the Intra-Afghan negotiations held in Doha on Saturday via video teleconference. The Minister’s participation was in response to an invitation extended to him by the Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. In his address, Dr. Jaishankar referred to the millennia-old relationship between India and Afghanistan, which he said had withstood the test of time. He highlighted India’s role as a major development partner of Afghanistan with over 400 projects completed in all the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. The Minister conveyed that India’s policy on Afghanistan had been consistent. India believes any peace process must be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled, has to respect the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and preserve the progress made in the establishment of a democratic Islamic Republic in Afghanistan. The interests of minorities, women and vulnerable sections of society must be preserved and the issue of violence across the country and its neighbourhood has to be effectively addressed. Dr. Jaishankar wished for the success of the Intra-Afghan negotiations in delivering to the people of Afghanistan what they have longed for.

New ASEAN-India Plan of Action adopted for 5 years at Ministerial Meeting: External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar co-chaired the ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Saturday along with his Thailand counterpart Don Pramudwinai. The meeting was held virtually and saw the participation of Foreign Ministers of the ten ASEAN Member States and India. It reviewed the status of ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership in several areas including maritime cooperation, connectivity, education and capacity building and people-to-people contacts. It also reviewed the progress in implementation of the ASEAN-India Plan of Action, 2016-2020. The new ASEAN-India Plan of Action (2021-2025) was adopted at the Meeting. The Ministers discussed ways to strengthen cooperation to fight COVID-19 pandemic and exchanged views on important regional and international developments.

UNSC members urge Myanmar to ensure Rohingya participation in Elections: Eight members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) have urged Myanmar to ensure that Rohingya participate in the general elections scheduled to be held on November 8. In a joint statement issued on Friday, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Tunisia, UK and the US asked Myanmar to ensure that individuals of all communities, including Rohingya, are able to participate safely, fully, and equally in credible and inclusive elections.

BUSINESS AND FINANCE

Virtual Buyer-Seller meet for carpet exports to commence from Sept 29: After the success of the 40th India Carpet Expo, the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) has announced a three-day Buyer-Seller Meet in virtual mode with special focus on Australia and adjoining countries to ensure business continuity amid COVID-19 pandemic. The buyer-seller meet shall be held from 29th of September to 1st of October and with a limited number of virtual booths available, only 50 exhibitors shall participate in the event on first-cum-first-serve basis. India is the biggest exporter of handmade carpets to countries like Australia in the Oceania Region. All carpet exporters interested in participation in Buyer-Seller Meet have been advised to coordinate with the Directorate of Handicrafts and Handloom, Kashmir, Kashmir Haat, Srinagar or reach out on adh.exportpromotion@gmail.com.

RBI issues guidelines for appointment of CCO in banks: Reserve Bank of India has issued guidelines for appointment of Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) in banks to ensure uniform approach with regard to compliance and risk management culture across the banking industry. Accordingly, RBI has said that the CCO must be appointed for a minimum fixed period of three years. The person should be a senior executive of the bank, preferably in the rank of a general manager or an equivalent position or he could also be recruited from outside. Further, there shall not be any responsibility which brings elements of conflict of interest, especially the role relating to business. He must not be a member of any committee which brings his/her role in conflict with responsibility as member of the committee, including any committee dealing with purchases/sanctions. As per the circular, no vigilance case or adverse observation from the RBI should be pending against the candidate identified for appointment as the CCO. Selection of the candidate for the post of the CCO should be done on the basis of a well-defined selection process and recommendations made by the senior executive-level selection committee constituted by the board for the purpose.

Thanks for reading “current and corporate news : 13 september 2020

Compiled By : CS Surbhi Saxena

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