Current Affairs Quiz-September, 2020

Notes:
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has recently announced that the release of prisoners on Parole and Furlough is not an absolute right.
It also said that these measures are to be undertaken on the basis of well-defined norms of eligibility. It also directed the states not to allow those involved in terrorism and other heinous crimes, to go out of jails under these provisions.

Notes:
The Union Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singh attended the country’s first high-level political meet with China amid prevalent border tensions.
This meet has been organised on the side-lines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in the Russian capital Moscow. As per media reports, the Chinese side initiated the meeting attended by the Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe.

Notes:
The Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2019 was conferred to the British broadcaster David Attenborough. The price was conferred to him in a virtual event by former Indian PM Manmohan Singh.
The “Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development” was instituted in 1986 and is awarded to individuals / institutions who work to achieve international peace. It consists of a monetary award of Rs.25 lakh along with a citation.

Notes:
A loan agreement for $82 million has been signed between the Government of India, the Government of Himachal Pradesh and the World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development).
The loan would be used for implementation of Himachal Pradesh State Roads Transformation Project. The world bank loan is given for a term of 15 years including a grace period of 5 years.

Notes:
The Indian Civil & Administrative Services (Central) Association has been renamed as “IAS Association” recently.
The new name was unanimously cleared in the body’s Annual General Meeting there by dropping the reference to the ‘colonial-era’ ICS. Also, a new moto “Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam” meaning “Perfection in action is Yogah” has been chosen during the meeting.

Notes:
As per the recent media reports, the ruling party of Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has approved a proposal to ban cow slaughter.
In the country, about 99% people are meat-eaters. Whereas, the majority Hindus and Buddhists do not eat beef. Mahinda Rajapaksa-led SLPP party won a two-thirds majority in the parliamentary elections last month.

Notes:
The Country’s second and South India’s first Kisan Rail service has been recently flagged off.
This would connect Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh to Adarsh Nagar Railway Station in Delhi. The train was flagged off by the Union Minister for Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar. The Kisan Rail scheme was announced in Budget 2020-21 for transport of agricultural products.

Notes:
The Results of the 2nd edition of “Ranking of States on Support to Start-up Ecosystems – 2019” was released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
The ranking exercise has been carried out by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The ranking frame work has 7 broad reform areas, consisting of 30 action points. In this ranking exercise, 22 States and 3 Union Territories participated.

Notes:
The Government of India has set up an Empowered Group of Ministers headed by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, to oversee and guide the entire process of corporatization of Ordnance Factory Board.
The Union Government recently announced that Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) – a subordinate office of Defence Ministry would be converted into one or more 100 % Government owned corporate entities.

Notes:
Germany has recently carried out the first nationwide test of its civil alarm systems since the end of the Cold War.
The country has also newly created National Warning Day, or Warntag, which is to be observed every year on September 10. Several alarms were sounded to alert the public to create the awareness about the measures to be taken in the backdrop of a national emergency.