Current Affairs Quiz-September, 2020

Notes:
Kesavananda Bharati, who was a petitioner of the landmark Supreme Court judgement on basic structure of the Constitution in 1973, has recently passed away.
He was the head of a Mutt at Kasaragod in Kerala, and had moved the Supreme Court challenging the Kerala government’s land reforms Act of 1969. Supreme Court ruled that the basic structure of the Constitution is unbreakable and cannot be amended by Parliament.

Notes:
Iran now has more than 10 times the amount of enriched uranium permitted under an international agreement, the UN’s nuclear regulator said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has stated that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile had reached 2,105kg. This stock is nearly 10 times more than the permissible level under International Nuclear Accord signed by Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and the US in 2015.

Notes:
The first-ever International Day of Clean Air for blue skies is observed on September 7th, 2020. It aims to raise public awareness on the importance of air quality.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution to hold this day on December 19, 2019. It also invited the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to facilitate the observance of the International Day celebrated for the first time in 2020.

Notes:
UNICEF is leading in efforts to procure and supply COVID-19 vaccines. This could be the world’s largest and fastest ever procurement and supply of vaccines.
In collaboration with Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), UNICEF is set in its efforts to procure and supply doses of COVID-19 vaccines for 92 low and lower middle-income countries.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the Kochi Metro’s final stretch of the Phase-I covering Thykoodam to Petta which is 3 km long.
The inauguration was made virtually. With this, the phase-1 of Kochi Metro is complete at a cost of Rs.6218 crore. The inaugural function was presided by Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs.

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 first Joint Commission Meeting between India and Angola was held recently.
The meeting was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his counterpart Tete Antonio. During the meeting, the two countries agreed to diversify their trade relationship. The leaders also discussed regarding cooperation in health, pharmaceuticals, defence, agriculture sectors.

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:
As per a recent report on released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and World Bank Group, the Under-five mortality rate in India declined from 126 in 1990 to 34 in 2019.
Also, the Infant mortality rate in India declined from 89 in 1990 to 28 in 2019. The data has been published in ‘Levels & Trends in Child Mortality’ Report 2020.

Notes:
The Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas has recently dedicated 56 Compressed natural gas (CNG) stations spread across 13 states, to the nation.
He also said that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) is working to launch the 11th City gas distribution (CGD) authorisation round. The regulator board gives licenses for Retail CNG to automobiles and Piped cooking gas to household kitchens.