September Flashcards
India ranks 48th in Global Innovation Index 2020
India has joined the group of top 50 countries in the global innovation index for the first time, moving up four places to the 48th rank and keeping the top position among the nations in central and southern Asia.
India ranks in the top 15 in indicators such as ICT (Information and Communication Technology) services exports, government online services, graduates in science and engineering, and R&D- intensive global companies.
The 13th edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2020 has jointly released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Cornell University and INSEAD Business School.
THE World University Ranking 2021 Announced
The Times Higher Education announced the results of
World University Rankings, 2021. The ranking assessed
the performance of 1527 higher education institutes
from 93 countries. The institutes were assessed on
several parameters such as research, knowledge,
international outlook, transfer and teaching.
THE World University Ranking 2021: India
In the 2021 ranking, India has recorded its highest ever number of universities to qualify Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2021. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, is the top-ranked University from India and is ranked in the 301-350 band. However, none of Indian Universities could make it to top 300. This year 14 more universities have qualified as compared to that of the 2020 ranking. It is the highest jump by any country in south Asian region.
Venkaiah Naidu released ‘The State of Young Child in India’ report
Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu has released “The State of Young Child in India” report. The report was prepared by a policy advocacy organization, Mobile Creches. The report measured Health and Nutrition in the country.
According to the report, there 159 million children aged below 6 years in India out of the 21 per cent are undernourished, 36 per cent are underweight and 38 per cent do not receive full immunization. According to the analysis on expense towards child nutrition, healthcare, education and other protection services, India has spent Rs 1,723 per child in 2018-2019, which is insufficient to reach the entire eligible population. The report has also released the list of Best-performing states & worst- performing states based on the Young Child Outcomes Index.
India becomes member of UN’s ECOSOC body
India has been elected as a member of the United Nation’s
Commission on Status of Women, a body of the Economic
and Social Council (ECOSOC). India will be a member of
United Nation’s Commission on Status of Women for four
years, 2021 to ‘25.
India, Afghanistan and China had contested the elections to the Commission on Status of Women. Even as India and Afghanistan won the ballot among the 54 members, China could not cross the half-way mark.
About ECOSOC:
The Economic and Social Council is at the heart of the United Nations system to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. It is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals. It is also responsible for the follow-up to major UN conferences and summits.
India Happiness Report 2020 announced
The first all India Happiness Report 2020 covering all
States and Union Territories measuring happiness across
the country, what contributes to people’s happiness, the
impact of COVID-19 on happiness, and insights from
thought leaders. The study is based on a nationwide
survey covering 16,950 people between March and July
2020 by Professor Rajesh K Pillania.
The worst possible impact of COVID-19 on happiness:
Maharashtra, Delhi, and Haryana have shown the worst possible impact of COVID-19 on happiness, whereas Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir are neutral and Manipur, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and
Lakshadweep have shown the best possible impact of COVID-19 on happiness.
IMD’s Global Smart City Index 2020
The Institute for Management Development, in collaboration with Singapore University for Technology and Design (SUTD), has released the Smart City Index 2020. In 2020 Smart City Index, 109 cities were surveyed.
The index ranks cities based on economic and technological data, as well as by their citizens’ perceptions of how “smart” their cities are. The index has been topped by Singapore, followed by Helsinki and Zurich as top three smart cities. In the 2020 Smart City Index, Hyderabad was the top Indian city, placed at the 85th position. The Indian cities have witnessed a significant drop in their rankings in the Smart City Index 2020.
8 Indian beaches recommended for ‘Blue Flag’ eco-label
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, eight beaches of India have been recommended for the Blue flag certification. The selection of the beaches was made by an independent national jury composed of eminent environmentalists and scientists. This announcement was made by the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Prakash Javadekar on 18 September during a virtual event.
What is Blue Flag certification?
• The Blue Flag certificate is an internationally recognized eco-label given by ‘Foundation for Environment Education, Denmark’.
• Blue Flag beaches are considered the benchmark for clean and hygienic beaches in the world.
The eight beaches selected for Blue flag certification are
- Shivrajpur in Gujarat
- Ghoghla in Daman & Diu
- Kasarkod in Karnataka
- Padubidri beach in Karnataka
- Kappad in Kerala
- Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh
- The golden beach of Odisha
- Radhanagar beach in Andaman and Nicobar
RBI publishes “’Technology Vision for Cyber Security’ for UCBs
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will implement the “Technology Vision for Cyber Security’ for Urban Co- operative Banks (2020-2023) to enhance the IT security system of Urban Co-operative banking to prevent, detect, respond to and recover from cyber- attacks.
RBI will achieve this objective using its five-pillared strategic approach ‘GUARD’. GUARD denotes:
G – Governance Oversight,
U – Utile Technology Investment,
A – Appropriate Regulation and Supervision,
R – Robust Collaboration
D – Developing necessary IT, cybersecurity skills set.
72nd Emmy award 2020 announced
The 72nd Emmy Awards 2020 marks the beginning of Hollywood’s first major show in the times of COVID-19. The ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel at an empty theatre in Los Angeles with cutouts of the nominees placed in the audience. An Emmy Award, or simply Emmy, is an American award that recognizes excellence in the television industry.
Here’s the winners’ list of the Emmy Awards 2020:
• Drama Series: Succession
• Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Julia Garner,
Ozark
• Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Billy Crudup, The
Morning Show
• Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: Succession
• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: Succession
• Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Zendaya, Euphoria
• Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Jeremy Strong,
Succession
• Limited Series: Watchmen
India ranked 116th in the World Bank’s Human Capital Index
World Bank released the report titled “The Human Capital Index 2020 Update: Human Capital in the Time of COVID-19”. The Human Capital Index (HCI) 2020 is a collaboration between the Human Development Practice Group and the Development Economics Group of the World Bank. India has been ranked at the 116th position among 174 countries in the Human Capital Index 2020. The 2020 Human Capital Index update includes health and education data for 174 countries covering 98% of the world’s population up to March
2020.It provided a pre-pandemic baseline on the health and education of children.
Top 3 Human Capital Index 2020: Rank-Country-Score 116-India-0.49 1-Singapore-0.88 2-Hong Kong and China-0.81 3-Japan-0.80
PM Modi in Time Magazine’s ‘100 most influential people of 2020’ list
Time Magazine has released the TIME 100 Most
Influential People List 2020. Prime Minister of India,
Shri Narendra Modi is the only politician on the list. He
has been named in this for the fourth time since coming in
power in 2014. The List has named people in five
categories: Pioneers, Artists, Leaders, Titans, Icons.
The following Indians have also been named in this list:
• Professor Ravindra Gupta (Pioneer), is a Professor of Clinical Microbiology and has worked for the cure of HIV.
• Ayushmann Khurrana (Artists).
• Bilkis (Icons), the ‘Dadi from Shaheen Bagh’.
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2020 announced
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2020 was announced by the Union science and technology minister Dr Harsh Vardhan at the Foundation Day celebration of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on 26th September.
The World Bank stopped publishing which of its report in September 2020
World Bank has stopped the publication of its “Doing Business” report to probe data collection irregularities in the annual ranking of countries’ business and investment climates.
Who has been appointed the prime minister of Lebanon?
Mustapha Adib has been appointed as the Prime minister of Lebanon.
Which two city’s of the US have been named as the world War II Heritage cities?
President of the USA, Donald Trump has announced
Wilmington, North Carolina as the first World War II Heritage City. The announcement was made at a ceremony held to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II on September 2, 2020.
Name the two people who were appointed as the trade envoy by the government of Australia?
Government of Australia has appointed former cricketer, Matthew Hayden and Indian-origin politician Lisa Singh as trade envoys for advancing business ties with India.h
Which technology company acquired the tick-tok US operations?
TikTok has chosen Oracle to be its technology partner for its American operations.
Which country helped India with the loan for Covid crisis?
India will receive an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of an amount of JPY50 billion (approx. Rs. 3,500 crore) from the government of Japan as the COVID-19 Crisis Emergency Response Support in order to fight the COVID-19 crisis.
