Daily news will speed up the preparation for the Civil Services Examination and it also plays a crucial role to grasp the current affairs topic comprehensively. Here we have covered most of the topics related to various categories including National, International, Sports, Science and Technology, and so on.
1. Atal Tunnel
– Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the World’s longest Highway tunnel namely Atal Tunnel at its south portal in Manali.
– The 9.02 Km long tunnel connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year. Earlier the valley was cut off for about 6 months each year owing to heavy snowfall.
– The Tunnel is built with ultra-modern specifications in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 3000 Mtrs (10,000 Feet) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL).
– The tunnel reduces the road distance by 46 Kms between Manali and Leh and the time by about 4 to 5 hours.
– It has state of the art electromechanical systems including semi transverse ventilation, SCADA controlled fire fighting, illumination and monitoring systems. The Tunnel has ample safety features built into it.
– Farmers, Horticulturists, Youth, Tourists, Security Forces to benefit from the project and the Tunnel would empower Himachal Pradesh, J&K Leh and Ladakh.
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2. Slogan “To fight COVID-I9 strengthen your immunity”
– Goa Postal Division released a Special Cancellation with the slogan “To fight COVID-I9 strengthen your immunity” to create awareness among the public regarding boosting the immune system against ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
– The Special Cancellation highlights the need to boost the immune system of the human being by having a healthy diet, say no to tobacco products and staying fit by doing regular exercise during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and Other Newspapers: 1 October, 2020
3. Two new species of pipeworts discovered
– Two new species of a plant group known for their varied medicinal properties have been discovered in the Western Ghats, one of the thirty-five hot-spots of biological diversity in the world.
– The plant group is known as pipeworts (Eriocaulon). It completes their life cycle within a small period during monsoon, exhibits great diversity in the Western Ghats, having around 111 species in India.
– One species, Eriocaulon cinereum, is well known for its anti-cancerous, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and astringent properties. E. quinquangulare is used against liver diseases. E. madayiparense is an anti-bacterial from Kerala. The medicinal properties of the newly discovered species are yet to be explored.
– Scientists from Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, have recently found two new species of pipeworts in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
– Their study was published in the journals ‘Phytotaxa’ and ‘Annales Botanici Fennici’.
Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and Other Newspapers: 30 September, 2020
4. Discovering the Heritage of Assam
– Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh released a Coffee Table Book on “Discovering the Heritage of Assam”, with a foreword by Amitabh Bachchan and published by Penguin.
– The voluminous coffee table book with pictures and photographs on glaze paper presents an absorbing compilation of heritage, faith, beliefs and traditions of different ethnic tribes and subtribes living in the largest State of the North Eastern Region.
– The author of the book is Padampani Bora, who is by profession an officer of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS-2009 batch), but has over the years established himself as an accomplished author.
Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and Other Newspapers: 29 September, 2020
5. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (World Habitat Day 2020)
– World Habitat Day 2020 is observed on 5 October every year and in a webinar, Hardeep S Puri, Minister of State (I/C) for Housing & Urban Affairs addressed and stated that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the United Nations Member States in 2015 is a guiding document for a planet and the people that inhabit it.
– He further added, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets together reflect, both the collective vision and goal that we have to work to achieve by 2030.
– All the flagship Missions such as Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban, the Smart Cities Mission, the AMRUT Mission were in implementation mode well before the SDGs were adopted by the Member States.
– On the occasion of World Habitat Day 2020, several e-Publications of the organisations under MoHUA viz HUDCO, BMTPC CGEWHO and NCHF were also released.
Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and Other Newspapers: 28 September, 2020
6. Charkhe pe Charcha
– To mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Ministry of Tourism organised a webinar on “Charkhe pe Charcha” under Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series on 02nd October 2020.
– The Webinar titled “Charkhe pe Charcha” focused on spinning wheel and Khadi.
– Khadi, the moral fabric of the nation is a metaphor for swarajya and swavalamban.
– The webinar seeks to explore the dimensions of khadi in the freedom struggle of India and explores the journey of NIFT, Bengaluru in contemporising khadi and spreading the message of Bapu.
– In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi started his movement for Khadi as a relief programme for the poor masses living in India’s villages. Spinning and weaving were elevated to an ideology for self-reliance and self-government.
– On his second visit to Madurai on September 20, 1921, Gandhi stayed in the West Masi Street and when he saw the daily wage labourers going to work without a shirt he was deeply moved by their plight, he removed his attire and adorned the four-metre Khadi dhoti on the night of September 21.
– On, September 22, 1922, when he went to address the people at a place in Kamaraj Street, now called as Gandhi Pottal dressed only in his khadi veshti. The place where he stayed in 1921 is now a Khadi Kraft store, but a stone tablet in the building records the historic change of attire.
– In 1934-35 he expanded the idea from helping the poor individual to the self-reliance of whole villages.
– In 1942-43 he had sessions with workers groups and village organizers to re-organize the whole programme on a bigger country-wide scale. Thus Khadi became not merely a piece of cloth but a way of life.
– The Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series is presented in technical partnership with National e-Governance Department, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
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