ODISHA
Odisha government introduces universities bill amid protests
The contentious Odisha Universities (amendment) Bill, 2020 was introduced in the assembly by higher education minister Arun Sahoo amid opposition from members of the BJP and the Congress. The oppositions MLAs alleged the legislation will take away the autonomy of state-run universities and lead to excess government interference.
The government promulgated the universities ordinance on September 4 aiming to bring all state-run universities under one law. Some controversial provisions in the bill, which has faced opposition from educationists, include abolition of the senate and inclusion of state government nominee in selection of vice-chancellors.
The amendments also has provision to increase the tenure of vice-chancellors from three to four years and enhancement of upper age limit for holding the office of vice-chancellor.
INTERNATIONAL
International Translation Day: 30 September
The International Translation Day is marked every year on 30 September.
The day aims to celebrate the work of language translation professionals which facilitates dialogue, understanding and cooperation, contributing to development and strengthening world peace and security.
The day also marks the feast of St. Jerome, the Bible translator who is considered the patron saint of translators.
2020 theme: Finding the words for a world in crisis.
India, Japan naval exercise JIMEX-2020 concludes
Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) & Indian Navy completed 3 days of highly successful Exercise led by CCF2 & FOCWF.
Ships undertook Anti-Air & Anti Submarine Warfare exercises, Weapon firings, Seamanship, tracking & tactical manoeuvres.
Surveillance aircraft & helos participated making JIMEX-2020(India-Japan Maritime bilateral exercise) the most intensive edition so far.
Exercises conducted in ‘non-contact’ format & ships waved farewell to each other before parting ways.
NATIONAL
Harijan Sevak Sangh celebrates its foundation day
On 30 September in 1932, Harijan Sevak Sangh was founded, when Gandhi Ji was in Yervada Jail, Pune and on fast.
The immediate historical background dates back to the Second Round Table Conference in London in 1931 when Gandhi ji opposed the segregation of the depressed classes of the Hindu community into a separate electoral group.
Gandhi Ji saw in it a sinister device of the British government to create a split in the Hindu community in furtherance of its policy of divide and rule.
The Sangh was established to combat untouchability and a new weekly paper, the Harijan, was started.
Harijan means children of God, it was Gandhi Ji’s name for the untouchables.
100 percent organic farming benefits over 66,000 farming families in Sikkim
Sikkim is the first 100 per cent organic state in the country. All of its farmland is certified organic.
The transition has benefitted more than 66,000 farming families that practice organic and agroecological farming on more than 76,000 hectares of land.
The process of converting Sikkim into a 100 percent organic state was fast-tracked in 2010 with the launch of the Sikkim Organic Mission.
In the year 2015, the entire agricultural area in the state was converted to certified organic and finally in 2016 the state was formally declared a 100 percent organic state.
The policy implemented a phase out of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and achieved a total ban on sale and use of chemical pesticides in the state.
Indian Bank launches Green-Tech Initiative, ‘IB-eNote’
Indian Bank, a premier Public Sector Bank, launched an green initiative, ‘IB-eNote’ that enables a totally paperless working environment.
The IB e-Note is a tool that enables processing and tracking of notes put up by various offices digitally.
This green initiative is expected to improve Turnaround Time considerably, besides saving on cost of paper, printing and other administrative expenses.
For this Bank has customised SharePoint, which is one of the features of Microsoft Office.
Microsoft is a leading technology company that has pioneered many industry-firsts.
The Bank also launched ‘Ind Guru’, an e-learning platform for its employees.
Ideal weight for Indian men and women increased to 65-55kg
The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), which is located in Hyderabad, has revised the ideal weight for both men and women in the country by adding 5-5 kg.
As per the new guidelines, the average weight of Indian men is 65kg, whereas, for women, the average weight has now been increased to 55 kg.
The leading nutrition research body also made changes in the height of both men and women.
The research body also increased the height for men to 5 feet 8 inches from 5 feet 6 inches a decade ago.
Similarly, the height of Indian women has now been increased to 5 feet 3 inches from 5 feet in 2010.
34% of fatal accidents hit-&-run cases: NCRB
The police across states and UTs had no instant record of the offending vehicle or driver involved in over one third of all deaths due to negligent driving, according to the the latest National Crime Records Bureau for 2019 report released recently. The data show that 47,530 people were killed in hit-and-run cases out of total 1.37 lakh people who lost their lives in road accidents due to negligent driving.
The data from states compiled in the report ‘Crime in India 2019’ show that the number of such people killed in hit-and-run cases was maximum in Uttar Pradesh at 17,761 followed by 8,225 in Madhya Pradesh. In Delhi, 737 fatalities were due to hitand-run cases and these were nearly 50% of all the road fatalities in the national capital.
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