September 2020 Current Affairs

Farm Bills 2020:
The Government of India had earlier introduced three ordinances.
1. Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) ordinance.
2. Farmers (Empowerment and protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services ordinance.
3. Essential Commodities (amendment) ordinance.

These ordinances on now being replaced by the bills. Lok Sabha passes The
1. Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020.
2. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020.

The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020:
 The bill aims to create an ecosystem where farmers and traders will enjoy the freedom to sell and purchase farm produce outside registered ‘mandis’.
 The bill’s provisions promote barrier-free inter-state/ intra- state trade of farmers’ produce.

 It will reduce marketing and transportation costs and help farmers in getting better prices.
 It will also provide a framework for electronic trading.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020
 Aims at providing a national framework on farming agreements that protects and empowers farmers to engage with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers.
 It will also help reduce the cost of marketing and boost farmers’ income.
 The bills eliminates the role of intermediaries and enable farmers to engage in direct marketing for full price realization.
 It will enable farmers to gain access to modern technology.

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020:
 Allows the central government to regulate the supply of certain food items only under extraordinary circumstances (such as war and famine).
 Stock limits may be imposed on agricultural produce only if there is a steep price rise.

The main provisions of the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 are as follows:

(a) Farming Agreement: The Act provides for a farming agreement between a farmer and a buyer prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce.

(b) Minimum Period of Farming Agreement: The minimum period of the farming agreement shall be for one crop season or one production cycle of livestock.

(c) Maximum Period of Farming Agreement: The maximum period of the farming agreement shall be five years. It also states that if the production cycle of any farming produce is longer and may go beyond five years, the maximum period of farming agreement may be mutually decided by the farmer and the buyer and explicitly mentioned in the farming agreement.

(d) Pricing of Farming Produce: The pricing of farming produce and the process of price determination should be mentioned in the agreement. For prices subjected to variation, a guaranteed price for the produce and a clear reference for any additional amount above the guaranteed price must be specified in the agreement.

(e) Settlement of Dispute: The Act provides for a three-level dispute settlement mechanism– Conciliation Board, Sub-Divisional Magistrate and Appellate Authority

First World Solar Technology Summit:

• This summit is organized by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) along with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on a virtual platform, with a focus on new Technologies and Innovations in the field of
• The main objective of the summit is to pay attention to state- of-the-art technologies and next-generation technologies. Such technologies will play an important role in making solar energy more efficiently, more than 26,000 participants from 149 nations joined the summit

Five Star Village Scheme:

The Department of Posts (Ministry of Communications) has launched a scheme called Five Star Villages. The scheme seeks to bridge the gaps in public awareness and reach of postal products and services, especially in interior villages.

• To ensure universal coverage of flagship postal schemes in rural areas of the

Schemes covered:

• Savings Bank accounts, Recurring Deposit Accounts, NSC/KVP certificates,
• Sukanya Samridhi Accounts/ PPF Accounts,
• Funded Post Office Savings Account linked India Post Payments Bank Accounts,

Mission Karmayogi :

• The Union Cabinet has approved launching of “Mission Karmayogi”- National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB).
• NPCSCB has been designed to lay the foundations for capacity building for Civil Servants so that they remain entrenched in Indian Culture and sensibilities and remain connected, with their roots, while they learn from the best institutions and practices across the world.
• The Programme will be delivered by setting up an Integrated Government Online Training-iGOT Karmayogi

National Medical Commission (NMC):

• Now, the National Medical Commission (NMC) is the new medical education regulator in It has replaced the Medical Council of India (MCI).
• NMC will have a Chairman, 10 ex-officio members and 22 part- time
• Suresh Chandra Sharma has been appointed as Chairman of NMC for three years.
• NMC will be responsible for- Approving and assessing medical colleges conducting common MBBS entrance (NEET) and exit examinations (NEXT) Regulating course

J&K Official language Bill, 2020:

• The Lok Sabha on September 22, 2020, passed the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020 under which Dogri, Kashmiri, and Hindi, apart from Urdu and English, will be the official languages in the Union territory of J&K.

Global Innovation Index, 2020:

• The Global Innovation Index (GII) is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation. It is released jointly by the Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Joint secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Usha Padhee has been given additional charge as Director-General of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). She is the first woman and third IAS officer to have been appointed to the post. The central deputation tenure of Usha is scheduled to end on 16th July 2022. She succeeds Rakesh Asthana (IPS) who was appointed as the Director-General of Border Security Force(BSF) on 17th August 2020.

Global Economic Freedom Index 2020:

• The report is based on the 2018
• Hongkong and Singapore have topped the index, which have attained first and second position
• India has been ranked 105th position

Ease of Doing Business ranking – 2019:

• Ranking of various States of India on the basis of implementation of Business Reform Action Plan had started in

• Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmla Sitharaman has announced the 4th edition of Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) ranking of states.

• The top three states

1.    Andhra Pradesh

2. Uttar Pradesh

3.    Telangana

DRDO successfully flight-tested Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle:

• Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) has been successfully flight-tested by The Defence Research and Development Origination (DRDO).
• India now has become the fourth country in the world after the US, China and Russia to do such testing that would help missiles to travel at six times the speed of sound known as the hypersonic speed.
• The testing would lead to development of hypersonic cruise

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur appointed President of Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).

Sonu Sood receives SDG Special Humanitarian Action Award by UNDP

The bilateral Maritime Exercise, JIMEX, conducted between India and Japan biennially is to be in the North Arabian Sea between September 26, 2020 and September 28, 2020.