One of the First Medical Devices Park to be set up in Thiruvananthapuram Kerala

• The Central government approved the setting up four medical device parks in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala on the lines of the "Make in India" initiative and to provide world-class products at affordable prices for treatment.
• In this regard, on September 24, 2020, Chief Minister (CM) of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan laid the foundation stone for one of the first medical devices parks in the country, "MedSpark" at Life Science Park, Thonnakkal, Thiruvananthapuram.
• Med Spark is a joint initiative of Technical Research Center for Biomedical Devices (TRC) at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt of India, and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (KSIDC), the industrial and investment promotion agency of the Government of Kerala.

Kerala got UNIATF Award 2020 for its Contribution towards SDGS

• Kerala won the UN Interagency Task Force (UNIATF) Award 2020 for its contribution towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to the non-communicable diseases.
• This is the first time for Kerala to be recognized by this annual UN Award and along with Kerala 6 other health ministries across the globe have won the 2020 UNIATF Award.

About UNIATF Award 2020

• The 2020 award recognizes the contributions and achievements of the year 2019 on the multisectoral actions in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, mental health and other SDGs related to non-communicable diseases.
• Kerala got UNIATF Award 2020 for its Contribution towards SDGs related to Non Communicable Diseases

About Kerala

• Capita - Thiruvananthapuram
• CM - Pinarayi Vijayan
• Governor - Arif Mohd. Khan
• About World Health Organization (WHO)
• Director General - Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus HQ - Geneva, Switzerland

India & Australia conducted Passage Exercise (PASSEX) in the East Indian Ocean region

• Indian Navy conducted a two-day long Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in the East Indian Ocean Region (IOR) where Indian side was represented by stealth frigate INS (Indian Naval Ship) Sahyadri and missile corvette INS Karmuk. Australian side included HMAS Hobart along with Indian Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), and helicopters from both the nations.
• India-Australia conducts maritime exercise "AUSINDEX" biennially to boost defense cooperation in the maritime domain.
• India & Australia conducted Passage Exercise (PASSEX) in the East Indian Ocean region

About Australia

• Capital - Canberra
• PM - Scott John Morrison Currency - Australian Dollar

Shivangi Singh to become India's first woman fighter pilot to fly Rafale

• Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh to become the first woman fighter pilot of India to fly the Rafale combat aircraft that was formally inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF)
• She hails from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. She is one of the 10 Indian women fighter pilots in IAF.
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Odisha Krushi Bhavan won 10th annual ASIA Awards 2020

• Krushi Bhavan, a facility developed for the State's Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Empowerment located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha won 10th annual AZ Awards 2020 as People's Choice Winner under the category social good. The awards were revealed at its first-ever virtual AZ Awards Gala. The 12,077-square-meter Krushi Bhavan is one among 20 winners and the only winner from India.
• Krushi Bhavan is the first government building of India to feature in Dezeen, an international journal on architecture in August 2020. It bagged Surface Design Awards 2020 in the categories of Public Building Exterior, Public Building Interior and Supreme Winner.
• AZ Awards was launched by AZURE in 2011. AZURE Publishing is a leading multi-platform media brand focusing on contemporary architecture and design.

India ranked 89th among 181 countries in World Risk Report 2020

• According to the World Risk Index (WRI) 2020, India has been ranked at the 89th spot among 181 countries. The World Risk Index is a statistical model for the assessment of global risk of disasters such as earthquakes, storms, floods, droughts and sea-level rise.
• Countries with lowest risk index: According to the index, Qatar (0.31) had the lowest risk, followed by Malta (0.66) and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (0.81),

World Risk Report 2020

• WRI is part of the World Risk Report 2020 with special focus on "Forced Displacement and Migration" released by the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft, in cooperation with the University of Stuttgart in Germany .
• WRI has been developed in cooperation with the United Nations University's Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU EHS) and calculated by International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV)

4th WEF's Sustainable Development Impact Summit held Virtually

• The World Economic Forum's fourth and first fully virtual Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2020 was held under the banner "Realizing a Great Reset for Sustainable Development" to convene 2100 leaders from government, business, international organizations and civil society along with experts and innovators to initiate, accelerate and scale-up entrepreneurial solutions to tackle climate change and advance sustainable development.
• The summit was based on the five themes of Shared Prosperity, Catalyzing cooperation, Better business, harnessing technology, and Livable planet. During the summit, WEF's 'Earth Time Visualization' report was released which stated that Delhi may have eight months a year with temperature averaging 32 ° C by 2100, up from six at present.

About World Economic Forum (WEF)

• Founder and Executive Chairman - Klaus Martin Schwab
• HQ - Cologny, Switzerland

India-UK Water Partnership Forum

• The India-UK Water Partnership Forum was held to virtually discuss ways to collaborate on the issues pertaining to infrastructure development and water conservation.
• During the meeting, delegations from India and the UK signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ganga and the British water.

About UK

• Capital - London
• Currency - Pound Sterling
• PM - Alexander Boris Johnson

Airports Authority of India commenced work on Airport Expansion Project in Maldives

• On the request of the Government of Maldives, the Government of India has decided to support the Hanimaadhoo International Airport expansion project under the USD 800 million Line of Credit from EXIM (Export-Import) Bank of India.

About Maldives

• Capital - Male
• Currency - Maldivian rufiyaa
• President - Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
• About Airports Authority of India (AAI)
• Chairman - Arvind Singh
• HQ - New Delhi

Fino Payments Bank with Fintech Partners Introduced NFC-based Contactless Payments

• Fino Payments Bank Limited (Fino Payments Bank) in association with fintech partners has introduced Near Field Communication (NFC) -based contactless payments solution for mass transit systems, particularly for state bus transport services in India.
• It was developed by Fino Payments Bank in partnership with fintech firms like City Cash.
• NFC-based prepaid smart card ecosystem of Fino payment bank eases contactless or tap and go payments. which enables cashless ticketing.

About Fino Payments Bank Limited

• HQ-Navi mumbai
• MD & CEO - Rishi Gupta

Paadum Nila S.P. Balasubrahmanyam passed away due to COVID

• Legendary playback singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam passed away at a private hospital in Chennai.
• Recently he tested negative for COVID-19 but continued to be on the ventilator
• Popularly known as SPB, Balasubrahmanyam made his singing debut in 1966 with Telugu movie Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna. He has sung over 40,000 songs in as many as 16 languages including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi.
• Balasubrahmanyam was also a voice-over artist. He was the voice-over artist for actor Kamal Hassan, whenever the latter's Tamil movies were dubbed in Telugu.

Antyodaya Diwas 2020 - September 25

• Antyodaya Diwas is annually observed across India on 25th September to mark the birth anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, an icon of Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), philosopher of nationalist movements of India and political activist.
• 25th September 2020, marks the 104th Birthday of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.
• As a part of the commemoration of Antyodaya Diwas 2020, MORD is celebrating the foundation day of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana(DDU- GKY) with a program "Kaushal Se Kal Badlenge", along with the beneficiaries and other stakeholders of the scheme across India

World Pharmacists Day - September 25

• The ton World Pharmacists Day was observed on September 25, 2020.
• The Day is observed to raise awareness of the role of pharmacist in healthcare and to encourage activities that promote and advocate the role of pharmacist in improving health in every corner of the world.
• The theme of the 10th World Pharmacists Day is "Transforming Global Health".
• It was designated in 2009 by FIP (International Pharmaceutical Federation) at the World Congress of Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences in Istanbul, Turkey. It has been observed since 2010.
• The Date September 25 was chosen because FIP was established on the same date in 1912.
• FIP (International Pharmaceutical Federation) - FIP is a nat-for-prafit international federation of 151 national organizations that represent pharmacists, academic institutional members, individual members and pharmaceutical scientists

About FIP (International Pharmaceutical Federation)

• President - Dominique Jordan (Switzerland) HQ - The Hague. Netherlands