17th September 2020 Current affairs

1. India’s four major cities- New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad witnessed a drop in their rankings in the Global Smart City Index. The index was topped by Singapore. The Smart City Index 2020 was released by the Institute for Management Development (IMD) in collaboration with Singapore University for Technology and Design (SUTD). The index is based on key findings on how technology is playing a role in the COVID-19 era. 

2. The Indian Army is readying its formidable Bofors howitzers for operations amid the ongoing tensions with China over the transgressions by its troops Eastern Ladakh. The Bofors gun, which was inducted into the regiment of artillery in the mid-1980s, is capable of firing both in low and high angles. The guns will be deployed in Ladakh once they will be serviced. 

3. Tata Group has won the contract for construction of India’s new Parliament building with a bid of Rs 861.90 crore, beating Larsen & Toubro. The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) had opened financial bids for the new Parliament building construction on September 16, 2020. The new Parliament building construction is a part of the Central Vista redevelopment project. 

4. IBSA is a unique trilateral forum that brings together three of the world’s largest democracies, major economies from three different continents that face similar challenges- India, Brazil and South Africa. 

5. India has been ranked at 116th  position in the latest edition of the World Bank’s annual Human Capital Index. The index benchmarks the key components of human capital across countries. 

6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation the historic Kosi Rail Mahasetu on September 18, 2020, through video conference. The dedication of the Kosi Rail Mahasetu is the watershed moment in Bihar’s history and the entire region connecting to the North-East. A meter gauge link was built in between Nirmali-Bhaptiahi (Saraigarh), in 1887. 

7. The US Government on September 16, 2020, unveiled its COVID-19 vaccine delivery plan which entails administering the drug to all the citizens of US free of cost. 

8. The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed on September 16, 2020, that he has been tested positive for COVID-19 following which he has self-isolated himself.