Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Oscar Fernandes passed away at age 80 in Mangaluru, India on September 13, 2021. Fernandes was hospitalized after suffering a fall while doing yoga at home. He was considered a close aide to Congress party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and had served as a parliamentary secretary under former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi from 1984-1985. The world's largest plant capable of directly capturing carbon dioxide from the air began operations in Iceland on September 8, 2021. The plant, run by Swiss startup Climeworks, captures CO2 and deposits it underground through a partnership with Icelandic carbon storage firm Carbfix. India and the

1. CURRENT AFFAIRS
13 SEPTEMBER 2021
Dr.A.Prabaharan
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2. Former Union Minister and senior Congress
leader Oscar Fernandes passes away
 Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Oscar Fernandes
passed away on September 13, 2021, at the age of 80 in Mangaluru.
 Fernandes was hospitalized for treatment at a private hospital after
suffering a fall while doing yoga at his home.
 Fernandes, a former Union Minister was considered a close aide to
both Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
 He also served as Parliamentary Secretary to former PM Rajiv
Gandhi from 1984-85.
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted to condole the death of
Fernandes.
 The Congress Party tweeted that Fernandes was a Congress stalwart
whose vision for an inclusive India had a huge influence on the
politics of our times.
 Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also took to Twitter to express
their heartfelt condolences.
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3. Iceland gets world’s largest plant capturing
carbon dioxide from air-
 The world’s largest plant that can capture carbon
dioxide directly from the air and can deposit it
underground started operating on September 8,
2021, in Iceland.
 The news was shared by the company behind the
nascent green technology.
 Swiss start-up Climeworks AG, which specializes in
capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air,
partnered with Icelandic carbon storage firm
‘Carbfix’.
 Climeworks, which has recently signed a 10-year
carbon removal purchase agreement with a major
insurance firm, also offers a subscription service
allowing consumers to pay for the carbon removal
through monthly payments.
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4. India-US jointly launch Climate Action and Finance
Mobilization Dialogue of Agenda 2030 Partnership
 India and the United States on September 13, 2021, jointly
launched the Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue
(CAFMD) of Agenda 2030 Partnership.
 The Union Cabinet Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate
Change, Bhupender Yadav tweeted, “Taking forward the initiative
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden at the
Leader’s Summit on Climate in April 2021, today both countries
jointly launched the Climate Action and Finance Mobilization
Dialogue of Agenda 2030 Partnership”.
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5. WHO expected to approve Bharat Biotech's
COVAXIN this week, as per sources
 The World Health Organisation (WHO) is expected to give its much-awaited
approval to Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine, C0VAXIN this week, as per
sources. The WHO emergency-use listing (EUL) for COVAXIN has been long-
awaited.
 Union Health Minister Mansukh Madaviya had met Dr. Soumya Swaminathan,
chief scientist at the World Health Organisation (WHO), last week.
 The Health Minister stated that both of them had a productive discussion on
the WHO's approval for Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. Bharat Biotech had
submitted all the data that is required for WHO's approval for its COVID-19
vaccine in July 2021.
 Bharat Biotech had shared the complete data of Covaxin's Phase I, Phase II
and Phase III trials in June 2021.
 The drugmaker has also published around nine research studies on Covaxin's
safety and efficacy in five globally reputed peer-reviewed journals in just
twelve months.
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6. Hindi Diwas 2021: History, Significance, How
is it different from Vishwa Hindi Diwas?
 Hindi Diwas, also known as Hindi Day is celebrated every year on September 14 to mark the declaration of
the Hindi language as an official language in India.
 The then Union Government of India has adopted Hindi as an official language of India on September 14,
1949. Hindi is the 3rd most spoken language in the world.
 Overall, India has two official languages. Besides Hindi, English is also considered an official language in
India.
 Hindi Diwas 2021: History
 Hindi, written in the Devanagari script along with English was adopted as the official language in India out
of the 22 recognized Indian languages under Article 343 (1).
 Out of the 22 languages of the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India, Hindi is used at the Union level.
 Several activists, poets, and writers made huge efforts to make Hindi as the official language. Among these
are Maithili Sharan, Beohar Rajendra Simha, Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Kaka Kalelkar, and Seth Govind Das.
 The day of adoption of Hindi as the official language also coincides with the birthday of Beohar Rajendra
Simha. September 14, 1949, was the 50th birthday of Beohar Simha.
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