Current Affairs Today – September 16 2015

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• Current Affairs September 2015
• Current Affairs September Quiz 2015

Indian Affairs 

• Union Cabinet approves Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission
• Delhi government approves “Victim Compensation Scheme”
• FM Arun Jaitley launches superior broadcast NXT DIGITAL
• Andhra Pradesh accomplished country’s first river linking project

 Tamil Nadu government announces housing scheme worth Rs. 1,700 Crore

• Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalitha has announced the housing scheme of worth Rs 1,700 crore.
• The state government would build 2,300 flats with all facilities at Ambattur in Chennai at a cost of Rs 380 crore. She assured the cost of each two-bedroom flat will be below Rs 20 lakh.
• Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) would build 2,800 housing units at a cost of Rs. 674 crore would in the districts of Cuddalore, Kancheepuram, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Salem, Tiruchi  and Vellore.
• Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board would build 12,500 housing units in various corporations and municipality limits at a cost of Rs. 457 crore this current financial year. The slum clearance board would be sanctioned Rs. 10 crore for maintenance and repair of the old buildings which were constructed by it.

 Union Cabinet bans Naga militant group for five years

• Union Cabinet banned Naga militant group NSCN-K, for five years that has been involved in a series of attacks, including the killing of 18 soldiers of the Army in Manipur in June.
• The decision has been taken at a meeting by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• NSCN-K terror group, headed by S S Khaplang banned under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA)

International Affairs 

Hungary declares a state of emergency in two countries

• Hungary declared a state of emergency over refugee inflex. The state of emergency was declared to two southern countries which shares their border with Serbia in order to avoid the illegal entry of refugees.
• Hungarian Police will take in charge to allow asylum applicants to the registration centres. If the application of refugees is refused that particular person will be returned to Serbia. It is the only option for the migrants from Serbia.
• Anyone who crosses the border illegally will face criminal charges. The laws also made for damaging of the newly-built four-metre fence along Hungary’s 175 kilometre border with Serbia as a criminal offence. 

Yongbyon nuclear plant of North Korea continues operation

• North Korea has resumed operations at the Yongbyon nuclear power plant, major nuclear facility of North Korea. Yongbyon nuclear power plant is located at 90km north of Pyongyang, Capital of North Korea.
• It had manufactured the fissile material for North Korea’s nuclear weapon tests in 2006 and 2009, and since 2009 is developing indigenous light water reactor nuclear power station technology.
• The plant was shut down in 2007. However it had conducted nuclear tests. Now Yongbyon nuclear plant is in full operation mode including 5 MWe experimental reactor.

World’s longest chain of volcanoes discovered in Australia

• The world’s longest chain of volcanoes stretching for over 2,000 km has been discovered in Eastern Australia. It has been formed over the past 33 million years.
• This old and longest volcanic chain reportedly fires from Cape Hillsborough on the central Queensland coast, south-west through central New South Wales to Cosgrove in Victoria.
• Rhodri Davies, an earth scientist at Australian National University led the team of scientists have discovered the longest chain of continental volcanoes of the world in Australia.

Awards

• Teen CEO Swetha Prabhakaran wins Champions of Change award
• Sunjeev Sahota – Shortlist of Man Booker Prize

Appointments 

Indian-origin Seema Malhotra appointed as shadow chief secretary in UK

• Jeremy Corbyn, newly-elected Labour leader, has included two Indian-origin women in his shadow cabinet.
• Indian-Origin Britsh MP Seema Malhotra appointed as the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury while the another one Indian – Origin Lisa Nandy appointed as the shadow secretary for energy and climate change.
• Seema Malhotra was first elected as MP from Feltham and Heston in 2011 in a by-election. She played the role of a shadow minister in 2014 for preventing violence against women by the former Labour leader, Ed Miliband.

Acquisitions & Mergers

India’s Practo buys Insta Health for $12mn

• Bengaluru-based Practo, online healthcare platform has acquired Insta Health, hospital information management Solutions company for $12 million (Rs.79 crore) deal.
• It is the third acquisition from the company in less than six months.
• The other two acquisitions are FitHo, fitness solutions firm and Genii, product outsourcing firm.
• Practo has already over 10,000 hospitals in their database. Acquisition of Insta Health will enable Practa to access more than 500 hospitals across 15 Countries.
• Co-Founder & CEO of Practo – Shashank ND
• Founder of Insta Health founder – Ramesh Emani

Sun Pharma to acquire Insite Vision

• Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has signed an agreement to acquire the US-based eye care firm InSite Vision.
• InSite Vision now focuses on developing new specialty ophthalmic products. InSite Vision has developed the DuraSite and DuraSite2 drug delivery platforms which are capable of extending the duration of drug retention, which results in lower dosing frequency.
• InSite Vision also has two commercialized products for treatment of bacterial eye infections. It has recently filed a New Drug Application (NDA) with the US FDA for BromSite for treatment of inflammation and prevention of pain associated with cataract surgery.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

• Headquarters – Mumbai , Maharashtra.
• Founder and CEO – Dilip Shanghvi

Science & Technology 

Bharat Dynamics Limited test fires Amogha-1 successfully

• Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) has successfully test-fired an indigenously developed anti-tank guided missile called Amogha-1.
• Amogha-1 is a 2.8 km range, second generation anti-tank guided missile.
• The test firing of Amogha-1 is carried out by BDL at Babina Army Range in Madhya Pradesh.
• Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad – One of India’s manufacturers of ammunitions and missile systems will offer Amogha-1 missile to Indian Army after due qualification and validation trials.

Environmental

• Indian scientists decode Tulsi plant genome
• GFRA 2015 – India losing green cover more rapidly

Sports  

Ganguly to coach Tripura U-16 and U-19 teams

• Former Indian Captain, Sourav Ganguly will train Under-16 and Under-19 teams of Tripura.
• Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) secretary, Sourav Dasgupta has confirmed that Ganguly would train the Under-16 & Under-19 teams of the state in November this year.
• Sourav Ganguly asked the Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) to conduct more tournaments to improve the skills of young cricketers at a prize distribution ceremony of the TCA.
• Currently Ganguly is one of the members of advisory committee of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
• Tripura’s sports minister Sahid Chowdhury said that the central government changed the funding pattern of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA) scheme recently
• The new funding ratio of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA) scheme will be 50:50 where the both central and state government contributed equally to execute various schemes and projects.

Hangzhou to host 2022 Asian Games

• Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang province confirmed as the host of 2022 Asian Games.
• The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) signed an agreement with officials from the city during meetings in Turkmenistan.
• Hangzhou will be third Chinese city to host the Asian Games after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010.
• Cities namely Ningbo, Shaoxing and Huzhou will also be the part of competition venues.
• 2018 Asian Games, 18^th edition of regional multi-sport event in Asia will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Olymbic Council of Asia (OCA) president: Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah
• Hangzhou mayor: Zhong Hongming

US Boxer Floyd Mayweather retires after defeating Andre Berto

• US Boxer Floyd Mayweather announced his retirement officially after defeating Andre Berto in the Welterweight World Championships at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, USA.
• He won totally 49 titles throughout his career. Interesting fact about Floyd Mayweather is he never loses the game since his first match in 1996.
• Floyd Mayweather topped the Forbes lists of the 50 highest-paid athletes of 2012, 2013 as well as in 2014.
• Floyd^.Mayweather had also founded boxing promotional firm namely Mayweather Promotions in 2007 after defecting from Bob Arum‘s Top Rank.
• Floyd Mayweather’s 49-0 career record is equal to the record which was set by former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano.

Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri bag the Belgium International Challenge championship

• Indian Badminton players, Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri clinch the Men’s double title in the Belgium International Challenge championship which is held at Lueven, Belgium.
• The men’s double pair defeated Adam Cwalina and Przemyslaw Wacha of Poland in the final.
• This men’s double earn 1340 points from this victory and break into the place of top-16 from the World No.21 rank.
• This pair won Lagos International title in July which is their fourth International Challenge title.
• However they lost Gautmela international championship and US Open Grand Prix Gold earlier in this year.

Obituary

Australian Boxer Davey Browne Jr. dies after title fight

• Davey Browne Jr 28 – year old Australian boxer dies in hospital after four days of IBF super-featherweight regional title.
• He was knocked out by Carlo Magali of the Philippines at IBF super-featherweight regional title. He became unconscious during that title.
• Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called for a ban on boxing following the death of Davey Browne.
• Earlier, Boxer Braydon Smith died two days after losing a fight in his home town in Toowoomba, Queensland in March 2015.
• New South Wales Sports Minister Stuart Ayres told the Combat Sports Authority to co-operate with police in their investigation of Browne’s death.
• AMA President – Professor Brian Owler
• AMA vice-president – Dr Stephen Parnis

Important Days

16^th September: International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer

 International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed globally across the world on 16^th September 2015. This year’s observation was the 21^st occasion. The UN General Assembly in 1994 designated the day as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer to commemorate the date of the signing of the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone Layer in 1987.

The theme for the year 2015 was – “30 Years of Healing the Ozone Together”.

• This year’s slogan was – “Ozone: All there is between you and UV”.
• Significantly, this year also marks the 30^th anniversary of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer that was signed on 22^nd March 1985.
• In this occasion, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar released a booklet titled – “Montreal Protocol: India’s Success Story”.

Point to be noted that, depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer is caused by the emission of chlorine and bromine-containing compounds such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).