Current Affairs Today September 6 2017

We are here for you to provide the important current affairs of September 6 2017 which have unique updates of all daily events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, India Today, Indian Express, Business Standard, all Government official websites. Our complete current affairs helps you to get more marks in Banking, insurance, UPSC, SSC, CLAT, Railway and all other competitive Exams.

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Indian Affairs

NITI Aayog launches National Nutrition Strategy
On 5th September 2017, Leader of the Green Revolution Dr.M.S.Swaminathan and Padma Shri Dr.H.Sudarshan launched the National Nutrition Strategy, along with Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog Dr.Rajiv Kumar and Member of Niti Aayog Dr.Vinod Paul.
Aim of the National Nutrition Strategy:
The National Nutrition Strategy aims to ensure that every child, adolescent girl and woman attains optimal nutritional status by 2022.
National Nutritional Strategy:

1. The Integrated Child Development Services Mission would be expanded to form a National Nutrition Mission along the lines of National Health Mission under the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) according to the National Nutritional Strategy.
2. The National Nutrition Strategy lays out a framework that will focus on improvement in health, food, drinking water, sanitation, income and livelihoods. Currently50% of pregnant women and 60% of children in the country are estimated to be anaemic…Click here to view complete details

Union council of ministers and Portfolios after reshuffle
On 3^rd September 2017, the list of new Union Ministers after the reshuffle was announced by Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The promoted ministers are Mr.Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Mr.Dharmendra Pradhan, Mr.Piyush Goyal and Ms.Nirmala Sitharaman. Ms.Nirmala Sitharaman has become the second woman defence minister of Indiaafter Ms.Indira Gandhi.
The revised portfolios of ministers are as follows:
Cabinet Ministers:

1. Mr.Rajnath Singh: Minister of Home Affairs.
2. Ms.Sushma Swaraj: Minister of External Affairs.
3. Mr.Arun Jaitley: Minister of Finance; Minister of Corporate Affairs.
4. Mr.Nitin Jairam Gadkari: Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Minister of Shipping; Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.…Click here to view complete details

India hands over off-shore patrol vessel Varuna to Sri Lanka
On 5^th September 2017, India handed over an off-shore patrol vessel, Varuna, to Sri Lanka as a part of stepping up co-operation between the two coast guards.
Handing over of the off-shore patrol vessel:

1. The ship (Varuna) was decommissionedwith traditional honours on August 23 to facilitate the handing over at Kochi.
2. The ship has been allocated pennant number SLCG-60 by Sri Lanka Coast Guard and will be commanded by Captain Neville Amara Ubayasiri.
3. Prior to the ship’s departure to Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Coast Guard crew will be imparted familiarisation and on the job training by Indian Coast Guard workup team on ship handling, bridge navigation, engine room controls and machineries.
4. Rear Admiral SS Ranasinghe, Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Navy was also present during the ceremony.

Similar hand-overs by India in the past:

1. Handing over ships, patrol vessels, interceptor boats to littoral states in the Indian Ocean like the Seychelles, Maldives, Mauritius and helping them in capacity-building has been a vital element of the Indian diplomacy.
2. India has earlier handed over two OPVs of the Indian Coast Guard,Varaha in April 2006 and Vigraha in August 2008.

About Srilanka:

1. Capitals – Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
2. Currency – Sri Lankan rupee
3. President – Mr.Maithripala Sirisena
4. Official languages – Sinhala, Tamil, English

Gujarat government launches ‘Gyankunj Project ‘in schools
Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani has launched “Gyakunj e-class project” from Shahpur primary school in Gandhinagar announced on 4^th Sept 2017.
Key Points:
i.Under this initiative, interactive e-class will be launched with smart board.
ii.In the first phase, 550 schools will be covered under the ‘Gyankunj Project’ and gradually standard 5th to 9th of every schools of the state will cover under the project.
iii.’Gyankunj Project’ covers under total worth of Rs. 35.85 crore.
iv.The objective of the project is to produce world-class students. The project is launched at expenditure of Rs. 222,000/- per school.
v.The state govt. has also mentioned that 1609 govt. primary schools are provided laptop, projector, infrared camera, smart board, speaker and with router facilities for 3173 class rooms of standard 7^th and 8^th.
vi.It is also noted that 10000 tablets are to be given to standard 7^th and 8^th students across 100 schools for free.
vii.Education for all courses in standard 5^th to 8^th will be given through e-content and internet.
About Gujarat     
Capital: Gandhinagar
Governor: Om Prakash Kohli
CM: Vijay Rupani

Odisha CM inaugurates fourth Govt medical college in koraput
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has inaugurated the Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital (SLNMCH) in the tribal-dominated district of southern Odisha on 4^th Sept. 2017.
Key Points:
i.With its inauguration, it became the fourth State-run medical college and hospital and the total number of MBBS seats in the State has gone up to 850.
ii.The admission process in SLNMCH is already completed. A total number of 100 students have been admitted to the first year MBBS course and the classes for the commencement of its first academic session began from the day of inauguration.
iii.It will cater to the healthcare needs of the citizens of undivided Koraput and Mayurbhanj districts respectively.
iv.The SLNMCH in Koraput has been established at a cost of Rs. 192 crore.
v.The MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur was the last government medical college to be set up in the State in 1963.
About Odisha
Capital: Bhubaneswar
Governor: S.C. Jamir
CM: Naveen Patnaik

Assam govt sets up DBT cell for implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer scheme
In Assam, the state govt. has set up a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Cell for implementation of DBT across schemes in the Country. It helps in coordinating efforts at the State Level in taking the DBT initiative forward with immediate effect.
Key Points:
i.The Cell will Coordinate with Central Ministries & circulate the directives to the respective Departments in States.
ii.It will closely monitor & evaluate the progress of various Departments on DBT related indicators.
iii.The cell will play a key role in finding possibilities of using various technologies in order to provide better service delivery in the state.
iv.It will also advice the state government and monitors their efficacy.
About Assam
Capital: Dispur
Governor: Banwarilal Purohit
CM: Sarbananda Sonowal

Assam to upgrade employment exchanges to Modern Career Centres
Assam government will upgrade employment exchanges to Modern Career Centres announced on 6^th of Sep. 2017
Key Points:
i.A pilot project of two district employment exchanges in Guwahati and Jorhat will be upgraded as modern career centres.
ii.All modern facilities including counselling will be provided at the proposed career centres.
About Assam
Kaziranga National Park
It is considered a haven for a wide variety of wild flora, fauna and avifauna. This national park holds about two-third of the total world population of the Great Indian one-horned rhinoceroses.
Digboi Oil Refinery
Asia’s first oil refinery, which is the second in world, is in Digboi. The oil town not only has refinery, which is over 100 years old but also has number of tea gardens.

International Affairs

Arun Jaitley visit to Japan 2017

On 4^th September 2017, Mr.Arun Jaitley left to Japan for a two day visit. This is his last visit to Japan as a defence minister as Ms.Nirmala Sitharaman has been appointed as the new defence minister of India. The new defence minister should have gone for the visit but due to logistical constraints Mr.Arun Jaitley went for it.

Arun Jaitley’s meeting with Japanese Defence minister:

1. Mr.Arun Jaitley met Japanese Defence minister Mr.Itsunori Onodera as a part of the India-Japan annual defence ministerial dialogue in Tokyo.
2. During the meeting issues relating to the US-2 amphibious aircraft were also figured out.
3. The two sides also agreed to commence technical discussions for research collaboration in the areas of Unmanned Ground Vehicles and Robotics. 
4. India plans to buy the US-2 ShinMaywa aircraft from Japan for its navy. Last year, China had reacted angrily to reports that Japan plans to sell weapons to India at cheaper prices, saying that such a move is disgraceful.
5. Seeking to further intensify naval cooperation, Mr.Onodera expressed his intention to have state-of-the-art Japanese assets, including P-1 maritime patrol aircraft to participate in next year’s trilateral Malabar naval exercise which also involves the US Navy. About Japan:
   1. Capital – Tokyo
   2. Currency – Japanese Yen
   3. Prime minister: Mr.Shinzo Abe
   4. Defence minister – Mr.Itsunori Onodera
   5. Official language – Japanese

   ….Click here to view complete details

UJALA scheme launched in Melaka, Malaysia
Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under Ministry of Power, Government of India has launched UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All) Scheme in the State of Melaka, Malaysia on 6^th of Sept. 2017.
Key Points:
i.The Scheme was launched by Chief Minister of Melaka Idris Haron.
ii.UJALA’s impact in Malaysia will bring about clean energy, contribute to climate change targets and save the already dwindling energy resources.
iii.Under this scheme, each household in Melaka will get 10 high quality 9-watt LED bulbs at a cost of only RM 10, which is almost half of what in being offered in the market.
iv.Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) plans to distribute about 1 million 9W LED bulbs, which will replace 18W CFLs.
v.The price of each bulb will be way lesser than global average price of the LED bulbs, which still swings between 3-5 USD.
vi.Each bulb that is being provided by EESL under the UJALA scheme in Melaka comes with a 3-year free replacement warranty against any technical defects.
vii.It will benefit the environment and also foster new avenues of economic growth in the region.
viii.This scheme has been launched with an aim to reduce the annual household electricity bills by approximately 10.22 million RM every year.
ix.Melaka will also be able to reduce carbon emissions by around 19,000 tonnes per year.
x.Currently, over 25-crore LED bulbs have been distributed under the UJALA scheme in India, which are resulting in 33,828 mn kWh of energy savings per year.
About Malaysia
Capital: Kuala Lumpur
PM: Najib Razak
Currency: Ringgit

Banking & Finance

SBI Launches SBI Intelligent Assistant (SIA) – Chatbot For Customer Care
i.State Bank of India (SBI) is the latest to get smitten by the Artificial Intelligence and Automation. They have launched their first ever chatbot called SBI Intelligent Assistant or SIA, which would be powered by AI, and designed to assist customers.
ii.After ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank adopted automation in banking, SBI’s move towards AI is seen as a major leap for Indian banking.
iii.This special chatbot has been created & developed by Allincall, which is a startup from Mumbai, and backed by startup cell of IIT Bombay. As per the details available, Allincall has used machine learning, and bot experience to create an AI powered chatbot, which will respond to customer’s query, and provide them solution.

Banks without Aadhaar enrolment centres face Rs.20,000 fine from October
On 5^th September 2017, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Mr.Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that the UIDAI has given banks one more month to open Aadhaar enrolment centres in a stipulated 10 per cent of branches and will impose Rs.20,000 as fine per uncovered branch after 30^th September 2017.
Earlier Instructions from UIDAI:

1. Aadhaar, the 12-digit biometric identity number, is required for opening of bank accounts and financial transactions of Rs.50,000 and above. Existing bank account holders are also required to furnish the Aadhaar number byDecember 31, 2017.
2. UIDAI CEO Mr.Ajay Bhushan Pandey said “Aadhar enrolment facility in bank premises was done for convenience of people. Given the requirement of linking Aadhaar with existing bank account and for new bank accounts, having the enrolment and updation facilities within the branches (10 per cent) will ensure that people do not face any difficulty.”
3. In July, UIDAI had askedprivate as well as public banks to open Aadhaar enrolment and updation facility in one out of 10 branches by the end of August.

Extension of time provided by UIDAI:

1. Extension of one month has now been granted as many banks asked for additional time from the authority for setting up such facility on their premises.
2. The PSU and private banks have been informed about the extension. There are 1,20,000 bank branches in the country and with this move, 12,000 Aadhaar enrolment and updation centres will have to be set up in those branches. Many banks are already registrars, but they do not have enrolment centres inside the bank premises today.
3. Failure to open the stipulated facility even after expiry of theSeptember 30 deadline would mean that the bank will have to pay a penalty of Rs.20,000 per uncovered branch in the first month. Similarly, the penalty will be imposed in subsequent months also.

About UIDAI:

1. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Dr.Ajay Bhushan Pandey
2. Chairman – Mr.J.Satyanarayana

Business

NHAI awards first international project in Myanmar to Punj Lloyd-Varaha
On 6^th September 2017, the National Highway Authority of India awarded its first international project in Myanmar to a joint venture of Punj Lloyd-Varaha.
About the Myanmar Project:

1. Project details:

Purpose – This project is for the upgradation of the Yagyi–Kalewa section in Myanmar to two lanes with earthern shoulder in the engineering, procurement, and construction mode.
Project length – 120 km
Estimated cost – Rs.1,177.02 crore
Estimated completion time – 36 months

2. Punj Lloyd-Varaha’s bid was identified as the most competitive among four qualified bidders. It was at Rs.1,177 croreor 0.0017 per cent lower than the estimated cost.

About NHAI:

1. National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is an autonomous agency of the Government of India, responsible for management of a network of over 70,000 km of National Highways in India.
2. Headquarters: New Delhi
3. Chairman – Mr.‎Deepak Kumar

About Myanmar:

1. Capital – Naypyidaw
2. Currency – Burmese kyat
3. President – Htin Kyaw
4. Official language: Burmese

Acquisitions & Mergers

HCL acquires UK-based data management platform Datawave
On 5^th September 2017, HCL Technologies announced the acquisition of automation–driven data management platform Datawave to accelerate data integration and migration for their clients.
About the acquisition:

1. HCL has announced that it has agreed to buy Datawave a business unit of ETL Factory Limited, a UK–based company.
2. HCL Technologies did not provide any financial details of the acquisition.
3. Datawave has created an innovative data automation platform which enables enterprise customers to execute large scale, complex data–migration and data–integration projects in a leaner, faster and smarter way.
4. Datawave won the Informatica Innovation Awardand is also extendable to other platforms, including big data.
5. “The acquisition of Datawave and its suite of products bolsters HCL’s capabilities to collaborate with clients on their mission–critical data transformation projects, incorporating a culture of DevOps and continuous integration,” saidMr.Rahul Singh, President and Head – Financial Services, HCL Technologies. He also added that Datawave also brings in significant banking industry expertise.
6. “In a recent market study done by HCL, 81% of organizations said they were overwhelmed with the volume and variety of data needed to drive digital transformation”, saidAnand Birje, Corporate Vice President and Head – Digital & Analytics, HCL Technologies. He added “Datawave’s automation solutions will significantly help our clients accelerate their digital journey through a robust data architecture.”
7. “The synergies between Datawave’s customer-centric, enterprise data integration platform and HCL’s technology leadership and deep engineering capabilities will deliver unparalleled value to our clients,” saidMark Butterworth, CEO of Datawave.
   
   About HCL:
8. Country’s fourth largest software services firm
9. Headquarters – Noida
10. Founders – Mr.Shiv Nadar and Mr.Arjun Malhotra
11. CEO – Mr.C.Vijayakumar
12. President and Head of Financial Services – Mr. Rahul Singh
13. Corporate Vice President and Head of Digital & Analytics – Mr.Anand Birje

Appointments & Resigns

Sankara Narayanan takes charge as MD and CEO of Vijaya Bank
R A Sankara Narayanan appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Vijaya Bank announced on 6^th sept. 2017.
Key Points:                  
i.He has replaced Kishore Sansi, who retireCoal Indiad on 31^st August 2017.
ii.He joined Bank of India as a direct recruit officer in 1983 and has headed various branches.
About Vijaya Bank
Founded: 1931
Founder: A.B. Shetty.
HQ: Bengaluru
Tagline: A friend you can bank on

Gopal Singh is new CMD of Coal India
The Ministry of Coal has appointed Gopal Singh as CMD, Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), additional charge as CMD of Coal India Ltd.
Key Points:
i.Singh has taken charge effective from 1^st September 2017.
ii.He has replaced Sutirtha Bhattacharya on attaining superannuation effective August 31, 2017.

Awards & Recognition

N R Narayana Murthy and Mumbai-born scientist Veena Sahajwalla receives PLuS Alliance Prize
Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy and Mumbai-born Scientist Veena Sahajwalla has granted the PLuS Alliance Prize. It is a prestigious honour that recognises Research Innovation, Education Innovation, Global Leadership and Global Innovation.
Key Points:
i.The Prize of USD 50,000 was awarded in two categories; Education Innovation and Research Innovation. 
ii.They were recognised for the development and implementation of innovative solutions to significant global issues.
iii.Murthy was presented the PLuS Alliance Prize for Global Leadership.
iv.Professor Sahajwalla was awarded the PLuS Alliance Prize for Research Innovation for her project ‘The new science of green manufacturing’.
About PLuS Alliance
i.The PLuS Alliance is an international collaboration between Arizona State University, King’s College London, and UNSW Sydney.
ii.The ceremony was held at the T-H-E World Academic Summit in London.
iii.It was launched in February 2016 and enables research-led solutions to global challenges while expanding access to world-class learning.
iv.The awards were presented to Murthy, Sahajwalla and the other winners by Professor Sir Malcolm Grant, Chairman of NHS England and Chair of the PLuS Alliance Advisory Board.

Science & Technology

Whatsapp launches new tool for business-‘whatsapp business’
WhatsApp is launching a new app to help businesses communicate with their customers announced on 6^thsept 2017.
Key Points:
i.WhatsApp Business gives users a verified green checkmark badge next to their names.
ii.Secondly, businesses will be able to create a company profile with information such as address, business hours, description of product or service offered.
iii.Thirdly, WhatsApp Business will help to manage consumer chats.
iv.It is building and testing new tools via a free WhatsApp Business app for small companies and an enterprise solution for bigger companies operating at a large scale with a global base of customers, like airlines, e-commerce sites and banks.
v.It will allow customer to communicate with firms via WhatsApp messages instead of email or phone calls.

APEDA develops mobile app for farm registration, certification
According to the Commerce Ministry, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority(APEDA) has developed a mobile app “Hortinet” for farmers to facilitate registration, testing and certification of certain fruits and vegetables.
Key Points:
i.The app “Hortinet” is an integrated traceability system developed by APEDA for providing internet-based services to the stakeholders.
ii.The app will facilitate “farm registration, testing and certification of grape, pomegranate and vegetables for export from India to the European Union in compliance with standards.
iii.The app would also help to assist state horticulture and agriculture departments to capture real time details of farmers, farm location, products and details of inspection.
iv.It will help to increase the accessibility and reach of the traceability software system among farmers and other stakeholders.
v.Through the new technology tool APEDA would help in enrolling larger number of farmers and exporters.

Sports

AIBA world boxing championships 2017
On 25^th August 2017, the 2017 edition of AIBA world boxing championships started. This event was hosted by Hamburg, Germany. The event lasted till 2^nd September 2017. The best 280 boxers in world competed for one of the most decorated boxing titles in the word.
Gaurav Bidhuri Clinches Bronze Medal at World Boxing Championships:

1. On 31^stAugust 2017, 24 year oldIndian boxer Gaurav Bidhuri and 19 year old American boxer Duke Ragan fought in the semi-finals of the bantamweight (56 kilogram) category.
2. Gaurav Bidhuri lost 0-5 to Duke Raganand clinched the Bronze medal.

i.Amit Phangal (49kg) and Kavinder Bisht (56kg) had bowed out in the quarterfinal stage
ii.Shiva Thapa, Manoj Kumar out in first round AIBA
iii. Ukraine’s Oleksandr Khyzhniak wins Best Boxer, Cuba win Best team and USA’s Billy Walsh wins Best Coach….Click here to view complete details

Official song of FIFA U-17 World Cup launched
The official song for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup football tournament was launched by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) on 4^th of Sept 2017.
Key Points:
i.The official song called “Kar Ke Dikhla De Goal”and the song has been written by lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya and composed by Pritam.
ii.The song features a host of well-known music artists that include Sunidhi Chauhan, Neeti Mohan, Babul Supriyo, Shaan, Papon, Mika along with a rap performance by actor Abhishek Bachchan.
iii.The colourful music video for the song celebrates diversity and ends with Sachin Tendulkar welcoming all with a Namaste.
iv.The music video of the song will be broadcasted on SonyPN’s on-air and digital platforms across genres.
About FIFA
The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is a private association which describes itself as an international governing body of association football.
FIFA is responsible for the organization of football’s major international tournaments.
Formation on 21^st May 1904
HQ: Zurich Switzerland
President: Gianni Infantino

Star India wins IPL media rights for next five years
Star India bagged the IPL media rights for TV and digital broadcast for a consolidated sum of Rs.16, 347.5 crore ($ 2.55 billion) for a period of five years.
Key Points:
i.It will start from the 11th edition of IPL 2018 for five years. It pipped Sony to acquire the rights from 2018 to 2022.
ii.Total of 24 companies had picked up the Invitation To Tender (ITT) to bid for the broadcast and digital rights.
iii.However, only 14 of the 24 names turned up with their respective bids.
iv.The bids were invited for seven categories — India television, India digital, US, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and rest of the world.
v.Star India was the only company to bid for all markets in the event that took place at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai.
vi.Star India, through its wholly owned subsidiary Novi Digital Entertainment Private Limited, owned the digital rights of IPL.
vii.Until the 2017 edition, Sony held the broadcast rights of the IPL after it paid Rs 8,200 crore for a 10-year deal in 2008.
viii.Star India chairman and CEO is  Uday Shankar.

Lewis Hamilton wins Italian Grand Prix, takes lead title from Sebastian Vettel
Lewis Hamilton has won the Italian Grand Prix 2017 to take lead in Formula-1 title race announced on 3^rd sept. 2017.
Key Points:
i.Hamilton now has 238 points, three more points than Vettel.
ii.Hamilton finished nearly five seconds ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.
iii.Sebastian Vettel came third in his Ferrari, more than half a minute behind.
iv.Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth in the Formula-1 title race while Kimi Raikkonen crossed fifth.
About Italian Grand Prix
The 2017 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 September 2017 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Italy.
Winners List:
First: Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
Second: Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
Third: Sebastian Vettel Ferrari

Obituary

Journalist Gauri lankesh shot dead in Bengaluru
Senior journalist, editor and activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead by unidentified mugger at the entrance of her home in Bengaluru West on 5^th of Sept. 2017.
Key Points:
i.She was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru last night by attackers who fired seven times at close range.
ii.Gauri Lankesh was the editor of weekly Kannada tabloid magazine Lankesh Patrike, columnist in newspapers, a panelist on TV channels besides being an activist.