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INDIAN AFFAIRS
World War II bombs found in Nagaland
i. Kohima police recovered two bombs of the World War II era from PR Hill Colony.The bombs of the World War II era that lasted from 1939 to 1945.
ii. The bombs were found from an ongoing construction site by the laborers after which the police were informed. The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad reached the spot and the bombs were safely removed.
iii. Meanwhile, Kohima police requested the people not to touch any suspected material while carrying out construction works and to report the matter to the police.
Nagaland :
♦ Capital: Kohima.
♦ Chief Minister: T.R.Zeilang.
♦ Governor: Padmanaba Acharya
National Mission on Bioeconomy launched in Shillong
i. Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) launched the National Mission on Bioeconomy in Shillong, Meghalaya under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
ii. The mission focuses on sustainable utilization of renewable biological resources for food, bio-based products and bio-energy through knowledge-based approaches.
iii. The mission is unique to south-east Asia and India.A few countries like USA, Canada, European Union and Australia have started initiatives in this field.
iv. It could have the potential to generate new solutions for the planet’s major challenges in the field of energy, health, food, water, climate change and deliver social, environmental and economic benefits.
India International Tea Convention to be held at Ooty
i. Tea Board of India and The United Planters Association of Southern India (Upasi) were jointly conducted the India international Tea convention at Ooty in Nilgiris.
ii. The convention is aimed at reinforcing the salient and unique features of Indian teas to the tea fraternity across the world. The theme for the convention is ‘Let’s ‘Team up for Sustainability’.
iii. The Indian teas follow sustainable agricultural practices, ethical and fair employee engagement, safety at work place, livelihood issues of community besides supporting environment.
iv. The highlight of the convention would be the business session in which around 500 delegates from around the world were expected to participate. There would be a special focus on south Indian teas. The tea that won the 12th edition of golden leaf awards held in Dubai was featured at the event.
v. The inaugural session was chaired by Rita Teaotia, Union Commerce Secretary. The valedictory function was chaired by MusdhalifahMachmud, Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, and Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs, Indonesia.
vi. N Dharmaraj, Upasi President announced that the credibility of the tea industry was being questioned despite its huge commitment to employment, rural infrastructure and product safety issues
International airport to come up at Purandar, Pune
i. Airports Authority of India(AAI) has given it’s approval to a proposed site for the Pune International Airport at Purandar in Pune announced by Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis.
ii. The project was delayed for over a decade due to non-availability of land
iii. A 15-member team comprising AAI members, Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), revenue officials had conducted a review of the Purandar site in villages—Pargaon Memane, Ikhatpur, Rajewadi and Waghapur. The team had found this site is most appropriate for the airport.
Important International Airports in India :
♦ Indira Gandhi International Airport – New Delhi
♦ Calicut International Airport – Kozhlikode
♦ Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport – Guwahati
♦ Rajiv Gandhi International Airport – Hyderabed
Govt releases Rs 315 cr for building toilets along Ganga
i. Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti released Rs 315 crore to Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation for building toilets under Swachh Bharat campaign (Gramin) during 2016-17 along Ganga river.
ii. Till date 14,500 toilets have been constructed under this scheme
iii.The Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Ministry had released Rs 263 crore for the purpose during the previous fiscal.
Joint India-US army exercise Yudh Abhyas 2016- Chaubattia, Uttarakhand
i. The joint military training exercise of the Indian and US Armies Yudh Abhyas 2016 was held at Chaubattia in Uttarakhand.
ii. This is the 12th edition of the exercise hosted alternately by both countries.
iii. The Exercise Yudh Abhyas-2016 will simulate a scenario where both nations are working together in counter insurgency and counter terrorism environment in mountainous terrain under UN charter.
iv. Participants:225 personnel of the US Army and similar strength of Congo Brigade of the Indian Army.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
India ranked 143rd position in the latest health Index by UN General Assembly
i. A new index developed to assess each country’s achievement on a range of health indicators ranks India at 143 in a list of 188 countries. This first global analysis to assess countries on sustainable development goal (SDG) health performance was launched at a special event at the UN General Assembly.Top three countries are Iceland, Singapore, and Sweden.
ii. India was placed just ahead of Pakistan and Bangladesh which were ranked 149th and 151st respectively. India’s poor performance on hygiene, air pollution and mortality were among the factors that placed it lower than countries like Bhutan, Botswana, Syria and Sri Lanka.
iii. A nation’s SDG index score is based on a scale of zero to 100. In 2015, Iceland topped the overall list with a score of 85. The nation with the lowest score was the Central African Republic — 20. The United States had a score of 75, just behind Slovenia, Greece and Japan, all at 76. India’s score was 42. The US was ranked 28, above Estonia and New Zealand, while UK was rank 5.
Russia joins Pakistan in ‘anti-terror drill’ in Pakistan
i. The two Cold War enemies Russia and Pakistan joined together for their first-ever joint military exercise called ‘Friendship 2016’
ii. Aim: To strengthening and developing military cooperation with Pakistan
iii. The joint exercise began on September 24 and it will end on October 10
iv. ‘Friendship 2016 to be held in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in at the bases of Rattu, the military mountain training school and a training center of the special units in Cherat
Russia : Pakistan :
♦ Currency: Russian ruble ♦ Currency: Pakistani
♦ Capital: Moscow ♦ Capital: Islamabad rupee
♦ President: Vladimir Putin ♦ Prime Minister: Nawaz Sharif
BANKING & FINANCE
IRDAI has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on SBI Life Insurance
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority(IRDAI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh and another penalty of Rs 5 lakh has been imposed on SBI Life Insurance.
Reason for Penalty:
i. For violations of various norms, including guidelines on accepting business from a corporate agent after the expiry of licence. It had done 621 policies after expiry of licence
ii .For violation of the provisions of the regulation on accepting the business from unauthorised persons.
IRDAI:
♦ It was constituted by an Act of Parliament called the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999
♦ The agency operates from its headquarters at Hyderabad, Telangana .
♦ Chairman: T.S. Vijayan
Samruddhi Cooperative Bank RuPay Card Launched
i. Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and Chairperson of Samruddhi Cooperative Bank Kanchan Gadkari launched the Bank’s first-ever RuPay Card in central India
ii. The bank has fixed deposits worth Rs. 43 crore and has disbursed loan to the tune of Rs. 24 crore.
iii. Initially 2,000 cards will be given to the bank customers.
About Rupay:
♦ RuPay is an Indian domestic card scheme conceived and launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
♦ India became sixth country in the world to have its own card after China and Japan and others.
♦ RuPay cards presently has over 35% of market share in Indian card payment scheme behind Visa which has over 50% of the market share.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Government would own bravery awards
i. The Delhi government would now have its own bravery awards and these awards would be given out on Independence Day and Republic Day every year.Every year, the Centre gives National Bravery Awards to 25 children from across India for their meritorious acts of bravery against all odds.
ii. As per the proposal, 10 awards would be given and would carry a cash award of 2 lakh rupees each. The winners would be selected as per the nominations by the public.
iii. It also decided that Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Police, and other uniformed personnel would be covered by the 1 crore rupees ex gratia amount for death on duty.
iv. The government had been covering Delhi Police, armed forces, paramilitary forces and other uniformed forces such as Home Guards under its compensation policy.
v. The awards are given by the Government of India and the Indian (ICCW). The award was instituted in 1957.The first official National Bravery Awards were presented to Harish Chandra
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
Sanjiv Singh – New Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd
i. Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) selected Sanjiv Singh as the new Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, the nation’s largest company.
ii. Mr. Sanjiv Singh has been Director of Refineries at Indian Oil Corporation Limited since July 1, 2014.
iii. Mr. Singh served as an Executive Director of Paradip Refinery Project at Indian Oil Corporation Limited and served as its Executive Director of Panipat Refinery since May 2, 2013.
Arun Goyal appointed Additional Secretary of GST Council
i. Former IAS officer Arun Goyal was appointed as Additional Secretary in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet
ii. He is presently working as Additional Secretary, Project Monitoring Group, Cabinet Secretariat.
iii. The Union Cabinet had recently approved appointment of the Secretary (Revenue) as the ex-officio Secretary to the GST council and inclusion of the chairperson, Central Board of Excise and Customs, as a permanent invitee.
GST Council:
♦ Union Cabinet has approved the process, formation and functioning of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council as per the Article 279A of the Constitution.
♦ Recently GST holds its first meeting in New Delhi
♦ GST Council sets threshold limit at Rs 20 lakh
Ajay Singh elected as BFI President
i. Uttarakhand’s Ajay Singh was elected president of the Boxing Federation of India, and the Mumbai-based Jay Kowli won the post of secretary-general as the election process for the office-bearers of the new National federation was completed here on Sunday.
ii. Ajay Singh, who polled 49 out of the 64 votes cast, defeated Rohit Jain (15 votes) in the contest for the president’s post.The Indian Olympic Association did not send any representative to oversee the national boxing federation elections, involving 33 states and Union Territories.
iii. No reason was given for IOA’s absence, despite a request in writing from the world boxing body AIBA, and the International Olympic Committee.The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports deputed Susmita Jyotsi, SAI Director Kandivali and AIBA deputed Vice-President Edgar Tanner.
iv. Boxing did not have a national federation since 2012, when the world boxing body removed the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) from the list of national federations affiliated, over the issue of malpractices in elections.
v. AIBA appointed Kishen Narsi as chairman, to oversee Indian boxing and ensure the boxers’ preparation for Rio Olympics. Hemanta Kumar Kalita was elected unopposed as treasurer.
vi.Amarjit Singh (36 votes) was voted Vice-President (west zone) ahead of Lenny D’Gama (28). Rajesh Bhandari (29 votes) was elected VP (north), ahead of C K Jerath (25).
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Origin of mysterious cosmic X-rays found
i. Scientists have confirmed that some of the X-ray emissions in our universe originate from a huge bubble of hot ionised gas enveloping our solar system, a finding that strengthens our understanding of the solar neighbourhood’s early history.
ii. They also detected an entire group of X-rays that do not come from any known source – unveiling a new cosmic mystery.
In the last century, humans realized that space was filled with types of light we cannot see – from infrared signals released by hot stars and galaxies, to the cosmic microwave background that comes from every corner of the universe.
iii. Some of this invisible light that fills space takes the form of X-rays, the source of which has been hotly contended over the past few decades.
iv.Researchers from University of Miami in the US confirmed some of our ideas about where these X-rays come from, using data from the DXL (Diffuse X-ray emission from the Local galaxy) sounding rocket, which was launched in 2012.
v. The two known sources of X-ray emission are the solar wind, the sea of solar material that fills the solar system, and the Local Hot Bubble, a theorised area of hot interstellar material that surrounds our solar system
China Commissioned World’s Largest Radio Telescope
i. China commissioned the world’s largest radio telescope which can search for more strange object, help in better understanding the origin of the universe and boost global hunt for extraterrestrial life.
ii. Featuring a reflector the size of 30 football pitches, it took 5 years and $180 million to construct. Called the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope’s (FAST).
iii. Hundreds of astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts witnessed the official launch of the Five-Hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope’s (FAST) mission in a karst valley in Pingtang County.
iv. This project was started in 2011, 17 years after it was proposed by Chinese astronomers.
v. The installation of the telescope’s main structure — a 4,450-panel reflector as large as 30 football pitches was built at unique valley in southwest China’s Guizhou Province where over 8,000 people have been evacuated as it requires quiet atmosphere.
vi. FAST would require radio silence within a 5-kms radius. Over 600 apartments have been built in two new settlements, about 10 kilometers to accommodate the displaced people.
vii. China planned to use one of its best supercomputers, the Sky Eye-1, to process the massive amounts of data supplied by FAST. At its peak the data flow is expected to require computing power of over 200 teraflops per second.
Scientists Teleport Particle Of Light Over Six Kilometres, Set Record
i. The experiment made use of dark fibre – an optical cable with no electronics or network equipment – and could in the future enable secure communication without the risk of eavesdropping
ii. A new world record for quantum teleportation had been set, bringing quantum communication networks that can stretch between cities a step closer. Two independent teams have transferred quantum information over several kilometres of fibre optic networks
iii. In a first, scientists had successfully teleported a photon – particle of light – over a distance of six kilometres, an advance that may enable secure communication without having to worry about eavesdropping.
iv. Being able to establish teleportation over long distances is a crucial step towards exchanging quantum cryptographic keys needed for encoding data sent over the fibres.
v. Researchers at the University of Calgary in Canada, led by professor Wolfgang Tittel, set a new record for distance of transferring a quantum state by teleportation, using fibre optics cable infrastructure.The distance between Charlie and Bob, that’s the distance that counts.
ENVIRONMENT
New species of pika found in Sikkim
i. Sikkim Daughter Makes a Scientific Breakthrough – Nishma Dahal Discovers a New Pika Species in Himalayan.A new study based on genetic data and skull measurements had identified a new species of mammal high up in the Sikkim Himalaya.
ii. She is the first author of the paper had been studying pikassince 2010. Little did she know on her first trip to East Sikkim that she was handling a new species of pika.
iii. The research conducted by the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) with support from the Department of Biotechnology shows that though the species is morphologically similar to the Moupinpika, it was actually very distinct from the former from a genetic and ecological perspective.
iv. Pikas are cute members of the rabbit family that look like tailless rats, and had been in the news in North America for their sensitivity toincreasing temperature, which has caused several populations to go extinct.
v. Pikas live high up on the mountain or in cold (temperate) places, as they are highly cold adapted. This feature of their biology made them sensitive to losing their habitat from increasing global temperature.
vi. Asia is the hotspot for pika species, and yet our knowledge of Asian pikas is very poor. So poor, that in 2016, new species are being identifiedin the Sikkim Himalaya.
vii. Pikas are among the most fascinating mammalian species. Unlike other mammals inhabiting such harsh environments, pikas do not hibernate. They prepare for winter by collecting and storing hay piles for their winter food.
SPORTS
WTA Toray Pan Pacific Open – An Overview
The Pan Pacific Open currently sponsored by Toray Industries, is an outdoor hard court tennis tournament held annually in Tokyo, Japan. It is a WTA Premier Tournament on the WTA Tour.
Women’s Single title :
Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki beat Japan’s Naomi Osaka 7-5 6-3 to win the Single’s title in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo for the second time.
Women’s Double Title:
India’s Sania Mirza partner with Czech partner Barbora Strycova won Women’s double title in Toray Pan Pacific event by defeating Chinese pair of Chen Liang and Zhaoxuan Yang.
Vani Kapoor clinched women’s Professional Tour title
i. Indian golfer Vani Kapoor clinched the 13th leg of the womens Professional Golf Tour after scoring another 1 under 71 on the final day at the Jaypee Greens.
ii. This is Vani’s sixth title in nine appearances this season. Gursimar Badwal finished runner-up with a total score of 222, followed by Saaniya Sharma in third place.
iii. Sensing victory, she played with utmost caution in the latter half, carding a lone bogey on the 12th to finish with a total score of 214 after 54 holes.
iv. Another golfer Gursimar had an off day in the park. Initially, she showed intent by carding a birdie on the third hole, but thereafter struggled to stitch together a series of consistent shots and carded bogeys on the fourth, sixth, eighth and 15th holes, along with two double bogeys on the ninth and 14th.
v. She took the second position with a total score of 222, one shot clear of Saaniya Sharma. Chandigarh’s Saaniya Sharma finished third with a total score of 223. Delhi’s Ankita Tiwana took the fourth position with a total score of 226
Indians finished 31st in World Amateurs golf
i. Indian amateurs ended the week in tied 31st position at the end of 30th World Amateur Team Championship (WATC) at the par-71, 6,771-yard Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club..
ii. On the final day, Arjun Prasad was the best scorer for India with a round of 68 and he finished the week at five-over 291, the same as Indira Lakshminarayana Aalaap, who had a 74 in the final round.
iii. After two days, the best Indian in individual standings is Arjun Prasad (74-71) in 64th place. Last week the Indian women’s team of Tvesa Malik, Gaurika Bishnoi and Diksha Dagar finished 31st. Tvesa was the top Indian in 52nd place at 13-over.
iv. In the men’s section at the upper end of the leader board, Australia overtook first round leader Scotland and nearly matched the 36-hole scoring record as it vaulted to an eight-stroke lead after the second round.
v. Australia’s Davis, the lone player in the field to shoot all four rounds in the 60s despite the hot and humid conditions, turned in the lowest individual score at 17-under 269. He birdied three consecutive holes on the inward nine and had six during the final round.
vi. Second place were the United States at 11-under, while Switzerland (-10) and Poland (-9) were behind them. Scotland slipped to fifth at eight-under.
vii. England won the silver medal at 553, behind a final-round 6-under 136. Austria and Ireland shared the bronze medal and were one stroke back at 554
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Rivers Day – September 25, 2016
i. World Rivers Day observed every last Sunday in September (September 25, 2016) since 2005 to promotes the active involvement of citizens to ensure the health of rivers in the years ahead.
ii. It highlights the many values of rivers and strives to increase public awareness while encouraging the improved stewardship of rivers around the world.
iii. This year river activists in Vrindavan and Agra have drawn up plans to highlight the sad state of the river Yamuna
iv. World Rivers Day has been endorsed by various agencies of the United Nations
World Pharmacists Day – September 25, 2016
i. FIP Council in Istanbul marks the annual World Pharmacists Day on September 25, 2016.
ii. This day to encourages the world’s pharmacists to use this day to organise activities that promote and advocate for the role of the pharmacist in improving health in every corner of the world.
iii. 2016 Theme : “Pharmacists: Caring for you”
