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Indian Affairs
TRIFED organised National Workshop on Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest Produce
On 25th September 2017, TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India) organised a National Workshop on Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Minor Forest Produce (MFP), in New Delhi.
National Workshop on Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest Procedure:
i. Minister of Tribal Affairs Mr.Jual Oram inaugurated the workshop.
ii. Ministers of State for Tribal Affairs Mr.Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor and Mr.Sudarshan Bhagat were present in the occasion.
iii. The workshop was conducted in order to expand the Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest Procedure scheme throughout India.
iv. Currently, this scheme is carried out in 9 states.
TRIFED Signs MoU with Amazon for online sale of tribal products:
i. TRIFED has signed an MOU with Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd for sale of tribal products through e-commerce venture www.amazon.in.
ii. “TRIBES INDIA” showrooms managed by TRIFED has 42 retail outlets and 13 tie-up stores with State level Emporiums in various parts of India.
India third in nuclear power installations: World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2017
India has been ranked third in the world with respect to number of nuclear reactors being installed, by the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2017, which was released in September 2017.
World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2017:
i. The lead authors of the report are energy consultants Mycle Schneider and Antony Froggart.
ii. India occupies 3rd position in the list with 6 nuclear reactors being installed.
iii. China is in the lead with 20 reactors.
iv. In 2016, nuclear power generation increased by 1.4% globally. Wind power generation increased by 16% and solar power generation by 30%.
About Department of Atomic Energy, India:
i. Headquarters – Mumbai
ii. Secretary – Dr.Sekhar Basu
iii. Minister of State – Mr.Jitendra Singh
India, US, Afghanistan join hands for 1st trade show in Delhi
On 27th to 29th September 2017, India, US and Afghanistan will conduct a joint trade and investment show for the first time, in Delhi.
Joint Trade & Investment Show:
i. The event will be inaugurated by Afghanistan CEO Dr.Abdullah.
ii. He will visit India between 27th and 29th September 2017.
iii. He will meet Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi, President Mr.Ram Nath Kovind, Foreign Minister Ms.Sushma Swaraj and few others.
iv. He will be accompanied by a delegation of 50 members.
v. The trade event is sponsored by the US.
vi. It is hosted by India.
vii. US Defence Secretary Mr.James Mattis will visit India for the first time.
viii. He will conduct high level talks with India on the Trump Administration’s new South Asia policy.
About Afghanistan:
i. Capital – Kabul
ii. Currency – Afghani
iii. Official language – Pashto, Dari
iv. President – Mr.Ashraf Ghani
Infosys Foundation signs MoU with IISc to enhance infrastructure and broaden research activities
On 25th September 2017, Infosys Foundation signed a MoU with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.
MoU between Infosys Foundation & IISc:
i. The MoU between Infosys Foundation and Indian Institute of Science aims to improve infrastructure and broaden research activities at the Centre for Infectious Diseases Research (CIDR).
ii. This MoU will focus on motivating researchers and train them to develop awareness about infectious diseases.
iii. Funds for Rs.5 crore has been allotted for the research.
iv. This will be used in research, training and creating awareness about infectious diseases.
v. This will cover 25 faculty members and 250 students at IISc.
vi. This initiative will lead to development of new drugs, drug delivery systems and diagnostic tools.
About Indian Institute of Science (IISc):
i. Location – Bengaluru
ii. Purpose – Public University for research and higher education in science, engineering, design, and management
New underground water treatment plant commissioned at Sadhutilla in Agartala
Under the state Urban Development department in Tripura, a new underground water treatment plant has been commissioned at Sadhutilla in the southern part of Agartala inaugurated on 23rd of Sept. 2017.
Key Points:
i.The Sadhutilla water treatment plant is designed to treat surface water and deep tube wells.
ii.The built-up cost of this water treatment plant was Rs. 4 crores 99 lakh.
iii.The plant has started functioning with supply of quality treated water initially to 565 households through pipe line.
iv.It has treatment capacity of 4 point 8 million litre per day and will supply potable water to 2500 connections at households, schools, markets and institutions of 13 hamlets.
v.It has two Over Head Storage Reservoirs with capacities of 1,130 Kilo Liter and 450 Kilo Liter.
vi.Its prominent function is that it would be treating water at higher standards with minimizing turbidity and iron in water much below the permissible level.
vii.The plant has also the provisions of recycling of sludge water and rain water harvesting.
viii.It has been funded jointly by the Asian Development Bank with 70% share of assistance and the Union Government with 30 % share of assistance.
About Tripura
Capital: Agartala
CM: Manik Sarkar
Governor: Tathagata Roy
International Affairs
Saudi Arabia allows women into sports stadium for the first time
On 23rd September 2017, Saudi Arabian women were allowed to attend celebrations at a sports stadium in Riyadh, for the first time in its history.
Women allowed in sports stadium for the first time:
i. Women were allowed to enter a sports stadium for the first time in Saudi Arabia’s history to attend Saudi Arabia’s national day celebrations.
ii. Generally, women are not allowed to enter any of the sports arenas in Saudi Arabia as per rule.
iii. The celebrations took place at King Fahd stadium in Riyadh.
iv. Celebrations included concerts, folk dance and fireworks.
v. Women with their families were seated separately from single men in the stadium.
vi. The extremely conservative Saudi kingdom is relaxing some rules as a part of its “Vision 2030” plan for economic and social reforms.
About Saudi Arabia:
i. Capital – Riyadh
ii. Currency – Saudi riyal
iii. Official language – Arabic
iv. King – Mr.Salman
DRUZBA 2017: Pak, Russia holds joint military drill in Minralney Vody, Russia
Pakistan and Russia will hold a two-week long military exercise which mainly focus on counter-terrorism operations. It enhances defence ties between the two countries.
Key Points:
i.The joint exercise DRUZBA 2017 between special forces of Pakistan and Russia Armies started in Minralney Vody, Russia.
ii.The joint exercise will focus on counter-terrorism operations, hostage and rescue, cordon and search operation.
iii.The opening ceremony was attended by senior military officials of special forces of both the countries.
iv.The joint exercise will enhance and strengthen military ties between the two countries and share Pakistan Army’s experience in war against terrorism.
About Russia
Capital: Moscow
President: Vladimir Putin
PM: Dmitry Medvedev
Currency: Russian Ruble
Banking & Finance
SBI opens new branch in Singapore
On 25th September 2017, State Bank of India (SBI) opened its sixth branch in Singapore.
SBI’s 6th branch in Singapore:
i. SBI launched its 6th branch in Ang Mo Kio area of Singapore.
ii. This area is popular for housing estates.
iii. SBI already has branches in Marine Parade, Jurong, Little India etc. in Singapore.
iv. SBI country-head for Singapore Mr.Soma Sankara Prasad was present in the inauguration of Ang Mo Kio branch.
v. About 80 % of SBI’s Sinagpore customers are Chinese and the rest are high networth Indians.
vi. Mr.Soma Sankara Prasad said that SBI offers the highest interest rates on deposits compared to other banks in Singapore.
vii. SBI also offers services like wealth management, insurance and rupee remittances.
About State Bank of India (SBI):
i. Type – Public Sector Bank
ii. Headquarters – Mumbai
iii. Chairman – Ms.Arundhati Bhattacharya
Interest Subsidy Scheme on home loans for MIG extended to March 2019
Under the Centre’s affordable housing scheme, the interest subsidy of up to Rs 2.60 lakh on home loans will now be available to middle income group (MIG) beneficiaries for 15 more months till March 2019.
Key Points:
i.By this decision MIG beneficiaries will get more time to avail interest subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).
ii.Under CLSS, MIG beneficiaries with annual income of above Rs 6 lakh and up to Rs 12 lakh would get an interest subsidy of 4% on a 20-year loan component of Rs 9 lakh.
iii.Those with annual income exceeding Rs 12 lakh and up to Rs 18 lakh would get interest subsidy of 3%.
iv.The ‘Real Estate and Infrastructure Investors Summit’ is organized by National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) which is the apex industry body of real estate sector.
v.On 31st December 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the credit linked subsidy scheme (CLSS) under PMAY (Urban) will be applicable to MIG till the end of December 2017.
vi.Now, the subsidy scheme will be available for 15 more months till March 2019.
Awards & Recognition
Banaj Devi to receive Sarala award for ‘Kathapua’
Banaj Devi, famous Odia poet and short story writer is to be awarded Sarala award for her short story compilation ‘Kathapua’ on 26th October 2017.
Sarala Award for ‘Kathapua’:
i. The annual Sarala Puraskar award is one of the prestigious literary awards of Odisha.
ii. Cash award of Rs.5 lakh is given to the recipients.
iii. The awards are given away by Indian Metals Public Charitable Trust (IMPaCT).
iv. Banaj Devi would be given the Sarala Puraskar award at a special function on 26th October 2017.
v. Also, Dr.Ghasiram Mishra will be awarded ‘Ila Panda Sangeet Samman’ award and Dr.Durga Prasad Das will be awarded ‘Ila Panda Chitrakala Samman’ award on the occasion.
vi. Famous writer Mamang Dai will be the Chief Guest of the Sarala Award function.
About Odisha:
i. Capital – Bhubaneswar
ii. Chief Minister – Mr.Naveen Patnaik
iii. Governor – Mr.S.C.Jamir
Appointments & Resigns
Angela Merkel wins 4th term as Chancellor of Germany
Angela Merkel won a fourth term as chancellor in Germany elections that lifted the far-right party Alternative for Germany into parliament for the first time since the immediate aftermath World War II.
Key Points:
i.Her nearest rivals, the Social Democrats, and their candidate Martin Schulz came in the second position with a post-war record low 20.8%.
ii.Merkel’s party Christian Democrat-led picked up 32.5% of the votes to defeat Martin Schulz’s Social Democrats.
iii.The chancellor’s main competitor, the Social Democrats’ Martin Schulz, has failed to inspire the public.
iv.His platform of reducing income inequality and reforming social welfare programs isn’t resonating in a country enjoying good economic times now.
About Germany
Capital: Berlin
President: Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Currency: Euro
Industrialist Rajinder Gupta elected PCA president
Leading industrialist Rajinder Gupta was elected as the president of the Punjab Cricket Association on 23rd of Sept. 2017.
Key Points:
i.Singla, Rakesh Rathour, Prof S M Verma and Amarinder Bindra were elected as the vice presidents of the PCA.
ii.Arun Sharma and Dr A G S Bawa were elected to the post of honorary joint secretary and Ajay Tyagi was elected as the treasurer.
iii.Rajiv Mittal, R S Sachdeva, B K Bassi and P M S Banga were among the four individual members who were elected while 10 members of the executive were also elected.
Science & Technology
Osiris-Rex: NASA’s asteroid-bound spacecraft swings by Earth
On 22nd September 2017, NASA’s asteroid-chasing spacecraft ‘Osiris-Rex’ swung by Earth on its way to an asteroid.
Osiris-Rex swings by Earth:
i. Osiris-Rex spacecraft was launched in 2016 within 17,237 km of Earth above Antarctica by NASA.
ii. Osiris-Rex was launched to collect samples form asteroid Bennu.
iii. Osiris-Rex would reach asteroid Bennu in 2018, collect some of its gravel in 2020 and return to Earth in 2023.
iv. On 22nd September 2017, Osiris-Rex came near the Earth.
v. It came closer at around 31,000 km/hr.
vi. It appeared in the size of a SUV.
vii. NASA took precautions to ensure that Osiris-Rex did not clash with other satellites.
viii. Bennu is an ancient asteroid believed to be formed 4.5 billion years ago.
About NASA:
i. Full form – National Aeronautics and Space Administration
ii. Headquarters – Washington DC, US
iii. Acting Administrator – Robert M. Lightfoot Jr.
SBI launches Chabot to help customers in banking activities
On 25th September 2017, SBI (State bank of India) launched a Chatbot (chat assistant) to respond and answer customer enquiries.
SBI Intelligent Assistant:
i. The chat assistant is named as SBI Intelligent Assistant (SIA).
ii. It uses Artificial Intelligence technology.
iii. It will help customers with everyday banking tasks, like a bank representative.
iv. Payjo, an Artificial Intelligence Banking Platform developed the Chatbot in collaboration with SBI.
v. SIA has the capacity to handle nearly 10,000 enquiries per second and 864 million per day.
vi. SIA will reduce a major part of the bank’s operational cost over a period of time.
vii. Currently, SIA can handle enquiries on banking products and services.
viii. It has been imparted with huge knowledge about banking and would also answer frequently asked questions.
About Payjo:
i. Headquarters – California, US
ii. Founder and CEO – Srinivas Njay
Sports
East Bengal wins 8th consecutive Calcutta Football League Title
On 24th September 2017, East Bengal won the Calcutta Football League (CFL) title for the 8th consecutive time at the Kanchenjunga Stadium, in Siliguri, West Bengal.
East Bengal wins 8th Consecutive Calcutta Football League:
i. East Bengal has created a new record by winning the Calcutta Football League (CFL) title for the 8th consecutive time.
ii. It has won all the CFL titles since 2010.
iii. It has a total of 39 CFL titles making a tournament record.
iv. East Bengal Club won the title in a 2-2 draw against Mohun Bagan Club in the final Premier Division ‘A’ match of the 2017 season.
v. The title winner was decided based on the number of goals scored.
vi. East Bengal Club had scored 28 goals. Whereas, Mohun Bagan Club had scored only 22 goals.
Vaishnavi clinches Belgian Junior Open; Arjun MR and Ramchandran Shlok win in Ethiopia
Indian shuttler Vaishnavi Reddy clinched up the women’s singles U-19 title at the Belgian Junior Open.Reddy defeated Vivien Sandorhazi in a three-game final at Herstal, Belgium on 24th of Sept. 2017.
Key Points:
i.At Ethiopia, International in Men’s doubles pair of Arjun MR and Ramchandran Shlok won 21-6 21-19 against Jordanian pair of Bahaedeen Ahmad Alshannik and Mohd Naser Mansour in the finals at the Ethiopian Youth Academy Gymnasium Hall to clinch the title.
ii.In Indian women’s doubles combination of Maneesha K and Arathi Sara Sunil suffered a 19-21 22-24 loss from English pair of Jenny Moore and Victoria Williams in the finals to settle for silver at the Polish International at Bierun, Poland.
About Ethiopia
Capital: Addis Ababa
Currency: Ethiopian Birr
President: Mulatu Teshome
PM: Hallemariam Desalegn
India become World No. 1 in both ODIs and Tests
India beat Australia by 5 wickets in the third ODI played between the two sides at Indore. Now India is the no. 1 spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) One-Day International (ODI) rankings.
Key Points:
i.This is India’s ninth consecutive ODI win while it is Australia 11ts successive defeat.
ii.The three Top three teams in ODI are India, South Africa, and Australia.
iii.Australia, on the other hand, are six rating points behind India on third.
iv.South Africa can reclaim the top spot if they beat Bangladesh in the upcoming three-match series that will be preceded by a Test series.
Important Days
Government celebrates ‘Bharat ke Kaushalzaade’ on Antyodaya Diwas
On 25th September 2017, Ministry of Rural Development conducted an event named ‘Bharat ke Kaushalzaade’, to honour beneficiaries of its skill development programmes, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Bharat ke Kaushalzaade:
i. The event was conducted on 25th September 2017, which is observed as ‘Antyodaya Diwas’.
ii. Beneficiaries of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETI) were honoured.
iii. Under DDU-GKY scheme 5.05 lakh rural candidates have been given skill development.
iv. Under RSETI scheme 14.09 lakh candidates have been given skill development.
v. A new scheme named ‘Kaushal Panjee’ (Skill Register) was launched at the event.
vi. It helps candidates to get quality training and jobs.
vii. A new logo for RSETI was launched. The logo depicted ‘reaching for the stars’.
About Ministry of Rural Development:
i. Headquarters – New Delhi
ii. Minister of Rural Development – Mr.Narendra Singh Tomar
Obituary
Renowned Marathi writer, journalist Arun Sadhu passes away at 76 in Mumbai
Renowned Marathi author and senior journalist, Arun Sadhu (76) passed away on Sep 25 2017. Sadhu is survived by his wife Aruna, a social activist, and two daughters, Suvarna and Shefali.
About Arun Sadhu
i. He was known for his work Mumbai Dinank, Kakasaheb Gadgil, Simhasan and many more novels in Hindi, English and Marathi.
ii. He won the Sahitya Academy award.
iii. He has written on rise of Shiv Sena, Vietnam War and Chinese revolution and also written several short stories.
iv. He has won several awards including Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad, NC Kelkar and Acharya Atre award.
Legendary soul singer Charles Bradley dies aged 68
Charles Bradley, the legendary soul singer and a late-in-life headliner, died on 23rd Sept. in Brooklyn New York. He was 68.
Key Points:
i.He was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2016 and underwent treatment.
ii.He started his solo career relatively late in life when he was signed to Daptone Records in 2002 after being spotted as “Black Velvet.
iii.He released three albums, No Time for Dreaming, Victim of Love, and Changes.
Former world’s heaviest woman Eman Abd El Aty dies
Eman Ahmed, the world’s heaviest woman who made news when she arrived in Mumbai earlier this year for aweight-loss surgery, passed away in Abu Dhabi on 25th Sept. 2017.
Key Points:
i.She had lost more than 300kg (660lb) of her 500kg but had died from complications from other health conditions.
ii.By 2016, Ahmed weighed about 500kg and was diagnosed with severe lymphedema and water retention, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hypothyroidism.
iii.She has severe obstructive and restrictive lung disease, gout and was at a very high risk of pulmonary embolism.
