Current Affairs Update – 18th September, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 18th September, 2015. These are important for the upcoming IBPS PO V Exam.

India
Pradhan Mantri Khanij
Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) launched by Union Government
  • To transform the lives of people living in the areas which
    are affected directly or indirectly by mining, the Union Government on 17
    September 2015 launched the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana
    (PMKKKY).
  • The programme is meant for the welfare of areas and people
    affected by mining related operations, using the funds generated by the
    District Mineral Foundations (DMFs).
  • DMFs were created under the Mines and Minerals (Development
    & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015 in all the districts of the country
    affected by mining related operations.

The objective of
PMKKKY
  • To implement various developmental and welfare
    projects/programs in mining affected areas that complement the existing ongoing
    schemes/projects of State and Central Government
  • To minimize/mitigate the adverse impacts, during and after
    mining, on the environment, health and socio-economics of people in mining
    districts
  • To ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods for the affected
    people in mining areas by including all aspects of living, to ensure
    substantial improvement in the quality of life. 

The aspects include 


a) High priority areas like drinking water supply, health
care, sanitation, education, skill development, women and child care, welfare
of aged and disabled people, skill development and environment conservation
will get at least 60 % share of the funds.
b) For creating a supportive and conducive living environment,
balance funds will be spent on making roads, bridges, railways, waterways
projects, irrigation and alternative energy sources.
PM Launches Rs 45K-Cr
Scheme to Strengthen Power Distribution

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched here the Rs
    45,000-crore Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) which will strengthen
    distribution networks and ensure 24X7 power supply to all by 2022.
  • “In the entire country, about Rs 45,000 crore will be
    spent under IPDS. This scheme will address many issues, including fraud,
    related to the power sector especially in the urban areas,” Modi said
    after launching the scheme.
  • He further said that one of the important tasks of the
    government is to provide 24X7 power supply to all by 2022 and this scheme is an
    effort in that direction.
  • The IPDS will cover works relating to strengthening
    sub-transmission and distribution system, including provisioning of solar
    panels, metering of distribution transformers/feeders/consumer in urban areas
    and IT enablement of distribution sector.
  • Modi said, “Power supply is available for four to six
    hours in some remote areas of the country. It is our target to provide 24X7
    power supply to all by 2022, even in remote areas. This is a tall order but
    there is no other ways but to strengthen power distribution networks.”
  • The Prime Minister said he used to see dangling electricity
    wires everywhere in the city during his earlier visits to Varanasi. This scheme
    will be one of the efforts to make Kashi a smart city.

64 Netaji secret
files released, Mamata wants Centre to follow

  • Sixty-four secret files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra
    Bose that could help throw light on his mysterious disappearance – an enduring
    enigma for seven decades – were today released by West Bengal government with
    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asking the Centre to follow suit.
  • Fulfilling a long-standing demand, Banerjee described as
    “historic” the declassification of the closely guarded files on one of the
    country’s foremost nationalist leaders and said people should know the truth.
    The Centre has 130 files.
  • Hidden in police and government lockers for years, the 64
    files containing 12,744 pages were declassified here in the presence of Bose’s
    family members who have been demanding that information on the leader of the
    Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army-INA) be made public.
  • The files displayed in glass cascades in Kolkata Police
    Museum would be made accessible to the public from Monday, City Police
    Commissioner Surajit Kar Purakayastha said.
  • Of the 64 files, 55 were with Kolkata Police while another
    nine were with the state police.
  • Purakayastha handed over a DVD containing the files in
    digitised format to the family members of Netaji who welcomed its release.

Madhya Pradesh
Government launched M-Shiksha-Mitra mobile app for teachers
  • To provide various services and teaching-related work to
    teacher in a simple and easy way, Madhya Pradesh Government in September 2015
    launched M-Shiksha-Mitra mobile app. With this, Madhya Pradesh became the first
    state to develop such mobile app for teachers.
  • The app developed by NIC that carries several facilities can
    be downloaded from Google Play Store in android mobile phone.

Expert Group on
tackling cyber crimes submitted its report to Ministry of Home Affairs
  • An Expert Group on tackling cyber crimes submitted its
    report to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 15 September 2015.
  • The report was titled Roadmap for Effectively Tackling Cyber
    Crimes in the Country and was prepared after examining the global practices on
    cyber crime prevention.

Among the other measures suggested by the expert panel,
establishment of a Indian cyber crime coordination centre or I4C was the most
prominent that will have following features
  1. It will monitor, analyze and counter cyber crimes and
    facilitate online reporting of cyber offences.
  2. It will have real-time analytics of various categories of
    cyber crimes along with their place of origin and incidence of occurrence.
  3. It will facilitate India’s cooperation from global internet
    giants like Google, Facebook, etc that having servers abroad in tackling crimes
    such as child pornography and fake identity.

India, US created
Joint Challenge Coin to mark partnership
  • India and the United States (US) on 17 September 2015
    jointly created a Joint Challenge Coin to symbolise their unique partnership in
    creating a next-generation aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy.
  • One side of the coin reads Forward Together We Go and Chale
    Saath Saath in Hindi, which is the vision statement of US President Barack
    Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  • The other side of this coin which is golden in colour has
    the flags of India and the United States and an aircraft carrier floating on
    blue water.

Awards & Honors –

Union Government
presented Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar and National Safety Awards 2013
  • The Union Minister of Labour and Employment Bandaru
    Dattatreya on 17 September 2015 presented the Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar
    (VRP) and National Safety Awards (NSA) for the Performance Year 2013.
  • This year, 28 Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar were shared by
    132 individuals. These winners were selected out of a total of 193 applications
    received from different industries for the Performance Year 2013.
  • For the Performance year 2013, the total number of NSA Award
    Winners and Runners-up in the ten schemes adds up to 98 (53 winners and 42
    runners-up). They were selected out of 199 applications received under various
    schemes.

Senior Journalist
Shekhar Gupta Feted With V. Krishnamurthy Award
  • Senior journalist Shekhar Gupta was presented the annual ‘V
    Krishnamurthy award for excellence’ by Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah here
    today.
  • The award was instituted by the Centre for Organisation
    Development (COD).
  • The function was attended by Wockhardt Group
    founder-chairman and Chairman of the Board of Governors, COD, Habil F
    Khorakiwala, a release stated.
  • Gupta, chairperson, Mediascape, delivered the oration
    lecture.
  • The ‘award for excellence’ was established by the Centre for
    Organisation Development in 2000 to honour individuals who have set high
    standards of achievement in pursuit of excellence in their respective
    professions, according to the release.

Shivnarine
Chanderpaul received Icon Award by the Indo-Caribbean Alliance
  • Veteran Test cricketer of West Indies Shivnarine Chanderpaul
    was on 12 September 2015 honoured with the Icon Award by the Indo-Caribbean
    Alliance.
  • The 41-year-old left-handed batsman was given the award in
    New York along with three others, namely television personality Lakshmee Singh,
    New York City council member Eric Ulrich and businessman Dave Kadernauth.
  • Icon Award is the highest award given by the New York
    City-based Indo-Caribbean Alliance.

Books & Authors –

Two Years Eight
Months and Twenty Eight Nights written by Salman Rushdie released
  • The book titled Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight
    Nights authored by the British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie was released on 8
    September 2015.
  • The book can be easily called as an update to Rushdie’s
    ancient eastern classic, A Thousand and One Nights and is a work of fiction,
    blends history, mythology, and a timeless love story.
  • The book opens in the 12th century Spain. The story revolves
    around the great Spanish-Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd, languishing in exile for
    his enlightened views, and an evil genie in disguise Dunia. The story jumps to
    New York City where Ibn Rushd and Dunia’s distant descendants discover that
    they have special powers.

Appointments
& Resignations –
Mahesh Rangarajan
resigned as Director of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library
  • Mahesh Rangarajan on 17 September 2015 resigned as the
    Director of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML).
  • He was appointed as the Director of NMML in June 2014 by the
    then UPA government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
  • Rangarajan is a teacher, author and historian with a special
    interest in environmental history and colonial history of British and
    contemporary India.

Sunil Duggal new CEO
of Hindustan Zinc
  • In a significant change in Hindustan Zinc, Sunil Duggal, the
    current Deputy CEO will take over as CEO and Whole-time-Director of Hindustan
    Zinc from October 1. 2015 and the current CEO Akhilesh Joshi will take over as
    President – Global Zinc Business.
  • This decision was taken at Hindustan Zinc’s Board of
    Directors meeting held today.
  • Sunil Duggal, an alumni of IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland and
    IIM, Kolkata brings with him 32 years of rich manufacturing industry experience
    in project management, operations, HR and Supply chain.
  • Sunil Duggal joined Hindustan Zinc in 2010 as Executive
    Director and became COO in 2012. In the year 2014, Sunil Duggal was designated
    as Deputy CEO of Hindustan Zinc.

Academician
Sachidananda Mohanty nominated as UNESCO member

  • Sachidananda Mohanty, a noted academician and present
    Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Orissa has been nominated as a
    member for Commission on Education for UNESCO by the President of India.
  • The tenure of the membership is for four years. Set up in
    1949, the functions of the Commission is to promote understanding the objects
    and purposes of UNESCO among the Republic of India, to serve as liaison agency
    between the Govt. of India and the institutions concerned with the working for
    the advancement of education, science and culture.
  • Mohanty, who has been at the faculty of English, University
    of Hyderabad for over two decades has been nominated to as an individual member
    with other notable educationist of India.

Report/Indexes
8th Edition of Global
Innovation Index 2015 released
  • The 8th edition Global Innovation Index (GII) 2015 was
    released on 17 September 2015 jointly by Cornell University, INSEAD and the
    World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The GII 2015 was based on the
    theme of Effective Innovation Policies for Development.
  • The index shows the new ways through which emerging-economy
    policymakers can boost innovation and spur growth by building on local
    strengths and ensuring the development of a sound national innovation
    environment.
  • The index is topped by Switzerland for being the most
    innovative nation. Countries like China, Malaysia, Viet Nam, India, Jordan,
    Kenya and Uganda are among a group of countries outperforming their economic
    peers as per the GII 2015.
  • Although India’s ranking has slipped further to 81 in the
    list, compared to 76 in 2014, but it remained at the top of the regional
    ranking of Central and Southern Asia.

Report titled
Achieving the malaria MDG target released by WHO & UNICEF
  • The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations
    Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on 17 September 2015 jointly released the Achieving
    the malaria MDG target report.
  • The report concluded that the malaria Millennium Development
    Goal (MDG) target to stop and reverse the incidence of malaria by 2015 was
    achieved.
  • India stood at the third place after Nigeria and Democratic
    Republic of Congo in terms of number of cases and number of deaths due to
    malaria.

World
Pakistan to generate
40000 MW nuclear power as part of Nuclear Energy Vision 2050
  • Pakistan set to itself a target of generating 40000 MW
    nuclear energy. It will be achieved as part of the Nuclear Energy Vision 2050.
  • An announcement in this regard was made by the Chairman of
    the PAEA on 17 September 2015 at the 59th IAEA General Conference at Vienna in
    Austria.
  • While PAEA stands for Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission,
    IAEA stands for the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Industry
Hero Cycles acquired
Firefox Bikes in all-cash transaction
  • The world’s largest bicycle manufacturer by volume, Hero
    Cycles, on 17 September 2015 announced the acquisition of Firefox Bikes Pvt.
    Ltd. for an undisclosed sum in an all-cash deal.
  • As per the deal, Hero Cycles acquired 100% stake in Firefox.
    Both the companies also mutually agreed that Firefox Bikes will continue to
    remain a separate business entity post the acquisition.
  • The deal includes the Firefox brand of bicycles, accessories
    and spares along with exclusive distribution rights of Trek and other global
    brands.
  • Hero Cycles also announced that it will setup a Hero
    Innovation Centre to upgrade its line of cycles.

Obituaries
Veteran Marathi
Cricket Commentator Bal Pandit Dies at 86
  • The pioneer of cricket commentary in Marathi who made the
    game more popular in Maharashtrian households, Bal Pandit has passed away after
    a prolonged illness.
  • The 86-year-old commentator breathed his last at a city
    hospital last night.
  • Described as an encyclopedia of Marathi synonyms for
    original cricketing parlance in English, Pandit endeared himself with fans of
    the game with his lucid live commentary of both international and domestic
    matches on All India Radio for over four decades, before the advent of 24X7
    television channels.
  • He had also played a lone Ranji Trophy match representing
    Maharashtra against Gujarat in 1959-60.
  • A prolific cricket writer, Bal wrote about 30 books and also
    penned newspaper and magazine articles on the subject, enhancing common man’s
    knowledge of the game.

:: Download Today’s PDF ::
Daily Expected Questions on Stock GK
Ntangki National Park
is located in which state?
– Nagaland
Achanakmar Wildlife
Sanctuary is located in which state?
– Chhattisgarh
Harduaganj Thermal
Power Station is located in which state?
– Uttar Pradesh
Maharaja Bir Bikram
College Stadium is located in which city/state?
– Agartala, Tripura
Kanchi Kailasanathar
Temple is located in which state?
– Tamil Nadu



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