Current Affairs Update – 22nd September, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 22nd September, 2015.
These are important for the upcoming IBPS PO V Exam.

Finance/Industry
SBI Composite Index
reading hits 4-month high in September

  • The yearly SBI Composite Index reading for September 2015
    has come in at a four month high at 53.9, suggesting continued pick-up in
    economic momentum going forward. Last month, the index was at 53.4.
  • The upturn has been majorly driven by manufacturing, while
    mining and electricity are still acting as a drag on economic activity, SBI
    said in its ‘Ecowrap’ report.
  • Besides, the positive trends in capital goods sector suggest
    the possible pick-up in economic momentum. IIP is also driven majorly by
    manufacturing (particularly capital goods) as revealed by higher ex-mining and
    ex-electricity growth.

CANBANK Venture
Capital Fund Ltd appointed as implementation agency of EDF Policy
  • The CANBANK Venture Capital Fund Ltd (CVCFL) was on 21
    September 2015 appointed as the implementation agency of the Electronics
    Development Fund (EDF) policy.
  • The Electronic Development Fund (EDF) is set up as a Fund of
    Funds to participate in Daughter Funds which in turn will provide risk capital
    to companies developing new technologies in the area of electronics,
    nano-electronics and Information Technology (IT).
  • With appointment of CVCFL as the agency to implement EDF,
    the EDF is now operational and will start receiving requests for participation
    from Seed Funds, Angel Funds and Daughter Funds.

Highlights of
Electronics Development Fund (EDF) policy
  1.  The EDF would take
    minority participation in Seed Funds, Angel Funds and Venture Funds.
  2.  It will invite
    requests from professionally managed private/public funds for its participation.
  3.  EDF participation in
    a fund may vary depending on the nature of the fund and risk involved.
  4.  It will support both
    Indian and foreign funds which are registered in India and comply with SEBI and
    other regulations in this regard.

MoU for Swavlamban
Health Insurance Scheme for Disabled Persons Signed
  • The Trust Fund for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities,
    under the Department of Empowerment of People with Disabilities (DEPwD),
    Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MOSJ&E), signed a Memorandum of
    Understanding (MoU) with the New India Assurance Company Limited on 21
    September 2015.
  • The MoU aims at providing an affordable health insurance,
    Swavlamban Health Insurance Scheme, for the Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).
    It also aims to improve the general health condition & quality of life of
    persons with disabilities.

Main features of
the Scheme
  1.     The insurance
    scheme will provide comprehensive cover to the PwD beneficiary, spouse and two
    children.
  2.     The insurance will
    have a single premium across age band.
  3.     It can be availed
    by the beneficiary aged between 18 years and 65 years with family income of
    less than 300000 rupees per annum. 
  4.     The scheme will
    also provide health insurance cover of up to 200000 rupees per annum as family
    floater. 

Under the MoU, the New India Assurance Company Limited will
build a network of hospitals to provide cashless treatment to the insured.
India
Indian Coast Guard
commissioned indigenously built vessels Apoorva & C-421
  • Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on 21 September 2015 commissioned
    two indigenously built ships Apoorva and C-421 at the Naval Dock in Mumbai.
  • They were commissioned by Flag Officer Commanding in Chief
    of the Western Naval Command SPS Cheema.
  • The induction of the vessels is expected to boost maritime
    security along the Arabian Sea coast.

Features of ICGS
Apoorva
  • It is a 50 meter long Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV).
  • It displaces 317 tonnes and can achieve a maximum speed of
    33 knots.

CCEA approves four
laning of Cuttack-Angul section of NH-42
  • The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs on Tuesday approved
    the development of four-laning of the Cuttack-Angul section of the National
    Highway NH-42 at a total cost of about Rs. 1,575 crore.
  • In a statement, the government said that the main objective
    of the project is to expedite the improvement of infrastructure in Odisha and
    also reduce the time and cost of travel in that section. “Bids have been
    invited on the basis of provisions of the model concession agreement subject to
    such changes as accepted by the PPPAC. Maximum grant from the Government for
    Viability Gap Funding (VGF) would be 40 per cent of the TPC,” the statement
    added.
  • Among other key decisions, the Cabinet also approved a joint
    declaration of intent for minor amendments in the earlier signed MoU for
    implementation of the ‘Indo-German Partnerships in Higher Education’.
  • The government said these minor amendments will help higher
    educational institutions in both the countries to benefit mutually to enhance
    innovative partnerships in the field of education, research and skill
    development.

Cabinet clears $2.5
bln deal for Boeing military choppers

  • The cabinet on Tuesday cleared the purchase of Boeing’s
    Apache and Chinook helicopters in a deal worth around $2.5 billion, two
    government sources said, in a boost to defence ties with the United States.
  • The deal strengthens the status of the United States as one
    of India’s top military suppliers, along with Israel, dislodging Cold War-era
    ally Russia from its longstanding position as the South Asian nation’s main
    source of weapons.
  • The approval for 22 Apache attack and 15 heavy lift Chinook
    helicopters, meant to replace the military’s ageing Soviet-origin choppers,
    came just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the United States to drum up
    investments into India.
  • The deal includes an option for 11 more Apaches and seven
    more Chinooks, an industry source with knowledge of the matter said.
  • India was the top foreign buyer of U.S. arms in 2013, says
    defense research firm IHS Janes, and the two governments are now negotiating a
    series of defense collaboration projects.
  • The two sides ended negotiations on the helicopters months
    ago, but budget constraints held up the deal. After India’s finance ministry
    gave the green light last week, the cabinet committee on security, headed by
    Modi, gave its approval on Tuesday, the defence ministry source said.

Google, Tata Trusts
announced the launch of Android Developer Nanodegrees programme

  • Search engine Google and Tata Trusts in collaboration with
    Udacity on 21 September 2015 launched a scholarship programme to educate Indian
    students in Android development.
  • As a part of the programme, 1000 scholarships will be
    offered to deserving students by Google and Tata Trusts. The students will be
    awarded with Android Developer Nanodegrees.
  • The newly announced scholarship programme is aimed at
    transforming India into a hub of high-quality mobile developers for global and
    local applications.
  • The Udacity Android Nanodegree programme is an education
    credential designed to help developers learn new skills. It comprises of
    courses developed and taught by experts from the Google Developer Relations
    team.

EMI-EMC & NFTR
test facilities inaugurated at BEL-Ghaziabad
  • Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI) – Electro-Magnetic
    Compatibility (EMC) test facility and Near Field Test Range (NFTR) were on 21
    September 2015 inaugurated at the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)-Ghaziabad.
  • They were inaugurated by the Chairman Chief of Staff
    Committee (COSC) Anup Raha. At present, he is also the Air Chief Marshal and
    the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS).
  • These testing facilities will give fillip in developing and
    manufacturing products of superior performance and reliability with capability
    to operate in dense electromagnetic environment in the battlefield.
  • Also, these are also part of the transformation process of
    BEL into a major R&D and manufacturing centre of excellence in the critical
    field of electronic systems in the country for the armed forces.

Appointments
Vikram Pawah
appointed as Managing Director of Harley Davidson’s India operations
  • Vikram Pawah was on 21 September 2015 appointed as the
    Managing Director of India operations of US cult bike maker Harley Davidson
    with immediate effect. Pawah succeeded Anoop Prakash, who was appointed as the
    Managing Director of Harley Davidson Canada.
  • Pawah will manage Harley Davidson India’s leadership team
    responsible for in-country sales, dealer network management, marketing, service
    and operations activities to expand the company’s presence in the country.
  • Pawah has more than 24 years of experience in the auto
    industry, out of which he spent 21 years with Honda in India and Australia. His
    most recent role was as Assistant Vice President and Operating Head – Sales
    with Honda Cars India Ltd.

Cisco’s John Chambers
elected as new USIBC chairman

  • John T Chambers, Executive Chairman of Cisco, has been
    elected as the new chairman of the US India Business Council (USIBC), the apex
    advocacy group for India and American companies in the US.
  • A formal announcement in this regard was made at the USIBC’s
    40th Anniversary Leadership Summit that kicked off the US-India Strategic and
    Commercial Dialogue yesterday.
  • The transition will come at the end of a four-year term of
    Ajay Banga, president and CEO of MasterCard.
  • Banga has been its longest-serving chairman.

Richie Richardson
appointed to Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees

  • The International Cricket Council (ICC) on 21 September 2015
    announced that former West Indies cricket captain Richie Richardson was
    appointed to the Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees.
  • He will replace Sri Lanka’s Roshan Mahanama who stepped down
    from the position in the third week of September 2015.
  • Richardson is expected to take over the role at the end of
    his current assignment as the West Indies cricket team manager.
  • The last match to be overseen by him as the manager will be
    the Sydney test against Australia on 3 January 2016.

World/Honors
Indian Author Samanth
Subramanium in UK Non-Fiction Longlist
  • An account of Sri Lanka’s civil war by Indian author Samanth
    Subramanium has been longlisted for the Samuel Johnson prize, one of United
    Kingdom’s most prestigious award for non-fiction.
  • Subramanium’s book This Divided Island is among the 12 books
    longlisted for the 20,000 pounds worth prize whose shortlist will be announced
    in October during the London Literature Festival and the winner in November,
    publishers Penguin Random House said in a statement today.
  • Driven by curiosity about the scars and legacies of a long
    war, Subramanian moved to Sri Lanka in 2011 and over the next year, he
    travelled across the island, and through Sri Lankan communities living
    overseas, talking to hundreds of people about how their lives were twisted out
    of shape by the war.
  • The prize is open to authors of all non-fiction books in
    current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography
    autobiography and the arts.

Cow declared as
National Animal of Nepal

  • Cow was on 20 September 2015 declared as the National Animal
    of Nepal as per the new secular constitution of Nepal unveiled by Nepalese
    President Ram Baran Yadav at a special ceremony held in Parliament at
    Kathmandu.
  • Cow is considered as a sacred animal to Hindus and as Nepal
    is a Hindu country, therefore the Nepal’s government have made cow the national
    animal. With this, the animal has constitutional protection and cow slaughter
    has also been banned.

Reports
UN Broadband
Commission released State of Broadband Report 2015

  • The United Nations (UN) Broadband Commission on 21 September
    2015 released the State of Broadband Report 2015. As per the report, the global
    broadband growth is slowing down sharply as 4 billion people are still offline.
  • The report reveals that 57 percent of the world’s people
    remain offline and unable to take advantage of the enormous economic and social
    benefits the Internet can offer.
  • The State of Broadband 2015 is the fourth edition of the
    Commission’s broadband connectivity report.

Highlights of the
report
  1. New figures in the report confirm that 3.2 billion people
    are now connected, up from 2.9 billion last year and equating to 43 percent of
    the global population.
  2. While access to Internet is approaching saturation levels in
    the developed world, the Net is only accessible to 35 percent of people in
    developing countries.
  3. The situation in the 48 UN-designated Least Developed
    Countries is particularly critical, with over 90 percent of people without any
    kind of Internet connectivity.
  4. The top ten countries for household Internet penetration are
    all located in Asia or the Middle East.
  5. The Republic of Korea continues to have the world’s highest
    household broadband penetration with 98.5 percent of homes connected.

NASSCOM’s report on
Contributions of India’s Tech Industry to the US economy released
  • Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on
    21 September 2015 released NASSCOM’S report on Contributions of India’s Tech
    Industry to the US economy in Washington, the USA.
  • It was released on the sidelines of US-India Strategic and
    Commercial Dialogue.
  • This report tries to quantify the positive impact of
    investments made by Indian IT BPM companies in the US by way of job creation,
    contribution by way of taxes and more importantly impact of the Corporate
    Social Responsibility (CSR) measures on the US economy.

Highlights of the
report
  • The USA is the largest market for Indian IT-BPM (Information
    Technology-Business Process Management) exports.
  • At present, Indian IT industry supports 411000 direct and
    indirect jobs in the USA.
  • Indian IT companies have invested 2 billion US dollars
    between 2011 and 2013 in the USA.
  • They paid around 22.5 billion US dollars in federal, state
    and local taxes between 2011 and 2015.

Sports
Bermuda cricketer
banned for life after ugly on-field brawl

  • Bermuda cricketer Jason Anderson has been slapped with a
    life ban for inciting a hair-raising brawl during a club match in the small
    island nation.
  • Anderson, representing Cleveland County Cricket Club,
    launched a brutal assault on Willow Cuts Cricket Club batsman George O’Brien
    while wicket-keeping during the Champion of Champions final at the St David’s Cricket
    Club Ground 10 days ago.
  • The fight turned ugly after Anderson remonstrated O’Brien
    between overs with both players wrestling each other to the ground. Anderson
    went as far as kicking the batsman. Fellow players and officials rushed to calm
    them down but the damage was done by then.

Indian Wushu team won
12 medals at Pars International Cup in Tehran

  • The Indian Wushu team secured 12 medals comprising of one
    gold, four silver and seven bronze medals at the Fifth International Pars Wushu
    Cup held in Tehran. The event was held from 19 September to 20 September 2015.
  • India’s L. Budhachandra Singh won the gold medal after
    defeating Masod Ansari of Iran in the final of the 56 kg category on the last
    day of the tournament. On the other hand, Mukesh Choudhary and Rajani Deori
    fetched silvers for the country.
  • The Indian team won two silver and three bronze medals in
    the previous edition held at Zenjan, Iran.



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Daily Expected Questions on Stock GK


Who is the Union
Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers?
– H N Ananth Kumar
Chandrapur Super
Thermal Power Station is located in which state?
– Maharashtra
Khasbag Wrestling
Stadium is located in which city/state?
– Kolhapur, Maharashtra
Valmiki National Park
is located in which state?
– Bihar
What is the currency
of Poland?
– Polish złoty

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