Current Affairs Update – 7 to 9 September, 2016

• Himachal Pradesh government today
  signed a preliminary Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore
  government for developing a smart integrated township in Jathiadevi near Shimla
  airport.
• The MoU was signed between
  Himachal PradeshHousing and Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) and Asian
  Pacific Singapore Enterprise in the presence of Urban Development and Town and
  Country Planning and Housing minister Sudhir Sharma during a meeting here.
• Presiding over the meeting of
  delegates of the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE), government of
  Singaporeand senior officers of the HIMUDA, Sharma said development of a smart
  integrated township near the state capital was an ambitious project of the government
  which would go a long way in decongesting the highly populated city.

• President Pranab Mukherjee on 8
  September 2016 gave his assent to the Constitution 122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill,
  2014 as per Article 111 of Constitution of India. With this assent, the bill
  becomes law and allows rolling out a new indirect tax regime.
• After the Presidential assent,
  the bill will be notified to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council that will
  decide the tax rate, cess and surcharges. The council to be headed by Union
  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will comprise of state Finance Ministers.
• Now, the union and state
  governments will have to draft the Central GST, State GST and integrated GST
  laws for being passed in the winter session of the Parliament. The CGST and
  IGST will be drafted on the basis of the model GST law.

• Tata Power’s wholly-owned
  subsidiary Tata Power International Pte Ltd and ICICI Venture on Friday
  announced the creation of a platform company to facilitate investment in power
  projects in India in two-three years, which are in advanced stages and
  near-operational or operating.
• The platform is co-sponsored by
  Tata Power and ICICI Bank and has commitments from partner investors, Caisse de
  dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) of Canada, the Kuwait Investment Authority
  (KIA) and the State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) of Oman.
• The platform will raise an
  initial capital of up to $850 million, to be contributed by the sponsors and
  partner investors either directly or through their affiliates. This can be
  raised. The platform targets acquisition of controlling stakes in
  power-generating companies, including thermal, hydroelectric and transmission
  assets in India.

• Union Government on 6 September
  2016 launched a new program called National Initiative for Developing and
  Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI). The initiative aims at nurturing ideas and
  innovation into successful start ups.
• NIDHI, an umbrella programme of
  the Department of Science & Technology (DST), will focus on helping
  startups to meet their funding, infrastructure and other mentorship needs.
  NIDHI will allow youths of the country to give a concrete shape to their ideas.

• The programme focuses on building
  a seamless and innovation driven entrepreneurial ecosystem especially by
  channelizing youth towards it and thereby bringing in the positive impact on
  the socio-economic development of the country.
• It aims at providing
  technological solutions not only to the pressing needs of the society but also
  targets to create new avenues for wealth and job creation.
• By design it connects and
  strengthens all the links of the innovation chain from scouting to sustaining
  to securing to scaling to showcasing, because a chain is only as strong as its
  weakest link.
• There are eight component of
  NIDHI that support each stage of a budding startup from idea to market. The
  first component is PRAYAS (Promoting and accelerating young and aspiring
  innovators and startups) which aims to support innovators to grant up to 10 lakh
  rupees.
• The final component is the Seed
  Support System which provides up to One Crore rupees per start-up and is
  implemented through Technology Business Incubators.
• During the financial year
  2016-17, Department of Science has allocated 180 crore rupees, with a view to
  drive the innovation and startup centric new initiative.

• The key stakeholders of NIDHI
  includes various departments and ministries of the Union government, state
  governments, academic and R & D institutions, mentors, financial
  institutions, angel investors, venture capitalists, industry champions and
  private sectors.

• The first edition of IoT India
  Congress 2016 kick started on 7 September 2016 in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• The three-day event was
  inaugurated by Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Information Technology (IT) and
  Electronics Minister, and JS Deepak, Secretary, Ministry of Telecommunications.

• The IoT India Congress 2016 is
  one of the largest events of its kind in India.
• It will bring together
  stakeholders from various facets of the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem.
• It aims to bring together key
  stakeholders across the value chain and verticals to collaborate, ideate and
  share a common roadmap for IoT implementation.
• The event will also host the IoT
  Thought Leadership Awards 2016 and the IoT Start-Up Awards 2016.

• India on 7 September 2016 signed
  the bilateral Air Services Agreement with Greece to allow unlimited points of
  call for domestic airlines in Greece.
• Both the countries have signed a
  Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard under the Open Sky Policy. It
  will be the first such ASA with Greece, a country known for its tourist spots
  and scenic beauty.
• Indian Government Signed the MoU
  with Greece under the provisions of the new Civil Aviation Policy with an aim
  to improve international air connectivity for Indian carriers.
• As per the policy, the government
  will enter into an Open Sky Air Services Agreement on a reciprocal basis with
  SAARC nations as well as countries with territory located entirely beyond a
  5000 kilometre radius from New Delhi.

• Dharmendra Pradhan, Union
  Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, on 6
  September 2016 launched #Gas4India campaign.
• The campaign is aimed at promoting
  the use of gas in the country.
• Public and private sector
  companies working in the sector have joined hands to promote the natural gas
  sector.
• Pradhan also launched the
  website, Twitter handle, Facebook page and theme song of the campaign.

• Gas4India is a unified
  cross-country, multimedia, multi-event campaign.
• It promotes the national, social,
  economic and ecological benefits of using natural gas as the fuel of choice.

• Indian Space Research
  Organization (ISRO) successfully launched advanced weather satellite, INSAT-3DR
  on 8 September 2016.
• The advanced weather satellite
  was launched with the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F05), from
  the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
• GSLV-F05, the tenth flight of
  India’s GSLV, carried 2211 kg INSAT-3DR into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  (GTO). GSLV is designed to inject 2 – 2.5 ton class of satellites into GTO.
• After reaching GTO, INSAT-3DR
  will use its own propulsion system to reach its final geosynchronous orbital
  home and will be stationed at 74 deg East longitude.

• Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay
  Rupani on 8 September 2016 dedicated 2 mbps download and 512 kbps upload
  digital connectivity to 6000 villages.
• Under the E-gram program launched
  in 2006-07, total 14000 villages had been connected to internet through V-SAT
  technology which offers hardly 19-20 kbps speed. Many E-gram villages did not
  get enough speed when some centers login at the same time.
• Now, 6000 villages out of 14000
  are given 2 mbps connectivity through BSNL network. As these villages are out
  of the V-SAT platform, the rest of the villages served by V-SAT will also get
  faster connectivity.
• Villagers are getting various
  services like PDS, health, data entry, power and gas bills through e-gram
  project. Gujarat Government has set the target to achieve 100 percent village
  connectivity through optical fiber network 2nd October 2017.

• Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road
  Transport and Highways and Shipping, and Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of
  Electronics and Information Technology and Law and Justice, on 7 September 2016
  jointly launched Integration of DigiLocker with Driving Licenses (DL) &
  Vehicle Registration Certificates (RC) in New Delhi.
• The new service will end the need
  of people carrying around physical copies of their RCs and DLs. They can
  instead access digital copies of the same on their mobile phones via the
  DigiLocker mobile app.

• Driving Licenses and Vehicle
  Registration documents can now be issued directly to the DigiLockers of
  individuals in digital formats.
• These digital copies can be
  shared with other departments as identity and address proof.
• They will also be used for on the
  spot verification through the citizen’s mobile, by various law enforcement
  authorities like the Traffic Police.

• Assam’s Chief Minister Sarbananda
  Sonowal on 8 September 2016 inaugurated Majuli as the 35th district of Assam.
  With this, Majuli became India’s first island district.
• The inauguration of Majuli as a
  district coincides with the 90th birth anniversary of music maestro Bhupen
  Hazarika.
• Recently on 1 September 2016,
  Majuli replaced Brazil’s Marajo to become the world’s largest river island in
  the Guinness Book of World Records.

• Troops of Indian and Kazakhstan
  Army on 7 September 2016 began the joint exercise ‘PRABAL DOSTYK – 16’. The
  exercise being conducted in Karaganda region of Kazakhstan will conclude on 17
  September 2016.
• Prabal Dostyk meaning Robust
  Friendship is a significant step towards fostering military as well as diplomatic
  ties between both countries.

• The primary aim of the fourteen
  day exercise will be to enhance interoperability while undertaking Counter
  Terrorism & Counter Insurgency Operations in rural and semi-urban
  environment under the umbrella of United Nations.
• The Indian Army is being
  represented by platoon strength.
• The Kazakhstan Army contingent
  comprise of platoon from Special Operating Force’s Unit.

• The Union Government on 6
  September 2016 launched the Urja Mitra Helpline number 14401, a dedicated
  pan-India helpline for power outages.
• With this, consumers can now get
  an update from power distribution companies about outages in their area by
  dialling 14401.
• The Department of Telecom (DoT)
  created the helpline for pan-India usage to send information through voice
  calls and SMSes to apprise customers about power situation in their area.
• It is a mandatory service, which
  will be provided by all the telecom operators.

• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
  (HAL) on 6 September 2016 successfully completed test flight of indigenous
  Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) Bengaluru.
• During the test, the helicopter
  remained in the air for 15 minutes inside the HAL complex.
• The LUH will replace the
  military’s obsolescent fleet of Chetak and Cheetah helicopters that have flown
  for over three decades.

• The HAL LUH is a 3-tonne
  helicopter exclusively built for the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force to
  replace the aging fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.
• It is a light, single-engine
  helicopter that is powered by the Safran HE Ardiden-1U engine.
• In addition to two pilots, the
  helicopter can fly six passengers at sea level, with load capacity reducing
  with altitude.

• The Garden Reach Shipbuilders and
  Engineers Limited (GRSE) of Kolkata on 30 August 2016 handed over TIHAYU, the
  Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC) to the Indian Navy. The warship was handed
  over by Rear Admiral (Retd) AK Verma, CMD of GRSE to the Commanding Officer Cdr
  Ajay Kashov.
• GRSE had earlier built and
  delivered 10 WJFACs to the Indian Navy during 2009 to 2011, which are proving
  well in service.

• Named after an island in the
  Andaman, Tihayu is fitted with three water jet propulsion systems powered by
  marine diesel engines generating 2720 KW of power.
• This Follow-on WJFAC ship is a
  further improved version of Fast Attack Crafts earlier built by GRSE for Indian
  Navy.
• The ship has an efficient hull
  form developed by the in-house Design Centre of GRSE and proved by extensive
  model testing to achieve speeds in excess of 35 knots.

• India on 6 September 2016
  received certificates from World Health Organisation (WHO) recognising the
  elimination of Yaws and Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) from the country.
• The certificates were presented
  to Union Health Minister JP Nadda at the 69th Session of the WHO regional
  committee for south-east Asia region held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
• With this, India became the first
  country to be officially acknowledged as being yaws-free.
• The elimination of tetanus as a
  public health problem means that the annual rate of maternal and neonatal
  tetanus in India is now less than 1 per 1000 live births.

• Health Ministry on 5 September
  2016 launched the Leprosy Case Detection campaign (LCDC) in the country.
  Objective of the campaign is to detect the disease early so that those affected
  can be saved from physical deformity.
• As per the Health Ministry
  release about 32 crore people across 149 districts of 19 States and Union
  Territories will be screened under the fortnight-long campaign.

• It includes, the districts having
  a prevalence rate of more than one case per 10000 people in the last three
  years.
• Around three lakh teams will
  visit every house in their allotted area and screen all the family members for
  leprosy.

• Western Odisha on 6 September
  2016 celebrated the festival of Nuakhai, the agrarian festival of the region,
  with religious fervour.
• The celebrations began with the
  Nabanna in which the newly harvested rice was offered to Goddess Samaleswari as
  per the stipulated Lagna, the auspicious moment. The deity was adorned with new
  saree and ornaments on the occasion.
• Later, people offered Nabanna to
  their presiding deities.

• Novel, Into the Hidden Valley
  authored by Stuart Blackburn on 4 September 2016 won the 2016 MM Bennetts Award
  for Historical Fiction in the UK. The author was presented the award at the HNS
  Conference in Oxford.
• The book published by Speaking
  Tiger narrates the story of the Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh during
  British India. It also looks into a little-known episode in the colonial
  history of British India.
• Into the Hidden Valley explores
  and portrays the impacts of the forces of colonialism on both sides when this
  settled civilisation forcibly collides with British Empire.
• Into the Hidden Valley was chosen
  for the award ahead of Helena Page Schrader’s Defender of Jerusalem and
  Allegiance by Kermit Roosevelt.

• Former Indian women’s cricket
  team captain Anjum Chopra in the first week of September 2016 was awarded an
  honorary life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
• Chopra is presented with the
  honour along with former men’s team stalwarts Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag.
• With this, Chopra became the
  first Indian woman cricketer to get the prestigious life membership of MCC.

• Acclaimed Kannada movie Thithi on
  6 September 2016 won the Best Film Award at the first BRICS Film Festival,
  which concluded in New Delhi.
• The BRICS Film Festival was
  organized as a part of the special events planned in run-up to the BRICS summit
  to be held in India.
• The five-day-long festival
  screened movies from India, Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa.
• China’s Chengdu city will host
  the next edition of the BRICS Film Festival.

• Veteran award-winning film
  director K.G. George on 6 September 2016 won the prestigious J.C. Daniel Award
  for his overall contribution to the Malayalam film industry.
• The award will be given away
  along with the State Film Awards at a function to be held at Palakkad in
  October 2016.
• Kulakkatil Geevarghese George is
  an Indian film director and screenwriter.
• He is considered to be among one
  of the directors who revolutionized Malayalam cinema in the 1970s.
• He is noted for his deep
  psychological analysis and character study of the human mind in his films.
• He made his debut with 1975 movie
  Swapnadanam, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in
  Malayalam.
• His well known films include
  Ulkadal, Mela, Yavanika among others.

• The International Literacy Day
  was celebrated on 8 September 2016 across the world. The theme of International
  Literacy Day 2016 is Reading the Past, Writing the Future.
• The theme was chosen to honour
  the past five decades of national and international engagement, efforts and
  progress made to increase literacy rates around the world.
• Further, the theme also addresses
  current challenges and looks to innovative solutions to further boost literacy
  in the future.
• Besides, literacy is also a part
  of Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable
  quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. The
  target is that by 2030 all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both
  men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.

• According to the Census 2011
  report, the illiteracy rate in India is 22%.
• Kerala is the most literate state
  with 93.91 per cent, Lakshadweep at 92.28 per cent, Mizoram at 91.58 per cent,
  Tripura at 87.75 per cent and Goa at 87.40 per cent.
• Bihar and Telangana have the
  lowest literacy with only 63.82 per cent and 66.50 per cent literate people
  respectively.
• In 2014, the literacy rate of
  India increased by 10 per cent.
• India has the world’s largest
  population of illiterates.

• CK Asnani on 7 September 2016
  assumed charge as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Uranium
  Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), an undertaking of the Department of Atomic
  Energy.
• Asnani is a Chemical Engineer
  from Osmania University. He was the Director (Technical) of Indian Rare Earths
  Limited, Mumbai before the present assignment.
• Asnani was earlier associated
  with Nuclear Fuel Complex, Hyderabad.

• The 28th and the 29th Association
  of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit concluded on 8 September 2016 at
  Vientiane, Laos. The theme for the 2016 summit was Turning Vision into Reality
  for a Dynamic ASEAN Community.
• H.E. Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime
  Minister of the Lao PDR, was the Chairperson of the summit that was held from 6
  September 2016 to 8 September 2016.
• The Summit was attended by the
  leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. They are
  Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Viet
  Nam, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Cambodia.

• ASEAN leaders discussed the
  implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and enhancing cooperation
  with ASEAN’s external partners.
• The leaders adopted the
  Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan III and the Master Plan on
  ASEAN Connectivity 2025, which form an integral part of the ASEAN Community
  Vision 2025.
• They also signed the ASEAN
  Declaration on One ASEAN, One Response: ASEAN Responding to Disasters as One in
  the Region and Outside the Region.

• The US space agency, NASA, on 8
  September 2016 launched OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource
  Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft. The unmanned
  spacecraft, OSIRIS-REx, blasted off onboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA)
  Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
• OSIRIS-REx is United States’
  first mission to collect samples from an asteroid and return to Earth. The 800
  million dollar mission will travel for two years on a journey to Bennu, a
  near-Earth asteroid about the size of a small mountain.
• NASA feels that the asteroid may
  hold clues to the origin of the solar system and the source of water and organic
  molecules found on Earth.

• The UN Charter, the seminal
  treaty of the United Nations (UN), was on 7 September 2016 translated into
  Sanskrit Language for the first time.
• This came following the
  pioneering efforts of Jitendra Kumar Tripathi, the Secretary of the
  Lucknow-based Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad.

• The United Kingdom (UK) and Iran
  in September 2016 appointed ambassador in each-other’s country for the first
  time since 2011. This appointment marks the restoration of the diplomatic
  relations between the two nations.
• Nicholas Hopton, a Middle East
  specialist and former British ambassador to Qatar and Yemen, was appointed as
  UK ambassador to Iran. On the other hand, Hamid Baeidinejad, a key figure in
  the Iranian nuclear negotiating team, was appointed as the Iranian ambassador
  to the UK.
• The Foreign Office announcement
  comes one year after the reopening of the British Embassy in Tehran. The
  embassy was reopened in August 2015 by then-British Foreign Secretary Philip
  Hammond and the two countries resumed ties on Charge d’Affaires level.

• South African Lindsay Tuckett,
  who was the oldest surviving former Test cricketer, passed away on 5 September
  2016 in Bloemfontein. He was 97.
• With the death of Tuckett, the
  distinction of the oldest surviving cricketer in the world now passes to
  all-rounder Johnny Watkins, who is 93.

Regards

Team ExamPundit