Current Affairs Update - 04 September 2016

Updated on : 08:11, 9 September 2016

— NATIONAL —

-Mother Teresa declared a saint

• Pope Francis on Sunday declared revered nun Mother Teresa+ a saint in a canonization mass+ at St Peter’s square.
• For Francis, Mother Teresa+ put into action his ideal of the church as a merciful “field hospital” for the poorest of the poor, those suffering both material and spiritual poverty.
• Previously two other Indian declared saint are- Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara & Saint Euphrasia.
• In 1950 she founded the Missionaries of Charity, which went onto become a global order of nuns — identified by their trademark blue-trimmed saris — as well as priests, brothers and lay co-workers.
• Born Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, Mother Teresa came to India in 1929 as a sister of the Loreto order.

– Postage stamp to mark Mother Teresa’s sainthood

• Minister of State for Communications Manoj Sinha today released a special postage stamp to mark Mother Teresa’s canonisation as a saint at The Vatican.
• The postage stamp was released at Divine Child High School in Andheri in Mumbai to commemorate the event being celebrated globally.
• While releasing the stamp, Mr. Sinha said that her canonisation is a matter of pride for the nation.
• He said Mother Teresa devoted her whole life serving the poor and destitute people in India.

– ‘1st Nomad Film Festival’ being held in Delhi

• Aiming to raise awareness and change perceptions regarding the Denotified Tribes, the ‘1st Nomad Film Festival’ is being held at the India Islamic Cultural Centre in Delhi today.
• It will showcase short films as well as documentaries on the lives of the tribes. The tribes were listed as ‘Criminal Tribes’ under the 1871 Criminal Tribes Act during the British rule.

– Odisha government launches Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana

• The Odisha government has launched the Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana (BKRY) for the development of girls in three districts of the state.
• The objective of the scheme is to improve Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and Child Sex Ratio (CSR) in the three districts.
• Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the scheme at the state secretariat here.
• The scheme will be implemented for three years in Ganjam, Dhenkanal and Angul districts on a pilot basis, said Patnaik.
• It will ensure enrolment of girls in elementary education, tracking dropout girls from schools and creating a better environment for them, said the Chief Minister.
• The state government had made a budgetary provision of Rs 2 crore for the scheme.

– Gumthala Garhu becomes first Wifi hotspot village in Haryana

• In Haryana, village Gumthala Garhu near Pehowa in Kurukshetra district has became the first Wifi hotspot village in Haryana circle under bulk plan of BSNL.
• Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal inaugurated this service from Chandigarh yesterday. The Chief Minister said that BSNL has created history by taking initiative of providing Wifi service in the villages, which earlier were available in cities only.
• An official spokesman told AIR at Chandigarh today that BSNL Haryana circle has a plan to have 238 Wifi hotspot locations with 1072 Access Points and this project would be implemented to its full capacity during the current financial year.

– 16 states partner with Railways for infra development

• As many as 16 states in the country have agreed to form a joint venture with the Railways for creating more infrastructure facilities, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said.
• The Ministry has also written to the Tamil Nadu government to explore the possibility of redeveloping the railway stations in the state by forming a joint venture, he added.

– AP to become petroleum hub of petroleum reserves: Pradhan

• Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Darmendra Pradhan has observed that Andhra Pradesh will become the country’s hub of petroleum reserves if the oil reserves in Krishna-Godavari KG basin are explored.
• Speaking in Nellore’s Venkatachalam participating in the 15th Anniversary of Swarna Bharat Trust, he said the KG basin has plenty of oil reserves.
• Union Urban Development and Information Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu who presided over the programme noted that people should never forget their mother, the motherland, and the mother tongue ever in their life.

– Govt nod to chilli shells instead of pellets

• Union home minister Rajnath Singh approved the use of chilli-based PAVA shells as an alternative to pellet guns for use by security forces in the restive valley.
• However, as recommended by a seven-member expert panel, use of pellet guns has not been banned and it can be used by security forces in the ‘rarest of rare cases’
• The seven-member panel, headed by joint secretary TVSN Prasad, in its report submitted on August 29, had recommended use of PAVA shells, developed by the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) laboratory in Lucknow, after testing it last month.

 

— INTERNATIONAL —

– US, China ratify Paris agreement ahead of G20 summit in Hangzhou, China

• China and the United States ratified the 2015 Paris agreement to cut global greenhouse gas emissions on 3rd of September, ahead of the G20 summit beginning 4th of September in Hangzhou, China.
• The world’s two biggest polluters account for 38 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• China, the G20 host, alone accounts for 20 per cent of emissions, as per data by Climate Interactive and MIT Sloan.
• The pledges by China and United States for the Paris Agreement would deliver half of the agreement’s climate impact.
• The Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) of China and the United States would deliver 51 per cent of the avoided cumulative (increasing, accumulative, accumulating, growing, progressive) GHG emissions from 2016-2100 from all of the INDCs in the Paris Agreement.

– Newly discovered fish named after Obama

• Scientists have named a small maroon and gold fish species after the U.S. President Barack Obama which was discovered 300 feet deep in the waters off Kure Atoll in the Pacific ocean.
• The fish, of the genus Tosanoides, was named in honour of Obama for his commitment to protecting nature through the expansion of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, researchers said.
• It was discovered in June this year during a research trip to Kure, the world’s northernmost atoll.

— BUSINESS AND ECONOMY —

– BSNL to offer unlimited broadband at below Rs.1 per GB

• State-owned telecom operator BSNL has made an offer of less than Rs.1 per GB stating that from September 9 it will give “unlimited” wireline broadband services priced at a monthly pack of Rs.249.
• The ‘Experience Unlimited BB 249’ plan will enhance customer experience and attract new users, BSNL stated. Notably, this offer follows Reliance Jio’s launch announcement earlier this week.

 

— APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGN—

– PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik likely to be new faces of Swachh Bharat Mission

• Rio Olympics medalists P V Sindhu and Sakshi Malik, besides olympian Dipa Karmakar are likely to be the new faces of Swachh Bharat Mission for creating awareness about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative.
• Modi had nominated 27 prominent personalities from various walks of life for promoting his pet programme.
• The list includes Amitabh Bachchan, Ramdev, Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Ambani, among others.

 

— AWARDS AND HONOURS —

– Award-2016 Noted Odia poet to get Sarala

• Noted Odia poet Dr Hrushikesh Mallick will be honoured with the 37th edition of prestigious Sarala Award for his outstanding poetry.
• The annual award, carrying a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and a citation, would be conferred on Dr Mallick for his poetry work “Jeje Dekhi Nathiba Bharat”, the Sarala Award Committee announced on Saturday.
• Two more prominent personalities of Odisha will be honoured for their valuable contribution in the field of music and art. Dr Gopal Chandra Panda will be awarded with Ila Panda Memorial Music Samman while Dr Dinanath Pathi will receive Ila Panda Memorial Art Samman posthumously, a release said. A special function will be held on October 26, 2016, to felicitate Dr Mallick and others.

– 34 teachers to get state awards in Punjab

• Punjab Government has announced the names of 34 teachers, who will be bestowed with prestigious State Awards while 26 teachers will be honoured with appreciation letters on the Teachers’ Day at a state level function tomorrow.
• State Education Minister Dr. Daljit Singh Cheema said, 7 PES Cadre Officers/Employees will also be honoured with appreciation letters for their exemplary performance in the assigned duties.
• While announcing the names of teachers for state awards, Dr. Cheema said that a five member committee has made judicious selection of teaching fraternity for state awards. Dr. Cheema further said that 34 State Award Winner teachers would be honoured with a cash amount of Rs. 25000, appreciation letter, a medal and one year extension on service period.

 

— SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY —

– Chinese scientists successfully convert sand into soil

• Chinese scientists have claimed to have converted sand into fertile soil using a new method which they hope will be useful to fight desertification.
• A team of researchers from Chongqing Jiaotong University has developed a paste made of plant cellulose that, when added to sand, helps it retain water, nutrients and air.

 

— SPORTS —

– Sriram Balaji and Sasi Kumar win titles in ITF events.

• Fifth seed Sriram Balaji subdued top seed Seong Chan Hong of Korea 6-4, 7-6(3) for the title in the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament on Saturday.
• It was the seventh singles title in the professional circuit and first in two years for the 26-year-old Sriram Balaji, ranked 546 in the world.
• It was a double crown for Balaji as he had won the doubles title, his 34th in the professional circuit, with Vijay Sundar Prashanth.
• It was the second singles title in the professional circuit for Sasi Kumar, ranked 648 in the world, the sixth seed in the tournament.
• In the ITF women’s event in Egypt, Dhruthi Venugopal sailed into the semifinals by beating fourth seed Ola Abou Zekri of Egypt for the loss of four games.

– Abhinav Bindra officially bids adieu to shooting,

• Abhinav Bindra, India’s lone individual Olympic gold medallist, on Sunday officially announced his retirement from shooting, saying ‘it is time to move on and hand over the baton to the younger generation.’
• Having started his Olympic journey in Sydney back in 2000, the 33-year-old shooter qualified in three Olympic finals including his golden journey of Beijing in 2008 (Athens being the other one) in his pet 10m air rifle, while he missed out in Sydney and London.

– Shahan becomes first Indian to win Asian Karting Championship

• Indian racer Shahan Ali Mohsin created history by clinching the Micro Max title in the final weekend of the Asian Karting Championship in Malaysia.
• Agra native Mohsin managed to thwart off his main championship rival Hayden Haikal in a tough battle

– Nico Rosberg wins Italian GP to cut Lewis Hamilton’s lead

• Nico Rosberg pounced on a poor start by his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to win Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza and cut his championship lead to just two points.
• The 31-year-old German took the lead at the start, when pole-sitter Hamilton became bogged down, and pulled away to control the race and finish 15 seconds clear of the defending three-time champion.