Current Affairs Update - 11 September 2016

Updated on : 20:55, 15 September 2016

— NATIONAL —

– BRICS Wellness Workshop begins in Bengaluru

1. Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar has inaugurated the two day BRICS Wellness Workshop at Bengaluru (Karnataka).
   ii. The Workshop has been organised by Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of External Affairs with support of Government of Karnataka.
   iii. It will discuss the importance of traditional medicine in contemporary community health care due to its health promotive, disease preventive, curative, rehabilitative and rejuvenation properties.

– Buddhist Conclave to be held in India in sarnath

1. The two-day International Buddhist Conclave will begin on October 3 in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh. Prime Minister NarendraModi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister AkhileshYadav will attend the inauguration, which is being organised by the Tourism Ministry.
2. Buddhists and foreign delegates from over 40 nations are expected to attend the meet aimed at promoting Buddhist sites in Bodhgaya and Sarnath

– Every family in Karnataka village has 1 teacher

1. Karnataka’s Inchal village, with a population of about 6,000, reportedly has at least one teacher in every house, with the highest number being 13 for one family. These teachers work in government-aided institutions as well as non-aided ones.
2. The village, which considers teaching as the ‘most noble’ profession, reportedly has over 600 people who have opted to be teachers

– Indo-US Economic Summit will begin in New Delhi

1. The 2-day Indo-US Economic Summit will begin in New Delhi from September 13. Leaders from business, government and academia from both the countries will participate in the summit. They will deliberate on ways to enhance bilateral trade and investments between India and the US.
2. It will be inaugurated by Richard Verma, the US ambassador to India, and will be addressed by Union Ministers — including Information & Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu and Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal along with top global executives. The summit will bring together more than 250 people, who are thought leaders from business, government, civil society and academia.

– Govt plans to build memorial for SantKabir in UP

1. The government is planning to build a memorial for SantKabir in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, either in Prime Minister NarendraModi’s constituency Varanasi or in Maghar, where the Sant’s body rests. This comes after SharadTripathi, a BJP MP from SantKabir Nagar district, met Union Minister Mahesh Sharma regarding the same and reportedly demanded ?80 crore from the Centre

– Patanjali Mega Food and Herbal Park in Mihan at Nagpur

1. Renowned Yog Guru and founder of Patanjali group Baba Ramdev has laid the foundation stone of his dream project Patanjali Mega Food and Herbal Park in Mihan area which is located at outskirts of Nagpur.
2. On this occasion Maharashtra Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis, Union Transport Minister NitinGadkari,and AcharyaBalkrishnamaked their presence. This mega food park will comprise of Patanjali’s production units and it would provide direct employment to 10,000 youths.

 

— INTERNATIONAL —

– WHO’s South-East Asian Regional Committee decided to set up health emergencies in the region.

1. India along with 10 other member countries of WHO’s South-East Asian Regional Committee decided to set up a dedicated fund aimed at building preparedness for health emergencies in the region.
2. The joint funding stream will be established under the South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund (SEARHEF). The decision was made at the 69th session of WHO Regional Committee Meeting held at Colombo, Sri Lanka. The decision would help the member countries to invest in human resources and infrastructure at times of emergencies, as it is one of the most disaster-prone regions.
3. WHO South-East Asia region committee comprises 11 member states namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand and Timor-Leste

– Vietnam wins 1st Paralympic gold with world record

1. Vietnam won its first-ever Paralympic gold medal after para weightlifter Le Van Cong lifted 183 kgs, to set a new world record at the event. Vietnam also ended its six-decade-long wait for an Olympic gold last month in Rio with a record-breaking performance by shooter Hoang XuanVinh in the 10-metre air pistol shooting event.

– Half Girlfriend 1st Indian film to be shot at UN

1. Author ChetanBhagat has revealed that the upcoming film ‘Half Girlfriend’ has become the first Indian film to be shot at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
2. Chetan added that the film’s lead male character MadhavJha, played by Arjun Kapoor, works at the UN. The film, which also stars Shraddha Kapoor, will release on May 19, 2017.

– World’s smallest theater seats only 8 people

1. The Kremlhoftheater in Austria’s Villach city, which seats only eight people, is the smallest professional theater by seat capacity, according to Guinness World Records.
2. It opened in 2009 and has been staging regular shows since January 2010. With a stage measuring 1.30 by 1.30 metre, the theater does not sell any tickets and accepts donations from the guests

– UK hosts fashion festival for plus size women

1. The Curve Fashion Festival for women over size 14 was held in Liverpool, United Kingdom on Saturday. The festival, which claims to be the largest of its kind in the country, was held for the second time after its inaugural event last year.
2. The 2015 Curve Fashion Festival, featuring fashion shows and industry seminars, was attended by over 1,100 women

– China, Russia have world’s best developers: HackerRank

1. The world’s most talented developers belong to China and Russia, according to a recent study by HackerRank, a platform that ranks programmers based on their coding skills. Based on accuracy and speed, the Chinese were found to excel in maths and functional programming, while the Russians dominated in algorithms. India’s and the US’ overall ranks were 31 and 28 respectively.

 

— BANKING —

– Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) launched e-nivaran to resolve Income Tax grievances

1. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) launched e-nivaran (electronic resolution) facility for online redressal of taxpayers’ grievances. The grievances can be related to refunds, Income Tax Returns (ITRs), Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), and Permanent Account Number (PAN) among others.
2. It was started with an aim to reduce instances of harassment of the public when it comes to complaints related to the Income Tax (IT) department. It will be available on the e-filing portal (http://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in) of the department.

– Qatar National Bank (QNB) in India

1. Qatar National Bank (QNB) has received approval from India’s regulatory authorities to open a branch in the country and begin operations.
2. Opening a branch in India is in line with the bank’s goal of strategic global expansion. The bank has its presence in more than 30 countries.
   iii. Qatar National Bank is a Qatari commercial bank headquartered in Doha, Qatar. As of 2014, it is the second largest bank in Africa and the Middle East in terms of assets.

– FPIs invest INR 6.8k cr in capital markets in September

1. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have pumped in nearly INR 6,800 crore in the Indian capital markets so far in September, driven by strong global and domestic cues.
2.  According to depositors’ data, net investments stood at INR 3,178 crore in equities, while that for debt markets was at INR3,617 crore. Good monsoon and positive quarterly results enthused investor sentiment, analysts said.

– Equity mutual fund inflows hit 1-yr high in August

1. Equity mutual funds registered a net inflow of INR 6,505 crore in August, the highest inflow since August 2015, data by Association of Mutual Funds in India stated.
2. Good monsoon, progress on the GST Bill, and positive US economy data contributed to the increase, analysts said. With this, the total mobilisation in equity schemes has reached INR18,490crore during this fiscal

 

— AWARDS AND HONOURS —

– Subramanian Swamy awarded ‘Tamil Ratna’ in US

1. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has been given the “Tamil Ratna” award by a body of Tamil diaspora in the US for fighting corruption and working for transparency in governance.
2. The award was conferred to Swamy by the America Tamil Sangam. India is again “projecting the message that it can be governed in the most transparent manner”, Swamy said

– US bull vies for world’s tallest bovine title

1. A 6 feet 4 inch tall Holstein bull from a US zoo is vying for the title of the world’s tallest bovine. He was measured last week, but Guinness World Records is yet to declare him the record-holder.
2.  The record for the tallest bovine is currently held by Blossom, a 6 feet 2 inch tall cow which died last year

– Lincoln Plaza wins UK’s ‘ugliest’ building award

1. The Lincoln Plaza in London has won the 2016 Carbuncle Cup for being the ‘ugliest’ building completed in the United Kingdom in the past one year. The residential luxury tower block was called a “brain-numbing jumble of discordant shapes” and awarded the Carbuncle Cup by architectural magazine Building Design. A London skyscraper dubbed the ‘Walkie Talkie’ won the 2015 award.

– The Woman Who Left named best film at Venice Film Fest

1. Filipino drama film ‘The Woman Who Left’, directed by Lav Diaz won the top ‘Golden Lion’ award for the best film at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival which ended on Saturday.
2. Oscar Martínez won the ‘Best Actor’ award for the film ‘The Distinguished Citizen’, while Emma Stone was named the ‘Best Actress’ for the film ‘La La Land’.

– 9th Global Agriculture Leadership Award 2016 ODISHA

1. Odisha has bagged 9th Global Agriculture Leadership Award 2016 at the National Level gathering of important stake-holders in agriculture development at the Agriculture Leadership Summit at Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi.
2. Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) have awarded Odisha in the category of Best Agriculture State-2016 in recognition of the efforts towards development of agriculture and bringing rural prosperity.

 

— SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY —

– World’s 1st robotic eye operation performed in Britain

1. British surgeons have successfully performed the world’s first robotic operation inside the eye, potentially revolutionizing the way such conditions are treated.
2. The procedure was carried out at John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford. “With a robotic system, we open up a whole new chapter of eye operations that currently cannot be performed,” said the Surgeon Robert MacLaren

– Firm makes device to test glaucoma using smartphone

1. A British company has developed a concept headset called ‘Viewi’ to diagnose and monitor glaucoma at home using smartphones. A connected mobile app will test the sensitivity of the users’ eyes by flashing lights at varying points of the visual field.
2. The headset, priced at around $26, will enable cheap diagnosis of one of the leading causes of blindness.

– Iran, Russia start building second nuclear plant

1. Iran on Saturday began building a nuclear plant with Russian help, in a $10 billion project, after agreeing to limit its nuclear stockpile last year. Iran already operates a Russian-built nuclear reactor at Bushehr, its first. Notably, Russia had signed a deal with Iran in 2014 to build up to eight more reactors in the country

 

— SPORTS —

– Kohli remains top ranked T20I batsman

Indian Test captain ViratKohli remained the top-ranked T20I batsman, according to ICC’s latest T20I rankings. Following his 145-run innings against Sri Lanka, Australian batsman Glenn Maxwell jumped 16 positions to reach a career best ranking of third. Maxwell also jumped two places above Pakistan’s ShahidAfridi and Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan to become the top-ranked all-rounder in T20Is

– 14 of 19 Indian Paralympians ranked in world’s top 10

Fourteen athletes from India’s 19-member Paralympic squad are ranked within the top ten in their respective categories. While MariyappanThangavelu, who won gold in men’s high jump on Saturday, is world number one in the T42 disability category, bronze winner Varun Singh Bhati is ranked second. Deepa Malik, ranked world number seven in shotput, is India’s highest ranked female competitor

– Second most attended Paralympic Games in the history

1. The Rio 2016 Paralympic Games is the second most attended Paralympic Games in the history of the event. A total of 1.8 million tickets has been sold for the event, surpassing the 1.7 million tickets sold for the Beijing Paralympics eightyears ago. The most attended Paralympic Games is the 2012 London Games in which 2.8 million tickets were sold

– Kerber beats Pliskova to win US Open title

1. Newly crowned world number one Germany’s Angelique Kerber beat Czech Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to win her maiden US Open title and her second overall Grand Slam title.
2. The 28-year-old, who is the first German to win the US Open since Steffi Graf in 1996, is the oldest player to make her debut atop the women’s tennis rankings

– Jamie Murray-Bruno Soares win US Open doubles title

1. Great Britain’s Jamie Murray and Brazil’s Bruno Soares won their second Grand Slam doubles title, defeating Spaniards Pablo CarreñoBusta and Guillermo García-López 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday.
2. This was Murray’s third doubles slam title of his career, and second with Bruno Soares, with the pair winning the Australian Open earlier this year.

 

— BOOKS & AUTHORS —

– Chris Gayle launches his autobiography ‘Six Machine’ in India:

1. Explosive West Indies opener Chris Gayle launched his autobiography ‘Six Machine’, which contains extensive details about his life and career.
2. Published by Viking-Penguin UK, the book was unveiled by Anurag Singh Thakur, President of the BCCI.