Current Affairs Update - 19 September 2016

Updated on : 20:55, 23 September 2016

— NATIONAL —

India ranked world’s top exporter of information, communication technology

• India has been ranked the world’s top exporter of information and communication technology in a UN agency report that recommended that the country leverage this lead to innovate in emerging areas where biology and materials sciences intersect with computing.
• Overall, India leapt 14 places from the 85th rank last year to the 61st in the latest Global Innovation Index (GII) released in Geneva by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Monday.
• India ranked 8th in the world for producing graduates in science and engineering and showed the most significant improvements in human capital and research moving up 40 places to 63.

Haryana Gets 22nd District

• Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar accorded the district status to Dadri, which is the biggest sub-division in Bhiwani district of the state. With this, the number of districts in the state will rise to 22.
• CM Khattar also announced various developmental projects for Dadri including Rs 1.90 crore for water supply pipeline in Dadri town and Rs 3.5 crore for construction of pedestrian over bridge between Gandhinagar and Grain Market.

Selfie with my Shauchalya’ started in Ludhiana

• To promote the Swachh Bharat Mission and encourage people to use clean toilets, Ludhiana administration has started the “Selfie with my Shauchalya” campaign.
• Under this, beneficiaries of toilets provided by the Punjab government have been urged to click a selfie with their toilets.
• The owner of the cleanest toilet, having all facilities, would be specially honoured on October 2.

Bhubaneswar to host 2-day national conference on labour

• The state government in association with International Labour Organisation (ILO) will organize a two-day national conference on labour in the city from September 20.
• Subash Singh, chairman of Odisha Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board, said they will discuss several issues related to organized and unorganized labourers of the country in four sessions of the conference.
• Building and construction workers board of Odisha has registered 16.43 lakh people and spent Rs 175 crore to provide facilities to five lakh labourers under different schemes of the government. It has also started registering inter-state migrant labourers to provide them help under its schemes.

Andhra Pradesh Tops in Industrial Investments

• According to latest RBI report, Andhra Pradesh has emerged on the top among all other states in attracting industrial investments in 2015-16. It pushed the last year’s topper Maharashtra to the third spot.
• Andhra Pradesh attracted an investment of Rs 21,914 crore out of the Rs 1,38,700 crore gross investments across India.
• Gujarat retained the second place attracting 14.5 per cent of investments, up from 9.5 per cent in 2014-15

Maharashtra was pushed to the third spot with 10.9 per cent in 2015-16, a decline from 14.8 per cent.

• Tamil Nadu also made quantum gains in investment, attracting 9 per cent of the gross and jumping to the fourth spot. In 2014-15, investment flow into Tamil Nadu was a mere 2.9 per cent.
• Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh were tied at the fifth spot garnering 7.2 per cent share each in industrial investments.

Govt to set INR 4000 cr overhaul of 80 check posts for GST

• The Road Transport and Highways Ministry has identified 80 border checkpoints across India for a INR4,000 crore overhaul for the smooth flow of goods ahead of the implementation of the GST, an official said.
• Furthermore, the government is also working on an app to link check posts under the Centre and the state governments, Road Minister Nitin Gadkari stated.

Haryana to be developed as capital of Ayurveda

• Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said the state would be developed as the capital of Ayurveda and Yoga. In order to achieve the goal, the government has already passed a proposal for setting up an AYUSH University in Kurukshetra, he added.
• A five-storey civil hospital is being constructed in Ambala which would have AYUSH services, Vij said.

 

— INTERNATIONAL —

First Indian music & dance festival starts in Sydney

• First Indian music and dance festival aimed to showcase the country’s rich and diverse culture was kicked off in Sydney. Union Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma inaugurated the 10-week “Festival of India” last night with spectacular joint performances by Indian and Australian artists.
• The festival, an initiative of Indian government supported by the Australian side, will run across seven cities including Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide.

 

— BANKING —

Federal Bank launches Federal Skill Academy at Coimbatore

• Federal Bank has launched its second Federal Skill Academy at Coimbatore, as part of its CSR initiatives. The first one being inaugurated last year at Ernakulam.
• The initiative will facilitate underprivileged students to successfully complete the courses, and get employment opportunities both in India as well as abroad
• The inauguration of Skill Academy was done by Mahendra Ramdas (President COINDIA & Managing Director, Mahendra Pumps) and the Computer Lab was inaugurated by V Thirugnanam (Vice President, CODISSIA).

 

— BUSINESS AND ECONOMY —

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance’s Initial Public Offering (IPO)

• ICICI Prudential Life Insurance’s Initial Public Offering (IPO), the first ever by an Indian insurer, opened for subscription today and is the biggest local IPO in last six years.
• The company aims to raise about INR 6,000 crore through the issue, which will close on September 21.
• Note: Currently, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance is the largest private sector life insurer in India.

 

— APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGN—

Alka Sirohi appointed UPSC chairman

• Former IAS officer Alka Sirohi has been appointed as chairman of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), in place of Deepak Gupta who demits office on Tuesday.
• President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Sirohi to perform the duties of the post of the chairman, UPSC, with effect from September 21, an order issued by Department of Personnel and Training said.

Nadia Murad Basee Taha Appointed UN Ambassador

• A young Yazidi woman who survived trafficking and gang-rape by the Islamic State terrorists, has been appointed as a UN Ambassador.
• Nadia Murad Basee Taha, the 23-year-old Nobel Peace Prize nominee, is the Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC.

Indian-origin Ravi Reddy appointed as Head of International Society for Blood Transfusion

• An Indian-origin South African Ravi Reddy was on 18 September 2016 appointed as the Head of International Society for Blood Transfusion (ISBT), headquartered in Amsterdam.
• With this, Reddy became the first person from the African continent to head ISBT, a global organisation of medicine professionals working for the safety of blood transfusion worldwide.
• The ISBT, now with 100 member countries, was established in 1935 as a platform for exchanging knowledge and advancing the blood-transfusion practice.

 

— AWARDS AND HONOURS —

M Leelavathi bags Mohanan Suvarna Mudra award

• Eminent Malayalam critic and academician Dr M Leelavathi has been chosen for the prestigious N Mohanan Suvarna Mudra Award 2016, instituted in memory of well-known short story writer N Mohanan.
• The honour comprises a gold medal of one sovereign. An expert panel, comprising journalists M G Radhakrishnan and M Saritha Varma and Athmaraman, selected Leelavathi for the biennial award considering her contributions to Malayalam language and literature, a release said here today.
• Jnanpith winning poet late O N V Kurup was the previous winner of the honour,

 

— SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY —

Google, Microsoft to block Indian gender-selection ads

• Google, Microsoft and Yahoo will start blocking advertisements of services that help determine a baby’s sex before birth in India, the Health Ministry told the SC today.
• The companies had earlier argued that banning the keywords would also block non-promotional content like research reports and news articles. According to 2011 census, there were 943 females per 1,000 males in India

 

— BOOKS & AUTHORS —

Book on North Eastern Council Released

• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr Jitendra Singh released the NEC Coffee Table Book, 2016 “North Eastern Council: A Story of Sagacity and Success”.

 

— SPORTS —

Rio Paralympics 2016

• The 15th Rio 2016 Paralympics Games 2016 (7-18 September) is over now and this time we have witnessed some of the world record-breaking performances by the athletes. The 2020 Summer Paralympics, the 16th edition of the international multi-sports event, will be held in Tokyo, Japan, from 25 August to 6 September 2020.
• The Paralympics Games are an attempt to provide an equal platform for athletes with disabilities to showcase their skills at a stage that lets them represent their countries.
• India’s flagbearer in Paralympic Opening ceremony – Devendra Jhajharia
• India’s flagbearer in Paralympic closing ceremony   – Mariyappan Thangavelu
• India capped off a successful Paralympic Games campaign in Rio de Janeiro by procuring their best ever haul of four medals, including two golds and a silver and bronze medal apiece.

Rio 2016 paralympic games for India

• 19 players (16 men & 3 women) participated in Rio Paralympic games in 5 games.

MEDAL TABLE:

Rank	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China	107	81	51	239
2	Great Britain	64	39	44	147
3	Ukraine	41	37	39	117
4	United States	40	42	30	112
5	Australia	21	29	29	79
43	India	2	1	1	4

Nico Rosberg wins 2016 Singapore Grand Prix

• German Formula One driver for Mercedes Nico Rosberg has won the Singapore Grand Prix 2016 of Formula One race.  It was his overall 22nd championship title of F1 in his career and first in Singapore.