Important Current Affairs 15th September 2018 English

Download Daily Gk and Current Affairs PDF (English)

Download Daily Gk and Current Affairs PDF (HINDI)

Important Current Affairs 15th September 2018 

                                                       ( National News)
PM to launch Swachhata Hi Seva movement on September 15th
 
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, will launch the Swachhata Hi Seva movement from September 15th.
Objective:-
The Swachhata Hi Seva movement, which aims at generating greater public participation towards Swachhta, is being organized in the run up to the fourth anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission, on October 2nd, 2018, which will also mark the commencement of the 150th year celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi.
As part of an elaborate launch event for this fortnight long movement, the Prime Minister will interact with a cross-section of people from 18 locations across the country, via video conferencing. The people with whom PM will interact include school-children, jawans, spiritual leaders, members of milk and agricultural cooperatives, media persons, local government representatives, railway employees, Self Help Groups, and Swachhagrahis, among others.

Power Ministry launches ambitious program on energy efficiency in Chillers
 
Ministry of Power, Government of India launched an ambitious program to encourage the deployment of Energy Efficient chiller systems in the country here today on 15th September.  
Chiller Star Labelling Program
The Chiller Star Labelling Program has been formulated by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). The program envisages providing star rating in terms of its energy performance. Initially, the program is launched on voluntary basis and will be valid upto 31stDecember 2020.
The Objective is to improve energy efficiency in space and process cooling sector, considering the occasion of 24th World Ozone Day and the 31st Anniversary of Montreal Protocol, which will be observed on 16th September 2018.
This initiative will promote advancement technology for central HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems and will also facilitate energy efficient solutions for the large commercial and industrial applications.
Important to Know:
Chillers are used extensively for space conditioning of buildings and for industrial process cooling applications. The size of Indian chiller market which stood at 1 Million Tonne per year at 2017, is projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.6 per cent fuelled by a growth in the retail, hospitality and infrastructure projects. Chillers, being energy intensive system, contribute more than 40 per cent of the total energy consumption in commercial buildings. Therefore, it is important to optimize energy performance of chillers and create awareness amongst the end users to adopt transition towards energy efficient chillers.

Reserve Bank to purchase govt securities (G-secs) worth Rs 10,000 crore on September 19
 
The Reserve Bank to purchase government securities (G-secs) worth Rs 10,000 crore on September 19, a move aimed at inducing liquidity in the system. 
The purchase of the government securities will be done through Open Market Operations (OMO).

RBI said in a statement issued in Mumbai today on 15th September that based on an assessment of prevailing liquidity conditions and also of the durable liquidity needs going forward, the Reserve Bank has decided to conduct purchase of Government securities under OMO through multi-security auction using the multiple price method," 

Hyderabad Airport gets ACI ASQ World No 1 trophy
 
GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd has received the Airports Council International Airport Service Quality World no.1 airport award trophy in the 5-15 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA) categories for the second consecutive year. 
GMR, which operates the Rajiv Gandhi International airport here, said S G K Kishore, CEO, GHIAL on Wednesday received the trophy from Joyce Carter, President and CEO, Halifax Stanfield International Airport, Nova Scotia at the ASQ awards ceremony, organised at the '2018 ACI Customer Excellence Global Summit' at Halifax in Canada. 

INMAS developed India's first indigenous anti-nuclear medical kit

 Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) scientists has developed India’s first indigenous medical kit that may ensure protection from serious injuries and faster healing of wounds resulting from nuclear warfare or radioactive leakage.
The kit, developed after two decades of work by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) here, has over 25 items, including radio-protectors that provide 80-90 per cent protection against radiation and nerve gas agents, bandages that absorb radiation as well as tablets and ointments. 
What this Kit Contains?
The contents include an advanced form of Prussian blue tablets, highly effective in incorporating Radio Cesium (Cs-137) and Radio Thallium, among the most feared radioisotopes in nuclear bombs that destroy human body cells. 
According to INMAS, the kit has been developed for the armed, paramilitary and police forces only as they are the first ones likely to get exposed to radiation -- be it during nuclear, chemical and biomedical (NCB) warfare or a rescue operation after a nuclear accident. 

Coast Guard commissions patrol vessel 'Vijaya' 
 The Indian Coast Guard commissioned the indigenously built patrol vessel 'Vijaya', fitted with advanced navigation and communication equipment.

The 98-metre ship will be based at Paradip in Odisha for extensive surveillance in the Exclusive Economic Zone.

'Vijaya' is capable of carrying limited pollution response equipment to contain oil spill in sea, besides, is equipped with a 30 mm gun with fire control system. 

Important:

Defence Secretary: Sanjay Mitra and Coast Guard Director General: Rajendra Singh 

Rajasthan's forest minister inaugurates state's first lion safari
Rajasthan Forest Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar has inaugurated the state's first lion safari at Nahargarh Biological Park. To start with, three sub-adult Asiatic lions have been shifted in the area.

Apart from inaugurating the safari project, Khimsar also chaired a meeting of the state wildlife board. The extension of Jaisamand Wildlife Sanctuary near Udaipur was approved in the meeting.

Nahargarh Biological Park

Nahargarh Biological Park, a part of the Nahargarh sanctuary is located about 12 km from Jaipur on the Jaipur-Delhi highway. It encompasses a large area of 720 hectares and is situated under the Aravalli range. The Park is famous for its vast flora and fauna, and its main aim is to conserve it. It also doubles up as a great place to educate people and conduct research on existing flora and fauna.

Cabinet approves continuation of Capacity Development Scheme for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20 

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved continuation of the Capacity Development Scheme for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20 with an outlay of Rs 2,250 crore.

The Capacity Development Scheme is an Ongoing Central Sector Scheme of MoSPI. The overall objective of the scheme is to augment infrastructural, technical as well as manpower resources for making available credible and timely Official Statistics for policy makers and public at large.

The Capacity Development Scheme has two Sub-schemes, Economic Census and Support for Statistical Strengthening (SSS).