Important Current Affairs 16th September 2017

Important Current Affairs 16th September 2017

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Current Affairs 16th September 2017: DAYS AND DATES

30th Anniversary of Montreal protocol and 23rd World Ozone Day Celebrated 

Highlighting the strength of the active collaboration between the government, industries and all stakeholders in the implementation of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) phase-out programme in the country, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan highlighted the importance of individual awareness and the strength of collective action.   
●    The Minister also laid special emphasis on the role played by children in ensuring the success of such campaigns.
●    Addressing a gathering at the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol and 23rd World Ozone Day here today, with the theme - "Caring for all life under the Sun”, the Minister made a special mention of the pan-India awareness campaign launched by the Environment Ministry on the occasion. 
●    This campaign was among the most widespread engagements of the Ministry for awareness generation, carried out with the active partnership of States through schools and academic/research institutions spread across the country.  
●    The awareness campaign saw a participation of about 28 lakh students in more than 13, 000 schools and reached out to 214 districts across 16 states of the country.  
●    The Minister also spoke of the strong policy leadership given by India during the negotiations for the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.  
●    Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that it is recognized that India played a crucial role in the adoption of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. 

Current Affairs 16th September 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Vice President of India lays Foundation Stone for the first Regional Vocational Training Institute in Hyderabad 

Vice President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, today in Hyderabad laid the foundation stone for Regional Vocational Training Institute which is the first of its kind for the State of Telangana boosting skill development opportunities among women ready to contribute to the country’s workforce. 
●    Laying the foundation stone Shri Venkaiah Naidu, said, “Setting up of RVTI in Hyderabad is one defining step towards women empowerment. 
●    It the duty of all government bodies including gram panchayat, to do everything possible to empower women in the society. 
●    I would like to congratulate and extend my best wishes to Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship for such a great job. 
●    Through skill development we will not only empower our own country and its industries but also contribute to economies across the world. 
●    There is a huge demand for skilled workforce world over and it is the right that we reap our demographic dividend and bridge this demand supply gap. 
●    Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Minister for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said, “Women training and their empowerment has been one of the priority areas of Government of India.  

Now you can complain about bad food in rail journey

To ensure the quality of food on trains, railways is set to launch a new feedback system where passengers will be able to rate the food they are provided, on tablets.
●    The service to get online feedback will be introduced in premium trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto Express. 
●    The on-board service supervisors on 100 trains will be provided with tabs and they can approach any passenger requesting them to give feedback on meals provided in trains.
●    They can record their feedback through an online form on the tablets to be provided by the Railways, a  railway official said. 
●    The trials for the same were conducted on Ahemdabad-Delhi Rajdhani Express on September 14.  
●    The system would be formally launched on the Mumbai Rajdhani in a couple of weeks, IRCTC chief spokesperson Pinakin Morawala said. 
●    The passenger will be asked to fill a format rating quality of food on scale of 1-5 and areas which get less than 3, passenger will be asked to share specific details, a senior railway official said.

Centre to soon link Aadhaar with driving licence

The Centre will soon start linking driving licence with Aadhaar, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Friday.
●    "It would be done soon to check the menace of multiple licensing," he said after inaugurating the Haryana Digital Summit-2017 here.
●    "I have already had a word with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, in this regard and the process to link Aadhaar with driving licence would be set in motion soon," .
●    Referring to the debate on security of Aadhaar data, Prasad said the biometric information -- which includes iris scan and fingerprints -- is stored in an encrypted form and is very secure.
●    "If you look at the physical card, it has my photo, says I am a male and has my permanent Patna address at the back. 
●    It does not have details like names of my parents, caste, religion, educational qualification, financial income or health records. 
●    None of the things by which you can be profiled are mentioned on the Aadhaar card," he said.
●    He added that "Aadhaar is a digital identity" which confirms the physical identity with the help of biometrics and there are laws in place to check against unauthorised usage of Aadhaar.
●    The central government has linked PAN card to Aadhaar to stop money laundering, an official statement quoting him said.

Current Affairs 16th September 2017: GLOBAL NEWS

Qatar restores diplomatic ties with Iran amid regional crisis

Qatar restored full diplomatic relations with Iran early Thursday, disregarding the demands of Arab nations now locked in a regional dispute with the energy-rich country that it lessen its ties to Tehran.
●    In announcing its decision, Qatar did not mention the diplomatic crisis roiling Gulf Arab nations since June, when Qatar found its land, sea and air routes cut off by its neighbors over Doha’s policies across the Mideast.
●    “Qatar has shown it is going to go in a different direction,” said Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a research fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University who lives in Seattle. 
●    “It could very well be calculated toward reinforcing the point that Qatar will not bow to this regional pressure placed upon it.”
●    Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced early Thursday that the country’s ambassador would return to Tehran. 
●    Qatar pulled its ambassador in early 2016 after Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric sparked attacks on two Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran, a move to show solidarity with the kingdom.

17-year-old Alleged Mastermind of Blue Whale Challenge Caught in Russia

A 17-year-old Russian girl has been arrested in the Khabarovsk Krai region of Russia, for allegedly being the mastermind behind the notorious blue whale challenge.
●    The girl reportedly was heading multiple groups that were running under the "Blue Whale Challenge" name and was allegedly threatening to kill her victims or their family members if they did not follow her instructions. 
●    She is shown barefoot in a police video as cops examine her flat and the books, drawings found in it, most of it linked to suicide. 
●    She possessed a drawing she made of 22-year-old Philipp Budeikin, the man accused of being the ‘inventor’ of the deadly game.
●    The game allegedly consists of a series of tasks assigned to players by administrators during a 50-day period, with the final challenge requiring the player to commit suicide. 
●    The term "Blue Whale" comes from the phenomenon of beached whales, which is linked to suicide.
●    The girl is said to have played the game herself, but did not complete the final challenge and chose to become an "admin".
●    The teenage suspect introduced herself as a man to her victims.

Current Affairs 16th September 2017: ECONOMY

Govt may launch India's own cryptocurrency 'Lakshmi'

With cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin gaining popularity in India, the government may roll out the country’s very own cryptocurrency.
●    According to a report in Business Standard, sources in the government said that a committee was set up to discuss the proposal of having India’s own cryptocurrency, as an alternative to the Indian rupee.
●    The report also said the government might name its cryptocurrency “Lakshmi”. 
●    Reserve Bank’s executive chairman Sudarshan Sen on Wednesday had said the central bank is not comfortable with non-fiat cryptocurrencies like the Bitcoin. 
●    He had also hinted that it may launch its own cryptocurrency. 
●    “Right now, we have a group of people who are looking at fiat cryptocurrencies. Something that is an alternative to the Indian rupee, so to speak. 
●    We are looking at that closely," Sen had said.
●    The introduction of this new cryptocurrency may require the amendment of the Currency Act.

Current Affairs 16th September 2017: SPACE SCIENCE

New nano-powder to produce hydrogen fuel from urine
Scientists, including one of Indian origin, have developed an aluminium nano-powder that turns urine into hydrogen instantly, which can power fuel cells and provide clean energy.
●    Scientists from the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) had earlier announced that their nano-galvanic aluminium-based powder produced pure hydrogen when coming into contact with water.
●    The researchers observed a similar reaction when adding their powder to any liquid containing water. 
●    They also found that adding it to urine releases hydrogen at a much higher rate than with ordinary water, researchers said.
●    Hydrogen, the most plentiful element in the universe, has the potential to power fuel cells and provide energy to future soldiers.
●    Fuel cells generate electricity quietly, efficiently and without pollution. 
●    They are "more energy-efficient than combustion engines and the hydrogen used to power them can come from a variety of sources," researchers said.