Important Current Affairs 17th September 2017

Important Current Affairs 17th September 2017

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Current Affairs 17th September 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Sail Supplies 80 Per Cent Steel for Sardar Sarovar Project 

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has supplied 80 per cent steel required for construction of the Sardar Sarovar Project inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi today. 
●    Once again partnering in one of the most prestigious and important national projects, SAIL supplied around 85,000 tonnes of steel (TMT) for the entire Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd. (SSNNL) project, which comprises all the canals throughout Gujarat, which are connected to Narmada River and Dam. 
●    Sardar Sarovar project is the second largest concrete gravity dam (by volume) and has the world's third largest spillway discharging capacity. 
●    The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a gravity dam built on Narmada river near Navagam, Gujarat, which will benefit four Indian states namely Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. 
●    A part of the Narmada Valley Project, it will help in irrigation and electrical power supply.
●    It is a part of a large hydraulic engineering project involving the construction of a series of large irrigation and hydroelectric multi-purpose dams on the Narmada river. 
●    One of the 30 dams planned on river Narmada, Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSD) is the largest structure to be built. 
●    The project will irrigate more than 18,000 m2 (190,000 sq ft), most of it in drought prone areas of Kutch and Saurashtra. 
●    The total installed capacity of the power facilities is 1,450 MW.

Government is working on simplifying labour laws

The government is committed to labour reforms and simplification in the related laws to safeguard workers' interest, Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said today. 
●    Listing a slew of steps to protect workers' interest, the minister said provisions have been made in the Employees' Compensation (Amendment) Act, 2017 to increase the penalty for its contravention from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000, which is extendable to Rs 1 lakh. 
●    Addressing the Golden Jubilee Award Ceremony of Vishwarkar Rashtriya Puraskar, Gangwar said, "In accordance with the priorities set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi government, Labour Ministry is working towards 'reforms and simplification in labour laws' and converting 44 labour laws into 4 simplified codes". 
●    Terming it a major step towards simplification of laws and ease of doing business, the minister said technology is used widely for administrative and other reforms so that labour laws could be made rational. 
●    Asserting that workers are backbone of the economy, Gangwar said it is for the first time that minimum wages have been enhanced for all sectors, including agriculture and construction.

Current Affairs 17th September 2017: AWARDS

Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar gives away Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar & National Safety Awards 

The Minister of State for Labour & Employment (Independent charge), Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar presented the Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar and National Safety Awards (performance year 2015) to awardees at a function held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi today.
●    On the 50th Golden Jubilee Award presentation Ceremony, Shri Gangwar  has given away the Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar to 111 individuals in recognition of outstanding suggestions given by worker or group of workers and implemented by the management resulting in improvement in quality, productivity and working conditions such as safety, health and environmental conservation. 
●    The National Safety Award to 126 (73 winners & 53 runners-up) in recognition of outstanding safety performance of industrial establishments, construction sites, ports and installations under AERB to stimulate and maintain the interests of both the management and the workers in accident prevention programmes.
●    Speaking on the occasion, the Labour & Employment Minister said that Hon’ble PM, Shri Narendra Modi is the “Shilpkaar of New India”. 
●    Today on the birthday of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, and under his strong able dynamic leadership India is poised to become a developed country and in the last three years rapid industrialisation, make in India, skill India, employment generation and sustainable development has been the top priority and agenda of this government.

Current Affairs 17th September 2017: ECONOMY

Life insurers cut fresh exposure to equities by 57% in FY17

The life insurance industry, led by state-run LIC, drastically cut down its fresh exposure in equities by 57 per cent during the fiscal 2016-17 to Rs 16,793 crore from Rs 39,535 crore a year ago, data collated by the Life Insurance Council said. 
●    This reduction was despite the fact that key market indices went up remarkably during the year with the BSE Sensex alone rising to 29,620 on March 31 this year from 25,342 a year ago. 
●    The private sector life insurers, numbering 23, too, have been a net seller in the equity market as they sold Rs 438 crore during this period. 
●    Accordingly, the market value of equity portfolios held by the life insurers ballooned from Rs 5.95 trillion in FY16 to Rs 7.56 trillion in FY17. 
●    In contrast, the life insurers' investment in fixed income, where government securities are major components, grew 15 per cent to Rs 21,67,143 crore from Rs 18,81,361 crore a year ago.

Government to sell Air India properties owned by them

The government has decided to sell some of Air India’s real estate directly to expedite the state-owned carrier’s divestment. 
●    This follows the discovery that some of the assets are not owned by the carrier but on a 99-year lease from the government. 
●    “Properties where the government has the ownership will go back to the government, which will sell it on behalf of Air India,” said a senior aviation ministry official who did not want to be named. 
●    Air India officials confirmed that two such properties in Delhi owned by the urban development ministry have already been identified. 
●    “One is the 4-acre land at Baba Kharak Singh Marg near Connaught Place and the other is the residential colony in Vasant Vihar. 
●    These properties are on 99-year lease to Air India and the money earned through the sale of these assets would be used to clear debt,” said an Air India official requesting anonymity. 
●    The plan for the Vasant Vihar residential colony is to hand it over to NBCC Ltd, which will redevelop it. The plan for the land near Connaught Place has not been decided yet. 

SEBI plans to allow REITs, InvITs to raise funds via bonds

Aiming to make REITs and InvITs more attractive to investors, markets regulator SEBI plans to relax norms to allow these trusts to raise funds by issuing debt securities.
●    A proposal to amend REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) and InvITs (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) would be placed before SEBI’s board tomorrow in order to facilitate growth of such trusts, an official said.
●    SEBI had notified the REITs and InvITs Regulations in 2014, allowing setting up and listing of such trusts, which are very popular in some advanced markets. 
●    However, only two InvITs — IRB InvIT Fund and Indiagrid Trust — got listed on the stock exchanges so far.
●    Several attempts are already being made to garner due attention from business houses in the country but all the efforts failed leading to Sebi reconsidering the proposal to give further relaxations.
●    According to the proposal, REITs and InvITs, whose units are listed in nationwide stock exchanges can issue debt securities.
●    Besides, the regulator plans to allow such trusts to invest in holding company with 50 per cent stake.
 

Current Affairs 17th September 2017: GLOBAL NEWS

More than 67000 people in Japan are above the age of 100

In Japan, the number of people over 100 years has increased to 67,782.
●    This figure has registered an increase of 2000 compared to last year.
●    According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of women in them is 88 percent.
●    These figures were released on the occasion of 'Azad Day', which is celebrated in Japan on third Monday of every September.
●    Since 1971, the number of people aged 100 years in Japan has been increasing every year since 1971 and the trend is expected to remain intact due to the facilities like the country's advanced medical science and maximum health awareness.
●    Nabi Tajima, a native of Kikai Island, born in August 1900, is the oldest woman in Japan with age of 117 years.
●    At the same time, in July 1905, born in Ashono of South Hokkaido, Masajo Nonaka is the oldest man in Japan, with 112 years of age.

Bangladesh begins building 14,000 shelters for Rohingya refugees

Bangladesh today began constructing 14,000 new shelters for the more than 400,000 Muslim Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in neighbouring Myanmar to ensure they remain confined to an area and do not fan out across the country.
●    The refugees have been fleeing to Bangladesh for three weeks to escape a military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine state, which the UN has said amounts to ethnic cleansing.
●    Myanmar says the crackdown is a response to last month's deadly attacks on police by militants in the northern state and denies it is targeting civilians.
●    Bangladesh has been overwhelmed by the exodus and struggling to house the refugees in the shelters being built with assistance from UN and other international organisations.
●    "Work to construct the 14,000 temporary shelters began today at Kutupalang," a disaster management ministry spokesman told , adding the army has been asked to build them in 10 days.