Important Current Affairs 19th September 2021

NATIONAL

India, Nepal to hold joint military exercise 'Surya Kiran' from Sept 20

• The 15th edition of Indo–Nepal Joint Military Training Exercise Surya Kiran will be held from September 20, 2021, at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand. The previous edition of the Exercise Surya Kiran was conducted in Nepal in 2019. The exercise was called off in 2020, due to the C-19 pandemic.

• The Indian Army and Nepali Army would share their experiences of various counter-insurgency operations, and familiarise themselves with each other’s weapons, equipment, tactics, techniques and procedures of operating in a counter-insurgency environment in mountainous terrain.

• The joint military training will help in improving bilateral relations and further strengthen the traditional friendship between the two nations.

Nagaland’s first and India’s 61st Software Technology Park of India (STPI) centre inaugurated

• Nagaland’s first and India’s 61st Software Technology Park of India (STPI) centre was inaugurated at Kohima. The inauguration of the STPI centre in Kohima is a fulfilment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of creating a technology ecosystem in the northeast to create opportunities for future generations in the region.

• The MoS urged the need to create real change in the technology ecosystem. In order to create job opportunities, he said, the state government must work towards creating an interconnection of institutions to create awareness about various opportunities available for the youth.

Manipur’s Sirarakhong Chilli and Tamenglong Orange gets GI tag

• Two famous products of Manipur, Hathei chilli, which is found in Manipur’s Ukrul district and is known for its unique flavour, and Tamenglong mandarin orange have been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. This is a historic milestone in the history of Manipur and it will increase the income of farmers in Manipur.

• The Hathei chilly works as a good anti-oxidant and possesses high calcium and Vitamin C levels. It has an extremely high American Spice Trade Association (ASTA) colour value of 164. The extractable colour of chilli is usually expressed using ASTA values.

SPORTS

India’s Pankaj Advani wins Asian Snooker Championship 2021

• India’s Pankaj Advani won the Asian Snooker Championship 2021 by defeating Amir Sarkhosh. He has won this title for a second consecutive time. He is the winner of the last Asian Snooker Championship held in 2019.

• In 2019, Pankaj also became the only player who won the titles in all forms of billiards, snooker, 6Reds, and 10Reds competitions. Yasin Merchant (1989, 2001), Alok Kumar (2004), Aditya Mehta (2012) were the other Indians who won the championship.

APPOINTMENT & RESIGNATION

Alka Nangia Arora appoints as the new CMD of National Small Industries Corporation Ltd

• Alka Nangia Arora has been appointed as the Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD) of the National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. (NSIC). She has taken the additional charge of the post on September 14, 2021. She is a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.

• The National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) is a Mini Ratna company established in 1955. It falls under the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises of India and serves as a nodal agency for several schemes of the Ministry of MSME.

Charanjit Singh Channi will be the next chief minister of Punjab

• The Congress party has elected Charanjit Singh Channi, the outgoing technical education minister, as the new chief minister of Punjab after Captain Amarinder Singh resigned from the post. He has been elected as the leader of the Punjab Congress Legislative Party (CLP). He is an MLA from the Chamkaur Sahib assembly constituency. He will become Punjab’s first Dalit chief minister

• Captain Amarinder Singh, who resigned as the chief minister of Punjab on Saturday following months of infighting between him and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Red Panda Day 2021: Third Saturday of September

• The International Red Panda Day (IRPD) is celebrated on the third Saturday of September every year to raise public awareness and support for red panda conservation issues. In 2021, the IRPD is being observed on 18 September 2021. The day was launched by the Red Panda Network in 2010. The first international red Panda day was celebrated on 18th September 2010.

• There are two distinct species of red pandas Ailurus fulgens is commonly known as Himalayan Red Panda and Ailurus fulgens styani commonly known as Chinese Red Panda, these are mostly found in the Eastern Himalayan region and southwestern China. Genetically the red pandas belong to the order of Carnivora, but mostly eat bamboo shoots, mushrooms etc and also eat birds, eggs, and insects. The average lifespan of these red pandas is 23 years and the female pandas stop breeding after the age of 12.

BOOKS & AUTHOR

Book‘Shining Sikh Youth of India’ launched by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

• The Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has released a book titled ‘Shining Sikh Youth of India’ in New Delhi, as a part of the commemoration of the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhs.

• The book has been authored by Dr Prabhleen Singh, administrative officer at the Punjabi University, Patiala. It covers 100 inspirational and motivational success stories of Sikh youth in India who have done exemplary work in their respective fields.

BANKING AND ECONOMIC

LIC Launched Mobile App ‘PRAGATI’

• Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has launched a new mobile app ‘PRAGATI’ for the exclusive use of its Development Officers. PRAGATI stands for “Performance Review Application, Growth And Trend Indicator”. LIC has been taking a lot of customer-centric and digital initiatives for ease of operations for its customers and field force.

• The Pragati app will help the Development Officers to get near real-time information about the performance of their agency force in critical areas of business performance like premium collection, agency activisation, prospective outperformers, etc apart from monitoring their team on activities such as usage of agents mobile app and NACH validation. The app also provides development officers with a calculator to measure their cost ratio.