Important Current Affairs 1st September 2018 English

Important Current Affairs 1st September 2018

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

AYUSH Minister to inaugurate the Fourth International Ayurveda Congress at Netherlands 
 
The fourth International Ayurveda Congress (IAvC) aimed at promotion and propagation of Ayurveda will be inaugurated by Minister of state for AYUSH Shripad Naik in the Netherlands on 1st September.
The Minister is visiting the Netherlands from September 1-4 to participate in the Congress jointly organized by the International Maharishi Ayurveda Foundation, the Netherlands, All India Ayurvedic Congress, New Delhi, and the International Academy of Ayurveda, Pune, in association with the Indian Embassy in that country.
"The congress would focus on promotion and propagation of Ayurveda in the Netherlands and its neighbouring countries of Europe,”
A special Seminar is also being organized by the Indian Embassy titled "India-Netherlands collaboration in Healthcare, including Ayurveda" on September 3.
This seminar will be jointly addressed by the AYUSH minister and the Dutch Minister for Medical Care and Sport Bruno Bruins.
To give further impetus to promotion of AYUSH Systems of Medicine in Netherlands and its neighbouring countries, a high-level meeting has also been proposed in addition to the Congress by Embassy of India and Netherland between the Minister and government Authorities of Netherland.
An exposure visit of the delegation is proposed to the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands, to discuss on establishing an Ayurveda Chair.

Germany to Provide Euro 120 Million Soft Loan for Clean Ganga Mission
 
In an effort to clean the Ganges, Germany is providing a soft loan of euro 120 million (Rs 990 crore approximately) to India to strengthen sewage water treatment infrastructure in Uttarakhand
Elaborating on the work done by the German Embassy, the project would focus on extension and replacement of sewerage system (around 360 kilometres) including complete house connection, construction of sewage treatment plants of around 15 million litres per day (mld).

The initiative also includes construction of 13 sewage pumping stations.

"The purpose of the project is to reduce the inflow of untreated wastewater in River Ganga and, thus, to improve the water quality of the river.
Background: 

In 2015, the German government to India committed an interest subsidised loan of up to euro 120 million through German Development Bank KfW for financing investments such as construction of sewerage network and sewage treatment plants

The German development agency GIZ has prepared a 'Ganga Box', aimed to target school-going children and inform them about the river.

INS Sahyadri enters Australia’s Port of Darwin: KAKADU Exercise
 
Indian Naval Ship Sahyadri entered the Port of Darwin, Australia, to take part in a multilateral maritime exercise.
The ship was deployed in the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean for over four months, which included representing the Navy in multinational exercises MALABAR 18 at Guam and RIMPAC 18 at Hawaii. 
Exercise KAKADU
Exercise KAKADU, which started in 1993, is a premier multilateral regional maritime engagement hosted by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and supported by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

Land immigration centre along Myanmar border opened
 
India has opened an immigration check-post in Mizoram along the border with Myanmar, a reflection of its growing closeness with the eastern neighbour.
The central government has designated Zokhawthar land check-post in Mizoram as an authorised immigration centre for entry into and exit from India with valid travel documents for all passengers to or from Myanmar.
The move came days after India and Myanmar opened the land border crossing at Zokhawthar-Rih. Zokhawthar is in Champhai district of Mizoram, while Rih is in Myanmar's Chin province.
Zokhawthar will be the second immigration check-post in Mizoram along the Myanmar border, after Zorinpui in Lawngtlai district, which was opened in September last year.
Zokhawthar border trading post is one of the largest trading centres after the state capital Aizwal.
India shares a 1,643-km-long border with Myanmar which touches Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. ACB ACB ABH ABH

6TH RCEP Ministerial Meeting begins in Singapore 
 
Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu,is leading the Indian delegation for the 6th RCEP Trade Ministers’ Meeting which begins in Singapore .
The Minister will participate in the meeting consisting of 10 ASEAN countries and six ASEAN FTA partners namely, India, China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. 
The meeting is being held on 30th-31st August 2018.  India has been constructively engaged in the RCEP negotiations with an aim to work towards a high quality, balanced and inclusive outcomes that take into consideration sensitivities and interests of member countries.
 The Ministers will give guidance to the Trade Negotiating Committee of RCEP to enable negotiations move forward.
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) 
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six Asia-Pacific states with which ASEAN has existing free trade agreements (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand).

Environment Minister Releases India’s National Redd+ Strategy 
 
Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has released National Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) strategy for India. 
 Significance:
REDD+ activities will help in sustainable livelihood of local communities and also in conservation of biodiversity. 

REDD+ strategy will help the country to fulfill its NDC commitments and will also contribute to the livelihood of the forest dependent population.

REDD+ actions at the State level will be coordinated by the committee headed by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) & Head of Forest Force (HOFF) of the States.

In simple terms, REDD+ means “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation”, conservation of forest carbon stocks, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries. 
Aim: 

REDD+ aims to achieve climate change mitigation by incentivizing forest conservation. 

The strategy seeks to address drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and also developing a roadmap for enhancement of forest carbon stocks and achieving sustainable management of forests through REDD+ actions.
Background:

Paris agreement on climate change also recognizes role of forests in climate change mitigation and calls upon country Parties to take action to implement and support REDD+. 

India has communicated in its Nationally Determined Contribution under Paris Agreement, that it will capture 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of Carbon dioxide through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.

NATIONAL NEWS

PM to launch India Post Payments Bank on Saturday, 1st September
 
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, will launch the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi on September 1st, 2018.
IPPB has been envisioned as an accessible, affordable and trusted bank for the common man, to help speedily achieve the financial inclusion objectives of the Union Government. It will leverage the vast network of the Department of Posts, which covers every corner of the country with more than 300,000 Postmen and Grameen Dak Sewaks. IPPB will hence significantly augment the reach of the banking sector in India.
The launch of IPPB marks another significant milestone in the Union Government’s endeavour to take the benefits of a rapidly developing India to the remotest corners of our country.
On the day of the launch, IPPB will have 650 Branches and 3250 Access Points spread across the country. Simultaneous launch events will be held at these branches and access points.
All the 1.55 lakh Post Offices in the country will be linked to the IPPB system by December 31, 2018.
IPPB will offer a range of products such as savings and current accounts, money transfer, direct benefit transfers, bill and utility payments, and enterprise and merchant payments. These products, and related services, will be offered across multiple channels (counter services, micro-ATM, mobile banking app, SMS and IVR), using the bank’s state-of-the-art technology platform.

Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARRIA) Introduced 
 
The HRD Ministry introduced the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARRIA) which will rank educational institutions as per their innovation output based on global parameters.
The new ranking – named Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) – will be formally launched on October 15, the birth anniversary of former President APJ Abdul Kalam. The first results will be declared on February 28, 2019, which is also Science Day.
ARIIA – named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee – will focus on: budget expenses and revenues generated; facilitating access to advance centres; ideas of entrepreneurship; innovation ecosystems supported through teaching and learning; and innovative solutions to improve governance of the institution.

Launch of Innovation Cell
 
The Union Minister for HRD, Shri Prakash Javadekar and Union Minister of State for HRD, Dr. Satya Pal Singh launched the Innovation Cell.
MHRD Innovation Cell (MIC)
Innovation cell is MHRD’s initiative established at AICTE with a purpose to systematically foster the culture of Innovation in all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country. 
The primary mandate of Innovation Cell is to encourage, inspire and nurture young students by exposing them to new ideas and processes resulting in innovative activities in their formative years fostered through Network of Innovation clubs in Higher Educational Institutions.