Important Current Affairs 23rd September 2018 English

(National News)

PM launches Ayushman Bharat - PMJAY at Ranchi
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today launched the health assurance scheme: Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana - at Ranchi, Jharkhand.
At the same event, the Prime Minister unveiled plaques to lay the Foundation Stone for medical colleges at Chaibasa and Koderma. He also inaugurated 10 Health and Wellness Centres.
This scheme, which envisions health assurance of 5 lakh rupees per family per year, will benefit over 50 crore people, and is the world's biggest health assurance scheme. 
The number of beneficiaries of this scheme is roughly equal to the population of the European Union, or the population of America, Canada and Mexico, taken together.
The first part of Ayushman Bharat - the health and wellness centres, was launched on Babasaheb Ambedkar's birth anniversary, and the second part - the health assurance scheme, is being launched two days before Deendayal Upadhyay's birth anniversary.
The Prime Minister said it would cover 1300 illnesses, including serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. He said private hospitals too would be part of this scheme.

PM addresses Kisan Sammelan at Janjgir-Champa; lays Foundation Stone for important infrastructure projects
 

At Janjgir-Champa, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi visited an exhibition on traditional handloom and agriculture. 
He laid the foundation stone for national highway projects, and the Pendra-Anuppur 3rd railway line. 
The Prime Minister also handed over certificates etc to select beneficiaries of various welfare schemes of the Union and State Governments.

(Days and Dates)

100 years of Battle of Haifa celebrated
India is commemorating hundred years of the liberation of Israel's Haifa by the Indian troops in 1918.
The centenary celebrations will culminate with a grand function in Delhi today. The Battle of Haifa is also being commemorated in Israel and Jaipur.
September 23 is commemorated every year as Haifa Day by the Indian Army to pay its respects to the Indian Cavalry Regiments, Mysore and Jodhpur Lancers, that helped liberate Hafia in Israel after a cavalry action by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade.
Army chief General Bipin Rawat, who took part in the centenary celebrations to commemorate the day in Jaipur on September 22, said that Indian Army has potential to deal with any situation.

(Space Science)
Japan lands robot rovers on asteroid's surface
Japanese space agency JAXA has claimed that it created history on Saturday by successfully landing two unmanned rovers on an asteroid.
After the rovers separated from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft and landed on the asteroid Ryugu, JAXA, in a statement, said that the two rovers are in good condition and are transmitting images and data.
Known as MINERVA-II1, the rovers are collectively world's first mobile exploration robot to land on the surface of an asteroid.