Important Current Affairs 25th September 2017

Important Current Affairs 25th September 2017

Current Affairs 25th September 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

An 18 year old from Srinagar becomes an ambassador for Swachhata Hi Seva

Bilal Dar, a young boy from Srinagar has become the brand ambassador for Srinagar Municipal Corporation. 
●    Dar has been contributing to the  ‘Swachhta Abhiyan’ since the age of 12. 
●    He found a mention in the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s recent Mann Ki Baat.
●    Continuing the shramdaan wave by VIPs the Union Minister of State for Railways, Rajen Gohain took part in a Shramdaan programme at Guwahati railway station. 
●    CAF and PD Minister Karam Shyam launched Swachhta Hi Seva campaign in Manipur. 
●    Officials of Chandigarh Administration also participated in the “Swachhta hi Seva” drive at UT Secretariat, Chandigarh.
●    The Indian Coast Guards also conducted a special Shramdaan and Clean Up drive along with tree plantation at their premises as part of “Swachhta Hi Seva, Pakhwada”. 
●    Garbage was collected by organising clean ship drive and disposed.

Government to Launch Mudra Promotion camPaigns on Pan India Basis

Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, Government of India is launching a Mudra Promotion Campaign on national basis from 27th September to 17th October, 2017 in different parts of the country. 
●    The campaign will start on 27th September, 2017 at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh where the Union Minister for Railway and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal will be participating in the function organised on this occasion. 
●    In a similar function being organised on 2nd October, 2017 at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari will be participating. 
●    On that day i.e., 2nd October, 2017, similar functions will also be held at Dehradun, Uttarakhand and Guwahati, Assam where Shri Ajay Tamta, Union Minister of State for Textiles and Shri Rajen Gohain, Minister for State for Railways respectively will participate.
●    On 3rd October, 2017, there will be three events being organised in this regard in different parts of the country. 
●    One such campaign will be held at Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh where the Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will be participating. 
●    In Raipur, Chhattisgarh, Shri Vishnu Deo Sai, Minister of State for Steel will be participating. 
●    A third function will be held at Agartala, Tripura where Shri Jasvantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs will be participating.

Rajnath Singh to launch PENCIL Portal at the National Conference on Child Labour tomorrow 

Children are valuable assets for any country who need to be nurtured for the better future of the country. 
●    The census 2011 showed a substantial decline in child labour as compared to the data of Census 2001, but a lot is required to be done to protect their childhood. 
●    Realizing the multifaceted nature of this problem, Government has embarked on a holistic and multi-pronged approach to eliminate child labour from the country in a phased manner. 
●    Government has enacted the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 which came into force with effect from 1st September, 2016. 
●    With this amendment, employment of a child below 14 years is completely prohibited in any occupation or processes. 
●    This is a historic progression since the inception of the Act in 1986, when a complete ban in engaging children below 14 years is foreseen as a reality by this amendment. : First time the age of child is linked with the age of the child in the Right of Children to free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. 

Railway Protection Force to implement its Child Rescue Campaign in 47 additional Railway Stations

Encouraged with the success of campaign launched by Railway Protection Force (RPF) to rescue distressed children, Ministry of Railways has now decided to implement this campaign in 47 additional Railway stations in addition to existing 35 stations. 
●    With these additional stations, the RPF campaign to rescue children will be implemented from 82 Railways stations. 
●    In this way, all A1 Category stations numbering 75 will be covered under this campaign.
●    ‘Operation Muskaan’, is an initiative of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to rescue/rehabilitate missing children. 
●    It is a dedicated campaign where several activities are taken up by Police organizations to trace and rescue missing children and reunite them with their families.
●    The Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force are required to take preventive measures and also take action in case children in need of care and protection are found in trains and Railway Premises.
●    During the years 2014, 2015 & 2016, Railway Protection Force personnel have been able to rescue 20,931 children including 1,317trafficked children (944 Boys & 373 Girls) over Indian Railways. 
●    In the current year 2017, upto August, 7,126 children have been rescued by RPF including 185 trafficked children (124 Boys & 61 Girls).

Gadkari to inaugurate/lay foundation stone for NH projects worth Rs 4468 Crore in Andhra Pradesh on 3rd Oct 2017 

The Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate National Highways projects worth Rs 1928.46 crores and lay the foundation stone for projects worth Rs 2539.08 crores in Andhra Pradesh on  3rd October 2017. 
●    In addition to this he will also lay the foundation stone for the development of Muktyala to Vijaywada stretch of  Krishna River ( National Waterways – 4. )Shri Gadkari is scheduled to visit Vijaywada on 3rd October, 2017.
●    Approximately 415 km of National Highways would be inaugurated by Shri Gadkari, while he will lay the foundation for another 250 km NH. 
●    The projects include rehabilitation and upgradation of existing National Highways, besides construction of a 4-lane bypass to Vijayanagaram Town on NH 43 ( New NH 26).
●    As per an MoU signed with Govt. of Andhra Pradesh on 14th April’2016, NW-4 in Andhra Pradesh is proposed to be developed in three phases
●    Phase-I: -Muktyala to Vijayawada (Krishna River) (82 Km)
●    Phase-II: -Vijayawada to Kakinada (Eluru canal & Kakinada canal) and Rajahmundry to Polavaram stretch of Godavari (233 Km)
●    Phase-III: -Commamur Canal, Buckingham canal and balance stretches of Krishna & Godavari Rivers (573km)
●    Shri Gadkari will lay the foundation stone for Phase- I on 3rd October, 2017. 
●    Work on this phase, that is development of the 82 km from Muktyala to Vijayawada stretch has already commenced. 
●    Dredging began in the shallow areas in  May this year, and the work is expected to be complete by June, 2019. 

TRIFED Signs MoU with Amazon 

Minister of Tribal Affairs Shri Jual Oram inaugurated the National Workshop organized by TRIFED on “Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Minor Forest Produces (MFP) scheme – Taking it to the next level for a Fair and Equitable Deal to the Tribals” Ministers of State for Tribal Affairs Shri Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor and Shri Sudarshan Bhagat were specially present to grace the occasion. 
●    Ms Leena Nair, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED and senior officials were also be present on the occasion. 
●    Senior level functionaries of Government of India from the Ministries of Tribal Affairs, Rural Development, Textiles, Forests and Environment and over 100 senior officers from all the States also participated in the day-long Workshop.
●    Shri Jual Oram, Minister of Tribal Affairs said that this workshop is a step to expand the horizon of the scheme of providing Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest Produce. 
●    This scheme is already implemented in 9 States and today it is expanded nationwide. 

President of India will Present ‘National Tourism Awards’ on 27th September, 2017

The President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind will present “National Tourism Awards” to various segments of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry at a function organized by Ministry of Tourism in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on World Tourism Day (27 September,2017). 
●    The function will be presided over by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism Shri Shri Alphons Kannanthanam.
●    These awards are being given since the early 1990s and are presented to State Governments / Union Territories, classified hotels, heritage hotels, approved travel agents, tour operators and tourist transport operators, individuals and other private organizations in recognition of their performance in their respective fields and also to encourage healthy competition with an aim to promote tourism. 
●    In an attempt to encourage States and Union Territories to put into place effective mechanisms for maintaining cleanliness at tourist destinations, a new Category of award “Swachhta Award” has been introduced this year. 
●    Other new categories of awards being introduced this year include “Best State for Adventure Tourism” and “Best Wildlife Guide”.
●    The date for the Awards has been selected to coincide with World Tourism Daywhich is celebrated annually on 27th September, to coincide with the anniversary of adoption of the statutes of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). 
●    Its purpose is to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value.