Important Current Affairs 11th September 2017

Current Affairs 11th September 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Airports Authority of India undertakes construction of Integrated Cargo Terminal at Imphal airport 

Airports Authority of India will undertake construction of Integrated Cargo Terminal at Imphal Airport after obtaining grant-in-aid under Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) of Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India.
●    The Government of Manipur had planned to establish an Export Import Cargo Terminal (EICT) at Tulihal, Imphal Airport under ASIDE Scheme of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. 
●    The proposed Integrated Cargo Terminal is expected to give a boost to the export of handicrafts items and perishable cargo. 
●    This will also help generate employment opportunities in the North Eastern region of the country, thereby fostering economic development of the region. 
●    In addition to this, the EICT will help establish better connectivity with South & Southeast Asia and give a boost to trade between India and the ASEAN countries.

Second State Start Up Conference in New Delhi Tomorrow 

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India is organizing the Second State Startup Conference on 12 September, 2017 in New Delhi. 
●    The conference shall be inaugurated by the Minister of State, Shri C.R. Choudhary and shall be attended by senior functionaries from State/Union Territory Governments, Incubators/Accelerators, Funding agencies, VCs, Angel investors and Startups.
●    The discussions shall be conducted around four key themes related to key components of the startup ecosystem, namely:-
●    Governance reforms to be undertaken by States for Startups.
●    Incubation facilities in India and role of State Governments in developing these facilities.
●    Role of State Governments in setting up funds for Startups.
●    Making regulations easier for Startups.
●    Further, in order to provide momentum towards building up a positive Startup ecosystem in the States, a framework for ranking various States/ Union Territories on the basis of initiatives taken to promote Startups will also be discussed.

Secretary, DEA inaugurates the Workshop on the involvement of Multilateral Agencies in developing the capacity of Finance Departments of the States and Union Territories (UTs)

Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India inaugurated here today the familiarization Workshop on the involvement of Multilateral Agencies in developing the capacity of Finance Departments of the States and Union Territories (UTs). 
●    The Workshop was organized at the IMF South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Centre (SARTTAC) in New Delhi. 
●    In his Inaugural Address, Shri Garg hoped that the States/ UTs will have a deeper understanding of the opportunities they can avail from SARTTAC and MDBs while the latter will have sufficient inputs from the States and Union Territories (UTs) to enable them to develop a comprehensive training module for the future.
●    The Workshop witnessed the participation of Additional Chief Secretaries/ Principal Secretaries of Finance Departments from several States/UTs, senior officers from the Ministry of Finance, and experts from IMF SARTTAC, World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB) among others.
●    The workshop was organized with the aim of showcasing the potential of multilateral agencies like IMF SARTTAC, World Bank, AIIB and NDB in developing capacity of states and UTs.

Shri Ashwini Choubey inaugurates the 7th International Conference on Cost Effective Use of Technology in eHealth Care 

Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare, today inaugurated the 7th International Conference and Workshop on Cost Effective Use of Technology in eHealth Care at AIIMS, New Delhi.
●    Speaking at the function, Shri Choubey underscored the urgency for harnessing Information Technology for better and effective healthcare delivery in the country. 
●    Referring to the Digital India initiative of the Honourable Prime Minister, he emphasised on the need for making optimal use of technology for delivering healthcare services to the people. 
●    The Minister further stated that that e-application in healthcare will reduce cost and save time for doctors and patients.
●    While alluding to the ancient healthcare system of India and the contribution of Sushruta, Charak and Dhanwantari, the Minister said that we must keep pace with the advances in Science and Technology so that the health care delivery becomes cost effective, accessible, affordable and more transparent.

India brews world’s most-expensive coffee

India, Asia’s third-largest producer and exporter of coffee, has started producing the world’s most-expensive coffee. 
●    It is being made on a small scale in Karnataka’s Coorg district, from the poop of civet cat.
●    The civet coffee, also known as luwak coffee, is expensive because of the uncommon method of producing it. 
●    It is produced from the coffee beans digested by the civet cat – the feces of the cat are then collected, processed and sold.
●    Civet coffee, a drink of the elite consumed widely in the Gulf nations and Europe, is sold for₹20,000-25,000/kg abroad.
●    Here in the country’s largest coffee-growing State, a start-up firm, Coorg Consolidated Commodities (CCC), has made a humble beginning by making the luxury coffee on a small scale, and has also decided to open a cafe to serve the brew locally.

Maha govt, MDFVPL ink MoU to set up processing plant

The Maharashtra government and Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetable (MDFVPL), a subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), today signed an agreement to set up milk and milk processing plant in the state.
●    Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Maharashtra government and NDDB, will implement a dairy development initiative in Vidarbha and Marathwada, under which milk producers in the region will be provided access to markets in Nagpur and Mumbai, a release said.
●    Besides, transferring the Nagpur dairy on lease and land for setting up a new dairy at Gove Bhiwandi, Maharashtra government will provide assistance including funds for a coordinated approach to improve productivity through animal breeding, nutrition and health, it added.
●    NDDB Chairman Dilip Rath said, MDFVPL has already initiated milk procurement operations in Amravati, Wardha, Nagpur, Chandrapur, Nanded, Osmanabad, Buldana and Yavatmal, he said.

SBI Life Insurance IPO receives Sebi approval

SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd, a joint venture between State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Cardif, has received the market regulator’s approval for an initial public offering (IPO) to raise around Rs 8,500 crore, three people aware of the development said.
●    The life insurer is looking to launch the IPO on 20 September, the people said on condition of anonymity.
●    SBI Life filed its share sale prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in July.
●    According to the document, SBI and BNP Paribas will sell 80 million and 40 million shares respectively, amounting to a combined 12% stake.
●    The insurance company has hired JM Financial Institutional Securities Ltd, Axis Capital Ltd, BNP Paribas, Citigroup Global Markets India Pvt. Ltd, Deutsche Equities India Pvt. Ltd, ICICI Securities Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. Ltd and SBI Capital Markets Ltd to manage the share sale.

Paytm Payments Bank to launch debit card

Paytm Payments Bank is gearing up to launch debit card, its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma announced in his Facebook account.
●    The Platinum RuPay debit card will be accepted across most online websites, apps, and stores. 
●    The card is designed to allow users to make payments through Paytm even on rival e commerce sites that do not offer the option.
●    According to RBI directives, payments banks are not allowed to issue credit cards or loans to customers. 
●    These banks can, however, issue ATM cards, debit cards, net-banking, and mobile-banking.
●    Meanwhile, the company board has approved a Rs 60-crore rights issue for its existing shareholders, including Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the firm said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.
●    These investors include Sharma, One97 Communications Ltd and One97 Communications India Ltd, it added.

Important Current Affairs 10th September 2017

Current Affairs 10th September 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Dr Jitendra Singh lauds distinguished contribution of Ahmedabad Space Application Centre 

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh has lauded the valuable contribution made by Space Application Center (SAC) Ahmedabad in providing original inputs for enriching the India’s Space Programme and also performing the role of value addition to several of the prestigious Space missions launched from ISRO, Sriharikota. 
●    Currently on a two-day visit to Gujarat, Dr Jitendra Singh held a detailed review meeting with the scientists of Space Application Centre led by its Director, Dr Tapan Misra. 
●    Dr Jitendra Singh made a special note of appreciation for some of the advanced technology developed at SAC, Ahmedabad with regard to origami lens, indigenously developed MMIC, Airborne low mass x-band Mini-SAR for strategic applications and disaster management, optical transceiver satellite mobile radio etc. 

Hon’ble Raksha Mantri Flags off Navika Sagar Parikrama 

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Raksha Mantri flagged-off Indian Naval Sailing Vessel Tarini (INSV Tarini) with an all women crew from INS Mandovi boat pool, Goa at 01:00 PM today (10 Sep17). 
●    This is the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew and shall attempt to circumnavigate the globe on Indian Navy’s sailing vessel INSV Tarini. 
●    The crew is expected to return to Goa in April 2018, on completion of the voyage. 
●    The expedition will be covered in five legs, with stop-overs at 4 ports viz. Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), and Cape Town (South Africa). 
●    The event was attended by Shri Manohar Parrikar, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa, Admiral Sunil Lanba, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral AR Karve Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar, Controller Personnel Services, IHQ MoD (Navy) besides other senior naval retired and serving officials as well as civilian dignitaries including family members of the crew and sailing enthusiasts.

Successful Flight Test of 3rd Generation Anti Tank Guided Missile – NAG 

India’s indigenously developed 3rd generation Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGM), Nag has been successfully flight tested twice by DRDO on 8-9-2017 against two different targets in the ranges of Rajasthan.
●    The ATGM Nag missile has successfully hit both the targets under different ranges and conditions with very high accuracy as desired by the Armed Forces.
●    With these two successful flight trials, and the flight test conducted earlier in June in the peak of summer, the complete functionality of Nag ATGM along with launcher system NAMICA has been established and marked the successful completion of development trials of Nag Missile.

Minister of Railways Shri Piyush Goyal chairs a high-level meeting on Safety with Railway Board officials

Minister of Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal today held a marathon meeting with members of full Railway Board & Safety Directorate of Railway Board to comprehensively review Safety measures for train operations. 
●    A detailed presentation on Safety was made at the meeting. 
●    There was threadbare discussion on the subject and the root cause of repeated cases of train accidents in recent past was thoroughly analysed. 
●    In the meeting, the Minister emphasised that the safety is paramount and there cannot & should not be any compromise on this front.
●     Unmanned Level Crossings accounted for 34% of accidents in 2016-17
●    Derailments due to defects in tracks
●    The special focus of the meeting was to identify measures to reduce accidents due to derailments which has emerged as one of the major causes of Train accidents. 
●    All unmanned level crossings should be eliminated expeditiously on the entire Indian Railway network in a year’s time from now. 

Assam enacts a major labour reform, employers can now fire 300 staff without prior govt nod

In a major labour reform, Assam has enacted the Industrial Disputes (Assam Amendment) Bill, 2017, which authorises employers to retrench up to 300 employees without seeking approval of the government. 
●    Assam assembly passed the bill by a voice voteon Thursday. 
●    Congress MLA, Sherman Ali Ahmed walked out of the House after his demand for a division on the bill was not allowed. 
●    Ahmed had sought an amendment and suggested that instead of increasing the threshold limited it should be reduced to 50. 
●    Minister for labour and employment Pallab Lochan Das argued that the bill has not been enacted to facilitate retrenchment of employees, but deals with issue of closure.

Current Affairs 10th September 2017: ECONOMY

Premium will decrease in crop insurance scheme

The government’s farm insurance scheme is in for a revamp just about one year after launch, with the focus now on increasing competition among insurers, lowering the average premium and widening the scope of cover to include losses due to natural disasters. 
●    There is tremendous potential to improve the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana started last year and a high-level team has asked to make it more holistic in coverage and a win-win proposition for all parties, a senior government official working closely on revamping the scheme. 
●    Under the existing scheme, farmers pay 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent as premium for most crops compared with the average of 11 per cent charged by insurance companies, and the remainder is equally divided and paid by the Centre and the state. 
●    The official said coverage under the insurance scheme may be widened to include damage and loss to housing and property in the event of a natural disaster. 
●    So far, such damage was covered by the National Disaster Response Fund.

PNB customers to pay after 5 free ATM transactions from October

PNB customers will have to shell out money beginning October if they carry out more than five transactions a month from the bank’s ATMs.
●    At present, account holders of the country’s second largest public sector bank can make any number of transactions in a month, financial or non-financial, at the bank’s ATMs without attracting any charge.
●    “The number of free transactions and the charges beyond these free transactions for PNB customers on PNB ATMs have been revised. 
●    The revised charges will be effective from October 1, 2017,” Punjab National Bank (PNB) said in a notice to customers.
●    The bank said savings fund/current/overdraft account holders would all attract charges at Rs 10 per transaction beyond a limit of five times a month even if the PNB card holder makes the transaction at PNB ATM only.
●    Thus, customers will be charged beyond free limits for doing financial transaction where cash withdrawal is being made through ATM and non-financial transaction for issue of mini-statement.

Forex reserves jump on $400 billion mark

India's foreign exchange reserves inch closer to the $400 billion supported by strong inflows from foreign investors into indian markets along with movement in gold reserves with the central bank as per data from the RBI released on Friday. 
●    According to sources in the market, there could be a very rare movement of gold reserves with the RBI which went up by almost $750 million to reach $20.6 billion as on September 1. 
●    "The increase in gold reserves is a big positive and could be mainly driven by lessening of uncertainty over imposition of Goods and Services Tax which could have driven up demand for gold in the market," said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economist, State Bank of India. 
●    Bankers say accumulation of gold as reserves is also a strong point for the central bank as it is considered to be a safe haven much like Dollar. 

Important Current Affairs 9th September 2017

Current Affairs 9th September 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

6 Zonal Helplines to be launched from coming October
    
Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution held a Press Conference today to brief about the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) in New Delhi. 
●    Speaking to the media, Shri Paswan said that 6 Zonal Helplines will be launched in the country from coming October. 
●    Every zonal helpline will have 10 consumer desk. 
●    In this way, 60 consumer desk will work additionally in the country apart from National Consumer Helpline. 
●    Shri Paswan informed that earlier 14 NCH counters were working for redressing the grievances of the consumer, which has been increased to 60. 
●    He said that earlier average response time was taken about 7 minute in the National Consumer Helpline which is now almost instant available.
●    Shri Paswan further stated that the number of people lodging complaints on the National Consumer Helpline has increased by almost 3 times. 
●    National Consumer Helpline received 1.30 lakh complaints in 2014 by consumer which increased to 3 lakh in 2017. 

Imposition of Countervailing Duty on Imports of Stainless Steel Flat Products

Welcoming the imposition of Countervailing Duty on imports of Stainless Steel Flat products by the Ministry of Finance, Union Steel Minister Shri Birender Singh said in New Delhi today that, “CVD on Stainless Steel will strengthen the ongoing efforts of Indian industry for moving towards 100 % quality regime for better safety and health of users. 
●    This will provide a level playing field to the industry to grow to its full potential after attaining 2nd largest rank in stainless steel production in world in 2016.”
●    The notification issued by the Ministry of Finance, dated 7th September 2017, prescribes a total of 18.95% CVD on imports of Stainless steel flat products from China for the next five years. 
●    Reacting to the development Dr. Aruna Sharma, Secretary Steel said, “This is the first case of imposition of CVD on any steel product in India. 
●    This would provide the much needed relief to the stainless steel industry from the subsidized imports from China.” 
●    Dr Sharma said that this was one among the many steps taken by the Government to help the domestic Stainless Steel Industry. 
●    Among the other steps were the imposition of the Stainless Steel Quality Control Order (QCO) and other trade remedial measures.

 Government unveils rules to tackle on-board disruptive and unruly behaviour by passengers, paves way for No Fly List 

The Ministry of Civil Aviation today unveiled rules to tackle on-board disruptive and unruly behaviour by passengers. 
●    Briefing the media in New Delhi today, the Minister for Civil Aviation Shri P Ashok Gajapathi Raju said that the new rules will allow for the formation of a national, No Fly List of such unruly passengers. 
●    He said the promulgation of the No - Fly List in India is unique and first-of-its-kind in the world. 
●    Emphasizing the Government’s commitment for ensuring safety, Shri Raju said that the concept of the No-Fly List is based on the concern for safety of passengers, crew and the aircraft, and not just on security threat.
●    The DGCA has revised the relevant sections of the Civil Aviation Requirement ( CAR Section 3, Series M, Part Vl on "Handling of Unruly Passengers ) to bring in a deterrent for passengers who engage in unruly behaviour on board aircrafts. 
The revision has been done in accordance with the provisions of Tokyo Convention 1963.

 HyperCity to be acquired by future group 

Future Group is in talks to acquire grocery retailer HyperCity, said people with knowledge of the development. 
●    A deal would give Future boss Kishore Biyani sway over a network of about 20 hypermarkets, mainly in western India, according to the people. 
●    The supermarket chain that opened its first store in 2006 is a subsidiary of Shoppers Stop, which owns a 51 per cent stake while parent K Raheja Corp holds the rest. 
●    HyperCity, which has big-box format stores at marquee locations in Mumbai as well as Hyderabad and Bengaluru, posted sales of Rs 1,077 crore in FY17. 
●    Talks on the enterprise value have been inconclusive although one of those cited above said it could be in the neighborhood of Rs 600-1,000 crore. 

Current Affairs 9th September 2017: INTERNATIONAL RELATION

India, China to set up working groups to promote exports

●    India and China have agreed to set up industry specific working groups to increase exports with a view to bridge trade deficit with Beijing, commerce minister Suresh Prabhu said on Saturday.
●    “Concerned about growing trade deficit with China, we agreed to set up industry specific working groups, to promote more exports from India,” Prabhu said in a tweet. 
●    He is in Manila, the Philippines, to attend the fifth East Asia Summit (EAS) economic ministers’ meeting. 
●    At the sidelines of EAS meet, the minister met his Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan to discuss ways to promote bilateral trade between the countries.
●    Prabhu, who recently took charge of the ministry, also met Japanese minister of economy, trade and industry Hiroshige Seko and South Korean trade minister Hyun Chong Kim. 
●    The minister would also participate in the trade ministers’ meeting of 16 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries. 

Current Affairs 9th September 2017: GLOBAL NEWS

Mexico hit by strongest earthquake in a century 

The magnitude 8.1 quake, which was felt as far as Mexico City and Guatemala City, was registered off Mexico's southern coast just as heavy rains from Hurricane Katia lashed the east. 
●    The epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean, some 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) southeast of the capital and 74 miles (120 kilometers) off the coast.
●    President Enrique Peña Nieto said the temblor -- felt by about 50 million people across the country -- was the strongest earthquake Mexico has experienced in 100 years. 
●    In September 1985, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake killed an estimated 9,500 people in and around Mexico City.
●    This one hit late Thursday, when many people were asleep. 
●    The states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, home to about 9 million people, are located closest to the earthquake's epicenter. 
●    They are two of the most impoverished areas in Mexico, and were likely hit the hardest.

Current Affairs 9th September 2017: PERSONS

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Announces His First Book ‘Hit Refresh’
 
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has launched his first book named Hit Refresh where he tells the inside story of the company’s continuing transformation, tracing his own personal journey and concluding with his vision for the coming wave of intelligent technologies and a distinct call to action for leaders everywhere.
●    “Hit Refresh isn’t a victory lap or a how-to manual. 
●    That would be premature. It’s a set of reflections, ideas and principles on transformation. 
●    It explores the renaissance of a storied company and the implications of the coming wave of technology — artificial intelligence, mixed reality and quantum computing — which will soon disrupt the status quo impacting our lives, communities and economies. 
●    It’s also a set of questions for anybody searching for improvement — for themselves as leaders, for their institutions and for society,” explains Microsoft CEO.
 

Important Current Affairs 8th September 2017

Current Affairs 8th September 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurates the new HQs building of Bureau of Police Research and Development 

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the new HQs building of Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), Ministry of Home Affairs here today. 
●    While inaugurating the building, Shri Rajnath Singh appreciated the efforts of BPR&D and the NBCC for timely completion of the project. 
●    He appreciated the ambiance and positive environment and hoped that it would motivate the staff working here to perform better. 
●    He agreed that the pay structure of certain ranks of deputationists is anomalous and requires to be corrected. 
●    The Union Home Minister also agreed that MHA will consider the request of BPR&D for incentive of 30% like other training institutions so that more officers would join the organization willingly. 
●    The Union Home Minister also awarded the Union Home Minister’s Medal for best Police Trainer to Shri Sulkhan Singh, DGP, UP. 
●    He also gave away Police Medals to the officials of the BPR&D, namely, Dr. Nirmal Kumar Azad, Inspector General, NPM, Shri Sanjay Sharma, PSO (W), Dr. S. Karthikeyan, Assistant Director, R&CA, Shri Ranveer Singh Gahlot, Dy. SP, CDTS Jaipur and Shri Sudhakar Deshmukh, Assistant, CDTS Hyderabad. 

CGWB enters into MoA with IIS Bangalore 

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Ministry of Water Resources, RD & GR has entered into an Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore for ‘Development of ground water flow models and preparation of aquifer management plans for parts of Karnataka’.
●    This mathematical model being developed as a part of the aquifer mapping and management programme will render better understanding of existing groundwater scenarios, predicting response of groundwater system to various stress conditions expected to arise in the future and developing effective management plans incorporating different demand and supply side interventions. 
●    The study will cover an area of 48000 sqr. kms comprising Chikballapur and Kolar Districts and parts of Bagalkot, Bangalore Rural, Belgaum, Bellary, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Gadag, Gulbarga and Yadgir districts.
●    The study has to be completed within a year and IISc will present an inception report and a final comprehensive report. 
●    The inception report has to be submitted within two months of the signing of the agreement. 
●    The inception report will include detailed work plan and timelines specific to the study area keeping in view the objectives, scope, methodology, timeline and deliverables outlined in the Agreement.

Forensic audit imposed on Hit Kit

SEBI has ordered a forensic audit of Hit Kit Global Solutions Ltd (HKGSL), which figures among 331 suspected shell companies under regulatory scanner, even as trading curbs imposed on the firm have been removed.
●    Earlier this week, SEBI had ordered forensic audit of two Kavit Industries and GV Films, while revoking trading curbs on their shares. 
●    In an interim order dated September 7, SEBI said there are inconsistencies between HKGSL’s books of accounts and its submissions before the regulator.
●    In an interim order dated September 7, Sebi said there are inconsistencies between HKGSL's books of accounts and its submissions before the regulator.
●    The regulator also noted that it would be appropriate that the restrictions imposed on promoters and directors of the company be removed and trading in securities of HKGSL be reverted to the status as it stood prior to issuance of letter dated August 7 by Sebi.

GST Council to meet in Hyderabad 

The 21st meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, composed of states' finance ministers and headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is slated to be held in Hyderabad on Saturday.
●    Following the council's previous meeting here last month, Jaitley had appealed to the Indian industry to pass on to customers the benefits of the novel input credit system introduced in the new pan-India indirect tax regime that is available to suppliers of goods and services in the country. 
●    Under the GST, goods and services providers will get the benefit of input tax credit for the goods used, effectively making the real incidence of taxation lower than the headline taxation rate. 
●    The council also announced that anti-profiteering screening committees would be set up to give effect to the National Anti-Profiteering Authority, set up under the GST law. 
●    Among other decisions, the council also decided to implement the GST provision on e-way bills requiring goods more than Rs 50,000 in value to be pre-registered online before they could be moved. 

CBI files corruption case against ex-CMD Bharat Coking Coal Ltd and L&T

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday filed a corruption, cheating and criminal conspiracy case against former Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) - T K Lahiry, other senior officials of the Public Sector Undertaking and construction/engineering giant Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Limited for alleged irregularities in Rs 383.92 crore contract for supply of 100 tipper trucks used in the mining.
●    CBI in its FIR stated that the contract, given to L&T in 2012-13, at an exorbitant rate along with exorbitant cost of maintenance caused a pecuniary loss of Rs 97.04 crore to the government exchequer.
●    The agency has named former CMD Lahiry, Ashok Sarkar and Dinesh Chandra jha (ex-Directors technical project in BCCL), A N Sahay, SK Panigrahi, Barain Sinha, G Upreti, AK Gangopadhyay (all former GMs in the PSU), posted at Dhanbad at that time, apart from L&T in its FIR.

PNB, BSNL Join Hands For Mobile Wallet Speedpay Roll Out

Punjab National Bank and state-run firm BSNL today teamed up to roll out open mobile wallet Speedpay across 10 states in the country.
●    PNB's Speedway wallet will operate like any other mobile wallet for paying bills, charging phone besides its users will be able to deposit and withdraw money from authorised retail outlets.
●    Also, Speedway users will be able to operate Internet banking services from the application.
●    "India is now second largest market in the world with 120 crore mobile users. Congratulating BSNL, Punjab National Bank and the technology partners in helping India moving towards less cash economy," Telecom minister Manoj Sinha said at an event to mark the agreement signing ceremony between BSNL and PNB.
●    Under the agreement, BSNL will expand Speedpay services in Punjab, Chandigarh(UT), Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.
●    A senior BSNL officer said that retailers and agents associated with the telecom firm and PNB will be brought into the loop for providing Speedpay services.

Current Affairs 8th September 2017: APPOINTMENT

Hockey Coach Appointed

The Joint Committee Meeting of SAI and HI held at SAI, here on 7th September 2017 appointed Shri Harendra Singh, Dronacharya Awardee, Hockey Coach as High Performance Specialist Coach for Indian Senior Women Hockey Team. 
●    This decision has been taken jointly by SAI and Hockey India on the basis of recent and past performance of Shri Harendra Singh, wherein under his coaching the junior men team won the Junior Men World Cup in 2016 at Lucknow. 
●    He was also the Chief Coach of the Senior Men Hockey team from 2008 to 2009 and National coach from 2009 to 2010. He is a Level III certified Coach. 
●    Mr Harendra Singh will take over the new responsibility shortly.
●    It has also been decided in the meeting that, the present Chief Coach of India senior women Hockey Team, Mr. Waltherus Norbertus Maria Marijne will take over as Chief Coach of Indian Senior Men Hockey Team on his return from the ongoing Europe tour. 
●    Mr. Marijne has accepted the offer of Chief Coach of the senior Indian Men Hockey Team.
 

Current Affairs 8th September 2017: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Exercise Yudh Abhyas – 2017 

As part of the ongoing Indo-US defence cooperation, a joint military training, Exercise Yudh Abhyas - 2017 is being conducted at Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington, USA from 14 to 27 September 17. 
●    Exercise Yudh Abhyas is one of the largest joint running military training and defence corporation endeavors between India and USA. 
●    This will be the 13th edition of the joint exercise hosted alternately between the two countries.
●    Exercise Yudh Abhyas will provide an opportunity to the armed forces of both countries to train in an integrated manner at Battalion level with joint planning at Brigade level. 
●    Multiple scenarios will be rehearsed during the joint exercise with a view to understand each-other’s organisational structure and battle procedures which would result in a higher degree of jointmanship that would further facilitate interoperability between the armed forces of both countries to meet any unforeseen contingency across the globe. 
●    The exercise is also an ideal platform to learn from each-other’s experiences of planning and execution of operations.

Important Current Affairs 7th September 2017

Current Affairs 7th September 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Smt Anupriya Patel inaugurates 10th Medical Technology Conference
 

“The Health Ministry is committed to technology integration in the health sector. Digital technology can help to reduce health care costs overall, but we need to ensure our investment in new technologies is done cost effectively and frugally.” 
●    This was stated by Smt. Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare at the inaugural of 10th Medical Technology Conference, Medical Technology Shaping Universal Healthcare, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), here today.
●    Speaking at the function, Smt Anupriya Patel stated that the scope of digital technology in the public health sector has gone beyond service delivery. 
●    She further stated that the Health Ministry is already at the forefront of incorporating the benefits of digital technology towards achieving the goals elucidated in National Health Policy (2017) which are synchronous with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 
●    The National Health Mission (NHM) is already using throughout the country a web-based Health Management Information System(HMIS) to collect and collate data related to the health infrastructure.

Shri Kiren Rijiju attends the first National Canine Seminar organised by NSG 

The Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju attended the first National Canine Seminar organized by National Security Guard (NSG), in NSG Campus, Manesar (Gurugram), Haryana today. 
●    The NSG, popularly known as "The Black Cats" of the country is organizing this two-day seminar. 
●    The theme of the two days National Canine Seminar is ''Canine as Tactical Weapon in Fight against Terrorism'' with an objective to discuss and deliberate on the techniques of dog training and strategies of deploying the dogs in Counter Terrorism/Counter Insurgency scenario. 
●    On the second day of the seminar, a workshop on ''Emerging Tools and Practices of Canines Training'' will be organized, followed by demonstrations of the various nascent equipments by GIGN, the France Special Force.

Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi inaugurates “New India- We Resolve to Make” exhibition cum cultural event in Mumbai 

Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that tolerance is the culture and commitment of India and Indians and it is our Constitutional duty to protect and strengthen this culture, in Mumbai, today. 
●    While inaugurating “New India- We Resolve to Make” exhibition cum cultural event at Bandra Railway Station, Mumbai, jointly organised by Parliamentary Affairs Ministry and Container Corporation of India, Shri Naqvi said that any type of violence and anarchy is a conspiracy to weaken the fabric of the country’s social harmony and strength of “unity in diversity”. 
●    It is our Constitutional duty to protect this unity and defeat such evil forces who want to disturb our social harmony. 
●    Under “New India” vision, the Government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been working with commitment to welfare and empowerment of that poor section of the society which remained the below poverty line even after seven decades of Independence. 
●    Shri Naqvi said that our Government has worked keeping this section in centre of all the welfare schemes.

Dr Jitendra Singh releases the 7th edition of the Vigilance Manual 

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh released the 7th edition of the Vigilance Manual of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) here today.
●    Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh said that continuous efforts are required to update the mechanisms, as the society and the means always keep on changing. 
●    He said that the ultimate objective of any society should be to achieve the level of incorruptibility. 
●    This is important keeping in view the fact that we are a young and evolving democracy, he added. 
●    The Minister further said that the role of society is equally important in curbing corruption, and this task cannot alone be left to Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
●    Highlighting the steps taken by the Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, he said that the Government has been following a policy of ‘zero tolerance’ towards corruption. 
●    He said that the Government has always focused on checking corruption, and at the same time to ensure an environment to every officer to perform without feeling intimidated by anyone.

Smt. Krishna Raj holds review meeting with Officials of Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries 

Smt. Krishna Raj, after assuming the charge of the Office of Minister of State, Agriculture & Farmers Welfare reviewed the Schemes being implemented by Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries today wherein Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries and other Senior Officers were present. 
●    A detailed presentation was made regarding the schemes for development of increasing cattle productivity through Rashtriya Gokul Mission, Dairy Development for more income to Dairy farmers, Fisheries and small Livestock like Goat/Sheep and also the poultry sector. 
●    Achievements made during the last three years and the challenges as well as Action Plan for doubling farmer’s income by 2022 threw the livestock sector were discussed in detail. 
●    While appreciating the ongoing efforts of the Department for development of Animal Husbandry Sector and its role in doubling farmer’s income, Hon’ble Minister of State emphasized the importance of monitoring and evaluation of the schemes and mentioned that schemes officers should be made aware about their responsibilities for efficient and optimum utilization of allocated resources. 
●    Hon’ble Minister of State also observed that along with organising Animal Husbandry on modern scientific lines, Department may also actively promote traditional methods for enhancing production and productivity of Country’s Livestock wealth. 

CCI orders fresh probe against Prasar Bharti

The Competition Commission has ordered a fresh investigation against public broadcaster Prasar Bharati on complaint of alleged abuse of dominance with regard to infrastructural facilities for FM radio broadcasting.
●    In an order published on its website, the fair trade regulator also said the allegations in this case are "substantially similar" and are connected with the issues in an earlier matter being probed by the CCIs investigation arm and therefore the two cases can be clubbed and "a consolidated investigation report" can be filed.
●    The CCI, however, rejected similar complaints against the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, saying it was a government department responsible for framing rules for operation of FM radio broadcasters without any involvement in any economic activity and therefore no case of contravention was established against it.
●    The CCI order follows a complaint filed by one Clear Media India Pvt Ltd, which provides Frequency Modulation (FM) radio broadcasting services in various cities, against Prasar Bharti and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Current Affairs 7th September 2017: DAY AND DATES

International Literacy Day – 2017 

The 51st International Literacy Day is being celebrated on 8th September, 2017 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi and the theme announced by UNESCO is `Literacy in a digital world’. 
●    The programme would include; felicitation to the dignitaries, distribution of Saakshar Bharat Awards to the best performing States, Districts, Gram Panchayats and NGOs.
●    The International Literacy Day is celebrated on 8th September every year throughout the world.  
●    On this day, in the year 1965 the World Congress of Ministers of Education met in Tehran for the first time to discuss the programme of education at the international level.  
●    The UNESCO in its 14th Session in November, 1966, declared 8th September as the International Literacy Day.  
●    Since then, ILD is celebrated on 8th September every year by most of the member countries. 
●    The key aspect of the observance of ILD is to mobilize public opinion in favour of struggle against illiteracy. 
●    ILD is a forum to disseminate information on literacy and raise the public awareness and the significance of literacy for individual and national development.

Important Current Affairs 6th September 2017

Current Affairs 6th September 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Shri Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary Assumes Charge as Minister of State in Ministry of Mines

Shri Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary assumed the charge as Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines in New Delhi today. 
●    The Secretary Mines, Shri Arun Kumar along with the senior officers of the mines ministry welcomed the newly appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Coal, Shri Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary in his office in Shastri Bhawan. 
●    Shri Chaudhary was Minister of State in Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) earlier and he has served as Minister of State in Ministry of Home Affairs.
●    After taking charge, Shri Chaudhary held meeting with the senior officers of the Ministry of Mines and discussed the progress in the ministry. 
●    He represents the Banaskantha constituency of Gujarat and is a four-time member of the Lok Sabha from Bharatiya Janata Party.

German cable-maker Leoni expands Pune facility

German cable manufacturer Leoni has invested an additional €10 million (about ₹76 crore) for the expansion of its existing manufacturing facility at Chakan near Pune.
●    The company’s total investment at the facility, which was commissioned in 2013, stands at €20 million.
●    Leoni Cable Solutions India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nuremberg, Germany-headquartered Leoni Group. 
●    Now, the combined production area has increased to more than 20,000 sq m and manufacturing capacity to 80,000 km per year of electron beam cross-linked cables.

Telangana government to spend over Rs 20,000 crore on Hyderabad

The global city dream of Hyderabad is gradually taking shape, with the State government initiating a number of infrastructure development projects for which an investment of Rs.20,000 crore will be made over the next few years.
●    With Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao taking up the mission of transforming Hyderabad into the most liveable city in the country, the next few years will witness massive investments in development of roads, augmentation of infrastructure related to drinking water supply, including new reservoirs, and one lakh houses under the two-bedroom housing scheme. 
●    Some of the projects have already taken off in various locations in the capital.
●    Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development K. T. Rama Rao, who held a detailed review meeting on these works here on Wednesday, has already met bank officials to raise funds for such mega projects.
●    According to officials, with the condition of the city roads coming in for much criticism, investment worth Rs.6,700 crore is being made specifically aimed at augmenting road infrastructure. 
●    The government is spending close to Rs.1,500 crore through the Hyderabad Road Development Corporation, with the laying of 300 kilometres of white top roads already on.

4 PSU banks cut lending rates by up to 0.45%

Four public sector lenders, including Indian Bank and Vijaya Bank, today cut their benchmark lending rates by up to 0.45 per cent.
●    Punjab & Sind Bank reduced the overnight marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 0.45 per cent to 8.15 per cent from 8.60 per cent.
●    It reduced the one-month MCLR by 0.40 per cent to 8.20 per cent, while one-year lending will be cheaper by 0.15 per cent to 8.55 per cent.
●    Chennai-based Indian Bank reduced the MCLR across all segments by 0.15 per cent.
●    Vijaya Bank tweaked interest rates in two segments, including for one-year tenor which will become cheaper by 0.15 per cent to 8.50 per cent.
●    IDBI Bank also reduced MCLR by 5-10 bps across various tenors.
●    With the reduction in benchmark rates, home, car and other loans linked to MCLR would become cheaper.

GST collection tops Rs 94,000 crore

As many as six lakh more businesses have filed returns and paid taxes in last one week, taking maiden revenue collections from GST to about Rs 94,700 crore.
●    Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had last week stated that 38.38 lakh businesses had filed their returns and paid Rs 92,283 crore in taxes for the month of July - the first month of implementation of independent India's biggest tax reform, the GST.
●    A top official said since then the number of returns filed has gone up to 44 lakh and over Rs 2,500 crore more has come in as taxes.
●    The collections so far are from 74 per cent of the total taxpayer base and more people are likely to come in when the final returns are filed in GSTR 1, 2 and 3.
●    Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia at an event here said 11 lakh businesses have not yet completed registration for the Goods and Services Tax.
●    The GST, which unifies more than a dozen central and state levies like excise duty, service tax and VAT, kicked in from July 1 and requires all taxpayers to register on the new tax platform, GST Network.

Delhi Court stops Patanjali soap advertisement

The Delhi and Bombay high courts have ordered Patanjali Ayurved to stop airing its latest television commercial for soaps, which allegedly disparaged some rival brands, including Reckitt Benckiser’s Dettol and Hindustan Unilever’s Pears and Lifebuoy. 
●    The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued an ad interim injunction restraining the Baba Ramdev-owned company from airing the controversial advertisement while hearing a petition filed by Reckitt Benckiser, maker of Dettol soap. 
●    A day earlier, Hindustan Unilever had got an injunction from the Bombay High Court to stop airing the ad. 
●    The Patanjali commercial allegedly took at dig at popular soap brands of HUL and Reckitt Benckiser by showing soaps similar to brands such as Dettol, Pears and Lifebuoy, and referring to them as ‘Dhitol’, ‘Tears’ and ‘Lifejoy’, while urging consumers to shun “chemical-based” soaps used by movie stars.

Current Affairs 6th September 2017: GLOBAL NEWS

UJALA scheme launched in Melaka, Malaysia 

Energy Efficiency Services Limited ( EESL) , under Ministry of Power, Government of India has launched UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All) Scheme in the State of Melaka, Malaysia today . 
●    The Scheme was launched by Chief Minister of Melaka Datuk Seri Utama Ir. Hj. Idris Bin Hj. Haron. In due course of time, the successful Indian model of UJALA scheme has become a sought-after example for the different nations of the world and will now be implemented in Melaka to extend programme benefits to people of the region.
●    Under this scheme, each household in Melaka will get 10 high quality 9-watt LED bulbs at a cost of only RM 10, which is a special price and is almost half of what in being offered in the market. 
●    The distribution of these LED bulb will take place from 28 numbers of Japerun in the region. 
●    These Japerun are a unique community welfare and engagement centers, which are situated across the Melakan State. 
●    Under the extensive and ever-expanding idea of UJALA, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) plans to distribute about 1 million 9W LED bulbs, which will replace 18W CFLs. 
●    The initiative will have the logistical assistance and facilitation support from Green Growth Asia, which is a not for profit organization. 
●    The price of each bulb will be way lesser than global average price of the LED bulbs, which still swings between 3-5 USD. 
●    Notably, each bulb that is being provided by EESL under the UJALA scheme in Melaka comes with a 3-year free replacement warranty against any technical defects. 
●    These bulbs sent from India will be of leading brands and manufacturers like Osram, Philips along with other companies of repute.
 

Important Current Affairs 5th September 2017

Current Affairs 5th September 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Task Force to be Set up for Speedy Implementation of Various Projects 

Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari has said that he will soon set up a task force for speedy implementation of various ongoing programme of the Ministry. 
●    Speaking to media persons after taking charge of the new Ministry Shri Gadkari said various other Ministries like Drinking Water and Sanitation, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and Urban Development have to work together to fulfill the responsibilities entrusted upon us by the Prime Minister. 
●    He said all programmes and projects of the Ministry will be executed within a definite time frame. 
●    Shri Gadkari said he will work for a corruption free and transparent system in the Ministry with the help of everyone. 
●    He said most of the programmes of the Ministry have taken a sound shape and about to take off within no time.
●    Speaking on the occasion Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation Sushri Uma Bharti said, “Namami Gange programme ki pahli ahuti maine dali aur iski poorn ahuti Gadkari ji dalenge”.  
●    She expressed the hope that Shri Nitin Gadkari will be able to execute her unfulfilled task with great dedication.

Ministry of DoNER to organise “North East Calling” on 09th-10th September 

The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Government of India is organising an event “North East Calling” under its Destination North East series of this year. 
●    The purpose of the event is to promote the art, culture, heritage, cuisine, handicrafts, business and tourism of North East India. 
●    The event will showcase all activities and products of North-East and it coincides with the 16th Anniversary of Ministry of DoNER.
●    In the run-up of to the event, a variety of contests with North East as the theme are open to the public with attractive prizes. 
●    These contests include Photography and Caption Contest, video contest, Choreography Contest for Colleges on the theme “Connect NE”, Quiz Competition for schools and colleges, Best North-Eastern attire in the crowd, Home Chef Contest. 
●    Winners of these contests will be given awards during the Cultural evening on the closing day of the event.

Shri R K Singh takes over as new Power & New Renewable Energy Minister 

Shri Raj Kumar Singh took over as new Union Minister of State (IC) in Ministries of Power & New & Renewable Energy here today. 
●    Shri Piyush Goyal, New Railways Minister & former Power Minister was present to hand over the charge to Shri Singh .
●    Speaking to media after assuming his office , Shri Singh said that there is lot of dynamism in the both Power & Renewable Energy Ministries which will be continued. 
●    Shri Singh said, that he would meet all standards of performance set by the his predecessor and new Railway Minister Shri Piyush Goyal in the Ministries of Power and Renewable energy . 
●    The Country is now energy surplus and that the vision of the Ministries has been defined by his predecessor , Shri Singh added . 
●    He assured Shri Goyal that the good work started by him will be completed and the Prime Minister's vision will be realised.
●    On the occasion, Shri Goyal said he has inherited the finest team of officers in the Government of India because everybody in the Ministries and PSUs related to it , is charged and emotional.

Rao Inderjit Singh Takes Over As Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers 

Shri Rao Inderjit Singh took over as the Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers here today. 
●    Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Rao Inderjit Singh said that he will strive forward to implement the dream of the Prime Minister.
●    Shri Rao Inderjit Singh was born on 11 Feb 1950. 
●    He now represents Gurgaon (Haryana) Parliamentary constituency in Lok Sabha. Shri Rao Inderjit Singh is also the Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Planning. 
●    He was a Member, Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Food and Civil Supplies, Govt. of Haryana, Cabinet Minister, Environment & Forests and Medical & Technical Education, Government of Haryana, Member, Standing Committee on Science and Technology; Environment and Forests, He was also elected to 12th, 14th, 15th & 16th Lok Sabha. 
●    He was also Union Minister of State, External Affairs, Defence Production , He was also Chairman, Standing Committee on Information Technology, He was Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Planning; Statistics and Programme Implementation; and Union Minister of State, Ministry of Defence.

Health Ministry launches two new contraceptives 

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched two new contraceptives, an injectable contraceptive MPA under the ‘Antara’ programme and a contraceptive pill, ‘Chhaya’, in the public health system to expand the basket of contraceptive choices to meet the emerging needs of couples. 
●    The contraceptives, which are available for free in Medical Colleges and District Hospitals at present, have so far been launched in 10 states that includes Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Haryana, West Bengal, Odisha, Delhi and Goa. 
●    The contraceptives are safe and highly effective, the ‘Antara’ injectable being effective for three months and the ‘Chayya’ pill for one week, and will help meet the changing needs of couples and help women plan and space their pregnancies. 
●    Training of healthcare practitioners from all the states has been completed as well, with a pool of state and district level doctors and staff nurses being trained to support the roll-out.
●    To help improve the supply and distribution of contraceptives, the Ministry had recently launched a new software, Family Planning Logistics Management Information System (FP-LMIS), designed to provide robust information on the demand and distribution of contraceptives to health facilities and ASHAs.

Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar takes over as the Minister of State (IC) for Labour & Employment 

Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar took over as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Labour and Employment here today. 
●    Interacting with the media on the occasion, Shri Gangwar said that we will work as per the need of the nation. 
●    We will take along all and consult all stakeholders on policy issues. 
●    He is 7th time Lok Sabha member from Bareilly constituency since 1989 till date (except 2009-14). 
●    Shri Gangwar has vast experience in governance in various ministries like Finance, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Parliamentary Affairs, Science & Technology, Labour & Employment, Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Textiles and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. 
●    He has been Member of various Parliamentary Committees.
●    Shri Gangwar was born on 1st November 1948 in Bareilly. 
●    He completed his B.Sc from Agra University and LLB Degree from Rohilkhand University. 

Shri Alphons Kannanthanam Assumes Charge of Office of Minister Of State (I/C) for Tourism 

Shri Alphons Kannanthanam assumes charge the office of Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism here today.  
●    He is a retired IAS officer of 1979 batch (Kerala cadre). He was in Time Magazine’s list of 100 Young Global Leaders. 
●    He pioneered the literacy movement in India by making Kottayam the first 100% literate town in India in 1989.
●    He worked in the Indian Administration Service until 2006, when he was elected a Member of the Legislative Assembly, from Kanjirappally in Kottayam District of Kerala. 
●    He came into prominence when he served as the District Collector of Kottayam in 1988. 
●    He drove the literacy movement in the State and helped to make Kottayam town as the first 100% literate town in India in 1989.
●    Shri Alphon’s life is nothing short of a miracle. 
●    Having passed his high school with 42% from a non-electrified village Malayalam medium school, he became one of the toppers of the 1979 batch of the IAS. 
●    For 27 years he was the voice of the helpless citizens running pitched battles against the corrupt system. 
●    He was rated to be one of the most competent officers in the history of the civil service.  

Important Current Affairs 4th September 2017

Current Affairs 4th September 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi takes over as Union Minister of Minority Affairs 

Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi took over as Union Minister of Minority Affairs here today. 
●    Speaking on the occasion, Shri Naqvi said that “3E”- Education, Employment and Empowerment is our focus during last three year and Ministry of Minority Affairs will ensure socio-economic-educational progress of all the Minorities. 
●    The Minister emphasized that the Government is committed to empowerment of Minorities with dignity.
●    Shri Naqvi said that all the schemes of Minority Affairs have been implemented effectively on ground level. 
●    He said that our commitment is “inclusive growth and atmosphere of trust”.

Shri Sudarshan Bhagat Takes Over As Minister of State for Tribal Affairs 

Shri Sudarshan Bhagat took over as the Minister of State for Tribal Affairs here today. Before this charge he was Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare . 
●    Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that he would strive hard for the enlightenment of Tribal people and to make the dream of the Prime Minister come true.
●    Shri Bhagat was born on 20th Oct 1969. He now represents Lohardaga (Jharkhand) Parliamentary constituency in Lok Sabha. 
●    Shri Bhagat was the member of 15th Lok Sabha (2009-2014). 
●    Shri Bhagat was a member of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly from 2000-2005. 
●    Shri Bhagat was Minister of State for Human Resources (2000-2003) and C.M Secretariat (Independent Charge) (2003-2004) in Government of Jharkhand. 
●    Shri Bhagat served as Cabinet Minister of Welfare (2004-2005) Government of Jharkhand. 
●    Shri Bhagat has also been member of various Parliamentary committees.

Minister of Mines Shri Narendra Singh Tomar Takes Over Charge of Mining Sector 

Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, the Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines, assumed charge of his Mines Ministry in the presence of outgoing minister Shri Piyush Goyal, now the Minister of Railways and Coal in New Delhi today. 
●    The Secretary Mines, Shri Arun Kumar and senior officers of the mines ministry welcomed the Minister and discussed the ongoing work in the mining sector for the new minister to take over from hereon from Shri Goyal. 
●    Shri Tomar who was also holding the mines portfolio in his earlier stint as Mines Minister from May 2014 to July 2016 said that there will be no gaps in the working of the ministry and he will continue with better speed the work done by his predecessor.
●    Speaking to the media on the occasion, Shri Tomar said that a lot has been done so far but there is always more scope for doing better and fast work in the mining sector as contribution of the mineral sector towards Growth of the GDP is significant and has to be improved further in collaboration with the States. 
●    He said, with the Amendment in the MMDR Act in 2015, the Auctions of mines so far has led to an additional revenue of over Rs. 1,22,000 Crores accruing to the States during the lifespan of the mines in 50 years. 
●    In addition, the amount collected in the DMF funds in the Districts affected by the mining activities is over Rs. 1000 crores till now, which will be spent in the development of these very districts and the people of these districts. 
●    He said, Mining sector is a priority area for the Modi Government and the use of latest technology will bring further transparency and better monitoring in the mining sector. 
●    He will have a review meeting with the senior officers of the ministry in a couple of days, to get ahead with the roadmap in association with the States for a better speed in the auctioning and sustainable development and working of mines.

Dr. Satya Pal Singh takes charge as the Minister of State for Human Resource Development

Dr. Satya Pal Singh took over as the Minister of State for Human Resource Development in New Delhi today. 
●    He represents Baghpat (Uttar Pradesh) Parliamentary constituency in Lok Sabha.
●    Shri Satya Pal Singh is the member of 16th Lok Sabha (2014-2019). 
●    He is also a Member, Joint Parliamentary Committee on Security of Parliament House Complex; Member, Standing Committee on Home Affairs; Member, Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament and Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water and Sanitation.
●    Shri Singh an IPS officer, 1980 batch has handled various responsible positions very efficiently. 
●    He was Police Commissioner Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur and Additional D.G.P., Law & Order and Establishment, Maharashtra State. 
●    He took VRS from government job and joined the mainstream politics in 2014.

Shri Piyush Goyal takes charge as Minister of Railways 

Shri Piyush Goyal took over as the New Minister of Railways in Rail Bhavan today i.e.04th September, 2017. He is also Minister of Coal. 
●    Prior to this, he was Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministries of Power; Coal; New and Renewable Energy & Mines. 
●    Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry & former Minister of Railways was specially present to hand over the charge to Shri Piyush Goyal.
●    On this occasion, Shri Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Railways & Minister of Communication (I/C) & Shri Rajen Gohain, Minister of State for Railways were specially present to grace the occasion. 
●    Shri Ashwani Lohani, Chairman, Railway Board & other Board Members were also present.
●    Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Railways Shri Piyush Goyal said, “Huge Investments in Railways have been made in past three years which will definitely lead to the Development in Railways. 
●    Indian Railways shall continue on the roadmap of  Development.” He also profusely appreciated the efforts put in by his predecessor, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu.

First batch of 1000 E-rickshaws ‘SmartE’ flagged off in Gurugram Today 

Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation flagged off a fleet of first batch of 1000 E-rickshaws from Huda City Centre metro station in Gurugram today. 
●    Speaking on this occasion Shri Gadkari said that the E-rickshaw fleet will not only provide cost effective and pollution free substitute in transport system of Gurugram, but will also generate employment opportunities for marginalised youth. 
●    He further said that public transport on electricity is the necessity of the country and his ministry is committed to providing it soon.
●    The E rickshaw fleet is being operated by Treasure Vase Ventures Private Limited in partnership of Delhi Metro, under the SmartE brand name. 
●    SmartE will provide the last mile transport connectivity in the area.
●    The E Rickshaws have been manufactured in India and are fitted with GPS and tracking system. 
●    SmartE has established strategic partnerships with the Haryana government (HSIIDC) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to launch 1000 vehicles in Gurugram and Faridabad in 2017.  
●    The E-rickshaws SmartE will provide meaningful self-employment for over 1,00,000 marginalised youths, in next 4-5 years.

Ashwini Kumar Choubey takes oath as MoS for Health and Family Welfare

Prominent Brahmin face from Bihar, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, was appointed the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare in Sunday's cabinet reshuffle.
●    According to health ministry officials, he will be entrusted with the responsibilities which his predecessor Faggan Singh Kulaste dealt with during his tenure.
●    Ashwini Kumar Choubey taking oath as MoS for Health and Family Welfare . 
●    Elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly for five consecutive terms, Choubey, 64, coined the slogan "Ghar-ghar me ho shouchalaya ka nirman, tabhi hoga ladli bitiya ka kanyadaan" and helped in constructing 11,000 toilets for Mahadalit families.
●    Choubey represents Bihar's Buxar in the Lok Sabha and was a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Estimates, Standing Committee on Energy and Consultative Committee on Health and Family Welfare. 
●    He is also a member of Central Silk Board.

Dr Jitendra Singh awards certificates to ministries for meritorious performance in handling Public Grievances on PG Portal 

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports, MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh awarded the Certificates of Appreciation to the Ministries/Departments based on their performance in the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), here today.
●    Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh complemented the award winning departments/ministries. 
●    He congratulated the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for winning the certificate for four consecutive quarters. 
●    He said that other departments should also learn from the mechanism developed by CBDT for grievance disposal. 
●    Due to such mechanisms, the system can be sustained, he added. 
●    He also appreciated other ministries for working in the direction of disposal of grievances. 
●    He said that DARPG has also conducted a study to analyse the grievances received. 
●    The Department has also released the Grievance Study Analysis of 20 Ministries recently. 
●    He said that DARPG is also taking inputs and suggesting new reforms.

Important Current Affairs 3rd September 2017

Current Affairs 3rd September 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Lucknow Metro to be launched on 5th September

In the first phase, five trains will run between Transport Nagar and Charbagh stations. 
●    The service will be thrown open for the public from September 6.
●    Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will flag off the Lucknow Metro’s inaugural run on September 5, an official spokesman of the state government said on Tuesday. 
●    The Home Minister is the Lok Sabha MP from the state capital. 
●    Amid conflicting reports of the date of inauguration, Principal Secretary (Information) Awanish Kumar Awasthi told IANS that the programme has been fixed for September 5, Teachers Day, and added that some Central Ministers will also grace the occasion.
●    In the first phase, five trains will run between Transport Nagar and Charbagh stations. The service will be thrown open for the public from September 6.
●    Officials of the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) said the trains will run from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. The safety audit has already been completed.

Cabinet Reshuffle

Nirmala Sitharaman will be the country's new Defence Minister while Piyush Goyal will be the new Railways Minister after a cabinet reshuffle on Sunday that saw nine new ministers take oath. 
●    Ms Sitharaman and Mr Goyal too took oath after being promoted to cabinet rank along with Dharmendra Pradhan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. 
●    Nirmala Sitharaman is the first woman Defence Minister; Indira Gandhi held the department twice when she was Prime Minister.
●    Ms Sitharaman, 58, will now be part of the top 5 or the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which also includes the Prime Minister, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Finance Minster Arun Jaitley.  
●    Arun Jaitley sheds Defence and will retain the Finance Ministry. 
●    He will, however, attend an international meeting of Defence Ministers in Japan, for which he left on Sunday night.
●    Apart from Railways, Piyush Goyal retains the ministry of Coal. 
●    Suresh Prabhu, who exits as Rail Minister, will be the new Commerce Minister, the department that was held by Ms Sitharaman. 
●    Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi continues in his departments as a Cabinet minister.

Madhya Pradesh government will make pilgrimage to the elderly every year in the Chief Minister's pilgrimage project

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced on Sunday that two lakh elderly people from the state would be taken on pilgrimages annually under a government-run scheme.
●    “Two lakh elderly people would be taken for pilgrimages annually,” Chouhan said at a function organised to mark the fifth anniversary of ‘Mukhyamantri Tirth Darshan Yojana’, a state-sponsored scheme.
●    Chouhan said pilgrimages are aimed at bringing happiness and spiritual bliss in the lives of elderly people.
●    “Sacred places are the essence of faiths and visit to them sanctify mind and soul,” Chouhan added.
●    As per the figures with the state government, nearly 5,03,000 elderly people - belonging to different religions were taken for pilgrimage by special trains in the last five years.
●    Under the ‘Mukhyamantri Tirth Darshan Yojana’, the senior citizens above 60 years of age can visit any of the 15 most famous pilgrimage places on the government expenses once in lifetime.
●    The pilgrimage places include Badrinath, Kedarnath, Puri (Jagannath), Dwaraka, Haridwar, Amaranth, Vaishno Devi, Kashi, Tirupati, Ajmer Shareef, Gaya, Shirdi, Rameshwaram, Amritsar (Sikh) and Sammed Shikhar (Jain) etc.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to take charge of Water Resources ministry

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is all set to take charge of the Water Resources ministry
●    Sacked AAP leader Kapil Mishra had handled the portfolio before his ouster. 
●    It was then given to Rajendra Pal Gautam, a new minister.
●    A letter about the reshuffle will be sent to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal in the next two or three days.
●    The Health, Electricity, and Water departments together constituted the Aam Aadmi Party's major focus during its second stint in power. 
●    Kejriwal and his party feel that while the first two have been performing satisfactorily, they haven't been able to sort out Water Resources as well as they wanted to.
●    Recent deaths of sewage workers have brought the focus back on the sector. 
●    when Kejriwal met voters in Bawana, the only complaint was about water and sewage, sources said.

Current Affairs 3rd September 2017: SPACE SCIENCE

Nasa’s Curiosity rover marks 5 years of Mars exploration

Nasa’s Curiosity rover which found evidence that ancient Mars had the right conditions to support microbial life has marked five years of exploring the red planet.
●    Curiosity, which landed near Mount Sharp five years ago, is examining clues on that mountain about long-ago lakes on Mars.
●    On 5 August 2012, the mission team at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, exalted at radio confirmation and first images from Curiosity after the rover’s touchdown using a new “sky crane” landing method.
●    Transmissions at the speed of light took nearly 14 minutes to travel from Mars to Earth, which that day were about 248 million kilometres apart, Nasa said. 
●    Those first images included a view of Mount Sharp.
●    The mission accomplished its main goal in less than a year, before reaching the mountain. 

Current Affairs 3rd September 2017: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Cooperation needed for peace : Modi at BRICS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said trade and economy are the foundations of the co-operation among BRICS countries.
●    Modi was addressing the plenary session of the BRICS summit in Xiamen. 
●    The PM will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, trade and terror are likely to be on the agenda. 
●    The meeting attains significance as the first exchange between the two leaders after the month-long Doklam standoff.  
●    PM Modi is likely to meet Jinping on the sidelines of the event. 
●    This comes after India and China reportedly withdrew their forces at Doklam following a standoff. 
●    Meanwhile, Jinping yesterday underscored that the BRICS must uphold the value of diplomacy to resolve “hotspot issues” as the leaders of the grouping, including PM Modi, arrived here for the Summit, which has started this morning. 
●    Last year the the BRICS Summit was held in Goa.

North Korea tested hydrogen bomb

North Korea on Sunday claimed to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb designed to be placed on a intercontinental ballistic missile — prompting a barrage of responses from President Donald Trump and for his defense secretary to say they're not looking to the "total annihilation" of the country.
●    In response, South Korea conducted a live-fire exercise targeting the North’s nuclear test site that included surface-to-surface and long-range air-to-ground missiles, a South Korean military official told NBC News.
●    This is the sixth time that North Korea has conducted a nuclear test, and the underground explosion seems likely to ratchet up already high tensions between the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, and President Donald Trump.
 

Important Current Affairs 2nd September 2017

Current Affairs 2nd September 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Late fee waived for all tax-payers who could not file the GSTR 3B for the month of July 2017 

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) tax was introduced on 1st of July 2017.  
●    The last date for payment of GST for the month of July 2017 was 25th August 2017.  
●    Payment of GST is complete only when amount of tax payable is debited from electronic cash / credit ledger.
●    Now late fee for all taxpayers who could not file GSTR 3B for the month of July 2017 has been waived, but not the interest on late payment of Tax liability.
●    GSTR 1 is to be filed by all taxpayers by 5th of September 2017 and GSTR 2 and GSTR 3 to be filed by all taxpayers by 10th and 15th of September 2017 respectively.
●    Taxpayers who have committed errors in GSTR 3B will be able to put the correct details in GSTR 1-2-3. 
●    However, interest will be leviable from all taxpayers who have not discharged their complete Tax liability for July 2017 by 25-08-2017.

Swachhta Pakhwada Celebration at Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology 

Swachhta Pakhwada was observed in the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) from 1st to 15th August, 2017 with great enthusiasm and active participation of the officers/staff members of MeitY and its offices. 
●    Day-wise Action plan was prepared for implementation which consisted of both motivational and physical activities. 
●    Shri P.P. Chaudhary, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Law and Justice, administered a pledge to all the officers and staff on 01.08.2017 and delivered an inaugural message highlighting the importance of cleanliness in our day to day functioning and urged all to maintain a clean/green environment to realize the Swachh Bharat vision of our Prime Minister. 
●    As part of Government of India’s initiative for giving a fillip to renewable energy programme, Shri Chaudhary also inaugurated the 200 KW Rooftop Solar Power Plant, recently installed in the Electronics Niketan building of MeitY.

Sanjaya Baru Takes Over As Secretary General Of FICCI

Dr. Sanjaya Baru on Friday took over as the new Secretary General of the apex industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
●    Dr. Baru brings with him rich experience of political and economic analyses, having been Editor of India's major financial newspapers, The Economic Times, Financial Express and Business Standard.
●    Earlier, Dr. Baru was associated as a professor of Economics at University of Hyderabad, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Delhi) and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (Singapore).
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He has been Media Advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (2004-08) and Director for Geo-economics and Strategy, International Institute of Strategic Studies, London (2011-16).
●    Also he has been an active member, National Security Advisory Board of India (1999-2001), India-ASEAN Eminent Persons Group (2010) and the Indian National Defence University Committee (2002-2004).

Infosys seeks shareholder nod to appoint Pravin Rao as Managing Director

India’s second-largest software services firm Infosys has sought shareholder approval to the appointment of U.B. Pravin Rao as its Managing Director. 
●    He will continue to hold the position of interim-CEO and MD for a maximum of five years, or until a new CEO and Managing Director(MD) is appointed, Infosys said in its postal ballot.
●    Rao, who is the Chief Operating Officer at Infosys, had been named interim-CEO and MD on August 18, when the then chief Vishal Sikka had resigned against the backdrop of a spate of allegations hurled by co-founder N.R Narayana Murthy.
●    “U.B. Pravin Rao will hold the position of Interim CEO and MD of the company for a term not exceeding five years or until a new CEO and MD is appointed or if his employment as Interim CEO and MD is terminated earlier by either party giving 90 days’ notice to the other party in this regard,” Infosys said.

 Uranium mine gets India's underground dark matter laboratory

An underground dark matter laboratory for conducting experiments in fundamental physics involving rare event searches was today inaugurated in the oldest uranium mine at Jaduguda in Jharkhand.
●    Dr Sekhar Basu, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), inaugurated the facility at a depth of 555 metre in the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) mine at Jadugoda, 30 km from here.
●    Speaking to reporters later at Jadugora mine premises, Basu said, "We knew of an estimated five per cent of the possible 30 per cent matters existing in the universe and this new facility will help us to research about the unknown matters."
●    The laboratory has been set up by the UCIL and Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP), Kolkata by utilizing the available infrastructure and underground facilities of the Jaduguda mine.

Kerala rolls out Rs 300 crore eTender for high tech schools

Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education, formerly IT@School Project of the state general education department, has rolled out an Information and Communication Technology eTender for state schools, at an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore. 
●    The eTender for 60,250 Laptops and 43,750 Multimedia Projectors was published in the state’s eTender portal (etenders.kerala.gov.in ) making it the largest of its kind in the southern state, according to an official release.
●    KITE is the first SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) to get funded from Kerala Infrastructure And Investment Fund Board (KIIFB ) established by the state government to support projects worth Rs 50000 crore in five years. 
●    The eTenders published by KITE is for the ICT equipment to be provided under ‘Hi-Tech School project’, said K Anvar Sadath, Vice Chairman and Executive Director, KITE.
●    As many as 4775 government and government-aided schools, to be covered under this programme, include 2685 high schools, 1701 higher secondary schools and 389 vocational higher secondary schools.
●    With the implementation of the programme, each classroom would be equipped with laptop, multimedia projector, whiteboard and sound system.

Australia keen to support India's smart cities program

A 35-member business delegation from Australia, which is on a visit to India, today said here that it is keen to build long-term partnerships with the state governments and the private sector companies here in various sectors, including infrastructure and water.
●    The delegation, which was in the megapolis, held discussions with the officials of the state urban development department, Chief Secretary Sumit Mallick and private sector firms to explore business opportunities in Smart Cities project of Maharashtra.
●    "We are here to build relationships with the state governments here as well as the private sector companies, which are involved in Smart Cities projects to explore the possibilities of Australian involvement and participation in various such projects," Australian Trade Commissioner Grayson Perry told reporters here today.
●    He said the Australian companies, with their vast experience in sectors like infrastructure, smart cities, infrastructure, water and waste management among others, can assist Indian companies and the government in its various programs.

Gopal Singh is new CMD of Coal India

Gopal Singh, CMD, Central Coalfields Ltd, has been given additional charge as the CMD of Coal India Ltd (CIL) till the time a regular appointment is made for the post.
●    Central Coalfields is one of the subsidiaries of the largest coal producer of the world.
●    Singh succeeds Sutirtha Bhattacharya, who retired on Thursday.
●    In a filing on the stock exchange, Coal India said Sutirtha Bhattacharya, CMD, CIL, on attaining superannuation has relinquished the charge of CMD with effect from 31 August 2017.
●    The filing further said the ministry of coal, in its letter dated 1 September 2017, has entrusted the additional charge of CMD, CIL to Gopal Singh, with immediate effect and until a regular appointment is made. He has taken charge with effect from 1 September 2017, it added.