Current Affairs Today 15th & 16th September 2019 | Current Affairs News

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Daily Current Affairs PDF of 15th &16th September  2019

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

International Day of Democracy

• International Day of Democracy is observed on 15 September to remind people that democracy is about people.
• This day provide an opportunity to make people understand about the importance of democracy and the effective realisation of Human Rights.

National Engineer’s Day

• Engineers Day is celebrated in India on 15 September every year to mark the tribute to the Indian Engineer Bharat RatnaMokshagundamVisvesvaraya.
• Famous as “Father of Modern Mysore”, Visvesvaraya was awarded ‘Bharat Ratna’ for his exceptional contribution to the building of India in 1955.

International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer

• Every year September 16 is marked as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.
• The day was also known as World Ozone Day.
• On December 19, 2000, the United Nations General Assembly designated the day in remembrance of the date in 1987 when nations signed the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
• Theme for this year – 32 Years and Healing

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Government announces new measures to boost exports and realty sector

• Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman announced the government’s third set of measures to revive the economy with a renewed focus on exports and realty sector.
• A new scheme for Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) to replace the current Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) from next year. However, the existing dispensation in textiles of MEIS and old Rebate on State Levies (RoSL) will continue up to December 31.
• Textiles and all other sectors which currently enjoy incentives up to two per cent over MEIS will transit into RoDTEP from January 1, 2020.
• Adding the revenue foregone projected is about Rs 50,000 crore.
• The Finance Minister also announced a fully automated electronic refund route for input tax credit in Goods and Services Tax by September-end to monitor and speed up the refunds.
• The Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) will expand the scope of export credit insurance service and will offer higher insurance cover to banks lending working capital for exports. The move will cost Rs 1,700 crore per year to the exchequer.
• Additional Rs 36,000 crore to 68,000 crores will be released for the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to ensure higher credit availability for exports.
• An action plan to reduce turnaround time at airports and ports benchmarked to international standards will be implemented by December.
• India will hold an annual mega shopping festival like the one held in Dubai. It will happen by March 2020 and themes will vary from textile, handicraft, yoga and others.
• For the housing sector, the Union Budget 2019 had announced additional deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh on interest paid on loan borrowed for the purchase of house valued up to Rs 45 lakh.
• There will be a relaxation in external commercial borrowing (ECB) guidelines to facilitate the financing of homebuyers eligible under PradhanMantriAwasYojana (PMAY).
• To increase liquidity measures for housing finance companies and repo-linked lending rates.
• To encourage government servants to buy new houses, the interest rates on House Building Advance will be lowered and linked with 10-year G-sec yields.
• For home buyers, government has set up a stress fund of Rs 20,000 crore for completion of stalled projects. However, the fund will not cover the projects affected by NPA and NCLT issues. Home buyers of the national capital region are most affected with developers like JaypeeInfratech, Amrapali and Unitech defaulting in completing their housing projects on time.
• Govt to launchFree Trade Agreement utilisation mission.
• To launch origin management system to improve ease of doing business for exporters.

Government sets up new house committees

• The government has announced the formation of different parliamentary panels including the standing committee on finance, external affairs and Information technology.
• BJP MP PP Chaudhary has been made the chairman of foreign affairs committee and Congress MP Anand Sharma has been appointed as the chairman of the Home Affairs committee.
• BJP’s TG Venkatesh has been appointed as the chairman of committee on transport, tourism and culture.Congress MP ShashiTharoor and Jairam Ramesh has been given the responsibility of the Information technology committee and science, technology, environment and forest committee respectively. Samajwadi Party MP Ram GopalYadav has been appointed as the chairman of Health and Family Welfare committee.

Javadekar flags off ‘Jaldoot’ water conservation initiative

• Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting PrakashJavadekar flagged off a vehicle ‘Jaldoot’ to spread the message of water conservation.
• Jaldoot, a travelling exhibition arranged by Pune-based Regional Outreach Bureau of I&B ministry, will tour eight districts of Maharashtra in the next two months.
• It will take the message of water conservation to the masses and highlight work done in this connection by the NarendraModi government in the first 100 days of its second term.
• Water was top priority for the Centre and it had set up a separate ministry called Jalshakti for the purpose, adding that it was committed to provide piped water to every household by 2024.

Indian govt forms committee to recommend governance norms for non-personal data, Infosys’ Gopalakrishnan to head it

• Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) has formed a new Committee of Experts to focus on non-personal data, and to come up with a related data governance framework. Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan will head the committee.
• The idea is to have a separate and independent consultation on non-personal data, and decide the contours of how it should be regulated.

The members of the committee (listed below) can co-opt other members for specific inputs.

• Kris Gopalakrishnan, Infosys Co-Founder (Chairperson)
• Additional Secretary/Joint Secretary, DPIIT
• DebjaniGhosh, NASSCOM President
• Neeta Verma, National Informatics Centre, DG
• LaliteshKatragadda, Avanti Finance, CTO
• Dr PonnurangamKumaraguru, IIT Hyderabad
• ParminderJeet Singh, IT for Change
• Gopalakrishnan S., MeitY, Joint Secretary (Member Convenor)

White Water Rafting Expedition – ‘Rudrashila’ Flagged off at Jaisalmer

• The white water Rafting Expedition christened ‘RUDRASHILA’ being undertaken by Kalidhar Battalion under the aegis of Battle Axe Division was Flagged Off at Jaisalmer Military station
• The expedition christened ‘Rudrashila’ has been organised to commemorate the 75^thRaising day of the Kalidhar Battalion.
• ‘KalidharBatttalion’ was raised on 01 November 1943 and has participated in all major operations of the Indian Army
• The expedition team led by Major Ravi Kant Gaurav comprising of two Officers, Four Junior Commissioned Officers and 18 Soldiers will  cover a total distance of 140 kilometers from Rudraprayag to Rishikesh over some of the most difficult and dangerous rapids in mighty Ganges River

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

St. Vincent and Grenadines, 79th country to join India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA)

• Saint Vincent and Grenadines became the 79th country to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA)
• ISA is an initiative by India aimed at combating the threats of climate change and global warming.
• The International Solar Alliance is a group of 121 solar resource-rich countries with headquarters in Gurugram, India.
• The organisation aims to deploy over 1,000 gigawatts of solar energy and mobilise more than USD 1,000 billion into solar power by 2030, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE

International Ramayana Festival to be inaugurated by Amit Shah

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the International Ramayana Festival to be organized by The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in Delhi
• It will be a three-day event spanning across September 17-19.
• Apart from New Delhi, the festival is going to be organized in Lucknow, Ayodhya and Pune.
• Eight countries from across the world will take part in the festival including Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Bangladesh and Fiji.
• The International Ramayana Festival has been organized annually for the last 15 years by ICCR.

Council of Ministers including Chief Minister to pay their own income-tax

• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and all members of the council of ministers will be paying their own income taxes, as per an order issued by the state government.
• Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered to abolish a provision of Uttar Pradesh Ministers’ Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Act, 1981, according to which the Income-Tax of ministers was being paid by the state treasury.
• Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna stated that till now the state treasury was paying the Income-Tax of all ministers, however, as per the orders of the Chief Ministers, all ministers will be paying their own income taxes from now onwards.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Tata firm launches India’s first maritime broadband

• VSAT solutions provider Nelco, a Tata enterprise, announced the launch of maritime communication services, becoming India’s first company to provide broadband services to the maritime sector.
• Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice, and AnshuPrakash, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, inaugurated the services.
• Nelco, through global partnerships and infrastructure, including transponder capacity on the satellite of ISRO and service portfolio, will help energy, cargo and cruise vessels by enhancing operational efficiency.
• The in-flight and maritime communications (IFMC) licence has not only enabled connectivity for on-board users on ships but also brings operational efficiencies for shipping companies which were less evolved until now.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION

KapilDev appointed Chancellor of Haryana Sports University

• KapilDev, who was India’s first World Cup-winning captain, has been appointed first Chancellor of Haryana Sports University,atRai in Sonipat district.
• The Sports University of Haryana will be the third sports university established by a state government in the country after Swarnim Gujarat Sports University (Gandhinagar) and Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University (Chennai).
• Courses will include training for sports management, sports infrastructure engineering, sports psychology, sports nutrition, sports journalism and sports marketing.

AmbatiRayudu Named Hyderabad Captain for Vijay Hazare Trophy

• AmbatiRayudu, who had come out of retirement, has been named Hyderabad skipper for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy which will begin later in the month.
• Rayudu had announced his retirement from all forms of cricket after being ignored for India’s World Cup squad but he would go on to reverse that decision.

Justice P Lakshmana Reddy appointed as first Lokayukta of Andhra Pradesh

• Justice P Lakshmana Reddy was sworn-in as the first Lokayukta of the state after its bifurcation in 2014.
• He was a retired judge of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh High Court
• Governor BiswabhusanHairchandan administered the oath of office to Justice Reddy at a function in Vijayawada.
• Justice Lakshmana Reddy will be in office for five years.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Bangladesh School project wins Aga Khan Architecture Award

• An innovative project for constructing a floating school for marginalised children in Bangladesh has been awarded the prestigious Aga Khan Architecture Award 2019.
• The award was given away in Kajan, the republic of Tatarstan for the Arcadia Education Project in South Kanarchor of Bangladesh.
• The project involved the construction of a school in an area which is underwater during the monsoon months.
• The architect of the project SaifUlHaque designed a school which remains on the ground during the dry season and floats when the area is submerged in water during monsoon.
• He utilised only local material – bamboo, used tyres and steel drums for constructing the amphibious structure for the school. The workforce and artisans for the project were also drawn locally.
• Aga Khan Foundation lauded the project for its contribution to improve people’s lives, social and economic development, access to education in rural communities and global issues like rising water levels.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERENCE

Indian Army to conduct Exercise ‘HimVijay’ in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam

• The Army is scheduled to conduct a major Exercise ‘HimVijay’ beginning October in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam with its newly created Integrated Battle Groups (IBG) involving 15,000 troops.
• The exercise will coincide with the proposed visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping for the second informal summit with Prime Minister NarendraModi.
• The Panagarh based 17 Mountain Strike Corps will conduct Exercise HimVijay spread over a month and half with three newly created IBGs from October.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

India ranked 79th in Global Economic Freedom index

• India has jumped 11 spots on Global Economic Freedom index from last year’s 96th spot to the current ranking of 79.
• The Economic Freedom of the World Report 2019 surveyed a total of 162 countries.
• India’s current ranking is better than one of the major economies of the world — China — which stood at 113th. Two Asian countries viz Hong Kong and Singapore continue their winning streak of last year with 1st and 2nd position respectively.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

PankajAdvani wins 22nd world billiards title

• India’s billiards superstar PankajAdvani clinched his 22nd world title for the country by winning a fourth straight final in the 150-up format at the IBSF World Billiards Championship in Mandalay.

• This is the short format of billiards and Advani has won 5 titles in this is the last 6 years.

ShuttlerSourabhVerma wins Vietnam Open title

• India shuttlerSourabhVerma won the Vietnam Open after he defeated China’s Sun Fei Xiang in the summit.
• The event was held at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Verma is from Madhya Pradesh and had won the Dutch Open and Korea Open last year.

Indian shuttlerLakshyaSen clinches men’s singles title of Belgian International Challenge

• Indian shuttlerLakshyaSen stunned second seed Victor Svendsen of Denmark in straight games to clinch men’s singles title at the Belgian International Challenge.
• The 18-year-old Lakshya had earlier beaten Denmark’s Kim Bruun 21-18, 21-11 to win in a 48-minute semifinal clash.

Kaushal wins Myanmar International series

• Indian shuttlerKaushalDharmamer clinched the Myanmar International Series with a come-from-behind win over Indonesia’s KaronoKarono in a thrilling men’s singles final.
• A trainee of UdayPawar Badminton Academy, Kaushal, who has been troubled by injuries for almost two years, is currently ranked 187th.

India beat Bangladesh to win the U-19 Asia Cup title

• India beat Bangladesh by five runs in the finals to lift U-19 Asia Cup
• Defending a paltry total of 106, India dismissed Bangladesh for 101 in 33 overs.
• Left-arm spinner 18-year-old AtharvaAnkolekar, emerged as the star of the Indian team, with figures of 5 for 28 from 8 overs.

Spain beat Argentina to winBasketball World Cup

• Spain beat Argentina 95-75 to win the Basketball World Cup in Beijing
• It was Spain’s second world cup. Spain won its first Basketball World Cup title in 2006
• France took the bronze for the second consecutive year after a 67-57 win over Australia.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Photographer behind Tiananmen Square Tank Man picture passes away

• Charlie Cole, one of the photographers who took the picture of the famous Tank Man during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, has died of sepsis in Bali, Indonesia. He was 64.
• In the year1990, Cole won the World Press Photo Award for his photo, which became an image of the 1989 pro-democracy protest.

Film editor Sanjib Kumar Datta passed away

• Bollywood editor SanjibDatta who worked on films like “Dor”, “Mardani”, “Iqbal”, “EkHasiniThi” passed away
• He was an alumnus of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)
• Sanjib edited over 80 films in Hindi and Bengali.

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