Current affairs : September 14, 2016
BRICS environment ministers Summit :
Goa is set to
host meet of BRICS environment ministers on September 16. Environment ministers
of the BRICS nations will take part in this.
- The meeting is aimed at enhancing mutual cooperation in critical areas like air and water pollution, liquid and solid waste management, climate change and conservation of biodiversity.
GSAT-11 to be launched in early 2017
GSAT-11, India’s advanced and heaviest communication spacecraft to date at 5,700 kg, is to be launched early next year on the European Ariane launch vehicle.
- GSAT-11 is designed to generate a bandwidth of more than 12 gbps primarily for users of Internet driven services, VSAT operations and rural connectivity.
Hotline to curb child pornography
The country's first-ever hotline to curb sexual abuse of children through the Internet and to remove child pornographic content online is set to be unveiled next week.
- Aarambh Initiative, a network of organisations and individuals working on child protection in the country, has collaborated with the U.K.-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which is an industry watchdog and is the most successful hotline in the world at removing child pornography.
Preparations afoot for BRICS Goa summit
The 8th BRICS Summit, to be held in Goa on October 15-16, will see the participation of 11 heads of State and governments
- After the BRICS engagement, leaders of BRICS will meet leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
- The two-day summit will come out with a joint ‘Goa Declaration’.
Single budget will save Railways Rs. 10,000 crore
The cash-strapped Railways will save about Rs 10,000 crore annually as it will no longer have to pay dividend if the separate Rail Budget is scrapped, which is likely to happen from next fiscal.
- The report on the merger of the Rail Budget and General Budget, was to be submitted on September 8.
Sri Lanka scraps NTPC’s plan to build coal plant
A plan by NTPC to build a power plant in Trincomalee in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province, has been scrapped following the country’s decision to switch from coal to renewable energy sources.
- The decision is a virtual blow to the National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) first international joint venture, in which it holds a 50:50 stake with the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).
Government plans 27,000km economic corridors
The government is planning to make 44 highway stretches totalling 27,000 km to be developed as “economic corridors” for seamless movement of cargo vehicles, cut delays, deepen economic activities and create jobs.
- This will be the biggest highway expansion plan since the rolling out of Golden Quadrilateral and North South East West Corridor, totalling 13,000 km during the Vajpayee regime.
BRICS
Urbanisation Forum Summit:
The third
edition of BRICS Urbanisation Forum Meet has begun in Visakhapatnam, Andhra
Pradesh.
- The conference will discuss about ways to increase the productivity and make a separate urban finance system and create employment opportunities.
IB chief to address SAARC counterparts on anti-terror ops
India is going ahead with its SAARC commitment ahead of the summit of the grouping in Islamabad, the chief of India’s Intelligence Bureau (IB) will address the representatives of anti-terror forces of other member-countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation on September 22.
- Director, Intelligence Bureau (IB), Dineshwar Sharma will be leading the Indian delegation and would discuss terror issues prevalent in the region.
Approved strength of judges enough to end backlog: Law panel head
- According to Justice Balbir Singh, “Increasing the sanctioned strength of judges will not solve the problem. We need working judges.”
Hindi Divas being
celebrated throughout country today
Hindi Divas is being celebrated throughout the country today.
- Hindi Divas is celebrated on 14th September every year, because on this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of the country adopted the Hindi language as the official language of the Republic of India.
Andhra Pradesh becomes second state to achieve 100% electrification
Andhra Pradesh has become the second state in the country after Gujarat to achieve 100% electrification of households.
- JM Financials published the report based on a national -level survey on electrification in various states.
Raman Singh launches 'Start Up Chhattisgarh' project
In line with the Centre's 'Start Up India' initiative, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has launched the 'Start Up Chhattisgarh' programme to encourage entrepreneurs in the state.
- The government also announced the setting up of a dedicated startup centre.
105-yr-old Kunwar Bai
made 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' mascot
105-year-old Kunwar Bai, who was
felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for building toilet by selling off
her goats, has been chosen as the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ mascot.
- Prime Minister Modi will felicitate Kunwar Bai at a function in the national capital to mark `Swachhta Diwas' on September 17.
Operation calm down:
Operation calm down is an army operation in J&K.
- It aims to clear out protesters and militants from the region.
Aleksander Ceferin named new UEFA
president
Union of European Football
Associations (UEFA) elected Aleksander Ceferin to succeed Michel Platini as
president.
- The 48-year-old succeeds former France international Michel Platini, who resigned after being banned from all football activity last year.
SBI, PNB, Paytm to issue e-toll tags for vehicles
State Bank of India, Punjab National
Bank, IDFC Bank, and digital wallet Paytm will start issuing electronic tags to
vehicles for toll collection.
- This would help increase the number of automatic pass-throughs at toll plazas to 50% in two years.
Freecharge partners with Axis Bank, launches UPI payment
Digital payment platform FreeCharge in partnership with Axis Bank has launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI) that allows instant transactions from a smartphone using a virtual payment address (VPA).
- Customers will be able to create a virtual address on the Freecharge Android app and link it to their bank account to register on the UPI platform.
PayU acquires Citrus Pay for $130 million
Global online payment service provider PayU has acquired Indian payments technology player, Citrus Pay, for $130 million.
- Citrus Pay's managing director Amrish Rau will take charge of the merged entity, and as chief executive of PayU in India.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to
be awarded by Jewish rights group
Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will be honoured with a
humanitarian award by a prominent Jewish human rights organisation for
promoting human dignity, interfaith relations and tolerance among people.
- The Art of Living founder will be conferred with Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s highest honour ‘the Simon Wiesenthal Humanitarian Laureate’ at a ceremony in New Delhi on September 21.
Anoop K Sharma new CMD
of Shipping Corporation
Anoop Kumar Sharma has taken charge of the post of CMD,
Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) with effect from September
12, 2016 for a period of three years.
- As the country’s premier shipping line, the SCI owns and operates around one-third of the Indian tonnage, and has operating interests in practically all areas of the shipping business, servicing both national and international trades.
Mumbai-based writer wins
FON South Asia Short Story Award
Writer Meghna Pant will be honoured
with Kumaon Literary Festival's FON (Fellows of Nature) South AsiaShort Story
Award in Nature writing in October for her short story "People of the
Sun."
