GK Update 15 Sept, 2019
NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Finance Minister announces New Measures to Boost Exports and Housing: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made few announcements to boost the Export Sector and Housing Sector. In total, she made 15 announcements, out of which 12 are for Export and 3 are for the housing sector. The key highlights of the announcement are listed below: New Measures to Boost Exports: New Scheme for Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Product (RoDTEP)– It will replace the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). Existing dispensation in textiles of MEIS + old ROSL will continue up to 31.12.2019. Annual mega shopping festivals– Annual mega shopping festivals in India will be organized in 4 places across 2020 March in 4 themes (Gems & Jewellery, Handicrafts/Yoga/Tourism, Textiles and Leather). Fully automated electronic refund route for Input Tax Credits (ITC) in GST. Time-bound adoption of mandatory Technical Standards. Affordable testing and certification infrastructure. Enable handicrafts industry to effectively harness e-commerce for exports Measures to Boost Housing Sector: Special Window for affordable and middle income Housing to be setup. For the construction of unfinished units in Housing Sector, A Special Window to provide last mile funding for housing projects which are non- NPA and non-NCLT Projects and are Net worth positive in affordable and middle income category to be set up. Relaxation of ECB guidelines for Affordable Housing. House Building Advance- The interest rate on House Building Advance shall be lowered and linked with the 10 Year G Sec Yields.
2. Government sets-up new house committees: The Central Government has announced the formation of new house committees and appointed its members and chairpersons. The names of committee and the chairperson is listed below: Committee on Defence– Jual Oram (BJP MP) Parliamentary Committee on Finance– Jayant Sinha (BJP MP) Committee on Information Technology– Shashi Tharoor (Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram) Committee on External Affairs– PP Chaudhary (BJP Lok Sabha MP) Committee on Commerce– V Vijayasai Reddy (YSR Congress Party MP) Committee on Home Affairs– Anand Sharma (Congress Rajya Sabha MP)
3. Prakash Javadekar flags off ‘Jaldoot’ water conservation initiative: Prakash Javadekar, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting flagged off a vehicle named ‘Jaldoot’ to spread the message of water conservation in Pune. Jaldoot will travel across 8 districts in Maharashtra to create awareness related to water conservation and highlight work done in this connection by the Narendra Modi government.
4. Tata firm, Nelco, launches India’s first maritime broadband: VSAT solutions provider Nelco, a Tata enterprise, launched a maritime communication service, becoming India’s first company to provide broadband services to the maritime sector. The launch was done by Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice Shri Ravi Shankar GK Update 15 Sept, 2019
Prasad at Mumbai. Nelco through global partnerships, infrastructure including transponder capacity on satellite of ISRO Indian Space Research Organization) and a comprehensive service portfolio will help Energy, Cargo and Cruise vessels by enhancing operational efficiency, improving crew welfare and enabling customer services.
5. Multi-city international Ramayana Fest begins: The fifth edition of the International Ramayana Festival will be inaugurated in New Delhi by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. It will be held between September 17-19. After the national capital, the festival will be held in Lucknow between September 20-22 and in Pune on September 21. It will also travel to the city of Ayodhya. Cultural groups from eight nations including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will stage musicals and plays based on the epic in New Delhi, Lucknow and Pune. The purpose of the festival, organised by ICCR is to explore cultural diplomacy through the Hindu epic, which is popular in several countries. Eight countries will take part in the event- Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Bangladesh and Fiji.
6. National Engineer’s Day: September 15: Every year, since 1968, the Engineer’s Day is celebrated in India on September 15 to recognise the contribution of engineers’ in the development of the nation. Theme 2019: Engineering For Change. The day marks the birth anniversary of the engineering pioneer of India, Sir Mokshagundam Vishweshvaraya, popularly known as Sir MV. Famous as “Father of Modern Mysore”, Visvesvaraya was awarded ‘Bharat Ratna’ for his exceptional contribution to the building of India in 1955.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. UNESCO to publish anthology of Guru Nanak Dev’s writing in world languages: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has decided to translate and publish an anthology of the writings of Guru Nanak Dev in world languages to mark his 550th birth anniversary. The government is also holding a series of events and has initiated projects to mark 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. These include the construction of Kartarpur Corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district in Punjab to the international border, the development of the historic town of Sultanpur Lodhi as a heritage town on the smart city principle, the upgradation of Sultanpur Lodhi railway station and release of commemorative coins and postage stamps.
2. UN chief appoints Indian Army veteran Abhijit Guha as head of Hodeidah mission: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Lieutenant General (Retired) Abhijit Guha as the head of the UN mission in Hodeidah, Yemen. Besides leading the UN Mission in support of the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), Guha will also assume the chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC), tasked with redeploying forces of the Yemeni warring parties in accordance with their agreement.
GK Update 15 Sept, 2019
3. International Day of Democracy: September 15: The International Day of Democracy is celebrated globally on 15 September each year. It was established through a resolution passed by the UN General Assembly in 2007, encouraging governments to strengthen and consolidate democracy. The theme for 2019 International Day of Democracy is “Participation”.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Pankaj Advani wins IBSF World Billiards Championship to win his 22nd World Title: Pankaj Advani has won the 150-up format at the IBSF World Billiards Championship 2019. This is the short format of billiards and Advani has won 5 titles in this is the last 6 years. With this win the total number of World Title won by Pankaj Advani is now 22.
2. Sourabh Verma wins Vietnam Open title (Badminton): Indian shuttler Sourabh Verma defeated Fei Xiang Sun of China 21-12, 17-21, 21-14 to win the Vietnam Open BWF Tour Super 100. 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.
3. Indian Shuttler Lakshya Sen Clinches Belgian International Challenge: In Badminton, Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen clinched men’s singles title at the Belgian International Challenge held at Leuven, Belgium. The 18-year-old Lakshya defeated second seed Victor Svendsen of Denmark in straight games, 21-14, 21-15. The YONEX BELGIAN INTERNATIONAL 2019 badminton tournament was held from 11 – 14 September.
4. Shuttler Kaushal Dharmamer wins Myanmar International Series: Indian shuttler Kaushal Dharmamer won the men’s singles title at the Myanmar International Series 2019 (Badminton). He defeated Karono Karono of Indonesia. Kaushal Dharmamer is ranked 187th in the Badminton Ranking.
DEFENCE
1. Indian Army to conduct Exercise ‘HimVijay’ in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam: The Army will conduct the Exercise ‘HimVijay’ in October 2019 in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam with its newly created Integrated Battle Groups (IBG). It will be conducted close to the borders of China. The Panagarh based 17 Mountain Strike Corps will conduct Exercise HimVijay spread over a month and half with three newly created IBGs. IBG was an idea by Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat.