Current Affairs Daily Updates: 04 September 2017

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Current Affairs Daily Updates: 04 September 2017
APPOINTMENTS
IGCAR nuclear scientist U. Kamachi Mudali appointed Heavy Water Board chief
  • Nuclear scientist U. Kamachi Mudali has been appointed the Chief Executive of the Heavy Water Board, one of the industrial units under the Department of Atomic Energy, the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) said.
  • The Heavy Water Board has plants at Kota, Thal, Talcher, Hazira, Vadodara, Manuguru and Tuticorin and produce heavy water required for pressurised heavy water reactors operating in India.
  • The plants also develop other materials relevant for Department of Atomic Energy and others, like Boron, Sodium, Oxygen-18, Potassium, and organic solvents.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
UNESCO announces winners of International Literacy Prizes 2017
  • United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has announced the winners of the 2017 International Literacy Prizes that honour excellence and innovation in the field of global literacy.
  • The UNESCO International Literacy Prizes are divided into two categories namely the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy that is sponsored by China and the King Sejong Literacy Prize that is sponsored by South Korea.
Hyderabad Airport Bags Energy Efficiency Award
  • Hyderabad International Airport Limited bagged the National Award for ‘Excellence’ in Energy Management at a conference hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
  • GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) is a company promoted as a joint venture comprising the GMR Group (63%) in partnership with Government of India (13%), Government of Telangana (13%) and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (11%).
  • The event focused on recognizing companies that are engaged in energy efficiency initiatives and displaying commitment towards energy conservation.
BANKING AFFAIRS
Five banks of BRICS nations sign pact for credit lines
  • Five banks of the BRICS Bank Cooperation Mechanism have agreed to establish credit lines in the national currencies and cooperate on credit ratings. The agreement to this effect was signed ahead of the BRICS Summit in China’s Xiamen city.
  • Brazilian Development Bank, Vnesheconombank, Export-Import Bank of India, China Development Bank and Development Bank of South Africa signed the agreement in Beijing.
  • Ahead of the BRICS summit, the New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS countries has approved 1.4 billion US dollar loans for sustainable development projects in India, Russia and China.
DEATHS
Pulitzer-Prize Winning Poet John Ashbery passes away
  • Pulitzer-prize winning poet John Ashbery, a post-modern American trailblazer, has passed away at age of 90 in Hudson, New York.
  • His 1975 collection “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror” made history when he became the lone writer to earn three major accolades the same year for the same work: the Pulitzer in addition to a National Book Award and a National Book Critics Circle Award.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
9th BRICS Summit Kicks off in Xiamen, China
  • The 9th BRICS Summit has started in Xiamen, China with a group photograph of leaders of the five countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and was preceded by a warm handshake between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping.
  • Modi was the third leader to reach the convention centre, venue of the 9th BRICS Summit in this port city of China and was followed by Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Nepal Signs UN Development Assistance Plan
  • Nepal has signed a USD 635 million UN assistance package for 2018-2022 to lay out the country’s development strategy for the next five years.
  • The package involves 26 individual UN agencies National Planning Commission apex advisory body of the Government of Nepal and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Nepal signed the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).
  • The strong alignment of the UNDAF with the national plans, international conventions and the Constitution of Nepal provides the foundation to support the Government of Nepal's efforts in ensuring that 'no one is left behind' as laid out in the Sustainable Development Goals.
UN Security Council emergency meeting to discuss response to North Korea's latest nuclear test
  • The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will hold an emergency meeting to discuss an international response to North Korea's latest nuclear test.
  • North Korea tested a hydrogen bomb that could be mounted on a missile and is its biggest nuclear detonation.
  • The countries namely the United States, Britain, France, Japan and South Korea requested the urgent meeting.
Astronaut Peggy Whitson returns Earth after 288 days in Space
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut Peggy Whitson finishing a 288-day mission that put her over the top as the American who has spent the most cumulative amount of time in space.
  • The oldest female astronaut in the history of space exploration was the first female International Space Station commander and holds the record for number of spacewalks by a woman.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Gurugram Metro stations to get 1,000 new e-rickshaws
  • The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in collaboration with Smart-E company will launch 1,000 e-rickshaws at five metro stations across the city.
  • Smart-E is uniquely poised to address the last-mile connectivity challenge faced by millions of people every day.
  • The launch of 1,000 e-rickshaws in exclusive partnership with DMRC is an important step towards making last-mile commute easy, safe, affordable and eco-friendly for the citizens.
Jammu and Kashmir Government to introduce 'electric buses' in Srinagar
  • The Jammu and Kashmir Government introduces the electric buses for two cities of Srinagar and Jammu under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme.
  • It is done with an aim to curb pollution in these two cities which were recently declared ‘smart cities’.
  • Introduction of 'electric buses' would help in making the environment healthy and also in providing a trustworthy public transport.
President Ram Nath Kovind to lay foundation stone for Link-4 of SAUNI Scheme in Rajkot
  • President Ramnath Kovind will today lay the foundation stone for the link - 4 of Saurashtra Narmada Avataran Irrigation Scheme -SAUNI- Yojana in Rajkot district.
  • The project launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat aims to fill up 115 major dams by diverting overflow of water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam on Narmada River.
  • Three phase of SAUNI Yojana already dedicated to the people following completion of the work.
Karnataka to merge health schemes, launch 'Arogya Bhagya'
  • In a move to ensure medical benefits to entire population of Karnataka, the State government has decided to merge various health schemes and launch unified 'Arogya Bhagya' to cover all the 1.4 crore households.
  • The Universal Health Coverage scheme would help the card holder get treatment in all the empanelled private hospitals besides government hospitals to get treatment without paying any cash.
  • The main theme of the 'Arogya Bhagya' scheme is ''Treatment First and Payment Next” (UNI)
Nirmala Sitharaman: India’s first full time woman Defence Minister
  • Nirmala Sitharaman (58) became first full time woman Defence Minister of India after she was promoted to the Union Cabinet. She takes charge of the crucial ministry from Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
  • Ms Sitharaman is second woman to become Defence Minister of India. First was former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was holding additional portfolio as Defence Minister from 1980-82.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY / DEFENCE AFFAIRS
Breakthrough Mission Project detects 15 radio bursts from Dwarf galaxy
  • Breakthrough Listen project detected 15 Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) coming from a dwarf galaxy about 3 million light years away from earth.
  • The new detection was made with help of Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia.
  • It was emitted from FRB 121102, a mysterious source associated with the galaxy in the distant universe.
  • FRB is brief, bright pulse of radio emission from distant galaxies. It was first detected in 2007 with help of Parkes Telescope in Australia.
CERT-In issues alert on spread of new malware Locky Ransomware
  • Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) issued an alert on spread of new malware “Locky Ransomware” that can lock computers and demand ransom for unlocking them.
  • The alert, issued on Cyber Swachhta Kendra, is a new wave of spam mails is circulating with common subject lines to spread variants of Locky.
SPORTS AFFAIRS
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the First Wicketkeeper to Effect 100 Stumpings
  • Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the first wicketkeeper in world cricket to attain 100 stumpings in One Day Internationals (ODIs).
  • Dhoni achieved the feat in his 301st ODI in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
  • Former Sri Lankan Skipper Kumar Sangakkara is on the second position with 99 Stumpings on his name.
Hockey India sacks chief coach Roelant Oltmans
  • Hockey India sacked national coach Roelant Oltmans of the Netherlands after a string of unimpressive outings at the international level.
  • High Performance Director David John will be in charge till a suitable replacement is found for a smooth transition of the men’s team.
  • The most notable performance for India under Oltmans was a silver medal at the Champions Trophy last year.
  • He also guided the junior team to World Cup gold as an advisor.
Tejasvi Duduka wins women’s singles of US Open Grand Slam Carrom tournament
  • 25-year-old Tejasvi Duduka from Hyderabad won the women’s singles of U.S. Open Grand Slam Carrom tournament. Earlier, she had won the Telangana State Women’s singles title in Nizamabad.
  • In the men’s singles, Vemuri Anil Kumar of India finished runner up for the second year in the U.S Open. It was won by former National Champion Radhakrishnan.