CURRENT AFFAIRS – SEPTEMBER 9, 2017

NATIONAL

Assam govt signs MoU with Google to increase digital literacy:

In a bid to take Internet connectivity to the remotest part of the state, Assam government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Google India.

Through the MoU with Google, the state government would work to provide Internet connection to 26,000 villages and 1,500 tea garden areas to increase digital literacy.

Additional information on Google:

Google Inc. is an American multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services and products. These include online advertising technologies, search, cloud computing, software, and hardware.

Google

  • Founders: Larry Page, Sergey Brin
  • Headquarters: Googleplex, Mountain View, California, U.S
  • CEO: Sundar Pichai
  • Parent : Alphabet Inc.

Assam

  • Capital: Dispur
  • Chief Minister: Sarbananda Sonowal
  • Governor: Banwarilal Purohit

Kerala just behind Karnataka in manufacturing excellence: Assocham

Kerala is second only to Karnataka in terms of manufacturing excellence across mainstream states across India, noted a recent study conducted by apex industry body Assocham.

Kerala has second highest ratio in terms of road density, third highest ratio in terms of efficiency and fourth highest capacity utilisation ratio denoting state’s performance in these parameters during the course of past five years,” stated an Assocham study titled ‘Manufacturing Excellence and Emergence in India’.

Additional information on Assocham:

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) is one of the apex trade associations of India. The organisation represents the interests of trade and commerce in India, and acts as an interface between industry, government and other relevant stakeholders on policy issues and initiatives. The goal of this organisation is to promote both domestic and international trade, and reduce trade barriers while fostering conducive environment for the growth of trade and industry of India.

Karnataka

  • Capital: Bengaluru
  • Chief Minister: Siddaramaiah
  • Governor: Vajubhai Vala

Kerala

  • Capital: Tiruvanantapuram
  • Chief Minister: Pinarayi Vijayan
  • Governor: P. Sathasivam

West Bengal settles for Bangla as new name:

A year after the West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution to change the name of the State, the Mamata Banerjee government was compelled to have one name for the State after the Centre rejected the earlier proposal of having three names in three different languages.

On August 29, 2016, the Assembly had passed a resolution changing the name of West Bengal to Bengal in English, Bangla in Bengali and Bangal in Hindi.

At the Cabinet meeting, it was decided that that the name will be Bangla in all the language.

West Bengal

  • Capital: Kolkata
  • Chief Minister:  Mamata Banerjee
  • Governor: Keshari Nath Tripathi

INTERNATIONAL

India Srilanka talk on bilateral issues:

The newly appointed Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana and India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj talked on bilateral issues.

“The two sides discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and ways to further deepen the historically close and friendly relations between the two countries,” said a statement issued by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

During her visit to Colombo to attend the Indian Ocean Conference, Ms. Swaraj held discussions with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Additional information on Indian Ocean Conference 2017:

Theme Of The Conference: peace, progress and prosperity

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was in Colombo to participate in the two-day Indian Ocean Conference in which Sri Lankan prime minister and president are among key speakers.

It will see participation from around 35 countries and have speakers from 25 countries.

This will be second IOC conference. There will be ministerial representation from Bangladesh, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Vietnam and the conference will also be attended by senior officials from the USA, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Germany, Kenya, South Korea and Afghanistan among others.

Previous Venue:

  • Indian Ocean Conference 2016: Singapore

 Srilanka

  • Currency: Sri Lankan rupee
  • Capitals: Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

BANKING & BUSINESS

CPI inflation likely to be at 3.2% in August: Morgan Stanley

Consumer price index-based inflation is likely to record a rise to 3.2 per cent in August, driven by increases in food and oil prices, global brokerage Morgan Stanley said in a report.CPI inflation stood at 2.4 per cent in July.

Additional Information on Inflation & Morgan Stanley:

Inflation

Inflation is the percentage change in the value of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) on a year-on year basis. It effectively measures the change in the prices of a basket of goods and services in a year.

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services

Morgan Stanley

  • Headquarters: New York City, United States
  • CEO: James P. Gorman

APPOINTMENT

UIDAI CEO Pandey appointed interim chairman of GST Network:

The finance ministry said it appointed Ajay Bhushan Pandey, the CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), as the interim chairman of the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) — the IT backbone for tax filing, registrations and migrations for taxpayers under the GST regime.

Additional Information on UIDAI:

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a statutory authority established under the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (“Aadhaar Act 2016”) on 12 July 2016 by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).


BOOK & AUTHOR

Nadella pens book on Microsoft journey:

Satya Nadella, one of the most celebrated Indians in the global tech sector, has penned the inside story of his journey of becoming the CEO of software giant Microsoft, offering rare insights into his personal and professional life.

The book, titled Hit Refresh and co-authored by Greg Shaw and Jill Tracie Nichols, will go on sale globally on September 26. It also includes a foreword by Microsoft co- founder Bill Gates.


SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

DRDO carries out successful tests of Nag missile:

India’s indigenously developed third generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) Nag has been successfully flight tested by premier defence research organisation DRDO in deserts of Rajasthan, marking completion of development trials.The missile can hit a target up to seven km.

Additional Information on DRDO:

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency of the Republic of India, charged with the military’s research and development. It was formed in 1958 by the merger of the Technical Development Establishment and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production with the Defence Science Organisation. It is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.

  • Headquartered: New Delhi
  • Executive Director: Dr.S.Christopher

SPORTS

Sjoerd Mrijne named India men’s hockey team coach, Harendra Singh to take charge of women’s team:

Sjoerd Mrijne as the new chief coach of the India men’s senior hockey team. The current coach of the senior women’s team Mrijne will take the position of Roelant Oltmans.

Junior World Cup winning coach Harendra Singh will take the charge of the women’s team as the High Performance Specialist.


Harinder wins fifth consecutive PSA title:

Harinder Pal Sandhu’s winning streak in the PSA circuit. The former national champion won his fifth straight title and 10th overall when he defeated Mohd Syafiq Kamal of Malaysia in the final of the Malaysian Tour event at Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia

  • Currency: Malaysian ringgit
  • Capital: Kuala Lumpur

India’s Sonam Malik wins Gold in Cadet World Wrestling Championship:

Indian grappler Sonam Malik clinched the gold medal at Cadet World Wrestling Championship in Athens. She achieved this feat on the fourth day of the championship when she defeated her opponent, Sena Nagamoto by a margin of 3-1 (56kg category).

Pandey was given additional charge days after GSTN’s first chairman Navin Kumar completed his term on August 29.


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