DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

Daily Current Affairs (September 18, 2018) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness , Static GK and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

NATIONAL

Swayangsiddha Bengal Scheme To Combat Human Trafficking

In an attempt to combat human trafficking, the West Bengal government has rolled out a scheme, Swayangsiddha, in different districts of the State. Swayangsiddha, which means self-reliance, will be executed by the West Bengal Police.

The scheme aims to empower young boys and girls to make informed choices so that they are less vulnerable to trafficking and child marriage.

As the per the NCRB data West Bengal has highest recorded case of trafficking among the States.


NABARD Approves Rs 65,635 Crore Loan For 93 Irrigation Projects

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has approved Rs 65,634.93 crore loan projects under the government’s flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY).

The Nabard is funding the central and state share of 99 prioritised irrigation projects under the PMKSY through long term irrigation fund (LTIF). It is mandated to provide Rs 70,000 crore loan to these projects to be completed by 2019.

The Nabard has so far sanctioned Rs 65,634.93 crore funds for 93 prioritised irrigation projects out of 99.


Piyush Goyal Inaugurates 1st Ever India Tourism Mart 2018

The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal inaugurated the ‘first ever’ India Tourism Mart (ITM 2018) in the presence of Union Tourism Minister, Shri K J Alphons and the Tourism Minister of Morocco, Mr. Mohamed Sajid, in New Delhi. India Tourism Mart (ITM) is being held for the first time and the Tourism industry stakeholders are coming together for such a largescale event with Ministry’s support.

The India Tourism Mart is being organized by the Ministry of Tourism from 16th to 18th September 2018, in partnership with the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) and with support of State /UT Governments.

Goyal wished the best to the Tourism Ministry to reach the ambitious goal of US$100 billion FTA receipts/year within 5 years.


India Gets Its 1st Ever Dedicated Dog Park In Hyderabad

India gets the first ever dedicated dog park in Hyderabad, Telangana. The park has been developed by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) at a cost of Rs 1.1 crore.

The park, certified by the Kennel Club of India (registry of purebred dogs in India), has been spread over an area of 1.3 acres.

The park houses dog training equipment, play equipment, splash pool, fountain, areas for exercise, amphitheater etc.,


Delhi, Seoul Sign MoU To Tackle Air Pollution

The Delhi government on September 14, 2018 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to work closely in the fields of environment, tourism, waste water and solid waste management, infrastructure and public health.

The Mou on the ‘Friendship and Cooperation Agreement’ was signed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Seoul mayor Park Won-Soon in Seoul.The agreement has listed 11 areas for exchange of expertise and cooperation.


MPATGM: man-portable anti-tank guided missile successfully tested by DRDO

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Sunday successfully tested a low-weight indigenously developed man-portable anti-tank guided missile (MPATGM) at its Ahmednagar range.

It was the second MPATGM test. The two flight-tests were for different ranges, including maximum range capability.


INTERNATIONAL

India-Morocco Tourism Bilateral Meeting Held In New Delhi

A bilateral meeting on tourism cooperation between India and Morocco led by the Minister of Tourism, Air Transport, Handicraft and Social Economy, Kingdom of Morocco, Mohamed Sajid and the Minister of State for Tourism (IC), Government of India, K. J. Alphons, held in New Delhi. The Morocco  Minister also announced the opening of the first tourism office in New Delhi, India.

Both the Ministers agreed to enhance the tourism cooperation between India & Morocco and to work towards increasing tourist arrivals between both countries.

This meeting was followed by signing of an agreement of cooperation between the India Tourism Development Corporation and La Societe Marocaine D’Ingenierie Touristique, also known as Moroccan Agency for Tourism development (SMIT).


Nepal And China Conducts 2nd JME ‘Sagarmatha Friendship-2018’

The second edition of Nepal-China joint military exercise (JME) named Mt Everest Friendship Exercise-2018 (Sagarmatha Friendship-2018) began in China’s southwestern Sichuan province.

Sagarmatha is the Nepali name for Mt Everest, which stands in between both the countries. The 12 day long joint exercise will focus on combating terror and disaster management trainings.

Nepal

Capital: Kathmandu

Currency: Nepalese Rupee

Nepal

Capital: Beijing,

Currency: renminbi


Emmy Awards 2018 Announced: Complete List Of Winners

The 70th annual primetime Emmy honors handed out at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Some important awards are given below:

Drama Series: Game of Thrones

Comedy Series: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Actor, Drama Series: Matthew Rhys, The Americans

Actress, Drama Series: Claire Foy, The Crown


NASA Launches Satellite To Track Decreasing Polar Ice

NASA launched its Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2, known as ICESat-2.

It will use an extremely precise laser to collect measurement data to track the Earth’s shrinking polar ice, on Saturday (September 15) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The laser, known as ATLAS (Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System), splits into six beams and fires 10,000 pulses per second to collect very precise measurements for scientists to analyze.

The ATLAS will focus on two areas: changes to the earth’s ice sheet and sea ice thickness change.


BANKING AND ECONOMY

Centre Proposes To Merge Bank Of Baroda, Vijaya Bank And Dena Bank

The Centre on Monday proposed the amalgamation of state-owned Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank to create India’s third largest bank as parts of reforms in the public sector banking segment.

The decision was taken at the meeting of a ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley which oversees merger proposals of state-owned banks. The other members of the panel include Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

This follows the merger of the five associate banks of State Bank of India with itself. The government has also moved to offload its majority stake in IDBI Bank to Life Insurance Corporation of India.


Infosys Acquires Finnish Company ‘Fluido’ For Rs 545 Crore

Infosys, the country’s second largest IT services firm, acquired Finland-based Fluido in a deal worth up to 65 million euros (over Rs 545 crore).

Fluido is one of the largest consulting partners of cloud computing firm Salesforce. It is majority-owned by its management team and CapMan private equity, with Salesforce Ventures having a minority stake.

Fluido’s offerings include cloud consulting, implementation and training services.


UberEats ties up with Tata AIG to offer insurance to delivery fleet

Food-delivery firm UberEats has partnered with general insurance provider Tata AIG to offer comprehensive insurance covers for its delivery executives in India.

The programme insures the executives for up to Rs 5 lakh against accidental death and permanent disability, applicable when they are on the road delivering orders for UberEats.

The policy also provides a cover of Rs 2 lakh against hospitalisation expenses and an outpatient cover of Rs 50,000 per delivery agent.


PayU India Gets RBI Approval To Operate Its Own NBFC

The leading online payment service provider PayU has received RBI’s approval (subject to certain pending RBI compliance) to operate as NBFC. This will help the Naspers-backed PayU promote inclusive growth in the country by catering to the diverse financial needs of various segments of the society.

PayU has been offering micro-credit through LazyPay Buy Now Pay Later to its consumers for more than a year now. PayU Credit allows users to access credit in a way that suits them.

The company has already crossed INR 100 Cr (USD 16 million) mark for credit issuance on the existing platforms and is targeting to clock next INR 100 crores volume in next 3 months itself.


Time Magazine Acquired By Salesforce Founders For $190 Million

Time magazine is being sold by Meredith Corp. to Marc Benioff, a co-founder of Salesforce.

Time magazine is sold for $190 million in cash to Mr. Benioff, one of four co-founders of Salesforce, a cloud computing pioneer.

Launched by Yale graduates Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, Time first went on sale in March 1923 with a cover price of 15 cents.


Federal Bank Inks MOU With Infopark Kakkanad

Federal Bank, which is in the process of formation of a wholly owned subsidiary company, has executed MOU with Infopark Kakkanad for leasing space in their campus.

The Bank has already obtained in principle approval of the Reserve Bank of India for the creation of a subsidiary company. The proposed company will integrate and handle all the back-end operations of the Bank.

Shalini Warrier, Chief Operating Officer, Federal Bank exchanged MOU with Hrishikesh Nair CEO, Infopark, for leasing over 12,000 sq ft space in Infopark to house the company.


APPOINTMENTS

SBI Appoints Prashant Kumar As CFO

Prashant Kumar has taken charge as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of State bank of India. Before Kumar, Anshula Kant, who has been promoted as Managing Director of SBI, was the CFO.

Prior to this appointment, Kumar was designated as Deputy Managing Director (HR) & Corporate Development Officer of India’s largest bank.

Kumar has earlier worked as DMD and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Bank.


AWARDS AND HONOURS

Kerala Tourism won two Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) gold awards

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The Kerala Tourism won two Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) gold awardsThe awards were presented at a glittering function in Langkawi, Malaysia on Friday during PATA Travel Mart 2018.

Ms Sudeshna Ramkumar, Assistant Director, India Tourism, Singapore received the award on behalf of Kerala tourism.

Kerala Tourism got the first gold for its ‘Yalla Kerala’ travel advertisement print media campaign in the Gulf countries.The second gold award came for an innovative poster Kerala Tourism had developed for the third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), the biggest contemporary art show in South Asia.

The PATA Awards are presented to outstanding entries in four principal categories: Marketing; Education and Training; Environment, and Heritage and Culture.


Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan won top honours at the first international music festival

Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan won top honours at the first international music festival initiated by President Shavkat Mirizoyev.

Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan is an Indian classical vocalist from Delhi Gharana..Mr. Khan was awarded amongst 160 participants from more than 70 countries at the Maqom festival, including groups from Turkey and Israel, South Korea and Japan.


SPORTS

Sakshi Malik settles for a Silver medal at Medved Intl Wrestling

Rio Olympics Bronze medalist Sakshi Malik settled for a Silver medal at the Medved International Wrestling tournament at Minsk, Belarus last night.

In the Final of the 62 kg category, Sakshi lost to Hungary’s Marianna Sastin, 2-6 to finish second best.

Other Indian grappler Pooja Dhanda bagged a Bronze medal in the 57 kg category after she produced a superb performance in the repechage round.


OBITUARY

Former Union Minister Satya Prakash Malviya Passes Away

The former Union petroleum minister Satya Prakash Malaviya has passed away.

Mr. Malaviya had served as the petroleum minister in the cabinet headed by former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar.

He also served as environment minister in the Uttar Pradesh cabinet. He began his political career as a member of Praja Socialist Party.


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