Current Affairs SEPTEMBER 2019 (Set 03)

National News

1. Rajasthan launches information portal 

In a pioneering step, the first-ever public information portal was launched in Rajasthan promising to provide information about government authorities and departments suo motu to the public in the true spirit of the Right To Information Act. The portal has brought yet another distinction to Rajasthan, where the RTI movement had started in 1990s. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot inaugurated the portal. The State government has collaborated with the civil society groups to develop the portal, the first of its kind in the country, initially giving information pertaining to 13 departments on a single platform. With different sections divided into districts, blocks and panchayats, the portal empowers the common people with access to useful information.

The new web portal, named the Jan Soochna Portal-2019, would ensure compliance with Section 4(2) of the RTI Act mandating the public authorities to disclose information in the public domain, so that the people need not file applications under the law to obtain information.  The State government will set up information kiosks in village panchayats and self-service e-mitra centres in the towns to enable the people to access the information useful for them. Initially, the information pertaining to 13 government departments — such as the number of beneficiaries of schemes, works undertaken in different areas, land records and social security pensions — will be available on the portal.

 

2. Memorial to Polish refugees to be unveiled in Kolhapur 

When Poland was caught between Adolf Hitler’s Germany and Josef Stalin’s Russia during the Second World War, a stream of refugees made their way to Valivade village in Kolhapur district, 235 km from Pune. Here, they tasted freedom after having endured the living hell of Soviet camps following their deportation by the dreaded NKVD or the Soviet secret police. A commemorative pillar in memory of these Polish families and individuals who lived in Valivade between 1942 and 1948 was unveiled by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Polish Republic Marcin Przydacz, Polish Ambassador to India Adam Burakowski and Guardian Minister of Kolhapur Chandrakant Patil. A permanent museum dedicated to the memory of the 5,000 Polish people who lived in the Valivade camp will come up within a year.

A 29-member Polish delegation, which included those who had lived at the camp as well as their relatives, recalled their association with Kolhapur after 72 years during a tour of the historic Panhala fort. They reminisced, too, their journey to India through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan from the Soviet camps in Siberia and the Urals. They first reached Jamnagar in Gujarat, where the ruler, Jam Saheb Digvijayasinhji Jadeja, in a noble gesture, took the refugees under his wing. From there, some of the migrants proceeded to Kolhapur. Poland was dismembered by the 1939 Nazi-Soviet Union pact or ‘the Devil’s Alliance’, with the cream of Poland’s officer corps, which included several members of the country’s intelligentsia, massacred by the NKVD in the Katyn Forest in 1940. The refugees, who were deported and lodged in Stalin’s camps and finally made it to India, were the fortunate ones to flee Europe’s bloodlands after Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941.

 

3. India will conduct a two-week special training programme for Maldivian civil servants from in Delhi and Mussoorie.

The training is part of a bilateral MoU on Training and Capacity Building Programme between the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) and the Maldives Civil Service Commission (CSC). A 32-member delegation from Maldives has arrived at the NCGG campus in the hill station of Mussoorie. The inaugural session of the programme would be chaired by K V Eapen, the secretary of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG); Fatimath Amira, member Civil Services Commission; and V Srinivas, additional secretary DARPG. This would be followed by sessions on public policy and governance, ethics and accountability and redressal of public grievances, motivation, innovation, sustainable development goals, promoting tourism, regional cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region, India-Maldives relations along with visits to the Unique Identification Authority, Passport Sewa Kendra and Election Commission of India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to the Maldives in June, had emphasised India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy and assured India's full support to the Indian Ocean archipelago in realising its aspirations for broad based socio-economic development and strengthening of democratic and independent institutions. One of the MoUs envisaged capacity building activities for 1,000 Civil Servants of Maldives at the National Centre for Good Governance over the next five years. Under the agreement, 10 training programmes will be conducted from September 2019 to December 2020.  India is the largest development partner for capacity building of Maldivian Civil Servants. A unique feature of the special training programme is that 70 per cent of the delegates are women officials.

 

4. 4 new Supreme Court judges appointed, strength now 34 

Four new judges were appointed to the Supreme Court. With the appointment, the judges' strength in the top court is now 34. The new judges are -- Haryana High Court Chief Justice Krishna Murari, Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice V. Ramasubramanian, Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Kerala High Court Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy. On August 30, the Supreme Court Collegium had recommended names of chief justices and high court judges for the appointment to the top court in order to fill the vacant posts. The Collegium led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had considered the names of the said four chief justices as apex court's judges.

 

5. Ramesh Pokhriyal launches waste management summit for women entrepreneurs 

Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' launched several initiatives of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in New Delhi on September 18, 2019. It includes facilitation through Margadarshan and Margadarshak, Model Curriculum for diploma courses, Waste Management Accelerator for Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs (WAWE Summit 2019) and 360-degree feedback of faculty.

The WAWE Summit will be held in November-December 2019. It will be jointly organized by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Institute of Waste Management (IIWM) in Jaipur.

Institute of Waste Management (IIWM) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will be registering the interested participation and guiding them to connect from "Start Up India to Stand Up India"

Theme: Make your own bag - empowering women to take up income generation activity and entrepreneurship in waste management through making a business out of this record creating concept.

 

6. Union Minister Gehlot launches MIS portal under Accessible India Campaign 

Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot launched the Management Information System (MIS) portal for stakeholders of the Accessible India Campaign (AIC). Fully accessible for 'divyangjans', the MIS has been developed by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The MIS portal will bring all the nodal ministries, and states and Union Territories on a single platform for monitoring the progress being made against each target of AIC.

The portal will be useful in maintaining all the function on the digital platform and capture data on a real-time basis.

 

7. Cabinet Approves Promulgation Of Prohibition Of Electronic Cigarettes Ordinance 

Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Promulgation of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement) Ordinance, 2019. Electronic-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that produce aerosol by heating a solution containing nicotine, which is the addictive substance in combustible cigarettes. These include all forms of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, Heat Not Burn Products, e-Hookah and the like devices. These novel products come with attractive appearances and multiple flavours and their use has increased exponentially and has acquired epidemic proportions in developed countries, especially among youth and children. Upon promulgation of the Ordinance, any production, manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale (including online sale), distribution or advertisement (including online advertisement) of e-cigarettes shall be a cognizable offence punishable with an imprisonment of up to one year or fine up to Rs. 1 lakh or both for the first offence; and imprisonment of up to three years and fine up to Rs. 5 lakh for a subsequent offence. Storage of electronic-cigarettes shall also be punishable with an imprisonment up to 6 months or fine up to Rs 50,000 or both.

 

8. India Post expands speed post service to six new foreign countries 

 

The Department of Posts has announced commencing of International Speed Post (EMS) Service to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Lithuania and North Macedonia.

EMS or Express Mail Service is a premium service that enables its users to send documents and merchandise faster and with the added facility of being able to track the movement of the item on the internet. India Post currently provides speed post service to 100 countries, as per the information available on its website.

 

9. Govt scraps import duty on open cell LED TV panel 

The government removed import duties on open cell LED panels used in the production of television sets, a move that could lower the input costs for TV makers who have been complaining about a slump in demand. Imported open cell panels, which constitute a chunk of cost for television sets, earlier attracted an import duty of 5%.

Customs on (15.6" and above) use in the manufacturing of Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and Light Emitting Diode (LED) TV panels were quantified as nil down from the previous 5%. Panels make up over 60-70% of the cost of manufacturing LED TV sets and were a point of contention for TV makers who have been seeking relief on customs and GST on TV sets.

Currently, open cells panels are not manufactured in India and companies rely on imports of these key components part of LED television sets. An import duty levied by the government on open cell LED panels had also pushed some electronics makers to import television sets from neighbouring markets such as Vietnam and Thailand to avoid duties on open cell panels. But can move will now help boost domestic manufacturing and assembly of TV units in India. Electronics makers welcomed the move adding that it could lead to a drop in prices of TV sets between 2-4%, depending on the category.

 

10. Government to set-up state-of-the-art National Police University at Greater Noida 

A world-class National Police University (NPU) will be set-up in Greater Noida with a dynamic, state-of-the-art learning and working environment for the advancement and dissemination of education and research in policing science and related areas. The proposed multi-disciplinary university will be established at a prime location in the NCR region on a plot of 100 acres located at IT Park, Tech zone in Greater Noida. It will offer to the students formal education programmes leading to the award of the bachelor's, masters' and doctoral degrees as well as PG Diploma in specialised niche areas in police sciences, cyber forensics, criminology, criminal justice, forensic science, risk management and allied subjects with special papers in specified areas using classroom teachings initially and later also through distance learning mode.

 

11. Shri Amit Shah launches Emergency Response Support System (ERSS- Dial 112), ‘E-Beat Book’ System and ‘E-Saathi’ App

Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah launched three citizen centric services of the Chandigarh Police, in Chandigarh. The services include the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS - Dial 112), ‘E-Beat Book’ System and the ‘E-Saathi App’. Shri Shah observed that the beat officer system has been the cornerstone of the Indian Policing system for ages and through such Citizen Centric Services, a SMART Police force can be built in the country. He congratulated Chandigarh Police to have taken a lead in introducing such Citizen Centric Services in Policing.

ERSS is one of the key projects of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs under Nirbhaya Fund. It has been designed to play a pivotal role in mitigation or preventing escalation of crime, especially against women and children. ERSS provides a single emergency number (112), computer aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress. Citizens can send their emergency information through call, sms, email and through the 112 India mobile app. The ‘Dial 112’ emergency response service is an initiative to strengthen proactive community policing that would end confusion amongst distress callers, who at times end up dialling 100 in fire or medical emergency cases. Till now, there were more than 20 numbers that were running for the help of public for various emergency situations, which were creating confusion to the distress callers. But after starting this service, public will not face these problems. In future, the Emergency Number for Road Accidents (1073),Women Helpline (1091, 181), Child Help Line (1098), including other Helpline services would be added under the 112 unified emergency response number.

The ‘E-Beat Book’ is a web and mobile based application which will ease the collection, updation and analysis of the information related to crime and criminals in a real time. Chandigarh has been divided in 54 divisions. In each division, there is one ‘Atal Sehbhagita Kendra’that is under the supervision of a Beat Officer,having an Android Phone to the use the app. The E-Beat Book would be linked with Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS), which would help in a real time updation of crime/criminal data. The citizen can directly approach the‘Atal Sehbhagita Kendra’ for redressal of their grievances and can render their suggestions too.

The ‘E-Saathi’ App would help the general public, including senior citizens, to remain in touch with the police and also give suggestions to facilitate participative community policing(‘Your Police at Your Doorstep’ initiative). The beat officerwould be able to provide services like passport verification, tenant verification, servant verification, character certification etc. at a click of a button through the app, without the people needing to visit the police station. With this initiative, on one hand, where the beat officer would become more efficient in his/her working, this would make police-people communication a two-way process, on the other. These valuable public services would effectively reduce the response time of police to address the distress calls of the public and strengthen the police-public interface endeavour of community policing.

 

12. Pune: Iconic Jayakar Bungalow opens to public as film library 

A restored Jayakar Bungalow, which will now house a digital library for researchers to access rich film database of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), was finally inaugurated by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar. The project, which was sanctioned in 2013, took over five years to finish — the work was completed in November 2018 — and the restored structure had to wait for another 10 months to find the auspicious day for inauguration.

The project — restoration of the bungalow and setting up a digital library — has been carried out by the NFAI under a plan scheme ‘Upgradation of infrastructure of NFAI including Jayakar Bungalow and setting up of a digital library’, which was approved by the Union Finance Ministry in June 2013. The work, however, could commence only in early 2016. The NFAI has spent Rs 4.21 crore, of which Rs 3.99 crore were spent on restoration work of the bungalow and Rs 22.21 lakh on setting up the digital library.

Jayakar Bungalow, classified as a Grade-I heritage structure by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), was built in 1945 and was once home to Mukundrao Ramrao Jayakar, a barrister and the first vice-chancellor of the University of Pune. Later on, it was handed over to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), where it became the residence of institute’s then principal Jagat Murari. Briefly, the building was also used as girls’ hostel before becoming the office of the NFAI in 1973.

The one-of-its-kind structure in Pune, the bungalow is built in Tudor style of architecture, which is mostly found in Great Britain. The exquisitely designed structure has wooden flooring, a narrow wooden staircase, typical of British architecture and massive bookshelves that stretch on almost to the roof. The two-storey bungalow is built in a load-bearing system with the use of coursed Ashlars Masonry with lime mortar. Serene interiors have ceramic tiles and wooden ceiling. The internal walls of the building have been pasted with portaits of filmmakers from various epochs of Indian cinema, including those belonging to stalwarts from regional film industries. The digital material such as old magazines, books and documents could be accessed by film researchers using the computers that have been housed in a part of the bungalow while elsewhere, personalised viewing spaces have been provided to see films of archival value which have been digitised by NFAI.

 

13. Himachal Govt launched Mukhyamantri Seva Sankalp Helpline

The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Jairam Thakur has launched the Mukhyamantri Seva Sankalp Helpline recently. The objective of this helpline is to provide timely help to the citizens of the state. All citizens of the state will be able to resolve their complaints and problems by calling this helpline. Chief Minister Jairam Thakur had announced about this Helpline during the 2019-20 budget speech.

The state government has issued a toll-free number 1100 of this helpline. Any person sitting in the remote area of Himachal can now call and file a complaint. The ministers can also call people and ask if their problems are resolved or not. The progress of complaints received in the through the helpline will be monitored. Complaints can be registered on the helpline from 7 am to 10 pm.

This will also ensure transparency in the work of the state government. The registered call will automatically transfer to the concerned department for redress. All the officers have to resolve the complaint within seven days to 14 days. If the deadline is exceeded or the complainant is not satisfied then the problem will be sent to the next level. About 6500 officers of 56 departments have been added in this software. A call center has also been established at Shimla to take the calls and queries.

Madhya Pradesh is also running a similar helpline for its citizen. The people of the Madhya Pradesh can get quick help from CM Helpline 181 and speedy resolution of complaints. This is an important and far-reaching initiative of the state government towards better governance.

 

14. Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research launched.

Union Minister of Science & Technology Harsh Vardhan launched an Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research (ICER) equipped with modern facilities for conducting a wide spectrum of energy research through knowledge network. CER is a first of its kind in India which is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. This new centre would realise the vision of affordable, efficient, compact and reliable clean energy systems. It was formed to conduct socially relevant research to benefit people directly. Also, translational research carried out by ICER faculty has resulted in technology transfers in India and abroad. Research conducted here would be in line with various national missions to have more reach. ICER is also considering starting a new Master’s course on energy. ICER plans to expand its activities in several energy-related areas with an emphasis on process and material development, in collaboration with manufacturing industry. The centre is focused on developing sustainable technologies for renewable energy, combustion, next-generation solar photovoltaic, concentrated solar power, novel energy storage technologies, hydrogen, bio-mass and bio-fuels.

 

15. National centre for clean coal R&D opened 

Minister of Science & Technology Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the National Centre for Clean Coal Research and Development at Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru. The centre has been established as a national consortium on clean coal research and development with IISc leading it. The new centre would address several critical R&D challenges towards the development of clean coal technologies in tandem with developing supercritical power plant technologies, both at the materials and system level. The minister also formally launched an Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research (ICER) equipped with modern facilities for conducting a wide spectrum of energy research through the knowledge network. The breakthrough research being pursued at IISc in clean coal domain could potentially be a game-changer for meeting the energy needs of the country in terms of higher efficiency and capacity at lower operating costs and size.

ICER has plans to expand its activities in several energy-related areas with an emphasis on process and material development, in collaboration with the manufacturing industry. Translational research carried out by ICER faculty has resulted in technology transfers in India and abroad. The centre is focused on developing sustainable technologies for renewable energy, combustion, concentrated solar power, next-generation solar photovoltaic, novel energy storage technologies, hydrogen, bio-fuels and bio-mass. Development of clean coal technologies is necessary to achieve international targets on climate change by minimizing anthropogenic emissions while simultaneously addressing energy demand. This could be achieved by shifting towards high efficiency advanced ultra-supercritical steam power plants as well as supercritical carbon dioxide plants, along with exploration of new combustion and gasification technologies.

 

16. National Intelligence Grid to be ready by early 2020

The NATGRID - a robust intelligence gathering mechanism related to immigration, banking, individual tax payers, air and train travels - is likely to be operational by January 2020. The work on the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) set up to track any terror suspect and prevent terrorist attacks with real time data, has been accelerated after Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently reviewed the progress of the ?3,400 crore project, conceptualised following the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. The NATGRID will have data related to all immigration entry and exit, banking and financial transactions, credit card purchases, telecom, individual tax payers, air flyers, train travellers besides others to generate intelligence inputs. In the first phase, 10 users agencies and 21 service providers will be connected with the NATGRID while in the later stages 950 organisations and in subsequent years another 1,000 organisations will be connected with it.

The 10 agencies which will be able to access the NATGRID data on real time basis are: Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), Directorate General of Central Excise and Intelligence (DGCEI) and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Initially, no state agencies will be given direct access to the NATGRID data. However, whenever any relevant information is required, they can approach the NATGRID through any of the 10 user agencies, the official said. While the NATGRID has finalised the process for getting the data on about eight crore tax payers from the Income Tax Department, talks are on with the Civil Aviation Ministry, Director General of Civil Aviation and airlines to get information about domestic passengers. The NATGRID can also have readily available data on banking transactions and immigration as both sectors are equipped with real time mechanism. Lack of real time information was considered to be one of the major hurdles in detecting U.S. terror suspect David Headley’s movement across the country during his multiple visits between 2006 and 2009. Headley had provided key information and videos of terror targets to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the attacks that claimed 166 lives. The Cabinet Committee on Security had given approval to the Rs 3,400 crore project on April 8, 2010 but its work slowed down after 2012. The data recovery centre of the NATGRID has been constructed in Bengaluru and its headquarters is nearing completion in Delhi.

 

17. Howdy Modi event held in Houston, Texas 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi played host to United States President Donald Trump at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, for an Indian-American rally dubbed the ‘Howdy Modi: Shared Dreams, Bright Futures’. The mega ‘Howdy, Modi’ gala event saw around 50,000 Indian-Americans in attendance. Before this event, no US President has ever addressed a community event along with an Indian Prime Minister.  As part of the event, PM Modi addressed 50,000 Indian-Americans in Houston, which is reportedly the largest gathering ever for a foreign leader visiting US. As per Pew Research Center analysis of US Census data, the US is home to nearly 4 million Indian-Americans, including about 300,000 in Houston and nearby Dallas. The event was being organised by Texas India Forum (TIF), Inc, which is a non-profit organisation that brings together Indian-American institutions and organisations in order to promote collaboration within region and develop opportunities for engagement with India. The event has been organised with the help of over 1,000 volunteers and 650 Texas-based Welcome Partner organisations.

 

18. Ladakhi Shondol dance makes it to Guinness book of records 

Shondol dance, which is known as the royal dance of Ladakh, has created history by entering into the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest Ladakhi dance. Shondol is a famous dance, which artistes used to perform for the king of Ladakh.

As many as 408 women attired in traditional dresses and beautiful head gears performed the dance. It was held on the concluding day of the ongoing Buddhist carnival Naropa festival near the Hemis Monastery.  It was organised by the Live to Love India, Drukpa Charitable Trust, and the Young Drukpa Association.

 

19. Government launches ‘UMMID’ initiative to tackle inherited genetic diseases of new born babies 

The Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched UMMID (Unique Methods of Management and treatment of Inherited Disorders) initiative and inaugurated NIDAN (National Inherited Diseases Administration) Kendras, which is being supported by Department of Biotechnology (DBT),M/o Science and Technology. DBT has started the UMMID Initiative which is designed on the concept of ‘Prevention is better than Cure’. In India’s urban areas, congenital malformations and genetic disorders are the third most common cause of mortality in newborns. With a very large population and high birth rate, and consanguineous marriage favored in many communities, prevalence of genetic disorders is high in India, the UMMID initiative aims (i) to establish NIDAN Kendras to provide counselling, prenatal testing and diagnosis, management, and multidisciplinary care in Government Hospitals wherein the influx of patients is more, (ii) to produce skilled clinicians in Human Genetics, and (iii) to undertake screening of pregnant women and new born babies for inherited genetic diseases in hospitals at aspirational districts. As a part of this initiative, in the first phase, five NIDAN Kendras have been established to provide comprehensive clinical care.

Training Centres at Madras Medical Mission- Chennai; SGPGIMS- Lucknow; CDFD – Hyderabad; AIIMS- New Delhi; MAMC- New Delhi; NIIH- Mumbai and CMC Vellore have been supported to provide training in Biochemical Genetics, Cytogenetics, Molecular Genetics, and Clinical Genetics to the clinicians from government hospitals. Screening of 10,000 pregnant women and 5000 new born babies per year for inherited genetic diseases will be taken up at the following seven aspirational districts.

 

20. UP ministers to now pay taxes from own pockets as state amends law 

Uttar Pradesh ministers will pay income taxes on their salaries and perks from their own pockets, responding to a directive by chief minister Yogi Adityanath and in a departure from a 38-year-old practice in which the state treasury was footing the bill. The state treasury will no longer pay the income tax of ministers and the provision in the Uttar Pradesh Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1981, requiring the government to pay the income tax of the chief minister and the ministers, will be nullified.

The Act was passed when VP Singh, then in Congress, was chief minister of the state and there existed a perception that most ministers came from poor backgrounds and needed their income tax liabilities to be underwritten by the government. That perception has changed over the years.

Amendments to the Act have been made to increase salaries over 40 times in the past 38 years, but no changes have ever been made to sub section 3 of the Act that reads “The salary referred to in sub sections (1) and (2) shall be exclusive of the tax payable in respect of such salary (including perquisites) under any law relating to income tax for the time being in force, and such tax shall be borne by the state government.”

 

21. ‘Service week’ to mark Modi’s birthday 

Kicking off the party’s week-long service drive to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on September 17, BJP president Amit Shah visited the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to interact with child patients and hospital staff.  The BJP had earlier announced that it would hold a sewa saptah or week of service around Mr. Modi’s birthday. Mr. Shah, accompanied by BJP working president J.P. Nadda and Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel, visited children in the hospital and gifted them bags of fruits. The leaders also mopped the floor and met sanitation workers at the medical institute.

 

22. Hyderabad-Karnataka renamed as Kalyana Karnataka 

The Karnataka Cabinet decided to rename the Hyderabad-Karnataka region as Kalyana Karnataka.

The Hyderabad-Karnataka region, which enjoys special status under the Constitution (Article 371J) owing to its backwardness, comprises Bidar, Ballari, Kalaburagi, Koppal, Raichur and Yadgir.  Uplift of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region is done through the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region Development Board (HKRDB), which will now be called Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board.  That the region should be renamed as Kalyana Karnataka was a long-pending demand. Prior to independence, the region was under the Nizams who ruled Hyderabad. Post-independence, the region continued to be called Hyderabad-Karnataka and there were calls to do away with the reference of Nizam.

 

23. Mongolian President arrives in India to boost ties

Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga arrived on a five-day visit to India with an aim to intensify bilateral ties between the two countries. Battulga was received by Minister of State Kiren Rijiju. He will also be paying a visit to Bodh Gaya before leaving for Karnataka where he will hold talks with Governor Vajubhai Vala and attend a programme on September 23. Battulga's visit to India will be the first State visit by a Mongolian President in last 10 years. The two sides will hold in-depth discussions on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues.

It also said the two countries would review ongoing cooperation in fields of infrastructure, energy, disaster management, defence, security, culture, and capacity building. The two countries had reached a strategic partnership in 2015 during the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Mongolia. A number of high-level exchanges have taken place since then and the partnership has seen considerable progress during the last few years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga jointly unveiled a statue of Lord Buddha at the Gandan Monastery in Mongolia. The Gandan Monastery is located in Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar.

In May 2015, Modi had visited the monastery where he presented a Bodhi tree sapling describing it as a token of friendship from the Indian people. Gandan is the largest and most significant monastery in Mongolia. Built in the mid 19th century, it is the only monastery where Buddhist services continued to function even during the Communist period.

 

24. Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019 comes into force 

The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019 that will facilitate smooth and speedy eviction of unauthorised occupants from government residential accommodations, has come into effect. The Bill was passed by the Parliament during the last Budget session. The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019 would ensure retrieval of the residential government accommodations from unauthorised occupants without requiring elaborate procedures under sections 4 and 5 of the Act. The bill is expected to increase the availability of government residential accommodations for the eligible beneficiaries and reduce the waiting period. As per the provisions of the Amended Bill, the estate officer will issue a short show cause notice of three days before the eviction of the unauthorized occupant from the Government accommodation. The government provides residential accommodation to its employees including the Members of Parliament and other dignitaries on a license basis while they are in service or till the term of their office.

As per the existing allotment rules, after the end of the license, the occupants of the residential accommodations become unauthorized occupants and are supposed to vacate the place. The Act empowers the Estate Officers to evict such unauthorized occupants from public premises in a smooth, speedy and time-bound manner.

 

International News

1. Trump names Robert O'Brien as new national security adviser 

US President Donald Trump named hostage negotiator Robert O'Brien as the new White House national security adviser.  O'Brien, who currently serves as the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs at the State Department, has a long history in Republican foreign policy circles.  He will be Trump's fourth national security adviser, replacing John Bolton, the hawkish national security adviser the president forced out last week. Trump said he and Bolton "strongly disagreed" on a number of issues including North Korea and Venezuela.

 

2. Personal data of almost entire population of Ecuador leaked online 

Almost the entire population of Ecuador had their personal data leaked online, a massive breach that the government called a “very delicate” issue. An estimated 17 million people, including almost seven million minors and children, had their data exposed by a breach on an unsecured server run by an Ecuadorean marketing and analytics firm. The security company vpnMentor uncovered the breach on the server run by the firm Novaestrat, which included citizens’ full names, dates and places of birth, education levels, phone numbers and national identity card numbers. ZDNet, the cybersecurity website that first reported the breach, said there was even data on the country’s president and on Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder who applied for asylum in Ecuador and who spent years holed up in the country’s London embassy before being arrested this year by British police.

As part of his application for asylum, Assange was issued an Ecuadorean identity card. The security company contacted Ecuador’s Computer Emergency Response Team to secure the leaked data, ZDNet said.

 

3. London police returns stolen 12th century Buddha statue

The 12th Century AD Bronze image of Buddha seated in the Bhumipasara mudra was amongst the 19 bronze statues stolen from the Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) Nalanda site museum in August 1961. After a gap of nearly 57 years, in early 2018, the image was spotted by Art enthusiasts at an auction organised by a London based dealer. On receipt of the information, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) through its attaché posted in High Commission of India, London, UK took up the matter with the ASI, UK Customs and London Metropolitan Police. The ASI confirmed the findings and provided documentary evidence including an FIR which was filed in 1961.

The Police investigations revealed that the statue changed hands several times before eventually being consigned to a London dealer for sale. Once it was confirmed that the Buddha statue was the same as that stolen from India, both the dealer and the consignor co-operated with the police and decided to return the sculpture to India.

 

4. Special Training Programme for Maldivian Civil Servants to be conducted from 16th-28th September

The Special Training Program for Maldivian Civil Servants under the India-Maldives MoU on Training and Capacity Building Programme between the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) and the Maldives Civil Service Commission (CSC) will be conducted from September 16-28, 2019 at Mussoorie and Delhi. A 32 member Maldives delegation arrived at the NCGG, campus in Mussoorie.

The inaugural session of the Special Training Program for Maldivian Civil Servants to be held on September 16, 2019.

The Prime Minister of India in his visit to Maldives in June 2019, had emphasised India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy and assured India's full support to Maldives in realising its aspirations for broad based socio-economic development and strengthening of democratic and independent institutions. One of the MoUs signed during the visit was between the National Center for Good Governance, India and the Civil Services Commission of Maldives which envisaged capacity building activities for 1000 Civil Servants of Maldives at the National Centre for Good Governance over the next 5 years.  Under the MOU, 10 training programmes will be conducted from September 2019 to December 2020.  The first 3 training programs under the MOU would be held in 2019 (a) September 16-28, 2019 and November 18-30, 2019 for 60 officers of the middle management level (b) December 2-14, 2019 for 30 officers of top management level. India is the largest development partner for capacity building of Maldivian Civil Servants. A unique feature of the special training program is that 70 percent of the delegates are women officials.

 

5. Algeria to hold presidential election on December 12 

Algeria will hold a presidential election on December 12. Weekly mass demonstrations forced veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign in April, leaving Algeria in constitutional limbo and facing a stand-off between the protesters and the army-backed government. An independent electoral commission will be formed to oversee the upcoming election. The army, the strongest institution in Algeria, earlier sought for a presidential election as soon as possible to break the deadlock between the protesters and the authorities. Algeria is a key gas supplier to Europe and it is a U.S. partner in its fight against militant Islamist groups in the Sahara and Sahel regions.

 

6. Sri Lanka unveils South Asia’s tallest tower, funded by China 

Sri Lanka on September 16 unveiled South Asia’s tallest tower, costing over $100 million, 80% of which has been funded by China under the controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).  The 350-metre-tall 17-storey Lotus Tower, located in the heart of Colombo city, comprises a television tower, a hotel, a telecommunications museum, restaurants, auditorium, an observation deck, a shopping mall and a conference centre.

The tower, spread over an area of 30,600 sq. metres, was constructed at a cost of over $100 million, 80% of which was funded by China.

According to a Colombo Page report, Sri Lanka and China signed the Lotus Tower agreement in 2012 under the Chinese government’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to build the highest TV tower in South Asia, with China National Electronics Import and Export Corporation (CEIEC) being the general contractor.

India has been severely critical of the BRI, the pet project of Chinese President Xi Jinping, as it comprises the $50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The project which began in 2012 under the then-president Mahinda Rajapakse faced numerous delays amid funding issues.

 

Economy News

1. Indo-Thailand Joint Military Exercise MAITREE-2019 commences in Meghalaya 

The India Army and Royal Thailand Army Joint Military Exercise MAITREE-2019 commenced at Umroi in Meghalaya. The annual bilateral joint exercise started off at the Joint Training Node (JTN) in Umroi. The exercise aims at the training of troops in Counter-Terrorism Operation in both jungle terrain and urban scenario.  The 14-day exercise will be conducted under the overarching framework of the United Nations Mandate 2006. Both contingents will share their valuable experiences in the conduct of Counter-Terrorism Operations in the form of lectures, drills, demonstrations and skill-at-arm with an aim to refine tactics, techniques and procedures.

The exercise will culminate with a 48-hours joint exercise, which will showcase the planning and execution of joint skills of soldiers while conducting any Counter-Terrorism Operation. Exercise MAITREE -2019 has been the face of long-standing bilateral ties between India and Thailand since 2006.

 

2. India, Singapore, Thailand naval exercise begins 

The maiden trilateral naval exercise involving India, Singapore and Thailand commenced at Port Blair. The exercise was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address at Shangri-La dialogue in June 2018. The five-day exercise is aimed at bolstering the maritime inter-relationships amongst Singapore, Thailand and India, and contribute significantly to enhancing the overall maritime security in the region. This would also strengthen interoperability and development of a common understanding of procedures.

For the exercise, guided missile stealth frigate RSN Tenacious of Singapore, and Thailand Navy’s guided missile frigate HTMS Kraburi would join with INS Ranvir, a guided missile destroyer, INS Kora, a missile corvette and Sukanya, an Offshore Patrol Vessel along with P8I long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft. During the harbour phase scheduled at Port Blair, professional exchanges, sports fixtures, and cross deck familiarisation visits would be organized. The sea phase is scheduled from September 18 to 20, and a host of surface and air operations involving gunnery, force protection measures and communication drills would be conducted providing experience gaining and learning from each other’s best practices. The Initial Planning Conference (IPC) to discuss the modalities of the exercise was held in May and the Final Planning Conference (FPC) was held in August. Malaysia has also evinced interest in joining the exercise.

 

3. Aadhaar verification to be mandatory for new dealers from January 2020: GST Network 

The GST Network decided to make Aadhaar authentication or physical verification mandatory for new dealers from January 2020 to check malpractices in Goods and Services Tax. Earlier it was optional.  The GSTN had decided that from January 1, 2020, all new dealers enrolling will have to have Aadhaar authentication. Infosys was given the contract to prepare the programming, software, among others, he added. Modi said those who do not want to give their Aadhaar numbers would have to undergo physical verification. In both cases, GST number will be given within three working days of Aadhaar authentication and physical verification

In the first phase, Aadhaar authentication will be mandatory for new dealers. Afterwards, all those enrolled on GSTN would be asked to provide their Aadhaar numbers. As refunding was a big issue, especially in the last 30 months after the launch of GST, they had decided on completely going online for it from September 24 this year from a single source, either by the Central GST or state GST.

The GSTN also recommended launch of the much simplified new return system from January 1, 2020, as the earlier one was a bit complicated.

 

4. DRDO hands over new-gen wargaming software to Navy

 

The DRDO handed over to the Navy a new-generation wargaming software, aimed at creating an environment that would enable the Maritime Warfare Centres (MWCs) to train using the latest technological and computing tools. The software has been developed by the Institute for Systems Studies and Analysis (ISSA) in Delhi, a premier Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory, in collaboration with the MWC, Visakhapatnam to meet the contemporary operational and tactical level wargaming requirement of the Indian Navy.  The key focus has been to create a wargaming environment, which enables the Maritime Warfare Centres (MWCs) to train using the latest technological and computing tools. The software has versatile and user-friendly features, which enable globally playable wargaming scenarios between multiple forces. It also enables exercises to be conducted between geographically-dispersed locations over a wide area network.

 

5. 2020- "Year of AI" for Telangana- official 

The Telangana government has decided to declare 2020 as Artificial Intelligence year by organising various activities related to the emerging technology.  IT industry body NASSCOM is setting up a Centre of Excellence in Data Sciences and AI here, which is expected to start its activities in 2020.

 

6. Indian Air Force receives Spice-2000 'building blaster' buster bombs 

 

In a major boost for India's aerial firepower, the Indian Air Force has started receiving the 'building blaster' version of the Balakot air strike-fame Spice-2000 bombs at the Gwalior airbase. The Israeli firm has started the delivery of the Spice-2000 bombs to India and the first batch of these bombs was received recently.

The weapons have been delivered to Gwalior as it is the home base of the Indian Air Force's Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft fleet and they are the only fleet which can fire the Israeli bombs. The Indian Air Force has signed an over ?250 crore contract with Israel with Mark 84 warhead and bombs which can destroy buildings completely.

The IAF had signed a contract with Israel in June this year for acquiring more than 100 Spice-2000 bombs under the emergency procurement powers of the services given by the Narendra Modi government.

The contract was signed as the Air Force wanted to acquire the bombs after their successful usage in the Balakot airstrikes against a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist camp in Pakistan. During the Balakot strikes, the Air Force had dropped Spice-2000 bombs from Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft after a pack of 12 of these fighters crossed the Line of Control (LoC) to strike the Jaish terror camp in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

 

7. Naval LCA Tejas makes successful short landing at Goa facility 

The naval variant of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas made a successful short landing with arrestor wires on the Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF) in Goa. This is seen as a major step forward for the delayed project as it tests modifications that will allow the naval variant of the Tejas to eventually operate from an aircraft carrier. The naval LCA made its first flight in April 2012 and two prototypes have been flying as part of the development. The first prototype (NP1) of the Naval LCA made a successful first flight from the SBTF in 2014. The SBTF, which replicates the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, was specifically built to train naval pilots in the complex manoeuvres of landing on the short flight deck of an aircraft carrier before they moved on to the actual carrier. Once the results of the trials on the SBTF are deemed successful, the LCA will attempt a landing on the deck of the Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

The naval version of the LCA is designed with stronger landing gear to absorb the force exerted by the ski jump ramp during take-off allowing it to be airborne from a much shorter runway on the deck of the aircraft carrier. Its special flight control law mode allows hands-free take-off, reducing the pilot’s workload as the aircraft leaps from the ramp and automatically puts the aircraft in an ascending trajectory.

The Navy currently operates Russian MiG-29K fighters from INS Vikramaditya which will also fly from the first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant once it enters service. The Navy is currently looking at global tenders for 57 carrier-based twin engine fighter aircraft.

 

8. Survey of India to deploy 300 drones for mapping country 

India’s oldest scientific department, the Survey of India (SoI) historically tasked with mapping the country will for the first time rely on drones to map the country. Other than unprecedented detail, a consequence of the mapping will be creating high resolution maps of land in villages facilitating the digitisation of land titles in villages, according to officials involved with the survey.

Currently the best SoI maps have a resolution of 1:250000, meaning a 1 cm on the map represents 2500 cm on the ground. The maps being prepared, according to senior officials associated with the project will be of 1:500 resolution, meaning 1 cm will represent 500 cm.

The aim is to map 75% of India’s geography— about 2.4 million sq km of the 3.2 million sq km — within the next two years. The organisation aims to procure about 300 drones — so far about 30 have been sourced — for the gargantuan exercise. However forests, hills and deserts are likely to be left out.

 

9. ISRO, DRDO Sign MoUs to Provide Technologies for Human Space Mission Gaganyaan 

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has collaborated with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for development of human centric systems for the Human Space Mission to demonstrate its human space flight capabilities. Some of the critical technologies to be provided by DRDO to ISRO include space food, space crew health monitoring and emergency survival kit, radiation measurement and protection, parachutes for safe recovery of crew module and others.

Apart from DRDO, ISRO has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Air Force’s Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM) to conduct preliminary research on psychological and physiological needs of crew and development of training facilities.

Level 1 of astronaut selection has already been concluded as of September 2019, and the selected pilots have undergone radiological tests, physical exercise tests, lab investigations, clinical tests and evaluation on various facets of their psychology.

 

10. Cabinet approves payment of bonus to railway employees for 2018-19 

The Union Cabinet has approved the payment of Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days wages to over 11.52 lakh eligible non-gazetted railway employees (excluding RPF/RPSF personnel) for the Financial Year (FY) 2018-19, for maintaining industrial peace and motivation of railwaymen. This entails an expenditure of Rs 2024.40 crore to the exchequer. This is the sixth consecutive year that the Government led by Narendra Modi has maintained a bonus of 78 days wages. It has never lowered it.

Payment of PLB equivalent to 78 days wages to eligible railway employees (excluding RPF/RPSF personnel) for the FY 2018-19 would result in motivating a large number of railway employees to improve the performance of the Railways and enhance the productivity levels further, besides maintaining industrial peace.

 

11. DSCI, MeitY and Google India join hands for 'Digital Payment Abhiyan' 

Nasscom’s Data Security Council of India (DSCI) has collaborated with the electronics and IT ministry (MeitY) and Google India to launch a nationwide awareness campaign ‘Digital Payment Abhiyan’. Communications and Electronics & IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched the campaign that will educate end-users on the benefits of making digital payments and urge them to adopt security and safety best practices. The campaign was launched at the Google for India event. To drive the campaign objectives and amplify outreach to users across all states, DSCI has onboarded various digital payments ecosystem partners. These partners include representation from banking, card networks as well as fin-tech segment.

Airtel Payments Bank Ltd, Axis Bank, BharatPe, CID Karnataka, Google Pay, Government of Telangana, HDFC Bank, MasterCard, NABARD, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Paypal, Paytm Payments Bank Limited, PayU, State Bank of India (SBI) and VISA have committed their partnership towards the initiative. The pan-India campaign has crafted in seven languages — Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali and Marathi — and will engage with users and make them aware of the dos and don’ts for different payment channels including UPI, wallets, cards as well as netbanking and mobile banking.

 

12. Civil aviation minister directs setting up mechanism to monitor airfare

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has ordered setting up a mechanism to regularly monitor airfares in the country. He, however, said the government currently does not have any intention to regularise the fares. It is basically to monitor on an ongoing basis how airlines pricing is working. If we can get a lesson from that, we will have a discussion with the CEOs of airlines.

 

13. cuts corporate tax to spur investment, jobs 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the effective tax rate for domestic corporates, inclusive of surcharges, will fall from 34.94% to 25.17% if they stop availing any other tax sops. For new manufacturing firms set up after October 1, 2019 and commencing operations by March 31, 2023, the effective tax rate will fall from 29.1% to 17%. The slew of measures unveiled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, including a rollback of the enhanced surcharge levied on foreign portfolio investors in the Budget, and a reduction in the Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) rate from 18.5% to 15% for all businesses, is estimated to cost the exchequer ?1,45,000 crore a year in terms of revenue foregone.

To spur fresh investments and boost Make in India efforts, for new manufacturing companies incorporated after October 1, 2019 and commencing production by March 31, 2023, the income tax rate will be 15% from 25% at present. The effective tax rate for these companies will be 17.01%, compared to 29.1% at present. These firms will also be exempt from MAT. These tax cuts include a reduction in the surcharge on corporate income tax from 12% to 10%.

 

14. Government launches steel import monitoring system

The government launched a steel import monitoring system (SIMS) to provide advance information about steel imports to various stakeholders including producers and importers to have effective policy interventions. Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and his junior colleague Hardeep Singh Puri launched the system developed in consultation with Ministry of Steel on the pattern of US Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) system. Importers of specified steel products will register in advance on the web portal of SIMS providing the necessary information. The registration will be online and automatic with no human intervention. The importer can apply for registration not earlier than 60th day and not later than 15th day before the expected date of arrival of import consignment. The automatic registration number granted will remain valid for 75 days.

The information about the steel imports provided by importers on the SIMS will be monitored by the Steel Ministry. SIMS will require importers to submit advance information in an online system for import of 284 steel tariff lines at 8-digit HS code in order to obtain an automatic registration number by paying a prescribed registration fee.

 

15. Microfinance industry gets ‘Code for Responsible Lending’ 

Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) and Sa-Dhan, the RBI-recognised self-regulatory organisation and industry association for the microfinance industry, along with FIDC, have jointly released the ‘Code for Responsible Lending’ (CRL) for the micro credit industry. The CRL was launched at Sa-Dhan’s 15th Annual National Conference in New Delhi. The CRL is sector-specific and entity-agnostic. In addition to the CRL, a revised industry Code of Conduct (CoC) was also released for Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) that will act as a binding and compulsory set of principles with respect to lending practices. This is a significant self-regulatory step across all RBI-regulated entities and others that aims at safeguarding the interests of low-income customers through enhancing transparency and compliance.

A significant development in CRL adoption was the signing up of the Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC), the self-regulatory organisation for registered NBFCs. This makes CRL more inclusive in its coverage.

 

16. RBI expands scope of Bharat Bill Payment System 

The Reserve Bank of India has expanded the scope of the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) by adding other categories of recurring payments through the portal.  BBPS is an interoperable platform that enables a customer to pay bills such as telephone, water, gas, direct-to-home (DTH) and electricity at a single location—electronic or physical. With the expansion of the scope of the payment facility, other recurring payments such as school fees, municipal taxes, insurance premiums can also be paid via BBPS.

BBPS payments can be made using cash, cheques as well as through digital methods such as internet banking, debit, credit card, among others. Bill aggregators and banks function as operating units and carry out these payment transactions for customers.

 

17. Govt notifies new rules for foreign funding of NGOs 

The Ministry of Home Affairs has notified new rules for those receiving foreign funding. Now, key functionaries, office bearers and members of NGOs, receiving foreign funds, will have to declare before the government that they were not prosecuted or convicted for converting anyone from one faith to another.  The Ministry has announced in a notification that the changes in the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 and Rules, 2011 (FCRA), has been made. Any individual receiving a personal gift valued up to Rs 1 lakh need not inform the government about it anymore.

It is mandatory for the office bearers and key functionaries and members of the NGOs to certify that they have not been "prosecuted or convicted" for "conversion" from one faith to another and for creating "communal tension and disharmony".

Government of India enacted the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) in the year 1976 with an objective of regulating the acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution and foreign hospitality by persons and associations working in the important areas of national life. The act was majorly modified in 2010 with several amendments because many NGOs were found using illegal use of foreign funding. In 2016 license of about 20,000 NGOs were cancelled after reviewing their work.

 

18. Government Launches Web Portal to Find Your Lost or Stolen Mobile Phone 

Minister for Communications Ravi Shankar Prasad unveiled a portal in Mumbai which will help mobile phone users trace their stolen or lost mobile phones. A project called Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) has been undertaken by DoT for this purpose. This project is aimed at blocking of reported lost or stolen mobile phones across mobile networks, discouraging their theft, as well as facilitating in tracing of such phones. Alongside, DoT also launched a maritime communications service, and revealed VSAT solutions provider Nelco will undertake broadband services in the maritime sector. All mobile phones have a unique International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number which is used to identify them. Because IMEI is reprogrammable, “some miscreants do reprogram the IMEI number, which results in cloning of IMEI causing multiple phone devices with same IMEI number. As on date, there are many cases of cloned/ duplicated IMEI handsets in the network,” according to the department. If such IMEIs are blocked, several genuine customers might suffer. Therefore, there is a need to get rid of duplicate and fake IMEI phones. It is for this purpose that the CEIR (website) project has been undertaken, apart from from helping address "security, theft, and other concerns". DoT has listed these as the primary objectives of the CEIR project, "Blocking of lost/stolen mobile phones across mobile networks thus discouraging theft of mobile phones; facilitate in tracing of such reported lost/stolen mobile phones; prevention of mobile devices with duplicate and fake IMEIs in the network; curtail the use of counterfeit mobile devices; reduced health risks to the users with the control of use of counterfeit mobile phones; improved QoS and reduced call drops with reduction in use of counterfeit mobile devices."

If your mobile phone gets stolen or lost, you will first have to file a First Information Report (FIR) with the police and then inform DoT about the incident through a helpline number 14422. After verification, DoT will blacklist the phone, blocking it from further use. In addition to this, if anyone tries to use the device using a different SIM, the service provider will identify the new user and inform the police, according to a report by Livemint. This service is currently being rolled out in Maharashtra on a pilot basis. DoT has been working on CEIR since 2017. It will have a database of all IMEI numbers in India since 2017. It will also have access to GSM Association's (GSMA) worldwide database of IMEI numbers to compare and detect mobile phone with counterfeit IMEI numbers.

 

19. Air Force to Get ‘Game Changer’ SCALP, Meteor Missiles for the Rafale Next Year 

The Indian Air Force is set to get the `game changer’ SCALP and Meteor missiles for its Rafale fighter jets next year which will outrange all known weapon systems in the region and will give India a definitive combat edge. The SCALP stand off missile, manufactured at the highly protected facility here, has a range of over 300 km and is designed to hit high value, strongly protected targets deep inside enemy territory.

The Rafale jets – the first of which is likely to arrive in India in May 2020 – can carry two of the missiles that will enable them to hit virtually any target within Pakistan. The first Rafale jets are set to be handed over to India on October 8 but will be flown in France for several months before being ferried to the home base at Ambala.

The SCALP is highly combat proven. It can carry out high destruction against high value assets, bridges, railroads, power plants, airfields, buried bunkers and command and control centres. It can evade enemy air defence units with its ground hugging trajectory.

While India already has the Brahmos cruise missile in service, air force officers say that the SCALP is in a different category, given its pinpoint accuracy to take down targets in all weather conditions and ability to evade air defence systems.

This stand off capability has become central to the Indian defence strategy over the past five years. The political leadership has put its weight behind military systems that can take down Pakistani targets without crossing the border.

While the SCALP gives India the ability to hit ground targets in virtually all parts, the S 400 anti air system being procured from Russia will give it the option to take down air borne targets over the entire Pakistani airspace, if the need be.

Another system that will add to this capability will be the Meteor air to air missile that will also be delivered for the Rafale fighter jets next year. With a range of over 150 km, the Meteor will outclass all other systems in the region. Including the AMRAAM missiles in service with Pakistani F 16 fighter jets that currently outgun Indian missile systems.

 

20. National centre for I-T e-assessment to be based in Delhi: CBDT 

A national e-assessment centre (NeAC) will be set up in the national capital as part of the government’s ambitious plan to launch faceless and nameless assessment for income tax payers from next month. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), that frames policy for the Income-tax department, has issued an order for the creation of the Centre. The Centre will have 16 officials and will be headed by a Principal Chief Commissioner of Income-tax (PCCIT) as its chief. The NeAC will be an independent office looking after the exclusive work of e-assessment, a senior official told PTI. While 1984-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer K M Prasad has been appointed as the chief or PCCIT of the new Centre, 1993-batch IRS officer Ashish Abrol has been appointed as the Commissioner or second-in-command of the new unit. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the e-assessment scheme will be rolled out from October 8 -- when ‘Vijayadashami’ will be celebrated. The NeAC will serve notices to the assessees specifying the issues for selection of their case for assessment and after a response is received from them within 15 days, the centre will allocate the case to an assessing officer using an automated system. A person shall not be required to appear either personally or through authorised representative in connection with any proceedings under this scheme (e-assessment) before the income-tax authority at the National e-assessment Centre or Regional e-assessment Centre or any unit set up under this scheme.

 

21. DRDO conducts five trials of Air-to-Air Missile ‘Astra’; All successful 

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested the Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) ‘Astra’ from Su-30 MKI platform off the coast of Chandipur, Odisha. The trails were held from 16th to 19th September 2019. The trials were conducted by Indian Air Force (IAF) against Jet Banshee target aircraft simulating all possible threat scenarios. The five trials conducted during this period tested missiles in different configurations. During the campaign, three missiles were launched in combat configuration with warhead and manoeuvring targets were neutralized to establish the end game capability of the missile. The trial campaign also included a direct hit of the target by the telemetered missile at maximum range. All the subsystems performed accurately meeting all the mission parameters and objectives.

Astra BVRAAM has range of more than 100 kms with modern guidance and navigation techniques. The missile has midcourse guidance and RF seeker based terminal guidance to achieve target destruction with pin point accuracy. The effort for building a state-of-the-art BVRAAM by DRDO, together with IAF has completed the user trial phase of the weapon system successfully. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has played a role in modifying the aircraft for weapon integration. More than 50 public and private industries have contributed in building the Astra weapon system. The present flight trials have proved the end to end performance of the missile system in various combat scenarios giving greater confidence to users. The five successful trials of Astra will culminate into induction of the missile system into Indian Air Force, which will certainly be a force multiplier considering its accuracy and effectiveness in neutralizing aerial threats. The technologies developed under the programme will be the building blocks for development of future variants of Air-to-Air and Surface-to-Air Missiles.

 

People in News

1. Justice P Lakshmana Reddy appointed Andhra Pradesh Lokayukta 

The Andhra Pradesh (AP) government appointed Justice P Lakshmana Reddy, a former judge of the AP high court, as state’s Lokayukta. He was born in an agricultural family on April 18, 1945, in  Paidipalem of Simhadripuram Mandal in Kadapa district, he enrolled as an advocate in December 1972 in Kadapa district.

 

2. Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria appointed as new Indian Air Force chief 

The government appointed Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria as the new chief of Indian Air Force. RKS Bhadauria, who is currently vice chief of air staff, will take over the post of chief of Air staff after his predecessor BS Dhanoa retires on September 30.

Interestingly, Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria was also due to retire on the same day as BS Dhanoa. But now that he has been appointed as the chief of Air staff, he will serve a three-year term or till the age of 62, whichever is sooner. In this case, his term will be two years. Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC, is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Pune. He has clocked over 4250 hours of flying and has experience of 26 different types of fighters.

Bhadauria served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Southern Air Command from March 2017 August 2018. He also served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Training Command from August 2018 and held the office till his elevation to the Vice Chief of the Air Staff in May this year.

During 36 years of his career, RKS Bhadauria has been awarded several medals: the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, the Vayu Sena Medal and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal. He was appointed honorary Aide De Campe to the President of India in January this year.

RKS Bhadauria was among the first Indian Air Force officers to fly Rafale fighter jet and was also instrumental in finalising the deal with France for jets.

 

3. Rajnath Singh becomes first defence minister to fly in light combat aircraft Tejas 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flew in the Tejas fighter aircraft from the HAL airport in Bengaluru, becoming the first defence minister to fly in the indigenously built light combat aircraft (LCA). He was accompanied by Air Vice Marshal N Tiwari, who is also the Project Director, National Flight Test Centre, ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency) in Bengaluru.

 

4. IAF officer Anjali Singh becomes India’s first woman defence attaché 

Wing Commander Anjali Singh has become the first woman in the country’s military history to be posted in any Indian mission abroad, with the Indian Air Force sending her to Moscow as a deputy air attaché. She is an aeronautical engineer who served with fighter squadrons during her 17-year military career. Until now, only male officers from the three services were appointed as military attaches in overseas Indian missions. The change came about during Nirmala Sitharam’s tenure as defence minister when she backed the proposal to give military women more global exposure.

 

5. Madhukar Kamath elected chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations 

Madhukar Kamath, chairman emeritus of DDB Mudra group and mentor of Interbrand India, has been elected chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for 2019-20. Kamath has also been the president of Advertising Agencies Association of India.

 

6. Asian Development Bank president resigns

Asian Development Bank (ADB) said its President Takehiko Nakao has announced his resignation which will be effective from January 16 next year. He became the President of ADB on April 28, 2013.

The new president will be elected in accordance with an open, transparent and merit-based procedure.

ADB, enlisting the achievements of the current President, said he expanded the operations of the funding agency from $14 billion in 2013 to $ 22 billion in 2018 while incorporating more advanced technologies into projects. He also ushered in the merger of Ordinary Capital Resources and concessional lending operation of the Asian Development Fund (ADF) and steered the launch of ‘Strategy 2030’, among others.

 

Sports News

1. IBSF World Billiards Championship: Pankaj Advani wins record 22nd world title 

One of India's most consistent sportspersons, Pankaj Advani, on Sunday increased his tally of world titles to 22 by winning a fourth straight final in the 150-up format at the IBSF World Billiards Championship here. The 34-year-old has brought home a world trophy every year ever since returning from a professional stint in the UK in 2014. In the short format of billiards, this is Pankaj's fifth title in the last six years. In a repeat of last year's final against local favourite Nay Thway Oo, Pankaj re-enacted the one-sided match with the same eventual outcome as well as identical scorelines of 6-2. Pankaj secured the next two frames which included a 150 unfinished break. He scored a 74 break and shortly after that closed out the match.

 

2. Spain captures second FIBA basketball World Cup title 

Spain captured its second FIBA basketball World Cup title after defeating Argentina 95-75 in the gold medal game at the Wukesong Arena in Beijing.  The Spaniards capped a dominant run as they finished undefeated at 8-0. Point guard Ricky Rubio led Spain with 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and was named most valuable player of the international competition.

The guard surpassed Argentina's Pablo Prigioni as the World Cup assists leader since FIBA started recording all game statistics in 1994.

Big man Marc Gasol won his second championship in less than three months. He won the NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors and becomes the second player to win an NBA title and the FIBA World Cup title in the same year.

In 2010, Lamar Odom accomplished the feat for the Los Angeles Lakers and USA Basketball.

Gasol finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

He was among five players named to the FIBA World Cup 2019 All-Star Five. The other four are Rubio, Bogdan Bogdanovic of Serbia, Evan Fournier of France and Luis Scola of Argentina.

The Spaniards won their first basketball World Cup title in 2006 in Japan.

Team USA finished seventh in the final standings.

 

3. Divij Sharan clinches St. Petersburg doubles title 

Divij Sharan and partner Igor Zelenay clinched the men’s doubles title at the USD 1,248,665 ATP Tour tennis tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia. In the final, they defeated the Italian pair of Matteo Berrettini and Simone Bolelli 6-3, 3-6, 10-8. The champion team collected 250 ATP points and USD 66,740. The runners-up won 150 points and USD 34,200. It was the fifth Tour doubles title for the 33-year-old Divij, who had started the season brightly, winning the Maharashtra Open ATP title in Pune with Rohan Bopanna. Divij and Bopanna, who had won the Asian Games gold last year in Palembang, had tried to compete together in the professional circuit in the first quarter of the season, but opted to partner others later in an attempt to get into the bigger events.

It was the third title of the season for Divij, who had won the USD 125,000 Ningbo Challenger a fortnight ago with Matthew Ebden of Australia. The 49th-ranked Divij has so far won 16 Challenger and 19 Futures doubles titles, apart from the five Tour titles.

Interestingly, Divij and Bopanna had beaten the Italian pair of Berrettini and Bolelli for the only success in the Davis Cup tie against the Italians on grass in Kolkata earlier in the season.

 

4. Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel wins Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix 

Sebastian Vettel ended a 13-month win drought by leading a Ferrari one-two victory at Singapore Grand Prix held on 22 September 2019. It was the first time a team had finished one-two in Singapore. The victory was also a record 5th victory in Singapore for F-1 world champion Vettel, and 3rd in a row this season for Ferrari. Vettel took the chequered flag 2.641 seconds ahead of Monegasque team mate Charles Leclerc.

Sebastian Vettel is a four-time Formula One (F1) world champion. This was the German’s first win since the August 2018 Belgian Grand Prix. He took advantage of an early pit stop to win Singapore Grand Prix ended a 13-month winless streak in Formula One.

Singapore Grand Prix is a motor race which forms a part of FIA Formula One World Championship. The event takes place on Marina Bay Street Circuit. It was 1st held in 1966 and since then it has been held 20 times. It was the inaugural night race and 1st street circuit in Asia designed for F1 races.

 

5. Ministry of Sports to create 20 National Centres of Excellence

Ministry of Sports will create 20 National Centres of Excellence (NCE) in order to groom athletes for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics. Every Centre of Excellence will designate funds for four to six specific sports. The new scheme will ensure that athletes in the same premises have access to similar facilities unlike before. Standardising the training on a campus will enable athletes to attain much higher performances in their respective sport. When athletes of the same level train at a centre and the facilities are made exclusively available to them, they will train better and results will show.  After this move, the grassroots level athletes will be trained at other SAI facilities and will be moved to NCE depending on performance and possibility of an Olympic medal. The 20 SAI facilities that have been identified as National Center of Excellence include, SAI centres in Patiala, Trivandrum, Chandigarh, Sonepat, Lucknow, Guwahati, Imphal, Kolkata, Bhopal, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Gandhinagar, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi, Indira Gandhi Stadium, Delhi, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Delhi, Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, Delhi, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookherjee Swimming Pool Complex, Delhi, National Water Sports Academy (Khelo India), Alleppey, National Boxing Academy (Khelo India), Rohtak, National Wrestling Academy (Khelo India), Aurangabad.

 

Awards

1. Sonu Nigam bags Magnificent Performing Arts Award at 21st Century Icon Award in UK 

Popular Bollywood playback singer Sonu Nigam has been honoured with the Magnificent Performing Arts Award at the annual 21st Century Icon Awards in London. Nigam was among a host of winners across a range of categories at a gala awards ceremony last week, devised as a celebration of dynamic entrepreneurs and successful individuals chosen from hundreds of nominations from around the world. The 21st Century Icon Awards are the brainchild of UK-based Indian-origin entrepreneurs Tarun Ghulati and Preeti Rana, co-founders of Squared Watermelon Ltd, who said the 2019 version attracted over 700 nominations which were narrowed down to 44 finalists.

The panel of judges included personalities across varied fields, such as British Indian peer Baroness Sandip Verma, Ibukun Adebayo from London Stock Exchange’s International Markets Unit and former British Olympic champion Denise Lewis, who met at the London Stock Exchange last month to decide on the final 18 winners.

 

2. Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina receives Dr Kalam Smriti International Excellence Award 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh conferred the Dr Kalam Smriti International Excellence Award 2019 in Dhaka. The award has been instituted in the memory of former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The award citation lauded Prime Minister Hasina for her vision of a peaceful and prosperous South Asia, free of tension, conflicts and terrorism. It acknowledged her contribution in fostering cooperation between India and Bangladesh.

Chief Adviser of the Dr Kalam Smriti International Advisory Council former Ambassador T.P. Sreenivasan handed over the award to Sheikh Hasina. The award is given every year to honour statesmen or leaders who have shown excellence in respective fields to achieve the best for their countries.

 

3. First Gauri Lankesh Memorial Award given to senior TV journalist Ravish Kumar 

Senior journalist and Ramon Magsaysay awardee Ravish Kumar received the first Gauri Lankesh Memorial Award in Bengaluru. He was chosen for the award for sharp news analysis and uncompromising secular stance by the Gauri Lankesh Memorial Trust, founded in memory of the journalist., Three books were launched at the event titled ‘Delhi Nota’ by senior journalist D Umapathi, Ravish Kumar’s ‘Free Voices’ translated as ‘Maatige Enu Kadime’, and ‘Neera Nade’ by Prof Vinaya Okkunda.

 

4. Documentary film on Uttarakhand farmer nominated for Oscars 2020 

Moti Bagh, a documentary film based on the struggle of a farmer in a remote Himalayan village, has been nominated for the Oscars. The movie is directed by Nirmal Chander Dandriyal, and said the film is based on the life of Vidyadutt, a farmer living in the state's Pauri Garhwal region.

The film will inspire youths to stay in their villages and work for their communities. It will help stop migrations from remote areas.

 

Events and Days

1. First World Patient Safety Day 

For the very first time, on 17 September 2019, World Patient Safety Day will be marked with events around the world to raise awareness on patient safety as a global health priority. The day brings stakeholders together in an effort to reduce the unintended harm caused in health care. No one should be harmed in health care. And yet, thousands of patients around the world suffer avoidable harm or are put at risk of injury while receiving health care every single day – as a result of problems in practice, products, procedures or systems. In high-income countries, it is estimated that 1 in 10 patients is harmed while receiving hospital care. Openness and blame-free environments are the minimum conditions for putting in place a safety culture. Hence, to promote open communication for learning from errors and to emphasize the importance of patient safety, the slogan for World Patient Safety Day 2019 is “Speak up for patient safety!”. Patient safety is vital to delivering quality health care and advancing universal health coverage. This implies effort across the health system – safe infrastructure, the safe use of technologies and medical devices, the correct administration and use of quality medicines, well-informed patients, a skilled and committed workforce, and an enabling environment are all needed to improve patients’ safety and the quality of health care.

 

2. World Rhino Day- 22 September 

The World Rhino Day is celebrated every year on 22 September to celebrate the world’s five rhinoceros species, and to reflect on the challenges facing them. This special day provides the opportunity for cause-related organizations, Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), zoos, and public to celebrate rhinos in their own unique ways.

 

The World Wildlife Fund-South Africa in 2010, announced to celebrate World Rhino Day on 22 September every year since then. The annual event took off on a global scale both on online and offline platforms when Lisa Jane Campbell of Chishakwe Ranch in Zimbabwe and founder of Annamitici joined hands with creative director Rhishja Cota in 2011 to create a massive awareness to protect all 5 species of rhinos from extinction. The World’s Five Rhinoceros Species living in Africa and Asia–

Javan Rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus): Critically Endangered (IUCN)

Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis): Critically Endangered (IUCN)

Black rhinos (Diceros bicornis): Critically Endangered (IUCN)

White rhinos (Ceratotherium simum): Near Threatened (IUCN)

Greater One-Horned Rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis): Vulnerable (IUCN)

 

3. Traditional Neermahal Jal Utsav concludes in Tripura 

In Tripura, the three day long traditional Neermahal Jal Utsav concluded with eye catching boat race and swimming competitions at Rudrasagar lake. Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb flagged off the boat race.  Neermahal is a water palace built at the middle of Rudrasagar lake by Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya in 1930 as his summer resort being inspired by Mughal style of architecture.

 

4. International Coastal Cleanup Day was observed on 21 September 

International Coastal Cleanup Day was observed on 21 September this year. Every year third Saturday is marked as the International Coastal Cleanup Day. The day aims to encourage the people to clean beaches, remove the garbage are hazardous to the ocean.

This Day was initiated in the year 1986 and was begun by Linda Maraniss and Kathy O Hara.