VINTAGE

 IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF SEPTEMBER 9^th, 2018

                         IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF SEPTEMBER 9^th , 2018

1. Day of the Foundation of the Republic of North Korea.

a.  The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was established in the North was established on this day (9th September) in the year 1948.

b.  Important Points to Note :

i)    Capital : Pyongyang

ii)  Official language : Korean

iii)Currency : North Korean won (₩)

iv)    Supreme Leader : Kim Jong-un

2)Independence Day of Tajikistan.

a)  On this day Tajikistan got Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. 

b) Important Points to Note :

i)    Capital - Dushanbe

ii)  Official language - Tajik (Persian)

iii)Currency - Somoni

iv)    President - Emomalii Rahmon

v)  Prime Minister - Kokhir Rasulzoda

3)Nepal has refused to participate in the 1st ever joint military exercise among the armies of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) Nations that will be hosted by India next week.

a)  The Nepalese government faced criticism domestically as there were no formal agreements at diplomatic or political level over the drill.

b) Note : The proposal for the joint military drill was first forwarded by the Indian Army in June, followed by an initial meeting of Bimstec senior army officials in New Delhi.

4)China is participating in Exercise Kakadu, Australia's largest maritime drill for the first time. 

a)  More than 3,000 personnel from 27 countries are taking part in the exercise, which is being held off the coast of Darwin in northern Australia. 

b) Other nations participating in the drill include India, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, New Zealand and Pakistan.

c)  Note : Indian Naval Ship Sahyadri has been participating in the exercise. 

5)The Defence Ministry today announced that Aero India 2019 will be held in Bengaluru from February 20-24 next year.

6)Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced that the government will issue a policy on electric vehicles and vehicles running on alternative fuels. 

a)  This comes a day after Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said electric vehicles and vehicles based on alternate fuels will be exempted from road permits. 

b) The new policy will be aimed at strengthening e-mobility drive in the country.

7)The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that the undivided area of the single largest piece of a damaged ₹2,000 note must be 88 square cm for a full refund and 44 square cm for half refund. 

a)  For exchanging ₹200 notes, 78 square cm of undivided area is needed for a full refund, and 39 square cm for half refund.

8)The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a ₹10 million penalty on Union Bank of India for failing to detect and report fraud on time.

a)  Note : RBI had issued a show cause notice to the bank on January 15, 2018 asking why a penalty not be imposed on Union Bank of India under the Act.

9)After the launch of payments bank, the Indian Postal department has announced that it is going to set up an Insurance firm as a special business unit within two years.

a)  Note : At present, the postal department offers Life Insurance Schemes including Postal Life Insurance (PLI), Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI), among others.

10)             India is going to supply 160 railway passenger coaches to Sri Lanka valued at around $82.64 million. 

a)  The agreement to supply the coaches custom-made in India was signed between state-owned RITES and the Sri Lankan government. 

b) The current contract is part of a $318-million agreement for the procurement of railway rolling stock and upgradation of rail tracks in Sri Lanka.

11)            The Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Assam has got 7 Awardsfrom the Centre in implementation of Pradhan MantriAwas Yojana (PMAY)-Grameen in the state.

a)  Assam is conferred the Best State Award in the category of completion of PMAY-G houses amongst the Group I states consisting of North East and Himalayan states. 

b) The state has also bagged best three awards in district and block level.

c)  Kamrup, Dhemaji and Goalpara districts have received best three positions in North East while three blocks have also been selected for awards. 

12)            To help train medical students, US-based company Gaumard Scientific has developed a child robot called HAL.

a)  The robot, which is worth around ₹35 lakh. is made of sensors which give the robot a pulse, help respond to certain questions, bleed and convulse.

b) The robot can also mimic emotions of distress, like grimacing, crying or shouting.

13)            HDFC Life's MD and CEO Amitabh Chaudhry has received the RBI's approval to be appointed as the MD and CEO of Private Sector Lender Axis Bank. 

a)  He is going to replace present MD & CEO Shikha Sharma, and will take over the position from January 1, 2019. 

14)             Dr Arif ur Rehman Alvi was sworn in as the 13th President of Pakistan today. 

a)  Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar administered the oath to the 69-year-old at a ceremony in Islamabad. 

15)            India captain Virat Kohli has become the fastest batsman to reach 18,000 runs in international cricket, achieving the feat in his 382nd innings during the fifth England Test on Saturday. 

a)  He surpassed ex-Windies captain Brian Lara, who took 411 innings to reach the milestone. 

16)             World number 19 Naomi Osaka won her maiden Grand Slam title after defeating her childhood idol and 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the US Open women's singles final today.