VINTAGE

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF SEPTEMPER 17^th , 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF SEPTEMBER 17^th, 2019

1.     The 16th round of Foreign Office Consultations between India and Iran was held in Tehran (Iran's capital) today.

a.      Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale led the Indian delegation. 

b.      Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Seyyed Abbas Araghchi led the Iranian side.

c.      During the consultations, the two sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation, ongoing connectivity and infrastructure development projects, including the development of Shahid Behesthi Port, Chabahar and full operationalization of the Chabahar Agreement between India, Iran and Afghanistan.

d.      Note : The next round of Foreign Office Consultations will be held in New Delhi on mutually convenient dates.

2.     The 38th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) will be organized from 30th of October to 9th of November this year, where authors, publishers, intellectuals and artists worldwide will bring their experiences and expertise to this prominent event and partake in a vibrant cultural programme.

a.      UNESCO has named Sharjah as the World Book Capital City for the year 2019 in recognition of the city’s continuous efforts in promoting books and literacy.

b.      Aligning itself with the title of the World Book Capital, the SIBF will be organized under the theme 'Open Books, Open Minds'.

3.     The maiden Trilateral Naval exercise involving Indian Navy (IN), Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and Royal Thailand Navy (RTN) commenced at Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 

a.      The 5-day exercise will be held from 16 to 20 September 2019.

b.      The main aim of this exercise is to bolster maritime inter-relationships amongst India, Thailand and Singapore as well as to contribute significantly towards enhancing the overall maritime security in the region.

4.     Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has launched Mukhya Mantri Seva Sankalp Helpline (Chief Minister’s Service Resolution Helpline) number ‘1100’ for speedy and time-bound redressal of public grievances using modern technology. 

a)     By calling this helpline common citizens of state will be able to resolve their complaints and problems.

b)    Note : With the launch of Mukhya Mantri Seva Sankalp Helpline Himachal Pradesh has now become 4th state in country to provide this facility. So far this facility is available in Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

5.     The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019 which was passed by the Parliament during the last Budget Session has come into effect.

a.      This bill will facilitate smooth and speedy eviction of unauthorized occupants from Government residential accommodations and ensure retrieval of these residential accommodations from unauthorized occupants.

b.      This is expected to further increase availability of government residential accommodations for eligible persons and reduce the waiting period.

c.      As per the Amendment Act, the Estate officer will issue short Show cause notice of three days before eviction of the unauthorized occupant from Government accommodation.

6.     In a consumer friendly initiative, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has expanded the scope and coverage of Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) to include all categories of billers who raise recurring bills and payments (except prepaid recharges) as eligible participants, on a voluntary basis.

7.     India's first private train Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express will be flagged-off from Lucknow by Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath on October 4. 

a.      Note : It will be the first train of Indian Railways that will be entirely run by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

8.     The Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) handed over a New-Generation Wargaming Software developed by New Delhi-based Institute for Systems Studies and Analysis (ISSA) to the Indian Navy.

a.      This software is aimed at creating an environment that would enable Maritime Warfare Centres (MWCs) to train using latest technological and computing tools.

9.     Veteran Malayalam actor Sathaar (67) passed away today.

a.      Sathaar made his acting debut with Malayalam film 'Anavaranam' in 1976.

10.India and Slovenia today sign 8 agreements and MoUs in various fields. They are :

a.      Programme of Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the Ministry of Science and Technology of India and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of Slovenia for the period 2020-2022

b.      MoU on Cooperation in the field of Sport between the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of India and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of Slovenia

c.      Programme of Cooperation in the fields of Culture, Arts, Education, Sports and Mass Media

d.      Programme of Cooperation between the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Slovenian Institute for Standardization (SIST) on Technical Cooperation in the field of Standardization

e.      MoU between Invest India and SPIRIT Slovenia

f.        Memorandum of Understanding between IIT Kanpur (for cGanga / India) and VGB (Slovenia)

g.      Memorandum of Understanding between IIT Kanpur (for cGanga / India) and Space-SI (Slovenia)

h.      Cooperation Agreement between Chamber Of Commerce And Industry Of Slovenia (CCIS) and the Associated Chambers Of Commerce And Industry Of India (ASSOCHAM)

11.Indian Actress Neena Gupta won Best Actress Award at the India International Film Festival of Boston for the film 'The Last Color'. 

a.      The film which is directed by chef Vikas Khanna also won the award in the Best Feature Film category. 

12.Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's will honour Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Swachh Bharat Mission, a sanitation initiative that improved access to toilets.

a.      Mr Modi will receive its annual Goalkeepers Global Goals Award for providing 500 million people in India safer sanitation. 

b.      Mr Modi will be in the United States next week to receive the foundation's award.

13.Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was conferred the Dr Kalam Smriti International Excellence Award 2019 in Dhaka today. 

a.      The award has been instituted in the memory of former Indian President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

14.Political journalist Ajay Kumar Singh has been appointed as the Press Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind. 

a.      Ajay is going to replace Ashok Malik whose term ended in July 2019. 

15.The Indian Air Force (IAF) appointed Wing Commander Anjali Singh as India's first woman defence attaché at an Indian mission abroad.