IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF SEPTEMBER 27th, 2017

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF SEPTEMBER 27th, 2017

1.     World Tourism Day is being observed On 27th September .

a.      The purpose of this day is to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide.

b.     The World Tourism Day celebration was started by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in the year 1980.

c.      This date was chosen as on that day in 1970, the Statutes of the UNWTO were adopted. The adoption of these Statutes is considered a milestone in global tourism.

d.     The United Nations has named the year 2017 as the 'International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development'. 

e.      Theme of World Tourism Day2017 : Sustainable Tourism – a Tool for Development.

2.     India has slipped down by one rank to be placed at the 40th position out of 137 countries on the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index report 2017-18. 

a.      Switzerland topped the list.

b.     Pakistan has jumped up seven positions to be ranked 115 as against last year's 122. 

c.      India continues to top in South Asia, with its highest ever score.

d.     Top 5 Countries in Global Competitiveness Index Report 2017-18 :

                       i.      Switzerland (1st)

                    ii.      United States (2nd)

                  iii.      Singapore (3rd)

                  iv.      Netherlands (4th) 

                    v.       Germany (5th).

3.     Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has signed a law that makes the Ukrainian language the main medium of instruction in state schools.

a.      The move has been criticised for infringing on the rights of minorities by limiting the scope of their native languages to be used for instruction.

4.     Saudi Arabia's King Salman On 27th September  issued a royal decree allowing women to drive, ending its status as the only country in the world to impose such a ban.

5.     Over 36 lakh Iraqi Kurds On 27th September  cast their vote in a referendum proposing independence for Iraq's Kurdistan region. 

a.      Note : Kurds are the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East but don't have a permanent nation state.

6.     To meet the nutritional needs of pregnant and lactating women in rural areas, theKarnataka government is going to launch a scheme titled 'Mathru Purna' on October 2. 

a.      The women will be provided one full meal including rice and dal in a day apart from calcium and iron tablets under the scheme. 

7.     An Anti-child abuse documentary will be played before the movies in theatres across India and will initially be screened in 11 cinemas of Delhi. 

a.      The documentary made in Hindi and English aims to stop child-abuse and encourage people to report such incidents. 

b.     Note : As per National Crime Records Bureau, India reported 94,172 child-abuse cases last year.

8.     In an attempt to reduce tobacco abuse, the Health Ministry has proposed to ban the sale of non-tobacco products such as candies and colas at retail shops selling tobacco products such as cigarettes and gutka.

9.     The Union Ministry of Shipping has renamed Kandla Port Trust as Deendayal Port Trust, by exercising powers conferred on it under Indian Ports Act, 1908.

a.      The name was changed as part of yearlong centenary celebrations of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, who had stood for uplift of poor and weaker sections of society.

10. The Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment has launched Divyang Sarathi—The accessible and comprehensive mobile application for easy dissemination of information to ‘Divyangjans’.

a.      The mobile app aims to empower Divyangjans by providing them easier and convenient access to information pertaining to schemes, scholarships, statutes, institutional support systems, jobs and other crucial information.

11. According to World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2017, India with six installed nuclear reactors ranks 3rd in world. 

a.      China is leading the report with 20 installed nuclear reactors.

b.     Note : Russia and the US shut down reactors in 2016, while Sweden and South Korea closed their oldest units in the first half of the year 2017.

12.To boost dairy sector, the govt sets up Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund worth Rs 10,881 cr. 

13.The CISF security cover at Mumbai airport has been rated the best airport security in the world by quality-rating agency World Quality Congress (WQC).

a.      CISF will receive the award at an event in Dubai next month. 

14.  Angola On 27th September  swore in Joao Lourenco as the country's President, making him thefirst new President of the country in 38 years. 

a.      This comes after the previous president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, announced his retirement and chose Lourenco as his successor.

15.ISRO’s globally acclaimed Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) also known as Mangalyaancompleted three years in Martian orbit. 

a.      It has outlived its original lifespan (6 months) and is still in good health and continues to work as expected.

16.  Dubai has started testing world's first two-seater self-flying taxi called Autonomous Air Taxi (AAT) for transportation. 

a.      The AAT supplied by German manufacturer Volocopter was unmanned and hovered 200 metres above the ground during the test flight.

17.    Microblogging website Twitter On 27th September  announced that it has started testing a bigger 280-character limit for tweets for some of its users, instead of 140. 

a.      This is the first time Twitter has changed its character limit since it launched 11 years ago in 2006.