IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS
OF SEPTEMPER 18th , 2019
IMPORTANT
CURRENT AFFAIRS OF SEPTEMBER 18th,
2019
1.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will embark
on a 3-day official visit to Finland tomorrow.
a. This will be
his maiden visit to Finland after assuming charge as External
Affairs Minister.
b. During the
visit, the Minister will have detailed discussions with Foreign Minister of
Finland, Pekka Haavisto, on a broad spectrum of bilateral relations.
c. He will call
on the President and the Prime Minister of Finland.
d. The External
Affairs Minister will also unveil the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in
Finland.
2.
The Indonesian Parliament has raised
the minimum age at which women can marry from 16 to 19 in a bid to
curb child marriages.
a. Previously
parents could ask religious courts or officials to authorise the marriages of
girls aged below 16.
b. Note : One in four
girls in Indonesia is married before they turn 18, according to Indonesia's
Statistics Agency and UNICEF.
3.
Sri Lanka today unveiled South Asia's tallest tower, the Lotus
Tower, in the capital Colombo.
a. Constructed
in the shape of a 356-metre lotus, the tower has been built at a cost of $104.3
million, 80% of which has been funded by the Chinese government.
4.
Russia is holding its annual Center-2019 International Command
Exercise involving 6 other nations from 16 to 21 September 2019.
a. Center-2019
is an annual strategic and operational military exercises which aren’t aimed at
any third-party country rather focus on counterterrorist operations and is
purely defensive in nature.
5.
The Union Cabinet has banned the production,
manufacturing, import, export, distribution and advertisement of e-cigarettes after
considering their impact on the youth.
a. First-time
offenders would face a prison term of up to one year and a fine of ₹1 lakh, while repeat offenders would face jail terms of up to
three years, with a penalty of up to ₹5
lakh.
b. Note :
E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that produce an aerosol by heating a
solution containing nicotine which is the addictive substance in combustible
cigarettes.
6.
The 5th International Ramayan Festival organized
by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is being held from 17-19
September 2019 in New Delhi.
a. The maiden
day of festival was presided by Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah as
Chief Guest.
7.
Indian Bank today announced that the board has given its in-principle
approval for the merger of Allahabad Bank with itself.
a. It also
cleared the proposed infusion of capital by the government up to Rs
5,000 crore in the bank by way of preferential issue of shares.
b. After the
amalgamation, the combined entity will have over 6,100 branches across
the country and overseas presence in 3 countries.
8.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal today
announced taht the government is going to shut down state-owned trading
companies such as State Trading Corporation (STC), Project
and Equipment Corporation (PEC) and MMTC (Metals and Minerals
Trading Corporation) one by one.
9.
In a bid to boost domestic manufacturing, the government
has removed 5 per cent custom duty imposed on
import of open cell TV panel, which are used in the manufacturing
of LED TVs.
a. The move
would also help to reduce the price of TV panel by around three per cent.
10.Indian Air
Force (IAF) has successfully flight-tested air-to-air missile Astra off
the coast of Odisha.
a. The missile was
launched from a Sukhoi Su-30 MKI combat aircraft as a part of
User trials.
11.The Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has signed MoUs
with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to
develop human-centric systems for India's first manned space
mission Gaganyaan.
a. DRDO will
provide critical technologies including space food, survival kits for the crew,
radiation protection equipment, among others.
12.The Maharashtra
government announced that it will tie-up with US firm Zipline to
use autonomous delivery drones to deliver emergency medicines and
critical care across the state.
a. The
initiative will be supported through a grant from Serum Institute of India
(SII).
13.Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh will fly in
the indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas in
Bengaluru tomorrow.
a. Tejas,
designed and developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Aeronautical
Development Agency, is a four-and-half generation single-engine multirole light
fighter jet. the Indian Air Force is likely to purchase 83 LCA Tejas for
about ₹45,000 crore.
14.'Moti Bagh',
a documentary film based on the struggle of a farmer named Vidyadutt living in
Uttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal region, has been selected as an entry to Oscars
2019.
a. The film was
directed by : Nirmal Chander Dandriyal.
15.Breast cancer
survivor Sarah Thomas (37) has
become the 1st person to swim English Channel 4 times non-stop.
16.Vinesh
Phogat has become the 1st Indian wrestler to qualify for
the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after defeating American wrestler
Sarah Hildebrandt in the World Championships.
a. Vinesh will
wrestle in the bronze-medal bout against Maria Prevolaraki of Greece tomorrow.
b. The
25-year-old has qualified for the Olympics in the 53-kg category.
17.All-rounder Dinesh
Mongia has announced retirement from all forms of cricket, 12
years after playing his last international match.
a. The
42-year-old represented India in 57 ODIs from 2001 to 2007 and was also part of
India's first-ever T20I.
b. Mongia last
represented his domestic side Punjab in 2007 before joining the now-defunct
Indian Cricket League.
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