Current Affairs Daily Digest – September 03 2019
1. ECI hosts 4th General Assembly of Association of World Election Bodies
Election Commission of India (ECI) is hosting the 4th General Assembly of Association of World Election Bodies (AWEB) for the term 2019-21 at Bengaluru on 3rd September 2019. On 4 September, an International Conference on Initiatives and Challenges of Social Media and Information Technology in Elections will also be held during the AWEB meeting.
2. Jinson Johnson of Kerala brokes his own 1500m national record by winning silver medal in Berlin
Asian Games gold medallist Jinson Johnson won 1500m national record a silver in the ISTAF Berlin event. He clocked 3 minute 35.24 seconds to finish second behind Joshua Thompson of United States at the Olympic Stadium .
The earlier national record in the name of the 28-year-old Kerala runner was 3:37.62 had clocked at Nijmegen in the Netherlands in June. He also holds the 800m national record (1:45.65).With his own national record shattering effort, Jinson also qualified for the World Championships to be held in Doha from September 28 to October 6. The World Championships qualifying time is 3:36.00.
3. Tinsukia Railway station become the 4000th station in the country to have free public WiFi
Tinsukia Railway station in the State of Assam has become the 4000th station in the country to have free public Wi-Fi. Under RailWire, free Wi-Fi is being provided to passengers. Railwire is a retail Broadband initiative of RailTel catering to Enterprises, Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and homes. The Wi-Fi plan was rolled out in 1000 stations in a record time of 12 days by RailTel with an average of 83 stations per day.
4. ECL Finance and Central Bank of India entered into an agreement to co-lend to MSME
ECL Finance Ltd, a subsidiary of Edelweiss Financial Services, and Central Bank of India have signed an agreement for priority sector lending to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) customers.
5. PM Modi to get award from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to receive an award from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for one of his ambitious projects- Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (SBA). This award will be conferred to him during his visit to United States in late September 2019
6. Garvi Gujarat: 2nd state bhawan of Gujarat inaugurated by PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated ‘Garvi Gujarat’, the second state bhawan of the Gujarat government in the national capital New Delhi. During the inauguration PM Modi was accompanied by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and former chief minister Anandiben Patel, who currently serves as governor of Uttar Pradesh.
7. 14th UNCCD COP inaugurated at Greater Noida
The 12-day 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) to UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) inaugurated at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. During the meet, Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Prakash Javadekar expressed that mass awareness and public participation is the need of the hour as be it climate change or desertification, human actions have a role in disturbing balance of nature.
8. 72nd session of WHO Regional Committee of South-East Asia inaugurated in New Delhi
Union Minister of Health, Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the week-long 72nd session of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for South-East Asia (SEA) in New Delhi. This is the 2nd occasion that India is hosting Regional Committee meeting. Last meeting was also hosted by India in New Delhi.
9. Andhra Pradesh gets India’s longest electrified rail tunnel
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated India’s longest electrified rail tunnel. Situated between Cherlopalli and Rapuru stations of Andhra Pradesh, the 6.6-km long tunnel is a part of the Obulavaripalli-Venkatachalam railway line.
The newly constructed tunnel will provide seamless rail connectivity between Krishnapatnam Port and the hinterland areas for freight movement.
10. Govt to infuse Rs 9,000 crore in IDBI as bailout money
Financially troubled IDBI Bank is all set to receive Rs 9,000 crore bailout money from the centre. Life Insurance Corporation has been seeking this infusion for the past several months. While insurance giant LIC will have to pour in nearly Ra 4,500 crore as its share, centre will invest a matching contribution, reveal sources.
11. KVIC launches ‘Terracotta Grinder’ at Varanasi to reuse wasted pottery
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) launched first ever ‘Terracotta Grinder’ at Sewapuri in Varanasi, Uttar Preadesh. This machine will grind the wasted and broken pottery items for re-using in pottery-making.
Benefits:
Earlier the wasted pottery items were grinded in normal khal-musal (mortar and pestle) and its fine powder was mixed with normal clay but now the new Terracotta grinder will make grinding of wasted pottery items faster than the traditional mortar and pestle. Mixing this fine powder is important as when the powder is mixed in stipulated ratio to normal clay, it makes resulting pottery items stronger.
