Latest Current Affairs – September 13 & 14 2018
1. India to cut Iran oil imports ahead of US sanctions: Reports
Ahead of the US sanctions, India will cut its oil imports from Iran by nearly half from earlier this year, according to reports. India had increased the purchase of Iranian oil from April to August in anticipation of the reductions, reports added. India is the second-largest importer of Iranian oil.
2. US reviewing India’s Chabahar port development in Iran
US President Donald Trump’s administration has said that it is reviewing India’s development of the Chabahar port in Iran after imposing several sanctions on the country. The port opens a trade route between India and central Asia by bypassing Pakistan. The US has asked India to cut oil imports from Iran to zero by November or face sanctions.
3. Bollywood writer Brij Katyal passes away after battling cancer
Bollywood writer Brij Katyal, who wrote the story of Shashi Kapoor starrer ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’ passed away after battling cancer. “He was suffering from rectal cancer and was admitted to Shanti Avedna Ashram,” said writer-director, Anusha Srinivasan Iyer. He had written the script of TV serial ‘Saans’ which was directed by Neena Gupta.
4. Justice Ranjan Gogoi appointed next CJI, to assume office on Oct 3
President Ram Nath Kovind gave his approval to appoint Justice Ranjan Gogoi as the next Chief Justice of India. Gogoi will assume office on October 3, 2018, after the retirement of the current Chief Justice, Justice Dipak Misra. As per convention, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court is appointed as the Chief Justice of India.
5. Andhra govt launches app to digitise marketplace for farmers
The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday launched an app, e-Rythu, to digitise agricultural marketplaces and payments. It will help farmers buy, sell and receive payments for their products through phones in an easy and secure way. The app, developed by Mastercard Labs for Financial Inclusion in Nairobi, Kenya, has been customised for India through its team in Pune.
6. Hindi Diwas observed on September 14
On September 14, 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted Hindi as the official language of a newly independent nation. The Indo-Aryan language had been in use across large sections of India in multiple forms by then and had in fact been carried outside the shores of the country by those who settled in other parts of the world through centuries.
7. India, US annual combat exerciseYudh Abhyas 2018to be held at Uttarakhand
The 2-Week long Yudh Abhyas 2018 exercise will be condcuted at Chaubatia in Uttarakhand from 16 to 29 September, 2018. It will be fourteenth edition of exercise in Yudh Abhyas series which was started in 2004 under US Army Pacific Partnership Program. Last year, Yudh Abhyas was held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in the US.
8. Scientists have developed drug to treat TB in future
Scientists from the University of Manchester, England, have developed a non-antibiotic drug that can one day treat tuberculosis (TB) in humans effectively. The drug targets Mycobacterium tuberculosis’ defences rather than the bacteria itself.
In the study, published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, animals with acute and chronic TB infection were treated with the compound. The results revealed that the compound does not kill the bacteria directly, but results in a significant reduction in the bacterial burden. It can also take out its increasingly commonly antibiotic-resistant strains. The scientists hope for clinical trials in humans up in four years.
9. India, Afghanistan, Iran hold first-ever trilateral meeting
The main focus on consolidating economic cooperation, including Chabahar, as well as enhancing cooperation on counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics, and continuing support to the peace and reconciliation process that is led and owned by Afghanistan. The meeting was chaired by Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hekmat Khalil Karzai.
10. Kolkata tops in 4G Coverage in India, Jammu and Kashmir ranked last
Kolkata has topped OpenSignal’s list of 4G availability with over 90.7% coverage, across all of India’s 22 telecom circles for the May-July period this year. It is followed by Punjab (89.8%), Bihar (89.2%), Madhya Pradesh (89.1%) and Odisha (89%).
The Jammu and Kashmir circle comes at the last spot with 80.23 percent 4G availability.
11. Pakistan could become World’s 5th largest nuclear weapons state
According to the recent report, Pakistan could become world’s 5th largest nuclear weapons state after Russia, United States, France and China in terms of possession of total nuclear warheads. Pakistan currently has 140 to 150 nuclear warheads and the stockpile is expected to increase to 220 to 250 by 2025.
12. India-Mongolia Joint Exercise ‘Nomadic Elephant 2018’ held in Ulaanbaatar
The 12 days long Nomadic Elephant-2018 has begun at Mongolian Armed Forces (MAF) Five Hills Training Area, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Nomadic Elephant is an annual bilateral military exercise, started in the year 2006, and this was the 13th edition of the exercise.
13. IWC defeated the proposal to create Whale Sanctuary
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) defeated a proposal to create a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic at a meeting in Brazil. The proposal received support from 39 countries but was opposed by 25. Brazil first introduced the proposal in 2001.
Japan and few other nations argued that there is no need for sanctuary because countries are not currently doing commercial whaling in the South Atlantic. Other environmental groups and conservationists argued that the sanctuary would protect whales from being hunted, trapped in fishing gear or struck by ships.
14. HDFC Life Elevates Vibha Padalkar as MD And CEO
Vibha Padalkar is the new managing director and CEO for a period of three years. The terms of appointment are subject to approval by the shareholders and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
15. BSNL, Unlimit Ink partnership for IoT/M2M Services in India
The partnership between Unlimit end-to-end Internet of Things (IoT) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will leverage seamless wireless network footprint pan India to provide its solutions and services across industries.
