Current Affairs Daily Digest – September 13 2019
1. State Bank of India revises service charges for deposits and withdrawals from October
State Bank of India or SBI on its website regarding revision of service charges with effect from 1st October. The bank allows free transactions to its customers at ATMs for 8-10 times in a month.
The mandated number of free transactions, SBI charges a certain amount to its customers. Effective 1st October. SBI will also charge for transaction decline due to insufficient balance and cardless cash withdrawal at ATMs.
2. ISRO and SpaceIL to exchange notes on the lunar mission
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced that it is to exchange notes with Israel’s private space center, SpaceIL. In February 2019, Israel SpaceIL’s Beresheet mission lost robotic lunar lander in a manner similar to Chandrayaan-2’s lander Vikram.
3. PM inaugurates Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal at Sahibganj
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s second Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (built at Sahibganj) online from Ranchi, Jharkhand. He also laid the foundation of a secretariat building in the state capital (Ranchi) which will come up at an estimated cost of Rs.1238.92 crore.
4. Unani Medical Centre to be inaugurated at Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik will be inaugurating Unani Medical Centre at New OPD Building in Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi on 13 September 2019.
5. Indian, Chinese soldiers engage in face-off briefly in Ladakh
Tensions between Indian and Chinese border troops intensified once again as soldiers of India and China were engaged in a prolonged face-off near Pangong Tso lake in eastern Ladakh. The confrontation began on northern bank of 134-km-long Pangong Tso, two-thirds (nearly 66%) of which is controlled by China as it extends into Tibet.
6. GeM and Punjab Government inks MoU to set up Project Management Unit
Government e-Marketplace (GeM) under Department of Commerce, Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Government of Punjab, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up a GeM Organizational Transformation Team (GOTT) Project Management Unit (PMU) in the state.
7. UNCCD COP14: Drought Toolbox launched
At the ongoing 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida a Drought Toolbox was launched on the 10th day of conference (on 11 September 2019) which was dedicated to the theme of Drought.
India is hosting the ongoing UNCCD COP14 that started from 2 September and will culminate on 13 September 2019.
8. Foundation Stone for Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) laid In Mumbai
Union Minister of state for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) Mahendra Nath Pandey laid the foundation stone for Indian Institute of Skill (IIS) at Mumbai, Maharashtra. The concept of IIS was envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he had visited Vocational Education and Training Centre in Singapore.
9. Government appoints Sanjay Tyagi as Director General of Health Services
The government on September 12 announced the appointment of Dr Sanjay Tyagi as Director General of Health Services (DGHS) with immediate effect. Tyagi, 61, is a Professor of Cardiology and Dean at Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) and Director GB Pant Institute.
10. India joins global antimicrobial resistance R&D hub
India has become a member of the Global Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Research and Development (R&D) Hub. The announcement was made by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology in New Delhi on September 12, 2019.
11. India, Russia sign deal to overhaul, modernise Delhi-class warships
In a boost for Indian Navy, the Defence Ministry signed contract with Russia for enhancing air defence capability of Delhi class warships of Indian Navy. The contract for modernisation of “Air Defence Complex Kashmir and Radar Fregat MAE” on P-15 (Delhi class) of ships was signed between the Ministry of Defence and JSC Rosoboronexport, Russian Federation.
12. Indo-Thailand Joint Military Exercise Maitree-2019
India and Thailand are all set to organize Joint Military Exercise MAITREE-2019 at Foreign Training Node, Umroi (Meghalaya) from 16-29 Sep 2019. Both the countries have already conducted two such military exercises in past one month.
13. HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal presents CBSE teacher awards 2018
Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ presented CBSE Teacher Awards – 2018 to 34 teachers at an event here. The minister also launched CBSE’s portal ‘Vidyadhan’ on Diksha App, a digital infrastructure for knowledge sharing and released CBSE’s annual activity calendar.
14. NGT forms committee to stop illegal groundwater extraction
Expressing concern over depleting groundwater levels, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has set up a committee to formulate steps required to prevent its unauthorised extraction.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the committee to evolve a robust mechanism to ensure that groundwater is not illegally extracted and to monitor manning and functioning of the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA).
