Current Affairs Daily Digest – September 14 2019
1. UN Appoints Veteran Indian Officer To Lead Its Mission In Yemen
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed a veteran Indian Army official as the head of the world body’s observer mission in Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah.
Lieutenant General (retired) Abhijit Guha appointed as the Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) and head of the UNMHA.
2. IDBI to launch co-branded credit card with LIC
Life Insurance Corporation of India, IDBI Bank is planning to launch a co-branded credit card which will be marketed to customers, agents, and employees of the corporation and its subsidiaries.
The co-branded credit card will be launched in association with LIC’s wholly-owned subsidiary, LIC Credit Cards Services (LIC CSL) before the festival season of Diwali gets underway, said Jorty M Chacko Executive Director, IDBI Bank.
3. India to develop 60 supercomputers in 3 years
Government of India has decided to indigenously build 60 supercomputers in the next three years. The announcement was made by Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary of Department of Science and Technology.
4. Astronomer discovered that K2 18b has earth like temperatures
For the first time ever the NASA astronomers have discovered water in the atmosphere of a planet named K2-18b. The researcher said that the planet has earth-like temperatures which can support life.
5. 14 September: Hindi Divas
Hindi Divas (or Hindi day) is an annual day which is observed every year on 14 September all over India since 1953, to celebrate the popularity of Hindi as an official language of India. Although the Hindi Day is mostly observed by Government of India, but many private organizations and voluntary groups also celebrate the day.
6. HimVijay exercise: to be organised by IAF on Chinese border in October
The exercise has been codenamed ‘HimVijay’ is schedule to be carried out in October 2019 in Arunachal Pradesh, close to borders with China. In these upcoming war games, the Indian Armed Forces plans to deploy their latest American weapons systems such as M777 ultra-light howitzers and Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.
7. 118 new Community Radio Stations to be set-up in India
Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar announced that 118 new Community Radio Stations (CRS) are in process of being set-up across country. The approved lists of applicants have already been granted Letter of Intent (LoI) for setting up CRS. It is expected that these Communitty Radio Stations will become operational within a period of next 6 months.
8. Railways Ministry signs MoU with CII for facilitation of green initiatives
Union Ministry of Railways signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for facilitation of green initiatives in Indian Railways.
The MoU would carry forward some major Green initiatives undertaken by Indian Railways as part of India’s contribution towards mitigation of global warming and combating climate change.
9. SBI new ATM withdrawal charges, revision from October 1
SBI charges a fee ranging from ₹5 plus GST to ₹20 plus GST for any additional transactions beyond this limit. Effective 1st October, SBI will charge ₹20 plus GST for transaction decline due insufficient balance. SBI will also charge ₹22 plus GST for cardless cash withdrawal at ATMs.
For all salary accounts at all locations, SBI offers free unlimited transactions at State Bank Group (SBG )ATMs and other bank ATMs.
10. Govt forms IT Standing Committee, names Shashi Tharoor as head
The Government formed a Standing Committee for Information Technology comprising of 31 Members of Parliament (MP) from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor as Chairperson of the committee.
The committee has an overwhelming representation from members from the ruling party Bhartiya Janata Party, followed by Indian National Congress, Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party.
11. Anurag Katriar takes over as president of NRAI
The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) announced the appointment of deGustibus Hospitality Executive Director and CEO Anurag Katriar as its new president.
The appointment was made unanimously at the annual general meeting of the association after tenure of The Beer Cafe founder and CEO Rahul Singh’s tenure as the president came to an end, NRAI said in a statement. It, however, added that he will continue to serve on the association’s managing committee.
12. Satya Nadella’s father BN Yugandhar passes away at the age of 82
Microsoft chief executive officer (CEO) Satya Nadella’s father passed away in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Satya Nadella’s 82-year-old father BN Yugandhar was a 1962 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. BN Yugandhar served as secretary of former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao.
