Current Affairs Update 15 September 2018
Current Affairs is an important part for many exams. Be prepared for this section with ByScoop which brings all the important Current Affairs in one place. 15 September 2018
PM launches “Swachhata Hi Seva” Movement for Clean India
- The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, launched the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ Movement on September 15, 2018, to boost nation wide public participation in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and catalyse speed of Cleaning India.
- Aim: Generating greater public participation towards Swachhta.
- It is being organized in the run up to the fourth anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission, on October 2nd, 2018. This will also be the 150th year celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Nation.
- The movement, which will be held from September 15 to October 2
Central Government announces five-point plan to control current account deficit
In order to increase dollar inflows into the country to fund and reduce the current account deficit (CAD), central government has announced five-pronged measures. These measures will increase dollar inflows by up to $10 billion in the country.
The 5 plans are:
- Review of Mandatory ECB hedging conditions for infrastructure loans
- To permit manufacturing companies to avail of ECBs up to $50 million with a minimum maturity period of one year
- Removing 20% exposure limit of FPI’s corporate bond portfolio to a single corporate group, and 50% of any issue of corporate bonds will be reviewed
- Exception to masala bonds from withholding tax for issuances up to March 31, 2019
- Removing restriction on Indian banks’ market-making in masala bonds, including underwriting of masala bonds
India Ranks 130 in UN’s Human Development Index
- India has climbed one spot up in the Human Development Index (HDI) 2018 to 130 as compared to 131 last year, according to latest rankings released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) of 189 countries.
- According to the latest index, India’s HDI value in 2018 is above the average of 0.638 in South-Asian countries region. HDI measures the progress in key dimensions of human development such as education, health and living standards.
- The global HDI ranking has been topped by Norway (0.953) followed by Switzerland (0.944), Australia (0.939) respectively.
- Niger (0.354), the Central African Republic (0.367), South Sudan (0.388) have the lowest scores in the HDI ranking.
Delhi and Mumbai Airports adjudged Best Airport in Aisa Pacific
- In the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards 2017, 6 Indian Airports have won 7 awards.Delhi Airport (DEL) and Mumbai Airport (BOM) shared the top spot in Best Airport by Region in Asia-Pacific region.
- Other airports that have won some awards are Lucknow Airport (LKO), Hyderabad Airport (HYD), Cochin Airport (COK), Kolkata Airport (CCU) and Pune Airport (PNQ).
‘Swacch Dhara’ programme flagged off in Andhra Pradesh for clean drinking water
- Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu flagged off the ‘Swachh Dhara’ programme in Amaravati, with an aim to provide clean drinking water across the state.
- As part of the scheme, tankers providing water across the state will be cleaned periodically through a six-layered cleaning process which involves the use of ultraviolet radiation to kill bacteria.
Sikkim’s first airport Pakyong Airport to be launched by PM Modi
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Pakyong Airport in Sikkim on September 23, 2018. This is the first airport in Sikkim.
- The commercial operation of flights will commence from the airport in the first week of October
- Prior to the construction of Pakyong Airport, Sikkim had been the sole state in India possessing no functional airport.
Hindalco to set up India’s biggest aluminium recycling plants in Gujarat
- Aditya Birla Group’s Hindalco Industries has signed MoU with the Gujarat government to setup India’s biggest aluminium extrusion and aluminium recycling plants in the state.
- The company will invests about Rs 3,500 crore in this project.
NASA launches satellite ICESat-2 to track Earth’s melting ice
- NASA has launched a satellite named ICESat-2 to understand Earth’s ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice, snow cover and permafrost. ICESat-2 stands for Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2.
- ICESat-2 is NASA’s most advanced Laser instrument — the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System, or ATLAS.
“Kashi: Secret of the Black Temple” authored by Vineet Bajpai launched
- “Kashi: Secret of the Black Temple”, authored by Vineet Bajpai has been launched.
- It is the last part of the 3 book series Harappa trilogy. The first two books are “Harappa: Curse of the Blood River” and “Pralay: The Great Deluge”.
15 September : International Day of Democracy
- 15 September is observed as International Day of Democracy. The International Day of Democracy provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world.
- Theme 2018: Democracy under Strain: Solutions for a Changing World