Current Affairs - September 8, 2019 Current Affairs

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued a gazette notification stating Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief and Pulwama terror attack (February 14, 2019) mastermind Maulana Masood Azhar, Jamaat ud Dawa chief and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, LeT's chief operational commander and 26/11 attack key accused Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and United Nations (UN) designated global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim as individual terrorists under Clause (a) of Sub-section (A) of Section 35 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967. They are the first individuals to be designated as terrorists under the law.

The Swachh Mahotsav event 2019 was held in New Delhi. The historic event was organized by the Ministry of Jal Shakthi. President Ramnath Kovind conferred the Swachh India awards to the outstanding performance in Swachh India Mission (SBM). There are More than 1300 swachhata champions include college youngsters, NCC cadets, volunteers from NSS and NYKS, swachagrahies, sarpanches, representatives from States and UTs central government ministries and media persons participated in the grand event.

India topped the list, followed by the US, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and the UK.

The Event Horizon Telescope Team consists of 347 scientists produced the world first image of a black hole. They were felicitated with breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. The prize is known as the Oscars of science with prize money $3 million. The team published the image of black hole circled by a flame-orange halo of white-hot plasma on the Messier 87 (M87) galaxy.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1954. He was awarded several other distinguished awards as well such as a knighthood in 1931 and honorary membership of the British Royal Order of Merit in 1963.

The International Day of Charity is an international day observed annually on 5 September. It was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012.

The Chhattisgarh government announced that land allotment rates in industrial areas will be reduced by 30 percent in the next few months.The land would be provided at cheaper rates, capital, interest subsidy, tax rebates and several other benefits would be provided for the establishment of food processing, minor forest produce and herbal-based industries.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) provides $ 200 million to upgrade rural roads to all-weather standards in 34 districts of Maharashtra. The main aim to improve road safety and better connectivity with markets. The project will improve the condition of about 2,100 kilometers of rural roads to all-weather standards, with climate resilience and safety features, connecting rural communities with productive agricultural areas and socio-economic centers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to launch a new initiative in the National disease management Programme for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis. Under this scheme, the Centre will allocate Rs.13,500 crore central scheme to control livestock diseases. The scheme will be launched on 11 September from Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh.

Dadabhai Naoroji was closely involved with the Indian National Congress in its early phase. He served as the first Indian member of the British parliament. His first agitation, in 1859, concerned recruitment to the Indian Civil Service.

For the second year in a row, Vienna, Austria has been ranked the most liveable city in the world, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

India has pipped the Netherlands to move into the list of top ten countries in terms of total gold reserves. According to the World Gold Council, India has gold reserves totalling 618.2 tonnes, which is marginally higher than the Netherlands' reserves of 612.5 tonnes. Interestingly, in terms of individual countries, India actually ranks ninth since the International Monetary Fund (IMF) occupies the third position after the U.S. and Germany.

Ministry of Home Affairs conducts a 2000 kilometre long cycle expedition to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on 7 September 2019. The rally was flagged off by Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy. The event will be a 26-day-long cycle expedition. Aim: The Ministry aims to spread the message of Gandhi regarding cleanliness and sanitation to the masses.

The 6th round of India-China strategic economic dialogue is being held in New Delhi. The three day event will be held on 7-9 September 2019. The dialogue will discuss various issues, including infrastructure, energy and pharmaceuticals. The dialogue includes events like round table meetings of joint working groups (JWG) on infrastructure, high-tech, energy, resource conservation, pharmaceuticals and policy coordination.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced the formal withdrawal of an extradition bill that triggered months of unrest and has thrown the Chinese-controlled city into its worst crisis in decades.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the first Indian premier to visit the Far East Russia in Vladivostok. He attended the 20th India-Russia annual summit with President Putin and announced $1 billion loan for the development of Far East region. Mr. Modi also attended 5th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF). The forum focuses on development of business and investment opportunities in the Russian Far East Region, and presents enormous potential for developing close and mutually beneficial cooperation between India and Russia in the region.

During the national conference on 2019 'India-Africa Partnership in a Changing Global Order-Priorities, Prospects and Challenges' Shri Naidu, released two books on Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) named "Shakti Ki Manyata- Samyukta Rashtra Suraksha Parishad" written by Dilip Sinha and "Bharat Aur European Sangh: Ek Antarangik Drishtikon" by Bhaswati Mukherjee.

President Ram Nath Kovind will confer the prestigious award to the Vaishno Devi Shrine during the Swachh Mahotsav to be organized by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation on September 6.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) to place orders worth around ₹45,000 crore with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to acquire 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas fighters. The IAF issued a tender for 83 LCAs about two years ago and the project was stuck over the pricing issue as the government and the Air Force felt that the price offered by the HAL was slightly higher. The Defence Ministry determined the cost of the 83 LCA Mark 1A aircraft around ₹45,000 crore and the Indian Air Force is now expected to place orders for these planes in the next few weeks.

The 3rd round of meeting between officials of India & Pakistan on the modalities for operationalization of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor held at Attari in Amritsar, Punjab. This is the second meeting between the two countries in the backdrop of tensions arising between India and Pakistan after the withdrawal of special state status from Jammu and Kashmir(J&K).

The Naval Quality Assurance Establishments with the support of Director General Quality Assurance (DGQA), Ministry of Defence, hosted the 2019 Joint Naval Annual Quality Conclave (JNAQC) at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh on September 5, 2019. The theme for 2019 is "Transformation of QA Paradigm: Opportunities and Challenges". Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command, was the chief guest for the event.

International Literacy Day is celebrated every year on September 8th to make people to know the importance of Literacy for people, communities and societies. Aim: It aims to combat worldwide problems also to promote illiteracy. The theme for 2019 is Literacy and Multilingualism.