Current affair of 14th September 2019

India bags 34 medals in 10th Asia Pacific Youth Games

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju congratulated Indian contingent for excellent performance in the 10th Asian Pacific Youth Games in Vladivostok. India won total 16 gold, 13 silver and 5 bronze medals in seven different sports.

Key highlights:

1. Indian Judokas to give strong performances yesterday as Mahesh Saini (66 kg), Vishal (81 kg) and Rohit (50 kg) won gold while Siddharth won silver. 
2. Yoshiki won gold in the girl’s singles while the girl's doubles team also won gold in Table Tennis. The Indian swimming team finished as the overall winners in their sport. Assam swimmer Astha Choudhury brought laurels to the State and country by winning five medals including two gold and three silver.
3. Astha bagged gold medals in 4×50 metre mixed freestyle and 4×50 mixed individual medley relay categories. The gold medals, Astha won silver medals in 100 metre freestyle, 200 metre freestyle and 100 metre individual medley categories.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches farmer pension scheme in poll bound state of Jharkhand

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Mandhan Yojana from poll-bound Jharkhand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi that every farmer will get Rs 3,000 per month after attaining the age of 60.

Key highlights:

1. He launched the Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyaparik Mandhan Yojana and Swarojgar pension schemes and inaugurated the new building of the Jharkhand Assembly and a multi-modal terminal at Sahibganj.
2. The multi-modal terminal was built by Inland Waterways Authority of India on River Ganga at Sahibganj.
3. Agriculturalists between 18 and 40 years of age can register themselves under the scheme. They will get Rs 3,000 pension per month after reaching 60 years of age", the Chief Minister notified.
4. A total 1,16,183 farmers in Jharkhand have registered themselves under the scheme so far. Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyaparik Mandhan Yojana' and 'Swarojgar' pension schemes, beneficiaries between 18 and 40 years will get Rs 3,000 per month after completing 60 years of age.

China launches 3 satellites will help areas including disaster management and climate monitoring

China successfully launched three satellites including a resource satellite into planned orbits which will help in disaster prevention, urban construction and monitor polar regions and global climate change.

Key highlights:

1. The resource satellite and two small satellites were launched on a Long March-4B carrier rocket at 11:26 am local time from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in north China's Shanxi Province.
2. The resource satellite ZY-1 02D is developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and is an important part of China's space-based infrastructure.
3. It will provide observation data for natural resources asset management, ecological monitoring, disaster prevention and control, environmental protection, urban construction, transportation and contingency management.
4. ZY-1 02D will form a network with more satellites to follow. It will work in the solar synchronous orbit at 778-km above the Earth. It carries a near-infrared camera with a coverage width of 115-km.

Maitree 2019, Indo Thailand Joint Military Exercise to be held

The Defence Ministry of India announced a joint military exercise between India and Thailand as MAITREE 2019. The exercise is aimed to share the experience that are gained to counter-terrorism operations. The exercise will be conducted at Foreign coaching Node of Umroi in Meghalaya from 16 September to 29 September of 2019.

Key highlights:

1. About 100 Indians and Royal Thailand army RTA soldiers will participate in this joint ministry exercise. MAITREE 2019 is the third army engagement between India-Thailand. The counter operations exercise would be held in urban areas or in the jungle.
2. The annual Joint Military Exercise between India and Thailand is being conducted since 2006. It is aimed to improve the level of defence co-operation between the Indian Army (IA) and the Royal Thailand  Army (RTA) that will foster defence cooperation and bilateral relations between the 2 nations.
3. The diplomatic relations between India and Thailand were established in 1947. Each country has increased economic and business links by the exchange of high-level visits. India and Thailand were culturally joined for a hundred years and India has had a deep influence on Thai culture.

Water discovered for the first time in atmosphere of habitable exoplanets K2-18b

The first time discovered water in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting within the habitable zone of a distant star.The finding makes the world is called K2-18b - a plausible candidate in the search for alien life.

Key highlights:

1. The new space telescopes might be able to determine whether K2-18b's atmosphere contains gases that could be produced by living organisms.
2. The details were published in the scientific journal Nature Astronomy.The lead scientist, Prof Giovanna Tinetti of University College London (UCL), described the discovery as mind blowing.This is the first time that we have detected water on a planet in the habitable zone around a star where the temperature is potentially compatible with the presence of life.
3. The habitable zone is the region around a star where temperatures are considered sufficiently benign for water to exist in liquid form on the surface of a planet.
4. The new planet is just over twice the size of Earth - in a planet category known as a super Earth and has a temperature cool enough to have liquid water, between zero and 40C.

Govt declared a train service to Bangladesh from Tripura by next year

Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region said that the Railway link service between the Agartala-Akhaura in Bangladesh will be completed by 2020 for Development of Northeastern Region (DoNER). The declaration was announced during the meeting by the Minister of DoNER Dr.Jitendra Singh and senior officers of the Ministry which was held on 12 September in Delhi.

Key highlights:

1. The Bangladesh railway link project is funded by the Ministry of DoNER. The cost allocated for the project is Rs 972.52 crores. 
2. The project can link Agartala with Bangladesh Railway Network at Akhaura. It will cut the traveling time period for passenger and goods movement from Kolkata to Agartala of 38 hours to 15 hours.
3. Maitree categorical is already running between Kolkata and Dhaka which is now extended to Agartala. Out of 15.19 Acre of land at Nischintpur Yard, 2.30 Acre has been handed over a month before Dec 2019 by Government of Tripura.

HRD Minister Confers CBSE Teachers Award 2018 To 35 Teachers

Central Board of Secondary Education conferred Teacher's Award 2018 to 35 Teachers and Principals. The awards were given away by the Union Minister for Human Resource Development Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. The Union HRD Minister launched the CBSE's portal Vidyadhan on Diksha App, a Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing National Forum for Teachers and released

Key highlights:

1. Mr. Ramesh Pokhriyal greeted all the awardees and principals and thanked them for their in nation building through teaching. The awards are a symbol of their hard work.
2. The teachers to create a positive environment with quality and values that meet the present and future needs of students.
3. The HRD Minister released 10 CBSE Manuals on various subjects like art integration, experiential learning, enjoyable teaching and learning of mathematics, new initiatives, school quality assessment and assurance, 10 + 2 post-academic courses, artificial intelligence, hubs of learning and eco-club and water conservation.

Russia terminated the functioning of Fedor

Russia has terminated the robot called Fedor which was sent to the International Space Station (ISS). The robot was sent to assist the astronauts on spacewalks. But Fedor could not replace astronauts on spacewalks.

Key highlights:

1. Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research (Fedor), the humanoid machine, was built to assist space station astronauts. 
2. Fedor is a 180 cm and 160 Kg humanoid robot that was sent in a unmanned Soyuz MS-14 vehicle on 22 August. SkybotF850 is a humanoid bipedal robot, which means it resembles a human being and walks like one too.
3. Fedor was designed in a way it has the ability to mirror its controllers’ movements. This facility will enable it to conduct experiments in potentially risky environments while being controlled from a safe distance.

BHEL commissions 1,320 MW thermal plant in Jharsuguda Odisha

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) India’s largest power equipment manufacturer announced it has commissioned a 1,320 Megawatt (Mw) power plant in Odisha.

Key highlights:

1. The IB Thermal Power Station with two units of 660 Megawatt capacity each is owned by Odisha Power Generation Corporation Limited (OPGC) a joint venture between the state government and US-based AES.
2. BHEL previously set up two units of 210 MW capacity each at IB Thermal Power Station operating for over 20 years.
3. BHEL supplied sets are contributing 100 per cent of the coal-based power stations installed by OPGC.
4. A substantial portion of power generated from the project will be supplied to the Grid Corporation of Odisha (GRIDCO)

US briefly overtakes Saudi Arabia as worlds top oil exporter

The US has topped as the world's top oil exporter. The country defeated Saudi Arabia and Russia. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in June, the US exports of crude topped 3 million barrels per day. This pushed its total oil exports to nearly 9 million barrels per day. This has proved the US with a new status as one of the world's most influential energy producers.

Key highlights:

1. Saudi Arabia reduced the exports of crude and other energy products. The move is a part of a longstanding Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) effort to boost prices. 
2. Russian exports were constrained by problems with a pipeline that delivers oil to central and eastern Europe.
3. Non-OPEC production growth has increased to 2.3 million bpd in 2020, up to 400,000 from 2019. Also, the demand for OPEC crude has been set to reach 28.3 million bpd in the first half of 2020, 1.4 million bpd less than the group produced in August.

Indian Ambassador to UAE Navdeep Suri conferred with UAE Order of Zayed

Sheikh Khalifa, conferred the Order of Zayed II first class.Mr Suri was given the honour in recognition of his efforts during his tenure and his contribution to the development and strengthening of relations between the UAE and India.Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, presented the Order to the ambassador during a meeting at the ministry in Abu Dhabi.

Key highlights:

1. Sheikh Abdullah praised the ambassador for his role in bolstering UAE-Indian relations and wished him success in his future assignments.
2. The relations between India and the UAE to even greater heights and to try to realise a vision outlined by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
3. The Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces recently presented the Order of Zayed, the nation's highest civilian award to Mr Modi for forging close ties between the two countries.
4. The award was presented by Sheikh Abdullah, who thanked Mr Stellino for his work in strengthening ties between the countries and wished him the best for the future.The Italian ambassador thanked Sheikh Khalifa and all of the government bodies for their support in making his job a success.

Google To Pay Billion Dollars For Settlement Over Tax Evasion In France

US internet giant Google agreed a settlement totalling 945 million euros ($1.0 billion) to end a tax dispute in France under an agreement announced in court. The company will pay a 500-million-euro fine for tax evasion, as well as a further 465 million euros to settle claims with French tax authorities.

Key highlights:

1. The settlement and hailed the fact it had put an end to fiscal differences that it had had with France for numerous years.The settlement follows similar out-of-court agreements reached in Italy and Britain by Google in recent a coordinated reform for a clear international taxation framework.
2. The settlement comes as France and its European allies seek to find common ground with the United States in a long-running dispute over the taxation of digital giants.
3. Google, like several other big American tech companies, has its European headquarters in Ireland, where the government has set the corporate tax rate at just 12.5 percent in a bid to attract big companies.
4. But leading EU states like France argue that this is allowing tech giants to avoid paying sufficient taxes on the huge profits and sales they accrue in big countries outside where the tech giants are headquartered.

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.

Key highlights:

1. The astronomers used archive data from 2016 and 2017 captured by the ESA/NASA Hubble Space Telescope. They then developed open-source algorithms which was used to analyze the starlight filtered through K2-18b's atmosphere. 
2. The analysis showed the molecular signature of water vapour. It also showed the presence of hydrogen and helium in the planet's atmosphere.
3. K2-18b is eight times the mass of Earth. It was discovered in 2015. So far, only this planet has both water and temperatures that could be potentially habitable. The K2-18b orbits the cool dwarf star K2-18b. It is located Leo constellation, about 110 light-years from the Earth.

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.

Key highlights:

1. 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.
2. Currently, IDBI Bank offers five credit card variants. LIC CSL, which a tie-up with Axis Bank and Corporation Bank for issuance of credit cards under co-branded/white label agreements, provides credit card services to LIC employees, club member agents, and policyholders.
3. The Chacko emphasised that IDBI Bank sees a huge potential customer base in LIC’s 29 crore policyholders, 11.80 lakh agents, and 1.12 lakh employees to cross-sell, among others, credit cards and home loans, and source deposits.

NASA created CGI Moon kit to help 3 D artists

NASA has created a CGI Moon kit that will allow humanity to experience their closest galactic neighbor as never before. Using data and imagery from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) the CGI Moon kit was created.

Key highlights:

1. The aim of the CGI Moon kit is to make NASA’s data more accessible to 3-D artists. 
2. CGI Moon kit was created by Ernie Wright is a science visualizer. He works at the Scientific Visualization Studio at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Initially, the 3D Moon map was created as a Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) resource. 
3. Later Multiple requests were received which helped in the creation of the Moon visualizations. The Kit will bring the LRO data within reach of lots of other artists who want to do the kinds of things.

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.

Key highlights:

1. Lieutenant General (retired) Abhijit Guha appointed as the Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) and head of the UNMHA.
2. He will succeeds Lieutenant General Michael Lollesgaard who served as RCC Chair and head of UNMHA from January 31 to July 31.
3. The Indian Army official is tasked with leading the UN oversight of a ceasefire agreement in Hodeidah. 
4. He served from 2009-2013 as the Deputy Military Adviser and the Military Adviser within the Office of Military Affairs of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations.He previously served as a Military Observer as part of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia during 1992.