Current affair of 15th September 2019

India won Track Asia Cup 2019

Cycling sensation Ronaldo Laitonjam won at the Track Asia Cup 2019. The two gold medal on day one, the junior world champion team member created an Asian record for men’s junior 200m time trial event and later won a gold medal in the junior men’s Sprint event.

Key highlights:

1. Venkappa Shiv Kengalgutti won the gold medal in the junior men’s 3 km individual. Triyasha Paul and Nikita Nisha gave finish in the junior women’s sprint event and added two more medals to India’s tally. 
2. Paul and Nisha won medals on day one was well.India’s Punam Chand captured the silver medal falling short against Malaysia’s Emam Firdaus Mohammad Zamri who won the gold medal. India elite women’s 3 KM individual pursuit race. 
3. Elangbam Devi and Irungbam Devi gave India a silver-bronze finish in the event. The bronze medal was won by Irungbam Devi. 
4. India’s second team is Sports Authority of India National Cycling Academy won its first medal when Swasti Singh won the bronze medal in junior women’s 2 km individual pursuit. Kristina Titovskaya of Kazakhstan won the gold while Yanina Kuskova of Uzbekistan captured silver.
5. Harshveer Singh to deal a disappointing end in the elite men’s 15 KM Scratch Race as he failed to finish on the podium. The Indian finished fifth as the gold was captured by Muhammad Shaari of Malaysia.

India Rusia signed Contract for Modernisation of Radar and Missile Systems

India-Rusia signed Contract for Modernisation of Radar and Missile Systems of Delhi Class of Indian Navy Ships. Under the welfare of labor modernization, the renovation scheme would be undertaken in India in producing important hardware partnerships with the Indian trade.

Key highlights:

1. The contract for modernization of Air Defence advanced Kashmir and radar Fregat MAE on P-15 of ships was signed between the Ministry of Defence and JSC Rosoboronexport land in Delhi.
2. The modernization of radar and Missile systems would enhance well the Air Defence capability of the P-15 Ships in Delhi category missile destroyers of Indian Navy with the upgrading of their anti- Air weaponry. 
3. The military service has a shipborne with 3D radiolocation is capable of providing Target Designation information to missile systems. This includes a slightly squinted phased array antenna.

Govt plans to link social media accounts to the central database

The govt besides the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) plans to connect to social media with records including immigration entry, banking, and phone numbers and all database information in one platform case. Home Minister has reviewed the progress of NATGRID on 12th Sept in Delhi.

Key highlights:

1. The National Intelligence Grid wass first began in 2009 with a spending limit of Rs.2,800 crore. About 10 central agencies like Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and others will approach the information in a secured manner. 
2. After Mr.Patnaik resignation, NATGRID is presently headed by IAS Ashish Gupta.NATGRID's information recover center in Bengaluru has been built its office complex in South Delhi is nearing fulfillment.  
3. NATGRID is aiming to set up an Entity Extraction, Visualization and Analytics (EVA) framework data accessible from different information sources.
4. The database will be gathred by 10 user offices from 21 associations like telecom, tax records, bank, immigration to empower the generation of intelligence inputs. 

Payas Jain won silver at ITTF Asian Junior and Cadet Championship

India made a silver splash at the IITF World Asian and Cadet Championship as the country's accomplished table tennis player Payas Jain and junior boys team bagged silver in Cadet Boy's Singles and Junior Boys' Team events.

Key highlights:

1. Jain show his aggression initially but in the face of a fine attacking play by the Chinese.
2. The Delhi paddler wilted and lost 11-13, 6-11, 8-11, 5-11 in less than 20 minutes. There was a time in the first game when Jain matched his Chinese rival and even deuced after trailing. The top-seeded Chinese converted the point at the second opportunity to go ahead.
3. Jain's silver medal earned him a berth in the Asian squad will participate in the World Cadet Challenge at Wladyslawowo. India's campaign at the championships ended with two silver medals one by the junior boys team and another by Jain.

President kovind address the Indian community in Switzerland

President Ram Nath Kovind is visiting Switzerland as a part of his three-nation tour to enhance political, cultural and trade ties. The aim of the meet is to promote solar energy worldwide.

Key highlights:

1. President Kovind addressed the Indian community with the woman President emphasized on larger ties with Switzerland on 12th Sept in Berne. 
2. India-Switzerland's has signed a wealthy cultural engagement for bilateral cooperation. Switzerland is the world leader in innovation.
3. Already many Swiss and Indian start-ups hands to form solutions for global climate change, human health and additional. India wants its appearance forward to several additional such partnerships with Switzerland.
4. The signs are based on the renewable source energy collaboration between India and Switzerland with science, technology on innovation. 

India joins the Global AMR Research and Development Hub

India 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

Key highlights:

1. The Global Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Development hub now has 16 member nations. The hub also has the European Commission, two philanthropic foundations as members and four international organisations as observers.
2. The partnership works to address challenges and improve coordination and collaboration in the global antimicrobial resistance research and development. 
3. The issue of antimicrobial resistance requires global action with active participation from all world regions and One Health sectors.
4. The global research and development hub on antimicrobial resistance was launched in May 2018 on the sidelines of the 71st session of the World Health Assembly. The hub was set up following a call from the G20 member nations in 2017.

The International Day of Democracy is observed on 15 September

The International Day of Democracy is observed on 15 September. The day aims to provide an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world. The day urges all governments to respect their citizens' right to active, substantive and meaningful participation in democracy.

Key highlights:

1. The day urges all governments to respect their citizens' right to active, substantive and meaningful participation in democracy.
2. Democracy is a process which will happen only with the full participation of and support by the international community, national governing bodies, civil society, and individuals.
3. Democracy is a two-way street that is built on a constant dialogue between civil society and the political class.
4. In Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG-16) democracy has been addressed in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 
5. According to SDG, democracy is the indivisible links between peaceful societies and effective, accountable and inclusive institutions.

Marriott to ban small plastic bottle toiletries from December 2020

Marriott International, the world's largest hotel chain will eliminate small plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner and bath gel from its hotel rooms worldwide by December 2020. They'll be replaced with larger bottles or wall-mounted dispensers, depending on the hotel.

Key highlights:

1. They will eliminate about 200 million tiny bottles each year by 2021. 
2. Marriott more than 7,000 hotels in 131 countries under 30 brands, ranging from SpringHill Suites and Residence Inn to Sheraton and Ritz-Carlton.
3. It says it will be eliminating about 500 million small bottles each year, or 1.7 million pounds of plastic.
4. Maryland-based Marriott started replacing small bottles early last year at some North American brands, including Courtyard and Fairfield hotels. About 1,000 of those now feature larger bottles or pump dispensers that are hooked to the shower wall.
5. The larger bottles will still be plastic, and Marriott still plans to replace them - not just refill them - when they run low. But Naguib said the larger bottles are easier to recycle than smaller ones.

Minister of MSDE laid foundation for IIS Mumbai

Dr.Mahendra Nath Pandey, the Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) laid the foundation stone for Indian Institute of Skills in Mumbai (IIS-Mumbai). Centre has approved the setting up of Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Kanpur.

Key highlights:

1. The institutes will be constructed and operated on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. The institutes will be of not-for-profit basis.
2. IIS will be set up with a first-hand learning facilities from internationally renowned existing skill institutions like IITs and IIMs. 
3. It will provide skill training in highly specialized areas to students who want to pursue technical education after completing Class X and Class XII, making them employable and industry ready for the global market.
4. Tata Education Development Trust (TEDT) was chosen as the private partner for setting up IIS at NSTI campus in Mumbai through a competitive bidding process.

IIT Madras Launches Historical Archive To Chronicle 60 Years Of Achievements

The Heritage Centre was conceived by Prof. R. Natarajan, former Director of the Institute, and supported by the next Director, Prof. MS Ananth. Planning and creation were assigned to Prof. Ajit Kumar Kolar.

Key highlights:

1. The Centre was inaugurated in 2006. In order to celebrate the three creators of the Heritage Centre, their portraits were unveiled on the occasion by Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi.
2. The Centre plans to have thematic displays on an on-going basis. The first of these is a decade-wise walk-through of IIT Madras' history. This exhibit was also inaugurated by the Director today.
3. The Archive will be the official repository of all relevant documents pertaining to the organisation of IIT Madras. It will also be a potential repository for the personal papers of former IIT Madras faculty and alumni.

Former PM suggests ways to revive Indian economy

Former Prime Minister and economist Manmohan Singh have suggested 5 remedial measures reverse the current economic slowdown in the country.

Key highlights:

1. He said demonetization and faulty implementation of the Goods and Services Tax has wrecked the economy. 
2. Instead of making sectoral announcements, the govt should take efforts to simultaneously take forward the entire economic framework. GST should be made logical.
3. Revitalize key labor-intensive sectors like textile, automobile, electronics and affordable housing. To implement this, easy loans would be required, especially for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
4. Tackle emerging export opportunities due to the tariff war between the United States and China.

China Sees Decline In Electric Vehicle Sales For Second Consecutive Month

China reported a decline of 16 per cent in electric vehicle sales for the month of August. Last month the cumulative sales of all pure-electric, fuel-celled, and plugin hybrids vehicles stood at 85,000 units the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, compared to 100,000+ vehicles sold during the same month in 2018.

Key highlights:

1. The decline in year-on-year YoY sales, China registered month-on-month MoM drop of 4.7 per cent compared to the total EV sales in July 2019. 
2. The second straight month the EV sales have gone down in China, following the local government's decision to scale back subsidies.
3. China is currently the world's largest electric vehicle market, accounting for about half of the world's EV sales.
4. The electric vehicle segment is a strategically important industry in China, which hopes to electrify 60 per cent of its total vehicle population by 2035.

Maharashtra CM approved Rs.1680 cr water supply scheme for Aurangabad

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis has approved Rs.1680 crore to water supply scheme for Aurangabad town in the Marathwada region.

Key highlights:

1. Around 16lakh people of Aurangabad are going to be benefitted by this water supply scheme from the Jayakwadi dam.
2. The Water inadequacy is probably going issue within the Marathwada region wherever the BJP is making an attempt to form deep inroads. The elections measure slated to be in October.
3. The Marathwada is a region in Maharashtra comprising of eight districts that have a low-rainfall space. The region has been reeling underneath drought conditions for the last four years.
4. The cabinet minister had recently approved the first phase of Rs 4,293-crore to Marathwada Water Grid Project to mitigate water woes within the region.