Current affair of 16th September 2019

India to run special training programme for Maldivian civil servants

India will conduct a two-week special training programme for Maldivian civil servants in Delhi and Mussoorie. The training is part of a bilateral MoU on Training and Capacity Building Programme between the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) and the Maldives Civil Service Commission (CSC),

Key highlights:

1. A 32-member delegation from Maldives arrived at the NCGG campus in the hill station of Mussoorie.
2. The inaugural session of the programme would be chaired by K V Eapen, the secretary of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG); Fatimath Amira, member Civil Services Commission; and V Srinivas, additional secretary DARPG, it said.
3. The sessions on public policy and governance, ethics and accountability and redressal of public grievances, motivation, innovation, sustainable development goals, promoting tourism, regional cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region, India-Maldives relations along with visits to the Unique Identification Authority, Passport Sewa Kendra and Election Commission of India.
4. Senior policy makers, including Director Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration Sanjeev Chopra, would address the participants in the training programme, the statement said.

Four lions rescued from a 100-feet deep well in Gir forest

Three lions are associated with one lioness(four lions) within the 2-3 year age were saved from one hundred feet deep unused well on the farm in Manavav in the evening of 14th Sept 2019 in the Gir forest at Gujarat.

Key highlights:

1. The farm owner has alerted the officers. the forest department team managed well to rescue the lions and lioness by operating through the night. the well was dry and also the four lions had to be dragged out with the assistance of residents and instrumentality they had carried to rescue.
2. The Gujarat government had constructed  37,201 parapets on open wells in forests to stop lions from falling into them. According to officers, there are over 50,000 wells that cause danger to wild animals.
3. Gir park may be a forest and life sanctuary close to Talala Gir in Gujarat,it is established in 1965.it is totally protected as a park and 1,153 km2. The 14th Asiatic Lion Census was conducted in 2015. the population of lions was 523 (27% up compared to the previous census in 2010).
4. The population of lions was 411 in 2010 and 359 in 2005. The population of lions in the Junagadh District was 268, Gir Somnath District was 44, Amreli District was 174 (highest increase), and Bhavnagar District was thirty-seven. There are 109 males, 201 females and 213 young/cubs.

Mayank Vaid becomes first Indian to complete Enduroman triathlon

Mayank Vaid becomes the first Indian to complete the Enduroman. It is a triathlon from England to France which is considered to be one of the toughest endurance competitions in the world. He is the 44th person in the world to have completed this triathlon. He is also the first Asian person to complete this triathlon in solo capacity.

Key highlights:

1. He also broken the record for the shortest time taken to complete the Enduroman Arch to Arc triathlon. He completed the triathlon involving running, swimming and cycling.
2. The time duration is around in 50 hours and 24 minutes. The previous record for this triathlon was 52 hours and 30 minutes. It is held by Julien Deneyer of Belgium.
3. The triathlon starts with a 140 km run from London’s Marble Arch to Dover on the Kent coast, then a cross-Channel swim (shortest distance 33.8 km) to the French coast, and finishes with a 289.7 km bike ride from Calais to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
4. This is the longest point to point triathlon in the world. Only 44 persons have completed it so far. More people have climbed Mt. Everest. It is truly the toughest and most brutal triathlon in the world.
5. The difficulties he faced in the course of his record run.The swim and bike sections were really hard. Especially going sleepless for more than 50 hours. The most challenging part is when a swimmer starts to see the French coast and that’s when the mind plays games.

Air India posts Rs 4,600 crores operating loss in 2018-19 its aim to operating profit fiscal

Air India denotes an operating loss of around Rs 4600 crore within the last fiscal year due to higher oil costs and exchange losses however the debt-laden carrier expects to show the profit of Rs 700 to 800 crore in 2019-20.

Key highlights:

1. The airline's net loss leads to Rs 8,400 crore whereas total loss revenues touched around Rs26,400 crore in 2018-19. Air India had a loss of Rs 430 crore within the four-month. after Pakistan’s Balakot airstrikes closed Air india tries to increase a ratio and yields improving to forty-one international and seventy-two domestic destinations. 
2. Air india is to begin flying to Toronto from Sep twenty-seven and to Nairobi in November. the airindia has a loan burden upto Rs 58,000 crore, at now it is a new challenge on major investment with Rs 4000 crore.
3. The Air india airline was supported by J. R. D. Tata it is started in 1932. The airline has its headquarters in New Delhi.it is owned by the government.
4. it  is the largest international carrier with sixty international destinations served by four continents. The airline became the twenty-seventh member of Star Alliance on eleven July 2014.

TN officials to learn highway safety skills from Australia

Tamil Nadu, Australia, Safe System Solution, VicRoads and Highways Department. The Tamil Nadu government has sent a group of senior administrators to Australia for highway safety using Safe System Solution and to emulate the best practice procedures with a workshop.it will start on 16th Sept 2019 in Melbourne.

Key highlights:

1. A group of members participating this meeting includes S.K. Prabhakar the Principal Secretary of Highways and Minor Ports, Beela Rajesh the Secretary to Government of Health and Family Welfare, A. Arun is the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) and A. Arun Thamburaj is the Project Director of  Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project left for Melbourne.
2. The aim of this workshop program is to make a piece of the understanding marked by the State government with VicRoads and Highways Department of  Australia on how to safeguard the life of people while driving in highway roads with all types of vehicles.
3. The Highway Safety section contains ideas, rules, and computational strategies for life execution of different roadway safety facilities into four sections like

Pankaj Advani wins his record 22nd world billiards title

Pankaj Advani increased his tally of world titles to twenty-two by winning the fourth final within the 150 at the IBSF World Billiards Championship on 14th Sept 2019 in Mandalay of Myanmar.

Key highlights:

1. India's Pankaj Advani defeated England's Mike Russell in 5-2 to enter the final of the IBSF World Billiards Championship. Thway Oo had beaten the Russell in the semifinals last year before losing to Advani within the final.
2. The IBSF World table game Championship is the premier international and non-professional tournament for the English billiards sanctioned by the International Billiards and Snooker Federation in 1973.
3. Pankaj Arjan Advani is an Indian billiards and snooker player. he won Indian National Championship titles in 5 completely different years: 2005, 2008, 2012, 2017 and recently in 2019.

Kapil Dev to be the first chancellor of Rai Sports University

Kapil Dev Rai Sports University, Sonepat, coaching program. The Haryana Government has appointed cricket legend Kapil Dev as the first Chancellor of Rai Sports University. The minister of Haryana Anil Vij had approved the proposal to upgrade the sports university on Sept 14th in Sonepat.

Key highlights:

1. The Sports University of Haryana in Sonepat is conducting the educational and coaching programs in education and sports sciences and as well as in sports technology and medicine. 
2. This Course can embrace coaching for sports management, sports infrastructure engineering, sports scientific discipline, sports nutrition, sports journalism, and sports promoting.
3. Kapil dev was a baseball player and he is a quick bowler. He is one of the best captains in India. Dev captained the Indian cricket team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup. 

Iran dismisses US accusations it was behind drone attacks on Saudi oil installations

Iran dismissed US accusations behind the attacks on Saudi oil installations. The United States of America seeking a pretext to retaliate against the Islamic republic.

Key highlights:

1. The Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi gave such fruitless and blind accusations are incomprehensible and meaningless. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned Iran.
2. Yemen's Iran-aligned Shiite Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the drone strikes, but Pompeo said, there is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.
3. The US allegations over the pre-dawn strikes on Abqaiq and Khurais in Eastern Province were meant to justify actions against Iran. 
4. Tehran and Washington have been at loggerheads since May last year when President Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 deal that promised Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program. 

Indian Navy joins search operation to trace missing persons in Andhra Pradesh boat accident

Twelve people died and several are missing after a tourist boat overturned in the Godavari River in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.There were 63 people on board the boat and 21 have been rescued, authorities said.

Key highlights:

1. The boat had started off for the picturesque Papikondalu hill range, a prime tourist destination, from Gandi Pochamma Temple near Devipatnam.
2. The accident took place near Kacchuluru village in Devipatnam Mandal, about 200 km from Amravati. All boating services in the region have been suspended.
3. Most of those on the boat were from Telangana, news agency IANS reported. Officials said 22 of the tourists were from Hyderabad and 14 from Warangal.
4. In Andhra Pradesh, four more bodies taken out the death toll in yesterday's Godavari boat tragedy to 12. Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy conducted an aerial survey at the accident site at Devipatnam area.The enquired about the health of those admitted in hospital in Rajamahendravaram. The state government announced 10 lakh rupees ex-gratia to the families of each deceased.

Rajasthan Government launches Jan Soochna Portal 2019

The first-ever public information portal launched in Rajasthan promising to provide information about government authorities and departments suo motu to the public in the true spirit of the Right To Information Act. The portal has brought yet another distinction to Rajasthan, where the RTI movement started in 1990s.

Key highlights:

1. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot inaugurated the portal at B.M. Birla Auditorium in the presence of former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, former Law Commission chairman Justice A.P. Shah and a galaxy of RTI activists, including Magsaysay Award winner Aruna Roy.
2. The State government collaborated with the civil society groups to develop the portal, the first of its kind in the country, initially giving information pertaining to 13 departments on a single platform. The different sections divided into districts, blocks and panchayats, the portal empowers the common people with access to useful information.
3. The new web portal, named the Jansuchna Portal-2019, would ensure compliance with Section 4(2) of the RTI Act mandating the public authorities to disclose information in the public domain, so that people need not file applications under the law to obtain information.
4. The statute erode the resolve to bring transparency and accountability in administration.This portal displays our government's resolve for strict enforcement of RTI Act.

US President Donald Trump to join our Prime Minister in Houston to address the Indian American community

US President Donald Trump with our Prime minister Narendra Modi in Houston to address a section of the Indian American community.

Key highlights:

1. The Howdy Modi event confirmed by the White House in a statement released by our Indian ambassador to the US, Harsh Vardhan Shringla
2. The important partnerships between the United States and India and Australia. In Houston,President Trump will participate in an event with Indian PM Narendra Modi
3. They will join the community programme in Houston on the 22nd September.
4. The special gesture of President @realDonaldTrump to join us in Houston highlights the strength of the relationship and recognition of the contribution 
5. Indian community to American society and economy. #HowdyModi.- A tagline given to represent our Prime Minister Narendra Modi

UNESCO to publish an anthology of Guru Nanak Devs writing in world languages

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) decided to translate and publish an anthology of the writings of Guru Nanak Dev in world languages to mark his 550th birth anniversary.

Key highlights:

1. The main aim is to commemorate 550th birth anniversary of GuruNanak Devji, UNESCO decided to translate and publish an anthology of his writings into world languages.
2. The government holding a series of events They initiated projects to mark 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
3. The main aim is to construction of Kartarpur Corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district in Punjab to the international border, the development of the historic town of Sultanpur Lodhi as a heritage town on the smart city principle.
4. The upgradation of Sultanpur Lodhi railway station and release of commemorative coins and postage stamps.

Sourabh Verma won Vietnam Open Super 100 title

India's Sourabh Verma won three-game over China's Sun Fei Xiang to claim the men's singles title at the USD 75,000 Vietnam Open BWF Tour Super 100 badminton tournament. He won the Hyderabad Open and Slovenian International recovered from a mid-game slump to beat Sun 21-12 17-21 21-14 in the summit clash which lasted an hour and 12 minutes.

Key highlights:

1. The Chinese blazing in the second game zooming to a 8-0 lead. He lead 11-5 at the interval and even though the Indian proved an uphill task as Sun roared back into the contest.
2. Indians maintained his lead the Chinese snapping at his heels.
3. Sourabh blasted off the next four points to shut the door on his opponent and win his third title of the year.
4. The 26-year-old from Madhya Pradesh won the Dutch Open and Korea Open.

Indian Air Force receives Spice-2000 building blaster buster bombs

India's aerial firepower, the Indian Air Force received the building blaster version of the Balakot air strike-fame Spice-2000 bombs at the Gwalior airbase. The Israeli firm started the delivery of the Spice-2000 bombs to India and the first batch of these bombs received.

Key highlights:

1. The weapons have been delivered to Gwalior as it is the home base of the Indian Air Force's Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft fleet and they are the only fleet which can fire the Israeli bombs.
2. The Indian Air Force signed an over ₹250 crore contract with Israel with Mark 84 warhead and bombs which can destroy buildings completely.
3. The IAF had signed a contract with Israel in June this year for acquiring more than 100 Spice-2000 bombs under the emergency procurement powers of the services given by the Narendra Modi government.
4. The contract was signed as the Air Force wanted to acquire the bombs after their successful usage in the Balakot airstrikes against a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist camp in Pakistan.

Ravi Shankar Prasad launches India First Maritime Communication Services And CEIR System In India

Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology and Law & Justice Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad launched the maritime communication services at Mumbai. The maritime connectivity will enable high-end support to those in sea by providing access to Voice, Data and Video services while traveling on sailing vessels, cruise liners, ships in India using satellite technology.

Key highlights:

1. India's leading VSAT solutions provider is the first Indian company that will now provide quality broadband services to the maritime sector.
2. Nelco through global partnerships, infrastructure including transponder capacity on satellite of ISRO Indian Space Research Organization) and a comprehensive service portfolio will help Energy, Cargo and Cruise vessels by enhancing operational efficiency, improving crew welfare and enabling customer services. The IFMC licence has not only enabled connectivity for on-board users on ships but also brings operational efficiencies for shipping companies which were less evolved.
3. The Government of India announced the licenses for In-flight and Maritime Communications (IFMC) that allows voice and internet services while flying over the Indian skies and sailing in Indian waters, both for international and Indian aircrafts and vessels. 
4. The IFMC license is a key initiative of the Telecom Ministry, a move to liberalise satellite communication services in India.