DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 20 SEP 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 20 SEP 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.   JHARKHAND GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES SHAHEED GRAM VIKAS YOJANA
i. Jharkhand Government launched the “Shaheed Gram Vikas Yojana”  at  Ulihatu Village ,Khunti district of Jharkhand. BJP President Amit Shah along with Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das launched the initiative.
ii. The scheme aims at developing the villages of freedom fighters in the state. Ulihatu Village is the birth place of freedom fighter and Jharkhand’s tribal icon, Birsa Munda.
iii. villages of many tribal freedom fighters will be developed and their habitants will be provided basic amenities. Amit shah gave away gas connections, solar lamps to some of the beneficiaries.


2.   INTERNATIONAL YOGA FESTIVAL STARTS IN KASHMIR
i. Jammu and Kashmir governor N N Vohra inaugurated the 2nd International Yoga Festival and International Yoga Sports Championship 2017 in which about 300 people from various parts of India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bulgaria, Canada, USA and Nepal are participating.
ii. The festival is being organized by the Yoga Society of Kashmir at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre.

3.   INDIA JAPAN US TRILATERAL FOREIGN MINISTERIAL MEETING HELD IN NEW YORK
i. The Foreign Ministerial meeting among India Foreign Minister, US Secretary of State Tillerson and Japanese FM Kono held in New York.
ii. The Ministers emphasized the need for ensuring freedom of navigation, respect for international law and peaceful resolution of disputes. They also exchanged views on maritime security, connectivity and proliferation issues.
iii. The three Ministers directed their senior officials to explore practical steps to enhance cooperation. Swaraj will also participate in a high-level meeting on UN reforms, hosted and chaired by US President Donald Trump.

4.   SEBI ALLOWS REITS, INVITS TO ISSUE BONDS
i. Securities and Exchange Board of India allowed Infrastructure Investment Trusts and Real Estate Investment Trusts to raise funds by issuing debt securities, in Mumbai.
ii. InvITs and REITs enable investors to invest on infrastructure projects and real estate properties respectively. Earlier, these trusts were allowed to raise funds only through equity.
iii. Now they are allowed to raise funds by issuing debt securities. SEBI has also allowed single-asset REITs. Previously, the trust needed at least two projects under it, with one of the projects limited to 60 % of the value of assets.
iv. SEBI has also allowed strategic investors to participate in REITS, similar to InvITs. These have been done in a move to attract investors.

5.   ECONOMIST MERCEDES ARAOZ SWORN IN AS PERU’S NEW PM
i. Vice President Ms. Mercedes Araoz was appointed as new Prime Minister of Peru by President Mr. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, in Lima.
ii. President of Peru, Mr. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski reshuffled the cabinet after the Congress passed a no-confidence vote on the existing PM Mr. Fernando Zavala.
iii. This was a consequence of a dispute regarding teachers strike and the government’s education policies that stressed gender equality in the school curriculum. Ms.Mercedes Araoz who was serving as Vice President was appointed as the new PM.

6.   AKSHAY KUMAR APPOINTED AS BRAND AMBASSADOR OF SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN IN UTTARAKHAND
i. Uttarakhand CM Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat announced the appointment of Bollywood actor Mr. Akshay Kumar as the brand ambassador of the Swachh Bharat Mission in Uttarakhand.
ii. Mr. Akshay Kumar had produced and acted a film named ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’ recently. It stressed the need to eradicate open defecation and the need for toilet in every household.
iii. Mr.Akshay Kumar was also appointed as the brand ambassador for the cleanliness campaign in Uttar Pradesh in August 2017.

7.   PUNE NGO “SWAYAM SHIKSHAN PRAYOG” FOR WOMEN FARMERS WINS UN EQUATOR PRIZE
i. Swayam Shikshan Prayog, a Pune-based non-governmental organization working for women farmers, won 2017 UN Equator Prize.
ii. Women farmers Ms. Godavari Dange and Ms. Kamal Kumbhar from Osmanabad district, received the 2017 UN Equator Prize, on behalf of SSP, at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
iii. SSP is the only Indian organisation among the 15 winners of this year. The award honours SSP’s efforts to empower more than 20,000 women farmers from a very poor region named Marathwada, in Maharashtra.
iv. In 2016, SSP won UNFCCC’s Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activity Award.

8.   JAWAHARLAL NEHRU PORT TRUST WINS “RAJBHASHA KIRTI AWARD” FOR 11TH CONSECUTIVE TIME
i. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust was awarded the “Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar” for the 11th consecutive time. It won in the category of ‘B’ region for autonomous bodies and boards, for its excellent implementation of the Official Language.
ii. Deputy Chairman of JNPT, Shri Neeraj Bansal accepted the award from President of India, Shri Ramnath Kovind. The award was presented at a ceremony at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on the occasion of Hindi Divas celebration.

9.   ANA CARRASCO OF SPAIN BECOMES 1ST FEMALE BIKER TO WIN A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RACE
i. Ana Carrasco of Spain became the first female to win an individual World Championship motorbike race, in Portugal.
ii. Ana Carrasco won the 1st place in the Supersport 300 World Championship’s round 10 in Portugal. She has become the 1st female to win an Individual Championship motorbike race.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. WHICH GOVERNMENT HAS LAUNCHED THE “SHAHEED GRAM VIKAS YOJANA” ?
a)  Jharkhand
b)  Uttarkhand
c)  Maharashtra
d)  Nagaland
Q2. WHERE DID GOVERNOR N N VOHRA INAUGURATE THE 2ND INTERNATIONAL YOGA FESTIVAL AND INTERNATIONAL YOGA SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP 2017?
a)  Goa
b)  Himachal Pradesh
c)  Jammu and Kashmir
d)  Arunachal Pradesh
Q3. WHERE DID THE FOREIGN MINISTERIAL MEETING AMONG INDIA FOREIGN MINISTER, US SECRETARY OF STATE TILLERSON AND JAPANESE FM KONO HELD?
a)  Chicago
b)  San Franscisco
c)  Washington D.C
d)  New York
Q4. WHICH ONE FROM THE FOLLOWING HAS ALLOWED INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT TRUSTS AND REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS TO RAISE FUNDS BY ISSUING DEBT SECURITIES, IN MUMBAI?
a)  National Stock Exchange of India
b)  Securities and Exchange Board of India
c)  Bombay Stock Exchange
d)  BME Stock Exchange
Q5. WHO WAS APPOINTED AS BRAND AMBASSADOR OF SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN IN UTTARAKHAND?
a)  Akshay Kumar
b)  Virat Kholi
c)  P.V.Sindhu
d)  M.S.Dhoni

ANSWERS: 
1 - A    2 - C    3 - D    4 - B    5 - A