DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 21 SEP 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 21 SEP 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.   INDIAN ARMY TAKES SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN TO INDIA’S HIGHEST BATTLEFIELD , SIACHEN
i. Siachen is India’s highest and hardest battlefield situated at an average altitude of 18,000 ft above sea level. Our Indian Army carried PM Narendra Modi’s agenda of Swachh Bharat and make Siachen stays clean.
ii. It is a logistics challenge to move all types of waste out of the glacier so that these do not become an environmental hazard. Soldiers are at risk of getting frostbite if their bare skin touches any metal object for more than 15 seconds


2.   SINGAPORE TO SET UP SKILL CENTER IN NORTHEAST: DR JITENDRA SINGH
i. The Government of Singapore is proposed to be set up  Skill Center at Guwahati by the year 2019 and Dr Jitendra Singh ,the Ministry of DoNER will coordinate in this initiative.
ii. High Commissioner of Singapore, Mr Lim Thuan Kuan had meeting with India’s Dr Jitendra Singh, consisted of senior officers from the Ministry of DoNER, Department of Space and Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, the three main areas where Singapore has expressed its willingness to collaborate with India.
iii. The Singapore also expressed its preference to engage with India in the area of Space Technology for collaboration in “peaceful uses of Outer Space”. An MoU has already been formalized between Singapore and the State Government of Assam regarding the Skill Center at Guwahati.

3.   VICE PRESIDENT RELEASES COMMEMORATIVE COIN ON DR. M.S. SUBBULAKSHMI
i. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu unveiled commemorative coins of Rs 100 and Rs 10 denominations on the birth centenary musician Bharat Ratna M S Subbulakshmi and inaugurated an exhibition entitled “Kurai Onrum Illai-MS: Life in Music”  nearly two-week-long exhibition.
ii. The coins were launched at an event held at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.Dr. Mahesh Sharma, the Minister of State for Culture (I/C) and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and other notable personalities was also honored with their presence.
iii. M S Subbulakshmi was the first musician to be awarded the Bharat Ratna to winning the Ramon Magsaysay Award, and performing at the UN General Assembly.

4.   INDIA TO CONDUCT THE FIRST ‘BIMSTEC DISASTER MANAGEMENT EXERCISE- 2017’ IN OCTOBER
i. Our Home Ministry informed that India’s National Disaster Response Force is going to conduct a disaster management exercise between October 10-13  in New Delhi with BIMSTEC countries and acronymed as BIMSTEC DMEx-2017.
ii. It will be conducted in two phases in Delhi and its suburbs. The main exercise will comprise of Table Top Exercise, Field Training Exercise and After Action Review.
iii. The BIMSTEC region is home to around 1.5 billion people, constituting around 2% of the global population with a combined GDP of US $2.7 trillion. Most of the BIMSTEC countries are located in the South Asian Region, it leads to natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, earthquakes, avalanches and drought.
iv. At the 17th BIMSTEC Senior Officials Meeting held in Kathmandu, Nepal, it was decided that India would organize the 1st annual Disaster Management Exercise for the region.

5.   RBI CLASSIFIES P2P PLATFORM AS NBFC BUSINESS
i. Reserve Bank of India announced that peer-to-peer lending platforms would be treated as Non-Banking Financial Companies.
ii. Peer-to-peer lending platforms have been regulated by RBI by treating them as Non-Banking Financial Companies. P2P lending is a form of crowd-funding. It uses online platform to connect lenders and borrowers. It provides unsecured loans. Loans are paid back with interest.
iii. The borrower can either be an individual or a legal person. The interest rate is fixed by the platform or by a mutual agreement between the borrower and the lender.
iv. Both borrowers and lenders pay fee to the platform. Borrowers pay origination fee, which is either a fixed fee amount or a percentage of the loan amount depending on the risk category of the loan.

6.   NORWAY’S SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND HITS $1 TRILLION VALUE FOR THE FIRST TIME
i. The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund officially reached $1 trillion for the first time, in Oslo, Norway.
ii. Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund was formed in the 1990s to manage the Norwegian state’s oil revenues. This is the world’s largest Sovereign Wealth Fund.
iii. It is managed by Norwegian Central Bank. It has reached $1 trillion on 19th September 2017, for the first time.
iv. This occurred due to the increase in value of world’s major currencies against dollar value and good condition of stock market. The fund invests in stocks, bonds and real estate.

7.   AJAY BISARIA APPOINTED AS NEW HIGH COMMISSIONER TO PAKISTAN
i. Indian Government appointed Mr. Ajay Bisaria as Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan.
ii. Mr.Ajay Bisaria is the current ambassador to Poland. He will replace Mr. Gautam Bambawale as the High Commissioner to Pakistan.
iii. Mr. Gautam Bambawale will be appointed as ambassador to China. Mr. Ajay Bisaria will take charge as High Commissioner to Pakistan in October 2017.
iv. Recently Mr.Vijay Gokhale was appointed as Economic Relations Secretary at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

8.   ISKCON’S GOVARDHAN ECO VILLAGE IN MUMBAI WINS ‘SPIRIT OF HUMANITY’ AWARD
i. ISKCON’s Govardhan Eco village has received the ‘spirit of humanity’ award, instituted by AmeriCares, a non-profit organisation working for disaster relief and global health, in the ‘livelihood’ category.
ii. The Govardhan Eco Village, set up by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in Palghar district in Mumbai. The village, at Wada taluka, is located 108 kms north of Mumbai at the foothills of the Sahyadri mountains.

9.   DR. MAHESH SHARMA RELEASES THE BOOK “BHARTIYA KALA MEIN SALIL KRIDAYEN EVAM SADYAHSNATA NAYIKA”
i. Dr.Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture released the book entitled “Bhartiya Kala Mein Salil Kridayen Evam Sadyahsnata Nayika” at a function in National Museum at New Delhi.
ii. It was written by Dr. Kshetrapal Gangwar and Shri Sanjib Kumar Singh. Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment was also attended the function.
iii. This is an Art Book based on original research, written in Hindi and published by National Museum after few decades.This is a book written to highlight the Indian Art and describes the Water Sports (Salil Kridayen). This form of art has been the part of Indian Art from time immemorial.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. WHICH COUNTRY IS PROPOSED TO BE SET UP SKILL CENTER AT GUWAHATI, INDIA BY THE YEAR 2019?
a)  US
b)  Malaysia
c)  Singapore
d)  Australia
Q2. ON WHOSE BIRTH CENTENARY VICE PRESIDENT VENKAIAH NAIDU UNVEILED COMMEMORATIVE COINS OF RS 100 AND RS 10 DENOMINATIONS?
a)  M.S.Subbulakshmi
b)  Radha Vishwanathan
c)  M. L. Vasanthakumari
d)  Saraswati Rane
Q3. INDIA’S NATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE FORCE IS GOING TO CONDUCT A DISASTER MANAGEMENT EXERCISE IN NEW DELHI WITH WHICH ORGANIZATION?
a)  BESTMICH
b)  BEMSTICH
c)  BISMTECH
d)  BIMSTECH
Q4. WHICH COUNTRY’S SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND HITS $1 TRILLION VALUE FOR THE FIRST TIME?
a)  Switzerland
b)  Norway
c)  Madagascar
d)  Ireland
Q5. TO WHICH COUNTRY INDIAN GOVERNMENT APPOINTED MR.AJAY BISARIA AS INDIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER?
a)  Pakistan
b)  Poland
c)  Bangladesh
d)  Scotland

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