03 September 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. PM Narendra Modi to be honoured with Global Goalkeeper Award

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be honoured with the prestigious 2019 ‘Global Goalkeeper Award’ for his work in the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’.
Mr. Modi will be felicitated by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, owned by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates.
The Foundation will host the fourth annual Goalkeepers 'Global Goals Awards' on 24^th September in the United States.
The award is a “special recognition” that celebrates the commitment of a political leader towards the Global Goals, demonstrated through impactful work in their country and/or globally.

Note:

The annual awards, in five categories, are presented to leaders and individuals for their efforts in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The categories are Progress, Changemaker, Campaign, Goalkeepers Voice and the Global Goalkeeper.

Know about ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is one of the ambitious projects that was introduced by PM Modi on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary 2^nd October 2014.
The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan aims to make India 'Open Defecation Free' by 2019.

National Affairs

2. PM Narendra Modi embarks on 3-day visit to Russia to attend EEF summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on 3-day visit to Russia to take part in the 5th Eastern Economic Forum – (EEF) summit.
PM Modi will also attend the 20th annual summit between Russia and India.
According to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, both India and Russia want to move beyond the conventional cooperation in defence and nuclear civil cooperation to the new areas of the economy.
On the sidelines of Eastern Economic Summit, the Prime Minister is expected to hold bilateral talks with the Government Heads of Japan, Malaysia and Mongolia.

Note:

Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) is an international forum held each year in Vladivostok, Russia, for the purpose of encouraging foreign investment in the Russian Far East.
The Eastern Economic Forum was established by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in 2015.

Source: AIR News

3. Defence Ministers of India & Japan meet in Tokyo

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo to further enhance the defence engagements between both the countries.
Earlier Mr Singh co-chaired the annual Defence Ministerial Dialogue with his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwayain.
According to Rajnath Singh, India and Japan will continue working together to further deepen the defence ties between both the nations.
The Defence Minister's visit to Japan and South Korea aims at further deepening and strengthening India’s bilateral relations with these friendly countries and help explore new avenues for defence cooperation and engagement.

Source: The Hindu

4. Haryana govt. announces about Rs 5,000 cr interest, penalty waiver on crop loans

The Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has announced a 4,750 crore rupees waiver on interest and penalty on crop loans.
The farmers who have borrowed from Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS), District Cooperative Central Banks, Land Mortgage Bank and Haryana Land Reforms and Development Bank will benefit from this decision.
This will benefit around 10 lakh farmers of the state.
The farmers whose bank accounts were declared Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) by these banks and were unable to renew their loans will now be able to do so.

Note:

Around 85,000 farmers had taken loans worth 3,000 crore rupees from the District Cooperative Central Banks.
Out of which, accounts of 32,000 farmers involving an amount of 800 crore rupees have turned NPAs.
Farmers will have to pay two per cent interest for loans less than five lakh rupees, five per cent for loans between 5 lakhs to 10 lakh rupees and 10% for bigger loans.

Source:

5. PM Modi inaugurates Garvi Gujarat Bhavan in New Delhi

Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has inaugurated the new building of ‘Garvi Gujarat Bhavan’ at Akbar Road in New Delhi.
The Bhavan is equipped with traditional and modern artefacts and technologies and will serve as a home for Gujaratis in the national capital.
The new structure is built on an area of 20,325 square meters and have 19 suits rooms, 59 regular rooms, a restaurant, a public dining hall, a business centre, a souvenir shop, a multi-purpose hall, conference hall, four lounges, a gymnasium, a yoga centre, a terrace garden and a library.
This ‘Garvi Gujarat Bhavan’ building has been built at a cost of around 131 crore rupees by the Gujarat Government.
The old Gujarat Bhavan at Chanakyapuri will continue to function.

Source: Times of India

Banking & Finance

6. GST collection in August stands at Rs 98,202 cr

As per the release of the Finance Ministry, the GST collection in the month of August stood at 98 thousand 202 crore rupees.
The total number of GSTR 3B Returns filed for the month of July up to 31st of August is around 76 lakhs.
The Union government has settled 23 thousand 165 crore rupees to CGST and 16 thousand 623 crore rupees to SGST from IGST as a regular settlement.
The total revenue earned by the Central Government and the State Governments after regular settlement in the month of August 2019 is 40 thousand 898 crore rupees for CGST and 40 thousand 862 crores for the SGST.
27 thousand 955 crore rupees have been released to the states as GST compensation for the months of June and July this year.

Note:

The goods and services tax (GST) is a value-added tax levied on most goods and services sold for domestic consumption.
The GST is paid by consumers, but it is remitted to the government by the businesses selling the goods and services. In effect, GST provides revenue for the government.

Source: AIR News

International Affairs

7. Bangladesh TV starts telecast in India

Dr. Hasan Mahmud (Information Minister of Bangladesh) has inaugurated the state-owned TV channel Bangladesh Television (BTV) at BTV Auditorium in Dhaka for viewers in India on DD free dish.
This would create platforms for learning from each other’s experiences and fostering better understanding between the two countries.
The BTV programmes in India will be broadcast by using the country's first communication satellite Bangabandhu 1.
Initially, the viewers would be able to watch BTV World service programmes in India.
India and Bangladesh signed an agreement in May 2019 to make BTV and DD available in both the countries.

Science & Defence

8. Japan to launch special police unit to patrol isles in the East China Sea

Japan will launch a special police unit equipped with submachine guns and helicopters to patrol disputed isles in the East China Sea.
According to the National Police Agency, it had put in a budget request for an additional 159 officers to head off illegal landings on remote islands by armed groups.
It was the first-time police had stepped up patrols near the disputed islands.
The uninhabited islets are at the centre of a festering row between Tokyo and Beijing, which is also involved in a widening dispute with several Southeast Asian countries over islands in the South China Sea.
The Japanese Government has long complained about China's routine dispatch of coastguard ships to waters surrounding the islands.
Relations between Japan and China deteriorated in 2012 when Tokyo nationalized some of the islets.

Note:

The ‘East China Sea’ is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of roughly 1,249,000 square kilometres.
The sea connects with the Sea of Japan through the Korea Strait and opens to the north into the Yellow Sea.
The states which border the sea include Japan, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China.

Source: AIR News

9. Eight US-made Apache AH-64E attack helicopters to be inducted into IAF

Eight United States-made Apache AH-64E attack helicopters have been inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in a ceremony at the Pathankot Air Force station.
The addition of the Apache fleet will significantly enhance the IAF's combat capabilities.
The AH-64E Apache is one of the world's most advanced multi-role combat helicopters.
The IAF had signed a multi-billion dollar contract with the US Government and Boeing Ltd in September 2015 for purchase of 22 Apache helicopters.

Note:

Apache helicopter can deliver a variety of weapons which includes air to ground hellfire missiles, 70 MM Hydra rockets and air to air stinger missiles.
Apache also carries one 30MM chain gun with 1200 rounds as part of area weapon subsystem.
It carries fire control radar which has 360-degree coverage and nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems.

Source: AIR News

Obituaries

10. Emmy Award-winning actress Valerie Harper passes away

The four-time Emmy Award-winning actress Valerie Harper (80-years) passed away after years of fighting cancer.
She also has Golden Globe award for playing the brash New Yorker on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”.
She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut in the musical “Take Me Along” in 1959.

Source: Economics Times

Sports

11. Virat Kohli becomes India's most successful Test skipper

Virat Kohli has surpassed Mahendra Singh Dhoni to become India's most successful Test skipper.
It came after the Indian team recorded its 28th win under Kohli's leadership in the second and final test against the West Indies at Kingston.
The 28 wins have come from 48 matches for Kohli as captain.
M S Dhoni led India to 27 wins from 60 Test matches during his tenure.
Overall, Graeme Smith (former South Africa skipper) remains the most successful skipper in the world with 53 Test wins, followed by Ricky Ponting (ex-Australia captain) who recorded 48 Test wins in his captaincy tenure.

12. Yashaswini Deswal wins gold at ISSF World Cup

Indian shooter Yashaswini Singh ‘Deswal’ has won the gold medal in the women’s 10meter Air Pistol event at the ISSF World Cup at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
This is India’s 9th quota in shooting for 2020 Tokyo Games.
Yashaswini Singh Deswal has also secured an Olympic quota for India.

Note:

The 2019 ISSF World Cup is the annual edition of the ISSF World Cup in the Olympic shooting events, governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF).
The World Cup series will be also as the qualification tournaments for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Source: AIR News

13. India beat West Indies in 2nd cricket test at Kingston; Clinches series 2-0

India beat West Indies by a thumping margin of 257 runs to win the second Cricket Test and clinch series 2-0.
Chasing a mammoth victory target of 468 runs set by India, West Indies were all out for 210 in their second innings on the penultimate day of the Test at Kingston, Jamaica.
India produced a top-notch bowling performance to demolish West Indies as the series victory put them on top of ICC World Test Championship points table.
The victory was 28th in Tests for Virat Kohli making him the most successful Indian captain in the traditional format of the sport.

Brief scores:

India: 416 (140.1) & 168/4d (54.4)
West Indies: 117 (47.1) & 210 (59.5).
Man of the Match: Hanuma Vihari (India).

Source: AIR News

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