1st September 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• Today (1st September) is Independence Day of Uzbekistan.
  • On 31 August 1991, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan declared independence.
  • 1 September was proclaimed the National Independence Day of Uzbekistan.
  • Important Points to Note :
  • Capital : Tashkent
  • Official language : Uzbek
  • President : Islam Karimov
  • Prime Minister : Shavkat Mirziyoyev
  • Currency : Uzbekistani som
• Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has banned Indian TV channels on Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite services. 
• Japan today announced a grant assistance of ₹183 crore to Nepal on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Nepal. 
• Around ₹31 crore will be used for educational programmes and ₹152 crore will be used on infrastructural projects for improvement of aviation safety facilities at major airports of Nepal.
• The first regularly scheduled commercial flight from the United States to Cuba in over 55 years landed in Cuba today. 
• JetBlue Airways is first of the US carriers to start flight services to Cuba after US and Cuba started normalising relations in December 2014. 
• Note : US citizens are still prohibited from visiting Cuba as tourists.

Places in News

• The world's largest indoor theme park, IMG Worlds of Adventure, opened in Dubai today. 

National Affairs

• India is observing National Nutrition Week from Today (1st of September) to Monday (7th of September).
• National Nutrition Week is celebrated each year from 1st September to the 7th September to aware the people about important tips of their health and well-being.
• The main objective of this campaign is to create awareness on the importance of nutrition for health which has far reaching implications on development, productivity, economic growth and ultimately national development.
• This campaign was first started by the central government in the year 1982 in order to encourage the good health and healthy living through the nutrition education as the malnutrition is the main obstruction to the National Development.
• The Women and Child Development Ministry has decided to intensify its efforts in battling malnourishment among children this year. 
• Minister of Women and Child Development : Maneka Gandhi
• Theme of the year 2016 : "Savor the Flavor of Eating Righ"
• Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is set to launch a liquor prohibition drive in Madhya Pradesh from Indore on September 16. 
• Theme of the prohibition drive : "Nasha-Mukt MP Yatra" 
• Important Points to Note :
• This will cover 24 districts in 12 days. 
• This drive will end on September 28 in Katni,
• Kumar has already launched the drive in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Delhi.
• With 86.4% literacy, the Jain community has the highest proportion of literates among all communities in India, the 2011 Census data has revealed. 
• Jains also have the highest number of graduates among them at 11.42 lakh or 25% of their population, the data stated. 
• Meanwhile, Muslims were revealed as the least educated, with 42.7% of the 17.22 crore being illiterate.
• The Delhi High Court has directed the Centre to take necessary steps to "expeditiously" modify the rules regarding the civil services examinations to incorporate transgender or third gender in the application forms. 
• The court ruled this while referring to the Supreme Court's April 2014 judgement, which had granted legal recognition to transgenders or eunuchs as the third gender.
• Goa today passed the Goods and Services Tax Amendment Bill, becoming the 15th state to have ratified the legislation. 
• The Bill was previously passed by,
• Assam, 
• Bihar, 
• Jharkhand, 
• Himachal Pradesh, 
• Chhattisgarh, 
• Madhya Pradesh, 
• Delhi, 
• Nagaland, 
• Telangana​, 
• Sikkim 
• Mizoram. 
• Note : The Bill required ratification by at least 15 states to be sent to the President for his approval.
• The BRICS Convention on Tourism for the year 2016 has begun at  Khajuraho (UNESCO World heritage) of Madhya Pradesh.
• The goal of this 2 day convention is to promote intra-regional tourism. 

New Appointments

• Former Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla has been appointed as the new Chancellor of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) University. 
• He is currently serving as the Chairman of TERI since February 2016.
• Gabon's incumbent President Ali Bongo was declared the winner of the presidential election by the country's Interior Ministry. 
• The Ministry said Bongo won his second term in the EU-monitored elections with 49.80% of the votes, while his rival candidate Jean Ping won 48.23%. 
• Noted filmmaker and actor Rajinikanth’s daughter Aishwaryaa Dhanush was appointed United Nations Women’s Advocate for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in India.

Awards & Honors

• Singer Justin Bieber has received six titles in the 2017 edition of the Guinness World Records. 
• The record titles included 'Most followers on Twitter (male)' with 85,235,563 followers. 
• Two Indians TM Krishna and Bezwada Wilson along with 4 other people have received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for the year 2016. 
• Complete Winners List of Ramon Magsaysay Award 2016
• T. M. Krishna (India - Chennai) : for social inclusiveness in culture
• Bezwada Wilson (India - Karnataka) : for asserting the inalienable right to a life of human dignity
• Conchita Carpio-Morales (Philippines) : for her work in “restoring faith in the rule of law”
• Dompet Dhuafa (Indonesia) : for “expanding the transformative impact of zakat”, which in Islam is a form of alms-giving and religious tax.
• Vientiane Rescue (a group from Laos) : its volunteering to save lives at risk.
• Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers Building : for contributing “to the reconstruction and progress of developing countries” towards the goal of building a world of genuine solidarity.
• Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen (36) with earnings of $30.5 million, has been named the World's Highest-Paid Model of 2016 by Forbes. 
• Gisele, who has been topping the annual list since 2002, is followed immediately by Adriana Lima, who earned $10.5 million. 
• The 'Taj Lake Palace Hotel' in Udaipur, Rajasthan has been voted the best hotel in Asia and the Indian subcontinent by the readers of travel magazine 'Condé Nast Traveller'. 

MOUs & Agreements

• The Union Government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with one of India's largest selling comic book series, Amar Chitra Katha to publish and distribute comic book on Swachh Bharat Mission.

Science & Technology

• Taiwanese electronics maker Acer today unveiled the world's first curved screen laptop named 'Predator 21 X'. 
• Australian motoring organisation RAC has launched the country's first ever driverless bus called RAC Intellibus. 
• The 11-seater bus will run on a 2.5 km route at a speed of 20 kmph. 

 Business & Economy

• Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani today announced the full-scale launch of its telecom venture 'Reliance Jio', during the company's 42nd annual general meeting. 
• Stating it to be the "biggest investment in the history" of Reliance Industries, Jio is the largest only 4G long-term evolution network in the world. 
• Note : Reliance Jio will start operations from September 5.
• Africa's biggest economy Nigeria slid into recession for the first time in over 20 years after Nigerian Bureau of Statistics today announced a further contraction in GDP in the June quarter. 
• This followed a decline in the non-oil sector amid a weaker currency, and lower prices in the oil sector. 
• The Indian Railways has launched a scheme to provide passengers with a travel insurance coverage of up to ₹10 lakh for a premium of 92 paise. 
• The insurance applies to Indian citizens, children above the age of five, and non-suburban commuters.

General Knowledge

• The World War II, which resulted in the death of about 56.4 million people, is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the war having the highest death toll ever. 
• The war started 77 years ago on September 1, 1939, after German invasion of Poland under dictator Adolf Hitler, and lasted for 6 years, until the formal surrender of Japan.

Deaths

• Poet and novelist Kashmiri Lal Zakir (97) passed away.
• He was the Chairman of the Haryana Urdu Academy.
• He had been conferred with the Fakhr-e-Haryana by the state government.

Sports

• Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar launched SRT Sports, his own sports management company today. 
• Note : The former cricketer has roped in former Tata Group senior executive Mrinmoy Mukherjee as the Chief Executive Officer of the company. 
• Former West Indies pacer Courtney Walsh has joined the Bangladesh cricket team as its Specialist Bowling Coach. 
• Walsh, who has served as the West Indies Under 19 side's manager, a bowling consultant in the Caribbean Premier League, and a national selector, will serve the Bangladeshi team till the ICC 2019 World Cup. 
• Note : Walsh is the fifth-highest wicket-taker in Tests.

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