25th September 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• Today (last Sunday of September) is World Deaf Day.
• This day is observed to draw the attention of general public, politician and development authorities towards the achievements of the deaf people as well as deaf people community.
• The UN Security Council has approved a resolution on Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), urging global implementation of the treaty that would ban tests of nuclear weapons. 
• This comes after North Korea conducted its fifth and biggest nuclear test recently, inviting condemnation from the UN and EU. Notably, the resolution marked CTBT's 20th anniversary on Saturday.
• Vice-President Hamid Ansari will go on a 5-day visit to Nigeria and Mali from Monday.

• The main aim of this visit is to strengthen India's bilateral engagements with the two West African nations.
• Important Note : This will be the first-ever high-level visit to Mali from India.
• The first air show in North Korea began today at the Kalma Airport in Wonsan city. 
• The two-day event features North Korean Air Force helicopters and jets, as well as the civilian fleet of national carrier Air Koryo. 
• About 200 aviation enthusiasts from across the world are visiting North Korea to attend the event.
• Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan will begin his 3-day tour to the UK from today. 
• Chouhan will eye investment in defence equipment manufacturing units and industrial sectors like steel, and meet potential investors including the Vice-President of Rolls-Royce and the Hinduja Group's Co-chairman. 
• Note : The visit follows an invitation by the UK's Secretary of State for International Development.

MOUs & Agreements

• India and Afghanistan have reached an agreement to establish an air corridor to facilitate trade between the two nations through air.
• Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had earlier urged India to use an air route for trade to help free the 'landlocked' country from the constraints of its neighbours. 
• Note : Pakistan has denied Afghanistan land access for trade with India.

National Affairs

• Madhya Pradesh government has started smart virtual classrooms, for students of classes 6, 7, and 8 in 224 government schools. 
• The initiative is aimed at creating classrooms with interactive audio-video and electronic whiteboards to create opportunities for better learning. 
• The schools were chosen after the state education department conducted a survey.
• PM Narendra Modi’s radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ completed two years today as he shared his thoughts on the Indian Army’s valour, India’s win at the Paralympics and Swachh Bharat. 
• The first ‘Mann Ki Baat’ was broadcasted on the occasion of Vijayadashami on October 3, 2014. 
• Note : In January 2015, US President Barack Obama was also a part of it.
• The government is planning to make the issuance of passport documents easier by processing passport applications at major post offices in Delhi by the year-end. 
• Note : Since the Foreign Ministry hasn't been able to cope with the huge application demand for passports and a lack of manpower, it will delegate the task to the Postal Department.
• The Supreme Court has directed authorities, including the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), to immediately enforce ban on all forms of chewable tobacco and nicotine. 
• According to a report by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute, India and Bangladesh make up 80% of the total smokeless tobacco users in the world.

Awards & Honors

• Two Indian-American scientists Dr Subhash Kot and Dr Manu Prakash, who studied at the Indian Institute of Technology, have received the MacArthur grant 2016 for 'exceptional creativity' in their fields of interest. 
• They will be awarded a grant of $625,000 (approximately ₹4 crore) each over a period of five years. A total of 23 people were awarded this year.

Business & Economy

• Indian Railways has decided to restructure the management of railway stations in a corporate manner and has issued orders for the appointment of station directors. 
• They will have experience in operations and commercial working, and will ensure stations serve as excellence centres. 
• The move aims to improve the Railways' image, enhance customer satisfaction, and improve business activity.
• The Finance Ministry is going to consult the Election Commission (EC) before fixing a new date for Budget presentation. 
• This comes in the light of Assembly elections being due in February 2017 in five states. 
• Note : Last week, the Cabinet approved the advancing of the Budget's presentation date from the current practice of presenting it on February's last working day.
• US-based Moody's Investor Service has cut Turkey's sovereign credit rating to "junk" (from Baa3 to Ba1), following an attempted coup and amid a slowing economy. 
• This could deter billions of dollars and force Turkey to pay more to borrow money in international markets. 
• Note : Turkey depends on investments to fund its current account deficit, one of the biggest in G20 economies.
• India is the 7th largest seafood exporter in the world, MoS for Commerce Nirmala Seetharaman said at the International Seafood Show in Visakhapatnam. 
• Note : India exported quality seafood worth $4.7 billion in 2015-16 and expects to achieve an export target of $10 billion by 2020.

General Knowledge

• India makes the most number of movies as compared to any other country, according to the Guinness World Records. 
• Bollywood, which is known as the largest movie industry in terms of output, produced 1,724 feature films in 2013, while USA released 738 movies. 
• Guinness quoted UNESCO stating that the Bollywood industry makes around 1,000 feature films every year.

New Appointments

• A 1981 batch Bihar cadre IPS officer Radhakrishna Kini has been appointed as the Secretary (Security) in Cabinet Secretariat to monitor Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security. 
• Kini will be the administrative head of the Special Protection Group (SPG), which is also responsible for the security of the former Prime Ministers of India.

Sports

• Indian table tennis player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran won India's first international men's singles table tennis title in half a decade, after securing the Belgian Open today. 
• Note : With the win, Sathiyan could enter the world top 125 for the first time in his career.
• Ravichandran Ashwin became the fastest Indian and second fastest overall to register 200 Test wickets, after reaching the landmark in his 37th Test against New Zealand today. 
• Important Points to Note : 
• Previously, Harbhajan Singh was the fastest Indian to take 200 Test wickets, in 46 Tests. 
• Former Kiwi cricketer Clarrie Grimmett is the fastest overall bowler to achieve the feat, in 36 matches.
• The 2nd Test of the three-match series against New Zealand, scheduled to start on September 30, will be India's 250th Test at home. 
• Cricket Association of Bengal has planned events to celebrate the occasion, including ringing a Lord's-like bell to mark the beginning of the match. 
• Note : The ongoing Test in Kanpur is India's 500th match in the format.

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