Nationwide ‘Paryatan Parv 2019’ to promote tourism kicks off

NATIONAL NEWS

Uttarakhand CM launches awareness campaign to stop power theft

• Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched an awareness campaign -- Urjagiri -- which aims at stopping power theft and saving.
• The Chief Minister emphasised on the need to speed up the process for wider awareness to avoid power loss in Uttarakhand.
• The government is committed to ending power theft. The officers of power departments should ensure that no power theft occurs so that honest customers do not have to bear the brunt of the power theft.

FACTS

Chief Minister of Uttarakhand - Trivendra Singh Rawat

Governor- Baby Rani Maurya

Nationwide ‘Paryatan Parv 2019’ to promote tourism kicks off

• The nationwide Paryatan Parv, 2019 kicked off yesterday evening to promote tourism in the country. It will continue till 13th of this month.
• The aim is to propagate the message of Dekho Apna Desh to encourage people to visit tourist destinations of the country and also spread the message of Tourism for All.
• The parv was jointly inaugurated by Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Tourism Minister Prahalad Singh Patel at Rajpath lawns in New Delhi.

NBCC signs MoU for development of National Sports University in Manipur

• NBCC (India) informed the exchanges that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MYAS), Department of Sports, Govt. of India to provide Project Management Consultancy for development of National Sports University at Imphal, Manipur.
• The approximate cost of project would be Rs400cr.

Palestine issues commemorative stamp to honour Gandhi on 150th birth anniversary

• Palestine released a commemorative postage stamp on Mahatma Gandhi, honouring his “legacy and values”, to mark the 150-birth anniversary of the world leader on October 2.
• Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Minister of Telecommunication and Information Technology Ishaaq Seder released the stamp in the presence of Representative of India in PA Sunil Kumar at a ceremony held at the ministry.

Smriti Irani Inaugurates India's Largest 'Charkha' Made of Waste Plastic in Noida

• India's largest 'charkha' (spinning wheel) made of used plastic waste was inaugurated here on the eve of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary.
• The 1,650-kg spinning wheel was inaugurated by Union Minister Smriti Irani.
• The 'charkha', which symbolises Gandhi's dream of Swadeshi (self-sufficing and self-reliance), measures 14ft, 20ft and 8ft and is made of 1,250 kg of used plastic, according to officials.

President Kovind presents Vayoshreshtha Samman-2019

• President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Vayoshreshtha Samman-2019 on the eminent senior citizens and institutions in New Delhi in recognition of their services towards the cause of the elderly persons.
• The Government has taken several steps for the welfare of the elderly and the Ayushmaan Bharat scheme has benefited them. 

Amit Shah Flags Off Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah termed the new Vande Bharat Express between New Delhi and Katra for Jammu and Kashmir, saying the service was an attempt by the railways to carry forward PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.
• Popularly known as Train 18, the Vande Bharat Express will begin its commercial run between New Delhi and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra October 5 (Saturday) onwards.

PM Modi jointly inaugurates two projects along with his Mauritian counterpart

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth jointly inaugurated two landmark projects in Mauritius via video conference.
• The Indian Government has granted $275 million for the Metro Express project and a grant of $14 million for the new Hospital Project.
• These projects are being developed under a $353 million grant awarded by the Government of India to Mauritius in March 2017.

AWARD

Kyrgyz human rights lawyer wins UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award

• A lawyer whose work has supported the efforts of the Kyrgyz Republic in becoming the first country in the world to end statelessness has been selected as the 2019 winner of the UN Refugee Agency’s Nansen Refugee Award.
• Azizbek Ashurov, through his organization Ferghana Valley Lawyers Without Borders (FVLWB), has helped well over 10,000 people to gain Kyrgyz nationality after they became stateless following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
• Among them, some 2,000 children will now have the right to an education and a future with the freedom to travel, marry and work.

Sachin Tendulkar gets Most Effective Swachhata Ambassador award at Safaigiri 2019

• Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar bagged the 'Most Effective Swachhata Ambassador' award at India Today Group's fifth edition of the Safaigiri Awards for utilizing his popularity and fame to ensure India achieves its goal of a Swachh Bharat.
• Sachin Tendulkar has been promoting cleanliness drives in India for almost 10 years.

APPOINTMENT

Tata Communications names Amur Lakshminarayanan as MD, Group CEO designate

• Digital infrastructure provider, Tata Communications has named Amur S Lakshminarayanan as Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer designate of the company.
• Lakshminarayanan comes with 35 years of experience in a broad range of leadership roles across industries and regions across the world.

SS Mallikarjuna Rao appointed MD and CEO of Punjab National Bank

• Punjab National Bank will go into merger under the stewardship of SS Mallikarjuna Rao, who has been appointed as the new chief executive of the bank.
• Rao, at present the chief executive of Allahabad Bank, will head the Delhi-based PNB till September 18, 2021.

Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Niue

• Shri Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi (IFS-1991), presently High Commissioner of India to New Zealand, has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Niue, with residence in Wellington.

Amrit Lugun has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Greece

• Shri Amrit Lugun (IFS-1989) has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Greece.
• He is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

BOOK AND AUTHOR

A new book named “The Tech Whisperer” penned by Jaspreet Bindra

• A new book entitled “The Tech Whisperer”, written by digital transformation expert Jaspreet Bindra, features a chapter on AI (Artificial Intelligence).

SPORTS

Ben Stokes named PCA player of the year  

• This summer, the 28-year-old helped England win the World Cup for the first time and made a remarkable unbeaten 135 to win the third Ashes Test against Australia at Headingley.