NTPC to build 5GW solar park in Gujarat

NATIONAL NEWS

DSCI, MeitY and Google India join hands for 'Digital Payment Abhiyan'

• Nasscom's Data Security Council of India (DSCI) has collaborated with the electronics and IT ministry (MeitY) and Google India to launch a nationwide awareness campaign 'Digital Payment Abhiyan'.
• Communications and Electronics & IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched the campaign that will educate end-users on the benefits of making digital payments and urge them to adopt security and safety best practices.
• The campaign was launched at the Google for India event.
• To drive the campaign objectives and amplify outreach to users across all states, DSCI has onboarded various digital payments ecosystem partners.

FACTS

Chairman of NASSCOM-Keshav Murugesh.

16th Session of the Joint Economic Commission held between India and BLEU

• A joint 16th session of Joint Economic Commission between India and Belgium Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) held recently.
• The session was aimed to improve bilateral trade relations between India and Belgium.
• This joint session was attended by various officials of External Affairs Ministry, New & Renewable Energy, Information and Broadcasting and railways. The focus of bilateral relations has been paid on trade and investment.
• The bilateral trade between India-Luxembourg was USD 161.98 million in the year 2018-19 and USD 17.2 billion between India-Belgium in 2018-19. According to government data, about 160 Belgian companies are working in India.

FACTS

Belgium Capital-Brussels

Currency-Euro

 NTPC to build 5GW solar park in Gujarat

• NTPC Ltd. plans to set up a 5-gigawatt solar park in Gujarat, which would be the biggest in the country, as the top electricity generator shifts toward cleaner energy.
• A site has been identified for the project, which is expected to cost as much as ₹25,000 crore ($3.5 billion) and begin operations by 2024.
• The plan is part of the NTPC’s aim to build 32 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2032 and reduce the share of fossil fuels in its energy mix to 70 per cent from about 96 per cent now.

STATE NEWS

Delhi CM launches 'champions campaign' against dengue

• Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched "champions campaign" in the fight against dengue and urged people to encourage their friends to inspect their homes on Sunday to clean stagnant water.
• Three weeks ago, Kejriwal had launched a mega drive against dengue. "Lakhs of Delhiites are joining the #10Hafte10Baje10Minute campaign against Dengue.

7^th World Hindu Economic Forum (WHEF) 2019 Held in Mumbai

• Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra state and the financial capital of Bharat, is hosting WHEF 2019.
• This makes Mumbai the ideal destination to host the annual WHEF conference given the immense business opportunities across all industries for participants.
• The WHEF journey began in 2012 at Hong Kong, followed by successful annual forums in Bangkok 2013, New Delhi 2014, London 2015, Los Angeles 2016, Chicago 2018 and several regional forums along the way.

FACTS

Chief Minister of Maharashtra- Devendra Fadnavis

Governor- Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

On 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Nepal Rastra Bank issues commemorative coins

• To celebrate 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev the Nepal Rastra Bank has issued commemorative coins.
• In special ceremony coins of 2500, 1000 and 100 Nepali rupees were launched in Kathmandu last evening. Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Dr. Chiranjibi Nepal and Indian Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri released commemorative coins.
•  On this occasion a book "Sikh Heritage of Nepal" was also released.
• The book also underlines Sikh community's significant contribution in the development of Nepal.

FACTS

Nepal Prime Minister-KP Sharma oli

Capital-Kathmandu

Currency of Nepal-Nepalese rupee.

DEFENCE

Indo Kazakhstan Joint Military Exercise Kazind

• Joint Military Exercise KAZIND-2019 between India and Kazakhstan conducted at Pithoragarh from 02 to 15 October 2019.
• The main exercise will comprise of nearly 100 soldiers from both Indian and Kazakhstan Army who would be sharing their experience gained during conduct of various counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations in the past.
• It is the fourth edition of an annual event which is conducted alternatively in Kazakhstan and India.

AWARD

Real Kashmir FC Documentary by BBC Nominated in Two Categories at BAFTA Scotland

• Srinagar-based football club Real Kashmir FC has been breaking barriers ever since it was promoted to the top division I-League after becoming the champions of I-League second division in the 2017-18 season.
• And now a BBC documentary on Real Kashmir has got two nomination in the British Academy Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) or BAFTA Film Awards Scotland.
• Real Kashmir FC finished third in their debut season in the I-League after competing for the title for almost the entirety of the season.
•  Real Kashmir, with Scotland's David Robertson at the helm, produced some dodgy football that saw them catching the eyes of the country.

Scientist Thanu Padmanabhan gets M P Birla Memorial Award

• Noted physicist Thanu Padmanabhan received the M P Birla Memorial Award 2019 for his contributions to the world of cosmology.
• Padmanabhan, a professor of Inter-university Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, received the award at a programme held at the M P Birla Planetarium.
• In his memorial lecture, 'Gravity and the Cosmos', the Padma Shri recipient scientist spoke about the role gravity has played in shaping the Universe.

APPOINTMENT

IDBI Bank appoints Samuel Joseph as Deputy Managing Director

• IDBI Bank's Board of Directors has approved the appointment of Samuel Joseph Jebaraj as Deputy Managing Director (DMD) for a period of 3 years with effect from September 19, 2019.
• The decision has been taken as per the approval received by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• This is the first major appointment on the Bank’s Board, in which the Life Insurance Corportion of India (LIC) acquired a majority stake of 51 per cent in January 2019. The DMD position became vacant after KP Nair superannuated in May 2019.

FACTS

Chairman of IDBI-M R Kumar

Head Quarters of IDBI-Mumbai

Tagline- Aao Sochein Bada

OBITUARY

Veteran actor Viju Khote dies at 77

• Film and theatre actor Viju Khote passed away at the age of 77 in Mumbai. The actor, who is popular for his role of Kalia in Sholay, has appeared in over 300 Hindi and Marathi films and numerous television shows and plays.
• The actor made his big screen debut with the 1964 film Ya Malak and went on to do some of the most iconic characters in Bollywood. His popular films include Sholay, Andaz Apna, Qurbani, Karz, Nagina and China Gate, among others.

Former Foreign Secretary K P S Menon (Junior) Passes Away at 90 in Kerala

• Former diplomat K P S Menon (junior) passed away following age-related ailments.
• Son of K P S Menon (senior), the first Foreign Secretary of independent India and uncle of former Foreign Secretary and National Security Adviser Shivashankar Menon, K P S Menon (junior) was a 1951 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer.
• He served as an ambassador to various countries, including Bangladesh, Egypt, Japan and China.
• Menon had served as the Foreign Secretary of India from 1987 to 1989.

BOOK AND AUTHOR

A new book titled “Being Gandhi” by Paro Anand to Mark Gandhi’s 150^th birth Anniversary

• A new Book titled “Being Gandhi” written by Award winning author Paro Anand released.
• Its marks the 150^th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The book, Published by Harper Collins Children’s Books, explores the life events of Gandhiji.

IMPORTANT DAYS

​World Heart Day 2019 – September 29

• Every year, over 17 million people die from heart disease. As a way to fight this, the World Heart Federation created World Heart Day.
•  It’s an event held every year on the last Sunday in September — falling this year on September 29.
• People around the world can find events that raise awareness about cardiovascular disease (CVD) — its warning signs, the steps you can take to fight it, and how to help those around you who may be suffering.

International Translation Day -September 30

• The International Federation of Translators (FIT) was set up in 1953.
• Its purpose is to further understanding and cooperation amongst professional translators around the world.
• From its very inception, it has tried to promote the idea of having an International Translation Day.
• The day proposed by the FIT was the 30th of September.

International Day for Universal Access to Information 2019

• On 17 November 2015, UNESCO adopted a resolution (38 C/70) declaring 28 September of every year as International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI).
• 2019 is the fourth year of UNESCO marking 28 September as the “International Day for Universal Access to Information” (IDUAI)