Ravi Shankar Prasad launches maritime communication services in India

NATIONAL NEWS

Anti-microbial Resistance Hub comes up in Kolkata

• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in association with the U.S. Consulate of Kolkata and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, inaugurated India’s first National Antimicrobial Resistance Hub in Kolkata.
• The Kolkata centre would be the hub for research on antibiotic resistance not only for the country but for the entire South Asia.

ECGC introduces “Nirvik” to enhance loan availability for exporters

• Piyush Goyal Ministry of Commerce & Industry through Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) has introduced a new Export Credit Insurance Scheme (ECIS) called NIRVIK to enhance loan availability and ease the lending process.
• The scheme was announced by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to boost exports
• The ECGC cover provides additional comfort to banks as the credit rating of the borrower is enhanced to AA rated account.
• Enhanced cover will ensure that Foreign and Rupee export credit interest rates will be below 4%and 8% respectively for exporters.
• Under ECIS, insurance cover percentage has also been enhanced to 90% from the present average of 60% for both Principal and Interest.

India begins special training programme for Maldivian, Bangladeshi civil servants

• India began a special training programme for Maldivian and Bangladeshi civil servants at Mussoorie in Uttarakhand.
• The special training programme for the civil servants of the two countries is being conducted by the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme (ITEC) from September 16 to 28 at Mussoorie and Delhi.

Ravi Shankar Prasad launches maritime communication services in India

• Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad launched maritime communication services.
• He also launched a web portal for reporting stolen mobiles to help trace them.
• The maritime connectivity will enable high-end support to those travelling on sailing vessels, cruise liners and ships in India by use of satellite technology and provide access to voice, data and video services.

I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar flagged off Jaldoot vehicle in Pune

• Union Minister for Environment and Forest and Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar flagged off a Jaldoot vehicle in a function organized at Collector Office in Pune. The van carrying the 'SAVE WATER' message will travel to different parts of the state.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Russia deploys S-400 missiles in Arctic

• Russia has placed S-400 missile defence systems at the Novaya Zemlya archipelago as Moscow seeks to increase its military presence in the Arctic, the defence ministry.
• The surface to air-missile regiment of the Northern Fleet's air defence forces based on the archipelago's southern Yuzhny Island has been fully equipped with new S-400 systems.
• The S-400 is one of the most advanced missile defence systems in the world and can hit enemy targets at up to 400 kilometres.

DEFENCE

Maiden trilateral naval exercise among India, Singapore, and Thailand kicks off

• A five-day-long maiden trilateral exercise involving Singapore's Navy (RSN), Royal Thailand Navy (RTN) and Indian Navy (IN) commenced at Port Blair.
• The five-day-long exercise is aimed at bolstering the maritime inter-relationships amongst Singapore Thailand and India, and contribute significantly to enhancing the overall maritime security in the region.
• This would also strengthen the mutual confidence amongst three navies in terms of interoperability and development of a common understanding of procedures.

APPOINTMENT

Justice Lakshman Reddy sworn in as Lokayukta

• Justice P. Lakshman Reddy was sworn in as the Lokayukta of the Andhra Pradesh. Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan administered the oath to him at Tummalapalli Kshetrayya Kalakshetram.
• Justice Lakshman Reddy will be holding the position for the next five years. He is the first Lokayukta to be assuming charge since the State was bifurcated in 2014.

AWARD

Turkish award for activist who survived assault by coal mafia

• Meghalaya-based rights activist Agnes Kharshiing, who survived an assault by the coal mafia almost a year ago, received the 11th International Hrant Dink Award along with Turkish activist against male violence Nebahat Akkoç.
• The two activists were presented the award that commemorates the memory of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was killed in 2007, in Istanbul.
• Since 2009, the Hrant Dink Award is presented every year to individuals, organisations or groups that work for a world free from discrimination, racism and violence, and who take personal risks for achieving those ideals, break the stereotypes and use the language of peace and by doing so give inspiration and hope to others.

Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina receives Dr Kalam Smriti International Excellence Award

• Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh conferred the Dr Kalam Smriti International Excellence Award 2019 in Dhaka. The award has been instituted in the memory of former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
• The award citation lauded Prime Minister Hasina for her vision of a peaceful and prosperous South Asia, free of tension, conflicts and terrorism. It acknowledged her contribution in fostering cooperation between India and Bangladesh.
• The award is given every year to honour statesmen or leaders who have shown excellence in respective fields to achieve the best for their countries.
• The Presidents of the Maldives, Ghana and Mauritius earlier received the prestigious award since its introduction in 2015.

OBITUARY

Former Andhra Pradesh Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao dies after alleged suicide attempt

• Senior Telugu Desam Party leader and former Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao died.
• A medical doctor by profession, Kodela had been associated with the TDP right from its inception in 1982 and was a close follower of former chief minister and party founder N T Rama Rao.
• He had been elected as a legislator from Narasaraopet assembly constituency in Guntur district continuously for five times since 1983 and was an MLA from Sattenapalli between 2014 and 2019.
• He was a cabinet minister during NTR and Chandrababu Naidu regimes, holding portfolios of home, panchayat raj and major irrigation.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Democracy-15 September

• The 2019 theme for democracy day was "participation". This year's International Day of Democracy is an opportunity to recall that democracy is about people.
• Democracy is built on inclusion, equal treatment and participation — and it is a fundamental building block for peace, sustainable development and human rights.

International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer- 16 September

• Dedicated to the conservation of Earth and its protective shield Ozone layer, September 16 is celebrated as International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer every year.
• It was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in the year 1994. The initiative was marked as the international day in order to commemorate the date of the signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1987.
• This year, the theme for International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer celebrates more than three decades of remarkable international cooperation in protecting the ozone layer and the climate under the Montreal Protocol.