Daily updates 3 September 2019

National News

1. Tourism Minister inaugurates first-ever architectural LED illumination at Qutub Minar
i. Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Prahalad Singh Patel inaugurated first-ever architectural LED illumination at the  Qutub Minar. With the illumination, the architectural beauty of the 12th-century monument will display its historic majesty after sunset. Qutb Minar is a UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of most visited historical site in Delhi.

2. PM Modi inaugurates Garvi Gujarat Bhavan in New Delhi
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Garvi Gujarat Bhavan in New Delhi. The Bhavan is equipped with traditional and modern artefacts and technologies and will serve as a home for Gujaratis in the national capital. It will represent the culture, craft and cuisine of Gujarat.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Mains:

• Chief Minister of Gujarat: Vijay Rupani; Deputy Chief Minister: Nitin Patel.
• Governor of Gujarat: Acharya Devvrat.

State News

3. New Health Insurance Scheme AB-MGRSBY launched in Rajasthan
i. The Rajasthan government has launched a new health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat-Mahatma Gandhi Rajasthan Swasthya Bima Yojna (AB-MGRSBY).
ii. The scheme is implemented after merging the Centre's Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY) and the state's Bhamashah Swasthya Bima Yojna (BSBY). With the merger of (AB-PMJAY) and (BSBY) the number of families getting benefits will be increased from 1 crore to 1.1 crores.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB Main 2019:

• Chief Minister of Rajasthan: Ashok Gehlot; Governor of Rajasthan: Kalraj Mishra.
• Capital of Rajasthan: Jaipur.

4. Haryana govt waives off interest & penalty of Rs 4,750 cr on crop loans
i. Haryana government has announced Rs 4,750 crore interest and penalty waiver on crop loans. 
ii. The waive off is for farmers who had borrowed from Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies, District Cooperative Central Banks and Land Mortgage Bank. The step will benefit around 10 lakh farmers in the state.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Clerk Mains:

• Haryana Capital: Chandigarh; Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar; Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya.

Agreement

5. Reliance Power inks pact with JERA for power project in Bangladesh
i. Reliance Power has signed a partnership agreement with Japanese energy major Japan’s Energy For a New Era (JERA). Reliance Power will hold 51 per cent stake, while JERA will hold 49 per cent stake in the joint venture company. 
ii. They will jointly set up 750-megawatt gas-based combined cycle power project at Meghnaghat, Bangladesh.

6. IIT-Kharagpur and Amazon Web Services join hands to develop AI portal
i. IIT Kharagpur has collaborated with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop a National Artificial Intelligence resource platform (NAIRP) to promote learning and development in artificial intelligence (AI).
ii. The National Artificial Intelligence Resource Portal (NAIRP) will provide access to compute facilities to users for AI learning and experimentation. Novice machine learning practitioners will be able to quickly search and get access to myriads of learning resources and prototype the learned concepts into hands-on running modules without being held back by the lack of resources.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Main 2019:

• CEO of Amazon: Jeff Bezos; Established: 5 July 1994.

Award

7. PM Narendra Modi to be honoured with Global Goalkeeper Award
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be honoured with the prestigious ‘Global Goalkeeper Award’. He will be felicitated by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for his leadership and commitment to the Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan.
ii. The award is a “special recognition” that celebrates the commitment of a political leader towards the Global Goals, demonstrated through impactful work in their country and/or globally.

Defence

8. IAF inducts 8 Apache AH-64E attack helicopters
i. The Indian Air Force has inducted 8 Apache AH-64E attack helicopters at the Pathankot Air Force station to enhance its combat capabilities. The AH-64E Apache is one of the world's most advanced multi-role combat helicopters.
ii. India has received the attack helicopters as per the deal signed by Indian Air Force with the US Government and Boeing Ltd, in September 2015. The Indian Air Force will operate a fleet of 22 Apaches by 2020.

Static/Current Takeaways Important IBPS RRB PO Mains:

• Chief of the Indian Air Force: Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa.

Summit and Conference

9. Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu to inaugurate ‘Aqua Aquaria India’
i. Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu will inaugurate the 5th edition of the aquaculture event, Aqua Aquaria India, in Hyderabad.
ii. The theme for this year’s event is ‘Taking Blue Revolution to India’s Hinterland’. This event organised for encouraging diversification and intensification of aquaculture in a sustainable manner. iii. This is an initiative of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) under the Commerce Ministry.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Main 2019:

• Union Minister of Commerce and Industry: Piyush Goyal.

10. 14th Conference of Parties UNCCD begins
i. The 14th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification begins in Greater Noida.
ii. During the event, India also assumed the presidency of COP for two years and Union Minister for environment took up the role of President of COP. 
iii. The Convention started with an aim to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought to achieve sustainable development in the affected areas.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB PO Mains:

• Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change: Prakash Javadekar.

11. Raksha Mantri co-chairs Japan–India Defence Ministerial Meeting
i. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh co-chaired the Japan–India Defence Ministerial Meeting held in Tokyo, Japan. Japan's delegation was represented by Defence Minister of Japan Mr Takeshi lwaya. ii. The dialogue discussed ways to further strengthen the existing bilateral co-operative arrangements and adopt new initiatives towards achieving peace and security in the region.
iii. Raksha Mantri also paid homage to the martyrs of Japanese Self-Defence Forces at Ichigaya in Tokyo.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Clerk Mains:

• Japan Capital: Tokyo; Currency: Japanese Yen; PM: Shinzo Abe.

12. 72nd Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia
i. Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare inaugurated the 72nd Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia held in New Delhi. The committee is the highest decision making and governing body of WHO in the region.
ii. Dr Harsh Vardhan was unanimously elected as Chair of the 72nd Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB PO Mains:

• WHO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland; Director general: Tedros Adhanom.

Books and Authors

13. A new book released on the history of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
i. The book, "India's Lost Frontier the Story of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan", has been penned by veteran civil servant Raghvendra Singh. He was the Director-General of the National Archives of India.
ii. This book on the history of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, earlier known as the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).
iii. This book presents the chronicles of Congress leadership in 1947 surrendered India's claim on the "tactically important" province despite the resistance of Mahatma Gandhi and some influential political leaders of the region.

Sports

14. Shot putter Tejinderpal Singh Toor clinches silver in Czech Republic
i. Shot putter Tejinderpal Singh Toor won a silver medal during an athletic meet at Decin in the Czech Republic. 
ii. The Asian Games gold medallist came up with the best throw of 20.09m in his last attempt at the event. Tajinder has been awarded the Arjuna Award this year.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB Main 2019:

• Capital of Czech Republic: Prague; Currency of Czech Republic: Czech koruna.

Miscellaneous

15. KVIC launches ‘Terracotta Grinder’ to reuse wasted pottery
i. Khadi and Village Industries Commission has launched a ‘Terracotta Grinder’ at Sewapuri in Varanasi. The machine will be able to grind the wasted and broken pottery items for re-using in pottery-making. 
ii. This Terracotta grinder will make grinding of wasted pottery items faster than the traditional mortar and pestle. It will lessen the cost of production, and will also help in solving the problem of shortage of clays.
iii. On the occasion, KVIC also distributed 200 Electric Potter Wheels and other pottery machines among the villagers.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Clerk Mains:

• Chairman of KVIC: Vinai Kumar Saxena.

16. Prakash Javadekar Unveils New Logo, Certificate Design of CBFC
i. Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar unveiled the new logo and certificate design of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). 
ii. The introduction of a QR code in the new certificate design is in sync with the world of digital technology and will bring in greater transparency and provide information to filmmakers in a better way.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB Main 2019:

• Chairman of CBFC: Prasoon Joshi.

17. ‘Namaste Pacific’ Cultural Event held in New Delhi
i. The High Commissions of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji jointly organised a cultural event 'Namaste Pacific' held in Delhi, India. 
ii. This event is organised to showcase the culture of the Pacific countries. There was also showcase of the International Solar Alliance and Pollinate Energy based in Australia, Nepal and India and solar lanterns from Barefoot College in Rajasthan.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Mains:

• Chief Minister of Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal; Lt. Governor of Delhi: Anil Baijal.

18. Nadubhagam Chundan Lifts 67th Nehru Trophy in Alappuzha
i. Nadubhagam Chundan, the snake boat of Pallathuruthy Boat Club, lifted the 67th edition of the Nehru Trophy at the Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha in Kerala. A total of 79 boats, including 23 snake boats, participated in the Nehru trophy.
ii. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the event in the presence of cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who was the chief guest of the event.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB Main 2019:

• Governor of Kerala: Arif Mohammed Khan; Capital of Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram.