National News
1. Higher penalties for violating traffic rules come into force
i. The amended provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act, which hike the penalty for traffic rules violation have come into force from 01st September 2019. As many as 63 clauses of the Act, which correspond to an increase in the fine for traffic rule violation came into force
ii. The fine for jumping red-light has been revised from 1,000 rupees earlier to 5,000 rupees now. Driving without wearing the seat belt, which earlier invited a fine of 100 rupees will now attract a fine of 1,000 rupees.
2. EC launches Electors Verification Programme
i. The Election Commission launched a new mega Electors Verification Programme (EVP) across the country.
ii. The programme, which seeks to electoral rolls through crowdsourcing, will go on till 15th of October.
iii. Under the programme, a voter from each family will get a username and password, allowing a person to upload all documents related to electoral registration and tag similar details about his or her family members. The EVP programme can be effected both online and offline.
3. September month to be celebrated as 'Rashtriya Poshan Maah'
i. The entire month of September 2019 will be celebrated as the Rashtriya Poshan Maah. This year the theme is Complementary Feeding.
ii. Prime Minister's Overreaching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment- POSHAN Abhiyaan is a multi- ministerial convergence mission with the vision to address malnutrition with a targeted approach by 2022.
International News
4. Indonesia to move the capital from Jakarta to East Kalimantan
i. Indonesia’s president announced that the country’s capital will move from overcrowded, sinking and polluted Jakarta to a site in sparsely populated East Kalimantan province on Borneo island.
ii. The new capital city, which has not yet been named, will be in the middle of the vast archipelago nation and already has relatively complete infrastructure because it is near the cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Main:
- Indonesian President: Joko Widodo; Currency: Indonesian rupiah.
State News
5. India’s first garbage cafe to be opened in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh
i. In a unique initiative, the Ambikapur municipal corporation of Chhattisgarh will open a first-of-its-kind 'Garbage Cafe'.
ii. This initiative is a step towards making the city plastic-free. In this unique Cafe' poor people and rag pickers will get free food in exchange for one kilogram of plastic, while breakfast will be provided if half a kilogram of plastic is brought to the cafe.
iii. The collected garbage will be sold at Solid-Liquid Resources Management Centre. The collected plastic waste would further be turned into granules and will then be used in the construction of roads in the city. Ambikapur is Chhattisgarh’s first dustbin-free city.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Main 2019:
- CM of Chhattisgarh: Bhupesh Baghel.
- Governor of Chhattisgarh: Anusuiya Uikey.
Banking
6. IDBI Bank introduces repo-linked home and auto loans
i. IDBI Bank will introduce two Repo Linked Products -Suvidha Plus Home Loan and Suvidha Plus Auto Loan from September 10.
ii. The new Home Loan and Auto Loan products will be offered to new customers having a good credit score and a minimum income of Rs. 6 lakh per annum.
iii. The Suvidha Plus Home Loan will be offered for up to Rs. 75 Lakh with a tenor of up to 35 years.
iv. The Suvidha Plus Auto loan will be offered for up to Rs. 25 lakh covering the on-road price with a tenor of up to 7 years.
Agreement
7. Bangladesh partners with Reliance Power for gas-based power plant
i. The Bangladesh government has signed an agreement with Reliance Power of India. As per the agreement, they will set up a 750 MW gas-based power plant in Meghnahat near Dhaka. The construction of the plant will be completed by 2022.
ii. Reliance Power has also signed an MoU with Petro Bangla to set up 500 mmscfd (million standard cubic feet per day) LNG terminal at Kutubdia Island near Chittagong in Bangladesh.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB PO Mains:
- Bangladesh Capital: Dhaka; Currency: Taka; PM: Sheikh Hasina.
8. MeitY and Google signed a SoI to roll out "Build for Digital India"
i. Google and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology have signed a statement of intent to roll-out 'Build for Digital India'.
ii. It is a programme which will provide engineering students a platform to develop market-ready, technology-based solutions that address key social problems.
iii. Under this program, the applicants will participate in online and offline learning opportunities on key technologies like machine learning, cloud and android.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB PO Mains:
- Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology: Ravi Shankar Prasad.
- Chief Executive Officer of Google: Sundar Pichai.
Rank and Report
9. Mumbai at 45th spot and Delhi at 52nd in World Safe Cities Index 2019
i. According to a report of Economist Intelligence Unit, Mumbai has been ranked as the 45th safest city on the Safe Cities Index (SCI) 2019, while Delhi stood at the 52nd position. Tokyo taking the top spot, While Singapore and Osaka came 2nd and 3rd in the list.
ii. The Safe Cities Index (SCI) 2019 ranks 60 countries worldwide across five continents and measures the multi-faceted nature of urban safety, with indicators categorised as digital, infrastructure, health and personal security.
10. India ranks 9th on "Global Happiness Survey" by Ipsos
i. According to a "Global Happiness Survey" by Ipsos, Indian has been ranked 9th on the happiness index among 28 global markets. For India, there has been a six per cent drop (from 83 per cent in 2018 to 77 per cent in 2019).
ii. Australia and Canada at the top spot (at 86 per cent) have emerged as the happiest nations of the world, While Russia (47 per cent) emerged at the bottom of the heap, among the 28 markets.
Appointment
11. New Governors Appointed in 5 Indian States
i. A total of five governors have been appointed by President Ram Nath Kovind, including the transfer and appointment of Kalraj Mishra.
- Kalraj Mishra, the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, was transferred and appointed as the Governor of Rajasthan. He will replace Kalyan Singh.
- Taking over Mishra’s role as Himachal governor is former Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya.
- Tamil Nadu BJP president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan has been appointed as the Governor of Telangana, replacing ESL Narasimhan.
- Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been appointed as the new Governor of Maharashtra. Koshyari will replace Vidyasagar Rao.
- Arif Mohammed Khan has been appointed as the Kerala governor in place of P Sathasivam.
12. Lt. Gen. Mukund Naravane took charge as Vice Chief of Army Staff
i. Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane has assumed charge as Vice Chief of the Indian Army. He succeeded Lieutenant General D. Anbu.
ii. Before assuming charge as Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Naravane was heading the Eastern Command of the Indian Army which takes care of India’s border with China.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Clerk Mains:
- Chief of the Army Staff: General Bipin Rawat.
13. GoI accepts SBI MD Anshula Kant's resignation
i. The Government of India has accepted the resignation of State bank of India Managing Director Anshula Kant. Now she has been appointed as the managing director and chief financial officer of the World Bank.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Mains:
- SBI Chairperson: Rajnish Kumar; Headquarters: Mumbai.
- Established: 1 July 1955.
14. IPS Vivek Kumar Johri takes charge as BSF DG
i. IPS officer Vivek Kumar Johri took charge as the Director General (DG) of the country's largest border guarding force, BSF. He will replace Rajni Kant Mishra.
ii. VK Johri has been serving as the Special Secretary in the external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), under the Cabinet Secretariat. He will retire in September next year and is the 25th chief of the force.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB Main 2019:
- Headquarters of BSF: New Delhi; Established: 1 December 1965.
Summit and Conference
15. 4th General Assembly of A-WEB to be held at Bengaluru
i. The Election Commission of India will host the 4th General Assembly of Association of World Election Bodies at Bengaluru. India will also take over as A-WEB’s Chair for the 2019-21 term.
ii. Over 50 countries across the globe will be participating in the meeting. The A-WEB is the largest association of Election Management Bodies worldwide.
iii. The Election Commission will also host International Conference on “Initiatives and Challenges of Social Media and Information Technology in Elections".
Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Clerk Mains:
- A-WEB was established on October 14, 2013; Permanent Secretariat at: Seoul, South Korea.
- Chief Election Commissioner of India: Sunil Arora.
Books and Authors
16. "A Short History of Indian Railways" title book penned by Rajendra B Aklekar
i. A new book named "A Short History of Indian Railways", has been penned by veteran journalist and author Rajendra B Aklekar.
ii. This new book on the history of Indian Railways chronicles the journey of the national transporter from the 1830s to the new high-speed Train 18 and Prime Minister Narendra Modis ambitious bullet train project.
Obituaries
17. Emmy Award-winning actress Valerie Harper passes away
i. The 4 Times Emmy Award-winning actress Valerie Harper passed away. She also has Golden Globe award for playing the brash New Yorker on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut in the musical "Take Me Along" in 1959.
Sports
18. Yashaswini Deswal wins gold at ISSF World Cup
i. Indian shooter Yashaswini Singh Deswal won gold in the women's 10meter Air Pistol event at the ISSF World Cup at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. she has also secured an Olympic quota for India. This is India's 9th quota in shooting for 2020 Tokyo Games.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB Main 2019:
- Capital of Brazil: Brasilia; Currency of Brazil: Brazilian Real.
19. Jasprit Bumrah becomes 3rd Indian to register a hat trick in Test cricket
i. Indian pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah has become the third Indian to register a hat-trick in Test cricket. He took 3 wickets in 3 successive balls in the 2nd test against West Indies, held in Kingston, Jamaica.
ii. He dismissed Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks and Roston Chase to claim the hat trick.
iii. This was the third test hat-trick by an Indian bowler after Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan.
20. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc wins Belgian Grand Prix
i. Charles Leclerc won the Belgian Grand Prix after defeating Lewis Hamilton by less than a second. The tournament was held at the Spa-Francorchamps track. This was his first victory of his Formula One career. It was also Ferrari’s first win this year.
21. India lift SAFF Under-15 title in Kolkata
i. A convincing India U-15 team thrashed Nepal 7-0 to lift the SAFF U-15 title at the Kalyani Stadium in Kolkata. Striker Sridarth Nongmeikapam scored a hat-trick while Maheson Singh, Amandeep, Sibajit Singh and Himanshu Jangra scored one goal apiece.
ii. The victory also meant that India is now the most successful team in the tournament's history. They won the title for a record third time after previous wins in 2013 and 2017, both of which came in Nepal.
Miscellaneous
22. Russia to train Indian astronauts for Gaganyaan mission
i. Russia will train four Indian astronauts for India’s ambitious manned mission to space, Gaganyaan.
ii. Indian astronauts will be trained at Russian facilities. A special ISRO unit will be established in the embassy in Moscow to facilitate increased cooperation between India and Russia in view of the Gaganyaan mission.
iii. Under the Gaganyaan Mission, Indian Space Research Research Organisation has outlined a road map to put a three-man crew in a low earth orbit for 5-7 days by December 2021.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB PO Mains:
- Chairman of ISRO: K. Sivan; Headquarters: Bengaluru; Established: 1969.
23. 100 cities to be covered under CGHS services by 2022
i. Health minister has announced that the Central Government Health Scheme's services would be available to 100 cities by 2022. He announced it during the inauguration of state-of-the-art CGHS Bhawan in New Delhi.
ii. The minister also launched the new scheme "Annual Health Check-up" of CGHS beneficiaries for pensioners of the age of 75 years and above.
Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Clerk Mains:
- Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare: Harsh Vardhan.
