Daily updates 13 September 2019

National

1.MSDE laid the foundation stone of IIS in Mumbai

• Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), laid the foundation stone for Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) at Mumbai.
• The objective of the institute is to provide skill training in highly-specialised areas to students who want to pursue technical education after completing Class X and XII.
• The IIS will be a tertiary care institute in the skills ecosystem and offer best of required courses in emerging and high demand areas such as deep technology, aerospace, among others.
• These institutes will be constructed and operated on a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model. Tata Education Development Trust (TEDT) was selected as the private partner for setting up IIS at NSTI campus in Mumbai through a competitive bidding process.

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

• Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE): Mahendra Nath Pandey.

2. India joins global antimicrobial resistance research hub

• India has joined the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Research (AMR) and Development hub as a new member.
• AMR is the ability of a microbe to resist the effects of medication that once could successfully treat the microbe.
• India will be a member of the board of members of the hub from this year. India looks forward to working with all partners to leverage their existing capabilities, resources and collectively focus on new research to address drug-resistant infections.
• The hub supports global priority setting and evidence-based decision-making on the allocation of resources for AMR research and development through identification of gaps, overlaps and potential for cross-sectoral collaboration and leveraging.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB Main 2019:

• The Global AMR R&D Hub was launched in 2018.
• The acting Chairperson of the hub's Board of Members is Bersabel Ephrem.

International

3. Vietnam opens Southeast Asia's largest solar power farm

• Vietnam has inaugurated Southeast Asia's largest solar power farm which has the capacity to produce 688 million kWh of electricity annually.
• The Dau Tieng Solar Power Complex, a joint venture with the Thai industrial group B.Grimm Power Public Company, occupies 540 hectares in Tay Ninh province, Vietnam.
• The complex was constructed on the Dau Tieng Reservoir the largest artificial lake in Vietnam and is expected to generate 10 per cent of the country's solar energy to guarantee supply to 320,000 homes.
• It will also prevent the emission of 595,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.

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

• President of Vietnam: Nguyen Phu Trong; Vietnam Capital: Hanoi.
• Currency: Vietnamese dong.

Agreement

4. IFC signs MoU with FIDC for training NBFCs

• The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC).
• FIDC is a representative body of asset and loan Financing Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFCs), to collaborate on the training of NBFCs in the country.
• According to the agreement, the training programs for NBFCs would be conducted on “Commercial Credit Reporting” aimed at building the capacity of NBFCs to enhanced reporting and enquiring on Commercial Credit Information Data from the Credit Bureaus.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB Main 2019:

• CEO of IFC: Philippe Le Houerou; Director-General of FIDC: Mahesh Thakkar.

Appointment

5. Karnataka Bank chief becomes IBA committee member

• Mahabaleshwara MS, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Karnataka Bank, has been inducted to the managing committee of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
• He was elected unopposed from the Private Sector Member Banks’ category.

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

• Chairman of Indian Banks’ Association: Sunil Mehta.

Ranks and Reports

6. Times Higher Education released "World University Rankings 2020"

• World University Rankings 2020, published by the United Kingdom (UK) based Times Higher Education (THE), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore were ranked number 1 among the 56 Indian institutes on the list of the best universities of the world. The ranking includes almost 1,400 universities across 92 countries.
• As per the World University Rankings 2020, the University of Oxford is the number one university in the world for the fourth time in a row. The California Institute of Technology stands at the second place and the University of Cambridge fell to the third rank this year.

Defence

7. DRDO hands over second 'Netra' (AEWC) aircraft to IAF

• The Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) has handed over the second airborne warning plane, Netra, to the Indian Air Force.
• The Netra, an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEWC) aircraft, it is useful for surveillance, tracking, identification and classification of airborne and sea surface targets and is useful in detecting incoming ballistic missile threats.
• The Netra had played a stellar role during the Balakot airstrikes that had been carried out by the IAF in February this year. It provided surveillance and radar coverage to the five Mirage jets that bombed terror launch pads in Balakot in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB Main 2019:

• Chairman of DRDO: Dr G. Satheesh Reddy; Headquarters: New Delhi; Founded: 1958.
• Motto of DRDO: “Strength’s Origin is in Science.

8. Indo-Thailand joint military exercise Maitree 2019

• India and Thailand are all set to organize Joint Military Exercise MAITREE-2019 at Foreign Training Node, Umroi (Meghalaya) from 16-29 Sep 2019. Both the countries have already conducted two such military exercises in past one month.
• About 100 Indian and Royal Thailand Army (RTA) soldiers will participate in the joint military exercise with an aim to share experience gained during a various counter-terrorism operation in their respective countries. The exercise 'MAITREE' is an annual training event which is being conducted alternatively in India and Thailand since 2006.

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

• Chief of the Army Staff: General Bipin Rawat.

Obituaries

9. Climate change campaigner of the South Pacific Akilisi Pohiva passes away

• Climate change campaigner of the South Pacific and Prime Minister of Tongan Akilisi Pohiva passed away.
• He was long-time pro-democracy campaigner and leader in the fight against climate change. He was awarded the Defender of Democracy Award in 2013 by the Parliamentarians for Global Action, the first Pacific Islander to receive the prize.

Sports

• Australian fast bowler Megan Schutt scripted history by becoming the first woman to claim two hat­tricks in white-ball cricket.
• The right-arm medium-pacer claimed an ODI hat-trick to become the first Australian woman to achieve the feat.
• She became the first Australian women to claim a hat­trick in ODIs. Schutt had claimed her first hat­trick in a T20 game against India.

Miscellaneous

11. Sri Lanka flags off Pulathisi Express, a 'Make In India' train

• The tie-up between India and Sri Lanka received a boost when a newly 'Make In India' train "Pulathisi Express" rake was flagged off from Colombo Fort Railway station.
• The rake of the train was manufactured in the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. The train which has been inducted under an Indian Line of Credit has an on-board entertainment system, modular interiors and fully-rotating seats in Air Conditioned Chair cars for passenger comfort.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB Main 2019:

• Sri Lanka Capitals: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte; Currency: Sri Lankan rupee.
• Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe; President: Maithripala Sirisena.

12. Water found on potentially habitable super Earth K2-18b

• Astronomers have found water for the first time in atmosphere of habitable exoplanet K2-18b which orbits in its star’s “habitable zone”.
• K2-18b, which is 8 times the mass of Earth, is now the only planet orbiting a star outside the Solar System, or ‘exoplanet’, known to have both water and temperatures that could be potentially habitable, according to the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy and the lead scientist of the research is Prof Giovanna Tinetti of University College London (UCL), United Kingdom

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.

Satellite Frequency band and its working

Satellite technology is developing fast, and the applications for satellite technology are increasing all the time. Not only can satellites be used for radio communications, but they are also used for astronomy, weather forecasting, broadcasting, mapping and many more applications. 

With the variety of satellite frequency bands that can be used, designations have been developed so that they can be referred to easily. 

The higher frequency bands typically give access to wider bandwidths, but are also more susceptible to signal degradation due to ‘rain fade’ (the absorption of radio signals by atmospheric rain, snow or ice).

Because of satellites’ increased use, number and size, congestion has become a serious issue in the lower frequency bands. New technologies are being investigated so that higher bands can be used. 

L-band (1–2 GHz)

Global Positioning System (GPS) carriers and also satellite mobile phones, such as Iridium; Inmarsat providing communications at sea, land and air; WorldSpace satellite radio.

S-band (2–4 GHz)
Weather radar, surface ship radar, and some communications satellites, especially those of NASA for communication with ISS and Space Shuttle. In May 2009, Inmarsat and Solaris mobile (a joint venture between Eutelsat and Astra) were awarded each a 2×15 MHz portion of the S-band by the European Commission. 

C-band (4–8 GHz)

Primarily used for satellite communications, for full-time satellite TV networks or raw satellite feeds. Commonly used in areas that are subject to tropical rainfall, since it is less susceptible to rainfade than Ku band (the original Telstar satellite had a transponder operating in this band, used to relay the first live transatlantic TV signal in 1962).

X-band (8–12 GHz)

Primarily used by the military. Used in radar applications including continuous-wave, pulsed, single-polarisation, dual- polarisation, synthetic aperture radar and phased arrays. X-band radar frequency sub-bands are used in civil, military and government institutions for weather monitoring, air traffic control, maritime vessel traffic control, defence tracking and vehicle speed detection for law enforcement.

Ku-band (12–18 GHz)

Used for satellite communications. In Europe, Ku-band downlink is used from 10.7 GHz to 12.75 GHz for direct broadcast satellite services, such as Astra.

Ka-band (26–40 GHz)

Communications satellites, uplink in either the 27.5 GHz and 31 GHz bands, and high-resolution, close-range targeting radars on military aircraft.