17 September 2015 Current Affair Updates | Daily GK Download
1. India and Sri Lanka signed four pacts during
the talks held between visiting Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil
Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The MoUs are exchange
of letters on establishment of emergency ambulance services in Sri Lanka
and supply of medical equipment to 200 bed ward complex at district
hospital, Vavuniya in Sri Lanka, cooperation of exchange of SAARC region
satellite technology and rejuvenation of small industries program with
the patronage of Indian government. The two countries agreed to
intensify cooperation in combating terrorism and work together for
security and stability in the neighbourhood.
2. India and Cambodia have signed two agreements
relating to Tourism and Mekong Ganga Cooperation Project. The agreements
were signed after Vice-President Md. Hamid Ansari held delegation-level
parleys with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the the Peace Palace
in Phnom Penh. Vice-President Mohd. Hamid Ansari is on a four day visit
to the South East Asian countries of Cambodia and Laos.
3. In an ambitious bid to transform rural areas to
economically, socially and physically sustainable spaces, the Union
Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Shyama
Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) with an outlay of Rs. 5142.08
crores. The Mission aims at development of rural growth clusters which
have latent potential for growth, in all States and UTs, which would
trigger overall development in the region.
4. Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province in east
China, was chosen by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to host the 2022
Asian Games. The OCA made the decision at its 34th Congress in Ashgabat,
Turkmenistan. Hangzhou was the only candidate city for the 2022 Asian
Games. Its successful bid means the regional games will be staged in
China for the third time following Beijing in 1990 and southern
Guangzhou in 2010. Beijing was just selected to hold the 2022 Winter
Olympics after hosting the Summer Games in 2008. South Korea's Incheon
held the last Asian Games in 2014, while Indonesia's Jakarta will play
host in 2018.
5. The Pentagon, the headquarters for U.S. defence
establishment, set up a first-ever country specific special cell with
the objective of speeding up its defence ties with India. India Rapid
Reaction Cell (IRRC) – the first-ever country special cell at Pentagon
was established to speed up United States’ defence ties with India and
accelerate the process of co-development and co-production of hi-tech
military equipment in the country. It is headed by Keith Webster, Under
Defence Department.
6. The Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) conferred the
‘Excellence in Golf in 2015′ award on 17-year-old Aditi Ashok in
recognition of her recent achievements which included winning the Singha
Thailand Amateur Championship last week, the 2015 British Ladies
Amateur Strokeplay Championship and the prestigious 2015 St. Rule Trophy
at St. Andrews. KGA president Venkat Subramaniam presented the local
golfer an award at the prize distribution ceremony of the seventh Toyota
Karnataka Golf Festival held in Karnataka.
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17 September 2015 Current Affair Updates | Daily GK Download |
7. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been
announced as one of the winners of the United Nations Champions of the
Earth award in recognition of her country's initiatives to address
climate change. United Nations Champions of the Earth award is the
highest award in the world of environment conservation.
8. China launched its most sophisticated observation
satellite, Gaofen-9, as part of the country's high-definition Earth
observation project. Gaofen-9 was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite
Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu aboard a Long
March-2D carrier rocket. It was the 209th flight of the Long March
rocket series. The optical remote sensing satellite is capable of
providing photographs with a resolution of less than a meter. It will be
used in land survey, urban planning, road network design, agriculture,
and disaster relief.
9. Two Indian educational Institutes find place in
'2015-16 QS World University Rankings's World Top-200' . It was the 12th
edition in the series of annual global university ranking list. The
Indian Institute of Science-Bangalore (IISc-B) and the Indian Institute
of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D) were ranked 147 and 179 respectively.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) topped the list of
universities in the world for record fourth time. Harvard University is
at second place, followed by the University of Cambridge and Stanford
University in joint third place.
10. Tamil Nadu state government announced making it
mandatory for all high rise buildings in the state to have solar power
generation facility. This announcement was made in the Tamil Nadu
Assembly by Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. Under it all new
multi-storey buildings (more than four floors) will have to establish
solar power generation facility. The rule would be applicable to all
group developments (with more than eight dwelling units) also. In
effect, it will cover almost 90% of residential and commercial
developments in cities like Chennai and Coimbatore. This is being seen
as the first-of-its-kind initiative in urban solar power plants.