18 September 2015 Current Affair Updates | Daily GK Download

1. 10 entities, including Ujjivan Financial Services and Equitas Holdings, got RBI's approval to set up Small Finance Banks to provide basic banking services to small farmers and micro industries. Other entities to get the Reserve Bank's nod are Au Financiers (Jaipur), Capital Local Area Bank (Jalandhar), Disha Microfin (Ahmedabad), ESAF Microfinance (Chennai), Janalakshmi Financial (Bengaluru), RGVN (North East) Microfinance (Guwahati), Suryoday Micro Finance (Mumbai) and Utkarsh Micro Finance (Varanasi). The Small Finance Banks can provide basic banking services like accepting limited deposits and small lending to the unbanked sections such as small farmers, micro business enterprises, micro and small industries and unorganised sector entities. 

2. Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley launched an innovative HITS digital broadcasting platform that will provide over 500 TV channels to cable operators, with the promoter Hinduja group pegging the total project outlay at more than Rs. 5,000 crore. The Hinduja-HITS (Headend-in-the-Sky) Network, under the brand name NXT Digital, will serve Multi System Operators (MSOs) as well as Local Cable Operators (LCOs) and aims to tap the transition from analog to digital mode of cable TV services under the government's digitisation drive.

3. The Central Board of Trustees of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has decided to enhance the deposit linked Insurance benefit to 6 lakh rupees from the present 3 lakh 60 thousand. According to Union Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya it will benefit four lakh employees across the country.

4. The OECD cut its world economic growth forecasts for 2015 and 2016, warning of a dramatic slowdown in Brazil and a global outlook clouded by uncertainty over China. The OECD trimmed its world growth forecast for this year to 3.0 per cent, lopping 0.1 percentage points off its previous estimate made in June. For the world economy in 2016, the OECD lowered the outlook to growth of 3.6 per cent, a reduction of 0.2 percentage points from three months ago.

5. Railways shot putter Manpreet Kaur shattered an 18-year-old national record en route to a sixth title at the 55th National Open Athletics Championship at Kolkata. Patiala-based shot putter broke the record of Harbans Kaur of 17.43 metres that came in 1997 by throwing 17.96 metres in her second attempt to claim the gold medal, a hat-trick of titles at the National Open. With this, Manpreet Kaur (25) also qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympics that is scheduled to be held from 5 August to 21 August 2016.

6. Exhibition ‘Shauryanjali’ was launched at the India Gate lawns in New Delhi to celebrate the Golden Jubilee (50th Anniversary) of Indo-Pak War of 1965. ‘Shauryanjali’ has recreated the battle scene in various sectors beginning from Rann of Kutch to the ceasefire and Tashkent Summit. It has been presented as an ode to splendid show of valour and sacrifice of Indian Armed Forces personnel for protecting the borders of the country. The exhibition was inaugurated by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.


7. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) successfully test-fired an indigenously developed second generation, 2.8 km range, anti-tank guided missile called Amogha-1. The test firing was carried out at Babina Army Range in Madhya Pradesh. This is the first ever design and developmental effort in respect of missiles by BDL, Hyderabad. Two missiles were fired and both hit targets placed at 2.6 km as well as 2.8 km respectively.

18 September 2015 Current Affair Updates | Daily GK Download
18 September 2015 Current Affair Updates | Daily GK Download
8. A 43-year-old Indian-origin British MP Seema Malhotra has been appointed as the shadow chief secretary for Treasury by the newly elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Seema Malhotra became MP for the London seat of Feltham and Heston in 2011 in a by-election following the death of Alan Keen (Conservative). In August 2014, she was given the newly-created role of shadow minister for preventing violence against women and girls by the then Labour leader Ed Miliband. She will be shadow chancellor John McDonnell's Assistant in the shadow Treasury team.

9. Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya launched three mobile based services -- a Mobile Application, SMS-based UAN (Universal Account Number) Activation and Missed Call service -- for the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members. The members would be able to activate their UAN accounts from the comfort of their mobile phones and can also access their accounts for viewing their monthly credits through the passbook as well as view their details available with EPFO. This app can be downloaded from the website. These services will help nearly 3.54 crore contributing members, 49.22 lakh pensioners and 6.1 lakh employers. 

10. Indian-origin British author Sunjeev Sahota was among the 6 writers short-listed for the prestigious Man Booker Prize 2015. Sunjeev Sahota was short-listed for his book ‘The Year of the Runaways’, which centers around the lives of three Indian men, one a Dalit and a woman, all migrants from India. This is the second year that the prize has been open to writers of any nationality, writing in English and published in the United Kingdom. Till 2014, the Booker Prize was open to authors only from the U.K. and Commonwealth, Republic of Ireland and Zimbabwe.

11. In Madhya Pradesh, the state government has launched M-Shiksha-Mitra mobile app to provide various services and teaching-related work to teachers in simple and easy way. Madhya Pradesh is the first state to develop such an app for teachers. A number of facilities have been given in the Shiksha-Mitra mobile app, which has been developed by the NIC. Teachers can use this app to browse salary slips, funds sent to school under various heads, scholarships, different circulars and GPF statement.
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