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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 03 October 2019

::NATIONAL::

PM calls upon people to eradicate single use plastic by 2022

• Prime Minister NarendraModi has called upon people to eradicate single-use plastic from the country by 2022. Mr Modi said, plastic is a major threat to environment and we have to achieve the goal to eradicate single-use plastic from the country. Prime Minister was speaking at a 'Swachh Bharat Diwas' programme in Ahmedabad on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi yesterday evening.

• Mr Modi declared that India is now open defecation-free (ODF). Prime Minister made the declaration by pressing the button of a remote, unveiling the map of India as open defection-free. He said, the world is amazed by the fact that India provided toilets to over 60 crore people in 60 months by building over 11 crore toilets. Prime Minister said, rural India has declared itself open defection-free.

• This is a great achievement of the Swachh Bharat movement which has people's participation. Mr Modi said, this achievement is just a milestone and we should not stop here. The movement has to continue. The event was attended by around 20,000 village heads, including 10,000 from Gujarat.

• Prime Minister said, the country's stature is on the rise on the world stage which was seen during the 'HowdyModi' event in Houston. Prime Minister said, the world can see that India is at the forefront of several positive changes taking place globally.

• Mr Modi said, the strength and the value of Indian passport has increased and the world sees those holding Indian passport with respect. He said, the world is looking at India with great eagerness. PM said, the world is curious about India, a huge country with a vibrant democracy.

Home minister flags off Vande Bharat express from New Delhi

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off the Delhi-KatraVande Bharat Express today from the New Delhi Railway Station and said it was a "big gift" for Jammu and Kashmir's development.

• Terming it as a big gift for Jammu and Kashmir's development and for promoting religious tourism, Shah also said that Article 370 was the "biggest roadblock" in the state's development and within 10 years, it will be one of the most developed regions of the country.

• The high-speed train will bring down the travel time between Delhi and Katra, the last station on way to the Vaishno Devi temple, to 8 hours from the current twelve hours. The first commercial run of the train will be on 5th of this month and booking of tickets is now open on the IRCTC website.

• Railways Minister PiyushGoyal who was also present on the occasion said that Railways will connect the entire country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari before 15th August, 2022. Health and Family Welfare Minister

Dr.Harshvardhan was also present on the occasion

• Just like first Vande Bharat Express, the railways has not applied the dynamic fare principle on this new train for Delhi to Katra. The first Vande Bharat Express was stared between Delhi to Varanasi in February this year.

• Prime Minister NarendraModi described the launch of the Delhi-KatraVande Bharat Express as a Navratri gift for devotees of Vaishno Devi. Mr Modi tweeted, a Navratri gift for my sisters and brothers of Jammu as well as devotees of MaaVaishno Devi! He said, the New Vande Bharat Express from New Delhi to MaaVaishno Devi, Katra will improve connectivity as well as spiritual tourism.

::ECONOMY::

Government plans to review bank account norms soon

• Following the hardships faced by customers in opening bank accounts, the government will review the norms for the same.

• Top bankers highlighted the problem at a meeting with Finance Ministry officials last week. They said the officials were open to reviewing the issue after they were briefed about the problems.

• The rules mandate proof of current address to open an account. Customers have to submit any of the six officially valid documents in proof of their address. The six documents are voter ID, passport, driving licence, letter issued by the National Population Register, NREGA job cards and Aadhaar.

• Bankers said this caused major problems. They pointed to many instances of a person unable to open an account after shifting from a city or locality because he could not change his/her address in the documents.

• Banks wants utility bills, not older than three months, considered proof. For this, the government may have to amend the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Automobile sales continue to slump at the end of first half

• Automobile sales in the country continued to decline in September but the industry is hopeful of buyers returning to the market on the back of festive celebrations along with factors, such discounts and good monsoons spurring purchases.

• Automakers have already begun seeing an increase in showroom footfalls and retail bookings. This is also reflected in the vehicle registration data available on the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways website.

• The data show that across 31 of the 36 States, vehicle registrations stood at over 19.33 lakh units in September, the highest monthly registrations since November 2018 when the number stood at over 21.01 lakh registrations.

• During the period under review, the sale of medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) trucks declined by 74% while that of M&HCV buses by 26%. Light commercial vehicles sales contracted by 24% to 5,022 units, said the company in a regulatory filing.

• In the two-wheeler segment, Hero MotoCorp sold a total of over 6.12 lakh units last months as against over 7.69 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters sold in September 2018, a decline of over 20%. However, month-on-month, the company saw sales growth of 12.6% from over 5.43 lakh units in August 2019.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

NSA meets Saudi crown prince at U.K

• National Security Advisor AjitDoval held detailed discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman on bilateral, regional and international issues.

• Mr Doval is on a two-day visit to the Kingdom, that began yesterday. A statement by the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said the two sides also reviewed the strong and fraternal ties, besides discussed exploring ways and means to further strengthen and consolidate the bilateral relations in several areas.

• AjitDoval also had separate meetings with Saudi Minister of State and National Security Advisor, Dr Musaid Bin Mohammed Al Aiban, DG of the General Intelligence Directorate, Khalid bin Ali Al Humaidan and other senior Saudi officials.

• Saudi Arabia and India are set to establish a Strategic Partnership Council which will be co-chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModi and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

Indefinite curfew in Baghdad post protests

• In Iraq, an indefinite curfew was imposed in the capital city Baghdad today after two days of protests across the country that descended into violence and have left nine dead and around 400 wounded.

• Iraqi premier Adel Abdel Mahdi ordered the ban on movements across Baghdad early today to stem the popular demonstrations over widespread unemployment and state corruption.

• The tension has been exacerbated by a near-total Internet shutdown, the closure of government offices and at least one overnight explosion that hit the Green Zone, where some ministries and embassies are located. Since erupting in Baghdad on Tuesday, the protests have spread to other cities in the country's south.

• Top United Nations official in Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert met with some protesters in Baghdad yesterday to call for direct dialogue between them and government officials.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

BRO to use plastic to build roads along the border

• The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has started a pilot project to build roads using plastic waste and environment-friendly technology, primarily along the Sino-India border, said a senior official.

• Tripura has a border with Bangladesh while the other five States share border with China.

• Lt. Gen. Singh said on Wednesday that directions have issued to adopt “environmental friendly techniques of construction in remote border areas of the country”.

• The BRO constructs roads in many areas that are in ecologically sensitive zones where restrictions have been imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on the use of construction materials like local aggregates and sand, he said.

• “To overcome this problem, BRO has adopted innovative modern technology involving use of non-toxic chemicals, polymers, enzymes etc for soil stabilisation to construct road pavements without depending on conventional materials like stone aggregates and sand,” Lt. Gen. Singh added.

• “Geosynthetic and technical textile materials” are also being used for “slope stabilisation on a large scale and for construction of pavements”, he said.

::SPORTS::

Annu Rani qualifies for javelin throw finals at world championship

• Annu Rani has become the first Indian to qualify for Women's Javelin Throw Final at World Athletics Championships in Doha.

• She smashed her own national record during the qualification round of the Championships with best attempt of 62.43 metres. Annu Rani finished fifth in the qualifying round, a place above the current World Record holder BarboraSpotakova.

• The 27-year-old Annu opened the qualification round Group A with a 57.05m before sending the iron spear to a distance of 62.43m in the second round, bettering her earlier national record of 62.34m, which she achieved in March during the Federation Cup in Patiala.

** Current Affairs

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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 03 October 2019