Published on: September 18, 2021
SNIPPETS – 18 SEPTEMBER 2021
SNIPPETS – 18 SEPTEMBER 2021
- Indian Railways took a leap in advancement of Skill India Mission by launching the “Rail Kaushal Vikas Yojana (RKVY)” under the aegis of “Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)”.Under Rail Kaushal Vikas Yojana, training will be provided to 50,000 candidates over a period of three years.
- Paving the way for a major clean-up of bad loans in the banking system, the Union Cabinet has cleared a ₹30,600-crore guarantee programme for securities to be issued by the newly incorporated ‘bad bank’ for taking over and resolving non-performing assets (NPAs) amounting to ₹2 lakh crore.
- GST council which met recently has come up with effected several long-pending tweaks in tax rates including an increase in the GST levied on footwear costing less than ₹1,000 as well as readymade garments and fabrics to 12% from 5%. Petroleum products has not been included under GST.The GST council is the key decision-making body that will take all important decisions regarding the GST.
- Every year, 16th September is observed as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone layer (World Ozone Day) to celebrate Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the ozone layer which was signed by almost every country in 1987.Theme for 2021 Montreal Protocol – Keeping us, our food, and vaccines cool.
- The General Sherman trees are now being threatened by Wildfires of California. They are worlds largest trees.
- Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) discovered remains of an ancient temple dating back to the Gupta period (5th century) in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district recently.Shankhalipi or “shell-script” is a term used by scholars to describe ornate spiral characters assumed to be Brahmi derivatives that look like conch shells or shankhas.
- QCI launched the Prof. S.K. Joshi Laboratory Excellence Award.This is country’s first-of-its- kind Laboratory Excellence Award. This Award has been instituted to promote Laboratory Quality and performance improvement in the country.
- US administration has announced a new trilateral security partnership for the Indo-pacific. Security partnership was done between Australia, United Kingdom and United States. This security grouping called AUKUS with a focus towards advancing strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
- The 21st meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State was held recently in Dushanbe.The original Shanghai Five were China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.The SCO was formed in 2001, with Uzbekistan included. It expanded in 2017 to include India and Pakistan.SCO has focused on regional non-traditional security, with counter-terrorism as a priority.
- Karnataka legislative assembly passes Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill to ensure fairness in the process of delimitation and fixing of reservation of wards in the wake of thousands of objections being filed by the general public against such an exercise undertaken by the State Election Commission.
- Thanu Padmanabhan, eminent theoretical physicist and cosmologist, passed away in Pune . He was 64.
- 15th Edition of Indo – Nepal Joint Military Training, Exercise Surya Kiran between Indian Army and Nepali Army is commencing from 20 September 2021 at Pithoragarh (UK).
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been named among 100 most influential people of 2021 by the Time Magazine. Apart from PM Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and CEO of Serum Institute of India, Adar Poonawalla have also been named among the world’s 100 most influential people.Time magazine unveiled its annual list of ‘The 100 Most Influential People of 2021’ on September 15, 2021.
- MyGov India has launched the “Planetarium Innovation Challenge” for Indian start-ups and tech entrepreneurs. his Planetarium challenge was launched with the aim of bringing together the tech firms and Start-ups, that are based out of India, with the potential to build an indigenous planetariums system software. MyGov is a citizen engagement platform, launched by central government on July 26, 2014 in order to promote the active participation of Indian citizens in the governance and development of India. It aims to create common platform for Indian citizens in a bid to “crowdsource governance ideas from citizens”
