Current Affairs Updates: 4th September

Current Affairs Updates: 4th September

Current Affairs is a very important part of bank exams. Though it is scoring but it really gets difficult for some to sort out the important news. Its also very difficult to note down news daily or remember them. We are there to help you. We are providing daily current affairs updates which you can follow easily. Also, after preparing the updates you can practice the quizzes for better results. This would surely be helpful for all candidates.

New Appointments: National

Sanjaya Baru takes charge as FICCI Secretary General

• Sanjaya Baru on Friday took over as the Secretary General of the apex industry body, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
• Baru was Media Advisor to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (2004-08) and Director for Geo-economics and Strategy, International Institute of Strategic Studies, London (2011-16).

Anita Karwal replaces R K Chaturvedi as CBSE chief

• CBSE CHAIRMAN R K Chaturvedi, in a surprise move, was transferred to the National Skill Development Agency on Thursday night. He has been replaced by 1988-batch Gujarat cadre officer Anita Karwal. 

Gopal Singh is new CMD of Coal India

• Gopal Singh, CMD, Central Coalfields Ltd, has been given additional charge as the CMD of Coal India Ltd (CIL) till the time a regular appointment is made for the post.

Justice BN Srikrishna to head Committee for data protection framework 

• Justice B N Srikrishna, former judge of the Supreme Court of India will head a Committee of experts which has been formed to deliberate on a data protection framework for the country. The government led ten-member committee will "identify key data protection issues in India and recommend methods of addressing them." 

Piyush Goyal new Rail Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman gets Defence

• Piyush Goyal has been appointed as the Union Railway Minister after being inducted into the Union Cabinet today. He replaced former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, who had earlier offered to resign following multiple train derailments. Further, Nirmala Sitharaman was given the Defence Ministry, becoming only the second woman to hold the post after Indira Gandhi.

Rajyavardhan Singh first sportsman to become sports minister

• Olympic silver medal-winning shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was named the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports as part of PM Narendra Modi's cabinet reshuffle on Sunday, making him the first sportsperson to hold the position. The 47-year-old Padma Shri awardee, who is also the MoS for Information and Broadcasting, replaced Vijay Goel who is now the MoS for Parliamentary Affairs.

Brand Ambassador

Kenneth I. Juster named U.S ambassador to India

• Kenneth I. Juster, until recently deputy director of the National Economic Council at the White House, has been nominated as the next U.S ambassador to India, on Friday. The appointment will take effect once the U.S Senate confirms him. The post is vacant since January 20.

Banking/Economic Affairs

Syndicate Bank gets Ajay Vipin Nanavati as new chairman

• Ajay Vipin Nanavati has assumed charge as Chairman of Syndicate Bank. Nanavati, a chemical engineer from Virginia Tech, US, started his career at 3M in India in 1988. 

RBI arm to launch model platform for blockchain technology soon

• The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), an arm of the Reserve Bank of India, is developing a model platform for blockchain technology.

RBI cuts rate by quarter point to 6%

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the key interest rate by a quarter point to 6% as expected without changing its stance, saying that it would remain on guard as price pressures may return in the wake of a house rent allowance payout and the July 1 rollout of the goods and services tax (GST). 

National Affairs

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises minister Kalraj Mishra resigns 

• Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Kalraj Mishra has resigned ahead of Sunday's cabinet reshuffle. 
• Senior BJP leader Mishra, 77, said he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and gave his resignation. He claimed the Prime Minister told him that his performance in the ministry was good. 

Hockey India sacks chief coach Roelant Oltmans

• Hockey India on Saturday sprang a surprise by sacking national coach Roelant Oltmans, citing lack of trust in the legendary Dutchman's formula of "long- term" process for success.
• Hockey India sacked Oltmans with immediate effect and made High Performance Director David John in charge of the national men's team till a suitable replacement is found.

Sports Ministry to constitute Empowered Steering Committee

• The Sports Ministry on Friday approved constitution of a 13-member Empowered Steering Committee (ESC) which will shape and influence India's preparation for multi- disciplinary events, including 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Coconut palm declared State tree of Goa

• Under pressure from allies in the government over a year after de-classifying the coconut palm as a tree during its earlier stint, the BJP-led coalition Cabinet here on Wednesday passed an amendment restoring the coconut palm in the list of trees and also according it the status of State tree.

9 new ministers inducted in PM Narendra Modi's Cabinet

• A total of nine new ministers took oath today at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, becoming a part of PM Narendra Modi's Cabinet, in the third reshuffle since 2014. The new inductees include former IFS officer Hardeep Singh Puri, former Home Secretary RK Singh, former IAS officer Alphons Kannanthanam, among others. The total strength of the Council of Ministers now is 76.

International Affairs

Kenyan court scraps presidential vote

• NAIROBI--Kenya's Supreme Court on Friday nullified President Uhuru Kenyatta's election win, citing irregularities, and ordered a new poll within 60 days, an unprecedented move in Africa where governments often hold sway over judges.

WCO to unveil norms for e-commerce trade

• The World Customs Organization (WCO) will soon bring out guidelines on ‘cross-border e-commerce’, which will focus on preventing illegal trade as well as addressing the challenges stemming from the ‘digital divide’, according to the WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya.

Schemes / Programme

APEDA launches app to apply for farm registration and approval by govt

• The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has launched the Hortinet app for providing internet based electronic services to the stakeholders for facilitating farm registration, testing and certification of Grape, Pomegranate and Vegetables for export from India to the European Union in compliance with standards

Environment Ministry to Launch Prakriti Khoj An Environment Quiz on Teachers Day

• The Environment Ministry will launch an environment awareness initiative, under which an online environmental quiz competition named Prakriti Khoj" an Environment Quiz to be conducted at the national level. The quiz is being launched on September 5 on the occasion of Teachers Day. It will be an ideal medium to reach out to young minds through a fun-filled interactive learning mode to trigger their sensitivity towards environment protection and conservation. 

Agreements (MoU)

Nepal signs UN development assistance framework 

• The Nepalese government has signed the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for 2018-2022, which lays out the development strategy for the next five years. 

India, China jointly oppose trade-distorting agri subsidies

• India and China, in a joint proposal to the World Trade Organization (WTO), have called for elimination of trade-distorting agricultural subsidies given by developed countries,

Switzerland for early India-EFTA Free Trade Agreement pact

• The early conclusion of the proposed Free Trade Agreement(FTA) between India and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) as well as an investment protection framework would boost economic ties between the two sides, said Switzerland President Doris Leuthard
• EFTA members include Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. 

Summit /Conference / Events / Host

International Hindu Conference begins in Nepal

• The three-day International Hindu Conference began here on Thursday with an aim of reinstating Kathmandu as the global capital of Hinduism.
• Hindu scholars, religious leaders, Hindu activists and officials from different countries including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the US and the UK are attending the conference with the theme of ‘Emerging spiritualism: Renaissance of Hinduism’

Awards & Honours

Hyderabad airport bags energy efficiency award

• Hyderabad International Airport Ltd has bagged the National Award for ‘Excellence’ in Energy Management at a conference hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Sports: Awards & Honours

World Boxing Championships: Gaurav Bidhuri clinches bronze medal

• Wildcard entrant Gaurav Bidhuri's remarkable run at the World Boxing Championships ended with a bronze medal on Thursday after he lost his semifinal clash to American Duke Ragan in Hamburg. India thus ended the tournament with a bronze medal, equalling the performance of 2009 (Vijender Singh), 2011 (Vikas Krishan) and 2015 (Shiva Thapa).

Hamilton wins Italian GP to take lead in F1 title race

• Mercedes' British Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday to take the lead in the F1 drivers' championship title race for the first time this season. Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas finished second while Hamilton's championship rival Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was placed third. Hamilton now leads Vettel by three points.