Daily Current Affairs, 14th September 2018

1) Hindi Diwas: 14 September

•Hindi Divas is celebrated on 14 September because, on this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India had adopted Hindi written in Devanagari script as the official language of the Republic of India. Under the Article 343of the Indian Constitution, on 26 January 1950, Hindi, written in Devanagari script was adopted as the official language.

•Later, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru announced this day to be celebrated as Hindi Diwas in the country. There are 22 Scheduled languages of India, of which, two are officially used at Union government of India level: Hindi and English. Hindi is the fourth most spoken language of the world. 

2) National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) Releases HIV Estimations 2017

•The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) released the report HIV Estimations 2017. The HIV Estimations 2017 is the 14th round in the series of HIV Estimations under National AIDS Control Programme (NACP). NACO undertakes HIV estimations biennially in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Medical Statistics (NIMS). 

•The first round of HIV estimation in India was done in 1998, while the last round was done in 2015. As per the report, in 2017, India had around 21.40 lakh people living with HIV (PLHIV) with the adult prevalence of 0.22%. The objective of HIV Estimations is to provide updated information on the status of HIV epidemic in India at national and State/UT level. 

3) 23rd Meeting Of India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission Held In Moscow

•External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj led the Indian delegation at the 23rd meeting of India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission (IRIGC-TEC) to discuss the expansion of Russia-India relationship across all sectors.  The meeting was chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov. 

•The IRIGC-TEC is a standing body which annually meets and reviews ongoing activities of bilateral cooperation in the fields of bilateral trade and investment, science and technology, culture and other issues of mutual interest. 

4) Venkaiah Naidu Embarks On 3-Nation Visit To Serbia, Malta, And Romania

•Vice President Venkaiah Naidu embarks on a three-nation visit to Serbia, Malta and Romania. During the seven-day visit, Mr Naidu will first reach Serbia where he will meet the leadership of that country. Several MoUs including in the field of Agriculture and Tourism are expected to be signed during the Vice President’s visit to these countries. 

•In the second leg of his visit, Mr Naidu will arrive in Malta, where he will meet the country’s leadership and discuss issues of mutual interest. In the last leg of his visit, the Vice President will reach Romania. 

5) Minister For Minority Affairs Launched 'National Scholarship Portal Mobile App'

•Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi launched the country's first "National Scholarship Portal Mobile App" (NSP Mobile App) in New Delhi. This "National Scholarship Portal Mobile App" will ensure a smooth, accessible and hassle-free scholarship system for students from poor and weaker sections. 

•All the scholarships are being given directly into bank accounts of the needy students under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode through the National Scholarship Portal which has ensured that there is no scope for duplication and leakage. 

6) G-20 Trade And Investment Ministerial Meeting Held In Argentina

•Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu participated in G-20 trade and investment ministerial meeting at Mar del Plata in Argentina. Issues including increasing protectionism challenges to promote global commerce and the new industrial revolution were discussed at the meeting. 

•The members of the G20 include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.

7) India Approves MOU On Joint Blockchain Research With BRICS Members

•The Union Cabinet of India has approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the collaborative research of distributed ledger technology (DLT). The research will be jointly conducted by the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) and one bank from each BRICS member states.

•The MoU was initially proposed at the 10th International BRICS Summit held in Johannesburg in July, the main focus of which was cooperation in economic development in the face of the fourth industrial revolution. The banks then agreed to jointly study DLT in the interests of the development of the digital economy.

8) Country’s 1st Tribal Tourism Circuit Launched In Chhattisgarh

•Union minister K J Alphons, the Minister of State for Tourism, inaugurated the country's first tribal circuit project connecting 13 tourism sites in Chhattisgarh. This project was sanctioned by the Ministry of Tourism in February 2016 for Rs. 99.21 Crores.

•The project was implemented under the Tourism Ministry's Swadesh Darshan scheme launched in 2014-15 for development of thematic circuits in the country in a planned and prioritized manner. The government had decided to include Chhattisgarh in the scheme under tribal circuit theme with an objective to acknowledge the sovereignty of tribes and to promote the rich and diverse primitive assets in the state.

9) Global Climate Action Summit: Indian Cities, States Step Up Climate Action Plans

•The Global Climate Action Summit 2018 was held at San Francisco, California, United States. Over 4000 businesses, cities, states and civil society delegates attended the summit and showed their commitments to achieve the goals set by the Paris Agreement.

•The co-chairs of the Summit, Governor of California Edmund G. Brown Jr. and UN’s Special Envoy for Climate Action Michael R Bloomberg, unveiled a new report demonstrating how cities, states, and businesses can help the US in achieving its 2025 emissions reduction target. 

•As per Maharashtra Principal Secretary for Financial Reforms, Sujata Saunik, six more states would adopt heat action plans. In 2018, based on guidance provided by the central government, 13 states and over 30 cities adopted or are developing Heat Action Plans. These 13 states are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

10) Justice Ranjan Gogoi Appointed Next Chief Justice Of India

•The President of India has appointed Justice Ranjan Gogoi as the next Chief Justice of India. He will assume the office of Chief Justice on 3rd October, 2018 after the retirement of the current Chief Justice, Justice Dipak Misra. Mr Gogoi is the 46th Chief Justice of India. 

•Justice Gogoi was enrolled as an advocate in 1978. He practised in the Gauhati High Court on constitutional, taxation and company matters. He was appointed as a Permanent Judge of the Gauhati High Court on 28th February 2001. 

11) ISSF World Championship: Udhayveer Singh Wins Gold In Junior Men’s 25m Pistol Event

•Sixteen-year-old Udhayveer Singh has won an individual Gold Medal in Junior Men’s 25 metre pistol eventin the World Shooting Championships in South Korea. He also spearheaded India to the team Gold. Singh shot a score of 587 in the individual competition to grab the Gold ahead American Henry Leverett and Korean Lee Jaekyoon. 

•The bronze medal went to Team Korea, which shot a score of 1721. India is placed fourth in the medals tally with 9 Gold, 8 Silver and seven bronze medals for a total of 24. The tally is India’s best performance in International Shooting Sports Federation’s showpiece.