Daily Current Affairs, 28th September 2018

1) World Rabies Day: 28 September

•World Rabies Day is celebrated on 28 September. It is celebrated annually to raise awareness about rabies prevention and to highlight progress in defeating this horrifying disease.

•28 September also marks the anniversary of Louis Pasteur's death, the French chemist and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine. 

2) PM Modi Inaugurated Parakram Parv Exhibition In Jodhpur

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Parakram Parv exhibition at the military station in Jodhpur to mark the second anniversary of the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army across the LoC. 

•On September 29, 2016, the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes on seven terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) as a response to an attack on its base in Uri. Konark Corps is organizing this three days exhibition on Indian Army’s Combat Capability on the occasion of 2nd anniversary of Surgical Strikes. 

3) High-Level Meeting On Tuberculosis At 73rd Session Of UNGA Held In New York

•J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare addressed at the ‘High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis at 73rd session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at New York’. 

•He stated that India has shown personal commitment to tackle TB head-on as India plans to eliminate TB by 2025, five years ahead of the SDG target of 2030, by launching the TB Free India Campaign. India has allocated US$ 430 million for implementation of the Plan in the current year, which is an increase of 54% over last year. 

4) Government Forms Lokpal Search Committee

•The government has set up an eight-member Lokpal Search Committee under the Chairmanship of former Supreme Court Judge, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. Prasar Bharati Chairman A Surya Prakash, former SBI Chief Arundhati Bhattacharya and Justice Sukha Ram Singh Yadav among others will be members of the panel. 

•An official order issued by Ministry of Personnel stated that the panel will recommend the names for the Chairperson and Members of the Lokpal to the Lokpal Selection Committee. According to the Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh the search panel is a major step towards setting up of the Lokpal and the committee will start functioning soon. 

5) Tourism Minister K J Alphons Presents National Tourism Awards 2016-17

•Tourism Minister K J Alphons presented National Tourism Awards 2016-17 in New Delhi. The awards were given in various segments of the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry. Andhra Pradesh bagged the first prize in state category for comprehensive development of tourism. 

•The state got the prize for promoting Andhra Pradesh Tourism as a global tourism brand. Kerala bagged the second prize for comprehensive development of tourism. Rajasthan and Goa jointly shared the third prize. The Tourism sector has generated 14.62 million jobs in the country in the last four years. There was a growth of more than 14% in number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals last year. 

6) 2 MoU’s Signed Between India And Uzbekistan

•A meeting between Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad and the Minister for Development of Information Technologies and Communications, Uzbekistan Mr Shuhrat Sadikov was held in New Delhi for strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries in ICT sector.

•Subsequently, in presence of both the Ministers Two Memorandum of Understandings (MoU’s) were signed: -  
a) Agreement between National Informatics Centre (NIC), India and e-Government System development centre of the Ministry for Development of Information Technologies and Communications of Uzbekistan for strengthening e-Governance cooperation.
b) Declaration of Intent between CDAC, India and Tashkent University of Information Technologies, Uzbekistan for cooperation in the area of capacity building in ICT sector. 

7) India And UN Signed A Five-Year Sustainable Development Framework

•CEO NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant and United Nations Resident Coordinator in India, Yuri Afanasiev, signed the Government of India-United Nations Sustainable Development Framework (UNSDF) for 2018-2022, at a special signing ceremony. The NITI Aayog is the national counterpart for the UN in India for the operationalization of the UNSDF.

•The government of India-United Nations Sustainable Development Framework (SDF) 2018-2022 outlines the work of UN agencies in India, to support the achievement of key development outcomes that have been identified in consultation with the government and are aligned to the national priorities.

8) Ravi Shankar Prasad Launched Centre Of Excellence For Data Analytics And DigiVaarta

•National Informatics Centre (NIC) and National Informatics Centre Services Incorporated (NICSI) have jointly set up a Centre of Excellence for data analytics to support Government departments to unlock the hidden potential of the data that they are generating as part of the governance processes and use it to improve the overall governance. 

•Launch of Centre of Excellence for Data Analytics (CEDA) was done by the Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad, as part of Workshop on Data Analytics in Government. 

9) 8th Asian Yoga Sports Championship Begins In Thiruvananthapuram

•The 8th Asian Yoga Sports Championship organised by Asian Yoga Federation has begun in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will formally inaugurate the event. Nearly 450 participants representing 12 Asian countries showcasing their yoga skills will take part in the four-day event. 

•Yogaratna Awards will be given away to foreign delegates who were instrumental in popularising yoga in their respective countries. Noted Saudi yoga instructor Nouf Marwaai, who was recently awarded the Padma Shri, will also participate in the event.