7-8 September
K G George wins 2015 J C Daniel Award
Veteran award-winning film director K.G. George on 6 September 2016 won the prestigious J.C. Daniel Award for his overall contribution to the Malayalam film industry.
The award will be given away along with the State Film Awards at a function to be held at Palakkad in October 2016.
Who is K.G. George?
•Kulakkatil Geevarghese George is an Indian film director and screenwriter.
•He is considered to be among one of the directors who revolutionized Malayalam cinema in the 1970s.
•He is noted for his deep psychological analysis and character study of the human mind in his films.
•He made his debut with 1975 movie Swapnadanam, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam.
•His well known films include Ulkadal, Mela, Yavanikaamong others.
•He is also the founder and chairman of the Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA).
About J.C. Daniel Award
•The J. C. Daniel Award is Kerala's highest award in Malayalam cinema.
•The Government of Kerala created the award to commemorate the contribution of Indian filmmaker J. C. Daniel, who is often regarded as the father of Malayalam cinema.
•It is presented annually by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, a non-profit institution under the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala, India.
•It was instituted in 1992.
•The award is given to honour the recipients for their outstanding contributions to Malayalam cinema.
•Recipients are selected by an independent jury established by the Academy and the Department of Cultural Affairs.
•Actor Madhu was the first recipient of the award.
•Actress Aranmula Ponnamma is the only woman who has received the honour in 2005.
•In 2014, the award was presented to director and screenwriter I.V. Sasi.
Union Government launches Leprosy Case Detection campaign
Health Ministry on 5 September 2016 launched the Leprosy Case Detection campaign (LCDC) in the country. Objective of the campaign is to detect the disease early so that those affected can be saved from physical deformity.
As per the Health Ministry release about 32 crore people across 149 districts of 19 States and Union Territories will be screened under the fortnight-long campaign.
Key highlights of the campaign
• It includes, the districts having a prevalence rate of more than one case per 10000 people in the last three years.
• Around three lakh teams will visit every house in their allotted area and screen all the family members for leprosy.
• The states and UTs to be covered in this campaign include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Haryana, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep.
• Chhattisgarh has the highest number of districts to be covered, followed by Dadra Nagar and Haveli.
The first Leprosy Case Detection Campaign was launched in March 2016 in 50 districts of 7 states namely Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. During the campaign, around 65427 suspected cases were identified out of which nearly 4120 were later confirmed.
Leprosy
• It is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae.
• It is a leading cause of permanent physical disability.
• It usually affects the skin and peripheral nerves, but has a wide range of clinical manifestations.
• The disease is characterized by long incubation period generally 5-7 years.
• The effective way of preventing disability due to leprosy is timely diagnosis and treatment of cases, before nerve damage has occurred.
As per records, leprosy cases in India was reduced to one lakh in 2005 from 30 lakh in 2003, but since then there has been no remarkable achievement in terms of its complete elimination
Thithi wins Best Film Award at first BRICS Film Festival
Acclaimed Kannada movie Thithion 6 September 2016 won the Best Film Award at the first BRICS Film Festival, which concluded in New Delhi.
The BRICS Film Festival was organized as a part of the special events planned in run-up to the BRICS summit to be held in India.
The five-day-long festival screened movies from India, Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa.
China's Chengdu city will host the next edition of the BRICS Film Festival.
About Thithi
•Thithi is a 2016 Kannada-language drama film co-written and directed by Raam Reddy.
•The movie consists of a cast of non-professional actors from villages in the Mandya district of Karnataka.
•The film is a light-hearted story about three generations of men reacting to the death of their 101-year old patriarch.
•The film premiered at the 68th Locarno International Film Festival on 8 August 2015, where it won the Golden Leopard in the Filmmakers of the Presentcategory for Reddy as well as theSwatch First Featureaward.
•At the 63rd National Film Awards, the film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada.
Other awards at the festival
•Filmmaker Jianqi Huo from China won the Best Director Award for the movie Xuan Zang.
•Russia's Yulia Peresild received the Best Actress Award for The Battle for Sevastopol.
•Thabo Rametsi of South Africa clinched the Best Actor Award for his role in Kalushi, The story of Solomon Mahlangu.
UK and Iran appoint ambassadors for first time since 2011
The United Kingdom (UK) and Iran in September 2016 appointed ambassador in each-other's country for the first time since 2011. This appointment marks the restoration of the diplomatic relations between the two nations.
Nicholas Hopton, a Middle East specialist and former British ambassador to Qatar and Yemen, was appointed as UK ambassador to Iran. On the other hand, Hamid Baeidinejad, a key figure in the Iranian nuclear negotiating team, was appointed as the Iranian ambassador to the UK.
The Foreign Office announcement comes one year after the reopening of the British Embassy in Tehran. The embassy was reopened in August 2015 by then-British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and the two countries resumed ties on Charge d'Affaires level.
The British embassy in Tehran was closed after it was stormed and ransacked by protesters in November 2011. The UK also ordered the Iranian embassy in London to be closed.
West Odisha celebrates Nuakhai Festival
Western Odisha on 6 September 2016 celebrated the festival of Nuakhai, the agrarian festival of the region, with religious fervour.
The celebrations began with the Nabanna in which the newly harvested rice was offered to Goddess Samaleswari as per the stipulated Lagna, the auspicious moment. The deity was adorned with new saree and ornaments on the occasion.
Later, people offered Nabanna to their presiding deities.
About Nuakhai Festival
• Nuakhai is an agricultural festival mainly observed by people of Western Odisha in India to welcome the new rice of the season.
• The festival was dedicated to Goddess Samaleswari in Sambalpur while Patneswari in Balangir, Sureshwari in Subarnapur and Sekharbasini in Sundargarh are worshipped.
• According to the Hindu calendar, it is observed on panchamitithi (the fifth day) of the lunar fortnight of the month of August–September, the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
• Families offer the Nabanna to their respective presiding deity and Goddess Laxmi (Goddess of Wealth) as a mark of gratitude for bumper harvest, good rain and favourable farming weather.
• Being an agrarian festival, the eldest in the family of each household in rural pockets worship their paddy fields and cattle.
Dharmendra Pradhan launches Gas4India campaign to promote use of natural gas
Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, on 6 September 2016 launched #Gas4India campaign.
The campaign is aimed at promoting the use of gas in the country.
Public and private sector companies working in the sector have joined hands to promote the natural gas sector.
Pradhan also launched the website, Twitter handle, Facebook page and theme song of the campaign.
Key highlights of the campaign
•Gas4India is a unified cross-country, multimedia, multi-event campaign.
•It promotes the national, social, economic and ecological benefits of using natural gas as the fuel of choice.
•The campaign includes social engagement via social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn, and its official blogsites.
Union Government launches dedicated pan-India helpline for power outages
The Union Government on 6 September 2016 launched the Urja Mitra Helpline number 14401, a dedicated pan-India helpline for power outages.
With this, consumers can now get an update from power distribution companies about outages in their area by dialling 14401.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) created the helpline for pan-India usage to send information through voice calls and SMSes to apprise customers about power situation in their area.
It is a mandatory service, which will be provided by all the telecom operators.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited successfully tests Light Utility Helicopter
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on 6 September 2016 successfully completed test flight of indigenous Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) Bengaluru.
During the test, the helicopter remained in the air for 15 minutes inside the HAL complex.
The LUH will replace the military’s obsolescent fleet of Chetak and Cheetah helicopters that have flown for over three decades.
Key highlights of Light Utility Helicopter
•The HAL LUH is a 3-tonne helicopter exclusively built for the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force to replace the aging fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.
• It is a light, single-engine helicopter that is powered by the Safran HE Ardiden-1U engine.
•In addition to two pilots, the helicopter can fly six passengers at sea level, with load capacity reducing with altitude.
•The LUH’s engine delivers 750 kilowatts of power, permits flight operations at as high as 6500 metres.
•Limited series production will be done in Bengaluru, and the 610-acre Tumakuru unit is slated to commence production in 2018-19.
•The Tumakuru plant will ship about 30 LUHs annually, starting in 2019-20.
•In phase II, the production will be ramped up to 60 helicopters per year.
•HAL intends to speed up flight-testing of the LUH by distributing it over three prototypes.
•HAL hopes to obtain initial operational certification by end-2017.
GRSE hands over fast attack craft TIHAYU to Indian Navy
The Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) of Kolkata on 30 August 2016 handed over TIHAYU, the Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC) to the Indian Navy. The warship was handed over by Rear Admiral (Retd) AK Verma, CMD of GRSE to the Commanding Officer Cdr Ajay Kashov.
GRSE had earlier built and delivered 10 WJFACs to the Indian Navy during 2009 to 2011, which are proving well in service.
About TIHAYU, the Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC)
• Named after an island in the Andaman, Tihayu is fitted with three water jet propulsion systems powered by marine diesel engines generating 2720 KW of power.
• This Follow-on WJFAC ship is a further improved version of Fast Attack Crafts earlier built by GRSE for Indian Navy.
• The ship has an efficient hull form developed by the in-house Design Centre of GRSE and proved by extensive model testing to achieve speeds in excess of 35 knots.
• This warship measuring 48 X 7.5 M with a displacement of around 315 Tons, has an endurance of around 2000 nautical miles at 12-14 knots speed.
• It also boasts of modern habitability conditions with accommodation for 29 personnel.
• It is also fitted with CRN-91 indigenous 30mm Gun, to provide Artillery fire support during attack missions.
World’s oldest cricketer Lindsay Tuckett passes away
South African Lindsay Tuckett, who was the oldest surviving former Test cricketer, passed away on 5 September 2016 in Bloemfontein. He was 97.
With the death of Tuckett, the distinction of the oldest surviving cricketer in the world now passes to all-rounder Johnny Watkins, who is 93.
About Lindsay Tuckett
• Tuckett represented South Africa in nine Test matches against England between 1947 and 1949.
• Tuckett was the backbone of the South African pace attack in the years immediately following World War II.
• He made his debut in the first Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham in 1947.
• In his full international career, he took 19 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls.
• He will best be remembered for bowling the final over of the first Test at Kingsmead in the 1948-49 with England winning by two wickets off the final ball of the game.
Nearly 50 million children uprooted worldwide: UNICEF
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on 7 September 2016 released the report titledUprooted: The growing crisis for refugee and migrant children.
According to the report, nearly 50 million children have been uprooted across the globe and millions more migrating in the hope of finding a better, safer life.
Traumatized by the conflicts and violence they are fleeing, they face further dangers including the risk of drowning on sea crossings, malnourishment, trafficking, rape and even murder. In countries they travel through and at their destinations, they often face xenophobia and discrimination.
Highlights of the Report
• Children represent a disproportionate and growing proportion of those who have sought refuge outside their countries of birth: they make up about half of all refugees.
• In 2015, around 45 percent of all child refugees under UNHCR’s protection came from Syria and Afghanistan.
• 28 million children have left their homes due to conflict across borders including 10 million child refugees and an estimated 17 million children displaced within their own countries.
• More and more children are crossing borders on their own. In 2015, over 100000 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum in 78 countries; triple the number in 2014.
• About 20 million other international child migrants have left their homes for a variety of reasons including extreme poverty or gang violence.
• Turkey hosts the largest total number of recent refugees and very likely the largest number of child refugees in the world.
• Relative to its population, Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees by an overwhelming margin: Roughly 1 in 5 people in Lebanon is a refugee.
• By comparison, there is roughly 1 refugee for every 530 people in the United Kingdom and 1 for every 1200 in the United States.
• When considering refugee-host countries by income level, however, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, and Pakistan host the highest concentration of refugees.
• A refugee child is five times more likely to be out of school than a non-refugee child. Outside the classroom, legal barriers prevent migrant children from receiving services on an equal basis with children who are native to a country.
• In the worst cases, xenophobia can escalate to direct attacks. In Germany alone, authorities tracked 850 attacks against refugee shelters in 2015.
Six specific actions to protect refugee and migrant children
• Protecting child refugees and migrants, particularly unaccompanied children from exploitation and violence.
• Ending the detention of children seeking refugee status or migrating by introducing a range of practical alternatives.
• Keeping families together as the best way to protect children and give children legal status.
• Keeping all refugee and migrant children learning and giving them access to health and other quality services.
• Pressing for action on the underlying causes of large-scale movements of refugees and migrants.
• Promoting measures to combat xenophobia, discrimination and marginalization.
8 September
WHO certifies India free from Yaws, Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus
India on 6 September 2016 received certificates from World Health Organisation (WHO) recognising the elimination of Yaws and Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) from the country.
The certificates were presented to Union Health Minister JP Nadda at the 69th Session of the WHO regional committee for south-east Asia region held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
With this, India became the first country to be officially acknowledged as being yaws-free.
The elimination of tetanus as a public health problem means that the annual rate of maternal and neonatal tetanus in India is now less than 1 per 1000 live births.
What is Yaws?
•Yaws is a tropical infection of the skin, bones and joints caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum pertenue.
•It is spread by direct contact with the fluid from a lesion of an infected person.
•The disease is most common among children, who spread it by playing together.
•The disease infects only humans.
What is Neonatal Tetanus?
•Neonatal tetanus is a form of generalised tetanus that occurs in newborns.
•Infants who have not acquired passive immunity from the mother having been immunised are at risk.
•It usually occurs through infection of the unhealed umbilical stump, particularly when the stump is cut with a non-sterile instrument.
•The disease mostly occurs in developing countries, particularly those with the least developed health infrastructure. It is rare in developed countries.
Background
•India was validated for maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination in April 2015, much ahead of the global target date of December 2015.
•India being yaws-free is also significant as India has achieved this important landmark much before the WHO global target year of 2020.
•The Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination has been the result of India's focused approach on making maternal and newborn care accessible to all.
•Reducing maternal and neonatal tetanus to less than one case per 1000 live births in all 675 districts has helped improve access to immunization, antenatal care services and skilled birth attendance in the most vulnerable populations.
•Both yaws and maternal and neonatal tetanus eliminations were achieved using the existing health system and health workforce.
2016 Paralympic Games began at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The 2016 Summer Paralympic Games began on 7 September 2016 at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The fifteenth Summer Paralympic Games will conclude on 18 September 2016.
The games started after the symbolic cauldron was lit by Brazilian swimmer and wheelchair user Clodoaldo Silvax. The flame travelled across all five regions of Brazil over seven days, with 500 torchbearers taking part. The quadrangular torch reflects the four Paralympic values – courage, determination, inspiration and equality.
After this, the athletes’ parade was led by Ibrahim Al Hussein, a Syrian refugee who will compete as part of the Independent Paralympic Athletes (IPA) Team at the Games. Each national team will have their own flag-bearer.
Around 4350 athletes from more than 160 countries will compete in 22 different sports. Of the total number of athletes set to take part, approximately 1650 will be women. Canoeing and Paratriathlon is being included in the Games for the first time in Rio.
Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony saw participation of about five hundred professional staff, including choreographers and artists, and 2000 volunteers. The Ceremony was created by three directors – designer Fred Gelli, writer Marcelo Rubens Paiva and artist Vik Muniz.
The theme of the Ceremony “Every Body Has A Heart”, reflected its focus on the human condition, feelings, difficulties, solidarity and love. The main attraction of the opening ceremony was performance of Samba dance by US snowboarder and Paralympic medallist Amy Purdy.
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India in Rio Paralympics The Indian contingent, largest-ever from the country, comprises 19 athletes who will be featuring in 10 disciplines of games. Devendra Jhajharia, who became India’s first Paralympic gold medallist in Athens 2004, was the flag-bearer for the Indian contingent. Earlier, the Sports Ministry announced that the Gold medallist Paralympians will be awarded 75 lakh rupees, Silver medallists will get 50 lakh rupees and bronze medallists 30 lakhs. So far, India had won total eight medals, two gold, three silver and three bronze, at the Paralympic Games. Indian Squad at Games Men: Mariyappan Thangavelu, Varun Singh Bhati, Sharad Kumar, Rampal Chahar (High jump), Naresh Kumar Sharma (Shooting), Suyash Narayan Jadhav (Swimming), Basha Farman (Powerlifting), Amit Kumar Saroha, Dharambir (Club throw), Devendra Jhajaria, Rinku, Sundar Singh Gurjar, Narender Ranbir, Sandeep (Javelin), Ankur Dhama (1,500m), and Virender Dhanka (Javelin, Shotput). Women: Pooja (Archery), Deepa Malik (Shot put), and Karamjyoti Dalal (Discus). |
Important facts about the Rio Paralympics
• This is the first time that the Summer Paralympics is being held during the host city's wintertime.
• This will mark the first time a Latin American and South American city hosts the event.
• Rio also becomes the second city in the Southern Hemisphere city to host the event. In 2000, Sydney, Australia became the first city in southern hemisphere to host Summer Paralympics.
• It is also the first time a Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country hosts the event.
• The event saw launch of structure of the Paralympic Mural with messages written in various languages. The mural was signed by Para athletes and their nation’s Chef de Missions.
• New sculpture of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games’ symbol, the three Agitos, was unveiled by at Copacabana beach. The three Agitos, the red, blue, and green asymmetrical crescent shapes has been the symbol of the Paralympic Games since 2003.
• The Copacabana Agitos sculpture was designed by artists Elisa Brasil and Tejota Bastos with a unique interactive component: each of the three crescent shapes has a different texture and smell. The red shape has the smell of the Brazilian berry guarana, the blue shape smells of fabric softener, and the green of mint.
The 10 categories of impairment recognised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) are impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment and intellectual impairment.
Maracana Stadium
Rio’s iconic Maracana stadium is best known for hosting football and was opened in 1950 to host the World Cup of that year. It also played host to 2016 Olympic Opening Ceremony.
India, Kazakhstan Joint Exercise PRABAL DOSTYK-16 begins
Troops of Indian and Kazakhstan Army on 7 September 2016 began the joint exercise'PRABAL DOSTYK – 16'. The exercise being conducted in Karaganda region of Kazakhstan will conclude on 17 September 2016.
Prabal Dostyk meaning Robust Friendship is a significant step towards fostering military as well as diplomatic ties between both countries
Highlights
• The primary aim of the fourteen day exercise will be to enhance interoperability while undertaking Counter Terrorism & Counter Insurgency Operations in rural and semi-urban environment under the umbrella of United Nations.
• The Indian Army is being represented by platoon strength.
• The Kazakhstan Army contingent comprise of platoon from Special Operating Force’s Unit.
• The exercise will be conducted intwo stages
a) First stage will be to familiarize with each other’s tactics, drills, weapons & equipment
b) In Second stage troops of both the armies will graduate to jointly execute a helicopter borne operation in a simulated environment. Combat battle drills and physical fitness will be the focal point of the exercise.
Union Government approves 450 crore rupees for Swadesh Darshan Scheme
The Union Government on 7 September 2016 approved projects worth about 450 crore rupees under Swadesh Darshan scheme for five states.
The five states are: Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu.
The scheme was launched with an objective to develop 13 theme-based tourist circuits in India. The approval for the five states was given in a meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) on 5 September 2016.
Various circuits under Swadesh Darshan Scheme
• In total, 13 thematic circuits have been identified for development, namely North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit,Ramayana Circuitand Heritage Circuit.
•The Ramayana Circuitin Uttar Pradesh: Amount of 70 crore rupees is approved for the project. It envisages development of two destinations, Chitrakoot and Shringverpur. It also includes Ayodhya, for which Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department is preparing a detailed project report.
•The Heritage Circuitin Madhya Pradesh: Amount of 100 crore rupees is approved for the project. It will cover Gwalior-Orchha-Khajuraho-Chanderi-Bhimbetka-Mandu.
•The Heritage Circuitin Uttarakhand: Amount of 83 crore rupees is approved for the project. The amount will be used for development of infrastructure in Jageshwar-Devidhura-Katarmal- Baijnath sites.
•The Coastal Circuitin Tamil Nadu: Amount of around 100 crore rupees is approved for the project. It envisages development of Chennai-Mamamallapuram- Rameshwaram-Manpadu-Kanyakumari.
•The North East Circuitin Sikkim: Amount of 95.50 crore rupees is approved for the project. It includes development of eco log huts, cultural centre, paragliding centre, craft bazaar, base camp for mountaineering and meditation hall.
UN Charter translated into Sanskrit Language
The UN Charter, the seminal treaty of the United Nations (UN), was on 7 September 2016 translated into Sanskrit Language for the first time.
This came following the pioneering efforts of Jitendra Kumar Tripathi, the Secretary of the Lucknow-based Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad.
About UN Charter
• The United Nations Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organisation.
• It came into force on 24 October 1945.
• The Statute of the International Court of Justice is an integral part of the Charter.
• The Charter is available in all six official languages of the UN.