Current Affairs September 11, 2017

Dear Reader's,

1. Hon’ble Raksha Mantri Flags off Navika Sagar Parikrama

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Raksha Mantri flagged-off Indian Naval Sailing Vessel Tarini (INSV Tarini) with an all women crew from INS Mandovi boat pool, Goa.

• This is the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew and shall attempt to circumnavigate the globe on Indian Navy’s sailing vessel INSV Tarini.
• The crew is expected to return to Goa in April 2018, on completion of the voyage.
• The expedition will be covered in five legs, with stop-overs at 4 ports viz. Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), and Cape Town (South Africa).

2. Telangana Home Minister inaugurates water ATMs

Safe Water Network, an international NGO has partnered with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to launch water ATMs, providing affordable, 24x7 safe water access in Hyderabad.

• The first of the ATMs was inaugurated by Telangana State Home Minister N Narasimha Reddy at Nalgonda X Roads.
• A total of 200 ATMs will be set up to reach a targetted 150,000 people. In the first phase 50 water ATMs will be operationalised by next year.

Points to Remember

• Telangana is one of the 29 states in India, located in southern India. It was formed on 2 June 2014 as the youngest state in India.
• It is the twelfth largest state in India, and the twelfth most populated state in India.
• K. Chandrashekar Rao is the Chief Minister while E. S. L. Narasimhan is the Governor of Telangana.
• Hyderabad is the Capital of Telangana.

3. Sanjeev Sinha named adviser for Rs 1.1 lakh crore bullet train project

Sanjeev Sinha, former Tata executive in Tokyo and the first IIT-ian from Barmer, Rajasthan, has been appointed as adviser for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai High Speed Rail project by Japan Railways.

• The project, largely funded by low-cost financing from Japan, is planned to be built based on Japanese technology.

4. Sikkim CM Pawan Chamling honoured at international event

Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling was honoured for his pioneering work in the field of organic farming during a ceremony at Germany’s Lagau on the occasion of the One World Festival.

• Chamling was conferred the Grand Prix Award during the One World Award ceremony on September 8 at a mega event attended by nearly 700 guests who had arrived from different countries.

Points to Remember

• Sikkim is a northeastern state of India.
• Sikkim accounts for the largest share of cardamom production in India, and is the world's second largest producer of the spice after Guatemala.
• Sikkim has the highest share of agricultural land dedicated to organic farming in India.
• Gangtok is the capital of Sikkim. Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil is the Governor of Sikkim.

5. Rafael Nadal wins US Open with straight-set win over Kevin Anderson

Rafael Nadal won his third US Open and 16th Grand Slam title with a one-sided victory over South Africa's Kevin Anderson in New York.

• The world number one powered to a 6-3 6-3 6-4 victory in final at Flushing Meadows.
• The Spaniard, 31, has now won two Slams in the same year for the first time since 2013, having won the French Open in June.

6. Hingis, Chan capture US Open women’s doubles crown

Swiss star Martina Hingis captured her second US Open doubles title in as many days, partnering with Taiwan’s Chan Yung-Jan to win the women’s doubles crown.

• Hingis, who shared the mixed doubles title with Britain’s Jamie Murray, won her 13th Grand Slam women’s doubles title and Chan took her first as they defeated Czechs Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-2.
• Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands and Romanian Horia Tecau beat Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez 6-4, 6-3 to claim US Open men’s doubles.

Points to Remember

• The United States Open Tennis Championships is a hard court tennis tournament.
• The tournament is the modern version of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship.
• Since 1987, the US Open has been chronologically the fourth and final tennis major comprising the Grand Slam each year.

7. Kochi to host BWF Senior World Championships

The coastal city of Kochi is all set to host the BWF World Senior Badminton Championships from September 11 to 17.

• The week-long tournament will see a total of 665 players from 40 countries battle it out in eight different age groups.
• The championship will be held in India for the first time.

8. India bags 2nd SABA U-16 Championship title

India clinched the 2nd South Asian Basketball, SABA, Under - 16 Championship title after registering a commanding win over Bhutan.

• Indian team dominated their opposition in the whole tournament and remained unbeaten in its all four matches and accumulated 8 points.

9. India’s Most Fearless: True Stories of Modern Military Heroes: A book on Surgical Strike

In a book named “India’s Most Fearless: True Stories of Modern Military Heroes”, Major Tango has admitted that the return of the troops after completing the operations was the most onerous part.

• Written by Journalists Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh, book “India’s Most Fearless: True Stories of Modern Military Heroes” reveals every detail about the surgical strike by Indian Army to avenge the killing of 17 soldiers in Uri.