CURRENT AFFAIRS SEPTEMBER 10

World Suicide Prevention Day: 10 September

World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is an awareness day observed on 10 September every year.

• The day is observed to provide worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides, with various activities around the world since 2003.
• The day is organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP).

24th World Energy Congress to commence in Abu Dhabi

The 24th World Energy Congress will commence in Abu Dhabi under the patronage of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates.

• The four-day World Energy Congress aims to bring together international energy stakeholders, including governments, private and state corporations, academia and media.
• With over 15,000 participants expected, Congress is set to welcome over 250 high-level speakers, 72 Ministers, 500 CEOs, 1000 media persons with 40,000 square-metre exhibition space that will cover the entire energy spectrum.
• The theme of this World Energy Congress is ‘Energy for Prosperity’ which also represents the ambitious and dynamic energy transition of the country.

President Kovind embarks on 9-day visit to Iceland, Switzerland, Slovenia

President Ram Nath Kovind embarked on an official nine-day visit to Iceland, Switzerland, and Slovenia.

• Kovind arrived in Iceland and hold talks with his Icelandic counterpart Gudni Th.
• The second leg of the visit to Switzerland will begin on September 11.
• The final leg of the visit to Slovenia will begin on September 15 and mark the first-ever visit by an Indian President to the country.

Points to Remember

• Iceland capital: Reykjavík
• Switzerland Capital: Bern
• Slovenia capital: Ljubljana

Multilingual Mobile App ‘CHC Farm Machinery’ launched for farmers

Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala launched a multilingual Mobile App “CHC Farm Machinery” during a conference on Crop Residue Management in New Delhi.

• Farmers can now get affordable access to cutting-edge technology at their doorsteps.
• It will allow farmers to avail custom hiring services of CHCs located in a radius of 50 km.
• The App connects the farmers with Custom Hiring Service Centers in their area.
• The Minster sought ideas from farmers to ensure zero burning in all villages.

International conference ‘ANGAN’ being organized in New Delhi

A three-day-long International conference ANGAN (Augmenting Nature by Green Affordable New-habitat) for Energy Efficiency in the Building Sector is being organized by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency in New Delhi.

• Indo-German Technical Cooperation is also partnering in the event.
• Experts and policymakers from sixteen countries are participating in this event to discuss various alternative options and technologies in the field of design and construction of energy-efficient commercial as well as residential buildings.
• The three-day-long event will provide a platform to deliberate on the interdependence between organizations, systems sustainability and feedback loops for better resource efficiency.

First Helicopter summit held in Dehradun

The Ministry of Civil Aviation organised India's first-ever helicopter summit in Dehradun.

• The Indian Air Force was invited to the summit to talk on the "role of IAF helicopters in MEDEVAC (Medical evacuation) at the national level".
• The conclave was attended by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, the Aviation Secretary, and the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand, amongst others.

India, ADB sign 200-million dollar loan agreement for upgrading roads in Maharashtra

India and Asian Development Bank, ADB signed a 200-million dollar loan agreement for upgrading rural roads in 34 districts of Maharashtra to improve road safety.

• The Finance Ministry said the project will improve the condition of about two thousand 100 kilometres of rural roads to all-weather standards.

IPPB rolls out Aadhaar-enabled payment services

The government announced the rollout of Aadhaar Enabled Payment System Services by India Post Payments Bank, IPPB.

• Minister for Communications, Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad give a strong boost to the Centre's efforts in expanding access to financial services for millions of unbanked and underbanked customers.
• IPPB has become the single largest platform in the country for providing interoperable banking services to customers of any bank by leveraging the last mile unprecedented reach of the Postal network.
• Mr Prasad congratulated the bank for achieving the milestone of one crore customers and exhorted them to achieve five crore target in the next one year.

Points to Remember

• IPPB MD and CEO : Suresh Sethi

Recipients of Visitor's Awards 2019 announced

Recipients of Visitor's Awards 2019 were announced by the President's Secretariat.

• The award will be conferred by President Ram Nath Kovind at an event to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• This year Visitor's Awards will be presented for Research in - Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences; Physical Sciences; and Biological Sciences - and for Technology Development.
• This year Visitor's Award for research will be presented to Professor Sibnath Deb, Professor Sanjay Puri, Professor Asad Ullah Khan, Dr Partima and Dr Shaon Ray Chaudhuri.
• The Visitor's Awards had been instituted in 2014 to promote healthy competition amongst Central Universities and motivate them to adopt best practices from around the world in pursuit of excellence.

Rafael Nadal beats Daniil Medvedev in US Open final

Rafael Nadal has won US Open Men's singles beating Daniil Medvedev in a five-set epic with a thrilling 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4.

• This is his fourth US Open title and 19th Grand Slam trophy.
• The 33-year-old Spanish left-hander chased his 19th career Grand Slam singles title, one shy of Roger Federer's all-time men's record, in his 27th Slam final.