CURRENT AFFAIRS SEPTEMBER 2 ENGLISH

1. India hits out at Pakistan on raising Kashmir issue during South Asian Speakers’ summit

India hit out strongly at Pakistan when the latter tried to raise the Kashmir issue during the fourth South Asian Speakers’ summit which began in Maldives capital Male.

• The two-day meeting focuses on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
• India is being represented by Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla and other senior officials.
• The summit is due to end with the adoption of the Malé Declaration with a summary of conclusions and recommendations.

2. VP M Venkaiah Naidu dedicates country's longest electrified rail tunnel to nation

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu dedicated the country's longest electrified rail tunnel between Cherlopalli and Rapuru in Andhra Pradesh and the electrified railway line between Venkatachalam and Obulavaripalli.

• The length of the rail tunnel is 6.6 kilometre.
• The tunnel, built at a cost of Rs 437 crore.
• Besides inaugurating the re-modelled yard at Guduru railway station, the Vice-President also flagged-off a new intercity super fast express train between Guduru and Vijayawada.

3. Get ready to pay higher penalties for traffic violations

The amended provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act, which hike the penalty for traffic rules violation have come into force.

• As many as 63 clauses of the Act, which correspond to an increase in the fine for traffic rule violation came into force at midnight on 1 September.
• The fine for jumping red-light has been revised from 1,000 rupees earlier to 5,000 rupees now.
• Driving without wearing a seat belt, which earlier invited a fine of 100 rupees will now attract a fine of 1,000 rupees.
• The fine for rash driving has also been revised from 1,000 rupees to 5,000 rupees.
• And if caught for drunken driving, one needs to cough up a hefty fine of 10,000 rupees.

4. GST collection in August stands at Rs 98,202 cr

GST collection in the month of August stood at 98 thousand 202 crore rupees.

• The Finance Ministry said the total number of GSTR 3B Returns filed for the month of July up to 31st of August is around 76 lakh.
• The total revenue earned by the Central Government and the State Governments after regular settlement in the month of August 2019 is 40 thousand 898 crore rupees for CGST and 40 thousand 862 crores for the SGST.

5. 5 States get new Governors

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been appointed as the new Governor of Maharashtra while former Union Minister Arif Mohammed Khan will take the responsibility of Kerala governor.

• Former Union Minister and BJP leader Bandaru Dattatraya will be the new Governor of Himachal Pradesh in place of Kalraj Mishra who has been given the charge of Governor of Rajasthan.
• Former Tamil Nadu BJP chief, Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan is the new Governor of Telangana.
• President Ram Nath Kovind approved these appointments.

6. Lt Gen Anil Chauhan takes charge as Eastern Army Commander

Lt Gen Anil Chauhan assumed charge as Eastern Army Commander.

• He succeeds Lt Gen MM Naravane who took over as Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS).
• The General Officer was given a traditional Guard of Honour at Fort William, Kolkata on his assumption as Army Commander, Eastern Command.
• Prior to assuming charge as Eastern Army Commander, he was Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO).
• He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

7. Trump nominates Indian-American Shireen Mathews as District Court judge

President Donald Trump has nominated Indian-American Shireen Mathews as a judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of California.

• Currently, Matthews is a partner at Jones Day, the fifth-largest law firm in the country, in San Diego.
• Article III judges "hold their office during good behaviour", which means they have a lifetime appointment, except under very limited circumstances.

8. Yashaswini Deswal wins gold at ISSF World Cup

Young shooter Yashaswini Singh Deswal won gold in the women's 10meter Air Pistol event at the ISSF World Cup at in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

• With the win, she has also secured an Olympic quota for India.
• This is India's ninth quota in shooting for 2020 Tokyo Games.
• World no.1 Olena Kostevych of Ukraine claimed the silver, while Serbia's Jasmina Milavonovic bagged the bronze.

9. Shot putter Tejinderpal Singh Toor clinches silver in Czech Republic

Shot putter Tejinderpal Singh Toor clinched a silver medal during an athletic meet at Decin in the Czech Republic.

• The Asian Games gold medallist came up with the best throw of 20.09m in his last attempt at the event.
• Tajinder has been awarded the Arjuna Award this year.
• The 24-year-old Indian has already qualified for the World Championship being the Area champion following his gold-winning feat at Asian Athletics Championships in April this year.

10. India beat Nepal 7-0 to lift SAFF Under-15 title

India lifted the SAFF Under-15 title at Kalyanai, West Bengal  with a 7-0 win over Nepal.

• The victory also meant that India are now the most successful team in the tournament's history.
• They won the title for a record third time after previous wins in 2013 and 2017, both of which came in Nepal.