Daily Current Affairs and GK | 19 and 20 September 2021

Topic:  Books and Authors

1. Jhumpa Lahiri’s new book titled 'Translating Myself and Others' will be released in 2022.

• The Pulitzer Prize winning writer, Jhumpa Lahiri, has authored a new book titled ‘Translating Myself and Others’.
• It will be released next spring. This book will highlight her work as a translator.
• This book will be a collection of essays that will explain Lahiri’s experiences on the meaning of translation, translating her own writing, and writing across languages.
• It will be published by Princeton University Press.  
• The Namesake, Whereabouts, The Lowland are some notable works of Jhumpa Lahiri.
• She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel ‘Interpreter of Maladies’.

Topic: National News

2. NITI Aayog recommends to build 500 healthy cities to fight Covid-like crisis.

• NITI Aayog in its report on ‘Building Urban Planning Capacity in India’ recommends to build 500 healthy cities to fight Covid-like crisis.
• According to this report, India needs a Central sector scheme to build 500 ‘healthy cities’ over the next five years.
• Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in consultation with states and Union Territories should develop this scheme.
• NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar emphasized the need to reduce carbon footprint in Urban areas.
• The report comprises many recommendations for urban planning such as interventions for planning healthy cities, optimum utilization of urban land, ramping up human-resource capacities, strengthening urban governance.

Topic: Important Days

3. Eastern Naval Command celebrated International Coastal Cleanup Day on 18 September.

• Eastern Naval Command celebrated the 36th International Coastal Cleanup Day on 18 September.
• The day was celebrated by the Southern Naval Command by focusing on mangrove plantation and clearance of plastic/non-biodegradable waste along coast.
• More than 600 kg of trash has been collected from the Tuticorin port trust beach on the occasion of the International Coastal Cleanup Day.
• It was first celebrated in 1986 and is observed every year on the third Sunday of every September.
• It is observed to raise awareness about the growing pollution on various beaches of the world.
• International Coastal Cleanup celebrated in the South Asian region under the aegis of the UNEP and South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme.

Topic: Personality in News

4. Veteran journalist KM Roy passes away.

• Renowned Journalist KM Roy passes away at the age of 82.
• He was the former editor of Mangalam Daily and also served as the Secretary-General of the Indian Federation of Working Journalists.
•  He has authored several books including ‘Irulum Velichavum’ and ‘Kaalathinu Munpe Nadanna Manjooraan’.
• He was the founder secretary of the Kottayam press club. He was the recipient of the Swadeshabhimani-Kesari award.
• He worked with the newspapers such as Deshabandhu, Keralabhushanam, the Economic Times, and the Hindu.

Topic: State News/Punjab

5. Charanjit Singh Channi becomes first Dalit and 16^th Chief Minister of Punjab.

• Charanjit Singh Channi has become the first Dalit and 16th Chief Minister of Punjab.
• He was elected to Punjab Vidhan Sabha from Chamkaur Sahib Constituency for the first time in 2007. He was elected in 2012 and then in 2017.
• 15^th Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh had resigned on 18 September.
• Charanjit Singh Channi was later unanimously elected as leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Punjab.
• He then met Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit to stake a claim to form the new government.
• Charanjit Singh Channi has taken oath at the scheduled time, along with two deputies, OP Soni and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
• Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and OP Soni took oath as Deputy Chief Ministers of Punjab.
• Punjab has the highest percentage of the Dalit population (close to 32%) among States.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

6. Indian Government constructing world’s longest highway, the Delhi-Mumbai Express highway.

• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari has announced that Government is constructing the world’s longest highway, the Delhi-Mumbai Express highway.
• The work on Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be completed by March 2023. The expressway is 1,380 km long. It has eight lanes.
• It passes through six states. These states are Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
• The progress of work on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway at Sohna in Haryana, Dausa and Bundi in Rajasthan, Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh was reviewed by the Union Minister recently.
• The foundation stone for Delhi Mumbai Expressway was laid on 9 March 2019.
• The Expressway will generate annual fuel savings of more than 320 million liters and reduce CO₂ emissions by 850 million Kg.
• Other features of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway include two 8-lane tunnels, one tunneling is through Mukundra sanctuary (Rajasthan) without disturbing the endangered fauna in the region for 4 km.
• The second 4 km 8 lane tunnel will pass through the Matheran eco-sensitive zone. Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is the first in Asia and only the second in the world to feature animal overpasses to facilitate unrestricted movement of wildlife.
• Benefits of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway are that it enhances connectivity, promotes industrial growth, addresses environmental concerns, reduces travel time, and generates development and employment opportunities.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

7. 197 bidders applied for first EoI contract to supply ethanol.

• The first Expression of Interest (EoI) for signing long-term agreement with Ethanol plants for supplying Ethanol received an overwhelming response.
• 197 bidders have shown their interest in signing the agreement. The EoI was published by BPCL on 27^th August on behalf of Oil Marketing Companies under the guidance of the Ministry of Petroleum &Natural Gas.
• According to the government data, 173 crore liter Ethanol was procured last year and 5% blending was achieved during ESY - 2019-20.
• The ethanol blending target for 2020-21 is 325 Cr litre, which will take the blending to 8.5%.
• The government aims to achieve the ethanol blending target of 20% and more in the coming years.
• India’s ethanol production capacity is currently around 425 crore liters. Only 325 crore liters is available for fuel blending.
• Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme was launched by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas in 2003.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

8. Government launched countrywide free Telemedicine Consultation cum drugs facility.

• Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh has launched countrywide free Telemedicine Consultation cum drugs facility.
• He also announced that “JIGYASA”, a student- scientist connect programme, will be extended to cover schools in over 700 districts within a year.
• JIGYASA programme is currently operational in 170 districts of the country. It is jointly executed with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan.
• This free Telemedicine Consultation cum drugs facility will help in resolving the issues of Accessibility, Availability, and Affordability.
• It will help in improving health care facilities for rural areas and reduce the distance of traveling and the cost of consultation/treatment.
• SAATH and E-Sanjeevani are the Telemedicine services started by the Government.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

9. Pankaj Advani wins Asian Snooker Championship for second time.

• Indian snooker Pankaj Advani has won the Asian Snooker Championship in Doha by defeating Amir Sarkhosh of Iran.
• He became the only player who won the titles in all forms of billiards, snooker, 6Reds, and 10Reds competitions.
• Pankaj Advani has won the Asian Snooker Championship for the second time. Earlier, he had won the Asian Championship in 2019.
• Yasin Merchant (1989, 2001), Alok Kumar (2004), Aditya Mehta (2012) were the other Indians who had won the Asian Snooker Championship.
• In this year’s Asian Snooker Championship, 42 players from 19 countries have participated. This is the first event for billiards and snooker since March 2020.
• Snooker was for the first time played in India by British army officers. It is played with a cue stick on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth with six pockets.

Topic: Appointments

10. Kailash Satyarthi appointed as Sustainable Development Goals Advocate.

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Kailash Satyarthi as a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocate.
• Along with Kailash Satyarthi, Valentina Munoz Rabanal, Brad Smith, and BLACKPINK are appointed as new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocate.
• Kailash Satyarthi, the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner, will focus on protecting and promoting the rights of children around the world.
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocates are prominent leaders in the world and use their sphere of Influence in achieving the SDG targets.
• The UN said climate action, bridging the digital divide, gender equality, and the promotion of the rights of children issues will be raised through Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocates.

Topic: State News/ Rajasthan

11. Rajasthan passed a bill to register Child marriages.

• Rajasthan State Assembly has passed the Rajasthan Compulsory Registration of Marriages (Amendment) Bill, 2021 for mandatory registration of marriages, including child marriages.
• It will amend the Rajasthan Compulsory Registration of Marriages Act, 2009. Under this new bill, information on child marriage must be furnished within 30 days of the wedding.
• Now, the marriage registration officer will do the registration up to the block level.
• If the girl's age at the time of marriage is less than 18 years and the boy's age is less than 21, then her parents will have to give a memorandum to the registration officer within 30 days.
• According to Indian law, a marriage between a girl below the age of 18 and a boy below the age of 21 is considered Child marriage.