Daily Current Affairs For Competitive Exam - 7th September

International Affairs

The 2016 Group of Twenty (G20) Summit was held in Hangzhou, Chinafrom 4th to 5th September 2016 .

It was the 11th meeting of the G20. 

It was the first ever G20 summit to be hosted in China and the second Asian country after 2010 G20 Seoul summit was hosted in South Korea. 

Aim : To discuss efforts to reform global economic governance. 

Theme of the year : “Toward an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy”. 

During this Summit, the leaders, including those from India, China, and the US, have pledged to roll back protectionist measures on trade and investment by 2018-end and ensure a transparent multilateral trading system.  

Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with the new UK Prime Minister Theresa May for the first time during the G20 summit in China. 

The countries reportedly discussed several issues, including Russia's role in the ongoing Syrian civil war.

Sri Lanka was today declared Malaria-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Note : Sri Lanka is the second country after Maldives in the South-East Asia Region to have eliminated the disease. 

According to a wealth research firm report, Russia is the most "unequal" country in the world in terms of wealth distribution among masses, with about 62% of its wealth held by US dollar millionaires. 

Japan is the most "equal" economy with only 22% of wealth among millionaires.

National Affairs

The Odisha Government has launched the Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana (BKRY) for the development of girls in three districts of the state. 

The scheme was launched by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and will be implemented in Ganjam, Dhenkanal and Angul districts on a pilot basis for three years.

The Union Health Ministry has recently launched the “Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC)” to eradicate leprosy from the country. 

The 2-week-long massive campaign was launched by Union Health Minister J P Nadda. 

It will be focusing on 149 endemic districts in India.

Awards & Honors

Priyanka Yoshikawa (22), who is half-Indian, has been crowned Miss Japan 2016.  

Her victory follows that of Miss Japan 2015 Ariana Miyamoto, who became the first black woman to represent Japan.

Assam-based ecologist and conservation activist Bibhuti Lahkar has won prestigious ‘Heritage Heroes Award’ of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 

With this, he became the first Asian to win this prestigious environmental award. 

An asteroid was named after Freddie Mercury, the vocalist of the English rock band 'Queen', to mark the late singer's 70th birth anniversary today. 

The International Astronomical Union confirmed asteroid 17473, a 3.5km-wide ball of black rubble on the other side of Mars, shall be known as 'Freddiemercury'. 

Note : The asteroid was discovered in 1991, the year Freddie died.

Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore remained India's top ranked university according to the QS World University Rankings 2016-17. 

Its global ranking, however, dropped five notches to 152 as compared to last year. 

Other Indian universities in the top 400 hundred are IITs – Delhi (185), Bombay (219), Madras (249), Kanpur (302), Kharagpur (313) and Roorkee (399).

 Deaths

Noted Assamese poet, author and literary critic Nalinidhar Bhattacharyya (95) passed away.

General Knowledge

Flight attendant Neerja Bhanot was the youngest and the first female recipient of Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award. 

Neerja, aged 22, lost her life while trying to save the lives of passengers from terrorists on board the hijacked PanAm Flight 73 on this day (5th September) in the year 1986, and was conferred with the award posthumously.

New Appointments

Former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has been appointed brand ambassador of his home state Tasmania and will join a government-led trade mission to the subcontinent that will explore export opportunities.

Business & Economy

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left the official cash rate on hold at a record low of 1.5% today, amid concerns that the rates are becoming ineffective at stimulating growth. 

The RBA had earlier slashed the interest rate by 25 basis points (0.25%) in August, but analysts said that it had failed to combat the high Aussie dollar.

China’s social media giant Tencent today became Asia's most valuable companyat a valuation of $263 billion. 

This also makes Tencent one of the top 10 public corporations in the world in terms of market cap.

India has ranked on top in terms of offering the least-expensive flight prices, making it the best value location for international and domestic flights worldwide, a survey by a global travel website stated. India's average flight cost was $3.25 per 100 km of travel, considering both domestic and international journeys. 

In contrast, United Arab Emirates offers the most expensive tickets.

China's currency 'yuan' dropped by 0.16% today to hit its lowest level in nearly six years at 6.68 against the dollar. 

This comes amid speculations that the People’s Bank of China will ease back on currency control. 

Note : The yuan has dropped 0.6% versus the dollar since August on concerns over the nation’s economic health.

The Telecom Department today issued new guidelines on SIM upgradations from 2G to 3G or 4G, effective September 1. 

Telecom operators would now be allowed to upgrade a SIM only if a customer requests for it. 

Subscribers will have to send a request through customer care, online platforms or a firm's point of sale to get their SIM upgraded.

 MOUs & Agreements

India's largest drugmaker Sun Pharmaceuticals today announced a distribution agreement with Japan-based Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma to market 14 prescription brands it acquired in Japan. 

Sun Pharma will aim to expand its sales channels in Japan while ensuring a steady supply of healthcare information, it stated. 

Note : Japan is the world's second-largest pharmaceuticals market after the US.

Sports

World number one Serena Williams broke the all-time record for most Grand Slam match wins in tennis history after her 308th win, coming against Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova in the US Open today.

Note : She surpassed Roger Federer's 307-win record. 

The Indian contingent won a total of 9 medals, including 4 silver and 5 bronze medals at the 9th Asian Wushu Championships that ended today. 

Note : Wushu is a form of martial art practice which originated and developed in China.

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has topped the list of EA Sports FIFA 17's top-rated players for the first time since the FIFA 09 edition of the game. 

The Portuguese forward, who has been given an overall rating of 94, is one rating ahead of Lionel Messi, who was the best-rated player in the game for the past seven editions.

Indian shuttlers Pranaav Chopra and Sikki Reddy defeated the Canadian pair of Toby Ng and Rachel Honderich 21-15, 21-16 to win the Mixed doubles title at theBrazil Grand Prix today. 

Note : This was Reddy and Chopra's maiden Grand Prix title and the duo finished the final in only 37 minutes.

Agra's 12-year-old Shahan Ali Mohsin, has became the first Indian to win the Asian karting championship, after recovering from an infection before the final.