Daily Current Affairs, 12th September 2018

1) 1st Ever Bus Services Between Bihar And Nepal Flagged Off

•For the first time, bus services between Bihar and Nepal have started. The bus service was flagged off from Patna by the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The bus services have been commissioned following the agreement between India and Nepal. 

•Four buses will ply from Bodhgaya to Kathmandu. Similarly, four buses will ply from Patna to Janakpur. The Kathmandu bound bus will go via Patna, Raxaul and Beerganj. The Janakpur bound bus will go via Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi. 

2) 2-Day Regional Conference On Good Governance Begins In Bhopal

•The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DAR & PG), Government of India in association with Government of Madhya Pradesh is organizing a Regional Conference on Good Governance with Focus on Aspirational Districts, in Bhopal. Delegates from 12 States and 2 UTs will participate in the Conference.

•There will be 5 Technical sessions in the 2-day conference. The themes include: ICT Enabled Education, Agriculture, Public Service and Grievance Management and Good Governance initiatives. 

3) NITI Aayog, Intel And TIFR To Set Up Model International Center For ICTAI

•NITI Aayog, Intel and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) are collaborating to set up a Model International Center for Transformative Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI). The collaboration aims to bring together fundamental and applied research, innovation and technology development to solve important problems. 

•The ICTAI will work towards developing and deploying artificial intelligence based research projects in critical domains such as healthcare, agriculture, smart cities and mobility. The initiative is part of NITI Aayog’s National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence discussion paper that focuses on establishing ICTAI through private sector collaboration.

4) Indian Railways Launches Web Portal 'Rail Sahyog'

•The Minister of Railways and Coal, Piyush Goyal launched a web portal 'www.railsahyog.in'. 

•The web portal will provide a platform for the Corporates and PSUs to contribute to the creation of amenities at/near Railway Stations through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds. 

5) APSARA, Uranium Reactor Becomes Operational At BARC

•'Apsara', the first research reactor in Asia became operational in Trombay campus of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in August 1956.  After providing more than five decades of dedicated service to the researchers, the reactor was shut down in 2009. 

•Nearly sixty-two years after Apsara came into existence, a swimming pool type research reactor “Apsara-upgraded”, of higher capacity was born at Trombay. The reactor, made indigenously, uses plate type dispersion fuel elements made of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU).  

6) Indo-US Joint Exercise 'Yudh Abhyas 2018' To Start In Uttarakhand

•As part of the ongoing Indo-US defence cooperation, a joint military training Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2018 is scheduled to be conducted in the foothills of Himalayas at Chaubattia in Uttarakhand from 16 September to 29 September 2018.  

•This will be the 14th edition of the joint military exercise hosted alternately by both countries. The two-week exercise will witness participation of about 350 personnel of the US Army and similar strength of the Indian Army. 

7) Russia Launches Biggest War Games 'Vostok-2018' Since Cold War

•Russia has launched its biggest military exercise since the Cold War named "Vostok-2018", involving about 300,000 service personnel, in eastern Siberia. China is sending 3,200 troops to take part in "Vostok-2018", with many Chinese armoured vehicles and aircraft. Mongolia is also sending some units.

•The last Russian exercise of similar scale was in 1981, during the Cold War, but Vostok-2018 involves more troops. The week-long manoeuvres come at a time of heightened Nato-Russia tensions. A key aim is to practise the rapid deployment of thousands of troops, as well as aircraft and vehicles, from western Russia to eastern regions, across thousands of miles. 

8) HDFC Life Elevates Vibha Padalkar As MD And CEO

•HDFC Life appointed Vibha Padalkar as its new managing director and CEO for a period of three years. The position had fallen vacant after Amitabh Chaudhry resigned to head Axis Bank. 

•The terms of appointment are subject to approval by the shareholders and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). Prior to her elevation, Padalkar was the chief financial officer (CFO) and executive director at the insurer.