Daily Current Affairs, 15th September 2018

1) International Day Of Democracy: 15 September

•The International Day of Democracy is observed globally on 15th September. It provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world. The theme for IDD is 'Democracy under Strain: Solutions for a Changing World'. 

•The Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly through a resolution in 2007 to strengthen national programmes devoted to the promotion and consolidation of democracy. The day was observed for the first time in 2008. 

2) Engineer's Day: 15 September | Birthday Of M Visvesvaraya

•Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya's birthday is celebrated on 15 September as Engineer's Day. Fondly referred to as Sir MV, M Visvesvaraya was a world-renowned civil engineer who was a master of irrigation design. He was also referred to as the father of engineers by many. The bridge, among M Visvesvaraya's most notable projects, is a representation of the Krishna Raja Sagara Lake and dam (in Karnataka). In 1924, Sir MV designed the Krishna Raja Sagara Lake and dam, the largest reservoir in India at the time, and oversaw the construction of the project. The dam is known to have provided drinking water for several cities. 

3) PM Launches Swachhata Hi Seva Movement

•The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, launched the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ Movement, to boost nationwide public participation in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and catalyse the fulfilment of Bapu’s dream of a Clean India. 

•The Swachhata Hi Seva movement aims at generating greater public participation towards Swachhta. It is being organized in the run-up to the fourth anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission, on October 2nd, 2018, which will also mark the commencement of the 150th year celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi.

4) Vice President 3 Nation-Visit: India, Serbia Signed Agreements On Various Fields

•India and Serbia signed agreements on cooperation in plant protection and plant quarantine and on-air services, following the talks between Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. 

•The two sides also agreed to expand their bilateral cooperation, especially in the areas of economic and cultural relations and join hands to fight terrorism. India and Serbia are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between them. 

5) Union Minister Of Textiles Presents ‘Shilp Guru’ & National Award To Master Craft Persons

•Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani presented ‘Shilp Guru’ and National Award to Master craft persons at a function held at Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. Eight ‘Shilp guru’ and 25 National awardswere presented for the year 2016. 

•Shilp Guru’ is the highest award in the Handicraft sector in India. The handicraft export has witnessed a year-on-year growth and in the last four years, handicraft items worth Rs. 1 lakh 26 thousand crores had been exported from India. 

6) Festival Of Nuakhai Being Celebrated In Odisha

•The festival of Nuakhai is being celebrated in Odisha. During this harvest festival of western Odisha, new produce Nabannis offered to presiding deities. After offering the Nabann, people relish different types of delicacies prepared from the newly harvested crop.

•The Nuakhai Juhar is a major ritual of the festival, during which greetings are exchanged with friends, relatives, and well-wishers. The origins of the festival are said to date all the way back to the Vedic ages, the first records of its existence are believed to be from the 12th century when a certain Raja Ramai Deo saw agriculture as an important entity in maintaining the cohesiveness of a societal arrangement.

7) Govt Announces Measures To Check Rising Current Account Deficit

•The government has announced an array of steps to check the rising Current Account Deficit (CAD), and the fall in rupee. The steps include removal of withholding tax on rupee-denominated bonds known as Masala bonds issued till March 2019, relaxation for Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI), and curbs on non-essential imports. The government has decided on a number of steps to contain CAD, which widened to 2.4% of the GDP in the first quarter of 2018-19. 

What is CAD?

•The current account deficit is a measurement of a country's trade where the value of the goods and services it imports exceeds the value of the goods and services it exports.