Current Affairs 26th September 2017

Current Affairs 26th September 2017 - Important Points

• New US travel ban includes N Korea, Venezuela, Chad among 8 countries on - 24th September 2017
•  Prime Minister constitutes Economic Advisory Council headed by Bibek Debroy on - 25th September 2017
•  Japan's PM Shinzo Abe calls snap election on - 25th September 2017
• CGECB notice to Bharat Aluminium Company for closure of thermal power plant in - September 2017
• World’s smallest squirrel discovered in Indonesian forest on - 16th September 2017
• Who has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC? - Shashi Shanker
• International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons 2017 observed globally on - 26th September 2017
• World's largest aircraft successfully passed first engine tests - Report

Current Affairs 26th September 2017 - Details

New US travel ban includes N Korea, Venezuela, Chad among 8 countries on - 24th September 2017

The President of United States, Donald Trump issued a new travel ban that includes North Korea, Venezuela and Chad in the list of eight countries on 24th September 2017. Trump cited reasons such as poor security and lack of cooperation with US authorities to include the nations on the travel ban list.
The new restrictions have replaced the earlier ones that had gotten Trump embroiled into political and legal battles after they came across as a move to block Muslims entry into the country.
The new order expands to countries beyond just Muslim-majority ones. Speaking on the issuance of ban, Trump tweeted stating that making America safe was his number one priority that they would not be admitting them into thier country they could not safely vet.

Important Highlights

• The new restrictions impose either complete or partial blocks on travel to the US on the listed eight nations.
• Full travel bans have been placed on the nationals from Chad and North Korea.
• The restrictions are limited to officials from a long list of government agencies and their families in case of Venezuela.
• Sudan, one of the six Muslim-majority countries that featured on the original travel ban,is removed from the list.
• The ban on other Muslim-Majority nations including Iran, Somalia,Libya, Syria and Yemen remains like before.

 Prime Minister constitutes Economic Advisory Council headed by Bibek Debroy on - 25th September 2017

Prime Minister Narendra Modi constituted five-member Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) headed by Bibek Debroy on 25th September 2017, a member of the Niti Aayog.

The council consists of economists of high repute and eminence including Surjit Bhalla, Rathin Roy and Ashima Goyal, who will work as part time members of the council. Also, Ratan Watal, the Principal Advisor to Niti Aayog, will be serving as the Secretary of the Council.

Terms of reference of EAC-PM

• It will be analysed any issue, economic or otherwise, that is referred to it by the Prime Minister and then advise him thereon.
•  It will be addressed issues of macroeconomic importance and present its views to the Prime Minister.
•  It will be attended any other task as may be desired by the prime minister from time to time.

 Japan's PM Shinzo Abe calls snap election on - 25th September 2017

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a snap election, a year earlier than the scheduled time on 25th September 2017. Abe said that he would be dissolving parliament’s lower house on 28th September, seeking a stronger mandate and support for his tough stance towards the increasing threats from North Korea following its illegal ballistic missile and nuclear weapons program.
Abe hopes to take advantage of the higher opinion polls and the weak opposition to sweep back into power.
He stated that his goal was for his coalition to retain a majority in the chamber. He also added that he would be resigning as prime minister if his party failed to win the majority. Though he did not give an exact date for the elections, it will be held on 22nd October 2017 reportedly.
The previous months had seen Abe’s popular support being hit by unpopular policies and a string of scandals. However according to the latest surveys his hard-line stance against North Korea has largely been given an upvote by voters.

Threat from North Korea

• North Korea fired two ballistic missiles over Japan two times in the last month and conducted its sixth and biggest nuclear test on 3rd September 2017.
• Following the fresh UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea’s missile program that was spearheaded by the US and Japan, the country issued an explicit threat to Japan, saying that it would sink Japan by using a nuclear bomb.
• North Korea even issued a warning to the United States of America, stating that it would turn the US into darkness and ashes.
• The 15-member UNSC unanimously voted  in support of a US-drafted resolution condemning North Korea’s recent missile test and imposing measures that included a ban on North Korean textile imports and restrictions on oil exports to the nation.

CGECB notice to Bharat Aluminium Company for closure of thermal power plant in - September 2017

The Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board issued notice for the closure of 1200 MW thermal power plant of Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) in September 2017. The decision was taken following major breach in its ash dam wall lately. The power plant is located in Korba district of Chhattisgarh.

Important highlights

• The notice pertaining to the closure mentioned that ash slurry water from the damaged ash dam is polluting water of a Belgiri nullah passes nearby the plant that drains into Hasdeo river. River water is mostly used for irrigation and at some places to drink even in the region.
• Taking serious cognizance of environment norms violation, Aman Kumar Singh, the Chairman of the CGECB, asked the board of regional officer for an immediate action in the direction to shut the plant under provisions of the Water Pollution (Prevention and Control) Act 1974.
• The Board has also asked BALCO for an immediate measure to repair the dam, so that ash slurry could be prevented from going into the canal and causing further harm.

About BALCO (Bharat Aluminium Company Limited)

• It is an Indian aluminium company, incorporated in the year 1965 as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) and it was the public sector.
• It was the first public sector enterprise in India which started to produce aluminium in 1974.
• However, Vedanta Resources, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange took the same company in 2001.

World’s smallest squirrel discovered in Indonesian forest on - 16th September 2017

Indonesian scientists from the Lambung Mangkurat University have found the world's smallest squirrel in Borneo rain forest in the central parts of the Indonesia. The Indonesia authorities announced the news on 25th September 2017. The squirrel has been named as the Bormean pigmy squirrel or exilisciurus exilis.

Important highlights

• This squirrel was found in Meratus mountain of South Kalimantan province of Indonesia.
• There are six sub - species of small squirrels in Asia, out of them three are found in Kalimantan.
  and from these three, two are endemic to Kalimantan.
• The species was found on 16th September 2017 during an expedition by the Barito River Expedition Team of the River Community (Melingai) and Rivers Center (BWS) II.
• This new species is 73 mm long and weighs about 17 grams. Although this species is quite difficult to find in a disturbed habitat during the active day.
• This type of species lives all across Borneo island, especially the area with height of more than 1000 meters above the sea surface.

More about squirrels

• These are the family Sciuridae members, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents.
• The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, flying squirrels, and prairie dogs amongst other rodents.
• Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Africa and Eurasia.

Who has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC? - Shashi Shanker

Shashi Shanker has been appointed the Chairman and Managing Director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) in September 2017.The appointment is  going to be effective till March 2021.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) announced the name of Shanker as CMD till his superannuation as against an initial one-year term proposed by the Oil Ministry.
He is currently serving as the Technical and Field Services Director at ONGC. He will be taking charge from 1st October 2017 when the incumbent Dinesh K Sarraf retires and will be having a three-and- a-half-year term until 31st March 2021.

More about Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited

• The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited is an Indian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
• The company was founded on 14th August 1956 by Government of India and is a Public Sector Undertaking of the Government of India..
• It is involved in exploring for and exploiting hydrocarbons in 26 sedimentary basins of India, and owns and operates more than 11000 kilometers of pipelines in the country.
• India's largest oil and gas exploration and production company, comes under the administrative control of the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• It produces around 77 percent of India's crude oil and around 62 percent of its natural gas.

 International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons 2017 observed globally on - 26th September 2017

 The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons was observed across the world on 26th September 2017 with an aim to educate the public and their leaders about the real benefits of eliminating nuclear weapons and the social and economic costs of investing on them.

Earlier on 7th July 2017, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted with an aim of a world without nuclear weapons. The Treaty was the result of a global campaign focused on the unacceptability of the nuclear weapons use under any circumstances.

World's largest aircraft successfully passed first engine tests - Report

The world’s largest airplane, which has been designed to serve as a launching platform to send rockets into low-Earth orbit, has successfully completed its initial engine tests. The plane weighs about 227,000 kg and has the biggest wingspan ever built, which measures 118 meter from one end to the other.
According to the spaceflight company Stratolaunch,led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, in the initial tests, each of the six engines of the plane operated as per the expectation.

Important Highlights

• The 747 turbofan plane engines were loaded with fuel and started one at a time and then allowed to idle at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California, US.
• The double-bodied airplane is designed to serve as a mobile launch platform to carry rockets into the low-Earth orbit.
• The satellite-carrying rockets are to be connected to the plane's bottom.
• It's working will be including a runway-style takeoff and when the aircraft reaches a cruising altitude of 11 kilo meter, the rockets it is carrying will be detached and then launch small satellites into low-Earth orbit.