17th September 2019 Current affairs

1. Bollywood actor Neena Gupta has been honoured with two awards at the Indian International Film Festival of Boston. The actress won the Best Actress award for her role in world-renowned chef Vikas Khanna’s directorial debut- ‘The Last Colour’. The film also won the Best Feature Film award. The Last Colour deals with taboo surrounding widows in Vrindavan and Varanasi in India. 

2. Pankaj Advani recently won his 22nd World Billiards Title at the IBSF World Billiards Championship 2019. This is Advani’s fourth consecutive world title in billiards short format (150-up). Pankaj Advani has won more world titles in cue sports more than anyone in the world making him the greatest cueist of all time.  

3. The Telangana State Assembly on September 16, 2019 unanimously passed a resolution against proposed Uranium mining in Nallamala forest area. The Assembly urged the Central Government to withdraw the proposal of Uranium mining in the area stating that it could pose a threat to the habitation and biodiversity in and around Nallamala.  

4. The Supreme Court on September 16, 2019 allowed senior Congress leader and former J&K Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to visit Jammu and Kashmir to meet the people. The SC bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi and comprising Justices S A Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer however clarified that the Congress leader cannot hold any political rally in the state.  

5. Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal announced that the central government will provide support of Rs 8,500 crore to Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) in the next five years. 

6. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot launched a “Jan Soochna Portal” aimed at easing the access to information for the beneficiaries of welfare schemes. The portal has been created by the Department of Information Technology and Communication (DoIT&C) in collaboration with civil society. 

7. Justice P Lakshman Reddy was sworn in as the first Lokayukta of the Andhra Pradesh. Justice Reddy will be holding the position for the next five years. He is the first Lokayukta to be assuming charge since the state bifurcated in 2014. 

8. Mayank Vaid has become first Indian to complete Enduroman triathlon in a record time. Mayank took 16 hours 35 minutes for running, 12 hours 48 minutes for swimming and 13 hours 29 minutes for cycling, total 463 kms.    

9. The Maharashtra state government has launched a portal which will help the users to detect their lost or stolen mobile phones. If your mobile is stolen or lost, you have to lodge an FIR and inform Department of Telecom (DoT) via helpline number 14422. DoT will block the reported lost/stolen phone across the network which will prevent the reuse of the phone. 

10. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has decided to translate and publish an anthology of the writings of Guru Nanak Dev in world languages to mark his 550th birth anniversary.