29th September Current Affairs

• CSL-Andaman and Nicobar signed MoU
  • Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) signed an agreement with the Andaman and Nicobar administration to spruce up the operational efficiency of the marine dockyard in Port Blair.
  • The agreement also ensures the faster turnaround of vessels for seamless operations.
  • The islands have a key position in India’s strategic role in the Bay of Bengal and the Malacca Strait.

  
• World Rabies Day: 28 September
  • World Rabies Day is celebrated annually on September 28 to raise awareness about rabies prevention.
  • The theme for 2018 is ‘Rabies: Share the message. Save a life’.

  

  
  

  • The day marks the death anniversary of Louis Pasteur, the French chemist, and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine.
• India ranks 96th on Economic Freedom Index
  • India’s ranks 96th among 162 countries on Economic Freedom in the World, released by the Centre for Civil Society (CCS).
  • India ranked 98th on the index in the previous year’s report.
  • Hong Kong and Singapore again topped the index with the first and the second country respectively.
  • The 2018 report is based on data from 2016.
• Govt launched Agmark online system
  • The government launched an online platform for processing applications related to quality certification mark ‘Agmark’ for agricultural products.

  

  
  

  • Agmark is certification mark that assures conformity to a set of standards approved by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection.
  • In the new online application system, there are provisions for online receipt of fees from the applicants.
• CoE for Data Analytics and DigiVaarta
  • National Informatics Centre (NIC) and National Informatics Centre Services Incorporated (NICSI) have jointly set up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for data analytics to support the government.
  • The Centre of Excellence for Data Analytics (CEDA) was launched on 28th September 2018.
  • NIC is a technology advisor and ICT solution provider to Government at all levels.
• 2nd Hornbill’s Flight International Race
  • The 2nd edition of the cycle race, ‘Dalmia MTB Arunachal; Hornbill’s Flight International Race’ will be held on 14-22 November.
  • The cycling track extends from Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh to Mechuka in the West Siang district about 650 km away.
  • More than 100 cyclists from over 10 countries will participate.
  • The total prize money for the race is of Rs 22.5 lakhs.
• SC allowed entry of women in Sabrimala temple
  • The Supreme Court on 28 September 2018 allowed entry of women of all ages into the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in Kerala.
  • The SC said banning entry of women to Kerala’s Sabarimala temple is gender discrimination and the practice violates rights of Hindu women.
  • The court gave its verdict on a clutch of pleas challenging the ban on entry of women at Sabarimala in Kerala