15th September 2018 Current Affairs

Govt launches National Scholarship Portal mobile app

• The Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, has launched the country’s first “National Scholarship Portal Mobile App” (NSP mobile app).
• The app aims to ensure a smooth, accessible and hassle-free scholarship system for students from poor and weaker sections.
• Through the National Scholarship Portal, all scholarships are deposited directly into bank accounts of needy students under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
• The app will also provide students with all the information regarding various scholarships; they will be able to apply for scholarships via the app.

Indian hockey great Sardar Singh retires from the international game

• Former Indian hockey captain Sardar Singh has announced his retirement from international hockey.
• His decision came after the 2018 Asian Games; India won a bronze medal at the tournament and failed to defend their title.
• The 32-year-old made his senior debut for India against Pakistan in 2006.
• Singh has played over 350 international matches, captaining the side for 6 years.

RBI to buy government securities on the open market

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to purchase government securities (G-secs) worth Rs. 10,000 crore.
• The government securities will be purchased through Open Market Operations (OMO).
• The aim is to induce liquidity in the system.
• When there is excess liquidity in the market, RBI sells securities, decreasing rupee liquidity; when liquidity conditions are tight, RBI buys securities from the market, increasing liquidity in the market.

Cabinet approves MoU with BRICS members on joint blockchain research

• The Union Cabinet has approved a MoU on the collaborative research of distributed ledger technology (DLT).
• The research will be jointly conducted by the Export-Import Bank of India (known as Exim Bank) and one bank from each BRICS member states.
• The blockchain is one type of a distributed ledger.
• Distributed ledgers use independent computers to record, share and synchronize transactions in their respective electronic ledgers (instead of keeping data centralized as in a traditional ledger).

Country’s 1st tribal tourism circuit launched in Chhattisgarh

• Minister of State for Tourism, K J Alphons, inaugurated the country’s first tribal circuit project.
• It will connect 13 tourism sites in the state.