September 18, 2014

Chinese President Xi's visit to India

The discussions will be on

* Building industrial cities in Gujarat and Maharashtra at an initial investment of $10 billion.

* Maritime silk road 

* BCIM Corridor

* Convenient route for Mansarovar and Kailash via Sikkim, rather than Uttarakhand. The route will traverse through the city of Shigatse (Part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region). 

* Situation in Chumar sector of Ladakh where the Chinese troops have entered into the perceived Indian area.

National Commission for Women (NCW)

The BJP's National Executive member, Lalitha Kumaramangalam, has been appointed as the Chairperson of NCW. 

Scottish Independence Referendum

Today (September 18, 2014), voters in Scotland choose between becoming an Independent nation and staying with UK. The main campaign groups are YES SCOTLAND and BETTER TOGETHER. The former one campaigns for independence and the latter one campaigns for maintaining the union. The final result is likely to be announced on 19 September. 

Volcanic Eruption in Philippines

Philippines most active volcano, The Mayon Volcano started its eruptions and huge lava fragments are rolling down its slopes. More than 50,000 people were evacuated. 

UN Messenger of peace for Climate

Hollywood Actor and Environmental Activist Leonardo DiCaprio has been appointed as the UN Messenger of Peace. He will use the post to create awareness about climate change.

NASA selects Boeing and SpaceX to ferry astronauts

After NASA’s (National aeronautics and space administration) shuttles retired in 2011 (Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis shuttles), NASA has been depending on Russia for transporting astronauts to International Space Station. This Expensive reliance will end now as Boeing and SpaceX will use crew capsules to transport from Cape Canaveral. The landing of Atlantis shuttle on June 21, 2011 ended the 30 year space shuttle programme of NASA, now the goal of 2017 has been set for Commercial Crew Program.

17th Asian Games

The 2014 Asian Games is scheduled to take place in Incheon, South Korea from September 19 to October 4, with 36 sports, 45 countries and about 10,000 athletes. The official mascots are three spotted seal siblings, known as "Barame", "Chumuro" and "Vichuon", means wind, dance and light in Korean language.  The official slogan of the games is "Diversity Shines Here".

The 18th Asian Games will be hosted by Indonesia in 2018 after Vietnam withdrew because of financial concerns.  

General Knowledge

* Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India is U K Sinha (as of Sept 2014).

* The National Pledge of India was first recited at Vishakapatnam. 

* The highest peak within the Eastern Ghat mountain range is Mahendragiri (1501 m), Odisha.

* The process of vaccination was discovered by Edward Jenner.

* Agrostology is the study of grasses.