Daily Current Affairs for SSC, Banking & Postal: September 15, 2016

Indian origin Ramesh Raskar wins 2016 Lemelson-MIT Prize

India-born innovator and scientist Ramesh Raskar has won the prestigious 2016 Lemelson-MIT Prize. He is an associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT’s) Media Lab. He is known for his co-invention of an ultra-fast imaging camera that can see around corners, low-cost eye-care solutions. It also enables users to read the first few pages of a book without opening the cover.

• About Lemelson-MIT Prize The annual Lemelson-
• MIT prize is administered by the School of Engineering at the MIT. It was endowed in 1994 by Jerome H. Lemelson The award honours US inventors who are mid-career and trying to improve the world through science and technology. The winner receives US$ 500000 US, making it the largest cash prize for invention in the US.

India Blue wins Duleep Trophy

Gautam Gambhir-led India Blue has won the inaugural day/night 2016-17 Duleep Trophy Cricket tournament played with a pink ball. The 2016–17 was 55th season of Duleep Trophy. In the final match held in Greater Noida, India Blue defeated India Red, captained by Yuvraj Singh, by a massive 355 runs. Ravinder Jadeja, who bagged 5 wickets in the second innings, finished the game with a 10-wicket haul. Cheteshwar Pujara was named player of the match.

• The Duleep Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket tournament played between teams representing geographical zones of India. The Tournament was instituted in 1961-62 by BCCI. The tournament is named after Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji of Nawanagar.
• It was contested by three teams, namely India Red, India Blue and India Green. In June 2016, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had changed the feature of tournament featuring day/night matches and to be played with pink ball.

US sign 38 billion dollars deal with Israel

The United States on 14 September 2016 signed a 38 billion dollars deal with Israel to provide the country with military assistance over a 10-year period, from 2019 to 2028. The deal is the largest such agreement the US has ever had with any country.

• Under the terms of agreement, Israel will receive 3.8 billion dollars a year from the US. At present US gives 3.1 billion dollars to Israel annually under a 10-year deal that ends in 2018.
• Following 10 months of tense negotiations, the two allies finalised the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a signing ceremony in Washington. It was signed with the hope that this contribution would help in security.

Reliance Communications and Aircel to be merged to create 4th largest telco

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications and Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB), promoters of Aircel, on 14 September 2016 agreed to merge their wireless businesses to form the fourth-largest telecom operator in the country.

The merger is termed as the biggest consolidation deal in India's telecom sector.

International Day of Democracy observed

International Day of Democracy was observed on 15 September 2016 with the theme: Democracy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The day provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world.

• It was created by the UN General Assembly through a resolution in 2007 to strengthen national programmes devoted to the promotion and consolidation of democracy. It was observed for the first time in 2008.
• Though the word Democracy is nowhere is mentioned in the UN Charter of 1945, the UN has played a pivotal role in nurturing Democratic values, practices and institutions. The theme for the 2015 was: Space for Civil Society.

Sushmita Rai wins Bronze at World Martial Arts Masterships

Sikkim’s Sushmita Rai in the second week of September 2016 won a bronze medal at the recently concluded World Martial Arts Masterships 2016, which was held at Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do of South Korea.

• The competition is considered an Olympics for martial arts with 2073 participants from 87 countries.
• The World Martial Arts Masterships was the first comprehensive martial arts competition where national teams from across the globe took part.