Daily Current Affairs for Competitive exams: September 29, 2016

Hello Readers,
Here are today’s important headlines with key details for UPSC, SSC, IBPS and other competitive examinations.

Uri Attack: Indian Army strikes terror establishments in Pakistan

Indian Army conducted surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control. Director General of Military Operations Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh said that the motive of the operation was to hit out at terrorists who were planning to infiltrate Indian Territory.
Lt General Singh informed that the terrorists incurred significant casualties during the operation. He said that it is a matter of serious concern that there have been many infiltration bids by terrorists at LoC and it was reflected in the terror attacks in Poonch and Uri on September 11 and 18, 2016 respectively.
As per DGMO, nothing was done despite India’s persistent request to Pakistan not to allow territory under its control to be used for terror activities. Pakistan violated the commitment made to India in 2004, that it will not allow its soil to be used for anti-India terror activities.
Lt General Singh also informed that almost 20 infiltration attempts have been successfully foiled by Indian Army in 2016. India has also offered consular access to apprehended terrorists from Pakistan, and finger prints and DNA samples of the terrorists killed in Uri and Poonch attacks will also be made available to the neighbouring country.
Lt General Singh said that he spoke to his Pakistani counterpart to share India’s concerns and told him about the surgical strikes. He said, India cannot allow terrorists to operate across the LoC.

Rs 90 lakh cash awards for Rio Paralympics 2016 Medal Winners announced by M/O Social Justice & Empowerment

Cash awards of a total of Rs 90 lakhs have been announced for the Rio Paralympics 2016 Medal Winners by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment under Awareness Generation and Publicity (AGP) scheme.
Gold medal winner Mariyappan Thangavelu and Devendra Jhajharia will be awarded Rs 30 lakh cash prize each, Silver medallist Deepa Malik will be facilitated with Rs 20 lakh and Varun Singh Bhati will be honoured with Rs 10 lakh for winning the bronze medal at the Rio Paralympics 2016.
It is worth mentioning that it was India’s best ever performance in Paralympics history. Mariyappan Thangavelu made a leap of 1.89 metres to bag the gold medal while Bhati jumped his personal best of 1.86m to finish third and won Bronze. Devendra Jhajharia clinched Gold in Javelin throw while Deepa Malik bagged Silver in short put (first ever Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics Games).
India sent its biggest-ever contingent of 19 athletes to the Rio Paralympics 2016. More than 4,400 athletes from 160 countries participated at the Rio Paralympics 2016 held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from Sep 7-18, 2016.

Cabinet approves Productivity Linked Bonus to railway employees

The Union Cabinet has given its approval to pay Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days wages to eligible non-gazetted railway employees (excluding RPF/RPSF personnel) for the financial year 2015-16. The approval entails a financial implication of approximately Rs. 2090.96 crore.
Payment of PLB would result in motivating a large number of railway employees to improve the performance of the Railways and enhance the productivity levels further besides maintaining industrial peace. The payment of this bonus to eligible Railway Employees will be made before Dussehra/Puja holidays.

Indian women’s Kabaddi team wins gold in Asian Beach Games

The Indian women’s Kabbadi team bagged a gold medal at the 5th Asian Beach Games, on September 28, 2016. In the summit clash played at Bien Dong Park in Danang, Vietnam, the team defeated Thailand by a score of 41-31.
This is the fifth gold in succession for the Indian team. For Thailand, it was the fifth time in a row that they have lost to India in a final.

Four member countries including India decide to boycott the SAARC Summit in Islamabad

Four SAARC member countries, namely India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan, decided to boycott the 19th SAARC Summit to be hosted by Pakistan. The summit is scheduled to be held in Islamabad from November 9, 2016.
India was the first nation to boycott the summit. It conveyed to the current SAARC Chair, Nepal, that the increased cross-border terrorist attacks in the region and growing interference in internal affairs of member states by one country, created an environment which was not conducive for the Summit.
Later, India was joined by Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan, who pulled out of the summit citing the problem of terrorism in the region

Former Australian cricketer Max Walker passes away

Former Australian cricketer Max Walker passed away at the age of 68, on September 28, 2016, at Melbourne, Australia. Walker was famous for his unconventional bowling action that earned him the nickname, ‘Tangles’.
Following his retirement from cricket, he worked as an architect and also started a career in radio and television media. He wrote 14 books over a period of 30 years and was a successful public speaker.

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