Current Affairs 1st September 2015..

RATAN P WATAL is appointed as Union Finance Secretary 

 Ratan P Watal was appointed as the Union Finance Secretary. Earlier to this appointment, he was the secretary of the Department of Expenditure of the Finance Ministry.

Watal is a IAS officer of 1978-batch Andhra Pradesh cadre.

Do You Know :

• Union Ministry of Finance consists five departments namely Department of Disinvestments, Department of Expenditure, Department of Financial Services, Department of Revenue and Department of Economic Affairs.
• In the Union Ministry of Finance, Finance Secretary is the senior-most IAS officer. He coordinates the working of various departments under the Ministry of Finance.

• Smart National Common Mobility Card model for seamless travel across India was approved by - Union Government
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 The Union Ministry of Urban Development gave approval for Smart National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) model for seamless travel across India.

Features of Smart National Common Mobility Card (NCMC)

• It is based on EMV Open Loop Card system with stored value model.
• It meets travel needs based on stored value of money and can be used for travelling by any means of transport and also enables account based retail applications.
• It is an improved version of nationwide common card prevalent in Singapore.
• Standards and hardware for Metro gates/validators along with related ecosystems will be developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
• For the development o the model, ministry has approved a funnd of 4.47 crore.

30 Women in Power: Their Voices, Their Stories was written by - Naina Lal Kidwai

The book 30 Women in Power: Their Voices, Their Stories written and edited by Naina Lal Kidwai was released.

The book is a collection of description on modern Indian women who have been pioneers and led large organizations - in banking, law, the media, advertising, government services, health care, consulting, the fast-moving consumer goods sector and the not-for-profit space.

About Naina Lal Kidwai

• She is the chairman of HSBC India and an executive director on the board of HSBC Asia-Pacific.
• She is the first woman president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and also a non-executive director of Nestle SA.

L C GOYAL is appointed as CMD of India Trade Promotion Organisation 

He appointment of L C Goyal as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Indian Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

About ITPO

• It was established in April 1977 and is headquarted at Pragati Bhawan, New Delhi.
• Under the aegis of Ministry of Commerce and Industry for promoting country's external trade, ITPO is the nodal agency of the Union Government.
• Holding of international trade fairs in India is approved by ITPO only and to avoid any duplication of efforts while ensuring proper timing it also regulates holding of various expositions in India.
• It has been given a status of a Mini-Ratna Category-1 Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) with 100% shareholding of Government of India.

TEJINDER PAL SINGH is named as Australian of the Day by Commonwealth Bank 

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 31st August 2015, An Indian-origin driver in Australia Tejinder Pal Singh was acredited as Australian of the Day by Commonwealth Bank of Australia for feeding the homeless in Darwin for last three years.

From the past 3 years, he has dedicated every last Sunday of each month to feed the poor and homeless after his night shift as a cabbie in northern Darwin. He cooked around 30 kg of Indian food to feed the homeless. The free lunch comprises chickpeas, rice and vegetarian curry.

His van itself carries the sign Free Indian food for hungry and needy people, Provide Sikh family.

Do You Know :

For over 35 years, the Commonwealth Bank has been sponsoring the Australian of the Day campaign. The campaign recognises the extraordinary Australians who have made a big difference to the country.

Highest mountain of North America Mt McKinley renamed as - Denali

The highest mountain of North America Mt McKinley was renamed as Denali by US President Barack Obama to recognize the sacred status of Denali to generations of Alaska Natives.

In January 2015, Republican Senate Lisa Murkowski of Alaska introduced legislation that sought to officially call the mountain what Alaskans and indigenous people called it Denali or The High One.

It is the latest bid by the President Barack Obama to fulfill his 2008 campaign promise to improve relations between the federal government and the nation’s Native American tribes.

Do You Know :

In 1896, after a gold prospector exploring the region heard that Ohioan William McKinley, a champion of the gold standard, had won the Republican nomination for president, the peak was named as Mount McKinley.