Current Affairs : September 19

1.Days ahead of the Prime Minister's visit to the US, a controversy erupted today over the move to sign a contract for setting up of a nuclear plant with an American company bypassing the atomic regulator even as the Department of Atomic Energy asserted that any contract signed will be fully consistent with Indian law.

2. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has lowered growth projections for world trade in 2013 for the second time, but has said the conditions for improved trade are already falling into place.

3. The Government will infuse Rs 14,000 crore in public sector banks within next few days, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Takru said here today.

4. PM of India addressed a function after dedicating the Seepat Super Thermal Power Plant. Seepat Power Plant of the NTPC in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh is the first project of the NTPC using Super Critical Technology. This technology is the next generation method of power generation that saves coal and also maintains ecological balance, which will result in affordable electricity to the public.

5. A Haryana student has been selected for a three-year astronaut training programme of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US.

6. Tata Sons have signed an agreement with Singapore Airlines and applied for necessary regulatory approval to set up a new airline in India, the two companies said in a joint statement.
Tata Sons will control the majority 51 percent stake, while Singapore Airlines will own 49 percent in the proposed carrier.

7. Orbital Sciences Corp launched the first flight of its unmanned Cygnus cargo ship on Wednesday to the International Space Station, as NASA forges ahead with its plan to privatise US space missions.

8. Justice Prafulla Chandra Pant, Judge of the High Court of Uttarakhand was on 19 September 2013 appointed as the new Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court. He was appointed by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee.

9. Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola (21) of Nigeria becomes World Muslimah 2013 during the third Annual Award of World Muslimah in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Wednesday.

10. Thomas Pynchon, George Saunders and Jhumpa Lahiri are among the finalists on the fiction longlist for the U.S. National Book Awards. The list features the kind of high-profile choices major publishers have wanted for years.