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Current Affairs September 2015 PDF Capsule

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Current Affairs PDF: September 2015

Current Affairs for Competitive Exam

Table of Contents Indian Affairs ..................................................................................................................................................... 3

International Affairs ......................................................................................................................................... 74

Banking & Finance ........................................................................................................................................ 106

Business ......................................................................................................................................................... 120

Awards ........................................................................................................................................................... 124

Appointments ................................................................................................................................................. 140

Acquisitions & Mergers ................................................................................................................................. 158

Science & Technolgy ..................................................................................................................................... 163

Environment ................................................................................................................................................... 165

Sports ............................................................................................................................................................. 170

Obituary ......................................................................................................................................................... 189

Books & Authors ........................................................................................................................................... 196

Important Days............................................................................................................................................... 198

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Indian Affairs

Government planning India’s longest 600 km expressway to connect Delhi and Katra

Presently, it takes about 11-12 hours to reach Katra from Delhi. The Expressway proposed by

the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is expected to bring down the commutation time by 5-

6 hours. The Expressway will increase the connectivity between New Delhi and Jammu and it will

be aided by the National Highway being built between Srinagar and Jammu currently. Katra,

which is at an elevation of 875 metres above the sea level, is 42 kms further than Jammu.

• The announcement was made by the PM, consecutively after announcing a highway

project for providing connectivity for the four religious shrines (Char Dham) in

Uttarakhand.

• The New Delhi-Katra expressway will be a relief for pilgrims visiting the holy shrine of

Vaishno Devi in J&K.

• The proposed expressway will cover 600 kms and will be India’s longest. It will pass

through Haryana, Punjab and J&K, costing more than INR 15,000 crores. The Ministry

of Road Transport & Highways is conducting feasibility studies for the project, with the

help of consultants.

• The Hybrid Annuity Model of PPP (Public Private Partnership) is expected to be employed

for this project, with the Government bearing 40% of the project cost.

• This project is a part of the government’s plan to construct about 1,000 kms of

expressways at an estimated cost of INR 16,680 crores, as the traffic flow on these

routes is favourable. The approved corridors are Delhi-Chandigarh, Bengaluru-Chennai,

Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Meerut, Kolkata-Dhanbad, Delhi-Agra and Vadodara-Mumbai.

Union Government releases Rs 2,000 crore for Employees’ Pension Scheme

• The INR 2,000 crore was released by the Union Government as its contribution for the

year 2015-16, towards the Employee’s Pension Scheme. This was in addition to the

grant-in-aid of INR 250 crore already released by the Centre for providing a minimum

pension of Rs. 1,000 to EPS, 1995.

• The additional grant was necessary to ensure and sustain continuance of the minimum

pension.

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Smart National Common Mobility Card model for seamless travel across India

The Ministry of Urban Development has come out with a Smart National Common Mobility

Card (NCMC) model to enable seamless travel by different metros and other transport systems

across the country besides retail shopping and purchases.

Minister of Urban Development M.Venkaiah Naidu has approved the ‘EMV Open Loop Card

with stored value’ in this regard.

• The card will do away with the need to carry separate cards for banking and transit

requirements.

• 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.

• The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will be involved in indigenous

development and management of Clearing and Settlement of payments, Simulating

Cards, Terminals and network, a support base of vendors for providing certified tools,

cards, terminals and other services.

• The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) will develop the

standards and hardware for Metro gates/validators along with related ecosystems.

• Certification and authentication mechanism will be developed by NPCI or any other

government agency.

• In this regard funding of 47 crore rupees has been approved by the ministry.

Sakhi, One stop crisis centre(OSCC) for women in distress

The First time ever in Haryana,a scheme called ‘Sakhi’, was inaugurated to help the women,

who are suffering from sexual, mental and emotional harassments(Including eve-teasing,

domestic violence and rape).

• Haryana’s Women and Child Development Minister Kavitha Jain inaugurated the

scheme Sakhi, One Stop Crisis Center (OSCC), today at Karnal district in Haryana.

• The scheme is launched under the Union Government .

• The Objective of this scheme is to provide necessary help to women victims and others,

who are suffering from any kind of harassment.

• On August 28th, women police stations have been also opened in all the 21 districts of

Haryana.

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• Haryana is the second such state to have women police stations, while Chadigarh

secured the first place.The aim of women police stations is to provide security for

women.

Manipur assembly passes Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015

The Manipur Legislative Assembly unanimously passed the Protection of Manipur People Bill,

2015. The House also unanimously passed two amendment bills, namely the Manipur Shops

and Establishments (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015and the Manipur Land Revenue and

Land Reforms (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2015. All three bills were passed by voice vote.

In addition to that, the house also passed a resolution welcoming the Peace Accord signed

between the Union Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland

(NSCN)-IM.

SC stays Rajasthan HC’s decision declaring ‘Santhara’ ritual illegal

On August 10, 2015 Rajasthan High Court ordered by declaring that Santhara as illegal, the

practice, which involves voluntary fast-unto-death, illegal and an offence punishable under the

Indian Penal Code (IPC).

• But the Supreme Court stayed the order passed by Rajasthan High Court declaring

Santhara as illegal.

• Santhara is a Jain custom of embracing voluntary death – it involves practitioners taking

an oath to stop eating until they die of starvation. According to Jains, this is a way to

purge oneself of bad ‘karma’ and attain ‘moksha’.

• The Bench was hearing a batch of petitions filed by various religious bodies of Jain

community members against the High Court order on Santhara.

Law Commission of India submitted its report on Death Penalty

Law Commission of India recommended that the death penalty be abolished for all crimes other

than terrorism-related offences and waging war against the country after 53 years which favored

retention of the death penalty in statute books.

• In its 272-page draft report, the commission favoured speedy abolition of the death

penalty from the statute books not serve the penological goal of deterrence any more

than life imprisonment.

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• The report stated that from January 26, 1950 till date, successive Presidents have

accepted 306 mercy petitions and rejected 131.

• The Commission also held a one-day Consultation on The Death Penalty in India on 11

July 2015 in New Delhi. Thereafter, upon extensive deliberations, discussions and in-

depth study, the Commission gave shape prepared its report.

• It is essential that the state establish effective compensation schemes to rehabilitate

victims of crime. It is also essential, the panel said, that courts use the power granted to

them under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to grant appropriate compensation to

victims in suitable cases.

Maharashtra government approves ordinance to amend MPDA Act

Maharashtra government gave permission to amend (alter) the Maharashtra Prevention of

Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act

• Shri. Devendra Fadnavis, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra at the weekly cabinet

meeting, took the decision to imprison the members of sand mafia, for not less than one

year.

• The persons found involved in sand mafia won’t get bail for one year, if once they got

imprisoned under illegal sand mining cases.

• The MPDA Act, 1981, applies to slumlords, bootleggers, drug offenders, video pirates

and other dangerous persons.

• Now, the illegal sand miners have also been included in the list of dangerous persons in

the Act through the recent amendments.

10th World Hindi Conference to be held in Bhopal

• India is set to host the World Hindi Conference after a gap of 32 years which will focus

for the first time on promoting the language as a means to employment.

Indo-Australian Bilateral Co-operation in the field of security

Discussions were held on intelligence sharing, combating international terrorism, cyber security

and better working relations for border and maritime security at a bilateral meeting between India

and Australia to discuss the bilateral co-operation between the two countries. The

visiting Australian Minister of Defence, Mr. Kevin Andrews and the Minister of State for

Home Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju participated in the discussion.

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Key Facts:

• The leaders underscored the growing depth of the Australia-India strategic partnership

and building on converging interests, shared values and common democratic

institutions.

• They also discussed bilateral collaboration across the security spectrum, including in

counter terrorism, cyber policy and maritime security.

• Additionally they also touched upon the issues of stability of Asia Pacific region, security

of sea lanes of communication.

• A follow-up discussion of the financial action task force in Brisbane, Australia in June

2015 took place in this occasion and they addressed deficiencies in implementation of

the recommendations with regard to terror financing.

• They also agreed for enhanced co-operation in the areas of mutual interest of both the

countries.

Section of the India-Myanmar-Thailand highway now operational

The Myawaddy- Thinggan Nyenaung-Kawkareik section (25.6 km long) of the Asian Highway

No.1, which links India to Thailand via Myanmar, has become operational. Now, the travel

time between Thinggan Nyenaung and Kawkareik will be reduced from 3 hours to 45 minutes.

• The section is a part of the trilateral highway that is planned to connect Moreh,

Manipur to Maesot, Thailand, via Tamu, Mandalay and Myawaddy in Myanmar. The

whole highway is expected to become operational by November this year.

• The section is also a part of the East-West economic corridor of the Greater

Mekong Subregion.

• Along with the inauguration of the section of the highway, a cornerstone-laying

ceremony for the building of Myanmar-Thailand friendship bridge No. 2, to link

Thailand’s Maesot with Myanmar’s Myawaddy was also held at Myawaddy.

• A bus-service between Imphal and Mandalay is also being contemplated by India

and Myanmar.

FSSAI reduced Permitted Levels of Trans-Fat in Edible Oils

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)has reduced the permitted level

of trans-fat content in edible fats and oils from 10 to 5 per cent across the country. The new

standards will come into force by August 2016.

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This regulation will be applicable to hydrogenated vegetable oils, margarine and fat spreads and

interesterified vegetable fat. An environment advocacy group today termed this move as an

important milestone in controlling non-communicable diseases in India and urged to bring it to

“near-zero levels“.

Cabinet approved reimbursement to 4 PSUs for import of pulses

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the

proposal of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, to

reimburse Rs.113.40 crore of losses on pulses imported between 2006 to 2011period

by four government agencies apart from losses incurred in the sale of pulses up to six

months after closure of the scheme.

These four government agencies are the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing

Federation (NAFED), Project and Equipment Corporation (PEC), State Trading

Corporation (STC) and Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC). This will enable

the central public sector undertakings (PSUs) to intensify trading activities and cool down prices.

SAARC conference on Disaster Mitigation begins in Delhi

A conference of SAARC countries to chalk out and undertake joint efforts on various issues related

to disaster mapping and mitigation in the member nations is being held in Delhi, with the

National Disaster Management Authority and National Disaster Response Force also participating.

The increased frequency of natural calamities in the SAARC countries’ region and the

prevalent geo-climatic conditions calls for enhanced levels of preparedness and risk resilience as

well as collaborative action amongst member countries. Such preparedness will enable the

countries to deal with disaster situations in individual and joint capacity and ensure minimal loss

of lives and assets.

South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise (SAADMEx)

• India has taken the lead to begin the process of simulation exercises on disaster

management in the region, named SAADMEx.

• India has requested the SAARC countries to augment the current levels of individual and

joint preparedness rescue, relief and responseefforts during disaster situations.

The exercise will be conducted in two phases

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(i)Advance Coordination among countries to decide on the modalities and requirements of the

main exercise;

(ii) The main exercise which will be held in NCR. It will consist of three components,

namely the Table Top Exercise (TTx), the Field Training Exercise (FTx) and the After

Action Review (AAR).

This will be followed by a Workshop for sharing the best practises on Disaster Risk Reduction

Railway launches 3 IT initiatives developed by Centre For Railway Information Systems

(CRIS)

• CRIS is the Railway ministry’s IT arm. The IT initiatives aim to improve passenger and

customer services and move towards e-Governance, in line with the Digital India

Programme.

• The initiative includes a paperless unreserved ticketing through mobile phones

between Delhi and Palwal section, Coin-cum-Card operated ATVMs (Automatic Ticket

Vending Machines) at New Delhi railway station and a ‘Parichalaan’ mobile application

for freight operations.

• The paperless unreserved ticketing facility is already in operation in Chennai and

Mumbai and is going to be slowly made available in the suburban sections of the Eastern

Railway, South Eastern Railway and South Central Railway.

• Mobile purchase of Platform tickets and Monthly Seasonal tickets will be enabled

in the Mumbai and Chennai suburban networks.

• The Parichalaan app will help senior decision makers of the operations department to

plan freight operations on a real-time basis.

• Talks for a MoU for using Geospatial Technology and Satellite technology for

various operations of Railway are underway between CRIS and ISRO.

Government to infuse Rs. 8.5 lakh cr in Railways

• With a focus on infrastructure development in railways to boost growth, the

Government will invest 8.5 lakh crores in railways, which has the potential to change the

face of the sector.

• The announcement was made by Minister of State for Finance, Shri Jayant Sinha.

• Railway has suffered from a decade of chronic under-investment and capacity

addition has been to the minimum. For instance, the Delhi – Kolkata route is operating

at 150-160% over capacity.

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• Focussed attention is needed for effective safety, maintenance, better signalling, rolling

stock, increase in speed, better passenger services especially with respect to cleanliness

and hygiene etc.

• Private participation is being sought for two locomotive factories that have been

planned in Bihar, for investing in train sets and developing about 400 stations all over

India.

• 17 states have already entered into Joint Venture agreements with the railways.

Indian Wind Resource Atlas launched by MNRE

• The Indian Wind Atlas is an online GIS (Geographic Information Tool) for identification

of the regional and local wind energy potential in India.

• It gives information about various parameters such as Wind Speed (m/s), Wind

Power Density and Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF)calculated for an average 2

MW Turbine that can operate at 100 m level.

• The Atlas will help policy makers at Centre and State Governments to deal with issues

related to tariff fixation, transmission, grade frequency etc and providing better

infrastructure for the investors.

• The information will be available free of cost.

The atlas has been prepared using very high resolution and joint frequency tables have been

derived for the entire country at 500m resolution for enhanced accuracy by using the dynamic

meso-micro coupled WRF modelling technique.

Unmanned Level Crossings eliminated by Western-Central Railway

• Western Central Railway- HQ in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.

• Becomes the first to close all the unmanned railway crossings.

• About 118 unmanned level crossings were closed and some were converted into

manned, while Limited Height Subways (LHs) were built for some.

• Unmanned level crossings have been a matter of concern as they are death traps.

• Elimination of level crossings was one of the recommendations of the High Level Safety

Review Committee or the Kakodkar Committee on Railway safety, apart from other

recommendations such as upgrading of signalling system and installation of protection

warning system.

• The Railway Ministry is focussing on a ‘Zero Tolerance to train accidents’ policy.

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PM released two commemorative coins in honour of former President Dr. S

Radhakrishnan

On the eve of Teachers’ day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released two commemorative coins

of Rs 125 and Rs 10 in the memory of former President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

Union Government canceled FCRA registration of NGO Greenpeace

Greenpeace India, a non-profit NGO‘s FCRA(Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) license and

Its plea to release 25% of unutilised amount from its detained bank accounts, is get canceled by

the Ministry of Home affairs(MHA).

• Earlier the Delhi High Court granted the permission to Greenpeace India to use 2

accounts for the purpose of receiving and using the domestic donations to meet its day-

to-day functions.

• But the NGO has violated the norms by opening 5 accounts to utilize the foreign

donations without seeking permission from concerned authorities.

• A charge is filed against Greenpeace by MHA in this regard.The court scheduled the

further hearing to September 17th.

Andhra Assembly passes the Special Courts Bill

• Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the Andhra Pradesh Special Courts Bill,

that seeks to expeditiously conduct trial in cases of ill-gotten wealth. It aims

to recover ill-gotten wealth from individuals involved in corruption or financial frauds

and ensure speedy trials.

• The bill provides for confiscation of properties of public servants who have

amassed wealth through corrupt practices.

• The opposition staged a walk out in protest that the ruling party had not followed the

due procedure of issuing a seven-day prior notice before taking the bill for passage, so

that legislators may get time to study the provisions.

eSagu- spreading modern crop protection awareness among farmers

• The initiative is a joint research initiative of Media Lab Asia and IIIT, Hyderabad and

is being implemented as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative of Bharat

Electronics Limited (BEL).

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• ‘Sagu’ in Telugu means ‘Cultivation’ and ESagu means electronic cultivation. ESagu is a

web-based personalised agro-advisory system with a view to replace the unscientific

agricultural practised with modern scientific ones.

• It will disseminate expert agricultural knowledge to the farming community to improve

crop productivity.

Government Announces One Rank One Pension Scheme for Ex-Servicemen

The Union Government on 5 September 2015 announced One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme

for ex-servicemen. The scheme was pending for nearly four decades.

This was announced by the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. Benefit of OROP will be given with

effect from 1 July 2014

What and Why of OROP

OROP, (one rank, one pension) scheme promises to pay “uniform pension to the Armed

Forces Personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective

of their date of retirement and any future enhancement in the rates of pension to be

automatically passed on to the past pensioners.”

OROP simply means same pension, for same rank and for the same length of service,

irrespective of the date of retirement.

What it does is, bridges the gap between the rate of pension of the current pensioners

and the past pensioners. It also extends the future enhancements if any, to be automatically

passed on to the past pensioners.

Till now rate of pension was based on the date of retirement, rank and the tenure of service

of the armed personnel. OROP, makes date of retirement irrelevant to determine the rate of

pension, which was a main contentious issue. Pay increase is dependent on the pay commission’s

recommendation implementation date, every consecutive redraws the rate of pay of the

personnel, only the serving or the retiring personnel after the implementation of pay commission

recommendations are eligible for the enhanced benefits, goes against those who retired before

that date.

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The delay was due to the addition of the financial burden on the country’s exchequer, which is

about 8,000 to 10,000 crore as of date, it is bound to increase in the future. Additional burden to

the Government which is burdened by the widening fiscal deficit.

Highlights of OROP

• Will be implemented from July 1, 2014 and

• The base year would be 2013.

• Estimated cost for the implementation of OROP is 8,000 to 10,000 Crores

• Pension revision after every 5 years

• Soldiers who have died naturally during war will be a beneficiary of the OROP scheme

• Arrears will be paid in installments – 4 half yearly (as the scheme will be implanted

retrospectively)

• All widows including war widows will be paid arrears in one instalment.

• Revised pension will be the average of the minimum and maximum pension in

2013

• Pension of those who were drawing above the average will be protected, their pension

will not be reduced

• A one-member judicial committee will be constituted. It will give reports on

equalization period in 6 months, for revision of pension.

Modi attends International Buddhist conclave in Gaya to participate in 3-day Concluding

Ceremony

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi reached Bodh Gaya with tight security to

participate in the concluding ceremony of the 3-day International Buddhist

Conclave concluding ceremony.

• Modi offered a prayer at Mahabodhi temple along with the Bihar governor.

• Delegates from 47 countries, including Chandrika Kumaratunga, the former president of

Sri Lanka were also attended the ceremony.

• PM Modi sat beneath the Holy Buddhist tree for meditation along with foreign delegates.

Government to develop Bodh Gaya as spiritual capital

• PM Modi is the third prime minister to visit Bodh Gaya, after Jawaharlal Nehru and

Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He visited the Bodh Gaya on Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord

Krishna.

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• On this Occasion, Modi said that the government is going to develop the site as

thespiritual capital.

• As, it would serve as a civilization bond between India and Buddhist world.

• Modi described Bodh Gaya as a land of enlightenment and Buddha as the crown

jewel of India.

• He even expressed his views regarding developing Bodh Gaya and how it is going to be

admired by Buddhists all over the world.

• He drew the comparison between Lord Krishna and Gautama Buddha by saying that

both of them were gave priceless lessons of life through Karma Yoga and eight-fold path

and the Panchsheel.

INDIA – UK NAVAL EXERCISE 'KONKAN 2015'’

• Indian Navy has sent its guided missile frigate INS Trikand to take part in Exercise

KONKAN 2015.

• In order to strengthen ties between the United Kingdom and India, INS Trikand is

visiting Devonport, Portsmouth and London.

• The scheduled visits will conclude on September 18.

Odisha government names Wheeler Island as Abdul Kalam Island

• In a fitting tribute to former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam, the Odisha government

on Friday announced to rename the Wheeler Island as Abdul Kalam Island.

• The development came a day after the New Delhi Municipal authorities renamed

Aurangzeb Road in New Delhi as APJ Abdul Kalam Road.

• “Renaming the island as Abdul Kalam Island will inspire our youngsters to work

dedicatedly for scientific research. It is a humble tribute to the People’s President,” said

chief minister Naveen Patnaik while announcing renaming of the island.

PM inaugurated Delhi-Faridabad Metro line

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the extension of theDelhi

Metro connecting Badarpur line which will connect the satellite city of Faridabad to the

national capital. The 14-kmlong extension will have nine stations from Sarai to Escorts

Mujesar in Faridabad, an industrial hub in Haryana.

The line comprises Sarai, NHPC Chowk, Mewala Maharajpur, Sector-28, Badkal Mor, Old

Faridabad, Neelam Chowk Ajronda, Bata Chowk and Escorts Mujesar stations. All these stations

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are elevated and located on either side of the Delhi-Mathura Road (NH-2). Two more

stations,NCB Colony and Ballabgarh, will be added by 2017.

As per the official report, the total cost of the project was to the tune of 2500 crore rupees. Out

of this, 1557 crore rupees was borne by the Haryana Government, while 537 crore rupees was

contributed by the Union Government and 400 crore rupees was spent by Delhi Metro.

The most interesting part was Mr. Modi’s participation for a trip after the inauguration party. The

Prime Minister was accompanied by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) chief Mangu

Singh. On this occasion Mr. Modi also interacted with passengers on the Metro, and allowed some

of them to take selfies with him.

Delhi High Court granted Permanent Commission for Women in Indian Navy

Slamming the gender discrimination practice which can’t be allowed to block the progress of

women, the Delhi High Court in a historic judgment allowed women to get permanent

commission in Indian Navy.

• As per the current practice, Navy treats women officers as a group entitled only to short

service commission, with the maximum term of just 14 years. Because of this, they

were not entitled to enjoy retirement facilities, for which one has to serve for at least 20

years. However men officers are treated as a group entitled to both short service and

permanent commission. But by virtue of this judgment, women could now have full term

service in the Indian Navy and enjoy retirement benefits as well.

• This is in line with a similar judgment where women in the Army and Air Forcehad

been granted permission for permanent commission by the High Court in 2010.

Indian Railways to tie-up with ISRO for enhanced safety

• Railways to tie up with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) to get online

satellite images for improving safety and enhancing efficiency via GPS-aided system.

• Geospatial services will be available from satellite-assisted navigational support through

the GPS aided geo-augmented navigation (GAGAN) system of ISRO. It

involves GPS (global positioning systems), GIS (geographical information

systems), and RS (remote sensing).

• The tie will facilitate getting images and communications through the satellite system.

While the images will help in mapping the area, communications will enable the

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introduction of Wi-Fi service in trains in a larger way. The satellite images will also be

used for geo-fencing of stations for paperless ticketing

• This will come in handy at the time of accidents when it can be used to ascertain the

exact location of trains and the topography.

• Furthermore, it will help railways in developing solutions for safety at unmanned level

crossings with remote sensing facility. Remote sensing system can further be used to

warn road users by activating the hooters before the arrival of trains at unmanned level

crossings.

• The technology is also expected to be used for tracking trains for disseminating

information about their movement on real time basis.

Haryana Government passes bill to abolish Police Recruitment Board

In an attempt to put an end to nepotism in the police recruitments, the Haryana Legislative

Assembly passed Haryana Police (Amendment) Bill, 2015 abolishing the Police Recruitment

Board in the state.

• While the responsibility of the police recruitment for various non-gazetted ranks has

now been transferred to the Haryana Services Selection Commission

(HSSC),Gazetted posts in the police service would be filled by Haryana Public

Service Commission (HPSC).

• According to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, this bill paves the way for

abolishing the need of multiple recruitment agencies in the state for recruitment

of group C postsand this will certainly bring more transparency in the recruitment

process.

Bilateral Defense Tie-up with India & Thailand

The bilateral defense ties between India & Thailand were strengthened by Air Chief Marshal

Arup Raha’s visit to Thailand for “Act East policy”. He held official talks with GenWorapong

Sanganetra, Chief of Defence Forces of Thailand, Commander-in-Chief of Royal Thai Air Force

Treetod Sonjance and Gen Udomdej Sitabutr, Thai Deputy Minister of Defence. Thereby both sides

agreed for cooperation to be ramped up among Bay of Bengal countries to deal with sea migration

issues, disaster management & information exchange.

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Arun Jaitley launched e-version of “Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi”

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley launched the e-version of

the 100 volumes of the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (CWMG) in New Delhi.

The event that was organised by the Gandhi Peace Foundationwas also attended by Minister

of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and newly-

appointed Secretary Sunil Arora.

Haryana government passed Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2015

Haryana State Assembly passed the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2015 which

seeks to amend the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 and fixes minimum educational

qualification relating to eligibility criteria for elections toPanchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).

The bill was presented by Haryana Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar and by virtue of this

Haryana became the second state after Rajasthan to fix educational and other qualifications as

eligibility criteria for the candidates contesting Panchayat elections.

Highlights of the Bill:

• Now it is mandatory for the candidates to have a functional toilet at home and

payment slips of power bills.

• For general candidates contesting the Panchayat elections matriculation is the

essential qualification.

• For the women (general) and Scheduled caste candidates, essential qualification

ismiddle standard or class 8th passed.

• The educational qualification for women SC candidates should be class V passed.

• Persons against whom charges have been framed by the competent court for criminal

offences punishable by not less than 10 years of imprisonment will not be allowed to

contest the elections till they are acquitted by the court.

• Cooperative loan defaulters will also be debarred from contesting the elections to

Panchayati Raj Institutions.

‘Ex-Ekuverin 2015′ – Indo-Maldives Joint Military Exercise

‘Ex-Ekuverin 2015′ is the sixth of the series Indo-Maldives joint Training Exercise on 31st Aug

2015 at Pangode Military Station, Trivandrum

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Objective of the joint military exercies –

• To acquaint both the forces with each other’s operating procedure in addition to

increased understanding and interoperability between the two Armies

• Enhance close military ties between the two countries

As part of this year’s Joint military exercise, Maldives is represented by Maldives National Defence

Force (MNDF) and India by Indian army, (Bihar regiment) 45 members from each nation.

Along with joint military exercise art forms

like Kalaripayattu, Chendamelam, Malkhamb and Jhanj Pathak is also being part of the

exercise.

BSNL to Boost Minimum Broadband Speed to 2 Mbps

• More than one crore users of BSNL will be able to surf internet with the minimum

speed of 2 Mbps against the speed of 512 Kbps without any additional cost.

• Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union minister for Communication and Information

Technologyinaugurated the services in Gurgaon.

• BSNL took this initiative in order to bring back its business through numerous measures

as it has been posting losses and it’s loss stood for Rs.7600 crore approximately at the

end of March 15,2015.

• Prior to this, BSNL has announced free roaming for its mobile users.Now it is aiming

at increasing its landline based-broadband users.

• On this occasion Anupam Srivastava, chairman of BSNL said that he is expecting

10% growth-rate in broadband users for every year.

India gave first tranche of $500,000 for Syrians

• India gave the first tranche of $500,000 for distressed Syrians who are also displaced

from their homes in their war torn country.

• This is the first phase of the commitment which India had promised earlier in March, to

provide $2 million for humanitarian assistance to Syrians.

• Jordanian government coordinating a relief for the Syrian refugees and accordingly

the Indian ambassador to Jordan gave the money to the Jordanian government.

• The war which compelled large numbers of Syrian refugees fleeing to Europe shows no

signs of coming to an end, with Assad and the opposition including ISIS and other Al

Qaeda-affiliated groups continuing a brutal and bloody conflict in Syria.

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India and Belarus set a Trade Target of USD 1 Billion by 2018

India and Belarus have formally agreed to increase the trade target from present level of USD

400 million to an ambitiousUSD 1 Billion by 2018 at the seventh session of the India-

Belarus Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and

Cultural Cooperation to reflect the true depth of engagement between the two countries.

The decision was taken during the meeting of India-Belarus Inter Governmental Commission at

Minsk, Belarus. It was co-chaired by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for

Commerce and Industry, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman and Mr Vitali Mikhailovich Vovk,

theMinister for Industry in the Government of Belarus.

Center to give 33 % reservation to women in all para-military forces

• Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh announced 33% reservation to women in

all para-military forces. Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will also

recruit women under 33% reservations.

• “In all para-military forces, women will be recruited by

providing33% reservations,” Mr.Rajnath Singh said at National Industrial

Security Academy (NISA) Hyderabad, a premier training centre of the CISF.

• Currently the participation of Women in all forces remained at only 5.04%. The

reservation would improve the strength of all Para –Military forces from 1.36

lakh to an estimated two lakh. The reservation will increase the number of

women personnel upto one third of the overall strength of all para military

forces.

Andhra Pradesh launches e-Pragati to bring all government services under one roof

• The Andhra Pradesh State Cabinet approved the launch of AP State Enterprise

Architecture (APSEA), e-Pragati, a comprehensive architecture to leverage the latest

advances in e-governance tools which will bring all the government services under

one roof.

• By this, Andhra Pradesh became the first state in India to execute and conceive state-

wide enterprise e-governance architecture.

• e-Pragati has been designed with an estimated investment of 2,358 crore of which the

State will share Rs. 1,528 crore over a period of three years. The project is envisaged

to be implemented in three phases and set for completion by December 2017.

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• The project is aimed at bringing together 745 G2B (government to

businesses), G2C(government to citizens), G2E (government to employees)

and G2G (government to governments) services offered by 33 departments and more

than 300 government agencies. As many as 72 projects of various departments of

similar nature such as welfare departments, works departments, land management

wings and sectors (tourism, industries and etc.) have been grouped under 14

packages.

• It has been developed in association with Information Technology (IT) giant Wipro.

• The basic objective of e-Pragati will be to provide an integrated ‘One governance’ that

will be citizen-centric, transparent and effective.

Govt bans import of Ammonium Nitrate in loose form

• Ministry of Home Affairs have asked Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion

(DIPP) not to allow bulk import of Ammonium Nitrate (AN) in loose form on the

ground that it poses threat to national security as the chemical is an extremely

dangerous explosive substance.

• As per the new directives, ammonium nitrate has to be imported in bagged form only

irrespective of quantity in each bag and the consignment has to be packed at the point

of origin.

• Furthermore, the Union Home Ministry, in its latest order, has made it mandatory to

make provision for two arm guards with GPS system to provide security for vehicles

transporting AN inside India.

• To regulate the legitimate use of AN, the central government had introduced AN

Rulesthat came into force in 2013, with primary focus on security and safety concerns

in the country.

• In earlier, domestic manufacturers such as Rashtriya Chemicals, GSFC and Deepak

Fertilizers raised their objections as cheaper imports would have severely impacted

their business. So this move will be a major relief for them and also for the security

agencies.

Cabinet increases DA by 6% for central govt employees, pensioners

• The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to increase dearness allowance by 6%, for

central government employees and pensioners.

• The new DA would be 119% from 113% earlier, and would benefit more than 1 crore

central government employees. It would be effective from July 1.

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• The increase in dearness allowance, or a pay correction to employees to adjust the

rising cost of living expenses, would help the broader economy too.

• The increase comes during the festive season, and the additional money could spur

consumer spending, at a time when the economy is slowing down, with lower sales of

cellphones to cars. This could in turn boost the government’s tax collections as well.

IAF to hold ‘Ultra Marathon’ to mark 50th year of 1965 war

• Indian Air Force is organising an ‘Ultra Marathon’ from Air Force Station Pathankot to

Air Force Station Hindon covering a distance of around 574 km over a period of 11 days

to mark the golden jubilee of the 1965 Indo-Pak war.

Haryana Government bans gutka, pan masala

• Haryana government has announced the ban on gutka, panmasala and other products

that are containing tobacco. Manufacturing and sales of all tobacco products has been

completely banned in the state.

• Health Minister, Anil Vij said, “The manufacturing ,storage, distribution and sale of

gutka, panmasala flavoured or scented tobacco, kharra and other similar products

completely banned .Other products containing tobacco which are available in market are

also included in it”.

• The ban also includes mix of other ingredients such as heavy metals and anti-caking

agents, except to the extent of specifically permitted ingredients.

Government nod for gold bonds, new monetization scheme

India is one of the world’s largest markets for gold jewellery. Indian household and other trusts

are holding over 20,000 tonnes of Gold which makes it a non-productive asset.

But why can’t we start using our wealthy asset to make money? In order to make this happen it

needs the conversion of gold into productive asset. So our Government announced to give nod

to Gold Monetization Scheme (GMS) and Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme as announced in

Union Budget 2015-16.

Through these schemes its value will be unlocked and will be circulated in financial investments.

The new scheme consists of the revamped Gold Deposit Scheme (GDS) and a revamped Gold

Metal Loan (GML) Scheme.(Monetization: Converting the country’s gold holdings into cash)

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Key points of Gold Schemes:

Gold monetization scheme Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme

Gold can be deposited in the bank in any form

(bullion or jewellery).

Certificates issued by Government which can

later be encashed for money or physical gold

Allows individuals to deposit minimum 30

grams of gold with banks.

Annual cap under this Scheme is 500 gram

per person.

(Denominations – 5, 10, 50, 100 grams)

Deposits can be short term (1-3 years),

medium term (5-7 years) and long term (12-

15 years).

These bonds would be issued for 5-7 years.

Gold is exempted from tax. Bonds are not exempted from tax.

Purity test will be done by melting the gold. No check on quality of gold is done.

Depositors will earn interest on their gold

saving accounts.

On maturity, the investor will receive

equivalent of market value of gold in “rupee

terms”.

Facts about Gold Schemes:

• Introduction of GMS replaced 1999 Gold Deposit Scheme (GDS) and Gold Metal Loan

(GML) scheme.

• GMS reduce dependency on gold Imports. It will facilitate the availability of gold as raw

material on loans from the banks.

• Lower import of gold will help to control the current account deficit.

• Interest rates on short term deposits will decided by banks and medium or long term

deposits will decided by government in consultation with RBI.

• Collection, Purity Verification and Deposit of Gold will be done under revamped GDS.

• Out of the 331 assaying and Hallmarking centres, those will meet criteria specified by

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) will be allowed to act as Collection and Purity Testing

1 Centres for purity of gold for the purpose of this scheme.

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PM Modi inaugurates 10th Vishwa Hindi Sammelan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the three-day (10th–12th September) 10th Vishwa

Hindi Sammelan (World Hindi Conference) at Lal Parade Ground, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

Theme – “Hindi Jagat: Vistar evam Sambhavnai” (World of Hindi: Expansion and Scope).

Aim – World Hindi conferences aim at universal recognition of Hindi as a language of not only

literature but also a language that is capable of adapting itself to modern science and technology.

Conference is organised by Ministry of External Affairs in cooperation with the Madhya

Pradesh government. Amitabh Bachchan, the brand ambassador of Gujarat, will arrive at

concluding ceremony.

Union Cabinet permits 100% FDI in White Label ATM Operations

Union Cabinet has allowed 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in White Label ATM

operations. This decision was taken byPrime Minister Narendra Modi in the Union Cabinet

meeting to promote financial inclusion in the country. It would help to increase the number of

ATMs in semi-urban as well as in rural areas. Currently more than 1.82 lakhs ATMs operated in

the country by 54 banks which includes public, private as well as foreign banks.

Union Cabinet approves National Offshore Wind Energy Policy

Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi,has given its approval to National

Offshore Wind Energy Policywhich would provide the roadmap for development of such plants

in the country. India is already among the world’s top producers of electricity from windmills on

land, with a capacity of more than23,000 mw.(Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy

Minister – Piyush Goyal)

Under this policy

• Ministry for new and renewable energy (MNRE) will be the nodal authority for

offshore wind power within Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

• National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) will be the nodal agency to allocate

offshore blocks for wind energy, coordinate with other ministries and development of

offshore wind energy in the country.

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• Development of offshore wind energy, including setting up of offshore wind power

projects and research and development activities, in waters, in or adjacent to the

country, up to the seaward distance of 200 nautical miles (exclusive economic zone or

EEZ of the country).

National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) will be the nodal agency for development of offshore

wind energy in the country.

Policy would help to achieve country’s targets for renewable energy and development of wind

energy. The government aims to add 1 lakh mw of solar energy capacity and 60,000 mw of wind

energy by 2022.

Manohar Parrikar commissions INS Vajrakosh at Karwar in Karnataka

Union Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar has commissioned the latest establishment of Indian

Navy, INS Vajrakosh at Karwarin Karnataka. It will serve as missile storage, handling and also

the maintenance facilities for warships in western coast.

INS Vajrakosh is the third naval establishment commissioned in Karwar.INS Vajrakosh along with

INS Kadamba is now World’s largest naval base east of the Suez Canal. INS Vajrakosh alone

occupies an area over 600 acre.

Union Cabinet approved constitution of 21st Law Commission of India

The Union Cabinet approved constitution of the 21st Law Commission of India for a period

of three years from September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2018.

The Law Commission will consist of

• Full-time chairperson.

• 4 full-time members including a member-secretary, a secretary for Department of Legal

Affairs, a secretary for Legislative Department.

• Part-time members (not exceeding five)

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Rajnath Singh inaugurates South Asian Sub-Regional Drug Focal Point Meeting in New

Delhi.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the three day meeting in New Delhi.Narcotics

Control Bureau (NCB) organized the sub regional Drug Focal Point Meeting and Drug Demand

Reduction (DDR) Expert group consultation, South Asia under the Colombo Plan Drug advisory

Programme.

40 Representatives from different participating countries namely, Afghanistan, Bangladesh,

Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka. Observer countries, USA and Myanmar

participated in the meeting.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) representative from Regional Office for South

Asia, New Delhi also participated in this meeting

• Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB) – Headquarters: New Delhi, DG – Rajiv Mehta IPS

• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) – Headquarters: Vienna , Austria

CCI imposed penalty on Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation for Contravening Competition

Law

• Competition Commission of India (CCI) found Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation

(KFEF), an association of theatre owners, to be conducting their activities in

contravention of Section 3 of the Competition Act, 2002. KFEF was not allowing

screening of Malayalam and Tamil films in its theatre since May 2013.

• CCI found that denial of Tamil and Malayalam language movies for screening due to the

interference of KFEF was found to be in contravention of section 3(1) read with section

3(3)(b) of the Act.

Centre to reduce its share of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan from 65% to 50%

• The central government has decided to decrease its shares of funding in the Sarva Siksha

Abhiyan (SSA) scheme which aimed at the universalisation of elementary education

from 65% to 50%.This decision was taken by Ministry of Human Resource Development.

• The revised Funding Ratio will be 50:50. The ratio of Centre-State funding, 90:10 would

remain same for the North – East region. The total resources available for students under

this scheme would remain unchanged.

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Railways to invest $140 billion, Japan to modernize station

• Japan has agreed tomodernize railway stations across India while participating in

the country’s 140 billion USD investment plan in the Railways over the next five

years.

• While agreeing for cooperation on modernisation and upgradation, Japan has agreed to

assist the public transporter in achieving its zero-accident mission.

• Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, who is in Japan to strengthen cooperation in rail

sector, held a series of high-level meetings withJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo

Abe, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso among other ministers

and senior officials.

Tamil Nadu attracts mega investments at Global Investors Meet

The two-days (2015 September 9-10) Global Investor Conference inaugurated by state chief

minister J. Jayalalithaaaimed at attracting investments into the state.

• Venue: Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

• Target: Rs.2.4 Lakh Crore investment

• Participants: TN government, 3000+ candidates from 9 partner countries and 30 non-

partner countries

• Partner countries: South Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Russia, UK,

Singapore

• Connectivity Partner: Reliance Jio

National web portal for apprenticeship training launched

Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani launched the national web portal at New Delhi

for promotion of a national apprenticeship scheme for Graduates, Diploma holders and 10+2

pass-outs vocational certificate holders.

• Logo and a Slogan – “Sashakt Yuva, Samarth Bharat”

• Aim – It aims to provide opportunities for practical training.

Features

• Multilingual platform – 4 languages – Marathi, Bengali, Tamil and Hindi.

• Mechanism of internal complaints committee, would also offer security for women at

workplace and ensure grievance redressal for the apprentice.

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• Portal enables door step delivery of service, streamlines processes and saves time for

students.

• Portal will enable viable contract for students and industry partnership.

• It will ensure seamless connectivity with all stake holders including students,

establishments and technical institutions across the country for transparent

administration through e-Governance.

The Union Minister stated that Ministry of Human Resource Development implements the

apprenticeship training scheme for one year through Board of Apprenticeship Training

(BOATs)/Board of Practical Training (BOPT) located at Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur and Kolkata.

The Union Minister asked the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and National Skill

Development Corporation (NSDC) to come together to expand the outreach and exposure

especially for class XI and XII students.

Rajasthan – 1st state to submit Atal Mission action plan

Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to submit State Annual Action Plan under Atal

Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) targeting universal coverage in

respect of water supply connections and sewerage connections to all urban households in the

state. (Rajasthan CM – Vasundhara Raje)

Rs. 555 crore has been proposed for 6 sewerage and septage management

projects andRs.344 crore for 10 water supply projects.

Under the State Annual Action Plan, AMRUT projects are proposed to be taken up in 13 of the 28

AMRUT cities in Rajasthan. These include

Water supply projects Sewerage and septage

management projects

Both water supply and

sewerage projects

3 cities

Alwar

Beawar

7 cities

Baran, Bhiwar, Bhilwara,

Chittorgarh, Dhaulpur,

Ganganagar City and

Sujangarh

3 cities

Bhiwadi

Sikar

Udaipur

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Nagaur

Mandatory reforms under AMRUT by state government

• It will create one website for each city

• Transfer all 18 functions to urban local bodies

• Revise building bye-laws

• Set up single window clearance for building permissions

• Ensure 90% coverage of tax revenue

• Undertake energy and water audit and migration to double entry accounting system in

the next 6 to 12 months.

Big B, Ratan Tata join hands for TB- free India

• Actor Amitabh Bachchan and business tycoon Ratan Tata have joined hands for the

Indian government’s initiative “Call to Action for a TB-free India”,aims to engaging

corporate, civil society and community leaders to eradicate the disease from the

country.

• They launched “Mumbai Dialogue: Towards a TB-Free India” to invite corporate

companies to support the cause.

• Richard Verma, US Ambassador to India, behind this initiative.

E-Tourist Visa scheme extended to 37 more countries

E-Visa facility would be extended to 37 more countries to attract maximum foreign tourists in

the country. It was announced by Tourism ministry at Indian Association of Tour Operators

(IATO), New Delhi.(Minister of Tourism – Shri. Shripad Yasso Naik) (Tourism secretary – Vinod

Zuthsi). Currently, there are e-Visa facilities to 113 countries which will go up to 150.

A total of 22,286 tourists used e-Visa facility to visit India in August this year, compared to 2705

in August, 2014

West Bengal to release 64 files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

• West Bengal CM, Mamata Banerjee announced that the government has decided to

put all files and documents related to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in the public

domain.

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• The total number of documents to declassify on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is 64 files

and these files will be put on display at Kolkata Police Museum

• West Bengal CM, Mamata Banerjee also announced to digitize the documents from the

period of 1937 to 1947.

• Netaji’s grandnephew, Chandra Kumar Bose commented this action as a positive

stepfrom the government

• All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), a party founded by Netaji himself in 1939. AIFB also

demanded that all files related to Netaji in the Centre and other states should be made

available to public.

• AIFB general secretary Debabrata Biswas said that these 64 files may not solve the

mystery of Netaji’s disappearance

India to buy Heron TP Drones from Israel

• Centre has approved to buy 10 Heron TP Drones worth of 400million

US$ fromIsrael.

• It will be operated by Indian Air Force.

• The Heron drones are equipped with air-to-ground missiles that can carry a payload

of1000kg.

• It is capable for flying for 52 hours of continuous flight at medium altitude levels.

• It can detect, track and take down targets deep in enemy territory.

• Heron drones are similar to the Predator unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are

capable of reconnaissance, combat and support roles.

Maharashtra to organize a three-day Tadoba Festival

• Maharashtra government set to hold a three-day ‘Tadoba festival’ in Mumbai .

• During this festival it plans to display its grand plans of making the tiger sanctuary

inChandrapur district as a world class entity.

• The state government will deliver its idea of upgrading all the six tiger reserves in the

state into ‘A-plus’ category.

• It also plan to build a five-star resort of the Maharashtra Tourism Development

Corporation (MTDC) which will be useful for the people from middle class and the

upper middle class who would want to visit the sanctuary

• 100 people will also be trained as guides and will be taught English, Hindi and

Marathi to converse with the tourists effectively.

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AUSINDEX-15: Maritime exercise between India and Australia at Visakhapatnam

The Bilateral Maritime Exercise between India and Australia ‘AUSINDEX-15’, conducted on the

east coast of India, at Visakhapatnam from 11 –19 September 15.

The exercise inaugurated by Rear Admiral Jonathan Mead, Head Navy Capability Royal

Australian Navy (RAN) and Rear Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, Flag Officer

Commanding Eastern Fleet onboard INS Shivilak at Visakhapatnam

Govt. to raise wage eligibility limit for Bonus

• Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya announced that the Centre has decided

to raise the wage eligibility limit to 21,000 per month as against Rs 10,000 or below

at present under the Payment of Bonus Act.

• In addition to that, the minimum amount of bonus to be paid would be raised from

the existing 3,500 to Rs. 7,000 per month.

• As per the sources, these were prepared two months ago and were supposed to be

introduced in the last session of Parliament.

Venezuelan film wins Top Honour at Venice Film Festival

• A Venezuelan film From Afar (Desde Alla) has won the top award The Golden Lion

prize at the Venice film festival and became the first ever Latin American film to

receive such an honour.

• It’s a directorial debut of Lorenzo Vigas in which he tells the story of a rich man who

gets sexually involved with a young man from one of the city’s gangs. It is based on a

story “21 Grams” written by Guillermo Arriaga.

• The jury was headed by the Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron of Gravity.

• Fabrice Luchini was adjudged Best Actor with Italy’s Valeria Golino as the Best

Actress.

• Apart from this, The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Argentinian

moviemaker,Pablo Trapero, for the gripping kidnap drama, The Clan and Venice’s

Grand Jury Prize went to the American animation feature film, Anomalisa.

The Special Jury Prizewas clinched by Emin Alper’s Frenzy.

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Centre imposed 20% safeguard duty on imported steel

• With an aim to provide relief for the steel sector which is struggling due to cheap

imports from China and the countries with which India has a free trade agreement,

Centre has decided to impose a 20 per cent safeguard duty on steel imports with

immediate effect.

• The provisional duty of 20 per cent will be applicable on import of hot-rolled flat

products of non-alloy and other alloy steel with a width of 600 mm or above and will

continue for200 days.

• The safeguard duty is superior to the import duty as it is applicable to all nations unlike

the import duty which excludes countries falling under free trade agreements so this will

also provide headroom to domestic steel producers to increase their prices and volumes,

provided that Chinese players do not reduce their prices further in turn.

• Point to be noted that, Safeguards duties are emergency measures that are WTO-

compliant and may be temporarily applied when imports pose a threat to the domestic

industry.

Hindi Sangam Foundation to organize Third International Hindi Conference in New

Jersey

• The US-based Hindi Sangam Foundation will organize the Third International Hindi

Conference at Rutgers University, New Jersey to promote Hindi in America from

March 4-6, 2016.

• On the success of second such Conference held at Rutgers University, New

Jersey in 2015. The Hindi Sangam Foundation has decided to hold the same venue for

the Third International Hindi Conference.

• The first such conference, Third International Hindi Conference held at New York

University in April 2014.

• Hindi Sangam Foundation, coordinator and Managing Trustee – Ashok Ojha

IISc, IIT-D in top 200 in QS World University Rankings 2015-16

India has made its debut in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) list of top 200 universities globally.

The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore(IISc) and the Indian Institute of Technology,

Delhi (IIT-D) have been placed 147 and 179 respectively in the QS World University Rankings

for 2015-16.

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Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) retains the top spot in the QS World University

Rankings for the fourth year running. Harvard is at second position.

• This is the 12th edition of QS’s annual ranking of the world’s top universities.

• QS uses six performance indicators to assess institutions’ global reputation, research

impact, staffing levels and international complexion.

• A total of 82 countries are represented in the QS World University Rankings this year,

with the largest shares claimed by the US (154)

President Pranab Mukherjee congratulated the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the

Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi for figuring in the top 200 in a global university ranking to

boosts the morale of the academic community.

Gujarat tops in ease of doing business in India: World Bank Report 2015

Aiming to enhance the country’s image as a friendly investment destination, the Department of

Industrial Policy and Promotion with technical assistance from the World Bank,

consultancy firm KPMG, and CII and FICCI has released a state-wise report on the ease

of doing business in which Gujarat has topped with a score of 71.14%.

States assessment

• Gujarat topped the category of complying with environmental procedures.

• Aspiring leaders title states (50% – 75%) – Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,

Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan

• Punjab leads in the area of setting up a business

• Maharashtra was ranked highest in obtaining infrastructure-related utilities

• Karnataka received the highest score on registering and complying with tax

procedures

• Jharkhand led the field in carrying out inspections

Sports Ministry Grants Recognition to Indian Kalarippayattu Federation as RSF

With an aim to promote and provide due acknowledgement and importance to sports having

regional spread, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has recognized the Indian

Kalarippayattu Federation (IKF) as Regional Sports Federation (RSF) with immediate

effect.

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Andhra Pradesh unveils “New Tourism Policy”

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu launched the ‘New Tourism Policy-2015-20‘ function

in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh with support from various government departments, industry

experts, inputs from Indian School of Business and consultancy firm KPMG

Aim: To develop AP as one of the most preferred tourist destinations through sustained

investments, robust infrastructure projects and services, and provides world-class tourist

experience.

Objective

– Facilitate investments of Rs 10,000 crore in the tourism sector.

– Raise its contribution to 7 per cent of the state GDP

– Create 5 lakh additional jobs by 2020.

Highlights

– Leading tour operators from across the country signed MOUs with the state government

entailing Rs 3,845 crore of investments.

– Policy coupled with tourism opportunities is to attract projects under the public-private

participation (PPP) mode.

– Projects with investment above Rs 200 crore will be treated as mega tourism

projects.

– The document provides incentives like reduction in VAT from 14 to 5 per cent,

reimbursement of land registration charges, waiver of entertainment tax for three years and lower

rate of electricity tariff, among others, for tourism plans.

Union Govt. formed Mihir Shah Committee to restructure water agencies

Seeking to carry forward the Gujarat-model of irrigation reform in the country and to quickly

complete the task of aquifer mapping to quantify available groundwater resources, the Centre has

constituted a seven-member committee to restructure the central water commission (CWC) and

the central ground water board(CGWB) – the two key central bodies that manage water

resources in India.

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• The committee, headed by ex-planning commission member Mihir Shah, has been

asked to submit its report in three months so that government can make a policy

framework to utilize available water resources in the country in a better way.

The committee has been asked to:

• Work on water resource planning, augmenting and budgeting in an integrated manner.

• undertake an elaborate mapping exercise as part of river basin planning, which will

include mapping and characterising of aquifers.

• suggest ,measures to ensure water availability to farmers through creating last-mile

connectivity.

Since more than 60% of the available water is used for irrigation purpose, the focus of the

panel would be to recommend suitable re-orientation and restructuring of the CWC and the CGWB

at river basin and sub-basin level to take care of the needs of farming sector.

States seek review of ban on CMs’ photos in ads

The Supreme Court sought the Centre’s response on pleas made by several State governments,

including Tamil Nadu, to review its verdict banning the publication of photographs of Chief

Ministers in government advertisements.

States Argument:

• The States argued that they enjoy autonomy in a federal structure of governance, and

so, if the court can allow the Prime Minister’s photographs to be published in

government advertisements heralding new projects and welfare schemes, Chief

Ministers too have every right to have their photos published.

Supreme Court’s ban on photos in ads:

• The Supreme Court, in its May 13 judgment, had banned ruling parties from publishing

photos of Chief Ministers, political leaders and politicians in government-funded

advertisements, saying that it cannot allow them to use taxpayers’ money to build a

“personality cult.”

• The apex court said such photos divert attention from the policy of the government,

unnecessarily associate an individual with a government project and pave the way for

cultivating a “personality cult.”

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• Exception: The photos of only three constitutional authorities — Prime Minister,

President and Chief Justice of India can be used in such ads.

• But for that too, the personal approval of these three authorities need to be got before

publication.

• Later SC setup Madhava Menon Committee to look into this issue.

MGNREGA: 50 days extra work in drought-hit areas

• The Centre has decided to provide additional 50 days of work in drought-hit areas under

the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme, to

provide relief to farmers in view of deficit monsoon

• Presently, 100 days of work is provided to rural job card holders under the Mahatma

Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Tamil Nadu government to set up Tamil Nadu Fibernet Corporation

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha announced to set up Tamil Nadu Fibernet

Corporation in order to implement the Central Government’s Bharatnet scheme.

• The total cost of the Tamil Nadu Fiber net Corporation t is Rs 3000 crore. This project

aims to link 12524 villages through optical fibre network

• She has also announced Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services to all

households of Tamil Nadu to use of the ISP service obtained by the Tamil Nadu Arasu

Cable TV Corporation. Main aim of this initiative is to provide quality internet

service to all households of Tamil Nadu.

Indian Railways tie up with Google to provide free Wi-Fi service

• Google has partnered with RailTel to provide free Wi-Fi services under

Project Nilgiri.which covers 400 railway stations across the country.

• The first phase of this project which covers 400 Wi-Fi hotspots scheduled to be

completed in four months.

• Railtel has Optic fiber network through railway tracks in rural as well as urban areas

which cover 70 per cent of India’s population.

• Currently Indian Railway offers Wi-Fi service to certain trains and Railway stations.

• The Wi-Fi service is available to the passengers on their mobiles for the first 30

minutes with free.

• To use beyond 30 minutes the users may purchase the scratch cards which are

available at Wi-Fi Help Desks.

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• These scratch cards are priced at Rs 25 and Rs 35 for 30 minutes and an

hourrespectively and both are valid for 24 hours.

• RailTel Public Relation Manager: Sucharita Pradha

FSSAI proposes new safety rules for siddha and ayurvedic products

• FSSAI proposes norms to check mislabeling of ‘Health Supplements’.

• Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has framed regulations for

products based on ayurveda, sidhha, unani as well as other traditional health

systems.

• It has fixed limits including maximum usage levels per day for food supplement

products based on ayurveda, siddha and unani.

• The proposed levels of the maximum usage for the ingredients such as ghee, curd,

butter, honey, gold, gold foil, silver, pearl, milk of cow, buffalo and camel in ayurveda,

siddha and unani ingredients based food supplement products.

Union Cabinet approves Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission

In an ambitious bid to transform rural areas to economically, socially and physically sustainable

spaces, the Union Cabinet approved the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission

(SPMRM) as per announced in the budget 2014-15.

Project outlay – 5142.08 Crore

Aim - Development of rural growth clusters which have latent potential for growth, in all States

and UTs, which would trigger overall development in the region.

– To create 300 Rurban growth clusters over the next 3 years.

Objective - To improve the quality of life of people in the cluster, bridging the rural-urban divide

and reducing distress migration from rural to urban areas.

Replacement

This scheme will replace the PURA (Provision of Urban Amenities to Rural Areas) scheme which

was failed because that was limited to private sector only.

Identification of clusters

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The State Governments would identify the clusters in accordance with the Framework for

Implementation prepared by the Ministry of Rural Development. The clusters will be

geographically contiguous Gram Panchayats with a population of

– 25000 to 50000 in plain

– 5000 to 15000 in desert, hilly or tribal areas

Funding pattern

• The funding for Rurban Clusters will be through various schemes of the Government

converged into the cluster.

• SPMRM will provide an additional funding support of up to 30 percent of the project cost

per cluster as Critical Gap Funding (CGF).

• In addition to the Critical Gap Funding, proactive steps have been taken to ensure the

success of the mission with adequate budget provisions for supporting the State

Government

14 components desirable for the cluster

Sanitation Village streets and drains

Upgrading education facilities Agri Services

Street lights Inter-village road connectivity

Digital Literacy Provision of piped water supply

Providing citizen service centres LPG gas connections

Solid and liquid waste management Public transport

Citizen Service Centres Fully equipped mobile health unit

The Mission envisages institutional arrangements both at the State and Center to ensure smooth

implementation of the Mission. The Mission also has an Innovation budget towards facilitating

research, development and capacity building.

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Delhi government approves “Victim Compensation Scheme”

The Delhi Government cleared the long-pending proposal for revising the compensation amount

under the Victims Compensation Scheme. The scheme will cover various categories of victims.

• Delhi Chief Minister – Arvind Kejriwal

• Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson – Swati Maliwal

Under scheme

– The scheme includes victims of gang-rape, unnatural sexual offences and burns.

– Compensation in cases of death will range from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh from earlier 3-5

lakh

– For rape victims compensation will be Rs.5 lakh from existing Rs.3 lakh

– To the victims of acid attack compensation will range from Rs.7 lakh from Rs.3 lakh.

– The scheme also proposes same amount of compensation for those with loss of any limb

resulting in 80 per cent permanent disability.

The proposal is now being sent to the Union ministry of home affairs for approval.

FM Arun Jaitley launches superior broadcast NXT DIGITAL

Union Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Arun

Jaitley launched the Hinduja Ventures Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS), a digital initiative under

the brand name NXT DIGITAL, which is to be a boon for the digitalisation mission and Make in

India initiatives. This digital broadcasting platform will provide over 500 TV channels to cable

operators.

Project outlay – Rs.5, 000 crore

Aim - To tap the transition from analog to digital mode of cable TV services under the

government’s digitisation drive.

Features: All the application development for the NXT Digital platform has been designed and

built 100 per cent in India. This cutting-edge technology and software will allow cable networks

and subscribers alike, to harness the power of global innovative solutions right here in India,

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• HITS will serve Multi System Operators (MSOs) as well as Local Cable Operators

(LCOs).

• NXT DIGITAL has designed the COPE (Cable Operator Premise Equipment) systems to

cater specifically to Indian conditions.

• Facilitate over 100 million homes go digital in Phase III and IV markets.

• Enable thousands of entrepreneurial cable operators to make a transition from analog to

digital across an estimated 120 million homes in India.

Services

The new service will enable cable operators to be independent, retain network ownership and go

digital as per Government mandate and deadlines.

– The customers will have a choice and pay for what they want to see.

NXT Digital has tied up with training institutes to train and equip youth in smaller towns and

markets in India with the necessary skills required for supporting a digital India, under “Skill India

initiative”.

These measures would support the transition of analogue television networks to digital by

providing a pan-India network of trained service technicians.

Andhra Pradesh accomplished country’s first river linking project

In an attempt to make it the first drought-proof state in the country, India’s first river-linking

project, linking rivers Godavariand Krishna has been accomplished in Andhra Pradesh. An

agreement between Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh allows AP to

divert 80 tmc (thousand million cubic) of water from the Godavari to meet the needs of the

Krishna delta.

As per the officials, the first pump of the lift scheme for diverting 80 tmc of waters from the

Godavari into the Krishna, a distance of around 160 km, started its operations

from 16thSeptember.

Tamil Nadu government announces housing scheme worth Rs. 1,700 Crore

• Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalitha has announced the housing scheme of worth Rs 1,700 crore.

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• The state government would build 2,300 flats with all facilities at Ambattur in Chennai

at a cost of Rs 380 crore. She assured the cost of each two-bedroom flat will be

belowRs 20 lakh.

• Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) would build 2,800 housing units at a cost of Rs.

674 crore would in the districts of Cuddalore, Kancheepuram, Krishnagiri, Madurai,

Salem, Tiruchi and Vellore.

• Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board would build 12,500 housing units in various

corporations and municipality limits at a cost of Rs. 457 crore this current financial

year. The slum clearance board would be sanctioned Rs. 10 crore for maintenance

and repair of the old buildings which were constructed by it.

Union Cabinet bans Naga militant group for five years

• Union Cabinet banned Naga militant group NSCN-K, for five years that has been

involved in a series of attacks, including the killing of 18 soldiers of the Army

in Manipurin June.

• The decision has been taken at a meeting by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• NSCN-K terror group, headed by S S Khaplang banned under the Unlawful Activities

Prevention Act (UAPA)

Gov Is Launching Its Own Operating System ‘BOSS’ To Replace Microsoft Windows

• As a step towards” make in India” initiative or “Digital India movement” Indian

government to launch its new and improved version of the operating system

(OS), named Bharat Operating System Solutions (BOSS) which it plans to

replace all other OS, including the most popular Microsoft Windows in future.

• The new OS BOSS is a Linux distribution, developed by C-DAC (Centre for

Development of Advanced Computing) with the help of Gujarat Technical

University, DRDO and private computer manufacturers.

Cabinet approved the promulgation of Negotiable Instruments Act

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved a

proposal to promulgate the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment)

Ordinance, 2015 for the second time to make prosecution easier in cheque

bounce cases by allowing filing of cases where it is presented for receiving

payments.

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• The proposed amendments to the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 are

focused on clarifying the jurisdiction related issues for filing cases for offence in

case of cheques committed undersection 138 of the act.

Cabinet agrees creation of posts of directors for 4 new NIDs

• Union Cabinet has agreed to create four posts of directors for four new National

Institute of Design (NIDs) at,

o Kurukshetra – Haryana

o Bhopal – Madhya Pradesh

o Jorhat – Assam

o Vijayawada – Andhra Pradesh

• According to, National Design Policy 2007, this decision was taken by the Prime

Minister Narendra Modi.

• Cabinet has already approved the financial suggestions including the salaries of these 4

new National Institute of Design (NID) directors.

• Chairman of National Institute of Design (NID):Anand Mahindra

• Headquarters of (NID):Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Centre to discontinue stamps of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi

• Government decides to withdraw postal stamps of the former Prime Ministers Indira

Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi which comes under “Builders of Modern India” theme.

• Union Minister, Ravi Sankar Prasad said, stamps should not focus on just one family

but honour everyone who contributed to the making of India.

• As per the advice of Philatelic Advisory Committee, it was decided to issue a

definitive series of stamps to represent the diversity of India.

The revised list which comes under “Makers of India” theme includes

• Mahatma Gandhi

• Bhagat Singh

• Jawaharlal Nehru

• Mother Teresa

• Sardar Patel

• Maulana Azad

• Subhas Chandra Bose

• Dr. Rajendra Prasad

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• Jayaprakash Narayan

• Deen Dayal Upadhyay

• Syama Prasad Mookerjee

• Ram Mahohar Lohia

• Vivekananda

• Rabindranath Tagore

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak

• Maharana Pratap

• Shivaji and others.

EPFO raises PF insurance amount to Rs. 6 lakh

• Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has decided to increase the Employees

Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme from the current Rs 3.60 lakh to Rs 6

lakh.

• The Apex decision making body of EPFO, Central Board of

Trustees (CBT) has taken the decision at 208th CBT meeting in Hyderabad.

• CBT has also removed the condition of continuous employment of one year in a

company by the contributors.

• Employees Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme will benefit four crore

members of the EPFO.

• Union labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya has also launched an EPF mobile

apprecently that would enable subscribers to access their Provident Fund (PF) details

through their smart phones.

Govt mulls raising FDI limit in private banks to 100%

• Seeking to further relax foreign investment norms, the government is considering

increasing the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in private banks to 100%, from

the existing 74%.

• The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has sent a proposal to hike

the FDI limit in the private banking industry to the Department of Financial Services for

its comments.

• Currently, 74% FDI is permitted in the private sector banking, of which up to 49% is

allowed under the automatic route and beyond that through the approval of the Foreign

Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

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India’s ranking slipped to 81st in Global Innovation Index 2015

Despite outperforming its peers in the Central and Southern Asian Region (CSA) and proving

itself as innovation achiever in the lower-middle income category, India has slipped further

to81 in the list of Global Innovation Index (GII), compared to76 in 2014.

The ranking consisted of 141 economies across the world on their innovation capacity and

efficiency, using 79 indicators to gauge both innovative capabilities and measurable results.

Other Key Facts:

• The GII study was published by Cornell University, INSEAD France and World

Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

• Switzerland, UK, Sweden, The Netherlands and US are the world’s five most

innovative nations.

Govt launches three mobile-based services for EPF members

Union Minister of State for Labour & Employment (Independent Charge), Shri Bandaru

Dattatraya launched three new mobile based services for Employees’ Provident Fund

(EPF) members namely Mobile Application, SMS based UAN Activation and Missed Call

service on the eve of the 208thmeeting of the Central Board of Trustees (EPF) in Hyderabad.

Key Facts:

• The new mobile application can be downloaded from the EPFO website –

epfindia.gov.in

• There will be a new SMS based Universal Account Number (UAN) activation

service which enables members to activate their accounts by sending an SMS

to7738299899. Once activated, the member becomes eligible to all services envisaged

in UAN programme such as credit alerts, passbook etc. This new service is especially

helpful to such members who may not have easy access to computers or smart phones.

• EPFO has already in place a Short Code SMS service which has enabled the members in

knowing their details along with contribution and PF Balance through an SMS at

7738299899. As an extension to this service, the Missed Call service is intended to

further ease the process since only a missed call at 01122901406 (toll-free), would

provide him all the envisaged details. As this facility is available only to the UAN

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activated members, such facility will speed up the UAN activation process by the

members.

• The members would be able to activate their UAN accounts from the comfort of their

mobile phones and can also access their accounts for viewing their monthly credits

through the passbook as well as view their details available with EPFO.

• EPF pensioners have been given the facility to access their pension disbursement details

through this mobile app.

• Moreover, the employer can also view their remittance details.

NHAI global arm to build roads in Iran, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will soon set up a separate global body –

NHAI International with an aim to build roads and highways in Iran, Sri

Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan.

Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) launched by Government of

India

The Central Government announced the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan

Yojana (PMKKKY) aimed to provide basic amenities and for the welfare of areas and people

affected by mining related operations, using the funds generated by District Mineral

Foundations (DMFs).

(Minister of mines and steel – Shri Narendra Singh Tomar)

• On January 12, 2015 The Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Amendment Act,

2015, mandated the setting up of District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) in all districts in the

country affected by mining related operations.

Objective of Scheme

• To implement various developmental and welfare projects/programs in mining affected

areas

• To minimize the adverse impacts, during and after mining, on the environment, health

and socio-economics of people in mining districts

• To ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods for the affected people in mining areas.

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Funding

Government notified the rates of contribution payable by miners to the DMF as follows:

• Mining leases executed before 12th January, 2015 miners will have to contribute an

amount equal to 30% of the royalty payable by them to the DMFs.

• Mining leases are granted after 12th January, 2015 the rate of contribution would

be10% of the royalty payable.

• The DMFs in all districts will use this additional income for implementation of Pradhan

Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana.

Utilisation of Funds

Under the PMKKKY, the government has put special emphasis on several aspects of what can be

defined as a healthy lifestyle.

• In High priority areas at least 60% of PMKKKY funds to be utilized like drinking

water supply, health care, sanitation, education, skill development, women and child

care, welfare of aged and disabled people, skill development and environment

conservation.

• For other priority Areas up to 40% of the PMKKKY to be utilized like on making

roads, bridges, railways, waterways projects, irrigation and alternative energy sources.

• The Central Government has issued guidelines to the State Governments, under Section

20A of the MMDR Act, 1957, for implementation of PMKKKY and directing the States to

incorporate the same rules framed by them for the DMFs.

• Centre Government directed the DMFs to maintain the utmost transparency in their

functioning and provide periodic reports on the various projects and schemes taken up by

them.

Kerala’s Perumanna Grama Panchayat becomes first Panchayat to declare a water

policy

• To overcome water scarcity and to carry out remedial measuresPerumanna

Grama Panchayat in Kozhikode district of Keralahas become the first

Panchayat in the State, to declare a water policy on the lines of the State

government’ s water policy declared in 2008

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• The water policy of Perumanna was drafted with the help of the Centre for

Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM),

Kunnamangalam, after a detailed study of water resources and usage in the

panchayat over the last two years.

• The panchayat has drafted a 13-point action plan to ensure proper utilisation

and conservation of water in its 18 wards.

Highlights of Policy

• To increase water literacy in the panchayat through extensive awareness

programmes.

• Large scale use of water that would have an impact on environment will be discouraged.

• There will be a water conservation volunteer in every neighborhoods group.

• Panchayat will be garbage free by 2020, thus eliminating water pollution completely.

• The amount of clean water required for each activity in the panchayat till 2030 will be

estimated.

• The distribution of water will be arranged taking into consideration the necessity and

availability of water that the water cycle is completed.

• Water conservation committees have been formed at ward level as well as

panchayat level, which work in tandem with the committees for agriculture, basic

development, education, health and industrial development. It should incorporate in its

activities the essence of the water and environment policy of the State government.

PM launches financial inclusion initiative in Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his tour to Varanasi launched important schemes relating to

power and road sectors as a part of financial inclusion initiative.

Under Financial Inclusion initiative

• A total of 101 e-rickshaws, 501 pedal rickshaws, and push-carts are being given as

part of this initiative.

• Beneficiaries will also get bank accounts and RuPay cards under the Pradhan Mantri

Jan Dhan Yojana.

• E-rickshaws are equipped with digital gadgets including GPRS and cameras

• Inaugurated a trauma centre at the Banaras Hindu University through a remote

control from the DLW grounds

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• Laid the foundation stones of Integrated Power Distribution System, Varanasi Ring

Road Phase I and development of NH-58 from Babatpur airport to Varanasi city

square.

The initiative has been synergized through various financial institutions including SIDBI, IDBI

Bank, UCO Bank and the American India Foundation. Senior officials of these organizations

were present on the occasion.

The Prime Minister declared that this event marked the beginning of an initiative that would bring

about a change in the fortunes of the people of Varanasi.

International textile fair VASTRA to be held in Jaipur

• The Fourth edition of the International textile fair ‘VASTRA’ will be held at Sitapura-

basedJaipur Exhibition & Convention Centre (JECC).

• More than 300 overseas buyers from 56 countries would participate in VASTRA and

Over 50 Indian buying houses would participate from Delhi, Maharashtra, Jharkhand,

West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The three-day

exposition will cover around 250 stalls.

• Mrs Veenu Gupta, Principal Secretary, Industries and Marketing Director, RIICO said,

“The USA, the UK, Japan, Australia, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Bulgaria,

Africa, the UAE, among others, would participate in the International Textile and apparel

fair”.

Ministry of Environment Recommends Ban on Multidose Vial of Diclofenac

• Based on Ministry of Environment recommendations, Ministry of Health and Family

Welfare has banned the sale of Diclofenac in multidose vial. It will be sold only in

single-dose vial packaging.

• The commonly-used anti-inflammatory drug for cattle is considered the chief cause for

the steep decline in the number of vultures in recent years.

• The drug is harmless to the cattle, but is fatal for the vultures. Studies have shown that

the drug causes kidney and liver failure in vultures.

• Earlier, in 2006, the GOI had imposed a ban on the use of Diclofenac for treating cattle.

Odisha celebrates the Festival Nuakhai

• Nuakhai, is a festival of Harvest observed by the people of western Odisha in India.

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• Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik have

greeted the people of Odisha on this festival.

• Prime Minister, Narendra Modi said in a statement, “Nuakhai Juhar! Greetings to the

people of Odisha as they celebrate the festival of Nuakhai. May this festival further

happiness in society.”

India-Kuwait Joint Working Group 4th meeting held in New Delhi

• The 4th edition of India-Kuwait Joint Working Group on Hydrocarbons was held

inNew Delhi.

• Ashutosh Jindal, Joint Secretary (International Cooperation), Ministry of Petroleum &

Natural Gas and Dr. Ahmad Al-Qattan, representative of the Kuwaiti Oil Sector were

participated in the meeting.

• The previous meeting of India-Kuwait Joint Working Group was held in Kuwait

• Kuwait is the fourth largest oil supplier to India after Saudi Arabia, Iraq and

Venezuela.

Madhya Pradesh launches M-Shiksha-Mitra mobile app for teachers.

• Madhya Pradesh School Education Minister, Paras Jain has launched M-Shiksha-

Mitramobile app for teachers.

• It has been developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC)

• M-Shiksha-Mitra mobile app has more number of facilities which will ease the work of

teachers in a simple way.

• Teachers can download this app from Google Play Store of their Android Phone.

• Teachers can apply for leave through this application and also mark their

attendance.

• They can register grievances relates to school and student with photograph. The

can also register Out Of School Childrens(OOSC)/ Children With Special Needs(CWSN)

• Teachers can View their pay slip, NPS details, circulars, alerts, notices, scholarship

details of student and also birthday of their colleague.

• M-Shiksha-Mitra mobile app also provides 200 free SMSs to the users.

Supreme Court launches portal to track cases pending at district courts

The Supreme Court of India launched a public access portal of theNational Judicial Data Grid

(NJDG) for district courts to demystify the judicial process for the ordinary citizen.

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NJDG inaugurated by Supreme Court judge Justice M.B. Lokur.

AIM: Promoting transparency and access to information for all stakeholders in the justice delivery

system

Portal URL: ecourts.gov.in

ABOUT PORTAL

• The public access portal designed under the guidance of Chief Justice of India H.L.

Dattu.

• The public access portal will disseminate national, State, district and court-wise

information about institution and disposal of cases on a monthly basis.

• It would also separately provide data and details of cases filed by senior citizens and

women.

• It will give consolidated figures of pendency of cases in district judiciaries across the

country which will be left open for being accessed by anyone visiting the National

eCourts portal.

• The pendency statistics would be updated on a daily basis by district court complexes.

The pendency would be broken into civil and criminal cases, segregated into year-wise

categories of up to 2 years, between 2-5 years, between 5-10 years and more than 10

years.

• The public access page also has feature of monitoring alerts.

Indian Railways Develops Hybrid Vacuum Toilets

As per announced in the Budget 2015, Development Cell of the Railway Board has come up with a

design that combines the advantages of vacuum toilets and those of Bio toilets to create

a new design of “Hybrid Vacuum Toilet”.

• The concept of a hybrid vacuum toilet is a first ever system of its kind to have been

developed and built by any railway system in the world.

• One such toilet has been fitted in one coach No. 153002/C FAC that is running inDibrugarh

Rajdhani for trail purpose.

‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan in UN high level advisory group

Elattuvalapil Sreedharan, Principal adviser of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation

(DMRC) accepted an invitation ofUnited Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to serve on

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his High-Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport (HLAG-ST).(Nick name – Metro

man)

The service period is three years and Sreedharan has accepted the offer who is also a Kerala

State planning Board Member.

UIDAI shifted to IT Ministry from NITI Aayog

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which issues Aadhaar cards, has

been shifted to the administrative control of the ministry of communication and information

technology from NITI Aayog.

(Aadhaar is a 12-digit individual identification number issued by UIDAI)

(Ministry of Communications & Information Technology and Law & Justice – Mr. Ravi Shankar

Prasad)

• The decision to shift UIDAI from NITI Aayog has been taken, keeping in mind the

government’s ambitious “Digital India” programme as the Aadhaar numbers are being linked

with several services.

Delhi, Mumbai among world’s cheapest cities to live in: UBS

Swiss Bank UBS released the 16th edition of its UBS Prices and Earnings study, which examines

prices, wages and earners purchasing power in 71 cities worldwide. The study, published roughly

every three years since 1971 compiles over 68,000 data points reflecting economic events that

have shaped the world since the last edition in 2012.

CHEAPEST PLACES IN WORLD TO LIVE IN

• As per report New Delhi and Mumbai are among the cheapest places in the world to live,

along with Sofia in Bulgaria and Bucharest in Romania.

• In these four cities, the wages were among the lowest of the 71 locations around the

world.

• The Ukrainian capital Kyiv the cheapest city in the world.

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The reason for the Indian cities scoring high on the lower end is attributed to inequality between

the richest and poorest in India’s major cities which keeps wages and prices low, while spending is

also stifled by government subsidies.

EXPENSIVE PLACES IN WORLD TO LIVE

• Zurich is the most expensive city in the world, which is followed by Geneva, New York

and Oslo.

• London is the fifth most expensive city in the world to live in but wage levels have failed

to keep up compared to other major centres. It was ranked 13th when it came to

comparison of gross salaries.

Election Commission releases NOTA symbol for all polls

Ahead of Bihar assembly polls, Election Commission of India (ECI) launched the new symbol for

the “None of The Above” (NOTA)option, wherein voter can exercise the franchise but the vote

will not go any candidates bucket.

• The symbol for NOTA option was designed by the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.

PM Modi launches Rs 45,000 crore IPDS scheme to strengthen power distribution

With a goal to provide 24-hour power supply to each and every house of the nation, Prime

Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched the National Integrated Power Development

Scheme (IPDS). (Union Power Minister – Piyush Goel)

OUTLAY - Rs 45,000 crore – Country & Rs 572 crore rupees – Varanasi

AIM - To provide 24X7 power supply to all by 2022

OBJECTIVES OF IPDS

• Strengthening sub-transmission and distribution system, including provisioning of solar

panels

• Metering of distribution transformers/feeders/consumer in urban areas

• IT enablement of distribution sector and strengthening of distribution network as per

CCEA approval dated 21.06.2013 for completion of targets laid down under Restructured

Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (RAPDRP).

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• Roof-top solar panel will be installed in government buildings.

• IPDS will help in reduction in AT&C losses (Aggregate Technical & Commercial).

• IT enabled energy accounting / auditing system will be established.

• Two sub-stations will be set up in Varanasi to help improve power distribution

infrastructure in the city.

• Kashi street lights will be converted into LED lights.

India and Lao PDR sign two MoUs on Air Services and Quick Impact Projects

• India and Laos has signed two MoU’s on air services and Quick Impact Projects. These

agreements were inked during the visit of our Vice-President Hamid Ansari to Lao

People’s Democratic Republic.

• Maykonh Phonephommavong, DG, Department of Irrigation, Lao presented the work

completion and handing over certificate of the Champassack Irrigation project to R

K Gupta, Chairman and MD, WAPCOS Limited of India at a ceremony at the

Presidential Palace “Ho Kham” of Lao.

• The Vice President also visited That Luang or the Great Stupa, in Vientiane. It is the

national symbol of Lao PDR.

Manohar Parrikar adopts Barauliya village in Amethi

• Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has adopted Barauliya village in Amethi

under Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojna.

• Amethi is the Parliamentary constituency of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

• Manohar Parrikar is also a Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh.

• Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani who lost against Rajiv Gandhi in general elections

2014 also visits the constituency frequently.

• She will visit Amethi to distribute 50,000 fruit-bearing trees among the villagers on

this month.

Historic accord signed between Nyishis and Apatanis

Leaders of the Apatani and Nyishi tribes of Arunachal Pradesh signed an accord in presence

of Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Nabam Tuki in capital city Itanagar. This agreement

will lead to new era of peaceful co-existence and social harmony.

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• The accord with eight resolutions was signed by Bengia Tulom – President of Nyishi

Elite Society (NES) and Dr Hage Loder – President of Tani Supum Dukum (TSD) at

Ziro town.

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS OF ACCORD

• Both the communities resolved to maintain the age-old social relations prevailing since

time immemorial.

• Both the communities shall activate more social and communal harmony.

• The district headquarter shall be expanded to accommodate and ensuring equal

participation in the facilities and developmental process by the Nyishis and the Apatanis.

• The traditional system of revenge in both the tribes shall be strictly denounced

and prohibited so as to avoid victimisation of the innocents.

• Both the communities shall encourage their members to participate in the traditional

festivals, like Nyokum Yullo, Dree, Boori-Boot Yullo, Longte, Myoko so that the

younger generations shall have opportunities to intermingle so as to learn and respect

each other’s culture.

• Government would also encourage inter-tribe marriages by rewarding such couples

with Rs 50,000.

• No differences or disputes will ever take a communal colour, caste, creed and

community

PM Narendra Modi to address India-US Start-Up Konnect 2015

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the India-US Startup Konnect and share his vision on

“Start up India, Stand up India” as part of his US visit.

START- UP KONNECT 2015 HOST PARTNERS

• IT industry NASSCOM to organize the Startup Konnect 2015 in partnership with TiE

Silicon Valley and IIM Ahmedabad business incubator CIIE on 27 September.

• It highlight the multiple dimensions of Indian innovation capabilities, represented by

more than 30 startups across a variety of sectors such as agriculture, healthcare,

energy, financial inclusion, and biotechnology, leading technology in the country.

• The startups will exhibit products, prototypes and achievements to their investors and

other potential Valley partners.

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AGREEMENTS TO BE FRAMED

• NASSCOM will sign an agreement with TiE Silicon Valley to facilitate a start-up

exchange and collaboration programme.

• IIM Ahmedabad’s business incubator CIIE will also sign MOUs with corporates and

academic partners in the US to collaboratively build and scale-up disruptive

innovations for India, through financial assistance and collaboration.

Modi is expected to meet Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and electric

carmaker Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk

AIBS formed for Banjara’s Rights

• All India Banjara Sangh(AIBS), an independent organization has formed to fight for

thepending issues of the Banjara community.

• Maharashtra MLC Haribhau Rathod was as elected as the first national

president of the AIBS and the organization will have representations from all states of

the country.

• The organization demanded that the community would be removed from the Other

Backward Classes (OBC) list and a separate category be created for them with a grant of

7% reservation.

• Next year, A mega rally would be organized at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi by the All

India Banjara Sangh(AIBS)

Government hikes import duty by 5% on edible oils

• According to a notification of Central Board of Excise and Customs import duty on

crude and refined edible oil by 5%

• The crude oil has been raised from 7.5% to 12.5% while the refined edible oil has

been raised from 15% to 20 %.

• As per the statement of SEA Executive Director B V Mehta, the current import duty

hike will not support farmers to a great extent. The industry demanded substantial hike

in duty of crude edible oil to 25 % and refined oil to 45 %, to support farmers.

• The country’s 60% of annual edible oil demand of 18-19 million tones is met through

the imports from the foreign countries namely, Malaysia and Indonesia.

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“Swavlamban Health Insurance Scheme” for persons with disabilities

The Trust Fund for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Department of

Empowerment of People with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment,

signed MoU with the New India Assurance Company Limitedon providing affordable Health

Insurance Scheme “Swavlamban Health Insurance Scheme” for the Persons with

Disabilities (PwDs).

• Shri Awanish Kumar Awasthi, Secretary, Trust Fund for Empowerment of Persons with

Disabilities and Neera Saxena, Deputy General Manager, The New India Assurance

Company Limited, inked the MoU in the presence of Mr. Luv Verma, Secretary, Department

of Empowerment of People with Disabilities.

OBJECTIVE

• Providing affordable Health Insurance to persons with blindness, low vision, leprosy-

cured, hearing impairment, loco-motor Disability, mental Retardation and mental

Illness.

• To improve the general Health condition & quality of life of persons with disabilities.

ABOUT SCHEME

• The scheme has been designed to deliver comprehensive cover to the beneficiary

as well as his family (PwD, Spouse & up to two children) has a single premium across

age band and can be availed by PwDs aged between 18 years and 65 years.

• Family annual income of less than Rs. 3,00,000 per annum.

• Ensures coverage of any pre-existing condition and a health Insurance cover up to

Rs. 2, 00,000 per annum as family floater.

The scheme will be implemented through active participation of the National Institutes and

Composite Regional Centres for Persons with Disabilities (CRC’s) under the DEPwD, MOSJ&E*.

*DEPwD – Department Of Empowerment of Person with Disability

MoSJE – Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa inaugurates butterfly park at Vandalur

• Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalitha has inaugurated a butterfly park from the

secretariat.

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• The butterfly park has constructed at an estimated cost Rs.4 crore over the 6.7 acres

of land at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park at Vandalur.

• The park includes 200 species of plants and trees and will have a conductive

atmosphere for the butterflies.

• She has also inaugurated River Cauvery Interpretation Centre at Kallanai dam

inThanjavur.

First NIMZ to come up in Andhra Pradesh

• Andhra Pradesh is set to house India’s first National Investment and Manufacturing

Zone (NIMZ) over the 10km of land in Prakasham district.

• Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has relaxed the requirement of

land for setting up an NIMZ, from 50 sq km to 10 sq km.

• DIPP has approved totally 12 NIMZs till now. The NIMzs are namely Nagpur

(Maharashtra), Medak (Telangana), Chittor( Rajasthan), Kalinganagar (Odisha) and

Tumkur, Kolar, Gulbarga, Bidar in Karnataka etc.,

• Andhra Pradesh has estimated that the NIMZ would create opportunities for 20,500

direct jobs and 29,200 indirect jobs and attract an investment of over Rs 43,500 crore.

Weeklong Ladakh Festival celebration begins at Leh

• The 7-day celebration of Ladakh festival has started in Leh town of Jammu &

Kashmir. Ladakh festival has been organized by the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism

Department and concerned stakeholders.

• During the traditional festival, ethnic, religious and cultural life of the people in Ladakh

is presented to visitors.

“Committee” to tackle child pornography and online abuse

Tackling child pornography and online abuse government decided to set up an expert

committee to prepare a roadmap for effectively tackling cybercrime submitted its report to the

Home Ministry.

(Union Home Minister – Rajnath Singh)

• Government asked Internet Service Providers to block over 800 sites which had child

porn content

OUTLAY - Rs 400 crore

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Gov Cleared $2.5B Deal for Military Helicopters”Apache & Chinook”

The Cabinet Committee on Security approved the purchase ofBoeing’s Apache and Chinook

helicopters for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in a deal worth around $2.5 billion which

includes22 Apache attack and 15 heavy lift Chinook helicopters.

• It is the single biggest defence contract signed in the first 16 months of the NDA

government.

• Defence ministry to pay 15% of the negotiated value at the time of signing the

contract while the balance payments are made in accordance with the delivery schedule.

Coast Guard commissions ICGS Apoorva and C421

Two Indian Coast Guard Ships (ICGS) Apoorva and interceptor boat C-421 were commissioned by

Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, Western Naval Command, Mumbai and Vice Admiral

Surindar Pal Singh Cheema off the naval dockyard in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• ICGS FPV Apoorva is commanded by Commandant Dinesh Dogra with a

complement of 5 officers and 34 ranks.

• ICGS Interceptor Boat C-421 is commanded by Deputy Commandant Rohit

Kulkarni with a complement of 1 officer and 13 ranks.

Rajasthan 5th State to pass Vexatious Litigation (Prevention) Bill, 2015

The Rajasthan assembly passed a legislation to curb vexatious litigation, becoming the fifth

state in India after Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh to pass Vexatious

Litigation (Prevention) Bill, 2015.

• Assembly passed three Bills — The Prisons (Amendment) Bill, Rajasthan Police

(Amendment) Bill and Rajasthan Vexatious Litigation (Prevention) Bill

ABOUT BILLS

• The Prison (Amendment) Bill is aimed at improving the efficiency of prisons and

checking violence and gang wars.

• The Rajasthan Police (Amendment) Bill provides Fine of Rs 500 for anyone who

creates a nuisance on the road and obstructs or injures a person or property; For the

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second incidence, the fine will be Rs 5,000; For the third incidence Rs

10,000 and eight days jail

• The Rajasthan Vexatious Litigation (Prevention) Bill 2015 which forbids people

from petitioning in lower and high courts on unreasonable grounds i.e. to prevent filing

of baseless cases and to check the misuse of law for personal benefits.

WHAT IS VEXATIOUS LITIGATION?

Person who has been habitually filing civil or criminal cases without any reasonable

groundthen court can declare the person to be a “vexatious litigant” and petition filled by this

person is called vexatious litigation.

• Over 2.28 lakh cases are presently pending in the Rajasthan High Court, and almost 10-15

percent falls under this category.

Haryana government to develop Gurgaon as Smart City

• Haryana government will develop Gurgaon as a Smart City with its own resources.

• According to the NDA government’s Smart City Scheme, States will get 500 crores for

five years to develop Smart City.

• Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar told that the state would arrange that Rs

500 crore for Gurgaon.

• The central government has also announced a list of 98 cities and towns selected for

development as Smart Cities. Out of 98, two cities Faridabad and Karnal were selected

from Haryana. Now the state will get three smart cities including Gurgaon.

• The State will also convert all data that includes birth certificate, pension and also land

records into digital format and the state will introduce biometric attendance system in

schools for both students and teachers.

Central approves Rs 1575.38 Crore Highway Project in Odisha

• GOI has approved Rs 1,575.38-crore highway project in Odisha under its National

Highways Development Project (NHDP) to reduce time and cost of the travel in Cuttack-

Angul Section of NH-42.

• This highway project was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

(CCEA), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• CCEA has approved the development of four-laning of Cuttack-Angul Section of National

Highway NH-42 in Odisha at the total cost of Rs 1575.38 crore.

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Nagaland CMO launches official website

• The Nagaland Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has launched its official website,

namelywww.chiefministernagaland.in to make the office people-friendly.

• The website www.chiefministernagaland.in was launched by Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang.

• The website includes important speeches of the chief minister and details of all the past

chief ministers of Nagaland.

• It also includes an interactive page where the people can interact with the Chief

Minister’s office in which people can express their views and thoughts on major issues.

Brigade Commander level flag meeting held at Chakkan-Da-Bagh LoC

• The Brigade Commander level flag meeting was held at Chakkan-Da-Bagh LoC (Line

of Control) Crossing point in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir between India and

Pakistan.

• Brigadier H.S. Sareen , representative from Indian Army and Brigadier

Osmanrepresentative from Pakistan Army headed the meeting for about an hour.

• The representatives of the both nations discussed a lot of issues that includes ongoing

ceasefire violations, targeting of civilians and sniping action on the LoC.

• The previous Brigade Commander-level meeting was held on September 2014.

NABARD grants Rs 1,134.74 crore RIDF assistance to Odisha

• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned Rural

Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) assistance of Rs 1,134.74 crore to Odisha.

• The sanctioned amount includes Rs 1,040.96 crore for two important mega projects

namely drinking water supply and lift irrigation projects.

• The drinking water supply project, aims to supply 100 litre per capita per day of

drinking water to 1.20 lakh families in flouride-affected blocks of Boden, Komna, Khariar

Naupada and Sinapali.

• NABARD has also granted RIDF assistance to19 mega lift projects which will improve

Kharif irrigation to nearly 24,000 hectares of agriculture uplands in Bargarh, Balangir

Jharsuguda and Sambalpur.

Government gives nod to “sign language research centre”

The union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the setting up of an Indian

Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) as a society.

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OBJECTIVE

To help the five million deaf people of the country and provide the hearing-impaired an increased

accessibility in education, workplace and other activities in public life.

• It will set up under the Societies Registration Act, 1860

• It will be initially located at the Institute for Physically Handicapped in New Delhi

• The ISLRTC will be under the aegis of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with

Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

India falls to 155th place in UN’s broadband penetration ranking

Centre is pushing the Digital India campaign and talking about broadband for all but country’s

Internet growth is lagging that of most other countries.

• The UN Broadband Commission released “The State of Broadband” report just ahead of

the Sustainable Development Goals Summit at UN headquarters in New York on

September 26.

INDIA’s RANKING IN DIFFERENT INTERNET FIELDS AS PER UN REPORT

• India’s broadband penetration ranking has fallen to 155th from 113th rank

• India ranked 131 out of 189 countries on fixed-broadband subscriptions dropped

from the 125th rank.

• India ranked 80 among 133 developing countries on percentage of households with

internet in with a 3% penetration as compared to the 75th rank and 13% penetration

previously.

Health ministry releases National Health Profile-2015

The Union minister for health and family welfare J P Nadda has released the National Health

Profile (NHP)-2015 which will help the government to navigate, to decide goals and chart the

government policies on health.

• The data was prepared by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI).

• The e-book (digital version) of the annual document, which has been prepared for the first

time, was also released.

• CBHI has been publishing National Health Profile every year since 2005.

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• This is the 11th edition.

Union Cabinet gives nod to amend MoU on Indo-German Partnerships in Higher

Education

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, gave its approval

for signing of Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) between India and Germany for minor

amendments in the earlier MoU for facilitating implementation of the programme “Indo-

German Partnerships in Higher Education”.

• By signing the JDI, the term “Strategic” will be deleted from the title of the programme

to make it “Indo-German Partnership in Higher Education” and the funding period for

the programme will be changed from 2015-19 to 2016-20 (from 1st July 2016 to

30th June, 2020).

• The strengthened education relationship through this Joint Declaration of Intent will

enable the higher education institutions in both the countries to benefit mutually to

enhance innovative partnerships in the field of education, research and skill

development. It will be beneficial for faculty development and to foster advanced

research in the identified priority areas of challenges for India.

Marathi film ‘Court’ is India’s entry to Oscars 2016

• The Marathi film ‘Court’ was selected as India’s official entry to the 88th Academy

Awards, 2016.

• It will be sent in the Best Foreign Film Category.

• The movie was directed by debutant Chaitanya Tamhane.

• The film already won a National Award for Best Feature Film in 2014.

• The movie revolves around the proceedings of a lower court and its surrounding drama.

NITI Aayog forms “T Haque panel” on land lease

Government think-tank NITI Aayog has constituted an expert group on land leasing headed by

former Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) chairman T Haque will review

the existing agricultural tenancy laws of states, including hilly states and schedule areas.

• It was constituted on March 16, 2015.

• The task force is to frame policy recommendations in areas such as land, national

common market, crop prices, fertiliser use, seeds and genetically modified (GM) technology,

and agrarian distress

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10 MEMBER COMMITTEE

• Top representatives from 7 states – Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab,

Maharashtra, Assam, Rajasthan, and Meghalaya.

• Chairman – T Haque

• Joint Secretary – HS Meena from the Department of Land Resources.

• Member secretary – J P Mishra, Adviser (Agriculture) in NITI Aayog

Telangana signs PPA with Chhattisgarh to buy 1000MW Power

• Telangana government has entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with

Chhattisgarh for supply of 1000MW Power for 12 years.

• The agreement was signed by the MD of Telangana State Southern Power Distribution

Company Limited, G Raghuma Reddy and Ankit Anand, MD of Chhattisgarh Power

Distribution Company in the presence of the Telangana Chief Minister, K Chandrasekhar

Rao.

• Telangana Government has been developing a transmission network to bring power

from Chhattisgarh. A 765-kv double-circuit line is currently under construction between

Wardha and Dichpalli. The handling capacity of the line will be 4,350 MW of power.

UNDP offers support for Arunachal Vision 2030

• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will provide support in the

implementation of Arunachal Vision 2030 and Chief Minister’s Mission on Skill

Development and Employment Generation in Arunachal Pradesh.

• Dr. Jaco Cilliers, the country head of UNDP India has announced that the organization

will support these two initiatives by the state government during the meeting with Chief

Minister Nabam Tuki in New Delhi.

• Dr. Ruchi Pant, UNDP India Programme Analyst, has also announced that UNDP will

collaborate with the state government in the other fields like bio diversity conservation,

eco tourism development, disaster management and medicinal plants.

• Arunachal Vision 2030 covers short and long term goals in the development of six

different fields namely border development, economic potential, infrastructure, resource

mobilization, social sectors and social harmony.

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8000 Cr Integrated Air Command & Control System cleared by Cabinet

The government has cleared the proposal for a nearly Rs 8,000-crore project for Indian Air Force

Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS).

AIM – Integrating all ground and air censors.

• Cabinet Committee on Security cleared the proposal that was sanctioned by the Defence

Acquisition Council in November

• Once the system is in place, the air headquarters will get a composite air situation

picture since it will be integrating Air Force, Army, Naval and civilian radars.

• The IAF currently has five sector headquarters (nodes) of communication and the plan is

to have four more, besides establishment of 10 sub-nodes and up-gradation of the

entire system.

• As part of this, the new command and control system will be set up and integrated with

the existing ground and air sensors and air defence systems.

Kerala Tourism to sign MoU with St Petersburg’s tourism

• Kerala Tourism and St Petersburg’s tourism department will sign a MoU to promote

tourist arrival from the Russian city to Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi.

• Kerala State Tourism Secretary, Kamala Vardhana Rao, Consul General of India in St

Petersburg, Arun Kumar Sharma and Deputy Chairman, St Petersburg

Tourism, Rimma Sachinova decided to sign an agreement in a recent meeting.

• The MoU is expected to give a big excite to tourist arrivals from the second largest city

of Russia to Kerala.

Rajnath Singh releases graphic booklet on Sardar Post

• Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh has released a graphic booklet on Sardar Post

at Rann of Kutch in the 1965 lndo-Pak War.

• Shri Rajnath Singh admired the role of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Hot

Springs in Ladakh and at other places in maintaining the safety and security of the

country.

• CRPF also plans to publish a series of graphic booklets illustrating various stories of

courage and sacrifice of the force.

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AP gets Rs.1000 crore special assistance from Centre

• Andhra Pradesh will get a special financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for the current

financial year from the central government.

• The centre has announced such special financial assistance to AP after the demand of

state’s CM, N Chandrababu Naidu under the state reorganisation Act.

• Of the total financial assistance, Rs 350 crore is special assistance for the development

of seven backward districts covering Rayalaseema and North Andhra, Rs 350 crore for

the construction of the new capital city Vijayawada and Rs 300 crore for Polavaram

project.

• A tax incentive has also been provided in the Finance Act, 2015.

Government plans green road corridors

The Union government is all set to unveil its Green Highways policy on September 29th this

year under which bushes and trees will be grown along all the highways in a phased manner.

Highlights:

• The purpose of the policy is to promote the greening of highway corridors with the

participation of the local community, including local contractors and the local Forest

Department.

• The plan is to grow three layers of trees and bushes. The first will be of bushes so

that if a vehicle goes off the road, it does not collide with something life-threatening.

The second will be of medium-sized trees and the last will be of tall fruit trees. However

point to be noted that, only species indigenous to the area would be planted.

• The investment would be 1,000 crore this year, calculated as one per cent of the Rs.

1,00,000-crore investment in national highway projects this year.

• The project will be awarded to contractors in small stretches of 8-10 km as pilot

scheme.

• Those who are eligible among the wide cross-section of agencies that can participate in

the project, include government or private companies, NGOs registered as

societies, trusts or private limited non-profit companies, and producer

organizations.

• Furthermore, the government has laid down strict targets for the companies growing

and maintaining trees such as only after reaching the minimum survival rate i.e. 90

per cent implementation, a company will get the required money from the Ministry in

the next year.

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INS Viraat World’s oldest operational aircraft carrier

• INS Viraat, the oldest operational aircraft carrier in the world, expected to be

decommissioned by next year.

• INS Viraat started its journey in 1958. The ship has been periodically upgraded with all

its weapons and sensors for the last 28 years. It could make one more Visit to Kochi

before the decommission.

Government decided to bring down its holding in IDBI Bank to 49%

• The government has decided to bring down its holding in IDBI Bank to 49 per cent, in

line with its commitment to reform state-run banks all over the country.

• This is mainly because IDBI Bank is saddled with Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) like

most other state-run banks. At a gross level, the bank’s NPAs stood at 9 per cent of

advances at the end of June 2015.

• The government will follow the model of Axis Bank, India’s third-largest by market

capitalisation, where the government owns and indirectly controls 19 per cent stake

through 100 per cent owned Specified Undertaking of UTI but has no role in day-to-

day operations.

• Point to be noted that unlike other state-run banks, IDBI Bank is governed by

a separate law, the IDBI Act. While in the case of other state-run banks, the

government has said itwill not bring its stake to below 52 per cent, in the case of

IDBI Bank there is no such restriction. So in this case the government can bring down

its stake to 49 per cent without having to approach the Parliament.

Kerala Government website hacked

Kerala government’s official website has been hacked by “suspected Pakistan-based hackers”. The

official website of the Government of Kerala — www.kerala.gov.in — was hacked on

Saturdaynight by hackers suspected to be from Pakistan.

• The home page of the hacked website sported a pic of the national flag being burned

and the messages “Pakistan Zindabad” and “security is just an illusion.”

• The hacked homepage also carries what appears to be identity of the hacker; hacked by

“Faisal 1337” reads the hacked homepage, “We are Team Pak Cyber Attacker”. The

Home Page also contains the website address www.Faisal1337.com

• Preliminary reports suggest that the hackers were unable to get past the home page

and into the server that hosts the website.

http://www.kerala.gov.in/

http://www.faisal1337.com/

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Panel to review IAS exam pattern

An expert committee has been formed by the government to examine various issues related to

age relaxation, eligibility, syllabus and pattern of civil services examination to select IAS and IPS

officers.

• The panel will be headed by former Chhattisgarh-cadre IAS Officer BS Baswan and

consist of leading academicians, technocrats and senior bureaucrats.

• Based on the report of the committee, further changes in the civil services exam pattern

will be contemplated with the primary objective of providing a level-playing field to

aspirants from diverse streams of curriculum like mathematics, engineering, medicine or

humanities.

The civil services examination is conducted annually in three stages– preliminary, main and

interview. There are two compulsory papers — Paper I and Paper II — of 200 marks each in civil

services preliminary examination.

Suresh Prabhu Launches Indian Railway Knowledge Portal

As a part of ‘Digital India’, a knowledge portal for detailed information on Indian Railways was

launched by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

• It is accessible at www.kportal.indianrailways.gov.in

• It is an initiative of the National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), Vadodara.

“ONE STOP” HUB

• It includes subjects of Indian Railways, Railway Research and Development, use of ICT

in Indian Railways, listing of major International Railway Journals, linking of existing

Indian Railway Libraries and also World Railways in one web page.

• It has e-access to existing libraries of Railways, and all the libraries have a single

interface through e-Granthalaya by NIC.

• It also gives a brief of all the social media activities of the Indian Railway sites.

India inks deal to launch 23 foreign satellites

India has signed an agreement to launch 23 foreign satellites as per Antrix Cooperation which

is the commercial arm of ISRO.

http://www.kportal.indianrailways.gov.in/

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• From 23 satellites 2 will go in two separate rockets. The remaining 21 satellites will be

loaded on bigger Indian satellite.

• ISRO will soon launch 6 Singapore satellites weighing a total of around 660 kg.

– The bigger satellite is an earth observation satellite having weight of 410 kg.

– Two are micro-satellites having weight of 130 kg and 80 kg respectively.

– The rest three are nano-satellites which together weighing 30 kg.

• Antrix Corporation had signed pact with US parties to launch 9 small satellites,

of which four were launched with ASTROSAT and rest will also launch by ISRO before

2016.

• SAARC satellite will be a two-tonne satellite with 12 transponders and it will be launched

by the end of 2016.

Meghalaya Governer given additional charge of Manipur

V Shanmuganathan, Meghalaya Governor, has been given an additional charge of

Manipur after the death of Syed Ahmed Khan appointed by President of India Shri Pranab

Mukherjee.

• 64-year-old Shanmuganathan was an RSS worker before joining BJP in 2003, was

appointed as Governor of Meghalaya in May 2015.

• Ahmed was appointed as the Governor of Manipur on May 16, 2015. He was a former

Congress leader from Maharashtra, Ahmed was shifted to the north-eastern State from

Jharkhand, where he was hold the post of Governor from August 2011.

Tamil Nadu launched Amma Mobile Phone Scheme

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa announced an “Amma mobile phone scheme” to

help women Self-Help Group (SHG) trainers supervise work as a part of “Amma” brand.

Before this launch the welfare initiated Amma brand already launched

• Amma Canteens – Offers low cost food

• Amma Mineral Water – Costs Rs10/per bottle

• Amma Pharmacies – Medicines are sold at lower rate

OUTLAY – Rs 15 crore

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Under this scheme computerised mobile phones loaded with special Tamil software will be

provided to 20,000 self-help group (SHG) trainers in the first phase.

• SHG was created by Tamil Nadu government in 1991 for the social and economic

empowerment of women and eradication of poverty.

Tendulkar lends voice to Swachh Bharat anthem

Under a Government initiative to make the “Clean India” campaign a public movement, cricketer

Sachin Tendulkar has lent his voice to Swachh Bharat anthem. He recited few lines that will

feature in the anthem.

• The anthem song written by lyricist Prasoon Joshi

• Composer – Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

• Singer – Shankar Mahadevan

• Release Date – October 2 which will mark one year of the launch of Swachh Bharat

campaign on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.

Celebrities have joined hands to create a Swachh Bharat anthem which aimed at enthusing and

inspiring citizens to come together by realising the collective dream of a “clean India”.

AYUSH services becomes operational in Dubai

India has set up Department of Ayush in Dubai as Indian Consulate which will provide free

consultation to the public. It will come in effect from November 6, 2015.(Minister of Health and

Family Welfare – Jagat Prakash Nadda)

Under this initiative

• Ayurvedic doctors will be available on all Sundays and Wednesdays between 10am – 12

noon for providing free consultation to the public.

• Homoeopathic practitioner will also be giving free consultation every Tuesday but no

medicines will be dispensed.

KEYS

• It Created in March 1995 as the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and

Homoeopathy (ISM&H) and was named AYUSH in March 2003 which means ‘Long-life’

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• The Department of AYUSH is aimed to developing education and research in

Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine), Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and

Homoeopathy, and other medicine systems.

Indo Sri Lanka Joint Exercise MITRA SHAKTI 2015

India and Sri Lanka kicked off joint exercise MITRA SHAKTI-2015 at Aundh Camp Pune on 29

September 2015.This is the third joint training Military to Military co-operation and interoperability

exercise between the two Armies.

DURATION OF EXERCISE – 14 days

AIM

• To share the best military practices and promoting healthy military to military relations

between the two Armies

• To developing joint strategies by sharing expertise of conducting operations.

National Institutional Ranking Framework Document and Web portal launched by HRD

Ministry

Union HRD Minister Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani launches National Institutional Ranking

Framework Document and Web portal which is developed by a team of experts in education and

heads of institutions.

OBJECTIVE

It will enable parents, students, teachers, educational institutions and other stakeholders to rank

institutions on the basis of a set of objective parameters and a transparent process.

• Portal is presently available for engineering and management institutions.

• Framework will be extended to other disciplines like architecture, pharmacy and

humanities and for universities within the next 4 weeks.

Govt to roll out domestic ranking system

• Government unveils an India-specific ranking framework covering higher educational

institutes in an answer to global ranking agencies where Indian universities and

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institutes including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have never been able to

make the cut.

• There will be an apple-to-apple comparison i.e. institutes in different sectoral field

such as engineering, management etc. would be compared separately

• It will be released by human resource development minister Smriti Irani

• First ranking list is expected by January-February 2016

PARAMETERS USED FOR RANKING

• Teaching learning and resources

• Research

• Graduation outcome

• Consulting and collaborative performance

Each of these has been further subdivided into 20 sub criteria to comprehensively assessment of

an institute. The rankings will cover all institutes offering courses on engineering, law,

management and humanities.

Mahesh Babu adopts Siddhapuram village

Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu revealed that he will be adopting Siddhapuram

village of Telangana as part of the initiative to give back to the society.

• His decision is inspired from his reel story of his latest Telugu blockbuster

“Srimanthudu” in which he Babu played the heir of a multi-millionaire, who adopts his

family’s village and sets out on a journey to transform it.

• This is the second such decision that celebrities from the film fraternity have made and

followed it up with a firm announcement. The first to do so was actor Prakash Raj who

announced that he would adopt Kondareddypally of Kesampet mandal in

Mahabubnagar, Telangana.

Dr Mahesh Sharma launches the NOC Online Application Portal and Processing System

(NOAPS) for the National Monument Authority (NMA)

• The Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge)

and Civil Aviation,Dr. Mahesh Sharma, launched the NOC Online Application Portal

and Processing System (NOAPS) for the National Monument Authority (NMA), Ministry

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of Culture at Samrat Hotel in New Delhi. The NOAPS will be available

onhttp://nmanoc.nic.in./

• NOAPS is an initiative taken by the National Monument Authority for streamlining of

approval procedure for construction related activities in regulated/restricted areas in the

vicinity of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monuments in various cities of

India.

India on recovery phase – Ranked 55th in Global competitiveness Index

India is improving its spot among other competitive economies as India laddered 16 positions up

and ranked with 55th position on a global index among 140 countries of the world. This

improvement in India’s position is a signal of the country’s economic recovery.

INDIA’s RANKINGS IN SUB- INDICES

• In macroeconomic environment India is ranked at 91st because of reduction in

commodity prices and government’s budget deficit also improved comparison to last

year.

• In terms of competitiveness of its institutions India is ranked at 60th

• Quality of its electricity supply India ranked 91st which is still down

• On hiring-and-firing practices in the labour market India ranks 25th

• Favouritism in the decisions of government officials 32nd

• Quality of health & primary education it ranks 52nd

• In available airline seats per km ranked at 11th

• In terms of infrastructure it is ranked at 81st.

• Burden of government regulations 27th

• Trust in politicians India ranked 31st

India overshadowed US and China – Emerged as No. 1 FDI destination

India overtakes China and the United States by grabbing the crown of the foreign direct

investment (FDI) in the Financial Times report. With this India becomes the world’s number one

pool for foreign direct investments. India surpasses China with $3 billion and US with $4 billion as

the total foreign capital inflows

• In the half yearly report of 2015 India received a total of $31 billion in foreign

capital inflows followed by China $28 billion and US third with $27 billion.

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• There is a jump of $ 18 billion in India’s FDI compared to first half of the last year

which were $12 billion and was ranked at 5thposition.

The ranking of the top destinations for Greenfield investment is measured by estimated capital

expenditure.

STEPS BEHIND THIS MOVEUP

• Initiatives taken by NaMo government like “Make in India” for making India as an

attractive investment destination and his foreign trips doubled the investment levels in

comparison to yester year and India emerged as top platform for foreign investments.

• Also the Government decisions for relaxing norms for FDI fectched many global

investors.

Govt releases stamp on Dr Ambedkar & to launch coin on him

Union Cabinet released a commemorative postal stamp on Dr Bhimrao Ramji

Ambedkar with a commitment that it will also launch a coin in his honour. Coin already

received an approval from Finance Ministry. Stamp was released by Communications and IT

Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

• NICKNAME – Babasaheb

• He was an Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer

• He was an India’s first Law Minister and appointed as Chairman of the Constitution

Drafting Committee

• Dr Ambedkar was given the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna in 1990 posthumously

whereas he died in 1956.

NLC set up its first 10 MW solar power plant

• Mission A 10-MW solar photo voltaic power plant was commissioned in Neyveli Set

up the 10 mw solar power project at Neyveli, become the first renewal energy project

of the company announced by Surender Mohan, CMD of the company.

• NLC is operating thermal power Stations of 4240 mw capacity in Neyveli, Barsingsar in

Rajasthan State and Thoothukudi. To start with, the company has established a 10 MW

solar photo volatic project at Neyveli, at a cost of Rs 74.60 crore.

• Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) contractor of this project, This power plant installed in

an area of 54 acres and 48,000 solar photo voltaic modules (solar panels), each with the

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power generating capacity of 240 watt are fitted for the project and the entire power

would be fed to the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (Tangedco).

Govt cuts natural gas prices by 16% to $ 4.24 per unit

• Government will cut natural gas prices for power and fertiliser sector by 16 percent

to USD 4.24 per unit for the six month period.

• Natural gas prices will fall to 4.24 US dollar million British thermal unit (mmbtu) on net

calorific value (NCV) basis from the current 5.50 US dollar mmbtu.

• The new gas price for October 1st to March 31st would be 3.82 us dollar per mmBtu

as compared to 4.66 us dollar currently.

Cabinet Approved MFP for Development of Hydrocarbon Discoveries

In a decision to expand the role of the Private Sector in Oil and Gas Exploration, the Union

Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today gave its approval to the Marginal

Fields Policy (MFP), for development of hydrocarbon discoveriesmade by National Oil

Companies – Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and Oil India Limited (OIL).

Highlights of the decision:

• It should be noted that this is first time revenue sharing model introduced in oil sector.

• There are 69 unexploited oil fields owned by ONGC and OIL which will be opened for

competitive bidding based on revenue sharing model.

• Private exploration companies will be able to submit bids for exploiting these oil fields.

• The policy allows the successful bidder to sell these oil fields at the prevailing market

price of gas, rather than at an administered price.

• Furthermore, significant changes have been made in the design of the proposed

contracts, keeping with the principle of ‘Minimum Government Maximum

Governance’.

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International Affairs

Highest mountain of North America Mt McKinley renamed as Denali

Mount McKinley, the 20,237-foot mountain and the tallest in North America which was

named after 25th U.S. president, William McKinley, Obama administration renames Mount

McKinley to Denali.

• The mountain, which sits in the 6 million-acre Denali national park, has been known as

Denali in Alaska since 1975. Under an order signed by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell,

the Denali name will also take effect for all federal usage and, therefore, on all official

maps.

• Denali, meaning “the great one” in the Athabaskan language of Alaska natives, was the

original name of the mountain. But when European Americans discovered it in the 19th

century, they renamed it Densmore’s Mountain and, later, Mount McKinley in an effort to

boost the presidential candidacy of Republican William McKinley.

NASA’s SERVIR-Mekong project for Five Southeast Asian Countries

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)and the US Agency for

International Development (USAID)have launched a new joint project named SERVIR-

Mekong to strengthen regional environmental monitoring in five countries ofSoutheast

Asia namely Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand andVietnam.

About the Project:

It was launched in the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center in Bangkok, Thailand. Under this

project, researchers will draw from a continuous stream of space-based climate, weather and

other Earth observation data from Nasa and its partners. The main focus of this project is to host

vital issues in the Mekong river basin region in those five countries which is also called as Rice

Bowl of Asia.

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Soyuz Rocket with the first Danish astronaut launches towards International Space

Station

The Russian spacecraft Soyuz, carrying three astronauts- a Russian, Dane and Kazakh blasted-

off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, becoming the 500th manned launch in

space travel history.

• Veteran Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov of Roscosmos (Russian space agency) is

leading a team. The other two astronauts are first-time flyers Aidyn Aimbetov from

Kazakhstan (Kazcosmos) and Andreas Mogensen from Denmark (European Space

Agency).

• While Mogensen and Aimbetov will serve short-duration stints, returning to Earth

on Sept. 12, Volkov will stay on the station for six months.

• He will be joining American astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail

Kornienko in the second half of their yearlong mission, the longest mission ever

completed aboard the International Space Station.

UNGA approves draft 2030 Agenda for Stainable Development

• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has approved the

draft 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. It has now been sent to all the states

for adoption.

• 2015 is marked by watershed events for the International Community, with the Third

International Conference on Financing for Development’ in Addis Ababa in July; the

approval of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Climate Change Summit, widely

referred to as COP-21, that is going to be held in Paris in December.

• The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are comprehensive and address the

social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development in an

integrated way.

Canada Entered First Technical Recession in Six Years

Recession is a period of general economic decline; typically defined as a decline in GDP for two

or more consecutive quarters.

• On 1st September, 2015 Statistics of Canada reported that the economy’s GDP (Gross

Domestic Product) has contracted by an annualized rate of 0.5% in Q2(Quarter-2 i.e.

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the period between April and June ) followed a by a contraction of 0.8% in Q1(first 3

months)

• That means the economy has faced two consecutive quarters of negative growth in GDP,

which follows the definition of recession.

• The last time the country faced the technical recession was in 2009.

• It is going to be a tough time for Mr. Stephen Harper, PM of Canada as elections of

Canada are scheduled to be held on Oct 19th, 2015.

Russia rejects France’s proposal to limit the use of veto in the UNSC

• The veto power is available only to the five permanent members of the UN Security

Council, which are, France, US, China, Russia and Britain.

• France proposed aimed to pursue the other four powers to refrain from using their

veto power when action against issues such as mass atrocity was required.

• But the Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin rejected the proposal on the basis that it

was ‘populist’ and not workable.

• The issue came into focus in the face of the war in Syria which has continued over a

year. Last year, a resolution asking the International Criminal Court to investigate

crimes in Syria, was blocked as Russia and China had used their veto.

• In July, Russia had blocked two resolutions which would have declared the

Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia to be genocide and another on setting up a tribunal to

try those responsible for the downing of Flight MH17 over Ukraine.

• The French proposal has been welcomed by 70 non-veto wielding member states at UN.

France will hold a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to pursue the

idea further.

• With the World celebrating the 70th anniversary of UN this year, many nations have

called for a rethink of the veto power which was accorded to the P5 when UN was

founded.

India, UAE agreed to increase bilateral trade by 60% over the next 5 years

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) formally agreed to enhance their cooperation in all

areas of bilateral relations and to increase their trade by 60 per cent over the next five years.

Both the countries have agreed to enhance cooperation in different areas including trade,

commerce, energy, defence, space, investments, security and combating Crime.

The agreements were arrived at the 11th session of the India-UAE Joint Commission held

inNew Delhi recently which was co-chaired by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma

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Swaraj and her visiting counterpart, Foreign Minister of UAE Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-

Nahyan.

Akshay Kumar,Hrithik Roshan and AR Rahman join global campaign on UN goals

Representing India in ‘Global Goals Campaign’ the famous celebs of bollywood Akshay Kumar,

Hrithik Roshan and AR Rahman joined together.

• The objective of the 7 days- ‘Global Goal Campaign’ is to create and raise awareness

about sustainable development, nationally and internationally.

• This campaign will be launched by 193 world leaders at the UN summit on 25th

September,2015.

• Apart from Indian celebs there are many other iconic personalities like the Nobel

laureate Malala Yousafzai, Hollywood A-listers such as Bill and Melinda Gates,Professor

Stephen Hawking,Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar winning actress Meryl

Streep and many others are also going to take part in the campaign.

• With respect to the campaign a film called ‘we the people’ is going to be aired. The film

aims at featuring 17 UN goals and make them achievable worldwide.

G20, OECD issue new corporate governance code

G20 and OECD announced new Corporate Governance Principles to listed companies(Companies

whose shares are traded on an official stock exchange) and regulators in all member countries

including India.

The objectives of announcing New Corporate Governance Principles is to protect the interests

of shareholders and to promote capital market(part of financial system which consists of shares,

bonds, and other long-term investments) as a platform to raise funds.

With respect to the new global principles regulators and policymakers across the world including

Sebi will update their regulations for the listed firms in line with new code.

Some of the Key concepts of New Code includes:

• Enhancing the cross-border cooperation among regulators through bilateral and

multilateral arrangements for exchange of information

• Eliminating the hindrances involving in cross-border voting by shareholders

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• Recommendations for financial disclosures by the companies, behaviour of large

institutional investors and recommendations regarding the functions of stock markets.

• Promoting fund raising through Capital markets.

• Recommendations to governments on issues like shareholder rights, executive

remuneration, financial disclosure, the behaviour of institutional investors and functions

of stock market.

Rajavarothiam Sampanthan becomes first Tamil politician to be chosen as the Sri

Lankan leader of opposition in 32 years

• Rajavarothiam Sampanthan is the leader of the Tamil National Alliance

(TNA) which emerged as the third largest party in the recent elections, with 16 seats in

the 225-member assembly. It is a Tamil ethnic minority party in the Sinhalese

majority country.

• This is the first time in 32 years since 1983, when an ethnic minority lawmaker was

elected as a leader of opposition. The opposition had resigned en masse in 1983 to

protest against a new statute that compelled them to denounce separatism.

• An alliance government headed by Ranil Wikremesinghe was formed by the two

Sinhalese parties United National Party (UNP) and United People’s Freedom

Alliance (UPFA). Rajapakse refused to join the coalition and remains in the opposition.

Bala Tripura Sundari Devi Temple renovated under India-Nepal Economic programme

inaugurated

• Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Ranjit Rae inaugurated the newly renovated Bala Tripura

Sundari Devi Temple at Tripurakot located on the bank of glacial river Thuli Bheri in

Dolpa district of Nepal.

• With the help of 33.3 million Nepali rupees financial support from the Indian

government the temple was constructed.

• Shree Bala Tripura Sundari Devi Temple has a great socio-cultural relevance in the life

of the people of the Dolpa district and is a historic structure said to be more than 900

years old.

• The temple has been renovated with improved facilities for 20000 pilgrims visiting the

temple every year.

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China, Pakistan launch joint ‘Shaheen (Eagle) – 4’ Air Drill

• Chinese and Pakistani forces on Sunday launched a joint air drill, named ‘Shaheen

(Eagle)-4’. It is fourth edition of air exercise between the air forces of both countries

which was launched as part of a series of military exchange programmes between two

countries.

• In this edition of exercise, Chinese contingent was represented by fighter jets, fighter

bombers and early warning planes. Pakistani counterpart included fighter jets and early

warning planes.

• The first such drill was held in Pakistan in March 2011, the second in China’s

western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in September 2013, and the third was held

in Punjab, Pakistan, in May last year.

Japan reopens radiation-hit town Naraha after four years

• Naraha is the first town to allow people to return permanently, following several

years of decontamination work.

• The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a series of meltdowns following a massive

earthquake and tsunami.

• After the disaster, over seven thousand residents of Naraha moved out.

• The town, about 20km south of the nuclear plant, is seen as a test case for the return of

evacuated residents.

• Some 100,000 people in the area are still unable to return to their homes.

• Authorities in Naraha are issuing people with devices to check radiation levels and have

been rebuilding local services, including shops and clinics.

India announces USD 500,000 assistance to Jordan

• India today announced a cash assistance of USD 500,000 to Jordan to meet the

enormous impact of Syrian refugee crisis.

• “India contributes USD 0.5 mn to Jordanian government to alleviate financial burden on

account of Syrian refugees,” Indian Ambassador to Jordan Anil Trigunayat, who met

Minister of Planning & International Cooperation for Jordan Imad Fakhoury.

7 Indians Feature in Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy List

Seven Indians feature in Forbes Asia’s ninth Heroes of Philanthropy list, highlighting

most noteworthy contributions to philanthropy from 13 nations throughout the Asia Pacific.

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• Infosys co-founders Senapathy Gopalakrishnan, Nandan Nilekani and SD

Shibulalfeature the list for their individual contributions to health and education

sectors.

• Rohan Murthy, representing his father NR Narayana Murthy, another co-founder of

Infosys, also features the list. He donated a whopping USD 5.2 million to Harvard

University Press for promoting ancient Indian literary classics.

• Dubai-based, Kerala-born entrepreneur Sunny Varkey, the founder of GEMS Education

also feature the list for his pledging to donate half his fortune worth USD 2.25 billion as

charity in response to the Giving Pledge Initiative, led by Bill Gates and Warren

Buffet.

• The others are India-born brothers and London-based entrepreneurs Suresh

Ramakrishnan and Mahesh Ramakrishnan, the founders of Whitcomb & Shaftesbury

Tailors, for their donation of USD 3 million for training of more than 4,000 people in

tailoring across India. The beneficiaries of their benevolence are the victims of the 2004

tsunami and mainly ill-fated women.

The United States and South Korea conduct Joint anti biochemical exercises

• Joint biological exercise are being held since 2011 by both the countries.

• The exercises are aimed to coordinate between the two countries, United Nations and

other organizations to examine and enhance the response systems to respond

when the biochemical threat arises.

• Able Response (AR) – 15 exercise is the fifth in the series,

of Able Response exercises.

• These exercise are to respond to the bio threats in the Korean Peninsula.

• North Korea’s alleged Biochemical weapon capability and the potential threats to use it

against Republic of Korea (ROK) becomes the main reason for conducting these

exercise every year. It is alleged that North Korea possess more than a dozen viral and

bacterial weapons.

India, Indonesia sign MoU on Cooperation in all Criminal matters

India and Indonesia have inked a pact to cooperate on criminal matters including collecting

evidence. Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an official notification for the execution of warrant

or summons in relation to criminal matters on any person in the Indonesia.

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Highlights of MoU:

• Under this agreement, India will execute warrant to an accused person or a warrant

issued by an Indonesian court or any person required to produce documents.

• The warrant will be issued to the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of Indonesia.

• If any request from the Indian Court, Indonesia will do the same action to execute

warrant or summons.

Indian-Origin Entrepreneur in Fortune’s List of 10 Powerful Women

• An Indian-origin entrepreneur Payal Kadakia, CEO and co-founder of

ClassPass has been named among the most promising businesswomen of 2015

by Fortune magazine in its annual recognition of 10 women innovators,

groundbreakers and game changers.

• ClassPass is an American fitness startup company based in New York City

and founded by Payal Kadakia and Mary Biggins. A two-year-old start-up that

gives customers access to thousands of boutique fitness classes in their area.

Indian-US woman becomes first post master in California

Jagdeep Grewal, a fifty seven year old, Indian American has become the first woman to be

appointed as the postmaster inSaramento, California. She will be the first woman to fill up this

post in 166 years. She will be the 29th Postmaster to serve in Saramento. According to American

Bazaar news portal, Jagdeep Grewal will supervise 1,004 employees. These employees will serve

on 537 city routes and 94 rural routes.

Indian – Origin Boy, Anirudh Kathirvel won Australian Spelling Bee Contest

A nine-year-old, Indian-origin Anirudh Kathirvel, crowned champion of “The Great Australian

Spelling Bee Contest”.

India votes to raise Palestine, Vatican flags at UN

• India was among 119 nations that voted in support of a UN General Assembly

resolution granting the right to non-member observer States of Palestine.

• Vatican to raise their flags at the world body’s headquarters along side the flags of UN

member nations.

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• A vote of 119 in favour to 8 against(Australia, Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands,

Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Tuvalu and the US), with 45 delegations

abstaining.

• Palestine – observer state in 2012 and Vatican – non-member observer state since

1964.

Japan centenarian population hits record 60,000

• The number of people aged 100 and above has hit 60,000 in Japan in 2015, September.

• The population of centenarians is expected to reach 61,568 next week, of which 87

percent will be women.

• The country is also home to the world’s oldest man, Yasutaro Koide, who turned 112

years old in March.

• September 15 – Senior’s Day.

3-day India Expo starts in Sri Lanka

• India Expo exhibition began in Sri Lanka aimed at exploring and expanding their base

in the country.

• Expo was organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations

(FIEO)provides an opportunity to source from over 50 Indian companies who are

displaying diverse range of product lines such as Apparel & Textiles, Consumer

Appliances, Electrical & Electronics, FMCGand Pharma among others .

• FIEO Chairman: A Sakthivel

Singapore ruling party PAP wins 2015 General Elections – Returns to Power

• Singapore’s ruling party PAP retained its unbroken 56-year grip on power. Its

general election to form its 13th Parliament was held on 11 September 2015.

• Contested parties were the People’s Action Party (PAP) led by Lee Hsien

Loong andWorkers Party of Singapore (WP) led by Low Thia Khiang.

• The PAP won 83 of 89 seats on offer, while the opposition Worker’s

Party (WP) secured six seats.

• Turnout was 93.56% among registered voters.

• The results showed the PAP won about 69.9 percent of the vote, above the 60.1

percent it won in the last election in 2011, which was its worst-ever showing. In

the last parliament it had 79 of a total 87 seats.

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Egypt’s Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab and his cabinet resigned

• Egypt’s Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab and his cabinet resigned amid corruption

probe.

• President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi accepted Ibrahim Mahlab’s resignation and asked

the outgoing Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail to form a new government within a

week.

• President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asked Ibrahim Mahlab to take a charge as caretaker PM

until a new government is formed.

PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi in Fortune’s 50 powerful women in business list

Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi (59) is the sole Indian-born executive in Fortune’s list of 50 most

powerful women in business. She is business executive and the current Chairperson and Chief

Executive Officer of PepsiCo, the second largest food and beverage business in the world by net

revenue. Nooyi is ranked 2nd on the list, moving up a notch from her third position last year.

Russian Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka returns to Earth

• Russian Cosmonaut Genady Padalka has returned to Earth with a new record for the

most time spent in space. He spent 168 days in space in this trip.

• He has spent totally 879 days in space over five missions.

• Genady Padalka broke the record of Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev of Russia who

spent 803 days 9hours and 39 minutes in space over six trips.

• Genady Padalka is 57 years old. His first journey to space was in 1998, to Russia’s Mir

space station. He has participated in 10 spacewalks and he is the only person to have

commanded the ISS four times.

• Russian Space Research Institute – Moscow, Russia

Indian bankers top Fortune’s most powerful women list

Bankers Chanda Kochhar and Arundhati Bhattacharya have been ranked as top two in a

list of most powerful women in Asia-Pacific prepared by the global magazine Fortune.

The list includes key executives from over six countries in the region. With 11 names, Chinese

women lead the list.

http://www.business-standard.com/search?type=news&q=Ibrahim+Mahlab

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Rank: 1 – Chanda Kochhar

Kochhar (53) who heads the country’s largest private sector lender ICICI, has been ranked at the

top, up from the second position last year. She builds ICICI Bank into most profitable private

sector lender.

Rank: 2 – Arundhati Bhattacharya

Bhattacharya (59), chairman of the State Bank of India, whose ranking has also moved up from

the fourth spot she was at last year. She is thefirst woman to head the 209-year-old state

Bank of India. She played a crucial role in ‘modernising the organisation.

Rank: 5 – Nishi Vasudeva

Vasudeva (59) Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, has

made it to at fifth rank. She is the first lady to head an Indian oil company. The company made a

record profit of $245 million last year, up 37 per cent, despite a global oil glut.

Rank: 9 – Shikha Sharma

Sharma (56) Managing Director and chief executive of Axis Bank came in at the ninth spot in the

list. Axis’ profit increase 18.3 per cent, to around $1.1 billion, in the year ending in March.

Rank: 23 – Sheila Patel

Singapore-based chief executive of International Goldman Sachs Asset Management,

Sheila Patel, has also made it to the list at the 23rd position.

Indian-origin man becomes Mayor of Germany’s Bonn city

Ashok Sridharan, an Indian-origin candidate from Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic

Union (CDU), has beaten both his opponents by a huge margin, to be elected as the mayor of

the former German capital city Bonn.

• By virtue of this, he became the first person of Indian-origin to occupy the mayor’s

office in a major German city.

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• In the polls, Sridharan defeated Social Democratic Party (SPD) candidate Peter

Ruhenstroth-Bauer and Tom Schmidt of the Green Party and marked the end of

more than 21 years’ rule of the city by the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

• Until now, Mr. Sridharan served as the treasurer and assistant mayor in the municipal

administration of neighbouring town Koenigswinter.

Nawaz Sharif inaugurates strategic Pakistan-China Friendship Tunnels

• Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif inaugurated five ‘Pakistan – China Friendship

Tunnels’which was built at the total cost of about 275$ million in order to restore a

strategic road link to China Via Gilgit-Baltistan.

• The ‘Pakistan-China Friendship Tunnels’, network of seven-kilometre-long five tunnels

which restored Karakorum Highway (KKH) near Attabad lake in Hunza valley of

Gilgit- Baltistan region in the country’s north.

• This project has been finished in collaboration with China in over three years which is

said to be linked with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project worth of $46

billion.

China builds museum in honour of first nuclear, space scientists

• China has built a museum to commemorate those who made the country’s first

hydrogen bomb and satellites in the 1960s and early 1970s

• Located on the Huairou campus of CAS University – some 60 kms from Beijing, the

museum is housed at the site of the Academy’s former rocket test base founded in

1958.

Betty Cantrell won Miss America 2016 Pageant

• Betty Cantrell won the Miss America 2016 Pageant on September 13, 2015. She became

the 89th Miss America.

• She was crowned by Miss America 2015 Kira Kazantsev in Atlantic City, New Jersey,

USA.

• Betty Cantrell beat 51 other contestants to win the crown. On winning the title, Betty

Cantrell was awarded the national crown as well as a $50,000 scholarship.

• Betty Cantrell belongs to Warner Robins, Georgia and was crowned Miss Georgia 2015.

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UN Resolution – 9 December as International Genocide Commemoration Day

The United Nations, on the Prevention of Genocide has welcomed the resolution adopted by the

General Assembly proclaiming 9 December as the International Genocide Commemoration

Day.

Entitle: International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide

and of the Prevention of This Crime

Malcolm Turnbull sworn in as new Australian prime minister

• Malcolm Turnbull has been sworn in as 29th Prime Minster of Australia by

the Governor – General, Peter Cosgrove.

• The Australian PM Tony Abott has been ousted by his party in aleadership

challenge.

• Malcolm Turnbull secured 54 votes from his parliamentary colleagues

while Tony Abbotreceived 44 votes only.

UN adopts negotiating text for Security Council reforms

India’s goal of becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council took a significant step

forward. UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a negotiating text for the Security Council

reforms, setting the stage for talks on the long pending process at the 70th session of the global

body.

There was no voting on the decision to continue text-based UNSC reforms in the 70th session of

the General Assembly and it was adopted by consensus.

• India welcomed the passage of a proposal by the UN to begin text based negotiations on

long pending reforms to the powerful UN Security Council.

• India has been pushing for reforms to the UNSC for many years seeking a seat for itself

at the UN high table since it had been of the view that the UNSC is not reflective of the

realities of the 21st century.

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India Ranks 142 in Ease of Doing Business Among 189 Economies: World Bank

• India continues to be a tough place for doing business even as the country has improved

regulator processes for starting enterprises and trading across borders, according to

World Bank.

• In terms of ease of doing business, India is ranked 142nd among 189 countries in

the latest rankings issued by the World Bank.

• Singapore is at the top position, followed by New Zealand. Hong Kong SAR (China) is

at the third spot. Other nations in the top 10 are Denmark (4th), Korea Republic (5th),

Norway (6th), the US (7th), the UK (8th), Finland (9th) and Australia (10th).

• A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more

conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm. The rankings are determined by

sorting the aggregate distance to frontier scores on 10 topics, each consisting of several

indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. The rankings for all economies are

benchmarked to June 2014.

Nepal Constituent Assembly denies proposal to declare as a Hindu state

• Constituent Assembly of Nepal has rejected the proposal to declare Nepal as a Hindu

State.

• The proposal was forwarded by Pro-Hindu National Democratic Party of Nepal to

declare Nepal as a Hindu State.

• Only 21 members of the Constituent Assembly supported this proposal out of

total 601members. It is necessary to secure 10% of vote to amend this proposal.

Hungary declares a state of emergency in two countries

• Hungary declared a state of emergency over refugee inflex. The state of emergency

was declared to two southern countries which shares their border with Serbia in order to

avoid the illegal entry of refugees.

• Hungarian Police will take in charge to allow asylum applicants to the registration

centres. If the application of refugees is refused that particular person will be returned

to Serbia. It is the only option for the migrants from Serbia.

• Anyone who crosses the border illegally will face criminal charges. The laws also made

for damaging of the newly-built four-metre fence along Hungary’s 175 kilometre

border with Serbia as a criminal offence.

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Yongbyon nuclear plant of North Korea continues operation

• North Korea has resumed operations at the Yongbyon nuclear power plant, major

nuclear facility of North Korea. Yongbyon nuclear power plant is located at 90km north

of Pyongyang, Capital of North Korea.

• It had manufactured the fissile material for North Korea’s nuclear weapon tests

in 2006 and 2009, and since 2009 is developing indigenous light water reactor nuclear

power station technology.

• The plant was shut down in 2007. However it had conducted nuclear tests. Now

Yongbyon nuclear plant is in full operation mode including 5 MWe experimental reactor.

World’s longest chain of volcanoes discovered in Australia

• The world’s longest chain of volcanoes stretching for over 2,000 km has been

discovered in Eastern Australia. It has been formed over the past 33 million years.

• This old and longest volcanic chain reportedly fires from Cape Hillsborough on the

central Queensland coast, south-west through central New South Wales to Cosgrove in

Victoria.

• Rhodri Davies, an earth scientist at Australian National University led the team of

scientists have discovered the longest chain of continental volcanoes of the world in

Australia.

Nepal approves new constitution

Nepal has voted overwhelmingly in favor of a new constitution. It has approved after seven years

of painstaking efforts and deliberations.

• It replaced Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007

• It will come into force from September 20, 2015

Nepal’s 601-seat Constituent Assembly approved the constitution with a 507-25 vote.

The vote was boycotted, however, by smaller opposition parties that account for 9 percent of the

assembly.

Highlights of Nepal’s new constitution

– Clause has proposed to divide the country into seven federal units.

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– Protection of the age old religions and culture, secularism with freedom to adopt any

religion

– In order to get the citizenship by decent, one needs to have father or mother Nepali at the

time of his/her birth.

– The executive rights of the country shall vest on the Council of Ministers while the President

would be ceremonial head-of-the-state.

– It also mentions people’s competitive multi-party democratic system, civic freedom,

fundamental rights, human rights, period election, voting rights, full press freedom

– Establishment of independent, fair and competent judiciary, building of a prosperous nation

with the commitment to socialism based on rule of law, and democratic norms and

values

The new constitution is expected to come into force after it being unveiled by President. When the

constitution becomes effective, the Constituent Assembly that approved it will become a full-

fledged Parliament.

India, Cambodia ink 2 MoUs for bilateral cooperation in Tourism, Mekong Ganga Project

With commerce, culture and connectivity driving India-ASEAN relations, Vice President Hamid

Ansari signed two Memorandums of Understanding on tourism and on the Mekong-Ganga

Cooperation Initiative with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh.

The Mekong-Ganga MoU related to five “quick impact projects”

• $50,000 grant to Cambodia for the upgradation of an Entrepreneurship Development

Centre

• Two in healthcare, especially to do with malaria

• One on agriculture and

• One on women’s empowerment

Pentagon creates India Rapid Reaction Cell (IRRC)

The Pentagon has established a first-ever country special cell,India Rapid Reaction Cell

(IRRC), to speed up its defence ties with India and accelerate the process of co-development and

co-production of hi-tech military equipment in the country.

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IRRC, operational for a few months now, is part of the efforts to pursue all aspects of the India –

U.S. Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI). Currently, seven persons are

working on this cell, representing various wings of the US Department of Defence.

Key Facts:

• India is the only country to have a specific cell of its kind inside the Pentagon.

• IRRC is headed by Keith Webster, director, International Cooperation Office of the

Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.

• The DTII seeks to co-develop and co-produce military equipment in six pathfinder

projects. These include Next-generation Raven unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs),

Mobile electric hybrid power sources, Uniform integrated protection ensemble

increment-2 (chemical, biological warfare protection gear for soldiers) among others.

Coast of Chile hit by 8.3 Magnitude of earthquake.

• Atleast Eleven people have been killed and 1 million evacuated from their homes after

a8.3 magnitude earthquake –the strongest earthquake of this year in the World.

• More than 500 houses were damaged due to the earthquake.

• Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile declares a state of emergency in a central

region struck by a powerful earthquake.

• Coquimbo, close to the epicentre, saw tsunami waves of 4.7m (15ft) height after

the powerful earthquake.

• Small tsunami waves were felt along the west coast of the Canada and also in US. One-

metre (3ft) wave also reached in Hawaii.

India, US Create Joint Challenge Coin to Mark Partnership

India and the US have created a “joint challenge coin” to symbolise their unique partnership in

creating a next-generation aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy.

EATURES OF JOINT CHALLENGE COIN

• The “joint challenge coin” was created by the joint working group at their first meeting

in US last month to symbolise partnership.

• One side of the coin reads “Forward Together We Go“ and “Chale Chale Saath

Saath“ in Hindi; which is the vision statement of US President Barack Obama and Prime

Minister Narendra Modi, issued in their first meeting at the White House last September.

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• The other side of this coin, which is golden in colour, has the maps of India and

the United States and an aircraft carrier floating on blue water.

During Obama’s visit to India in January, the two countries had announced the establishment of a

working group for a next-generation aircraft carrier to bolster the Indian Navy’s blue-water

capabilities, which held its first-ever meeting here last month.

Sherif Ismail sworn in as new Prime Minister of Egypt

• Sherif Ismail, an Egyptian Engineer who served as the Minister of Petroleum and

mineral resources in the Ibrahim Mahlab’s government sworn in as new Prime

Minister of Egypt.

• Sherif Ismail took oath of office as the Prime Minister in the 33 member

cabinetincludes 16 new members and 3 female members before the President

Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

• The Ministers of Defence, Interior, Justice Foreign Affairs and Finance in

theresigned government have kept their positions also in the new Cabinet.

• Three Ministries have been merged that includes Health and Population, Education and

Higher Education, and Scientific Research.

Indo-Swiss project in low-carbon cement to get boost in India

• LC3, a low-carbon cement jointly developed by Indian and Swiss researchers, is

set to grow in India where the demand for cement will increase hugely as the country

embarks on a $1 trillion infrastructure development plan.

Singapore most preferred tour destination

• According to Hotel Price Index (HPI) survey of Hotels.com, Singapore has got

the firstposition in a list of most preferred overseas destinations for Indian travelers.

• Dubai (UAE) and Bangkok (Thailand) have secured second and third places

respectively.

20 micro satellites launched by Chinese Long March – 6

China successfully placed 20 micro satellites into space using its latest carrier rocket from “Long

March” family powered by pollution-free fuels, boosting the communist giant’s competitiveness

in the global satellite launch sector.

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The Long March-6 is a newly developed carrier rocket which uses liquid propellant, took off

from a launch base in the northern province of Shanxi.

FEATURES OF LONG MARCH – 6

• It is smaller type of rocket from its “Long March” family.

• The Long March 6 is also called Chang Zheng 6 and is abbreviated LM-6 for export

orCZ-6 within China.

• Developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and

theChina Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.

• Rocket is 3 metres (97 feet) high which is shorter than others actively used in China’s

space programme.

• Ecofriendly – Long March-6 uses fuel composed of liquid oxygen and kerosene,

which free of toxicity and pollution.

• It is capable of placing at least 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) of payload to 700Km.

China’s “Long March” is named after an epic journey by Communist forces under the eventual

command of Mao Zedong escaping the then ruling Kuomintang in the 1930s.

Cow becomes national animal of Nepal

• Cow, which is sacred to Hindus, has been declared the national animal of Nepal in the

country’s newly-unveiled secular constitution.

• Nepal had adopted a new constitution on Sunday after years of political wrangling.

China to open museum with rare Buddhists statues in Hebei

• China will open a museum displaying rare Buddhist statues some of them as old as

1,500 years in its Hebei Province next month.

• The museum in Linzhang County will exhibit more than 200 statues and statue

fragments in three showrooms.

Indian Diaspora “Mission 2022” launched

The three million strong Indian diaspora in the US haslaunched “Mission

2022” in partnership with theConfederation of Indian Industries (CII) to make US-India

partnership a defining partnership of the 21st century.

(CII president – Sumit Sumter)

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OBJECTIVE

Basic goal for the Diaspora launch is that there would be immense growth of both countries

by the year 2022 which will give rise to great opportunities of financial as well as mutual growth

in India and USA by making USD 500 billion economic engagement.

• Mission 2022 will have a series of dialogues with the diaspora over the next seven

years as India turns 75.

• These dialogues would be held every six months.

The growing Indian-American diaspora is heavily invested in the American system and can not

only rise to be the backbone of this critical partnership but can help fuel US & India’s mutual

growth story.

9th Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (RPBD) to be held in Los Angeles

The Government will organize the 9th Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (RPBD) in Los

Angeles, California in the United States of America on November 14-15.Theme for RPBD -

“The Indian Diaspora: Defining a New Paradigm in India-US Relationship”

Mahan Air to operate first flights between Denmark and Iran

• Iranian airline Mahan Air to operate its first flights between the capitals of the two

countries, Denmark and Iran which will start in March 2016.

• Mahan Air ends 8 year suspension of direct flights between the capitals of two countries.

It will operate the first flights between the Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport

of Iran and Kastrup or Copenhagen Airport of Denmark.

• Mahan Air is a private airline operates international flights to the Middle East, Central

Asia, and Europe.

• Chairman & CEO of Mahan Air – Hamid Arabnejad.

• Headquarters – Aryashahr, Tehran, Iran.

India to invest Rs 1, 00,000 crore in Iran

• Iran has offered to supply natural gas at $2.95 per mmbtu for a urea plant that India

will set up at Chabahar port on the Persian Gulf. But India is negotiating the gas price

at$1.5 per mmbtu.

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• India will invest Rs 1, 00,000 crore totally in this projects. Union Minister for Road

Transport and Shipping Nitin Gadkari said, various ministries will give their report by

September 28, and a final decision will be taken based on that reports.

• Union Ministry for Road Transport and Shipping has also received proposals from

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for setting up ports.

Mukesh Ambani India’s richest for 9th consecutive year: Forbes

Annual list of the richest Indians has been released by Forbes.Industrialist Mukesh Ambani named

as India’s richest for ninth year in a row with a net worth of $18.9 billion even as his wealth

dipped by $4.7 billion in a year.

• There are 12 new entrants in the list including Sachin and Binny Bansal (founders of

Flipkart) who made their debut at 86th position are now India`s first e-commerce billionaires

with a net worth of $1.3 billion each.

OECD releases International Migration Outlook 2015

• The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released the

International Migration Outlook 2015.

• In 2015, OECD countries and also some non member OECD countries are facing an

unprecedented refugee Crisis. The permanent migration has increased when compared

to the previous year.

• 2.4 lakh new Indian immigrants were moved to OECD countries in 2013 but

theexpatriation rate in 2013 was 192 only, the second lowest among the top 50

countries of origin for immigrants into OECD countries.

• One in ten new immigrants to developed countries in 2013 was from China. 4.4% of

new migrants from India and was in fourth position after Poland and Romania.

• More number of Indian – origin doctors and nurses were migrated to US, followed by the

UK.

• Total members of OECD: 34 Countries

EU imposes anti-dumping duty on Indian steel pipes

The European Union (EU) has imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty of up to

31.2% on imports of water and sewage pipes from India for six months to protect its own

domestic industry.

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The decision is in line with the European Commission’s anti-dumping probe in which it has

concluded that at this stage the material injury to the Union industry was caused by the dumped

imports from India. Accordingly, provisional measures will be imposed to prevent further injury

being caused to the Union industry by the dumped imports from Indian exporters.

Alexis Tsipras sworn in as new Prime Minister of Greece

• Alexis Tsipras, leader of the left-wing Syriza party has sworn in as the Prime Minister

of Greece by the President Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

• Alexis Tsipras, has sworn in as the PM of Greece for a second time. In January 2015, the

40-year old politician had sworn in for the first time as the youngest PM of Greece since

1965.

• The left-wing party has secured 35% of total votes (144 seats out of 300) in the

elections which held on September, 20.

• The party has formed a coalition government with the Independent Greeks Party to

achieve majority seats in the Parliament.

Magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits East Indonesia

• A powerful earthquake Magnitude 6.6 on Richter scale struck off Indonesia’s Papua

provinces. More than 60 people suffered injuries and 200 houses were damaged.

• According to the US Geological Survey said the earthquake’s epicentre was at a depth

of24 kilometre north of Sorong, a town in Indonesia’s Papua province. However this

under water earthquake had no potential to generate tsunami waves.

UN Foundation Announces Jennifer Lopez as Global Advocate for Girls and Women

Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez has been named the first-ever global advocate for girls and

women at the United Nations Foundation.

• The 46-year-old star will travel the globe in an attempt to highlight the plight of females

struggling in war zones, refugee camps and even on the mean streets of her native New

York, reported Marie Claire.

ROLE AS GLOBAL ADVOCATE FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN

Focus on mobilizing action to address major challenges for girls and women around the

world, in support of the UN Secretary-General’s Every Woman, Every Child initiative.

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• Supporting maternal health programs and ensuring access to education and

health services around the world, to working to end gender-based violence.

UN adopts agreement on Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations unanimously adopted an ambitious agreement – New Sustainable

Development Agenda for the next 15 years i.e. till 2030 to tackle the world’s biggest

problems, from eradicating poverty to preserving the planet to reducing inequality.

On this occasion Pope Francis backed the new development agenda while addressing the UN

General Assembly before the summit to adopt the 17-point plan, calling it “an important sign of

hope” at a very troubled time in the Middle East and Africa. Accordingly president of the

70thsession of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Mogens Lykketoft approved the

development road map.

Key Facts about the New Agenda:

• The document, titled “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development” not only outlines 17 broad goals but sets 169 specific targets.

• The new goals include ensuring healthy lives and quality education for all, clean water,

sanitation and reliable modern energy, as well as making cities safe, reducing inequality

within and among countries, and promoting economic growth and good governance.

• The implementation cost will be USD 3.5 trillion to USD 5 trillion every year until

2030.

What are sustainable development goals?

193 world leaders commit to 17 goals to achieve 3 extraordinary things in the next 15 years –End

extreme poverty, Fight inequality & injustice and Fix climate change. The Global Goals for

sustainable development could get these things done in all countries for all people.

• Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

• Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote

sustainable agriculture

• Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

• Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning

opportunities for all

• Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

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• Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

• Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

• Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and

productive employment and decent work for all

• Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization

and foster innovation

• Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

• Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

• Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

• Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*

• Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for

sustainable development

• Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems,

sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land

degradation and halt biodiversity loss

• Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide

access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all

levels

• Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership

for sustainable development

* Acknowledging that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary

international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change.

G4 Summit in New York – Security Council Reforms on Agenda

India is making a strong bid for a permanent seat in an expanded Security Council, which

currently had five members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United

States. To give a “strong push” to inter-governmental negotiations for achieving early UNSC

reforms the G-4 summit hosted by Indiain New York.

• It was the first since 2004 and brought together Prime Minister Narendra

Modi,German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Brazilian President Dilma

Rousseff andJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

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SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS

• A group of 4 countries came together in 2004 bound by shared commitment to global

peace and security

• Trends in demography and migrations are posing new challenges, climate change and

terrorism are new concerns

• Fundamentally different world from when the UN was born, faced with complex, and

undefined challenges

• UN Security Council must include the world’s largest democracies.

• Reform of the UNSC should take place in a fixed time frame, it is urgent and important

task.

First Bhagavad Gita Conference held in London

• The UK hosted the first Bhagavad Gita Conference in London. At this conference, Indian

and British experts came together with an aim to seek answers to the “innumerable

questions that exercise and confound all of us today.”

• The Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the High Commission

of Indiaorganized the Bhagavad Gita conference in collaboration with the Department

of the Study of Religions at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS),

University of London.

• Experts and historians from India and UK got together for the two-day sessions which

included aspects such as ‘Bhagvad Gita and Yoga’, ‘Impact of Bhagvad Gita on Modern

Sanskrit Writings’ and ‘The Bhagvad Gita – Timeless Values for Today.’

‘Angry Indian Goddesses’ film wins first runner-up at TIFF

• Indian film “Angry Indian Goddesses” was voted as the first runner-up at

the 40thToronto International Film Festival (TIFF)

• The film directed by Pan Nalin was voted as the first runner-up for the Grolsch People’s

Choice Award at this year’s festival.

• Of the seven girls in the film, Sandhya Mridul and Rajshri Deshpande were present at

the Toronto International Film Festival.

• Toronto film festival CEO: Piers Handling

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WHO removes Nigeria from Polio-Endemic Countries List

• Nigeria has been removed from the list of polio endemic countries. The announcement

was made by the World Health Organisation (WHO) at a meeting of the Global Polio

Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in New York.

• Nigeria has not reported a case of wild polio virus since 2014. However, three years

without cases are required before it can be declared polio free.

• Jean Gough, UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria, said “This is an important

milestone, but it is too early to celebrate. We need to continue the efforts at every level

if polio is to be eradicated.”

PM Modi first Indian PM to visit Ireland in 60 years – An overview

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ireland on 23rd September, 2015 for his maiden day-long

visit to Ireland’s capital city Dublinfor strengthening ties and deepening cooperation.

(Irish Prime Minister – Enda Kenny)

(Irish President – Michael D. Higgins)

(Ireland Currency – Euro)

(India Ambassador to Ireland – Mrs Radhika Lal Lokesh)

• The first Indian Prime Minister to visit the country in almost 59 years.

• The last Indian prime minister to visit Ireland was Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956.

HIGHLIGHTS OF VISIT

• Ireland support for India’s membership of UN Security council and international

export control regimes including NSG (Nuclear supplier group) during wide ranging talks

which also covered global challenges like terror and radicalisation.

• PM visits not only promote business links between two countries, but also give a strong

boost to tourism ties that are already growing at 14%per year.

• Science and technology and education are two other areas where India and Ireland have

a good history of cooperation like Ireland’s Science Centre in Karnataka is one

example of that cooperation. Irish experts gave India institutions like the Geological

Survey of India and the first Linguistic Survey of India.

• Announcement of direct flight between the two countries which will help the

students as well the professionals who come from India to Ireland.

• PM Modi presented reproductions of selected manuscripts from National Archives of

India to Irish PM.

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• Irish PM presents a Irish cricket team jersey to PM Narendra Modi and Hurling

(Irish national sport) bat (hurly) and a ball (sliotar)

FACTS ABOUT INDIA IRELAND RELATIONSHIP

• Ireland is home to around 26,000 persons of Indian origin, of which around 17,000 are

Indian citizens.

• The Directive Principles of State Policy in the Indian Constitution are inspired

by the Irish Constitution

• Relations between India and Ireland date back to independence and in 2013, the total

trade in goods and services were pegged at €2.48 billion.

• The key items of Irish export include computer hardware and software, pharmaceuticals

and chemicals, food and machinery.

• Indian exports to Ireland cover textiles, garments and clothing accessories,

pharmaceuticals, light engineering goods and chemicals.

PM Modi visit to US – An Overview

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a five-day visit to the United States of America (USA) from

September 24 to September 29. Here is the overview

SEPTEMBER 24TH – MEETING WITH CEOs OF FORTUNE 500

On the first day of his visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with 47 CEOs of Fortune 500

companies for attracting capital and investments in India. He sketched out his vision for “Start-Up

India, Stand-Up India” in meeting.

• Theme – “Media, Technology and Communications – Growth Story for India”.

CEOs expressed their eager interest in the Indian start-up sector and showed willingness to invest

in entrepreneurial ventures and innovative start-ups which will provide bull high future prospectus

in Indian economy.

SEPTEMBER 25TH – NaMo ADDRESSED UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT

The United Nations sustainable development summit on was held from 25 to 27 September 2015

in New York which was hosted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon where Modi addressed the

70th session of UN General Assembly.

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• New framework – “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development”

17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets were announced in the summit as an

ambition of the new post – 2015 universal agenda to end poverty, hunger, assure gender equality

and build a life of dignity for all over the next 15 years.

SEPTEMBER 26TH – INDIA HOST G-4 SUMMIT

PM Modi hosted a G-4 Summit with leaders of G-4 nations Brazil, Germany and Japan in New

York. This summit aims at the permanent member seats on the United Nations Security

Council. After 2004 it was hosted by India.

Participants

German Chancellor Angela Merkel,

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff

SEPTEMBER 26TH -27TH – VISIT TO SILICON VALLEY & SAN JOSE

NaMo visited tech capital of Silicon Valley for the expansion of “Digital India” initiative. There

he met Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Facebook’s founder Mark

Zukerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and leaders of other tech companies. Here are the commitments

done by the tech giants:

• Google to provide India a set up base for free Wi-Fi at 500 railway stations

• Google will introduce 11 new languages in Android next month, including Gujarati.

• Microsoft to provide low-cost broadband technology to five lakh villages across

India in collaboration with the Indian government.

• Qualcomm to invest $150 Million in India to create a venture investment fund that

would probably help start-ups in the country.

• Qualcomm also announced to set up a “design houses” for product innovation in

India.

• Apple to set up a manufacturing base in India.

On 27th September 2015 “Startup Konnect” was held by Nasscom in partnership with TiE

Silicon Valley and IIM Ahmedabad’s CIIE India that showcased the strengths of India’s startup

ecosystem in San Jose. There he addressed a meeting of some 18,000 Indian Americans in at the

SAP Centre and seven MoU was signed between Indian and US entities:

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• MoU between Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms and the California

Institute for Quantitative Biosciences

• To develop Indo-US Life Science Sister Innovation Hub so as to enhance science-based

entrepreneurship, research, academia and businesses

• MOU between Department of Biotechnology and Prakash Lab and Stanford

University on Foldscope

• Economical science innovation emerged from a lab of an Indian with majority of Indians

working in this laboratory.

• MOU between National Association of Software and Service

Companies(NASSCOM) and the Indus Entrepreneurs

• To support the creation of a vibrant ecosystem to foster technology entrepreneurship in

India and Silicon Valley in mutual understanding

• MOU between IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation and

Entrepreneurship(CIIE) and Lester Centre for Entrepreneurship of the Haas

Business School of the University of California

• To collaborate on mutual incubation, and support each other activities of mutual

interest.

• MOU between CIIE and Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator

• To extend NGIN Membership benefits to CIIE.

• MOU between CIIE and Google

• To support technology and impact entrepreneurs through strategic support.

• MOU between CIIE and Tata Trust

• Founding partner for the Bharat Fund, which will provide seed funding to Indian

entrepreneurs.

There is also a launch of initiative programme i.e. CIIE /LACI NGIN Landing Pad

Programmewhich will enables entrepreneurs and innovators to gain access to the California and

Indian markets. It will assist startup Cleantech companies with market expansion through

partnerships and funding opportunities in California and India.

SEPTEMBER 28TH – NaMo MEETS BARACK OBAMA

US President and Indian PM held talks to tighten strategic in fields of climate change, security,

counter-terrorism, defence and economy. Barack Obama publicly supported India for being a

permanent member at UN Security Council. It was a third meet of two in a year.

Other participants

British Prime Minister – David Cameron

French President – Francois Hollande

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• France, UK and US are permanent members of United Nations Security Council

• Council $2.5-billion helicopter deal of Chinook and Apache was signed During US

peacekeeping Summit hosted by President Obama in New York.

• Modi announced the deployment of an additional battalion, additional police units,

provision of critical enablers, deployment of technical personnel, new training course,

and additional training teams during summit.

SEPTEMBER 29TH – BACK TO INDIA

Today Modi wrapped up his all engagements by concluding the US visit.

Wipro selected as Dow Jones Sustainability World Index member

Wipro, a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services

Company has been selected as a member of the global Dow Jones Sustainability Index

(DJSI) – 2015 for the sixth year consecutive year.

Wipro is included in both the DJSI World and Emerging Markets Indices.

PARTICIPANTS

• A total of 1,845 companies were assessed from around the world of which 317 have

been chosen as the DJSI World constituents for the year 2015-16.

• The IT Services sector saw 76 companies participating globally of which 8 have been

selected for the World Index.

India, Japan and US trio meet to maintain Maritime Security

Ensuring peace, prosperity and security as an agenda the foreign ministers of India, Japan

and the United States held their first trilateral meeting in New York which highlighted the

growing convergence of their respective countries in the Indo-Pacific region and collaboration on

maritime security. This meeting was held on sidelines of last week’s United States Strategic and

Commercial Dialogue.

PARTICIPANTS

External Affairs Minister – Sushma Swaraj

Japanese Foreign Minister – Fumio Kishida

US Secretary of State – John Kerry

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DISCUSSIONS

• Peaceful settlement of dispute regarding South China Sea which is of main concern

as China has grown coverage in sea.

• Emphasized the importance of international law, freedom of navigation and

overflight and impeded lawful commerce.

• Support for ASEAN centrality in the multilateral political and security architecture in the

Asia Pacific region

• Discussed the importance of the East Asia Summit which will hold in Kuala

Lumpur, Malaysia in November for addressing key political and security issues of

their region.

• The trio also agreed to work together to maintain maritime security through greater

collaboration.

• Japan will also participate in the 2015 MALABAR exercise which is a naval

exercise of US and India.

• Assembling of an expert level group on humanitarian assistance and disaster

relief which will enhance ability for jointly handle a complex disaster.

• The trio has launched an experts-level group on regional connectivity which will

explore cooperation on women’s skill enhancement & economic empowerment.

China launches BDS I2-S rival to US GPS

China launched a new generation navigation satellite BDS I2-S which is a 20th satellite for its

BeiDou Navigation Satellite System. It was launched by Long March3B carrier rocket from Xichang

Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

China’s own version navigation satellite BDS I2-S is parallel with US GPS (global positioning

system) system and Europe’s Galileo.

It is named after Chinese term which means “plough” or “big dipper constellation” and is

featured with hydrogen atomic clock which will provide accurate positioning service.

1. Civilian use is 10 meters

2. Timing accuracy of 20 nanoseconds

3. Velocity accuracy of 0.2 meters per second

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• It is expected that BeiDou will provide global coverage by 2017.

• Beidou project was launched in 1994.

Taliban capture northern Afghan city of Kunduz

• Taliban militants have captured the strategic northern Afghan city of

Kunduzto raising fresh concerns about the country’s ability to provide its own

security and now control a major urban area for the first time since the 2001 U.S.-led

invasion.

• This massive attack comes a day before the first anniversary of President Ashraf Ghani’s

unity government. The Taliban has been pressing attacks against Afghan security

forces since the U.S. combat mission there officially ended last year and the government

assumed responsibility for security.

• The Kunduz assault highlighted the resiliency of the Taliban following the revelation

earlier this year that their reclusive longtime leader Mullah Mohammad Omar died two

years ago.

• It is also one of the massive attack undertaken by Taliban militants after formal end of

US-NATO coalition mission in Afghanistan in December 2014.

Tejinder Pal Singh named as Australian of the Day by Commonwealth Bank

An Indian-origin Sikh migrant driver in Australia has been named ‘Australian of the Day’ for

feeding the homeless in Darwin for the past three years by Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

• Tejinder Pal Singh has dedicated the last Sunday of the month to feed the poor and

homeless locals of northern Darwin after he finishes his shift as a cabbie. He cooks up

30 kg of Indian cuisine to feed the homeless after his night shift.

• His van carries a signature written as ‘Free Indian food for hungry and needy people,

Provide Sikh family.

• Commonwealth Bank has sponsored the Australian of the Year Awards for over 35

years, recognising extraordinary Australians who have made a big difference to the

country.

First U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue Washington D.C.

U.S.-India Joint Declaration on Combating Terrorism

http://www.affairscloud.com/first-u-s-india-strategic-and-commercial-dialogue-washington-d-c/

http://www.affairscloud.com/u-s-india-joint-declaration-on-combating-terrorism/

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Banking & Finance

RBI proposes formula to calculate Base Rate

With an attempt to bring about uniformity among banks for calculation of the base rate and for

effective transmission of policy rates to the customers, RBI proposed a new formula for

calculating the Bank Rate.

The Base Rate is the minimum interest rate of a Bank below which it cannot lend, except in

cases allowed by RBI.

The Base Rates differ across banks and there is no uniformity in the calculation.

Methods of calculating the Base Rate

• At present, banks are using various methodologies: marginal cost of funds method,

average cost of funds method, blended cost of funds (liabilities) method etc.

• RBI has suggested the banks to consider marginal cost of funds as a parameter to

calculate the individual lending rates as the Base Rates based on marginal cost of funds

are more sensitive to changes in the policy rates

• The components of Base Rate will include cost of funds, negative carry on CRR/SLR, un-

allocable overhead costs and average return on net-worth

RBI will implement this proposal from April 1st 2016 and has asked the banks to submit road

maps two months prior to the implementation of the proposals, indicating the time frame within

which they will be adopting the framework.

Why are uniform base rates desirable?

It is important in order to improve the efficiency of monetary policy transmission.

What is monetary policy transmission?

RBI takes monetary policy decisions to stabilise the economy and keep the price levels within

rational limits. But these decisions will be effective only if the entities such as banks, markets,

financial institutions etc modify their working accordingly. This is a very simplistic explanation of

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monetary policy transmission, though the actual process is very complex, so much so that it is

called a ‘black box’ among economists.

RBI to issue Rs 5 coin on golden jubilee of 1965 Indo-Pak war

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will shortly put into circulation Rs 5 coins to

commemorate golden jubilee of Indo-Pak War 1965. The coins will be legal tender as

provided in The Coinage Act 2011 and existing coins in this denomination will also continue to

be legal tender.

About the Coin:

• The new coin in the obverse will bear Lion Capital of Ashoka Pillar in the centre

with ‘Satyamev Jayate’ inscribed below it.

• On the reverse it will bear image of ‘Amar Jawan’ monument along with the design

of olive leaves branch on its left and right sides at the center, with the

inscription ‘veerata aur balidan’ in Devnagri script on the left upper periphery

and ‘VALOUR AND SACRIFICE’ in English on the right upper

• Also, ‘GOLDEN JUBILEE 1965 OPERATIONS’ in English on the lower periphery will

be written on the reverse side of the coin.

• Furthermore, the year ‘2015’ will be written below the image of the monument.

Central Bank of Sri Lanka received USD 1.1 billion from RBI

• The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) received USD 1.1 billion from the Reserve

Bank of India (RBI), under thecurrency swap agreement between the two reserve

banks. The signing of the special currency swap agreement for USD 1.1 billion by the CBSL

with the RBI took place earlier on 17 July 2015.

• Sri Lanka already obtained USD 400 million under this arrangement, which is available

from the RBI to SAARC member countries, to increase foreign reserves. CBSL Governor

Arjuna Mahendran said, the country will receive the balance 1.1 billion dollars from the

Reserve Bank of India to boost foreign reserves under a USD 1.5 billion dollar swap

arrangement. The funds will reach Sri Lanka overnight.

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SEBI notified Revised Listing Regulations, 2015

Capital market regulator The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has

notified SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 which

amended listing regulations that allow listed companies to seek shareholders’ approval for related

party deals through ordinary resolutions.

As per the notification, a time period of ninety days has been given for implementing the

Regulations. However, two provisions of the regulations in the revised rules, which are

facilitating in nature, are applicable with immediate effect.

Highlights of the Listing Regulations:

• The Regulations, 2015 (Listing Regulations) have been divided into two parts. They are

1. Substantive provisions incorporated in the main body of regulations and

2. Procedural requirements in the form of schedules to the regulations.

• The two provisions which came into effect immediately are –

1. The first one belongs to passing of ordinary resolution instead of special resolution in the

case of all material related party transactions subject to related parties abstaining from

voting on such resolutions, in line with the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.

2. Another one relates to re-classification of promoters as public shareholders under

various circumstances.

• The latest set of norms also provides broad principles for periodic disclosures by listed

entities, apart from incorporating corporate governance principles.

• A shortened version of the listing agreement would be prescribed and has to be signed

by the company. Furthermore, existing listed entities will be required to sign the

samewithin six months of the notification of the regulations.

• All disclosures required to be made on the website of the listed entity have been

enumerated at a single place for ease of reference and all requirements pertaining to

disclosures in the annual report have been combined.

• Obligations which are applicable to specific types of securities have been incorporated in

separate chapters.

• Stock exchanges will be responsible in ensuring companies comply with the listing

obligations, and in the case of non-compliance, action can be taken against the entities.

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RBI’s proposal to allow Non-Competitive bidding in T-bills for retail

• In its recent annual report, RBI had proposed that the non-competitive bidding option

for retailers should now be opened for t-bills too.

• RBI is also carrying consultations with stakeholders to enable seamless movement of

securities from the subsidiary general ledger (SGL) form to demat form to

promote trading of government securities on stock exchanges.

Low Retail Participation

The participation of retail investors in non-competitive bidding of dated securities has been low so

far due to low awareness about this facility and also the infrastructure to mobilise the trading

has not developed fully yet.

The individual participation has been low as retail investors participate in these sovereign

instruments mostly through the mutual fund route.

Sebi ordered defreezing of bank, demat accounts of Gemini Communications

Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has directed

banks and depositories to defreeze the bank and securities accounts of Gemini

Communicationsafter it recovered pending dues of over Rs 11 lakh.

As per the press release, SEBI has recovered Rs 11,30,534 from the company towards full and

final settlement of dues which included interests, all costs, charges and expenses.

Sahara India’s para-banking license scrapped by RBI

• In a fresh setback to the beleaguered Sahara India Pariwar, the Reserve Bank of India

(RBI) has cancelled the license of its holding company Sahara India Financial

Corporation Limited (SIFCL).

• The action has been taken by the department of non-banking supervision of the RBI, in

Kanpur. The move comes in wake of several irregularities and ignoring financial rules

and regulations by Sahara, an official further informed.

• The notice cancelling its license to conduction financial business has been sent to the

Kapurthala head quarter of the Sahara India.

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OSCB begins ‘Banks on Wheels’ service in remote areas

• Odisha State Cooperative Bank Limited (OSCB) launched ‘Banks of Wheels’ scheme in

20 backward blocks to reach the farmers and other people in remote areas of the state.

• This scheme is launched by Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and he also also inaugurated the

Core Banking Data Management Centre to provide connectivity to all branches.

• 16 districts :Keonjhar, Koraput, Sundergarh, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kalahandi, Kandhamal,

Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur, Angul, Dhenkanal, Boudh, Malkangiri, Nawrangpur, Rayagada

and Nayagarh.

BSE has highest number of listed companies in the world: WFE

• Oldest exchange in Asia Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has the highest number of listed

companies in the world by World Federation of Exchanges (WEF) report. It was

established in 1855

• Total number of 5689 companies were listed with the BSE. In that only one company

was a foreign company.The total value of transactions in the BSE was 94 billion US

dollars

• The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) had 1750 listed companies by the end of

June 2015.

• Shanghai stock exchange of China (1070 companies) was at the top in terms of value of

share trading with 30 trillion US dollars.BSE MD & CEO : Ashish Chauhan

Andhra Bank opens its 2600th branch in Hyderabad

Managing Director and CEO Satish Kumar Kalra e-launched the 2600th branch at Yadgirigutta

and the 3000th ATM at Sunshine Hospital in Secunderabad.

• Andhra Bank, has branch across 26 States and 3 Union Territories.

• 43 per cent of the branches are in semi-uban/rural areas and 231 of the branches are in

unbanked rural centres. During the current fiscal, the bank added 100 branches and

plans to add over 300 by March 2016.

• Andhra Bank Headquarters : Hyderabad.

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RBI, Nepal Rastra Bank ink pact for supervisory info exchange

The Reserve Bank of India signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Supervisory

Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information with Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB),

Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.

The MoU was signed by Mr. Narayan Prasad Paudel, Executive Director on behalf of Nepal

Rastra Bank and Mrs. Meena Hemchandra, Executive Director on behalf of the Reserve

Bank of India at the Central Office of Reserve Bank in Mumbai.

The Reserve Bank has so far entered into Memorandum of Understanding with supervisors of 27

countries and Letter for Supervisory Co-operation and Statement of Co-operation with supervisors

of one country each to promote greater co-operation and share supervisory information.

By signing the MoU, RBI is seeking to promote greater co-operation and share supervisory

information among the authorities. So far RBI has signed 27 such MoUs, one Letter for

Supervisory Co-operation (LSC) and one Statement of Co-operation (SoC) in this regard.

SBI Card rolls out SimplyCLICK

• SBI Card launches SimplyCLICK an online specific credit card in association

with sevenof biggest e-commerce partners which includes Amazon

India, BookMyShow, Cleartrip, Ola Cabs, LensKart, Food Panda and Fab Furnish.

• The SimplyCLICK of SBI Card is India’s 1st ever credit card that focuses on online

shopping across different categories.

• Customers who will spend more than Rs.2 lakh via online will receive Rs 4000 worth

of Vouchers.

• Customers will have to pay a fee of Rs. 499. But they will also get an Amazon e-

giftwelcome voucher worth of Rs. 500.

Paytm to start Country’s first payment bank

• Paytm to launch India’s first payments bank by the end of this fiscal year. Paytm is

the one among the 11 applicants who got the approval from RBI to establish payment

banks recently.

• Paytm to get Rs 10,000 crore in deposits in the next three years. It has more than 104

million mobile wallets and it is expected that it will reach 150 million mobile

wallets by March 2016.

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RBI Names 10 Companies to Set Up Microfinance Banks

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted “in principle approval” to 10 companies to set up small

finance banks to provide access to financial services in rural and semi-urban areas.

(In principle approval meaning – Application has meet the conditions but it’s not the confirmation

that application will be successful)

Aim: To offer basic banking services of accepting deposits and lending to unserved and

underserved sections including small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro

and small industries, and entities in the unorganized sectors

A total of 72 players had applied for the small finance bank licence and the applications were

reviewed by a 3 committees.

Key guidelines to be met by small finance banks

In-principle approval granted will be valid for 18 months to enable the applicants to comply with

the requirements under the Guidelines and fulfill other conditions as stipulated by the

RBI under Section 22(1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

– 25 branches must be in unbanked rural areas.

– Require minimum paid up equity capital of Rs 100 crore.

– 50 percent of loan portfolio to constitute loans & advances of up to Rs 25 lakh.

– Listing mandatory within 3 years of reaching Rs. 500 crore net worth.

– Maximum foreign shareholding of 74% allowed.

– Promoter stake must be at 40% in first 5 years – their stake to be brought down to 30%

within 10 years, 26% in 12 years.

– Maximum loan size & investment limit to single obligor restricted to 10% of capital

funds.

Selected applicants

1. Au Financiers (India) Limited, Jaipur

2. Capital Local Area Bank Limited, Jalandhar

3. Disha Microfin Private Limited, Ahmedabad

4. Equitas Holdings P Limited, Chennai

5. ESAF Microfinance and Investments Private Limited, Chennai

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6. Janalakshmi Financial Services Private Limited, Bengaluru

7. RGVN (North East) Microfinance Limited, Guwahati

8. Suryoday Micro Finance Private Limited, Navi Mumbai

9. Ujjivan Financial Services Private Limited, Bengaluru

10. Utkarsh Micro Finance Private Limited, Varanasi.

According to the in-principle nod given by the central bank, the applicants cannot undertake any

banking business until a regular licence is issued.

TCRIP conferred with Global Award GRAA

The 42-km Thiruvananthapuram City Road Improvement Project (TCRIP) has been

conferred the Global Road Achievement Award (GRAA) 2015 by the International Road

Federation (IRF) based in Alexandria, Virginia, US.

Minister for Public Works, V. K. Ebrahim Kunju and Project Director of Thiruvananthapuram Road

Development Company Ltd, Anil Kumar Pandala received the award.

• The award was given under Urban Planning & Mobility category for the project

executed by IL&FS Transportation Networks.

• The award was presented at the First IRF Europe & Central Asia Regional Congress in

Istanbul, Turkey.

• The selection was made by an independent, international panel of judges with expertise

across major road and highway disciplines.

Urdu scholar Shamim Hanfi wins Jnangarima Manad Alankaran Award

• Eminent Urdu Scholar Shamim Hanfi received the Jnangarima Manad

Alankaran byBharatiya Jnanpith at his home.

• Shamim Hanfi has been chosen for the first Jnangarima Manad Alankaran award at

the annual ‘Kavita Samay’, which was created by the Bharatiya Jnanpith this year.

• Jnangarima Manad Alankaran award was instituted to recognize the contribution of

writers in Indian languages.

• The Jnangarima Manad Alankaran award comprises a silver statue of Saraswathi and

astipend of Rs 11,000 per month for the next one year from the Bharatiya Jnanpith.

• Shamim Hanfi is best known for his books like “Jadidiyat ki Falsafiyani

Asas,”“Ghazal Ka Naya Manzarnama” and “Infiradi Shaoor aur Ijtemai

Zindagi.”

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• Director of Bharatiya Jnanpith – Leeladhar Mandloi.

P.Siva Kumar elevated as Distinguished Scientist

• The Director of CVRDE, P Sivakumar elevated as a Distinguished Scientist by the

Union Ministry of Defense to recognize his efforts in the field.

• P Sivakumar, the director of Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment

(CVRDE) which is located at Avadi in Tamil Nadu involved in development of various

products that includes theArjun MBT Mark-II, Carrier Command Post Tracked

Vehicle and unmanned ground vehicles.

• He is a member of many professional institutions namely American Gear

Manufacturers Association (AGMA), American Society of Metals (ASM), National

Academy of Engineering and Institution of Engineers, India.

Bank of Baroda wins first prize under Rajbhasha Kirti Purashar Scheme

• Bank of Baroda won the first prize under the Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar Scheme of

GOI.

• This PSU bank has secured the award for its outstanding performance in official

language implementation under the category of nationalized banks in the linguistic

region – B – for the year 2014-15.

• Ranjan Dhawan, MD & CEO of the Bank of Baroda received the award

from President Pranab Mukherjee at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on the occasion

of Hindi Diwas.

• Bank of Baroda also won many prizes at national level for the performance in official

language implementation.

IDFC gets RBI nod to utilize Rs.2500 crore reserve

• Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) gets RBI nod for using Rs 2,500

crore reserve as provision against bad loans.

• RBI has granted the approval to utilize non-distributable Statutory Reserves of Rs

2,500 crore for the creation of specific provisions against stressed assets.

• IDFC’s banking operations will start from October 1 with 20 branches. 15 out of 20 will

be located in three districts of Madhya Pradesh namely, Khandwa, Harda and

Hosangabad. Current CEO, Rajiv Lall executive will be its vice-chairman and MD.

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• Former Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Vinod Rai, will be the non-

executive chairman and Former Union home secretary Anil Baijal will be

theChairman of IDFC bank.

SEBI’S Highest Ever Penalty – PACL, Fined with a Record Rs 7,269 Crore

• The SEBI has slapped its highest ever fine of 7,269 crore, on PACL and its directors.

• The reason is for failing to register the company’s collective investment scheme (CIS).

• The CIS took thousands of crores from small investors.

• PACL, formerly Pearl Agrotech Corporation, is in the business of realty and land

development.

Bank of Maharashtra launches MUDRA Card

Bank of Maharashtra (BOM), a leading Public Sector Bank launched MUDRA Card for Micro

and Small entrepreneurs to meet their credit requirement. The card was launched by Shri. S.

Muhnot, CMD of BOM on the occasion of Bank’s 81st Foundation Day Celebrations.

Highlights of the Card:

• The MUDRA Card issued as a Rupay Debit Card and it is a hassle free flexible Credit

Product that meets in working capital needs of Micro and Small Entrepreneurs.

• Cash can be withdrawn from any ATM or purchase from Merchandise using POS

machine.

• In addition to that, Bank of Maharashtra is offering MUDRA loans at competitive rates @

Base Rate and no processing charges are levied for the loans up to Rs 5.00 lakh.

Point to be noted that, Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has launched MUDRA (Micro

Units Development & Refinance Agency) Scheme with aim to fulfill Micro/Small entrepreneurs

engaged in all non-farm sector income generating activities such as manufacturing, trading and

services whose credit needs are up to Rs.10 Lakh.

RBI allowed banks to use e-payments for imports

In order to facilitate e-commerce, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) started allowing banks to

enter into pacts with Online Payment Gateway Service Providers (OPGSPs) for import

purpose.

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Key Facts:

• The facility will only be available for import of goods and software (as permitted in

the prevalent Foreign Trade Policy) of value not exceeding USD 2,000.

• Foreign entities, willing to operate as OPGSP, will have to open a relationship

office in India with the approval of RBI before operationalising the arrangement with

any bank.

• On the other side, domestic entities functioning as intermediaries for e-payment

transactions and intending to undertake cross border transactions will have to

maintainseparate accounts for domestic and cross border transactions.

• Point to be noted that RBI had earlier permitted banks to offer the facility to repatriate

export related remittances by entering standing arrangements with OPGSPs in respect of

export of goods and services. The limit has been fixed at USD 10,000.

RBI Prudential Norms on Change in Ownership of Borrowing Entities

The Reserve Bank of India would allow banks to convert the status of their “stressed” loans to a

company into “standard” ones if the entity is sold to a new major stakeholder.

• This decision will give banks more flexibility to bring in a change in ownership of borrowing

entities which are under stress primarily due to operational or managerial inefficiencies

despite substantial sacrifices made by the lending banks.

CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP SUBJECT TO FOLLOWING CONDITIONS

• New promoter should not be a person/entity/subsidiary/associate (domestic as

well as overseas), belonging to the existing promoter/promoter group.

• The new promoter should have acquired at least 51% of the paid up equity capital of

the borrower company.

• If the new promoter is a non-resident, and in sectors where the ceiling on foreign

investment is less than 51% then the new promoter should own at least 26% of the

paid up equity capital or up to applicable foreign investment limit, whichever is higher.

• At the time of takeover of the borrowing entity by a new promoter banks are allowed

to refinance the existing debt of the borrowing entities, considering the changed risk

profile, without treating the exercise as restructuring

• Provisions held against the said account can be reversed if the outstanding loan

facilities of the borrowing entities perform satisfactorily during the specified period

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This permission of upgradation of credit facilities extended to borrowing entities upon a change in

ownership given to banks is applicable only if the ownership has been changed outside

“Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme”

STRATEGIC DEBT RESTRUCTURING SCHEME (SDR)

It gives lenders the right to convert their outstanding loans into a majority equity stake if

the borrower fails to meet conditions stipulated under the restructuring package.

IDFC Bank thinks having no ATMs, free service at other machines

IDFC Bank formally launching services on October 1st, 2015 with motto “hatke bank” is

contemplating a move of not having its own ATMs and making transactions at rivals ATMs free for

customers. (MD & CEO – Mr. Vikram Limaye) & (Executive Chairman – Dr. Rajiv B. Lall)

• IDFC Bank customers may be allowed to use existing automated teller machines (ATMs)

without any charges.

• Money paid to bank for installing and maintaining the ATMs from third parties works out

almost the same as the fees paid to other banks for a transaction

• Generally, a bank pays under Rs 20 to another bank for helping its customer carry out a

transaction, but it can be negotiated down

• It is formally launching services on October 1 with 23 branches, out of which 15 will be

in rural areas

• Component of rural branches, being called “Bharat Bank” at IDFC

No final decision has been taken on the matter as yet.

SEBI to absorb FMC’s seven director-level officials

After its merger with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), seven director-level

officers of the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) will be absorbed by the capital

market regulator, while 41 other employees will become part of the central government

employee’s pool.

• Out of the seven, there are two directors, deputy directors and assistant

directors each while one is a joint director.

• 41 FMC employees would hold their respective offices as employees of the central

government by the same tenure upon the same terms and conditions of service as they

would have held under the Commission

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• At present, there are 12 recognised commodity exchanges of which six are non-

operational. The operational exchanges include three national and three regional

bourses.

FMC merged with SEBI

Forward Markets Commission (FMC) is now fully covered by the capital market regulator SEBI

after the merger. It is first ever merger of two regulatory bodies.

• Merging of SEBI and the FMC was decided by the Congress in the Union Budget

of 2014-15

• SEBI was set up in 1988 as a non-statutory body for regulating the securities markets.

It became an autonomous body in 1992 with fully independent powers.

• FMC was a regulator for commodities markets since 1953 but due to lack of powers it

led to alleged irregularities and speculative illegal activities like ‘dabba trading’ and

these became the part of this segment.

– Also the NSEL (National Spot Exchange Ltd) scam let down this market with money crisis of

Rs 5000 crores.

RBI cuts Repo Rate from 7.25 Percent to 6.75 Percent

Central bank Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the repo rate by 50 basis point from

7.25% to 6.75%. The repo rate was last at 6.75 percent in March 2011. This is the fourth time

that the RBI has cut rates since January 2015.

Repo rate is the rate at which RBI lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall

of funds.

RATE CUT ADVANTAGE

• RBI will able to provide policy support to the real economy and help its recovery.

• Now Indian corporates will able to raise External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) through

rupee denominated offshore bonds with no end use restrictions.

• This rate cut signals lower home loan rates as well as reduced equated monthly

instalments.

• Main focus is to bringing inflation down to 5 percent by FY17-end.

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• Increase in FPI limits would bring in greater foreign participation will result in higher

liquidity in the Indian Government Securities market.

RBI RATES

Repo Rate 6.75%

Reverse Repo Rate 5.75%

CRR 4.00%

SLR 21.5%

CSO released estimates of GDP for April-June quarter of 2015-16

The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme

Implementation has released the estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter

(April-June) Q1, of 2015-16.

• GDP at constant (2011-12) prices in Q1 of 2015-16 is estimated at 27.13 lakh crore, as

against 25.35 lakh crore in Q1 of 2014-15, showing a growth rate of 7.0 percent.

• Quarterly GVA at basic prices for Q1 2015-16 from ‘agriculture, forestry and fishing’

sector grew by 1.9 percent as compared to growth of 2.6 percent in Q1 2014-15.

• Quarterly GVA at basic prices for Q1 2015-16 from ‘mining and quarrying’ sector grew

by 4.0 percent as compared to growth of 4.3 percent in Q1 2014-15.

• Quarterly GVA at basic prices for Q1 2015-16 from ‘manufacturing’ sector grew by 7.2

percent as compared to growth of 8.4 percent in Q1 2014-15.

• Quarterly GVA at basic prices for Q1 2015-16 from ‘Electricity ,Gas, water supply and

other utility services’ sector grew by 3.2 percent as compared to growth of 10.1

percent in Q1 2014-15.

• Quarterly GVA at basic prices for Q1 2015-16 from ‘Construction’ sector grew by 6.9

percent as compared to growth of 6.5 percent in Q1 2014-15

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Business

Ratan Tata invests in Food Tech Startup Holachef

• Holachef is a food tech startup which was launched in 2014 by Saurabh Saxena

and Anil Gelra for retail customers in Mumbai and now has a customer base in Mumbai

and Pune.

• Tata has made a 14th investment in a startup in his personal capacity since his

retirement in 2012 with an objective to reach budding entrepreneurs and have them

draw from the Tata Trust’s expertise to give a strong push to new businesses.

• Tata’s personal worth is pegged at $1 billion and is an advisor in the venture capital

fund, Kalaari Capital.

Snapdeal to invest USD 100-mn in Shopo

• E-commerce major Snapdeal will invest USD 100 million (about Rs 665 crore)

inShopo as it looks to build up the recently launched venture into a one million seller-

strong platform.

• Shopo was launched in July and is a zero commission mobile marketplace targeting

small and medium businesses which combines chat and commerce on smartphones.

• Snapdeal claims that it does not take any fees and allows SMBs to list their products in a

single step

• Sellers would be able to chat with their prospective customers and sell them products,

taking into consideration the mode of transaction and delivery method. They would also

be able to provide information, negotiate a price and arrange for pickup while closing

transactions.

Reliance Defence In Pact With UAE’s ADSB For Naval Ship Manufacturing

• Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence Ltd (RDL) has signed an MoU with Abu Dhabi

Ship Building to set up a strategic partnership for construction of naval ships, including

frigates and destroyers to address the demands of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), over

the next 10 years.

• RDL is a fully owned subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd while Abu Dhabi Ship

Building (ADSB) is a leading provider of construction, repair and refit services for naval,

military and commercial vessels.

• Under this MoU, RDL and ADSB are investigating the opportunity to set up a strategic

partnership for the construction of naval ships – including frigates, destroyers and other

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specialized vessels to address the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) over the next 10

years.

Doha Bank ties up with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group

• Doha Bank has tied up with Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group to generate business

opportunities in the Gulf Cooperation Council nations and India.

• Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman are part of

the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

• Doha Bank and Reliance ADA Group have entered into an alliance to create new

opportunities for cooperation and innovation in terms of business development across

the GCC and India.

• MoU is envisaged to provide tangible business opportunities and further prospects for

expansion for Doha Bank and Reliance Group.

Mahindra Group enters e-commerce segment with M2ALL launch

• 16.9 billion USD Mahindra group has finally made it’s debut into the e-commerce

space with the launch of M2ALL.com, an e-marketplace for Mahindra products and

services.

• The online marketplace has begun taking bookings for the new compact SUV Mahindra

TUV300 the compact sports utility vehicle from the Mahindra stable.

• Mahindra e-Market Private Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd,

owns this e-commerce venture and has been developed under the guidance of Mahindra

Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) VS Parthasarathy.

• Mr Parthasarathy has been named as the Chairman of this venture and Vijay S.

Mahajan heads it. A small team of 10 people are involved in this project and more are

expected to join soon

India ranks 34th in business growth environment – Thornton

In the Grant Thornton Global Dynamism Index (GDI), India was ranked at the 34th place

out of 60 in “business growth environment”registering a gain of 14 places, since the last

version of the index shows an indication of PM Narendra Modi’s attempt to boost the economy.

(Singapore ranked top followed by Israel at 2nd and Australia at 3rd rank)

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India ranked 53rd out of 60 in the GDI in “business operating environment” because of

poor regulatory environment and a lack of investment in science and technology dragged down

India’s overall ranking.

FICCI signs MoU with Toronto to facilitate Indo Canadian Co-productions

The City of Toronto and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry

(FICCI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to engage in mutual co-operation

and advance their common interests in the creative screen industries in Toronto and India.

PARTICIPANTS

• Toronto Mayor – John Tory

• Consul General of India in Toronto – Akhilesh Mishra

• 20 member delegation from Film, Animation, and Visual Effects industry taken

by FICCI-Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming & Comics Forum Chairman – Dr

Ashish Kulkarni

PURPOSE

• To foster business partnerships, linkages and exchanges that will act as a catalyst for

new investment and knowledge sharing opportunities.

• To provide assistance or any facilities necessary for trade missions, summits, seminars,

festivals and other similar activities.

Toronto is the first municipality in Canada to sign an agreement stemming from an audio- visual,

co-production treaty established in 2014 between the governments of India and Canada.

Also this is the first Indian 20 member delegation from Film, Animation, and Visual

Effects industry taken by FICCI to Toronto, Canada after signing of the co- production agreement

between two countries.

Lycos ties up with Apollo International to start E-commerce venture

• Lycos and Apollo International Ltd have signed an agreement to launch a joint venture

(JV) that will provide B2B e-commerce marketplace for industrial goods and luxury

brands.

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• This venture will be called Apollo Lycos Netcommerce. The joint venture

Apollo Lycos Netcommerce will design, develop and also fulfill E-commerce for brands

online.

• Apollo International Ltd Chairman and MD Raaja Kanwar said, this initiative will

provide a unique digital shopping experience to Indian consumers, where they can

interact directly with global brands.

• Chairman & CEO of Lycos – Suresh Reddy.

Uninor renamed as Telenor India

• Telecom operator, Uninor renamed as Telenor, the name of its parent company and

expands call drop refund plan. Telenor will provide compensation for call drops to all

calls – local, STD and ISD made from its network.

• It has also changed its tagline from ‘Sabse Sasta’ to ‘Ab life full paisa vasool’

• Earlier of this month, the company had changed the name of the company from

Telewings Communications Services to Telenor (India) Communications.

• Telenor India operates in six circles of the country namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,

Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh East and West. Telenor has secured fourth rank in

revenue and also in customer market share.

• Telenor India CEO – Vivek Sood

Reliance, EDIC sign pact to manufacture defence equipment

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence Ltd has signed a pact with UAE’s Emirates Defence

Industries Company (EDIC) to work together in the defence sector in maintenance, repair and

overhaul category.

• They agreed to manufacturing and building capabilities in defence vehicles, aviation

and associated areas, defence equipment and armament manufacturing, defence

electronics, commercial and naval ships besides Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul

(MRO) of military equipment and platforms.

• Reliance Defence Limited (RDL) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure

Limited (RIL) and has 11 subsidiaries in niche segments of the sector.

• EDIC is the premier integrated national defence services and manufacturing platform

from the UAE.

This partnership is in accordance with the proposed facilities at the Dhirubhai Ambani Aerospace

Park at Mihan in Maharashtra.

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Awards

India wins UNESCO Award for conserving Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple in Kerala

• For the remarkable conservation efforts of the majestic Sree Vadakkunnathan

Temple in Kerala, the UN body announced the top UNESCO prize ‘Award of

Excellence’ 2015 to Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple.

• The Award of Excellence for the conservation of Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple,

Thrissur, won this year’s top prize in the Asia Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural

Heritage Conservation.

Obama to present the National Humanities Medal to Jhumpa Lahiri

• Indian-American Pulitzer prize winning writer Jhumpa Lahiri has been

selected for the prestigious National Humanities Medal by US President Barack

Obama.

• According to the awarding committee, she is being awarded the medal, “for

enlarging the human story. In her works of fiction, Dr. Lahiri has illuminated the

Indian-American experience in beautifully wrought narratives of estrangement

and belonging.”

Haryana wins the Skoch Order-of-Merit National Award for e-governance and IT

initiatives

• It won theSkoch Order-of-Merit award for implementing 6 e-Governance and IT

initiatives.

• Haryana has notified a whopping 163 e-Governance services to ensure time-bound

delivery at their door-step and hassle-free services.

The prestigious Seacology Prize to be awarded to seaweed collector M Lakshmi

• Seacology is a US-based environment non-profit organisation.

• It has selected Ms. Lakshmi for her outstanding contribution in conversing the marine

resources and cultural traditions of Chinnapalam, a coastal hamlet located on an island

in the Gulf of Mannar.

• She will be the first Indian woman and community leader to win the award, which

carries a $10,000 prize and a trophy with the winner’s name inscribed on it.

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• The award has been conferred on her to recognise the efforts of not only Lakshmi, but

also the entire women folk engaged in seaweed collection without harming the

biosphere reserve in the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park.

• Ms. Lakshmi heads the Gulf of Mannar seaweed collect women forum, the woman-wing

of the Ramanathapuram district fish workers trade union.

Maharaj Sayyajirao Bhasha Samman introduced by Bank of Baroda

• The award will be conferred on a personality every year that has made a significant

contribution for creating awareness and spreading Hindi among the public at large.

• Maharaj Sayyajirao Gaekwad III, the founder of the bank, had played a vital role

in economic growth of the country and propagating the use of Hindi.

• The award will consist of cash amounting to Rs 1.01 lakh and a citation or a memento.

It will be awarded on Hindi Diwas every year.

• Hindi Diwas is celebrated on 14 September in Hindi speaking regions of India and

other countries where Hindi speaking population is there.

Bastar district selected for National Literacy Award

• The National Literacy Award is given to three districts and three gram panchayats for

implementation of the Total Literacy Campaign (TLC), Post Literacy Programme

(PLP) and Continuing Education Programme (CEP) every year on National Literacy

Day on 8th September every year by the President of India.

• The Maoist affected district of Bastar, Chhattisgarh and the Gram Panchayat of

Girod, Raipur have been selected for this year’s award.

• Under the National Literacy Mission programme in Chhatisgarh, Public Education

Centre’s were opened in 327 gram panchayats since 2011. Till date, around one lakh

people have been educated.

• Apart from Bastar, Haveri in Karnataka and Dharampuri in Tamil Nadu, have been

selected in the district category.

• The National Literacy Awards have been instituted in the memory of Satyen Maitra, an

eminent educationist, in 1996 with a purpose to literate people in the age group of 15

years and above.

15-year-old prodigy holder of 5 world records

• Fifteen-year-old prodigy K Vilasini is a holder of five world records, including the highest

IQ and IELTS (International English Language Testing System).

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• Pursuing her first year B.Tech Degree in Computer Science at Kalasingalingam

University in Srivilliputhur, K Vilasini’s precocious talents were evident when she was

just 11 years of age.

• She also recently interacted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on ideas to serve the

country in Teacher’s day celebrations.

Pranab Mukherjee presented the Saakshar Bharat Awards 2015

On the occasion of International Literacy Day, President of India, Shri Pranab

Mukherjee presented the Saakshar Bharat Awards 2015 in a celebration organized by Union

Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD).

On this occasion, our honorable President stated that there is a need for greater societal

involvement in achieving higher literacy target. In order to enable us fulfill the dream of

‘Sakshaar Bharat’, ‘Swachh Bharat’ and the ‘Dream Bharat’, we must follow progressive

strategies such as ‘each one, teach one’. He also added that we must also ensure that the

gender gap in literacy should not be more than 10 per cent.

Accordingly, the President congratulated all those who had received Saakshar Bharat Awards for

their outstanding contribution to the adult literacy programme and said without literacy it is not

possible to bring about total empowerment and find our rightful place in the comity of nations.

Anupam Kher conferred with Honoured Guest of Texas Award

60 years old veteran actor Anupam Kher has been presented with the “Honoured

Guest” award by the U.S. state of Texas for his contribution to cinema and art. The award was

conferred on 60-year old thespian at the hands of Hueston Dy Mayor Ed Gonzalez on behalf of

Texas State Governor Greg Abbot.

Gandhi Peace Prize 2014 conferred on ISRO

• President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize 2014

to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in recognition of its services

in transforming India through the use of space technology and space based

services at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar received the honour which carries Rs one

crore in cash, a plaque and a citation.

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Royal Aeronautical Society honoured Dr G Satheesh Reddy with Silver Medal

The Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS), London has conferred G Satheesh Reddy, Scientific

Adviser to the Defence Minister and eminent Missile Scientist of DRDO with the Society’s

2015 Silver Medal for work contributing to major advances or contributions in aerospace.(RAeS

Headquarter – London)

The award will formally be presented with medal at Wilbur and Orville Wright Lecture to be

held on December 9, 2015 at London.

10th Asia Brand Ceremony: Three IIA members awarded

Three members of Indian Industries Association (IIA) receive awards at the 10th Asia Brand

Ceremony, which is also known as the Oscars of Industry Awards.

Asia Brand Ceremony was organized by the Asia Brand Association together with People’s

Global Times, Wenhui Newspaper, China-Japan- Korea Economic Development Association, Indian

Industries Association, Asia Television (Hong Kong), National Development and Reform

Commission and China Herald.

Rajeev Bansal, MD of Celestial Knit & Fabs Private Limited from Noida got the Asia Brand

Annual personality award and Top 500 Asia Brand award.

Manmohan Agarwal, MD of Manali Pigments Private Ltd received awards such as Top 10 Most

Influential Brand Award, Asia Famous and Fine Award and also Asia’s Annual Innovative

Enterprise Award.

Kush Puri, MD of Puri Industries also got the same Asia Famous and Fine Award at the

ceremony.

• President of Asia Brand Association – Tung Chee Chen, Chairman of Hong Kong Orient

Overseas group (International)

• President of Indian Industries Association (IIA) – Manish Joel

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President of India presents Rajbhasha awards

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented theRajbhasha awards on the

occasion of Hindi Divas at a function held in New Delhi. The award ceremony held at Vigyan

Bhawan.

These awards had been instituted by the Department of Official Language of Ministry of Home

Affairs to recognize the excellent contribution of Ministries, Departments, Nationalized Banks

and others in the field of Hindi.

SK Biswas, Director (Personnel), THDCIL, has been honoured with the

prestigious Rajbhasha Kirti Award (third) the award from President Pranab Mukherjee at a

glittering ceremony.

– THDC India Limited (formerly known as Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd.) is a

Joint Venture of Govt. of India and Govt. of Uttar Pradesh.

The ceremony was chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of State for

Home Kiren Rijiju and MoS (Home Affairs) Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary.

Bangladesh PM Hasina wins UN environment prize for leadership on climate change

• Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been recognised with “United

Nations Champions of the Earth award” in recognition of her country’s

initiatives to address climate change.

• The award will be handed out to her at a special ceremony on September

27 at the close of the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York.

• Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change like

Cyclones, floods and droughts which have been part of the country’s history.

Teen CEO Swetha Prabhakaran wins Champions of Change award

A 15-year-old Indian-American teen has been selected by the White House for the

prestigious Champions of Change award for empowering the community by imparting Internet

coding through her non-profit organisation.

– Swetha Prabhakaran

– Founder and CEO of non-profit organisation “Everybody Code Now”

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Under Swetha’s direction, Everybody Code Now has taught hundreds of students and young

women how to code and has raised thousands of dollars for STEM (Science Technology

Engineering and Math) activities in schools and turned them into confident professionals and

community leaders.

Prabhakaran is among 11 young women selected by the White House as recipients of

“Champions of Change”.

Sunjeev Sahota – Shortlist of Man Booker Prize

• Indian-origin British author Sunjeev Sahota is among six writers shortlisted for the

prestigious Man Booker Prize for Fiction for 2015.

• Sahota has won glowing reviews for his novel “The Year of the Runaways” which centres on

the lives of three Indian men – one a Dalit – and a woman, all migrants from India.

• His name also figured in Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists in 2013 for the book.

Aqeela Asifi, 2015 Nansen Refugee Award winner

Aqeela Asifi, an Afghan refugee who has dedicated her life to teach refugee girls

in Pakistan has won the 2015 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award. The award ceremony will be

held on October 5th in Geneva.

Journalists from 4 Countries to Get Press Freedom Awards

Journalists who have endured death threats, physical attacks and imprisonment are being

honored in New York with Press Freedom Awards.

The Committee to Protect Journalists 2015 International Press Freedom Awards will be

presented at a CPJ’s annual award ceremony and benefit dinner in New York City

on November 24, 2015.

About Awardees

Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque – Malaysia

CPJ’s first cartoonist awardee, who is charged with sedition and faces a potential 43-year jail

term for drawings lampooning high-level abuse in the Malaysian government.

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Candido Figueredo Ruiz – Paraguay

Journalist who faces death threats and has lived under 24-hour police protection for the past

two decades because of his reporting on drug smuggling on the Brazil-Paraguay border.

Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently – Syria

a Syrian citizen journalist collective and one of the few independent news sources that

continues to report from inside the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed capital.

Zone 9 bloggers – Ethiopia

Group of bloggers of which six were arrested, imprisoned, and charged with terrorism in

retaliation for critical reporting

The Associated Press’s special regional correspondent for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Kathy

Gannon, will receive the Burton Benjamin Memorial Award for lifetime achievement in the

cause of press freedom.

Cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul receives Icon Award

• Former West Indies captain, 41-year old, Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been awarded

with the Icon Award by the Indo-Caribbean Alliance in a ceremony which was held in

Flushing, New York recently.

• He was one of the four members honoured with this Icon Award. The other three

members were television personality Lakshmee Singh, New York City council

member Eric Ulrichand businessman Dave Kadernauth.

• Shivnarine Chanderpaul is the first Indo-Caribbean to play 100 Tests for West Indies.

Mandeep Jangra receives Arjuna Award from Sports Minister

• Indian Amateur boxer, 22 year-old Mandeep Jangra received the Arjuna Award from

the Sports Minister, Sarbananda Sonawal.

• Mandeep Jangra failed to receive the award on August 29, National Sports Day from

the President Pranab Mukherjee. At that time Jangra was participating at

the Doha 2015 World Boxing Championships.

• Award carries a bronze statue of Arjuna, cash prize of 5lakh and a certificate.

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• He won the silver medal at the both 2013 Asian Amateur Boxing

Championshipsand at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Anupam Kher receives Certificate of Recognition in US

• Actor, Anupam Kher gets Certificate of Recognition from the California

legislaturefor his dedicated efforts to the community of 500,000 Kashmiri Hindus.

• He receives this “Certificate of Recognition” for the recognition as an ambassador

for change, champion in achieving gender equality, rights of women and a

protector ofhuman rights.

• Along with this recognition, the actor gets the “Honoured Guest” award of US state of

Texas for his achievements in cinema and art, and also September 10 was declared

as‘Anupam Kher Day’ in Las Vegas.

President of India presents National Tourism Awards

President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented theNational Tourism Awards for 2013-

14 at a function held atVigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. He stressed the need for building a high

quality tourism infrastructure to help increase tourism inflow in the country. (Tourism Minister –

Mahesh Sharma) & (Tourism Secretary – Vinod Zutshi)

Key Awardees

State Category

Gujarat (4)

– 1st prize in Comprehensive Development of Tourism

– Best Rural Tourism Project for Rann Utsav

– Best Film Promotion Friendly State

– Best Tourism Promotion Publicity Material for Gujarat’s 50

Golden Destinations’ coffee table book

Madhya Pradesh (6)

– 2nd prize in Comprehensive Development of Tourism

– Best Maintained and Disabled-Friendly Monument for

Bhojpur Temple

– Best civic management of a tourist destination of India

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(Municipal Council of Maheshwar, Distt.Khargone)

– Most tourist friendly Railway station (Habibganj)

– Best Heritage City (Gwalior)

Rajasthan 3rd prize in Comprehensive Development of Tourism

Kerala Most Innovative use of Information technology

Delhi Best Heritage Walk (Mehrauli Archaeological Park)

IGI Airport (Delhi) Best Airport (Class X cities)

Swami Vivekananda airport

in Raipur, Chhattisgarh Best Airport (Rest of India)

The Great Backwaters of

Kerala Best Tourism film

Initiatives Taken by Tourism Ministry

• Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation

Drive) aiming at integrated development of circuits and pilgrim centres.

• 24×7 Incredible India Helpline (1363) to provide the tourists valuable information and

to guide them during emergencies which currently operates in Hindi and English It will

be available in 12 more foreign languages like Russian and Japanese.

• Welcome Booklet being distributed at immigration counters containing information

on Dos and Don’ts for tourists.

Contribution of tourism to economy

• Country earned 1, 23,000 Crore rupees of foreign exchange through tourism last year.

• It contributes 8% to the GDP.

Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar and National Safety Awards for the Performance Year

2013 Presented

The Minister of State for Labour & Employment (Independent Charge) Shri Bandaru

Dattatreya gave awayVishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar (VRP) and National Safety

Awards (NSA) for the Performance Year 2013.

Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar (VRP)

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• There are 28 award winners out of a total of 193 applications received from different

industries for the Performance Year 2013. This year these 28 awards are being shared by 132

individuals.

• VRP is awarded in recognition of outstanding suggestions given by a worker or group of

workers and implemented by the management in the form of cash prize and a certificate of

merit in three categories:

• Class ‘A’ – Five (5) of Rs. 75,000/- each

• Class ‘B’ – Eight (8) of Rs. 50,000/- each

• Class ‘C’ – Fifteen (15) of Rs. 25,000/- each

National Safety Awards (NSA)

• Total number of NSA Award Winners and Runners-up in all the ten schemes adds

up to 98, which were selected out of 199 applications received under various

schemes.

• The NSA is given in recognition of outstanding safety performance of

industrial establishments, construction sites, ports and

installations under AERB (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board) to stimulate and

maintain the interests of both the management and the workers in accident

prevention programmes.

• The awards are given under 12 schemes, out of which 10 are meant for

Factories, construction sites, Installations under AERB (Atomic Energy

Regulatory board) and 2 are for Ports.

• Under each award, a Shield and a Certificate of Merit is given to each of the

Award Winners and Runners-up.

GOI, has been operating the (VRP) (Previously known as Shram Vir National Awards) and (NSA)

since 1965.

67th Emmy Awards – Dominated by Game of Thrones and Veep

The 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television

programming from June 1, 2014 until May 31, 2015 as chosen by the Academy of

Television Arts & Sciences.

• The ceremony was held on September 20, 2015 at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown

Los Angeles, California, and broadcasted by Fox in the U.S.

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SHOW HOST – Andy Samberg

SHOW PRODUCER – Don Mischer

Game of Thrones set a new record by winning 12 awards (including eight won at the

previously held Creative Arts Emmys held on September 19, 2015). Here is a list of winners for

the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Indra Nooyi, Shobhana Bhartia bagged USIBC Global Leadership Award

PepsiCo Chairman Indra Nooyi and Hindustan Times Group chairperson Shobhana Bhartia

have been presented with the 2015 Global Leadership Award of the US India Business Council

(USIBC), for their commitment to driving a more inclusive global economy and their roles as

women leaders.

Hindi writer Dr Kamal Kishore Goenka conferred with 24th Vyaas Samman

• Hindi writer Dr Kamal Kishore Goenka was conferred with 24th Vyaas Samman for

the year 2014. He was awarded for his work ‘Premchand ki Kahaniyon ka Kaal

Kramanusaar Adhyayan’.

• He was awarded a citation and a cash amount of 2.5 lakh rupees by the Hindi writer,

Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari.

• Vyaas Samman was founded by the KK Birla Foundation. It is presented to an

outstanding literary work in Hindi.

Konte Venkata Narayana receives Skoch Order-of-Merit Award

• Konte Venkata Narayana, CMD of TSNPDCL has received the prestigious ‘Skoch

Order-of-Merit Award’ for introducing the unique GPRS-enabled Integrated Spot Billing

Project at the 41st Skoch Summit held at India Habitat Centre in New Delhi

• The Summit was inaugurated by M. Venkaiah Naidu, Union Minister for Urban

Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister.

• The new billing system offers online bill payment through various modes. It enabled

automatic updating of billing information. The elimination of meter reading

suppressions, table readings and thus avoiding revenue loss to the Discom is one of the

important features of this billing system.

• The Telangana State Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSNPDCL) would

launch GPRS-enabled integrated spot billing system to cover 25 lakh consumers in both

domestic and commercial category.

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• The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has received the SKOCH

Award for smart governance for its initiatives on UAN programme and transformation

of social security agenda in India.

Odisha school girl wins award at Google Science Fair

• Lalita Prasida Sripada Srisai, a 13-year-old student from Koraput, Odisha wins

‘Community Impact Award’ at the prestigious Google Science Fair in California.

• She received 10, 000 USD as the prize money. She will also get the support from

Google for one year in order to build her project successfully.

• She developed a low cost bio-absorbent based water purifier which functions mainly on

waste corn cobs.

• Corn cobs have high mechanical strength, rigidity and also porosity. So the Corn cobs

can absorb the contaminants like oxides of salts, detergent, oil, grease suspended

particles, coloured dyes etc.,

• By using this bio-absorbent based water purifier, 70-80% of contaminants will be

separated from the waste water.

Gaia Vince becomes first woman to win Royal Society Winton Prize

• For the first time in its 28 years history, the most prestigious science book

prize in Britain has been won by a solo female writer named Gaia Vince at

a ceremony in London.

• The Royal Society Winton prize for Science Books awarded£25,000

(around USD 38,000) to the London-based journalist, for her work on

gathering first-hand accounts of the environmental changes caused by human

activity throughout the globe.

National Cadet Corps enters Limca Book of Records

• National Cadet Corps (NCC) was presented the certificate by Limca Book of Records for

the largest Yoga performance concurrently by NCC at multiple venues on International

Day of Yoga on 21st June 2015.

• The certificate was presented by the Editor Limca Book of Records, Mrs Vijaya

Ghose to Lt Gen A Chakravarty.

• NCC created this record with 9, 50,210 NCC cadets performing Yoga simultaneously at

1767 venues in India.

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Dr Uma Rajan wins tabla! Community Champion Award

• Dr Uma Rajan, 75 year-old Indian-Singaporean doctor became the first woman to win

the tabla! Community Champion Award.

• She has been honoured for contributing 38 years in the healthcare and community

services by building nursing homes and child health care.

• She was conferred with the fifth table! Award by Indranee Rajah, the Minister of

State for Law and Education, Singapore.

• She won10, 000 USD as cash prize and donated it to the voluntary welfare

organizations, Singapore Children’s Society and Asian Women’s Welfare Association in

Singapore.

Leonardo Dicaprio to receive SAG’s Actor Inspiration Award

• Hollywood star, 40 year-old Leonardo DiCaprio will receive the Screen Actors

Guild’sActors Inspiration Award.

• The Screen Actors Guild’s (SAG) Foundation’s 30th Anniversary Celebration will be

held at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills on

November 5.

• He will be recognized for his achievements in films including eight SAG nominations, five

Oscar nominations and also his charity work through the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.

• Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation was started in 1998, and it has donated over $30 million

for environmental causes.

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award for Science and Technology 2015 announced

The Ministry of Science and Technology announced the 11 recipients of prestigious Shanti Swarup

Bhatnagar award, considered to be a coveted science honour in the country in seven different

fields.(Minister of science and Technology – Harsh Vardhan)

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE CATEGORY

Balasubramanian Gopal of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore

Rajeev Kumar Varshney of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

(ICRISAT)

FIELD OF EARTH, ATMOSPHERE, OCEAN AND PLANETARY SCIENCES

Jyotiranjan Srichandan Ray from the Physical Science Laboratory, Ahmedabad

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FIELD OF ENGINEERING SCIENCE

Yogesh Joshi from IIT Kanpur

FIELD OF MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES

Ritabrata Munshi from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai

K Sandeep from TIFR Centre for Applicable Mathematics, Bangalore

FIELD OF MEDICAL SCIENCE CATEGORY

Vidita Vaidya from the TIFR Mumbai

FIELD OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE CATEGORY

Bedangadas Mohanty from the National Institute of Science Education and Research,

Bhubaneshwar

Mandar Deshmukh from the TIFR Mumbai

FIELD OF CHEMICAL SCIENCE CATEGORY

D Srinivasa Reddy from CSIR’s National Chemical Laboratory, Pune

Pradyut Ghosh form the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Jadavpur

SASTRA Ramanujan Prize 2015 for Dr. Jacob Tsimerman

• Mathematician Jacob Tsimerman, who is working as assistant professor with

University of Toronto, Canada was conferred with SASTRA Ramanujan Prize

2015.

• He will be getting this award during the International Conference on Number

Theory at SASTRA University in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu which is

Ramanujan’s hometown.

Lifetime achievement award for Sashi Kapoor

Veteran actor Shashi Kapoor will be honoured with lifetime achievement award at the 6th

Jagran Film Festival in Mumbai

Legendary actor Shashi Kapoor earlier awards

• In 2011, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India for his

contributions to Art-Cinema

• In 2015, he was awarded the 2014 Dadasaheb Phalke Award

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The 77-year-old is best known for his memorable performance in films like Satyam Shivam

Sundaram, Trishul, Kabhi Kabhie, Vijeta and Kalyug.

The 6th edition of Jagran Film Festival is scheduled from September 28 to October 4 at Fun

Cinemas, Andheri

Veteran Russian Activist Wins Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize

• Russian human rights activist and one of its most outspoken and respected rights

advocates Lyudmila Mikhailovna Alexeyeva has been awarded this year’s Vaclav

Havel Human Rights Prize.

• She the founder and head of the Moscow Helsinki Group and a member of the

presidential council for civil society and human rights

• She was presented with the award by Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

(PACE) President Anne Brasseur at the opening of the PACE fall session in Strasbourg on

September 28th, 2015.

Porter Prize 2015

Of the 30 companies 9 corporates have bagged 2015 Porter Prize for Enabling Social

progress. It was organised by Institute for Competitiveness.

• Porter Prize is instituted in the name of Michael E Porter who is a Professor at Harvard

Business School and considered as father of modern strategy field.

• It is awarded to entities which have showcased outstanding performance in the

industry and their activities have enabled upliftment of social indicators in their

area of work.

PORTER AWARD WINNERS

Catergory Winner Company

Porter Prize for Leveraging Unique Activities JSW Steel

Porter Prize on Industry Architectural Shift Mahindra Rural Housing and Finance

Porter Prize on Exploiting Tradeoffs Abbott India

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Porter Prize for Creating Distinctive Value DHL

Porter Prize for Value Based Healthcare Apollo

Porter Prize on Creating Shared Value Jain Irrigation and JSW Group

Porter Prize for Enabling Social Progress Reliance Foundation

Porter Prize for Excellence in Corporate

Integration & Governance Tata Power

Indo-British van driver Dee Patel honoured with Pride of Britain Award

• Prince Charles honour a British-Indian delivery van driver Dee Patel with the ‘Pride of

Britain Award’. He will receive the award in the outstanding bravery category in

aglittering ceremony at the Grosvenor House .

• Patel loaded up his van and set off on a routine job when he was faced with a terrifying

life-or-death situation when he spotted a car ahead of him that was dangerously out of

control on the M25 motorway.

Indian-American professor Kartik Chandran bagged MacArthur “genius” grant

Indo-American Kartik Chandran (41) an environmental engineer has been conferred with 2015

MacArthur Fellow and given a ‘genius’ grant of $625,000 for working on a transforming

wastewater from a pollutant and finding solution to the world’s need for food and energy.

• He is associate professor of earth and environmental engineering at Columbia

Engineering

• He also he received a grant of $1.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates

Foundation in 2011 for developing a transformative water model for sanitation in

Africa.

• He was also honoured with the Water Environment Research Foundation Paul L. Busch

Award (2010), National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2009) and National

Academies of Science Fellowship (2007).

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Chandran focused area is treatment of wastewater by transferring it into useful

resources such as fertilizers, chemicals and energy sources.

Arjuna Award 2015 presented to M.R. Poovamma and Babita Kumari

• For outstanding excellence in the field of sports; Sprinter Machettira Raju

Poovamma (Athletics) and Wrester Babita Kumari have been honoured with Arjuna

Award 2015.

• The award was given by Minister of State for Youth affairs and Sports Shri Sarbananda

Sonowal in New Delhi.

Punjab Government wins award for achievement in rooftop solar power output

Excelling in the field of green energy, Punjab New and Renewable Energy Department has

been conferred five awards; this includes the first award for highest capacity addition in grid

connected solar rooftop power in the country during the financial year of 2014-15.

• The other four areas includes achieving highest cumulative grid connected solar rooftop

power capacity, deployment of highest cumulative numbers of solar water pumps,

highest capacity addition of off-grid waste to energy plants, and achieving highest

capacity addition in grid connected solar power in the country.

• Union Territory of Chandigarh bagged the second spot in the highest capacity addition in

grid connected solar rooftop power in the country category.

• Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy

presented these awards.

Appointments

AK Jha appointed as interim CMD of NTPC Limited

Government appoints A K Jha as an interim chairman and managing director. He was the

technical director of the state run power generator and was appointed as the incumbent CMD

Arup Roy Choudhury stepped down as his 5-year term came to an end.

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• It had been a practice to extend the term of the retiring CMDs of PSUs by two years but

the government has discontinued that and is going to set up a selection committee to

scout a new head.

• As per the recommendations of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC),

a Search-cum-Selection Committee (SCSC) model is to be adopted for selecting

heads rather than the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) model as the process

under it typically takes a year or so.

• He is the second head of a PSU after SAIL CMD C. S. Verma did not get an extension.

• Jha had begun his career with NTPC as an Executive Trainee in 1977 and was involved

in its flagship Singrauli project.

• NTPC has an installed capacity of 45,048MW and holds around 17% share of India’s

power generation capacity of 274,817.94MW.

S A V Satya Murty is the new Director of IGCAR

• The noted scientist has been appointed as the director of Indira Gandhi Centre for

Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam, TN.

• The incumbent director P R Vasudeva Rao retired on August 31st.

• Murty was a Gold Medallist from Jawaharlal Nehru technological University, Kakinada

and had also bagged the Homi Bhabha prize for standing first in the training school and

later obtained a doctoral degree from the Homi Bhabha National Institute.

• Before being appointed as the Director of the atomic research body, he served as the

Director of Electronics and Instrumentation and Radiological Safety Group.

• His group was behind setting up of the indigenous instrumentation and control

systems from the 500MW fast breeder reactor (FBR)coming up at Kalpakkam.

Husain Bazmi to become the global CTO of ABB in 2016

• The Swiss-engineering major, ABB has elevated Bazmi Husain, the MD of ABB India, as

the global CTO (Chief Technology Officer).

• The first Indian to head the position in the company, Bazmi, a power and automation

expert has been with the company for 30 years.

• Husain will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of ABB’s global R&D Prior to him,

Ravi Uppal had occupied a top position at ABB group level as the president of global

markets.

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Vinod Dasari appointed as President of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers

(SIAM)

• Mr.Vinod K.Dasari, The Managing Director of Ashok Leyland Ltd. is elected as the

president of the apex industry body representing 46 leading vehicle and vehicular

engine manufacturer – SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers

), Former President of SIAM is Mr.Vikram Kirloskar.

• While General Motor India’s President and MD- Mr.Aravind Saxena has been elected

as vice-president of SIAM.

• Likewise, Maruthi Suzuki India’s President & MD Mr.Kenichi Ayukawa has been given

the new responsibility as a Treasurer of SIAM.

Saina signed as Brand Ambassador of Edelweiss Group

• Edelweiss Financial Services has roped in World No. 1 shuttler, Saina Nehwal as

the brand ambassador in a multiyear-multi-crore deal.

• The Edelweiss brand logo will appear on her jersey domestic and international

tournaments that she will be participating in.

• Edelweiss Group, with a Rs. 27,000 crore asset base is amongst the top 200 companies

in India in terms of profitability.

• Edelweiss is expanding its presence pan India with the Insurance, housing finance

and credit businesses.

Smita Purushottam appointed as the new Indian Ambassador to Holy See

• She is currently the Indian Ambassador to Switzerland.

• India had established diplomatic relations with Switzerland, right after independence.

• It is a tradition that the India’s Ambassador in Berne, Switzerland is also accredited to

Holy See.

• Holy See maintains a Nunciature (Embassy) in New Delhi, headed by a Nuncio

(Ambassador).

Ashok Kumar appointed OSD to MoS PMO

• Ashok Kumar was today appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Minister of

State for Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh.

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• Kumar, a Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officer, has been appointed for a period up

to March 31, 2016, i.E. The date of his superannuation, an order issued by Department

of Personnel and Training.

• He is presently working as Director in the DoPT.

Ramesh Chand appointed as new member of NITI Aayog

• Dr.Ramesh Chand,Agriculture expert has been appointed as a new member of

NITI Aayog(The National Institute of Transforming India), by the govt.

• He has been working as a director of National Institute of Agricultural Economics and

Policy Research (NIAP) since 2010 in New Delhi and leading the government panel on

minimum support price.

• Now, he is appointed as a Task force-Member under NITI Aayog(The think tank of

govt.),which is framing strategies to enhance the agriculture sector.

• He is the third member to join in this policy institute. The Aayog is being led by the

well-known economist Mr.Arvind Panagariya and consists of two other members i.e

Economist Bibek Debroy and Vijay Kumar Saraswat, the former DRDO(Defence

Research and Development Organisation) chief.

• Task force – Members under NITI Aayog are entitled to recommend the ways to re-

strengthen the agriculture sector,formulate strategies and identify successful

experiments from which all states can adopt.

Brij Raj sharma appointed as chief secretary of jammu and kashmir

• Brij Raj Sharma, an IAS officer of 1984 batch is appointed as the New Secretary of

Jammu and Kashmir by the govt. of Jammu & Kashmir.

• This new appointment has taken place on september 7th, as Mohammad Iqbal

Khandey chose to seek Voluntary Retirement Scheme(VRS) three months prior the

superannuation date(i.e November 30) due to the conflicts with his political bosses.

• Now Mr.Sharma will remain as the Chief secretary of J&K till 2020.

DRDO appoints J Manjula as its first woman Director Genera

• Manjula becomes the first woman chief of Defence Research and Development

Organisation (DRDO).

• Majnula has been appointed as the director general for DRDO’s electronics and

communications systems cluster.

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• Prior to this appointment, she used to head the Defence Avionics Research

Establishment (DARE) since July 2014, and was the first woman to head DARE.

• She is an alumnus of Osmania University and a practising Electronics and

Communications engineer.

Ramnganiang Muivah takes charge as Secy of North Eastern Council

• Senior bureaucrat Ramnganing Muivah took charge as secretary of the North

Eastern Council ,NSE is expected to give a fillip to the region’s developmental agenda.

• He was the Board of Directors of United Bank of India and Indian Bank during 2001 to

2006

Rakesh Sharma takes over as Canara Bank MD and CEO

In a significant change of policy, government has roped in private sector professional Rakesh

Sharma as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer to run one of its largest banks –

Canara Bank (Nationalized in 1969).

Canara bank Headquarter – Bengaluru

Canara Bank Tagline – Together We Can

The move is seen as a part of process to reform the public sector banking industry, which

accounts for over 70 per cent of the banking business, but struggling to deal with mounting non-

performing assets (NPAs). Canara Bank reported a 41 per cent drop in net profit for the April-June

quarter at ₹479 crore.

Kumkum Dhar appointed as VC of Bhatkhande Music Institute

• Professor Kumkum Dhar was given additional charge of Vice Chancellor

of Bhatkhande Music Institute, a deemed university.

• Uttar Pradesh governor, Ram Naik approved her appointment as VC.

• Currently she holds the position as Head of the department and dean of the faculty of

dance of Bhatkhande Music Institute. She will continue this position also.

• She will succeed Professor Shruti Sadolikar Katkar. Kumkum Dhar will hold this

additional charge of VC till the appointment of regular VC.

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Shashidhar Sinha elected as chairman of ABC

• CEO, IPG Mediabrands India, Shashidhar Sinha, was elected as chairman of Audit

Bureau of Circulation (ABC) during the 67th Annual General meeting for the

year 2015-16.

• He also chairs the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC)

• He involved in other industry bodies including Advertising Standards Council of

India,Media Research Users Council, and Ad Club.

• L Venkat of EENADU and Madhan Kumar from Mudra Communications will serve as

theDeputy Chairman and Treasurer of ABC respectively.

• Head Quarters of Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) – Mumbai

FC Goa to appoint Sukhvinder Singh as CEO

• FC Goa, one of the Indian Super League (ISL) clubs is all set to appoint Sukhvinder

Singh as the new CEO.

• As per the sources, he is expected to quit his current job at the Managing Director of

Libero Sports India, a football agency to take over the CEO’s role at the Goan

franchise of ISL.

• Earlier, he has worked with Nike as a sports marketing professional and All India

Football Federation (AIFF) as the marketing officer.

• Though he agreed to join FC Goa, he said he had also applied for the position of AIFF’s

general secretary and Project Director for the Under-17 World Cup.

Hormusji N Cama elected as Chairman of PTI

• Hormusji N Cama, MD of Bombay Samachar which is the oldest newspaper in India

from 1855 is elected as the new Chairman of the Press Trust of India (PTI).

• Hormusji N Cama succeeds Mahendra Mohan Gupta, CMD of the Jagran Prakashan.

• He is selected as a chairman in Board of Directors PTI’s 67th Annual General

Meeting (AGM) in New Delhi.

• Hormusji N Cama has also served as President of the Indian Newspaper Society

(INS). He is also on the Board of Council for Fair Business Practices and Audit

Bureau of Circulations (ABC)

• Mr. Mathew, a Senior Assistant Editor of the Malayala Manorama, elected as Vice

Chairman of PTI.

• Mr. Mathew holds a masters degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and

has worked as a correspondent with Associated Press (AP) in Washington.

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Indian-origin Seema Malhotra appointed as shadow chief secretary in UK

• Jeremy Corbyn, newly-elected Labour leader, has included two Indian-origin

women in his shadow cabinet.

• Indian-Origin Britsh MP Seema Malhotra appointed as the shadow chief secretary to

the Treasury while the another one Indian – Origin Lisa Nandy appointed as the

shadow secretary for energy and climate change.

• Seema Malhotra was first elected as MP from Feltham and Heston in 2011 in a by-

election. She played the role of a shadow minister in 2014 for preventing violence

against women by the former Labour leader, Ed Miliband.

Nikolai Snesarev resigned as National Athletic Coach

• Dr Nikolai Snesarev resigned as National Athletic coach due to poor infrastructure

and a lack of facilities. But his contract runs till the end of 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

• Nikolai Snesarev has sent his resignation letter to Athletics Federation of India (AFI)

and also the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

• He resigned from the position under the Article 21 of the Sports Authority of India

(SAI) Constitution.

• According to that Article, One has to give a month’s notice before terminating the

contract midway.

Cognizant appoints Zein Abdalla to Board of Directors

• Cognizant Technology Solutions has appointed former president of Pepsico Zein

Abdalla to its Board of Directors.

• Zein Abdalla was served as a president of PepsiCo from 2012 through his retirement in

December 2014.

• Zein Abdalla has no direct or indirect relationship with Cognizant or its subsidiaries and

He is considered an independent director.

• He will also serve on the Company’s Audit Committee and Nominating and Corporate

Governance Committee. Zein Abdalla will serve as a Board member until the Company’s

annual stockholders’ meeting in 2016.

ULFA(I) declares Dr Abhijit Asom as its chairman not Dr Mukul Hazarika

• United Liberation Front of Asom ULFA (Independent) has claimed that Dr Abhijit

Asomis their chairman and not Dr Mukul Hazarika.

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• Earlier, National Investigation Agency (NIA) issued a summon to ULFA (Independent)

chairman Dr Abhijit Asom alias Dr Mukul Hazarika.

• ULFA(Independent) publicity wing assistant secretary ‘Captain’ Arunudoy

Asom said,“We make it clear that Dr Abhijit Asom is the chairman of our United

Liberation Front of Asom (Independent). Along with the people of Assam, we know that

Dr Mukul Hazarika works for protection of human rights with an organisation called

‘Assam Watch’.”

Centre accepts the Nehru Memorial Museum director’s resignation

• Mahesh Rangarajan resigned as director of Nehru Memorial Museum and

Library (NMML).

• Minister of State for Culture (Independent charge) Mahesh Sharmasaid, The

Executive Council of the NMML under the chairmanship of Lokesh Chandra has accepted

the resignation of Mahesh Rangarajan.

• Earlier Minister of State for Culture (Independent charge) Mahesh Sharma criticized that

the appointment of Mahesh Rangarajan was illegal and unethical.

P.V. Chandran new President of Indian Newspaper Society

• P.V. Chandran was elected as President of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for

2015-16 by the annual general meeting of the INS.

• He will succeed Kiran B. Vadodaria of Sambhaav Metro.

• Mr. Chandran is a MD and one of the whole-time directors ofGrihalakshmi, a

Malayalam magazine that is published by the Mathrubhumi group of publications.

• He was also served as INS Vice-President in 2013-2014 and INS deputy president in

2014-2015.

Amazon India‘s fashion and lifestyle leader quits

• Vikas Purohit, leader of Amazon India‘s fashion and lifestyle category has quit.

• He has quit on from Amazon.in for some personal reasons.

• Susan Saideman, Vice President for global vendor management, will lead the fashion

category in the interim till they identify a new leader for their business.

• Amazon CEO & Founder – Jeff Bezos

• Headquarters of Amazon – Seattle Washington, US

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Sunil Duggal new CEO of Hindustan Zinc Limited

• Sunil Duggal, will take in charge of the post of CEO in Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL),

the country’s largest zinc producer.

• Sunil Duggal, currently working as a deputy CEO will also become a whole-time-

director of Hindustan Zinc.

• Current CEO Akhilesh Joshi set to take over as whole time director and President

ofGlobal Zinc Business of Vedanta Group.

• Headquarters of Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) – Udaipur, Rajasthan

Cisco’s John Chambers replaced Ajay Banga as USIBC chairman

• John Thomas Chambers, Executive Chairman of Cisco has been elected as the

next Chairman of US-India Business Council’s Board of Directors (USIBC)

in place of Ajay Banga, President and CEO of MasterCard.

• Announcement in this regard was made at the USIBC’s 40th Anniversary

Leadership Summitmade up of 300 top US and Indian companies that started

the US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue(S&CD) held

in Washington DC.

Government appoints CVCFL to implement EDF

• Government of India (GOI) has appointed CANBANK Venture Capital Fund Ltd

(CVCFL) in order to implement the Electronics Development Fund (EDF).

• The EDF is set up as a ‘Fund of Funds’ to participate in ‘Daughter Funds’ which will

provide risk capital to companies that develops new technologies in the electronics field,

Nano-Electronics and Information Technology (IT).

• The EDF would take minority participation in seed funds, angel funds as well as in

venture funds.

• Electronics Development Fund (EDF) will invite requests from the private and public

funds for its participation.

Smita Purushottam appointed as the Ambassador of Liechtenstein

• Ms Smita Purushottam, Ambassador of lndia to Switzerland has been appointed as the

next Ambassador of lndia to the Liechtenstein in Europe that lies between

Switzerland and Austria.

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• Ms Smita Purushottam is a 1980 batch IFS officer. She will take over the position

shortly.

Rahul Chhabra, next Ambassador of lndia to the Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Rahul Chhabra currently Ambassador of lndia to Hungary, has been appointed as the

next Ambassador of India to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

• He is a 1987 batch IFS officer and expected to take up his assignment shortly.

S.N Subrahmanyan promoted as deputy MD and President of L&T

• L & T has elevated S.N Subrahmanyan as the deputy managing director and president

of the company.

• S.N Subrahmanyan, is currently a board member and senior executive vice president

(Infrastructure and Construction). He will take over the new challenge on October.

• The board has also approved the appointment of D.K Sen as the whole-time

director of the company.

• He will succeed K.V. Venkataraman who will retire at the end of this month.

Vikram Pawah appointed as MD of Harley Davidson India

• US based Harley Davidson appointed Vikram Pawah as Managing Director (MD) of

its Indian operations.

• Mr. Vikram Pawah will succeed Anoop Prakash who has moved on as the Managing

Director of Harley Davidson Canada.

• Pawah has totally 24 years of experience in which 21 years with Honda in India and in

Canada.

• He will manage sales, marketing, service, and dealer network management in the

country.

Zayn Khan elected as President of FMSCI

• Zayn Khan elected as the President of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of

India (FMSCI). He will succeed R Bharath Raj, who passed away while serving as

President.

• Khan Zayn represents the Western India Automobile Association. He has contributed a

lot for the technical side of the sport in the country.

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• The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) is recognized by the National

Sports Federation (NSF) by the Government of India for the promotion and governance

of motorsports in India.

Stuti Narain Kacker appointed NCPCR chairperson

• A 1978 batch IAS officer, Stuti Narain Kacker, on 23 September 2015 was appointed

as the head of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). She

was appointed by the Union Women and Child Development Ministry.

• Kacker is a former Secretary at the Department of Disability Affairs in the Ministry of

Social Justice and Empowerment. She looked after the management committee of the

Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).

• Before the appointment of Kacker, the panel had remained headless for almost a year.

The position was vacant from October 2014 when former UPA appointee Kushal Singh’s

tenure ended. Recently, the Supreme Court even commented over a long delay in

appointing a chairperson for the panel.

Yudhvir Singh Malik appointed as Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog

• Yudhvir Singh Malik, a 1983 batch IAS officer (Haryana), appointed as Additional

Secretary in NITI Aayog

• He moved from the current post of Chief Executive Officer, Food Safety and Standards

Authority of India (FSSAI) and appointed as Additional Secretary in NITI Aayog.

• The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of

Yudhvir Singh Malik which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

• FSSCI has banned Maggi noodles of the global giant Nestle during his tenure. He was

appointed as CEO of FSSAI in last year only.

• The ACC has also approved the appointments of Kavita Gupta as Textile Commissioner

and and Kiran Soni Gupta Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser in Ministry of

Youth Affairs and Sports.

Rahul Rawail resigns from India’s Oscar Selection Jury

• Filmmaker Rahul Rawail, a part of the 17-member jury that chose “Court” as India’s

official entry for Oscars has resigned from his post.

• Recently, Court, a Marathi film directed by Chaitanye Tamhane was announced as

India’s official entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the Oscars next

year.

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• After the announcement of India’s official entry to Oscar, Mr.Rahul Rawail has resigned

from his post citing differences with Amol Palekar, Chairman of Film Federation of India

(FFI).

• Rahul Rawail is well known for his films like Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, Anjaam, Betaab and

Love Story.

K M Singh New Chairman & Managing Director of NHPC

• K. M. Singh has been appointed as the Chairman & Managing Director of NHPC with

immediate effect.

• NHPC is a state-run power producer.

• He is currently the Chief Executive Director of NHDC.

• Singh was recommended by Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) from a list of 12

contenders.

Rajat Sharma appointed as NBA president

• Rajat Sharma has been reappointed as the President of News Broadcasters Association

(NBA).

• He is the Chairman and Editor-in Chief of India TV,

• The News Broadcasters Association is a private association of different current affairs

and news television broadcasters in India.

• The NBA was started in 2008.

Syed Akbaruddin made India’s permanent representative at the UN

Key postings of Indian envoys to countries

like Pakistan, China,UK, UN, London, Germany, Rome and many more have been done by

the government in a major reshuffle at the top echelons of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Syed Akbaruddin’s Appointment:

In the biggest jump within the ministry, Syed Akbaruddin has been appointed as India’s

permanent representative in the UN in New York. He will replace Asoke Mukerji who will

be retiring soon. The post is generally a secretary-level one, so Akbaruddin’s elevation shows

that merit has been again one of the top considerations for posts. However, as per now,

Akbaruddin will be in charge for India-Africa summit in October later this year.

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Other key Appointments:

• Gautam Bambawale, India’s ambassador to Bhutan, will take over from TCA

Raghavan as high commissioner to Pakistan when the latter retires in December.

• Former ambassador to Israel, Navtej Sarna, secretary (west) in MEA will be India’s

next high commissioner to London.

• Anil Wadhwa, secretary (east), will take over the responsibility as high

commissioner to Rome.

• Vijay Gokhale will take over from Ashok Kantha to become India’s ambassador to

Germany.

• Pankaj Saran will replace P S Raghavan in Moscow to become the ambassador there.

• At ministry headquarters, Amar Sinha, currently India’s ambassador to Afghanistan

andAmarendra Khatua, India’s envoy to Argentina will be the next Secretaries East

and West respectively.

• Harsh V Shringla, currently Indian envoy to Bangkok, will be heading

to Bangladesh as the ambassador.

• Indian Ambassador to Mexico Sujan Chinoy will be going as Ambassador to Japan to

replace Deepa Wadhwa.

Keshari Nath Tripathi gets additional charge of Governor of Tripura.

• The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has appointed West Bengal Governor

Shri Keshari Nath Tripathi to hold the additional charge of Tripura Governor during

the absence on leave of Shri Tathagata Roy.

• According to the Article 158(3)(3A) of Indian constitution, where the same person is

appointed as Governor of two or more States, the emoluments and allowances payable

to the Governor shall be allocated among the States in such proportion as the President

may by order determine.

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn resigns

• Martin Winterkorn, 68-year old CEO of Volkswagen group has resigned following

the scandal close around the emissions of its diesel cars.

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the company had purposely programmed

some 50,000 diesel-powered vehicles to emit lower levels of harmful gases in official

tests by installing a device to give more positive results during the official tests.

• Later, Volkswagen revealed it had found significant emissions discrepancies in 11 million

diesel vehicles worldwide.

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• Volkswagen Group sells passenger cars under the brands namely Audi, Bentley, Bugatti,

Lamborgin, Porsche, SEAT and Skoda.

Oxigen appoints Sachin as brand ambassador

• Oxigen Services, digital payment solution firm has signed Sachin Tendulkar as its

brand ambassador. The company has not revealed the financial details of the

endorsement deal.

• Pramod Saxena, Founder & CMD at Oxigen Services said, “We are set to take our

initiatives towards financial inclusion, digital India and swachh bharat abhiyan to the

next level”

• Oxigen is the first non-banking firm to provide instant money transfers in association

with the NPCI. Oxigen will be the official sponsor the South African T20 cricket team.

The South African T20 team will be visiting India for the Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson

Mandela Series.

• Similarly, Patym and Mobikwik are investing Rs.500 crore and Rs.100 crore

respectively, for promoting sports such as cricket, football, hockey and kabbadi over the

next few years.

• Recently, Patym has acquired title sponsorship rights for BCCI matches in India till 2019

for Rs.203 crore.

Abdul Bari Siddiqui elected as President of BCA

• Abdul Bari Siddiqui, a senior leader of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) elected

as President of Bihar Cricket Association (BCA). At present Siddiqui is the chairman

of the state’s Badminton Association.

• BCA elections were held in August 2015 under the direction of the Patna High Court,

which had appointed former judge Dharampal Sinha as electoral officer-cum-observer

for the polls.

• Siddiqui defeated Vinod Kumar, a former president of BCA, by 30 votes in the

election. Five Vice Presidents, Working President of the governing body, Treasurer and

General Secretary were also selected.

• Five Vice Presidents – Sunil kumar Singh, Gopal Bohra, Anand Kumar, S

Mumtazuddin and N K Jamuar

• Working President of the cricketing body – Laliteshwar Prasad Verma (International

umpire)

• Treasurer – Ram Kumar

General Secretary – Ravi Shankar Prasad

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S K Sharma appointed as Chairman of BBMB

S K Sharma, Member Irrigation of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), has been given

the charge of Chairman of the board. He will replace A B Agrawal.

• He joined Haryana Irrigation & Water Resources Department in 1980 as Sub Divisional

Officer and has also monitored various canal regulation related O&M and new hydraulic

structures, pump houses, canal and drainage network, NABARD projects etc.

• He has also handled training works on the river Yamuna.

George Raju – India’s Ambassador to the Republic of lraq

Senior diplomat George Raju has been appointed India’s next Ambassador to Iraq. He

willsucceed Ajay Kumar.

• Raju is presently serving as India’s Consul General in Reunion Island (capital city –

Saint Denis) and Mayotte Island, an overseas region of France in the Indian Ocean.

• He served in several Indian Missions including in Malawi, Cuba, Bangkok, Kazakhstan

and London.

The Consulate General of India was established in March 1986 with Mr. K.H. Patel as the

first Consul General to Reunion Island.

Sourav Ganguly takes over as CAB Chief

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly was appointed thePresident of the Cricket Association

of Bengal (CAB), as a successor of Jagmohan Dalmiya who passed away last week.

The declaration was made by Mamata Banerjee in the presence of senior CAB officials and state

government ministers at the secretariat building.

• Ganguly was holding the post of joint secretary in the CAB

• Now Dalmiya’s son Avishek inducted as one of the two joint secretaries replacing the

current Ganguly.

• Subir Ganguly will continue as the other joint secretary while Biswarup Dey will continue

as treasurer.

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Arvind Panagariya replaces Suresh Prabhu as G20 Sherpa

Government has decided to appoint NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya as the Sherpa

for G-20 talks, replacing Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

• The next G20 Leaders Summit is scheduled on November 15–16 at Antalya in

Turkey.

As per the practice, the Deputy Chairman of the former Planning Commission used to be

the Sherpa for G-20 talks. Earlier, former Deputy Chairman of the Commission, Montek

Singh Ahluwalia was the Sherpa for G-20 talks.

“Diesel dupe – VW” appoints Matthias Mueller as new CEO

Troubled car maker Volkswagen which is caught in an emission cheating scandal announces

Veteran head of Porsche divisionMatthias Mueller as new chief executive replacing Martin

Winterkorn.

• Mueller will continue to act as chairman of Porsche AG until a successor has been found.

• Mueller who is also a member of Board of Management of Volkswagen AG will act as the

CEO VW Group until the end of February 2020.

Network18 Group CEO shifted as Advisor to Chairman

• AP Parigi, Group CEO of Network18, will move to a new role as Advisor to company

Chairman Adil Zainulbhai. Earlier in this week, Rahul Joshi was appointed as CEO of

News and group editor-in-chief, Network18.

• Prior to joining Reliance Industries owned Network18, AP Parigi was MD & CEO of a

Subsidiary of Times Infotainment Media Ltd (TIML) Radio Mirchi/ Entertainment Network

India Limited (ENIL).

Shivinder resigned as Executive Vice-Chairman of Fortis Healthcare Limited

• Shivinder Mohan Singh resigned as the executive vice-chairman of Fortis

Healthcare Limited and he decided to take up full-time spiritual service at the Radha

Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB).

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• RSSB was established in 1891. It is a philosophical organization based on the spiritual

teachings of all religions and dedicated to a process of inner development under the

guidance of a spiritual teacher.

• He will be designated as non-executive vice-chairman of Fortis with effect from

1stJanuary 2016.

• Shivinder, along with his elder brother Malvinder Mohan Singh, runs 55 hospitals

under the brand namely Fortis across the country. At present, Malvinder elder brother of

Shivinder is the executive chairman of the company.

David Haggerty elected as ITF President

• David Haggerty, 58-year old Former USTA head was elected as ITF President for a four

year term from 2015-2019 at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Annual

General Meeting in Santiago, Chile.

• He will succeed Francesco Ricci Bitti. David Haggerty had secured 200 votes in the

second ballot while Anil Khanna from India had secured 192 votes. Rene Stammbach

and Juan Margets were eliminated on the first ballot.

• Some other appointments based upon the election results are as follows

• Vice Presidents: Katrina Adams (USA), Anil Khanna (IND), Rene Stammbach (SUI)

• Board members: Martin Corrie, Sergio Elias, Ismail El Shafei, Bernard Giudicelli, Jack

Graham, Thomas Koenigsfeldt, Celia Patrick, Aleksei Selivanenko, Stefan Tzvetkov,

Bulat Utemuratov.

Keshari Nath Tripathi sworn in as Tripura Governor

• Reigning Governor of West Bengal Keshari Nath Tripathi (80) has been given with

the additional charge of Tripura. He became the 17thgovernor of the state.

• Tripathi took the additional charge on the post of Tripura Governor Tathagata

Roy who is on one month leave with the approval of President Pranab Mukherjee. He

will return on November 3, 2015.

V Shanmuganathan sworn-in as 17th Governor of Manipur

• V Shanmuganthan has sworn in as the 17th Governor of Manipur after taking oath

at ceremony held at Raj Bhawan in Imphal. He succeeded Dr. Syed Ahmed who had

died in late in September 2015.

• Chief justice of Manipur high court justice Laxmi Kant Mahapatra administered the oath

of office and secrecy to Shanmuganathan at a ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan here.

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• The ceremony was attended by chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, cabinet ministers and

other senior officials of the state government and the police.

Banker Woman Kidwai to bow out as Chairperson of HSBC India

After giving 13 years of service to foreign bank HSBC, the banker woman Naina Lal Kidwai (58)

will retire in December as its chairperson. She will also bow out from HSBC Asia-Pacific as an

executive Director on the Board. She also served Federation of Indian Chambers of

Commerce and Industry as its President.

• Mrs. Kidwai joined HSBC in 2002 as Vice Chairman and Managing Director at HSBC

Securities and Capital Markets

• She was appointed Group General Manager of the Bank in 2006.

• She assumed as CEO of HSBC India in 2007 and became its Chairman in 2009.

• She was awarded with Padma Shri award for her contributions in trade and

industry and consecutively ranked in Fortune global list of Top Women in

Business.

• She is editor of books “Contemporary Banking in India” and “30 Women in

Power”

Jayant Prasad appointed as Director General of Institute for Defence Studies and

Analyses

• Former ambassador Jayant Prasad has been appointed the next Director

General of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).

• The post of director general of IDSA had been vacant since August 2014 .Mr. Prasad

takes charge at a special moment in the history of IDSA as 2015 marks the fiftieth year

of existence of the think tank.

Ambassadors for Digital India appointed

As an answer to who will be the face for Digital India programme, Union Government issued a

press release stated with the names of country’s first ambassadors for NaMo’s initiative

programme.

Government finally appointed four Brand Ambassadors as a part of the Digital India week from

July 1-7, 2015 for a period of one year to promote the products and applications and generating

awareness programmes which will launched by the department under Digital India Programme.

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Names of Digital India ambassadors

• Satwat Jagwani (17) All India IIT-JEE – Advanced Topper -2015 (Student)

• Ms. Krati Tiwari (17) All India IIT-JEE – Advanced Girl Topper -2015 (Student)

• Mr Ankit Fadia (30) known as “ethical hacktivist” – Author & Ethical Hacker

• Shri Pranav Mistry (34) – Computer Scientist and Author of 6th Sense, Global Vice

President of Research at Samsung, USA

After this no other person has been appointed as Brand Ambassador for Digital India till a period

of 1 year.

Neelesh Garg appointed MD and CEO of Tata AIG General Insurance

• As a successor of KK Mishra Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limited

appointed Neelesh Garg as its Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive

Officer (CEO)

• Before appointed as head of Tata AIG General Insurance he served ICICI Lombard over

12 years as an Executive Director (ED)

• He started his career with ICICI Ltd in 1995 then he worked with Citigroup in the

department of treasury and mortgages.

Manish Sisodia replaces Kapil Mishra as Delhi Law Minister

• Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was on 31 August 2015 given the

additional charge of the Law Ministry of the city.

• Sisodia, who is the third person to hold charge of the portfolio in less than seven

months, will replace Kapil Mishra.

• Kapil Mishra, an MLA from Karawal Nagar, was handing the Law Ministry portfolio ever

since Jitendra Singh Tomar was arrested in a fake degree case in June 2015. Mishra will

continue as Minister for Water and Tourism and Delhi Jal Board’s chairman.

Acquisitions & Mergers

Snapdeal acquires Silicon Valley tech-startup Reduce Data

The acquisition will strengthen Snapdeal’s Content Discovery as Reduce Data has

a programmatic display advertising platform that leverages artificial intelligence, real-time data

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and other tools. In short, with as many as two lakh sellers offering their merchandise on the e-

commerce portal and with over 40 million registered users, the company aims to crank-up its

content discovery capabilities by the acquisition.

Reduce Data owner Asaf Ali founded the company in 2012 and has customers across the US, India

and the UK.

JSW Energy to buy Jaypee Group’s Bina thermal power plant

• Mumbai based JSW Energy has signed an agreement with Jaiprakash Power

Ventures Ltd of the Jaypee group to acquire 100% stake in 500MW Bina Thermal

power plant for Rs.3500 crore which is located in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh.

• JSW Energy, one of the few power companies in India that have a healthy balance

sheet. Currently JSW Energy has a Capacity of 3140MW power plant and another

8630MW of capacity is under development.

• Last year also JSW Energy signed an agreement with Jaypee group to acquire two hydro

power plants for Rs.9700 Crore

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories signed pact with US Firm PanTheryx

• Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd and PanTheryx have entered into a licensing agreement that

grants the exclusive right to market and distribute PanTheryx’s nutritional intervention,

DiaResQ, for infectious diarrhoea in India and Nepal under the Reliqua brand

• The product was recently recognised in Reimagining Global Health as one of the 30

leading healthcare innovations with great promise to transform global health by 2030.

• CEO of Dr. Reddy’s : GV Prasad.

CarDekho to acquire Auto portal Zigwheels

• Online auto classified portal CarDekho set to acquire Zigwheels, an auto portal

owned by Times Internet.

• Jaipur based Girnar Soft is the parent company of CarDekho.

• Girnar Soft now runs BikeDekho, PriceDekho and Gaadi.com. In this series it will add

Zigwheels also.

• It is the second big acquisitions by the parent company while the first one Gaadi.com

which was bought by Girnar Soft a year ago.

• CarDekho was founded by Amit and Anurag Jain.

• CEO & Co-founder of CarDekho Mr.Amit Jain confimed this acquisition

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JK group to acquire Haridwar unit of Kesoram Industries

JK Tyre Industries, India’s third largest tyre manufacturer to buy Haridwar manufacturing unit of

Kesoram Industries for 2200 crore.

• Kesoram Industries, part of the BK Birla group has an estimated debt of Rs.3800 crore.

This debt will come down to Rs.3000 crore after this deal.

• JK tyre will improve their growth in the truck and bus radials segment with this deal.

The acquisition also improve the company into 2/3 wheeler tyre market.

• Chairman & MD of JK Tyre & Industries Ltd – Raghupati Singhania

India’s Practo buys Insta Health for $12mn

• Bengaluru-based Practo, online healthcare platform has acquired Insta Health,

hospital information management Solutions company for $12 million (Rs.79 crore) deal.

• It is the third acquisition from the company in less than six months.

• The other two acquisitions are FitHo, fitness solutions firm and Genii, product

outsourcing firm.

• Practo has already over 10,000 hospitals in their database. Acquisition of Insta

Health will enable Practa to access more than 500 hospitals across 15 Countries.

• Co-Founder & CEO of Practo – Shashank ND

• Founder of Insta Health founder – Ramesh Emani

Sun Pharma to acquire Insite Vision

• Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has signed an agreement to acquire the US-based

eye care firm InSite Vision.

• InSite Vision now focuses on developing new specialty ophthalmic products. InSite

Vision has developed the DuraSite and DuraSite2 drug delivery platforms which are

capable of extending the duration of drug retention, which results in lower dosing

frequency.

• InSite Vision also has two commercialized products for treatment of bacterial eye

infections. It has recently filed a New Drug Application (NDA) with the US FDA

forBromSite for treatment of inflammation and prevention of pain associated with

cataract surgery.

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Suvidhaa Infoserve buys AasaanPay’s MPoS

• Axis Bank’s Business Correspondent (BC) Suvidhaa Infoserve buys Aasaan Pay, the

first Indian mobile Point of Sale (MPoS) technology platform.

• Mumbai based Payment Management Company Suvidhaa Infoserve has acquired a

Mobile Point of Sale device, along with its intellectual property rights which was

developed by Sainath Gupta, Pruthvi Sabbu and Shashank Sahni of Aasaan Pay.

• It is a device which can be connected to a mobile phone via Bluetooth and then be used

for transactions of credit card as well as debit card.

• According to Paresh Rajde, founder of Suvidhaa Infoserve, India has 650 million cards

but just 2 lakh ATMs and 10 lakh PoS outlets. It will access 15 crore cards that are

issued under PM Jan Dhan Yojana.

Hero Cycles buys Firefox Bikes

• Punjab based Hero cycles has bought Firefox Bikes for an undisclosed sum of deal. Hero

Cycles has acquired 100% stake in Firefox Bikes

• According to Pankaj Munjal, Chairman and MD at Hero Cycles, “We are extremely

proud to have Firefox Bikes, which is one of the most recognized brands in the premium

cycle segment, as part of the Hero Cycles family.”

• Currently, The Company has 70 different models of Firefox Bikes which will operate as a

distinct brand under Hero Cycles.

• Shiv Inder Singh will continue to serve as the CEO of Firefox Bikes.

• Hero cycles has also announced that it would setup a “Hero innovation Centre” to

upgrade its upcoming Cycles.

The Blackstone Group acquires Serco Group plc

• The Blackstone Group L.P, US based Private investment banking company has

repurchased the India based BPO operations of UK’s Serco Group Plc for Rs.2558crore.

• This is the largest acquisition by the company in India.

• In 2011, Blackstone sold Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) operations to Secro Group

plc for 383 million USD.

• The business will be rebranded and revived as “Intelenet Global Services”

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ABCL acquires Chlor-Alkali Division of Jayshree Chemicals

• Aditya Birla Chemicals Ltd (ABCL) has completed the acquisition of the Jayashree

Chemicals Ltd’s chlor-alkali division.

• Last year, Aditya Birla Chemicals Ltd (ABCL) had signed an agreement with Jayshree

Chemicals for the acquisition of Chlor-Alkali Division for 212 crore.

• Jayshree chemicals’s chlor-alkali division includes caustic soda manufacturing facility

atGanjam in Odisha and salt manufacturing unit at Pundi in Andhra Pradesh.

• That Ganjam Manufacturing facility has been renamed as Aditya Birla Chemicals (India)

Ltd – Ganjam Chemical Division.

Healthcare Company Practo acquires Qikwell

Healthcare platform Practo has acquired Qikwell. This is the fourth acquisition for the

Bengaluru-based firm in the last five months and makes it the world’s largest appointment

booking platform. Practo now aims to service 40 million appointments every year.

Azur Global acquires Chennai-based Sybrant Technologies

• Chicago-based Azur Global, an IT services and solutions provider, announced acquired

Chennai-based Sybrant Technologies Limited, to builds multi-channel internet

products. Both the companies did not disclosed the value of the acquisition.

• Azur works mainly with Fortune 100 companies and its revenues stands at around $30

million and targets $100 million next year.Azur, which has 50 per cent of its offshore

work force in Chennai and Hyderabad said Ranghan Venkatraman, founder and CEO

of Azur Global.

• V Thiyagarajan, Founder of Sybrant Technologies will be the managing director of

Azur India.

GSK Pharma completes deal with Novartis Healthcare

• Drug firm GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals has acquired Novartis’ vaccines business

and divested its marketed oncology portfolio to NovartisBSE 2.54 % Healthcare.

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Science & Technolgy

HIV prevention drug PrEP showed positive results

• PrEP is short for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. It is a prevention option for people who

are at high risk of getting HIV.

• A study was conducted at the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Centerfor

32-months showed that, the sexually active homosexual men, who are taking the

PrEP,the HIV-prevention treatment program by using the drug Truvada(a drug with the

combination of emtricitabine and tenofovir), resulted in ‘No New HIV infections’

Bharat Dynamics Limited test fires Amogha-1 successfully

• Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) has successfully test-fired an indigenously developed

anti-tank guided missile called Amogha-1.

• Amogha-1 is a 2.8 km range, second generation anti-tank guided missile.

• The test firing of Amogha-1 is carried out by BDL at Babina Army Range in Madhya

Pradesh.

• Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad – One of India’s manufacturers

of ammunitions and missile systems will offer Amogha-1 missile to Indian Army after

due qualification and validation trials.

FB launches “Signal”, a news gathering tool

• Facebook has unveiled a news gathering tool which is called “Signal” for journalists.

• “Signal” -– a Desktop only for now is available on both Facebook and Facebook owned

Instagram and it will be free for journalists.

• This tool will help journalists to source, gather, and embed newsworthy content from

Facebook and Instagram.

• Signal can save the image or video of every post of FB and Instagram very easily.

• Facebook has already launched its ‘Mentions’ app that is available to journalists with

verified profiles.

Microsoft launches Office 2016 with “Collaborative” software

• Microsoft launches Office 2016 with “Collaborative”, new office software provides real-

time collaboration on documents.

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• Real-time collaboration allows two or more people to collaborate in real-time on a

Microsoft Word document and complete their task. And users can also access video or

audio calls during collaboration.

• Microsoft Office 2016 is available in 40 languages.

• Microsoft Office 2016 for Home and Students version – Rs 5,999

• Microsoft Office 2016 for Home and Business – Rs 18,499.

• Microsoft Office 2016 for Business Standard version – Rs 24,844

• Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus – Rs 33,911.

Anindya Dutta, Indian-origin scientist discovers new cancer gene mutations

• Anindya Dutta, Indian-origin scientist, professor at University of Virginia School of

Medicine in the US and his team has identified two new cancer-causing gene mutations.

• The newly discovered mutations in the MCM8 and MCM9 genes will respond to certain

drugs which were already approved by US Food and Drug Administration to treat breast

cancers.

• Anindya Dutta said, MCM8 and MCM9 mutations could be revealed only through whole

genome sequencing. And it is possible to design simple tests to identify these two

newcancer-causing mutations in MCM8 and also in MCM9 genes.

“ASTROSAT” MISSION LAUNCHED BY ISRO’s WORKHORSE PSLV – C30

ISRO launched India’s first dedicated multi wavelength space observatory satellite

ASTROSAT for astronomical research from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota along

with six foreign satellites by ISRO’s trusted Launch Vehicle PSLV – 30in its 31st flight.

FOREIGN SATELLITES

6 kg LAPAN-A2 of Indonesia

14 kg NLS-14 (Ev9) of Canada

4 identical LEMUR satellites of USA together weighing about 28 kg

PERIOD OF MISSION – 5 years

ASTROSAT OBJECTIVE

• To help scientists develop an understanding of highly energetic physical processes at

work in binary systems consisting of a star and either a neutron star or a black hole

• To determine the properties of magnetic fields produced by neutron stars

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• To study regions of stellar birth in other galaxies

• To detect new short-lived interstellar x-ray sources

• To conduct a partial ultraviolet deep-field sky survey

Evidence of flowing water on MARS

Scientist’s latest research and analysis of the dark patches that ebb and flow on the slopes of

Mars shows that they have contain with hydrated salt crystals containing molecules of

water. The Red Planet has been known for years to have ice, and its surface bears the

topographical scars of ancient water. It flows during summer months on Mars.

• The dark features which are 5 metres wide and more than 100 metres long were

first noticed in 2010. After analysing their reflected light signature a team of eight

scientists has concluded that the streaks consist of mineral salts that easily absorb

moisture and the flowing water is the likeliest explanation for their appearance.

HELPING INSTRUMENT

• Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) which records

the wavelengths of light reflecting off Mars’ surface.

• It helps to collect light spectra, match them to the known light signatures of minerals.

Environment

Nine new species of wild mushrooms discovered in Sikkim

• Botanical Survey of India (BSI) scientist, Dr Kanad Das and his team have

discoverednine species of wild mushrooms from Sikkim Himalayas. Out of

nine, Canthrellus sikkimensis is edible and consumed by the local people.

• These nine species were found in the subalpine region, the Singba Rhododendron

Sanctuary and adjoining areas of North Sikkim.

• Dr Kanad Das mentioned that four among the discovered species belong to the genus

Lactarius , two of Suillus and one each from three genera namely, Cantharellus,

Bondarzewia and Austroboletus. These new species of fungi are mushrooms, seasonal in

nature growing in different times particularly during the rainy season.

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Fossils of dinosaur found in Australia

• 100 million year old dinosaur fossils have been found at an Australian archaeological

site first explored in the 1930s.

• The dinosaur fossils were found in northwest Queensland. The bones are believed to be

from the Austrosaurus mckillopi.

• Queensland dinosaur museum curator Timothy Holland said, “The bones were then

sent to the Queensland Museum and experts realized they were quite different from all

other fossils that had come from the site before”.

9,000-year-old ritualised decapitation found in Brazil

• Researchers have unearthed a 9,000-year-old case of human decapitation in an

archaeological site in Brazil which may be the oldest case of ritual decapitation in the

New World.

• It is a skull of a man found in a rock shelter in Lapa Do Santo, located in east-

central Brazil where amputated hands laid over the face of the skull arranged opposite

to each other and v-shaped cut marks on the jaw and sixth cervical vertebra.

• According to researchers, the decapitation was not the result of a murder but probably a

burial practice during the culture’s early Archaic period.

• The skull is more than 3,000 years older than previous known evidence of decapitation

in South America. The remains were found in 2007, but recently the testing results

appeared in the journal – PLOS ONE.

• Andre Strauss from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary

Anthropology,Germany and colleagues have dated the remains, named Burial 26,

back to approximately 9,000 years ago using accelerator mass spectrometry.

Indian scientists decode Tulsi plant genome

In a move that could inspire more studies and eventual treatment researchers have been able to

decode the Tulsi plant. Indian scientists have made an interesting breakthrough

towards understanding the medicinal value of the famous Queen of herbs Tulsi.(Tulsi

Biological Name: Ocimum tenuiflorum)

Participants

• A multi-institutional team 25 scientists from various organizations such as inStem,

NCBS and CCAMP.

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• Team led by Sowdhamini Ramanathan from the National Centre of Biological Science,

Bengaluru.

Findings

• Tulsi plant has about 40 special chemicals that have medicinal values.

• Revisit of age-old knowledge of the plant, its medicinal effects helps in decoding of the

plant and found the genes responsible for production of compounds with potential

medicinal properties.

• It also revealed interesting ways about how the plant makes a chemical called Ursolic

acid.

Tulsi Applications

• Tulsi known for its anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-pyretic properties is considered to be

of Indian origin and has been under cultivation for almost 3000 years now.

• It is also used as an anti-cancer cure.

GFRA 2015 – India losing green cover more rapidly

According to United Nation’s Global Forest Resources Assessment (GFRA) 2015 report, world’s

forests have shrunk by three per cent since 1990 – an area equivalent to the size of South Africa

– and India is among the countries that are losing their forest cover faster than others.

Professor Rod Keenan, forestry expert at the University of Melbourne, headed a team of

academics analysing the GFRA data for the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.

The globe’s forests have shrunk despite significant improvements in conservation over the past

decade. The green cover is being more rapidly lost in some of the developing and poorest

countries including India, Vietnam and Ghana.

Total global forest area has declined by three percent between 1990 and 2015 from 4,128

million hectares to 3,999 million hectares – a loss of 129 million hectares, with Brazil,

Indonesia and Nigeria recording the biggest losses over the past five years.

China renovates 2000-year-old Ashoka Stupa

China has renovated a 2000-year-old Ashoka Stupa in a remote town of Tibet which was one

of the 19 stupas built with Lord Buddha’s relics sent by Emperor Ashoka to China.

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• This 2000-year-old Ashoka Stupa made a symbol of the Buddhism arrival from India

to China.

• The renovated stupa and Ashoka pillar along with a huge golden statue of Buddha

wassanctified by Gyalwang Drukpa, the spiritual head of Drukpa lineage of Buddhism

based on Ladakh.

• It is to be considered as a rare visit of an Indian Buddhist leader to Tibet.

Homo naledi: New species of human ancestor discovered in South Africa

Scientists have discovered a new human-like species in a burial chamber deep in a cave system in

South Africa. The discovery of 15 partial skeletons is the largest single discovery of its type in

Africa.

About 1,500 fossils were found deep in a cave system outside Johannesburg, hidden in a deep

underground chamber only accessible via several steep climbs and rock cavasses.

Homo naledi was named after the Rising Star cave – naledi means star in Sesotho, a South

African language.

Initial Discovery

The initial discovery was made two years ago in the Dinaledi Chamber (Chamber of Stars) of the

Rising Star cave by Witwatersrand University scientists and volunteer cavers. The cave is located

near the Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage Site in Gauteng province, South Africa.

Features of Homo naledi

• Small, modern-looking teeth

• Hands, wrists and feet of the bodies were similar to modern humans

• Upper body were much more like the earliest humans

• Had a tiny brain, about the size of an average orange

• Approximately 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) tall

• Weighed about 45 kg

• Unknown age, but researchers say it could be as old as 3 million years.

The researchers claim that the discovery will change ideas about our human ancestors and could

shed fresh light on the origin of mankind.

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Ancient twin caves discovered in Nalgonda, Telangana

• In a historic discovery, the Department of Archaeology and Museums has come

across massive naturally formed ancient twin caves in Nalgonda district of

Telangana. The place is just a couple of km from Nagarjunasagar backwaters and very

close to Dindi rivulet.

• Experts claim that the caves are probably the oldest ever in both Telangana and

Andhra Pradesh and it could have been home to the pre-historic man.

• The twin caves have a 15-metre radius at the entry point but the size narrows down

as you go further down. One of the twin caves is said to be about 50 feet deep and the

other one is about 650 feet

• Although no archaeological evidence like paintings have been found in the caves, this

could be developed into a great adventure tourism spot and accordingly the tourism

department said that they would include these caves in the proposed Devarakonda,

Chandampet tourism circuit.

World’s Oldest fossil sea turtle discovered

• 25 million years older fossil found in South America.More than six feet long, the

turtle, Desmatochelys padillai sp, lived around 120 million years ago.

• The new find represents the oldest confirmed record of sea turtles anywhere in the

world by Cardena and study co-author James Parham of California State University,

Fullerton.

• This report was published in the journal PaleoBios.

Over 3 Trillion Trees currently grow on Earth, Finds Study

• The study was inspired by a request by Plant for the Planet, a global youth initiative

that leads the United Nations Environment Programme’s ‘Billion Tree Campaign’.

• Yale University of US says there are about 3.04 trillion trees on the earth which

means an estimation of 422 trees for every person.That is about 8 times higher than the

previously thought.

• Now, on the downside of the study that humans are cutting about 15 billion trees every

year.

• The highest tree densities were noticed in the sub-Arctic regions of Russia, Scandinavia

and North America.

• But the largest forested areas are in the tropics, which are home to about 43 % of the

total global trees.

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First-ever Census on India’s Leopard presented

• The first ever Leopard census in India conducted alongside tiger census of last year. The

census had been taken around tiger habitants across the country except the North-

East.

• Yaduvedradev V Jhala, the lead scientist of the tiger census, who presents the Leopard

census at Wildlife Institute of India’s annual research seminar in Dehradun last

week, said “There are leopards outside the areas we covered. Based on these numbers,

we estimate India’s total leopard population to be in the range of 12,000 to 14,000”.

Sports

Sports Ministry recognizes ‘Yoga’ as a sports discipline

• The Sports Ministry decided to recognize ‘Yoga’ as a sports discipline and place it in

the ‘Priority’ category.

• The Ministry also decided to upgrade Fencing from ‘Others’ to ‘General’ category, based

on the past performance in major international events.

• It has also been decided to place ‘University Sports’ in the ‘Priority’ category.

India’s first test-series victory in Sri Lanka in 22 years

• India beat SL 2-1, their first test-series win on the Lankan soil in 22 years. The last

series win in the island nation was in 1993.

• Virat Kohli’s first series win as a captain ever since he took over reins of the team from

Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

• It also broke the dry-spell of over-seas tests win that India was facing since its win

against West Indies in 2011.

• With this win, Virat Kohli has become the youngest Indian Test captain at 26 years and

300 days, to win a series away from home. The earlier record was held by Kapil Dev.

• Cheteshwar Poojara was named Man-of-the-match for his unbeaten 145 innings

whereas R. Ashwin was the Man-of-the-series for the 21 wickets taken by him.

ICC Test rankings- Ishant, Pujara enter top-20

• Cheteshwar Pujara has been placed as 20th in the batsman list, entering the top-

twenty of ICC Test rankings. He scored his seventh century in Colombo with an

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unbeaten 145. Pujara is the second batsman, with Virat Kohli (at 11), to feature in the

top-20. But with Kohli dropping one position from number 10, there are no Indian

batsmen in the top 10 currently.

• Pacer Ishant Sharma moved to 18th in the bowler list, making progress on the top-

20 bowler’s list, reaching the 200-wickets mark.

2022 Commonwealth Games to be held in Durban

• The Commonwealth Games Federation general assembly in New Zealand selected the

South African city of Durban, South Africa as the host for the 2022 multi-sports event.

• The coastal city won the bid for the event after the Canadian city of Edmonton dropped

out of the contention, citing falling oil prices as a reason for withdrawal.

• The Commonwealth Games are held every four years, with over 50 countries (mostly

former British colonies) participating.

• This is the first time the Games will be held on the African soil, since it was founded

in 1930. South Africa has so far hosted World Cups for rugby, cricket and soccer in the

last 20 years.

• The opening ceremony and the athletics events will be held in the Moses Mabhida

Stadium, which was constructed for the FIFA World Cup, 2010.

• The Games will be held from 18-30 July, opening on the birth date of the late South

African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela.

• The 2018 Games are slotted to be held in Gold Coast, Australia.

India gains a place to 155th in FIFA rankings

Coca-cola FIFA (Federation of International Football Associations) released the rankings of world

national teams. Ranking is based on the results in all official matches including friendly matches

from the last 4 years. This Ranking is vital for determining the seeding qualifications of World Cup

and World Cup – group stage.

• Indian football team secured 155th rank in the recent FIFA rankings.

• While previously the team held 156th rank under the guidance of Coach, Mr. Stephen

Constantine.

• India is next going to face Iran in a WC qualifier On September 8th, in Bangalore.

• The World cup finalist, Argentina secured the top position.

• Belgium continued to be stood at the second place.

• Germany and Colombia secured 3rd and 4th ranks respectively.

• While 5-times world Brazil holds the 5th

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Marvan Atapattu resigned as Head Coach of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) team, Jerome

Jayaratna is the interim national coach

• Following the Test series defeat to Pakistan and India, Marvan Atapattu resigned as

SLC’s head coach.

• Jerome Jayaratne, 49, is a former under 19 international and will be heading the team

for the West Indies tour.

• SLC plans to recruit either South African Graham Ford or Sri Lankan Chandika

Hathurusinghe as future heads.

Apurvi Chandela,an Indian Shooter bagged silver at WC final

• Apurvi Chandela(age 22),Indian shooter secured the silver medal in women’s 10

meters air rifle event at ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) World

Cup final.

• Apurvi scored 416.4 to get an entry into finals.

• She displayed an outstanding performance in finals and succeeded to clinch the silver by

scoring 206.9 just 0.6 behind Ahmadi Elaheh of Iran, gold medalist with a tally of 207.5

• Apurvi is a gold medalist in the Commonwealth games-2014 ,Glasgow-Scotland

Gagan Narang Achieves No.1 spot in Asian Rankings,Jitu No.2

• Gagan Narang, An Indian shooter and Olympic medalist has rediscovered his old form

by achieving the No.1 spot in Men’s 50m Rifle prone shooting category in

Asia with 971 points.

• While Jitu Rai(well known as Pistol King) hit thesecond place with 1929

points in Men’s 50m Pistol shooting and Jongoh Jin who belongs to Korea secured

the 1st place in this category.

• Likewise Abhinav Bindra, The Gold medalist of Beijing Olympics, got 5th rank in 10

metres air rifle shooting, through Rio Olympics.

Thus India booked a quota in next year’s Rio olympics by bagging the bronze medal in the

50m Rifle prone event of the ISSF(International Shooting Sport Federation) World

Cup,which was held at Fort Benning, USA, in May this year.

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Snehal Mane won Mauritius Open ITF Juniors title

• Snehal Mane,The 16-year old Maharashtra tennis player won her 2nd ITF(International

Tennis Federation) girl’s single title in Mauritius on 5th September by winning the

Mauritius Open ITF junior championships.

• She has been playing a grade 5 event at The National Tennis Center Petit Camp-

Phoenix in Mauritius. It is her second title in a row.

• She has also won the singles title last week in the Petit camp cup Under-18 grade 4

ITF championship.

• At present her rank is 648.

Australia’s Watson announces Test retirement

• Australian allrounder Shane Watson has announced his retirement from

International Test cricket. Watson sustained a series-ending calf injury in Saturday’s

64-run win in the 2nd ODI over England at Lord’s.

• His decade long Test career came to an end at the Ashes opener at Cardiff, which

England won by 169 runs. In this match Watson had made 30 runs and failed to take a

wicket.

• The 34-year-old cricketer has been playing for the Australian cricket team since 2005, is

married to television presenter Lee Furlong. He made his test debut for Australia at

theSCG against Pakistan in 2005.

Indian boxer Vikas Krishan wins silver medal in 75 kg category in Asia Championships

• Indian boxer Vikas Krishan (75kg) has won the silver medal in the Asian Championships

held in Bangkok, Thailand. In the final match of 75kg weight category, he was

defeated by Uzbekistan’s Bektemir Melikuziev by 0-2 score.

• In the Asian Championships only Vikas has won silver medal for India. Shiva Thapa

(56kg), Devendro Singh (49kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) won bronze medal each in

their respective category.

• It should be noted that six Indians have qualified for World Championships which is to

be held in October 2015 and will be the first qualifying event for the 2016 Rio Olympics

Games.

Lewis Hamilton wins 2015 Italian Grand Prix of Formula One

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain won 2015 Italian Grand Prix of Formula One. It was

his seventh victory of the season. In season 2015 Lewis Hamilton has won Australian Grand

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Prix and later won Chinese Grand Prix, Bahrain Grand Prix, Canadian Grand Prix, British Grand

Prix and Belgian Grand Prix.

Ruthvika, Lakshya win Junior International Badminton Championship

• India’s Ruthvika Shivani Gadde and Lakshya Sen have won the Women’s and

Men’s singles titles respectively at the Sushant Chipalkatti Memorial India Junior

International Badminton Championship.

• Ruthvika defeated Thailand’s Supamart Mingchua and Lakshya beat compatriot Chirag

Sen.

• In men’s doubles, Indian pair of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy

beat Thailand’s Warit Sarapat and Panachai Worasaktyanan 21-15 21-17 to win the

crown.

Joshna Chinappa Clinches Indian Squash Circuit Title

• National champion Joshna Chinappa clinched the women’s title in the USD 15,000

NSCI Open JSW Indian Squash Circuit 2015 after upstaging Egyptian top seed

Habiba Mohammad in straight games in the final.

• Joshna, ranked 24th in the world currently, defeated Habiba 11-8, 11-9, 11-6 in a tough

title-clash, which lasted 47 minutes.

Wasim, Rameez to be PSL brand ambassadors

Former captains Wasim Akram and Rameez Raja have signed formal contracts with the PCB to

be the brand ambassadors of the Pakistan T20 Super League (PSL) for the next three years.

Anirban Lahiri becomes 1st Indian to qualify for President’s Cup team

• Ace golfer Anirban Lahiri added another feather to his cap by becoming the first Indian

to qualify for the prestigious President’s Cup.

• Lahiri, World No.40, came through as one of the automatic qualifications for the

International Team, which will take on United States in the biennial Presidents Cup in

Korea.

Weightlifter Deepak Lather wins gold in Commonwealth Youth Games

• Indian weightlifter Deepak Lather won a gold medal in fifth Commonwealth Youth

Games (CYG) held in Apia, Samoa.

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• He won the medal the 62 kg category after finishing with a total of 258 kg with 120 kg

in snatch. He has created a new CYG record and 138 kg in clean and jerk.

• It is second gold medal India has won in in weightlifting at this edition of CYG.

Earlier,Jamjang Deru had won the gold medal in the 56 kg weight category on the

opening day of the event.

• In the fifth edition of Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG), India is being represented by

25 athletes competing in eight different disciplines out of total nine events.

India wins 4 medals in Asian Amateur Boxing Championship 2015

The 28th edition of Asian Amateur Boxing Championship 2015, was held

in Bangkok, Thailand. The 2015 Boxing Championship was one of the biggest competitions

with 188 boxers from 28 countries. Out of 28 nations, 15 nations won medals in the

event. 66 boxers qualified for DOHA 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championship through this

Asian championship.

• India wins 4 medals (1 Silver, 3 Bronze) and got sixth place in the medal list while

Kazakhstan got first place with 7 medals.(5 Gold, 1 silver, 1 Bronze).

• Vikas Krishnan (75Kg) won silver medal at the Asian Championship. Satish Kumar (95

Kg), L Devendro (49Kg), Shiva Thapa (56Kg) won Bronze medals.

Veteran Australian keeper Brad Haddin retires

• The 37 year old Australian Wicketkeeper, Brad Haddin has announced his retirement

from International cricket.

• He joins Shane Watson, Michael Clarke, Chris Rogers who are all announced their

retirement from International Cricket since losing 2015 Ashes tour.

• He retired from ODI internationals after playing in Australia’s world cup final win. His

first international debut in ODI was 2001 against Zimbabwe. However he is expected

to play T20 cricket for Sydney Sixers.

Usain Bolt’ of tortoises sets new Guinness record

• The ‘Usain Bolt’ of the tortoise Bertie has raced into the Guinness Book of Records as

the fastest ever.

• Bertie was 10 years old, covered 18ft (5.48m) in 19.59 seconds – smashing the

previous best of 43.7 seconds, which stood since 1977.

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IPTL: Roger Federer joins UAE Royals, Virat Kohli to co-own team

• World no 2 tennis player Roger Federer joins UAE Royals in the second season of

theIPTL(International Premier Tennis League) which is scheduled to be held

from Dec 2 to Dec 20.

• Federal will played for the Indian Aces in the inaugural season of IPTL and Mahesh

Bhupathi, will be played across five countries in Asia. The other teams are Manila

Mavericks, Singapore Slammers, Micromax Indian Aces and Japan Warriors.

• ITPL MD: Mahesh Bhupathi and co-owner Virat Kohli, Neelesh Bhatnagar and Sachin

Gadoya.

ISL 2015: Delhi Dynamos sign Serginho Greene

• Indian Super League (ISL) franchise Delhi Dynamos announced Serginho Greene’s

signing at the Bravida Arena.

• Greene is versatile player and he was a member of the Netherlands U-16 and U-

21 football teams and he was played the second half of the side’s friendly against

Swedish team BK Hacken at the Bravida Arena.

• Delhi Dynamos Team manager : Roberto Carlos.

US Open Tennis Championships 2015 – Complete Review

The 135th edition of the US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year concluded

at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center this year.

Before the start, the scenario was – in the Men’s single sectionMarin Cilic was the defending

champion whereas in the Women’s single section Serena Williams was the three-time defending

champion. But as expected after the completion of the tournament, this year’s scenario is a

completely different one.

Men’s Singles:

Unstoppable Serbian Novak Djokovic defeated Feliciano Lopez in four sets in a match that

helped him to advance to the US Open semi-finals for a ninth consecutive year. Then he thrashed

Marin Cilic, the defending champion to book a date with Roger Federer. It was the final people

expected, and world number one Djokovic beat Federer in four dramatic sets to win his

second US Open and 10th Grand Slam title.

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Though Federar lost this year, still the world number two remains on top of the list with 17

Grand Slam singles titles.

Women’s Singles:

For the first time in an all-Italian decider of the Open era Flavia Pennetta defeated Roberta

Vinci in straight sets. In early stages of the tournament, Vinci had beaten the defending

champion and world No one Serena Williams in an extraordinary match and the 26th seed

Pennetta had beaten world No 2 Simona Halep.

With this victory Flavia Pennetta became the first Italian to win US Open champion and it was

also her maiden US Grand Slam title and interestingly it’s the last one too as she announced her

retirement after the win.

Men’s Doubles:

French pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut won the Men’s Doubles trophy by

defeating Jamie Murray (United Kingdom) and John Peers (Australia).

Women’s Doubles:

After winning Wimbledon, BNP Paribas Open and WTA Family Circle Cup doubles title earlier, the

pair of India’s Sania Mirza and Switzerland’s Martina Hingis won the women’s Doubles

trophy by defeating Casey Dellacqua (Australia) and Yaroslava Shvedova

(Kazakhstan) and clinched their fourth.

Mixed Doubles:

India’s Leander Paes and Switzerland’s Martina Hingis pair won the Mixed Doubles trophy of

Final Grand Slam of the US Open by defeating American pair of Bethanie Mattek-

Sands andSam Querrey.

Aditi Ashok clinches Singha Thailand Amateur title

• A 17 year old, Indian golfer Aditi Ashok won the Singha Thailand Amateur

championship.

• This is the third International Victory of Aditi Ashok in 2015,

• Aditi Ashok is the only Asian to win both St Rule Trophy 2015 and Lawson Trophy.

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• She is the first Indian to win Ladies British Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship

2015

• Headquarters of International Golf Federation (IGF) – Lausanne, Switzerland

• President of International Golf Federation (IGF) – Peter Dawson

India Placed 22nd in New Asian Football Technical Ranking

• A new technical ranking system of the Asian Football Confederation has placed India in

22nd spot among the continent’s 46-member countries, the highest among South Asian

nations.

• The technical ranking system released by the AFC recently takes into account the

performance of the national team and clubs (at AFC competitions) of a particular

country in the last four years and points are given accordingly.

India ranks 5th in commonwealth Youth Games 2015 at Samoa

The 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games was the 5th Commonwealth Youth Games which started in

2000. They were held in Apia, the capital of Samoa. Up to 1000 young Commonwealth

athletes aged 14-18 participated from 63 nations and territories and competed for 107

Gold Medals in 9 sports from 5th Sept – 11th Sept, 2015.

• India ended at the fifth spot in the overall tally with 19 medals.

• Final Medal Tally

Ranking Country Gold Silver Bronze Total

Medals

1 Australia 25 19 19 63

2 South Africa 13 7 15 35

3 England 12 16 16 40

4 Malaysia 11 3 3 17

5 India 9 4 6 19

•

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• Indian Winners List

Name Sport Medal

Prachi Singh (women) Archery Gold

Prachi Singh – Pantelides Thomas (Mixed) Archery Gold

Sasi Kumar Mukund (Men single’s) Tennis Gold

Dhruthi Tatachar Venugopal (Women single’s) Tennis Gold

Sasi kumar Mukund – Dhruthi Tatachar (Mixed) Tennis Gold

Deepak Lather Weightlifting Gold

Jamjang Deru Weightlifting Gold

Tejaswin Shankar (High Jump-Men) Athletics Gold

Mohd Hadeesh (Javelin Throw-Men) Athletics Gold

Gourav Solanki Boxing (52 Kg) Silver

Nishant Kumawat (Boys Recurve Individual) Archery Silver

Jisna Mathew (400m) Athletics Silver

Velavan Senthil Kumar – Harshit Jawanda (Mixed) Squash Silver

Bhimchand Singh Leichombam Boxing (49 Kg – Men ) Bronze

Prayag Chauhan Boxing (64 Kg – Men) Bronze

Anamika Das (Shot-put Women) Athletics Bronze

Velavan Senthil kumar (Singles – Men) Squash Bronze

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Chandan Bauri (400m – Men) Athletics Bronze

Abitha Mary Manuel (800m – Women) Athletics Bronze

• The 2018 Commonwealth Games will be held at Gold Coast City, Queensland in

Australia from 4-15 April 2018. This will be the 5th time that Australia has hosted the

Games.

Wrestler Narsingh Pancham Yadav qualifies 2016 rio olympic games

• Narsingh Pancham Yadav clinches bronze medal in World Wrestling Championships

in Las Vegas, USA

• He became the lone Indian to win a bronze medal at World Wrestling Championships in

the Men’s 74kg Freestyle category.

• After winning this tournament, He becomes the first Indian wrestler to qualify for Rio De

Janeiro Olympic games.

Ravi Shastri retained as Team Director till T20 World Cup 2016

• Ravi Shastri will continue as the Team Director of Indian Cricket team till the 2016

T20 World cup based on recommendations of the BCCI advisory committee.

• Along with Ravi Shastri, three assistant coaches Sanjay Bangar (batting), Bharat

Arun(bowling) and Ramakrishnan Sridhar (fielding) also get extension of their tenure

• The sixth edition of the 2016 T20 World cup will be held in India from March 11 to

April 3.

Indian tennis player Yuki Bhambri won Shanghai Challenger

• In a significant boost to India’s Davis cup tie next week against Czech Republic,

Indian tennis youngster Yuki Bhambri secured a title win on the hard courts

of Shanghai by defeating local player Di Wu in the final of the USD 50,000 tournament

to win his first Challenger level singles title of the season.

• This was 23-year-old Bhamri’s fourth singles Challenger title. He has won one title in

each of the last four years.

• By winning this title, he got 80 ATP points which should help the 145th ranked

Bhambri rise appreciably in the world rankings, and should definitely see him surpass

his all time career-best 143 that he had achieved in February last year after winning an

event in Chennai.

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• Point to be noted that, Yuki is the former Junior No. 1and first Indian to win the 2009

Australian Open Junior Championship. He is also the fourth Indian in history to capture

a junior singles Grand Slam championship title. Apart from these, at 2014 Asian

Gameshe bagged 2 medals for India.

India bagged bronze in Archery World Cup

• As the main team has left for Rio for a week-long Olympics test event at

Sambodromo, in the absence of regulars, India’s second team had finished its

campaign with a lone bronze medal in the men’s compound team event at

the Archery World Cup Stage 4.

• The sixth seeded Indian trio of Sarvesh Pareek, Sandeep Kumar and Isaiah

Rajender Sanam, defeated fourth seeded trio of Nelson Torres, Leandro

Rojas andEduardo Gonzalez of Venezuela in the bronze playoff.

• However, in the compound mixed pair event, the Indian duo of Pareek and Trisha Deb

lost to top-ranked USA’s Reo Wilde and Lexi Keller.

Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponappa named under Target Olympic Podium scheme

• Indian badminton players, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa , Sumeeth

Reddy andManu Atri have been selected under the Target Olympic Podium(TOP)

scheme.

• The players will receive funding from National Sports Development Fund

(NSDF)which covers for hiring their respective coaches and some other training-related

expenses for Rio de Janerio Olympics 2016 in Brazil.

• Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu, P. Kashyap, K. Srikanth, Guru Saidutt and H.S.

Prannoy were the first to be included in the Target Olympic Podium(TOP) scheme in

April.

Ganguly to coach Tripura U-16 and U-19 teams

• Former Indian Captain, Sourav Ganguly will train Under-16 and Under-19 teams of

Tripura.

• Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) secretary, Sourav Dasgupta has confirmed that

Ganguly would train the Under-16 & Under-19 teams of the state in November this year.

• Sourav Ganguly asked the Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) to conduct more

tournaments to improve the skills of young cricketers at a prize distribution ceremony of

the TCA.

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• Currently Ganguly is one of the members of advisory committee of Board of Control

for Cricket in India (BCCI).

• Tripura’s sports minister Sahid Chowdhury said that the central government changed

the funding pattern of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA) scheme recently

• The new funding ratio of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA) scheme will

be 50:50where the both central and state government contributed equally to execute

various schemes and projects.

Hangzhou to host 2022 Asian Games

• Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang province confirmed as the host of 2022

Asian Games.

• The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) signed an agreement with officials from the city

during meetings in Turkmenistan.

• Hangzhou will be third Chinese city to host the Asian Games after Beijing in

1990and Guangzhou in 2010.

• Cities namely Ningbo, Shaoxing and Huzhou will also be the part of competition

venues.

• 2018 Asian Games, 18th edition of regional multi-sport event in Asia will be held

inJakarta, Indonesia.

• Olymbic Council of Asia (OCA) president: Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah

• Hangzhou mayor: Zhong Hongming

US Boxer Floyd Mayweather retires after defeating Andre Berto

• US Boxer Floyd Mayweather announced his retirement officially after defeating Andre

Berto in the Welterweight World Championships at the MGM Grand Arena in Las

Vegas, USA.

• He won totally 49 titles throughout his career. Interesting fact about Floyd

Mayweatheris he never loses the game since his first match in 1996.

• Floyd Mayweather topped the Forbes lists of the 50 highest-paid

athletes of 2012,2013 as well as in 2014.

• Floyd.Mayweather had also founded boxing promotional firm namely Mayweather

Promotions in 2007 after defecting from Bob Arum‘s Top Rank.

• Floyd Mayweather’s 49-0 career record is equal to the record which was set by

former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano.

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Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri bag the Belgium International Challenge championship

• Indian Badminton players, Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri clinch the Men’s double

title in the Belgium International Challenge championship which is held at Lueven,

Belgium.

• The men’s double pair defeated Adam Cwalina and Przemyslaw Wacha of Poland in

the final.

• This men’s double earn 1340 points from this victory and break into the place of top-

16from the World No.21 rank.

• This pair won Lagos International title in July which is their fourth International

Challenge title.

• However they lost Gautmela international championship and US Open Grand Prix

Gold earlier in this year.

Shot putter Manpreet Kaur shattered 18-year-old national record

• Railways shot putter Manpreet Kaur on 16 September 2015 shattered an 18-year-

old national record en route to a sixth title at the 55th National Open Athletics

Championship at Kolkata.

• Patiala-based shot putter broke the record of Harbans Kaur of 17.43 metres that came

in 1997 by throwing 17.96 metres in her second attempt to claim the gold medal, a

hat-trick of titles at the National Open.

• With this, Manpreet Kaur (25) also qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympics that is scheduled

to be held from 5 August to 21 August 2016.

• The IAAF entry standard for 2016 Rio Olympics in women’s shot put is 17.80m,

while the top three in London 2012 Olympics threw 20m plus.

IOC officially names 5 candidates to host 2024 Summer Olympics

• International Olympic Committee has announced name of five cities to host 2024

Summer Olympics.The five cities are

• Los Angeles(US) – It hosted the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games.

• Paris(France) – Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Olympics.

• Rome(Italy) – It hosted 1960 summer Olympics officially known as the Games of the

XVII Olympiad

• Budapest(Hungary) and Hamburg(Germany) – Budapest and Hamburg never host

the Olympics.

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• Hungary is one of the 10 most successful medal winning countries at the Summer

Olympics.

• Hamburg, Germany’s sportiest city have 80% of people who participated in at least one

sport for every week.

Skeet shooter Mairaj Ahmad Khan clinches 2016 Rio Olympics quota

• The 40-year old, Mairaj Ahmad Khan has clinched a Rio Olympics quota place for India

at the ISSF Shotgun World Championship in Lonato, Italy.

• It is India’s first quota place for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in the shotgun

category.

• Jitu Rai, Apurvi Chandela, Gagan Narang, Abhinav Bindra, Gurpreet Singh, Prakash

Nanjappa and Chain Singh are the other shooters who already booked their quota for

the 2016 Olympic games.

• Asian Shooting Championships which will be held in Kuwait city on November will

be the next and last chance to secure Olympic quota places for India.

Rahane gets CCI’s honorary life membership

• Cricket Club of India (CCI) conferred honorary life membership on India’s middle-

order batsman Ajinkya Rahane in Mumbai.

• Ajinkya Rahane and his wife got membership cards for utilizing all facilities of the

club by CCI president Kekoo Nicholson at a brief ceremony at the CCI, 82-year-old

private institution.

• CCI will also confer an honorary life membership on India’s top woman tennis

professionalSania Mirza after her recent win of the US women’s doubles title with

Martina Hingis of Switzerland. CCI have invited Pakistani cricketer Shoiab

Malik (Sania’s husband) for the function.

Ajay Jayaram clinched silver in Korea Open 2015 Super series

• Indian Shuttler Ajay Jayaram lost the final match against the World No1.Chen

Long of China.

• He lost 14-21, 12-21 in the final round and settled for a Silver medal in the Korea

Open Superseries in Seoul.

• Ajay JayaRam defeated Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in his first round and Wong Wing ki

Vincent of HongKong in the second round of the competition.

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• The other shuttlers, Kidambi Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap and HS Prannoy lost in the first

round of the competition While P.V Sindhu lost in the second round of the Superseries.

Sebastian Vettel wins 2015 Singapore Grand Prix

• Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel has won 2015 Singapore Grand Prix F1 Championship that

was held on the first street circuit, Marina Bay in Asia.

• It was the fourth victory in Singapore Grand Prix as he had earlier won in 2011, 2012

and 2013 championships.

• Singapore Grand Prix is the third one for Germany based F1 driver in this year and

already he won two championships which includes 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix and also

2015 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Kenyan veteran Kipchumba wins 2015 Beijing Marathon

• Forty-one-year-old Kenyan veteran Mariko Kipchumba clocked 2 hours 11 minutes to

win the 2015 Beijing Marathon & becoming the first non-Ethiopian athlete to win the

event since 2011.

Indian wushu team wins 12 medals in Int’l Wushu Cup

The 5th International Pars Wushu Cup concluded successfully at Azadi Sports Complex,

Tehran, Iran from 18th – 21th September, 2015. More than 200 Wushu athletes took part in this

championship.

• The Indian wushu team fetched a rich haul of one gold, four silver and seven

bronze medals at the 5th International Pars Wushu Cup in Tehran

WINNERS

• L. Budhachandra Singh won a gold medal in the 56kg category, beating Masod

Ansari of Iran in the final. Mukesh Choudhry lost his final against Asian Games gold-

medallist Mohsen Seifi, while Rajani Deori went down to Sajas Abbasi of Iran in the

summit clash.

• In the last edition, the Indian team won two silver and three bronze medals in the

tournament at Zenjan, Iran

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Richie Richardson inducted in Elite Panel of ICC

• Former West Indies cricket captain Richie Richardson was inducted in to the Elite

Panel of ICC Match Referees by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

• He will replace Sri Lanka’s Roshan Mahanama who stepped down from the post in last

week.

• Richie Richardson will take over the position at the end of his current assignment as the

West Indies cricket team manager which will end with the Sydney Test Series against

Australia.

• Other members of Elite Panel ICC Match Referees include David Boon, Chris Broad, Jeff

Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Andy Pycroft, Richie Richardson, Javagal Srinath.

Yannick Noah named as Davis Cup captain

• Yannick Noah appointed as new Davis Cup captain who is the last Frenchman to win a

grand slam title.

• Yannick Noah will succeed Arnaud Clement, who was fired last week following a

disappointing campaign and growing tension between him and the players.

• The French tennis federation announced that Yannick Noah will be in charge of the Davis

Cup for the 2016 campaign.

• France last won the Davis Cup in 2001 and finished runner-up three times since, in

2002, 2010 and 2014.

Goa to host AFC U-16 Championship 2016

• Asian Football Federation (AFC) gives nod to the Goa Government to host AFC U-16

Championship 2016.

• A five-member team of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has started inspecting the

stadium and hotels for the AFC U-16 Championship that will be held in the State next

year and the AFC team was satisfied with the facilities.

• The AFC team inspected the two main stadiums for the competition namely GMC

Bambolim and PJN Fatorda. The team also inspected the 8 training grounds namely

Tilak Maidan, Utorda, Cuncolim, Assolna, Benaulim, Navelim, Raia and Nagoa that will

be used by 16 nations.

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Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis win Guangzhou Open title 2015

The world number one team of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis continued its dominating run by

winning their sixth title of the year at the Guangzhou Open. In singles Jelena Jankovic of

Serbia defeated Denisa Allertova of Czech Republic by 6-2, 6-0

Bindra bagged gold in 8th Asian Air Gun Championships

Beijing Olympics champion Abhinav Bindra clinched the gold in the men’s 10m Air Rifle event of

the 8th Asian Air Gun Championships held at Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New

Delhi. This is the first international shooting competition to be held in India after a gap of almost

five years, the last being the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010.

• The 32-year-old Bindra, who won gold in 2008 Olympics in 10m Air Rifle event,

shot208.3 to bag the top prize ahead of Kazakhstan’s world number eight Yurkov

Yuriy (206.6) and Korea’s Yu Jaechul (185.3) on the first day of competition.

• Gagan Narang, who won a bronze in the 10m Air Rifle event in 2012 London Olympics,

finished fourth with a score of 164.5 while another Indian, Chain Singh was two places

below at seventh after notching up 122.7.

• India won the gold medal in the 10m air rifle team event too with Bindra, Narang and

Chain Singh shooting a total of 1868.6.

Bindra is already qualified for the Rio Olympics 2016 which will hold in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Lewis Hamilton wins the Japanese Grand Prix 2015

F1 Mercedes racing driver from England Lewis Hamilton won his first Japanese Grand

Prix to extend his lead in the Drivers World Championship to 48 points over teammate Nico

Rosberg in Suzuka city, Japan. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel came in third followed by Kimi

Raikkonen.It is his 8th win the season

Pankaj Advani wins 14th IBSF World Billiards Championship 2015

Bengaluru’s ‘Golden Boy’ and India’s most successful billiard player Pankaj Advani bagged his

14th world title when he won the IBSF World Billiards Championship in Adelaide, Australia

• 30 years old Advani exhibited complete mastery over the three-ball game,

demolishingSingapore’s Peter Gilchrist by 1168 points.

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• The final score was Pankaj Advani 2408 beat Peter Gilchrist 1240.

• In August 2015 Advani won his 13th world title after defeating China’s Yan in the best-

of-11 frame final in Karachi.

• Apart from such world titles, Advani also won gold in the 2006 and 2010 Asain Games.

• He was also honoured with Padma Shri in 2009, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s

highest sporting honour for 2005-06,Rajyotsava Award, Karnataka’s highest civilian

award in 2007.

The U21 saw S. Shrikrishna (India) defeat Ishpreet Chadha (India) and the Women event saw

Arantxa Sanchis (India) Finsh over the top of R. Umadevi (India).

7 medals clinched by India in Asian Rowing Championships 2015

India bagged seven medals, including five silver and two bronze at the 16th Asian Rowing

Championships from September 24 to September 28, 2015 in Beijing.

• VENUE - Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, Beijing, China • NATIONAL COACH - Ismail Baig

Mumbai won Buchi Babu Memorial Trophy of Cricket

• Mumbai on 1 September 2015 won the Buchi Babu Memorial Trophy in the All India

invitation cricket tournament. In the final match played in Chennai, Mumbai defeated

Tamil Nadu Cricket Association Districts (TNCA) XI by six wickets.

• TNCA batting first was able to score 163 all out in 74 over, in response to which,

Mumbai scored 166 for four in 45.2 over.

• Mumbai’s Surya Kumar Yadav, was adjudged as the Man of the Series.

BAI appoints Sportzlive as marketing partners for IBL

• Badminton Association of India(BAI) on announced the appointment

of Sportzliveas its official marketing and sponsorship partner for the second

season of the Indian Badminton League (IBL) scheduled to be held from January 2 to

17 , 2016.

• Indian Badminton League will feature six franchisee teams across India who will beef up

their teams with the very best Indian and International Badminton players. The player

auctions have been scheduled for the 20th of November, 2015.

• BAI President : Akhilesh Das Gupta.

• Sportzlive Chairman : Atul Pande.

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West Indies fail to qualify, Bangladesh return to ICC Champions Trophy 2017

• West Indies have failed to qualify for the 2017 Champions Trophy in England as

they were not among the top eight ODI teams as per ICC rankings on September 30,

2015, paving the way for Bangladesh’s entry. –

• Bangladesh will return to the Champions Trophy for the first time since 2006 after the

eight sides were confirmed for the 2017 tournament, which will be hosted by the

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) from June 1 to 18.

Obituary

Author, neurologist Oliver Sacks passes away

• Doctor Oliver Sacks, 82, died Sunday at his home in New York City,

• In February, he had announced that he was terminally ill with a rare eye cancer that

had spread to his liver.

• As a practicing neurologist, Sacks looked at some of his patients with a writer’s eye and

found publishing gold.

Binny Yanga, Social Worker from Arunachal Pradesh, passes away at 57

• Known for her work for the weaker sections, she was conferred the Padma Shree in

2012 in recognition of her selfless service and had also received theDurgabai

Deshmukh Award in 2000.

• Born on July 7, 1958, Yanga did her education at Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan.

Former Goa Chief Minister Wilfred De Souza dies

Wilfred De Souza,The former CM of goa passed away due to heart-attack at manipal

hospital,Goa at an age off 88

• Dr.Wilfred De Souza was born on April 23rd,1927 in Kampala, Uganda. He started his

career as a Surgeon. He holds an MBBS degree from Bombay University. He was a

fellow of Royal College of Surgeons at England as well as at Edinburgh.

• He married to a British-origin Nurse Grace and has two daughters Joanne and Suzie.

• He served twice as a chief minister for Goa from National Congress Party. And at the

third time of his tenure he represented Goa Rajiv Congress (as he left the National

Congress, formed the Goa Rajiv Congress party).

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World’s shortest man Chandra Bahadur Dangi passes away

• Chandra Bahadur Dangi, of Nepali origin, held the Guinnes World Record for the

shortest man on Earth, with a height of 21.5 inches (54.6 cms) or 1ft and 9.5 inches.

• Born on 30th November, 1939, came under the spotlight of the media after he was

spotted by a local woodcutter, in a remote village in Nepal.

• He was also a performer in Mumbai’s Rambo Circus.

• He passed away in the island of American Samoa in the Pacific, where he was currently

staying.

Music Composer Aadesh Srivastava passes away

• Music composer Aadesh Shrivastava (51), who was battling a cancer relapse, passed

away at Kokilaben Hospital.

• He has the music of a 100 of films such as Chalte Chalte, Baabul, Baghban, Kabhi

Khushi Kabhi Gham, Rajneeti and others to his credit.

• He had also directed a short film Sanaa whose story was based on child prostitution.

• He was undergoing cancer treatment in Mumbai.

Renowned water policy expert Ramaswamy R Iyer passes away

• Renowned water policy expert Ramaswamy R. Iyer passed away in New Delhi on

Sep 9,2015 following a severe bout of viral fever.

Pulitzer Prize-winning ‘The Subject Was Roses’ playwright Frank D. Gilroy dies

Frank D. Gilroy, Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright, screenwriter, film producer and

director, died from natural causes. He was 89

Mohiniyattam dancer Kalamandalam Sathyabhama passes away

• Kalamandalam Satybhama, 77 years old, renowned classical dancer, teacher and

choreographer died at a private hospital in Ottappalam.

• Kalamandalam Satybhama was the first womanVice Principal of Kerala Kalamandalam.

• She was the first to receive the Nrithya Natya Puraskaram award from the Kerala

government in 2005

• Satyabhama has published a book of 35 Mohiniyattom compositions

namely, Mohiniyattam – history, techniques and performance in Malayalam.

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• Kerala Kalamandalam has instituted an award in honor of Satyabhama

namely,Prof.kalamandalam Sathyabhama Award. The award is given to the excellent

students of mohiniyattam annually in the form of scholarship.

Former England goalkeepeer Springett passes away

• The England goalkeeper who waited more than 40 years for his World Cup winners’

medal has died aged 80, following a short illness.

• Ron Springett, England’s first choice keeper at the 1962 World Cup, was a member of

the 1966 World Cup winning squad but was kept out of the team by Gordon Banks.

• It took 43 years for Springett’s role to be acknowledged with silverware, as a policy

change by FIFA saw the goalkeeper and his fellow non-playing squad members from the

1966 final presented with winners’ medals in a Downing Street ceremony in 2009.

Hollywood actor John P Connell passed away

• Hollywood actor John P Connell passed away at his home in Los Angeles. He was 91.

• John P Connell was well known as the star of the daytime TV drama “Young Dr

Malone”.

• He was also a television writer, playwright and prolific commercial voiceover artist.

• He was born in Philadelphia and he was worked on other live telecasts,

including“Studio One in Hollywood”, “Kraft Theatre”, “You Are There” and also

the “Goodyear Playhouse”.

England ex-captain Brian Close passes away

• Former England captain Brian Close has died at the age of 84, the English and

Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement on Monday.

• Close became the youngest player ever to win a Test cap for England when he made his

debut against New Zealand in 1949 as an 18-year-old.

• The left-handed batsman went on to lead his country seven times in 22 Tests, and also

captained his native county Yorkshire to four County Championship titles.

• Also an off-spinner, Close made almost 35,000 first-class runs in a career which

spanned over three decades from his breakthrough debut season in 1949 to a final

appearance in 1986.

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Australian Boxer Davey Browne Jr. dies after title fight

• Davey Browne Jr 28 – year old Australian boxer dies in hospital after four days of IBF

super-featherweight regional title.

• He was knocked out by Carlo Magali of the Philippines at IBF super-featherweight

regional title. He became unconscious during that title.

• Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called for a ban on boxing following the

death of Davey Browne.

• Earlier, Boxer Braydon Smith died two days after losing a fight in his home town

inToowoomba, Queensland in March 2015.

• New South Wales Sports Minister Stuart Ayres told the Combat Sports

Authority toco-operate with police in their investigation of Browne’s death.

• AMA President – Professor Brian Owler

• AMA vice-president – Dr Stephen Parnis

South African boxer Mzwanele Kompolo dies after title fight

• South African boxer Mzwanele Kompolo was knocked out in the first round of a fight

in the Eastern Cape and went into a coma.

• The Sports Ministry has announced that Mzwanele Kompolo died in the hospital of Frere

in the Eastern Cape Province.

• The sports ministry of South Africa is still investigating the death of female boxer

Phindile Mwelase who was died after fight in last year.

• In this week another one boxer David Browne of Australia died in hospital after of

IBFsuper-featherweight regional title.

Marathi cricket commentator Bal Pandit passes Away

• Bal Pandit, 86-year old Marathi cricket commentator whoserved as the secretary of

Maharashtra Cricket Association in the mid-1980s was passed away in Pune.

• Mr. Bal Pandit also served as a selector of Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA).

• He had played Ranji Trophy for Maharashtra against Gujarat during the 1959-60. It was

the only innings in which he batted and scored 25 runs.

• He has written a number of books in Marathi. Sunil Gavaskar’s ‘Sunny

Days’ wastranslated by Bal Pandit in Marathi language that became popular with

the Marathi readers.

• He was honoured by Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Award in 1978 by the Maharashtra

government.

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BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya passes away

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Jagmohan Dalmiya (75) passed away on

20 September 2015 due to Cardiac arrest in private hospital of Kolkata. He was one of the

greatest cricket administrators known to the game.

British novelist Jackie Collins dies

• Jackie Collins, a 77-year old renowned British born novelist died in Los Angeles, USA.

• She is well known for her novel “Hollywood Wives” and it was made into a mini-series

by ABC, starring Anthony Hopkins and Candice Bergen.

• Her first book “The World is full of Married Men” was published in 1968.

Odia lyricist Nizam passed away at the age of 62

• Noted Odia lyricist Nizam today passed away at a private hospital here after a prolonged

illness & He was 62.

Veteran Communist leader MP Sadhan Gupta passes away

• Mr. Sadhan Gupta, 98-year old veteran communist leader MP and lawyer passed away.

• He became India’s first visually-challenged MP from the Kolkata south-east

constituency in 1953 and He was re-elected as MP for the second consecutive term till

1962.

• He became the first visually-challenged Advocate General of West Bengal in 1986.

• Mr. Sadhan Gupta was also the founder-president of the National Federation of the

Blind.

• He was also served as the first president of the Disabled Peoples International India.

Radhika Thilak Malayalam playback singer passes away

• Radhika Thilak, 45-year old renowned Malayalam playback singer passed away at a

private hospital in Kochi due to cancer.

• She had sung 70 songs for Malayalam. Some of the noted songs in Malayalam film

industry which were sung by Radhika Thilak namely, Arunakirana deepam, Deva

sangeetham, Maya manchalil and Kaithapoo manam etc.,

• She was one of the top singers on All India Radio. She was also a noted TV anchor.

• Radhika Thilak has also sung several devotional songs.

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New York Yankees icon Lawrence Peter Yogi Berra passes away

• Lawrence Peter Yogi Berra, 90-year old an American

professional baseball catcherwas passed away.

• Yogi Berra, New York Yankees icon and Hall of Fame catcher achieved an 18 time All-

Star and 10 time World Series champion as a player.

• Yogi Berra was also served as the Manager and Coach of the Yankees. His Yogi Berra

Museum and Learning Center located on the campus of Montclair State University in

New Jersey.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati passes away

• Swami Dayananda Saraswati, 85-year old, a teacher of Vedas and Upanishads passed

away at his ashram in Rishikesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has mourned the

death of his guru, Swami Dayananda Saraswati.

• Swami Dayananda Saraswati and his guru Swami Chinmayananda set up Sandipani

Sadhanalaya in Bombay to train people in Vedanta.

• Swami Dayananda Saraswati set up the Acharya Sabha and he had also contributed in

Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in which hundreds of people learn Vedanta.

Australia’s oldest cricketer Harold Stapleton passed away at age 100

Australia’s oldest cricketer Harold Stapleton, who represented New South Wales (NSW), died aged

100.

• Harold Stapleton played one first-class match for New South Wales in 1941 before his

career was cut short by the World War II.

• He celebrated his 100th birthday on January 7, during India-Australia Test in Sydney.

• Stapleton’s statistics include 2242 runs at 32.49 with three centuries and a top-score of

146, in addition to 93 wickets at 17.56 with best figures of 6-17.

Former Australia wicketkeeper Len Maddocks is now Australia’s oldest living cricketer aged

89 years and 112 days and Neil Harvey isNSW’s oldest surviving cricketer aged 86 years and

350 days.

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Former England fast bowler Frank Tyson dies at 85

Former England cricketer Frank Tyson, who was regarded as one of the fastest bowlers of his

generation, has died at the age 85.

Nickname – Typhoon

• Tyson played only 17 tests for England, but took 76 wickets at an average of 18.56.

• He also took 525 wickets in 170 matches for Northamtonshire, at an average of 20.94,

but his whiplash bowling action was physically demanding and he was forced to retire at

the age of 30.

• Tyson immigrated to Australia in 1960 and became a school headmaster. He also

coached cricket and later became a broadcaster and writer.

Manipur Governor Syed Ahmed passes away

Manipur Governor Syed Ahmed passed away following a brief illness on Sunday. He was 70.

• Mr. Ahmed was joined Congress from Maharashtra in 1977.

• Mr. Ahmed served as a Minister in the Maharashtra government from 2001 to 2004.

• He was elected to the Maharashtra assembly five times from the Nagpada

constituency between 1980 and 2004.

• he was appointed Governor of Jharkhand on August 26, 2011

• He was sworn in Governor of Manipur on May 16, 2015.

• He has written an autobiography “Pagdandi se Shahar Tak”

Besides politics, Ahmed was an academician and litterateur with master’s degrees in Hindi and

English and a PhD in Urdu.

Noted environmentalist Pokkudan passes away at 78

Noted environmentalist Kallen Pokkudan, who played a crucial role in planting mangroves in

various parts of Kerala, died at a private hospital following age-related ailments in Kannur, Kerala.

• He had been involved in planting mangroves in different parts of the state since 1989

and had been motivating others in the same direction which accentuated the importance

of environment conservation.

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• He was awarded with “Vanamithra” and “Haritha Vyakthi” by Kerala Government

for his environmental crusade.

• Pokkudan had also acted in a feature film “Papilio Buddha” directed by US-based

Malayalee filmmaker Jaya Cherian.

• He had also started “mangrove school” to train the young generation about the

importance of its conservation.

Renowned poet Viren Dangwal passes away in Bareilly

Renowned Hindi poet and Sahitya Academy awardee Viren Dangwal died in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh

after a long illness. He was 68.

• He who was successful journalist

• He was also a professor of Hindi

• He was also associated with the editorial board of Hindi daily Amarujjala group and

taught Hindi at Bareli College from 1974 to 2010.

Books & Authors

Hungry Bengal: War, Famine, Riots and the End of Empire authored by Janam

Mukherjee

• The book titled Hungry Bengal. War, Famine, Riots and the End of Empire authored by

Janam Mukherjee was in news in fourth week of September 2015.

• The book Hungry Bengal highlights the tumultuous period in the history of Bengal before

the independence and after partition of India. It says that Bengal represented both as a

major front in the Indian struggle against colonial rule, as well as a crucial front in the

British/American conflict with Japan during World War II.

Book titled ‘Building a just world: Essays in Honour of Muchkund Dubey’ released

• Our President, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee received the first copy of a book “Building a Just

World: Essays in honour of Muchkund Dubey” at Rashtrapati Bhavan from the

Trustee of India International Centre, Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan.

• Professor Muchkund Dubey is a Former Ambassador and Former Indian Foreign

Secretary, the administrative head of the Indian Foreign Service, GOI.

• He is also President of Council for Social Development (CSI) and Chairman of the Asian

Development Research Institute, Patna.

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Vice President Releases the Book ‘Feminist and Orientalist Perspectives – A Study of

Lady Mary Montagu’s Turkish Embassy Letters’

• The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari released a book entitled “Feminist and

Orientalist Perspectives – A Study of Lady Mary Montagu’s Turkish Embassy Letters”

authored by Dr. Farha Hiba Parvez.

• This book on ‘Lady Mary Montagu’s Turkish Embassy Letters’ is a serious work diligently

done and will become an open area for many scholars. He recalled that in 1968-69,

when he was a young diplomat posted in Indian Embassy in Jeddah, there was no school

for Indian students in Jeddah.

Kalburgi Murder : Kannada writer to return Pampa award

• Prof. Chandrashekhar Patil, a Kannada writer,who belongs to Dharwad-Karnataka

and a close friend of Late M.M Kalburgi (A writer,who murdered by two unidentified

men on August 30,2015 in Karnataka) announced to return the Prestigious Pampa

award honoured by Karnataka government to him in 2009.

• Prof.Patil said that it is the least thing he could to as a writer to protest against the

environment created in the country which is suppressing the freedom of expression and

led to the murder of Kalburgi.

• He also said that he would meet Siddaramaiah, CM of Karnataka to return the

Pampa award, which is the highest literary award given by the Karnataka Govt.

To the Brink and Back: India’s 1991 Story: Jairam Ramesh

• The book titled To the Brink and Back: India’s 1991 Story was in news in the first

week of September 2015. It was written by former Union Environment and Forest

Minister (Independent Charge) Jairam Ramesh.

• The book deals with fast-paced changes in the economic sector introduced by the duo P

V Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh in 1991.

Vice President Released 5 Volume Set Of Books ‘Khirman’ Compiled By Famous lyricist

Javed Akhtar

• M. Hamid Ansari,The Vice president of India released 5 volume set of

books entitled‘Khirman’ formed on the collection of Late Shri Muztar Khairabadi’s

verses, at a function.

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• These verses were compiled by grandson of Muztar khairabadi – Shri.Javed

Akhtar,popular lyricist and also a Member of Parliament.

• On this occasion, the vice president said that the 5 volume set of books were written by

the well-known Urdu poet Late Muztar Khairabadi named ‘Khirman’ is a precious

collection.

Salman Rushdie’s Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight released

A book titled “Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights” written by the British

Indian novelist Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie was released.

The Duels of the Himalayan Eagle authored by Air Marshal Bharat Kumar released

The Indian Air Force (IAF) commissioned book, The Duels of the Himalayan Eagle: The first Indo-

Pak Air War was released by Vice President Mohd. Hamid Ansari at the inauguration of the Tri-

Services Seminar to commemorate the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the India-Pakistan War of

1965 in New Delhi.

In the book, the author has tried to club official records, squadron diaries and veteran accounts of

the war, who was a young fighter pilot during the 1965-war.

Important Days Sep 2 2015

Remember Day: World Coconut Day Organization: Asian and Pacific Coconut Community Purpose: Importance of this tree should be propagated and made awareness Theme: Coconut for Family Nutrition, Health and Wellness Sep 5 2015

Remember Day: National Teachers Day Organization: India Purpose: Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's birthday Theme: Teachers for gender equality

Remember Day: International Day of Charity(death of Mother Teresa) Organization: UN Purpose: To save and improve people’s lives, fighting disease, protecting children.

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Sep 6 2015

Remember Day: Ceasefire or Peace Day Organization: Nagaland Purpose: To marks the signing of ceasefire agreement between Naga outfit leaders of Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN) and GOI Sep 8 2015

Remember Day: International Literacy Day Organization: UNESCO Purpose: To exploration of critical links and synergy between literacy and the future Sustainable Development Goals. Theme: Literacy and Sustainable Societies Sep 10 2015

Remember Day: World Suicide Prevention Day Organization: WHO and International Association for Suicide Prevention(IASP) Purpose: To provide worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides Theme: Preventing Suicide: Reaching Out & Saving Lives Sep 12 2015

Remember Day: United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation Organization: UN Purpose: To provide possible opportunities for developing countries and also such countries with economies in transition. Theme: Scaling-up Global Support for South-South Sep 14 2015 Remember Day: Hindi Diwas Organization: India Purpose: To propagate the Hindi language and its cultural heritage and values Theme: Hindi Meri Pehchan Sep 15 2015

Remember Day: International Day of Democracy Organization: UN Purpose: To implement a new development agenda, agreed to by all the nations worldwide. Theme: Space for Civil Society

Remember Day: National Engineer’s Day Organization: India Purpose: Birth anniversary of an engineer Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. Theme: Engineering Challenges for Knowledge Era

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Sep 16 2015

Remember Day: International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer Organization: UN Purpose: For the Preservation of the Ozone Layer commemorate the date of the signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987 Theme: 30 Years of Healing the Ozone Together Sep 19 2015

Remember Day: International Red Panda Day Purpose: Raising awareness about species conservation Sep 21 2015

Remember Day: International Day of Peace Organization: UN Purpose: To world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence Theme: Partnerships for Peace - Dignity for All

Remember Day: World Alzheimer’s Day Organization: WHO Purpose: To raise awareness on Alzheimer’s disease Sep 22 2015

Remember Day: World Rhino Day Purpose: To conserve the world's five species of rhino Theme: What is Home Sweet Home For The Rhino? Sep 24 2015

Remember Day: World Maritime Day Organization: UN and IMO Purpose: To focus attention on the wider spectrum of maritime education and training Theme: Maritime education and training Sep 26 2015

Remember Day: International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons Organization: UN Purpose: To enhance public awareness and education about the threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons. Theme: Maintaining the Caribbean and Latin America as a Zone of Peace Sep 27 2015

Remember Day: World Tourism Day Organization: UN Purpose: To raise awareness of the important impact tourism

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Theme: One Billion Tourists, One Billion Opportunities Remember Day: World Deaf Day Organization: World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) Purpose: To raise awareness about the deaf community at individual, community and governmental level. Theme: Connect and Communicate Sep 29 2015

Remember Day: World Heart Day Organization: World Health Federation(WHF) Purpose: To improve health globally by encouraging people to make lifestyle changes and promoting education internationally about Heart. Theme: Creating heart-healthy environments Sep 30 2015

Remember Day: International Translation Day Organization: FIT(International Federation of Translators) Purpose: To show solidarity of the worldwide translation community in an effort to promote the translation Theme: The Changing Face of Translation and Interpreting

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