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Contents

Topic Page Number

MOU/Agreement Countries 3-4

MOU Industry/States/Others 4-7

Appointments and Resignations 7-12

Awards and Recognitions 12-17

Conference and Summits 17-20

International News 20-25

National News 25-32

State News 32-42

Finance and Banking News 42-46

Business News 46-47

Economy News 48-51

Science & Technology 51-52

Apps Launches/ Portal/Helpline 53

Defence News 53-55

Sports News 55-61

Committee 61-62

Rankings of Countries 62-63

Loans from Banks 63-65

Deadlines 65

Rankings (Persons and Organisations) 65-66

Current Monetary Poli Rates 67

GDP Growth rates predictions 67

Books and Authors 67-68

Obituaries 68-71

Important Days (October) 71-72

Nobel Prize Winners 73

Other News in Detail 73-78





MOU/Agreement Countries

India Nepal On Drug Demand Reduction and Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and

Psychotropic Substances and precursor chemicals, and related matters.

India Nepal For starting construction of a new Bridge over Mechi River at Indo-Nepal border.

The estimated cost of construction of the bridge is 158.65 crore rupees, which would be

funded by Government of India through ADB loan.

India International

Vaccine

Institute (IVI)

in South

Korea

India has committed an annual contribution of $5,00,000 for vaccine research and

development.

India Brazil For cooperation in the fields of Zebu Cattle Genomics and Assisted Reproductive

Technologies

India Myanmar For the conservation of earthquake-damaged pagodas at Bagan, Myanmar

India Canada A set of two commemorative postage stamps will be issued jointly by the Government

of India and Canada on the theme of Indian festival Diwali, which will be released on

September 21, this year.

India Japan Loan deal worth $76 million with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for a

project to upgrade the environment management plan at Alang-Sosiya ship recycling

yards in Gujarat.

India Japan For collaborative research in the field of silkworm and silk industries

India Japan To start a postal service called cool box service , which will help Japanese people living

in India to order food from Japan.

India Morocco In the areas of drug regulation and pharmaceutical quality control and communicable

diseases among others.

India Belarus Both countries released a postage stamp to mark 25 years of diplomatic ties between

the two sides.

India Russia To build the Roppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh, the first initiative under a Indo-

Russia deal to undertake atomic energy projects in third countries.

India Norway To extend health cooperation, especially in the areas of reproductive, maternal, new-

born, child and adolescent health.

India Sri Lanka To develop a village in Anuradhapura District (Sri Lanka) at a cost of 30 crores Sri Lankan

rupees.

India Israel On an R&D and technological innovation fund which will see both countries contribute

$40,00,000 each annually for five years

India Israel 1) A Plan of Cooperation was signed between the Indian Space Research Organisation

(ISRO) and the Israel Space Agency (ISA) regarding cooperation in atomic clocks.

2) Both ISRO and ISA signed a MoU on cooperation in GEO-LEO Optical Link.

3) ISRO and ISA signed another MoU on cooperation in electric propulsion for small

satellites.

India Bangladesh To construct a bridge over Mizoram s Khawthlangtuipui river to facilitate trade and

improve communication between the two neighbours.

India Bangladesh To connect both the countries by waterways.

India Bangladesh To set up a joint working group for the conservation of elephants and manage their

movement through corridors in their adjoining border areas.





India BRICS

nations

Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with respect to tax matters

India Switzerland On technical cooperation in the rail sector, including development of tilting trains that

tilt on approaching a bend.

India Myanmar On upgradation of the Women s Police Training Centre at Yamethin, Myanmar.

India Djibouti To establish regular Foreign Office-level bilateral consultations between both countries.

India Sweden A Sweden-India Startup Sambandh initiative has been launched by Invest India and

Founders Alliance in Sweden for higher cooperation among start-ups.

MOU Industry/States/Others

Entities that signed MoUS Purpose to sign MoUs

NITI Aayog International Road

Federation, Geneva (IRF

Geneva)

They have signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to

cooperate in the field of Intelligent Transportation

Systems (ITS).

Amazon Web Services

(AWS)

Microsoft To launch an open-source and deep learning interface

Gluon that will help developers to deploy machine

learning models across several platforms.

Indian Railways German Railways To make country s existing rail corridors semi high speed.

The semi high speed trains will run at 200 km per hour.

Andhra Pradesh Govt Visa For Digital Dhan Sankalp project. It is an initiative to

develop Visakhapatnam into India s first less cash city.

Odisha Govt. State Bank of India MoU is a landmark initiative by the state government to

facilitate revenue collection from citizens through digital

banking platform

State Bank of India (SBI) Samsung India Availability of Samsung Pay for higher variants of SBI

debit card.

SBI Shriram Automall India

Limited (SAMIL)

To extend the benefits of company s holistic solutions for

the disposal of all types of pre-owned vehicles and

equipment.

Bank of Baroda Finolex Plasson Industries In order to finance farmers for installation of Micro

Irrigation system for their fields through

Bank of Baroda Amazon India Online marketplace Amazon India has planned to provide

unsecured micro-loa s, as lo as ₹ lakh, at i terest rates as low as 10.45-11 per cent at a short span of 3-5 days.

The company has tied up with Bank of Baroda for the

loa s, hi h a go up to ₹ lakh. Bank of Baroda Directorate General of

Supplies & Disposal

(DGS&D)

for extending various banking services to Government e-

Marketplace (GeM)

Air India Punjab National Bank and

IndusInd Bank

To secure loans to the tune of over Rs 3,000 crore for

meeting working capital requirements.

Punjab National Bank Bajaj Allianz General for distribution of Bajaj Allianz s general insurance

products through the bank s network





Punjab National Bank BSNL They have teamed up to roll out open mobile wallet

Speedpay across 10 states in the country. PNB s

Speedway wallet will operate like any other mobile wallet

for paying bills, recharging phone besides its users will be

able to deposit and withdraw money from authorised

retail outlets.

Vijaya Bank Hindustan Petroleum

Corporation Ltd (HPCL)

for enabling all HPCL retail outlets with BHIM/UPI

merchant solutions.

AU Small Finance Bank Aditya Birla Health

Insurance

to act as a corporate agent for company s health

insurance business.

Yes Bank IIM-Lucknow They have signed a charter to help spread Climate

Literacy, aiming to achieve sustainable development

through shared learning.

YES Bank Santander UK plc to help boost UK-India trade and local business

networking opportunities

YES Bank Indus OS, Domestic

android-based mobile

operating system

to launch an OS-integrated UPI payment platform

YES Bank Overseas Private

Investment Corporation

(OPIC) and US s Wells Fargo

Bank

to increase lending to small and medium enterprises

(SMEs) in India

Axis Bank Inter- American Investment

Corporation

To help traders boost relations between India and Latin

America and the Caribbean.

First Indian Bank to be a part of such a facility.

Axis Bank Solar energy services

company Freyr Energy

to offer ter loa s ra gi g fro ₹ lakh to ₹ lakh for tenures up to five years,for solar rooftop installations in

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Union Bank of India Bajaj Allianz General

Insurance and

Cholamandalam MS

General Insurance

For distribution of their insurance products

Bombay Stock Exchange Egyptian Exchange for cooperation in exchange of information across

business areas

Home Credit India

Finance

Paytm to enable customers to pay their loan EMIs (Equated

Monthly Installments)

Paytm Payments Bank National Payments

Corporation of India (NPCI)

to launch a RuPay-powered digital debit card.

IDFC Bank Digital payments company

Zeta

to launch IDFC Bank Benefits – a payment solution for

corporates that digitises employee spends and claims,

making the process simple, real-time and paperless.

Dhanlaxmi Bank DHFL Pramerica Life

Insurance Company

Bank will distribute retail and group life insurance

products of company to its customers.

Airtel Payments Bank Hindustan Petroleum

Corporation Limited (HPCL)

All 14,000 HPCL fuel stations will act as banking points for

Airtel Payments Bank.

MobiKwik Bajaj Finance Ltd to launch India s first debit and credit wallet, which will





enable the consumer to avail instant purchases and

payment option via a credit facility through the app.

Canara HSBC Oriental

Bank of Commerce Life

Insurance

Dhanlaxmi Bank All the life insurance products of Canara HSBC Oriental

Bank of Commerce Life Insurance would be made

available to customers of Dhanlaxmi Bank

South Indian Bank PFG Forex for remittance facility for the benefit of Indian expatriates

from Australia.

SEBI Securities & Exchange

Organization (SEO) of Iran

to promote technical assistance and facilitate cross-

border co-operation in the area of securities regulations.

SEBI European Securities and

Markets Authority (ESMA)

for exchange of information concerning Central

Counterparties (CCPs).

HDFC ERGO General

Insurance

Andhra Pradesh to implement Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme

(WBCIS) for loanee and non-loanee farmers.

HDFC ERGO Ebix s ItzCash to offer general insurance products through ItzCash s

physical retail outlets

Exide Life Insurance Punjab & Maharashtra Co-

operative Bank (PMC Bank)

to offer its protection and savings products to the latter s

customers

HSBC

Sa-Dhan To develop digital ecosystem for India s unbanked

segment. Sa-Dhan is microfinance industry association.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam

Limited (BSNL)

US-based networking

solutions provider Coriant

to chart the path to 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) in

India.

United Nations

Development

Programme (UNDP)

Maharashtra s women

commission

for rescue and rehabilitation of women who are victims

of sex trafficking, acid attack and domestic violence

Paisabazaar.com CASHe Enables CASHe to offer short term personal loans on the

Paisabazaar.com platform

Bengaluru International

Airport Limited

Accenture To set up a co-innovation centre that will help incubate

and develop digital solutions to create an airport of the

future .

Government

eMarketplace (GeM)

SPV

Confederation of Indian

Industry (CII)

For establishing GeM Samvaad - a participative and

collaborative approach with the industry for promoting

Indian industry and entrepreneurship.

Central Government Haryana government to revive River Saraswati, and provide water in drought-

prone areas

Central Government Uttar Pradesh government For construction of All India Medical Institute of Medical

Sciences (AIIMS) at Gorakhpur.

Ministry of Water

Resources

Ministry of Skill

Development

For the success of Namami Gange

Health ministry West Bengal Government To strengthen the blood transfusion services in West

Bengal and the surrounding areas

Chhattisgarh

Government

Smartron, a global

technology OEM and IoT

brand

To invest in opening up multiple areas of opportunities in

the space of smart health, infrastructure, education, etc.

Punjab Government Technology and Innovation

Support Centre (TISC)

to establish India s first Technology and Innovation

Support Centre (TISC) in Punjab

Council of Scientific and Kendriya Vidyalaya To implement Jigyasa, a student- scientist connect





Industrial Research

(CSIR)

Sangathan (KVS) programme

Kolkata-headquartered

Srei Infrastructure

Finance

Russia s Vnesheconombank to create a $200 million IT and Innovation Fund

Appointments and Resignations

Nirmala Sitharaman - Defence Minister of India, and the first one to take independent charge. She is the first full-time

woman defence minister of the country after late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had twice held charge of defence portfolio.

Sitharaman previously served as a Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs and the Minister for Commerce and

Industry with independent charge, and now succeeds Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to take charge of the defence

ministry. Now the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), has two women ministers - Nirmala Sitharaman and Sushma

Swaraj.

Piyush Goyal is Railway Minister after Suresh Prabhu quit the post. Earlier he was Minister of State for Power.

Nitin Gadkari gets additional charge of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development Ganga Rejuvenation from

Uma Bharti.

Suresh Prabhu is new Minister of Commerce and Industry.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is new Minister of Minority Affairs.

Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Rathore replaced Vijay Goel as the new Sports Minister. He is the first

sportsperson to take charge of Sports Ministry.

Alphons Kannanthanam is new Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism.

President Kovind appoints five new Governors for states and Lieutenant Governor for Andaman

B. D. Mishra (Retd.) as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. Took over from Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya.

Banwarilal Purohit as the Governor of Tamil Nadu. Took over from C. Vidyasagar Rao.

Satya Pal Malik as the Governor of Bihar. Took over from Keshari Nath Tripathi.

Professor Jagdish Mukhi as the Governor of Assam. Took over from Banwarilal Purohit.

Ganga Prasad as the Governor of Meghalaya. Took over from Banwarilal Purohit.

Devendra Kumar Joshi as the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Took over from Jagdish Mukhi.

Name Post Institution and other Info

Ram Nath Kovind 14th President India

Muppavarapu Venkaiah

Naidu

13th Vice President India (He took charge from Pranab Mukherjee)

Nirmala Sitharaman Defence Minister India

Justice Dipak Misra Chief Justice India (He took charge from Jagdish Singh

Khehar)

Sanjay Kothari Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind





Gopal Baglay Joint Secretary Prime Minister s Office (PMO), India

Raveesh Kumar Spokesperson Ministry of external affairs, India

Rajiv Gauba Union Home Secretary India (He took charge from Rajiv Mehrishi)

Preeti Sudan Union Health Secretary

Rajiv Mehrishi Comptroller and Auditor

General

India (He took charge from Shashi Kant Sharma)

Sunil Arora Election Commissioner India (He took charge from Achal Kumar Joti

who is now Chief Election Commissioner).

Other Election Commissioner is Om Prakash

Rawa.

Nitish Kumar Chief Minister Bihar

Bihar CM for 6th time

Sushil Kumar Modi Deputy Chief Minister Bihar

TR Zeliang Chief Minister Nagaland

O.Panneerselvam Deputy Chief Minister Tamil Nadu

R.K. Pachnanda Director General Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)

Achal Kumar Jyoti Chief Election Commissioner

Sanjay Kumar Director General National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)

Raninder Singh President National Rifle Association of India (NRAI)

John Joseph Director General Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (GSTI)

Subhash Garg Secretary Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) in the

Ministry of Finance

Subhash Chandra Garg India s Alternate Governor On the Board of Governors of the Asian

Development Bank (ADB)

S Aparna Executive Director World Bank

to represent the constituency of India,

Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka for three

years.

Rajiv Kumar Vice Chairman NITI Aayog

Dr. (Ms.) Mamta Suri Executive Director Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)

Rajiv Mehrishi Comptroller and

AuditorGeneral of India

He is Former Union Home Secretary

Dr. Arvind Subramanian Chief Economic Advisor Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of

India Dr. Arvind Subramanian has been given a

one year extension, post the completion of his

current-three year tenure.

Ajay Bhushan Pandey Chairman Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN). He is

Aadhaar authority UIDAI Chief Executive.

Gautam H. Bambawale Indian ambassador to China He will replace Vijay Gokhale

Viveck Goenka Chairman Press Trust of India

Rajnish Kumar Chairman State Bank of India

Ashish Srivastava MD and CEO PNB MetLife

Rajkiran Rai G Managing Director & CEO Union Bank of India

Melwyn Rego Managing Director & CEO Syndicate Bank

Kewal Handa Non-Executive Chairman Union Bank of India





Mukesh Kumar Jain Managing Director & CEO Oriental Bank of Commerce

Vikram Limaye Managing Director & CEO National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE)

Ajay Kanwal Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Janalakshmi Financial Services

Shikha Sharma Managing Director & CEO Axis Bank

Ajay Vipin Nanavati Chairman Syndicate Bank

Sankara Narayanan Managing Director (MD) and

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Vijaya Bank

P R Seshadri MD and CEO Karur Vysya Bank

KV Rama Moorthy MD and CEO Tamilnad Mercantile Bank

M Nagaraja Sarma Chief Managing Director United India Insurance Co Ltd.

David Rasquinha Managing Director (MD) Exim Bank

P R Seshadri MD and CEO Karur Vysya Bank

E Sankara Rao MD and CEO IFCI Ltd, a government company

Dilip Asbe Chief Executive Officer

(Acting)

National Payments Corporation of India

(after retirement of A. P. Hota, its founding

managing director)

Mohammad Mustafa Chairman and Managing

Director

SIDBI

Dhirendra Swarup Chairman Bombay Stock Exchange

Ashish Chauhan CEO Bombay Stock Exchange

Sanjaya Baru Secretary General Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce &

Industry (FICCI)

Prasoon Joshi Chief CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification)

Gautam Kaushik Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Payback India

Nandan Nilekani Chairman Chairman of the board of directors of Infosys

Ashwani Lohani Chairman Railway Board (succeeds AK Mittal)

He was former Air India chief

Rajiv Bansal Chairman and MD Air India (succeeds Ashwani Lohani)

Desh Deepak Verma Secretary General Rajya Sabha

Shashi Shekhar Vempati CEO (addition charge) Rajya Sabha TV

Shashi Shanker Chairman and Managing

Director

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited

(ONGC)

Rajiv Kumar Secretary Department of Financial Services, Ministry of

Finance

Rajiv Kumar Vice Chairman NITI Aayog

Sanjaya Baru Secretary General Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce

and Industry (Ficci)

India TV chairman and editor-

in- chief Rajat Sharma

President News Broadcasters Association (NBA)

Rajni Kant Mishra Chief Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)

Y.C. Modi Director General National Investigation Agency (NIA)

Gopal Singh Chairman and Managing

Director

Coal India Ltd (CIL)

B Sambamurthy Chairman Board of National Payments Corporation of





India (NPCI)

Balraj Joshi Chairman-cum-managing

director (CMD)

NHPC Limited

Anita Karwal Chairperson Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)

Royana Singh Chief Proctor First woman to hold the post at Banaras Hindu

University (BHU)

Akshay Kumar Ambassador Uttarakhand Swachh Bharat Mission brand

ambassador

Sanjeev Kapoor Ambassador World Food India s Food Street. Food Street,

being held by Ministry of Food Processing

Industry, will be hosted for the first time in

India from November 3.

Parineeti Chopra first Indian woman

Ambassador

for Tourism Australia

PV Sindhu Brand Ambassador Bridgestone India

Akshay Kumar Brand Ambassador For Swachh Bharat Mission in Uttar Pradesh

Rahul Dravid Brand Ambassador InCred, the Mumbai-based new age financial

services group

Neymar Jr (Brazil s footballer) Brand Ambassador Handicap International

Cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur DSP Punjab government

Sandeep Patil Brand Ambassador Indian indoor cricket team

Ravi Shastri Head Coach Indian cricket team

Zaheer Khan Bowling coach (150 days a

year)

Indian cricket team

Bharat Arun Bowling coach (Full Time) Indian cricket team

Justice Vikramajit Sen Chairperson Broadcasting Content Complaints Council

(BCCC)

ragpicker Bilal Dar Srinagar s civic ambassador

P.V. Sindhu Deputy Collector Andhra Pradesh Government

Anupam Kher Chairman Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in

Pune

Sambit Patra Non-official director Board of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation

(ONGC) Ltd.

Nisha Desai Biswal President US-India Business Council

Rukaiya Rangwala Business Head MobiKwik Payment Gateway

Justice Gopal Prasad Parajuli Chief Justice Nepal

Brenda Marjorie Hale First female President of the

Supreme Court

United Kingdom (UK)

Ned Segal Chief Financial Officer Twitter

Carrie Lam Chief Executive Hong Kong s First Female Leader

Preet Kaur Gill (Britain s first

woman Sikh MP)

Elected to key Parliament

panel

Saima Wazed Hossain

(daughter of Bangladesh

Goodwill Ambassador for

Autism

For WHO South-East Asia Region





Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina)

Indian- origin Canadian

YouTube star Lilly Singh

Global Goodwill Ambassador UNICEF

Amitabh Bachchan Ambassador UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Polio –

extended for 2 years

Soumya Swaminathan WHO Deputy Director

General for Programmes

Jane Ellison WHO Deputy Director

General for Corporate

Operations

Brenda Hale first female president of UK s

supreme court

Jagmeet Singh first Sikh politician to lead

major Canadian party

Sohail Mahmood Pakistan's High

Commissioner to India

Christopher Wray Director FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)

Ajay Bisaria India s new High

Commissioner to Pakistan

He succeeded Gautam Bambawale

David Harquail Chairman World Gold Council. It is headquartered in

London United Kingdom

Eman Al-Ghamdi First time a Saudi woman has been named to a

senior government post for the first time.

Former United Nations (UN)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-

moon

Chair of Ethics Commission International Olympic Committee (IOC)

Peter Thomson first special envoy for the

oceans

UN has appointed him as the first special envoy

for the oceans, seeking to galvanize efforts to

protect the world s seas.

French Audrey Azoulay Director-General UNESCO

Kenneth I Juster Ambassador US Ambassador to India. Juster is Successor to

Richard Verma (First US Ambassador to India of

Indian origin)

Halimah Yacob President First woman and 8th President of Singapore

Joao Lourenco President Angola

JY Pillay President Singapore s acting President

Hassan Rouhani President Iran

Uhuru Kenyatta President Kenya

Khaltmaa Battulga President Mongolia

Peter O Neill Prime Minister Papua New Guinea

Sapar Isakov Prime Minister Kyrgyzstan

Ukhnaa Khurelsukh Prime Minister Mongolia

Mercedes Aráoz Fernández Prime Minister Peru

Angela Merkel Chancellor Germany





Raquel Dodge Prosecutor-General For the first time in Brazil s history, a female is

named at prosecutor-general s post,

Bilal Dar, a young boy from Srinagar has become the brand ambassador for Srinagar Municipal Corporation. Dar

has been contributing to the Swachhta Abhiyan since the age of 12.

Lalawmpuii Chawngthu has become the second woman in Mizoram to be inducted in the state s council of

ministers after a gap of 30 years. Lalhlimpui Hmar was the first woman Minister of State in Mizoram in 1987.

RESIGNATIONS

Brian Acton, the co-founder of WhatsApp which was later acquired by Facebook, has announced that he was

leaving the company to start a non-profit venture of his own.

Acton had co-founded WhatsApp with Jan Koum in 2009 and agreed to sell it to Facebook in 2014 for

approximately $19 billion USD in cash and stock.

Indian women s boxing s first foreign coach, Stephane Cottalorda, has ended his stint abruptly after just one

month in India, alleging delay in salary and other payments. He is from Paris, France.

Iceland s Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson has resigned

Arvind Panagariya resigns as NITI Aayog Vice Chairman

Two-time former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, a Ukrainian former professional boxer has

announced retirement

Pahlaj Nihalani removed as CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) chief

After the removal of Pahlaj Nihalani as the Censor Board Chief, its board was reconstituted with the new

members. Actress Vidya Balan is one among them.

Rajya Sabha TV CEO Gurdeep Singh Sappal announced resignation from the post.

Vishal Sikka resigns as Infosys MD and CEO. B. Pravin Rao given interim charge.

Vikram Limaye resigned from a Supreme Court-appointed BCCI committee, clearing the way for his appointment

at NSE CEO.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati resigned from Rajya Sabha for not being allowed to speak against the

atrocities on Dalits.

Italian legend Francesco Totti confirms retirement

Nawaz Sharif stepped down as Prime Minister of Pakistan

Awards and Recognitions

Award Name Person/Institution Extra Knowledge

Swachh Iconic Place in India Meenakshi Sundareswarar

Temple

Temple located in Madurai, Tamil Nadu

National Awards for senior citizens Gurbax Singh Sandhu He is Indian boxing coach

Lal Bahadur Shastri National

Award for Excellence in Public

Administration, Academics and

Management for the year 2017

Bindeshwar Pathak

Mathrubhumi Literary Award 2016 M K Sanu He is eminent critic, biographer and orator

Shivarama Karanth Huttura

Prashasti

Prakash Raj

Centenary National Award for

Literature

Namita Gokhale She is an eminent writer in English language

2017 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize Maryna Viazovska Received award for her contribution to





number theory

Von Hippel Award C.N.R Rao Eminent scientist, Professor C.N.R Rao, has

become the first Asian to be chosen for the

prestigious Von Hippel Award for his

immense contribution in materials research.

Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar (Region

C)

Vijaya Bank

ANR National Award S S Rajamouli for his contribution to the Telugu film

industry.

Shri Shakti Samman Parull Mahaajan She is Eminent Social Activist. Got Award for

her phenomenal contribution in the field of

Women Empowerment.

Global Diversity Award at Britain s

House of Commons

Salman Khan The Global Diversity Award is given to

people of immense stature in terms of what

they have done for diversity in the world.

Sarala award Banaj Devi She is Noted Odia poet and short story

writer. She got Sarala award for her short

story compilation Kathapua

National Award for Excellence in

Energy Management

Hyderabad International

Airport Ltd

National Tourism Awards - Hall of

Fame award for being the Best

State in Comprehensive

Development of Tourism

Gujarat

National Tourism Awards - Best

Tourism State

Madhya Pradesh

Global Agriculture leadership

award

K Chandrasekhar Rao He is Telangana Chief Minister

Prem Nazir Award Sharada She is veteran actor and national award

winner

Saraswati Samman for 2016 Konkani writer

Mahabaleshwar Sail

She has been awarded for her work

Hawthan that captures the lives of the

potter community in Goa.

Himachal Pradesh Environment

Leadership Award 2017

Dr. Madhu Chitkara She is Chandigarh s Chitkara University s

Pro-Chancellor

Mrs India Worldwide 2017 Neha Deshpande

Miss India Australia 2017 Aarzu Singh

Miss India America 2017 India LaRoda She is Indian-African American

1st Miss Transqueen India Natasha/Nitasha Biswas She hails from Kolkata

Transgender beauty pageant held in

Gurugram.

Kesari Media Award T J S George Veteran journalist

Anna Politkovskaya Award Gauri Lankesh (Posthumously)

She is first Indian Journalist to win Anna

Politkovskaya Award

Cross of the Order of Merit Rajesh Nath The highest civilian honour awarded to





individuals for their services to German

The Hindu Playwright Award 2017 Gerish Khemani and Akshat

Nigam

For their play In Search of Dariya Sagar .

7th Bharat Ratna Dr. Ambedkar

Award

Bappi Lahiri For his legendary 48 years of musical work

in both Bollywood and Hollywood in Delhi

Best Woman Entrepreneur Award

2017

Upasana Taku She is Mobikwik co-founder

Biju Patnaik Award for Scientific

Excellence for 2016

Prof. Digambar Behera

Edupreneur Award Rustom Kerawalla Awarded at World Education Summit held at

New Delhi

FICCI Special Jury Award Dr KR Balakrishnan Awarded by FICCI for his contributions to

healthcare and medical research.

2017 Trafficking in Persons (TIP)

Report Heroes Award

Mahesh Muralidhar

Bhagwat

an IPS officer from Telangana.

by the US State Department for his fight

against human trafficking in India.

United Nations Development

Programme s Equator Prize

Swayam Shikshan Prayog,

Pune based NGO

for devising an ecologically sustainable

agriculture model to combat the adverse

impacts of drought.

PM s trophy for best Integrated

Steel Plant

Tata Steel Ltd

Golden Peacock environment

management award

Danfoss India

Golden Peacock Award for Eco

Innovation

Indian Railways

Organization for Alternate

Fuel (IROAF)

Personality of the Year Kishore Sansi, Managing

Director and CEO of Vijaya

Bank

Awarded by Skoch Consultancy Services

Fellowship by the Department of

Culture, Government of India

Kathak dancer Pandit

Nandakishore Kapote

Lifetime Achievement Award Veteran BJP leader L.K.

Advani

for his contributions as a parliamentarian in

the Lok Sabha

Best Woman Parliamentarian of

the Year (Rajya Sabha)

Jaya Bachchan

Mahanayak Samman 2017 Shakuntala Barua Conferred by West Bengal Government

Balzan Prize Bina Agarwal Two U.S. scientists + India Economist BIna

Agarwal

UN peace prize Zannah Mustapha He is a Nigerian lawyer who helped secure

the release of more than 100 schoolgirls

kidnapped by Boko Haram

Cross of the Order of Merit Rajesh Nath The highest civilian honour awarded to

individuals for their services to German

Magsaysay Awards Yoshiaki Ishizawa He is a Japanese historian who helped save

Cambodia s renowned Angkor Wat temple

complex





Asia Game Changer Award Dev Patel

(British-born actor)

Awarded in recognition of him using his

celebrity status to place a spotlight on

India s poor

Hugo Award for Best Novel 2017 Nora K. Jemisin an American speculative fiction writer.

Given for her work The Obelisk Gate .

Screen Actors Guild Life

Achievement Award

Morgan Freeman Hollywood actor

John Stewart Bell Prize Ronald Hanson

Sae-Woo Nam

Anton Zeilinger

A trio of scientists who defied Einstein by

proving the nonlocal nature of quantum

entanglement will be honoured with the

John Stewart Bell Prize from the University

of Toronto (U of T).

RECOGNITIONS

Acknowledging the role played by yoga legend Bishnu Charan Ghosh and his family members in spreading Indian

postural yoga in Japan, the Japanese postal department has released postage stamps on four of Bengal s famous

exponents of the ancient Indian practice.

Two mountain ranges on Pluto have been named after Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary respectively by the

International Astronomical Union. Tenzing Montes and Hillary Montes are mountain ranges honouring Tenzing

Norgay (1914-1986) and Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the Indian/Nepali Sherpa and New Zealand mountaineer

who were the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest and return safely.

Reliance Foundation Young Champs named as the No.1 grassroots academy in India by the All India Football

Federation (AIFF).

Mansour Anis, a 14-year-old Indian-origin teenager based in Sharjah, UAE has become one of the youngest pilots to

fly a single-engine aircraft

Two Indians — Chanda Kochhar and Shikha Sharma — have made it to the rankings of most powerful women in

business outside the United States drawn up by the Fortune magazine while Indra Nooyi featured in the top three

on the US edition list. Topped by Banco Santander group executive chairman Ana Botin.

PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi came in at No. 2 on the US Most Powerful Women in Business list, led by

General Motors chairman and CEO Mary Barra.

In commemoration of the first anniversary of her canonisation, the Archdiocese of Calcutta is set to declare Mother

Teresa as its co-patron.

In Karantaka, former DIG D Roopa, who highlighted in a report alleged irregularities at the Central jail in Bengaluru,

including preferential treatment to AIADMK leader V K Sasikala, was conferred the President s Medal.

Raj Kumar Vaishya, a 98-year-old man has cleared the Masters in Economics examination from Patna s Nalanda

Open University (NOU).

Google Doodle, today, celebrates 100th birthday of Asima Chatterjee, a renowned Indian chemist, who was the

first female Doctorate of Science in India from an Indian University.

National Award-winning filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar and veteran actress Hema Malini will be felicitated at the

4th Indian Film Festival of Russia, for their contribution to Indian cinema.

Priyanka Chopra to be honoured at Variety s Power of Women

World s Most Influential People in Market Structure - Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagi ranked 7th. Topped by European

Union s Commissioner (Competition) Margrethe Vestager.





An Indian Police Service (IPS) Officer of Uttar Pradesh Cadre, Aparna Kumar has become the first Indian woman to

scale Mount Manaslu, which is the eighth highest mountain peak in the world.

Toronto Film Festival Gala to honour Priyanka Chopra

Lipstick Under My Burkha to be the opening movie at the 2017 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).

At a young age of 30, Captain Divya has become world s youngest woman commanders to fly a Boeing 777 airplane

ever.

Nine-year-old Kaamya Karthikeyan became the youngest person to reach the summit of the 6,153 metres-high Mt

Stok Kangri in Kashmir.

'Women Transforming India Awards' by Niti Aayog in partnership with the UN in India and MyGov given to 12

women to recognise the transformational impact of work undertaken by them across India's villages, towns and

cities.

The first-ever student to have scored 100 per cent in the prestigious Joint Entrance Examination- Mains, Udaipur

boy Kalpit Veerwal has made it to the Limca Book of Records for his feat.

Rahul Doshi, 12-year-old Indian-origin boy has been crowned as the UK's 'Child Genius' in a popular television quiz

competition.

Harry Potter creator JK Rowling named world s highest-earning author by Forbes

Melbourne in Australia named the world s most liveable city by The Economist. Damascus in Syria given the lowest

rank – world s worst liveable city.

PM Narendra Modi, Kailash Satyarthi, Founder of Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation, Congress MP Shashi

Tharoor, Global Chief People Officer and Priyanka Chopra -- feature in LinkedIn Power Profiles List of 2017

Bollywood s highest paid 2017 Actor – Shahrukh Khan. Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra also features in top

10 – Forbes List

World s Highest-Paid Actresses 2017 list topped by Emma Stone of USA – Forbes List

World s highest paid actor is Mark Walhberg; Shah Rukh Khan ranks 8th – Forbes List

Highest paid female athletes of 2017 list topped by American tennis player Serena Williams - Forbes list

Alibaba Group s Jack Ma - Asia s richest man, according to the Forbes real-time billionaires list.

According Forbes magazine s annual India Rich List 2017 , Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani emerged as

India s wealthiest for the 10th straight year

Fortune's 2017 '40 Under 40' list topped by French President Emmanuel Macron

The world record for the largest samosa has been created in London. The enormous snack, weighing in at 153.1 kg,

was made by a team of Muslim Aid volunteers at the East London Mosque.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has announced the winners of the 2017

International Literacy Prizes, which honours excellence and innovation in the field of global literacy.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT) was awarded Container Terminal of the Year Award for the

above 0.6 million TEUs category at The Gateway Awards 2017 held at Mumbai.

Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling was honoured for his pioneering work in the field of organic farming during a

ceremony at Germany s Lagau on the occasion of the One World Festival.

13th IDRBT Banking Technology Excellence Awards 2016-17

Best Bank Award for Use of Technology for Financial Inclusion Among Large Banks – State Bank of India

Best Bank Award for Use of Technology for Financial Inclusion Among Mid-Size Banks – Vijaya Bank





Best Bank Award for Use of Technology for Financial Inclusion Among Small Banks – Karnataka Bank Ltd.

Best Bank Award for Digital Banking among Large Banks- Axis Bank Ltd.

Best Bank Award for Digital Banking among Mid-Sized Banks – Vijaya Bank

Best Bank Award for Digital Banking among Small Banks South – Indian Bank Ltd.

Best Bank Award for Electronic Payment Systems among Large Banks – State Bank of India

Best Bank Award for Electronic Payment Systems among Mid-Sized Banks – Andhra Bank

Best Bank Award for Electronic Payment Systems among Small Banks – The Federal Bank Ltd.

Rajkummar Rao bags GQ Actor of the Year Award

National Award-winning actor Rajkummar Rao has bagged the GQ Actor of the Year Award. GQ hosted the GQ Men of the

Year Awards in Mumbai. Here is the list of who won what:

Woman of the Year: Anushka Sharma

Excellence in Direction and Acting: Konkona Sen Sharma

Excellence in Acting: Sridevi Kapoor

Entertainer of the Year: Ranveer Singh

Agent of Social Change: Rahul Bose

Most Stylish: Sidharth Malhotra

Designer of the Year: Manish Malhotra

Outstanding Achievement: Irrfan Khan

Legend: Bhaichung Bhutia

Creative Maverick: Aamir Khan

Conference/Summits/Exercises

Summit Place Extra Knowledge

First BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise India

14th India-EU Summit India

9th BRICS summit (2017) Xiamen, China

10th BRICS summit Johannesburg,

South Africa

to be held in 2018

2017 BRICS Trade Union Forum Beijing, China

2017 BRICS Education Ministers Beijing, China Theme: Investing in Adolescent Health

the Future is Now

2017 BRICS Youth Forum Beijing, China

2017 BRICS Labour & Employment Ministers

Meet

Chonqging, China

2017 BRICS trade Ministers meeting Shanghai, China

Informal BRICS Leaders Meeting Hamburg, Germany

First ever National Conference on Mission

Mode to address Under-Nutrition

New Delhi

Conference on Sustainable Landscapes & New Delhi





Forest Ecosystems : Theory to Practice

First National Conference on Uniformed

Women in Prison Administration

New Delhi

North East Calling New Delhi

Rajaswa Gyan Sangam, 2017 New Delhi

First meeting of the Japan-India Coordination

Forum

New Delhi For Development of North-Eastern

Region

Foreign and Security Policy Consultations

between India and the European Union

New Delhi

Tech Summit 2017 New Delhi India and Canada will co-host

Scheduled in November 2017

First meeting of Islands Development Agency

(IDA)

New Delhi

8th World Renewable Energy Technology

Congress

New Delhi

Meeting of Regional Technical Group on Trade,

Commerce and Investment CBM

New Delhi

First meeting of the Japan-India Coordination

Forum

New Delhi For Development of North-Eastern

Region

Foreign and Security Policy Consultations

between India and the European Union

New Delhi

Retail India Summit and Expo (RISE 2017) New Delhi

Global Conference on Cyber Space 2017 India

10th Session of the India- Jordan Trade and

Economic Joint Committee (TEJC)

New Delhi

Conference on Good Governance and

Replication of Best Practices

Goa The theme for this year s Conference is

Good Governance and Replication of

Best Practices.

India-Asean Youth Summit Bhopal, MP to mark the 25th anniversary of the

India-Asean dialogue partnership

First South Asian Youth Summit-2017 Bhubaneswar,

Odisha

24th Congress of International Union of

Crystallography

Hyderabad,

Telangana

19th round of the Regional Comprehensive

Economic Partnership (RCEP) Trade Negotiating

Committee (TNC) meeting

Hyderabad,

Telangana

Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 Hyderabad India and US will co-host

Scheduled in November 2017 Theme --

Women First, Prosperity for All

APPICON 2017, 63rd Annual National

Conference of Association of Physiologists and

Pharmacologists of India

Puducherry

World Congress on Adolescent Health India To be held in October

Theme: Investing in Adolescent Health

the Future is Now





India Mobile Congress 2017 New Delhi

Global Conference on Stroke New Delhi, India

World Congress of Optometry Hyderabad,

Telangana

Coastal Shipping and Inland Water

Transportation Business Summit 2017

Kochi, Kerala

12th India-Japan annual summit Gandhinagar,

Gujarat

Japan PM Shinzo Abe came to India

and met PM Modi

Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine Bengaluru

International AYUSH Conference and Exhibition

2017

India Theme -- Lifestyle diseases: Prevention

and management through AYUSH

Mitra Shakti 2017 Pune, Maharashtra It is 5th India-Sri Lanka joint training

exercise.

12th World Sudoku Championship and the 26th

World Puzzle Championship

Bengaluru

Third International Conference on Yoga Delhi Theme - Yoga for Wellness

Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav – 2017 Ahmedabad,

Gujarat

International Conference on Dialogue of

Civilizations – IV

India at Delhi, Gandhinagar and Dholavira

International medical conference Chandigarh

International puppet festival Kolkata The puppet festival is aimed at

regenerating the emotions attached to

puppetry and it will be held at

Mohorkunj in Kolkata.

First ever ASEAN-India music festival Purana Quila in

New Delhi

8th SAARC speaker Parliamentarians

conference

Sri Lanka

ASEAN-India Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas Singapore To be held in 2018

21st India-Myanmar National Level Meeting Nay Pyi Taw,

Myanmar

22nd World Petroleum Congress (WPC)

International Conference.

Istanbul, Turkey

Arunachal to host 5th North East Connectivity

Summit

Model United Nations Regional Conference Kathmandu, Nepal

Climate Summit on December 12, 2017 Paris, France

SAARC Ministers of Law and Order meeting Colombo, Sri Lanka

SAARC artists camp & exhibition of paintings Kathmandu, Nepal

19th World Congress on Environment

Management

Hyderabad,

Telangana

Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar international

conference on social justice

Bengaluru,

Karnataka

4th National Summit on Good, Replicable Indore, Madhya





Practices and Innovations in Public Health Care

Systems

Pradesh.

First Edition of WINGS 2017 – Sab Uden, Sab

Juden

New Delhi

First International Aviation Security seminar Manesar, Haryana Organized by National Security Guard

(NSG)

VASTRA Fair Jaipur, Rajasthan

Conference on Good Governance and

Replication of Best Practices

Goa The theme for this year s Conference is

Good Governance and Replication of

Best Practices.

7th ASEM (Asia–Europe Meeting) Economic

Ministers Meeting

Seoul, South Korea Theme for this year s meeting was

Innovative Partnership for Inclusive

Prosperity .

UN General Assembly (UNGA) session New York, USA External Affairs Minister Sushma

Swaraj represented India at the annual

UNGA session

International Hindu Conference Kathmandu, Nepal Theme: Emerging spiritualism:

Renaissance of Hinduism

15th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of

BIMSTEC countries

Kathmandu, Nepal

Bangladesh-India Joint Consultative

Commission

Dhaka, Bangladesh

G-7 interior ministers summit on security Italy

International conference on maternal and child

health

Ethiopia

Indra Combat Exercise Russia India, Russia to Hold Major Tri-Service

Scheduled in October, 2017

International Maritime Search and Rescue

Exercise (IMMSAREX)

Bay of Bengal Scheduled in November, 2017

under the chairmanship of Bangladesh

India will host the next steering committee meeting of the proposed 1,814 kilometre-long Turkmenistan-

Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline.

For the first time, India, US and Afghanistan will hold a joint trade and investment show in Delhi, as New Delhi

steps up to its role of being a bigger development partner to Afghanistan.

International News

Hurricane Harvey menaces Texas, Louisiana in the USA.

Hurricane Maria devastates island of Dominica

Severe Typhoon Hato hits Hong Kong.

Mawar, the 16th typhoon of this year, has made landfall in China s Guangdong province, bringing heavy rains and

winds,

Hurricane Irma kills 10 people in Cuba





Pakhar, the 14th typhoon of the year, landed in the Chinese city Taishan in Guangdong province, bringing gales of

up to 33 meters per second. Pakhar hit the province soon after Typhoon Hato, which landed in Zhuhai, about 80 km

from Taishan.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) decided to open the Low Enriched Uranium Bank in Kazakhstan. The

IAEA opened the bank to ensure the supply of nuclear fuel in the event of disruption due to political or market

problems.

Google has pledged $1 million relief to flood-hit areas of India, Nepal and Bangladesh. It is committing $1 million

from Google.org and Google employees to Goonj and Save the Children for their relief efforts.

America s President Donald Trump awarded his first Medal of Honor to James McCloughan, an Army medic who

served in Vietnam.

India and China are home to 39 per cent or 320 million of the 830 million young people worldwide who use the

Internet, according to a UN report.

The first regional centre of the New Development Bank, set up by India and other BRICS nations, was officially

opened in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In a first, Nepal has launched its climate-smart snow leopard landscape management plan, leading the way in

safeguarding this endangered species, also found in India, and its habitat.

The United States issued a ban prohibiting its citizens traveling to North Korea.

Kenyans producing, selling or even using plastic bags will risk imprisonment of up to four years or fines of $40,000,

as the world s toughest law aimed at reducing plastic pollution came into effect.

Pakistan s new cabinet included the first Hindu in a Pakistan government in more than 20 years, Darshan Lal.

In an apparent bid to take on Google-owned YouTube, Facebook has rolled out Watch — a redesigned video

platform for creators and publishers.

Tech giant Microsoft has announced its 11th cohort of 14 late-stage start-ups for its 'Accelerator' programme to

help boost their enterprise readiness and go-to-market (GTM) activities.

Software giant Microsoft has announced its 'Project Brainwave' deep learning acceleration platform for real-time

artificial intelligence (AI).

According to global leader in broadband testing Ookla, Norway has the fastest mobile Internet in the world.

UN declares Somalia free of polio

The largest volcanic region on Earth, with nearly 100 volcanoes, has been discovered two km below the surface of

the vast ice sheet in west Antarctica.

China will run the world's fastest bullet train -- the Fuxing -- between Beijing and Shanghai at 350 kms per hour,

covering the 1,250-km-long distance (equal to that between Jammu to Bhopal) in just 4.5 hours from September

21.

China is going to launch the world's first nuclear power plant, the Sanmen Nuclear Power Station, that is immune to

meltdown. The US and China jointly i ested o er ₹ 8, rore for uildi g the rea tor used i the pla t. The island of Tuvalu was the least visited country in 2016, according to a report by the United Nations World

Tourism Organisation.

The WHO has released its first tranche of emergency funding of $175,000 to provide lifesaving healthcare to the

vulnerable population in Bangladesh s Cox s Bazar.

The US will provide a humanitarian aid package worth $32 million to the Rohingya Muslim minority who have fled

violence in Myanmar and crossed into neighbouring Bangladesh.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that it needs to pump in over $800 million to eliminate measles from

five developing economies of South East Asia (SEA) — Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Timor Leste —





by 2020. The deadline for elimination of the highly contagious infection, killing annually an estimated 134,200

children globally, is 2020.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has told the South East Asian countries to integrate their national plans and

mobilise and utilise resources efficiently to reach the Tuberculosis elimination target of 2030.

A recent study by United Nations (UN) has claimed that after a steady decline, global hunger levels of people have

risen in more than a decade, which is affecting 815 million or 11% people of the world s population.

According to UNCTAD s recently released Trade and Development Report 2017, India and China at their current

levels of growth will not serve as growth poles in near future. World economy is expected to reach 2.6%.

Norway s sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world, has reached the value of $1 trillion for the first time, the

Norwegian central bank, which manages the fund, said. This amount equals nearly $189,000 (157,000 euros) for

each of the 5.3 million people living in Norway.

Organisations, institutions and individuals advocating non-violence are joining hands with the Indian community in

the Netherlands and the Embassy of India to launch a unique campaign titled Follow the Mahatma on October 1

and 2.

Chabahar Port in Iran will be operational by the end of 2018. Chabahar port, located in the Sistan-Balochistan

province in the energy-rich Persian Gulf nation s southern coast, lies outside the Persian Gulf and is easily accessed

from India s western coast, bypassing Pakistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India will grant gratis visa to Myanmarese citizens wanting to visit

the country.

Energy Efficiency Services Limited ( EESL) , under Ministry of Power, Government of India has launched UJALA

(Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All) Scheme in the State of Melaka, Malaysia.

UN has said that the security operation targeting Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar seems a textbook example of

ethnic cleansing , urging the country to end the cruel military operation in its Rakhine state.

Nepal has begun its first-ever survey to remeasure Mount Everest to check if the world s tallest peak s height was

altered by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the country in 2015.

Prince Charles, the heir to Britain s throne, has become the longest-serving Prince of Wales in history.

United States banking regulator has shut down operations of Pakistan s Habib Bank (HBL) in New York after almost

40 year.

The United States has announced $25 million award to the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery for transformational

programmes around the world to reduce the prevalence of modern slavery – also known as human trafficking.

Sri Lanka has banned plastic bags and other disposable products after one of the country s biggest dump collapsed

in April leading to a disposal crisis.

The world s highest sandcastle has been created in the German city of Duisburg, standing at 16.68 metres (54.72ft)

tall.

China is gearing up to ban petrol and diesel cars, a move that would boost electric vehicles and shake up the

world´s biggest car market in a country that is plagued by pollution.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced $76 million for a BRICS economic and technology cooperation plan and

another $4 million to support the projects of the bloc s New Development Bank at the BRICS summit in Xiamen,

China.





China has increased the maximum speed of bullet trains on the Beijing-Shanghai line to 350 kilometres (217 miles)

per hour, six years after a fatal accident led to a speed cap. Now it has started operating the world s fastest bullet

train, Fusing, between Beijing and Shanghai, the country s busiest route.

China hold memorial for world s oldest captive panda named Basi who died at the age of 37 in Fuzhou. Basi was the

model for the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing s mascot Panpan.

China has issued a commemorative stamp priced at 1.2 yuan in honour of the world s largest radio telescope

located in Guizhou province.

Chinese real estate giant Evergrande Group s Chairman Hui Ka Yan has become Asia s richest man with a net worth

of $41.1 billion.

The Chinese government has banned initial coin offerings, a new fundraising phenomenon that has taken the

Internet by storm.

Russia has launched the world s largest and most powerful icebreaker ship, designed to transport cargo via the

Northern Sea Route in the Arctic Ocean.

Indonesian scientists have found the world s smallest squirrel in the country s Borneo rain forest. The Bormean

pigmy squirrel or exilisciurus exilis was found in Meratus mountain of South Kalimantan province.

The Tajikistan government has banned its women from wearing veils and has introduced a legislation, wherein it

has asked the women to stick to traditional national clothes and culture .

London has retained its crown as the world s top financial center in a ranking that surveys industry professionals,

extending its lead over New York and Hong Kong despite ongoing uncertainty about the implications of Brexit.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has taken snow leopard off the endangered list,

where it was included in 1972. In the new assessment, IUCN has placed the animal under the less-threatened

vulnerable category.

Saudi Arabia has invited women to a sports stadium for the first time to attend the kingdom s 87th National Day

celebrations with their families. This marks a shift from previous celebrations in the kingdom where women are

effectively barred from sports arenas.

Saudi women will be allowed to drive in the kingdom in 2018

Saudi Arabia has voted to allow women to issue fatwas, following a vote in Saudi s advisory council.

The INTERPOL General Assembly has voted to admit the State of Palestine and the Solomon Islands as new member

countries. The membership of the world policing body now totals 192.

India contributes $500,000 to UN Peacebuilding Fund.

India not to host G20 meet due to absence of mega centre. Japan will be the host country in 2019.

New continent discovered under New Zealand, called Zealandia

Australia s joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA). ISA is India s initiative aimed at boosting clean and

affordable energy and creating a sustainable world.

UN cuts peacekeeping budget by $570mn for the next accounting year

Bolivia s President Evo Morales has declared total independence from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and

World Bank.

Sweden to hold its first and biggest military exercise in over 20 years, involving all of its military branches as well

as troops from several NATO countries.

The UN has selected Dubai as the data hub for the Middle East North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region for

the city s integrated initiatives to mine and manage its data.

AIDS claimed a million lives in 2016, almost half the 2005 toll that marked the peak of the deadly epidemic,

according to a UN report





For the first time in five years, a northern hairy-nosed wombat was born in the Australian state of Queensland.

Indonesia will now refer to the northern areas of its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea as the North

Natuna Sea .

Fascinating 71 million-year-old bird-like dinosaur the size of a HUMAN is found in Canada

World s oldest emergency phone line 999 marked 80th anniversary on 2nd July , celebrated by Police forces across

Britain.

The World Health Organisation has declared an end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Israel's Chrysanthemum flower will be called as 'Modi' in order to honour Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Italian lawmakers passed a bill making torture a crime under national law, after years of parliamentary back-and-

forth.

South Korean electronics giant Samsung has surpassed Intel to become the world s largest maker of computer

chips.

Universe s smallest star discovered. With the unwieldy name of EBLM J0555-57Ab, the star is located some 600

light-years away in our Milky Way galaxy.

The world s most detailed scan of the brain s internal wiring has been produced by scientists at Cardiff University,

UK.

US tech giant Tesla is set to install the world s largest lithium ion battery in South Australia in partnership with

French energy utility Neoen.

Researchers at the University of Washington (UW) have invented a phone that harvests the few microwatts of

power it requires from either ambient radio signals or light and requires no batteries.

Nokia and Xiaomi ink patent and equipment deal, Xiaomi buys Nokia patents

The World Bank Group has announced the creation of a more than $1 billion innovative new facility that aims to

advance women s entrepreneurship.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee acting on a proposal brought by Palestine has put the West Bank city of

Hebron on its list of world heritage in danger.

The British government has launched a new project titled the Grand Trunk Road to mark the 70th anniversary of

India s partition in August 1947.

The world s first centre for breeding Saola, a critically endangered hoofed mammal, is being constructed

in Vietnam s central region.

ISIS confirms leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead

Sri Lanka has banned plastic shopping bags as it is facing a dengue epidemic and garbage crisis.

Conservative Malta becomes 24th nation to legalize same-sex marriage.

U.S. House imposes tougher conditions for reimbursement of defence funding to Pakistan

Bill Gates of Microsoft has topped Forbes list of the world s billionaires. Mukesh Ambani topped the list in India

World s longest suspension footbridge opens in Switzerland, overtakes Titan-RT bridge in Germany.

A BRICS-themed subway train with carriages representing the five member nations including India has started test

operations in China s southeastern Xiamen city. The subway train, which started its test run, has six carriages, five

of which represents different cultures of the BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The Indian carriage depicts elephants and yoga.

The Chinese carriage is red and displays icons such as the Great Wall and Tian anmen Square.

The Brazilian carriage is green and decorated with images of footballs and football stars.

The Russian carriage shows off the country s ballet and matryoshka dolls.

The South African carriage displays pictures of diamonds.





The sixth carriage combines cultural elements from all the five BRICS countries.

Google pledges $1 bn to fund non-profit education

China has overtaken the United States as the world s largest ice cream producer, according to data from an

industry expo in Tianjin City.

USA and Israel withdrew from UNESCO over anti-Israel bias .

The United Arab Emirates has begun collecting new sin taxes on tobacco products, energy drinks and soft drinks.

Burqa ban comes into effect from today in Austria

India will be the guest of honour during the sixth edition of the World Government Summit scheduled from

February 11th – 13th, 2018 in Dubai.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved for the first time a test -- cobas Zika test -- for detecting

the Zika virus in donated blood.

According to a large clinical trial in Liberia, two experimental Ebola vaccines — cAd3-EBOZ and rVSV-ZEBOV — are

safe and can elicit immune response that lasts for at least one year.

National News

The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) launched the world s first diamond futures contracts to provide exporters

with a hedging tool.

US tech giant Google has unveiled Tez - a simple and secure mobile app for digital payments and commerce, built

with the goal of working for everyone in India, and is available now for download on Google Play (Android) and the

App Store (iOS). App is available in English and seven Indian languages (Hindi, Bengali, Gujrati, Kannada, Marathi,

Tamil, and Telugu). Tez works in partnership with four Banks – Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and State Bank of

India (SBI) – to facilitate the processing of payments across over 50 UPI enabled banks.

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017 passed in Lok Sabha - The Bill amends

the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009 to extend the deadline for teachers to

acquire the prescribed minimum qualifications for appointment. Deadline - March 31, 2019

Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) for elderly with 8 per cent fixed rate of interest on their savings

launched.

India will invite the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), leaders for the Republic Day parade and

celebrations next year. Republic Day 2018 will be the first time ever that so many leaders will together be chief

guests at the parade.

India has the second highest number of adults planning to migrate to other countries with the US and the UK

among the most favoured destinations, according to a report by the UN migration agency.

Govt bans presenting flower bouquets to welcome PM Modi

Cabinet approved the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), South Asia Regional Center (ISARC) in Varanasi,

which will work to develop special rice varieties.

Union Cabinet gave approval to the merger of oil marketer Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) with state-run

explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC).

PM Modi adopted his 3rd village Kakrahia, a village in Varanasi known for its wrestlers and wrestling arenas under

the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.

The Union Ministry of Power has announced that about 97% of the total outstanding debt of all state power

distribution companies has been covered under the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana.

Govt Launches Sohum , A Low-Cost Device To Test Hearing of NewBorns





The United Forum of Bank Unions decided to observe July 19, the 48th anniversary of nationalisation of major

banks, as Save public sector banks day.

The government has set a target of constructing 57 thousand kilometers of roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram

Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) during 2017-18.

India has declared itself free from highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1 and H5N8) after surveillance in the

states showed no evidence of its presence.

Jobs, admissions on fake caste certificates not valid, says Supreme Court – on petition filed by Maharashtra against

the Bombay HC judgement.

The government will set up Garib Nawaz skill development centres in 100 districts of the country to offer

employment-oriented training to the youth from minority communities.

Cabinet has approved rationalisation/merger and modernisation of 17 Government of India Presses (GIPs) into 5

GIPs at Rashtrapati Bhawan, Minto Road and Mayapuri in New Delhi, Nashik in Maharashtra and Temple Street in

Kolkata.

The Union Ministry of Human Resource and Development (HRD) on 5 September 2017 launched DIKSHA Portal

(diksha.gov.in) for providing digital platform to teachers for making their lifestyle more digital. DIKSHA will enable,

accelerate and amplify solutions in the realm of teacher education.

India s dream for high horsepower locomotive moved closer to reality with the arrival of the first bodyshell of

12000 HP loco from Alstom France at Kolkata port.

Approval for implementation of umbrella scheme of Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF) for years 2017-18 to

2019-20. The financial outlay for the scheme over the three year s period is Rs.25,060 crore

PM Narendra Modi launched a postage stamp based on Ramayana during his visit to historic Tulsi Manas temple

in Varanasi and said that stamps are a wonderful way to preserve history.

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the Pradhan Mantri LPG

Panchayat as a backup to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) of the Ministry of Women & Child Development has started a

monthly Jan Sampark program to enable the public to have interaction with its officials and staff

The government has decided to increase the retirement age of central government doctors including those working

under the AYUSH ministry and in the railways to 65 years.

Dr. Harshvardhan launched Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay Vigyan Gram Sankul Pariyojana which will experiment and

endeavour to formulate and implement appropriate S&T Interventions for Sustainable Development through

cluster approach in Uttarakhand

Minister of State Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel launched a nationwide health campaign to sensitise

women about the early screening and the preventive care for cancer. Theme – Nurturing the Nurturer .

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched two new contraceptives, an injectable contraceptive MPA

under the Antara programme and a contraceptive pill, Chhaya, in the public health system to expand the basket of

contraceptive choices to meet the emerging needs of couples.

The Ministry for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has launched a nationwide hackathon

OpenGovDataHack to support and showcase potential ideas/talent from inner India. The hackathon aims to

enable participants develop their ideas into apps/infographics primarily by the use of open government data

around the themes of drinking water and sanitation, transport, education, health, and crime to a stage, after which

it can be evaluated by a jury and be selected for prizes and support/funding.





Taking the central government s ambitious cleanliness drive to a higher trajectory, President Ram Nath Kovind

kicked off the fortnight-long Swachhta Hi Seva (Cleanliness is Service) campaign from Uttar Pradesh.

The Centre has issued a notice, stating that all the SIM cards have to be linked to Aadhaar before February 2018 to

avoid deactivation of the phone numbers. A bench comprising of former Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice N V

Ramana said the verification of existing pre-paid mobile users, running into crores, be done within one year.

An MoU was signed by Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya under the Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat

program, to boost cultural ties.

Government has launched Sampoorna Bima Gram Yojana and expansion of Postal Life Insurance.

Sampoorna Bima Gram (SBG) Yojana -- a minimum of one village will be taken up in each of the districts of the

country, and efforts will be made to cover all households of the village with at least one Rural Postal Life Insurance

policy each.

The much-awaited Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act has come into effect from October 12 with a provision to

bring more services and products like jewellery under the mandatory standard regime.

Parliament had, in March 2016, passed the law to replace the BIS Act of 1986.

India s first Sewage Treatment Plant under Hybrid Annuity Mode to come up in Haridwar and Varanasi

Government to set up mini food parks - all 42 sanctioned mega food parks will be operational by 2019.

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated Shirdi International Airport in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

Cabinet approves SANKALP, STRIVE schemes to boost Skill India Mission

SANKALP - Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion -- Rs 4,455 crore Centrally

sponsored scheme including Rs. 3,300 crore loan support from World Bank.

STRIVE - Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement -- Rs. 2,200 crore – central sector scheme, with half

of the scheme outlay as World bank loan assistance.

Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi inaugurated the 3rd edition of Women of India Organic Festival at Dilli Haat, INA

The Government of India, has increased its stake in IDBI Bank to 77.79% by acquiring 3.81 per cent shares through

preferential allotment.

President Ram Nath Kovind launched Mata Amritanandamayi Math s Rs 100 crore clean water initiative for rural

India at the math headquarters in the coastal hamlet of Vallikkavu in Kerala

India has opened 2 immigration check posts along the borders with Myanmar & Bangladesh. Myanmar - Zorinpui

check post of Mizoram. Bangladesh - Kawrpuichhuah post of Mizoram.

President Ram Nath Kovind on the occasion of World Tourism Day which is celebrated on September 27 annually,

launched Incredible India 2.0 Campaign , Adopt a Heritage project.

The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has launched a diploma course in Elementary Education to train

teachers across the country for teaching students up to Class 8.

The Centre has launched a six-year project called SECURE Himalaya, to ensure conservation of locally and globally

significant biodiversity, land and forest resources in the high Himalayan ecosystem spread over four states in India.

SECURE ---- Securing Livelihoods, Conservation, Sustainable use and Restoration of High Range Himalayan

ecosystems

The Union Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with Other Union Ministries and State Governments has launched

nationwide Paryatan Parv to showcase cultural diversity of country and reinforce the principle of Tourism for All .





Due to ever-present threat of cross-border firing from Pakistan, the Centre has set up a study group to examine the

problems being faced by the people living near the International Border and the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and

Kashmir.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI). The special drive will focus on

improving immunization coverage in select districts and cities to ensure full immunization to more than 90% by

December 2018.

The Supreme Court held that a man will be punished for rape if he is found to be guilty of havIng sexual intercourse

with his minor wife.

A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta read down exception 2 to Section 375 (rape) of the Indian

Penal Code (IPC).

Nepal and India will be conducting in November a joint head count of tigers in the national parks, forests and

sanctuaries along the international border between the two neighbours using a similar camera tapping method.

MasterCard announced the launch of its innovation centre in Mumbai to focus on solving India-specific problems

in the areas of technology and financial enablement. This would be their second innovation centre, after Singapore,

in Asia and ninth globally.

The world s largest combustion research centre which will impart a major boost to the Indian scientific community

has been inaugurated at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for an increase of 1% additional Dearness Allowance (DA) to central

government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners to compensate for price rise. This additional

installment of DA represents an increase of 1% over the existing rate of 4% of basic pay/pension.

The Union Cabinet approved a Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) with an outlay of Rs

10,881 crore during the period from 2017-18 to 2028-29.

India and China jointly submitted a proposal to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) calling for the elimination – by

developed countries – of the most trade-distorting form of farm subsidies, known in WTO parlance as Aggregate

Measurement of Support (AMS) or Amber Box support as a prerequisite for consideration of other reforms in

domestic support negotiations.

India has started Operation Insaniyat to provided assistance to Bangladesh in response to the humanitarian crisis

being faced on account of the large influx of Rohingya refugees into that country from Myanmar.

INS Garhial of Indian Navy carried around 86 thousand family packs as relief material in the ongoing operation

Insaniyat launched in support of Bangladesh for the Rohingya refugees.

The Army has finalised a plan to induct approximately 800 women in the military police. The decision to induct

women would help in investigating allegations of gender specific crimes. The decision to induct women is taken for

the first time.

The Centre has decided to observe this 70th Independence Day on August 15 as Sankalp Parva . A order said that

August 15, 2017 be celebrated as the Sankalp Parva or the Day of Resolve, and in 2022 our nation will transform

that resolve into Siddhi or attainment.

Government has launched a video of the National Anthem in sign language and said the government addressed the

physically challenged as divyang and not viklang to ensure there was no distinction. The 3.35-minute video,

directed by Govind Nihalani, stars Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, along with physically challenged children

performing the anthem in sign language, with the Red Fort in the background.





Based on a recent assessment carried out by the states, the government has revised downwards its targets for

building affordable housing for urban poor by 2022. The government announced that it would need to construct

about 1.2 crore houses as against 1.8 crore estimated earlier.

The government announced that it would need to construct about 1.2 crore houses as against 1.8 crore estimated

earlier. A digital police portal under the CCTNS project, which aims to create a national database of crimes and

criminals, has been launched by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Closure of loss-making Bharat Wagon and Engineering Company (BWEL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise under

the Ministry of Railways approved.

SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) scheme renamed as

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).

New initiative SAMADHAN (S-Smart Policing and Leadership; A -Aggressive Strategy, M-Motivation and Training, A-

Actionable Intelligence; D-Dashboard for Development and Key Performance Indicators, H-Harnessing Technology

for Development and Security, A-Action Plan for each Theatre and N-No access to Financing) launched to control

the situation in the LWE affected states.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated Yuva , a Delhi Police initiative for skill development among the

youth, as part of its community policing.

All-India Elephant Population Estimation shows that India has 27,312 elephants. Highest being in Karnataka (6,049)

Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, launched Gaj Yatra , a nationwide

campaign to protect elephants on the occasion of World Elephant Day.

Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan launched the Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwali campaign to celebrate a pollution-

free Diwali.

National Sports Talent Search Portal launched. The portal, nationalsportstalenthunt.com, aims to provide a direct

link to help kids and youngsters reach the ministry and senior sports administrators with their achievements.

India Permitted to Construct Kishanganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power plants:

World Bank. Pakistan has opposed the construction of these. Kishanganga on Jhelum River and Ratle on Chenab

River.

Government has launched the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign to reduce measles morbidity and

mortality. Campaign will cover children in the age group of 9 months to less than 15 years.

According to a new study from Oxford Economics, Delhi will have the fastest growth of any city in Asia, with the

economy to be almost 50% larger in 2021 than it was at the end of last year.

IRCTC s - Book Tatkal Tickets Now, Pay Later Scheme - People can now pay later for tickets booked under the tatkal

quota on IRCTC website

India has the most number of child deaths due to tuberculosis, according to a Lancet study which found that over

55,000 children died from the disease in the country in 2015.

India s first World Peace University (Dr Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University (MIT-WPU)) inaugurated in

MIT, Pune.

India s first railways disaster management village is expected to come up near Bengaluru by December 2018.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is going to establish National Sports Museum, first of its kind, at Jawaharlal

Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.

Country's first Videsh Bhavan, assimilating all Regional Passport Offices under one roof, going to be inaugurated at

the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai.

To celebrate India s 71st Independence day, India has gifted 30 ambulances and six buses to Nepal for

strengthening its education and health services.

In its first visit to India, American Navy s amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor arrived in Goa as part of

defence cooperation between the two countries.





India s largest autonomous public research and development organisation Council of Scientific and Industrial

Research (CSIR) has been ranked 9th in the world among government institutions and 75th globally, according to

the Scimago Institutions ranking World Report 2017. Topped by Chinese Academy of Sciences.

National Aluminium Company (Nalco) , Hindustan Copper (HCL)and MECL, three state-run PSUs, have signed an

MoU to form a joint venture — Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (Kabil).

Government think-tank Niti Aayog has come out with the National Nutrition Strategy, seeking to put nutrition at

the forefront of the narrative of the National Development Agenda. It aims at ensuring every child, adolescent girl

and woman attains optimal nutritional status by 2022.

Ahead of the nation s 75th Independence anniversary in 2022, an exhibition on the freedom struggle and Quit India

Movement s role in it that will be staged at 39 places across the country was launched in Delhi.

The exhibition-cum-seminar, titled Naya Bharat – Karke Rahenge will narrate the journey of India s freedom

struggle from the 1857 Revolt till India got indepedence in 1947, and will include the Champaran struggle, Dandi

Yatra, and Non-Cooperation Movement.

The government issued an alert on spread of new malware Locky Ransomware that can lock computers and

demand ransom for unlocking them.

The Department of Biotechnology announced 3 missions focussing on the northeast India, including the B4, which

is centred on the Brahmaputra s biodiversity and biology. This new project aims at starting a lab on boat on

Bramhaputra river for biological analysis of the river system. The first laboratory under the Bramhaputra

Biodiversity Biology Boat (B4) initiative will cover Pasighat, Dibrugarh, Neemati, Tejpur and Guwahati in Assam.

Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment launched the Beta version of Divyang

Sarathi —The accessible and comprehensive mobile application for easy dissemination of information to

Divyangjans .

Portal PENCIL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) — an electronic platform for no child labour

in the country is being developed by the Labour Ministry. Launched for effective implementation of the National

Child Labour Project (NCLP).

On the eve of Antyodaya Diwas 2017, the government has celebrated the Bharat Ke Kaushalzaade occasion on

24th September this year. Antyodaya Diwas has completed 3 years this year on 25th September.

To bring in transparency in food safety inspection and sampling, food regulator FSSAI has put in place a nationwide

online platform FoSCoRIS and asked states to adopt this system as it would help eliminate discrepancy and make

food safety officers accountable.

India, Asia s third-largest producer and exporter of coffee, has started producing the world s most expensive

coffee, made from the poop of civet cat, on a small scale in Coorg district of Karnataka. The Civet coffee is also

called as Luwark coffee.

State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) is all set to become a Maharatna company. The oil marketing

company is at present a Navratna firm. At present, there are seven Maharatna companies — Bharat Heavy

Electricals, Coal India, GAIL (India), Indian Oil Corporation, NTPC, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Steel

Authority of India.

President of Belarus AG Lukashenko arrived in New Delhi on a two day visit to India.

The Frank Islam Foundation in Washington has joined hands with IANS, India s largest independent newswire, for a

media project that aims to tell some remarkable stories from across India.

GOI inaugurated the first Pension Adalat and a pension app for Central Government employees in New Delhi. The

Adalat aims to quick resolve long pending pension cases.





E-commerce major Flipkart has developed India s first anti-theft packaging to secure goods from in-transit theft

and tampering.

Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar launched -Mission 24 for Mumbai s M east ward which is known to have

one of highest slum population s in the city.

India s first Centre for Animal Law has been established at the NALSAR University of Law At Hyderabad, Telangana.

Suzuki Motor will invest more than Rs 1,150 crore along with Japanese partners Toshiba and Denso to set up India s

first lithium ion battery facility in Gujarat.

After remaining non-functional for the last three years the Janakpur-Jayanagar Railway line connecting Nepal and

India is expected to become functional by 2018.

India and Sri Lanka has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to upgrade Thondaman Vocational Training

Centre at Hatton located in Nuwara Eliya district of Sri Lanka.

Recently-released black comedy film Newton , starring Rajkummar Rao, is India s official entry to the 90th

Academy Awards ceremony.

The Kandla Port Trust in Gujarat has been renamed Deendayal Port Trust.

Rare White tiger spotted Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve located in the Western Ghats.

In a move designed to inspire Indian artists and young inventors towards protecting their creations and inventions,

the government has launched Creative India; Innovative India for raising awareness on Intellectual Property

Rights (IPR).

Country s first solar powered DEMU train dedicated to nation. Will run from Sarai Rohilla in Delhi to Farukh Nagar

in Haryana

According to OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2017-2026 report by the UN and OECD, India, projected to be the

most populous country over the next decade, will be the world s largest milk producer by 2026 and will account for

the biggest increase in wheat production globally.

National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed Rs50,000 fine for dumping waste in the stretch between Haridwar and

Unnao of River Ganga.

NGT has banned all construction within 100 metres of the river s edge from Haridwar in Uttarakhand to Unnao in

Uttar Pradesh.

The NGT has imposed a complete ban on manja , the string used to fly kites, made of nylon or any synthetic

material which is non-biodegradable -- bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar.

The Supreme Court has allowed Arunachal Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands to join the club of Sikkim and

Meghalaya, both of which enjoy full exemption from the court s ban on sale of liquor within 500 metres of National

and State Highways. -- Bench led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar

India has advanced its target of eliminating malaria by three years to 2027. Earlier the target was 2030.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is the new name for urban development & housing ministry

Railways has launched RailCloud, a virtual server with an inbuilt security system that will enable faster connectivity

at a reduced cost. Also launched the first application on RailCloud named Nivaran , which is a grievances redressal

portal

The Telecom department has made it mandatory for all phones, including feature phones, to install Global

Positioning System (GPS) from January 1, 2018.

The retirement age of medical officers working in Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles has been enhanced

to 65 from 60 years.

Internet-based applications have contributed Rs 1.4 lakh crore to the country s GDP in 2015-16, a report by the

think-tank organisation, ICRIER along with the Broadband India Forum





Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi s name has been removed from the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable

Development which was named the Indira Gandhi Centre for Sustainable Development at its launch during the

tenure of UPA government.

Auto major Tata Motors has rolled out the country s first bio-CNG (bio-methane) bus.

200th anniversary celebrations of the Paika Rebellion of Odisha inaugurated on July 20, 2017 in New Delhi

India third largest terror target after Iraq and Afghanistan: US report

The Women and Child Development ministry has launched an online platform SHe-box (sexual harassment

electronic box) to enable women employees of the central government to file complaints related to sexual

harassment at the workplace.

Radio broadcast completed 90 years in country on July 23, 2017.

Bengaluru ranks 40 among top 50 cities for women entrepreneurs: Dell - New York ranked numero uno in the list.

Swachh Survekshan-2018 s rousing anthem Swachhata Ki Jyot Jagi Hai released. - The song has been scripted by

renowned lyricist Shri Prasoon Joshi and visualized free for the ministry by Producer Shri Mukesh Bhatt. Shri

Shankar Mahadevan provided the music.

Govt to provide Hepatitis C vaccine free from next year: Nadda

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has declared 1,076 temples as protected monuments in the country.

Flipkart launches made for India budget brand Billion.

A 14-day joint military training exercise Maitree 2017 between India and Thailand has started in Chamba district

of Himachal Pradesh.

India will host 2018 edition of Theatre Olympics, the biggest theatre celebration of the world.

State News

Andhra Pradesh

No helmet, no petrol rule comes into force in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu launched Swachh Andhra Mission on the occasion of Gandhi

Jayanti. PV Sindhu has been chosen as the brand ambassador of Swachh Andhra.

The Andhra Pradesh Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mastercard to setup a

centre of excellence in Visakhapatnam.

Vice president Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone for the first phase of the 2,890-km National Waterway-4

(NW-4) at Amravati in Andhra Pradesh.

Government to develop green airports in Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati and Vijayawada. [Cochin International Airport

Limited (CIAL) in Kerala became the first airport in the world, to be completely powered by solar energy]

Rayichapalu , a regular catch for fishermen in Andhra Pradesh s Visakhapatnam, has been declared as one of the

rarest species of fish in the world by Marine Living Resources Department, Andhra University.

CM N. Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone of the Indo-UK Institute of Health (IUIH) Medicity in Amravati.

The facility is being developed in association with King s College Hospital, London, with an investment outlay of Rs

1,600 crore.

'First of its kind' initiative - helpline number 1100 to tackle corruption in the state launched earlier in the year is

helping state to curb corruption.

Andhra Pradesh s Eastern Power Distribution Company Ltd (EPDCL) and the Southern Power Distribution

Corporation of AP Ltd. (SPDCL) have become the first state-owned distribution companies in India to accept

payments through Bharat QR.





Archaeologists in Andhra Pradesh have discovered an ancient Buddhist site that dates back to the 1st century AD.

Andhra Pradesh has announced a new programme to offer prayers to water bodies and to create awareness among

the public regarding water preservation. Named Jala Siriki Haarati , the programme is aimed at praying at all the

rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, irrigation projects, water reservoirs, check dams and all kinds of water bodies.

The Andhra Pradesh government has signed an MoU with the US-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies to

build India s first Hyperloop system. The planned project is aimed at connecting cities Amaravati and Vijayawada in

Andhra Pradesh, supposedly covering the distance of over 35 km in just five minutes.

Andhra Pradesh Minister for Information Technology, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Nara Lokesh

introduced the Seven Star Formula for development of smart villages.

Andhra Pradesh has released People First mobile application for grievance redressal at the Collectors conference

in Vijayawada. Under this application, people of Andhra Pradesh can dial 1100 to register complaints about

government services and schemes.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu declared that the year of 2017 as e-pragati year.

Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has declared Friday as the day of the week when he will meet with the

poor and underprivileged sections of Andhra Pradesh society to hear their grievances and try to resolve them. The

day has been declared as the Day of Helping Hand .

The Andhra Pradesh government has launched the AP MSME Development Corporation with a corpus fund of Rs

100 crore to promote micro small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the State.

Andhra Pradesh has topped the charts in ease of doing business and providing electricity to rural households.

Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh s biggest festival Solung of the Adi Tribe was celebrated with traditional fervor and in a grand

way at Boleng in Siang District on September 3.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu has announced that Arunachal Pradesh shall be Open Defecation Free by December

31 this year.

Assam

In a bid to take Internet connectivity to the remotest part of the state, Assam government has signed a

Memorandum of Understanding with Google India.

Foundation stone for the country s first ever Industrial Training Institute for the Dibyangans exclusively was laid on

October 3 in Dibrugarh in Assam.

ISRO to set up research centre in Guwahati, Assam

Assam has become first state to pass a legislation which states that Assam government employees who dump

parents will lose part salary. The Assam Assembly passed The Assam Employees Parental Responsibility And Norms

for Accountability and Monitoring (PRANAM) Bill that makes it mandatory for state government employees to take

care of their parents and needy siblings or face a cut in their income.

Singapore will set up a Skill Center at Guwahati which will cater to the entire North-Eastern region.

A 100-ft tall bamboo idol of Goddess in Assam is all set to enter the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest

bamboo sculpture ever made in the world

A program called SATH- Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital, a joint initiative of Government of

Assam and NITI Aayog, which aims to provide structured support to Assam in identifying key health priorities and





implement the solutions towards transforming the health and improving the well-being of people of Assam has

been launched in Assam.

Assam going to raise a new Special Rhino Protection Force (SRPF) for better protection of the one-horned rhinos in

Assam

Bihar

In a unique initiative, Gender Alliance Bihar, a collective effort of over 270 civil society organisations backed by the

UN Population Fund, has come up with a mobile application Bandhan Tod to fight the rampant social evil of child

marriage in the state.

Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh has topped the list among all the states in the country for having issued over 43 lakh soil health cards

(SHCs) to farmers in the past two year.

The Chhattisgarh government has decided to merge all the branches of the district central cooperative banks

(DCCBs) with the state cooperative banks.

Nineteen acres of land which housed around 70 government office buildings in Chattisgarh s Raipur is being

converted into India s first micro forest in order to create an oxy-zone.

Chhattisgarh bans use of chlorinated plastic and Polyvinyl Chloride

Delhi

The Supreme Court has placed a ban on the sale of firecrackers in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) during

the upcoming festive season of Diwali. The ban will remain in effect till November 1.

The National Green Tribunal, NGT has imposed an interim ban on use of non-biodegradable plastic bags which are

less than 50 microns in the New Delhi. Fine of 5,000 rupees on anyone found in possession of such banned plastic.

North Eastern Cultural and Information Centre will be set up in Delhi.

A special train called the mosquito terminator was pressed into service by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation

(SDMC), in collaboration with the Northern Railway, to spray anti-larval chemicals along the tracks to control

mosquito breeding.

First edition of Rural Games or Grameen Khel Mahotsav will kick-start from Delhi and will take place between 28th

August to 3rd September, 2017

The Delhi High Court has launched a first-of-its-kind dedicated helpline number 1888 to provide litigants easy

access to justice.

India s tallest air traffic control (ATC) tower to be operational at Delhi airport by December 2017.

The Delhi government has launched a Free Surgery Scheme under which if patients do not get a date for surgery at

a government hospital within a month, they can get themselves treated in the private ones free of cost.

Delhi has became the second state to launch e-RTI portal that will enable citizens to file online Right to Information

(RTI). Maharashtra is the first state

Delhi police will be the first state police in India who will get super cop belt .

Delhi Metro has become the only completely green Metro system in the world for adhering to green building

norms for its residential colonies.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal gave his nod to the proposal to set up Mohalla Clinics (community clinics) in

Delhi.





Gujarat

The None Of The Above (NOTA) option available for the first time in upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat.

Gujarat first state to implement coal utilisation between power units

Gujarat government has distributed NAMO e-tabs to college students across the state. NAMO- e Tab means – New

Avenues of Modern Education Through Tablets.

Ahmedabad in Gujarat has been formally accorded the status of India s first World Heritage City. The honour makes

the walled city of Ahmedabad the first city in India, and the third in Asia after Bhaktapur (Nepal) and Galle (Sri

Lanka).

Making steps towards digital revolution in the schools of Gujarat, state govt. launched state-wide Gyankunj

Project on Teachers Day. The objective of the project is to produce world-class students.

Gujarat government has launched Shramik Annapoorna Yojana (Construction Workers Meal Scheme), under which

each registered worker is provided a plateful of food for a mere Rs 10 with the Gujarat government providing a

hefty subsidy of Rs 19 per meal.

Gujarat government has signed an MoU with Google India towards actualizing the Digital Gujarat movement

under Digital India .

The ₹ -crore high-speed rail training centre for the first bullet train project will be set up in Vadodara, Gujarat.

India s first ever mega textiles trade fair – Textiles India 2017, was inaugurated by the Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi, at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Gujarat s Ahmedabad has become India s first World Heritage City after the Unesco s World Heritage Committee

included it in its list.

Gujarat to get India s first high-speed rail training centre at Gandhinagar.

Gujarat on October 10 reduced VAT on petrol and diesel by 4%, becoming the first state to give relief to consumers

from a recent surge in oil prices.

Goa

The union tourism ministry has allotted Rs 100 crore to Goa under the Swadesh Darshan scheme to augment its

tourist infrastructure and for the development of coastal circuits

The Goa Legislative Assembly has passed a bill which reclassifies coconut as a `tree, ensuring legal protection for it.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar announced that Goa will be made garbage free by 2020.

Haryana

President Ram Nath Kovind has accorded approval to the proposal for setting up the world s first AYUSH University

at Haryana s Kurukshetra.

The White Revolution in Haryana is set to get an Israeli boost.

Students passing out of government medical colleges in Haryana will now be required to do a fixed period of

service in government hospitals of the state

Haryana government has prohibited flushing/mixing of liquid nitrogen with any drink or food article.

Himachal Pradesh

After two years of trial runs on the challenging Manali-Rohtang highway, Himachal Roads Transport Corporation

(HRTC) has finally launched its electric bus service on the route on a regular basis. With this, Himachal Pradesh has

become the first hill state in the country to run electric buses.

Green Spiti mission - for the Spiti Valley to increase forest cover to overcome water shortage.

PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for an AIIMS premier hospital in Bilaspur town of Himachal Pradesh.





Jammu & Kashmir

In order to pave the way for applicability of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime in Jammu and Kashmir, the

Cabinet gave ex-post facto approval for amendment of the Constitution Order, 1954 by way of the Constitution

Amendment Order, 2017.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to build an Eco-Park on over 34 acres of land reclaimed from

encroachers in the state s Rajouri district.

Pratham-Shyok bridge that will link Leh to Karakoram, providing connectivity on the strategically important Darbuk-

Shyok-Daulat Beg Olde axis for military transport.

Jharkhand

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone for Ranchi Smart City coming up on the Heavy

Engineering Corporation (HEC) land. This would be the country s first green-field smart city.

Jharkhand Government launched the Shaheed Gram Vikas Yojana during a programme at Ulihatu in Khunti district

of Jharkhand. Ulihatu is the birthplace of Jharkhand s tribal icon Birsa Munda. Under the scheme, villages of many

tribal freedom fighters will be developed and their habitants will be provided with basic amenities.

Karnataka

Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, Karnataka will become the first airport in the country to have a

helicopter-taxi (heli-taxi) service for those who cannot afford to spend time battling traffic to travel across the city.

Indira Canteen , aimed at serving the poor at subsidised rates, was inaugurated in Bengaluru by Congress vice

president Rahul Gandhi.

Karnataka Government launched clouding seeding Project Varshadhari in Bengaluru under which an aircraft will

spray chemicals to induce rainfall.

Samsung India has collaborated with the Government of Karnataka for a notebook donation drive to extend its

support to students from government schools across Bengaluru, Kolar and Mulbaghal districts in the state.

Bengaluru-based social education start-up Meghshala Trust, supported by Tata Trusts, launched Meghshala

( School on the Cloud ) app for Karnataka teachers.

Karnataka ropes in Microsoft to develop a unique farm price forecasting model using latest IT tools in a bid to

help farmers.

Amazon announced a partnership with the Akshaya Patra Foundation to implement the Karnataka government s

Ksheera Bhagya Scheme in Bengaluru, wherein schoolchildren would be provided a glass of milk each five days a

week.

Karnataka government will be merging the existing seven health schemes to launch a unified scheme- Arogya

Bhagya which will cover all 1.4 crore households of the state.

Karnataka government, from next academic year, has decided to provide free education to girls from class one to

graduation level in all public and aided private schools and colleges.

Karnataka has become the first Indian state to have an electric vehicle policy after the state Cabinet approved the

Karnataka Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy.

The Karnataka government has launched Vision-2025 project aimed at evolving a draft policy for development of

the state in next seven years by seeking the opinion of the public.

The Vice President, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu, today inaugurated the Swachhta Hi Seva and Shouchalayakkagi

Samara (A Crusade For Toilets) Programme in Karnataka in an ocassion.





Karnataka would provide Rs 400 crore fund to mentor 100 start-ups with idea validation, incubation facilities and

expertise in accounting and legal norms. Launched the Elevate 100 scheme for same.

To provide small and midsize businesses (SMBs) access to the Cloud solutions and resources, Cloud major Oracle

has opened its first Digital Hub in Bengaluru.

The State has constituted a nine-member committee to study and submit a report to the government on the

possibility of designing a separate flag for Karnataka and providing it a statutory standing.

IT company Accenture has opened its first innovation hub in Bengaluru

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched the Mathru Purna scheme, which aims to provide nutritious

meals to about 12 lakh pregnant women and lactating mothers in the state.

Kerala

Onam, the biggest and the most important festival of the state of Kerala, celebrated in the state.

Kerala is going to open India s first transgender-exclusive clinics at government medical colleges across the state.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched G-Ride, a digital ride sharing platform that matches co-workers and

neighbours and help them travel together to work.

Kerala to host literary fest with tolerance as theme

Lakshadweep Island

According to a study, Parali I island in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, part of Bangaram atoll, which had an

area of 0.032 sq.km in 1968 has been completely eroded, resulting in its inundation.

Madhya Pradesh

The Madhya Pradesh government has contributed Rs. 2 crore to Assam Chief Minister s Relief Fund for the

prevailing flood situation in the state.

Madhya Pradesh sets record with plantation of 6 cr saplings in day

Foundation stone of country s biggest global skill park laid in Bhopal

MP govt. launched Single Click Pension Delivery scheme, wherein the money will go directly into the account of

the beneficiaries.

MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated a toilet in the Mangalwara area for the exclusive use of transgenders ---

first of its kind in the country.

MP govt announces Rs 2 lakh aid for widow remarriage

Maharashtra

Mumbai s Vikrikar Bhavan renamed as GST Bhavan

Maharashtra has become the first state in the country to provide women an injectable contraceptive for free.--

launched a programme called Antara

MahaLabharthi web portal that will help people get information about all the government schemes that they are

eligible for.

Maharashtra first state to have law against social boycott after President of India gave assent to Social Boycott

(Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2016.

Matunga suburban railway station in Mumbai has become the first station in India to be run by an all-women staff.

Maharashtra recorded highest child marriage cases. Of the 70 districts identified with high incidents of child

marriage, 17 are in Maharashtra, followed by 13 in Rajasthan.





Government approves first housing project on private land under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in in Maharashtra s

Sholapur district

Mumbai Metro One has announced the launch of India s first Mobile Ticketing System OnGo which will help

commuters pass the AFC gates using their mobile phones.

Union Ministry of Minority Affairs has launched Jiyo Parsi Publicity Phase-2 in Mumbai, Maharashtra under the Jiyo

Parsi scheme.

Maha govt launches two online portals MahaDBT, MahaVASTU. MahaDBT portal will enable direct transfer of

benefits for over 40 schemes. MahaVASTU portal is an online building permission management system

The Bombay High Court has accepted Maharashtra government s statement that it would not allow children below

the age of 14 years to participate in the Dahi Handi festival.

Govt. launched Namo Yuva Rojgar Kendra an initiative providing job opportunities to unemployed youth in

Mumbai.

The Maharashtra Government and Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetable Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of National Dairy

Development Board (NDDB), announced signing of a lease agreement to set up a state-of-the-art milk and milk

products processing plant.

Maharashtra government has announced plans to launch 112 as a single integrated helpline number for police, fire

brigade, and ambulance services.

The Maharashtra government is planning to ban plastic carry bags after the Gudi Padwa (Maharashtrian New Year)

next year. Gudi Padwa falls in March-April period.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has launched the Maharashtra Mission 1 Million initiative under

which over 10 lakh students across the state will play football.

Manipur

A North East Centre for Ethno Medicinal Research has been inaugurated at Hengbung village in Kangpokpi

district of Manipur.

Manipur's Nungthaang Tampak village has emerged as the '100 percent computer literate' not only in the state

but in the entire North East.

Heikru Hidongba, the traditional boat race festival of Manipur, was celebrated at the Thangapat (moat) of Shri

Bijoy Govindajee, Sagolband, Imphal on September 3.

Approval of widening and up gradation of a 65-km-long National Highway in Manipur to boost the

state s connectivity with south and southeast Asia via Myanmar.

Manipur celebrates Mera Houchongba festival

Meghalaya

Launched an ambitious flagship program titled Livelihood Intervention and Facilitation of Entrepreneurship

(LIFE) at Songsak, Meghalaya.

Mizoram

Mizoram s Dampa Tiger Reserve now holds the distinction of housing the highest number of clouded leopards in

Southeast Asia, the state government has claimed. Density of population of clouded leopards, locally knows as

Kelral , is 5.14 per 100 sq km in the reserve.





Odisha

Odisha will partner with Facebook to train women entrepreneurs and Self Help Groups (SHGs) to promote

entrepreneurship and digital literacy and organise hands-on workshops for Micro, Small and Medium women

Entrepreneurs and women SHGs on Digital Marketing Skills in collaboration with Facebook.

Odisha s Government has launched She Means Business programme of Facebook for women entrepreneurs in

Odisha.

Odisha Government will soon launch Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran (DAMON), a special programme to

prevent the spread of malaria in remote areas of Ganjam district.

Government of Odisha, in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI),

will organise the first ever Odisha Travel Bazaar in October in Bhubaneshwar.

The Odisha government would provide Rs 1,000 as transportation cost to pregnant women from inaccessible areas

to facilitate their institutional delivery.

Bhubaneswar, Odisha hosted the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships (ACC) from July 5-9.

Odisha, first state to implement an integrated Core Banking Solution Project covering all three tiers of short term

cooperative credit structure – state cooperative bank, district central cooperative banks and 2,708 primary

agriculture cooperative societies.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated computerisation of PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Society)

and launched RuPay Kisan Credit cards in the state.

The Odisha government signed an Expression of Intent (EOI) with the International Association of Athletics

Federations (IAAF) and Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to establish a High Performance Academy in

Bhubaneswar.

After the successful organisation of 22nd Asian Athletics Championships, the Odisha government has announced it

would set up the Kalinga International Sports City in Bhubaneswar to hold mega international events in the coming

years.

Nalco, in collaboration with Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation, is setting up the first of its

kind Aluminium Park in Angul.

The state s longest bridge dedicated to nation and named it after Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Odisha government has renamined Wheeler Island in Bhadrak district as Abdul Kalam Island

Puducherry

The Puducherry government has decided to ban manufacture and use of plastic packaging materials of less than 51

microns as these were found to be injurious to health and a source of menace during monsoon in the Union

Territory.

Punjab

India s first museum on Partition of the Indian subcontinent opened in Amritsar, Punjab.

Foundation stone, of Punjab s first maize based Sukhjit Mega Food Park and Infra Limited at Rehana Jattan village

laid.

Punjab - first state in the country where injection-safety programme is being implemented in collaboration with the

World Health Organisation (WHO).

Entered into an MoU with Noora Health India Trust, a healthcare non-profit organisation, for implementation of

the Care Companion Programme (CCP).

Signed MoU with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) who will support Punjab Health

Department by providing Rapid test kits for screening of high risk patients like HIV patients, Intravenous Drug Users

(IVDU) patient





Punjab government has launched Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar scheme by flagging off over 100 uberMOTO bikes.

Rajasthan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated a hanging bridge built across the Chambal river at Kota to the nation. The

bridge, over Chambal River, has the longest main span of 350 metre in the country and will also act as a bypass to

Kota City.

In a move that is a first for the country, Rajasthan has fixed minimum educational qualification for candidates

interested in contesting elections for elections to village cooperative societies and various other cooperative

bodies.

Rajasthan becomes 1st state to incorporate skill development programme in higher education

Going digital, the Rajasthan assembly has become the first in India to call attention and adjournment motions and

proposals online from legislators to send them to the state government.

Tamil Nadu

Bangladesh will soon open a new diplomatic station in Chennai.

Samsung India has partnered with the Tamil Nadu government to offer healthcare solutions with the effective use

of technology to patients from the economically and socially weaker sections of society.

Tamil Nadu topped the rooftop capacity addition table, according to a report by Bridge to India, a global renewable

energy consulting firm.

Madras HC makes singing of Vande Mataram mandatory in TN schools

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam s memorial in Tamil Nadu s

Ramananthapuram district.

Telangana

Microsoft ties up with Telangana to use AI to screen kids for eye issues.

In association with the World Resources Institute (WRI) India – Ross Centre and the Indian School of Business (ISB),

Telangana govt launched Smart Streets Lab in Hyderabad to boost women and road safety.

Telangana government launches 181 helpline for distressed women.

Amazon opened its largest fulfilment centre in India on the outskirts of Hyderabad, near the Rajiv Gandhi

International Airport, Shamshabad.

Regional Vocational Training Institute, Hyderabad, the first of its kind in Telangana inaugurated.

An innovative programme named Janahitha was launched to receive complaints from public through a special

portal.

Telangana to have separate agriculture budget from next year

India s first university only for Dalit students to come up in Hyderabad by 2018.

The Telangana government has issued an ordinance to curb the social evils caused by online rummy card games.

The Bonalu festival, reflecting Telangana s rich culture and traditions, was celebrated with gaiety in Hyderabad

with thousands of devotees participating in the festivities.

In a first of its kind, Telangana State will have eco-friendly bridges over a canal cutting across the tiger corridor

linking the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra with the forests in

Telangana s Kumram Bheem Asifabad district.





Tripura

Tripura has become the first state in the country to set up family welfare district committees to deal with the issue

of fake and biased complaints by women against their husbands, in-laws and husband s relatives, as per an apex

court directive.

Uttarakhand

The World Book Fair 2017 held in the capital city of Uttarakhand from August 28, with the state government

offering discounts on books based on the lives of national figures.

A solar power plant commissioned by a French firm with an outlay of 4 million euros was inaugurated by French

Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler in Maheshwari village in Haridwar district of Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand becomes 20th state to ban begging.

The then President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the annexe of the presidential retreat Ashiana which has

accommodation facilities for accompanying officers and staff of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Uttarakhand Government and a charitable funding agency, Swan Cultural Center and Foundation launched

Solar Briefcase in Kedarnath Dham. The initiative was taken to provide electricity to far flung areas in the hill state.

Uttar Pradesh

UP govt launches free power connection scheme for BPL families

Lucknow Metro to be India s 1st with own FM radio station

The state has initiated a cleanliness drive Swachata Ka Shankhnad in the state.

Namami Gange Jagriti Yatra campaign launched by UP government to focus on cleanliness along the banks of

Ganga river and maintain hygiene.

The country s first aviation university at Fursatganj in Uttar Pradesh s Rae Bareli district inaugurated on August 18.

Air Vice Marshal (retired) Nalin Tandon has been appointed as the vice-chancellor.

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet has decided to end the process of holding interview for selection of candidates for the

government jobs in all the non-gazetted posts of Group B, C and D categories.

In order to protect the rich aquatic biodiversity of river Ganga from escalating anthropogenic pressures,

development of a Turtle sanctuary in Allahabad, UP along with a River Biodiversity Park at Sangam (confluence of

Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Sarasvati) have been approved under Namami Gange programme.

A grand temple worth Rs. 30 crore is going to be built in honour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Meerut district

of Uttar Pradesh.

UP government approved the Mukhyamantri Samoohik Vivaah Yojana , a mass marriage scheme, wherein Rs

35,000 will be spent on each couple, besides gifting them mobile phones and household items.

Launched Sankalp Seva bus service of 50 buses to connect as many as 6,000 villages.

The Mughalsarai railway station of Uttar Pradesh has been renamed to Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay railway

station.

West Bengal

An eight feet bronze statue of Indian freedom struggle leader Subhas Chandra Bose was unveiled at the naval base

INS Netaji Subhas in Kolkata, named after the iconic leader.

India s first State of art virology laboratory inaugurated at Dr. Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute for

Homoeopathy in Kolkata.





The West Bengal Transport department has introduced Yatrik mobile phone app to help in the easy booking of

traditional meter taxis in Kolkata.

President Pranab Mukherjee presented the 2.5 croreth Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) connection at

Raghunathgunj, Murshidabad in West Bengal.

Kolkata will host Horasis Asia Meeting, a global business meet in November 2017

The West Bengal cabinet has decided to set up a Scheduled Caste advisory council to look into the development of

the Scheduled Caste population in the state.

Finance and Banking News

Foundation stone laying ceremony for the construction of the permanent headquarters building of the BRICS New

Development Bank (NDB) held in Shanghai, China. The building is expected to become a landmark building along

Huangpu River.

RBI has announced it has added private lender HDFC Bank to its list of domestic systemically important banks (D-

SIBs) considered too big to fail. With HDFC Bank s inclusion, there are now three banks that are described as too big

to fail, including state-run State Bank of India and private lender ICICI Bank.

Reserve Bank of India opens branch in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

The Reserve Bank s Central Board has approved the transfer of surplus to the government of India amounting to Rs

306.59 billion for the year ended June 30, 2017. RBI follows a July to June accounting year.

According to the RBI, Gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio for NBFCs increased to 5% at end-March 2017 from

2.9 per cent at end-March 2012.

RBI on 19th August 2017 called for recapitalization of state-run banks to help them resolve the NPAs issue in a

time-bond manner as bad loans at 9.6% of the system is not acceptable.

According to a government of India notification, all the peer-to-peer lending (P2P) platforms will be treated as non-

banking financial companies (NBFCs) and will be brought under the ambit of the banking regulator.

IT major Infosys announced partnership with software services provider ToneTag to offer sound-based payment

solution to bank customers using its financial product Finacle. The solution will be available on all mobile devices,

including feature phones connected through Finacle mobile banking and Finacle digital wallet.

RBI will shortly issue new banknotes of Rs 50 denomination in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series. The base colour

of the new notes will be fluorescent blue and its dimension will be 66 mm x 135 mm. It will have a motif of Hampi

with Chariot on the reverse, depicting the country s cultural heritage along with the Swachh Bharat logo, year of

printing, numeral 50 in devnagiri and the language panel.

From the 23,000 crore to be disbursed to the State farmers by the RBI, it released Rs. 1700 crore in July.

RBI hikes foreign investment limit in g-secs by over 4% for Jul-Sep.

RBI has issued directions on Customer Protection – Limiting Liability of Customers in unauthorised Electronic

Banking Transactions . --- The customers report to the banks regarding the loss they suffer through online banking

transactions within three days, then the amount involved will be credited to their accounts within a time period of

10 days.

RBI has amended an order saying that the 12 non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans (which have outstanding

loans amounting to over Rs 5,000 crore as on March 2016.), would be granted priority at the National Company

Law Tribunal.





RBI sets up Supervisory Colleges for six Scheduled Commercial Banks which have sizeable international presence.

Banks are - State Bank of India, ICICI Bank Ltd., Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank Ltd. and Punjab National

Bank.

Cabinet approves revision of guidelines of Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme - investment limit per fiscal year has been

increased to 4 kg for individuals, 4 Kg for Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) and 20 Kg for Trusts

India s fiscal deficit up to June 2017 touched Rs 4.42 lakh crore or 80.8 per cent of the Budget estimates for 2017-

18.

Fake currency notes and cross-border fund transfers in the country s economic channels doubled in the last fiscal

year, leading to unearthing of over Rs560 crore black money.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given in-principle approval for Public

Sector Banks to amalgamate through an Alternative Mechanism (AM). The Alternative Mechanism will be decided

by PM Modi.

The government has notified the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act under which it can authorise the RBI to

issue directions to banks to initiate insolvency resolution process to recover bad loans. Under the Banking

Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2017, the RBI can issue directions to banks for resolution of stressed assets.

The government has clarified that banks importing gold and precious metals will have to pay 3 per cent tax under

the GST which can be claimed as input tax credit.

Regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has permitted usage of OTP or one

time password for opening e-insurance account (eIA) as an alternative to electronic signature.

Indian insurance sector regulator IRDAI has given the final nod to online non-life insurer Acko General Insurance

Ltd.

The IRDAI has launched a Central Database (Christened as Envoy ) of all Insurance Sales Persons in the country.

Of the 56 regional rural banks (RRBs), Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank and Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank

recorded net profit of more than Rs 150 crore during 2016-17. These are among the 49 RRBs that recorded a profit

in 2016-17.

State Bank of India (SBI), has waived off closing charges for savings account holders. The closure fee waiver is

applicable for accounts which are at least 1 year old.

SBI is creating a 15,000-sqft innovation centre in Belapur in Navi Mumbai investing around Rs 100 crore.

SBI has launched a new product -- SME Assist -- to provide short-term working capital demand loans to its MSME

clients.

SBI and Carlyle Group will acquire GE Capital s entire stake in SBI Card, the second-largest credit card franchise in

India.

State Bank of India (SBI) has launched its flagship service INTOUCH in Nepal along with its subsidiary, Nepal State

Bank Ltd (NSBL). Also NSBL Digital Village, Jaharsing Pauwa, which would be the first of its kind digital initiative in

Nepal banking industry along with INTOUCH.

The State Bank of India (SBI) announced SBI Intelligent Assistant (SIA) — a chat assistant aimed to address customer

enquiries like a bank representative does. Developed by Payjo, an artificial intelligence (AI) banking platform,

SIA is equipped to handle nearly 10,000 enquiries per second or 864 million in a day — which is nearly 25 per

cent of the queries processed by Google each day.

State Bank of India and FTSE Russell, a global index and data provider have announced the launch of FTSE SBI Bond

Index Series at the London Stock Exchange, providing the global investor community and other market participants

the tools they need to analyse India s bond market.





SBI Card, the second largest credit card selling company after HDFC Bank is all set to offer pre-approved cards to

customers of its parent State Bank of India. It has entered into a tripartite agreement with SBI and India s first

credit bureau TransUnion Cibil

State Bank of India has launched a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative, SBI Gram Seva, which will work in

the areas of health, education, environment and rural infrastructure.

State Bank of India (SBI), has waived off closing charges for savings account holders. The closure fee waiver is

applicable for accounts which are at least 1 year old.

SBI is creating a 15,000-sqft innovation centre in Belapur in Navi Mumbai investing around Rs 100 crore.

SBI has launched a new product -- SME Assist -- to provide short-term working capital demand loans to its MSME

clients.

According to the Finance Ministry Data, the country s largest lender, SBI, accounts for over 27 per cent of the total

amount owed to public sector banks by wilful defaulters - tops share of wilful default to PSBs.

Corporation Bank has bagged the best performance awards for SHG-bank linkage programme for Karnataka for

2015-16 and 2016-17 from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard).

Spice Digital Limited (SDL) has received the final licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), allowing the company

to process bill payments as a Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU) in the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).

Public sector lender IDBI Bank has initiated a turnaround plan – Project Nishchay in consultation with The Boston

Consulting Group (BCG). The project aims to accelerate the struggling lender s turnaround programme and improve

financial performance.

Vijaya Bank has launched 100 Digital Villages initiative in an effort to bring residents of these villages under the

formal banking system.

India s largest private sector lender by consolidated assets, ICICI Bank has announced a new home loan scheme

that offers borrowers the benefit of 1% cashback on every EMI, for the entire tenure of the loan. The offer will be

valid for home loans with a minimum tenure of 15 years and maximum tenure of 30 years.

ICICI Bank has announced the launch of Instant Credit Card Service, which will enable its savings account customers

to get a credit card instantly, in a completely digital and paperless manner. This is the first-of-its-kind offering in the

Indian banking industry.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank said that it will bring down its cost of funds by up to 150 basis points during the current

financial year by replacing 75% of its bank loans with borrowings using money market instruments including

certificate of deposits.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd, has been given

scheduled bank status by RBI.

Airtel Payments Bank has become the first payments bank in India to integrate the Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

on its digital platform.

In a bid to help develop the fintech ecosystem in India, Fino Payments Bank has launched its mobile banking app

called BPay.

Fincare Small Finance Bank (previously known as Disha Microfin Limited) on Sep 1 2017 has kick-started its banking

operations. Fincare CEO - Rajeev Yadav. It has its Registered Office at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and Corporate Office at

Bangalore, Karnataka.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based chatbot Eva — built for HDFC Bank by Bengaluru-based Senseforth AI Research —

has successfully addressed over 2.7 million customer queries in six months to become the country s largest banking

chatbot.





Singapore s biggest lender DBS Group Holdings has won the Reserve Bank of India s approval to provide banking

services in the country through a wholly-owned subsidiary.

International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has invested $10 million as equity in

e-commerce firm Power2SME that helps small and medium companies buy raw materials at bulk prices and get

working capital without collateral.

Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited (BFIL), formerly SKS Microfinance, has signed an exclusivity agreement for a

potential merger with IndusInd Bank.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 10 million on Union Bank of India for non-

compliance with the directions issued by the apex bank on Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.

Microfinance institution Svatantra Microfin, has launched an end-to-end cashless solution called Saathi.

Punjab National Bank blocked all Maestro debit cards from July 31. Replaced by more secure EMV chip based card .

Public sector Indian Overseas Bank has offered Bharat Bill Payment System, introduced by the National Payments

Corporation of India, for its customers. Indian Overseas Bank is one of the three public sector banks (apart from

Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India) to get the approval from RBI for providing the service.

Canara Bank forays into paperless banking; launches first digital branch in Bengaluru title CANDI

Karnataka Bank launched the KBL-Image Debit Card to enable its cardholders to personalise the card with the

image of his/her choice.

Karnataka Bank launches Met Loan & Life Suraksha in partnership with M/s PNB MetLife

FINO becomes payments bank. Headquarters - Mumbai

National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE) will merge with Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) creating the

country s third biggest commodity exchange.

ICICI Bank terminates joint venture agreement with Fairfax

ICICI Bank offers up to Rs 15 lakh instant personal loan via ATMs

YES Bank, India s fourth largest private sector bank, along with YES Global Institute has launched YES GST program

for MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises)

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has started full-fledged merchant banking operations to benefit

the expanding number of growth-oriented micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)

India gets good ranks on FSB s (Financial Stability Board) reform report card to G20. The report submitted by FSB

listed India as a compliant jurisdiction with regard to the Basel III reforms in area of risk-based capital and

as largely compliant on liquidity coverage ratio.

NBFCs with asset size of Rs 500 crore and above that have made a net profit in the preceding financial year be

permitted to sell NPS to their clients after registration with the pension regulator.

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched a programme for Certified Credit Counsellors

(CCC) for micro, small and medium entreprises (MSMEs).

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has developed awareness videos for customers who download their

BHIM application for UPI based fund transfer.

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has received final approval from the Reserve Bank to function as the

Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit (BBPCU) and operate Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).

Inflation to rise noticeably to 4.4% in second half of 2017: Nomura report

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has directed ICICI Prudential Life Insurance to take over the

life insurance business portfolio of Sahara India Life Insurance from 31st July 2017.





RBI releases guidelines for P2P lenders; caps loans exposure at Rs 10 lakh per borrower

As per the guidelines released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Peer to peer (P2P) lenders can cumulatively lend a

maximum of Rs 10 lakh and individually have an exposure to a borrower of not more than Rs 50,000.

The P2P lenders would be allowed to lend only unsecured loans i.e. will not be allowed to take collateral against the

loans they lend.

P2P lending is a crowd-funding model (largely online) where people looking to invest their money with people who

want to borrow can do so.

Prudential Norms

(1) NBFC-P2P shall maintain a Leverage Ratio not exceeding 2.

(2) The aggregate exposure of a lender to all borrowers at any point of time, across all P2Ps, shall be subject to a cap of

Rs 10,00,000/-.

(3) The aggregate loans taken by a borrower at any point of time, across all P2Ps, shall be subject to a cap of Rs

10,00,000.

(4) The exposure of a single lender to the same borrower, across all P2Ps, shall not exceed Rs 50,000.

(5) The maturity of the loans shall not exceed 36 months.

(6) P2Ps shall obtain a certificate from the borrower or lender, as applicable, that the limits prescribed above are being

adhered to.

Business News

The government has banned exports of gold jewellery, medallions and other articles with purity above 22 carats in

a bid to check round tripping of the precious metal.

World Bank President Jim Kim has said India has been growing pretty robustly. Speaking at the Bloomberg Global

Business Forum meeting in New York, Kim said Japan, Europe and the US along with India were growing and there

was a levelling-out in developing countries.

In accord with Prime Minister Narendra Modi s mission of Banking for Everyone and Financial Inclusion , Aksh

Optifibre plans to setup 5,000 banking kiosks through its flagship services arm 1 STOP AKSH as the national level

bank correspondent for Bank of Baroda.

To enable small businesses and start-ups to file their Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns smoothly, Airtel

Business has launched Airtel GST Advantage.

Thyssenkrupp AG and Tata Steel Ltd. reached a tentative deal to merge their European steel businesses in a bid to

create the region s second-largest producer and tackle overcapacity in the industry.

E-commerce major Flipkart has acquired mobiles and IT products repair services company, F1 Info Solutions for an

undisclosed amount.

State-owned IDBI Bank has sold 9 per cent stake in Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) for an

undisclosed amount in a bid to mobilise funds by exiting non-core business. Earlier in September, the bank sold 1%

stake in Sidbi.

E-commerce major Amazon India has launched a new marketplace Amazon Business to cater to the requirements

of the small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the country.

Country s top mobile operator Bharti Airtel has partnered with Symantec to provide cyber defense to enterprises.

HCL Technologies has completed the acquisition of Urban Fulfilment Services, LLC.





HDFC Ergo General Insurance has completed the merger with L&T General Insurance, marking the first

amalgamation in the country's non-life insurance sector.

E-commerce major Flipkart has acquired global technology major eBay.

Infosys to acquire Brilliant Basics, a London-based product design and customer experience (CX) innovator.

Google has announced to acquire part of the Taiwan-based HTC Corporation s mobile division team for $1.1 billion.

Google has acquired Bitium, a company that provides enterprise customers with identity and access management

solutions, including single sign-on (SS) and provisioning for Cloud applications.

HCL Technologies has announced the acquisition of automation-driven data management platform Datawave.

Datawave is a leading provider of data migration and integration solutions, focused on automation and digital

transformation around Informatica and other similar enterprise data management stacks.

Messaging and social media technology company Hike Messenger has acquired Bengaluru-based tech startup Creo.

Headquartered in San Jose, Northern California, PayPal, one of the world s largest Internet payment companies

would acquire Swift Financial, an online lender for small businesses in the US.

Microsoft has announced the acquisition of Cycle Computing, which will help make it easier for Azure customers to

use High Performance Computing (HPC).

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Google India have launched Android Skill Development

programme to impart mobile development training on the Android and web platform and improve the quality of

mobile app development ecosystem in India.

BSEs India INX (India International Exchange) has received an approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of

India to commence trading in gold options contracts from August 30. It will be the first one in India to commence

trading.

Airport Authority of India (AAI)-Ola partnership to facilitate smart mobility service across airports

Walmart and Google have announced a new partnership that will enable voice shopping through Google Assistant,

Google s virtual assistant that lives on devices like its smart speaker, Google Home.

Reliance Jio launches Asia-Africa-Europe (AAE-1), world s longest 100Gbps submarine cable system

Reliance Industries market capitalisation hits Rs 5 lakh cr mark; second firm after TCS to reach milestone

Axis Bank acquires FreeCharge for Rs 385 cr

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) wins government nod for Rs 7,738 crore Gujarat State Petroleum

Corp s stake buy.

In a fresh impetus to its artificial intelligence dreams, Google has acquired Bengaluru-based start-up Halli Labs.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has bought an additional 7% stake totaling to

10% in Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) for Rs900 crore from troubled public sector lender IDBI

Bank Ltd.

Bharti Airtel acquires Tatas telecom business on cash-free basis - Consumer Mobile Businesses (CMB) of Tata

Teleservices Limited (TTSL) and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Limited (TTML).

Bharti Airtel has received Ghana s National Communications Authority s approval for the merger between Bharti

Ghana (Airtel) and Millicom Ghana (Tigo)

Axis Bank has acquired payments wallet Freecharge for Rs. 373 crore. Sangram Singh has been appointed as the

CEO of Freecharge Payment Technologies Private Ltd.

The Board of Directors of IndusInd Bank Ltd and Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd have approved the merger of two

companies through a composite scheme of arrangement.





Economy News To protect online consumers, the government has made it mandatory for e-commerce companies from January

2018 to print not only the MRP on goods but also information like expiry date and customer care details.

The Union Government has saved around Rs 57,000 crore in 2016-17 through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme

under which subsidies are given directly to beneficiaries.

Gujarat continues to have the highest potential to attract investment for the second year in a row, a survey by

economic policy think tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) revealed.

I-T Department unearths income of Rs 5,400 cr post-note ban

The Income Tax department has detected undisclosed income of around Rs.71,941 crore over the last three years

from April 1, 2014 to February 28, 2017

India likely to clock 6.9% GDP growth this fiscal: BMI Research

Aadhaar-PAN linking can be done till August 31.

Income Tax returns filing deadline is also extended to August 5 from July 31.

The government has ordered state-run oil companies to raise subsidised cooking gas (LPG) prices by Rs 4 per

cylinder every month to eliminate all the subsidies by March next year.

Government approved an MoU signed by India and other BRICS nations for setting up of an agriculture research

platform.

Centre has set up a new exchange-traded fund Bharat-22 to sell government stakes in 22 firms under its asset sale

programme. It will feature four banking stocks — SBI, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda and Indian Bank — other than

CPSEs such as Nalco, ONGC, IOC, BPCL and Coal India. ICICI Prudential is the fund manager.

The Government of India has launched a new sub-scheme named Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY) as part

of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).

The government has raised the creamy layer ceiling by Rs 2 lakh and announced setting up of a commission to work

out sub-categorisation within Other Backward Classes (OBCs) for a "more equitable distribution of reservation

benefits". OBC families earning up to Rs 8 lakh per annum will not be considered in the creamy layer. Earlier, this

ceiling was Rs 6 lakh per annum.

The government has clarified that selling of space for advertisements in print media would attract 5 and 18 per cent

Goods and Services Tax (GST), depending on the terms of the contract between the newspaper, advertisement

agency and the client.

The Union Cabinet has approved promulgation of an ordinance to suitably amend the Goods and Services Tax

(Compensation to States) Act, 2017. The approval will allow increasing the maximum rate at which the

Compensation Cess can be levied from 15% to 25%. The Cabinet approved raising a levy on luxury cars and sports

utility vehicles to 25 per cent from 15 per cent.

The Union Cabinet has extended the criteria for deciding the creamy layer under the Other Backward Classes (OBC)

category to Public Sector Undertakings and financial institutions. Earlier it was not implemented in PSUs and

financial institutions like banks and insurance companies. Now the same limit of Rs 8 lakh, which is applicable on

central government, will also be applicable on PSUs and financial institution

Indian economy s growth slows down in first quarter of the current fiscal 2017-18 ended June at 5.7%, as compared

to 7.9 per cent in the same period a year ago.

The Rajya Sabha has passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which will enable the government to

empower the RBI to direct lender banks to act against big loan defaulters. The bill, which amends the Banking

Regulation Act, 1949, will replace the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017.





The three-decade old National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has been merged with another central police

organisation — the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) by the government with an aim to improve

efficiency of development works related to policing.

Base year to measure WPI revised from 2004-05 to 2011-12

For the first time ever, forex exchange reserves crossed the $400-billion mark as on September 8 to reach $400.727

billion, data from the Reserve Bank of India show. The central bank took almost a decade to shore up its forex kitty

by $100 billion to cross $400 billion from $300 billion.

India has registered a significant decline in Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). According to the just released SRS bulletin,

IMR of India has declined by three points (8% decline), from 37 per 1000 live births in 2015 to 34 per 1000 live

births in 2016, compared to two points decline last year.

According to a new series of gross State domestic product data with 2011-12 as the base year published by the

Central Statistics Office, Arunachal Pradesh was the fastest expanding State economies in 2015-16 followed by

Jammu and Kashmir. Maharashtra topped the list.

The government has notified the electronic way (e-way) bill, exempting certain items of mass consumption,

including fruits, vegetables, food grains, meat, bread, curd, books, and jewellery.

Distinguished scientist and Director General of BrahMos missile system division of the DRDO, Dr Sudhir Mishra, said

that the country would require various military equipment worth $150 billion in the next 10 years.

The Reserve Bank of India has removed masala bonds, or rupee-denominated debt securities sold abroad, from the

corporate bond investment limit that remains almost full amid strong overseas investor interest.

State Bank of India (SBI) is India s most trusted and most popular bank according to a survey conducted by Brand

Finance, a business valuation and strategic consultancy headquartered in London.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said, India s current account deficit (CAD) rose sharply to $14.3 billion in the

first quarter (April-June) of 2017-18 from $0.4 billion reported for the like period of 2016-17.

Crisil Ratings said the 9.5 per cent NPA figure for March 2017 recognized by banks includes only two-thirds of the

overall stressed assets or non-performing assets, and estimated the bad loan ratio to rise by 1 percentage point to

10.5 per cent by March 2018.

According to Dun and Bradstreet report titled India s Top Banks 2017 , the credit growth of all scheduled

commercial banks slowed down from 10.9 per cent in 2015-16 to 8.1 per cent in 2016-17.

According to Japanese financial services major Nomura, India s current account deficit is expected to widen to 1.5

per cent of GDP in 2017

Project Insight , likely to be launched in October 2017, will use big data analytics to match information from social

media sites to deduce mismatches between spending pattern and income declaration. So next time a photo of your

shiny new luxury car on Instagram or a costly watch on Facebook may lead the taxman to your door as the tax

department from next month will begin amassing virtual information to trace black money.

India s first bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai is likely to be completed by 2022, the year marking 75

years of India s Independence.

According to Fitch Ratings, Indian Banks will require about USD 65 billion in additional capital, to meet the new

Basel-III capital standards by March 2019 (financial year 2018-19) and push loan growth.

The Reserve Bank of India, RBI will introduce 100 rupees coin to mark the birth centenary of AIADMK founder Late

Dr M G Ramachandran. It will also issue 5 rupees coin to mark the birth centenary of Dr M G Ramachandran.





The Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu released a Commemorative Coin on Bharat Ratna Dr. M.S.

Subbulakshmi and inaugurated an exhibition entitled Kurai Onrum Illai-MS: Life in Music on the occasion of Birth

Centenary Commemoration of Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi. Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (also known as

M.S.) was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the

Bharat Ratna, India s highest civilian honour. She is the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay

award, often considered Asia s Nobel Prize.

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has upped the age limit for joining the National

Pension Scheme (NPS) to 65 years from the current 60. NPS is currently open for people between 18 and 60, and

the Board has approved raising the age limit for joining to 65. The scheme anyway has the option of continuing and

making contributions up to the age of 70.

According to revised estimates published by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), global merchandise trade is

expected to grow at a higher 3.6 per cent in 2017, compared with 1.6 per cent increase last year. The WTO had

earlier projected the world trade to grow at 2.4 per cent in 2017.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) registered National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL) as an

Information Utility (IU) under the IBBI (Information Utilities) Regulations, 2017. With this NeSL has become the first

IU registered by the IBBI and the registration is valid for five years from the date of registration.

Govt keeps interest rate unchanged on small savings schemes for Q3. Public provident fund (PPF) scheme – 7.8 per

cent. Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) – 7.5 per cent and mature in 115 months. Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme – 8.3

per cent. 5-year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme – 8.3 per cent

According to The Economic survey, extreme weather events are costing India $9-10 billion annually and climate

change is projected to impact agricultural productivity with increasing severity from 2020 to the end of the century.

With 1,19,100 deaths, India is among the five nations -- Indonesia, the DR Congo, China and Pakistan -- that

accounted for 73 per cent of rheumatic heart disease deaths globally in 2015, a study has showed.

Looking to preserve India's rich food heritage, regulator FSSAI along with Yes Bank is creating an archive of recipes

and plans to take other initiatives such as setting up hubs and organising food festivals. Also, a dedicated online

portal 'FOODCAST' will be designed to disseminate these recipes and also guide people on which food to eat and

when.

Asia Index Private Ltd has announced the launch of S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index. It has been launched to track the

performance of state-run companies in which the central government has divested its stake. S&P BSE Bharat 22 has

been licensed to ICICI Prudential AMC for development of an exchange traded fund (ETF) based on the index.

Gobindobhog rice,a speciality from Burdwan district of West Bengal, has got the geographical indication (GI) status.

As a result of getting the GI tag, as the certification is also called, rice from other regions or rice of other varieties

cannot be branded as Gobindobhog .

India s external debt amounted to $485.8 billion during the quarter ended June 17, up 1.3 per cent over the same

period a year ago.

RBI has increased foreign portfolio investors limit on investment in government bonds by an aggregate Rs 14,200

crore for the October-December period in line with the formula related to total outstanding government

borrowings.

According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the Indian Index of Industrial Production

(IIP) for August released showed that factory output grew 4.3 per cent against the same month last year on the

back of robust mining and electricity sector growth.

With the emergence of digital economy, the global Internet of Things (IoT) market spend will grow from $625.2

billion in 2015 to $1.29 trillion in 2020 — with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.6 per cent.





India is likely to be the world s fastest-growing large economy in the next 10 years, driven by digitisation,

favourable demographics, globalisation and reforms, predicts a Morgan Stanley report.

Fitch Ratings has lowered India s economic growth forecast for the current fiscal to 6.9 per cent from 7.4 per cent

According to market research firm Gartner, Global IT spending in India is projected to hit $3.7 trillion in 2018 — a

4.3 per cent increase from 2017.

According to Coffee Board, coffee output in India, is pegged to be a record 3.50 lakh tonnes in the 2017-18

marketing year started this month on higher acreage.

The GST council meet chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley mentioned that permanent account number (PAN)

or Aadhaar would not be mandatory if jewellery is purchased above Rs 50,000.

The Finance Ministry has made Aadhaar mandatory for small saving schemes including post office deposits and

Public Provident Fund.

Govt. approved Rs 2,000 crore specifically for setting up Aadhaar centres in post offices, a move that will see

private contractors phased out from the data collection process.

The provisional figures of Direct Tax collections up to September, 2017 reported a 15.8 percent increase (Rs. 3.86

lakh crore) compared to the net collections for the corresponding period of last year.

Digital payments to grow at 26 % CAGR during 2016-2020: World Payment Report

Science & Technology

The first phase of National Cyber Coordination Centre, set up to scan the country s web traffic to detect cyber

security threats, has been made operational now

In a first, US scientists have developed a plant-based Zika vaccine that could be more potent, safer and cheaper to

produce than other medicines being developed for the disease. The vaccine, developed using tobacco plant, targets

a key protein — called DIII — which envelopes the outside of the Zika virus and plays a key role for the virus to

infect people.

A group of Indian scientists has recently discovered a new frog species named Nasikabatrachus bhupathi, which has

a face of a pig. The frog has been named after the Indian herpetologist S. Bhupathy, who died in 2014.

A team of Indian researchers has discovered two new primitive species of earthworm in the Western Ghats

mountain ranges in Kerala. The two new species are named Drawida polydiverticulata and Drawida thomasi.

BitBay, one of the top ten cryptocurrency trading platforms in the world, has launched a dedicated platform for

trade and exchange of digital currencies such as bitcoin, litecoin, ether, Lisk, monero, dash and game credits. BitBay

claims to be the only exchange in India that provides trade and exchange of multiple cryptocurrencies, high level

security standards, including a cold wallets policy and two-factor authentication solutions.

International Astronomical Union (IAU) named an asteroid after a young Indian scientist Dr. Guneshwar Thangjam.

The asteroid, which orbits the sun is called Thangjam Asteroid or 11806 Thangjam .

Scientists at the University of Toronto in Canada developed a new injectable tissue bandage that can repair

damaged heart without surgery

British scientists have developed the world s smallest surgical robot which could transform daily operations for tens

of thousands of patients. The robot is called Versius.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has planned to launch a full-fledged niche Earth observation (EO)

satellite — called the Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite or HySIS — using a critical chip it has developed.





ISRO and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA)) to develop high speed data link for

meteorological data exchange

SpaceX has successfully launched Hewlett Packard Enterprise s (HPE) Spaceborne Computer towards the

International Space Station (ISS) using Falcon 9 rocket.

NASA has launched the latest in a series of satellites aimed at ensuring astronauts at the International Space

Station can communicate with Earth.

The NASA has successfully launched Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-M (TDRS-M) into orbit.

India s rendezvous with the red planet continues as its celebrated Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) completes three

years in orbit. The country had on 24 September 2014 successfully placed the Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft in

the orbit around the red planet, in its very first attempt, thus breaking into an elite club.

Europe unveiled world s most powerful X-ray laser near Hamburg where scientists will attempt to recreate the

conditions deep inside the sun and produce film-like sequences of viruses and cells. Machine is called the European

X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL).

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, the world s most experienced spacewoman, has returned to Earth after clocking

cumulative 665 days in space. The 57-year-old landed after completing 288 days and 4,623 orbits around Earth

during her third ISS mission.

According to an international team of astronomers used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the Earth-sized

planets orbiting the ultracool TRAPPIST-1 dwarf star 40 light-years away may have substantial amounts of water

and could be habitable.

Researchers at Cardiff University, UK have created methanol from methane using oxygen from the air, in an

outstanding breakthrough.

Gurugram-based VVDN, in partnership with Ireland s Embedded Downloads, unveiled blockchain technology-based

smartphone BitVault for ₹ 75,000 a unit.

After orbitting the Red Planet for 16 years, NASA s Mars Odyssey spacecraft has captured its first images of the

Martian moon Phobos.

Japan launched a fourth Michibiki satellite for a new high-precision global positioning system (GPS) it hopes will

encourage new businesses and help spur economic growth.

Astronomers have discovered that a Sun-like star - Dubbed Kronos - lurking around 350 light-years away consumed

the rocky equivalent of 15 Earths.

Scientists from Brown University in the US have created the first map of water trapped in the uppermost layer of

the Moon s soil using data from an instrument aboard India s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. As per a study says that

this may prove useful to future lunar explorers.

In a bid to boost the health sector, scientists at The University of Manchester have created the world s first

molecular robot which can be used to build molecules and also help discover novel drugs.

Scientists have discovered a very distant galaxy, some 10 thousand million light years away, which is about 1,000

times brighter than the Milky Way.

A group of Indian astronomers have discovered a massive supercluster of galaxies, and have named it Saraswati.

A US-Russia research collaboration at Harvard has created the world s most advanced quantum computer





Apps Launches/Portal/Helpline

APP/Portal Features/Use

e-RaKAM (Rashtriya Kisan Agri

Mandi)

an e-platform to trade agriculture commodities to ensure better returns to

farmers and access to larger markets to buyers.

AGRI UDAAN programme Launched by Hyderabad-based ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural

Research Management (NAARM).

Selected startups will be trained to develop innovative agriculture products.

Bespoke mobile wallet (mobile

payment App)

State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has launched it.

Has been developed and issued by MobiKwik on behalf of BSNL.

1. MyFASTag (Launched by National

and Highways Authority

2. FASTag Partner of India)

1. Consumer App. A consumer can purchase or recharge FASTags on this App

2. Merchant App. Common Services Centre, banking partners and vehicle

dealers can sell and enroll FASTag through this App

Hire Google has launched Hire , a recruiting app for small- and medium-sized

businesses.

MERIT app (Merit Order Despatch of

Electricity for Rejuvenation of Income

and Transparency) and the e-bidding

portal

The app and the portal would help the states to select Independent Power

Producers (IPPs) for procurement of power by transferring their domestic

coal.

launched by Power Ministry.

GST Rates Finder to enhance the ease of doing business post the rollout of the GST

launched by Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC)

Rail SAARTHI to cater to various passenger requirements, including ticket booking, inquiry,

on-board cleaning and ordering meal on a single platform.

mAadhaar for syncing Aadhaar data on the mobile phone, has been launched by UIDAI

(Unique Identification Authority of India).

Aarambh Mobile App for Road Maintenance

Sagar Vani An Integrated Information Dissemination System. launched by Minister of

Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests & Climate

Change Dr. Harshvardhan

India Quake An App for Earthquake Parameter Dissemination. launched by Minister of

Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests & Climate

Change Dr. Harshvardhan

Kaizala Microsoft Kaizala is a Made for India product and brings together the two

disparate worlds of mobile-only messaging apps and a digitally integrated

modern workplace

Defence News

India has successfully test-fired an indigenously developed short-range and Quick Reaction Surface to Air missile

(QRSAM) from Chandipur along the Odisha coast.

Muntra, country s first unmanned tank, rolls out from the Chennai lab.

The US Navy inducted the world s largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford, which is worth over Rs83,000 crore

($12.9 billion) and weighs 1 lakh tonnes.





Two naval offshore patrol vessels (NOPVs) named Shachi and Shruti delievered to Navy by Reliance Defence and

Engineering Ltd (RDEL).

The U.S. Navy has tested the world s first-ever active laser weapons system, which is now deployed and ready for

war.

Pakistan successfully test fires short-range ballistic missile, Nasr

Warships, submarines, aircraft and personnel from India, Japan and the US will participate in the Malabar 2017

exercise in the Bay of Bengal from July 7-17.

Doppler Weather Radar built by Indian Meteorological Department at Kochi.

A student of Chennai s SRM University, Dacharla Panduranga Rohith developed a Nano Missile on 21 August 2017

recognised by World Records of India.

A six-member all-woman team of the Indian Navy will set sail to circumnavigate the globe on the sailing vessel INSV

Tarini. This is the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-woman crew. The expedition has been

titled Navika Sagar Parikrama .

India s first private sector missile sub-systems manufacturing facility, a joint venture between the $2.5 billion

Kalyani Group and Israel s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd., was inaugurated near Hyderabad.

The Indian Coast Guard Ship Varuna, which was part of the First Training Squadron of the Navy, was

decommissioned with full armed forces honours at a ceremony held at the south jetty of the Southern Naval

Command.

The exercise Yudh Abhyas – 2017 between India and USA, will be held from September 14-27 at Joint Base Lewis-

McChord in the US.

An Indian-built Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) has been commissioned by the Sri Lankan navy at a

ceremony in Colombo harbour. Constructed by the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) in India, it is the first-ever brand

new AOPV purchased from a foreign ship builder for Sri Lanka.

Indian Navy s second LCU (landing craft utility) Mark IV L52 ship was commissioned at Port Blair, capital of

Andaman and Nicobar Islands. LCU L52 is the second LCU Mk-IV class ship to be inducted into the Indian Navy.

Proposal passed to buy six Apache AH64E attack helicopters for the army from the United States. They are

expected to cost around Rs 4,168 crore.

The joint military exercise – Surya Kiran between India and Nepal held in in Rupandehi district, Nepal.

Indian Navy and Sri Lankan Navy on 7 September 2017 began the 2017 Sri Lanka-India Exercise (SLINEX) at

Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

The Indian Coast Guard has handed over offshore patrol vessel ICGS Varuna to the Sri Lankan Coast Guard. India

has earlier handed over two offshore patrol vessels of the Indian Coast Guard — Varaha in April 2006 and Vigraha

in August 2008. ICGS Varuna, named after sea god Varuna, was commissioned in the Indian Coast Guard in

February 1988.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) twice successfully flight tested Indias indigenously

developed third generation Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) Nag in Rajasthan.

Swedish defence giant Saab and Indian conglomerate Adani group have announced a collaboration in defence

manufacturing entailing billions of dollars of investment, mainly eyeing a contract for single-engine fighter jets for

the Indian Air Force.

An indigenous artillery gun, Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), being jointly developed by the Defence

Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the private sector, during trial firings at Pokhran ranges has

set a new world record in range by hitting targets at a distance of 48 km.

Astra, the beyond visual range air-to-air missile, is all set for production and later induction into the armed forces.

A multi agency exercise was conducted on the banks of Hussain Sagar Lake as the final event of Pralay Sahayam in

Hyderabad.





A new interceptor boat V-409 built by Bharati Defence and infrastructure limited was launched at Mangalore. The

objective of the boat is to provide coastal security.

The Indian Coast Guard has commissioned two high-speed interceptor boats –C-433 and C-434 (built by L&T

Shipbuilding) — fitted with a 12.7 mm machine gun at the Dighi Port in Mumbai, in a move that will boost security

along the Maharashtra coastline.

For the first time in 22 years, India s first ingenuously built INS Kalavari submarine has been handed over to the

Indian Navy.

INS Tarasa, a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft intended for extended coastal and offshore surveillance and patrolling, has

been commissioned into the Indian Navy.

China has announced commissioning its first radar-evading J-20 stealth fighter jets into military service, giving its air

force an edge in the region. The Chengdu J-20 is China s fourth-generation medium and long-range fighter jet

On the occasion of its 85th anniversary, the Indian Air Force has launched an innovative mobile health App named

`MedWatch in keeping with the Prime Minister s vision of Digital India .

Indian Naval Ships Satpura and Kadmatt will participate in Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Japanese Marine Self

Defence Force.

Sports News

Tournament Winner Other Info

United States Open Grand Prix HS Prannoy Beat Parupalli Kashyap

Asian Team Snooker Championship Team: Pankaj Advani and

Laxman Rawat

South Australian Open squash title Harinder Pal Sandhu

Ivory Coast International Badminton

Tournament women s singles

Ritika Thaker Beat Simran Singhi

Ivory Coast International Badminton

Tournament women s doubles

Ritika Thaker and Simran Singhi

National Masters snooker tournament (held in

Chennai)

Manudev Beat Alok Kumar

Victorian Open squash tournament Harinder Pal Sandhu Beat Rex Hedrick of Australia

74th National Squash Championships – men s

singles

Saurav Ghoshal

74th National Squash Championships – women s

singles

Joshna Chinappa

Asian Shotgun Championship Ankur Mittal Championship held at Astana,

Kazakhstan

Lagos International challenge – men s singles C Rahul Yadav

Lagos International challenge – men s doubles Manu Attri and B Sumeeth

Reddy

WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title Vijender Singh Beated Chinese opponent

Zulpikar Maimaitiali

Bulgaria Open International Series title

(badminton) – men s singles

Lakshya Sen





Bulgarian International Future Series

tournament (badminton) – men s singles

Shuttler RMV Gurusaidutt

World Open Under-16 Snooker Championship

title

Anupama Ramachandran Held in Russia

U-15 Asian Junior Championship Shuttler Samiya Imad Farooqui Held in Myanmar

European Racing Championship Mahaveer Raghunathan He became first Indian to win

the race

Gold at Wushu World Championships Pooja Kadian India s first ever gold medal at

the chanpionship

South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-15

Championship

India Beat Nepal

MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Oil and Natural Gas Corporation

(ONGC)

Beat Bengaluru Hockey

National Blitz Chess Championship R.R. Laxman Championship held at Kolkata

74th National Squash Championships – men s

singles

Saurav Ghoshal

Korea Open (Badminton) PV Sindhu She defeated World

Championships gold winner,

Japan s Nozomi Okuhara

2nd South Asian Basketball, SABA, Under – 16

Championship

India Bangladesh finished second

and host Nepal third.

National kickboxing championship Maharashtra Held in Raipur, Chhattisgarh

Men s singles in the tennis event of Asian Indoor

and Martial Arts Games

Sumit Nagal Asian Indoor and Martial Arts

Games held in Ashgabat,

Turkmenistan

Malaysian Squash Tour X event Harinder Pal Sandhu

8th MCC – S R Subramaniam Memorial ITF

Futures Men s tennis championship

Sumit Nagal

57th National Open Athletics Championships

(Men s 500-meter race)

Govindan Lakshmanan

Commonwealth Youth weightlifting

Championship

Konsam Ormila Devi She bagged a gold medal in

44kg weight category. C ship

held at Gold Coast, Australia

World Cadet Chess Championship in the under-

12 category

Divya Deshmukh

Cadet World Wrestling Championship Sonam Malik She won a gold medal by

defeating Japanese Wrestler

Sena Nagamoto

Belgian Junior Open (Badminton) Vaishnavi Reddy

Calcutta Football League (CFL) title East Bengal

UEFA Female Player of the Year award Lieke Martens

#UEL Player of the Season Paul Pogba of france

FIA Formula 3 European Championship Jehan Daruvala (Indian)

Formula One Austrian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas Sebastian Vettel

Formula One British Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton Valtteri Bottas





Belgian Grand Prix 2017 Lewis Hamilton Beat Sebastian Vettel

Italian Grand Prix Mercedes Lewis Hamilton Beat Max Verstappen

Singapore Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton Beat Daniel Ricciardo

Japanese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton

Malaysian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen Beat Lewis Hamilton.

Hungarian F1 Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel Kimi Raikkonen

China Open title (tennis) – men s singles Rafael Nadal

China Open (tennis) – women s singles Caroline Garcia From France

Shanghai Masters Roger Federer Beat Rafael Nadal

2017 US Open (tennis) – Women s singles Sloane Stephens (American) With she won her 1st Grand

Slam.

2017 US Open (tennis) – Men s Doubles Henri Kontinen (Finland), John

Peers (Australia)

2017 US Open (tennis) – Women s Doubles Ekaterina Makarova (Russia),

Elena Vesnina (Russia)

2017 US Open (tennis) – Mixed Doubles Martina Hingis (Switzerland) and

Jamie Murray (British)

Rogers Cup– men s singles Germany s Alexander Zverev Swiss Roger Federer

Rogers Cup– women s singles Elina Svitolina Caroline Wozniacki

Spanish Super Cup Real Madrid Beat Barcelona

FIBA Asia Cup 2017 (Basketball Championship) Australia Beat Iran

Wimbledon 2017 Men s singles Roger Federer (Switzerland) Marin Cilic

Wimbledon 2017 Women s singles Garbiñe Muguruza (Spain) Venus Williams

Wimbledon 2017 Men s doubles Łukasz Ku ot Pola d / Mar elo Melo (Brazil)

Wimbledon 2017 Women s doubles Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) /

Elena Vesnina (Russia)

Wimbledon 2017 Mixed doubles Jamie Murray (United Kingdom)

/ Martina Hingis (Switzerland)

Women s World Cup 2017 England India

FIFA Confederation Cup Football title Germany Chile

Laver Cup 2017 – Men s Singles Roger Federer

Laver Cup 2017 – Men s Doubles Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Sports Events

Event Place Extra Info

Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo, Japan

Olympic Games 2024 Paris, France

Olympic Games 2028 Los Angeles, USA

2018 ITTF Team World Cup London International Table Tennis

Federation (ITTF)

Men s World Boxing Championship 2021 India





Women s World Boxing Championship 2018 India

Ranji Trophy 2017 Dehradun, Uttarakhand

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-19

championship in 2018

Indonesia

2022 World Short Course Swimming

Championships

Russia s Kazan

2018 World Short Course Swimming

Championships

China s Hangzhou

2019 edition of the Commonwealth (Youth,

Junior and Senior) Weightlifting Championships

India

Sports

Indian weightlifter Konsam Ormila Devi bagged a gold medal at the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting

Championships in Kathmandu, Nepal.

India remain 4th in women s cricket team rankings

Jeakson Singh Thounaojam created history at Delhi s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium by scoring India s first goal in a

World Cup during India s match against Colombia.

Yuvraj Singh has been appointed as Laureus first Indian ambassador.

Indian pacer Ashish Nehra confirmed his retirement from all forms of cricket on Nov. 1

Netherlands captain Arjen Robben announced retirement from international football.

All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan became the first cricketer from Bangladesh to be inducted in the MCC World Cricket

Committee under the chairmanship of Mike Gatting.

In a bid to create awareness about para-sports and provide a platform to para sportspersons to narrate their stories

of triumph and adversity,thenationspride.com, the country s first portal dedicated to para-sports has been

launched in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

The U-17 World Cup will set a record of sorts as it will see for the first time a female assistant referee in a FIFA

men s competition this time. Seven female assistant referees from across the world, one from each continent, have

been chosen by FIFA.

Switzerland s Esther Staubli became the first female referee to officiate a match at the FIFA U-17 World Cup when

Japan clashed with New Caledonia in the final round group E match in Kolkata on 14th October 2017.

Official ball for Under-17 football World Cup -- Krasava, a word generally used by Russian sports fans to describe a

striking performance and it is the ultimate praise for a team when they play with creativity and flair.

9 top weightlifting countries suspended by the by the International Weightlifting Federation – Russia, China,

Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Turkey, and Ukraine.

Australian fast bowler John Hastings announced his retirement from first-class and one-day cricket

Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has decided to suspend the Pakistan Football Federation.

Sachin Siwach clinched a gold medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games.

India won 5 medals in World Para Athletics Championship. Gold: Sundar Gurjar in men s javelin throw.

Maiden Women s Asia Cup of Federation of International Basketball, FIBA began in Bengaluru.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma launched a statewide football grassroots development programme

Mission Football .

Chennai Open renamed Maharashtra Open, to be held in Pune from next year.





Manpreet Kaur won a gold medal in the Asian Athletics Championships failed dope test.

Indian women s cricket team skipper Mithali Raj has surpassed former England captain Charlotte Edwards to

become the highest run-scorer in the One-Day Internationals (ODI).

Odisha to set up Kalinga International Sports City in Bhubaneswar for mega events.

Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu was awarded the Sportsperson of the Year award by Sports Illustrated magazine.

PV Sindhu Becomes Second Indian To Win Silver At World Badminton Championship.

Pullela Gopichand was conferred with the Coach of the Year award by Sports Illustrated magazine.

Sports Illustrated magazine :: Former sprinter Milkha Singh bagged the Living Legend award, the Lifetime

Achievement award was won by shooter Abhinav Bindra, Inspirational athlete of the year award was won by Deepa

Malik.

Thailand amateur Atthaya Thitikul, 14, has became the youngest winner on the Ladies European Tour.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated The Arena in Ahmedabad, Gujarat one of the most advanced

integrated multi-purpose stadiums.

NBA champion and Finals MVP Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors and 3,459 Indian children from the

Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program set a new Guinness World Record achievement for the world s largest

basketball lesson (multiple venues) ever held.

Indian boxers clinched five gold, two silver and one bronze medal at the event in the Czech Republic - 48th Grand

Prix Usti Nad Labem

India has bagged a gold medal in the skeet mixed team event . The Indian duo of Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Rashmmi

Rathore bagged it for India.

Budding India shooter Shapath Bhardwaj, aged 15, has become the country s youngest athlete to figure in the

government s Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme.

Oinam Bembem Devi Becomes Second Indian Female Footballer To Win The Arjuna Award.

Indian captain Virat Kohli became the leading ODI run-scorer in 2017. Kohli, who has now scored 907 runs this year,

overtook South Africa s Faf du Plessis, who has 814 runs in 2017.

India beat Austria 4-3 to end European tour on a high.

Spain s Ana Carrasco became the first woman to win an individual World Championship motorbike race.

Mark Beaumont, a British cyclist has broken the world record for cycling around the world in 79 days – 44 days

shorter than the previous record.

Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav has become the first Indian spinner and 3rd Indian after Chetan Sharma and Kapil

Dev to take a hat-trick in ODI cricket.

Lionel Messi becomes the first player to score 350 La Liga goals

Legendary Sprinter Usain Bolt retires.

England's all-time leading goalscorer Wayne Rooney has announced his retirement from international football.

Neymar has completed his record-shattering transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, signing a five-year

deal with the French club after it triggered his 222 million euros ($263m) release clause. The 25-year-old Brazil

forward is committed to PSG until June 2022.

U-19 cricket Asia Cup to be held in November 2017 has been shifted from Bengaluru to Malaysia following the

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) s objection to the tournament being held in India.

USA tops the IAAF World Championships 2017 medal tally (30 medals). It was held in London. Hero-the Hedgehog

was a Mascot of 2017 IAAF World Championships and Whizbee-the Bee was the Mascot for the Para Athletics.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the revamped Khelo India

programme at a cost of Rs.1,756 crore for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20.





The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has formally awarded to Goa the rights to host the 36th National Games

which is going to take place in 2018.

Birmingham has been named as the British government s choice to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

India becomes 1st visiting country to inflict 5-0 whitewash on Sri Lanka

India beat Australia by 5 wickets in the third ODI played between the two sides at Indore. The victory helped them

to pip South Africa to claim the no. 1 spot in the ICC ODI rankings. This now means that India is now at the top of

both the Test and ODI rankings.

The World Senior Badminton Championship began at Kochi. It is for the first time that India is hosting the

Championship.

Asia Road Racing Championship started from 22nd September in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

South Asian Championship to be held in Guwahati from December 6-10.

For the first time, Five Indians are in the top-20 of the BWF men s singles rankings with H S Prannoy being the

biggest gainer after his quarterfinal showing at the Japan Open. Prannoy has jumped four places to be world no.15.

The 5 Indian Shuttlers in the top 20 BWF men s singles rankings are – Kidambi Srikanth (8th), HS Prannoy (15th), B

Sai Praneeth (17th), Sameer Verma (19th), Ajay Jayaram (20th)

Five-time world champion and Olympic bronze medalist MC Mary Kom has become the first Indian to be picked as

International Boxing Association s (AIBA) representative for the IOC Athletes Forum, scheduled in November.

MS Dhoni has became the first wicketkeeper to have 100 stumpings to his names in one-day international. Dhoni

surpassed former Sri Lankan wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara, who had 99 stumpings in 404 matches.

Indian captain Virat Kohli became the fastest player to score 15,000 runs in international cricket during the one-off

T20I against Sri Lanka.

The renowned Indian Badminton legend Prakash Padukone has been selected for the first life time award by

Badminton Association of India. He has been selected for the award for his contributions to Badminton.

The captain of the Indian basketball team, Amritpal Singh scripted history by becoming the first Indian-born player

to be picked up by an Australian NBL team.

Windies cricketer Chris Gayle became the first batsman to hit 100 sixes in T20I cricket. Gayle achieved the feat in

his 49th T20I innings during the one-off T20I against England at Chester-le-Street.

Asian Games gold medallist Priyanka Panwar has been handed over a ban of eight years by National Anti-Doping

Agency (NADA) after she tested positive for a banned performance enhancing drug for the second time.

The present Chief Coach of India senior women Hockey Team, Waltherus Norbertus Maria Marijne is appointed as

the Chief Coach of Indian Senior Men Hockey Team. Also, Shri Harendra Singh, Dronacharya Awardee, Hockey

Coach as High Performance Specialist Coach for Indian Senior Women Hockey Team.

FIFA U-17 World Cup song officially launched - Called Kar Ke Dikhla De Goal , the song has been written by lyricist

Amitabh Bhattacharya and composed by Pritam.

India has bagged a Gold and two Silver medals in the Men s Double trap event at the ISSF World Shotgun

Championship in Moscow. India won the Gold in the Junior team section of the event with a combined score of

401.

Acting on the recommendations of the Olympic Task Force on preparations for Olympics 2020-2028, the Sports

Ministry has announced the setting up of an Empowered Steering Committee (ESC) to look into the same. The task

force with members such as Abhinav Bindra and P Gopichand had submitted its interim report focussing on short-

term preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Games on May 22.





Hockey India has sacked national coach Roelant Oltmans after a string of unimpressive outings at the international

level.

England s top tier football club Tottenham Hotspur has unveiled the world s first-ever dividing retractable pitch at

its new stadium. The retractable grass football pitch will sit on top of an artificial pitch which will be used by

American football league NFL

Official Slogan and Emblem of FIFA Women s World Cup France 2019. - The slogan of the tournament Dare To

Shine reflects the development of football, especially women s football.

Committee

Head of Committee Purpose

PM Narendra Modi Government of India will commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Father of the

Nation Mahatma Gandhi during the period from 2nd October, 2019 to 2nd October,

2020.

Rajiv Kumar (NITI Aayog

Vice Chairman)

For proper management of water resources in the North-Eastern region

G Rohini (Delhi High Court s

former Chief Justice)

To examine subcategorisation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) under Article 340 of

the Constitution

Himanta Biswa Sarma To make the composition scheme more attractive and to revisit the goods and services

tax rates on restaurants. Sarma is Assam finance minister.

Shashi Tharoor A parliamentary committee has decided to examine the whole gamut of Sino-Indian

relations, including the border situation.

PV Reddi Law ministry nod to panel to look into pay hike issue of lower court judges

Afzal Amanullah Committee appointed by the government on Haj Policy has recommended phasing out

of subsidy for Haj pilgrims and allowing women devotees above 45 years of age to

travel in a group of at least four without a male.

K. Viswanathan Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has set up a committee on fair market

conduct .

Justice B N Srikrishna To study various issues relating to data protection in the country and suggest a draft

data protection Bill. Formed by Union Government.

Justice BN Srikrishna To review the Institutionalization of Arbitration Mechanism in India has submitted its

report.

Maj. General (Retired) B C

Khanduri

Committee has recently recommended 100% pension to widow of deceased soldier

Committee of joint

secretaries

Constituted by GOI for ensuring enhanced affordability, availability and accessibility of

drugs for the citizens.

K Rajeswara Rao To review the National Mineral Policy, 2008, and suggest a new framework will submit

its report by October-end.

Tarun Ramadorai Committee on Household Finance has suggested that banks link their home loan rates

to the RBI s repo rate, the rate at which it lends to banks, instead of the Marginal Cost

of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR).

D.B. Shekatkar The government has accepted the first batch of 65 recommendations of the Lt General

D.B. Shekatkar (retd) committee which will result in redeployment of 57,000 personnel

for various other required duties.

Dr. Rajiv Kumar NITI Aayog has constituted an Expert Task Force to provide a major thrust to job





creation by enhancing India s exports. It will be headed by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr.

Rajiv Kumar.

Bhupender Yadav The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017 has been referred to a Joint

Parliamentary Committee of both the Houses, under the Chairpersonship of Shri

Bhupender Yadav, M.P for examination and presenting a Report to the Parliament.

Sushil Kumar Modi (Bihar

Deputy Chief Minister)

The Union Finance Ministry has constituted Group of Ministers (GoM) to monitor and

resolve IT challenges faced in implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Dilip C Chakraborty The RBC (risk-based capital) committee headed by Dilip C Chakraborty in its report to

Irdai suggested that the industry should move ahead with RBC to ensure that capital

held by a company will take into account its overall risk profile.

Bibek Debroy The Economic Advisory Council headed by NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy will be an

independent body for giving advice on economic and related issues to the government,

especially to the Prime minister.

T.K. Viswanathan The Home Ministry is examining a report submitted by a high-level committee formed

to propose new laws or amendments to deal with hate speech on the internet. The

committee, headed by T.K. Viswanathan submitted its report to the Union Home

Ministry recently.

Rankings

Index India s Rank Other Information

2017 Global Retirement Index 43rd (last) Index given by French asset

management company Natixis Global.

Switzerland, Norway and Iceland

topped the ranking.

World Economic Forum s (WEF)

Global Human Capital Index

103 Topped by Norway

World Economic Forum s (WEF)

Global Competitiveness Index

40 Topped by Switzerland

Kochenov Quality of Nationality

Index (QNI)

101 Topped by Germany

Nuclear Power Installations 3rd (number of nuclear reactors

being installed is 6)

Topped by China (number of nuclear

reactors being installed is 20)

Foreign investor into the UK 4th 1st - USA

Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 23rd 1st – Singapore

released by the UN telecommunications

agency International

Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Sustainable Development Goals

Index

116th 1st - Sweden

Global index of countries with

the most confidence in their

government

1st 73 per cent Indians have faith in the

Narendra Modi led NDA coalition, the

highest in the world





Fastest growing economy in the

world according to the World

Bank s latest edition of the

Global Economic Prospects

4th 1st - Estonia

Index that rates countries by

their commitment to reducing

inequality

132nd 1st - Sweden

In terms of money parked by its

citizens with Swiss banks

88th 1st – United Kingdom

Biggest beef exporter 3rd 1st – Brazil

According to OECD-FAO Agricultural

Outlook 2017-2026 report released by

Food and Agriculture Organisation

(FAO) and the Organisation for

Economic Cooperation (OECD)

Global Hunger Index (GHI), 2017 100th

Most valuable nation brand 8th 1st – USA

According to Brand Finance s Nation

Brands 2017

Global Retail Development Index 1 India replaced China at numero uno

position

India leapt up the global rankings by 12 places to take the 14th spot in terms of best country for expats to live

and work in, says a HSBC survey. Topped by Singapore.

India is the most corrupt Asian country with 69 per cent bribery rates, according to a report by Transparency

International.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that India ranked third among the countries that have faced the

most natural disasters in the last half century. The United States experienced the most disasters

Loans from Banks

From To Amount Purpose

World Bank India US $ 1 billion For funding Institutional Development and for

construction of priority infrastructure projects

for municipal waste water treatment and solid

waste treatment on the main stem of Ganga in

the five Ganga basin states of Uttarakhand,

Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West

Bengal.

World Bank India $24.64 million

from the Global

Environment

Facility (GEF) of

the World Bank

for ecosystem service improvement project

World Bank India $ 125 million For Innovate in India (i3), a National

Biopharma Mission aimed at accelerating





biopharmaceutical development in the

country.

Asian Infrastructure

Investment Bank (AIIB)

India US$ 329 million For Gujarat Rural Roads Project

AIIB Gujarat $329 million to build access roads to 4,000 villages in

Gujarat

Asian Development Bank

(ADB)

India US$ 3 billion to

US$ 4 billion

For ADB s Indian Operations including support

for infrastructure projects. For the period

2018-22

ADB Power Grid

Corp

US$ 500 million For Power Grid Corp s various projects.

ADB IndusInd

Bank

USD 200 million

(about Rs 1,282

crore)

The seven-year senior loan will go toward

IndusInd Bank s microfinance activities. The

loan specially will be used to serve low income

women borrowers in rural areas

ADB West Bengal $300 million To continue a comprehensive series of fiscal

reforms in West Bengal to bring about more

accessible, affordable, and high quality public

services

ADB India $4 billion ADB has extended the lending to support the

country to accelerate inclusive economic

transformation

ADB Himachal

Pradesh

USD 80 million

(about Rs 524

crore)

For modernisation of Himachal Pradesh s

technical and vocational education and

training (TVET) institution

ADB India $220 million for improving connectivity as well as transport

efficiency and safety on State Highways of

Rajasthan.

New Development Bank China, India

and Russia

US$ 1.4 billion out

of which US$ 470

million to India

Total amount for sustainable development

project in 3 countries.

Loan to India for Madhya Pradesh s Multi-

Village Rural Drinking Water Supply Scheme

Project.

ICICI Bank NTPC

Limited

Rs. 3,000-cr For partially funding NTPC s capital

expenditure.

NABARD Rajasthan

government

Rs 1,350-cr For creation of rural infrastructure in the state

under the Rural Infrastructure Development

Fund (RIDF).

National Bank for

Agriculture and Rural

Development (Nabard)

Haryana Rs 119 crore To construct seven bridges and improvement

of one rural road project in five districts of

Haryana.

NABARD Andhra

Pradesh

Govt.

Rs. 273.06 crore Loan under Rural Infrastructure Development

Fund (RIDF) for Rural Water supply, Road and

Bridge projects.

AIIB and ADB India USD 100 million To improve power transmission network and

expand the use of solar and wind energy





European Investment

Bank (EIB)

India € illio For Bangalore Metro Rail Project Phase II Line

R6

India Bangladesh USD 4.5-billion For developing Bangladesh s infrastructure,

health and education.

India Ethiopia India would give Ethiopia a line of credit of

USD 195 million for power transmission sector

and medicines worth USD 2 million.

So far, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) mega-project was being developed only with the Indian

government s financial assistance. Now a $4.5 billion soft loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency

will be used to boost $100 bn Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor project.

Deadlines/ Important Dates

What for Deadline/Date

Deadline for banks to set up enrollment centres within their premises. If the banks fail

to do so,UIDAI will impose Rs 20,000 as fine per uncovered branch after September 30

September 30, 2017

Aadhaar now mandatory to identify deceased while registering death from October 1, 2017

For linking Aadhaar to various government schemes for benefits (includes linking bank

accounts)

December 31, 2017

Deadline for sale of pre-GST goods with stickers of revised rates. Earlier it was

September 30.

December 31, 2017

AC truck cabins must by December 31 2017

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has banned the use of stapler

pins in tea bags effective from

January 1, 2018.

Medical devices will have to mandatorily carry maximum retail price (MRP) on

packages from

January 1, 2018.

The price of a packaged good would no longer depend on where you bought it — be it

a local kirana store, a mall, a five-star hotel or an airport from

January 1, 2018

To meet affordable housing targets, the Centre has extended the benefits of the

interest subsidy scheme on home loans under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana or

PMAY (Urban). Earlier it was till December 2017

March 2019

Rankings (Persons,Cities,Organisations and Others)

Three Indian firms — Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints and Bharti Airtel — are among Forbes list of the world s 100

most innovative companies, where Salesforce.com has replaced Tesla Motors on the top position.

According to research agency Kantar Millward Brown, HDFC Bank retained its No 1 position in the BrandZ India top

50, doubling its brand value since 2014 with a sustained focus on improving services.

Tata Consultancy Services, a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions organisation, has been

recognised in Fortune s annual list of the Top 50 companies that are changing the world. mKrishi developed by TCS

got 30th rank. JPMorgan Chase topped the list.





In the World University Rankings 2018, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) was the highest ranked institute from

the country, but it slipped from the 201-250 band to the 251-300 one.

New Delhi s Connaught Place has been ranked as the tenth most expensive office market in the world, as revealed

by the CBRE South Asia s Global Prime Office Rents survey. Hong Kong s Central Markettopped the survey ranking.

Apple topped the list of the world s 100 most valuable brands, according to rankings by consultancy group

Interbrand. Apple is followed by Google.

According to a study by Zipjet, a UK-based start-up, German city Stuttgart is the least stressed out city in the world.

Out of the 150 cities, Bengaluru stands at 130, Kolkata at 131 and Mumbai at 138 and Delhi is ranked 142. The most

stressed city in the world is Baghdad.

Reliance Industries Ltd has jumped five places to rank as the world s third-biggest energy company behind Russian

gas firm Gazrpom and German utility E.ON, according to Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings.

Three Indian entrepreneurial legends, Ratan Tata, Lakshmi Mittal and Vinod Khosla have been included in Forbes s

special list of the world s 100 Greatest Living Business Minds .

Patanjali Ayurved CEO Acharya Balkrishna has been named among India s top 10 richest people for the first time in

Hurun Rich List 2017, with a wealth of ₹70,000 crore. Mukesh Ambani retains the richest Indian title for the sixth

year.

Forbes – Priyanka Chopra is eighth highest paid TV actress, Sofia Vergara tops the list

Google, Bharat Heavy Electricals and State Bank of India have been named as the top three best places to work in

India by leading global job site Indeed.

Bengaluru is the world s most affordable technology hub, according to a study conducted by a realty consultancy

firm.

Singapore Airlines has been rated the world s best airline in a survey by the Travel and Leisure magazine.

San Miguel de Allende in Mexico has been named the World s Best City in a survey by Travel and Leisure magazine,

while Udaipur has been ranked 14th.

The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) has been ranked as the second best climate think tank in the world.

Maharashtra, followed by Delhi and Haryana are the biggest culprits, topping the list in complaints for illegal sex

selection clinics under Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC & PNDT) (Prohibition of Sex

Selection) Act, 1994 and Rules.

India reported the highest levels of online harassment through cyberstalking and threats of physical violence in the

Asia Pacific region, higher than countries like Australia and Japan, a report by Norton by Symantec.

With 13.7 per cent contribution to the global pharmaceuticals and biotechnology workforce, India has emerged as

the 2nd largest market for the industry, a report by professional networking giant LinkedIn has revealed.

London has retained its rank as the number one city in the world shrugging off Brexit worries, according to Global

Power City Index (GPCI).

Japanese capital city Tokyo has topped The Economist Intelligence Unit s Safe Cities Index 2017. Delhi and Mumbai

have ranked 43rd and 45th respectively.





Current Monetary Policy Rates

As of 25 September 2017, the key indicators are

Inflation 3.36%

Policy Repo Rate 6.00%

Reverse Repo Rate 5.75%

MSF 6.25%

Bank rate 6.25%

CRR 4%

SLR 20.00%

GDP Growth rates predictions (updated ones)

Agency 2017-18 2018-19

World Bank 7.0% -

IMF 6.7% 7.4%

RBI 6.7% -

Ind-Ra 6.7% -

Fitch 6.9% -

ADB 7.0% 7.4%

HSBC 7.1% -

OECD 6.7% 7.7%

Asia will continue to lead global growth: IMF (5.5 per cent for 2017 and 5.4 per cent for 2018)

India s Current Account Deficit is expected to grow by 1.6% from 0.5% in this fiscal year: Nomura

RBI: the Gross Value Added (GVA) at 6.7 per cent in 2017-18

IMF forecast that the global economy will grow by 3.6 per cent in 2017 and 3.7 per cent in 2018

GDP to remain below 6 per cent in second quarter of 2017-18: SBI report

Books

Book Author/s Other Info

Khushwant Singh: In Wisdom and in

Jest

Vijay Narain Shankar and Onkar

Singh

On noted author and journalist

Khushwant Singh

Kadve Vachan Jain saint Acharya Tarun Sagar

Maharaj

The world s shortest woman Jyoti Amge

unveiled this 51-feet high book.

I am HIV positive, so what? Jayanta Kalita On the career of Manipur bodybuilder, K

Pradipkumar Singh, known for his

personal struggle against HIV AIDS

I Do What I Do: On Reform, Rhetoric &

Resolve

Former RBI Governor Raghuram

Rajan

Published by HarperCollins India.





How India Sees the World: Kautilya to

the 21st Century

Shyam Saran He is Former Foreign Secretary

100 things every professional cricketer

must know

The Board of Control for Cricket in India

(BCCI) issued players handbook that

covers several issues from money

managing to managing emotions. The

book is also in line with Lodha

recommendations.

Hit Refresh Satya Nadella He is India-born Microsoft CEO

Unstoppable: My Life So Far Maria Sharapova She is Russian tennis player

A to Z of Financial Management in

Autonomous Institutions

Dr. Rajat Bhargava and

Deenanath Pathak

The book is book on financial

management.

President Pranab Mukherjee – A

Statesman

Published by The Statesman.

Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature Jairam Ramesh Former union minister

Making of A Legend A coffee table book on Prime Minister

Narendra Modi s life.

Compiled by Sulabh International

Founder Bindeshwar Pathak

Guru-Sangraha Prepared by National Book Trust

of India.

It is a compilation of convocation

addresses given by Shri Pranab

Mukherjee.

The Coalition Years — 1996-2012 Pranab Mukherjee s

autobiography

Third volume of book released in October

2017

Obituaries

Name Profession Other Info

Santosh Mohan Dev Politician Former Heavy Industries Union Minister

Sanwar Lal Jat Politician Former Minister of State for Water Resources in the

Narendra Modi government

Prabhakarpant Ojharkar Politician

Gyan Singh Sohanpal Politician Former West Bengal Minister, freedom fighter and

ten-time legislator.

Fondly called Chacha (uncle)

Rishang Keishing Politician Former Manipur chief minister and Rajya Sabha MP

Sultan Ahmed Politician Former Union minister and sitting Trinamool

Congress MP

Jomde Kena Politician Arunachal Pradesh Health and Family Welfare

Minister

Shivajirao Patil Politician Congress leader, freedom fighter and former

Maharashtra Minister

Nar Bahadur Bhandari Politician Former Chief Minister of Sikkim

N. Dharam Singh Politician Former Chief Minister of Karnataka





Syed Mustafiz Politician Former Odisha health minister

M L Fotedar Politician He was a veteran Congress leader who was a close

confidante of former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi

and Rajiv Gandh

Kiyanilie Peseyie Politician Former Speaker of the Nagaland Assembly and

sitting MLA

Alwar Mahant

Chandnath

Politician He was Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from

Rajasthan s Alwar

K.R Aravindakshan Politician He was Communist Party Marxist State General

Secretary

Purushottam Lal Politician Former Minister for Information and Broadcasting

PVRK Prasad Bureaucrat Senior Retired IAS Officer and Additional Secretary

to former PM Narasimha Rao

Satish Chandra Historian Veteran historian of medieval India and noted

educational administrator

Pushpa Mitra Bhargava Scientist

L.N. Shastry Singer-musician Kannada

Ustad Hussain

Sayeeduddin Dagar

Dhrupad maestro

Shanta Serbjeet Singh Dance critic Also Sangeet Natak Akademi member

Kundan Shah Director

Ramananda Sengupta Cinematographer India's oldest cinematographer

Vijay Nambisan Poet and Writer

Ahmed Khan Football Player Double Olympian and one of the biggest and

brightest stars in Indian football history

Sitaram Panchal Actor

Shanmugasundaram Actor Tamil

Shobha Sen (also

known as Sova Sen)

Actress Bengali theatre and film actress

Shakila Actress Bollywood actress

Tom Alter Actor Padma Shri awardee and veteran film, television and

theatre actor, director and writer

R N Sudarshan Actor South Indian

Dwijen Bandyopadhyay Actor Bengali

Abdul Majid Actor An icon of the Assamese film industry, an eminent

actor, Director and writer

KS Chugh Doctor He is known as the father of nephrology in India. He

was a recipient of several national and international

awards, including the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest

civilian award, in 2000.

P.P. Antony Former national women s hockey

coach

Shirish Pai Poet Marathi poet and activist

Arun Sadhu Journalist journalist and Renowned Marathi writer

Gauri Lankesh Journalist





RM Bhagawati Journalist veteran Guwahati-based journalist and editor of

Dainik Asam, oldest Assamese daily newspaper

Bismoy Kumar Mohanty Journalist

HM Marathe Marathi writer and journalist

P P Rao Senior Advocate He was a constitutional law expert

Niharendu Mallick Player Indian shuttler

Brian Aldiss Author He is from United Kingdom. Known as grand old

man of science fiction.

Yisrael Kristal World s oldest man. Dies aged 113

years

Born in Poland

Violet Mosse–Brown World s oldest person. Dies aged

117 years

She was from Jamaica. Following her death, 117-

year-old Japanese woman Nabi Tajima, born on

August 4, 1900, has become the world s oldest

person.

Tobe Hoope Director American

Paul Saheb known as S

Paul

Photography

Angel Nieto Spanish Motorcycling legend

Sam Shepard American Playwright also praised as an actor, screenwriter, and director

Sir Bruce Forsyth TV entertainer and showbiz legend

Ralphie May Comedian American

Jerry Lewis Actor and comic legend American

Dick Gregory Stand-up comedian, actor and civil

rights activist

American

Betty Cuthbert Player Australian Olympic legend

Stephen Wooldridge Player Australia s former Olympic and world cycle

champion

Tom Pritchard Cricketer Zealand s oldest cricketer

Ted Corbett Sports Journalist Born in England

Dr Ruth Pfau Doctor A German Doctor

Popularly known as Pakistan s Mother Teresa

Nirupam Sen Former Indian diplomat former Indian Permanent Representative to the UN

Ravinder Randev Journalist

Madhukar Toradmal Marathi actor-writer

Sumita Sanyal Bengali actress

Naresh Chandra Former Indian Ambassador to U.S.

Mangesh Tendulkar Renowned cartoonist

Bidisha Bezbaruah Singer and Actor Assamese actor and singer

Inder Kumar Actor

K.E. Mammen Gandhian and freedom fighter

Gandhian and freedom

fighter

Freedom fighter and social worker

Yash Pal Scientist

Udupi Ramachandra Rao Scientist

UR Rao had launched India s first satellite Aryabhatta in 1975. He was the first Indian to be inducted in the Satellite





Hall of Fame – Washington in 2013 and in International Astronautics Federation (IAF) in 2016.

Harry Dean Stanton Actor American

Frank Vincent Actor American

Richard Anderson Actor American

Walter Becker Guitarist He was America s legendary guitarist, bassist and co-

writer for the sophisticated, dark-humored band

Steely Dan

Charles Bradley Singer American

John Ashbery Poet American

Tony de Brum Politician Former Marshall Islands foreign minister.

Also champion of Paris climate agreement.

Elsa Martinelli Italian actress

Simone Veil European feminist politician first woman elected to lead the European

Parliament in 1979

Joseph Robinson English actor

Marty Sklar Legendary Disney Imagineer

Liu Xiaobo China s most famous political prisoner, the Nobel

laureate and democracy icon

Maryam Mirzakhani Professor Iranian mathematician and a professor of

mathematics

Martin Landau Actor Oscar-winning American actor

Red West Actor-songwriter American

Arjan Singh, pride Marshal of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and India s oldest, five-star ranked air force officer has passed

away.

Arjan Singh was the only officer of the IAF to be given a distinction equal to that of a Field Marshal.

In 2016, the IAF named its Panagarh (West Bengal) air base after Arjan Singh on the occasion of his 97th birth

anniversary. The Panagarh base would be called Air Force Station Arjan Singh. He was the only living officer to have a

base named after him.

Important Days October

Date Day Extra Info

01 October International Day of Older

Persons

2017 Theme: Stepping into the Future:

Tapping the Talents, Contributions and

Participation of Older Persons in Society.

02 October Gandhi Jayanti, International Day

of Non-Violence

02 October 2017 World Habitat Day First Monday of October. 2017 Theme:

Housing Policies: Affordable Homes.

03 October 2017 World Architecture Day First Monday of every October. 2017 Theme:

Climate Change Action!

4th to 10th October World Space Week 2017 Theme: Exploring New Worlds in Space

05 October World Teachers Day 2017 Theme: Teaching in Freedom,





Empowering Teachers

08 October 85th Indian Air Force Day

09 October World Post Day

9th to 14th October Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Week 2017 Theme: Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Week-

The Daughters of New India

10 October World Mental Health Day 2017 Theme: Mental health in the workplace

10th to 14th October India water Week-2017 2017 Theme: Water and Energy for Inclusive

Growth

11 October International Day of the Girl

Child

2017 Theme: EmPOWER girls: Before, during

and after conflict"

12 October World Arthritis Day 2017 Theme: It s in your hands, take action

12 October 2017 World Sight Day: Observed on second Thursday of October

2017 Theme: Make Vision Count

13 October International Day for Disaster

Reduction

14 October International Standards Day

15 October International Day of Rural

Women

16 October World Food Day

17 October International Day for the

Eradication of Poverty

2017 Theme: Answering the Call of October 17

to end poverty: A path toward peaceful and

inclusive societies

20 October World Osteoporosis Day

20 October World Statistics Day

24 October United Nations Day Potential in Diversity

24 October World Polio Day

27 October World Day for Audiovisual

Heritage

2017 Theme: Discover, remember and share

28 October National Ayurveda Day

29 October World Stroke Day

29 October International Internet Day

31 October World Cities Day 2017 Theme: Innovative Governance, Open

Cities. The general theme of World Cities Day

is Better City, Better Life.

31 October World Savings Day

31 October Rashtriya Ekta Diwas(National

Unity Day)

25 Oct - 1 Nov 2017 Global Media and Information

Literacy Week

2017 Theme: Media and Information Literacy

in Critical Times: Re-Imagining Ways of

Learning and Information Environments

30 Oct - 4 Nov 2017 Vigilance Awareness week 2017 Theme: My Vision - Corruption Free india





Nobel Prize Winners

Award Winner For What

2017 Nobel Prize in

Physiology or Medicine

Americans Jeffrey C. Hall,

Michael Rosbash and Michael

W. Young

for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms

controlling the circadian rhythm .

2017 Nobel physics prize Americans Rainer Weiss, Barry

C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne

for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector

and the observation of gravitational waves .

2016 Nobel Prize in

Chemistry

Swiss Jacques Dubochet,

German Joachim Frank and

British Richard Henderson

for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the

high-resolution structure determination of

biomolecules in solution .

2017 Nobel Peace Prize International Campaign to

Abolish Nuclear Weapons

(ICAN) headquartered in

Geneva, Switzerland

for its work to draw attention to the

catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any

use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-

breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based

prohibition of such weapons .

2017 The Sveriges Riksbank

Prize in Economic Sciences in

Memory of Alfred Nobel

American Richard H. Thaler for his contributions to behavioural economics .

2017 Nobel Prize in Literature British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro who, in novels of great emotional force, has

uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense

of connection with the world .

Other News in Detail

Goods and Services Tax (GST) Launched

On July 1, India launched its ambitious pan-India indirect tax regime, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to bind the

country into a regime of one nation, one tax, one market . The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was first proposed

17 years ago.

Press Information Bureau, has launched a special page for the Goods and Services Tax. The webpage can be

accessed on http://pib.nic.in/gst.

GST Council has reduced the tax rate on fertiliser to 5 per cent from previously decided 12 per cent.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has launched Aaykar Setu — an e-initiative for the Income tax Department to

directly communicate with the taxpayers and aimed at providing information on useful tax services.

IT major Dell EMC and enterprise solutions provider SAP have announced a comprehensive digital Enterprise

Resource Planning (ERP) solutions GST in a Box solution for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to get

GST ready.

The Finance Ministry has announced that gifts of above Rs 50,000 value in a year, when given by the employer to

the employee without consideration and outside the contractual agreement, will come under the ambit of Goods

and Services Tax (GST)

Businesses with turnover of up to Rs 20 lakh (Rs 10 lakh in special category states) are exempt from GST.

Buying and selling of second-hand goods will not attract Goods and Services Tax (GST) if sold at a price cheaper

than the purchase price





The government has launched a GST training programme to skill around two lakh youths in six months to handle

tax compliance issues like invoice making. The people would be trained under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas

Yojana (PMKVY).

CBDT softens cash transaction norms

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has exempted certain cash transactions from the purview of the Rs. 2-lakh

restriction introduced in this year s Budget as part of efforts to promote the digital economy. The Finance Act 2017 banned

cash transaction of 2 lakh rupees or above with effect 1st of April this year.

Five categories of transactions have now been kept out of this restriction through an executive order from CBDT. These

are:

money received by a business correspondent on behalf of a bank or cooperative bank;

receipt by a white label ATM operator from retail outlet sources on behalf of a bank or cooperative bank;

receipt from an agent by an issuer of prepaid instruments; and

receipt by a company or institution issuing credit cards against bills raised in respect of one or more credit cards.

Also, money received on account of an award or reward instituted by Central or State government would now not be

covered under the 2-lakh cash transaction limit.

8th IIFA Awards 2017: List of Winners

The 18th edition of the International Indian Film Academy Awards was held in New York. Sonam Kapoor s film Neerja

won the best film award. Actor Shahid Kapoor earned the Best Actor award for his role in Udta Punjab, while Alia Bhatt won

the Best Actor (Female) award for the same film.

Here s the complete list of the IIFA 2017 winners:

Best Film- Neerja

Best Director- AnirudhRoy Chaudhary for Pink

Best Actor (Male)- Shahid Kapoor for Udta Punjab

Best Actor (Female)- Alia Bhatt for Udta Punjab

Best Actor in Supporting Role (Female)- Shabana Azmi for Neerja

Best Actor in Supporting Role (Male)- Anupam Kher for MS Dhoni: The Untold Story

Best Debutant (Female): Disha Patani for M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story

Best Debut (Male)- Diljit Dosanjh for Udta Punjab

Best Lyricist- Amitabh Bhattacharya for the song Channa Mere Ya from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Best Playback Singer (Male)- Amit Mishra for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Best Playback Singer (Female)- Kanika Kapoor for Udta Punjab and Tulsi Kumar for Airlift

Best Music Direction- Pritam for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Best Actor In Comic Role- Varun Dhawan for Dishoom

Myntra Style Icon Award- Alia Bhatt

IIFA Woman Of The Year- Tapsee Pannu

6th Big Zee Entertainment Awards 2017 (ZEA 2017) Winners





Best Actor (Male) – Shahid Kapoor (Udta Punjab)

Best Actor (Female) – Alia Bhatt (Udta Punjab)

Most Entertaining Actor in Drama (Male) – Amitabh Bachchan

Best Action Hero – Tiger Shroff (Baaghi)

Most Entertaining Actor in Drama (Female) – Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Most Entertaining Dancer – Tiger Shroff (Beat Pe Booty)

हिट थ,े हिट रिेंगे Award – Anupam Kher

Most Entertaining Actor Comedy – Abhishek Bachchan (Housefull 3)

FM launches new pension scheme PMVVY for senior citizens

The Union Minister for Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs has formally launched the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana

Yojana (PMVVY) for elderly with 8 per cent fixed rate of interest on their savings in New Delhi.

PMVVY is a Pension Scheme announced by the Government of India exclusively for the senior citizens available from 4th

May, 2017 to 3rd May, 2018. It can be purchased offline as well as online through Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India

which has been given the sole privilege to operate this scheme

Scheme provides an assured return of 8% p.a. payable monthly (equivalent to 8.30% p.a. effective) for 10 years.

Pension is payable at the end of each period, during the policy term of 10 years, as per the frequency of monthly/

quarterly/ half-yearly/ yearly as chosen by the pensioner at the time of purchase.

The scheme is exempted from Service Tax/ GST.

Supreme Court Declares Right to Privacy as Fundamental Right

The Supreme Court of India pronounced that individual privacy is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. A

nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar ruled that the right to

privacy is intrinsic to life and liberty, thus coming under Article 21, and comes under the various fundamental freedoms in

PART III of the Indian Constitution.

All the nine judges arrive at the same conclusion, though through different but concurring judgments, that right to

privacy is intrinsic to right to life and liberty. With this now India has total seven fundamental rights.

Right to equality, Right to freedom, Right against exploitation, Right to freedom of religion, Cultural and

Educational rights, and Right to constitutional remedies are the 6 fundamental rights of India.

Modi, Abe kick off India s first bullet train

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone for the proposed

Ahmedabad-Mumbai High-Speed Rail Network, commonly known as the bullet train, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Around Rs 1.10 lakh crore will be spent on the Mumbai to Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project that is

being partially funded by Japan. Out of the Rs 1,10,000 crore, Japan is giving a loan of Rs 88,000 crore.

The interest on this loan is minimal at 0.1 per cent and it is to be repaid in 50 years, with a grace period of 15 years.

On the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route, total 12 stations have been proposed.

It is expected to reduce travel time between the two cities from seven to three hours.

With this, India has become the first to import the iconic Shinkansen bullet-train technology after Taiwan.





56 years in the making: PM Modi inaugurates the Sardar Sarovar Dam, dedicates to nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who celebrated his 67th birthday today (17th September), inaugurated and dedicated to

the nation the India s biggest and the world s second-biggest dam Sardar Sarovar Dam, in Kevadia, Gujarat, nearly six

decades after its foundation stone was laid.

Electricity from the dam will majorly benefit Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat.

The foundation stone of the dam was laid on April 5, 1961 by the country s first prime minister Jawaharlal Lal

Nehru. However, it took 56 years to complete its construction.

The inaugural event also sees the culmination of the fortnight-long Narmada Mahotsav – launched by the Gujarat

government to celebrate the completion of the work.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is observing Sewa Diwas to mark the occasion.

World s biggest dam is Grand Coulee Dam in the United States.

Government launches Saubhagya scheme for household electrification

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana Saubhagya electricity scheme to provide 24×7

power to all families across India at the BJP s National Executive meet and on the occasion of birth anniversary of RSS

ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya in New Delhi.

The scheme will cover all rural families after electrification of all villages by December end, this year.

The States and Union Territories are required to complete the works of household electrification by the 31st of

December 2018.

The total outlay of the project is Rs. 16, 320 crore while the Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) is Rs. 12,320 crore. The

rural household outlay is estimated to be Rs 14025cr, with Rs 2295cr being for urban households.

The government will electrify all villages by December 2017, and all households by December 2018. Singh said the

next target will be 24×7, reliable quality supply, with no load shedding.

National Sports Awards 2017 Conferred

President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind conferred National Sports & Adventure Awards 2017 in a ceremony held at

Rashtrapati Bhawan. Here is the list of awardees:

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2017: Devendra Jhajaria (para-athlete), Sardar Singh (hockey)

Dronacharya Awards 2017: Late Dr. R Gandhi (athletics), Heera Nand Kataria (kabaddi), GSSV Prasad (badminton), Brij

Bhushan Mohanty (boxing – Lifetime), PA Raphel (hockey – Lifetime), Sanjoy Chakraverthy (shooting – Lifetime),

Roshan Lal (wrestling – Lifetime)

Arjuna Awards 2017: Jyothi Surekha Vennam (archery), Khushbir Kaur (athletics), Rajiv Arokia (athletics), Prashanthi

Singh (basketball), Laishram Devendro Singh (boxing), Cheteshwar Pujara (cricket), Harmanpreet Kaur (cricket), Oinam

Bembem Devi (football), SSP Chawrasia (golf), SV Sunil (hockey), Jasvir Singh (kabaddi), Prakash Nanjappa (shooting),

Anthony Amalraj (table tennis), Saketh Myneni (tennis), Satyawart Kadian (wrestling), Mariyappan (para-athlete), Varun

Singh Bhati (para-athlete)

Dhyan Chand Award 2017: Bhupender Singh (Athletics), Syed Shahid Hakim (Football), Sumarai Tete (Hockey)





India s first private sector-built navigation satellite IRNSS-1H fails after launch: ISRO

India s first private sector built satellite IRNSS-1H today on August 31 failed after its launch from Sriharikota spaceport in

Andhra Pradesh, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.

The new satellite was meant to augment the existing 7 satellites of the NavIC constellation. The Indian Regional

Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is an independent regional navigation satellite system developed by India on par

with US-based GPS.

The IRNSS-1H satellite was to have been slung into orbit at around 507 km above the earth.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had named NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) which offers services like

terrestrial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management, navigation aide for

hikers and travellers, visual and voice navigation for drivers.

Launched on board PSLV-C39, IRNSS-1H is a back-up navigation satellite for IRNSS-1A, one of the seven satellites in the

constellation, as its three rubidium atomic clocks on board had stopped functioning.

The launch happened from the Second Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra

Pradesh.

The 44.4 metre tall PSLV-C39 in its 41st flight was carrying the 1,425 kg satellite built and tested by ISRO along with a

consortium of six small and medium industries.

74th Venice Film Festival Awards 2017

Guillermo del Toro s The Shape of Water was awarded the Golden Lion at the 74th Venice Film Festival. The film, a

romantic monster movie starring Sally Hawkins and Michael Shannon, premiered on the Lido on August 31, declared as the

best movie. List of Awards are as follows-

Golden Lion – Best Movie — The Shape of Water, directed by Guillermo del Toro

Grand Jury Prize — Foxtrot, directed by Samuel Maoz

Silver Lion – Best Director — Xavier Legrand (for Jusqu à la Garde)

Volpi Cup – Best Actress — Charlotte Rampling (for Hannah)

Volpi Cup – Best Actor — Kamel El Basha (for The Insult)

69th Emmy Awards: Complete List of Winners

The 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced at the Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, California, U.S. The

Handmaid s Tale became the first web television series to win the award for Outstanding Drama Series. Awards are as:

Outstanding Comedy Series — Veep

Outstanding Drama Series — The Handmaid s Tale





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