September Current Affair's
• The Union Railway Minister, Mr. Suresh Prabhu launched three IT
initiatives developed by Centre for Railway Information Systems
(CRIS). These are a) Paperless Unreserved Ticketing through Mobile
Phone between New Delhi – Palwal Section (NR). b) Currency Coin cum
Card operated Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (CCoTVM) at New Delhi
Railway Station. c) Mobile Application for Freight Operations
(PARICHAALAN). The Parichaalan is a mobile application conceptualized
to make decision making on freight operations absolutely easy and user
friendly.
• India won the top UNESCO prize 'Award of Excellence' 2015 for the
remarkable conservation efforts of the majestic Sree Vadakkunnathan
Temple at Thrissur, Kerala. It is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to
Lord Shiva. The award recognises the remarkable conservation effort
undertaken at the sacred site which employed age-old rituals and
conservation techniques drawn from vastu shastra focusing on
architecture and construction.
• The South African city of Durban is selected as the host for the
2022 Commonwealth Games at the Federation's general assembly in
Auckland, New Zealand.
• To help women in distress, the state government of Haryana launched
"Sakhi" a One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) at Karnal district. The centre
will provide help and assistance to rape survivors and victims of
dowry harassment, domestic violence and other atrocities on women, all
under one roof. It is an initiative of Union Government under the
'Nirbhaya Fund' for women safety pertaining to strategic areas of
prevention, protection and rehabilitation.
• Mr. L C Goyal, a 1979 batch Kerala cadre IAS, has been appointed as
the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Indian Trade Promotion
Organization (ITPO), a miniratna Public sector undertaking (PSU). An
ITPO is the nodal agency of the Government of India (GoI) under aegis
of Ministry of Commerce and Industry for promoting country's external
trade.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) declared State Bank of India (SBI)
and ICICI Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D- SIBs).
• The Buchi Babu Memorial Trophy has been won by Mumbai by defeating
Tamil Nadu in the All India invitation cricket tournament by 6
wickets. This annual cricket tournament has been named after
Mothavarapu Buchi Babu Naidu (1868–1908) who is considered as the
father of South Indian cricket.
• The Ministry of Urban Development launched a Smart National Common
Mobility Card (NCMC) model to enable seamless travel by different
metros and other transportation systems across the country besides
being used for shopping as well. This card meets travel needs based on
stored value of money and can be used for travelling by any means of
transport and also enables account based retail applications.
• The Indian-American Pulitzer Prize winner Ms. Jhumpa Lahiri has been
selected for the prestigious 2014 US National Humanities Medal. The
other recepients are The Clemente Course in the Humanities, Annie
Dillard, Everett L. Fly, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, Evelyn Brooks
Higginbotham, Fedwa Malti-Douglas, Larry McMurtry, Vicki Lynn Ruiz and
Alice Waters. The medal honors an individual or organization whose
work has deepened the nation's understanding of the human experience,
broadened citizens' engagement with history and literature or helped
preserve and expand Americans' access to cultural resources.
• The West-Central Railway (WCR) zone headquartered in Jabalpur,
Madhya Pradesh has become the first Railway Zone in Indian Railways to
eliminate all unmanned level crossings.
• On September 2, 2015, the Tropical Storm Etau caused extensive and
destructive floods across eastern Japan. It originated near Guam and
made a landfall in Honshu, Japan.
• Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)
• The sowing of Kharif crops begins with the onset of southwest
monsoon from June. In current year by September, 80 per cent of the
total farm area has been sown, but in some states, planting has got
delayed due to poor rains.
• To promote global gender-inclusive economic growth, the Group of
Twenty (G20) launched Women-20 (W20) group. The W20 group will have 20
women leaders from G20 nations. The first W20 summit 2015 will held on
October 7-8, 2015 at Istanbul, Turkey. Ms. Gulden Turktan from Turkey
has been appointed as the first President of W20 forum. The Group of
Twenty (G20) is the premier forum for global economic and financial
cooperation that brings together the world's major advanced and
emerging economies, representing around 85 % of global GDP.
• The state government of Andhra Pradesh has rechristened the AP State
Enterprise Architecture (APSEA) as 'e-Pragati'. The e-pragati will
focus on achieving a unified and connected government with
citizen-centricity at its core. Iti extends to 33 secretariat
departments and over 300 government agencies in AP. It also seeks to
provide a bouquet of 745 services in the government to customer (G2C),
government to business (G2B), government to enterprise (G2E) and
government to government (G2G) areas.
• The Union Government has taken several measures to increase
availability and control the price of essential commodities,
especially pulses and onions. States have been empowered to impose
stock limits on pulses, export of all pulses is banned except Kabuli
Chana, organic pulses and Lintels to the tune of 10,000 MTs. Besides
there is zero duty on import of pulses. [PIB]
• Forwards Markets Commission (FMC) has been recently merged with SEBI
to strengthen the regulation of Commodity Forward Markets.
• Currently there are 82 districts of 10 states in India affected by
Left Wing Extremism (LWE). These include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal,
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Telangana.
• Engineering is the leading segment of Indian industry and overseas
shipments from this sector account for over twenty-two percent of
India's total merchandise exports. The engineering sector accounts for
25 percent of India's total factories in the organized sector and
contributes around 35 percent of total output in the country, being
the highest foreign exchange earner. [Source]
• Kala Utsav is an initiative of Ministry of Human Resource
Development (MHRD) to promote arts in education by nurturing and
showcasing the artistic talent of school students at the secondary
stage in the country.
• India and Indonesia have signed a pact for repatriation of each
other's wanted prisoners and cooperate in all criminal matters,
including gathering evidence. As per the agreement, India will execute
summons to an accused person or to any person requiring to attend and
produce documents or a search-warrant issued by an Indonesian court.
Indonesia will reciprocate with similar action if there is any request
from any Indian court.
• The Union Cabinet approved the Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme. In it,
one can buy gold bonds instead of actual gold. The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) will issue these bonds on behalf of the Government of
India (GoI). The excerpts of this scheme are:- a) Issued in
denominations of 5, 10, 50, 100 grams of gold and a person can buy
only 500 grams of bonds. B) The bonds are restricted for sale to
resident Indian entities. C) Tenor of the bond: 5 to 7 years. D)
Available both in demat and paper form. E) Can be used as collateral
for loans.
• The state government of Jharkhand approved the formation of
Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). The ATS will comprise of 6 DSP and 11
Inspectors in it and will be headed by an official of the rank of
Superintendent of Police.
• The Bollywood actor, Mr. Anupam Kher (60) has been conferred with
the Honoured Guest award by the U.S. State of Texas for his
contribution to the cinema and the world of art.
• The London based Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) conferred Dr. G
Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and eminent
Missile Scientist of DRDO, with the prestigious Society's 2015 Silver
Medal for his contribution in promoting Aerospace and Aeronautics in
India. Mr. Reddy is the first Defence scientist working in India to be
honoured with the prestigious "Silver Medal" of the Society.
• The Indian Railways partnered with Google under the 'Project
Nilgiri' to create India's largest network of free WiFi across 400
railway stations, pan India.To provide high speed Internet service,
the project will use Google Fiber technology. In it, first 30 minutes
of this service would enable high speed Internet, after which the
speed will drop, but the connection remains active. Google has
collaborated with RailTel for the platform and infrastructure to get
started with the project.
• The 10th World Hindi Conference held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. It
is a joint event of Union Ministry of External Affairs in partnership
with the state Government of Madhya Pradesh. The theme of this
conference is "Hindi Jagat-Vistar and Sambhavnaye". It has been
organised in Madhya Pradesh for the first time and held in India after
a gap of 32 years . The first World Hindi Conference was held in 1975
at Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi
gave its approval on the Constitution of the 21st Law Commission of
India, for a period of three years w.e.f. September 1, 2015 to August
31, 2018. The 21st Law Commission shall undertake research in law and
review of existing laws in India for making reforms therein and
enacting new legislations. It shall also undertake studies and
research for bringing reforms in the justice delivery systems for
elimination of delay in procedures, speedy disposal of cases,
reduction in cost of litigation, etc.The Law Commission will consist
of: (a) a full-time Chairperson. (b) four full-time Members (including
a Member-Secretary). (c) Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs as ex
offcio Member. (d) Secretary, Legislative Department as ex offcio
Member. (e) not more than five part-time Members.
• The Veer Savarkar International Airport (also known as Port Blair
Airport) is a customs airport located at south of Port Blair and is
the main airport of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India.
• Renowned water policy expert Ramaswamy R. Iyer passed away recently.
He was instrumental in drafting India's first National Water Policy in
1987.
• The Well-known Mohiniyattam dancer and Padmashree-awardee
choreographer, Ms. Kalamandalam Satyabhama (77) passed away due to
illness at Pallakad, Kerala. She was known for her experimental
reforms in Mohiniyattam as she helped to make the traditional art form
popular among dance buffs in the state.
• The first bilateral maritime exercise "AUSINDEX15" has been
conducted between Australia and India. In it, the Royal Australian
Navy (RAN) consists of HMAS Sirius (fleet tanker), HMAS Arunta (Anzac
class frigate) and one submarine HMAS Sheean (Collins class submarine)
while Indian Navy represented by INS Shivalik (stealth frigate), INS
Ranvijay (guided missile destroyer) and INS Shakti (fleet tanker).
• Mr. Hormusji N Cama appointed as the Chairman of the Press Trust of
India (PTI). Mr. Cama is the director of Bombay Samachar, which is the
oldest continuously-published newspaper in India since 1855. He
succeeded Mr. Mahendra Mohan Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of
the Jagran Prakashan. Apart from him, Mr. Riyad Mathew (Director of
Malayala Manorama) was unanimously elected as the Vice Chairman of the
PTI.
• The Ministry for Water Resources constituted a 7-member committee
led by former Planning Commission member Mr. Mihir Shah to restructure
the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Central Ground Water Board
(CGWB) to encourage optimal development of water resources in India.
This committee will work on water resource planning, augmenting and
budgeting in an integrated manner.
• Kalarippayattu is the traditional martial art dance of Kerala and
the mother of all martial arts. A kalari is the school (or training
hall) where martial arts are taught.The weapons used in it are
strikes, kicks, etc. Footwork patterns is the most important key in
this martial art dance. Recently, Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports has recognized the Indian Kalarippayattu Federation (IKF) as
Regional Sports Federation (RSF). This decision was taken with a view
to promote and provide due acknowledgement and importance to sports
having regional spread. This recognition also grants major role to the
IKF for promotion and development of Kalarippayattu sport in India.
• The World Bank report titled "Assessment of State Implementation of
Business Reforms" is the first ever ranking of States on the ease of
doing business in India. Gujarat is at the top position followed by
Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
• The Government of India (GoI) approved the purchase of 10 Heron TP
drones from Israel. This $ 400 million deal to buy armed missile-armed
drones from Israel is expected to enhance India's cross-border
military strike capability. These drones will be operated by the
Indian Air Force (IAF), which has a fleet of reconnaissance drones.
IAF also has a fleet of Harpy UAVs from Israel, which are self
destructing systems primarily tasked with taking out enemy radar
positions.
• The mobile banking app "LIME" has been launched by Axis Bank. The
app will allow customers in both account and non-account holders to
compare and shop, split bills, transfer money and even share their
mobile banking wallets. This app can also be used to pool money to buy
gifts or for group travel by friends.
• The State Bank of India (SBI) launched the the SimplyCLICK SBI Card
for online shopping. For this new credit card, SBI Card has partnered
Amazon India,Book My Show, Cleartrip, FabFurnish, Food Panda, Lens
Kart and Ola Cabs. The card has been inspired by the needs and
aspirations of the generation that is always online.
• Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province in east China has
been chosen by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to host the 2022
Asian Games. It will be the third time that the Asian games will be
held in a Chinese city after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010.
Hangzhou is best known for the West Lake, a placid and tourist
attraction and is also home base of Chinese Internet (ecommerce) giant
Alibaba.
• Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) for welfare of
the people living in areas which are affected directly or indirectly
by mining.
• PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi is the sole Indian-origin executive in
Fortune's list of 50 most powerful women in business, which has been
topped by General Motors CEO Mary Barra.
• India ended their Commonwealth Youth Games with fifth spot in the
overall tally with 19 medals (9 gold, 4 silver, 6 bronze) behind
Australia (24, 19, 19), South Africa (13, 7, 15), England (12, 16, 16)
and Malaysia (11, 3, 3).
• "Muhammad: Messenger of God"is an Iranian movie directed by Majid
Majidi. Its music was composed by Indian music composer A.R. Rahman.
The movie came under some controversy when a lesser known Muslim group
issued a fatwa against Rahman.
• Ranvijay INS Ranvijay is one of the Rajput-class guided-missile
destroyers of Indian Navy. It is in service since 1987.In recent
years, it has taken part into several war games and exercised. In
2015, it represented Indian Navy in the first biennial bilateral
maritime exercise between Australia and India "AUSINDEX" along with
stealth frigate INS Shivalik and fleet tanker INS Shakti.
• Iran and a group of six nations led by the United States had reached
a historic accord in July 2015 to significantly limit Tehran's nuclear
ability for more than a decade in return for lifting international oil
and financial sanctions.
• An anchor investor in market parlance refers to a qualified
institutional buyer (QIB) making an application for a value of Rs.10
crore or more through the book-building process.SEBI, in 2009,
introduced the concept of anchor investor in public issues in order to
create a significant impact on pricing of initial public offers
(IPOs).
• Palestine became an observer state in 2012. The Vatican has been a
non-member observer state since 1964.
• Leander Paes created history by winning the US Open mixed doubles
title with Swiss partner Martina Hingis to become the format's most
successful male player in the Open era. With this win, the Paes-Hingis
duo, which also won the Australian Open and the Wimbledon titles early
this season, have become the first mixed doubles team since 1969 to
win three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles in the same year.
• In September 2015, the Russian astronaut Gennady Padalka has
returned to Earth with the record for having spent the most time in
space. The 57-year-old's latest mission lasted 168 days, bringing his
total to 879 days in space over five trips; which is more than anyone
else so far.
• Recently, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had visited
India. He is holding the office of Prime Minister of Sri Lanka since 9
January 2015. He is also the leader of the United National Front. This
is his third term as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.
• India Rapid Reaction Cell is the name of first ever country special
cell established by the Pentagon, headquarters of the United States
Department of Defense. It is a part of India- U.S. Defence Trade and
Technology Initiative (DTTI) and has been set up to speed up defense
ties with India, which is not only a big buyer but also a potential
collaborator in defense sector. It is headed by Keith Webster,
Director, International Cooperation Office of the Under Secretary of
Defence for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
• G-4 group is a group of four countries viz. Japan, Germany, Brazil
and India and this group wants expansion of the United Nations
Security Council and permanent seats for themselves.
• Amogha-1 is the name of India's indigenously-developed second
generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile. It has a range of 2.8 kilometres.
This is the first-ever design and developmental effort in respect of
missiles by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad. It was recently
successfully test fired at Babina Army Range, Madhya Pradesh.
• The Ministry for Water Resources has constituted a seven-member
committee led by former Planning Commission member Mihir Shah to
restructure the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Central Ground
Water Board (CGWB) to encourage optimal development of water resources
in the country.
• After Rajasthan, Haryana has become the second BJP-ruled State to
fix minimum educational qualifications for those contesting panchayat
polls, thus excluding a vast swathe of the poor and socially
disadvantaged from aspiring to becoming members of local bodies.
• Currently the Post Office deposits are Monthly Income Scheme;
Recurring Deposits (RD), Saving Accounts, 5-year NSC VIII, 10-year NSC
IX, Fixed Deposits, Senior Citizen Saving Scheme; Kisan Vikas Patra;
Public Provident Fund and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojna.
• kilobit per second (kbps) is a unit of data transfer rate equal to
1,000 bits per second and 125 bytes per second.
• Low-cost airline IndiGo's parent firm InterGlobe Aviation has
received approval from market regulator Sebi for its Rs. 2,500-crore
initial public offer. Under the offer, the company plans to issue
fresh shares worth Rs. 1,272 crore.
• Top potato producing states of India are Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat,
Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal
• The Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi launched the National
Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
to provide 24×7 power supply to every house. The key features of the
IPDS scheme are as follows: a) IT enablement of distribution sector
and strengthening of distribution network. B) Strengthening of
sub-transmission and distribution network in the urban areas. C)
Metering of distribution transformers /feeders / consumers in the
urban areas.
• The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has been
shifted to the administrative control of the Ministry of Communication
and Information Technology from Niti Aayog. The Cabinet Secretariat
has amended Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961
and put it under Department of Electronics and Information Technology
(DeITy), Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
Earlier, UIDAI was the part of Planning Commission. Aadhaar is a
12-digit individual identification number issued by UIDAI.
• The Indian cricketer Mr. Rohit Sharma has joined an anti-poaching
campaign to save the wild animals of Africa in Kenya. Mr. Sharma along
with Hollywood actors Matt Le Blanc and Salma Hayek will be involved
in taking care of the last surviving Northern White Rhinoceros of the
rare species. He is the member of PETA (People for Ethical Treatment
of Animals).
• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) commissioned two indigenously built
ships Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) ICGS "Apoorva" and Interceptor Boat
"C-421" at the Naval Dock in Mumbai, Maharashtra. ICGS Apoorva is the
14th fast patrol vessel in a series of 20, is a 50-metre long and can
achieve a top speed of 33 knots and displaces 317 tonnes. C-421 is a
water jet propelled vessel, 27th in the series of Ibs constructed by L
& T Limited and can achieve a maximum speed of 45 Knots.
• The "Metro Man" Mr. E Sreedharan has been invited to the United
Nations' High Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport (HLAG-ST).
The service is for a period of 3 years and Mr. Sreedharan has accepted
the offer. He was given the nickname of Metro Man by the Indian media
for his grand success in executing the completion of the Delhi Metro
on time and with stipulated budget.
• On the request of Union Environment Ministry, the Union Health
Ministry banned the sale of multiple-dose vials of a painkiller
"diclofenac" whose use in the veterinary sector has pushed vultures in
India to the brink of extinction. The commonly-used anti-inflammatory
drug for cattle is considered the chief cause for the steep decline in
the number of vultures in recent years. The drug is harmless to the
cattle it is administered to, but is fatal for the vultures, who
routinely feed on the carcass of dead cattle. Studies have shown that
the drug causes kidney and liver failure in vultures.
• The Development cell of Indian Railways has developed a "Hybrid
Vacuum Toilet" design that combines the advantages of Vacuum toilets
and Bio toilets. It will help to maintain hygiene and cleanliness in
toilets or tracks of Indian Railways as there will have no direct
evacuation of human waste. This newly developed toilet facility has
been fitted on trial basis in Dibrugarh Rajdhani. The concept of a
hybrid vacuum toilet is a first ever system of its kind to have been
developed and built by any railway system in the world.
• (BoB) The Bank of Baroda (BoB) bagged the first prize under the All
India Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar Scheme of Government of India (GoI).
The PSU has bagged the award for outstanding performance in official
language implementation under the category of nationalized banks in
the linguistic region – B for the year 2014-15.
• The Supreme Court of India launched a public access portal of the
National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) for district courts to demystify
the judicial process for the ordinary citizen. The public access
portal will disseminate national, state, district and court-wise
information about institution and disposal of cases on a monthly
basis. The NJDG will also provides daily statistics on case pendency
before the courts under the e-courts projects.
• The state government of Madhya Pradesh launched M-Shiksha-Mitra
mobile app to provide various services and teaching-related work to
teachers in simple and easy way. With this, Madhya Pradesh became the
first state to develop such mobile for teachers. The key features of
this app are as follows: a) Teachers can use this app to browse salary
slips, funds sent to school under various heads, scholarships,
different circulars and GPF statement. b) They can send SMS about
their problems and know status of their redressal. c) The app will
also be used for applying for leave and e-attendance. d) Facility of
free 200 SMSs has been given in the app. e) Developed by NIC that
carries several facilities can be downloaded from Google Play Store in
android mobile phone.
• With reference of the newly adopted constitution of Nepal, the list
of national symbols of Nepal are a) National Bird: Himalayan monal
(Lophophorus impejanus). b) National Flag: World's only
non-quadrilateral national flag. c) National Emblem: Coat of arms. d)
National Dress: Daura-Suruwal. e) National Anthem: Sayaun Thunga Phool
Ka. f) National Animal: Cow. g) National Flower: Rhododendron (or lali
gurans). h) National Language: Nepali.
• India and the USA have created a "joint challenge coin" to symbolise
their unique partnership in creating a next-generation aircraft
carrier for the Indian Navy. One side of the coin reads "Forward
Together We Go" and "Chale Chale Saath Saath" in Hindi and the other
side of it is golden in colour, has the flags of India and the United
States of America (USA) and an aircraft carrier floating on blue
water.
• The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will provide support
in implementation of Arunachal Vision 2030 and CM's Mission on Skill
Development and Employment Generation in the state.
• Ms. Stuti Narain Kacker appointed as the chairman of National
Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). Ms. Kacker, a 1978
batch IAS officer, was appointed the Head of the child rights panel by
Women and Child Development Ministry. The Commission deals with
education, child development, care of neglected and marginalised
children, elimination of child labour, child psychology and other laws
related to children.
• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi
has approved the setting up of the Indian Sign Language Research and
Training Centre (ISLRTC) as a Society under the Societies Registration
Act, 1860. The ISLRTC society will be under the aegis of the
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment. It will be initially located at the
Institute for Physically Handicapped, New Delhi. The society will help
5 million deaf people of the country and provide the hearing- impaired
an increased accessibility in education, workplace and other
activities in public life.
• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi
has approved the setting up of the Indian Sign Language Research and
Training Centre (ISLRTC) as a Society under the Societies Registration
Act, 1860. The ISLRTC society will be under the aegis of the
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment. It will be initially located at the
Institute for Physically Handicapped, New Delhi. The society will help
5 million deaf people of the country and provide the hearing- impaired
an increased accessibility in education, workplace and other
activities in public life.
• The Korea-Andhra Pradesh Friendship Forum organized the Korea
Caravan 2015 in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. This is for the first
time that Caravan was held outside New Delhi. The state government of
Andhra Pradesh will create a Korea Desk, which would be an exclusive
cell to be opened in the State Secretariat, to issue necessary
clearances and give swift response to investors. Likewise, it also
called upon the Koreans to join hands with the Indians to set up
various industries in the State and in building the capital
Amaravathi.
• The PepsiCo Chairman Ms. Indra Nooyi and Hindustan Times Group
chairperson Ms. Shobhana Bhartia have been presented with the 2015
Global Leadership Award of the US India Business Council, for their
commitment to driving a more inclusive global economy and their roles
as women leaders. The renowned Indian-American artist, Mr. Natvar
Bhavsar, who is known for his abstract expressionism and "color-field"
painting, was awarded the Artistic Achievement Award.
• The India's second largest IT service exporter, Infosys bagged a
Rs.1,380-crore contract from the Government of India (GoI) to build
technology infrastructure for Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), a
new single indirect tax structure across the country. The 5 year
contract will commence from October 1, 2015. Infosys will provide the
hardware and software applications for GST and also the end-to-end
deployment. The GST IT system will provide a standard interface for
the taxpayer viz. registration, filing of returns and payment of tax
and a common and shared IT infrastructure between the Centre, the
states and other bodies viz. Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• The National award winning Marathi film 'Court' has been selected as
India's official entry for the 88th Academy Awards 2016. The movie has
been short listed for the 'Best Foreign Movie' category. The movie is
written and directed by Mr. Chaitanya Tamhane and produced by Vivek
Gomber.
• The Agriculture Division of National Institution for Transforming
India (NITI) Aayog constituted an expert group on Land Leasing. The
expert group will be headed by former Commission for Agricultural
Costs and Prices (CACP) chairman Mr. T Haque. The committee consists
of members from Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Maharashtra,
Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya and Joint Secretary Mr. HS Meena from the
Department of Land Resources. Mr. JP Mishra, the Adviser (Agriculture)
in NITI Aayog will act as the member secretary.
• The National Cadet Corps (NCC) got the certificate by the Limca Book
of Records for the 'Largest Yoga performance simultaneously by a
single uniformed youth organisation' at multiple venues on
International Day of Yoga (June 21). The certificate was presented by
Mr. Vijaya Ghose, Editor Limca Book of Records to Lt Gen A Chakravarty
in the presence of Union Defence Minister Mr. Manohar Parrikar.
• The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) got SKOCH Award
for Smart Governance.
• The Chennakeshava temple, dedicated to the Lord Vishnu, is located
in Aralaguppe, a small town in the Tumkur district, Karnataka. The
temple was built around 1250 A.D. During the rule of the Hoysala
Empire King Vira Someshwara.
• The automaker Bajaj Auto launched its much-awaited RE60 quadricycle
'Qute' at a Free-on-Board (FoB) price tag of $2,000 (around Rs. 1.35
lakh). The vehicle is meant only for export markets for now, as the
regulations for India are not yet in place because of an ongoing
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court. Here, FoB
refers to terms requiring the seller to deliver goods on board a
vessel designated by the buyer. Depending on the duties and taxes of
each country, the price will differ in each market.
• The first conference on the contemporary relevance of the 'Bhagvad
Gita' was held in London, United Kingdom. The conference was organised
by Indian Council of Cultural Relations and High Commission of India.
The purpose of the conference was to deal with the innumerable
questions that exercise and confound through Bhagvad Gita and help to
tap unique transformational energy. The 'Bhagvad Gita' is the most
widely read and crucial one for the understanding of Eastern
mysticism.
• The Gujarat High Court has held that the special law " Prohibition
of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006″ will prevail over the Muslim
Personal Law in cases where Muslims marry off their minor daughters.
The promoters of such marriages will face legal proceedings. The
ruling held that the Child Marriage Act is a Special Act and it will
override the provisions of Muslim Personal Law, Hindu Marriage Act or
any personal law. The ruling was made by Justice JB Pardiwala.
• Dibang Valley is in Arunachal Pradesh. Hemis Monastery is a Buddhist
monastery of Drupka lineage. Salt Valley is in Rupshu region of
Ladakh.
• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolutions
that proclaimed December 9 as International Day of Commemoration &
Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention
of this Crime. The day marks the anniversary of the signing of the
1948 Genocide Convention.
• Burkina Faso is a land-locked West African state surrounded by six
countries. It has a population of just over 17 million people.
Formerly known as the Republic of Upper Volta, the official language
is French. It is an important ally for the US and France in the fight
against militants in the Sahel region. A military coup was held here
recently.
• Nuakhai is an agricultural festival mainly observed by people of
Western Odisha in India. Nuakhai is observed to welcome the new rice
of the season. According to the Hindu calendar it is observed on
panchamitithi (the fifth day) of the lunar fortnight of the month of
Bhadrapada or Bhaadra (August–September), the day after the Ganesh
Chaturthi festival. This is the most important social festival of
Western Odisha.
• Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been named as one of the
winners of the UN's highest environmental accolades – Champion of the
Earth in recognition of Bangladesh's far-reaching initiatives to
address climate change. According to UNEP: Bangladesh is the first
developing country to prepare a Climate Change Strategy and Action
Plan and to set up its own Climate Change Trust Fund in 2009.It has
one of the world's largest solar home energy systems covering over 10%
of its off-grid population, and earmarks 6% of its annual budget for
climate change adaptation. Previous winners include National
Geographic Society, South Africa's Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit and
Brazil's cosmetic firm Natura.
• China has successfully launched a newly-developed carrier rocket
Long March-6, capable of taking satellites into the orbit, as part of
the country's space program. The 29.3-meter- long rocket carried 20
micro satellites into the space, which are due to be used for
experiments in technology and new products, adding that the new
carrier rocket uses a fuel composed of liquid oxygen and kerosene,
which is purportedly free of toxicity and pollution. Based on a 2011
policy paper, the Long March-6 rockets are expected to be capable of
putting not less than one ton of payload into the orbit at an altitude
of 700 kilometres.
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has recently taken
environmental samples from the sensitive military site in Iran.
Parchin is a military complex located some 30 kilometres South of
Iran's capital Tehran. It has also served as a missile test range.
• In Greece, Alexis Tsipras' left-wing Syriza party won country's
third national vote this year despite a party rebellion over his
acceptance of a painful third international bailout. Though Syriza
fell short of a governing majority in the 300-member parliament and
was projected to win 145 seats, however it was expected to form a
coalition government with ease.
• According to the State of Broadband 2015 report by the United
Nations, Republic of Korea continues to have the world's highest
household broadband penetration, with 98.5 per cent of homes
connected.
• Maternal mortality ratio is highest in Assam, with 300 per one Lakh
live births and the lowest in Kerala, with 61 per one Lakh live births
• Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, the Cabinet
Committee on Security (CCS) has cleared a multi-billion dollar deal
for 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers
with American aviation giant Boeing.
• Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment said the government
will give all possible facilities to Persons with Disabilities under
its national flagship campaign 'Accessible India Campaign' (Sugamya
Bharat Abhiyan). Starting from Mumbai, the programme will be initially
implemented in 50 big cities across the country. The campaign will
audit accessibility issues pertaining to government buildings among
other things.
• Recently Colombian government and FARC rebels have agreed to sign a
definitive peace deal within six months to end half a century of
conflict.
• India Brand Equity Foundation is a trust established by the
Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government
of India. Its primary objective is to promote and create international
awareness of the made in India label in markets overseas to facilitate
dissemination of knowledge of Indian products and service
• Bloodhound SSC is a unique, high-technology project to design and
build a car that will break the 1,000mph barrier and set a new world
land speed record. Designed and constructed in the UK, Bloodhound SSC
includes components and sponsorship from international companies and
will make its record attempt in South Africa.
• The magnetosphere of Jupiter is the largest planetary magnetosphere
in the Solar system, extending up to 7,000,000 kilometres on the
dayside and almost to the orbit of Saturn on the nightside. Jupiter's
magnetosphere is stronger than Earth's by an order of magnitude, and
its magnetic moment is approximately 18,000 times larger.
• The Kalasa Banduri is a controversial canal project between
Karnataka and Goa. Karnataka plans to divert a meagre 7.56 tmc of its
Mahadayi basin contribution to the Malaprabha dam to meet the drinking
water needs of the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad and the surrounding
towns and villages. The plan is to channelise the diverted water
through Kalasa- Banduri, two separate canals so that water could be
supplied to the twin cities and Nargund, Navalgund, Badami, Ron, Gadag
and 100 villages. Kalasa-Banduri project planned in 1989; Goa raised
objection to it. Goa filed a complaint seeking setting up of a
tribunal in July 2002. The Ministry of Water Resources kept the
clearance given to Karnataka in abeyance in September 2002. Goa moved
the Supreme Court in 2006 seeking constitution of a tribunal,
withdrawing approval for any work in the basin. Mahadayi (Mandovi) is
a water deficit basin and water diversion could impact the
environment. The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal was set up on
22.11.2010. The tribunal has framed 70 issues for determination of
claims by the riparian states. The matter has been posted for hearing
on November 23, 2015. The states have completed filing the statements
before the tribunal. The final verdict should be given before August
2016.
• The 24th Vyaas Samman award was conferred on eminent Hindi writer Dr
Kamal Kishore Goenka for his work "Premachand ki Kahaniyon ka Kaal
kramanusaar Adhyayan". It was published in 2012, this book is a
chronological study of short stories written by Munshi Premchand.
• India will be hosting the World Junior Circuit Finals at Indore
between January 22 and 25. This was confirmed by the International
Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) in a statement to the Table Tennis
Federation of India.
• Cow, which is sacred to Hindus, has been declared the animal of
Nepal. Now, the animal has constitutional protection and cow slaughter
has also been banned in Nepal.
• The Lapis Lazuli corridor connects Afghanistan through Turkmenistan,
Azerbaijan, Georgia to the Black Sea and ultimately through Turkey to
the Mediterranean Sea and Europe. The Lapis Lazuli corridor is a
historic corridor. Some 2,000 years back, lapis lazuli stone was
exported from Badakhshan in north-eastern Afghanistan through this
route to Europe.
• Indelible ink typically contain Silver Nitrate which stains the skin
on exposure of ultraviolet light, leaving a mark that is impossible to
wash off and is only removed on external skin cells are replaced.
• The ease of doing business index is prepared by World Bank Group.
The index ranks economies from 1 to 189, with first place being the
best. A high ranking means that the regulatory environment is
conducive to business operation. The index averages the country's
percentile rankings on 10 topics covered in the World Bank's Doing
Business.
• Gaia Vince became the first solo woman to win the prestigious Royal
Society Science Book of the year award. She won 2015 Royal Society
Winton Prize for Science Books for her book, Adventures in the
Anthropocene: A Journey to the Heart of the Planet. Ms. Vince is a
science editor and journalist who completed a 800 day tour of the
globe which was the basis of her book. The book investigates the
Anthropocene Age the epoch in which we currently live and how humans
are changing the planet, for the better and for the worse. The Royal
Society Winton Prize for Science Books was founded in 1988 to
celebrate outstanding popular science books.
• Madhesis are a group of People from lower land of Nepal. Madhesis
occupy most important geographical location called Terai (or Madhesh)
which is most strategic location for Nepal's economic prosperity and
development. Terai is bordering the Indian states Bihar, Uttar
Pradesh, West Bengal and Uttaranchal. The high density of Madhesis is
concentrated along the Indo-Nepal border line. Madhesi form 40-50 per
cent of the total population of Nepal.
• Picchwai Paintings are intricate paintings which portray Lord
Krishna. They exist in the holy town of Nathdwara in the Rajasthan.
• Stuti Narain Kacker, a 1978 batch of IAS officer, was appointed the
head of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights by
women and child development ministry. The chairperson's position fell
vacant after the tenure of former UPA appointee Kushal Singh ended in
October last year. The commission deals with education, child
development, care of neglected and marginalised children, elimination
of child labour, child psychology and other laws related to children.
• Astrosat is the country's first dedicated multi-wavelength space
observatory. ASTROSAT, with a life span of five years, will observe
the universe through optical, ultraviolet, low and high energy X-ray
components of the electromagnetic spectrum, whereas most other
scientific satellites are capable of observing through a narrow
wavelength band.
• FASTag is a radio frequency identification device that enables
cashless transaction at toll plazas. FASTag is currently operational
on Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Chandigarh and Bengaluru- Chennai highways.
There are 35 toll plazas spread across these three stretches with the
user base restricted to 2,200. The technology is expected to save time
as well as fuel. According to transport ministry this would result in
savings of Rs 27,000 crore in delays caused at tolls and Rs 7,000
crore worth of fuel.
• NITI Aayog vice-chairman Aravind Panagariya has been chosen as the
next G-20 Sherpa of prime minister Narendra Modi. He is preceded by
railway minister Suresh Prabhu. A Sherpa is the official personal
emissary or representative of head of state in any international forum
like G-8 or G-20. Chosen personally by the head of state, and in
India's case by the prime minister, India's G-20 Sherpa has
responsibility of laying the groundwork ahead of the prime minister's
attendance in what is now the most definitive grouping of global
powers.
• Syed Akbaruddin has been appointed as India's permanent
representative at the United Nations. He will replace Ashok Mukherji
who will be retiring soon. Syed Akbaruddin is an additional secretary
in the ministry of external affairs from April 2015.
• The world number one team of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis
continued its dominating run by winning their sixth title of the year
at the Guangzhou Open. The top seeds defeated Xu Shilin and You Xiaodi
6-3, 6-1 in the final to win their second WTA title in a row.
• Hornbills are unique birds. They get their name from the horn-like
projection called a casque on top of their beak. Hornbills are often
called as the 'farmers of the forest' as they disperse the seeds of
many tropical trees and keep the forest alive. Unfortunately, most
hornbill species are threatened by habitat loss and hunting.
• So far only US, Russia and Japan have own space observatory. After
successful launching of ASTROSTAT India became the fourth country
globally to have space observatory.
• Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has won the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix
title of Formula One. This was his overall eight victory of the
season. Nico Roseberg came second, followed by Sebastian Vettel at
third place.
• Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a proposal for introduction of
broadband connectivity, through Wi-Fi hotspots, at 100 railway
stations. He said it will be expanded to 400 next year. The search
engine giant also announced the rollout of ten-language vernacular
typing for Android users. The announcement was made when Prime
Minister Narendra Modi took a tour of the Google headquarters with CEO
Pichai.
• The World Tourism Day celebration was started by the United Nations
World Tourism Organization in the year 1980 which is celebrated every
year at 27th September. This day is celebrated every year having
particular theme for making aware the people all over the world. The
theme of this year tourism day is One billion tourist's one billion
opportunities.
• Mina is a small city located inside a low lying valley in the
province of Makkh, in western Saudi Arabia. Inside the 20 square km
valley, tents cover every open space, as far as the eye can see,
neatly arranged, row after row. It is in these tents Hajj pilgrims
stay overnight during the five days of each Haj season. For the rest
of the year, Mina remains pretty much deserted. There are more than
100,000 air-conditioned tents in Mina providing temporary
accommodation to 3 million pilgrims.
• The Ministry of Science and Technology announced the 11 recipients
of prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award, considered to be a
coveted science honour in the country in seven different fields.
Vidita Vaidya from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research has been
chosen for the award in medical science category.
• Nepal has been organising Himalayan Air Festival to help revive the
nation's tourism industry. The Himalayan Air Festival-Garud Fun 2015
was a fiesta of air adventures and fun organized for the first time in
Nepal.
• India launched the first Indo-Africa ICT Expo in the Kenyan capital
under the theme of "India: Your Partner for Technology Next". The
event, on September 28-29, was launched in conjunction with
Information Technology Authority of Kenya, Telecom Export Promotion
Council (TEPC) of India, and National Association of Software and
Service Companies (NASSCOM). The event, inaugurated by Najib Balala,
Cabinet Secretary of Kenya and Rakesh Garg, Secretary Telecom of
India, was attended by various officials and business leaders from
India, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Sudan.
• Porter Prize for Enabling Social Progress was awarded to Reliance
Foundation, the CSR arm of Reliance Industries. Tata Power bagged the
Porter Prize for Excellence in Corporate Integration and Governance.
Porter Prize for Leveraging Unique Activities was awarded to JSW
SteelBSE -2.95 % while the Porter Prize on Industry Architectural
Shift was awarded to Mahindra Rural Housing and Finance. Porter Prize
on Exploiting Tradeoffs was awarded to Abbott India, Porter Prize.
Instituted in the name of Michael E Porter, a Professor at Harvard
Business School and father of modern strategy field, it is awarded to
entities which have showcased outstanding performance in the industry
and their activities have enabled upliftment of social indicators in
their area of work.
• India will host BRICS U-17 football cup in 2016. The ASSOCHAM in
partnership with BRICS Football Cup is proposing to organize the first
ever BRICS Under-17 football cup next year in India.
• American golfer Jordan Spieth has been awarded the PGA of America
Player of the Year award and the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring
average. Spieth has become the second youngest player after Tiger
Woods to capture both awards in the same year. The 22-year-old, who
also won Masters and US Open this season, recaptured his world number
one rank when he recently clinched the FedEX Cup title in the Tour
Championship at Atlanta.
• Viren Dangwal was a renowned Hindi poet and Sahitya Academy
recipient. His famous write up was Kavi Ne kaha besides his collection
' Dushchakra me Shrista' earned him the Sahitya Academy award in 2004
and Shamsher Samman in 2002. In 1992 he got the Raghuveer Sahay Smriti
Award for his poem Duniya. In 1993 he received the Srikant Verma
Smriti Award.
• The DC Avanti is a sports car produced by DC Design, an Indian
design firm headed by Dilip Chhabria. Its name was based on the
Studebaker Avanti and it is a reference to The Adventures of Tintin
comics. It was unveiled at the 2012 Auto Expo in Delhi. The DC Avanti
is powered by a Renault-sourced, 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged
petrol engine producing 250 bhp with a six-speed dual-clutch
transmission.
• Jacob Tsimerman of the University of Toronto, Canada has been chosen
for the prestigious 2015 SASTRA-Ramanujan Prize for his contribution
in the field of Mathematics. Tsimerman is one of the few
mathematicians to have complete mastery over two very different areas
of mathematics, analytic number theory and algebraic geometry. Much of
Tsimerman's research stems from his spectacular doctoral thesis
entitled "Towards an unconditional proof of the Andre-Oort conjecture
and surrounding problems" that he wrote at Princeton University in
2010 under the direction of Prof Peter Sarnak. Born The prize will be
awarded in December, 2015 at the International Conference on Number
Theory at SASTRA University in Kumbakonam, Ramanujan's hometown.
• Frank Tyson was the former England fast bowler, and renowned as one
of the quickest to have ever played the game. Earning the nickname
'Typhoon' for his extreme pace, Tyson played 17 Tests for England
between 1954 and 1959, taking 76 wickets at an average of 18.56. His
demanding action put huge strain on his body and he retired at the age
of 30. One of Tyson's most memorable performances came in the 1954-55
Ashes in Australia, in which he picked up 28 wickets in five Tests, at
an average of 20.82, helping England achieve a 3-1 win and formed a
potent new-ball partnership with Brian Statham in the series.
• Ayonika Paul is an Indian shooter who competes in the 10 metre air
rifle event. She won the silver medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games
in Glasgow. She had earlier won Bronze in ISSF World Cup 2014 in
Slovenia. She won bronze medal at Asian Air Gun championship 2015.
• Nandan Nilekani, the former chairman of Unique Identification
Authority of India (UIDAI) is the author of Rebooting Government. The
book is co-authored with former UIDAI colleague Viral Shah and to be
released in November 2015.
• The German car giant Volkswagen is in news for emission cheating
scandal. The automaker has admitted cheating emissions tests in the
US. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), some cars
being sold in America had devices in diesel engines that could detect
when they were being tested, changing the performance accordingly to
improve results. This resulted in a major discrepancy between the
measured emissions and those produced during real-world driving—where
the affected vehicles emitted up to 35 times the legal limit of
nitrogen oxides (Nox). The offending programming was included in
Volkswagen and Audi models between model years 2009 and 2015; it was
included on 500,000 vehicles in the United States, and an estimated
eleven million cars worldwide.
• International Day of Older Persons is observed on 1 October every
year. On 14 December 1990, the United Nations General Assembly
designated 1 October the International Day of Older Persons. This was
preceded by initiatives such as the Vienna International Plan of
Action on Ageing which was adopted by the 1982 World Assembly on
Ageing and endorsed later that year by the UN General Assembly. The
theme of the 2015 commemoration is "Sustainability and Age
Inclusiveness in the Urban Environment".
• The Champions of the Earth award is the United Nations highest
environmental honour recognizing visionary people and organisations
all over the world that exemplify leadership and advocate action on
sustainable development, climate change and a life of dignity for all.
The award was established in 2004.
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