September, 2016 Current Affair’s

1.            Jharkhand has become the first Indian state to have implemented Public Fund Management System (PFMS).

2.            The 9th edition of the mega event "India Chem 2016 International Conference" has inaugurated by Anant Kumar, the Union Minister for Chemicals & Petrochemicals, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is jointly organized by Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Government of India and FICCI.The purpose of 2016 India Chem is to highlight the investment possibilities in India's chemical industry and give a fillip to Make in India. In the 3-day International Exhibition & Conference, approx 23 countries viz. China, Japan, Russia, Spain, USA, Germany, Italy, Brazil, etc. along with partner states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha are participating as exhibitors, delegates and visitors.

3.            Ashok Chawla, a former Union Finance Secretary, has been appointed as the new Chancellor of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) University. Currently, He is serving as the chairman of TERI since February 2016.

4.            Aishwaryaa Dhanush, the noted filmmaker and actor, has been appointed as the United Nations Women's Advocate for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in India.She will help to raise awareness of UN Women's core message of gender equality and women's empowerment across India and will boost the organization's efforts to close the gender gap and achieve a more equal world — a Planet 50-50, by the year 2030.

5.            The 5-day long Solung festival has started in Arunachal Pradesh. It is an agro-based festival, which is celebrated every year by the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh in the first week of September. The festival reflects the socio-religious features of the Adi people. People perform various rituals and make offerings to gods and goddesses during the celebration and pray for a bumper harvest. Mithun, Great Indian Bison, whose sacrifice is given during the celebration, is considered as holy animal and occupies an important religious significance among the Adis. People present gifts of meat and Apong (rice beer) to neighbours and relatives on the occasion thus cementing family and social relationships. Another feature of this festival is care and protection of animals which are vital components of their family and social life.

6.            India's first international conference on cooking gas has started in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The 2-day meeting will deliberate on the need for an LPG-enabled household and use of traditional cooking fuels. The event will focus on the need for an LPG enabled household, problems arising due to absence of cooking gas, the usage of traditional bio mass cooking fuels and their impact on both health and environment. The delegates from developing countries, such as Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria, Nepal and Sri Lanka are participating.

7.            The 2016 Gabonese presidential election has been won by President Ali Bongo Ondimba. With this, he is re-elected as the new President of Gabon. The President of Gabon is elected for a seven-year term in a single round of voting by plurality; whichever candidate places first is deemed elected, regardless of whether the candidate secured a majority of votes.

8.            The 2016 BRICS Convention on Tourism has started at World heritage site Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh on September 1. The 2- day convention has been inaugurated by Dr.Mahesh Sharma, the Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture. The event will consists of inter- governmental exchange of views and ideas and panel discussions on different subjects including cooperation between the BRICS countries for promoting intra-regional tourism.

9.            The Union Government has constituted an expert committee to study the silt in the river Ganga in Bihar, which caused devastating prevailing flood in the state. The committee would be headed by A .K. Sinha and will submit its report within 10 days.

10.        Kashmiri Lal Zakir (97), the well-known poet, novelist and short story writer of Urdu literature, has recently passed away in Chandigarh. His notable works include Tin cihre ek saval, a ghazal anthology, Ab Mujhey Sone Do, etc.

11.        India has recently signed an agreement with Egypt in the area of Maritime Transport in New Delhi to step up co-operation on the seas. The agreement will strengthen cooperation and provide sustained mutual assistance and advice on merchant shipping and other related maritime matters. It is signed during the 3-day visit of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to India on September 1-3, 2016. This is the first presidential visit to Egypt from India since the visit of then President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

12.        The 14th edition of ASEAN-India Summit 2016 and 11th edition of East Asia Summit 2016 will be held in Vientiane, Lao PDR on September 8, 2016. It will be attended by Heads of State/Government of the 10 ASEAN and 18 East Asia Summit Participating Countries. From India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the summit. The purpose of the summit is to review ASEAN-India cooperation and discuss its future direction under each of the three pillars of politico-security, economic and socio-cultural cooperation.

13.        Michel Temer, the former vice president of Brazil, has been sworn in as the new President of Brazil. He took oath after the Senate voted 61-20 to remove President Dilma Rousseff from office for breaking fiscal laws in her management of the federal budget. Prior to this, Temer was the acting President of Brazil since May 2016 following the suspension of President Dilma Rousseff during her impeachment trial.

14.        The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will launch the INSAT-3DR satellite into orbit by the GSLV-F05 rocket vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikotta, Andhra Pradesh. The INSAT-3DR is a modern weather satellite and has a mission duration of 8 years. It will help to predict weather patterns and also provide search and rescue information.

15.        The book "Munnu: A Boy from Kashmir" has been authored by Malik Sajad. This book is a poignant, heart-stopping account of what it means to be a young boy growing up in a conflict-ridden land.

16.        Anuradha Rao has been appointed as the new MD and CEO of SBI Mutual Fund. Prior to this appointment, Rao was the Deputy Managing Director at SBI handling New Business Portfolio. She succeeded Dinesh Kumar Khara, who has been appointed Managing Director of State Bank of India (Associate & Subsidiaries).

17.        Jackie Chan, an action movie star, writer, director and martial artist, will be awarded with the honorary Academy Award (or Oscar) by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on November 12, 2016 for his extraordinary achievements in the movies. Beside him, the honorary Oscar will be given to editor Anne Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster and documentary maker Frederick Wiseman.

18.        The President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov (78), has recently passed away in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He was the first President of Uzbekistan, in office since 1990.

19.        The Interview Island Wildlife Sanctuary (IIWS) is located in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It has an area of 99 km2 and is situated to the west of Austen Strait which separates North Andaman Island and Middle Andaman Island.

20.        The first-ever BRICS film festival has started in New Delhi from September 2, 2016. The 5-day festival will act as a platform for people of the film industry of member countries to explore areas of cooperation in the domain of cinema, culture and cuisine. The festival will also celebrate the excellence of cinema by rewarding film makers, actors, producers and directors. The festival will ensure more people to people contact, especially youth among member countries.

21.        The 2016 G-20 Summit has started in the Chinese city of Hangzhou on September 4 to discuss efforts to reform global economic governance. The 2016 theme is "Toward an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy". This is the first time China is hosting the G-20 global meet and it is only the second time that the G20 is hosted in Asia. The G-20 represents over 85 % of the world's economy and two-thirds of global population.

22.        Dr. K K Aggarwal has been elected as the National President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for the year 2016-17. Currently, he is the Secretary General of the doctors association. Beside this, Dr Ravi Wankhedkar from Maharashtra will be the National President for the year 2017-18 and Dr. R N Tandon will take over as Honorary Secretary General. The new team will take over on December 28, 2016 in Amritsar. The IMA is the only representative, national voluntary organisation of doctors of modern scientific system of medicine, which looks after the interest of doctors as well as the well-being of the community at large.

23.        Zaheer Khan, former India pacer, has been inducted as an Honorary Life Member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). He is the third Indian player to receive the distinction in 2016 after Virender Sehwag and Anjum Chopra.

24.        In Haryana, village Gumthala Garhu near Pehowa in Kurukshetra district has became the first Wifi hotspot village in Haryana circle under bulk plan of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). The service was inaugurated by Chief Minister Manohar Lal from Chandigarh to provide internet services to rural areas. The Wifi hotspot facility at the village uses bandwidth of 10 mbps through BSNL's state-of-the-art network.

25.        The Odisha government has launched Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana in Bhubaneswar for the development of girls in 3 districts of the state. The purpose of the scheme is to improve Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and Child Sex Ratio (CSR) in the three districts. Primarily, the scheme would be implemented for 3 years in Ganjam, Dhenkanal and Angul districts on a pilot basis. The scheme will ensure enrollment of girls in elementary education, tracking dropout girls from schools and creating a better environment for them.

26.        The Kerala government has recently appointed the Legendary Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador for anti- liquor and anti-drug campaign to create awareness among people against alcoholism and drug abuse. The state government has also decided to open up more de-addiction centres for the benefit of the addicted.

27.        Nalini Dhar Bhattacharyya (95), the famous Assamese poet, literary critic and author and winner of the Sahitya Akademi award , has recently passed away in Guwahati,Assam. Her best-known collections of poems include Ei Kunwolite, Cherashalir Malita, Bidai Phular Din, Ahata Sapon, etc.

28.         The 2016 Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) has held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore. The main focus of 3-day conference is on the defence, economic, cultural and environmental matters of the region. From India, Sushma Swaraj, the External Affairs Minister, has attended the conference through video conferencing.

29.        The book "Leaping Poetry: An Idea with Poems and Translations" has been authored by Robert Bly. It is the author's testament to the importance of the artistic leap that bridges the gap between conscious and unconscious thought in any great work of art.

30.        The Phulwari Wildlife Sanctuary is on the bank of Sabarmathi river in Rajasthan, which includes 11 forest blocks and many villages surrounding it in two parts. It is home to many species such as Marsh Crocodile Crocodylus palustris, Monitor Lizard Varanus bengalensis and Indian Rock Python Python molurus.

31.        The first edition of Nomad Film Festival 2016 has started at the India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi to raise awareness and change perceptions regarding the denotified tribes. It will showcase short films as well as documentaries on the lives of the tribes. The tribes were listed as 'Criminal Tribes' under the 1871 Criminal Tribes Act during the British rule.

32.        Dr. Hrushikesh Mallick, the famous Odia poet, will be honoured with the 37th edition of prestigious Sarala Award for his poetry work "Jeje Dekhi Nathiba Bharat. The annual award carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and a citation.

33.        Recently, India's mixed doubles pair of Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Jerry Chopra has clinched their Brazil Open Grand Prix Badminton title 2016 by defeating Canadian combo of Toby Ng and Rachel Honderich 21-15, 21-16 in straight games at Costa Cavalcante.

34.        Dr. Urjit Patel is the newly appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He succeeded Dr. Raghuram Rajan. Prior to this appointment, he was the deputy Governor of RBI.

35.        The Union home minister Rajnath Singh has recently approved the use of chilli-based PAVA shells for crowd controlling as an alternative to pellet guns, which would still be used in rarest of rare cases. The PAVA stands for Pelargonic Acid Vanillyl Amide, also called Nonivamide, and are an organic compound found characteristically in natural chilli pepper. The PAVA shells are non-lethal munition which temporarily incapacitates the targets and renders them immobile for several minutes. The T V S N Prasad expert committee, which has recently submitted its report to Home Secretary, has recommended the use of PAVA as an alternative to pellet guns.

36.        The Union Health Ministry has recently launched the "Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC)" to eradicate leprosy by focusing on 149 endemic districts in India. The aim of 2-week-long massive campaign is to cover 20 states, 149 districts and 1,656 blocks, where nearly 3 lakh health teams will undertake door-to-door visits to detect and treat leprosy and stop its spread. The campaign will be till September 18, 2016.

37.        The High Court of Rajasthan has recently launched the e-stamp facility in its Jodhpur and Jaipur benches simultaneously. With this, Rajasthan has become 4th state in India to provide this facility. Before this, the facility was available in Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh.The e-stamp facility is completely secure and reliable and there is no possibility of any forgery or tampering. The payment of court fees through e-stamps is a simple, easy and secure process. 

38.        Lt Governor Kiran Bedi has recently launched 'Shramdaan movement' as part of Swachh Bharat and Swachh Puducherry initiative at Seliamedu village in Puducherry.

39.        Arif Beg (81), the former union minister and senior BJP leader, has recently passed away in Bhopal, madhya Pradesh. He was a minister of state (1977-79) in the Morarji Desai led Janta Party government at the centre.

40.        The Kalesar National Park is a protected area in eastern district of Haryana. It is a popular destination for Leopard and bird-watching. It is home to wild boars, sambhars, hares, red junglefowl, porcupine, monkeys, chitals, red jungle fowl, etc.

41.        The 28th edition of ASEAN Summit 2016 has started in Vientiane, Laos. In the summit, the ASEAN leaders will review the progress of implementation of ASEAN Community Blueprints 2025.

42.        Nuakhai, the agrarian mass festival of Kosali people, has celebrated in western Odisha on September 6, 2016 to welcome the new rice of the season. Every year, the festival is observed on panchami tithi, the day after Ganesh Chaturthi. It is a festival for the worship of food grain.

43.        Dr. Bibhuti Lahkar, an ecologist and conservation activist from India, has won the prestigious 2016 Heritage Heroes Award of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) at the IUCN's World Conservation Congress in Honolulu, Hawaii. With this, he became the first Asian and the first individual from Assam to win this prestigious environmental award. The award is aimed to recognize the outstanding efforts of conservationists around the world in making a difference in the conservation of World Heritage sites in challenging situations. Dr.Lahkar has been working to save the grasslands, flora and fauna of Manas National Park area for the past two decades and is currently engaged as Manas Landscape Administrator for Aaranyak, an NGO working for biodiversity conservation in North East India.

44.        In a bid to clean up the examination system after the toppers scam, the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) will link exam forms with Aadhaar card to avoid duplication.This new initiative is the first to be implemented by any state board in India. As per the new initiative, when the students will apply for examinations, they will have to specify their Aadhar card number. In case any student is unable to provide Aadhar number along with the examination form, he or she will have to put forward a strong reason for not doing so before the school principal. The move will not only add to greater transparency in the exam process but also facilitate easy access to documents.

45.        Nico Rosberg, a German Formula One driver for Mercedes Formula One team, has won the 2016 Italian Grand Prix Formula One World Championship in Monza, Italy.

46.        Thithi has bagged the best film award at the first edition of BRICS Film Festival 2016. It is a Kannada-language dramatic comedy movie, which is co-written and directed by Raam Reddy. The movie is about how three generations of sons react to the death of the oldest in their clan, a man named Century Gowda: a locally renowned, highly cantankerous 101-year-old man.

47.        MobiKwik has recently launched "Bubble Pin" a one-step offline payments mode, which allows users to make payments even without data connection. The MobiKwik app will generate a pin with a 60-second validity when the 'Pay at store' option is clicked. Then,users need to share the unique pin with the retailer to make the payment. The pin is a combination of numbers and alphabets. Bubble pin also makes the transaction more secure as no phone number is required to be shared. Users will soon use MobiKwik 'Bubble Pin' in over 25,000 offline stores across India.

48.        The Union Government has recently launched an umbrella program "National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI)" for nurturing ideas and innovation into successful start ups. The purpose of the program is to provide technological solutions not only to the pressing needs of the society but also targets to create new avenues for wealth and job creation. The programme will focus on helping startups to meet their funding, infrastructure and other mentorship needs.

.49.        J Satyanarayana, the former IAS officer, has been appointed as the part-time chairperson of Unique Identification Authority of India(UIDAI). The post has been lying vacant following resignation of Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani's resignation in 2014. Besides him, technocrats Rajesh Jain and Anand Deshpande have been appointed as part-time members of the UIDAI.

50.        India has been declared free from Yaws and Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) by the World Health Organization (WHO). Recently, India has received WHO's certificates for MNTE & Yaws-free India at the 69th session of Regional Committee of WHO at Colombo, Sri Lanka. India is the first country under the 2012 WHO Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) roadmap to eliminate yaws, a disease known to affect the most underserved population. India had eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus, which the WHO had termed a major public health feat.

51.        Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, has recently launched #Gas4India campaign in New Delhi to promote the use of natural gas in India. Beside this, he also launched the website, twitter handle, facebook page and theme song of the campaign. The #Gas4India is a unified cross-country, multimedia, multi-event campaign to communicate the national, social, economic and ecological benefits of using natural gas as the fuel of choice to every citizen who uses, or will use in the near future. The campaign includes social engagement via Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn, and its official blogsite, as well as hyper local, offline events to directly connect with consumers through discussions, workshops and cultural events.

52.        K.G. George, the famous film director, has won the prestigious 2015 J.C. Daniel Award for his outstanding contribution to the Malayalam film industry. He is noted for the deep psychological analysis and character study of the human mind in his films. The award carries a purse of Rs.1 lakh and a citation and will be given by the State government in the State Film Awards at Palakkad, Kerala.

53.        The 2016 BRICS Wellness Workshop will be held in Bengaluru, Karnataka from September 10-13. It will be organize by Ministry of AYUSH, in collaboration with Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS). Apart from this, the Ministry of AYUSH will also organize a 4-day AROGYA Fair, a comprehensive Health and Wellness Fair to showcase strengths of traditional systems/wellness sector in India and BRICS partner countries.

54.        The Department of Telecom (DoT) has launched "Urja Mitra Helpline" through which customers can get information on power outages from distribution companies by dialing 14401. The helpline is for pan-India usage to send information through voice calls and SMSes to apprise customers about power situation in their area so that they can plan accordingly. It is a mandatory service, which will be provided by all the telecom operators.

55.        The world's first daily driverless bus service has started in Lyon, France. The buses can hold up to 15 passengers and features like LIDAR radar technology and motion sensors will help to avoid accidents.

56.        The book "Imagine Me Gone" has been authored by Adam Haslett. The novel is about how love and frustration shape the family dynamics of those affected by psychological instability. 

57.        The International Literacy Day (ILD) is observed every year on September 8 to emphasize the importance of literacy to individuals, society and communities. The theme of 50th edition of ILD 2016 is "Reading the Past, Writing the Future". The day was established in 1966 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

58.        The first edition of "IoT (Internet of Things) India Congress-2016" has started in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The purpose of 3-day event is to bring together key stakeholders across the value chain and verticals to collaborate, ideate and share a common roadmap for IoT implementation. It was inaugurated by Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Information Technology (IT) and Electronics Minister.

59.        India has recently signed an open skies agreement with Greece that proposes to allow unlimited number of flights from India to Greece while Greek carriers have been granted unlimited traffic rights to six Indian metro cities. With this, Greece has become the first country with which India has inked an open sky arrangement under its new civil aviation policy. As per the civil aviation policy, the government can enter into an 'open sky' air services agreement on a reciprocal basis with SAARC nations as well as countries with territory located entirely beyond a 5,000 kilometre radius from New Delhi.

60.        The 14-day bilateral military exercise "PRABAL DOSTYK-16" has started between India and Kazakhstan at Karaganda region of Kazakhstan, which will be concluded on September 17, 2016). The purpose of the bilateral exercise is to enhance interoperability while undertaking counter terrorism & counter insurgency operations in rural & semi-urban environment under the umbrella of United Nations.

61.        The Ministry of External affairs (MEA) has recently launched a registration module "madad.gov.in" for Indian students studying abroad so they could be reached in case of emergency. Currently, there is no data available on the Indian students studying abroad.

62.        C.K. Asnani, a chemical engineer from Osmania University, has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), an undertaking of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

63.        Anjum Chopra, a former Indian captain, has become the first Indian woman cricketer to get the prestigious honorary life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

64.        Ankur Dhama, a middle-distance runner, will be the India's first blind athlete to represent country at 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. He will take part in the event with his partner Vipin Kumar. Earlier, Dhama took part at the 2014 Asian Para Games and won a silver medal and two bronze medals.

65.        The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully launched advanced weather satellite "INSAT-3DR" into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) by the GSLV-F05 rocket vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikotta, Andhra Pradesh. The INSAT-3DR is a modern weather satellite and has a life expectancy of 10 years. It will help to predict weather patterns and also provide search and rescue information.

66.        ICICI Bank has successfully deployed 'Software Robotics' for power banking operations. With this, ICICI has become the first Indian bank to deploy software robotics that emulates human actions to automate and perform repetitive, high volume and time consuming business tasks cutting across multiple applications.

67.        Narendra Singh Tomar, the Union Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, has recently released report of "Swachh Survekshan" for rural areas. Excerpts of the report are Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) was judged as the cleanest district in "Hills" category and Sindhudurg (Maharashtra) as the cleanest in the "Plains" category. Besides, the districts of Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), Nadia (West Bengal) and Satara (Maharashtra) feature at the top of the index.

68.        The United Nations charter, the seminal treaty of the UN, has been translated into Sanskrit by Dr Jitendra Kumar Tripathi, the secretary of the Lucknow-based Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad (ABSP). Currently, the UN Charter is available in all six official languages viz. Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish. The United Nations Charter was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organisation, and came into force on 24 October 1945.

69.        Om Prakash Kohli, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) leader, has been sworn-in as the 26th governor of Madhya Pradesh. Kohli, who is also the Governor of Gujarat, succeeded Ram Naresh Yadav.

70.        Stuart Blackburn has won the MM Bennetts Award for Historical Fiction 2016 in United Kingdom for his novel "Into the Hidden Valley". The book tells the story of the Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh during British India. The award is named in memory of writer-historian Bennetts who was a specialist in early 19th century British history and the Napoleonic wars.

71.        India's first Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) laboratory will be set up in Aundh in Hingoli district of Maharashtra. LIGO-India will bring wide opportunities in cutting edge technology for Indian industries as they will be engaged in the construction of 8 km-long beam tube at ultra- high vaccuum on a levelled terrain.It will be 3rd such laboratory in the world and first outside the United States. The existing laboratories are located in Hanford, Washington and in Livingston, Louisiana.

72.        Mariyappan Thangavelu has won India's first gold medal in the men's high jump T-42 event with jump of 1.89 metres at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. With this, Thangavelu became the first Indian high jumper to win Paralympics gold. His compatriot Varun Singh Bhati clinched the bronze medal in the same event. Thangavelu is also the 3rd Indian to win gold at Paralympics after Murlikant Petkar, who won in swimming, at Heidelberg 1972 and Devendra Jhajharia who won at Athens 2004 in javelin throw.

73.        The Odisha government has recently launched the pension scheme for construction workers, which will benefit 25 lakh beneficiaries in phased manner. As per the scheme, the construction workers above 60 years of age will get pension of Rs 300 per month while workers above 80 years of age will get pension of Rs 500 per month. The widow and disabled construction workers are also eligible to get the benefit of the pension scheme. This is the 3rd scheme has been launched by the state government within a month after the Mahaprayan scheme for taking bodies from hospital to the deceased's house and Biju Kanya Ratna scheme that aims to improve child sex ratio.

74.        The Chhattisgarh Government has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Civil Aviation to boost regional air connectivity within the state. As per the MoU under the Centre's Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), small airports and airstrips will be developed in phased manner in different cities to facilitate intra-state flight services. This scheme will cover those cities where flight services have been either discontinued for a long time or could not be started. The Union Government will also provide an opportunity to various aviation companies to start flights on subsidised rates within the state.

75.        The book "Six Machine: I Don't Like Cricket … I Love It" is the autobiography of Chris Gayle, a Jamaican cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies. The book chronicles how a shy, skinny kid from a tin-roofed shack in the back streets of Kingston became one of the most well-known stars in the global cricketing arena. The story tells of more than just sporting genius; it is a compelling narrative of Chris' struggle, of battling prejudices and still emerging unscathed with a broad smile on his face.

76.        As per the latest National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) sanitation survey in rural areas, Sikkim has been adjudged the cleanest state in India, followed by Kerala, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur, etc. The ranking is given on the basis of percentage of households having sanitary toilets and using them (either household or community toilets). The results of survey have been released by Union Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in New Delhi.

77.        Uttar Pradesh has become the first Indian state to roll out "Twitter seva". A total of 122 Twitter handles were launched in one go in Lucknow. The Twitter Seva will works as a source of direct point of contact for entrepreneurs seeking funding, support or government assistance of any kind. All the handles will be maintained by the state's police department. With the launch of the new service, citizens can now tweet their query and post a complaint on UP police's twitter account (@uppolice). Under the norms of the service, the complaint/request will be addressed in real time.

78.        Haryana has won the "Best Horticulture State" award of the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) at the 9th Agricultural Leadership Summit 2016 in New Delhi for its concerte efforts made to increase the income of the farmers in horticulture. Beside this, the 2016 Best Agriculture State award was bestowed upon Odisha in recognition of state's efforts towards development of agriculture and bringing rural prosperity.

79.        The "Scooty for College Girls Scheme" has been launched by the Jammu and Kashmir government to make women independent in terms of mobility. As per the scheme, the eligibility for a scooty is based on minimum percentage and the annual family income of 65 % and Rs.4 lakh respectively. In it, college going girl students will be given a 50 % subsidy on purchase of a Scooty.

80.        T R Zeliang, the Chief Minister of Nagaland, has won the 2016 Pangkor Dialogue Award in Malaysia for the efforts made by the people of the state for environmental preservation and promotion. Zeliang was awarded by the organisers- Institute Darul Rudzuan and the Malaysian government.

81.        Angelique Kerber, a German professional tennis player, has won the 2016 US Open Women's Singles tennis tournament by defeating Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic in the final by 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. With this, she became the first German player to win the tournament since Steffi Graf in 1996.

82.        The Asia's oldest bourse Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has become the first Indian stock exchange to file IPO papers with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its Initial Public Offering (IPO). The IPO is a type of public offering in which shares of a company usually are sold to institutional investors that in turn, sell to the general public, on a securities exchange.

83.        The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has launched 'e-nivaran' (electronic resolution) portal for online redressal of taxpayers grievances related to refunds, ITRs, PAN, etc., as part of its initiative to reduce instances of harassment of the public when it comes to complaints related to the I-T department. The taxpayers can register their complaints through their personal computer systems. Once the grievance is registered, the system will also issue an acknowledgment number which can be quoted by the taxpayer for all his future communications with the taxman and also to track the progress of the complaint.

84.        The 2016 India-US Economic Summit will be held in New Delhi from September 14 to enhance bilateral trade and investments between both the nations. The 2-day summit will be inaugurated by US Ambassador to India Richard Verma and will deliberate on augmenting the existing two-way trade to $ 500 billion and will focus on sectors that foster growth.

85.        Bykytzhan Sagintayev, a teacher and economist by training, is the newly appointed Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan. He has been appointed by the President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

86.        The Chhattisgarh government has officially launched AIR Regional News Unit (RNU)'s Facebook page at the newsroom of Raipur Radio station.The Facebook page will display an array of photographs and videos on the social life and the happenings in Chhattisgarh, besides the daily regional news from the state.

87.        Stanislas Wawrinka, a Swiss professional tennis player, has won the 2016 US Open Men's Singles tennis tournament by defeating Novak has won 2016 US Open men's singles tournament by defeating Novak Djokovic in the final by 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3. This is his first US Open title and 3rd major title.

88.        The world's first robotic operation inside the human eye has successfully performed by British surgeons, which potentially revolutionise the way such conditions are treated. The procedure was carried out at John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford.

89.        The 2016 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress has been hosted by Honolulu, Hawaii. The purpose of 2016 IUCN congress is to conserve the nature, study innovative approaches of conservation and harnesses the solutions nature offers to global challenges. The theme of the 2016 IUCN Congress is "Planet at the Crossroads". 

90.        The book "The Girls" has been authored by Emma Cline. It is the thrilling account of a young woman getting sucked into a terrifying world. 

91.        The Arvind Panagariya committee, which was formed to define poverty and prepare a road map to alleviate it, has recently submitted its report to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and has suggested to set up committee to identify people Below Poverty Line (BPL). It has also suggested participation from the states in defining the BPL population.

92.        The joint military training exercise "Yudh Abhyas 2016" will be conducted between India and United States at Chaubattia in Uttarakhand from September 14 to 27. The purpose of the exercise is to stimulate a scenario where both nations were working together to counter insurgency and terrorism in mountainous terrain under UN charter.

93.        The Himachal Pradesh government has recently signed a preliminary Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore government for developing a smart integrated township in Jathiadevi near Shimla airport.

94.        The Government of India (GoI) has launched a toll free number '1924' to registered postal complaints. Initially, the service will be operational for 12 hours on working days between 0800 hrs to 2000 hrs and will be available in three languages viz. Hindi, English and Malayalam. In future, the service will start services in all scheduled languages.

95.        Army Green has won the 2016 Durand Cup Football Title by defeating Neroca FC in the final by penalty shoot out in New Delhi. The Durand Cup is a prestigious football tournament of India and is the oldest tournament in Asia and 3rd oldest in the world after Football Association Cup of England and Scotland Football Association Cup.

96.        Deepa Malik has won the silver medal in Women's shotput F-53 at Rio Paralympics 2016. With this, she became the first-ever woman from India to win a medal at the Paralympics. Deepa's silver is India's third medal of the Games after Mariyappan Thangavelu and Varun Singh Bhati won gold and bronze respectively in men's high jump.

97.        The 3rd edition of 2016 BRICS conference on Urban Transition will be held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh to promote cooperation among member countries in the urban sector. The 3-day event will be attended by urban planners, experts and other delegates from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa from September 14, 2016.

98.        The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch "Pratham" a microsatellite developed by the students of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) into space from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The 10 kg satellite will be launched by ISRO's four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to measure the total electron count of the ionosphere.

99.        The book "Hot Milk" has been authored by Deborah Levy. It is a story of an intense relationship between a sickly mother and her daughter set in a small Spanish fishing village.

100.    The 2016 International Buddhist Conclave will be held in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh from October 3, 2016 to promote Buddhist sites in Bodhgaya and Sarnath.

101.    The world's longest bullet train (or High-Speed Rail (HSR)) network with over 20,000 km of track has established in China. The network is part of the network of passenger-dedicated lines (PDLs) in service. The HSR in China refers to any railway in China with commercial train service at the speed of 200 km/h or higher.

102.    The World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is observed every year on September 10 to provide worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides, with various activities around the world. The 2016 theme is "Connect, Communicate, Care".

103.    The book "Anything but Khamoshi: The Shatrughan Sinha Biography" is authored by Bharathi S Pradhan. It is a rivetingly honest read that retraces the hurrahs and heartaches of India's most popular Bihari Babu.

104.    Subramanian Swamy, the senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP, has been honoured with Tamil Ratna award by America Tamil Sangam (ATS) in New York for fighting corruption and working for more transparency in the functioning of the government. Previous Tamil Ratna awardees include Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman and movie director Bharathi Raja.

105.    India is hosting the 2016 Track Asia Cup cycling competition at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex velodrome in New Delhi. The event, recognised by the International Cycling Federation, is part of the World Championship qualifier with the points earned here adding up to the ranking of an athlete. India would be fielding a strong 29-member contingent in the competition which would see more than 150 athletes participate from 11 other countries including Pakistan.

106.    The book "His Bloody Project" has been authored by Graeme Macrae Burnet. It is a story of poverty in the tiny crofting community of Culduie in the Scottish Highlands. The book is shortlisted for 2016 Man Booker prize.

107.    The Goa Tourism department will host the first-of-its-kind Vintage Bikeand Car Festival-2016 on October 1. In the festival, the vintage two-wheelers and four wheelers dated from 1921 to 1970 will be on display. The vintage cars such as Chevrolet, Mercedes, Volkswagen and bikes like Norton, BSA and BMW will be centre of attraction in the festival.

108.    Ramesh Raskar, an Indian-origin scientist, has bagged the prestigious 2016 Lemelson-MIT Prize worth $ 5 lakh for his groundbreaking inventions to create solutions to improve lives globally. He is founder of the Camera Culture research group at the MIT Media Lab and an Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences. He has more than 75 patents to his name and having written more than 120 reviewed publications. Raskar is also the co-inventor of radical imaging solutions including Femto-photography, an ultra-fast imaging system that can see around corners. He is also inventor of low-cost eye-care solutions for the developing world and a camera that allows users to read pages of a book without opening the cover.

109.    The National Hindi Divas is celebrated every year on September 14 in India. On this day, the President of India presented the Rajbhasha awards at Rashtrapati Bhawan to recognize the excellent contribution of Ministries, Departments and Nationalized Banks in the field of Hindi. On this day, in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India had adopted Hindi language as the official language of India.

110.    Devendra Jhajharia has clinched gold in the men's javelin throw F46 event at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. This is the 2nd paralympic gold that Jhajharia has won. Previously, he had won gold at the 2004 Athens Paralympics with a throw of 62.15 metres with which he set a world record. With this, he is the first Indian to win two Paralympic gold medals.

111.    has won the 55th season of Duleep Trophy Cricket tournament-2016 by defeating India Red in the final by 355 runs in Greater Noida. It was the first day/night tournament played with a pink ball. Cheteshwar Pujara was named the Player of the Match.

112.    The United Nations' International Democracy Day (IDD) is observed every year on September 15 to raise public awareness about the democratic system. The 2016 theme is "Democracy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".

113.    The 17th edition of 2016 Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit will be held at Margarita Island in Venezuela on September 17-18. The NAM Summits are among the largest gathering of countries, after the United Nations. India is one of the founding members of the NAM, which came into being 55 years ago when leaders of 25 developing countries, including the then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru met at the 1961 Belgrade Conference.

114.    V. Shanmuganathan has been sworn-in as the new Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. Shanmuganathan, the Governor of Meghalaya, has been given the additional charge of Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.

115.    Kunwar Bai (105), who was recognised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for building toilet by selling off her goats, has been chosen as the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' mascot. Prime Minister Modi will felicitate Kunwar Bai at a function in New Delhi to mark 'Swachhta Diwas' on September 17, 2016.

116.    Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will be honoured with a humanitarian award by a prominent Jewish human rights organisation for promoting human dignity, interfaith relations and tolerance among people. The Art of Living founder will be conferred with Simon Wiesenthal Centre's highest honour "the Simon Wiesenthal Humanitarian Laureate" at a ceremony in New Delhi on September 21, 2016.

117.    Meghna Pant has won the Fellows of Nature (FON) South Asia Short Story Award in Nature writing for her short story "People of the Sun. The award will be given to her at Kumaon Literary Festival in October 2016.The annual travelling literary festival gives this award in partnership with the French Institute of India and Wildlife Trust of India to revive nature writing and bring the spotlight on critical environment issues like climate change through this form of literature.

118.    The National Conference on Agriculture for Rabi Campaign 2016 has started at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on September 15, 2016 to look at the implementation progress of important schemes related to Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare announced by the Centre in the last 2 years. The 2-day conference has inaugurated by Radha Mohan Singh, the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

119.    For the first time, Indian Railways Men Hockey Team has won the 2016 MCC Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament by defeating Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in the final by 2 – 1 at Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

120.     Thangavelu Mariyappan will be India's flag bearer at the 2016 Rio Paralympics closing ceremony on September 18, 2016. He has won India's first gold medal in the men's high jump T-42 event with jump of 1.89 metres at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. With this, Thangavelu became the first Indian high jumper to win Paralympics gold. His compatriot Varun Singh Bhati clinched the bronze medal in the same event.

121.    Abraham Verghese, Indian-American physician-author, has been selected for the prestigious 2015 National Humanities Medal. The award will be conferred to him at a ceremony in Washington by President Barack Obama on September 21, 2016. The award honours individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens' engagement with history, literature, languages, philosophy, and other humanities subjects.

122.    The Agriculture museum has recently inaugurated at Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (IGKV) in Raipur, Chhattisgarh and it is touted as the first-of- its-kind in any agriculture university in India. The purpose of museum is to provide information about special agricultural techniques, agriculture-related problems and their solution, villagers' lifestyles. It also displays the agriculture and tribal culture of Chhattisgarh and modern techniques of farming in an interactive manner.

123.    The book "Shanti ki Talaash mein Zindagi" has been authored by Radhika Nagrath, a Haridwar-based author and journalist. The book is a philosophical treatise written in simple language incorporating interesting examples and anecdotes from day-to-day life, which is recently released by Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul.

124.    Axis Bank has recently tied up with Banaras Hindu University (BHU) to offer specialized banking courses. The bank along with the Faculty of Commerce at BHU will develop the design and curriculum of courses. The partnership will offer courses like Masters in Commerce (MCom), Master of Financial Management (MFM), Master of Financial Management (Risk & Insurance) MFM – RI, Master of Foreign Trade (MFT). The first batch will start from academic session 2016-17. The courses will be designed to introduce the students to functioning of banking industry in India and to academically and vocationally prepare them for corporate world.

125.    Ramkumar Ramanathan is a professional Indian tennis player, who will play India's first rubber in the singles against 14-time Grand Slam Champion Rafael Nadal in the Davis Cup World Group Playoff at the RK Khanna Stadium in New Delhi.

126.    The Gionee mobiles has recently signed an MoU with the Haryana government to set up its phone manufacturing hub with an initial investment of Rs. 500 crore. The hub would be set up over an area of 40-50 acres in Faridabad and would provide employment to 28,000 people in next 3 years.

127.    The Uttar Pradesh government has appointed bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the brand ambassador of the Samajwadi Kisan Beema Yojana (SKBY), a scheme aimed at insuring farmers. In the scheme, many facilities like cashless treatment upto Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs one lakh for organ transplant have been included.

128.    Mohammad Hamid Ansari, the Vice-President of India, is leading the Indian delegation at the 17th edition of Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit at Margarita Island in Venezuela on September 17-18. India is one of the founding members of the NAM, which came into being 55 years ago when leaders of 25 developing countries, including the then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru met at the 1961 Belgrade Conference.

129.    The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is observed every year on September 16 to mark the day back in 1987 when Montreal Protocol signed on substances that deplete the ozone layer. The 2016 theme is "Ozone and climate: Restored by a world united".

130.    The high-level committee headed by Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, which was formed to tackle the shortage of pulses, has recently submitted its report to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The committee was formed to consider a reasonable hike in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for pulses and bonus for the farmers to promote puslse cultivation.

131.    Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma have been conferred with the coveted Arjuna Award for year 2016 and 2015 at a function held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.Earlier, both the players could not receive the Arjuna Awards from the President of India, as they were participating in international tournaments.

132.    The Naropa festival is a grand Buddhist festival which occurs in every 12 years, has started at the 17th century Hemis Monastery in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir. The main event of the festival is the celebration of the 1,000th birth anniversary of spiritual Saint Naropa. In it, the six bone ornaments of Naropa will display, which are said to provide liberation on sight to all those who witness it. Beside this, the ancient silk Thangka (Tibetan Buddhist painting) of Buddha Amitabha will also unfurl.

133.    Nadia Murad Basee Taha, a young Yazidi woman who survived trafficking and gang-rape by the Islamic State terrorists, has been appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Nadia is a fierce and tireless advocate for the Yazidi people and victims of human trafficking everywhere and is also the nominee of Nobel Peace Prize.

134.    Recently, the Government of India (GoI) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the African Development Bank (AfDB) for hosting the Bank's Annual Meetings at Mahatma Gandhi Convention Centre in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on May 22-26, 2017. The 2017 AfDB meeting will be a mega international event to be attended by more than 5000 delegates from 80 member countries of the African Development Bank including the Governors, Alternate Governors, Executive Directors, policy makers and businesses.

135.    US playwright Edward Albee (88), the author of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, has recently passed away in New York. He was considered America's greatest living playwright after Arthur Miller and August Wilson. Albee was awarded 3 times Pulitzer Prize for his book viz. A Delicate Balance, Seascape and Three Tall Women.

136.    Dinesh Bharadia, an Indian-origin MIT scientist, has won the prestigious 2016 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award for his contribution to send and receive radio (wireless) signals, including mobile telephony and data on the same channel (wave). By his research on radio waves, he disproved a long-held assumption of 150 years that it is not possible for a radio to receive and transmit on the same frequency band because of the interference that results. The award is equivalent to the Nobel Prize in science and technology domain and carries a cash prize of $ 4,000. He will receive the award at a ceremony at Mountain View in California on November 2, 2016. 

137.    China has successfully launched the Tiangong-2 space laboratory into orbit to test space technology and conduct medical and space experiments. The space station was put into orbit by Long March 2-F T2 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwestern Gobi desert. The Tiangong 2 module will be used for testing systems and processes for mid-term space stays and refueling and will house experiments in medicine and various space-related technologies.

138.    The Engineer's Day is celebrated every year on September 15 in India in memory of the Bharat Ratna Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. Visvesvaraya was the chief engineer responsible for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mysore and also the chief designer of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad. The theme of the 49th edition of Engineers' Day 2016 is "Skill Development for Young Engineers to Reform the Core Sector: Vision 2025".

139.    Typhoon Meranti, also known as Typhoon Ferdie in the Philippines, has recently badly hit China's Fujian Province with winds of 173 km/h. It is the world's strongest typhoon in 2016. Before that, the typhoon had hit the southern part of Taiwan and then slammed into the southeastern part of China with strong winds and lashing rains. Nearly 2 million homes were powerless in Fujian. The typhoon also brought heavy rainfall as it moved to lash China's Zhejiang Province. More than 63,000 people in Zhejiang were relocated.

140.    The book "One & A Half Wife" has been authored by Meghna Pant, an Indian literary fiction author and financial journalist. It is a story of an Indian girl "Amara", who will give you inner courage and hope to move on despite the odds and the realization that every time we cross a difficult hurdle and fall, we grow new ways and methods to cross it without falling again.

141.    India has been ranked 112 out of 159 countries in the 2016 World Economic Freedom Index. As per the 2016 annual report of the Economic Freedom of the World, Hong Kong has the highest level of economic freedom worldwide, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, Canada, Georgia, Ireland, Mauritius, the UAE, Australia and the UK.The report is based on data from 2014 and measures the economic freedom by analyzing the policies and institutions of all 159 countries and territories.

142.    The United States will be partner country in the 8th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit-2017, which will be held at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar in January 8-9. The central focus of the summit is "Sustainable Economic and Social Development". The purpose of the summit is to bring together heads of states and governments, ministers, leaders from the corporate world, senior policy makers, heads of international institutions and academia from around the world to further the cause of development and to promote cooperation.

143.    The Odisha government in association with International Labour Organisation (ILO) will host the 2016 National conference on labour in Bhubaneswar from September 20. The focus of a 2-day conference is to discuss several issues related to organized and unorganized labourers in India.

144.    The book "Democrats and Dissenters" has been authored by Ramchandra Guha. The book comprises 16 essays on a wide range of issues like India's relation with its neighbours, freedom of expression, discrimination against the tribals among others.

145.    Alka Sirohi, a retired IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as the new chairman of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) with effect from the September 21, 2016. She succeeded Deepak Gupta. She will be in office till completion of her term as member on January 3, 2017. Currently, Sirohi is member in the Commission.

146.    China and Russia have conducted a joint naval drill exercise with codenamed "Joint Sea-2016" in the disputed South China Sea in September 12-19. The purpose of drill exercise was to defend out common interests, ensure security across all areas of the world's oceans and cooperation in the fight against piracy and in support of navigation.

147.    Subhankar Pramanick, an Indian shooter from Bengal, has clinched gold medal in 50-metre rifle prone event at the 2016 ISSF Junior World Cup for pistol, rifle and shotgun in Gabala, Azerbaijan. Apart from him, Sambhaji Patil also bagged gold for India by winning the junior men's 25-metre standard pistol event. Patil also won the team gold in the event along with compatriots Gurmeet and Rituraj Singh.

148.    Dr. M Leelavathi, the famous Malayalam critic and academician, has been chosen for the prestigious 2016 N Mohanan Suvarna Mudra Award for her remarkable contribution to Malayalam language and literature. The award was instituted in memory of well-known short story writer N Mohanan, which comprises a gold medal of one sovereign.

149.    V.K. Sharma has been appointed as the new chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). He succeeded SK Roy, who recently resigned from the post. Prior to this appointment, Sharma was the managing director of the LIC.

150.    Ravi Reddy, an Indian-origin South African, has been appointed as the head of International Society for Blood Transfusion (ISBT), a global organization of medicine professionals working for the safety of blood transfusion worldwide. With this, Reddy became the first person from the African continent to head ISBT. Presently, Reddy is the Chief Operations Officer (COO) of the South African National Blood Service (SANBS). The purpose of ISBT is to promote the study of blood transfusion and has its headquarters at Amsterdam, Netherlands.

151.    Typhoon Malakas has badly hit the southern Japan that brings damaging winds (up to 180 Km/hr) and flooding rain. The authorities have ordered more than 500,000 people to evacuate their homes in parts of western and southern parts of Japan. More than 110 domestic flights have been cancelled, hundreds of thousands of people are evacuated as Typhoon Malakas has made landfall in the Wakayama Prefecture. 

152.    The 20th edition of India International seafood show (IISS)- 2016 will be held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh from September 23. The theme of IISS-2016 is "Safe and Sustainable Indian Aquaculture". The purpose of IISS is to highlight India's commitment on safe and sustainable practices in fisheries, both capture and culture. The 3-day event will have participation of 2,000 delegates from India and 200 from abroad. The IISS-2016 offers a platform of opportunities for exporters and importers of Indian marine products, processors, resource specialists and personnel and culture fisheries, processing machinery manufacturers and allied sectors, to meet under one roof, facilitating participants and trade visitors to conduct business, upgrade technologies, network and exchange ideas for mutual benefit and further business and trade relations.

153.    Junaid Ahmad, who hails from Bangladesh, has become the World Bank's Country Director for India. He succeeded Onno Ruhl. Prior to this appointment, he was Chief of Staff to the World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. 

154.    Rushiraj Barot has recently won gold in the junior men's 25m rapid fire pistol event at the 2016 ISSF Junior World Cup at Gabala in Azerbaijan. 

155.    The 6th edition of BRICS Agriculture and Agrarian Development Ministers conference-2016 will be held in New Delhi from September 22. The 2- day conference will be hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and will centre on the five priority areas of cooperation in the BRICS Action Plan for 2012-2016. The areas of cooperation include creating basic agricultural information exchange system, strategy for ensuring access to food for the most vulnerable population, etc. 

156.    The first-ever United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants has been held at the UN General Assembly in New York. In it, the "New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants" have been adopted by leaders from 193 countries to save lives of over 65 million refugees and migrants and share the responsibility. The declaration is not legally binding but calls on countries to protect refugees' human rights, boost humanitarian aid and work on their resettlement. The summit has represented a breakthrough in the collective efforts to address the challenges of human mobility. 

157.    The first-of-a-kind Indian music and dance festival "Confluence: Festival of India" has started in Sydney, Australia. It was inaugurated by Mahesh Sharma, the Union Tourism and Culture Minister. The purpose of the 10-week long festival is to showcase India's rich and diverse culture. The festival is an initiative of Indian government supported by the Australian side, which will run across 7 cities including Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide.

158.    Nico Rosberg, a German Formula One driver for Mercedes, has won the 2016 F1Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay, Singapore. It was his overall 22nd championship title of F1 in his career and first in Singapore. 

159.    Anandi Ramalingam has been appointed as the first woman Director (Marketing) of the Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL). Prior to this appointment, she was the general manager heading the Military Communication Strategic Business Unit (SBU) at BEL's Bengaluru Complex. 

160.    The book "Rekha: The Untold Story" is the biography of bollywood actress Rekha, which is authored by Yasser Usman. The writer chronicles her life and days and some of the excerpts from the book reveal the real Rekha, who is behind the camera. 

161.    The United Nations' International Day of Peace is observed every year on September 21 to strengthening the ideals of world peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. The 2016 theme is "The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace". 

162.    The 2016 North East Connectivity Summit has started in Agartala, Tripura and will conclude on September 23. The 2-day summit will focus deliberations on development of an economic corridor connecting North East with South East Asia, market linkages, energy and transport infrastructure requirements in the region, etc.In the summit, delegations from different countries such as; Singapore, Bangladesh, Myanmar are participating.

163.    Praksh Javadekar, the Union Human Resource Development Minister, has recently launched "PARAM-ISHAN" supercomputing facility at IIT Guwahati. The high-performance "Param-Ishan" has computing speed of 250 Teraflops and capacity of 300 Tera Bites (TB). It can be used in the application areas like Computational Chemistry, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Computational Electromagnetic, Civil Engineering Structures, Nana-block Self Assemble, Optimization etc.

164.    The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $631 million loan to build India's first coastal industrial corridor between Visakhapatnam and Chennai. The fund will help develop the first key 800-km section of the planned 2,500-km long East Coast Economic Corridor and provide impetus to development on India's eastern coast. It will also facilitate seamless trade links with other parts of South and Southeast Asia. 

165.    Deaf Indian shooter Priyesha Deshmukh has won the bronze medal in the 10m air rifle category at the first World Deaf Shooting Championship held in Kazan, Russia from September 7-15, 2016. It was her first-ever international competition. 

166.    The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has partnered with Twitter to provide live updates of S&P BSE Sensex levels, stock prices and opening and closing figures of Sensex companies to millions of investors. It is Asia's first such collaboration between a stock exchange and a social media platform. 

167.    The 5th edition of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) 2016 Innovators Meet will be held in New Delhi on September 22-23. The theme of the meet would be "Biotech Innovation Ecosystem – Strategizing the Next Leap". BIRAC is a non-profit Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) under the aegis of Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and its purpose is to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in all places of research.

168.    The 2016 Incredible India Tourism Investment Summit (IITIS) has started at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi from September 21 to 23. IITIS is a platform for domestic and international investors to meet project owners from across Indian states and the private sector. It is an initiative of the Union Ministry of Tourism in association with Tourism Finance Corporation of India (TFCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

169.    India is hosting the second conference of the high level group of security experts from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries from September 22-23, 2016 in New Delhi. It is hosted by Director of Intelligence Bureau (IB) Dineshwar Sharma and intelligence chiefs of all other SAARC nations — Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives besides India — will participate in it. The purpose of the conference is to strengthen the SAARC anti-terror mechanism.

170.    The book "Do Not Say We Have Nothing" has been authored by Madeleine Thien, which is shortlisted for 2016 Man Booker prize. It is a story on classical music in revolutionary China. 

171.    The Tamil Nadu government has allotted Rs. 204 crore for 'Thaaliku Thangam' (Gold for Mangalsutra) scheme under a marriage assistance programme scheme for the year 2016-17 to benefit 12,500 women. 

172.    The world's largest solar power plant with an installed capacity of 648MW has been commissioned at Kamudhi in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. The plant was set up by Adani Group on an area of around 5,000 acres at a total cost of Rs 4,550 crore. 

173.    The 33rd edition of International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP) World Conference is hosted by Moscow, Russia from September 19-22, 2016. The theme of IASP 2016 is "The Global Mind: Linking Innovation Communities for Internationalization, Sustainability and Growth". IASP is the largest worldwide network of science parks and areas of innovation, uniting technology parks and institutions and it has a Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The 2017 IASP will be held in Istanbul, Turkey. 

174.    The Tamil film "Visaranai" has been selected as the official entry to Oscars 2017 in the Foreign Language Film category. The film is directed by Vetrimaran and is based on M.Chandrakumar's novel Lock Up. It is story about autorickshaw driver, who shares his experience after he and three of his friends are arrested on false charges. 

175.    Gupta Justice Girish Chandra Gupta has been sworn-in as the new Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court. Justice Gupta would have a short tenure as Chief Justice of the High Court as he is due to retire in December 2016. He was administered oath by West Bengal Governor Kesari Nath Tripathi. 

176.    The first-ever Jesse Owens Olympic Spirit Award-2016 will be posthumously bestowed to Olympic champion Muhammad Ali, who passed away on June 3, 2016. It will be accepted by his wife Lonnie Ali. The annual award will recognize an individual(s) who has served as a powerful force for good in society, inspiring others by contributing to a better world, uniting people or leading a cause. 

177.    Shubha Mudgal, the Hindustani classical singer will be honoured with the 2016 Lalit Arpan Samman. She is known for her singing in genres of Khayal, Thumri and Dadra. The 15th edition of Lalit Arpan festival 2016 will also acknowledge artist couple Paramjit and Arpita Singh. The 2016 festival is dedicated to dance. 

178.    The book "The Sellout" has been authored by Paul Beatty, which is shortlisted for 2016 Man Booker prize.It is a satire on United States constitution, urban life, the civil rights movement, the father-son relationship and the holy grail of racial equality. 

179.    Navtej Sarna, an Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1980 batch, has been appointed as the new Indian Ambassador to the United States. Prior to this appointment, he was serving as Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs before he was posted in London in January 2016. He will succeed Arun Singh, who is due for retirement. Apart from this, the Union Government has also appointed Taranjit Singh Sandhu as the next High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka. Sandhu will replace Yash Sinha. 

180.    The first meeting of Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council has held in New Delhi and is chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The two-day meet of the GST Council council will decide on long pending issues of threshold limit for applicability of the tax as well as the limit for dual control between Centre and states. The GST is a single indirect tax which will subsume most of the central and state taxes such as VAT, excise duty, service tax and central sales tax. 

181.    Sanjay Dutta and Ritesh Sarothiya have been selected for the 2016 Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards, which honours individuals engaging in exemplary law enforcement actions to protect wildlife. Sarothiya is the Assistant Conservator of Madhya Pradesh State Forest Service and Dutta is the range officer of Belakoba Forest Range Jalpaiguri in West Bengal. The award ceremony will be held on 3rd October 2016 at the 17th Conference of the Parties (CoP) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

182.     Justice Mohan M Shantanagoudar has been sworn in as the new Chief Justice of Kerala High Court. He was administered oath by the Governor Justice (Retd) P. Sathasivam at a function held at Raj Bhavan. Prior to this appointment, he served as the acting chief justice of the Kerala High Court. 

183.    Reoti Saran Sharma (92), the well-known Hindi and Urdu writer, has recently passed away in New Delhi.He was pioneer in radio plays in All India Radio and was conferred with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2007 for his contribution to theatre. He was also awarded Sahitya Kala Parishad and Ghalib Award. 

184.    The book "Citizen and Society" has been authored by Mohammad Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India. It is recently launched by President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. The book describes Ansari's life as that of a perfect citizen and the theme of the book is that a citizen cannot be apolitical and has to take part in politics to build the society.

185.     The Union Government has appointed three outside experts as members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which will set interest rates. The appointees are Indian Statistical Institute professor Chetan Ghate, Delhi School of Economics director Pami Dua and Ravindra H Dholakia of IIM-Ahmedabad. The experts will serve for four years and are not eligible for re-appointment. In the six-member MPC- the other 3 members are from RBI – will conduct its first monetary policy review on October 4, 2016. These are RBI governor Urjit Patel, deputy governor R. Gandhi, who is also in charge of the monetary policy, and executive director Michael Patra.The RBI governor will have a casting vote in case of a tie.

186.     Industrialist Adi Godrej, the Chairman of Mumbai-based Godrej Group, has been bestowed with the 10th edition of Clinton Global Citizen Award-2016 for leadership in business and philanthropy. The award recognizes Godrej's leadership in transforming the intersection of business and philanthropy and making the Godrej Group a global example of what can be achieved through inclusive, sustainable business strategies. 

187.    The 8th edition of India-Russia Joint Military Exercise "INDRA-2016" has started in the Ussiriysk District in Vladivostok, Russia. The main focus of this joint exercise is on "Counter-Terrorism Operations in semi mountainous and jungle terrain under United Nations Mandate". 

188.    The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will launch "Mission Parivar Vikas" in 145 high focus districts for improved family planning services. The districts are from 7 states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam which have high Total Fertility Rates (TFR) and constitute nearly 50 % of the India's population. The purpose of mission is to accelerate access to high quality family planning choices based on information, reliable services and supplies within a rights-based framework.

189.    The National SC/ST Hub under the Ministry of MSME will be launched in Ludhiana, Punjab on October 8, 2016 to promote the SC/ST entrepreneurs. The ministry has made an initial allotment of allocation of Rs. 490 crore for the period 2016-2020 for the National SC/ST Hub. The hub would operate from National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) Headquarters in Delhi, supported by a special cell created for this purpose. The hub would primarily aid in strengthening market access/linkage, monitoring, capacity building,leveraging financial support schemes and sharing industry best practices, etc. 

190.    The first-of-its-kind exhibition on childhood cancer awareness will be held at the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra from September 25 to 27, 2016. The exhibition 'CanKids-Kidscan' will be organized by National Society for Change for Childhood Cancer in India. The exhibition will include 'Chalo Chalein Taj programme' under which around 1,500 cancer-affected children and their families will visit the Taj Mahal. The street play by childhood cancer survivors will also be shown at the function. 

191.    Velavan Senthilkumar, Indian player from Chennai, has won the Under-19 Asian Junior Individual squash championship title in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on September 24, 2016. He defeated Jordan's Mohammad Al-Sarraj by 12-14, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 to claim the title. With this, he became the 2nd Indian to win the title after Ravi Dixit in 2010.

192.    The parliamentary committee headed by the Congress MP M Veerappa Moily, has been constituted to review the all budgetary reforms. Besides the budget, the committee will also review the disinvestment policy, banking sector in India, RBI's emerging role and its framework. The committee will also review the performance of regulatory bodies – Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Competition Commission of India (CCI) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd (SHCIL), National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) and Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). The committee will also evaluate the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Central Statistical Office (CSO) and streamlining of statistics collection machinery in India.

193.    To commemorate the birth centenary of Jana Sangh ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the 149-member national committee. The committee includes several Governors, Chief Ministers, scientists, journalists, academicians, social Workers and spiritual leaders. Beside this, the 23-member executive committee has also constituted for this purpose that will be headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

194.    India has been ranked 143rd out of 188 countries in the 2016 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The index is the first global analysis that assesses countries on SDG health performance was published online in The Lancet and launched at a special event at the UN General Assembly in New York. The list is topped by Iceland, followed by Singapore, Sweden, Andorra and UK. The SDGs are 17 universal goals, 169 targets and 230 indicators set by the United Nations in 2015 to guide a range of pressing problems including food and water security, poverty and climate change up to 2030. The SDGs follow and expand on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which expired at the end of 2015.

195.    The first-ever Druzhba-2016 (or Friendship-2016) joint military drill exercise has started between Russia and Pakistan in the Army High Altitude School in northern Pakistan's Rattu and at a special forces training center in Cherat on September 24 and will continue till October 7. The drill will involve experience sharing and will aim to develop coordination in carrying out practice combat tasks in a mountainous environment, including operations against illegal armed groups.

196.    Madhusudan Sahoo has been appointed as the new chairman of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) for a period of 5 years or until further orders, whichever is the earliest. Currently, Sahoo is a member at anti-trust regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI). The board will regulate the functioning of insolvency professionals, insolvency professional agencies and information utilities.

197.    Vijay Kelkar, the former petroleum secretary, has been elected as the new President of the prestigious Indian Statistical Institute (ISI). He succeeded former RBI governor C Rangarajan. The ISI functions under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

198.    The first-ever BRICS Young Scientists Conclave 2016 will be hosted by India in Bengaluru from September 26-30. The meet would provide a platform for engaging, connecting and networking among young scientists to hold discussions and find solutions to some of the common challenges and problems being faced in BRICS countries. The focus of the conclave would be on three thematic topics – Computational Intelligence, Energy Solutions and Affordable Healthcare.

199.    Arun Goyal, a 1985 batch IAS officer of Union Territory cadre, has been appointed as the Additional Secretary in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council. Presently, Goyal is working as Additional Secretary in Project Monitoring Group of Cabinet Secretariat. The GST Council is mandated to decide on tax rate exempted goods and the threshold limit.

200.    Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbora Strycova has won the 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open trophy women's doubles event in Tokyo, Japan by defeating Chinese pair of Chen Liang and Zhaoxuan Yang in the final by 6-1, 6-1.

201.    K Madhavan (101), the veteran freedom fighter and communist leader, has recently passed away in Kanhangad, Kerala. He played an active role in the freedom struggle and symbolised Gandhian and Communist values and was the last link in the epoch-making 1931 Guruvayur Satyagraha that ensured temple entry to all castes. His autobiography 'Payaswiniyude Theerangalil'(On the Banks of river Payaswini) is considered a valuable document of a transformative epoch in modern Kerala history.

202.    The World Tourism Day (WTD) is observed on September 27 every year to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value. The theme of 2016 WTD "Tourism for all – promoting universal accessibility".

203.    The first meeting of the India-China High Level Dialogue on Counter-terrorism and Security has been in Beijing, China to enhance security and cooperation to combat terror. The meeting was co-chaired by R N Ravi, Chairman of Joint Intelligence Committee and Wang Yongqing, Secretary General of Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission of China.

204.    Sathiyan Gnanasekaran from Chennai has clinched the men's singles title of the Belgium Open by defeating Nuytinck Cedric in the final 15-13, 11-6, 11-2, 17-15 at De Haan in Belgium. With this, he becomes only the 2nd Indian table tennis player to win an ITTF event. Achanta Sharath Kamal is the first Indian to win an ITTF event in 2012.

205.    Sudhir Pratap Singh has been appointed as the Director General (DG) of counter-terrorism force National Security Guard (NSG).

206.    R. K. Pachnanda, a 1983 batch Indian Police Service officer from West Bengal, has been appointed as the new Director General of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). Presently, he is ADG of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

207.    Indian NGO Slum Soccer has been bestowed with the first-ever FIFA Diversity Award at the Soccerex Global Convention in Manchester, UK. The FIFA Diversity Award is part of FIFA's overall strategy to reinforce its fight against discrimination and promote diversity in football. It was created by FIFA to recognize outstanding organizations, group initiatives and football personalities that are standing up for diversity and inspire unity, solidarity and equality among all people. Slum Soccer uses football to connect individuals, teach life skills and work towards improving the living conditions of women and marginalized populations in Indian society.

208.    The book "Driven: The Virat Kohli Story" has been authored by sports journalist Vijay Lokapally. It's a story about Virat's rapid rise to international stardom, an account punctuated by little-known stories by his fellow players, coaches and intimates.

209.    Harish Banghel from India won a silver in the men's middleweight Muay Thai event at the 5th edition of Asian Beach Games 2016 in Danang, Vietnam. He lost to Zhang Yongkang of China in the final of 71-75kg category to settle for a silver. Muay Thai is a popular combat sport in South East Asia which involves a combination of boxing and martial arts originated in Thailand.

210.    The powerful typhoon Megi has recently hit island-nation Taiwan with winds up to 230 km/hr that causing heavy rains and triggering damaging winds. It is equivalent to Category 4 tropical cyclone. As per the reports, more than 2,700,000 homes were left without electricity after some 38 inches of rain fell in Yilan County.

211.    The headquarters of Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) is located in New Delhi. It is in news because the 5th National Conference of Heads of Prisons of States and UTs on Prison Reforms will be organize by BPR&D on September 29, 2016 in New Delhi and Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, will inaugurate the conference. The 2-day conference will provide a platform to the stakeholders to exchange ideas and learn from each other's experience. It will also provide them an opportunity to showcase their best practices and innovations. For the first time, the superintendents of jails from central jails and district jails will share their views and experiences. 

212.    The 2016 Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) will be hosted by the Government of India (GoI) in New Delhi on November 2016. The conference will be held in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). The AMCDRR is a biennial conference in the Asia region to ensure political and stakeholder's commitment towards Disaster Risk Reduction implementation.

213.    The book "Kunjamma Ode to a Nightingale: M.S. Subbulakshmi" has been authored by Lakshmi Vishwanathan. The author has provided an unbiased account of Dr. M.S.Subbulakshmi's life, her music, her bhakti, and most important of all, her charisma. The book narrates the musical life of M.S. elaborately and with an interesting touch to it.

214.    India will host the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in October 2017, which is first-ever FIFA tournament in India. It is in news because the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 has recently launched the official emblem for the world cup at Margao, Goa. The emblem is designed as a celebration of the India's rich and diverse culture, with its main elements being the Indian Ocean, the banyan tree, the kite and the starburst, which is an interpretation of the Ashoka Chakra, an integral part of the national identity.

215.    The World Rabies Day (WRD) is observed every year on September 28 to raise awareness about rabies prevention and to highlight progress in defeating this horrifying disease. The day also marks anniversary of Louis Pasteur's death, the French chemist and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine. The theme for 2016 is "Rabies- Educate, Vaccinate, Eliminate".

216.    The 2016 BRICS Labour & Employment Ministerial Meet 2016 has been held in New Delhi on September 27- 28, 2016 to deliberate on issues including job creation and social security for workers. The meeting had dedicated sessions on employment generation, social security, inclusive development and formalization.

217.    India has been ranked 39th out of 138 countries in the 2016-17 Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which is released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). As per the GCI report, due to improved monetary, fiscal policies and lower oil prices, the Indian economy has stabilized and now boasts the highest growth among G20 countries. The report has also stated that India still needs to cover a lot of ground in the areas like labour, financial market, tax regulations, manufacturing, infrastructure and technological readiness. The list has been topped by Switzerland, followed by Singapore, United States, the Netherlands and Germany.

218.    The Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi has become the first airport in the Asia-Pacific region to achieve carbon neutral status. With this, the airport carbon accreditation has upgraded Delhi Airport to "Level 3+, Neutrality", which is the highest level of achievement available to airports across the world. The carbon neutral status to IGI airport was given by Airports Council International (ACI) during the Airport Carbon Accreditation certificate presentation ceremony held in Montreal, Canada on September 27, 2016. The carbon neutrality status is granted if the net carbon emission over an entire year is zero. This means the airport absorbs or offsets the same amount of emission that is generated. The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) is a GMR Group-led consortium which manages and operates IGI airport.

219.    Syed Shamsul Haq (81), the prolific Bangla poet, playwrite and essayist, has recently passed away in Dhaka, Bangladesh. His notable works include Ekoda Ek Rajjey, Boishakhey Rochito Ponktimala, Birotihin Utsab, Protidhwonigon and Opor Purush. He also wrote innumerable patriotic songs of immense beauty which inspired the 1971 Liberation War fighters.

220.    Shimon Peres (93), the former Israeli PM and President, has recently passed away in Ramat Gan, Israel. Peres was Israel's most eminent elder statesman, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the late former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for reaching, in 1993, an interim peace deal which never hardened into a lasting treaty. He was part of almost every major development from the country's founding in 1948.

221.    The book "Karachi, You're Killing Me!" has been authored by Pakistani journalist-writer Saba Imtiaz. It is a comedy crime-thriller novel, which revolves around the life of a young protagonist, Ayesha and about several events of violence and disturbance that take place in Karachi due to poor security measures. It is a treatise on the state of journalism in Karachi, where law and order is taken for granted. The upcoming Bollywood film "Noor" is based on the novel in which Sonakshi Sinha is playing a journalist role.

222.    Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the India Sanitation Conference (INDOSAN) in New Delhi on September 30, 2016. The conference is meant for taking stock of the progress under the mission, deliberating on related issues and renewing the commitment to ensure Swachh Bharat. The individuals and organisations who have made significant contribution for generating awareness about sanitation and motivating people in this regard would be honoured during the conference.

223.    Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the Union Minority Affairs Minister, has launched the "Progress Panchayat" programme for minorities from Mewat region of Haryana to reach out to the minority communities and publicize the various welfare measures taken by the NDA government for their betterment. The programme will be organized in 100 places in India where Union Ministers will interact with people about the several schemes.

224.    Infosys has recently launched "Skava Commerce" a new standard for modern, mobile-first and modular e-commerce platform for retailers. The platform can help brick-and-mortar retailers to quickly launch new offerings, improve conversion rates of traffic coming from digital channels, amongst other things, without making large investments upfront. The platform can integrate with existing technologies, while providing a future-ready architecture that will enable next generation shopping experiences leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning, natural language processing and virtual reality (VR).

225.    Rajasthan has become the first Indian state to adopt centre's Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) in all its urban local bodies (ULB). Almost 5 lakh conventional street lights have been replaced with LED street lights across the state. The project has been funded by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a Public Energy Services Company under the administration of Ministry of Power, Government of India (GoI), at no cost to the state.

226.    Indian women's kabaddi team has won gold medal at the 5th Asian Beach Games-2016 by defeating Thailand in the final by 41-31 in Danang, Vietnam. India is winning the gold since the inception of the biennial Games in 2008 and it is fifth time in a row Thailand had lost to India in a final. 

227.    Max Walker (81), an Australian cricketer and Australian rules football player, has recently passed away in Melbourne, Australia. His unorthodox cricket bowling action earned him the nickname "Tangles" and his larrikin character made him a much-loved figure with the Australian public.

228.    The United Nations' World Maritime Day (WMD) is observed every year on September 29 to highlight the importance of shipping safety, maritime security and the marine environment. The 2016 theme "Shipping: indispensable to the world" has been chosen to focus on the critical link between shipping and global society and to raise awareness of the relevance of the role of IMO as the global regulatory body for international shipping.

229.    The Telangana government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to improve services of Mana TV, an educational channel for students in Telangana. The channel will launch coaching programmes for the students preparing for EAMCET, the common entrance test for admissions to engineering and medical courses, Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and other competitive examinations. It will telecast daily a 4-hour programme for candidates preparing for the examination. 

230.    The 2016 World Heart Day (WHD) is observed every year on September 29 to raise awareness about the four main factors that affect the human heart — use of tobacco, improper diet, lack of physical exercise and excess consumption of alcohol. The 2016 theme is "Light Your Heart, Empower Your Life".

231.    The National Mission on Bioeconomy has launched in Shillong, Meghalaya by the Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) under the Ministry of Science and Technology. The purpose of the mission is to boost rural economy by utilizing bio-resources. The mission focuses on sustainable utilization of renewable biological resources for food, bio-based products and bio-energy through knowledge-based approaches. 

232.    Ajay Singh, the Chairman and Managing Director of Spicejet Airlines, is the newly elected president of Boxing Federation of India (BFI).

233.    The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched its weather satellite SCATSAT-1 for ocean and weather related studies into orbit by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C35 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This was the first mission of PSLV in which it launched its payloads into two different orbits. The expected lifespan of SCATSAT-1 is to be 5 years. Beside SCATSAT-1, 3 small satellites from Algeria meant for earth observation, remote sensing and technology demonstration, a commercial high resolution imaging micro-satellite of an US agency, the nano-satellite NLS-19 of Canada to experiment on reduction of space debris and two nano-satellites of IIT- Bombay and the PES University, Bengaluru are also launched.

234.    The world's largest filled aperture radio telescope "Tianyan" has been built by China in Guizhou Province. The radio telescope is also known as Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST). The purpose of FAST is to discover the laws of the development of the universe. It will be used to study stellar radio emissions, gravitational waves and potentially signals from extraterrestrial civilizations.

235.    Pinky Balhara from India has won bronze medal in women's 52kg category of kurash at the 5th Asian Beach Games 2016 at Da Nang, Vietnam. She won the medal after she lost to Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy of Vietnam in the semifinals. Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy won the gold medal in this event while another Vietnamese Nguyen Thi Quynh won the silver medal. Kurash is an ancient form of wrestling i.e. originated from Uzbekistan. 

236.    The first BRICS U-17 Football Tournament will be held in Goa on October 2016. The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports has recently launched the tagline of the BRICS U-17 Football tournament logo i.e. "India for Football", which aptly symbolizes the impetus being given to the game. 

237.    Recently, the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has signed a 15-year contract with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) for exploration of Poly-Metallic Sulphides (PMS) in Indian Ocean. By signing the 15-year contract, India's exclusive rights for exploration of PMS in the allotted area in the Indian Ocean will be formalized. It will increase India's presence in the Indian Ocean where other players like China, Korea and Germany are active. The ISA is an institution set up under the Convention on Law of the Sea to which India is a Party. The headquarters of ISA are at Kingston, Jamaica.

238.    The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has recently declared that 2026 Asian Games will be hosted by Japan. The 2018 Asian Games have already been awarded to Indonesia while the 2022 edition will be held in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.

239.    The golfing legend Arnold Palme (87) has recently passed away in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was known as the king of golf and was part of "The Big Three" in golf during the 1960s, along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, who are widely credited with popularizing and commercializing the sport around the world. 

240.    O P Singh, a 1983-batch officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as the new Director General (DG) of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). He will remain at post till January 2020. The CISF is a paramilitary force tasked to secure vital civil airports and nuclear and aerospace installations in India. Previously, he was the DG of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).