SEPTEMBER, 2017

-Sunil Arora appointed as the Election Commissioner

The Union Government has appointed former Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sunil Arora (61)
as Election Commissioner. He will have tenure of four years in the Election Commission. His
appointment comes to fill the vacancy created by former CEC Nasim Zaidis retirement.

-Rajiv Kumar takes charge as NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman.

Noted economist Rajiv Kumar took over as the Vice-Chairman of government National Institution for
Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. He succeeds Indian-He succeeds Indian- American economist Arvind
Panagariya who had resigned to return to academia.As a Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, he will hold
Union Cabinet Minister rank. Prime Minister is ex-officio Chairperson of the Aayog.

-NITI(National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog

NITI Aayog is the premier policy Think Tank of the Union Government, providing both directional and
policy inputs.

-Rajiv Mehrishi appointed as Comptroller and Auditor General(CAG) of India.

Senior IAS officer Rajiv Mehrishi was appointed as the next Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of
India. He will succeed Shashi Kant Sharma who is going to demit office on September 25, 2017.

-The worlds largest and powerful X-ray laser- European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) was unveiled
in Hamburg, Germany.It will help scientists penetrate the inner workings of atoms, viruses and chemical
reactions.

-India and Switzerland have signed two pacts for technical cooperation in the field of Railways after
delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting President of Swiss
Confederation Doris Leuthard in New Delhi.

-India and Myanmar will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the conservation of
earthquake-damaged pagodas at Bagan during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Myanmar on
September 6-7, 2017

-New Delhi is hosting the annual conference Rajaswa Gyan Sangam (RGS 2017)

- Rajiv Kumar has been appointed as the new Secretary in the Department of Financial Services (DFS)

-Anita Karwal has been appointed as the new Chairperson of Central Board of Secondary Education
(CBSE)

-The 3-day International Hindu Conference has started in Kathmandu, Nepal with the theme of Emerging
spiritualism: Renaissance of Hinduism on August 31, 2017.
-The state-owned NTPC has signed a term loan agreement for Rs. 3,000 crore with ICICI Bank for
partially funding its capital expenditure. The loan which has a door-to-door tenure of 15 years will be
utilised to part finance the capital expenditure of NTPC.

-Goa chief minister Manohar Parrrikar has launched an online Public Grievance Redressal System at the
state secretariat on September 1, 2017. It is a single window online portal for citizens to register
grievances towards any state government department.

-Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS) is located in Goa

-The CSIR(Council of Scientific & Industrial Research) was ranked 9th in Public Research Institution of
the World

-Samsung gains permit to test self-driving cars in California recently

-China and India submitted proposal to WHO for elimination of trade-distorting farm subsidies

-IGCAR(Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research) nuclear scientist U Kamachi Mudali appointed as
chief of heavy water board

-Konkani writer Mahabaleshwar Sail receives 2016 saraswati samman for his novel Hawthan

-ISRO launch of IRNSS-1H satellite was unsuccessful

-Unicity International, headquartered in Orem, Utah, United States launched world's first ever
Genomeceutical (gene controlling) range of products to India. DNA contains the biological code that
defines every single protein in the body. It undergoes a process called transcription or gene expression
that creates a "messenger" molecule, telling the body to make a specific protein.

-1st Week of September is considered as theNational Nutrition Week.The theme of the National Nutrition
Week for 2017 is "Optimal Infant & Young Child Feeding Practices: Better Child Health".

-India's leading Financial Exchange, Ebix's ItzCash today announced that it has entered into a strategic
agreement with the country's third largest non-life insurance provider in the private sector, HDFC ERGO
to offer general insurance product on its 'PHYGITAL' platform. The partnership inked will offer a wide
range of general insurance policies, providing protection for a range of insurance needs including health,
motor, fire and auto.

-Rajasthan govt accords Jats of Dholpur and Bharatpur districts reservation under the Other Backward
Class (OBC)

-Harshil Mehta was appointed as the MD and CEO of DHFL

-WikiLeaks website was hacked by a group called OurMine

-The Madhya Pradesh government launched a new scheme to hedge price risks in agriculture wherein
farmers will be compensated for distress sales at prices below Union government-announced minimum
support prices (MSP).

-India has offered to host a joint urban earthquake search and rescue exercise with the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member nations, including China and Pakistan, in 2019 to better
respond to emergencies in case of natural disasters.
-According to Central Statistics Office Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh are the fastest
expanding State economies in 2015-16

-The Government of India has given scholarship for 20 Sri Lankan students to study Hindi at the
Kendriya Hindi Sansthan (Central Institute of Hindi) in Agra.

-Amazon has announced a partnership with the Akshaya Patra Foundation to implement the Karnataka
government's 'Ksheera Bhagya' Scheme in Bengalore

-Friday declared Day of Helping Hand in Andhra Pradesh by CM Naidu

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has declared Friday as the day of the week when he will meet with
the poor and underprivileged sections of Andhra Pradesh society to hear their grievances and try to
resolve them. The day has been declared as the Day of Helping Hand. Recently, an amount of nearly
Rs.9 lakhs was disbursed from the Chief Ministers Relief Fund to the poor.

-Lebanon gets first animal protection law

Lebanese President Michel Aoun has signed the countrys first animal welfare bill into law, guaranteeing
that domestic and wild animals will be legally protected from abuse. The bill is the culmination of years of
lobbying for the protection of animals in the Mediterranean country. The law, passed by parliament on
August 16, outlines requirements for keeping domestic pets, regulations for zoos and pet shops, and
penalties for violations including jail time and fines.

-SEBI bans Orion Capital, Orion Broking from Markets for 10 years

Markets regulator SEBI barred Orion Capital as well as Orion Broking and their partners from the
securities markets for 10 years for failing to redress several investor grievances pertaining to non-
settlement of funds due to the clients. The nature of investor complaints received against both the firms
are predominantly on non-settlement of the funds and securities and balances due to their clients. The
claim amount is more than Rs 6 crore against Orion Capital and over Rs 4 crore against Orion Broking.

-PM inaugurates annual conference Rajaswa Gyan Sangam in Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the annual conference, Rajaswa Gyan Sangam, 2017 at
Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The conference jointly organised by the Central Board of Direct Taxes and
the Central Board of Excise and Customs. The Prime Minister addressed the tax administrators during
the conference. The closing function would be conducted on 2 September 2017.

-Minister Shri Vijay Goel has announced that a new Youth Sports Centre to be built at Alipur, Delhi

-The Kerala Tourism department has launched a campaign called Yalla Kerala (Yalla means lets go). It
has been launched to target tourists from Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait,
Bahrain and Qatar.

-External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj travelled to Colombo to participate in the two-day Indian Ocean
Conference in Colombo, Srilanka

-98.96% per cent of the Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination banknotes that had been invalidated had
been returned according to RBI report

As per the data released by the RBI, old notes worth Rs 15.44 lakh crore were there in the market out of
which 15.28 lakh crore have been received by the bank.It means all but 1.4% of the old Rs 1,000 notes
have come back into the banking system.As per the RBI report about 89 million units of the demonetised
Rs 1,000 notes, worth Rs 8,900 crore, had not come back into the system.

-Indian-origin veteran civil servant JY Pillay has appointed Singapores acting President

-Samurai Tete was the first woman from Jharkhand who was awarded Dhyan Chand Award 2017

-Nirmala Sitharaman, former minister of state for commerce and industry ministry, has become the new
Defence Minister of India. Nirmala Sitharaman is a representative of Karnataka in Rajya Sabha .

-Suresh Prabhu has become the new Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, he was the railway
minister before the new appointment.

-The 9th edition of BRICS summit-2017 has started at Xiamen in the Fujian Province of east China with
the theme BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future

-Divya Deshmukh (11) has won gold in the girls Under-12 category at the World Cadets Chess
Championship at Pocos de Caldas, Brazil.

-The Karnataka government has recently decided to provide free education for girls across the state from
Class 1 up to graduation in all public and aided private schools and colleges, excluding professional
institutions.

-The worlds highest sandcastle 54.72 feet (16.68 metres) tall has recently been built in the German city
of Duisburg.

-Shirish Pai (88), the renowned Marathi poet and activist, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on
September 2, 2017.

-Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of Gujarat, has been formally accorded the status of Indias first
World Heritage City (WHC) by UNESCO.

-Piyush Goyal has been appointed as the new Union Minister of Railways

-The Pulie Badze Wildlife Sanctuary (PWS) is located at Kohima District of Nagaland and covers an area
of 923 hectares.

-The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has approved constitution of 13-member Empowered Steering
Committee (ESC).It will shape and influence Indias preparation for multi-disciplinary events, including
2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

-Swedish defence and security company SAAB and Adani Group have announced collaboration in
defence manufacturing to Build Gripen E fighter jets in India. under the Defence Ministry's $10 billion
single-engine fighter jet procurement programme.

-The central government recently launched a scheme called Rashtriya Vayoshri for the Youth.

-The Worlds biggest and powerful X-ray laser gun was unveiled in Germany

-Gujarat recently launched Central scheme for senior citizens.

-Uber will give free insurance to its 450,000 driver partners in India that will cover death, disability or
hospitalization due to accidents.

-The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) signed an agreement with the Universal Service Obligation
Fund (USOF) to set up 25,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in its rural exchanges by next six months.

-China's first test-flight base for civilian drones was opened in Shanghai

-Chipmaker AMD presented a new line of microprocessor chips called 'Ryzen Pro' for commercial
desktop workstations to be available in India and other countries by end of 2017.

-India most corrupt Asian country, Vietnam ranked second according to Forbes

-Assam Government has extended term of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958 and
declared entire state a Disturbed Area for six more months under Section 3 of AFSP Act.

-Kenneth I. Juster named U.S Ambassador to India

-Wildcard entrant Gaurav Bidhuris won the bronze in World Boxing Championships.

-Karnataka launches unified health scheme Arogya Bhagya and the main theme of the scheme is
Treatment First and Payment Next

-India gets its first Indigenous sniper rifle from West Bengal

-Australia and East Timor have agreed on key elements of a maritime boundary and revenue sharing
from a natural gas field beneath the seabed between the two countries

-The Reliance Foundation was awarded with the prestigious Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Award at
Rashtrapati Bhawan.Chairperson of the foundation, Nita Ambani collected the award from President
Ram Nath Kovind in New Delhi.

-Hyderabad International Airport Ltd has bagged the National Award for Excellence in Energy
Management at a conference hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

-Tamil Nadu Police has launched a new online services. Under the online services petitioners seeking
documents to file accident claims can now download all necessary documents via the Internet on
payment for a minimum charge.

-World Coconut Day has been observed on 2nd September 2017.

-FDA(Food and Drug Administration) approves first gene altering leukemia treatment called kymriah.

Novartis drug Kymriah works by genetically modifying pediatric and young adult patients blood cells to
attack cancer cells in blood and bone marrow. It will be used in patients under the age of 25 with acute
lymphoblastic leukemia who were unresponsive to initial treatment.Kymriah is a cell-based gene therapy.
The therapy is a genetically-modified autologous T-cell immunotherapy.

-Archaeologists in Andhra Pradesh have discovered an ancient Buddhist site that dates back to 1st
century AD, in Guntur district.
-The Tajikistan government has banned its women from wearing veils and Tajikistan government has
introduced a legislation, wherein it has asked the women to "stick to traditional national clothes and
culture". Under existing laws, women wearing hijabs are already banned from entering the country's
government offices.

-Environment Ministry will launch an environment awareness initiative. Under which an online
environmental quiz competition named "Prakriti Khoj" an Environment Quiz to be conducted at the
national level.

-Five banks of the BRICS Bank Cooperation Mechanism have agreed to establish credit lines in the
national currencies and cooperate on credit ratings. Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES),
Vnesheconombank, Export-Import Bank of India(EXIM), China Development Bank and Development
Bank of South Africa (DBSA)have signed an agreement to establish credit lines in the national
currencies, as well as a memorandum of cooperation on credit ratings,

-Intel has introduced a new vision processing unit (VPU) called Movidius Myriad X.

The new Intel VPU is aimed at providing end-to-end artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to a wide range of
product categories such as smart cameras, virtual reality (VR) devices, robotics and even drones. Myriad
X is the world's first system-on-chip (SOC) shipping with a dedicated neural compute engine for
accelerating deep learning inferences at the edge.

-Nine new Ministers of state were inducted into the Union Council of Ministers.

-Four Ministers of state were elevated to the cabinet rank.The ministers promoted were Mukhtar Abbas
Naqvi, Dharmendra Pradhan, Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman.

-North Koreas 6th nuke test 9.8 times powerful than 5th: S Korea

The artificial quake in North Korea thought to be its sixth nuclear test was five to six times more
powerful than the fifth nuclear test.As per the Souths Yonhap news agency reported it was 9.8 times
more powerful than the tremor from Pyongyangs fifth test.

-NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson to return home after 288 days in space

According to the US space agency NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson is set to depart the International
Space Station (ISS) and return to Earth after completing a 288-day long mission.Whitson is completing a
288-day mission that began in November 2016, spanning 122.2 million miles and 4,623 orbits of Earth
her third long-duration stay on the outpost.

-India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) will meet this month in order to conclude their
long pending negotiations on FTA (Free Trade Agreement). European Free Trade Association (EFTA)s
Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

-Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has appointed as the countrys Youth Affairs and Sports Minister.He has
succeeded Vijay Goyal as the Sports Minister and is the first sportsperson to become the head of the
Sports Ministry. Rathore is the first Indian shooter to win an Olympic medal after his silver at the 2004
Athens Games.
-Hockey India fired national coach Roelant Oltmans after a string of unimpressive outings at the
international level.

-The government has issued an alert on spread of new malware Locky Ransomware that can lock
computers and demand ransom for unlocking them.

Key Points:Ransomware is a malicious software and the Locky Ransomware is learnt to be demanding
ransom of half bitcoin, which at present rate is equivalent to over Rs 1.5 lakh.

-MS Dhoni has become the first wicketkeeper to effect 100 stumpings in ODI cricket.

MS Dhoni reached a record of 100 stumping in One-Day Internationals during his 301st match, as India
played Sri Lanka in the fifth ODI of the five-match series at Colombo. Dhoni surpassed former Sri Lankan
wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara, who had 99 stumpings in 404 matches.Dhoni, recently, became the
sixth Indian player to play 300 matches in the 50-over format.

-Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, has been promoted as
Cabinet Minister and got additional charge of Union Ministry of Skill Development

-Satish Kumar, the decorated West Bengal wrestler, has been awarded Rs 25 lakh as compensation by
the Delhi court for being wrongly restrained from taking part in the 14th Asian Games-2002 at Busan in
South Korea under the mistaken impression that he had taken performance-enhancing drugs.

-Nepal has recently signed a $635 million United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF)
for 2018-2022 to lay out the countrys development strategy.

-The Indian pair of Rohan Kapoor and Kuhoo Garg bagged the mixed doubles title at the Hellas Open
International badminton series after registering a straight-game victory in Livadia.

-Lewis Hamilton, British racing driver who races in Formula One for the Mercedes AMG Petronas team,
has won the 2017 Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Italy.

-Hardeep Singh Puri: Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

-Satya Pal Singh: MoS Human Resource Development and MoS Water Resources, River Development
and Ganga Rejuvenation.

-Shiv Pratap Shukla: MoS Finance Ministry.

-Alphons Kannanthanam: MoS (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Tourism; and MoS in Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology.

-Raj Kumar Singh: MoS (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Power; and MoS (Independent Charge) of
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

-Virendra Kumar: MoS in Ministry of Women and Child Development; and MoS in Ministry of Minority
Affairs

-Anantkumar Hegde: MoS in Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

-Piyush Goyal: Railway Ministry.

Nirmala Sitharaman: Defence Ministry.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi: Minority Affairs Ministry.

Dharmendra Pradhan: Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry.

-Breakthrough Listen project has detected 15 fast radio bursts (FRBs) coming from a dwarf galaxy about
3 million light years away from earth. The new detection was made with help of Green Bank Telescope
(GBT) in West Virginia.

-President Ramnath Kovind laid foundation stone for link-4 of Saurashtra Narmada Avataran Irrigation
Scheme (SAUNI) Yojana in Rajkot district, Gujarat.

-The Cell for IPR Promotions & Management (CIPAM) under Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion (DIPP) has launched social media campaign #LetsTalkIP to promote Indian Geographical
Indications (GIs).

CIPAM-DIPP launches social media campaign to promote Geographical Indications.CIPAM, which works
under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in the ministry, has started an
#LetsTalkIP initiative. Cell for IPR Promotions and Management (CIPAM) has launched a social media
campaign to promote Indian Geographical Indications.It has been launched to make more people aware
about the importance of intellectual property rights (IPRs).

-The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into four more Advance Pricing Agreements
(APAs), pertaining to sectors like telecom, banking, manufacturing and education .

Out of these four agreements, three were unilateral and one was bilateral. The bilateral APA was for
international transactions between an Indian company and UK-based company. With this, total number
of APAs entered into by CBDT has reached 175. This includes 162 unilateral APAs and 13 bilateral
APAs

-Gurugram Metro Station to get 1,000 new e-rickshaws

-North Koreas missile program led to urgent United Nations Security council (UNSC) Meeting

-Karnataka Bank has bagged the 'best bank' award among small banks for the use of technology for
financial inclusion

-RBI has included HDFC in the list of 'too big to fail' lenders, referred to as D-SIB or domestic
systemically important bank.

India's largest lender SBI and private sector major ICICI Bank were classified as D-SIBs in 2015. With
the inclusion of HDFC Bank in the list, there will now be three 'too big to fail' financial entities in the
country. SIBs are subjected to higher levels of supervision so as to prevent disruption in financial
services in the event of any failure

-The Jammu and Kashmir Government introduces the electric buses for two cities of Srinagar and
Jammu under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme.

It is done with an aim to curb pollution in these two cities which were recently declared 'smart cities'.

-Pulitzer-prize winning poet John Ashbery, a post-modern American trailblazer, has passed away at age
of 90 in Hudson, New York.
His 1975 collection Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror made history when he became the lone writer to
earn three major accolades the same year for the same work: the Pulitzer in addition to a National Book
Award and a National Book Critics Circle Award.

UNESCO Confucius Prize 2017

-Confucius Prize recognises the projects that benefit rural populations and out-of-school youth,
particularly girls and women. This year, the UNESCO Confucius Prize will be given to:

AdulTICoProgram: This program was the initiative of the Secretariat of Information and Communications
Technologies of Armenia (Colombia) for teaching digital competencies to seniors.

The Citizens Foundation (Pakistan): The foundation was chosen for its Aagahi Literacy Programme for
Women and Out-of-School Girls that includes digital educational needs assessments and provides
teaching services to support the education of younger girls and older women.

FunDza (South Africa): The organisation launched readers and writers project to develop a culture of
reading and writing for pleasure through an online platform that provides reading courses and writing
competitions.

-King Sejong Literacy Prize 2017: The King Sejong Literacy Prize is dedicated to mother-tongue literacy
education. The winners of King Sejong Literacy Prize 2017 are:

Centre for the Study of Learning & Performance (CSLP): The Centre at Concordia University (Canada)
was chosen for its Using Educational Technology to Develop Essential Educational Competencies in
Sub-Saharan Africas project.

We Love Reading (Jordan): This program offers online read-aloud trainings for parents, mobilizes
volunteers to read aloud in community spaces to children.

All these five winners will each receive a medal, a certificate and USD 20000. The awards will be handed
over to them on the occasion of International Literacy Day on 8 September 2017.

-Ye India ka time hai event was organized at National Institute of Technology, Raipur Chhattisgar

-Joint India-Nepal army exercise begins in Saljhandi, Nepal.Nepal India Joint Military Exercise Surya
Kiran has launched and it is to be held from September 3 to 16. This is the 12th edition of the exercise.
Joint military exercise, Surya Kiran Nepal Army Battle School at Saljhandi.It will have around 350 troops
from each side, focusing on counterinsurgency and counter-terror operations.

-Seychelles ratifies the ISA Framework Agreement and became the ninth member of ISA Framework
agreement.The ISA will need the ratification of just six more countries to become a recognized inter-
governmental body.

-Global brokerage firm UBS has lowered Indias GDP growth forecast to 6.6 per cent from 7.2 per cent.
The brokerage said that the growth is expected to rise in coming quarters as the economy is getting
normalised post implementation of the GST.

-Singapore based bank DBS has got final approval to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary (WOS) in
India. Diesel DBS was the first foreign lender to apply for the new operating WOS model two years ago
and its approval was delayed due to lack of precedent. The application has been pending with the
finance ministry. Now as the problems got sorted out DBS is the second bank after State Bank of
Mauritius to receive the nod for its operation in India

-The first consignment of 30 MT of High Speed Diesel was sent on 4th of Sept from India to Myanmar by
land route.Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. (NRL), which has been supplying HSD to Bangladesh, despatched
the first diesel consignment through NH 37 across the Moreh Custom Check Point on the Indian side and
Tamu Custom Check Point on the Myanmar side.

-Astronomers had discovered seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a relatively nearby dwarf star. The
system is called TRAPPIST-1. It is especially appealing because it has three planets in the habitable
zone it means that these worlds could potentially support liquid water and perhaps even life.TRAPPIST-1
has become one of the most studied exo-systems in the relatively short history of exoplanets.

-Arunachal Pradesh Health and Family Welfare Minister Jomde Kena (52) has passed away in Guwahati,
Assam on September 4, 2017. Since 2014, Kena, who represented Likabali seat from Lower Siang
district in Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2004.
He was re-elected to the House from the same constituency in 2009 and 2014.

-Star India acquired digital as well as media rights for Indian Premier League for a term of five years
2018-2023 with a whooping bid of Rs. 16,347.50 crore on September 4, 2017. The staggering deal has
turned out to be a financial windfall for the BCCI despite the administrative crisis it is facing at the
moment. The testimony to IPLs growth as the premier sporting property of the country is reflected by the
fact that the previous 10-year bid for TV rights only was bought by Sony at Rs. 8200 crore in 2008. Now,
the BCCI stands to earn nearly double that amount in half the duration of five years, with earnings of Rs
3270 crore from IPL media rights per year. The BCCI will now earn Rs 55 crore approximately from an
IPL match compared to Rs 43 crore, ironically, for each international match that India play. The media
rights include broadcast (TV) and digital (mobile and internet) for various segments namely India, Middle
East, Africa, Europe and America.

-Konsam Ormila Devi from India bagged a gold medal in 44kg weight category at the Commonwealth
Youth (boys & girls) weightlifting championships at Gold Coast, Australia on September 4, 2017. Ormila
lifted 57kg in snatch and 76kg in clean and jerk for an overall effort of 133kg, to finish on the top of the
podium. With this effort, Ormila has registered her best lift so far.

-The biennial Joint Indo-Lanka Maritime Fleet Exercise SLINEX 2017 is scheduled to be conducted
from September 7-to-14. The focus of SLINEX 2017 will be on fleet work, seamanship, communication,
replenishment at sea as well as helicopter operations. Approx, a complement of 368 Sri Lanka Navy
personnel comprising 43 naval officers and 60 mid-shipmen are taking part in the exercise. Sri Lanka
Navys offshore patrol vessels, SLNS Sayura and Sagara will arrive at Port of Visakhapatnam soon to
participate in the joint maritime naval exercise with the Indian Navy. The joint naval operations enable
both Navies to rehearse and improve own capabilities and enhance operational effectiveness required to
maintain maritime security in the region.

-Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has launched Gyankunj e-class project on the occasion of Teachers
day on September 5, 2017. The project has been launched at Shahpur primary school in Gandhinagar in
presence of state Chief Secretary. The entire project will work on pilot basis with Interactive e-class room
and smart boards have been provided under this initiative. According to official sources, 1609
government primary schools have been provided laptop, projector, infrared camera, smart board,
speaker and wifi router facilities for 3,173 class rooms of standard 7 and 8. About 10,000 tablets are to
be given to standard 7 and 8 students across 100 more schools on free of cost. Education for all courses
in standard 5 to 8 will be given through e-content and internet.

-Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy and Mumbai-born scientist Veena Sahajwalla have been
conferred the PLuS Alliance Prize a prestigious honour that recognises Research Innovation,
Education Innovation, Global Leadership and Global Innovation. The Prize of $ 50,000 was awarded in
two categories; Education Innovation and Research Innovation. Both winners were recognised for the
development and implementation of innovative solutions to significant global issues. Murthy was
presented the PLuS Alliance Prize for Global Leadership while Professor Sahajwalla was awarded the
PLuS Alliance Prize for Research Innovation for her project The new science of green manufacturing.
The awards were presented to Murthy, Sahajwalla and the other winners by Professor Sir Malcolm
Grant, Chairman of NHS England and Chair of the PLuS Alliance Advisory Board, at a ceremony at the
T-H-E World Academic Summit in London on September 3, 2017. The PLuS Alliance is an international
collaboration between Arizona State University, Kings College London, and UNSW Sydney.

-The Union Government has accepted recommendations of National Anomaly Committee (NAC) to
maintain disability pension for defence forces in parity with civilians under 6th Central Pay Commission
(CPC). With acceptance of recommendations of NAC, Government will not go ahead with new disability
pension parity regime recommended by 7th CPC and continue earlier system of disbursing disability
pension.

-The Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has constituted
task force for speedy implementation of various ongoing Namami Gange programme

- KV Rama Moorthy took charge as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tamilnadu
Mercantile Bank. He succeeds HS Upendra Kamath. His appointment is for a period of three years. Prior
to joining TMB, he was Executive Director of United Bank of India.

-Shri Narendra Modi to hold bilateral meet with Chinese Prez Xi to participate in Dialogue of Emerging
Market and developing countries

-September 5th is observed as National Teachers Day

-Former Indian basketball team captain Amritpal Singh will be seen shooting and guarding the Sydney
Kings rim in Australias National Basketball League. He is the first Indian-born player to take to the court
in Australias National League. Amrit, has been signed by the Australian club as a back-up centre, and
Sydney Kings managing director.

-Odisha got a state run medical college after a gap of 54 years with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik
inaugurating Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital (SLNMCH).

-China gave 500 million yuan ($76.4 million) for a BRICS economic and technology cooperation plan,
and another $4 million for projects at the BRICS countries' New Development Bank stated Chinese
President Xi Jinping. The announcement came amid questions over the relevance of BRICS and China's
commitment to its New Development Bank (NDB) in light of the Belt and Road initiative and the China-
led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

-P R Seshadri has assumed charge as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Karur Vysya
Bank. Seshadri succeeds K Venkataraman who has been leading the bank for more than six years.
Seshadri, a senior banker with over 25 years of experience, started his banking career with Citibank in
early 1992. He worked as a Chief Executive Officer of BFC Bank Limited, London.

-The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched two new contraceptives- an injectable
contraceptive MPA under the 'Antara' program and a contraceptive pill 'Chhaya' in the public health
system to expand the basket of contraceptive choices for couples. It have been launched in 10 states
including Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Haryana, West
Bengal, Odisha, and Goa.

-The Delhi govt made it mandatory for all the cabs to have at least 4 stickers informing passengers to
disable the Child Lock System before the journey starts. The Delhi Commission for Women observed
that the possibility of crime against women increases as they cannot open the doors once the lock is
activated.

-The official song for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup football tournament was formally launched by the
Local Organising Committee and Sony Pictures Networks India in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The song, Kar
Ke Dikhla De Goal, is written by lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya and is composed by Pritam.

-R A Sankara Narayanan has taken charge as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Vijaya
Bank. He has taken over the reigns of the bank from Kishore Sansi, who reached superannuation on
August 31. He joined Bank of India as a direct recruit officer in 1983 and has headed various branches.

-Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh flaged off the first
run of the Lucknow Metro from the Transport Nagar Metro Station in Lucknow. Uttar Pradesh Governor
Ram Naik was the chief guest of the ceremony.

-Nepals government has enacted a new law which aimed at stopping the practice of forcing a woman
who is menstruating, or has just given birth, to sleep outside their home, in a hut or shed. According to
the law, any family member who forces a woman to practice chaupadi the Nepali term used for
menstrual isolation can be punished with a jail sentence of 3 months or a fine of 3,000 rupees (about
$30).

-Nepals Parliament has endorsed an electoral law for upcoming elections to the federal and provincial
council which bars people involved in corruption and criminal offences to stand as candidates. The bill
was endorsed by holding three rounds of meetings.

-Cuba began a five-month political transition expected to end with Raul Castros departure from the
Presidency, due to his familys dominance in the countrys political system for nearly sixty years.Over the
rest of this month, Cubans will meet in small groups to nominate municipal representatives. Cuban
officials say that 12,515 block-level districts will nominate candidates for city council elections on 22nd
October, 2017.

-China has banned individuals and organisations from raising funds through initial coin offerings (ICO), or
launches of digital currencies announced on 4th of Sept 2017.It allows raising large sums quickly by
creating and selling digital tokens with little or no regulatory oversight.As per the Peoples Bank of
China Individuals and organisations that have completed ICO fund-raisings should make arrangements
to return funds.
-Vasant Narasimhan will be named as chief executive of Novartis announced on 4th of Sept.
2017.Current chief executive Joseph Jimenez will retire next year so Vasant Narasimhan will serve from
1st Feb 2018. .Narasimhan is currently the global head of drug development and chief medical officer
with the Swiss drug company.He joined Novartis in 2005 and has held numerous leadership positions in
development and commercial functions.

-The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) was honoured by Minister of State for Personnel, Mr.Jitendra
Singh for successfully resolving public grievances.The CBDT is the apex policy making body for the
Income Tax department.

-The United Nations (UN) observes September 5 every year as International Charity Day.

On 5th September every year International Day of Charity is observed world-wide. It was declared in the
United Nations General Assembly in 2012. The International Day of Charity was conceived as a
Hungarian civil society initiative supported by the Hungarian Parliament and Government in 2011
.September 5was chosen in order to commemorate the death anniversary of Mother Teresa who
received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and
distress, which also constitutes a threat to peace.

-NITI Aayog has recently launched the National Nutrition Strategy in New Delhi with an aimed at
Kuposhan Mukt Bharat. It was launched by Leader of the Green Revolution, Dr M S Swaminathan and
Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Dr Rajiv Kumar on September 5, 2017. The Nutrition Strategy intends to
bring nutrition to the centre-stage of the National Development Agenda. It lays the roadmap for targeted
action to address Indias nutritional needs. The Nutrition Strategy framework envisages a Kuposhan Mukt
Bharat linked to Swachh Bharat and Swasth Bharat. It enables states to make strategic choices,
through decentralized planning and local innovation, with accountability for nutrition outcomes.

-The Assam government has recently set up a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Cell for implementation of
DBT across schemes in the Country and to coordinate efforts at the State Level in taking the DBT
initiative forward with immediate effect. The Chief Secretary will be the chairman of the cell and the
Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary, Finance Department will be the convenor. The Cell will
Coordinate with Central Ministries & disseminate the directives to the respective Departments in States.
It will closely monitor & evaluate the progress of various Departments on DBT related indicators and in
addition, the Cell will also function as the research unit to explore possibility of using information
technology for better service delivery across range of Govt. Services in the State.

- India has bagged a Gold and two Silver medals in the Mens Double trap event at the 2017 ISSF World
Shotgun Championship in Moscow. India won the Gold in the Junior team section of the event with a
combined score of 401. Ankur Mittal won the Silver in the senior event, while 17-year-old Ahvar Rizvi
finished second in the junior section. India is now fourth in the medals table with one Gold and two Silver
medals. Italy is at the top with 11 medals, including 6 Gold. Australia is second, while Russia is third.

-Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra has become the first Indian woman ambassador for Tourism
Australia to encourage Indians to visit the country. She was presented the Friend of Australia (FOA)
recognition by Australian Consul General Tony Huber for her contribution to promote Australia recently.
Prior to Chopra, famous chef Sanjeev Kapoor and cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle have been great
advocates for Australia, encouraging Indians to visit Australia.
-India will host the 2019 edition of the Commonwealth (Youth, Junior and Senior) Weightlifting
Championships. It was decided by the Executive Board of Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation to
allot the 2019 edition of the competitions to India at Gold Coast, Australia. The 2018 edition of the
tournament is being held at the Gold Coast.

-Gauri Lankesh, the noted journalist and activists, was shot dead at her Rajarajeshwari Nagars
residence in Bengaluru, Karnataka on September 5, 2017. She was the editor of popular Kannada
tabloid Lankesh Patrike founded by her father and well-known writer P Lankesh. Lankesh was also part
of a panel formed by State government to help surrender Naxals to reform. She was known to be a
notable social and political commentator and acclaimed for her lifelong support for free speech and
strong journalistic ethics, her works were popular in all quarters, her critics alike. The state government
has formed a three team comprising of senior police officer to investigate the crime. AIR correspondent
reports that killing of senior journalist known for her out spoken views, is being compared with the murder
of rationalist, liberal thinkers, M M Kulburgi, Pansare and Dabholkar in recent years. Several associations
of writers and journalists are holding protest in the state demanding immediate arrest of the perpetrators
of crime.

-Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and K Sanjita Chanu has recently qualified for 2018 Commonwealth Games
after winning a gold each in their respective weight categories (48kg & 53kg) at the Commonwealth
Senior (men & women) weightlifting championships at Gold Coast in Australia. Mirabai lifted 85kg in
snatch and 104kg in clean & jerk for an overall total of 189kg to finish on top of the podium in womens
48kg weight division. She broke Commonwealth record in snatch event with a lift of 85kg, bettering her
own record by one kilogram. Meanwhile, Sanjita also bagged the yellow metal in womens 53kg with a
total effort of 195kg and qualified for the Commonwealth Games which would be held at the same venue
next year.

-The 2-day event North East Calling will be organized by the Union government under its Destination
North East series at India Gate lawns in New Delhi on September 9, 2017. The purpose of the event is to
promote the art, culture, handicrafts, business and tourism of North East India. The event will showcase
all activities and products of North-East and the entry for the general public is free. The event will include
music festival for bands of North-East, Cultural night for dances of North-East and Handloom Demo
Show presenting the clothes of North-East.

-The researchers at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Chemical
Laboratory in Pune have developed an artificial leaf that absorbs sunlight to generate hydrogen fuel from
water, an advance that may provide clean energy for powering eco-friendly cars in the future. The device
consists of semiconductors stacked in a manner to simulate the natural leaf system. When visible light
strikes the semiconductors, electrons move in one direction, producing electric current. The current
almost instantaneously splits water into hydrogen which researchers believe is one of the cleanest
forms of fuel as its main byproduct is water.

-The Phawngpui Blue Mountain National Park (PBMNP) is located in the state of Mizoram and covers an
area of 50 square kilometers. It is the natural home of a wonderful range of birdlife including the rare
Blyths tragopan, falcon, sunbirds, dark-rumped swift, and Mrs. Humes pheasant, which is the Mizoram
state bird, and also rare animals like the mountain goat, slow loris, tiger, leopard, leopard cat, serow,
goral, Asiatic black bear, stump-tailed macaque and capped langur.
-Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Jharkhand Religious Freedom Bill, 2017.
The state government will now issue notification on the Religious Freedom Bill, after which it will become
an Act.

With this Jharkhand, become seventh state in the country to have anti-conversion law. Other six states
with similar law are Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal
Pradesh.

-India and Myanmar have signed 11 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in range of sectors, including
one on maritime security cooperation.

Signed Agreements are

MoU on Maritime Security Cooperation

Cultural Exchange Programme for year 2017-2020

MoU on Cooperation in Medical Products Regulation

MoU on cooperation in the field of Health and medicine

Technical Agreement for providing Coastal Surveillance System

Exchange of Letter for Extension of MoU on the establishment of MIIT

MoU for Upgradation of Womens Police Training Centre at Yamethin, Myanmar

MoU for Sharing White Shipping Information between Indian Navy and Myanmar Navy

MoU in the field of elections between Election Commission of India and Election Commission of
Myanmar

Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between Press Council of India and Myanmar Press
Council

Exchange of Letter for Extension of MoU on establishment of India-Myanmar Centre for Enhancement of
IT-Skill.

-The Union Ministry of Human Resource and Development (HRD) has launched Diksha Portal
(diksha.gov.in) for providing digital platform to teacher to make their lifestyle more digital.

It will serve as National Digital Infrastructure for Teachers. Through this portal, all teachers across nation
will be equipped with advanced digital technology.

-National Highway Authority of India was awarded its First International Project in Myanmar to Punj
Lloyd-Varaha

-219 teachers were honoured with the national awards on the occasion of Teachers Day

-N Baijendra Kumar took charge as National Mineral Development Corporation CMD

-Solar storms may have caused beaching of whales-scientists

-US President Donald Trump has scrapped an amnesty programme introduced during Obamas term that
granted work permits to immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as Children. The move is likely to
impact over 800,000 undocumented workers including more than 7000 Indian-Americans. The
announcement was made by US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who said that the programme known
as DACA (Deferred Action for Children Arrival) that was effectuated under the Obama Administration is
being withdrawn.

-The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO) in Sepetmebr 2017
announced the winners of 2017 edition of the UNESCO Prize for Girls and Womens Education.
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova announced the names of the two laureates from Peru and
Thailand recommended by an International Jury. Each of the two organisations was honoured with the
prize money of USD 50000 at an official ceremony held in Xiamen, Peoples Republic of China.

-Fincare Small Finance Bank (previously known as Disha Microfin Limited) this started its banking
operations with about 25 operational branches across Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh. The bank was given final small finance bank (SFB) licence from the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) in May this year. On the day of its launch, the bank raised over Rs. 225 crore of deposits from its
about 1000-odd depositors. The bank aims to be digitally driven, rural and semi-urban bank, focusing on
the priority sectors and retail segments of micro and small enterprises.

-ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company has got SEBI's go-ahead for its estimated Rs. 6,000 crore
IPO, which could be the first by a general insurer in the country. Two State-run general insurers -General
Insurance Corp of India and New India Assurance Company - as also two life insurance firms (SBI Life
and HDFC Standard Life) have also lined up IPO plans and are awaiting SEBI's go-ahead for their
respective draft papers.

-Larsen & Toubro, the country's largest engineering firm, has received green nod for expansion of its
Powai residential and IT tower projects in Mumbai that will entail an investment of Rs 1,102 crore. The
company had received environment clearance (EC) for construction of three wings of IT towers in a total
area of 1,49,618.70 sq m.

-External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in Russian port city of Vladivostok on a three-day visit
to attend the third Eastern Economic Forum which will deliberate on pressing issues relating to global
trade. She holds bilateral talks with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during which various issues
relating to trade, investment, and defense cooperation. The Eastern Economic Forum is considered as
the biggest international communication platform for cooperation between businesses leaders and senior
government representatives from Russia, the Pacific Region and the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN).

-India handed over an off-shore patrol vessel, Varuna, to Sri Lanka as a part of stepping up co-operation
between the two coast guards.The ship (Varuna) was decommissionedwith traditional honours on August
23 to facilitate the handing over at Kochi.

-Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under Ministry of Power, Government of India has launched
UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All) Scheme in the State of Melaka, Malaysia on 6th of
Sept. 2017.The Scheme was launched by Chief Minister of Melaka Idris Haron.UJALAs impact in
Malaysia will bring about clean energy, contribute to climate change targets and save the already
dwindling energy resources.
-State Bank of India (SBI) is the latest to get smitten by the Artificial Intelligence and Automation. They
have launched their first ever chatbot called SBI Intelligent Assistant or SIA, which would be powered by
AI, and designed to assist customers. This special chatbot has been created & developed by Allincall,
which is a startup from Mumbai, and backed by startup cell of IIT Bombay.

-Banks without Aadhaar enrolment centres face Rs.20,000 fine from October
On 5th September 2017, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Mr.Ajay Bhushan Pandey
said that the UIDAI has given banks one more month to open Aadhaar enrolment centres in a stipulated
10 per cent of branches and will impose Rs.20,000 as fine per uncovered branch after 30th September
2017.

-HCL acquires UK-based data management platform Datawave

On 5th September 2017, HCL Technologies announced the acquisition of automationdriven data
management platform Datawave to accelerate data integration and migration for their clients.HCL has
announced that it has agreed to buy Datawave a business unit of ETL Factory Limited, a UKbased
company.

-The Ministry of Coal has appointed Gopal Singh as CMD, Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), additional
charge as CMD of Coal India Ltd.Singh has taken charge effective from 1st September 2017.He has
replaced Sutirtha Bhattacharya on attaining superannuation effective August 31, 2017.

-WhatsApp is launching a new app to help businesses communicate with their customers announced on
6thsept 2017.WhatsApp Business gives users a verified green checkmark badge next to their
names.Secondly, businesses will be able to create a company profile with information such as address,
business hours, description of product or service offered.

-According to the Commerce Ministry, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development
Authority(APEDA) has developed a mobile app Hortinet for farmers to facilitate registration, testing and
certification of certain fruits and vegetables.The app Hortinet is an integrated traceability system
developed by APEDA for providing internet-based services to the stakeholders.

-As part of labour law reforms, the Government has undertaken the exercise of rationalisation of the 38
Labour Acts by framing 4 labour codes viz Code on Wages, Code on Industrial Relations, Code on
Social Security and Code on occupational safety, health and working conditions.On 10th August 2017,
The Code on Wages Bill 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha by Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya, Minister of State
for Labour and Employment.

-On 7th September 2017, the seventh edition of India-Sri Lanka joint maritime naval exercise SLINEX
2017 started near Vishakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh in India on the Bay of Bengal. It will last till
14th September 2017.
SLINEX Sri Lanka India Naval Exercise are a series of naval exercises between the Indian Navy and
the Sri Lankan Navy

-Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has announced a new programme named Jala
Siriki Haarati. It is a programme offering prayers to water bodies and to create awareness among the
public regarding water preservation announced on 6th sept. 2017

-The Gujarat government has signed a MoU with Google India for Digital Gujarat movement under
Digital India.Under the MoU Google will train small and medium scale entrepreneurs the use of digital
platform for business development under the Digital Unlocked programme.
 -Home Ministry announced that Chiefs of central armed police forces like Central Reserve Police Force
(CRPF) and Border Security Force (BSF) and other central agencies have been empowered to spend up
to Rs.15 crore for executing major projects and Rs.1 crore for minor works, including repairing of
residential buildings.

-Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the
Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) on 6th of Sept. 2017.The pact has been signed
to connect Vijayawada and Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh in Guntur district.

-Online travel firm MakeMyTrip has announced the resignation of Co-Founder and President Ashish
Kashyap.His resignation will come into effect from September 30.As per the settlement agreement,
Kashyap will be under non-solicitation and non-competition obligation for the next two years.

-Viveck Goenka, Chairman and Managing Director of the Express Group elected as a Chairman of Press
Trust of India and N. Ravi, a former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu daily is elected as a Vice-
Chairman.Goenka succeeds Riyad Mathew, who is Senior Assistant Editor and a member of the
Manorama management and Ravi succeeds Goenka as Vice Chairman.

-To mark the first anniversary of Mother Teresas canonization, the Archdiocese of Kolkata will declare
the saint a co-patroness of the local Church announced on 6th of sept. Sister Prema inaugurated a two-
day exhibition of paintings and sculptures on Mother Teresa organised by the Indian National Forum of
Art and Culture in association with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

-Indias first operational Smart City, Gujarat International Finance-Tec City (GIFT City), has won the
prestigious Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) Services Excellence
Award in New Delhi.

-Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) partnered with Coriant, a US-based packet optical and mobile
routing solutions company to study and deploy 5G-based industrial internet applications for enterprise
customers in New Delhi.

-Tejasvi Duduka from Hyderabad won the womens singles of U.S. Open Grand Slam Carrom
tournament.Earlier, she had won the Telangana State Womens singles title in Nizamabad.

-Indian Institute of Management Lucknow (IIM-L) and Yes Bank has tied up with the purpose of
spreading climatic awareness

-A member of the World Bank Group, International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested $10 million as
equity in e-commerce firm Power2SME

-Astronomers have discovered a pulsar spinning at more than 42,000 revolutions per minute. It is the
second-fastest Spinning Pulsar identified so far.

-The book of Former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran named How India Sees the World: Kautilya to the
21st Century launched by former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh .

-Dr. Inder Jit Singh has been given the additional charge of the post of Chairperson, National Authority
Chemical Weapons Convention (NACWC). Dr. Inder Jit Singh is a 1985-batch IAS officer of Kerala
Cadre and at present he is serving as the Additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat.

-Parali I island, one of biodiversity-rich uninhabited islands part of Lakshadweep has disappeared due to
coastal erosion and another four such islands in Lakshadweep sea are shrinking fast. The researcher
had conducted studies on assessment of biodiversity confining to five uninhabited islands Parali I, II and
III, Bangaram, Thinnakara in Lakshadweep, an archipelago of 36 islands in Lakshadweep sea.

-The Union government has set up an online service facility that can be used by importers and exporters
to resolve all foreign trade-related issues. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), which
comes under Ministry of Commerce, has asked all exporters and importers to use the system -
Contact@DGFT - for resolution of their matters. Traders can raise all matters related to the directorate or
other agencies of the Centre and States through this facility activated at the DGFT website.
Contact@DGFT system has been activated as a single point contact for resolving all foreign trade-
related issues.

-The 13th edition of the joint military training exercise "Yudh Abhyas - 2017" will be conducted at Joint
Base Lewis McChord, Washington, USA from September 14 to 27. The exercise is one of the largest
joint running military training and defence corporation endeavors between India and USA. The exercise
Yudh Abhyas will provide an opportunity to the armed forces of both countries to train in an integrated
manner at Battalion level with joint planning at Brigade level.

-The Across Barriers-International Business Women's Summit (ABIBWS) will be organized by the South
Asian Women Development Forum (SAWDF) at Kathmandu in Nepal from September 11. The basic
objective of 2-day summit is to bring together women entrepreneurs from the SAARC, ASEAN, China
and some other countries. The summit will be a regional hub for connecting women SMEs (small and
medium enterprises) with public and private sector for exploring opportunities to identify joint business
ventures. The summit will also offer a unique opportunity for business meetings with the members of the
visiting international business delegates and Nepalese women entrepreneurs.

-The Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) has started at Russky Island, which is part of Russia's city of
Vladivostok, on September 6-7, 2017. The delegates from at least 24 countries including the US, Japan,
China, Australia, Canada, Britain and Germany are attending the gathering. From India, External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj is attending the forum. The EEF is considered as the biggest international
communication platform for cooperation between businesses leaders and senior government
representatives from Russia, the Pacific Region and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN).

-SBI Life Insurance Company gets SEBI approval for Rs 8,400 crore IPO

-Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC Bank) to tie up with the Exide Life for savings products

-Ashok Leyland signed an agreement with Rosoboronexport, ELCOM

-Reliance Insurance gets IRDA Nod for IPO

-The Union Government has recently told Supreme Court that an expert committee has been constituted
under the Chairmanship of former apex court judge Justice BN Srikrishna to identify key data protection
issues in India and recommend methods to address them. The government told the apex court that after
the committees report is submitted, there is a possibility that the law shall be passed regulating data
protection. Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, state that the committee
will study various issues and make specific suggestions for consideration of the government on the
principles to be considered for data protection. The apex court has fixed the matter for further hearing on
November 20, 2017.
-The Gujarat Government and Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation-Amul have recently signed the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to save the children of anganwadi from malnutrition. According to
the MOU, under the Take Home Ration, district dairies in cooperation with the Gujarat milk marketing
federation will provide nutritive foods to more than 42-lakh children of more than 53 thousand
anaganwadis, pregnant-mothers, lactating mothers and young girls. Apart from this, Gujarat Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani has flagged off statewide Narmada Mahotsav Yatra from Surendranagar district to
create awareness about the importance of increased water supply from Narmada canal-based projects in
different parts of the state. The 10 days long Narmada Mahotsav Yatra will end at Dabhoi- in Narmada
district in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday on 17th September.

-India and Japan have agreed to collaborate closely in defence production, including on dual-use
technologies. Decision in this regard was taken at the India-Japan annual defence ministerial dialogue
held in Tokyo.

-The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) retained top position among Indian Universities in the Times World
University Rankings 2018, but its position fell in global rankings compared to its last year position.

Top 10 in Universities in World are Oxford University (1st, UK), Cambridge University (2nd, UK),
California institute of Technology (3rd, US), Stanford University (4th, US), Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (5th, US), Harvard University (6th, US), Princeton University (7th, US), Imperial College
London (8th, UK), University of Chicago (9th, US), ETH-Zurich (10th, Switzerland)

-Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister of State for Home, has launched BSF Half Marathon online registration
portal www.marathon.bsf.gov.in at a function in New Delhi on September 7, 2017. The marathon will be
held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on October 22 and will be dedicated to martyrs and BSF will
facilitate their family members on the occasion.

-The Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) will undertake major research works on agriculture
this year (in 2017) with the World Bank (WB) fund of Rs 1100 crore. It is announced by the Deputy
Director General of the national apex agricultural research body Narendra Singh Rathore in the
convocation function at the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Chennai yesterday.
The funds will be allocated to ten each of the premier agricultural and veterinary universities in the
country. It must be noted that though India ranks first in milk production in the world, the milk yield per
animal is very low as compared to international standards. The headquarters of ICAR is locaed in New
Delhi.

-The International Literacy Day (ILD) is observed every year on September 8 to emphasize the
importance of literacy to individuals, society and communities. The 2017 theme is Literacy in a Digital
World. The special 2-day event will be organized at UNESCOs Headquarters in Paris today, with an
overall aim to look at what kind of literacy skills people need to navigate increasingly in the digitally-
mediated societies. The 2017 UNESCO International Literacy Prizes awards ceremony will also take
place to recognize and reward excellent literacy practices from around the world in connection with 2017
theme.

-Harendra Singh, the hockey coach and Dronacharya Awardee, has been appointed as High
Performance Specialist Coach for Indian Senior Women Hockey Team (ISWHT). The decision was
recently taken jointly by SAI and Hockey India on the basis of his recent and past performance. Under
his coaching, the junior men team won the Junior Men World Cup in 2016 at Lucknow. He was also the
Chief Coach of the Senior Men Hockey team from 2008 to 2009 and National coach from 2009 to 2010.
He is a Level III certified Coach. Harendra Singh will take over the new responsibility shortly. It has also
been decided that the present Chief Coach of India senior women Hockey Team, Mr. Waltherus
Norbertus Maria Marijne will take over as Chief Coach of Indian Senior Men Hockey Team on his return
from the on-going Europe tour. Marijne has accepted the offer of Chief Coach of the senior Indian Men
Hockey Team.

-India has refused to be a part of Bali Declaration adopted at conclusion of World Parliamentary Forum
on Sustainable Development held in Bali, Indonesia to show of solidarity with Myanmar.

It was not adopted because it carried inappropriate reference to violence in Rakhine State from where
1,25,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh and was not in line with agreed global principles of
Sustainable Development Goals

-The Indian Army has finalised plan to induct women in military police. The plan is seen as major step
towards breaking gender barriers in force.

Under this plan 800 women will be inducted initially with yearly intake of 52. The decision to induct
women in Corps of Military Police will help in investigating allegations of gender specific crimes.
Currently, women are allowed in select areas such as medical, educational, legal, signals and
engineering wings of Indian Army

-The Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises has extended the Faster Adoption and
Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles ((FAME)-India scheme by six months to promote electric
and hybrid vehicles.

The Phase 1 of the scheme was effective from April 2015, to March 2017, had received six-month
extension till end-September 2017. Now it has been extended by another six months up to March 31,
2018.

-Bharati Airtel Launches GST Advantage for SMEs

-The Union Government plans to provide Wi-Fi to gram panchayats at the cost of 3700 crores

-Nagaland implemented Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) beginning from the current financial year

-Under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY) scheme Four Thousand crores were disclosed by
21 thousand people

-American e-commerce company Amazon opened its largest fulfillment center (FC) in the country at the
GMR-led Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad.

-DIGISOL Systems Ltd a leading provider of Active and Passive Networking products, announced that it
has been awarded "Best Make In India Wi-Fi Company" at "My India Wi-Fi India Summit & Awards
2017". It was organised by leading digital media organisation DigiAnalysys in New Delhi with the active
support and cooperation from leading players in the telecom industry. DIGISOL is the only vendor who
manufactures IT networking products in India and is very proud of it. When local manufacturing was a
difficult option, its Chairman, Mr. K.R. Naik started manufacturing in India.
-Assam government will upgrade employment exchanges to Modern Career Centres. A pilot project of
two district employment exchanges in Guwahati and Jorhat will be upgraded as modern career centres.
All modern facilities including counselling will be provided at the proposed career centres.

-Indias Sonam, 43 kilogram weight category wins Gold in Cadet World Wrestling Championship.
Wrestler Neelam also bagged Bronze Medal in the 43-kilogram weight category. Meanwhile, Four other
wrestlers Simran, Manisha, Minakshi, Karuna will also fight for Bronze Medal in different weight
categories.

-The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced a fine of USD 225 million on
Pakistans Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and its New York branch for failure to comply with New York laws
and regulations designed illicit financial transactions. Earlier, the bank facing a possible $630 million fine
over compliance failures by its New York branch. The bank also announced that it would close its branch
in New York after the United States financial regulator imposed a penalty of nearly USD 630 million.

-Johnson & Johnson India has announced that new and adoptive fathers would be entitled to eight
weeks of paid leave during the first year of birth or adoption. For new mothers, the company has been
offering up to 26 weeks of maternity leave for the past six years.

-First water ATM has been inaugurated by Telangana State Home Minister N Narasimha Reddy at
Nalgonda X Roads on 7th of Sept. 2017. A total of 200 ATMs will be set up to reach a targeted 150,000
people. In the first phase 50 water ATMs will be operationalised by 2018.These water ATMs use a seven
step treatment process to purify water that adheres to national norms.They are connected via cloud-
based technology for real-time monitoring and analyses operational parameters, thereby minimising
downtime.

-Assam government has signed a MoU with Google India Pvt. Ltd. to increase digital literacy and take
Internet connectivity to the remotest part of the north-eastern state.Under this MoU the government
would work to provide Internet connections to 26,000 villages and 1,500 tea garden areas in Assam. The
MoU will be used as a launch pad to achieve the state governments vision of women empowerment, skill
development, and universal education.

-Indias Ankur Mittal has won the silver medal in the mens double trap event at the ISSF Shotgun World
Championships held in Moscow.Russias Vitaly Fokeev has won the gold medal at ISSF Shotgun World
Championships.In the junior category, Ahvar Rizvi also won a silver medal in the same event.

-Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Ministry of Water Resources entered into a Memorandum of
Agreement (MoA) with Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore for development of ground water flow
models and preparation of aquifer management plans for Karnataka, in New Delhi. The MoA was signed
by Dr.Dipankar Saha, Member, CGWB and Professor V.Rajarajan, Registrar, IISc, Bangalore. The model
being developed is a part of the aquifer mapping and management programme.

-A Joint Parliamentary Committee has been formed to examine and present a report on the Financial
Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017, in New Delhi. It consists of 20 members of Lok Sabha and
10 members of Rajya Sabha. The Committee will gather views and suggestions from stakeholders and
public on the provisions of the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017.Persons interested
can submit their views or suggestions as a written Memoranda to the Committee. The Memoranda will be
maintained confidential by the Committee.
-The government has allowed import of 3 lakh tonnes of raw sugar at a concessional duty of 25% import
duty under Open General License (Tariff Rate Quota) has been allowed through millers/refiners on 7th of
Sept. 2017. The import shall be open to millers/refiners who have their own capacity to convert raw sugar
into refined /white.
The imports will be allowed through the ports namely Tuticorin, Karaikal, Chennai, Mangalore, Kakinada,
Gangavaram and Vishakapatnam in the South.The scheme shall be operated by the Directorate General
of Foreign Trade (DGFT) as per their rules and regulations.

-The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has inaugurated Indias first ever food safety
institute set up by Nestle India in Manesar.It is inaugurated by the CEO of Food Safety Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI) Pawan Kumar Agarwal.The institute aims to train and guide its students in
food safety including nutrition check and keeping the ingredients in the food items within the limit among
others.

-Maharashtra is on the top position among other states in the country when it comes to migration of
existing traders and fresh registrations under the Goods and Service Tax (GST) network. Uttar Pradesh
(5.93 lakh) has secured second position whereas Tamil Nadu (5.23 lakh) is on the third position in terms
of migration of traders through GST network.

-Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that India will grant gratis visa to Myanmarese citizens
wanting to visit the country. Modi made the announcement during his joint press statement with State
Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi after the two leaders held wide-ranging talks. He also announced that
India has decided to release 40 Myanmarese citizens, currently lodged in various jails in India

-The Ministry of Civil Aviation introduced new rules for the formation of a national No Fly list that bans
unruly passengers from travelling in airplanes.

-Ujjivan Bank to replace loans with certificate deposits

-The traditional Bonderam festival has started in Divar Island of Goa on September 9, 2017 .

The word Bonderam originated from the involvement of flags. It is stated that during the Portuguese
rule in Goa there were frequent disputes between two sections of the Divar village over property issues.
These often led to violence and fights in the village. To find a solution to this problem, the Portuguese
introduced a system of demarcation of boundaries with flags. The festival is a memoir to the protest by
the local villagers against the Portuguese while trying to resolve the property ownership disputes. This
festival starts with a flag which is accompanied by the brass band. Bonderam is a very popular monsoon
festival in Goa and it draws huge crowds from all parts of Goa and world over.

-The Punjab National Bank (PNB) and BSNL has signed an agreement to roll out open mobile wallet
Speedpay across 10 states in the country.

Under the agreement, BSNL will expand Speedpay services in Punjab, Chandigarh(UT), Haryana,
Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and
Uttarakhand. PNBs Speedway wallet will operate like any other mobile wallet for paying bills, recharging
phone besides its users will be able to deposit and withdraw money from authorised retail outlets. Also,
Speedway users will be able to operate Internet banking services from the application.
-Konjum Taba has clinched gold in the junior mens 94 kg category by lifting 317 kg at the 2017
Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Gold Coast, Australia. In the senior mens 94 kg, Vikas
Thakur won the bronze medal by lifting 340 kg, while Punam Yadav won silver in the 69 kilogram senior
category by lifting 217 kg. In the youth girl 75 kg event, A Anju Devi won the silver medal by lifting 167 kg
overall. On day 5 of the championship, India bagged six medals, including two Gold.

-Ajay Bhushan Pandey, the CEO of Unique Identification Authority of Indias (UIDAI) has been appointed
as interim chairman of the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN). He succeeded Navin Kumar, who
completed his term on August 29. GSTN is a not-for-profit entity owned by the Centre, states and non-
government financial institutions, and is responsible for building and running the Information Technology
(IT) backbone for new GST tax regime. Pandey has been given additional charge of the post of
Chairman of GSTN with immediate effect and until further orders.

-India will host the 2018 Junior Asian Wrestling Championship (JAWC), which is scheduled to be held
from July 19 to 22 in New Delhi. Recently, the United World Wrestling (UWW) has announced the
hosting rights to Indian city for the tournament. The UWW is the international governing body for the
sport of amateur wrestling and is headquartered in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.

-Rattihalli Nagendra Sudarshan (78), the veteran Kannada actor, producer and singer, has passed away
in Bengaluru, Karnataka on September 8, 2017. In his five decade film career, Sudarshan acted in
Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam films. He was one of the villains in Nayagan directed by
Manirathnam. His last film was Super (2010) by Upendra in Kannada. Music lovers still remember him for
songs such as Hoovandu Balibandu and Irabeku, Irabeku, Ariyada, which he sung in Shubhamangala
(1975) directed by Puttanna and songs from his own film Naguva Hoovu (1971).

-The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has inked Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Indian
Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru for Development of ground water flow models and preparation of
aquifer management plans for parts of Karnataka

-Scientists from Cardiff University, UK have discovered a new way to produce methanol from methane
using oxygen from the air. Methanol is an important chemical often used as fuel in vehicles The
discovery has major implications for cleaner, greener industrial processes worldwide. The new technique
uses freely available air, inexpensive chemicals and an energy efficient methanol production process

-The Union Finance Ministry has imposed 18.95% countervailing duty (CVD) on certain Chinese flat steel
products for period of five years to protect domestic players from cheap subsidised imports. The decision
to impose CVD was taken by finance ministry based on the recommendation of Directorate General of
Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD).This is first case of imposition of CVD on any steel product in
India

-State-run oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) is all set to become a
Maharatna company. Presently it is having Navratna status.BPCL will be eight Central Public Sector
Enterprises (CPSE) to get coveted Maharatna status

-Jordan, a water-poor country that is 90% desert, has launched Sahara Forest Project near the southern
port city of Aqaba to turn desert land into farming land to produce food using sun and sea water

-The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully twice flight tested
indigenously developed 3rd generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) Nag in Rajasthan
-James Anderson (35-year-old) became the third pacer, sixth bowler overall and first Englishman to take
500 Test wickets when he clean bowled West Indies Kraigg Brathwaite for four on Day 2 of the third Test
at Lords.

-Government will undertake a programme known as school chalo abhiyanfrom 2018 to enrol 70-80
lakh students in India who are out of schools.

Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar announced it at the celebration
of 51st International Literacy Day-2017.

-Tottenham's new stadium will include the world's first retractable pitch, which is due to open in 2018,
allowing the venue to hold both football and NFL matches.

Sheffield engineering company SCX have been recruited to build the retractable pitch.

-Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi inaugurated the countrys fifth nuclear power plant (C-4
plant) located at Chashma in Mianwali district of the Punjab province.

-Magnitude 8 powerful earthquake hit offshore 120 kilometres southwest of the town of Tres Picos in the
state of Chiapas, southern Mexico.

-Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991 cannot be revoked

Myanmars Suu Kyi received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her non-violent struggle for democracy
and human rights while standing up against military rulers. An online petition signed by more than
386,000 people on Change.org is calling for her prizes removal over the persecution of Myanmars
Rohingya Muslims. The Norwegian Nobel Institute announced that prize awarded to Myanmars Aung
Sang Suu Kyi cannot be revoked.

-A group of researchers discovered a new species of edible freshwater fish Labeo Filiferus while
exploring the waters of the Pampa river in Pathanamthitta in Kerala. As per the researchers, the newly
found fish could possibly be farmed on a commercial scale. The two researchers, Mathews Plamoottil,
Assistant Professor, government colege, Chavara, Kollam, and Primoz Zupancic from the Dinaric
Research Institute, Solvenia, Europe, have reported the discovery in the latest issue of an open access
research journal Bioscience Discovery.

-Indias fiscal deficit at July- end touched 92.4 % of the budget mainly because of front loading of
expenditure by various government departments. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit- difference between
expenditure and revenue was Rs 5.04 lakh crore during April- July 2017-18, according to the data of
Controller General of Accounts (CGA). During the same period of last financial year, 2016-17, it was 73.7
% of the target. For 2017-18, the government aims to bring down the fiscal deficit to 3.2 % of the GDP.
Last fiscal, it had met the deficit target of 3.5 % of the GDP.

-The 21st meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council was held at Hyderabad International
Convention Centre, in Hyderabad. This is the first time the GST Council met after filing of GST returns.
The meet was headed by Finance Minister Mr.Arun Jaitley. Finance Ministers of all states attended the
meet.The issues discussed in the GST Council meet were increasing tax for luxury products, lowering
tax for commonly used products like idli& dosa batter, dried tamarind, custard powder and kitchen gas
lighter, operation of GSTN (GST Network), tax on khadi and handicraft items etc.

-INS Satpura and INS Kadmatt departed from Visakhapatnam on 8th of Sept. 2017 to visit 12 ports.The
deployment aims to strengthen existing bonds between India and the regional countries.The ships will
visit Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia and Brunei to celebrate the 25th anniversary of India-
ASEAN dialogue. The ships will be participated in the International Fleet Review hosted by the
Association of South East Asian Countries (ASEAN) at Thailand.The ships will also participate in the
Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise at Malaysia. At Russia, the ships will
participate in the annual India-Russia bilateral exercise INDRA.

-The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the new HQs building of Bureau of Police
Research and Development (BPR&D), Ministry of Home Affairs on 8th of Sept. 2017 in New Delhi. The
new headquarters building has been constructed at the cost of Rs. 100 crore approx.This building has
modern facilities, such as, state of the art auditorium with seating capacity for 250, 9 big and small
conference/syndicate halls, modern library to house 3.5 lakh books, hostel facilities equipped with
industrial kitchen having, 52 twin seater rooms. BPR&D including the NCRB block has a total strength of
more than 500 employees, for whom modular workstations have been provided

-The first National Canine Seminar organized by National Security Guard (NSG) in NSG Campus,
Manesar (Gurugram), Haryana.The NSG, popularly known as The Black Cats of the country is
organizing this two-day seminar.The theme of the two days National Canine Seminar is Canine as
Tactical Weapon in Fight against Terrorism.Its main objective is to discuss and deliberate on the
techniques of dog training and strategies of deploying the dogs in Counter Terrorism and Counter
Insurgency scenario.

-Tierra Agrotech Private Limited, a Hyderabad based company acquired Monsanto Holdings, a US based
cotton seed company, in New Delhi. Monsanto Holdings is a US Biotechnology giant. It had been selling
the Bollgard technology in cotton, in India.Monsanto has sold its cotton business in India to Tierra
Agrotech Private Limited after license issue and price control issues with the Indian Government.

-Force Motors Chairman Abhay Firodia has been elected as the new president of the automobile industry
body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).Mahindra & Mahindras President-Automotive
Sector Rajan Wadhera has been elected as the new vice-president of the organization

-United Bank of India announced that is has removed processing fee for retail home loans, car loans and
two-wheeler loans, in Kolkata.The processing fee waiver will be available till December, 2017.

-The Airbus Perlan 2 aircraft has set a new altitude world record for a glider, climbing to 52,172 feet on
3rdSept. in El Calafate, Argentina.The Perlan 2 is a composite-intensive, engineless glider designed to
fly at the edge of space using stratospheric mountain waves.The aircraft soared to an incredible 52,000
feet over the Patagonia region of Argentina, without the support of an engine.The previous altitude
record was 50,727 feet set by Perlan 1 in 2006.According to Airbus, Argentina is one of the few places
on Earth where the rising air currents can reach the stratosphere at a few times of the year.

-The Government announced that it has approved cadre review policy for Junior Commissioned Officers
& other rank-holders in the Army

-A New Study from the University of California, Berkeley Has identify 27 distinct types of human
emotions
-China and Pakistan have agreed to strengthen anti-terrorism and security cooperation along a USD 50
billion economic corridor that links the restive regions of the two countries through a network of rail and
road projects. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) connects Xinjiang province in northwest
China with the deep-water Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea in south western Pakistan.

-Cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit a stunning 171 not out in the recent women's cricket World Cup
propelling India into the finals, has been promoted as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Western
Railway. She was serving as the chief office superintendent of the Western Railway (WR) in Mumbai
since May 2014 and has now been promoted as OSD-Sports. In recognition of her outstanding
performance in the recently concluded ICC Women's World Cup, the railway ministry has granted Kaur
an out-of-turn promotion in gazetted rank group-B as Officer on Special Duty (OSD)-Sports in the
Western Railway.

-The Hyderabad-based transwoman activist, who holds two post-graduate degrees, did not despair.
Instead, she decided to launch the first YouTube channel Transvision in India conceptualised and
actualised by transgender individuals. Trans-vision will produce its web series in three languages -
Telugu, Kannada and Dakhni, an Urdu dialect spoken in certain parts of the Deccan Plateau, including
Hyderabad.

-Uruguays Vice President Raul Sendic resigned amid allegations of corruptions stemming from his
tenure as head of state oil company ANCAP. He has been accused of engaging in unacceptable use of
public funds. As per allegations, he used corporate credit cards to make purchases at jewellery,
electronics, furniture and other stores apparently unrelated to his official business between 2010 and
2013. It is the first time a vice president has stepped down in the South American nation.

-Unseeded American Sloane Stephens lifted the US Open womens singles title. Sloane ranked 83rd
completed a spectacular return from injury to beat 15th seed Keys 6-3, 6-0 in the finals. The 24-year-old
was ranked as low as 957th six weeks ago went on to become only the fifth unseeded woman to win a
major title in the Open era. Sloane stunned Venus Williams in the semifinal.

-India won 37 medals, including 23 Gold, in the just-concluded Commonwealth Weightlifting

Championships in Gold coast Australia. India on the penultimate day of 2017 Commonwealth
Weightlifting Championships bagged two gold medals, one silver and two bronze to wrap up their
successful campaign in style. In the last five days of the Championships, 34 new records were created
by the Indians.

-India has won 2nd South Asian Basketball, SABA, Under 16 Championship. India defeated Bhutan by
131-50 in its last league match at Kathmandu in Nepal. India remained unbeaten in its all four matches
and accumulated 8 points. Bangladesh finished second and host Nepal third. The championship was
played in a round robin league format. India has now qualified for 2017 International Basketball
Federation, FIBA, Under-16 Asian Championship to be played in Malaysia later this year.

-Saudi Arabia says it has suspended dialogue with Qatar, shortly after a phone call between the Qatari
leader and the Saudi crown prince. The two sides had discussed holding talks to resolve the Qatar crisis,
which has seen Doha cut off from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE. The development came
after US President Trump spoke separately with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar & UAE.

-Assam passed the Industrial Disputes (Assam Amendment) Bill, 2017, regarding lay off of employees, in
Guwahati. Industrial Disputes Assam Amendment Bill, 2017:The law enables employers to lay off up to
300 employees without prior permission from the government. The employee count has been increased
from 100 to 300.The law is said to increase the ease of doing business. As, employers are hesitant to
recruit more number of employees because when the employee count increases more than 100, there
would be problems during lay off. The Government has decided to increase the compensation of a
labourer from the current 15 days salary to up to 60 days salary.

-Union Water Resources Minister Mr.Nitin Gadkari and Chief Minister of Maharashtra Mr.Devendra
Fadnavis announced a project to link rivers in Maharashtra, in Mumbai.Two major river linking projects in
Maharashtra Par-Tapi-Narmada and Damanganga-Pinjal worth Rs.20,000 crore are about to
start.Central Government is to allocate funds of Rs.60,000 crore altogether for all the river linking
projects in Maharashtra for the next two years under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
(PMKSY).

-The Indian Navys woman team has embarked on a circumnavigation of the globe, with Defence
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 10th of Sept. 2017.The Indian Navy calls it a historic day for the
country.Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba were also present on
the occasion.The minister flagged off the first such expedition by the Indian Navy, Navika Sagar
Parikrama, at a ceremony at the INS Mandovi naval training base, Panaji Goa.The six-member women
crew will circumnavigate the globe on an India-built sail boat, INSV Tarini, which is being captained by Lt
Commander Vartika Joshi.

-Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had imposed Rs 2,423 crore fine on PACL Ltd( Pearls
Agrotech Corporation Limited) and its four directors for illegal fund mobilisation through various
schemes.PACL group, which had collected money in the name of real estate projects among other
schemes, was asked by SEBI nearly three years ago to refund Rs. 49,100 crore to the
investors.According to the SEBI Rs 49,100 crore was mobilised by PACL over 15 years through
unregistered collective investment schemes in violation of the Securities and Exchange Board of India
Act, 1992, and SEBI (Collective Investment Schemes) Regulations, 1992.

-Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) announced usage of OTP (One Time
Password) for opening e-Insurance Account (eIA) as an alternative to electronic signature, in New
Delhi.IRDAI said that in order to facilitate the opening of e-Insurance Account (eIA) through online or
electronic means, the authority has permitted validation by One Time Password (OTP).Now, e-signature
of the e- insurance account (eIA) holder on the application form for opening the account is considered as
a valid authentication.Also IRDAI has permitted the e-KYC (Know Your Customer)facility offered by
UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) which provides unique Aadhaar numbers.

-Tahir Mahmood has received the prestigious Prof N R Madhava Menon Best Law Teacher Award as
part of the Law Teachers Day celebrations.The function was organised by the Society of Indian Law
Firms (SILF) and Menon Institute of Legal Advocacy Training (MILAT).Prof N R Madhava Menon and
SILF President Lalit Bhasin has given the awards to the recipients.

-SpaceX has launched the US Air Forces super-secret space shuttle announced on 7th Sept. 2017 & a
technology tester capable of spending years in orbit.According to a SpaceX launch controller The Falcon
has safely landed. An unmanned Falcon rocket blasted off from Floridas Kennedy Space Center.Its the
fifth flight for one of these crewless mini shuttles, known as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle.This is the first
time SpaceX has provided a lift for the experimental mini-shuttle.
-Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has launched his first book named Hit Refresh. The book includes the
inside story of the companys continuing transformation, Nadellas own personal journey, Vision for the
coming wave of intelligent technologies.The book goes on sale globally on 26th September and is
available for pre-order. Satya Nadella will donate all proceeds from Hit Refresh to Microsoft
Philanthropies.

-Harinder Pal Sandhu has won the Malaysian Squash Tour. This is his 21st consecutive international
match to win in a row.He beat Malaysias Mohammed Syafiq Kamal to win the final match.
The tournament was held in in Kuala Lumpur.

-Himalayan Day was observed across the country on 9th September and the main programme was held
in Dehradun. Himalayan Day would be observed at 400 venues across the country to highlight its
importance. The theme for this year is Contribution of Himalayas and Our Responsibility.

-This years theme is Take a minute, change a life.This is the 15th World Suicide Prevention Day.The
day was first observed in 2003, as an initiative of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and
the World Health Organization.Every year, more than 8,00,000 people die by suicide and 65,000 people
make a suicide attempt.International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP)and World Health
Organization (WHO) play an important role in promoting this day.

-On 8th September 2017, CEO of SpaceX Billionaire Elon Musk shared a picture of his space exploration
startup SpaceXs first full-body spacesuit on Instagram.

-SIM cards not linked to Aadhaar to be deactivated after Feb 2018

The Centre has issued a notice, stating that all the SIM cards have to be linked to Aadhaar before
February 2018 to avoid deactivation of the phone numbers.

-BCCI(Board of Control for Cricket in India ) releases players handbook of 100 things every professional
cricketer must know

-World number one Rafael Nadal (Spain) won the 2017 US Open title in mens single category. It was his
overall 16th Grand Slam title and third US Open title (2010 and 2013). In the final match played at USTA
Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, Nadal defeated world number 32, Kevin
Anderson from South Africas by 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 score

-The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has named two mountain ranges on icy dwarf planet Pluto
as Tenzing Montes and Hillary Montes after Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary. Indian/Nepali Sherpa
Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986) and New Zealand Edmund Hillary (1919-2008) were the first mountaineer
to reach the summit of Mount Everest and return safely in 1953

-The Union Finance Ministry is planning to launch Project Insight from October 2017 to monitor high
value transactions and detect tax evaders using technology with a view to curbing circulation of black
money

-Indias first all-women crew circumnavigation expedition named as Navika Sagar Parikrama was flagged
off by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Goa The crew belongs to Indian Navy and is sailing Indian
Naval Sailing Vessel Tarini (INSV Tarini). It will circumnavigate globe in approximately 165 days and is
expected to return to Goa in April 2018
-Bugworks Research, a Bengaluru-based biotech startup, became Indias and Asias first to receive the
international CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) grant for
its antibiotic research and development

-The researchers at IIT-Roorkee have developed a low-cost method for treating Osteoarthritis (OA), a
disease that causes pain and stiffness in the joints leading to degeneration of the bone cartilage. Under
the new method, a nano-material and a polymer are injected around the knee joint followed by a regular
heat therapy, which is believed to be far superior to the conventional treatment administered in the form
of multiple injections and anti-inflammatory drugs like steroids, which have critical side effects.

-All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) will constitute a committee to advise the method and
process for undertaking large scale community reform program within the Islamic Shariah. A resolution
was passed in this connection in the one-day meeting of the Boards executive body held in Bhopal on
September 11, 2017. The committee will also look into the Supreme Courts verdict on the triple Talaq.
The Board reiterated that Talaq-e-biddat or triple Talaq in one-sitting, is sinful but valid. It claimed that it
has taken steps to discourage this practice through community reform programmes for a long time. The
AIMPLB is a non-government organisation that focuses primarily to defend the Sharia laws from any law
or legislation that they consider infringes on it. Syed Mohammad Rabe Hasani is the president of the
AIMPLB.

-Sushmita Dev has been appointed as the new President of All India Mahila Congress. She succeeded
Shobha Oza. According to a release issued by All India Congress Committee (AICC), Congress
President Sonia has approved the name of Sushmita Dev who is member of Lok Sabha from Silchar in
Assam.

-External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Salahuddin Rabbani in
New Delhi signed four agreements recently.
The four agreements were exchanged in areas like health and transport.
India's commitment to support Afghanistan as a secure, stable, united and prosperous nation.
Both the nations remain united in overcoming challenges posed by cross border terrorism and safe
havens and sanctuaries of terrorism.

-Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry announced a Smart Cities Awards Contest with a total prize money
of 50 lakhs to recognise and reward cities and innovative ideas that promote mission's goals.
Under the Project Awards category, excellence will be awarded in various categories such as Improving
Governance, Social Aspects, Culture and Economy, Environment impact, Transportation and Mobility
and Water and Sanitation.Best performers in each of the categories will be awarded Rs 5 lakh each.
All projects that will be completed by April 1, 2018, will be eligible for participating in the contest.

-An eight feet bronze statue of Indian freedom struggle leader Subhas Chandra Bose at the naval base
INS Netaji Subhas named after the iconic leader.Netaji's niece in law Krishna Bose cut the ribbon
together with Eastern Naval Command chief, Vice Admiral H.C.S. Bisht to unveil the statue.

-Indian Ambassador in UAE Navdeep Singh Suri inaugurated the second Indian Workers Resource
Centre (IWRC) in UAE to provide support and counseling to Indians in distress.
It provides counseling and support to the overseas Indian Community on legal, personal and financial
matters, free of cost.The first IWRC opened in Dubai in 2010.
Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan is the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
-India finished fifth in the medals tally with one gold and two silver medals at the Moscow Shotgun World
Championships.
Only 16 of the 76 participating nations got amongst the medals.
Olympic skeet champions Gabrielle Rossetti and Diana Bacosi crowned as world champions in the
process.
Italy topped the tally with nine gold medals for a total of 17 medals in all.
USA topped second with five gold medals for a total of 12.

-Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address Students' Convention in New Delhi on the theme of Young
India, New India' to mark the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's Chicago address and BJP
ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya's centenary celebrations.
Swami Vivekananda strongly believed in the power of "Yuva Shakti' (youth power) and saw a vital place
for youngsters in the realm of nation-building.

-Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe will lay the foundation stone for
the India's first bullet train project connecting Ahmedabad to Mumbai. Around Rs 1.10 lakh crore will be
spent on the project of which Rs 88,000 crore will be funded by a soft loan from Japan. The Mumbai-
Ahmedabad bullet train, running at an operating speed of 320 kmph and maximum speed of 350 kmph,
will pass through 12 stations - Bandra Kurla Complex, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat,
Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.

-Germany's Bibiana Steinhaus made history by becoming the first female referee to officiate a match in a
top European league. The 38-year-old police officer became the first woman to ref a top-tier match in the
German, English, French, Italian or Spanish leagues when she took charge of Hertha Berlin's home
Bundesliga match against Werder Bremen.

-Kishore Kharat, MD and CEO, Indian Bank and Kalavathi S M, CGM, Bharat Sanchar Nigam signed an
MoU to Upgrade the bandwidth of Indian Bank's branches to 2mbps.The upgradation would be in line
with the bank's policy of promoting digital channels.

-LIC has formally launched a new single premium plan, Jeevan Utkarsh, which offers a combination of
protection and savings wherein the risk cover is ten times of tabular single premium from date of
commencement of risk.

-Prince Charles has become the longest-serving Prince of Wales in history. The 68-year-old broke the
record of Queens Victorias son Albert, who went on to become King Edward VII after holding the title of
Prince of Wales for more than 59 years before becoming monarch. The milestone came a day after his
wife, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, named a Royal Navy aircraft carrier after her husband.

-The Assam government would be providing skill development training to around 30,000 surrendered
militants. The training will also be extended to jail inmates. Along with providing training to the
surrendered militants, the Assam government would be training over 24000 Assamese youth under the
Prime Minister Kaushal Vikas Yojna. The Assam Skill Development Mission would be providing skill
training in 40 sectors. The training sessions would be starting by the end of September 2017.

-The air forces of China and Pakistan began a joint training exercise named Shaheen VI and deployed
their latest fighter jets and AWACS aircraft. China has dispatched J-11 fighters, JH-7 fighter-bombers,
KJ-200 AWACS aircraft and ground forces including surface-to-air missile and radar troops. The exercise
will run in China. AWACS is Airborne Warning And Control System, a mobile, long-range radar
surveillance and control centre for air defence.

-Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone for Ranchi Smart City coming up on the
Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) land. According to the Urban Development Minister CP Singh,
this would be the countrys first green-field smart city. The smart city is coming up on 656 acres of HEC
land which would be fully wi-fi, carbon free, garbage free locality with modernized housing, traffic
management system, education hub and equipped with facilities like round the clock power and water
supplies.

-Defeating the Czech partnership of Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova, Martina Hingis of
Switzeland and Taiwans Chan Yung-Jan won the US Open Womens Doubles title. The win was Hingis
13th Grand Slam womens doubles title and overall 25th Grand Slam title. On the other hand, the win
gave Chan her first Grand Slam.

-The West Bengal government cleared a proposal to rename the state as Bangla and sent a proposal to
the Centre for approval. The Mamata Banerjee government had earlier too sent a proposal for the
change of name, but it was rejected by the central government. The earlier proposal had three different
names for the state Bangla in Bengali, Bangal in Hindi and Bengal in English. In order to avoid the
confusion the government decided to send another proposal to change it to only Bangla in all three
languages including Hindi, English and Bengali.

-Kochi will host the 5th edition of the Coastal Shipping and Inland Water Transportation Business
Summit 2017 on 22nd of September at Hotel Crowne Plaza announced on 10th of Sept. 2017.Kerala
Governor P Sathasivam will present the India Seatrade Award for Excellence in Coastal Shipping &
Inland Water Transportation.

-Asian Development Bank announced that it would provide $152 million loan to Nepal, to enhance power
transmission, in Kathmandu.The loan agreement was signed between Nepals Finance Secretary
Mr.Shanta Raj Subedi and Officer-in-charge of the ADBs Nepal Resident Mission Mr.Sharad Bhandari,
in Kathmandu.The loan amount would be utilized to implement the Power Transmission and Distribution
Efficiency Enhancement Project (PTDEEP).

-Joycilline Jepkosgei is a 23 year old Kenyan runner.She has become the first woman to run 10 km
distance under 30 minutes on road.She ran at the Birell Prague Grand Prix and broke her previous
record of 30 minutes 4 seconds.Track and road racing records are maintained separately by the IAAF
(International Association of Athletics Federations)Jepkosgei has broken a total of five records this
year.She has set new marks for the 10km, 15km, 20km and half-marathon.

-Egypt announced the discovery of a tomb belonging to a royal goldsmith who lived more than 3,500
years ago, in Luxor, Egypt.The tomb was discovered by Egyptian archaeologists.The tomb is located on
the west bank of the river Nile in Draa Abul-Naga, a cemetery where noblemen and top government
officials were buried.The tomb belongs to a royal goldsmith named Amenemhat. He lived during the 18th
dynasty (about 1567 B.C. to 1320 B.C.). He had dedicated his work to to Amon-Re, an Eqyptian God.

-Reliance Energy has launched a digital assistance robot named ELEKTRA. This system provides
automated responses to customers for their queries and requests. It is powered by Artificial
Intelligence.This robot comes into action whenever a customer logs in to Reliance Energys Facebook
page or website.This digital assistance robot takes help of SCADA and GIS systems to provide real-time
responses to the customers.During peak hours, consumers will get an immediate response to their
queries from ELEKTRA without any waiting time.

-During a ceremony at Germanys Lagau on the occasion of the One World Festival Sikkim Chief
Minister Pawan Chamling was honoured for his pioneering work in the field of organic farming.Chamling
was conferred the Grand Prix Award during the One World Award ceremony on 8th September.The
award was given by Gerd Muller, the Federal Minister of Bavaria, and Joseph Wilhelm, German Organic
Pioneer and Managing Director of Rupenzel.

-Mr.Pat Hickey has resigned from his member position in the International Olympic Committee Executive
Boardafter he was accused in a ticket selling scandal in Rio Olympics 2016, held in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.He was arrested by Brazilian police during the Rio Olympics 2016 and was held in jail. He was
later released on bail. He has claimed innocent of his charges till date. Mr.Hickey has stated in the letter
that once he proves his innocence against all charges he wishes to rejoin the committee as a member.

-Hurricane Irma has become the first storm in the world to sustain winds of 185 miles per hour for more
than 24 hours. Its the longest storm to sustain this speed since the 1970s.The hurricane, which has
already devastated several islands in the Caribbean, is headed toward south Florida, where the National
Hurricane Center has issued evacuation orders.

-The World Health Organisation (WHO) has given the message to the South East Asian countries to
assimilate their national plans and mobilise and utilise resources efficiently to reach the Tuberculosis
elimination target of 2030.

-London has topped in the 2017 Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) among 92 financial centres
released by the Z/Yen and China Development Institute. Indias financial capital Mumbai was ranked at
60th position, up by three positions compared to previous edition.

-Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched FoSCoRIS, a nationwide online
platform to bring in transparency in food safety inspection and sampling. The food regulator has asked all
states to adopt this system as it would help eliminate discrepancy and make food safety officers
accountable.

-The Union Government has reconstituted six Committees of the Cabinet after recent ministry reshuffle.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who was elevated in recent Cabinet restructuring process was
inducted as full time member of Cabinet Committee on Security, Cabinet Committees on Economic and
Political Affairs. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan were also included as
permanent members of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)

-The Union Cabinet has approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Japan for
collaborative research in the field of silkworm and silk industries. The MoU was signed between Central
Silk Board (CSB), India and National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (NIAS), Japan in November
2016.

-The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously passed new set of tougher sanctions
against North Korea over its sixth and most powerful nuclear test (claimed to be Hydrogen bomb). It was
overall the ninth sanctions resolution unanimously adopted by UNSC since 2006 over North Koreas
ballistic missile and nuclear programs. The new sanctions imposes ban on North Koreas textile exports
and capping imports of crude oil
-The Union Cabinet has given approved introduction of the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017
in the Parliament. The Bill seeks to amend Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.The Amendment will increase
maximum limit of gratuity of employees, in Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)/Autonomous
Organizations under Government and in private sector who are not covered under Central Civil Services
(Pension) Rules, 1972, at par with Central Government employees

-The Union Cabinet has approved proposal for hiving off mobile tower assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam
Limited (BSNL) into a separate tower Infrastructure company, fully owned by BSNL. Decision in this
regard was taken in the Union Cabinet Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi

-The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved survey project to acquire 48,243
Line Kilometer (LKM) 2D seismic data for appraisal of Indian sedimentary basins where limited data is
available

-Prakash Padukone, the renowned Indian Badminton legend, will be conferred with the first Lifetime
Achievement Award instituted by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) for his rich contribution to the
sport. The award carries cash prize of Rs 10 lakh with a citation, which will be presented to Padukone at
New Delhi very soon. Padukone had won the 1980 All England, besides bagging a bronze at the 1983
World Championship in Copenhagen. He also won a gold medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games. He
was bestowed with the Arjuna award in 1972 and the Padma Shri in 1982.

-The second State Start Up Conference has been organized by the Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion (DIPP) in New Delhi on September 12, 2017 to deliberate on issues including incubation
facilities and making regulations easier for budding entrepreneurs. The conference was inaugurated by
the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, C.R. Choudhary and was attended by senior
functionaries from states, Union Territories, incubators, accelerators, funding agencies, VCs, angel
investors and startups. The move is expected to provide momentum towards building a positive startup
ecosystem in states.

-The BWF World Senior Badminton Championship has started at Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Kochi,
Kerala on September 11 and will continue till September 17. It is for the first time that India is hosting the
Championship. The President of Badminton Association of India (BAI) Himanta Biswa Sarma has
formally inaugurated the week long Championship. The tournament will see a total of 665 players from
40 countries battle it out in eight different age groups and will be played in all the five categories. About
175 players are representing India including Olympians in the Championship.

-Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, has launched a
nation-wide hackathon #OpenGovDataHack on September 12, 2017. As part of the Startup Eco-system
Development program, NIC and IAMAI have collaborated to conduct Nation Wide Hackathon
#OpenGovDataHack across seven states of India. The purposeof the hackathon is to support &
showcase potentially great Ideas/Talent from Inner India by reaching out in their own State/City (7
Cities). It is to enable them making their ideas developed into Apps/Infographics primarily by use of Open
Government Data around the themes of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Transport, Education, Crime and
Health to a stage, after which it can be evaluated by jury and be selected for Prizes and future
support/funding.

-Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has launched the
Wood is Good campaign at conference on Sustainable Landscapes & Forest Ecosystems: Theory to
Practice in New Delhi on September 12, 2017. Wood is a climate-friendly material, as it is a renewable
 resource, having zero carbon footprints. The conference has organized to deliberate and come out with
out-of-the-box ideas and solutions on increasing the forest cover much beyond the stipulated 33 per
cent. The union ministery advocated the balancing of environmental and developmental concerns and
also urged the gathering of scientists and foresters to devise a solution to the problem of weeds.

-P.S. Kayal (8) of Lawspet in Puducherry has won a gold medal in the 8th Modern Pentathlon National
Championship 2017 in Pune, Maharashtra. She beat 30 other participants to claim the title. In the
competition, the participants had to run 200 metres and swim 50 metres. Kayal is a Class IV student of a
private school in The Study school at Kalapet and started to learn swimming from the age of six at the
swimming pool on the school campus.

-India and Belarus inked 10 agreements to expand cooperation in a range of areas and decided to
explore joint development and manufacture of military platforms, giving a fresh momentum in bilateral
ties.

-The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) announced that the upper age limit
for joining the National Pension Scheme (NPS) had been raised to 65 years, from the current 60.It is
currently open for people between 18 and 60, and the Board has approved raising the age limit for
joining to 65.This aims to open up pensions to sectors without pensions.Currently, only 15-16% of
employees in India are covered by pensions because around 85% of the workforce is in the unorganized
sector.

-Private sector lender IndusInd Bank and India's second largest Microfinance company Bharat Financial
Inclusion signed a confidentiality agreement for the proposed merger between them. The merger would
result in lower cost of funds and would help the company offer its customers savings products.

-The International Day for South-South Cooperation was observed on 12 September 2017 by United
Nations (UN). The day celebrates the economic, social and political developments made in recent years
by regions and countries in the south. It also highlights UNs efforts to work on technical cooperation
among developing countries. South-South cooperation is a broad framework of collaboration among
countries of the South in the political, economic, social, cultural, environmental and technical domains.

-The International Balzan Foundation has announced the winners of the 2017 Balzan Prize. This year,
Indian Economist Bina Agarwal was recognised among other awardees for her work on womens
contributions to agriculture in India.
List of 2017 Balzan Prize awardees:

James P Allison of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Robert D Schreiber of the
Washington University School of Medicine were awarded for Immunological Approaches in Cancer
Therapy that enhanced the survival of patients with metastatic melanoma.
Indian Economist Bina Agarwal of University of Manchester (UK) was recognised in the Gender Studies
category for her heroic work studying womens contributions to agriculture in India.
Belgian astrophysicist Michael Gillon was awarded for his work that has hellped in finding new soalr
systems of planet Earth using robotic telescopes, instead of much more costly satellites.
German couple Germans Aleida and Jan Assmann were recognised for presenting collective memory as
a requirement for the formation of the identity of religious and political communities.

-Indias second largest software services firm Infosys has completed the acquisition of London-based
Brilliant Basics. Through this acquisition, Infosys further expands its worldwide connected network of
Digital Studios that are focused on fulfilling the needs of global clients for end-to- end digital
transformation solutions. Infosys had acquired the company in a cash deal worth GBP 7.5 million,
including earn-out and employee retention amounts.

-The second World Congress of Optometry began in Hyderabad. It was inaugurated by State Health
Minister C. Laxma Reddy.It was organised in partnership with the Asia Pacific Council of Optometry
(APCO) and the India Vision Institute (IVI).The theme of the conference is Accessible, quality vision and
eye health.The aim of the congress is to give unique opportunity for anyone in the eye health sector
including community and hospital practitioners, researchers, academics and students.

-Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh inaugurated first phase of 65 MW Kashang Hydel Project in
the tribal Kinnaur district. Kashang Project is being executed by Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation
Limited (HPPCL).It is a 195 MW project (three units of 65 MW each).The project commenced in
2009.Due to some rehabilitation disputes pending in the National Green Tribunal, only 65 MW power was
being produced presently. The project affected areas would be provided 100 units free electricity per
month once the project was commissioned completely and self-employment opportunities have been
provided for them by taking funds from Local Area Development Fund (LADF).

-Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH Shripad Naik has inaugurated the Regional
Research Institute of Homoeopathy (RRI) in Agartala, Tripura, as part of the governments plan to
strengthen health services and propagate traditional systems of medicine in North-Eastern states.This is
the 3rd homoeopathic regional research institute in the North Eastern region and the first with own land
and building.RRI is among the nine institutes functioning under the Central Council for Research in
Homoeopathy (CCRH).

-5th East Asia Summit Economic Ministers Meeting was held in Pasay City, Philippines.

-Fitch Ratings declared that Indian banks will need an additional capital of $65 billion in order to satisfy
all the banking rules of global Basel III norms, by March 2019.Indian banks will need an additional capital
of $65 billion by March 2019.State-run banks account for 95% of the capital.Fitch warns that Indian
lenders have limited options to raise the capital. Stressed loans in Indian banks make a record $150
billion, with most of them in the state-run banks.Unless NPL (non-performing loan) are resolved it is not
possible for the state-run banks to recover the capital.The reasons for this are low common equity ratios
and provisioning requirements for new loans.

-Mother Dairy ties up with Maharashtra Government for processing plant

On 11th September 2017, The Maharashtra government and Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetable Private
Limited, a subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), announced the signing of a MoU, in
Mumbai. The MoU is about a lease agreement to set up plant for the processing of milk and milk
products.The MoU states that a dairy development initiative would begin in Vidarbha and Marathwada to
provide access to milk producers to markets in Nagpur and Mumbai.Nagpur dairy which is on lease
would be transferred elsewhere

-Karnataka & Finland in innovation tie up for start-up incubation

On 11th September 2017, Karnataka Department of Information Technology (IT) and Biotechnology (BT)
signed a MoU with the Embassy of Finland, in Bengaluru. The innovation co operation between
Karnataka and Finland is called KarnatakaFinland Innovation Corridor.It offers a virtual platform that
enables the exchange of information and expertise in the fields of science, research, innovation and skill
development.
-TCS makes it to Fortune 50 List of Companies That Changed the World
On 11th September 2017, TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) appeared in Fortunes annual list of the Top
50 companies that are changing the world.

-Halimah binti Yacob, the former Speaker of Parliament, has been declared the President-elect of
Singapore, after her nomination papers were found to be in order. She will be Singapores first female
President and the first Malay head of state in 47 years. On September 13, Yacob was certified by the
Presidential Elections Commission as the only eligible candidate, and since she has no opponent, there
will be no election. Halimah will be sworn in as countrys 8th President at the Istana on September 14,
2017. The 2017 Presidential Election was reserved for candidates from the Malay community. Under
amendments to the Constitution that came into effect in June 2017, applicants had to show that they
helmed a company with at least 500 million Singapore dollar in shareholders equity. Halimah meets the
criteria set out for those in the public sector, having held office for at least three years as Speaker.

-The 4-day annual Border Security Force (BSF) sports meet has started in Jammu on September 12,
2017 in which about 1,200 personnel would participate in sports such as wrestling, boxing, weight-lifting
and Kabbadi. The Inter-Frontier Sports Competition of the BSF is aimed at preparing the jawans for
national and international-level championships. The 11 teams participating in the competition are from
Gujarat, Guwahati, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, Manipal and Cachar, North Bengal, Punjab,
Rajasthan, South Bengal and Tripura.

-Sumit Nagal of India has won the 8th MCC S R Subramaniam Memorial ITF Futures Mens tennis
championship on September 10, 2017. Nagal defeated Colin van Beem of Netherlands in the singles
final by 6-3, 6-0 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Nagal received $2,160 and 18 ITF points for the victory while
van Beem received $1272 AND 12 ITF points.

-Airtel has recently launched Office-In-a-Box for start-ups registered under the Karnataka governments
Start-Up Cell initiative. The Office-in-a-Box suite will be available to the over 100 start-ups registered with
the Start-Up Cell and will add to their business efficiency. It will offer a range of services to support the
business requirements of start-ups and is available on a scale-as-you-grow model with easy payment
options. The services include voice and data solutions; audio and web collaboration; cloud services;
payments bank services; go-to-market support across SMS, MMS, e-mail, voice, IVR and USSD; GPS
and RFID-based tracking of assets.

-Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, will inaugurate the 2-day National Conference
on Uniformed Women in Prison Administration in New Delhi on September 14. The Conference is being
organised for women officers of the rank of Jailors to Dy. Superintendents of Prisons. This Conference
will have Panel Discussions, Deliberations and Syndicate Discussions on 4 themes: a) Are Woman
Prison Officers getting mainstream duties?, b) Difficulties in balancing family and work environment of
Women Prison Officers, c) Training needs of Woman Prison Officers and Correctional Staff and d) Is
there need for change of uniform for Woman Prison Officers? The Conference is expected to benefit the
participants being in their impressionable stage of service, by implementation of the knowledge gained
through the Conference.

-The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT) has won the 2017 Container Terminal of the
Year Award at The Gateway Awards 2017 at Mumbai for its proactive strategies to ease congestion,
smooth delivery of containers and revamping of infrastructure to support trade amidst adverse
conditions. The 10th edition of the Gateway Awards showcased the outstanding achievements and
exceptional accomplishments of individuals and organisations in the Indian Maritime industry. The
Gateway Award was instituted to recognise and promote best practices, innovation and motivation in the
Indian Maritime industry.

-Peter Thomson, the outgoing president of the General Assembly, has been appointed as the first special
envoy for the oceans by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Thomson played a leading role at
the first-ever UN conference on oceans in June 2017. The 193 UN member states issued an urgent call
for action to reverse the decline in the health and productivity of the worlds oceans.

-Indias first state of art virology laboratory was inaugurated at Dr. Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research
Institute for Homoeopathy in Kolkata, West Bengal. The lab will play important in developing new drugs
and technologies in Homoeopathy to combat emerging challenges of viral diseases

-Union Finance Ministry has constituted Group of Ministers (GoM) to monitor and resolve IT challenges
faced in implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST). It also Committee on Exports to look into
issues of exports. Both committees were constituted following the decision taken in 21st GST Council
meeting in Hyderabad, Telangana.

-Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has published first of its kind compendium titled Fauna of Sundarban
Biosphere Reserve in Indian Sundarbans. It has consolidated and updated information of faunal diversity
of Sundarbans. Indian segment of Sundarbans is part of UNESCO World Heritage site. It forms part of
Ganga-Brahmaputra delta across 9,630 sq. km, distributed among 104 islands. It has largest tidal
halophytic mangrove forest in the world

-Telangana Forest Department for first time has re-introduced mouse deer in the forests of Nallamalla in
Amrabad Tiger Reserve (ATR) bred at Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad

-The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Dairy Processing & Infrastructure
Development Fund (DIDF) Scheme with an outlay of Rs 10,881 crore to boost dairy sector. It will be
managed by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and shall be implemented from 2017-18 to
2028-29.Initially, Rs.8,004 crore loan will be provided by NABARD to National Dairy Development Board
(NDDB)and National Dairy Development Cooperation (NDDC).

-The University Grants Commission (UGC) rolled out an application process for universities and higher
education institutes (public or private) seeking institutions of eminence status. The aim of scheme is to
help higher education institutions from country break into top 500 global rankings in 10 years, and then
eventually break into top 100 over time.

-Kerala opens India's first transgender-exclusive clinics at government medical colleges across the
state. They are planning to open Transgender Clinics in all government medical colleges in the state.

-Sachin Tendulkar launched Mission-24 a programme aimed at improving the quality of life in one of
Mumbais poorest wards through collaborative efforts in the next 24 months.The main aim of the
program to provide basic amenities to residents of M-East ward that includes slums of Shivaji Nagar,
Deonar and Mankhurd.Through this project, the organisations aim to provide amenities like secondary
schools and colleges, Anganwadi's, maternity homes, health posts and dispensaries in the ward. It also
aims to improve sanitation, create more open spaces and look at computer safety.

-The US Supreme Court allowed President Donald Trump to implement broadly

a ban on refugees entering the country from around the world.All nine SC justices agreed with the Trump
administration to block a federal appeals court ruling that exempted refugees with contractual
relationships with resettlement organisations from the ban.

-The government will issue Rs 100 and Rs 5 coins to commemorate the birth centenary of Bharat Ratna
awardee and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late M G Ramachandran. The coins will bear his portrait
in the centre along with the inscription 'DR M G Ramachandran Birth Centenary' on the lower periphery.
The same will also be in Devnagari script on the upper periphery.

-Paytm Payments Bank (PPB) partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to
launch a RuPay-powered digital debit card. The customers will now be able to transact at all merchants
who accept credit and debit cards.

-Turkey has signed a deal with Russia to buy S-400 missile defence systems in its first major weapons
purchase from Moscow, quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The purchase of the surface-to-air
missile defence batteries, Ankara's most significant deal with a non-NATO supplier, comes with Turkey in
the throes of a crisis in relations with several Western states.

-Payment gateway provider PayU announced its collaborations to provide users a safe and secure option
to pay for rail tickets booked via the IRCTC website and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism
Corporation (IRCTC). It will now be available as a payment option under the Multiple Payment Services
(MPS) option on the IRCTC website at the payment stage of booking an e- ticket. This will enable users
to make a safe and secure transaction and also various payment options like internet banking,
debit/credit card, and e-wallet.

-US President Donald Trump has appointed Indian-American Raj Shah to a key position in his
Communications team. Shah will serve as Deputy Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Press
Secretary. Formerly, Shah was served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy
Communications Director. Trump also appointed Hope Hicks as his Communications Director. Earlier,
Hicks was served as Assistant to the President and Interim Communications Director.

-Gay rights activist Edith Windsor, whose same-gender marriage fight led to a landmark US ruling,
passed away. She was 88. It was Windsors efforts that Supreme Court struck down the Defense of
Marriage Act in 2013, granting same-sex married couples federal recognition for the first time.

-United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Peter Thomson, the outgoing
president of the UN General Assembly as the first Special Envoy for the oceans. Peter Thomson had
played a leading role in the first-ever UN conference on oceans, which was held in June 2016. The
conference saw 193 UN member states issue an urgent call for action to reverse the decline in the health
and productivity of the worlds oceans.

-India has started producing Civet Coffee the most expensive coffee in the world, in Karnataka.Civet
Coffee is made from the feces of a species of cat called Civet Cat.Coffee plantation is done close to the
forest.Civet cats eat the flesh of the coffee cherries and digest the coffee beans as whole. This induces a
flavour into the coffee beans.The coffee beans are then collected from the feces of the Civet Cat.They
are cleaned, processed and Civet Coffee is produced from that.

-The Supreme Court declared that the 6-month cooling off period for granting divorce can be waived, in
New Delhi. The Supreme Court declared that the 6 month cooling off period under the Hindu Marriage
Act for getting divorce is not mandatory. The local judges can decide about waiving off that
period.Currently, if a Hindu couple applies for divorce, the couple has to wait for 18 months to get the
divorce. Where they have to spend 12 months in separation and the next 6 months is considered as
cooling off period.

-Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has announced a partnership with South Korean telecom operator SK
Telecom to build the most advanced telecom network in India .The companies will work towards building
an enabling ecosystem for the introduction of these technologies.Under the partnership, both the
companies will work across several areas including developing bespoke software to improve network
experience, leveraging advanced digital tools and building customized tools to improve network planning
based on every customers device experience.

-HDFC Bank became the second most valuable company in BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange), in India, in
terms of market capitalisation.

-Asian Games gold medalist Priyanka Panwar was suspended for eight years after she tested positive for
a banned performance enhancing drug, in New Delhi.

-Raghunandan Industries Private Limited was awarded Krishi Pragati Award 2017, by National
Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX), in New Delhi.The Krishi Pragati Award 2017 has
been awarded to appreciate the outstanding contribution made by Raghunandan Industries in the area of
Agricultural Commodities.Mr.Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution and Mr.Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs gave
away the award to Mr.Saurabh Mittal, Founder & MD of Raghunandan Money.

-India has started Operation Insaniyat to provided assistance to Bangladesh in response to the
humanitarian crisis being faced on account of the large influx of Rohingya refugees into that country from
Myanmar. Under it, relief material consisting of items including rice, pulses, sugar, salt, cooking oil,
biscuits and mosquito nets will be provided to the affected people. The relief material will be delivered in
multiple consignments, and the first tranche will be brought to Chittagong by an Indian Air Force plane on
September 14, 2017. The Union External Affairs Ministry has stated that India has always responded
readily and swiftly to any crisis in Bangladesh, in view of close ties of friendship between the people of
India and Bangladesh. In this hour of need, India stands ready to provide any assistance required by
Government of Bangladesh.

-The Indo-Sri Lanka Hindi conference was organized at Kelaniya University near Colombo with theme
Hindi E-learning : Identity and possibilities on eve of Hindi Divas celebrations on September 13, 2017.
High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu was the chief guest on the occasion. The
Kelaniya University is distinct as it has a full-fledged Hindi department which offers courses ranging from
degree to doctorate and research. Hindi is quite popular among Sri Lankan youths and many of them are
enrolled for special Hindi classes offered by Indian Cultural centre in Colombo.

-The Union Finance Ministry has constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Bihar Deputy Chief
Minister Sushil Kumar Modi to monitor and resolve the IT challenges faced in the implementation of GST.
The GoM will be assisted by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Goods and Services
Tax Network (GSTN). Apart from this, the government has also constituted a committee on exports
convened by revenue secretary Dr Hasmukh Adhia to look into issues of export sector and to
recommend suitable strategy for helping the export sector in the post-GST scenario to the GST Council.
-Thomas Bach, the President of International Olympic Committee (IOC), has officially announced that
Paris will host 2024 and Los Angeles will host 2028 Summer Olympics. Both cities wanted to host the
2024 event, before Los Angeles agreed to wait an extra four years after the IOC made guarantees on
funding. Los Angeles will also receive up to $2 billion from the IOC, which is up to $300 million more than
it would have gotten for 2024.

-Professor Sadanand Gupta, the former head of the Hindi department in the Gorakhpur University and
renowned Hindi litterateur, has been appointed as the working president of the Uttar Pradesh Hindi
Sansthan. The post was vacant since the Yogi Adityanath government came to power in March 2017.
The working president of the Sansthan Uday Pratap Singh had resigned after change of guard in the
State. Prof Gupta has been honoured with Birla, Vyas, and Saraswati awards for his literary
contributions. He is also associated with several RSS magazines. A native of state of Jharkhand, Prof
Gupta has been residing in Gorakhpur since his retirement from Gorakhpur University in 2013.

-The National Hindi Day (NHD) is celebrated every year on September 14 across India to mark the
language that roots back to Ancient India, in which the scriptures of the Land of Saints and Yogis,
Mythological Epics and Glory of various Kingdoms and Dynasties were written. On this day, in 1949, the
Constituent Assembly of India had adopted Hindi written in Devanagari script as the official language of
the Republic of India. On 2017 NHD, the President of India Ram Nath Kovind presented Rajbhasha
awards for the Year 2016-17 at a function in Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. The Rajbhasha awards
were instituted by the Department of Official Language to recognize the excellent contribution of
Ministries, Departments and Nationalized Banks in the field of Hindi.

-The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) have signed a
MoU for automatic and regular exchange of information to curb the menace of shell companies, money
laundering and black money in the country. This will also prevent misuse of corporate structure by shell
companies for various illegal purposes. The MoU will enable sharing of specific information such as PAN
number data in respect of corporates, Income Tax returns of corporates, financial statements filed with
the Registrar by corporates, audit reports and statements of financial transactions received from banks
relating to corporates. The information shared will pertain to both Indian corporates as well as foreign
corporates operating in India. In addition to regular exchange of data, CBDT and MCA will also exchange
with each other any information available in their respective databases, for the purpose of carrying out
scrutiny, inspection, investigation and prosecution.

-India and Russia have begun discussions to work out modalities for conducting their first tri-service
military exercise INDRA 2017 in October 2017 in Russia. It will be Indias first bilateral military exercise
with any country involving all three services. The Final Planning Conference (FPC) of exercise will be
held from September 2017 in Russia to finalise all logistical issues and modalities

-India is planning to launch major connectivity initiative, connecting Chennai with key Russian port
Vladivostok via sea route with an aim to harness natural resources from Northeast Asia and Western
Pacific region. The Chennai-Vladivostok sea route will enable to transfer cargo between Chennai and
Vladivostok in 24 days in comparison to over 40 days currently taken to transport goods from India to Far
East Russia via Europe

-India ranked low 103rd out of 130 countries surveyed on World Economic Forums (WEF) Global
Human Capital Index (GHCI) 2017. In the previous edition, India ranked 105th. The GHCI measures
countries ability to nurture, develop and deploy talent for economic growth against four key areas of
human capital development; Capacity (determined by past investment in formal education), Deployment
(accumulation of skills through work), Development (reskilling and continued upskilling of existing
workers) and know-how (specialised skills-use at work).

-The ASEAN Computer Emergency Response Team Incident Drill (ACID) was recently held in Hanoi,
Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. This year it was 12th year of drills as part of subregions
response to growing cyber challenges witnessed in recent years. ACIDs objective is to test and enhance
incident response as well as broader cooperation and coordination among ASEAN CERTS as well as
some of their key dialogue partners. It involves ten members of ASEAN as well as five dialogue partners
Australia, China, India, Japan, and South Korea

-The Haryana council of ministers on Wednesday decided to create one Wi-Fi zone in all 6,078-gram
panchayats within two years and provide 4G services in every village in the next three years.Under the
Haryana Information Technology (IT) and Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) Policy-
2017 approved by the cabinet, the state government has promised broadband connectivity to every
household and Wi-Fi zone at important public places in all towns and cities.

-India and Japan signed 15 agreements for enhancing bilateral cooperation in several key areas
including investment promotion, civil aviation, and science and technology.The agreements were signed
in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe after 12th
annual summit talks in Gandhinagar.

MoU on International Academic and Sports Exchange

MoC in the field of Japanese Language Education in India Exchange of RoD on Civil Aviation
Cooperation.
MOC between Ministry of Home Affairs and Cabinet Office of Japan
India-Japan Investment Promotion Road map between DIPP and METI.
The arrangement between India Post and Japan Post for the Implementation of Cool EMS service.
MoU between RIS and IDE-JETRO for the promotion of Cooperation in Research Related Activities.
MOC between METI and Gujarat on Japan-India special programme for Make In India in Mandal
Bechraj-Khoraj in Gujarat.
India-Japan Act East Forum: To enhance connectivity and promote developmental projects in North East
India in efficient and effective manner.
Joint Research Contract Indias Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and between National Institute of
Advanced Industrial Science & Technology (AIST), Japan.
Agreement for an International joint exchange programme between interdisciplinary theoretical and
mathematical sciences programme, RIKEN and National Centres for Biological Sciences.
Japan has invested 4.7 billion US dollars in India during 2016-17, 80 percent higher than last year.

-M. Nagaraja Sarma appointed the chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of the United India
Insurance Co. Ltd.

-Bengaluru-born 28-year-old Google research scientist Ananda Theertha Suresh in New York has won
the Paul Baran Young Scholar award for 2017. Kailath, 82, from Pune and a former professor at
Stanford, is the Hitachi American Professor in Engineering Emeritus at the reputed university. He was
also conferred with the Padma Bhushan, Indias third highest civilian award, in 2009. Netravalli, 71, a
native of Ankola on Karnatakas west coast, studied at Mumbais Elphinstone College and graduated in
electrical engineering from IIT-Bombay before migrating to the US in 1967 for his post-graduation and
doctorate from Houstons Rice University.
 -NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar has resigned from his post of independent director in the board
of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL), the third largest home loan & housing finance company
in India. The move came after Kumar got the top post at NITI Aayog, the government think tank.

-The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) formally awarded the rights to host the 36th National Games to
Goa in November 2017. The announcement was made by the state sports minister Manohar Ajgaonkar.
The National Games of India comprises various disciplines in which sportsmen from the different states
of India participate against each other. The National Games were formally known as the Indian Olmpic
Games.

-Mahendra Pratap Mall was appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Railway Catering
and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Ltd. He is at present director (finance) in the same organisation. The
appointments committee of the Union cabinet has approved his appointment to the post for a period of
five years, as per the order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

-The 74th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 30 August to 9 September 2017. The
most important award is the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale and considered one of the most
prestigious film awards, like the Golden Palm in Cannes and the Golden Bear of Berlin.
The awards are listed below:

Best Film Nico, 1988, directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli

Best Director Vahid Jalilvand, No Date, No Signature
Special Jury Prize Caniba, directed by Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Vrna Paravel
Best Actress Lyna Khoudri, Les Bienheureux
Best Actor Navid Mohammadzadeh, No Date, No Signature
Best Screenplay Los Versos Del Olvido, directed by Alireza Khatami
Best Short Film Gros Chagrin, directed by Cline Devaux
Lion of the Future Luigi De Laurentiis Venice Award for a Debut Film Jusqu la Garde, directed by
Xavier Legrand.

-Pune-based auto firm Force Motors Ltd has entered into a non-binding joint venture agreement with
Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG to produce engines for power generation and rail application and
complete power generation systems, including spare parts, for Indian and global markets. The joint
venture with Rolls-Royce will be the companys first step towards diversifying into the non-auto segment.
In the joint venture, Force Motors will hold a 51% stake and Rolls-Royce the rest.

-Karnataka is the first state to roll out an Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy that looks not only at
boosting sales of Electrical Vehicles, but also setting up charging infrastructure and special
manufacturing zones. Karnataka is looking to attract investments to the tune of Rs 31,000 crore from
companies looking at R&D and manufacturing of electric vehicles in the state.

-Foundation stone of Indias first high-speed rail project (bullet train) project was jointly laid by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe at Sabarmati Station ground in
Ahmedabad. The 508km-long Mumbai to Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project will be built at
cost of Rs 1.10 lakh crore. It is expected to be completed by 2022. (It was recently advanced by year
from earlier deadline of 2023).

-Railway Ministry has decided to permit m-Aadhar as one of the prescribed proofs of Identity for Rail
Travel purpose in any reserved class.Its a mobile application launched by UIDAI in which a person can
download his/her Aadhar Card.It can be done only on the mobile number to which Aadhar has been
linked.For showing Aadhar, the person has to open the app and enter his/ her password to show the
Aadhar Card. This should be accepted as proof of identity in any reserved class over Indian Railways.

-U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) signs MoU with Airports Authority of India ( AAI) to
develop Kolkata, Lucknow airports.The US Trade and Development Agency has signed a memorandum
of understanding with the Airports Authority of India announced on 13th of Sept. 2017.The MoU has
been signed to support a 20-year master plan aimed at expansion of operational capacities of the
Kolkata and Lucknow international airports.Airports Authority of India (AAI) has selected Cincinnati-
based Landrum & Brown (L&B) company to conduct the master planning.

-World Bank President Mr.Jim Yong Kim announced that World Bank has allocated $8 billion for
infrastructure projects under Chinas Silk Roadinitiative, Beijing. Mr.Jim Yong Kim announced this fund
allotment in a round table conference in Beijing.In 2013, Chinese President Mr.Xi Jinping formulated this
Silk Road initiative. The Silk Road Economic Belt consists of 6 corridors which connect to five central
Asian countries, Iran, Persian Gulf, Transcaucasia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

-A report by Japanese financial services company Nomura said that Indias GDP growth is expected to
be around 7.1 % this fiscal year (2017 2018).India is predicted to have a 7.1 % GDP growth this fiscal
year (2017 2018) and that would be followed by a pickup in industrial production. This has been
predicted since firms would start restocking after GST (Goods & Services Tax) and festive season is also
ahead.Before GST the demand for consumer products reduced heavily since people postponed
purchases. Now, the situation has turned normal and people would go for bulk purchases as the festive
season is arriving. Merchants would start restocking now.

-Mindtree opens first global Digital Pumpkin innovation hub in U.S.

On 12th September 2017, Mindtree, a Bengaluru based muitinational company inaugurated its first
international Digital Pumpkin innovation hub at Warren, New Jersey, in US.After the success of Digital
Pumpkin in Bengaluru Mindtree has set up its first global Digital Pumpkin in US. The Digital Pumpkin
provides solutions for Internet of Things, artificial Intelligence, cognitive solutions, virtual and augmented
reality, machine learning, conversational cloud and big data.

-Hindustan Shipyard Ltd will ink a partnership with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd of South Korea for
construction of fleet support ships (FSS) for the Navy in both the countries. An MoU is likely to be signed
next year on this. At present, talks are in progress between the Ministry of Defence and South Korea.
The first ship was expected to roll out in October, 2022, from the Hyundai facility in South Korea.The
construction of another FSS would start at HSL with the guidance of Hyundai. The cost of five FSS would
be around Rs.9,500 crore. The HSL was planning to roll out one FSS every 10 months after the delivery
of the first vessel from Hyundai.

-Brian Acton, the co-founder of WhatsApp has announced to resign from the company to start a non-
profit venture of his own.Acton spent eight years with WhatsApp, which Facebook bought in 2014 for $19
billion in cash and stock.A Stanford alumnus, Acton co-founded WhatsApp with Ukrainian immigrant Jan
Koum in 2009. They both worked at Yahoo before starting WhatsApp. He has decided to start a non-
profit venture and focused at the intersection of nonprofit, technology and communications.

-Restaurant discovery and food delivery firm Zomato acquired logistics startup Runnr. The deal for
acquisition was signed between Zomato CEO, Mr.Deepinder Goyal and Runnr.The amount for which
Runnr was acquired has not been disclosed. Zomato currently delivers 30 lakh orders per month. Out of
which only 10 % (3 lakh) is fulfilled by Runnr. This acquisition would enable Zomato fulfill around 50 % of
the orders through its own logistics. Apart from this Zomato would continue to utilise the restaurants own
logistics.
-Maharashtra has won the Chief Ministers cup at National kickboxing championship. It has 45 gold
medals. The National kickboxing championship is being held in Raipur. Chhattisgarh secured second
position with 27 gold and Haryana secured third position with 15 gold medals. About two thousand
players from 27 states participated in the four-day event.

Scientists from Brown University in US have created first map of water trapped in uppermost layer of
Moons soil. The map was build using NASAs Moon Mineralogy Mapper onboard of Indias
Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. The map builds on initial discovery of water and related molecule hydroxyl
(consists of one atom each of hydrogen and oxygen) in lunar soil in 2009. It may prove useful to future
lunar explorers

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) have signed
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for automatic and regular exchange of tax information. The
purpose of the MoU is to curb the menace of shell companies, money laundering and black money in the
country and prevent misuse of corporate structure by shell companies for various illegal purposes

The Union Home Ministry will soon grant citizenship to nearly one lakh Chakma and Hajong refugees,
who came from erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) five decades ago and are living in northeast.
Governments decision comes in line with Supreme Court order in 2015 in this regard. The apex country
had directed Union government to grant citizenship to these refugees, mostly staying in Arunachal
Pradesh

India and Japan have agreed to ink open sky arrangement to allow airlines from both countries to
operate unlimited number of flights. In this regard, both countries exchanged RoD (Record of
Discussions) on civil aviation cooperation with respect to open sky. It was exchanged after talks between
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan PM Shino Abe

The Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully conducted developmental trials of indigenously developed Astra
beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) over the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of Chandipur in
Odisha. Total of seven trials of Astra BVRAAM were conducted in various missions and two of them
were against Pilotless Target Aircrafts (PTA) successfully fired from Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft. They were
final development flight trials of the missile, paving way for its early induction into IAF

The Union Government signed $76 million loan deal with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
for starting upgradation project related to environment management plan at Alang-Sosiya ship recycling
shipyards in Gujarat. The project will be executed by Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and is likely to be
completed by 2022. The total cost of project is $111 million out of which $76 million will be provided by
JICA as soft loan. Out of remaining amount, $25 million will be borne by Gujarat Government as taxes
and fees and balance $10 million will be shared by Ministry of Shipping

The Union Government has launched Swachhta Hi Seva (cleanliness is service), a nation-wide fortnight-
long sanitation campaign to highlight the governments flagship cleanliness initiative Swachh Bharat
Mission. It was launched by President Ram Nath Kovind from Ishworiganj village in Kanpur, Uttar
Pradesh. It will run from September 15 to October 2, 2017.

The International Day of Democracy is observed every year on September 15 to provide an opportunity
to review the state of democracy in the world. The 2017 theme Democracy and Conflict prevention
focuses on the critical need to strengthen democratic institutions to promote peace and stability.
The National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI) has signed MoU with Ludhiana based Bonn Food
Industries to promote coloured wheat with antioxidant qualities beneficial for control of diabetes,
cholesterol and obesity. It has been developed by routine way of plant breeding by crossing high yielding
Indian cultivars PBW550, PBW621, HD2967 with colored wheat procured from Japan and America,
which is as rich in anthocynanins as blueberries and high in zinc. Anthocyanins can act as antioxidants
that remove free radicals from the body and help in prevention of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes,
inflammation, cancer, obesity and aging. Anthocyanin rich colored wheat developed at NABI also has
enhanced Zinc content-one of the most deficient micro-nutrients in the developing countries. The NABI is
an autonomous body of Ministry of Science and Technology.

Vikram Sakhuja, group CEO of Madison Media & OOH at Madison World, has been elected as the new
president of The Advertising Club. Sakhuja will take over from Raj Nayak, who led the Advertising Club
for two consecutive terms. The club is a dynamic platform for professionals from the Advertising,
Marketing, Media, Research and Communication fraternity to gain from each others expertise.

The Telangana government has launched a comprehensive land survey for rectification of land records
in the state on September 15, 2017. The survey, first of its kind in the country, is aimed at rectifying and
updating the land records in all 10,733 revenues villages across the state. Total 1346 teams of officials
will take part in the survey which will continue till this year end. Under this programme, teams of revenue
and agricultural officers will stay in villages for 10 days, conduct gram sabhas and verify the land records
in the presence of farmers. The rectified records will be displayed at village panchayat office and will also
be digitized and uploaded online. After completion of the survey, the farmer will be given an Electronic
Title Deed Pattadar Passbook which will be farmer proof.

The first-ever National Ayurveda Youth Festival (NAYF) has started in Jaipur, Rajasthan on September
14, 2017. Approx 3000 youth Ayurveda students and doctors from across the country are participating in
the 3-day fest, which is organized by the joint auspices of the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) Jaipur
and National Ayurveda and Youth Association (NAYA), an affiliate of Vigyan Bharati. In it, Jaipurs
National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) has entered the Guinness Book for Most people receiving Nasya
Panch Kararma simultaneously. It was a unique record and its purpose was to attract youth towards
Ayurveda.

The Odisha government passed a bill to launch the first-ever Odia language university for post-
graduation in literature and linguistics among other subjects.The university which will be established in
Bhubaneswar will also devise ways to make Odia script more adaptable to technology.It mainly aims at
making Odia script more adaptable to computer technology.It would also administer PG courses in
literary criticism, the evolution of East Indian language scripts, historical scripts, archaeology, musicology
and translation into and from Odia.

Google announced to unveil a digital payment service in India that has been developed for the local
market. In July.National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) stated that Google had completed the
testing of its UPI payment service and was awaiting Reserve Bank of Indias approval to launch its
service in the country. Google is looking at launching a payment service Google Tez, which will include
support for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as well as mobile wallets like Paytm and MobiKwik.

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) entered into an agreement with microfinance
industry association Sa-Dhan to develop a digital ecosystem for India's unbanked segment.The bank will
provide technical expertise to train and educate micro finance consumers at the grassroots level and
introduce digital banking to promote easier and time-efficient financial transaction among the so-called
bottom-of-the-pyramid customer.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today launched the 'Maharashtra Mission 1
Million' initiative under which over 10 lakh students across the state will play football.It is the first time in
the country and Maharashtra to support was decided by Tawde.The entire Maharashtra becomes Pro
football the Mission will not only create football players and lovers of the game but will also help in overall
development of the state.Under the initiative, the state government aims to ensure that children come out
in open spaces and play.

The Indian nation celebrates Engineer's Day to mark the 156th birth anniversary of Sir Mokshagundam
Visvesvarayya, one of the greatest engineers India produced and a person behind many iconic
constructions in India.He will mark the 49th anniversary of the Engineers Day in India.

Karnataka is the first state to roll out an Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy that looks not only at
boosting sales of Electrical Vehicles but also setting up charging infrastructure and special manufacturing
zones.Karnataka is looking to attract investments to the tune of Rs 31,000 crore from companies looking
at R&D and manufacturing of electric vehicles in the state.

Goa's Sports Minister Mr.Manohar Ajgaonkar said that Goa would host the 36th National Games, in Goa.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has given the official rights to Goa to host the 36th National
Games.

The two-day high-level talks on technical issues of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) began between India
and Pakistan in Washington, United States. According to the World Bank, the meetings between two
countries are taking place between 14 and 15 September. The talks are a continuation of a discussion on
how to safeguard the traety for the benefit of the people in both the countries.

The book titled Unstoppable: My Life So Far authored by tennis star Maria Sharapova was unveiled in
September 2017. The book talks about Sharapovas rise from nowhere to tennis stardom, and the
unending fight to stay on top. The book tells how a seventeen-year-old Maria Sharapova became an
overnight sensation by defeating the two-time defending champion Serena Williams to win the
prestigious Wimbledon.

Indian womens boxings first foreign coach, Stephane Cottalorda, has resigned after just one month of
appointment, alleging delay in salary and other payments. Cottalorda has claimed in his resignation letter
that he hasnt been paid his salary for the first month in full and has also cited lack of professionalism on
part of Boxing Federation of India (BFI) as his reasons for not coming back to India.

Online marketplace giant Amazon India is racing against time to bring in more sellers so that they sell
more on its platform during the festive season. Amazon tied up with the Bank of Baroda to offer micro
loans to its sellers. The firms arm, Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd (ASSPL), is bringing in more financial
partners so that it can cater to its 225,000 seller base. The company had last year announced the launch
of a seller lending programme in India for small and medium businesses to get fast and easy access to
working capital.

In an effort to tackle counterfeiting, Britain launched a new plastic 10-pound note featuring Jane Austen,
one of Britains most renowned authors. Apart from the Queen, whose portrait is on all U.K. currency,
Austen is only the third woman to feature on a modern-day British banknote, after medical innovator
Florence Nightingale and social reformer Elizabeth Fry. The new tenner, as its commonly known, is the
first British banknote with a tactile feature, a series of raised dots in the top left-hand corner to help blind
and partially sighted users. In 2016, it launched a similar five-pound note that showcases Winston
Churchill. A new 20-pound note featuring artist JMW Turner will follow in 2020.

Tunisia has abolished a decades-old ban on Muslim women marrying non-Muslims. Unitll now a non-
Muslim man who wished to marry a Tunisian woman had to convert to Islam and submit a certificate of
his conversion as proof. The announcement comes a month after President Beji Caid Essebsi called for
the government to scrap the ban dating back to 1973. Human rights groups in the North African country
had campaigned for the bans abolition, saying it undermined the fundamental human right to choose a
spouse.

Sweden hosts huge war games exercise with NATO. It is biggest military exercise in more than 20 years
with support from NATO countries.

Mr.Harsh Kumar Jain was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Slovak Republic, in New
Delhi.

The two-day Regional Conference on Good Governance and Replication of Best Practicesbegan in
Goa. It was organised by Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry
of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Government of India. It was presided over by dignitaries
from 25 states and UTs. The two-day Conference is an effort to create a common platform to share
experiences in the formulation and implementation of citizen centric governance, improved public service
delivery through e-Governance, transparent, accountable and citizen friendly effective administration.

Global ranking for the least and most stressful cities of the world was released, by a firm called Zipjet, in
London. Stuttgart,Germany is at the top ,Bangalore 130th and, New Delhi 142nd.

China displayed its first unmanned combat helicopter AV500W for foreign buyers in the northeastern
Tianjin city, China.Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC), state-owned aircraft manufacturer, displayed
the military observation cum combat helicopter at the fourth China Helicopter Expo, in China.This has
been done in a move to enlarge its market of military drones abroad. The AV500W was designed and
produced by AVIC Helicopter Research and Development Institute in Jingdezhen , Jiangxi province of
China.

Rishabh Shah of Mumbai, bagged two bronze medals in the Under-14 Rapid and Blitz formats of the 2nd
Western Asia Youth Chess Championship in Sri Lanka.

Indias first lithium-ion battery facility will be set up by Japanese automobile giant Suzuki Motor
Corporation (SMC) at Hansalpur in Gujarat. The new plant will make lithium-ion batteries for hybrid car
models to be sold in domestic and international markets. The facility will be set up jointly by Suzuki,
Toshiba Corporation and Denso with a proposed investment of $180 million. Suzuki made this
announcement during the 12th India-Japan Annual Summit at Mahatma Mandir in the presence of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.

Indias first Centre for Animal Law has been established at the NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad.

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has been honoured with Global Diversity Award at Britains House of
Commons

India has signed a loan deal of $76 million with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for a
project to upgrade the environment management plan at Alang-Sosiya ship recycling yards.
The Hyderabad team have won the 2017 Kalpathi AGS Buchi Babu All-India Invitation cricket
tournament

The book Unstoppable: My Life So Far has been authored by tennis star Maria Sharapova.

The International Day for the preservation of the Ozone Layer is observed every year on September 16
to mark the commemoration of the date of signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987 on substances that
deplete the Ozone layer. It is mainly intended to spread awareness of the depletion of the Ozone Layer
and search for solutions to preserve it. The 2017 theme Caring for all life under the sun. The Ozone
layer is a fragile shield of gas which protects the Earth from the harmful ultraviolet radiation of the sun
and thus helping preserve life on the planet. Substances like Chlorofluorocarbons, halons,
Carbontetrachloride are responsible for ozone layer depletion.

Arjan Singh (98), who led the Indian Air Force in the 1965 India-Pakistan War, has passed in New Delhi
on September 16, 2017. Throughout the 1965 war, Singh showed exemplary leadership, and was
awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his leadership during the war and subsequently the rank of the CAS
was upgraded to that of Air Chief Marshal. Thus, Singh became the first Air Chief Marshal of the Indian
Air Force. Till date, he is the only Air Force officer to have been promoted to the five-star rank. After his
retirement in July 1969, he was appointed Indian ambassador to Switzerland.

The 5th edition of Kaju India 2017- The Global Cashew Summit has started at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Goa
from September 17, which is organised by Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI).

Rio Olympics Silver medallist P V Sindhu from India has won the 2017 womens singles title at the Korea
Open Super Series badminton tournament by defeating Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in three sets 22-20,
11-21, 20-18 at Seoul in South Korea.

Lewis Hamilton, British racing driver who races in Formula One for the Mercedes AMG Petronas team,
has won the 2017 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix tournament at Marina Bay Street Circuit in
Singapore.

Arun Jaitley, the Union Finance Minister, has launched Googles UPI-based digital payment service Tez
in New Delhi. The app that will let users link their phones to their bank accounts to pay for goods in
physical stores and online.

Mercedes Araoz, who is also a lawmaker and one of Perus two Vice Presidents, has been appointed as
the new Prime Minister of Peru by the Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski

Sterling K Brown has created history by becoming the first African-American to win the best actor drama
Emmy awards in the past 19 years, for his performance as Randall on NBCs This Is Us.

The first ever National Conference on Mission Mode to address Under-Nutrition was successfully held
in New Delhi. The conference was organized by the Ministry of Women & Child Development in
collaboration with Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare,
keeping in mind the goal of Mission Malnutrition Free India-2022.

India have signed off with a rich haul of one gold, four silver, and three bronze medals at the Ahmet
Comert Boxing Championships for youth women boxers in Istanbul, Turkey. Soniya (48kg) gave India the
lone gold medal by defeating Kazakhstans Zhazira Urakabeva in her summit clash. The rest of the four
Indian finalists settled for silver medals after going down in their respective bouts. The silver winners for
India were Niharika Gonella (75kg), Shashi Chopra (57kg), Parveen (54kg), and Ankushita Boro (64kg).
Earlier, Tilotama Chanu (60kg), Jyoti Gulia (48kg), Lalita (64kg) and Manisha (69kg) had to be content
with bronze medals after losing their respective semifinal bouts.

Rajni Kant Mishra, a 1984 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer, will be the new chief of the Sashastra
Seema Bal (SSB). He will succeed Archana Ramasundaram, who is set to retire on September 30, 2017.
The decision was taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. Mishra will hold the post till his
superannuation on August 31, 2019, from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further
orders.

The Jharkhand Government has launched the Shaheed Gram Vikas Yojana at Ulihatu in Khunti district of
Jharkhand. Ulihatu is the birthplace of Jharkhands tribal icon Birsa Munda. The purpose of the scheme
is to develop villages of freedom fighters in the state. Under this scheme, villages of many tribal freedom
fighters will be developed and their habitats will be provided basic amenities.

Dr Kirpal Singh Chugh (85), the father of nephrology in India, has passed away in Chandigarh

YC Modi, a 1984 batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, has been appointed as Director
General of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and will hold the post till his superannuation, i.e. May 31,
2021. He will take over from incumbent NIA Chief Sharad Kumar Sinha after he completes his tenure on
October 30, 2017. Currently, Modi is special director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). NIA
was set up after an Act was enacted on December 31, 2008. The federal probe agency is tasked with
probing terrorism and terror-financing related cases.

The high-level committee headed by retired judge Arvind Kumar Goel has recommended that Non-
resident Indians (NRIs) who harass or desert their wives could face impoundment or cancellation of their
passport. The panel has also recommended that cases of domestic violence be included in the scope of
extradition treaties that India inks with other countries.

Dr Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State for Public Grievances and Pensions, will inaugurate the first
Pension Adalat in New Delhi. The Pension Adalats is being convened with the objective of bringing the
aggrieved pensioner, the concerned department, the bank on a common table so that such cases can be
settled within the framework of extant rules.

The Union government has constituted a GST Committee on Exports headed by revenue secretary Dr
Hasmukh Adhia to look into issues of export sector and to recommend suitable strategy for helping the
export sector in the post-GST scenario to the GST Council.

Tripura has become the Indias first state to set up family welfare district committees to examine the
complaints of women against their husbands, in-laws and relatives of the husband and to find an
amicable solution through negotiation.

Mark Beaumont broke the world record for cycling around the world - by 44 days. The 34-year-old, from
Perthshire, arrived in Paris one day ahead of schedule having cycled the 18,000-mile route in 79 days.
He set a new world record of 194 days in 2008.

Acclaimed filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli has won the prestigious 2017 ANR National Award for his
contribution to the Telugu film industry.
Purnima Hembram from Odisha, who is an Indian sprinter and heptathlete, has won gold in womens
pentathlon at the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

The joint military exercise Iron Union 5 will start between United States and United Arab Emirates
(UAE) exercise in Abu Dhabi

The Airtel Payments Bank (APB) has become the Indias first payments bank to integrate the UPI on its
digital platform.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released its first tranche of emergency funding of $ 175,000
to provide essential medicines and life-saving healthcare to the vulnerable population in Bangladeshs
Coxs Bazar that has witnessed an influx of thousands of Rohingyas from Myanmar.

Recently Sri Lanka has qualified for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 after West Indies lost the first ODI
against England at Old Trafford

Ajay Bisaria has been appointed as the new high commissioner to Pakistan. It is expected that he will
succeed Gautam Bambawale in October 2017. Presently, Bisaria is serving as the Indian ambassador to
Poland.

The first BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017 (BIMSTEC DMEx-2017) will be conducted by
the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the National Capital Region (NCR).

According to the Reserve Bank of India Data, Indias foreign-exchange reserves rose past $400 billion for
the first time ever, strengthening policy makers buffers ahead of an expected reduction in US stimulus.

The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) awarded National level Rajbhasha Keerti
Award for the third consecutive year. MPEDA Chairman A Jayathilak received the award from
Honourable President Ram Nath Kovind. This award has been given to MPEDA for the best
Implementation of Official language in the organization.

Union Human Resource Minister Prakash Javadekar informed that Central government saved Rs 65,000
crore through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in various public schemes.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to attend the annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) session.
She will hold a high-level meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Japanese Foreign
Minister Fumio Kishida.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated interstate multi-purpose Sardar Sarovar Dam (Narmada dam
project) at Kevadia, Gujarat to the nation. It is the highest dam ever built in India and second biggest
concrete gravity dam in the world in terms of volume after Grand Coulee Dam in the USA.

Russia and Iraq restored commercial airline services for the first time since 2004, with an Iraqi Airways
plane leaving for Moscow from Baghdad.

Japanese postal department released postage stamps on Yoga Expert Mr.Bishnu Charan Ghosh and his
family members, in Kolkata.

China opened a dual-use highway in Tibet to the Nepal border which could be used for civilian and
defense purposes in China. The highway is 40.4 km long and 25 m wide. It has 4 double lanes. It is
classified a first-tier highway. It connects Xigaze airport and Xigaze city center in Tibet. The road helps to
ease the congestions and export economy of China.
The 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced at the Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles,
California, U.S. The Handmaid's Tale became the first web television series to win the award for
Outstanding Drama Series.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh launched the 'Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shram Anna
Sahayata Yojna' under which nutritious meal will be provided to laborers at price of Rupees five. As
many as 60 such food centers will be set up in 27 districts of the states which will provide food to nearly
60,000 laborers on a daily basis.

Jammu and Kashmir governor N N Vohra inaugurated the second International Yoga Festival and
International Yoga Sports Championship 2017 in which about 300 people from across the world are
participating.

The US Army and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) inaugurated a permanent base In Israel. This is the
first time that a permanent American base has been opened in the Middle Eastern country. The base
represents the long-standing partnership, the strategic commitment between the armies and the
militaries of the United States of America and Israel.

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri
Dharmendra Pradhan is in Astana, Kazakhstan to co-chair the 13th Meeting of Inter-Governmental
Commission (IGC) with Kazakhstan

Indias ambitious Zero Hunger Programme through interventions in farm sector will be launched on
occasion of World Food Day (October 16) with focus on agriculture, nutrition and health in a symbiotic
manner. The Programme will be initiated by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The
programme consists of organisations of a farming system for nutrition, setting up genetic gardens for
biofortified plants and initiation of Zero Hunger training. The program will be launched in three districts
namely Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Koraput (Odisha) and Thane (Maharashtra).

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat announced the appointment of actor Akshay Kumar
as the brand ambassador of the Swachh Bharat Mission in the state.

Three Indian entrepreneurial legends, Ratan Tata, Lakshmi Mittal and Vinod Khosla have been included
in Forbess special list of the worlds 100 Greatest Living Business Minds.

The Indian cricket board nominated Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the country's third highest civilian award
the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to the game.

Official emblem and slogan for FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 were unveiled at the Musee de
l'Homme, Paris, France. Emblem:- To symbolise the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup,
competition trophy wrapped in blue and white, with eight shards of light around football at the top of the
trophy. Slogan:- "Dare To Shine". FIFA President - Gianni Infantino.
India has replaced China as the top retail destination in 2017, as part of the global retail development
index.

B. Sambamurthy, formerly Director and CEO of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking
Technology (IDRBT) and Chairman and Managing Director of Corporation Bank, has appointed as
interim Chairman of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

50 Countries signed the United Nations treaty to ban nuclear weapons. Brazil was the first country to
sign onto the ban, followed by nations from Algeria to Venezuela. More than 120 countries approved the
new nuclear weapons ban treaty in July.

SBI stated that the old cheque books and IFSC (India Financial System Codes) of six subsidiary banks
namely State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Raipur, State Bank of
Travancore and State Bank of Hyderabad and Bharatiya Mahila Bank, will not be valid after September
30. SBI currently charges a penalty of up to Rs. 100 (plus GST of 18 per cent) per month for not
maintaining the minimum balance in savings bank accounts. The corporate salary accounts, small and
basic savings bank deposit accounts and accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojna
are exempted from maintaining the monthly average balance.

The nine-metre (30ft) statue of Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle, has been
unveiled in Russian capital Moscow in a controversial ceremony. Kalashnikov designed "Avtomat
Kalashnikova", which became the standard issue rifle of the Soviet army, in 1947 - hence the
abbreviation AK-47.

The Rs. 389 crore worth Gateshwar Panth Canal Project suffered a major blow as a part of the dam in
Bihar's Bhagalpur collapsed a day before it was to be inaugurated by CM Nitish Kumar.

The Narendra Modi government will invest Rs 1,756 crore for a period of three years for the revamping of
'Khelo India' scheme, which has been taken with twin goals: Sports For All and Sports For Excellence.
Each athlete selected under this scheme will receive an annual scholarship worth Rs 5 lakh for 8
consecutive years. Some features of this programme: 1. A pan India scholarship which will sponsor at
least 1000 athletes across India. 2. It will cover around 200 million children in the age group of 10-18
under a massive national physical fitness drive.

China launches the world's fastest bullet train Fuxing between Beijing and Shanghai at 350 kms per
hour, covering the 1,250-km-long distance in just 4 hours and 30 minutes. China has the worlds longest
high-speed rail network of over 22,000 kilometres, about 60% per cent of the worlds total.
Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. This day was
established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations (UN) resolution. Theme for 2017 is Together for
Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All.

French businesswoman and heiress of cosmetics giant L'Oreal Liliane Bettencourt, 94, has died. In
March 2017, Forbes ranked Bettencourt the world's richest woman, putting her net worth at $39.5 billion.

The first of the Scorpene class submarines, INS Kalvari, was delivered to the Indian Navy by Mazagon
Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL). Kalvari is named after the dreaded Tiger Shark, a deadly deep sea
predator of the Indian Ocean.

Kuldeep Yadav (22-year-old from Kanpur) became the first Indian spinner to take a hat-trick in ODI
cricket during the second match of the ongoing series against Australia at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) invited Australia to compete at Asiad (Asian Games) in 2022, for the first
time. The invite is for selected sports like football and basketball to enable athletes to qualify for the 2024
Paris Olympics.

The world's largest aircraft 'Stratolaunch' which has a 385-feet wingspan, built by Microsoft Co-founder
Paul Allen has completed its first engine test. This Plane can carry up to 250 tonnes of cargo and is
capable of launching rockets.

US-based electric vehicles manufacturer Proterra's Catalyst E2 Max electric bus has set a world record
by driving 1,771 km (1,101 miles) on a single charge, at the Navistar Proving Grounds in Indiana. E2
Max bus is 40 feet long and has a battery with 660 kWh capacity.

Qatar Airways has put double beds in the business class sections of aeroplanes from London to Doha in
Qatar.

Himachal Pradesh became the first state in India to introduce electric buses. The Transport Minister GS
Bali flagged off India's first electric bus on the 51 kms long Manali-Rohtang Pass. With this initiative
Himachal becomes first in the world to ply electric buses at an altitude of 13 thousand feet.

The Rajkummar Rao starrer black comedy bollywood film 'Newton' has been selected as India's official
entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category at Oscars 2018. Directed by Amit V Masurkar. The
Film Federation Of India (FFI) confirmed this nomination.

According to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List, Hui Ka Yan, the chairman of Chinese real estate
giant Evergrande Group, has become Asias richest man, with a net worth of $41.1 billion. Hui today
ranks No. 15 globally. The Asias second and third richest persons are Tencent Holdings Chairman Ma
Huateng ($39.1 billion), Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma ($38.9 billion) respectively.

Indian professional badminton player, Rio Olympic silver medalist PUSARLA V. Sindhu has jumped two
places to the second spot in the BWF (Badminton World Federation) women's singles ranking. This is the
second time that Sindhu is world number two after being at the position for a week in April 2017. She has
won three international titles this year, including the Korea Open. TAI Tzu Ying of Taiwan ranks first in
BWF women's singles.

The 6th Edition of the 4-day international textile and apparel fair, 'VASTRA' is organized in Jaipur during
September 21 - 24, 2017 at Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Centre (JECC), Sitapura. This fair was
inaugurated by the Union Minister for Textiles and Information & Broadcasting, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani
and Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Smt. Vasundhara Raje.

India announced their 21-member squad for first ever participation in FIFA U-17 World Cup event. India
will host the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, scheduled to kick off in October 24.

China and Australia joint military training exercise called "Panda-Kangaroo 2017" concluded in Kunming,
capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, on September 20. This exercise kicked off on September
10, China and Australia each sent 10 soldiers to participate in the joint training.

Under the NDA governments flagship Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) Housing for All
programme, Government decided to extend interest subsidy of Rs 2.60 lakh on home loans for the
Middle Income Group (MIG) up to March 2019. Initially the scheme was available for beneficiaries under
the middle class category till December 2017 only.

Tihar Jail, largest jail in India got its first open air gymnasium

Famous Football players Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Neymar Jr are the final three players in
contention for FIFA Best Men's Player of the Year 2017 award.

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan launched Pradhan Mantri LPG
Panchayat at Mota Ishanpur village in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches 'Power for all' scheme to mark the birth anniversary of Pandit
Deendayal Upadhyaya. The scheme is expected to cover all rural families after expected electrification of
all villages by December end this year

China ban exports of some petroleum products to North Korea and as well as imports of textiles from the
isolated North, in line with a UN Security Council resolution, passed after Pyongyangs latest nuclear
test.

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is working to establish Hunar Hub across
the country to provide a platform to master artisans and craftsmen to display as well sell their products.
The 'Hunar Haat' is being organised at Craft Bazaar, Gandhi Thidal Beach, Goubert Avenue and will
continue till September 30 in which master artisans from 16 states including Uttar Pradesh, West
Bengal, New Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Puducherry, Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland and
Andhra Pradesh will be showcasing their traditional talent.

Eminent Scientist and Bharat Ratna Prof C.N.R. Rao awarded as 2017 Von Hippel Award, the highest
international prize in materials research. The award will be presented to Prof Rao for his interdisciplinary
contributions to the development of novel functional materials, including nanomaterials graphene,
superconductivity, 2D materials and colossal magnetoresistance at Boston.

Olympic silver medallist shuttler P.V. Sindhu recommended for the prestigious Padma Bhushan,
countrys third highest civilian award, by the Sports Ministry.

Indian Space research Organistaion (ISRO) globally acclaimed Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) also known
as Mangalyaan completed three years in Martian orbit.
Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) inked Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with e-commerce giant Amazon for selling tribal products. The aim of the initiative
is to promote tribal handicrafts like handloom products, cane and bamboo products, tribal jewelry,
Dhokra craft, tribal weaves. It is a national-level apex organization functioning under the administrative
control of Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

The joint exercise DRUZBA 2017 between special forces of Pakistan and Russia Armies started in
Minralney Vody, Russia. Pakistan and Russia are holding two-week long joint military drill focusing on
counter-terrorism operations to enhance military ties between the two countries.

The 7th ASEM (AsiaEurope Meeting) Economic Ministers Meeting was held in Seoul, South Korea.
The theme for the 2017 year meeting is Innovative Partnership for Inclusive Prosperity.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reconstituted the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to guide him on
economic issues and appointed economist Bibek Debroy as its chairman. Debroy is a member of
government think tank Niti Aayog.

INS Tarasa (T94), the fourth and last ship in series of Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC) was
commissioned into Indian Navy at Naval Dockyard. It is an improved variant of Car Nicobar-class high-
speed offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) built by Kolkata (West Bengal) based Garden Reach Shipbuilder. It
is named after the picturesque island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago in Bay of Bengal.

Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) signed a contract with Research Centre Imarat (RCI) for the supply of
Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (MRSAM) to Indian Army.

The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment launched Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child
Labour (PENCIL) Portal at National Conference. The portal is an electronic platform that aims at
involving Centre, State, District, Governments, civil society and the general public in achieving the target
of child labor free society.

Two Indian women featured on Fortune's list of Most Powerful Women in business outside the US.
Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar was ranked fifth and Managing Director and
CEO of Axis Bank Shikha Sharma was ranked at 21.

The Kandla Port one of the top 12 major ports in the country renamed as Deendayal Port in the name of
Hindutva icon Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay.

Mahtab Bamji selected for the Living Legend Award of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences
((IUNS). The award will be presented at its General Assembly to be held at the IUNS-ICN in Buenos
Aires, Argentina

The World Tourism Day is celebrated across the world on 27th of September. The theme for World
Tourism Day 2017 is 'Sustainable Tourism a Tool for Development'.

India placed at 40th spot among 137 countries in World Economic Forums (WEF) Global
Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2017-18.

IDBI Bank launched Project Nishchay in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to
accelerate its turnaround program and improve financial performance.
The Maharashtra government signed a MoU with South Korea for increased co-operation in
infrastructure projects

Home Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the 13th Formation Day of the National Disaster
Management Authority in New Delhi.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi given its approval for
implementation of umbrella scheme of "Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF)" for years 2017-18 to
2019-20.

The Cabinet approved the signing of Interbank Local Currency Credit Line Agreement and Cooperation
Memorandum relating to Credit Ratings by Exim Bank with member banks under BRICS Interbank
Cooperation Mechanism.

World Rabies Day is celebrated annually to raise awareness about rabies prevention. The 2017 World
Rabies Day theme is 'Rabies: Zero by 30'. This day also marks the anniversary of Louis Pasteur's death,
the French chemist, and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine.

Union Cabinet approves installation of telecom towers in cantonments and military areas

The World Maritime Day is celebrated across the world on 28 September across the world. The theme
for 2017 World Maritime Day is Connecting Ships, Ports and People.

Russian and the United States space agencies, Roscosmos and NASA, have agreed to jointly build a
"deep space gateway", the first-ever astronaut-tended space station around the Moon. It would help
prepare for manned missions to deep space destinations including Mars. NASA and Roscosmos are two
of the major partners in the $100-billion Earth-orbiting International Space Station (ISS).

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) registered National E-Governance Services Limited
(NeSL) as an Information Utility (IU) under the IBBI (Information Utilities) Regulations, 2017.

The Asian Development Bank will increase its annual lending to India to a maximum of $4 billion
between 2018 and 2022 to help fasten inclusive economic transformation towards upper middle-income
status.

The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) launched monthly Jan Sampark program to enable
public to interact with its officials to obtain information related to child adoption.

The Diamond Jubilee of Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) observed on 28 September
2017 as it completed 60 years of its existence.

Telecom equipment and solutions provider VNL signed a MoU with BSNL to provide solutions for
disaster management. The 'Relief 123' service will restore connectivity at disaster sites, help locate the
affected and integrate information across platforms to enable informed decision-making for quick relief.

The Union Government is finalizing electoral bonds scheme in order to bring greater transparency in the
funding of political parties.

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) notified new Wetland
(Conservation and Management) Rules 2017 to prohibit range of activities in wetlands.
Aeris Communications entered into a partnership with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to provide
packaged Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and services to small, medium businesses and public sector
undertakings (PSUs) in India.

President Ram Nath Kovind appointed five new Governors for the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar,
Tamil Nadu, Assam, and Meghalaya. Brig. (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.
Satya Pal Malik as the Governor of Bihar. Banwarilal Purohit as the Governor of Tamil Nadu. Prof
Jagdish Mukhi as the Governor of Assam. Ganga Prasad as the Governor of Meghalaya. Devendra
Kumar Joshi as the Governor of Andaman & Nicobar islands.

India Jumps to 14th Rank as Best Country for Expats HSBC Survey

India and Norway have extended bilateral cooperation in the health sector through the Norway-India
Partnership Initiative for a period of three years starting 2018. Union Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed a letter of intent recently.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who is on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, will today visit
the Ladakh region where she will take stock of the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).