i
CONTENT
TNPSC BITS ......................................................................................... 1
TAMILNADU ....................................................................................... 18
Coastal Zone Management plan .................................................................................. 18
Open air prison - Thirumalaisamudiram ..................................................................... 19
Tamil Nadu’s new ICT Policy ....................................................................................... 19
Tamil Nadu receives five awards from Centre............................................................... 19
Pakistan Dental Association's Humanitarian Award .................................................... 20
‘TN-SMART’ app ......................................................................................................... 20
1st technology-aided livestock census – Tamil Nadu .................................................... 20
Customs Checking Centre .......................................................................................... 20
New Corporation to support water project funding ....................................................... 21
National Sport Awards 2018 - Winners from Tamil Nadu ............................................. 21
TN - Integrated version of CMCHIS and PMJAY ........................................................... 21
New corporation in the state ....................................................................................... 22
Integrated Financial and Human Resource Management System ................................. 22
New health programme - ‘Prevention of Haemoglobinopathies’ ..................................... 22
Adyar Head Constable - ‘Mr.Tamil Nadu’ Title ............................................................. 23
NATIONAL .......................................................................................... 23
NITI Aayog ‘s Mobility Week ........................................................................................ 23
Indian Railways sign MoU with GAIL ........................................................................... 23
National Mission on Government e-Marketplace .......................................................... 23
ICAR's Two-Day Conference ........................................................................................ 24
India post payments bank .......................................................................................... 24
National Nutrition Week – September 1 to 7 ................................................................. 24
NITI Aayog’s MOVE Cyclathon .................................................................................... 25
Draft rules on sale of drugs by e-pharmacies ............................................................... 25
First review meeting of Department of Official Language .............................................. 25
Proposal to increase wages of artisans......................................................................... 26
New IIM campus ......................................................................................................... 26
Swadesh Darshan Scheme .......................................................................................... 27
New Ganga clean-up law ............................................................................................. 27
IPC Section 377 Verdict .............................................................................................. 27
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Book on Mahatma Gandhi's 'Nai Talim' ....................................................................... 28
Atal Pension Yojana Extension .................................................................................... 28
First Global Mobility Summit 2018 ............................................................................. 28
Mobilise Your City – India and France ......................................................................... 29
World Air Transport Statistics (WATS) ......................................................................... 29
Sustainable Smart Cities India Conference .................................................................. 30
India's first railway university ..................................................................................... 30
Safe city project for women ......................................................................................... 31
Panel for e-Commerce issues ...................................................................................... 31
India’s longest rail-cum-road bridge ............................................................................ 31
Plan Bee ..................................................................................................................... 32
HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017 ........................................................ 32
Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan- PM-AASHA................................ 32
Cabinet approves Various MoUs ................................................................................. 33
Selection Committee to pick up Dronacharya and Dhyanchand Awardees .................... 33
Chairman of Lok Sabha ethics panel ........................................................................... 33
NSP Mobile App .......................................................................................................... 34
National Water Awards 2018 ....................................................................................... 34
Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar and National Safety Awards .................................... 34
First tribal circuit project ............................................................................................ 35
Capacity Development Scheme ................................................................................... 35
HIV Estimations report 2017 ...................................................................................... 35
Chiller Star Labelling Program .................................................................................... 36
Website for 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas .................................................................... 37
India’s 1st ‘Smart Fence’ Pilot Project .......................................................................... 37
Gold label distinction - Marathon ................................................................................ 37
Indian Green Building Council Certification ................................................................ 38
Jaipur Literature festival ............................................................................................ 38
Government and FAO - agriculture project .................................................................. 38
D.K.Jain committee – ISRO Spy Case .......................................................................... 39
Clear policy on shifting cultivation .............................................................................. 39
Cabinet Approval - Triple Talaq Ordinance .................................................................. 39
“Levels and Trends in Child Mortality: Report 2018” .................................................... 40
Logo, Web Portal launched - 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi ................... 41
Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojna ................................................................................... 41
National Database on Sexual Offenders ....................................................................... 41
Aviaindra 18 ............................................................................................................... 42
MSME Insider............................................................................................................. 42
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India’s first Coal-gasification fertilizer plant ................................................................. 42
Boundary survey work ................................................................................................ 43
PM inaugurates Jharsuguda airport ............................................................................ 44
Centenary celebrations of liberation of Israel’s Haifa .................................................... 44
Victims of Terror Attacks and Terror Groups ............................................................... 45
The Hindu - 140th anniversary ................................................................................... 46
Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana ............................................................................. 47
National orientation workshop on National e-Vidhan Application ................................. 48
World Air Traffic Report of Airports Council International ............................................ 48
MahaBiz 2018 ............................................................................................................ 48
Committee to Look into Jail Reforms ........................................................................... 49
Supreme court ruling on Aadhaar ............................................................................... 49
Live Streaming of Cases of Constitutional Importance ................................................. 50
Conversion of GSTN into Government entity ................................................................ 50
National Digital Communications Policy-2018 ............................................................. 50
Lokpal Search Committee ........................................................................................... 51
Ease of Living Index rankings under AMRUT ............................................................... 51
MCC brought into force in Telangana .......................................................................... 52
MHA merges police forces in 6 UTs ............................................................................. 52
Section 497 of IPC declared unconstitutional .............................................................. 53
Sabarimala temple verdict .......................................................................................... 54
Supreme Court verdict on reservation in promotions for SC/STs ................................. 54
NITI Aayog - SoI with Oracle ....................................................................................... 55
Injeti Srinivas High Level Committee ........................................................................... 55
INTERNATIONAL ................................................................................ 56
4th BIMSTEC Summit Declaration .............................................................................. 56
MoU between India and Nepal ..................................................................................... 56
International Ayurveda Congress (IAvC) ...................................................................... 57
Indus Waters Treaty - 115th meeting .......................................................................... 57
China-Maldives Friendship Bridge .............................................................................. 58
India – signs MoU with Cambodia ............................................................................... 58
India, Cyprus sign key agreements .............................................................................. 58
UN World Tourism Organisation 2017 Report .............................................................. 59
Tsunami mock drill ‘IOWave18’ ................................................................................... 59
Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) .............................................................. 59
KAZIND 2018 ............................................................................................................. 60
Indian and Bangladesh Bi-annual talks ...................................................................... 60
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US military cancels aid to Pakistan ............................................................................. 60
Ukraine-NATO Joint Military Exercises ....................................................................... 61
International Women Entrepreneurs Summit 2018 ..................................................... 61
SLINEX-2018 ............................................................................................................. 61
PISA 2021 .................................................................................................................. 62
ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Conference ..................................................................... 62
International Tradeshow ............................................................................................. 62
World Hindu Congress (WHC) ..................................................................................... 63
The Ocean Cleanup - Great Pacific Garbage Patch ....................................................... 63
Five agreements between India and Czech ................................................................... 64
International Geriatric Orthopaedic Conference ........................................................... 64
World Summit on Accreditation (WOSA-2018) ............................................................. 64
COMCASA Treaty ....................................................................................................... 65
India & USA Combat Exercise ..................................................................................... 65
Heritage tag for 2 irrigation facilities ........................................................................... 65
Milex-2018 ................................................................................................................. 66
New digital bridge with Africa ...................................................................................... 66
Nomadic Elephant Exercise -2018 ............................................................................... 66
India & Bangladesh joint projects ............................................................................... 67
State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018 Report .................................... 67
Sagarmatha Friendship - 2018 ................................................................................... 67
Sudan’s New PM ......................................................................................................... 68
India-Bangladesh Friendship Product Pipeline Project ................................................. 68
Grant of Access to key ports ....................................................................................... 68
7th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism ........................................................... 69
Saudi Arabia to join CPEC .......................................................................................... 69
First private passenger on Moon ................................................................................. 69
Official entry to Oscars - Norway ................................................................................. 70
Nationwide anti-polio vaccination drive – Pakistan ...................................................... 70
West Bank village – demolition deadline ...................................................................... 71
Global status report on alcohol and health 2018 ......................................................... 71
Times Higher Education’s (THE) world university rankings 2019 ................................. 72
Nelson Mandela Decade of Peace ................................................................................. 72
First-Ever Women-Only Foreign Minister Conference ................................................... 73
Global Wetland Outlook Report ................................................................................... 73
Nepal becomes first country to double its tiger population ........................................... 74
ECONOMY .......................................................................................... 75
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ITI Limited partners with startups ............................................................................... 75
Internal Ombudsman (IO) Scheme 2018 ...................................................................... 75
Monetary limit increased for Loan recovery application ................................................ 76
RBI to buy G-Secs in Open Market .............................................................................. 76
Credit Suisse Research Institute (CSRI) Report ............................................................ 76
Proposal for merger of Banks ...................................................................................... 77
Dual listing of masala bonds ....................................................................................... 77
Country Partnership Framework ................................................................................. 78
Import duty on 19 non-essential items ........................................................................ 78
Financial Inclusion Index ............................................................................................ 79
RBI eases SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) rules ........................................................... 79
Kerala’s calamity cess demand .................................................................................... 80
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.............................................................. 80
Offshore Patrol Vessel ICGS Vijaya .............................................................................. 80
Method to predict inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) .................................................... 80
NASA’s Icesat-2 .......................................................................................................... 81
Rollable tablet ............................................................................................................ 81
Drug-resistant superbug ............................................................................................. 81
UAE’s first astronauts................................................................................................. 81
New device to harvest energy ...................................................................................... 82
Coffee Connect mobile app .......................................................................................... 82
First mid-air refueling of combat jet ............................................................................ 83
First Overseas Ground Base ....................................................................................... 83
Mini-UAV for high-altitude surveillance ....................................................................... 83
Space Suit - ISRO ....................................................................................................... 84
China’s marine satellite .............................................................................................. 84
India's first embryo transplanted calf .......................................................................... 85
Asia’s First airport use Face recognition ...................................................................... 85
Apsara upgraded- Apsara-U ........................................................................................ 85
India's first commercial underwater drone- EyeROV TUNA .......................................... 85
Cyber Security Conference ‘COCON XI’ ....................................................................... 86
Successful launch of PSLV C 42.................................................................................. 86
Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM)...................................................... 87
e-Sahaj portal ............................................................................................................. 87
World’s first hydrogen-powered train ........................................................................... 87
Lifting the ban on 3 FDC drugs ................................................................................... 88
Cyclone-30 - The biggest cyclotron in India ................................................................. 88
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Tactical Missile ‘Prahar’ Successfully Flight Tested ...................................................... 88
Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response ....................................................... 89
ISRO Technology Incubation Centre ............................................................................ 89
Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children portal ....................................... 89
Nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards ..................................................................... 90
3rd launch pad - Gaganyaan mission .......................................................................... 90
India’s first indigenously developed Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor ............................. 90
Prithvi interceptor missile test .................................................................................... 91
Miniature human oesophagus ..................................................................................... 91
Sikkim gets Sensor-based ‘Landslide warning system’ ................................................. 92
Two New Earth-like Exoplanets Discovered ................................................................. 92
Jan Dhan Darshak ..................................................................................................... 93
Online platform for Agmark quality certification .......................................................... 93
Astra successfully test fired ........................................................................................ 93
Web Portal to grant loans to MSMEs Launched ........................................................... 94
Incredible India Mobile App Launched......................................................................... 94
Centre of Excellence for Data Analytics ....................................................................... 95
ENVIRONMENT .................................................................................. 95
Singphan wildlife sanctuary ........................................................................................ 95
Global Summit on Climate Action ............................................................................... 96
Erratic monsoon rainfall in India - Study .................................................................... 96
Global Climate Action Summit 2018 ........................................................................... 96
Typhoon Mangkhut .................................................................................................... 96
India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP).................................................................................. 97
Local Treatment of Urban Sewage Streams for Healthy Reuse ...................................... 97
Health Ministry Partners with Dell and Tata Trusts ..................................................... 97
Sputum sample transportation through Department of Post ........................................ 98
Air Pollution Control Device ''WAYU'' ........................................................................... 98
Loo Review Campaign ................................................................................................. 98
STATE................................................................................................ 99
Krishna Kutir ............................................................................................................. 99
Punjab launched PUDA 360 ........................................................................................ 99
'Mil Banchey Madhya Pradesh' .................................................................................... 99
Vibrant Gujarat’ summit ............................................................................................. 99
Ayushman Bharat - Jan Arogya Yojana ..................................................................... 100
Panchayati Raj amendment bill ................................................................................. 100
State Legislative Council - Odisha ............................................................................. 100
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Home delivery of govt services ................................................................................... 100
Road Accident Data Management System -RADMS .................................................... 101
First Regional Workshop on RERA ............................................................................ 101
State Commission for Scheduled Castes Bill- 2018 .................................................... 101
e-Plant clinics ........................................................................................................... 102
Agricultural festival of Nuakhai ................................................................................. 102
Swayangsiddha ........................................................................................................ 102
YuvaNestam scheme ................................................................................................. 102
1st ever dedicated Dog Park ...................................................................................... 103
'Swachh Dhara' ........................................................................................................ 103
New Cyber University................................................................................................ 103
First-ever 'dial-FIR' scheme ....................................................................................... 104
First ever gender-neutral hostel ................................................................................ 104
Star-rating system for industries............................................................................... 104
Airavata Scheme ....................................................................................................... 104
‘Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents’ (RoSPA) Award .................................... 105
Government e-Marketplace - Arunachal Pradesh ....................................................... 105
Smart e-Public Distribution System .......................................................................... 105
Naropa Festival ........................................................................................................ 106
First ever Mizoram International Short Film Festival (MISFF) ..................................... 106
Jharsuguda airport to be renamed after freedom fighter ............................................ 107
2nd largest Metro Rail (MR) network ......................................................................... 107
Indian Culinary Institute .......................................................................................... 107
PERSONALITIES, AWARDS AND EVENTS .......................................... 107
1st Kashmiri Muslim woman pilot ............................................................................. 107
B.C. Roy Award - 2017 ............................................................................................. 108
Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar ......................................................................... 108
Praful Bidwai Memorial Award .................................................................................. 109
46th Chief Justice of India (CJI) ................................................................................ 109
Air Force Academy – New Commandant .................................................................... 110
Sarala Puraskar ....................................................................................................... 110
‘Shilp Guru’ and National Award ............................................................................... 110
Pacific Asia Travel Association gold awards ............................................................... 110
Hindi Implementation Award .................................................................................... 111
Anna Rajam Malhotra passed away ........................................................................... 111
Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar awards .......................................................................... 112
Highest civilian honour of Mexico - Dr. Raghupati Singhania ..................................... 112
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National Sports Awards 2018 .................................................................................... 112
V.R.Lalithambika to Head India’s Gaganyaan project ................................................. 113
UN’s Highest Environmental Honour ......................................................................... 113
Barclays Hurun India Rich List 2018 ........................................................................ 114
FIFA's Best Player of The Year Award ........................................................................ 114
SPORTS ........................................................................................... 114
Most Valuable Player (MVP) ...................................................................................... 114
Second Fastest Indian to Reach 6000 Test Runs ....................................................... 115
World Youth Boxing Championships ......................................................................... 115
UEFA club football awards 2018 ............................................................................... 116
18th Asian Games Concluded ................................................................................... 117
ISSF World Shooting Championship.......................................................................... 117
RSL Kharkiv International challenge - Badminton ..................................................... 117
Silesian Open Boxing ................................................................................................ 117
2018 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup .................................................... 118
Ahmet Comert Tournament ...................................................................................... 118
New marathon world record ...................................................................................... 118
Asian Para Games .................................................................................................... 119
Singapore Grand Prix 2018 ....................................................................................... 119
Medved International Wrestling tournament .............................................................. 119
72nd National swimming championship .................................................................... 119
Junior World wrestling championship ....................................................................... 120
Asian Team Snooker Championship .......................................................................... 120
Women’s Boxing World Championships .................................................................... 120
China Open .............................................................................................................. 121
72nd Senior National Aquatic championship ............................................................. 121
IMPORTANT DAYS............................................................................ 121
World Coconut Day- September 02 ........................................................................... 121
World Sexual Health Day- September 04 ................................................................... 122
International Day of Charity – September 05 ............................................................. 122
National Teacher’s day- September 05 ....................................................................... 123
International Literacy Day – September 08 ................................................................ 123
World Suicide Prevention Day - September 10 ........................................................... 124
National Hindi Diwas- Septemper 14 ......................................................................... 124
International Day of Democracy- September 15 ......................................................... 124
Indian Engineer's Day - September 15 ...................................................................... 125
International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer: September 16 .................. 125
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World Alzheimer’s Day – 21 September ..................................................................... 125
International Day of Peace - 21 September ................................................................ 126
World Rhino Day - 22 September .............................................................................. 127
World Car-Free Day – 22 September ......................................................................... 127
International Day of Sign Languages - 23 September ................................................. 127
World Pharmacist Day – 25 September ...................................................................... 127
Antyodaya Diwas – 25 September ............................................................................. 128
International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons – 26 September ........ 128
World Tourism Day - 27 September .......................................................................... 129
World Maritime Day – 27 September ......................................................................... 129
World Rabies Day – 28 September ............................................................................. 130
MISCELLANEOUS ............................................................................. 130
Mountaineers climbed Asia's highest volcanic peak Mount ........................................ 130
Dow Jones Sustainability Index 2018 ........................................................................ 130
Tenzing Norgay Award .............................................................................................. 131
Global Olympic Sponsor ........................................................................................... 131
Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha centenary celebrations .................................. 132
Goodwill Ambassador - Nepal tourism ....................................................................... 132
Human Capital Score................................................................................................ 132
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TNPSC BITS
❖ Union HRD Ministry has introduced Atal Ranking of Institutions on
Innovation Achievements (ARRIA) to rank educational institutions for
innovation output based on all major indicators and parameters used
globally.
❖ Union HRD Ministry has launched ‘Innovation cell’ at AICTE premises
to systematically foster the culture of Innovation in all Higher Education
Institutions (HEIs) across the country.
❖ The 6th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Trade
Ministers Meeting held in Singapore. The Indian delegation was led by Union
Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu
o
This meeting is consisting of 10 ASEAN countries and six ASEAN FTA
partners namely, India, China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New
Zealand.
❖ Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change released
‘National REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest
Degradation) Strategy. It aims to achieve climate change mitigation by
incentivizing forest conservation.
❖ Germany will provide a loan of 120 million euros (approx. Rs 990 crore) to
India as part of its contribution to the ongoing river Ganga cleaning
programme.
o
It will be used in Uttarakhand for various activities including
construction of sewerage network, sewage treatment plants, and
rehabilitation of existing wastewater systems.
❖ Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved USD 346 million loan to
finance Karnataka state high ways Improvement III Project (KSHIP-III) in
Karnataka that will enhance connectivity and access to economic centers
across 12 districts in Karnataka
❖ India has opened an immigration check-post in Mizoram along with the
border with Myanmar, a reflection of its growing closeness with the eastern
neighbor. It has designated Zokhawthar land check-post in Mizoram as an
authorized immigration center for entry into and exit from India with valid
travel documents for all passengers to or from Myanmar.
❖ Akshay Kumar starred ‘Gold’ has become the first Bollywood film ever to
release in Saudi Arabia.
❖ Presidency Girls Higher Secondary School in Egmore become the first of 32
schools in the state where KG classes will be held under PPP mode. It aims
to boost student enrolments amid struggles to attract interest in statesponsored education.
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❖ Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority (TNSDMA) started ‘Realtime flood forecasting and spatial decision support system’. It will provide
advanced flood forecasting and the likelihood of inundation in their
respective areas for city residents.
❖ Binoy Kumar, IAS has appointed as a Secretary to Ministry of Steel,
Government of India.
❖ The Kerala government has decided to appoint KPMG, largest professional
service companies in the world, as project consultant partner for rebuilding
the state ravaged by massive floods.
❖ Sunil Mehta, MD, and CEO of Punjab National Bank has been elected as the
new Chairman of Indian Bank’s Association (IBA) for 2018-19.
❖ Odisha government signed MoU with ‘Malaria Elimination Trust’ and USbased ‘Malaria No More’ to prepare a concrete roadmap and to create greater
awareness about Malaria.
❖ Vodafone M-Pesa Ltd’s Former MD, Suresh Sethi, has been appointed as the
new MD & CEO of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB). He succeeded A.P.
Singh who had been the interim MD & CEO of IPPB since January 2017.
❖ India & Nepal prime ministers jointly inaugurated a 400-bed Nepal-Bharat
Maitri Pashupati Dharamshala, a rest house for pilgrims which is built with
the Indian assistance in Kathmandu.
❖ Union Home Ministry has announced that Census 2021 for the first time in
independent India will collect data on Other Backwards Castes (OBCs).
o
This comes more than 25 years after implementation of 27%
reservation
for
OBCs
based
on
Mandal
Commission’s
recommendations the basis of last caste data collected in 1931
census.
❖ Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the re-appointment of managing
director and chief executive officer Rana Kapoor till further notice. Kapoor’s
tenure was supposed to end on 1 September.
❖ Seventh meeting of National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) of Ministry of
AYUSH was held under the chairpersonship of Minister of AYUSH at New
Delhi
❖ Congress MP Kapil Sibal will be releasing a new book titled “Shades of Truth:
A Journey Derailed” which is authored by him.
❖ Indian poet Abhay K. has become the first Indian poet invited to record his
poems at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. in 'The Poet and the
Poem' series conducted by poet Grace Cavalieri.
❖ R Madhavan took over as Chairman and Managing Director of defense PSUHindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) from T Suvarna Raju.
❖ Justice Ranjan Gogoi will take over as the new Chief Justice of India on
October 3, 2018. His name has been recommended by CJI Dipak Misra to
the government.
2
❖ The first International Kho Kho Championships is being held in England
from September 1 to 4.
❖ Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport has been renamed as
Chhatrapati Shivaji ‘Maharaj’ International Airport.
❖ Uttarakhand high court declared that all religious bodies and any other
groups of people are banned from issuing fatwas.
o
A fatwa is an Islamic pronouncement, issued by an expert in religious
law (mufti), pertaining to a specific issue.
❖ The World Bank has approved in principle a financial assistance
of Rs. 929.89 crore for a water supply and sewerage project for Shimla,
Himachal Pradesh.
❖ Trichy Corporation has launched a QR code-enabled door-to-door waste
collection monitoring system.
❖ Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the re-appointment of managing
director and chief executive officer Rana Kapoor till further notice. Kapoor’s
tenure was supposed to end on 1 September.
❖ Mauritius remained the top source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into
India in 2017-18 followed by Singapore, whereas total FDI stood at $37.36
billion in the financial year.
❖ National Green Tribunal has appointed former Meghalaya high court chief
justice Tarun Agrawal as head of a three-member committee to decide
Vedanta company plea challenging closure of Sterlite plant at Tuticorin.
❖ Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt has appointed as ‘Brand ambassador to lead an
anti-drug campaign to six northern states.
o
Six states are Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana,
Delhi, and Rajasthan also the Union Territory of Chandigarh
❖ Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit unveiled the statue of Lakshmana
Iyer, a freedom fighter from Gobichettipalayam, who dedicated his life for the
welfare of the lesser-privileged.
❖ Justice Tahira Safdar become the first woman chief justice of a Balochistan
high court, Pakistan.
o
Earlier she became the first woman civil judge in 1982 at Balochistan
court.
❖ Rajasthan Government has decided to organise special employment camps
in all district headquarters of the state to give Government jobs to at least
one person from the family of those who were martyred after 1947 but none
of their kin was given a job.
❖ Prime Minister released “Moving on… Moving forward: A year in office”, a
book authored by Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu.
3
❖ Chennai port (ChPT) has become the first major port to handle a very large
crude carrier (VLCC) inside the port basin. The VLCC New Diamond was the
largest ship to be handled by the port till date.
❖ CEO of Niti Aayog announced that India will shortly unveil a one-nation-onecard policy for public transport that will bring seamless connectivity between
various modes of transport
❖ Rajasthan government will distribute mobile phones to women who under
the Below Poverty Line (BPL), under the Bhamashah Yojana.
o
The scheme aims to transfer financial and non-financial benefits of
governmental schemes in a transparent manner.
❖ International Aviation Summit began in New Delhi. This summit has been
jointly organised by the Airports Authority of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation
and International Air Transport Association (IATA).
❖ Anjum Moudgil and Apurvi Chandela became the first set of Indian shooters
to secure quota places for the 2020 Olympics by winning a silver and
finishing fourth respectively in the women’s 10m air rifle event of the ISSF
World Championship.
❖ Union Ministry of Home Affairs approves proposal of Jharkhand government
to rename a Nagar Untari town and railway station as Banshidhar Nagar in
Garhwa district.
o
As per the government's guidelines for renaming villages, towns, cities
as well as railway stations, all states must obtain a No-Objection
Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
❖ NITI Aayog constituted group of experts has submitted report titled
‘Inventory and Revival of Springs in the Himalayas for Water Security.’
o
It has mentioned that nearly 30% of springs crucial to water security
of people are drying and 50% have reported reduced discharge.
❖ 71st Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia held in
New Delhi
❖ US-based non-profit ‘The Internet Society and the Internet Service Providers
Association of India’ (ISPAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
that will look into securing routers which is vital for a healthy Internet
infrastructure.
❖ Dr Arif ur Rehman Alvi (69) was elected as 13th President of Pakistan. He is
one of founding members of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. He
will take oath of office of President on September 9, 2018.
❖ Asia Index Pvt Ltd, (a joint venture between S&P Dow Jones Indices and BSE
Ltd) launched an index designed to measure the performance of private
banks.
❖ Governor Banwarilal Purohit released the ‘Paritchaikku Bhayamen’, the
Tamil translation of Exam Warriors, a compilation of speeches of Prime
4
Minister Narendra Modi’s advice to students during various occasions in
different parts of the country.
❖ The ‘SB Met’, built by Norwegian company Offshore Sensing AS, become the
first unmanned boat to cross the Atlantic.
o
This robotic unmanned sailboat crossed 1,800-mile (3,000 km) by the
two-and-a-half-month journey from Newfoundland in Canada to
Ireland.
❖ Researchers at Shizuoka University with Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency (JAXA) developed world first miniature version of a space elevator.
❖ Google developed a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to combat
online spreading of contents involving child sexual abuse.
❖ Japan and Gujarat have signed agreements to promote bilateral cooperation
in culture, business, and interaction between the academia.
❖ First state assembly of Telangana has been dissolved nine months before the
term of the House expires based on the recommendation of Telangana Chief
Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his Cabinet. It paves the way for early
polls in the state.
❖ Dr.Poonam Singh re-elected for 2nd term as Regional Director WHO SouthEast Asia.
o
She was the first woman to have been elected to the position of
Regional Director for WHO South-East Asia Region.
❖ National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development has sanctioned an
amount of Rs 335 crore under the Rural Infrastructure Development
Fund (RIDF) to West Bengal.
o
It would be used for 158 minor irrigation projects and 23 flood
protection projects.
❖ India will host the FIBA 3x3 (International Basketball Federation) World Tour
Masters, one of the most prestigious basketball tournaments in the world.
❖ President of India and Bulgarian President jointly unveiled a statue of
Mahatma Gandhi at South Park, Sofia.
❖ International Camel Derby 2018 edition was held at Maralal town in Kenya.
It is Kenya’s best known and most prestigious camel race that attracts both
local and international competitors.
❖ BSNL appointed, Indian boxer MC Mary Kom as its brand ambassador for
two years.
❖ India and Bulgaria signed four MoUs on Investment, Tourism, Civil Nuclear
Cooperation and Establishment of Hindi Chair at Sofia University.
❖ A Conference on “E-Mobility in Indian Railways”, organized by Ministry of
Railways through Institution of Railways Electrical Engineers (IREE) in
association with NITI Aayog, was held in Delhi.
5
❖ Software major Adobe signed a MoU with the Ministry of Skill Development
and Entrepreneurship to launch an "Adobe Digital Disha" programme across
vocational institutes in India.
❖ State-run Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has bagged order worth Rs. 9,200
crores for the supply of seven Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM)
systems to Indian Navy.
❖ India will buy 18 bullet train sets worth Rs 7,000 crore from Japan. The deal
will include a pledge to transfer technology for local production.
o
It is part of the government's plan to launch country's first high-speed
rail corridor by 2022.
❖ Union government has decided to make the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan
Yojana (PMJDY) an open-ended scheme and added more incentives to
encourage people to open bank accounts.
o
Government doubles up overdraft facility from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.
❖ Ikea, the Swedish multinational home furnishing retailer, opened its first
India store in the IT hub of the Nizami city of Hyderabad.
❖ The 6th edition of the biennial Bengaluru Space Expo was inaugurated by
ISRO Chairman Dr.K.Sivan in Bengaluru. This three-day event will showcase
industry participation in Indian space programme.
❖ Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the continuation of the
Centrally Sponsored Umbrella Scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife
Habitats (CSS-IDWH) beyond the 12th Plan period from 2017-18 to 2019-20.
o
The Scheme consists of Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger
(CSS-PT), Development of Wildlife Habitats (CSS-DWH) and Project
Elephant (CSS-PE).
❖ National Green Tribunal has formed a monitoring committee headed by a
former high court judge to prepare a time-bound action plan on groundwater
recharge in the national capital.
❖ 31st Central Hindi Committee meeting was held in New Delhi under the
chairmanship of Prime Minister.
❖ Union Government has appointed Reserve Bank of India’s former governor
Bimal Jalan as the head of the panel that has been tasked with selecting
India’s next chief economic advisor (CEA).
o
He appointed for this post after previous CEA Arvind Subramanian
resigned from office.
❖ Google launched a new search engine called 'Dataset Search', which works
in multiple languages, to help scientists, data journalists, and others find
the data required for their work.
❖ India ranked 19th in the ‘Theft Ranking’ for countries with weapons-usable
nuclear materials, according to the Nuclear Security Index.
6
o
Australia and Switzerland share the top spot among the 22 countries
with weapons-usable nuclear materials.
❖ India and France signed an implementation agreement on ‘Mobilise Your
City’ (MYC) in New Delhi to support three Indian cities (Nagpur, Kochi, and
Ahmedabad) in their efforts to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.
❖ In order to improve the ease of doing business with Indian Railways, the
national transporter has taken a significant step. Piyush Goyal-led Railway
Ministry has launched the Aapoorti mobile app of Indian Railways eprocurement system (IREPS).
❖ Union Home Minister inaugurated 3-day Defence & Homeland Security Expo
and Conference – 2018 in New Delhi.
o
It was jointly organized by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry
in association with Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSME).
❖ Union Railway Minister along with Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh launched
the official website of Kumbh Mela (www.kumbh.gov.in), 2019 in Lucknow.
They also launched a social media App related to the Mela.
o
It will provide all the necessary details to tourists and pilgrims
regarding the location, trains, weather, accessibility, and
accommodations
❖ Saurabh Chaudhary (16 years) broke his own 10m Air Pistol World record
and become ‘Junior World Champion’ in ISSF Shooting World
Championships, Changwon in South Korea.
❖ India Blue has won 2017-18 Duleep Trophy by defeating the defending
champion India Red in the final match played at NPR College ground in
Dindigul, Tamilnadu.
❖ Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention (MGISC-2018) will be
organized by the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in New
Delhi from September 29 to mark the beginning of the 150th birth
anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi.
❖ Union Government has decided to exempt electric vehicles and automobiles
run on alternative fuel from permit requirements. The move is in a bid to
boost such vehicles in the country to bring down pollution.
o
This information was addressed in the annual convention of Society of
Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in New Delhi.
❖ Union Government has announced that the treatment of childhood cancer
will be covered under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
❖ Supreme Court of India ordered that three-year insurance policy for four
wheelers and five-year policy for two-wheelers for third party at the time of
sale and registration should be made mandatory.
7
o
This verdict was given based on the recommendations of the Supreme
Court Committee on Road Safety headed by former Supreme court
judge KS Radhakrishnan.
❖ Ayushman Bharat call centre was inaugurated in Bengaluru by CEO of
Ayushman Bharat Dr. Indu Bhushan.
❖ India’s ace sprinter Hima Das was appointed as Sports Ambassador of
Assam to inspire budding players of north eastern state to aim big and
young generation to take up sports seriously.
❖ Novak Djokovic clinched his third US Open title and overall 14th Grand
Slam title by defeating world number three Juan Martín del Potro.
❖ Six government hospitals in four districts – Trichy, Perambalur, Ariyalur,
and Karur will offer varma therapy for patients at the AYUSH block in the
respective hospitals from October 2018.
❖ The Nilgiris district has decided to celebrate September 12th as ‘Kurinji
Flower Day’ to celebrate the blossoms of blue Kurinji flower which occurs
once in 12 years.
o
There are totally 9 different types of Kurinji flower that blossoms in
Nilgiris and overall 32 types in entire India.
❖ Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN) has made Aadhaar cards
compulsory for Indians to register in the organ waitlist registry.
o
Foreigners have to submit a No Objection Certificate (NoC) from the
respective Embassies.
❖ Lucknow's famous 'Hazratganj Chauraha' will be renamed after former prime
minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as 'Atal Chowk'.
o
The UP State Government has also announced to convert Vajpayee's
ancestral house in Bateshwar, Agra into a memorial and develop a
tourist circuit.
❖ The Union Ministry of Personnel and Public Grievances has organized a
regional conference on 'Good Governance with focus on Aspirational
Districts' at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
❖ Snow leopard was spotted at height of about 4,000 meters in Lippa-Asra
wildlife sanctuary in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.
o
Last year, the snow leopard was improved from 'endangered' to
'vulnerable' in terms of conservation status
❖ Triple jumper Arpinder Singh becomes the first Indian to win a medal in the
IAAF Continental Cup as he clinched a bronze.
❖ Hun Sen has been re-elected as the Prime Minister of Cambodia.
❖ G20 first-ever ministerial meetings on education and employment, held in
Mendoza, Argentina.
8
❖ Qatar becomes the first Gulf country to grant permanent residency cards
and new rights to some of the foreigners.
o
Under the new rule, new permanent residency holders would be
treated like Qatari nationals and will benefit from the state’s generous
welfare system, including education and health-care services.
❖ Bangladesh Naval Ship ‘Somudra Joy’ arrived Visakhapatnam (Eastern
Naval Command) on a four-day goodwill visit.
❖ Researchers from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER)
Bhopal have developed cheaper and more flexible organic solar cells using a
synthetic derivative of vitamin B12.
❖ Union textiles minister Smriti Irani inaugurated a 'digital village' at the
common service center of the Information and Technology ministry in
Pindara Thakur village, Amethi.
o
Under the digital village project, there would be 206 programmes
available for the people including Wi-Fi Chaupal, LED bulb
manufacturing, a unit to make sanitary pads and PM digital literacy
initiative.
❖ Naomi Osaka became the first Japanese woman to win a Grand Slam title
after winning over Serena Williams in the finals of the U.S Open.
❖ Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu released the Book ‘Constitutionalizing
India - an Ideational Project’ authored by Bidyut Chakrabarty in New Delhi.
❖ Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways announced that
commercial vehicles such as buses, taxis, and rickshaws powered by
alternative fuels such as "Ethanol, Methanol, Bio-diesel and CNG" will be
exempted from the requirement of a permit.
❖ IIT, Madras helps the Government to install Low-cost Air quality monitor in
Rameswaram. It will be installed at the Vivekananda Kendra with the data
being linked to the Air Research Laboratory at IIT, Madras
o
It will show PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels in the atmosphere, besides
providing data on humidity levels, temperature and carbon monoxide
and carbon dioxide levels
❖ The first ever direct bus service between Bihar and Nepal was started from
Patna by the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
❖ Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been honored at the Women in Film and
Television (WIFT) India Awards.
o
The award has been established to honor the best female talent in
Bollywood and Hollywood.
❖ India's Sameer Verma and the pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag
Shetty clinched the men's singles and doubles titles respectively at the
Hyderabad Open badminton tournament.
❖ Alok Amitabh Dimri has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to
the Kyrgyz Republic.
9
❖ Vanlalvawna has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the
Republic of Azerbaijan.
❖ India, Iran, and Afghanistan held their first tripartite meeting in Kabul,
Afghanistan.
❖ NITI Aayog, Intel and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) are
collaborating to set up a Model International Centre for Transformative
Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI).
o
The collaboration aims to bring together fundamental and applied
research, innovation and technology development to solve important
problems.
❖ Union Ministry of Railways has launched Rail Sahyog web portal
(www.railsahyog.in). It will provide a platform for Corporates and PSUs to
fund the creation of amenities at railway stations through Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) funds.
❖ Rajasthan government has decided to hold a convention on preserving
heritage properties & promoting heritage tourism in Bharatpur. It was
organised by the Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA).
❖ Microsoft has selected seven Indian grantees for AI for Earth programme
aimed at empowering people and organizations to solve environmental
challenges through the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
o
India now has the third largest number of AI for Earth grantees, after
the United States and Canada.
❖ India-born woman research scholar Rajalakshmi Nandakumar, from the
University of Washington, won the Paul Baran Young Scholar Award for
2018 for using smartphones to detect life-threatening symptoms.
❖ Gurnihal Singh Garcha won bronze in junior men’s shooting at the 52nd
ISSF World Championships in Changwon, South Korea.
❖ Indian cricketer Jhulan Goswami became the first bowler in women's cricket
to pick 300 international wickets.
❖ India-UAE Partnership Summit (IUPS) will be held in Dubai to promote the
strategic partnership between India and the UAE.
❖ Samsung Electronics Ltd opened its biggest mobile store in the world in
Bengaluru. It already launched the world's largest mobile phonemanufacturing factory in Noida.
❖ Archaeological Survey of India (Delhi Circle) of Ministry of Culture has
discovered a hoard of 254 Copper Coins in the premises of Khirki Mosque.
❖ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has prohibited the manufacture for
sale, sale or distribution for human use of 328 Fixed Dose Combinations
(FDCs) with immediate effect.
o
It has also restricted the manufacture, sale or distribution of six FDCs
subject to certain conditions.
10
❖ Greater Chennai Corporation has tenders to
management work in eight more zones of the city.
o
outsource
for
waste
Already in Adyar, Kodambakkam and Teynampet zone’s wastes are
maintained by the private agencies.
❖ Health and family welfare department of Tamil Nadu released a government
order for banning manufacture, sale, distribution, trade, marketing, import
and possession of the electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) or ecigarettes.
❖ Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) is gearing up to undertake sea trials of
India’s first missile tracking ship VC 11184. It will be first of its kind ocean
surveillance ship of India.
❖ The government of Andhra Pradesh launched a mobile platform, e-Rythu (efarmer in Telugu). It enables small-scale farmers to market their produce at
reasonable prices.
❖ Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu inaugurated the state's first Sainik
School at Niglok. This school began its first academic session from August
27 this year with 60 students.
o
It would provide an opportunity to the youth to pursue a career in the
armed forces.
❖ Alibaba founder Jack Ma announced his retirement and announced Daniel
Zhang as his successor from September 10, 2019.
❖ The 150-year old festival ‘Marbat’ festival was celebrated in Nagpur,
Maharashtra.
❖ The government of Gujarat relaunched ‘Mission Vidya’. This is a one-monthlong curative teaching programme targeted more than 200,000 Class VI-VIII
children with poor achievements in reading, writing, and mathematics.
❖ Goa government's Women and Child Development Ministry launched a
universal helpline service (181) for women in distress in the coastal state.
❖ US National Cancer Institute has given the "Outstanding Investigator Award"
to Indian-Origin Professor Arul Chinnaiyan, from the University of Michigan.
❖ Tamil Nadu government launched its investment promotion campaign for
'Global Investors Meet 2019' to be held in January next year.
o
It had earlier organised the First edition of Global Investors Meet
in September 2015.
❖ Jharkhand government introduced electric vehicles for official use. Thus,
Jharkhand has become the fifth state of India and the first state in eastern
India to procure the eco-friendly vehicles for government use.
o
Prior to Jharkhand, the governments of Delhi, Maharashtra, Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana have procured electric cars for official
purpose.
11
❖ Punjab assembly passed the Punjab Land Improvement Schemes (Haryana
Amendment) Bill, 2018. It aimed to facilitate farmers for laying out
underground pipeline for irrigation purposes passing through the fields of
other farmers.
❖ China is planning a bullet train service between Kunming and Kolkata. It
will pass through neighbouring countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh.
❖ World Economic Forum on ASEAN (WEF ASEAN) themed “ASEAN 4.0:
Entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution” started in Hanoi,
Vietnam.
❖ Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), along with the Andhra Pradesh
tourism department conducted its 34th annual convention at
Visakhaptnam.
o
Theme of the convention is 'Mission: 20 million Tourists by 2020,
challenges and possibilities’.
❖ Manoj Jhalani has been conferred with the prestigious UN Interagency Task
Force (UNIATF) Award for his outstanding contribution towards prevention
and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and related Sustainable
Development Goals.
❖ Former Indian hockey captain Sardar Singh announced his retirement from
the sport.
❖ Lucknow Municipal Corporation launched an anti-open defecation
campaign, titled "Khule me shauch ki ghanti bajao - siti bajao"
(whistleblowing campaign against open defection).
❖ IIT-Kharagpur has signed a pact with Carleton University of Canada to
support research collaboration, capacity building and other academic
partnerships.
❖ Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities organised
a ‘National Conference of District Disability Rehabilitation Centres’ at New
Delhi.
❖ Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare launched the Dairy
Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF).
❖ Nepal army is set to participate in Sagarmatha Friendship-2, a second joint
military exercise with china.
o
Recently Nepal withdrew from the first ever joint military drill
by Bimstec countries.
❖ Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) developed India’s
first indigenous medical kit that ensures protection from serious injuries and
faster healing of wounds resulting from nuclear warfare or radioactive
leakage.
12
❖ India’s Udhayveer Singh has won an individual Gold Medal in Junior Men's
25-metre pistol event in the ISSF World Shooting Championships in South
Korea.
❖ 102-year-old Indian Athlete Man Kaur has clinched her second successive
gold medal in the 200-meter race at the World Masters Athletics
Championship in Malaga, Spain.
o
She has earlier won over 20 medals at the World Master Games.
❖ Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi has announced this year's Meera puraskar to
the story writer Sawai Singh Shekhawat of Jaipur for his for his contribution
to Hindi literature
❖ G-20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting held in Mar del Plata in
Argentina. The meeting will provide an opportunity for a dialogue on current
developments in international trade and its implications for the global
economy.
❖ India’s industrial production grew at 6.6% in July as per the Index of
Industrial Production, which is released by Central Statistics Office (CSO).
❖ Union Cabinet of India has approved a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) on the collaborative research of distributed ledger technology (DLT).
It’s a cooperative initiative under the BRICS Interbank Cooperation
Mechanism.
❖ Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International airport received the Airports Council
International Airport Service Quality World no.1 airport award trophy in the
5-15 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA) category for the second
consecutive year.
❖ Rajasthan Forest Minister inaugurated the state's first lion safari at
Nahargarh Biological Park. This park is located on the Delhi-Jaipur National
Highway in the Aravalli foothills.
❖ Prime Minister of India launched the 15 days long mega countrywide
‘Swachhata hi Seva Campaign 2018’.
❖ Union cabinet approved the complete electrification of Indian Railways in the
next four years to reducing dependence on imported fossil fuel and saving
revenue for the national carrier.
❖ American Aerospace company Space X, announced a new plan to launch a
tourist around the Moon using its Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), a massive
launch vehicle that is being designed to carry people into deep space.
❖ Tropical storm Florence, which came ashore as a hurricane has created a
major inland flood and landslide threats at the east coast of United States.
❖ India leads the way as the world’s hardest working country as per culture
study survey by US-based multi-national workforce management firm
Kronos Incorporated.
o
Mexico was the 2nd-highest followed by the US & United Kingdom,
France and Australia were the least.
13
❖ The Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) has recently launched an
indigenously designed and developed India’s first 205T Electric Drive Rear
Dump Truck (Model BH205-E) in its Mysuru plant for use in the project of
Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL), Singrauli.
❖ The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has partnered with payments
technology company ‘Financial Software and Systems (FSS)’ to create
payments network for unorganized retail.
❖ Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has made it mandatory for
unlisted public companies to issue new shares or transfer of all shares in
dematerialized or demat (i.e. in electronic form) form beginning October 2,
2018.
❖ The 23rd Meeting of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade,
Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC)
was held at Moscow. The Indian delegation was led by the External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj.
o
The IRIGC-TEC is a standing body which annually meets and reviews
ongoing activities of bilateral cooperation.
❖ State Bank of India has appointed Prashant Kumar as the Chief Financial
Officer (CFO) of the Bank. Prior to this, Kumar was designated as Deputy
Managing Director (HR) & Corporate Development Officer of SBI.
o
He replaces Anshula Kant, who has been promoted as Managing
Director of SBI.
❖ Russia, on September 17, concluded the 2018 edition of the massive Vostok
exercise series that included Chinese forces for the first time.
❖ Indian-American Bimal Patel has been nominated as an Assistant Secretary
of the Treasury for Financial Institutions by the American President, Donald
Trump.
❖ Girish Radhakrishnan and Tajinder Mukherjee have been appointed
chairmen-cum-managing directors of the United India Insurance Company
and the National Insurance Company Limited respectively.
❖ Cisco, a U.S.-based firm, that makes networking telecommunications
equipment, has signed two agreements with the NITI Aayog and Bharat
Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to speed up its Country Digital Acceleration
programme in India.
❖ India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Germany’s Entrepreneurship
(MSDE) and Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) have signed
Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on skill development, which will provide
dual vocational education and training to Indian youth.
❖ India and Malta signed three Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in the
fields of Maritime Cooperation, Tourism and Training.
14
❖ The National Health Agency (NHA), the apex body implementing the
Ayushman Bharat– National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM), has
launched a website and a helpline number to check the enrolment of the
beneficiaries.
o
The website is ‘mera.pmjay.gov.in’ and the helpline is ‘14555’.
❖ Indian Overseas Bank’s Hindi journal ‘Vani’ wins ‘Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar’
Award. The award was conferred by the Vice president, Venkaiah Naidu.
❖ Tajinder Mukherjee has taken over as the Chairman and Managing
Director of National Insurance Company Limited (NICL). Prior to this, she
was posted as General Manager and Chief Underwriting Officer of New India
Assurance.
❖ The Hindi film stars- Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma, have been
signed on to promote and endorse the Skill India Mission, chaired by Prime
Minister.
❖ India has signed a financing loan agreement with the World Bank for USD
74 million for Uttarakhand Workforce Development Project (UKWDP).
❖ World Bank Board has endorsed an ambitious five-year Country Partnership
Framework (CPF) for India, which aligns with New Delhi's objectives of high,
sustainable and inclusive growth.
o
The framework is expected to bring between 25 and 30 billion US
Dollars in financial support to India.
❖ India has contributed one million US dollars for the installation of solar
panels on the roof of the imposing UN building at the world body's
headquarters in New York.
❖ India and Niger signed an MoU for the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi
International Convention Centre (MGICC) in Niamey, Niger with the Indian
government's grant assistance.
❖ In a bid to ensure transparency, the Ministry of Health has introduced
‘budget dashboard’, an internal web portal comprising information on
budget, expenditure and bill payment positions.
❖ Prime Minister laid foundation stone of India International Convention and
Expo Centre (IICC) Dwarka, New Delhi. On completion, it will be biggest
indoor exhibition space in India and also rank among the top 10 in the
world.
❖ Renowned scientist Kamlesh Nilkanth Vyas has been appointed the
secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy and chairman of the Atomic
Energy Commission. Mr Vyas, who is at present Director of Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre (BARC), has been appointed in place of Shekhar Basu.
❖ State-owned India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and Private Life Insurer Bajaj
Allianz Life Insurance Co Ltd (BALIC) entered into a strategic partnership to
provide life insurance solutions, especially at the doorstep of every
household in the country.
15
❖ For the first time in the history of FIFA international football team rankings,
two teams are sharing the top spot after World Cup 2018 semi-finalists
Belgium joined World Cup winners France at the top of the rankings.
❖ Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj was unanimously elected as the
president of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) at its Annual General
Meeting in Chennai. The year of service will be for a term of 3 years until
2021.
o
He will replace MA Alagappan, who had completed 9 years in
office.
❖ Around 11 lions died within a week in Dalkhania range of Gir forest in
Amreli district of Gujarat. According to the 2015 census, Gir is home to 520
lions.
❖ Union Transport Minister felicitated Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma with
Smita Patil award for best actor during the 34th anniversary of Priyadarshni
Academy Global Award, in Mumbai.
❖ Financial Commissioner of Delhi Anindo Majumdar has been appointed as
Secretary of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
❖ Tamil Nadu government has announced Scheme for protection of exotic
Neela kurinji (Strobilanthus kunthianus) plants that flower only once in 12
years to prevent the commercial packaging and selling of plants.
❖ IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) has
constituted a committee, with its Chief General Manager Randip Singh
Jagpal as the chairperson, to identify key regulatory issues and gaps
regarding Fin-tech (Financial Technology) in insurance.
❖ The inaugural General Assembly of International Solar Alliance (ISA) will be
inaugurated on 2 October 2018 in New Delhi. It will be followed by
ministerial level assembly of ISA following day which will be will be held in
Greater Noida.
❖ The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Anil
Kumar Chaudhary as new Chairman of Steel Authority of India Ltd. He will
in office till his superannuation in December, 2020.
o
He will succeed P K Singh, who had retired from the post in June
2018.
❖ Mousumi Khatua from Kalyani City of West Bengal scripted history as she
became the first Bengali woman to climb Asia’s highest volcanic peak
Damavand.
❖ The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed varsities and higher
educational institutions across the country to observe September 29 as
"Surgical strike day".
o
This comes amid the NDA governments plan to celebrate the 2nd
anniversary of the 'surgical strikes' on September 29.
16
❖ The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) lifted a ban on RUSADA, Russia’s
anti-doping agency. This paves the way for Russian athletes to return to
competition across all sports.
❖ The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment
of D Purandeswari as the non-official independent director on the board of
Air India Ltd. for a period of 3 years.
❖ The Border Security Force (BSF) has opened a new hotline in Delhi to
communicate with the Pakistan Rangers.
❖ Opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the Maldives' presidential
election by defeating Abdulla Yameen.
❖ The Film Federation of India (FFI) announced that Rima Das’ National
Award-winning feature Village Rockstars has been chosen to represent India
in the Best Foreign Language category at the 91st Academy Awards next
year.
❖ WhatsApp has appointed Komal Lahiri as ‘Grievance Officer’ for India to flag
complaints and concerns, including about Fake news.
❖ Vaishali Narendra Salavkar, a Blind chess player, has become the 1st Indian
Blind chess female player to be a part of ‘International Braille Chess
Association team’ at the World Chess Olympiad, Georgia.
❖ Argentina has received $57.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), the biggest loan package ever from the global body aimed at boosting
the country's struggling economy.
❖ India organised ‘Gandhi March’ from the iconic Peace Palace at the Hague in
Netherlands to Grote Kerk on September 25 to launch the two-year long
celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
❖ The 8-day long famous Indra Jatra festival 2018, which is the most exciting
and revered festivals of the Newari community, has begun at Kathmandu in
Nepal. festival is observed to worship Indra, the lord of rain and good
harvest.
❖ The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host the Interfaith Alliance Forum at
the nation’s capital, Abu Dhabi on 19th and 20th November. The Forum will
coincide with World Children’s Day (WCD), which is celebrated on 20th
November.
❖ Senior IPS officers Rajni Kant Misra and S S Deswal were appointed as
director general of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Sashastra Seema
Bal (SSB) respectively.
o
Misra presently serving as the SSB chief will replace K K Sharma and
Deswal will replace Misra.
❖ The Hindu’s mobile app Briefcase bagged the silver trophy for Best Digital
News Start Up at the 3rd South Asia Digital Media Awards at the 26th
annual conference of WAN-IFRA India 2018 held at Hyderabad.
17
o
The silver medal was also shared by Sakal Media’s Agrowon App,
while the gold trophy was bagged by Madras Courier.
❖ Google is celebrating its 20th anniversary today with a Doodle celebrating its
most popular searches. Google celebrates its birthday every year on
September 27th, even though it was incorporated on September 4th.
❖ Facebook has selected three Indian women among five global leaders for $1
million award as part of its Community Leadership Programme. They are
Adhunika Prakash, Chetana Misra and Tamanna Dhamija.
❖ Northern states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and
Union Territories of Delhi and Chandigarh have agreed to fix uniform tax
rates on petroleum products, amid rising fuel prices.
o
Besides, these states and UTs also have agreed to bring uniformity in
taxes on liquor and registration of vehicles and transport permit.
❖ United States and India have formed ‘USAID-India End TB Alliance
comprising leading experts in public and private sectors to combat the
menace of tuberculosis.
❖ Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide US $150 million loan for
establishing first multi-skills park in central Indian state of Madhya
Pradesh.
o
This new flagship Global Skills Park campus will be established in
state capital Bhopal.
❖ Union Government has enhanced its contribution in State Disaster Response
fund (SDRF) from 75% to 90%. Now, Central government will contribute 90%
and all States will contribute 10% to the SDRF.
❖ NITI Aayog and United Nations in India signed Sustainable Development
Framework for 2018-2022. The NITI Aayog is the national counterpart for
the UN in India for the operationalization of the UNSDF.
TAMILNADU
Coastal Zone Management plan
❖ Tamil Nadu government submitted the final draft of ‘Coastal zone
management plan’ to the Union ministry of Environment, Forests and
climate change.
❖ The plan divides 1,076 km long coastline into 6 categories (6 CRZs - Coastal
Regulation Zone) to preserve its marine ecology, covering 13 TN coastal
districts and 28 islands.
❖ They are named as CRZ IA, CRZ IB, CRZ II, CRZ III, CRZ IVA and CRZ IVB.
❖ The state has 1 Marine National Park that is Gulf of Mannar.
18
Open air prison - Thirumalaisamudiram
❖ Tamil
Nadu
will
soon
have
its
fourth
Thirumalaisamudiram village in Thanjavur district.
open-air
prison
at
❖ As per the Tamil Nadu prison manual, (Open Air Prison) the concept of openair prison is to relieve congestion in walled prisons, train inmates in proper
methods of agriculture for future rehabilitation and make prisons selfsufficient in agri production.
❖ It also aims to give prisoners with good conduct a certain amount of
freedom.
❖ People convicted under provisions of Central Act XLV of 1860, habitual
offenders, women prisoners, political prisoners, hired and professional
murderers, ‘A’ class prisoners and inmates having tendency to escape are
not eligible for the provision.
❖ The prisons department had already established such a facility in
Coimbatore, Salem, and Sivaganga districts to engage convicts and life
convicts in agriculture activities.
Tamil Nadu’s new ICT Policy
❖ Tamil Nadu Government has announced a new Information Communication
Technology Policy, 2018.
❖ This policy will address the aspirations of investors, especially IT and ITeS
companies, MSMEs and start-ups by way of provision of standard
administrative incentives, fiscal incentives, capital subsidies, tax
exemptions, and special incentives, among other things.
❖ It also has provisions for incubating start-ups and creating Research Parks.
❖ Awards for promoting Green IT industry and single-window facility for early
clearance from concerned agencies are also part of this policy.
Tamil Nadu receives five awards from Centre
❖ Tamil Nadu has received five awards from the central government for
effectively implementing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme.
❖ Municipal
administration
and
rural
development
Minister S.P
Velumani received the award for Excellence in NREGA Administration.
❖ The state government has also received an award for the initiatives under
Geo-MGNREGA, performance in Aadhaar seeding and conversion.
❖ Tuticorin district administration got a national award for achieving selfsufficiency under seven schemes under Grama Swaraj Abhiyan.
19
❖ District Collectors Annadurai and Prashant M Wadnere have been honored
for effective implementation of the scheme in Thanjavur and Tiruvannamalai
districts.
Pakistan Dental Association's Humanitarian Award
❖ Chennai based craniomaxillofacial surgeon, Dr S M Balaji has been awarded
the Pakistan Dental Association’s ‘Humanitarian Award’.
❖ Prof. Balaji is the first Indian to receive such an honour from the Pakistan
Dental Association.
❖ The award was conferred on the side-lines of the 40th Asia pacific Dental
federation 2018 meeting in Manilla, Philippines.
‘TN-SMART’ app
❖ The Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority (TNSDMA) is going to
launch an app called ‘TN-SMART’ for real-time risk assessment.
❖ It is a web application to collate data related to disaster management and
provide flood alerts in specific areas.
❖ ‘TN-SMART’ stands for Tamil Nadu - System for Multi-hazard potential
impact Assessment and Emergency Response Tracking.
1st technology-aided livestock census – Tamil Nadu
❖ Tamil Nadu is going to conduct the 20th livestock census, which is the 1st
technology-aided livestock census.
❖ The census will be done with the help of a tablet, clicking photographs of
livestock on various localities.
❖ The livestock Census will be undertaken once in five years and this is the
first time the census would be undertaken for a three-month period (usually
1 month).
❖ The census has been delayed for the first time since 2002. It couldn’t be
undertaken as per schedule in 2017 because of the Centre’s Digital India
initiative.
Customs Checking Centre
❖ India’s first ‘Customs
Thiruvotriyur, Chennai.
Checking
Centre’
has
been
inaugurated
at
❖ This eliminates the massive backlog in front of the port and eases the traffic
congestion.
20
New Corporation to support water project funding
❖ Tamil Nadu Government is going to constitute a new ‘Water Resources
Conservation and River Restoration Corporation’ to help implement water
schemes.
❖ The new department will help out Public Works department to draft
innovative projects and schemes to improve water sources.
National Sport Awards 2018 - Winners from Tamil Nadu
❖ Table Tennis star G Sathiyan has been conferred with Arjuna Award in the
National Sports Awards 2018.
❖ Table Tennis coach A Srinivas Rao has been conferred with Dronacharya
Award.
❖ Arjuna Awards are given to recognize outstanding achievement in National
sports and the Dronacharya Award honours the sports coaches of India.
TN - Integrated version of CMCHIS and PMJAY
❖ Tamil Nadu government launched (September 23) the Centre's ambitious
health insurance project as an integrated initiative of the Chief Minister's
Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) in the state.
❖ It is to be recalled that the CMCHIS was launched by the late Chief
Minister J Jayalalithaa in 2012.
❖ It is a fully state-funded scheme for providing cashless treatment in
secondary and tertiary care hospitals for the poor and the underprivileged.
21
New corporation in the state
❖ Tamil Nadu Chief Minister announced that ‘Nagercoil’ municipality in
Kanyakumari district will be upgraded into 13th New corporation in the
State.
❖ It will be upgraded after the completion of delimitation of wards across the
state.
❖ The CM also announced the formation of Killiyoor and Thiruvattar taluks
❖ At present, Tamil Nadu has 12 corporations, with Dindigul being the last to
be announced as Corporation in 2014.
Integrated Financial and Human Resource Management System
❖ The Tamil Nadu government has decided to handle its treasury operations
totally online from November 1.
❖ The state will implement an Integrated Financial and Human Resource
Management System (IFHRMS) to steer for paperless transactions.
❖ IFHRMS is being executed with
o
Wipro as the system integrator,
o
Accenture Services as project consulting agency and
o
PriceWaterhouse Coopers as the third-party audit agency.
New health programme - ‘Prevention of Haemoglobinopathies’
❖ Tamil Nadu, in a first of its kind initiative in the nation, has started a new
health programme ‘Prevention of Haemoglobinopathies’ in the Hilly areas.
❖ The initiative has been taken up in the Hilly areas of Nilgiris, Kolli Hills in
Namakkal, Yercaud in Salem, Valparai in Coimbatore and Krishnagiri
22
❖ Hemoglobinopathies is a kind of genetic defect resulting in abnormal
structure of one of the globin chains of haemoglobin molecule.
❖ This disease is mostly prevalent among the tribals in the hilly areas.
Adyar Head Constable - ‘Mr.Tamil Nadu’ Title
❖ Purushothaman, Head constable of the Adyar Traffic enforcement wing has
won the ‘Mr Tamil Nadu’ title after winning the Gold medal in 80kg category
of the overall State Bodybuilding championship.
❖ He had won Mr Tamil Nadu title for 7 years till 2008. Now he had won the
title after a gap of 10 years.
❖ He had earlier won Mr Chennai in May 2018.
NATIONAL
NITI Aayog ‘s Mobility Week
❖ Niti aayog released a series of events to take place in the ‘Mobility Week’ from
31 August to 6 September 2018.
❖ During this week 17 events will facilitate interactions with various
stakeholders across the mobility domain.
Indian Railways sign MoU with GAIL
❖ GAIL (India) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian
Railways to create infrastructure for supplying natural gas to the
transporter's workshops, production units, depots and residential colonies.
❖ It aims to the creation of infrastructure and supply of compressed natural
gas (CNG), piped natural gas (PNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for both
industrial and domestic purposes.
❖ It would also help replace industrial gases like dissolved acetylene, liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG), Bharat Metal Cutting Gas (BMCG), furnace oil and
High-Speed Diesel (HSD) with natural gas.
National Mission on Government e-Marketplace
❖ National Mission on Government e Marketplace (GeM) will be launched on
5th September 2018 to accelerate the adoption and use of GeM by major
central Ministries, State Governments, and their agencies.
23
❖ The aim of the National Mission is to promote inclusiveness, transparency,
and efficiency in public procurement and achieve cashless, contactless and
paperless transaction.
ICAR's Two-Day Conference
❖ Director General of ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research)
inaugurated a two-day conference at NASC, New Delhi on Motivating and
Attracting Youth in Agriculture (MAYA).
❖ This two-day conference provides an opportunity to all stakeholders to
interact and discuss various options and avenues for motivating them
towards entrepreneurship in agriculture and allied fields.
India post payments bank
❖ Prime Minister launched the India post payments bank (IPPB) on September
01, 2018
❖ Through the India Post Payments Bank, banking services will conveniently
reach the remotest places in the country, and the people living there.
❖ It will provide services through the post offices and ‘Grameen Dak Sewaks’.
❖ IPPB is one more step to achieve Jan Dhan Yojana’s objective.
National Nutrition Week – September 1 to 7
❖ The National Nutrition Week will be observed throughout the country from
1st to 7th September.
❖ Food and Nutrition Board of the Ministry of Women & Child Development
was organizing the event.
❖ The basic objective of this annual event is to intensify awareness generation
on the importance of nutrition for health which has an impact on
development, productivity, economic growth and ultimately National
development.
24
❖ The theme for National Nutrition Week 2018 is 'Go Further with Food' and in
2017 it was 'Optimal Infant & Young Child Feeding Practices: Better Child
Health'.
NITI Aayog’s MOVE Cyclathon
❖ NITI Aayog flagged off MOVE Cyclathon, a cycle rally to promote cleaner,
accessible modes of transport.
❖ It was organized as part of ‘Mobility Week’ which will see 17 events in seven
days from 31 August to 6 September 2018.
❖ This event aimed to encourage Cycling for a healthier life & a less polluting
city and spread the message of a shared, connected, and zero-emission
mobility in the country.
Draft rules on sale of drugs by e-pharmacies
❖ Union Health Ministry released draft rules on sale
pharmacies to regulate online sale of medicines across India.
of drugs by e-
❖ It is aimed to provide patients accessibility to genuine drugs from authentic
online portals.
❖ As per draft rules no person will distribute or sell, stock, exhibit or offer for
sale of drugs through e-pharmacy portal unless registered.
❖ The new draft rules require e-pharmacies to be registered with the Central
Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and obtain a trade licence
through the online portal.
First review meeting of Department of Official Language
❖ Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired first review meeting of the
Department of Official Language.
❖ This meeting was aimed to discuss the functioning and issues related to
implementation of Hindi language in official work.
❖ Also, the department has developed a computer software called “Kanthasth”
for translating the all kinds of official files from English to Hindi and vice
versa to make the translation work simpler and quicker.
❖ An E-learning platform called the “Pravah” also developed by the department
for use in 16 Indian languages including English. It will be launched on
Hindi Diwas on 14th September, 2018.
❖ Anybody can learn Hindi through his mother tongue with the help of this Elearning platform.
25
❖ Previously, ‘Lila’ Mobile App was launched for making the learning of Hindi
language easier on 2017 Hindi Diwas.
Draft charter of Patients’ Rights
❖ Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released draft Charter of
Patients’ Rights prepared by the National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC).
❖ The Ministry plans to implement the Charter of Patients’ Rights through
State governments for provision of proper health care.
❖ This charter is expected to act as a guidance document for the Union
Government and State Governments to formulate concrete mechanisms.
National Clean School Award
❖ Pavendhar Bharathidasan government primary school from koonichampattu,
Puducherry has bagged top position in National Clean School Award out of
52 schools across the country.
❖ Tamil Nadu conferred second position in National Clean School Award. Third
position was shared by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
❖ National Clean School Award ranking and the list were issued by Union
Ministry of Human Resource Development and was prepared by National
Institute of Cleanliness Education and Research (NICER).
Proposal to increase wages of artisans
❖ Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) approved a
proposal by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to increase
the wages of artisans by over 36 %.
❖ Now the wages will be increased from Rs 5.50 per hank previously to Rs 7.50
per hank.
❖ The wage incentives are paid by Khadi and Village Industries Commission
(KVIC) directly to the accounts of the artisans through direct benefits
transfer.
New IIM campus
❖ Union Cabinet approved the establishment and operationalization of
permanent campus of seven new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).
❖ It will be established at Amritsar, Bodh Gaya, Nagpur, Sambalpur, Sirmaur,
Vishakhapatnam and Jammu.
26
❖ These institutes are presently functioning from transit campuses.
Swadesh Darshan Scheme
❖ Ministry of Tourism sanctioned Malanad Malabar Cruise Tourism Project
under Swadesh Darshan Scheme for development of a rural circuit
in Kerala.
❖ This project will be focusing on the development of water-based thematic
cruise experiences in and around Valapattanam and Kuppam Rivers
of Kannur District.
❖ Three thematic cruises being developed under this project will be on
Valapattanam and Kuppam River.
New Ganga clean-up law
❖ Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga
Rejuvenation has prepared a draft Bill which proposes setting up armed
Ganga Protection Corps (GPC).
❖ This force will have the power to arrest any person who has committed the
offence of polluting River Ganga punishable under this law.
❖ This Bill calls for National Ganga Council and National Ganga Rejuvenation
Authority to enforce the law and protect Ganga River.
IPC Section 377 Verdict
❖ Five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court decriminalised
homosexuality by partially striking down the colonial era provisions of
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
❖ As per the verdict, Section 377 would not apply to consensual same-sex acts
between homosexuals, heterosexuals, lesbians and other sexual minorities.
27
❖ But it would apply to bestiality and sexual acts without consent by one of
them.
❖ India becomes the 125th country to decriminalize homosexuality.
Book on Mahatma Gandhi's 'Nai Talim'
❖ A Book on experiential learning based on Mahatma Gandhi's 'Nai Talim'
(basic education) was released by Union Minister for Human Resource &
Development (HRD).
❖ It contains the basic principles of Gandhi's 'Nai Talim', along with the work
and education curriculum for schools, D.Ed, B.Ed and faculty development
programmes for teachers.
❖ It has been brought out simultaneously in 13 languages in consultation with
the state councils of educational research and training.
Atal Pension Yojana Extension
❖ Union Cabinet has decided to indefinitely extend the Atal Pension Scheme,
which lapsed in August 2018. It also has broadened its scope by keeping it
open-ended.
❖ To further incentivize people’s participation in the scheme, the age criterion
for participation has been revised. Enrolment age has been relaxed further to
65 years from 60 years.
❖ Also, all accounts opened after August 2018 will have accident insurance
limit of Rs 2 lakh, which is double than the earlier Rs 1 lakh limit.
❖ Overdraft facility of the scheme was also increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs
10,000.
First Global Mobility Summit 2018
❖ India’s first-ever Global Mobility Summit ‘MOVE’ was inaugurated by Prime
Minister in New Delhi on September 7, 2018.
❖ This two-day summit was organized by NITI Aayog.
❖ It will deliberate on five themes including electrification and alternative fuels,
reinventing public transport, goods transport, and logistics, data analytics,
mobility.
28
Mobilise Your City – India and France
❖ India and France on September 6, 2018 signed an implementation
agreement on ‘Mobilise Your City’ (MYC) in New Delhi to support three
Indian cities in their efforts to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.
❖ The initiative is a part of an international initiative, which is supported by
the French and the German Governments and was launched at 21st
Conference of Parties (COP21) meeting in December 2015.
❖ The MYC aims at supporting three Indian cities on a pilot basis - Nagpur,
Kochi, and Ahmedabad.
Assistance includes
❖ To support planning and implementation of sustainable urban transport
projects.
❖ To support the strengthening of institutional capacity for regulating, steering
and planning urban mobility.
❖ To learn and exchange formats with other cities across India to enable
exchange on best practices.
World Air Transport Statistics (WATS)
❖ Indians became the third largest air travelers by nationality according to
World Air Transport Statistics (WATS) data released by International Air
Transport Association (IATA) recently followed by the UK.
❖ According to the release, overall annual air passenger numbers exceeded
four billion for the first time due to broad-based improvement in global
economic conditions and lower average airfares.
29
❖ According to the report in 2000, the average citizen flew just once every 43
months. In 2017, the figure was once every 22 months.
Sustainable Smart Cities India Conference
❖ 4th Annual Sustainable Smart Cities India Conference was held at
Bengaluru.
❖ It was officially supported by Smart City Mission, Government of India,
Swachh Bharat, Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance
Corporation and City Manager Association Karnataka.
❖ The event was intended to discuss activities, reforms, development and
barriers taking place in the Smart Cities India projects.
❖ It also focused on sharing best practices and collaboration of technology,
products and services for the empowerment of urban development.
India's first railway university
❖ The National Rail and Transportation Institute (NRTI) was started on
September 11 in Vadodara.
❖ This is the first university in the country in the transport sector.
❖ Currently, it is functioning out of the National Academy of Indian Railways,
Vadodara.
❖ It is funded by the ministry of railways, with the University of California,
Berkeley and Cornell University as its international partners.
30
Safe city project for women
❖ The government has appraised fund for safe city project in eight cities (Delhi,
Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and
Lucknow) under the Nirbhaya Fund.
❖ The objective is to make the cities safer for women by addressing different
aspects such as street lighting, safer public transport, improved policing and
others.
❖ This project consists of transit dormitories for women and children, smart
LED streetlights, one-stop crisis centers, public panic buttons, and forensic
and cybercrime cells.
Panel for e-Commerce issues
❖ The Union Government constituted a group of secretaries to look into the eCommerce issues.
❖ The panel will be chaired by the Secretary in the Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
❖ The members include Secretaries of the Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology and Department of Commerce.
❖ Representatives of NITI Aayog and Department of Economic Affairs are also
the members of the panel.
India’s longest rail-cum-road bridge
❖ Bogibeel Bridge is a longest combined road and rail bridge over the
Brahmaputra River in Assam. It has three-lane roads on top and double line
rail below.
31
❖ The 4.94 km bridge will facilitate road and rail connectivity between the
north and south banks of the Brahmaputra in the eastern part of Assam and
Arunachal Pradesh.
❖ Bogibeel will be the longest rail-cum-road bridge in India and 2nd longest
bridge over the Brahmaputra after Dhola-Sadiya Bridge which is a road
bridge of length 9.15 km.
Plan Bee
❖ Indian Railways has come up with an initiative called “Plan Bee” to prevent
speeding trains from hitting elephants crossing tracks.
❖ The plan involves setting up of devices near tracks, which emit the ‘buzzing’
sound of swarming bees.
❖ Already “Plan Bee”, launched in November 2017 at Northeast Frontier
Railways (NFR), has been got a great success.
HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017
❖ The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has announced the
implementation of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017.
❖ The bill is a milestone because it empowers a person living with HIV to
report discrimination meted out against them in fields of employment, health
care services, educational services, public facilities, property rights, holding
public office, and insurance.
❖ The Act makes Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) a legal right for all HIV/AIDS
patients.
Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan- PM-AASHA
❖ Union Cabinet approved a new Umbrella Scheme “Pradhan Mantri Annadata
Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan’ (PM-AASHA).
❖ It aimed at ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce as
announced in the Union Budget for 2018.
❖ This umbrella scheme includes the mechanism of ensuring remunerative
prices to the farmers and is comprised of:
o
Price Support Scheme (PSS),
o
Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS),
o
Pilot of Private Procurement & Stockist Scheme (PPPS).
32
❖ Other existing schemes of Department of Food and Public Distribution
(DFPD) and Ministry of Textile for cotton and jute will be continued for
providing MSP.
Cabinet approves Various MoUs
❖ Union Cabinet approved the MoU between India and Brunei Darussalam on
Cooperation in the operation of Telemetry Tracking and Telecommand
station for satellite and launch vehicles, and for cooperation in the field of
Space Research, Science and Applications.
❖ Union Cabinet approved the MoU between India and South Africa on
cooperation in the exploration and uses of outer space for peaceful purposes.
❖ Union Cabinet approved the MoU between India and Egypt for cooperation in
the field of agriculture & allied sectors.
❖ Union Cabinet approved the MoU between India and Malta for strengthening
cooperation in the field of Tourism.
❖ Union Cabinet approved for introduction of NID Act- 2014 amendment bill to
include the four new National Institutes of Design (NID) viz.,
Amaravati/Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh; Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh; Jorhat,
Assam and Kurukshetra, Haryana within the ambit of the NID Act- 2014 and
to declare them as Institutions of National Importance (INIs).
Selection Committee to pick up Dronacharya and Dhyanchand
Awardees
❖ Justice Mukul Mudgal was named a chairman of the 11-member selection
committee to pick this year’s Dronacharya and Dhyanchand awardees.
❖ He was a former chief justice of the Punjab and Delhi High court.
❖ Dhyanchand award is bestowed on sportspersons for their lifetime
achievements and contribution to sport during both their active career and
after retirement.
❖ Dronacharya award is presented to coaches for their outstanding and
meritorious work on a consistent basis over a period of four years.
Chairman of Lok Sabha ethics panel
❖ L.K.Advani has been re-nominated as the chairman of the Lok Sabha Ethics
Committee by Speaker of Lok Sabha.
❖ This Committee examines complaints relating to unethical conduct by
members of Parliament.
33
❖ It is also free to take up suo moto investigation into the matters relating to
ethics and unethical conduct by a member.
NSP Mobile App
❖ Union Minister for Minority Affairs launched
Scholarship Portal mobile app.
country's
first
National
❖ It will ensure a "smooth, accessible and hassle-free scholarship system for
students from poor and weaker sections".
❖ Students will get all the information regarding various scholarships and also,
they can apply for scholarships, upload necessary documents, check the
status of their application & scholarship disbursement status etc on this
mobile app.
National Water Awards 2018
❖ Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
has instituted National Water Awards to 13 categories.
❖ It is aimed to encourage all stakeholders to manage their water resources
efficiently and create a water consciousness in the country.
Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar and National Safety Awards
❖ Minister of State for Labour & Employment (Independent Charge) presented
Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar and National Safety Awards for the
Performance Year 2013.
❖ VRP is awarded in recognition of outstanding suggestions given by a worker
or group of workers and implemented by the management during the
previous calendar year.
34
❖ The Ministry of Labour & Employment has been operating the “Vishwakarma
Rashtriya Puraskar” (Previously known as Shram Vir National Awards) and
“National Safety awards” since 1965.
❖ NSA is given in recognition of outstanding safety performance of industrial
establishments, construction sites, ports and installations under AERB
(Atomic Energy Regulatory Board).
First tribal circuit project
❖ Union tourism minister inaugurated the country's first tribal circuit project
connecting 13 tourism sites in Chhattisgarh.
❖ It is implemented under the Tourism Ministry's Swadesh Darshan scheme
launched in 2014-15 for development of thematic circuits in the country in a
planned and prioritised manner.
❖ This is the second project under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme being
inaugurated in the country after Imphal & Khongjom.
Capacity Development Scheme
❖ Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved continuation of
the Capacity Development Scheme for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20.
❖ It is an ongoing central sector scheme and aimed to augment infrastructural,
technical as well as manpower resources for making available credible and
timely official statistics for policy makers and public at large.
❖ Capacity Development Scheme has two Sub-schemes, Economic Census and
Support for Statistical Strengthening (SSS).
HIV Estimations report 2017
❖ National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) released the HIV Estimations
report 2017.
35
'
❖ This HIV Estimations 2017 is the 14th round in the series of HIV
Estimations under National AIDS Control Programme (NACP).
❖ NACO undertakes HIV estimations biennially in collaboration with the
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Medical
Statistics (NIMS).
❖ The first round of HIV estimation in India was done in 1998.
❖ The objective of the HIV estimations is to provide updated information on the
status of the HIV epidemic in India at the national and State/Union Territory
level.
Chiller Star Labelling Program
❖ Ministry of Power launched Chiller Star Labelling Program to encourage the
deployment of Energy Efficient chiller systems in the country.
❖ It has been formulated by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).
❖ This key program was launched occasion of 24th World Ozone Day and the
31st Anniversary of Montreal Protocol, which will be observed on
16th September 2018.
❖ BEE has developed an online registration platform for easy and expeditious
approval under this initiative. The manufacturers will be able to register
online for availing appropriate star rating of chiller equipment.
36
❖ Through this Program, it is estimated that more than 500 million units of
electricity would be saved in 2019 along with Green House Gases (GHG)
reduction of 0.5 million-ton equivalent of CO2.
Website for 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
❖ External Affairs Minister (EAM) along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister has
inaugurated the website for the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
2019, www.pbdindia.gov.in.
❖ The 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention will be held at Varanasi, Uttar
Pradesh from 21 to 23 January 2019.
❖ The theme of PBD 2019 is "Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New India.”
❖ The inauguration of the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in
partnership with Ministry of Youth affairs and Sports.
❖ Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention is the flagship event of the Government
and provides an important platform to engage and connect with the overseas
Diaspora.
India’s 1st ‘Smart Fence’ Pilot Project
❖ India’s first ‘smart fence’ pilot project was inaugurated by Union Home
Minister along the Indo-Pak border at the BSF Headquarters in Ploura,
Jammu.
❖ The technology is being implemented by the Border Security Force which
provides for round-the-clock surveillance on the border.
❖ The initiative is part of the comprehensive integrated border management
system (CIBMS).
❖ The pilot project entails deploying laser-activated fences and technologyenabled barriers to plug vulnerable gaps along frontiers.
Gold label distinction - Marathon
❖ Mumbai Marathon got the Gold label distinction from the International
Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
❖ The 16th edition of the race, to be held on Jan 20, 2019, became the only
gold label marathon in the country and joined the elite list of marathons in
Asia.
37
Indian Green Building Council Certification
❖ Chennai Central Railway Station has received the ‘Indian Green Building
Council Certification’ for adopting Green building features and concepts in
the Station.
❖ With this, the railway station becomes the first station in Southern Railway
to be awarded Green Building Certification.
❖ The Central Railway station has several green building projects like
o
100% LED lighting fixtures,
o
Installation of 5-star rated fans,
o
Solar energy, solar water heaters and
o
Segregation of waste at source along with waste recycling.
❖ The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), instituted by the CII, awarded the
certificate during the Railway Swachchta programme at the Chennai Central
railway station on 15th Septemper, 2018.
Jaipur Literature festival
❖ Jaipur Literature festival was held in Houston, Texas, United States on 14th
and 15th September 2018.
❖ This is the 1st time the festival is held outside of Jaipur, ever since its
inception in 2006.
❖ It is hailed as the World’s largest free literary festival.
❖ After Houston, it will be held in New York from September 19 to 20 and in
Boulder, Colorado from September 21 to 23.
❖ It will also be held in Australia and England later.
Government and FAO - agriculture project
❖ Union government (Agriculture and Environment ministries) along with UN
body Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has launched agriculture
project.
❖ It will be implemented in five states viz. Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha,
Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
❖ It seeks to bring transformative change in farm sector through conservation
of biodiversity and forest landscapes.
❖ The project is being funded with US $33.5 million grant from Global
Environment Facility (GEF).
38
D.K.Jain committee – ISRO Spy Case
❖ Former ISRO scientist S Nambi Narayanan was awarded compensation of
Rs 50 lakh by the Supreme Court 24 years after he was arrested by Kerala
police on an espionage charge.
❖ The apex court also constituted a committee headed by retired SC judge D K
Jain to inquire into the role of Kerala police officials in the arrest of
Narayanan.
❖ The committee would have an officer each nominated by the Central and the
Kerala governments.
❖ He was arrested on the charges of passing on documents and drawings of
ISRO relating to Viking/Vikas engine technology, cryogenic engine
technology and PSLV flight data/drawings to Pakistan.
Clear policy on shifting cultivation
❖ NITI Aayog, in its recent report, has recommended that Ministry of
Agriculture to take up mission on shifting cultivation to ensure interministerial convergence between different ministries.
❖ The report was titled “Mission on Shifting Cultivation: Towards a
Transformational Approach”.
Cabinet Approval - Triple Talaq Ordinance
❖ The Union Cabinet approved an ordinance making triple talaq a punishable
offence after the NDA government failed to pass it through both the houses
of Parliament.
❖ It was cleared by the Lok Sabha but was stuck in the Rajya Sabha.
❖ The Supreme Court had in a verdict in August last year declared it illegal
and unconstitutional.
39
❖ The ordinance will have similar provisions as the Muslim Women Protection
of Rights in Marriage Act.
“Levels and Trends in Child Mortality: Report 2018”
❖ ‘UNICEF’ and ‘UN Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation’ (UN
IGME) has released the “Levels and Trends in Child Mortality: Report 2018”,
which shows the full scope of child and mortality rates across the world.
❖ According to the report, the Sub-Saharan Africa region had the highest
under-five mortality rate in the world.
❖ In 2017, the region had an average under-five mortality rate of 76 deaths per
1,000 live births.
❖ In India, the death of children below the age of 5 years has reduced from
nearly 22% in 2012 to 18% in 2017, and is below one million mark, for the
first time (9,89,000).
❖ About 8,02,000 infant deaths were reported in India in 2017, the lowest in 5
years.
❖ But, India still leads the world in Infant deaths, followed by Nigeria, Pakistan
and Democratic Republic of Congo.
❖ Globally, an estimation of 6.3 million children aged younger then 15 years
died in 2017, or the equivalent of one child in every 5 seconds.
❖ The report notes that more than 80% of all the deaths, or 5.4 million, occur
in children in their first 5 years of life.
40
Logo, Web Portal launched - 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi
❖ President launched the logo and the web portal for commemoration of 150th
birth anniversary of Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
❖ The logo was obtained through “crowd sourcing‟ and will be displayed in all
the Government organizations and entities.
❖ The web portal is “http://gandhi.gov.in‟
❖ It is participatory in nature and has a unique feature “Gandhipedia‟ which
will be a repository of Gandhian knowledge.
❖ The 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi will be observed in the form
of 2 year long celebrations from October 2, 2018 to October 2, 2020 across
the country.
Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojna
❖ The ESI (Employee's State Insurance) Corporation has approved a Scheme
named “Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojna” for Insured Persons (IP) covered
under the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948.
❖ This scheme is a relief payable in cash directly to their Bank Account in case
of unemployment and while they search for new engagement.
National Database on Sexual Offenders
❖ Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched India’s National
Database of Sexual Offenders (NDSO).
❖ With this, India became the 9th nation to maintain such thorough
database.
❖ NDSO is initiative under National Mission for Safety of Women aimed at
curbing crimes against women and children.
41
❖ It will be maintained by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and the
State Police will regularly update the database from 2005 onwards.
Aviaindra 18
❖ India and Russia joint air exercise Aviaindra 18 was held in Lipetsk, Russia
from September 17 to 28, 2018.
❖ The 2nd session of Aviaindra 18 will be conducted in Jodhpur, Rajasthan
from December 10 Dec to 22, 2018.
❖ Exercise Aviaindra is Air Force level exercise between India and Russia.
❖ The aim of this exercise is focused towards anti-terrorist operations in bilateral scenario.
❖ It was conducted for first time in 2014 and since then it is conducted biannually in both countries.
MSME Insider
❖ Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has
launched its monthly e-newsletter MSME Insider.
❖ The e-newsletter will give information of activities undertaken by MSME
Ministry and also act as bridge between Ministry and stakeholders.
India’s first Coal-gasification fertilizer plant
42
❖ Prime Minister launched the commencement of work for India’s first Coalgasification based fertilizer plant with pet coke blending will come up in
Talcher, Odisha (September 22).
❖ The coal gasification-based fertilizer plant is being developed by Talcher
Fertilizers Limited (TFL).
❖ On completion, this plant will have a capacity of producing 1.27 Million
Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA) of Neem coated prilled urea.
❖ Neem coated urea reduces leaching of nitrogen into soil and checks diversion
of urea from agriculture uses.
❖ Pollutants like Carbon Dioxide (CO2) produced by this plant will be recycled
for the production of Urea and other by-products.
Boundary survey work
❖ 5th meeting of the Nepal-India Boundary Working Group (BWG) was held in
Kathmandu.
❖ In the meeting both the countries have agreed to explore the possibility of
using high-resolution satellite images in boundary survey work.
43
❖ They also agreed to continue mapping of no man's land encroachment and
cross-border occupation.
❖ BWG is joint body constituted by India and Nepal in 2014 to conduct works
in fields of construction, restoration and repair of boundary pillars.
❖ The 4th BWG meet was held in Dehradun, Uttarakhand (India).
PM inaugurates Jharsuguda airport
❖ Prime Minister inaugurated new airport in Jharsuguda, also known as the
powerhouse of Odisha (September 22).
❖ It is the first airport in Odisha to provide necessary connectivity to
Bhubaneswar, Raipur and Ranchi under Regional Connectivity Scheme
(RCS)-UDAN Scheme.
❖ Other than Jharsuguda, three more airports are being developed in Odisha
namely,
o
Jeypore (Koraput District),
o
Rourkela (Sundargarh District) and
o
Utkela (Kalahandi District)
to provide connectivity to remote and far-flung areas of the coastal state
under RCS.
❖ Jharsuguda is the 2nd airport of Odisha after Bhubaneswar to become
operational.
Centenary celebrations of liberation of Israel’s Haifa
❖ India is commemorating hundred years of the liberation of Israel’s Haifa by
the Indian troops in 1918.
44
❖ The Battle of Haifa is also being commemorated in Israel and Jaipur. The
centenary celebrations will culminate with a grand function in Delhi.
❖ September 23 is commemorated every year as Haifa Day by the Indian Army
to pay its respects to the 3 Indian Cavalry Regiments - Mysore, Hyderabad
and Jodhpur Lancers.
❖ These troops helped liberate Haifa following a cavalry action by the 15th
Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade of the then British Indian Army at the
Battle of Haifa in 1918.
Victims of Terror Attacks and Terror Groups
❖ US Department of State has released a report - Victims of Terror Attacks and
Terror Groups.
❖ India is the third largest victim of terror attacks across the world after Iraq
and Afghanistan, for the 2nd year in a row.
❖ Till 2015, Pakistan was the third most affected country in the world.
❖ CPI-Maoists, which carried out 53% of the total attacks in India, is the
fourth deadliest terror group after Islamic State, Taliban and Al-Shabaab.
❖ Interestingly, for the first time, West Bengal witnessed a 215% increase in
terror attacks, from 6 incidents in 2016 to 76 in 2017.
❖ It is mostly owing to Darjeeling unrest due to Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and
Gorkha Liberation Army last year.
45
The Hindu - 140th anniversary
❖ The national English daily 'The Hindu' has successfully stepped into its
140th year on September 20, 2018.
❖ One of the oldest newspapers of the country, headquartered at Chennai, was
began way back in 1878.
❖ The founding editorial was titled 'Ourselves' as a weekly newspaper and
became an English daily in 1889.
❖ Hindu is having the largest base of circulation in southern India and is the
first Indian newspaper to offer an online edition in 1995.
❖ Marking its anniversary, it has offered its readers a special supplement titled
" The Hindu @140".
❖ To commemorate the 140th anniversary of The Hindu Group’s, the Hindu
Lounge has launched its online store, The Hindu Lounge Online.
46
Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
❖ Prime Minister launched (September 23) ambitious Pradhan Mantri Jan
Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), under Ayushman Bharat umbrella at Ranchi,
Jharkhand.
❖ The scheme aims to provide annual health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh to
the 10.74 crore beneficiary families i.e. over 50 crore beneficiaries across
India.
❖ It is to be noted that Telangana, Odisha, Kerala, Punjab and Delhi (UT) are
the states which have still not signed MoUs for joining this scheme.
47
❖ It will cover beneficiaries’ families identified on the basis of Socio-Economic
Caste Survey (SECC) 2011.
❖ PMJAY will be funded with 60% contribution from Centre and remaining
from the states.
National orientation workshop on National e-Vidhan Application
❖ Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs inaugurated the two-day
National Orientation workshop on National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA).
❖ National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) is a digital application that provides
“online‟ information about day-to-day functioning of Legislative houses.
❖ It is a Rs 739 crore project, aiming to bring legislatures on digital platform,
covering all Houses.
❖ It is to be used by the Legislatures as well as all the Government
Departments.
e-Vidhan
❖ e-Vidhan is the Mission mode project, which aims to digitize and make the
functioning of states’ legislatures “paperless”.
❖ It is the part of Digital India programme of the Union Government, with Min
of parliamentary affairs being the nodal agency.
❖ The Ministry aims to roll out e-Vidhan as NeVA covering all 40 Houses
including 2 Houses of Parliament in a single platform as per the theory of
“One Nation One Application”.
World Air Traffic Report of Airports Council International
❖ As per the World Air Traffic Report of Airports Council International, Delhi’s
Indira Gandhi International Airport has been ranked as 16th busiest airport
in the world.
❖ The airport handled 6.34 crore passengers in the year 2017.
❖ It was ranked at 22nd in 2016 and handled 14% more passengers in 2017.
❖ Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson in the US maintained its position as the world's
busiest airport by handling 10.39 crore passengers in 2017, followed by
Beijing with 9.58 crore passengers.
❖ Dubai International Airport handled 8.82 crore passengers and stood at
third position.
MahaBiz 2018
❖ The 3rd edition of ‘MahaBiz 2018’ International Business Conference will be
held in Dubai on 12th and 13th October 2018.
48
❖ MahaBiz acts as a bridge for business opportunities between Maharashtra
and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
❖ GCC is a political and economic alliance of six middle eastern countries. It
includes Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.
Committee to Look into Jail Reforms
❖ The Supreme Court has constituted a 3-member committee headed by its
former judge Justice Amitava Roy to look into the aspect of jail reforms
across the country.
❖ A bench headed by Justice M B Lokur said the panel will look into the issues
including over-crowding in prisons.
Supreme court ruling on Aadhaar
❖ The Supreme Court (September 26) declared the Centre's flagship Aadhaar
scheme as Constitutionally valid.
❖ The Supreme Court ruled that linking the Aadhaar card to PAN card is
mandatory and is needed for filing income tax returns.
❖ The apex court, however, said Aadhaar is not mandatory for opening bank
accounts and linking with existing accounts.
❖ The Supreme Court also struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act that
allowed private companies to avail Aadhaar data.
❖ Calling the section unconstitutional, the court asserted that private
companies cannot insist on having Aadhaar number of customers.
❖ Aadhaar authentication records cannot be stored beyond six months,
striking down the current rule of 5 years.
49
Live Streaming of Cases of Constitutional Importance
❖ The Supreme Court (September 26) allowed live streaming of cases of
Constitutional importance that take place in the Court of the Chief Justice of
India.
❖ The bench said that they want to implement the concept of 'open court' in a
bid to decongest the court.
❖ As per the court the public had a "right to know" what happens inside the
courtroom.
❖ The decision came on the back of a clutch of petitions filed by senior
lawyer Indira Jaisingh, law student Snehil Tripathi and NGO Centre for
Accountability and Systemic Change.
Conversion of GSTN into Government entity
❖ The Union Cabinet has approved conversion of Goods and Services Tax
Network (GSTN) into government-owned
company.
❖ The government will now own 100 per
cent of the IT backbone to the new
indirect tax regime.
❖ Currently, the Centre and states
together hold 49 % stake in GSTN. The
remaining 51 % is held by 5 private
financial institutions.
❖ Earlier in May 2018, GST Council had
agreed to make GSTN a government company with Centre owning 50 %
stake and states together holding the remaining 50 %.
National Digital Communications Policy-2018
❖ Union Cabinet has approved National Digital Communications Policy-2018
(NDCP 2018).
❖ It also has approved the re-designation of Telecom Commission as Digital
Communications Commission.
❖ It replaces existing National Telecom Policy-2012 to cater to the modern
needs of the digital communications sector of India.
❖ NDCP is focused on increasing high-speed broadband penetration, with use
of modern technologies like 5G and optical fibres across the country at
affordable rates.
❖ It included provisions to adopt "Optimal Pricing of Spectrum" to ensure
sustainable and affordable access to digital communications.
50
Lokpal Search Committee
❖ The government has set up an 8-member
Lokpal Search Committee under the
Chairmanship of former Supreme Court
Judge, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.
❖ Prasar Bharati Chairman A.Surya Prakash,
former
SBI
Chief Arundhati
Bhattacharya and Justice Sukha Ram Singh
Yadav among others will be members of the
panel.
❖ The panel will recommend the names for the
Chairperson and Members of the Lokpal to
the Lokpal Selection Committee.
Ease of Living Index rankings under AMRUT
❖ Andhra Pradesh has topped the chart among the States in terms of “2018
Ease of Living Index” rankings launched by the Ministry of Housing and
Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
❖ Odisha and Madhya Pradesh bagged the second and third best performing
awards respectively.
❖ The Ease of Living Index is a transformative initiative of the Ministry under
AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation).
51
❖ The first edition of index, released in January 2018, had ranked 111 Indian
cities and was topped by Pune.
MCC brought into force in Telangana
❖ The Election Commission of India (ECI) brought the Model Code of Conduct
(MCC) into force in Telangana.
❖ The poll body also instructed that the caretaker government should abstain
from taking any major policy decisions.
❖ Recently, ECI announced that the states where legislative assemblies have
been dissolved prematurely will be immediately placed under the poll code
which bars both central and state governments from announcing new
schemes.
❖ This is perhaps for the first time that a state where polls have not yet been
announced has been placed under the model code.
❖ The Telangana Assembly was dissolved earlier in September, before its term
was due to end in June 2019.
MHA merges police forces in 6 UTs
❖ The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notified new rules amalgamating police
forces in six Union Territories (UTs).
❖ The rules effectively mean that officers who are not direct IPS (Indian Police
Service) recruits could be posted in any of the six UTs and will be at the
disposal of the Ministry.
❖ The MHA has notified this under the National Capital Territory of Delhi,
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, Dadra and
Nagar Haveli and Chandigarh (Police Service) Rules 2018.
❖ This is the first step towards the creation of a central police cadre.
52
Section 497 of IPC declared unconstitutional
❖ Supreme Court, on 27 September 2018, has unanimously struck down
Section 497 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860 that makes adultery punishable
offence for men.
❖ The judgment was given by 5-judge bench of the Supreme Court on a
petition filed by non-resident Keralite Joseph Shine.
❖ Justice Indu Malhotra was lone woman judge on this bench.
❖ The apex court also declared section 198(1) and 198(2) of the Code of
Criminal Procedure (CrPC) as unconstitutional.
❖ These sections of CrPC allows husband to bring charges against man with
whom his wife committed adultery.
❖ Supreme Court ruled that
o
The adultery law violates Article 21 - Right to life - and Article 14 Right to equality.
o
Section 497 deprives women of dignity, equality, and treats women as
the property of men after marriage.
❖ It also ruled that It can't be considered as a crime unless it attracts the
scope of Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the IPC.
53
Sabarimala temple verdict
❖ A 5-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, in its 4:1 verdict, on 28
September 2018, upheld the right of women of all ages to worship in places
of their choice.
❖ In his judgment, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said any customs or rituals that
contradict with the fundamental rights of citizens must be quashed.
❖ The court was ruling on a PIL filed in 2006 by non-profit body Indian Young
Lawyers’ Association.
❖ This is in contradiction with the famous state of Bombay v. Narasu Appa
Mali case judgement (1951).
❖ The Rule 3 (B) of Kerala Temple Entry Act which excludes women between
10 and 50 violates freedom of a Hindu religion to worship.
❖ Supreme Court in its judgement has ruled that,
o
Rule of barring women is violative of Art 25 and the prohibition
was a form of untouchability.
o
Discrimination against women is violative of the right to equality and
dignity of women.
o
Exclusion on grounds of biological and physiological features like
menstruation was unconstitutional.
❖ Right to worship is equally available to men and women and cannot be a
gender biased.
Supreme Court verdict on reservation in promotions for SC/STs
❖ The Supreme Court, on 26 September 2018, ruled that states don’t have to
collect quantifiable data on ‘backwardness’ for SC/ST quota in job
promotions.
❖ The court refused to refer the pleas against its M Nagaraj vs Union of India
(2006) judgment to a larger seven-judge bench.
54
❖ In the case of M Nagaraj vs Union of India (2006), the Supreme Court had
laid down the criteria for granting reservation to the members of the SC/ST
communities for the purpose of promotions.
❖ Now, the Supreme Court had reversed the earlier judgment on collecting
quantifiable data to prove backwardness.
❖ It said that the verdict in 2006 was contrary to the decision in Indira
Sawhney case (1992).
❖ In that case, it was held that once SCs and STs were part of the Presidential
List under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution, and there was no need
to prove backwardness.
NITI Aayog - SoI with Oracle
❖ NITI Aayog has singed Statement of Intent (SoI) with Oracle to pilot real drug
supply-chain using blockchain distributed ledger and Internet of Things (IoT)
software.
❖ Its aim is to fight growing problem of counterfeit drugs in India. Strides
Pharma Sciences and Apollo Hospitals will partner in this effort.
❖ Blockchain technology will help to permanently register drug’s record in
manufacturer’s drug supply chain (serial number, scanning, labelling).
Injeti Srinivas High Level Committee
❖ The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has constituted High Level
Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility – 2018 (HLC-2018) under the
Chairmanship of Injeti Srinivas, Secretary, MCA.
❖ It will review existing framework and guide and formulate roadmap for
coherent policy on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
❖ The Companies Act mandates that
55
o
Firms with a net worth of at least Rs 500 crore or revenue of Rs 1,000
crore or net profit of Rs 5 crore should spend at least 2% of their net
profit on CSR.
INTERNATIONAL
4th BIMSTEC Summit Declaration
❖ The fourth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and
Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit was held in Kathmandu, capital
of Nepal
❖ The theme of the summit was ‘Towards a Peaceful Prosperous, and
Sustainable Bay of Bengal Region”.
❖ In this summit, 18-point Kathmandu declaration was unanimously adopted
by the all member states presented by the Prime Minister of Nepal K.P.
Sharma Oli.
❖ Sri Lanka will be conducting the 5th BIMSTEC summit with Chairmanship
of Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena.
MoU between India and Nepal
❖ India and Nepal signed a MoU to build a strategic railway line connecting
Bihar’s Raxual city to Kathmandu on side-lines of 4th BIMSTEC Summit
held in Nepal.
❖ This rail line is expected to expand connectivity by enhancing people-topeople linkages between the two countries and promoting economic growth
and development
56
❖ There are three other railway projects in the pipeline — New JalpaiguriKakarbhitta, Nautanwa-Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj Road-Nepalgunj.
International Ayurveda Congress (IAvC)
❖ Minister of AYUSH inaugurated the Fourth International Ayurveda Congress
(IAvC) at the Netherlands.
❖ It would focus on promotion and propagation of Ayurveda in the Netherlands
and its neighboring countries of Europe.
❖ The Congress jointly organized by International Maharishi Ayurveda
Foundation, Netherlands; All India Ayurvedic Congress, New Delhi and the
International Academy of Ayurveda, Pune in association with the Indian
Embassy in the Netherlands.
Indus Waters Treaty - 115th meeting
❖ 115th meeting of the India-Pakistan Permanent Indus Commission (PIC)
held in Lahore, Pakistan.
❖ In this meeting, technical discussions were held on implementation of
various hydroelectric projects under the provisions of Indus Waters Treaty
including Pakal Dul (1000 MW) and Lower Kalnai (48 MW) in Jammu and
Kashmir.
❖ Both the countries agreed to undertake the Treaty-mandated tours of both
the Indus Commissioners in the Indus basin on both sides.
57
China-Maldives Friendship Bridge
❖ The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, the first cross-sea bridge in the
Maldives, opened to traffic. It connects Maldives capital city Male and
neighboring Hulhule island.
❖ It is an iconic project of the Maldives and China in co-building the 21st
Century Maritime Silk Road.
India – signs MoU with Cambodia
❖ India signs MoU with Cambodia to help the country on restoration and
preservation of an ancient Lord Shiva temple in Preah Vihear, a world
heritage site.
❖ The 'Temple of Preah Vihear' dates back to the first half of the 11th century
AD.
❖ Second MoU is on cooperation between India's Foreign Service Institute (FSI)
and Cambodia's National Institute of Diplomacy and International Relations
(NIDIR).
India, Cyprus sign key agreements
❖ India and Cyprus on signed key agreements in various areas to strengthen
bilateral ties between both the countries.
❖ One of MoUs was signed between Financial Intelligence Unit of India and
Unit for Combating Money Laundering of Cyprus on combating money
laundering.
❖ Another MoU was signed for cooperation in the field of environment.
58
UN World Tourism Organisation 2017 Report
❖ According to the report the international arrivals reached 1.323 million last
year.
❖ India leads the chart of growth in the South Asian region with a total of
15.54 million in 2017 (14.57 million in 2016).
❖ Europe and Africa led the regions with increases in arrivals, with growth of
8% and 9%, respectively.
❖ Top 7 tourism destinations are China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the
United Kingdom and the United States.
Tsunami mock drill ‘IOWave18’
❖ Indian Ocean Wave Exercise 2018 (IOWave18) began on September 4, 2018
in the Indian Ocean. India along with 23 other nations is participating in
this major Indian ocean-wide tsunami mock drill.
❖ This warning exercise is being organised by the
Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.
Intergovernmental
❖ The exercise will involve the evacuation of more than 125000 people from the
coastal communities of 9 states and UTs.
❖ In India, IOWave18 is being coordinated by Indian National Centre for Ocean
Information Services (INCOIS) under Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) with
support from National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Union
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)
and the Coastal States/UTs.
Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC)
❖ China has pledged a $60 billion fund to bolster industry, counter hunger,
and enhance security in Africa continent.
59
❖ It was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in his inaugural address
at third Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Beijing.
❖ FOCAC is an official forum between China and all states in Africa (except
Eswatini). It was started as Ministerial Conference in 2000 in Beijing and
since then it is held triennially in China and Africa alternatively.
KAZIND 2018
❖ Indo-Kazakhstan Joint Army Exercise 'KAZIND' will be conducted between
the Indian and Kazakhstan Army from 10 to 23 Sep 2018 in Otar region,
Kazakhstan.
❖ This is the third joint military exercise between the two countries which have
a history of extensive cooperation in the defence arena.
❖ Second edition of the exercise was held in India last year.
❖ Aim of the exercise is to build and promote bilateral Army to Army relations
and exchange skills and experiences between Kazakhstan Army and the
Indian Army.
Indian and Bangladesh Bi-annual talks
❖ The bi-annual talks between the Indian and Bangladeshi border forces began
in New Delhi.
❖ The talks are aimed at increasing bilateral cooperation in checking transborder crimes such as smuggling of drugs and narcotics, cattle lifting and
gun running across the international border between the two countries.
❖ This is the 47th DG-level conference between the two sides since it began in
1975. The last DG-level talks were held in April 2018 in Dhaka.
US military cancels aid to Pakistan
❖ US military has decided to cancel 300 million dollars’ aid to Pakistan over its
failure to take decisive actions against terror groups.
❖ Trump in August last year unveiled his new South Asia policy and asked
Pakistan to do more against such groups.
❖ Previously, US in January this year suspended more than 1.15-billion-dollar
security assistance to Pakistan, accusing it of harbouring terror groups and
showing unwillingness to take decisive actions against them.
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Ukraine-NATO Joint Military Exercises
❖ The Rapid Trident 2018 drills was started on September 3 at western region
of Lviv.
❖ It is a joint military exercise of Ukraine and 10 NATO (North Atlantic Treaty
Organization) countries.
International Women Entrepreneurs Summit 2018
❖ The International Women Entrepreneurs Summit 2018 is being held in
Kathmandu, Nepal.
❖ This event is organized by the South Asian Women Development Forum
(SAWDF) and the theme of the 3-day event is “Equality begins with Economic
Empowerment”.
❖ The main objective of the summit is to bring together achievers, women
business leaders, professionals, international service providers, resource
organizations, experts, government representatives, and other stakeholders
with a focus on innovative economic transformation through discussions
and collaborations.
SLINEX-2018
❖ Sri Lanka Navy and Indian Navy Joint exercise SLINEX-2018 held at
Trincomalee from September 7 to 13.
❖ This exercise, which was previously held once in two years, has been
converted into an annual event this year onwards.
❖ It aims to enhance cooperation in the maritime domain and to further
strengthen mutual trust and interoperability between the two navies.
❖ It will be conducted in two phases, namely the Harbour and Sea Phase.
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PISA 2021
❖ Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has officially decided to
participate in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA),
after a gap of nine years.
❖ PISA is an assessment test for 15-year-olds, organized every three years by
the Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD), Paris,
France.
ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Conference
❖ 3rd ASEM Conference on ‘‘Global Ageing and Human Rights of Older
Persons’’ was held at Seoul, South Korea.
❖ The Indian delegation was led by Union Minister of Social Justice and
Empowerment. International Institutions including the United Nations,
regional Institutions such as UNESCAP (UN Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific), UNECE (United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe), European Union, ASEAN, GANHRI (Global Alliance
for National Human Rights Institutions) and other International NGOs also
attended this Conference.
❖ It was jointly organized by South Korea and National Human Rights
Commission of Korea.
International Tradeshow
❖ India is the Partner Country in the 87th Izmir International tradeshow which
begins in Izmir, Turkey.
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❖ In this tradeshow, India will also be launching a mega business pavilion
‘Source India’ hosting 75 Indian companies with the aim of tie-ups to
increase India’s exports to Turkey.
❖ This is part of a series of ‘Source India pavilions’ that the Trade Promotion
Council of India (TPCI) is hosting in important tradeshows across the world
for boosting India’s exports.
❖ TPCI is the trade and investment promotion organization of the Department
of Commerce, Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
World Hindu Congress (WHC)
❖ The second conference of the three-day World Hindu Congress was held in
Chicago, USA.
❖ It was held on the occasion of 125th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s
Historic Speech at the Parliament of the World's Religions in 1893.
The Ocean Cleanup - Great Pacific Garbage Patch
❖ Engineers set to a trash collection device to corral plastic litter floating
between California and Hawaii in an attempt to clean up the world’s largest
garbage patch in the heart of the Pacific Ocean.
❖ The project, known as System 001, will begin its test launch off the coast of
San Francisco.
❖ The massive floating device was created by The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit
founded by Boyan Slat when he was just 18 years old.
❖ With approximately 60 devices like System 001 active, The Ocean Cleanup
estimates that it can remove 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five
years.
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Five agreements between India and Czech
❖ India and the Czech Republic have signed five agreements on defense,
scientific and industrial research, laser technology, agriculture, and
diplomatic visa waiver.
❖ In addition, both countries also agreed to initiate cooperation in civil nuclear
energy.
❖ Concluded five agreements are:
o
Cooperation between the Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research, India, and the Czech Academy of Sciences.
o
A work plan to support Indo-Czech projects in diverse areas of science
and technology, with the Department of Science and Technology
taking the lead from the Indian side.
o
A visa waiver agreement for diplomatic passport holders.
o
Cooperation in laser technology between ELI Beamlines and the Tata
Institute of Fundamental Research.
o
Cooperation between the Haryana Agricultural University and the
Czech University of Life Sciences.
International Geriatric Orthopaedic Conference
❖ Union Home Minister inaugurated the 6th International Geriatric
Orthopaedic Society of India Conference at the All India Institute of Medical
Sciences, Delhi.
❖ The theme of this conference was “Increased Longevity with Reduced
Fragility and Enhanced Mobility”.
❖ Geriatric medicine was focused on health care of elderly people. It aims to
promote health by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities in older
adults.
❖ The first national conference of the Geriatric Orthopaedic Society of India
(GOSI) was held at Bangalore in 2013.
World Summit on Accreditation (WOSA-2018)
❖ World Summit on Accreditation (WOSA-2018) was inaugurated by Union
Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD), New Delhi.
❖ It was organized by National Board of Accreditation (NBA).
❖ The theme of WOSA 2018 is “Challenges and Opportunities in Outcome
Based Accreditation” and the sub-themes are:
o
o
Achieving Excellence through Learning Outcomes.
Role of Industry in Technical Education.
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o
o
o
Ranking and Rating of Higher Education Institutions – Do they have a
Role in Quality Improvement?
Linking Government Funding with Quality.
Use of ICT in Accreditation in Large Jurisdictions
COMCASA Treaty
❖ India and the United States initiated a new generation of military and
security cooperation by signing Communications Compatibility and Security
Agreement (COMCASA).
❖ This agreement finalized the end of 2+2 ministerial dialogue between the two
countries.
❖ It will facilitate access to advanced defence systems and enable India to
optimally utilise its existing US-origin platforms.
❖ Also, India and the U.S. would conduct a first-ever tri-service exercise on the
east coast of India in 2019.
❖ Prior to this, India and U.S. signed the General Security of Military
Information Agreement (GSOMIA) few years ago.
India & USA Combat Exercise
❖ Armies of India and the US will hold their annual combat exercise "Yudh
Abhyas" at Chaubatia in Uttarakhand from September 16 to 29.
❖ It aims to enhance inter-operability between the two forces and also focus on
enhancing counter-terror cooperation.
Heritage tag for 2 irrigation facilities
❖ Telangana government’s two nominations in the ICID Register of Heritage
Irrigation Structures are accepted by International Executive Council
meeting in Canada.
❖ This council is the highest decision-making body of the International
Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID).
❖ The two nominated irrigation facilities are Sadarmatt anicut across river
Godavari in Nirmal district and Pedda Cheruvu in Kamareddy district.
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❖ ICID is a non-governmental professional network of experts from across the
world in the field of irrigation, drainage, and flood management.
Milex-2018
❖ The first-ever Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical
and Economic Cooperation) anti-terror military exercise held at Pune in
Maharashtra
❖ Only the armies of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Myanmar are
participating in the exercise.
❖ Nepal and Thailand have sent only “observers” to the “Milex-2018” exercise.
❖ The aim of the exercise was to create synergy, better understanding and
evolve an institutionalized military forum for regional cooperation in the field
of counter-terrorist operations among the member states.
New digital bridge with Africa
❖ As part of India's reach out to Africa, the External Affairs Ministry signed an
agreement with the Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. (TCIL) to
establish a pan-African e-network between the two nations.
❖ This project, called the e-VidyaBharati and e-ArogyaBharati Network Project,
will serve as a digital bridge between the two countries.
❖ This e-network aims at providing quality tele-education and telemedicine
facility by linking select Indian Universities, Institutions and Super Specialty
Hospitals to African educational institutions and hospitals.
Nomadic Elephant Exercise -2018
❖ 13th Indo-Mongolia joint exercise Nomadic Elephant-2018, held at
Mongolian Armed Forces (MAF) Five Hills Training Area, Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia.
❖ Exercise Nomadic Elephant is an annual, bilateral exercise since 2006
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❖ It is designed to strengthen the partnership between Indian Army and
Mongolian Armed Forces.
India & Bangladesh joint projects
❖ India, Bangladesh jointly inaugurated three projects related to power supply
rehabilitation of existing railway section.
❖ Indian Prime Minister, Bangladesh Prime Minister and Chief Ministers of
West Bengal and Tripura jointly inaugurated these projects in Bangladesh.
o
Rehabilitation
Railways.
of
Kulaura-Shahbazpur
section
of
Bangladesh
o
500 MW additional power supply from India to Bangladesh.
o
Akhaura–Agartala Rail Link.
State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018 Report
❖ The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018 was
released recently.
❖ It is released by UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF),
World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
❖ According to the report, number of hungry people in the world is growing &
number of undernourished people is estimated to have increased to 821
million in 2017.
Sagarmatha Friendship - 2018
❖ The 2nd edition of the 10-day Nepal-China joint military exercise
“Sagarmatha Friendship - 2018” was held at Chengdu, the capital of China’s
southwestern Sichuan Province, from September 17.
❖ The aim of the exercise is to share expertise in disaster management and to
fight terrorism, among others.
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❖ This comes at a time when Nepal refuses to participate in the first-ever
BIMSTEC military exercise “MILEX-18”, which was started in India on
September 10.
Sudan’s New PM
❖ Moutaz Mousa Abdallah has become Sudan’s new Prime Minister.
❖ A 21-member cabinet was sworn-in at the presidential palace in Khartoum.
❖ Mousa Abdallah is also holding the finance portfolio in a bid to revive the
country’s ailing economy.
❖ The 31-member cabinet is to be slashed to just 21 portfolios, as the country
grapples with an acute foreign exchange shortage and inflation above 65%.
India-Bangladesh Friendship Product Pipeline Project
❖ Prime Minister of India and Bangladesh PM jointly launched the
construction
of India-Bangladesh
Friendship
Product
Pipeline
Project through video conferencing.
❖ The 130-kilometre pipeline will connect Siliguri in West Bengal in India and
Parbatipur in Dinajpur district of Bangladesh.
❖ This will be the first such pipeline through which refined diesel will be
supplied to Parbatipur depot from Numaligarh of Assam in India.
Grant of Access to key ports
❖ Bangladesh’s Cabinet has approved draft agreement allowing India to use its
Chittagong and Mongla ports to transport cargo to and from its NorthEastern states.
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❖ Only Bangladeshi vehicles will be used for transportation of goods within its
territory.
❖ Indian goods can be transported through four entry points viz.
o
Akhaura (Bangladesh) and Agartala (India’s Tripura),
o
Tamabil (Sylhet, Bangladesh) and Dauki (Meghalaya),
o
Sheola (Sylhet) and Sutarkandi (Assam),
o
Bibir Bazar (Cumilla, Bangladesh) and Srimantapur (Tripura).
❖ Under it, India will have to follow General Agreement on Tariff and Trade
(GATT) and Bangladeshi regulations.
❖ The agreement will be effective for five years, but it can be extended for
another five years automatically.
7th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism
❖ 7th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism was held in Seoul, capital of
South Korea from 16 to 19 September, 2018.
❖ The theme of the summit was ‘A 2030 Vision for Urban Tourism’.
❖ The summit was co-organized by
o
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and
o
Seoul Metropolitan Government and
supported by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of South Korea, Korea
Tourism Organization and Seoul Tourism Organization.
❖ UNWTO is United Nations agency headquartered located in Madrid, Spain. It
is responsible for promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally
accessible tourism.
Saudi Arabia to join CPEC
❖ Pakistan has invited Saudi Arabia to join $50 billion China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the third strategic partner.
❖ Formal request in this regard was made after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran
Khan visited Saudi Arabia during his first foreign trip after getting elected.
❖ Saudi Arabia is first country that Pakistan has invited to become partner in
CPEC.
First private passenger on Moon
❖ US private space firm SpaceX signed the world’s first private passenger to fly
around the Moon aboard its Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) launch vehicle.
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❖ Japanese billionaire and founder of online fashion giant Zozo, Yusaku
Maezawa will be the first Moon tourist on SpaceX’s Lunar BFR Mission.
❖ Maezawa, 42, will be the first lunar traveler since the last US Apollo mission
in 1972.
❖ The BFR was first announced in 2016, and was touted as the most powerful
rocket in history.
Official entry to Oscars - Norway
❖ Norway has chosen ‘What Will People Say’ movie as its official entry to
Oscars in Foreign Language Film category.
❖ The movie stars Adil Hussain, Bollywood actor hailing from Goalpara district
in Assam.
❖ Earlier, India’s official entry for the same category, “Village Rockstars” was
chosen by a 12-member jury of Film Federation of India (FII) from 29 other
films.
Nationwide anti-polio vaccination drive – Pakistan
❖ Pakistan has launched the nationwide ‘Anti-polio’ vaccination drive for
children of less than 5 years of age.
❖ The drive is the first nationwide door to door national campaign of 2018-19
low transmission season.
❖ Pakistan is one of the 3 countries in the world, along with Afghanistan and
Nigeria, that suffers from endemic polio.
❖ As per WHO standards, a country must have no cases for 3 consecutive
years in order to be considered as eradicated polio.
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West Bank village – demolition deadline
❖ Israel is going to demolish the village ‘West Bank’ occupied by the
Palestinians and announced October 1 as the ‘deadline’ to leave the village.
❖ Israel had earlier offered resettlement for the residents of the “illegally built‟
village.
Global status report on alcohol and health 2018
❖ World Health Organisation has released a report called Global status report
on alcohol and health 2018, which presents a comprehensive picture of
alcohol consumption.
❖ The harmful use of alcohol resulted in some 3 million deaths in 2016 (5.3%
of all deaths) worldwide, with an estimated 2.3 million men and 0.7 million
women.
❖ The report says that per capita liquor consumption in India increased from
2.4 litres in 2005 to 5.7 litres in 2016.
❖ The total alcohol per capita consumption (15+ years) is expected to increase
in 50% of WHO regions, by 2025.
❖ The highest increase is expected in the South East Asia Region with an
increase of 2.2 litres alone in India.
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❖ Globally, total per capita consumption rose from 5.5 litres in 2005 to 6.4
litres in 2010 and was still at the level of 6.4 litres in 2016.
Times Higher Education’s (THE) world university rankings 2019
❖ The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore has topped as India's top institute
(251-300 band) in the list of Times Higher Education (THE) World University
Rankings 2019.
❖ The IIT-Indore (351-400) was ranked as the 2nd best in the country as it
made its debut to the prestigious list of global top 400 institutions.
❖ It is followed by IIT Bombay and Roorkee with Jagadguru Sri
Shivarathreeswara University from Karnataka, making the country’s top 5.
❖ The rankings show Oxford continues to hold the first place, Cambridge
second, and Stanford third.
❖ The Massachusetts Institute of Technology rose one place to number four.
❖ In India, number of Indian institutions in the rankings increased from 42
last year to 49, making it the fifth best-represented nation.
Nelson Mandela Decade of Peace
❖ This year marks the 100th anniversary of Mandela’s birth, and the U.N. is
declaring 2019-2028 the “Nelson Mandela Decade of Peace”.
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❖ Mandela embodied the highest values of the United Nations peace,
forgiveness, compassion and human dignity.
❖ A statue of Nelson Mandela has been unveiled at the United Nations to
honour the late South African leader’s birth.
First-Ever Women-Only Foreign Minister Conference
❖ The first-ever women-only foreign ministers conference was held in Montreal,
Canada.
❖ The aim of the conference was to highlight women’s key role in politics and
decision-making processes.
❖ The meeting was co-chaired by Canada’s top diplomat Chrystia Freeland,
and the foreign affairs representative of the EU, Federica Mogherini.
Global Wetland Outlook Report
❖ Global Wetland Outlook Report, first-ever global report on the state of the
world's wetlands, was released by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
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❖ The report states that,
o
Approximately 35% of the world’s wetlands have been lost in 45 years
between 1970-2015.
o
Average annual rate of loss of wetlands is 0.78% a year, which is
presenting “severe consequences” for future.
o
Wetlands loss is 3 times faster than the average annual rate of
natural forest loss between 1990-2015 at 0.24% a year threatening
fresh water supplies.
o
More than 80% of waste water is released into wetlands without
adequate treatment.
❖ Reasons for loss of wetlands are,
o
Climate change, Population increase, Urbanisation (particularly of
coastal zones and river deltas).
o
Changing consumption patterns fuelled changes to land and water
use and to agriculture.
Nepal becomes first country to double its tiger population
❖ Nepal become 1st country in the world to double its tiger population in a
decade as part of World Wildlife Fund for Nature’s (WWF) ‘Tx2’ programme
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❖ ‘Tx2’ programme aims to double number of tigers in the world all over the
world by 2022.
❖ There are now estimated 235 wild tigers in Nepal in comparison to an
estimated 121 back in 2009.
❖ Nepal was the 1st country to achieve global standards in managing tiger
conservation areas, an accreditation scheme governed by Conservation
Assured Tiger Standards (CA|TS).
❖ It was launched by World Wildlife Fund for Nature’s at the 2010 St
Petersburg Tiger Summit held in Russia.
ECONOMY
ITI Limited partners with startups
❖ ITI Limited signed agreements with leading startups and original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) covering the manufacturing of a wide range of ICTIOT (Information and communications technology- Internet of Things) based
solutions.
❖ These include civil and military advanced radar systems, advanced edge
router systems, next-generation 5G technology products, data storage and
networking solutions, digital security solutions, advanced metering
solutions, and wi-fi products and solutions.
Internal Ombudsman (IO) Scheme 2018
❖ The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked all scheduled commercial banks with
more than 10 branches to appoint an Internal Ombudsman.
❖ All Regional Rural Banks are excluded from its directive.
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❖ An ombudsman is a person officially charged with investigating and
addressing public complaints or violation of rights.
❖ The implementation of IO Scheme-2018 will be monitored by the bank’s
internal audit mechanism apart from regulatory oversight by RBI.
Monetary limit increased for Loan recovery application
❖ Union government doubled the monetary limit from Rs. 10 lacks to Rs. 20
lakhs for filing loan recovery application in the Debt Recovery Tribunals
(DRTs) by banks and financial institutions, to help reduce pendency of such
cases.
❖ As a result, any bank or financial institution or a consortium of banks or
financial institutions cannot approach DRTs if the amount due is less than
Rs. 20 lakhs.
Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRT)
❖ DRTs were first set up under the Banks and Financial Institutions Act 1993
to facilitate debt recovery by involving banks and other financial institutions
with their customers.
❖ DRT is supposed to dispose of the matter referred to it within 180 days of
receipt of application and appeal can be filed against DRT order with Debt
Recovery Appellate Tribunals (DRATs).
RBI to buy G-Secs in Open Market
❖ The Reserve Bank is to purchase government securities (G-secs) worth Rs
10,000 crore on September 19, a move aimed at inducing liquidity in the
system.
❖ The purchase of the government securities will be done through Open
Market Operations (OMO).
❖ When the RBI thinks there is excess liquidity in the market, it resorts to the
sale of securities.
Credit Suisse Research Institute (CSRI) Report
❖ India ranks third globally in terms of number of family-owned
businesses with 111 companies having a total market capitalisation of $839
billion.
❖ The study was published by the Credit Suisse Research Institute (CSRI).
❖ India closely follows China with 159 firms and the US with 121 firms,
according to the ‘Credit Suisse Family 1000 in 2018’.
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❖ As per the report, in terms of number of family-owned businesses within the
non-Japan Asian region, the list is dominated by China, India and Hong
Kong.
❖ These three jurisdictions together account for around 65% of the non-Japan
Asian section of CSRI’s database.
Proposal for merger of Banks
❖ The Central government proposed the amalgamation of State-owned Bank of
Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank to create India’s third largest bank.
❖ The new merged entity will be the 3rd Largest bank in the country with a
total business of about Rs 14.82 lakh crore, after SBI and HDFC bank.
❖ The “merger” is carried out as part of
o
The “Alternative mechanism” proposed by the committee under
finance minister Arun Jaitley.
o
The reforms in the public sector banking segment.
❖ With this merger, the number of public sector banks in the country will
come down to 19.
Dual listing of masala bonds
❖ National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and London Stock Exchange (LSE)
have signed MoU to collaborate on creating a dual listing route for masala
bonds and foreign currency bonds of Indian issuers.
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❖ It will serve as a potential precursor of further joint
listings in future that could see foreign currency
bonds in India also being able to list in London.
❖ The partnership would also explore the launch of
"ELITE", LSEG's (London Stock Exchange Group)
business support and capital raising programme for
private high-growth companies, in India in 2019.
❖ It will extend access to the wider base of global
investors as well as domestic and regional investors.
Country Partnership Framework
❖ World Bank board has approved ambitious 5-year Country Partnership
Framework (CPF) for India that is in line with India’s objectives of high,
sustainable and inclusive growth.
❖ The framework recognizes that India has gone from low-middle income to
high-middle income (country).
❖ CPF is a central tool of management and board for reviewing and guiding
WBG’s country programs and gauging their effectiveness.
❖ It identifies key objectives and development results through which WBG
intends to support member country in its efforts to end extreme poverty.
Import duty on 19 non-essential items
❖ The Union Finance Ministry has increased import duty on 19 ‘non-essential
items’ high-end consumer items to curb import of certain imported items.
❖ The 19 ‘non-essential items’ includes air conditioners, refrigerators, washing
machines and ATF (aviation turbine fuel).
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❖ This decision was taken to stabilise depreciating rupee by narrowing current
account deficit (CAD) and get outgoing foreign funds flowing back to India.
❖ CAD is difference between inflow and outflow of foreign exchange. It has
widened to 2.4% of GDP in the April-June quarter.
Financial Inclusion Index
❖ Union Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs has launched the Financial
Inclusion Index (FII) in New Delhi.
❖ The annual FII will be released by Department of Financial Services (DFS),
Ministry of Finance.
❖ The index has three measurement dimensions
o
Access to financial services
o
Usage of financial services
o
Quality
❖ It will serve as single composite index that will give snap shot of level of
financial inclusion which will guide Macro Policy perspective.
RBI eases SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) rules
❖ The Reserve Bank of India allowed banks to dip further into statutory cash
reserves in a bid to ease a liquidity squeeze afflicting the nation’s money
markets.
❖ As per the RBI, banks could 'carve out' up to 15% of holdings under the
statutory liquidity reserves to meet their liquidity coverage ratio
(LCR) requirements as compared to 13% now.
❖ The move by the central bank follows concerns over tight liquidity conditions
and banks’ unwillingness to lend to NBFCs (Non-Banking Financial
Companies).
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Kerala’s calamity cess demand
❖ GST Council has decided to set up 7-member Group of Ministers (GoM) to
suggest on cess demand for Kerala flood rehabilitation.
❖ It was decided in 30th meeting of the GST Council held in New Delhi.
❖ The GoM discussed proposal from Kerala to levy Calamity Tax, a special tax
or cess to raise additional resources aimed at meeting cost of reconstruction
in Kerala in the aftermath of floods.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Offshore Patrol Vessel ICGS Vijaya
❖ The Offshore Patrol Vessel ICGS Vijaya (OPV-2) has delivered to the Indian
Coast Guard on 30 August 2018.
❖ This vessel was the second in the series of seven OPVs.
❖ The first vessel of the series ICGS Vikram was handed over on April 11 this
year, before DEFEXPO-2018.
Method to predict inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
❖ Chandra Mohan and Subra Kugathasan, 2 Indian-American Scientists
identified a method for predicting and monitoring inflammatory bowel
disease (IBD).
❖ Identifying at least 50 protein biomarkers that can non-invasively detect
IBD, which is a gut disorder that leads to diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and
weight loss, and it occurs when the body’s immune system fights its
intestinal cells.
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NASA’s Icesat-2
❖ NASA is set to launch the most advanced laser instrument (ICESat-2) to
measure the changes in the heights of Earth’s polar ice in unprecedented
detail.
❖ The Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) will measure the
average annual elevation change of land ice covering Greenland
and Antarctica.
❖ It is equipped with Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) to
measures height by timing.
Rollable tablet
❖ Scientists have developed a first rollable touch-screen tablet, taking
inspiration from ancient scrolls to create a modern-day device.
❖ The device called MagicScroll is comprised of a high-resolution flexible
display that can be rolled or unrolled around a central, 3D-printed
cylindrical body containing the device’s computerized inner-workings.
Drug-resistant superbug
❖ Researchers from the University of Melbourne discovered a superbug
resistant to all known antibiotics that can cause “severe” infections or even
death is spreading undetected through hospital wards across the world.
❖ They have discovered three variants of the multidrug-resistant bug in
bacteria known as Staphylococcus epidermidis from 10 countries.
UAE’s first astronauts
❖ The United Arab Emirates has selected its first two astronauts to go on a
mission to the International Space Station.
❖ Two astronauts are Hazza al-Mansouri and Sultan al-Nayadi. Their missions
are scheduled for next year.
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❖ UAE announced plans to become the first Arab country to send its
unmanned probe "Hope" to orbit Mars by 2021.
❖ In the long-term, the UAE plans to build a "Science City" to replicate life on
Mars and aims to create the first human settlement on Mars by 2117.
New device to harvest energy
❖ Scientists have developed a wearable wristwatch-size device that could
generate energy from the swing of an arm while walking or jogging.
❖ It can produce enough power to run a personal health monitoring system.
❖ This is made from a crystal material, which can produce an electric current
when compressed or can change shape when an electric charge is applied. It
is called “piezoelectric effect”.
Coffee Connect mobile app
❖ Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation launched Coffee
Connect - India coffee field force app and Coffee ‘Krishi Tharanga’ digital
mobile extension services for coffee stakeholders.
❖ The Coffee Connect app has been developed to ease the work of field
functionaries and to improve the work efficiency.
❖ This application provides a solution by harnessing the power of mobility
comprising the latest technology in easing the whole process of the field
activities like digitization of Coffee Growers & Estates with Geo Tagging,
collecting the Plantation details.
❖ The Coffee ‘Krishi Tharanga’ services are aimed at providing customized
information and services to increase productivity, profitability, and
environmental sustainability.
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First mid-air refueling of combat jet
❖ Indian Air Force has successfully carried out the first ever mid-air refueling
of the indigenously developed Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).
❖ Russian-built IL-78 MKI tanker transferred fuel to a Tejas MK I aircraft.
❖ This test involved dry linkup, meaning no fuel was actually transferred
between IAF IL-78 tanker and Tejas fighter jet through its air-to-air refueling
probe.
First Overseas Ground Base
❖ Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has planned to set up first
overseas ground station at the north pole
❖ It would strengthen the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) operations that are
crucial needs like disaster management and also to armed forces operations.
❖ This ground station will provide an opportunity to download complete data
within the same orbit and enable the use of onboard resources in every orbit.
Mini-UAV for high-altitude surveillance
❖ Indian Army has selected SpyLite mini-UAV for high-altitude aerial
surveillance.
❖ The mini-UAV is built by Cyient Solutions & Systems (CSS), a joint venture
between Cyient Ltd of India and BlueBird Aero Systems of Israel.
❖ SpyLite has an endurance of 4-5 hours and a maximum flight ceiling of
30,000 feet making it ideal for operations along the border with China as
well as on the Siachen glacier.
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Space Suit - ISRO
❖ The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) displayed a space suit
developed by the agency.
❖ The suit was displayed at the launch of the sixth edition of Bengaluru Space
Expo. The orange-colored prototype space suit was developed over the past
two years at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
❖ ISRO has developed two suits and will create one more suit as three
astronauts will be part of a mission to send Indians into space on an Indian
spacecraft by 2022.
❖ French space agency CNES will share their expertise in the fields of space
medicine, astronaut health monitoring, life support, radiation protection,
space debris protection, and personal hygiene system.
China’s marine satellite
❖ China launched a marine satellite to help improve understanding of
maritime waters and climate change.
❖ This HY—1C satellite will help monitor ocean colour and water
temperatures, providing basic data for research on the global oceanic
environment.
❖ HY—1C detected chlorophyll and suspended sediment concentrations and
dissolved organic matter, which can affect ocean colour, as well as
temperatures on the sea surface.
❖ Its data will also be used in the survey of the resources and environment of
China’s offshore waters, islands and coastal zones, marine disaster relief
and the sustainable utilisation of ocean resource.
❖ HY-1C is expected to improve China’s ocean remote sensing capability, along
with HY—1D, which is planned to be launched in 2019.
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India's first embryo transplanted calf
❖ India's first female calf is born using embryo transplant technology.
❖ The project was supervised by the Department of Animal Husbandry,
Jammu in collaboration with the National Dairy Development Board.
❖ The calf of 'Sahiwal' breed was born to a crossbreed Jersey cow at the
Central Cattle Breeding & Research Farm.
❖ Embryo transfer is a process of transferring an embryo from the reproductive
tract of a donor female to a uterus of a female recipient with intent to
establish a pregnancy. This technique is used for both humans and animals.
Asia’s First airport use Face recognition
❖ Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru is set to become the
first airport in Asia to use face recognition as the boarding procedure for
passengers to board flights and move across different sections of the airport.
❖ This is the first end-to-end face recognition-based walk-through experience
in Asia and the largest in the world.
❖ It is also one of the most significant steps towards the Digital India campaign
endorsed by the Government.
❖ The first implementation of this system will be completed in 2019, with Jet
Airways, Air Asia and Spice Jet passengers as first users.
Apsara upgraded- Apsara-U
❖ India’s oldest research reactor 'Apsara', which was shut down permanently
in 2009 for repair, was recommissioned with a higher capacity at Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay.
❖ This refurbished version of the reactor is named as ‘Apsara-Upgraded’
(Apsara-U).
❖ It was made indigenously and uses plate type dispersion fuel elements made
of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU).
❖ It will increase indigenous production or
application by about 50 percent.
radio-isotopes
for
medical
India's first commercial underwater drone- EyeROV TUNA
❖ Kochi-based start-up IROV Technologies Pvt Ltd (EyeROV) has launched
commercial underwater drones.
❖ IROV handed over the first vehicle to the Naval Physical and Oceanographic
Laboratory (NPOL) of DRDO.
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❖ EyeROV TUNA is a smart micro-ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) or
underwater drone, at par with global standards, and with operational
capabilities in harsh and mission-critical underwater environment.
❖ This product is equipped to perform a variety of functions, including
inspection of ship hulls, fish farms, dams, port structure, and bridge
foundations.
Cyber Security Conference ‘COCON XI’
❖ Kerala Police is going to host a 2-day International Cyber Security
Conference ‘COCON XI’ in Kochi on October 5th and 6th, 2018.
❖ COCON, an annual event, is conducted as part of the International
Information Security Day.
❖ Kerala Police will partner with
o
British Columbia-Canada based POLCYB (Society for the Policing of
Cyberspace) and
o
ISRA (Information Security Research Association), a registered nonprofit organization
for organizing the event.
Successful launch of PSLV C 42
❖ The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on September 16, 2018
successfully launched its polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) C42 carrying 2
earth observation satellites for the United Kingdom.
❖ The launch vehicle- PSLV-C42 lifted off at 10.08 PM (Night Launch) from the
first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra
Pradesh.
❖ The two earth observing satellites - NovaSAR and S1-4 of Surrey Satellite
Technology Limited, UK were put into sun synchronous orbit.
o
NovaSAR is an S-Band synthetic aperture radar satellite
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o
S1-4 is a high-resolution optical Earth observation satellite
❖ This was the 44th launch of PSLV and the launch marks PSLV-C42's first
fully commercial trip of the year.
❖ The mission was a commercial arrangement between the British company
and Antrix Corporation Limited, which is the commercial wing of ISRO.
Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM)
❖ Indigenously developed weapon system Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided
Missile (MPATGM), was successfully flight tested for the second time from
the Ahmednagar range, Maharashtra.
❖ MPATGM is third-generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) indigenously
developed by DRDO.
❖ It works on fire and forget principle and It is expected to replace
o
Second generation French origin anti-tank guided missile Milan and
o
Soviet semi-automatic wire-guided missile Konkur
which are in service with Indian Army.
❖ At present, India Army has indigenously developed third generation antitank guided missile (ATGM) Nag in its arsenal but it is not portable to meet
its demand.
e-Sahaj portal
❖ Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched e-Sahaj portal to
facilitate individuals and private companies in seeking security clearance for
setting up businesses in certain sensitive sectors.
❖ MHA is nodal authority for granting security clearances in certain sensitive
sectors before licence, permit, permission, contract etc is issued.
❖ The online portal will make security clearance process standardised, faster,
transparent and easy to monitor.
World’s first hydrogen-powered train
❖ Germany has rolled out world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger train.
These locomotives named iLint trains emit zero emissions, making them ecofriendly.
❖ This train technology offers greener and quieter alternative to diesel on nonelectrified railway lines.
❖ These hydrogen trains are manufactured by French TGV-maker Alstom.
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❖ Hydrogen trains are equipped with fuel cells that produce electricity by
combining hydrogen with oxygen.
Lifting the ban on 3 FDC drugs
❖ Supreme court has lifted the ban and allowed the sale of 3 Fixed Dose
combination drugs FDC, Saridon, Piriton cough expectorant and Dart.
❖ It was argued that the medicines were manufactured before 1988 and thus
should be exempted from the banned list.
❖ These drugs were part of the 328 FDC drugs whose manufacture,
distribution and sale were banned by the Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare on September 12.
❖ The FDC drugs are two or more drugs combined in a fixed ratio into a single
dosage form, thereby reducing the number of drugs to be taken every day.
Cyclone-30 - The biggest cyclotron in India
❖ Cyclone-30, the biggest cyclotron in India for medical application became
operational in at VECC, Kolkata.
❖ It is under the Department
commissioned in 2019.
of
Atomic
Energy
(DAE) and
will
be
❖ This facility will provide for affordable radio isotopes and related
radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic and therapeutic use for cancer care.
Tactical Missile ‘Prahar’ Successfully Flight Tested
❖ DRDO successfully flight tested the indigenously developed surface-tosurface tactical missile ‘Prahar’, from Balasore, Odisha.
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❖ It is solid-fuelled surface-to-surface short-range tactical ballistic missile.
❖ It can be launched from road mobile system, which can carry six missiles at
time. It can also be fired in salvo mode in all directions from launcher.
❖ It is comparable to MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System of United States.
Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response
❖ Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has signed MoU with ISRO to set up of
state-of-the-art Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response (ICR-ER).
❖ ICR-ER will cater to the requirement of disaster management as well as
internal security.
ISRO Technology Incubation Centre
❖ Tripura CM inaugurated ISRO’s first Space Technology Incubation Centre
(STIC) at the National Institute of Technology Agartala via remote from
Bengaluru.
❖ The Centre was launched at the first edition of ‘Spacetronics’ organised by
the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA).
Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children portal
❖ Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched Cyber Crime Prevention
against Women and Children (CCPWC) portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) to
check objectionable online content.
❖ The portal will allow citizens to lodge complaints on objectionable online
content related to child sexual abuse material.
❖ The complaints registered through this portal will be handled by police
authorities of respective State/UTs.
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Nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards
❖ India has decided to place four more reactors under International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
❖ It was announced at the 62nd General Conference of IAEA held in Vienna,
Austria.
❖ The four reactors include
o
2 Russian-designed Pressurised Light Water Reactors and
o
2 Pressurised Heavy Reactors being built with Indian technology.
❖ With this, total of 26 Indian nuclear facilities will be now under IAEA
safeguards.
3rd launch pad - Gaganyaan mission
❖ ISRO is setting up third launch pad at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh to
undertake Gaganyaan manned space flight programme.
❖ It will be India’s first manned space mission. Under this mission, the crew of
three astronauts will conduct experiments on microgravity in space.
❖ Under it, India is planning to send three humans (Gaganyatris) into space
i.e. in low earth orbit (LEO) by 2022 i.e. by 75th Independence Day.
❖ The crew will be selected jointly by Indian Air Force (IAF) and ISRO.
India’s first indigenously developed Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor
❖ India’s first indigenously developed 500-megawatt (MW) Prototype Fast
Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu is expected to achieve
criticality in 2019.
❖ Criticality is the event of a nuclear reactor reaching self-sustained chain
reaction. i.e., no external source of neutrons is required to sustain fission in
the reactor core.
❖ PFBR has been designed indigenously by Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic
Research (IGCAR).
❖ It generates power by burning mixed uranium-plutonium MOX fuel, a
mixture of PuO2 and UO2.
❖ It is a pool-type reactor with 1,750 tonnes of sodium as coolant.
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Prithvi interceptor missile test
❖ India successfully conducted interceptor missile test off the Odisha coast at
night.
❖ With this, DRDO achieved major milestone in developing indigenous twolayer Ballistic Missile Defence system.
❖ It is two-stage missile and both stages are powered by solid propellants.
❖ It is designed for engaging targets in exo-atmosphere region at altitude 50
km of earth’s atmosphere.
❖ It is intended to replace the existing Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) in
PAD/Advanced Air Defence (AAD) combination.
Miniature human oesophagus
❖ Scientists for first time have successfully grown oesophageal organoids, a
miniature, functional versions of human food pipe using pluripotent stem
cells (PSCs) in laboratory.
❖ This bioengineered oesophageal organoids paves way for new ways to study
and test drugs against gut disorders.
❖ Moreover, bioengineered genetically matched esophageal tissue can be also
transplanted in individual patients.
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❖ It will help to study birth defects like esophageal atresia, organoids,
eosinophilic esophagitis and Barrett’s metaplasia.
Sikkim gets Sensor-based ‘Landslide warning system’
❖ Sikkim has got the Country’s 2nd Sensor-based ‘Landslide warning system’.
❖ The new system can issue landslide warning in 24 hours advance.
❖ It was developed by scientists of the Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita
University) which is headquartered in Coimbatore.
❖ This Initiative of the Sikkim Disaster Management Authority was co-funded
by the Union ministry of earth sciences.
❖ The first such system was deployed by the University in Western Ghats in
Kerala's Munnar district in 2009 which was a huge success.
Two New Earth-like Exoplanets Discovered
❖ NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered two new
earth-like exoplanets namely “super-Earth” and “hot Earth”.
❖ TESS was launched in April 2018 to detect exoplanets (planets outside the
sun’s solar system) and this is TESS’s first discovery.
❖ TESS is on a 2-year mission to expand astronomers' known catalogue of socalled exoplanets, worlds circling distant stars.
❖ Super-Earth is named as “Pi Mensae c” and is almost 60 light-years away
which orbits its sun every 6.3 days.
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❖ Hot-Earth has been named as LHS 3844 b which is almost 49 light-years
away. It orbits its sun every 11 hours.
❖ Both the planets are too hot to support life.
Jan Dhan Darshak
❖ Finance Ministry has launched Mobile Application Jan Dhan Darshak as a
Part of Financial Inclusion.
❖ Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance and National
Informatics Centre (NIC) have jointly developed the app Jan Dhan Darshak
as a part of financial inclusion initiative.
❖ This App will provide guidance to the common people in locating a financial
service touch point at a given location in the country.
Online platform for Agmark quality certification
❖ Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare launched online software
for processing applications related to quality certification mark ‘Agmark’ for
agricultural products.
❖ Agmark is certification mark that assures conformity to set of standards
approved by Government agency Directorate of Marketing and Inspection.
❖ It is legally enforced by Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act of
1937 (and amended in 1986).
❖ Agmark online system is being implemented across the country to conduct
quality control functions and it will be available 24×7.
Astra successfully test fired
❖ The Indian Air Force has successfully test fired the indigenously developed
Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile Astra from a Su-30 aircraft.
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❖ The missile was tested at Kalaikunda Air Force Station, West Bengal.
❖ The missile successfully engaged a manoeuvring target (UAV ‘Banshi’) with
high precision.
❖ Astra was developed by DRDO together with IAF. It is single stage solid
fuelled missile and it is an all-weather missile.
Web Portal to grant loans to MSMEs Launched
❖ Union Finance Ministry has launched a portal to enable micro, small and
medium enterprises (MSMEs) to get in-principle approval of loans within
hour without need for branch visit.
❖ The web portal, www.psbloansin59minutes.com, will enable in principle
approval for MSME loans up to Rs. 1 crore within 59 minutes for MSMEs.
❖ The portal is for securing loan approvals only from Small Industries
Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and 5 Public Sector Banks (PSBs).
❖ The portal is strategic initiative of SIBDI led five PSB consortium incubated
under aegis of Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance.
Incredible India Mobile App Launched
❖ The Union Minister for Tourism launched the ‘Incredible India Mobile
App’ and the “Incredible India Tourist Facilitators Certification” programme.
❖ The Minister announced that India will be the host country for official World
Tourism Day celebrations for the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism
Organization), in 2019.
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Centre of Excellence for Data Analytics
❖ Union Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology has launched
the Centre of Excellence for Data Analytics (CEDA) to make government
excel in the field of Data Analytics.
❖ It has been jointly set up by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and
National Informatics Centre Services Incorporated (NICSI).
ENVIRONMENT
Singphan wildlife sanctuary
❖ The Nagaland government has declared the Singphan Wildlife Sanctuary as
an elephant reserve.
❖ It has become 30th reserve for elephants in the country.
❖ The reserve is located near Abhaypur Reserve Forest of Assam
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❖ The Singphan Elephant Reserve is located at about 65 km from Mon, the
district capital town of the state.
Global Summit on Climate Action
❖ The 2018 Global Summit on Climate Action held at San Francisco in
California, United States.
❖ It will serve as a starting point for broader and more effective global
commitments, to reduce the impacts of climate change and achieve the
objectives of the Paris Agreement.
❖ It will also promote climate action in five key areas:
o
Healthy Energy Systems,
o
Inclusive Economic Growth,
o
Sustainable Communities,
o
Land and Ocean Stewardship,
o
Transformative Climate Investments.
Erratic monsoon rainfall in India - Study
❖ According to a recent study by scientists from IIT Kanpur, erratic behavior of
monsoon rainfall can be attributed to the rising air pollution.
❖ The study has found that high pollution levels are not just changing cloud
shape and size and depth, but also its microstructure.
❖ This is for the first time that the study has given details of the exact changes
that take place in clouds over India as a result of an increase in aerosols.
Global Climate Action Summit 2018
❖ The Global Climate Action Summit 2018 was held at San Francisco,
California, United States.
❖ Delegates from various countries attended the summit and showed their
commitments to achieve the goals set by the Paris Agreement.
❖ The co-chairs of the Summit are Governor of California Edmund G. Brown
Jr. and UN’s Special Envoy for Climate Action Michael R Bloomberg.
Typhoon Mangkhut
❖ Typhoon Mangkhut made landfall on the northeastern tip of Luzon island in
the Philippines with the top of the scale Category 5 winds of 165 mph.
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❖ The name Mangkhut is a Thai word for the fruit mangosteen. In the
Philippines, the typhoon is locally known as Ompong.
❖ The Hong Kong Observatory reported Mangkhut was the most powerful
cyclone to hit the city since 1979.
❖ The deadliest storm on record in the Philippines was Super Typhoon Haiyan
in 2013.
❖ Hurricanes and typhoons are the same type of storm. Both are tropical
cyclones. But those that occur in the Pacific west of the International Date
Line are called typhoons.
India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP)
❖ Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), on
the eve of World Ozone Day, has released draft India Cooling Action Plan
(ICAP).
❖ It makes India first country in world to develop such document. The draft
was prepared by Ozone Cell of MoEFCC.
❖ It aims to provide sustainable cooling while keeping in mind the need to
protect the ozone layer from substances that can deplete it.
Local Treatment of Urban Sewage Streams for Healthy Reuse
❖ Union Science & Technology minister inaugurated a novel holistic Local
Treatment of Urban Sewage Streams for Healthy Reuse (LOTUSHR) project at
Sun Dial Park in New Delhi.
❖ It is a joint initiative of Indian and Dutch scientists, to re-convert waste
water to clean water and generate bio-fuel, during the process.
Health Ministry Partners with Dell and Tata Trusts
❖ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, exchanged the MoUs with the Tata
Trusts and Dell to provide a technological platform for nation-wide
prevention, control, screening and management program of NonCommunicable Diseases (NCDs).
❖ The Health Ministry is working with Dell as a technology partner and the
Tata Trusts as deployment partner.
❖ It is aimed at bringing healthcare technology transformation in
Comprehensive Primary Health Care NCD program under Ayushman Bharat.
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Sputum sample transportation through Department of Post
❖ Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has launched pilot
project for transport of sputum specimen for Tuberculosis (TB) Diagnosis.
❖ The transportation has been done by utilising services of Department of Post
in Karawal Nagar, New Delhi.
❖ This will enable appropriate management of the TB patients and reduced
disease transmission.
❖ Health Ministry also launched web-based application, Nikshay Version 2.0,
with better user interface and data structures.
❖ NIKSHAY is web-based solution for effectively monitoring of TB patients
under Revised National Tuberculosis Programme (RNTCP).
❖ It was launched by Health Ministry Government and developed by National
Informatics Centre (NIC) in association with Central TB Division (CTD),
MoHFW.
Air Pollution Control Device ''WAYU''
❖ Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences and
Environment, Forest and Climate change, Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated
air pollution control device WAYU (Wind Augmentation PurifYing Unit)
❖ WAYU has been installed for traffic junctions at ITO intersection and
Mukarba Chowk in Delhi.
❖ WAYU is developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research –
National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI)
❖ It has been indigenously developed as a part of Technology Development
Project being funded by Department of Science and Technology.
❖ The device works on two principles mainly Wind generation for dilution of air
pollutants and Active Pollutants removal.
Loo Review Campaign
❖ Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has partnered with Google to launch
Loo Review campaign on Google Map.
❖ The joint campaign has been launched under aegis of Swachh Bharat
Mission – Urban (SBM–U).
❖ It will run throughout October and November 2018 in an effort to increase
awareness and ease of locating public toilets across India.
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STATE
Krishna Kutir
❖ Women & Child Development Minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi and UP CM
Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the ‘Krishna Kutir’, a special home for 1000
widows at Vrindavan in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
❖ It is created by the Ministry of Women & Child Development (MoWCD) under
Swadhar Greh scheme.
Punjab launched PUDA 360
❖ Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh launched PUDA 360, an eproperties module to facilitate online property transactions
❖ It will bring greater efficiency and transparency in the functioning of Punjab
Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA).
❖ The online process would also make the e-auction more convenient and give
a common platform to the promoters/builders/individuals for advertising
their projects/properties online.
❖ It would also help to check delays in sanction of Building Plans, issuance of
No Objection Certificate, issuance of Conveyance Deed and Transfer of
Property etc.
'Mil Banchey Madhya Pradesh'
❖ Madhya Pradesh government organized a day-long mass teaching
programme, 'Mil Banchey Madhya Pradesh' (Let's read together, Madhya
Pradesh).
❖ The objective of this Programme is to raise awareness about the importance
of education.
❖ In this program, people from various sections of society (people’
representative, motivators etc..) can participate as volunteers and read
knowledgeable books of curriculum to motivate students.
Vibrant Gujarat’ summit
❖ Gujarat Government has partnered with a top India-centric American
advocacy group for the January 2019 Vibrant Gujarat summit.
❖ Vibrant Gujarat 2019 is focused on ‘Ideas for a New India’.
❖ US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum’s (USISPF) Chairman John
Chambers, will lead a high-level CEO delegation to the summit.
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Ayushman Bharat - Jan Arogya Yojana
❖ Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), which
provides poor and vulnerable families coverage for secondary and tertiary
care hospitalization was launched in Jammu on September 6, 2018.
❖ This Yojana aimed at providing portable coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family
annually and a beneficiary covered under the scheme would be allowed to
avail cashless benefits from any public and private impanelled hospitals
across the country.
❖ This scheme will be launched across the country on September 25 by Prime
Minister.
Panchayati Raj amendment bill
❖ Rajasthan state Assembly passed the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj
(Amendment) Bill, 2018, which relaxes the ‘two-child’ rule for those aspiring
to contest panchayat elections, if one of the children is differently abled.
❖ It also passed an amendment aimed at allowing people suffering from leprosy
to contest panchayat elections. This bill aims at deleting a provision under
the Act that if a person is suffering from Leprosy, he will be disqualified for
contesting panchayat elections.
❖ As per the existing legislation, a person stood disqualified from contesting
panchayat elections, if he or she has more than two children. This provision
does not provide for any exception for a disabled child.
State Legislative Council - Odisha
❖ A resolution seeking the creation of a Legislative Council in Odisha was
passed in the State Assembly.
❖ The resolution will be sent to the Centre for approval of Parliament to
facilitate the creation of the Legislative Council.
❖ The proposed Council will have 49 members, which is one-third of the total
members of the State Assembly.
❖ The Odisha government had set up a committee in 2015 to study the
Legislative Councils in other States and recommend for the establishment of
one in the State.
Home delivery of govt services
❖ Delhi government has launched its Home Delivery of Public Services on
September 10 which is being done for the first time in the country.
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❖ It aims to deliver 40 public services at the doorstep in the first phase
including driving licences, community certificates, New water connections
etc.
❖ The Government claimed this move as, ‘home delivery of governance’.
❖ This doorstep delivery of public services was delivered through ‘Mobile
Sahayaks’.
Road Accident Data Management System -RADMS
❖ Jammu and Kashmir became the third state in the country
use software for standard and accurate data on road accidents.
to
❖ The
Road Accident
Data
Management System
(RADMS)
automated software-based solution on road-accident data.
an
is
❖ RADMS is a geographical information system (GIS) solution for identification
of black spots, wrong driving practices, road infrastructure, vehicular
defects, road types, damage to property, overloading issues, driver issues
and other factors causing or related to road accidents.
❖ Earlier, Tamil Nadu and Punjab had introduced RADMS.
First Regional Workshop on RERA
❖ Housing and Urban Affairs Minister (Independent Charge) inaugurated
the first regional workshop on RERA (Real Estate (Regulation and
Development) Act) in Pune.
❖ Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), launched in 2016, is aimed at
consumer protection, by creating an online system for information sharing in
the real estate sector.
❖ It allows states to set up the Regulatory Authority and the Appellate.
❖ Maharashtra is one of the first states to implement the provision of RERA.
❖ It has also established the Real Estate Regulatory Authority of Maharashtra,
which is popularly known as MahaRERA.
State Commission for Scheduled Castes Bill- 2018
❖ Haryana legislative assembly has passed the Haryana State Commission for
Scheduled Castes Bill- 2018.
❖ It has been passed to provide for the constitution of Commission for
Scheduled Castes in the state for the overall development and welfare of
scheduled castes and safeguard their interests.
❖ It would also check and curb the atrocities being committed on the
Scheduled Castes.
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❖ This commission will investigate and examine the working of various
safeguards provided in the Constitution or under any other law in force or
under any order of the government.
e-Plant clinics
❖ Jammu and Kashmir Agriculture Minister launched e-plant clinics, a
workshop organized by Department of Agriculture in collaboration with
Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI.
❖ In this clinic, trained plant doctors will work to diagnose various plant
diseases and upload the data on Plant-wise Online Management System
(POMS). It can be assessed by worldwide experts.
Agricultural festival of Nuakhai
❖ The agricultural festival of Nuakhai has started in Odisha on 13th
September 2018.
❖ The word ‘nua’ means new and ‘khai’ means food, so the name means the
farmers are in possession of the newly harvested rice.
❖ The festival is seen as a new ray of hope, held the day after the Ganesha
Chaturthi festival.
❖ The Nuakhai Juhar is a major ritual of the festival.
Swayangsiddha
❖ In an attempt to combat human trafficking, the West Bengal government has
rolled out a scheme, Swayangsiddha, in different districts of the State.
❖ Swayangsiddha, which means self-reliance, will be executed by the West
Bengal Police.
❖ The scheme aims to empower young boys and girls to make informed choices
so that they are less vulnerable to trafficking and child marriage.
❖ As the per the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) data, West Bengal
has the highest recorded case of trafficking among the States.
YuvaNestam scheme
❖ Andhra Pradesh is going to launch ‘YuvaNestam scheme’ for providing
‘unemployment allowance’ to the state’s youth from October 2018
❖ For this purpose, the CM launched website “yuvanestham.ap.gov.in”, where
candidates have to register.
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❖ The scheme provides an allowance of Rs 1000 for the unemployed youth in
the age group of 25 years to 35 years.
1st ever dedicated Dog Park
❖ For the first time in India, a dedicated dog park has been set up at
Hyderabad the park at an area of 1.3 acres.
❖ It was developed by “Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation” at a cost of
Rs 1.1 crore and certified by Kennel Club of India.
'Swachh Dhara'
❖ Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu flagged off the 'Swachh
Dhara' programme at Amravati in Andhra Pradesh.
❖ It was launched with the main objective of providing clean drinking water
across the state.
New Cyber University
❖ Maharashtra Government is setting up new Cyber University dedicated to
mitigating cyber threats.
❖ The Cyber University will provide for and prepare internet professionals on
lines of Microsoft Certified Professional Program.
❖ It will conduct courses in data analytics, cloud computing, blockchain,
Artificial Intelligence, cyber forensics and cyber investigations.
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First-ever 'dial-FIR' scheme
❖ The Uttar Pradesh Police are set to launch a first of its kind dial-FIR
scheme in the country.
❖ In this scheme, a common man can register regular crimes without going to
a police station, by dialling the emergency number UP 100 and file a FIR, a
call-based FIR.
❖ To combat crime, an online dossier of over 1-lakh small and big criminals in
the state has also been prepared.
❖ UP is the only 2nd state to prepare such a localised online criminal database
after Punjab.
❖ A pilot project of the e-FIR has been successfully conducted in Ghaziabad
region.
First ever gender-neutral hostel
❖ The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai's Deonar has become
the first campus in India to have a gender-neutral hostel.
❖ After the Supreme Court scrapped Section 377 of the IPC that
criminalised homosexuality, India has become the first-ever country to have
a gender-neutral hostel.
Star-rating system for industries
❖ Odisha CM has launched a 'Star Rating program' for industries to
strengthen State Pollution Control Board's (SPCB) regulatory efforts to
reduce pollution.
❖ It is a first-of-its-kind transparency initiative to categorise industries from
one to five stars compliant to pollution standards.
❖ Odisha's program is first in India to utilize continually monitored emissions
data captured in real time from major industrial plants.
Airavata Scheme
❖ The Government of Karnataka has launched ‘Airavata Scheme’, a first-of-itskind scheme that will create more self-employment opportunities.
❖ It will boost livelihood options for rural and semi-urban youth and the
scheme is Targeted especially at the young men and women of SC/ST
communities.
❖ In the first phase, the department has signed an agreement with Uber.
❖ Under this, the government will provide a financial grant of Rs 5 Lakhs each
to identified beneficiaries from the SC/ST community.
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❖ Uber will be assisting the state government in identifying eligible candidates
from the SC/ST community.
‘Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents’ (RoSPA) Award
❖ Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) has become the first ever Metro Rail
Corporation from India to bag the International ‘Royal Society for the
Prevention of Accidents’ (RoSPA) Award.
❖ The International Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)
bestowed the Silver Award to the Lucknow Metro for its Phase 1A (NorthSouth Corridor) in the Project/Infrastructure category for year 2018.
Government e-Marketplace - Arunachal Pradesh
❖ Arunachal Pradesh CM - Pema Khandu has launched Government eMarketplace (GeM) with 26,000 Government agencies in Itanagar.
❖ Its aim is to bring more transparency in Procurements of the Government
and achieve “paperless‟ and “cashless‟ transactions.
❖ Thus, Arunachal Pradesh becomes the 6th State/UT in India to have signed
MoUs with Government e-Marketplace (GeM) after Andhra Pradesh, Assam,
Gujarat, Telangana and Puducherry.
Smart e-Public Distribution System
❖ Arunachal Pradesh has become the 1st North eastern state to introduce
‘Smart e-Public Distribution System’ (e-PDS)
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❖ The system was developed by Madras Security printers, a company
specialized in e-governance projects
❖ It provides centralized online real-time electronic PDS to improve efficiency.
Naropa Festival
❖ The 5-day Naropa Festival concluded in Ladakh with a Guinness World
Record in Ladakhi Dance.
❖ The festival also known as ‘Kumbh Mela of the Himalayas’ is celebrated on
every 12th year of the Tibetian calendar.
❖ The festival celebrates the teachings and preachings of Buddhist scholarsaint, Naropa.
❖ To mark its end this year, 299 Ladakhi women in traditional attire danced
together ‘Shondol’, a traditional dance to enter into the Guinness World
Record.
❖ At the end of the festival, ‘Tsering Ladol’ was honoured with ‘Himalayan
Hero’ Award.
❖ Tsering ladol was the first Ladakhi girl to scale Mt Everest in 2005.
First ever Mizoram International Short Film Festival (MISFF)
❖ The first-ever Mizoram International Short Film Festival (MISFF) was
inaugurated by Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla at the Aijal Club in
Aizawl, Mizoram.
❖ It is organised by
o
Government of Mizoram and
o
Innovations India.
❖ It is supported by the Mizo Film Forum.
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Jharsuguda airport to be renamed after freedom fighter
❖ The Odisha Assembly has passed a resolution unanimously to name the
newly-constructed Jharsuguda airport
after
noted
freedom
fighter
Veer Surendra Sai.
❖ It will be the second airport in Odisha to be renamed after Biju Patnaik
international airport in Bhubaneswar.
2nd largest Metro Rail (MR) network
❖ L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited has recently commissioned a 16 km
stretch of elevated metro.
❖ It hence completed one full stretch of
the 3 corridor Hyderabad Metro Rail
(HMR) project.
❖ Now, the total stretch of Hyderabad
metro will be 46 km. With this, it has
become the 2nd largest operational
metro rail network in India after the
Delhi Metro.
❖ The HMR project is also the world’s
largest Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project.
Indian Culinary Institute
❖ Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated Indian Culinary Institute (ICI)
in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.
❖ It is promoted by Union Ministry of Tourism. The ICI building was designed
by National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC).
❖ The main objective of ICI is to institutionalize mechanism to support efforts
intended to preserve, document, promote and disseminate Indian Cuisine.
PERSONALITIES, AWARDS AND EVENTS
1st Kashmiri Muslim woman pilot
❖ Thirty-year-old Iram Habib has become the first Kashmiri Muslim woman to
become a pilot.
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❖ Iram succeeds Tanvi Raina, a Kashmiri Pandit, who joined Air India as the
Valley’s first woman pilot in 2016. In April last year, 21-year-old Ayesha
Aziz, also from Kashmir, became India’s youngest student pilot.
B.C. Roy Award - 2017
❖ Dr. V. S. Negi, Department of Clinical Immunology at Jawaharlal Institute of
Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (Jipmer), has been conferred
the prestigious Dr. B C. Roy Award for 2017.
❖ He was given the award “to recognize the best talents in encouraging the
development of specialties in different branches of medicine.’’
B.C Roy Award
❖ This award was instituted by the Medical Council of India (MCI) in 1976 in
memory of renowned physician and former West Bengal Chief Minister Dr.
Bidhan Chandra Roy
❖ The BC Roy Award is the highest recognition for medical practitioners in
India.
❖ The award is conferred annually 6 categories viz. statesmanship of the
Highest Order in India, eminent medical person, medical man-cumstatesman, an eminent person in philosophy, an eminent person in arts and
the eminent person in Science.
Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar
❖ This event was organized by private media company Daily Indian Media, to
honor eminent personalities from politics, business, academics, and
entertainment.
❖ Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh, Actors Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das and
10 others also received the honor.
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Praful Bidwai Memorial Award
❖ The Praful Bidwai Memorial Award for 2018 was given to Ulka Mahajan, cofounder of Sarvahara Jan Andolan.
❖ This Award was instituted in the memory of journalist and social activist
Bidwai, who died in Amsterdam in 2015..
46th Chief Justice of India (CJI)
❖ Ranjan Gogoi will on 3rd October succeed Dipak Misra as the 46th Chief
Justice of India.
❖ Present Chief Justice of India recommended Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the most
senior judge as his successor.
❖ It is a convention that an outgoing CJI recommends the name of his
successor a month before retirement.
❖ Gogoi becomes the 1st CJI from the North East region.
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❖ He will serve as CJI till his retirement on November 17, 2019.
Air Force Academy – New Commandant
❖ Air Marshal Arvindra Singh Butola took over as the Commandant of Air
Force Academy (AFA) at Dundigal.
❖ Butola is an alumnus of the prestigious Defence Services Staff College,
Wellington and National Defence College, New Delhi.
❖ For his service, he was awarded with Vayu Sena Medal, Vishist Seva
Medal, Chief of Air Staff Commendation and Air Officer Commanding in
Chief Commendation.
Sarala Puraskar
❖ The 39th edition of the award was announced by the Sarala Puraskar
Committee.
❖ Odia poet Satrughna Pandav was honoured with the
'Sarala Puraskar' for his poetry collection 'Misra Dhrupad'.
prestigious
❖ Pandeet Umesh Chandra Kar will be awarded the 'Ila Panda Sangeet
Samman' and Binod Moharana will receive the 'Ila Panda Chitrakala
Samman'.
❖ The 'Sarala Puraskar' was instituted by eminent Odia industrialist late
Dr.Bansidhar Panda and late Ila Panda in 1979.
‘Shilp Guru’ and National Award
❖ Union Minister of Textiles presented ‘Shilp Guru’ and National Award to
Master craft persons at a function held at Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
❖ Eight ‘Shilp guru’ and 25 National awards were presented for the year 2016.
❖ ‘Shilp Guru’ is the highest award in the Handicraft sector in India.
Pacific Asia Travel Association gold awards
❖ Kerala Tourism has won two prestigious gold awards of Pacific Asia Travel
Association (PATA) for its innovative marketing campaigns.
❖ These awards were won by Kerala Tourism’s Yalla Kerala print campaign and
Live Inspired Posters under PATA’s Travel Advertisement Print and Travel
Poster categories respectively.
o
‘Yalla Kerala’ - print media travel advertisement campaign launched
in Gulf countries.
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o
Live Inspired Posters - Developed for 3rd edition of Kochi-Muziris
Biennale (KMB)
❖ Both campaign and posters were developed and designed by Stark
Communications which is advertising agency of Kerala Tourism.
Hindi Implementation Award
❖ State-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) bagged the "Rajbhasha Kirti"
award for outstanding performance in implementing the Official Language
Policy during 2017-18.
❖ The award was given on the occasion of Hindi Diwas (15th September).
❖ The award, under the category of 'Nationalised Banks and Financial
Institutions in Region A', was presented by Vice President M. Venkaiah
Naidu.
Anna Rajam Malhotra passed away
❖ Anna Rajam Malhotra, first Indian woman IAS officer after Independence,
died in Mumbai on 17th September.
❖ The officer served in the Madras State under then Chief Minister C.
Rajagopalachari.
❖ During her tenure, the construction of India’s first computerised port Nhava
Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru Port) in Mumbai was completed.
❖ Anna Rajam was honored with the Padma Bhushan award in 1989 for her
exemplary service.
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Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar awards
❖ Union ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has conferred
‘Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar 2017-18’ awards in New Delhi.
❖ It has been awarded as part of the Swachhata Hi Seva campaign launched
by PM on September 15th, 2018
❖ The award has been extended, for the first time this year, to private schools
besides government and government aided schools.
❖ “Certificate of Recognition‟ will be awarded to
o
4 States (Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh) and
o
9 districts (Pondicherry, Srikakulam, Chandigarh, Hisar, Karaikal,
Latur, Nellore, South Goa, Vadodara)
for having maximum number of schools awarded with “National Swachh
Vidyalaya Puraskar‟.
❖ The Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar was launched in 2016-17 to honour the
schools that have done exemplary work in the field of water, sanitation and
hygiene.
Highest civilian honour of Mexico - Dr. Raghupati Singhania
❖ Dr. Raghupati Singhania was awarded the ‘Mexican order of the Aztec
Eagle’ by Her Excellency Ms. Melba Pria, Ambassador of Mexico to India on
the eve of 128th National Day of Mexico.
❖ It is the highest honour given to non-nationals by the Government of Mexico.
❖ He is the Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd.
❖ He was awarded for his exemplary leadership, his noteworthy services
towards humanity and his efforts to strengthen bilateral ties between India
and Mexico.
National Sports Awards 2018
❖ The National Sports Awards 2018 were announced by the Union Ministry of
Youth Affairs and Sports.
❖ Cricket captain Virat Kohli and world champion weightlifter Mirabai Chanu
will jointly be conferred with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award 2018, India’s
highest sporting honour.
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❖ The Guru Nanak Dev University of Amritsar was chosen as the recipient of
the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2017-18.
V.R.Lalithambika to Head India’s Gaganyaan project
❖ ISRO has entrusted V R Lalithambika, Director, Directorate of Human space
programme, to oversee the ‘Gaganyaan’ project of sending 3 humans into
space by 2022
❖ She is the veteran of more than 100 space missions and a vital member of
the team behind the launch of a record 104 satellites in one go on Feb 15,
2017.
UN’s Highest Environmental Honour
❖ Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded the United Nations' Champions
of the Earth award for the year 2018.
❖ The UN recognised Modi with its highest environmental honour in the policy
leadership category for his efforts to eliminate all single use plastic in India
by 2022.
❖ Six of the world’s most outstanding environmental changemakers have been
recognised with the Champions of the Earth Award.
❖ French President Emmanuel Macron and Mr. Modi have been jointly
recognised in the Policy Leadership category.
❖ Cochin International Airport was honoured with the award for
Entrepreneurial Vision, for its leadership in the use of sustainable energy.
❖ The airport is world's first fully solar-powered airport.
❖ The other winners include
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Environmental and indigenous rights
defender Joan Carling
For protecting land and environmental
rights of indigenous people for more than
20 years
China’s Zhejiang’s Green Rural Revival
Programme
For transforming once heavily polluted
area of rivers and streams in East China’s
Zhejiang province
The ‘Beyond Meat and Impossible Food’
Science and Innovation category
Barclays Hurun India Rich List 2018
❖ Billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chairman of India’s 2nd most valued firm
‘Reliance Industries’, has topped the ‘Barclays Hurun India Rich List 2018’
for the 7th consecutive year.
❖ Barclays Hurun India Rich List 2018, a compilation of the individuals in
India having a net worth of INR 1,000 crore or more.
❖ Mr Ambani is followed by London-based S.P. Hinduja and L.N. Mittal.
❖ Azim Premji is fourth in the list.
❖ The cumulative wealth of the 831 individuals featured in the list stood
at $719 billion, amounting to a quarter of India’s GDP of $2,848 billion.
FIFA's Best Player of The Year Award
❖ Luka Modric broke a decade of award dominance by Cristiano Ronaldo and
Lionel Messi after being crowned world footballer of the year by FIFA.
❖ Modric beat out Liverpool's Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah and Ronaldo.
❖ He was voted FIFA's best player (2017-18 season) after winning the
Champions League for a 4th time in 5 seasons with Real Madrid and leading
Croatia to its 1st World Cup final.
❖ Messi and Ronaldo were the only winners of world soccer's main individual
award from FIFA in various guises since 2008, both winning five titles each.
SPORTS
Most Valuable Player (MVP)
❖ Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee became the first female athlete to be named
the Most Valuable Player (MVP) at an Asian Games.
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❖ She won six gold and two silver medals. She received $50,000 in prize
money.
❖ Prior to her North Korean shooter So Gin-man only set a record with seven
golds and a silver at New Delhi in 1982.
Second Fastest Indian to Reach 6000 Test Runs
❖ Virat Kohli becomes the second fastest Indian to reach 6000 Test runs.
❖ Kohli reached the milestone in 119 innings which is quicker than Sachin
Tendulkar (120) and Sir Vivian Richards (120).
❖ However, Sunil Gavaskar is the fastest after he did so in 117 innings.
World Youth Boxing Championships
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❖ Nitu defeated Thailand's Nillada Meekoon and claimed her second successive
gold at the world youth boxing championships in 48kg.
❖ She had won her previous world championship gold last year event, held in
Guwahati.
❖ Former junior world champion boxer Sakshi Choudhary won the gold medal
in 57kg.
❖ Also, Asian champions Manisha (64kg) and Anamika (51kg) got silver
medals.
UEFA club football awards 2018
❖ The award recognizes the best player, irrespective of his nationality, playing
for a football club within the territory of a UEFA member association during
the previous season.
❖ This year awards are given as follows,
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o
Player of the UEFA Champions League Season 2017-18 - Luka Modric
(Real Madrid)
o
Goalkeeper of the UEFA Champions League Season 2017-18 - Keylor
Navas (Real Madrid)
o
Women's Player of the Year - Pernille Harder (VFL Wolfsburg).
18th Asian Games Concluded
❖ 18th edition of Asian Games concluded on September 02,2018.
❖ China topped the medal list with 289 medals followed by Japan (205) and
Korea (177).
❖ India won 15 Gold, 24 Silver and 30 Bronze medals and equalled its previous
best medal tally of 69.
ISSF World Shooting Championship
❖ 52nd ISSF World Shooting Championships are held in Changwon, South
Korea from 2 to 14 September 2018.
❖ In this championship,
o
Arjun Singh Cheema won the gold in individual junior men's 50m
pistol
o
Arjun singh cheema, Gaurav rana and Anmol Jain won the Gold in
Junior team event
o
Manisha Keer won silver medal in the junior women's trap event.
RSL Kharkiv International challenge - Badminton
❖ Young Indian shuttlers Anoushka Parikh and Saurabh Sharma won the title
in the mixed doubles event at the RSL Kharkiv International challenge in
Kharkiv, Ukraine.
❖ Also, Krishna Prasad Garaga and Dhruv Kapila clinched the men’s doubles
titles.
Silesian Open Boxing
❖ Indian five-time world boxing champion MC Mary Kom clinched her third
gold medal of the year in 48 kg category at the 13th Silesian Open Boxing
Tournament for women in Gliwice, Poland.
❖ She defeated Kazakhstan's Aigerim Kassanayeva to pick up India's lone
senior category gold at the event.
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❖ Jyoti Gulia out-classed Poland’s Tatiana Pluta and picked up the country’s
lone gold in 51 kg of the youth category.
❖ Former world champion Sarita Devi, however, signed off with a bronze medal
in the senior category.
2018 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup
❖ Maldives defeated the defending champions India 2-1 in the final and lifted
the 2018 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup at the Bangabandhu
Stadium in Dhaka.
❖ The win for Maldives comes 10 years after their first SAFF Cup title in 2008.
Ahmet Comert Tournament
❖ Simranjit Kaur (64 kg), Monika (48 kg) and BhagyabatiKachari (81 kg)
claimed gold medals at Ahmet Comert Tournament in Istanbul, Turkey.
❖ Simranjit, a former national medallist, defeated Turkey’s Sema Caliskan to
win the Gold.
❖ Bhagyabati was declared the most scientific boxer of the tournament.
New marathon world record
❖ Kenyan Eliud
Kipchoge set
a
new
marathon
world
record
in Berlin (Germany), smashing the previous best as he clocked 2 hours 1
minute 39 second.
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❖ The 33-year-old Olympic champion took 1 minute 17 second off the previous
best set four years ago by Dennis Kimetto.
❖ Ethiopian Ruti Aga finished second and her compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba
third.
Asian Para Games
❖ The Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) confirmed that Hangzhou
China will host the fourth edition of Asian Para Games in 2022.
in
❖ The Third Asian Para Games- 2018 will be played in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Singapore Grand Prix 2018
❖ Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay
Street Circuit, in Singapore.
❖ He was followed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the 2nd spot.
❖ Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finished in the 3rd place.
Medved International Wrestling tournament
❖ Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik won a silver medal (62 kg category) after losing
to Hungary’s Marianna Sastin in the final of the Medved International
Wrestling tournament held at Minsk in Belarus.
❖ India’s Pooja Dhanda won a Bronze medal in the 57 kg category.
72nd National swimming championship
❖ Richa Mishra’s performance became the best Indian performance in
the women’s 400m Individual Medley of the Glenmark 72nd National
swimming championship at Kerala.
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❖ Mishra clocked 4:59.17 and became the first Indian woman to breach the
five-minute mark.
Junior World wrestling championship
❖ Anshu Malik beat Russia’s Alina Kazymova and won bronze at the
junior World wrestling championship in Trnava, Slovakia.
❖ Anshu lost her semifinal to Sae Nanjo of Japan.
Asian Team Snooker Championship
❖ India settled for the silver medal after losing to Pakistan 2-3 in the final of
the Asian Team Snooker Championship.
❖ Pankaj Advani and Malkeet Singh represented India while Babar Masih and
Mohammad Asifwere from the Pakistani side.
Women’s Boxing World Championships
❖ The Women’s Boxing World Championships, to be hosted by India after more
than a decade, will be held from November 15-24, 2018, in New Delhi.
❖ The marquee tournament was last held in India in 2006 and remains the
best for the country in terms of performance.
❖ India had topped the medal tally with four gold, three silver and one bronze
medal.
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China Open
❖ In Badminton, Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting beat Japan's Kento
Momota to take the Men's singles China Open title in Changzhou.
❖ Spain's Carolina Marin beat China's Chen Yufei to take the women's singles
title.
❖ The 3rd seed, Momota who took the Japan Open title on home ground last
week, was beaten by world number 13th Ginting.
72nd Senior National Aquatic championship
❖ Virdhawal Khade (Maharashtra) broke his own record set in 2009 in 50m
butterfly event and won Gold medal.
❖ Saloni Dalal (Karnataka) set a new national record in women’s 100m
breaststroke beating the earlier record of Chahat Arora set in 2017.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Coconut Day- September 02
❖ Every year 2nd September is celebrated as World Coconut Day to
commemorate the formation day of Asian Pacific Coconut Community
(APCC) headquartered at Jakarta, Indonesia.
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❖ APCC is an inter-governmental organization of 18 member countries. It is
mandated to promote, coordinate and harmonize the coconut developmental
activities of the Asian Pacific region to achieve maximum economic
development.
❖ India is one of the founding members of APCC.
World Sexual Health Day- September 04
❖ World Sexual Health Day will be observed on every year September 4, in an
effort to promote a greater social awareness on sexual health across the
globe.
❖ This awareness day was managed by the World Association for Sexual
Health — a global advocacy organisation committed to promote the best
practices in sexual health.
❖ The first World Sexual Health Day was celebrated in 2010 with the slogan,
‘Let’s talk about it’.
International Day of Charity – September 05
❖ The International Day of Charity was observed globally on September 5.
❖ The Day commemorates the death anniversary of Mother Teresa who
received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her charity work undertaken in
the struggle to overcome poverty and distress. It was first celebrated in 2013.
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National Teacher’s day- September 05
❖ Each year, Teacher's Day is celebrated on the 5th of September in India.
Teacher's Day is marked in honor of Dr.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who was
born on September 5, 1888.
❖ Dr.Radhakrishnan was India's first vice president and second president. He
was a great scholar, philosopher, and Bharat Ratna recipient.
❖ Since 1962 - the year he became president - India has commemorated Dr.
Radhakrishnan's birth anniversary by paying tribute to its teachers and
gurus on this day.
International Literacy Day – September 08
❖ International Literacy Day is celebrated annually on September 8 across the
world.
❖ This year, the 52nd International Literacy Day will be celebrated on the
theme ‘Literacy and skills development’.
❖ The day was declared by UNESCO on October
26, 1966.
❖ The day highlights the importance of literacy or
the ability to read and write for individuals,
communities, and societies.
❖ According to UNESCO's statistics, India's
literacy rate is 72.1 percent. The literacy among
men is 80.9 percent, while for women it's 62.8
percent.
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World Suicide Prevention Day - September 10
❖ World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is an awareness day observed on 10
September every year.
❖ It aimed to provide worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides,
with various activities around the world since 2003.
❖ International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) collaborates with
the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental
Health (WFMH) to host World Suicide Prevention Day.
❖ This year was celebrated with the theme of “Working Together to Prevent
Suicide”.
National Hindi Diwas- Septemper 14
❖ National Hindi Divas, also known as Hindi Day, is observed on September 14
every year in India.
❖ This day is celebrated to propagate Hindi language and its cultural heritage
and values among the people of the country and abroad.
❖ On this day, Hindi language was adopted as the official language of the
country by the Constituent Assembly of India in 1949.
International Day of Democracy- September 15
❖ International Day of Democracy is observed annually on 15th September to
raise public awareness about democracy.
❖ The theme for this year’s observance is “Democracy under Strain: Solutions
for a Changing World.”
❖ It is designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007 and the day
of Democracy was first celebrated in 2008.
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Indian Engineer's Day - September 15
❖ India is celebrating Engineer's Day on September 15 as a mark of
remembrance and tribute to the greatest Indian engineer Mokshagundam
Visvesvaraya.
❖ The theme of Engineers Day in India 2018 is “Digital Transformation: A New
Industrial Revolution".
International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer: September
16
❖ International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed
on 16th September throughout the world.
❖ The theme for International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
2018 was 'Keep Cool and Carry On: The Montreal Protocol'.
❖ This day aims to create awareness on issues related to climate change and
ozone depletion.
World Alzheimer’s Day – 21 September
❖ World Alzheimer’s Day is observed every year on 21st September all over the
world.
❖ This day is observed to create awareness about the Alzheimer’s disease.
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❖ It has been observed since 2012. The month of September is observed as
World Alzheimer’s Month.
❖ Alzheimer’s disease is a group of disorders that affects memory and other
mental functions.
International Day of Peace - 21 September
❖ Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21
September.
❖ The theme for International Day of Peace 2018 is “The Right to Peace - The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70”.
❖ The theme celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
❖ The day was first celebrated in 1982.
❖ Established in 1981, UNGA has declared this as a day devoted to
strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and
peoples.
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World Rhino Day - 22 September
❖ World Rhino Day is celebrated on September 22 every year and it celebrates
all 5 species of rhino: Black, white, greater one-horned, Sumatran and Javan
rhinos.
❖ The day was observed to make people aware about the importance of Rhinos
❖ World Rhino Day was first announced by WWF-South Africa in 2010.
❖ There are approximately 2600 rhinos found in Assam alone in India.
World Car-Free Day – 22 September
❖ Every year on or around 22 September, cities across the globe
celebrate World Car-Free Day, encouraging motorists to give up their cars for
a day.
❖ The event highlights the numerous benefits of going car-free to citizen
including reduced air pollution and the promotion of walking and cycling in
a safer environment.
International Day of Sign Languages - 23 September
❖ International Day of Sign Languages is celebrated annually across the world
on 23 September every year along with International Week of the Deaf.
❖ This year it was the first International Day of Sign Languages. Its theme was
“With Sign Language, Everyone is Included!”.
❖ This day aims to raise awareness of the importance of sign language in the
full realization of the human rights of people who are deaf.
❖ International Day of Sign Languages was proposed by World Federation of
the Deaf (WFD)
❖ UN General Assembly instituted this day in December 2017 and the choice
of 23 September commemorates the date of establishment of WFD in 1951.
World Pharmacist Day – 25 September
❖ World Pharmacist Day is observed every year on 25th September to
encourage pharmacists to promote and advocate their profession
❖ The theme of World Pharmacists Day 2018 is "Pharmacists: your medicines
experts."
❖ World Pharmacist Day was first observed in 2009, by the International
Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Council in Istanbul, Turkey.
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Antyodaya Diwas – 25 September
❖ 25th September was observed as Antyodaya Diwas across the country to
mark the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.
❖ Antyodaya means uplifting of the weakest section of the society.
International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons – 26
September
❖ The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons is
observed every year on 26 September across the world.
❖ The day aims to provide an occasion for world community to reaffirm its
commitment to global nuclear disarmament as high priority.
❖ The day was proclaimed by UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) by
adopting resolution in December 2013.
❖ UNGA also observes 29 August as the International Day against Nuclear
Tests which was proclaimed through resolution adopted in 2009.
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World Tourism Day - 27 September
❖ The World Tourism Day (WTD) is being observed every year on 27th
September to raise awareness about importance of tourism.
❖ The theme of this year’s World Tourism Day is ‘Tourism and the Digital
Transformation’.
❖ Observance of day aims to foster awareness among international community
of importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic
value.
❖ The World Tourism Day marks adaptation of Statutes of UNWTO (United
nations World Tourism Organization) on September 27, 1970.
World Maritime Day – 27 September
❖ The World Maritime Day (WMD) is observed every year on last Thursday of
September month.
❖ It aims is to acknowledge the maritime industry and to highlight importance
of shipping safety, maritime security and marine environment and to
acknowledge maritime industry.
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❖ This year it was observed on September 27 with theme as “IMO 70: Our
Heritage – Better Shipping for a Better Future”.
❖ The World Maritime Day marks date of adaptation of International Maritime
Organization (IMO) Convention in 1958. The day was first observed in 1978.
World Rabies Day – 28 September
❖ The World Rabies Day is observed every year on 28 September across the
world to raise awareness about rabies disease and its preventable measures.
❖ The 2018 theme was ‘Rabies: Share the message. Save a life’.
❖ Observance of the day seeks to raise awareness about the impact of rabies
on animals and human beings.
❖ World Rabies Day is initiative of Global Alliance for Rabies Control. And it
was initiated in 2007.
❖ The day, 28 September, is to mark death anniversary of Louis Pasteur, a
French chemist and microbiologist who had developed the first rabies
vaccine.
MISCELLANEOUS
Mountaineers climbed Asia's highest volcanic peak Mount
❖ Mountaineers Satyarup Siddhanta and Mousumi Khatua have created
history by climbing Asia's highest volcanic peak Mount Damavand in Iran.
❖ At the elevation of 5,609 metres, Mount Damavand is a potentially active
volcano.
❖ The expedition team comprised of three members, Siddhanta, Mousumi and
Bhaswati Chatterjee.
Dow Jones Sustainability Index 2018
❖ Tata Steel has bagged the ‘Steel Industry Leader’ Award in ‘Dow Jones
Sustainability Index 2018’ (DJSI 2018).
❖ Tata Steel is the only India-based company to win among 60 sectors
evaluated for DJSI 2018.
❖ It has been named the “Industry Leader” amongst 24 steel companies
globally, for the second time in the last 3 years.
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Tenzing Norgay Award
❖ All-women crew of INSV Tarini has bagged the prestigious Tenzing Norgay
National Adventure award.
❖ The crew has been awarded for beating the odds in water with their enduring
skills and sailing across the world for eight long months.
❖ The award is the highest national recognition for outstanding achievements
in the field of adventure on land, sea and air.
❖ The crew was also bestowed with Nav Sena Medal on the occasion of 72nd
Independence Day.
Global Olympic Sponsor
❖ German insurer Allianz has signed up as a global Olympic sponsor for a 4Games period of 10 years between 2021 and 2028.
❖ The insurer will become the IOC’s 14th top sponsor.
❖ The games it will sponsor are:
o
Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024,
o
Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028,
o
The Winter Games in 2022 in Beijing and in 2026 in Milan (Italy).
❖ Other sponsors are: Coca-Cola, Intel, Panasonic and Visa.
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Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha centenary celebrations
❖ The President of India has inaugurated centenary celebrations of Dakshina
Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha (DBHPS) in New Delhi.
❖ DBHPS is an autonomous body functioning under the grant from the Union
Government.
❖ DBHPS, headquartered at Chennai, aims to improve Hindi literacy among
non-Hindi speaking people of South India.
❖ DBHPS was established by Annie Besant with support from Mahatma
Gandhi in 1918.
Goodwill Ambassador - Nepal tourism
❖ Former Member of Parliament and Bollywood actress Jaya Prada has been
appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the promotion of Nepal tourism.
❖ The appointment is for a period of 4 years.
❖ The Nepal government has also decided to observe the year 2020 as the 'Visit
Nepal Year' and has set a target of attracting two million international
visitors.
Human Capital Score
❖ India ranks 158th in the world for its investments in education and health
care
❖ The study is published in journal the Lancet.
❖ The study places Finland at the top.
❖ The U.S. is ranked 27th, while China is at 44th and Pakistan at 164th.
❖ South Asian countries ranking below India in this report include
o
Pakistan (164)
o
Bangladesh (161)
o
Afghanistan (188).
❖ Countries in the region that have fared better than India in terms of human
capital include
o
Sri Lanka (102)
o
Nepal (156)
o
Bhutan (133) and
o
Maldives (116).
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