GK Power Capsule (1st June to 15th Oct ober ) 2017 For ... June 17 ± World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, Theme ± Our Land, Our ... Income Tax Day x 26th July : Kargil

GK Power Capsule (1st June to 15th October) 2017

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For IBPS RRB PO/Clerk 2017

CONTENTS

S. No Topics Page No.

1. Important Days 2

2. Important State Wise National News 5

3. Important Ministry Affairs 35

4. Important Banking News 52

5 Important Financial & Economy Affairs 76

6 Important Funds Allocated By Organizations 88

7. Important International News 89

8. Important Appointments 124

9. Important Awards and Honors 141

10. Important MoU and Agreements 152

11. Important Summit & Conference 174

12. Important Bills and Amendments 176

13. Important Mobile App and Web Portal 176

14. Important Defence News 181

15. Important Schemes and Programs 190

16. Important Ranking and Indexes 195

17. Important Science and Techmology 197

18. Important Books and Authors 203

19. Important Sports News 203

20. Important Obituaries 231

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IMPORTANT DAYS

JUNE

June 1 – Global Day of Parents

June 1 – world milk day

Theme – Raise a glass of milk

June 4 – World Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression

June 5 – World Environment Day,

Theme – connecting People to Nature

June 6 – Russian language day

June 8 – World Brain Tumor Day

June 8 – World Oceans Day

Theme – Our Oceans, Our Future

June 12 – World Day Against Child Labor,

Theme – In conflicts and disasters, protect children from child labour

June 13 – International Albinism Awareness Day

June 14 – World Blood Donor Day

Theme – Give Blood, Give Now, Give Often

June 15 – World Elder Abuse Awareness day

Theme – Understand and End Financial Abuse of Older People: A Human Rights Issue.

June 16 – International Integration Day

June 16 – international day of family remittances

June 17 – World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought,

Theme – Our Land, Our Home, Our Future

June 18 – International Picnic Day

June 18 – sustainable gastronomy day

June 19 – International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict,

Theme – ‗Preventing Sexual Violence Crimes through Justice and Deterrence‘

June 20 – World Refugee Day

June 21 – World Music Day

June 21 – world hydrography day

June 21 – International Yoga Day

Theme – yoga for Health

June 23 – International Olympic Day

June 23 – United Nations Public Service Day

June 23 – International Widows Day

June 25 – Day of the Seafarer

Theme – Seafarers Matter

June 26 – International Day against Drug abuse and Illicit Trafficking,

Theme – Listen First – Listening to children and youth is the first step to help them grow healthy and safe

June 27 – micro small and medium sized enterprises day

June 28 – Tau Day

June 29 – international day of the tropics

June 29 – national statistics day(India)

June 30 – international asteroid day

JULY

1st July : National Doctors‘ Day

1st July : Chartered Accountants' Day

1st Saturday : International co-operative day

Theme : Co-operative ensures no once left behind

2nd July : World Sports Journalists Day






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3rd July : International Plastic Bag Free Day

6th July : World Zoonoses Day

7th July : Global Forgiveness Day

7th July : World Chocolate Day

11th July : World Population Day

Theme : Family Planning : Empowering People, Developing Nations

12th July : World Malala Day

15th July : World Youth Skills Day

Theme : Skills for All

17th July : World Day for International Justice

Theme: Preventing conflict and sustaining peace through decent work

18th July : International Nelson Mandela Day

19th July : Save Public Sector Bank

23rd July : National Broadcasting Day

24th July : Income Tax Day

26th July : Kargil Vijay Diwas

27th July : Central Reverse Police Force (CRPF)Foundation Day

28th July : World Hepatitis Day

Theme : Eliminate Hepatitis

28th July : World Nature Conservation Day

29th July : International Tiger Day

Theme : Fresh Ecology For Tigers‘ Protection

30th July : World Day against Trafficking in Persons

Theme : Act to Protect and Assist Trafficked Persons

01st August - World Breast Feeding Day

Theme- Sustaining Breastfeeding Together

AUGUST

06th August - Hiroshima Day

07th August - National Handloom Day

08th August - World Senior Citizen‘s Day

09th August - krantidiwas- Quit India Movement Day -Sankalp se Siddhi-the attainment through resolve

09th August - Nagasaki Day

09th August - International day of the world's indigenous people

10th August - World Bio-Fuel Day

12th August - International Youth Day

Theme : Youth Building Peace

12th August - World Elephant Day

13th August - Organ Donation Day

15th August - India‘s Independence Day

19th August - World Humanitarian Day

Theme: WHD Campaign: Not a Target

19 th August-World Photography Day

20th August - Sadbhavna Divas

20th August - Harmony Day

20th August - World Mosquito Day

23rd August - International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition

26th August - women equality day

29th August - International Day Against Nuclear Tests

29th August - National Sports Day - To mark the birthday of the hockey player Dhyan Chand

30th August - Small Industry Day






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SEPTEMBER

02nd

September: World Coconut Day

Theme – Coconut for Family Nutrition, Health and Wellness

04th

September: World Chocolate Day

05th

September: National Teachers Day

05th

September: International Day of Charity

07th

September: World Forgiveness Day

08th

September: International Literacy Day

Theme – Literacy in a digital world

10th

September: World Suicide Prevention Day

Theme – Take a minute, change a life

12th

September: United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation

13th

September: World First Aid Day

14th

September: World Fraternity and Apology Day

14th

September: Hindi Day

15th

September: International Day of Democracy

Theme – Democracy and Conflict prevention

15th

September: Engineers Day

Theme – Role of Engineers in a developing India

16th

September: International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer

Theme – Caring for all life under Sun

20th

September: International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

20th

September: RPF Foundation day

21st September: Alzheimer‘s Day

Theme - Dementia: Can we reduce the risk?

21st September: International Day of Peace

Theme – Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All

22nd

September: World Cancer Free Day or Rose Day

23rd

September: International Day of the Deaf

26th

September: World Contraception Day,

27th

September: World Tourism Day

Theme – Sustainable Tourism – a Tool for Development

28th

September: International Day for Universal Access to Information,

28th

September: World Rabies Day

Theme – Rabies: Zero by 30

28th

September: World Maritime Day

Theme – Connecting Ships, Ports and People

29th

September: World Heart Day

29th

September: World Heart Day

Theme- Creating Heart Healthy Environments

29th

September: World Coffee Day

30th

September: International Translation Day

Theme – Translation and Diversity

30th

September: International Translation Day

30th

September: World Deaf Day

OCTOBER

1st October - International Day of Older Persons

1st October - World Vegetarian Day

2nd

October - World Habitat Day






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2nd

October - International Day of Non-Violence

4th

October - World Animal Day

5th

October - World Teachers' Day

5th

October - World Ballet Day

8th

October - Indian Air Force Day

9th

October - World Post Day

10th

October - World Mental Health Day

10th

October - World Day Against the Death Penalty

11th

October - International Day of Girl Child

12th

October - World Sight Day

14th

October - World Standards Day

15th

October - World Students' day

15th

October - International Day of Rural Women

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STATE WISE NEWS

Andhra Pradesh

Capital – Amaravati; CM – N. Chandrababu Naidu; Governor – E S L Narasimhan

Andhra Pradesh government launched “Back to School” programme against child labour

Krishna District Collector B.Lakshmikantham Inaugurating a week-long campaign against child labourand

‗Back to School‘programme said all children aged below 14years should be in school under the Right to

Education Act, 2009.Persons having information on child labour could alert the officials by calling ‗100‘or

‗1098‘, the Collector said.

New airport in Kurnool to boost business, employement opportunities: Chandrababu Naidu

In Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said that with the construction of new airport in

Kurnool district, many industries will come up and thus enhance the growth in business and more employment

opportunities. He laid the foundation stone of the Greenfield Airport at Orvakal. The airport will be constructed

in 2,000 acres land at a cost of 120 crore rupees with international standards.

9.5 lakh children to be given Measles-Rubella vaccine in Andhra Pradesh

The Medical and HealthAuthorities of Krishna districthave kept ready 10.5 lakhdoses of Measles-

Rubellavaccine in what is being seenas the biggest vaccine-byinjectioncampaign in thehistory of the country.

Asmany as 9.5 lakh children willbe administered the MRvaccine in 8,166 sessions.

Tirupathi and Vijaywada Airport in Andhra Pradesh going to be green airport

As a part of Government of India‘s initiative to develop green airports, two airports in Andhra Pradesh-

Tirupati and Vijayawada are going to go completely green. AAI has commenced installation of 1MWp solar

power plant at Tirupathi and Vijaywada Airports. It has also completed installation of solar power plants at 29

airports/locations with a total capacity of 12.84 MWp.

Vizag‟s Rayichapalu declared one of the rarest fish in world

Vizag‘sRayichapalu is declared one of the rarest fish in the world by researchers from the Marine Living

Resources Department of Andhra University.The tiny, colourful fish, called ‗Ranguchapulu‘ or ‗Rayichapalu‘

by the fisherfolk, will have the scientific name ‗PseudathiasVizagensis‘, after the city where it was first

discovered.

Andhra Pradesh CM Chandra babuNaidu announced scheme forbrides of poor families

Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister N. ChandrababuNaidu announcedthe launch of PelliKanuka(marriage gift), a

schemeaimed at helping families ofbrides belonging to the poorand disadvantaged sectionsof society.

Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu declared the year of 2017 as e-Pragati year






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

flagship program will help the government to make real-time governance.The Chief Minister also inaugurated

the Andhra Pradesh Sports Policy 2017.

Chandrababu Naidu Launches 'Swachh Andhra Mission'

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

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

Arunachal Pradesh

Capital – Itanagar; CM – Pema Khandu; Governor – B. D. Mishra

Delhi-based NGO to help Arunachal Pradesh to build toilets

Arunachal Pradesh has collaborated with a Delhi based NGO for construction of toilets at Hong village in Ziro.

State PHE Minister Bamang Felix visited Sulabh International in Delhi in this connection, officials said.

Kiren Rijijuhas inaugurated the Research Institution of World Ancient, Traditional, Culture& Heritage

(RIWATCH) Museum at Roing in Arunachal Pradesh

Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijijuhas inaugurated the Research Institution of World Ancient,

Traditional, Culture& Heritage (RIWATCH) Museum at Roing in Arunachal Pradesh. Later, on the sideline of

his visit to Roing, Rijiju also inaugurated the 235-meter longChimari Bridge, which would serve as a life line

between the National Highway 52 of Roing-Tezu.

Useful Info

Union Minister of state for Home – KirenRijiju

Constituency – Arunachal West

Centre releases advance grant-in-aid of Rs.51.30 crore to Arunachal Pradesh

The Centre has released advance grant-in-aid of Rs 51.30 crore to Arunachal Pradesh for rescue and relief

operations on account of flash floods.

Due to heavy rains and floods in North East, department of expenditure in the Ministry of Finance has released

Rs 51.30 crore as grant-in-aid to Arunachal Pradesh on the basis of recommendation of the 14th Finance

Commission for relief necessitated by natural calamities to the state.

Assam

State – Assam; Capital – Dispur; CM – SarbanandaSonowal;

Governor – Jagdish Mukhi

Assam government has decided to distribute 13 lakh Soil Health Cards among farmers

Assam government has decided to distribute 13 lakh Soil Health Cards among farmers. About 1 lakh 41

thousand cards have already been distributed between April 2016 and June 2017.Agriculture minister Atul

Bora has mentioned that 214 soil test kits are operational for this purpose and that the government would soon

be announcing a State Agriculture policy.

Centre has declared entire Assam as a “disturbed” area under the controversial Armed Forces (Special

Powers) Act (AFSPA) for one more month

Centre has declared entire Assam as a ―disturbed” area under the controversial Armed Forces (Special

Powers) Act(AFSPA) for one more month, citing various violent activities by insurgent groups ULFA, NDFB,

and others.






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The Union home ministry also declared Meghalaya‟s border areas adjoining Assam, and three districts in

Arunachal Pradesh as ―disturbed‖ under the AFSPA for two more months with effect from August 03rd,

2017.

Assam forest dept deploys excavators to evict illegal encroachers from Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary

Assam forest department deployed around 10000 security and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF)

personnel, 20 elephants and 20 excavators to evict 1400 families that have been encroaching

upon Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary on the northeastern fringe of Guwahati. The sanctuary is spread over

78.64 sq km.

Assam govt sets up DBT cell for implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer scheme

In Assam, the state govt. has set up a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Cell for implementation of DBT

across schemes in the Country. It helps in coordinating efforts at the State Level in taking the DBT initiative

forward with immediate effect.It will closely monitor & evaluate the progress of various Departments on

DBT related indicators.

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurates MODI Fest in Tripura

Making of Developed India (MODI) Fest, was launched in Tripura for highlighting the flagship schemes,

initiatives, policies and achievements of NDA Government on completion of its 3 years. The three day Expo

has begun at Santirbazar School Ground in Santirbazar Sub-division of South Tripura district. The Programme

was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal.

Country‟s First ITI for Divyangans in Assam

Foundation stone for the first ever Industrial Training Institute for the Divyangans exclusively was laid at

Dibrugarh ITI Complex at Borboruah, Dibrugarh by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. As per

the guidelines of National Council for Vocational Training, the ITI will have sixty seats for three different

trades with 20 seats per trade. The three different trades included in the curriculum are Computer Operator

and Programming Assistant, Cutting and Sewing Technology and Hair & Skin Care.

ISRO to Set up Research Centre in Guwahati

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will set up a research centre in Guwahati, Assam for start

ups, academicians, environmentalists and entrepreneurs. ISRO would set up the exclusive research facility in

Assam to explore the possibility of using geospatial technology, which include data generated through global

positioning system (GPS), geographical information systems (GIS) and satellite remote sensing for

expediting the development of Assam.

Useful Info

ISRO headquarters - Bengaluru, Karnataka

Chairman of ISRO - A. S. Kiran Kumar

Bihar

Capital – Patna; CM – Nitish Kumar; Governor – Satya Pal Malik

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar opened two road bridges over the Ganga

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar dedicated two road bridges over the Ganga to the people of the State. At a

function in the State capital attended among others by RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and others, Nitish Kumar

dedicated the two bridges, Sonepur-Digha and Ara- Chapra. The two bridges will go along way in

improving road connectively between south and north Bihar.

Ram Nath Kovind resigned from the post of governor of Bihar

Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind has resigned from his gubernatorial post. The resignation follows his

nomination as the ruling NDA‘s presidential candidate. President Pranab Mukherjee has accepted the

resignation of Kovind as the Governor of Bihar. West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi will discharge

the functions of the Governor of Bihar, in addition to his own duties.






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Useful Info

NDA - National Democratic Alliance

First female president of India – Pratibha Devisingh Patil

A model of water conservation in Nalanda district of Bihar selected for National Award

A model of water conservation adopted successfully by the authorities in Nalanda district of south-central

Bihar, has been selected for the national award for excellence in the Mahatma Gandhi national rural

employment guarantee program (MGNREGP),bytheministryofruraldevelopment.The award for excellence will

be conferred on ‗Project JalSanchay‘, the water conservation model developed in chief minister Nitish Kumar‘s

native district, at a function to be organized at VigyanBhawan in New Delhi on June 19.

Useful Info

State – Bihar

Capital – Patna

CM – Nitish Kumar

Governor - Ram NathKovind

Nitish Kumar takes oath as Chief Minister of Bihar for the 6th time

Less than a day after resigning as Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar took oath at Raj Bhawan in Patna as the

head of the government that would include BJP and its allies. Prior to this, the party of Nitish Kumar, JD-(U)

was supported by Mahagathbandhan allies with LaluYadav led RJD. Nitish Kumar took oath as chief minister

of Bihar. Sushil Kumar Modi took oath as deputy chief minister. Ex-Deputy CM of Bihar, TejashwiYadav

meets Bihar governor KeshriNathTripathi in Patna to register protest over Nitish Kumar being invited to form

his government ahead of RJD.

Useful Info

Present Deputy CM - Sushil Kumar Modi

EX – Deputy CM - TejashwiYadav

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar expanded the Cabinet, inducting 27 new ministers

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar expanded the Cabinet, inducting 27new ministers which included 14 JD(U), 12 BJP

and 1 LJPlegislator.

CM Nitish Kumar -Home and Personnel, and Department of Monitoring portfolios.

Deputy CM SushilModi-Finance, Commerce, Forestry, and IT Department.

Krishna NandanVerma-Education Ministry.

Shravan Kumar -Rural Development and Parliamentary Affairs.

Bihar Government announced Compulsory retirement for non-performing teachers and education officials

above 50

The Bihar Government has informed that it has decided to compulsory retirement to the non-performing

teachers, head masters and education department officials above the age of 50 years.The committee is headed

by RK Mahajan. The main aim is to improve results in matriculation and intermediate.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launches mobiletherapy van for elderly

Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar flaggedoff mobile therapy vanswhichwould provide basic medicalassistance

to elderly people,widows and other sectionwho requires social security.The CM flagged off mobiletherapy vans

to launch―BuniyadiSanjivaniSewa‖.

Bihar govt releases Rs 1935 crore to undertake relief operations in flood affected areas

Bihar government has released Rs 1935 crore to undertake relief operations in flood affected areas of the

state.The decision was taken in the state cabinet which was chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Bihar Cabinet Approves Reservation for „Divyangs‟ in Govt Jobs






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The Bihar Cabinet has approved reservations for persons with disabilities in government jobs and educational

institutions. The cabinet gave its approval during a meeting presided by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The

provision has been brought in accordance with the Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016. The cabinet also

approved establishment of a state advisory board for the empowerment of „Divyangjan‟ as envisaged in the

Act.

PM lays Foundation Stone for Infrastructure Projects in Bihar

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone for four sewerage projects under the

Namami Gange programme; and four National Highway projects, at Mokama in Bihar. The total outlay of

these projects is over Rs. 3700 crore. The four sewerage projects include Sewage Treatment Plant at Beur,

Sewerage System with Sewer Network at Beur, Sewage Treatment Plant at Karmalichak and STP and Sewer

Network at Saidpur. These projects together will create new STP capacity of 120 MLD and upgrade the

existing 20 MLD for Beur.

Chhattisgarh

State – Chhattisgarh; Capital – Raipur, Bilaspur (Judiciary); CM – Raman Singh; Governor - Balram Das

Tandon

Chhattisgarh: „Ye India ka time hai‟ event organized at NIT Raipur

‗Ye India ka time hai‘ event was organized at National Institute of Technology, Raipur yesterday evening. The

event was held as per the directives of HRD ministry to mark India's 70 years of independence and 75 years of

the Quit India movement.AIR correspondent reports that On the occasion of ‗Ye India ka time hai event‘,

students of NIT Raipur participated in a brainstorming session on 'New India Manthan' and discussed their

views on ‗what kind of India do they imagine for the year 2022‘.

Goa

State – Goa; Capital – Panaji; CM – Manohar Parrikar; Governor – Mridula Sinha

The Goa Legislative Assembly passed a bill which reclassifies coconut as a `tree'

The Goa Legislative Assembly passed a bill which reclassifies coconut as a `tree', ensuring legal protection

for it. Goa Forward Party, a partner in the ManoharParrikar-led government, had promised to reclassify

coconut.The previous LaxmikantParsekar-led government had changed classification of coconut tree to a

`palm'. The Assembly, on the last day of Monsoon session, passed the Goa, Daman and Diu (Preservation

of) Trees Act, 1984 to regulate felling of coconut trees and reclassify it as a tree.

Goa: CM Parrrikar launches online Public Grievance Redressal System

Goa chief minister ManoharParrrikar launched an online Public Grievance Redressal System at the state

secretariat. It is a single window online portal for citizens to register grievances towards any state government

department.

Vice President Inaugurated 3rd International Conference on Yoga

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the third International Conference on Yoga in New Delhi.

The theme of this year‟s conference will be „Yoga for Wellness‟ The two-day conference has six technical

sessions and experts will deliberate on the scope of yoga in integrated medicine, and control of cancer,

depression and gynaecological disorders and pain management. Around 500 delegates, including those from 44

countries, will attend the conference.

Useful Info

AYUSH – Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy

Minister for AYUSH – Shripad Yasso Naik

Constituency – North Goa






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Gujarat

Capital – Gandhinagar; CM – Vijay Rupani; Governor – Om Prakash Kohli

Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates „Homes For All‟ property show in Ahmedabad

Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Poverty Alleviation Venkaiah Naidu inagurated the

‗Homes For All‘ property show organized by Ahmedabad Municipal corporation and GIHED CREDAI in

Ahmedabad.

On the occasion, Mr. Naidu launched several smart initiatives such as Janmitra Card -‗One Card Many

Services‘, AMC Seva Mobile Application, Amdavad Airport Shuttle Service, Intelligent Transit Management

System among others.

Useful Info

Minister of Urban development, housing and urban poverty allevation, information and broadcasting – M

Venkaiah Naidu

Constituency – Rajasthan (RajyaSabha)

India is set to get its first high-speed rail training center at Gandhinagar, Gujarat

The country is set to get its first high-speed rail training center at Gandhinagar. The center will provide for

advanced training modules on cutting edge technologies. While India‘s first bullet train is proposed to hit the

track in 2023, the training center is supposed to start operating by 2020

Useful Info

Managing director of National High-Speed Rail Corporation – AchalKhare

Ahmedabad city has been declared as a World Heritage City

Ahmedabad city has been declared as a World Heritage City at the 41st session of UNESCO's world heritage

committee being held at Krakow in Poland. Nomination of Ahmedabad was supported by close to 20 countries,

including Turkey, Lebanon, Tunisia, Portugal, Peru and Kazakhstan. The walled city has 26 ASI-protected

structures, hundreds of 'polls' that capture the essence of community living and numerous sites associated with

Mahatma Gandhi who lived here from 1915 to 1930. Now, Ahmedabad will join the world heritage cities like

Paris, Cairo and Edinburgh. Out of total 287 world heritage cities across the globe, there were only two cities in

the Indian subcontinent- Bhaktpur in Nepal and Galle in Sri Lanka. The UNESCO tag will add immense value

to Ahmedabad city which will also boost tourism.

Useful Info

UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

HQ – Paris, France

Director-general - Irina Bokova

Gujarat First State to Implement Coal Utilisation Between Power Units

The Gujarat government has issued a tender for power developers to receive cheap coal marked for the

state in return for selling coal-based power at less than Rs 2.82 a unit.Through the auction, Gujarat will

transfer the coal allocated to power generating stations owned by Gujarat State Electricity Corporation

(GSECL) to more fuel-efficient private power plants. The aim is to reduce the cost of fuel for financially

ailing distribution companies and ensure effective distribution of domestic coal.

Ram Nath Kovind laid the foundation stone of the second phase of SAUNI Yojana

President Ram NathKovindlaid the foundation stone of the second phase of link IV pipeline canal of

Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation (SAUNI) Yojana in Rajkot, Gujarat.The Scheme aimed to fill up

about 115 dams by the overflowing waters of SardarSarovar Dam on Narmada River. The entire project will

benefit more than 2 lakh acres of farm land and more than 900 villages of 7 districts of Saurashtra.The

first phases of link I, II, and III of the SAUNI Project have been inaugurated by Prime Minister NarendraModi.






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The project is aimed at bringing the waters of Narmada River to the reservoirs of parched Saurashtra region.

President Kovind was on a two- day visit to Gujarat.

Gujarat government launches „Gyankunj Project „in schools

Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani has launched “Gyakunj e-class project” from Shahpur primary school in

GandhinagarUnder this initiative, interactive e-class will be launched with smart board. In the first phase,

550 schools will be covered under the ‗Gyankunj Project‘ and gradually standard 5th to 9th of every schools of

the state will cover under the project. ‟Gyankunj Project‟ covers under total worth of Rs. 35.85 crore.

The objective of the project is to produce world-class students. The project is launched at expenditure of Rs.

222,000/- per school.

India‟s First Lithium-Ion Battery Unit in Gujarat

Suzuki Motor will invest more thanRs 1,150 crorealong with Japanese partners Toshiba and Denso to set up

India's first lithium-ion battery facility in Gujarat.The announcement by the parent of the country's largest

carmaker, Maruti Suzuki is a major boost to the government's ambitious vehicle electrification and Make in

India initiatives. In the battery venture, Suzuki will hold half the stake, while Toshiba will own 40% and Denso

the remaining 10%.

Japan PM Shinzo Abe in Ahmedabad for India-Japan Annual Summit

Prime Minister NarendraModi received his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe at Ahmedabad in Gujarat. Mr.

Abe is in India on a two-day visit to attend the India-Japan annual summit meeting.The 12th edition of the

summit will be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The two leaders will review the recent progress in the

multifaceted co-operation between India and Japan under the framework of their „Special Strategic and

Global Partnership‟. They will also attend a function to mark the commencement of work of India‟s first

high-speed rail project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

Useful Info

Country – Japan

Capital – Tokyo

Currency – Japanese Yen

Shinzo Abe Gujarat Visit: India's First Bullet Train Project Inaugurated

Prime Minister NarendraModi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone of the

508-km long Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail in Ahmedabad. This is the fourth summit meeting

between Modi and Abe.The two leaders visited the Sabarmati Ashram after Abe‘s arrival in Gujarat. The

Japanese Prime Minister is on a two-day visit to Gujarat. He will also attend the 12th Indo-Japan Summit.

PM Modi inaugurates country's biggest dam, SardarSarovar Dam, Called 'Gujarat's Lifeline'

Prime Minister NarendraModi launched the SardarSarovar Dam - the world's second biggest - on the river

Narmada in Gujarat.The 1.2-km-long dam, which is 163 metres deep, will irrigate over 18 lakh hectares in the

state, according to officials; the water from Narmada will flow into over 9,000 villages through a canal

network, SardarSarovar Nigam Limited (SSNL).After inaugurating the dam, PM Modi will head to Sadhu Bet,

an island in the river Narmada where a 182-metre-tall statue of SardarVallabhbhai Patel - called the 'Statue of

Unity'.

Dharmendra Pradhan to host first LPG Panchayat in Gandhinagar

DharmendraPradhan will inaugurate one of the ambitious programmes of the Centre — LPG Panchayat,

aimed at encouraging rural communities to turn to clean fuel.The Centre plans to organise one lakh LPG

Panchayats across the country, where discussions will take place between officials of fuel companies and

villagers on awareness and uses of the LPG. The First LPG Panchayat will be held in Gandhinagar, where

Pradhan will preside over the interaction between women using LPG under the

PradhanMantriUjjawalaYojana (PMUY) and the companies.According to data shared by the oil marketing






12

companies, so far three crore connections have been allotted under the PMUY against the target of five crore

by 2019.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas - DharmendraPradhan

Constituency – RajyaSabha, Bihar

Kandla Port Renamed as Deendayal Port

The Kandla Port, one of the top 12 major ports in the country, has been renamed as Deendayal Port in the

name of Hindutva icon Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay. Kandla Port, located on the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, is

one of the twelve major ports in the country

PM Modi Lays Foundation Stone for Bridge in Dwarka, Gujarat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of a four-lane cable-stayed bridge between Okha

and Beyt Dwarka. The bridge is a link between old and new Dwarka. The 2.32 km bridge, including 900

metres of central double span cable-stayed portion, will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 962.43 crore. The four-

lane 27.20-metre wide bridge will have 2.50 metre wide footpaths on each side. Solar panels installed on the

roof of footpath will produce 1 MW power for street lights on the bridge.

Useful Info

Present Prime Minister of India – Narendra Modi

1st Prime Minister of India – Jawaharlal Nehru

PM Modi lays foundation stone for Bhadbhut Barrage over Narmada River

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for Bhadbhut Barrage to be built over Narmada River

in Bharuch Gujarat. Mr Modi also flagged off the Antyodaya Express between Udhna in Surat and Jaynagar in

Bihar. Prime Minister is now addressing a public meeting at Bharuch.

Prime Minister Launched Intensified Mission Indradhanush

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has launched the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) at

Vadnagar in Gujarat. Through this programme, Government of India aims to reach each and every child under

two years of age and all those pregnant women who have been left uncovered under the routine immunisation

program. IMI is supported by 11 other ministries and departments.

Gujarat Government Announces Garments & Apparel Policy 2017

Gujarat Government has announced the Garments and Apparel Policy-2017, with the aim of creating more

opportunities in the garment sector of Gujarat and to create huge employment opportunities for women through

the apparel industry. This Policy is prepared with an aim to make Gujarat number 1 in textile which produces

more of cotton. The State government will also provide incentives for garment unit owners for generating

employment by providing subsidy in wages. The women workers will get Rs 4,000 subsidy, while their male

counterparts will get Rs 3,500.

Haryana

Capital – Chandigarh; CM – Manohar lal khattar; Governor - Kaptan Singh Solanki

Haryana government to implement health insurance scheme for poor

Haryana government will implement a health insurance scheme in the state to provide free health services to

the poor. The state government will bear the cost of the premium. Chief Minister Manohar Lal said this after

inaugurating a medical college and hospital at Mohri village in Kurukshetra district. He said private

organisations have been invited to establish Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and

Homoeopathy colleges in the state.

Haryana government announced a hike in the monthly stipend of widows and destitute women

The Haryana government announced a500 rupee increase in the monthly stipend of widows and destitute

women and girls imparting training in tailoring. To purchase raw materials each trainee will get 300 rupee per

month instead of 150 rupee during the training period.

Haryana to set up more centres for women in distress






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To provide support to women affected by violence, whether in a private or a public place, the Haryana

government has decided to set up ‗One Stop Centres‘ (OSCs) in15 more districts under the State‘s golden

jubilee year programme. A sum of over20.61 crore rupees would be spent on the construction of these centres.

Ornamental fish hatchery to be set up in Jhajjar district of Haryana soon

The Haryana government has decided to set up a modern ornamental fish hatchery in Jhajjar district at a cost of

Rs 13.68 crore. ―This will be the first-of-its-kind project in the country,‖ Agriculture and Fisheries minister Om

PrakashDhankar said.

First International Aviation Security seminar organised by National Security Guard in Haryana

The Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (I/C) Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy attended the first

International Aviation Security Seminar in Manesar Haryana. National Security Guard (NSG) has organized

the seminar, with the aim of bringing all major stakeholders under one roof and facilitate them sharing

views/opinion, discussions, brainstorming with the matters concerning Aviation Security. Shri Rajiv Pratap

Rudy also hoisted the National Flag at NSG Campus, during the National Flag Foundation program. It is the

India's 67th Flagpole and 26th highest Monumental Flagpole.

Useful Info

NSG - National Security Guard

HQ – New Delhi

Current Director General - SudhirPratap Singh

Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) - Rajiv Pratap Rudy

Constituency – Saran, Bihar

Haryana CM rules out resignation for violence

Haryana chief minister ManoharLal ruled out his resignation for the violence that swept the state after the

conviction of self-styled godmanGurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in two rape cases.

Kerala, Haryana Top Sanitation Survey

According to the survey, almost all rural households in Kerala and Haryana had access to a toilet report. The

survey is released by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and was carried out by the Quality

Council of India (QCI).The survey, covering 4626 villages across all States and Union territories, claimed that

62.45% of the households had access to a toilet. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh has least access to toilets compared

to other states.

Useful Info

Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation – Uma Bharti

Constituency – Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh

State – Himachal Pradesh; Capital – Shimla; CM – Virbhadra Singh;

Governor – AcharyaDevVrat

Measles, mumps and rubella vaccination campaign launched in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh

A campaign to protect children from major childhood diseases like measles, mumps and rubella has been

started in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.The campaign has been initiated by Dharamshala Municipal

Corporation Mayor RajniVyas. Under the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccination programme, all

children between the age of nine months to 15 years shall be vaccinated.

Himachal Pradesh, First State to Launch Electric Bus Service in India

The Himachal Pradesh government on launched first-of-its-kind electric bus service in the 51km-long

stretch road between Manali and Rohtang Pass. The bus service was flagged off by State Transport Minister






14

GS Bali.The move was made amidst concern over increasing environmental degradation in the Rohtang Pass

area due to plying of diesel taxis. With this initiative, the state has become the first in the world to ply

electric buses at an altitude of 13 thousand feet.

Himachal Pradesh Implements Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme

Himachal Pradesh government implemented the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS) to

provide easy access to curative geriatric health care services by way of additional cover. The scheme would

provide top-up coverage of Rs 30,000 per senior citizen to all existing Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna

(RSBY) smart card holders. This would be in addition to the basic coverage of Rs 30,000 in Trust and Society

mode.

Jharkhand

State – Jharkhand; Capital – Ranchi; CM – Raghubar Das; Governor – Draupadi Murmu

SmritiIranihas inaugurated Jharkhand‟s first textiles manufacturing and export unit „Orient Craft Ltd‟

SmritiIranihas inaugurated Jharkhand‟s first textiles manufacturing and export unit „Orient Craft

Ltd‟.Irani will also lay foundation stones of numerous companies under special make in Jharkhand drive,

called “Momentum Jharkhand" in Jamshedpur. The ongoing ceremony, named as ”Second

Groundbreaking Ceremony” foundation stones for 70 companies.

Useful Info

Union minister of Textiles –SmritiIrani

Constituency –Gujarat, RajyaSabha

Jammu & Kashmir

Capital – Srinagar (Summer), Jammu (Winter); CM - Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed;

Governor – Narinder Nath Vohra

Dalai Lama to celebrate 82nd birthday in Leh

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama will celebrate his 82nd

birthday with the people of Leh in Jammu and

Kashmir, an aide said.―His Holiness will hold long life offering ceremony in Lehon his birthday on July 6. He

will also deliver teachings that day,‖ an official at the Dalai Lama‘s office said.

Useful Info

Country – Tibet

Capital – Lhasa

Currency – Renminbi

Jammu and Kashmir Assembly adopted a resolution to implement the goods and services tax (GST)

Jammu and Kashmir Assembly adopted a resolution to implement the goods and services tax (GST), bringing

the state‘s indirect taxation into the new unified tax regime that the rest of the country adopted on 1 July at a

landmark ceremony in Parliament. With this Jammu and Kashmir has become the last state to pass the GST bill

in the state.

Jammu & Kashmir government launches weekly festival „Cultrue of Cruise' at Dal Lake

The spectacular Dal Lake here hosted first ever 'Cultrue of Cruise', a weeekly cultural programmeorganised by

the Jammu and Kashmir government aimed to bring artists from various fields on one stage. The innovative

programme series brings writers, performance artistes, musicians, poets and academics together and offers a

program of performances, workshops, talks, forums and debates.






15

Jammu and Kashmir government to set up Eco-Park in Rajouri district

The Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to set up an Eco-Park on over 34 acres of land retrieve

from encroachers in the state‘s Rajouri district.The park is a first-of-its-kind project in the region. It will have

a botanical garden, a cactus garden, a cafeteria and other amenities.

Jammu and Kashmir governor N NVohra inaugurated the second International Yoga Festival

Jammu and Kashmir governor N NVohra inaugurated the second International Yoga Festival and

International Yoga Sports Championship 2017 in which about 300 people from across the world are

participating.The festival is being organized by the Yoga Society of Kashmir at the Sher-i-Kashmir

International Conference Centre. About 300 participants from various parts of India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Canada,

Bulgaria, USA, and Nepal are participating in the festival.

Useful Info

The first International Yoga Festival was held in Uttarakhand

Bilal Dar from Srinagar becomes an ambassador for Swachhata Hi Seva

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

Corporation. Dar has been contributing to the ‗SwachhtaAbhiyan‘ since the age of 12.'Swachhta Hi Sewa‘

campaign has turned out to be monetarily beneficial for residents and scrap buyers/dealers, besides helping in

enhancing preventive measures against vector-borne diseases.

Karnataka

Capital – Bengaluru; CM – Siddaramaiah; Governor – Vajubhai Vala

TrinTrin, the country‟s first smartcard-based public bicycle sharing (PBS) in Mysuru

TrinTrin, the country‘s first smartcard-based public bicycle sharing (PBS) initiative under a six-year20.5

crore rupees plan will be seen all over the city. Mysuru scored over other cities when Karnataka‟s

Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) looked fora candidate for the bike venture.

Bengaluru has become the country's first city to deliver diesel at home

Mypetrolpump, a one-year-old startup, conducted a soft launch with three delivery vehicles -each with a

capacity of 950 litres.

President to inaugurate Green Line of Bengaluru Metro

President Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the Green Line of Metro Rail from Mantri Square Sampige Road

Station to Yelachanahalli Metro Station in Bengaluru. The President will also dedicate Phase - 1 of Namma

Metro to the Nation at Banquet Hall, Vidhana Soudha, the State Secretariat.

Useful Info

First President of India - Rajendra Prasad

First Woman President of India – Pratibha Devisingh Patil

13th

President of India - Pranab Mukherjee

Kambala (the traditional slush-track buffalo race) Bill gets presidential assent

The traditional slush-track buffalo race of coastal Karnataka — are cleared with the Prevention of Cruelty to

Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2017, finally got the presidential assent.

Useful Info

Kambala – Kambala is an annual Buffalo Race held traditionally under the sponsorship of local land lords and

households, in coastal Karnataka, India.

Karnataka Government constituted a 9-member committee to study the possibility of designing a separate

state flag






16

Karnataka Government constituted a 9-member committee to study the possibility of designing a separate state

flag and providing it a statutory standing. This committee was constituted following representation of social

activists from the state urged the government to design a separate flag for Kannada ‗naadu‘ and accord

statutory standing for it. This committee will be headed by Principal Secretary, Department of Kannada and

Culture.

The new flag for Karnataka state has been designed

Karnataka government has recently formed a panel to design a separate flag for the state.

Significance of Design AndColour of Kannada Flag

The official state flag for Karnataka is a longstanding demand of pro-Kannada activists.

The Kannada flag, which is divided into two equal horizontal stripes, a yellow strip for the top half and a

red strip below, could become the official state flag of Karnataka.

This flag was designed by Kannada writer and activist Ma Ramamurthy for a pro-Kannada political party.

The flag's red colour stands for Kumkuma (Vermilion) and the yellow stands for Arrishna (Turmeric),

symbolising auspiciousness and well-being of the state and its people. This flag is unofficially adopted and

is hoisted on the state's formation day every year since 1960s.

Vondaraguppe village in Karnataka's Ramanagara district has transitioned to a completely cashless system

Vondaraguppe village in Karnataka's Ramanagara district has transitioned to a completely cashless system.

Around 350 families, 90% of which are involved in the silk-rearing business, have deposited their cash in

banks and carry their business transactions through cheques. The villagers are using RuPay, an Indian domestic

card scheme, for everyday transactions.

RCEP trade negotiating Committee meeting held in Hyderabad

19th round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Trade Negotiating Committee

(TNC) meetings and other related meetings were held in Hyderabad.The Meeting was inaugurated by Rita

Teaotia, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India.

India‟s First Heli-taxi service launched by MoS for Civil Aviation JayanthSinha in Bengaluru

Thumby Aviation, a private helicopter service provider, and Bangalore International Airport Ltd., (BIAL) have

partnered to launch Heli-Taxi service from Bengaluru Airport.Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) is the

first airport and Bengaluru is the first city in the country with such a service.

Useful Info

Union Civil Aviation Minister – Ashok GajapathiRaju

Constituency – Vizianagaram (AP)

Minister of State for Civil Aviation - JayantSinha

Constituency – Hazaribagh, Jharkhand

Karnataka Launches „Indira Canteen‟ in Bengaluru

Indira Canteen‟, aimed at serving food to poor at subsidized rates, was inaugurated in Bengaluru, by

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.Rahul Gandhi who had the first breakfast at the canteen in Jayanagar,

said ‗Indira Canteens‘ would serve the migrants who came to Bengaluru with a dream to build something.

Karnataka to give free education to all girls till graduation

Karnataka government has decided to make education free for all girls from Class 1 to graduation level in all

public and aided private schools and colleges, barring only professional institutions, from the next academic

year. ―We expect around 18 lakh students whose parents' income would be less than Rs 10 lakh to opt for this

scheme and are planning to earmark Rs 110 crore," higher education minister BasavarajRayareddi said, hoping

only the poor would avail of the scheme.

Karnataka, 1st Indian State to Approve e-vehicle Policy






17

Karnataka is the first state to roll out an Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy that looks not only at

boosting sales of Electrical Vehicles, but also setting up charging infrastructure and special manufacturing

zones.Karnataka is looking to attract investments to the tune of Rs 31,000 crore from companies looking at

R&D and manufacturing of electric vehicles in the state.

Karnataka Government has launched 'Vision-2025' project across the state

Karnataka Government Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has launched 'Vision-2025' project across the state.

It aimed at evolving a draft policy for development of the state in next seven years by seeking the opinion of

the public.Under the project, the government would seek public opinion on how they want their dream state to

be in the next seven years. The CM has also launched the website 'www.navakarnataka2025.in'.

Karnataka Launches mid-day Meals Scheme for Pregnant Women

The Karnataka government launched the Rs. 302-crore Mathru Poorna scheme, aimed at providing free

mid-day meals to pregnant and lactating women in rural areas. The meals, which will be provided in

Anganwadi centres, will include an egg, rice, pulses, vegetables, and milk. This is aimed at reducing child

malnutrition and in turn curb infant mortality.

Kerala

Capital – Thiruvananthapuram; CM – Pinarayi Vijayan; Governor - P Sathasivam

PM Modi to inaugurate Usha school stadium in Kozikode

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Usha school stadium located at Kozikode in Kerala through

video conference. Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel will be present in person to deliver

the presidential address on the occasion.

Useful Info

Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha (born 27 June 1964), popularly known as P. T. Usha, is a retired

Indian track and field athlete. Currently she runs the Usha School of Athletics at Koyilandy in Kerala.

First phase of Kochi Metro to be inaugurated by PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel 8 km in the Kochi Metro corridor and, soon after, dedicate the much

awaited first system of mass rapid transport in Kerala tot he country.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated a cleanliness drive

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated a three day sanitation campaign for controlling the

outbreak of viral fever in the State. The Chief Minister started the campaign by volunteering in the work to

remove garbage in Kannurcity, a residential suburb of Kannur Corporation.

Kerala hosted the fifth edition of South India Writers Ensemble (SIWE)

Kerala hosted the fifth edition of South India Writers Ensemble (SIWE) at Chengannur, a town in Kerala‘s

coastal Alappuzha district. The core theme of the festival this year is ‗tolerance‘. So creative writers,

journalists, theatre and film personalities from across the industry will be seen deliberating on the theme at a

time when the country as a whole is witnessing raging debates over intolerance.

Kochi to Host Coastal Shipping and Inland Water Transportation Summit

Kochi will host the fifth edition of the „Coastal Shipping and Inland Water Transportation Business

Summit 2017‟. The summit will be an initiative to explore the immense potential of coastal shipping and

waterways as well as an effort to build a shared commitment and decipher the role that each stakeholder will

have to play in integrating the coastal and waterways transport infrastructure.Kerala Governor P Sathasivam

will present the India Seatrade Award for Excellence in Coastal Shipping & Inland Water Transportation.

President launches Mata Amritanandamayi Math Project Jeevamritham in Kerala

President Ram Nath Kovind has said, the Nation requires more people who use their knowledge for the

betterment of the nation and society. He was speaking at an event in Amrithapuri in Kollam in Kerala.






18

President launched 100 crore rupees Mata Amritanandamayi Math Project "Jeevamritham "to provide filtration

system for cleaning drinking water to 5000 villages across India, in kollam district in kerala.

President launches Mata Amritanandamayi Math Project Jeevamritham in Kerala

President Ram Nath Kovind has launched 100 crore rupees Mata Amritanandamayi Math Project

"Jeevamritham "to provide filtration system for cleaning drinking water to 5000 villages across India, in

kollam district in kerala. The President also distributed the certificates to three village out of 12 villages in

the States of Bihar, UP, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Chatisgarh, Uttarakand, Maharashtra and kerala, which

were adopted by the Math, verified as Open Defecation Free by Swatch Bharat Abhiyan.

Madhya Pradesh

Capital – Bhopal; CM - Shivraj Singh Chouhan; Governor - Om Prakash Kohli

Indore become the first city in India to use robot to control unruly traffic

The number one clean city of India - Indore has got another milestone to its name. This commercial capital of

Madhya Pradesh has reportedly become the first city in India where the robot is being used on an experimental

basis to control its ever growing and unruly traffic.

Madhya Pradesh conduct a massive plantation campaign to save the environment and conservation of the

Narmada River

In Madhya Pradesh, a massive plantation campaign was undertaken to save the environment and conservation

of the Narmada river. According to official sources over six crores, saplings were planted in 24 districts of

Narmada basin in just 12 hours. Arrangements were made to record the whole event for the Guinness World

Record. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the plantation drive at Amarkantak of Anooppur

district. Later he also took part in plantation drives in Jabalpur and Omkareshwar.

India-ASEAN Youth Summit Begins in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

TheIndia-ASEAN Youth Summitbegins in Bhopal. The event is being organised by Foreign Ministry, Madhya

Pradesh government and India Foundation. Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh, and

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the five day Summit.The exercise will mark the

25th anniversary of the ASEAN-India dialogue partnership in the ongoing year and also the commemorative

year‘s theme of “Shared Values, Common Destiny”.

Useful Info

Minister of State for External Affairs - General Vijay Kumar Singh

Constituency – Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh has won the „Best Tourism State‟ national award for the third consecutive year

Madhya Pradesh has won the „Best Tourism State‟ national award for the third consecutive year. President

Ram NathKovind handed over the award, named as „Hall of Fame Award‟, to Minister of State for Tourism

SurendraPatwa at a ceremony held at VigyanBhawan in New Delhi.The state bagged total 10 awards in this

programme, organised on the occasion of World Tourism Day (27 September). Madhya Pradesh also

received a national award for Film Promotion Policy in the category of Best Film Promotion Friendly

State/Union Territory.

Maharashtra

Capital – Mumbai; CM – Devendra Fadnavis; Governor - C. Vidyasagar Rao

India's first 150 kWp canal top solar PV System Mouda Thermal Power Project, near Nagpur in

Maharashtra






19

State-run power giant National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has energized India's first 150 kWp canal

top solar PV System on cooling water (CW) channel inside power station premises at its 2,320 MW, Mouda

Thermal Power Project, near Nagpur in Maharashtra.

Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is turned into “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj”

Mumbai‘s iconic ChhatrapatiShivaji Terminus railway station has been rechristened with addition of an

honorific ‗Maharaj‘ after ‗Shivaji‘ to its earlier name. The British-era landmark was called Victoria Terminus

before it was named after the Maratha warrior king in1996. The Central Railway (CR) issued a notification to

this effect on June 27.

Maharashtra, first state in the country to launch free injectable contraceptive for women

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

The state‘s public health department launched a program called Antara to offer women an injection of Medroxy

progesterone acetate (MPA), a birth-control hormone. The announcements were made on the occasion of

World Population Day (11th July). According to state health officials, the injection, a safe means of birth

control, is effective for three months. The injection will be given intramuscularly to women in the age bracket

of 18-45 years.

Maharashtra has become the first state to make social boycott

Maharashtra has become the first state to make social boycott a crime after President Pranab Mukherjee cleared

the legislation. The Maharashtra Prohibition of People from Social Boycott (Prevention Prohibition and

Redressal) Act prescribes a maximum punishment of three years in jail and a fine of Rs1lakh. It aims to prevent

atrocities carried out by extra-judicial courts and caste panchayats. The Act also provides for compensation to

victims. The fines imposed on violators will be used to compensate them.

Maharashtra government has launched a medical insurance scheme up to 10 lakh rupees

The Maharashtra government has launched a scheme to cover medical insurance of up to Rs10 lakh for

legislators and their families. This scheme is aimed at curbing the use of fake bills in the medical

reimbursement scheme the legislators were covered under earlier.

The Maharashtra government has approved a revised policy of the 'MajhiKanya Bhagya shree' scheme

The Maharashtra government has approved a revised policy of the 'MajhiKanyaBhagyashree' scheme,

according to which families who have a yearly income of uptoRs 7.5 lakh will be benefited. The scheme was

launched by the state government on April 1, 2016 in place of 'Sukanya' scheme. It is aimed at improving the

skewed girl child ratio, prevent sex determination and female foeticide, and support female education.

Maharashtra government has lifted the ban on the sale of paan masala

The Maharashtra government has lifted the ban on the sale of paan masala until a single-member committee

decides on the matter. Maharashtra had banned paan masala in 2014.

Maharashtra government announced no intergrated coaching from next academic year

Maharashtra government announced that integrated coaching will not be allowed in the state from the next

academic year. It will be compulsory to attend college lectures and attendance will be marked through bio-

metric system. Integrated coaching is an arrangement between colleges and coaching centres, in which students

don't need to attend college lectures.

C. Vidyasagar Raoand Devendra Fadnavis has released the book „Mann Ki Baat – A Social Revolution on

Radio‟ at Raj Bhavan

C. Vidyasagar Raoand Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis has released the book ‗Mann Ki Baat

– A Social Revolution on Radio‘ at Raj Bhavanin Mumbai The book includes transcripts of the first 23

episodes of Prime Minister‘s monthly address on radio ‗Mann Ki Baat‘. This book will enable citizens to read

and understand Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s vision and his ideas of development.

Matunga railway station in Mumbai becomes India's first railway station run by women






20

Central Railway has taken a step towards women empowerment by appointing an all-female work staff at the

suburban Matunga station, Mumbai. Matunga station has now become the first such ladies special station.

According to the official, women have been manning this station, which falls on the Central Railway, since the

past two weeks. A total of 30 women staffers, including 11 booking clerks, five RPF personnel, seven ticket

checkers are working under the supervision of station manager MamtaKulkarni.

Useful Info

Central Railway Headquarters –Mumbai CST

Mumbai Metro announced the launch of India's first Mobile Ticketing System 'OnGo'

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

commuters pass the AFC gates using their mobile phones. Commuters will be able to generate a QR Code

through 'OnGo' service for current or future journeys up to a week in advance by clicking the mobile app

wherein they would pay for their journey.

Useful Info

Mumbai Metro is a consortium formed by Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, MMRDA and Veolia Transport SA,

France.

Mrs. AshwiniBhide is the present Managing Director of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation.

Mumbai railway is going to introduce a software to book tickets through USSD

The Mumbai railway is going to introduce a software which will help commuters book tickets through

Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes. The software will make use of SMS services, which

will allow commuters without smart phones to book tickets.

Maharashtra Government has launched two online portals MahaDBT and MahaVASTU to streamline the

process of direct benefit transfer (DBT)

Maharashtra Government has launched two online portals MahaDBT and MahaVASTU to streamline the

process of direct benefit transfer (DBT) and to bring in more transparency in construction sector. MahaDBT

portal: It is an Aadhaar-authenticated electronic mechanism that will enable direct transfer of benefits for over

40 schemes currently implemented. MahaVASTU portal: It is an online building permission management

system, through which construction approvals will be sanctioned with full transparency.

Maharashtra government dedicated 10 motorbike ambulances

The Maharashtra government dedicated 10 motorbike ambulances equipped with primary facilities to provide

swift assistance to patients, as part of a pilot project. This will work as an emergency first responder medical

service, which will be available through 108 free helpline and have teams of paramedics who will stabilise the

patient until the four-wheeler ambulance arrives.

2030WRG will help the Maharashtra Government raise $270 million from the Green Climate Fund

The 2030 Water Resources Group (2030WRG) will help the Maharashtra Government raise $270 million

from the Green Climate Fund, which will be invested in integrated watershed programmes such as

JalyuktShivarYojana.The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a new fund under the UN and is guided by the

principles and provisions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The 2030WRG is hosted by

the International Finance Corporation and is a public-private-civil society collaboration for water resources

reform in developing economies. Its ultimate aim is to close the gap between water demand and supply by the

year 2030.

India‟s leading FMCG Britannia to set up largest plant in Maharashtra

India‘s leading FMCG Britannia Industries would set up its largest plant in Maharashtra in a food park

at Ranjangaon. The company was also planning to set up a diary project at the food park with a capacity of

seven lakh litres per day.

Useful Info






21

Britannia HQ – Bengaluru

CEO - Varun Berry

Maharashtra CM DevendraFadnavis launched “NamoYuvaRojgar Kendra” an initiative providing job

opportunities to unemployed youth

Maharashtra Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis launched NamoYuvaRojgar Kendra an initiative

providing job opportunities to unemployed youth in Mumbai. There are various schemes like farmers

weekly market, farmers mobile market and mother‟s Tiffin, under this YuvaRojgar Kendra.These

products will be made available with the help of mobile vans all over Mumbai and the information about the

location of the vans is made available through an app. This app was also launched by the Chief Minister.

India‟s first World Peace University inaugurated in MIT, Pune

Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis has inaugurated Dr.VishwanathKarad MIT World Peace University

(MITWPU).MIT World Peace University is an entirely new concept and a model for moulding global

citizens.The inauguration ceremony was held at the Swami Vivekananda Mandap at the MIT World Peace

University‟s Kothrud Campus.

Sachin Tendulkar Launches Mission 24

Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkarlaunched -Mission 24 for Mumbai's M east ward which is

known to have one of highest slum population's in the city. The project by NGO Apnalaya and Mumbai

first plans to work along with the BMC -as the principal stakeholder over the next 24 months to improve the

quality of lives of people living in M east ward of Mumbai.

President Ramnath Kovind inaugurates Shirdi airport in Maharashtra

President Ramnath Kovind inaugurated the Shirdi airport in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. The

President also flagged off the inaugural flight of Alliance Air from Shirdi to Mumbai. The flight will take

around 45 minutes. Besides Alliance Air, two other Airlines will be operating flights between Mumbai and

Shirdi. The airport will initially have four flights to Mumbai and one each from Delhi and Hyderabad. After

inauguration, the President said, this infrastructure development will create new employment opportunities.

President also inaugurated the Centenary Celebrations of Samadhi of Shri Saibaba at the famous Sai

Mandir at Shirdi. The President also attended a function in Mumbai where Urban Maharashtra was declared

as open defecation free.

Maharashtra Launched Web Portal with Information on New Government Schemes

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis launched „MahaLabharthi„ web portal that will help people get

information about all the government schemes that they are eligible for. The government is now working to

connect the web portal with other websites, to allow people to apply for the welfare schemes. The web portal,

https://www.mahalabharthi.in, works on the basis of personal, educational and professional information

provided by a person while registering on it.

Manipur

Capital – Imphal; CM – Nongthombam Biren Singh; Governor - Najma A. Heptulla

Manipur Assembly clears GST Bill

The Manipur Assembly passed the Manipur Goods and Sales Tax Bill,2017.Finance Minister Yumnam

Joykumar said the Bill would ensure price uniformity and would not lead to an increasein prices.

LS Speaker SumitraMahajan inaugurates 16th NERCPA Conference at Imphal

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan inaugurated the 16th North East Region Commonwealth Parliamentary

Association Conference in Imphal. The theme of the two-day conference is "North East and Look East Policy."

Nungthaang Tampak becomes North East‟s first 100 % computer literate village






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Manipur‟s Nungthaang Tampak village has emerged as the „100% computer literate‟ in the entire North

East. The villagers were taught how to surf, compose text, save them, photoshop, send e-mail, store data

and get print outs, etc. The village, about 65 kms south of Imphal, is located in Saikot Assembly constituency

of Churachandur district.

Useful Info

Nungthang Tampak has become India‘s second 100% computer literate village in India.

Kerala‘s Chamravattom village is the country‘s first 100% computer literate village.

Meghalaya

Capital – Shillong; CM – Mukul Sangma; Governor - Ganga Prasad

Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma launches LIFE program at Songsak

Meghalaya Chief Minister MukulSangma has recently launched an ambitious flagship program titled

―Livelihood Intervention and Facilitation of Entrepreneurship‖ (LIFE) at Songsak. LIFE will focus on capacity

building, Under the program, every 10 SHGs (Self-Help Groups) will be motivated to act like a bank and help

each other. LIFE aims to bring all the poor and vulnerable women into the SHGs movement.

Mukul Sangma launched „Mission Football‟ at a grand ceremony at JN Sports Complex, Shillong

Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr. MukulSangmalaunched ‗Mission Football‘ at a grand ceremony at JN Sports

Complex, Shillong recently. During the occasion, Dr. MukulSangma stated that through this mission the future

of Meghalaya can be foreseen when the State will be connected with the rest of the world because of the love

and passion for the game. Mission Football is an initiative to help develop skills of football enthusiasts and

develop young footballers for the country. It is a dedicated program for talent identification and nurturing of

talents to develop national and international players.

Nagaland

Capital – Kohima; NewCM – TR Zeliang; Governor - PB Acharya

TR Zelianghas been appointed as the Chief Minister of Nagaland by Governor PB Acharya

TR Zelianghas been appointed as the Chief Minister of Nagaland by Governor PB Acharya. This will be the

second term for Zeliang, his earlier term was from 2014 to 2017. Zeliang's appointment came after Nagaland

Chief Minister ShurhozelieLiezietsu and nine ruling Naga People‘s Front (NPF) legislators failed to appear for

the floor test. Zeliang was asked to prove his majority on the floor of the House on or before 22 July 2017.

Zeliang claims the support of 43 MLAs including seven independents.

Nagaland to implement DBT under MGNREGA

Nagaland will start implementing Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under MGNREGA beginning from the

current financial year.Secretary of Rural Development KeleiZeliang said, to ensure transparency and check

corruption at all levels, wages of the MGNREGA workers will be directly credited to the individual accounts of

the jobcardholders through National Electronic Fund Management System or Public Financial Management

System.

New Delhi

Union Territory – New Delhi; CM – Arvind Kejriwal; Governor – Anil Baijal

Delhi Police will be the first state police in India who will get „super cop belt'

National capital police the first state police in India who will get ‗super cop belt', a specially designed belt,

widely used by Police in UK, USA, Russia and para-military forces like CRPF, CISF, NSG etc. This belt will

help cops to keep things like Gun, Mobile Pouch, Security Batten, Wireless Set Pouch & ammunition pouch.






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Delhi Metro is the first Metro system to become completely green in the world

Delhi Metro is the first Metro system to become completely green in the world. The Delhi Metro Rail

Corporation (DMRC) had earlier received the green certificates for its Phase-3 stations, depots, and sub-

stations. Delhi Metro has also secured the platinum rating for adherence to green building norms for its 10

residential colonies from the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). DMRC has generated new solar power

facilities that produce 2.6 MW across the Metro network. DMRC also announced it is now generating 20

megawatt (MW) of solar power. The DMRC also mentioned ‗SwachhChetna – An Eco Club‘, a joint initiative

of the DMRC and Shri Ram School, Gurugram. It has been initiated to ―encourage school children to

participate in the more environment friendly projects and activities‖. Energy consumption has increased by

700% in the last four decades in the country and this will increase further three times by 2030. It is necessary to

focus on Metro systems and talk of green Metro.

Useful Info

DMRC - Delhi Metro Rail Corporation

HeadquartersofDMRC - New Delhi

Chiefexecutive - Mangu Singh

First Edition of WINGS 2017 – “Sab Uden, Sab Juden”- Expanding Regional Connectivity Hosted in New

Delhi

The First edition of WINGS 2017 – ―Sab Uden, Sab Juden‖- Expanding Regional Connectivity was hosted in

New Delhi by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The Plenary session was chaired by the Union Minister of Civil

Aviation, Shri P. Ashok GajapathiRaju.

Useful Info

Civil Aviation Minister - P. Ashok GajapathiRaju

Constituency – Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh

The Delhi government has decided to construct 582 flats for the economically weaker section

The flats, to be built under the government‘s 'Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Makan' scheme, will come up a few metres

from aslum at Rana Pratap Bagh in south Delhi's Sangam Parkarea. DUSIB will build the flats, which will be

ready inthe next two-three years.

Delhi Assembly passes Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill 2017,NetajiSubash Varsity bill

The Delhi Assembly has passed the Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill 2017 and the Delhi

NetajiSubhash University of Technology Bill 2017.The Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill 2017 seeks

to make the punishment to violators of minimum wages norm stricter.In the amended bill, the penalty for

violation of law had been raised from the existing Rs 500 to Rs 50,000 and minimum imprisonment of 6

months increased to 3 years.

Delhi Police's women safety mobile application 'Himmat' can be access via cab aggregator Uber's

application

Passengers can now access the Delhi Police's women safety mobile application 'Himmat' via cab aggregator

Uber's application while travelling in taxis. This is Delhi Police‘s first partnership with a technology company

to intensify its focus on the safety of women in the city. With this partnership, Himmat will now be accessible

to lakhs of women riders in one go. Uber also aims to act as a force multiplier and expand its access to all of its

women riders.

Useful Info

Uber HQ – San Francisco, California, United States

Founder of UBER - Travis Cordell Kalanick

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu launches National Sports Talent Search Portal in New Delhi






24

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu launched the Sports Ministry‘s much-awaited National Sports Talent Search

Portal at a function in the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.The portal will be available in English

and other regional languages so that any boy or girl can upload his or her achievements from any part of the

country.The portal will also be available as App which can be downloaded on smart phones.

Useful Info

1st Vice President - SarvepalliRadhakrishnan

Present & 13th

Vice President –Venkaiah Naidu

„Rajaswa Gyansangam‟ scheduled to be held at VigyanBhawan in New Delhi

‗Rajaswa Gyansangam‘ is going to be held on 1st and 2nd September, 2017 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

The Prime Minister, ShriNarendraModi will inaugurate this two day Conclave on the 1st day of September,

2017. The main reason of this inauguration will be on GST as well as on unearthing black money. The Tax

Officers of the State Governments will also be invited for discussion for the first time on the GST related issues

during the 1st day of the two day Conclave.

Delhi LG Anil Baijal bans dumping of solid waste at Ghazipur

Garbage dumping in Ghazipur has been banned with immediate effect and the landfill site is likely to be

cleared within two years, Lt Governor Anil Baijal's office said. A day after a portion of the waste dump,

estimated to be as high as a 15-storey building, collapsed, killing two persons, Baijal held a meeting to take

stock of the situation.He directed that traffic be diverted on the road adjoining the landfill for proper vehicular

movement."National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) assured the LG that it will begin the process of

lifting, segregating and processing of the solid waste by November 2017, for its use in road construction".

GoM on Composition Scheme holds First Meeting in New Delhi

Within a week of being set up, the group of ministers (GoM) on making the GST composition scheme more

attractive held its first meeting in New Delhi. The 5-member GoM, led by Assam Finance Minister Himanta

Biswa Sarma, has also been tasked to revisit Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates for restaurants. With only

over 15.50 lakh businesses out of 98 lakh registered under the GST regime opting for the composition

scheme, the GST Council decided to set up the GoM to examine ways of making it more attractive.

Useful Info

The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and consisting of his state counterparts, had on

October 7 constituted the GoM, which will submit its report by the end of November.

Odisha

Capital – Bhubaneshwar; CM – Naveen Patnaik; Governor – S.C.Jamir

Sam Pitroda resigned as technical adviser to the Odisha government

Telecom engineer and inventor Sam Pitroda resigned as technical adviser to the Odisha government. He was

appointed in January.

53 New Projects for 9 Cities Approved in Odisha under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban

Transformation (AMRUT)

The state government approved 53 urban projects with a total investment of Rs 538 crore under the Atal

Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Berhampur,

Rourkela, Sambalpur, Balasore, Bhadrak and Baripada are the nine places where the scheme is being

implemented with fund sharing patter of 50:50 between the Centre and state government.

AMRUT - Providing basic services (e.g. water supply, sewerage, urban transport) to households and build

amenities in cities which will improve the quality of life for all, especially the poor and the disadvantaged.

RathYatra or Chariot Festival started at Puri, odhisa






25

In Odisha, the most awaited biggest annual festival of Rath Yatra or Chariot Festival at Puri commences. The

festival honours the Lord Jagannath‘s visit along with his siblings to the temple of Queen Gundicha.

JagannathPuri temple is called ‗YamanikaTirtha‘ where, according to the Hindu beliefs, the power of ‗Yama‘,

the god of death has been nullified in Puri due to the presence of Lord Jagannath.

Odisha develops flood forecasting model for the entire Mahanadi river basin

The Odisha government has developed a real time flood forecasting model for the entire Mahanadi river basin

for better flood control, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced. The model is supported by the State

Climate Change Innovation Programme, Mr.Patnaik said at a function organized by the Department of Water

Resources.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dedicated to the nation the state's longest bridge and named it after

NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dedicated to the nation the state's longest bridge and named it after

NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose. The 2.88 km bridge over the river Kathajodi will connect the state capital of

Bhubaneswar with Cuttack reducing the distance between the two cities by 12 km. Although the construction

work of the bridge started after Mr. Patnaik laid the foundation in February 2011, the completion missed the

deadline by over three years.

Odisha government signs Expression of Intent (EOI) with IAAF & AFI to establish High Performance

Academy

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

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

Bhubaneswar.

Useful Info

IAAF - International Association of Athletics Federations

HQ – Monaco

President - Sebastian Coe

President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Bicentenary celebration of Paika Rebellion of Odisha

President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Bicentenary celebration of Paika Rebellion of Odishaorganised by

the Union Ministry of Culture in New Delhi. Many scholars, researchers and historians have opined that the

Paika Rebellion of 1817 was India‘s first organised armed rebellion against British Raj.

Useful Info

PranabMukerjee 13th

President of India

Odisha CM inaugurates fourth Govt medical college in koraput

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has inaugurated the SaheedLaxmanNayak Medical College and

Hospital (SLNMCH) in the tribal-dominated district of southern Odisha. The admission process in

SLNMCH is already completed. A total number of 100 students have been admitted to the first year MBBS

course and the classes for the commencement of its first academic session began from the day of inauguration.

Puducherry

Union Territory – Puducherry; CM – V.Narayanasamy; Governor – Kiran Bedi

A three-day annual cultural festival named „Fete de Puducherry‟ begins in Puducherry

A three-day annual cultural festival named „Fete de Puducherry‟ organised by the government of India

begins in Puducherry. The festival is held in association with the South Zone Cultural Centre (Tamil Nadu)

every year to bring to focus the multi-faceted cultural features of various states.The Puducherry government






26

has been holding the festival since 1985 as part of celebrating Independence Day and also Liberation Day of

Puducherry (August 16).

Punjab

Capital – Chandigarh; CM – Amarinder Singh, Governor - V. P. Singh Badnore

Punjab and UNODC will join together to wipe out drugs in state

The Punjab government hasdecided to collaborate withthe United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

(UNODC)as part of its efforts to rootout the drug menace in theState.―A Memorandum of

Understanding(MoU) will be signed between the State‘s Health Department, a SpecialTask Force (STF) andthe

UNODC in the secondweek of June.

UNODC - United Nations Office onDrugs and Crime

HQ – Vienna

Executive Director - Yuri Fedotov

Punjab CM inaugurates civic project pertaining for cleaning of sewage lines

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu inaugurated a major

civic project pertaining to cleaning of choked sewerage lines and drains through super suction-cum-jetting

machines at Patiala.

Punjab government starts free mortuary van service

The Punjab government has decided to start a free mortuary van service in the State. All government hospitals

have been directed to provide such vans free of cost.

Free Education For Girls From Nursery To PhD in Punjab

The Punjab Government has announced free education for girls in government schools and colleges from

Nursery to Ph.D. This is the major step towards women empowerment by Punjab CM Captain Amarinder

Singh. Reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies has already been

increased by the government from 33 per cent to 50 per cent. The CM also announced free Wi-FI for 13,000

primary schools and all 48 government colleges.

Strictly implement ban on sale of tobacco in Punjab announced by CM Captain Amarinder Singh

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh directed the Health and Family Welfare Department to ensure

strict implementation of the ban on sale of tobacco laced products such as ‗gutkha‘ and ‗paan masala‘ in the

State. The source of manufacture and sale of banned products should be identified and plugged with no delay to

stop the problem from escalating, the CM said, adding he noted the blatant violation of the ban.

Punjab government has recently launched its flagship 'ApniGaddiApnaRozgar' scheme by flagging off over

100 uber MOTO bikes

The Punjab government has recently announced the launch of its flagship 'ApniGaddiApnaRozgar' scheme by

flagging off over 100 uber MOTO bikes. Under the scheme, the state government will be providing

commercial two wheelers and four wheelers to unemployed youth at subsidized rates. The scheme aims to

generate job opportunities for youth and providing better mobile transport in Punjab. Uber target is to create

10,000 entrepreneurial opportunities in one year and 45,000 in next five years.

Useful Info

Uber HQ –California, USA

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to set up India‟s first TISC in Punjab

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry has signed an

Institutional agreement with the Punjab State Council of Science and Technology in New Delhi to establish






27

India‘s first Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) at Patent Information Centre, Punjab, under the

World Intellectual Property Organization‘s (WIPO) TISC program. The objective of the TISC is to stimulate a

dynamic, vibrant and balanced Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) system in India to foster creativity and

innovation.

India's first museum on Partition of the Indian subcontinent will open in Amritsar Punjab

India's first museum on Partition of the Indian subcontinent will open this week in Amritsar Punjab, as

India and Pakistan celebrate 70 years as independent nations. The museum will include photographs,

newspaper clippings, donated personal items, and screens showing video interviews with survivors.It will

also have 'The Gallery of Hope', where visitors can scribble messages of love and peace. Tickets are priced

low at Rs10 for Indians and Rs150 for foreigners.

Rajasthan

Capital – Jaipur; CM – Vasundhara Raje; Governor - Kalyan Singh

Rajasthan becomes the first state in the country to fix minimum educational qualification for contesting

cooperative body polls

Rajasthan becomes the first state in the country to fix minimum educational qualification for contesting

cooperative body polls. To this effect, the Rajasthan Government amended the State Cooperative State

Cooperative Societies Rules, 2003. The new rules will benefit around 10,000 cooperative and agricultural

credit societies. For contesting election as members of governing boards of dairy societies, farming societies,

consumer societies, weavers' societies, urban banks, housing construction societies, primary land development

banks, credit societies and cooperative unions, the minimum educational qualifications will range from class 5

to class 8. The primary committee members need to have passed at least class 8. For district level members the

minimum qualification required is class 10, while those interested in being a member of State level committee

will need to be a graduate.

First child-friendly police station coming up at Rajasthan

Rajasthan‘s first ―childfriendly‖ police station will come up shortly in Dholpur, with the provision for

spreading awareness about laws against child labour, child marriage and sexual offences and establishment of a

colourful and attractive child cell.

Modi inaugurated highway and road projects worth Rs15,000crore for the state in Udaipur, Rajasthan

Prime Minister NarendraModi along with Union minister for road transport and highways NitinGadkari

inaugurated highway and road projects worth Rs15,000 crore for the state in Udaipur, Rajasthan.He has also

inaugurated Chambal bridge in Kota. Modi inaugurated 12 national highways projects worth Rs5,610crore

and laid foundation stones for 11 projects worth Rs9,490 crore.

Prime Minister NarendraModi dedicates to nation 11 completed highway projects in Rajasthan

Prime Minister NarendraModi dedicated to the nation 11 completed highway projects in Rajasthan, covering a

total length of about 873 kilometres. During his visit to Udaipur, MrModi also laid the foundation stone of

national highway projects worth around 15,000 crore rupees in the state.

Union Textiles Minister SmritiIrani Inaugurates 'VASTRA' Fair in Jaipur

Union Textiles Minister SmritiIrani and Rajasthan Chief Minister VasundharaRajeinaugurated the 6th

edition of the four-day international textile and apparel fair, 'VASTRA' in Jaipur.FDI in textiles industry

has tripled in 2016-17. Mudra Yojna has benefited the weavers community and their incomes have shown a

tremendous increase within 60 days from the date of loan availed. Skill development has also enhanced the

quality of placements in the textile industry.

Useful Info






28

Union Textile Minister - SmritiIrani

Constituency – Gujarat, RajyaSabha

Rajasthan Assembly First in India to Call Motions Online

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

motions and proposals online from legislators to send them to the state government. Speaker Kailash

Meghwal has inaugurated the new system by sending a call for an attention motion to the state government

with a click of the mouse. The system is expected to save time, labour and use of paper in the functioning of

the assembly, and also help legislators in bringing attention to urgent public issues.

Tamil Nadu

Capital – Chennai; CM – Edappadi K. Palaniswami; Governor – Banwarilal Purohit

NarendraModi inaugurated the former President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam‟s memorial at Pei Karumbu in

Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu

Prime Minister NarendraModi inaugurated the former President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam‘s memorial at Pei

Karumbu in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu on the second death anniversary of the former President. MrModi

unveils a statue of Dr. Kalam and hoisted the National flag at the memorial. Mr. Modi will flag

offKalamSandeshVahini, an exhibition bus which will travel across the country and reach RashtrapatiBhavan

on 15th of October, which marks the birth anniversary of the former President. The majestic memorial for the

missile man Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam has been designed and built by the Defence Research and Development

Organization.

Useful Info

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam – AvulPakirJainulabdeen Abdul Kalam

Born – 15th

October 1931, Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu

11th President of India from 2002 to 2007

Earlier, another museum in memory of DrKalam was opened in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram.

Madras High Court directed that National Song VandeMataramshould be sung in all Tamil Nadu

educational institutions

Madras High Court directed that National Song VandeMataramshould be sung in all Tamil Nadu educational

institutions at least once a week. It further mandated all government and private offices sing or play it at least

once a month.

Useful Info

Chief Justice of Madras High Court - Justice Indira Banerjee

Aadi Perukku Festival Celebrated in Tamilnadu

AadiPerukku is celebrated for the birth of the Tamil month of Aadi. This is the beginning of all the festivals

during the festival seasons. The Aadiperukku festival was celebrated with religious fervour in the towns of

Mettur, Poolampattietc situated on the banks of River Cauvery.During the month of Thai and Aadi the sun

changes directions so it is celebrated AadiPerukku festival celebrated in Tamilnadu in that way. The 18th day

of Aadi is observed as ‗Aadiperukku‘, a day of offerings and prayers to the water bodies like rivers and lakes.

'Sankalp Se Siddhi Program' organized in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu by Ministry of Culture

To take forward the initiative of Prime Minister NarendraModi for a New India movement from 2017-2022, a

Sankalp Se Siddhi (Attainment through Resolve) Program was organized at Coimbatore.Minister of

State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge), Dr. Mahesh Sharma graced the occasion. The New India

Movement 2017-2022 envisages an India free of Poverty, Corruption, Terrorism, Communalism, Casteism and

Un-cleanliness.

Useful Info






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Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge) – Mahesh Sharma

Constituency – Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh

Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple has been adjudged best „Swachh Iconic Place‟ in India

The Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple has been adjudged best ‗Swachh Iconic Place‘ in India. Madurai

District Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao and Corporation Commissioner S. Aneesh Sekhar will receive the

award from Uma Bharati, the Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation. A total of 63 compact bins have

been placed and four compactor trucks do the rounds around the temple premises. There are 25 e-toilets and 15

water ATMs for tourists to use. There are two road sweepers and battery operated vehicles specifically

purchased to clean this stretch.

Banwarilal Purohit Sworn-in as Governor of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit was sworn-in by Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira

Banerjee at the Raj Bhavan in Chennai. He entered the Maharashtra Assembly for the first time in 1978 from

the Nagpur east seat. Mr. Purohit was appointed as Governor of Assam State by the President of India on

August 17, 2016.

World‟s Largest Combustion Research Centre Inaugurated at IIT Madras

The world‟s largest combustion research center was inaugurated at the Indian Institute of Technology,

Madras (IIT-M) in Tamil Nadu. The National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD)

was inaugurated by NITI Aayog member VK Saraswat. The establishment of the center will give a major boost

to the Indian scientific community and will provide an impetus to research in „Alternative Energy and

Environmental Protection‟ by focusing on effective utilization of combustion as a means of thermochemical

energy conversion.

Useful Info

IIT-M was established in 1959.

Chairman of IIT-M - Pawan Kumar Goenka

Telangana

Capital – Hyderabad; CM - ‎K. Chandrashekar Rao; Governor - E. S. L. Narasimhan

The single-woman pension scheme, launched by Telangana government

Telangana government has recently launched the single-women pensions scheme across the state. Single

women will be given Rs 1,000 per month. It is the first such scheme in India.The government had also

increased the Kalyana Laxmi and Shaadi Mubarak scheme amount from Rs50,116 to Rs75,116.

Wi-Fi hotspots across Hyderabad launched

Hyderabad Mayor B.Rammohan launched the ‗Hyderabad CityWi-Fi Project‘ or ‗Hy-Fi‘ withover 1,000

hotspots where citizens can access Internet free for about half-an-hour. Mr. Rammohan said these hotspots

would be upgraded to 3,000 across different areas of the twin cities.

Telangana to have separate agriculture budget from next year

Telengana will have a separate budget for Agriculture from next year. This was decided after Chief Minister,

K. Chandrasekhar Rao met the Ministers and officials on Agriculture in Hyderabad. He said it has also been

decided to enhance fund for agriculture sector. Mr. Rao said the State will provide training of modern and

scientific methods of farming to increase the farm output. He urged the farmers associations at various levels to

organize cultivators.

Telangana Chief Minister K. ChandrashekharRao to launch massive plantation drive

Telangana Chief Minister K. ChandrashekharRao will formally launch the third phase of the

TelanganakuHaritha haram programme by participating in the plantation of saplings in Karimnagar town. Mr.

Rao will participate in the massive plantation drive along with 10,000 students.

Telangana government launched a special portal called “Janahitha”






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The Telangana government launched a special portal called ―Janahitha‖ to receive complaints from the public.

The programme was inaugurated in Suryapet district on a pilot basis by TelanganaEnergy minister G Jagadish

Reddy. The portal, which has been developed by Telangana‘s IT department, is a single window for all

grievances and their redressal management.

India's first Eco-bridges for the movement of tigers in Telangana

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

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

forests in Telangana'sKumramBheemAsifabad district. The ‗eco-bridges‘ will be constructed at key spots along

the 72 km-long, and at some places over a kilometre wide, right flank canal of the Pranahita barrage in the

Bejjur and Dahegaonmandals.

Useful Info

Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) – Maharashtra

Kawal Tiger Reserve is located at Jannarammandal of Mancherial District in Telangana state of India.

There are total 50 Tiger Reserves under the project tiger system in India.

Amazon India has signed a MoU with the Telangana Department of Handloom and Textiles

Amazon India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Telangana Department of

Handloom and Textiles, to educate, train and enable weavers and artisans to directly sell their products to

Amazon customers across the country.According to a statement issued by the e—commerce giant, with over

17,000 handlooms in the state, this association will further help elevate popular handloom products from

clusters such as are Pochampally, Warangal, Gadwal, Narayanpet and Siddipetwhich have a tremendous

potential and demand in urban areas.

Useful Info

Amazon HQ – Seattle, Washington, United States

Telangana CM Chandrasekhar Rao Initiates Rs. 2,000-cr SriramSagar Modernization Project

In an effort to modernize the SriramSagar project and increase the area served, Telangana Chief Minister K.

Chandrasekhar Rao initiated a Rs. 2,000-crore project that seeks to modernize the project. This project on the

Godavari river has the potential to serve several districts in the state. Under the SriramSagar project revival and

restoration initiative, water from the Pranahithariver, which joins the Godavari, will be diverted at Medigadda

and pumped into the SriramSagar project.

Government of Telangana Launched „Smart Streets Lab‟ in Hyderabad

The government of Telangana in association with the World Resources Institute (WRI) India – Ross

Centre and the Indian School of Business (ISB) launched the „Smart Streets Lab‟ program.It is an effort to

apply and figure out technology-based solutions for women and road safety in Hyderabad. Through the

„Smart Streets Lab‟, the state government aims to utilize technological interventions from outside and

integrate them with its various departments.

Amazon opened its largest fulfillment centre in Hyderabad

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

International Airport, Shamshabad. The 400,000 sq feet centre with close of 2.1 million cubic feet of storage

space is the 5th such centre in Telangana. With this, the US major has ramped up its storage capacity to 3.2

million cubic feet in the State alone.The centre will enable sellers to use local infrastructure, save capital and

help them grow their businesses. The centre will work closely with local communities, create numerous

skilling and employment opportunities for thousands of youth. With more than 10,000 sellers in Telangana, the

selection offered by sellers in the State for immediate delivery has grown more than 120 per cent this year as

compared to last year.

First water ATM has been inaugurated in Hyderabad






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The First water ATM has been inaugurated by Telangana State Home Minister N Narasimha Reddy at

Nalgonda X Roads. A total of 200 ATMs will be set up to reach a targeted 150,000 people. In the first phase,

50 water ATMs will be operationalized by 2018.Safe Water Network, an international NGO has partnered with

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to launch water ATMs. It will provide affordable,

24×7 safe water access in Hyderabad.These water ATMs use a seven step treatment process to purify water that

adheres to national norms.They are connected via cloud-based technology for real-time monitoring and

analyses operational parameters, thereby minimising downtime. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply

and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB)is supplying raw water for these ATMs.

India's First Centre for Animal Law Set up at NALSAR

India's first Centre for Animal Law has been established at the city-based NALSAR University of Law in

Hyderabad, Telangana. Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi inaugurated the

centre.HSI-India Managing Director N G Jayasimha has been appointed as the honorary director of the

Centre. The Centre will create curriculum on animal welfare laws, including developing topics for research.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Women and Child Development -Maneka Gandhi

Constituency – Pilibhit (uttarpradesh)

Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 to be Held in Hyderabad

A high-level delegation from the Government of India and the United States met NITI Aayog to plan the 2017

Global Entrepreneurship Summit. The summit will be held on November 28-30 at the Hyderabad

International Convention Centre in Hyderabad, India. This year‘s theme is “Women First, Prosperity for

All” to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit in all its strengths and diversity. The Summit will be inaugurated by

the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Advisor to the President, Ivanka Trump, who leads the U.S.

delegation.

Tripura

State – Tripura; Capital – Agartala; CM – ManikSarkar; Governor - Tathagata Roy

A new underground water treatment plant has been commissioned at Sadhutilla, Agartala

In Tripura, a new underground water treatment plant has been commissioned at Sadhutilla in the southern

part of Agartala. The plant has fulfilled the need for drinking water free from iron and other contamination.The

plant has started functioning with supply of quality treated water initially to 565 households through pipeline. It

has treatment capacity of 4 point 8 million litre per day. It has two Over Head Storage Reservoirs with

capacities of 1,130 Kilo Liter and 450 Kilo Liter.The specialty of the plant is that it would be treating water at

higher standards with minimizing turbidity and iron in water.The built-up cost of this water treatment plant

was Rs. 4 crore 99 lakh.It has been funded jointly by the Asian Development Bank with 70% share of

assistance and the Union Government with 30 % share of assistance.

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

Tripura has become the first state in the country to set up family welfare district committees to examine

the complaints of women against their husbands and in-laws and find an amicable solution. Tripura High

Court is the first high court among 24 high courts of the country that has constituted the family welfare

district committees. The new system would be valid for the next six months and after that National Legal

Services Authority (NLSA) would submit a report of its performance to the apex court, on the basis of which a

new course of action would be decided.

Uttar Pradesh

Capital – Lucknow; CM – Yogi Adityanath; Governor – Shri Ram Naik






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Yogi Adityanath and Union State Minister Shir Jayanth Sinha inaugurated Mahayogi Gorakhnath Civil

Terminal at Gorakhpur airport

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union State Minister, Civil Aviation Shir Jayanth Sinha

inaugurated " MahayogiGorakhnath Civil Terminal at Gorakhpur airport.

Useful Info

Minister of state civil aviation – Jayanth Sinha

Constituency – Hazaribagh

Child Rights and You (CRY) report shows UP with maximum child labor

According to the Child Rights and You (CRY) report, over 8 lakh children in India between the age group 5

and 6 years are engaged in child labor. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of 2,50,672 children engaged in

labor, followed by Bihar with 1,28,087 children and Maharashtra where the number stands at 82,847. The

report has outlined that reach of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), is quite limited as it covers

only 50% percent of this population.

UP government banks on informers to curb female foeticide

Uttar Pradesh government has started a scheme under which informers will alert the state authorities about

attempts and incidents of female foeticide. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed concern over the

declining sex ratio in the state and launched the 'MukhbirYojana' or Informer Scheme aimed at checking the

cases of female foeticide at an event in Lucknow. The Chief Minister also launched 181 Women Helpline and

flagged off 64 rescue vans.

Uttar Pradesh Cabinet decided to name the Mughalsarai municipality as „Deendayal Nagar‟

After proposing to rename the Mughalsarai railwaystation after RSS ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay, the Uttar

Pradesh Cabinet decided to nam ethe Mughalsarai municipalityas ‗Deendayal Nagar‘ The Cabinet took the

decision at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Government clears proposal for setting up new airport in Greater Noida

Government has cleared proposal for setting up a new airport in Jewar in Greater Noida. Briefing media in

New Delhi, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said, in-principle approval for a green field airport at

Jewar has been granted to cater to the growing flying requirements of National Capital Region. He said they are

expecting 15 to 20 thousand crore rupees of investment.

GST to be part of UP higher education syllabus

The taxation system under GST will soon be part of the commerce and management curriculum in Uttar

Pradesh‘s higher education institutes, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said.

Anti-Copying bill will be introduced by Uttar Pradesh government

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to introduce an 'Anti-Copying' Bill in the upcoming assembly

session to check for cheating in the state examinations.

UP Power Minister launched free power connection schemes for BPL families

Uttar Pradesh Power Minister Shrikant Sharma launched free power connection schemes for BPL families at

624 places across the state.

Union cabinet has approved to set up ISARC in varansi

The union cabinet has approved the establishment of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), South

Asia Regional Center (ISARC) at campus of National Seed Research and Training Center (NSRTC) in

Varanasi.

Useful Info

NSRTC - National Seed Research and Training Center is located at Varanasi

Mughalsarai railway station in UP to be renamed as DeenDayalUpadhyaya (DDU) station






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The Centre recently approved the Adityanath-led UP government‘s proposal to rename the Mughalsarai

railway station after the Jan Sangh leader as DeenDayalUpadhyaya (DDU) station. This comes as the part of

the state government‘s attempt to revive the legacy of Upadhyaya who died in 1968. The UP government in its

proposal pointed to the mysterious death of Upadhyaya at the Mughalsarai station as one of the primary

reasons to rename the station.

Uttar Pradesh Government has launched a new awareness drive called NamamiGangeJagritiYatra

Uttar Pradesh Government has launched a new awareness drive called NamamiGangeJagritiYatra. The

drive will be focusing on cleanliness along the banks of Ganga river and maintain hygiene.The drive will be

covering a total area of around 1,025 kms. It will pass through 108 blocks of 25 districts of UP from Bijnore

to Ballia alongside the Ganga river.

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath launched 'Swachh Uttar Pradesh, Swasth Uttar Pradesh' campaign

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath launched 'Swachh Uttar Pradesh, Swasth Uttar Pradesh' campaign and

swept a street in Gorakhpur under the initiative.

UP government decides to end interview in government jobs

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

for the government jobs in all the non-gazetted posts of Group B, C and D categories.The decision was taken in

a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Rajnath Singh, Yogi Adityanath to flagged off Lucknow Metro

In Uttar Pradesh, The first commercial run of Lucknow metro rail starts. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh,

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and governer Ram Naik will flag off the maiden run of first

phase of Lucknow Metro.The 8.5-km-long 'Priority Corridor' from Transport Nagar to Charbagh, which is part

of the Phase 1 of the project, and has 8 stations in between will be operational for the public from 6 am to 10

pm every day. Cost of this phase is around 2600 crores and it took almost 3 years to complete. People of the

city are so excited to travel in metro that after sell of smart cards started by LMRC last Friday more than 3000

had already purchased them.

Government aims to provide Housing to all by 2022: PM Modi

Prime Minister NarendraModi said the government has decided to give a house to each and every homeless

family by 2022. He was addressing a public meeting at Shahanshahpur in Varanasi district. MrModi distributed

allotment letters to the beneficiaries of PradhanMantriAwasYojana both for rural and urban areas.About 10

thousand beneficiaries were given allotment letters during the function.

Uttarakhand

Capital - Dehradun, Nainital (Judiciary); CM - Trivendra Singh Rawat

Governor - Krishna Kant Paul

Rural Uttarakhand and rural Haryana have declared themselves as the 4th and 5th Open Defecation Free

(ODF) States of India

Under the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G), rural Uttarakhand and rural Haryana have declared

themselves as the 4th and 5th Open Defecation Free (ODF) States of India, respectively. The two states joined

the league of Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala, which were the first three states to be declared ODF.

Useful Info

The first ODF state of the country – Kerala

Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates newly constructed studio complex of AIR & DDK, Dehradun






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Information and broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated newly constructed studio complex of

All India Radio and Doordarshan Kendra Dehradun. The Minister also launched regional news unit of DD

news and AIR Dehradun Station.

Uttarakhand records second highest tiger count in India

The count of tigers in Uttarakhand shot up to 242 with an increase of 63 big cats in the year 2017. The news

was announced by Trivendra Singh Rawat, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. In addition, 11 cubs were also found

in the two tiger reserves, the Corbett Tiger Reserve and the Rajaji Tiger Reserve, in the state. Uttarakhand is

the second state in terms of tiger count behind Karnataka, which has 400 big cats. According to the latest

statistics, at least 208 tigers have been identified in Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve, up from last year's 163. Also six

cubs were identified there.

Useful Info

Highest tiger count in India – Karnataka

Jim Corbett National Park is the oldest national park in India. It was established in 1936 as Hailey National

Park to protect the endangered Bengal tiger.

Uttarakhand Chief MinisterTrivendra Singh Rawatflags off run inDhyan Chand‟s memory

Uttarakhand Chief MinisterTrivendra Singh Rawat flagged off a ‗Runfor Uttarakhand‘ here to markthe birth

anniversary of MajorDhyan Chand, saying thehockey legend‘s life was aninspiring example of thevalues of

perseverance andleadership. He also describedthe event as a dry run for the2018 National Games to behosted

by Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand Government Launched 'Solar Briefcase' to Provide Electricity in Remote Areas

Uttarakhand State Government and a charitable funding agency named Swan Cultural Center and

Foundation launched ‗Solar Briefcase‘ in Kedarnath Dham. The initiative was taken to provide electricity to

far-flung areas in the hill state.

West Bengal

Capital – Kolkata; CM – Mamata Banerjee; Governor – Keshari Nath Tripathi

West Bengal Government's Kanyashree Prakalpa was awarded the first prize in United Nations Public

Service Award for Asia Pacific

Out of 552 initiatives from 62 different countries, West Bengal Government's initiative was chosen the best.

The award was presented at The Hague, Netherlands. Kanyashree Prakalpa is a targeted conditional cash

transfer scheme aimed at retaining girls in schools and other educational and skill development institutions and

preventing child marriage.

BJP legislator leads protest against the famous street food „momos‟

A BJP legislator led a protest rally against popular street food ‗momos‘ and demanded a ban on itssale. Ramesh

Arora, a BJPMLC, who launched the campaign, said that ‗momos‘ were ―more dangerous than alcohol and

psychotropic drugs―.

School students from Lucknow to perform yoga at UN

A group of school students from Lucknow are practising to perform various asanas at the UN headquarters in

New York.A 72-member team of City Montessori School(CMS), Lucknow, will leavefor the US for alive

performance at the United Nations Headquarters on June 21.

Useful Info

United Nation HQ – New York

Secretary General – Antonio Guterres






35

The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), in association with the West Bengal government to host global

business meet in November 2017

The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), in association with the West Bengal government, will host Horasis

Asia Meeting, a global business meet, in the city in November. The two-day business meet, starting November

26, will focus on sustainable business practices in various areas, including power and energy.

Useful Info

ICC - Indian Chamber of Commerce

President of ICC – Shashwat Goenka

Rajeev Pratap Rudy & Shivraj Singh Chouhan laid foundation stone of country‟s biggest Global Skill Park

Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Pratap Rudy and MP Chief

Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan laid the foundation stone of the country‘s biggest Global Skill Park in Bhopal.

Former Captain of Indian Cricket Team K. Shrikant was present on this occasion.

Useful Info

Minister of state (independent charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship – Rajeev Pratap Rudy

Constituency – Saran Bihar

SriLankan Airlines from Visakhapatnam -Colombo flight launched

The inaugural flight of SriLankan Airlines from Visakhapatnam to Colombo was flagged off by the Union

Minister of Civil Aviation P. Ashok GajapathiRaju at Visakhapatnam International Airport. A total of 103

passengers travelled on the inaugural flight.

Useful Info

Country – Srilanka

Capital - Sri JayawardenepuraKotte (Administrative center), Colombo (Commercial Capital)

Currency – Sri Lankan Rupee

Gobindobhog Rice from Burdwan district of West Bengal Gets Geographical Indication Status

Gobindobhog rice, a speciality from Burdwan district of West Bengal, has got the geographical indication

(GI) status.The state government had applied for GI status for Gobindobhog rice on August 24, 2015. The

region of Burdwan (now divided into the districts of east and west Burdwan) is known as the rice bowl of

Bengal.

India‟s First Advanced Homoeopathy Virology Lab in Kolkata

India‟s first State of art virology laboratory at Dr Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute for

Homoeopathy in Kolkata was inaugurated by ShripadYessoNaik, Union Minister of State for AYUSH.This

laboratory has been established to develop new drugs and technologies in Homoeopathy to combat emerging

challenges of viral diseases. The laboratory, established at a cost of Rs. 8 crore is the only one in India for

conducting basic and fundamental research in Homoeopathy for viral diseases like influenza, Japanese

encephalitis, dengue, chikungunya and swine flu.

MINISTRY AFFAIRS

The Cabinet approved an IPO by the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA)

The Cabinet approved an IPO by the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency. It approved the issue of

13.9 crore equity shares of rupee 10 each. IREDA is registered as anon-banking financial company.

Useful Info

IPO – Initial public offering

IREDA – Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency

C K Mishra, Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) inaugurated the „Vatsalya – Maatri Amrit Kosh‟






36

Shri C K Mishra, Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) inaugurated the „Vatsalya – Maatri Amrit Kosh‟,

a National Human Milk Bank and Lactation Counselling Centre at the Lady Hardinge Medical College

(LHMC) in New Delhi. The Vatsalya – Maatri Amrit Kosh will be the largest milk bank and lactation

counseling center available in the North India. It is established in collaboration with the Norwegian

government, Oslo University and Norway-India Partnership Initiative (NIPI).

Useful Info

Country – Norway

Capital – Oslo

Currency - Norwegian krone

„Skill for Life, Save a Life‟ initiative launched by health minister J P Nadda

J P Nadda has launched 'Skill for Life, Save a Life' initiative to promote skill development in the health

sector. ‗Skills for Life, Save a Life‘ Initiative‘ aims to upscale the quantity and quality of trained professionals

in the healthcare system. Shri Nadda further informed that the curriculum has been designed by National

Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW) and AIIMS, Delhi.

Useful Info

Cabinet minister for health and family welfares – J P Nadda

Constituency – Himachal Pradesh (Rajya Sabha)

GOI has launched „Tele Law‟ service to provide legal aid for the people living in rural areas through video

conferencing

The government of India has launched ‗Tele Law‘ service to provide legal aid for the people living in rural

areas through video conferencing. The Ministry of Law and Justice partnered with the Ministry of Electronics

and Information Technology to provide legal aid services through its Common Service Centres, CSC at the

panchayat level, spread across the country. The service was launched by IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. In

the first phase, the Tele-Law scheme will be tested as a pilot across 1000 CSCs in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Useful Info

Minister of law and justice, electronics and IT – Ravi Shankar Prasad

Constituency – Bihar (Rajya Sabha)

Yoga awareness drive launched by ministry of AYUSH using attractive mascots

The Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy (CCRYN) under the Ministry of AYUSH,

Government of India, has initiated a Yoga Awareness Drive through Mascots and Flash Mobs (YogMob) prior

to International Yoga Day (21st June) to increase the popularity of Yoga, especially among the youth. The

campaign is underway at Delhi NCR, Haryana and Lucknow.

Useful Info

Minister of state (independent charge) AYUSH –Shripad Yesso Naik


Clean Campus, Green Campus, Smart Campus competition for students in colleges and universities

Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar unveiled the Clean Campus, Green

Campus, Smart Campus competition for students in colleges and universities across the country on the

occasion of World Environment Day.―The objective is to make campuses across the country green and

sustainable‖.

The center decided to open passport service center in 800 head Post Office

Making the announcement, Minister of State for External Affairs V. K. Singh said, ―150 post office passport

sevakendras are being opened this year and within two years all the 800 head post offices in all thedistricts

would be in place.‖

Useful Info






37

Minister of State for external affairs – V. K. Singh

Constituency – Ghaziabad

Mission Retro-Fitment to enhance the passenger experience has been launched by Railway ministry

To enhance the passenger's experience by upgrading existing fleet of coaches with better furnishing, aesthetics

& amenities and better safety features with a view to provide a safe and comfortable travel, Minister of

Railways Shri Suresh Prabhu (Now Shri Piyush Goyal) has launched MISSION RETRO-FITMENT in Rail

Bhavan, New Delhi.

Useful Info

Union Minister for railways - Shri Piyush Goyal

Constituency – Maharashtra, Rajya Sabha

To reduce child deaths due to diarrhea The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched IDCF

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the Intensified Diarrhea Control Fortnight (IDCF) in

order to intensify efforts to reduce child deaths due to diarrhea. It aims to create mass awareness about the most

effective and low-cost diarrhoea treatment, a combination of Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) solution and Zinc

tablets. Nearly 12 crores under 5-children will be covered during the program across the country.

Useful Info

Minister for health and family welfare – J.P.Nadda

Constituency – Himachal Pradesh, Rajya Sabha

Aadhaar made mandatory for new bank accounts, transactions above Rs.50,000

The Centre has made it mandatory to quote the Aadhaar number for opening bank accounts and for transactions

exceeding Rs.50,000. With the amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records)

Rules, 2005 notified earlier this month, banks will have to demand both Aadhaar and the Permanent Account

Number (PAN) for verification of identity, starting June 1.

Useful Info

UIDAI - Unique Identification Authority of India.

UIDAI Chairperson - J Satyanarayana

Tagline -MeraAadhaar, Meri Pehchan

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority launched digital subscription facility for APY

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has now introduced ―APY@eNPS‖ which

involves a complete digital enrolment process. This is the latest in the series of various initiatives taken by

PFRDA for expansion of outreach of Atal Pension Yojana (APY), to give the additional push to cover the as

yet unreached population with greater ease. PFRDA has conducted meetings with Banks and Dept of Post at

Kolkata, Bengaluru & Mumbai respectively for the earliest roll out of the facility call.

Useful Info

PFRDA - Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority

HQ – New Delhi

Directorate General of Civil Aviation has suspended the flying license of Air Carnival

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended the flying licence of Coimbatore-based

carrier Air Carnival, which has not operated a single flight since early April. The DGCA has suspended Air

Operator Permit (AOP) of Air Carnival after it failed to satisfy the regulator in its response to the show-cause

notice.

Useful Info

DGCA -Directorate General of Civil Aviation

HQ – New Delhi

Director General –B.S.Bhullar






38

Parent Organisation – Civil Aviation Ministry

Energy Conservation Building Code 2017 has been launched by Piyush Goyal

Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines launched the

Energy Conservation Building Code 2017 (ECBC 2017). Developed by Ministry of Power and Bureau of

Energy Efficiency (BEE), ECBC 2017 prescribes the energy performance standards for new commercial

buildings to be constructed across India.

Useful Info

Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines – Raj Kumar Singh

Rural Development Ministry gives away 144 awards

The Rural Development Ministry has given away 144 awards under various categories to states and other

organisations in a function in New Delhi. Under the 'Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)', Bihar

was awarded for constructing the highest number of rural roads while Madhya Pradesh got the award for use of

non-conventional construction material in constructing roads. The ministry said in a statement in New Delhi

that Haryana, Gujarat and Karnataka received a special prize for completing more than 95 per cent of their

targets.

Useful Info

Minister of Rural development, panchayati raj, drinking water and sanitation – Uma Bharati


Home Secretary & DG ITBP flagged in first Mt Dhaulagiri 1 International Mountaineering Expedition-

2017

Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and DG ITBP, Krishna Chaudhary flagged in the first Mt Dhaulagiri 1

International Mountaineering Expedition-2017.Appreciating the contribution and achievements of Indo Tibetan

Border Police in mountaineering, Mr Mehrishi conveyed his congratulations to the leader and team members of

the expedition. Mt. Dhaulagiri 1 is the 7th highest peak of the world situated in Nepal. ITBP has been primarily

deployed on high altitude Indo-China border on Border Out Posts.

Useful Info

ITBP - Indo-Tibetan Border Police

HQ – New Delhi

Ministry – Home Affairs

Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced a new oil and gas block licensing policy

The Minister was at the inauguration of the government‘s Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) and the

National Data Repository. The OALP, a part of the government‘s Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing

Policy (HELP), gives exploration companies the option to select the exploration blocks on their own, without

having to wait for the formal bid round from the Government.

Useful Info

Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas –Dharmendra Pradhan

Constituency –Rajya Sabha, Bihar

Sports Minister Vijay Goel sanctioned Rs.200 crore for the development of sports in Jammu & Kashmir:

Sports Minister Vijay Goel sanctioned Rs.200 crore for the development of sports in Jammu & Kashmir, after

meeting state Sports Minister Imran Raza Ansari on june 8th

.

Ansari called for the development of games in the region, which includes the construction of stadiums.

Sports Minister: Vijay Goel

Constituency: Sadar and Chandni Chowk of Delhi

PM Modi to address Chartered Accountants day celebrations of ICAI






39

Prime Minister Narendra Modiattend 68th Chartered Accountants Day function and GST event in New Delhi.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitly and Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia will also attend the event. The national

professional accounting body of India, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India - ICAI celebrates its

Foundation Day as the Chartered Accountants‘ Day on 1 July every year. It was established on 1949 as a body

corporate under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 enacted by the Parliament to regulate the profession of

Chartered Accountancy in India. ICAI is the second largest professional Accounting and Finance body in the

world in terms of membership.

Indian Railways to introduce new Economy AC coaches soon

New class of 'Economy AC coaches' with fares less than normal 3AC tariff. The proposed fully AC train will

have three-tier Economy AC coaches besides AC-3, AC-2 and AC-1 classes as part of the transformation

exercise. An added feature would be automatic doors.

Useful Info

Minister for Railways – Shri Piyush Goyal


Railways were first introduced to India in 1830s for frieght purposes. First passenger train ran from Bombay to

Thane in 1853. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit, the Indian Railways, becoming one of the

largest networks in the world.

Narendra Modi becomes first Indian PM to visit Israel:

NarendraModi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel in 70 years. Israeli PM Benjamin

Netanyahu received Modi at the airport, in a departure from the normal practice. Modi's three-day visit aims at

commemorating 25 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries and strengthening cooperation in the

areas of defence, agriculture and science and technology.

Country: Israel

Capital: Jerusalem

Currency: Israeli new shekel

Prime Minister: Benjamin Netanyahu

President: Reuven Rivlin

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has inaugurated the 9th edition of Delhi Dialogue

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has inaugurated the 9th edition of Delhi Dialogue. Under this

program, the premier annual track 1.5 event to discuss politico-security, economic and socio-cultural

engagement between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Delhi. The theme for

Delhi Dialogue 9 is 'India-ASEAN relations: Charting the Course for the Next 25 Years'.

Useful Info

External Affairs Minister – Sushma Swaraj

Constituency –Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh

ASEAN - Association of Southeast Asian Nations

HQ – Jakarta, Indonesia

Anti-hijacking law comes into effect a notification issued by the Civil Aviation Ministry

The Centre notified the anti-hijacking law that entails capital punishment in case hijacking an aircraft leads to

death of ―any person,‖ including ground staff, flight crew, passengers and security personnel. The Anti-

Hijacking Act, 2016 came into force, a notification issued by the Civil Aviation Ministry said.

Useful Info

Civil Aviation Minister – Ashok Gajapathi Raju

Constituency – Vizianagaram (AP)

The government of India will organize a global food fair in November 2017






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The government of India will organize a global food fair in November this year to provide a platform to Indian

farmers and manufacturers to showcase their products and explore partnerships with foreign companies. The

three-day international level fair 'World Food India 2017' is being organized on November 3-5 by the Food

Processing Ministry, where industry body CII will be an event partner. The World Food India is a step aimed at

creating India a 'Global Food Factory' and 'Global Food Retail Market'.

Useful Info

Minister of Food Processing industries – Harsimrat Kaur Badal

Constituency – Bhatinda (Punjab)

Mother Teresa‟s Blue-Bordered Sari declared an Intellectual Property

The famous blue-bordered sari of Mother Teresa, who has been canonized as Saint Teresa of Calcutta by the

Vatican, has been recognized as an Intellectual Property of the Missionaries of Charity. After a series of strict

legal proceedings, it was granted. This is the first time that a uniform has been made intellectual property. It

has obtained ―distinctive symbolic identity‖ of the Missionaries of Charity.

Useful Info

Mother Teresa

Born - 26 August 1910

Died - 5th September 1997 (at the age of 87)

Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize - 1962

Nobel Peace Prize - 1979

External Affairs Ministry is going to make its website available in Arabic

Expanding its outreach to the Arab world, External Affairs Ministry is going to make its website available in

Arabic. The portal will include speeches, briefings and other documents of the ministry, and articles written in

Arabic on India and its foreign relations.

Useful Info

Minister of External Affairs – Sushma Swaraj

Constituency – Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh)

After French and Spanish, Arabic will be the third foreign language that will be available on the ministry's

website.

The new name for urban development & housing ministry is Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

(MoHUA)

The government has merged the urban development and housing and urban poverty alleviation ministries. Now

this will be known as Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). This is third time the ministries have

been merged.

Useful Info

Minister of urban development, housing and urban poverty alleviation - Shri Rao Inderjit Singh

National Green Tribunal banned the use of „Chinese‟ kite strings, made of nylon

The National Green Tribunal banned the use of ‗Chinese‘ kite strings, made of nylon or any synthetic material

on the grounds that it poses threat to life and environment. The Tribunal directed all state governments to

prohibit the ―manufacture, sale, storage, purchase and use‖ of synthetic manja or nylon threads and all other

synthetic strings used for flying kites with immediate effect. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice

Swatanter Kumar ordered the authorities to ban import of any synthetic manja. The judgement came on a plea

filed by animal rights body People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and others, contending that

‗manja‘ poses a grave threat to humans and animals as every year a number of deaths are caused by it.

Useful Info

Present Chairperson of NGT - Justice Swatanter Kumar






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AICTE has made it mandatory for engineering students to participate in one of five extracurricular

activities

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has made it mandatory for engineering students to

participate in one of five extracurricular activities, otherwise they won't be awarded a degree. The activities

include yoga, National Service Scheme (NSS), National Cadet Corps (NCC), Unnat Bharat Abhiyanand sports.

Useful Info

AICTE - All India Council for Technical Education

HQ – New Delhi

Chairperson - Anil Sahasrabudhe

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju to lead Central team to flood-hit States

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju will lead a high-level Central team to assess the rescue and relief operations in the

flood-affected areas of the north-east. During the tour, , the delegation will visit Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and

Manipur, where more than 15 lakh people have been marooned by flood water.

Useful Info

Kiren Rijiju – Minister of state for Home Affairs

Constituency – Arunachal Pradesh West

Railways Ministry launches Rail Cloud Project, NIVARAN-Grievance Portal and CTSE Scheme

Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu launched the following Initiatives:-

Rail Cloud Project.

NIVARAN-Grievance Portal (First IT Application on Rail Cloud).

Cashless treatment Scheme in Emergency (CTSE) Scheme.

About the Schemes in Brief-

Rail Cloud

Rail Cloud is another step towards Digitization of Railways. Rail Cloud works on popular Cloud Computing

system. It aims to improve customer satisfaction, improve revenue and effective, efficient and safe operations.

NIVARAN

‗NIVARAN-Grievance Portal‘ is the first IT application to be launched on the RailCloud. It is the platform for

resolution of service related grievances of serving and former railway employees.

Cashless treatment Scheme in Emergency (CTSE)

With an aim to provide immediate care to its retired employees in Golden Hour, the Railway Board has rolled

out a Cashless treatment Scheme in Emergency (CTSE) in empanelled hospitals for retired employees and their

dependent family members.

Useful Info

Union Railway Minister – Shri Piyush Goyal


J P Nadda launched the National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination (2017-22)

Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare launched the National Strategic Plan for Malaria

Elimination (2017-22). The Strategic Plan gives year wise elimination targets in various parts of the country

depending upon the endemicity of malaria in the next 5 years. This plan focuses on the states such as

Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The strategies involve strengthening

malaria surveillance, establishing a mechanism for early detection and prevention of outbreaks of malaria,

effective indoor residual spray and augmenting the manpower and capacities for effective implementation for

the next five years.

Useful Info

Union Health & Family Minister – J P Nadda






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Government setting up passport centre every 50 kilometres in the country

Union Minister MJ Akbar said that the government is working towards setting up a passport centre every 50

kilometresin the country.

Useful Info

Minister of state for External affairs - M J Akbar

Constituency –RajyaSabha, Jharkhand

Arun Jaitley released the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley released the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan. The WTO-Trade

Facilitation Agreement (TFA) was a major milestone for the global trading system. This Action Plan gives a

time bound map, not only for implementing TFA, but also for India's initiatives for trade facilitation and ease

of doing business which goes beyond TFA. According to a Finance Ministry statement, all actions covered

under the plan have been categorised by prioritising the activities into short, mid and long term.

Useful Info

Union Finance Minister – Arun Jaitley

Constituency – Gujarat, Rajya Sabha

WTO – World Trade Organization

HQ - Geneva, Switzerland

Head - Roberto Azevêdo

Radio broadcasting in country completes 90 years

Radio broadcast completes 90 years in country and first ever radio broadcast in the country went on the air

from the Bombay Station on July 23, 1927 under a private company, the Indian Broadcasting Company. On 8th

of June, 1936, the Indian State Broadcasting Service became All India Radio. All India Radio (AIR) has been

serving to inform, educate and entertain the masses since it's inception, truly living up to its motto – Bahujan

Hitaya Bahujan Sukhaya.

Union Ministry of Rural Development is going to launch Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY)

The Union Ministry of Rural Development is going to launch Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY), a

sub-scheme under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). This

scheme aims to provide an alternative source of livelihood to members of Self Help Groups (SHGs) by

facilitating them to operate public transport services in backward rural areas.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Rural Development – Narendra Singh Tomar

Constituency – Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh

Ram Nath Kovind took office as country‟s 14th President

Ram Nath Kovind took over as the 14th President of India. He administered the oath of office by the Chief

Justice of India Justice J S Khehar at a special function in the Central Hall of Parliament. The stage would be

shared by President and President-elect, Speaker, Vice President and Chief Justice of India. After the oath of

new President, a 21-gun salute will be honored followed by the acceptance speech of Mr. Kovind. Mr. Kovind

was elected the President recently as a ruling NDA candidate. He defeated the Opposition parties‘ nominee

Meira Kumar by a huge margin.

Useful Info

14th

President of India – Ram Nath Kovind

CJI - J S Khehar (44th

CJI)

1st CJI – H. J. Kania

Leila Seth was the first woman judge on the Delhi High Court






43

Rajnath Singh chaired the first meeting of the newly constituted Islands Development Agency (IDA)

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh chaired the first meeting of the newly constituted Islands

Development Agency (IDA). The Union Home Minister presented the vision for developing India‘s maritime

economy while preserving the natural eco-system and addressing the security concerns. He emphasized upon

the need for sustainable development of Islands with people‘s participation.

Useful Info

Union Home Minister – Rajnath Singh

Constituency – Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

IDA – Islands Development Agency

The IDA was set up on 1st June 2017

FSSAI has banned the use of stapler pins in tea bags from January 2018

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has banned the use of stapler pins in tea bags from

January 2018.

Useful Info

FSSAI - Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

HQ – New Delhi

Chairman – Ashish Bahuguna

Chief Executive - Pawan Kumar Agarwal

India's first bullet train project, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail, will be inaugurated this

September

India's first bullet train project, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail, will be inaugurated this September

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe . A Loan agreement of over 76,900

crore rupee is expected to be signed between the two nations during Abe's India visit. Japan's Shinkansen

technology will be used in construction of the line.

Useful Info

India‟s First Bullet Train between Mumbai – Ahmedabad

Country – Japan

Capital – Tokyo

Currency – Japanese yen

PM – Shinzō Abe

Niti Aayog cleared 6 proposals of the transport ministry to improve public transport

Mass rapid transportation technologies such as hyperloop, metrino and pod taxis could soon be a reality in

India after Niti Aayog cleared half-a-dozen proposals of the transport ministry exploring options to improve

public transport. Once these safety parameters are tried and tested and the pilot run is successful, some of them

including metrino, could be up for running by next year‘s end.

Useful Info

NITI - National Institution for Transforming India

Chairman – Narendra Modi

Vice Chairman – Arvind Panagariya

CEO – Amitabh Kant

The Supreme Court ruled that the police cannot arrest the accused without conducting a preliminary

inquiry under dowry harassment cases

The Supreme Court ruled that the police cannot arrest the accused without conducting a preliminary inquiry

under dowry harassment cases. With this, apex court put an end to immediate arrest of the husband and his

family members in the dowry harassment cases filed under Section 498A of Indian Penal Code (IPC). The






44

Supreme Court passed this order keeping in view the fact of suspected misuse of the anti-dowry harassment

law framed in 1983.

Useful Info

Supreme Court– New Delhi

Present Chief Justice of India - J. S. Khehar (44th

CJI)

First chief justice of India–H.J. Kania

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released Operational Guidelines for Planning and

Implementation of Family Participatory Care (FPC)

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released Operational Guidelines for Planning and Implementation

of Family Participatory Care (FPC). These guidelines are aimed at improving newborn health. The guidelines

will serve as a guiding document for those intending to introduce FPC in their facility as an integral part of

facility based newborn care. It also provides details of infrastructure, training, role of health care providers and

steps in the operationalization of FPC in the newborn care unit.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare – J P Nadda

Constituency –Himachal Pradesh (RajyaSabha)

Railways launches India‟s first solar-powered DEMU train

Indian Railways has launched its first 1,600 HHP solar diesel multiple unit (DEMU) train. The train has a total

of 16 solar panels of 300 watts in each coach. The energy generated by these panels will be stored in batteries

The move is expected to save Rs 2 lakh worth of diesel per coach, per annum. It will help in reducing carbon

dioxide of almost nine tonnes per coach, per annum. It is also expected to save nearly Rs 672 crore per annum.

India to import crude oil from US for first time

India, the world's third-largest oil importer, will import crude oil from the United States for the first time after

Indian Oil Corp bought a cargo that will be delivered in October 2017. India is the latest Asian country to buy

US crude after South Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia and Taiwan as the countries seek to diversify oil

imports from other regions after the OPEC cuts drove up prices of Middle East heavy-sour crude, or grades

with a high sulphur content.

Useful Info

Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. - Sanjiv Singh

India is going to invite the 10 leaders of ASEAN for 2018 Republic day Celebrations

India is going to invite the 10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as Chief Guests

for 2018 Republic Day celebrations. If this happens, the Republic Day 2018 would be the first Republic Day

event that will have so many leaders as the chief guests.

Useful Info

10 Member Countries of ASEAN are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines,

Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

“Jiyo Parsi Publicity Phase-2” has been launched by Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in Mumbai

Union Minister of state for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi launched ―JIYO PARSI PUBLICITY

PHASE – 2‖ function in Mumbai.

In the year of 2013 ―Jiyo Parsi Publicity Phase-1‖ was initiated to increase the small minority population of

parsi community. The main objective of the ―JiyoParsi‖ scheme is to reverse the declining trend of Parsi

population by adopting a scientific protocol and structured interventions, stabilize their population and increase

the population of Parsis in India. The scheme implemented two components: 1.Medical Assistance and

2.Advocacy/Counselling. Due to this effort, it became success with the birth of 101 babies.

Useful Info






45

Union Minister of state for Minority Affairs - Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

Constituency – Rajya Sabha, Uttar Pradesh

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated the country's first 'VideshBhavan' in Mumbai

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated the country's first 'Videsh Bhavan'. The Bhavan

integrates all offices of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Maharashtra It is located in the Bandra

Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai.As a first pilot project, four offices of MEA - Regional Passport Office

(RPO), Protector of Emigrants (PoE) office, Branch Secretariat and Regional Office of ICCR - have been

assimilated and brought under one roof at the state-of-art office.

Useful Info

Union minister for External Affairs – Sushma Swaraj

Constituency – Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh

Central Government launched the „Swachh Survekshan-2018‟ to rank all the 4,041 cities and towns of the

country

Central Government launched the third cleanliness survey ‗Swachh Survekshan-2018‘ to rank all the 4,041

cities and towns of the country based on infrastructure development for improved sanitation services and their

sustainability, outcomes, citizen connect and visible impact on ground. Under the survey, launched by Minister

of Housing and Urban Affairs, 500 cities with more than 1 lakh population and state and UT capitals will have

all-India ranking. Also, 3,541 cities with less than 1 lakh population will have state and zonal rankings.

Useful Info

Union Minister of Housing and Urban affairs – Narendra Singh Tomar

Constituency – Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh)

Union Government has launched a portal, e-Rashtriya Kisan Agri Mandi (e-RaKAM)

Union Government has launched a portal, e-Rashtriya Kisan Agri Mandi(e-RaKAM).The e-RaKAM will

provide a platform to sell agricultural produce and strengthen the agriculture-oriented Indian economy. It is a

digital initiative that aims to bring together the PSUs, civil supplies, farmers and buyers on a single platform so

that the selling and buying process of agricultural products become smooth.

Useful Info

Union minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution - Ram Vilas Paswan

Constituency –Hajipur, Bihar

India-ASEAN Youth Summit from Aug 14to be held in Bhopal

Over 100 delegates from 10ASEAN countries - Brunei, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia,

the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam - will participate in the India-ASEAN Youth Summit to be

held in Bhopal from August 14-19. ExternalAffairs Minister SushmaSwaraj and Madhya Pradesh Chief

Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be among thekey speakers at the event.

Useful Info

Union External Affairs Minister – Sushma Swaraj

ASEAN Countries - Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos,

Myanmar, and Vietnam.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has launched the live twitter wall for promoting Bharat Ke Veer portal

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has launched the live twitter wall for promoting Bharat Ke Veer portal on the

eve of 71st Independence Day. On the occasion, Mr Singh and Ministers of State for Home Affairs Hansraj

Gangaram Ahir and Kiren Rijiju contributed their one month salary for Bharat Ke Veer corpus.Mr Singh

has handed over a cheque of 1.59 lakh rupees to the Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi in New Delhi.

Useful Info

Ministers of State for Home Affairs –Hansraj Gangaram Ahir






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Constituency – Chandrapur, Maharashtra

Union Home Secretary – Rajiv Mehrishi

‗Bharat Ke Veer‘ portal aims to facilitate online donation directly to the families of paramilitary troopers

who have sacrificed their lives for the country in the line of duty from January 1, 2016.

Bharat Ke Veer portal is technically supported by National Informatics Centre (NIC) and powered by

State Bank of India.

40 percent reservation for girls at planned Navodaya schools: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

The government has decided to offer 40 per cent reservation for girls at 100 Navodaya-type schools. The

Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government is mulling to open 100

Navodaya-type schools in minority concentrated areas of the country.

Useful Info

Minister of State for Minority Affairs - Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

Constituency – Uttar Pradesh, Rajya Sabha

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

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

elevated to the cabinet rank. They are Minister of State for Commerce and Industries Nirmala Sitharaman,

Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State For Power, Coal,

New and Renewable Energy and Mines, PiyushGoyal and Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar

Abbas Naqvi. President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office and secrecy to them at Rashtrapati

Bhavan. The portfolios of the Ministers will be announced later.

Here is the 9 New Ministers, who take oath-

1. Former IFS officer Hardeep Puri

2. Former Mumbai Police chief Satyapal Singh

3. Former IAS officer Alphons Kannanthanam

4.LokSabha MP's from Madhya Pradesh Virendra Kumar

5.From Karnataka Anant Kumar Hegde

6.From Rajasthan Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

7.From Bihar Ashwini Kumar Choubey

8. From Bihar Raj Kumar Singh and

9. Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh Shiv Pratap Shukla

Here is the Full list of Portfolios of changed Ministers

Minister Portfolio Previously held portfolio

Dharmendra Pradhan Cabinet Minister Skill Development and

Petroleum Minister

MoS (independent charge) Oil Natural

Gas and Petroleum Ministry

Piyush Goyal Cabinet Minister Railway Ministry MoS (independent charge) Power

Ministry

Nirmala Sitharaman Cabinet Minister Defence Ministry MoS (independent charge) Commerce

and Industry Ministry

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Cabinet Minister Minority Affairs Ministry MoS (independent charge) Minority

Affirs

Suresh Prabhu Cabinet Minister Commerce and Industry

Ministry Railway Ministry

Uma Bharti Drinking Water and Sanitation Water Resources, River Development

Ganga Rejuvenation.

Ashwini Kumar Choubey MoS Health & Family Welfare -






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Virendra Kumar MoS Women and Child Development and

Minority Affairs -

Anantkumar Hegde MoS Skill Development and

Entrepreneurship. -

Raj Kumar Singh MoS (independent charge) Power -

Hardeep Singh Puri MoS (independent charge) Urban

Development -

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat MoS Agriculture and Farmers Welfare -

Satya Pal Singh

MoS Human Resource Development and

MoS Water Resources, River Development

and Ganga Rejuvenation.

-

Alphons Kannanthanam MoS (independent charge) Tourism and

MoS Ministry of Electronics & IT -

Shiv Pratap Shukla MoS Finance Ministry -

Santosh Kumar Gangwar MoS (independent charge) Labour and

Employment MoS Finance Ministry

Government has issued an alert on the spread of new malware 'Locky Ransomware'

The government has issued an alert on the spread of new malware 'Locky Ransomware' that can lock

computers and demand ransom for unlocking them. Electronics and IT Additional Secretary Ajay Kumar

tweeted that an alert regarding spam spreading Locky Ransomware was issued by Indian Computer

Emergency Response Team. Ransomware is a malicious software and the Locky Ransomware is learnt to be

demanding the ransom of half Bitcoin, which at present rate is equivalent to over Rs 1.5 lakh.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Electronics and IT – Ravi Shankar Prasad

Constituency – Bihar, RajyaSabha

Malware – software which is specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain authorized access to a computer

system

Bitcoin – a type of digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units

of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank.

„PrakritiKhoj‟- An Environment Quiz on Teachers‟ Day

The Union Environment Ministry launched an environment awareness initiative on the occasion of

Teachers‟ Day. Under the initiative, an online environmental quiz competition named PrakritiKhoj will be

conducted at the national level.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Environment – Harsh Vardhan

Constituency – Chandni Chowk (Delhi)

NITI Aayog sets up task force on employment, export

NITI Aayog has constituted an Expert Task Force to provide a major thrust to job creation by enhancing

India‘s exports. It will be headed by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr. Rajiv Kumar. Members of the Task

force include CEO, NITI Aayog, Secretaries of Departments of Commerce, Industrial Policy and Promotion,

Economic Affairs and Textiles. Leading economists and industry experts are also members of the Task Force,

which will submit its report by November 2017. The government stated that the steps outlined by the task force

to create well-paid jobs in the formal sector include preparing a comprehensive plan of action to






48

generate employment and alleviate under-employment in both goods and services sector and low wages by

boosting exports in labour intensive industries.

Useful Info

NITI Aayog Chairman – PM Modi

Vice Chairman – Rajiv Kumar

On 1 January 2015, a Cabinet resolution was passed to replace the Planning Commission with the newly

formed NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India).

Govt to start School Chalo Abhiyan from next year for students not going to schools: Javadekar

International Literacy Day is observed every year on 8th September to emphasize the importance of literacy to

individuals, society and communities. The theme of this year's International Literacy Day, is ‗Literacy in a

Digital World‘. The 2017 UNESCO International Literacy Prizes awards ceremony will also take place to

recognize and reward excellent literacy practices from around the world in connection with this year‘s theme.

Useful Info

Union HRD Minister – Prakash Javadekar

Constituency – Rajya Sabha, Madhya Pradesh

KirenRijiju attended the first National Canine Seminar organized by National Security Guard (NSG)

The Minister of State for Home Affairs ShriKirenRijiju attended the first National Canine Seminar

organized by National Security Guard (NSG), in NSG Campus, Manesar (Gurugram), Haryana. The theme

of the two days National Canine Seminar is ''Canine as Tactical Weapon in Fight against Terrorism'' with

an objective to discuss and deliberate on the techniques of dog training and strategies of deploying the dogs in

Counter Terrorism/Counter Insurgency scenario. Shri Kiren Rijiju also flagged off "the NSG's Motorcycle

Expedition, 2017" from NSG Campus, Manesar. It commemorate the NSG‘s 33 years service to the nation. The

Expedition team will traverse major cities of the country including NSG's regional hubs at

Gandhinagar/Mumbai/Chennai/Hyderabad/Kolkata to cover a distance of 7000 kms with an objective of

spreading a message of collective responsibility towards the fight against terrorism.

Useful Info

Minister of State for Home Affairs – Shri Kiren Rijiju

Constituency – Arunachal West

State – Haryana

Capital – Chandigarh

CM – Manohar Lal Khattar

Governor – Kaptan Singh Solanki

The NSG is popularly known as "The Black Cats" of the country.

Vice President lays foundation Stone of Greenfield Smart City at Ranchi, Jarkhand

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of Greenfield Smart City at Ranchi in

Jharkhand. The Vice President laid the foundation stones for its three buildings- Urban Civic Center,

Convention Center and Jharkhand Urban Planning Management Institute. Chief Minister and other important

dignitaries were present at the occasion. The proposed smart city will be spread over 656 acres in HEC area.

The Greenfield Smart City will cost ten thousands crore rupees and will also have 16 thousand residential flats

for 70 thousands residents. The smart city will have modern transport system, world class education hub,

24 hours water and electricity, wi-fi, public toilets at every 200 meters and will be carbon free zone.

Useful Info

State – Jharkhand

Capital – Ranchi

CM – Raghubar Das

Governor – Droupadi Murmu






49

SIM Cards not Linked to Aadhaar to be Deactivated after February 2018

The government is moving ahead with linking Aadhaar with mobile SIM cards and all unlinked phones will

be deactivated after February 2018. Aadhaar mobile linkage is being done as per the orders of Supreme

Court passed in February 2017 in Lokniti foundation case and all SIM cards have to be verified with

Aadhaar within a year from the date of judgement, with all unlinked phones to be deactivated after February

next year. So criminals, fraudsters and terrorists cannot use the issued SIMs.

Remove all unmanned rail crossings within a year, orders Piyush Goyal

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has asked the railways to remove all unmanned level crossings within a year,

instead of the initial goal of doing it in three years. Addressing a function at IIM in Kolkata, he said around

5,000 unmanned level crossings, which account for nearly 30-35 per cent of total rail accidents, need to be

removed in the next one year. MrGoyal also advocated the use of technology to reduce manual maintenance of

rail tracks, as it entails huge manpower. The minister said that the RailTel corporation has already prepared the

optic fibre network for improving communication.

Useful Info

Union Railway Minister – Piyush Goyal


National Pension Scheme Upper Age Limit Raised to 65

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) announced that the upper age limit

for joining the National Pension Scheme (NPS) had been raised to 65 years, from the current 60. NPS is

currently open for people between 18 and 60, and the Board has approved raising the age limit for joining to

65.

Useful Info

PFRDA – Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority

Chairman – Hemant G. Contractor

DD & All India Radio to spread information about rights of Divyangs: I&B Minister Smriti Irani

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani said Doordarshan and All India Radio will give

information to Divyangs regarding their rights and several schemes which are being run by the Centre.

Addressing a function in New Delhi, Mrs Irani said people should be sensitive towards the rights of Divyangs.

The Minister said, the education standards for Divyangs should be raised and they must be informed about their

career prospects.

Useful info

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister - Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani


Government Launches Wood is Good Campaign

Environmental Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated a two-day conference on “Sustainable

landscapes and forest ecosystems: Theory to Practice”. Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched the “Wood is Good”

campaign on the occasion. Wood is a climate-friendly material, as it is a renewable resource, having zero

carbon footprint.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Environment - Dr. Harsh Vardhan

Constituency – Chandni Chowk (Delhi)

Cabinet Approves Revamped Khelo India Program at a cost of Rs.1,756crore

The Union Cabinet has approved the revamped Khelo India program at a cost of Rs.1,756crore for the

period 2017-18 to 2019-20. This marks a watershed moment in the history of Indian sports, as the Programme

aims at mainstreaming sport as a tool for individual development, community development, economic






50

development and national development. This is the first time ever that a long-term athlete development

pathway would be made available to gifted and talented youngsters to excel in competitive sports.

Useful Info

Sports Minister of India –Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

Constituency –Jaipur, Rajasthan

President Ram Nath Kovind‟s First Foreign Trip will be to Ethiopia and Djibouti

President Ram Nath Kovind will make his first foreign trip as head of state to the strategically-significant

African continent in the first week of October. The President will visit to Ethiopia and Djibouti. Addis Ababa,

the capital of Ethiopia is the seat of African Union, had hosted the first India-Africa summit outside India in

2012. There are more than 540 Indian firms in Ethiopia.

Useful Info

Country – Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopian birr

Country – Djibouti, Djibouti, Djiboutian franc

TRIFED Organised National Workshop on Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest Produce

Minister of Tribal Affairs Shri Jual Oram inaugurated the National Workshop organized by TRIFED on

“Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Minor Forest Produces (MFP) scheme – Taking it to the next level

for a Fair and Equitable Deal to the Tribals”. This scheme is already implemented in 9 States and now it is

expanded nationwide. TRIFED has also signed MoU with Amazon for the marketing of tribal handicrafts

scaled-up for the empowerment of tribals.

Useful Info

Minister of Tribal Affairs – Jual Oram

Constituency – Sundargarh, Odisha

Minister of Communication Shri Manoj Sinha Launched First Ever India Mobile Congress 2017

The Minister of Communication Shri Manoj Sinha launched DoT‘s first ever Mobile, Internet and

Technology event in India – India Mobile Congress 2017 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Led by Department

of Telecom as the nodal ministry, the India Mobile Congress is being organised by Cellular Operators

Association of India (COAI). The largest and first ever event also has the support of the other ministries like

the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

amongst others.

Useful info

Minister of Communication – Manoj Sinha

Constituency – Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh

Ministry of Health Adjudged Best for „Swachhta Pakhwada‟

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been adjudged as the best department for its contribution

during Swachhta Pakhwada, an inter-Ministry initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission of Ministry of Drinking

Water and Sanitation. The Health Ministry observed the Swachhta Pakhwada in February 2017. The award

was presented to the Ministry on 2nd October, the third anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission. Shri C K

Mishra, Secretary (HFW) received the award on behalf of the Ministry.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Health & Family welfare – Jagat Prakash Nadda


First ASEAN-India Music Festival Begins in New Delhi

The first ever ASEAN-India music festival began at Purana Quila in New Delhi. The 3-day festival is being

organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India in collaboration with Culture Ministry to






51

celebrate the 25th year anniversary of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations. It will conclude on 8 October 2017.

The theme for this commemorative year is „Shared Values, Common Destiny‟.

Useful Info

CM of New Delhi – Arvind Kejriwal

Governor – Anil Baijal

Government Sets up High-Level Committee for Water Management

Centre has set up a high-level committee for proper management of water resources in the North-Eastern

region. The Committee will be headed by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar. It will facilitate

optimising benefits of appropriate water management in the form of hydro-electric power, agriculture,

biodiversity conservation, reduced flood damage erosion, inland water transport, forestry, fishery and eco-

tourism. The committee is also tasked with spelling out actionable steps for optimizing water resources in the

region and chalking out an action plan for the dovetailing of Central schemes.

Useful Info

NITI Aayog Chairman – Narendra Modi

NITI Aayog Vice Chairman – Rajiv Kumar

President Appoints Commission to Examine Sub-Categorisation of OBCs

President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed a five-member Committee. The Committee will be headed by

Delhi High Court's former Chief Justice G Rohini to examine sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes

(OBCs) under Article 340 of the Constitution. The commission will examine the extent of inequitable

distribution of benefits of reservation among the castes or communities included in the broad category of OBCs

with reference to such classes included in the central list.

Useful Info

Present President of India – Ram Nath Kovind

Present Vice President of India – Venkaiah Naidu

1st President of India – Dr. Rajendra Prasad

Haj Committee Recommends Abolishing of Subsidy

The government was appointed Committee on Haj Policy has recommended phasing out of subsidy for Haj

pilgrims and allowing women devotees above 45 years of age to travel in a group of at least four without a

male. The Committee presented its report on New Haj policy 2018-22 to Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar

Abbas Naqvi in Mumbai. In view of the Supreme Court direction, the Ministry had set up the Panel under the

Chairmanship of former Secretary Afzal Amanullah to review the existing Haj Policy and to suggest a

framework for new Haj policy 2018-22.

Useful Info

Union Minister of Minority Affairs - Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

Constituency – Uttar Pradesh, Rajya Sabha

Group of ministers (GoM) Set Up to Review Composition Scheme

A group of ministers (GoM) has been set up under Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to make

the composition scheme more attractive and also revisit GST rates on restaurants. The GST Council, chaired by

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had constituted the GoM. With only 15.50 lakh businesses out of the total 98

lakh registered under the goods and services tax (GST) regime opting for the composition scheme, the GST

Council has decided to set up the GoM to examine measures to make it more attractive.

Useful Info

State – Assam

Capital – Dispur

CM – Sarbananda Sonowal






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Governor - Jagdish Mukhi

Aadhaar Made Mandatory For Small Saving Schemes as Post Office Deposits, PPF, KVP

The government has made biometric identification Aadhaar mandatory for all post office deposits, PPF, the

National Savings Certificate scheme and Kisan Vikas Patra. According to the provision, which is already in

effect, all depositors have been given time till December 31, 2017 to provide the 12-digit unique identification

number and link it with their accounts.

Useful Info

Unique Identification Authority of India has its Headquarters (HQ) in New Delhi.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UIDAI is Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey.

Union Home Minister Inaugurated First BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the four-day First „BIMSTEC Disaster

Management Exercise- 2017‟ (BIMSTEC DMEx-2017) in New Delhi. The Exercise will be conducted by

the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as the lead agency in Delhi and the National Capital Region

(NCR). The BIMSTEC DMEx-2017 is being conducted in two phases in Delhi and NCR. The main exercise

will comprise of Table Top Exercise (TTX), Field Training Exercise (FTX) and After Action Review

(AAR). The main focus of the BIMSTEC DMEx-2017 will be on testing the region‘s preparedness and

resilience towards effective activation of inter-Governmental interaction for immediate deployment of regional

resources for disaster response.

Useful Info

BIMSTEC stands for ‗Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation‘,

includes namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Smriti Irani Opens World Largest B2B Handicraft & Gifts Fair

The 44th edition of world largest B2B handicraft and gifts fair entitled IHGF-Delhi Fair (Autumn) 2017

was inaugurated by Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister of Textiles in a ceremony at India Expo Centre & Mart,

Greater Noida. It is the 4 Day long fair at state-of-the-art India Expo Centre, Greater Noida. This initiative will

give opportunities to overseas buyers to bring technical know-how investment and marketing network to form

joint ventures for promoting Indian Handicrafts in the world market.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Textiles - Smriti Zubin Irani


BANKING NEWS

Reserve Bank of India

HQ – Mumbai; Governor – Urjit Patel (24th

governor)

4 Deputy Governors - BP Kanungo, S SMundra, N S Vishwanathan and Viral Acharya

New 500 rupee banknotes have been launched by RBI with inset letter „A‟

In continuation of issuing of Rs500 denomination banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi (new) series from time to

time which are currently legal tender, a new batch of banknotes with inset letter ―A‖ in both the number panels,

bearing the signature of Dr. Urjit R. Patel Governor, Reserve Bank of India; with the year of printing '2017‘ on

the reverse, are being issued.The new series earlier released and currently, in circulation has the inset letter "E".

Useful Info

The 500 rupee banknote of the Mahatma Gandhi New Series is 63mm x 150mmstone grey coloured, with the

obverse side featuring a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi as well as the Ashoka Pillar Emblem, with a signature of the

governor of Reserve Bank of India. It has the Braille feature to assist the visually challenged in identifying the






53

currency. The reverse side features a motif of the Indian heritage site of Red Fort, and the logo and a tag line of

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Government asks banks, post offices to deposit scrapped Rs. 500, Rs. 1,000 notes to RBI by 20th July

Government has asked banks to deposit demonetised notes at RBI by the 20th of next month.The government

has permitted banks and post offices to deposit junked Rs. 500 and 1,000 notes with the Reserve Bank by the

deadline.The earlier window was open till December 31, a day after the 50-day period of demonetisation of

high value currency.

Useful Info

India‘s history with demonetization

1stDemonetisation – 1946 (ban of 1000 Rs& 10000 Rs)

2nd

Demonetisation – 1978 (ban of 1000, 5000 & 10000 Rs)

3rd

Demonetisation – 2016 (ban of 500 & 1000 Rs)

The Reserve Bank of India reconstituted the Oversight Committee by appointing three more members

The Reserve Bank of India reconstituted the Oversight Committee by appointing three more members.

According to the RBI former chief vigilance commissioner, Pradeep Kumar will head the now reconstituted 5-

member panel. Besides Kumar, the other members of the committee are former SBI Chairman JankiBallabh,

former Canara Bank Chairman and MD MBN Rao, former Chairman of L&T Finance YM Deosthalee and S

Raman, member SEBI. Raman would be inducted into the panel from September 7, 2017 after he completes the

term at SEBI. The expansion follows promulgation of the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017

last month.

RBI amends Banking Ombudsman Scheme

The central bank has extended the scope of Banking Ombudsman Scheme. The Reserve bank said that under

the amended scheme, a customer would also be able to lodge a complaint against the bank for its non-

adherence to RBI instructions with regard to mobile banking/ electronic banking services in India. As per the

amendment, the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Banking Ombudsman to pass an award has been doubled to 20

lakh rupees.Banking Ombudsman is a quasi-judicial authority functioning under the Banking Ombudsman

Scheme, 2006.

RBI report sees India's economic growth rate at 7.3% in 2017-18

The Reserve Bank stated the ongoing accelerated reform initiatives like Goods and Sevice Tax and continuing

political stability will push the economic growth scale to 7.3 per cent in terms of Gross Value Added -GVA in

the current fiscal year (2017-18). The Financial Stability Report 2017 released, going forward, reforms in FDI

and real estate sector, implementation of GST, and revival in external demand are likely to contribute to a

better growth outlook. According to the RBI report, GVA growth is expected to be higher at 7.3 per cent in

2017-18.

Useful Info

RBI commenced its operations on 1 April 1935 during the British Rule in accordance with the provisions of the

Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.Following India's independence on 15 August 1947, the RBI was nationalised on

1 January 1949.

RBI is considering setting up of Public Credit Registry (PCR), an extensive database of bank loans

RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharyasaid, that the Reserve Bank of India is considering setting up of Public

Credit Registry (PCR), an extensive database of bank loans. Acharya suggested the registry would be managed

by a public authority like the central bank, and reporting loan details should be mandatory.

RBI said Ombudsman cannot handle note ban plaints

Customers‘ complaints about problems like cash withdrawal and exchange of old notes faced post

demonetisation cannot be entertained under the Banking Ombudsman (BO) scheme, the Reserve Bank of India

has said.

Useful Info

Banking Ombudsman Scheme

First BO office in India – RBI, New Delhi (jurisdiction over Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir)






54

Second BO office in India – New Delhi (jurisdiction over Haryana (except Panchkula, Yamuna Nagar and Ambala

Districts) and Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar districts of Uttar Pradesh)

Total BO office in India currently – 20

The Reserve Bank of India has amends order on bankruptcy action on 12 large NPAs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has amended its earlier order asking banks to initiate bankruptcy proceedings

against 12 companies which have outstanding loans amounting to over Rs 5,000 crore as on March 2016. The

amendment, made through a notification, comes after the Gujarat High Court asked the RBI to remove the

stipulation on its order last month that the 12 non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, would be granted

priority at the National Company Law Tribunal. Essar Steel, one of the 12 large NPAs identified by the RBI,

had approached the Gujarat High Court for the RBI proceedings.

RBI sets up Supervisory Colleges for six Scheduled Commercial Banks

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up Supervisory Colleges for six Scheduled Commercial Banks which have

sizeable international presence: - State Bank of India, ICICI Bank Ltd., Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Axis

Bank Ltd. and Punjab National Bank. The objectives of the colleges are to enhance information exchange and

cooperation among supervisors, to improve understanding of the risk profile of the banking group and thereby

facilitate more effective supervision of internationally active banks.

Useful Info

Those 6 Banks are – SBI, ICICI, BOI, BOB, Axis Bank, PNB

1st Governor of RBI – Osborne Smith (British banker)

1st Indian Governor of RBI – C. D. Deshmukh

RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs. 3 crore on state-owned Union Bank of India for KYC “non-compliance”

The RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs. 3 crore on state-owned Union Bank of India for ―non-compliance‖ with

the directions on Know Your Customer (KYC) norms. This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory

compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by

the bank with its customers.

Useful Info

Union Bank of India HQ – Mumbai

MD &CEO -RajkiranRai G

Tagline – Good people to bank with

RBI cuts policy rate by 25 basis points to 6%

On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation at its meeting, the

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by Urijit Patel, decided to reduce the Policy Repo Rate under the

liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 6.25 per cent to 6.0 per cent with immediate effect.

Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 5.75 per cent, and the marginal standing

facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.25 per cent.

Useful Info

Third Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2017-18

New Rates as per the RBI Guidance

Repo Rate – 6.00%

Reverse Repo Rate – 5.75%

Marginal Standing Facility Rate – 6.25%

Bank Rate – 6.25%

Monetary Policy committee of India

Governor of the Reserve Bank of India – Chairperson, ex officio -Urjit Patel

Deputy Governor of the Bank, in charge of Monetary Policy—Member, ex officio - Viral AAcharya

One officer of the Reserve Bank of India to be nominated by the Central Board – Member, ex officio; - Michael

DebabrataPatra

ShriChetanGhate, Professor, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) – Member;






55

Professor PamiDua, Director, Delhi School of Economics – Member;

Dr. Ravindra H. Dholakia, Professor, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad – Member

RBI will shortly issue Rs 50 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series

The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue Rs 50 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New)

Series signed by Governor of RBI Dr. Urjit Patel. The base colour of the note is fluorescent blue.The new Rs

50 banknote has a motif of Hampi with a chariot, depicting the country‘s cultural heritage, and the Swachh

Bharat logo with slogan on the reverse. All the banknotes in the denomination of Rs 50 issued by the

Reserve Bank in the earlier series will continue to be legal tender.

Aadhar must for subsidised farm loans: RBI

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made Aadhar linkage mandatory for farmers who wish to avail short-

term crop loans in 2017-18.Under Interest Subvention Scheme, the banks are advised to make Aadhar linkage

mandatory for availing short-term crop loans in 2017-18.RBI has defined that farmers can avail of short-term

crop loans of up to Rs 3 lakh at the subsidised interest rate of 7%that could go down to 4% on prompt

repayment.

RBI issues new Rs 200, Rs 50 notes

The Reserve Bank issued new Rs 200 and Rs 50 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New)

Series, bearing signature of RBI Governor Urjit Patel. Initially, the new Rs 200 notes will be circulated by

select RBI offices, and some banks. The new Rs. 200 denomination has motif of SanchiStupa on the reverse,

depicting the country‘s cultural heritage. The base colour of the note is bright yellow. The note has other

designs, geometric patterns aligning with the overall colour scheme, both at the obverse and reverse.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Ltdhas been given scheduled bank status by RBI

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd, has been

given scheduled bank status by RBI.Currently,Ujjivan SFB has 65 full-fledged brick and mortar branches in

eight states and two Union Territories. Ujjivan SFB commenced its operations as a Small Finance Bank with

effect from February 1, 2017.

Useful Info

Ujjivan SFB – Ujjivan Small Finance Bank

Headquarters – Bengaluru

MD & CEO - SamitGhosh

RBI to Introduce Rs 100 Coin to Mark MG Ramachandran‟s Birth Centenary

As per the notification of Finance Ministry, the Reserve Bank of India will introduce 100 rupees coin to

mark the birth centenary (hundredth anniversary) of AIADMK founder Late Dr. M G Ramachandran.

On the obverse, the face of the coin will bear Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar in the center with SatyamevJayate

inscribed below on it in Devanagari script. It will also bear the rupee symbol and denominational value of 100.

On the reverse side, the portrait of Dr. MG Ramachandran will be in the center. The standard weight of the

coin will be 35 grams.

Useful Info

Dr. MG Ramachandran – Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

India‟s Forex Reserves Top $400 billion for the First Time

According to the RBI Data, India‟s foreign-exchange reserves rose past $400 billion for the first time ever,

strengthening policy makers‘ buffers ahead of an expected reduction in US stimulus. The stockpile stood at

$400.7 billion. With the Federal Reserve set to shrink its balance sheet—details of which could be announced

recently, the holdings may help the rupee withstand any volatility even if global funds turn away from India‘s

slowing economy.

RBI announced that Masala bonds will be treated as External Commercial Borrowings (ECB)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that Masala bonds will be treated as External Commercial

Borrowings (ECB) from 3rd October 2017 thereby freeing up more investments by FPIs. Masala bonds are

rupee-denominated overseas bonds. Currently, the limit for investment by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs)

in corporate bonds is Rs 2,44,323crore. This includes masala bonds of Rs.44,001crore.

Almost 99% of demonetised notes back in system: RBI report






56

The Reserve Bank of India today in its annual report confirmed that almost 99 per cent of banned Rs 500 and

Rs 1000 notes that were demonetised last November have returned to the system. In the report for 2016-17, the

RBI said that out of 632.6 crore pieces of Rs 1,000 currency notes in circulation, 8.9 crore have not been

returned post the note ban last November.

RBI included HDFC Bank in the list of 'too big to fail' lenders

RBI included HDFC Bank in the list of 'too big to fail' lenders, referred to as D-SIB or domestic

systemically important bank. India's largest lender SBI and private sector major ICICI Bank were classified

as D-SIBs in 2015. With the inclusion of HDFC Bank in the list, there will now be three 'too big to fail'

financial entities in the country.

Useful Info

HDFC Bank Headquarters – Mumbai

CEO – AdityaPuri

Tagline – We Understand your World

Reserve Bank of India Opens Branch in Dehradun

The Reserve Bank of India opened a branch in the Dehradun city to make transactions of the Uttarakhand

State government more convenient. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated the

RBI's Branch. Earlier, the state government had to do financial transactions through the Kanpur branch of the

RBI.

RBI to soon Launch Financial Literacy Drive in 9 States

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to launch a financial literacy drive in 80 blocks in nine states on the

pilot basis to educate people on e-transactions, formal sector borrowings and insurance purchases. The

pilot project, according to RBI will be commissioned in the 9 states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar,

Odisha, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh by the 6 NGOs in collaboration

with the sponsor Banks. The aim of this drive is to inculcate the habit of making a household budget and

recording financial transactions, encourage transactions in savings accounts, and active saving by depositing

in banks through fixed deposits and recurring deposits.

Fourth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement Released by RBI

On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation at its meeting, the

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment

facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.0 per cent. Consequently, the Reverse Repo Rate (RRR) under the LAF

remains at 5.75 per cent, and the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.25 per

cent. The projection of real Gross Value Added (GVA) growth for 2017-18 has been revised down to 6.7 per

cent from the August 2017 projection of 7.3 per cent, with risks evenly balanced.

State Bank of India

SBI HQ – Mumbai; Chairman - Rajnish Kumar; SBI slogan - The Banker to Every Indian

400 crore rupees for Rooftop solar projects announced by SBI

State Bank of India (SBI) announced financingof rooftop solar projectsworth 400 crore rupees. ―SBIavailed a

loan of $625million from the World Bankfor on-lending to viableGrid-Connected RooftopSolar PV projects

undertakenby photovoltaic developers/aggregators and end-usersfor installation of rooftopsolar systems on

rooftops ofcommercial, institutional andindustrial buildings.

SBI cuts rate on home loan above Rs. 75 lakh by 10 bps to 8.6%:

The State Bank of India has reduced rates for home loans aboveRs.75 lakh by 10 bps.The revised interest rates

will be 8.55% per annum for salaried women and 8.60% per annum for others.The revised interest rates on

home loans by the SBI will come into effect from June 15 this year.

Tirumala Milk Products & State Bank of India has entered into a tie up for providing loans to dairy

farmers

State Bank of India has entered into a tie-up with Tirumala Milk Products, a South- based company which was

acquired by GroupeLactalis in 2014, to provide loans to dairy farmers who supply milk to the latter.






57

Useful Info

GroupeLactalis HQ – Laval, France

Founder - André Besnier

SBI HQ – Mumbai

Bank Board Bureau interviews four SBI MDs for chairman‟s post

The Banks Board Bureau,headed by former CAG VinodRai, interviewedfour candidates for the SBIchairman‘s

post, which willfall vacant aftertheretirement of ArundhatiBhattacharya in October.Four SBI managing

directorswere interviewed by threesub-committees, sourcessaid. B. Sriram, the seniormostMD, along with

RajnishKumar, P. K. Gupta andDinesh Kumar Kharafacedthe panel, sources said.

Nepal SBI launches first paperless Banking services sbi INTOUCH

Nepal SBI Bank, a subsidiary of the State Bank of India, launched its fully automatic digital banking services

in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. This is for the first time the State Bank of India has expanded the paperless

banking system outside India. Digital banking provides various services including cash deposit, the opening of

new accounts, distribution of debit card, ATM and online banking information on the touch of the screen.

Customers can avail the services from SBI Intouch Bank. The digital banking unit also has a robot, which

provides important information to customers in an interactive manner.

Useful Info

Country – Nepal

Capital – Kathmandu

Currency - Nepalese rupee

President - Bidhya Devi Bhandari

Prime Minister - SherBahadurDeuba

SBI waives charge on IMPS fund transfer of up to Rs 1,000

Country's largest bank SBI has waived charges for fund transfer of up to Rs 1,000 through its IMPS

(Immediate Payment Service) to promote small transactions. State Bank of India had been charging Rs 5 along

with the applicable service tax for IMPS fund transfer of up to Rs 1,000. IMPS is an instant interbank

electronic fund transfer service through mobile phones as well as internet banking. For IMPS, the charge will

be Rs 5 along GST for fund transfer in the range of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 lakh. The charge will go up to Rs 15 for

transactions of Rs 1-2 lakh. GST at the rate of 18 per cent is applicable on all financial transactions.

State Bank of India launches website for home buyers

State Bank of India, the country‘s largest commercial bank, has launched 'SBI Realty' - a one-stop integrated

website www.sbirealty.in for home buyers. SBI Realty will help customers to choose their dream home from

3,000 SBI approved projects across the country. These projects are spread across 13 states and Union

Territories covering 30 cities, including metros, semi metro and towns. The site is developed by SBICAP

Securities in association with PropEquity in terms of data support, project information.

SBI and Carlyle Group will acquire GE Capital's entire stake in SBI Card

State Bank of India (SBI), the Carlyle Group and GE have announced that they have signed definitive

agreements, whereby SBI and Carlyle Group will acquire GE Capital's entire stake in SBI Card, the second-

largest credit card franchise in India. SBI Card is operated through two joint venture companies, SBI Cards &

Payment Services and GE Capital Business Process Management Services, which issue credit cards and

process card transactions in the Indian market. Following the transactions, SBI and Carlyle will own 74 percent

and 26 percent respectively in each of the two entities.

Useful Info

Carlyle Group HQ – Washington, United States

GE Capital – Norwalk, Connecticut, United States

SBI cuts saving account rate by 0.5% on balance up to Rs 1 crore

State Bank of India has cut interest on savings account deposits by 50 basis points to 3.5 per cent on balance up

to Rs 1 crore. The bank decides to continue 4 per cent interest on savings account balance of Rs 1 crore and






58

above. Revision of saving bank rate will enable the bank to maintain marginal cost of fund based lending rate

(MCLR) at existing rates.

SBI, Samsung collaborate to advance Digital India initiative

The State Bank of India (SBI) and Samsung India has announced the availability of Samsung Pay for higher

variants of SBI debit card to advance Digital India initiativeSamsung Pay is currently available on Samsung

smartphones. It enables consumers to make offline payments without the need for a physical Card. Samsung

Pay works on 2.5 million Point of Sale (PoS) Card machines across the country through its Magnetic Secure

Transmission (MST) technology. The Bank aimed to be the Banker to Digital India and has been at the fore-

front of all digital initiatives in the banking space.Samsung Pay consumers holding eligible SBI Debit Cards

can avail a flat Rs. 100 cashback on minimum transaction amount of Rs. 500.

Useful Info

Samsung HQ – Seoul, South Korea

SBI to raise 2000 crore via BASEL- III bonds

State Bank of India plans to raise Rs 2,000 crore by allotting Basel-III compliant bonds to various investors.

The committee of directors for capital raising accorded its approval on 3rd

of August 2017. It will allot 20,000

AT1 Basel-III compliant non-convertible, perpetual, subordinated bonds in the nature of debentures. The bonds

will carry a coupon rate of 8.15% per annum with a call option after 5 years or the anniversary date thereafter.

Country‟s largest lender, SBI Tops Share of Wilful Default to PSBs

The country‘s largest lender, SBI, accounts for over 27 per cent of the total amount owed to public sector

banks by wilful defaulters. As many as 1,762 wilful defaulters owed SBI Rs25,104 crore.Punjab National

Bank (PNB) is next on the list with 1,120 wilful defaulters having outstanding non-performing assets (NPAs)

of Rs12,278 crore. Together these two banks account for Rs37,382crore or 40 per cent of the total outstanding

loans.

SBI's Arundhati Bhattacharya invited to join Infosys board

State Bank of India Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya has reportedly been offered a position on the Infosys

board and the offer was first made almost 10 days ago before Vishal Sikka resigned as the CEO. Further,

Bhattacharya was also offered a seat on the board of another IT company but that invitation came two days

after Infosys' offer.

SBI Life Insurance Gets SEBI approval for Rs 8,400 crore IPO

SBI Life Insurance has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India for an IPO

(Initial Public Offering) of up to Rs 8,400 crore ($1.3 billion). The IPO will involve 120 million secondary

shares or 12 per cent of the insurer's equity capital. State Bank of India which currently owns 70.1 per cent of

the insurer, will sell 80 million shares and BNP Paribas Cardif, holder of a 26 per cent stake, will sell 40

million.

Useful Info

SEBI – Securities and Exchange Board of India

Headquarters of SEBI – Mumbai

Chairman of SEBI – Ajay Tyagi

MD & CEO of SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd - ArijitBasu

SBI Card to offer pre-approved cards to SBI customers

SBI card is all set to offer pre-approved cards to customers of its parent State Bank of India. It has

entered into a tripartite agreement with SBI and India‘s first credit bureau TransUnion CIBIL to offer pre-

approved cards to eligible customers.

The agreement will allow the credit bureau to check the credentials of SBI customers and SBI Card to

leverage the data.

SBI launches Indian bond index series in London

State Bank of India (SBI) has launched the FTSE SBI Bond Index series in partnership with global index

provider FTSE 100, which will give tools to investors from India, the UK and globally to analyseIndia‟s

government bond market, and drive growth in this market. This index, launched in collaboration with the






59

London Stock Exchange, will ensure that international investors have an international benchmark that is

transparent, that is well governed and that is something they can easily rely on.

State Bank of India (SBI) is India‟s most trusted and most popular bank

State Bank of India (SBI) is India‟s most trusted and most popular bank according to a survey conducted

by Brand Finance, a business valuation and strategic consultancy headquartered in London. On the trust charts,

SBI is followed by HDFC Bank and Central Bank of India whereas on the popularity charts, ICICI Bank and

HDFC Bank take the second and third spots respectively.

SBI Launches Chatbot to Help Customers in Banking Activities

Artificial intelligence banking platform Payjo has launched an AI-powered chat assistant for State Bank of

India to addresses customer enquiries. The chat assistant, known as SBI Intelligent Assistant, or SIA, will

help customers with everyday banking tasks just like a bank representative.

SBI to Set Up Country's Largest Innovation Centre at Mumbai

The nation's largest lender State Bank of India is creating a 15,000-sqft innovation center in Navi

Mumbai investing around Rs 100 crore. The center, to be built at its Global IT Centre in Belapur in Navi

Mumbai, will be the largest innovation center by any financial services company in the country. The

innovation center is part of a Rs 200-crore allocation that the bank has earmarked for innovation 2016.

SBI Launched SME Assist for MSME Clients

The State Bank of India has launched a new product to provide a short-term working capital demand

loan to its MSME clients. The new initiative, called SME Assist, would offer loans to MSME customers

on the basis of their input credit claims under Goods and Services Tax (GST). The loan processing fee

under the scheme is Rs 2,000. The companies applying for a loan under the product have to provide a

certificate from their chartered accountant confirming the input credit claims. Under the scheme, the SME

borrowers would have a moratorium period for the first three months.

NABARD

NABARD – National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development

Headquarters – Mumbai; Chairman - Harsh Kumar Bhanwala

LokSabha Passes Bill to Raise NABARD‟s Capital to Rs30,000crore

A bill to enable exit of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from Nabard and increase authorized capital of the

development institution six times to Rs 30,000 crore was passed by the LokSabha.

All you Know About the Bill

Increase in capital of NABARD: At present the authorized capital of Nabard is Rs 5,000 crore and there is a

proposal to increase it to Rs 30,000 crore.

Transfer of the RBI‘s share to the Union Government: At present in Nabard, the Centre has a share of 99.6%

and the RBI has the remaining share.

The Bill replaces the terms ‗small-scale industry‘ and ‗industry in the tiny and decentralized sector‘ with the

terms ‗micro enterprise‘, ‗small enterprise‘ and ‗medium enterprise‘ as defined in the MSME Development

Act, 2006.

The Bill substitutes references to provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 under the NABARD Act, 1981, with

references to the Companies Act, 2013.

NABARD Buys Additional 7% stake in SIDBI from IDBI Bank

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has bought an additional 7% stake

in Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for Rs 900 crore from public sector lender IDBI Bank

Ltd. This is the largest investment made by the apex rural financial institution so far, and raises its total

shareholding in Sidbi to 10%. According to data shared by Sidbi, existing shareholders bought most of these

shares - 6.99% by Nabard, 2.04% by Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC), 0.5% by Vijaya Bank and 0.5% by

Canara Bank. With this, LIC holds 14.25% in SIDBI, Vijaya Bank 0.8% and Canara Bank 3.64%.

Useful Info






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SIDBI Headquarters – Lucknow

CMD of SIDBI – Shri Mohammad Mustafa

IDBI Bank Headquarters – Mumbai

Managing Director & CEO of IDBI Bank - Mahesh Kumar Jain

Asian Development Bank

Headquarters - Manila, Philippines; President - TakehikoNakao

ADB Lowers India Growth Forecast for this Fiscal

Asian Development Bank (ADB) has downgraded India‘s growth projection to 7 percent for the current

fiscal while lowering its forecast for the next financial year as well. India‘s GDP growth is downgraded to 7

percent in the financial year 2017-18, a 0.4 percentage point drop from the April forecast. In the financial year

2018-19, the forecast is adjusted down to 7.4 percent, from 7.6 percent, according to the Asian Development

Outlook 2017 update.

ADB to Increase Annual Lending to India to $4 billion

The Asian Development Bank will increase its annual lending to India to a maximum of $4 billion between

2018 and 2022 to help fasten inclusive economic transformation towards upper middle-income status. The

proposal was endorsed at new ADB Country Partnership Strategy for 2018- 2022. The new lending

programme, which includes private sector operations, is much higher than the average $2.65 billion a year in

loans extended during 2012 and 2016.

$80-Million ADB loan to Himachal Pradesh

Multilateral lending agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of $80 million (about Rs

524 crore) for the modernization of Himachal Pradesh‘s technical and vocational education and training

(TVET) institutions. The total cost of the project is $100 million, with the Centre contributing $20 million. The

project is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) to Provide $152 Million Fund to Nepal

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a USD 152 million to Nepal for the implementation and

enhancement of its power transmission and distribution. ADB and Nepal‘s Ministry of Finance signed the loan

agreement in Kathmandu. The aid will be granted to the Power Transmission and Distribution Efficiency

Enhancement Project (PTDEEP) which supports the expansion of the transmission lines in various areas of

Nepal.

West Bengal Gets $300 Million Asian Development Bank (ADB) Loan

Multilateral funding agency ADB has sanctioned a USD 300 million loan facility for carrying forward fiscal

reforms in West Bengal. The board of Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a loan of USD 300 million to

continue a comprehensive series of fiscal reforms in West Bengal. West Bengal, for the first time in 2012 had

received a USD 400 million from ADB, its first policy based lending with an aim to create a fiscal space

necessary to sustain higher public investment in the eastern India.

Axis Bank

Axis Bank HQ – Mumbai; MD and CEO of Axis Bank - Shikha Sharma;

Tagline of Axis Bank – BadhtiKanaamZindagi

GMR Goa International Airports Ltd gets Rs. 1,330 cr loan from Axis Bank for developing Mopa airport

GMR Goa International Airports Ltd, a subsidiary of GMR Airports Ltd, has executed a debt facility agreement

for the development of Greenfield airport at Mopa. The foundation stone for the project was subsequently laid

by the Prime Minister, NarendraModi, on November 13, 2016. The entire debt of Rs. 1,330 crore was

underwritten by Axis Bank on a long tenor door to door basis of 18 years on competitive terms.

Useful Info






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Chairman of GMR Airports - SrinivasBommidala

Axis Bank has entered into collaboration with Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) to facilitate

trade with Latin America and the Caribbean.

Axis Bank has entered into collaboration with Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) to facilitate trade

with Latin America and the Caribbean. Axis Bank becomes the first Indian bank to participate in the Trade

Finance Facilitation Programme as a confirming bank. IIC, a member of the Inter-American Development

Bank Group, is a multilateral development bank committed to supporting the private sector in Latin America

and the Caribbean.

Useful Info

IIC – Inter-American Investment Corporation

HQ – Washington D.C

President - Luis Alberto Moreno

Axis Bank to waive 12 EMIs on home loans under ShubhAarambh scheme

Under the new scheme ShubhAarambh Home Loans Axis Bank will waive 12 equated monthly

installments (EMIs) on regular repayments of loans of up to Rs 30 lakh.The lender has introduced

ShubhAarambh Home Loans, in which 12 EMIs are waived 4 EMIs each after the fourth, eighth and 12th year

from the date of the first disbursement.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

AIIB - Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; HQ – Beijing, china; President – Jin Liqun

China-led AIIB has approved USD 150mn loan for India infrastructure fund

China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has approved USD 150 million equity investment loan to the

India Infrastructure Fund. It is the bank's first such loan to fund private projects.

Airtel Payment Bank

MD & CEO of Airtel Payment Bank - ShashiArora

Airtel Payment Bank joined hand with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) for ATM

services

Airtel Payments Bank, India‘s first payments bank has announced a strategic partnership with Hindustan

Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) to give further boost to digital payments in the country and to add to

customer convenience. All 14,000 HPCL fuel stations will act as banking points for Airtel Payments Bank. All

Airtel Payments Bank customers would be able to access a range of convenient banking services at these fuel

stations like opening new accounts, make cash deposits and withdrawals facility, and transfer money.

Useful Info

First Airtel Payment Bank was opened in Rajasthan.

HPCL - Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited

HPCL Headquarters – Mumbai

Chairman of HPCL – M.K. Surana

Bank of Baroda

BOB HQ- Gujarat; MD & CEO- P.S Jayakumar; Tagline- India‟s International Bank

EPFO signed an agreement with four private banks for collection of provident fund

The Employees‘ ProvidentFundOrganisation (EPFO)signed anagreement with four privatebanks and Bank of

Barodafor collection of providentfund dues from employersand payments to itssubscribers.This is the first time

that theEPFOhastied up withprivate banks – namely, ICICIBank, HDFC Bank, Axis






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BankandKotakMahindraBank.Earlier, only State Bank of Indiawasauthorised to collectcontributions from

employersand make payment toemployees. The move willhelp the EPFO save about300 crore rupees annually

as thefive banks have agreed tozero transaction charges.

Useful Info

EPFO –Employees‘ ProvidentFundOrganisation

HQ – New Delhi

Four Private Banks – ICICI, Axis, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

PSU – Bank of Baroda

Canara Bank

Headquarters: Bengaluru; CEO: Rakesh Sharma; Tagline: Together we can

Canara Bank has inked pact with the state-owned general insurer The New India Assurance Co to sell

policies through its branches:

The Bengaluru headquartered public sector lender said this corporate agency distribution tie-up will make

available general insurance products from over 6,000 Canara Bank branches in the country.

Organisation: New India Assurance Co

Headquarters: Mumbai

CEO: Shri G. Srinivasan

Tagline: India‘s premier general insurance company

Canara Bank launched its first „Digital Banking Branch‟ at Bengaluru

Canara Bank, which has set an ambitious target of moving to ‗paperless‘ futuristic banking, launched its first

‗Digital Banking Branch‘ at Bengaluru. Titled ‗CANDI‘, the branch will provide an end-to-end digital

experience to customers.

Useful Info

State – Karnataka

Capital – Bengaluru

CM – Siddaramaiah

Governor – VajubhaiRudabhaiVala

Canara Bank hits overseas bond market with $400-mn issue

Canara Bank has hit the international debt market with a benchmark dollar bond issue that will have a tenor

of 5 years. Through this issue, Canara Bank will raise $400 million as part of its $2 billion medium-term

note programme. A medium-term note (MTN) is a debt note that usually matures (is paid back) in 5–10

years.

Bond sale will be drawn through London branch of CanaraBank. The bonds will be listed on the Singapore

Stock Exchange.Foreign rating agency Moody‟s has assigned a Baa3 rating to the issue, which is on par

with the sovereign rating since majority stake in the bank is owned by the Indian government.

Canara Bank unveiled two new digital services for online payments

Canara Bank unveiled two new digital services for online payments. Bharat QR (Quick Response) is for

payment settlement at merchant locations and Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) is an integrated bill

payment system for net banking customers.The first service is a mobile application, which enables a merchant

to accept payments as settlement for sale of goods or services. The second product (BBPS), an initiative of the

RBI offers bill payment services to the bank's net banking customers with network of agents.

Useful Info

BBPS - Bharat Bill Payment System

Dena Bank

Dena Bank HQ – Mumbai; Chairman & MD - Ashwani Kumar;

Bank Slogan - Trusted Family Bank






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Restrictions on Dena Bank imposed by RBI

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has imposed certainrestrictions on Dena Bankafter it reported negativereturn

on assets (ROA)fortwo years and net NPAbreaching the risk thresholdlevel. ―RBI initiated promptcorrective

action for DenaBank in view of high net NPAand negative RoA.

Useful Info

Dena Bank Founded - 26 May 1938; 79 years ago

National Payments Corporation of India

NPCI - National Payments Corporation of India; MD & CEO of NPCI - A. P. Hota

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) receives final nod from RBI to function as Bharat Bill

Payment Central Unit

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organization for all retail payment systems has

received a final nod from the Reserve Bank of India to function as the Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit

(BBPCU) and operate the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS). On August 31, 2016, 8 BBPS operating units,

which received in-principle approval from RBI, took part in the pilot. Almost after a year of running the pilot,

streamlining the technology and business processes, NPCI has now received final clearance from RBI.

Tech giant Google is announced to unveil a digital payment service in India

Tech giant Google is announced to unveil a digital payment service in India that has been developed for the

local market. In July, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) had stated that Google had completed

the testing of its UPI payment service and was awaiting Reserve Bank of India‘s approval to launch its service

in the country. Google is looking at launching a payment service „Google Tez‟, which will include support for

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as well as mobile wallets like Paytm and MobiKwik.

Useful Info

Google HQ – Mountain View, California, United States

Google CEO – SundarPitchai

Indian Overseas Bank

HQ – Chennai; MD & CEO - Shri R. Subramaniakumar; Tagline – Good people to grow with;

Indian Overseas Bank launches retail mart in Thiruvananthapuram

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), the Lead Bank for Thiruvananthapuram district, has launched the Retail Mart, a

retail lending concept, in Kerala's capital city. The exclusive facility that handles retail products has started

functioning at the main branch.

Indian Overseas Bank has offered Bharat Bill Payment System, introduced by NPCI

Public sector Indian Overseas Bank has offered Bharat Bill Payment System, introduced by the National

Payments Corporation of India, for its customers. BBPS is an integrated bill payment system that offers inter-

operable online bill payments to customers. The services include online payments of electricity,

telecommunication, DTH, water and gas bills, the Chennai headquartered bank said in a statement. Indian

Overseas Bank is one of the three public sector banks (apart from Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India) to

get the approval from RBI for providing the service.

FINO Payments Bank

FINO Payment Banks HQ – Mumbai; FINO PayTech CEO – Rishi Gupta

FINO Payments Bank has commenced operations as a payments bank






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FINO Payments Bank has commenced operations as a payments bank with effect from 30th June 2017

according to the Reserve Bank of India. FINO PayTech Ltd, Mumbai, was one of the 11 applicants which were

issued in-principle approval for setting up a payments bank. Besides FINO, the other applicants which have

launched payment bank operations are Airtel M Commerce Services, Department of Posts and Paytm Payments

Bank.

Fino Payments Bank Launches Mobile Banking App

Fino Payments Bank has launched its mobile banking app called BPay. Fino aims to make banking easy for

millions of underbanked people in India. The upgraded BPay app is available on Android at present. The

mobile banking app enables simple, paperless and convenient banking that allows customers to make bill

payments, recharges, fund transfers and buy insurance. An interesting feature of the mobile app is that it allows

customers to seamlessly access wallet as well as savings account, with a single login and interface.

IDBI Bank

IDBI HQ – Mumbai; CEO - Mahesh Kumar Jain; IDBI Bank Slogan – AaoSocheinBada

High rating for code compliance to IDBI Bank done by BCSBI

According to the Code Compliance Rating of banks done by the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India

(BCSBI) 2017, only one (IDBI Bank) out of 26 public sector banks and eight out of 17 private sector banks got

‗high‘ rating for their adherence to code compliance.The eight private sector banks that got ‗high‘ rating are-

Axis Bank, DCB Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, RBL Bank and YES

Bank. The three foreign banks are Citibank, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank, that were surveyed got

‗high‘ ranking.

Useful Info

BCSBI - Banking Codes and Standards Board of India

HQ – Mumbai

Chairman – A.C. Mahajan

IDBI Bank has started insolvency resolution process against LancoInfratech Ltd

IDBI Bank has started insolvency resolution process against LancoInfratech Ltd. following a directive from the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI). While this is the first resolution process initiated by the lenders against 12 large

borrowers identified by the RBI recently. The RBI‘s internal committee identified 12 accounts on the criteria

that they have outstanding loan of Rs 5000 crore and is classified as non-performing loan as in March 2016.

These accounts constitute 25% of total NPAs.

IDBI Bank Launches „Project Nishchay‟ for Turnaround

IDBI Bank has launched „Project Nishchay‟ in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to

accelerate its turnaround program and improve financial performance. The project will be led by senior

management at IDBI Bank along with BCG. BCG will assist the bank to identify areas for cost containment

and revenue maximization leading to sustainable growth and profitability of the Bank.

IndusInd Bank

IndusInd Bank HQ – Mumbai; CEO – RomeshSobti; Owner - Hinduja Group

IndusInd Bank became the 6th Indian bank whose market capitalisation soared past the Rupee 1 lakh

crore-mark

IndusInd Bank became the 6th Indian bank whose market capitalisation soared past the Rupee 1 lakh crore-

mark. HDFC Bank is the country's most valued bank with a market capital of Rupee 4.6 lakh crore, followed

by State Bank of India, and ICICI Bank.

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Private sector lender IndusInd Bank and Bharat Financial Inclusion Sign Exclusivity Agreement for

Merger

Private sector lender IndusInd Bank and India's second largest Microfinance companyBharat Financial

Inclusion have signed a confidentiality agreement for the proposed merger between them. The Hinduja

Group controlled bank has informed the exchanges about an ‗exclusivity agreement‘ with the micro lender to

explore merger or expansion plans. The deal between the two companies may formalise after due diligence,

definitive documentation and their shareholders, regulatory, NCLT and other third-party approvals, as

applicable.

Useful Info

Chairman of IndusInd Bank - R. Seshasayee

Headquarters – Mumbai

DBS Bank

Headquarters of DBS Bank - Wognum, Netherlands; MD & CEO of DBS Group - Piyush Gupta

DBS Bank Gets RBI Nod for Subsidiary in India

DBS Bank India, part of Singapore-based financial services group DBS Group Holdings, has received in-

principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to convert its existing India franchise to a locally

incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary (WOS) in India. In its guidelines, the RBI had pointed out that the WOS

model for foreign banks in India would involve local incorporation, a local board of directors, and a ring-

fenced capital and assets profile that would not be affected by the impact of global events on its parent. Piyush

Gupta said that the WOS model was important for the bank to grow its domestic franchise and maintain a deep

presence here. He said this would go towards supporting its small and medium enterprise (SME) strategy,

which was constrained by the lack of presence so far.

Useful Info

ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank HQ – Mumbai; CEO – ChandaKochhar; Tagline – Hum Hai Na, KhyalApka

ICICI Bank offers up to Rs 15 lakh instant personal loan via ATMs

Largest private sector lender ICICI Bank will be selling personal loans of up to Rs 15 lakh through its ATMs

that can be availed of by select salaried customers even if they haven't previously applied for one. The facility

offers a bouquet of features - swift application in simple steps, multiple eligible loan amount options up to Rs.

15 lakh based on pre-checked CIBIL scores and instant transfer of the money to the customer‘s account.

ICICI bank launches instant credit card with the limit upto 4 lakhs

ICICI Bank has announced the launch of Instant Credit Card Service that will enable its savings account

customers to get a credit card instantly, in a completely digital and paperless manner.There is a credit limit

of up to Rs 4 lakh based on pre-checked bureau scores.

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has launched a new website 'PlanYourGoal.com'

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has launched a new website 'PlanYourGoal.com' to help users plan their

investments according to their future financial goals.The website guides the users to plan their big spends,

tax investments as well as the corpus required during retirement. The website also provides recommendations

based on calculations.

State-owned NTPC has signed a term loan agreement for Rs. 3,000 crore with ICICI Bank

State-owned NTPC has signed a term loan agreement for Rs. 3,000 crore with ICICI Bank for partially

funding its capital expenditure.The loan which has a door-to-door tenure of 15 years will be utilized to part

finance the capital expenditure of NTPC. NTPC had commissioned 3,845 MW capacity and added 2,190 MW

to its commercial capacity during 2016-17.

ICICI Bank Launches „Cashback‟ Home Loans






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India‘s largest private sector lender, ICICI Bank announced a new home loan scheme that offers borrowers

the benefit of 1% cashback on every EMI, for the entire tenure of the loan. The offer will be valid for home

loans with a minimum tenure of 15 years and maximum tenure of 30 years. Customers can choose to adjust the

cashback against principal outstanding of their home loan. The cashback will start to accrue from the first EMI

itself. It will first get credited to the customer after completion of the 36th EMI.

ICICI Lombard Gets SEBI Nod for IPO

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company has got capital markets regulator SEBI's go-ahead for its

estimated Rs 6,000 crore initial public offer (IPO). ICICI Lombard is a joint venture between ICICI Bank and

Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.

ICICI Bank committed financial assistance to Armed Forces

ICICI Bank, the country's largest private sector bank by consolidated assets, committed financial assistance of

Rs. 10 crore to the Indian Armed Forces. This contribution by ICICI Bank would be made in two equal

tranches. This fund will be used for two programs. The first will support post-graduation education of the

widows of the soldiers and education for their wards. The second program will provide financial assistance

for marriages of the daughters of ex-servicemen.

Useful Info

Union Defence Minister – Nirmala Sitharaman

Constituency – Karnataka, Rajya Sabha

New Development Bank

NDB – New Development Bank; Headquarters – Shanghai, China; President –K V Kamath

First regional centre of the New Development Bank Opens in South Africa

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

officially opened by South African President Jacob Zuma and the bank's Indian head K V Kamath.NDB has

anauthorized capital of the bank is USD 100 billion. In 2018 it is expected to present about 15 to 20 projects

involving a total lending of about USD 4 billion for the boards consideration.

Five banks of the BRICS Bank Cooperation Mechanism have agreed to establish credit lines

Five banks of the BRICS Bank Cooperation Mechanism have agreed to establish credit lines in the national

currencies and cooperate on credit ratings. The agreement to this effect was signed ahead of the BRICS

Summit in China‟s Xiamen city. Brazilian Development Bank,Vnesheconombank, Export-Import Bank of

India, China Development Bank and Development Bank of South Africa signed the agreement in Beijing.

Ahead of the BRICS summit, the New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS countries has approved 1.4

billion US dollar loans for sustainable development projects in India, Russia and China.

Useful Info

BRICS Countries

Brazil – Brasília, Brazilian real

Russia – Moscow, Russian Ruble

India – New Delhi, Indian Rupee

China – Beijing, Renminbi (Yuan)

South Africa – Cape Town, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Currency - South African Rand

China is hosting the 9th BRICS Summit.

The theme of the 9th BRICS Summit is "Stronger Partnership for a better future".

Vijaya bank

Vijaya bank HQ – Bengaluru; Present MD & CEO - Dr. R A Sankara Narayanan

Slogan – A friend you can bank upon






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100 digital villages in various States of the country to be developed by vijaya bank

Vijaya Bank is going to develop as many as 100 digital villages in various States of the country as part of its

initiative to promote digital banking among the rural population.

Useful Info

Vijaya Bank opens self-employment training institute in Indore

Vijaya Bank has disbursed loan sanction letters to beneficiaries who were trained at the Vijaya Bank Self

Employment Training Institute (VIBSETI) in Bhenslay Village, Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

HDFC Bank

Headquarters of HDFC Bank – Mumbai; MD – AdityaPuri; Tagline –We Understand Your World

HDFC Bank Revises Interest Rates On Saving Accounts

HDFC Bank Ltd has announced a revision in its savings bank interest rate effective August 19, 2017. Post

revision, customers maintaining savings bank account balance of Rs 50 lakh and above will continue to

earn interest at 4 per cent per annum. Customers maintaining account balance of below Rs 50 lakh will

earn interest at 3.5 per cent per annum from earlier 4 per cent. The revised rates will be applicable to both

resident and Non-resident customers.

HDFC Bank announced a software upgrade to create a single point-of-sale (PoS) machine

HDFC Bank announced a software upgrade to create a single point-of-sale (PoS) machine which will accept

payments through Unified Payments Interface (UPI), BharatQR, SMS Pay and the bank‟s mobile wallet,

in addition to the traditional mode of swiping cards.The merchant has to do is to update his/her machine

with a software at no cost. The new software will work only on HDFC Bank-issued PoS machines, but will

accept any card or app from any bank/service provider.

HDFC Bank Becomes 2nd Most Valuable Company on BSE

HDFC Bank surpassed Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to become the country‘s second most valued firm

in terms of market valuation. Shares of HDFC Bank gained 0.93 per cent to Rs. 1,840 (its 52-week high) on

the BSE. Reliance Industries Ltd is the country‟s most valued firm with a market cap of Rs. 5,33,818.72

crore followed by HDFC Bank and TCS in top three list.

HDFC Bank is India‟s Top Brand: BrandZ Top 50 Report

India‘s second largest private sector bank HDFC Bank topped the list of the country‟s top 50 brands

according to a report released by marketing and advertising conglomerate WPP Plc and Kantar Millward

Brown. The bank has retained the top slot for the fourth year in a row. Banks and telcos dominate the listing,

WPP‘s BrandZ Top 50. Airtel is at 2nd spot and State Bank of India is at 3rd. According to the report,

consumption of packaged consumer goods fell 4.2% and 2.4% year on year in November and December 2016

respectively, but recovered 0.6% in March this year and 3.9% in April.

Useful Info

Top three rank Holders

1st – HDFC Bank

2nd

– Airtel

3rd

– State Bank of India

HDFC Life Launched Neo, a Bot for Twitter

HDFC Life Insurance Company has launched 'Neo', a servicing bot for Twitter that uses artificial

intelligence for customer service. This is the second bot put in operation by HDFC Life, after the launch of

SPOK, which was an email bot to answer customer queries. The Neo bot will be available 24/7 and has the

capability to authenticate customers and give frequently sought details, like fund value, sum assured and

premium amount.

IDFC Bank






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IDFC Bank HQ – Mumbai; MD & CEO of IDFC Bank – Sunil Kakar

Private sector lender IDFC Bank has partnered with digital payments company Zeta

Private sector lender IDFC Bank has partnered with digital payments company Zeta, to launch „IDFC

Bank Benefits‟. It is a payment solution for corporates that digitizes employee spends and claims, making the

process simple, real-time and paperless.The end-to-end digital solution comprises an IDFC Bank Benefits Card

and Zeta app which integrates the full suite of allowances and reimbursements offered by an employer into one

preloaded card. Employees can also access the Benefits Card via the Zeta app on mobile or web. The Zeta

app offers employees a real time view of spends, reimbursement limits and claims.

KarurVysya Bank

KVB - KarurVysya Bank; Headquarter – Karur, Tamil Nadu; Chairman – Swaminathan

KarurVysya Bank inaugurates AADHAAR enrolment centre in Chennai

Private sector KarurVysyaBankhasunveiled the Aadhaar Enrolment Centre in Chennai.The Unique

Identification Authority of India had advised commercial banks to provide Aadhaar enrolment and updation

facility at various branches.KVB is the first private sector bank to provide Aadhaar Enrolment Centre

service in the country.

Useful Info

Kotak Mahindra Bank

KotakMahindra Bank HQ – Mumbai; Managing Director – UdayKotak;

Tagline: Lets make money simple

Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched Kotak Remit

Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched Kotak Remit — an Aadhaar-based integrated outward forex remittance

solution for both customers and non-customers. The 24x7 forex remittance service offers a completely

paperless process that enables users to register online using Aadhaar and PAN numbers, and initiate

remittances instantly.

Punjab National Bank

HQ – New Delhi; MD & CEO - Sunil Mehta; Tagline: The name you can bank upon

PNB customers have to pay charges for depositing cash above Rs. 5,000 in a non-base branch

PNB customerswill have to pay charges for depositing cashaboveRs. 5,000 in a non-base branch even if it is

located in the same city. Currently, the customers of Punjab National Bank have levied charges only for

depositing cash over Rs. 25,000 at a non-base branch within the same city.It has been decided to revise the

non-credit related charges (exclusive of GST) with effect from September 1st, 2017 for cash deposit above Rs.

5,000 at other than base branch within the same city.

Syndicate Bank

Syndicate Bank HQ – Manipal, Karnataka; MD & CEO of Syndicate Bank - MelwynRego

Tagline – Your faithful and friendly financial partner

Syndicate Bank Cuts Savings Account Interest Rate by 0.5%

Public sector Syndicate Bank has cut savings account interest rate by 0.50 percent to 3.50 percent for

deposits up to Rs 25 lakh. The bank has revised rate of interest on savings bank deposits with effect from

October 10 to 3.50 percent from 4 percent existing rate. For the deposits above Rs 25 lakh, the interest rate is






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unchanged at 4 percent. With this, Syndicate Bank has joined over two-dozen banks, both from the public and

private sector, who have cut the interest rate on deposits in various quantum.

Karnataka Bank

Karnataka Bank HQ – Mangaluru; MD & CEO - P.Jayarama Bhat

Tagline: Your family bank across India

Karnataka Bank has raised interest rates on savings bank account, 5% for Above 1 Core Deposit, 3% for

below 1 lakh Deposit

Karnataka Bank has raised interest rates on savings bank account for large balance above Rs 1 crore to 5%

while for small balances below Rs 1 lakh, the bank has reduced it to 3%. Earlier the private bank was charging

4% irrespective of the amount in the account. Karnataka Bank has said that the bank will offer 4% on deposits

in savings account between Rs 50 lakhs and Rs 1 crore. For deposits between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50 lakhs, the

bank will offer 3.5%. The reduction in rate will be with immediate effect.

Yes Bank

Yes Bank HQ – Mumbai; MD & CEO – RanaKapoor; Tagline of Yes Bank – Experience our Expertise

Hike Messenger launched the new version of the app in collaboration with Yes Bank

Hike Messenger launched the new version of the app with a completely new interface and the addition of a

mobile wallet, in partnership with YES Bank. With Unified Payments Interface support enabled in Hike 5.0,

users can now do free and instant bank-to-bank transfers with their friends. The feature works even if your

friends aren't on Hike.

Useful Info

CEO of Hike Messenger - KavinBharti Mittal

Indus OS partners with YES Bank to launch OS-integrated UPI platform

Indus OS has partnered with YES Bank to launch OS-integrated UPI (Unified Payment Interface) payment

platform in India. Users with Indus OS will be able to use this UPI payment platform on SMS, dialler interface,

and on third party apps like WhatsApp. This means P2P transactions, as well as utility payments, can be made

via SMS or messaging. The platform is expected to launch in this quarter.

Useful Info

CEO of Indus OS - RakeshDeshmukh

YES BANK Launches „YES GST‟ Program to Assist MSMEs

YES Bank, India‘s fourth largest private sector bank, along with YES Global Institute has launched ‗YES

GST‘ program for MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) under its MSME CSR initiative, ‗Say YES

to Sustainable MSMEs in India‘. Through the program, the bank will help MSMEs to understand the impact of

the changes in tax system and prepare them to know the new GST tax system. YES Bank has also launched

GST-Ready products for MSMEs.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises – Kalraj Mishra

Constituency – Deoria (Uttar Pradesh)

Other Banking News

India ranks the top in Global Retail Development Index (GRDI)

The 16th edition of the 2017 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) ranks the top 30 developing countries

for retail investment worldwide and analyzed 25 macroeconomic and retail-specific variables.






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Useful Info

Top three ranks – India, China, Malaysia

The GRDI 2017 was titled as 'The Age of Focus'

India tops global remittance-receiving list

India has claimed the top spot among the remittance-receiving nations, surpassing China. The United Nations,

in its report, said Indians working across the globe sent home 62.7 billion US dollars last year.The 'One Family

at a Time' study by the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development said, about 200 million migrants

globally sent more than 445 billion dollars as remittances in 2016 to their families.Remittance flows have

grown over the last decade from 296 billion in 2007 to 445 billion dollars in 2016.

Export of spices & spice products achieves growth of 12 % in 2016-17

The export of spices and spice products achieved a growth of 12 per cent during 2016-17.According to Spices

Board in Kochi, 9.48 lakhs tons of spices were exported earning over 17 thousand crorerupee.In 2015-16, the

country had exported 8.43 lakhs tons worth around 16 thousand crores.Chilli continued to be the most sought

after spice, registering an increase of 27 per cent in value in the last fiscal year.Cumin was the second most

exported spice recording a rise of 22 per cent in quantity and 28 per cent in value.

Useful Info

City of Spices – Kozhikode (Calicut), Kerala

Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) - Kozhikode (Calicut), Kerala

USD 250-million loan for making Indian youth more employable through reskilling approved by World

Bank

The World Bank has cleared a USD 250-million loan for making Indian youth more employable through

reskilling, in a move that is seen to aid the Skill India Mission. Under the program, adults in 15-59 years of

age, underemployed or unemployed, will get the skill training.

Useful Info

World Bank HQ – Washington D.C

President - Jim Yong Kim

Founded in 1944

Current US President – Donald Trump

Current US Vice President - Mike Pence

AU Small Finance Bank placed on „caution list‟

A day ahead of its IPO, AUSmall Finance Bank has beenplaced under the caution listby the Reserve Bank

tomonitor the foreignshareholding of the companywhich is hovering around thepermissible limit of 49%.AU

Small Finance Bank‘s1,912 crorerupees initial publicoffering (IPO), at a price bandof 355-358 rupees per

share,begins.

Useful Info

AU Small Finance Bank HQ – Jaipur

Brexit to impact €20 billion hole in EU budget

Britain‘s withdrawal from theEU could leavethe remaining27 nations with a €20-billionhole in their budget to

ill, EUbudgetcommissionerGuentherOettingersaid,calling on the bloc to improveefficiency of itsspendinginthe

wake of Brexit in March2019.

Useful Info

EU - European Union

HQ - City of Brussels, Belgium

Founded - 1 November 1993, Maastricht, Netherlands

Credit card bill payment exempt from cash dealing limit of Rs 2 lakh

Revenue department has said that restrictions on cash dealings of two lakh rupees or more will not apply to

credit card bill payments, business correspondents appointed by banks and issuers of prepaid instruments. The

Finance Act 2017 banned cash transaction of 2 lakh rupees or above with effect 1st of April this year.






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Canara, HSBC, Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance ties up with Dhanlaxmi Bank for marketing

bancassurance

Private life insurance companyCanara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance has entered into an

alliance with the Kerala based Dhanlaxmi Bank for marketing various life insurance products. As part of the

agreement, the Bank will be a corporate agent for 3 years. All the life insurance products of Canara HSBC

Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance would be made available to customers of Dhanlaxmi Bank and

would be sold by the licensed staff of the bank.

Useful Info

HQ of Dhanlaxmi Bank – Thrissur, Kerala

Tagline – Tann. Mann. Dhan

MD & CEO - G. Sreeram

China's biggest banks lost $15 billion value in a week

China's biggest banks, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Agricultural Bank of

China, lost a combined $15 billion (nearly 97,000 crore rupees) in value in a week.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital – Beijing

Currency – Renminbi – Yuan

President – Xi Jinping

ICBC - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

HQ – Xicheng District, Beijing, China

Agriculture Bank of China

HQ – Beijing, China

The Bank of England unveiled a new polymer £10 note featuring 19th century novelist Jane Austen

The Bank of England unveiled a new polymer £10 note featuring 19th century novelist Jane Austen, in a move

to replace paper £5, £10 and £20 with secure plastic notes. This makes Austen the only woman other than

Queen Elizabeth to be featured on a polymer British bank note. This note's introduction marks the 200th

anniversary of Austen's death.

Useful Info

Bank of England – It is the central bank of the United Kingdom

HQ - Threadneedle Street London, EC2 England

Country – United Kingdom

Capital – London

Currency – Pound Sterling

Aurionpro launches a Bank in a Box to reduce branch expansion cost for banks

Aurionpro Solutions a global leader in digital innovation, enterprise security and banking solutions, announced

its Branch-in-a-Box product, the Virtual Teller Machine (VTM) a fully integrated self-service kiosk for

automating 90% of banking transactions at the branch level. The VTM helps in migrating routine transactions

like eKYC, account opening, passbook and statement printing, video assistance, bill payment, cash and

cheques (single and bunched) deposit, cheque account summary, cash withdrawal, personalised instant card

issuance, activation and replacement from the branch to the teller machines.

Useful Info

Aurionpro Solutions

Corporate HQ – Mumbai

US Headquarter - San Ramon, California

CEO - Samir Shah

Standard Chartered Bank has launched a Multi-currency Forex Card for overseas travelers






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Standard Chartered Bank has launched a Multi-currency Forex Card for overseas travelers. The card will allow

customers the convenience of loading up to 20 widely used currencies on one card with an online reload

facility during overseas travel. The card will offer travelers protection against the frequent currency

fluctuations by locking in the currency exchange rate they availed during the time of loading the card, and not

pay different rates every time they use the card.

Useful Info

Standard Chartered Bank HQ – London, England

Chairman - Jose Vinals

Bolivia has declared "total independence" from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank

Bolivia's President Evo Morales has declared "total independence" from the International Monetary Fund

(IMF) and World Bank. Last year, Bolivia has announced that it will no longer respond to their demands.

Useful Info

IMF – International Monetary Fund

HQ – Washington D.C


Country – Bolivia

Capital – Sucre

Currency - Bolivian boliviano

SIDBI has started full-fledged merchant banking operations to benefit MSMEs

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has started full-fledged merchant banking operations to

benefit the expanding number of growth-oriented micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), especially

those with a strong technology and innovation quotient. The initiative is aimed at enhancing the access of

MSMEs to the capital markets, including the SME Trading Platform and Institutional Trading Platform.

Useful Info

SIDBI - Small Industries Development Bank of India

HQ – Lucknow

Chairman and Managing Director - KshatrapatiShivaji

SIDBI was established in the year 1990

RBI allows NBFCs to sell and market the new pension scheme

The Reserve Bank of India has allowed systematically important non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to

sell and market the new pension scheme (NPS). NBFCs with asset size of Rs500 crore and above that have

made a net profit in the preceding financial year be permitted to sell NPS to their clients after registration with

the pension regulator.

Useful Info

IRDAI - Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India

HQ – Hyderabad

Chairman – T.S. Vijayan

RBI - Reserve Bank of India

Governor – Urjit Patel

IBBI Registered National E-Governance Services Ltd as Information Utility

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) registered National E-Governance Services

Limited (NeSL) as an Information Utility (IU) under the IBBI (Information Utilities) Regulations, 2017.

With this NeSL has become the first IU registered by the IBBI and the registration is valid for five years

from the date of registration. Information Utility stores financial information that helps to establish defaults as

well as verify claims expeditiously and facilitates completion of transactions under the Insolvency and

Bankruptcy Code in a time-bound manner.

Useful Info

IBBI - Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India






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Chairperson of IBBI - M. S. Sahoo

Stock markets falls across globe, Sensex slumps 240 points

Stock markets have fallen across the globe, today. At home, after a weak opening, the Sensex at the Bombay

Stock Exchange lost considerably more ground, and had slumped 240 points, or 0.8 percent, to 31,653 a short

while ago. The Nifty at the National Stock Exchange had dropped 83 points, to 9,891.

Useful Info

Indian Stock Exchanges

BSE – Bombay Stock Exchange

NSE – National Stock Exchange

Other Important Stock Exchanges in the world

New York Stock Exchange

Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Tokyo Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange

Shanghai Stock Exchange

US banking regulators ordered Pakistan‟s Habib Bank to shutter its New York office

US banking regulators ordered Pakistan‟s Habib Bank to shutter its New York office after nearly 40 years,

for repeatedly failing to heed concerns over possible terrorist financing and money laundering. The state‘s

Department of Financial Services, which regulates foreign banks, also slapped a 225 million Dollars fine on the

bank. In 2006, it was ordered to tighten Habib Bank's oversight of potentially illegal transactions but failed to

comply.

Useful Info

Country – Pakistan

Capital – Islamabad

Currency – Pakistani Rupee

Fiscal deficit touches 92.4% of budget estimates at July-end

India‟s fiscal deficit at July- end touched 92.4 % of the budget mainly because of front loading of

expenditure by various government departments. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit- difference between

expenditure and revenue - was Rs 5.04 lakh croreduring April- July 2017-18, according to the data of

Controller General of Accounts (CGA). During the same period of last financial year, 2016-17, it was 73.7

% of the target. For 2017-18, the government aims to bring down the fiscal deficit to 3.2 % of the GDP. Last

fiscal, it had met the deficit target of 3.5 % of the GDP.

21st GST Council meeting underway in Hyderabad

The 21st meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has begun under the chairmanship of Union

Finance Minister ArunJaitley in Hyderabad.The day-long meeting will discuss several aspects relating to the

implementation of the GST including the IT systems of the Goods and Services Tax Network, the problems

being encountered during the tax return filing process and the difficulties faced by industry in filing GST

returns.GST council will also take a final call over the demands raised by several states like Telangana to

further reduce the GST on public interest projects like irrigation and road development.

Finance Minister ArunJaitley Constitutes GoM to Monitor IT Challenge in GST

Finance Minister ArunJaitley has constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Bihar Deputy Chief

Minister Sushil Kumar Modi to monitor and resolve the IT challenges faced in the implementation of GST.

The GoM will be assisted by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goods and Services Tax Network

(GSTN). Besides, a Committee on Exports has also been constituted under the convenorship of the

Revenue Secretary Dr.HasmukhAdhia to look at the issues of export sector and to recommend the GST

Council suitable strategy for helping the export sector in the post-GST scenario.

Useful Info

Union minster for Finance – Arunjaitley







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Peer-to-peer Lending Platforms to be Treated as NBFCs

After a year or more of due-diligence, the RBI has notified that peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms need to

be regulated and treated on par with non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).The final regulatory

framework for P2P lenders is still awaited. Few important P2P lending platforms in India are LenDen Club,

Faircent, Qbera, Lendbox, Rupaiya Exchange and Monexo.

Useful Info

NBFC - Non-banking financial companies

World Trade to Grow at Higher 3.6% in 2017: WTO

World trade in goods is estimated to grow at a higher 3.6 percent in 2017 compared to 1.6 percent increase

in 2016, according to revised estimates circulated by the World Trade Organisation. Growth in global trade

was earlier projected at 2.4 percent in 2017 by the WTO, which attributed the improved outlook to a resurgence

of Asian trade flows. This was mainly due to intra-regional shipments picking up and a recovery in import

demand in North America.

Useful Info

WTO – World Trade Organisation

Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland

Director-General of the WTO - Roberto Azevêdo

India growing pretty robustly: World Bank President

World Bank President Jim Kim has said India has been growing pretty robustly. Speaking at the Bloomberg

Global Business Forum meeting in New York , Kim said Japan, Europe and the US along with India were

growing and there was a levelling-out in developing countries. He called for more cooperation among the

multilateral system, private sector and the governments to take advantage of the current win-win situation.

Useful Info


President of World Bank – Jim Kim

Government Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged on Small Savings Schemes

Ahead of monetary policy review, the government has kept unchanged the interest rates on small savings

schemes like PPF, KisanVikasPatra and SukanyaSamriddhi for October-December quarter. Investments in

the Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme will fetch annual rate of 7.8 percent while KisanVikasPatra

(KVP) investments will yield 7.5 percent and mature in 115 months. The one for girl child savings,

SukanyaSamriddhi Account Scheme will offer 8.3 percent annually. Similarly, the investment on 5-year

Senior Citizens Savings Scheme will yield 8.3 percent. The interest rate on the senior citizens scheme is paid

quarterly.

Useful Info

SukanyaSamriddhi Account can be opened up to age of 10 years only from the date of birth.

The normal Premature closure will be allowed after completion of 18 years provided that girl is married under the

SukanyaSamriddhi Account Scheme.

Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) Account- An individual of the Age of 60 years or more may open the

account.

National Savings Certificates (NSC) Scheme specially designed for Government employees, Businessmen and

other salaried classes who are Income Tax assesses.

Govt to exempt small exporters from furnishing bank guarantee for shipping goods & services

Government has decided to exempt small exporters from furnishing bank guarantee for shipping goods and

services. In a statement, Finance Ministry said that to facilitate exports under GST, it has been decided that the

facility of furnishing Letter of Undertaking, in place of a bond, for exporting goods and services shall be

allowed to exporters and no bank guarantee will be required. The decision comes a day after exporters met

Finance Minister ArunJaitley for resolution of GST-related problems to boost overseas shipments.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Finance - ArunJaitley






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World's Biggest Wealth Fund Hits $1 Trillion Value For First Time

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

This amount equals nearly $189,000 (157,000 euros) for each of the 5.3 million people living in Norway. The

fund mainly invests in stocks (accounting for 65.1 per cent of the portfolio at the end of the second quarter), but

also in bonds and real estate. With stakes in nearly 9,000 companies, it owns 1.3 per cent of the world's market

capitalization, and 2.3 per cent in Europe.

Useful Info

Country – Norway

Capital – Oslo


HSBC

HSBC Launches App to Track Trade Transactions

HSBC (Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) announced the launch of a mobile app - Trade

Transaction Tracker - to help customers track the status of their trade transactions on a real-time basis. This

feature has been built into the existing HSBCnet mobile application and has been launched in selected

countries in which HSBC operates, including India. It will provide a global view of import and export

documentary credit and collections transactions, across markets in one single app.

Useful Info

HSBC Headquarters - London, United Kingdom

US central bank fines HSBC $175 mn for Lax Forex Oversight

The US central bank has fined global banking giant HSBC $175 million for failing to oversee foreign

exchange traders who misused confidential client information and colluded with traders at competing banks.

Between 2008 and 2013, the bank failed to detect misconduct by senior traders, including its global head of

foreign exchange cash trading, according to the Federal Reserve. The enforcement action comes two months

after the Fed also fined BNP Paribas USD 246 million over similar violations. HSBC was one of six major

US and European banks fined a total of $4.2 billion by global regulators in a November 2014 crackdown for

attempted manipulation of the foreign exchange market.

Useful Info

Country – United States of America

Capital – Washington D.C

Currency – US Dollar

President – Donald Trump

The Federal Reserve System is the privately owned central banking system of the United States.

SEBI

SEBI committee headed by UdayKotak

The Securities and ExchangeBoard of India (SEBI) hasformed a committee under the chairmanship of

UdayKotak, executive vice chairman and managing director, Kotak Mahindra Bank to advise on

corporategovernance issues.

SEBI relaxes norms for banks to take over stressed assets of listed companies to recover bad loans

Capital markets regulator, SEBI (Securities Exchange Board of India) relaxed takeover norms for the

acquisition of stressed assets of listed companies to help the government and the RBI in their efforts to tackle

bad loans. SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi took the decision after a board meeting in Mumbai.

Useful Info

SEBI HQ – Mumbai

Chairman - Ajay Tyagi

SEBI Allows Multi Commodity Exchange(MCX) to launch Gold Options

The Multi Commodity Exchange Ltd (MCX), the country‘s largest commodity exchange has received capital

markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India‟s (Sebi) approval to launch options trading in






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gold.It will allow investors and hedgers to minimise their price risk at a fraction of cost compared to currently

available futures trading.

Useful Info

MCX - Multi Commodity Exchange

Managing Director of MCX - MurgankParanjape

Markets regulator SEBI has introduced an online registration mechanism for custodians of securities

Markets regulator SEBI has introduced an online registration mechanism for custodians of securities to

make it convenient for them to do business.The new system would help custodian of securities to complete

registration and other regulatory filings with Sebi much faster and in a cost-effective manner.

Useful Info



Chairman - Ajay Tyagi

Markets regulator SEBI barred Orion Capital as well as Orion Broking from Markets for 10 years

Markets regulator SEBI barred Orion Capital as well as Orion Broking and their partners from the

securities markets for 10 years for failing to redress several investor grievances pertaining to non- settlement of

funds due to the clients. The nature of investor complaints received against both the firms are predominantly on

non-settlement of the funds and securities and balances due to their clients. The claim amount is more than Rs

6 crore against Orion Capital and over Rs 4 crore against Orion Broking.

Useful Info



Chairperson – Ajay Tyagi

SEBI Advisory Committee to Discuss Trading Hours Extension

An advisory committee of the Securities and Exchange Board of India is likely to discuss a proposal for

extending stock market trading hours. The stock market in India currently opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 3.30

p.m., but there is a view, including among stock exchanges, that the trade hours could be extended till up to

7.30 p.m. to better align domestic trading with global markets. The 19-member committee is led by Jayanth

R Varma, professor, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. The move to extend trading timings will

only serve to push up costs and will hurt small and medium brokers the most.

SEBI Allows Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to Issue

Bonds

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) allowed Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs)

and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to raise capital by issuing debt securities. The move will help

attract investors to the capital-starved property sector. In addition to allowing bond issuances, SEBI also

introduced the concept of strategic investor for REITs, similar to InvITs.

FINANCIAL & ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

C.K. Birla Group firm Orient Cement to buy 2 cement units of Jaypee Group for 1946 crore rupees

C.K. Birla Group firm Orient Cement signed definitive agreements with Manoj Gaur-led Jaypee Group to

acquire two of its cement unitsfor 1,946 crore rupees. The first agreement was signed by Orient Cement to buy

74% stake in the Bhilai unit of Jaypee Cement at an enterprise value of 1,450crore rupees.

Bharat Electronics Ltd to spend 2500 crore rupees on defence Research & Development

Bharat Electronics Ltd.(BEL) plans to spend 2,500 crore rupees on R&D to develop and enhance indigenous

products and technologies for the military by 2020.As part of the R&D plan, BEL‘s board approved 274crore

rupees budget for developing the QR-SAM (quick reaction surface-to-air missile)for the armed forces with

technology partner DRDO.






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Useful Info:

Bharat Electronics Ltd HQ – Bengaluru

Chairman & MD - M.V. Gowtama

Bharti Airtel, Telenor merger approved by SEBI

Bharti Airtel announced that it has received the approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI),

BSEand NSE for the proposed scheme of merger between Airtel and Telenor (India) Communications Private

Limited. Bharti Airtel further stated that Telenor India and Airtel had filed the joint company application before

the New Delhi Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal for approval.

Useful Info

Telenor HQ - Fornebu, Bærum, Norway

Country – Norway

Capital – Oslo


Vice chairman of National Stock Exchange Mr.Ravi Narain resigns

Ravi Narain, Vice Chairman of National Stock Exchange, has quit from the board of the country's largest

bourse by profits.

Updated GST rates for Gold & Diamonds

The Council also cleared the rules regarding return filing, and transitional provisions. Union Finance, Defence

and Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley, while briefing the media following the conclusion of the one-day

meeting, said gold, silver, and diamonds would be placed in a new rate category of 3% while rough

diamonds would attract a nominal rate of 0.25%.Biscuits, currently taxed at a combined State and central tax

rate of 20-23%,have been placed in the 18%GST rate category.

Useful Info

GST Rates 03/6/2017 Main Highlights

For gold, the GST has been set at 3 per cent introducing a new tax slab

GST of 12 per cent will be levied on readymade garments

Footwear upto Rs 500 is charged at 5% and above it is 18%

GST on Agri machinery fixed at 5 per cent

GST on apparel below Rs 1,000 fixed at 5 per cent

A nominal rate of 0.25 imposed on rough diamond

0 per cent tax on Jute

GST Council will set up committee to look into complaints regarding anti-profiteering clause, said

Arun Jaitley

Bidi to be taxed at 28% without cess. However Beedis are still under discussion, no proposal of cess for

beedis

GST rate for gold fixed at 3 per cent

Gold, gems, jewellery to be taxed at 3 per cent

Footwear priced below Rs 500 to be taxed at 5%, the rest at 18%

Readymade garments to attract 12% GST; Yarn and fabric cotton 5 per cent

GST on all biscuits to be 18%

Consumers might also see some hike in garment prices

India will remain among top 3 investment destinations till ‟2019‟

India will remain among the top three investment destinations globally till 2019, according to a survey by the

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD).UNCTAD‘s World Investment Report

2017 also said India ranked 10th in terms of FDI inflows in 2016, with$44 billion coming in, as in2015. Over

the next two years, India will be behind only the U.S. and China in terms of investment attractiveness.

Useful Info

UNCTAD - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

HQ – Geneva

GMR Infrastructure bags €850 mn Crete airport project in Greece






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GMR Infrastructure subsidiary GMR Airports Ltd in partnership with Greek infrastructure firm Terna S.A.,has

bagged a project worth of €850 mn to develop ,operate and manage the new Kastelli international airport at

Heraklionin Greece‘s Crete Island.

Useful Info

GMR Infrastructure HQ – New Delhi

Country – Greece

Capital – Athens

Currency – Euro

iVoomi plans 250 crore rupees phone factory in India

Chinese smartphone maker iVoomi plans to make phones in India with an initial investment of 250crore rupees

and export handsets to countries like China, Taiwan and Korea. The company expects to have its

manufacturing facility in the country by the first quarter of 2018.

Useful Info

Ivoomi India CEO – Ashwin Bhandari

Country – China

Capital – Beijing

Currency – Renminbiyuan


World Bank approves over $500 million for Afghanistan to boost economy

The World Bank has approved financing worth more than 500 million dollars for Afghanistan to support a

string of projects to boost the economy, help improve service delivery in five cities and support Afghan

refugees sent back from Pakistan.

Useful Info



Country – Afghanistan

Capital – Kabul

Currency – Afghan afghani

Parliament of Afghanistan - National Assembly also known as Afghan Parliament

Tesla beats BMW to become world's 4th most valuable carmaker behind Toyota, Daimler, and Volkswagen:

Elon Musk-led electric carmaker Tesla's shares rose 1.4%, boosting its market cap to $61.6 billion, about $280

million more than German automobile major BMW. Tesla delivered less than 80,000 vehicles last year and has

only reported two profitable quarters since it was founded in 2003.

Company: Tesla

Headquarters: Palo Alto, California, United States

CEO: Elon Musk

Amazon to buy Whole Foods for USD 13.7 billion

Amazon.com Inc. said it would buy U.S. organic supermarket chain Whole Foods Market Inc. for$13.7 billion,

including debt, marking the Internet retailer‘s largest deal and biggest foray into the brick-and-mortar retail

sector.

Useful Info


CEO – Jeff Bezos

Rs 87 crore fine for Hyundai Motor India for anti-competitive conduct

CCI has imposed a penalty of Rs 87 crore on Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor India for anticompetitive

conduct. According to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the carmaker imposed arrangements upon

its dealers that resulted in resale price maintenance. Such arrangements also included monitoring of the






79

maximum permissible discount levels through a Discount Control Mechanism, in contravention of the

provisions of Section 3(4)(e) read with Section 3(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.

Useful Info

Hyundai HQ – Seoul, South Korea

CCI HQ – New Delhi

CCI Chairman - Devender Kumar Sikri

R-Cap arm invests 7 cr rupees in start-up Billion loans

Reliance Corporate Advisory Services Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Capital, has invested 7

crore rupees in Billion loans Financial Services, a start-up that focuses on facilitating loans. V. Balakrishnan,

former board member of Infosys, is currently the chairman of Billionloans. Billionloans would initially focus

on facilitating loans for education and affordable housing and personal loans.

Useful Info

Reliance Capital

HQ – Mumbai

Chairman – Anil Ambani

Nandan Nilekani, Helion's Sanjeev Aggarwal launch $100-million fund Fundamentum

Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani and Helion Venture‘s Sanjeev Aggarwal have launched an investment fund

called Fundamentum with a corpus of $100 million to back startups looking for growth capital. The corpus may

be extended to $200 million if the fund sees more opportunities, the two founders said. The fund, which has so

far closed $50 million, will see one-third of the corpus coming from Nilekani and Aggarwal. Fundamentum has

already brought on board six entrepreneurs who will also invest in the fund.

Samsung plans to launch smart speaker powered by Bixby

South Korean electronics maker Samsung plans to launch a standalone smart speaker powered by its own voice

assistant technology 'Bixby', according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The speaker, codenamed Vega,

has been in the works for over a year. If launched, the speaker will compete with Amazon Echo, Apple Home

Pod, and Google Home.

Company: Samsung

Head quarters: Seoul, South Korea

Microsoft to equip 55000 Indian schools with digital classes:

Microsoft India signed a Memorandum of Understanding with National Independent Schools Alliance (NISA)

to equip 55,000 schools across 23 Indian states with digital classrooms. This partnership aims to create an

enabling ecosystem for schools to improve accessibility, affordability, and quality of education. NISA currently

caters to over 90 lakh students across the country

Company: Microsoft India

Head quarters: Gurugram

Telcos lost market share in 2016 due to Jio: TRAI report:

With Jio claiming 6.4% market share in 2016, telecom majors Airtel, Vodafone and Idea saw their market

shares drop, data by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) suggests. Country's largest operator

Airtel's market share dropped 0.49% reaching 23.58% even as its subscriber base increased 9.3%. Similarly

Vodafone's market share dropped 1% despite adding 1.1 crore new users.

Organisation: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

Headquarters: New Delhi

Chairman: R. S. Sharma

Japan‟s Tokio Marine raises stake in JV to 49%

Japan‘s Tokio Marine Asia raised its stake in a 17-year old general insurance joint venture with India‘s

fertilizer co-operative IFFCO from 26% to 49% at a cost of 2,530 crore rupees, in a transaction approved by the

IFFCO board.

Useful Info

IFFCO - Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited






80

HQ – New Delhi

Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc – It is a multinational insurance holding company

HQ – Tokyo, Japan

India has slipped by one spot to become the fourth-largest foreign investor into the UK

India has slipped by one spot to become the fourth-largest foreign investor into the UK, according to the

official figures released. The US remains on the top, investing in 577 projects in the UK, with China (including

Hong Kong) remaining in second place with 160 projects. India set up 127 new projects in Britain last year and

safeguarded 7,645 existing jobs as a result and created 3,999 new jobs in 2016-17.India shares the fourth spot

with Australia and New Zealand, which also set up 127 projects collectively.

Useful Info


Capital – London

Currency - Pound sterling

PM - Theresa May

India‟s GDP growth is to be higher at 6.6% in the June quarter: Nomura

India‘s GDP growth is to be higher at 6.6% in the June quarter from the previous three months this year.

According to Nomura it is expected average GDP growth in Q2 (April-June) to be modestly higher at 6.6%

from 6.1% in Q1 (January-March).In the second half (H2) of 2017, growth recovery is expected to accelerate to

7.4%. The pick-up growth numbers in the second half is likely to be led by a recommencement of production

after GST, ongoing remonetisation, normal monsoons, stronger rural consumption and easier financial

conditions (lower lending rates, liquidity).

Useful Info

Nomura Holdings, Inc. is a Japanese financial holding company, and a principal member of the Nomura Group.

Nomura HQ - Minato, Tokyo, Japan

CEO - Koji Nagai

Chaudhary Birender Singh said that first time India has become a net export country in Steel

Minister for Steel Chaudhary Birender Singh said that first time India has become a net export country in Steel.

It has been announced on 31st of July 2017. The steel imports in the country have gone down by 39% and

exports have gone up by 102% last year. Crude steel production has registered 3.5% during April-June 2017-

18.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Steel – Chaudhary Birender Singh

Constituency – Haryana, Rajya Sabha

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announces new ETF-Bharat-22, Sectoral cap set at 20%

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched a new Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) under the name Bharat 22,

comprising shares of 22 companies from 6 sectors of the economy. This decision comes on the basis of past

experiments with CPSE-ETF which proved to be successful. The ETF will feature four banking stocks — SBI,

Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda and Indian Bank — other than CPSEs such as Nalco, ONGC, IOC, BPCL and Coal

India. Besides, there will be nine other PSUs as well as REC and PFC.

Useful Info



MobiKwik has entered into a strategic partnership with Bajaj Finance

Mobile wallet major MobiKwik has entered into a strategic partnership with Bajaj Finance to transform itself

into a financial services app from a payments app at present. Under this partnership, Bajaj Finance has picked

up 10.83 per cent equity stake in MobiKwik for about Rs. 225 crore and will offer its lending (purchase

finance, credit card, mortgage loans and personal loans) and insurance products to be sold through the

MobiKwik app.

Useful Info






81

Mobikwik HQ – Gurugram

CEO of Mobikwik - : Bipin Preet Singh

Bajaj Finance HQ – Pune

Government revises the base year of All-India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) from 2004-05 to 2011-12

Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs stated that Government has revised

the base year of All-India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) from 2004-05 to 2011-12.The revised basket of

WPI and its weighting structure conform to the structure of economy in 2011-12. The number of items in the

basket has increased from 676 to 697 and the number of price quotations has increased from 5482 to 8331.

Useful Info

Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs – Arjun Ram Meghwal

Constituency – Bikaner, Rajasthan

Present Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs is Shri P.P. Chaudhary

GST Council, has decided to raise cess on Luxury cars & SUV from 15% now to up to 25%

Sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and luxury cars, which became cheaper after the rollout of the goods and

services tax (GST), may now cost more as the GST Council, has decided to raise cess on them from 15% now

to up to 25%.The proposal to raise the ceiling of cess covers large motor vehicles with capacity for 10-13

persons, mid segment and large cars, sports utility vehicles, mid segment hybrid cars and other hybrid

vehicles, all of which at present attract 15% cess.

Useful Info

GST Council Chairman – Arun Jaitley

Mastercard and PayPal have expand their partnership into Asia Pacific

Mastercard and PayPal have announced an extension of their partnership into Asia Pacific for making

MasterCard a clear payment option within PayPal.PayPal will add Mastercard as a payment method to their e-

wallet and consumers can make it their default payment option.

Indian Railways has earned additional revenue of Rs 540 crore in less than a year through the flexi fare

scheme

The Railways has earned additional revenue of Rs 540 crore in less than a year through the flexi fare scheme

and there is no plan to discontinue it. The scheme, launched on 09th September 2016, is applicable in

Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto trains, allowing 10 per cent of the seats to be sold at the normal fare and

thereafter increasing it by 10 per cent with every 10 per cent of berths sold with a ceiling of 50 per cent.

Useful Info

Online entertainment platform Netflix announced that it has acquired Millar world

Online entertainment platform Netflix announced that it has acquired Millar world, a comic book company.

The acquisition was the first ever by Netflix. Together, the two companies will bring Millar world's portfolio of

character franchises to life through films, series and children's shows available exclusively to Netflix members.

Millar developed the comic books and story arcs that inspired the first Avengers movie, ―Captain America:

Civil War,‖ and ―Logan (Wolverine).

Useful Info

Netflix HQ – Los Gatos, California, United States

CEO - Reed Hastings

BitBay launches trading platform for digital currency

BitBay, one of the top ten crypto currency trading platforms in the world, has launched a dedicated platform for

trade and exchange of digital currencies such as bitcoin, litecoin, ether, Lisk, monero, dash and game

credits. The company will also work towards creating awareness about digital currencies and also removing

misconceptions related to these currencies in a market like India.

Flipkart gets $2.5 billion from SoftBank

A fund backed by Japan‘s SoftBank has invested close to $2.5 billion in online marketplace Flipkart through

primary and secondary share purchases, sources familiar with the matter.

Useful Info






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SoftBank HQ – Minato, Tokyo

Uber has launched a business to business model called "Uber for Business "

Ridesharing app Uber has launched a business to business model called "Uber for Business " to enable

new use cases like daily commute, late-night rides home from work, between-office transportation. This new

model comes with the features like Set-and-forget travel programs, new permissions, Different access for

different groups and a fresh user interface.

Useful Info

Uber HQ – San Francisco, California, United States

Government has banned exports of gold jewellery, medallions and other articles above 22- carat purity

The government has banned exports of gold jewellery, medallions and other articles above 22- carat purity

in a bid to check round tripping of the precious metal. According to the Directorate General of Foreign

Trade (DGFT), certain provisions of the foreign trade policy (2015-20) are amended to allow export of gold

jewellery and articles containing gold of 8 carats and above up to a maximum limit of 22 carats only from

domestic tariff area and export-oriented units, electronics hardware technology parks, software technology

parks and bio technology parks.

Useful Info

DGFT - Directorate General of Foreign Trade

Google launches Android 8.0 named 'Oreo'

Google announced 'Oreo' as the name for the latest version of the Android operating system, continuing the

dessert-themed names. It brings features including notification dots on app icons, picture-in-picture mode, and

an autofill tool to help quickly and securely enter passwords. Android Oreo 8.0 will start rolling out to Pixel

and Pixel XL smartphones followed by Nexus devices.

Useful info:

Organization: Google

Headquarters: Mountain View, California,

CEO: Sundar Pichai

Essar Oil completes $13 billion deal with Rosneft, Trafigura

Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft said it has successfully closed the nearly $13 billion Essar Oil acquisition

deal. Rosneft will get a 49.13% stake in Essar Oil and Trafigura-UCP consortium will get another 49.13%

stake. The Essar Oil-Rosneft deal is the largest foreign direct investment into the country till date and also the

largest outbound investment from Russia.

Useful Info:

Organization: Essar Oil

Headquarters: Mumbai

CEO: Lalit Kumar Gupta

Infosys drops out of India's top 10 most valued companies

Three days after Vishal Sikka's resignation as Infosys CEO and MD, the company has slipped out of the list of

top 10 companies by market capitalization on BSE. Notably, in just two days of trading, Infosys has lost about

Rs.30,722crore. State-owned oil producer ONGC has replaced Infosys to become the 10th most valuable

company.

Government confirms introduction of new Rs. 200 notes

The government confirmed the introduction of new Rs.200 notes by RBI for the first time. While no immediate

date has been specified, the new notes could reportedly be introduced by September. The Rs. 200 note will fill

in the 'missing middle' even as new currency in circulation has reached 84% of pre-demonetisation level, SBI

said earlier.

ONGC gives in-principle nod to acquire govt's stake in HPCL

The board of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) gave in-principle approval to acquire

government's 51.11% stake in Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL). HPCL will become a subsidiary of ONGC and






83

will remain a listed company post the acquisition. The government has constituted a committee headed by

Finance Minister ArunJaitley to work out the modalities of the sale.

Organisation: ONGC

Headquarters: Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

Chairman & MD: D K Sarraf

Organisation: HPCL

Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

MD & CEO: M. K. Surana

To offer voice-based shopping Google partners with Walmart

Retail giant and US' largest company by revenue Walmart announced that it is partnering with Google to

enable voice shopping through Google's virtual assistant. This will allow users in the US to order Walmart

products just by speaking to the Google Home voice-controlled speaker. The service will compete with

Amazon's Alexa voice-shopping platform.

Organisation: Google

Headquarters: California, United States

CEO: SundarPichai

Organisation: Walmart

Headquarters: Bentonville, Arkansas, United States

Drone startup DJI CEO named Asia's youngest tech billionaire

Drone-making startup DJI's Founder and CEO Frank Wang Tao has been listed as Asia's youngest technology

billionaire in Forbes' 2017 'Richest People in Tech' list. Wang, aged 36, is also world's first drone billionaire

with an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion. The Chinese native founded DJI 11 years ago while studying at

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Organisation: Dà-Jiāng Innovations Science and Technology Co., Ltd

Headquarters: Shenzhen, Guangdong

CEO: Frank Wang

Executive search firm appointed by Infosys to find new CEO

Infosys has appointed executive search firm Egon Zehnder to help it find a new CEO, a week after Vishal

Sikka stepped down from the post. The firm will work with the nomination and remuneration committee to

identify the right candidate. ―On the CEO search... We are looking at internal candidates, external candidates,

and Infosys alumni,‖ Non-Executive Chairman Nandan Nilekani said.

Organisation: Infosys

Headquarters: Bengaluru

CEO: U. B. Pravin Rao

Banks importing gold and precious metals have to pay 3 per cent tax under the GST

Banks importing gold and precious metals will have to pay 3 per cent tax under the GST which can be

claimed as input tax credit. Under GST 3% Integrated-GST is payable on all imports of precious metals in

addition to the basic customs duty. IGST paid can be taken as input tax credit by the banks.

Useful Info

GST –Goods and Services Tax

Chairman of GST Council – Finance Minister (Arun Jaitley)

First Country which implement GST – France in 1954

India Has the Highest Tax Slab in GST – 28%

Argentina has the second Highest Tax Slab in GST – 27%

EPFO to cut investments in AAA bonds: Minister Bandaru Dattatreya

Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya (Present Union Labour Minister is Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar)

said the employees provident fund manager EPFO had decided to invest about 3,000 crore Rs in high-rated

corporate bonds this financial year. At a recent meeting, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation, or






84

EPFO, had decided to reduce the current investment of15,000 croreRs in AAA rated bonds by 3,000

croreRsand invest that amount in AA+ bonds.

Goods and Services Tax Collection for First Month reached Rs 92,283 Crore

The goods and services tax, GST, launched on 1 July, has got off to a good start, with collections exceeding

the revenue target for the first month. According to the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, taxes worth Rs 92,283

crore were collected in July from just 64.42 per cent of the total taxpayer base.

Useful Info

GST – Goods and Services Tax

Chairman of GST Council – Finance Minister (Arun Jaitley)

First Country which implement GST – France in 1954

India Has the Highest Tax Slab in GST – 28%

Argentina has the second Highest Tax Slab in GST – 27%

To allow bookings at kiosks -Ola, Uber tie up with airports

Cab-hailing startups Ola and Uber have partnered with Airports Authority of India to allow air passengers to

book cabs at Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Lucknow, and Bhubaneswar airports. This will allow passengers to book

cabs through kiosks located at the airports. Reportedly, Ola's kiosks will be manned by its representatives to

book cabs for commuters without Ola app or smartphones.

Snapchat to launch original scripted shows

Photo-sharing app Snapchat announced it will launch original scripted shows by the end of this year.

Snapchat's Vice President Nick Bell said that the company would create short scripted Snapchat series that are

three to five minutes long. Snapchat also launched a short-lived original scripted show in 2015 consisting of

nine episodes of roughly five minutes.

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company (CHOICE) has Launched „PoS‟

product

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company (CHOICE) has come up with a

‗Point-of-Sale‘ product targeted at the mass-market segment. The product- „PoS - Easy Bima Plan‟ is the first

PoS product for the company and is a pure term insurance plan. While this product has initially been

launched through a regional rural bank of Canara Bank, it would be available in the bank branches of Canara

Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) in the next two months.

Useful Info

Anuj Mathur is the Chief Executive Officer of the company.

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Limited was launched in June 2008.

FIFA U-17 World Cup trophy displayed at India Gate

The FIFA Under-17 World Cup official winner's trophy was recently displayed at the India Gate. The event

will be India's first official FIFA tournament. The trophy will be held for display at all six host cities of the

World Cup, namely Kolkata, Kochi, Mumbai, New Delhi, Guwahati, and Goa. The tournament's winner will

lift the trophy on October 28.

$4.4 bn invested by SoftBank in co-working space startup WeWork

American co-working workspace startup We Work announced it has raised $4.4 billion from Japanese

conglomerate SoftBank's Vision Fund. WeWork closed a $760 million financing round earlier this year at a

reported valuation of $20 billion. Founded in 2010, WeWork rents out desks and offices to small businesses,

freelancers and other people seeking temporary working space.

Organization: SoftBank

Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan

Chairman &CEO: Masayoshi Son

Organization: WeWork

Headquarters: New York City, New York, USA

Co-founder &CEO: Adam Neumann

BhartiAirtel, has launched Airtel GST Advantage






85

Airtel Business, the B2B arm of telecom major Bharti Airtel, has launched Airtel GST Advantage - a

solution designed to enable small businesses and start-ups to file their GST returns ―accurately, securely and

seamlessly.‖ Launched in partnership with ClearTax, Airtel GST Advantage is being offered free to all existing

Airtel Business customers. Airtel GST Advantage offers a three-pronged solution to customers, they can get

free and secure access to the GST Network via Clear Tax.

Useful Info

Director & CEO of Airtel Business - Ashok Ganapathy

Samsung‟s Bixby Voice now works in India

Bixby takes some initial setting up, requiring users to input their voice, reading commands and sentences

and trying out a few tasks. Bixby is meant to do additional and on-phone tasks which Samsung hopes will

make getting things done faster and easier. Bixby Voice can be triggered by saying ―Hi Bixby‖ to a sleeping

device also.

Useful Info


Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is the world‟s third-biggest energy company

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is the world‘s third-biggest energy company behind Russian gas firm Gazprom

and German utility E.ON, according to Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings. State-owned

Indian Oil Corp (IOC) climbed to 7th position in the 2017 ranking, up from 14th rank in 2016. Oil and

Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) was placed at 11th position in 2017 as against 20th in 2016. Coal India Ltd, the

world‟s largest coal producer, was the only Indian firm to have slipped in the ranking - 45 in 2017.

Useful Info

Russia‘s Gazprom snagged the number 1 spot, ending US oil and gas giant ExxonMobil‘s 12-year reign at the

top of the list.

GDP to Hit $6 trillion by 2027 on Digital Leap: Morgan Stanley Report

India is likely to be the world‟s fastest-growing large economy in the next 10 years, driven by digitisation,

favourable demographics, globalisation and reforms, according to the Morgan Stanley report. According to the

global financial services major, the trend line in India‘s annual GDP growth has been accelerating to 6.9

percent in 2000s, from 5.8 percent in the 1990s, and this momentum is likely to continue in the next decade as

well.

GST Council Reduces Tax Rates on 27 Items, Approves Quarterly Return Filing

In a major relief to common man, small traders and exporters, the GST Council has reduced tax rates on 27

items and allowed the filing of returns on the quarterly basis. The GST Council meeting held under the

Chairmanship of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi. The council has decided to reduce the

GST rates on dried mangoes, Khakhra, plain chapatis, unbranded Namkeen, unbranded ayurvedic medicines

and paper wastes to 5 percent from 12 percent. Arun Jaitley stated that Food packets used in ICDS scheme,

plastic and rubber wastes will now be taxed at 5 percent instead of 18 percent. The GST Council also approved

the quarterly filing of returns for businesses with turnover up to 1.5 crore rupees besides raising the threshold

for composition scheme from 75 lakh rupees to one crore rupees.

Useful Info

Union Finance Minister of India – Arun Jaitley


Arun Jaitley Attends G-20 Finance Ministers Meeting

The Union Minister for Finance Arun Jaitley participated in the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central

Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting in Washington D.C. The discussion focused on the agenda items

pertaining to Global Economy and Framework for Growth, Compact with Africa and International Financial

Architecture. As co-chairs of G20 Framework Working Group (FWG), India made the lead intervention

during the Second Round of the Session on „Global Economy and Framework for Growth‟, which discussed

the IMF‘s G-20 Report on „Strong, Sustainable, and Balanced Growth(SSBG)‟.

The Coalition Years 1996-2012: Pranab Mukherjee‟s Political Autobiography






86

Former President Pranab Mukherjee has released the third part of his memoir „The Coalition Years: 1996-

2012‟, speaking candidly about believing he could have been the Congress choice for the Prime Minister‘s

post. Mukherjee‘s memoir is the third in the series. The other two are -- The Dramatic Decade: The Indira

Gandhi Years and The Turbulent Years: 1980-1996.

Useful Info

Pranab Kumar Mukherjee is served as the 13th President of India from 2012 until 2017.

Pranab Mukherjee's first stint as the Finance minister of India was during the Indira Gandhi government in

1982.

New Guiness Record at IISF Chennai 2017

Day two of the India International Science Festival (IISF) in Anna University campus at Chennai saw the

making of a new Guinness World Record for the Largest Biology Lesson. One thousand forty nine (1049)

students participated in the record breaking session. Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth

Science, Dr. Harsh Vardhan stated that PM Narendra Modi to encourage and promote science and the Govt.

of India has launched many Flagship Programmes in this regard. World Record attempts have been a key part

of India International Science Festival since 2015, which leads to encouragement and popularizing of

Science through public participation. In IISF 2015, students took a successful shot at the Guinness World

record for the world‘s largest science Lesson at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.

Useful Info

India International Science Festival has inaugurated by Dr Harsh Vardhan.

The 1st IISF was held at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) New Delhi in December, 2015.

Y Sujana Chowdary is present Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences.

GDP May Grow at 7% in Financial Year 2017-18: NITI Aayog

According to NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar, the economic slowdown that began in 2013-14 has

bottomed out and the GDP is likely to grow at 6.9-7 % this fiscal (2017-18) and 7.5% in 2018-19. The

economic growth slowed to 7.1% in 2016-17, the year in which 87% of the currency was demonetised, despite

a very good show by the agricultural sector. On a quarterly basis also, the growth in the first quarter of the

current fiscal had slipped to 5.7%. In the next fiscal year, the growth would be about 7.5%.

Useful Info

NITI Aayog Chairman – Narendra Modi

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman - Rajiv Kumar

The Government of India, in keeping with its reform agenda, constituted the NITI Aayog to replace the

Planning Commission instituted in 1950.

Vanuatu Becomes First Nation to Accept Bitcoin in Exchange for Citizenship

The South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has become host to the world‘s first government to accept bitcoin

in exchange for citizenship. Vanuatu‘s citizenship program costs $200,000 USD, meaning that at current prices

the residency program costs less than 41.5 bitcoins. The Chairman of the Vanuatu Information Center

(VIC)– which oversees Vanuatu citizenship applications - Geoffrey Bond, had sent an official request earlier

this month seeking permission to accept bitcoin as a form of payment.

Useful Info

Country – Vanuatu

Capital – Port Vila

Currency - Vanuatu vatu

Vanuatu is a South Pacific Ocean nation made up of roughly 80 islands that stretch 1,300 kilometres

Direct Tax Collections in First Half of Current Financial Year rise 15.8 percent

The Direct Tax Collections in the first half (April-September) of the current fiscal (2017-18) shows growth

of 15.8 percent. According to the Finance Ministry, the provisional figures of Direct Tax collections up to

September 2017 show that net collections are at 3.86 lakh crore rupees which is higher than the corresponding

period of last year. Net Direct Tax collections represent 39.4 percent of the total budget estimates of Direct

Taxes for the financial year 2017-18. An amount of 1.77 lakh crore rupees has been received as Advance






87

Tax up to 30th of September this year, reflecting a growth of 11.5 percent over the corresponding period of

last year.

Airtel Gets Approval for Tigo Merger

Bharti Airtel has received Ghana‟s National Communications Authority‟s approval for the merger

between Bharti Ghana (Airtel) and Millicom Ghana (Tigo), subject to certain conditions. This merger will

result in an entity which will be the second largest mobile network operations in the country. Based on

agreements, which have been accepted by the merging entities and the payment of relevant fees, a

supplementary agreement to the licences of the merging entities will be signed between the NCA and the

merging entities.

Useful Info

Country – Ghana

Capital – Accra

Currency - Ghanaian cedi

Private insurer Tata AIA Life announced the launch of „Eazy Connect‟

Private insurer Tata AIA Life announced the launch of „Eazy Connect‟, that will extend online customer

service to social media platforms. The chatbot will be available through social media platforms and is

developed to respond to the most frequently asked queries.

Useful Info

CEO and MD of Tata AIA Life - Naveen Tahilyani

J Sagar Associates (JSA) Becomes First Law Firm in GIFT City

J Sagar Associates (JSA) is the first law firm to have opened an office at Gujarat International Finance

Tec-City (GIFT). Setting up this office would help JSA consolidate their Financial Services Practice. The

office was inaugurated by Sudhir Mankad - Chairman of GIFT IFSC. Several banks, brokers and stock

exchanges including the BSE and the National Stock Exchange have set-up their operations in GIFT, which

will operate like a tax haven.

Useful Info

Managing Director & Group CEO of GIFT City - Ajay Pandey

Magicbricks Launches India's First Online Property Bidding Platform

Magicbricks announced the launch of India's first online bidding platform for residential and commercial

properties and tied-up with developer M3M for the inaugural 'My Bid, My Home' under which consumers

can bid for ready-to-move-in residential properties in Gurugram. Magicbricks has been recently awarded the

Standardisation, Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) by the Ministry of Communications and

Information Technology, making it the country's only real estate portal eligible for a bidding platform for

properties.

Useful Info

CEO of Magicbricks - Sudhir Pai

Director of M3M Group - Pankaj Bansal

Govt Okays Rs 2,000 crore to Set up Aadhaar Units in Post Offices

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Rs 2,000 crore specifically for setting up Aadhaar centres in

post offices, a move that will see private contractors phased out from the data collection process. The centres

will have machines approved by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and trained personnel

who will be responsible for the operations. Aadhaar enrolment and updation facilities will be available in

around 15,000 post offices by March 31, 2018.

Useful Info

Unique Identification Authority of India has its Headquarters in New Delhi.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UIDAI is Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey.

Shri Ananta Narayan Nanda Secretary is the Director General Postal Services.

GIC Re Launched India‟s Third Largest IPO

General Insurance Corp of India (GIC Re) kicked off its mega Rs 11,370 crore initial public offer (IPO).

This is India's third biggest IPO ever after Coal India's Rs 15,200 crore and Reliance Power's Rs 11,700






88

crore issues. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) is the largest reinsurance company in India

in terms of gross premiums accepted in fiscal 2017.

Useful Info

GIC Re headquartered – Mumbai

CMD of GIC Re - Alice Vaidyan

Mastercard Launched its First Innovation Centre in India

US-based fintech company Mastercard has announced the launch of its global research and development arm

Mastercard Labs in Pune, India. After Singapore, this will be the second Mastercard Labs in Asia-Pacific, and

ninth in the world. The initiative aims to bring and harness new commerce, payment and technology ideas at a

fast pace in the country.

Useful Info

CEO of Mastercard - Ajay Banga

IMPORTANT FUNDS ALLOCATED BY VARIOUS BANKS & ORGANIZATIONS

Name of the Beneficiary

Organizations/Country/State

Fund

Allocated Allocated By Purpose

Jammu and Kashmir 200 Crore Sports Ministry for the development of sports in Jammu &

Kashmir

India USD 250-

million

World Bank

for making Indian youth more employable

through reskilling

Afghanistan $500

million

World Bank

dollars for Afghanistan to support a string

of projects to boost the economy

India USD 36

Million World Bank

for ―Himachal Pradesh Public Financial

Management Capacity Building Program.

India USD 39.2

Million World Bank

for the project ‗‖Assam Citizen Centric

Service Delivery‖

Assam 44 million

dollar World Bank

For improving predictability and

transparency in budget execution and

efficiency in tax administration in Assam.

Andhra Pradesh $ 380

million

World Bank and

Asian Infrastructure

Investment Bank

(AIIB)

will Build a reliable, quality and

affordable power supply to citizens

India USD 35

Million World Bank

for ―Assam State Public Financial

Institutional Reforms Project‖

India Infrastructure Fund $150

million AIIB

The Infrastructure Fund aims to invest in

mid-cap infrastructure companies in India,

and to expand the bank's equity and loan

deal sourcing pipelines in the private

sector through its equity participation in

this fund.

Yes Bank $150

million

US Government

and Wells Fargo

To fund SME Lending

Gujarat Government $ 329

million

Asian Infrastructure

Investment Bank

To build access roads to 4,000 villages in

Gujarat

Rajasthan $220

million

Asian Development

Bank

For improving road connectivity as well

as transport efficiency and safety on state

highways of Rajasthan.

Goa International Airports Ltd Rs. 1,330

cr Axis Bank

for the development of Greenfield airport

at Mopa






89

State-owned NTPC Rs. 3,000

crore ICICI Bank

for partially funding its capital

expenditure

SoftBank $2.5

billion Flipkart

India US$ 329

million AIIB

For Gujarat Rural Roads Projects

Rajasthan Rs. 1, 350

cr NABARD

For creation of rural infrastructure

NTPC Rs. 3000

cr ICICI Bank

For partially its funding capital

expenditure

Himachal Pradesh $80-

Million

Asian Development

Bank (ADB)

for the modernization of Himachal

Pradesh‘s technical and vocational

education and training (TVET)

institutions.

Nepal $152

Million

Asian Development

Bank (ADB)

for the implementation and enhancement

of its power transmission and distribution.

West Bengal $300

Million ADB

for carrying forward fiscal reforms in

West Bengal

India $76

million

Japan

for a project to upgrade the environment

management plan at Alang-Sosiya ship

recycling yards

Haryana Rs. 119

Crore NABARD

To construct seven bridges and

improvement of one rural road project in

five districts of Haryana.

Bangladesh $ 4.5

billion

Line Of Credit

(LoC) agreement

with India

For its infrastructure and social sector

development

Andhra Pradesh Rs. 273

crore NABARD

For Rural Water supply, Road and Bridge

projects. These funds have been

sanctioned under Rural Infrastructure

Development Fund (RIDF).

India $100

million

AIIB & ADB

co-finance

For boosting the power sector in India

Namami Gange Project Rs 156

crore Yes Bank

To fund first Sewage Treatment Plant

(STP) to be constructed at Varanasi under

Namami Gange Project

Central Government has approved Rs 2,000 crore for setting up Aadhaar centres in post offices.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

PM Modi, Russian President Putin to attend 18th India-Russia Annual Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the 18th Indo Russian Summit

at St Petersburg. Both the leaders will hold discussions attheOvalHalloftheKonstantinPalace.

AnanyaVinay an indian – American won the 90th

Scripps National Spelling Bee

The 12-year-old fromFresno, California won the 90th

Scripps National Spelling Bee.She will get morethan

$40,000 in cash andprizes

Ireland's next Prime Minister is Leo Varadkar

Indian-Origin Leo Varadkar is set to become the Republic of Ireland's next Prime Minister after winning the

leadership of the Fine Gael party.He will succeed Enda Kenny as leader of the centre-right party.

Country – Ireland






90

Capital – Dublin

Currency - Euro

Montenegro becomes NATO‟s 29th member

Montenegro has officially joined North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and hence became the 29th

member country of NATO.

Useful Info

Country – Montenegro

Capital – Podgorica

Currency – Euro

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization

HQ - Brussels, Belgium

NATO Secretary-General - Jens Stoltenberg

One Million USD Fund Established for BRICS Media

The Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) grouping has established a one million dollar fund for

boosting media cooperation in the five-nation grouping during the inaugural session of the BRICS Media

Forum held in Beijing, by Xinhua News Agency and executive president of the Forum.

Useful Info

BRICS countries

B – Brazil

R – Russia

I – India

C – China

S – South Africa

To control emissions in India EU and France grant 3.5 million euros

Aiming to reduce emissions and promote sustainability to help India‘s smart city programme, France and the

European Union have extended a grant of 3.5 million euros under the ‗Moblise Your City‘ (MYC) initiative.

Three Indian cities- Nagpur, Kochi and Ahmedabad -- will get the grant as part of the EU‘s commitment under

the Paris Climate agreement according to French Development Agency (AFD).

Useful Info

European Union HQ – Brussels

Total member countries – 28

China has launched world‟s largest floating solar farm

China has launched world‘s largest floating solar farm in Anhui province. The 40-megawatt power plant has

160,000 panels resting on a lake that emerged after the collapse of a coal mine in central Anhui province.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital – Beijing

Currency – renminbi – yuan


World‟s smallest & cheapest private jet „Vision Jet‟ launched in USA

The World‘s smallest and cheapest private jet 'Vision Jet' was launched in the USA recently. The Vision Jet

can haul five adults up to 1,150 miles at 28,000 feet. The jet can fly at a speed of 345mph and has an operating

altitude of 28,000 feet.

Useful Info





USA Flag - The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 states of the United States of America, and the 13 stripes

represent the thirteen British colonies that declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and became

the first states in the U.S.

12-year-old Padmalaya Nanda from Odisha won Little Miss Universe Internet 2017






91

A 12-year-old Padmalaya Nanda from Odisha has created history by becoming the youngest girl to bag the

"Little Miss Universe Internet 2017" and "Little Miss Actress" crowns at the Little Miss Universe 2017 at the

port city of Batumi in Georgia.

Useful Info

Country – Georgia

Capital – Tbilisi

Currency - Georgian lari

Group of Seven (G7) Environment Ministers Meeting was held in Bologna, Italy

Group of Seven (G7) Environment Ministers Meeting was held in Bologna, Italy to discuss issues ranging from

climate change to sustainable development and litter at sea.The Bologna meeting focused on the priority

themes of the global environmental challenge, such as the state of implementation of the goals set by the Paris

Agreement to fight climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN 2030 Agenda. ‗5-

year Bologna Roadmap‘ was adopted at the meeting.

Useful Info

Country – Italy

Capital – Rome

Currency – Euro

G7 countries Short Trick – JUG For ICU (Japan, US, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, UK)

India ratifies two key ILO conventions on child labour

India ratified two key ILO conventions on child labor, according to a statement issued by the International

LabourOrganisation (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland. Labour Minister BandaruDattatreya, who is in Geneva

stated that the ratification reaffirmed India‘s ―commitment to a child labor free society‖.According to ILO, two

fundamental ILO Conventions concerning the elimination of child labor, the Minimum Age Convention (No

138) and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No 182).

Useful Info

ILO – International Labour Organization

HQ – Geneva

Director – General - Guy Ryder

India to be Co-Partner Country in ANUGA 2017

Minister of Food Processing Industries SmtHarsimratKaurBadal addressed a Joint Press Conference with the

organizers of ANUGA - an international business platform for Food Industry to be held in Cologne, Germany.

She also signed the Memorandum of Understanding for Participation in the ANUGA Exhibition with Ms

Katharina C Hamma, Chief Operating Officer, KoelnmesseGmBH (Organizers of ANUGA).

Useful Info

ANUGA - AllgemeineNahrungsUnd GenußmittelAusstellung( General Food and Non-essential Provisions

Exhibition) is the world‘s biggest and most important trade fair for Food and beverage trade.

To promote Sustainable Development Goals India, UNOSSC launch partnership fund:

India and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) on 8 June 2017 launched a

partnership fund to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the developing world.

The fund was launched on the occasion of the World Oceans Day at a special ceremony held at the Permanent

Mission of India to the UN.

Highlights:

Towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.

Initially, the fund will start with an initial contribution of USD 1 million for its first project Climate Early Warning

System in Pacific Island Countries (CEWSPIC).

Organisation: UNOSSC (United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation)

India moved six places to rank 60 in innovation ranking

India moved six places torank 60 among 130 countriesand is the top-rankedeconomy in Central andSouthern

Asia on the GlobalInnovation Index (GII) 2017.It was ranked 66 last year.Switzerland, Sweden,

Netherlands,U.S. and the U.K. retainthe top spots as the world‘smost-innovative countries.

India re-elected to UN's principal organ on economic, social and environmental issues






92

India has been re-elected to the UN's principal organ on economic, social and environmental issues for another

three-year term. India was among 18 nations to win election to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Useful Info

United Nation HQ – New York

Secretary general - AntónioGuterres (Portugal)

Neeru Chadha elected as first Indian woman Member of ITLOS

Indian nominee NeeruChadha became the first Indian Woman to be elected as the Member of International

Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Currently, an eminent jurist from India P ChandrasekharaRao is a

judge at the tribunal.

Useful Info

ITLOS - International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

HQ – Hamburg, Germany

President – Vladimir V.Golitsyn

First Person to Reach 100 Million Twitter Followers achieved by Katy Perry

Katy Perry just keeps soaring in popularity. The Witness singer and pop culture lightning rod became the first

person to reach 100 million followers on Twitter, making her the most-followed person on the platform,

Twitter reports. Perry joined Twitter back in 2009, making her something of an early adopter as a celebrity.

Useful Info

Twitter CEO – Jack Dorsey

Katy Perry - American singer-songwriter.

BRICS well placed to take leading role in helping achieve Sustainable Development Goals: FAO

UN's Food and Agriculture Organization's, FAO, has said the BRICS countries are well positioned to take a

leading role in helping achieve the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate accord.

Useful Info

FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization

HQ – Rome, Italy

Head - José Graziano da Silva

7th Meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Agriculture – Nanjing, China

Online financial services marketplace BankBazaar opens office in Malaysia

Online financial services marketplace BankBazaar has begun its operations in Malaysia to strengthen its

presence in South East Asia. Further, to scale and steer its international operations, BankBazaar has appointed

former Visa employee VipinKalra to lead the business growth internationally.

Useful Info

Co-founder and CEO of BankBazaar.com -AdhilShetty

India becomes 71st country to ratify UN International Convention on Road Transports

India has become the 71st country to ratify the United Nations International Convention on Road Transports,

TIR. The Convention is a multilateral treaty to boost International Transport of Goods. TIR is managed and

developed by IRU - the world road transport organisation.

First Afghanistan-India air corridor was inaugurated by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani inaugurated the first Afghanistan-India air corridor at the Kabul International

Airport. The corridor is a direct route that will bypass Pakistan and is meant to improve commerce in

Afghanistan. The aim of the route is to create more opportunities and make Afghanistan an exporter country.

Useful Info


Capital – Kabul

Currency –Afghan Afghani

India re-nominates Justice DalveerBhandari to ICJ

India has re-nominated Justice DalveerBhandari as its candidate for another term as judge at the International

Court of Justice (ICJ).Justice Bhandari was elected in April 2012 during simultaneous balloting in both the

General Assembly and the Security Council to a seat on the ICJ.

Useful Info

ICJ – International Court of Justice






93

HQ - The Hague, Netherlands

Current President - Ronny Abraham

To promote Cooperation in the Field of Archives, India and Portugal sign an agreement

A Protocol of Cooperation was signed between the National Archives of India and the Minister of Culture of

the Portuguese Republic in the field of archives in Lisbon, Portugal. As a first step under this agreement, the

Torre do Tombo (National Archives of Portugal) handed over to the National Archives of India digital copies

of 62 volumes of the collection known as ‗Moncoes do Reino‘ (Monsoon correspondence).

Useful Info

Country – Portugal

Capital – Lisbon

Currency – Euro

Saudi king names son Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince

Saudi King Salman named his son Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince. This completes a gradual removal

of powers from the previous prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who has been fired.According to a royal decree

issued by the official Saudi Press Agency, Mohammed bin Salman, was also named deputy Prime Minister,

and maintains his post as minister of defence.

Useful Info

Country – Saudi Arabia

Capital – Riyadh

Currency – Saudi riyal

French Defence Minister Sylvie Goulard quits

French Defence Minister Sylvie Goulard quit her job, saying she did notwant to stay on because of a probe

overshadowing herMoDem party‘s affairs in the European Parliament.

According to Mercer's 23rd annual Cost of Living Survey, Mumbai is the most expensive city in India

Mumbai is the most expensive city for expatriates in India and is ranked higher than major global cities such as

Paris, Canberra, Seattle and Vienna. According to Mercer's 23rd annual Cost of Living Survey, Mumbai is

placed 57th on the list while New Delhi was placed at 99. Chennai (135), Bangalore (166) and Kolkata (184)

were the other Indian cities on the list. Luanda, the capital of Angola, was the costliest city, driven by cost of

goods and security, followed by Hong Kong and Tokyo at the second and third places, respectively.

Useful Info

Country – Angola

Capital – Luanda

Currency – Kwanza

Mercer is the world's largest human resources consulting firm, Headquartered in New York City

PM Modi leaves for Portugal on the first visit of his 3-nation tour

Prime Minister NarendraModi embarked on a three-nation visit. In the first leg of his tour, he will reach

Portuguese capital, Lisbon. After Portugal, the Prime Minister will depart for the US capital, Washington DC.

During his two-day US visit, the Prime Minister will meet its President, Donald Trump. This will be the first

meeting between the two leaders. In the last leg of his tour, Mr. Modi will visit The Netherlands for bilateral

talks with his counterpart, Mr. Mark Rutte.

Useful Info


Capital – Lisbon

Currency - Euro

Yemen faces world's worst cholera outbreak: UN

The United Nations warned that Yemen is now facing the worst cholera outbreak anywhere in the world. A

statement by UNICEF and the WHO says the number of suspected cholera cases in the war-torn country has

exceeded two lakh.

Useful Info

Country – Yemen

Capital – Sana'a

Currency - Yemeni rial






94

UNICEF - United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund

HQ – New York

WHO - World Health Organization


Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for the Netherland on his three-nation visit

The Prime Minister will reach Amsterdam where he will hold bilateral talks with his counterpart Mr. Mark

Rutte. Both countries are celebrating 70 years of the establishment of Indo-Dutch diplomatic relations this year.

Mr. Modi will also interact with CEOs of Dutch companies and will focus on four main issues of agriculture,

water management, healthcare, and finance. Two Memoranda of Understandings (MOUs), one each on water

management and cultural exchange, will also be exchanged in the presence of both Prime Ministers.

Useful Info

Country – Netherland

Capital – Amsterdam

Currency – Euro

ICJ - The International Court of Justice

HQ - The Hague (Netherlands)

ICCt - The International Criminal Court

HQ - The Hague (Netherlands)

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommending the use of multi-disease testing devices for

Tuberculosis, HIV and Hepatitis

A single device called the GeneXpert can be used todiagnose TB and HIV infections, and quantitatively

measure HIV and hepatitis Cviral loads. India recently procured 600 GeneXpert machines for the National

Tuberculosis programme.

Useful Info

The new multi disease testing device is

The size of a microwave oven

Can run molecular tests

Can diagnose TB and HIV infection

Can measure the viral loads of hepatitis C

WHO – World Health Organization


Founded – 7th

April 1948

Director-General of WHO - Dr Margaret Chan (upto June 2017)

Director-General of WHO – DrTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (from July 2017)

European Union slaps a record €2.4 bn fine on Google

Brusselshas demanded that theUS tech giant change thebusiness model forGoogleShopping to meet the

EU‘sconcerns.The fine broke the previousEU recordfor a monopolycase against U.S. chipmakerIntel of €1.06

billion.Brussels accuses Googleof giving its own online service,Google Shopping, toomuch priority in search

resultsto the detriment ofother price comparison services,such asTripAdvisorand Expedia.

Useful Info

Google HQ - Mountain View, California, United States

CEO – SundarPichai

Google Founders – Larry Page, Sergey Brin

Google‘s parent company – Alphabet Inc

British PM Theresa May wins confidence vote in parliament

British Prime Minister Theresa May narrowly won the confidence vote in the parliament, winning her first

major test as the Prime Minister of a minority government in the United Kingdom (UK). With this, May was

finally confirmed as the British Prime Minister three weeks after the election, after winning the vote on her

legislative program known as the Queen's Speech.

Useful Info

Country - United Kingdom

Capital – London






95

Currency – Pound sterling

PM - Theresa May

Russia extends ban on Western food imports for another 18 months

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to extend a ban on Western food imports for another 18

months after the European Union extended economic sanctions against Russia. Putin‘s office published a

decree that keeps the food ban in place until December 31, 2018.

Useful Info

Country – Russia

Capital – Moscow

Currency – Russian Ruble

President – Vladimir Putin

China sets up research base to counter illegal drones:

China has set up its first research base in the country's Sichuan province to counter illegal flying drones. The

base will encourage the development of anti-drone technology and enhance aviation safety. Notably, the

number of cases of drones disrupting the normal operations of civil airports in the country has risen from four

in 2015 to 23 last year.

Country: China

Capital: Beijing

Currency: Renminbi

President: Xi Jinping

5th

Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Education was held in Beijing, China

Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Education was held in Beijing, China. The Indian delegation was led

byShriPrakashJavadekar, Minister of Human Resource Development, India. The delegation of all the five

BRICS countries participated in the two-day deliberations.Javadekar highlighted some of the initiatives of the

Govt. of India in education. He specifically spoke about the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF),

SWAYAM platform which has already hosted over 480 courses online, research initiative IMPRINT and Smart

India Hackathon.

Useful Info

BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa

Minister of Human Resource Development – PrakashJavadekar

Constituency –Madhya Pradesh (Rajya Shaba)

India ranks 23rd among 165 nations in cyber security index

India is ranked a high 23rd out of 165 nations in a global index that measures the commitment of nations across

the world to cyber security. The second Global Cyber security Index (GCI) was released by the UN

telecommunications agency International Telecommunication Union (ITU).India is ranked 23rd on the index

with a score of 0.683 and has been listed in the maturing category. The index has been topped by Singapore

with a 0.925 score.

Useful Info

ITU - International Telecommunication Union


The European Parliament has approved a first-ever cooperation deal between the EU and Cuba

The European Parliament overwhelmingly approved a first-ever cooperation deal between the EU and Cuba.

MEPs in the eastern French city of Strasbourg approved the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement

which was signed in December 2016. With the deal, Cuba joins other Latin American countries with similar

agreements with the EU, whose relations with the island had previously been conducted in the so-called

Common Position that linked ties to improvements in human rights.

Useful Info

The European Parliament


Country – Cuba

Capital – Havana

Currency – Cuban Peso






96

Twelfth G20 Summit held in Hamburg, Germany

Hamburg is hosted the twelfth G20 Summit. The G20, or group of 20, is an international meeting between

heads of states, finance ministers and central bank governors from the world‘s leading economies.

Useful Info

Country – Germany

Capital – Berlin

Currency – Euro

G-20 was founded in 1999.

The first meeting of G-20 was held in Berlin in 1999.

The last G-20 summit was held in China in 2016.

122 countries approved the first-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons at the UN meeting

122 countries approved the first-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons at the UN meeting boycotted by all

nuclear-armed nations. One country the Netherlands voting against while Singapore abstained. None of the

nine countries that possess nuclear weapons the United States, Russia, Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan,

North Korea and Israel took part in the negotiations or the vote. Even Japan the only country to have suffered

atomic attacks, in 1945 boycotted the talks as did most NATO countries.

Useful Info

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization

HQ – Brussels, Belgium

France will end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040

France will end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 as part of an ambitious plan to meet its targets under

the Paris climate accord, Emmanuel Macron‘s government has announced.

Useful Info

Country – France

Capital – Paris

Currency – Euro

PM - Édouard Philippe

President - Emmanuel Macron

Top Car Brands in France

Bugatti, Renault, Citroen, Peugeot

India and Bangladesh have decided to construct a bridge over Khawthlangtuipuiriver

To facilitate trade and to improve communication between the two countries, India and Bangladesh have

decided to construct a bridge over Mizoram‘s Khawthlangtuipui river (also known as Karnaphuliriver).

Useful Info

Country – Bangaladesh

Capital – Dhaka

Currency - Taka

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a summit on December 12

Speaking at the G20 summit, French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that Paris will host a summit

on December 12 to address financing issues on the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The summit would aim to

mobilise private and public financing for the projects committed to in the Paris agreement.

Useful Info

Country – France

Capital – Paris

Currency – Euro

PM – Édouard Philippe

President - Emmanuel Macron

UNESCO has voted to leave Australia's Great Barrier Reef off its "List of World Heritage in Danger”

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has voted to leave

Australia's Great Barrier Reef off its "List of World Heritage in Danger" despite several reports claiming major

coral bleaching at the 2,300-km-long ecosystem. However, the UN body expressed "serious concern" about the






97

reef's health. The reef, which is also the largest living thing on Earth, was recently valued for the first time, at

$42 billion.

Useful Info

UNESCO - The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization


Director-General of UNESCO - Irina Bokova

A Model United Nations (MUN) Regional Conference is held at Kathmandu

A Model United Nations (MUN) Regional Conference held at Kathmandu. The event is organised by the US

Embassy in partnership with the Youth Thinker‘s Society. Youths from 12 South and Central Asian countries

including India are participating in 5-day conference. The basic aim of the MUN is to provide a platform to

young minds to channelize energy and resources for a more prosperous and peaceful world. The conference

simulate four UN committees-United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Economic and Financial

Committee (ECOFIN), United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and United Nations Human Rights Council

(UNHRC).

Useful Info

Country – Nepal


Currency – Nepalese rupee

The United States has deployed anti-aircraft missiles for the first time in the Baltics

The United States has deployed anti-aircraft missiles for the first time in the Baltics for use in NATO military

drills in Lithuania. This comes ahead of the Zapad exercise by Russia and Belarus, which NATO allies believe

could increase Russian presence.

Useful Info

NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

HQ – Brussels, Belgium

22nd World Petroleum Congress (WPC) International Conference held in Istanbul, Turkey

The 22nd World Petroleum Congress (WPC) International Conference was held recently in Istanbul, Turkey.

Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, DharmendraPradhan visited Istanbul to represent India

at the Conference. The theme for 22nd World Petroleum Congress was ‗Bridges To Our Energy Future‘. WPC

was first organized in year 1993. Currently, it is being held at the interval of three years.

Useful Info

Country – Turkey

Capital – Ankara

Currency – Turkish Lira

Malta became the 24th

country to legalise same-sex marriage

The Roman Catholic Mediterranean island Malta became the 24th country in the world to legalise same-sex

marriage.

Useful Info

Country – Malta

Capital – Valletta

Currency - Euro

Indonesia has renamed part of South China Sea

Indonesia has named waters in its exclusive economic zone that overlap with China‘s expansive claim to the

South China Sea as the North Natuna Sea. The part of the renamed area falls in China‘s ―nine-dash line‖ waters

extending hundreds of miles to the south and east of China‘s island province Hainan.

Useful Info

Country – Indonesia

Capital – Jakarta

Currency - Indonesian rupiah

GST to be positive for auto, retail sector: Fitch

New indirect tax regime Goods and Services Tax (GST) is likely to be beneficial for auto, cement and

organised retail sectors, but will have a negative impact on oil and gas, and SME sectors, Fitch Ratings.






98

Useful Info

Fitch Ratings - credit rating agency

HQ – New York, USA

CEO - Paul Taylor

Founder - John Knowles Fitch

Founded - 1914

Indians among top asylum-seekers, according to the International Migration Outlook 2017

According to the International Migration Outlook 2017 report on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and

Development (OECD) member countries, Indians are among top asylum-seekers in other countries such as

New Zealand, Australia, Finland, Japan, Latvia, Slovak Republic, United Kingdom and the United States of

America. According to the report on OECD member-nations, top asylum-seekers to New Zealand between

2012 and 2016 were from China, India, Fiji, and Iraq. Among these, India and China were the largest source

countries of asylum-seekers (11% and 9%), followed by Fiji (8%), Iraq (7%) and Pakistan (6%).

Useful Info

OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development


Secretary-General‎: ‎José ÁngelGurría

Australia became the 35th country to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA)

Australia became the 35th country to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA), an initiative launched by

Prime Minister NarendraModi in November 2015 in Paris. It is co-led by India and France. The aim of ISA is

to support developing countries to boost their solar production capacity. India on its part through the Indian

Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is

contributing $1 million to the ISA fund. The larger aim of ISA is to mobilize over $ 1000 billion by 2030

towards promoting solar power on all fronts generation and storage.

Useful Info

ISA - International Solar Alliance

HQ – Gurugram

Country – Australia

Capital – Canberra

Currency – Australian Dollar

PM - Malcolm Turnbull

SheikhaLubna Al Qasimi tops poll of most powerful Arab women: Forbes

SheikhaLubna Al Qasimi, the UAE Minister of State for Tolerance has topped a poll of the most powerful

Arab women in government for 2017, according to Forbes Middle East. Ms. Qasimi was followed by two

women from Egypt - Sahar Nasr, the country‘s minister of investment and international cooperation and

GhadaWali, the minister of social solidarity. Forbes has also released a list of the top 100 most powerful Arab

business women for 2017, and the UAE represents the highest number of women, with 18, followed by Egypt,

with 16.

Useful Info

Forbes - Forbes is an American business magazine. Published bi-weekly, it features original articles on finance,

industry, investing, and marketing topics.

HQ – New York

UAE –United Arab Emirates

Capital – Abu Dhabi

Currency - United Arab Emirates dirham

Lahore High Court lifted a ban on the airing of Indian television serials in Pakistan

Lahore High Court lifted a ban on the airing of Indian television serials in Pakistan. The court noted that

instead of a blanket ban, Indian content with "objectionable" or "anti-Pakistan" content could still be censored.

Useful Info



Currency - Pakistani rupee






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Facebook-owned WhatsApp has been partially blocked in China

Facebook-owned WhatsApp has been partially blocked in China following a censorship crackdown by the

government. China operates world's largest censorship system, called the 'Great Firewall', blocking platforms

like Facebook, Google, and Instagram.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital – Beijing



India-Japan agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy

India-Japan agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy has come into force recently.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Ambassador of Japan to India Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu exchanged diplomatic

notes in this regard. The agreement was signed on 11th November 2016 in Tokyo during Prime Minister

NarendraModi‘s visit to Japan. The agreement is a reflection of the strategic partnership between the two sides

and will pave the way for enhanced cooperation in energy security and clean energy.

Useful Info

Country – Japan

Capital – Tokyo

Currency – Yen

PM - Shinzo Abe

U.K. gets its first woman president of top court

The U.K. government appointed Baroness Brenda Marjorie Hale, 72, as the first woman president of the

Supreme Court, the senior-most judge in the country. She will take charge in September.

Useful Info


Capital – London


Sean Spicer resigns as White House Press Secretary

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigned, ending a difficult tenure during which the conventional

Republican sought to defend and explain President Donald Trump, with limited success. Sarah Huckabee

Sanders, Mr. Spicer‘s deputy, will succeed him.

Useful Info

New White House Press Secretary - Sarah Huckabee Sanders




US citizens ban from travelling to North Korea

The United States announced that the government will ban citizens from traveling to North Korea due to "the

serious risk of arrest".

Useful Info

Country – North Korea

Capital – Pyongyang

Currency – North Korean won

US retail giant Walmart has topped the 2017 Fortune Global 500 list

For a 4th consecutive year, US retail giant Walmart has topped the 2017 Fortune Global 500 list with revenue

of $486 billion. 7 Indian companies were featured in this list. Indian Oil, with revenues of over $53 billion in

previous fiscal, is the highest ranked Indian company and placed 168th globally.

Useful Info

Walmart HQ - Bentonville, Arkansas, United States

World's first floating wind farm emerges off coast of Scotland

The world‘s first floating wind farm has taken to the seas in a sign that a technology once confined to research

and development drawing boards is finally ready to unlock expanses of ocean for generating renewable power






100

in Scotland. The £200m Hywind project is unusual not just because of the pioneering technology involved,

which uses 78-metre-tall underwater ballast and three mooring lines that will be attached to the seabed to keep

the turbines upright. It will bring power to 20,000 homes.

Useful Info

Country – Scotland

Capital – Edinburgh

Currency - Pound sterling

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

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

region for the city‘s integrated initiatives to mine and manage its data. The work is already under way to

prepare Dubai as the regional city data hub. The designation will be part of a portfolio of local and regional

data portals, analytics and reports to engage stakeholders and help accelerate progress. It will also serve as a

dedicated platform for city-to- city learning and ‗solutions transfer‘ across metropolitan, national and global

contexts.

Useful Info

Country - United Arab Emirates



BRICS Youth Forum 2017 opened in Beijing

The 2017 BRICS Youth Forum opened in Beijing, China to discuss the development of the youth in the

countries of the grouping. The theme of three-day forum is 'Enhance BRICS Partnership, Promote Youth

Development'. It gathered 50 youth representatives working as civil servants, scholars, entrepreneurs, artists

and journalists from the BRICS countries. The five BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South

Africa — first came up with the idea of establishing a dialogue mechanism for BRICS youth in 2014 during a

meeting between BRICS leaders in South Africa.

Useful Info

BRICS – BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia,

India, China and South Africa. Originally the first four were grouped as "BRIC", before the induction of South

Africa in 2010.

Country – China

Capital – Beijing



Nawaz Sharif has resigned as prime minister of Pakistanover Panama Papers verdict

Nawaz Sharif has resigned as prime minister of Pakistan following a decision by the country's Supreme Court

to disqualify him from office. The ruling came after a probe into his family's wealth following the 2015

Panama Papers dump linking Mr Sharif's children to offshore companies.

Useful Info




2017 BRICS National Security Advisors (NSAs) meeting held in China

2017 BRICS National Security Advisors (NSAs) meeting was held in Beijing, China. National Security

Advisor (NSA)AjitDovalrepresented India at this meeting. This meeting is a major platform for Brazil, Russia,

India, China and South Africa (BRICS) countries to discuss and conduct cooperation in politics and security

fields. Discussions were held on topics including global governance, anti-terrorism, internet security and

energy security, as well as major international and regional hotspot issues. National Security Advisor AjitDoval

held talks with his Chinese counterpart and state councillor Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of the BRICS NSAs

meeting. Chinese and Indian troops have been locked in a face-off in Doklam area for more than a month, since

Indian troops stopped the Chinese army from building a road in the area.

Useful Info

Country – China






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Capital – Beijing



7th edition of SAARC Artists Camp & Exhibition of Paintings held at Kathmandu, Nepal

The 7th edition of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Artists Camp and Exhibition

of Paintings has begun at Kathmandu. Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation of Nepal, Jitendra

Narayan Devhas inaugurated the event. These events provide platform to artists for exchanging ideas with

fellow artists and helping in creating special bonding among them and 40 artists from SAARC member

countries except Afghanistan taking part in the 4 day camp.

Useful Info

SAARC - South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

Member Countries of SAARC –Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri

Lanka

HQ – Kathmandu, Nepal

Secretary General of SAARC - AmjadHussain B. Sail

Country – Nepal


Currency –Nepalese Rupee

India has featured among 60 nations on Digital Evolution Index 2017

India has featured among 60 nations on Digital Evolution Index 2017, exhibiting a high potential in terms of

digital payments. On the Digital Evolution Index 2017, India has been categorised under the ―break out‖

segment which refers to countries that have relatively lower absolute levels of digital advancement, yet remain

poised for growth and are attractive to investors by virtue of their potential. The report outlined that India has

been experiencing rapid strides of progress with an evolving payments landscape, catalysed by the

government‘s demonetisation decision.

Russia Launches 73 satellites in one go, second most ever

Russian space agency Roscosmos successfully launched ‗Kanopus-V-IK‘ Earth-imaging satellite and 72

microsatellites into orbit on a single rocket. This comes after ISRO launched a world record 104 satellites at

once earlier this year, breaking Russia‘s previous record of 37 satellites. The microsatellites include 62

CubeSats developed by US and others made by Japan, Germany, and Canada

Amitabh Bachchan's role as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador has been extended for two more years

Actor Amitabh Bachchan's role as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador has been extended for two more years. He

will now be working on spreading awareness regarding vaccination for MR (measles and rubella) infections for

children.

Useful Info

UNICEF – United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund

HQ – New York, US

CEO - Anthony Lake

Newly opened Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge in Switzerland is the world‟s longest pedestrian

suspension bridge

Spanning an awesome 1621 feet and rising as high as 279 feet, the newly opened Charles Kuonen Suspension

Bridge in Switzerland has broken the record for the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge, according to

Zermatt Tourism. The bridge, which has replaced an older bridge that was damaged by falling rocks, was

named after its chief sponsor, a psychologist and co-owner of a Swiss winery. The span is impossibly narrow,

at just 25.6 inches wide. Hikers can now cross the Europaweg (Europe Bridge) which connects Grächen and

Zermatt and measures nearly 500m.

Useful Info

Country – Switzerland

Capital – Bern

Currency – Swiss franc

Typhoon Haitang strikes China, two lakh people evacuated






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Typhoon Haitang struck China‘s eastern Fujian Province with continual rain blows on different parts of the

region. Over 2 lakh people have been evacuated from Typhoon.According to the provincial meteorological

observatory wind hit with a maximum speed of 18 meters per second, the tropical cyclone followed Typhoon

Nesat which landed in the same city at 6 am on 30th

of July 2017. As per Xinhua news agency Typhoon

Haitang the 10th typhoon this year made landfall at 4.40 pm in Pingtung on the island of Taiwan.

The 7th Meeting of BRICS Trade Ministers held in Shanghai, China

The 7th Meeting of BRICS Trade Ministers was held in Shanghai, China.A six-member delegation led by

Minister Smt. NirmalaSitharaman. Mr. Zhong Shan, Minister of Commerce from China, presided over the

meetings. Sitharaman discussed with her Chinese counterpart, Zhong Shan, the trade deficit in India-China

bilateral trade which stands at $51 billion for 2016-17 from the $71.48 billion bilateral trade between the two

countries.

US Senate confirms Christopher Wray to lead FBI

The US Senate has confirmed Christopher Wray to lead the FBI. Christopher had replaced James Comey, who

was fired by President Donald Trump.

Useful Info



Currency –US Dollar

Facebook acquires AI startup to make Messenger smarter

Facebook has acquired an artificial intelligence (AI) startup Ozlo that specialises in understanding text-based

conversations. However, there are no details so far about the financial terms of the deal.

US urges Americans to leave N Korea before ban kicks in on September 1

US has urged Americans in North Korea to get out before a travel ban goes into effect on September 1.The

State Department has issued a new travel warning for North Korea that reflects the Trump administration's new

travel ban.

Useful Info



Currency - North Korean won

Harry Potter creator JK Rowling world's most highly-paid author announced by Forbes

Harry Potter creator JK Rowling has been named the world's most highly-paid author with earnings of £72.2m

($95m). It is the first time that Rowling has topped Forbes‘ list of the 10 highest earners in the global industry

for the first time in almost 10 years. Other authors included in the list were Paula Hawkins and EL James.

Qatar becomes first Arab country to offer permanent residency to non-citizens

Qatar‘s Cabinet approved a draft law making permanent residency available to some non-citizens of the

country.Under the new law, Residency permits will be granted to children of Qatari women married to

foreigners. The residency permit gives holders similar rights as Qataris in terms of property ownership and

access to generous education and health care services. According to the provisions of the bill, the minister of

interior may grant a permanent residency ID to a non-Qatari if they meet the conditions specified in the law.

Useful Info

Country – Qatar

Capital – Doha

Currency – Qatari Riyal

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has adopted a resolution to preventing terrorists from

acquired weapons

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has adopted a resolution to preventing terrorists from acquired

weapons, particularly small arms and light weapons.The Council mentioned continue flow of weapons, military

equipment, unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and their components, and improvised explosive device

(IED) components to and between the Islamic State, Al-Qaida, their affiliates, and associated groups, illegal

armed groups and criminals, Xinhua reported.

Useful Info

UNSC - United Nations Security Council






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UN Security Council Chamber in New York City

External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj Attends 15th

BIMSTEC Meeting in Nepal

External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj departed for Kathmandu to participate in the 15th BIMSTEC

Ministerial Meeting (10th and 11th August).During the two-day meet, Foreign ministers of the Bay of

Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries will

review the progress in identified fourteen areas of cooperation and discuss ways to accelerate cooperation. She

will attend inaugural session of the 15th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting.

Useful Info

15th

BIMSTEC Meeting – Kathmandu, Nepal

BIMSTEC - Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation

Union minister for external affairs – SushmaSwaraj


Country – Nepal


Currency – Nepalese Rupee

India has ratified the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol

India has ratified the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol that commits countries to contain the

emission of greenhouse gases, reaffirming its stand on climate action. With this, India became the 80th

country to accept the amendment relating to the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, the

international emissions reduction treaty.The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which commits its Parties by setting

internationally binding emission reduction targets.

Useful Info

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997 and entered into force in February 2005.

Kyoto a city in Japan

Country – Japan

Capital – Tokyo


India ranked 43rd position in 2017 Global Retirement Index (GRI)

India ranked 43rd position in 2017 Global Retirement Index (GRI). It is published by French asset

management company Natixis Global.The 43 countries include members of the Organization for Economic

Co-operation and Development (OECD), International Monetary Fund (IMF) advanced economies and the

BRIC countries.

Useful Info

1st Country in GRI – Norway

2nd

Country in GRI – Switzerland

3rd

Country in GRI – Iceland

Bangladesh to open a new diplomatic station in Chennai

Bangladesh will open a new diplomatic station in Chennai. It is likely to focus on medical tourism and

educational centres that drew thousands of Bangladesh citizens to India every year. The country is going to

open 17 new diplomatic missions across the world, including the new one in Chennai.

Useful Info

Country – Bangladesh

Capital – Dhaka

Currency – Taka

Citizens of 80 countries including India don‟t require visa to enter QATAR

The Qatari government has announced that citizens belonging to 80 countries including India, Canada,

US and UK can now enter Qatar without the need of applying for a visa.It has been stated that the visitors from

the selected countries would be issued a multi-entry waiver, completely free-of-charge, at the point of entry

upon presentation of a valid passport. The passport will have a minimum validity of six months and a

confirmed onward or return ticket. The waiver will either be valid for 180 days or for 30 days, depending

upon the nationality of the visitor.






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Useful Info

Country – Qatar

Capital – Doha

Currency – Qatari rial

India and the United States will co-host the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Hyderabad

Prime Minister NarendraModi has stated that India and the United States will co-host the Global

Entrepreneurship Summit at Hyderabad from November 28, 2017. President Donald Trump‟s daughter

Ivanka will lead the American delegation.The Summit is a unique opportunity for bringing together

entrepreneurs and start-ups with global leaders. The summit is being organized by the NITI Aayog in

coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs.

Useful Info





Ivanka – Daughter of Donald Trump

Facebook Launches „Watch‟ Competition to Youtube

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

platform for creators and publishers.Watch is a platform for all creators and publishers to find an audience,

build a community of passionate fans, and earn money for their work. It is personalized to one in discovering

new shows, organized around what your friends and communities are watching.

Useful Info

Facebook HQ – Menlo Park, California, United States

CEO – Mark Zuckerberg

Turkey has started to construct a wall along the 500-km-long border with Iran

Turkey has started to construct a wall along the 500-km-long border with Iran.The construction is aimed at

strengthening the country's security by stopping infiltration by smugglersand Kurdish militants that Turkey

claims have bases and camps on the Iranian side of the border.

Useful Info

Country – Turkey

Capital – Ankara


World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Somalia free of polio

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Somalia free of polio. The UN health agency announced

that it had not recorded any case of polio disease in Somalia in the last three years. The declaration by WHO

keeps Somalia outside the last group of countries which still record cases of polio in the world. Afghanistan,

Nigeria, and Pakistan are the remaining countries where polio is still being recorded.

Useful Info

WHO – World Health Organisation

Headquarters - Geneva, Switzerland

Director-General – TedrosAdhanom

Country – Somalia

Capital – Mogadishu

Currency – Somali Shilling

Australian state government has approved the world's biggest single tower solar thermal power plant

Australian state government has approved the world's biggest single tower solar thermal power plant, a 150-

megawatt structure to be built in South Australia by 2020.Solar thermal technology uses mirrors to

concentrate the Sun's light at the top of a tower. This heats the stored molten salt and the heat is then used to

operate steam turbines. The Aurora Solar Energy Project will be built and managed by SolarReservecompany.

Useful Info








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Norway has the fastest mobile Internet in the world, report by broadband testing Ookla

According to global leader in broadband testingOokla, Norway has the fastest mobile Internet in the

world. The Netherlands and Hungary are ranked number two and three on the list of the world‘s fastest

mobile networks.In only 13 months, Norway has jumped from 11th to first place on the list of world best

providers of fast Internet connection.

Useful Info

1st – Norway (capital – Oslo, currency - Norwegian krone)

2nd

– Netherlands (capital – Amsterdam, currency - Euro)

3rd

– Hungary (capital – Budapest, currency - Hungarian forint)

China halts iron, iron ore and seafood imports from North Korea

China halts iron, iron ore and seafood imports fromNorth Korea, following through on new UN sanctions

over its ally‘s nuclear program.The United Nations Security Council, including permanent member Beijing,

approved tough sanctions against Pyongyang that could cost the country $1 billion a year. China, which is

suspected of failing to enforce past UN measures, accounts for 90% of North Korea‘s trade.

Useful Info



Currency – North Korean won

Kim Jong-un is the Supreme Leader of North Korea

Melbourne (in Australia) has been named world‟s most liveable city

Melbourne (in Australia) has been named world‘s most liveable city for a record seventh year in a row,

according to the Economist Intelligence Unit‟s Global Liveability Report 2017. Melbourne scored an

overall rating of 97.5 out of 100 on the liveability index.Damascus in Syria was deemed the world's worst

among the 140 cities surveyed. It is the first time in the survey‘s 15-year history that a city has held the No 1

rank in its own right for seven consecutive years. Vienna (in Austria) and Vancouver (in Canada) were on

2nd and 3rd Positions, respectively.

Useful Info

1st city – Melbourne (Australia)

2nd

city - Vienna (Austria)

3rd

city - Vancouver (Canada)

Austria (capital – Vienna, currency – Euro)

Canada (capital – Ottawa, currency – Canadian Dollar)

Earth's Largest Volcanic Region Discovered in Antarctica

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

surface of the vast ice sheet in West Antarctica. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh in Britain

found a staggering 91 previously unknown volcanoes, adding to the 47 others.These newly discovered

volcanoes range in height from 100 to 3,850 meters, with the highest almost as tall as Switzerland's 3,970

meters Eigermountain. These active peaks are concentrated in a region known as the West Antarctic rift

system.

Emma Stone has been named Hollywood‟s highest-paid female actor in Forbes annual list

Emma Stone has been named Hollywood‟s best-paid female actor in Forbes annual list oftop earners.The

28-year-old made $26m in the last 12 months, the majority of which was earned from her Oscar-winning

performance in the musical romance La La Land. The film made over $445m worldwide.

Useful Info

Emma Stone – won the best actress at the 2017 Oscars for her performance in La La Land

5 Indian-Origin Persons in Fortune‟s Annual „40 Under 40‟ List

Five Indian-origin persons, including Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, have featured in

Fortune‟s annual list of 40 young and influential people in the field of business. Fortune‘s 2017 „40 Under

40‟ list is an annual ranking of the most influential young people who are under 40 in business.The list has

been topped by 39-year-old French President Emmanuel Macron ―France‘s youngest leader since Napoleon‖.

The Indian-origin persons on the list are 26-year-old Divya Nag, who oversees Apple‘s ambitious ResearchKit






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and CareKitprogrammes, Rishi Shah, 31, and ShradhaAgarwal, 32, 31-year-old Leila Janah. The list also

includes Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on the second spot.

US and Japan have agreed to advance defence cooperation with countries like India, South Korea and

Australia

The US and Japan have agreed to advance their multilateral security and defence cooperation with

countries like India, South Korea and Australia, amidst China's growing assertiveness in the Asia Pacific

region.During the meeting the ministers underscored the importance of cooperating to promote a rules-based

international order, taking note of the United States continued commitment to maintain a strong presence in the

region and Japans initiatives demonstrated by its ―Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy‖.

Useful Info

Country – United states of America, Capital – Washington D.C, Currency – US Dollar

Country – Japan, Capital – Tokyo, Currency – Japanese Yen

Country – South Korea, Capital - , Currency – South Korean Won

Country – Australia, Capital – Canberra, Currency – Australian Dollar

China Launches First Cyber Court in e-commerce Hub

China launched its first cyber court specializing in handling Internet-related cases in the e-commerce hub of

Hangzhou.The Hangzhou Internet Court in Hangzhou will handle cases such as online trade disputes and

copyright lawsuits. Hangzhou is home to many Internet companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital – Beijing

Currency – Renminbi, Yuan


Alibaba – E-commerce company

HQ of Alibaba - Hangzhou China

President/Founder of Alibaba – Jack Ma

Saudi Arabia to open Salwa border point to Qatari pilgrims for Haj

Saudi Arabia is going to open up its border and airports for those attending the annual Haj

pilgrimage.Saudi Press Agency (SPA) announced that the Salwa border point would be open for Qataris

performing the Haj, which this year runs from late August to early September.

Useful Info


Capital – Riyadh

Currency - Saudi Riyal

Qatar has launched a new direct route to Pakistan

Qatar has launched a new direct route between the country‘s Hamad Port and Pakistan‟s port of Karachi.It

will boost trade between the two countries.It will also offer ―fast and secure‖ corridor for importers and

exporters, with transit time of six days from Qatar to Karachi and eight days back.

Useful Info

Country – Qatar

Capital – Doha

Currency – Riyal

Hamad Port – Qatar

Nobel Laureate MalalaYousafzai to study at Oxford

Pakistani Nobel Prize winner MalalaYousafzai will study at Oxford University.The 20-year-old will study

philosophy, politics and economics. In April, she became the youngest-ever UN Messenger of Peace.Notable

Oxford alumni include Pakistan former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Myanmar‘s pro-democracy

campaigner Aung San SuuKyi as well as former British Prime Minister David Cameron and his one-time

Labour opponent Ed Miliband.

Useful Info

Oxford University – England

Chancellor - Chris Patten






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Italy to host fall G-7 interior Ministers summit on security

Italy would be hosting the summit of Group of Seven Interior Ministers to discuss on security matters in

October 2017.The meeting is being organised at the request of Italy‟s G-7 partners- Canada, France,

Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States.

Useful Info

G7 countries – Italy, Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan and the United States

Country – Italy

Capital – Rome

Currency - Euro

12-year-old Indian-origin boy Rahul Doshi has been crowned as the UK‟s „Child Genius‟

A 12-year-old Indian-origin boy named Rahul Doshihas been crowned as the UK‟s „Child Genius‟ in a

popular television quiz competition, days after he became an overnight sensation after answering all questions

correctly.RahulDoshi won the Channel 4 show ‗Child Genius‘ by beating his nine-year-old opponent – Ronan

– 10-4. The school boy is from north London.

Useful Info

Country –United Kingdom

Capital – London


Angola gears up for historic vote as President Jose prepares to step down after 38 years

Angola is gearing up for a historic vote tomorrow, as longtime President Jose Eduardo dos Santos prepares to

step down after 38 years in power.

For more than two-thirds of the population, he is the only leader they have ever known. And the vast majority

of eligible voters have never seen a ballot without his name on it.

Nepal PM Deuba on 5 day visit to India

Prime Minister of Nepal SherBahadurDeuba reached New Delhi on a 5-day visit to India. He was received by

External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj. MrDeuba will call on President Ram NathKovind, Vice President

Venkaiah Naidu and hold talks with Prime Minister NarendraModi. This is MrDeuba's first visit abroad after

assuming the office of Prime Minister of Nepal in June this year. A high-level delegation is accompanying the

Nepalese Prime Minister.

Country: Nepal

Capital: Kathmandu

Currency: Nepalese rupee

President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari

PM: SherBahadurDeuba

Rajnath to attend SCO meet in Kyrgyz Republic

A two-day Meeting of Heads of Governments of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States

will begin at Choplon Ata in Kyrgyz Republic. The meeting will focus on prevention and elimination of

emergency situations. Home Minister Rajnath Singh is leading the Indian delegation which includes senior

officers from Home and External Affairs Ministries and National Disaster Management Authority.

Country: Kyrgyz Republic

Capital: Bishkek

Currency: Kyrgyzstani som

President: AlmazbekAtambayev

Nepal launches Climate-Smart Snow Leopard Plan

Nepal launched its climate-smart snow leopard landscape management plan.The plan is thefirst climate-

smart landscape management plan for snow leopard conservation in the world.

Country: Nepal

Capital: Kathmandu




To boost the bilateral relations India-Nepal signed 8 agreements






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India and Nepal signed eight agreements in different areas of mutual benefit including demand reduction and

prevention of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and cooperation in the field of standardization and conformity

assessment among others. The agreements were signed in New Delhi during Nepal Prime Minister

SherBahadurDeuba visit to India.

Country: Nepal

Capital: Kathmandu




Diplomatic ties with Iran amid Gulf crisis restored by Qatar

Qatar on Thursday restored full diplomatic relations with Iran amid an ongoing diplomatic dispute with several

Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain which have accused the Gulf nation of

supporting terrorism. Qatar cut ties with Iran last year to show solidarity with Saudi Arabia after two of Saudi's

diplomatic posts were attacked in Iran.

Country: Qatar

Capital: Doha

Currency: Qatari riyal

PM: Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani

Country: Iran

Capital: Tehran

Currency: Iranian rial

President: Hassan Rouhani

Israel promotes 'anti-terrorism' tourism in India

The Israeli Ministry of Tourism is hoping to promote "anti-terrorism" or "defence" tourism in India with the

help of Indian travel agents, a senior Tourism Ministry official said on Thursday. He said tourists "want to

know how to shoot, how to hide, how to tackle. It's similar to paintball... We are interested in promoting

anything that brings in more tourists."

Country: Israel

Capital: Jerusalem

Currency: New shekel

President: Reuven Rivlin

Prime Minister: Benjamin Netanyahu

Australian Trade Minister leads at 'Business Week' in India

Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo will lead a major mission named to India

- the second Australia Business Week in India (ABWI) – to India. The mission scheduled to be held from 28

August to 1 September 2017 will aim at deepening the collaboration between the two nations in different fields.

Country: Australia

Capital: Canberra

Currency: Australian Dollar

Prime Minister: Malcolm Turnbull

Gender-neutral passports allowed by Canada to promote equality

The Canadian government announced that citizens, who do not identify with a particular gender, whether male

or female, would soon be able to obtain gender neutral passports.The citizens would be able to mark "X" in

space of gender on their passports and other identity documents. The decision would be effective starting 31

August 2017.

Country: Canada

Capital: Ottawa

Currency: Canadian Dollar

Prime Minister: Justin Trudeau

To improve safety, China to shut 6,000 non-coal mines by 2020






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China will shut 6,000 non-coal mines in an effort to reduce mining accidents and deaths by 2020, the State

Administration of Work Safety said in the five-year plan document. Beijing will seek to reduce major accidents

by 15% by 2020 from 2015 levels in the non-coal mining sector, the work safety body said in a statement.

Country: China

Capital: Beijing

Currency: Renminbi (Yuan)

President: Xi Jinping

Sushma Swaraj participate in the two-day Indian Ocean Conference to be held in Colombo

External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj will participate in the two-day Indian Ocean Conference to be

held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in which Sri Lankan prime minister and president are among key speakers.The

theme of the conference is peace, progress, and prosperity. It will see participation from around 35

countries and have speakers from 25 countries. The conference will be held in Temple Trees, the official

residence of the Lankan prime minister.

Useful Info

Country – Sri Lanka

Capital – Colombo (Commercial Capital), Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (legislative Capital)


PM – Ranil Wickremesinghe

President – Maithripala Sirisena

India and China have agreed to withdraw their troops from Doklam

India and China have agreed to withdraw their troops from Doklam after being in a standoff for over two

months. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the expeditious disengagement has been agreed to and

is going on.The standoff had started after India objected to China constructing a road in the disputed area.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital –Beijing

Currency – Renminbi, (Yuan)


DhruvGarg, 13-year-old Indian-origin boy in UK gets top score in Mensa IQ

A 13-year-old Indian-origin boy in the UK has got the highest possible score of 162 on a Mensa IQ test,

placing him in the top one per cent people in the world who achieved this feat. DhruvGarg, from Wokingham

in south east England, was looking for something to occupy his time during the summer holidays and decided

to try out for the intellectual society.

World's Toughest Law against Plastic Bags has been imposed in Kenya

In Kenya, selling or even using plastic bags will risk imprisonment of up to four years or fines of $40,000.

It is the world‟s toughest law which is aimed at reducing plastic pollution came into effect.The East African

nation joins more than 40 other countries that have banned, partly banned or taxed single use plastic bags,

including China, France, Rwanda, and Italy.

Useful Info

Country – Kenya

Capital – Nairobi

Currency –Kenyan shilling

President - Uhuru Kenyatta

United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), reported that the island of Tuvalu was the least

visited country in 2016

According to a report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the island of Tuvalu

was the least visited countryin 2016. According to the report, 2,000 people visited Tuvalu in 2016, while

1,000 people visited the country in 2014. Located in the South Pacific Ocean, Tuvalu is 4.6 meters above sea

level and has a population of 11,000 people.

Useful Info

Country – Tuvalu

Capital –Funafuti






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Currency - Australian dollar, Tuvaluan dollar

Narendra Modi to Attend 9th BRICS Summit in China

Prime Minister NarendraModi will attend the 9th BRICS Summit, Xiamen in China‟s Fujian province

during 3rd to 5th of September. Subsequently, the Prime Minister will pay a State visit to Myanmar from

September 5th to 7th.

Useful Info

BRICS – Brazil (Brasília, Brazilian real), Russia (Moscow, Russian Ruble), India ( New Delhi, Indian Rupee),

China (Beijing, Renminbi – Yuan), South Africa (Cape Town, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Currency - South African

rand)

The 8th BRICS Summit held on 16th October 2016 at Goa, India.

World's longest commercial flight to be announced by Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways is set to offer a 20-hour non-stop flight from Sydney to London, making this the world's

longest non-stop commercial flight. The flight, which will cross ten time zones, will reportedly be made

available within the next five years. It will take a 17,038-kilometre route over Asia and Europe, and another

over the North Pole.

Organisation: Qantas Airways

Headquarters: Mascot, Australia

CEO: Alan Joyce

The United States to install radar systems in Palau

The United States on 24 August 2017 announced its plans to install radar systems in Palau which is about 1300

kilometres south-west of Guam, the US Pacific territory that Pyongyang threatened to fire missiles towards

earlier in August 2017.The US move will increase its monitoring ability in the western Pacific region recently

rocked by threats from North Korea.

Country: US

Capital: Washington, D.C.

Currency: US Dollar

President: Donald Trump

Country: Palau

Capital: Ngerulmud

Currency: United States Dollar

President: TommyRemengesau

For miningBrazil opens Amazon national reserve

The Government of Brazil in August 2017 abolished a vast national reserve in the Amazon to open up the area

to mining.The area covers 46000 sq km and straddles the northern states of Amapa and Para. The area is

believed to be rich in gold, zinc, phosphate, manganese and other minerals.The government went on to state

that nine conservation and indigenous land areas within it would, however, continue to be legally protected.

Country: Brazil

Capital: Brasilia

Currency: Brazilian real

PM: Dilma Rousseff

President: Michel Temer

Unicity Launched World‟s First ever Genomeceuticals Range of Products in India

Unicity International, headquartered in Orem, Utah, United States has launched world's first ever

Genomeceutical (gene controlling) range of products to India.DNA contains the biological code that

defines every single protein in the body. DNA undergoes a process called transcription or gene expression that

creates a "messenger" molecule, telling the body to make a specific protein.

Useful Info

Unicity International HQ - Orem, Utah, United States

US President Donald Trump bans transgender recruits from US military

President Donald Trump has formally signed a presidential memo directing the Pentagon to ban transgender

people from joining the US military.According to a senior White House official Trump also ordered the

military to stop paying for gender-reassignment surgical procedures from March 23.






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Useful Info




Present President – Donald Trump

Sushma Swaraj meets Maithripala Sirisena in Colombo to discuss bilateral issues

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena in Colombo and

discussed bilateral issues. Foreign Secretary Dr. S. Jaishankar along with a delegation of other senior officials

were present in the meeting. The minister, on a two -day official visit to Sri Lanka to participate in the second

Indian Ocean Conference-IOC 2017, also met her Sri Lankan counterpart Tilak Marapana before leaving back

home.

Useful Info

Union External Affairs Minister – Sushma Swaraj



Capital – Colombo,


Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been ranked 9th in the world

India's largest autonomous public organisation Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has

been ranked ninth in the world. The institute has been ranked ninth amongst a total of 1,207 government

institutions, according to the Scimago Institutions ranking World Report 2017. It is the only Indian

organisation which has found place amongst the Top 100 Global Institutions. The ranking (Government

Institutions) was topped by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Useful Info

CSIR - Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

Director General of CSIR - Girish Sahni

World's Highest Sandcastle Built in German City

The world's highest sandcastle is now standing 16.68 meters tall in the German city of Duisburg. A

German travel operator organized the construction of the mammoth sandcastle, bringing in 3,500 tons of sand

over the past three and a half weeks to the site at a former steelworks in the inland city. It takes the title from a

14.84-metre sandcastle built early this year in India by sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik.

Useful Info

Country – Germany

Capital – Berlin

Currency – Euro

Chancellor - Angela Merkel

Indian Sand Artist - Sudarsan Pattnaik

Death toll in Mexico from tropical storm Lidia rises to 7

The death toll from Tropical Storm Lidia that swept across Mexico's Baja California peninsula has risen to

seven. Officials said five of the deaths occurred at the resort town of Cabo San Lucas. According to the United

States' National Hurricane Center, Lidia is advancing over the peninsula, home to a swank strip of beach

resorts, with maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometres per hour.

Useful Info

Country – Mexico

Capital – Mexico City

Currency - Mexican peso

9th BRICS Summit has started in Xiamen, China

The 9th BRICS Summit has started in Xiamen, China with a group photograph of leaders of the five

countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and was preceded by a warm handshake between

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping.

Useful Info

Country – China






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BRICS Countries

Brazil – Brasília, Brazilian real

Russia – Moscow, Russian Ruble

India – New Delhi, Indian Rupee

China – Beijing, Renminbi (Yuan)

South Africa – Cape Town, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Currency - South African Rand

The theme of the 9th BRICS Summit is "Stronger Partnership for a better future".

Arun Jaitley will attend key security dialouge with Japan today

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will attend a key security dialouge with Japan today. Mr Jaitley said he will hold

a bilateral dialogue with his Japanese counterpart, ahead of a visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to

India later this month. He added, that it is a very important security dialogue between the two countries.

Useful Info

Country – Japan

Capital – Tokyo




State of emergency declared in Los Angeles

A state of emergency has been declared in Los Angeles as the city battles the worst wildfires in its history.

Hundreds of homes have been evacuated around the Glendale and Burbank suburbs. The fires, covering about

5,000 acres, started in La Tuna Canyon on Friday and have sent plumes of smoke over the city. At least three

homes have already been destroyed and a major road, the 210 Freeway, closed.

China Announced $80 Million Funding Plan for BRICS

China will give 500 million yuan ($76.4 million) for a BRICS economic and technology cooperation plan,

and another $4 million for projects at the BRICS countries' New Development Bank stated Chinese President

Xi Jinping. The announcement came amid questions over the relevance of BRICS and China's commitment to

its New Development Bank (NDB) in light of the Belt and Road initiative and the China-led Asian

Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital – Beijing

Currency – Renminbi (Yuan)


Astronaut Peggy Whitson returned to Earth

Astronaut Peggy Whitson returned to Earth. Finishing a 288-day mission that put her over the top as the

American who has spent the most cumulative amount of time in space. Peggy Whitson, 57, is also the

oldest female astronaut in the history of space exploration, was the first female International Space

Station commander, and holds the record for number of spacewalks by a woman.

China Bans Raising Funds Through Cryptocurrencies

China has banned individuals and organizations from raising funds through Initial Coin Offerings (ICO), or

launches of digital currencies, saying the practice constituted illegal fund-raising. ICOs have become a bonanza

for digital currency entrepreneurs, globally and in China, allowing them to raise large sums quickly by

creating and selling digital “tokens” with little or no regulatory oversight. The popularity of coin offerings

has surged in China this year. In July, the state news agency Xinhua said there had been 65 ICOs so far during

the year raising a combined 2.62 billion yuan ($394.6 million) from 105,000 individuals in the country.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital – Beijing



Sushma Swaraj arrives in Russia on three-day visit






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External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in Russian port city of Vladivostok on a three-day visit

to attend the third Eastern Economic Forum which will deliberate on pressing issues relating to global trade.

She will also hold bilateral talks with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The Eastern Economic Forum

is considered as the biggest international communication platform for cooperation between businesses leaders

and senior government representatives from Russia, the Pacific Region and the Association of Southeast Asian

Nations (ASEAN). Delegates from at least 24 countries including the US, Japan, China, Australia, Canada,

Britain and Germany are attending the gathering, as per Russian media reports.

Useful Info

Country – Russia

Capital – Moscow


Union Minister for External Affairs – Sushma Swaraj


UJALA Scheme Launched in Melaka, Malaysia

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

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

Scheme was launched by Chief Minister of Melaka Datuk Seri Utama Ir. Hj. Idris Bin Hj. Haron. Under this

scheme, each household in Melaka will get 10 high-quality 9-watt LED bulbs.

Useful Info

Country – Malaysia

Capital – Kuala Lumpur

Currency – Malaysian ringgit

PM Modi on January 5, 2015, had launched the world's largest, and most extensive LED distribution program,

UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All).

Hurricane Irma set to hit Florida keys, Tampa in US; 6.3 million people evacuated

Hurricane Irma is expected to hit the coast of Florida, in the US, but the outer bands are already affecting the

south of the state and central Miami is being lashed by heavy rain. National Hurrican Centre reports that with

sustained winds at 200 kilometres per hour, Irma has slowly began turning from Cuba's northern coast up into

the Florida Strait. The storm is expected to strengthen again and remain a powerful hurricane when it reaches

Florida.

Useful Info





Second Indian Workers‟ Resource Centre Inaugurated in UAE

Indian Ambassador in UAE Navdeep Singh Suri inaugurated the second Indian Workers‟ Resource

Centre (IWRC) in UAE to provide support and counseling to Indians in distress. IWRC provides counseling

and support to the overseas Indian Community on legal, personal and financial matters, free of cost. IWRC will

provide support and guidance to any member of the Indian community in any such distress situation. Members

of the Indian Community can call this centre from anywhere in UAE through a toll free number 800 INDIA

or 80046342. The helpline will work 24×7 and will have multi lingual facility to help the Indian diaspora

staying in UAE.

Useful Info

UAE – United Arab Emirates


Currency – United Arab Emirates dirham

Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan is the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Indian Ambassador to UAE - Navdeep Singh Suri

Prince Charles Becomes Longest-Serving Prince of Wales

Prince Charles, the heir to Britain‘s throne, became the longest-serving Prince of Wales in history. The 68-

year-old broke the record of Queen Victoria‘s oldest son Albert, who went on to become King Edward VII






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after holding the title of Prince of Wales for more than 59 years before becoming monarch. Prince Charles is

the 21st Prince of Wales in the current line. Prince Charles was created Prince of Wales when he was nine

years old on July 26, 1958. He has now held the title for more than 59 years.

British Parliament Passed EU Withdrawal Bill

The Government‘s bid to extract the UK from EU law in time for Brexit has passed its first Parliamentary

test. The EU Withdrawal Bill was backed by MPs by 326 to 290. The bill, which will end the supremacy of

EU law in the UK, now moves onto its next Parliamentary stage. Previously referred to as the Great Repeal

Bill, the EU Withdrawal Bill overturns the 1972 European Communities Act which took the UK into the then

European Economic Community. It will also convert all existing EU laws into UK law, to ensure there are no

gaps in legislation on Brexit day.

Useful Info


Capital – London


Facebook fined €1.2 mn by Spain data watchdog

Spain‘s data protection watchdog has slapped a fine of €1.2 million euros (9 crore rupees) on Facebook for

failing to prevent its users‘ data being accessed by advertisers. Facebook collected personal data from its users

in Spain without obtaining their ―unequivocal consent‖, the Spanish Data Protection Agency said.

Useful Info

Facebook headquarters – Menlo Park, California, United States

Country – Spain

Capital – Madrid

Currency - Euro

London- World's Top Financial Center

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

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

Brexit. The U.K. capital fell only two points in the latest Global Financial Centres Index published by Z/Yen

and the China Development Institute, the smallest decline among the top 10 centers. New York held on to

second place. In Asia, Hong Kong leapfrogged Singapore into third place.

Useful Info


Capital – London


Global Human Capital Index: India at 103, Norway Tops

India has been placed at a low 103 rank, the lowest among BRICS economies, on the World Economic

Forum's Global Human Capital Index. The list has been topped by Norway. The list takes into account "the

knowledge and skills people possess that enable them to create value in the global economic system" to

measure the 'human capital' rank of a country. India is ranked lower than its BRICS peers, with Russian

Federation placed as high as 16th place, followed by China at 34th, Brazil at 77th and South Africa at 87th

place. The report measures total 130 countries.

Useful Info

Top 5 countries in the list are- 1. Norway (Oslo, Norwegian krone)

2. Finland (Helsinki, Euro)

3. Switzerland (Bern, Swiss Franc)

4. United States (Washington D.C, US Dollar)

5. Denmark (Copenhagen, Danish krone)

India ranked - 103rd

India has started 'Operation Insaniyat' to provided assistance to Bangladesh

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

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

first tranche of India‘s relief aid for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh arrived and was handed over by the






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Indian envoy Harsh Vardhan Sringla to the General Secretary of ruling Awami League, Obaidul

Quader.

Useful Info


Capital – Dhaka

Currency - Bangladeshi taka

Three Indians Among World's '100 Greatest Living Business Minds'

Three Indian entrepreneurial legends, Ratan Tata, Lakshmi Mittal and Vinod Khosla have been included in

Forbes‟s special list of the world‘s ‗100 Greatest Living Business Minds. Some of the notable honorees

alongside Blank are- Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch,

Donald Trump and more

India to Conduct the First „BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017‟

The First „BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017‟ (BIMSTEC DMEx-2017) will be conducted by

the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as the lead agency from October 10-13, 2017 in Delhi and the

National Capital Region (NCR). This Exercise will be a platform for sharing Best Practices on all aspects of

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), strengthening regional response and coordination for Disaster Management

among the BIMSTEC member countries.

Useful Info


BIMSTEC Nations - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand

First ever National Conference on 'Mission Mode to address Under-Nutrition' held in New Delhi

The Ministry of Women and Child Development holds the first ever National Conference in New Delhi on

Mission Mode to address Under-Nutrition in the country. This conference is being organized keeping in

mind the goal of “Malnutrition Free India-2022”. The National Conference, first of its kind, aims at bringing

convergence at District/Block levels of the three key Departments (Health & Family Welfare, ICDS/Social

Welfare and Drinking Water and Sanitation) wherein a roadmap would be drawn to evolve an appropriate

strategy in tackling the problem of stunting, under-nutrition and wasting comprehensively and conclusively.

Useful Info

CM of New Delhi - Arvind Kejriwal

Governor of New Delhi – Anil Baijal

Minister of Women and Child Development – Menaka Sanjay Gandhi

Constituency – Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh)

Government to launch mobile app for retiring government staff

Government will launch a mobile application for central government employees to help them to monitor the

progress of their pension settlement cases. Retired employees will also be able to assess their superannuation

funds and record complaints through the pension calculator. Minister of State for Public grievances and

Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh will launch the app in New Delhi.

Useful Info

Minister of State for Public grievances and Pensions - Dr Jitendra Singh

Constituency – Udhampur, Jammu & Kashmir

Three Indians Among World's '100 Greatest Living Business Minds'

Three Indian entrepreneurial legends, Ratan Tata, Lakshmi Mittal and Vinod Khosla have been included in

Forbes‟s special list of the world‘s ‗100 Greatest Living Business Minds. Some of the notable honorees

alongside Blank are- Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch,

Donald Trump and more

India to Conduct the First „BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017‟

The First „BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017‟ (BIMSTEC DMEx-2017) will be conducted by

the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as the lead agency from October 10-13, 2017 in Delhi and the

National Capital Region (NCR). This Exercise will be a platform for sharing Best Practices on all aspects of

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), strengthening regional response and coordination for Disaster Management

among the BIMSTEC member countries.

Useful Info






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BIMSTEC Nations - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand

First ever National Conference on 'Mission Mode to address Under-Nutrition' held in New Delhi

The Ministry of Women and Child Development holds the first ever National Conference in New Delhi on

Mission Mode to address Under-Nutrition in the country. This conference is being organized keeping in

mind the goal of “Malnutrition Free India-2022”. The National Conference, first of its kind, aims at bringing

convergence at District/Block levels of the three key Departments (Health & Family Welfare, ICDS/Social

Welfare and Drinking Water and Sanitation) wherein a roadmap would be drawn to evolve an appropriate

strategy in tackling the problem of stunting, under-nutrition and wasting comprehensively and conclusively.

Useful Info

CM of New Delhi - Arvind Kejriwal

Governor of New Delhi – Anil Baijal

Minister of Women and Child Development – Menaka Gandhi

Constituency – Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh)

Government to launch mobile app for retiring government staff

Government will launch a mobile application for central government employees to help them to monitor the

progress of their pension settlement cases. Retired employees will also be able to assess their superannuation

funds and record complaints through the pension calculator. Minister of State for Public grievances and

Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh will launch the app in New Delhi.

Useful Info

Minister of State for Public grievances and Pensions - Dr Jitendra Singh

Constituency – Udhampur, Jammu & Kashmir

13th Inter-Governmental Commission Meeting in Kazakhstan

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Shri

Dharmendra Pradhan is in Astana, Kazakhstan to co-chair the 13th Meeting of Inter-Governmental

Commission (IGC) with Kazakhstan. Mr Kanat Bozumbayev, Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan will co-

chair the meeting from Kazakhstan side. The IGC meeting aims to follow up on the agenda set between India

and Kazakhstan during the two visits of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Kazakhstan.

Useful Info

Country – Kazakhstan

Capital – Astana

Currency – Kazakhstani tenge

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship - Shri Dharmendra

Pradhan

Constituency – Rajya Sabha, Bihar

40 million people trapped in modern slavery: UN report

United Nations said, an estimated 40 million people, mostly women and girls, are trapped in modern slavery

and 152 million children are subject to child labour. According to a UN report published during the UN

General Assembly among 40 million people trapped in modern slavery, 29 million are women and girls. The

report said one in four victims of modern slavery are children and about 52 million children are subject to child

labour, accounting for almost one in ten children around the world. The largest part of them are living in Africa

followed by Asia and the Pacific. Over 70 per cent of the child labourers remain in agriculture, while 17 per

cent work in the services sector and almost 12 per cent in industry, the report said. The data was developed

jointly by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Walk Free Foundation and the International

Organisation foAr Migration (IOM).

Useful Info

ILO - International Labour Organisation

Headquarters of ILO - Geneva, Switzerland

IOM - International Organisation for Migration

Headquarters of IOM - Geneva, Switzerland

India has replaced China as the top retail destination in 2017






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India has replaced China as the top retail destination in 2017 as part of the global retail development index.

The change in ranking was an outcome of four factors including increased consumer spending beyond

essentials, rising mobile and internet penetration, favorable foreign investment climate and bold action on

cashless transaction and GST.In addition to the bigger retailers and brands, the mid-size brands from across the

world are also looking to cash on the relaxed retail policy in India.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital – Beijing



Union Minister of Finance –ArunJaitley

Constituency –Gujarat, RajyaSabha

WHO Grants $175,000 for 'Vulnerable Population' of Bangladesh

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first tranche of emergency funding of $175,000 to

provide life-saving healthcare to the "vulnerable population" in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar.The WHO

South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund (SEARHEF) grant will support 20 mobile medical teams to

provide essential services for at least two months. The grant is also being used to procure essential medicines

and medical supplies to be distributed to pre-existing health facilities in Cox's Bazar area.

Useful Info


Headquarters of WHO – Geneva, Switzerland

Director General of WHO–TedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus


Capital – Dhaka

Currency –Bangladeshi Taka

Fifty countries have signed a treaty to ban nuclear weapons

Fifty countries have signed a treaty to ban nuclear weapons, a pact that the world‘s nuclear powers spurned

but supporters hailed as a historic agreement nonetheless.More than 120 countries approved the new nuclear

weapons ban treaty in July 2017 over opposition from nuclear-armed countries and their allies, who boycotted

negotiations. Among 50, Brazil was the first country to sign onto the ban, followed by nations from Algeria

to Venezuela.

Useful Info

UN – United Nation

Headquarters - New York, United States

World‟s Fastest Commercial Bullet Train in China

China restored the maximum speed of bullet trains on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line to 350

kilometres per hour, making it the fastest commercially run train, six years after it reduced the speed due to

a fatal accident. The speed was reduced to 300 kilometres per hour following the deadly accident in July 2011

that killed 40 people.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital – Beijing



Uber Stripped of its Licence to Operate in London

London's transport regulator stripped Uber of its licence to operate, affecting over 40,000 drivers in a huge

blow to the taxi app. The final day of Uber's licence will be on September 30. In London, Uber has faced

criticism from unions, lawmakers and traditional black cab drivers over working conditions.

Useful Info


Capital – London







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CEO of UBER - Dara Khosrowshahi

India Gets its First High Horsepower Locomotive from France

India has received its first High Horsepower Locomotive with the bodyshell of 12000 HP loco from Alstom

France at Kolkata port. This first-of-its-kind high-power electric locomotive will be used to haul freight trains

at twice the existing speed by 2018. This is the first major FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) project in the rail

sector. The first such locomotive is estimated to cost about Rs 30 crore. The Indian Railways is currently using

6,000HP locomotives for freight services. The locomotive will run at a speed of up to 120 km/h.

Useful Info

Union Railway Minister - Piyush Goyal

Constituency – Rajya Sabha, Maharashtra

Country – France

Capital – Paris

Currency - Euro

China's Hui Ka Yan Becomes Asia's Richest Man according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List

Hui Ka Yan, the chairman of big China real estate developer China Evergrande Group, has become Asia‟s

richest man according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List. Among mainland Chinese, Hui‘s estimated

fortune of $42.2 billion puts him ahead of Tencent Holdings Chairman Ma Huateng ($39.1 billion),

Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma ($38.9 billion), and Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin ($30.4

billion). Ma Huateng currently ranks second in Asia and Jack Ma third.

Useful Info

Forbes – Forbes is an American business magazine

Country – China

Capital – Beijing



MC Mary Kom, First Indian to be AIBA Representative at IOC Athletes‟ Forum

Five-time world champion and Olympic bronze-medallist M C Mary Kom has become the first Indian to be

picked as the International Boxing Association‟s (AIBA) representative for the International Olympic

Committee (IOC) Athletes‘ Forum. The event, however, overlaps with the Asian Championship in Vietnam,

which is scheduled from November 2 to 12. If Mary Kom is selected for the tournament after trials, her

participation at the IOC event would become uncertain.

Useful Info

AIBA - International Boxing Association‘s

Headquarters - Lausanne, Switzerland

Angela Merkel Wins 4th Term as Chancellor of Germany

Angela Merkel won a fourth term as chancellor in Germany elections that lifted the far-right party

Alternative for Germany into parliament for the first time since the immediate aftermath World War II.

Merkel‘s Christian Democrat-led bloc took 32.5% to defeat Martin Schulz‘s Social Democrats, whose 20% is

its worst result since the war, the exit polls for national broadcasters ARD and ZDF showed.

Useful Info

Country – Germany

Capital – Berlin

Currency - Euro

WEF‟s Global Competitiveness Rankings: India Ranks 40th, Switzerland Tops

India remains the most competitive country in South Asia, appearing at No. 40 in the global

competitiveness ranking of 137 countries by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The ranking is one lower

than last year. According to WEF, India‘s score is its highest ever according to the current methodology, which

ranked Switzerland as the world‟s most competitive economy.

Useful Info

World‘s top three competitive economic countries

1st – Switzerland (Bern, ‎Swiss franc)

2nd

– United States of America (Washington D.C, US Dollar)






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3rd

– Singapore (Singapore, Singapore Dollar)

40th

- India

India ranks 3rd among BRICS nations

China (27th) and Russia (38th) outshine India among the BRICS group of large emerging markets.

‟Incredible India‟ Campaign Launched in Cairo, Egypt

India launched a campaign to woo Egyptian travellers and make them aware of magnificent holiday options

in the country. The month-long "Incredible India!" campaign has been organised by the Embassy of India in

Cairo. As a part of the campaign, 12 buses of transport authority will showcase various tourist destinations in

India, including culture, festivals, monuments, landscape, wildlife, people and food.

Useful Info

Country – Egypt

Capital – Cairo

Currency – Egyptian pound

Two Indians on Fortune's List of 'Most Powerful Women in International Business'

Two Indian women have featured on Fortune's list of Most Powerful Women in business outside the US.

Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar was ranked fifth and Managing Director and

CEO of Axis Bank Shikha Sharma was ranked at 21. Group Executive Chairman of Spain's Banco

Santander Ana Botín topped the list. The 50 global businesswomen represent 17 countries and many

industries.

Useful Info

Top three Most Powerful Women in business in the List are- 1

st Ana Botin (Spain)

2nd

Emma Walmsley (UK)

3rd

Isabelle Kocher (France).

5th

Chanda Kochhar (ICICI Bank CEO)

21st Shikha Sharma (Axis Bank CEO)

Two US Lawmakers Introduce Legislation in House of Representative to Support India‟s Permanent

Membership to UNSC

In the United States, two influential Democratic lawmakers have introduced a legislation in the House of

Representative to support India‘s permanent membership to the UN Security Council. Introduced by

Congressman Ami Bera and Congressman Frank Pallone, the resolution would put the House officially on

record in support of India‘s bid. Ami Bera, Vice Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs

Committee and longest serving Indian-American in Congress stated that securing a permanent spot for India

on the UN Security Council would strengthen democracy around the world.

Useful Info

UN – United Nation

Headquarters of UN – New York

Twitter Announces Test Project Allowing Tweets to be Expanded From 140 to 280 Characters

Twitter has announced a test project allowing tweets to be expanded to 280 characters, double the existing

limit in the latest effort to boost flagging growth at the social network. It aims to address a major cause of

frustration for many users. Twitter, which became a public company in 2013, has never reported a profit even

though it has built a loyal base of celebrities, journalists and political figures.

Useful Info

Twitter HQ - San Francisco

CEO of Twitter - Jack Dorsey

Saudi Arabia‟s King Salman has issued a decree allowing women to drive for the first time

Saudi Arabia‟s King Salman has issued a decree allowing women to drive for the first time. The order will

be implemented by June 2018. The royal decree will implement the provisions of traffic regulations, including

the issuance of driving licences for men and women alike. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world to

forbid women from driving. Saudi women remain largely under the whim of male relatives due to

guardianship laws.

Useful Info






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Capital – Riyadh

Currency - Saudi riyal

Austria‟s law banning face veils such as burkhas or niqabs has come into effect

Austria‟s law banning face veils such as burkhas or niqabs has come into effect from now. according to the

government, acceptance and respect of Austrian values are basic conditions for successful cohabitation

between the majority Austrian population and people from third countries living in Austria. Exemptions under

certain conditions include items like clown disguises at cultural events, work wear such as medical masks, and

scarves in cold weather. There are around 7 lakh Muslims in Austria.

Useful Info

Country – Austria

Capital – Vienna

Currency – Euro

India opens two border crossing points with Myanmar, Bangladesh

India has opened two immigration check posts along the borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh. In a

gazette notification, the Home Ministry said, the Central government has designated Zorinpui land check

post in Lawngtlai district of Mizoram as an authorised immigration check post for entry into or exit from

India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers to or from Myanmar. The Central government

has also designated Kawrpuichhuah land check post in Lunglei district of Mizoram as an authorised

immigration check post for entry into or exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of

passengers to or from Bangladesh. Zorinpui was selected for a new land custom station along the Indo-

Myanmar border in Mizoram for the Kaladan multi-modal project. Kawarpuchiah is situated in Mizoram

along a riverine border with Bangladesh.

Useful Info

Country – Myanmar, Naypyidaw, Burmese kyat

Country – Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladeshi Taka

China marks 68th National Day

China marked the 68th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China. More than 115,000 people

from across China gathered at the Tiananmen Square at the heart of Beijing to watch the raising of the National

Flag. At the backdrop was a 17-meter-tall giant display in the shape of a floral basket, which symbolizes a

thriving and prosperous country. The National Day is celebrated with a week-long holiday.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital – Beijing


GIFT City's IFSC Bags 10th Place in Global Financial Centres Index

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City)'s International Financial Services Centre (IFSC)

has bagged the 10th spot in the latest edition of Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), London. GIFT

IFSC is ranked tenth, ahead of Luxembourg, Seoul, Abu Dhabi, Toronto and Beijing in the list of the GFCI

report, which has 15 centres that are likely to become more significant in the next few years. Including GIFT

City's IFSC, six of the top ten emerging centres are in Asia.

Useful Info


Capital – London


India, Nepal to Conduct First Joint Tiger Count

For the first time, Nepal and India will undertake a joint tiger census in their national parks, forests and

protected areas adjoining the two countries using a globally-recognised method. The counting of tigers will

begin from the second week of November. Tiger is an endangered animal listed in the Convention on






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International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The last tiger count conducted by Nepal in 2013 puts the

number of adult tigers around 200 in the Himalayan country.

Useful Info

Country – Nepal



Sikh man becomes first minority politician to lead major party in Canada

A 38-year-old Sikh lawyer was on Sunday elected the leader of Canada‘s New Democratic Party, becoming the

first non-white politician to head a major political party in the country. Jagmeet Singh, the Ontario provincial

lawmaker, was elected on the first ballot to lead the party into the 2019 election against Prime Minister Justin

Trudeau‘s Liberals.

Useful Info

Country – Canada

Capital – Ottawa

Currency - Canadian dollar

Russia Launches „World‟s Biggest & Most Powerful‟ Nuclear Icebreaker

Russia has launched the world's largest nuclear-powered icebreaker ship in a bid to expand its strategic

presence in the resource-rich, terrain of the Arctic. The massive vessel, named Sibir (Siberia), was developed

as part of a huge push by the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation to open up crucial shipping lanes in

the icy Northern Sea Route.

Useful Info

Country – Russia

Capital – Moscow


President of Russia - Vladimir Putin

8th SAARC Speaker, Parliamentarians Conference Started in Sri Lanka

The 8th conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians (ASSP) will take place

from October 4 to 6 at the Hotel Hilton in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Association of SAARC Speakers and

Parliamentarians was set up in 1992 with the vision to promote friendship and understanding amongst the

peoples of South Asia. The first conference of the ASSP was held in India in 1995 and the last one in Maldives

in 2013. The conference was inaugurated by President Maithripala Sirisena Prime Minister Ranil

Wickremesinghe. This year‘s Conference will emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals, as the main theme

is „Association of the SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians‟: a platform for the Parliamentarians of South

Asia to work together to reach the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development.

Useful Info


Capital – Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte


President of Sri Lanka – Maithripala Sirisena

Prime Minister of Sri Lanka - Ranil Wickremesinghe

Headquarters of SAARC - Kathmandu, Nepal

India to be Guest Country at the World Government Summit

The World Government Summit announced that India is a guest country in its upcoming gathering. The

Annual Gathering is scheduled from February 11 to 13, 2018. Honorary guests from India will join the notable

list of speakers synonymous with the World Government Summit to showcase the country‘s emerging

economic growth, highlight valuable knowledge, skills, and capabilities and elaborate on the country‘s unique

culture.

Rio Olympic Committee Chairman Arrested on Corruption Charges






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Brazilian police arrested the chairman of the country‟s Olympic Committee Carlos Arthur Nuzman as part

of a probe into alleged vote-buying to secure Rio‘s hosting of the 2016 Games. Twenty federal police agents

swept into Rio de Janeiro‘s upscale Leblon neighbourhood to arrest 75-year-old Carlos Nuzman.

Useful Info

Country – Brazil

Capital – Brasília

Currency – Brazilian real

Donald Trump is Most Followed World Leader on Twitter, PM Modi Third

Donald Trump is now the world‟s most followed leader on Twitter, while Narendra Modi is the third,

according to the latest report by Twiplomacy, a Burson Marsteller research project that tracks the use of

Twitter by governments and international organisations. Trump overtook Pope Francis by a few thousand

followers to occupy the first place in Twiplomacy‘s October report. India‘s prime minister Narendra Modi has

kept his third place consistently since 2016. Modi‘s own account, @narendramodi, has more than 34 million

followers, while the official @PMOIndia account is at the fourth position with a following of more than 21

million.

Useful Info

Top Three in the List

1st – Donald Trump (US President)

2nd

– Pope Francis (Vatican)

3rd

– Narendra Modi (Indian Prime Minister)

Hurricane Nate moves Toward second Landfall on Gulf Coast in USA

In the United States, hurricane Nate has made landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River in

Louisiana. According to the US National Hurricane Center, the storm with maximum sustained winds of

137 kilometres per hour is moving north and a second landfall is expected on the Mississippi coast later. A

state of emergency has been declared in four southern US states with Hurricane Nate gathering strength.

Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and parts of Florida have issued hurricane warnings and evacuation

orders. The measures apply to parts of the city of New Orleans, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina

12 years ago.

Useful Info





India Slips to 8th Rank in Valuable Nation Brand List

India is ranked the eighth most valuable nation brand while the United States retained its top position and

China took the second spot in the league of nations according to Brand Finance‟s Nation Brands 2017. India

went down one spot over the previous year because the economy grew at its slowest pace. India switched

places with Canada and its brand value dropped by one percentage point while that of Canada‘s rose 14

percent. China, the fastest growing nation brand in 2017, saw valuation grow 44 percent.

Useful Info

The Top 10 Valuable Nation brands are:

1. United States (Washington D.C, US Dollar)

2. China (Beijing, Renminbi (Yuan))

3. Germany (Berlin, Euro)

4. Japan (Tokyo, Yen)

5. United Kingdom (London, Pound Sterling)

6. France (Paris, Euro)

7. Canada (Ottawa, Canadian Dollar)

8. India (New Delhi, Indian Rupee)






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9. Italy (Rome, Euro)

10. South Korea (Seoul, South Korean Won)

India is Second Largest Market for Pharma: LinkedIn Report

With 13.7 percent contribution to the global pharmaceuticals and biotechnology workforce, India has

emerged as the second largest market for the industry, a report by professional networking giant

LinkedIn has revealed. The report, detailed in the newly released e-book "The Indian Pharma and Biotech

Industry", showed that while New Delhi, Kolkata, and Chandigarh are thriving grounds for talent in this

sector in India, talent migration is highest to the US. Talent migrating to other countries mainly comprises of

researchers, scientists, quality assurance professionals, statistics programmers and data analysts.

Useful Info

CEO of LinkedIn - Jeff Weiner

Safe Cities Index 2017: Tokyo Safest, Delhi 43rd

Japanese capital city Tokyo has topped The Economist Intelligence Unit's Safe Cities Index 2017, which

ranked 60 cities on parameters including personal and health security. Singapore and Japanese city Osaka

have ranked second and third, while Indian cities Delhi and Mumbai have ranked 43rd and 45th

respectively.

Useful Info

Country – Japan

Capital –Tokyo


Pakistani city Karachi has been ranked the least safe city in the list.

Global Hunger Index: India Ranks 100 among 119 Countries

India, which has more than a fifth (21 percent) of its children wasted (weigh too little for their height), slipped

three places to 100th in the 2017 Global Hunger Index (GHI). The ranking of India in the list was 97th in

2016. The 2017 GHI released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) termed India's

hunger levels ‗serious‘ problem at hand. The data from the report showed that India ranked lower than all its

neighboring countries - Nepal (72), Myanmar (77), Bangladesh (88), Sri Lanka (84) and China (29) - except

Pakistan, which has been placed at 106th in the global hunger list.

Useful Info

The hunger report index of 119 countries also showed that in three years‘ time India has seen a fall of 45 ranks

from 55th in 2014.

US and Israel announced their withdrawal from the UN‟s cultural agency UNESCO

The US and Israel announced their withdrawal from the UN‟s cultural agency UNESCO after Washington

accused it of anti-Israeli bias. The withdrawal of the United States, which is meant to provide a fifth of

Unesco‘s funding, is a major blow for the Paris-based organization. UNESCO is best known for designating

World Heritage Sites such as the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria and the Grand Canyon National Park.

Useful Info

United States of America – Washington D.C, US Dollar

Israel – Jerusalem, Israeli new shekel

Present Director-General of UNESCO - Irina Bokova

HPCL, First Indian OMC to Launch Lubricants in Myanmar

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has become the first Oil Marketing Company (OMC)

from India to mark its presence in the lubricant market in Myanmar and to lend more visibility and awareness

to the brand. Having achieved the number one position in the domestic market, HP Lubricants sought to prove

itself in foreign shore by venturing into Myanmar.

Useful Info

Country – Myanmar (Burma)

Capital – Naypyidaw

Currency – Burmese kyat






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Chairman & Managing Director of HPCL - M K Surana

IMPORTANT NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL APPOINTMENTS

National Appointments

Designation Person

New Independent Directors of India Post

Payments Bank (IPPB)

K G Karmakar and Gauri Shankar

Non-executive chairman of Lakshmi Vilas Bank B.K.Manjunath

About LVB:

HQ – Chennai,

MD & CEO - Parthasarathi Mukherjee

New CEO of Jet Airways VinayDube

New head of Citi India‟s consumer banking

business

Shinjini Kumar

About Citi India:

Parent organizations: Citigroup, Citibank; CEO:

PramitJhaveri,

HQ- Mumbai

Person who appointed by the government to

expedite the cases pending for last 10 years in

lower courts across India

NyayaMitras

New head of commercial vehicle business unit of

TATA motors

GirishWagh (TATA motors CEO –

GuenterButschek)

New Head of Atal Innovation Mission, under the

government‟s premier think tank NITI Aayog

RamanathanRamanan (Senior executive of Tata

Consultancy Services)

About NITI Aayog:

NITI AayogChaiperson – PM Modi

Vice – Chairperson – Dr. Rajiv Kumar

CEO - Amitabh Kant

MD & CEO of TCS - Rajesh Gopinathan

New Special Secretary in Ayush Ministry ‗Vaidya‟ Rajesh Kotecha (Ayurveda physician)

Useful Info:

Minister of AYUSH - ShripadYassoNaik


AYUSH - Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani,

Siddha and Homoeopathy

New Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba (after the completion of the tenure of

Rajiv Mehrishi on August 30)

Other important Appointments are as follows-

1). Yudhvir Singh Malik- Secretary, Road Transport,

and Highways.

2). Subhash C. Garg- Secretary of Economic Affairs.

3). ArunaSundarajan- Telecommunications Secretary.

4). Avinash K. Srivastava- Consumer Affairs

Secretary






125

5). Rajiv Kapoor- Secretary, Chemicals and

Petrochemicals.

6). SanjeevaneeKutty- Secretary, Ex-Servicemen

Welfare in the Defence Ministry.

7). Ajay Kumar Bhalla- Power Secretary.

New MD and CEO of IDFC Bank Sunil Kakar (He replaces VikramLimaye, who joined

as the MD and CEO of NSE)

New President of the India International Centre

(IIC) - one of the premier cultural institutions in

the country

N NVohra (He is the present Governor of J & K and

he replaces, eminent jurist Soli Sorabjee)

About IIC:

HQ – New Delhi

New President – N NVohra

Preceded by - Soli Sorabjee

Chairman of the committee to prepare the final

draft of the National Education Policy

K. Kasturirangan (Ex-ISRO Chief and Padma

Vibhushan awardee)

New Ambassador for government‟s flagship Skill

India campaign, with the National Skill

Development Corporation

Actress Priyanka Chopra

Useful Info:

MD and CEO of National Skill Development

Corporation - Manish Kumar

New economic relations secretary in Ministry of

External Affairs (MEA)

Senior diplomat Vijay KeshavGokhale

Useful Info:

External Affairs Minister - SushmaSwaraj

Constituency – Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh)

New Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh Rajiv Kumar (He has replaced Rahul Prasad

Bhatnagar)

About UP:

Present CM- Yogi Adityanath

Present Governor- Ram Naik

Chairperson on the Board of Governors of the

National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)

Rajesh V. Shah (He has replaced ShriChetanChauha.)

About NIFT:


Affiliations: Ministry of Textiles, Government of India

President of the International Economic

Association (IEA).

KaushikBasu (Former chief economic advisor)

About IEA:

President: KaushikBasu (India)

Headquarters: Barcelona, Spain

New India„s Ambassador to Belgium and the

European Union

GaitriIssar Kumar

About Belgium:

Capital: City of Brussels

Currency: Euro

PM: Charles Michel

India„s new Ambassador to Italy ReenatSandhu

About Italy:

Capital: Rome

Currency: Euro






126

PM: Paolo Gentiloni

India„s Ambassador to Denmark AjitVinayakGupte

About Denmark:

Capital: Copenhagen

Currency: Danish krone

PM: Lars Løkke Rasmussen

New Executive Director of RBI S. Ganesh Kumar (He replaces ChandanSinha, after

his voluntary retirement)

About RBI:

Governor- Urjit Patel

Deputy Governor- S SMundra, N S Vishwanathan,

Viral V Acharya, B P Kanungo

New Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Sanjiv Singh (He replaces B Ashok)

HQ of Indian Oil Corporation- New Delhi

New CEO of PrasarBharati ShashiShekarVempati (He replaces Rajeev Singh)

HQ of PrasarBharati - New Delhi

New Chief Executive Officer (CEO)of Jet

Airways

VinayDube

Designation Person

New President of India Ram NathKovind (He is the 14th

President of India,

succeeds Pranab Mukherjee)

CEO and MD of Larsen & Toubro S.N. Subrahmanyan (Subrahmanyan is currently the

deputy managing director and president of L&T, now

he replaces AM Naik)

HQ of L&T – Mumbai

New Chairman of Tata Global Beverages Ltd.

(TGBL)

N. Chandrasekaran

About TATA Sons - Tata Sons Limited is the holding

company of the Tata Group and holds the bulk of

shareholding in these companies.

HQ – Mumbai

Chairperson - N. Chandrasekaran

New Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Achal Kumar Joti (He is the Ex-Gujarat Chief

Secretary and will take charge after NasimZaidi retires

on July 6)

New DGP of Himachal Pradesh SomeshGoyal (He replaces Sanjay Kumar who has

been appointed as director general of the National

Disaster Response Force (NDRF)

About Himachal Pradesh:

Capital –Shimla

CM - Virbhadra Singh

Governor –AcharyaDevVrat

New Ambassador of India to Indonesia Pradeep Kumar Rawat (presently he serves as Joint

Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)

and he succeeds NengchaLhouvumMukhopadhaya)

About –Indonesia






127

Capital – Jakarta


New CEO of Vistara (The board of TATA SIA

Airlines Ltd, which owns and operates the full-

service airline)

Leslie Thng (former Silk Air head)

About Vistara:

Incumbent CEO of vistara - PheeTeikYeoh

New CEO of vistara - Leslie Thng

Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons and

Singapore Airlines

New Attorney General of India K KVenugopal

New Director General of Goods and Services

Tax Intelligence (DG GSTI)

John Joseph

New Secretary of the Department of Economic

Affairs (DEA) in the Finance Ministry

Subhash Chandra Garg (He succeeds Shaktikanta

Das)

New director-general of the Directorate of

Revenue Intelligence (DG-DRI)

Debi Prasad Dash (He succeeds JayantMisra)

New Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border

Police (ITBP)

R K Pachnanda

About Tibet:

Tibet is a region in China

Capital – Lhasa

Currency –Renminbi

New DG-ITBP – Shri R K Pachnanda

Preceded by - Shri Krishna Chaudhary

ITBP Headquarter – New Delhi

New Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister‟s

Office

GopalBaglay (Senior diplomat and External Affairs

Ministry spokesperson, he has been appointed in place

of Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who has been already named

as India‘s Ambassador to France)

new chief of the National Disaster Response

Force (NDRF)

Sanjay Kumar (He succeed R K Pachnanda, who was

has taken charge as DG the Indo-Tibetan Border

Police (ITBP).

New Secretary to Indian President, Ram

NathKovind

Sanjay Kothari (Chairman of Public Enterprises

Selection Board)

Useful Information:

1st President of India – Dr. Rajendra Prasad

1st Vice President of India – SarvepalliRadhakrishnan

1st Women President of India - PratibhaPatil

14th President of India – Ram NathKovind

New spokesperson of the ministry of external

affairs

Raveesh Kumar (currently he is posted in Frankfurt,

Germany as Consul General of India, and will replace

GopalBaglay, who was appointed the joint secretary in

the Prime Minister‘s Office)

New president of the National Rifle Association

of India (NRAI)

Raninder Singh

New MD & CEO of Oriental Bank of Commerce Mukesh Kumar Jain (He replaces AnimeshChauhan)

MD & CEO of Axis Bank Shikha Sharma was reappointed as the MD & CEO






128

of Axis Bank as her current term was to end in June

2018.

About AXIS Bank:

HQ – Mumbai

Tagline – BadhtiKaNaamZindagi

MD and CEO - Shikha Sharma

New CEO of Janalakshmi Financial Services Ajay Kanwal (He is a veteran banker having 27 years

of experience in both consumer and commercial

banking sector)

About Janalakshmi Financial Services:

HQ – Bengaluru

Current CEO - V. S. Radhakrishnan

India‟s New Alternate Governor on the Board of

Governors of the Asian Development Bank

(ADB)

Subhash Chandra Garg (Economic Affairs

Secretary)

About ADB - Asian Development Bank

Headquarters - Manila, Philippines

President of ADB - TakehikoNakao

Administrative Manager of the Indian Cricket

Team

Sunil Subramaniam (former Tamil Nadu Ranji team

captain)

About BCCI - Board Of Control For Cricket In India

Headquarters of BCCI – Mumbai

Person who took additional charge of Ministry of

Information and Broadcasting (I&B)

Textiles minister SmritiIrani

part-time member on IRDAI board Ravi Mittal (additional secretary in the Finance

Ministry in place of Anil Khachi. Mittal has replaced

N S Rao at IRDAI)

About IRDAI –Insurance Regulatory & Development

Authority of India

HQ – Hyderabad, Telangana

Chairman - TS Vijayan

Rio Olympics silver medallist, who appointed as

the Group-I officer by the state‟s chief minister

P V Sindhu was appointed as the Group-I officer by

the Andhra Pradesh CM – Chandrababu Naidu

The new Chairman of Indian Institute of

Management (IIM) Amritsar

Sanjay Gupta

New Chairman of IIT-Kharagpur SanjivGoenka (Presently the Chairman of RP

SanjivGoenka Group)

New Chairperson of Broadcasting Content

Complaints Council (BCCC)

VikramajitSen (Former Supreme Court Judge

Justice)

Chief Minister of Nagaland TR Zeliang

New Urban Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar (Presently he serves as

Union Minister for Rural Development)

new Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi

New head of the Indian consulate in

New York.

SandeepChakravorty (India‗s Ambassador to Peru)

Designation Person






129

13th Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu (He succeed Hamid Ansari)

1st Vice President of India – Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

1st President of India – Rajendra Prasad

13th Vice President of India – Venkaiah Naidu

14th President of India – Ram Nath Kovind

New Chief of the Indian Army‟s Eastern

Command

Lt General Abhay Krishna (He succeeds Lt Gen

Praveen Bakshi who has retired from service.)

Chief of Army Staff – Bipin Rawat

chairman of the board of directors of the BSE Dhirendra Swaruphas (Former Chairman of the

Pension Funds Regulatory and Development Authority

(PFRDA), he replaces incumbent SudhakarRao)

head of committee to study issues related to data

protection, appointed by MeitY

B.N Srikrishna (The Ministry of Electronics and

Information Technology (MeitY) has appointed an

expert panel committee that would study various

issues relating to data protection in the country and

will suggest a draft data protection Bill.)

Minister of Electronics and Information Technology –

Ravi Shankar Prasad

Constituency –Bihar, Rajya Sabha

Head of committee on 'fair market conduct'

formed by SEBI

T K Viswanathan (committee on 'fair market

conduct' which will suggest measures for improving

surveillance of the markets and strengthen rules for

trades.)

Secretary General of Federation of Indian

Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)

Sanjaya Baru (He succeeds A Didar Singh)

FICCI - Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce

and Industry

HQ – New Delhi

President – Pankaj Patel

Chairman and Manging Director (CMD) in

Small Industries Development Bank of India

(SIDBI)

Mohammad Mustafa

SIDBI – Small Industries Development Bank of India

Headquarters – Lucknow

New CMD – Mohammad Mustafa

Preceded by - Kshatrapatishivaji

Next Ambassador of India to The Republic of

Kazakhstan

Prabhat Kumar (presently Ambassador of India to

Colombia)


Capital – Astana

Currency – Kazakhstani tenge

next Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog (think-tank

that replaced the Planning Commission)

Rajiv Kumar (He will succeed Arvind Panagariya)

Chairman of NITI Aayog – PM Modi

New Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog – Rajiv Kumar

Preceded by – Arvind Panagariya

CEO of NITI Aayog – Amitabh Kant

brand ambassador of the Swachh Bharat

Mission in UP

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar

State – Uttar Pradesh






130

Capital – Lucknow

CM – Yogi Adityanath

Governor – Ram Naik

New Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

of Payback India

Gautam Kaushik

brand ambassador by a health and wellness

startup Cure.fit

Hritik Roshan

The 45th Chief Justice of India Justice Dipak Misra (He will be replacing

incumbent Justice J S Khehar)

Present & 44th CJI - Justice J S Khehar

1st CJI – H J Kania

Next & 45th CJI - Justice Dipak Misra

Chairman of the Central Board of Film

Certification (CBFC)

lyricist Prasoon Joshi (He replaced former Chairman

Pahlaj Nihalani)

WHO Goodwill Ambassador Athlete Milkha Singh


Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland

Director-General of WHO - Dr. Tedros Adhanom

Ghebreyesus

Nick Name of Milkha Singh – The Flying Sikh

next Ambassador of India to the Republic of San

Marino

Reenat Sandhu (presently Ambassador of lndia to

ltaly)

Country – San Marino

Capital – San Marino city

Currency – Euro

New CEO of National Payments Corporation of

India (NPCI)

Dilip Asbe (He succeeds A. P. Hota)

NPCI - National Payments Corporation of India

Chairman – Shri Balachandran M


Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jet Airways

India Ltd

Vinay Dube

Jet Airways HQ – Mumbai

Its Parent company is Tailwinds Private Limited

New CEO – Vinay Dube

Newly appointed a Member of the reconstituted

Censor Board

Actress Vidya Balan

Ambassador of India to the Grand Duchy

Luxembourg

Gaitri Issar Kumar (presently Ambassador of India

to Belgium)

Country – Luxembourg

Capital – Luxembourg city

Currency – Euro

Managing Director of Export-Import Bank of

India (Exim Bank)

David Rasquinha

EXIM Bank - Export-Import Bank of India

HQ – Mumbai

CMD of Hindustan Copper Limited Santosh Sharma

MD & CEO of Industrial Finance Corporation Sankara Rao






131

of India (IFCI)

new President and MD of General Motors Sanjiv Gupta (He replaces Kaher Kazem)

General Motors HQ – Detroit, Michigan, United States

New President & MD of GM India – Sanjiv Gupta

Preceded by – Kaher Kazem

New President and CEO of GM Korea – Kaher Kazam

Executive Director of Insolvency and

Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)

Mamta Suri

IBBI – Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India

Chairman of IBBI – Dr. M. S. Sahoo

New Chairman of Railway Board Ashwani Lohani (Replacing Ashok Mittal)

interim Chairman and MD of Air India Rajiv Bansal (Presently the Additional Secretary &

Financial Advisor at Ministry of Petroleum and

Natural Gas, he replaces Ashwani Lohani who took

over as the Railway Board Chairman)

Director General of the Railway Protection

Force

CISF ADG Dharmendra Kumar (Replaces S K

Bhagat)

B.N.Laihri was the first DG of Railway Protection

Force

Union Minister for Railways – Piyush Goyal

Secretary to the Government of India in the

Ministry of Home Affairs

Rajiv Gauba

Union Home Minister – Rajnath Singh

Constituency – Lucknow

Designation Person

New Comptroller and Auditor General of India

(CAG)

Rajiv Mehrishi

Useful Info:

New CAG – Rajiv Mehrishi

Preceded by – Shashi Kant Sharma

New Home Secretary – Rajiv Gauba

Preceded by – Rajiv Mehrishi

New Election Commissioner of India

Sunil Arora

Useful Info:

Chief Election Commissioner of India – Achal

Kumar Joti

first brand ambassador of tyre maker Bridgestone

India

PV Sindhu

Registered Office of Bridgestone India Private

Limited is in Pune, Maharashtra

Useful Info:

State – Maharashtra

Capital – Mumbai

CM – DevendraFadnavis

Governor – VidyasagarRao

new Chairperson of Central Board of Secondary

Education, (CBSE)

IAS officer Anita Karwal

Preceded by – Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi Director

General of the National Skill Development Agency.

MD & CEO of Vijaya Bank Sankara Narayanan (He has taken over the reigns






132

of the bank from Kishore Sansi, who reached

superannuation on August 31. He joined Bank of

India as a direct recruit officer in 1983 and has

headed various branches.)

Useful Info:

Vijaya Bank HQ – Bengaluru

MD & CEO - R A Sankara Narayanan

Tagline Line – A Friend you can bank on.

Chairman of Press Trust of India

ViveckGoenka(Chairman and Managing Director of

the Express Group) he succeeds Riyad Mathew.

N. Ravi, former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu has

been elected as the Vice Chairman of PTI. Mr. Ravi

succeeds Mr.Goenka as Vice Chairman.

New Coach of Indian Men's Hockey Team SjoerdMarijne(He has replaced RoelantOltmans.)

interim chairman of the Goods and Services Tax

Network (GSTN)

A.B. Pandey(CEO of UIDAI) Pandey was given

additional charge days after GSTN‘s first chairman

Navin Kumar completed his term on 29 August.

new president of the automobile industry body

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers

(SIAM)

AbhayFirodia(Force Motors Chief)

Useful Info:

SIAM - Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers

SIAM is headquartered in New Delhi

New President of SIAM - AbhayFirodia

New CMD of United India Insurance Co. Ltd

(UIIC)

M. NagarajaSarma(Sarma is at present the general

manager, Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd.)

Useful Info

Head Office of United India Insurance Co. Ltd. is in

Chennai

Chairman and Managing Director of Indian

Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation

(IRCTC) Ltd

MahendraPratap Mall

Useful Info:

Corporate Office of IRCTC is situated at New Delhi

chief of the National Investigation Agency (NIA)

Y.C Modi(Senior IPS officer) He will take over from

Sharad Kumar after he completes his tenure on

October 30.

Director General of the SashastraSeemaBal (SSB)

Rajni Kant Misra(Mr.Misra is at present the

Additional Director General in the Border Security

Force (BSF).)

India‟s New High Commissioner to Pakistan

Ajay Bisaria

Useful Info:




New Chairman of NHPC

Balraj Joshi

Useful Info:

NHPC Headquarters – Faridabad, India

Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Shashi Shankar (He will replace Dinesh K Sarraf)






133

ONGC

New CEO of Tata Capital

Rajiv Sabharwal(He will be joining Tata Capital in

January 2018 and would be taking over from the

company's current Managing Director & CEO

Praveen P Kadle.)

Useful Info:

N Chandrasekaran is the Chairman of Tata Sons

Resignation

Infosys Senior Vice President Sanjay Rajagopalan has resigned from his post.

Designation Person

New chairman of State Bank of India Rajnish Kumar (previously the managing director

and CEO of SBI Capital Markets, the merchant

banking arm of the bank)

New MD & CEO PNB MetLife India Insurance

Company Ltd

Ashish Srivastava

Ambassador of India to the Principality of

Monaco

Shri Vinay Mohan Kwatra

New president of US India Business Council

(USIBC)

Nisha Desai Biswal

New CEO of Freecharge Sangram Singh (Previously served as the head of

cards and payments business at Axis Bank)

New chairman of Film and Television Institute of

India (FTII)

Actor Anupam Kher

Laureus' first Brand Ambassador Indian Cricketer Yuvraj Singh

The Business Head of 'MobiKwik Payment

Gateway

Rukaiya Rangwala

India's new Ambassador to China Gautam Bambawale

New Railway Board Members MK Gupta, DK Gayen

List of New Governor of Indian States:

State New Governor Preceded

Tamilnadu BanwarilalPurohit VidyasagarRao

Assam Prof JagdishMukhi BanwarilalPurohit

Bihar Satya Pal Malik KeshariNathTripathi

Meghalaya Ganga Prasad BanwarilalPurohit

Andaman and Nicobar Devendra Kumar Joshi JagdishMukhi

CABINET MINISTERS AND THEIR CONSTITUENCY

CABINET MINISTERS:

CABINET MINISTERS PORTFOLIO CONSTITUENCY

Shri Raj Nath Singh Home Affairs Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh






134

Smt. Sushma Swaraj External Affairs Vidisha , Madhya Pradesh

Shri Arun Jaitley Finance,

Corporate Affairs

Gujarat Rajaya Sabha

Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari Road Transport and Highways,

Shipping

Nagpur, Maharashtra

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman Defence Karnataka, Rajya Sabha

Shri Piyush Goyal Railways Maharashtra, Rajya Sabha

Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda Statistics & Programme

Implementation

Bangalore North, Karnataka

Sushri Uma Bharati Drinking water and Sanitation Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh

Shri Ramvilas Paswan Consumer Affairs, Food and

Public Distribution

Hajipuri, Bihar

Giriraj Singh Micro, Small and Medium

Enterprises

Nawada, Bihar

Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi Women and Child Development Pilibhit , Uttar Pradesh

Shri Ananthkumar Chemicals and Fertilizers,

Parliamentary Affairs

Bangalore South, Karnataka

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad Law & Justice,

Electronics & Information

Technology

Bihar – Rajya Sabha

Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda Health and Family Welfare Himachal Pradesh, Rajya Sabha

Shri Ashok Gajapathi Raju

Pusapati

Civil Aviation Vizianagaram , Andhra Pradesh

Shri Anant Geete Heavy Industries and Public

Enterprises

Raigad , Maharashtra

Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal Food Processing Industries Bathinda , Punjab

Shri Narendra Singh Tomar Rural Development & Urban

Development,

Panchayati Raj,

Drinking Water and Sanitation

Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh

Shri Chaudhary Birender Singh Steel Haryana, Rajya Sabha

Shri Jual Oram Tribal Affairs Sundargarh, Odisha

Shri Radha Mohan Singh Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Purvi Champaran , Bihar

Shri Thawar Chand Gehlot Social Justice and

Empowerment

Madhya Pradesh, Rajya Sabha

Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani Information & Broadcasting and

Textiles

Gujarat, Rajya Sabha

Dr. Harsh Vardhan Science and Technology,

Earth Sciences

Chandni Chowk, Delhi

Shri Prakash Javadekar Human Resource Development Madhya Pradesh, Rajya Sabha

Suresh Prabhu Commerce and Industry Andhra Pradesh, Rajya Sabha

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Minority Affairs Uttar Pradesh, Rajya Sabha

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan Skill Development and

Petroleum

Bihar, Rajya Sabha






135

MINISTERS OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)

Shri Rao Inderjit Singh Planning (Independent Charge)

Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation

Hardeep Singh Puri Urban Development

Santosh Kumar Gangwar Labour and Employment (Independent Charge)

Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (Independent

Charge)

Shri Vijay Goel Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge)

Water Resources, River Development & Ganga

Rejuvenation

Shri Shripad Yesso Naik AAYUSH (Independent Charge)

Raj Kumar Singh Power (Independent Charge)

Dr. Jitendra Singh Development of North Eastern Region (Independent Charge)

Prime Minister‘s Office

Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions

Department of Atomic Energy

Department of Space

Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge)

Dr. Mahesh Sharma Culture (Independent Charge)

Alphons Kannanthanam Tourism, Ministry of Electronics & IT

Shri Manoj Sinha Communications (Independent Charge)

Railways

Dr. Harsh Vardhan Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Additional

Charge)

MINISTERS OF STATE:

General(Retd.) V.K. Singh External Affairs

Shiv Pratap Shukla Finance

Ashwini Kumar Choubey Health & Family Welfare

Shri S.S. Ahluwalia Parliamentary Affairs

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Agriculture & Farmers Welfare

Shri Ramdas Athawale Social Justice & Empowerment

Shri Ram Kripal Yadav Rural Development

Shri Haribhai Parthbhai Chaudhary Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises

Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir Home Affairs

Shri Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi Drinking Water & Sanitation

Shri Rajen Gohain Railways

Shri Parshottam Rupala Agriculture & Farmers Welfare

Panchayati Raj






136

Shri M.J. Akbar External Affairs

Satya Pal Singh Human Resources Development, Water Resources, River

Development&Ganga Rejuvenation

Shri Radhakrishnan P. Road Transport & Highways

Shipping

Shri Kiren Rijiju Home Affairs

Shri Krishan Pal Social Justice & Empowerment

Shri Jasvantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor Tribal Affairs

Shri Vishnu Deo Sai Steel

Shri Sudarshan Bhagat Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

Shri Y.S. Chowdary Science and Technology

Earth Science

Shri Jayant Sinha Civil Aviation

Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Information & Broadcasting

Shri Babul Supriyo Heavy Industries

Public Enterprises

Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti Food Processing Industries

Shri Vijay Sampla Social Justice & Empowerment

Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal FinanceCorporate Affairs

Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey Human Resource Development

Shri Ajay Tamta Textiles

Virendra Kumar Women & Child Development, Minority affairs

Shri Mansukh L. Mandaviya Road Transport & Highways, Shipping,

Chemicals & Fertilizers

Smt. Anupriya Patel Health & Family Welfare

Shri C.R. Chaudhary Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution

Shri P.P. Chaudhary Law & Justice

Electronics & Information Technology

Dr. Subhash Ramrao Bhamre Defence

Anantkumar Hegde Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

International Appointments

Designation Person

New president of Serbia AleksandarVucic

About Serbia:

Capital – Belgrade,

Currency - Serbian Dinar

New Prime Minister of Nepal SherBahadurDeuba

About Nepal:


Currency - Nepali rupee

Appointed public policy as fellow to a

Washington-based think-tank

NirupamaRao (Former Indian envoy to the US)






137

New Prime minister of Romania MihaiTudose

Useful Info:

Country – Romania

Capital – Bucharest

Currency - Romanian leu

Member of International Tribunal for

the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)

NeeruChadha (first Indian Woman to be elected)

Goodwill Ambassador of United Nations

Children's Fund (UNICEF)

MuzoonAlmellehan (a 19-year-old education activist, and

Syrian refugee)

Designation Person

First Female Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabic (She is an openly gay woman, and succeeded

IvicaDacic)

About Serbia:

Capital – Belgrade

Currency - Serbian Dinar

WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Autism

in South Asia

SaimaWazedHossain (a globally renowned champion for the

cause of autism spectrum disorder)

About WHO – World Health Organisation


Director–General - Dr. TedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus

New President of Mongolia KhaltmaaBattulga (Mongolian Business man and Martial Arts

expert)

About– Mongolia

Capital – Ulaanbaatar

Currency – Mongolian togrog

New President – KhaltmaaBattulga

Preceded by - TsakhiagiinElbegdorj

New Chief Justice of Nepal Justice Gopal Prasad Parajuli

About Nepal:

Capital –Kathmandu

Currency –Nepalese Rupee

President – Bidhya Devi Bhandari

PM - SherBahadurDeuba

New Chief Justice of Nepal - Gopal Prasad Parajuli

Preceded by – SushilaKarki

UK‟s first female President of the

Supreme Court

Brenda Marjorie Hale (She succeeds Lord Neuberger)

About United Kingdom:

Capital – London


PM – Theresa May

Newly included in the board of directors

of Alphabet (the search giant, Google‟s

parent company)

SundarPichai (Google CEO)

About Google:

HQ – Mountain View, California, United States

Alphabet – Alphabet Inc. is an American multinational

conglomerate created in a corporate restructuring on October 2,






138

2015. It is the parent company of Google.

HQ of Alphabet – Mountain View, California, United States

Alphabet CEO - Larry Page

Interim Prime Minister of Pakistan ShahidKhaqanAbbasi (Presently He serves as the Minister for

Petroleum and Natural Resources)

About Pakistan:



Ex-Prime Minister – Nawaz Sharif

New Interim Prime Minister - ShahidKhaqanAbbasi

The first woman chief executive of Hong

Kong

Carrie Lam

Person who has been nominated by US

President Donald Trump as next

secretary of the Army

Mark Esper

UNICEF‟s Global Good will

Ambassador

Lilly Singh (Indian- origin Canadian YouTube star)

About UNICEF - United Nations International Children's

Emergency Fund

HQ – New York

CEO - Anthony Lake

Person who has been nominated by US

President Donald Trump as the

ambassador to Peru

Krishna R

Designation Person

Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O‟Neill

Country – Papua New Guinea

Capital – Port Moresby

Currency - Papua New Guinean kina

President of Iran Hassan Rouhani

Country – Iran

Capital – Tehran

Currency – Rial

Three Indian-Americans Appointed to

key government posts by Donald Trump

Neil Chatterjee was confirmed as a member of the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Krishna R. Urs was

confirmed as the Ambassador to Peru, Vishal Amin got the

post of White House Intellectual Property Enforcement

Coordinator.

Executive Director of World Bank Senior bureaucrat S Aparna(presently Principal Secretary to

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, she replaces S C Garg)



Deputy Comptroller for Minority

Affairs in New York's Nassau county

Indian American DilipChauhan

Country – Bahamas

Capital – Nassau

Currency – Bahamian Dollar






139

President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta

Country – Kenya

Capital – Nairobi

Currency – Kenyan shilling

Russia‟s new ambassador to India NikolayKudashev

Country – Russia

Capital – Moscow


New Russia‘s Ambassador to India - NikolayKudashev

Preceded by - Alexander Kadakin

Goodwill Ambassador for Handicap

International

Neymar (World's Most expensive player)

Neymar – Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, commonly known as

Neymar or Neymar Jr., is a Brazilian professional footballer

Country – Brazil

Capital – Brasília

Currency – Brazilian real

Designation Person

New High Commissioner of India to

Cyprus

R.K. Raghavan

Useful Info:

Country – Cyprus

Capital – Nicosia

Currency – Euro, Cypriot pound

New head the US space agency NASA James Bridenstine

Useful Info:





U.S Ambassador to India Kenneth I. Juster

the first Indian woman ambassador in

'Friends of Australia' (FOA) advocacy

panel by Tourism Australia.

Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra

Useful Info:




8th President of Singapore HalimahYacob(She became the country‘s first female

President and the first in five decades to come from the Malay

ethnicity.)

Useful Info:

Country – Singapore

Capital – Singapore City

Currency – Singapore Dollar

Newly elected as Chair of Ethics

Commission of the International

Olympic Committee (IOC)

Ban Ki-moon (Former United Nations (UN) Secretary-

General)

Useful Info:

IOC - International Olympic Committee






140

Headquarters of IOC – Lausanne, Switzerland

President of IOC - Thomas Bach

new Prime Minister of Peru Mercedes Araoz Fernandez (He replaced Fernando Zavala,

who lost the vote of confidence by lawmakers on 15 September

2017.)

Useful Info:

Country – Peru

Capital – Lima

Currency – Sol

New Prime Minister - Mercedes AraozFernandez

UttarakhandSwachh Bharat Mission

Brand Ambassador

Akshay Kumar (Bollywood actor) Akshay was also appointed

as the brand ambassador for the cleanliness campaign in Uttar

Pradesh in August 2017 and his film "Toilet: EkPrem Katha"

was made tax-free in the state.

Useful Info:

State – Uttarakhand

Capital – Dehradun

CM - Trivendra Singh Rawat

Governor - Krishan Kant Paul

New President of Angola Joao Lourenco (He is first new President of the country in 38

years)

Useful Info:

Country – Angola

Capital – Luanda

Currency - Angolan kwanza

Resignation

Prime Minister of Iceland Mr.BjarniBenediktsson has resigned from the post

Useful Info:

Country – Iceland

Capital – Reykjavik

Currency – Icelandic króna

Designation Person

First Female President of UK's Supreme

Court

Brenda Hale

New Deputy Director General at WHO Soumya Swaminathan

Headquarters of WHO - Geneva, Switzerland

Director General of WHO - Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

FICCI UK Director Param Shah

Mongolia New Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh

Pakistan's New Navy Chief Zafar Mahmood Abbasi

UNESCO Chief Audrey Azoulay

RESIGNATION

D Shivakumar Resigns PepsiCo India Chairman and CEO

Umang Bedi Resigns Facebook MD of India






141

Important Awards and Honours

Awards Winners

MGNREGA annual award for effective

implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi

National Rural Employment Guarantee

(MGNREGA) Act during 2015-16

Vizianagaram (Andhra Pradesh)

Winner of the Man Booker International prize

2017

Israeli author David Grossman (for his novel `A

Horse Walks into a Bar')

Useful Info:

1st Man Booker award – year 1969

Author – P.H.Newby (UK)

Novel – Something to answer for

Winner of the Fifth Bhupen Hazarika National

Award, 2017

Yeshe Dorjee Thongshi (eminent writer from

Arunachal Pradesh, His most important novel is

Mauna Onth Mukhar Hriday ―Silent lips, murmuring

hearts‖ which won the Sahitya Akademi award in

2005.)

the first recipient of the Prime Minister‟s Award

for outstanding contribution to promotion and

development of Yoga

Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (Pune)

Indian agricultural microbiologist who has been

conferred the Ministry of Environment Award

for 2017 in Japan

Shrihari Chandraghatgi (He is the President and

CEO of Eco Cycle Corporation, is the first foreigner to

be given the Ministry of Environment Award, the

highest award in the environmental sector in Japan)

Winner of Miss World in bodybuilding

championship which was held at Venice, Italy

Bhumika Sharma (She belongs to Dehradun)

The State which conferred with the award of

excellence at the 2nd Global Skill Development

Summit held in Paris

Uttarakhand

Winners of USIBC Global Leadership Awards of

the US-India Business Council

Adi Godrej (Godrej Group Chairman) and Andrew

Liveries (Dow Chemical CEO) for their role in

integrating India in the global supply chain.

Useful Info

USIBC – US India Business Council

President – Mukesh Adhi

Winner of Lifetime Achievement at The Mumbai

Press Club‟s RedInk Awards for Excellence in

Indian Journalism, 2017

Veteran journalist Vinod Dua (presented by

Devendra Fadnavis)

Winner of Journalist of the Year award at The

Mumbai Press Club‟s RedInk Awards for

Excellence in Indian Journalism, 2017

Raj Kamal Jha(presented by Devendra Fadnavis)

To whom NASA has posthumously awarded the

Exceptional Public Service Medal

Michael A‟Hearn (one of the world‘s leading comet

scientists)

Winner of World‟s Best Airline Award at the

SKYTRAX 2017 World Airline Awards

Qatar Airways

CEO of Qatar Airways: Akbar Al Baker

Winner of the France's highest civilian honour,

the coveted Legion of Honour.

Soumitra Chatterjee (Thespian Bengali actor)

Winner of the Raksha Mantri‟s Award for

Excellence

Defence public sector BEML Ltd (for design &

development of 180-tonne electric hydraulic excavator

BE1800E)






142

Winner of Asia Pacific Quality Network Award

2017

National Assessment & Accreditation Council

(NAAC) for International Co-operation in Quality

Assurance.

About NAAC:

Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Parent department: MHRD

Agency executive: D.P. Singh, Director.

Winner of covetous Kalinga Literary Award Haraprasad Das (He is the Legendary poet and

essayist, won for his work and contribution to

literature at the fourth edition of Kalinga Literary

Festival (KLF).)

awarded with first prize in United Nations

Public

Service Award for Asia Pacific

West Bengal Government's Kanyashree Prakalpa

Scheme (This is a targeted conditional cash transfer

scheme aimed at retaining girls in schools and other

educational and skill development institutions and

preventing child

marriage.)

Honoured as the MBE (Member of the Order of

the British Empire)

Annabel Mehta (Sachin Tendulkar's mother-in-law

and social activist)

Honoured with the 'Best astrologer of

the world' award at the 'Russian-Indian

economic dialogue' round-table meet held in

Moscow.

T S Vineeth Bhatt (City-based astrologer and

numerologist)

Honoured with Queen„s Young Leaders Award Ankit Kawatra (He is a Anti-hunger activist)

Awards Winners

Winner of prestigious 'Great Immigrants'

annual award on US's Independence day

Adobe Chief Shantanu Narayen and former US

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy both are Indian-

Americans,

Winner of Order of Australia for community

work, the highest civilian award in Australia.

Guruswamy Jayraman (a 69-year-old Glenwood

resident who migrated from Delhi to Australia in

1991)

About Australia:




Prime Minister‟s trophy for „Best Performing

Integrated Steel Plant‟

Tata Steel Ltd (Has won this for third consecutive

year)

About TATA Steel:

HQ – Mumbai

Founder - Jamsetji Tata

Winner of 2017 Trafficking in Persons (TIP)

Report Heroes Award

Mahesh Bhagwat (Presently he serves as the first

Commissioner of Police of Rachakonda.)

Nominated at the World Soundtrack Awards Music composer AR Rahman for his music in the

film 'Viceroy's House' Director – Gurinder Chadha

„Golden Peacock Award‟ for Environment

Management

Danfoss India (Climate and energy efficiency

solutions company, the award was presented in

Hyderabad during the 19th World Congress on

Environment Management‘ in the presence of






143

Supreme Court Justice Kurien Joseph.)

About Danfoss

HQ - Nordborg, Denmark

Present President of Danfoss India – Ravichandran

Purushothaman

Country – Denmark

Capital – Copenhagen

Currency - Danish krone

Honored as world‟s first completely green metro

system

Delhi Metro

Young Leaders Award for 2017 AnkitKawatra(Award presented by by Queen

Elizabeth II at a ceremony in the Buckingham Palace)

„Sportsperson of the Year‟ award P V Sindhu (Rio Olympics silver medallist was

bestowed with the 'Sportsperson of the Year' award

during the ‗Maruti Suzuki Sportsperson of the Year‘

Charity Gala Awards)

Useful Information:

P V Sindhu – Sportsperson of the Year

Sindhu‘s Coach P Gopichand – Coach of the Year

award

Milkha Singh – Living Legend of the Year award

Cricketer K L Rahul – Game changer of the Year

award

Abhinav Bindra - Lifetime Achievement Award

Deepa Malik - Inspirational athlete of the year award

Gaurav Gill - Athlete of the year award

Honorary Membership from Jodhpur Guide

Association

Shah Rukh Khan

Winner of 2017 Mahanayak Samman Shakuntala Barua

Honoured as World's Best City in a survey by

Travel and Leisure magazine

San Miguel de Allende in Mexico

Top 5 in the List:

San Miguel de Allende (Mexico)

Charleston (US)

Chiang Mai (Thailand)

Kyoto (Japan)

Florence (Italy)

Indian city has been declared as a World

Heritage City (WHC) by UNESCO

Ahmedabad

Winner of Lifetime Achievement Award for his

contributions as a parliamentarian in the Lok

Sabha

BJP leader L.K. Advani (JD-U leader SharadYadav

also received the Lifetime Achievement Award as a

RajyaSabha)

The other awardees from the LokSabha:

• Best Parliamentarian- Revolutionary Socialist

Party MP N.K. Premachandran,

• Best Woman Parliamentarian- Congress leader






144

KumariSushmitaDev and

• Best Debut Woman Parliamentarian- BJP leader

MeenakshiLekhi.

The awardees from the RajyaSabha

Best Parliamentarian- CPI-M leader

SitaramYechury,

Best Woman Parliamentarian- Samajwadi Party

MP Jaya Bachchan and

Best Debut Woman Parliamentarian- Congress MP

RajniPatil.

Useful Info

Present Speaker of LokSabha - SumitraMahajan

Present Chairman of RajyaSabha - Mohammad

Hamid Ansari

Honored with a fellowship by the Department of

Culture, Government of India (GoI)

NandakishoreKapote(Internationally-acclaimed

senior kathak dancer)

Winners of this year‟s Ramon Magsaysay

Awards

Yoshiaki Ishizawa, a Japanese historian who helped

Cambodians preserve the Angkor temples, and

GethsieShanmugam, a Sri Lankan teacher who

counseled war widows and orphans to overcome their

nightmares, are among the six winners of this year‘s

Ramon Magsaysay Awards. The other recipients

named are AbdonNababan, an Indonesian, a

Singaporean businessman Tony Tay, a Philippine

theater group and Lilia de Lima , a Filipino.

About the Award:

The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award

named after former Philippine President Ramon

Magsaysay.

It is regarded as Asia‘s version of the Nobel Prize and

was first awarded in the year 1958.

Country – Philippines

Capital –Manila

Currency –Philippine Peso

Winner of 2017 UNDP Equator Prize for

sustainable farming model

SwayamShikshanPrayog(Indian NGO)

The Personality of the Year award by Skoch

Consultancy Services (SCS)-2017

Kishore Sansi(MD & CEO of Vijaya Bank)

Winner of Mohun Bagan Ratna for this year Subrata Bhattacharya.

Winner of Indian of the year award by Brands

Academy in New Delhi

PreetiShenoy(Indian Writer)

Topped in the list of most Powerful Arab

Women by Forbes

SheikhaLubna Al Qasimi(UAE Minister of State for

Tolerance)

Honoured as World‟s Richest Man Jeff Bezos (Founder of Amazon with a fortune of over

$90.5 billion)

Awards Winners






145

'Prem Nazir' Award Veteran Actress Sharada(She had won three national

awards with the first being for her performance in

1968 tragedy film "Thulabharam",)

‗PremNazir‘ Award was instituted by people of

Chirayankeezhu, in memory of Kerala‘s evergreen

actor PremNazir.

Honoured with UAE‟s prestigious Community

Service Medal

Firoz Merchant, (an Indian businessman in the

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

First Medal of Honor Awarded by Donald

Trump

Vietnam Army Medic (Trump presented America's

highest military honor to James McCloughan at a

White House ceremony)

Asia Society Game Changers Award Dev Patel (Indian-origin actor)

The Hindu Playwright Award 2017 GerishKhemani and Akshat Nigam (for their play

‗In Search of DariyaSagar‘)

Chosen for the First Kesari Media Award Veteran journalist T J S George

Recently Honoured with Kalpana Chawla award PreethiSrinivasan(the former State under-19 cricket

captain)

Prestigious Agriculture Leadership Award-2017 Telangana Chief Minister K ChandrashekharRao

UEFA's Best Player of the Year for the 2016/17

season

Cristiano Ronaldo (become the first footballer to

receive the honour thrice)

Biju Patnaik Award for Scientific Excellence for

the year 2016

Prof DigambarBehera(senior professor and Head,

Department of Pulmonary Medicine, the award is

given by OdishaBigyanAcademy(OBA))

First Miss TransQueen India NitashaBiswas(a transwoman from Kolkata, The

competition was held in Gurugram, Haryana)

Awards Winners

Prestigious Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Award The Reliance Foundation

(KendriyaVidyalayaSangathan (KVS) also received

the RashtriyaKhelProtsahanaPurushkar for its

‗Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young

Talent‘ (IDCO) program.)

Useful Info:

Nita Ambani is the chairperson and founder of

Reliance Foundation and a non-executive director of

Reliance Industries

National Award for „Excellence‟ in Energy

Management

Hyderabad International Airport Ltd

Useful Info:

State – Telangana

Capital – Hyderabad

CM – K. ChandrashekarRao

Governor – Ekkadu Srinivasan Lakshmi Narasimhan






146

Winner of „best bank‟ award among small banks Karnataka Bank (for the use of technology for

financial inclusion at the 13th IDRBT Banking

Technology Excellence Awards 2016-17.)

Useful Info:

Karnataka Bank Headquarters in Mangaluru

MD & CEO - Mahabaleshwara M.S

PLuS Alliance Prize N R Narayana Murthy (Infosys co-founder) and

VeenaSahajwalla (Mumbai-born scientist)

First life time award by Badminton Association

of India (BAI)

PrakashPadukone (The renowned Indian Badminton

legend, he won the 1980 All England, besides bagging

a bronze at the 1983 World Championship in

Copenhagen.)

Useful info:

Mr. HimanthaBiswaSarma is the President

of Badminton Association of India.

Prestigious N R MadhavaMenon Best Law

Teacher Award 2017

TahirMahmood(He is a Eminent jurist awarded for

his distinguished services to legal education and the

legal profession on the occasion of Law Teachers' Day

celebrations)

National level RajbhashaKeerti Award The Marine Products Export Development

Authority (MPEDA) (This award has been given to

MPEDA for the best Implementation of Official

language in the organization.)

Useful Info:

MPEDA Chairman- A Jayathilak

Vijaya Bank has bagged the first prize under

the RajbhashaKirtiPuraskar (Region C) for the year

2016-17

Prestigious ANR National Award S SRajamouli(film-maker)

Useful Info:

Vice President - M Venkaiah Naidu

S SRajamouli – Film Maker

Recent Movie of S SRajamouli – Bahubali

UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)

2017 Nansen Refugees Award

Zannah Mustapha (He is the Director of Future

Prowess Islamic Foundation School. Mr. Mustapha is

the first Nigerian recipient of the award.)

Useful Info:

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Refugees (UNHCR) was created in 1950.

In 1954, UNHCR won the Nobel Peace Prize for its

groundbreaking work in Europe.

FilippoGrandi is the 11th United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees.

Prestigious Von Hippel Award Professor C.N.R Rao (Eminent scientist) (The award

is the US-based Materials Research Society‘s (MRS)






147

highest honour. Mr Rao is the Bharat Ratna awardee.)

Gentlemen‟s Quarterly Actor of the Year Award RajkummarRao (GQ (Gentlemen‘s Quarterly)

magazine conducted the GQ Men of the Year Awards

for 2017, in Mumbai. Woman of the Year award was

won by Anushka Sharma.)

Awards Winners

The „Cross of the Order of Merit‟, the highest

civilian honour awarded to individuals for their

services to Germany

Rajesh Nath (Managing Director of VDMA India)

The award, also known as Bundesverdienstkreuz or

Federal Cross of Merit.

Useful Info

Country – Germany

Capital – Berlin

Currency – Euro

Best FMCG in the food sector at the 5th

International Advertising Associations (IAA)

Leadership Awards in Mumbai

The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing

Federation (GCMMF), which manages brand AMUL

Useful Info

Headquarters of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing

Federation (GCMMF) is in Anand, Gujarat.

Chairman of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing

Federation (GCMMF) - Jethabhai P Patel

National award for senior citizens Indian boxing coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu

National Award for Excellence in Public

Administration, Academics and Management for

2017

Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak

Useful Info

Present President of India – Ram Nath Kovind

Vice President of India – Venkaiah Naidu

Mathrubhumi Literary Award for 2016 M K Sanu (Eminent critic, biographer and orator),

recognition of his rich contribution to the Malayalam

literature

18th edition of the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) 2017:

Best Film- Neerja

Best Director-Anirudh Roy Chaudhary for Pink

Best Actor (Male)-ShahidKapoor for Udta Punjab

Best Actor (Female)- Alia Bhatt for Udta Punjab

Best Actor in Supporting Role (Female)- ShabanaAzmifor Neerja

Best Actor in Supporting Role (Male)- AnupamKher for MS Dhoni: The Untold Story

Best Debutant (Female):DishaPatani for M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story

Best Debut (Male)-DiljitDosanjh for Udta Punjab

Best Lyricist- Amitabh Bhattacharya for the song Channa Mere Ya from AeDilHai Mush kil

Best Playback Singer (Male)-Amit Mishra for AeDilHaiMushkil

Best Playback Singer (Female)-KanikaKapoor for Udta Punjab and Tulsi Kumar for Airlift

Best Music Direction-Pritam for AeDilHaiMushkil

Best Actor In Comic Role-VarunDhawan for Dishoom

Myntra Style Icon Award- Alia Bhatt

IIFA Woman Of The Year-TapseePannu

About 18th IIFA award 2017:

Venue - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

1st IIFA award 2000






148

Venue - Millennium Dome, London (UK)

Tamil Nadu government State Film awards for the Year (2009 to 2014)

Winners of Best Picture Category

Pasanga (2009)

Myna (2010)

VaagaiSoodaVaa (2011)

Vazhakku En 18/9 (2012)

Ramanujan (2013)

KutramKadithal (2014)

Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2017

AishwaryaRaiBachchan, is first Indian actress to hoist the Indian flag at the event.She Hoisted the

Indian flag to mark the 70th Independence Day celebration.

Full Winners List:

Best Film - Pink

Best Actress - KonkonaSen Sharma for Lipstick Under my Burkha

Best Actor - Sushant Singh Rajput for Dhoni

Best Actor - (Special Mention) - Raj Kumar Rao for Trapped

Best Director - NiteshTiwari for Dangal

People‟s Choice Award - Dangal&Bahubali 2

Best Indie Film - Lipstick Under My Burkha

Equality in Cinema Award - Director/Actor Rahul Bose for Poorna

Leadership in Cinema - Karan Johar (he also presented the IFFM Diversity Award to Garth Davis,

director of the Academy nominated film LION)

Westpac IFFM Excellence in Global Cinema - AishwaryaRaiBachchan

69th Emmy Awards: Complete List of Winners

SNo Award Winner

1. Outstanding Comedy Series Veep

2. Outstanding Drama Series The Handmaid's Tale

3. Outstanding Variety Talk Series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

4. Outstanding Variety Sketch Series Saturday Night Live

5. Outstanding Limited Series Big Little Lies

6. Outstanding Television Movie Black Mirror: "San Junipero"

7. Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy

Series Donald Glover as Earnest "Earn" Marks on Atlanta

8. Outstanding Lead Actress in a

Comedy Series Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer on Veep

9. Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama

Series Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson on This Is Us

10. Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama

Series

Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne / Offred on The Handmaid's

Tale

11. Outstanding Directing for a Comedy

Series Atlanta (Episode: "B.A.N."), Directed by Donald Glover






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12. Outstanding Directing for a Drama

Series

The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Offred"), Directed by Reed

Morano

13. Outstanding Writing for a Comedy

Series

Master of None (Episode: "Thanksgiving"), Written by Aziz

Ansari and Lena Waithe

74th Venice Film Festival Awards 2017

Golden Lion - Best Movie The Shape of Water, directed by Guillermo del Toro

Grand Jury Prize Foxtrot, directed by Samuel Maoz

Silver Lion - Best Director Xavier Legrand (for Jusqu‘à la Garde)

Volpi Cup - Best Actress Charlotte Rampling (for Hannah)

Volpi Cup - Best Actor Kamel El Basha (for The Insult)

UNESCO Announced Winners of Literacy Prizes

The UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy (3

Awards)

AdulTICoProgram(Columbia),

FunDza Literacy Trust (South Africa) and The

Citizens Foundation (Pakistan)

The King Sejong Literacy Prize The Centre for the Study of Learning and

Performance (Canada) and the We Love Reading

programme (Jordan).

Complete list of Nobel Prize Winners 2017:

The 2017 Nobel Prize were announced recently in 6 different fields viz. Physiology or

Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Peace, and Economic Sciences. We have compiled all the winners

under one complete table that will make you remember all the winners in a go.

Brief History of the Nobel Prize-

On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a

series of prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace - the Nobel Prizes. The Nobel

Prize distribution was first done on 1901. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden's central bank) established The

Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

Here is the Complete list of Winners of Nobel Prize 2017-

S. No. Field Description Winner

1. Physiology or Medicine

for the discoveries of molecular mechanisms

controlling the circadian rhythm

Jeffrey C. Hall (USA),

Michael Rosbash (USA) and

Michael W. Young (USA)

2. Physics

for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector

and the observation of gravitational waves

Rainer Weiss (Germany),

Barry C. Barish (USA) and

Kip S. Thorne (USA)

3. Chemistry

for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the

high-resolution structure determination of

biomolecules in solution

Jacques Dubochet

(Switzerland), Joachim

Frank (Germany) and

Richard Henderson

(Scotland)

4.

Literature

in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered Kazuo Ishiguro (Japan)






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the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection

with the world

5. Peace

for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic

humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear

weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to

achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such

weapons

International Campaign to

Abolish Nuclear Weapons

(ICAN) (founded in

Australia)

6. Economic Sciences

for contributions to behavioural economics Richard H. Thaler (USA)

Here are some Static and Interesting Facts about the Nobel Prize-

The Nobel Prize in Physics-

1. The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.

2. 111 Nobel Prizes in Physics have been awarded between 1901-2017.

3. 2 women have been awarded the Physics Prize so far.

4. 25 years was the age of the youngest Physics Laureate ever, Lawrence Bragg, when he was awarded the

1915 Physics Prize together with his father.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry-

1. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm,

Sweden.

2. 109 Nobel Prizes in Chemistry have been awarded between 1901 and 2017.

3. 4 women have been awarded the Chemistry Prize so far.

4. 1 person, Frederick Sanger, has been awarded the Chemistry Prize twice, in 1958 and in 1980.

5. 35 years was the age of the youngest Chemistry Laureate ever, Frédéric Joliot, who was awarded the Nobel

Prize in 1935.

6. 85 years was the age of the oldest Chemistry Laureate, John B. Fenn, when he was awarded the Chemistry

Prize in 2002.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine-

1. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded by the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet,

Stockholm, Sweden.

2. 108 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded between 1901 and 2017.

3. 12 women have been awarded the Medicine Prize so far.

4. 32 years was the age of the youngest Medicine Laureate ever, Frederick G. Banting, who was awarded the

1923 Medicine Prize for the discovery of insulin.

5. 87 years was the age of the oldest Medicine Laureate ever, Peyton Rous, when he was awarded the

Medicine Prize in 1966 for his discovery of tumour-inducing viruses.

The Nobel Prize in Literature-

1. The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded by the Swedish Academy, Stockholm, Sweden.






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2. 110 Nobel Prizes in Literature have been awarded 1901-2017.

3. 14 women have been awarded the Literature Prize so far.

4. 41 years was the age of the youngest Literature Laureate ever, Rudyard Kipling, best known for The Jungle

Book.

5. 88 years was the age of the oldest Literature Laureate ever, Doris Lessing, when she was awarded the Prize

in 2007.

The Nobel Peace Prize-

1. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a committee of five persons who are chosen by the Norwegian

Storting (Parliament of Norway).

2. 98 Nobel Peace Prizes have been awarded 1901-2017.

3. 16 women have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize so far.

4. 1 Peace Prize Laureate, Le Duc Tho, has declined the Nobel Peace Prize.

5. Malala Yousafzai (17) is the youngest to win Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel-

1. The Prize in Economic Sciences is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm,

Sweden.

2. 49 Prizes in Economic Sciences have been awarded since 1969.

3. 1 woman have been awarded the Prize in Economic Sciences so far, Elinor Ostrom, in 2009.

4. 51 years was the age of the youngest Laureate in Economic Sciences ever, Kenneth J. Arrow, who was

awarded in 1972.

5. 90 years was Leonid Hurwicz when he was awarded the Prize - the oldest Laureate in Economic Sciences

ever.

Useful Info

Winners of 2016 Nobel Prize in respective fields are as follows-

1. Physiology or Medicine- Yoshinori Ohsumi,

2. Physics- J. Michael Kosterlitz, Duncan Haldane, David J. Thouless,

3. Chemistry- Fraser Stoddart, Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Ben Feringa,

4. Literature- Bob Dylan,

5. Peace- Juan Manuel Santos,

6. Economic Sciences- Oliver Hart, Bengt Holmstrom.

MOUS AND AGREEMENTS

India signs loan agreement of 36 million dollar with World Bank

India today signed a loan agreement of36 million dollar with the World Bank for Himachal Pradesh Public

Financial Management Capacity Building Programme. The project aims to improve the efficiency of public

expenditure management and tax administration in Himachal Pradesh. The agreement was signed by Joint

Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs Raj Kumar and the Bank's Country Director Junaid Kamal

Ahmad.

India and Russia have signed two more units of nuclear power plants in Tamil nadu

India and Russia have signed the much-awaited agreement on setting up two more units of a nuclear power

plant in Tamil Nadu and decided to give a ―new direction‖ to the defence cooperation between the two ―great






152

powers‖. The two countries also decided to hold the first tri-Services exercises, named ‗Indra-2017,‘ this year

and start joint manufacture of frigates, adding to the co-production of Kamov-226 military helicopters.

China‟s Vivo is the new sponsor for FIFA

Chinese smartphone maker Vivo has signed on to sponsor the 2018 and ‗22 World Cups, FIFA said on

Wednesday, adding to a string of deals between Chinese firms and football‘s governing body. A FIFA

statement announcing the deal did not disclose terms but Financial Times put it at $450 million over six years.

Useful Info

FIFA - The Fédération Internationale de Football Association is the international governing body of association

football.

HQ - Zürich, Switzerland

President - Gianni Infantino

Agreement between NSDC and Bird Academy for skilling of unemployed youth

National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Bird Academy have signed an MoU to skill more

than 30 thousand unemployed youth from across states in the aviation and aerospace sectors. NSDC and Bird

Academy will set up training centres. The centres will be set up in Chandigarh, Delhi, Cochin, Bengaluru,

Mumbai, Goa and other locations.

MoU between EXIM bank and KEXIM bank for export credit of USD 9 billion

The Union Cabinet chaired by the PM Modi has approved the proposed Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU) between Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) and Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM)

for export credit of USD 9 billion for infrastructural development in India and for the supply of goods and

services as part of projects in third countries.

Useful Info

EXIM - Export-Import Bank of India

HQ – Mumbai

CEO - Shri Yaduvendra Mathur

KEXIM - Export-Import Bank of Korea

HQ - ‎Seoul, South Korea

CEO - Yong Hwan Kim

India signed the OECD multilateral convention to check tax evasion by MNCs

India signed the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) multilateral

convention that aims to check cross-border tax evasion by multinational companies. Union Finance Minister

Arun Jaitley signed the multilateral convention in Paris, France to implement tax treaty- related measures to

prevent base erosion and profit shifting.

Useful Info

OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development


Secretary General - Angel Gurria

MoU between India and Maurities to institutionalize cooperation between Parliaments

India and Mauritius have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to institutionalize cooperation between

Parliaments of the two countries. The MoU was signed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Speaker of

National Assembly of Mauritius Santi Bai Hanoomanjee in Port Louis.

Useful Info

Country – Mauritius

Capital – Port Louis

Currency – Mauritian rupee

Parliament - National Assembly of Mauritius

MoU between Sikkim government & British Council to enhance quality of education






153

The Human Resource Development department of Sikkim government signed an MoU with the British Council

to enhance quality of education in the state. The MoU will improve the educational structure of the schools of

Sikkim. The purpose of the MoU is to support the aims and aspirations of the young people of Sikkim through

collaborative projects in the area of English, education and skills by strengthening the capacity of the teachers

and other professionals, working with youth in the state and support its cultural economy.

Useful Info

State – Sikkim

Capital – Gangtok

CM – Pawan Kumar Chamling

Governor - Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil

Tata Group has signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin to produce and export new generation F-16

fighter aircraft

The defence arm of the Tata Group has signed an agreement with American firm Lockheed Martin to produce

and export new generation F-16 fighter aircraft, potentially kick-starting a mega ‗Make in India‘ project. The

agreement has been signed at the Paris Airshow, Lockheed to produce F-16 fighter planes in India. It is the

newest and most advanced version of the world‘s most successful, combat-proven multi-role fighter.

Useful Info

Lockheed Martin HQ – Bethesda, Maryland, United States

CEO - Marillyn Hewson

EPFO has signed an MoU with Housing and Urban Development Corporation for housing subsidy under

PMAY

Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has signed an MoU with the Housing and Urban

Development Corporation (HUDCO) to enable members of its housing scheme to avail subsidy and interest

subvention under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). Under the housing scheme, the EPFO allows its

subscribers for withdrawing up to 90 per cent of their EPF accumulations to buy homes. The MoU was signed

in New Delhi. Now, EPFO members can avail interest subsidy upto two lakh twenty thousand rupees in Credit

Linked Subsidy Scheme through HUDCO and National Housing Bank for those members whose annual

income is less that the amount specified in Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna.

India and Russia have agreed to a roadmap for the development of bilateral defense cooperation

India and Russia have agreed to a roadmap for the development of bilateral defense cooperation. The roadmap

includes specific activities to be concluded by both sides, and aims to enhance cooperation in the field of

political and military dialogue, exercises, exchange of visits, military cooperation and training of military

personnel. The agreement was reached at the 17th meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental

Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation held in Moscow. The meeting took place was held under the

Co-Chairmanship of the Minister Arun Jaitley and the Defence Minister of Russia Sergei Shoigu.

Useful Info

Defence Minister of India – Nirmala Sitharaman

Country – Russia

Capital – Moscow


President – Vladimir Putin

India and Portugal have signed eleven MOUs for cooperation in various areas

India and Portugal have signed eleven MOUs for cooperation in areas including double taxation avoidance,

science and technology, trade and investment, nanotechnology, space research, administrative reforms and

culture. 11 MoU's were exchanged out of which seven and there was the announcement of the launch of a joint

science fund for which both India and Portugal will contribute Euros two million each. 5 of the MoU's were in

the area of science and technology. One of the MoU's was signed for the creation of an India Portugal Space

Alliance and for advancing collaborative research. These agreements will promote India's science and






154

technology partnership with Portugal, towards the establishment of a unique Centre on the Azores Archipelago

- the Atlantic International Research Centre.

Useful Info


Capital – Lisbon

Currency – Euro

Current President – Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

Current PM - Antonia Costa

UP Government has signed an agreement with ADB for a loan of 1950 crore rupees

Uttar Pradesh Government has signed an agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a loan of 1950

crore rupees for strengthening of roads in different district. The agreement was signed at Lucknow in the

presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and ADB President Takehiko Nakao. As per agreement, ADB will

provide the loan amount for Uttar Pradesh Main District Roads Development Project of 2782 crore rupees cost.

State government will spend 832 crore rupees form its own resources on the project. Project is scheduled to be

completed by 2024 and ADB will provide the loan for the period of 25 years on the interest rate of 2 percent.

Useful Info

ADB – Asian Development Bank

HQ - Mandaluyong, Philippines

President - Takehiko Nakao

MSME Minister Kalraj Mishra has launched the Digital MSME Scheme, MoU exchanged with SAP India,

Intel, HMT

MSME Minister Mr. Kalraj Mishra has launched the Digital MSME Scheme and also exchanged three MoUs

with SAP India, Intel and HMT. The United Nations has recently declared 27th June as the UN Day for

MSMEs. It has been celebrated for recognizing the importance of the crucial role that the sector plays both in

terms of job creation and contribution towards economic growth. The MSME has a total budget of Rs. 85.705

Crore including Government of India‘s contribution of Rs. 58.105 crore during 2017- 18 to 2019-

20. International Trade Centre (ITC) has celebrated the first International MSME Day on June 27, 2017. The

theme of MSME is ‗Small business – big impact‘.‖

Useful Info

MSME – Micro Small and Medium Enterprises

Minister – Kalraj Mishra

Constituency – Deoria (UP)

Agreement between BHEL and KHI (Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd)for manufacturing coaches for metro

trains

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has entered into a technology collaboration agreement with Kawasaki Heavy

Industries Ltd (KHI) of Japan for manufacturing of stainless steel coaches and bogies for metros. The

agreement covers establishing design, engineering and manufacturing facilities at BHEL using Japanese

technology. It will also entitle BHEL for all technological advances and upgrades.

Useful Info

BHEL - Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (It has been granted the prestigious Maharatna (big gem) status in 2013 by

Govt of India for its outstanding performance and vast scale.)

HQ – New Delhi

MD & Chairman of BHEL - Atul Sobti

KHI - Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd

HQ - Minato, Tokyo, Japan

65 MoUs signed on second day of Textile India 2017

Union textiles ministry has inked 62 Memorandum of Understanding MoUs on the second day of Textile India

2017 in Gandhinagar- Gujarat. These include MoUs with Australia, China, and Bangladesh for silk research,






155

fashion technologies and knowledge transfer. Apart from these, the Gujarat government has also signed three

MoUs on textile sectors. The signing ceremony was presided over by Union textiles minister Smriti Irani and

Union minister of state for textiles Ajay Tamta.

Useful Info

Union Textile Minister – Smriti Irani

Constituency – Gujarat (Rajya Sabha)

Union minister of state for textiles - Ajay Tamta

Constituency – Almora, Uttarakhand

MoU between Ministry of Health, Family Welfare and West Bengal Government to set up Centre of

Excellence in Transfusion Medicine at Kolkata

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare signed an MoU with the Government of West Bengal to formalize its

support to set up a state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence in Transfusion Medicine at Kolkata. The Centre of

Excellence in Transfusion Medicine will be set up in Kolkata. The initiative helps in strengthening the blood

transfusion services in the State and the surrounding region. The government of India has approved this

important initiative with an outlay of approximately Rs.200 Crores towards equipment, manpower and running

costs. The land for this initiative will be provided free of cost by the State government.

Useful Info

State – West Bengal

Capital – Kolkata

CM – Mamta Banerjee

Governor – Keshari Nath Tripathi

Minister of Health and Family Welfare – J P Nadda

Constituency – Himachal Pradesh (Rajya Sabha)

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has signed an MoU for the financial year 2017-18 with the Ministry

of Defence

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has signed an MoU for the financial year 2017-18 with the Ministry of

Defence. The annual MoU was signed between Ashok Kumar Gupta, Secretary, Department of Defence

Production and T Suvarna Raju, CMD-HAL. The MoU has outlined targets on various performance parameters

of the company during the year 2017-18. The revenue from operations has been targeted at Rs. 17,900 crore,

the highest ever. HAL has also laid specific emphasis on capacity building, modernization, solar power plants,

aiming to achieve capital expenditure of Rs. 1,300 crore.

Useful Info

Minister of Defence – Nirmala Sitharaman

Constituency – Gujarat (Rajya Sabha)

HAL - Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

Chairman and Managing Director of HAL - T. Suvarna Raju

HAL Headquarter - Bengaluru

Agreement between Erode-based Five P Venture India Private Ltd and Central Silk Board (CSB)

Erode-based Five P Venture India Private Ltd and Central Silk Board (CSB) inked an agreement for

development and commercialisation of handloom silk products. This MoU signed at the first-ever mega trade

fair for the textile sector organised by the Ministry of Textiles at Gandhinagar. This step will also help revive

the heritage skills of the handloom weavers in Chennimalai belt.

Useful Info

Central Silk Board (CSB) HQ – Bengaluru

Digital payments company MobiKwik has partnered with Samsung Pay

Digital payments company MobiKwik has partnered Samsung Pay, under which consumers will be able to

make payments with a single tap using select Samsung handsets. Samsung had unveiled a 'Mini' version of the

platform that integrates UPI and mobile wallets to work on mid-range priced smartphones.






156

Useful Info


Mobikwik HQ – Gurugram

Mobikwik CEO - Bipin Preet Singh

India and Sri Lanka have signed a MoU to develop a village in Anuradhapura District (in Sri Lanka)

India and Sri Lanka have signed a MoU to develop a village in Anuradhapura District (in Sri Lanka) at a cost

of 30 crores Sri Lankan rupees. The village in the name of a famous Buddhist monk Sobitha Thero, envisages

construction of 153 new houses, a multi-purpose community building, internal water supply system and

renovation of monk‘s quarters & library. The project is in line with Government of Sri Lanka‘s policy of

rehabilitation of rural villages for economic development. It will benefit 153 families residing in the village.

Useful Info


Capital – Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (administrative), Colombo (Financial)


President - Maithripala Sirisena

MoU between Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) and Department of Defence Production

Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), a Miniratna Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU) signed an MoU for the

financial year 2017-18 with Ministry of Defence. The annual MoU was signed between Secretary (Defence

Production) Shri Ashok Kumar Gupta on behalf of the Ministry of Defence and Chairman and Managing

Director, GSL Rear Adm (Retd) Shekhar Mital. This year‘s MoU target for ‗Revenue from Operations‘ has

been set at Rs1150 crore, which is 43 percent higher than the financial year 2016-17 target of Rs800 crore.

Notably, in the financial year 2016-17, the Shipyard achieved historical high VoP of Rs1030 crore and PBT of

Rs177 crore. GSL was adjudged as ‗Best Performing Shipyard‘ by MoD.

Useful Info

Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) - Goa Shipyard Limited is one of India's best shipyards and designated "mini-Ratna"

by the Government of India.

HQ – Goa


Union Minister of State for Defence - Dr. Subhash Ramrao Bhamre

Constituency – Dhule, Maharashtra

Bank of Baroda has entered into an agreement with Directorate General of Supplies & Disposal (DGS&D)

Bank of Baroda has entered into an agreement with Directorate General of Supplies & Disposal (DGS&D) for

extending various banking services to Government e-Marketplace (GeM). DGS&D has been mandated to set

up GeM, an initiative intended to bring greater transparency and efficiency in public procurements.

Useful Info

BOB - Bank of Baroda

HQ – Vadodara

Tagline – India‘s International Bank

CEO - P. S. Jayakumar

Karnataka Bank partnered with PNB MetLife, has launched Met Loan and Life Suraksha (MLLS)

Karnataka Bank, in association with its PNB MetLife, has launched Met Loan and Life Suraksha (MLLS), a

single premium plan covering the loan liability of a customer. The bank has also introduced KBL MLLS, an

app for its employees to instantly calculate the insurance cover and premium based on loan liability of the

borrowers.

Useful Info

Karnataka Bank HQ – Mangalore

MD and CEO of Karnataka Bank - Mahabaleshwara M.S

Director of PNB MetLife - Sameer Bansal






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Airports Authority of India (AAI), has signed an MoU with Government of Uttarakhand on aviation

development

Airports Authority of India (AAI), has signed an MoU with Government of Uttarakhand and joined hands with

Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA). The MoU was signed by S. Ramaswamy, Chief

Secretary, Government of Uttarakhand and Anil Gupta, General Manager (Business Development), AAI. The

scope of the MoU is to identify relevant factors influencing the development of civil aviation infrastructure in

Uttarakhand, assessing the commercial potential of various airports of the State, and identifying technical

considerations for airport operations in the State.

Useful Info

AAI – Airports Authority of India

HQ – New Delhi

State – Uttarakhand

Capital – Dehradun, Nainital (Judiciary)

CM – Trivendra Singh Rawat

Governor - Krishan Kant Paul

Tax authorities of the five BRICS countries have signed a landmark document to facilitate taxation

cooperation

Tax authorities of the five BRICS countries have signed a landmark document to establish a mechanism for

taxation cooperation. The BRICS Taxation Cooperation Memorandum, signed at the fifth meeting of BRICS

Heads of Tax Authorities, is the bloc‘s first document that elevates taxation cooperation to the institutional

level. The authorities also agreed to cooperate on taxation information exchange, improve consultation

procedures efficiency, boost taxation capacities and plan paths for coordination of taxation policies and tax

collection. The meeting comes ahead of the 2017 BRICS Summit to be held in Fujian province‘s Xiamen city

from September 3 to 5.

Useful Info

BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa

BRICS was established in 2006

NDB – The New Development Bank, formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral

development bank established by the BRICS states.

HQ - Shanghai, China

President - K. V. Kamath

Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance have signed an agreement for the

distribution of insurance products

Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance have signed an agreement for the

distribution of insurance products through the branches. Under this agreement, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance

will offer personal lines of insurance products such as health, personal accident, home, motor and travel along

with commercial line of insurance products such as property, marine and engineering insurance, etc to the

bank's customers.

Useful Info

PNB - Punjab National Bank

HQ – New Delhi

MD of Punjab National Bank - Sunill Mehta

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance HQ – Pune

CEO - Tapan Singhel

BSE joined hands with Egyptian Exchange (EGX) for cooperation in exchange of information across

business areas






158

Leading bourse BSE joined hands with Egyptian Exchange (EGX) for cooperation in exchange of information

across business areas. Through this MoU a range of opportunities has been explored for the development of

their businesses, products and markets to share knowledge and strengthen international connectivity.

Useful Info


HQ – Mumbai

MD & CEO of BSE - Ashishkumar Chauhan

EGX - Egyptian Exchange

Country – Egypt

Capital – Cairo

Currency - Egyptian Pound

Sri Lanka, China sign $1.5 billion Hambantota port deal

Sri Lanka‘s government signed an agreement to sell a 70% stake in a $1.5 billion Hambantota port to China in

a bid to recover from the heavy burden of repaying a Chinese loan obtained to build the facility. The deal

document was signed between the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and China Merchants Port Holding Co. in

Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Useful Info


Capitals: Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

Currency: Sri Lankan rupee

President: Maithripala Sirisena

Amazon Prime Video has signed deal with Bollywood star Salman Khan

Amazon Prime Video has signed deal with Bollywood star Salman Khan to premiere his all future films first

exclusively on Amazon Prime Video right after the theatrical release. Nitesh Kripalani, Director and Country

Head, Amazon Video India and James Farrell, Head of Content, Prime Video, Asia Pacific, also participated in

signing deal. It will start with his film ―Tubelight‖, which released in June. All future movies from Salman

Khan Ventures released after ―Tubelight‖ will premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video first after their

release in theatres and two months before television broadcast or any other distribution.

Useful Info


India and Somalia signed a bilateral agreement for the transfer of sentenced persons

India and Somalia signed a bilateral agreement for the transfer of sentenced persons. The move is step forward

in deepening humanitarian cooperation between the two nations. The agreement was signed between External

Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj and Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia Yusuf Garaad Omar.

Useful Info

Country –Somalia

Capital – Mogadishu

Currency – Somali shilling

Union Cabinet signed MoU with BRICS countries to set up BRICS Agriculture Research Platform (BRICS-

ARP)

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi has given its ex-post facto approval for a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed among India and various BRICS countries for establishment of

the BRICS Agriculture Research Platform (BRICS-ARP). During the 7th BRICS Summit held in July 2015 at

Ufa in Russia, PM Modi proposed to establish BRICS Agriculture Research Centre which will be a gift to the

entire world. The Centre will promote sustainable agricultural development and poverty alleviation through

strategic cooperation in agriculture to provide food security in the BRICS member countries.

Useful Info

BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa






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BRICS Bank is named as New Development Bank

New Development Bank HQ –Shanghai, China

President –K. V. Kamath

Agriculture Ministry signed a Memorandum of Association (MoA) for setting up a regional centre of the

global rice research institute IRRI in Varanasi

The Agriculture Ministry signed a Memorandum of Association (MoA) for setting up a regional centre of the

global rice research institute IRRI in Varanasi to develop high- yielding rice varieties. The Philippines-based

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which has offices in 17 countries, is known for its work in

developing rice varieties that contributed to the green revolution in 1960s. IRRI's South Asia Regional Centre

will be set up at the campus of National Seed Research and Training Centre (NSRTC) in Varanasi. The MoA

was signed between Agriculture Secretary Shobhana K Patnaik and IRRI Director General Matthew Morell.

Useful Info

Minister of Agriculture – Radha Mohan Singh

Constituency – Purvi Champaran, Bihar

US- India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) is being set up to enhance business relations between

India and US

A new representative body US- India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) is being set up to enhance

business relations between India and US. The body will work with businesses and government leaders to

achieve its goals of driving economic growth, job creation, innovation, inclusion and entrepreneurship. Mukesh

Aghi will serve as a USISPF President while GauravVerma will serve as Chief Operating officer.

Useful Info

Country - United States of America




Vice – President – Mike Pence

Patanjali to teams up with Facebook, Google for online advertisement push

Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev-led Herbal products manufacturer Patanjali Ayurved plans to team up with social

media site Facebook and search engine Google in a push to increase its digital presence for better online

marketing. The brand which has been campaigning to ―Go Swadeshi‖ clocked a turnover of Rs 10,561 in the

2016-17 fiscal years.

Useful Info



Patanjali HQ – Haridwar, Uttarakhand

MCX, Mahindra Agri sign MoU for agriculture related price information

Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX) and Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd have signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide agriculture related price information.This information

would be available on their recently launched mobile application ‗MyAgriGuru‘ which is available for free on

Google play store. MahindraAgri Solutions Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mahindra and Mahindra.

Useful Info

MCX - Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited

Headquarters of MCX – Mumbai

CEO - Mrugank M. Paranjape

Mahindra & Mahindra HQ – Mumbai

CEO - Anand Mahindra

India signed a loan agreement with AIIB of USD 329 million for Gujarat Rural Roads Project






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India signed a loan agreement with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for financing of USD 329

million for Gujarat Rural Roads Project. The objective of the project is to improve the rural road connectivity

and accessibility to 1,060 villages in all the 33 districts in Gujarat state benefiting about 8 million people. The

project will also benefit the service providers such as public transport operators, educational institutions,

hospitals, local markets and traders.

Useful Info

State – Gujarat

Capital – Gandhi nagar

CM – Vijay Rupani

Governor – Om Prakash Kohli

AIIB - Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

HQ – Beijing

President - Jin Liqun

Microsoft Ties Up With Telengana To Use AI To Screen Kids For Eye Issues

Microsoft ties up with the state of Telangana to use its artificial intelligence-based MINE platform to screen

children for eye problems and prevent avoidable blindness. MINE -Microsoft Intelligent Network for Eyecare -

is a global consortium of eyecare providers, research and academic institutions that will apply artificial

intelligence to help in eye care delivery.

Useful Info

Microsoft HQ – Redmond, Washington, United States

CEO - Satya Narayana Nadella

Iran signs MoU with Renault, it is the biggest ever car deal

Iran‘sofficial news agency says two Iranian companies have signed the country‘s biggest-ever car deal with

French multinational automobile manufacturer Group Renault to produce 150,000 cars, beginning in 2018.

The Euro €660 million or $778 million deal follows the lifting of international sanctions after Iran‘s 2015

nuclear agreement with world powers.

Useful Info

Country – Iran

Capital – Tehran

Currency – Iranian Rial

Renault HQ - Boulogne-Billancourt, France

Bajaj Auto and Triumph Motorcycles UK have announced a global partnership

Bajaj Auto and Triumph Motorcycles UK have announced a global partnership. This non-equity tie-up

between Bajaj and Triumph will enable the former to build a range of mid-capacity motorcycles, building on

the collective strengths of both companies. The aim of this partnership is to deliver a range of outstanding mid-

capacity motorcycles. It will enable to offer a wide range of motorcycles within its domestic market and

other international markets.

Useful Info

Bajaj Auto HQ – Pune

CEO of Bajaj Auto - Rajiv Bajaj

Triumph Motorcycles HQ – Hinckley, United Kingdom

Owner – John Bloor

SEBI and SEO of Iran have entered into a bilateral MoU for mutual cooperation and technical assistance

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Securities & Exchange Organization (SEO) of

Iran have entered into a bilateral MoU for mutual cooperation and technical assistance. It will facilitate mutual

assistance, contribute towards efficient performance of the supervisory functions, and enable effective

enforcement of laws and regulations governing the securities markets. The MoU was signed by SEBI chief

Ajay Tyagi and SEO Iran chairman Shapour Mohammadi.






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Useful Info

SEBI HQ – Mumbai

Chairman of SEBI – Ajay Tyagi

Finance Ministry and the World Bank signed a $24 Million to Enhance India's Forest Ecosystem Services

The Finance Ministry and the World Bank signed a grant agreement of $24.64 million from the Global

Environment Facility (GEF) of the World Bank for ecosystem service improvement project. The project

would be financed entirely by the World Bank out of its GEF Trust Fund. The project's duration is five years.

The objective of the Project is to strengthen the institutional capacity of the departments of forestry and

community organizations to enhance forest ecosystem services and improve the livelihoods of forest dependent

communities in central Indian highlands.

Useful Info



World Bank HQ – Washington D. C

President of World Bank - Jim Yong Kim

Union Bank of India signs agreement with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Cholamandalam MS

General Insurance

Union Bank of India entered into a corporate agency agreement with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance for distribution of their insurance products. The public sector bank

already has a corporate agency agreement with The New India Assurance.

Useful Info

Union Bank of India HQ – Mumbai

MD & CEO – Shri Rajkiran Rai G

Tagline - Good People to Bank with

GeM and CII sign MoU to establish GeMSamvad

A MoU was signed between Government eMarketplace (GeM) special-purpose vehicle SPV and the

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in the presence of Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce &

Industry Minister at Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi.This MoU between GeM and CII is aimed at establishing

GeM Samvaad – a participative and collaborative approach with the industry for promoting Indian

industry and entrepreneurship.

Useful Info

GeM – Government eMarketplace

CII - Confederation of Indian Industry

Nepal and China has signed three pacts to boost their ties in power and energy sectors

Nepal and China has signed three pacts to boost their ties in power and energy sectors and undertake a

feasibility study to excavate natural gas and petroleum in the Himalayan country, including in the southern

Terai plains.The agreements have covered economic and technological cooperation, oil and gas resources

exploration, and promotion of investment.

Useful Info

Country – Nepal




Prime Minister - Sher Bahadur Deuba

Power Grid Corp announced to get USD 500 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

State-run power transmission utility Power Grid Corp announced that it will get a loan of USD 500 million

from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for its various projects.The proceeds of the loan are proposed to be

utilised for funding of Green Energy Corridor (Part D); 800KV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) bipole






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link between Western Region (Raigarh, Chhattisgarh) and Southern Region (Pugalur, Tamil Nadu) and 320 KV

HDVC link between Pugalur and North Trichur (Kerala).

Useful Info

ADB – Asian Development Bank

Headquarters of ADB –Manila, Philippines

President of ADB –TakehikoNakao

Nestle India has tied up with Amazon India for the launch of its new Nutrilicious range of Maggi Noodles

Nestle India has tied up with Amazon India for the launch of its new Nutrilicious range of Maggi Noodles.

The new range will be available first on Amazon.in, and the company, subsequently, aims to roll it out across

retail outlets in India.New Maggi Nutritious Noodles are in line with Nestle‘s ―Simply Good‖ initiative to

provide healthier & tastier choices to consumers.

India, Nepal to expedite various joint infrastructure projects

Describing their bilateral ties as deep, comprehensive and multi-faceted, India and Nepal have decided to

expedite various joint infrastructure projects such as laying of rail links and building of roads.Prime Minister

NarendraModi held comprehensive talks with his Nepalese counterpart SherBahadurDeuba in New Delhi and

later in a joint statement the two leaders expressed satisfaction over the excellent state of India-Nepal relations.

Mr.Modi appreciated the efforts being made by the government of Nepal to take all sections of the society on

board in the constitution implementation process and in establishing Nepal as a federal, democratic republic.

BhartiAirtel, entered into a partnership with Symantec Corp

The country's largest telecom services provider,BhartiAirtel, entered into a partnership with Symantec Corp,

the world‘s leading cyber security company, to serve the growing cyber security requirements of businesses in

India.It will provide protection and prevention of online threats in an increasingly digitally connected world.

According to the agreement, Airtel will be the exclusive Cyber Security Services partner for Symantec in India,

and will distribute Symantec‘s enterprise security software.

Useful Info

CEO of Airtel – GopalVittal

Chairman of Airtel - Sunil Bharti Mittal

Symantec HQ – Mountain View, California, United States

CEO of Symantec –Greg Clark

India and Germany signed an agreement to Improve Grid Integration of Renewable Energy

India and Germany signed an agreement on technical cooperation under the Indo-German Energy

Programme– Green Energy Corridors (IGEN-GEC).The main objective of this program component is to

improve the sector framework and conditions for grid integration of renewable energy.

Useful Info

Country – Germany

Capital – Berlin

Currency – Euro

Chancellor - Angela Merkel

India and Switzerland signed two MoUs in the field of Railways

India and Switzerland signed two MoUs in the field of Railways. The two MoUs were signed between

Ministry of Railways and Swiss Confederation after high-level talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra

Modi and Doris Leuthard, President of Swiss Confederation during her visit to New Delhi.

First MoU

The MoU was signed between Ministry of Railways and Federal Department of the Environment,

Transport, and Communications of the Swiss Confederation for technical cooperation in Rail Sector.

The MoU aims at cooperation in the following areas:

1. Traction Rolling stock

2. EMU and Train sets

3. Traction Propulsion Equipment






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4. Tilting Trains

Second MoU

The second MoU was signed between Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) and Swiss Federal

Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich. The MoU aims to help the Konkan Railway in establishing the

George Fernandes Institute of Tunnel Technology (GFITT) at Goa, especially for assimilation and

dissemination of knowledge in the field of tunneling.

Useful Info




Capital – Bern

Currency – Swiss Franc

Swedish defence major SAAB announced its tie-up with Adani Group

Swedish defence major SAAB announced its tie-up with Adani Group to manufacture the Gripen E fighter

jets in India under the Defence Ministry‘s $10 billion single-engine fighter jet procurement programme. The

announcement comes within months of US‘ Lockheed Martin announcing its joint venture with Tata Advanced

Systems for producing the latest version of F-16 in India.

Useful Info

Chairman and Founder of the Adani Group – Gautam Adani

Country – Sweden

Capital – Stockholm

Currency - Swedish krona

Nepal has signed a USD 635 million UN assistance package for 2018-2022

Nepal has signed a USD 635 million UN assistance package for 2018-2022 to lay out the

country‘s development strategy for the next five years. The package involves 26 individual UN agencies. The

National Planning Commission, apex advisory body of the Government of Nepal, and the United Nations

Country Team (UNCT) in Nepal signed the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).

Useful Info

Country – Nepal



United Nations Secretary-General - Antonio Guterres

India, Myanmar sign eleven MoUs in a range of sectors

India and Myanmar have signed 11 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) agreements in a range of sectors,

including one on maritime security cooperation. The MoUs were signed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi

held wide-ranging talks with Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in Nay Pyi Taw.

Besides the MoU to strengthen maritime security cooperation, the countries also signed an agreement for

sharing white shipping information to improve data sharing on non-classified merchant navy ships or cargo

ships.

The 11 MoUs also include one between the Election Commission of India and Union Election of Myanmar, the

national level electoral commission of Myanmar. An MoU was also signed to organise cultural exchange

programme for the period 2017-2020, according to a statement issued by Ministry of External Affairs.

The two countries also signed agreements on cooperation between Myanmar Press Council and Press Council

of India, extension of agreement on the establishment of India-Myanmar Centre for Enhancement of IT skill.

They also signed agreements to cooperate in 'Medical Products Regulation' and in the field of health and

medicine. They also signed an MoU on enhancing the cooperation on upgradation of the women's police

training centre at Yamethin in Myanmar.

Useful Info







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Currency - Burmese kyat

Agreement between State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) US-based networking solutions

provider Coriant to chart the path to 5G

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) entered into an agreement with US-based networking

solutions provider Coriant to chart the path to 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) in India. The MoU was signed

between BSNL and Coriant for laying the foundation for innovation in network architectures and services

leveraging 5G, IoT, Software Defined Networking/Network Functions Virtualisation (SDN/NFV), and

mobile edge computing technologies.

Useful Info

Chairman & Managing Director of BSNL is Shri Anupam Shrivastava

Internet of Things – the interconnection via the Internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects,

enabling them to send and receive data.

Ashok Leyland Inks Pact with Rosoboronexport, ELCOM

The defence entity of Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland had signed an MoU with

Rosoboronexport, Russia, to supply tracked vehicle solutions to the armed forces. Rosoboronexport (ROE) is

the only State organisation in Russia for export of the entire range of military products and technologies. Ashok

Leyland signed another MoU with ELCOM Group which is also emerging as a significant player in strategic

electronics, avionics and tactical communication globally.

Useful Info

Country – Russia

Capital – Moscow


Rosoboronexport represents Russian companies engaged in the manufacturing of main battle tanks, infantry

fighting vehicles and is currently working with the Indian Army.

Exide Life Insurance has announced a partnership with Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC

Bank)

Exide Life Insurance has announced a partnership with Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC

Bank) to offer its protection and savings products to the latter‘s customers. PMC Bank is a multi-State

scheduled urban cooperative bank with 127 branches spread across Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Goa,

Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Exide Life Insurance works with around 50 banks.

Useful Info

Exide Life Insurance Company Limited

Headquarter – Bengaluru

MD and CO of Exide Life Insurance - Kshitij Jain

List of MoUs Signed During Visit of PM Modi to Myanmar

After attending the BRICS Summit in China, PM Modi left for his three-day visit to Myanmar. He was received

by the Myanmar President Htin Kyaw. Following set of agreements were signed between the two nation.

MoU on Maritime Security Cooperation

Cultural Exchange Programme for the year 2017-2020.

MoU on Enhancing the Cooperation of the Upgradation of the Women's Police Training Centre at Yamethin,

Myanmar.

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

Technical Agreement for providing Coastal Surveillance System

MoU between the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), Ministry Of Health and Family

Welfare of the Republic of India and Food and Drugs (FDA), Ministry of Health and Sports of Myanmar on

Cooperation in Medical Products Regulation.

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






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Exchange of Letter for Extension of MoU on the establishment of India-Myanmar Center for Enhancement of

IT-Skill

MoU in the field of elections between the Election Commission of India and The Union Election Commission

of Myanmar.

MoU on Cooperation between Myanmar Press Council and the Press Council of India.

Useful Info



Currency - Burmese kyat

Andhra Pradesh government has signed an MoU with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT)

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

Technologies (HTT)to build India's first Hyperloop system. The planned project is aimed at connecting

cities Amaravati and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, supposedly covering the distance of over 35 km in just

five minutes. The AP Economic Development Board (AP-EDB) and HTT signed the MoU in Amaravati.

Under the MoU, a six-month feasibility study would be conducted from October.

Useful Info

State – Andhra Pradesh

Capital – Amaravati

CM – N. Chandrababu Naidu

Governor - E. S. L. Narasimhan

BSNL and Punjab National Bank (PNB) Join Hands for Mobile Wallet Speedpay Rollout

Punjab National Bank and state-run firm BSNL teamed up to roll out open mobile wallet Speedpay across

10 states in the country. PNB Speedway wallet will operate like any other mobile wallet for paying bills,

recharging phone besides its users will be able to deposit and withdraw money from authorized retail outlets.

Under the agreement, BSNL will expand Speedpay services in Punjab, Chandigarh(UT), Haryana, Jammu and

Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand.

Useful Info

PNB – Punjab National Bank

Headquarters – New Delhi

Tagline – The name you can bank upon

MD & CEO of Punjab National Bank - Sunil Mehta

Chairman & Managing Director of BSNL - Shri Anupam Shrivastava

India and Afghanistan exchanged four pacts in areas of health, transport, space

India and Afghanistan exchanged four pacts in areas of health, transport, space and new development

partnership. The agreements were exchanged after delegation level talks between External Affairs Minister

Sushma Swaraj and Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Salahuddin Rabbani in New Delhi. Mr. Rabbani was

on the three-day visit to India. India will supply wheat to Afghanistan in coming weeks through Chahbahar

port.

Useful Info


Capital – Kabul

Currency - Afghan afghani

Union Minister for External Affairs – Sushma Swaraj


Maharashtra Government and Mother Dairy have signed a lease agreement to set up a processing plant

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

Dairy Development Board (NDDB) have signed a lease agreement to set up a state-of-the-art milk and milk






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products processing plant. As per the MoU, a dairy development initiative will begin in Vidarbha and

Marathwada regions to provide access to milk producers to markets in Nagpur and Mumbai.

Useful Info


Capital – Mumbai

CM – Devendra Fadnavis

Governor – Vidyasagar Rao

Paytm Payments Bank (PPB) has partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

Paytm Payments Bank (PPB) has partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to

launch a RuPay-powered digital debit card.With the PPB Digital debit card, customers will now be able to

transact at all merchants who accept credit and debit cards. Existing Paytm users need to complete a KYC

process to become an account holder with PPB. Following this, they will be issued a free digital RuPay card.

Useful Info

NPCI - National Payments Corporation of India

Paytm founder - Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Ten MoUs have been signed between India and Belarus

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Belarus President Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko in New Delhi and

discussed various issues of mutual interest of both countries. A number of agreements were signed in several

areas after the talks. Mr. Lukashenko‘s visit was significant as it took place in a year when Belarus and India

are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Following are the 10 Agreements/MoUs were signed:

MoU between the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Education

of the Republic of Belarus

MoU between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of the Government of the Republic of

India and the Ministry of Education of the Government of the Republic of Belarus for Cooperation in the Field

of Vocational Education and Training

Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation between Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and

the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

MoU between Indian Council of Agricultural Research, India and Belarusian State Agricultural Academy,

Gorki, Belarus for Cooperation in Agricultural Research and Education

Protocol amending the Agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer‘s Welfare of the Republic of

India and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus signed on April 16, 2007

Programme of cooperation between the Government of Republic of India and the Government of Republic of

Belarus in the field of culture for 2018-2020

MoU between M/o Petroleum & Natural Gas of the Republic of India and Belarusian State Concern of Oil and

Chemistry in the Oil and Gas Sector

MoU between JSV "Belzarubezhstroy‖ and National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd.

MoU between JSC Belarusian Potash Company (BPC) and Indian Potash Ltd (IPL)

Agreement on the implementation of MoU signed between OJSC Minsk Tractor Works and Kirloskar Oil

Engines Ltd. India in Pune

Useful Info

Country – Belarus

Capital – Minsk

Currency – Belarusian Ruble

Payment gateway provider PayU has announced its collaborations with the IRCTC

Payment gateway provider PayU has announced its collaborations with the IRCTC to provide users a safe

and secure option to pay for rail tickets booked via the IRCTC website. PayU will now be available as a

payment option under the Multiple Payment Services (MPS) option on the IRCTC website at the payment






167

stage of booking an e- ticket. Clicking on this option will enable users to make a safe and secure transaction via

various payment options like internet banking, debit/credit card and e-wallet.

Useful Info


Constituency – Rajya Sabha, Maharashtra

Bharti Airtel and SK Telecom of Korea have announced a strategic partnership

Telecom services provider, Bharti Airtel and SK Telecom of Korea have announced a strategic partnership

under which Airtel will leverage the latter's expertise to build advanced telecom network in India. SK Telecom

is Korea‘s largest telecommunications company with more than 29 million mobile subscribers, which accounts

for around 50 percent of the total market. The two companies will also collaborate on an ongoing basis to

evolve standards for 5G and Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV).

Useful Info

Bharti Airtel is Headquartered in New Delhi.

Gopal Vittal is the MD & CEO (India and South Asia) of Bharti Airtel

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC)Ties-up With Sa-Dhan

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) has entered into an agreement with microfinance

industry association Sa-Dhan to develop digital ecosystem for India's unbanked segment. The bank will

provide technical expertise to train and educate microfinance consumers at the grassroots level and introduce

digital banking to promote easier and time-efficient financial transaction among the so-called bottom-of-the-

pyramid customer.

Useful Info

HSBC - Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation

Headquarters of HSBC – London

Corporate Affairs Ministry and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has signed an MoU

Corporate Affairs Ministry and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has signed an MoU for automatic

and regular exchange of information to curb the menace of shell companies, money laundering and black

money in the country. The MoU will enable sharing of specific information such as PAN number data in

respect of corporates, Income Tax returns of corporates, financial statements filed with the Registrar by

corporates, audit reports, and statements of financial transactions received from banks relating to corporates.

Useful Info

Union Minister for corporate affairs – Arun Jaitley


Sushil Chandra is the Chairman of CBDT

Force Motors, Rolls-Royce Power Tie up

Pune-based auto firm Force Motors Ltd has entered into a non-binding joint venture agreement with

Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG to produce engines for power generation and rail application and complete

power generation systems, including spare parts, for Indian and global markets. The joint venture with Rolls-

Royce will be the company‘s first step towards diversifying into the non-auto segment. In the joint venture,

Force Motors will hold a 51% stake and Rolls-Royce the rest.

Useful Info

Rolls-Royce is a luxury car and aero engine manufacturing company that headquarters in United Kingdom.


Capital – London


India signed a loan deal worth $76 million with Japan

The Government of India signed a loan deal worth $76 million with Japan International Cooperation

Agency (JICA) for a project to upgrade the environment management plan at Alang-Sosiya ship recycling

yards. The total cost of the project will be $ 111 million, out of which $76 million will be provided as a soft

loan from JICA. Out of the remaining amount, $25 million as taxes and fees will be borne by Government of






168

Gujarat and the balance $10 million will be shared by Ministry of Shipping & Government of Gujarat. The

project will be executed by Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and is likely to be completed by 2022.

Useful Info

Country – Japan

Capital – Tokyo


India and Japan signed an Open Sky agreement to operate unlimited number of flights between the two

countries

India and Japan signed an agreement that will allow their airlines to operate unlimited number of flights

between the two countries. It opens skies between India and Japan ie. Indian and Japanese carriers can mount

now unlimited number of flights to the selected cities of each other's countries. The National Civil Aviation

Policy, 2016, allows the government to enter into an 'open sky' air services agreement on a reciprocal basis

with SAARC nations as well as countries beyond a 5,000 kilometre radius from New Delhi.

Useful Info

Country – Japan

Capital – Tokyo


Amazon Ties up With Bank of Baroda To Offer Micro-Loans To Sellers

Amazon has tied up with Bank of Baroda for the loans, which can go up to Rs. 25 lakh. The Indian arm of

the US e-commerce giant, Amazon plans to provide unsecured micro-loans, as low as 1 lakh, at interest rates as

low as 10.45-11 per cent at a short span of 3-5 days. With the Bank of Baroda tie-up, the company wants to

cater to every strata of sellers.

Useful Info


Bank of Baroda HQ – Vadodara

Tagline of Bank of Baroda – India‘s International Bank

Ola Ties Up With Karnataka Tourism Dept

In line with United Nations‘ theme for this year‘s World Tourism Day, cab aggregator Ola kicked off a

tourism campaign in the state. The campaign is being carried out in association with Karnataka State Tourism

Development Corporation to promote and raise awareness about responsible tourism named

“GhoomoResponsibly”. Tourism and IT-BT Minister Priyank M. Kharge flagged off this campaign in

Bangalore.

Useful Info

State – Karnataka


CM – Siddaramaiah

Governor – Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala

CEO of Ola - Bhavish Aggarwal

Tata Steel, Thyssenkrupp Sign MoU for European Steel JV

Tata Steel and Thyssenkrupp of Germany have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in a deal

that is poised to create one of Europe's largest steel companies. The two partners have been in merger talks for

more than a year.They will form a 50:50 joint venture to create a powerful No. 2 in the European steel market.

The merger will lead to substantial cost savings for both steel players.

Useful Info

NatarajanChandrasekaran is the Chairman of Tata Steel.

Dr. Heinrich Hiesinger is the CEO of Thyssenkrupp.

Britain and Saudi Arabia Sign Military Cooperation Deal






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Saudi Arabia and Britain signed a framework deal for military cooperation. The agreement came after Saudi

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed security ties with visiting British Defence Secretary

Michael Fallon in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah. The agreement comes as Britain seeks to explore lucrative

trade deals outside Europe, including energy-rich Gulf monarchies, after voting to leave the European Union.

Useful Info


Capital – Riyadh

Currency – Saudi riyal

Dabur India Ties Up with Amazon for Ayurveda Marketplace

Dabur India has tied up with e-commerce major Amazon for an online ayurveda marketplace which will

house all ayurvedic brands and products of the country. The company will also offer consumers an insight into

various ayurvedic medicines for treating a variety of ailments. The exclusive ayurveda e-marketplace has been

hosted by Amazon India and the content is developed by Dabur India.

Useful Info


Founder of Amazon - Jeff Bezos

Maharashtra governmenthas signed aMoU with South Korea

The Maharashtra government has signed a MoU with South Korea for increased co-operation in

infrastructure projects like development of smart cities, roads, airports and metros on the first day of Chief

Minister Devendra Fadnavis‘ visit to that country. This MoU is to help with implementation strategy, legal

systems, policies, technologies and information in infrastructure development. Fadnavis embarked on a three-

day tour to South Korea and Singapore.

Useful Info

Country – South Korea

Capital – Seoul

Currency – South Korean Won

Russia, US Partner to Build 1st Ever Space Station Near Moon

Russian and US space agencies, Roscosmos and NASA, have agreed to jointly build a "deep space

gateway", the first-ever astronaut-tended space station around the Moon. The gateway would help prepare

for manned missions to deep space destinations including Mars. NASA and Roscosmos are two of the major

partners in the $100-billion Earth-orbiting International Space Station (ISS). Following in the footsteps of

the International Space Station, the moon ship would be open to astronauts and cosmonauts from around the

world.

Useful Info

Roscosmos – Russian Space Agency

NASA – American Space Agency

Country – Russia

Capital – Moscow





Air India has tied up with public sector lender PNB and private lender IndusInd Bank

Air India has tied up with public sector lender PNB and private lender IndusInd Bank to secure loans to

the tune of over Rs 3,000 crore for meeting working capital requirements. Recently, the disinvestment-bound

Air India had floated tenders for availing Govt. guarantee backed INR short-term loans totalling up to Rs 3,250

crore in the first phase to meet its urgent working capital.

Useful Info






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PNB – Punjab National Bank

Headquarters of PNB – New Delhi

Chairman and Managing Director of Air India Ltd - Rajiv Bansal

India and Norway have extended bilateral cooperation in the health sector

India and Norway have extended bilateral cooperation in the health sector through the Norway-India

Partnership Initiative for a period of three years starting 2018. A letter of Intent was signed to this effect in

New Delhi between the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign

Affairs. The Partnership Initiative now extends to Jammu and Kashmir and four other States- Bihar, Odisha,

Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are already covered under it.

Useful Info

Country – Norway

Capital – Oslo

Currency – Norwegian krone

Telecom equipment and solutions provider VNL has signed an MoU with BSNL

Telecom equipment and solutions provider VNL has signed an MoU with BSNL to provide solutions for

disaster management. The 'Relief 123' service will restore connectivity at disaster sites, help locate the

affected and integrate information across platforms to enable informed decision-making for quick relief. The

service is an integrated disaster response solution for first responders and public safety agencies. The solution

is designed and manufactured by VNL and the backhaul connectivity will be provided by BSNL.

Useful Info

Chairman & Managing Director of BSNL - Anupam Shrivastava

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has signed an MoU with Chinese gear maker ZTE

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with

Chinese gear maker ZTE. Both the parties will work together and prove key technologies like Pre5G and 5G

wireless systems to make virtual network architecture of a 5G ecosystem for research and commercialization in

India.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital – Beijing



Aeris Communications partners BSNL for IOT solutions

Aeris Communications has entered into a partnership with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to

provide packaged Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and services to small, medium businesses and public

sector undertakings (PSUs) in India. The company will leverage BSNL's wide network coverage, to provide a

comprehensive, end-to-end IoT services platform for enterprises, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)

and service providers.

Useful Info

Chairman & Managing Director of BSNL - Anupam Shrivastava

President of Aeris Communications India - Rishi Bhatnagar

India, US, Afghanistan Join Hands for 1st Trade Show in Delhi

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

Delhi steps up to its role of being a bigger development partner to Afghanistan. The trade event, sponsored by

the US and hosted by India, will be inaugurated by Afghan CEO Dr Abdullah. Abdullah's visit will follow

the first visit to India by US defence secretary James Mattis who will be holding high level talks with India

on the Trump Administration's new South Asia policy.

Useful Info

Country – Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghan afghani

Country – United States of America, Washington D.C, US Dollar






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Union Minister of External Affairs – Sushma Swaraj


Yatra Partners OYO to Expand Hotel Inventory

Yatra Online Inc has tied up with OYO to bring the hospitality firm's inventory on its platform. The

partnership brings OYO's inventory onto an online travel agent platform and with this Yatra's total hotel

inventory will expand to over 70,000 hotels in India.

Useful Info

Co-founder and CEO of Yatra.com - Dhruv Shringi

Founder and CEO of OYO - Ritesh Agarwal

MobiKwik, IRCTC Rail Connect Partner for Ticket Bookings

Digital payments firm MobiKwik announced its partnership with IRCTC Rail connect app, which will

allow customers book railway tickets using the former‘s payment gateway. Mobikwik‘s Payment Gateway

currently powers payments for more than 3,000 e-commerce websites and apps. The tie-up is aimed at

simplifying payment systems by introducing MobiKwik‘s easy-to-use interface for all, which supports payment

solution through channels like debit card, credit card, net Banking, ATM Cards and Wallets.

Useful Info



Chairman & Managing Director of IRCTC - M. P. Mall

Bangladesh Signs $4.5-bn Loan Deal With India

Bangladesh signed a $4.5 billion third line of credit (LoC) agreement with India for its infrastructure and

social sector development. The agreement was signed in the presence of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and his

Bangladeshi counterpart A M A Muhith. Economic Relations Division Secretary Kazi Shofiqul Azam signed

the deal on behalf of Bangladesh while Managing Director of the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim)

David Rasquinha signed for India. Under the agreement, Bangladesh would have to purchase 65 to 75 percent

of the services, goods or works from the Indian market with the money to be provided under the third LoC

following the precedence of the previous two nearly identical agreements.

Useful Info


Capital – Dhaka

Currency - Bangladeshi taka

HDFC Life, Apollo Munich Team up for Dual Cover

HDFC Life Insurance and Apollo Munich Health have come together to launch „Click2Protect Health

plan‟, which provides both life and health cover under a single plan. This plan combines the benefits of HDFC

Life‟s „Click2Protect 3D Plus (term) protection plan‟ and Apollo Munich‟s „Optima Restore health

indemnity plan‟. The features of the product include waiver of future premiums on account of accidental total

permanent disability or on diagnosis of critical illness; and special premium rates for women and non-tobacco

users.

Useful Info

HDFC Bank Headquarters – Mumbai

CEO of HDFC Bank - Aditya Puri

Vijaya Bank Inks MoU with HPCL for Digital Payments

Vijaya Bank has entered into an MoU with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) for enabling all

HPCL retail outlets with BHIM/UPI merchant solutions. This rollout will empower all petrol pump

attendants and LPG delivery personnel to accept digital payments. Customers can make payments by scanning

a payment QR code, using BHIM Vijaya or any BHIM app that supports payments via UPI. Both Vijaya Bank

and HPCL have inked the pact in line with the GOI initiative to encourage digital payments, especially

BHIM/UPI.

Useful Info






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Vijaya Bank Headquarters – Bengaluru

MD and CEO of Vijaya Bank - R A Sankaranarayanan

India, EIB Ink Pact for Financing Bangalore Metro Rail Project

India and European Investment Bank (EIB) signed the finance contract for lending of 300 million euros

(about Rs 2,293 crore) for Bangalore Metro Rail Project phase-II. Bangalore Metro Rail Project Phase II is

to be jointly financed by the EIB (500 million euros) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (300 million

euros). The project relates to extension of East-West and North-South lines for Bangalore Metro Rail which

includes a total length of 72.095 km (13.79 km underground) and 61 stations with 12 underground stations. The

project implementation period is 5 years from date of commencement.

Useful Info

EIB - European Investment Bank

Headquarters of EIB – Luxembourg

President of European Investment Bank - Werner Hoyer

Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and UP Sign MoU to Boost Culture and Tourism

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

Bharat‟ program, to boost cultural ties. Under the program, the states will connect with each other to know

more about the culture, heritage and traditions of each other. The programme aims at actively enhancing

interaction between people of diverse cultures living in different states and union territories, with the objective

of promoting greater mutual understanding among them.

Useful Info

Arunachal Pradesh – Itanagar, CM - Pema Khandu, Governor - Brigadier BD Mishra (Retd)

Meghalaya – Shillong, CM - Mukul Sangma, Governor - Ganga Prasad

Uttar Pradesh – Lucknow, CM – Yogi Adityanath, Governor – Ram Naik

India and Ethiopia has signed agreements on trade, communication and media

India and Ethiopia has signed agreements on trade, communication and media to boost bilateral ties. The

agreements were signed after wide-ranging talks between President Ram Nath Kovind and his Ethiopian

counterpart Mulatu Teshome at Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. The two leaders discussed economic relations

between the two countries and also support to Ethiopia in the power healthcare, and education sectors. The

President also thanked Ethiopia for its participation in the International Solar Alliance (ISA), established in

2015.

Useful Info

Country – Ethiopia

Capital – Addis Ababa

Currency - Ethiopian Birr

Reliance Commercial Finance Inks Agreement with IREDA for Rs 300 cr Loan

Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd has signed an agreement with Indian Renewable Energy Development

Agency Ltd (IREDA) for Rs.300 crore loan, in Mumbai. RCFL finances wind and solar energy projects

besides providing assistance for developing infrastructure and projects in renewable energy space backed by

the government.

Useful Info

Executive Director and CEO of Reliance Commercial Finance - Devang Mody

Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of IREDA - KS Popli

IIT Kharagpur Signs MoU with Samsung for Digital Academy

IIT-Kharagpur has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Samsung India for the setting

up of a digital academy on the institute‘s campus. The Department of Computer Science and Engineering in

the institute will host the Samsung Innovation Lab and train students on the Internet of Things (IoT) through

Tizen-based operating systems, commonly used by the company for its mobile phones and home appliances.

Useful Info

Samsung is an electronics company based in South Korea.






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Vice Chairman & CEO of Samsung Electronics - Dr Oh-Hyun Kwon

Visa has tied up with the Andhra Pradesh government for Digital Dhan Sankalp project

Visa has tied up with the Andhra Pradesh government for Digital Dhan Sankalp project. It is an initiative

to develop Visakhapatnam into India‟s first „less cash‟ city. The e-transformation of large state-owned

service providers of the state into digital payments mode under the Vizag Digital Dhan Sankalp (VDDS)

project is now accessible to over 90 percent of the city‘s two million-strong population.

Useful Info

State – Andhra Pradesh

Capital – Amaravati

CM – Chandrababu Naidu

Governor - E.S Lakshmi Narasimhan

LG India Ties up with Bajaj Finserv

Consumer Electronics major LG Electronics India announced the launch of an exclusive OEM co-branded

card in partnership with Bajaj Finserv. As per the company, the co-branded card will enable customers to buy

all LG products at no-cost EMI option across all LG formats. It will be available to customers buying LG

products on a minimum invoice amount of Rs 7,000 and maximum of up to Rs 2 lakh.

Useful Info

LG - South Korean Electronics Company

MD of LG Electronics India - Kim Ki Wan

Amazon, Microsoft Ties up to Launch Deep Learning Platform

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft have teamed up to launch an open-source and deep learning

interface 'Gluon' that will help developers to deploy machine learning models across several platforms. The

interface would give developers a place where they can prototype, build, train and deploy machine learning

models.

Useful Info

CEO of Microsoft - Satya Nadella

Odisha Government Department Signs MOU with SBI

The Odisha government's Directorate of Treasuries and Inspection and the State Bank of India have

signed an MOU for integration of SBI e-Pay with the cyber treasury. The MoU is a landmark initiative by the

state government to facilitate revenue collection from citizens through digital banking platform. The SBI e-Pay

is the payment aggregator service wing of the bank which will facilitate on line payment of government dues

by the customers of any public/ private sector banks by using the payment gateway of SBI.

Useful Info

State – Odisha

Capital – Bhubaneswar

CM – Naveen Patnaik

Governor – Senayangba Chubatoshi Jamir

SBI headquarters - Mumbai, Maharashtra

Present Chairman of SBI - Rajnish Kumar

SUMMIT AND CONFERENCE

17th meeting of GST Council underway in New Delhi

The 17th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council chaired by Finance Minister ArunJaitley, is

underway in New Delhi to finalise tax rates on lottery as well as rules relating to e-way bill and anti-

profiteering measures.The agenda includes approval of draft GST Rules and related Forms for advance ruling,

assessment and audit.

Useful Info






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ArunJaitley – Minister of finance and corporate affairs, Minister of Defence (additional Charge)

Constituency – Gujarat (RajyaSabha)

Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a conference on "Capacity Building of SDRF-2017" in New

Delhi

Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a two-day national level conference on "Capacity Building of

SDRF-2017" in New Delhi. The conference was organized by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF),

holded discussions to develop a synergy and to highlight the way ahead to strengthen the response capabilities

of State Disaster Response Forces (SDRF).

Useful Info

NDRF - National Disaster Response Force

HQ – New Delhi

Director General - R K Pachnanda

2nd National Health Editors' Conference on Yoga in New delhi

The second National Health Editors‘ Conference on Yogahas begun in New Delhi. The conference aimed at

giving insight to the journalists about the scientific aspects of yoga and its benefits for health. The theme of the

conference is 'Yoga for Health and Harmony'. Eminent experts of yoga and modern medicine present

highlights from recent research work on aspects of yoga.

Useful Info

Minister of state (independent charge) for AYUSH –ShripadYessoNaik


AYUSH - Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy

The first meeting of the Japan-India Coordination Forum (JICF) for Development of North-Eastern Region

was held in New Delhi

The first meeting of the Japan-India Coordination Forum (JICF) for Development of North-Eastern Region was

held in New Delhi. The Japanese delegation was led by the Japanese Ambassador to India, Mr. Kenji

Hiramatsu while Secretary, Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), Shri Naveen Verma

led the Indian side.

Useful Info

Country – Japan

Capital – Tokyo


8th meeting of Regional Technical Group on Trade, Commerce and Investment CBM of the Heart of Asia –

Istanbul Process held in New Delhi

The eighth meeting of the Regional Technical Group of Confidence Building Measure on Trade, Commerce &

Investment Opportunities under the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process was hosted by India in New Delhi.The

meeting was co-chaired by the Acting Director General, Economic Cooperation Department, Ministry of

Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, Mr. Hassan Soroosh, and Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Dr.

Deepak Mittal and attended by representatives of 17 participating countries and supporting international

organisations, including Azerbaijan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey,

Turkmenistan, UAE, Australia, Egypt, Germany, the UK, the US, the EU and the UN.

Useful Info

Country – Turkey

Capital – Istanbul


India to Host Next Steering Committee Meeting of TAPI Gas Pipeline

India (New Delhi) will host the next steering committee meeting of the proposed 1,814 kilometre-long

Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline senior officials on both sides confirmed.

The decision came during the sixth joint Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting on trade, economic,

scientific and technological cooperation.The meeting was followed by a meeting between visiting Deputy

Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov and Minister of State for Petroleum and

Natural Gas DharmendraPradhan.

Useful Info






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TAPI - Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India

TAPI natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas - DharmendraPradhan


Asian Development Bank HQ – Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines

President of ADB - TakehikoNakao

India, EU to Hold 14th Summit Talks in New Delhi

President of European Council, Donald Franciszek Tusk and President of the European Commission, Jean-

Claude Juncker will be on a three-day visit to India to hold the 14th India-EU Summit on 6th of next

month in New Delhi. The summit aims at deepening the India-EU Strategic Partnership and advance

collaboration in priority areas for India‘s growth and development. During their visit starting from 5th of

October, they will also attend India-EU Business event on the sidelines of the summit.

Useful Info

CM of New Delhi – Arvind Kejriwal


International Conference on Dialogue of Civilizations – IV

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Ministry of Culture is hosting an international conference on

“Dialogue of Civilizations – IV” from 8th to 15th October 2017 at Delhi, Gandhinagar and Dholavira. This

conference is fourth in this series of ‗dialogues‘ initiated by National Geographic Society in 2013. The

objective of the conference is to encourage scholarly and public discourse about the five ancient, literate

civilizations of the world, i.e. Egypt, Mesopotamia, South Asia, China and Mesoamerica.

Useful Info

The first conference of this series was inaugurated in Guatemala in 2013 followed by Turkey in 2014 and

China in 2015.

Prof. B.B. Lal is a Padma Bhushan awardee on ‗Harappan Civilization‘, which introduced the earliest

civilization of South Asia to the scholars working on other ancient civilizations.

First Meeting of India-Australia Joint Steering Committee Held

The First Meeting of India-Australia Joint Steering Committee was held in New Delhi. Shri TVSN Prasad,

Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Mr. Stephen Bouwhuis, First Assistant Secretary,

International and Auscheck Division, Criminal Justice Group, Attorney-General's Department led the

respective delegations. This meeting was a follow-up to the MoU on Cooperation in Combating International

Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime exchanged between the two sides during the visit of Australian

Prime Minister Mr. Malcolm Turnbull to New Delhi in April 2016.

PM Modi‟s Economic Advisory Council Holds its First Meeting

The recently constituted Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) held its first meeting

in New Delhi to deliberate upon and lay out a roadmap to give a leg up to the Indian economy in the short term

after GDP growth for the first quarter fell to a three-year low of 5.7%. The EAC-PM is chaired by Dr. Bibey

Debroy. Key issues for the discussion include ways to boost consumer demand, attract private investments and

measures to incentivize job creation in the country, people familiar with the agenda said.

Useful Info

Present PM of India – Narendra Modi

Union Minister for Finance – Arun Jaitley

BILLS AND AMENDMENTS

The Union Ministry of Law and Justice has cleared the kambala bill

The Union Ministry of Law and Justice has cleared the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka

Amendment) Bill 2017,legalizingkambala, the traditional slush track buffalo race.

Useful Info

Kambala – Traditional slush track buffalo race






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State – Karnataka


CM –Siddaramaiah

Governor –Vajubhai R. Vala

The LokSabha has passed The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill,

2017

The LokSabha has passed The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017.

This Bill amends the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009 to extend the

deadline for teachers to acquire the prescribed minimum qualifications for appointment.

PM NarendraModi-led cabinet cleared the New Wage Code Bill

PM NarendraModi-led cabinet cleared the New Wage Code Bill which will ensure minimum wage to 4 crore

employees across all sectors. The new minimum wage norms would be applicable irrespective of the pay

whereas it's presently applicable to workers getting up to 18,000 rupees monthly.

Supreme Court ordered No renewal of Insurance for vehicles without pollution under control (PUC)

certificate

The Supreme Court has issued a set of directions including that insurance companies will not renew insurance

of a vehicle unless the owner provides pollution under control (PUC) certificate.The court has considered the

suggestions given by Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA).

Useful Info

1st CJI – H. J. Kania

Present & 44th

CJI - Jagdish Singh Khehar

Upcoming & 45th

CJI – DipakMisra

MOBILE APPS AND WEB PORTALS

MyCall a new app launched by TRAI for users to rate their call quality

Telecom regulator TRAI introduced a newapp — MyCall — that enablessubscribers to rate thequality of a

phone call. After acall ends, a pop-up willappear requesting the user torate the call.Two more apps launched

by TRAI isMyspeed App and Do Not Disturb.

Useful Info

TRAI – Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

HQ - New Delhi

Chairman –R.S.Sharma

The President of India, ShriPranab Mukherjee launched a mobile Application „Selfie with Daughter‟ at

RashtrapatiBhavan:

Selfie-with-Daughter has become a world-wide movement against female foeticide and sex selection.The

‗Selfie with Daughter‟ campaign was started by Shri Sunil Jaglan in June 2015 in village Bibipur, Jind,

Haryana.A former Sarpanch, ShriJaglan has been working in the field of women empowerment and village

development.

A new Mobile App “Celebrating Yoga” has been launched by Dr. Harshvardhan

Minister for Science & Technology Dr. Harshvardhan launched a Mobile App ―Celebrating Yoga‖ developed

by Ministry of Science & Technology in New Delhi. The Mobile App has been developed by DST on the

occasion of International Yoga Day (21 June) 2017. The App ―Celebrating Yoga" can be downloaded from

Google Play Store.

Useful Info

Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Science– Dr. Harshvardhan

Constituency –ChandniChowk (Delhi)

MeitY launches Web Portal for smooth GST implementation

In order to ensure smooth GST implementation from 1st July, the Ministry of Electronics and Information

Technology has launched a dedicated Webpage for facilitating taxpayers with regard to addressing issues

related to Information Technology Services and Electronics goods.Webpage can be accessed through






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Ministry‘s Web Portal www.meity.gov.in Individuals, Companies and Entrepreneurs in IT and Electronics

sector can visit the webpage for sector-specific information.

Useful Info

Cabinet Minister for Electronics & Information technology – Ravi Shankar Prasad

Constituency – Bihar (RajyaSabha)

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has launched mAadhaar app for mobile

UIDAI, which issues Aadhaar numbers, has launched mAadhaar app for mobile users that will allow users to

carry unique identification profile on mobile. A user can download Aadhaar number profile through their

smartphones and will therefore not require hard copies of the card, wherever applicable. It allows users to carry

their Aadhaar demographic information, i.e. name, date of birth, gender, address and the photograph linked

with their Aadhaar number, on their smartphones.

Useful Info

UIDAI - Unique Identification Authority of India

Chairman of UIDAI (Part Time) - J Satyanarayana

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a statutory authority established on 12 July 2016 by

the Government of India under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, under the provisions

of the Aadhaar Act 2016.

Union Government has launched the Mobile App for Road Maintenance “Aarambh”

Union Minister - Shri Narendra Singh Tomarand Deputy Director General (Policy) of International Labour

Organization (ILO) Ms. Deborah Greenfield have launched the Mobile App for Road Maintenance ―Aarambh‖.

This Mobile Phone App aims at the use of GIS based mapping for making road inventories, condition surveys,

and producing cost estimates and other relevant data for preparation and monitoring of annual road

maintenance plans. In addition, Tomar and Greenfield also launched a Concept Note and Guidance Note for

Mobilizing Funds for Maintenance of Rural Road. The Concept Note outlines innovative ways, which can be

adopted by the State Governments for mobilizing additional funds for road maintenance.

Useful Info

Union Minister for rural development, Panchayati raj, drinking water & Sanitation – Uma Bharati


ILO - International Labour Organization

Headquarters of ILO - Geneva, Switzerland

Director-General of ILO - Guy Ryder

Microsoft has officially launched „Kaizala‟ app

Technology giant Microsoft has officially launched ‗Kaizala‘, a productivity app that has been designed to

enhance the collaboration and communication experience for Indian enterprises. The ‗Made for India‘ app is

designed for large group communications and work management and works even on 2G networks. The product

will make it possible for organizations to interact with people within the organization as well as outside like

partners and vendors in a seamless manner.

Useful Info

Microsoft HQ – Redmond, Washington, United States

CEO - SatyaNadella

Union Minister of Science & Technology Dr. Harshvardhan launched an app “India Quake”

Union Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Dr.

Harshvardhan launched an app ―India Quake‖ for Earthquake Parameter Dissemination on the occasion of

Foundation Day of Ministry of Earth Sciences. The App will make information dissemination faster with no

restrictions on the number of recipients. Any citizen can download this App and get the real time earthquake

location information on his/her mobile.

Useful Info

Earthquake is measured by Seismograph

Earthquake unit of measurement – Richter Scale

Richter Scale was developed by a seismologist named Conrad Richter

Harshvardhan launched an app “SagarVani” on the occasion of Foundation Day of Ministry of Earth

Sciences






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Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Dr.

Harshvardhan launched an app ―SagarVani‖ on the occasion of Foundation Day of Ministry of Earth Sciences.

‗SagarVani‘ has been launched to disseminate ocean related information and alerts to the user community in

timely manner for their safety.

Useful Info

Union Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests & Climate Change - Dr.

Harshvardhan

Constituency – ChandniChowk (Delhi)

Ministry of Earth Sciences foundation day is celebrated on 27th July of every year

Google has launched 'Hire', a recruiting app for small- and medium-sized businesses

Google has launched 'Hire', a recruiting app for small- and medium-sized businesses that also integrates

seamlessly with G Suite. It is an move to compete with Microsoft-owned LinkedIn. "Hire makes it easy to

identify talent, build strong candidate relationships and efficiently manage the interview process end-to-end".

Useful Info


CEO – SundarPichai

Centre has launched an app – GST Rates Finder to verify the accurate tax rate on commodity and services

under the GST

Centre has launched an app – GST Rates Finder to verify the accurate tax rate on commodity and services

under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. Finance Minister ArunJaitley launched the app in New Delhi.

Through this app, user can determine GST rate by entering the name of the commodity or service. The search

result will list all the Goods and Services containing the name which was typed in the search box. A taxpayer

can search for applicable CGST, SGST, UTGST rate and Compensation Cess on a supply. This mobile app can

be downloaded on any smartphone and can work in offline mode, once downloaded.

Useful Info

CGST – Central GST

SGST – State GST

UTGST – Union Territory GST

IGST – Inter-state GST

GST council is headed by Finance Minister of India Mr. ArunJaitley

First Country to introduce GST – France, 1954

NCERT launches web portal to supply Textbooks online

UpendraKushwaha, Minister of State, Ministry of Human Resource Development has launched the

NCERT‟s Web portal for supply of textbooks to schools and individuals in New Delhi.The portal will

ensure better distribution of textbooks across the country.

Useful Info

Minister of state for Human Resource Development – Satya Pal Singh

NCERT – National Council of Educational Research and Training

NarendraModi has launched a website to honour all the gallantry award winners

Prime Minister NarendraModi has launched a website to honour all the gallantry award winners since

Independence. The portal will preserve and tell the stories of bravest men and women, civilians as well as

armed forces personnel.

Useful Info

1st Prime Minister of India – Jawaharlal Nehru

1st Women Prime Minister of India - Indira Gandhi

Present Prime Minister of India - NarendraModi

National Highways Authority of India launched two mobile Apps – MyFASTag and FASTag

National Highways Authority of India launched two mobile Apps – MyFASTag and FASTagPartner in

New Delhi, to facilitate the availability of FASTags for Electronic Toll Collection.MyFASTag is a consumer

App that can be downloaded from the App Store for both Android and iOS systems. FASTag Partner is a

merchant App. Agencies like Common Services Centre, banking partners, and vehicle dealers can sell and

enroll FASTag through this App.






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Useful Info

Chairman of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) - Deepak Kumar

BSNL Launches Digital Wallet Powered by MobiKwik

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) went digital by launching a bespoke mobile wallet (mobile payment

App) that would enable its existing 100 million customers to make Bill payments. This digital wallet was

launched at an event by ManojSinha, Minister for Telecommunications in the capital.Thewallet has been

developed and issued by MobiKwik on behalf of BSNL.

Useful Info

Chairman & Managing Director of BSNL -ShriAnupamShrivastava

To help with competitive tests Maharashtra launches web portal

The Maharashtra education board has launched a web portal with online question banks to help students

prepare for competitive exams on their own. The portal, which can be accessed for free, will function as a

substitute for expensive coaching classes, board officials said. This comes after state School Education

Minister VinodTawde banned integrated coaching in Maharashtra in July.

State:Maharashtra

Capital:Mumbai

CM:DevendraFadnavis

Governor:C. VidyasagarRao

Google Tez UPI-Based Digital Payments App Launched in India

Google Tezhas become the latest UPI-based payments app in the country. The new Google Tez app can be

used to pay for movie tickets, utility bills, and make other transactions online. Tez means fast in Hindi, which

the company stated was one of the selling points of its new app. Google Tez is a standalone payments app,

available on Android and iOS, and is powered by UPI, a payments protocol built by government-backed

organization NPCI. The company has partnered with HDFC Bank, ICICI, and State Bank of India for backend

processing.

Useful Info


Google CEO – SundarPitchai

Rajnath Singh has launched first Intelligence Wing of SashastraSeemaBal (SSB) and Welfare &

Rehabilitation Board (WARB) App

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has launched first Intelligence Wing of SashastraSeemaBal (SSB) and

Welfare & Rehabilitation Board (WARB) App in New Delhi authorized to Protect the shared borders of

India with Nepal and Bhutan. The intelligence wing will gather actionable information in a bid to enhance

operational efficiency. WARB app comprises features to facilitate retired CAPFs and Assam Rifles personnel

to get their grievances redressed, seek skill development and other relevant and important information.

Useful Info

Union Minister of Home Affairs – Rajnath Singh

Constituency – Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh)

Rajni Kant Misra is the Director General of the SashastraSeemaBal (SSB)

Government Launches Hackathon to Promote App Ideas

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched a nationwide

Hackathon„OpenGovDataHack‟ to support and showcase potential ideas/talent from inner India. As part of

the start-up eco-system development program, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and the Internet and

Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) have collaborated to conduct the Hackathon at Jaipur, Chennai, Noida,

Bhubaneswar, Patna, Hyderabad and Surat.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology – Ravi Shankar Prasad

Constituency – RajyaSabha, Bihar

Ram Vilas Paswan Launched “Electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipt (e-NWR) System”

Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution launched the

Web Portal of Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) &“Electronic Negotiable

Warehouse Receipt (e-NWR) System” in New Delhi. e-NWRs have no chances of any tempering, mutilation,




https://www.inshorts.com/en/news/maha-launches-web-portal-to-help-with-competitive-tests-1503598691844



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fudging, loss or damage and with no possibility of any multiple financing. These initiatives would revolutionise

the marketing of agricultural commodities and help farmers realize better price for their produce which will be

a step towards doubling the farmers‟ income by 2022 as well as Digital India mission.

Useful Info

Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution - Ram Vilas Paswan

Constituency – Hajipur (Bihar)

Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour (PENCIL) Portal Launched

The Union Home Minister ShriRajnath Singh launched the Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child

Labour (PENCIL) Portal at the National Conference on Child Labourorganised by the Ministry of Labour

and Employment. The PENCIL is an electronic platform that aims at involving Centre, State, District,

Governments, civil society and the general public in achieving the target of child labour free society.

ShriRajnath Singh also launched the Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the enforcement of legal

framework against child labour.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Home Affairs – Rajnath Singh

Constituency – Lucknow, RajyaSabha

Minister of State for Labour and Employment (I/C) - ShriSantosh Kumar Gangwar

Constituency – Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh

Prasar Bharati launches Online Application System for AIR Auditions

Prasar Bharati Chairman A Surya Prakash has launched an online application system for music auditions

across all genres for the All India Radio. The initiative was launched on the occasion of 64th Akashvani

Sangeet Sammelan in New Delhi. It is believed that with the introduction of this facility, the aspirants who

want to apply and get themselves graded will have a better experience in terms of accessibility and availability.

Chairman NHAI Launches New Website and PMIS Mobile App

The Chairman of National Highways Authority of India Shri Deepak Kumar launched a world-class, new

multilingual website of the organization. He also launched a Project Monitoring Information System

(PMIS) Moblie App that will facilitate close, in-house monitoring of NHAI projects on a mobile phone. To

ensure timely delivery of its projects, the NHAI is now digitally monitoring them through a state-of-the-art

Project Monitoring Information System (PMIS), which has been developed in-house along with The Boston

Consulting Group.

Useful Info

Chairman of National Highways Authority of India - Shri Deepak Kumar

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways - Nitin Gadkari

Constituency – Nagpur (Maharashtra)

Flipkart Launched Private Label MarQ for Large Appliances Category

Flipkart announced the launch of MarQ, an in-house brand in the large appliances category. MarQ is an in-

house brand of Flipkart, that sells large appliances. This has been done in a move expands Flipkart‘s self-

branded offerings on its marketplace.

Useful Info

Flipkart Headquarters – Bengaluru

Group CEO of Flipkart is Binny Bansal

CEO of Flipkart is Kalyan Krishnamurthy

DEFENCE NEWS

Second AUSINDEX naval exercise between India and Australia began in the coast of Western Australia

Indian warships began a week-long naval exercise off the coast of Western Australia. The second AUSINDEX

exercises are aimed at increasing interoperability between Australian and Indian naval forces, executing

complex naval manoeuvres.

Useful Info

Chief of the Naval Staff – Sunil Lanba






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Current Chief of Australian Navy – Tim Barrett

The Indian Navy‟s first indigenously built floating dock (FDN-2) launched

The Indian Navy‘s first indigenouslybuilt floating dock(FDN-2), developed byLarsen& Toubro Ltd. (L&T),was

launched at L&T‘sshipyard in Kattupalli.The floating dock will enable dockingof all kinds of vessels,

includingNaval ships and submarines(excepting aircraftcarriers and tankers) of upto 8,000

tonnesdisplacement,with draughts of up tosevenmetres, during bothday and night.

Useful Info

Larsen and Toubro HQ – Mumbai

The Chief of the Naval Staff - Admiral Sunil Lanba

DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) missile successfully test-fired

The Defence Research and Development Organisation successfully test fired an indigenously developed Quick

Reaction Surface-to-Air-Missile (QRSAM). It was flight tested from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur,

off Odisha Coast at 11.30 a.m. This is the second test of the QRSAM. It was tested for the first time on June 4.

Useful Info

DRDO - Defence Research and Development Organisation

HQ – New Delhi

Secretary - Dr.S.Christopher

The Malabar naval exercise involving Indian, American and Japanese navies will start on July 10

The Malabar naval exercise involving Indian, American and Japanese navies will kick start on July 10 in the

Bay of Bengal. A sizeable number of aircraft, naval ships and nuclear submarines of the navies of the three

countries will be part of the annual exercise, considered a major war game in the region. The aim of the

Malabar exercise is to achieve deeper military ties and greater interoperability among the three navies in the

strategically-important Indo-Pacific region. India and the US have regularly conducted the annual exercise

since 1992.

Useful Info


Chief Naval Officer of Indian Navy – Sunil Lamba

Pakistan has successfully test-fired short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile 'Nasr'

Pakistan has successfully test-fired short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile 'Nasr'. NASR is a high-

precision weapons system with the ability for quick deployment and a range of 70 kilometers, or 43.5 miles.

Pakistan Army has conducted a series of training launches and tests during the current week for validation of

new technical parameters of 'NASR' with an enhanced range of 60-70 kilometers and flight maneuverability.

Useful Info




Army chief of Pakistan is Gen QamarJavedBajwa

Chinese troops are headed to Djibouti to set up China's first overseas military base

Ships carrying Chinese troops are headed to Djibouti to set up China's first overseas military base in an effort

to enhance its global reach. The base will be used for peacekeeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and West

Asia, China said. However, India believes the base would become another of China's "string of pearls" of

military alliances and assets.

Useful Info

Country – Djibouti

Capital – Djibouti city






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Currency – Djiboutian franc

The U.S. Navy recently tested the world's first-ever active laser weapons system

The U.S. Navy recently tested the world's first-ever active laser weapons system, which is now deployed and

ready for war. The system has special materials that release photons and at the speed of light, it silently hits an

object, burning it to a temperature of thousands of degrees. Each strike travels 50,000 times the speed of an

incoming intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). In the test, the system was able to destroy a drone in flight

and moving targets in the Persian Gulf. With its addition, USS Ponce becomes the first ship in the world to be

deployed with such an advanced weapons system.

Useful Info


Capital – Washington DC



Vice President – Mike Pence

Chief of Naval Officer of US Navy - Admiral John Richardson

Australia and US jointly launched multimillion hypersonic missile – HIFiRE

The US and Australia have jointly test-fired a hypersonic missile capable of moving at a speed eight times

faster than sound as part of a $54-million research project. The test was part of a project called the Hypersonic

International Flight Research Experimentation Program (HIFiRE) involving the US and Australian militaries,

Queensland University, Australia‘s Defence Science and Technology Group. A hypersonic glider capable of

moving at a speed eight times faster than sound has launched from a rocket range in the town of Woomera,

South Australia.

Useful Info





Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba had begun an eight-day-long two-nation tour of Mozambique and

Tanzania

Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba had begun an eight-day-long two-nation tour of Mozambique and Tanzania

with an aim of exploring new avenues of bilateral defence cooperation. Admiral Lanba, who also heads the

powerful Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), will visit first Mozambique. Later on his tour, Admiral Lanba

will begin his five-day-long visit to Tanzania on July 26. He is scheduled to meet President of Tanzania John

Magufuli, Defence Minister Hussein Mwinyi and other higher delegations. India and Mozambique have a Joint

Defence Working Group (JDWG) for defence and security cooperation.

Useful Info

Country – Mozambique

Capital – Maputo

Currency – Metical

President of Mozambique - Filipe Nyusi

Country – Tanzania

Capital – Dodoma

Currency – Tanzanian Shilling

President of Tanzania - John Magufuli

US Navy commissioned world‟s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford






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US Navy commissioned world‘s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford into the fleet. The commissioning

ceremony was held at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia in presence of US President Donald Trump. USS Gerald

R. Ford is the first ship in this new class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for the U.S. Navy. The ship is

named after the 38th President of the United States Gerald Ford and has been built by Newport News Ship

Building Company. The massive 1,106-foot-long carrier displaces a staggering 100,000 tons fully loaded and is

powered by two new generation nuclear reactors.

Useful Info





Vice President – Mike Pence

Chief of Naval Officer of US Navy - Admiral John Richardson

Sweden is going to hold its 'first and biggest' military exercise in over 20 years

Sweden is going to hold its 'first and biggest' military exercise in over 20 years, involving all of its military

branches as well as troops from several NATO countries. The drills are aimed at strengthening Sweden's

defence capabilities and creating a "credible and visible" deterrent to warn potential enemies against the risks

of attacking Sweden.

Useful Info

NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance


Country – Sweden

Capital – Stockholm

Currency - Swedish krona

China and Russia held their First Joint Naval Drill in the Baltic Sea

China and Russia held their First Joint Naval Drill in the Baltic Sea. This exercise involves anti-aircraft and

anti-ship defence measures coordinated from the Baltiysk base in Russia's Kaliningrad enclave.

Useful Info

Country – Russia

Capital – Moscow

Currency – Ruble

Baltic sea – The Baltic Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, enclosed by Scandinavia, Finland, the Baltic

countries, and the North European Plain.

China opened its first overseas military base with a flag raising ceremony in Djibouti

China formally opened its first overseas military base with a flag raising ceremony in Djibouti in the Horn of

Africa, the same day as the People's Liberation Army marks its 90th birthday. Djibouti's position on the

northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fueled worry in India that it would become another of China's

"string of pearls" military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.

Useful Info

Country – Djibouti

Capital – Djibouti city

Currency – Djiboutian Franc

Sri Lankan Navy has commissioned an India-built state-of-the-art Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel

(AOPV)






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Sri Lankan Navy has commissioned an India-built state-of-the-art Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel

(AOPV).It is the largest vessel built by an Indian ship builder for a foreign navy. Sri Lankan President and

Armed Forces commander-in-chief MaithripalaSirisena commissioned the new patrol vessel ―SLNS Sayurala‖

at a ceremony at the Eastern Container Terminal of the Port of Colombo. SLNS Sayurala is the first-ever brand

new platform purchased from a foreign ship builder and tailored for the specific requirements of the SriLanka

Navy (SLN). It is built at the Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) in India.

Useful Info


Capital – Colombo, Sri JayawardenepuraKotte


Indian Coast Guard Ship „Shaurya‟ was commissioned in Goa by Union Minister for Petroleum and

Natural Gas DharmendraPradhan

Indian Coast Guard ship 'Shaurya', the fifth in the series of six 105-metreOffshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs),

was commissioned in Goa by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas DharmendraPradhan. The OPV,

which draws 2,350 tonne and is propelled by 9100 kilowatt diesel engine, has been designed and built

indigenously by Goa Shipyard Ltd and is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communication

equipment, sensors and machineries.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas - DharmendraPradhan


Director General of Indian Coast Guard - Rajendra Singh

Army to Get 6 Apache AH64E Attack Helicopters in Deal worth Rs 4,168 Crore

India‘s Defence acquisition council (DAC) gave the green light to a proposal to buy six Apache AH64E

attack helicopters for the army from the United States. The approval was given at a meeting of Defence

Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by ArunJaitley.The six Apache AH64E attack helicopters along with

weapons systems from American giant Boeing at a cost of Rs 4,168 crorewill be Indian Army‘s first fleet of

attack choppers.

Useful Info


Boeing HQ – Chicago, Illinois, United States

Central Government has approved a nearly Rs 32,000 crore plan for boosting Coast Guard capabilities

Central Government has approved a nearly Rs32,000 crore “definitive five-year action programme” for the

Indian Coast Guard to enhance its capability in maintaining vigil on coastal waters.The action plan to give a

boost to the Coast Guard in terms of infrastructure and equipment like offshore patrol vessels, interceptor

boats, helicopters, aircraft and critical operational infrastructure were cleared at a meeting chaired by Defence

Secretary Sanjay Mitra.

Useful Info

Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra

US and South Korea began a 10-day-long annual military exercise, The Ulchi Freedom Guardian drill

The US and South Korea began a 10-day-long annual military exercise. The Ulchi Freedom Guardian

drill is a computer-simulated defensive exercise designed to enhance readiness and maintain stability on the

Korean peninsula. The Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills will be the first joint military exercise between the allies

since North Korea successfully flight-tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July and threatened to

bracket Guam with intermediate range ballistic missile fire in August.

Useful Info






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Capital –Seoul

Currency – South Korean won

Under project Navika Sagar Parikrama : Indian Navy‟s All women Team to Circumnavigate Globe on an

Indian-built sail boat INSV Tarini

Under project Navika Sagar Parikrama, a team of women officers of the Indian Navy would circumnavigate the

globe on an Indian-built sail boat INSV Tarini. This is the first ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an

all-womencrew.The project is considered essential towards promoting Ocean Sailing activities in the Navy

while depicting Government of India‘s thrust for ‗Nari Shakti‘.

Useful Info

Current Chief of the Naval Staff is Admiral Sunil Lanba.

Indian Coast Guard Training Ship Varuna Decommissioned

The Indian Coast Guard Ship Varuna, which was part of the First Training Squadron of the Navy, was

decommissioned with full armed forces honors at a ceremony. The ship had an illustrious service spanning

about 30 years. ICGS Varuna was the fourth of in its class of offshore patrol vessels built by the

Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock. The ship had numerous operational achievements to its credit, including a

record number of apprehension of smugglers with gold worth crores of rupees during the late 1980s.

Useful Info


ICGS Varuna has now been replaced by ICGS Sarathi in the First Training Squadron of the Indian Navy

Defence Accounts Department (DAD) organized its first Synergy Conference on Defence Pensions in New

Delhi

Defence Accounts Department (DAD) organized its first Synergy Conference on Defence Pensions in New

Delhi. The objective of the conference was to obtain feedback from the pensioners that would help the

department to serve them better with constantly improving systems and procedures.

Useful Info



The panel formed to interact with the pensioners was headed by Addl. CGDA ShriUpendraSah

12th edition of India-Nepal joint military exercise- Surya Kiran XII was held at Nepal

The 12th edition of India-Nepal joint military exercise- Surya Kiran XII was held at Nepal Army Battle School

(NABS) in Saljhandi, Nepal. The 14 day exercise focused on skills required counter-terrorism and counter-

terror, forest fighting and natural disaster management operations. The Surya Kiran series of bilateral military

exercises are conducted bi-annually, alternatively in India and Nepal. It is largest exercise in terms of troop‘s

participation in series of military training exercises undertaken by India with various countries.

Useful Info

Country – Nepal




13th

Edition of joint military Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2017 between India & US

A joint military training, Exercise Yudh Abhyas-2017 will be conducted at Joint Base Lewis McChord,

Washington, USA from 14 to 27 September 2017 between India and the USA. Exercise YudhAbhyas is one of

the largest joint running military training and defence corporation endeavors between India and USA. This will

be the 13th edition of the joint exercise hosted alternately between the two countries.






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Useful Info





India and Japan have agreed to collaborate closely in defence production

India and Japan have agreed to collaborate closely in defence production, including on dual-use technologies.

The two countries resolved to ramp up overall military engagement under the bilateral special strategic

framework. Union Defence Minister and his Japanese counterpart Itsunori Onodera signed the agreement

during India-Japan annual defence ministerial dialogue in Tokyo. The two sides also agreed to ramp up

counter-terror cooperation, besides deepening engagement among navies, air forces and ground forces of the

two countries.

Useful Info

Union Defence Minister – NirmalaSitharaman

Constiturncy – RajyaSabha, Karnataka

Country – Japan

Capital – Tokyo


India and Sri Lanka Begin Joint Naval Exercise SLINEX 2017

Indian Navy and Sri Lankan Navy has begun the 2017 Sri Lanka-India Exercise (SLINEX) at

Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The exercise will conclude on till 14 September 2017. SLINEX 17 aims at

reinforcing strong neighbourly ties between both countries underscored by extensive maritime interaction and

improved understanding. The exercise will commence with a Harbour Phase, during which, the participants

will engage in professional, cultural and social interactions.

Useful Info




DRDO Carries Out Successful Tests of Nag Missile

India's indigenously developed third generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) Nag has been successfully

flight tested by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in deserts of Rajasthan,

marking the completion of development trials. According to the defence ministry, Nag has been successfully

flight tested twice by the DRDO against two different targets in Rajasthan. The missile can hit a target up to

seven km.

Useful Info

DRDO - Defence Research and Development Organisation

Headquarters – New Delhi

Present Chairman - S Christopher

Shaheen VI: China-Pakistan Air Forces Joint Exercise

The air forces of China and Pakistan began a joint training exercise named "Shaheen VI" and deployed

their latest fighter jets and AWACS aircraft. China has dispatched J-11 fighters, JH-7 fighter-bombers, KJ-200

AWACS aircraft and ground forces including surface-to-air missile and radar troops. The exercise will run in

China. AWACS is Airborne Warning And Control System, a mobile, long-range radar surveillance and

control centre for air defence.

Useful Info

Country – China






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Capital – Beijing

Currency – Renminbi (yuan)




Turkey Signs Deal to Buy Russian S-400 Missile Systems

Turkey has signed a deal with Russia to buy S-400 missile defence systems in its first major weapons

purchase from Moscow, according to the President of Turkey RecepTayyipErdogan. The accord for the

surface-to-air missile defence batteries is Ankara's most significant pact with a non-NATO supplier.

Useful Info

Country – Turkey

Capital – Ankara


IAF Completes Development Trials of Astra air-to-air Missile

Final development trials of indigenous beyond visual range air-to-air missile Astra were successfully

concluded into the Indian Air Force. The trials were conducted over the Bay of Bengal off Odisha coast at

Chandipur, with the missile being test-fired from a Su-30 fighter aircraft. The missile has been designed to

be capable of engaging high-speed targets at short range, up to 20 km in tail-chase mode and long range, up to

80 km in head-on chase mode.

Useful Info

DRDO – Defence Research and Development Organisation

Headquarters of DRDO – New Delhi

Chairman of DRDO - S. Christopher

Indigenous Artillery Gun Sets New World Record in Range

An indigenous artillery gun, Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), being developed by the

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has set a new world record in range by hitting

targets at a distance of 48 km. During trial firings at Pokhran ranges, ATAGS registered the longest ever

distance of 48.074 km, surpassing the maximum range of 35-40 km fired by any artillery gun system in this

category.

US Army and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) inaugurated a permanent base In Israel

The US Army and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) inaugurated a permanent base In Israel. This is the first

time that a permanent American base has been opened in the Middle Eastern country. The base represents the

long-standing partnership, the strategic commitment between the armies and the militaries of the United States

of America and Israel. Several dozen American soldiers will be stationed at the base in Israel‘s south.

Useful Info


Capital – Washington D. C


Country – Israel

Capital – Jerusalem

Currency – Israeli new shekel

US and UAE Joint Military Exercise named Iron Union 5

The US and UAE's ground forces had begun a joint military exercise in Abu Dhabi, as part of efforts to

consolidate their bilateral relations and exchange training and military expertise. Code-named Iron Union 5,

the drill is an extension of a series of Iron Claw exercises. The exercise aims to upgrade and boost the readiness






188

of the UAE's armed forces and to allow both armies to promote their international co-operation in joint military

operations.

Useful Info

Country – United Arab Emirates



First Scorpene Submarine INS Kalvari Delivered to Navy

The first of the Scorpene class submarines, INS Kalvari, was delivered to the Indian Navy by Mazagon

Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL). The submarine will soon be commissioned into the Indian Navy.

Similarly, other Scorpene class submarines Khanderi and Karanj are undergoing trials and development. The

delivery of a submarine means that its trials are over and the navy has accepted the boat. Commissioning is a

ceremony that officially makes it part of the navy‘s fleet.

Useful Info


Constituency – RajyaSabha, Karnataka

Chief of Naval Staff of Indian Navy – Sunil Lanba

Indian Army organized Operation Sadbhavana for National Integration

The Indian Army has organized Operation Sadbhavana for National Integration. These operations

are carried out by Indian Army in Jammu & Kashmir and North East states respectively.Under this,

army undertakes various civic action programmes which aimed at winning hearts of the people and integration

of the people with the nation. The Sadbhavana tour was organised by the 109 Infantry Brigade of the Indian

Army.

Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) Signs Contract for Supply of MRSAM to Indian Army

Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) has signed a contract with Research Centre Imarat (RCI) for the supply

of Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (MRSAM) to Indian Army. The contract was signed to facilitate

production, deliveries and product support of MRSAM system for the Indian Army.

Useful Info

BDL – Bharat Dynamics Limited

Headquarters of BDL - Hyderabad

CMD of BDL - V. UdayaBhaskar

INS Tarasa Commissioned into Indian Navy

INS Tarasa, a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft intended for extended coastal and offshore surveillance and

patrolling, was commissioned into the Indian Navy. Western Naval Command chief Vice Admiral

GirishLuthra has commissioned the vessel. The vessel has been built in Kolkata. It is the fourth and last of the

Water Jet FACs built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Kolkata. The first two, INS Tarmugli and

INS Tihayu were commissioned in 2016 and are based in Vishakhapatnam. The third, INS Tillanchang, was

commissioned in March 2017 and is based in Karwar.

Useful Info


Constituency – RajyaSabha, Karnataka

Present Chief of Naval Staff of Indian Navy – Sunil Lanba

Integrated Defence Staff celebrates 17th Raising Day

Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters celebrated its 17th Raising Day today. To commemorate the occasion,

Chief of the IDS to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) Lt General Satish Dua paid homage to

the valiant martyrs of the Armed Forces by laying a wreath at „Amar Jawan Jyoti‟, India Gate in New Delhi.






189

Senior officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force of the IDS were present on the occasion. A Tri Services guard

was in accompaniment. IDS Headquarters was created in October 2001 in the aftermath of „Operation

Vijay‟ in Kargil war. The main objective was to promote synergy among the three Services and to integrate

them with the Ministry of Defence.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Defence – Nirmala Sitharaman

Constituency – Rajya Sabha, Karnataka

Defence Minister to commission INS Kiltan into Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has commissioned an indigenously-built anti-submarine warfare

stealth corvette INS Kiltan into the Indian Navy at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam. According to

Defence Minister, INS Kiltan strengthens India's defence system and will be a shining armour in 'Make in

India' programme as it is totally built indigenously.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Defence - Nirmala Sitharaman


Kiltan is the latest indigenous warship after Shivalik class, Kolkata class and sister ships.

Admiral Sunil Lanba is present Navy chief.

Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam, is situated in Andhra Pradesh.

Integrated Defence Staff celebrates 17th Raising Day

Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters celebrated its 17th Raising Day today. To commemorate the occasion,

Chief of the IDS to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) Lt General Satish Dua paid homage to

the valiant martyrs of the Armed Forces by laying a wreath at „Amar Jawan Jyoti‟, India Gate in New Delhi.

Senior officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force of the IDS were present on the occasion. A Tri Services guard

was in accompaniment. IDS Headquarters was created in October 2001 in the aftermath of „Operation

Vijay‟ in Kargil war. The main objective was to promote synergy among the three Services and to integrate

them with the Ministry of Defence.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Defence – Nirmala Sitharaman

Constituency – Rajya Sabha, Karnataka

Defence Minister to commission INS Kiltan into Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has commissioned an indigenously-built anti-submarine warfare

stealth corvette INS Kiltan into the Indian Navy at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam. According to

Defence Minister, INS Kiltan strengthens India's defence system and will be a shining armour in 'Make in

India' programme as it is totally built indigenously.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Defence - Nirmala Sitharaman


Kiltan is the latest indigenous warship after Shivalik class, Kolkata class and sister ships.

Admiral Sunil Lanba is present Navy chief. .

SCHEMES AND PROGRAMS

Furthering the agenda for cooperative federalism, NITI Aayog has launched SATH, a program providing

„Sustainable Action for Transforming Human capital‟ with the State Governments:






190

The vision of the program is to initiate transformation in the education and health sectors.The program

addresses the need expressed by many states for technical support from NITI.SATH aims to identify and build

three future ‗role model‘ states for health systems.

Organisation: NITI Aayog


CEO: Amitabh Kant

SushmaSwaraj inaugurates KIP for young overseas Indians

External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj inaugurated Know India Programme, KIP, for young overseas Indians

at a function in New Delhi. MrsSwaraj said, the programme is aimed at promoting awareness on different

facets of life in India and the progress made by the country in various fields such as economic and education.

Useful Info

Minister of External Affairs –SushmaSwaraj

Constituency –Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh

The Department of Science and Technology has launched the Visiting Advanced Joint Research Faculty

(VAJRA) scheme to attract Indian scientists abroad

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) under Ministry of Science and Technology has launched

the Visiting Advanced Joint Research Faculty (VAJRA) scheme in a bid to bring together the Indian scientists

abroad and India-based researchers for conducting joint researches in India. The web portal of VAJRA was

launched by Union Minister of Science and Technology Harsh VardhanIt aims to convert brain-drain into

brain-gain.

Useful Info

Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Science – Dr. Harsh Vardhan

Constituency –ChandniChowk (Delhi)

Jitendra Singh launched a new training programme called „COMMIT‟ for State Government officials

The Minister of State for Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh

launched a new training program 'Comprehensive Online Modified Modules on Induction Training'

(COMMIT) for State Government officials. COMMIT will be launched in 6 States of Assam, Haryana,

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal initially on the pilot basis during the current financial

year 2017-18 and within next year it is expected to cover all India level.

Useful Info

COMMIT - Comprehensive Online Modified Modules on Induction Training

Minister of State for Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space –Jitendra Singh

Constituency –Udhampur, Jammu & Kashmir

JIGYASA, a student- scientist connect program was jointly launched by CSIR & KVS in New Delhi

Jigyasa, a student- scientist connect program was officially launched in New Delhi recently. Council of

Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has joined hands with KendriyaVidyalayaSangathan (KVS) to

implement this program. MoU signing ceremony was held in the presence of Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of

Science & Technology and ShriPrakashJavadekar, Minister of HRD. The focus is on connecting school

students and scientists so as to extend student‘s classroom learning with that of a very well planned research

laboratory based learning. ―JIGYASA‖ is one of the major initiative taken up by CSIR at the national level,

during its Platinum Jubilee Celebration Year.

Useful Info

Union Human Resource Development Minister – PrakashJavadekar

Constituency – Madhya Pradesh (Rajya Shaba)

President launches three digital initiatives over e-education

President Pranab Mukherjee has launched digital initiatives - Swayam, SwayamPrabha and National Academic

Depository - in New Delhi to push e-education in the country. The aim of the initiatives is to raise the Gross

Enrollment Ratio in the higher education from 24.5 to 30 by 2020. Massive Open Online Courses, Swayam

will host courses taught in classrooms from Class 9th to post-graduation, which can be accessed by anyone,






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anywhere at any time. It will target those students who could not complete their studies and professionals who

wish to upgrade their knowledge. SwayamPrabha is the platform of 32 DTH channels devoted to telecasting

high-quality educational programmes 24X7 using GSAT-15 satellite. National Academic Depository will

facilitate online verification of certificates. All the courses are interactive and available free of cost.

Useful Info

DTH - Direct to Home

GSAT - Geosynchronous Satellites

First President of India – Dr. Rajendra Prasad

13th

President of India – PranabMukerjee

The government has started a story-telling contest named 'AadhaarHaiToAasaaniHai‟ to create awareness

about Aadhaar number

To create awareness about Aadhaar number, the government has started a story-telling contest named

'AadhaarHaiToAasaaniHai'. People willing to participate can send a 200-500 word-long story about Aadhaar

till August 8 midnight. The top five stories will be awarded Rs 20,000 each, while the next 20 stories will be

awarded Rs 5,000 each.

Vijay Goel and NitinGadkari flag off 10th 'Slum YuvaDaud' at Khichripur in New Delhi

Sports Minister Vijay Goel and Road Transport and Highways Minister NitinGadkari flagged off the 10th

Slum YuvaDaud at Khichripur in New Delhi. The Slum YuvaDaud is a part of the Adopt a Slum campaign of

the Sports Ministry and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan.

Useful Info

Minister of state (independent charge) for sports – Vijay Goel

Constituency – Rajasthan, RajyaSabha

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways – NitinGadkari

Constituency – Nagpur

Union Territory – New Delhi

CM – ArvindKejriwal


Government has implemented the “SeekhoaurKamao” scheme

Government has implemented the ―SeekhoaurKamao‖ scheme which encourages the youth from minority

communities to learn employment skills. The Minority Affairs Ministry has sanctioned over 460 crore rupees

to cover more than two lakh seventeen thousand minority youth.

Useful Info

Minister of State (Independent charge) for Minority Affairs - Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

Constituency – RajyaSabha, Uttar Pradesh

ArunJaitley launches PradhanMantriVayaVandanaYojana pension scheme

Finance Minister ArunJaitley formally launched PradhanMantriVayaVandanaYojana (PMVVY), a pension

scheme exclusively for senior citizens with 8% fixed rate of interest on their savings. Under this scheme, there

will be an assured return of 8 per cent over a tenure of 10 years. It can be purchased offline as well as online

through Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India which has been given the sole privilege to operate this

scheme.

Useful Info

Union Finance Minister of India – ArunJaitley


LIC - Life Insurance Corporation

HQ – Mumbai

Chairman of LIC - V K Sharma

Cabinet approves revision of guidelines of Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme






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The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi has given approval for revision of

guidelines of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB) Scheme with a view to achieve its intended objectives.

Two sets of changes have been made in the scheme:

Specific changes have been made in the attributes of the scheme to make it more attractive, mobilise finances

as per the target and reduce the economic strains caused by imports of gold and reduce the Current Account

Deficit (CAD).

Flexibility has been given to Ministry of Finance to design and introduce variants of SGBs with different

interest rates and risk protection / pay-offs that would offer investment alternatives to different category of

investors. Ministry of Finance (the issuer) has been delegated this power to amend / add to the features of the

Scheme with approval of the Finance Minister to reduce the time lag between finalizing the attributes of a

particular tranche and its notification.

Following specific changes in the scheme have been approved:

The investment limit per fiscal year has been increased to 4 kg for individuals, 4 Kg for Hindu Undivided

Family (HUF) and 20 Kg for Trusts and similar entities notified by the Government from time to time.

The ceiling will be counted on Financial year basis and will include the SGBs purchased during the trading in

the secondary market.

The ceiling on investment will not include the holdings as collateral by Banks and Financial institutions.

SGBs will be available 'on tap‘. Based on the consultation with NSE, BSE, Banks and Department of Post,

features of product to emulate 'On Tap' sale would be finalised by Ministry of Finance.

Useful Info

NSE – National Stock Exchange of India Limited

HQ – Mumbai

CEO - J. Ravichandran


HQ – Mumbai

CEO - AshishChauhan

Executive Committee of National Mission for Clean Ganga has approved 7 projects worth Rs 425 crore

The Executive Committee of National Mission for Clean Ganga in its 4th meeting has approved seven projects

worth Rs 425 crore in the sector of sewage infrastructure, Ghat development and research. In sewage sector it

includes three projects each in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have been approved. For Uttar Pradesh, interception,

diversion and STP projects for Unnao, Shuklaganj and Ramnagar have been approved. These three projects are

aimed at creation of sewage treatment capacity of 29 MLD (Unnao- 13 MLD, Shuklaganj- six MLD and

Ramnagar- ten MLD) with a total cost ofRs 238.64 crore. In Bihar, three projects at Sultanganj, Naugachia and

Mokama with total estimated cost of Rs 175 crore have been approved.

Useful Info

Union Minister for water resources and ganga rejuvenation – Satya Pal Singh

Government launched the 2nd AGRI-UDAAN program in New Delhi

In an attempt to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture, Government launched the 2nd

AGRIUDAAN program in New Delhi. It will mentor start-ups and help them connect with potential investors.

The program focuses on catalyzing scale-up stage food and agribusiness start-ups through rigorous mentoring,

industry networking and investor pitching. This 6-month program is a unique platform for scale up stage

innovators, entrepreneurs and startups in the Food and Agribusiness sectors. Top 40 startups will be shortlisted

and allowed to pitch in front of the panel of evaluators during cohort finalization program.

Useful Info

Union Territory – Delhi

CM – ArvindKejriwal


Book Now, Pay Later Scheme ForTatkal Tickets has been launched by IRCTC






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Customers can book their Tatkal railway ticket and choose to pay later under the new scheme announced by the

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC). Till now, this service was available only for general

reservations. Now, the users can use 'pay on delivery' option to save payment time, increasing their chances of

booking a confirmed ticket under the Tatkal quota.

Useful Info

IRCTC - Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation

Union Minister for Railways – PiyushGoyal

Chairman & Managing Director of IRCTC - A.K. Manocha

Government gives funds to States/UTs under NAM to develop AYUSH System of Medicine

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH, Mr.ShripadYessoNaik, informed that during the year

2016-17, central Government released Rs. 41711.849 lakhs fund to State/UT Governments under

National AYUSH Mission (NAM). Abbreviation AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy,

Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy.

Useful Info

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH – ShripadYessoNaik


AYUSH - Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy

National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Google India launched Android Skill Development

Programme

National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) andGoogle India launched Android Skill Development

Programme to impart mobile app development training on the Android and Web platform and improve the

quality of mobile app development ecosystem in India.Under the initiative, NSDC would introduce a specific

course to create applications for the mobile platform that can be used on smart phones and tablets running on

the Android operating system.

Useful Info

NSDC - National Skill Development Corporation


Google CEO – SundarPichai

Government of India has decided to launch “AajeevikaGrameen Express Yojana (AGEY)”

The Government of India has decided to launch a new sub-scheme named“AajeevikaGrameen Express

Yojana (AGEY)” as part of the DeendayalAntyodayaYojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission

(DAYNRLM).

The Self Help Groups under DAY-NRLM will operate road transport service in backward areas. This will help

to provide safe, affordable and community monitored rural transport services to connect remote villages with

key services and amenities. AGEY will be initially implemented in 250 Blocks in the country onpilot basis.

Useful Info

DAY-NRLM - DeendayalAntyodayaYojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission

AGEY - AajeevikaGrameen Express Yojana

Union Minister of Rural Development – Narendra Singh Tomar

Constituency – Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh

'Champions of Change' Initiative Organised by NITI Aayog

PM NarendraModiaddressed a gathering of young entrepreneurs and CEOs startups at an event organised by

NITI Aayog. The event called 'Champions of Change' was organised by India‗s policy think-tank, was

aimedat bringing together young businessmen at a place and share ideas.The "Champions of Change" initiative

is oneeffort to bring together diverse strengths for the benefit of the nation and society.

Useful Info

NITI Aayog – The National Institution for Transforming India

Chairman – PM Modi






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Vice Chairman – Rajiv Kumar

CEO – Amitabh Kant

Renaming of central sector scheme SAMPADA as PM KisanSampadaYojana approved by CCEA

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA has approved the renaming of the new Central Sector

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

PradhanMantriKisanSampadaYojana (PMKSY) for the period of 2016-20 coterminous with the 14th Finance

Commission cycle.

CCEA - Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

Chaired by – PM NarendraModi

Mentor India Campaign to be launched by NITI Aayog

NITI Aayog announced to launch the Mentor India Campaign, a strategic nation building initiative to engage

leaders who can guide and mentor students at more than 900 Atal Tinkering Labs.TheseAtal Tinkering Labs

are established across the country as a part of the Atal Innovation Mission.

Organisation: NITI Aayog


Chairman:NarendraModi

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launches rooftop solar programme

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched a grid-connected rooftop solar programme through a

netmetering system at the State Secretariat in the capital city of Bhubaneswar. The Chief Minister also

launched an online web portal of the programme.The solar programme will be implemented by Odisha

Renewable

Energy Development Agency (OREDA). It mainly aims at harnessing renewable solar capacity through

people‗s participation to further strengthen the grid and reduce power losses in the state, benefiting the public.

It also aims to help the state in addressing the climate change action plan.

State:Odisha

Capital: Bhubaneswar

CM:NaveenPatnaik

Governor:S. C. Jamir

Modi inaugurated the two-day annual conference, RajaswaGyanSangam, 2017 at VigyanBhawan, New

Delhi

PM NarendraModi inaugurated the two-day annual conference, RajaswaGyanSangam, 2017 at

VigyanBhawan, New Delhi. The conference, jointly organized by the Central Board of Direct Taxes and the

Central Board of Excise and Customs. The main objective of the conference is to enable a two-way

communication between the policy-makers and senior officers in the field offices with a view to increase

revenue collection and facilitate effective implementation of law and policies in key result areas.

Useful Info

New Delhi CM – ArvindKejriwal


Nestle Sets up First Food Safety Institute in India

The new FSSAI CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwalinaugurated the Nestle Food Safety Institute in Manesar,

Gurugram. It will provide guidance and training on food safety. The FSSAI has been working with Nestle

India for setting up the institute at Manesar. While this is the first such institute in India, Nestle already runs a

similar Institute each in China and Lausanne, Switzerland.

Useful Info

FSSAI – Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

CEO of FSSAI - Pawan Kumar Agarwal

President Kovind launched nationwide campaign: "Swachhata Hi Sewa"






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President Ram NathKovind launched a nation-wide campaign Swachhata Hi Sewafrom Kanpur, Uttar

Pradesh. He will administer nation-wide Swachhta Hi Seva pledge initiating parallel action in all the two lakh

50 thousand plus Gram Panchayats and cities in India. The fortnight long campaign will conclude on

2nd of October, Gandhi Jayanti. Eminent personalities, community organizations and private sector

organizations will undertake shramdaan activities. The objective of the campaign is to mobilise people and

reinforce the Jan Aandolan for sanitation to contribute to Mahatma Gandhi's dream of a Clean India.

Useful Info

State – Uttar Pradesh

Capital – Lucknow

CM – Yogi adityanath

Governor – Ram Naik

Present President of India – Ram NathKovind

Dr. Harshvardhan Launches Pt. DeenDayalUpadhyayVigyan Gram SankulPariyojana

Dr. Harshvardhan launched “PtDeenDayalUpadhyayVigyan Gram SankulPariyojana” which will

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

Development through cluster approach in Uttarakhand. Department of Science and Technology is

implementing several initiatives for upliftment and economic development of rural areas in the country.

Useful Info

Union Minister for Science & Technology – DrHarshvardhan

Constituency – ChandniChowk (Delhi)

Govt Launches Campaign to Sensitise Women About Cancer

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

sensitise women about the early screening and the preventive care for cancer. Themed 'Nurturing the

Nurturer', the campaign was launched by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) in partnership with the Apollo

Hospitals group.

Useful Info

Minister of State Health and Family Welfare - Anupriya Patel

Constituency – Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh

NarendraModi launched -PradhanMantriSahajBijliHarGharYojana „Saubhagya‟

Prime Minister NarendraModi launched - PradhanMantriSahajBijliHarGharYojana „Saubhagya‟ to

provide electricity connections to over 4 crore families in rural and urban areas by December 2018. In India,

four crore out of 25 crore families do not have power connection even after 70 years of independence. Power

Minister R K Singh stated that India will achieve the target of power for all by December 2018, while all

villages will be electrified by the end of 2017.

The Saubhagya scheme basically means SahajBijliHarGharYojana,

It aims to provide access to electricity to all families in India,

The Saubhagya scheme will provide free electricity connection to poor families of India,

The total outlay for SahajBijliHarGharYojana is pegged at Rs 16,320 crore,

The Centre will provide largely funds for the scheme to all States/UTs,

SaubhagyaYojana will give access to electricity to all ‗willing‘ households in India

RANKING AND INDEXES

Bollywood stars in Forbes World's Highest-Paid Celebrities List

The Forbes list of world‘s highest-paid celebs is out and has Sean Combs at the

top.ShahRukhKhan,salmankhan,akshaykumar are placed in the list.

1st place - Sean Combs $130 Million (Musicians) - USA

65th

– Shah Rukh Khan $38 million






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71st – Salman Khan $37 million

80th

– Akshaykumar $35.5 million

Dangal becomes 1st Indian movie to earn Rs2,000cr worldwide: Forbes

The Aamir Khan starrer Dangal has become the first Indian movie to earn Rs2,000crore worldwide. Recently,

Dangal also created the record of being the fifth highest-grossing non-English film ever. Based on the life of

wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, the sports drama film is also the highest grossing Indian film in China.

According to a report by Forbes, on its 53rd day of release in China, Dangal made Rs 2.5 crore ($390,000) at

the China box office taking its worldwide total to Rs 2000 crore.

Useful Info

Actor –Aamir Khan

Director -NiteshTiwari

Music –Pritam

SpiceJet is world‟s top airline stock in 2017 with 124% gain

Two and a half years after SpiceJet Ltd was forced to ground its entire fleet on its inability to pay a mere $2.2

million in fuel bills, the budget airline has become the world‘s best-performing airline stock—with $26 billion

in plane orders to boot. The company‘s co-founder and chairman, Ajay Singh, has played the white knight,

injecting capital, cutting loss-making routes and aggressively adding capacity in one of the world‘s fastest

growing markets.

Useful Info

SpiceJet HQ –Gurugram

CEO - Ajay Singh

ICC Rankings: Kohli at 3rd

place in the ODI rankings

India captain ViratKohli managed to hold on to his third spot in the batsman's chart. The top three batsmen -

South Africa's AB de Villiers (874 rating points), Australian David Warner (871) and Kohli (852).

The top five ODI teams are close to each other with South Africa (122), Australia (118), India (117), New

Zealand (114) and England (112)

Kohli has been ranked 89th

in the Forbes 100 list

India cricket captain ViratKohli is the sole sportsperson from the country to feature among the world‘s 100

highest paid athletes in the latest Forbes list of ‗The World‘s highest paid athletes‘.

Useful Info

Topped by - Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), pay of $93 million

MukeshAmbani Becomes Asia‟s Second-Richest Person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index

MukeshAmbani has elbowed past Li Ka-shing to become Asia‘s second-richest man as investors rallied behind

his efforts to arm India‘s poor with cheap data-loaded phones. The chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)

has added $12.1 billion to his wealth in 2017, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Useful Info

Bloomberg Headquarters – New York

Asia‘s Richest Person – Jack Ma (Alibaba owner)

3 Indian firms, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints and BhartiAirtel are among Forbes' list of the world's 100

most innovative companies

Three Indian firms, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints and BhartiAirtel are among Forbes' list of the

world's 100 most innovative companies, where Salesforce.Com has replaced Tesla Motors on the top

position.While HUL and Asian Paints have moved up in their ranks to seventh and eighth respectively (from

31st and 18th last year), BhartiAirtel has entered the ranking at 78th position.

Useful Info

Ranking List:

1st – Salesforce.com (HQ - San Francisco, California, United States)

7th

- Hindustan Unilever (India)






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8th

– Asian Paints (India)

78th

- BhartiAirtel (India)

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

India leapt up the global rankings by 12 places to take the 14th spot in terms of best country for expats to

live and work in, according to the HSBC survey. The list has been topped by Singapore. The list is part of

HSBC's latest 'expat explorer survey' that covered 27,587 expats from 159 countries and territories in March

and April 2017. According to the survey, about 71 percent expats in India reported high levels of confidence in

the local economy, while 58 percent exuded optimism on political stability.

Useful Info

1st in the List – Singapore

14th

– India

HSBC Headquarters - London, United Kingdom

Forbes India Rich List 2017: Mukesh Ambani Richest With $38 Billion

Forbes Magazine has released its India Rich List for 2017, with Reliance Industries Limited chairman

Mukesh Ambani topping the charts for the 10th consecutive year with a net worth of $38 billion. Mr

Ambani is followed by tech czar Azim Premji who jumped two places with the net worth of $19 billion.

Ranked third are the Hinduja brothers who added $3.2 billion to their net worth. According to Forbes, the

combined net worth of the 100 richest Indians stood at $479 billion, a jump of 26% from $374 billion in

2016. Acharya Balkrishna, CEO of Patanjali Ayurved, figures at No. 19 with net worth of $6.55 billion.

Useful Info

The Top 10 Indian in the List are as follows-

Rank Name Net Worth ($ Billion) Company

1 Mukesh Ambani 38 Reliance Industries

2 Azim Premji 19 Wipro

3 Hinduja brothers 18.4 Ashok Leyland

4 Lakshmi Mittal 16.5 Arcelormittal

5 Pallonji Mistry 16 Shapoorji Pallonji Group

6 Godrej family 14.2 Godrej Group

7 Shiv Nadar 13.6 HCL Technologies

8 Kumar Birla 12.6 Aditya Birla Group

9 Dilip Shanghvi 12.1 Sun Pharmaceutical Industries

10 Gautam Adani 11 Adani Ports & SEZ

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Japan launches satellite for high-precision positioning system to complement GPS

Japan launched a satellite to help build a high-precision geo location system that will complement the US-

operated Global Positioning System (GPS).Footage by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency showed, a H-

IIA rocket blasting off from the Tanegashima space centre in southern Japan carrying the "Michibiki" No.2

satellite.

Prithvi-II missile successfully test-fired

India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-IImissile, from a test range in

Odisha as part of a user trial by the Army.The trial of the surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range

of 350 km, was carried out using a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range

(ITR) in Chandipur






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Scientists from the Universityof Adelaide have developedan artificial intelligencesystem that canpredict how

long a personwill live by scanningthrough the images of theirorgans. The system analysedthe medical images

of48 patients and was able topredict which of themwould die within five yearswith 69% accuracy.

India successfully test-fires 1st all weather tracked-chassis QR-SAM

India successfully test-fired its first all-weather tracked-chassis Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QR-

SAM) from a mobile launcher at Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha.

Facebook launches mapsfor disaster relief and aid

Facebook has launcheddisaster maps to helphumanitarianorganisationssavelivesinemergencies,said its chief

executive MarkZuckerberg.

Useful Info

Facebook

HQ – Menlo Park, California, United States

CEO – Mark Zuckerberg

Hottest Known Planet in the Universe - KELT-9b

Scientists have discovered the hottest known exoplanet, designated KELT-9b which is warmer than most stars

in the universe. The study has been published in the journal Nature.

Indian American Raja Chari is one of the 12 astronauts chosen by NASA

NASA has chosen 12 new astronauts, including an Indian American named Raja Chari, from a record number

of over 18,000 applicants, who will be trained for missions into Earth orbit and to deep space. The 12 new

candidates include six military officers, three scientists, two medical doctors, a lead engineer at SpaceX and a

NASA research pilot. Lt. Col. Raja Chari is the first Indian American after KalpanaChawla to be chosen by

NASA for one of its missions at NASA‘s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Lt Col Raja ―Grinder‖ Chari, 39,

is a commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at

Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Useful Info

SpaceX

HQ – Hawthorne, California, United States

CEO - Elon Musk

First X-ray space telescope to study black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts launched by China

China successfully launched its first X-ray space telescope to study black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts.

The 2.5-tonne Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), named 'Insight,' was launched from Jiuquan

Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi desert. It was delivered into orbit, 550km (341 miles) above

the Earth, by the Long March-4B rocket.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital – Beijing

Currency – Renminbi – yuan


Mangalyaan completes 1000 Earth days in its orbit

Indian Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) also called Mangalyaan completes 1000 Earth days in its orbit on 19th

June 2017. The interplanetary mission of ISRO was launched on 5th November, 2013. It was inserted into

Martian orbit on 24th September, 2014 in its first attempt.

Useful Info

ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisation

HQ – Bengaluru






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ISRO was founded in 1969

Chairman – A.S.Kirankumar

India & Russia have identified key areas to bolster cooperation in the science and technology sector

India and Russia have identified key areas to bolster cooperation in the science and technology sector, including

space and marine technologies, IT and deep ocean engineering. The areas were chosen at the first meeting of

India-Russia Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk. The

meeting was co-chaired by Minister ArunJaitley and Russian Deputy Prime Minister DmitryiRogozin. Inspired

by India's 'Make in India' initiative, Moscow has launched a “Do It In Russia” initiative to promote local

manufacturing and technology development.

Useful Info

Country – Russia

Capital – Moscow

Currency – Ruble

The world's first train that operates on a virtual track has been made by China

China has unveiled the world's first train that operates on a virtual track using sensor technology instead of

metal rails. The train's top speed is 70 kilometers per hour, and it can travel 25 kilometers in distance after just

10 minutes of charging. The train can reportedly carry up to 307 passengers despite the fact that it is only about

32 meters long. The train will be ready to roll out to the public by 2018.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital – Beijing

Currency – Renminbi – yuan


India‟s latest communication satellite GSAT-17 has been successfully launched from Kourou

India‘s latest communication satellite GSAT-17 has been successfully launched from Kourou in French Guiana.

GSAT-17 with a lift-off mass of about 3,477 kg carries payloads in Normal C-band, Extended C-band and S-

band to provide various communication services. The Satellite also carries equipment for meteorological data

relay and satellite-based search and rescue services being provided by earlier INSAT satellites. This was third

satellite launch by ISRO this month, the other two being first developmental flight of GSLV MkIII and PSLV

C-38 missions launched from Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh.

Useful Info

GSAT - geosynchronous satellites

GSLV - Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

PSLV – Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

Country - French Guiana

Capital – Cayenne

Currency – Euro

Ransomware hits Jawaharlal Nehru port operations in Mumbai

The Maharashtra government has termed the latest malware attack as extremely serious after it disrupted the

operation of country's largest container port Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust's (JNPT).

Useful Info

Jawaharlal Nehru Port, also known as NhavaSheva, is the largest container port in India. Located east of

Mumbai in Maharashtra, the port on the Arabian Sea is accessed via Thane Creek.

China‟s new heavy-lift carrier rocket launch fails






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China‘s ambitious space programme suffered a rare setback on Sunday as its new heavy-lift carrier rocket, the

Long March-5 Y2 failed to put the country‘s largest satellite into orbit. An anomaly occurred during the flight

of the rocket, which blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in Hainan.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital – Beijing



Oracle picks Bengaluru for its first digital hub in Asia-Pacific

American tech giant Oracle has said it is opening its first digital hub in Asia Pacific, which will be based in

Bengaluru. The company, with annual revenue of more than $37 billion, said the hub would provide cloud

computing technology and resources to small and medium businesses to empower them in their digital

transformation.

Useful Info

Oracle Corporation - Oracle Corporation is a multinational computer technology corporation

HQ - Redwood Shores, California

Founder – Larry Ellison, Bob Miner, Ed oates

Adobe announced that it will stop updating and distributing Flash Player plug-in by the end of 2020

Adobe announced that it will stop updating and distributing Flash Player plug-in by the end of 2020. Flash

technology was once one of the most widely used ways to watch videos and play games online. In recent years,

browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Safari have been deprecating Flash in favour of its

alternative HTML5.

Useful Info

Adobe - Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American multinational computer software company.

HQ - San Jose, California, United States

CEO - ShantanuNarayen

Facebook TV is set to launch online in mid-August

Facebook TV is set to launch online in mid-August. The social media giant has partnered with media

companies like Group Nine Media, BuzzFeed, ATTN, and Vox Media which would provide inexpensive, five

to 10-minute shows.

Useful Info


CEO - Mark Zuckerberg

Iran successfully launched its most advanced satellite-carrying rocket called „Simorgh‟ into space

Iran successfully launched its most advanced satellite-carrying rocket called ‗Simorgh‘ into space. The launch

took place at the Imam Khomeini National Space Station in Semnan. The development marks a significant step

forward for the Islamic Republic's young space program. It also raises alarm among the nation‘s adversaries

who fear that the same technology could be used to produce long-range missiles. The U.S. State Department

has termed the launch as "provocative."

Useful Info

The rocket is capable of carrying a satellite weighing 250 kilograms (550 pounds)

Country – Iran

Capital – Tehran

Currency – Iranian rial

Breakthrough Starshot successfully launch world's smallest spacecraft “Sprites”






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The smallest spacecraft ever launched are successfully travelling in low Earth orbit and communicating with

systems on Earth, scientists have announced. Known as ‗Sprites‘, the miniature satellites are just 3.5cm x

3.5cm and carry radios, sensors and computers, with each device powered by sunlight and weighing just four

grams.Whilenanosatellites known as CubeSats have previously been sent into space, such systems have a mass

thousands of times that of the Sprites, weighing more than 1kg.

Useful Info

Breakthrough Initiatives is a program founded in 2015 and funded by Yuri Milner.

Yuri Borisovich (Bentsionovich) Milner - Russian entrepreneur, venture capitalist and physicist. Milner is

Russia's most influential tech investor.

China produces gas from methane hydrate, also known as„flammable ice‟ under South China Sea (SCS)

According to the Land and Resources Ministry China has successfully produced natural gas from methane

hydrate, also known as ―flammable ice‖, in an experimental project in the South China Sea (SCS).Under the

experiment, a drilling platform had produced a total of 309,000 cubic meters of natural gas from gas hydrate in

60 days. China has achieved theoretical, technological, engineering and equipment innovations and has made a

historical breakthrough. The methane hydrate is highly flammable and energy-intensive fuel as one cubic meter

of the compound can releases about 164 cubic meters of natural gas.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital –Beijing

Currency –Renminbi– Yuan


India has declared itself free from highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1 and H5N8)

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

the states showed no evidence of its presence. It has been notified to the World Organization for Animal Health

(OIE). The surveillance was carried out throughout the country since completion of the operation including

culling, disinfection and clean-up and surveillance in the states showed no evidence of the presence of Avian

Influenza Virus. India had reported outbreaks of influenza at various epicenters in different states across the

country between October 2016 and February 2017.

Useful Info

WHO – World Health Organisation

HQ – Geneva, Switzerland

Scientists from the IISERhave developed a hydrophobic sorbent that can suck up oil and congeal it

Scientists from the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER) in Thiruvananthapuram have

developed a hydrophobic sorbent that can suck up oil and congeal it.A two-member research team led by Prof.

Kana M. Sureshan from the School of Chemistry at IISER developed the hydrophobic sorbent by using a cheap

raw material (mannitol) and cellulose pulp as a matrix. Mannitol was converted into a hydrophobic gelator

through a one-step process and a solution was made using this compound.

Useful Info

IISER - Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research

Scientists have developed a super strong, flexible bio-glue for wound healing without causing toxicity

Scientists have developed a super strong, flexible bio-glue for wound healing without causing toxicity. It has

been developed by the erudite researchers from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and

the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).The ―tough adhesive‖ is

biocompatible and binds to tissues with strength comparable to the body‘s own resilient cartilage.

The Indian Army has developed a mobile application named 'Humraaz'






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The Indian Army has developed a mobile application named 'Humraaz' through which serving soldiers can

track details like postings and promotions. Through the app, soldiers can also view their monthly salary slips

and the Form 16 and also download them. The mobile app has been developed in-house by the Army and will

be launched in the second week of August for prompt communication of information to junior commissioner

officers and other personnels.

Useful Info

Chief of Army Staff – BipinRawat

Union Minister of Defence – Nirmala Sitharaman

SpaceX successfully launches HP‟s supercomputer to ISS

Space X has successfully launched Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) Spaceborne Computer towards the

International Space Station using Falcon 9 rocket.

British scientists have developed the world‟s smallest surgical robot

British scientists have developed the world‟s smallest surgical robot which could transform daily operations

for tens of thousands of patients. A team of 100 scientists and engineers have used low-cost technology

originally developed for mobile phones and space industry.The robot, called Versius, mimics the human arm

and can be used to carry out a wide range of laparoscopic procedures. The robot is set to be launched next year.

NASA plans to extract oxygen from atmosphere on Mars

NASA is planning to send microbial life on its Mars 2020 rover mission, which would use Mars' atmospheric

carbon dioxide to produce oxygen. The mission, if successful, would make way for more affordable human

missions to Mars where oxygen is needed for life support and rocket propulsion, said NASA. Notably, Mars'

atmosphere contains around 95.32% CO2 and only 0.13% oxygen.

US lab breaks world record for magnetic strength

US-based MagLab has achieved a new world record with the strongest resistive magnet, producing 41.4 teslas

(a unit of magnetic field strength). Taking 2.5 years and $3.5 million to build, the machine smashed the

previous record held by China's 38.5-tesla magnet. Resistive magnets are activated when electric currents are

applied, and this one required power equivalent to boiling 21,500 kettles.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launchIRNSS-1H

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch its navigation satellite IRNSS-1H this

evening. The satellite lifts off from the second launch pad of the SatishDhavan Space Centre at Sriharikotta,

on board the rocket PSLV C39.

Useful Info


HQ – Bengaluru

Chairman of ISRO – A. S. Kiran Kumar

Instagram hack: Celebrity contact details revealed

Instagram has said a flaw in its systems revealed a number of stars' phone numbers and email addresses to

cyber-attackers. The Facebook-owned social network said it believed one or more attackers had targeted

high-profile stars to get their contact information. Instagram said passwords had not been stolen but warned

users to watch for suspicious activity on their accounts.

ISRO‟s Mars Orbiter Mission Completes 3 Years in Orbit

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) stated that its Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) which has

completed three years in its Martian orbit is in good health and continues to work as expected. On the

occasion of completion of three years in its Martian orbit released MOM second-year science data from

September 24, 2014, to September 23, 2016. The 450-crore rupees MOM mission aims at studying the






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Martian surface and mineral composition. It will also scan its atmosphere for methane which is an indicator of

life on Mars.

Useful Info


Headquarters of ISRO – Bengaluru

Chairperson - AS Kiran Kumar

BOOKS AND AUTHORS:

AnupamKher is set to play Manmohan Singh in a movie

Veteran actor AnupamKher is set to play Manmohan Singh in a movie based on the book ―The Accidental

PrimeMinister,‖ written by theformer Prime Minister‘smedia adviser SanjayaBaru.The 62-year-old actor said

heis essaying the role of Dr.Singhin the film to bedirected by debutante VijayRatnakarGutte.

Arundhati Roy‟s new novel “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” released

Arundhati Roy‘s eagerlyawaitedsecond novel wenton sale, twodecades after her prize-winningdebutThe God

of Small Thingspropelled her toglobal fame and launchedher career as an outspokencritic of injustice in

thecountry.Ms. Roy, now 55, becamethefirst Indian woman to win the Booker Prizewithher 1997 work.

„YugPurush, Bharat Ratna, AtalJi‟ a book authored by Pokhriyal

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‗Nishank, has officially handed over the first copy of

the 450-page book titled -‗YugPurush, Bharat Ratna, AtalJi‘ to the President of India ShriPranab Mukherjee.

However, the book will be launched soon in the market for all.

Naidu launches book titled „The Emergency-Indian Democracy‟s Darkest Hour'

Venkaiah Naidu has launched the book which titled 'The Emergency - Indian Democracy‟s Darkest

Hour'.A book is written by Surya Prakash who is a chairman of PrasarBharati.

PM releases photo book titled "President Pranab Mukherjee - A Statesman"

The Prime Minister NarendraModi has released a photo book titled "President Pranab Mukherjee - A

Statesman", at an event in RashtrapatiBhawan. He presented the first copy of the book to the President. The

book is a comprehensive photographic record of India's 13th president. It covers Mukherjee's presidency and

documents his various roles, the statement said. Union ministers ArunJaitley, PrakashJavadekar and Vijay Goel

besides BJP veteran L K Advani were also present on the occasion.

Useful Info

1st president of India – Rajendra Prasad

1st prime minister of India – Jawaharlal Nehru

1st woman president of India – PratibhaPatil

1st woman Prime Minister of India – Indira Gandhi

RaghuramRajan, on his RBI stint pens a book named 'I Do What I Do'

Former RBI Governor RaghuramRajan has penned a book titled 'I Do What I Do: On Reform, Rhetoric &

Resolve'. The book conveys what it was like to be at the helm of RBI in those turbulent but exciting times, said

publisher HarperCollins India. The book will launch on September 4, exactly a year after Rajan quit as RBI

governor.

SPORTS NEWS

Cricket

Ramachandra Guha resigns as BCCI Administrator

Historian Ramachandra Guha who was appointed by the Supreme Court as one of the four administrators of

BCCI, today informed the court that he had resigned from the post due to personal reasons. A vacation bench

of Justices M M Shantanagoudar and Deepak Gupta was informed by Guha's counsel that he had tendered his

resignation on May 28 to Chairman of the Committee of Administrators of the BCCI Vinod Rai. The apex






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court had on January 30 appointed a four-member committee of administrators headed by former Comptroller

and Auditor General Vinod Rai to run the affairs of BCCI.

Muralitharan became the first Sri Lankan to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame

Muttiah Muralitharan, the most successful bowler in Tests and One Day Internationals, became the first Sri

Lankan to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He was awarded the honour.

Useful Info


Capital – Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (administrative), Colombo (commercial)

Currency – Sri Lankan rupee

Muttiah Muralitharan – sri Lankan bowler

ODI wickets – 534

Test cricket Wickets – 800

Anil Kumble resigned from the post of Head Coach of the Indian Cricket team

Anil Kumble, the former Indian Captain, resigned from the post of Head Coach of the Indian Cricket team. His

resignation came before the limited-overs tour of the West Indies team.

India became the team to score the most 300-plus totals in One Day International (ODI) Cricket

India became the team to score the most 300-plus totals in One Day International (ODI) Cricket. India did so

when they scored a total of 310 for the loss of five wickets in the second ODI against West Indies. It was the

96th time that India crossed the 300-run mark, surpassing Australia‘s 95. The other teams posted 300+ scores

in ODIs as follows: Australia 95, South Africa 77, Pakistan 68, Sri Lanka 62, England 57 and New Zealand 51.

Useful Info

ICC – International Cricket Council

Motto -Great Sport Great Spirit

HQ – Dubai

President -Zaheer Abbas (former Pakistani cricketer)

Chairman –Shashank Manohar

CEO - David Richardson (former South African Cricketer)

Sarfraz Ahmed named Pakistan Test team's captain

Pakistan's limited-overs captain Sarfraz Ahmed has been named the side's Test captain by the Pakistan Cricket

Board on Tuesday. Sarfraz recently led the Pakistani cricket team to its maiden Champions Trophy title. The

30-year-old wicketkeeper will take over from Misbah-ul-Haq, who stepped down as the Test side's skipper

after Pakistan's series.

Ravi Shastri has been appointed as the new head coach of Indian cricket team

Ravi Shastri has overcome Virender Sehwag to become Indian cricket team‘s new head coach. The

appointment was confirmed by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Shastri will take charge from

India‘s upcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka, starting July 26. Shastri, was chosen by the BCCI‘s

Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) that included former captains Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and

veteran batting star VVS Laxman. Zaheer Khan has been appointed as the bowling coach of Indian Cricket

Team.

Useful Info

Anil Kumble recently resigned from the post of Head Coach

New Head Coach – Ravi Shastri

Bowling Coach – Zaheer Khan

Batting Coach – Rahul Dravid

BCCI Chairman – VinodRai

Mithali Raj became the first women‟s player to reach 6000 ODI runs

Mithali Raj has been India‘s premier player ever since she made her debut in 1999. Her exploits in the

international stage in both Tests and ODIs have made her India‘s premier player. She created a world record by

smashing seven consecutive fifty-plus scores, making her the first woman player to achieve the feat. In the

crucial game against Australia, Mithali became the woman cricketer who has scored most runs in ODIs.

Mithali Raj became the first women‘s player to reach 6000 ODI runs. England‘s Charlotte Edwards was the






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previous leading run-getter in ODIs with 5992 runs. 164 - Number of innings that has taken Mithali to achieve

this feat. She has 48 not-outs to her name, which is the most in women‘s cricket.

Useful Info

Present Indian Women‘s team Captain - Mithali Raj

BCCI has appointed Bharat Arun as Team India bowling coach

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed Bharat Arun as the Indian Cricket team‘s bowling

coach. BCCI‘s acting Secretary Amitabh Chaudhary announced that the cricket body has also decided to retain

Sanjay Bangar as an assistant coach and R Sridhar as fielding coach till the 2019 ODI World Cup. The

confirmation of their appointment came after newly appointed Indian coach Ravi Shastri met the four-member

committee comprising of acting president CK Khanna, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary, BCCI CEO Rahul

Johri and Committee of Administrators member Diana Edulji in Mumbai.

Useful Info

BCCI‘s acting Secretary - Amitabh Chaudhary

BCCI CEO –Rahul Johri

India lose to England by 9 runs in ICC Women's World Cup final 2017 at Lord‟s, London

Indian eves lost to England by a narrow margin of nine runs in the ICC Women's World Cup final at Lord's in

London. Chasing a target of 229, Indian middle-order collapsed like a pack of cards, being bowled out for 219

in 48.4 overs. Opener PoonamRaut was top scored with 86, while HarmanpreetKaur contributed 51. Earlier,

Natalie Sciver's 51 and Sarah Taylor's 45 laid the foundation for England's decent total of 228 for 7. For

England, it was their fourth Women's World Cup.

Useful Info

Final Match between India & England

Final Match at Lord‘s, London

ENGW 228/7 (50.0 Overs)

INDW 219-all out (48.4 Overs)

England Team Captain - Heather Knight

Indian Team Captain - Mithali Raj

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Anya Shrubsole (England)

PLAYER OF THE SERIES - Tammy Beaumont (England)

Winner – England

Runner – India

India skipper Mithali Raj was chosen as the captain of the ICC Women‟s World Cup 2017 team by the ICC

India skipper Mithali Raj was chosen as the captain of the ICC Women‘s World Cup 2017 team by the

International Cricket Council. The 34-year-old Indian was selected as captain after she led India to the final of

the just-concluded ICC Women‘s World Cup. Mithali led by example, scoring 409 runs during the 30- day

tournament. The side includes four players from England, three from South Africa, and Australia all-rounder

Ellyse Perry. Mithali has been picked in the Team of the Tournament for the second time in her career.

Useful Info

ICC - International Cricket Council

HQ – Dubai

President – Zaheer Abbas

CEO – Dave Richardson

Chairperson – Shashank Manohar

Rahul Dravid has extended his contract as the coach of the U-19 and „A‟ teams for a two year term.

Former India captain, Rahul Dravid, who has played a part in shaping the careers of India‘s junior teams from

2015 to 2017, has given his consent to continue as the coach of India under-19 and India ‗A‘ team for two more

years (2017-2019).

BCCI ordered to lift lifetime ban on cricketer Sreesanth by Kerela HC

Kerala High Court ordered Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to lift the life ban imposed on

Cricketer Sreesanth in the wake of the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal.

BCCI Nominates MS Dhoni for Padma Bhushan Award






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The Indian cricket board, BCCI has nominated Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the country's third highest

civilian award - the Padma Bhushan, for his contribution to the game.A senior BCCI official confirmed that

the Board has only sent one name for the Padma awards this year and it was a unanimous decision to nominate

India's most successful captain.

ICC Launches Anti-Corruption Probe into Sri Lanka Cricket

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has launched an anti-corruption investigation in Sri Lanka. The

ICC‘s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) officers had recently visited the country as part of the probe. The ICC Anti-

Corruption Unit works to uphold integrity in cricket and this includes conducting investigations where there are

reasonable grounds to do so.

Useful Info

ICC – International Cricket Council

Headquarters of ICC – Dubai, United Arab Emirates

ICC Announces Major Changes in Cricket Rules

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced several changes to the existing template of how the

sport of cricket is played. All the new rules will be implemented from September 28. The new rules

incorporate bat thickness, player conduct, DRS, run outs and catches.

Here are the major excerpts from the release: 1. To maintain the balance between bat and ball, the playing conditions now restrict the size of the edges of the

bats as well as their thickness. The restriction on the length and width of bats remain unchanged but the

thickness of the edges can‘t be more than 40mm and the overall depth can be 67 mm at the most.

2. In a new playing condition pertaining to players‘ conduct, a player can now be sent off the field for the rest of

the match for any serious misconduct, meaning it will apply to Level 4 offences while the Level 1 to 3 offences

will continue to be dealt with under the ICC Code of Conduct. Threatening to assault an umpire, making

inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with an umpire, physically assaulting a player or any other person and

committing any other act of violence all constitute Level 4 offences.

3. The above changes will be applicable across all formats, as will be a change in the DRS rules by which a review

will now not be lost in case of a decision that remains unchanged, solely as the result of an ‗umpire‘s call‘. As for

DRS in Test matches, there will be no more top-up reviews after 80 overs of an innings, meaning that there can

only be two unsuccessful reviews in each innings, while the DRS will now also be allowed to be used in T20Is.

4. An important change with respect to run outs is that if a batsman is running or diving towards the crease with

forward momentum, and has grounded his/her bat behind the popping crease but subsequently has lost contact with

the ground at the time of the wickets being put down, the batsman will not be run out.

5. For boundary catches, airborne fielders making their first contact with the ball will need to have taken off from

within the boundary, otherwise, a boundary will be scored. Also, a batsman can now be out caught, stumped or run

out even if the ball bounces off the helmet worn by a fielder or wicket-keeper.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 1st Wicketkeeper to Effect 100 Stumpings

Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the first wicketkeeper in world cricket to effect100

stumpings in One Day Internationals (ODIs). Dhoni achieved the feat in his 301st ODI in Colombo, Sri

Lanka. 36-year-old Dhoni has also taken 281 catches apart from scoring 9,657 runs so far. In 90 Tests, Dhoni

has taken 256 catches and effected 38 stumpings. In T20 Internationals, Dhoni has taken 43 catches and

affected 23 stumpings.

Useful Info

Former Sri Lankan Skipper Kumar Sangakkara is on second position with 99 Stumpings on his name.

Sri Lanka qualify for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

Sri Lanka has qualified for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 after West Indies lost the first ODI against

England at Old Trafford. The 1996 world champions have become the eighth and last team to qualify

directly, joining Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.

Useful Info




John Hastings Retires From Test and ODI Cricket






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Australian fast bowler John Hastings has called it quits from Test Match and ODIs, citing recurring

injuries as the reason. The 31-year-old wants to solely focus on T20 cricket. He has represented Australia in

one test, 29 ODIs and 9 T20Is. In 2016 Hastings was the world's leading ODI fast bowler after picking up 29

wickets in 15 matches, the equal second-most dismissals alongside South Africa's Imran Tahir and behind

teammate Adam Zampa.

Useful Info




New Test Championship, ODI League Gets ICC‟s Nod

The International Cricket Council Board has given an in-principle nod to the proposed nine-team Test

Championship and a 13-team One-Day International league at the end of the meeting in Auckland. The Test

competition will begin after the 2019 World Cup and the 50-over event sometime in 2020. The Test

Championship will have nine teams play six series over two years – three at home and three away.

Useful Info

ICC Headquarters – Dubai

Chief executive officer of ICC - Dave Richardson

Shakib first from Bangladesh in MCC World Cricket Committee

Premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan became the first cricketer from Bangladesh to be inducted in the MCC

World Cricket Committee under the chairmanship of Mike Gatting. Also added to the committee are Suzie

Bates, Ian Bishop and Kumar Dharmasena. Shakib Al Hasan is regarded as one of Bangladesh's finest

players since they were awarded the Test status in 2000, with the all-rounder having played 51 Test matches

and 177 one-day internationals.

Useful Info

Michael Gatting is an English former Cricketer.

Suzie Bates is a New Zealand woman Cricketer.

Kumar Dharmasena is a Sri Lankan cricket umpire and former international cricketer, who played Tests and ODIs

for Sri Lanka.

Indian Pacer Ashish Nehra has Announced Retirement

Indian pacer Ashish Nehra has confirmed his retirement from International Cricket. He will play his last

match against New Zealand on November 1, 2017. The 38-year-old has represented India for 18 years. He has

played 17 Tests, 120 ODIs and 26 T20Is for India, taking 235 international wickets.

Useful Info

Ashish Nehra has picked up 235 wickets across all three international formats so far

Tennis

Indian wild card Nitin Kumar Sinha wins boys singles title of HCL Asian Junior Tennis Championship

Indian wild card Nitin Kumar Sinha today won the boys singles title of HCL Asian Junior Tennis

Championship. He defeated Malaysian player Christian Didier Chin in a final match held at the Shri Shiv

Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge - Balewadi, in Pune.

RamkumarRamanathan lifts ITF men's Futures tennis title

India's RamkumarRamanathan lifted the ITF men's Futures tennis title after outplaying Raymond Sarmiento of

the USA in straight sets in Singapore. The top seeded Indian beat the second seeded player 6-2, 6-2 in the final

of event last night. It was the first title of the season for Ramkumar.

Bopanna & Dabrowski won the mixed doubles in French open

RohanBopanna won his first Grand Slam title.RohanBopanna and Gabriela Dabrowski won their mixed

doubles title in the French open tennis tournament.

Useful Info

RohanBopanna – India






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Gabriela Dabrowski – Canada

Rafael Nadal wins French Open title

Rafael Nadal made history by winning a record 10th French men's Open title with victory over Stan Wawrinka

in the Paris final (French Open 2017). Nadal came through 6-2 6-3 6-1 against the Swiss third seed to claim his

15th major title. He becomes the first man or woman in the Open era to have won a Grand Slam tournament 10

times.

Useful Info

Rafael Nadal – Spain

Stan Wawrinka – Switzerland

Jelena Ostapenko won French Open title 2017

JelenaOstapenko won her first Grand Slam title by beating SimonaHalep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in just under two hours

in the women‘s final of the French Open 2017. With this win, the unseeded Latvian became the youngest

women‘s champion at Roland Garros in 20 years.

Useful Info

JelenaOstapenko – Latvia

SimonaHalep – Romania

Michael Venus-Ryan Harrison won French Open men's doubles title

Michael Venus became New Zealand's first Grand Slam champion since 1974 when he partnered American

Ryan Harrison to the French Open men's doubles title. Venus and Harrison defeated Santiago Gonzalez of

Mexico and American Donald Young 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 in the final at Roland Garros.

Roger Federer has clinched his ninth Halle Open title

Swiss legend Roger Federer has clinched his ninth Halle Open title after beating Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-3 in

the final. The top seed Roger Federer showed no mercy with fourth seed Alexander Zverev after wrapping up

his ninth title in his 11th Halle final.

Useful Info

Roger Federer – Switzerland

Alexander Zverev– Germany

131st edition of the Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament – Winners List

131st edition of the Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament took place at All England Lawn Tennis and

Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom from 3rd – 16th July 2017. It was played on grass

courts, organised by the All England Lawn Tennis Club and the International Tennis Federation and is part of

the ATP World Tour, the WTA Tour, the ITF Junior tour and the NEC Tour. Here is the complete list of all the

winners in different categories of Wimbledon 2017.

Category Winner Runners-up

Men‘s Singles Roger Federer (Switzerland) Marin Cilic (Croatia)

Women‘s Singles GarbineMuguruza (Spain) Venus Williams (USA)

Men‘s Doubles Lukasz Kubot (Poland) & Marcelo Melo

(Brazil)

Oliver Marach (Austria) & Mate Pavic

(Croatia)

Women‘s Doubles Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) & Elena

Vesnina (Russia)

Monica Niculescu (Romania) & Chan

Hao-ching (Chinese)

Mixed Doubles Jamie Murray (UK) & Martina Hingis

(Switzerland)

Heather Watson (UK) & Henri Kontinen

(Finland)

Useful Info

Wimbledon - The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis

tournament in the world, and is widely regarded as the most prestigious.

Founded – 1877

Note: Roger Federer won a record eighth Wimbledon title

India has bagged total 24 medals at the Jordan Junior and Cadet Open table tennis tournament






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India has bagged total 24 medals at the Jordan Junior and Cadet Open table tennis tournament.The event held

in Amman the capital of Jordan. The tally includes 7 Gold, 7 Silver and 10 Bronze medals. In the event India

was the second best finishers.

Useful Info

Country – Jordan

Capital – Amman

Currency - Jordanian dinar

Alexander Zverev Beats Roger Federer to Win Rogers Cup

Alexander Zverev won 6-3 6-4 at the Rogers Cup to claim his second Masters 1000 title and extend his

winning run to 10 matches. Zverev is the youngest Rogers Cup finalist since Novak Djokovic in 2007.

Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer now have five tournament titles this year.

Useful Info

Winner - Alexander Zverev (Germany)

Runner - Roger Federer (Switzerland)

Country – Germany

Capital – Berlin

Currency – Euro


Capital – Bern

Currency – Swiss Franc

US Open Tennis Tournament 2017 Complete List of Winners

The 2017 US Open was the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year. It was held on outdoor hard

courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, USA. The tournament is an

event run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Rafael Nadalwas the winner of Men's Singles.

With this win, Nadal captured his third US Open title and his 16th Grand Slam title overall. Sloane

Stephens was the winner of Women's Singles. The 83rd-ranked Stephens is only the second unseeded woman

to win the tournament in the Open era.

Here is the complete list of winners/runner-ups of the Tournament:-

S. No. Event Winner Runner-Up

1. Men's Singles Rafael Nadal Kevin Anderson

2. Women's Singles Sloane Stephens Madison Keys

3. Men's Doubles Jean-JulienRojer / HoriaTecau Feliciano Lopez / Marc Lopez

4. Women's Doubles Chan Yung-jan / Martina Hingis Lucie Hradecka /

KaterinaSiniakova

5. Mixed Doubles Martina Hingis / Jamie Murray Chan Hao-ching / Michael Venus

Here is the name of players and the country from which they belong to:-

S. No. Name of Player Winner/Runner-Up Country

1. Rafael Nadal Spain

2. Kevin Anderson South Africa

3. Sloane Stephens USA

4. Madison Keys USA

5. Jean-JulienRojer Netherlands

6. HoriaTecau Romania

7. Feliciano Lopez Spain

8. Marc Lopez Spain

9. Chan Yung-jan Taiwan

10. Martina Hingis Switzerland

11. Lucie Hradecka Czech Republic






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12. KaterinaSiniakova Czech Republic

13. Jamie Murray United Kingdom

14. Chan Hao-ching Taiwan

15. Michael Venus New Zealand

Roger Federer Cruises to Shanghai Masters Title

Roger Federer has brushed aside world number one Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-3 to win the Shanghai Masters and

register his fourth victory of the year over his Spanish rival. The Swiss world number two beat Nadal in the

finals of the Australian Open and Miami Masters and in the last 16 at Indian Wells earlier this year, and

never looked like losing to his long-time rival in Shanghai, firing 10 aces as he cruised to victory. Federer, the

only man who can still stop Nadal ending the year as number one, took an hour and 12 minutes to claim his

sixth title of the year and his second Shanghai crown with a clinical performance.

Useful Info

Rafael Nadal is a Spanish professional tennis player, currently ranked World Number 1 in men's singles

Roger Federer has also won a record eighth Wimbledon title & became the tournament‘s oldest champion with a

straight-sets victory over Marin Cilic. Federer claimed his 19th Grand Slam title in Wimbledon title 2017.

Rafael Nadal Wins China Open Title

World number one Rafael Nadal (Spain) won his sixth title of this year. He defeated Nick Kyrgios

(Australia) at the China Open 2017. Nadal, a 16-time Grand Slam winner, came to the Chinese capital Beijing

on the back of winning his third US Open.

Useful Info

Country – China

Capital – Beijing


Rafael Nadal – Spanish Professional Tennis Player

Table Tennis

England to host 2018 International Table Tennis Federation Team World Cup

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) awarded hosting rights for the 2018 Team World Cup to

England.The Team World Cup is ITTF‘s second most prestigious tournament after the World

Championships.The 2018 Team World Cup will be staged at the iconic Copper Box Arena in London‘s Queen

Elizabeth Olympic Park from 22 February to 25 February 2018.The Team World Cup was last held in Dubai in

2015.

Badminton

K Srikanth lifts Indonesia Open Super Series badminton title

India's Kidambi Srikanth has lifted the Indonesia Open Super Series badminton title by defeating Japanese

qualifier Kazumasa Sakai in straight games 21-11, 21-19 in the Men's Singles final at Jakarta today.

Useful Info


Capital – Jakarta


Kidambi Srikanth wins Australia Open Super Series

In Badminton, ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth has lifted the Australian Open Superseries trophy in

Sydney. In the summit clash, 11th world ranked Srikanth stunned former world number one and Rio Olympics

Gold medalist Chen Long of China in straight games, 22-20, 21-16. It was Srikanth's first victory over the

Chinese in 6 matches.

R. Karan Rajan became the champion of the Guatemala badminton future series






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R. Karan Rajan of Chennai beat Hamblers Heymard of Guatemala 21-19, 21-12 in the final to emerge the

champion of the Guatemala badminton future series. Karan earlier upset the top-seed Ruben Castellanos in the

semifinals. He has now become the first player from Tamil Nadu to win an International singles event.

Useful Info

Country – Guatemala

Capital – Guatemala city

Currency – Guatemalan quetzal

PV Sindhu won the Silver medal in World Badminton Championship 2017

PV Sindhu won the Silver medal in World Badminton Championship 2017. She lost the historic match

against Japan‘s NozomiOkuhara in an epic final, in Glasgow, Scotland. In the longest match of the

tournament, Sindhu lost (19-21 22-20 20-22) after battling hard for one hour and 49 minutes.For India, it still is

a historic edition since for the first time country‘s shuttler are returning with two medals. SainaNehwal won a

bronze.

Useful Info

PV Sindhu – Indian Badminton Player

World Badminton Championship 2017–Glasgow, Scotland

Gold Medal winner - NozomiOkuhara (Japan)

Silver Medal Winner –PV Sindhu (India)

Bronze Medal Winner – SainaNehwal (India)

PV Sindhu rises a spot, K. Srikanth slips in latest badminton rankings

Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu moved up a spot, while KidambiSrikanth slipped two places in the latest

BWF World ranking released. Sindhu reached the World No. 4 spot while Srikanth was placed at 10. Women's

doubles pair of AshwiniPonnappa and N Sikki Reddy rose a place to be placed at 24th spot, while Pranaav

Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy were static at the 20th place. Among other Indians, SainaNehwal (16th), B

SaiPraneeth (19th), H S Prannoy (15th) and Ajay Jayaram (17th) remained static in their respective positions.

There were no Indian pair in the top 25 of men's doubles rankings.

PV Sindhu becomes the first Indian to win the Korea Open

PV Sindhu becomes the first Indian to win the Korea OpenSuperseries with an outstanding 22-20, 11-21,

21-18 win over NozomiOkuhara in the much-talked-about women's singles final in Seoul. Olympic silver

medallistshuttler P V Sindhu beat world champion NozomiOkuhara in a thrilling final to clinch the women's

singles title at the Korea Open Super Series.

Useful Info


Capital – Seoul

Currency – South Korean Won

PV Sindhu - Olympic silver medallistshuttler (India)

Sports Ministry Recommends P.V. Sindhu for Padma Bhushan

Olympic silver medallistshuttler P.V. Sindhu has been recommended for the prestigious Padma Bhushan,

country‟s third highest civilian award, by the Sports Ministry. She is two-time bronze medallist at World

Championship. In March 2015, Sindhu was awarded India‘s fourth highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri.

For the First Time, Five Indian Shuttlers in Top-20 of BWF Men‟s Rankings

For the first time, Five Indians are in the top-20 of the BWF men‟s singles rankings with H S Prannoy

being the biggest gainer after his quarterfinal showing at the Japan Open. Prannoy has jumped four places to be

world no.15.

The 5 Indian Shuttlers in the top 20 BWF men‟s singles rankings are- 1. KidambiSrikanth (8th)

2. HS Prannoy (15th)

3. B SaiPraneeth (17th)

4. Sameer Verma (19th)

5. Ajay Jayaram (20th)






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Football

Real Madrid won UEFA Champions League title

Real Madrid beat Juventus to win their UEFA Champions league title. Real Madrid won the title in

consecutive seasons. This is the first time in UEFA Champions League a team won consecutive seasons.

Germany has won their maiden Confederation Cup Football title

Germany have lifted their maiden Confederation Cup Football title. In the final played at St Petersburg, the

four-time World Cup winners defeated Chile by a solitary goal. Lars Stindl put Germany ahead in the first half

against the run of play, and Germany then held on to the lead.

Useful Info

Country – Germany

Capital – Berlin

Currency – Euro

Chancellor – Angela Merkel

Krestovsky Stadium - Saint Petersburg, Russia

India expresses interest in hosting FIFA U-20 World Cup 2019:

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has submitted an expression of interest to host the Under-20 FIFA

World Cup in 2019. Preparing to organise October's FIFA Under-17 World Cup, AIFF president Praful Patel

has said that hosting the FIFA Under-20 World Cup would be the next "logical step for the development of

football in India".

India has moved four places up to the 96th position in the FIFA World Ranking

India has moved four places up to the 96th position in the FIFA World Ranking released recently. This is the

country‘s second-best ranking and its previous best was the 94th position in February 1996.

Useful Info

FIFA - FédérationInternationale de Football Association

HQ - Zürich, Switzerland


Italian football legend Francesco Totti anounced his retirement

Italian football legend Francesco Tottianounced his retirement from football after spending his 25- year-long

playing career with Seria A club Roma

Useful Info

Country – Italy

Capital – Rome

Currency - Euro

FIFA have lifted their ban on the Sudan Football Association

World football's governing body FIFA lifted the ban on the Sudan Football Association (SFA) imposed on it

for the failure to abide by agreements mentioned in articles 14 and 19 of the FIFA statute. The SFA and its

member officials are now eligible to benefit from the FIFA development program, course or training.

Useful Info

FIFA Headquarters - Zürich, Switzerland

Motto – ‎For the Game. For the World

President‎ - Gianni Infantino

Country – Sudan

Capital – Khartoum

Currency - Sudanese pound

Indonesia to host AFC U-19 championship 2018

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Competition Committee officially awarded Indonesia the hosting of

the AFC Under-19 championship 2018. The AFC U-19 championship is scheduled to be held from October 18

to November 4 of 2018.

Useful Info

AFC - Asian Football Confederation

Headquarters of AFC - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia






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Capital – Jakarta

Currency – Indonesian rupiah

Country - Malaysia

Capital – Kuala Lumpur

Currency – Malaysian ringgit

Neymar signs world record deal with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)

Neymar has become the most expensive player in football history after completing his blockbuster transfer to

Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona for 222 million euros ($262 million). Neymar had signed a five-year

contract to PSG until June 2022. This is the first time in history that a French club has broken the record, with

Spanish, Italian and English clubs.

Useful Info

Neymar - Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, commonly known as Neymar or Neymar Jr., is a Brazilian professional

footballer who plays as a forward for French club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team.

PSG - Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly known as Paris Saint-Germain and familiarly as PSG or

Paris SG, is a French sports club founded in 1970, and based in the city of Paris in France.

Real Madrid won the 2017 UEFA super cup football tournament

Real Madrid, a professional football club of Spain, has won the 2017 UEFA Super Cup football tournament

by defeating Manchester United in the final by 2-1.

Useful Info

Winner – Real Madrid

Runner – Manchester United

UEFA – Union of European Football Associations

HQ of UEFA - ‎: ‎Nyon, Switzerland

India drops one spot to 97th in latest FIFA rankings

According to the previous FIFA rankings ,India dropped one step to be placed 97th

in the latest edition of the

FIFA rankings issued.Among Asian countries, India is the 12th highest ranked team in the continent while

Iran leads the chart at 24th spot.

Useful Info

Ranking List

India‘s Rank – 97th

1.Brazil

2.Germany

3.Argentina

4.Switzerland

5.Poland

6.Portugal

7.Chile

8.Colombia

9.Belgium

10.France

FIFA – Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA "International Federation of Association

Football")

FIFA HQ - Zürich, Switzerland


Cristiano Ronaldo was banned for five-match by the Spanish football federation

World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo was banned for five-match by the Spanish football federation.

He has been banned for pushing the referee after being sent-off in Real Madrid's 3-1 win over Barcelona in the

First Leg of Spanish Super Cup. Ronaldo received an automatic one-match ban for his dismissal and an extra

four games for his reaction towards referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea. He has also been fined 4,500 US

dollars and has 10 days to appeal the ban.

Useful Info






214

Cristiano Ronaldo - Portuguese professional footballer

He plays as a forward for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Portugal national team.

Cristiano Ronaldo has won Fifa's world player of the year award for the fourth time after winning both major

European titles in 2016.


Capital – Lisbon

Currency – Euro

Indian U-15 Football Team Wins SAFF Championships

The Indian U-15 football team completed a brilliant comeback win over Nepal to win the SAFF U-15

Championships in Kathmandu, Nepal. They were trailing 0-1 at the interval, but second half goals from

Lalrokima and Vikram clinched the trophy for the Indian side.

Useful Info

Final match between India & Nepal

Final match held at - ANFA Complex, Lalitpur in Nepal

Winner – India

Runner – Nepal

Messi Becomes First Ever Player to Score 350 La Liga Goals

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi scored a second-half brace against Alaves, becoming the first ever player

to score 350 goals in La Liga.Messi's best goal tally for a season came in 2011/12 when he netted 50 goals in

37 appearances. Messi, who has played 384 league matches, is now 66 goals ahead of rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

Useful Info

Lionel Andrés Messi- Argentine professional footballer

He plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team.

Country – Argentina

Capital – Buenos Aires

Currency –Argentine peso

Real Madrid beat Barcelona 5-1 on aggregate to win Super Cup

European and Spanish Champions Real Madrid, playing without Cristiano Ronaldo, downed rivals Barcelona

5-1 on aggregate, after a 2-0 second-leg win on Wednesday, to win the Spanish Super Cup. This was the Los

Blancos' 10th Super Cup, compared to Barcelona's 12. Over the two legs, Real youngster Marco Asensio

scored two long-range goals while Messi scored Barcelona's only goal.

England striker Wayne Rooney retires from international football

Former England captain Wayne Rooney announced his retirement from international football, ending a 14-year

career. With this, Rooney also leaves as England's most-capped outfield player with 119 appearances.

Official Slogan and Emblem of FIFA Women‟s World Cup France 2019 launched

The official emblem and slogan for FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 were unveiled in Paris,

France. The emblem features the competition trophy wrapped in blue and white, with eight shards of light

around football at the top of the trophy symbolizing the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup.The

slogan of the tournament "Dare To Shine" reflects the development of football, especially women's football.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino and French Football Federation (FFF) President Noel le Graet attended the

unveiling event.

Useful Info

Gianni Infantino is the President of FIFA

Eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 – France

Slogan of the tournament "Dare To Shine"

First Indian team for FIFA U-17 World Cup announced

The first ever Indian squad to participate in the a FIFA World Cup, U-17 World Cup Squad has been

announced. The 21 players who will participate in the World Cup Squad include Dheeraj Singh, Prabhsukhan

Gill, Sunny Dhaliwal Boris Singh, Jitendra Singh, Anwar Ali, Sanjeev Stalin and Hendry Antonay. FIFA U-17

World Cup is scheduled to start in Panaji from 6 October. India will take on USA on 6 October, followed by

Colombia and Ghana on 9 and 12 October respectively at New Delhi.

FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 Started






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The much-awaited FIFA U-17 World Cup started with four opening day matches to be played in Delhi and

Mumbai. The opening matches would be played by teams in Group A and B. In Delhi, the inaugural match

would be played between Group A teams Colombia and Ghana at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, followed by

hosts India who would take on Team USA in the second match. In Mumbai, Group B team New Zealand

would be taking on Turkey in the first game at DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai.

Useful Info

The Official Mascot of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 is a clouded leopard called Kheleo.

This is the first FIFA tournament hosted by India.

The final will be held at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on 28 October 2017.

Iceland, Smallest Country to Qualify for Football World Cup 2018

Iceland created history by qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. This is the first time that Iceland qualified for

the World Cup. Gylfi Sigurdsson and Johann Berg Gudmundsson scored 2-0 against Kosovo to bag a spot in

Group I of UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) World Cup Qualifying. Iceland became the

smallest country to clinch a position at the 21st FIFA World Cup. The previous smallest country to have

reached the World Cup was Trinidad & Tobago.

Useful Info

Country – Iceland

Capital – Reykjavík

Currency – Icelandic króna

21st FIFA World Cup will be held in 2018 in Russia.

This is the first time when Iceland and Panama will be participants.

FIFA Suspends Pakistan Football Federation

FIFA has decided to suspend the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) with immediate effect in accordance

with the decision of the Bureau of the FIFA Council on account of undue third-party interference. The national

and club teams will not be allowed to take part in international competitions till the suspension is lifted. FIFA

suspended PFF since its accounts were in control of a court-appointed administrator, which is against FIFA

rules. The suspension will be lifted when the body becomes independent.

Useful Info

FIFA – Fédération Internationale de Football Association

Headquarters of FIFA – ‎Zürich, Switzerland

President of FIFA - Gianni Infantino

Arjen Robben Retires from International Football

Netherlands captain Arjen Robben announced the end of his international career after his country failed to

reach the 2018 World Cup finals despite a 2-0 win over Sweden. The 33-year-old Robben scored 37 times in

96 appearances for The Netherlands and helped them reach the 2010 World Cup final where they lost 1-0 to

Spain after extra-time.

Useful Info



Currency – Euro

India Beat Macau to Qualify for 2019 AFC Asian Cup

Indian football team has qualified for the 2019 Asian Cup after they had a convincing 4-1 win over Macau

with two matches still to go in the qualifying round. This is the third time the country has qualified for the

continental showpiece. India has qualified for the AFC Asian Cup finals only twice in the past 37 years. The

last time it happened was in 2011 and their only appearance before that was way back in 1984.

Useful Info

The 2019 FC Asian Cup will be held in the United Arab Emirates.

Mohun Bagan Lift Governor's Gold Cup for 10th Time






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Maidan heavyweights Mohun Bagan has won the 37th All India Governor's Gold Cup football tournament

for the 10th time by defeating Partha Chakra by a narrow 1-0 margin. In the final match played at Paljor

Stadium (Gangtok), Mohun Bagan's striker GA Kramah scored the lone goal in the seventh minute. Chief

Minister of Sikkim Pawan Kumar Chamling attended the final and gave away trophies and cash prize to

winners and the runner-up.

Useful Info

Paljor Stadium, also known as Palzor Stadium is an association football stadium located in Gangtok, Sikkim.

Mohun Bagan is a football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal.

Wrestling

ManjuKumari and Veer DevGuliawins bronze in Junior World Wrestling Championships

India‘s ManjuKumariwon the bronze medal in women‟s 59kg category of the Junior World Wrestling

Championship in Tampere, Finland.In the men‟s 74kg freestyle category at the Junior World Wrestling

Championships, Veer DevGulia won bronze medal after defeating Yamasaki Yajuro of Japan by 8 -5 in

the bronze medal play-off bout.

Useful Info

ManjuKumari (India) – Women‘s 59Kg category

Veer Dev (India) – Men‘s 74Kg freestyle category

Junior World Wrestling Championship 2017 - Tampere, Finland

India Wrestler Sonam Malik won a gold medal in Cadet World Wrestling Championship

India Wrestler Sonam Malik won a gold medal by defeating Japanese Wrestler SenaNagamoto by 3-1 points

on the fourth-day of Cadet World Wrestling Championship in Athens. The other female Wrestler Neelam

also bagged Bronze Medal in 43-kilogram weight category. Wrestler Anshu will fight for Gold Medal with

Japanese Wrestler Naomi Ruike in 60-kilogram weight category.

Useful Info

World Wrestling Championship 2017 – Athens

Country – Greece

Capital – Athens

Currency – Euro

Gold Medal - Sonam Malik

India to Host Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in 2019

India will host the 2019 edition of the Commonwealth (Youth, Junior and Senior) Weightlifting

Championships. The Executive Board of Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation met at Gold Coast,

Australia and decided to allot the 2019 edition of the competitions to India. The current edition of the

tournament is being held at the Gold Coast, Australia.

Athletes

World Athletics Championships: Wayde Van Niekerk retains men's 400m title

World Athletics Championships, Olympic Champion Wayde Van Niekerk won the men's 400 meters event and

retained his title in London.

Useful Info

World Athletics Championships 2017 – London

Wayde Van Niekerk – South African Athlete

AnuRaghavan sets a new 400m hurdle records

AnuRaghavan beat the seasoned JaunaMurmu in the women‘s 400m hurdles in a new meet record of 57.39

seconds on the opening day of the 21st Federation Cup athletics at the NetajiSubhash National Institute of

Sports complex

ManpreetKaur, GovindanLaxmanan win gold in Asian Athletics Championships

India‘s ManpreetKaur claimed the gold medal in the women‘s shot put on the opening day of the Asian

Athletics Championships 2017 at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. GovindanLaxmanan emerged

triumphant in the men‘s 5,000 meters and has also won Gold Medal.






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Useful Info

Kalinga Stadium – Bhubaneshwar

India has topped the medal tally for first time in Asian Athletics Championships history

India has topped the medal tally for the first time in the history of Asian Athletics Championships. In a

stunning show of dominance on the fourth and final day of competitions in Bhubaneshwar, India clinched five

gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze. With that, the hosts ended the championships on top with a haul of 29 medals

which included 12 gold, 5 silver, and 12 bronze. India‘s earlier best came way back in the 1985 Jakarta edition

where they had won 22 medals. India pushed China to the second spot (20 Medals). China ended this edition

with a tally of 8 gold, 7 silver, 5 bronze. Kazakhstan finished third (8 Medals) with 4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze

while Iran ended on fourth with 4 gold and 1 bronze.

Useful Info

22nd

Asian Athletics Championships, at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar, odisha

Mascot – olly (Olive Ridley sea turtle)

Flag bearer – Tintu Luka

Oath taken by – Sravani Nanda

Special performance by famous singer – Shankar Mahadevan

Total 45 nations, 655 participants

1st India‘s Total Medal – 29

2nd

China‘s Total Medal – 20

3rd

Kazakhstan Total Medal – 8

AmitSaroha won silver medal at the World Para Athletics Championships 2017

Former national-level hockey player AmitSaroha, who met with an accident in 2007, clinched the Silver medal

in the club throw event in the F-51 category at the World Para Athletics Championships.

Useful Info

World Para Athletics Championships 2017 venue – London

KaramjyotiDalal has won bronze medal at the World Para Athletics Championships 2017

India‘s KaramjyotiDalal has won bronze medal at the World Para Athletics Championships 2017 in the discus-

throw. In the women‘s F55 category of discus-throw, she managed a throw of 19.02 m. Earlier,Sundar Singh

Gurjar had opened India‘s account at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships by winning gold medal in

the men‘s javelin throw event. Later, AmitSaroha won silver medal in the club throw event in the F-51

category.

Useful Info

World Para Athletics Championships 2017 – London

The first IPC Athletics World Championships were held in Berlin, Germany in 1994.

Ajay Singh has won the bronze medal in Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships at

Kathmandu

India‘s Ajay Singh has won the bronze medal in Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships at

Kathmandu, taking India‘s tally to three. Ajay got third place in 77 kgs men‘s junior category lifting 143 kgs in

snatch and 172 kgs in clean and jerk. S. Nirpupama Devi had won bronze in 69 kgs women youth category.

KonsamOrmila Devi had won gold in 44kg weight category on an opening day.

Useful Info

Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships 2017 – Kathmandu

Country – Nepal



Prime minister of Nepal - SherBahadurDeuba

President of Nepal – Bidhya Devi Bhandari

20-year-old CaelebDressel becomes first ever Swimmer to win three gold medals in one night at worlds

Championship

The 20-year-old CaelebDressel established himself as America‘s newest star of the pool recently, becoming the

first swimmer to win three gold medals on a single night at either the worlds or the Olympics. CaelebDressel

accomplished this feat at 2017 FINA World Aqatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Not even Phelps






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managed such an audacious feat. Dressel raced three times over the course of about two hours — and won

every time.

Useful Info

FINA World Aqatics Championships 2017, Budapest, Hungary

Country – Hungary

Capital – Budapest

Currency – Hungarian Forint

CaelebDressel – American Swimmer

Michel Phelps – He is the world‘s best swimmer from USA

Britain‟s Adam Peaty broke the 50m breaststroke world record for the second time

Britain‘s Adam Peaty broke the 50m breaststroke world record for the second time in a day as he reached the

World Aquatics Championships final in Budapest, Hungary. In medal tally US topped with 39medals (17 Gold,

12 Silver and 10 Bronze).

Useful Info

World Aquatics Championships 2017 – Budapest, Hungary

Adam Peaty – British Swimmer

World Athletics Championships begins in London; 25 Indian players to participate

The World Athletics Championships begins in London. 25 Indian athletes are taking part in the ten days grand

event. Experts are hoping a medal for India from world junior record holder javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra.

Everything depends on this 19-year-old Haryana athlete's performance on whether India manages to put an end

to the medal drought since 2003.

Useful Info

World Athletics Championships 2017 – London


Capital – London


Usain Bolt finishes 3rd in World Athletics Championship

Usain Bolt has finished third in his final individual event at the World Athletics Championships. Justin Gatlin

from USA has received gold and Bolt had to settle for Bronze in 100 m Final. Justin Gatlin has won with a

time of 9.92 as Bolt came third in 9.95. American Christian Coleman took silver with 9.94 having beaten

Bolt in the semi-finals.

Useful Info

16th

World Athletics Championship 2017 – London

Men‘s 100m Final Result

Justin Gatlin (USA) – Gold

Christian Coleman (USA) – Silver

Usain Bolt (Jamaica) – Bronze

Davinder Singh Kang, First Indian to Qualify for Javelin Throw Finals

Davinder Singh Kang has become the first Indian to qualify for the final round of the javelin throw

World Championships while his compatriot Neeraj Chopra crashed out in the qualification round. He had an

82.22m in his opening throw and then came up with 82.14m in his second. No Indian has ever qualified in the

men‘s javelin throw final round in any world championship.

Useful Info

IAAF World Championship 2017 – London

Vijender Singh beats ZulpikarMaimaitiali to win WBO Oriental Super Middleweight title

Indian professional boxer Vijender Singh outslugged his Chinese opponent ZulpikarMaimaitiali to retain the

WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title and win the WBO Oriental Super Middleweight title. In the pro

boxing bout, termed as 'Battleground Asia', at Mumbai, Vijender recorded a unanimous decision win over his

Chinese opponent and continued his undefeated streak. It was Beijing Olympic bronze medallist's ninth

successive win in his professional career.

Useful Info

Winner – Vijender Singh (India)






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Runner - ZulpikarMaimaitiali (China)

The greatest sprinter of modern times, Usain Bolt from Jamaica retired from the Athletics

The greatest sprinter of modern times, Usain Bolt from Jamaica retired from the Athletics world. But at

farewell Race, he injured himself while running the last lap of the men's 4x100m relay race in the World

Athletics Championships in London. Running the final race of his career, the 30-year-old Bolt, after taking

the baton from his Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake, suffered cramps on his left hamstring.

Useful Info

Usain Bolt – A pure Non-drug Athlete in the History

Country – Jamaica

Capital – Kingston

Currency – Jamaican dollar

16th edition of IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World Championships 2017

The 16th edition of IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World Championships 2017

was held in London. The championships were held in the London Stadium in Stratford. 'Hero-the Hedgehog'

was a Mascot of 2017 IAAF World Championships and 'Whizbee-the Bee' was the Mascot for the Para

Athletics.

Useful Info

Top 5 Countries in the list of Medals US (30 Medals)

Kenya (11 Medals)

Great Britain (6 Medals)

Poland (8 Medals)

China (7 Medals)

Legendary Sprinter Usain Bolt Retires.

Justin Gatlin wins men‘s 100m gold.

Davinder Singh Kang has become the first Indian to qualify for the final round of the javelin throw at World

Championships.

High jump champion Ruth Beitia of Spain receives Fair Play Award.

Indian athletes bag record 37 medals at World Dwarf Games in Canada

The 21-member Indian contingent captured a record haul of 37 medals at the recently concluded 7th World

Dwarf Games in Canada. India won 15 gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze medals across events at the games, which

saw participation of nearly 400 athletes from 24 countries. Indian athletes were felicitated at the Indian

consulate in Toronto on Independence Day.

Asian Indoor Games: Purnima Wins Gold in Pentathlon

India won its first athletics gold, through PurnimaHembram in women‘s pentathlon, in the fifth Asian

Indoor and Martial Arts Games at Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. India also got two silvers, through

SanjivaniJadhav in women‘s 3000m and Tejinder Singh Toor in men‘s shot put, and a bronze through

Kerala‘s V. Neena in women‘s long jump.

Useful Info

Country – Turkmenistan

Capital – Ashgabat

Currency – Turkmenistan manat

G. Lakshmananand P. U. Chitra won gold medals in the athletics events

Asian champions G. Lakshmananand P. U. Chitra won gold medals in the athletics events of the fifth

Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.Tamil Nadu‘s Lakshmanan won the

men‘s 3000m while Kerala‘s Chitra, who was not cleared by the national body Athletics Federation of India for

the recent World Championships in London despite making the cut, took the women‘s 1500m title.

Useful Info

Fifth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Country –Turkmenistan

Capital –Ashgabat

Currency –Turkmenistan manat






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Lakshmanan Wins 5,000m gold in Athletics Nationals

Reigning Asian champion GovindanLakshmananof Services cruised to victory in the men‘s 5000-metre

race on the opening day of the 57th National Open Athletics Championships at the Nehru Stadium in Chennai.

Lakshmanan has recently won gold in the 3,000m event at the Asian Indoor Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

Chess

Vietnam Grand Master Nguyen DucHoa bags Mumbai Mayor Chess title

Vietnam Grand Master Nguyen DucHoa clinched a decisive win against Indian GM Neelotpal Das in the 10th

and concluding round to finish with 8.5 points and emerge champion of the 10th Mumbai Mayor's Cup

International Open Chess Tournament.

Useful Info

Country – Vietnam

Capital – Hanoi

Currency – Dong

Boxing

AIBA has announced that India will host their first Men‟s World Championship in 2021

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has announced that India will host their first Men‘s World

Championship in 2021. The announcement was made after a two-day executive committee meeting that was

held in Moscow. The AIBA Men‘s World Championships 2019 will be held in Russia city of Sochi. The 2018

Women‘s World Championships will also be held in New Delhi.

Useful Info

AIBA - The International Boxing Association, originally the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur and

still referred to as the AIBA

HQ - Lausanne, Switzerland

President - Dr Wu Ching-kuo

Shiva Thapa and Manoj Kumarwon gold in Czech Republic tournament

Indian boxers have bagged a total of 8 medals at the 48th Grand Prix at Usti Nad Labem in Czech Republic.In

the tournament out of the eight, five were gold medals. The three other medals are two silver and one

bronze. The five gold medals for India were bagged by world championships bronze-medallist Shiva

Thapa(60kg), former Commonwealth Games gold-medallistManoj Kumar(69kg), AmitPhangal,

GauravBidhuri(52kg) and Satish Kumar(+91kg).The two boxers who finished with silver medals were

KavinderBisht in the 52kg category and Manish Panwar in the 81kg category.SumitSangwan has awarded

bronze medal at 91 kg.

Useful Info

Country - Czech Republic

Capital –Prague

Currency –Czech koruna

Boxer Sachin Siwach wins Gold at Commonwealth Youth Games

World Youth Champion SachinSiwach clinched a gold medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games, Bahamas

after defeating Welsh boxer James Nathan Prober 4-1 in the final. Siwach, who won gold last year, was the

only one of the 103 boxers to have clinched a gold so far in the tournament, taking place in Bahamas. He had

stormed into the finals after defeating SA Kuse 5-0. The World Youth Champion was also the flag bearer of

India for the tournament.

Useful Info

Commonwealth Youth Games 2017 – Bahamas

Country – Bahamas

Capital – Nassau

Currency - Bahamian dollar

India bagged two gold in the 6th Golden Glove Women's Boxing Tournament at Vojvodina, Serbia

India bagged two gold in the 6th Golden Glove Women's Boxing Tournament at Vojvodina, Serbia.While

Jyoti won Gold in 51 kg category, and Vanlalharitpuii bagged it 60 kg category. In all, India won two gold,

four silver and four bronze medals in the tournament. The silver medals were clinched by Anjali in






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48kg,Sakshi in 54kg, Ashtha in 69kg and Anupama in 81kg categories. Mandeep in 57kg, Nisha in 64kg,

Shruti in 75kg and Neha in 81+kg category settled for bronze medals.

Useful Info

6th Golden Glove Women's Boxing Tournament - Serbia

Country – Serbia

Capital – Belgrade

Currency – Serbian dinar

India Won Total 10 Medals

2 Gold Medals

Jyoti - 51 kg category

Vanlalharitpuii - 60 kg category

4 Silver Medals

Anjali - 48kg category

Sakshi - 54kg category

Ashtha - 69kg category

Anupama - 81kg category

4 Bronze Medals

Mandeep - 57kg category

Nisha - 64kg category

Shruti - 75kg category

Neha - 81+kg category

Indian women's boxing's first foreign coach, StephaneCottalorda,has resigned

Indian women's boxing's first foreign coach, StephaneCottalorda, has resigned after just one month of

appointment, alleging delay in salary and other payments. Cottalorda has claimed in his resignation letter that

he hasn't been paid his salary for the first month in full and has also cited 'lack of professionalism' on part of

Boxing Federation of India (BFI) as his reasons for not coming back to India.

India to host South Asian boxing Championship in Guwahati

India will host the South Asian Boxing Championship for the first time in Guwahati from December 6 to 10.

Boxing Federation of India (BFI) after its executive committee meeting, stated that the country will also host

the „India International Open tournament‟ in New Delhi in the third week of January. RK Sacheti has been

unanimously elected as the new Executive Director of the federation. For the first time, it will initiate a grading

system as well on the lines of AIBA‘s star rating qualifications for coaches, referee judges.

Useful Info

State – Assam

Capital – Dispur

CM – SarbanandaSonowal

Governor – BanwarilalPurohit

Golf

Atthaya Thitikul, a 14-year-old amateur from Thailand has won on the Ladies European Tour

AtthayaThitikul, a 14-year-old amateur from Thailand has won on the Ladies European Tour, supplanting

Lydia Ko as the youngest champion on the circuit. She clinched a two-stroke victory at the Ladies European

Thailand Championship at Phoenix Country Club in Pattaya. New Zealander Ko held the previous record as the

youngest winner on the tour, after claiming the 2013 New Zealand Open at the age of 15 years, nine months

and 17 days.

Useful Info

The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women. It was founded in 1978.

Country – Thailand

Capital – Bangkok

Currency - Thai baht

Indian golfer DikshaDagar won a Silver medal in Deaflympics in Samsun, Turkey






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Indian golfer DikshaDagar won a Silver medal in the women's individual golf event at the Deaflympics in

Samsun, Turkey. Diksha is the only Indian golfer (Under-18) to be ranked in the top 500 worldwide.

Useful Info

Deaflympics 2017 – Samsun, Turkey

Country – Turkey

Capital – Ankara


Hockey

ONGC beats Bengaluru Hockey 4-2, wins MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has beaten Bengaluru Hockey Association (BHA) by 4-2 in the

final in 91st All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament held at Mayor

Radhakrishnanstadium ,Egmore Chennai.

Useful Info

91st All India MCC-Murugappa Gold cup Hockey Tournament

Winner – ONGC

Runner – Bengaluru Hockey Association

Best forward: Jenjen Singh (Bengaluru HA)

Best mid-fielder: Machaiah (ONGC)

Best goalkeeper-defender: Diwakar Ram

Most promising player: Sanjay Xalxo (Odisha)

Man of the final: Rajkumar Pal (BHA).

Hockey India has sacked national coach RoelantOltmans

Hockey India has sacked national coach RoelantOltmans after a string of unimpressive outings at the

international level. High-Performance Director David John will be in charge till a suitable replacement is

found for a smooth transition of the men‘s team. The decision was taken during the three-day meeting of the

Hockey India High Performance and Development Committee, which concluded.

Useful Info

Major Dhyan Chand is the legendary Indian Hockey Player.

The National Sports Day in India is celebrated on 29 august every year. This day marks the birthday of Dhyan

Chand.

Squash Sport

Harinder Pal Sandhu won the South Australian Open squash title

India‘s Harinder Pal Sandhu has defeated Rhys Dowling of Australia to lift South Australian Open squash title.

Useful Info

Winner - Harinder Pal Sandhu (India)

Runner - Rhys Dowling (Australia)

Harinder Pal Sandhu beat Rhys Dowling of Australia in the final of South Australian Open squash title

India‘s Harinder Pal Sandhu beat Rhys Dowling of Australia in the final to lift South Australian Open squash

title. He mounted a comeback to win it on extra points.

Useful Info

DipikaPallikal was the Champion of 2016 South Australian Open title

Harinder Pal Sandhu wins Victorian Open squash tournament held at Melbourne, Austraila

India's Harinder Pal Sandhu has won the second title in two weeks, beating top-seed Rex Hedrick of Australia

in a 77-minute final of Victorian Open squash, a PSA Tour event, in Melbourne, Austraila. Third-seeded

Sandhu had recently won the South Australian Open. In the Women‘s PSA W10 final, Hong Kong‘s Tsz-Ling

showed every bit of her undoubted class in a straight games victory over fourth seed, Amanda Landers-

Murphy.

Useful Info








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Neel Joshi, AnanyaDabkewin Dutch Open Junior Squash Championship

Mumbais Neel Joshi and AnanyaDabke bagged the under-15 boys and girls titles respectively in the Dutch

Open Junior Squash Championship in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Useful Info



Currency - Euro

Snooker

India won the Asian snooker team championship at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

India‘s leading cueist PankajAdvani teamed up with LaxmanRawat to demolishPakistan in the final of

theAsian Team Snooker championship.

Useful Info

Country – Kyrgyzstan

Capital –Bishkek

Currency – Som

I H Manudevhas won the first National Masters snooker tournament title in Chennai

I H Manudevhas won the first National Masters snooker tournament title in Chennai. Alok Kumar, a former

national men‘s champion, had been in fine form coming into the summit clash but found Karnataka‘s Manudev

a tough proposition. Manudev capitalized on the chances he got and kept scoring heavily and won the game by

four impressive frames.

Anupama Clinches World Open Under-16 Snooker Championship Title

India‘s Anupama Ramachandran has clinched the World Open Under-16 Snooker Championship title at

St. Petersburg in Russia. In the girls category, second seed Anupama Ramachandran of India knocked out her

compatriot and top seed Keerthana Pandian 3-1 to become World Open Under-16 champion.

Shuttle

Indian shuttler the men's singles and men's doubles title at Lagos International challenge in Nigeria

Indian shuttler C Rahul Yadav and men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy clinched the men's

singles and men's doubles title respectively at Lagos International challenge in Nigeria. Rahul surpassed

another Indian player Karan RajanRajarajan in the final clash to the title at the MoladeOkoya-Thomas Hall of

the TeslimBalogun Stadium. In the doubles pair, Manu and Sumeeth, who played at the Rio Olympics,

defeated local pair of Godwin Olofua and AnouluwapoJu won Opeyori.

Useful Info

Men‘s Single – C Rahul Yadav

Men's doubles - Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy

Country – Nigeria

Capital – Abuja

Currency – Naira

Young Indian shuttler LakshyaSen Wins Bulgaria Open International Series

Young Indian shuttler LakshyaSen clinched the Bulgaria Open International Series title after notching up a

hard-fought win over Croatia‘s ZvonimirDurkinjak in the men‘s singles final in Sofia, Bulgaria. The 16-year-

old shuttler defeated second seed Zvonimir 18-21 21-12 21-17 in a 57-minute match.

Useful Info

Country – Bulgaria

Capital – Sofia

Currency – Bulgarian lev

Shotgun






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KynanChenai wins bronze at 7th Asian Shotgun Championship

Indian shooter KynanChenai won a bronze in men's trap event, his first international medal at the senior level,

at the 7th Asian Championship Shotgun at Astana, Kazakhstan.

Useful Info

7th

Asian Shotgun Championship - Astana, Kazakhstan


Capital – Astana

Currency - Kazakhstani Tenge

Asian Shotgun Championship: Kynan, Shreyasi win bronze in mixed team trap event

KynanChenai and Shreyasi Singh of India have won bronze in mixed team trap event in Asian Shotgun

Shooting Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Indian pair defeated Lebanan shooters 40-38. It is India's

4th medal in the Championship. KynanChenai had also won bronze in men's trap event.

Useful Info

Asian Shotgun Shooting Championship 2017 – Astana, Kazakhstan.


Capital – Astana

Currency – Kazakhstani Tenge

Mairaj-Rashmmi pair bags gold at Asian Shotgun Championship

India bagged a gold medal in the skeet mixed team event. The Indian duo of Mairaj Ahmad Khan and

RashmmiRathore eked out a narrow 28-27 win over the Chinese pair of Liu Jiangchi and GaoJianmei. The host

combination of VladislavMukhamediyev and Olga Panarina settled for the bronze.

Useful Info

Asian Shotgun Championship 2017 – Kazakhstan


Capital – Astana

Currency - Kazakhstani Tenge

ShapathBharadwaj wins bronze at Junior Shotgun World Cup

Teenager ShapathBharadwaj today won a bronze medal in the double trap event while LakshaySheoran and

ManishaKeer combined to win a bronze in the mixed team trap competition at the ISSF Junior Shotgun World

Cup in Porpetto, Italy.

This was India's first medal in the competition apart from the bronze won by Sheoran and Keer in the mixed

team trap competition yesterday, which had the status of a test event.

Basketball

Amritpal Singh, First Indian to be Signed by Australian Basketball Team

Captain of Indian basketball team Amritpal Singh created history by becoming the first Indian player to

be signed by an Australian Basketball team. He will be a part of the Sydney Kings during their pre-season

tour where they will also take on the game against Utah Jazz side. Born in a village of Punjab, Singh initially

played for the Pune Peshwas in the Indian Basketball League.

Useful Info




India Win 2nd South Asian Basketball (SABA) U-16 Championship

India has won 2nd South Asian Basketball, SABA, Under - 16 Championship. India defeated Bhutan by

131-50 in its last league match at Kathmandu in Nepal. India remained unbeaten in its all four matches and

accumulated 8 points. Bangladesh finished second and hostNepal third.The championship was played in a

round robin league format. India has now qualified for 2017 International Basketball Federation, FIBA,

Under-16 Asian Championship to be played in Malaysia later this year.

Useful Info

1st Place – India (New Delhi, Indian Rupee)

2nd

Place – Bangladesh (Dhaka, Taka)






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3rd

Place – Nepal (Kathmandu, Nepalese Rupee)

Shooting

India Finishes 5th at Moscow Shotgun World Championships

India has finished fifth in the medals tally with one gold and two silver medals at the Moscow Shotgun

World Championships. Only 16 of the 76 participating nations got amongst the medals and Italy topped the

tally with nine gold medals for a total of 17 medals in all. Both their Olympic skeet champions Gabrielle

Rossetti and Diana Bacosi were also crowned world champions in the process. The USA stood second with

five gold medals for a total of 12. Hosts Russia were third in the overall tally with two golds for a total of eight.

Useful Info

Country – Russia

Capital – Moscow


1st in the list – Italy(Rome, Euro)

5th

in the list – India

Racing

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wins Canadian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton won the Canadian Grand Prix for the sixth time. He won against Sebastian Vettel‘s overall

championship and lead to 12 points. It was Hamilton‘s third victory of the season and also his third in a row. It

was the three-time champion‘s sixth victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. It was the 56th title of his career.

Useful Info

Lewis Hamilton – United Kingdom

Drive for – Mercedes

Valtteri Bottas won the Austrian Grand Prix

ValtteriBottas won the Austrian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday with Ferrari‘s Sebastian Vettel finishing a

mere 0.6 of a second.

Useful Info

ValtteriBottas – Russian Formula 1 driver

He drives for Mercedes

His first victory – Russian Grand Prix 2017

Mercedes‟ Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix for the fifth time

Mercedes‘ Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix for the fifth time – matching the record of Jim Clark

and Alain Prost to cut Sebastian Vettel‘s championship lead to just a single point. They allowed ValtteriBottas

to grab second from KimiRaikkonen to secure a Mercedes one-two, as Vettel trailed home seventh.

Useful Info

Lewis Hamilton – British Formula 1 Driver

He Drives for Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton Wins Belgian Grand Prix 2017

Mercedes' British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton registered his 58th career race win after

claiming the Belgian Grand Prix title. Hamilton's rival Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel came second, while Daniel

Ricciardo was placed third. With the win, Hamilton has cut Vettel's lead at the top of the drivers' championship

to seven points.

Useful Info

Lewis Hamilton - British Formula One driver

He is Driving for Mercede‘s

Sebastian Vettel wins Hungarian Grand Prix Formula 1 title

Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari took the chequered flag at the Hungaroring to claim his fourth victory of the season.

In a nail-biting finish, Vettel had his team-mate KimiRaikkonen behind complaining that he could go faster but

being used by the team as a buffer against Hamilton. ValtteriBottas from Mercedes was on third place.

Useful Info






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Sebastian Vettel – German Formula 1 Driver

He Drives for Ferrari

Country – Hungary

Capital – Budapest

Currency – Hungarian Forint

Lewis Hamilton Wins Singapore Grand Prix

Mercedes‟ Lewis Hamilton won the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, in Singapore. Hamilton‘s rival

Sebastian Vettel withdrew in the middle of the race due to his damaged Ferrari car.

Useful Info

Lewis Hamilton is a Formula one Racer

He drives for Mercedes.

Jagan Wins Sixth Title in a Row at National Motorcycle Racing

TVS Racing‘s mascot Jagan Kumar notched his sixth straight title in the premier Super Sport Indian class on

a rain-affected day to bring down the curtain on the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle

Racing Championship in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The event was organised by Madras Motorsports Club. It was

sponsored by MRF Tyres.

Other Sports

HeenaSidhu and JituRai won mixed gold in shooting World Cup

HeenaSidhu and JituRai won their second successive gold in the mixed 10m air pistol competition in the ISSF

World Cup being held at Gabala, Azerbaijan.

Useful Info

Country – Azerbaijan

Capital – Baku

Currency – Azerbaijani manat

India bag five medals in Asian Junior Wrestling Championships

India on Friday bagged five medals, including gold, in the 2017 Asian Junior Wrestling Championships in

Taiwan. India's female wrestlers pocketed three medals while two came in the male Greco-Roman division.

India's gold came in the women's 51 kilogram freestyle category through Puja. Further in women's section,

Sonu clinched a silver medal in the 44 kilogram category, while Manu claimed a bronze in the 59 kilogram

division. In Men's categories, Satish won silver in the 120 kilogram Greco-Roman style, while Manish claimed

a bronze in the 50 kilogram category.

Useful Info

Country – Taiwan

Capital – Taipei

Currency - New Taiwan dollar

India won six medals in the Wushu competition of the first ever BRICS Games

India won six medals in the Wushu competition of the first ever BRICS Games, which concluded in

Guangzhou, China recently. The medals haul comprised two each in gold, silver, and bronze. M. Gyandas and

AnjulNamdev won one gold each. It featured some 300 athletes from five countries- Brazil, China, India,

Russia and South Africa (BRICS Nations) with 10 events in 3 sports – men‘s basketball, women‘s volleyball,

and Wushu. China will host the 9th BRICS summit in September 2017 in the coastal city of Xiamen.

Junior World Rifle/Pistol Championship: India's YashaswiniDeswal wins gold

India's Yashaswini Singh Deswal today won a gold at the women's 10 metre air pistol event in the ISSF Junior

World Championship Rifle/Pistol competition.In the event being held in Suhl, Germany, her medal

consolidated India's second position in the medals tally at the end of Day Two, with two gold, one silver and

one bronze.China top the standings till now.Earlier in the day, India had won a team bronze in the men's 10

metre pistol event.

Useful Info

Country – Germany






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Capital – Berlin

Currency - Euro

AnishBhanwala set a junior world record at World Championship

Haryana's AnishBhanwala gave a robust start for the Indian challenge by clinching the 25-metre standard pistol

gold with a world junior record in the Junior World Shooting Championship in Suhl, Germany. The 14-year-

old Anish shot 579 to win the gold seven points ahead of Florian Peter of Germany. In the process, Anish also

bettered the junior world record of 574 set by Denis Koulakov of Russia in Lahti, Finland, in 2002.

Ankush claims gold, Devendro gets silver at Mongolia boxing tournament

The fast-rising AnkushDahiya (60kg) clinched a gold while the experienced L Devendro Singh (52kg) settled

for a silver medal on the final day of the Ulaanbaatar Cup boxing tournament in Mongolia.

The 19-year-old Ankush, who is a former Asian youth silver-medalist, defeated Korean Man ChoeChol in a split

verdict, while Devendro lost to Indonesia's AldomsSuguro, again a split decision. India thus signed off with a gold,

a silver and three bronze medals from the tournament.

Srinivas Gokulnath from Maharashtra, the first Indian to complete the Solo Race Across America (RAAM)

SrinivasGokulnath from Maharashtra created history by becoming the first Indian to complete the 4,941-km

Race Across America (RAAM) in solo category. Considered to be the toughest cycle race in the world, he

cycled for 11 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes. In a feat that marks the Indian arrival on the endurance cycling

scene globally, another Maharashtrian, Dr. Amit Samarth followed Gokulnath at the finish line at Annapolis on

American east coast. Among the nine men who finished, Gokulnath stood 7th while Samarth was right on his

heels at number 8. The race was won by ChristophStrasser.

Useful Info


Capital – Mumbai

CM - DevendraFadnavis

Governor - ChennamaneniVidyasagarRao

Siddhivinayak Temple – Mumbai, Maharashtra

City of seven islands – Mumbai

Gateway of India – Mumbai

ISSF Junior World Championship: India wins team bronze in 25m rapid fire pistol

India won Team Bronze in 25 meter Rapid Fire Pistol Men Junior Shooting World Championship. India added

a Bronze medal on day three of the International Shooting Sport Federation Junior World Championship

Rifle/Pistol, currently underway in Suhl, Germany yesterday. The trio of Anish, AnhadJawanda and

ShivamShukla notched up a combined score of 1711 to claim third place and take India's overall tally from the

competition to two Golds, one Silver and one Bronze medal. This is Anish's second medal of the competition

after having won the 25 meter standard pistol gold on the opening day of the competition.

Useful Info

Country – Germany

Capital – Berlin

Currency – Euro

Chancellor – Angela Merkel

Indian shooting squad has finished second at the ISSF Junior World Championship

The Indian shooting squad has finished a creditable second at the ISSF Junior World Championship with three

gold, two silver and three bronze medals in Suhl, Germany. India picked up a gold and silver in the team and

individual sections of the 25m pistol junior men‘s event. India also won team bronze in the 25m pistol junior

women‘s event to shore up their tally on the fourth and final day of competitions. AnishBhanwala won three

medals, one of each colour. On day one, Anish had claimed gold in the 25m standard pistol men‘s event. He

also won another gold teaming with AnhadJawanda and ShivamShukla for the 25m pistol event. China topped

the tally in the rifle/pistol tournament with 19 medals, including eight golds.

Useful Info

1st place China – total 19 medals

2nd

place India – total 8 medals

ISSF Junior world Championship 2017 held at – Suhl, Germany






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President of ISSF - Olegario Vazquez Rana

Wayne van Niekerk sets a new 300m World record

Wayne van Niekerk clocked an outstanding 30.81 seconds, beating the previous World record of 30.85sec set

at altitude in Pretoria in 2000 by American Michael Johnson.

Useful Info

Wayne van Niekerk – South African Track and Field Sprinter

VirenderSehwag and P T Usha named in 12-member Committee to pick this year's KhelRatnaand

ArjunaAwardees

VirenderSehwag and P T Usha named in 12-member Committee which has been handed the job to pick this

year's KhelRatnaand ArjunaAwardees.

Useful Info

P T Usha - PilavullakandiThekkeparambilUsha, popularly known as P. T. Usha, is a retired Indian track and field

athlete.

VirenderSehwag – Former Indian Cricket Player

In early 2004, he became the only Indian to score a triple century in Test cricket, with 309 against Pakistan in the

First Test in Multan, beating V. V. S. Laxman's previous Indian record (281 against Australia)

―Sultan of Multan‖ is one of the nick name of VirenderSehwag

Kamal Haasan to be brand ambassador of Tamil Thalaivas

Tamil film actor Kamal Haasan has been appointed brand icon of Pro Kabaddi League franchise Tamil

Thalaivas, co-owned by India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar.

Useful Info

The winner of the Pro Kabaddi League 2016 was Patna Pirates.

65th edition of the prestigious Nehru Trophy won by Gabriel Chundan

Gabriel Chundanwon the 65th edition of the prestigious Nehru Trophy held at the Punnamda Lake in

Kerala. While 'MahadevikkadKattilthekkethil' came second, 'Payippad' and 'Karichal', last year's winner,

secured the third and fourth spots respectively. The members of the Ernakulam-based boat club dipped their

oars in unison, leading the majestic Chundan (snake boat) to the finishing point, pushing fellow competitors

behind.

Useful Info

State – Kerala

Capital – Trivananthapuram

CM – PinarayiVijayan

Governor – P.Sathasivam

Punnamda Lake – Kerala

Sports Minister Mr. Vijay Goel announced that the first edition of Rural Games or GrameenKhelMahotsav

will start from Delhi

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Mr. Vijay Goel announced that the first edition of

Rural Games or GrameenKhelMahotsavwill kick-start from Delhi.The Rural Games will aim at

popularising the indigenous games like wrestling, athletics etc. and will also have fun games like Matka

Race, Tug of War for senior citizens to add the fun element in the games.

Useful Info

Minister of State (Independent Charge) Youth Affairs and Sports - Vijay Goel

Constituency –RajyaSabha, Rajasthan

Paris to host 2024 summer Olympics, Los Angeles to host 2028 summer Olympics

Los Angeles reached an agreement with the leaders of the International Olympic Committee on plans to host

the 2028 Summer Games. Los Angeles formally announced its bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics after

agreeing on a deal that paves the way for Paris to host in 2024. The Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic bid

committee in cooperation with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced it recently. The LA bid

committee stated that Los Angeles will host the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games 2028.

Useful Info

International Olympic Committee HQ – Lausanne, Switzerland

President – Thomas Bach






229

Mo Farah wins career's last 5,000m race with 0.04 sec margin

Distance runner Mo Farah won the final track race of his career, clinching a win in 5,000-metre final with a

margin of 0.04 seconds at the Diamond League on Thursday. Britain's Farah finished the race in 13 minutes

and 6.05 seconds. Farah won a total of 10 gold medals at the Olympics and World Championships during his

track career.

Barcelona sign Dembélé to make him 2nd most expensive player

Barcelona on Friday announced OusmaneDembélé's signing from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of €105 million

(Rs.800 crore), along with potential €42m in add-ons, making him the second most expensive player ever

behind Neymar. Dembélé agreed a five-year contract with a buyout clause of €400 million (Rs.3,000crore).

The 20-year-old forward will wear the number 11 shirt, vacated by Neymar.

Devendra Jhajharia, Sardar to get Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna

The Sports Ministry confirmed that ParalympianDevendraJhajharia, who clinched gold in men's F46 javelin

throw at Rio Paralympics and former Indian hockey captain SardarSingh will be honoured with the KhelRatna

award. Indian female footballer OinamBembem Devi has been named in the Arjuna awardees list, becoming

only the second female footballer to bag the award.

20-yr-old wins 10,000m silver at World University Games

SanjivaniJadhav, a 20-year-old marathon runner from Nashik, won the silver medal in the women's 10,000-

metre at the 29th World University Games in Taipei. Jadhav, who won a bronze medal in the 5,000-metre race

at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar in July, is also a medallist at the World School

Olympiad.

Cyclist Mark Beaumont has broken the world record

Mark Beaumont has broken the world record for cycling around the world - by 44 days. The 34-year-old,

from Perthshire, arrived in Paris one day ahead of schedule having cycled the 18,000-mile route in 79 days.

He set a new world record of 194 days in 2008. Since then it has been broken by other riders, with the previous

record set at 123 days. He was on his bike for more than 16 hours a day and only slept for five hours each

night.

India bags 4 more Medals at 5th Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan

In the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games at Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, India bagged four

medals.SajanPrakash of India finished second with the silver medal in the Men's 100-metre butterfly event.

DivyaGurlingShilwant and PratikshaChandrakantParhar bagged a bronze each in women's Alysh classic

in 70 kg and 75 kg categories in the Belt Wrestling Discipline. Wrestler KeduovilieZumu from Nagaland

won the bronze medal in the 90 kg category of Kazakh Kuresh style belt wrestling. Meanwhile, Sourav

Kothari assured himself of a medal after winning his semifinal contest in men's billiards singles against

Thailand's ThawatSujaritthurakaran 3-0. India is at 11th spot in the medals tally with 5 gold, 7 silver and 7

bronze.

Useful Info

Country – Turkmenistan

Capital – Ashgabat

Currency – Turkmenistan manat

Indian Pair Win Gold at World Archery Youth Championship 2017

Mixed pair of Jemson Ningthoujam and Ankita Bhakat clinched the gold medal as India returned with three

medals from the World Archery Youth Championship in Rosario, Argentina. This is India‘s first world

title at the youth championships since Deepika Kumari‘s victories in 2009 and 2011. India also bagged one

silver and one bronze in a promising show by the youngsters.

Useful Info

Country – Argentina

Capital – Buenos Aires

Currency - Argentine Peso

India wins its First Ever Wushu World Championship Gold

Pooja Kadian became the first ever Indian sportsperson to win a gold medal at the Wushu World

Championship in Kazan, Russia. Kadian, who competed in the women's 75kg Sanda category, defeated






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Russia's Evgeniya Stepanova in the final. Pooja, a head constable in the CRPF, had earlier won gold in the

South Asian Games and silver in the 2013 World Championship.

Useful Info

Wushu World Championship 2017 – Russia

Country – Russia

Capital – Moscow


India's First Portal Dedicated to Para-Sports Launched

In a bid to create awareness about para-sports and provide a platform to para sportspersons to narrate their

stories of triumph and adversity, "thenationspride.com", the country's first portal dedicated to para-sports

was launched. thenationspride.com is a non-profit initiative, helmed by 17-year-old Mumbai student and sports

enthusiast, Saachi Munot.

Useful Info

Union minister of Youth Affairs and Sports - Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

Constituency – Jaipur, Rajasthan

Gurusaidutt Wins Bulgarian International Tournament

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt clinched the men's singles title at the Bulgarian

International Future Series tournament. Gurusaidutt has defeated Muhammed Ali Kurt (Turkey) in a 35-

minute match. Gurusaidutt will also participate in Senior Nationals Championship in November 2017.

Useful Info

Country – Bulgaria

Capital – Sofia

Currency – Bulgarian lev

Olympic News

Paris Officially Awarded 2024 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Gets 2028

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has formally announced that Paris has been awarded the

2024 summer Olympics and Los Angeles has been given the 2028 edition. There were no other candidates

for either of the Games and the two cities had worked out a deal in advance. Paris, which has hosted two

previous Olympics, will stage the event 100 years after its last Games in 1924 while Los Angeles will also

organise its third Games after 1932 and 1984.

Useful Info

2024 Olympics host – Paris

2028 Olympics host – Los Angeles

IOC - International Olympic Committee

Headquarters of IOC - Lausanne, Switzerland

President of IOC - Thomas Bach

IOA formallyawarded to Goa the rights to host the 36th National Games

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) formally awarded to Goa the rights to host the 36th National

Games. The announcement was made by the state sports minister ManoharAjgaonkar. Ajgaonkar stated that

IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta, in a letter to Chief Minister ManoharParrikar, had formally

conferred the rights to the state to host the sporting event in November 2017.

Useful Info

State – Goa

Capital – Panaji

CM – ManoharParrikar

Governor - MridulaSinha






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OBITUARIES

Person Field

Parvathammaraj kumar Producer-Distributor Of Kannada Cinema

Roberto De Vicenzo Golf Player

Adnan Khashoggi Saudi Arms Dealer

Mehrunnisadalwai Social Activist And Author

Adam West US Actor

C Narayana Reddy Telugu Poet And Writer

T S John Former Kerala Assembly Speaker

Palvai Govardhan Reddy Congress Leader And Rajyasabha MP

P. N. Bhagwati Former Chief Justice Of India

Helmut Kohl Former German Chancellor

Naresh Chandra Former Indian Ambassador To U.S, And Padma

Vibhushan Awardee

Mangesh Tendulkar Cartoonist

Liu Xiaobo China‟s Most Famous Political Prisoner, The Nobel

Laureate and Democracy Icon

Nar Bahadurbhandari Former Sikkim CM

Chester Bennington Linkin Park Lead Vocalist

Udupi Ramachandra Rao Former ISRO Chairman

N. Dharam Singh Former Chief Minister Of Karnataka

Inder Kumar Bollywood Actor

K.E. Mammen Freedom Fighter

Ustad Hussain Sayeeduddin Dagar Maestro And Custodian Of The Venerable Dhrupad

Tradition Of Hindustani Classical Music

Santosh Mohan Dev Senior Congress Leader And Former Union Minister

Sam Shepard Actor And Pulitzer-Winning Playwright

Robert Hardy Harry Potter Actor

Vishvjit P Singh Ex-MP

Sanwarlaljat BJP MP And Former Union Minister

Sitarampanchal Bollywood Actor

Vijay Nambisan Poet And Writer

Yisrael Kristal World‟s Oldest Man , Aged 113

Ruth Pfau Pakistan's 'Mother Teresa'

S Paul Photographer

MK Damodaran Former Advocate General Of Kerala

Tom Pritchard New Zealand's Oldest Surviving Cricketer

Rishangkeishing Former Manipur Chief Minister And The Last

Surviving Member Of India's First Post-1947

Parliament

Tony De Brum A Leading Advocate Of The Paris Climate

Agreement And Widely Regarded As The "Voice Of

Pacific Islands On Climate Change"

Ahmed Khan India's Two-Time Olympic Footballer And East

Bengal Legend

John Ashbery Pulitzer-Prize Winning Poet

Frank Vincent American Actor

Arjan Singh The Sole Marshal Of The Indian Air Force

Violet Mosse-Brown The World's Oldest Person, Aged 117






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Jake Lamotta Former Boxing Champion

Shakila Bollywood Actor

Liliane Bettencourt World's Richest Woman

Hugh Hefner Playboy Magazine Founder

Tom Alter Indian Actor

Purushottam Lal Kaushik Former Union Minister And Socialist Leader

Kundan Shah Filmmaker

Satish Chandra India‟s Eminent Historian




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GK Power Capsule (1st June to 15th Oct ober ) 2017 For ... June 17 ± World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, Theme ± Our Land, Our ... Income Tax Day x 26th July : Kargil