Sports
Sindhu, Sakshi, Dipa, Jitu Rai to get Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award:
i. In an unprecedented move, the country’s highest sporting award – Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna – will be conferred upon four athletes with Olympic medallists PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik set to be honoured alongside trail-blazing gymnast Dipa Karmakar and ace shooter Jitu Rai.
ii. While shuttler Sindhu created history by becoming the first female athlete from India to win a silver in the just-concluded Rio Olympics, Sakshi bagged a bronze in the 58kg female wrestling.
iii. Dipa, India’s first female gymnast to qualify for Olympics, went on to miss a bronze by 0.15 points but her clean finish in the high-risk Produnova vault won the hearts of the nation.
iv. Jitu Rai bagged over half a dozen medals in the past two years, including gold at Asiad and Commonwealth Games and a silver in World Championships, which booked his ticket to Rio.
Other Sports Awards:
Arjun Award: Besides, the Ministry also selected 15 athletes for this year’s Arjuna Award. The notable names in the list are boxer Shiva Thapa, long distance runner Lalita Babar, cricketer Ajinkya Rahane, hockey players VR Raghunath and Rani Rampal among others.
Dronacharya Award: This year’s Dronacharya Award has been conferred upon six coaches, the most notable among being Dipa’s coach Bishweshwar Nandi and India Test team captain Virat Kohli’s mentor Raj Kumar Sharma. Others who will honoured with the Dhronacharya Award are Nagapuri Ramesh (athletics), Sagar Mal Dhayal (boxing), Pradeep Kumar (swimming, lifetime) and Mahabir Singh (wrestling, lifetime).
Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award: The Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to Satti Geetha (athletics), Sylvanus Dung Dung (hockey) and Rajendra Pralhad Shelke (rowing).
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2015-16: Punjabi University of Patiala
Important Note:
1. The National Sports Awards are given every year to recognise and reward excellence in sports.
2. The Khel Ratna Award is given for spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years. Apart from a medal and a citation, the Khel Ratna Awardee will receive a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh.
3. The Arjuna Award is given for consistent performance over four years, while the Dronacharya Award is given to coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events and the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime contribution to sports development.
4. Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand Awardees will receive statuettes, certificates and cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each.
Sania Mirza clinches world No 1 spot in women’s doubles after winning Cincinnati title:
i. Sania Mirza moved to the number one spot in the WTA doubles rankings after she teamed up with her new partner, Barbora Strycova, a Czech Republic tennis player.
ii. Together they beat Martina Hingis and Coco Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-4 in Sunday’s Cincinnati final.
iii. The 29-year-old will move alone to the top of the rankings, after she and Swiss Hingis ended their highly successful partnership last month as joint number ones.
National
PM Narendra Modi, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani jointly inaugurate renovated Stor Palace:
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday joined Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani via video conferencing from New Delhi to inaugurate the renovated Stor Palace in Kabul.
ii. “The India, Afghanistan and Iran Transit Corridor that we sighed this year was another landmark in our partnership.” PM Said.
iii. The Salma Dam will renew not just economy and agriculture of Afghan’s Heart region, but will build strong pillar of support for Afghanistan’s overall growth,” he added.
Key Insights:
a) A tripartite agreement was signed in between the Aga Khan Development Network, the Afghanistan and India for the comprehensive restoration of the Stor Palace, located on the grounds of the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
b) About Stor Palace: Initially built as a one-story pavilion during the reign of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, the Stor Palace, also known as Qasr-e-Stor, was expanded on at least two occasions in the 20th century.
Himachal Pradesh and pass GST Bill, become 4th & fifth state to ratify the Bill:
i. The Himachal Pradesh Assembly Monday ratified the landmark constitutional bill for the roll out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The bill was introduced by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
ii. Himachal Pradesh became the fourth state after Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam to ratify the bill. Chhattisgarh and Gujarat assemblies are next in line to adopt the legislation.
iii. The Chhattisgarh Assembly on Monday unanimously ratified the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill becoming the fifth state to pass the bill.
iv. The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill for the roll-out of the Goods and Sevices Tax (GST) was passed by the Lok Sabha earlier in August. for the rollout of the bill was April 1, 2017.
Note: The GST bill, seen as single biggest tax reform in a long time, needs to be ratified by at least 15 state legislatures before the President can notify the GST council which will decide the new tax rate and other issues.
BRICS Women Parliamentarians forum passes Jaipur Declaration:
i. BRICS Women Parliamentarians forum has unanimously passed the Jaipur Declaration on the concluding day of the Forum’s meeting held in Jaipur.
ii. The 19-point declaration was adopted at the two-day meeting of BRICS Women Parliamentarians forum held in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
iii. The meeting was attended by heads and members of delegation from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Appointments & Resignations
Dr. Najma Heptulla sworn-in as 18th Governor of Manipur:
i. Dr. Najma Heptulla was sworn-in as the 18th Governor of Manipur. She replaced Shanmuganathan who was holding the dual charge of Governor of Meghalaya and Manipur.
ii. She was administered oath of office by Acting Chief Justice of Manipur High Court Rakesh Ranjan Prasad as per the provisions of Article 159 of Constitution of India.
iii. Born on 13 April 1940 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. She is five time member of the Rajya Sabha between 1986 and 2012.
iv. She had served as and Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha for sixteen years in two different terms from 1985 to 1986 and 1988 to 2004.
v. In NDA Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi she had served as Union Minister of Minority Affairs from May 2014 to July 2016. She had resigned on age grounds.
Awards & Honors
N Ramachandran accoladed with Olympic Order award:
i. President Indian Olympic Association (IOA) N. Ramachandran was awarded the Olympic Order for his outstanding services to the Olympic movement.
ii. The award was formally bestowed upon him by the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach.
iii. Ramachandran is an Indian squash administrator. Currently he serves as current President of WSF (World Squash Federation) since 2008.
iv. Narayana Ramachandran has been serving the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) since February 2014.
About Olympic Order Award: Olympic Order Award is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded in recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. The award is bestowed upon the recipient at the closing ceremony of each respective Olympic Games as per the tradition. The award was established in 1975.
Actor Kamal Haasan confered with France’s Chevalier de L’Ordre Arts et Lettres:
i. Prominent film actor Kamal Haasan (61) has been selected by France for its prestigious Chevalier de L’Ordre Arts et Lettres. It is also known as Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.
ii. He has been chosen for this prestigious award recognition of his high level artistic excellence and distinguished career achievements.
iii. He will be the second Tamil actor to be chosen for this award after the legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan.
About Chevalier de L’Ordre Arts et Lettres:
a) The award is part of French Government’s premier award “the Legion of Honour.” It is aimed at honouring artists and writers of world repute.
b) The other recipients of the Chevalier Order from India include actors Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Nandita Das.
Short News
I. Team USA, with 46 golds and 121 total medals, finished on top of the final medal tally at the 2016 Rio Olympics. With 27 golds (67 overall), Great Britain grabbed the second position, marking their best performance since 1908. While China grabbed the third spot with 26 golds (70 overall), India finished at the 67th position with two medals overall.
II. The US men’s basketball team won its third consecutive Olympic gold.
III. The Supreme Court today quashed the Gujarat High Court’s verdict of 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections, including Patel community, in Gujarat.
IV. BJP leader Jagdish Mukhi today took oath as the 12th Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Calcutta High Court’s acting Chief Justice Girish Chandra Gupta in Port Blair. Mukhi will succeed Lt General AK Singh (Retd).
V. VP Singh Badnore today took oath as the new Punjab Governor and the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, SJ Vazifdar, administered the pledge of office and secrecy in Chandigarh. Badnore was also sworn in as the Administrator of Chandigarh Administration. He will replace Kaptan Singh Solanki.
VI. Jharkhand’s Hirachuni village is set to get its own WhatsApp group, Facebook page and blog with the name ‘Digital Hirachuni’ under the Digital India program.
VII. Indian junior table tennis team has won the bronze medal at the Asian School Table Tennis Championships 2016, held in Singapore. India shared the bronze medal with Thailand, while Singapore won the silver.
VIII. Public sector lender Punjab National Bank has allowed its locker holders to make any number of visits at lockers in a year without paying any additional cost, against 12 free yearly visits permitted earlier. The rule has been put in place since August 1.