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National:
1. Pentagon established first-ever country special cell IRRC to speed up defense ties with India.
IRRC stands for India Rapid Reaction Cell and was established in January 2015 by Pentagon to exclusively focus on advancing Defense Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI).
2. Meeting of Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs)on Climate Change was held in New Delhi. This was the first meeting of LMDCs to be held in India.
The objective of the meeting was to exchange, coordinate and harmonize views on the negotiating text for the Conference of Parties-21 (COP-21) of the UNFCC to be held in Paris in December 2015.
3. The Union Ministry of Water Resourcesconstituted a seven-member committee to advise it on restructuring the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB).
The expert committee will be headed by former Planning Commission member Mihir Shah.
The committee was mandated to suggest ways for optimal development of water resources in the country.
4. Union Government decided to provide additional 50 days of unskilled manual work in the financial year 2015-16 in drought-hit areasunder Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme.
5. Union Governmenthas notified a 20 per cent provisional safeguard duty on certain categories of the steel products in order to protect the domestic steel sector with an immediate effect.
6. Andhra Pradesh Governmenthas unveiled ‘New Tourism Policy-2015-20‘ to boost tourism sector in the state. It was unveiled by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at a function held in Vijayawada.
7. SpiceJet became first-ever airline to make night landing at Port Blair’s Veer Savarkar Airport.
8. Union Government has announced to extend e-Tourist Visa Scheme to 37 more countries in order to attract maximum foreign tourists in the country.
9. Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has banned the sale of Diclofenac in multidose vial.
It will be sold only in single-dose vial packaging for human use.
This ban was imposed on recommendation of Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in order to save and protect vultures from brink of extinction.
10. Indian Railways has developed a Hybrid Vacuum Toilet design which combines the advantages of Vacuum toilets and those of Biotoilets.
The first of its kind system in the world has been developed by the Development Cell of Indian Railway Board.
11. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched National Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh to provide 24×7 power supply to every house.
To start the scheme in Varanasi, PM laid foundation stone of two power substations and Union Government will provide 572 crore rupees to implement it.
12. Perumanna Grama Panchayat in Kozhikode district of Kerala has become the first Panchayat in the State, to declare its own water policy. The water policy has been framed in the lines of the State government’s water policy declared in 2008.
13. Union Government has launched the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) for the welfare of people affected by mining related operations.
The new scheme is meant to provide for the welfare of people and areas affected by mining related operations by using the funds collected by District Mineral Foundations (DMFs).
14. Godavari River was formally interlinked with the Krishna River at Ibrahimpatnam near Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh.
Both rivers were interlinked after Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated a pylon at Ibrahimpatnam.
State government has named this historic occasion as ‘Krishna-Godavari Pavitra Sangamam’ meaning holy confluence in Telugu.
15. Union Government has banned Naga rebel group National Socialist Council of Nagaland- Khaplang (NSCN-K) for five years.
The organization has been banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
16. Union cabinet has approved the creation of four posts of directors for four new National Institutes of Design (NIDs).
Four posts of directors will be for four new NIDs located at Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Kurukshetra (Haryana), Jorhat (Assam) and Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh).
17. The Union Cabinet has approved Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban mission (SPMRM) for its ambitious bid to spur social, economic and infrastructure development in rural areas.
In this regard, Union Government has earmarked over 5,000 crore rupees for the mission to develop 300 clusters over next three years across the country.
18. PM Narendra Modi formally launched the nationwide Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
19. India and the United States (US) jointly created a Joint Challenge Coin to symbolize their unique partnership in creating a next-generation aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy.
One side of the coin reads Forward Together We Goand Chale Saath Saathin Hindi, which is the vision statement of US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
20. The book titled Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights authored by the British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie was released on 8 September 2015.
The book can be easily called as an update to Rushdie’s ancient eastern classic, A Thousand and One Nights and is a work of fiction, blends history, mythology, and a timeless love story.
21. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) jointly released the Achieving the malaria MDG target report.
The report concluded that the malaria Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to stop and reverse the incidence of malaria by 2015 was achieved.
India stood at the third place after Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo in terms of number of cases and number of deaths due to malaria.
22. To provide aid to farmers to overcome drought conditions, Actor Nana Patekar established an organization named Naam Foundation.
The Naam Foundation, a brain child of Nana Patekar and fellow Marathi actor Makrand Anaspure, was set up for donating money to drought affected farmers.
The foundation will collect the contributions from people and for this purpose Nana Patekar has opened a bank account with State Bank of India, where people can deposit money for the cause.
International:
1. Hungarian Governmenthas declared a state of emergency in its two regions of Csongrad and Bacs-Kiskun to cope with the influx of refugees.
It was declared by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
2. The Constituent Assembly of Nepaloverwhelmingly rejected the proposal to declare Nepal a Hindu state and reaffirmed to remain secular.
3. The largest volcano of Japan Mount Aso Volcanoerupted on 14th September 2015.
The eruption blasted a plume of black smoke 2-kilometer high and the ashes from the volcano fell up to 4-kilometer away.
The volcano situated on main southern island of Kyushu erupted unexpectedly.
4. Japan’s parliament has passed two security laws to amend its pacifist constitution framed after WWII to allow its troops to fight abroad.
5. India and Laos have inked two key Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on Air services and Quick Impact Projects under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) program to strengthen bilateral ties between the two nations.
6. Nepal’s Parliament has overwhelmingly approved a new constitution after seven years of painstaking efforts and deliberations.
The new Constitution was passed by a 507-25 vote in the 601-seat Constituent Assembly (CA) after the voting and is due to come into effect on 20th September 2015.
Features of Nepal’s new constitution
Establishes Nepal as secular and federal democratic republic. It moves away from the existing unitary structure.
The constitution vest executive rights of the country on the Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister. While the President would be ceremonial head-of-the-state.
It establishes bi-cameral federal parliament and split the country into seven federal provinces.
It establishes competitive multi-party democratic system with periodic elections.
Enshrines fundamental rights, civic freedom, human rights, voting rights and full press freedom etc to its citizens.
It establishes independent, fair and competent judiciary in order to build the nation with the commitment to socialism based on rule of law and democratic norms and values.
7. India and Cambodia have signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to boost bilateral cooperation in the field of Tourism and another related to umbrella projects under Mekong Ganga Cooperation initiative.
8. Pakistan set to itself a target of generating 40000 MW nuclear energy. It will be achieved as part of the Nuclear Energy Vision 2050.
Sports:
1. Narsingh Pancham Yadavwon bronze medal at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships held in Las Vegas, the USA.
He won the medal in the Men’s 74kg Freestyle category.
2. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sportsrecognized the Indian Kalarippayattu Federation as Regional Sports Federation with a view to promote and give due acknowledgement and importance to sports having regional spread.
3. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won the US Open Women’s Doubles title.
The top-seeded Indo-Swiss pair defeated the fourth-seeded duo of Casey Dellacqua (Kazakhstan) and Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) 6-3 6-3 in the summit clash held in New York.
4. Flavia Pennettawon the US Open Women’s Singles title.
She defeated fellow Italian Roberta Vinci 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 in the summit clash held in New York.
5. Capital city of Zhejiang Province Hangzhou in East China has been chosen by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to host the 2022 Asian Games.
6. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) released a new technical ranking system which has placed India on 22nd spot among the continent’s 46-member countries.
The position of India is the highest among the South Asian nations.
Awards & Recognition:
1. Indian-origin author Sunjeev Sahota has been short-listed for the prestigious 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.
2. Sunjeev Sahota’s novel The Year of the Runaways has been shortlisted which deals with the life experience of illegal immigrants from the Indian subcontinent in Britain.
3. A 15-year-old Indian-American girl Swetha Prabakaran has been selected by the White House for the prestigious Champions of Change award.
4. We Care Solar won 1 million US dollar ‘Powering the Future We Want’ grant given by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
Laura Stachel, co-founder of We Care Solar, accepted the award at a ceremony held at UN Headquarters in New York.
5. QS World University Rankings 2015-16was released. It was the 12th edition in the series of annual global university ranking list.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) of the USA was adjudged as the top university in the world.
The Indian Institute of Science-Bangalore (IISc-B) and the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D)were ranked 147 and 179 respectively.
6. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinahas been selected for the United Nations Champions of the Earth award.
UN Environment Program (UNEP) has chosen her for this prestigious award in recognition of her country’s initiatives to address climate change.
7. Gujarat has been placed to top position in World Bank’s first ever ranking of States on the ease of doing business in India.
The World Bank report titled Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms was released in New Delhi under the aegis of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
8. DRDO scientist Dr. G Satheesh Reddyin the first week of September 2015 was conferred with the Silver Medal of the prestigious Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS).
DRDO stands for Defense Research and Development Organization.
9. Afghan refugee teacher Aqeela Asifi has won the 2015 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Nansen Refugee Award.
10. The Union Minister of Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya presented the Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar (VRP) and National Safety Awards (NSA) for the Performance Year 2013.
This year, 28 Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar were shared by 132 individuals. These winners were selected out of a total of 193 applications received from different industries for the Performance Year 2013.
For the Performance year 2013, the total number of NSA Award Winners and Runners-up in the ten schemes adds up to 98 (53 winners and 42 runners-up). They were selected out of 199 applications received under various schemes.
11. An Indian monk Gyalwang Drukpa, helped restore and renovate a 2000-year-old lost Nangchen Stupa with Lord Buddha relics sent by Emperor Ashoka.
12. Veteran Test cricketer of West Indies Shivnarine Chanderpaul was honored with the Icon Award by the Indo-Caribbean Alliance.
The 41-year-old left-handed batsman was given the award in New York along with three others, namely television personality Lakshmee Singh, New York City council member Eric Ulrich and businessman Dave Kadernauth.
Mergers & Acquisition:
1. Indian Railways partnered with Google to provide free Wi-Fi services under Project Nilgiri.
2. Healthcare firm Practo has acquired has acquired hospital management software firm Insta Health Solutions for 12 million dollars.
Insta Health Solutions was founded by former top Wipro executive Ramesh Emani to improve the efficiency of doctors and hospitals across 15 countries.
3. InMobi ties up with China’s APUS in bid to challenge Google.
4. The world’s largest bicycle manufacturer by volume, Hero Cycles, announced the acquisition of Firefox Bikes Pvt. Ltd. for an undisclosed sum in an all-cash deal.
5. The largest Indian drugmaker, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd, entered into a deal to acquire US-based InSite Vision Inc. for about 300 crore rupees.
6. Private equity (PE) investor Blackstone Group LP repurchased the India-based Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) operations of the UK’s Serco Group Plc for about 2558 crore rupees. The deal is a combination of equity and debt.
Economics:
1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI)signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information.
2. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted in principle approval to 10 entities to set up small finance banks to provide basic banking services to small farmers and micro industries.
3. The Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) increased the life insurance cover of its subscribers from 3.6 lakh to 6 lakh rupees.
Appointments & Resignations:
1. L&T appoints former GlaxoSmithKline Pharma India MD Joshipura as head of Corporate Centre.
2. Indian-origin British Members of Parliament (MPs), Seema Malhotra and Lisa Nandy, were appointed as tothe shadow cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn, the newly-elected leader of Labour Party in the United Kingdom (UK) in third week of September 2015.
Malhotra was appointed as the shadow chief secretary for Treasury, while Nandy was appointed as shadow secretary for energy and climate change.
3. Ashok-Alexander Sridharan became the first Person of Indian Origin (PIO) to be elected as the mayor of Bonn in Germany.
4. Malcolm Turnbull has sworn-in as Australia’s new Prime Minister.
He became the 29th Prime Minister of the country and was administered oath to the office by Governor-General Peter Cosgrove.
5. Jeremy Corbynwas elected as the leader of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom.
6. Hormusji N Camawas unanimously elected as the new chairman of the Press Trust of India (PTI).
7. Metro Man Elattuvalapil Sreedharan has been invited to the United Nations’ High Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport (HLAG-ST).
Science & Technology:
1. As per recently released study, populations of marine mammals, fish, birds and reptiles have declined by 49% since 1970.
The study report was prepared by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
In this study more than 1,200 species of marine creatures were analyzed in the past 45 years.
2. An indigenously developed second generation anti-tank guided missile, Amogha-I was successfully test fired.
About Amogha-I Missile
Indigenously developed by state owned Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).
It has maximum target range of 2.8 kms.
The missiles will be inducted into Indian Army after due qualification and validation trials.
3. Earthquake of 8.3-magnitude on Richter scale has hit off Chile’s coast in Illapel, the capital of Choapa Province in central Coquimbo Region of Chile.
US Geological Survey has noted its epicenter at a depth of 12.5 kilometers off Chile’s coast in Illapel.
4. Three scientists, principal investigator Dayanand Agsar, co-investigator M. B. Sulochana and research scholar D. N. Madhusudhan, of Gulbarga University made a major breakthrough in simplifying the production of the melanin.
The team of scientists derived the water-soluble melanin from a new microorganism Tyrosinase from Actino bacterium.
At present, the melanin being used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry is either derived from chemical formulations or derived from micro-organisms other than Tyrosinase and is insoluble in water.
5. Disney Researchers announced that Internet of Things (IoT) technology can be successfully used in Visible Light Communication (VLC) devices to network them and thereby creating smarter devices.
6. To provide various services and teaching-related work to teacher in a simple and easy way, Madhya Pradesh Government launched M-Shiksha-Mitra mobile app.
With this, Madhya Pradesh became the first state to develop such mobile app for teachers.
The app developed by NIC that carries several facilities can be downloaded from Google Play Store in android mobile phone.
7. The Union Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley launched the Headend In The Sky (HITS) digital platform initiative, under the brand name NXT DIGITAL promoted by Hinduja Group.
The platform will provide viewers access to over 500 television channels of their choice be it international, national, regional and local; besides a host of other services like e-applications and TV everywhere.
Important Dates:
1. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolutions that proclaims 9th December as International Day of Commemoration & Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime.
2. Hindi Divas (Hindi Day) was observed across India on 14th September 2015.
The day was observed to promote the Matra Bhasha – the mother tongue of India and show its importance as a language in the country and the world at large.
3. The 10th World Hindi Conference was held for three days between 10 September and 12 September 2015 at the Lal Parade Ground in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
Death:
1. Veteran Classical dancer Kalamandalam Sathyabhamapassed away in Palakkad district of Kerala following brief illness. She was 77.
2. Renowned American playwright and director Frank D Gilroypassed away due to age related illness in Monroe, New York. He was 89.
3. Veteran cricket Marathi commentator Bal Pandit passed away in Pune, Maharashtra. He was 89.
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